humana prebet oâ—perimentum How was the Lord's Body after the Resurrection a true Body that cou'd enter the House when the Doors were shut But we must understand that if the Work of God be comprehended by Reason it is not wonderful nor hath that Belief any merit to which humane Reason gives Experience The Disciples saw Christ's Body and felt it with their Hands consequently had the Evidence of two of their Senses Yet according to St. Gregory they cou'd have Faith concerning the Truth of his Body only because they did not comprehend how it was possible for it to enter the House when the Doors were shut In like manner tho' we have Evidence of Reason that the things we believe were reveal'd by Jesus Christ yet the Reward of our Faith is nothing diminish'd because we believe such things as we neither comprehend nor understand And indeed whoever seriously considers the great Work of our Redemption he cannot but think that it was most agreeable to the infinite Wisdom and Goodness of our Divine Redeemer to leave us this Evidence Jesus Christ came to the World declar'd to a select Number of Men such high and mysterious things as seem to shock Humane Reason laid down his Life for the Salvation of Mankind sent his Apostles to publish these Mysteries over all the World and threatned with eternal Damnation all those who wou'd not believe them and that not only for a Time but also unto the End of the World Is it not then very reasonable that this mysterious Doctrine should always be attended with such Characters and Credentials of Truth as may convince the most obstinate Gainsayers of it which I am sure nothing less than either Evidence of Sense or Reason can effect For if the Evidence be less then the Doctrine is only probable and if it be only probable one may reasonably doubt of the Truth of it and if the Truth of it may be reasonably doubted the contrary for ought any one knows may be true and if the contrary may be true I am sure it does not stand with God's Goodness to condemn any Body to eternal Flames for not believing a Doctrine the contrary to which for any thing that he doth or can know may be true Here I wou'd not be understood so as to mean that none can have true Faith without clear Evidence for 't is plain that the most part of Mankind are taught the Articles of their Faith by their Parents or Pastors whose Testimony is confessedly fallible nor do I pretend that this is a Rigorous Demonstration such as Mathematicians make nor yet an Evidence of Sense but this I say that the universal Consent of so many Nations as compose the Catholic Church conspiring in the Belief of such Articles of Faith make it as evident to my Reason that the said Articles of Faith are true as any Evidence of Sense or Demonstration cou'd make them if they were capable of any In a word the Apostles and their Disciples deliver'd the Christian Faith to several Nations and convinc'd their Senses and Reason of the Truth of it by true and real Miracles and the Universal Consent of the same Nations which succeeded the Evidence of Miracles is equally convincing to us that that Faith is certainly true Consequently we have a certain and an undoubted Motive to rely upon in the Belief of the Articles of our Faith Now it is manifest and even acknowledg'd by our Adversaries that excepting those who separated themselves or were cut off from the Church by Excommunication for their obstinate Adherence to some Errors contrary to Faith and whose Opposition cannot prejudice the Truth of that Faith as I prov'd before that excepting those I say the Universal Consent of all the Christian World agrees in all the Articles of Faith that the Catholic Church holds and believes But among other Truths that are deriv'd to us by this Universal Tradition or common Consent of all Nations as afore explain'd this is one That the Holy Ghost or the Spirit of God doth assist the Church and doth guide her into all Truth necessary to Salvation Hence we conclude 1. That the Catholic Church is Infallible in all the Articles of Faith that she holds and professes For since the Holy Ghost is given to the Church to guide her into all Truth and that this Holy Spirit is Omniscient and Omnipotent it cannot be affirm'd without Impiety that it should permit her to fall into Error 2. That General Councils are Infallible in all their Definitions and Decisions of Faith For tho' a General Council be but a Representative of the whole Church yet because General Assemblies of the chief Pastors of the Church have been always look'd upon even by the Apostles themselves whose Steps in this particular the Church doth follow as the best and most effectual Means of determining any Controversie that may arise and that all Good Christians have always held themselves bound to acquiesce to their Determinations and to submit to them it is reasonable to believe that the Spirit of God doth assist and guide them 3. That the Catholic Church is Infallible in determining what Books of Scripture are Canonical and what Books are not and in declaring the true Sense and Interpretation of them For since these sacred Books and the right Interpretation of them are very necessary for the Edification of our Faith and Manners the same Spirit which guides the Church into all Truth does no doubt guide Her in these great and important Truths We shall see hereafter what Society of Christians can justly pretend to be called the Catholic Church I now proceed to prove from Scripture that the Church is Infallible But whereas the Protestants are accustomed to carp at this kind of Proof pretending that this is to Dance in a Circle as They are pleas'd to term it it won't be amiss to examine what is meant by a Circle and when it is to be admitted in Reasoning When two things bear witness mutually the one of the other we call this a Circle and when they have nothing else to support the Truth of their Evidence but their mutual Affirmation then that sort of Proof is Faulty But when both or either have such Evidence on their side as is sufficient to establish their Credit before they bear witness one of another tho' it be still a Circle yet it is good and vallid in all sort of Proof Thus God the Father bore witness of Jesus Christ and He again of the Father Thus Jesus Christ bore witness of John the Baptist and John the Baptist likewise of Him And I hope no Body will be so impious as to say these were vicious or faulty Evidences because God the Father's Testimony was known to be true tho' Jesus Christ had not confirm'd it and Jesus Christ his Works prov'd likewise his own Testimony to be true tho' his Father had not born Him witness In like manner the Church bears witness that the Scripture
is the Word of God and the Scripture again bears witness that the Church is Infallible and yet this way of Reasoning is not in the least defective because the Church has sufficient Credentials for the truth of its Evidence before it rereceives a Testimony from the Scripture viz. The Universal Consent of the whole Catholic Church which as is already proved is undoubtedly certain The Testimony then of Scripture bearing witness of the Church is properly speaking Argumentum ad hominâ—â— that is an Argument from a Concession or a Principle agreed upon by both Parties And now since the Protestants do agree that the Scripture is Infallibly true I hope they will hear it if it bears witness of the Infallibility of the Church Let us see then what it says upon this Subject Christ saith Thou art Peter and upon this Rock I will build my Church and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it Matth. 16. verse 18. Again Go ye therefore and teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and so I am with you alway even unto the End of the World cap. 28. ver 19 20. And again I have yet many things to say unto you but ye cannot bear them now â— howbeit when the Spirit of Truth is come he will guide you into all Truth John 16. ver 12 13. St. Paul writes to Timothy But if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thy self in the House of God which is the Church of the Living God the Pillar and Ground of the Truth 1 Tim. â— ver 15. You see Christian Reader that Christ promi'sd to build his Church upon a Rock and that the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it that he himself continues with it â—â—â—o the end of the World That the spirit of Truth shall guide it into all Truth And St. Paul says that the Church of God is the Pillar and Ground of the Truth Now if any Man that believes the Goodness and Power of Jesus Christ to perform what he promises can shew me any Text in Scripture more Plain and Evident to prove any thing else than these do the Infallibility of the Church I shall hold my self highly oblig'd to him for that Favour If the Gates on Power of Hell for they are both the same shall not prevail against the Church surely then it shall not fell into Error For there are but two Ways of prevailing against it viz. by destroying all the Members that compose it as to their temporal Being or by corrupting their Souls with Error That the Gates of Hell hath not prevail'd as to the former our own Being is a sufficient Evidence and that they shall not as to the latter methinks a sober modest man ought to be content with the Insurance of Christ's Promise If Christ continues with the Church unto the end of the World can it be imagined that he shou'd suffer it to fall into Error since we cannot suppose him to have any other bus'ness to continue with it than to preserve it from that If the holy Ghost or as the Teâ—t calls him the Spirit of Truth will guide the Church into all Truth we must surely renounce all pretence to Reason and Christianity if we believe that any Power whether Earthly or Infernal can be able to make it err Lastly if the Church be the Ground and Pillar of Truth as St. Paul calls it certainly neither Rain nor Floods noâ— Wind can shake or throw down an Edifice so firmly founded I shall now add three or four Testimonies of the Primitive Fathers in savour of this Truth and so conclude this chapter Saint Ireneus a Father of the second Age writes thus of the Church where the Church is there is the Spirit and where the Spirit of God is there is all Grace lib. 3. c. 40. Praes in lib. per. Ar. In the third Age Origen That only is to be believed for Truth which in nothing disagrees from the Tradition of the Church And a little after We must not believe otherwise than as the Church of God has by Succession deliver'd to us In the same Age St. Cyprian Whoever divides from the Church and cleaves to the Adultress is separated from the Promises of the Church he cannot have God his Father that has not the Church his Mother Again To Peter's Chair and the Principal Church Infidelity or false Faith cannot have access Epist 55. In the fourth Age St. Jerom The Roman Faith commended by the Apostles cannot be changed in Apolog. cont Ruffin In the beginning of the fifth Age St. Augustin I know by Divine Revelations that the Spirit of Truth teacheth it the Church all truth Lib. 4. de Bap. c. 4. Again To dispute against the whole Church is insolent Madness and I my self would not believe the Gospel were it not that the Authority of the Church moves me to it cont Epist fundam c. 5. I shall not trouble the Reader with any Reflections upon these Sentences but will let them stand or fall by their own Weight perswaded as I am that no Comment or Gloss whatsoever can make them speak plainer or more to my purpose I will only mind him that these Great and Eminent Men who shin'd in the Church like so many Lights as well by the Lustre of their extraordinary Piety as by the profoundness of their Learning cou'd not be ignorant of the Doctrine of the Catholic Church of their Time Consequently wou'd never have taught so peremptorily the Infallibility of the Church unless it had been the Opinion of all the Christian World There is then an Infallible Church that is to say a Congregation of Faithful that believes holds and teaches the Doctrine of Jesus Christ 1. Upon the Universal Consent of the Christian World 2. Upon clear and plain Texts of Scripture declaring the Assistance of the Holy Ghost to guide it into all Truth 3. Upon the unanimous Consent of the Fathers of the Primitive Times a Triple Cord which neither the Power of Hell nor the Subtility of Heretics nor the Malice of the World shall ever be able to break Let us now examine what Society of Christians can justly lay claim to or be truly call'd the Catholic Church CHAP. II. The Congregation of Faithful in Communion with the Bishop of Rome and no other is the Catholic Church TO prove this Assertion I shall lay down some Principles known either by their own Light or sufficiently proved by plain Texts of Scripture and the Consent of our Adversaries I. That in the Catholic Church there is and shall be a Continued Succession of Bishops Priests and Teachers from Christ to the End of the World II. That there is but one Catholic Church III. That one Communion as well as one Faith is Essential to the Being of one Church IV. That whosoever separates from or
