The Waters of Shiloh to Quench the Fire of Purgatory, Chapter 7

The Waters of Shiloh to Quench the Fire of Purgatory · Chapter 7

p. 320CAP. 7. That the Doctours of the foure firſt ages knew not Purgatory, with the refutation of the paſſages alleadged by our adverſaries. Alſo the beginning and progreſse of Purgatory, of prayer for the dead, of Indulgences and ſatisfactions, &c.

OVR controverſies do not cōſiſt only in cōtrariety of opinions but alſo in diverſity of means to ſearch out the truth. Our adverſaries wil hauehave the truth to be iudged by antiquity: we wil hauehave antiquity iudged by truth. They ſeeke to prooue the antiquity of their doctrine by the teſtimonies of men: we proue the truth of ours by divine teſtimonies taken out of the holy Scriptures. The Antiquity that they pretend requireth infinit paſſages out of divers p. 321auctors:Tertul. in Marcionem lib. 1. Viva & Germana divinitas nec de novitate, nec de Vetuſtate ſed de ſua veritate cenſetur. the truth that we mainetaine may bee defended by one only paſſage of the holy Scripture. The way that we take is ſo much the ſhorter and better aſſured, becauſe reaſons in diſputations are better then yeares: and the auctority of God then the teſtimony of men. And which is more No man can denie but the truth is more ancient then the lie: for the lie is but a corruption of the truth: whereof it doth enſue that when a man hath proved the trueth of a doctrine, he hath alſo proved the antiquitie thereof. But contrarywiſe antiquity proved a man may nevertheleſſe doubt of the truth. For lying hath beene even from the beginning and is in a manner as ancient as the truth: which evē ſince the fall of Adam hath borne the divels contradictions who ſaid, No, you ſhall not die. And that we may ſpeake but of Chriſtianitie, S. Paule, 2. Theſſ. 2.7. telleth vsus that in his time the entrie of the ſon of perdition was prepared and the miſterie of iniquitie was in working. But p. 322if we guide our ſelues only by the time, what is there in the Church of Rome whereby ſhee may oppoſe againſt Iudaiſme or Paganiſme? Againe, if preſcription may hauehave place in Religion, let them tell vsus how manie yeares maie ſuffice to auctoriſe a doctrine? Or how many teſtimonies of men ſhal we need to inſtitute an article of faith? But wee ſay that lapſe of time giveth no autoritie to the goſpell: alſo that the truth is of as great force alone as in companie: That for the deciſion of doubts we are to bring the ballance of reaſon, rather then the calculation of yeares. Yea I ſay that he that teacheth the truth but vnderproppeth it with the teſtimonies of men, in weening to eſtabliſh it doth overthrowe it:Theod hom. Eccl. l. 1. c 7Sir 50:1 a lie beeing no greater fault then ſuch a defence of the truth. For it is as much as if a man ſhoulde arme himſelfe with paper & taking vp ſtrawes inſteed of weapons, ſhoulde in this furniture expoſe himſelfe to the power and mallice of the Divell. The p. 323worde of God naked is of more force then ſo armed.Synod. Conſtantinop. 6 Act. 1. Propoſitis in medio ſacroſanctis Evangeliis.Acts 1 In that regard did the auncient Church in the beginning of their Synodes lay nothing vponupon the table but the books of holie ſcripture: but our adverſaries hauehave great intereſt not to be content with this ſimplicity: for even in the beginning a number of queſtions ſhould be decided, conſidering that in the Romiſh Church they confeſſe that they teach many things wherof they hauehave neither commaundement nor example in the holy ſcripture: As Invocation of Saints: worſhipping of Images: praying in a lāguage vnknown to him that praieth: Prieſtes vowes and ſingle life: Elevation and adoration of the Sacrament, &c. Therefore do they ſeeke a farther way about, and having wreſted the holie ſcripture out of Lay mens hands, they crie out the fathers, nothing but the fathers: in liew of the ſoveraigne father, which is God: whō nevertheleſſe they do at euerie opportunitie hit handſomelie over the thōbs: p. 324and when theſe ancient doctors do cō tradict each other in the explication of the ſcriptures [as manie times they do] theſe our Maſters take vponupon them to be the moderatours and iudges in their contrary opinions: allowing ſometime one and reproving ſomtimes an other, and ſometimes reiecting all and bringing in ſome explication more to the Popes availe. They will graunt the fathers to be our iudges, but with proviſo that the Church of Rome ſhal iudge of the Fathers. Let anie man reade the writings of the Ieſuits, Maldonat, Gregorie of Valentia, or Bellarmine, and he ſhall ſee that I ſay the truth.

This māner of diſputation is to thē more cōmodious, as giving thē meanes in their need to find a ſtarting hole: for it is an infinite field, a bottomleſſe ſea, a thicke darckneſſe wherein to ſhrowde themſelues; as ſeeking only how to cavill and delay their plea. For among ſo manie auctors as might fill a houſe it is an eaſie matter to finde ſomewhat to p. 325wreſt to a mans owne advantage, and never to be perceived, becauſe few mē hauehave theſe books, & of them that hauehave them few do read them, and of thoſe that read them feweſt of all doe vnderſtand them: for the fathers ordinarilie are repugnant among themſelues, and not only among themſelues, but everie man in himſelfe, and do retract & confeſſe his ignorance. Yea I dare ſay there is never an hereſie, howſoeuer extravagant, for the which wee cannot finde ſome eſpeciall paſſages in ſome of the doctors: beſides theſe divers ages hauehave retained the ancient words, but altered the doctrine: as alſo the phraſe of many of them is obſcure & ſubiect to ſundrie interpretations: beſides that many vſuall words hauehave altered their ſignifications. As theſe, Indulgences, ſatisfaction, Pope, Biſhopricke, aulter, oblation, ſacrifice, merit, ſtation, ſacrament, excommunication, pennance: words extant in many auctors, but in an other ſenſe then in theſe daies: and yet it is an p. 326eaſie matter to make thē paſſe for ſuch, as at this day wee take them, and in regarde of the reſemblance of the marke, to perſwade men that they are of the ſame ſubſtance. Moreover if any Doctor hath forgotten him ſelfe or hath vſed any difficult tearmes, theſe wil our adverſaries ſtand vponupon, and vſe them to their moſt advātage: therin reſembling ſuch beaſts as can liue vponupon ſerpents,At Paris by Nivel. in S. Iames Street at the ſtorcks 1571. Ex ſanctiſſ. concilii Trid. Decreto veterum patrū Codices ſunt expurgendi Cum in Catholicis veteribus plurimos feramus erreres, & extenu…mus, excuſemas excogitato per ſaepe negem…. or beetles: or Cham who diſcovered his fathers ſhame. But the greateſt inconvenience is that the copies are divers & diſcordant, mangled and falſified, yea & ſo farre as to hauehave ſome tracts of other men ſuggeſted and inſerted into them: wherevpon I remember that I propoū ded to the frier the preface to the laſt edition of S. Auguſtine, wherin our maſters the correctors doe confeſſe that they hauehave changed ſome things and taken forth the errours intruded by the malice of hereticks: that is to ſay, al that miſlike them: and in plaine tearms they ſay that The bookes of the ancient fathers p. 327muſt bee purged according to the decree of the tridentine Councell, and to the ſame purpoſe I alleadged the Confeſſion of the doctors of Doway in their Expurgatory Index in the letter.The Index is printed at Antw. by Plantin 1571. by autority of K. Phil. & the D Alua. B. where ſpeaking of the purging of the book of Bertram, they ſay thus. Conſidering that in all other Catholick autors we beare with many errors, which we do extenuat, ſhake of, and often times, excogitato commento, deny by ſome faigned Invention, and do inſert into them ſome commodious ſenſe, wee ſee no reaſon wherefore Bertram deſerveth not the like equity, and the ſame diligent review. And this was the place where the Monke ſaid that Excogitatum Commentum ſignified a Commentary. But in this booke page 1. Hee ſaith that it is an explication deviſed contrary to the text. Thus doth he confeſſe that it is his occupation to bring in ſuch explications, vnleſſe hee ſhould ſhrinke from the vnion of thoſe purgers auctoriſed by his holineſſe.

Here might I alleadge a great heape p. 328of falſifications brought in by theſe correctors, albeit we know not the hū dred part. Yet are we greatly to praiſe God, who hath not ſuffered them to compaſſe their intents: but among the fathers hath yet left vsus ſufficient weapōs to fight with the Church of Rome: And that is it that in this chapter wee are to produce: yet with this proteſtation, that I alleadge not the doctors & fathers, as meaning vponupon their auctorities to hang the truth of my cauſe: but to ſhew how our adverſaries doe abuſe them and make them to ſpeake manie things contrary to their owne opiniōs. I take them not to bee advocates in my cauſe: but am my ſelfe their advocate: For Ieſus Chriſt Iohn. 5.14. telleth vsus that he craveth not the teſtimonies of men, neither doth his word neede their witneſſe. The truth that thoſe good men hauehave ſpoken we do beleeue, not becauſe they ſpake it, but becauſe wee finde it in the word of God. And this is the reaſon that I reſerved this tract to p. 329the end, leaſt I ſhoulde mixe divine auctority with humane. This is a chapter rather not ſuperfluous then neceſſarie: which we giuegive not to the neceſſity of the matter, but to the ſtiffneckedneſſe of the age, wherein the holy ſcripture is growne into ſuſpition: and men opē their cares when wee ſpeake of Origen, Ambroſe, Tertullian, &c. But ſtop them when we ſpeake of the Prophets or Apoſtles.Bellarm. de verbo Dei. lib. 4. cap. 12 The holy Bible [ſay they] is a booke for hereticks: a ſword for all hands: a pecce of a rule: a forreſt of forraging: yea, ſaith the autor of the three truths It will make a man become an Atheiſt.

Paſſages of the ancient Doctors againſt Purgatory.

