windy Scâ—olist filled with a spirit of contradiction would dare to disable disluster the truth of her immaculate conception revealed proposed by the voice and consent of the Church This truth is most ancient though not so aparently revealed to the primitive Fathers Galatinus lib. 7. de arcanis cap. 4. holds this truth to be from the very time of the Synagogue For the Jews believed for certain that the Mother of the Messias would be without Original stain In the Apostles time S. Andrew Apostle expresly said Ad Egeum ut in gest is ejus refert Abdias lib. â— Historiarum sicuâ— primus Adam formatus 〈◊〉 ex terra non 〈◊〉 itâ— secundus Adam forâ—â—â—â— ex â—erra virginea nunquam maledicta in the Jerosâ—limitan Councel held by the Apostles Anno 44. Vt inventum est in monte granatensi these words are Illa virgo illa Maria santa in instanti suae conceptionis fuit as originali peccato praeservata qui ita non senserit salutem non consequetur eternam see Sanzez Luzero Baptista de Lezana Carmel Sedulius the Christian Poet that flourished Anno 430. in lib. 2. Oper. paschal habetur tomo 8. Biblioth. PP. hath thus En velut a spinis rosa mollis surgit acutis Nil quod laedat habens matrisque obscurat honorem Sic Evae de stirpe Sacra veniente Maria Virginis antiquae facinus nova Virgo piaevit Wherefore in her conception nature and grace meeting together said Damascen Oratâ—â— Deâ—â—ativit Virg. natura gratiam antevertere 〈◊〉 est â—usa sed expectavit donec gratia prius fructum suum produxisset Which was ingeniously verified by a modern Poet Gratia natunam cum qua est congressa suâ—egit Et forti posuit clara-trophea manu And this is nothing strange to hear she being the first object of Gods predestination as the great work prepared for his habitation Opus grande est non enim homini preparatur habitatio sed Deo â— Paral. 29. Sexta Sinodus cun 32. Veneratur Liturgiam D. Jacobi Apost in qua sepâ— haec verba habentur commemorantes sanctissimam matrem Christi irreprehensam c. likewise in the 7. Synod Actione 3. she is called immaculata omni sensibili intellectuali natura purior Leaving many other proofs of the Fathers and pregnant reasons for another occasion Now I come to shew our B. Ladies imaculate conception is likely to become an Article of faith and defined That truth which is supernatural and much conducing to Christian piety and belong to divine Worship may be defined and become an Article of faith but the imaculate conception is such Ergo it may be defined as the Nativity of our B. Lady to be preserved from mortal and venial sin her ascension into heaven are supernatural truths generally allowed of by the Church as Christianam piâ—tatem divinum cultum concernentia even so her imaculate conception already celebrated authoritate Ecclesiae instituted and confirmed a great festivitie sub nomine praeservationis must be a supernatural truth plurimum referens ad Christianam pietatem divinum cultum Ergo it is likely to become an Article of faith for the Church cannot err about such things which concerns Christian piety and divine worship Ergo neither in defining that which is established decreed so lemnly proclaimed preached and taught summi pontificis Ecclesiae authoritate Whereas there is nothing required for the definibility of any dogmatical doctrin other then cognitio deprehensio alioujus infallibilis medâ— by which may appear the same to be revealed by God and such is the common sence and consent of the Church manifested and propounded ut decet sive in concilio sive extra All which doth concur in the mistery of the imaculate conception of our B. Lady Ergo it may be defined The major is manifest ex materia de fide for illud est de fide which is revealed by God the minor is proved out of many places in Scripture in which the constant assistance of the divine spirit is promised to the Church ne erret in rebus fidei hence S. Paul 1 ad Tim. 3. doth call the Church the pillar and foundation of truth but the universal Church doth celebrate a solemn festivity with an Octave of the imaculate conception not under the name of sanctification but of preservation Ergo the B. Virgin was conceived truly without Original sin Ergo it may be defined the consequence is clear because if she were defiled and conspurcated with Original sin her conception could not be celebrated by the Church Quae non potest errare in rebus fidei propounding untruths for truths which is the reason why S. Bernard in Epist. 174. ad canonicos Lugdiâ—ens did reprehend them for celebrating the feast of the imaculate conception sine Ecclesiae authoritate Laus Deo Deiparaeque Virgini
