one would think hardly any thing in Ecclesiastical Antiquity that hath escaped the strict Examination of judicious Criticks some Learned Men indeed have suspected the Passion of the Thebean Legion to have been a Fiction but none of them had the Courage to oppose an Opinion which they saw so Universally established If general Approbation might be admitted as a Proof there would be scarce any Opinion more Probable than that of the Martyrdom of the Thebean Legion if we consider the great number of grave and Learned Authors who have all asserted it as an undoubted matter of Fact Rome Geneva the Lutherans the Church of England and generally all Christian Societies have given Credit to the History of this Legion and that no doubt upon account of the Honour which they imagined the Martyrdom of it did to the Christian Religion by the wonderfulness of the Action the greatness of Soul and the Glorious Characters of the Persons that suffered John Lewis Fabritius relates the Example of the Thebean Legion in his Learned Dissertation concerning the just Limits of humane obedience in order to establish this so important a Maxim in Morality That we ought always to side with God whenever there is more certainty and evidence in the Prohibitions of God than in the Ordinances of Princes Archbishop Usher a Man of so vast a knowledge in Ecclesiastical Antiquity fell into the same common opinion And the Martyrdom of the Thebean Souldiers making for him in his Book of Regal Power he lays as great a stress upon it as if it were a thing of unquestionable certainty The famous Grotius speaks twice of it in his Learned Book de jure Pacis Belli and makes use of it as that which of all things he least doubted the Truth of And though since the death of these two great Men the exactness of Criticism upon the Works of the Fathers hath been much improved yet the Martyrdom of the Thebean Legion is still cryed up amongst those other popular Errours the World is fallen in Love with Edward Fuller Bishop of Glocester hath made it one of the Ornaments of a very fine Treatise composed by him upon the great Design of Christianity which is the Sanctification of Men. And Doctor Cave one of the Prebends of Windsor brings in with great great Pomp the History of this Legion in that Work of his in which he gives us a very fine Representation both of the Religion and Manners of the Primitive Christians There is scarcely I confess any Divine who hath out-done him in the Study of Church History as may appear by the great Volume he hath given us upon the Writings of the Fathers Now how great a respect soever we have for the extraordinary merit of these Learned Authors we ought to reject their Errours be they never so Ancient There is no prescription against Truth and a long prepossession gives no right at all to Errour I have seen saith one of our Old Writers the Birth of many Miracles in my time and though they no sooner saw the Light but they were stifled we do however foresee the course they would have taken had they happened to have lived to their full Age. For the main business is to find out out the end of the thread then you may wind as much as you please and there is a greater distance from nothing to the least thing that may be than there is from that least to the greatest that can be imagined A private Errour first causeth a publick one and then that publick Errour occasions other private ones Thus the whole work goes on patch'd up and fashioned by a succession of several hands so that the remotest witness knows more of the matter than the nearest and the last inform'd is better perswaded of it than the first This was exactly the way the Passion of the Thebean Souldiers first crept into the World and then insensibly got credit in the Church And they have been for these Eight or Nine Hundred Years in a quiet Possession of the glory of their Martyrdom and do enjoy it peacably to this day under the shadow and Authority of the greatest Names and the most renowned Doctors of all Christian Communions Now that we may distinguish the Romance from the History we must remove all the Mists which the Legendaries and Martyrology-makers have spread over it For the support of so much of it as is purely Romantick there are alledged Manuscripts and Old Writings and we must shew that those who do pretend the greatest skill in Antiquities are lyable to mistakes CHAP. IV. That the most skilful Men are sometimes mistaken in the Judgments they make upon the Works of the Ancients IT will Evidently appear from what shall be said hereafter that Baronius Peter Francis Chifflet Archbishop Usher and Grotius have been mistaken in their Judgments concerning the Martyrdom of the Thebean Legion and the Relation Fathered upon Eucherius For Criticks are not always in the right Though they have contributed much to the reviving of Learning yet it does not thence follow that even the most skilful Men in that Science are infallible It hath very often happened that they have taken false Copies for Originals and set upon Modern Writings the