quod scire nequis ne divinare labora Incassum That is The Virgin lacks no praise not Hybla yields More Flowers nor Ears of Corn in Libyan Fields So fair and thick as her true Vertues rise Think not to grace her then with specious Lyes Nor give her those perfections by fond guess Thou ne'er canst find and only make her less Herein indeed lies one great difference betwixt us and them That we observing that it is the plain design of the Holy Writers in the particular account they give of the wonderous Birth and Life Death and Resurrection of Jesus to engage all Men to believe That he is the Christ b Joh. 20.31 the Son of God that our eternal Life depends upon our knowing him who is the only true God c Joh. 17.3 and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent that there is no Salvation in any other nor no other name d Act. 4.12 under Heaven given among Men but his whereby we must be saved and that having the power of Judging all the World committed to him all Men are bound e Joh. 5.22,23 to honour the Son even as they honour the Father we I say finding this to be the great concern and scope of the Gospel are well satisfied with those few words of Truth and soberness we meet with there that relate to the B. Virgin his Mother and are not needlesly curious to enquire any farther It 's plain it was him they designed to advance and not her Even the Holy Spirit 's over-shadowing her Virgin Womb was rather intended to proclaim the Glory and Majesty of his Incarnation than of her Conception The Scripture mentions some other instances of her Faith and Piety wherein it places her chief Happiness as St. Austin's known saying expresses it f Tom. 6. lib. de Sanct. Virgin. Beatior ergo Maria percipiendo fidem Christi quam concipiendo carnem Christi Mary was more blessed in receiving the Faith of Christ than by Conceiving the Flesh of Christ For Materna propâ—nquitas nihil Mariae profuisset nisi felicius Christum corde quam carne gestasset Her nearness to him as a Mother had not profited her if she had not been more happy in bearing Christ in her Heart than in her Womb. Which also our Saviour confirms in that saying of his g Luc. 11.28 Yea rather blessed are they which hear the Word of God and keep it As for other matters concerning her where the Scriptures have not gone before us we are contented to remain in the dark concluding that we are not one way or other much concerned in them for if we had God would no doubt have declared them to us We think it necessary for the honour of our Lord to believe that his Mother remained a Virgin till she bare him and brought him forth We think it highly probable too that the Honour of our Lord preserved her a Virgin ever after and we detest the bad Spirit of Helvidius that made a contest of it and brought it into dispute in the Church But yet we are of the great S. Basil's mind h Homil. de humana Christi generatione that if she had not remained a Virgin afterwards 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Doctrine according to Godliness would not have suffered by it and therefore we lay not such stress upon it as upon the former 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We leave it without anxious inquiry about it But 〈◊〉 this Church having as much business with the Virgin as with Christ himself and making indeed more stir about her the modesty of the first Faith and the silence of the Scripture give them but little comfort if they cannot find in the old Gospel enough to proclaim her a fit object of Mens worship and to engage their Religious addresses to her rather than fail of this which they are resolved upon they will make a new Gospel which the Apostles never Preached and venture the Curse that is threatned to them that do so Gal. 1.8 First indeed the words of the Scripture must be Wire-drawn and Every Syllable of it that relates to her stretched and set upon the Tenters but still they find that the Bed is shorter than that a Man can stretch himself on it and the Covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it i Esa 28 20. They are therefore resolved to add where that is defective and to feign those privileges for her which they cannot find there To shew a little their fine way of proceeding in this Matter They have laid down this for an undoubted Rule as any Aphorism in Hippocrates that Mensura perfectionum B. Verginis est maternitas Dei. Her being the Mother of God is the measure of the Perfections of the Blessed Virgin. Not to dispute at present the Truth of it which may be granted in a sober Sence let us see what Conclusions they draw from it Aquinas k P. 1. qu. 25. art 6. ad 4tum infers That the Blessed Virgin because she is the Mother of God has a kind of infinite Dignity belonging to her from that infinite good which is God and that in this respect nothing better than she could be created as there can be nothing better than God. Ant. Spiâ—…lus the Jesuit says l Maria Deip. thronus Dei c. 5. s 4. From this Motherhood of God that Maxim owned by all Divines is drawn viz. That there is no gift of Grace that was ever granted to any pure Creature which was not bestowed upon the Virgin in a like or more perfect manner unless it were repugnant to her Sex. Wherefore all the Graces Vertues and Privileges divided among other Saints are found collected in her alone And they are very fond of that saying of S. Bernard m Epist ad Can. Lugdun Quod itaque vel paucis mortalium constat fuisse collatum fas certe non est suspicari tantae Virgini esse negatum Whatsoever has been granted to other Saints though but to a few we are not to suspect that it has been denied to so glorious a Virgin. Aquinas n Part. 3. qu. 27. art 1. 