the Treasure of Exorcisms and horrible Conjurings for that is the very title of the Book printed at Colein A. D. 1608 shall find many as horrid things and not censur'd by any Inquisitors as yet so far as we have ever read or heard Nay that very Luciferina or Devillish Exorcism is reprinted at Lyons A. D. 16â—4 in the institutio baptizandi which was restored by the Decree of the Council of Trent So that though it was forbidden in Spain it was allowed in France But as bad as that are allowed every where in the Church of Rome The most famous and of most publike use are The Treasure of Exorcisms of which we but now made mention the Roman Ritual The Manual of Exorcisms printed at Antwerp A. D. 1626. with Approbation of the Bishop and privilege of the Archdukes the Pastorals of several Churches especially that of Ruraemund and especially the Flagellum Daemonum The Devils whip by Father Hierom Mengus a Frier Minor which the Clergy of Orleans did use in the Exorcising of Martha Brosser A. D. 1599. the story whereof is in the Epistles of Cardinal D' Ossat and the History of the Excellent Thuanus Now from these Books especially this last we shall represent their manner of casting our Devils and then speak a word to the thing it self Their manner and form is this First They are to try the Devil by Holy water Incense Sulphur Rue which from thence as we suppose came to be called Herb of Grace and especially S. Iohns wort which therefore they call Devils flight with which if they cannot cast the Devil out yet they may do good to the Patient for so Pope Alexander the first promis'd and commanded the Priests to use it for the sanctifying and pacifying the people and driving away the snares of the Devil And to this it were well if the Exorcist would rail upon mock and jeer the Devil for he cannot endure a witty and a sharp taunt and loves jeering and railing no more than he loves holy water and this was well tried of old against an Empuse that met Apollonius Tyanaeus at Mount Caucasus against whom he rail'd and exhorted his company to do so Next to this the Exorcist may ask the Devil some questions What is his name How many of them there are For what cause and at what time he entered and for his own learning by what persons he can be cast out and by what Saint adjur'd who are his particular enemies in Heaven and who in Hell by what words he can be most afflicted for the Devils are such fools that they cannot keep their own counsel nor choose but tell and when they do they always tell true He may also ask him by what Covenant or what Charm he came there and by what he is to be released Then he may call Lucifer to help him and to torment that Spirit for so they cast out Devils by Belzebub the Prince of the Devils and certainly Lucifer dares not but obey him Next to this the Exorcist is cunningly to get out of the Devil the confession of some Article of Faith for the edification of the standers by whom he may by this means convince of the truth of Transubstantiation the reality of Purgatory or the value of Indulgences and command him to knock his head three times against the ground in adoration of the Holy Trinity But let him take heed what Reliques he apply to the Deuil for if the Reliques be counterfeit the Devil will be too hard for him However let the Exorcising Priest be sure to bless his pottage his meat his ointment his herbs and then also he may use some Schedules or little rolls of paper containing in them holy words but he must be sure to be exercis'd and skilful in all things that belong to the conjuring of the Devil These are the preparatory documents which when he hath observ'd then let him fall to his prayers Now for the prayers they also are publickly describ'd in their Offices before cited and are as followeth The Priest ties his stole about the neck of the possessed with three knots and says O ye abominable Rebels against God I conjure you Spirits and adjure you I call I constrain I call out I contend and contest where ever you are in this Man by the Father Son and Holy Ghost then â—e makes three †by the most powerful name of God Heloy the strong and admirable I exorcise you and adjure you and command you by the power I have that you incontinently hear the words of my conjuring and perceive your selves overcome and command you not to depart without license and so I bind you with this stole of jucundity in the name of the Father †Son †and Holy Ghost †Amen Then he makes two and thirty crosses more and calls over one and thirty names of God in false Hebrew and base Greek and some Latine signifying the same names and the two and thirtieth is by the sign of the Cross praying God to deliver them from their enemies Then follow more prayers and more adjurations and more conjurations for they are greatly different you must know and aspersions of holy water and shewings of the Cross and signings with it Then they adjure the Devil in case the names of God will not do it by S. Mary and S. Anne by S. Michael and St. Gabriel by Raphael and all Angels and Arch-angels by the Patriarchs and by the Prophets and by his own infirmity by the Apostles and by the Martyrs and then after all this if the Devil will not come out he must tarry there still till the next Exorcism in which The Exorcist must rail at the Devil and say over agaiâ— the Names of God and then ask him questions and read over the sequences of the Gospels and after that tell him that he hath power over him for he can transubstantiate bread into Christs body and then conjure him again and call him damn'd Devil unclean Spirit and as bad as he can call him and so pray to God to cast him out of the mans mouth and nose lips and teeth jaws and cheeks eyes and forehead eye-brows and eye-lids his feet and his members his marrow and his bones and must reckon every part of his body to which purpose we suppose it would be well if the Exorcist were well skill'd in Laurentius or Bauhinus his Anatomy And if he will not go out yet there is no help but he must choose till the third Exorcism In which besides many prayers and conjurations in other words to the same purpose the Exorcist must speak louder especially if it be a deaf Devil for then indeed it is the more necessary and tell the Devil his own and threaten him terribly and conjure him again and say over him about some twenty or thirty names or titles of Christ and forbid the Devil to go any whither but to the centre of the world and must damn him eternally