guide it into all Truth surely it will not be wanting to it in this Point which is the most material of all others But I suppose the Dr. grounds his Argument upon this Axiom no Man ought to be Judge in his own Cause If he shou'd hence conclude that the supreme Judge cannot decide a Controversie concerning his own Prerogative he must certainly be a great Stranger to all Civil Laws and Constitutions in the World The King and Parliament together are the Supreme Judge of all Causes in England Now if we suppose the Rest of the people of England shou'd Dispute that Prerogative this Controversie according to the Doctor 's Principles can never be ended Not by the King and Parliament for it is their Own Cause nor yet by the Rest of the People of England for it is not Reasonable they shou'd be Judge and Party Who must judge it then No Body So that if we stretch that Axiom thus far we must leave undecided that without which nothing can be lawfully decided The true Sense of it then is this No Man ought to be Judge in his own Cause that is no Private Man who lives under Laws and Government ought to Judge for himself or be his own Carver but must have Recourse to the ordinary Judges whose Sentence he and his Adverse Party are bound to obey But this is by no means to be extended to the Supreme Legislative Power whose very Essence is to Judge all others and to be Judg'd by None As to what he says that a Controversie Who this Infallible Judge is cou'd never yet be decided in the Church of Rome I answer there never was any Controversie in the Church of Rome concerning what is of Faith in this Point namely that the Church is this Infallible Judge and what the Church is surely no Roman Catholic ever disputed Vol. 3. Edit post obit pag. 32. Object 4. If God had thought it necessary That there shou'd be an Infallible Church he wou'd have reveal'd this very thing more plainly than any particular Point whatsoever but this he has not done therefore he did not think it necessary Answ Let the Socinians for once answer or rather Retort this Argument upon the Doctor Had God say they thought the Knowledge of Three Persons really distinct each of them perfect God and yet but One God necessary to be believ'd by the Faithful he wou'd have reveal'd this very Thing more plainly than any particular Point whatsoever because it is look'd upon to be the Chiefest Mystery of Christianity but this He has not done Therefore he did not think it necessary to be believ'd Will the Doctor allow this Argument to be good If not I hope he will give me leave to have the same Thoughts of his Argument For I am certain there is no Text in Scripture that proves a Real Distinction of Three Persons whereof each is Perfect God and all but One God so plainly as it proves many other things which are not so necessary to Salvation But has not God plainly reveal'd that the Church is Infallible Tell the Church and if he will not hear the Church let him be to thee as an Heathen and Publican When the Spirit of Truth cometh He shall guide you into all Truth Go teach all Nations And lo I am with you alway even unto the End of the World The Church is the Ground and Pillar of Truth Are not all these clear and plain Has not Christ's own Mouth and his Apostle's reveal'd all These concerning the Church Surely then he judg'd the Infallibility of the Church necessary to be believ'd And this is to a Reasonable Man instead of a Thousand Arguments that He thought it not only necessary but even laid it down as the Chief Fundamental Point of our Belief because this once firmly establish'd wou'd easily clear the Obscurity of any other Object 5. pag. 77. We have as great need of Infallible Security against Sin and Vice in matters of Practice as against Errors in matters of Faith but we have no Infallible Security against Sin and Vice in matters of Practice consequently nor against Errors in matters of Faith Answ This Comparison is in one sense Just and Reasonable and in that sense I will be content to stand or fall by it viz. That as the assistance of the Holy Ghost infallibly secures the Church from Error so the assistance of God's Grace together with the cooperation of our Wills which is always in our power is an infallible security against Sin if put in ure For is not every Sin voluntary And if voluntary surely we may abstain from it it wou'd not be voluntary else For if we cannot abstain from it it is no more voluntary but necessary and therefore no Sin and have not we in several places of the Scripture a promise of the Assistance of God's Grace which is never wanting to our sincere Endeavours and if we have God's Grace and are able at least by this assistance to abstain from sin certainly we have an infallible Security against Sin and Vice or if we have it not how can it stand with the infinit goodness of God to condemn us eternally for that which we cannot avoid In short as it is most agreeable to his infinit goodness and mercy to condemn no Man for what he cannot help so it is but reasonable we shou'd believe he has given us such means as will infallibly secure us if it be not our own fault both from Errors in matters of Faith and from Sin and Vice in matters of Practice But with this difference that Free-will without which there can be no reward or punishment by not cooperating with Grace falls into Sin and Vice whereas the assistance of the holy Ghost depending of no such condition as to its effect infallibly attains its end and preserves the Church from Error in matters of Faith Object 6. All things necessary to be known either in Faith or Practice are clear and plain in Scripture therefore there is no need of an Infallible Church Answ This is a Fundamental Principle I think I may truly say with all Protestants The Dr. I am sure repeats it several Times and lays great Stress upon it But in establishing this Principle he does two things which I suppose he wou'd not willingly allow of had he but well consider'd them 1. He makes any Man of sense that can read the Scripture as infallible as the whole Catholic Church pretends to be 2. He justifies in a great measure all the Heretics that ever denied any Points of Faith on pretence that they are not plain in Scripture 1. He makes any Man of sense that can read the Scriptures as Infallible as the whole Catholic Church pretends to be For the Catholic Church pretends only to be Infallible in necessary Articles of Faith Now if all things necessary to be known in Faith and Practice be clear and plain in Scripture there is no Man of sense that
reads it but may be as Infallible in what is clear and plain as any Church or Churches in the World For what is clear and plain to a Man that he is as Sure and Certain of as if all the Mathematicians in the World had demonstrated it to him since a Demonstration serves for no other end than to make a thing clear and plain So that this worthy grave Doctor necessarily vests in every private Man that Infallibility which he endeavours with so much earnestness to deny to the whole Catholic Church And surely if one single Man be Infallible when he interprets Scripture concerning necessary Articles of Faith how much surer can the same privilege be ascrib'd to a learned assembly of Divines compos'd of the whole Church The Dr. is then forc'd volens nolens even by his own Principles to admit an Infallibility 2. He Justifies in a great measure all the Heretics that ever denied any Points of Faith on pretence that they are not plain in Scripture For Instance the Socinians are Generally Men of Learning and their Ingenious Writings do sufficiently witness to the World they want neither sense nor judgment yet they solemnly declare they do not find one Text in Scripture which proves clearly and plainly the Divinity of Jesus Christ or a Trinity of Persons in One God in a True and proper sense which notwithstanding is one of the Greatest Mysteries of our Faith What must we say of these Men Can we imagin they wou'd be so great Enemies to their own Salvation as to deny this great Mystery if it were clearly and plainly set down in Scripture And if it be not with what face can Protestants condemn the Socinians who openly profess to follow their Principles and do for that very Reason reject this Mistery because it is not plain in Scripture Or how will they be able to convince them upon this Principle since they are ready as they have often declar'd to believe the Mystery of the Trinity if it cou'd be made out that it is clearly and plainly contain'd in the Scripture But why do I say convince them Alas They are so far from any such thing that the Absurd and Ridiculous Systems of many of their Doctors in their Answers to the accute and Ingenious Pamphlets of these Heretics proclaim loudly to the World that the Socinians have got the better and fairly beat them at their own Weapons And thus in rejecting the Authority of the Church which Christ commands us to hear on no less penalty than of being reputed Heathens and Publicans they have open'd a door for these and all other Sects who are daily cutting their Throats with those very weapons Themselves have put into their Hands CHAP. III. Of the Pope's Supremacy VVHat we believe to be of Faith concerning this Point is this That the Pope or Bishop of Rome is the Successor of St. Peter and as such Head of the Catholic Church That the Bishop of Rome is Successor of St. Peter I hope I need not prove since there is nothing in History more universally attested by all Ancient and Modern Writers Nor was it ever yet question'd that I cou'd find 'till some Protestants in this and in the last Age without the least Grounds in Antiquity had the Assurance to dispute it whose Opinions notwithstanding are exploded by most of their own Learned Writers See Dr. Cave in the Life of St. Peter The main Bus'ness then is to shew that this Prerogative was confer'd upon St. Peter And for this we have several Texts of Scripture in which it is plain 1. That Christ confer'd this Dignity upon Him 2. That the Evangelist giving the Names of the 12 Apostles marks particularly his Primacy And 3. That after Christ's Ascension he took upon him this Character always speaking first and moving to the Rest of the Apostles whatever was to be debated 1. Christ confer'd this Dignity upon him I say unto thee that thou art Peter or â—as the Greek has it a Rock and upon this Rock I will build my Church Mat. 16. Jesus saith to Simon Peter Simon Son of Jonas Lovest thou me more than these John 21. And a little after feed my Lambs again feed my Sheep feed my Sheep And the Lord said Luke 22.31 32. Simon Simon behold Satan hath desir'd to have you that he may sift you as Wheat but I have prais'd for thee that thy Faith fail not and when thou art converted confirm thy Brethren The English Translators carrying no doubt an Eye upon this Controversie have rendred it strengthen thy Brethren because a Charge of Confirming others does too plainly denote a Superiority I shall make no other Reflections upon these Texts only desire the Reader to observe that this particular pointing out of Peter as a Rock to build the Church upon the especial Charge of feeding Christ's Lambs and Sheep by which the Holy Fathers have always understood both People and Pastors and the Confirming of his Brethren viz. The Rest of the Apostles must surely denote some particular Mark and Character above the Rest 2. The Evangelist in giving the Names of the 12 Apostles marks particularly St. Peters's Primacâ— Now the Names of the twelve Apostles are these the first Simon Mat. 10. who is called Peter 'T is certain that Peter was not the first Disciple of the twelve nor yet the eldest Man for his Brother Andrew was sooner a Disciple and older than Peter And most certainly Christ did not design the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for a Primacy of Ceremony or Civility but for that of Order and Jurisdiction at least as far as it was requisite to found the peace and unity of the Church 3. After Christ's Ascension Peter took upon him this Character Acts of the Apostles cap. 1. He stands up discourses at large upon the fall of Judas and lays before the Apostles and Disciples the Necessity of substituting an other in his Room chap. 2. When the Disciples were fill'd with the Holy-Ghost and spoke with other Tongues and the Multitude thought they were drunk Peter lifts up his voice and gives an account of that miraculous Gift His Spâ—ech in the Temple cap. 3. His defence before the Rulers and Elders in Jerusalem cap. 4. His Sentence upon Ananias and Saphira cap. 5. And many other passages to this purpose found in the same Volum are convincing Proofs of this Truth but more especially that famous Council of the Apostles related cap. 15. Where after much disputing Peter rose up first shew'd the Apostles what conduct they were to keep in regard of the converted Gentils and concluded in a manner the debate with this Sentence Now therefore why tempt ye God to put a Yoke upon the neck of the Disciples which neither our Fathers nor we were able to bear c. So that if we had never been taught any thing else concerning Peters Primacy his conduct in these affairs were enough for any unprejudic'd Man to conclude that either
Ordinary Rule the Council of Trent does not in the least favour their Pretension I shall subjoin the very Words of that Council and leave it to speak for it self Since Experience sheweth that Cum experimento manifestumsit si Sacra Biblia vulgari lingua passim sine discrimne permittantur plus inde ob Hominum temeritatem detrimenti quam utilitatis oriri hac in parte Judicio Episcopi aut Inquisitoris stetur ut cum consilio Patochi vel Confessarij Bibliorum a Catholicis authoribus verlorum lectionem in vulgari lingua eis concedere possint quos intellexerint ex hujusmodi lectione non damnum sed fidei atque pietatis augmentum capere posse quam facultatem in scriptis habeant De lib. proh Reg. 4. if the Sacred Bible were permitted Indifferently and without Distinction in vulgar Language such a Liberty by reason of Men's Rashness wou'd occasion more hurt than good Be it left to the Bishop's or Inquisitor's Judgment by and with the Advice of the Parish priest or Confessor to give leave to read the Versions of Catholic Authors in vulgar Language to such as may in their Opinion receive not a Loss but an Increase of Faith and Piety thereby Which Leave they are to have in Writing De lib. prob Reg. 4. Hence I think it is plain the Council is so far from locking up the Scripture in an unknown Tongue that it gives free Leave to every one whom the Bishop or Inquisitor with the Advice of the Parish priest or Confessor shall judge meet to read it in vulgar Language And since there is nothing so proper nor so powerful to increase Faith and Piety in a Meek and Humble Soul as the Sacred Scripture 't is plain that no sincere Christian is barr'd by this Decree from the use of it in vulgar Language And if any such shou'd happen to be refus'd leave to read it which we have no Reason to suppose 't is contrary to the Spirit and Intention of the Council who orders that Persons so dispos'd may have the free use of them And however this no great Restraint was necessary in those Days when Mens minds were in a Ferment and the Itch of Novelty had seiz'd them as it commonly happens when any new Opinions are broach'd yet when they began to see with their own Eyes and became more Still and Calm the Governors of the Church were so far from hindring them the use of the Scripture or putting this Decree in execution that they exhort all Persons to Read and Meditate upon them as the most effectual means to bring them acquainted with the Will of God and their Duty to Him And now methinks Dr. Tillotson and his Party are of all Others the unfittest to reproach us this Conduct considering that most of the Learned Men of his Church do ingenuously own that the promiscuous use of the Scripture allow'd to all sorts of Persons and their private Interpretations thereof was in a great measure the cause of all the Different Sects that sprung up and divided themselves from their Communion As to what he says that Christ exhorts the Jews to search the Scriptures that St. Luke commends the Berâ—ans for so doing and that the Holy Fathers do earnestly recommend the Reading and Study of the Scriptures I acknowledge the truth of this saying I will add to it that all the Art and Industry all the Rhetoric and Eloquence in the World have not that Force and Efficacy upon Pious and Virtuous Souls that the serious Reading and Meditating upon the Holy Scriptures hath yet this notwithstanding since Experience hath taught us that as the Spider extracts Poison out of the same Flower whence the Bee gathers Honey so I believe no Man can doubt considering all the Schism and horrid Impieties now