4 5. in another place from these principles has deduced her Sanctification before she was Born the Privilege never to have committed any Sin mortal or venial and a fulness of all Graces above all others This one would judge is pretty fair but a daring Jesuit o J. Baptista Poza Elucidar l. 3. tr 16. p. 1050. resolving to enlarge the Charter of her Privileges has advanced this position That all true Theology does require That in those things that belong to the greater glory of Jesus and his Mother if the Church does not prohibit it and they are sure it will not interpose to the hindrance of the Mother at least we are not to look what Two or Three Five or Ten Doctors have said in the Case but what will best defend and secure the Honour of Mary and Jesus
thee that as by the foreseen Death of that Son of thine thou didst preserve her from all Stain so grant that we being cleansed may come to thee by her Intercession Through the same Lord. This Prayer is still owned by the Church for it is in the Missal of Clement VIII Paris 1625. among the proper Offices granted to the Franciscans where the first Office is for the Feast of the immaculate Conception and there we meet with Deus qui per immaculatam c. We are told in a Rubrick Litan variae p. 230. that the foregoing Antiphona and Prayer were approved by Pope Paul V. who granted to those that should recite them Indulgences of an Hundred Days They remain also among the proper Offices for the Order of the Holy Trinity printed at Lisbon 1621. called Officium immaculatae Conceptionis Virg. Mariae in Sabbato where I meet with several Strains worth the noting of which take these following Invitatorium Immaculatam conceptionem Virginis Mariae celebremus Christum ejus praeservatorem adoremus Dominum Let us celebrate the immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and adore the Lord Christ her Preserver Anaph Fortitudo decor indumentum ejus byssus purpura vestis illius Anaph Strength and Beauty are her Cloathing her Garment is fine Linen and Purple Vers Liberâsti me Domine ex ore Leonis Resp Et à cornibus Unicornium humilitatem meam Vers Thou hast deliver'd me from the Lyons mouth Resp And my only Mother from the Horns of the Vnicorns To these they compare original Sin. Anaph Aquae multae non potuerunt extinguere charitatem nec flumina peccatorum obruent Mariam Anaph Many Waters could not quench Charity nor Floods of Sin overwhelm Mary Vers Eruisti à frameâ Deus animam meam Resp Et de manu canis unicam matrem meam Vers Thou hast delivered my Soul from the Sword. Resp And my only Mother from the Power of the Dog. After the 5th Lesson Resp Fac tibi arcam de lignis levigatis ruptaeque sunt abyssi magnae factum est diluvium peccati super omnem terram Vers Arca vero deifera elevata est in sublime ferebatur super aquas opertique sunt omnes montes excelsi Sanctorum Resp Make thee an Ark of plained Boards and the great Abysses were broken up and there was a Deluge of Sin upon all the Earth Vers But the Ark in which God was carried was lifted up on high and born upon the Waters and all the high Mountains of the Saints were covered After the 6th Lesson Resp Fiat mihi sanctuarium habitabo in medio eorum Arcam de lignis Sethim compingite deaurabis eam auro mundissimo intus foris c. Vers Inspice fac secundum exemplar quod tibi in monte monstratum est Resp Make me a Sanctuary and I will dwell in the midst of them Make an Ark of Shittim Wood and thou shalt gild it within and without with pure Gold c. Vers Behold it and make it after the Pattern that was shewed thee in the Mount. Ad Laudes Anaph Domum tuam decet sanctitudo Domine in longitudine dierum Anaph Holiness O Lord becometh thine House for ever Anaph Haec est domus domini firmiter aedificata benè fundata est super firmam petram Anaph This is the firm-built House of the Lord and it is well founded upon a sure Rock Anaph Fundavit eam Altissimus qui super maria fundavit eam super flumina praeparavit illam Anaph The most high hath founded her who hath founded her upon the Seas and prepared her upon the Floods Anaph Dominus custodit te ab omni malo Maria custodivit animam tuam introitum tuum exitum tuum in saeculum Vers Non accedet ad te malum Resp Neque flagellum appropinquabit tabernaculo tuo Anaph O Mary the Lord keepeth thee from all Evil he hath kept thy Soul thy going in and thy coming out for ever Vers No Evil shall approach thee Resp Nor any Scourge come nigh to thy Tabernacle Anaph Quam pulchra es amica mea columba mea odor vestimentorum tuorum super omnia aromata Vers Dominus est in loco sancto isto ego nesciebam Resp Non est hic aliud nisi domus Dei porta coeli Anaph How fair art thou my Love my Dove my undefiled one the smell of thy Vestments is above all Spices Vers The Lord is in that holy place and I knew it not Resp This is nothing else but the House of God and the Gate of Heaven I find a Prayer in the Hours of Sarum wherein her Freedom from Original Sin is exprest and a most incouraging Indulgence annexed in the Rubrick before it which is this Alexander the VIth Pope of Rome hath granted to all them that say this Prayer devoutly in the Worshyp of S. Anna and our Lady and her Son Iesus Ten thousand Yeres of Pardon for deadly Sinnes and Twenty Yeres for venial Sinnes rottens quotiens Oratio Ave Maria gratia plena dominus tecum tua gratia sit mecum Benedicta tu in mulieribus benedicta sit sancta Anna Mater tua ex qua sine macula peccato processisti Virgo Maria ex