very plausible an one Yet he speaks nothing of it in all these Letters The same Day on which this Council is supposed to be held Foelix wrote the Sentence which he would have to be signified to Acacius wherein he exactly relates all the Reasons of his Condemnation but speaks nothing at all of this which would have been one of the principal and strongest There is therefore no Reason to believe that he was condemned upon that account Besides what likelihood is there that there should be two Councils held at Rome in so little a time Let them not say that they are two different Sessions of the same Council for they are under two different Bishops Lastly The Ancient Record concerning the Affair of Acacius which relates exactly all the Circumstances of his Condemnation speaks of only one which went before the attempt which he made of putting Petrus Fullo into the See of Constantinople We cannot then maintain this Letter written in the Name of the Synod of Rome to the Monks and Clergy of Bithynia at least as to the second Part for it is to be taken Notice of that it hath two Parts The first is a Relation of the Condemnation of Acacius as we have already said which is authorized by Foelix's Letters The second contains the other Condemnation of Acacius for having restored Petrus Fullo which doth not all agree with the History Nor are either of the Parts in the Style of Pope Foelix but more especially the last which is written after an impertinent manner and contains the forbid Praises of Pope Foelix calling him Caput nostrum Papa Archiepiscopus Our Head Pope and Archbishop Terms which were never used in that Age. In an ancient MS. this Letter is dated Octob. 485. This date is evidently false for 't is said That he sent this Sentence by Tutus the Advocate Now the Voyage of Tutus was in 484. He had not that Title in 485. I spare to mention a great number of places in that Letter which are such pitiful stuff that it is impossible to believe that it is a Work written at that time But the like cannot be said of Foelix's seventh Letter concerning those who have been Re-baptized by the Arians In the ordinary Inscriptions it is directed to all Bishops But I believe that we ought to follow the MS of Justellus where it is directed to the Bishops of Sicily In this Letter he orders what the Penance of those Persons shall be who have suffered themselves to be Baptized by the Arians 1. He observes that there is a great deal of difference between such as were forced to do it and those that have done it voluntarily 2. He asserts That all those who have been Baptized ought to do Penance and submit themselves to Fasting Tears and other Acts of Penance 3. That the Bishops Priests and Deacons who have been Re-baptized ought to undergo Penance as long as they live be deâ—… the Ecclesiastical Assemblies and be excluded the Prayers even of the Catechumens themselves and that all the favour that can be granted them is to receive them into Lay-Communion at the point of Death 4. He imposes upon the other Clergy Monks and Virgins devoted to God who have also suffered themselves to be Re-baptized twelve Years Penance three among the Hearers seven among the Penitents and two among the Consistents upon Condition nevertheless that if they happen to be in danger of Death they shall be relieved either by the Bishop who imposed the Penance or by some other Bishop or by a Priest 5. He ordains That as to those young Children whom their Age may excuse it shall suffice to keep them some time subject to the Imposition of Hands without enjoyning them Penance 6. He ordains no more than a three Years Penance for the Clergy Monks and Lay-Men who have been Re-baptized by force or subtilty not having consented to it But he lays it down as a General Rule That none of those who have been Baptized or Re-baptized by Hereticks should be admitted to Sacred Orders Lastly He forbids the Bishops and Priests to receive to Communion the Clergy or mere Laicks of another Diocess or Parish unless they have the Testimonial Letters from their Bishop or Priest This Letter is dated March 15. Anno 488. We have nothing to observe about the eighth Letter to Zeno Bishop of Sivil which is nothing but a Recommendation of a certain Person called Terintianus who had told him of the Welfare of that Bishop The Letters of this Pope are written in a noble cogent and pleasant Style The Author of the Memoir concerning the Affair of ACACIUS THIS Memoir was composed two Years after the Condemnation of Acacius by Foelix that is to say in 486. It contains an Abridgment of what passed in the Cause of The Author of the Memoir Acacius from his Condemnation to Acacius's The things related in it are done very exactly and in few Words It discovers a great number of particular Circumstances which we can find no where else We may there see the Troubles with which the Church was vexed for 40 Years together and the frequent Revolutions which happened to the great Sees of the Eastern Churches and many other accidents which it would have been hard to have picked up if we had not an Author of that time who hath related them distinctly It is not certainly known who composed this Memoir F. Sirmondus found it in a MS. with S. Leo's Letters It was without all doubt composed by the Order of this Pope GELASIUS I. GElasius †An African Son of Valerius Successor of Foelix III. was Ordained Bishop of Rome in the * Febr. 7. beginning of the Year 492. and Governed that Church four Years eight Months and some Days Some time after his Ordination Gelasius I. Euphemius Patriarch of Constantinople wrote a Letter to him in which he complains that he had not sent him a Letter of Communion according to the Ancient Custom And having assured him That he held the Orthodox Faith he prayed him to conform himself to the Eastern Churches Gelasius returned this Answer thereupon That it was true that it was the ancient Custom of the Holy See that as soon as any Person was Ordained Bishop of Rome he imparted his Election to his Collegues by Letters of Communion but he dare not give that Mark of Union to such Persons as preferred Communion with Hereticks before that of the Holy See That the Letter which he now writes to him ought not to be taken as a Mark of Communion but only as an Effect of that general Charity which Christianity obliges us to have for all the World As to the Conformity which he desires of him he could not yield to it without departing from the Truth That as for those who have been Baptized and Ordained by Acacius he allows them to act in that manner which Euphemius hath prescribed in his Letter but he cannot consent to their putting Acacius's
which cannot be understood of the Son of Jehoiada yy Malachi whose Name in the Hebrew signifies My Angel And this has made Origen and Tertullian believe that he was an Angel Incarnate He is called an Angel by the greatest part of the Fathers and in the Version of the Septuagint but he was Angel by Office and not by Nature as he himself calls the Priests Angels Some Persons as Jonathan the Chaldee Paraphrast St. Jerome and several Jews believed that it was an Appellative Name which Ezrah assumed and that he was Author of this Book but this Opinion is established upon very weak Conjectures and besides Ezrah is no where in Scripture called a Prophet St. Jerome proves his Opinion in the first place because Malachi and Ezrah lived at the same time Secondly Because what is in Malachi is very like what we find in Ezrah And lastly Because in chap. 2. vers 7. he seems to point at Ezrah by these Words Verba Sacâ—rdotis custodiunt Scientiâ—m c. â—ut these Conjectures are light and frivolous For the first only proves that Malachi and Ezrah lived at the same time not that they were one and the same The second is not true and if it were it would prove just nothing The Words quoted in the third ought to be understood of Levi and all the Priests of the Law He adds that in Ecclesiasticus chap. 49. where mention is made of all the Prophets the Name of Malachi is not to be found To this it is answered That we ought not to be surprized because he is not Named there since in the same place there is no mention made of Daniel and several others zz The difference of the Style of the Chronology and of the History make it appear The first Book of Maccabees was written by an Hebrew the second by a Greek the second begins the History a great deal higher than the first One follows the Jewish Account the other that of Alexandria which begins Six Months after Some Persons attribute the first to Josephus others to Philo others to the Synagogue and others to the Maccabees The Phrase of the first is Jewish and St. Jerome tells us he had the Hebrew Copy of it It was Intituled The Scepter of the Rebels against the Lord or rather The Scepter of the Prince of the Children of God The second was Written by Jason as it is observed in the Preface Huetius believes that the third and fourth Chapter as well as the two last don't belong to Jason because it is said in chap. 2. vers 20. that he wrote down all that passed under Antiochus and Eupator but then the remainder which is the end and the beginning of that History ought to be understood aaa From a Sentence in Exodus This Sentence is in Hebrew Mi Camacha Be Elim Jehovah Who is like to the Lord amongst the Powers Now taking the first Letters of each Word we make Maccabee Others give a different Etymology of this Name but this is the most probable SECT II. The Canon of the Books of the Old Testament of Books Doubtful Apocryphal and Lost that belonged to the Old Testament WE call the Books of the Bible Canonical Books because they are received into the Canon or the Catalogue of Books that we look upon as Sacred a Opposite to these are those Books we usually call Apocryphal b which are not acknowledged as Divine but rejected as spurious The first Canon or Catalogue of the Holy Books was made by the Jews 't is certain they had one but 't is not so certainly known who it was that made it Some Persons reckon upon three of them made at different times by the Sanedrim or the great Synagogue of the Jews c But 't is a great deal more probable that they never had more than one Canon d or one Collection of the Holy Books of the Old Testament that was made by Ezrah after the rebuilding of Jerusalem and was afterwards approved and received by the whole Nation of the Jews as containing all the Holy Books Josephus speaking of this business in his first Book against Appion says There is nothing in the World that can boast of a higher degree of certainty than the Writings Authorized amongst us for they are not subject to the least Contrariety because we only receive and approve of those Prophets who wrote them many years ago according to the pure Truth by the Inspiration of the Spirit of God We are not therefore allowed to see great numbers of Books that contradict one another We have only Twenty two that comprehend every thing of moment that has happen'd to our Nation from the beginning of the World till now and those we are obliged firmly to believe Five of them are Written by Moses that give a faithful Relation of all Events even to his own Death for about the space of Three Thousand years and contain the Genealogy of the Descendants of Adam The Prophets that succeeded this admirable Legislator in Thirteen other Books have Written all the memorable Passages that fell out from his Death until the Reign of Artaxerxes the Son of Xerxes King of the Persians The other Four Books contain Hymns and Songs composed in the Praise of God with abundance of Precepts and Moral Instructions for the regulating of our Manners We have also every thing Recorded that has happen'd since Artaxerxes down to our own Times but because we have not had as heretofore a Succession of Prophets therefore we don't receive them with the same Belief as we do the Sacred Books concerning which I have discoursed already and for which we preserve so great a Veneration that no One ever had the boldness to take away or add or change the most inconsiderable thing in them We consider them as Sacred Books and so we call them we make solemn Profession inviolably to observe what they Command us and to Die with Joy if there be occasion thereby to preserve them Origen St. Jerome the Author of the Abridgment attributed to St. Athanasius St. Epiphanius and several other Christian Writers do testifie That the Jews received but Twenty two Books into the Canon of their Holy Volumes The Division that St. Jerome has made of them who distributes them into three Classes is as follows The first comprehends the Five Books of Moses which is called The Law The second contains those Books that he calls the Books of the Prophets which are nine in number namely the Book of Joshuah the Book of Judges to which says St. Jerome they use to joyn the Book of Ruth the Book of Samuel which we call the first and second Book of Kings the Book of Kings which contain the two last These Books are followed by three great Prophets viz. Isaiah Jeremiah and Ezekiel which are three different Books and by the twelve minor Prophets which make up but one Book The third Class comprehends those Books that are usually called the Hagiographa or Holy Scriptures the first
Consideration of Death and of Judgment to beg Pardon of his Fault to Turn and Repent The Fourth of these Letters is address'd to a Virgin who being consecrated to God by a Vow of Virginity had suffer'd her self to be corrupted by a Miserable Man He represents to her the Enormity of her Crime He endeavours to terrifie her by the Fear of Judgment and of Hell and gives her hopes that she shall obtain Mercy if she will change her Life and Repent The 411. Letter ought to be joyn'd to this It contains many Precepts of a MonastickLife which for the most part are drawn out of the Holy Scripture The 165. Letter to Eustathius the Philosopher was written some time after St. Basil's Retirement He acquaints him That since his return from Athens he had search'd for him in all places but could not meet with him which Unhappiness he Attributes to the Providence of God and not to Fortune The 166. to one nam'd Julianus seems to have been written about the same time He says That 't is in a Man's Power to lead a happy and quiet Liâ—e by governing his Passions and submitting his Mind to all Events that can happen Neither Loss of Goods says he nor Sickness of Body nor any other troublesome Accidents of this Life can hurt a Vertuous Man while he designs to walk in the Ways of God and Meditates upon another Life who submits to all the Troubles and Crosses of this World For those who are wholly taken up with the Cares of this Life are like those Carnivorous Birds who stoop down to the Earth with the Beasts though they have Wings to fly in the Air. The 167. Letter to Diodorus a Priest of Antioch was also written about the same time In it he commends the Two Books which this Author had sent him He says That the Second was very acceptable to him not only because of its Brevity but because of the many Thoughts Arguments and Answers which it contain'd in a very good Method He commends the plainness of its Stile which is agreeable says he to the Profession of a Christian who ought much rather to write for the Publick Good than to acquire Glory to himself As to the First Book which was compos'd by way of Dialogue he says That though it was more adorn'd with Figures and had greater Variety of Matter yet he found it tedious to read and difficult to understand He takes notice That the Calumnies of Hereticks and the Defences of the Catholicks are very useless and interrupt the Thread of his Discourse To this we may joyn the 168. Letter to Eunomius wherein he rallies this Heretick who boasted of understanding all things by putting to him many difficult Questions about things Natural to which 't was impossible to Answer The 41. and 42. Letters to Maximus the Philosopher who is in all probability the same that got himself Ordain'd Archbishop of Constantinople were also written by St. Basil when he was in his Solitude The 1st is concerning the Opinions of Dionysius of Alexandria He accuses him of Writing some things in his Books which seemed to be the Seeds of the Error of the Anomaeans yet he confesses that he did it not designedly but that in disputing against the Heresy of Sabellius he had too much inclin'd to the opposite Error and in proving the Distinction of the Persons he seem'd to admit a Difference of Nature between the Three Divine Persons After this St. Basil explains his own Judgment concerning the Trinity He does not condemn the Opinion of those who say That the Word is like to God the Father in Substance nor even of those who say simply That he is like to his Father Provided they add That he is in nothing unlike to him because this Sence falls in with their Opinion who call him Consubstantial He adds That this last term is less capable of an ill sence He condemns the Bishops of the Council of Constantinople who contented themselves with declaring That the Son was the Image of the Father without adding That he was in nothing unlike At last St. Basil invites Maximus to come and see him and directly charges him with having too great an Affection for the City and the Grandeur of this World This Letter was written after the Council of Constantinople in 360. In the 2d Letter to the same Philosopher he commends him and recommends to him the love of Vertue The 2d 3d and 33d Letters address'd to St. Gregory who was gone to Nazianzum were much about the same time In the 2d he observes That no words are capable of expressing our Thoughts of God and Admonishes St. Gregory to use all his Eloquence in the Defence of the Truth In the 3d. Letter he pleasantly rebukes St. Gregory for writing none but Laconick Letters to him that is to say such as were short and concise 'T is plain That the Letters of St. Basil to the Emperour Julian if they are Genuine were written by this Saint in his Retirement since the Death of Julian happened before he came out of his Solitude He had known this Prince at Athens where they had Studied together under Libanius After he was return'd to his own Country he received a very obliging Letter from this Prince who had not yet forsaken the Christian Religion This Letter is the 206. But after he had renounc'd Christianity he did no longer treat St. Basil after the same manner but on the contrary he wrote a Proud Letter to him and commanded him to send him 1000 l. of Gold for restoring of the Temples This Letter is the 207th among those of St. Basil to which is subjoyn'd the Answer that Julian made when he had read the Book of Apollinarius I have read it understood it and condemn'd it But it appears that those words were added to the rest of the Letter to which they have no reference at all The Two following Letters contain the Answer of St. Basil to this Letter of Julian yet they are not two Answers nor two different Letters but one and the same Answer of which some have made too Cotelerius hath publish'd a little while ago the whole entire and in one Letter only from a Manuscript of the King's Library It is in his Second Volume of the Monuments of the Greek Church This Sentence which is put at the beginning of the First You did not understand what you read for if you had understood it you would never have condemn'd it was added after the writing of this Letter as that was which is at the end of Julian's Letter I doubt also whether the Answer that is attributed to St. Basil be truly his and I know not but it may be written by some other Person who would make a trial how he could Answer Julian's Letter to this Father And indeed the Stile of this Letter is not so Elegant as that of the Letters of St. Basil. He writes to Julian That he is horribly vex'd when he
all Occasions Before I conclude my Preface I am obliged to make some kind of Answer to those who have been pleased to declare that they should have been better satisfied if I had wrote my Book in Latin Some Persons have been of that Mind because they have a greater Value for Latin since it has lasted longer and is more currant in Foreign Countries Others take it ill that I have published those things in French which as they pretend ought only to be understood by Divines These Men have told me That they could not endure to see Women and ignorant People learn the most curious Parts of Divinity And that it might prove of dangerous Consequence to instruct them throughly in the Doctrine of the Fathers As for the First I shall take care to satisfie them by translating my Book into Latin some time or other if the Publick shall think it worth being preserved For the Others As their Complaint is unreasonable so I never saw any good Reasons to hinder my publishing it in French For when the Fathers themselves wrote they made use of a Language that was understood by all the World and we live at present in an Age wherein great Numbers of their Books have been translated with Applause No Man therefore ought to take it ill that I publish an Abridgment of their Doctrine to all the World On the contrary It were to be wished that every Christian could be instructed in these Matters that they might be the better confirmed in their Belief when they see that this Doctrine has been always taught in the Church of JESUS CHRIST who is the Pillar and Ground of the Truth THE CONTENTS OF THE First Volume PREFACE PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION Sect. I. Of the Authors of the several Books of the Old Testament Pag. 1 Sect. II. Of the Canonical Books of the Old Testament of Books Doubtful Apocryphal and Lost that belonged to the Old Testament 26 Sect. III. The History of the Hebrew Text of the Version of the Septuagint and other Greek Versions of the Old Testament 35 Sect. IV. Of some Authors whose Works have a relation to the Old Testament viz Philo Fl. Josephus Justus Aristeas Aristobulus Josephus Bengorion Berosus the false Dorotheus Zoroaster c. 41 Sect. V. Concerning the Authors of the Books of the New Testament 43 Sect. VI. Of the Canon of the Books of the New Testament and particularly of those Books that were formerly doubted of 49 An Account of the Lives and Writings of the Primitive Fathers c. OF the Letter falsely supposed to be sent by Jesus Christ to King Agbarus and of that of Agbarus to Jesus Christ. Pag. 1 Of some Letters falsely attributed to the Virgin Mary 2 Of the Counterfeit Gospels 3 Of the Counterfeit Acts of the Apostles and of the false Revelations 4 Of the Epistle to the Laodiceans and some others attributed to St. Paul 5 Of the Epistle of St. Barnabas 6 Of the Liturgies that are falsely attributed to the Apostles 8 Of the Apostles Creed 9 Of the Canons and Constitutions attributed to the Apostles 13 Of the several Books attributed to Prochorus Linus and Abdias of the Acts of the Passion of St. Andrew 16 Of the Books of the Sibyls Mercurius Trismegistus and Hystaspes Of the Letters of Lentulus and Pilate concerning Jesus Christ of the Epistles of Seneca to St. Paul and of a Passage in the History of Josephus concerning Jesus Christ. Pag. 17 Hermas 26 St. Clemens Romanus 27 St. Dionysius the Areopagite 31 St. Ignatius 35 St. Polycarp 44 Papias 46 Quadratus and Aristides 48 Agrippa ibid. Hegesippus ibid. St. Justin the Martyr 50 Melito 55 Tatian ibid. Athenagoras and Hermias 56 Theophilus Bishop of Antioch ibid. Apollinarius of Hierapolis 57 Dionysius of Corinth ibid. Pinytus Philippus Modestus Musanus and Bardesanes 58 St. Irenaeus ibid. Victor Polycrates Theophilus of Caesarea and Bachillus of Corinth 61 Several Writers of whom nothing remains and who were little known amongst the Ancients ib. Serapion of Antioch ibid. Rhodon ibid. Pantaenus ibid. St Clemens Alexandrinus 62 Miltiades the two Apollonii and the two Anonymous Authors who wrote against the Heresies of Montanus and Artemo 66 Tertullian 69 Caius 86 Hippolytus 87 Geminianus or Geminus 90 Alexander ibid. Julius Africanus 91 Minutius Foelix 92 Ammonius 95 Origen 96 Ambrose and Tryphon Disciples of Origen Pag. 116 Beryllus ibid. St. Cyprian 117 Pontius 144 Cornelius ibid. Novatian 145 St. Martialis 146 Sixtus 147 Gregory Thaumaturgus ibid. St. Denys of Alexandria 149 Theognostus 153 Athenogenes 154 Denys Bishop of Rome ibid. Malchion ibid. Archelaus 155 Anatolius ibid. Victorinus ibid. Pierius 156 Methodius ibid. Pamphilus 161 Lucian ibid. Phileas 162 Zeno of Verona ibid. Arnobius 163 Lactantius 165 Commodianus 169 Julius Firmicus Maternus 170 Of the Councils held in the Three First Ages of the Church 171 Of the false Decretals attributed to the first Popes 173 Abridgment of the Doctrine the Discipline and the Morals of the Three First Ages of the Church 178 A Chronological Table of the Authors of the Old Testament A Chronological Table of the Authors of the New Testament A Chronological Table of the Ecclesiastical Authors treated of in this Volume A Table of the Books Canonical Apocryphal and Lost which belong to the Old Testament A Table of the Books that belong to the New Testament A Table of all the Works of the Authors treated of in this Volume shewing which are Genuine which Spurious and which Lost. A Table of the Works of the Authors disposed in the Order of Matters on which they treat An Alphabetical Table of Authors Names An Index of the Principal Matters A Preliminary Dissertation ABOUT THE AUTHORS OF THE BIBLE SECT I. Of the Authors of the Books of the Old Testament OF all those a Paradoxes that have been advanced in our Age there is none in my Judgment more rash and dangerous than the Opinion of those who have presumed to deny that Moses was the Author of the Pentateuch For what can be more rash than to deny Matter of Fact that has been established by express Texts of Holy Scripture b by the Authority of Jesus Christ c by the Consent of all Nations d and by the Authentick Testimonies of the most Ancient Authors e And what can be more dangerous than to bid Defiance to Antiquity and consequently destroy the Authority of those Books which are as it were the very Foundations of our Religion f And yet this they do who dare affirm that the Books of the Pentateuch are not written by Moses and endeavour to prove it by such weak Conjectures that 't is impossible for a Man of tolerable sense to be convinced by them g For allowing all that they alledge were true h they could only prove the same thing has happen'd to the Books of Moses which has happen'd almost to all the Books of Ancient Authors viz. That some few Words Names and Terms have been altered or added to render the Narrative more