Iuſtin Martyr in his 75 queſtion. After the departure of the ſoule out of the body there is immediatly made a diſtinction betweene the good and the bad: for by the Angels they are brought into the places worthy for them: the ſoules of the good into Paradice, where is the haunt and viewe of p. 330the Angels: the ſoules of the bad into hell Himſelfe in his 60. queſtion ſaith, that men cannot after the ſoule is departed from the body by any proviſion care, or ſtudy, get help and ſuccour. Cum anima à corpore evellitur, ſtatim aut in Paradiſo promeritis bonis collocatur, aut certè pro peccatis in in ferni tartara praecipitatur.S. Auguſtine in his book of the vanitie of the world. tom. 9. c. 1. Knowe yee that when the ſoule parteth from the body, ſhee is for her good workes inſtantly placed in Paradice, or for her ſinnes caſt headlong into the pit of hell. And our maſters the Expurgators in their laſt edition at Paris found themſelues ſo puzled with this ſaying that they ſet down in the margent. Vbi nunc Purgatorium. Where now Purgatory is. Himſelfe in his firſt Chapter of his ſecond ſermon of Conſolation over the dead ſaith.Recedens anima ab Angelis ſuſcipitur & collocatur aut in ſinu Abrahae &c. Tertium penitus ignoramus immo nec neceſſe eſſe in Scripturis ſanctis venimus. The ſoule at her departure, if ſhee bee faithfull, is by the Angels taken and carried into Abrahams boſome: if a ſinner, into the charter of the infernall priſon. Himſelfe in the fifth book of his Hypognoſtique ſaith The Catholick faith grounded vponupon diuine autority beleeueth the firſt place which is the kingdome of heaven, from whence all p. 331that are baptiſed are excluded: alſo the ſecond, which is hell, where every Apoſtata & ſuch as are eſtranged from the faith of Chriſt ſhall endure eternall puniſhments. For any third place we knowe none, neither doe we finde any ſuch place throughout the holy Scriptures. Yea and which is more: In this place S. Auguſtine maintaineth that Children not baptiſed are excluded out of the kingdome of heaven, & therevpon gathereth this conſequence S…th they are not in Paradice they muſt of neceſsitie be in hell and in eternal torment, becauſe there is no third place. Surely hee would never hauehave beene ſo rigorous towards theſe children, had he knowne of any place of puniſhment more gentle and eaſie, as Limbo or Purgatory. The fire of Helie pag. 37. ſaith that S. Auguſtine denieth any ſuch place as Pelagius doth paint forth. A matter that this Doctor very preſumptuouſly hath invented: for hee there doth ſimply deny and ſaith that there is no third place at all neither doth hee there ſpeake of p. 332any delights, as hee would make vsus beleeue. In his 14. ſermon vponupon the words of the Apoſtle hee tearmeth the right hand the kingdome of heaven and the left damnation with the Divell: and then addeth There is no middle place where thou maiſt put the children. And ſoone after, Nullum medium locum in Evangelio novimus. We find not any middle place in the Goſpell. In his 18. Sermon he reproueth thoſe who taking liberty to doe evill, hauehave nevertheles ſome hope.Duo enim ſunt loci nec tertius eſt vllus. He [ſaith he] that is ſuch a man let him chuſe where hee will dwell whiles yet bee hath time to change, for there are but two habitations, the one in the eternall kingdome, the other in everlaſting fire. In his 232. ſermon, which is againſt drunkenneſſe, Deere brethren, let no man deceaue himſelfe for there are but two places and no third. He that hath not deſerued to raign with Chriſt ſhall no doubt periſh with the divell. In his booke of the deſerts of ſinne and of the forgiueneſſe of the ſame, cap. 28. There is no middle place, and therefore hee that p. 333dwelleth not with Ieſus Chriſt cannot abide any where but with the divell. Our adverſaries ſay that S. Auguſtine ſpeaketh of eternall places and acknowledgeth but two: wherin they doe diverſly deceaue vsus. 1. Read the paſſages and you ſhall ſee that hee ſpeaketh in generall of all the places whatſoever. 2. Had he known of any place of temporall puniſhment, when hee ſo often ſaid that there were but two, and no third at all; hee would ſurely hauehave added ſome reſtriction, as that he meant not to exclude Purgatory, and the places of temporall torment but ſpake this only of the eternall places. 3. Which is more, wee ſee by theſe paſſages that he excludeth the childrēs Limbo, which cannot bee eternall: for the Church of Rome placeth it vnderunder the earth, which alſo cannot be eternal, but according to the Scriptures, muſt periſh. 4. But what an abſurditie is it to ſay that he ſpeaketh but of the eternall places? For that is it that we maintaine: neither could he ſpeak but of theſe two p. 334eternall habitations Heaven and Hell, becauſe there is no other. 5. Finally wee hauehave alleaged ſuch paſſages as can in no ſort admit this diſtinction: as where he ſaith that inſtantly after death they are carried either into Paradice or into Hell. But let vsus againe heare the ſame Father.In quo quecun que inuenerit ſuus noviſſimus dies in hoc cum comprehendet mundi noviſſimus dies, quia qualis in die iſto quiſque moritur, talis iudicatur In his 80. Epiſtle which is to Heſichius. In like eſtate as the laſt day of mans life ſhall find him, in like eſtate alſo ſhall the laſt day of the world take hold of him: for ſuch as a man ſhall die in that day, ſuch ſhall he bee iudged in the laſt day. Cōferre this with that which our adverſaries doe ſay: and repreſent to your ſelues a man that dieth loaden with many ſins, for the which hee muſt be a long time tormented and purged in Purgatory: at the end of which Purgation he ſhall come forth purged and cleanſed: Surely I ſay that the ſoule of ſuch a one cannot in the day of iudgement appeare ſuch as ſhee came forth of his body for [ſay our men] ſhe came forth vncleane and in need of purging, p. 335but now ſhe is repreſented cleane and purged in the day of iudgement, & ſo this ſaying muſt be falſe, Qualis moritur talis in die illo iudicatur. Such as hee dieth ſuch ſhall he be iudged in the day of iudgement. Himſelfe in the 9. booke of his confeſſions cap. 3. ſaith that his friend Nebrides deceaſed liveth in Abrahams boſome, ſine fine foelix, for ever happy. Againe in the fifth of his 50. homilies Let vsus be at one with the word of God while we are in this life: Poſteaquam de hoc ſaeculo tranſierimus nulla cō punctio vel ſatisfactio remanebit. Index reſtat & miniſter & carcer.for when wee are gon out of this world there ſhall bee no more compunction or ſatisfaction: there remaineth no more but the Iudge, the ſerieant and the priſon. But Purgatory is the principall and grievous ſatisfaction of the church of Rome. After this life there is no ſatisfaction ſaith S. Auguſtine, then no Purgatory. This is alſo to be noted that this good Doctor ſaith this in his expoſition vponupon that paſſage of Matthewe which our adverſaries doe make moſt vſe of for their Purgatory. Agree with thy adverſary quickly whiles thou art in p. 336the way with him, leaſt thy adverſary deliver thee to the Iudge, &c. It is much to be marvailed that throughout all this homely he ſpeaketh not of Purgatory: but how much more is it that evē there he overthroweth it? Himſelfe in his 37. ſermon vponupon the wordes of the Lord, wreſteth frō our adverſaries their chiefeſt principle, which is the ſole foundation of Purgatory. That Ieſus Chriſt hath indeed diſcharged & acquitted vsus frō the fault, but not from the puniſhment. But he ſaith.Suſcipiendo paenam & nō ſuſcipiendo culpam & culpam delevit & poenā. Ieſus Chriſt taking vpō him the puniſhmēt, but not the fault hath there by blotted out both the faulte and the puniſhment. And this after Tertullian in the fourth Chapter of his book of baptiſme. Exempto reatu, eximitur & poena. Now all theſe ſentences of the doctor ſhould be taken for ſo many reſolutiōs vponupon a doubt that ſomtimes had troubled him: Whether after this life there were any temporall torment and a purging fire. In his manual to Laurentius cap. 68. he ſaith that this fire which tryeth everie p. 337mans worke, and is ſpoken of by S. Paule. 1. Cor. 3. is the triall of affliction & he ſaith it is in this life. In the next chapter following,Tale aliquid poſt hanc vitā fieri incredibile non eſt, & vtrum ſit queri poteſt. &c. continuing the ſame argument, he ſaith, It is not altogither incredible but that ſome ſuch matter may happē after this life: and a man may doubt or enquire whether it be ſo: whether it may be found, or whether it bee a matter hidden, that ſome faithfull hauehave beene ſaved by ſome purging fire either ſooner or later according as they hauehave more or leſſe loved the tranſitorie goods. Againe in his firſt queſtion of his booke of Dulitius 8. queſtions. Be it that men do ſuffer ſuch afflictiōs only in this life, Sive etiam poſt hanc vitā talia quaedam iudicia ſubſequūtur non abborret quantum arbitror à ratione veritatis.or that ſome ſuch puniſhments may follow after this life, it is not a matter as I thinke altogither eſtranged frō apparance of truth, thus to vnderſtand this ſentence.

In this 26. Chapt. of his 21. book of the citty of God hee is yet in greater doubt: & having doubted whether mē are to ſuffer a fire of tranſitory tribulations, whether there only, that is, to ſay after p. 338this life, or both here and there: or here to the end not there, he laſtly concludeth without concluſion, I do not reproue it, for peradventure it may be true. As for ſome other paſſages wherein hee ſeemeth to ſpeake for Purgatory, wee will come to them hereafter.

Tertullian is ſo farre from beleeving that the ſouls after their departure out of their bodies are ſent into any temporall fire, that hee doth even thinke that the ſoule cannot ſuffer any torment ſo long as it is ſeparate frō the body.Ne que pati quicquam poteſt anima ſola ſine ſtabili materia, id eſt carne. Teſtes nobis ſunt Evangelii dives & pouper, quorum vnum angeli in ſedibus beatarum & in Abrahae ſinu locaverunt alium ſtatim poenae regio ſuſcepit. Theſe be his words in the 48. chapt. of his Apologeticall. The ſoule alone can ſuffer no thing, without ſome ſolide matter [that is] without fleſh. Hilary vponupon the ſeconde Pſalme toward the end ſaith. Hell receaveth vsus at the very inſtant: and if we hauehave lived ſo whē we depart out of this body we periſh from the right way. Hereof hauehave wee for witneſſe the rich man and the poore in the Goſpell of whom the one was by the Angels placed in the ſeat of the bleſsed, and in Abrahams boſome: the other was received p. 339into the Region of torments.

