A Discourse Concerning Liturgies, Part 1-50

A Discourse Concerning Liturgies · Part 1-50

p. 1THE Reputation of preſcribed Liturgies depends on their ſuppoſed Antiquity; this is their great, their beſt ſupport. They pretend not to Scripture, nor will their Advocates maintain, that the Apoſtles either uſed ſuch, or left any order for the compoſing and preſcribing of them.

And it will ſeem ſtrange to thoſe that reverence Antiquity, that good Reaſon ſhould be found for them; if the Antients for four or five Ages could ſee none, in ſuch circumſtances as might render it equally viſible to them and us.

If they had ſeen it, it would appear in their practice, there eſpecially where the Reaſon is thought to be moſt cogent, viz. in the adminiſtration of the Sacraments. It is preſumed, aaThe Antient Churches, from the very firſt Century, did uſe ſuch publick wholeſome forms of ſound words, in their Sacramental Celebrations eſpecially, and afterwards in other Holy Adminiſtrations or publick Duties, as made up their ſolemn, devout and publick Liturgies. D. G. Conſideration touching Liturgies, p. 8.that there firſt p. 2of all, there eſpecially, forms of Prayer were (and are to be) preſcribed; and ſo it will be granted, that if Antiquity be not for them there, it owns them no where.

By preſcribed Forms are meant ſuch as are impoſed upon the Adminiſtrator, ſo as thoſe muſt be uſed, and no other, nor otherwiſe, without adding, detracting, or tranſpoſing. The Favourers of ſuch Forms ſuppoſe, they have been the conſtant uſage of the Church, every where, ever ſince extraordinary gifts ceaſed. Their Oppoſites judge this hath been rather taken for granted, then proved; and ſuſpect they are foreign; and that this opinion had not got entertainment, but upon a preſumption, that things were ſo of old, becauſe they are ſo now; bbforeign. Iſid. Pelul. l. 25. ep. 18. foreign. Iſid. l. 3. ep. 191.and that the miſtake had not ſo long prevailed, if it had been ſooner examined.

It is not denyed, but there were ſome Forms of Prayer of old, viz. arbitrary and particular, ſuch as this or that Perſon compoſed himſelf, or made choice of compoſed by others, for his uſe in publick. There is an intimation of this later ſort, Can. 23. Con. Carthag. 3. held in the concluſion of the fourth Age; and it is the firſt that I meet with. But common Forms (though arbitrary) viz. ſuch as many Churches made uſe of in the ſame words, I cannot diſcover till many years after; unleſs the Lords Prayer be made an inſtance hereof ccforeign, &c. Iſidor. Peluſ. l. 4. ep. 24.. This indeed p. 3was uſed antiently, but far otherwiſe then of late, not more then once at one Aſſembly, not in Prayers before or after Sermon, not at all in the Catechumens office, ddforeign. Chryſo…l. in Math. hom. 18. p. 139. and Hom. 2. in 2 Cor. p. 553. Amongſt other things there recited, which the Catechumens were not partakers of, this is one. foreign. Hence when he is to ſpeak of the Lords Prayer, he uſes the ordinary form of concealment, whereby the Antients denote what was peculiar to the fidiles, foreign, in 1 Tim. Hom. 5. p. 273. and foreign, in Gen. hom. 28. p. 214, and that the Baptized were admitted to ſay it preſently after Baptiſm, in Coloſſ. hom. 5. p. 122. Hanc orationem baptizati orant. Auguſt. epiſt. 54. Vid. Albaſpin. obſerv. li. 1. c. 9. and in him Cyprian, Cyril, Ambroſe. Quam totam Petitionem fere omnis eccleſia dominica oratione concludit. Aug. ep. 59.no where in their ordinary Service; but foreign (in 2 Cor. hom. 3.) as Chryſoſtom calls the Euchariſtical Office; and there commonly in the concluſion of the Prayer for the bleſſing of the Elements.

But though they uſed the words of it there, yet not out of any apprehenſion, that Chriſt did injoin them there to uſe it. Auguſtine declares it plainly eeAug. Non te ergo movet Dominus ſummus Magiſter, cum orare doceret Diſcipulos, verba quaedam docuit, in quo nihil aliud videtur feciſſe, quam docuiſſe quomodo in orando loqui oporteret? Ad. Nihil me omnino iſtud movet, non enim verba, ſed …es ipſas cos verbes docuit, quibus & ſeipſi common…ſacerent, a quo q…id eſſet orandum, cum in penetralibus, ut dictum eſt mentis, orarect. Aug, Recte intelligis. Lib. de Magiſtro. cap. 1. p. 172. tom. 1. edit. Lugdan. To the ſame purpoſe Beda in Math. 6. And of late Writers, ſome of the moſt eminent, Noluit praeſcribere filius Dei quibus verbit utendum ſit, ut ab ea quam dictavit formula deflectere non liceat, Calvin in Math. 6. 9. So Muſculus. Maldonat. ſic] Non his neceſſario verbis; ſed hac aut ſimili ſententia—Nam non Apoſtolos orando his ipſis verbis uſos fuiſſe legimus; aliis legimus Act. 24. Neque voluit Chriſtus, ut quotieſcun que oramus, iſta omnia que hac oratione continentur peteremus; ſed ut omnia, aut aliqua, aut nihil certe his contrarium peterem, in Matth. 6. 9. Cornel. A Lapide. Grotius in Matth. 6. 9. foreign] In hunc ſenſum. Non enim praecipit Christus verba recitari, quod non legimus Apoſtolos ſeciſſe (qua… quam id quoque fieri cum fructu potest) ſed materiam precum hinc promere, in Luc. 11. docet nos compendium rerum orandarum, neque enim eo tempore ſyllabis adſtringebantur. Caſaubon, exercit. 235. Chriſtus vero non de praedicatione Dei landum agit; ſed, ut recte monet Augustinus, de modo concipiendi preces privatas. Mr. Mede conceives that the Diſciples underſtood not that Chriſt in Matthew intended it for a Form of Prayer unto them, but for a Pattern and Example only, &c. p. 5. And ſure they could leſs underſtand, by that in Luke 4. that Chriſt intended they ſhould uſe the ſame words (as in a ſet Form) ſince the ſame words are not there uſed. Hence Janſenius inferrs, that Chriſt would not have any ſo careful of the words, as of the things to be prayed for; ita que ut diſceremus in oratione, non tam de verbis, quam derebus eſſe anxii, ac de Spiritu orationis, diverſis verbis orationem tradidit, in Luc. 11.Matt 6Matt 6:9Acts 24Luke 11Luke 4that Chriſt in the delivery of thoſe Petitions, did not teach his Diſciples what words they ſhould uſe in Prayer, but what things they ſhould pray p. 4for; and underſtands it to be a direction for ſecret and mental Prayer, where no words are to be uſed. The coherence in Matth. 6. led him to explain it of ſuch Praying, as Chriſt is ſpeaking of ver. 6. which he took to be mental, and none deny to be ſecret.

It is granted alſo, that divers Churches had a certain order, wherein they agreed to adminiſter the ſeveral parts of Worſhip, and particularly the ſeverals in the Sacraments; ſo as each had its known p. 5and fixed place. An order there is viſible in Chryſoſtom, in 2 Cor. hom. 18. p. 647. and in Auguſtine to Paulinus, epist. 59. quaeſt. 5. p. 340, 341. This was ſetled in ſome Churches by Cuſtom; and in ſome there was in time a Rule for it, ſuch is that, Can. 19. Syn. Laodicen. whoſe Title in the Latin Copies is, de ordine orationum Catechumenorum atque fidelium. And in the Weſt, the 27 Canon of the Synod of Pau, in the beginning of the ſixth Age. And 'tis provided for in general terms by the Council of Vens Can. in the latter end of the fifth Age.

Beſides ſuch direction as is in thoſe Canons, other written Rubricks were not needful. For the actual diſpoſing of the ſeverals in their proper place, the foreign ſerved them, of which Can. 22. and 23. Conc. Laodic. ffforeign. in Con. Laod. Can. in Cod. 126.This managed by a Deacon, acquainted with the uſages of the Church where he miniſtred, was ſufficient, without other Rubrick for that purpoſe, ſuppoſing it anſwered that deſcription of its antient uſe, which we have in Balſamo.

There was alſo ſome kind of Uniformity in their Sacramental Prayers; that is, a general agreement to pray for the ſame things, though not in the ſame words. They might have ſaid thereof, quamlibet alia verba dicamus, nihil aliud dicimus. This appeared eſpecially in the general Prayer before the Euchariſt. Therein for whom, and for what they prayed, very many of the Antients give ſome account. Thereby it is manifeſt, that they prayed for the ſame perſons, (for all of all ſorts) and for p. 6the ſame things, with reſpect to the various conditions of thoſe ſeveral ſorts of perſons; and this in variety of expreſſions. So that herein was exemplified that of Auguſtine, Liberum eſt aliis atque aliis verbis, eadem tamen in orando dicere, Epiſt. 121. And this is the Uniformity in Prayer which Caeleſtine urgeth againſt the Pelagians; Epiſt. pro Proſper. & Hilar. c. 11. All Churches through the World agreeing to pray for thoſe perſons, and thoſe things, which were inconſiſtent with their Tenets. And that mode of Praying, which as the Author of the Books, de vocatione Gentium, ggPraecipit itaque Apoſtolus, im… per Apoſtolum Dominus fieri obſecrationes, &c. pro omnibus hominibus, pro Regi…us, &c. quam legem ſupplicationis it a omnium Sacerdotum, & omnium fidelium devotio concorditer tenet, ut nulla pars mundi ſit, in qua hujuſmodi orationes non celebrentur a populis Chriſtianis. Supplicat ergo ubique Eccleſia Deo, non ſolum pro Sanctis, & in Chriſto jam regeneratis; ſed etiam, pro omnibus infidelibus & inimicis crucis Christi, pro omnibus Idolorum cultoribus; pro omnibus, qui Chriſtum in membris ipſius proſequuntur; pro Jud…is—pro Haereticis & Schiſmaticis—Quid autem pro iſtis petit, niſi ut, relictis erroribus ſuis, convertantur ad Deum, accipiant fidem, accipiant charitatem, & de ignor antiae tenebris liberati, in agnitionem veniant veritatis. De voc. Gent. lib. 1. cap. 12.ſays, the Lord, by the Apoſtle, having preſcribed, the devotion of all ſorts did concorditer obſerve.

