Const in Encomio B. Virginis tenderest years the Scriptures say nothing of this neither but we have lost nothing by that for we learn elsewhere That Ann to obtain her of God had as Hannah heretofore had done for Saemuel vowed her to his Service And that when she was weaned and three Years old she was presented to the High Priest who received her as a precious Jewel and Lodged her in the Sanctum Sanctorum where before stood the Ark of the Covenant and where he himself alone had right to enter once a Year Zachary the Father of St. John Baptist was it seems High Priest and made no such unnecessary Scruple as these How should I introduce a little Girl into a place where I my self can enter in but once a year How can I in the most sacred and august Partition of the Temple bring in a Bed a Nurse and little Child with all that 's necessary in such a case And what shall become of all the Impurities inseparable from the Infant Age But being a Prophet and knowing the Mystery of all he received her without any stickling Thither she was brought accompanied with troops of Virgins with slaming Torches in their hands and there was brought up for eleven years the Angels all the while supplying her with nourishment After eleven years the Priests assembled to consult what they should do with this divine Virgin and at last concluded to commit her to the Guardianship of St. Joseph of whose vertue and continence they were very well assured 11 and 3 make 14 and at 14 she was affianc'd to Joseph 3 months after the Angel came with the Salutation she conceived of the Holy Ghost and was brought to bed at 15. An unbelieving Jew would make a great many odd exceptions to this History he would say it was a thing unheard of in the Mystery of Religion to introduce to feed and bring up a Girl in the Holy of Holies where ordinary Priests themselves durst never enter He would tell us that Women were they never so pure were never admitted into the Temple beyond the place called the Womens Court. He would say it was very strange the Rabbins and ancient Doctors should mention no such thing as this either to recount or refute it He would add moreover that in the Catalogue of High Priests he could find no such Man as Zachary the Father of John Baptist Indeed these difficulties have put our Catholick Costerus Medit 3. de praesent Virg. Doctors to no small trouble and now they rather chuse to say that round the Sanctuary there were little Chambers where Recluses and Religious Maids were bred up and worked for the Temple to whose care the Education of little Mary was intrusted But our old devout Gentlemen heretofore never concerned themselves with any Scruples or Objections of Unbelievers but in great simplicity swallowed all for truth upon the word and authority of Saints such as J. Damascâ—n Canonized and consequently made Infallible at least by the tacit consent of the Church And who can forbear believing a History that has gotten some twelve hundred years upon his head For Gregory Nyssen reports this And In Natalib Chr. tom 3. though he reports it only as an Apocryphal History yet the Church has since made it as good as Canonical by an universal Belief of it The Blessed Virgin consented to live with Joseph in shew of Marriage but in effect in pure Virginity for she told him secretly that she had made a Vow of Chastity and withal advis'd him to do so too But notwithstanding her Vow which seem'd to determine her never to become a Mother she quickly after became so by the operation of the Holy Ghost And here the Doctors are in great trouble to know of what it was that the Virgin conceived and formed the Saviour of the World. Some believe the Holy Ghost took three drops of her Heart-blood and disposed them in their place to make the Body of our Lord. Salmeron though Tome 3. tract 9. he reject this Opinion yet allows it to be a devout religious Contemplation But he himself is of another mind which I cannot give you in his terms no more than I can the Opinions of other Authors upon this Occasion because they search into the Mysteries of Generation so profoundly and exactly and examin them in such a gross and naked manner that even the chastest and most delicate Translation of their Latin into English would not fail to wound or at least disorder our Imagination It would be worse yet if I should recite any thing out of a Book that was current in the last Age and it may be is in being now intituled Proto Evangelium sive de Natalibus Christi ipsius Matris V. Mariae and Fathered on St. James Here we may find enough to make the most shameless Prostitutes to blush upon occasion of one Salome a Midwife who would not believe a Virgin had brought forth but would needs be as curious in her way as St. Thomas doubting of the Resurrection was afterwards in his One William Pâ—stell in the preceeding Age made the discovery of this Horrible Gospel God knows whence But is it not a pretty ready way to bring the True and Sacred Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ into contempt I will pass 〈◊〉 all the impertinent tales with which they chaâ—◠〈◊〉 Life of the Blessed Virgin. The care she took 〈◊〉 keep the Fore-skin of our Lord at his Circumcision The pains