Edition When we suppose that there have been such publick Scribes we ascribe to them all the Historical part of the Pentateuch and to Moses all that belongs to the Laws and Ordinances and 't is this which the Scripture calls the Law of Moses And so one may say in this sense that all the Pentateuch is really and truly written by Moses because those persons that made the Collection lived in his time and what they did was by his particular Direction He says the very same thing in his 2d Chap. p. 17. 'T is therefore not improbable that there were in Moses ' s time such sort of Prophets who were necessary to the State because they preserved the most considerable Actions that passed in their Commonwealth This being granted we shall distinguish in these five Books of the Law that which was written by Moses from what was written by the Prophets and publick Scribes We may attribute to Moses the Commandments and Ordinances which he gave the People in lieu of which we may suppose these same publick Scribes to have been the Authors of the greatest part of this History In the seventh Chapter p. 50. he adds As for what concerns the Books of Moses such as they now are in the Collection which we have the Additions that have been made to the ancient Acts hinder us from discerning what is truly his and what has been added by those who succeeded him or by the Authors of the last Collection Besides this Compilation being now and then Epitomized out of the ancient Memoirs one cannot be assured that the Genealogies there are set down in their full length and extent From these Principles of Monsieur Simon it follows in the first place that Moses is not the Author of the greatest part of the Pentateuch for the Controversie here is not about some few Passages that are of small consequence but even those that make up the Body and principal Part of the Pentateuch Moses according to his Notions being only concerned about the Laws and Ordinances has no share in any thing besides and so the History of the Creation and of the Deluge in a word all Genesis and whatever has a relation to the Historical part is taken away from Moses It is to no purpose to say as he has done already p. 3. That one may say that all the Pentateuch is Moses ' s because they that made the Collection lived in his time and did nothing but by his order For would it not be a Jest to ascribe to Moses the Works of the publick Scribes of his time If this were really true a Man might ascribe all publick Registers to those Kings and Princes in whose time and by whose order they were compiled But what is a great deal more surprizing Monsieur Simon or at least one of his Zealous Defenders abandons this Hypothesis as not to be maintained and acknowledges that there is no convincing proof to make us believe there weresuch publick Scribes divinely inspired in the time of Moses This is taken notice of in a Marginal Note of the 17th Page of his Critical History and the same Edition that we cited before We find in truth says the Author of that Remark this sort of publick Scribes in the time of the Kings amongst the Hebrews … but we find no Foot-steps of them in the Books of Moses The Author of the Answer to a Letter which Monsieur Spanheim wrote against F. Simon confesses the same thing If you now demand of me what is my Opinion concerning these publick Scribes I answer That it would be very hard to reject 'em totally… In the mean time I don't altogether agree with him as to the time wherein he pretends that these Prophets were Established in the Jewish Commonwealth for the Reasons he brings and indeed the greater part of his Authorities clearly suppose that this happened after Moses If this Letter was Monsieur Simon 's as the World was inclined to believe he cannot possibly excuse himself from having dealt very treacherously in a matter of the highest consequence about Religion since he has established the truth of the Pentateuch upon a supposition which he himself acknowledges to be either false or uncertain But suppose this Letter was not his it shows at least that those persons who are the most favourable to his Hypothesis freely own 't is impossible to prove there were any of these publick Scribes divinely Inspired in Moses's time and consequently that Monsieur Simon who has grounded the validity of the Pentateuch upon this Hypothesis has done it upon a very weak Foundation even in the judgment of those Criticks who stand up the strongest for him Thus Monsieur Simon alledges this Conjecture as only a matter of probability In the second place Monsieur Simon has of himself ruined whatever he says of the Antiquity and Authority of the Pentateuch by confidently asserting as he has done in the third passage we quoted that the Pentateuch in the condition we find it in at present is only an Abridgment of the ancient Acts that were made in the time of Moses and that 't is impossible to discern what is ancient and what is not Is not this formally to deny that Moses was the Author of the Pentateuch and that the Books which we now have are not so ancient as is pretended In a word he establishes the Authority of the Books of Scripture upon the pretended Inspiration of certain Scribes or Keepers of the publick Registers whom he believes to have been from time to time among the Jews Now nothing is more uncertain than the Existence or Inspiration of these publick Scribes as we shall shew in the following Pages b By express Texts of Holy Scripture It is very certain that Moses wrote the Law and that in Scripture we are to understand the Pentateuch by the Law Exod. 24. v. 4. and 7. Moses wrote all the Words of the Law and took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the audience of the People Deut. 31. v. 19 and 22. Moses therefore wrote this Law and gave it to the Priests the Sons of Levi… and to all the Elders of Israel In Exodus ch 17. v. 14. God commanded Moses to write the Law and give it to Joshuah And in the Book of Joshuah ch 1. v. 7 and 8. God tells him That the Volume of the Law which he received from Moses ought to be always in his mind This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day and night… that thou mayst observe to do according to all the Law which Moses my Servant commanded thee Now tho' the Word Law may indeed be applied to one part of the Pentateuch yet we ought to take notice that it is generally taken in Scripture for the whole Pentateuch And 't is certain that in the 31st Chapter of Deuteronomy where it is said Moses therefore wrote this Law it is meant of all this Book
and indeed if such Reasonings were to be allowed I don't know one single Book in the World which might not upon as good Grounds be taken away from the true Author and bestowed upon another From hence we may see of what ill consequence it is to give ones Imagination too large a Scope and mistake bare Conjectures for eternal Truths h They would only prove that the same thing has happened to the Books of Moses which has almost happened to all the ancient Authors viz That some few Words Names and Terms have been added or altered to render the Narrative more intelligible If one examines all these Objections that I have already answered he will be convinced they prove no more and that one might have answered almost all of them by this very Remark Mr. Simon who cannot contradict me in this Point is mighty desirous to set upon me another way by objecting that in my Preface and other places of my Book I have laid down Rules which seem to prove from these Additions that the Pentateuch is a supposititious Work For it seems I had affirmed in the first part of my Preface That impostors for the most part relate Matters of Fact that happened after the Death of those whom they speak of and they give an Account of Cities and People that were not known in the time of those Authors whose Names they assume From whence Mr. Simon draws this Consequence that since I own there are several such Additions in the Pentateuch a Disciple of Spinosa may thence conclude that according to my Rule 't is a supposititious Work To this I answer that this Objection of Mr. Simon shews that he has not so great a share of good Sense and closeness of Arguing as he has of Rabbinical Learning For if he had only considered the General Remark which I made in my Preface about the Rules of Criticism there laid together he could not have been guilty of so manifest a Solecism as this I desire him to mind these Words a little A Man may say that all these Rules which I have here laid down are convincing and probable in different degrees but that the Sovereign and Principal Rule is the Judgment of Equity and Prudence which instructs us to ballance the Reasons of this and t'oher side in distinctly considering the Conjectures that are made of both sides Now this is the General Rule of Rational Criticism and we abuse all the rest if we don't chiefly make use of this Let us now apply it to the present Question There are in the Pentateuch some Terms and Names of Cities and other Passages that could not come from Moses must we therefore hastily conclude that it was not written by Moses because 't is a certain sign that a Book is spurious when one finds such Occurrences in it as have happen'd after the Death of the Author to whom it is attributed and because we there meet with some Names of Cities and People that were not known in his time Or on the other hand Does it follow because the Pentateuch was writ by Moses notwithstanding some Additions which are there to be found does it I say thence follow that the above-mentioned Rule is false These two Consequences are very indiscreetly drawn but the Rule is still good and the Books of the Pentateuch may yet be written by Moses The Rule is good but we ought to make a good use of it When there are no certain Proofs of the Antiquity of a Book and besides there are other Conjectures to incline us to doubt of it we may in pursuance to this Rule conclude it spurious But when it is past Dispute that such a Book is written by such an Author and there is an infinite number of evident Arguments to demonstrate the truth of it then we are necessarily to conclude that these Words and Terms and Names were afterwards added After all where there are Reasons on one side as well as on the other we ought carefully to ballance them to weigh one against the other and at last to determine the matter on that side where the greatest appearance of probability lies These are the true Rules of Criticism which it seems Mr. Simon is ignorant of or at least does not rightly examine otherwise he could never have forgot himself so far as to accuse me wrongfully for giving favourable Rules to the Disciples of Spinosa The fault is by no means to be imputed to these Rules which almost every Critick has given before me but 't is his way of Arguing and drawing of Inferences that has been favourable to the Spinosists His Conjectures and Objections and in short his Hypothesis has served to confirm those Persons in their Errors besides that several places of his Book give the greatest Blow imaginable to the Authority of the Holy Scripture When he asks me What answer I will return to a Spinosist who to prove that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses shall use my own Reasons to show that the Liturgy of St. James as 't is commonly received by the Oriental Nations was not made by him I will answer him that there are not the same Reasons to induce a Man to believe that St. James was the Author of that Liturgy which goes under his Name as that the Books of Moses were written by him That this was never affirmed in any of the Epistles of the Apostles that the Ancients never speak of it that this Liturgy does not agree with the Discipline that was in use in St. James's time Whereas the Scripture informs me that Moses was Author of the Pentateuch and Jesus Christ and his Apostles have assured me of the truth of it and all the ancient Writers have testified so much besides the Universal Agreement of all People in this matter 'T is therefore a manifest Injustice and Calumny in Mr. Simon to accuse me for designing to destroy the Books of Moses under a pretence of defending them against the Spinosists Nor does Mr. Simon reason better in applying what I have said with regard to the Book of Joshuah to the Books of the Pentateuch 't is but comparing the Arguments I brought to prove that the Books of the Pentateuch belonged to Moses with those that are commonly produced to prove that the Book of Joshuah was written by Joshuah and any Man will soon perceive the mighty difference between one and the other and that the Reasons that are alledged in favour of Moses are infinitely stronger than those that are urged to prove that Joshuah composed the Book that bears his Name No Man ever yet doubted that the Pentateuch was written by Moses but 't is not the same case with the Book of Joshuah Mr. Simon supposeth there is as much evidence for one as the other in order to prove this he imagines that all those formal places of Scripture that are produced to shew that Moses was Author of the Pentateuch reduce themselves to this Head viz. That Moses wrote the
Fathers For in the former profane Things were only comprised concerning the Ceremonies of the Heathens whereas the later were full of Predictions and Instructions relating to Christianity The Books of the Sibyls were never consulted among the Romans without extracting from them some Superstitions perfectly Pagan l The Books of the Sibyls were never consulted among the Romans without extracting from them some Superstitions perfectly Pagan See Livy in many places Varro de Ling. Lat. Lib. 5. Cicero in Verrina ult Tacitus Lib. 15. Suetonius in Jul. Num. 97. Plin. Lib. 5. chap. 17. Solyn Polyhist Chap. 10. Val. Maxim Lib. 1. Numb 1 and 10. Plutarch in the Lives of Publicola Fabius and Marius Pausanias in Phocaicis Capitolinus in Gordiano Trebellius Pollio in Galienis and Vopiscus in Aureliano Floriano Sext. Aurel. Victor in Claudio-Ammian Marcellin Lib. 22 and 23. Macrob. Saturnal Lib. 1. chap. 17. They were informed therein that they ought either to offer some sort of Sacrifice to the Gods or to fasten a Nail in the Capitol or to celebrate some particular Games to the Honour of Jupiter At another time it was found to be necessary to cause the Statue of Aesculapius to be brought to Rome to erect a Temple to Venus to offer Sacrifices to the Infernal Deities and to appease the Heathen Gods with peculiar and extraordinary Solemnities Lastly Nothing was ever gathered from these Books but Ceremonies that were absolutely prophane On the contrary the Fathers alledge nothing out of the Writings of the Sibyls but what relates to the Christian Religion and to the true Worship of God Is there any probability that these Prophetesses should have uttered Things so different and that they should have taught in one and the same Book the way of Worshipping the True God and the greatest superstitions of the Gentiles Who can imagine that these Books that were kept by the Romans to Authorize all their Superstitious Rites and which they esteemed as the most sublime and refined part of their Religion should contain far clearer Prophesies concerning Jesus Christ than all that was ever declared by the Jewish Prophets Moreover not only the Books of the Sibyls that are now extant speak of our Saviour in such plain Expressions as look more like a History than a Prophecy But the same thing may be said of the Books cited by the Fathers that comprehend the same Predictions and even more distinct For can there be a plainer Prediction concerning Jesus Christ than the Verses produced by Eusebius in the Prayer attributed to Constantine There is but one God who is also the Saviour Who hath suffer'd for us Who is mark'd out in these Verses The Acrostick quoted in the same place is not more obscure Can any thing be spoken more expresly concerning the Creation of the World the last Judgment and the Life Everlasting than what is produced by Theophilus Antiochenus as proceeding from a Sibyl All the other Sibylline Verses recited by the Fathers are written almost after the very same manner on every particular Subject and this obliged the Author of the Exhortation to the Gentiles attributed to St. Justin to affirm that the Sibyl had foretold the Advent of Jesus Christ in clear and evident Terms 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now what an absurdity is it to believe that the Heathens from whom God had concealed the Coming of his Son and whom he suffered to walk in Darkness should have more notable Prophecies among them than all those of the Jews to whose Custody he had committed the Sacred Writings and to whom he had given the knowledge of the Messiah Moreover this Argument might be urged farther and it might be demanded from whence the Sibyls could receive the knowledge of the Messiah It is alledged by some that they were Inspired by God and by others that they took from the Holy Scripture all that they uttered concerning Religion but there is no probability neither in the one nor the other Assertion For what likelihood is there that God should inspire Sorceresses and Priestesses of false Gods that deluded Mankind to cause them to adore the Daemons with which they were possessed Or who can imagine that God should make use of such Instruments to reveal his Mysteries so clearly to the World And on the other side how could they draw those Truths out of the Old Testament that are but very obscurely expressed therein and which the Jews themselves could scarcely understand It remains only for a more full demonstration of the falsity of the Sibylline Oracles that were used by the Fathers to shew that they differed very little from those that still bear the same Title To evince this it will be sufficient to observe that excepting three or four Passages all the others quoted by the ancient Authors being very numerous are expressed in equivalent Terms in the Sibylline Books that are read even at this day Now the strongest Argument that can be alledged to prove that a Work is ancient is that those Passages that have been cited by the ancient Writers are found therein Do we not frequently demonstrate the Antiquity of an infinite number of Books only because a particular Passage recited by some ancient Author is there to be found Why then may it not be concluded after the same manner that the Sibylline Books tho' forged are the same with those that were formerly extant And this Proof is of so much the more force because this may be urged not only against one single Passage but very many that are alledged by different Authors and also because the Sibylline Oracles still remain in the same Language in which they were cited Moreover it is not to be admired that there are some Passages which are not found therein and that there are others which are not Verbally expressed because some places in these Books are wanting and it hath been often observed that the ancient Writers are not usually very exact in their Quotations but adhere to the Sense rather than the Literal Expression It might likewise be added that all that is related by the ancient Fathers concerning the Books of the Sibyls that were heretofore in use is conformable to these The Author of the Exhortation to the Gentiles affirms that the Style of the Sibylline Writings was not very polite these are of the like nature they were then reported to contain divers Anachronisms and this Defect is also at present observable among them They Treated concerning Jesus Christ the last Judgment Hell c. all these Things are in like manner comprised in those that we now have in our possession Lastly these last are very ancient and belong to the time of the most ancient Fathers for some Opinons may be found there that could not be maintained but in the Primitive Ages of the Church Such are the Errors of the Millenaries That Nero is Anti-Christ that the End of the World was near at hand that it should happen in the time of Antoninus that Rome
After that we have no Memorials either how long he lived or what he did He was also a Disciple of Papias if we may believe S. Jerom d S. â—erome Ep. 29. ad Theodorum Refert Irenaeus vir Apostolicorum temporum Papiae auditoris Johannis Evangelistae discipulus and perhaps it is he whom he frequently cites in his Work against the Heresies under the Name of an Elder that had seen the Successors of the Apostles e Who had beheld the Successors of the Apostles Lib. 4. c. 45. Quemadmodum audivi à Presbytero qui audierat ab his qui Apostolos viderant c. 47. valdè iâ—sensatos â—stendâ—bat Presbyter eos Item c. 49. 50 52. and Lib. 5. c. 5. and cap. 17. he cites Papias by Name Lib. 5. c. 33. After he had thus spent the time of his Youth in the School of the most Learned of the Apostles f He went into France Gregory of Tours writes that he was sent thither by S. Polycarp We don't certainly know what Year though 't is probable he did not stay long in Asia he went into France where he was ordained Priest of the Church of Lyons by Pothinus who was Bishop of that See g By Pothinus Halloixius was of Opinion that he was ordained Presbyter by S. Polycarp But there is more Reason to induce uâ— to believe that he was ordained by Pothinus and therefore S. Jerome calls him the Presbyter of Pothinus And when this Holy Prelate had suffered Martyrdom in the 90th Year of his Age being the 17th of the Reign of Marcus Antoninus and the 178th Year of Jesus Christ Irenaeus was Elected his Successor upon his return from a Voyage that â—e made to Rome h At his return from a Voyage that he made to Rome 'T is certain that the Martyrs had resolved to send him to Rome to carry their Letter but we can't certainly tell whether he went thither or no. Valesius thinks that though they intended to send him yet Pothinus's Death preventing him he was detained there to be his Successor and so never went to Rome at all Baronius and Petavius say that he went to Rome and that he was not ordained till after his Return They have the Authority of S. Jerome to support them who says the same thing in his Book of the Ecclesiastical Writers in the following words Irenaeus Pothini Episcopi qui Lugdunensem in Galliâ regebat Ecclesiam Presbyter à Martyribus ejusdem loci ob quasdem Ecclesiae quaestiones râ—gatus Romaâ—â— Missus honorificas super nomine suo ad Eleutherum perfert literas posteà tum Pothino propâ— Nonagenario Martyrio Coronato in locum ejus substituitur Eusebius also seems to be of the same Opinion since he mentions a Letter wherein it is said that he was sent to Rome without telling us that his Journey was stopt by the Death of Pothinus The Conjecture of Valesius is only founded upon the Improbability of the thing that they would send S. Irenaeus who was the chief and the best known Member of the Church of Lyons and who besides was to succeed Pothinus at a time when that Church stood so much in need of his Assistance But besides that in a Question of Fact as this is a Conjecture of this Nature is of little Consequence so it may be replyed that he was sent at the beginning of the Persecution and that he returned before the Death of Pothinus Feuardentius imagines that S. Irenaeus carried Letters also into Asia and Phrygiâ— which the same Martyrs wrote to their Brethren in those Churches about the same Subject but this is very improbable and there is nothing in Eusebius to induce us to believe it All that we Read there amounts only to this that the Churches of Vienna and Lyons after the Death of Pothinus and the other Martyrs wrote a long Letter which in all probability was Composed by S. Irenaeus to the Churches of Asia and Phrygia cited by Eusebius towards the end of which They passed their Censure upon the Montanists with a great deal of Piety and Devotion setting before them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Letters which their Martyrs had written while they were as yet in Chains as well to the Brethren of Asia and Phrygia â—s to Eleutherus Bishop of Rome But he does not say that those first Letters to the Brethren of Asia and Phrygia were carried by S. Irenaeus nor that they were sent at all till the Letter concerning their Martyrdom was writ and it seems to be very improbable that they would send them the second time if they had been carried thither once before As for what relates to the Ordination of S. Irenaeus it is certain that he was only a Presbyter when he went to Rome and this appears by the Letter of the Martyrs by Eusebius and S. Jerome It is more difficult to know who ordained him afterwards Father Quesnel in his Dissertations upon S. Leo pretends that he was ordained by the Pope and that he went purposely to Rome upon that Account others believe that he came back before the Death of Pothinus and was ordained by him It is more natural and more agreeable to the Testimony of the Ancients to believe that he was not Elected and ordained Bishop of Lyâ—ns till after the Death of Pothinus and whereas Father Quesnel pretends that at that time there was only one Bishop of France and therefore it was necessary for S. Irenaeus after the Death of Pothinus to go and be ordained at Rome all this is precarious and the rather because it appears that S. Irenaeus was sent thither while Pothinus was living and upon another occasion having carried several Letters thither written to Pope Eleutherus by the Maâ—â—â—â—â— of Lyons concerning the new Sect of the Montâ—â—ists At the end of this Epistle these Holy Men recommended S. Irenaeus in these words We have desired our dear Brother and Collegue Irenaeus to carry this Letter unto you we commit him unto your Care and we entreat you to esteem him as a Person that hath very much Zeal for the Gospel of Jesus Christ if we believed that his Dignity would add any thing to his worth we would have recommended him to you in quality of a Priest but he is much more recommendable for his Zeal and Piety S. Irenaeus being constituted Bishop was not only employed in governing his particular Church with singular prudence but he applyed himself also to the preserving of all the other Churches in the World from the infection of Heresies which were then spread abroad in great numbers And it was on this account i 'T was upon this Account He himself tells us in his Preface to the fifth Book that he Composed these Books to convert the Hereticks and to preserve the Novices in the Faith left they should be lâ—â— aside by those who would use their utmost Endeavours to pervert them and sedúce them from the Truth that he Composed in Greek