te autem natus est Jesus Christus Filius Dei vivi Amen The Prayer Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with thee and let thâ— Grace be with me Blessed all thou among Women and Blessed be S. Anne thy Mother from whom thou Virgin Mary didst proceed without Spot and Sin and of thee was born Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God. Amen Many Instances of the like kind may be seen in Balengem's Parnassus Marianus where several Hymns are collected out of divers Missals and Breviaries She is called Ibid. p. 4. Cella plena vino mero Granum sine palea A Cellar fill'd with unmix'd Wine Pure Grain without Chaff P. 24 25. Virgo non inficitur Cum à matre concipitur Originali crimine Tu à Deo fabricaâ— In conceptu praeservata Nulla trahis scelera The Virgin was not infected with original Sin when her Mother conceived her Thou â—…stâ—s◠〈◊〉 by God preserved in thy Conception contracting no Sin. P. 377. De mulierum numero haec sola praeservata Fuit Matris in utero sancta absque labe nata 'Mong Women none but she the Favour gain'd To be conceived pure and born unstain'd Oratio Horae sec usum Hieros de concept Hortulus animae p. 81. Deus ineffabilis Misericordiae qui primae piacula mulieris per Virginem expianda sanxisti da nobis quaesumus ejus mernoriam digne venerari quae unigenitum tuum Virgo concepit Virgo peperit Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum filium tuum The Prayer O God of unspeakable Mercy who hast ordained that the First Transgression of the Woman should be expiated by a Virgin grant us we pray thee worthily
think it no dangerous Error if a Man in Devotion should mistake Mary for Christ whatsoever it is in Belief As for S. Anne all these Encomiums already mentioned are not thought enough to set her out but many of their Authors h Cited by Raynaudus ib. p. 19. go so far as to affirm that both She and Joachim were holy from the Womb and sanctified in it thinking it not fit to deny this to them which is affirmed of John the Baptist The venturous Poza i Elucidar l. 2. trac 8. c. 3. goes a Step or Two further who besides this early cleansing in their mothers Womb from original Sin will have them also never to have committed any mortal Sin and if any among mankind no venial ones neither There was also a kind Motion made heretofore by Fulbertus Carnotensis k Serm. 3. de Nativitat Virg. to make S. Anne the Mother only of this Child and to have had no more as the blessed Virgin bare no other but our Saviour For says he it was not fitting that the most holy Parents of this singular Virgin should be defiled with the Propagations of more Children who were to provide for and educate her that was to be the alone Mother of our Lord. Yet here I observe a strange Over-sight and the only one I think that can be named wherein they seem to have forgot a Privilege to grace the Virgin withal that even in their Devotions S. Anne is made to be a Mother of more Children For thus in the Breviary of Bruges l V. Balinghem parnass Marian. p. 396. they sing Anna radix uberrima Arborque salutifera Virgas producens triplices Health springs from thee Thou blessed Tree From thy fair Root Three Rods did sprout So also Mantuan m Faftor l. 7. de S. Anna. Anna puerperio fortunatissima Sancto Tres habuisse viros tres genuisse puellas Dicitur That is None had more lucky Births than she Nor holier for it 's said She did Three Husbands wed By whom she brought forth Daughters Three The Revelations of S. Coleta n Apud Raynaud ib. p. 27. explain this telling us the Names of her Three Daughters viz. The Virgin Mary Mary the Mother of James and Maria Salome They also bring in S. Anne speaking to Coleta thus Though I was married to Three Husbands yet both the triumphant and militant Church was wonderfully beautified by my Off-spring c. But perhaps they have made some Amends for this Oversight by their devout Addresses to these Sisters which I find thus o Balinghem ubi supra p. 406. ex horis Sec. usum Roman antiq De sororibus B. Virginis O nobile ternarium Sanctarum sororum trium Quibus nomen est Maria Vestrum sacrum collegium Imploro ad praesidium In omni angustia Quae erit Christo gratior Aut quae sit acceptior Quam vestra sit oratio Nulla sibi conjunctior Nulla sibi proximior Quam sit vestra cognatio Tu virgo filii mater es Inde sibi quod imperes Naturae donat ratio p p This every whit as bad as Jure Matris impera Redemptori Vos vero duae caeterae Estis ejus materterae O quam ingens acceptio O sacred Ternary Of holy Sisters Three Call'd by the Name of Mary In all my Misery To your joynt Aid I fly That I may not miscarry Who can pretend their Prayer With Christ can stand so fair As yours for Acceptation None may with you compare Or say so near they are Akin as your Relation Virgin to thee alone The pow'r to rule thy Son As Mother Nature grants You Two that are behind Will great Acceptance find Because you are his Aunts One would hope that the ordinary Reason of every Man that will make use of it should prevent his falling into such gross Imaginations and such childish Conceits as these Strains of Devotion do betray But after our blessed Saviour discovered more than once q See Luc. ii 49. Luc. viii 21. John ii 4. whilst he was here upon Earth That in Matters that related to the Exercise of his Office when he was about his Fathers Business the Interposing of Mother and Brethren was unseasonable and unacceptable and rather repressed by him than incouraged * Christus non agnoscit viscera humana operaturus facta divina S. Augustin Tract 8. in Johan to think by these Considerations to move him in Heaven seems to argue such Men forsaken of Reason and to have too little Regard to the Honour of God. SECT IV. Concerning the Feast of her Nativity THere now remains under this Head only one thing more to be considered viz. The Feast of the blessed Virgins Nativity Concerning which Mantuan r Faftor l. 9. Septemb. de Nativ Mariae has told us truly Huc antiqua Diem Fastis non intulit aetas That is This Day of old was not a Feast to her Nor plac'd i' th ancient Churches Kalendar St. Austin has s Serm 20. 