maintain'd but that the rankest Soul-killing Poison has been often extracted out of the sacred Scriptures not out of any Defect in them but thro' the deprav'd Disposition and Supercilious Pride of the Readers And therefore I think it is the least the Church cou'd do in a time of confutation and disorder such as was that of the Council of Trent when so many were gapeing after Novelty and setting up for Heads of new Sects to moderate the Use and Reading of those Sacred Writings But still so as not to shut up the Fountain of Life nor hinder all Good and Virtuous Christians to drink of that Living-Water which tho' little Restraint was yet by Degrees abated as Men began to entertain Thoughts of Peace and Quiet and in a few Years after was insensibly taken away in many Countries by a Tacit Admission of the Reading of Scripture in vulgar Languages to all sorts of people And this I am sure no Body can justly deny to be the Case of the R. Catholic Church in regard of the present Debate which how agreeable to Sense and Reason and to the Piety and Care of a Tender Mother let even the most Inveterate of our Adversaries judge Touching the fourth viz. It cannot be imagin'd how people shou'd square or measure their Faith by this Rule unless they were allow'd to Read and Understand it Answ The Answer to this Objection is sufficiently imply'd in what I spoke to the former I shall therefore add these few Words only That the Word of God is the Rule of our Faith but whether it be convey'd to us by Writing or by Word of Mouth methinks the Scripture it self declares in favour of the latter For Christ our Lord as the Evangelists say commanded his Disciples to go and preach the Gospel but we do not find that He gave any Injunction about giving his Word in Writing to the people in order to learn their Faith However since it is confess'd that the Sacred Scriptures are excellent Means to edifie our Faith and compose our Manners we do earnestly and heartily recommend them to the Study and Meditation of the People Concerning the last viz. That we therefore lock up the Scripture in an unknown Tongue because it is certain that if the common people were once brought to understand the Scripture they wou'd soon quit us and go over to them Answ This Proposition is false in all its Circumstances 1. That we do not lock up the Scripture in an unknown Tongue is already prov'd 2. That the common People wou'd not quit our Religion c. will easily appear if we consider that by the same Rule our Scholars and Men of Letters who understand the Scripture in that Language which they call unknown shou'd have quitted us which he well knew they do not Men of Breeding and Sense are less apt to be pleas'd with Superstition and Error than the common ordinary People and we cannot suppose they shou'd have less Regard for the good of their Souls than ordinary people and yet since those Men from whom we cannot if we wou'd conceal any thing in our Faith or Practice do not go over to them but persist in our Communion
challenge the Attention of the most obstinate especially when deliver'd by a Man in a High Station This with some other Considerations moved me to examine the Sermons of Doctor Tillotson late Arch-Bishop of Canterbury to see if the intrinsick Value of his Coin be answerable to the Lustre and outward Appearance of it This ingenâ—ous Man has taken a great deal of Pains to convince the World of his Skill in Controversie and has delivered his Thoughts in such fine smooth Language that in my Opinion very few of his Brethren can equal him in the Elegancy of his Stile We have eight Volumns in 8vo of his Sermons in which he seems to have exhausted the Treasure of his Eloquence in combating the most essential Points controverted betwixt Catholics and Protestants viz. The Infallibility of the Church the Pope's Supremacy Transubstantiation Communion in one kind Prayers in an unknown Tongue as he is pleased to call it Invocation of Saints Worship of Images his own words Purgatory and Indulgences Tho' this be not the Order I find he observes in handling these Points but treats of 'em a little confusedly as suited best with his Texts yet for method Sake I chose to lay 'em down in this order being as I suppose the more natural to treat of the most material Points before I come to those that seem to be of less Importance In the handling then of this important Piece of Controversie I shall with God's Assistance observe this Method First I will lay down what the Roman Catholics believe as of Faith concerning these Points Secondly I will prove their Tenets with Reason Scripture and Authority of Fathers tho' of this there should seem little need considering that it has been so often already done were it not that my Business is with the simple and ignorant whom I would willingly instruct in the Grounds of their own Faith as well as to caution them against the Subtilities of their Adversaries Thirdly I will answer all the material Objections which Dr. Tillotson brings against the said Tenets and do faithfully promise that where I do not quote his own words for that I cannot always do by reason they are in many places very long I shall not extenuate nor diminish to the best of my Knowledge the Force of his Arguments nor wrest his Words to any other Sense than what they naturally bear in any other Man's Mouth or Writings But before I begin it will not be amiss to lay down the Foundation on which this Ingenuous Man builds his Controversie a Foundation indeed whose Superstructure had it been so true and solid as it is artificially contrived would in a great measure justifie the Church of England and all other Protestant's Separation from their ancient Brethren and silence the R. Catholics from fastning the Imputation of Schism and Heresie upon them But how far this is from what it seems to be let the Reader judge when the Mask is taken off Dr. Tillotson's Fundamental Principle then is this Whatever is plain and evident to our Senses and Reason is to be believed tho' all the Churches and Men in the World should perswade us to the contrary Thus far I own he is in the right but what he infers from thence namely that this is the Protestants Case in regard of the Papists as he is pleased to call the R. Catholicks requires something more than Herculean Labours to prove He owns indeed and that for Reasons well known to the World that in things doubtful and obscure every private Man ought to hear the Church and receive her Interpretation but in things that are plain and evident nay as evident as that twice two make four I wou'd stand alone says he against all the World His own Words are thus as I find them in the fifth Volume of his Sermons pag. 16. In all matters of Faith and Practise which are plain and evident either from Natural Reason or from Divine Revelation this Resolution seems to be very reasonable But in things doubtful a modest Man and every Man hath Reason to be so would be apt to be staggered by the Judgement of a very Wise Man and much more of many such and especially by the unanimous Judgement of the Generality of Men. But in things plainly contrary to the evidence of Sense or Reason or the Word of God a Man would complement no Man or Number of Men nor would he pin his Faith upon any Church in the World much less upon any single Man no not the Pope no tho' there were never so many probable Arguments brought for the Proof of his Infallibility In this Case a Man wou'd be singular and stand alone against the whole World against the Wrath and Rage of a King and all the Terrours of his fiery Furnace as in other matters a Man wou'd not believe all the Learned Men in the World against the clear Evidence of Sense and Reason If all the great Mathematicians of all Ages Archimedes and Euclid and Apollonius and Diophantus c. could be supposed to meet together in a General Council and should there declare in the most solemn manner and give it under their Hands and Seals that twice two did not make four but five this would not move me in the least to be of their mind nay I who am no Mathematician wou'd maintain the contrary and wou'd persist in it without being in the least startled by the positive Opinion of these Learned Men and wou'd most certainly conclude that they were either all of them out of their Wits or that they were byassed by some Interest or other and swayed against the clear Evidence of Truth and the full Conviction of their own Reason to make such a Determination as this They might indeed over-rule the point by their Authority but in my inward Judgement I should still be where I was before Just so in Matters of Religion if any Church tho' with never so glorious a pretence to Infallibility should declare for Transubstantiation that is that the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament by virtue of the Consecration of the Priest are Substantially changed into the natural Body and Blood of Christ this is so notoriously contrary both to the Sense and Reason of Mankind that a Man would chuse to stand single in the opposition of it and laugh at or rather pity the rest of the World that could be so servilely blind as seeming to conspire in the Belief of so monstrous an Absurdity And in like manner if any Church should declare that Images are to be worshipped or that the Worship of God is to be performed in an unknown Tongue and that the Holy Scriptures which contain the Word and Will of God and teaches Men what they are to believe and do in order to their eternal Salvation are to be lock'd up and kept concealed from the People in a Language which they do not understand lest if they were permitted the free use of them in their Mother Tongue
they should know more of the Mind and Will of God than is convenient for the common people to know whose Devotion and Obedience to the Church does chiefly depend upon their Ignorance Or should declare that the Sacrifice of Christ was not offer'd once for all but is and ought to be repeated ten millions of times every day and that the people ought to receive the Communion in one kind only and the Cup by no means to be trusted with them for fear the prophane Beards of the Laity should drink of it and that the saving Efficacy of the Sacraments doth depend upon the Intention of the Priest without which the Receiver can have no Benefit by them These are all of them so plainly contrary to Scripture and most of them in reason so absurd that the Authority of no Church whatsoever can oblige a Man to the Belief of them Thus far the Dr. Here you see Christian Reader a Great Orator and Divine teaching from the Pulpit and Press that Sense Reason and Scripture are all on the Protestant's side in the aforesaid controverted Points as clear and evident as that twice two make four Here you see him arraign all the Patriacks Primats Arch-Bishops Bishops Doctors Vniversities and even all Kings Princes Peers Magistrates together with the common people of all Countries and Provinces of the West as also the Greek Church and all the Countries and Provinces in Communion with it all these Learned and Pious Christians I say that flourisht in and Governed this part of the World when Martin Luther appeared upon the Theatre this worthy Man arraigns for Fools and Madmen I say for Fools and Madmen for all these Patriarchs Primats Kings Princes c. professed in those days to be guided by their Senses by natural Reason and by the Word of God contained in the Holy Scriptures and yet all of them believed the very same concerning the said Points the R. Catholics do now Surely then they must have been all Fools and Madmen if Sense Reason and Scripture be as clear and evident on the Protestant's side as that twice two make four For who ever in his wits denied that twice two do make four Or in his right Senses ever affirmed that white was black or black white Or that any of our Senses when they are perfect do not give irrefragable Testimony of their proper Objects Or that plain and evident Texts of Scripture were not to be believed These monstrous Absurdities the Dr. fastens upon all the Eminent and learned Men of the Eastern and Western Churches which flourisht not only when Martin Luther rose up but also by his own Acknowledgement for at least several Ages before him which is in effect to Brand them all with the Ignominious Character of Fools and Madmen If all the great Mathematicians of all Ages saith the Dr. could be supposed to meet together in a General Council and there declare in the most solemn manner that twice two did not make four but five I should most certainly conclude that they were either all of them out of their Wits or byassed by some Interest or other But good God! What should byass any Man in his Wits much less any Society of learned Men to declare against a thing so clear and evident Nothing surely less than Phrensy or Madness But let us hear the Application Just so in matters of Religion continues the Dr. if any Church shou'd declare for Transubstantiation that is that the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament by virtue of the Consecration of the Priest are Substantially changed into the Body and Blood of Christ this is so notoriously contrary both to the Sense and Reason of Mankind that a Man would chuse to stand single in the opposition and laugh at or rather pity the rest of the World c. The Dr. knew very well and so do all the learned Protestants in the World that the Latin and Greek Churches and all in Communion with them have not only declared for but have always believed at least for several Ages Transubstantiation as aforesaid If it be then so notoriously contrary both to the Sense and Reason of Mankind as the Dr. would suggest all those Men whereof a great number had at least the Reputation of being both Learned and Virtuous must necessarily have been all of them out of their wits or byassed by some prejudice which most certainly cou'd be nothing else but the extremity of Madness and Folly their eternal Damnation being necessarily consequent upon such a Belief He pursues the same comparison instancing in the rest of the Controverted Points aforesaid But what Man in his right Senses would believe that any one Nation much less all Europe should conspire to renounce all those means which God has given them to acquire the Knowledge of things viz. Sense Reason and the Word of God without which it is impossible to know any thing especially in a matter which so highly concerns them Or who wou'd not rather believe that Dr. Tillotson was mightily mistaken than that the best part of Mankind should make Shipwrack of that which alone distinguishes them from Beasts nay who would not rather believe that either he himself had been out of his Wits Or that he designed to impose upon Mankind so strange a paradox as that hundreds of millions of Learned and Ingenious Men should conspire to declare against that which is both their everlasting Interest and constitutes them Men since neither he nor any Man else cou'd ever instance in one single Man in his wits that ever was guilty of such a Folly This I must confess is one of the most surprizing nay the most intollerable Charges that ever was laid to Mankind and yet how monstrous and absurd soever it appears 't is no less than what was absolutely necessary to support the Cause the Dr. had undertaken He was it seems well read in that famous Dispute betwixt Dr. Hammond and Mr. Serjeant concerning Schism The former wrote a Book in Vindication of the Church of England from the Imputation of Schism which the R. Catholics charge her with The latter answers his Book in an other entituled Schism disarmed Dr. Hammond writes a Reply to this and Mr. Serjeant adds a Rejoinder to that which he calls Schism dispatcht Now to know what relates to our purpose in this Dispute you must understand that Dr. Hammond in the first Chapter of his Defence of the Church of England in his Description of Schism paints it in its own horrid and dreadful Shape as the Scripture and Holy Fathers of the Primitive Church had done before him viz. That it is Carnality Self-condemning contrary to Charity bereaving one of the benefit both of Prayers and Sacraments as bad as and the Foundation of all Heresies that there is scarce any Crime so great as Schism not Sacriledge Idolatry Parricide that it is obnoxious to peculiar Marks of God's Indignation Antichristianism worshipping or serving the Devil not expiable by Martyrdom