of his first Book of Illustrious Men. In the Poem against Marcion hh In the Poem against Marcion Tertullian in his Book De Animâ chap. 57. says that it was not the Soul of Samuel but only a Phantasm which the Witch raised up and the Author of the Poem in his third Book supposes that it was Samuel himself that was raised to acquaint Saul what was to befall him Tertullian in his Book of Praescriptions makes S. Clemens to succeed S. Peter but this Author places him the Fourth making two Popes of Cletus and Anacletus there are some Opinions different from those of Tertullian There is likewise a Poem to a Senator in Pamelius's Edition one of Sodom and one of Jonas and Ninive in the Bibliotheca Patrum of which we do not know the Authors the first is ancient and the other two seem to be written by the same Author Besides S. Jerom affirms that Tertullian writ several other Treatises which were lost in his time and amongst others a Book Of the Habits of Aaron whereof this Father speaks in his Letter to Fabiola He quotes likewise a Book Of the Circumcision another Of those Creatures that are Clean and of such as are Unclean a Book concerning Extasie and another against Apollonius Tertullian himself cites several other Treatises of his own composing as in his Book Of the Soul a Discourse concerning Paradise and in his Book Of the Testimony of the Soul chap. 2. a Discourse Of Destiny and in another place a Book concerning The Hope of the Faithful and another against Apelles He had also composed a former Work against Marcion which being lost in his own time he was obliged to write a new one Lastly he wrote the Discourses Of Baptism Of Publick Sights and Spectacles and that wherein he proves That Virgins ought to be veil'd in Greek But we have said enough of Tertullian's Works as to what relates to Criticism and Chronology we will now look upon them with relation to what they contain And considering them thus we may distinguish them into three Classes The first comprizing those which were written against the Gentiles The second those which were made against Hereticks And the third those which relate to Discipline and Manners The first Book of this first Classis is his Apology against the Gentiles wherein he shews the Injustice of those Persecutions and Sufferings which they inflicted on the Christians and the Falshood of those Accusations which were laid to their Charge and at the same time proves the Excellency of their Religion and the Folly of that of the Heathens He begins by shewing that there is nothing more unjust or opposite to the very intent and design of Laws than to Condemn without Understanding and to Punish without considering whether there be any just Ground for such a Condemnation And yet that this is put in practise every day against the Christians that they are Hated Condemned and Punished merely upon the account of their being Christians without eve◠considering or giving themselves the trouble to be informed what it is to be a Christian. That there are indeed some Laws made by the Emperors which forbid Men to be Christians but that these Laws are Unjust subject to Alteration made by Evil Emperors and contrary to the Opinions of the Justest and Wisest amongst them He afterwards confutes the Calumnies which were spread abroad against the Christians as that they used in their Night-Meetings to cut a Child's Throat and to devour it and that after they had put out the Candles they had filthy and abominable Conversations amongst themselves He shews that there is not only so much as the least Proof of these Crimes alledged against them but that their Life their Manners and the Principles of their Religion were directly opposite to these Abominations We are says he beset daily we are continually betrayed we are very often surprized and oppressed even in the very time of our Meetings But did they ever find this Child dead or a dying Was there ever any one that could be a Witness of these Crimes Has ever any one of those who have betrayed us discovered these things Besides he presses the Heathens further by shewing that these Crimes were frequently committed amongst themselves that they have slain Children in Africa in Honour of Saturn and that they have sacrificed Men in other places that their Gods have been guilty of a thousand shameful and abominable Practises whereas the Christians are so far from killing a Child and drinking its Blood that they do not so much as eat the Flesh of those Beasts that have been strangled and that they are such inveterate Enemies to all kind of Incests that there are several amongst them who preserve their Virginity all their Lives After having thus confuted those Calumnies which were set on foot on purpose to render the Christians odious he gives an Answer to that Objection which was made to them That they did not own the Pagan Deities and that they did not offer up Sacrifices to them for the Prosperity of their Emperors from whence they concluded that they were guilty of Sacriledge and Treason He answers in a word that the Christians did not pay any Honour to the Gods of the Heathens because they were not true Gods and he appeals for a Testimony of this to the Consciences of the wisest of the Heathens themselves He evidently demonstrates that their pretended Gods were Men and for the most part Criminals that were dead and that their Images cannot be Adored without the greatest Folly and Madness in the World that even the Wisest of the Heathens despised them He occasionally confutes what has been objected by some to the Christians that they worshipped an Asses Head and adored Crosses And from thence he takes occasion to explain the Doctrine of the Christians We Adore says he One only God the Creator of the World who is Invisible and Incomprehensible who will Recompence Good Men with Everlasting Life and Punish Wicked Men with Eternal Torments after he has raised them from the Dead He proves this Truth by the whole Creation which so evidently demonstrates that there is a God That it is says he the greatest Wickedness that can possibly be conceived not to acknowledge him of whom 't is impossible that we can be ignorant even by the very Dictates which Nature inspires into all Men which oftentimes cause them to Invoke the True God as when we say If God thinks good if God pleases God sees us and the like And this he calls The Testimony of a Soul that is naturally Christian Testimonium Animae naturaliter Christianae Lastly by the Antiquity of the Books of Moses which are more ancient than all the Writings of the Greeks and by the Authority of the Prophets who foretold those Things that were to come to pass Then after having proved the Unity of God which the Jews acknowledge as well as the Christians he goes on to that Faith
of Jesus Christ which is peculiar to the Christians He says that the Christians do not look upon him as a mere Man but as God who is the WORD of God begotten of the same Substance that he is thus God and the Son of God and that his Father and He are One that the WORD coming down into the Womb of a Virgin as was formerly foretold took Flesh upon him and was born God-Man He only desires them to consider it as a Fable like theirs till he has proved it by Invincible Arguments Which he presently does by the Authority of the Prophets who have plainly foretold Jesus Christ by the Miracles which he wrought by that extraordinary Eclipse which happened at his Death that is taken notice of in the very Records of the Heathens and lastly by his Miraculous Resurrection And all these Things says he are Authorized by the Testimony of Pilate who being already a Christian in his Heart wrote them to Tiberius Caesar and the Caesars had then been Christians if it had been possible either that the World could subsist without Emperors or that the Emperors could be Christians He adds to these Proofs that of the Establishment of the Church notwithstanding Persecutions and that which may be drawn from the Confession of the Heathen Gods that is to say the Daemons who submitted themselves to Jesus Christ and were against their wills driven out of the Bodies of those that were Possessed only by the Name of Jesus Christ. And here he makes a Digression to prove that the Romans owed not their Greatness and Prosperity to their Gods from whence he concludes that the Christians are not guilty of Treason since the Gods whom they will not own have not any Power to Succour and Preserve the Emperors But says he we Invoke for their Prosperity the Eternal the True and the Living God who gave them their Life and their Empire who alone has power over them and who alone is above them and after whom they are the Chiefest They are Great only because they acknowledge themselves Inferior to him Ideo magnus est quia Coelo minor est 'T is this God to whom the Christians pray with their whole Hearts for all the Emperors that he would grant them a long Life a peaceable Reign a faithful Council valiant Soldiers an obedient People and in a word all that a Man and an Emperor can possibly desire He adds that the Christians have greater Obligations upon them for the Performance of this than other Men. First because the Holy Scripture enjoyns them to it and Secondly because being perswaded that the World should end together with the Roman Empire they desired to retard those Calamities which were to happen at the end of all Things by praying for the Preservation of the Empire That it is true that the Christians do not swear by the Genii of the Caesars nor by their Health which is more precious than those Genii who are only Daemons and that they do not Solemnize the Festivals of the Emperors but that this is only for fear of falling into Idolatry That in other things they are more Obedient and better Subjects than other Men though they have the Power in their hands if they had a mind to defend themselves We have been says he but a little time in the World yet we are to be met with in all places you may find us in the Cities in the Villages in the Armies in the Courts of Justice in the Senate and in the Markets We have left you your Temples alone to your selves What Wars might not we be capable of Undertaking And with what Resolution might not we carry them on though we had not near so many Troops as you we who die daily with so much Joy were it not a Law amongst us to suffer our selves rather to be killed than to kill others Si non apud istam Disciplinam magis liceret occidi quam occidere But how could the Heathens object That the difference of Religion could cause any disturbance in the Commonwealth or make Parties and Factions He says that the Christians have no Ambition nor Pretentions in this World as they are Christians are so far from forming any Parties against the Government that they think upon nothing less than State-Affairs And that he might perswade the whole World of this Truth see the Description which he makes of the Christians of his time and of their Assemblies We make up says he a Body that is united by the Bond of the same Religion the same Discipline and the same Hope We assemble our selves and compose if I may so say a Body of an Army to force Heaven by our Prayers and this Violence is very acceptable to God We pray not only for our selves but also for the Emperors for their Ministers for the Magistrates for the good of the State for the Peace and Quietness of the Empire and lastly for the retarding the end of the World Besides we assemble our selves to Read the Holy Scriptures according to our different Wants and Necessities for our Instruction and Information in our Duty These Sacred Oracles are of signal Use for the preserving our Faith the confirming our Hope and the regulating our Manners by the Meditation upon its Precepts And 't is in these Assemblies that the necessary Exhortations and Reproofs are to be expected The Judgments which are there delivered are given with all the Equity and Circumspection imaginable because those who pass Judgment are verily perswaded that Almighty God takes notice of them Their Censures are all Divine and 't is a great Presumption of God's future Judgment against any One when he has committed any Sin for which he deserves to be separated from the Communion of Bread and from Prayer and the Assembly of the Faithful and in a word to be deprived of all manner of Communion of holy Things Those who preside among us are the most Ancient and such whose Probity is very well known and this Honour is not to be purchased for Money but it is bestowed upon pure Virtue for all those Concerns which relate to God are not to be valued at a Price If we have any kind of Treasure it is not to be look'd upon as a Blessing that is any ways dishonourable to our Religion as if it was to be purchased upon any account Every one contributes according to his Ability what Alms he pleases and when he pleases which yet is commonly done Monthâ—y None are compelled every one gives freely what he will These Contributions are the Contributions of Piety for we do not employ them in making merry Meetings or in other unnecessary Expences But to maintain and bury Orphans and poor People to relieve old Men and infirm Persons to assist the Faithful who are exiled into the Islands or condemned to work in the Mines or confined in Prison for having embraced the Faith of Jesus Christ. We all call our selves Brethren not only because we are
is so common and if I may say it so trivial that I do not think it necessary to say any thing of it in this Place Hermogenes was another African Heretick who maintained that Matter was Eternal and that God did not create it when he made the World but that he only made use thereof to form things as we see He suckt this Error from the Philosophy of the Stoicks and defended it by Syllogisâ—… connected according to their Methods of Reasoning which made Tertullian say in the Treatise which he composed against him that the Philosophers were the Patriarchs of the Hereticks He there discovers the Fallacies of the Sophisms of this Heretick and shews that our Religion teaches us that God created even that Matter whereof he made the World The Book against the Valentinians is rather a Satyr and Raillery than a serious Confutation of the Extravagant Sentiments of these Hereticks Valentinus the first Author of this Sect separated from the Church out of spight because hoping to be Elected a Bishop by reason of his Wit and Eloquence he was put by to prefer another Person who had suffered for the Faith of Jesus Christ in times of Persecution After he had separated from the Church he invented or rather revived an old Opinion according to the Principles of which he feigned a Succession and imaginary Generation of a kind of Deities His Disciples refined upon his Notion and formed quite different Systems But as all these Fancies were impertinent and ridiculous so they took great Care to conceal them lest if they should discover them all the World should be presently sensible of their Extravagancy 'T is this which Tertullian upbraids them with If you teach the Truth says he to them why don't you discover it It persuades by teaching and it teaches by persuading it is not ashamed of shewing it self on the contrary 't is ashamed of nothing but of being concealed You reproach us for our Simplicity it is true we love it because it is by this means that we know and make known the Will of God But 't is no wonder that the Hereticks should blame this Simplicity and should so carefully conceal their Principles for they were so extravagant that the bare Discovering of them would be sufficient to render them ridiculous 'T is this which Tertullian does in this Work I undertake says he in this Book to discover to the Eyes of all Men the hidden Mystery but though I profess to relate the Opinions of these Hereticks without making a particular Confutation yet I hope I shall be pardoned if I cannot forbear censuring them in some Places What I do is nothing but a Sport before a real Combat I shall rather shew them where I could strike them than lay them on But if there are found some Passages that may excite Laughter 't is because the very Subject causes it There are many things which deserve to be jeered and ridiculed at this rate lest if we should confute them seriously we should seem to lay too great Stress upon them Nothing is more due to Vanity than Laughter and to Laugh does properly belong to the Truth because it is pleasant and to Sport with its Enemies because it is certain of the Victory And these are all the Books which are particularly against the Hereticks there are others in which Tertullian likewise confutes some Errors and defends some Catholick Truths though they were not written against any Hereticks in particular Such are the following Books The Book of the Flesh of Jesus Christ. wherein he proves against the Hereticks Marcion Apelles and Valentinus that Jesus Christ took upon him true Flesh like to ours in the Womb of the Virgin The Title alone of the Book of the Resurrection of the Flesh is enough to discover that it was written against the Sadducees and against the Hereticks who denied the Resurrection The Scorpiacus so called because it is a Remedy against the Poison of Hereticks like Scorpions defends the Necessity and Excellency of Martyrdom against the Gnosticks The Book of the Soul written against the Opinions of the Philosophers and the Hereticks treats at large of the Nature of the Soul and its Qualities But it is full of false Principles and Errors He pretends that the Soul is Corporeal and that it takes a certain Form of a Body though it be invisible he confutes the Opinion of Plato concerning Reminiscency or the Faculty of Remembring and Pythagoras's Transmigration he affirms that the Soul does not come from Heaven but that it is formed with the Body and that as the Body of the Parents produces a Body so their Soul produces a Soul That all Souls and even those of the Martyrs which some have excepted are disposed of after Death in a certain Subterraneous Place where they receive Refreshment and Torment according to the Good or Evil which they have done And that they expect the Resurrection and the Day of Judgment which will render them entirely happy or entirely Miserable to all Eternity There are likewise in this Treatise some other particular Opinions as for Instance that the Soul and Breath are the same thing that that which is unreasonable in the Soul comes from the Devil that every Soul has its Daemon that all Dreams are not vain The Book of Baptism is divided into two Parts the First relating to Doctrine and the Second to Discipline In the First he defends the Necessity and Efficacy of the Sacrament of Baptism against the Hereticks called Caiannites he proves that the Waters of Baptism do procure to us Forgiveness of our Sins and of the Punishment which they deserve What can there be says he more miraculous than to see that by washing the Body by an external Baptism we efface at the same time the Mortal Stain of the Soul and when that Stain is once taken away the Punishment is likewise remitted to us He afterwards discourses of the Imposition of Hands and of the Unction which followed after Baptism to make the Holy Ghost descend upon the Faithful and to draw down upon them the Blessings of Heaven We do not receive says he the Fulness of the Holy Ghost by Water but it prepares us for receiving it by washing us from our Sins And as St. John prepared the Way of the Lord so the Angel which is present in Baptism prepares the Way for the Holy Ghost by the Absolution of our Sins which we obtain by Faith which is confirmed and sealed by the Invocation of the Father Son and Holy Ghost When we come out of the Font we are anointed and this Unction which is performed on our Flesh is profitable to our Soul as external Baptism has a spiritual Effect which is to deliver us from our Sins Afterwards there is the Laying on of Hands to draw upon us the Holy Ghost and this most Holy Spirit descends voluntarily from Heaven into purified and blessed Bodies In the Second Part he discourses of several Questions concerning Baptism
very different because the Good after their Death are sent into a place of Refreshment whereas the Wicked are thrown headlong into a place where they are Tormented for ever that the first dye to be put into a better state of security and the last to be more severely punished That Sicknesses prepare us for Martyrdom and make us Martyrs of Jesus Christ that for this reason we ought not to be afflicted because they deprive us of the glory of Confession since not to mention that it does not depend upon our selves to be Martyrs and that it is the Grace of God to let us dye with a Will of suffering Martyrdom God will crown us as if we had really suffered it That it would be to no purpose to beg of God that his Kingdom may come if the Captivity wherein we are does still please us That we ought not to bewail those of our Brethren whom God has taken to himself since we have not lost them and they have only gone a Journey before us which we are all to make one time or another That we do in some sort distrust the promises of Jesus Christ if we concern and afflict our selves at the Death of our Neighbours and Friends as if they were no more and that we ought rather to rejoyce that they are passed into a better Life and enjoy a state of repose and tranquillity that will never end At last he exhorts all Christians heartily to wish for the happy day of their Death which will free them from the exile of this Life and give them admission into the Kingdom of Heaven which is their Country where they will be everlastingly in the Company of the Saints and with Jesus Christ. His Treatise to Demetrianus hh After the Death of Gallus and Volusian This Treatise was written during the Plague to shew that the Christians were not the cause of it He there speaks of the late Fall of Kings which is to be understood of the Death of Gallus and Volusian who were killed by their Soldiers a Judge in Africa was likewise composed during the rage of this Pestilence immediately after ii Judge It has been commonly believed that he was Proconsul But the Author of the English Edition has very well observed that St. Cyprian does not speak to him as to a Proconsul and that what he says of him viz. that he often came to him to dispute with him and that he drew several Persons over to his Party is by no means suitable to the Character of a Sovereign Magistrate of Africk the Death of Gallus and Volusian He there refutes a Calumny which the Pagans frequently formed against the Christians for being the cause of those Wars Famines Plagues and other Calamities that wasted the Roman Empire He shews that those misfortunes that daily happen in the World which grows old every day ought to be rather attributed to the Crimes and Impiety of Men and that the Christians were so far from being the occasion of them because they did not adore false Gods that the Pagans rather drew down all these heavy Visitations upon Mankind because they did not Worship the true God and Persecuted those that Worship'd him That all this was the immediate hand of God who to revenge himself for the contempt they shew'd of him and of those that served him punished Men after this rigorous manner and made them feel the weight of his displeasure That the Gods of the Pagans were so far from being able to exercise this Revenge that they were fettered and ill used as I may say by the Christians who ejected them by force out of the Bodies of those Persons whom they had possest That the Christians suffered patiently as being assured that their Cause would be soon revenged that they endured the same Evils which the Pagans did in this World but that they comforted themselves because after their Death they should possess everlasting Joy whereas the Pagans at the day of Judgment would be condemned to everlasting Torments He exhorts them at last with great zeal and ardour to quit their Errors and to repent of them while they are in a condition to do it because after this Life is once over there is no room for Repentance and afterwards the Satisfaction is useless since it is here upon Earth that every Man renders himself worthy or unworthy of everlasting Salvation That neither Age nor Sins ought to hinder any one from suffering himself to be Converted since as long as we are in this World there is still time for us to Repent the Gate of the Divine Mercy being never shut to those that diligently search the Truth Though you were says he at the point of Death if you pray'd to have your Sins forgiven and implored the goodness of God you would obtain remission of your Crimes and pass from Death to Immortality Jesus Christ has procured this favour for us by conquering and triumphing over Death on the Cross by redeeming those that Believe with the price of his Blood by reconciling Man to God and communicating a new Life to him by a celestial Birth Let us follow them all if it is possible and receive this Sacrament and his Sign c. It is probable that the kk The Treatise of the Works of Merey and Alms-giving This Treatise is cited by Pontius by St. Jerome Ep. ad Pamm by St. Austin contr Jul. contr Pelagianos alibi Treatise of Mercy and Alms-giving was writ when St. Cyprian gathered considerable Alms to redeem the Christians who had been taken Prisoners by the Barbarians towards the Year 253. He demonstrates in this Book by several Authorities of Scripture and many Convincing Reasons the necessity of giving Alms he refutes the frivolous excuses and vain pretences used by Rich Men to avoid the doing such acts of Charity and observes that in his time every one brought a Loaf at the Celebration of the Eucharist which was always once a day in the Morning before it was Light and often at Night after Supper St. Cyprian tells us himself in his Letter to Jubaianus that he composed his Book of Patience upon the occasion of a Question concerning the reiteration of the Baptism of Hereticks to shew that we ought to preserve Charity and Patience in all Disputes with our Brethren So this Treatise was composed at the beginning of the Year 256 and St. Cyprian ll He sent to Jubaianus a Bishop Ep. and Jub Teneatur à nobis patienter firmiter Charitas animi Collegii honor vinculum fidei concordia sacerdotii propter hoc etiam libellum de bono patientiae quantum valuit nostra mediocritas permittente Domino inspirante conscripsimus quem ad te pro multâ dilectione transmisimus Pontius mentions it St. Jerome cites it advers Lucif and St. Austin in several places sent it as soon as it was finished to one Jubaianus a Bishop together with the Letter which he writ to him
