Fire All that I can do is to exhort you 't is your part to Labour and God's to Perfect Raise up your Minds direct your Intentions prepare your Hearts it is for your Souls that you fight and they are Eternal Treasures which you hope for The First Lecture is also an Exhortation to those that are to be baptiz'd to prepare themselves by a Holy Life and by Good Works that so they may receive the Grace of Baptism It is compos'd upon a Lesson taken out of the First Chapter of Isaiah Verse 16. which begins with these words Wash you make you clean put away the evil of your doings c. He exhorts them wholly to put off the Old-man sincerely to renounce all Sin and to spend in the Exercises of Piety the 40 Days that are appointed to Prepare them for Baptism The Second is concerning Sin and Penance He teaches them That Sin is committed voluntarily by the bad use we make of our Free-Will That the Devil was the first Sinner that afterwards he made the first Man sin That by the Sin of the first Man all Men fell under Blindness and Death That he who rais'd Lazarus rais'd our Souls and deliver'd them from Sin by his Blood That therefore we ought not to despair whatsoever Sins we have committed but to trust to the Mercy of God and to have recourse to the Remedy of Repentance He relates many Examples of God's Mercy towards the greatest Sinners He alledges also the Example of the Angels to whom he thinks God pardon'd many Faults He adds towards the end the Example of St. Peter and concludes with these words These are my Brethren the many Examples of Sinners whom God hath pardon'd as soon as they repented Do you also Confess your Sins unto the Lord and you shall obtain the Kingdom of Heaven and enjoy the Heavenly Reward together with all the Saints in Jesus Christ to whom be Glory for ever and ever The Third Lecture is concerning the Necessity of Baptism and of Penance which ought to precede it You must prepare your selves says he by Purity of Conscience for you ought not to consider the External Baptism but the Spiritual Grace which is given with the Water that is Sanctified by the Invocation of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost The Water washes the Body but the Spirit sanctifies the Soul that we being purified may become worthy to approach unto God You cannot be perfect unless you be sanctified by the Water and the Spirit So if any one be baptiz'd without having the Holy Spirit he receives not the Grace of Baptism and likewise if any one receive not Baptism though his Conversation were never so well order'd he shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven This Discourse is bold but it is not mine but Jesus Christ's who has pronounc'd this Sentence when he said Except a man be born again of Water and the Holy Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven He proves this Truth by the Example of Cornelius then he shows the Necessity of Baptism by Water and says That none but Martyrs only can enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven without being baptiz'd The Ancients generally believed that Martyrdom was that Baptism by Fire which John Baptist fore-told Mat. 3. 11. and that was the Cup which our Saviour foretold Zebedee's Children that they should drink and the Baptism wherewith they were to be baptized He teaches That since Jesus Christ was baptiz'd to sanctifie the Waters of Baptism we must descend into the Water to be sanctified and as the Holy Spirit did then visibly appear so now he descends likewise though after an invisible manner upon those that are baptiz'd if they be well prepared for it In short he still exhorts those to whom he speaks to prepare themselves in the remaining part of Lent that so they may obtain by Baptism the Pardon of their Sins and the Grace of the Holy Spirit St. Cyril begins in the Fourth Catechetical Discourse with the Explication of the Articles of our Faith He says in his Exordium That the Worship of God consists in two things in the belief of those Doctrines that Religion teaches us and in the practice of Good Works That Faith is unprofitable without Good Works and that Good Works will prevail nothing without Faith He observes That the Articles of Faith are opposed by Pagans Jews and Hereticks and therefore it is necessary to propose it and explain it to those that enter into the Church He says That before he explains them more largely he will first give a summary of them and prays those that are already instructed to hear with Patience his Catechetical Discourses Afterwards he summarily explains the chief Doctrines of our Religion He instructs them concerning the Divinity That there is but one God only the Creator of all things who is every where present who knows all things who can do all things who never changes who will reward the Good and punish the Wicked c. He adds That we must believe also in Jesus Christ our Lord the only Son of God God begotten of God like in all things to him who begat him who was from all Eternity who sitteth now at his right hand and reigneth with him That we must not believe that the Son is of another Nature than the Father nor confound the Persons of the Father and the Son That he is the Word and the Word of God but a Word subsisting which is nothing like to the Word of Men That this Word was truly and really united to the Humane Nature That he assum'd real Flesh from the Virgin That he was truly Man subject to Humane Infirmities and to Death it self That he was crucified for our Sins That he was buried in the Grave and that he descended into Hell to deliver the Just who had been shut up there a long time with Adam That he was truly risen from the Dead That being ascended into Heaven he was worship'd by all the World and that he shall come again to Judge the Quick and the Dead and to establish an Eternal Kingdom Concerning the Holy Spirit he teaches That we ought to have the same Notions of him as of the Father and the Son That he is One Indivisible and Almighty That he knows all things That he descended in the form of a Dove upon Jesus Christ That he spoke by the Prophets That he Sanctifies the Soul in Baptism and that he ought to be honoured as the Father and the Son being one and the same Divinity He Exhorts his Auditors to hold fast this Creed and gives them Notice That he will prove it in the following Discourse by Testimonies of Scripture For says he we ought not to teach any thing concerning Divine Mysteries but what we can confirm by the Testimonies of Scripture Do not believe what I say if I do not prove it by the Holy Scriptures St. Cyril after having inform'd those whom he instructs what they ought
These are the Principles and Maxims which St. Bernard establishes in this Treatise which agree St. Bernard's Letter to Hugh of St. Victor with the Doctrine of St. Austin concerning the Nature of Free-Will and the necessity and efficacy of Grace without which Man could not perform any thing towards his Salvation The Tenth Treatise of St. Bernard is a Letter address'd to Hugh of St. Victor against some Opinions which an Anonymous Author had laid down which were 1. That the Baptism of Jesus Christ had been obligatory ever since our Saviour had said to Nicodemus Whoever is not born anew by Water and the Holy Spirit shall never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven 2. That no Body can be sav'd without actually receiving the Sacrament of Baptism or Martyrdom in its stead 3. That the Patriarchs of the Old Testament had as clear a knowledge of the Incarnation of the Christians 4. That there is no such thing as a Sin of Ignorance 5. That St. Bernard was mistaken in that passage of his Homilies where he says that even the Angels were not acquainted with God's Design touching the Incarnation As to the first he says that it would be a hard case that what Jesus Christ spoke in particular should be taken for a general Precept to oblige all Mankind He is of Opinion that Original Sin was remitted to the Jews by Circumcision during the time of the antient Law and to the faithful amongst the Gentiles either by their own Faith or by that of their Parents and that the Obligation of being Baptiz'd under penalty of Damnation did not commence till after the Promulgation of the Gospel As to the second he is of Opinion that the Adult may be sav'd without actually receiving Baptism if so be they cannot be Baptized although they desire it because that actual Baptism is here supply'd by Faith and Vows This he proves from divers passages out of St. Ambrose and St. Austin who says he are two Authorities which I cannot possibly dissent from but with whom I am always resolved to be either in the right or the wrong He adds that what supplies Baptism in case of Martyrdom is not the Pain but the Faith of him that suffers In relation to Infants who can have no Faith he owns that they cannot be saved without Baptism although they might be sav'd by the Faith of others when they actually receive it As to the third he says that if the faithful of the Old Law had as clear a knowledge of our Mysteries as we our selves God would have been either too liberal to them or too reserv'd towards us That the Gospel would not have been then above the Law that St. Paul would have been in the wrong to boast that he and the other Apostles received the first Fruits of the Spirit of God that this would be to do a considerable Injury to St. John Baptist. And lastly that the Prophets have not been all equally enlightned with our Mysteries and that even among Christians some have more knowledge in those matters than others As to the fourth he affirms that there are Sins of Ignorance and that the Author of this Proposition ought to agree with him since he has before maintain'd that the Precept of Baptism given to Nicodemus in private obliged those who could have no knowledge of it that it was moreover evident by the Holy Scriptures that there are Sins of Ignorance for thâ—… the Prophet David expresly prays to God not to lay his Sins of Ignorance to his Charge also Moses speaks of Sins committed through Ignorance and St. Paul is said to have persecuted the Church without knowing what the Church was and our Saviour Christ beg'd of his Father to forgive them that Crucify'd him in that they were ignorant of the Sin they committed As to the fifth he explains what he had said concerning the Angels knowing nothing of the mystery of the Incarnation before Gabriel came to acquaint the Virgin of the Circumstances of time and place of the Incarnation the manner thereof and the Person chosen to be the Mother of God We will forbear speaking of the Treatise against the Errors of Abaelard till we come to the History of that Author so that there remains no more of the Treatises of St. Bernard in this second Tome than The Life of St. Malachy c. the Life of St. Malachy and the Tract concerning Singing neither of which require any Observation The third Tome contains St. Bernard's Sermons throughout the whole Year upon the several Feasts and other matters of Moment These are his other Works being writ with as elborate as Spirit St. Bernard's Sermons and abounding with lively and solid Thoughts very proper to move the Heart He preach'd most of them to his Monks whom most commonly he exhorted publickly every day Father Mabillon shews in his Preface that although there might have been several Converts among these Monks who did not understand Latin yet for the most part these Sermons were delivered in that Language as their style sufficiently demonstrates He owns also that St. Bernard might sometimes have preach'd in the Vulgar Tongue for the benefit of those that did not understand Latin The last Tome of the first Volume of St. Bernard's Works contains his Sermons upon the Canticles amounting to the number of 86 and being upon the two first Chapters and the first Verse of the third Chapter they comprehend an infinite number of both Moral and Spiritual Thoughts which he draws out of the words of the Text either by explaining the Text after a mystical manner or giving it an allegorical Sence or adapting it to other Subjects It is a wonderful thing to consider how ready he is at this manner of writing and how he could be capable of composing so vast a Work of such different matters upon two such short Chapters as those of the Canticles The second Volume of Works that go under St. Bernard's Name is divided into two Tomes The first contains a Continuation of the Commentary on the Canticles This belongs to Gilbert of Hoiland Gilbert Abbot of Hoiland a little Island between England and Scotland where there was a Monastery of Monks and Nuns whereof he was Abbot depending on the Bishop of Lincoln He was of the Order of Cisteaux and dy'd in the Year 1172 in a Monastery of the Diocess of Troyes in Champagne This Continuation is of the same Nature with the Work of St. Bernard and is divided into forty eight Sermons all which do not go beyond the 10th Verse of the 5th Chapter This is follow'd by seven other Ascetical Treatises and four Letters by the same Author This Tome contains several other Tracts attributed to St. Bernard although it is certain he was not the Author of them The first is a Letter or a Book address'd to the Fryars of Mont-dicu which is a Charter-House in William Abbot of St. Thierry the Diocess of Rheims near Mouzon This Book