very hard if not impossible to receive such an Injury or Provocation from the Governours of the Church as may make a Separation excusable impossible according to St. Austin that there should be any just cause for any to separate from the Church truly Catholic Thus far the Dr. and indeed very right only where the Fathers condemn him and his party he is so much a Friend to his Cause as to alter the Phrase a little For instance whereas St. Ireneus says absolutely It is impossible to receive such an Injury or Provocation from the Governours of the Church as to make a Separation excusable he saw very well that if no kind of Injury or Provocation cou'd justifie a Separation himself and his Party stood condemned in that Holy Fathers Opinion and therefore he changed the word Impossible into very hard if not impossible tho' in the Greek which some will have to be the original or Latin Translation there is not the least colour for it So where St. Austin saith That it is impossible there should be any just Cause for any to separate from the Catholic Church He softens the Expression changing Catholic Church into the Church truly Catholic pretending if I may presume to spell his meaning that they did not separate from the Church truly Catholic tho' they had separated from all other Societies and Congregations in the World upon a ridiculous Pretence as if the Catholic Church and the Church truly Catholic were two different things or where the Expression seems too harsh he thinks himself sufficiently entituled to moderate it as where the Holy Father St. Austin says There is no Crime so great as Schism he makes bold with his Words rendring them thus there is scarce any Crime so great as Schism Mr. Serjeant to whose great Wit and indefatigable Labour we are obliged for several other Learned and Ingenious Works in these two excellent Treatises presses his Antagonist to purge himself and his party of the guilt of Schism since he owns they had made a separation from that Church in whose communion they and their Ancestors were since they imbraced the Christian Faith But among other pressing Arguments he urges this which in my opinion is enough to open any man's eyes that has not sworn never to see the Sun Dr. Hammond gathers from Fathers and Scripture that Schism is so horrid a sin that there is scarce any crime I give you his own words so great not Sacriledg Idolatry parricide not expiable by Martyrdom very hard if not impossible to receive such an injury or provocation from the Church as may make a separation excuseable Impossible according to St. Augustin that there shou'd be any just cause for any to separate from the Church truly Catholic whence Mr. Serjeant reasons thus No Man in his Wits much less any body of Learned Men ought to separate from the Church or withdraw themselves from its Authority unless they had a clear and evident Conviction both that this Separation waâ— absolutely necessary and that the Authority pretended by the Church was a manifest usurpation because they would else incur that horrid guilt of Schism But Dr. Hammond and his Party are so far from having any such Evidence or Conviction for either the one or the other that nothing is pretended but bare probabilities and conjectures Consequently it is the last of madness and folly in Dr. Hammond and his Party to persist in their Separation Now Dr. Tillotson who was a very acute Man foreseeing what effect so plain a Demostration was like to have upon such as tendered the Salvation of their Souls being however resolved to maintain the Cause at any rate cou'd bethink himself of nothing sufficient to justifie so dangerous a Separation less than a clear and evident Demonstration of the necessity of it And this in my opinion was the Reason why he undertook to demonstrate that in regard of the aforesaid controverted Points the common sense of Man-kind natural Reason and the Scripture were as clear and evident on the Protestant's side as that twice two make four But what if I shew that he is so far from having any such Evidence on his side that there is not one of all these Points in which he instances but what is destitute of even the least probable Argument to support it Nay I go farther what if I demonstrate that the R. Catholics have all the Evidence and Reason that the nature of such things will bear for what they hold concerning these Points Then surely I may reasonably hope that Rational Men who ought to tender the welfare of their Immortal Souls will be so just to themselves as seriously to consider into what horrible and dangerous crimes they are drawn by the wilfulness of Men who are resolved to maintain a Separation which all the world knows was begun for no other end than to countenance Things that I am unwilling to name but are too well known to be concealed This I shall endeavour by the assistance of God's Grace to perform in the following Chapters when I have first laid down that chief and fundamental Point of all Controversies namely the Infallibility of the Church CHAP. I. Of the Infallibility of the Church THE R. Catholics hold that the Church is infallible that is cannot err in delivering the Doctrine she received from Jesus Christ nor mistake in her Explanation thereof when by Heretics wrested and perverted to a wrong sense The ground of which Tenet I conceive to be this that Christ has provided such efficacious means for the conveyance of Truth to all succeding Ages as will infallibly secure the Church from error in her Decrees concerning Articles of Faith This Point is to be managed with so much the more perspicuity and clearness by how much it is of greater importance than any other It will be therefore requisite to take some pains to satisfie Mens Reasons and if it be possible to make this Truth so clear and evident that those whose Interest and Prejudices make them unwilling to own it may at least be ashamed to deny it And methinks I have this peculiar advantage in this undertaking that every Pious Christian who tenders the welfare of his Soul cannot chuse but wish me success because I undertake the Proof of that which it is every Man's Interest it shou'd be true for if I can shew that there is an Infallible Church and that such a Congregation of Faithful is that Church then all Christians who are Solicitous about the true Church and the means of Salvation and agitated with various Scruples and Difficulties and which is more dreadful threatned with Hell and Damnation by the furious Zeal of different Parties may sit still and hear what the Infallible Church says to them In the handling then of this important Truth I shall do these three Things First I will endeavour to shew that there is a Church or Congregation of Faithful which is Infallible in her Decisions and Declarations
Intimation in Scripture of this Priviledge confer'd upon the Church of Rome and it is strange the Ancient Fathers in their Disputes against Heretics shou'd never Appeal to this Judge c. That there is not only Intimation but even plain Texts of Scripture which denote the Churche's Infallibility is what I think is already sufficiently Prov'd And since it is likewise Prov'd that the Roman Church or which is the same thing the Congregation of Faithful in Communion with it is the Catholic Church I think it is a necessary ' Consequence that there are plain Texts of Scripture that prove the Infallibility of the Church of Rome Nor is it less certain that the Ancient Fathers in their Disputes against Heretics did Appeal to this Judge For in those days there was no other Means to convince Heretics of their Errors but by the Authority of the Church In the primitive Times New Heresies sprung up as many if not more than in any of our latter Ages yet there was no other Rule or Standard to judge these Errors by the Canonical Books of Scripture not being collected or put together at least in 150 Years after the Foundation of the Church and then not one Book of it all whose Authority or Credit was not question'd by some Heretic or other How was it then possible for the Ancient Fathers to confute these Hereties unless they had Appeal'd to the Authority of the Church and told them that this is the Doctrine of the Catholic Church this is what we receiv'd from our Fore-fathers And this is what all the Christian World believes Neither is it true that the ancient Fathers did not Appeal to this Judge even when the Scripture was collected and receiv'd as the Word of God Read but St. Ireneus Contra Haeres Tertul de Praescript Epipha de Haeres St. Austin cont Epist Fund and many more and you shall find how much the Doctor was mistaken in this bus'ness I do not cite the passages of these Fathers because they are so well known and so often quoted by Others who wrote upon this Subject But let this of St. Austin to use the Doctors own Phrase be instead of a thousand I wou'd not believe the Gospel Cont. Epist Funda were it not that the Authority of the Church moves me to it The second Objection is in Answer to a Certain Passage in the Canon Law Vol. 3. pag. 94. where it is said That if every Man may judge for himself there will be nothing but Confusion in Religion there will be no End of Controversies And that our Lord had not seem'd to be Discreet * The Drs Translation of the Latin has it so if he had not provided for the Assurance of Men's Faith by giving them an Infallible Judge To this he says that if this Reasoning be good we may as well conclude that there is an Universal Infallible Judge in Temporal Matters but it is evident in Fact and Experience says he that there is no such Judge in Temporal Matters consequently nor in Matters of Faith Answ Had there been an Universal Infallible Judge appointed in Temporal Matters it wou'd doubtless contribute very much to the Peace and Tranquility of the World if He were Obey'd but very little to the Means wherewith God Almighty designs to bring his chosen People to the Kingdom of Heaven which is to exercise them with Fiery Tryals and make them pass thro' much Tribulation And therefore He permits the Cruelty of Tyrants to try the patience of Martyrs and suffers the Oppression of the Poor on Earth to enhance their Reward in Heaven So that the Cruelty or Errors of a Temporal Judge do rather increase than diminish the Happiness of the Just But the Case is far otherwise in spiritual Matters If the Judge shou'd spoil us of our Faith or err in Judging for us it wou'd cause our Eternal ruine our Damnation being necessarily consequent upon a False Belief And for that Reason the goodness of God seems to be so much the more engag'd to secure the Spiritual than the temporal Judge from error by how much the danger is the greater on that side and the Ruin more inevitable if we shou'd chance to Err. Christ threatens Damnation to all those that will not believe his Doctrine which how it can stand with his Infinit Goodness unless he had provided Infallible Means of conveying the Truth of this Doctrine to them it is hard to conceive In short Temporal Ease and Tranquility is of very little Moment even in this Life but of none at all in the next and therefore generally speaking God leaves Men in the Counsel of their own Hands and permits Them very often to disturb the public Peace and quiet of this World But the true Knowledge of his Divine Law and of the Mysteries of our Redemption are of so great importance to our Eternal Happiness that his Goodness will Infallibly secure it for us if it be not our own Fault Object 3. An Infallible Judge pag. 95 96. if there were one is no certain way to end Controversies and to preserve the Vnity of the Church unless it were likewise Infallibly Certain that there is such a Judge and who he is For till Men were sure of both these there wou'd be still a Controversie whether there be an Infallible Judge and who he is And if it be true which they tell us that without an Infallible judge Controversies cannot be ended then a Controversie concerning an Infallible judge can never be ended And there are two Controversies actually on foot about an Infallible Judge One whether there be an Infallible Judge or not Which is a Controversie between Vs and the Church of Rome And the other who this Infallible Judge is Which is a Controversie among themselves which cou'd never yet be decided And yet till it be decided Infallibility if they had it wou'd be of no use to them for the ending of Controversies Thus far the Drs. own Words Answ That there is an Infallible Judge is already prov'd Who that Judge is I have likewise manifestly shewn namely the Living Voice of all the Catholic Pastors and People agreeing in the same Points of Faith And if it be farther ask'd who those Pastors and People are I answer The same in Communion with the Pope as it is prov'd before And surely none will doubt but we may be Infallibly certain that these agree in the same Points of Faith Consequently we may be Infallibly certain both that there is an Infallible Judge and who that Judge is And if it be True which they tell us says the Doctor that without an Infallible Judge Controversies cannot be ended then a Controversie concerning an Infallible Judge can never be ended And why so Why may not an Infallible Judge end it Is not an Infallible Judge sufficient to end any Controversie whatsoever If the Church be Infallible and assisted by the Spirit of God for no other End than to