last Persecution Patara in Lycia and afterwards of Tyre in Palaestine who suffered Martyrdom at Chalcis a City of Greece towards the end of Dioclesian's Persecution in the Year 302. or 303. composed in a clear elaborate Style a large Work against Porphyrius the Philosopher an excellent Treatise about the Resurrection against Origen another about the Pythonyssa against the same a Book Entituled The Banquet of Virgins one about Free-Will Commentaries upon Genesis and the Canticles and several other Pieces that were extant in St. Jerome's Methodius time At present besides The Banquet of Virgins that was published entire not long ago by Possinus a Jesuit we have several considerable Fragments of this Author cited by St. Epiphanius and Photius and others found in Manuscripts and collected together by Father Combesis who has Printed them together with the Works of Amphilochius and Andreas Cretensis But afterwards Possinus found The Banquet of Virgins entire in a Manuscript belonging to the Vatican Library and Translated it into Latin and sent it into France where it was Printed in the Year 1657. Revised and Corrected by another Manuscript We cannot doubt that this is the true genuine Work of Methodius as well because it carries all the Marks of Antiquity in it that a Book can possibly have as also because it contains Word for Word all the Passages that Photius has cited out of this Work of Methodius and another place cited by St. Gregory Nyssen 'T is written by way of Dialogue in which he introduces a Woman named Gregorium who tells her Friend Eubulus all the Conversation that passed in a Meeting of Ten Virgins which she learnt of Theopatra It was composed by Methodius in imitation of a certain Book very much resembling it written by Plato and Entituled The Banquet of Socrates After that Gregorium and Eubulus have exchanged the usual Complements and Gregorium has given a short Description of the Place where these Ten Virgins were assembled she feigns that Arete in whose Garden they were met requests each of them to make a Discourse upon Virginity which she repeats one after the other The First is that of Marcella who enlarges very much upon the Greatness and Excellence of Virginity She makes it appear how choice a thing Virginity is and that it is a difficult thing to preserve it amidst so many Thousand Temptations we meet with That it is necessary to meditate incessantly upon the Holy Scripture in order to keep it unspotted and undefiled That Virginity was scarce so much as known under the ancient Law when Men were permitted to Marry even their own Sisters and to take several Wives But that God by little and little has taught Men in the first place to preserve their Chastity and afterwards to embrace Virginity That Jesus Christ came into the World to instruct them in this Virtue by the Influence of his own Example that he is the Prince of Virgins as well as the Prince of Pastors that the Company of Virgins has the first place in his Kingdom though they are the least in number And this she justifies by a Passage out of the Revelations Chap. the 14th Since this Conversation of Marcella might seem to throw some Dis-reputation upon the Sanctity of Marriage Theophila proves in the second place that Jesus Christ in making the great Excellencies of Virginity known to the World did not design thereby to banish Marriage and entirely abolish so Sacred an Institution She says That the Ecstasie of Adam denotes and signifies the Passion of Marriage that God is the Author of Generation and that he forms the Infants that come into the World Here Marcella interrupts the Series of her Discourse and enquires of her How it comes to pass if Infants are conceived and born by the Will of God that he permits the Children of Adulterers to come into the World that these Children thrive and are often more perfect in their Body and Mind and also become better Christians than others That nevertheless Experience daily acquaints us with the truth of this Assertion so that we ought to understand this Saying in the Scripture The Children of Adulteterers shall be consumed by Fire only of those that corrupt the Word of God Theophila returns this Answer to the Obejction That God is not the Author of Adulterers though he forms the Infants that are born of such Copulations and this she illustrates by the Example of a Man that makes Earthen Vessels in a place enclosed with four Walls full of Holes through which he is furnished with Clay of which he makes his Work Now if those that serve him are mistaken in taking one hole for another and it so happen that his Work is not such as it ought to be the fault would lie neither in the Workman himself nor in the Clay but in those that had made a wrong Application of the matter That after the same manner we ought not to cast the Sin of Adulterers either upon God that makes Men or upon the Matter of which they are made or upon the Power that is given to Men to beget Children but upon the wicked Inclinations of those Persons that use these things in a dishonest manner that every thing in the World is really Good in it self but becomes Ill through the ill use and management of it She continues afterwards to prove by the admirable Beauty and Harmony that so visibly appears in the Contexture of our Bodies that God is the Author of them She observes that all Infants even those that are begotten in Adultery have their tutelar Angels to guard them immediately after their Conception that the Soul is in its Nature immortal that it is not generated by our Parents but proceeds from God who inspireth it In short after she has thus answered this Objection she concludes That it is permitted for Men to Marry though Virginity is a more perfect State than Marriage The Third Discourse goes under the Name of Thalia who applies the words of Adam to his Wife in Genesis to our Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ and his Church and following the Opinion of the Apostle she adds That the Word was the Wisdom of God who existing before all Ages communicated himself after a very particular manner to the first Man but that Man having violated and transgressed the Commandments of God became Mortal and Corruptible and that it was necessary for the Word to make himself Man to deliver him from the Curse and Tyranny he had rendred himself obnoxious to and save him from Corruption by his own Death and Resurrection That it is upon this account that the Son of God came into the World to unite himself to the Church as to his Spouse which through this means became his Flesh and his Botie that he died for her that he purified her by Baptism and by his Holy Spirit that these words Increase and Multiply are accomplished and fulfilled every day in the Church which encreases in Greatness and
Verona who lived under Constantius and Julian because they are borrowed out of other Authors There are Four Sermons of them that are a Intirely St. Basil ' s. The Sermons of S. Basil upon these Words Attende tibi de Livore Invidia are entirely stoln and the two other Homilies about Fasting and Temptation are part of the two longest of St. Basil. intirely St. Basil's All the Homilies upon the Psalms are taken word for word out of the Commentaries b Of St. Hilary These Sermons upon the 126 127 128 129 and 130 Psalms belong to St. Hilary Those upon the 49 79 and 100 Psalms might be his also because we have lost the Commentaries of this Father upon the Psalms of St. Hilary which shews That these Sermons attributed to Zeno of Verona are a Collection of Sermons c Stoln out of several Autkors Some of the long ones are taken out of Greek Authors and the short ones out of the Latin Writers and Fragments of Homilies stoln out of several Authors and heaped together without any Choice Some are short others are long some are well written and in an elevated Style others ill and in a mean pitiful one some are clear others obscure In short nothing can be imagined to be more unequal In the Sermon of Continence he reckons more than 400 Years since St. Paul wrote his Epistle to the Corinthians and yet in other Homilies he speaks of Temples Martyrs and Carechumens All these things set it past Dispute that these Sermons attributed to Zeno of Verona and unknown to all Antiquiry are a Collection of Sermons taken out of several Authors of different Times and different Countries put together indiscreetly by some ignorant Copier The same Censure ought in all probability to be passed upon the 18 Sermons cited by Turrianus under the name of Eusebius of Alexandria This Author is unknown to the Ancients neither was there a Bishop of Alexandria d A Bishop of this Name Eusebius indeed Lib. 7. Chap. 11. of his History gives a good Character of one Eusebius a Deacon that lived with Dionysius of Alexandria who was afterwards Bishop of Laodicea but this Man ought rather to call himself Eusebius of Laodicea than Eusebius of Alexandria of this Name for the Three first Ages of the Church Therefore these Sermons belong to a more modern Author ARNOBIUS THough Arnobius and Lactantius lived the better part of their time in the Fourth Century of Arnobius of the Church yet we shall nevertheless joyn them to the Authors of the Third because they wrote with the same Spirit and after the same manner that is to say they did not employ themselves in writing against the Heresies that role in the Fourth Age but only in in confuting the Pagans in Imitation of the Ancients Arnobius was Professor of Rhetorick at Sicca a City of Numidia in Africk a Under the Emperor Dioclesian He wrote his Books toward the end of the Third or the Beginning of the Fourth Century for in his First Book he expresly tells us That it was Three Hundred Years more or less since the Christians began to appear in the World under the Emperour Dioclesian He was first a Pagan but as St. Jerome tells us in Euseb. Chron. being desirous to be converted that he might more easily prevail with the Bishops to admit him amongst the Faithful he composed when he was but a Catechumen Seven Eloquent Books against the Religion he had then left and these Books were as Pledges or Hostages that procured for him the Favour of that Baptism he so earnestly sollicited Now though it must be consessed that he did not perfectly understand the Christian Religion when he wrote these Books in which some Errours are to be sound yet he confuted the Absurdities of Paganism with singular Dexterity and vigorously defended the principal Articles of our Religion He begins his First Book with consuting that Popular Calumny which the Pag ans so industriously advanced against the Christians viz. That they were the Authors of all the Calamities and Miseries that afflicted the World He shews that this is a groundless and unreasonable Fancy that there were Plagues and Famines and Wars before our Saviours appearance and that nothing had been changed since his coming That he was so far from being the Author of their Miseries that on the contrary he brought abundance of Good unto the World That Miseries proceed from Natural Causes and that it often happens that those things which in the common acceptation of Mankind pass for Misfortunes don't prove so in effect That if the Christians were the Cause of these Calamities the World would have had no Interval without them ever since the appearance of Jesus Christ That if the Pagans Deities sent these Miseries to Men for the Punishment of the Christians they were unjust as well as weak That the Christians worship the true God and apprehend no dangers from false ones That they adore Jesus Christ but don't consider him as a Man that suffered Death for his own Transgressions but as a real true God who took the Humane Nature upon him to manifest himself to the World to teach Mankind the ways of Truth and to accomplish all those things for which be appeared upon Earth That he died and afterwards was raised up from the Grave to satisfie all Men that the Hopes of their Salvation were certain He proves the Divinity of Jesus Christ by the Exemplary Holiness of his Life by the Innocence of his Manners by the great number of Miracles and Prodigies that were wought by him and by others that had Commission from him by the Signs that appear'd upon the Earth at his Death and then he shews that we cannot reasonably question the Truth of these things because the Evangelists who have delivered them in writing were Persons of great Integrity and Simplicity That there is no reason to imagine they were so Vain or indeed so Mad as to pretend they saw those things that they never did see especially since they were so far from reaping any Advantages from such Inventions that they thereby exposed themselves to the Hatred of all the World In his Second Book he demonstrates that Jesus Christ was wrongfully Persecuted since he had done nothing to deserve the hatred of any one since he was no Tyrant and destroy'd no body since he acquired no Riches for himself and did no manner of Injustice to the meanest Person He likewise shows that the Pagans had no certain Principles whereby to judge which was the true or false Religion that they were very much in the wrong for laughing at the Credulity of the Christians since in the generality of things that have a relation to Humane Life Men usually manage themselves by the belief which they repose in particular Persons That Jesus Christ merited a great deal more than all the Philosophers in the World because of the Miracles which he wrought That the Pagan
the time of this Pope The Epistle attributed to Lucius is full of Citations out of the Vulgar Latin and of several Passages taken out of the First Council of Arles the Third of Carthage that of Milevis St. Leo Gregory Agatho Adrian and Sixtus the Pythagorean Besides it is dated Six Months before the Election of Lucius The two Epistles attributed to Stephanus are filled with Citations out of Modern Authors and Statutes that don't all agree with the time of this Pope and consequently are Spurious For the same Reasons we must pass the same Judgment of the two Letters of Sixtus the Second the two of Pope Dionysius the three of St. Felix the First the two of Eutychianus that of Carus the two of Marcellinus those of Marcellus the three of Eusebius the Letter and Decree of Miltiades and the rest of the Letters of the Popes collected by Isidore that are full of several Passages taken out of the Fathers Popes and Councils more Modern than the very Popes by whom they are pretended to be written and in which many things are to be found that don't in the least agree with the true History of those times and were purposely said to favour the Court of Rome and establish her Pretensions against the Rights of Bishops and the Liberties of Churches But it would take up too much time to show the gross falsity of these Monuments that are now rejected by a common Consent and even by those Authors that are most favourable to the Court of Rome who are obliged to abandon the Patronage of these Epistles though they have done a great deal of Service in establishing the greatness of the Court of Rome and ruining the ancient Discipline of the Church especially in relation to Ecclesiastical Decisions and Rights of Bishops An Abridgment of the Doctrine Discipline and Morality of the Three First Ages of the Church AFter having given a Summary of what is contained in the Works of the Ecclesiastical Authors for the Three first Ages of the Church I supposed it would not be amiss to present the An Abridgment of Doctrine c. Reader with an Abridgment also of the Theology of the Primitive Christians This Design besides the relation it had to the Work it self seem'd in my Opinion to be the principal Fruit and Advantage that could be gathered from it For the ultimate Scope and End which a Man ought to propose to himself in reading the Ecclesiastical Authors and their History is not to gratifie a vain foolish Curiosity but to learn Religion thereby We must not study these Matters only to make a Pompous Ostentation of our Knowledge but to become better Christians to become more certain of the Doctrine of the Church more respectful to its Discipline and better instructed in its Holy Morality For all Theology reduces it self to these Three Points Doctrine Discipline and Morality Doctrine concerns the Articles of Faith that our Religion teaches us Discipline concerns the Government of the Church and Morality teaches us what things we are to do and what we are to forbear Hereticks overthrow the Doctrine of the Church by their Errours Schismaticks destroy its Discipline by violating the Orders and Rules of the Church And lastly The vitious Christian discards and lays aside the Laws of its Morality by living after an irregular manner For the better avoiding these Rocks and Precipices it is exceeding requisite for all Christians to draw out of the Tradition of the ancient Church that is to say out of the Books of the Primitive Fathers who are the unquestionable Witnesses of the Opinion of the Church in their own times to draw I say from thence the Doctrine which they are obliged to believe to examine the Ecclesiastical Discipline which they are to revere and obey and lastly from thence to learn the most Holy Rules of the Christian Morality An Abridgment of the Doctrine THE Doctrine of the Church was always the same and will be ever so till the end An Abridgment of Doctrine of the World For 't is utterly impossible that the true Church should cease to be or that the true Church should not teach the Doctrine of Jesus Christ because whether she should teach a Doctrine different from that of Jesus Christ or whether she should not teach the Doctrine of our Blessed Saviour in both these Cases she would cease to be the true Church Jesus Christ as St. Irenaeus Tertullian and all the rest of the Ancients have observed taught his Apostles all the Truths of Faith The Apostles published them throughout all the Earth and opened them to all the Churches in the World whose Doctrine is found to be conformable each to other in Articles of Faith This Doctrine was always preserved in the Church which is the Pillar and Foundation of Truth 'T is indeed very true that they did not always make use of the same terms and that before the Birth of Heresies they did not observe that precaution in speaking of Mysteries which they did afterwards when they were attack'd by the Hereticks But still the Foundation of Doctrine was always the same as to the principal Articles of our Faith We must likewise acknowledge that there were some Errours very frequent in the First Ages of the Church that have been rejected since but then they don't concern the principal Articles of our Faith and besides were never looked upon to be the received Doctrine of the Church but only the most common Opinions These previous Observations will be confirmed by an Abridgment of the Doctrine of the Church as it is delivered by the Authors of the Three first Centuries which we are going to represent in as few words as possibly we can They taught That the Grounds and Principles of Faith were the Holy Scriptures and Tradition that we ought to believe Mysteries though we were not able to comprehend them they spoke of the Nature of God and of his Attributes after a most excellent manner they believed him to be Invisible Eternal Incorruptible c. they have frequently discoursed of his Providence his Power his Bounty his Mercy and his Goodness they wrote very sharply against the false Divinities of the Pagans and the Errours of Hereticks who imagined that there cou'd be above one Soveraign and Independant Being they proved that God Created all Things and even Matter it self which was not Eternal they acknowledged the Trinity of the Three Persons in one only God the Divinity and Eternity of the Word and of the Holy Ghost they maintain'd that the Word was from all Eternity in God as a Person distinct from the Father that the Father created the World by him and that he governs it and that it was the Person of the Word that appear'd to the ancient Patriarchs under different Figures and who was at last Incarnate that Jesus Christ was the Word made Man God and Man all together composed of two intire and different Natures that he had a Soul and Body like
unto ours that he took this Body in the Womb of the Virgin Mary that his Flesh was real and true that he suffered and was really Dead that he made himself Man to save the World that was lost by the Sin of the first Man that he came to discover the Truth to them to show them an Example and that he redeemed them by his Death that he descended into Hell and afterwards rose again from the Dead that he will come at the Day of Judgment to judge all Men that he will Condemn the Wicked to Everlasting Punishments and reward the Good with Eternal Happiness after he has raised up both the one and the other All the Fathers of whom we have spoken make Profession of this Faith and assure us That this is the Doctrine which all the Churches in the World have received from the Apostles and that it was necessary to believe it in order to become a Christian. They sometime make use of some Expressions concerning the Person of the Word that seem to derogate from his Divinity as for instance when they say that the Word was not begotten till the Beginning of the World that he is visible and that the Father is invisible that he is one Portion of the Substance of the Father and that the Father is all Substance But these ways of Speaking have a very good Meaning in these Authors as we have often observed For when they say That the Word was begotten at the Beginning of the World and that he was not the Son before they don't mean that the Word began only to exist then since they acknowledge he existed before and was in God from all Eternity But they take the Word Generation in another Sence than we do giving this Name to a certain Prolation or Emission of the Word which they imagine was done when God resolved to create the World and 't is in this sence they say that the Word who was from all Eternity in God was generated or begotten at that time and that he had not always the Quality of the Son We have likewise explained in what sence they say that the Word is visible and the Father invisible and we have made it evidently appear that they did not believe that the Word was therefore of a different Nature from the Father but only that they attributed Visibility to the Son as they ascribed Almightiness to the Father Saying That it is through the Son that God makes every External Being and consequently that by him he renders himself visible to Mankind This Manner of Speaking is so little contrary to the Divinity of the Word that it is to be found in Athanasius and in the other Fathers that lived after the Nicene Council In short when they say that the Son was a Portion of the Substance of the Father we are so far from being able to conclude that they were of Arius's Opinion that on the contrary it follows from thence that they believed the Son was not created of Nothing as Arius afterwards taught but that he was Consubstantial to the Father that is to say of the same Substance as the Nicene Council has determined But wherefore do they say that the Son is only something derived from the Substance of the Father Is it because they believed he was inferiour to the Father Not at all but it was because they conceived that the Father as having all the Divinity in him communicated it to the Son and to the Holy Ghost 'T is upon this account that they usually ascribe to the Person of the Father all the Attributes of the Godhead as we may see in the Greed where after it is said I believe in God they add Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth c. and yet we must not therefore say that these Attributes don't agree to the Son and the Holy Ghost but only that they are attributed to the Father because he is the Fountain and Original of the Divinity and because the Son and Holy Ghost receive it from him I pass over in Silence some feeble Objections that are only founded upon the ambiguity of the words Nature and Creation that have not been as yet determined to a certain sence as also the Signification of the word Hypostasis has been a long time undetermined Thus when the Son is called another Substance than the Father though that is but very seldom yet we are not to conclude from thence that the Person who speaks after this manner does not believe him to be truly God because the Words of Nature and Substance were not at that time determined to the sence they received afterwards and because they may be taken for a Person subsisting This is so true that Gregory Nazianzen and some others that lived in a time when these Expressions were determined forbore not to say sometimes that the Father was the first Substance or Nature and the Son the Second And thus it is ordinary for those that acknowledged the Divinity of the Word to say That God made or created him though they believe that he was not created of Nothing but Begotten of the Divine Substance As to the Incarnation the Fathers of the Three first Centuries have said nothing that in the least seems to favour the Errours of the Paulianists the Apollinarists the Nestorians or the Eutychians and they always distinguished Two Natures in Jesus Christ and admitted the Proprieties of these Natures without Confusion and being changed one into the other yet re-united at the same time in the same Person God and Man both together They likewise plainly say That Jesus Christ was Born of a Virgin by the Operation of the Holy Ghost without Concupiscence and without Sin And though they frequently tell us That the benefit of the Incarnation is the Instruction and the Example which Jesus Christ has given us yet they acknowledge besides that that he has truly Redeemed us by his Death and that he has satisfied God for us They believed that we could not be Saved without believing in him and for that Reason they imagined that he descended into Hell as well as the Apostles after him to Preach the Gospel there to the Jews and Gentiles who had known the true God and had lived virtuously They were of Opinion That the Day of Judgment was at hand That the Souls of Men until that Day were neither perfectly Happy nor Miseable though they underwent some Punishment before-hand or were at rest according to the proportion of the Good or Evil they had done in their Bodies They almost universally believed with Papias that Jesus Christ was to Reign a Thousand Years upon Earth but they never asserted that Opinion as a Matter of Faith They were sufficiently divided about the Nature of the Soul some of them supposed it to be Corporeal others declared That they believed it to have been Spiritual but however the better part of them agreed that it was Immortal that the Just would be rewarded with Everlasting