Non magna loquimur sed bivimus Nihil opinionis Gratia omnia Conscentiae faciam A Dissuasive FROM POPERY By JEREMY Lord Bishop of Down The third Edition revised and corrected by the Author LONDON Printed by I. G. for Rich. Royston Bookseller to the King 's most Excellent Majesty MDCLXIV THE PREFACE TO THE READER WHen a Roman Gentleman had to please himself written a book in Greek and presented it to Cato he desir'd him to pardon the faults of his Expressions since he wrote in Greek which was a Tongue in which he was not perfect Master Cato told him he had better then to have let it alone and written in Latin by how much it is better not to commit a fault than to make apologies For if the thing be good it needs not to be excus'd if it be not good a crude apologie will do nothing but confess the fault but never makes amends I therefore make this Address to all who will concern themselves in reading this book not to ask their pardon for my fault in doing of it I know of none for if I had known them I would have mended them before the Publication and yet though I know not any I do not question but much fault will be found by too many I wish I have given them no cause for their so doing But I do not onely mean it in the particular Periods where every man that is not a Son of the Church of England or Ireland will at least do as Apollonius did to the Apparition that affrighted his company on the mountain Caucasus he will revile and persecute me with evil words but I mean it in the whole Design and men will reasonably or capritiously ask Why any more Controversies Why this over again Why against the Papists against whom so very many are already exasperated that they cry out fiercely of Persecution And why can they not be suffered to enjoy their share of peace which hath returned in the hands of His Sacred Majesty at his blessed Restauration For as much of this as concerns my self I make no excuse but give my reasons and hope to justifie this procedure with that modesty which David us'd to his angry brother saying What have I now done is there not a cause The cause is this The Reverend Fathers my Lords the Bishops of Ireland in their circumspection and watchfulness over their Flocks having espied grievous Wolves to have entered in some with Sheeps-clothing and some without some secret enemies and some open at first endeavour'd to give check to those enemies which had put fire into the bed-straw and though God hath very much prosper'd their labours yet they have work enough to do and will have till God shall call them home to the land of peace and unity But it was soon remembred that when King James of blessed memory had discerned the spirits of the English Non-conformists and found them peevish and factious unreasonable and imperious not onely unable to govern but as inconsistent with the Government as greedy to snatch at it for themselves resolved to take off their disguise and put a difference between Conscience and Faction and to bring them to the measures and rules of Laws and to this the Council and all wise men were consenting because by the Kings great wisdom and the conduct of the whole Conference and Inquiry men saw there was reason on the Kings side and necessity on all sides But the Gun-powder Treason breaking out a new Zele was enkindled against the Papists and it shin'd so greatly that the Non-conformists escap'd by the light of it and quickly grew warm by the heat of that flame to which they added no small increase by their Declamations and other acts of insinuation insomuch that they being neglected multiply'd untill they got power enough to do all those mischiefs which we have seen and felt This being remembred and spoken of it was soon observ'd that the Tables onely were now turn'd and that now the publick zele and watchfulness against those men and those persuasions which so lately have afflicted us might give to the Emissaries of the Church of Rome leisure and opportunity to grow into numbers and strength to debauch many Souls and to unhinge the safety and peace of the Kingdom In Ireland we saw too much of it done and found the mischief growing too fast and the most intolerable inconveniencies but too justly apprehended as near and imminent We had reason at least to cry Fire when it flamed through our very Roofs and to interpose with all care and diligence when Religion and the eternal Interest of Souls was at stake as knowing we should be greatly unfit to appear and account to the great Bishop and Shepherd of Souls if we had suffer'd the enemies to sow tares in our fields we standing and looking on It was therefore consider'd how we might best serve God and rescue our charges from their danger and it was concluded presently to run to arms I mean to the weapons of our warfare to the armour of the Spirit to the works of our calling and to tell the people of their peril to warn them of the enemy and to lead them in the ways of truth and peace and holiness that if they would be admonished they might be safe if they would not they should be without excuse because they could not say but the Prophets have been amongst them But then it was next enquired who should minister in this affair and put in order all those things which they had to give in charge It was easie to chuse many but hard to chuse one there were many fit to succeed in the vacant Apostleship and though Barsabas the Just was by all the Church nam'd as a fit and worthy man yet the lot fell upon Matthias and that was my case it fell to me to be their Amanuensis when persons most worthy were more readily excus'd and in this my Lords the Bishops had reason that according to S. Pauls rule If there be judgments or controversies amongst us they should be imploy'd who are least esteem'd in the Church and upon this account I had nothing left me but Obedience though I confess that I found regret in the nature of the imployment for I love not to be as S. Paul calls it one of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Disputers of this world For I suppose skill in Controversies as they are now us'd to be the worst part of Learning and time is the worst spent in them and men the least benefited by them that is when the Questions are curious and impertinent intricate and inexplicable not to make men better but to make a Sect. But when the Propositions disputed are of the foundation of Faith or lead to good life or naturally do good to single persons or publick societies then they are part of the depositum of Christianity of the Analogy of faith and for this we are by the Apostle commanded to contend