worth and value due to those of Antiquity Those who have any skill in Medals know that the most understanding Men themselves are apt sometimes to be mistaken If one Examines the first Edition of the Praestantiora Imperatorum Numismata of Mr. Vaillant Printed at Paris in the Year 1682 there one will find the Medals of Germanicus of Nero Drusus his Father of the Emperour Claudius of Julia Wife to Severus and of Gordianus Affricanus the Son the Price and Rarity whereof this Medalist does mightily Extol But if you cast your Eye upon the Second Edition of 1692. there you will find the same Medals very much debased Mr. Vaillant acknowleging the three first to be suspicious and the two last absolutely false He praiseth likewise in the same Work one of Trajan's Medals with a Pillar and an Owl on the top of it And in his Remarks upon Scelecta Numismata Seguini Published at Paris in the Year 1684. he confesseth ingenuously that the same was Counterfeit 'T is no less usual to be deceived in matter of Statues and Basso-Relievos then in Medals We have a great many Examples of this kind but it will suffice to give here only one single instance Vazari tells us that Michael Angelo to convince some Vertuosos and Antiquaries who valued nothing but what was Ancient of the rashness of their Judgment in such cases made a Cupid and buried it under the ruines of an Old Building having first broken off one of its Arms which he kept at home All the Lovers of the Art came immediately to look upon it and no Body did so much as question the Antiquity of the piece till Michael Angelo shewed them the Arm which he had kept by
induced to believe that the greatest part of Maximian's Army were Christians only upon the Authority of the Authors of St. Baboulene's Life it will not be amiss to examine what can be built upon this Writer's Authority And iâ— we cast but half an eye upon this Work of his we shall plainly discern that the whole from the beginning to the end of it is made up of nothing but fabulous Legends and Fictions The Manucript is kept at Paris in the Library of St. Germain Des-Prez and James Dubrcuil a Monk of that Abbey made an abrigdment of it and published it in the Year 1614. Mr. Du Chesne inserted it some Years after in his History of France Father Le-Cointe takes notice of it also in his Annals and rejecteth it as altogether unworthy of credit for he observeth that this Writer exactly follows in every thing that Anonymous Impostor who wrote the Acts of the Kings of France of which he gives these following particulars First That he makes Erchenald Major of the Palace in the first Year of Clovis whereas Fredegair calls him who was then in that Office Aeganes Secondly that he confounds Aubert Bishop of Paris under King Clovis with Agilbert who was Bishop of that â—â—e under Clotary Son to Clovis Thirdly that of two Baboulenes one of whom was Abbas Bobâ—ensis and the other Abbas Fosatensis he makes but one Fourthly That he reckons but 85. Years from the Death of Clovis the first to the Death of Clovis the second Fifthly That he makes Clovis the second to succeed his Father Dagobert in the Year of our Lord 643 in the first Indiction And several other faults he finds in the same Author all contrary to the known truth of History But a most notable one is his Saying that the Abbey of St. Maur des Fossez is situate in the place where formerly the Camp of the Bagauds was and that they incamped there because there was then standing an old Castle built by Julius Caesar inclosed with Walls and secured on all sides with large Ditches The truth is that that Abbey of St. Maur is call'd by several Writers of the Later Ages Castrum Bagaudarum Mr. Menage in his Origines upon the Word Bagauds saith that in a Charter of the Abbey of St. Maur granted in the Year 868. St. Maur des Fossez is call'd Castrum Bagaudarum and adds because Anciently it was a Fort of the Bagauds But who told that Anonymus Author that Julius Caesar had built there a noble Castle Nobiliter Constructum He is the only Writer who speaks of that Castle there is not the least mention of it in the Commentaries of Julius Caesar though all his Actions in Gaule are therein Writen with the greatest exactness Moreover this Impostor makes Orosius to say things which he never thought of For Orosius saith that Amandus and Aelianus having got a considerable number of Peasants together raised great disturbances in Gaule which Oblig'd Dioclesian to create Maximianus Herculeus Caesar and to send him thither who being a Man of considerable experience in War easily dispersed that Army of Peasants which was altogether without Order and Discipline But this Anonymous Scribler makes Orosius to say That Amandus and Aelianus were Christians and that they revolted only because they thought that their Religion did not allow them to obey Pagan Princes It is a strange impudence this first to invent Fables and then for the confirmation of them to quote a Famous Historian If we take this Authors quotation out of him for truth Orosius attributes very Noble