Concerning the Right Use of the Fathers in Controversies, Book 2 · Chapter 6

Concerning the Right Use of the Fathers in Controversies · Book 2 · Chapter 6

p. 126CHAP. VI.

Reaſon VI. That neither thoſe of the Church of Rome, nor the Proteſtants do acknowledge the Fathers for their Judges in Points of Religion, but do both of them reject ſuch of their Opinions, and Practices, as are not for their Guſt. An Anſwer to two Objections, that may be made againſt what hath been here delivered in this Diſcourſe.

THus far have we laboured to prove that the Writings of the Fathers have not Authority enough in themſelves, for to be received as Definitive Sentences paſſed upon our Differences in Religion.

Let us now in the laſt place ſee, how much they have in reſpect of us. For although a Sentence of Judgment ſhould be good, and valid in it ſelf, as being pronounced by one who is a competent and lawful Judge, duly and according to the Forms of Law; yet notwithſtanding would not this ſerve to determine the Controverſie, if ſo be the Authority of this Judge be denied by either of the Parties, (unleſs, as it is in worldly Affairs, the Law be armed with ſuch a Power, as is able to force thoſe that are obſtinate to ſubmit to Reaſon:) for as much as the Queſtion is here touching Religion, which is a Holy and Divine thing, to the embracing whereof men ought to be perſwaded, and not compelled, ſince force hath no place here. For although perhaps they could compel men outwardly to render ſome ſuch reſpect to the Writings of the Fathers, yet notwithſtanding would not this ſerve to make any impreſſion of the Belief of the ſame, in the heart of any one.

p. 127The ſame Diviſions would ſtill remain in the minds of men, which you are firſt of all to pull up by the roots, if ever you intend to reconcile them to each other, and to make them agree in Point of Religion.

For the certain determination therefore of all Differences of this nature, it is neceſſary that both Parties be perſwaded, that the Judge, who is to pronounce Sentence upon the ſame, hath as much Authority as it requiſite for that purpoſe. Notwithſtanding therefore that the Fathers ſhould have clearly and poſitively pronounced what they had thought, touching the Point in hand, which yet they have not done, as we have proved before: Let us ſuppoſe further, that they had been endued with all thoſe qualities, which are requiſite for the rendring a man fit to be a Supreme Judge, and from whom there can be no Appeal, which yet is not ſo, as we have already clearly proved: yet notwithſtanding would all this be to no purpoſe, unleſs this Authority were acknowledged by both Parties.

The Old Teſtament is a Book which was written by Divine Inſpiration, and is endued with ſo ſupreme an Authority, as that every part of it ought to be believed. Yet doth not this work any whit at all with a Pagan, becauſe he doth not acknowledge any ſuch excellent worth to be in it.

In like manner is it, between the New Teſtament and the Jew: neither can it decide the Differences betwixt the Jews and us; not becauſe it is not of ſufficient Authority in it ſelf; but, becauſe it is not ſo to the Jew. And indeed he were worthy to be laughed at, whoſoever ſhould alledge, in diſputing againſt the Pagans, the Authority of the Old Teſtament; or that of the New, for the bringing of a Jew over to our Belief.

Suppoſe therefore, that the Writings of the Fathers were clear, upon our Queſtions: nay which is more, let it be granted moreover (if you pleaſe,) that they were written by Divine Inſpiration, and are of themſelves of a p. 128full and undeniable Authority: I ſay ſtill, that they cannot decide our Debates, if ſo be that either of the Parties ſhall refuſe to acknowledge this great and admirable dignity to be in them; much leſs if both Parties ſhall refuſe to allow them to have this Priviledge. Let us now therefore ſee, in what account the ſeveral Parties have the Fathers; and, whether they acknowledge them as the Supreme Judges of their Religion; or at leaſt as Arbitrators, whoſe definitive Sentence ought to ſtand firm and inviolable. As for our Proteſtants of France, whom their Adverſaries would fain perſwade, if they could, to receive the Fathers for Judges in Religion; and to whom conſequently they ought not, according to the Laws of a legitimate Diſputation, to alledge for the proof of any Point in debate, any other Principles, than what they do allow of; it is evident, that they attribute to the Fathers nothing leſs, than ſuch an Authority. For, in the Confeſſing of Faith they declare,Confeſſ. de foy des Egliſ. Ref. de Fran: Art. 4. in the very beginning of it, That they hold the Scriptures to be the Rule of their Faith▪ and as for all other Eccleſiaſtical Writings, although they account them to be uſeful, yet nevertheleſs do they not conceive, that a man may ſafely build any Article of Faith upon them.

And indeed ſeeing that they believe, (as the tell you immediately after,) that the Scripture containeth all things neceſſary both for the ſervice of God, and the Salvation of mens Souls, they have no need of any other Judge, and ſhould in vain have recourſe to the Writings of the Ancients; the Authority whereof, how great ſoever it be, is ſtill much leſs, both in it ſelf, and alſo in reſpect of us, than that of the Bible.

In the next place they ſeriouſly profeſs, that their intent is to reform the Chriſtian Doctrine according to this Rule; and to retain firmly what Articles of Faith ſoever are therein delivered; and to reject conſtantly all thoſe, that are not there found laid down, how high and eminent ſoever the Authority be, that ſhall reſci…d the one, p. 129or eſtabliſh the other in the Belief of Men. It is not Lawful (ſay they) for Men, nor yet for the Angels themſelves, either to add to, or to diminiſh from, or to alter it; neither may Antiquity, nor Cuſtoms, nor Multitude, nor Judgments, nor Humane Wiſdom, nor Definitive Sentences, nor Edicts, nor Decrees, nor Councils, nor Viſions, nor Miracles be brought in oppoſition to it: but on the contrary rather, all other things ought to be examined, regulated, and reformed by it. Theſe be their own Words. If therefore they will not depart from this their Belief, which is as it were the Foundation and Key of their whole Reformation, they cannot receive the Fathers who lived in the Second, Third, and Fourth, and ſo in the following Centuries, as Judges, nor yet Abſolutely and Simply as Witneſſes, in the Points of Faith. For they all hold, That that Pure, Simple, and Holy Doctrine, which was taught and preached by the Apoſtles at the beginning of Chriſtianity, and delivered over unto us by themſelves in the New Teſtament, hath been by little and little altered and corrupted; Time, which changeth all things, continually mixing among it ſome Corruption or other; ſometimes a Jewiſh or a Heatheniſh Opinion▪ and ſometimes again ſome Nice Obſervation; otherwhiles ſome Superſtitious Ceremony or other; whilſt one building upon the Foundation with Stubble, another with Hay, a third with Wood; the Body ſeems at length, by little and little, to have become quite another thing than it Anciently was; we having, in ſtead of a Palace of Gold, and of Silver, a Houſe built up of Plaiſter, Stone, Wood, and Mud, and the like pitiful Stuff. In like manner, (ſay they) as we ſee, that Brooks of Water, the farther diſtant they are from their Springs, the more Filth they contract, and the more doth their Water loſe of its firſt Purity. And as a Man, the more he groweth in years, the more doth that Native Simplicity which appeared in him in his Infancy, decay; his Body and his Mind are changed, and he is ſo much altered by little and little, through Study, Art, and Cunning, that at length he p. 130ſeemeth to be clean another Man: In like manner (ſay they) hath it …ared with Chriſtianity. And here they preſently urge that notable Paſſage out of S. Paul, in his Second Epiſtle to the Theſſalonians, where he ſpeaks of a Great Falling away, which then in his time began already to work ſecretly and inſenſibly, but was not to break forth till a long time after; as you ſee it is in all Great Things, whether in Nature, or in the Affairs and Occurrences that happen to Mankind, which are all conceived and hatched ſlowly, and by degrees, and are ſometimes a whole Age before they are brought forth.

Now, according to this Hypotheſis, which, as I conceive, is equally common to us of France, and all other Proteſtants whatſoever, the Doctrine of the Church muſt Neceſſarily▪ have ſuffered ſome Alteration in the Second Age of Chriſtianity, by admitting the Mixture of ſome New Matter into its Belief, and Policy: and ſo likewiſe in the Third Age ſome other Corruption muſt neceſſarily have got in; and ſo in the Fourth, Fifth, and the reſt that follow; the Chriſtian Religion continually loſing ſomething of Its Original Purity and Simplicity; and on the other ſide ſtill contracting all along ſome new Impurities, till at length it came to the higheſt Degree of Corruption: in which condition, they ſay, they found it; and have now at laſt, by the Guidance of the Scriptures, reſtored it to the ſelf-ſame State wherein it was at the Beginning; and have, as it were, fixed it again upon its true and proper Hinge, from whence, partly by the Ignorance, and partly by the Fraud of Men, during the ſpace of ſo many Ages together, it had by little and little been removed.

This therefore being their Opinion, they cannot admit of, as the Rule of all their Doctrine, the Writings of any of the Fathers, who lived from the Apoſtles time down to ours, without betraying and contradicting themſelves. For, according to what they maintain, touching the Progreſs of Corruption in Religion, there p. 131hath been ſome Alteration in the Chriſtian Doctrine, both in the Second, Third, and all the following Ages.