he was qualified by Jesus Christ for that Office or that he must be a very arrogant Man in taking so much upon him to the Diminution of the Honour and Esteem of his Fellow Apostles And if we put these three things together viz. 1. Christ's building his Church upon Peter giving him the Charge of feeding his Lambs and Sheep and the Power of Confirming his Brethren 2. The Evangelist pursuant to this Power not only reckoning him first amongst the Apostles but also calling him the First 3. Peter's exercising the Office and Charge of Head or Chief among the Apostles as aforesaid We shall plainly see that this Superiority is no Imaginary thing as our Adversaries wou'd make the World believe but a Real Truth grounded upon the Word of God And if this was confer'd upon Peter it is granted by all that the same Prerogative must necessarily devolve upon his lawful Successors the Bishops of Rome And indeed this was so publickly taught and profess'd by the Primitive Fathers and Councils as a necessary and fundamental Truth that many Learned Protestants have been forc'd to own it I shall instance in one Monsieur Blondel one of the most learned Protestants that ever writ against the Pope's Supremacy gives it this Testimony The Titles of the Apostle St. Peter saith he ought not to be put in debate since the Grecians and Pâ—otestants also do confess that it has been believ'd and that it might indeed be that he was the President and Head of the Apostles the Foundation of the Church and Possessor of the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven Again pag. 107. Rome being a Church consecrated by the Residence and Martyrdom of St. Peter whom Antiquity has acknowledg'd to be the Head of the College Apostolic having been honour'd with the Title of the Seat of the Apostle St. Peter might without Difficulty be consider'd by one of the most renowned Councils viz. that of Chalcedon as Head of the Church Thus far this Learned Man and surely nothing but the Evidence of this Truth cou'd extort so ingenuous a Confession from an Adversary in favour of â—â—me whose Supremacy he chiefly aim'd to pull down Now how far this Title gives him Superiority and Jurisdiction over all other Bishops I will not take upon me to determine This only I shall undertake to prove that the Fathers of the Primitive Church did believe St. Peter and his Successors the Bâ—shops of Rome to be by virtue of this Prerogative St. Peter Head and Chief amongst the Apâ—stles and the Bishop of Rome the same among all other Bishops and Center of Catholic Vnity and that the Bishop of Rome did exercise Jurisdiction as occasion offer'd over the Eastern as well as the Western Bishops even in the Primitive Times such as Excommunication receiving of Appeals Confirming and Deposing of Bishops c. For the Truth of all which we have besides the general Consent of the Church as Authentic Records next to the Scripture as for any matter of Fact whatsoever happening at so great a distance I shou'd never end if I shou'd cite all the Passages of Fathers and Councils and Ecclesiastical Writers which may be brought to prove this Point I will therefore Instance in a few only but they shall be such as will by the Greatness of their Authority and Clearness of Expression I hope be abundantly sufficient to compose this Difference And 1. St. Irenaeus speaks thus of the Church of Rome ad hanc Ecclesiam propter potentierem principalitatem necesse est omnem convenire Ecclesiam hoc est eos qui undiquâ— sunt Fideles Every Church that is the Faithful on every side must have recourse to this Church by reason of her more powerful Principality lib. 3. c. 3. 2. St. Cyprian thus of St. Peter Hoc erant utique caeteri Apostoli quod erat Petrus pari consortio praediti Potestatis Honoris Primatus tamen Pâ—tro datur ut una Christi Ecclesia Cathedra una monstretur The Rest of the Apostles were the same that St. Peter was endued with a like Fellowship of Power and Honour yet the Primacy is given to Peter that the One Church of Christ and one Chair might appear lib. de Unitat. Eccles 3. St. Ambrose Andreas prius secutus est Dominum quam Petrus tamen principatum non accepit Andreas sed Petrus Andrew follow'd Christ sooner than Peter yet Andrew did not receive the Principality but Peter in 2 Cor. 12. 4. St. Jerom. Propterea inter duodâ—cem unus eligitur ut capite constituto Schismatis toâ—latur occasio One is chosen among the twelve Apostles to the end that a Head being constituted all occasion of Schism may be taken away Cont. Jovin 5. St. Chrysostom The Pastor and Head of the Church was a Fisherman Hom. 55. in Cap. 16. Mat. 6. St. Augustin In Ecclesia Romana semper viguit Apostoliâ—ae Cathedrae Principatus The Principality of the Apostolic Chair has always flourish'd in the Church of Rome Epist 162. 7. The General Council of Chalcedon We throughly consider that all Primacy and Chief Honour is to be kept for the Bishop of old Rome Act. 16. This was the General Language not only of the Fathers of this Council but even of all Antiquity both in public Assemblies and private Writings the primitive Fathers and Councils always deferring the chief Honour and Primacy to the See of St. Peter as they generally phrase it And indeed tho' the Bishops of Constantinople have always been observ'd to be very ambitious to advance their own See above all others and to have procur'd in two General Councils viz. in the first Council of Constantinople and in that of Chalcedon to have that See prefer'd to Alexandria and Antioch and plac'd next after Rome yet we do not find that any Council or Father did ever dispute with the Bishop of Rome in Point of Primacy or Jurisdiction in so much was all Antiquity perswaded and convinc'd that he was the Chief and Supreme visible Head of the whole Catholic Church Thus much concerning the Primacy of St. Peter and his Successors which yet is not the one half of what may be alledg'd for this Point Now I wou'd willingly beg of any of our Adversaries to Answer me to these few Queries Whether these Holy Fathers did not believe the Primacy of St Peter and his Successors when they spoke so plainly in favour of it Whether they did not understand and were well instructed in the Doctrine of the whole Catholic Church touching this Point Whether they had a mind to flatter the Bishop of Rome or to grant him any more Authority and Power over themselves than was justly due to him And whether it be not an excess of Folly and Weekness to say no worse in the Protestants now fifteen hundred Years after to dispute that Prerogative which is so manifestly acknowledg'd by so many Eminent Martyrs and Confessors and great Doctors of the Primitive Church That the Bishop of
the East for the Corfirmation and Depâ—sition of Bishops and for such other Acts of Jurisdiction as depended of the Apostolic See I might bring more Instances to this purpose from the most approv'd Writers of ancient and modern History but let these suffice for the Proof of a thing so universally attested by all Antiquity And now if neither plain Texts of Scripture declaring this Prerogative to have been confer'd upon St. Peter and plainly shewing his exercising of it on several Occasions nor the Authority of so many Holy Fathers and Councils of the Primitive Times manifestly defferring the same Privilege to his Successors nor the Testimony of two of the most celebrated Historians of Antiquity publicly witnessing that the Church of Rome had the Priviledge to hear and restore the Patriarchs and Bishops of the East and that the Bishop of Rome follow'd or acted according to the Laws of the Church when he commanded or cited the Eastern Bishops Patriach and all to appear before him nor yet the Consent which the Evidence of the thing has extorted from some Ingenuous and Learned Protestants in favour of this Truth If all this I say will not open our Adversaries Eyes to see the Pope's Supremacy all I can do for their Service is to pray to Almighty God that he wou'd be pleas'd to take away from their Hearts that vail of Prejudice which hinders them to see so manifest a Truth But of this enough let us now see the Objâ—ctions Against this Tenet the Doctor objects 1. That the Bishop of Rome as Successor of St. Peter there Vol. 6. pag. 155. cannot be the Supreme and universal Pastor of Christ's Church by Divine Appointment because saith he there is not the least mention of this in Scripture 2. That it is against reason to found the Pope's Supremacy in being Successor of St. Peter pag. 156. at Rome whereas it shou'd rather pertain to the Bishop of Antioch where Peter was first Bishop To the first I answer that by all these Titles is only meant that the Pope is Head of the Church and the Center of Catholic Unity and no more is requir'd of any Man to believe concerning this Point Now that there is not only mention but even Texts of Scripture clearly proving St. Peter whose undoubted Successor all the World knows to be the Bishop of Rome to have been made the Head of the Church of Christ is already made out 'T is true the Scripture makes no mention of these Words supreme and universal Pastor no more does it of the Word consubstantial yet the Fathers of the Nicene Council did not scruple to make a Fundamental Article of Faith of it and carefully inserted it in their Creed because they judg'd it very proper to express their Belief concerning the Divinity of Jesus Christ In like manner tho' some Catholic Writers call the Bishop of Rome Supreme and Vniversal Pastor c. yet I do not see what Grounds the Doctor had to quarrel with them for that since all Catholics agree that they mean nothing else by these Words but that the Pope is Head of the Church and use them for no other end than to express more fully what it is to be Head of the Church But 't is very remarkable that no Sect ever separated from the Church who did not follow this Maxim They take hold of some words invented by the Church to declare more expresly such Articles of Faith as were contested and because these very Terms are not found in Scripture they cry immediately Victory as if our Faith consisted meerly in Words and not in what is meant by them To the Second I answer That it is much more against Reason nay altogether absurd to imagine that St. Peter whom the Dr. as well as I must in this case suppose to be Head of the Church shou'd come to Rome place his Chair in that City and yet leave his Authority behind him at Antioch This aiery Notion I am sure none of the Holy Fathers and Councils in the Primitive Times ever thought of on the contrary they have always consider'd the Bishop of Rome as Successor of St. Peter Head of the Church and Principle of Catholic Unity There are several Objections more of this Nature in the same Volume Pag. 244 245. c. And tho' most of them are levell'd at the Church of Rome yet I chuse to take notice of them under this Head rather than the former both because of their Affinity with this and for the Reader 's Satisfaction who I suppose won't be sorry to find them answer'd in the same order they lie 1. The Doctor grants that If the Roman Church be the Catholic Church it is necessary to be of that Communion because saith he out of the Catholic Church there is ordinarily no Salvation to be had But how do they prove continues he that the Roman Church is the Catholic Church They wou'd fain have us to be so civil as to take it for granted because if we do not they do not well know how to go about to prove it And after some pleasant Sallies of Rallery he concludes that to prove a part to be the whole is all one as to prove that the Roman Church is the Catholic Church To answer this Objection I say first that the Doctor here does very courteously justifie the Roman Catholics from that odious Imputation of Uncharitableness wherewith he elsewhere most grievously charges them for not allowing Protestants Salvation out of their Communion He grants that out of the Catholic Church there is ordinarily no Salvation to be had Now the Roman Catholics do sincerely believe that the Roman Church is the Catholic Church consequently when they say that there is ordinarily no Salvation out of it they cannot justly be charg'd with the least Uncharitableness since they have as it is already prov'd the greatest Assurance for that Belief that any thing of that Nature is capable of And if it be True as most certainly it is that the Roman Church is the Catholic Church then surely the Roman Catholics are so far from being uncharitable in this particular that it is one of the greatest Marks of their Charity to have that Love for their Erring Brethren as to mind them of the Hazard they run and exhort them to avoid it tho' they are sure they shall be hated for their Pains 2dly That he must be a great Stranger to our Divines and Controveâ—tists if he thinks as he here writes they do not well know how to go about to prove it Surely he must have been very ill read in the Writings of Bellarmin Peron Richelieu and hundreds of Catholic Divines who wrote on this subject when he advances so groundless shall I call it a Story And what as yet renders the thing more intollerable is that this is spoken out of a Pulpit where nothing but Truth and Sincerity shou'd as much as be mention'd In short this is matter of Fact The Catholic