Such particular and voluntary Forms, ſuch an order in Adminiſtring, ſuch an uniformity in Praying, is not in queſtion; nor am I concerned in common Forms if arbitrary, though ſetled by cuſtom. But this is it which is denyed, that in the antient Church, for many Ages after Chriſt, ſuch Liturgies, or Forms of Prayer, were commonly impoſed on thoſe who adminiſtred the Sacraments, as are before deſcribed.

p. 7Or that in the antient Church, while its condition was tolerable, or its practice imitable, the common and ordinary way of adminiſtring the Sacraments, was by ſuch preſcribed Liturgies and Forms of Prayer, as are before deſcribed; wherein the Adminiſtrators had no liberty left to change words or order, to abridge or inlarge, or otherwiſe vary from the impoſed Models.

If there had been ſuch Liturgies antiently, as are contended for, and are now in uſe; Prayers would have been read then, as they are now. But foreign, or preces legere, or de ſcripto recitare, or any Forms of Speech equivalent, are Phraſes unknown, and not to be found, ſo far as I can yet diſcover in any Writers of the four or five firſt Ages at leaſt; and therefore the thing was in all probability not known, nor practiſed in thoſe times.

We meet not only with the Reading of Pſalms, Theod. l. 2. c. 13. p. 63. Reading of Leſſons; but Reading of the Narratives of the Martyrs Sufferings. hhforeign. Juſt. M. Apol. 2. foreign. Con. Laod. Can. 17.Paſſiones Martyrum, Con. 3. Carth. Can. 47. Carranz. p. 116. liceat it aque legi paſſiones Martyrum, cum anniverſarii dies eorum celebrantur, ut in Cod. Can. 46. Reading of Epiſtles from ſome Eminent Perſons or Churches; as Dionyſius Corinth. ſays Clemens Epiſtle had been Read, as it was wont to be in their Lords days Aſſemblies, Euſeb. l. And Athanaſius wills thoſe of Antioch to read the Epiſtle ſent from the Synod at Alexandria, foreign, ad Antioch. p. 451. to 1. p. 8And Cornelius was wont to read Cyprians Epiſtles to the Church at Rome, Cyp. p. 12. Reading of the Diptyches, foreign, Dionyſ. eccl. Hiſt. c. 7. foreign. Heyl. antid. 342.

In a word, of the reading of every thing that was wont to be read; but of the reading of Prayers, not a ſyllable. We may as ſoon find a ſaying of Maſs, as reading of Prayers. None had then the opportunity till ſince it has been the happyneſs of many to merit the commendation which Pliny gave of his Servant Zoſimus, ep. 19. 15.

If their Prayers had been written, and they confined preciſely to the words and ſyllables of the Writing, as in preſcribed Forms, this would have obliged them to have had the Writing before them, and to have read the Prayers out of it, to prevent varying from the preſcribed Model, ſince there had been as much neceſſity to read then, as there is now.

Beſides, Reading and Praying are ſtill repreſented as diſtinct things, and ſuch as were not then coincident. The Deacon, when he called to Reading, was ſaid, foreign; but when to Prayer, foreign. Prayer began in Juſtin Martyrs time foreign, when the Reader had done, Apol. 2. So Anthanaſius calls to Praying and Reading in terms quite different; foreign. So Socrates, l. 2. c. 8. p. 545. which in Theodoret is, foreign.Vide D. H. Preface to Pſalms, in him Tertull. l. 2. c. 13. p. 63, 64. And Sozomen, where he ſhows there was an uniformity in his time p. 9in publick Worſhip; tells us, foreign. Vide Juſt. nov. 6. Soz. l. 7. c. 19. It cannot be found p. 36. c. 4. that the ſame Prayers or Pſalms, yea or the ſame Readings were uſed by all at the ſame time.

Indeed it cannot be apprehended how they could read their Prayers, who, while they prayed, had their eyes lift up to Heaven. And that this was the poſture of the antient Chriſtians in Prayer, there is abundant evidence.

Tertullian thus repreſents them praying; illuc perſpicientes Chriſtiani, Apol. cap. 30.

And Clemens Alexandrinus ſtrom. 7. foreign: We raiſe our heads (in Prayer) and lift up hands to Heaven.

To whom we might add Cyprian ad Demetrium.

Arnobius, l. 1. p. 28. Ad Sydera ſublevavit & Coelum, & cum Domino rerum Deo, ſupplicationum fecit verba, atque orationum colloquia miſcere.

And Lactantius. Oculos eo dirigamus, quo illos naturae ſuae conditio direxit, lib. 6. Cur igitur oculos in coelum non tollitis, l. 2. c. 2.

So Dionyſius of Alexandria, repreſenting to Xyſtus of Rome the caſe of that troubled perſon, and that, amongſt other ſcruples, he durſt not joyn with them in Prayer, does it in theſe terms, foreign. Euſeb. l. 7. c. 8. p. 188. Lifting up the eyes to Heaven, p. 10is a phraſe, by which Prayer is underſtood in this third Age iiOr ſhutting their Eves. Origen. contra Celſum. l. 7. p. 362. Aſtyenus, foreign, Euſeb. l. 7. p. 195..

In the fourth Age, this was foreign. And when they repreſented Conſtantine in a praying poſture, it was with eyes lift up to Heaven. So his Effigies in his Coins, foreign. Euſeb. de vita Conſtantini, l. 4. c. 15. p. 394. So in his Palace; foreign, id. ibid. Others, foreign, in Praiſes. Vit. conſtant. l. 4. cap. 29.

Chryſoſtom obſerves, from Chriſts poſture in prayer expreſſed, Jo. 17. 1. Theſe words ſpake Jeſus, and lift up his eyes to Heaven; that thereby we are taught, when we pray, to lift up both eyes of Body and Mind: foreign p. 890. So Hillary, Euthymius, Theophylact, Leontius, Ammonius, in Maldonat. on Mat. 14. 19. c. 302.

And Auguſtine intimates as much, when he tells us upon the ſame place, Ita ſe Patri exhibere voluit precatorem, ut meminiſſet noſtrum ſe eſſe Doctoren; he ſo prayed, as minding to teach us how we ſhould pray, Tract. in Joh. 103. Tom. 9. p. 621.

Yea Damaſcen, upon thoſe words, Joh. 11. 41. Jeſus lift up his eyes and ſaid, Father, I thank thee, &c. obſerves, propterea oculos ſuſtuliſſe ut formam nobis traderet orandi.

p. 11Whereby it appears, that, not only, this de facto was their poſture in Praying; but that they thought themſelves obliged to it by Chriſts Example.

Some Biſhops (what may we think of Presbyters and Deacons) could not read, Blondel. 500. 501.

So that in Damaſcens time, when ſet Forms were grown common, this reading was not in faſhion kkHereby it appears that Reading of old was not in faſhion: None had then the opportunity, (though ſince it has been the happyneſs of many) to merit the commendation which Pliny gave of his Servant Zoſimus. Yet Pliny was loath his Orations ſhould be read. His reaſons, though they concern not the Antients, may be conſiderable to others.; I will not inquire into the reaſons: It may be, that which made Pliny loath to read his Pleadings, might hinder them from reading their Prayers. What he ſuggeſts, is obvious to each ones reaſon, and common ſenſe; and whether to ſome it be not applicable to pleaders at another Bar, let others judge. Neque enim me praeterit actiones. Then he ſays, they are thereby bereaved of many advantages, which render the plea fervent and available, ut quas ſoleant commendare, and the want of which muſt needs dull the Auditory; quo minus mirum eſt, auditorum intentio langueſcit.

Hortaris ut orationem amicis pluribus recitem, faciam quia hortaris: quamvis vehementer addubitem, neque enim me praeterit, actiones quae recitantur, impetum omnem caloremque, ac prope nomen ſuum perdere, ut quas ſoleant commendare, ſimul & accendere,—dicentis geſtus, inceſſus, diſcurſus etiam, p. 12omnibuſque motibus animi conſentaneus vigor corporis,—Recitantium vero praecipua pronuntiationis adjumenta, oculi, manus praepediuntur; quo minus mirum est ſi Auditorum intentio langueſcit, nullis extrinſecus aut blandimentis capta aut aculeis excitata. Plin. ep. 9. l. 2. What would he have ſaid; how would this wiſe and judicious Perſon have aggravated theſe diſadvantages, how intolerable would this great Orator have accounted the motion; if Cerealis had moved him, to read the ſame Oration to his Friends whenever they met, at every ſolemn Meeting?

Chryſoſtome tells us, that in his judgment, it required a greater confidence, then Moſes and Elias had, to pray as they were wont to do before the Euchariſt. foreign De Sacerd. orat. 3. p. 46. Now why ſuch boldneſs was needful, if they had the Prayer in a Book before them, and no more to do then read it, I apprehend not. I never heard of any, who were Maſters of the Art of Reading, that found ſo much confidence neceſſary to exerciſe their faculty upon any Prayer whatſoever. foreign ††foreign. Epiſt. foreign p. 118.in him is equivalent to foreign, as Phavorinus, a boldneſs to expreſs ones ſelf freely, Epiſt. foreign 186. No freedom is left him, who muſt only read what is preſcribed him. Vid. in Eph. hom. ult. p. 892. where foreign is foreign. Vid. D. H. N. T. 319. 1. Idem tam commode orationes legit, ut hoc ſolum didiciſſe videatur. Plin. ep. 19. l. 5.