the 13th he says That since the coming of Jesus Christ God requires of Men greater Holiness than before In the 14th he discourses of the Reward of Christians The 15th has no particular Subject It begins with a Reflexion upon the Obligation that lies upon Christians to honour Jesus Christ with Purity and Faithfulness and after this it contains many Questions whereof the First is concerning the Resurrection viz. If a Man shall rise with all his Members and the rest concerning Concupiscence and the Inclination to Sin that is found in all Men. He is of opinion That 't is a kind of Fire kindled in a Man which inflames as one may say all his Parts That a Man may resist it but that to do it aright he must watch continually over himself and always fight against it He says That those who resist their Passions receive the Holy Spirit and the Grace which Jesus Christ has merited for them but they ought to take good heed that they be not lifted up with Pride and that they continue in Humility and Contempt of themselves as being accountable to Jesus Christ for the Grace they have received and capable of falling from that State of Holiness in which they are unless they preserve themselves in it by the vertue of Humility which he calls the Sign and infallible Mark of a Christian. In the 16th he says That a Man ought always to live in Fear because he is always expos'd to Temptations That even those that have not yet received Grace ought so to behave themselves as to do Good and forsake Evil by Natural Motives but those who have receiv'd it need not such kind of Motives because this Grace producing Love in their Hearts makes that become sweet and pleasant which appear'd rough and uneasie and makes that appear easie which was thought before to be impossible In the 17th he treats of the Spiritual Unction and the state of the more Perfect Christians and makes it appear that notwithstanding any Holiness they have acquir'd they ought always to fear because they are always in a Capacity of falling away In the 18th he declares the marvellous Effects of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Soul of a Spiritual Man In the 19th he explains the degrees through which a Man ought to pass to acquire Perfection That he ought first to use his utmost natural endeavours to do Good and then God seeing him strive after this manner gives him the Grace of Prayer by which means he obtains all Vertues In the 20th he says That none but Jesus Christ can cure the Soul that 's wounded by the Sin of Adam and therefore we must address our selves to him by Prayer that he would give us his Grace The 21st is of the War that Men are oblig'd to make against their Vices and their Passions In the 22d he describes the terrible difference between the latter End of the Just and the Wicked and says that at the hour of Death the Souls of the Just are received by Angels and conducted to the Lord but those of the Wicked are encompass'd by Devils who draw them down with themselves to Hell The 23d is of the Victory which a Christian ought to gain over his Passions The 24th is of the Necessity of the Grace and Influence of the Holy Spirit to make us capable and worthy of Eternal Life He continues the same Subject in the 25th wherein after he has prov'd that we cannot shun all the occasions of Sin nor resist all our Passions without the assistance of the Grace of Jesus Christ he makes a lively Representation of the state of the Men of this World and describes the wonderful Effects which the Coelestial Fire of the Holy Spirit produces in our Souls The 26th contains many Questions and Answers concerning the Temptations of the Devil and the Effects of Grace The Author there teaches That Man is restor'd to his Primitive Dignity by the Holy Spirit That the Devil cannot tempt us any further than God permits him That Grace changes the Affections of the Heart That the Devil knows some part of our Thoughts but there are others unknown to him That Grace and Charity have no Bounds and we ought never to say that we have arriv'd at the highest degree of Perfection That the Soul goes immediately after Death to that place on which its Love was plac'd during this Life That the Good which may be done by Natural Strength can never Save a Man without the Grace of Jesus Christ That we ought always to attribute to him all the Good we do and to say If God had not assisted us we should neither have Fasted nor Prayed nor forsaken the World And that God seeing us attribute to him the Actions which may be done by our Natural Powers has liberally bestow'd upon us the Spiritual Heavenly and Divine Gifts of his Grace That the Actions which are done without Grace may be Good but they are not Perfect In the 27th after he has first consider'd the Dignity of a Christian he then Answers to many Questions about the Effects of Grace He says That no Man shall ever arrive at the top of Perfection in this World That whatever state they are in whatever Grace they have they are always capable of sinning That the strongest Grace does not hinder the Will from following after Evil because the Nature of Man as long as he is in this World is changeable and that though God has bestow'd very singular Grace upon Christians they ought nevertheless to work out their own Salvation with Fear and Trembling In the 28th he deplores the state of that Soul where Jesus Christ dwells not at all because of Sin In the 29th he says That God gives his Grace after two different manners That he prevents some with it before they have us'd their own endeavours and bestows it upon others after they have labour'd a long time and then he shows what Reason we have to admire the Goodness and Wisdom of the Divine Conduct both towards the one and the other In the 30th he shows That if the Holy Spirit does not produce within us the Love of God we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven In the 31st he Exhorts Men to Prayer That they may obtain the change and renovation of their Heart In the 32d he says That we cannot certainly know whether we be in a state of Grace as long as we are in this World because we are always tormented with the Motions of Lust but at the Day of Judgment those who belong to God shall be made known The 33d is of the Attention and Fervour we ought to have in Prayer The 34th is of Eternal Glory The 35th is of the state of a Soul which God has deliver'd from Evil Thoughts which he calls a New Sabbath The 36th is of their different degrees of Glory who shall rise again from the Dead In the 37th he proves That many who have thought themselves Just were
of Commelinus in Greek and Latin published by Fridericus Silburgius Anno Dom. 1593. It comprehends the entire Works of S. Justin divided into Three Parts the first whereof contains the Books against the Gentiles the Second the Dialogue against Tryphon and the Third the Tracts that were Composed for the Instruction of the Christians They are translated by Langus except the Second Oration against the Gentiles and the Epistle to Diognetus which are of Henry Stephen's Translation at the end are subjoined some Notes of Silburgius Stephens and other Learned men Morellus followed this Edition in the Impression of the Works of S. Justin which he caused to be made at Paris in the years 1615 and 1656. only he added the small Tracts of Athenagoras Theophilus Hermias and Tatian This last Edition is thought to be the best and yet it is very imperfect and it were to be wished that another might ere long be published to this end a new Version ought to be made of all St. Justin's Works because Langus's hath many defects the ancient Manuscripts ought to be consulted if any such can be found and exactly compared with the Greek Text which was not corrected by Silburgius from any Manuscript Lastly some Annotations ought to be added and many of those that are already Printed should be cut off As for the disposing of these Works the following Order may be observed They should be divided into Three Classes 1. Those that were really Composed by S. Justin. 2. Those that may be his tho' we cannot certainly affirm it And 3. Those that are manifestly Supposititious His Apology to the Emperor Antoninus that which ought to be called the first Apology that so for the Future it may always be cited under that Name ought to be placed in the Front the other Apology that immediately follows should be Entituled the Second after this might be inserted the Fragment of the Books concerning Monarchy the excellent Dialogue against Tryphon should be the last Treatise of this Class at least till some of those that are lost happen to be found The Second Class should contain the two Orations to the Greek and the Epistle to Diognetus The Third may take in all the Books that are undoubtedly forged which also might be distinguished into two Parts in the first whereof should be placed those Writings that may be in some manner useful such are the 146 Questions the Exposition of the Faith and the Epistles to Zena and Serenus and then in the Second one may add the Philosophical Tracts above cited if it should not be thought more convenient to omit them altogether MELITO MElito Bishop of Sardis in Asia is one of those Fathers who wrote the most concerning the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church but there remains nothing of them at present but Melito the Titles and a few small Fragments produced by Eusebius in the Fourth Book of his History chap. 26. The Titles are these Two Books of the Feast of Easter one of the Lives of the Prophets a A Book of the Lives of the Prophets Some reckon two Books on this Subject but it is plain from the Greek Text of Eusebius and the Authority of S. Jerom that there was but one one of the Church one of the Lords-Day one concerning the Nature of Man another of his Creation one of the submission of the Senses unto Faith b One of the Submission of the Senses unto Faith S. Jerom and Ruffinus distinguish the Book of Faith from that of the Senses but it is more probable that it was but one Book bearing the above-mentioned Title as being Composed against some Hereticks who asserted that we ought to believe only according to our Senses a Book concerning the Soul the Body and the Spirit one of Baptism another of Truth another concerning the Generation of Jesus Christ one of Prophecy one of Hospitality another entituled the Key one of the Devil another of the Apocalypse one of God incarnate c Of God incarnate It is expressed in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of God incarnate or invested with a Body Others expound this passage after another manner imagining that he maintained that God was Corporeal but this last is not the proper signification of the Greek word However Origen cited by Theodoret in Quest. 