was dearest to him in this World He confutes the Opinion of the Pharisees who held that Men are raised again from the dead to eat and drink and enjoy the same Pleasures which they â—…d in this Life The Fourth Tract is a Discourse upon the Day of the Ascension of Jesus Christ wherein he proves the Truth of his Resurrection and Ascension by the Constancy of the Martyrs and Apostles and by the wonderful Promulgation of the Gospel He observes how impossible it was that ever the Apostles should undertake to Preach the Christian Religion and succeed in their Attempt if God had not encourag'd them by his Spirit and dispos'd the Hearts of Men to receive their Doctrine In this Discourse he describes also the Martyrdom of St. Romanus Deacon of Antioch In the Six following Tracts he discourses of things Spiritual and Invisible and in the First he shows That God is Incorporeal and Invisible and demonstrates that things Incorporeal and Invisible are infinitely more Excellent than those that are Material and Earthly In the Second and Third he proves That the Soul of Man is Immortal and Spiritual and describes the great Advantages it gives a Man above the Beasts The Fourth Tract is concerning the Thought of Man which has these Remarkable Properties First That it knows it self and Secondly That it resists and checks the Motions of Lust. In the Fifth He goes on still to prove That God is Invisible and Incorporeal and takes Notice as he goes along That Angels are Spiritual In the Sixth He answer some Passages of Scripture which seem to attribute Members to God The following Discourse is concerning the Advantages of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and the great Benefits it hath procur'd to Mankind There he explains that saying of our Saviour I came not to bring Peace but War by shewing That Jesus Christ came indeed to bring Peace but Men being unwilling to receive it there must be War by necessary consequence as arising only from the bad Disposition of their own Hearts Towards the end of this Discourse he praises those that suffer for the Religion of Jesus Christ and continues the same Subject in the following Discourse wherein he shews upon occasion of those Words of our Saviour Preach ye upon the House-tops what has been said to you in secret That nothing can dispense with a Christian's suffering for the Religion of Christ. He adds That tho' there be no Persecution yet we are oblig'd to suffer and to be as one may say continually Martyrs because we are always to fight against the World and our selves The Two last Discourses are concerning good Works in the First of which he recommends it to Christians if they would be happy to follow after that which is Good and shun that which is Evil. And in the Second he exhorts them to the practice of good Works and chiefly to giving of Alms. This is the Subject of those Discourses which are more concerning Doctrines than Morality wherein there appears a great deal of Wit good Sence and Eloquence but little of Order and Method Eusebius was one of the most Learned Men of all Antiquity as both his Friends and Enemies do equally acknowledge r Eusebius was one of the most Learned Men of all Antiquity as both his Friends and Enemies do equally acknowledge See here a part of the Testimonies which the Ancients have given to the Learning of Eusebius Constantine in his Epistle to those of Antioch and in a Letter which he wrote to himself praises his vast Learning St. Basil in his Book of the H. Spirit Ch. 29. calls him an Author worthy of Credit because of his Universal Learning 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 St. Jerom tho' the great Enemy of Eusebius could not forbear often-times to praise his Learning to confess that he priz'd his Books and to say in his Second Book against Ruffinus That he was a most Learned Man Vir doctissimus Eusebius doctissimum dico non Catholicum The most Learned Eusebius I call him most Learned but not Catholick It is not to be wondered at that Ruffinus his Friend gives him the same Title Antipater of Bostria tho' he did not favour him yet gives him the Name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. one very knowing in most Matters and further says of him That he had read all the Books of the Ancients examin'd and explain'd all their Opinions and that he had written himself most useful Books Philostorgius praises him for his History Socrates and Sozomen vindicate him Victorius calls him a most Learned Man Gelasius the Pope durst not reject his History because of it's great Learning and singular usefulness for information Pelagius assures us That there is no History that deserves greater Esteem than that of Eusebius Photius who censures the Stile and Doctrine of Eusebius nevertheless commends his Knowledge and Learning I take no Notice of the Testimonies of Modern Authors of whom it may be said without fear of mistaking That there was no Man of so great Reading and Learning amongst all our Greek Authors Almost all his Books are the effects of prodigious Labour and very long and laborious Enquiries And yet it must be confessed that he had great Helps by the Memoirs of those who had written before him upon the same Subjects whose Works he makes no scruple to Transcribe He did not much Study to polish his Discourses which is the common Fault of almost all those that make Knowledge and Learning their chief Business His Stile is neither Elegant nor Grateful as Photius has many times observed but dry and barren and extremely unpleasant He is very proper to teach those who apply their minds seriously to Study and search after Truth and love to consider it absolutely naked despoil'd of all the Ornaments of Language but he is not at all proper to entice those who are taken with the manner of Expressing things and the force of Eloquence I shall not here add any thing to what I have said concerning his Learning But as to what concerns his Person he seems to have been very impartial very sincere and a great Lover of Peace Truth and Religion For altho' he maintain'd an intimate Correspondence with the Enemies of St. Athanasius it does not appear that he was his Enemy nor that he sided much with any Party in the Controversy of the Bishops of that time He was present indeed in the Councils wherein unjust things were done to Eustathius and St. Athanasius but it does not appear that he gave any Signs of an angry Temper nor that he serv'd the Passions of other Men. He was not the Author of New Confessions of Faith neither did he carry on any Plot to the Destruction of St. Athanasius or the Ruin of his Party but he only desir'd to accommodate Differences and reconcile the two Parties He did not abuse the Credit which he had with the Emperor to Advance himself nor to Destroy his Enemies as Eusebius of
Timotheus which it very much favour'd But this Letter has been rejected by Hypatius in a Conference at Constantinople with the Acephali by Facundus B. VII Ch. 1. By Eulogius in his Third Discourse and by Leontius of Constantinople Book of Sects Ch. 8. who have all affirmed That 't was written by Apollinarius and by the Eutychians and falsly attributed to Pope Julius There is another Letter of Julius about the Incarnation to Docus which is also cited in the Council of Ephesus Art 1. Facundus has acknowledg'd it for Genuine and Vincentius Lirinensis says that in that Council The Faith of the Church was confirm'd by the Testimony of Pope Julius Ephrem has also acknowledg'd it for Genuine as appears by an Extract out of his Third Book of Laws related by Photius Anastasius has cited it in his Collections about the Incarnation as written by Acacius Leontius only has rejected it in his Treatise of Sects where he affirms That 't is the Work of Timotheus a Disciple of Apollinarius as was prov'd then by many Copies He adds nevertheless That 't is not at all contrary to the Faith and that 't is no great matter whose it is In short the same Leontius affirms That there were no Writings of Julius in his time which must be understood with an exception to those that are extant in St. Athanasius and that the Seven Epistles which bear his Name were Apollinarius's And truly there is no probability that Julius wrote Letters about the Incarnation at a time when there was no Question but about the Trinity Besides 't is known that the Eutychians were wont to attribute the Works of Apollinarius to the Fathers who had the Reputation of Catholicks as St. Athanasius St. Gregory and St. Cyril that so they might deceive the People and engage them unto their Heresy I say nothing of the two Decretal Epistles attributed to Pope Julius because they are plainly supposititious This Pope died in the Year 352 and was succeeded by Liberius The Author of Damaâ—us's Pontifical Usuardus Ado and some others relate That he was Banish'd for the space of Ten Months till the Death of Constantius But this cannot be maintain'd for Julius never suffer'd any Persecution nor any Banishment for the Defence of St. Athanasius since this Father says not one word of it in his Books who would never have fail'd to charge the Arians with the Banishment of Julius as well as with that of Liberius and other Bishops of his Party ASTERIUS ST JEROM places this Arian Philosopher among the Number of Ecclesiastical Writers not because he wrote a Book against the Faith of the Church about the Trinity but because of his Commentaries Asterius upon the Epistle to the Romans upon the Gospels upon the Psalms and many other Books which shows That a Heretick may be plac'd amongst Ecclesiastical Authors when he writes such Learned Books as may be serviceable to the Church St. Athanasius gives a very different Character of this Asterius from that which Eusebius had given of him in his Book against Marcellus One Asterius says he in his Book of the Two Synods a Sophist of Cappadocia is a Partizan of the Eusebians and when he could not enter into the Order of the Clergy because he had Sacrific'd to Idols during the Persecution of Maximian he was advis'd to write a Book for the Opinions of Eusebius the Impiety of which is equal to that of his Idolatry For there he compares Jesus Christ to a Locust and a Worm of the Earth nay and seems to preferr these Insects before him He affirms That the Word which is in Jesus Christ is different from the Word which created the World He runs through all Syria and enters into all the Churches by the Favour of Eusebius's Recommendation to teach others to deny Jesus Christ. He insolently opposes the Truth and goes into those places which are appointed only for the Clergy and there he rehearses very loudly his impious Book Thus St. Athanasius describes the Man and his Work There are some Fragments preserved in his Writings which expresly contain the impious Opinions of the Arians I am only now to tell you That this Asterius is different from the Bishop of Amasea THEODORUS THEODORUS Bishop of Perinthus a City of Thrace who was also call'd Heracleus was a Bishop of the Eusebian Party St. Athanasius in his Letter to the Bishops of Egypt places him Theodorus among the Number of those that were condemned being Priests and afterwards promoted to Episcopal Dignity by the Intrigues of the Arians He assisted at the Council of Tyre and was one of the Deputies that were sent to Mareotis to Inform against St. Athanasius He assisted also at the Council of Antioch and came to that of Sardica and having retir'd from thence with the Bishops of the East he was Depos'd and Excommunicated in a Synod of the Western Bishops St. Jerom and Theodoret Testify that he was very Learned and compos'd in the Reign of the Emperour Constantius very Elegant and Clear Commentaries upon the Gospel of St. Matthew and St. John upon the Epistles of St. Paul and the Psalms in which he endeavours particularly to explain the Historical Sence of them We have in the Catena upon St. Matthew publish'd by Corderius and printed at Antwerp in the Year 1642 some Fragments attributed to this Theodorus But one cannot be certain upon the Credit of this Catena that they are truly his TRYPHILIUS TRYPHILIUS Bishop of a City in the Isle of Cyprus call'd Ledra was according to St. Jerom one of the most Eloquent Writers of his Age and was in great Reputation under Tryphilius the Reign of Constantius St. Jerom had read his Commentary upon the Canticles and says That he wrote many other Books that never came to his Hands HELIODORUS GENNADIUS informs us of this Author in this manner Heliodorus a Priest has written a Book of the nature of Principles wherein he shews That there is but one Principle Heliodorus only That there is nothing Eternal but God That God is not the Author of Evil That all he does is Good That he created the Matter which the Malice of Men makes use of to do Evil That nothing was created without him and that he having foreseen that Nature would become subject to Corruption by Sin he forewarned Man of this Punishment I have read nothing else that concerns this Author Gennadius places him among those Writers that liv'd in the time of Constantius DONATUS and Vitellius and Macrobius his Disciples ST JEROM places among the Number of Ecclesiastical Writers Donatus Head of the Party of the Donatists in Africa which in all probability is to be understood of the Bishop of Carthage a Which is to be understood of the Bishop of Carthage There were Two Donati of the same Party as St. Austin observes B. I. Retract ch 12. The First was Donatus Bishop of Casae nigrae or Calame who never was Bishop of
Commentaries and that he added many things of his own as the same St. Jerom has also observ'd We have his Commentaries upon St. Matthew we have also more of his Commentaries upon the Psalms than St. Jerem had seen for this Father mentions only the Commentaries upon the 1st and 2d Psalms upon the 51st and those that follow until the 62d and upon the 118th and those that follow unto the last and we have besides thâ—se Commentaries the Commentaries upon the 14th and 15th Psalms and upon the 63 64 65 66 67 68 Psalms which bear the Name of St. Hilary and are written in his Stile But we have none of his Commentaries upon Job which are cited by St. Jerom whereof St. Austin relates a Passage in his 2d Book against Julian to prove Original Sin There was also attributed to him in St. Jerom's Time a Commentary upon the Canticles but this Father says that he had never seen it St. Jerom mentions also a Collection of Hymns compos'd by St. Hilary a Book Entituled Mysteries and many Letters I place not the Letter and Hymn to his Daughter Apra in the Number of St. Hilary's Works because I doubt not but these piâ—ces were the Work of him that wrote his Life which are not at all like this Father's way of Writing Some have attributed to him the Hymn Pange Lingua and that of St. John the Baptist Ut quâ—â—nt laxis but without any Ground The Books of the Unity of the Essence of the Father and the Son were Rhapsodies taken out of the Genuine Works of St. Hilary St. Jerom in his Apology to Pammachius speaks of a Book of St. Hilary address'd to Fortunatus which was concerning the Number Seven Some have confounded this Treatise with St. Cyprian's Books of Exhortation to Martyrdom being address'd to a Person of the same Name But that which St. Jerom attributes to St. Hilary must be different from those of St. Cyprian and therefore if there be no Mistake in this place of St. Jerom we must say that St. Hilary wrote a Treatise address'd to his Friend Fortunatus concerning the mysterious Significations of the Number Seven And this Work may very well be one of those Treatises of Mysteries which St. Jerom mentions in his Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers The Twelve Books of the Trinity compos'd by St. Hilary in Imitation of Quintilian's Books as St. Jerom has observ'd are an excellent Work which contains the Explication and the Proofs of this Mystery He has there establish'd the Faith of the Church in a demonstrative Manner he has clearly detected the Errors of the Hereticks refuted them solidly and answered all their Objections So that this is the largest and most methodical Work of any that we have in all Antiquity upon this Subject The First Book is a Preface to the Whole wherein he describes very pleasantly after what manner a Man arrives at Happiness and the Knowledge of the Truth and then gives an Account of the Subject of the Eleven following Books He begins with observing that Happiness does not consist in Abundance nor in Repose as common People imagine nor yet in the bare Knowledge of the First Principles of Good and Evil as many wise Men among the Pagans thought but in the Knowledge of the true God He adds that Man having an ardent Desire after this Knowledge meets with some Persons that give him low and mean Idea's unworthy of the Divinity Some would persuade him that there are many Gods of different Sexes Others take the Representations of Men of Beasts and Birds for Divinities Others acknowledge no God at all and some in short confess That there is a God but deny that he has any Knowledge or takes any Care of things here below But the Reason of a Man discovers these Notions to be false and so by the Light of Nature he comes to know That there can be but one God Almighty Eternal and Infinite who is in all places who Knows all things and Orders all things and afterwards by reading the Books of Mosâ—â— and the Prophets where he found these Truths explain'd he was fully convinc'd of them and studied with the greatest Application of mind to know this Sovereign Being who is the Fountain of all kind of Beauty and Perfection Neither did he stop here but upon further Enquiry he came to understand That 't was unworthy of God to suppose that Man to whom he had given so much Knowledge should be annihilated for ever for if this were true to what purpose would his Knowledge serve since Death would one Day deprive him of all Understanding But then as on the one side Reason discovers it to be fit that Man should be Immortal so on the other side the Sense of his present Weakness and the Apprehension of Death which he sees is unavoidable fill him with anxious Fears In this State he has recourse to the Gospel which perfects all the Knowledge he had before and resolves all the Doubts that yet remain with him There he learns That there is an Eternal Word the Son of God who was made Man and came into the World to communicate to it the Fulness of Grace and Truth This gives him hopes infinitely above all that he could have before for now he presently perceives the Excellency and Greatness of these Gifts by understanding That since the Son of God was made Man nothing can hinder but Men may become the Sons of God and so when a Man joyfully receives this Doctrine he perfects the Knowledge he had of the Divinity by the Knowledge of the Humanity of Jesus Christ. He renews his Spirit by Faith He acknowledges the Providence of one God over him and begins to be fully persuaded that he who created him will not annihilate him In short he understands That Faith is the only infallible means of coming to the Knowledge of the Truth That it rejects unprofitable Questions and resolves the captious Difficulties of humane Philosophy That it judges not of the Conduct of God according to the Thoughts of Men nor of that of Jesus Christ according to the Maxims of this World That 't was by this Faith whereof the Law was only a Shadow and Type that Jesus Christ having rais'd our Minds to that which is most Sublime and Divine prescrib'd to us instead of the Circumcision of the Flesh the Circumcision of the Spirit which consists in the Reformation of our Lives and the Renovation of our Hearts That as we die to Sin in Baptism that we may live a Spiritual and Immortal Life so Jesus Christ died for us that we might rise again together with him and so the Death of him who is Immortal procur'd Immortality to us Mortals Now when once the Soul is fully possess'd with these Thoughts she rests satisfied with this Hope without fearing Death or being wearied of Life For she considers Death as the beginning of Eternal Life and looks upon this present Life as the means of obtaining a happy Immortality
Galla Placidia Sister to the Emperour Honorius which discovers that they rather belong to Faustinus than Gregory of Baetica who was dead when Placidia had the Title of Empress PHAEBADIUS PHAEBADIUS a Phaebadius Sulpitius Severus calls him Fegadius in St. Jerom and the Greek Translator of his Book he is call'd Saebadius which is a Fault in the Latin and ought to be read Phaebadius as it is in the Manuscripts There is also by mistake in St. Ambrose Fygadius Bishop of Agen having seen the Second Creed of Sirmium compos'd in the Year 357 by Hosius and Potamius wrote immediately a Treatise against this Creed He Phaebadius assisted afterwards at the Council of Ariminum held in 359 wherein he defended until the End of the Council the Nicene Creed and refus'd to Sign that which was there propos'd Neither Fear nor Threatnings could change his Resolution but the Governor Taurus seeing that his Constancy was not to be overcome by these means us'd Entreaties and beseech'd him with Tears to take more moderate Courses that so he might release a great Number of Bishops who had been shut up for the space of seven Months in one City where they were distress'd by the Rigor of the Winter and the want of all things He remonstrated to him That if all the Bishops did not sign the Creed that was brought from the East there would be no hopes that they should ever have permission to return from thence In short That he must fix his Resolution and that he ought to follow the Example and Authority of many that had already sign'd Phaebadius answered That he was ready to go into Banishment and suffer all sorts of Punishment rather than do that which was desir'd of him and that he would never receive a Creed made by the Arians Some days pass'd in these Debates but at last seeing that there was no hopes left of obtaining Peace he departed from his Resolution after that Ursacius and Valens had declar'd That the Profession of Faith which they propos'd was Catholick and that those to whom it appear'd not sufficient might add to it what they thought fit This Proposition was favourably receiv'd by all the Western Bishops Phaebadius and Servatio Tungrensis drew up Declarations wherein they condemn'd Arius and his impious Doctrine acknowledging that the Son of God was without Beginning and that he was not a Creature But Ursacius and Valens added maliciously that he was not a Creature as others are and so deceiv'd the Bishops who sign'd with those Declarations the Creed compos'd at Nice by the Bishops of the East Phaebadius being upon his return to his own Country was one of those Bishops who were most troubled for their Fault and who aton'd for it by Declarations and Protestations against what they had done by Surprise He assisted at the Council of Valentia in 374. We have a Letter of St. Ambrose address'd to him and Delphinius Bishop of Bordeaux St. Jerom assures us in his Book of Illustrious Men That Phaebadius liv'd in his time and that he was then extremely old He adds That he also wrote some other Books besides that which we have already mention'd The Memory of this Saint is particularly honoured at Agen where he is commonly call'd St. Fiari We have still extant in the Bibliothecae Patrum a Treatise of this Bishop against the Second Creed of Sirmium which was first publish'd by Pithaeus in a Collection of Ancient French Ecclesiastical Authors printed by Nivelle in the Year 1589. This Treatise is a refutation of the Second Creed of Sirmium compos'd by Potamius Bishop of Lisbon and Sign'd by Hosius Bishop of Corduba In the Exordium he says That if the greater part of Christians had not been circumvented by the Artifices of the Devil who makes them take Heresy for Faith and condemn the Faith for Heresy he had not undertaken to say any thing of this Writing which was sent a little while ago into France That he could be content to continue Firm in his own Faith without medling with the Examination of other Men's But since says he we are reduc'd to this Condition that we must necessarily embrace Heresy that we may be call'd Catholicks or cease to be Catholicks by not rejecting Heresy we find our selves oblig'd to discover the Poyson of Heresy hid under the appearance of Religion and to lay open that Error which is wrapt up in such Terms as appear at first fight to be Innocent that so Falshood being discover'd the oppress'd Truth may at last take breath We must destroy the Opinions of Strangers that ours may be believ'd and so in refuting Error I shall prove at the same time the Truth of my Creed and demonstrate my self to be a Catholick to those that are not over-aw'd by Fear nor brib'd by Ambition After this he Examines the Second Creed of Sirmium discovers the Malignity of it and refutes by Testimonies of Scripture the Errors that it contains about the Trinity He speaks also occasionally of the Mystery of the Incarnation whilest he refutes a Letter of Potamius who had affirm'd That by the Incarnation of the Word God was render'd passible and that the Son of God and the Flesh of Man were become as it were a Third Person who was neither God nor Man He Disputes against this Opinion showing by Scripture That the Two Substances or the Two Natures continued without mixture in the Person of Jesus Christ That the Word did still preserve the Properties of the Divine Nature and the Humanity of the Humane Nature He is very angry afterwards that they suppress'd the word Substance which was order'd by the Creed that he examines The Bishops says he make an Edict whereby they decree That no Person shall speak of One Substance Alas What have you done O ye Holy Bishops Assembled at Nice from all parts of the World You have to no purpose Compos'd with admirable Circumspection a Creed which should be the Infallible Rule of Truth To what End was your Labour design'd What is the Fruit of your Care 'T is now forbidden to teach in the Church the only Thing which you commanded to be taught there for the Confounding of Error That is now condemn'd which you approv'd and that is now approv'd which you condemn'd Falshood is maintain'd and the Truth is oppos'd But in vain do they strive to do it for Truth shall never be destroy'd it shall remain eternally without Change and shall punish those that set themselves against it Let no Man say they make use of the Word Substance Ha What Evil what Crime is it to make use of this Word Wherein does it wound the Faith Is it the Sound Is it the Sence Afterwards he makes it appear That this Word is us'd in Scripture That the Sence of it is most Catholick and That 't is most proper to expound the Faith of the Church in such a manner as it may not be capable of any further Explication At the End