If the Antient Churches had no written Liturgies, no Books of publick Prayers; they could have no p. 13preſcribed, no impoſed, no nor any common Liturgies, (viz. the ſame in many ſeveral Congregations) though not impoſed. And if there had been any ſuch Service Books, it is not imaginable, but there would have been ſome notice of them in ſome of the Writers of thoſe Ages; yet for this, both we, and thoſe who are moſt concerned to find it, are ſtill to ſeek.

We meet not with any mention of ſuch Books, upon ſuch occaſions, where it might be expected they would be mentioned, if any where; and where we might juſtly look to find them, if they had been to be found.

Thoſe who give a particular account of the Books, Veſſels, and ſeveral Utenſils, which were to be found in the Church, make no mention of any ſuch thing as this. Vid. Dall. de objecto cultus.

Amongſt other things, wherewith Athanaſius was falſely charged by the Arrian faction, to make way for his condemnation: Macarius (with reflection upon that great Perſon who imployed him) is accuſed, to have leapt upon the Altar, overthrown the Table, broke the Communion Cup, burnt the Bible; foreign. Socr. Hiſt. l. 1. c. 20. p. 539.

Now it may well be preſumed that Iſchyras, the falſe accuſer, incouraged with hopes of a Biſhoprick (which was his reward afterward) and ſo concerned to ſwell the charge as big, and render it as odious as he could, would have added to the reſt ſome indignity offered to the Sacred Liturgy. This had been as eaſily alleadged as the reſt (if the ſubject had been extant) and might have been as hainouſly reſented, if there had been ſuch Liturgies, or p. 14ſuch opinion of them, as in our times.

When Gregorius the Arrian Biſhop came to take poſſeſſion of the Biſhoprick of Alexandria, and entered a Church by force, of what abuſes were offered to all things therein, Athanaſius gives a particular account; the Table, foreign, the Scriptures, foreign, the Font, foreign, the Wine, the Oyl, the Doors and latticed Partitions, foreign, the Candleſticks, the Tapers, foreign. Ad Africanos ep. tom. 1. p. 729. But not a word of a Service Book, no more then of a Book of Homilies.

When the multitude of Chriſtians ſo increaſed at Conſtantinople, that it was thought neceſſary to diſpoſe of them in ſeveral Churches; Conſtantine takes care, that thoſe Churches ſhould be reſpectively furniſhed with Bibles; and writes to Euſebius of Caeſarea to have them prepared accordingly. Now (let thoſe that are for preſcribed Liturgies be Judges) would it not have been requiſite, that thoſe Churches ſhould have been alſo furniſhed with Service Books; and care taken, that theſe ſhould have been likewiſe writ out for them, if any ſuch had been then in uſe? Would Conſtantine have omitted this, if he had been of their mind; or would not Euſebius (who overlooks nothing of that nature) have added this in commendation of him, if he had made any ſuch proviſion?

Does it not hence appear, that Churches were then thought ſufficiently provided with Books, neceſſary for Divine Service, when they were furniſhed with Bibles? And can it be ſuppoſed that Conſtantine, whoſe generouſneſs towards the Church is known to have run out in many ſuperfluities, p. 15would have been deficient in things accounted in any degree neceſſary?

Euſeb. de vit. Conſtant. l. 4. c. 34. 'O foreign; and cap. 36. p. 401. where we have that foreign.

In the fourth Council of Carthage, it is provided; when the Biſhop is ordained, the Book of the Goſpels ſhall be held over his head, teneat Evangelio…um codicem ſuper caput & cervicem ejus, c. 2. When the Exorciſt is ordained, a Book of Exorciſms is to be given him; accipiat de manu Epiſcopi libellum, in quo ſcripti ſ…nt exorciſmi, c. 7. When the Reader is ordained, the Bible, out of which he is to read, is to be delivered him, can. 8. tradet ei codicem, de quo lecturus eſt, dicens ad eum; accipe, & eſto lector verbi Dei.

But no Book of publick Prayers, either uſed, or delivered, or mentioned, in the Ordination of Biſhop, Presbyter or Deacon, (the only perſons who miniſtred in the Prayers of the Church) or any other Officer. Yet here, if any where, we might reaſonably have expected to have met with a Service Book, if there had been any at that time.

One of the firſt Books for publick Service, which I meet with, is the Libellus officialis in Conc. Tol. 4. Can. 25. an. 633. which ſeems rather but a ſhort Directory, then a compleat Liturgy, given to every Presbyter at his Ordination, to inſtruct him how to adminiſter the Sacraments; leaſt, through ignorance of his Duty herein, he ſhould offend. Quando Preſbyteri in Parochiis ordinantur, libellum officialem a ſuo Sacerdote accipiant, ut ad Eccleſias ſibi deputatas inſtructi accedant, ne per ignorantiam p. 16etiam in ipſis divinis Sacramentis Chriſtum offendant. And many of the Canons of that Council had been needleſs, if thoſe Churches had been before furniſhed with ſuch a Liturgy; ſince that would have provided ſufficiently for the ſeverals there decreed. Can. 2. 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.

To aſcend a little higher; in the times of the Churches Perſecution, in the beginning of the fourth Age; if there had been ſuch Service Books, why did not their Perſecutors call for the delivery of them, as they did, not only for the Bible, but for other Church Utenſils? (Vid. Conc. Arelat. Can. 13. in Caranz. p. 65.) Why hear we of no traditores upon this account? It was not the Chriſtians belief contained in the Scripture concerning the true God, or the Gentiles falſe Gods, that did more exaſperate the Heathen againſt them, then their Worſhip. The Jews, whoſe belief was as oppoſite to theirs, had a toleration many times, when the Chriſtians were deſtroyed. And Origen llNeque de Diis non recte ſentire crederentur, eum non fuiſſe, verum ſevitiae cauſam ex …o probat Origines, quod Epicureis aliiſque Philoſophis, omnem omnino divinam providentiam tollentibus parcebatur. Grot.obſerves, that they were not wont to perſecute any for their Opinions, foreign, adv. Cel…. l. 2. p. 68. There were opinions amongſt their perſecutors concerning God as ſcandalous to the Heathen, as thoſe which the Scripture taught the Chriſtians. The Epicureans wholly denying Divine p. 17Providence mmforeign, Athanaſ. de incarnatione veroi. p. 38. …. 1. foreign. Iſidor. l. 4. Epiſt. 57., which is Origens inſtance, Ibid. foreign, holding that their Gods were compoſed of Atoms, foreign l. 4. p. 169. That there were no rewards nor puniſhments after Death; nor any true good, but what is ſenſible: The Stoicks maintaining, that a Wiſe Man was equal to their great God Jupiter. Senec. Ep. 73. 74. p. 672. 673. Solebat Sextius dicere, Jovem plus non poſſe quam bonum virum.—Deus non vincit ſapientem felicitate, etiamſi vincit aetate.—Sapiens tam aequo animo omnia apud alios videt contemnitque, quam Jupiter: & hoc ſe magis ſuſpicit, quod Jupiter uti illis non poteſt, ſapiens non vult. Et Ep. 53. 54. Est aliquid, quo ſapiens antecedat Deum: ille naturae beneficio non ſuo ſapiens eſt; ſuo ſapiens. foreign. Origen. adv. Celſ. l. 6. p. 309.

p. 18And the Peripateticks, with other **Epicur. in Senec. de benefic. l 4. c. 19. p. 442. Vid. Grot. de jure belli, p. 443. Ib. Cicero, Plutarch, Euſeb. l. 15. c. 5. foreign, in Spenſ. not. in Orig. 16. …ntimated by Chryſoſtom in act. foreign p. 911. foreign. Vide Doun. notas Ariſt. 10. M…aphyſ.Philoſophers, curtailing and confining the Providence of God to generals, or to the Orb of the Moon, ſo as Humane affairs were not regarded by him; and all Humane addreſſes to him, were to no purpoſe; foreign, Or. p. 156. Or as Juſtin Martyr repreſents them, Dial. cum Tryphone, p. 1. foreign.

Nor was it their opinions concerning Worſhip, delivered in the Scripture, ſo much as the exerciſe of their Worſhip, which incenſed the Gentiles againſt them. For divers of the Heathen held and publiſhed opinions highly derogatory to their Worſhip; as that of Heraclitus to pray before Images, was as wiſe an act, as to talk to a Wall, related, b. 1. Clem. Alexandrin. protrept. foreign nnforeign, Orig. contr C…lſ. p. 375. l. 7.And Celſus in Orig. l. 1. p. 6. and l. 7. p. 373. And that of the Pythagoreans, who thought it not fit to pray, becauſe it was uncertain what was profitable, and ſo fit to be prayed for, foreign, Laert. in Pythag. Or that of the Philoſophers p. 19in Juſtin Martyr, who, denying a particular providence, conceived God would take no notice of any perſon, though he ſought him night and day, foreign Dial. cum Tryph. princip. And that of the Peripateticks, that Prayers and Sacrifices were good for nothing, as Origen repreſents ooforeign. Orig. cont. C…lſ. l. 7. p. 375.them, l. 2. p. 68. foreign. Who have ſtudied to deſerve Ariſtippus Character, foreign, Diogen. Laert. Ariſtipp. And that of the Platoniſts, that there was no immediate intercourſe betwixt Mortals and the Caeleſtial Gods; but all addreſſes were to be made by the mediation of Demons, which was croſs to the practice of the generality of the Heathen, in their Devotions. And what more vilifies their Worſhip, then that of Seneca, Quae omnia ſapiens ſervabit, tanquam legibus juſſa, non tanquam Diis grata. And that, ſic adorabimus, ut meminerimus cultum magis ad morem, quam ad rem pertinere ppQuomodo ſint Dii C…lendi, ſolet praecipi. Accendere aliquem lucernam Sabbathis prohibeamus: quoniam ne: lumine Dii …gent, & ne homines quidem delectantur fuligine. Vetemus ſalutationibus matutinis fungi & foribus aſſidere templorum. Humana ambitio iſtis officiis capitur; Deum colit, qui novit, vetemus lintea & ſtrigiles Jovi ferre, & ſpeculum tenere Junoni. Non quaerit miniſtros Deus, &c. ſatis illos co…uit, quiſquis imitatus est. Senec. ep. …5. p. 791. foreign. Chryſ. in 1 Cor. hom. 7. p. 286. foreign. Ib. ibid.. Juſt ſuch apprehenſions as many prudential Conformiſts have of our Formality and Ceremonious Worſhip, yet both complying with the preſent Modes injoyned, and making ſome ſhew of liking what they ſecretly derided; for which feigned conſent, and not ſetting up any other way of Worſhip, they (ſeveral ſorts of the Philoſophers) eſcaped then, and ours now well enough.

p. 20Now if the exerciſe of the Chriſtian Worſhip, which lay, as is ſuppoſed, in the pretended Liturgy, were as odious to the Heathen, as their Tenets concerning God and his Worſhip, which lay in the Bible; if there had been any ſuch Liturgies, why would not the Gentiles have been as zealous, to deſtroy them as the Scriptures?