20. in Exodum says that Melito wrote a Book 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that God was Corporeal which answers to the other Interpretation and a Collection taken out of the Holy Scriptures Lastly an Apology presented to Marcus Antoninus whereof we have a fragment in Eusebius wherein Melito intreats the Emperor that he would vouchsafe to examine the Accusations that were alledged against the Christians and to cause the Persecution to cease by revoking the Edict that he had published against them He represents to him that the Christian Religion was so far from being destructive to the Roman Empire that it was very much augmented since the propagation thereof that this Religion was persecuted only by wicked Emperors such as Nero and Domitian that the Emperors Adrian and Antoninus had written several Letters in its behalf and therefore he hoped to obtain of his Clemency and Generosity the favour which he so earnestly requested Eusebius also gives us another little Fragment out of the Book concerning Easter to shew the time when this Author wrote in which he mentions Sagaris Bishop of Laodicea whom he affirms to have suffered Martyrdom under Servilius Paulus the Pro-consul of Asia As also another Fragment more considerable which is the Preface to his Collections wherein he gives us a Catalogue of the Canonical Books of the Old Testament omitting those that are not included in the Canon of the Jews these are the Books of Ecclesiasticus Wisdom for he calls the Book of the Proverbs by the Name of Wisdom Judith Esther and the two Books of the Maccabees There is also another Fragment of Melito's preserv'd by the Author of the Chronicle commonly called the Alexandrian in Olympiad 236. wherein he says that the Christians do not adore insensible Stones but that they worship one God alone who is before all things and in all things and Jesus Christ who is God and the Word before all Ages It is not known from what Book this Fragment was taken but it is probable that it is in his Apology to the Emperor Some other passages are likewise attributed to him which are taken out of a Catena of the Greek Fathers upon Genesis but they seem to me to be unworthy of this Author d Unworthy of this Author One of these passages is produced by Halloixius being a Comparison between Isaac and Jesus Christ full of childish Notions and Expressions that are more agreeable to the Modern than the ancient Writers we find also in the Bibliotheca Patrum another Book under his Name Entituled Of the Passage or Death of the Virgin Mary which is inserted by Pope Gelasius amongst the Apocryphal Writings and rejected by
as those that lived after the Birth and Condemnation of Heresies But 't is an ordinary Fault with Photius who lived in an Age when these Mysteries were illustrated and in which People talk'd with a great deal of exactness to condemn the Ancients almost all along with too much Severity The same St. Athanasius in another Work concerning the Explication of these words in the Gospel He that blasphemes against the Holy Ghost shall receive forgiveness of his Sin neither in this World nor in that to come tells us that Origen and Theognostus have written that the Sin against the Holy Ghost was falling away after Baptism and after he has delivered the Passage out of Origon He likewise adds that out of Theognostus who says That he who has passed only the First or Second Bounds is less culpable but he that passes the Third has no hopes of Pardon That the First and Second Bound is the Knowledge of the Father and that the Third is Baptism which makes us Partakers of the Holy Ghost which is confirmed by these Words of the Gospel I have still many things to tell you c. after which continues he Our Saviour levels if I may so say his Discourse in favour of those who cannot comprehend the most perfect things whereas the Holy Ghost dwells in those that are perfect But we must not therefore conclude That the Doctrine of the Holy Ghost surpasseth that of Jesus Christ but that our Saviour abaseth himself in favour of those that are not altogether perfect whereas the Holy Ghost is the Seal of Perfection which we receive in Baptism Thus it is not that the Holy Ghost is more excellent than the Son because the Sin which is committed against him is without hopes of Remission but it is that these imperfect Men that is to say those that are not baptized may obtain Forgiveness of their Sin whereas those that have once tasted the Celestial Gifts and once are touched have no more excuse nor means to avoid Punishment St. Athanasius afterwards confutes this Explication which appears to be very agreeable to the Opinion of Novatian and gives another Interpretation which is far more Natural ATHENOGENES TO Theognostus we may joyn the Martyr Athenogenes who composed a Hymn before he was cast into the Fire wherein he speaks of the Trinity as St. Basil assures us in the 29th Chapter of his Book of the Holy Ghost DIONYSIUS Bishop of Rome DIONYSIUS Bishop of Rome who presided in that See from the Year 258. to the Year 270. writ a Letter against the Sabellians a Fragment whereof remains still preserved by St. Athanasius in his Book concerning the Decision of the Council of Nice in which discoursing against the Sabellians he falls upon the contrary Doctrine that was afterwards maintained by the Arians He proves that the Word was not Created but Begotten of the Father from all Eternity and distinctly explains the Mystery of the Trinity This Fragment is plainly taken out of a Letter written by Dionysius in the Name of the Roman Synod at the time when Dionysius of Alexandria was accused of falling into the opposite Errour to that of the Sabellians MALCHION MALCHION a very Eloquent Man was after he had taught the prophane Sciences with a great deal of Reputation in the City of Antioch ordained Presbyter of that Church for the Purity of his Faith and his Doctrine He had a famous Dispute against Paulus Samosatenus in the Second Council of Antioch held in the Year 270. in which after he had clearly discovered the Errours which that Heretick endeavoured to conceal he prevailed with the Council to condemn him This Conference was taken in Writing by some Notaries and was extant not only in the time of Eusebius and St. Jerome who mention it but also in the time of Leontius that is to say towards the end of the Sixth Century He speaks of it in his First Book against the Nestorians and recites some Fragments of it in the Third Book However it is not certain that they are genuine any more than the Archelaus Fragments of another Letter of the Council of Antioch mentioned by Eusebius St. Jerome tells us that he was likewise Author of a Letter written in the Name of that Council against Paulus Samosatenus and spoken of by Eusebius in the Seventh Book of his History Chap. 30. ARCHELAUS ARCHELAUS Bishop of Mesopotamia published a Dispute in the Syriack Language which he had with a Heretick of the Manichean Party that came out of Persia and St. Jerome assures us that in his time it was Translated into Greek This Author flourished in the time of the Emperour Probus There is a Fragment of this Writing in the Sixth Catechetick Lecture of St. Cyril of Jerusalem This Dispute it self translated into Latin by an Ancient Hand was published by Valesius at the end of his Edition of Socrates and Sozomen at Paris 1668. It is imperfect Bigotius found it in the Ambrosian Library at Milan and communicated it to Valesius ANATOLIUS ABout the same time under the same Emperour and under Carus his Successor Anatolius also flourish'd born at Alexandria and Bishop of Lacdicea in Syria a Man of profound Learning very well skilled in Arithmetick Geometry Physick Astronomy Grammar and Rhetorick Eusebius and St. Jerome assure us that the greatness of his Spirit the force of his Eloquence and the depth of his Knowledge abundantly appear in a Book of his concerning Easter and that he show'd the Dexterity of his Address and Politicks in the Siege of Alexandria which by his Prudent Counsels he saved from an entire Destruction that threatned it Eusebius in the last Chapter of his Seventh Book has preserved a Fragment of this Treatise about Easter concerning the time wherein that Festival is to be celebrated This same Author likewise composed Ten Books of Arithmetick and left behind him several Monuments of his Learning and Exactness particularly in those things that concerned the Holy Scriptures Aegidius Bucherius hath given us an entire Version of the Treatise about Easter by Anatolius which he Copied out of an ancient Manuscript He pretends that it was done by Ruffinus and that it answers the Treatise of Anatolius And indeed the Fragment cited by Eusebius is to be found intirely in Latin and the Passages cited by Bede are there word for word But it would be no strange thing for an Impostor to insert a Passage mentioned by Eusebius that was so easie to find and for this Work to be forged since Bede's time Though I am of Opinion That this Canon is ancient though full of Errours and perhaps a little corrupted by him that Translated it VICTORINUS VICTORINUS Bishop of Passaw a Bishop of Passaw a City of the Ancient Pannonia and not of Poictiers in France Monsieur Launoy has written a Dissertation on purpose to prove that he was not Bishop of Poictiers in France but of a City in Pannonia called Petabion or Petavion now called