And then again, according to what they conceive, and believe of their own Reformation, their Doctrine is the very ſame that was in the time of the Apoſtles, as being taken immediately out of their Books. If therefore they ſhould examine it by what the Fathers of the Second Century believed, there muſt neceſſarily be ſomething found in the Doctrine of the Fathers, which is not in theirs: and the Difference will be much greater, if the Compariſon be made betwixt it, and the Doctrine of the Third, Fourth, and the following Ages; in all which, according to their Hypotheſis, the Corruption hath continually encreaſed. For, if their Doctrines were in every reſpect conformable to each other, and had in them neither more nor leſs the one than the other, there muſt neceſſarily then follow one of theſe two things; namely, That either this Corruption, which they preſuppoſe to be in the Belief, and Politie of the Church, is not that Secret which worked in S. Paul's time; or elſe, That their Reformation is not the Pure and Simple Doctrine of the Apoſtles: the Members of which Diviſion are contradictory to thoſe two Poſitions, which, as we have ſaid, they all of them unanimouſly maintain. So that to avoid this Contradiction, it concerns them conſtantly to perſevere in that which they profeſs is their Belief, in their Confeſſion of Faith: to wit, That there are no Eccleſiaſtical Writings whatſoever, that are of ſo ſufficient Authority, as that a Man may ſafely build upon them, and make them the Judges of Faith: and, That the Holy Scripture is the onelyonly Rule by which all theſe things are to be examined.

And this is that which they All agree upon (as far as I have either read, or known;) as any Man may ſee in the Books of Calvin, Bucer, Melancthon, Luther, Beza, and the reſt; who all relie upon the Authority of the Scriptures onelyonly, and admit not of any part of the Authority p. 132of the Fathers, as a ſufficient Ground whereon to build any Article of their Belief.

It is true, I confeſs, that ſome of their Firſt Authors, as namely, Bucer, Peter Martyr, and J. Jewell Biſhop of Salisbury, and in a manner all the Later Writers alſo, alledge the Teſtimonies of the Fathers; but (if you but mark it) it is onelyonly by way of Confutation, and not of Eſtabliſhing any thing: They do it onelyonly to overthrow the Opinions of the Church of Rome, and not to ſtrengthen their Own. For, though they hold, That the Doctrine of the Fathers is not ſo Pure as that of the Apoſtles; yet do they withal believe, that it is much Purer, than that which is at this day taught by the Church of Rome; the Purity of Doctrine having continually decayed, and the Impurity of it encreaſed, in ſuch ſort, as that the further they are removed from the Time of the Apoſtles, the nearer they approach (as they ſay) towards the afore-mentioned Falling away, ſpoken of by S. Paul.

Although the Proteſtants therefore allow the Scriptures onelyonly for the True Foundation of their Faith; yet notwithſtanding do they account the Writings of the Fathers to be Neceſſary alſo, and of good uſe unto them; firſt of all, in the Proving this Decay, which they ſay hath hapned in Chriſtianity; and ſecondly, for the making it appear, that the Opinions which their Adverſaries now maintain, were not in thoſe days brought into any Form, but were as yet onelyonly in their Seeds.

As for example, Tranſubſtantiation was not as yet an Article of Faith; notwithſtanding that long ago they did, innocently, and not foreſeeing what the Iſſue might prove to be, believe ſome certain things, out of which, being afterwards licked over, by paſſing through divers ſeveral Languages, Tranſubſtantiation was at length made up.

So likewiſe the Supremacy of the Pope had at that time no place in the belief of Men: although thoſe ſmall p. 133Threds, and Root-ſtrings, from whence this Vaſt and Wonderful Power firſt ſprung▪ long ſince appeared in the World.

And the like may be ſaid of the greateſt part of thoſe other Points, which the Proteſtants will not by any means receive. And that this is their Reſolution and Senſe, appears evidently by thoſe many Books which they have written upon this Subject, wherein they ſhew Hiſtorically the whole Progreſs of this Decay in Chriſtianity, as well in its Faith, as in its Polity, and Diſcipline.

And truly this their Deſign ſeemeth to be very ſufficient, and ſatisfactory. For, ſeeing that they propoſe nothing Poſitively, and as an Article of Faith, Neceſſary to Salvation, which may not eaſily and plainly be proved out of the Scripture; they have no need to make uſe of any other Principle▪ for the Demonſtration of the Truth.

Furthermore, ſeeing that thoſe Poſitive Articles of Faith which they believe, are in a manner all of them received, and confeſſed by the Church of Rome, as we have ſaid before in the Preface to this Treatiſe, there is no need of troubling a Mans ſelf to prove the ſame, thoſe things which both Parties are agreed upon, being never to be proved, but are always preſuppoſed in all Diſputations.

Yet notwithſtanding, if any one have a mind to be informed, what the Belief of the Fathers hath been touching the ſaid Articles; it is an eaſie matter for them to make it appear, that they alſo believed all of them, as well as themſelves: as, for Example. That there is a God, a Chriſt, a Salvation, a Sacrament of Baptiſm, a Sacrament of the Euchariſt, and the like Truths; the greateſt part whereof we have formerly ſet down, in the Beginning of this Diſcourſe.

And as for thoſe other Articles which are propoſed to the World, beſides all theſe, by the Church of Rome; it is p. 134ſufficient for them, that they are able to anſwer the Arguments which are brought to prove them, and to make it by this means appear, that they have not any ſure Ground at all, and conſequently neither may, nor ought to be received into the Faith of Chriſtians. And this is the Ʋſe that the Proteſtants make of the Fathers; evidently making it appear to the World (out of them) that they did not hold the ſaid Articles, as the Church of Rome doth at this day.

So that their alledging of the Fathers to this purpoſe onelyonly, and indeed their Whole Practice in theſe Diſputes, declare evidently enough, that they conceive not the Belief of the Church of Rome to be ſo perfectly and exactly conformable to that of Antiquity; eſpecially of the Four or Five Firſt Ages: which accords very well with their Hypotheſis touching the Corruption of the Chriſtian Doctrine: But yet no Man may conclude from hence, That they do allow of the Authority of the Fathers as a ſufficient Foundation to ground any Article of Faith upon; for this is repugnant both to their Doctrine, and to the Proteſtation which they upon all occaſions make expreſly to the contrary. So that I cannot but extremely wonder at the Proceeding of ſome of our Modern Authors, who in their Diſputations with the Proteſtants endeavour to prove the Articles of their Faith by Teſtimonies brought out of the Fathers; whereas the Proteſtants never go about to make good their own Opinions, but onelyonly to overthrow thoſe of their Adverſaries, by urging the Fathers Teſtimonies.

For ſeeing that they of the Church of Rome maintain, That the Church neither hath, nor can poſſibly err in Points of Faith; and, That its Belief in Matters of Faith hath always been the ſame that it is at this day; it is ſufficient for the Proteſtant to ſhew, by comparing the Doctrine of the Ancient Fathers with that of the Church of Rome, that there is great Difference betwixt them: neither doth this in any wiſe bind them to believe throughout p. 135whatſoever the Fathers believed; it being evident, according to their Hypotheſis, that there may have ſome Errors crept into their Belief; though certainly not ſuch, nor ſo groſs ones, as have been ſince entertained by the Church in the Ages ſucceeding.

We ſhall conclude therefore, That the Proteſtants acknowledge not, neither in the Fathers, nor in their Writings, any ſo Abſolute Authority, as renders them capable of being received by us, as our Supreme Judges in Matters of Religion, and ſuch from whom no Appeal can be made.

Whence it will follow, That although the Fathers might really perhaps have ſuch an Authority; yet notwithſtanding could not their Definitive Sentence put an end to any of our Controverſies: and therefore it concerns the Church of Rome to have recourſe to ſome other way of Proof, if they intend to prevail upon their Adverſaries to receive the aforeſaid Articles.

But what will you ſay now, if we make it appear to you, that the Church of Rome it ſelf doth not allow that the Fathers have any ſuch Authority? I ſuppoſe, that if we are able to do this, there is no Man ſo perverſe, as not to confeſs, That this Proceeding of theirs, in grounding their Articles of Faith upon the Sayings of the Fathers, is not onelyonly very Inſufficient, but very Inconvenient alſo. For, how can it ever be endured, that a Man that would perſwade you to the Belief of any thing, ſhould for that purpoſe make uſe of the Teſtimony of ſome ſuch Perſons as neither you nor himſelf believe to be Infallibly True, and ſo fit to be truſted? Let us now therefore ſee whether thoſe of the Church of Rome really have themſelves ſo great an Eſteem of the Fathers, as they would be thought to have, by this their Proceeding, or not.

Certainly ſeveral of the Learned of that Party have, upon divers occaſions, let us ſee plain enough, that they make no more account of them, than the Proteſtants do. For, whereas theſe require, That the Authority of the p. 136Fathers be grounded upon that of the Scripture; and therefore receive nothing that they deliver, as Infallibly True, unleſs it be grounded upon the Scripture, paſſing by, or rejecting whatſoever they propoſe, either beſides, or contrary to the Senſe of the Scripture: the other in like manner will have the Judgment of the Fathers depend upon that of the Church in preſent being in every Age; and approve, paſs by, or condemn all ſuch Opinions of theirs, as the Church either approveth, paſſeth by, or condemneth. So that although they differ in this, That the one attributeth the Supremacy to the Scripture, and the other to the Preſent Church of their Age; yet notwithſtanding they both agree in this, That both the one and the other of them equally deprive the Fathers of the ſame. Inſomuch that they both of them ſpend their time unprofitably enough, whilſt they trouble themſelves to plead their Cauſe before this Inferiour Court, where the wrangling and cunning Tricks of the Law have ſo much place; where the Judgments are hard to be got, and yet harder to be underſtood; and, when all is done, are not Supreme; but are ſuch as both Parties believe they may lawfully appeal from: whereas they might, if they pleaſed, let alone theſe troubleſom and uſeleſs Beatings about, and come at the firſt before the Supreme Tribunal, whether it be that of the Scriptures, or of the Church; where the Suits are not ſo long, and where the Subtilty of Pleading is of much leſs uſe; where the Sentences alſo are more clear and expreſs, and (which is the Chiefeſt thing of all) ſuch as we cannot appeal from. But that we may not be thought to impoſe this Opinion upon the Church of Rome unjuſtly, let us hear them ſpeak themſelves.