21. de Sanctis asserted it for his own Age That in the whole World only Two Nativities were celebrated That of our Lord and of S. John Baptist Baronius t In Martyr Rom. ad 8. Septemb cannot tell the time when to fix the first Institution of it J. Baptista Thiers u De Fest dierum imminut p. 332 333. speaks in the same Language That he neither can nor dare affirm when it first began in the Church And he confesses That it is not to be found in the ancient Catalogues of Feast-days being omitted in these following viz. of Chrodogangus's Regulae Canonicorum cap. 74. Concilium 1. Moguntinum in Can. 36. Carolus Mag. lib. 1. capitul c. 164. in lib. 6. c. 186. Haito Basiliens Episc in capit 8. Ludovicus pius in lib. 2. capitul c. 35. Concilium Aquisgran 2. c. 46. Herardus Turonensis in capitul c. 61. Nicolaus P. 1. respons ad consult Bulgar cap. 5. 11. Thiers x Ib. cap. 9. p. 47 48. indeed opposes Baronius for asserting y In Martyr ubi prius That it is plain that the Gallican Church were ignorant of this Feast in the times of Carolus Magnus and Ludovicus Pius And he produces against the Cardinal the Council of Rhemes Can. 20. Wherein both the Feast of the Assumption and Nativity of the blessed Virgin are set down which Council was held long before Charles the Great 's time about the Year 630. But this learned Man might have remembred that there is no mention of Festivals in the Canons recited by Flâ—doardus z Lib. 2. Hist Eccles Rhem. c. 5. And though they are found in the Canons published under the Name of Sonnatius a Concil Labbe Tom. 5. p. 1693. yet Labbe adds in the Margent by Sonnatius as some would have it for they seem to savour of a later Age. And Binius in his Notes says There are some things in these Canons
Here now the door is set wide open to give admittance to all the throng of Fables that any one will invent under pretence to advance her Honour The Evangelists have said Truth enough to make Jesus glorious and they are resolved to try what may be done for Mary in the other way And every Monk or Nun of a busie Fancy is perpetually teeming forth some new privilege to grace the B. Virgin withal Albertus Magnus p De Land. Virg. super missus est had got them up to Fourteen Vinc. Bandelis q De Concept Virg. Part. 2. p. 183. reckons Twelve Privileges bestowed on her from the Fourteenth Year of her Age and afterwards which considering this date of them is an increase But Spinellus has made them up above a Score r Mariae Thronus Dei. c. 20. p. 252 253. which I will set down out of him that the Reader may try how many of them he could have Collected by perusing the Four Gospels without the help of those forenamed Principles They are these 1. She was not only elected by God but pre-elected before all others Cantic 6.8,9 There are Sixty Queens and Eighty Concubines and Virgins without number My Beloved my undefiled is but one the only one of her Mother the choice one of her that bare her 2. That she was promised by Heaven to the Fathers prefigured by mystical Miracles foretold by Prophetick Oracles and by the Sybils was honourably predicted 3. That she sprang by the kindness of God from barren Parents that vowed to give to God the Off-spring he should bestow on them that an Angel foretold her Nativity to her Parents which we do not read in the Scriptures concerning any other Woman no nor of her neither there 4. That she only of all the Children of Adam that descended from him by the ordinary way of Propagation per seminalem rationem was free from Original Sin. 5. That in the very beginning of her immaculate Conception she was so confirmed in Grace that ever after she was without stain of actual though but venial Sin. 6. That the Fomes peccati that which like Tinder so soon kindles in us was extinct in her so that she never was sensible of that Tyrannous Law of the Members or the Rebellion of the lower Part. 7. That in her very Conception she had the use of Reason and made a Vow of Virginity to God from which instant also she began to merit and that the merit of her Works was never interrupted no not so much as in her sleep 8. That in the same Conception of hers she was adorned with all Theological and Cardinal Vertues and that in that Heroick Degree as well as with all the gratiae gratis datae graces freely given 9. That at the Age of Three Years she was in the Temple according to her Parents Vow consecrated to God and there was most holily Educated 10. That this Blessed Person among Women escaped all that Curse to which mankind by reason of Adam's Sin was obnoxious 11. That she alone that had conceived without any lustful Pleasure did not undergo the Irksomness that other Women with Child are subject to 12. That by a Virgin Birth she brought forth God without pain 13. That the Lord's Body exhibited in the H. Eucharist is formed of her Blood in her Virgin Womb which therefore is compared Cant. 7. to a heap of Wheat set about with Lilies 14. That she in a singular manner did many ways co-operate to our Salvation 15. That the Fruit of Christ's Passion was in a