the Declaration which they make having obtain'd Pardon of their Sins shall be bound and loosed in Heaven according to the Apostolical Judgment In the 19th after he has spoken of those that voluntarily make themselves Eunuchs to preserve their Chastity he speaks of Riches and the use we should make of them He says That 't is no Crime to enjoy them but that we should observe Moderation and employ them innocently That 't is dangerous to desire to enrich our selves and that an innocent Man finds himself overcharg'd when he is taken up in purchasing in preserving and encreasing his Riches From whence he concludes That tho' 't is not absolutely impossible for a rich Man to be sav'd yet very few of them shall be sav'd because it is so difficult a thing to make use of the Goods of this World as we ought In the 20th he affirms That Moses and Elias shall come with Jesus Christ at the last Judgment and that they shall be put to Death by Anti-Christ he rejects the Opinion of those who thought that Enoch or Jeremy should come before Jesus Christ. In the 23d he says That Spiritual Persons ought not to entangle themselves in the Affairs of this World but that they ought to render unto God that which is due that is to say their Heart their Soul their Will He shows the Necessity of Loving God in Order to Salvation In the 25th he observes That Nicholas one of the Seven Deacons was a false Prophet and a Heretick and that the last Judgment shall be given in the place where Christ suffer'd In the 26th he speaks of the uncertainty of the time of the last Judgment and observes That 't is useful to keep all Men upon their Guard In the 27th he observes That tho' all Christians are oblig'd to Watchfulness yet the Princes of People and the Bishops are more particularly oblig'd to Watch over themselves and their Flocks In the 30th he asserts That Judas was not present when Jesus Christ distributed the Sacrament because he was unworthy of those Eternal Sacraments He says That when St. Peter said so boldly that he would not be offended because of Christ he did not consider the weakness of the Flesh. In the 31st he thinks that Jesus Christ had no fear of Death at all He says He was Consecrated in the Sacrament of that Blood which he was to shed for the Remission of Sins This Opinion seems not easily reconcileable with the Account which the Evangelists give of the Agonies of our Saviour in the Garden and upon the Cross. In the 32d he observes That St. Peter's Denials were still more and more Criminal At first says he he only answered That he knew not what she meant then he deny'd that he was of the number of Christ's Disciples and at last he said That he knew him not But presently he wept after that Fault which he could not avoid tho' he was fore-warned of it In the 33d he says That the Words of Jesus Christ upon the Cross My God my God why hast thâ—â— forsaken me Belong'd to his Body which complain'd of its Separation from the Divine Word He compares the Crime of those who abuse the Gifts given to the Church with that of the Scribes and Pharisees who gave Money to Judas to betray Jesus Christ and with the Souldiers who Guarded his Sepulchre that they might say He was not risen Lastly He observes upon the Words of Jesus Christ Go and teach all Nations baptizing them c. He observes I say That Instruction ought to precede Baptism because the Body ought not to receive the Sacrament of Baptism unless the Soul has receiv'd the Truth of Faith There is a Preface prefix'd to the Commentaries of St. Hilary upon the Psalms wherein he treats of some Critical Questions He says That some Jews have divided the Psalms into Five Books and that others have entituled them The Psalms but for his part he gives them the Title of The Book of Psalms He maintains That they are written by the Persons whose Names they bear at the beginning and is of Opinion That those that carry no Name are written by the same Author with the last foregoing Psalm where the Name of some Author is to be found He says There are some that are falsly attributed to Jeremy Haggai and Zachary since those Names are not found in those Copies of the Version of the Septuagint which he thinks to be authentick He objects to himself That there is a Psalm which bears the Name of Moses wherein Samuel is mention'd who liv'd many Ages after He contents himself with answering this difficulty by saying That Moses nam'd Samuel by the Spirit of Prophecy He attributes to Ezrah that Collection of the Psalms which we have at present He maintains That all the Psalms ought to be Expounded with a reference to Jesus Christ and the Gospel He observes that the Hebrews call the Psaltry Nabla and he thinks that they never distinguished the Psalms at all He makes the LXX Interpreters Authors of their Distinction and observes that they have not always follow'd the Order of Time From this Distribution he passes on to the number of Canonical Books He reckons 22 of them according to the Hebrews and says that some have added Tobit and Judith He observes That the Lord's Day is a Day of Prayer and of Rest for Christians and that they are forbidden to Prostrate themselves or Fast on that Day He explains afterwards the Titles of the Psalms in general * This Distinction of the Titles of the Psalms is according to the LXX in that Translation some Psalms are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psalms Others ' 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Songs Others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psalms of a Song Others 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Songs of a Psalm Others again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Psalms or Hymns He says That those which are called Songs were made to be sung without any Instrument of Musick That those which are entituled Psalms were made to be Play'd upon Instruments of Musick without Singing That those which are call'd Songs of a Psalm were such as the Chorister Sung after the Instrument but those which are call'd Psalms of a Song are such as the Chorister Sung before the Instrument of Musick Lastly That those which are call'd in Psalms are such wherein there is a change both of the Person and the Voice He gives also some Moral Interpretations of those Titles which are too useless to be repeated After all he says That the Key for understanding the Psalms is to enquire what Person it is to whom they agree for some of them agree to David and others to Jesus Christ and others to some Prophet and so of the rest In his Commentary upon the First Psalm he says That there are three or four degrees of Happiness mark'd in those words Blessed is the Man who hath not stood in the Counsel of the
Serpent that theyjoyn themselves with Thieves since they correspond with the Devil to extirpate one part of the Flock of Jesus Christ. He describes this after a very pleasant manner All Men says he that come into the World tho' they be born of Christian Parents are fill'd with an unclean Spirit which must be driven away by Baptism This is done by the Exorcism which drives away this Spirit and makes it fly into remote places After this the Heart of Man becomes a most pure Habitation God enters and dwells there according to that of the Apostle We are the Temple of God When therefore ye re-baptize Men and exorcise them anew and when ye say O accurs'd come forth of this Man 't is to God that ye speak after this manner you drive him disgracefully out of this Man and the Devil re-enters into his Heart This place of Optatus is very express for proving Original Sin and the Antiquity of Exorcisms At last Optatus shows That the Donatists render themselves Companions of Adulterers because they separate from the Church which is the only lawful Spouse of Jesus Christ to unite themselves with Adulterers He comes afterwards to the second Passage taken out of Psal. 140. Let not the Oyl of the wicked anoint my Head and he observes That this should only be applied to Jesus Christ and that it is a Prayer and not a Precept a Wish and not a Command Then he explains also two other Passages which Parmenianus had quoted against the Catholicks and shews that the First is to be understood of Adulterers or Hereticks and the Second of Jews and that neither the one nor the other is applicable to Catholicks In the Fifth Book Optatus proves That the Donatists commit a great Crime in reiterating Baptism which Jesus Christ has commanded to be given but once only He approves of the Commendations which Parmenianus has given this Sacrament by saying That it is the Life of Vertue the Death of Crimes the Immortal Birth the means of obtaining the Kingdom of Heaven the Port of Innocence and the Shipwrack of Sins But he adds That 't is not he who gives this Sacrament of Baptism that conferrs these Graces but the Faith of him that receives it and the Virtue of the Trinity and consequently that Baptism is not to be reiterated which is administred in the Name of the Trinity He has also here a most Remarkable Reflection about the Rule which we should Consult in all Ecclesiastical Controversies We ask says he if it be lawful to repeat Baptism given in the Name of the Trinity Ye maintain That it is lawful we say That it is forbidden The People are in Suspence between your affirming and our denying the same thing and they can neither believe you nor us for we are all fallible Men Let us then search after Judges in this Case But where are they to be found If they be Christians they are either of your Party or ours and by consequence cannot be Judges of our Difference We must then enquire after a Judge out of Christendom But then if he be a Pagan he understands not our Mysteries if he be a Jew he is an Enemy to the Baptism of Christians There cannot therefore be found any Judge upon Earth but we must seek for one in Heaven But why should we have recourse to Heaven since we have the Testament of our Father upon Earth Let us search after his Will in the Gospel which will inform us that he who has been once wash'd needs not to be wash'd again Wherefore adds he we do not re-baptize those who have been baptiz'd when they return again to us He proves also That it ought not to be done because there is but one Faith one Jesus Christ and one Sacrament of Baptism That there are three Things to be considered in this Sacrament the Trinity the Faith of him that receives it and the Person that administers it That the Trinity is the first Thing of absolute necessity without which there can be no Sacrament at all That the Faith of him that receives the Sacrament is the second Thing which is no less necessary because it ought always to be the same but then there is not the same Necessity that the Minister should be Faithful and Just because the Ministers are chang'd every day and it is Jesus Christ who baptizes and the Minister ought not to attribute to himself the Effect of the Sacrament which is owing to God only and in short because the Sacraments are Holy and do Sanctify by themselves tho' the Holiness of the Minister do not contribute to it Optatus proves this Truth by many Reasons and many Testimonies He observes by the bye That those who had been baptiz'd by John before Jesus Christ instituted Baptism were not re-baptiz'd but those who were baptiz'd after Jesus Christ had instituted Baptism have been re-baptiz'd At last he endeavours to prove That the Faith of him that receives Baptism is necessary to the validity of this Sacrament which must be understood of Adult Persons only The Sixth Book is written against the Impieties and Sacrileges of the Donatists who had broken cut in pieces raz'd and overturn'd the Altars of the Catholicks Those Altars says Optatus which have born the Offerings of the People and the Members of Jesus Christ upon which the Almighty God has been invok'd upon which the Holy Spirit has descended where the Faithful have receiv'd the earnest of eternal Salvation the Support of their Faith and the Hopes of a blessed Resurrection those Altars upon which we are forbidden to offer any other Offerings but those of Peace For what is the Altar but the place where the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are laid What hath Jesus Christ done to you says he further to the Donatists that you should destroy the Altars on which he rests at certain times Why do ye break the Sacred Tables where Jesus Christ makes his abode Ye have imitated the Crime of the Jews for as they put Jesus Christ to Death upon the Cross so ye have beaten him upon these Altars If ye believ'd that the Eucharist of the Catholicks is Sacrilegious yet at least ye should have some respect to the former Offerings that your selves have made upon these Altars Upon this occasion Optatus puts a very pleasant Objection to them All the Faithful know says he that Linen Clothes are laid upon the Altars for the Celebration of the Holy Mysteries The Eucharist does not touch the Wood of the Altar but only the Linen Clothes Why then do ye break Why do ye scrape Why do ye burn the Wood of the Altar If the Impurity can pass through the Linen Why cannot it penetrate the Wood nay and the Ground also If therefore ye scrape off something from the Altars because they are impure I advise you also to dig into the Ground and there to make a great Ditch that ye may offer in a most pure Place But take heed