here fasten upon us is so Gross and Palpable that it were to abuse the Reader 's Patience to insist long upon our Vindication They say we pray in an Vnknown Tongue and we say and are ready to prove that we pray in the Tongue the best known in Europe And we farther say that therefore we pray in it because it is so And I am sure They Themselves what ever they may say in the Heat of Disputes are upon all other Occasions ready to acknowledge this Truth However because we are commanded by St. Peter to be ready always to give an Answer to every Man 1 Pet. 3.15 that asketh us a Reason of the hope that is in us I shall endeavour to offer some of the Reasons why we pray in that Tongue which they call Vnknown and leave the Reader to judge whether our Adversaries have all the Reason they pretend to cry so loud 1. We make use of the Latin Tongue in our Liturgy because we wou'd not Recede from the Example and Practice of our Ancestors who from the first planting of Christianity to this Day whether in Rome or in any other Part of the Western Church us'd no other Language in the Liturgy than Latin And thus to follow the Model our Holy and Pious Fore-fathers left us the Scripture not only warrants but commands us to do Remember the Days of Old Deut. 32.7 consider the Years of many Generations Ask thy Father and he will shew thee thy Elders and they will tell thee 'T is certain and even acknowledg'd by our Aversaries that when the Christian Religion was first Preach'd in the West every Country had then as well as now it s own peculiar Language different from the Latin which tho' it was cultivated by Men of Letters and Bus'ness in all Countrys to which the Romans extended their Conquest yet the common people or Natives were generally Ignorant of And 't is no less Evident that the Apostles and Apostolical Men who preach'd and Propagated the Christian Religion in these Countrys were endued with a Power of working Miracles in Confirmation of the Truth of it and by their readiness to lay down their Lives and to shed their Blood for it gave sufficient Testimony of their Zeal and Charity for the common People as well as for the great Ones yet all the Records of Antiquity all the Ancient and Modern Liturgies together with the Universal Tradition of the Western Church and even the Consent of our Adversaries all these I say bear witness that neither the Apostles nor the Apostolical Men who first planted the Christian Faith in these Parts nor any succeeding Generation of Catholics did ever use in the public Liturgy of the Church any other Language than the Latin which 't is confess'd the common People Generally Speaking of all Countries except Italy are and have always been Ignorant of And therefore I think we may very safely tred in the steps of these our Holy Ancestors and be content with the Liturgy and Language they left us at least if we must be condemn'd for so doing we have the comfort to be condemn'd in Company with these Great and Holy Men to whose Doctrine and Practice God Himself was pleas'd to put His Seal 2. We must make use of this Language because we conceive it very necessary to have an Uniformity as much as is possible both in Faith and Practice that we may with one Heart and one Tongue Praise the Lord and Magnifie His holy Name The Catholic Church is One in Communion as well as in Faith Now how much one common Tongue in which the public Service of the Church is perform'd contributes to foment this Union the miserable Distractions and Divisions of our modern Reformers who have as many different Religions as they have different Tongues do but too manifestly Evince All the Members of the Catholic Religion ought to have Communion and Fellowship one with another They shou'd all be united in one common Faith and one uniform Worship of one God they ought all to be qualified for the Participation of the same Sacrament and to assist together at the same Public Divine Service wherever they meet else how can the Unity of their Faith and Communion subsist Now 't is hard to conceive how all this can be perform'd if we have our Liturgy in as many different Tongues as there are Countrys in the Catholic Church For how can I have fellowship with a Man whose Language I do not understand How can I joyn in Prayer or in God's public Worship with any Society of People when I cannot discern by any thing they do or say whether they are Catholics or Heretics Or how shall I receive the Sacrament in the Society of those who for any thing I can see or understand may be Jews or Blasphemers of my Holy Religion So that if we take away that Common Band that Common Language that unites and Cements all the Members of Christ's mystical Body the whole Frame of the Catholic Church will dissolve and falls to Pieces and we shall have as many different Churches as we have Tongues 3. We do not see what great loss the Common People suffer by not having the Liturgy in vulgar Tongues and if we had we are sure the good that might acrew to them by having it so is not so valuable as to be purchas'd at the Expence of the common Union and Peace of the whole Catholic Church which as experience shews is necessarily consequent upon such an Indulgence The most Part of the common People are taught at least to read in their own Language and if we except some of the Commonality of Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland who are industriously barr'd all sort of Education there is not one in a hundred even of the meanest of the Common sort who want this Help And then they have the whole Mass the Epistles and Gospels and Collects of all the Sundays in the Year together with all the Psalms in vulgar Languages in their Prayer-books which they may read to themselves in their own Tongue whilst the Priest reads them in Latin and which no doubt contributes more to their Edification than if the Priest had spoke in their own Tongue considering that in Catholic Countries where some Thousands are assembled it is not possible for the hundreth part of the Audience to hear what is said in what ever Language he speaks Add that the greatest part of the Mass is pronounc'd so low that scarce any that is present hears what is said the Rubric so commanding that the Priest may in the Silence of Recollection and Meditation be the better dispos'd to perform the Office in that August and Adorable Mystery with the Gravity and Decency that becomes it Besides on all Sundays and great Festivals throughout the Year there are in Catholic Countries public Sermons and Exhortations perform'd in Vulgar Language yea and public Prayers read in the Pulpit either before or after the
Sermon in which the people are instructed in their Duty to God and their Neighbours and excited to do Works of Charity to forgive their Enemies and to repent of their Sins to pray for the King and his Magistrats and for one onother In a word in which all the Duties and Obligations of a Christian are duly inculcated and all this I am sure they are at least in the Countries where I have been as careful to perform as they are to say the Mass So that notwithstanding what Protestants say all the Difference between them and us in this particular is that we do in vulgar Language very near all that they do and over and above give the people an Opportunity of adoring Jesus Christ and of quickning their Memory by the Representation of his Death and Passion which is perform'd in the Latin Mass Lastly If there were no other Reasons the Difficulty of translating the Liturgy into vulgar Languages and preserving it in its purity is enough to diswade us from the Undertaking The uniformity of our Liturgy is the best standing Monument we have of the Faith and Practice of our Ancestors 'T is it that shews us how they us'd to administer the Sacraments and what sort of Ceremonies they judg'd most proper to excite and stir up Devotion and to perform God's Service with that Gravity and Decency suitable to His Holy Religion Now if this Liturgie were translated into all the Vulgar Languages which Catholics use and which is so much subject to Alteration and Corruption even to that degree that what is spoken in one Age is scarce understood in an other at least is so nauseous and grateing that none but the meaner sort of People will hear it without disgust What endless Labour wou'd it prove to be thus every Age modeling and reforming and changing our Liturgies What Confusion and Disorders wou'd the Unskilfulness or the Fancy of Translators occasion Nay what Tumults and Uproars wou'd such frequent Alterations create both in Church and State whilst some to use King Henry VIII his Phrase stood up for their Old Mumpsimus and others for their New Sumpsimus is not easily Imagin'd And whatever our Adversaries may think on 't Experience shews us that this is no Imaginary but a Real and almost insuperable Difficulty For instance The Calvinistâ— in France made use of Marot's Translation of the Psalms and Sung them in their Temples as the French call them for a considerable Time but some of their Learned Ministers finding that this Translation was not agreeable to the Original nor even to decency and good behaviour but on the contrary was full of ridiculous lew'd and prophane expressions resolv'd to give the People a better and more perfect Translation Now what confusions and divisions this last created among the Brethren whoever is curious to know may consult the Writers of those Times Again The Church of England which without doubt is the best because the least Reform'd of the Protestant Party Translated the Scripture Compos'd a new Ordinal and a set Form of Prayer in Vulgar Language in Edward the Sixth's Time but these being found in Queen Elizabeth and King James's Days if we believe their own Writers deficient in many things and in others not agreeable to the then Protestant Religion which was not as yet perfectly lick'd into Shape and Form other new Translations are undertaken but how much confusion and trouble these also occasion'd the said Writers can best inform us Farther The Church of England is the Richest and if we may judge by their Works the most Charitable of all the Reformation yet there pass'd a hundred Years of the Reign of Protestanism before the Welsh were provided of a Liturgy in their own Language tho' most of the common People of that Country do not understand any other Tongue And to this day they have not furnish'd the Irish with a Liturgy in their own Language tho' many thousands in the North of Ireland and in the High-lands of Scotland go to Church which yet understand nothing but the Irish Tongue So that it is no such easie matter to furnish even the Subjects of one Crown with Liturgies in their own Language Now if it be so difficult to supply a few People with Liturgies in their own Tongue and so hard to contain them in their Duty when the said Liturgies must be alter'd Who can imagin all the Difficulties that wou'd attend the attempt shou'd the Catholic Church propose to translate her Liturgy into all the several Languages us'd in Europe Or who can conceive how it were possible for her to keep an Uniformity in Practice and Ceremony or to contain the People in their Duty if she must change her Liturgy every hundred Years or less and speak a new Language The Gentry and Better sort of People cannot abide to have their Ears grated with Obsolete Antick Expressions and the common People who think the Substance chang'd with the Words will not part with their old Mumpsimus And then what fine work wou'd this make Marot in one of his Psalms gives us this Ridiculous Phrase I will cast my Slipper at him The common People who minded only the Rime and Gingle of the Words no sooner understood that this Phrase was alter'd tho' indeed for the better when they were so incens'd upon the matter that the Ministers were like to have not slippers but sticks and stones and such Arms as a popular Fury administer'd cast at them And what do you think shou'd happen in in the Church of Rome where there are so many different Languages so many different Humours so hard to be satisfied so many uncouth unpolish'd people so difficult to be govern'd shou'd she undertake to give them the Liturgy in their own Tongues and continue changing and altering the same as often as the Languages change Truly for my part as I am perswaded that the Design is as vain as it is needless so I may reasonably presume the Holy Catholic Church will never attempt it And thus I have endeavour'd to touch upon some of the Reasons that mov'd the Church in all Ages to hold to one Universal Language which is always the same not subject to Alteration or Corruption no more than the Faith and Religion which it teacheth nor less Pure and Perfect now than it was seventeen hundred Years since And surely such a Language so lofty in its Expressions so beautiful and Majestie in its Numbers so Energic and Expressive in its Sense and as I may say so immortal and indefectible in its Duration is the fittest to have the public and solemn Service of the Immortal and Eternal God perform'd in it And in this methinks we do but what the Light of Nature teacheth all Nations and what our Adversaries cou'd not but see wou'd they but devest Themselves of their Prejudices 'T is well known the Jews lost their Mother Tongue in the Capativity of Babylon yet they never read the Law of Moses or
Supplications put up for all Men. Do not we then constitute one another Mediators between God and our selves Does not St. Paul make the Ephesians Mediators between God and himself Most certainly as much as we make the Saints for we only desire the Saints to pray for us and St. Paul desir'd the Ephesians to pray for him and we desire every Day the same thing of our Brethren And do these Mediators derogate from the Mediatorship of Jesus Christ God forbid Ay but says the Doctor the Saints are in Heaven and these Men were on Earth Well and does their being Present or Absent their being in Heaven or on Earth make them the more or less Mediators when they are made such or do the Office of Mediators Is any Man the less a Mediator who sues for the Pardon of an other because he is present or in the same Town or Country with him for whom he sues Sure there is not to use the Doctor 's own Phrase a Controversie of Scripture against Scripture or of Reason against Reason but of down right Imp * Discourse against Transub Vol. 3. p 299. against the plain meaning of Scripture and all the Sense and Reason of Mankind I forbear that uncivil Word the Reader may find it at Length with the Dr. in the place pointed at in the Margin Well! But the Saints are in Heaven What then Why if we desire them to pray for us we make them Mediators But do not the Saints in Heaven pray for us Yes the Dr. grants they do Vol. 2. 