However it may well be ſuppoſed, that the delivery of the Chriſtians Liturgies, if there had been any, would have been required, if not as much as that of their Bibles, yet more then that of their other Church Utenſils. Torti Prodoſis, Euſeb. l. 8. p. 242. Since 'tis obſervable, that the Romans, who forced the Chriſtians upon that crime, for which they were denominated Traditores, were more zealous againſt new Liturgies, though Heatheniſh, then againſt new Gods. Theſe they did more then tolerate, thoſe they would not endure. An inſtance hereof we have in Livy, Dec. 3. lib. 5. p. 111. Some at Rome made bold to Sacrifice and Pray in a way not conformable to the Roman Mode. Mulierum turba erat, nec ſacrificantium nec precantium Deos patrio more. This was hainouſly reſented by all ſorts; primo ſecretae bonorum indignationes p. 21exaudiebantur, deinde ad Patres etiam, & ad publicam querimoniam exceſſit res. The inferiour Magiſtrates are ſharply taken up by the Senate, becauſe they did not hinder it; accuſati graviter ab Senatu aediles, triumvirique capitales, quod non prohiberent. And when their endeavours were not effectual to ſuppreſs it; the Praetor is imployed therein by the Senate; who, by their order, commands all the new Liturgies to be delivered in to him by ſuch a day,—Edixit ut quicunque libros vaticinos, precationeſve, aut artem ſacriſicandi conſcriptam haberet, eos libros omnes literaſque ad ſe ante C…lend. Apriles deferret.

We ſee, they would not tolerate Heatheniſh Liturgies, differing from what they uſed only in Mode and Rites, though conformable as to the ſubſtance and object of their Worſhip. Would they not be more violent for the delivering up of Chriſtian Liturgies, more oppoſite to them every way, if there had been any? But there's not a word, in the Antients, of any ſuch demand, or any complyance therewith, or any cenſure of ſuch complyance; when the demand and delivery of other things leſs material, leſs offenſive to them, and proceeding againſt the Traditors, are frequently mentioned.

Auguſtine alleadges ſome things frequently prayed for in publick, but not as in the words of any written Liturgy, but of the Adminiſtrator, Quando audis Sacerdotem Dei ad altare, &c. Ep. 107. p. 567. And the ſame Petitions he afterwards ſets down in other words; which ſignifies, he had them not out of any preſcribed or written Liturgy; for then they (would, they) muſt have been the ſame; Pro incredulis, ut eos Deus convertat ad p. 22fidem; but p. 577. Ʋt incredulas Gentes ad fidem ſuam venire compellat. Pro fidelibus, ut in eo quod eſſe ceperunt, munere ſuo perſeverent; and p. 578. Ʋt proficiant in eo quod eſſe ceperunt.

Auguſtine mentions the publick Prayers againſt Pelagians; but no otherwiſe, then as he might have alleadged the extemporary petitions of ſuch, who ſeeking the ſame things that Chriſtians uſually do, uſe not the ſame words; and agreeing in the ſubject, vary other ways in the expreſſions; without any intimation, that they were preſcribed or in variable Forms. And elſewhere with ſome note of uncertainty, whether they did ſo pray, or whether thoſe were their words in publick; whereas if they had been in a common written Liturgy, he would have known it, and might have been poſitive; or ſome intimation of liberty they had to uſe thoſe words or not, thoſe or others; ſi voluerimus.

Finally, it cannot with any reaſon be ſuppoſed, but, if there had been ſuch Liturgies, they would have been made uſe of againſt the Errours, and for deciding the Controverſies, wherewith the Church was exerciſed in the Ages we are concerned in. To wave others, there were two eſpecially as to which they might have been this way apparently ſerviceable; viz. That concerning the Godhead of Chriſt, oppoſed in the firſt, ſecond, third and fourth Age eſpecially. And that concerning the foreign of the faithful; and other errors, with which Pelagius and his adherents troubled the Churches in the beginning of the fifth Age, and afterwards. His Tenet ſee Auguſt. contr. 2 ep. Pelag. l. 4. c. 2. p. 239.

None will fancy a Chriſtian Liturgy, wherein p. 23there is not ſome acknowledgment of, or ſome addreſs to Chriſt as God, or wherein there is not ſome confeſſion of ſin, or ſome petition for pardon, in Prayers proper to the faithful, ſomething equivalent to petition in the Lords Prayer, forgive us our Treſpaſſes, and ſo no Liturgies, wherein there was not evidence enough againſt both thoſe errours, and others alſo of the Pelagians, inconſiſtent with the neceſſity of the grace of God.

And it will be granted, that if thoſe who were judicious had the managing of thoſe Controverſies, if they thought it requiſite to make uſe of Humane Teſtimony, they would make choice of that which is moſt cogent and convictive.

Now they did make uſe of Humane Teſtimony, as we find both that unnamed Author in Euſebius, l. 5. c. …. p. 145. who confuting Artemons error, who maintained Chriſt was only foreign, alleadges Juſtin Martyr, Miltiades, Tatian, Clemens, Irenaeus, Melito, and the Hymns compoſed by the Brethren of old, foreign; but not a word of any Prayers, antient or written, by Brethren or Fathers; which yet (by one who, as it is apparent, induſtriouſly ſought out all ſorts of confirmations) would not have been omitted; as tending as much, if there had been ſome written of old; but contributing much more, to the confirming of that truth, if there had been any injoyned to be publickly and generally uſed. Alſo Athanaſius againſt the Arrians, and Auguſtine againſt the Pelagians **Athanaſ. Syn. ni…. contr. Haer…ſ. Arrian. decret. tom. 1. p. 240. quotes Theognoſtus foreign Alſo Dionyſ. of Alexand. and of Rome, with Origen. Elſewhere Ignatius., two of the p. 24moſt judicious Writers that thoſe Ages afforded, make uſe of the Teſtimonies of their Predeceſſors and Contemporaries; but alledge not one paſſage out of a Service-Book, or any Prayers written, or ſo as to give us occaſion to think there were any ſuch uſed publickly, and authorized; whereas they could not but apprehend as well as we, that one clear allegation out of an antient and commonly received Liturgy would have been more cogent and convictive, then any, or all the particular Teſtimonies, they produce; (ſince the judgment of whole Churches, in ſeveral Ages too, is far more conſiderable, then of many particular perſons).

Auguſtine, and others alleadge, againſt the Pelagians, divers things, which were frequently prayed for in publick; but without ſignifying in the leaſt wiſe, that the Prayers were written or antient, (which he in Euſebius thought it requiſite to expreſs, concerning the Hymns he mentions) or that they were generally received, or the ſame Form, or authorized for the publick Service, or preſcribed to be invariably uſed. Yet in theſe particulars lay the force and the advantage of ſuch an allegation; and that which would render it moſt conſiderable, and of far more weight then the Teſtimony of ſingle Writers: And therefore undoubtedly would have been inſiſted on (if there had been any ſuch thing to urge) by any, who knew how to manage an Argument, or to make uſe of a very obvious advantage.

So that we may conclude, either the greateſt wits and judgments of thoſe times were not wiſe enough to diſcern the beſt advantages they had from p. 25Humane Teſtimony, ſuch as were obvious to every eye; and either could not manage them, as thoſe of ordinary capacities amongſt us can do; or would not improve them, as the intereſt of the truth they contended for, and their faithfulneſs to it required; and ſo were either injudicious or unfaithful; or elſe that they had no ſuch advantages to make uſe of, and ſo no ſuch Liturgies.

Further, if there were ſuch Liturgies, how comes it to paſs, that we meet with no intelligence of any changing of them, or alterations made in them, upon ſuch occaſions, as we may well conceive would neceſſarily draw on ſuch changes, and in all probability bring us ſome account thereof. Quiſquis unquam, ſays one, Religionem mutavit, & orandi rationem mutavit: nulla unquam Haereſis fuit, quae non continuo ſuas eſſinxerit preces. Mald. in Luc. 11. This being ſo, we may expect to meet with frequent mention of rejecting old Liturgies, and compoſing new, of altering or correcting them, if the antient mode of Praying was by preſcribed Liturgies. But I have not yet met with any mention thereof, no not in thoſe circumſtances, wherein, if any where, it might be expected.

The Hereſie of Artemon, holding that Chriſt was a meer Terrene Creature, having ſiezed on Paulus Samoſatenus (foreign) Biſhop of Antioch; the Fathers of the Council held there, upon that occaſion, tell us, in their circular Epiſtle, that he prohibited the uſe of the Pſalms ſung in the honour of Chriſt. foreign. Euſeb. l. 7. cap. foreign. lib. 24. And would he have tolerated a Liturgy, whoſe contents were p. 26as much for the honour of Chriſt? Or can there be ſuppoſed a Liturgy, which had nothing in it for the honour of Chriſt foreign. And if he had made as bold with a Liturgy, would this have been concealed by thoſe Fathers, who are ſo large and particular, in giving an account of all his impieties, innovations, preſumptions, (that the juſtice of their proceeding againſt him might be clear to the world), not omitting thoſe Hymns, which were of leſs moment?