the Nature of Bodies after the Resurrection and of that of Angels It is incertain whether they have Boâ—…s or whether they are pure Spirits These Letters are of the Year 408. The 96th Letter is an Excellent Example shewing How little Bishops in St. Augustin's time were given to Interest Paulus Bishop of Catagnae had bought an Estate in the Church's Name with a Summ which he recovered though he had Surrendered his own Estate for what he owed to the Royal Treasure Boniface his Successor not willing to benefit himself by that Fraud declared the thing as it was chusing either to have nothing or to receive the whole from the Emperor's Liberality rather than keep a thing gotten by Fraud St. Augustin writeth this Letter to Olympius Surveyor of the Buildings to obtain by his means this Gratification from the Emperour in the behalf of Boniface Olympius not being in that Employment before the Death of Stilico which happen'd in August 408 this Letter cannot have been written till towards the latter end of that Year To the same Magistrate and at the same time was the following written whereby he prayeth him to see the Laws maintained that were Published in Africa in the time of Stilico his Predecessor and to let the Church's Enemies know That these Laws having been Enacted freely by the Emperour himself they were in full force after Stilico's Death In the 98th to Boniface St. Augustin resolves a Question that was made to him by that Bishop namely How the Faith of Parents can serve for their Children that are admitted to Baptism though the incredulity of Parents can be no Prejudice to their Children when they offer them to Daemons St. Augustin Answers That it is most certain that after a Child is born he partakes no longer of other Men's Sins but before he is partaker of Adam's Sin from which he is delivered by the Operation of the Holy Ghost in the Sacrament of Baptism That Water represents outwardly both the Mystery and Grace but the Holy Spirit produces the Effect That neither the Faith of Parents nor yet of Godfathers is the cause of this Grace but the Prayer of the whole Church that begets Christ in each Member In which sence the God-fathers Answer for the Child that he believes and resolves to live Christianly because he receiveth the Sacrament of Faith and of Conversion to God He explains this last Notion by several Examples and among the rest he alledgeth that of the Eucharist saying That as the Sacrament of Christ's Body is in some sort the Body of Christ so the Sacrament of Faith is Faith it self and in this sence it is said That whosoever hath the Sacrament of Faith hath Faith it self This Comparison would not be very Just if St. Augustin did not consider something else in the Eucharist besides the external and sensible part The 99th is written to the Lady Italica on the occasion of the first Siege of Rome by Alaricus in 408. In the 100dth Letter St. Augustin intreateth Donatus Proconsul of Africa to restrain the Donatists but not to punish them with Death And having expressed himself with the most Pathetical terms that can be used to oblige him to Meekness he concludes with these curious words It is a more troublesome than profitable Labour to compel Men to forsake a great Evil rather by Force than by Instruction This Letter was written at the time when they published new Edicts against the Donatists in 408. The 101st Letter to Memorius a Bishop was joyn'd to the Sixth Book of his Treatise of Musick which St. Augustin sent by it self to that Bishop because he could not find his other Books upon the same Subject that Memorius desired This Memorius was Father to Julianus who writ afterwards against St. Augustin who was now a Deacon St. Augustin gives him great Commendations in that Letter The 102d is placed in the Retractations amongst the Books composed before the Year 411. There St. Augustin answereth Six Questions proposed by an Heathen to a Priest called Deogratias The First is concerning the Resurrection Whether that which is promised to us shall be like that of Jesus Christ or like that of Lazarus And whether after the Resurrection Men shall be Subject to the Infirmities and Necessities of the Flesh. St. Augustin answereth That our Resurrection shall be like that of Jesus Christ and that after the Resurrection we shall be freed from all cares and inconveniencies of corruptible Flesh. The Second Question is If none can be Saved but by Jesus Christ what is become of those that died before his coming What is become of so many Millions of Souls against whom nothing can be objected since Christ had not yet appeared among Men Why did not the Saviour come sooner Let it not be said that the Jewish Law supplied that want for there was already an infinite number of Men upon Earth when it was given and yet it was neither known nor practised but in a small corner of the World St. Augustin having shewed That the Pagans were not less perplexed with that Question than the Christians answers That Jesus Christ being the Word of God who Governed the World from the beginning all those that knew him and lived according to his Precepts might be saved by the Faith which they had that he was in God and should come upon the Earth He adds That Jesus Christ would not appear in the World and cause his Doctrine to be Preached but at such a time and in such Places where he knew that there were those who should believe in him and that he foresaw that in all other Places or at any other Times Men would be such as they have been though the Gospel had been Preached to them This Notion was very favourable to the Semipelagians and they failed not to make use of it as appears by Hilary's Letter to St. Augustin But this Father answered them in the 9 Chap. of the Book of the Predestination of the Saints That he did make use of the Word Fore-knowledge only because he thought it was sufficient to convince the Infidelity of the Pagans who made this Objection and therefore he omitted to speak of that which is hid within God's Counsels of the Motives of that Dispensation And so when he said That Jesus Christ would not show himself nor cause his Doctrine to be Preached but in those places and at such a time he knew those Persons liv'd who should believe in him It is as if he had said That Jesus Christ did not show himself unto Men nor suffer his Doctrine to be Preached but in those places and at that time when he knew that those should live who were Elected before the Creation He expounds again in the same place what he had said in this Letter That the Christian Religion never failed of being Preached to those that were worthy and that if it failed any it was because they were not worthy of it Saying That he had not
the Africans had good Success for the Emperor Honorius made an Edict against Pelagius and Coelestius the last day of April 418. And shortly after Pope Zosimus published as we have said his Sentence against them The Council of Carthage in the Year 418. THe African Bishops willing to confirm what they had done against Pelagius and Coelestius Council of Carthage in ccccxviij Assembled upon the First day of May of the Year 418. and made Eight Canons against the Pelagian Errors and some other Orders about the Business of the Donatists The First pronounceth an Anathema against any who dares affirm That Adam was created Mortal so that he must have died whether he had sinned or not because his Death was not an Effect of Sin but a Law of Nature The Second likewise declares an Anathema against such as deny That Children ought to be baptized as soon as they are Born or such as own that they may be baptized and yet affirm That they are born without Original Sin In some places there is a Third Canon which is an Addition to this wherein those that affirm That there is a particular place where Children dead without Baptism do live happily are condemned and to this Notion is opposed what our Saviour saith That none can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven except he be regenerate of Water and the Holy Spirit Photius citeth this Canon in his Collection It is found in another Manuscript and in the Code of the Romish Church published by Father Quesnel And lastly St. Augustin seems to own it when he says That the difference which the Pelagians made betwixt Eternal Life and the Kingdom of Heaven had been condemned in an African Council yet this Canon is not found in the ancient Code of the African Church The Collectors of this Canon have not own'd it and in the Chapters about Grace attributed to Pope Coelestine the 3d 4th and 5th Canons are cited which should be the 4th 5th and 6th if this were the Third Perhaps this Canon was added or look'd upon as an Explication of the foregoing The Third Canon in the common Editions pronounces Anathema against all that should say That the Grace which justifies Man through Jesus Christ our Lord doth only remit Sins committed but that it is not given to succour Man that he may Sin no more The Fourth expounds the Nature of this Grace by condemning those who should say That it doth no further help us than as it gives us the knowledge of what we ought to do but not by enabling us to fulfil the Commandments which it gives us the knowledge of The Fifth is against those that hold That Grace is given only that we may do that which is good with less difficulty because one may absolutely accomplish the Commandments by the Power of his Free-Will without the help of Grace The Sixth declares That St. John did not say merely out of Humility If we say that we have no Sin we deceive our selves The contrary Truth is confirmed in the Seventh Canon by these words of the Lord's Prayer Forgive us our Trespasses c. And they are condemned who affirm That the Righteous do not say this Prayer for themselves but for others In the Eighth there is a Condemnation of another way of eluding the force of these words by saying That the Righteous pray out of Humility but not truly It is said That God would never endure that Man who in his Prayers should lye not only to Men but to God himself by asking with his Mouth That God would forgive his Sins and saying in his Heart that he had none After these Eight Canons concerning Grace some Orders are set down The First Is to reform the Fifth Canon of the Council of Carthage in the Year 407. whereby it was Enacted That those Bishops who converted any Donatists should have the Jurisdiction over them This Order having bred some Disputes it was thought fit here to reform it and it is enjoyn'd That in what place soever any Donatists are reconciled they shall be of the same Diocess with the Catholicks of that place When there were two Bishops in the same place namely The ancient Catholick and the reconciled Donatist it might occasion several Difficulties which the Council prevents in the next Canon which enjoins That the junior Bishop shall make a division of those places where there were many Catholicks and Donatists and that the senior shall have his choice That if there is but one place where the Catholicks and Donatists were intermixt that Place shall belong to that Bishop of the two the place of whose residence is the nearest That if they prove equally distant the Choice shall be left to the People And if the ancient Catholicks desire to have their own Bishop and the reconciled him they had before then the Majority of voices shall carry it but if they be equal then the senior shall have the Precedency Lastly If the Places cannot be equally divided As for