she was at to gather all the Blood and Water that fell from his hands and feet and side upon the Cross and in particular the care she had to keep the Nails that sastened him thereto I will pass over all this I say and a hundred such like things to come to the last and greatest action of all her Assumption into Heaven because it is one of the principal Stories on whcih the Worship of the Blessed Virgin is establish'd Thus then the Gentlemen report the matter The Blessed Virgin lived upon the Earth after her Pelbart who lived in the Year 1471. and dedicated his Book to Pope Sixt. IV. Son till she was Fifty Eight years old as some say Sixty Three as others and others more by a great deal At last she Prayed very earnestly to her Son that she might depart from this place of Pilgrimage on Earth and be gathered unto him who thereupon sent an Angel to her promising that within three days he would take her to himself Together with this News the Angel delivered her a branch of Palm that he brought from Paradise and told her she must have it carried before her Bier to her Interment he gave her also a Suit of Mourning which her Son had sent her Of this Angel she demanded two things first that she might be buried by all the Apostles Secondly that when her Soul departed from her Body it might meet with none of the Devils or Malign Spirits Upon which last demand the
that She was Born in Original Sin. But the Monks not satisfied with this gave to our young Novice who was indeed a very stupid Block-head a mighty strong sleeping Potion which deprived him of all manner of Sense and Understanding and in this Fit imprinted other four Wounds upon his Feet his Hand and Side with Aqua Fortis to imitate the Wounds of our Saviour and the Marks of St. Francis. Being come to himself they made him believe he had been in an Extasie during which the Blessed Spirit had imprinted on him these four new Wounds They gave him also very frequently strange Drinks to make him Foam and struggle against Death as Jesus Christ had done before him Hitherto the poor Wretch had never doubted of the truth of all this but believed in good earnest that he had had true Visions from Heaven and Apparitions of the Virgin. But now at last began to suspect there must be some Enchantments Witchcraft and Illusion in the case and therefore after he had been thus Martyr'd several Months makes his escape from the Convent to the Magistrates where he discovered all the Mystery Langius a Monk in his Chronicle in the Year 1509. adds That they made an Image of the Virgin and fill'd the Head of it with some red Liquor which distilling from the Eyes She was reputed thereby to weep Blood. They coloured also an Host with Vermilion and Flesh-colour as though it had been turned into Flesh and all this to persuade the World their Doctrine of the Conception was true Four of the Dominicans were hereupon seised Francis Vulchi that counterfeited the Spirit Stephen Boltzhorst Preacher whose Office was to vent these Visions in the Pulpit with J. Vetter Prior of the House and H. Stenieker Receiver who were all Burnt over against the Convent in the Year aforesaid This Story did not serve a little towards the disabusing of the Switzers some time after when they reform'd themselves in matters of Religion The Monks to whom Heaven in these latter days revealed the notable Circumstance of the Immaculate Conception have also by the same Spirit of Revelation learnt the very day when it was It was on the eighth of December and She was brought forth the Her Birth eighth of September following this we know because we know what Age the Virgin was of when She lay Inn of our Saviour And knowing precisely the Year of our Lord we know also the Year of his Mothers Birth Not that the Gospel says a letter of her Age but that 's all one We have found it in Nicephorus Lib. 2. c. 2. ex Enodo Antiochedo Callistus an Author that may compare with any Legendary in the World and who by consequence shall have as much Credit as a true Evangelist We have found I say in this Historian that the Virgin was just Fifteen when She brought forth Jesus Christ She was Born at Jerusalem in Joachims own House that stood pretty near to the Pool of Bethesda of which St. John in the 5th of his Gospel makes mention For so says our old Friend J. Damascen who was Sainted L. 4. c. 5. de Orth. fide Orat. 1. de Nat. Virg. for having been a Martyr for the Worship of the Virgins Images Others and Tostatus for one on Mat. 2. say She was Born at Nazareth or Seppharo Three Leagues from thence but where ever it was it is certain that the whole Universe was moved at it The Angels as they did some time after for the Son Descended in Troops from Heaven chanting out Hymns and most Melodious Songs in honour of the Spouse of their Eternal King. The little holy Maid her self having the use of her Reason as soon as She was Born found also mighty Consolation and exceeding great Pleasure in it And which is a greater Wonder yet Pelbartâ— Stellarium lib. 5. part 1. art 3. this Heavenly Melody is every Year repeated on the same day And by this Musick the day of her Birth which had long been undiscovered came to be revealed to a very Contemplative