2. edit obit pag. 93. They make themselves Mediators then No says he they are not Mediators and Intercessors properly so call'd for continues He all Intercession strictly and properly so call'd is in virtue of a Sacrifice offer'd by him that intercedes Here He pulls down all that He built before and justifies our Practice as fully as we cou'd desire All Intercession strictly and properly so call'd is in virtue of a Sacrifice offer'd by him that intercedes Say you so Why then the Saints can by no means be Mediators or Intercessors properly so call'd whether we desire them to pray for us or they do it of themselves since they did not offer any Sacrifice by virtue whereof they may in a strict and proper sense be called Mediators or Intercessors and then we may desire them to pray for us or they may do it of themselves and yet be no Mediators or Intercessors and consequently not derogate from the Mediatorship of Jesus Christ And thus the Doctor has very judiciously and in my Opinion very truly interpreted St. Paul's Words and justified us into the bargain 2. That in the public and solemnly Service of the Church excepting the Litanies c. as aforesaid we put up no Prayers to Saints or Angels but all our Prayers are address'd to Almighty God and to Jesus Christ our only Saviour and Redeemer This will appear by a thoro ' Examination of those Books wherein the public Service of our Church is contain'd which are the Mass-book and the Breviary the first containing the solemn Service of the Mass and the latter the Canonical Office namely Matins Hours Even-song and Compline And here I can in truth aver that I have read both these Books at least ten Times yet excepting the Litanies the general Confession some few Hymns Anthems and Versicles whereof one or two are read in the Breviary on the Feasts of B V. Mary and other Saints which yet are not properly Prayers and which only mention these Words Pray for us intercede for us or the like I do profess I do not know one single Prayer appointed for the public and solemn Service of the Church in either of them address'd directly to either Saint or Angel or the B. V. Mary As for the Mass-book which is the public Liturgy of the Church excepting the General Confession there is not one Prayer in it aderess'd to any but God-Almighty no not on the Feasts of Saints or of the B. V. Mary no nor in the Book at all excepting this one Versicle which is I think four times read Mother of God intercede for us Which yet is seldom read in any public and solemn Service of the Church and one single Anthem wherein the like Words are found on the Feast of St. Michael And for the Truth of all this I appeal to the Books themselves There is indeed a Little Office of the Virgin Mary annex'd to the Breviary wherein the aforesaid Words Pray for us intercede for us or the like are some nine or ten times repeated in Hymns Anthems and Versicles but this being read neither Publicly nor Privately in the Church Service cannot Reasonably be said to pertain to it Now these two Books are an Extract the Mass-Book of what is most Moving and Ravishing in the Psalms of David of what is most Edifying and Instructive and most sit to declare the Praises of God and to shew his loving Kindness and Mercy to Mankind in the Old Testament and of the most useful and necessary Precepts and Instructions of Faith and Good Manners contain'd in the New suited and adapted to all the Seasons of the Year together with many Devout and Fervent Prayers all tending to praise Almighty God to thank him for His Benefits and Blessings and to implore Mercy and Pardon for our Sins The Breviary of all the Psalms most of the History of the Old Testament a Summary of all the Epistles of the Apostles and the Revelations some Verses of the Gospel of every Feast and Sunday in the Year with the Homilies of the Ancient Fathers of the Church upon these Texts together with a Brief Account of the Lives of the most Eminent Saints and Martyrs that flourish'd in the Church with a great many Pious and Godly Prayers Anthems Hymns and Versicles address'd to God-Almighty and put up in the Name and thro' the Merits of our Lord Jesus Christ We do indeed Commemorate the holy Apostles the B. V. Mary and the Saints in the Public Service of the Church because we have sufficient Warrant for it in the Scripture and Practice of the Primitive Church David says the Righteous shall be in Everlasting Remembrance Psal 112. and Dr. Tillotson himself has a Sermon upon this Subject wherein he proves from the Practice of the Fathers and from Reason that it is Lawful to give due Honor and Respect to the Saints but we do not put up any Formal Prayers to them in the public Service And this will appear from the Collects in the Mass-Book and Breviary where their Names are mention'd I will transcribe two or three of them and leave the Reader who desires farther Satisfaction to consult these Books whether all the Rest of the Collects where the Saints are mention'd be not of the same Tenor. A Collect on the Annunciation of the B. V. Mary O God who hast been pleas'd that thy Word shou'd take Flesh in the Womb of the B. V. Mary when
the Angel declar'd it grant us thy humble Petitioners who believe Her to be truly the Mother of God that by Her intercession we may with Thee be assisted thro' the same our Lord Jesus Christ c. Amen A Collect on the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul O God who hast consecrated this Day by the Martyrdom of Peter and Paul grant to thy Church to follow their Example in all things by whom the Religion began thro' our Lord Jesus c. Amen A Collect on the Nativity of St. John Baptist O God who hast Honor'd this Day with the Nativity of St. John give to thy People the Grace of Spiritual Joy and guide the Minds of all the Faithful in the way of eternal Salvation thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Here you see all these Prayers are address'd to God alone And thus indeed are all the Collects in the Mass-Book and Breviary which I willingly submit to any Man's Tryal ad Paenam libri As to the Office and Litanies of the B. V. Mary which are found in Manuals and read by some R. Catholics there is no Reason to charge them upon the Public Office and Service of the Church since they are not us'd by the Church nor publish'd by public Authority The Church does indeed allow such Prayers to be said as far as they hold within the Compass of meer Intercession because they are founded in the Practice of the Primitive Church and all succeeding Ages But if any of them contain any Terms or Expressions bordering upon the Prerogative of the Mediatorship of Jesus Christ she does as heartily and as earnestly desire they shou'd be abolish'd as any Protestant whatsoever Touching the Rosary or Beads in which the Dr. reproaches us for saying ten Ave Marias for one Pater Noster I believe every one knows the Church obliges no body to say it I am sure there are Millions of R. Catholics who never do Besides there is nothing in the Ave Maria but the very Words of Scripture except these last pray for us now and in the Hour of our Death and if it be a good thing to desire the Mother of God to pray for us sure the oftner we desire it the better it is As to the Disproportion between the Pater Nosters and the Ave Marias I must confess it were something if those who use the Rosary made all their Devotion to consist in it But it is well known that such as say it do to their Power discharge all other Christian Duties at least do pretend to no Exemption upon the Score of their Beads or Rosary from Praying to Almighty God from Adoring and Worshiping Him and giving Him their Humble and Hearty Thanks for his Benefits and Blessings from commemorating the Death and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and having recourse to the Merits thereof for Mercy and Pardon of their Sins And now when they have endeavour'd to discharge all these Essential Duties where lies the harm if they spend some part of their spare Hours in saying over and above so many Ave Marias especially since they are founded in the Merits of the Death and Passion of our Lord and Saviour in Virtue whereof all Catholics do hope and trust that the Virgin Mary and all the Saints will pray for them Or how can it be counted a Fault to desire the Virgin Mary to do that for us which even the Dr. himself and all the Learned Protestants in the world do acknowledge She and all the Saints in Heaven constantly do tho' we shou'd not ask it of them Now this is plainly the Case All R. Catholics are taught and exhorted by the Church to discharge first their Duty to God to worship and adore him to put up their Prayers to Him to thank him for His Benefits to be sorry for their sins to beg Mercy and Forgiveness thro' the Merits of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and when this is done if they will take the Lady's Office or the Litanies of the Saints or the V. Mary or their Beads and beg those great Friends and Favourits of Jesus Christ who shed their Blood and lay down their Lives for the Truth of His Gospel to recommend them to Him and his Heavenly Father is it not better since the mind of Man must always be in Action than spend the Time in Idleness or perhaps in Evil Conversation In a Word these are Devotions which certain Fraternities and Regular Societies have taken upon them to discharge over and above the necessary and Essential Duties of Christianity and which other Catholics to be Partakers of the Prayers of the said Fraternities and Societies do also perform But in saying their Beads they do not always as the Dr. wou'd suggest say ten Ave Maria's for one Pater Noster For several Fraternities and Catholics say all Pater Nosters without ever an Ave Maria. But of this enough I proceed to shew 3. From the very Words of the Holy Fathers that this Practice of praying to Saints was us'd in the primitive Church St. Ambrose delivers his Thoughts in these Words We ought to pray to the Angels in our own Behalf who are given as a Guard to Vs We ought to pray to the Martyrs whose Bodies remaining with Vs seem to be as it were a Pledge of their Protection Lib de Viduis prope Fin. Gregory Nissen speaks thus to the Martyr St. Theodorus Intercede and Pray for your Country with our Common Lord and King Orat. in St. Theodor. St. Austin We do not Commemorate the Martyrs at the Lord's Table as We do those who die in the Peace of the Church but We do Commemorate them that they may pray for Vs that we may follow their Steps Tract 84. in Joa Again Holy Mary * Note that the Sermon whence this Passage is taken is ascrib'd by some Critics to St. Fulgentius but whether of the two it belongs to it matters not being both Fathers of Great Renown and of the same Age. succour the Distressed help the Pusillanimous cherish those that Mourn pray for the People mediate for the Clergy intercede for the Devout Female Sex let every one perceive thy Assistance who celebrate thy Commemoration Ser. 18. de Sanctis Theodoret We do not address our Selves unto the Martyrs as unto Gods but we pray unto them as Divine Men that they wou'd please to become Legats or Intercessors for us Ser. 8. de Martyr lib. Curat Grae◠Affect The Council of Calcedon Act. 11. has these Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Flavianus Liveth after his Death the Martyr will pray for us or as the Translators render it Let the Martyr pray for us it being usual with the Orientals to put the Future Tense for the Imperative Here is a General Council of more than 600 Bishops desiring the Martyr Flavianus to pray for Them This Council was held in the Year 451 and is one of the four first General Councils whose Acts and Decrees the Church of
which that I may the more plainly and distinctly do I shall proceed in this Method 1. I will endeavour to shew that the Doctrine of Purgatory is founded in Scripture as interpreted by the Ancient Fathers of the Church 2. But more especially that it is founded in the Practice observ'd in the primitive Church of Praying for the Dead This I take to be an unanswerable Argument for if it appears that the Primitive Church did pray for the Dead that their Sins might be forgiven them then it will necessarily follow that they believ'd those Souls they thus pray'd for to be in a place where they might be help'd and benefited by their Prayers This is evident for if the Primitive Church were of Opinion that all Souls departed did go strait to Heaven or to Hell it were vain and superfluous to pray for them They knew there was no getting of Souls out of Hell for out of Hell there is no Redemption And therefore it were in vain to attempt it And it were superfluous to pray for the Souls in Heaven for the Remision of their Sins For why shou'd they pray for that which they knew they had no need of So that if they did pray for the Remission of Sins of Souls departed the Consequence is inevitable that they did believe there was a Third Place were some Souls were detain'd and might be assisted by their Prayers which is what we call Purgatory 3. I shall answer what Doctor Tillotson brings against this Point 1. I shall endeavour to shew that the Doctrine of Purgatory is founded in Scripture as interpreted by the Ancient Fathers of the Church To prove this Head I will produce some Texts of Scripture with the Readings of the Fathers upon Them 1. Agree with thine Adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him Lest at any time the Adversary deliver thee to the Judge and the Judge deliver thee to the Officer and thou be cost into Prison Verify I say unto thee thou shalt not come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost Farthing Mat. 5.25.26 Tertullian a Father of the Second Age â— de Anima cap. 58. reâ—ds thus upon this Text. Seeing we understand that Prison which the Gospel demonstrates to be places below and the uttermost Farthing we interpret every small fault there to be punish'd by the delay of the Resurrection no Man can doubt but the Soul may pay something in the places below St. Cyprian a Father of the third Age It is one thing to be cast into Prison not to go out thence till he pays the uttermost Farthing an other Epist 52. ad Anton presently to receive the Reward of Faith one thing to be afflicted with long pains for Sins to be mended and purg'd long with Fire another to have purg'd all Sins by sufferings Here this Father alluding to the foregoing Text says that some Souls are cast into Prison 'till they pay the uttermost Fathing that others immediately receive their Reward that is Heaven Some are afflicted and purg'd by Fire in order to their Amendment whilst others have purg'd all their Sins by Sufferings or Martyrdom The very Language of the present R. Catholic Church St. Jerom a Father of the fourth Age who for his extraordinary Learning and Knowledge in the Scriptures was call'd Magister Mundi the Master of the World in his comment upon the said Text has these Words This is that which he says Comment in 5. Matt. thou shalt not go out of Prison till thou pay even thy little Sins There is then such a Prison in this Great Master's Opinion 2. Every Man's Work shall be made manifest for the Day shall declare it because it shall be reveal'd by Fire and the Fire shall try every Man's Work of what sort it is If any Man's Work abide which he hath built thereupon he shall receive a Reward If any Man's Work shall be burnt he shall suffer loss but he himself shall be saved yet so as by Fire 1 Cor. 3.13.14 15. St. Ambrose or the Author of the Commentaries upon the Epistles of St. Paul annex'd to his Works which the ablest Critics do with good Reason ascribe to Hilary Deacon of the Church of Rome and Contemporary to St. Ambrose speaks thus of this Passage But when he St. Paul saith Yet so as by Fire he shews indeed that he shall be saved but yet shall suffer the Punishmenâ— of Fire that being purg'd by Fire he may be sav'd and not tormented for ever as the Infidels are with Everlasting Fire In cap. 3. Epist 1. ad Cor. St. Gregory of Nisse is so plain and full upon this Subject that no R. Catholic can at this Time speak plainer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Man is cleansed says he either in this present Life by Prayer and the Love of Wisdom or after his Death by the Furnace of a Purging Fire And a little after 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 After his Departure out of the Body knowing the Difference between Virtue and Vice it is impossible to be Partakers of the Divinity unless Purgatory Fire doth cleanse the Soul from the Spots that stick to it Orat. pro. Mortuis prope Fin. St. Austin speaks much to the same purpose Purge me O Lord says he in this Life and make me such as shall not need that Puâ—ifying Fire And a little after he adds He shall be saved yet so as by Fire And because it is said He shall be saved this Fire is contemn'd yet it will be more grievous than any Thing that a Man can suffer in this Life Enar. in Psal 37. I might insist upon several other Passages of St. Austin and bring more Texts of Scripture with the Sense of the Fathers upon them with Respect to this Subject but I think what is here offer'd is sufficient to shew that our Doctrine concerning Purgatory is founded in Scripture and that the Ancient Fathers did believe it to be so I shall now proceed to shew 2. That the Doctrine of Purgatory is founded in the Practice observ'd in the Primitive Church of praying for the Dead for the Remission of Sins This as I said before if made out will plainly establish our Tenet For if the Primitive Church did pray for the Dead for the Remission of their Sins it follows necessarily that they suppos'd them capable of being assisted by their Prayers and consequently neither in Heaven nor in Hell but in a third Place which is what we believe and call Purgatory Now that the Primitive Church and all succeeding Generations us'd to pray for the Dead for the Remission of their Sins no one Point in the Christian Religion is more Universally attested St. Epiphanius tells us that Aerius was reputed an Heretic for denying the Lawfulness of it and besides him I do not find since Christianity began till the Begining of the last Age any one single Person that ever denied or question'd it Never was there found any Liturgy without it