Cardinal Cajetan,Thom. de Vio. Card. Cajet. praef in Pentat. Si quando occurrit novus ſenſus textui conſonus, nec à ſacra ſcripturâ, nec ab Eccleſiae doctrina diſſonus, quamvis à torrente Doctorum ſacrorum alienus, rogo Lectores omnes ne praecipites dereſtentur, ſed aequos ſe praebeant cenſores. Meminerint jus ſuum unicuique tribuere: ſolis ſacrae Scripturae auctoribus reſervata auctoritas haec eſt, ut ideò ſic credamus eſſe, quia ipſi ita ſcripſerunt. Alios autem (inquit Auguſtinus) ita lego, ut quantalibet ſanctitate doctrinaque praepolleant, non ideò credam ſic eſſe, quia ipſi ita ſcripſerunt. Nullus itaque deteſtetur novum S. Scripturae ſenſum, ex hoc quod diſſonat priſcis Doctoribus; ſed ſcrutetur perſpicacius textum & contextum Scripturae, & ſi quadrare invenerit, laudet Deum, qui non alligavit expoſitionem S. Scripturarum priſcorum Doctorum ſenſibus, ſed Scripturae ipſi integrae ſub Catholicae Eccleſiae cenſura. in his Preface upon the Five Books of Moſes▪ ſp…king of his own Annotations upon the ſame, ſaith thus: If you chance there to meet with any New Expoſition, which is agreeable to the Text▪ and not Contrary either to tbe Scriptures, or to the Doctrine of p. 137the Church, although perhaps it differ from that which is given by the whole Current of the Holy Doctors; I ſhall deſire the Readers, that they would not too haſtily reject it, but that they would rather cenſure charitably of it. Let them remember to give every man his due: there are none but the Authors of the Holy Scriptures alone, to whom we attribute ſuch Authority, as that we ought to believe whatſoever they have written. But as for others, (ſaith St. Auguſtine) of how great Sanctity, and Learning ſo ever they may have been, I ſo read them, as that I do not believe what they have written, becauſe they have written it.

Let no man therefore reject a new Expoſition of any Paſſage of Scripture, under pretence that it is contrary to what the Ancient Doctors gave; but let him rather diligently examine the Text, and the contexture of the Scripture; and if he find that it accordeth well therewith, let him praiſe God, who hath not tyed the Expoſition of the Scriptures, to the ſenſe of the Ancient Doctors, but to the whole Scripture it ſelf, under the cenſure of the Catholick Church. Melchior Canus, Biſhop of the Canary Iſlands, having before declared himſelf, according as St. Auguſtine hath done, ſaying, that the Holy Scriptures only are exempt from all error, he further adds: ††Melch. Can. loc Theol. l. 7. c. 3. num. 4. Caeteroqui nemo quantumvis eruditus, & ſanctus, non interdum hallucinatur, non alicubi caecutit, non quandoque labitur.But there is no man, how holy, or learned ſoever he be, that is not ſometimes deceived, that doth not ſometimes dote, that doth not ſometimes ſlip. And then alledging ſome of thoſe examples, which we have before produced, he concludes in theſe words: **Id. ibid. Legendum itaque à nobis Patres veteres cum reverentia quidem, ſed ut homines, cum delectu atque judicio.Let us therefore read the Ancient Fathers with all p. 138due Reverence, yet notwithſtanding for as much as they were but Men, with Choice and Judgment.

And a little after he ſaith, That the Fathers ſometimes fail, and bring forth Monſters, beſides the ordinary courſe of Nature.Ibid. num. 7. Reliqui verò ſcriptores ſancti inferiores & humani ſunt, deficiuntque interdum, ac monſtrum quandoque p…riunt, praeter convenientem Ordinem, inſtitutumque Naturae And in the ſame place he ſaith, that To follow the Ancients in all things and to tread every where in their ſteps, as little Cbildren uſe to do in play, is nothing elſe but to diſparage our own Parts, and to confeſs our ſelves to have neither Judgment, nor Skill enough, for the ſearching into the Trut…. No, let us follow them as Guides, but not as Maſters. aaAmbroſ Catharin. lib. 4. Annot. in Cajet. p. 273. Veriſſimum ergo eſt, quod ſanctorum dicta, vel ſcripta in ſe non ſunt firmae auctoritatis, ut in ſingulis teneamur illis praebere aſſenſum.It is very true (ſaith Ambroſius Catharinus in like manner) that the Sayings and Writings of the Fathers have not of themſelves any ſo abſolute Authority, as that we are bound to aſſent to them in all things. The Jeſuits alſo themſelves inform us ſufficiently in many places, that they do not reckon themſelves ſo tyed to follow the Judgment of the Fathers in all things, as people may imagine.

Petavius in his Annotations upon Epiphanius confeſſeth freely, bbPetav. in Epiph. pag. 205. Nos eâ, quâ par eſt, moderatione in divinorum hominum, ſed hominum, errores, ac lapſus non tam inquirimus, quam oblatos ultrò, ac vel invitis occurrentes, ne cui fraudi ſunt, patefacimus: tueri tamen, ac defendere nihilo magis quàm eorum vitia, ſi quae fuerint, imitari debemus.That the Fathers were men; that they had their failings; and, that we ought not maliciouſly to ſearch after their Errors, that we may lay them open to the world; but that we may take the liberty to note them, when ever they come in our way, to the end that none be deceived by them: and, that we ought no more to maintain, or defend their Errors, than we ought to imitate their Vices, if at leaſt they had any: and again, ccId. in Epiph. p. 244▪ Quanquam multa ſunt à ſanctiſſimis Patribus, praeſertim à Chryſoſtomo in Homiliis aſperſa, quae ſi ad exactae veritatis regulam accommodare volueris, boni ſenſus inania videbuntur.That many things have ſlipped from them, which, if they were examined according to the exact Rule of Truth, could not p. 139be reconciled to any good ſenſe: and, that Himſelf hath obſerved, ddId. ibid. pag. 285.That they are out ſufficiently, whenſoever they ſpeak of ſuch Points of Faith, as were not at all called in queſtion in Their time. And to ſay the truth, He often rejects both Their Opinions, and Their Expoſitions alſo; and ſometimes very Uncivilly too, as we have touched eeSupr. c. 4.before, ſpeaking of his Notes upon Epiphanius. And in one place, the Authority of ſome of the Fathers, which contradicted His Opinion, touching the Expoſition of a certain paſſage in St. Luke, being objected againſt Him, He never taking the leaſt notice at all of their Teſtimonies, anſwers; ffPetav. in Epiph. pag. 110. Nec eſt quod certorum Patrum opponatur auctoritas, qui non aliud affirmare poſſunt, quam quod ex Luca didicerunt, neque eſt ulla ratio cur ex illorum verbis Lucam interpretemur potius, quam ex Luca quae abillis aſſeverari videntur.That we ought to Interpret, and expound the Fathers by St. Luke, rather than St. Luke by Them; becauſe that They cannot herein ſay any thing, but what they have received from St. Luke: Which, in my Judgment, was very Judiciouſly ſpoken of him; and beſides, Exactly agrees with what St. Auguſtine ſaid before, and which may very well be applied to the greateſt part of our Differences; in all which the Fathers could not know any thing, ſave what they learnt out of the Scriptures: ſo that Their Teſtimonies, in theſe Caſes, ought according to the Opinion of this Learned Jeſuit, to be expounded, and interpreted by the Scriptures, and not the Scriptures by Them. And this is the language of all the reſt of them.

Ma…donate, who was a moſt bitter enemy of the Proteſtants, as ever there was any, having delivered the Judgment of ſome of the Fathers, who were of Opinion that the ſons of Zebedee anſwered not ſo rightly, when being asked by our Saviour, whether or no they were able to drink of his Cup, and to be Baptized with the Baptiſm that he was Baptized with, they ſaid unto him, that they were able; adds,ggMaldonat. in Matth. 20 22. Malo ego credere, nec temerè, nec inſcienter, ſed amanter & verè reſpondiſſe, &c.Matt 20:22 That for his part, he believes that they anſwered well. And in another place, expounding the 2 Verſe of the 19 Chapter of St. Matthew, p. 140having firſt brought in the Interpretations of divers, and indeed in a manner of all the Fathers, he ſays at laſt, hhId. in Mat. 19. 11 Quam interpreta…ionem adduci non poſſum ut ſequar, &c.Matt 19:11That he could not be perſwaded to underſtand the place; as they did.

And here you are to note by the way, that the meaning of that place is ſtill controverted at this day.

How then can this man conceive, that the Proteſtants ſhould think themſelves bound neceſſarily to follow the Judgment of this Major part of the Fathers, which themſelves make ſo light of? In another place, where he hath occaſion to ſpeak of thoſe words of our Saviour; which are at this day in debate amongſt us, The Gates of Hell ſhall not prevail againſt it. He is yet much more down-right, and ſays,iiId. in Matth. 16. 18 Quorum verborum ſenſus non videtur mihi eſſe, quem omnes praeter Hilarium, quos legiſſe memini, auctores putant.Matt 16:18 The ſenſe of theſe words is not rightly given by any Author, that I can remember; except St. Hilary. So likewiſe upon the 11 Chapter of St. Matthew, verſ. 11. where it is ſaid, The leaſt in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John Baptiſt: kkId. in Matth. 11. 11. Habet ex multis opinionibus quameligat lector; ſed ſi meam quoque ſententiam avet audire, liberè fatebor, in nulla prorſus carum meum qualecunque judicium acquieſcere.Matt 11:11The Opinions of the Fathers upon this paſſage (ſaith he) are very different: and to ſpeak my mind freely, none of them all pleaſeth me.