singular manner communicated to her and standing courageously by the Cross of her Son was pierced through with the Sword of grief and therefore she first of all saw Christ when he arose from the Dead 16. That she was the Instructer and Mistress of the Apostles and Teachers 17. That her Body did not see Corruption but being assumed and taken up to Heaven in Body and Soul before the common Resurrection she was placed above the Choires of Angels and Orders of Saints at the Right-hand of her Son where she makes a distinct Order Chorus above them all and she alone obtained more glory than all the rest of the Saints and Angels put together 18. That her presence brought a great deal of accidental Joy to the Blessed in Heaven 19. That she is the Queen of Heaven and Lady of all the Angels and Saints 20. That she is the common Advocate of Sinners the Mother of Mercy the Mediatrix to intercede for them and that she is also the Mother of the Living and promotes the Salvation of all Men. 21. That she is so formidable and terrible to the Devils that they presently fly away at the mention of her Name and much more at her Command and that she hath powerfully broken their Head. 22. That all the Graces and Privileges that are dispersed among other Saints are found united in her after a far more perfect manner Thus far he But others * Paul Comitolus reckons up 130. Privileges Alegambe Bibl. p. 363. have enlarged her Privileges to above an Hundred These are a few Instances among many which will afterwards occurr that give the Reader a taste of the New Faith and Gospel concerning the Virgin Mary which is taught in this Church With such particulars as these the Hymns and Lessons of their Breviaries are stuffed For to establish the believe of them many of their Festivals are Instituted and to the Scandal of Christianity as well as the eternal reproach of their Missions Hierome Xaveriâ—s a Jesuit in the History of Christ which he published in the Persian Tongue An. Dom. 1602. being commanded to give an account of the Life and Actions of our Saviour by the Great Mâ—gol he not contenting himself with an Impartial delivery of that Faith which the Apostles taught and was once delivered to the Saints has together with the Gospel Story interwoven idle Tales and fabulous Legends derived from Gossiping Tradition or taken out of Books confessed by themselves to be Apocryphal and the Fictions of ancient Hereticks especially what refers to the Bl. Virgin which I suppose he intended for this end that all his Converts should set her up for an Object of their Religious Veneration otherwise that first Faith might have been sufficient for them which served those first Christians and made them wise to Salvation who only worshipped God the Father Son and Holy Ghost From all that has been said it cannot but appear that this Church has made a very bold attempt for which they must answer one day to God among the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the many that have Adulterated the Word of God and corrupted it by their bad mixtures And there shame will still more appear when their sorry pretences for doing all this are laid down and examined which I shall now give a further account of They confess s Carthagena de S. arcan Deip. l. 13. hom 1. that it has been the
to venerate her Memory who being a virgin did conceive thy only begotten Son and remaining a Virgin did bring forth our Lord Jesus Christ There also you find the Blessed Virgin included in a Gloria Patri Gloria Patri genitaeque proli Flamini Sancto Virginique Matri Quae Dei natum genuit hominem Sit laus perennis Amen Glory be to the Father Son and Holy Ghost and perpetual Praise to the Virgin Mother of whom the Son of God was born a Man. Amen The present Roman Breviaries though they are not so express in the Point of Immaculateness yet are full of other unwarrantable Applications Oratio Brev. Rom. Reform ad 8 Decemb. Famulis tuis quaesumus Domine coelestis gratiae munus impartire ut quibus Beatae Virginis partus extitit salutis exordium conceptionis ejus votiva solemnitas pacis tribuat incrementum Per Dominum c. A Prayer Lord we beseech thee bestow upon thy Servants the Gift of heavenly Grace that they to whom the Birth of the Virgin was the Beginning of Salvation the vow'd Solemnity of her Conception may contribute to the increase of their Peace Through our Lord c. Lect. 1. Ecclus 24. Ex Ore Altissimi prodivi primogenita ante omnem creaturam ego feci c. Lesson 1. I came out of the Mouth of the most High the First-Born of every Creature c. Lect. 2. Ab initio ante saecula creata sum usque ad futurum saeculum non desinam in habitatione sancta coram ipso ministravi c. Less 2. From the Beginning and before all Ages I was created and I shall never fail in the holy Habitation I ministred before him c. Lect. 3. Ego mater pulchrae dilectionis timoris agnitionis sanctae Spei In me gratia omnis viae veritatis in me omnis spes vitae virtutis Transite ad me omnes qui concupiscitis me à generationibus meis implemini Qui audit me non confundetur qui operantur in me non peccabunt qui elucidant me vitam aeternam habebunt Less 3. I am the Mother of fair Love and Fear and Knowledge and holy Hope In me is the Grace of every Way and Truth in me is all the Hope of Life and Vertue Come unto me all ye that are desirous of me and from my Off-spring ye shall be filled He that heareth me shall not be confounded and they that work by me shall not do amiss they that brighten me shall have eternal Life REMARKS THere is no Controversy ever was started that has more busied