When the Arrians ſo far prevailed, as they had poſſeſſed themſelves of all the publick Churches, in a great part of the Chriſtian World, the Eaſt eſpecially (ſo as the Orthodox, reduced to Conventicles, were glad to keep them in private Houſes, Fields, Woods, or where elſe they could or durſt) they had power and opportunity to make what changes they would; and no leſs will and forwardneſs, ſhewing ſufficiently how much they were given to change, and that no reſpect would reſtrain from altering any thing, which croſt their tenet, by the alterations they made in the Doxology, in the words of Chriſt for adminiſtring Baptiſm, yea in the Scriptures themſelves, as Ambroſe tells us, de Spiritu Sancto. 3. 11. And remarkably in the univerſally received Confeſſion of Faith, ſince they made a new Creed almoſt every other year. Socrates gives a particular account of three in little more then twenty years, Hiſt. lib. 4. c. 32. p. 604.

And what could reſtrain this innovating humour (when they had power enough) from aboliſhing or altering the ſuppoſed Lituries, if they were but tempted to it, by what they would count a juſt p. 27occaſion? And ſuch occaſion they had, if thoſe Liturgies contained any thing in favour of the Eternal Godhead of Chriſt, or his equality with the Father, or the Divinity of the Holy Ghoſt (which the Semi-Arrians oppoſed). And ſome things (if not many) of this tendency they contained, if they were Chriſtian Liturgies. Why is it then, that we hear not a word of their changing any old Liturgy, or compoſing any new; when we hear of their making bold both with that of greater moment and leſs? And how is it that their Antagoniſts, who thought themſelves and their cauſe concerned, to give a full account of their innovations, (conceiving their Novelties to be one of the great advantages they had againſt them, and improving it, by publiſhing them to the World) make no mention of any ſuch thing? In all reaſon this muſt be, becauſe there was no ſuch thing, no occaſion for it, no ſuch Liturgies then in faſhion.

We hear alſo afterwards, when Eutychianiſm was prevailing, what a tumult was made in Conſtantinople, what a noiſe through the World by the adding of one word or two, foreign, to the Triſagion, the Hymn ſo called. Theodor. Lect. collect. l. 2. p. 187.

And could more changes be made in ſetled Liturgies (with whoſe Forms and Prayers the people are preſumed to have been as well acquainted, and longer accuſtomed to them, then to that Hymn) without any noiſe, without any notice?

Certainly, if they had been aboliſhed, or ſuch alterations made in them, we ſhould have heard of p. 28it, ſome where or other. And if there were no changes made therein, upon ſo great changes of the Chriſtian Religion, it was becauſe there was none to be changed, no ſuch Liturgies extant.

In general, that they had no ſuch publick Liturgies for the adminiſtration of the Sacraments, appears by this; that they thought themſelves obliged, with all care to conceal the Symbols, the Rites, the Prayers uſed in theſe adminiſtrations, from the ſight and knowledge of all that were not initiated. The Chriſtians, in the fourth and fifth Ages eſpecially, counted it a hainous crime, to have any of the Heathen or Catec…umens acquainted therewith; ſome of them make it no leſs **Chriſtianis ipſis minime conſecratis ſine Sacrilegio videri non poteſt. Author ſermonum de continentia; not Zeno Veronenſis, who lived about; but one who ſays in that Sermon, he writ four hundred years after the Epiſtle of Paul to the Corinthians was written.then Sacriledge, ††foreign. Chryſoſt. in 2 Tim. hom. 2. p. 338.one of the greateſt crimes, and ‖‖Concil. Herdenſ.worthy of the higheſt cenſure, prolixiori anathemate.

Hence they durſt not adminiſter them in the ſight of the foreign, nor diſcourſe of them intelligibly in the hearing of ſuch, nor commit them to writing for common uſe; that being the way to have them divulged.

They called Baptiſm, and the Lords Supper, and the Prayers uſed therein, with ſome other Rites, foreign rrSacrae orationis myſterium. Ambroſ. de fide, ad Gratianum, l. 5. foreign. Theo. loret in Joh. 6. And Chryſoſto… of the words uſed in Baptiſm, foreign, in 1 Cor. hom. 40. p. 514. obſecrationum Sacramenta. Cae…eſtin epiſt. c. 11. in Crab. p. 525. Obſecrationum quoque Sacerdotalium Sacramenta reſpiciamus, quae ab Apoſtolis tradita in toto mundo, & in omni catholica Eccleſia uniformiter celebrantur, 2. Ibid. & in fine operum proſperi, p. 894. u…iformiter, becauſe they all pray for the ſame things, viz. thoſe which he ſpeaks of; that there was every where an uniformity in words, is apparently falſe. foreign. Balſam. in Ca…. 126. Cod. foreign Cyr… Alixandr. epiſt. ad ne…tor. cum 12 anathem. Nos autem qu…ties Sacramenta ſumimus, quae per ſacrae orationi… myſterium in carnem transfigurantur & ſanguinem, mortem Domini annuntiam…s. Ambr. de fide, ad Grat. c. 5. Chriſſi corpus & ſanguinem dicimus illud tantum, quod ex fructibus terr… arreptum, & prece myſtica conſicratum …ite ſumimus. Auguſt. de trinitate 3. c. 4. De baptiſmo Chryſo…t. catecheſ. ad illuminandos. foreign foreign. A…th. quaeſt. ad Antioch. in Athanaſ. tom. 2. p. 275.John 6, and uſed them according to the import p. 29of the word, which in Phavorinus is foreign, and derived foreign as concerned to keep thoſe ſecrets to themſelves, and confine them to their own breaſts, without communicating them to others, either by action, word, or writing. It is not at all a myſtery, ſayes Baſil, if it be expoſed to common notice; foreign. de Spiritu Sancto, p. 273. 'Tis a myſtery, ſayes Chryſoſtom, therefore keep all cloſe, &c. foreign. in Math. hom. foreign. p. 451. uſing a like phraſe to that, wherewith Orpheus begins the diſcourſe of his Myſteries, for the divulging of which p. 30Diagoras (amongſt other crimes of the like nature) was preſcribed.

foreign—

Indeed the Chriſtians came not far ſhort of the Heathen herein, if they had not a deſign to overtake them.

Celſus objecting the ſecrets of Chriſtianity, foreign, as matter of accuſation. Origen anſwers, it was not peculiar to Chriſtians (foreign) to have ſome things reſerved from common knowledge (foreign). The Heathen had their Myſteries alſo, and thoſe both Philoſophical and Devotional. He inſtanceth in both. For the former, Pythagoras (who himſelf was obliged to be circumciſed, that he might procure admiſſion to the Aegyptian ſecrets. Clem. Alexandr. ſtrom. 1.) had ſome hearers who learnt in ſecret, ſuch things as were not fit for profane Ears, nor yet purified; foreign, lib. 1. contr. Celſ. p. 7. And for the latter, he ſayes, all the myſteries every where, both in Greece, and amongſt the barbarous were not blamed for being kept ſecret, foreign, p. 8. ssforeign Baſil. de Spiritu Sancto, c. 27. p. 273.. And Seneca before him mentions both, where he will have Lucilius obſerve the difference p. 31between foreign & praeceptum, ep. 95. Idem dicere de praeceptis poſſum, aperta ſunt; decreta vero ſapientiae in abdito, ſicut ſanctiora ſacrorum tantum initiati ſciant, ita in philoſophia arcana illa admiſſis receptiſque in ſacra oſtenduntur; at praecepta & alia hujuſmodi profanis quoque not a ſunt, p. 794. None were admitted to the ſight of their Myſtical Rites, but the initiated; others were warned to withdraw ttSo Prudentius in Apoth. repreſents the Heathen, excluding Chriſtians from their myſteries, —Lotus procul eſſe & unctus..

—Procul, o procul ite profani,

Conclamat vates, totoque abſiſtite luco. Virg. Aen. 6.

foreign.

And if they would venture to be preſent, it was at their peril uuTempore initiorum duo Juvenes Acarnanes, qui non initiati erant, Athenas venerant, & in Sacrarium Cereris, cum aliis popularibus ſuis intraverunt, ob hoc tanquam nefas ſummum—caeſi ſunt, flor. epit.. As Pentheus in Pauſanias wwPentheam aiunt; ut foeminarum operta ſacra ſpecularetur, in arborem aſcendiſſe, atque inde omnia conſpicatum, quod cum Bacchae animadvertiſſent, impetu facto viventem eum laceraſſe, ac membratim diſcerpſiſſe, Pauſan. l. 2. Livy dec. 4. l. 1. p. 7. vid. ſig. infra.; and thoſe of Acarnania in Livy found it. Nero durſt not venture, eleuſiniis ſacris, quorum initiatione impii & ſcelerati voce praeconis ſubmoverentur, intereſſe non auſus eſt. Sueton. ner. c. 34.

They would not ſpeak of them in the hearing of others, foreign; He is p. 32impious that ſpeaks of the myſteries to thoſe that are not initiated, ſayes Chryſippus in Laertius. This was part of Alcibiades crime, myſteria Cereris enuntiaviſſe xxAlciblades abſens Athenis inſimulatur myſteria Cereris initiorum ſacra, nullo magis quam ſilentio ſolemnia enuntiaviſſe, Juſtin Hiſt. l. 5. c. 1. Vid. Cornel. nepos, in Alcibiad.. And Auguſtus, when he was to hear a Cauſe, wherein theſe myſteries were touched, would not let it be opened, till the Company was diſmiſſed yyAthenis initiatus, cum poſtea Romae pro tribunali de privilegio Sacerdotum Atticae Cereris cognoſceret, & quaedam ſecretiora proponerentur, dimiſſo Conci…io & corona circumſtantium, ſolus audiit diſceptantes. Sueton. Octav. Auguſt. cap. 93. p. 103. Pauſanias of the ſame, foreign, Baeoticis vid. Dionyſ. Halicarnaſſenſ. infra..