In like manner upon the ſixth Chapter of St. John;llId. in Joh. 6. verſ 44. Ammonius, Cyrillus, Theophylactus, & Euthymius, reſpondent, non omnes tral…i, quia non omnes digni ſunt: quod nimis affine eſt Pelagianorum errori.John 6:44 Ammonius (ſaith he) St. Cyril, Theophylact, and Euthymius anſwer, that all are not drawn, becauſe all are not worthy. But this comes too near to Pelagianiſm. Salmeron, a famous Jeſuit ſays thus: mmSalmer. in ep. ad Rom 5. disput 51. p. 468. Tertiò, argumentum petunt à Doctorum Antiquitate, cui ſemper major honor eſt habitus; quam novitatibus. Reſpondetur, quamlibet aetatem Antiquitati ſemper detuliſſe, &c. ſed illud efferimus quò juniores, eò perſpicaciores eſſe Doctores.Rom 5Our Adverſaries bring Arguments from the Antiquity of the Fathers; which I confeſs hath always been of more eſteem than Novelties.

I anſwer, That every Age hath yielded unto Antiquity, &c. But yet we muſt take liberty to ſay, that the later the Doctors are, p. 141the more quick ſighted they are. And again, nnIbid. col. 1. Denique contra hanc quam objectant multitudinem, reſpondemus ex verbo Dei; Exod 23. In judicio plurimorum non acquieſces ſententiae, ut à vero devies.Exod 23Againſt all this great multitude, which they bring againſt us, we anſwer, (ſaith he) out of the Word of God. Thou ſhalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither ſhalt thou ſpeak in a cauſe, to decline after many, to wreſt judgment. Michael Medina, diſputing at the Council of Trent, touching the ſuperiority of a Biſhop above a Prieſt; the Authority of St. Hierome, and of St. Auguſtine being produced againſt him, who both held, that the difference betwixt them was not of Divine, but only of Poſitive, and Eccleſiaſtical Right, ooPietr. S…avez Po…. hiſt. del Concil. Trident. lib. 7. pag. 570.anſwers before the whole Congregation, That it is no marvel, that they, and ſome others alſo of the Fathers fell into this Hereſie; this point being not as then clearly determined of.

And that no man may doubt of the honeſty of the Hiſtorian, who relateth this, do but hear Bellarmine… who teſtifieth; ppBellarm, de Cler. l. 1. c. 15. Michael Medina in lib. 1. de ſacr. hom. orig & contin. d. 5. affirmat S. H…eronymum idem omnino cum Aerian…s ſenſiſſe: neque ſolum Hieronymum in ea haereſi fuiſſe, ſed etiam Ambroſium, Auguſtinum▪ S…dulium, Primaſium, Theodoretum, Occumenium, & Theophylactum.That Medina aſſureth us, that St. Hierome was in this point of Aerius his opinion; and, that not only be, but alſo St. Ambroſe, St. Auguſtine, Sedulius, Primaſius, Chryſoſtome; Theodoret, Oecumenius, and Theophylact maintained all of them the ſame Hereſie.

We need not bring in here any more Examples: do but read their Commentaries, their Diſputations, and their other Diſcourſes, and you will find them almoſt in every page, either rejecting, or correcting the Fathers. But I muſt not paſs by the Teſtimony of Cornelius Muſſus, Biſhop of Bitonto, who indeed is more ingenuous, and more clear than all the reſt.

††Gorn. Muſſ Epiſcop. Bitont. in ep ad Rom. c. 14. pag. 606. A…quo; Roma, quaerenda ſunt divina Conſilia, niſi ab illis, quibus myſteriorum Dei diſpenſatio credita eſt? Quem ergò pro Deo habemus, in hi… quae Dei ſunt, quicquid ipſe dixerit tanquam Deum audire debemus. Ego (ut ingenuè fate…r) plus uni ſummo Pontifici crederem in his, quae fidei myſteria tangunt, quam mille Auguſtinis, Hieronymis, Gregoriis; ne dicam Richardis, Scotis, Gulielmis Credo enim, & ſcio, quòd ſummus Pontifex, in his quae fidei ſunt, errare non poteſt; quoniam auctoritas determinandi quae ad fidem ſpectant, in Pontifice reſidet.Rom 14O Rome (ſaith he) to whom ſhall we go for Divine Counſels, unleſs to thoſe perſons to whoſe truſt the Diſpenſation of the Divine Myſteries hath been committed. We are therefore to hear him, who is to us inſtead of p. 142God, in things that concern God, as God himſelf. Certainly, for my own part (that I may ſpeak my mind freely) in things that belong to the Myſteries of Faith, I had rather believe one ſingle Pope, than a thouſand Auguſtines, Hieromes, or Gregories, that I may not ſpeak of Richards, Scotuſſes, and Williams. For, I believe, and know, that the Pope cannot Erre, in matters of Faith, becauſe that the Authority, and Right of determining all ſuch things, as are at all Points of Faith, reſides in the Pope. This Paſſage may ſeem to ſome, to be both a very bold, and a very indiſcreet one: but yet whoſoever ſhall but examine the thing ſeriouſly, and as it is in it ſelf, and not as it is in its outward appearances only, which are contrived for the moſt part only to amuſe the ſimpler ſort of people. I am confident he will find, that this Author hath both moſt ingenuouſly, and moſt truly given the world an account, what Eſteem the Church of Rome hath of the Fathers. For, ſeeing that theſe men maintain that the Pope is Infallible, and they confeſs withall that the Fathers may have erred: who ſeeth not, that they ſet the Pope very much above the Fathers? Neither may it be here replied, that they do not all of them hold, that the Pope is Infallible. For, beſides that thoſe among them, who do contradict this Opinion, are both the leaſt, and the leaſt conſiderable part alſo of the Church of Rome; theſe very men attribute to the preſent Church in being, in every Age, this Right of Infallibility, which they will not allow the Pope: inſomuch that a Council, now called together, is, according to their account, of much greater Authority than the ancient Fathers. So that there is no more difference at all, betwixt theſe men and the fore-mentioned Italian Biſhop, ſave only that whereas they will have the Authority of the ancient Fathers to ſubmit to the whole Body of Modern Biſhops p. 143aſſembled in a General Council; He will have their Authority to be leſs, than that of a ſingle Pope alone. All that can be found fault with in that ſpeech of his, is perhaps that his Hyperbolical way of Expreſſion, of a thouſand Auguſtines, Hieromes, and Gregories; all which joyned together, he, in too diſdainful a manner, caſts down beneath the feet of one ſingle Pope. But this height of Expreſſion may be ſomewhat excuſed in him, conſidering that ſuch Exceſſes as theſe, are very ordinary with all high and free-ſpirited Perſons.

But the Practice of the Church of Rome it ſelf will be able to inform us more truly and clearly, what eſteem they have of Antiquity. For, if we ought to ſtand to the Fathers, and not to depart from any thing that they have Authorized; nor to Ordain any thing that they were ignorant of, how comes it to paſs, that we at this day ſee ſo many ſeveral Obſervations and Cuſtoms, which were obſerved by the Ancients, now quite laid aſide? And whence is it, that we find in Antiquity no mention at all of many things, which are now in great requeſt amongſt us? There are as it were three principal Parts in Religion; namely, Points of Belief, of Ceremony, and of Diſcipline. We ſhall run them over lightly all three, and ſo far as is neceſſary only for our preſent purpoſe; that ſo we may let the world ſee, that in every one of theſe three parts they have both aboliſhed, and eſtabliſhed very many things, expreſly againſt the Authority of the Ancients.

As for the firſt of theſe, we have formerly given the Reader ſome Taſts only, in the preceding Chapters. For we have ſeen, that the Opinion of the greateſt part of the Ancient Church, touching the State of the Soul, till the time of the Reſurrection, which beſides is at this day alſo maintained by the Greek Church, was condemned, not much above two hundred years ſince, by the Church of Rome, at the Council of Florence; and a quite contrary Belief there eſtabliſhed, as an Article of the Chriſtian Faith.

p. 144We have ſeen beſides, that the Opinion of the Fathers of the Primitive Church, and even down as far as to the end of the ſixth Century after our Saviour Chriſt, and afterwards, was, that the Euchariſt was as neceſſary to Salvation, as Baptiſm; and that conſequently it was therefore to be adminiſtred to little Children. And yet for all this, the Council of††Concil. Trident. Seſſ. 21. Can. Si quis dixerit, parvulis, antequam ad annos diſcretionis perveniant, neceſſariam eſſe Euchariſtae communionem, anathema ſit. Trent hath condemned this Opinion, as an Error in Faith; withal Anathematizing, by a Canon made expreſly for that purpoſe, all thoſe who ever ſhould maintain the ſame. Let him be Accurſed (ſay they) whoever ſhall ſay, that the Euchariſt is neceſſary for little Children, before they are come to years of diſcretion. Only, that the Fathers might not take offence hereat, as having ſo fearful an Affront put upon them; theſe men have endeavoured to perſwade both them and others, that they never did believe that, which themſelves have moſt clearly, and in expreſs Terms proteſted that they did believe, as we have before made it appear: which is, to double the injury upon them, rather than to make them any reparations for it; ſeeing that they deal with them now, not as Hereticks only, but as Fools alſo; whom a man may at pleaſure perſwade that they do not believe that which they really do believe.

We have abundantly heard out of St. Hierome's mouth, how that the Opinion of the Chilaſts was of old maintained, by ſeveral of the Ancient Fathers; which yet is now condemned as an Error in Faith. And indeed the number of theſe kind of differences in Opinions is almoſt infinite.