the Wits of those of the Roman Communion nor any that ever was managed with greater Heats and Animosities in their Schools than this of the Immaculate Conception A Question that never entred into the Heads of any of the Ancient Fathers for as Vasquez a Part. 3. disp 117. c. 1. confesses it is manifest that before the times of S. Bernard there was no Dispute among the ancient Fathers concerning the Blessed Virgins Preservation from Original Sin since none of them so much as mention it Though in his time it appears by his 174 Epistle to the Canons of Lyons there was some Debate about it among Divines I shall make bold to add that this Controversy betwixt the Two Parties they who assert her Conception in Original Sin whom we shall call to avoid Circumlocution Maculists and those who deny it the Immaculists is not only Late and Novel but also extreamly foolish and ridiculous when you consider where the Difference lies betwixt them They themselves confess b Vasquez ibid. qu. 27. disp 114. c. 1. Bellarm. de amiss gratiae l. 4. c. 15. that it is agreed on all Hands in their Church that she was sanctified in her Mothers Womb before she was born so that the only Question and it is a very wise one is Whether in the first Moment of her Conception c Th. Raynaudus Dipt Mar. p. 132. she was immaculate yea or no Both Parties agreeing that she had the Use of her Reason as we heard before in the first Moment of her Conception one might have been tempted to think considering the Zeal of the opposite Side that the Maculists had brought her in loaded and labouring for some Months together in her Mothers Womb under a sense of Gods heavy Displeasure for Adam's Sin which the other side could not endure to suppose and that this made them so very angry But there is no such matter I assure you they are as civil to the Blessed Virgin in this Respect as one can possibly desir◠For one of their Adversaries d Franciscus a Christo praelect de Incarnat fol. 189. has given us an account of Three Opinions among them and all of them very favourable to her The Severest is that of S. Thomas who thinks that she was in Sin for a time but so short a time that none can measure it to wit so much time as intervenes between two Moments inter duo instantia for in the first Instant of her Conception she contracted the Original Stain in the next Moment after it she was purged from it so that she was obnoxious to Sin only the time that must come between those Two Moments Others think that the Blessed Virgin was a whole Moment of Time in Sin integro temporis instanti but all the time that is coupled with that Instant was in Grace and so grant that her Son delivered his Mother from Guilt as soon as it was possible for Divine Omnipotency to effect it This will not please the Immaculists for this Reason because if they say that the first Instant she was in Sin tho they grant that in the next Instant Grace was infused to take it away yet because two Instants according to the Philosopher 6 Physic cannot immediately cohere no more than Two Atoms in continued Quantity without a middle Time between them therefore the Blessed Virgin must be in Sin according to this Opinion not only the first Instant but also the time between that and the second But he says there are a third Sort and they are the very Pinks of Courtesy who come thus far as to say That in the first Instant in which she contracted Guilt she was also delivered from the same by God Only they crave Leave to divide an Instant into Three in tria Signa In the first of which she contracted Sin in the second sanctifying Grace was infused into her Soul but more incompleat and transient abiding with Sin but ready to expel it In the third the same Grace is understood as permanent and actually to have expelled Sin. This indeed is too subtil to be Intelligible yet however one would think it should be kindly taken by those of the other Opinion since if they will but allow them the third Part of a Moment for her stay under the Original Guilt they then declare her to be as immaculate as the
themselves to give an Account as they do r Carthagena de arcan deip l. 1. hom 4. why this was kept as a Secret in former Ages and why God did hide the Mystery of the Immaculate Conception from them The reason of this is worth setting down as well as the Confession of the Novelty of the Opinion Non pauci homines rudes c. The rude and vulgar sort of People if they had found for certain that the Blessed Virgin had never contracted Original Sin would have been apt to have committed a Mistake and thought her to have been a Goddess For if the Inhabitants of Melita when they saw the Viper fastning on S. Paul's Hand and yet neither biting him nor vomiting any Poison upon him cried out that he was a God how much more easily would unlearned Men when they saw that the Viper of Original Sin had envenom'd all the Children of Adam and that it had not touched her have concluded that she was a Goddess By which admirable Reason God must be supposed to keep it as a Secret still for there are rude and unlearned People still in as much Danger as ever of this or rather more for even in the Days of Epiphanius when the Collyridians venerated her she was not magnified nor her Privileges manifested near so much as now From all which it appears that the Maculists Opinion has the Advantage of Prescription and immemorial Possession if they are sufficiently provided to keep and maintain it And here too they question not their Furniture habent quo se tueantur olim Ista hominum communis erat sententia s Mantuan parthen