Theodoret in the fifth booke of his hiſtory, cap. 9.Dominus noſt… humano generi abſolutiſſimam contulit ſalutem, vt hominem totumà toto peccato occupatum à toto peccato liberaret. citeth an Epiſtle of Damaſus which ſaith, Chriſt the ſon of God, our Lord hath by his paſſion conferred to mankinde a moſt accompliſhed ſalvation, to the end to deliver from all ſinne man whollie poſſeſſed with all ſinne. But this muſt bee falſe, if the faithfull ſhal yet endure torments to ſatisfie to God for their ſins. We hauehave alſo S. Cyprian, a mighty enemie to Purgatory. In his works he hath an excellent tract of mortality, wherein we are to note that he therewith cō forteth his auditory in a time of Contagion, & ſpeaketh of the death, not of the Martyrs, but of ſuch as dyed by ſickneſſe. Lord novv leaueſt thou thy ſeruant in peace, proteſting and prouing that the ſeruants of God do thē enter into peace, Expuncta hac morte ad immortalitatem venimusyea into a free and quiet reſt, vvhen being takē out of the troubles of this vvorld, they arriue in the hauen of Eternal reſt, and vvhē from this mortality they enter into immortality. And againe, God doth promiſe thee p. 340immortality at thy departure out of this vvorld, and doſt thou doubt of it? Thē doſt thou not knovv God. Againe wiſhing the living not to weepe over their dead brethren, he ſaith, accerſione dominica de ſaeculo liberatos. Non exitus ſed tranſitus & temporali itinere & de curſu ad aeterna tranſgreſſus.That God having called them to him, they are deliuered from this vvorld. Non amitti, ſed praemitti. That they be not loſt but ſent before. That vve ſhould not put on blacke garments vvhen our friends put on vvhite: that death is the paſsage to eternity. How cold woulde theſe comfortes bee to ſuch as ſhoulde thinke their deceaſed friends to be tormented in a fire? Surely ſuch hauehave great cauſe to lament as thinke that their friends are in ſuch horrible flames and of ſo long continuance:Eius eſt mortem timere qui ad Chriſtum nolitire Eius eſt ad Chriſtum nolle ire quiſe non credit cum Chriſto incipere regnare. who cānot be ſaid to put on white but red robes whē they ſhall bee throwne into ſuch ſcortching flames and ſcalding heates. In the ſame ſermon. Hee may feare death that vvill not goe to Chriſt Ieſus. It is not for him to be vvilling to go to Ieſus Chriſt who beleeueth not that he doth begin to raigne p. 341with Ieſus Chriſt. Aevi temporalis fine cō pleto ad aeternae vel mortis vel immortalitatis hoſpitia dividimur. Amplectamur diē qui aſſignat ſingulos domicilio ſuo, qui nos laqueis ſecularibus exutos paradiſo reſtituit & regno celeſti. Quando iſtinc excelſū fuerit nullus iam locus poenitentiae eſt, nullus ſatisfactionis effectus. Tuſub ipſo licet exitu, & vitae temporalis occaſu pro delicto roges Deum, venia confitenti dabitur, & credenti Indulgentia ſalutaris de divina pietate conceditur, & ad immortalitatem ſub ipſa morte tranſitur.In the ſame place ſpeaking of death, Ad refrigerium iuſti vocantur ad ſupplicium rapiuntur iniuſti. Datur velocius tutela fidelibus, perfidis poena. That is, the righteous are called to a refreſhing: the wicked are haled to torments. Safety is ſoone granted to the faithfull: and to the tranſgreſsors puniſhmēt. The ſame in his tract againſt Demetria, This temporall life ended, we are ſeuered into the habitations either of death or of Eternall life: hee alſo ſpeaking of the day of death, ſaith. Let vsus embrace the day that bringeth every man into his houſe, which hauing dravvne vsus out of the ſnares of this world returneth vsus into Paradice and into the kingdome of heauen. Alſo toward the end of the ſame treatiſe. Being departed hence, there is no farther place for penance neither any fruit and effect of ſatiſfactiō. Then he addeth, If at Gods hand thou craveſt pardon for thy ſin, were it euen at thy end and departure out of this temporal life, p. 342yet vponupon thy confeſſion it ſhould be graunted thee, and through the Divine goodnes ſalutary forgiuenes is giuē to all beleeuers: and in death it ſelfe we paſſe to immortality, What could hee hauehave ſpoken more expreſly againſt Purgatory? Againe in his aforeſaid ſermon of mortality, Qualem te inuenerit Deus cum vocat, talem iudicabet, ſuch as God ſhall find then when he calleth ſuch will he iudge thee. He there ſpeaketh of the day of iudgement. One place of Cyprian doe our adverſaries alleadge, but they corrupt it, as wee will hereafter ſhew. Cyrill of Alexandria in his 12. booke vponupon Iohn cap. 36. ſaith, The ſouls of the Saints departed from their bodies remaine not vponupon earth [then not in a fire vnderunder the earth,Firmitur credentes in manibus Dei nos poſt mortem futuros vitam que multo meliorem ac perpetuo cum Chriſto victuros. not in bathes, not in rivers crept] but are in the handes of God the father. And then he addeth, For Ieſus Chriſt hath returned his ſoule in to the hands of his father, to the end that the beginning being made by her we may hauehave a ſtedfaſt hope hereof: ſtedfaſtly beleeving that after death we ſhall be in the p. 343hands of God and ſhall for ever liue with Chriſt in a far better life. S. Hierome in his Epiſtle to Marcella concerning the death of Lea, Scimus Nepotianum eſſe cū Chriſto.alſo in his Epitaph of Nepotian and Baſill, ſaith that their ſouls do already enioy the eternall beatitude, that they are already entred into the light, that they were receiued by a quier of Angels. Himſelfe vponupon the 9. of Amos. When the ſoule freed from the bonds of this body hath her liberty, Quando anima vinculis relaxata corporis, volandi quo velit ſeu quo ire compellitur propter tenuitatem ſubſtantiae habis erit libertatē aut ad inferna ducetur, aut certe ad ſublimia ſublevabitur.in regard of the thinneſſe or lightnes of her ſubſtance to fly where ſhee liſt, or at the leaſt where ſhe is enforced to go then ſhall ſhe be led into the hell whereof it is written: ſinners ſhall be reduced or caſt into hell: or els ſhe ſhall be exalted into the Coeleſtiall heavens. Bellarmin in his firſt booke of Purgatory cap. 9. alleadgeth this place and falſifieth it both in the words and in the ſenſe. He ſaith that S. Hierom ſpeaketh of the vnbinding of the ſoule that is made by ſpeculation: not of the tranſporting of the ſoule in her ſubſtance, but by imagination: and to ſet the greater ſhew vponupon this gloſſe p. 344and contemplation, hee omitteth theſe words propter tenuitatē ſubſtātiae, which do proue that S. Hierom ſpake of the trā ſport of the ſoule in her ſubſtance: with all that contemplation doeth not deliver the ſoule from the body, neither neceſſarily trāſporteth her into Paradice, or into hell: for Contemplation hath infinite other obiects.Can. in praeſenti. In the decrees of the Romiſh Church. Cauſſ. 13. Queſt. 2 there is a Canon taken out of S. Hierom and theſe be the words. In this preſent world we know that we may helpe one another, either by praier or by Councell: but when we ſhall come before the tribunall ſeat of Chriſt, neither Iob, nor Daniell, nor Noah can pray for any but every one ſhal bear his owne burden. But the decree hath clowted on a taile and ſaith that S. Hierom ſpake of the impenitent. But how can that be? For S. Hierom putteth himſelfe in the number ſaying, But when wee ſhall come. Gregory Nazianzen in the Epitaph of his brother Caeſarius ſaith. I beleeue the words of the wiſe, namely that p. 345every honeſt ſoule that loueth God, when it is delivered from this body that is tyed thereto, and is departed away IMMEDIATLY it is admitted to the fruition and contemplation of that good that attend it, and doth reioice in admirable pleaſure. VponUpon this principle doeth hee ground his ſtedfaſt perſwaſion that his brother is already bleſſed. Now was he neither Martyr nor Saint, nor otherwiſe qualified then the ordinary of the faithfull. The like he ſpeaketh in the Epitaph of his ſiſter Gorgonia.

S. Ambroſe hath written an excellent treatiſe of the benefite of death,De bono mortis. Vt corpus reſolvatur acquieſcat, anima autem cō vertatur in requiem ſuā. which is no other but a refutation of the Purgatory of the Romiſh Church. And it is to bee noted that he ſpeaketh of the death of all the faithfull: but omitteth the Saints and Martyres more priviledged by God. In this third Chapter he doth thus define death: Death is a ſeparation of the ſoule from the body. Then he addeth, Now what doth this ſeparation ſaving that the body diſſolveth and reſteth p. 346but the ſoule is ſet in quiet and free, who if ſhee be faithfull ſhall be with Chriſt. In the fourth Chapter he ſaith that Death is a haven after a ſtorme: and that ſhee reſerveth vsus to iudgement, ſuch as ſhee founde vsus: and addeth that by her Tranſitura corruptione ad incorruptionem: à mortalìtate ad immortalitatem: à perturbatione ad tranquillitatē. We paſſe from corruptiō to incorruption: from mortalitie to immortalitie: from trouble to reſt. Againe in the 7.Requies poſt labores, finis malorum. Mors ſtipendiorum plenitudo ſumma mercedis gratia miſſionis. Chapter. The foole doth feare death as the ſoveraigne evill: the wiſe man doth deſire it as a reſt after labour, and the ende of all calamities. In the ſame place. Death is the fulneſſe of wages: the ſum of rewards: the favour or grant of diſpenſation or licenſe. In the tenth Chapter he mocketh ſuch as thinke that the habitation of ſoules is vponupon earth and ſaith Animarū ſuperiora eſſe habitacula, ſcripturae teſtimonijs varijs probatur. It appeareth by many teſtimonies of the ſcriptures that the habitation of the ſoules is aboue. In the laſt Chapter ſpeaking of himſelfe and of al p. 347that beleeue in Ieſus Chriſt, hee ſaith,Intrepide ad Abrahamū patrem noſtrum cum Dies advenerit proficiſca mur, intrepide pergamus ad illum ſanctorum coetū &c. When that day ſhall come let vsus goe boldly to Abraham our father; to the aſſembly of Saints: and congregation of the righteous: for wee ſhall goe to our fathers; to the ſchoolemaſters of our faith, to the ende that albeit our workes faile vsus, yet faith may ſuccour vsus and the inheritance be kept for vsus. And to the ende no man ſhould thinke that he ſpeaketh only of the moſt holy and perfect, he ſaith Etiamſi opera deſint, albeit workes faile vsus: and ſoone after he ſaith that it doth appertaine to all the beleevers in God, and that When the day of death ſhall come: to the end the Popes factors ſhould not put of that day to the iſſue out of Purgatory. Alſo that our adverſaries may no longer ſhrowd themſelues vnderunder this paſſage in the 12. of Matthew, Blaſphemy againſt the holy Ghoſt ſhall not be forgiuen, neither in this world nor in the world to come: he ſaith in the ſecond Chapter of the ſame booke Qui hic non acceperit remiſsionem peccatorum, illic non erit. Hee that will not here p. 348receaue remiſsion of ſinnes ſhall not bee there.

S. Chryſoſtome hom. 75. in Matth. If we now doe not that we ſhould, when wee come there, we ſhall hauehave no meanes to ſatiſfie. Againe, hom. 22. ad populum Antiochenum. Read the Scriptures of our Saviour, and learne that none can helpe vsus when we depart hence. Alſo in his 2. hom. vponupon Lazarus. Pay all here, that without trouble thou maiſt come to that tribunall ſeat, while we are here we hauehave great hope: but ſo ſoone as wee are departed to goe thether it remaineth no longer in our power to doe pennance, or to blot out, or amend that we hauehave done amiſſe. Hereto Bellarmine anſwereth that Chryſoſtome ſpeaketh of the remiſſion of mortal ſinnes which no man ſaith are remitted in Purgatory. And all this is falſe: for Chryſoſtom ſpeaketh of all ſinnes: and in any of all theſe places: never maketh diſtinction betweene mortall and veniall ſinnes: & indeed hee ſpeaketh of the wicked rich man, who was not puniſhed for one p. 349ſinne only but for all his ſinnes: withall that our adverſaries do hold that in Purgatory they may beare the puniſhment for mortall ſinnes: but that by the mercy of God of eternall they be made tē porall. Yea they proceed ſo far as to limit the time of this puniſhment, namely ſeaven yeares for every ſinne, as wee ſhewed in the firſt Chapter.

Likewiſe vponupon the 23. of Matthew, hom. 25. hee ſaith that pennance after death is as vnprofitable as the Phiſitian, who after death can doe no good. The ſame he ſaith vponupon the firſt of Geneſ. hom. 5. Alſo vponupon the fourth to the Romans, hom. 8. Where there is grace, there is forgiueneſſe: where there is forgiueneſſe there is no puniſhment. Now puniſhment being taken away and righteouſneſſe through faith granted, nothing may hinder vsus but that we ſhall be made heires of this promiſe which is by faith. Himſelfe vponupon Matth. hom. 32. asketh of the parents of the deceaſed theſe queſtions: Wherefore after the death of thy friends, doſt thou call them p. 350poore? Why doſt thou deſire the Prieſt to pray for them? I knowe that thou wilt anſwer, it is to the ende the deceaſed may obtaine reſt, and find his iudge favourable? & thou weeneſt that thou muſt weepe for theſe matters: but ſeeſt thou not that even in the ſame thou doſt wrong him? For conſidering that thou thinkeſt he is gon into the flowred fields, why doſt thou yet ſtir vp great ſtormes againſt him? Againe in his 70. hom. ad populum Antiochenum: ſpeaking of the funerals and the duty that we performe to the dead with torches and hymnes, he ſaith. What is the meaning of theſe flaming lamps? No other but that we convey the Champions after the combat ended? and theſe hymnes, but that in them we glorifie God and giuegive him thankes that he hath crowned the dead, and freed him frō all ſorrowes? that he now keepeth him about him hauing taken from him all vncertainties? all which are actions of ioy. Hee hath almoſt the ſame words in the moralitie of his fourth homily on the Hebrewes. Both there and in his third homily on p. 351the Philippians, hee gathereth that the duties that wee performe to the dead, do teſtifie that their ſoules are in reſt: for the people ſay Convertere anima mea in requiem, My ſoule returne into thy reſt.

Againe in his 32. homily vponupon Matthew. Teares and lamentations beſeeme the enemy, not thee that goeſt to reſt: & ſurely Death is a quiet hauen from all troubles: Againe, There is the ſpirituall bride bed, and coeleſtiall. And he ſaith that after death there is no more ſorrow. To bee briefe. In Nilus B…ſhop of Theſſalonica we hauehave an expreſſe book againſt Purgatory, which is an Apology for the Greeke Churches: wherein they ſaie that this temporall fire was cōdemned in the fifth Councel: as alſo to this day, the Churches of the Greeks and Ruſſians, the Abiſſines and the Armenians knowe not what this Imaginary fire meaneth.