example if the number of Divisions should be odd then two equal Divisions shall be made and the Place over and above shall bedisposed of as is said just before In the Third Rule it is provided That whosoever hath enjoy'd a place Three Years shall remain in quiet Possession if there be a Bishop in the Church of that Diocess where naturally he ought to have been The Fourth is against those Bishops who violently took Possession of the Jurisdiction of such places as they pretended to be of their Diocesses without having the matter in Dispute adjudged by Bishops The First ordains That those that shall neglect to procure the Re-union of places dependent from their Diocesses shall be put in mind of it by the Neighbouring Bishops That if they are not converted within Six Months after such Admonition they shall belong to the Diocess of that Bishop that can convert them if it appears that the Bishop of the place hath neglected it It is added That if a Contest happens betwixt two Bishops of different Provinces the Metropolitan of the Province where the place in dispute is situated shall appoint Judges or the Parties shall choose one or three This gives occasion for renewing the Canon which forbids any Appeal to be made from the judgment of Judges thus chosen It is enacted by the Seventh Order That a Bishop neglecting to reconcile the Donatists that are in his Diocess shall be admonished and if they be not reconciled in Six Months they shall not communicate with him until he hath reconciled them Provided always That he who had the execution of the Emperor's Orders was in his Province It is added in the Eighth That if it be proved that any Bishop affirmed that these Donatists were come into the Communion of the Church and it was not so he shall lose his Bishoprick The Ninth enjoins That if the Priests Deacons and other Clerks complain of their Bishop's Judgments they shall be judged by the Neighbouring Bishops with
a Physician Error to a Disease And says that as a Physician cuts off putrefied and gangrened Members to prevent the spreading of the Disease into the other parts so Bishops are obliged to cut off the Members of the Church but yet they ought not to do it but with regret and in cases of necessity when there is no other remedy left sufficient and proper to effect the Cure He hath also a 4th Treatise upon the same Subject which was published at Paris in 1675. in Twelves by F. Combefis out of a MS. copyed by Holstenius * It had been published by Card. Barberinus at Rome in 1669. Octavo It bears this Title An Exposition of the Nicene Creed but it is a confutation of Nestorius grounded upon the Nicene Creed In it he makes mention of 3 Books which he had written concerning the Divinity of the Holy Spirit The Iconoclasts having quoted a Testimony of Theodotus Bishop of Ancyra against Images Epiphanius maintained in the 7th Council Act 6. That that place was supposititious And to prove it invincibly he says That he had collected all the Works of that Author but never met with the Passage which they alledged And then gives us the following Catalogue of them viz. Six Books against Nestorius dedicated to Lausus The Exposition of the Nicene Creed A Sermon upon the Feast of the Nativity Another upon the Purification Another upon Elias and the Widow Another upon S. Peter and S. John Another upon the Lame Man who lay at the Gate of the Temple Another upon him that had received the Talents And lastly upon the two blind Men. Altho' Epiphanius makes mention here of several of Theodotus's Works which we have not yet we cannot say that he forgot none Nicephorus attributes to him a Sermon upon the Virgin and S. Simeon Some think That it is the 4th Sermon among Amphilochius's which bears his Name in a MS. in Cardinal Mazarini's Library F. Combefis who published Theodotus's Exposition upon the Nicene Creed assures us That he had 4 Sermons more of this Author and among others that upon the Purification of the Virgin Mary cited by Epiphanius The Style of this Author is short and concise full of subtle Interrogations and cogent Arguments He speaks like a Logician or Controvertist rather than like an Orator or Preacher There is nothing very remarkable in his Writings but we may observe in them a great deal of Artifice and Subtilty The Orthodox Bishops of S. Cyril's Party THese Bishops of S. Cyril's Party have written in the defence of the Church Acacius Bishop of Melitene made a Sermon in the Council of Ephesus which is in the Orthodox Bishops of S. Cyril's Party Acts of the Council Tom. 3. of the Counc p. 839. and wrote a Letter to S. Cyril which is in F. Lupus's Collection Memnon Bishop of Ephesus hath written a Letter to the Council of Constantinople which is found in the Acts of the Council of Ephesus p. 762. Rheginus Bishop of Constantia in Cyprus made a Discourse in the Council upon the deposition of Nestorius ibid. p. 577. Maximian chosen in his place wrote a Letter to S. Cyril which is also in the Acts of the Council of Ephesus p. 1061. Lastly To these Bishops may be joyned two Priests the one called Alipius a Priest of Constantinople who wrote a Letter to S. Cyril which is recited in the Acts of the Council p. 785. and Charisius a Priest of the Church of Philadelphia who presented a Petition to the Council of Ephesus with a Form of Faith recited in the Acts of the Council p. 673. S. SIXTUS III. SIXTUS a Priest of the Church of Rome was a long time one of the greatest Ornaments of the Roman Clergy We understand by the two Letters which S. Austin wrote to him S. Sixtus III. in 418. that he was a Protector of Pelagius and his Adherents who therefore had given out a Report That he was of their Opinion but when they were condemned by Zosimus he was one of the first that pronounced an Anathema against them That he wrote a short Letter to Aurelius Bishop of Carthage in which he assures him That he was not of Pelagius's Sentiments and that he afterward made a larger Book in which he explained his Opinions more amply which were consonant to those of the Bishops of Africa and contrary to the Errors of the Pelagians We have neither this Letter nor this Writing but this Story and the manner in which S. Austin writes to Sixtus shew us sufficiently how he was already looked upon in the Church of Rome So that it is no wonder that after the Death of S. Coelestine which happened in 432. he succeeded him in the See of Rome The Eastern Churches were then divided about the Condemnation of Nestorius S. Cyril and the Aegyptian Bishops maintained what was done against him John Bishop of Antioch and the other Oriental Bishops would not receive him they excommunicated and condemned one another and the Church was in danger of falling into a lamentable Schism if the Prudence of S. Sixtus had not contributed to the Peace which was concluded in the time of his Popedom S. Cyril sent two Bishops to Rome in the Name of the Council to encline the Pope to approve what he had done and to declarâ— himself openly against the Orientals These two Bishops called Hermogenes and Lampelius at their arrival found S. Coelestine dead and Sixtus in his place This Pope graciously received these Messengers approved what was said in the Council of Antioch concerning the Faith and the Condemnation of Nestorius But asto John Bishop of Antioch and the Orientals he ordered That if they would acknowledge and approve the Faith of the Council they ought to be received This he wrote to S. Cyril and the other Bishops in two Letters which M. Cotelierius hath published in Greek and Latin in his 1st Tome of the Monuments of the Greek Church p. 42 and 44. And Mr. Baluzius hath put them in his new Collection of thâ— Councils p. 658. These Letters had very good success and prepared their Minds for Peace As soon as it was concluded S. Cyril sent S. Sixtus the News of it who shewed a great deal of Joy at it and immediately wrote to S. Cyril and John Bishop of Antioch to assure them That he did join with them in their Reunion We have these two Letters at the end of the Acts of the Council of Ephesus p. 1175 and 1178. He wrote to S. Cyril that at that time when he was much troubled for the condition of the Eastern Churches he was greatly pleased to hear by his Letters That all the Members of the Church were again united in one Body excepting him only who was the Cause of all the Mischief That he had imparted this good News to the Bishops of his Synod which was assembled upon his Birth-day He adds That John Bishop of Antioch had never followed the Errors and
of them These Deputies not finding that footing in the Church of Rome which they expected thought fit to consult the Bishops of Africk which were banish'd to the Isle of Sardinia And therefore in the Year 521 they address'd to them a Writing wherein they declar'd their Belief concerning the Incarnation and Grace and founded it upon the Testimonies of the Fathers As to the Incarnation they acknowledg'd two Natures in Jesus Christ united into one Person only without confusion and mixture They reject the Sentiment of those who professing to believe one Nature Incarnate in Jesus Christ do not receive the Decision of the Council of Chalcedon or who admitting two Natures would not say that there is but one Nature of the Word Incarnate From these Principles they conclude That the Virgin is truly the Mother of God That the Union of the two Natures is essential and natural That the Person of Jesus Christ is compos'd of two Natures without any change happening to him That the Trinity continues the Trinity still tho one of the Persons of this Trinity was Incarnate That his Flesh is not become a part of the Trinity but is become the Flesh of one Person of the Trinity From whence it comes to pass that one may say That one of the Trinity suffer'd and was crucified in his Flesh and not in his Divinity that it was not Man who was made God but God who was made Man They profess to receive the four first General Councils and the Letters of St. Leo and to condemn the Errors of Theodorus of Mopsuesta Nestorius Eutyches and Dioscorus and of all those whom the Apostolick See had regularly condemn'd As to Grace they follow the Principles of St. Austin and declare that they believe that the first Man was created without Concupiscence and with a perfect liberty to do good and evil and that by falling into sin he was chang'd both in his Body and his Soul that he lost his own Liberty and became a Slave to sin that since that time all men are born in sin that nothing but the Grace of Jesus Christ can deliver us from sin that without this we can neither think nor desire that which is good that Grace worketh in us to do not by any necessitating violence but by the sweet inspiration of the Holy Spirit that no Man can say 'T is in my power to believe if I will since Faith is the gift of God who worketh in us to believe and to will that the passage of the Apostle which says God would have all Mankind to be sav'd ought not to be objected against this Doctrine to prove that nothing hinders us to be sav'd if we will For if this were so there would be no necessity to have recourse to the unsearchable Judgments of God for explaining the reason why one is call'd and another not that if God would effectually have sav'd the whole World he should have wrought in Tyre and Sidon those Miracles which were done in Chorazin and Bethsaida since he knew that if they had been wrought in these two former Cities their Inhabitants would have repented that the beginning of good Thoughts the consent of the Will to do good cometh to us from God who produces them in us by his Holy Spirit They cite for proof of these Principles some passages