They would not commit them to Writing. And ſo we may obſerve, that when the Antient Writers have occaſion to deliver any thing particularly concerning them, they wave it with an foreign: So Apollonius of the Samothracian myſteries.

foreign,

foreign. l. 1. Argon.

Numenius zzNumenio denique inter Philoſophos occultorum curioſiori offenſam numinum, quod Eleuſina ſacra interpretando vulgaverit ſomnia prodiderunt, Somn. Scip. l. 1. c. 2. p. 25. Tarquinius autem Rex M. T…llium Duumvirum, quod librum ſecreta civilium ſacrorum continentem cuſtodiae ſuae commiſſum, corruptus Petronio Sabino deſcribendum dediſſet, culeo inſutum in mare abjici juſſit; idque ſupplicii genus multo post parricidis lege irrogatum est. Val. Max. l. 1. c. 1. p. 8.venturing to write of them. underſtood by a Dream, he had incurred offenſam numinum, p. 33as Macrobius tells us. But M. Atelius fared worſe, ſuffering as a Parricide, for permitting the Sibylls Books in his cuſtody (containing ſecreta civilium ſacrorum, and uſed by the Romans as their extraordinary Ritual) to be tranſcribed; foreign. Dionyſ. Halicarnaſſ. l. 4.

If they truſted them to Writing, it was in ſecret Character, ſuch as could not be underſtood by thoſe, from whom they were to be concealed aaforeign, &c. Ba…iſ. de Spiritu Sancto, c. p. 273. And Leo Philoſophus; Laws were not to be writ obſcurely, becauſe they were not myſteries, foreign, Novel. 77.. Literis ignorabilibus, as Apuleius of the Rites of Iſis bbSummus Sacerdos—de opertis adytis praefert quoſdam libros literis ignorabilibus praenotatos; partim figuris cujuſcemodi animalium, concepti Sermonis compendioſa verba ſuggerentes; partim nodoſis & in modum rotae tortuoſis, capreolatimque condenſis apicibus, a curioſitate profanorum lectione munita. Indidem mihi praedicat quae forent ad uſum teletae neceſſario praeparanda. Metamorph. lib. 11. p. 208. foreign. Dionyſ. Halicarnaſſ. lib. 1. foreign. Syneſ. infra. Cyril Catech. 6. p. 60. foreign. foreign. Oſiridis hiſtoria ſacris ſermonibios myſteriiſque celebris eſt ita ut periculoſum ſit eam monimentis & narrationibus commendari. Syneſ. de Providentia, p. 123. foreign, Id. ibid. Sect. 1. p. 115. foreign (monimentis intacta) foreign. p. 124. foreign. Ibid. l. 4. p. 144. foreign. Id. epiſt. 162. l. 4. foreign Id. ibid. Syneſ. de Provid. 1…4. foreign, Id. ibid. foreign. Id. 125. foreign. 128. foreign, Id. de inſomniis. The Council of Laodicea, ſetting down the place and order of thoſe Prayers, ſhews us, they were made foreign. foreign adv. Judaeos.; Ipſa myſteria figurarum cuniculis operiuntur, ſayes Macrobius; & figuris defendentibus a vilitate ſecretum, Somn. Scip. l. 1. c. 2. p. 23. Such were the Egyptian Hieroglyphicks, and uſed on purpoſe for ſuch concealment; they could not be underſtood without a foreign to interpret them; and he explained them not, but in ſecret; and there but to ſome few ſelect Hearers, as the Author of the Quaeſt. ad Orthod. tells us; foreign p. 146.

p. 34I will not ſay, the Chriſtians imitated the Gentiles herein, eſpecially if the practice began ſo early as Tertullian (which ſome ſuppoſe, becauſe he waves the mention of the Sacrament, when he had occaſion to give the Heathen an account thereof, in ſuch circumſtances, as Juſtin Martyr before p. 35him had plainly deſcribed it). For there is a great zeal viſible in his Writings againſt complyances with the Heathen. Yet will I not deny, but that this cuſtom amongſt the Gentiles might have ſome influence upon Chriſtians in after Ages; when it was thought a good expedient (how rightly experience afterwards ſhewed) for drawing the Pagans over to the, to meet them in ſome of their obſervances. And it is evident, that many uſages amongſt the Antients were continued upon other conſiderations then thoſe, to which they owed their original.

However, it is undeniable, that ſuch concealments were in uſe amongſt them, and particularly as to the Prayers which were made in the adminiſtration of the Sacraments, and ſome other Rites counted myſterious.

None, but the initiated, were permitted to be preſent at theſe Prayers; foreign, as Chryſoſtom, having ſaid before, foreign; none but the faithful were to be preſent, when they began Euchariſtical Prayers. Thoſe that were not fit to partake of the Myſteries, were not fit to hear the Prayers, foreign; they were warned to depart, foreign. And this was done in reference to the Prayers, foreign. Thoſe that were unworthy to ſee, were unworthy to hear; foreign in Epheſ. Hom. 3. p. 778, 779.

p. 36**Adverſariis Athanaſii, pro crimin… magno objectum ſit, quod de calice confracto contenderint coram Ethnico, foreign, Syn. Alexandrina apud Athanatium Apol. 2. p. 569. tom. 1. edit. Commel. 1601. foreign. Ibid. p. 571. So Julius expreſſes himſelf, aſtoniſht, foreign. Epiſt. in Apol. 2.So elſewhere he ſays, the Catechumens were forced away from theſe Prayers, foreign; they never heard thoſe concealed Myſteries, foreign, applying that of the Apoſtle to them, foreign, &c. in 2 Cor. hom. 2. p. 553.

So for Baptiſm, the firſt Council of Orange decrees, the Catechumens ſhould not come at the Font, Caetechumeni ad Baptiſteria nequaquam admittendi, Can. 13. And the pretended Dionyſius begins his diſcourſe of Baptiſm with foreign, Hier. eccl. c. 2. §. 1. p. 21. conformably enough to the uſage of his times, though not of the Apoſtle.

When they have occaſion to ſpeak of theſe Prayers in their Sermons to a promiſcuous Auditory, they decline any recital of them, with their uſual Apoſiopeſis, Norunt fideles, foreign, or foreign, ſo frequent in Auguſtine, Chryſoſtom, Theodoret, as to the Euchariſt. p. 37For the Prayers in Baptiſm, ſee Chryſoſtom in Gal. 4. 15. p. 748. in 1 Cor. 15. 29. hom. 40. p. 514. in 2 Cor. 1. hom. 2. p. 555.

Nor might they commit them to Writing; that was the way to divulge them. Writing was counted a publiſhing, though but in an Epiſtle to a private Friend. So Baſil to Meletius, foreign. that what he was intimating, might not be divulged by Writing it, he would acquaint Theophraſtus therewith, who ſhould declare to him all particularly, by word of Mouth, p. 307. As they had their myſteria chartis non committenda, in Origens phraſe; (in Ep. ad Rom. c. 2.) ſo theſe myſterious Prayers were to be kept as ſecret. To write them, ſo as ſtrangers might come to the ſight thereof, was not foreign, to uſe them as myſteries, no more then to recite them in their hearing. What they durſt not plainly pronounce, they would not venture to write; according to that of Clemens Alexandrinus, ſtrom. 1. foreign By this means they might come to the knowledge of Aliens. Ruffinus puts this in the account he gives, why the Creed was at firſt not written, (idcirco denique haec non ſcribi chartulis atque membranis) it was to be uſed as a watch-word, whereby they might know Friends from Foes, (interrogatus ſymbolum, prodat, ſi ſit hoſtis an Socius.) But if it had been written, and the Chriſtians got it by reading; the deſign might have been fruſtrated; for this way, the Infidels might have got the word, hac ex lectione, quae interdum pervenire etiam ad infideles ſolet. Expoſ. in Symb. in Cypr. opera. p. 4.

p. 38That which they would have kept ſecret, they did not commit to Writing, for the view or uſe of others. Therefore Baronius ſayes, the way of drawing up their literae formatae, was not in Writing; becauſe they were concerned to keep it ſecret, leaſt it ſhould be counterfeited, exiſtimamus ejuſmodi formulam nequaquam ab eis fuiſſe ſcripto traditam—ſed penes Epiſcopos Catholicos retentam eſſe ſecretam. Ad an. 325. n. 44.

And there wants not direct evidence, that they had not any Prayers thus writ. Baſil ſays expreſly, the words they uſed in bleſſing the Elements, foreign were not written, they had them not foreign; and that what they ſaid, both before and after the Conſecration, they had not from any Writing, foreign. As much he ſays of the Prayers in Baptiſm; (the words we ſhall have occaſion to produce hereafter): And ſo having reckoned the Prayers made in the Adminiſtration of the Sacraments; amongſt other things, which of old were kept ſecret and unwritten; he tells us the Antients were well inſtructed to reſerve them, as myſterious things, in great ſecrecy, foreign; and adds, thoſe adminiſtrations, at which the non-initiated might not be preſent; how could it be lawful, to expoſe the notice thereof by writing them? foreign, de Spir. Sancto. c. foreign. p. 273. And all along theſe Prayers with the other Arcana there mentioned, p. 39are foreign, and p. 274. foreign ddItaque ſilentium hoc quodcunque ſit no… opp…ni voci ſed ſcriptioni; …t non ſit ſenſus, non debuiſſe pronuntiari: ſed tantum non debuiſſe ſcripto tradi. Chamier, t. 4. l. 6. t. 8. Sect. 26. Nolebat Baſilius eam traditionem foreign, atque id periculoſum exiſtimabat foreign, Id. Sect. 29..