There alſo the Greeke Churches do proteſt that S. Chryſoſtome never beleeved p. 352any ſuch matter, nether any of their ancient Doctors: whereof we doe gather that ſome places of this doctour, which ſeeme to make for Purgatory either muſt bee vnderſtoode of an other kind of Purgatory, ſuch as was the purging fire of Origen and Ambroſe, which ſhall be ſpoken of hereafter, or els that thoſe paſſages are corruptly inſerted and ſuggeſted:Tunc eſt tentatio finiēda quando finitur & pugna & tunc eſt finienda pugna, quando poſt hanc vitam ſuccedet ſecura victoria: & paulo poſt, milites Chriſti labori oſa peregrinatione trāſacta regnant felices in patria. Illis omnia remiſſa ſunt delicta, nihil ob delicta puni…is. for likewiſe in the coū ſell of Florence, where the Greekes armed them ſelues with the auctority of their Doctours, the Latins would not hauehave forborne to bring in theſe paſſages to convince them.

Proſper in his firſt book of Contemplatiue life cap. 1. ſaith, Temptation ſhall end, when the Combat is ended: and the Combut ſhall end when after this life an aſſured victory ſhall ſucceed. Againe ſoone after he ſaith, The ſouldiours of Ieſus Chriſt after they hauehave finiſhed their laborious pilgrimage, do raigne happyly in their Countrey. Procopius vponupon Exodus. To thoſe who by faith are entred into the number of their confederates and brethren, and hauehave beene made partakers p. 353of the divine nature by the participation of the holy Ghoſt, all their ſinnes are pardoned, & they hauehave received no puniſhmēt for their offences.

Epiphanius in his ſecond book of hereſies, hereſie 39, which is the ſame of the Catares and Novatians, ſeemeth to hauehave taken a ſmatch in the Confutatiō of Purgatory, where he ſaith, In the age to come after a mans death there is no more helpe by faſting; no more vocation of pennance: no more exhibition of Almes: hee alſo ſaith, It is as the corne that ſwelleth not after it is reaped: neither can be ſpoiled with the winde. Finally he cōcludeth, The Garners are ſealed vp: the time is paſt, the combat is finiſhed: the liſts are voided, and the Garlands are given. Now, ſaith hee, all this is finiſhed at the departure out of the body: after which departure our adverſaries do impoſe grievous penances, and augment the difficulty of the fight and torments, and doe deferre the giuing of the Crownes vntill the comming out of Purgatory: that is to p. 354ſay, many hundreds and thouſands of yeares after death.

Arnobius in his ſecond book againſt the gentils ſaith, that Plato after this life hath ſet downe Rivers of fire, in quibus animas aſseverat volui, mergi, exuri: where the ſoules are toſſed, plunged, and burned. But himſelfe contrarywiſe doth holde that the ſouls out of the bodies can endure no ſorrow. Quis hominum non videt quod ſit immortale, quod ſimplex, nullū poſſe dolorem admittere. Wherein albeit he erreth not, yet doeth it ſufficiently ſhewe that hee beleeveth not that the ſoules without bodies can after this life bee caſt into a fire. Note alſo that throughout all antiquity wee finde no mention of buls: of fetching of ſoules out of Purgatory, of Indulgences for the dead, aulters, and of fraternities that hauehave priviledge to fetch a ſoule out of Purgatory: As this is but lately invēted, and as old age encreaſeth in covetouſneſſe, ſo hate Avarice beene more inventiue in this declining old age of the p. 355world: for it is credible, that the Apoſtles and their firſt ſucceſſours omitted the fetching of foules out of this fire by indulgences, for want either of knowledge, either of abilitie, either elſe of good will. Alſo that togither with their greatneſſe and riches, skill, ſpirituall power, pietie, and charitie hauehave growne vp in the Biſhops of Rome.

That the Doctours in the primitiue Church in this matter had their errors, which the Church of Rome reiecteth namely in this, that for the moſt part they beleeved that the ſoules are detained in dennes or corners vntil the day of iudgmēt: whereof nevertheleſſe it appeareth that they knew not Purgatory.

Irineus toward the end of his fourth and laſt booke condemneth two opinions: the one that hell is in the world: the other, that the ſoule which hee calleth the inward man comming out of p. 356the body aſcended into the region that is aboue the heauens. Then he addeth, For ſith our Lord went into the middeſt of the ſhadow of death, where the ſoules of the dead remained, and is ſince corporally riſen againe, and after his reſurrection was receaued on high: It is evident therefore that the ſoules of his diſciples, for whom Ieſus Chriſt acted and ſuffered theſe things, ſhall alſo goe into an inviſible place to them appointed by God, where they ſhall remaine vntil the reſurrection: afterward being perfectly, that is, corporally raiſed as Ieſus Chriſt was, they ſhall appeare in the preſence of God: for no diſciple is aboue his maſter, &c. In ſumme his meaning is that herein the condition of the faithfull deceaſed ſhall bee conformable to that of Ieſus Chriſt, whoſe ſoule came not into the preſence of God before his reſurrection, but was in darkneſſe and in the ſhadow of death: herevpon alſo doth Eraſmus in his preface to the fifth booke of Irineus note that Irineus did ſuppoſe that the ſoules diſmiſſed from p. 357the bodies did not immediatly enioy the ſight of God, but are reſerued in ſome ſecret place vntil the reſurrection The ſame father in the ſame booke not farr from the beginning ſaith that God hath placed man in Paradice, Quapropter dicunt preſbyteri quiſūt Apoſtolorum diſcipuli eos qui ſunt trā ſtati illuc tranſlatos eſſe.which is the gardē of Eden, frō whence for his diſobedience he was driven into the world: and thē he addeth, Therefore the ancient fathers that were the Apoſtles diſciples, do ſay that ſuch as are tranſlated from hence, are tranſlated into that place. Hee therefore did thinke that the garden of Eden from whence Adam was expelled, was the ſecret corner where the ſoules are hidden vntil the reſurrection. A frivolous doctrine, yet ſuch as teſtifieth that in his time there was yet no ſpeech of purgatory: which Eraſmus alſo hath noted in the ſame preface.

Origen in his ſeventh homily vponupon Leuiticus ſaith thus.Nondum ſā cti receperūt laetitiam ſuā &c. The Saints no not the Apoſtles themſelues hauehave not yet receaued their ioy, but they expect vntil I bee made participant thereof with them. And p. 358in his ſecond book of his principles toward the end he ſaith with Irineus That the ſaints after their deceaſe are tranſported into the earthly Paradice.Eam Regionem ſinū dico Abrahae: et ſi non coel…ſtem ſublimiocem tamen inferis interim refrigerium praebituram animabus iuſtorum, donec comſummatio rerum reſurrectionem omnium plenitudine mercedis expungat. Quae infra terram iacēt ne que ipſa ſunt digeſtis & ordinatis poteſtatibus vacua. Locus enim eſt quo piorum animae & impiorum ducū tur, &c.

Tertullian in his fourth book againſt Marcion, cap. 34. I call Abrahams boſome that region, albeit not celeſtiall, yet higher then the hels: which nevertheles muſt giuegive reſt to the ſoules of the righteous, vntil the conſummation of things accompliſh the reſurrection through the fulnes of reward. The ſame he repeateth in his fourth poeticall booke againſt Marcion. cap. 6. & in his booke of the ſoule cap. 55. Conſtituimus omnem animam apud inferos ſequeſtrari in Diem Domini. Wee hold aſſured that every ſoule is ſequeſtred into the lower partes vntounto the day of the Lord. The ſame hee alſo ſaith, cap. 56.57.58. Nouatian in his booke of the Trinity and is to bee found among the bookes of Tertullian, cap. 1. ſaith. The things that are vnderunder the earth, are not void of powers digeſted and ordered. For it is the place whether the ſoules both of the p. 359faithfull and of the wicked are brought, feeling already the foreiudgement of the iudgement to come. Now were it to no purpoſe to ſay that Novatian was an hereticke: for it is well knowne hee was never holden to be an hereticke for this opinion, but becauſe hee refuſed reconciliation to the Church to thoſe that were once fallen.

Chryſoſtome on the firſt to the Corinthians, hom. 39. If the body riſeth not againe the ſoule ſhall not be crowned, but be kept out of the celeſtiall beatitude. The ſame he ſaith hom. 28. vponupon the Epiſtle to the Hebrewes. In the ſame father we finde ſome ſentences to the contrarie: as indeed it was his fault, to be of ſmale conſtancy: and yet all that he ſaith doth yet make more againſt Purgatory. And in his homily vponupon the Epiſtle to the Philippians. The righteous whether it bee here, or whether it be there, are ever with the king, but there much more yea & more neer: not as it were by the way: not in faith: but face to face. And wee conſequently p. 360doe ſay, not in a fire, not in a priſon vnderunder earth.

Theophil…ot, a follower of Chryſoſtom, vponupon the 11. to the Hebrews. The ſaints hauehave not yet obtained the celeſtiall promiſes

Omnes in vna communi que cuſtodia detinentur, donec temp adveniat quo maximus iudex meritorum faciat examen.Lactantius, lib. 7. cap. 11. Let no man thinke that the ſoules be iudged immediatly after death: for they are all detained in a common priſon vntil the time come that the great iudge taketh the examination of what they hauehave deſerved. Victor in Martyr vponupon the ſixt of the Revelation, ſaith that Saint Iohn ſaw vnderunder the alter the ſoules of the Martyrs, and thoſe that were ſlaine: and theſe words ſub ara hee doth expound ſub terra. Thus then hee placeth the ſoules of the Martyrs and Saints vnderunder earth. S. Hillary vponupon the 38.Haec humanae lex neceſſitatis eſt vt ſepultis corporib. animae ad inferos deſcendant &c Pſalme. It is the law of neceſsity where to man is ſubiect that the ſoules ſhould deſcend into the lower parts, after the dead be buried. Which law Ieſus Chriſt for the accompliſhment of a very perfect man, did not refuſe. Neither may we ſay that hee ſpeaketh of the fathers of the old Teſtament: p. 361for in all that place hee hath not a word of them: beſides he would hauehave ſaid This was the law: but he ſaith, This is the law: Finally ſaying it is a humane neceſſitie, which Ieſus Chriſt vnderwent, to become very man hee ſheweth that it is a condition impoſed vponupon all man kind, which if Ieſus Chriſt had not vndergon, hee had not participated in all that was proper to mankind. Hee alſo vponupon the ſecond Pſalme ſaith. The dai… of iudgement is the eternall retribution of beatitude, or of puniſhment: but the houre of death in the meane time, holdeth every one vnderunder her lawes, whiles the boſome of Abraham, or the paine reſerveth every one to iudgement.

Euthimius vponupon Luke. 16. ſaith that the hiſtory of Lazarus is a parable, wherein is deſcribed vntounto vsus what ſhall bee done in the day of iudgement. And vponupon the 23. Pſalme, he ſaith, None of the righteous hauehave receaued the promiſes, and the kingdome ſhalbe giuen in the day of the vniverſall retribution. Wherevpon alſo Io. p. 362Hentenius a Monke of the order of S. Hierom hath noted in the margent that Euthimius as a Greek followeth the errors of the Greekes. S. Bernard in his 3. ſermon of all Saints maketh three habitations for ſoules. Primum in Tabernaculis, ſecundum in Atrijs, tertium in C…lis. The firſt in Tabernacles, that in, this body, the ſecond in Porches, the third in heaven: theſe receptacles hee tearmeth hals.