of St. Basil of the Popes St. Innocent and St. Celestin and of the Council of Africk They conclude with Anathematizing Pelagius Celestius and Julianus and those who are of their Opinion together with the Books of Faustus about Predestination This Confession of Faith is sign'd by Peter a Deacon John and Leontius Monks and by another John a Reader They pray the Bishops of Afric to approve their Exposition of Faith that so being supported by their Authority they may be able to stop the mouth of those who disgrace them The Bishops of Afric employ'd St. Fulgentius to write them an Answer and their Letter bears the names of fifteen Bishops only who did not only approve in this Letter all the Points of the Confession of Faith which we have just now explain'd but did also enlarge and confirm them without excepting so much as that Proposition One Person of the Trinity did suffer They enlarged very much upon the Proofs of Original Sin the Necessity of Grace for the beginning of Faâ—th upon its Efficacy upon the Insufficiency of Free-will to do good They confess that Grace does not destroy our Free-will but they maintain that our Free-will which without Grace is not sufficient to do any thing but sin is deliver'd from this Bondage by Grace which sets us truly at liberty They confess also that in some sense it may be said that Nature has power to believe and to do good because Faith and Charity are proper for Human Nature and Man was created only to believe and do good but that since the Fall he cannot have Faith nor do good unless God give him the power as the Soul gives Life to the Body which is capable of being animated That when the Apostle says Therâ— are some People who do by nature what the Law commands this is to be understood of Faithful People and such as were Converted That neither the knowledge of God nor Faith will avail us any thing without Charity that the Law of Nature does not deliver us from sin without Grace that it must be referr'd to the incomprehensible Judgments of God that he does not effectually will all Men to believe that it is sufficient for us to acknowledge with humility his Mercy wholly gratuitous in those who are sav'd and not to doubt his Justice as to those who are damned that those who understand this passage of St. Paul That God would have all Men to be sav'd so as to make a Man's Salvation depend upon his own Will are grosly mistaken that the example of Infants dying without Baptism who are condemn'd to Eternal Punishment for this is the term which Fulgentius uses without committing any voluntary sin does confound them That therefore the words of the Apostle are to be understood in this sense that no man is sav'd but by the Will of God because he cannot prevent the fulfilling of God's Will neither can the effect of it be hindred by the malice of Men and that 't is certain that all those whom God would have sav'd are infallibly sav'd that it may also be said that by all men are to be understood all men who are to be sav'd that often-times in Scripture all the World is taken for a part of Mankind Lastly That God who created Man hath provided for him by the Decree by which he predestin'd him Faith Justification Perseverance and Glory and whosoever does not acknowledge the Truth of this Predestination shall not be of the number of the Elect nor have any share in that Salvation That notwithstanding the Faithful ought constantly to pray and to have Charity for these Persons that God would give them
to life again The knowledge of things hidden and the prediction of things future did never fail him An Ecclesiastical Person was deliver'd from a Devil and afterwards possess'd a-new for aspiring to Holy Orders which this Saint had forbidden him Two hundred Measures of Corn were found at the Gate of a Monastery at a time when there was great need of it The Nuns threatned with Excommunication by St. Benedict who died a little while after did visibly go out of the Church when the Deacon order'd those who were Excommunicated to retire But he took off this Excommunication and after the Offering was presented for them which be blessed they were never more seen to go out as before A young Hennit who was gone out of a Monastery without leave dying in his own House was buried and the next day after his Body was found above ground His Kinsfolk had recourse to St. Benedict who gave them the Communion of the Body of our Saviour and order'd them to put it upon the Breast of the deceased and then to bury him with it which being done he continued after that under ground A Leper was cur'd by his Prayers A Bottle of Oyl thrown down from a high place was preserved whole Sometimes he got Money and sometimes Oyl He cur'd an Hermit possess'd of a Devil He loos'd a Country-man who was bound fast only by his own looks He raised a dead Infant His Sister St. Scholastica raised a furious storm to force him to lye at her House He saw his own Soul ascend to Heaven in the shape of a Dove He had also another Vision wherein he perceiv'd the Soul of Germanus Bishop of Capua which the Angels carried up to Heaven He foretold his own Death which was follow'd with Miracles The third Book contains the Vertues and Miracles of many Saints of Italy There it is related that Paulinus Bishop of Nola went into Afric to render himself a Prisoner to the King of the Vandals that he might deliver the only Son of a Widow of his own Country and that he being discover'd by a miraculous Vision did not only obtain his own Deliverance but also the Deliverance of all the Prisoners of War That a Horse on which Pope John mounted would never after carry a Woman and that this Pope cur'd a blind Man at Constantinople That Pope Agapetus heal'd a lame Man That Dacius Bishop of Milan deliver'd a House from Spectres which the Devil made to appear there That Sabinus Bishop of Lanusa being blind knew every thing that pass'd and one day his Arch-deacon having presented to him Poyson by a Servant he would not drink it but order'd the Servant to drink it and afterwards having hindred him from doing it he drunk it off himself after he had made the sign of the Cross without receiving any hurt and order'd the Boy to go and tell him who had given him this Poyson that he should not be Bishop and indeed the Arch-deacon died immediately 'T is also reported in the same Book that Andrew Bishop of Fundi being tempted by a Nun who dwelt in his House was restrain'd by an Adventure pleasant enough A Jew having stop'd near the place where formerly the Temple of Apollo at Fundi stood heard there the Devils give an account to their Prince of what they had done and among them there was one who boasted that he had inspir'd this Temptation into Andrew This Jew having found out this Bishop discover'd to him what he had heard which mov'd this Bishop to turn out of his House not only this Nun but also all the other Women that there might be no occasion for a Temptation A Bishop of Luca chang'd the Course of a River by his own word only Another stop'd the Inundation of the Po by a Letter Others are preserv'd from their Enemies from Serpents and from Savage Beasts A Hermit raised one from the dead A new Nun chas'd away the Devil A Rubber was seiz'd at the Sepulchre of a holy Priest In short there are many other Miracles of this Nature in this Book And there he speaks also of some Christians who suffer'd for the Faith under the Lombards In the fourth Book he undertakes to treat of the state of the Soul after death and to refute the Opinion of some who without separating from the Church doubted whether the Soul liv'd after its separation from the Body There he observes that 't is not to be wondred that Man being born Carnal and not being able to feel invisible things should be hardly brought to believe them that notwithstanding Men must of necessity believe such things as they do not feel That there are three sorts of Spirits Spirits which are never united to any Flesh and Spirits which are united to it but do not dye with it and Spirits which are united to Flesh and die with the Body The Angels are the first sort the Souls of Men are the second and the Souls of Beasts are the third He answers a passage of Ecclesiastes where 't is said that Beasts and Men die alike by affirming that it is a Question propos'd by the Author and not his Decision of it He adds that we must not wonder that we do not see the Soul go out of the Body since it is not seen even in the Body and that as it discovers it self when it is in the Body by its Motions so it does also when it is out of the Body by the Miracles of the Saints that moreover the Eyes of the Body cannot perceive the Soul since it is invisible but the Just do purifie the Eyes of their Mind To prove this he brings the Examples of many whose Souls have been seen after their death or of Saints who have seen at the time of their death either Jesus Christ or the Virgin or some of the Saints As to the state of Souls after death he says that those of the Just who are perfect are receiv'd into Heaven that those of them who are not so perfect are detain'd in certain Receptacles and that those of the wicked are thrown into Hell-fire which torments them altho it be Corporeal He thinks it no more difficult to explain the manner whereby it causes pain in the other Life then in this He believes that the Damned know the Happiness of the Just and the Blessed the Misery of the Damned He maintains expresly that there is a Purgatory for expiating the slight faults of those who have deserv'd this Grace by the good Actions which they did in this Life * But this being only a Purgation of light and venial sins is not such a Purgatory as is asserted by the Council of Trent Sess 6. Can. 30. which is the temporal pain of mortal sins whose eternal punishment is remitted And in other places of his Works Pope Gregory does expresly deny any change of state after this life as particularly his Morals on Job l. 8. c. 8. Ed. Bas. where he says That at the time