It was accounted no Error in thoſe days to believe, that the Soul was derived from the Father down to the Son, according to the ordinary courſe of Generation: but this Opinion would now be accounted an Hereſie.

aaEpiphan ep. ad Joh. Hieroſol. T. 2. p. 218. c. 2. Cum ergò haec vidiſſem in Eccleſia Chriſti contra auctoritatem Scripturarum, hominis pendentem imaginem, &c.The Ancients held, That it would be an oppoſing of the Authority of the Scriptures; if we ſhould bang up the Picture of any Man in the Church: andbbConc. Eliberi. Can. 36. Placuit picturas in Eccleſia eſſe non debere, ne quod colitur aut adoratur, in parietibus depingatur. that we ought not to have any Pictures in our Churches, that That p. 145which we worſhip and adore, be not painted upon a Wall. But now the Council of Trent hath Ordained the quite contrary; and ſays, ccConcil▪ Trid. Seſſ. 25. Decreto de Invocat. &c. Sanctorum. Imagines porrò Chriſti, Deiparae Virginis, & aliorum Sanctorum, in templis praeſertim habendas & retinendas, eiſque debitum honorem & venerationem impertiendam.That we ought to have, and to keep, eſpecially in our Churches, the Images of Chriſt, of the Virgin the Mother of God, and of the other Saints; and that we are to yield unto them all due Honour and Veneration.

ddAmbroſ Auguſt. Chryſoſt. &c. de quibus vide Melch, Canum de loc. Theolog. l. 7. num. 3.All the Ancient Fathers, as far as we can learn out of their Writings, believed, That the Bleſſed Virgin Mary was conceived in Original Sin. If now the Fathers of the Council of Trent accounted them to be the Judges of Faith, what moved them then to imagine, that we ought not to believe, that they maintained any ſuch Opinion? For, having delivered their Definitive Sentence in a Decree there paſſed to this purpoſe, and declared, That this Sin, which hath ſpread it ſelf over the whole Maſs of Mankind, by Propagation, and not by Imitation, hath ſeiſed on every Perſon in particular; eeConc. Trident. Seſſ. 5. Decreto de Pecc. Origin. Declarat tamen haec ipſa Sancta Synodus, non eſſe ſuae intentionis comprehendere in hoc Decreto, ubi de Peccato Originali agitur, B. & immacula…am. Virginem Mariam, Dei genitricem.They at length conclude, That their Intention is not to comprehend within this number the Bleſſed and Ʋnſpotted Virgin Mary, the Mother of God: Which Words of theirs it is impoſſible ſo to expound, as that they ſhall not in plain Terms give the Lie to All the Fathers.

For, if they mean by theſe Words, that the Virgin Mary was conceived without Sin, they flatly eſtabliſh an Opinion which is contradictory to that of the Fathers; which is the groſſeſt manner of giving them the Lie that can be.

If they mean here no more than this, (which Senſe yet their Words will hardly be ever made to bear,) that it is not known as a certain Truth, that the Virgin Mary was conceived in Sin; they however honeſtly ſay p. 146in plain Terms, That theſe Good Men affirmed, as True, that which is yet Doubtful; and maintained as Certain, that which was but Problematical onelyonly, and Queſtionable.

The Council of Laodicea, which is inſerted into the Code of the Church Univerſal,ffConc. Laod. Can. …9, 60. Cod. Graec. Can. Eccleſ. Ʋniverſ. Can. 163. putteth not into the Canon of the Old Teſtament any more than Twenty two Books onelyonly; excluding by this means out of this number the Book of Tobit, of Judith, the Book of Wiſdom, Eccleſiaſticus, and the two Books of the Maccabees. ggMelit. Sard. apud Euſeb. Hiſt. Eccleſ. lib. 4 c. 27.Melito Biſhop of Sardis, hhOrigen. apud Euſeb. Hiſt. Eccl. l. 6. c. 26. & in Philocal. c. 3.Sir 50:6Origen, iiCyril. Hieroſ. Catech. 4.Cyril of Hieruſalem, kkGreg. Nazianz. Carm. 33. T. 2. p. 98.Gregory Nazianzene, llHilar. Praefat. in Pſal. fol 2.S.Hilary, mmEpiphan. l. de Ponder & Menſ. T. 2. p. 162.and Epiphanius, do all of them the ſame.nnAthan. ep. Feſtal. T. 2. p. 38, 39. & Synopſ. Script. p. 58. Athanaſius, ooRuffin. Expoſ. Symb. inter opera Cypr. p. 552.Ruffinus, andppHac Prol. Galeato, & Prol. in lib. Salom. ad Paul & Euſtoch. & Prol. in libr. Sal. ad Chron. & Heliod. & Praefat. in Eſdr. S. Hierome expreſly reject theſe very Books, and caſt them out of the Canon. And yet notwithſtanding, the aforeſaid Council ofqqConc. Trident. Seſſ. 4. Decr. de Can. Script. Siquis autem libros …pſos integros, cum omnibus ſuis partibus, prout in Eccleſia Catholica legi conſueverunt, & in veteri vulgata Latina Editione habentur, pro ſacris & Cano…icis non ſuſceperit, &c. Anathema eſto. Trent Anathematizeth all thoſe who will not receive, as Holy and Canonical, all theſe Books, with every part of the ſame, as they are wont to be read in the Church, and as they are found in the Old Latin Edition, commonly called the Vulgar Tranſlation. Where, beſides the Affront which they have offered to ſo many of the Ancient and moſt Eminent among the Fathers, and indeed to the Whole Primitive Church it ſelf, which received this Conon of Laodicea in amongſt its Ʋniverſal Rules; they have alſo eſtabliſhed a Poſition here, which was not till then ſo much as ever heard of in Chriſtendom, namely, That the Old Vulgar Tranſlation of the Bible is to be allowed of as Canonical and Authentick in the Church of God.

p. 147The CL Fathers of therrConcil. Constant. I. Can. 3. foreign. Second General Council, and the DCXXX. of the ſſConc Chalced Can. 28 foreign.Fourth, were all of them of Opinion, That the Ancients had advanced the See of Rome above that of other Biſhops, by reaſon of the Preeminence and Temporal Greatneſs of the City of Rome, over other Cities: and for the ſame reaſon they alſo thought good to advance, in like manner, the Throne of the Patriarch of Conſtantinople to the ſame Height with the former, by reaſon of the City where he reſided being now arrived to the ſelf-ſame Height of Dignity with Rome it ſelf. I aſſure you, that for all this, he ſhould now be Anathema Maranatha, whoſoever ſhould go about to derive the Supremacy of the Pope from any other Original, than from TƲ ES PETRƲS; &, PASCE OVES MEAS.

The Council of Trent Anathematizeth all thoſe, whoſoever ſhall deny, thatttConc. Trid. Seſſ. 23 cap. 4. & Con. 7. Si quis dixerit, Epiſcopos non eſſe Presbyteris ſuperiores, &c. anathema ſit. Biſhops are a Higher Order than Prieſts: and yetuuHieron. paſſim: vide ſupra, lib. 1. c. ult. S. Hierome, and divers others of the Fathers have openly done the ſame.

We have already told you here before, That the Church of Rome long ſince Excommunicated the Greeks, becauſe they hold, That the Holy Ghoſt proceedeth not from the Son, but from the Father onelyonly.

And yet for all this, Theodoret, who expreſly alſo demed in Terms, that the Holy Ghoſt proceeded from the Son, as we have ſhewed in the preceding Chapter, was received by the Ancient Church, and in particular by Pope Leo too, as a True Catholick Biſhop, without requiring him to declare himſelf any otherwiſe, or to give them any Satisfaction touching this Point.

And indeed, we might reckon up very many the like Differences betwixt the Roman and the Ancient Church: but theſe Examples we have here produced will ſuffice, to let the World ſee, how the Church of Rome p. 148holdeth, That the Authority of the Opinions of the Ancients ought to be accounted Supreme.

We ſhall proceed in the next place to ſay ſomething of the Ceremonies in the Chriſtian Religion.

The firſt of all is Baptiſm, which takes us out of Natures Stock, and engraffs us into Jeſus Chriſt. Now it was a Cuſtom heretofore in the Ancient Church, to plunge thoſe they Baptized over head and ears in the Water, as bothaaTertul. lib de Cor. Mil. c. 3. Tertullian, Cypr. ep. 76. p. 211. ubi vide Pamel.S. Cyprian, ccEpiphan Pan. Haer. 30. p. 128.Epiphanius, and others teſtifie. And indeed they plunged them thus three ſeveral times, as the ſameddTertul. lib. de Cor. Mil. c. 3. & lib. adv. Prax. c. 26. Tertullian, andeeHieron Dial. adverſ. Lucifer. T. 2. p. 187. In lavacro ter caput mergitare. S. Hierome both inform us. And this is ſtill the Practice both of the Greek, and of the Ruſſian Church, even at this very day. And yet notwithſtanding, this Cuſtom, which is both ſo Ancient, and ſo Univerſal, is now aboliſhed by the Church of Rome. And this is the reaſon that theffCaſſand. l. de Bapt. Inf. p. 693. Muſcovites ſay, That the Latins are not Rightly and Duly Baptized, becauſe they are not wont to uſe this Ancient Ceremony in their Baptiſm, which, they ſay, is expreſly enjoyned them in the Canons of Joannes Metropolitanus, whom they hold to have been a Prophet.

And indeedggGreg. Mon. Protoſync. in Apol. contr. ep. Marc. p. 721. Tom 4 Conc. Gen. foreign, &c. Gregory, the Greek Monk, who was notwithſtanding a great Stickler for the Ʋnion in the Council of Florence, doth yet confeſs, in his Anſwer to the Epiſtle of Mark Biſhop of Epheſus, that it is Neceſſary in Baptiſm, that the Perſons to be Baptized ſhould be thrice dipped over Head and Ears in the Water. At their coming out of the Water; in the Ancient Church they gave them to eat Milk and Honey, as the ſamehhTertul. & Hieron. ubi ſupr. Deinde egreſſos lactis & mellis praeguſtare concordiam. Authors witneſs; and immediately after this, they made them all Partakers alſo of the Bleſſed Communion, both great and ſmall: whence theiiAlvarez, in his Voyage to Ethiopia. A tutti quelli che battezano, coſi maſchi, come femine, donno il ſacramento in pocaquantitá, &c. Cuſtom p. 149ſtill remains in Aethiopia, of Adminiſtring the Euchariſt to Little Children, and making them take down a ſmall quantity of it, as ſoon as ever they are Biptiſed.