and Evangelical Morals to the Christians of the Third Century in making them shake off the Authority of their lawful superiours only because they were not of their own Religion Monsieur de Tirlemont makes a Remark very suâ—iable to the purpose It is upon the Acts of St. Maximus related by Baronius in the year 254. There arises saith he yet greater difficulties from what Optimus saith That the Edict of Decius commanded all Christians to forsake their Superstition and to acknowledge their lawful Prince on whom all things depended and to Worship his Gods Against which Mr. Tirlemont with great reason does except thus What does all this mean Should then the Christians have made any difficulty to acknowledg Decius for their Emperour By no means But the truth is that though they were the most Submissive and Truest Subjects to their Princes Nevertheless because they did not prefer them to God himself they were deemed to fall from the duty of their Allegiance In fine this Anonymous Writer of Mezeray's relates the Martyrdom of the Theb. Legion very differently both from the counterseit St. Eucherius Surius and Father Chifflet For he saith that Maximian having ordered that all the Souldiers of his Army should swear upon the Altars of his Gods Sacrifice to them and oblige themselves by an Oath that they would persecute the Christians where-ever they should meet with any of them Mauritius answered for the whole Theb. Legion under his Command We know O Emperour how to fight against Rebels and Wicked Persons but we know not how to make War upon Good Men and our own Fellow Subjects Though we are all well Arm'd yet we do'nt make any resistance as being more willing to have our own blood shed than to shed that of others So without any more ado they stretched out their necks to the Executioners and were raised by their Torments to the glory of Paradise And thus this Anonymous Author leads us immediatly to the end of his Romance whereas the supposed St. Eucherius after Maximian hath given his barbarous Orders makes the Theb. Legion to withdraw supposes that it refuses to march saith that it was only decimated at first makes the Emperour to reiterate his Orders relates their Speech to this Prince and so entertaining his Reader with a great number of intervening particulars he at last brings him to the Catastrophe of his Tragedy Whence it follows that the Martyrdom of the Theb. Legion is not originally found but in false and supposititious Writings and was only related at first by Impostours One invented and publish'd the Story of this Martyrdom Another vouch'd for the Truth of that Narrative by another of his own And upon the credit of these two Relators hundreds of others believed it and at last it became a common Opinion in the World For a Tale never misses to be credited when it begins to grow ancient and we see every day that when any Relation hath passed for current for fifty or threescore years it is then almost too late to Contradict or call it in Question CHAP. XVII That it is not True That some Cohorts of the Theb. Legion were detached out of Maximian's Army to March against Carausius TOWARDS the end of the counterfeit Agaunian Acts there is a passage which affords us another proof that this Story of the Theb. Legion is a Forgery It was saith the Author a common report That
Joyeuse Bishop of Ostia above five and fourty Years after the time when Mâ—uns de Marca saith That France received the Council of Trent wherein this Pope complains very bitterly of the refusal which they still made in France to approve this Council and to submit to its Decisions Whatsoever it is most of the Doctors of the Romish Church do agree that to know the difference which the Council of Trent hath put between things dogmatical pertaining to Religion and things meerly ritual and belonging to Discipline the most certain Rule to judge by is the Anathemas that are fasten'd on them And therefore since that Council hath Anathematiz'd all those who do not approve the Worship of Saints it follows that the Fathers of that Council did look upon this Worship as a thing of great moment and necessity in Religion and not as one of those Practices and Ceremonies which though they be allowed to be very good and profitable yet may be left out or changed at the will and pleasure of the Pope and Church But let them say what they please certain it is that the Romish Church does not only believe that it is necessary to Salvation to call upon Saints but is moreover bound to believe so And their Doctors pretend that this piece of service to Saints is commanded in the Scripture wresting I know not how many Texts to make them apparently comply with their fancy and utter what they would be at Now if we believe that God hath commanded a Worship there is no doubt but we ought also to believe that we cannot omit the peformance thereof without puting our Salvation to stake But what can they say for those Services that are established in so many places to the honour of such Saints as owe all their being to the forgeries of a