He govern'd the See of Arles from the Year 501 to the Year 543. He is mention'd in Gennadius's Book of Ecclesiastical Writers but 't is certain that this place was added For besides that it is not found in some Editions and many Manuscripts of Gennadius 't is evident that Caesarius was not yet Bishop of Arles when Gennadius wrote this Book Yet this Chapter being written by an ancient Author we may give credit to what he says in it that Caesarius composed some Books very useful for Monks Sigibert of Gemblours calls them Homilies proper for the Monastical Life We have many Homilies which go under his Name which are publish'd in the Bibliotheque of the Fathers in the Collection of M. Baluzius and among the Sermons of St. Austin Some of them perhaps are none of his and 't is certain that several places are added in them But these Homilies are not Discourses to Monks but Sermons to the People He compos'd a very great number of them not only to serve for Preaching in his own Church which he did very often Morning and Evening but also to send them to his Brethren of France Italy and Spain that they might use them for the Instruction of their People From hence it is that a great number of them are restor'd to him in the last Edition of St. Austin's Sermons He often-times transcribed the Sermons of others and chiefly those of St. Austin He founded a Monastery of Nuns at Arles whereof his Sister Caesaria was Abbess He drew up a Rule for them which is in the Collection of Benedict of Aniane where is found also a Discourse exhorting them to Chastity a Letter which he wrote to the Abbess about the manner of governing her Nuns and the Testament of this Bishop His Life was written by his Disciple Cyprianus by the Priest Messianus and by the Deacon Stephen These Lives are extant in the first Benedictine Age but I question whether they be altogether genuine and such as they were made by their first Authors The Author who plac'd his Name in Gennadius attributes to him a Collection of Passages out of the Holy Scripture and the Fathers about Grace which is approv'd by Pope Felix which is to be understood of the Canons of the second Council of Orange at which Caesarius assisted PONTIANUS THis Bishop wrote a Letter to Justinian wherein he praises his Zeal and Piety and remonstrates to him that he thought he could not condemn Theodorus the Writings of Theodoret and the Letter of Ibas because he had not seen their Writings and tho he should see them and find in Pontianus them things worthy of Condemnation yet he could not condemn the Authors that died in the Communion of the Church That he was afraid lest under the pretence of condemning these Authors they should revive the Heresie of Eutyches Lastly he informs him that he could not make war with the dead who are judg'd by a Judge from whose Judgment there lies no Appeal and prays him not to persecute and put to death those who are alive to force them to condemn some that Leo Arch-bishop of Sens. are dead This Letter is in the Councils Tome 5. p. 324. LEO Archbishop of Sens. THe Bishops have always been jealous of their Jurisdiction and vigorously oppos'd the Dismembrings which the Princes would make of the Parts of their Diocese This Archbishop of Sens may serve for an example of this King Childebert would establish a Bishop in the City of Melodunum which was in his Kingdom tho it belong'd to the Diocese of Sens. Leo wrote to him a Civil Letter in defence of his Rights and to hinder the Erection of this Bishoprick He represents to him that this could not be done without the consent of King Theodebert that it was contrary to the Ecclesiastical Canons that he ought not to suffer the Peace which was among the Bishops to be disturbed by his Order and that some of the People should be withdrawn from under the Jurisdiction of their Bishop that he could not alledge as a Pretence for erecting this new Bishoprick of Melodunum that the Bishop of Sens could not make his Visitation there because the ways were stopp'd up since there was nothing to hinder the Bishop of Sens to go thither or send his Deputy Lastly he declares that whosoever shall Ordain a Bishop at Melodunum without his Consent unless it were order'd by the Pope or in a Synod shall be excluded from his Communion as well as he who shall be Ordain'd This Letter is written under the Reign of Theodebert which begun in 535 and ended in 548. TROJANUS Bishop of Santones THis Bishop wrote a Letter to Evemerus or Eumerius Bishop of Nantes who had consulted him Whether he ought to Baptize a Person who did not remember that he was baptiz'd He answers Trojanus Bishop of Santones him That he ought to baptize all those who did not remember that they were baptiz'd or had no proof that they had been baptiz'd NICETIUS Bishop of Treves FAther Luc Dachery has given us in the third Tome of his Spicilegium two small Tracts of Piety written by this Bishop The one is concerning the Watchings of the Servants of God and the Nicetius Bishop of Treves other concerning the Usefulness of singing Psalms There are also two Letters of this Bishop's one to Justinian wherein he exhorts him to renounce Heresie and another to Chlosdoinda Queen of the Lombards exhorting her to labour after the Conversion of her Husband Tome fifth of the Councils p. 381. AURELIANUS AUrelianus Bishop of Arles and Successor to Caesarius whom Vigilius made his Vicar in Gaul made two Rules one for the Monks and another for the Nuns They are both related in the Aurelianus Code of the Rules of Benedict Abbot of Ancona This Bishop assisted at the Council of Lyons held in the Year 549. TERRADIUS Terradius TErradius or Terridius a Kinsman of Caesarius Bishop of Arles passes for the Author of a Rule made for Monks and Nuns ARATOR ARator born in Liguria was Intendant of the Finances to King Athalaricus and afterwards Sub-deacon of the Church of Rome he turn'd into Verse the History of the Acts of the Apostles under Arator the Pontificat of Pope Vigilius Altho this Work was much esteem'd in his own time yet it has not the like Approbation at present having nothing in it that 's sublime or agreeable The same Author wrote a Letter in Elegiack Verse to Count Parthenius which was publish'd by Father Sirmondus at the end of Ennodius JUSTINIANUS and JUSTUS Bishops of Spain ISidore of Sevil observes it as a thing extraordinary that there were in Spain under the Reign of Theodius i. e. toward the Year 535 four Brethren born of the same Mother all four Bishops Justinianus and Justus Bishops of Spain and all four Writers The first is Justinian Bishop of Valentia who wrote a Treatise containing divers Answers to the
Questions of Rusticus The first concerning the Holy Spirit the second against the followers of Bonosus who believ'd that Jesus Christ was an Adoptive Son and not the Natural Son of God the third about the Baptism of Jesus Christ to show that it is not lawful to reiterate it the fourth about the Distinction between John's Baptism and that of Jesus Christ the fifth to prove that the Son is invisible as the Father The second was Justus Bishop of Urgellum who publish'd a little Commentary upon the Canticles wherein he explains in a few words and very clearly the Allegorical sense of this Book of Holy Scripture The two other Brethren were call'd Hebrides and Elpides but it is not known where they were Bishops and what is the subject of their Writings We have not now the Work of Justinian but only that of Justus upon the Canticles St. Isidore has given a sound Judgment of it In it he expounds very succinctly and clearly the Canticles by applying it to Jesus Christ and his Church There are two Letters of the same Bishop in the fifth Tome of the Spicilegium of Luc Dachery the first whereof is supposititious APRIGIUS APrigius Bishop of Beia in Portugal an Eloquent and Learned Man says Isidore of Sevil has explain'd the Revelation of St. John He has given a spiritual sense of it and in a noble style he Aprigius seems also to have succeeded betterin it then the greatest part of the Ancients He did also write some other Books which are not come to our Knowledge He flourish'd in the time of King Theodius i. e. about the Year 540. At present there remains nothing of this Author ARETAS Aretas THis Aretas who wrote a Commentary upon the Revelations taken out of that of Andrew of Caesarea is plac'd in the sixth Age of the Church and he is also thought to be Bishop of Caesarea but there is no proof neither of the one nor the other This Commentary may be seen in the Bibliotheques of the Fathers ZACHARIAS Bishop of Mitylena ZAcharias Scholasticus was made Bishop of Mitylena in the time of Mennas Patriarch of Constantinople and was present at the fifth Council He wrote two Treatises about Matters rather Zacharias Bishop of Mitylena Philosophical then Theological The first is a little Tract against the Opinion of the Manichees concerning the two Principles The second is a Dialogue of the Creation of the World wherein he refutes the Philosophers who believ'd it Eternal These two Treatises are in the Bibliotheques of the Fathers CYRILLUS of Scythopolis CYrillus Monk of Scythopolis wrote the Life of the Abbot Euthymus 'T is in Latin in Surius at the 20th of January and in Greek and Latin in the second Tome of the Monuments of the Greek Cyrillus of Scythopolis Church publish'd by Mr. Cotelerius but it is not the same as it was written by Cyril but as it was amended or rather corrupted by Metaphrastes This Life is well enough written and contains many Historical Circumstances very remarkable FACUNDUS FAcundus Bishop of Hermiana a City of the Province of Byracena in Afric being at Constantinople at the time when Justinian would extort from the Bishops the Condemnation of the three Facundus Chapters wrote a Book in Defence of them before Vigilius arriv'd at Constantinople When this Pope was come Facundus assisted at the Conference which was held upon this Subject and being afterwards oblig'd to give his Opinion in Writing he made Extracts out of his own Book in great haste the Emperor not allowing him but seven days to give his Opinion tho there happen'd two of them to be Festivals This Facundus himself informs us in the Preface of his twelve Books written in Defence of the three Chapters In the first he handles many Questions concerning the Mystery of the Incarnation In the first place he commends the Confession of Faith which Justinian had publish'd in the Year 533 and approves also of this Expression One of the Trinity was crucified after this he remarks that the three Chapters were invented by the Eutychians to weaken the Authority of the Council of Chalcedon That the Origenians to revenge themselves on those who had Condemn'd them were joyn'd with the Eutychians and not daring openly to attack the Council of Chalcedon they had consulted to procure the Condemnation of the Letter of Ibas which was approv'd in this Council that they might indirectly Condemn the Bishops that were present at it That in short it was not necessary for rejecting the Error of the Nestorians to Condemn the three Chapters but it was sufficient to say that One of the Trinity suffer'd and that the Virgin was the Mother of God That there are some Catholicks who would not have it said That one of the Trinity but One of the Persons of the Trinity suffer'd That notwithstanding both the one and the other of these Propositions is capable of a good sense but the last does not formally enough exclude the Error of the Nestorians Here he remarks en passant that when 't is said in Scripture that Baptism was administred by the Apostles in the Name of Jesus Christ this ought to be understood only by way of Opposition to the Baptism of the Jews and not so as to exclude the Invocation of the other Persons Afterward he shows that we ought to say that the Virgin is truly and properly the Mother of God and that it may also be said that God is the Father of a crucified Man without inferring from thence that the Divinity was born of a Virgin or that it was crucified He proves also against the Eutychians that there are two Natures in Jesus Christ and not only One Nature compounded as they affirm He explains the Passages of Julius and St. Cyril which they make use of to give Authority to their Sentiment by proving that these two Bishops acknowledg'd two Natures in Jesus Christ. He pushes these things yet further by maintaining that those who admit but one compounded Nature favour'd the Sentiment of Nestorius because they cannot say that this Nature was of the same Substance with that of the Eternal Father which is most Simple from whence it follows that the Person of Jesus Christ is not of the same Substance with the Father In fine he observes that the difference between the Union of the Soul and Body and that of the Divine and Human Nature in Jesus Christ consists in this That the Soul and Body are united into one and the same Nature whereas the Divine and Human Nature are united into One Person only Facundus having discover'd the Purity of his Faith in the first Book undertakes in the second the Defence of the three Chapters That he may do this the more freely he supposes that the Writing against the three Chapters which goes under the Name of Justinian is none of his but that it was compos'd by the Enemies of the Council of Chalcedon He cries out that it were