and hindred him from exposing himself to the fury of his Enemies They must then either force him away as a Criminal or Communicate with him as an Innocent Man The whole Church was full of People the Episcopal Chair was filled the Altar was in its place that Altar on which the Pacifick Bishops had offer'd as St. Cyprian Lucianus and others Nevertheless they set up an Altar against this Altar and make an Ordination against all the Laws Majorinus a Domestick of Lucilla who had been Reader when Caecilian was Deacon was Ordain'd by the Bishops of Numidia who had themselves confess'd their Crimes and Pardon'd themselves 'T is plain then that Majorinus withdrew from the Church and that those were the Ring-leaders of the Donatists who separated themselves and deliver'd up the Holy Books After Optatus has thus prov'd that the Donatists were the Authors of the Schism which divided Africk he shows by the Example of Corah Dathan and Abiram that there is no Crime greater or which deserves a more severe Punishment than Schism But not contenting himself with convicting the Donatists he undertakes also to justifie Caecilian and proves that he was Innocent by the Judgment of the Council of Rome which Condemn'd Donatus and declar'd Caecilian Innocent He observes that the Ring-leaders of the Donatists had themselves desir'd Judges of Constantine and that the Emperour had answer'd them in great Passion Do ye desire Judges of me of me who am waiting for the Judgment of Heaven He shows That nevertheless he gave them for Judges Maternus Bishop of Cologne Rheticius Bishop of Autun and Marinus Bishop of Arles which Judges came to Rome and there held a Council with Miltiades and Fifteen Italian Bishops That Donatus was there condemn'd upon the Confession that he made of having re-baptiz'd and re-ordain'd the Bishops which yielded in the time of Persecution That the Witnesses which he had produc'd against Caecilian having declar'd they had nothing to say against him he was sent back acquitted by the Sentence of all the Bishops and of Miltiades who concluded this Judgment That the Donatists having appeal'd to the Emperour he cry'd out aloud O strange Fury They appeal from us as if we had given a Pagan Sentence That the Emperour detain'd Caecilian at Bressia by the Sollicitation of Filuminus a Partisan of Donatus That there were sent into Africk two Bishops Eunomius and Olympus to declare where the Catholick Church was That being come to Carthage they were hindred from doing it by the Seditious Party of Donatus That these two Bishops made Oath in favour of Caecilian That Donatus came first to Carthage and Caecilian follow'd him after he had been declar'd Innocent by many Judgments There remain'd now nothing more for Optatus to do but to Vindicate Felix of Aptungis who ordain'd Caecilian from the Calumny of being a Traditor which he proves by the Information that Elianus the Proconsul had given about this Matter who after a most strict Enquiry into it had declar'd him Innocent of this Crime The Second Book of Optatus is concerning the Church There he supposes as an uncontested Principle That there is but one only Church which Jesus Christ calls his Spouse and his Dove This Principle being suppos'd he proves that the Party of the Donatists were not the Catholick Church because from thence it would follow that the Church had perish'd in all other Parts of the World and was enclosed in a little Corner of Africk which was contrary to the Signification of the Catholick Church that signifies a Society spread over all the Earth He adds for Confirmation of this Truth That those who shut up the Church within such narrow bounds defeated the Promise of Jesus Christ that they straitned the Extent of God's Mercy and gave the Lye to the Holy Spirit who has spoken by the Prophets After he has made use of this general Reason against the Donatists he proves that the Signs of the True Church do not in the least agree to them The First of those Signs is the Chair that is the Succession of Bishops He says to Parmenianus That he cannot be ignorant of this Sign of the True Church For you cannot deny says he but St. Peter the Chief of the Apostles establish'd an Episcopal Chair at Rome This Chair was one that all others might preserve Unity by the Union they had with it So that whosoever set up a Chair against it was a Schismatick and an Offender 'T was then in this one Chair which is the first Sign of the Church that St. Peter first sate to St. Peter succeeded St. Linus and after him others till Damasus who is now our Colleague by whose means all the Churches of the World are United with us in the same Communion keeping Correspondence by Circular Letters As to your Party which would willingly be thought to be the Church enquire after the Original of your Chair You tell us That you are a Part of the Roman Church but this is a branch of your Error which proceeds from the Root of Falshood and not from the Stock of Truth If Macrobius be ask'd in what Chair he Sits can he say That it is in the Chair of St. Peter which perhaps he never saw for certainly he never went to the Sepulchre of the Apostles He is disobedient to the Command of the Apostle who would have us Communicate to the Memory of the Saints and the Relicks of the two Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul are in the Church of Rome Tell me I pray you if ever he could enter there if ever he could offer in the Place where these Relicks are certainly kept Macrobius your Brother must then confess That he sate in the Place where Eucolpius held the See and if we could ask Eucolpius he must say That he succeeded to Boniface of Balli and Boniface to one Victor Garbiensis whom ye sent from Africk This Victor is a Son without a Father a Disciple without a Master a Successor without a Predecessor a Pastor without a Flock a Bishop without a People For we cannot call them a Flock or a People who were so few that they had not one of the Forty Churches at Rome to keep their Assemblies in and who were oblig'd to shut themselves up in a Cave without the City to keep their Conventicle there Optatus does not enlarge so much on the other Signs of the Church that are very obscure but he insists particularly upon its Extent Wherefore says he would you Unchurch an infinite Number of Christians that are in the East and the West You are but a small Number of Rebels who have oppos'd all the Churches of the World with which ye have no Communion You are also convicted of Falshood by the Sacrifices which ye offer for I believe that you do not omit the Solemn Prayer that is made at these Sacrifices I doubt not but you will say That you offer Sacrifice for that Church which is one and scatter'd over
and he promises them That he will not deliver his Letter till he has received their Answers and those Assurances that he shall desire St. Athanasius having received these Letters would not write at all but he sent one of his Priests call'd Peter to dispose their Minds to Peace This Priest was very well received by St. Basil and he perform'd his Message as well as he could But this Affair being of too great Consequence to be so easily determined St. Basil thought it necessary to write to Pope Damasus Having taken up this Resolution he sent the Deacon Dorotheus to Meletius by whom he wrote the 57. Letter wherein he tells him his Design which he had of sending this Deacon to Rome and of desiring some Deputies out of Italy He prays him if he thought it convenient to give him necessary Instructions and to write a Letter in his own Name and in the Name of all the Bishops of his Communion and to direct it to the Western Bishops He writes at the end of this Letter That the Affairs of the Church were in the same state That the Civil Powers would not meddle with them to restore those that were banish'd That Euvippus an Arian Bishop was come but that he had done nothing yet in Publick though he had threatned to fetch the Bishops of his Party from Tetrapolis and Cilicia to Condemn the Orthodox Meletius sent back Dorotheus and thought it necessary for him to go into the West 'T is not certainly known whether he wrote at that time to the Bishops of the West but 't is certain that St. Basil then address'd his 220 Letter to Damasus It has no Superscription but 't is easy to see that 't was address'd to the Bishop of Rome He begins with showing the Advantage which that Bishop had to restore the ancient Union between the Eastern and Western Churches After this he describes the unhappy State to which the Persecution of the Arians had reduc'd the Churches of the East He represents to Damasus That he might give them Ease and Comfort by writing and sending Deputies to them to re-establish Peace and Union in the Church He remonstrates to him that what he desir'd was not extraordinary since it had been the practice of the Saints and particularly of the Church of Rome He observes to him That St. Dionysius had formerly Comforted the Church of Caesarea by his Letters and that he had sent some of his Brethren to deliver Christians from Captivity That now there was more Reason to complain of the Misery of the Church since not only the Captivity of the Body but that of the Soul also was to be fear'd St. Basil gave this Letter to Dorotheus to carry into the West and he sent this Deacon to St. Athanasius to conferr with him about the means of procuring Peace that so after he had met with him he might Embark from Alexandria to go into Italy He charg'd him also with a Letter for St. Athanasius which is the 52. And tho' in it he says That he referr'd himself wholly to the Prudence of St. Athanasius as to the Management of this Affair yet he says That his Advice should be to write to the Bishop of Rome and to pray him since there was no probability of calling a Synod that he would send by his own Authority Deputies into the East He observes That he must chuse such Persons as were able to endure the Fatigues of Travelling and who had much Meekness and Moderation to Correct the Eagerness and Passionate Heats of some of the Bishops of the East And in fine who could speak at a fit Season and accommodate themselves to the Times He would have them carry with them the Acts of the Council of Ariminum and an Account of the Transactions in the West that they may be null'd That they should come by Sea without letting any body know of it That at first they should address themselves to those of his own Communion before they were pre-engaged by the Associates of Paulinus the Enemies of Peace and in short That they should condemn the Heresy of Marcellus of Ancyra This Letter is the 52. At the end he conjures St. Athanasius to send forthwith the Deacon Dorotheus into the West that so the Business might be done the next Year which was 371. He advertises him also That he must take care to recommend to the Deputies from the West that they be very Cautious lest they encrease Divisions instead of allaying them and that they preferr to all things the Good of Peace and that they do not maintain a Schism in the Church of Antioch out of Affection to some particular Persons The desire of Peace and the Fear that St. Basil had of bringing Persecution upon the Church oblig'd him to be very cautious in his Discourse Wherefore though he profess'd to Believe and to defend the Divinity of the Holy Spirit yet he said nothing of it unless he was oblig'd And therefore when he was in an Assembly of Bishops held in the Year 370. at the Feast of St. Eupsichius in the City of Caesarea he discoursed largely of the Divinity of the Father and the Son and said nothing almost of the Holy Spirit Whereupon a Religious Person who was present at this Assembly accus'd St. Basil of betraying the Truth by a Cowardice unworthy of a Bishop and publish'd this Accusation at a Feast where he was present some time after St. Gregory Nazianzen who was one of the Guests at this Feast endeavoured in vain to defend his Friend for all the Company blam'd him and at last St. Gregory himself was offended with his Conduct and wrote to him his Judgment about it in Letter 26. St. Basil having received this Letter by Hellenius was a little offended with it and answered him in Letter 33 That he was surprized that he should so lightly give credit to a Caluminator He signifies a great Contempt of these kind of Accusations He invites St. Gregory to come and see him and says That what was quickly to come to pass would serve for his Justification before all the World because it might be foreseen that he must suffer for the defence of the Truth and perhaps should be forc'd away from his Church and his Country Which discovers that this Letter was written before the Persecution of Valens in the Year 370. This Emperour had a Design to divide the Province of Cappadocia into two St. Basil thought that it was his Duty to defend the Rights of his People and his Church For this Reason he wrote to a great Man of his Country called Martinianus the 376 Letter to pray him to go to Court and hinder this Division This Letter was written in the Year 370 as well as the 362 which was plainly written upon the same Occasion The 309 Letter wherein he declares That he continued unshaken though he had been attack'd by the most powerful at Court referrs to the Sollicitations which the Prefect Modestus
Impostures and Tricks That he allow'd the People to Abuse and use Violence to the Christians and reserved to himself the ways of moderation to allure and perswade them That he changed his Court and gain'd the Souldiers over to his side That he removed Christians from all Offices that he entic'd some by Hope of Rewards and seduc'd others That he sent some of them into Banishment and in spite of his affected Gentleness he had exercised the greatest Cruelties upon others He adds That this Tyrant had a Design to shut out Christians from all Protection of the Law and to forbid them to make use of it alledging this for a Reason That their Law commanded them to bear Injuries patiently and to render Evil for Good St. Gregory answers this Raillery by saying That if Christians had a Law which oblig'd them to bear with Evil yet there was no Law in the World which permitted any to do it And besides that there were among Christians Two sorts of Precepts that some of them do so oblige that it is absolutely necessary to obey them but there are others which do not oblige but Christians are free to fulfil or not fulfil them that all the World cannot arrive at that perfection which consists in the observation of Evangelical Counsels and that one may be Sav'd by observing only what is commanded as necessary to be done In this place he makes a Digression about the Moderation which Christians observ'd when they were in Power and this he opposes to the Cruelties which the Pagans have exercis'd There was a Time says he to the Pagans when we had the Authority in our Hands as well as you but what have we done to those of your Religion which comes near to what the Christians have suffer'd from you Have we taken your Liberty from you Have we stirr'd up the Fary of the Mobile against you Have we put Governours in places on purpose to condemn you to Punishment Have we attempted the Life of any Person Have we remov'd any Body from the Magistracy or from their Offices In a word Have we done any of those things to you which you have made us suffer and which you have threatned against us I cannot conceive how St. Gregory could reconcile all these things with what he had said before that Constantius did very ill to suffer Julian to live and leave the Empire to him because he was an Enemy to the Christian Religion and was to Persecute it and that in this Constantius made a very ill use of his Gentleness and Goodness Afterwards he speaks of the Prohibition which Julian had given to Christians to study humane Learning It belongs to us says he to Discourse it belongs to us to understand the Greek Tongue as it belongs to us to Adore the Gods But as for you Ignorance and Barbarism is your Portion and all your Wisdom consists in saying I believe St. Gregory answers him that the Pythagoreans who had no other Reason to give for what they Affirm'd but the Authority of their Master would not have jested in that manner upon what the Christians answer when they are askt about their Doctrine This is what I believe that this only signifies that 't is not lawful to doubt of what is written by Persons Divinely inspir'd and that their Authority is of greater force than all the Reasons and Arguments of the World but that it does not follow from thence that Eloquence Terms of Art and Skill in Languages belong only to those who Profess to acknowledge many Gods For says he if this be so either the Greek Tongue is confin'd to the Religion or to the Nation It cannot be said that 't is confin'd to the Pagan Religion For Where is that Commanded Who are the Priests that have enjoyn'd us to study humane Learning as an Action of Religion Neither can it be said that 't is confin'd to the Nations that profess to Adore false Gods For it will not follow because the Greek Tongue has been us'd among those that profess the Pagan Religion that therefore it is so confin'd to them who profess that Religion that others cannot make use of it This is as if one should say that working in Gold cannot be exercis'd but by Painters because there were some Painters that were Goldsmiths likewise He concludes that Languages cannot be confin'd to a Profession nor an Art nor a Religion but that they are common to all those that can make use of them He adds several Curiofities about the Invention of Letters and Sciences about the Origin of Sacrifices about Pagan Ceremonies and the infamous Actions which the Poets attributed to their false Gods He occasionally answers an Excuse which the Pagans make to cover the Folly of their Poets alledging that they invented what they said concerning their Divinities to please the People but that under these Veils there was a secret Sence and hidden Mystery St. Gregory confesses that there may be in Religion hidden Mysteries and such Discourses as all the World does not understand and he acknowledges that there are some of this nature among Christians but then he maintains that the Veils Representations the Appearances and the Figures which conceal these Mysteries and Truths ought to have the Character of Honesty and not of Infamy That otherwise this was to do like one that would conduct a Man to a fine City through a Bog or that would bring a Man into Harbour by leading him over the Rocks And besides that there was no Example produced by the Poets which excited to Vertue but on the contrary they inclin'd all Men to Vice whereas the Christian Religion teaches nothing but Vertue and Perfection The 4th Oration is also an Invective against Julian There St. Gregory represents the visible Judgments which God had made use of to punish his Impiety as well as the sensible manner of protecting his Church and defeating the Designs of this impious Man He relates first that when Julian would have had the Jews rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem there arose such a Storm as drove away those that undertook the Work and that having retir'd into a neighbouring Temple there came forth a Fire which consum'd them He adds that there appear'd a Sign of the Cross in the Heavens which was a Mark of the Victory which Jesus Christ had gotten over these Impious Men and that all those who saw it or spoke of it found their Clothes mark'd with this Sign He says that this Miracle was so publick that many who saw it embrac'd immediately the Christian Religion and were Baptiz'd But if the Power of God appear'd in this Miracle his Vengeance clearly appeared in the miserable Death of Julian Before he departed to march against the Persians he made a Vow That if he return'd Conqueror he would reduce all Christians under the Power of the Devil But God who confounds the Designs of the Wicked did not suffer him to return from this Journey For being unseasonably engag'd
Narration yet it may be called a Prophecy because that as there are three sorts of Prophecies the first of Writings the Second of Actions and the third of both So likewise there are three parts of each Prophecy That the first respects the present the Second what is to come and the third what is past Men Prophesie upon the present when they discover what is designed to be kept from them as Elisha did who knew Gehazis wickedness Men Prophesie upon the future when what is to come is foretold And there are also Prophecies of what is past when by Divine Inspiration things already passed are written whereof no knowledge was had otherwise In this Sence Severianus saith that Moses was a Prophet in the History of the World's Creation He observes further that Moses proposed to himself two things in his Writings to teach and to gives Laws That he began by Instruction in relating the Creation of the World to teach Men that God having created them had a right to give them Laws and Precepts For saith he had he not shewed at first that God is the Creator of the World he could not have justifyed that he was the Soveraign Lawgiver of Men because it is Tyranny to pretend to impose Laws upon those that do not belong to us whereas it is very natural to instruct such as depend upon us He endeth this Preface by shewing the Reason why Moses spake not of the Creation of Angels and Archangels First because it was not pertinent to his Subject Secondly because had he done it there was danger that Men would have worshipped them After this he explains the Text of Genesis about the World's Creation in a plain and literal way He doth not inlarge upon the spiritual Sence but rather finds fault with some Explications as being too much Allegorical But he maketh several trifling Reflections as when he observes in the Fifth Homily that the first Man was called Adam a word signifying Fire in the Hebrew because that as this Element easily spreads and Communicates it self so the World was to be peopled by this first Man Several other Notions of this Nature may be found in that Work which have neither Beauty nor Exactness nor Truth He Answers the Arians and Anomaeans He observes in the Fourth Homily that all Heresies bear the Names of their Authors whereas the true Church has none other Name than that of Catholick Church He inlargeth but little upon Morals yet at the Latter end of this Fourth Homily he recommends Fasting provided it be accompanied with Abstinence from Vices In a word One may say that this whole Work tho' full of Erudition yet is of no great use and deserveth not the Esteem of Men of true Judgment Father Combefis hath added to these Homilies some Fragments taken out of some Catena's upon the Scripture attributed to this Author and extracted out of his Commentaries upon Genesis Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy and upon Joshua But if these passages did not shew themselves to be written in Severianus his Stile one could not affirm it upon the credit of these Catena's One might with greater Confidence produce two passages of Severianus of Gabala upon the Incarnation quoted by Gelasius in the Book of the two Natures where he observes That the first is taken out of a Discourse of this Bishop against Novatus ASTERIUS AMASENUS ASterius a Asterius There were several of that Name The oldest is an Heretick of Arius his Party mention'd in the first Volume There is another Asterius commended by Theodoret in Philotheo c. 2. but different from this as well as the Catholick Bishop of the same Name who lived in the time of S. Athanasius Bishop of Amasea a City of Pontus flourished at the latter end of the Fourth Century b Towards the latter end of the Fourth Century We have observed That in the Sermon upon New-Years-day he speaks of Ruffinus his Death and of Eutropius his Disgrace which he tells us happen'd the Year before which justifyeth that he lived at the same time with S. Chrysostom and in the beginning of the Fifth The Sermons of this Bishop have been Asterius Amasenus quoted with Commendation by the Ancients c The Sermons of this Bishop have been quoted with Commendation by the Ancients He is cited in the Second Council of Nice Act. 4. and 6. Photius made some Extracts out of his works Cod. 271. Hadrian in lib. de un quotes his Homilies and Nicephorus defends them against the Iconoclasts There are but a small number of them extant Collected by F. Combefis at the beginning of his first Volume of the Supplement to the Bibliotheca Patrum The Five first were Printed formerly by Rubenius who published them at Antwerp Ann. 1608. and afterwards inserted into the Bibliotheca Patrum The six following were lately published by F. Combefis who joyned to them the Extracts made by Photius out of the Homelies of Asterius Amasenus and a Discourse upon S. Steven the Proto-Martyr formerly published under the Name of Proclus The first Sermon is upon the Parable of Dives and Lazarus He begins it with this Reflection That our Saviour not only made use of Precepts to teach us Vertue and to forbid Vice but that he further proposed illustrious Examples to instruct us in that way of Life which we ought to follow Afterwards he sets down the Text of S. Luke's Gospel making moral Reflections upon each Verse Upon these words Verse 26. There was a rich Man which was cloathed with Purple and fine Liâ—… He observes that the Holy Scripture by these two words understands all Extravagancies of Riches That the only use of Garments is to cover our Bodies and defend them from the injuries of the Air That God hath provided for this by creating Beasts with hair and wooll whereof Stuffs are made to secure us against both cold weather and the Beams of the Sun That besides he hath given the use of Flax for a greater Conveniency that these things ought to be applyed to our use in giving God thanks not only because he made us but also because he has provided all necessaries to cover and defend us from the Injuries of the Season But saith he if you leave the use of Wooll and Linen if you despise what God hath prepared and to satisfie your Pride you will have silk Garments thin like Cobwebs if after this you hire a Man at a dear rate to take out of the Sea a small Fish that you may dye them in its Blood Do you not Act the parts of effeminate Men He reproves those afterwards whose Garments were painted with several Figures of Men Beasts and Flowers and spares not those who by a ridiculous Devotion Printed upon their clothes some Godly Histories As the Marriage of Cana in Galilee the Sick of the Palsie in his Bed the blind Man cured the Woman that had an Issue of Blood the Sinner at the feet of Jesus Christ Lazarus risen again