Purgatory because they pray'd for the Virgin Mary and the Apostles and Martyrs c. else why do they not conclude that we do not believe it because we do the same To sum up all these Evidences then I reason thus The Primitive Church pray'd to God for some Souls departed that they might be deliver'd out of Prison that their Faults and Sins might be forgiven them that they might be eas'd of their Pain that they might be sav'd from the Punishment of Fire that they might be receiv'd into Heaven but such Prayers are inconsistent with a Belief that the Souls departed are immediately taken into Heaven or condemn'd to Hell Therefore the Primitive Church believ'd there was a Third Place wherein some souls departed were detain'd and were capable of being assisted and better'd by their Prayers The first Proposition is taken from the very Words of the Fathers and acknowledged by our Adversaries to be true The second a very small portion of Natural Reason with never so little insight in Scripture and Christian Religion which assure us that Prayers of that nature for those that are in Heaven or Hell are needless and vain will easily discover to be likewise True And I think the consequence is rightly infer'd I now proceed to the Objections 3. The Doctor objects first Vol. 2 Pag. 63. that the Doctrine of Purgatory is not founded in Scripture nor can be prov'd from it and that some of our own Eminent Men do acknowledge it cannot To which I answer that I have produc'd two Passages from Scripture and cou'd produce as many more which the most Eminent Fathers of the Primitive Church have interpreted of Purgatory and therefore I think I may safely tell the Dr. that with submission He was mistaken As to those Eminent Men of our Church who say that the Doctrine of Purgatory cannot be prov'd from Scripture when any one in his behalf names them and points at the place in their Works where they say so I will return him as satisfactory an Answer as I can In the mean time I may reasonably presume they say no such thing Seeing he was never backward in giving citations when they made any thing for him All the Eminent Men He vouches for this is Estius who by the Dr's own confession only says that in his Opinion the Passage of St. Paul above cited does not evince Purgatory but does not say that other Passages of Scripture do not and if he had I shou'd oppose to his Opinion that of Tertulian St. Cyprian St. Ambrose St. Jerom St. Austin and many more of the Ancient Fathers whose Authority in this matter ought I think to weigh more with any reasonable Man than that of any modern Writer whatsoever Vol. 2. edit post ob pag. 307. His second Objection is borrow'd from a Text in the Revelations Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from hence forth Yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their Labours and their Works do follow them cap. 14.13 Here says the Dr. the Spirit pronounces them happy who die in the Lord because they rest from their Labours which adds He they wou'd not do were they to be tormented in Purgatory Fire Ergo c. Answ This Passage is confessedly obscure as to the meaning of some Words in it and the Time whence the blessing there mention'd is to Commence and the Doctor 's bestowing six full Pages upon the Explication of it shews it to be so and for that Reason I think it is against the Rules of Logic to pretend to more Evidence in the conclusion than the Premises will afford But it seems he forgot in his second Sermon upon this Text that in his First he had told us that the Dead which die in the Lord in Scripture Phrase are those who die or are put to death for the Lord's Cause that is as he expresly says suffer Martyrdom for the Lord I say he must have forgot this else he wou'd not have objected that Text against Purgatory since he cou'd not be ignorant that we believe that all the Martyrs who suffer for the Faith of Christ and even other Eminent Saints who do not suffer Martyrdom but live the life of Martyrs do rest from their Labours and pass not thro' the Fire of Purgatory Wherefore in my opinion he shou'd have given us an other Interpretation of this Text or have let Purgatory alone but 't is no new thing to find the Doctor pulldown in one place what he had built in an other and therefore I am not surpriz'd to see Purgatory brought in by Head and Shoulders and spoken against in Season and out of Season 'T is Purgatory that reproaches the Sacrileges and Depredations of the Doctor 's Ancestors of worthy Memory and Bears hard upon their Posterity and upon that account it must be Cry'd down lest the horrid guilt of the Sacrileges of the Fathers shou'd fly in the Face of their Children and give them that Purgatory in this Life which He wou'd perswade them they shall not meet with in the next For a third Objection the Doctor tells us Vol. 2. Edit Post ob Pag. 310. we have a very considerable and substantial Reason to exempt as few as possibly we can from going to Purgatory because says he the more we put in fear of going thither the Market of Indulgences as he calls it riseth the higher and the profit thence accruing to the Pope's Câ—ffers and the more and greater Legacies will be less â—o the Priests to hire their saying of Masses for the delivery of Souls out of the Place of Torments Answ After my hearty thanks to the Dr. for his Charitable Opinion of us I must observe from what is above said that it seems this Market of Indulgences is of a very long standing and that the Ancient Fathers of the Church took great care it shou'd not sink But to be serious 'T is well known and even acknowledged by the Learned of his Church that in the Time of Gregory the Great now a Thousand Years since the Doctrine of Purgatory and all the Practices consequent upon it were believ'd and us'd as they are now And did that great Saint exempt as few as he cou'd from Purgatory only to raise the Market of Indulgences Did all the Bishops of the Western Church nay and of all the World concur with him in this only to fill his Coffers Alas The good Holy Man had but few Coffers and as little Money to fill them with Conversion of Souls not Money was his bus'ness Did St. Austin design the raising of the Market of Indulgences or the putting of the People into a fear of going to Purgatory when he earnestly desires the Readers of his Confessions to pray for his Mother Monica's Soul for the remission of her Sins And had St. Jerom any thoughts of filling the Pope's Coffers when he wrote that much benefit wou'd accrue to the Souls departed by the commemoration made of
are so far from countenancing or abbetting them that it is our earnest wishes and the desire of our Hearts that all such shou'd be intirely abolish'd and taken away We cover no more than that all Christians in Time of Jubileâ—s and Plenary Indulgences shou'd think on their way in the bitterness of their Sâ—als shou'd repent and be sorry for their Sins shou'd have a strong hope and confidence in the Mercy of Almighty God giâ—â— Alâ—â—â— to the Poor and by their 〈◊〉 and servent Prayers dispose themselves 〈◊〉 God is Grace to receive the Indulâ—â—â—â— of Permission of those Canonical Penances which neither the Condition of the Persons nor the Wickedness of the Times nor yet the great Decay of Piety will permit us to require they shou'd fully perform And this we do because we find the same thing practic'd in the best and purest Times of Christianity even in the First Second Third and Fourth Ages especially being warranted by the Word of God who gave to his Church the Power of remitting and retaining Sins And now having found nothing in Dr. Tillotson's Sermons upon this Subject that requires any particular Consideration besides what is here explain'd I shall conclude this Treatise with my Hearty Prayers to the Father of Light that He wou'd be mercifully pleas'd to open the Eyes of our Adversaries that they may see the Innocence and Reasonableness of our Doctrine and give them the Grace to lay seriously to Heart how dangerous it is to reject those Things which the Catholic Church declares to have been deliver'd by Christ and His Apostles Our and Their Creed says I believe the Holy Catholic Church And they own that the Catholic Church before the Reformation did hold and Declare those Things wherein we differ from them to be Truths deliver'd by Christ and His Apostles How then can they believe the Catholic Church when She declares these Things if they do not hold and believe these Things themselves Or how can they in Reason reject them if they believe the Catholic Church which tells them they are Divine Truths But there is yet something more desperate which I beg of Almighty God to give them the Grace to consider Our Saviour saith to His Apostles Go and teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy-Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you Mat. c. 28.19 20. And St. Mark adds He that believeth and is Baptiz'd shall be Sav'd but he that believeth not shall be Damn'd Cap. 16.16 Now if those Things which make the Subject of our Dispute be Truths given in charge to the Apostles then our Adversaries are to my great grief I must say it lost for ever For it is not enough according to Christ's own Words to Believe in the Trinity to Believe the Incarnation to believe in the Holy-Ghost to believe Baptism the Eucharist c. But we must believe all Things whatsoever Christ commanded and that on pain of Damnation But if it shou'd happen as no doubt it cannot that the Points in Dispute were not commanded by Christ or His Apostles where is the harm in believing them since we are commanded to do so by the Church which our Creed tells us we must believe Christ our Saviour doth often reproach the Jews for their Incredulity and the Scripture in several places gives us an Account of the Punishment of such as wou'd not believe the Messengers sent by God to declare His Will to them But we do not find that ever He reproach'd any Body for having too much Faith especially when the Things to be believ'd were declar'd to them by the Messengers of God which sure the Bishops and Priests of the Church are On the contrary we read in the Scripture that Christ has upon several Occasions highly commended and extoll'd Men's readiness to believe O Woman Great is thy Faith Mat. 14.28 Where lyes then the Harm of believing Transubstantiation or the Real Presence which are so plainly deliver'd in Scripture Where is the Harm of allowing due Honor and Respect to be given to Saints and of desiring them to pray for us since it is what we do and are commanded to do to one another in this Life If they hear our Prayers and Intercede for us well and good But if they do not what do we loose by it Where is the Harm in praying for our deceas'd Friends Sure we do but declare our pious Affections to them tho' our Prayers had done them no good And where is the Harm in all this How can it hurt any Body to believe that the Church hath Power to give Indulgences that is to Remit all or part of the Temporal Punishment due for Sins since it is plainly exprest in Scripture that Christ gave to His Apostles and the Apostles to their Successors the Power of Remitting and Retaining Sins and that whatsoever they Loose on Earth shall be Loosed in Heaven How can this hurt any Body I say or where lies the Hazard in believing those Things tho' we had not as much assurance of their being Divine Truths as of other Things since they are not contrary to any other Article of our Faith nor to Right Reason or Good Manners But there is Infinit Hazard in not believing them since they have been declar'd by the Church which our Creed and the Scripture command as to believe and hear on pain of being reputed Heathens and Publicans Now that they are Divine Truths besides what is already offer'd to prove each Point in particular We have all the Eastern Churches on our side All the Greek Church together with the Nestorians Euâ—ychians Monothelites the Christians of St. Thomas in a Word all the Oriental Sects of what Denomination soever do Practice and Believe Transubstantiation the Real Presence the Sacrifice of the Mass Seven Sacraments the Use of the Liturgy in a Tongue which the Common People do not understand Invocation of Saints Veneration of Relicks and Images and Prayers for the Dead See the Critical History of the Learn-Father Simon Of the Religion and Customs of the Eastern Churches 'T is done into English printed in London and very much esteem'd by the Learn'd Seeing then that the Latin Church which together with the Greek and other Eastern Churches make up the whole Body of the Christian World and that all these Churches did hold and profess the said Doctrine when the Reformation began and do still hold and believe the same I think I may confidently affirm that it is Catholic and Orthodox I shall therefore once more beg of Almighty God thro' the Merits of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and by that Blood which was shed for our Redemption that he wou'd please in His Mercy to Soften the Hearts of our Adversaries and give them Grace to entertain Thoughts of Peace of His Holy Church from which they have so long gone astray To the end that They and We may with one Heart and one Tongue praise and magnifie His Holy Name all the Days of our Lives and when it shall please His Infinite Goodness to call us to Himself that we may meet together at the Resurrection of the Just thro' the Merits of the Death and Passion of our only Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ to whom with the Father and Holy Ghost be Honor and Glory now and for ever Amen FINIS