As for S. Ambroſe and S. Auguſtine, we finde them wavering and vnlike to themſelues ſometimes ſpeaking according to the truth, ſometime carried away with the common error. Ambroſe indeed hath before told vsus that the habitation of the ſouls ſeparated is aboue and in the 11 Chapter he ſaith, Incer… ſupremi Iudicij non verentur eventum. But in his ſecond booke of Abell and Cain, cap. 2. he ſaith thus. The Pilot arrived at the ſhore, thinketh not himſelfe at the ende of his travaile: for immediatly hee ſeeketh a beginning of another iourney. p. 363The ſoule is loſed from the body, Solvitur corpere anima ad huc tamē futuri iudidii ambiguo ſuſpenditur.but yet abideth in ſuſpenſe vponupon the doubt and vncertainty of the future iudgement. If this be ſo, then doth ſhe not inioy felicitie before the day of iudgement. S. Auguſtine is of the ſame mind for in him we finde ſundry places, wherein ſpeaking of the ſoules of ſome perſons deceaſed he thinketh them to bee tranſlated into heaven, and to bee with God: but wee find more places where he holdeth the contrary and followeth the common error, vponupon the 36. Pſalme he ſaith that the ſoule departed from the body, ſhal not be in the kingdome of heauen: well it may be in Abrahams boſome with Lazarus: for ſo doth he cal this receptacle and to ſhew that this was the common opinion, he ſaith that no man was ignorant thereof: Theſe be his words. Poſt vitam iſlam parvam, nondum eris vbi erunt ſancti, quibus dicetur venite Benedicti, &c. Non dum ibi eris: Quis neſcit?

So in the ninth booke of his Confeſſions cap. 3. he thus ſpeaketh to God, p. 362duplicate page p. 363duplicate page p. 364Thou haſt loſed Nebridius out of this fleſh, Nebridiu… carne ſolviſti & nunc ille vivit in ſinu Abrahae, quicquid illud eſt quod ille ſignificatur. Tempusquod inter hominis mortem & vltimam reſurrectionem interpoſitum eſt animas abditis receptaculis continet. Socratis animarum receptaculis ſedibuſ que requieſcit. Secundum apertiſſimam Domini ſententiam etiā ipſe ſentit tūc viſuros faciē Dei, cum in Angelos profecerimus, 1. aequales Angelis facti fuerimus, quod erit vti que in reſurrectione mortuorūand now he liveth in Abrahams boſome: whatſoever it is that is ſignified by this boſome. Here he ſpeaketh as doubting. In his manuell to Laurentius cap. 108. The time that is betweene death and the laſt reſurrection, containeth the ſoules in ſecret receptacles, according as every one is worthy of reſt, or of affliction. And in his 17. booke of the Citty of God, cap. 9. This part of the citty of God which is gathered together from among mortall men, & muſt bee conioined with immortall Angels, is now a traveller vponupon earth, being ſubiect to death: whereas for thoſe that are dead, they reſt in the hidden receptacles or ſeats of ſouls. In his Epiſtle to Fortunatianus According to the moſt evidēt ſētēce of our Lord, and S. Paule holdeth that wee ſhall ſee the face of the Lord when we ſhalbe advanced even to the Angels, that is to ſay, that we be made equal to the Angels, which ſhall be in the reſurrection of the dead. I will therefore make any man of vnderſtanding iudge whether, the wordes p. 365wherewith at this day they pray in the maſſe for the ſoules in Purgatory doe not teſtifie that when this praier was penned, the beliefe of the latin Church was not concordant with it.Qui nos praeceſſerunt in ſigno fidei & dormiunt in ſomno pacis. Theſe bee the words. Remember O Lord thy ſervāts that are gone before vsus in the ſign of faith, and do ſleepe in the ſlumber of peace: To thē O LORD and to all that reſt in Chriſt, vvee beſeech thee to graunt place of refreſhing, of light, and of peace. Could this bee ſpoken of ſoules ſo long tormented in a fire, like to hell fire? What reſt what quiet ſleepe in fire ſeavē times more hot then our ordinary fire? A fire that cōtinueth hundreds and thouſands of yeares? Vndoubtedly this praier was made for the ſoules that they thought to be in the hiddē receptacles, where they reſted in expectation of the reſurrection: and felt ſome refreſhing by the praiers of the living: Indeed wee hauehave heard that ſuch was the opinion of Tertullian, who alſo vſeth the like tearmes in his booke of Monogamy and p. 366willeth the wiſe to pray for her husbād In refrigerium & adpoſtulet, vt in prima reſurrectione conſortium, entreating ſome refreſhing for him, and that he may accompany her in the firſt reſurrection. For this doctour beleeved that all the faithfull ſhoulde not riſe togither, as in the laſt chapter of his booke of the ſoule hee doth expreſly ſay, yea evē all the Greek Church is yet of that opinion: who denying Purgatory do nevertheleſſe pray for the dead,Vide Concil. Ferrarienſe ſeu Florentinum & Nilū de Purgatorio. as not yet enioying coeleſtiall felicity. And Guido in his ſumme of hereſies attributeth the ſame errour to the Churches of Armenia.

This was it that induced Pope Iohn the 23. to maintaine this opinion, & to prohibit the divines of Paris from teaching otherwiſe: as witneſſeth Gerſon in his paſcal ſermon, & Iohn Villanus in the tenth booke of his hiſtory. This is one of the heroical actions of the Colledge of Sorbon and one of her laſt gaſpes of her dying liberty: for [ſaith Eraſmus in his preface to the fifth book of Ireneus] p. 367Iohannes coactus, opere Theologorum Pariſiorum, ad palinodiam coram Galliarū Rege Philippo: non ſinc buccina.

By al the premiſſes it appeareth how irreſolute the ancients are in this queſtion: how vnfit they are to decide it: & into what Laberinthes they that ſende vsus to the fathers to be directed by them do endevour to entangle the conſciences. It alſo appeareth that the prayers for the dead, that are to be foūd in theſe doctors doe make nothing for Purgatory: but were made for their refreſhings in thoſe receptacles, and for their ſalvation in the day of Iudgement: alſo for other intents whereof we wil ſpeak hereafter. This is one degree of the bad dealing of my adverſaries in their citing of the fathers.

That divers of the fathers beleeved that the fire in the laſt iudgment ſhould purge the ſoules of all men: even of the Apoſtles and Saints.

Clement of Alexandria was the firſt p. 368that declined frō the purity & ſimplicity of the doctrine of the Goſpell, intermingling Platonicall Philoſophy there with: alſo his wheeling and capricious ſtile did blaſt and corrupt all that was naturall or forcible in the ſimplicity of Gods word yea he proceeded ſo far as to ſay in the ſixt booke of his Tapiſseryes that the Greekes were iuſt, by Philoſophy: alſo that Philoſophy was givē vntounto them in liew of the Teſtamentes. By the ſame vanity was hee likewiſe induced in the ſame booke to ſay that Chriſt and his Apoſtles deſcended into hell and there preached the Goſpell to the ſoules of the Gentils and Infidels, who [ſaith he] were by that preaching converted: hee alſo holdeth that the ſouls of Infidels that are in hell may yet be converted and come to ſalvation.

Orig hom. 3. in Pſal. 36. Omnes nos neceſſe eſt venire ad illū ignem etiam ſi vel Paulus ſit vel PetrusPs 36Origen his diſciple ſucceeded him in time, but outſtript him in hereſies, and to this Platonicall humour hath added thus much more: The wreſting of al the ſcriptures into allegories. He held that p. 369all muſt paſſe through fire,Iſte tranſit vnam & aliam ſeptimanam immunditia ſua & tertia demū incipiente ob oriri ſeptima na purgatur. and that the Saints & ſuch as were leaſt laden with ſinne ſhould but paſſe through, and be but ſlightly ſinged: others not ſo pure ſhould ſtay there a weeke or two: but the wicked and the divels ſhould abide there a longer time, yet in the end after a long purgation ſhould come forth of that fire & be ſaved: as appeareth in his homily vponupon Leviticus: on the 25. of Numbers, and in the ſixt vponupon Exodus. He is of opinion that this Purgatiō by fire muſt begin at the day of Iudgment, & at the entry into the world to come. In many places, namely in his 8 homily vponupon Leviticus. Of which purgation S. Auguſtin in his booke of hereſies [wherin he rancketh Origen among the heretickes] in 43 hereſie ſaith, Many doctrins hath this Origē which the Catholike church doth not receiue, whereof he is not wrongfully reproved, neither can his defenders excuſe him: but principally in the point of purgation and deliverance. Now let all men iudge with what conſcience our p. 370adverſaries can vſe the auctority of Origen to eſtabliſh their Purgatory. Now albeit this doctrin was reiected by ſuch as came after, yet the actiue and quicke ſpirit of Origen drew many to admire him, and into the mindes of ſome infuſed the ſparkes of this purgatiue fire: yet ſuch as hath no reſemblance with the Purgatory of the Church of Rome. Wheras he limiteth an end to the purgation of the divels, and then will hauehave them to be ſaved, therein he is not followed: otherwiſe he hath followers ſo farre forth as he wil hauehave the fire in the laſt iudgement to ſerue to purge even the Saints and Apoſtles,Medico quoque de licto morâ reſurrectionis expenſo. Iuſtos cum iudicaverit, Deus igni eos examinabit. Tū quorum peccata vel pondere vel numero praeualuerint, perſtringentur at que amburentur. ſome more, ſome leſſe, according to the multitude and weight of their ſins.

We hauehave already heard one opiniō of Tertullian in his laſt chapter of his book of the ſoule that commeth neere to this, where he ſaith, They ſhall pay evē their leaſt ſinnes by the delay of their reſurrection. Lactantius in his ſeaventh book cap. 21. When God ſhall hauehave iudged the p. 371righteous, he ſhall examine them by fire, thō they whoſe ſinnes ſhall prevaile either in waight or number ſhal by the fire be ſinged and lightly ſcortched. He ſpeaketh of a fire that is not yet, but ſhall beginne at the day of Iudgement. The Frier page 63. vſeth this paſſage for his Purgatory but he doth but quote it, for he coulde not for ſhame alleadge it at large.

S. Ambroſe vponupon the 36 Pſalme is as plaine as any.Igne purgabuntur filii. Levi igne Ezechiel, igne Daniel. The ſonnes of Levy ſhall bee purged by fire, and Ezechiell, and Daniell. And theſe, is they ſhall be examined by fire ſhall alſo ſay, We hauehave paſſed through fire & water. Two things he here delivereth. The one that even the moſt holy muſt paſſe by this fire: The other, that this purgation of the Saints, of Ezechiel and of Daniell, &c. is not yet: for hee ſaith, Purgabuntur, Examinabuntur. Omnes op…rtet tranſire per flamma…, ſive ille Iohannes Evangeliſta ſive ille ſit Petrus.They ſhall be purged and examined. Againe in his 20 ſermon vponupon the 118 Pſalm he ſaith thus, All muſt of neceſſity paſſe through the flames, yea were it Iohn the Evangeliſt whom our Lord loved: or were it Peter, to p. 372whom he delivered the keyes. And there hee ſtill ſpeaketh of a fire which is not yet: which alſo muſt bee even for the moſt holy. Again in the ſame place he vſeth the Allegory of the flaming ſword placed in the entring into the earthlie Paradice, and that with farre more dexteritie then our adverſaries, who practiſe to make vſe of it for their Purgatorie: for Ambroſe who referreth this purging fire to the day of iudgement hath ſome ſmal colour for his Allegorie becauſe the laſt iudgement is the entry & as it were the gate into the Eternall kingdome, as this ſword was in the entry into the tereſtriall Paradice: But there is no more proportion betweene this ſword and the roaſting of ſouls after death, then betweene S. Peter & the Pope.