Prayers of those that shall read his Confessions Having set forth in the foregoing Books what he was before his Conversion he sheweth in the Tenth what he was at the time of his writing He finds that his Conscience gave an unquestionable Testimony of his love to God He explains the Reasons that oblige Men to love God reckoning up all the Faculties of his Soul that can lead him to know God especially Memory whereof he makes a wonderful Description He says amongst other things that it serves to teach us many things which entred not into the Mind by the Senses and that it may lift us up to God He occasionally speaks of Happiness and of the Idea that Men have of God afterwards he examineth himself about the three main Passions of Man the love of Pleasures of Knowledge and of Glory He sincerely confesseth what was his disposition with respect to these Passions prescribing at the same time excellent Rules to keep our selves from them Lastly He discovers the knowledge of the true Mediatour and of the Graces which he merited for us The Three last Books are about less sensible Matters He waves the History of his Life to speak of the love which he had for the Sacred Books and of the Knowledge that God had given him of them which to show he undertakes to explain the beginning of Genesis upon which occasion he starts several very subtil Questions In the Eleventh he refuteth those that asked what God was doing before he created the World and how God on a sudden formed the design of creating any thing whereupon he enters into a long Discourse concerning the Nature of Time In the Twelfth Book he treateth of the first Matter He pretends that by the Heavens and the Earth which God is said to have created in the beginning we are to understand spiritual Substances and the shapeless Matter of corporeal things that the Scripture speaking of the Creation of these two sorts of Beings makes no mention of days because there is no time with respect to them He affirms That whatsoever he hath said concerning the World's Creation cannot be denied though the beginning of Genesis were otherwise expounded because these are undoubted Truths He treateth here of the different Explications which may be made of the Holy Scripture affirming That there is sufficient reason to believe that the Canonical Authors foresaw all the Truths that might be drawn from their words and though they had not foreseen these Truths yet the Holy Ghost foresaw them Whence he seems to conclude that we are not to reject any sence that may be given to the holy Scripture provided it is conformable to the Truth At last having admired the Goodness of God who standing in no need of the Creatures had given them not only a Being but also all the Perfections of that Being he discovereth in the last Book the Mystery of the Trinity in the first words of Genesis and even the Personal Property of the Holy Ghost which gives him an admirable opportunity of describing the Actions of Charity in our selves He concludes with a curious Allegory upon the beginning of Genesis and finds in the Creation the System and Oeconomy of whatsoever God hath done for the Establishment of his Church and the Sanctification of Men the only end which he proposed to himself in all his Works St. Augustin placeth the Books of Confessions before those against Faustus which were written about the Year 400 in his Retractations from whence we may conclude that these were both written about the same time After these two which serve as we have said for a Preface to all St. Augustin's Works you find in this first Volume the Books that St. Augustin writ in his Youth before he was a Priest in the same order in which they were written The three Books against the Academici are the first after the Treatise of Beauty and Comeliness which is lost He composed them in the Year 386 in his solitude when he prepared himself for Baptism They are written in imitation of Cicero in the form of a Dialogue and directed to Romanianus his Countryman whom he adviseth to Study Philosophy The dispute beginneth betwixt Licentius Son to Romanianus and Trygetius after them Alypius and St. Augustin begin to speak Having observed in the first Book that the good things of Fortune do not render men happy he exhorts Romanianus to the Study of Wisdom whose sweetness he then tasted He afterwards gives an Account of three Conferences which Licentius and Trygetius had had about Happiness Licentius held with the Academici That to be happy it was enough to seek after the Truth but Trygetius pretended That it was necessary to know it perfectly both being agreed That Wisdom is that which makes Men happy they begin to dispute about the definition of Wisdom Trygetius gives several all disapproved by Licentius who asserts That Wisdom consisted not only in Knowledge but also in the pursuit of the Truth whereupon St. Augustin concludes That since we cannot be happy without knowing and enquiring after the Truth our only application should be to seek for it In the Second Book having again exhorted Romanianus to the Study of Philosophy he sets down three other Conferences wherein Alypius produces the several Opinions of both the Ancient and Modern Academicks And because the latter said That some things were probable though the Truth was not known they laughed at that Opinion it being impossible say they to know whether a thing is like the Truth without knowing the Truth it self And this very thing obligeth Men to enquire the more carefully after likely and probable things according to the Principles of the Academicks The Third Book begins with Reflections upon Fortune St. Augustin shews That the Goods of Fortune are of no use to get Wisdom and that the Wise Man ought at least to know Wisdom refuting withall the Principles both of Cicero and of the other Academicks who affirmed That we know nothing and that nothing ought to be asserted He blames the damnable Maxim of those who permitted Men to follow every thing that seemed probable without being certain of any thing He shews the dangerous Consequences of such Principles and endeavours to prove that neither the ancient Academicks nor Cicero himself were of that Opinion These three Books are written with all imaginable Elegance and Purity The Method and Reasonings are just The Matter treated of is well cleared and made intelligible for all Men it is beautified with agreeable Suppositions and pleasant Stories It may be said That these Dialogues are not much inferior to Tully's for stile but much above them for the exactness and solidity of the Arguments and Notions In his Retractations he findeth fault with several places in them which seemed not to him sufficiently to savour of Christianity but might be born with in a Philosophical Work The Book of a Happy Life or of Felicity is a Work of the same Nature written
French but retracted it in Africa In the Second and Third Book he proves That Jesus Christ is God and Man and the Virgin may be called the Mother of God In the Fourth he endeavours to shew That there is but only one Hypostasis or Person in Jesus Christ. In the Fifth he comes to a close Examination of the Error of Nestorius He confutes his Theses and shews That the Union of the Two Natures in one Person alone makes it lawful to attribute to the Person of Jesus Christ whatsoever agree to both Natures In the Last Place he proves That the Union of the two Natures is not a Moral Union only nor a Dwelling of the Divinity in the Human Nature as in a Temple as Nestorius asserts but it is a real Union of the two Natures in one Person In the Sixth he falls upon Nestorius with the Creed of the Church of Antioch where he was brought up taught and baptized Some have needlessly enquired by what Council of Antioch that Creed was made Cassian speaks of the Creed which was usually recited in the Church of Antioch and not of a Creed composed by any Council of Antioch But we must not forget here what Cassian observes That the Creed * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to joyn together c. Symbolum is so called because it is a short Collection of all the Doctrine contained in Holy Scripture He urges Nestorius extreamly with the Authority of the Creed of his Church which contained the Faith which he had embraced when he was baptized and which he had always professed If you were saith he to him an Arrian or a Sabellian and I could not use your own Creed against you I would then convince you by the Authority of the Testimonies of Holy Scripture by the Words of the Law and by the Truth of the Creed acknowledged by all the World I would tell you That tho' you had neither Sense nor Judgment you ought to yield to the Consent of all Mankind and that it is unreasonable to preferr the Opinions of some particular Men before the Faith of the Church That Faith say I which having been taught by Jesus Christ and preach'd by the Apostles ought to be received as the Word and Law of God If I should deal thus with you what would you say what would you answer You could certainly have no other Evasion but to say I was not brought up in this Faith I was not so instructed my Parents my Masters taught me otherwise I have heard another thing in my Church I have learned another Creed into which I was baptized I live in that Faith of which I have made Profession from my Baptism You would think that you had brought a very strong Argument against the Truth upon this Occasion And I must freely own 'T is the best Defence that can be used in a bad Cause It discovers at least the Original of the Error And this Disposition were excusable if it were not accompanied with Obstinacy If you were of the same Opinions which you had imbibed in your Infancy we ought to make use of Arguments and Perswasions to bring you from your Error rather than severity to punish what is passed but being born as you were in an Orthodox City instructed in the Catholick Faith and baptized with a true Baptism we must not deal with you as an Arian or a Sabellian I have no more to say but this Follow the Instructions you have received of your Parents depart not from the Truth of the Creed which you have learned remain firm in the Faith which you have professed in your Baptism 'T is the Faith of this Creed which hath gained you admittance to Baptism 't is by that that you have been regenerated 't is by this Faith that you have received the Eucharist and the Lord's Supper Lastly I speak it with Sorrow 'T is that which hath raised you to the Holy Ministery to be a Deacon and Priest and made you capable of the Episcopal Dignity What have you done Into what a sad Condition have you cast your self By losing the Faith of the Creed you have lost all the Sacraments of your Priesthood and Episcopacy are grounded upon the Truth of the Creed One of these two things you must do either you must confess That he is God that is born of a Virgin and so detest your Error or if you will not make such a Confession you must renounce your Priesthood there 's no middle way if you have been Orthodox you are now an Apostate and if you are at present Orthodox how can you be a Deacon Priest or Bishop Why were you so long in an Error Why did you stay so long without contradicting others Lastly he exhorts Nestorius to reflect upon himself to acknowledge his Error to make Profession of the Faith into which he was baptized and have recourse to the Sacraments That they may regenerate him by Repentance they are Cassian's very Words as they have heretofore begat him by Baptism With this Discourse he mingles Arguments against the Error of Nestorius whom he undertakes to confute in the last Book by answering the Objections which he proposed and by alledging the Testimonies of the Greek and Latin Church against him He concludes with a Lamentation of the miserable Condition of Constantinople exhorting the Faithful of that Church to continue stedfast in the Orthodox Faith which had been so learnedly and eloquently explained to them by S. Chrysostom He seems to be much troubled for the Misery of that Church Altho' I am very little known saith he am of no worth and dare not rank my self with the great Bishop of Constantinople nor assume the Title of a Master I have the Zeal and Affection of a Scholar having been Ordained and Presented to God by S. John of blessed Memory And altho' I am far distant from the Body of that Church yet I am united in Heart and Spirit which makes me to sympathize in her Grief and Sufferings and pour out my self in Complaints and Lamentations This and the foregoing Place teach us That this Treatise of Cassian's was composed before the Deposition of Nestorius or at least before it was known in the West They also give us ground to conjecture That the Reason why S. Leo imposed this Task upon him to write against Nestorius was this That being known at Constantinople to be S. Chrysostom's Scholar his Work might have more Weight and be more effectual than if any other had written on the same Subject The Institutions of Cassian saith the learned Photius are very useful especially for those who have embraced a Monastick Life It may likewise be said That they have something so Powerful and Divine that the Monasteries which observe that Rule are flourishing and make themselves eminent for their singular Vertues but they that do not observe it have much-a-do to uphold themselves and are always near a Dissolution And indeed of all the Rules for Monks there are
not willing to forsake their Errors to make those Charitable Severities which are made use of to recover them to pass for insupportable Violences and unheard of Cruelties by aggravating them and representing them in such an odious manner as is proper to stir up Indignation The Principles which he lays down in the following Part are very agreeable with those of the Protestants In the First Article he opposes those who will have it determined where the Truth is by the Judgment of the greater Number Jesus Christ saith he is the Truth as Tertullian hath a long Time since affirmed and 't is he that we ought to consult This being so are they not to be pitied who judge of the Force and Authority of a Doctrine only by the Number of those who approve it without considering that our Lord Jesus Christ chose ignorant and poor Men whom he made use of to convert all the World He required that Millions of Men should yield themselves up to the Doctrines of these Twelve Thus hath the Truth always triumphed although it were among the smallest Number and whosoever he be that despairing to prove what he affirms to be true flies to the Authority of the Multitude he confesses himself vanquished The great Number may affright but cannot perswade There are but few that shall be saved S. Stephen Phineas Lot and Noah had the Multitude against them yet who had not rather be on their Side than on that which did oppose them 'T is not saith the same Author that I bear not a due respect to the Multitude but it is to that which proves what it teacheth and not to that which will not suffer us to examine and search out the Truth 'T is to that which doth not condemn with Severity but correct with Gentleness not to that which loves Novelties but to that which preserves the Truth which they have received from their Ancestors But what is this Multitude which you object against me It is the Throng of Men corrupted by Flatteries and Prisons 'T is the Number of ignorant Men who have no Understanding to guide them It is a crowd of weak and fearful Men who suffer themselves to be conquered They are the Souls which preferr the Pleasures that Sin affords us in this Life which are momentary before Eternal Life and Glory So that when you object to me this Multitude to gain Credit to a Lye you do but discover the extent of Wickedness and the great Number of the Miserable The Second Chapter is of like Nature with this First In it he opposes those who maintain That it is needless to search the Holy Scripture that we may know what we ought to believe either because it is sufficient for every one to believe what his own Reason teacheth him or because in searching for the Truth in Scripture we meet with more Obscurity and Uncertainty Our Author cannot approve of this Advice He saith That being perswaded of the Truth of the Mysteries and trusting in the Help of Jesus Christ who hath promised to those who seek after the Truth that they shall certainly find it he seeks after the Truth in the manner that he ought he shall find it without mistaking that he puts himself into a Condition of proving what he teacheth of instructing the Faithful confuting Hereticks and convincing himself of the Truth and confirming the Doctrines so as none can doubt of them Would you have me saith he neglect the Study of Holy Scripture whence then will you have Knowledge necessary to support your Faith It is dangerous for this Life to be ignorant of the Roman Laws and 't is no less dangerous for another Life to be ignorant of the Oracles of our Heavenly King The Scripture is the Nourishment of the Soul Suffer not then the inward Man to die with Hunger by depriving him of the Word of God There are too too many who inflict mortal Wounds upon the Soul suffer them to seek Medicines for their Maladies and Griefs But there are say you things which pass our Understand I own it but the Scripture teaches us That we must search and that there are things that we cannot comprehend And as it would be a kind of Impiety to desire to throughly comprehend it so it is to have a kind of Contempt for the Divine Truths to lay aside wholly the search into them Every one ought to know what it is he adores as it is written We know what we worship But it is a Madness to enquire how much After what manner By what Means and where we must adore him In sum they who discourage others from reading and studying the Holy Scripture under a Pretence That they ought not to dive into Things too profound do it because they are afraid that they should be convinced of their Errors by it So when they find themselves pressed by convincing Testimonies of Holy Scripture they give a Sence clear contrary to the Words and if they find but one Word which can be brought to their Opinion although it be nothing to the Sence of the Place they must use it as an invincible Demonstration We must own that these Principles are not ill although Men may offend in the Application they make of them In the other Chapters he answers the Objections which the Aegyptians made against the Eastern Bishops and opposes some of their Expressions such as these The Word hath suffered in an impassible manner The Word hath suffered in the Flesh. He hath delivered several Expressions agreeable to those of Nestorius In sum He hath written with much Elegancy and Reason This Work is a Doctrinal Treatise and not a Collection of Sermons It is in Tom. 2. of Athanasius's Works under the Name of that Father and since it hath been printed at the end of Tom. 5. of Theodoret's Works put out by F. Garner at Paris in 1684. There are also some of this Bishop's Letters in F. Lupus's Collection THEODOTUS Bishop of Ancyra THEODOTUS Bishop of Ancyra a City of Galatia whom Gennadius calleth Theodorus was one of the greatest Adversaries of Nestorius He was present at the Council of Ephesus Theodotus of Ancyra where he courageously delivered his Opinion against him Gennadius says That he made a Treatise on purpose to confute him and that that Work was very Logical but that it was not sufficiently grounded upon the Authority of Holy Scriptures but lays down several Arguments before he comes to Scripture-proofs This description agrees well to the two Sermons of Theodotus upon the Feast of the Nativity preached in the Council of Ephesus and which are recited in the Acts of that Council where he proves by several Arguments That Jesus Christ is God and Man and that it is truly said That God is born of a Virgin There is also a 3d. Sermon preached at Ephesus upon S. John's day where he likewise speaks against the Errour of Nestorius The beginning of it is remarkable wherein he compares a Bishop to
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
Authority and others of a less perfects and others lastly which are of none at all The Authors of these Books are known either by their Titles or by the beginning of their Works Moses is the Author of the Pentateuque Joshua of the Book which goes under his Name Samuel of the first Book of the Kings There are Books in it whose Authors are altogether unknown as the Book of Judges of Ruth and the last Book of Kings Among these Books there are some written in Verse as the Psalms the Book of Job and some places of the Prophets and others in Prose The Order of the Books of Scripture is not different from ours This is what concerns the External Surface of the Scripture As to the Substance of the things which it teaches the Author observes that there are in it some Names that agree to the Essence and others to the Persons of the Trinity and among these there are some which precisely denote them and others only consequentially because they signifie the Operations which are attributed to them He gives Examples of them and shows what is common to the three Persons and what is particular to each Lastly he speaks of the Attributes which agree to God In the second Book he makes a particular Ennumeration of what the Scripture teaches concerning the Creatures and explains after what manner God governs them From thence he passes to what concerns the World to come He treats of the Figures of the Law and the fulfilling of Prophecies concerning Jesus Christ. Lastly he enquires How it may be prov'd that the Books of our Religion are Divinely inspir'd And he answers That it may be known by the Truth of them it self by the Order of Things by the admirable Agreement of Precepts by the Simplicity and Purity wherewith they are written That to these Characters we must add the Qualities of those that wrote them and who preach'd the Doctrine which they contain because it was not possible without the Inspiration of the Holy Spirit that Men should write of Divine things that simple Men should write of things so Sublime that Men so ignorant and plain should discover Truths so great and Subtil That the success of their Preaching was also a proof of the Truth of their Doctrine For how was it possible that Persons so despicable should Convert the whole World Reform the Doctrines of the Philosophers and Confound their Adversaries without the Assistance of a visible Protection from God Lastly That the Accomplishment of Prophecies and the Miracles which produc'd a Belief of our Religion were convincing Proofs of its Truth and that if at present no Miracles are wrought it is because there is no need of them because the Establishment of this Religion is a Miracle more then sufficient to prove it This is what is most useful in this Treatise which is to be found in the Bibliotheques of the Fathers LIBERATUS Liberatus LIberatus a Deacon of the Church of Carthage and a Defender of the three Chapters is the Author of an Historical Memorial of the Contests that arose about the Heresies of Nestorius and Eutyches He begins with the Ordination of Nestorius and ends at the fifth Council i. e. in 553. This Memorial therefore was not written by Liberatus till after the Year 560. It contains some very useful particulars of this History which are no where else to be found and Extracts of the Authentick Acts to justifie what he affirms This Work was publish'd by F. Garner in 1675. It is also in the fifth Tome of the last Collection of the Councils VICTOR of Tunona VIctor Bishop of Tunona in Afric was also one of the zealous Defenders of the three Chapters for which reason he was banish'd into Egypt and afterwards shut up in a Monastery at Constantinople Victor of Tunona Isidore of Sevil informs us That he made a Chronicon from the beginning of the World to the first Year of the Empire of Justin the younger wherein he plac'd in Order the Consuls the most memorable Events of War and the Holy Fathers of the Church We have nothing now remaining but one part of this Chronicon which begins where that of St. Prosper ends i. e. in the Year 444 and ends at the Year 565. In it he particularly describes what concerns the History of Eutyches and the Affair of the three Chapters Canisius was the first that caus'd it to be printed at Ingolstadt in the Year 1600 and since that Scaliger has inserted it into his Treasure of Time PAULUS SILENTIARIUS PAulus Cyrus Florus Chief of the Silentiarii of the Palace flourish'd towards the middle of the sixth Age. He made a long Poem containing a Description of the Temple of Sancta Sophia Pauluus Silentiarius which is printed at the end of the History of Cinnamus He wrote also many other excellent Poems says Dr. Cave out of Agathias De Rebus Justiniani Hist. Lit. p. 416. PELAGIUS the First PElagius after he had been a long time at Constantinople return'd into Italy with Pope Vigilius and was Ordain'd after the death of this Pope by two Bishops in the presence of a Priest of Pelagius I. the Church of Ostia This extraordinary Ordination and the suspicion that went about of him that he had been the cause of the death of his Predecessor induc'd many to separate from his Communion and brought upon him the hatred of the People To purge himself he mounted into a Chair after a solemn Procession from the Church of St. Pancratius to that of St. Peter and swore upon the Holy Evangelists and the Cross That he was no wise guilty of that whereof he was accus'd the People were satisfy'd with this Oath and with the Prohibition he made against giving Money for Ordinations Altho there was nothing remarkable that happen'd in the Church during the Pontificat of this Pope which lasted almost five years yet he has written many Letters The first address'd to Vigilius is a supposititious Piece made up of Passages patched together which are taken out of St. Leo Itachius the date whereof is false The second is address'd to Count Narses He prays him to assist Peter the Priest and the Deacon Projectus whom he had sent to Prosecute two Bishops of Italy who disturb'd the Order of the Churches and would appropriate to themselves all the Ecclesiastical Revenues In the third he exhorts the same Count to employ the Authority which his Office gave him for correcting and punishing the Bishops of Istria Liguria and the Country of Venice who had separated Agnellus from the other Churches for the Affair of the three Chapters He remarks That if they had any Complaints to make against the Decision of the Council of Constantinople they should send Deputies to the Holy See and not rend in pieces the Body of Christ by their Separation In the fourth Letter he inveighs vehemently against the same Bishops for their boldness in excommunicating Narses He exhorts him to