men that godliness is great gain It cannot be expected that those men who are eneâ—iâ—s to Learning should be friends to Antiquitie lest by iâ—â—heâ— folly should be made manifest For I assure my self there is no stronger argument to demonstrate the truth of Christianity their Tradition hence the Prophet knew the good way from the old paths our Saviour shewing the good seed to be soâ—eâ— before the â—ares and even in nature truth is before falshood It 's no marvel I say that men no deeper rooted should be carried away with every wind of Doctrine but that Doctor Tay-ler a man of that universal and profound reading ingenuity and grace in writing such a pillar of the Church of England should so unseasonably contrary to the grave advice of very Learned and Reverend Admonishers not only fall into a grosse and damnable error but endeavour by rak'd and false interpretationâ— to make the Church his Patron is to be look'd upon with pitie and indignation I think the enemy of mankind that he might in cur dayes compleat his malice hath not only by delusion made the vulgar unlearned his instruments but under pretence of piety hath imployed one of the best parts to undermine the chiefest foundations of Religion his male sarra argumentâ— and dangerous inferences which from this his Opinion may be drawn I shall leave the intelligent Reader to consider wondring much that an Opinion maintained in Gods Church in all Ages and confirm'd by several General Councils should at last be stil'd by Dr. Taylor a Vulgar Error but I am well satisfied with his zeale to maintain one Error that hath writ in defence of all The God of Truth and Order enlighten this Nation that the scales of ignorance and misguided zeal may fall from their eies and bring into the way of salvation all such as have erred and are deceived THE DOCTRINE OF Original Sin CHAP. I. Of the happy state of man before his Fall ALmighty God who is independent of all Beings Immense in his extent Eternal in his duration infinite in all his perfections immutable and absolute over all creatures and he who was without doubt the mystery hidden under the veile of that ancient Statute which bore for device I am what is what shall be and what has been whose cover no man hath taken off seeing no object out of himselfe which could deserve his love besides this love being incited by a holy desire of coÌ„municating it self it was requisite to frame a copy of the Intellectual Original which was in his Idea and in his heavenly mind and the world being but a lively vacuum but an universal privation of forms and qualities was chosen as the blank Table whereon he resolved to draw the first strokes of his goodnesse and so all nature as heavens earth sea light stars trees fishes flashes furnaces of fire and flames vast extent of airâ— clouds abysses peecipices all engendred out of it by the sole power of the Divinity by the command of the Word and Love What I pray doth remain after all these prodigies of power and rare works of love The Angels are lost without Redemption and the punishment their insolence hath merited will pursue them without relaxation term or pity It must therefore be concerning mans creation and redemption that a decree is past it 's on man the great God reflected it's man who must be substitute in the place of Angels without man all created works seem not sufficiently perfect Now God the fountaine cause and origin of the Universe the wise and all-knowing Workman to whom all things possible drew â—ut of dirt morter and dust man his master-piece and object of his favour the Image of his divine Eâ—â—ence the Accomplisher of his commands and his Lieutenant upon earth It was only man that well deserved the last touches of his omnipotent hands as the most glorious term of his power the faâ—rest peece of the Universe a work so admirable that it may rather beget admiration then expressive words whereas Plato cryes oâ—t that man is the miracle of all visible miracles the Horison of all creatures the all of all and as it were the soule of the World Finally Pythâ—goraâ— looks upon man as the measure of all things in whom are found the longitudes latitudes altitudes and proâ—â—ndities of all beings for it s known he hath a being common with 〈◊〉 a life common with plantâ— a sense common with beasts and an understanding which equals him with Angels but he excells them all in that he was created from Gods Idea as the most lively â—â—â—resentation of his great Maker what ever learned Authoâ—s did in general speak in the praise 〈…〉 it 's certain that of all the Encomions given to him the most noble most august and most