S. Hierom taketh the ſame courſe, and as he was a great imitator of Origen, ſo doth he follow him in this: excepting ſo much as concerneth the purging of divels and Infidels. He therefore in the p. 373laſt lines of his Commentary vponupon Eſay ſetteth down two ſorts of Impious and wicked perſons. The one that are Chriſtians: the other that are not.Peccatorum, at que impiorū & tamen Chriſtianorum quorū operae igne probanda ſunt at que purganda, moderatam arbitramur & mixtam clementiam ſententium Iudicis. Hee holdeth that the torments of the divels and of the wicked that are no Chriſtiās ſhall be Eternall: but as for the wicked and vngodly Chriſtians, their workes ſhall be purged by fire: and that the ſentence of the iudge ſhall bee moderated and mixed with merciemercy. The Frier according to his vſuall fidelity pag. 36. citeth this place for his Purgatory: as alſo he maketh vſe of the auctority of Origen.

The ſame father vponupon the 46. of Ezechiell tearmeth the laſt day, which is the day of the Reſurrectiō,Omnis creatura ad comparationem creatoris immunda eſt ac divino igne parganda. The Sabaoth and the ſeaventh day, and ſaith, Every creature in compariſon of the Creator is vncleane, and muſt bee purged by divine fire. He thē here telleth vsus two things: one that this fire is for every creature, and conſequently for the Saintes and Martyrs: the other, that this fire is not p. 374yet, for he ſaith purganda and expreſlie he ſpecifieth that it ſhalbee in the laſt day which he tearmeth The Sabaoth & the ſeaventh day. Emundatio que nos S. ſpiritus ſanctificet ad…entu, iudicii igne no… decoquat. Hilar. Can. 2. In Matt. Baptiſatis in ſpiritu ſancto reliquum eſt …ſummari igna iudiciiS. Hilary vponupon the 119. Pſalme, in the pauſe Gimel expoundeth how many things are to bee vſed in the purging of vsus from our ſinnes, beſides Baptiſme: and there hee bringeth in the holy Ghoſt ſanctifying of vsus, and the fire of Iudgement that doth purifie vsus. And in the ſame pauſe or ſection hee doth more plainly deliver his opinion: which is, that the fire in the day of iudgment muſt bake and burne the faithfull, yea even the Virgin Mary. Theſe be his words. An cum ex omni otioſo verbo rationeu… ſimus praeſtituri, diem Iudicij concupiſcimus in quo nobis eſt indefeſſus ille ignis obeandus in quo ſubcunda ſunt gravia illa expiandae à peccatis animae ſupplicia. Againe ſoone after. Si in Iudicij ſeveritatem capax illa Dei virgo ventura eſt, deſiderare quis à Deo audebit Iudicari? To bee briefe, his feare of the heate of this fire, which muſt burne even the Virgin p. 375Mary doth keepe him [ſaith he] from deſiring the day of iudgement. Of this fire then doth Gregory Nazian ſpeak in the paſſage alleadged by the Frier page 84. Whereout I gather two things. Firſt how eaſily mans ſpirit is miſled, when it ſtrayeth from the word of God: ſecondly that my adverſaries do abuſe the people and perſwade them that theſe Doctors doe ſpeake of Purgatory. They do indeed ſpeak of the fire of the laſt iudgment: likewiſe that they make mention of a torment reſerved to thoſe only that hauehave not ſufficiently ſatisfied in this life when they ſpeake but of a torment or purgation common to all the faithfull, to the ſaints, to the Martyrs and to the Virgin Mary. And this is a ſecond degree of their vnfaithfulneſſe in their allegations.

S. Auguſtine, who throughout the whole courſe of this queſtiō, hath ſhewed himſelfe inconſtant in his 20. book of the Citty of God, cap. 25. ſaith well that in the day of iudgement the fire p. 376ſhall to ſome only ſtand inſteed of the paines of Purgatory. Ex his quae dicta ſunt videtur evidentius ap parere in illo Iudicio quaſdam quorundam poenas purgatorias futuras. The Frier pag. 37. citeth this paſſage, but to diſſemble that S. Auguſtine ſpake of the day of iudgement, he concealeth theſe words, In illo Iudicio. Againe in his 16. booke of the citty of God. cap. 24. Significatur iſto igne dies Iudicij dir imens carnales ſalvandos per ignem & igne damnandos. This day ſignifieth the day of iudgement, which muſt diſcerne the carnall men who are to bee ſaved by the fire, and who to bee condemned into the fire. There is nothing ſo evident. This error is condemned then by the Church of Rome, which could not fit it ſelfe to this Purgatory that beginneth not vntil the day of the reſurrection: very well foreſeeing that the Popes Indulgences & diſpenſations could hauehave no colour, if they ſhould diſpenſe with this purging: whereto the fathers ſubiected the Apoſtles, yea even the bleſſed p. 377Virgin, which alſo is of ſo ſhort cō tinuance. And therefore it was requiſit to make a Purgatory that ſhould begin immediatly after death, and a torment equall with the torments of hell, long and horrible, from whence the Pope might exempt and fetch forth by his Indulgences ſuch as it pleaſed him.

That the Fathers doe ſpeake of another purgation by fire, which is in this life

The ancients doe often vſe the Allegoricall wordes of S. Paul, 1. Corin. 3. namely of ſtubble, hay, wood, of triall by fire, and they tearme the afflictions and pennance of this life a fire, or a triall or purgation by fire, S. Hierom vponupon the 3. of Matthew ſpeaking of this fire ſaith that when the children of Levi ſhall be purged, they ſhall offer ſacrifices acceptable to God for Iuda and for Hieruſalem, which cannot be done but in this life and that by fire.

S. Auguſtine in the 21. booke of the citty of God, cap. 13. Wee confeſſe that in p. 378this life there be Purgatory paines: Nos in hac mortali vita eſſe quaſdam purgatorias poenas confitemur.but ſuch as are purging to thoſe who being exerciſed in them, doe amend their liues. And in cap. 26. Such delights and carnall loues ſhall be burned by the fire of tribulation. To this fire doe belong the loſſe of kindred and all ſorts of calamitie.

Marke this Canon of Pope Siricius which is to be ſeene in Luityrandus and others.Vt in ſuis ergaſtulis detruſi Purgatorio poſſiat poenitud nis igne decoqui. Hee commanded that the Monkes ſhould immediatly bee driven out of the Monaſteries: to the ende that being ſhut vp in their workehouſes they might bee baked in the Purgatory fire of pennance. He tearmeth the labour of a Monke ſhut vp in a ſhop and tied to travaile [as it was the cuſtome of the firſt Monks to hauehave an occupation and to labour with their hands] a Purgatory fire. S. Gregory in his fourth dialogue, cap. 39. ſpeaking of the fire whereby men be ſaved, ſaith, It may be meant of the fire of the tribulations of this life. And S. Auguſtine in his Manuel to Laurentius cap. 68. Eſt ignis tribulatio tentationis, This fire is the temptation p. 379of afflictions. Againe ſoone after he ſaith that This fire is in this life.

S. Cyprian in his fourth booke and 2. Epiſtle ſpeaking of Eccleſiaſticall pennance impoſed vponupon ſuch as for feare had revolted to Idolatrie, compareth the condition of thoſe penitents, which he ſaith are to be purged by fire, with the condition of ſuch as never ſhrunke, but ſuffered martyrdome: And hee holdeth the condition of ſuch Martyrs to be more bleſſed then the condition of thoſe penitents: marke his compariſon. It is one thing ſtanding vp, to aske forgiuneſſe [as did theſe penitents after their revolt] another thing to attaine to the glory [as they did that perſevering receaved Martyrdome] One thing it is, being caſt into priſon, not to come forth vntill thou haſt payd the vttermoſt farthing, another thing immediatly to receaue the reward of thy faith and vertue. One thing it is being afflicted by a long ſorrow for ſinne, to be corrected and purged a long time by fire: and another to be cleanſed from all ſin p. 380by paſſion and martyrdome. To bee briefe One thing it is long to hang in ſuſpenſe cō cerning the ſentence that the Lord ſhall giuegive in the day of iudgement: and another to be incontinently crowned by the Lord. According to the manner of the ancients, he tearmeth pennance and long affliction after ſinne, a purging fire, & oppoſeth it againſt the preſent and aſſured glory of the Martyres, as againſt a condition more aſſured and farre more bleſſed. And this ſaid he to the end that ſuch as were priſoners for Chriſt, ſhold not revolt vponupon this perſwaſion that afterwards repenting they ſhould enioy like bliſſe and aſſurance as others that ſuffered martyrdome. But of temporall torment after this life, or of any purgation of ſoules ſeparated from the bodies, there is not one word throughout that Epiſtle, neither elſewhere throughout all Cyprian, who in puritie giueth place to none of the Ancients. And indeed wee need not to ſeeke farther then the ſame Epiſtle, wherein hee p. 381willeth that the penitents [confeſſing their fault] ſhould be receiued. For, ſaith he, Apud inferos confeſsio non eſt, nec Exomologeſts illic fieri poteſt. Which is more none of the wordes vttered in this paſſage can in any wiſe ſtand with our adverſaries Purgatory. 1. For he ſaith Longo dolore cruciatum emendari & purgari diu igne. The penitent long time tormented is amended and purged by the fire: Now our adverſaries ſay that the ſoules doe not or cannot amend thēſelues in their Purgatory. 2. It is alſo ſaid that hee that is thus purged reſteth in ſuſpenſe and doubt of the Lords ſentence in the day of iudgement.The Friers falſhood. But our adverſaries ſay that the ſoules in Purgatory are aſſured of their ſalvation, and therefore the Frier pag. 56. omitteth theſe laſt words of S. Cyprian. 3. Finally ſith hee ſpeaketh of ſuch as doe pennance after their revolt, it is not poſſible hee ſhould ſpeake of ſoules ſeparated from their bodies, either of Purgatory. Wrongfully therfore doe my adverſaries make ſo many p. 382brags of this paſſage for it is moſt vniuſtly and fraudulently alleaged. As alſo the Frier, pag. 63. citeth S. Hierom vponupon the fourth of Ieremy and in his ſecond booke againſt Iovinian: alſo Nazianzē in his 39. oration, and Baſil in his oratiō vponupon the 9. of Eſay, where hee ſpeaketh of purging torments and afflictions, & of a fire that trieth the faithfull: but in this life, or at the day of iudgement. And here doe our adverſaries ſhew the third degree of their bad conſciences in their allegations of the Doctors.

Of Commemoration and prayer for the dead, practiſed by divers of the ancients: and that it maketh nothing for their Purgatory.