Saint who had heard this Musick every 8th of September and wondered what the matter was as a Wiser Man than he might very well do and therefore on a time in one of his Rapture Fits begged of God that he would reveal this matter to him and was answered that on this day the Glorious Virgin was Born and thus has the Mother gotten the start of her Son. She was even with him in having Armies of Coelestial Spirits to celebrate the day of her Birth but this yearly Repetition of the Angels Harmony has given Her the advantage For I don't know any Book that says they do as much for Jesus Christ It may be some Devoto of the Virgin jealous of the glory of his Queen may find something less in the Birth of Mary than in that of Jesus Christ because he hears of no new Star that accompanied her Birth as one did his But this only serves to betray his want of reading for had he seen but one Theophilus a certain Historian of whose Age and Authority it would be to no purpose to inquire for no body can give you an account but however of very good Credit in this Case he could have told him that on the Birth-day of the Virgin the Light of the Sun was doubled that the Moon received such an augmentation of Light that she seem'd almost to equalize the Sun so that the little Cloud that is wont to obscure her disappeared on the night of this Nativity and round her Globe shone as it were a great Star of an extraordinary Fire and Lustre I think this was another kind of Star than that which appeared to the Wise Men in the East which seemed to be but a pittiful flying Meteor in the Air in comparison with this An Angel gave the Name of Jesus before the Child was born and an Angel did as much for Her and the name of Mary was of Heavens choyce and it was also Mystical as well as that of Jesus for Mary or Miriam in the Hebrew signifies the Star of the Sea. Not that any Jew or Rabbi how profound soever ever understood this Etymology but that it was revealed to our Legendaries so to signifie that by vertue of it she might succeed to Venus who was the Morning Star before and President of the Sea having a kind of right thereto by Her extraction from the Froth of it For as Salmeron the Jesuite says as Tome 3. Tract 4. the Star that is called Hesperus and Lucifer directs and conducts the Sailers to the Port so the Mother of Messiah succours us in all our Dangers that we may arrive at the Port of the Grace of God and Life Eternal Common Seamen have another kind of opinion of her Power in respect of Ports and Havens in this World too After the Birth next comes her Education in her Niceph. l. 1. cap. 7. Damasc ubi supra Cermanes
Ave Maria's for the Virgin. And for the same reason was our Friend Alan favoured because the Rosary-way of Worship beginning to decay he did what in him lay to revive it And for the two Virgins obtaining the favour to Kiss Jesus Christ in the Flesh even to Swooning away why was it but because they were devoted to the Service of the Virgin in a more peculiar manner Now that you may not think these fearful Examples are but few in number you must know there are abundance of them in all the Authors that F. Crasset quotes and admires Hautin a Jesuit like himself reports a History from Surius of the Marriage of the Virgin Mary with one Herman surnamed Joseph because they were both of them married to the Virgin to whom the Virgin came accompanied with two Angels one of which began to speak and say To whom shall we marry this Young Man To Mary replied the other at which they commanded Herman to draw near Poor Herman knew not what in the earth to do Love prick'd him on and Shame-fac'dness pull'd him back for though before times he had had particular intimacy with the Hautin Angelus Custos c. 4. numb 3. Blessed Virgin yet he could never hope to see himself advanc'd to such a degree as to be married to Her. Caesarius also whom F. Crasset quotes as a very sincere Caesarius l. 7. c. 13 18 32 52. Author relates the Story of a Soldier that fell in love with his Captain 's Wife and following the advice of a good Hermit saluted the Virgin a hundred times a day who to recompence this civility offered herself to him like an exceeding handsom Woman saying I will be thy Wife come kiss me and forc'd him to it In the same Author we find the Virgin Mary kissing and embracing Monks very liberally Some she watches over whilst they sleep others she wipes the face of whilst they sleep with her Handkerchief And had I not reason to say the Chronicles of Diana and Minerva were more chastly deliver'd down than those of the ever Blessed Mother of our Lord After these favours it would be vain to produce any more or others but you may be assured there is no sort or kind with which the Devoto's to the Virgin have not some time or other been graced She has kept them in their Sicknesses She has given them their Sight She has delivered them from extreme dangers both by Sea and Land from Thieves from Fire from the Gibbet from Prisons and from Death itself for many have been raised from the dead only because they or their Parents have been religious Worshippers of the Blessed Virgin. Read but Chroniâ—on S. V. Deiparae where you shall find a thousand Instances If