What have theſe our ſo great Adorers of Antiquity now done with theſe Ceremonies? Where is the Milk, or the Honey, or the Euchariſt, which the Ancient Fathers were wont to adminiſter to all, immediately after Baptiſm? Certainly theſe things, notwithſtanding the Practice of the Ancients, have been now long ſince buried, and forgotten at Rome.

In Ancient Times they often deferred the Baptiſing both of Infants, and of other People, as appears by the Hiſtory of the EmperourskkEuſeb. de vita Conſtant. l. 4. Conſtantine the Great, of llSocrat. Hiſt. Eccl. l. 3. …. 37.Sir 50:3Sir 50:37Conſtantius, ofmmId. …. c. 6. Theodoſius, of Valentinian, and of Gratian, innnAmbroſ. Orat. de obit. Valentin. T. 3. p 9. S Ambroſe; and alſo by the Orations and Homilies ofooGreg Nazianz. Orat. 40. Gregory Nazianzen, and ofppBaſil. Homil. foreign. S. Baſil upon this Subject.

And ſome of the Fathers too have been of Opinion, that it is fit it ſhould be deferred; as namely, Tertullian, as we have formerly noted of him.

How comes it to paſs now, that there is not ſo much as any the leaſt Trace or Footing of this Cuſtom to be found at this day in the Church of Rome?

Nay, whence is it beſides, that they will not ſo much as endure the very mention of it, and would abhor the Man that ſhould but go about to put it in practice?

I ſhall here forbear to ſpeak of the Times of Adminiſtring Baptiſm; which was performed ordinarily in the Ancient Church but onelyonly upon the Eves of Eaſter-day, and of Whitſunday: Neither ſhall I ſay any thing of the Ceremony of the Paſchal Taper, and the Albes, or White Veſtments,qqCaſſand. in Hymno, p. 227, 328. that the new baptiſed Perſons were uſed to wear all Eaſter-Week; becauſe that it may be thought perhaps, that theſe are too light Circumſtances: although, to ſay the plain truth, if we are to regard the Authority of Men, and not the Reaſon of the Things themſelves, p. 150I do not at all ſee, why all the whole Rites ſhould not ſtill be retained, as well as thoſe Exorciſms, and Renouncings of the Devil and the World, with all its Pomp and Vanities, which in Imitation of Antiquity, are at this day, though very improperly, acted by them over little Infants, though but of a day old.

As for the Euchariſt, rrCaſſand. in Liturg. c. 26.Caſſander ſheweth clearly, That it was Celebrated in the Ancient Church with Bread and Wine, offered by the People; and, that the Bread was firſt broken into ſeveral Pieces, and then Conſecrated afterwards, and diſtributed among the Faithful.

Notwithſtanding, the contrary Uſe hath now prevailed; neither do they Conſecrate any Bread which is offered by the People, which was the Ancient Cuſtom, but onelyonly little Wafer Cakes, made round in the Form of a Deneere, ſſApud Caſſand. in Liturg. c. 26. p. 60.which yet is very ſharply reproved in the Old Expoſition of the Ordo Romanus, &c.

The ſamettCaſſand. in Liturg. p. 63, 64. c. 28. Caſſa…der alſo gives us an Account at large, how that in Ancient Times the Canonical Prayer, and the Conſecration of the Euchariſt was read out with a loud Voice, and in ſuch ſort, as that the People might all of them be able to hear it, that ſo they might ſay Amen to it: whereas theuuConc. Trid. Seſſ. 22. c. 5. & can 9. Prieſt now pronounceth it with a very low Voice, ſo that none of the Congregation can tell what he ſays; and hence it is, that this part of the Liturgy is called Secret.

We have**Lib. 1. c. 5. formerly ſhewed, how that the Ancient Fathers concealed heretofore, as carefully as they could, the Matter and the Rites uſed in the Celebration of this Holy Sacrament; which they never performed in preſence either of the Catechumeni, or of Unbelievers. But now there is not any ſuch care taken at all herein, but they Celebrate the Euchariſt Openly and Publickly, even before Jews, Pagans, or Mahometans, without any more regard had to theſe Ancient Rules, than as if there had never been any ſuch thing.

And as if the Deſign of theſe Men were to run croſs to p. 151Antiquity in all things, whereas they concealed the Sacrament as much as they could, theſe ſhew it now openly, and carry it publickly abroad every day through the Streets, and ſometimes alſo go in Solemn Proceſſion with it: which Cuſtom of theirs is of very late ſtanding among Chriſtians, and which heretofore would have looked not onelyonly very ſtrangely, but would have been accounted rather Profane and Unlawful. And thus have the Cuſtoms and Obſervations of the Ancient Fathers been quite laid aſide, and other new ones, which they never heard of, inſtituted in their place.

The fameaaCaſſand. in Liturg. 55. c. 26. Caſſander alſo proveth, That in Ancient Times they never celebrated the Euchariſt, ſave onelyonly in the preſence of thoſe that were to Communicate; and, that all the reſt withdrew. It is moſt clear, that S. Chryſoſtom very bitterly reproves thoſe who would aſſiſt at the Celebration of the Euchariſt; though not Communicate.

And indeed we at this day ſee in the Ethiopick Liturg. Aethiop.Liturgy, that the Goſpel being read, the Deacon cries aloud, All you that will not receive the Sacrament, depart: Withdraw you, Catechumeni, And again, after the Creed is ſung, he ſaith to the People,ccIbid. Let them that will not Communicate, depart.

But now a days, for the moſt part, none of thoſe who aſſiſt at the Celebration, Communicate of it: they content themſelves with Adoring the Sacrament onelyonly, without partaking of it at all: whence you have this manner of ſpeaking; To hear Maſs; and, To ſee Maſs. ddChryſiſt. Homil. 3. in ep. ad Epheſ. T. 3. p. 778. edit. Savilii. foreign, &c. foreign.S. Chryſoſtome ſaith, Whoſoever ſhall ſtay here, and not participate of the Myſteries, behaves himſelf like an impudent, ſhameleſs Perſon. I beſeech you (ſaith he) if any one that were invited to a Feaſt, ſhould come and ſit down, after he hath waſhed his Hands, and fitted himſelf p. 152to come to the Table, and at length ſhould forbear to touch any of thoſe Diſhes which are ſerved in upon it, would not this be a very great Affront to him who invited him? Had he not better to have forborn coming at all? It is the very ſame Caſe here. Thou haſt come, and haſt Sung the Hymn; and, ſeeing thou haſt not retired with thoſe that were not worthy, haſt thereby alſo profeſſed thy ſelf to be of the number of thoſe who are Worthy. How comes it to paſs, that ſeeing thou haſt ſtaid behind, thou doſt not Communicate of this Table? and ſo on, as followeth in S. Chry…oſtome. If any Man ſhould now preach this Doctrine to the Romaniſts, would they not laugh at him, as a Ridiculous Fellow? foraſmuch as their Cuſtom in this Particular is far different (as every one ſees) from what it was heretofore in the Ancient Church.

It is as clear as the day, that all along in the Ancient Church, it was Lawful for any of the Faithful to take home with them the Holy Euchariſt, which they might keep in any Private place, to take it afterwards by themſelves alone, whenever they pleaſed.

Whence it is, that Tertullian adviſeth thoſe who durſt not Communicate upon the days appointed for that purpoſe, for fear of breaking their Faſt, to keep the Body of Chriſt by them. aaTertul. lib. de Orat. c. 4. Accepto corpore Domini, & reſervato, utrumque ſalvum eſt, & participatio Sacrificii, & executio officii.Receiving the Body of Chriſt (ſaith he) and keeping it by thee, both are preſerved entire, both the Participation of the Sucrifice, and the Diſcharge of thy Duey. And this appears alſo by a Story related by S. Cyprian, of a certain Woman, bbCyprian. l. de Lapſ p 244. Cum quaedam arcam ſuam, in qua Domini ſanctum ſuit, manibus indignis tentaſſet aperire, igne inde ſurgente deterrita eſt, ne auderet attingere.Who going about to open, with unworthy hands, a Coffer of hers, where the Euchariſt was laid up, ſhe preſently ſaw Fire breaking forth thence, which ſo amazed her, as that ſhe durſt not touch it. And S. Ambroſe alſo, a long while after S. Cyprian, teſtifieth ſufficiently, That this Cuſtom in his time p. 153continued in the Church; where he tells the ſtory of his Brother Satyrus, who being upon the Sea, and in danger of ſhipwrack, ccAmbroſ. de obit. Satyr. p. 19. T. 3. Non mortem metuens, ſed ne vacuus myſterii exiret è vita, quos initiatos eſſe cognoverat, ab his divinum illud fidelium Sacramentum popoſcit, non ut curioſos oculos inſereret arcanis, ſed ut fidei ſuae conſequeretur auxilium. Etenim ligari fecit in orario, & orarium, involvit collo, atque ita ſe dejecit in mare.And fearing withal leſt he ſhould go out of the world without the Holy Myſteries, (for he was yet but of the number of the Catechumeni,) he made his addreſſes to thoſe whom he knew to have been initiated, and deſired of them to give him the Divine Sacrament of the Faitbful: not that he might therewith ſatisfie the Curioſity of his Eyes, but that it might ſtrengthen his Faith. And ſo having put it into a handkerchief, and then tying the handkerchief about his neck, he threw himſelf into the Sea, and was ſaved. If Rome doth indeed bear ſo great reſpect to the Fathers, as they would make us believe, why hath it not then retained this Cuſtom? Why then ſhould that which was then ſo ordinarily practiſed, be now in our days ſo much diſliked, as that they will not by any means ddConc. Trid. Seſſ. 25 de regul. & Mon. cap. 10.permit the Fryers to keep the Euchariſt in their Covent, nor yet in their Quire, nor in any other place, ſave only the Publick Church. St. Ambroſe informs us moreover, that in thoſe times they made no ſcruple at all of carrying the Euchariſt upon the Sea: which Cuſtom of the Ancients is ſo much diſliked by the Church of Rome in our days, as that they hold it an unlawful thing, either to Conſecrate, or to carry the Sacrament ready conſecrated, upon any water whatever, whether it be that of the Sea, or of Rivers.