Throughout the bookes of my adverſaries there is nothing more groſſe thē their falſe preſuppoſitiōs that they make aboue an hundred times: wherby ſo ſoone as they hauehave alleadged any father that ſpeaketh of Commemoratiō, Almes, Oblations, or Sacrifice for the p. 383dead, they ſtrait conclude, Then is there a Purgatory. A matter falſe, and that for ſundry reaſons. 1. Wherefore did Saint Auguſtine in writing a whole tract of the care for the dead ſet downe never a word therin of Purgatory? 2. Why did they offer for the Apoſtles, Prophets & Martyrs, and made ſacrifices for them? As witneſſeth Cyprian in his third book Epiſt. 6. and in his fifth booke Epiſt. 4. dare my adverſaries therevpon inferre that the primitiue Church beleeved that the Apoſtles were in Purgatory? 3. Epiphanius accuſeth Arrius of hereſie becauſe hee reiected praier for the deade, and bringeth many reaſons to proue that this prayer made for the Patriarches, Prophets, Apoſtles and al the faithful is profitable & to bee received: yet ſpeaketh hee not one word of Purgatory: albeit that was the place where to ſpeak of it, or not at all. 4. Denis [falſly tearmed] Areopagite diſputing of the cō modity of prayer for the dead, ſtill preſuppoſeth that thoſe for whom wee p. 384pray, are bleſſed & propounded for examples to the living, and for matter of thankſgiving: but of Purgatory, or of any fire that purgeth ſoules he hath not a word. 5. We hauehave heard in the ſecond of the Macchabees that to pray for the dead is but meere madneſſe: vnleſſe we hauehave regard to the Reſurrection: ſo not to the torment of Purgatory. 6. The Greeke churches do pray for the dead: yet do they denie Purgatory. 7. Wee heard before by Chryſoſtome in his 32. homily vpō Matthew that ſuch as procured praiers for their dead parents, did beleeue that they were in flowred meddowes: & in that homily in aboue twē ty places, he ſaith, that Death is the entrie to reſt and an end of ſorrow. S. Auguſtin in the ninth book of his Cōfeſſions praieth for his mother Monica: and S. Ambroſe for the Emperour Valētinian, yet do they proteſt that they beleeue that theſe parſons deceaſed are with God, & do enioy the pleaſures of Eternall life. But the matter of greateſt conſideratiō p. 385is that S. Ambroſe ſaith that Valentinian dyed without Baptiſme.Oratione de obitu Valentiniani. Valentinian I ſay who was a great Emperour and a Chriſtian even from his birth, having ſo many cleargy men at his command, at whoſe hands to hauehave received Baptiſme: who then did better deſerue to bee confined into Limbo or Purgatorie then he? yet ſaith Ambroſe, He is in coeleſtiall felicity. 9. Wee hauehave heard that moſt of the ancients ſhut vp the ſoules of all men in certaine hidden receptacles, where they deſired refreſhing: thervpon had they ſome groūd to pray for the dead, albeit they did not beleeue Purgatorie: wherin appeareth the corrupt faith of the Frier: for he ſets a brag vponupon the words of S. Auguſtine in the 110. chapter of his Manual. Wee muſt not deny but that the ſoules of the dead are relieued by the piety of the liuing: but hee was wiſer then to alleadge the wordes going before, namely The ſoules are in hidden receptacles euen from their deceaſe vntill the reſurrection. For ſo it woulde p. 386hauehave appeared that the opinion of S. Auguſtin touching praier for the dead, was grounded vponupon an error which the Church of Rome reiecteth, alſo that frō an error will ſoone ſpring an abuſe. 10. We hauehave alreadie heard the opiniō of Origen and his followers touching the fire of the daie of Iudgement, that ſhould ſcortch and burne the ſoules evē of the moſt holy and perfect. Alſo wee hauehave ſhewed howe fearefull S. Hillary was of this fire. All this therfore might hauehave miniſtred vntounto thē argument ſufficient to hauehave praied for the deade, as trembling at the puniſhment to come. 11. What more can we deſire? Let vsus make our adverſaries our iudges in this caſe. Do not the Prieſts many times receiue money for ſaying Maſſes for the young children that dyed ſoone after Baptiſme, who nevertheleſſe [as they beleeved] were neither in Limbo, nor in Purgatory? Let them now chooſe whether they will confeſſe their error, or acknowledge their Avarice; their p. 387want of knowledge, or their bad conſciences. 12. Do they not in their dailie Maſſe pray for the ſoules that ſleepe in a ſlumber of peace and therfore are not in the horror of flames. 13. Let vsus therfore heare the forme of the ordinarie praiers of the Church of Rome for the dead.This book of ſacred cerem. ſect 5. c. 1. libera domine à morte aeterna in die illo tremendo Saue them O Lorde from Eternall death in that terrible day when the heavēs and the earth ſhall bee moved: when thou ſhalt come to iudge the world by fire: I trē ble and feare when the triall ſhall come: and the wrath to come, that day of wrath, of calamity, of miſery; that great and mervailous bitter day. They pray that the ſouls of the dead may be ſaved from eternall death and the laſt iudgement: & which is more. Throughout all the publicke praiers of the Church of Rome for the dead we finde not one word of Purgatory: which proveth that it was not yet eſtabliſhed in the Church at that time, when they praied onlie for the refreſhing of ſouls in their hidden receptacles: or for the laſt iudgement, or to eſchew p. 386duplicate page p. 387duplicate page p. 388Eternall death. 14. Finally, is it not a matter mervailous notable that among ſuch a multitude of the paſſages of the fathers, by our adverſaries quoted for praier for the dead, there is not one that ſaith that theſe praiers were made to redeeme ſoules out of Purgatory? This thē is the fourth degree of the deceipts and fraudulent allegations that our adverſaries do make, whē at every ſpeech they ſtill inculcate praier for the dead for proofe of their Purgatory: & there vponupon hauehave they ſpent at the leaſt three quarters of their allegations.

Now as concerning this praier for the dead, the truth is that the Apoſtles in the celebration of the Lords Supper retained the inſtitution of Ieſus Chriſt: and Pope Gregorie hath before teſtified vntounto vsus that to that Inſtitution that is ſet downe in the holy Goſpell they added only the Lords praier, which argueth an vntruth in Chryſoſtome, who ſaith that the Commemoration of the dead in the Euchariſt is an Apoſtolicall tradition. p. 389Soone after Martyrdome encreaſing, for the better encouragement of the Chriſtians, they brought in a cuſtome in the celebration of the ſacrament, to name the Martyrs with the Prophets and Apoſtles, and in everie. Church they had a liſt or double tables called Diptiches, wherin were writ ten the names of all ſuch deceaſed as were to be mentioned in Commemoration, and ſo far there was no harme.

The cuſtome encreaſing, the parents and friends of the deceaſed beganne to giuegive almes vponupon the day of the Cōmemoration of the deceaſed. The almes togither with the commemorations they called oblations of the dead: alſo ſacrifices for the dead: as we may ſee in the ſixt epiſtle of the third book of S. Cyprian, ſpeaking of the Martyrs deceaſed in priſon Celebrentur à nobis oblationes et Sacrificia in Commemorationem eorum. Let vsus celebrate ſacrifices and oblations in commemoration of them. Likewiſe in the fifth Epiſtle of his fourth booke, ſpeaking p. 390of Laurence, Heb. 13.16 Phil 4 18.Heb 13:16Phil 4:18Celerine and Ignatius Martyrs, Sacrificia pro eis offerimus quoties Martyrum paſſiones & dies Aniuerſariae Commemoratione celebramus. That is to ſay, We doe offer ſacrifice for them alwaies, and ſo often as from yeare to yeare we doe celebrate the daies and paſſions of the Martyrs. In ſumme this is it. The almes called in the Scripture ſacrifices, were offered for the dead, that is to ſay in remembrance of them, and in their ſteed, as if the dead gaue them. Thus in the eight booke of the Inſtitutions of Clement, cap. 18. The Biſhop or miniſter prayeth, We doe offer vntounto thee for all thoſe that hauehave pleaſed thee from the beginning of the world, for the Saints, Patriarkes, Prophets, righteous men, Apoſtles, Martyrs. &c. For ſuch doth the Church of Rome hold that wee ought not to pray or to offer. That theſe oblations and ſacrifices were almes it appeareth by two Canons:Vaſes, Can. qui oblationes, & can. Clerici. one of the Councell of Vaſes, the other of the Councell of Agatha. Which are in Can. 13. queſt. 2 p. 391The Councell of Vaſes ſaith thus.Can. Qui oblatione & can. clerici. Such as detaine the oblations of the dead, & are ſlack in bringing them to the Churches, are to be cut of from the Church as Infidels, becauſe they doe depriue the faithfull of the accompliſhment of their vowes, and the poore of their food and ſubſtance. That of Agatha condemneth thoſe that detaine the oblations of their deceaſed parents, as murderers of the poore. Burchard in his fifth booke alleageth many examples. Nowe becauſe part of theſe offerings were imployed in the Communion of the holy ſupper, S. Cyprian in his ſermon of Almes complaineth that the rich offering nothing, yet came to take part of the ſacrifices offered by the poore. Domini cum ſine ſacrificio venis, partem de ſacrificio quod pau per obtulit ſumis. Now that this nomination of the dead in the adminiſtratiō of the ſacrament tended not to fetch him out of Purgatory it appeareth evē by the ſame that our adverſaries alleage out of Cyprian, namely for that hee would not permit any nomination of p. 392of a certaine deceaſed perſon, who had charged a clarke with a tutorſhip: for ſurely it had beene exceſſiue inhumanitie to depriue a ſoule tormented in fire from ordinary reliefe for ſo ſlight an offence, and where it was rather want of conſideration then of piety: as alſo to hold ſuch a one for that ſinne to be dā ned were a raſh and precipitat iudgement. It was therefore a deprivation of honour among the living, not a prohibition from ſuccouring of the ſoule of the deceaſed. And yet in all this there is no harme.

In thoſe daies ſprang vp the error of the receptacles of ſoules, and of the fire of the laſt iudgemēt, that ſhould purge even the Virgin Mary and the Apoſtles, & began to take footing in the church. Hereby mēs minds growing into feare and being perplexed concerning the eſtate of the dead, prayers for the ſuccor of the dead ſoone after came to bee adioined to the oblations, ſacrifices, and almes. And thus errour begat abuſe, which ſprang from the louelove of friends, p. 393yet without any conceit of Purgatory: and without any foreſight of ſuch abuſes as might enſue, and did befall in the daies of Gregory Biſhop of Rome, who lived in the yeare of Ieſus Chriſt ſix hundred. For then learning being ſmothered by the inundation of the barbarous nations, the Gothes, the Hunnes, the French, the Vandales, &c. And theſe lights of the primitiue Church extinct, whiles there were no more Baſils, Cyprians, or Auguſtins &c. The divell taking his time, and making vſe of the covetiſe of the Clergie, coſened the world with viſions and aparitions of ſoules returning from Purgatory, as we ſee in Gregories dialogues, and Beda his workes: who made report of a ſoul that appeared muſled in a cloke of fire: of an other that had beene a maſter of the bathes, and being there in Purgatory, offered to pull of a mans hoſe. They alſo tell vsus a fable of one Nocholas who getting forth of Purgatory by a hole that is in Ireland, reported that hee had ſeene ſoules, ſome broiled, ſome fried, get-ſome p. 394roaſted, &c. Gregory in the fourth of his dialogues cap. 41. putteth to him ſelfe this queſtion. Quid hoc eſt quaeſo, quod in his extremis temporibus tam multa de animabus clareſcunt, quae ante latuerant? And ordinarily theſe ſouls in their appearance ſhewed the cauſe of their tormēt: ether that they had not paid the Church what they ought, or had vowed: and ſo entreated the living to ſatiſfie for them: or that they had withſtood the Biſhop of Rome &c. Then began theſe great donations to the Church: eſpecially after the ſtations and Indulgences of Rome were added, which are of the topgallant, & the laſt & ſupream top of all Babylon.

Againſt this progreſſe of abuſe what better remedy then to reduce the people to the ſpring head, which is the holy Scripture? And to ſay as Ieſus Chriſt ſaid to the Saduces Mat. 22. You erre, not knowing the ſcriptures: but from the beginning it was not ſo. For throughout the old Teſtament, that is, for the full ſpace of foure hundred yeares there p. 395was no prayer either for the dead, or to fetch any ſoule out of Purgatory: neither in the daies of Ieſus Chriſt or his Apoſtles, nor of a long time after. Thus ſhall we attribute the glory to God & to his word, & cleere the peoples minds from all doubts or difficulties, & withal cut of the pathes that lead to this trafficke.

How vniuſtly the Frier and his fellowes doe make vſe of the example of the primitiue Church, in matter of Indulgences.

In the times of perſecutions, the primitiue Church ſought all meanes poſſible to honour martyrdome and to encourage the Chriſtians thereto. Amōg other meanes they had taken vp a cuſtome that ſuch as for any notorious offence were cut of from the Church for ſome long time did reſort to the priſons wherein ſuch as ſuffered for the goſpel were detained, & there beſought theſe Martyres to make interceſſion to the Church that the time of their pennance and excommunication might be p. 396abridged: and thus did the Biſhops vſe at the interceſſions of theſe priſoners appointed to martyrdome, to readmit the penitent into the Congregation.