one should collect together all the deliverances God hâ—th wrought from the beginning of the World to this day they would not make a History to compare with those wrought by our Lady of Loretto Mont Serrat Liesse Hall Moyenpont Aspremont Ardiliers and a hundred more and all to persuade Us that the Virgin is mightily pleased to see Herself adored and that she is at a stand sometimes to find out what Favours to bestow on her peculiar Servants But that which is most abominable is that these Fables would persuade Us that the Service of the Virgin is of greater benefit to Us than that of God and that provided a Man dedicate himself to Her Service let him be otherwise never so wicked a Villain yet he need not despair of his Salvation It was one of these profane Visions St. Brigit pretended to have had and which F. Crasset hath mustered up afresh to the intent you should not think those Opinions were at all altered since those days 1370. Sinners says he being her Subjects Part 1. tr 1. qu. 10. p. 77. make up her Crown and Glory and 't is for that she loves them with the tenderness and sweet compassion of a Mother let them be never so wicked as a Mother pittieth her Children though they have lost their sences and are become mad and this is what she has revealed to St. Brigit Brig Revel book 6. c. 10. Know Thou quoth the Mother to the Daughter my dearest Child that there is no Man in the World so lewd and curs'd of God that is entirely forsaken of him whilst he lives no Sinner so desperate but may return and find mercy with him provided he have recourse to Me. St. Bonaventure is of the same mind and expresses himself in these comfortable words O Mary be a Man never so miserable a Sinner you have the soft compassions of a Mother for him you embrace him and hug him close in your bosom and never will forsake him till you have reconcil'd him to his formidable Judge 'T is with design of persuading us to believe these comfortable Truths that F. Crasset musters up a whole Chapter of Examples of the wickedest Men that possibly can be that yet have been saved by preserving their Ubi supra pag. 86. devotion for the Blessed Virgin amidst all their impieties entire Such a one is that of Theophilus of Adanus a City of Cilicia who having been depos'd of his Archdeaconry for no great good gave himself over to the Devil for spite and anger by the help and means of a Jewish Magician whom he served He renounced Mary and her Son and gave the Devil a Scroll signed with his own Hand after which he became intolerably desperate and mad for what he had done But in these Agonies of Mind and Soul a glimpse or ray of hope appeared to him that Blessed Mary could deliver him from this evil and straightways thereupon he goes to her Church and prostrates himself before her Image Which failed him not at this time of need but reconciled him to God and forced the Devil to give him back his Bonds again To this F. Crasset thinks sit to add such another Pag. 90. part 1. taken from Caesarius of a young Gascoign Soldier who after he had wasted all he had in the World gave himself up to Satan and renounced Jesus Christ but do whatever the Devil could he could not be brought to renounce his Mother and this obtained his Pardon for that horrible Crime down he threw himself before the Image of the Virgin Mary which had the Image of Jesus in her arms and heard this Dialogue between them The Virgins Image said O my sweet Son have mercy on this Man The Son's Image answered Why Mother what would you have me do with this Wretch that hath renounced Me After this the young Man saw the Blessed Virgin that is to say her Image prostrate herself to little Jesus and demand again his Pardon whom Jesus lovingly took up and 't was very much for a Child of his bigness and said to her I never yet refused my Mother any thing she ask'd I grant it for your sake and yours alone Would one believe that a Jesuit
should have the confidence to furbish up such ridiculous things as these at this time of day in such an Age as ours I had often heard this Story told by Protestants to shame the Papists but I never thought it would have been produced at this time by a Renowned Jesuit in honour of their Religion and that too in Paris the most frequented City in the whole World. But to put you past all doubting of this Truth F. Crasset tells us that Caesarius says that this very Gascoign was alive in his time 1222. and that nothing was more sure nor better attested than this famous Story And for the credit of Caesarius the same good Father tells us he was of the Order of Cistercians and lived above four hundred years ago and was as Trithemius the Abbot tells us a very Learned and a very Pag. 105. Honest Man and one that stuck to his rule very close You may judge says he of the sincerity and credit of this Man by what he says in his Preface to his own Works God is my Witness cries he that I am not the Inventer of any thing I have reported in my Dialogues And who alive can help believing him after this Protestation Therefore take in short another Story of Caesarius's telling of one Beatrix a Servant in a Convent who being debauch'd by a Priest got out of the Convent and lived in a Bawdy-house