This very Cuſtom of the Ancients keeping the Sacrament by them, proves unto us very clearly, that the Faithful in thoſe days received the Sacrament with their Hands: which is alſo plainly enough intimated unto us by Tertullian; where inveighing againſt thoſe among the Chriſtians, who were Gravers, or Painters by their p. 154Profeſſion; he reproveth them,aaTertul. lib. de …ol. cap. 7. E…s manus admov…re corpori Domini, quae Daemoniis corpora conferunt. for touching the Body of our Saviour with thoſe very hands, which beſtowed bodies on Devils: that is to ſay, with thoſe hands, wherewith they made Idols. bbCyprian. epi…t. 56. & lib. de bo… Patientiae p. 3▪ 6.St. Cyprian is clear in this point in divers ſeveral places:ccGr…g. Naz. Ca…m. 6. 3. foreign, &c. Gregory Nazi…nzene alſo teſtifieth the ſame in his LXIII Poem. And in the Canons of the Council of Conſtantinople in Trullo, holden in the year of our Lord DC. LXXX. there is one,ddSynod. Quiniſ. Can. 101. foreign, &c. which appointeth, That he, who is to Communicate, place his hands in the form of a Croſs, and ſo receive the Communication of Grace: which had been the Practice, down from the time of St. Cyril of Jeruſalem. And yet notwithſtanding there is no man but knows, that this Cuſtom hath no place now in the Church of Rome; where the Communicants receive the Euchariſt, not with their hand, but with their mouth, into which it is put by the Prieſt.

I would alſo very gladly be informed, by what Canon of the Ancient Church thoſe ſingle Maſſes, which are now celebrated, and ſaid every day, where none Communicates but the Prieſt alone who Conſecrates the Hoſt, were inſtituted, or permitted: and withal, how that Reſpect, which they pretend they bear to Antiquity, can ſtand with that Canon of the Council of Trent, which ſaith:eeConc. T…id. Seſſ. 22. c. 6 & Can. 8. Si quis dixerit Miſſas, in quibus ſolus Sacerdos ſacramentaliter communica…, illicitas eſſe, ideoque abrogandas, anathema ſit Whoſoever ſhall ſay, that thoſe Maſſes, wherein the Prieſt alone Communicateth Sacramentally, are unlawful, and fit to be aboliſhed, let him be Accurſed: ſeeing that theſe kind of Maſſes were utterly unknown to the Ancient Church, asffCaſſan. C…nſult. …ad Ferdin. &c. p 995. & in Liturg p. 83. cap 33. Caſſander proveth at large, in his Conſultatio de Articulis Religionis, written to the Emperour Ferdinand.

But that which moſt of all gives offence to thoſe that are devoted to A…tiq…ity, is, the Cuſtom which the p. 155Church of Rome hath introduced, and eſtabliſhed, by the expreſs Decrees and Canons of two of their General Councils, the one holden atggConc. Conſtant. Seſſ. 13. Conſtance, and the other at hhConc Trid. Seſſ: 21. c. & 2. Can. 2.Trent, of not allowing the Communion of the Cup to any, ſave only to the Prieſt who Conſecrates the ſame; excluding by this means, firſt of all, all the Laity, and ſecondly all the Prieſts alſo, and other of the Clergie, who had not the Conſecrating of it: whereas the whole Ancient Church, for the ſpace of fourteen hundred years, admitted both the one and the other to the Communion of the Holy and Bleſſed Cup, as well as to the participation of the Conſecrated Bread; as thoſe of theſe two Councils themſelves confeſs, in theiiIbid. c. 2. Licet ab initio Chriſtianae Religionis non infrequens utriuſque ſpecici uſus fuiſſet, &c. Preface to this New Conſtitution. And this is ſtill the practice alſo at this day, among all Chriſtians throughout the World, both Ruſſians, kkJerem. P. CN. Reſp. 1. ad Wi…emb.Greeks, Armenians, llAlvarez. in his V…yage, ch. 11. Quanti ſi communicano col corpo, ſi communicano …uche col ſangue.Ethiopians, mmConfeſſ Eccleſ. Angl. art. 12.Proteſtants, and all others in general, except the Latines only, who are of the Communion of the Church of Rome. But beſides that the Ancients permitted this Communion under both Kinds, (as they uſe to ſpeak,) it ſeemeth (which is yet much more,) that, unleſs it were in ſome extraordinary Caſes, they did not at all permit the Communicating under one Kind only. For otherwiſe, why ſhould PopennLeo … P. R. Serm. 4 de Quadrag pag 108. Cumque ad tegendam infidelitatem ſuam noſtris audeant intereſſe myſteriis, ita in Sacramentorum communione ſ… temp…ra…t, ut …terdum …utiùs lateant, ore ind…gno Chriſti corpus accipiunt, Sanguinem autem▪ redemptionis noſtrae omninò haurire decli…nt. Quod ideò veſtram volumus ſcire ſanctitatem, ut vobis huiusmodi homines & his manifeſt entur indiciis, &c. Leo give this very thing, as a mark to diſtinguiſh the Manichees from the Catholicks? When they ſometimes are preſent at our Myſteries (ſaith he) that ſo they may hide their infidelity, they ſo order the matter in their participating of theſe Myſteries, as that they receive the body of Chriſt into their unworthy mouth, but will no… take into it one drop of the Blood of our Redemption: and he further adds; That he gives his Auditory this advertiſe…, that th…y p. 156may know theſe men by this Mark. Should this Pope now ariſe from his grave, and come into the World again he would certainly believe, that all thoſe, who adhere to his See, were turned Manichees, except the Conſecrating Prieſts only. How b…ſides will you be able, without this Hypotheſis, to explain that D…cree of Pope ooGelaſ. Joh. & Maj Epiſc. Decre…. de Conſecrat. diſt 2. cap. 12 Comperimus autem, quod qu…dam ſumpta tantummodò corporis ſacri portione, à calice ſacri cruoris abſtineant, &c. quia, diviſio unius ej…ſdemque Myſterii ſine grandi ſacrilegio non poteſt provenire.Gelaſius, which ſaith: We are informed, that there are ſome, who having taken a ſmall portion of the Sacred Body only, forbear to partake of the Cup of the Conſecrated Blood; doing this, as we hear, out of I know not what ſuperſtitious conceit wherewith they are poſſeſſed: We therefore will, that they either partake of the whole Sacrament, or elſe that they be wholly put back from communicating of either: for aſmuch as there cannot, without very great Sacriledge, any diviſion be made in one and the ſame Myſtery. And in the laſt place, what can you otherwiſe ſay to that ſtory which is related by the Accuſers of ppAct. Concil. Ch…llced. act. 16. pag. 356. Tom. 2. Concil. Gen. foreign.Ibas, Biſhop of Edeſſa; how that having one time made but a very ſcanty proviſion of Wine for the ſervice of the Altar, which, after it had been begun to be diſtributed about to the Communicants, began quickly to fail; He perceiving this, beckned to thoſe, who delivered about the Holy Body, that they ſhould come back again; becauſe there was no more left of the blood of our Saviour? For, what need was there of making them to give over their buſineſs, becauſe there was no more Wine, if ſo be it was at that time lawful, to diſtribute the Bread alone, without the other Kind, of Wine? If the Councils of Trent, and of Conſtance had accounted the Authority of the Fathers to have been Supreme, how came it to paſs that they aboliſhed that, which had for ſo long time, and ſo conſtantly been obſerved by them▪ And, how again doth this other Canon of the Council of Trent ſuit with that Reſpect, which p. 157they pretend to bear toward Antiquity; where it is ſaid, that,qqConc. Trid. Seſſ 21. Can. 2. Si quis dixerit ſanctam Eccleſiam Catholicam non juſtis cauſis & rationibus adductam fuiſſe, ut laicos, atque etiam Clericos non conficientes ſub panis tantummodò ſpecie communicaret, aut in eo erraſſe, anathema ſit. Whoſoever ſhall ſay, that the Holy Catholick Church hath not been induced by juſt Cauſes, and Reaſons, to communicate to the Laity, and even to the Prieſts too, who do not Conſ…rate, under the Kind of Bread only; or that it hath …rred in this Point, let him be Accurſed? For, it ſeemeth to be no very eaſie matter, to be able to acquit the Modern Church, without condemning the Ancient, ſeeing their Practices have been manifeſtly contradictory to each other; the Modern Church forbidding that, which the Ancient permitted; and the Ancient Church ſeeming to have expreſly forbid that; which the Modern commandeth. How can you ſay, that the one had juſt Reaſons for what it did; unleſs you withal grant, that the other in doing the contrary, had either no Reaſon at all, or elſe but very unjuſt ones? ſeeing it is moſt clear, that neither the World, nor the Times are any whit changed, within this two hundred years, from what they were before. For, it is impoſſible for any man to alledge any Reaſon, for the Practice of the Moderns, which ſhould not in like manner have obliged the Ancients: nor again to produce any Reaſon for the contrary Practice of the Ancients, which doth not in like manner oblige the Moderns. So that of neceſſity, either the one or the other of them muſt needs have been guilty either of Errour, or at leaſt of Negligence, and of Ignorance. We may very well therefore conclude, that the Church of Rome, ſeeing it believes it ſelf to be Infallible, manifeſtly in this particular condemned the Ancient Church, as guilty of Ignorance, or of Negligence at the leaſt; which, in my Judgment, ſeems not ſo well to become thoſe perſons, who do nothing elſe but continually preach unto us the Honour of Antiquity. But here now will all the true Honourers of Antiquity have as good ſport as can be. For, as for thoſe Reaſons, by which the Fathers p. 158of the Council of Trent were induced to make the aforementioned Decree; how (will they ſay) may we be able to come to the knowledge, whether they were juſt or not; ſeeing that they themſelves produce none at all? Whereas the Reaſons, which moved the Ancients to do as they did, and which you have ſet down at large in a certain Diſcourſe printed at Paris, Inter Opera Caſſand. pag. 1019.at the end of Caſſanders Works, are very ſolid, and clear, and, in my judgment, very full both of Wiſdom and of Charity. But we ſhall not need to enter any further into this Conteſtation: it is ſufficient for my purpoſe, that the Church of Rome, in doing thus, hath manifeſtly aboliſhed a very ancient Cuſtom in the Church.