transcendent is that man is created to the Image of God as a character of his Substance and Divinity O great God who hath incited thee to heap together in one vessell wrought so admirably out of clay and dust all the treasures of wisedom greatnesse and sanctity why so many sciences so many knowledges so many splendors in one mansâ— soul and why in one single man so many superexcellent graces perfections and vertues the primitive justice original righteousnesse a rare rectitude of the inner man a just subordination of the inferiour faculties to the superiour 〈◊〉 cleare light and the Empire 〈◊〉 â—e Universe Herehence Gods nature requireth homages his Majestie servitudes his glory aâ—â—iration his goodness all acknowledgments and affections of hearts and though God is good and liberal yet is he dread just and all foreseeing If then he foreseeth some danger and evill let him providently dissolve the occasion and obstruct the wayes which lead man unto a precipice let him not unite so many millions of members unto a head which is able to corrupt them all in an instant and leave unto the heart of man in dependency on created things and cause efficaciously his affections to be still fastned unto his Creator that so he alone may be the source of his motions and effects No no the old Adam our first Parent must be created perfect God saw every thing that he made and behold it was very good but mutable for so it pleased God to prepare a way to the execution of his hidden decree Adam must be the cause of our good and evill and on his good or bad fortune ours must wholly depend It was very convenient that God as absolute Lord and Master should leave Adam some commandement and it was likewise very reasonable that Adam as his servant and creature should be pliable and obsequious to so just a command and decree as that of God reserving the use of tree of the knowledge of good and evill of which he expresly and upon pain of death forbids Adam to taste or gather any fruit amongst all the trees which God hath planted in Paradise Notwithstanding Adam swallowed down that fatall bit which hath since
cleansing and taking away of original sin derived to all the relative descendants of Adam is a supernatural doctrine absolutely necessary to bring mankind to beatitude that Christ taught this doctrine and that the same the Apostles and the Church by him planted received it from him immediately and that this Doctrine was ever conserved practiced and deliverd over from hand to hand by the Primitive best Fathers and Luminaries of that Church untill this very day without any interruption which to deny were not only most impious and heretical but most absurd to whosoever considereth the infinite goodnesse providence wisedom and omnipotency of the Almighty yet notwithstanding Pelagius a Welchman and is usually stiled Pelagius the Brittan to distinguish him from Pelagius the Samosatensian Bishop his name in Welch was Morgan which signifies the Sea This pernicious wretch lived in the time of the Emperour Theodosius the younger and Honorius about the year of our Lord 416. This man I say and his followers Julianus Celestius maintained damnable Heresies against Christs express doctrine for they taught Adams sin to be noxious to himselfe only and not to his posterity and theâ—e to be no original sin Lust and concupiscence being natural not to be evill but rather good and sin not to be propagaâ—ed by generation The former being granted children to have no original sin from their parents and children though not baptized to be saved See Pontanus Cath. Heretic This Pestilent Heresie was spread abroad in many places but chiefly in England because Pelagius being driven from Rome came thither and infected it with his execrable Erroâ—s But by the diligent travels and great zeal of one Germanus Altisidorensis and Palladius sent from Celestinus Pope both England and Scotland became free from those his Errors solemnly condemned in the Synod of Carthage An. 415. in which there were assembled 2â—7 Bishops in Numidia and in the Arausican in Franc. You may find his errors set down by August Hierome Ambrose Isidor Prosper and Fulgent yet notwithstanding in these our late Error-abounding dayes partly through the instigation and malice of Satan and partly through the power of the Almighties wrath punishing the contempt of his revealed truth those damn'd Heresies of Pelagius doth begin to be covertly revived by the crafty insinuating conveyance of one Dr. Taylor the great Luminary and Pillar of the Protestant Church in England the only Idol of the Nation and whose writings are generally cryed