fifteen years during all which time the Virgin Mary took her shape and constantly supplied her place so that no body perceiv'd her absence and her Reputation suffered nothing all the while and all this because she had as she was going out prayed to the Virgin and giving her the Keys of the Convent into her hand had said Madam I have served you as devoutly Caesarius l. 7. c. 35. as I possibly could I give you here your Keys again and am able no longer to withstand the temptations of the Flesh This tends to the same end with all the rest namely to let you understand that break God's Commands or do Crass p. 9â— whatever you please serve but the Blessed Virgin and all is well Pelbart of Temeswar another of F. Crasset's great Authors Stell Coronae l. 12. â— â— tells us there was a certain Woman that plaid the Whore with a Neighbor's Husband of hers whose Wife finding his roguery out pray'd to the Virgin to confound that wicked Creature that had debauch'd her Husband from her Bed but it was â—ound that this impudent Harlot had still the grace every day to say seven Ave Maria's and therefore the Virgins Image answered the complaining Wife and said She of whom thou speakest offers me Praises that are very agreeable to me and whilst she does so I assure you Mistress I can never hurt her but on the contrary will preserve her from disgrace however I promise you I 'll see and convert her And this is the way to Proselyte to the Virgin those who trample God's Commandments under foot If you would have any more Stories to prove that the Worship of the Virgin separate from that of God is a sure way to Salvation you may find them in great Crasset p. 94. plenty in Father Crasset There you may see the Virgin keeping them that keep not God's Commands and how a Bird having learn'd to cry Ave Maria and being seized on by a Hawk scream'd out but Ave Maria and the ravenous Hawk immediately left her And likewise how the Devil being in the Air and spying a Christian that was not upon his guard came swooping down upon him like a Bird of Prey but as soon as he heard him pronounce and devoutly call upon the Name of Mary he was fain to pull in his horns I meant his talons and be gone There you shall see her taking a great deal of pains to raise from the dead Rogues that had liv'd in nothing else but wickedness died without repentance only to give them leisure to Confess and do some trifling Penances and then again depart in peace It is the same Father Crasset that tells from Surius the History of a Citizen of Rome called Andrew so insufferably debauch'd that he bore no token or mark of Christianity upon him but that he was an Admirer of St. Caesarion Martyr As Andrew lived so he died like a Reprobate without any tokens of Repentance but at the Intercession of Mary and Caesarion he arose from the dead to Confess and do Penance and returned from whence he came Pelbart of Temeswar that never sticks at any thing tells us of a Robber on the High-way that used nevertheless to Fast every Saturday in Honour to the Virgin who at last being caught in the Fact was Beheaded on the spot his Head in falling from his Body cried out thrice Confession Confession Confession upon which they fetch'd a Priest who came and set his Head again upon his Shoulders to whom the Thief reported that as soon as his Head was â—ut off the Devils had seised on his Soul to drag it into Hell but that the Virgin hindred them not permitting the Soul and Body quite to separate till he was Confess'd and that he had obtained this Grace for Fasting every Saturday to her Honour And this serves to support two Articles of Popery the Invocation of the Virgin and the necessity of Confession But if we will not believe Pelbart nor Father Crasset neither will we Hereticks be persuaded that a Rogue rose from the dead In the same place you read how that the Soul of a Soldier kill'd in Fight in the Service of the Emperor Sigismond continued in his Body many years after the Flesh was rotten and worn off The Blessed Virgin not permitting the Soul to part before Confession because he had been all his Life time Her peculiar Servant Another Miracle there is of which Pelbart himself was an Eye-witness A certain wicked Villain fell into the Danube and was under water three days where he heard a Voice say to him Thou deservest well O Wretch to lose thy Life and be Condemn'd for ever for thy Sin but because thou art a Servant to the Virgin Mary thou shalt be delivered from this danger that thou may'st go and be Confessed and up he came though he could not Swim a stroke and came and Confess'd to Pelbart himself who tells you this Story 'T was from the Man his own self says Father Crasset that this Religious Pelbart heard this History and you must either believe this Penitent was an Impostor and Cheat and I pray take heed of wronging such a Pickled Youth or else that Pelbart was a wicked Man and took delight to Page 135. impose upon the belief of the soveraign High Priest of Rome to whom he dedicated his Works and all the Faithful Or else you must believe this Story for a certain truth and consequently that the Virgin does preserve sometimes her Servants from everlasting Damnation after Death And