Dionyſius (who, though he belyed his name, and would have been thought elder by ſome hundred of years then he was, yet hath credit in reporting the uſages of the times wherein he really lived) declaring why he, writing of other Rites and Practices of the Church, declined **Cur reticuerit precationes quae in myſteriis adhibentur, ſayes his Tranſlator, foreign ſayes Maximus his Scholiaſt. p. 96. I… it be ſaid, foreign is to explain or write Commentaries on their Prayers, not ſimply to commit them to Writing. Anſw. If it were ſo, this proves as much what I alleadge him for, as the other. For this was unlawful, not as Commentaries, but as Written, it was foreign, not to explain or render them intelligible, but to divulge or make them common, foreign. Now they were expoſed to common view by being written, not by being intelligible; for intelligible they were in the moſt reſerved uſe of the Church; unleſs their Prayers were Riddles, and they offered to God they knew not what for a reaſonable ſervice. Cum & hic, & alii apocryphorum ſcriptores, ſua ſoleant ad praeſentis ſuo aevo eccleſiae ritus, mores ac Sermonem effingere; primo plerique eo potiſſimum conſilio ſua figmenta ſub vetuſtiorum nomine edant, ut res ſui ſaeculi novas falſo antiquitatis nomine conſtituant & confirment; clarum eſt etiam, ex iſtius generis apocryphis magnam utilitatem percipi poſſe, ſi diligenter obſervetur, quos illi mores, & quos ritus Eccleſiae, & Chriſtianis illis tribuant de quibus loquuntur. Dallaeus de lib. ſuppoſitis Dionyſ. &c. l. 2. p. 250.to give an account in Writing concerning the Sacramental Prayers; (foreign) aſſigns this Reaſon, foreign; it is not lawful to declare p. 40them in Writing, being myſtical and ſecret, foreign, as Pachymeres, being ſecret, and not to be divulged. To deliver them in Writing would have been, foreign to bring them out of ſecrecy into common view, as he expreſſeth it afterward, Hierarch. cul. fin.

For the Latin Church, Innocentius 1. Biſhop of Rome may ſatisfie us. Decentius of Eugubium conſulting him about divers particulars concerning the Church Service; Innocent eeSaepe dilectionem tuam ad Ʋrbem veniſſe, ac nobiſcum in eccleſia conveniſſe, & quem morem vel in conſecrandis myſteriis, vel in caeteris agendis arcanis teneat, cognoviſſe, non dubium est; quod ſufficere arbitrarer ad informationem eccleſiae tuae, vel reformationem—niſi de aliquibus conſulendum nos eſſe dixiſſes. Praefat. epiſt. ad Decentium, in Crab, Conc. tom. 1. p. 452.in his Epiſtle in anſwer thereto, refers him, not to any written orders or preſcriptions, which may well be preſumed he would have done, if there had been any; but to what he had ſeen practiced at Rome, when he was there. But more particularly and expreſly, Can. 3. he determines that the Presbyter might anoint the Baptized with Chriſm, non tamen frontem ex eodem oleo ſignare; but not anoint their Foreheads with it; that being reſerved by him (and firſt by him) to Biſhops: But what words ſhould be uſed in that Rite, he might not tell him in writing; verbo vero dicere non poſſum, ne magis prodere videar, quam ad conſultationem reſpondere; leaſt he ſhould ſeem a Betrayer (of the Churches Arcana) rather then an Adviſer. Now if they were thus reſerved and cautious in a Baptiſmal Rite; as much or more caution would be thought requiſite as to the Lords Supper, which was antiently, in p. 41their ſtile and account, ſecretum ffInnocentius negat ſe tunc temporis, i. e. cum ſcriberet ad Decentium Eugubinum debere dicere, Chamier, t. 4. l. 6. c. 8. Sect. 52. leaſt the writing might have come into the hands of the non-initiated. Populus pars erat foreign, pars foreign, illis neque videre licebat, neque audire, & hi ſatis erant, ut non auderet omnia literis Innocentius committere, Sect. 53, Vid. Bellar. Sect. 50., and foreign. And indeed he ſhews himſelf no leſs reſerved about the Euchariſt; ſo we find him, Cap. 1. Cum post omnia quae aperire non debeo, pax ſit neceſſario indicenda; Thoſe things, which paſt in the celebration of the Euchariſt, before the ſalutation of Peace (before which were all the Prayers) he might not open to him in Writing; and in reference to the whole ††Cyril foreign. If a Catechumen ask thee what the Teachers ſay, foreign, &c.—Aegroti vinum quandoque pollulant; quod ſi intempellive detur foreign, &c. Catech. 6. foreign., thus, towards the concluſion, cap. 8. Reliqua vero quae ſcribi fas non erat, quum adfueris, interrogati, poterimus edicere. For the reſt, which it is not lawful to write, when thou art here, we may, being deſired, declare them. Now, if to write this in an Epiſtle to a particular perſon, who was not only foreign, but, as Nyſſen ſpeaks, foreign (de Chriſti Baptiſm.) would have been no leſs then prodere, no better then treachery, a betraying the arcana eccleſiae; what would it have been to have had them written for publick uſe, and expoſed in Common Prayer Books?

p. 42I ſuppoſe it is hereby manifeſt, that they were not wont, in thoſe times, to commit their Sacramental Prayers to ſuch Books or Writings; and I cannot apprehend, how the Prayers requiſite to make up a Liturgy for the Sacraments could be either preſcribed, or of common invariable uſe, in many Churches, if they were not ſo written.

Finally, ſince they thought themſelves obliged to keep the things we ſpeak of ggforeign. Syneſ. de provid. Sect. 2. p. 124. foreign. Baſil. de Spir. Sancto, c. 27. p. 273. foreign. Id. ibid. foreign, Id. p. 274. Lyſis the Pythagorean in Syneſius, Ep. 151. foreign, reproving his Friend for publiſhing ſomething.ſecret, making account, the order of the Churches, and the reverence due to thoſe myſteries could not be otherwiſe ſecured; we cannot ſuppoſe they would take a courſe, which would make it next to impoſſible to conceal that, which they deemed themſelves ſo much concerned to keep ſecret.

Now, if their Prayers had been written out, for the uſe of many thouſands, or many hundred Churches, (indeed the ſuppoſition muſt be for all in the World; for many are ſuppoſed to have ſome or other, though not all the ſame) would not this have been a divulging of them, and a ready way to make them foreign? could all, of ſuch multitudes of Copies, be kept either from the p. 43Heathen, who were ſo inquiſitive after the foreign of the Chriſtians, as they uſed all means fair and foul hhQuo magis neceſſarium credidi ex duabus ancillis quae miniſtrae dicebantur, quid eſſet veri per tormenta quaerere. Sed nihil aliud inveni, quam ſuperſtitionem pravam & immodicam. Plin. ep. Trajano. 97. Juſt. Martyr Apol. 1. p. 133. foreign! Origen contr. Celſ. l. 1. p. 8. Maximus Madaurenſ. ep. ad Augustin. Celſus in Origen. foreign, l. 8. p. 339.(ſometimes tortures, ſometimes odious miſinterpretations, ſometimes ſubtle inſinuations) to get the knowledge of them? Or from the Catechumens, paſſionately eager to be acquainted with theſe ſecrets, any way iiforeign. Clem. conſtitut. l. 5. c 26. fine. Quodam canone uno comperimus, ſi cui contigiſſet catechumeno, caſu aliquo, ac fortuito Sacrificiis intereſſe, aut oculis illa ſacrae intueri, eum protinus ſacro fonte abluendum fuiſſe.—A Deo magnum quoddam in ſe profectum beneficium arbitrabantur, ſi caſus quidam inſperatus tuliſſet, ut ea ſacrificia, non tam mentis, quam oculis corporis contemplarentur, Albaſpin, obſerv. l. 2. c. 2. p. 206, 207. Vid. notas in Can. p. 206. Timaheus Alexandrinus, in reſpon. Canon. interrogatus, ſi puellus Catechumenus, vel homo jam perfectus, dum fieret oblatio, opportune affuerit, ejuſque neſcius particeps factus ſit, quid debet de eo fieri? Reſpond. debet illuminari, a Deo enim vocatus est. In viceſ. de Bapt. rit. l. 2. c. 5.though ſurreptitiouſly; as for other reaſons, ſo becauſe their acquaintance herewith would have advanced them immediately into the higher form of the fideles.

It is no way probable, theſe Prayers and their other foreign could have been concealed, if they had been written for common uſe; and therefore, ſince they thought it their duty, to keep them ſecret; p. 44we may conclude, they had them not thus written, and conſequently they could have no preſcribed Liturgies for the adminiſtration of the Sacraments.

And the impoſſibility of concealment, will be more evident, if Liturgies were to be not only in the hands of the ſeveral Miniſters, Biſhops, Presbyters, Deacons; but alſo in the peoples hands; as it was neceſſary they ſhould be, unleſs they were quite other things, then either the modern now impoſed, or the pretended antient Liturgies; for then the people bear ſuch a part in the Prayers, as ſhews their direction by a Book neceſſary. And ſome part they had of old, as appears by Cyril, Catech. myſtag. 5. And Chryſoſtom in 2 Cor. hom. 18. p. 647. Though nothing ſo much, as in the written Liturgies, nor what they might not have by cuſtom without Book.

This may ſuffice for the Sacraments in general, to ſhew how far thoſe that adminiſtred them were from being confined to preſcribed Forms.

For the Euchariſt in particular, let us view the 23 Canon of the Third Council of Carthage: Ʋt nemo in precibus, vel Patrem pro Filio, vel Filium pro Patre nominet, & cum ad altare aſſiſtitur, ſemper ad Patrem dirigetur oratio—& quaſcunque ſibi preces aliquis deſcribit, non eis utatur, niſi prius eas cum inſtructioribus Fratribus contulerit. That no man, in Prayers, ſhall name, either the Father for the Son, or the Son for the Father. And when they are at the Altar, the Prayer ſhall always be directed to the Father. And what Prayers ſoever any p. 45ſhall copy out for himſelf, he ſhall not uſe them, unleſs he firſt debate them with his diſcreeter Brethren.