up and highly extoll'd by the unsteady multitude for no other reason that I can imagine but for his sympathizing correspondency with them in blindnesse inconstancy and ignorance yet he is a man that hath his senses or fantasie so depraved as to take imperfect and maimed impressions of outward objects and the powers of his understanding so weak and perverted as to make preposterous and disorderly collâ—ctions out of them and whose judgment is so misguided by pre-occupation of self affection or particular ends as himselfe becomes most lamentably deceived feeding his soul with falshood iâ— stead of truth blindly wading too far without and above his obscure capacity and low proportion of knowledg into particular uselesse subtilties doting about frivolous questions and logomachies whereof commeth no fruit other then presumption dissention railings dissolution â—vill surmisings conâ—empt of Christ of his Doctrine Sacraments and divine Ordinances leaving every man to the dictamens of his own private judgment according to the several tempers and circumstances that sway in every particular which leadeth on inevitably to Atheism and unchristianity and all this for sordid apprehensions of base commodity to himselfe having imployed the faculties of his understanding contrary unto their naturall inclinations to the maintaining of lyes and the deceiving of others expresly against Scripture and the generally received Doctrine of all the Orthodox Fathers in all Ages perspicuous and eminent in knowledge of tongues inâ—ight into Antiquity profoundnesse in Sciences Perfection and true Sanctity of life which have shined most rarely in them and none will deny but these are the likeliest meanes to gain a right intelligence of the true and deep sense of Scripture and not the vain dreams and deluding suggestions of the private spirit of any Taylor Sailer Cobler Body seller Tinker or such like swarm of Locusts which have so miserably invaded and infected this brave Island all pretending to have their commission and power derived from Jesus Christ with so much intemperate boldnesse as if they were the only persons employed and entrusted by him to doe oâ— undoe as they please But let them pretend what they will its manifest Christ concluded of such John 10. 1. He that entreth not in by the door into the sheepfold but climbeth up some other way the same is a thief and a robber Our Saviour himselfe was the door to his Apostles and his Apostles and their Successors the door to all that ever were admitted Shepherds in a regular and Apostolick manner Now if any desires to know who are the false Prophets false Teachers Dr. Taylor shall resolve him in his Doctrine delivered in his Episcopacy asserted where he holds forth that Christ did institute a government to order and rule his Church by his Authority and that this government was delegated to the Apostles by immediate substitution by Christ in traditione clavium inspiratione spiritus c. And he holds further that this power was not to expire with their personâ— for when the great Shepherd had reduced his wandering sheep into a fold he would not leave them without guides to govern them so long as the woolf might possibly prey upon them and that is till the last separation of the sheep from the goats and this Christ intimates in that his promise Eâ—vobiscnm not with your persons for they dyed long ago but vobiscum vestri similibus with Apostolical Successors of yours till the end of the woâ—ld anâ— therefore that the Apostolat might be perpetuall and successive Christ gave them a power of Ordination that by imposing hands on others they might impart thâ—t power which they received from Christ which was both ordinery and extraordinary as immediate Miâ—lion unlimited Jurisdiction and miraculous Operations It followes therefore that there must remain a power of giving faculty and capacity to persons successively for the execution of that in which he promised perpetuall assistance which were the Offices and Powers of Preaching Baptizing Consecrating Ordaining and Governing necessary for the perpetuating of a Church unlesse men could be Christians that were never Christned become Priests without Calling of God and Ordination have their sins pardoned without Absolution be Members Parts and Sons of a Church whereof there is no codunation no Authority no Governour It follows therefore out of this Doctrine that if Dr. Taylor or all other Proiestant Ministers Teachers or Preachers in England have not received lawful power mission Apostalical faculty or ordination by hand-imposition from true Apostolical Successors they all