Mar. 1. That is They plead the ancient Churches common Sence And store of Arguments for its defence The sacred Writings secure their Title and they produce them with more Advantage than their Adversaries they can flourish sometimes with a Scripture Allegory indeed and tell the Immaculists that tenebra erant super faciem abyssi t Rich. a S. Laurentio Darkness was upon the Face of the Abyss to signify that she was conceived in Sin yet this is needless when so many Places in their plain and literal Sence offer themselves to their Service Such as these All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God u Rom. 3. As by one Man Sin entred into the World and Death by Sin and so Death passed over all Men for that all have sinned x Rom. 5. The Scripture hath concluded y Gal. 3. all under Sin. He gave himself a Ransom z 1 Tim. 2. for all If Christ dyed for all a 2 Cor. 5. then are all dead c. Where the Antecedent being universal the Consequent must be so too From these and such like Texts they have raised several strong Arguments As 1. That it is a bold Presumption when the Scripture so plainly involves all under Sin that derived from Adam in the way of ordinary Generation to make an Exception in her Case who so derives without the least Countenance from it Besides 2. Redemption and Salvation by Christ is declared there to be as general and universal as Sin and Death by Adam and the Blessed Virgin rejoices in God her Saviour but all these suppose Sin And therefore Christ is called our Saviour and hers because he saves his People from their Sins And in her case it must be from Original Sin because the Maculists as well as their Adversaries grant that she was guilty of no actual Sin And there are few of them that will assert with Card. Cusanus b Exercit. l. 8. That the Virgin needed no Redeemer to absolve her from the Sentence against Adam and his Posterity to which she was never subject That she alone after the Fall of Adam never stood in want but was created full of Original Righteousness as Eve was and much more just as Christ according to his Human Nature was created in all Fulness of Righteousness much more than Adam To talk of a preservative Redemption c Scotus in 3. dist 3. qu. 1. from the Sin she might have incurred is to say that Christ was the Redeemer of Angels And if Bellarmine's Answer be allow'd d De Amiss grat l 4. c. 16. Dicimus ei remissa fuisse peccata non in quae inciderat sed in quae incidisset nisi gratia Dei per merita Christi praeventa fuisset Her Sins were remitted not those which she had committed but which she might have committed if not prevented by Gods Grace through Christ's Merits You may as well say of the Blessed Angels which yet was never heard of That they had their Sins forgiven for if it had not been for Gods Grace they also might have fallen into Sin. And Christ might be said to shed his Blood for them too if the Jesuit Coster e Medit. de B. Virg. p. 76. says right That Christ did not purge her Soul from Sin by his Blood sed mundam praeservavit but preserved it clean Antiquity never understood these Distinctions and the former Popes were against them So Zosimus f Apud Augustin Epist 157. ad Optatum Nullus nisi qui peccati servus est liber efficitur nec redemptus dici potest nisi qui verê per peccatum fuerit ante captivus c. No Person is made free by Christ who was not before a Servant of Sin nor can be said to be redeemed unless he were a Captive So also Pope Leo g Sicut nullum a reatu liberum reperit ita pro liberandis omnibus venit Serm. 1. de Nat. Christ says As he found none free from Guilt so he came to free all Men from it 3. They urge also that according to the Sentence upon all that derived from Adam she suffered the Punishments which were the Effect of it and was subject to Calamities and Death therefore it must be granted that the Cause of these must have place in her to wit Original Sin Especially since the Second Council of Aurange against the Pelagians Can. 2. defined it to be affixing Injustice to God to say that by one Man Death passed upon all Mankind and not Sin. 4. Lastly They think they have an Advantage over their Adversaries by this Question What if the Blessed Virgin had died before our Saviour's Passion for it is apparently foolish to say as Galatinus h L. 7. de arcan c. 10. does That it was impossible that the Mother of the Messias should die before her Son Now if she had died before him and had had no Sin she could not have gone to Purgatory but must have been received into Heaven and then this Absurdity would follow That the Kingdom of Heaven was opened before Christ had overcome the sharpness of Death Thus I have given an Account in some particulars what the Maculists have to plead for themselves And I shall pass over and not urge the Revelations of S. Catharine since they do not