S. Cyprian in his ſermon of the fallen, alſo in the ſecond Epiſtle of his fourth booke, and Tertullian in his booke De pudicitia, doe diſallow this cuſtome, & thinke thay they yeeld too much to theſe impriſoned Martyrs. Yea Tertullian ſpeaketh thereof in his book of the Martyrs. cap. 1. Our adverſaries, like the Iſraelites that gathered ſtraw vnderunder the bondage of Pharao, for want of more ſubſtantiall proofes, doe make vſe of this cuſtome in their eſtabliſhing of the Popes Indulgences, and in the diſtribution of the overplus workes and ſuperabundant ſatisfactions of the Saints collected into the Popes treaſurie and converted into paimentes for others:Tertullian calleth thē appointed Martyrs wherein I ſuppoſe they hauehave no intent that men ſhould beleeue them: ſo farre from all apparance doe they ſpeake. 1. Theſe Martyrs that S. Cyprian ſpak of, were yet aliue thoſe that our adverſaries p. 397ſpake of are dead. 2. Wee cannot finde that ever the paine of any ſinner was abridged by the merits and ſuperabundant ſufferings of theſe Martyres, who would never hauehave vndergon thoſe torments, had they not beleeved that God called them thereto, and conſequently that they were bound to endure them, & ſo it followeth that they neither did, nor ſuffered any thing ſupererogatory. for they could not doe otherwiſe, vnleſſe they would hauehave denied the Goſpell. 3. Theſe impriſoned Martyrs commended to the Church this or that penitent, and beſought that they might be receaued into the Communion: but they neither paid for them nor redeemed them: as our adverſaries doe ſay that the Saints by their ſufferings are in ſome ſort our redeemers. 4. Theſe Martyrs entreated only that the ſinner might bee admitted to the Communion: not that he might be exempt from Purgatory. 5. In thoſe daies there was no ſpeech of this worthie treaſure of the Church, compoſed of p. 398the ſuperabundant ſatisfactions of Ieſus Chriſt and his Saints. 6. Every Biſhop impoſed or abridged the pains or excommunications in his owne flocke without expecting either advice or buls from the Biſhop of Rome. 7. In thoſe daies men knew not the meaning of pardons hanged vponupon certain Churches by his holineſſe autoritie. O what a goodly ſight it would hauehave beene in thoſe daies to hauehave ſeene ſuch buls ſet vp and fixed vponupon the Church dores, or ſome one that might hauehave inſtructed the people in this new Goſpell: namely that his Papall holineſſe, having in his treaſury all the ſuperabundant ſatisfactions of Ieſus Chriſt & his Saints, doth giuegive ten thouſande or fiftie thouſande yeares of plenary pardon, and as many quarentines, with the third of all their ſinnes, or even full Indulgence to every one that ſhall ſay a ſtinted number of Paters or Avees, or his roſary or beads, or weare or kiſſe ſome halowed grains: or contribute ſome peece of mony; or that ſhall ioine himſelfe to the fraternitie p. 399of the Corde: likewiſe that ſuch a ſtinted number of Maſſes ſaid vponupon a certaine priviledged altar ſhal fetch out of Purgatory any one ſoule, even ſuch a one as he ſhall chuſe that muſt pay for it: alſo that ſuch venerable pardons are to be purchaſed in ſuch a Church & vponupon ſuch a day, even vntill ſun ſet: beſides that he that ſhall buy theſe pardōs may chuſe him a ghoſtly father, ſuch a one as in the houre of death ſhall abſolue him from all his ſinnes, both frō the paine and from the fault? Surely I ſay if any man in the primitiue Church ſhould ſhaue preached ſo prodigious a doctrine, even the little children would hauehave hiſſed after him or the Phiſitians would hauehave felt his pulſe, ſo to hauehave learned the cauſe of his frenſey, and to purge his hypochondriall humour: for as yet it was not the cuſtome to burne any man for hereſie. Now in our enterview the Frier alleaged vntounto me this interceſſion of the Martyrs for the penitent to defend papall Indulgences: I anſwered that that interceſſion had no reſemblance p. 400with the Popes Indulgences beſides that that cuſtome did Tertullian condemne. Then did he take me vp in a moſt impudent manner, ſaying that I was deceaued: alſo that I tooke Tertullian for S. Cyprian: but I told him that both the one and the other condemned this cuſtome: howbeit wee wanted bookes to ſatisfie the aſſiſtants vponupon this point. This did not the Frier forget in his booke, and therefore marke his words, pag. 12. The Miniſter ſhould remember what a Novice be ſhewd himſelfe in the reading of the fathers, how hee miſtooke himſelfe in citing them, quoting Tertullian for S. Cyprian. But let him nowe learne that which he yet knewe not, & ſo confeſſe himſelfe to be the Novice. Tertullian in his book de Pudicitia, cap. 22, complaineth of this cuſtome at large, even ſo farre forth as to ſay That diverſe procured their own impriſonment, that ſo they might be Interceſſors for ſome of their friends: or that they might commit folly with women detained in the ſame priſon Violantur viri & feminae in tenebris p. 401plane ex vſu libidinum notis. Et pacem ab his quaerunt paenitentes, qui de ſua periclitantur. In the end hee concludeth thus. Sufficiat Martyri propria delicta purgaſſe. Ingrati vel ſuperbi eſt in alios quo que ſpargere quod pro magno fuerit conſequutus. Quis alienam mortem ſua ſoluit, niſi ſolus Dei filius, &c. that is to ſay, Let it ſuffiſe the Martyr that hee hath purged his owne ſinnes. It is the part of an vnthankfull and proud perſon to ſeeke to impart to others that which hath beene granted to himſelfe for a great grace. What man did ever by his owne death ſatisfie for anothers death, but the only ſonne of God. In al this appeareth both the Monks ignorance in commō matters; as alſo his aſſurāce in ſpeaking that which he knoweth not; beſides his childiſh waunting of prevailing in ſo ſlight a cauſe. For had I named Tertullian for Cyprian, can the weakeneſſe of my braine amend his cauſe? but it is memory that fayleth him; or rather knowledge: but eſpecially conſcience. Note in the meane time how well theſe Indulgences are vnderpropped with antiquitie: p. 402for my adverſaries in all their three burning bookes do not bring frō the Fathers any other proofes, but this cuſtome, to ſupport their Indulgences: Indeed the fire of Helie ſaith that Sylveſter Biſhop of Rome gaue Indulgences: but that is falſe: neither can hee hereof produce any good author that lived in the time of the ſaid Sylveſter, or a long time after. I knowe that this worde Indulgence is to be found in ſundry ancients: yea, it is to be found in Cicero. But the point is to proue whether the Biſhop of Rome in the firſt ages of the Chriſtian Church gaue any pardons throughout Chriſtendome: and the ſame tied to ſome one Church & ſome one day: and vponupon condition to contribute, or to ſay a ſet number of Paters or Aves, or to wear ſome halowed grains: alſo whether by Indulgences he fetched ſoules out of Purgatory, or diſtributed to others the ſurpluſſage of the ſufferings of Saints, laid vp in his treaſury? Here are they all quiet: for never an ancient will depoſe for a matter ſo frivolous.

p. 403That our adverſaries for the eſtabliſhing of their ſatisfactions, doe corrupt the Fathers.

The ancient Chriſtians found them ſelues much troubled in preventing ſuch fainthearted people as to avoide perſecution did for the time fit themſelues to Paganiſme, & the ſtorme once over, returned to Chriſtianiſme. To thoſe they enioined many yeares of penance, and quartered them apart by thē ſelues in the Church, ſo as they were a long time excluded from the Communiō. Hereof read Zozomenus, lib. 7. c. 16. where he deſcribeth the forme of publike penance in his time.

Their behaviours and teſtimonies of repētance are many times tearmed Satiſfactions, of which word we hauehave before ſpoken, and ſhewed that it ſignifieth cō feſſion of the fault, or humiliation, and asking of forgiueneſſe. Read the ſermō of S. Cyprian concerning the fallen, where this word is common: hee inviteth the ſinners ad precem ſatisfactionis, to a praier of acknowledgement of their fault. p. 404Againe,According to our adverſaries expoſition, we ſhould turne it. A prayer of payment, which beareth no ſenſe Dominus orandus. Dominus noſtra ſatisfactione placandus. Wee muſt pray to God: wee muſt appeaſe God with our ſatisfactions. In the ſame ſermon. Let not the ſinner ceaſe from doing pennance, and intreating for the mercy of God, leaſt ſinne that ſeemeth ſmall, growe great through contempt of ſatisfaction. Who ſeeth not that he here taketh entreating for the mercy of God, and ſatisfactiō for one only thing? And againe, Illi ſe anima proſternat; illi maeſtitia ſatiſfaciat. He ſaith that humiliation and ſorrow doe ſatisfie God and appeaſe him. Fraudulently then doe they alleage the Fathers for the laying of the foundatiō of their ſatisfactions, which they ſay to be payments, redemptions and purchaſes towards the iuſtice of God: and endeavour out of a bad grammer to gather as bad divinitie: by the corruption of one latin word, a perverting of Chriſtian faith. If Origen, or any man after him hath ſaid that our good workes, or that Repentance doth redeeme our ſins, it is to be vnderſtood in the ſame p. 405māner as wee ſay, to redeeme a mans peace by praier: or to redeeme the time by diligence: in which forme of ſpeech this word to redeeme importeth neither payment nor redemption. We muſt therefore mollifie whatſoever the ancients hauehave ſpokē over harſh: & beat with the impropriety of their wordes. If nevertheleſſe anie of them, were hee in never ſo great eſtimatiō with vsus, did ever meane that there was anie other redemption from the paine due to our ſins, but the blood of the ſō of God: or that hath beleeved that a ſinfull man may be the redeemer either of himſelfe or of any other,The frier pag. 108. falſely ſaith that it is the opinion of the fathers, yet citeth none but Origen. as my adverſaries do hold, we ſay freely with S. Paule, Gal. 1. If an Angell from heaven ſhall preach anie other Goſpel thē the Apoſtles hauehave preached vntounto vsus, let him be to thee accurſed. Now would I wiſh the curious reader to examine the paſſages of the fathers quoted by theſe doctors, ſo ſhall he find that ſtill they doe pervert the paſſages in ſome one of the ſixe formes that wee hauehave repreſented: ſo it be not in paſſages p. 406vainly alleaged to no purpoſe, or vponupon matters by vsus granted: beſides that a great part of their allegations are falſe and the paſſages either maimed or changed. And hereof hauehave wee ſet down many examples as a taſt, thereby to iudge of the reſt.

The confeſſion of the Portugall Frier page 40. where in he acknowledgeth that in the olde Teſtament there is no ſpeech of Purgatory. His words be theſe The olde Teſtament hath not proued the immortality of the ſoule: neither Paradice: neither the creation of Angels, neither many other like things; as wel for the reaſons before alleaged, as becauſe the Doctors of the law, that taught others, never doubted of thē. In like ſort muſt we vnderſtand it of Purgatory.

The Reaſons that he alleageth, are the ſame that are contained page 18. & 19

1. Firſt for that it was for feare of giving occaſion to the Iewes together with the Gentils to thinke that wee ſhould ſacrifice to the Infernall powers. 2. Secondly by reaſon that before the redemption of mankind the eſtat of the dead was not ſo well knowne, as after that our Lord deſcended into hell. 3. Thirdly becauſe men had not ſo great meanes to ſuccour them before, as they had after that the merits of the death and paſſion of our Lord were committed into the hands of the Church to apply them.

FINIS.

End of the text · Peter du Moulin Jr, The Waters of Shiloh to Quench the Fire of Purgatory (1612)