given to 〈◊〉 Leander being lost in Spain Tagion Bishop of Saragosa was deputed in a Council held at Toledo under King Cyndesides to be sent to Rome to enquire for a Copy of it That this Bishop being arriv'd there and finding no satisfaction from the Pope who put him off from day to day pretending it was very difficult to find these Books of St. Gregory because of the multitude of Volumes that were in the Archieves of Rome at last this good Bishop went to Prayers in the Church of St. Peter and there appeared unto him the Apostles St. Peter St. Paul and their Successors and among the rest St. Gregory who drew near to him and show'd him the Study where the Books were which he enquir'd after This Relation which appear'd not till about 400 years ago appears to me of little credit a Of little Credit 'T is said in this Relation that St. Leander carried into Spain his Copy of the Books of St. Gregory upon Job But it appears by the Letters of St. Gregory that he himself sent it to him 2. 'T is no ways probable that the Pope would refuse Tagion a Copy of St. Gregory's Morals 3. 'T is also said in this Relation that Tagion enquir'd of St. Gregory where St. Austin was and that he answer'd him That he was not among the Successors of St. Peter and St. Paul whom he came to see but in a higher place This Reflexion the Vision and the whole History smells strong of a Fable The Pastoral of St. Gregory or his Book about the Care which Pastors ought to take of their Flocks was as well receiv'd as his Morals It was no sooner gone out of the hands of St. Gregory but it was sought for and valued by all those who had a love for Episcopacy The great Reputation it had got mov'd the Emperor Mauritius to desire it of Anatolius a Deacon of the Church of Rome who was at Constantinople Assoon as he had a Copy of it he gave it to Anastasius the Patriarch of Antioch who translated it into Greek St. Leander desir'd it of St. Gregory In fine this Book quickly spread over all the Churches and the Bishops look'd upon it as their Rule But chiefly those of France judg'd it so necessary that they ordain'd in many Synods held in the ninth Age that the Bishops should be oblig'd to understand it and to live according to the Rules prescribed in it And to the end that this Obligation might the more readily be remembred it was put into their hand at the time of their Ordination b Ordination The Council of Tours 3d. held under Charlemagne in the Year 81◠Can. 3. Nulli Episcopo liceat Canones aut librum Pastoralis Curae à B. Gregirio Papa editum si fieri potest ignorare in quibus se debet unusquisque quasi in quodam speculo assidue considerare The Council of Chalons the second held under the same Emperor ordains Episcopi Canones intelligant librum B. Gregorii De Cura Pastorali secundum formam ihidem constitutam doceant praedicent Council the second of Aix la Chapelle under Lewis the Debonaire held in the Year 836 Counc 4. Convenit Sacerdotali Ministerio scire formam Evangelicam Monumenta Apostolica Canonum Instituta Norma◠Regulae Pastoralis à sanctissime Pontifice Gregorio editam ne juxta eundem sanctissimum virum ab imperitis quod absit Pastorale Magisterium aliqua temeritate usurpetur aut vilescat They us'd it for Reforming Discipline at the Council of Mayence in the Year 813 and in the second Council of Rhemes Can. 10. In the sixth Council of Paris held in 829 't is ordain'd that the Advices which St. Gregory has given in this Pastoral should be exactly follow'd 'T is not without reason that this Book is so highly valued in France for indeed it contains Instructions of great Importance and very good Rules about the Pastoral Office 'T is divided into four Parts After a Letter to John Bishop of Ravenna to whom St. Gregory address'd this Book because he had reprov'd him for refusing the Priesthood so obstinately He begins with showing what rashness it was for any one to undertake the Conduct of Souls who had neither the Capacity nor Knowledge necessary for discharging it well which he calls the Art of Arts and Science of Sciences He deplores the blindness of those who are so unhappy as to seek after Ecclesiastical Offices under pretence of promoting the Salvation of Souls by their Direction when indeed they have no other design but to satisfie their own ambitious desire of Honour of appearing learned and able men and of being exalted above others He bemoans the People who are under the Conduct of such ambitious and ignorant men who can neither instruct them by their Example nor by word of mouth He adds That this Ignorance of Pastors is often a Punishment of their disorderly Life and that God by a just Judgment suffers their Ignorance to be an occasion of Falling to those who follow them From those that are Ignorant he passes to those who have acquir'd Knowledge by their Industry but never reduc'd it into Practice and on the contrary have defil'd their feet by walking in a way unbecoming the Truths which they have learned He cannot endure those Men who are very forward to teach others that which they never practise and who are a Scandal to the Church by a Life perfectly contrary to the Truths which they teach He would have Pastors to be of such a Disposition as to despise the Glory the Dignities and the Prosperity of this World to fear neither the Terrors nor Threatnings of it to beready to suffer for the Defence of the Truth and to shun the Pleasures of this Life Altho he was perswaded that the Duties of the Pastoral Office wearied the Mind yet he would not have those Perlons who are fit to conduct Souls and may be useful to others by their Doctrine and Example to prefer their own Ease before the Care of Souls Upon this Principle he does equally reprove those whose Humility makes them shun Ecclesiastical Offices so as obstinately to oppose the Order of Providence and those who desire them passionately and importunately seek after them He would have him who has the Qualifications necessary for being a Guide of Souls to yield when he is urg'd to accept that Office and on the contrary he advises him who is not qualified never to engage himself tho he were never so much urg'd to accept the Office After he has laid down this Maxim he enlarges upon the particular Qualifications which belong to those who should accept of a Bishoprick and the Defects which should make others decline it In the second Part St. Gregory treats of the Duties of the Pastoral Office when one is promoted to this Dignity by lawful and canonical ways He shows that there ought to be a great difference between the Vertue of a
suddenly expire and that the Law of the Spirit a great deal more perfect would succeed it This Doctrine spread among a great many Spiritual Men and one of â—hem made a Book to establish it to which he gave the Title of The Eternal Gospel This Piece The Book call'd the Eternal Gospel appear'd about the beginning of this Century but what is the Author's Name is not known Matthew Paris ascribes it to the Order of the Jacobines Aimeric to John the Seventh General of the Franciscans Let the Case be how it will 't is certain that a great many Monks approv'd of this Work and that some of them would have Taught this Doctrine Publickly in the University of Paris in the Year 1254 but the Bishops oppos'd it And the Book of the Eternal Gospel was Condemn'd to be The Condemnation of that Book Burnt in the Year 1256 by Pope Alexander IV. who at the same time Proscrib'd those who maintain'd the Doctrine of that Book as William of Saint Amour and Ptolemey of Lucca assure us All the Errors of this Book turn upon this Principle That the Law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was The Errors of that Book imperfect in comparison of the law of the Spirit which was to succeed it For according to this Book the Law of the Gospel was to last no longer than Twelve hundred and sixty Years and consequently was upon expiring The Author of that Book advanc'd besides this several particular Errors viz. That none but Spiritual Men had the true Knowledge of the Scriptures That only those who went Bare-foot were capable of Preaching the Spiritual Doctrine That the Jews tho' adhering to their Religion shall be loaded with good things and deliver'd from their Enemies That the Greeks were more Spiritual than the Latines and that God the Father should Save them That the Monks were not oblig'd to suffer Martyrdom in Defence of the Worship of Jesus Christ That the Holy Ghost receiv'd something of the Church as Jesus Christ as Man had receiv'd of the Holy Ghost That the Active Life had lasted till Abbot Joachim but that since his time it was become useless That the Contemplative Life had begun from his time and that it should be more perfect in his Successors That there should be an Order of Monks by far more perfect which should flourish when the Order of the Clergy was perished That in this Third State of the World the Government of the Church would be wholly Committed to those Monks who should have more Authority than the Apostles ever had That those Preachers persecuted by the Clergy should go over to the Infidels and might excite them against the Church of Rome These are some of the Extravagancies which the Authors relate as extracted out of the Book of the Eternal Gospel The Maintainers of this Work are call'd Joachites or rather Joachimites in the Council of Arles 1260 The Condemnation of the Joachimites in the Council of Arles 1260. wherein their Doctrine was Examin'd and Condemn'd in these Terms Among the False Prophets who appear at this time none are more Dangerous than those who taking for the Foundation of their Folly several Ternaries in part true and making false Applications of them establish'd a very pernicious Doctrine and wickedly affecting to do Honour to the Holy Ghost do impudently derogate from the Redemption of Jesus Christ by aiming to include the Time of the Reign of the Son and his Works within a certain Number of Years after which the Holy Ghost shall Act As if the Holy Ghost were to Act with more Power and Majesty for the future than he has done yet since the beginning of the Church These Joachites by a Chimerical Concatenation of certain Ternaries maintain That the time of the Holy Ghost shall for the future be inlighten'd with a more perfect Law laying down for the Foundation of their Error this Holy and Coelestial Ternary of the Ineffable Persons of the Ever-blessed Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost and are for establishing their Error on the Basis of all these Truths They add to this Sovereign Truth other Ternaries by asserting That there shall be Three States or Orders of Men who have had or shall have each their proper Season The First is that of Marry'd Persons which was in Repute in the time of the Father that is under the Old Testament The Second is that of Clerks which has been in esteem in the time of Grace by the Son in this Age of the World The Third is the Order of the Monks which shall be glorify'd in time with a larger measure of Grace which shall be given by the Holy Ghost Three sorts of Doctrines answer to these Three States the Old Testament the New and the Eternal Gospel or the Gospel of the Holy Ghost Lastly They distinguish the whole Duration of the World into Three Ages The time of the Spirit of the Law of Moses which they attribute to the Father the time of the Spirit of Grace which they attribute to the Son and which has lasted 1260. Years and the time of a more Ample Grace and of unveil'd Truth which belongs to the Holy Ghost and of which Jesus Christ speaks in the Gospel when he saies When that Spirit of Truth shall come he will teach you all Truth In the First State Men liv'd according to the Flesh in the Second between Flesh and Spirit and in the Last which shall endure to the end of the World they shall live according to the Spirit The Consequence which they draw from this Fiction of Ternaries is That the Redemption of Jesus Christ has no more place and that the Sacraments are Abolish'd which the Joachites have almost the Impudence to Advance by asserting That all Types and Figures shall be Abolish'd at this time and that the Truth shall appear all naked without the Veil of Sacraments Maxims these are which ought to be Abominated by all Christians who have Read the Holy Fathers and who firmly believe that the Sacraments of the Church are visible Signs and Images of Invisible Grace under the Elements of one of which the Son of God abides as he has promised in his Church to the End of the World This Council adds That tho' this Doctrine had been Condemn'd a while ago by the Holy See in its Censure of the Book of The Eternal Gospel yet because several Persons maintain'd it under a pretence That the Books which serv'd as a Foundation to that Error had not been Examin'd nor Condemn'd viz. the Book of Concordances and the other Books of the Joachites which till then remain'd undiscuss'd because they lay conceal'd in the Hands of some Monks and began then to appear in the World and to Infatuate the Minds of many it Condemns and Disapproves of those Works and prohibits the making use of them under pain of Excommunication In the Year 1240 William Bishop of Paris having Conven'd all the Regent Doctors of the University
Christ. Which he evidently makes out from the Prophets who foretold the time of his Coming and the circumstances of his Life and Death He observes that the Original of the Jews mistake arose from their confounding his last Coming wherein he will appear in great Power and Glory with his first Coming wherein he was seen in great Humility and took upon him the mean Condition of other Men. Although the Book of Praescriptions against the Hereticks is not in the order of Time the first that Tertullian has written against them yet it is so as to the Order of the Matters which it contains because it is designed against all Heresies in general whereas the others are only against some particular Heresie This Book is entituled Of Praescriptions or rather Of Praescription against the Hereticks because herein he shews that their Doctrine is not to be admitted by reason of its Novelty Before he enters upon the Matter he endeavours to obviate the Scandal of those who admire how there could be any Heresies in the World how they could have been so great and so powerful and how it comes to pass that so many considerable Persons in the Church have been seduced to embrace them by shewing that Heresies have been foretold that they are necessary Evils for the Tryal of our Faith and that we must not judge of Faith by Persons but of Persons by their Faith Ex personis probamus fidem an ex fide personas After having given this necessary Caution he lays down the first Principle of Prescription We are not allowed says he to introduce any thing that is new in Religion nor to chuse by our selves what another has invented We have the Apostles of our Lord for Founders who were not themselves the Inventors and Authors of what they have left us but they have faithfully taught the World the Doctrine which they received from Jesus Christ. Heresies have risen from Philosophy and humane Wisdom which is quite different from the Spirit of Christianity We are not allowed to entertain our Curiosity nor to enquire after any thing that is beyond what we have been taught by Jesus Christ and his Gospel Nobis curiositate opus non est post Christum Jesum nec inquisitione post Evangelium And when we have once believed we are to give credit to nothing any farther than as we have already believed And here it is that he Answers the Objection of the Hereticks who urged this Passage of Scripture Seek and you shall find by telling us that it is not permitted to seek when we have once found that it would be a Labour to no purpose to seek for Truth among all the Heresies and lastly that if it be permitted to seek it is after having admitted the Rule that is to say the principal Articles of Faith which are contained in the Creed But as the Hereticks did often alledge the Holy Scripture in Defence of themselves he proves that the Church was not obliged to enter into a Discussion of those Passages which they quoted that this way of confuting them is very tedious and difficult because they do not acknowledge all the Books of the Scriptures or else they corrupt them or put a false Interpretation upon them which renders the Victory that is to be obtained over them uncertain and difficult He says then that it is to better purpose to understand perfectly who it is that is in Possession of the Faith of Jesus Christ who those Persons are to whom the Scriptures were committed in Trust and who are the first Authors who have given an Account of our Religion He goes back even to Jesus Christ who is the Source and Original of this Religion and to the Apostles who received it from him He shews that it is impossible that the Apostles should preach any other Doctrine than that of Jesus Christ and that all the Apostolical Churches should embrace any other Faith than that which the Apostles had delivered to them from whence he concludes that it must of necessity follow that that Doctrine which is Conformable to that which is found to be the Faith of all the Churches must be that which was taught by Jesus Christ and that on the contrary that that which is opposite thereto must be a Novel Doctrine He farther confounds the Hereticks by the Novelty of their Opinions It is evident says he that the most ancient Doctrine is that of Jesus Christ and by consequence that alone is true and that that on the contrary which had not any Date till after his Ascension must be false and supposititious Having laid down this infallible Rule he proves the Doctrine of the Hereticks to be of a later Date than that of the Church because the Authors of the Heresies were after the Establishment of the Church from which they have separated themselves That the several Sects of the Hereticks cannot reckon their Original from the time of the Apostles nor shew a Succession of Bishops from their Times as the Apostolical Churches can with whom they do not communicate That though they could pretend to such a Succession yet the Novelty of their Doctrine condemned by the Apostles and the Apostolical Churches would convince them of being Cheats and Impostors and that what they have added taken away or changed in the Books of the Holy Scripture does farther discover that they invented their Doctrine after these Books were composed That lastly their Discipline and Conduct which is absolutely Humane and Earthly without Order and without Rule renders them every way contemptible I have exactly set down the Reasonings of Tertullian in this Work because as he himself observes they are not â—nly proper to confute the Heresies that were in his Time but also to disprove all those that sprang â—p afterwards or that should arise hereafter even to the end of the Church I shall not enlarge so much upon the Works which were written against those Heresies which â—re now extinct The most considerable is that which he composed against Marcion which is disided into Five Books This Heretick maintained that there were two Principles or two Gods the â—e Good and the other Evil The one Perfect and the other Imperfect that this last is the God whom the Jews worship who created the World and delivered the Law to Moses whereas the first 〈◊〉 the Father of Jesus Christ whom he sent to destroy the Works of the Evil One that is to say â—e Law and the Prophets which Marcion rejected He affirmed likewise that Jesus Christ was not â—loathed with true Flesh. And by consequence that he did not suffer really but only in appearance â—hese are the Errors which Tertullian confutes in this Work In the First Book he shews that the unâ—nown God of Marcion is only a Fantastical and Imaginary Being In the Second he proves that â—…at God the Creator of the World whom the Jews worshipped is the Only true God and the Auâ—â—or of all Good After having demonstrated this
Truth by invincible Arguments he resolves those â—ifficulties which are raised by the Marcionites against God's Conduct in the Old Testament He exâ—…ains for Example Why he has permitted Sin Why he suffers Sinners Why he punishes Men so â—…erely Why he seems sometimes to alter his Conduct and Design c. In the Third Book he â—ews that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who is the Creator of the World and the Author of the â—…w that he has been foretold by the Prophets and that he took upon him true Flesh by taking â—…on him our Nature In the Fourth Book he shews that it is the same God both in the Old and the New Testament He reconciles the pretended Contradictions alledged by Marcion and shews that the whole Life of Jesus Christ was foretold and figured in the Old Testament That Jesus Christ has explained the Prophets and perfected the Precepts of the Law In a word he proves at the end of this Book that Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Creator of the World by the Doctrine of the Prophets by his own Doctrine by his Inclinations by his Virtues by his Opinions and lastly by his Resurrection In the Last Book he shews from the Epistles of St. Paul that it is the same God that is preached both in the Old and in the New Testament and that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Creator of the World There are in this Book two difficult Passages concerning the Eucharist which have given Subject to very great Disputes of which I shall not speak in this Place contenting my self to refer the Reader to those who have discoursed of them at large that so I may pass on to the other Works of Tertullian After having maintained the Unity of God against Marcion he defends the Trinity of Persons against Praxeas This Heretick came from Asia to diffuse the Poison of his Errror in Rome he was namrally of a very unquiet and uneasie Temper and besides was vainly puft up with the false Opinion of being a Martyr which Quality he took upon him because he was for a short time imprisoned for the Faith Being come to Rome under the Pontificate of Victor he prevented this Pope from acknowledging the New Prophecies of Montanus besides he made him if we believe Tertullian revoke the Communicatory Letters which he had granted to the Montanists He begun to divulge his Heresie in the City of Rome and afterwards went into Africa where he made some Proselytes but he was convinced by a Catholick which without doubt must be Tertullian and obliged to put down in Writing a Recantation of his Error So after he had concealed his Doctrine for some time he published it anew and Tertullian who had confuted him before whilst he was yet a Catholick wrote against him after he fell into the Error of the Montanists He establishes in this Book the Distinction of the WORD and the Trinity of Persons against the Heresie of Praxeas who acknowledged but one Person in God making no Distinction between the Father and the Son and by consequence maintained that the Father made himself Man and suffered for Us. Tertullian opposes to him the Rule of Faith which obliges us to acknowledge only one God in Three Persons which are all Three of the same Substance and have all one and the same Power and that it was the Person of the Son who was incarnate and dyed for Us. He shews that this Trinity of Persons does no ways prejudice the Unity of the Godhead as the Unity of the Godhead does no ways hinder the Trinity of Persons That the Son is of the Substance of the Father and that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father by the Son That the WORD which was from all Eternity in God and who did as it were come out of him to create and govern the World as a Person subsisting who nevertheless has not a different Substance from that of the Father so that it does not follow from hence that we believe two Gods and two Lords that it is the Son and not the Father who made himself Man without ceasing to be God and that the Properties of humane Nature are only to be found in Jesus Christ. In a Word he explains very handsomely in this Treatise the Faith of the Church concerning the Mysteries of the Trinity and the Incarnation It must be owned that in some Places he expresses himself after a manner not very agreeable to that which has been used in the following Ages ii He expresses himself after such a manner as is not very agreeable to that which has been made use of in the following Ages He says first that the WORD was begotten of the Father when God created the World but he acknowledges at the same time that he was in God and a Person distinct from the Father from all Eternity And so the whole Ambiguity lies in the Term Generation which he does not understand of the Eternal Procession of the Son but of a certain Prolation or Emission without which he supposes was done at the Instant of the Creation of the World because it is by the WORD that God Created it and doth still govern it And this appears evidently in Tertullian's Book and we ought not to wonder if in his Book against Hermogenes he says that there was a certain time when the Father was not the Father and when he began to be the Son because he believed that he had not the Quality and Name of Son 'till this World was Created though he was in God before and distinguished from the Father from all Eternity Secondly he says that the Father is invisible and the Son visible but in that Sense which we have explained that is to say that the Son who has always rendred himself visible to Men by taking several Forms under which he has appeared to them and lastly by making himself Man Thirdly He seems in some Places to â—â—sinuate that even the WORD as it is the WORD is inferior to the Father but this must be understood of an Inferiority which the Divines call of Original that is to say as he explains it himself because he has received all from the Father for he 〈◊〉 expresly in several places that the Father and 〈◊〉 Son are of one and the same Substance Fourthly 〈◊〉 sometimes makes use of the Word Substance to 〈◊〉 the Person Subsisting which is an usual thing amoâ—… the Ancients before the Council of Nice and 〈◊〉 amongst some of them after it But we must pardon these kind of Expressions in the Ancients who wrote before those Terms which they made use of were fixt and limited to a certain Sense But it is a difficult Matter to excuse him where he seems to assert as well in this Book as in other Places of his Works that God had a Body or rather that he was Corporeal Yet there are some Authors that vindicate him from this Error and this has occasioned a Question which