ib. Serm. 7. p. 74. she had been more punished in that Instant than all the Creatures in the World for all of them put together could not have attained to her Merits and Reward all which spiritual good things by this means she must lose though she only was disposed to receive them So that considering how great this Punishment would be to her one may say that she must be more hated of God for that time than Cain or Judas or any other of the Damned Nay says another m Novarinus umbr virg p. 65. n. 207. it would have more displeased her to have been fullied and defiled with this Stain than to have been damned or annihilated 3. But if all this will not do they have the Reserve of a bold Charge against the Son of God himself n Greg. de Valent. ib. Arg. 8. Bern. de busto Marial ser 1. p. 16. For since Christ could easily have preserved her Immaculate if he would not do it says Bernardine it must needs be confessed that he was not a good Son to his Mother Or as a Nephew of the Soldan urged it o Idem ibiâ— ser 6. p. 65. Christ loved his Mother more and did more for her than my Father did for me but my Father on my Birth-day made me free as much as was in his Power But if Christ who foresaw the Damage and Evils which by original Sin would befal his Mother would not prevent it he had sinned against the Command of the Law of honouring Father and Mother and had been impius Filius ingratus a wicked and ungrateful Son * See late Contemplations p. 30. harping upon this That Christ would honour his divine Mother even for Example sake in doing that he requires of all c. This besides the Blasphemy of it is a very foolish Assertion For by the same Reason of honouring his Parents they might have required that none of his Race and Genealogy should ever have been stained with any Crime That no Blot should have lain upon Judah for Incest nor upon Rahab for being an Harlot and especially not upon David whose Son he is called for being an Adulterer But these sawcy Prescribers of what is becoming to our Saviour would do well to remember how he turned upon Peter with a Get thee behind me Satan for Words of his that favoured more of God and less of Men than these of theirs do 4. That no Blot may be left unhit a Jesuit p Greg. de Valentia ib. conceives he has spied a weak place an easiness and tenderness of Nature in his Adversaries in Matters that concern the Honour of the Blessed Virgin and he resolves to work upon it He tells them That though their Opinion be not heretical nor contains mortal Sin in the holding of it yet it gives just Occasion of Offence to the Blessed Virgin so that they may well expect she should be less favourable and propitious to them which says he they ought extreamly to dread Now that so it is is plain by this Instance Suppose a Controversy depended before a Judge concerning the Nobility of a Person which though the Judge did not absolutely define yet if he declared that it was very probable that he was a noble Person and he should take it more kindly if he were accounted and treated as such would it not be sufficient Cause of Distast if he to whom the Judge had been so favourable could not obtain that Honour which is so encouraged This is the Blessed Virgins Case exactly every one has Liberty given him by the Church to think thus honourably of her and the Church has encouraged the paying of it by spiritual Indulgences and has not the Blessed Virgin reason then to be somewhat displeased and angry with those that still deny it 5. I shall add but one Argument more which another Jesuit q Raynaudus Diptyc Mar. p. 144. has advanced upon the Principles owned by the Maculists themselves and let them look to it how they will answer it for it need trouble none else besides viz. She must be free from original Sin otherwise she was guilty of actual Sin which he thus proves It is de Fide an Article of Faith that the Blessed Virgin had no actual Sin no not the lightest and most venial r Aquinas in Opusc 60. Art. 3. 3 Part. qu. 27 art 4. The Adversaries also grant that she had the use of her Reason the first Moment of her Being and that whosoever is endued with it is obliged in the first dawning of Reason to subject himself to God by an Act of Love towards him above all or else he contracts a grievous Guilt Wherefore unless the Blessed Virgin in the first Moment of the use of her Reason that is of her Being had offered herself to God by a perfect Act of Love she had incurred actual Sin. If she did exert such a perfect Act of Love to God it is plain by that Act sanctifying Grace was conveyed Therefore she was freed from original Sin. I leave them to squable it out for I am afraid it will not be answered in hast But if the Maculists seem to have lost any Ground by their own unwary Concessions in the next thing I am sure they will recover a great deal more and put their Opponents so hard to it * Pelbartus was hard put to it when in Answer to that place of S. Austin ad Petrum Firmissime tene omnem hominem qui per concubitum concipitur cum peccato originali nasci he says it is qui per concubitum Maria autem non fuit qui sed quae Aurei Rosar Tom. 5. pag. 101. that they must quit one of their strongest Holds and it 's well if they can any way save their Honour I mean in the Point of Antiquity and the Judgment of the Fathers I know the Immaculists are not wanting to bring in their Lists and make a show of Fathers as Salazar has done in his Book of the Immaculate Conception Yet every one that will take the Pains to examine them may see with half an Eye that most of those they produce speak nothing to the Purpose and those that seem to do so are Testimonies out of false and spurious Writings This the Jesuit Salmeron s In Epist ad Rom. c. 5. disp 51. being aware of has taken another course which is indeed more ingenuous but I doubt they will conn him no thanks for it seeing he has discoursed in this tender Point more like an Enthusiast not to say a Protestant than a good Catholick For among other things he asserts that the Argument from Authority is weak and infirm That the strength and efficacy of the Reasons he has urged is to be preferred before it That God does not reveal all Truths to all but every Age glories in its proper Verities which the former Age was unacquainted with which he would never have mentioned if he had