parcel of Monks and the credulity of a deluded People Whereas instead of declaring these Practices to be necessary the Church of Rome ought to acknowlege that they fall short of being even good and profitable And therefore that Church must confess that it hath erred and is yet involved in error The Eight Shift is that of some Doctors of the Romish Church who do deplore the excess that the Worshiping of Saints is grown to and protest altogether that if in some places some Saints that never were are Worshiped they are but local practices tolerated though not approved by the Church This is the Rock on which do split every day the Learning Piety Knowledge and Conscience of many Ecclesiasticks in the Church of Rome who being desirous of Salvation and having made a considerable study in Religion yet comparing the mischief of that false Worship with the consequences of a Separation think it much safer for their Souls to live in a corrupted Church and to groan under its Errors than to make a breach of Charity by separating from its Communion In which they are like those cowardly and unworthy Citizens who while a generous Deliverer hazards his Fortune and his Life to preserve to them both their Laws and Country are content with folded Arms to wish him good success and prosperity and if he chances to fail in the attempt will also bewail and pity him Of which sort of People a great Man used to say that they were the most useless of all Friends for that having the Vertue of wishing us well and shedding some tears for us they had not yet courage enough to afford us their Assistance For indeed all these good Wishes and Lamentations are no remedy to the misfortunes of a Church or Country Works they are and honest endeavours which God requires at our hands and not timorous Wishes and unprofitable Vows If some of the Romish Party do sigh at the sight of a Worship which they think dishonourable to their Church why do they not likewise joyn with those who apply themselves to reform it I believe there are but few very amongst them who have not heard of the wholsom Advices of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her Indiscreet Votaries and of the Pastoral Letter which a Bishop of France adjoyn'd thereto recommending them to the perusal and practice of all the good Christians of his Diocess This was just the time and a fair occasion for those Doctors who bewail so much in private the Abuses of their Church to appear and to speak had not some unworthy considerations stop'd them in the way and made them Speechless The Prelates the Universities Rome it self condemned those wholesom Advices no body having Piety and Courage enough to defend them while Error and Falshood found a World of Zealous Protectors Crasset a Jesuite stood in the defence of all the Excesses of the Bonaventures and Bernardines And the Sorbonne by giving their Approbation to his Works condemned likewise both the wholesom Advices and the pastoral Letter of the Bishop of Tournay How can they say then that most of those things which we find fault with in the Church of Rome are but local Practices or Excesses only tolerated and not approved by the Church Those very things which we disallow are of such a nature that a bare toleration of them hath the force of an Approbation For they are not Dogmatical Errours nor empty Speculations but Errours in the Practice and False worship in the publick Service of Religion Which whenever a Christian Society does tolerate it gives thereby a sufficient ground to believe that it approves them likewise Yet had not all our just Complaints upon this matter power enough to induce the Commissioners of the Index Expurgatorius to expunge the scandalous Excesses of their Bonaventure Bernardine of Siena and Gabriel Biel. The Congregation of the Holy Office and that de Ritibus are very well informed of the Honours paid in divers Places to the Souldiers of the Thebean Legion But let the Protestants prove as clear as the Day the Forgery of their Martyrdom these imaginary Beings consecrated by a blind Superstition are permitted notwithstanding still to retain all the Deferences of Honour and Worship formerly paid to them A Ninth evasion of the Romish Party is that we cannot they say condemn their worshipping of Saints without involving both the Fathers the Church of the first Ages and the most ancient Christians in the same Condemnation But this Accusation which they enter against us with so much confidence is wholly groundless The truth is that in the times of St. Basil St. Chrysostom and Gregory Nazianzen in the East of St. Ambrose St. Jerom St. Austin and St. Paulinus in the West some Practices may be observed which have been in the After-Ages the Origine of the false Worship paid to the Saints The People beginning then to esteem a little too much of their Reliques they flock'd from all parts to their Sepulchers and with an extraordinary zeal they celebrated the memorial of them the Preachers in the mean time by Rhetorical Figures directing their Speech to them in such manner as if