into the body of Christ Whether a Church mouse does eat her Maker Whether a man by eating the consecrated symbols does break his fast For if it be not bread and wine he does not and if it be Christs body and bloud naturally and properly it is not bread and wine Whether it may be said the Priest is in some sense the Creator of God himself Whether his power be greater than the power of Angels and Archangels For that it is so is expresly affirmed by Cassenaeus Whether as a Bohemian Priest said that a Priest before he say his first Mass be the Son of God but afterward he is the Father of God and the Creator of his body But against this blasphemy a book was written by Iohn Huss about the time of the Council of Constance But these things are too bad and therefore we love not to rake in so filthy chanels but give onely a general warning to all our Charges to take heed of such persons who from the proper consequences of their Articles grow too bold and extravagant and of such doctrines from whence these and many other evil Propositions 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 frequently do issue As the tree is such must be the fruit But we hope it may be sufficient to say That what the Church of Rome teaches of Transubstantiation is absolutely impossible and implies contradictions very many to the belief of which no faith can oblige us and no reason can endure For Christs body being in heaven glorious spiritual and impassible cannot be broken And since by the Roman doctrine nothing is broken but that which cannot be broken that is the colour the taste and other accidents of the elements yet if they could be broken since the accidents of bread and wine are not the substance of Christs body and bloud it is certain that on the Altar Christs body naturally and properly cannot be broken And since they say that every consecrated Wafer is Christs whole body and yet this Wafer is not that Wafer therefore either this or that is not Christs body or else Christ hath two bodies for there are two Wafers But when Christ instituted the Sacrament and said This is my body which is broken because at that time Christs body was not broken naturally and properly the very words of Institution do force us to understand the Sacrament in a sense not natural but spiritual that is truly sacramental And all this is besides the plain demonstrations of sense which tells us it is bread and it is wine naturally as much after as before consecration And after all the natural sense is such as our blessed Saviour reprov'd in the men of Capernaum and called them to a spiritual understanding the natural sense being not onely unreasonable and impossible but also to no purpose of the spirit or any ways perfective of the soul as hath been clearly demonstrated by many learned men against the fond hypothesis of the Church of Rome in this Article Sect. VI. OUr next instance of the novelty of the Roman Religion in their Articles of division from us is that of the half Communion For they deprive the people of the chalice and dismember the institution of Christ and praevaricate his express law in this particular and recede from the practise of the Apostles and though they confess it was the practise of the primitive Church yet they lay it aside and curse all them that say they do amiss in it that is they curse them who follow Christ and his Apostles and his Church while themselves deny to follow them Now for this we need no other testimony but their own words in the Council of Constance Whereas in certain parts of the world some temerariously presume to affirm that the Christian people ought to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist under both kinds of bread and wine and do every where communicate the Laity not onely in bread but in wine also Hence it is that the Council decrees and defines against this error that although Christ instituted after supper and administred this venerable Sacrament under both kinds of bread aud wine yet this notwithstanding And although in the primitive Church this Sacrament was receiv'd of the faithful under both kinds Here is the acknowledgment both of Christs institution in both kinds and Christs ministring it in both kinds and the practise of the primitive Church to give it in both kinds yet the conclusion from these premises is We command under the pain of Excommunication that no Priest communicate the people under both kinds of bread and wine The opposition is plain Christs Testament ordains it The Church of Rome forbids it It was the primitive custom to obey Christ in this a later custom is by the Church of Rome introduc'd to the contrary To say that the first practise and institution is necessary to be followed is called Heretical to refuse the later subintroduc'd custom incurrs the sentence of Excommunication and this they have pass'd not onely into a law but into an Article of Faith and if this be not teaching for doctrines the commandments of men and worshipping God in vain with mens traditions then there is and there was and there can be no such thing in the world So that now the question is not whether this doctrine and practise be an INNOVATION but whether it be not better it should be so Whether it be not better to drink new wine than old Whether it be not better to obey man than Christ who is God blessed for ever Whether a late custom be not to be preferr'd before the ancient a custom dissonant from the institution of Christ before that which is wholly consonant to what Christ did and taught This is such a bold affirmative of the Church of Rome that nothing can suffice to rescue us from an amazement in the consideration of it especially since although the Institution it self being the onely warranty and authority for what we do is of it self our rule and precept according to that of the Lawyer Institutiones sunt praeceptiones quibus instituuntur docentur homines yet besides this Christ added preceptive words Drink ye all of this he spake it to all that receiv'd who then also represented all them who for ever after were to remember Christs death But concerning the doctrine of Antiquity in this point although the Council of Constance confess the Question yet since that time they have taken on them a new confidence and affirm that the half Communion was always more or less the practise of the most Ancient times We therefore think it fit to produce testimonies concurrent with the saying of the Council of Constance such as are irrefragable and of persons beyond exception Cassander affirms That in the Latine Church for aboue a thousand years the body of Christ and the blood of Christ were separately giuen◠the body apart and the blood apart after the consecration