The middle Clauſe of this Canon evidently concerns the Euchariſtical Prayers; the firſt and laſt reſpect both theſe, and the Prayers alſo in other parts of the adminiſtrations; each of them make it plain, that in thoſe times, they were not under any reſtraint by impoſed Forms.

For the firſt. Thoſe, who in their Prayers named the Father for the Son, or the Son for the Father, uſed not preſcribed Forms; for ſure the Church would not preſcribe what the Council forbids. And as they uſed none before, ſo theſe Fathers leave them at liberty, for the future, to uſe what they thought fit, only impoſing this on them, not to name the Father for the Son, &c.

For the next Clauſe. If no prayers were uſed, in the adminiſtration of this Sacrament, but what were preſcribed by the Church (and conſequently allowed by the Synod, as duely directed already) it was vain and ridiculous, to make ſuch an Order, ut ſemper ad Patrem, that the prayers be alwayes directed to the Father. This is clearly a reſtraint upon thoſe, who before had liberty, in celebrating this Ordinance, to addreſs their prayers to any Perſon of the Sacred Trinity; ordering that from henceforth they ſhould direct ſuch prayers only to the Father. And as it clearly ſuppoſes, they were neither limited nor directed, by any preſcribed Forms before; ſo it leaves them free, to uſe what prayers they judged meet, cum ad altare aſſiſtitur, p. 46provided that they were addreſſed only to the Father.

Yea the weaker and indiſcreeter ſort, of thoſe that officiated, are allowed, by the next Clauſe, to uſe what prayers they would any where make choice of, with this limitation only, that their more diſcreet Brethren ſhould firſt be conferred with about them. That of Auguſtine, who was a great part of the African Councils, at this time, de Baptiſm. contra Donat. l. 6. c. 25. p. 568. is the beſt Comment, which can be deſired, upon this paſſage. Having ſhewed, that divers of his Brethren had many things againſt the Faith, in prayers which they uſed in Sacramental adminiſtrations; he gives this account of it; Multi irruunt in pr…ces, non ſolum ab imperitis loquacibus, ſed etiam ab Haereticis compoſitas; & per ignorantiae ſimplicitatem, non eas valentes diſcernere, utuntur iis, arbitrantes quod bonae ſint. Many light upon Prayers, not only which are compoſed by unskilful Bablers, but alſo by Hereticks; and through the ſimplicity of their ignorance, not being able to diſcern, they uſe them, judging that they are good. Here we have perſons as fit to be confined to preſcribed Forms, as any we can expect to meet with; (ſuch as could neither make prayers themſelves, nor make tolerable choice of prayers made by others; being ſo ignorant, as they could not diſcern an Heretical prayer, when they met with it). Theſe are circumſtances, which might juſtifie the impoſition of ſet forms, if any could do it. And yet the African Fathers kkNow ſince ſome, angry at this Canon, (for what reaſon appears not, unleſs becauſe it ſhews what they would not have ſeen) would ſhift it out of the African conſtitutions; let it be obſerved, that it was originally a Decree of the Council at Hippo, as appears by the brief of its Canons; in which it is the 23. in number of 41. Crab. t. 1. p. 433. A general Council this was, as we learn by that of Poſſidonius, Vit. Auguſt. c. 7. Coram Epiſcopis, hoc illi jubentibus in plenarium totius Africae Concilium Hippone agebant. Vid. Auguſt. retract. lib. 1. cap. 17. And of ſuch eſteem, that, as Baronius tells us, Ceterae quae poſtea in Africa celebratae ſunt Synodi, ex Hipponenſi tanquam Archetypo quodam, complura ſuerint mutuatae. Ad anu. 393. n. 5. And no African Council hath fuller approbation, nor that ſo frequently and ſolemnly declared. It was confirmed, by a fu…l Council at Carthage, Caeſario & Attico. Coſſ. an. 397. So Marianus Scotus mentions it, an. 417. Concilium Carthagin…nſe, ubi Hipponenſis Concilii ſtatuta firmantur & inſeruntur. And an abridgment (now ſpoken of) made of its decrees, that they might be the better remembered and obſerved, as the Fathers tell us in a Synodal Epiſtle; breve vero ſtatutorum huic epiſtolae ſubdi ſecimus, ut compendio (quae decreta ſunt) recenſentes, ſolicitius obſervari curemus, in Crab. …. 1. p. 433. Juſtel. notae in Cod. Aſr. p. 48, 49. And of Fifty aſcribed to this (called Third) Council of Carthage, Thirty Nine are the ſame with thoſe of Hippo; and in both this Canon is the Twenty Three. It was confirmed afterwards (the Canons thereof being recited) not only by the Votes, but the Subſcriptions of the Fathers in the general Council at Milevis, an. 402. Arcad. & Honor. 5. Coſſ. Together with the conſtitutions of the laſt mentioned Council of Carthage. Vid. Crab. tom. 1. p. 481, 509. & Juſtell. Cod. 218. &c. It was finally ratified by Two Hundred and Seventeen Biſhops in a Council at Carthage, an. 419. and the approbations and confirmations of it forementioned are part of the African code, in which the title of Can. 34. is, quod nihil de Hipponenſ… Concilio ſit emendandum, in Juſtel, p. 114. Vid. p. 217. &c.ſaw p. 47no ſufficient reaſon, to preſcribe ſuch Forms to perſons ſo lamentably inſufficient. But, as they did make choice of what prayers they thought good before; ſo they leave them at liberty, to uſe what they made choice of; providing only, they ſhould firſt confer with their more able Brethren about them, that ſo what was therein erroneous might be p. 48amended. And accordingly Auguſtine, in the ſame place, tells us, multorum enim preces emendantur quotidie, ſi doctioribus fuerint recitatae; the prayers of many are amended daily, if they be recited to the more Learned.

There had been no occaſion for any part of this Canon, if ſuch Liturgies, as we ſpeak of, had been in uſe; or if they had thought fit to have impoſed any. A few words would have ſerved the turn, inſtead of thoſe they multiply; (Let no Prayers be uſed, in Celebrating the Sacrament, but what the Church preſcribes). But the wiſdom of Africa, and the great Auguſtine, thought that courſe more adviſeable, which is utterly inconſiſtent with ſuch reſtraint, and which left the moſt inſufficient of their Miniſters at greater liberty; for ſuch evidently is the courſe they take in this Canon. The ſeverals of which, if they can be reconciled with any kind or degree of confinement to preſcribed Forms; then may we reconcile light and darkneſs.

That no Miniſters were limited to any preſcribed Forms, in the adminiſtration of the Lords Supper, is manifeſt alſo, by the Seventieth Canon in the Collection called the African Council; which being the ſame in effect with that which paſſeth for the twelfth Canon of the Council of Milevis, runs thus.

Placuit etiam hoc, ut preces quae probatae fuerint in Concilio, ſive praefationes, ſive commendationes, ſeu manus impoſitiones, ab omnibus celebrentur; nec aliae omnino contra fidem proferantur; ſed quaecunque p. 49Collect. in Cod. Can. 103. p. 281. Vid. Thornd. 244.cum prudentioribus fuerint collatae dicantur. This alſo ſeemed good, that the Prayers which ſhall be allowed in a Council, whether Prefaces, or Commendations, or Impoſition of Hands, may be uſed by all; neither may any other, againſt the Faith be uſed; but all whatſoever, which ſhall be communicated with the more diſcreet, may be uſed. Where it is obſervable, that,

1. As much liberty in Praying is left to Miniſters by this Canon, as by that but now inſiſted on (tho ſome, upon a conceit it is otherwiſe, have ſh…wed more favour to this, then that): Thoſe that were ſo indiſcreet, as they could not diſcern an Heretical Prayer from another, and ſo gave occaſion of jealouſie, leaſt the Prayers they made choice of might have ſomething in them againſt the Faith; were not, by the Decree of that Council, to uſe ſuch Prayers, till they were approved by ſome prudent Brethren: By this Canon, they were not to uſe them, unleſs they were allowed, either by ſuch prudent perſons, or elſe by a Synod. So that, here they have more liberty, in the choice of their approvers, and no leſs upon any other account at all. I have ſhewed already, as much liberty is granted by the former Canon, as thoſe that are moſt for freedom in Prayer do deſire; no reſtraint in either, but upon perſons ſo inſufficient, as ſhould not be ſuffered to officiate at all, but in llWhich ſeems to have been the condition of thoſe Churches, by the complaint of Aurelius, in a Council at Carthage, Cum una cum Epiſcopis ſuis conſediſſet, adſtantibus Diaconis, Aurelius Epiſcopus dixit: Eccleſiarum Dei, per Africam conſtitutarum, neceſſitates mecum optime novit charitas veſtra, Sanctiſſimi Fratres—tanta indigentia Clericorum est, multaeque Eccleſiae ita deſertae ſunt, ut ne unum quidem Diaconum vel inliteratum (margin. lectorem) habere reperiantur. Nam de caeteris ſuperioribus gradibus, & officiis tacendum arbitror: Quia (ut Dixi) ſi miniſterium Diaconi facile non invenitur, multo magis ſuperiorum honorum inveniri non poſſe certiſſimum eſt, & quotidianos planctus diverſarum paene emortuarum plebium jam non ſuſtinemus; quibus niſi fuerit aliquando ſubventum, gravis nobis, & inexcuſabilis innumerabilium animarum perauntium ca…ſa apud Deum manſura eſt. In Crab. Concil. tom. 1. p. 502, 503. in Cod. Juſtelli, p. 165. Aurel. in Con. Carth. an. 401. Tantum autem inopiae Clericorum ordinandorum in Africa patiuntur Eccleſiae, ut quaedam loca omnino deſerta ſunt. In capitulo Conc. Hipponenſis, Crab. 4. 1. p. 434.extream neceſſities. In both, the prudent are allowed to uſe what Prayers, or mode p. 50of praying they thought fit. For they who are eſteemed competent judges of others Prayers, are thereby preſumed fit to judge of their own.