Beſides theſe Ceremonies, which were practiſed by the Fathers in Baptiſm, and in the Euchariſt, they have ſaid by many other alſo, which have been heretofore in uſe in the Church. I ſhall not here ſpeak of the Faſting upon Saturdays, which is obſerved by the Church of Rome, contrary to the ancient practice of the whole Chriſtian Church beſides, who all accounted it unlawful: becauſe this difference in Practice is as ancient as aaAuguſt. T. 2. Ep. …6. ad Caſulan. p. 74. & 75.St. Auguſtine's time, and therefore ought not to be imputed to the Modern Church of Rome. I ſhall for the ſame reaſon alſo paſs by that whichbbFirmil. in ep. ad Cypr. quae eſt inter Epiſt. Cypr. 75. Eos qui Romae ſunt non ea in omnibus obſervare, quae ſint ab origine tradita, ut fruſtra Apoſtolorum Auctoritatem praetendere, ſcire quis etiam inde poteſt, &c. Firmilian…s ſaith; namely, how that in his time, that is to ſay, about two hundred and fifty years after the Nativity of our Saviour Chriſt, Thoſe of Rome, did not in all things obſerve, whatſoever had been delivered from the beginning; and, that they did in vain alledge the Authority of the Apoſtles. But this I ſhall deſire the Reader to take notice of, that anciently it was a general Cuſtom throughout all Chriſtendom, not to Kneel, neither upon the Lords days, nor upon any day b…twixt Eaſter day and Whitſunday; which Cuſtom hath been generally aboliſhed by the whole Church of Rome: and yet notwithſtanding, whether you conſider, p. 159the Antiquity, or whether you look upon the Authority of thoſe who both practiſed this themſelves, and alſo recommended it to our obſervation, you will hardly find any more venerable Cuſtom than this. For, theccPſeud. Juſt. Q. & R. Quaeſt. 115. foreign, &c. Author of the Queſtions and Anſwers, attributed to Juſtin Martyr, makes mention of this Cuſtom, and withal gives the Reaſon and Ground of it; and beſides, proveth by a certain paſſage, which he produceth out of Irenaeus, that it had its beginning in the Apoſtolical Times. ddEpiph. lib. de Coron. milit. cap. 3.Tertullian alſo ſpeaks of it; and botheeEpiph. in Panar. in concluſ. ope…is. Epiphanius, andffHieron. Dial. contr. Lucifer. p. 187. T. 2. St. Hierome reckon it among the Inſtitutions of the Church: and, which is yet more than all this, the Sacred General Council of Nice authorized the ſame, by an expreſs Canon, made to that purpoſe.ggConc. Nic. Can. 20. foreign. For as much as there are ſome, (ſay theſe CCC. XVIII. Venerable Fathers) who Kneel upon the Lords Day; and upon the days of Pentecoſt, to the end that in all Pariſhes, or (as we now ſpeak) Dioceſes, there may be the ſame Order obſerved in all things, this Holy Synod ordaineth, that (on theſe days) they all pray Standing.

And this ancient Conſtitution was revived again, and explained, in thehhSynod. Quiniſex. Can. 90. Council of Conſtantinople in Trullo, toward the end of the ſeventh Century; where it was expreſly forbidden to Kneel, during the ſpace of thoſe twenty four hours that paſs betwixt Saturday Evening, and Sunday Evening. Every body knows alſo, how that they have abrogated the Faſt, that was wont to be obſerved upon the Fourth day of the week, that is to ſay, on Wedneſday; which yet was the Practice of the Ancients, as appears by what we find iniiIgnat. Epiſt. 5. Ignatius, inkkPetr. Alexand. in MS. Peter, Biſhop of Alexandria p. 160and a Martyr, inllEpiph. Panar. haer. 75. Acrii, pag. 910. foreign; Epiphanius, mmClem. Alex. Strom. l. 7. p. 317.Clemens Alexandrinus, and others.

By the ſame Liberty have thoſe Vigils been aboliſhed, which were ordinarily kept by the Ancient Church, and both approved, and defended alſo bynnHieron. l. cont. Vigil p. 163. De Vigiliis & pernoctationibus Martyrum ſaepe celebrandis, &c. St. Hierome, againſt Vigilantius, who found fault with them; though his Opinion hath now at length found more favour in the World, than St. Hierome's. The ſameooId Com 4. in Matth. p. 121. Unde reo… & Traditionem Apoſtolicam permanſiſſ…, ut in die Vigiliarum Paſchae ante noctis dimidium populos dimittere non liceat, expectantes adventum Chriſti. Father in another place delivers unto us, for an Apoſtolical Tradition, that Cuſtom, which they had in his time, of not ſuffering the people to depart out of the Church, upon Eaſter Eve, till midnight was paſt. What is now become of this Cuſtom; which was not only an ancient one, but was derived alſo from the Apoſtles themſelves, if you dare believe St. Hierome?

We are informed from ſeveral Hands, that that Command of Abſtaining from Blood, and from Things ſtrangled, was for a long time obſerved in the Church. And it appears evident enough, that i… was moſt Religiouſly kept in the Primitive times, both by the Teſtimony of ppTertul. Apolog. p. 38.Tertullian, and ofqqEuſeb. hiſt. Eccleſ. l. 5 c. 2.Sir 50:5 Euſebius. And therrSynod. Quiniſe. Can. 7. Council of Conſtantinople in Trullo excommunicates all thoſe of the Laity, and depoſeth all thoſe of the Clergie, that ſhall offend therein. AndſſPamel. in Apolog. Tertull. num. 38. Pamelius, in his Notes upon Tertullians Apologeticks, informs us, that it is not long ſince the obſervation of this Cuſtom was firſt laid a ſide among Chriſtians; it being not much above four hundred …, ſince there was ſome certain Penalties appointed for thoſe that ſhould violate the ſame. And yet notwithſtanding, for all its Antiquity, and Ʋniverſality, it is at length quite vaniſhed; the Church of Rome having in very gentle wiſe, and by little and little laid it aſleep; …no man, that I know of, having taken the leaſt notice either of the p. 161Time, when, or the Manner, how this was done: Only this we all ſee plainly enough, that it is now quite out of Uſe.

The like may be ſaid of that Cuſtom of Praying for the Saints Departed, which was clearly the Practice of the Ancients.ttEpiph. Pan. Haer. 75. Acrii pag. 911. foreign, &c. We pray (ſaith Epiphanius) for the Juſt, the Fathers, the Patriarchs, the Prophets, Apoſtles, Evangeliſts, Martyrs, &c. that we may diſtinguiſh the Lord Jeſus Chriſt from the order of Men, by that Honour which we pay unto Him. We have alſo ſome of their Prayers to this purpoſe yet remaining; as namely, in the Liturgy ofuuLiturg. Jacob. pag. 29. Edit. Par. An. 1560. apud Guliel Morel. foreign, &c. St. James. And in the xxLiturg. Syriac Baſil.Syriack Liturgie of St. Baſil, after they had mentioned the Patriarchs, the Prophets, John Baptiſt, St. Stephen, the Virgin Mary, and all the reſt of the Saint, they at laſt added; We daily ſend up our Prayers and Supplications unto thee for them. And a little after; Lord, remember alſo (ſaith the Prieſt) all thoſe, who are departed this life, and the Orthodox Biſhops, who have made a clear and open Profeſſion of the true Faith, from the Apoſtles, Peter and James, to this day; of Ignatius, Dionyſius, &c. And then he ſaith, with a loud voice: Remember alſo, Lord, thoſe who have perſevered even to Blood, for the Word of a Good Fear. So likewiſe in the Liturgy ofyyLiturg. Chryſoſt. foreign, &c. vide & Liturg. St Marc. T. 2. Gr. Lat. Bibl. PP. pag. 34. foreign, (not.) &c. Mox: foreign, &c. St. Chryſoſtom; We offer unto thee this Reaſonable Service, for all thoſe who hav… departed in thy Faith, &c. And yet notwithſtanding the Church of Rome hath utterly aboliſhed this Cuſtom; and without all queſtion, believes, that you could not do the Saints a greater injury, than if you ſhould now make any ſuch Supplications for them. p. 162Thoſe that are curious may obſerue many other the like differences betwixt the Antients and the Church of Rome, in their Cuſtoms and Ceremonies.

Neither is there any whit leſs in their Diſcipline. One of the chiefeſt of theſe Differences, and which is indeed the Original of a great part of the reſt, is, in the Elections and Ordinations of Eccleſiaſtical Miniſters, which is the true Baſis and Groundwork of the Diſcipline and Miniſtry of the Church. It is clear, that in the Primitive times they depended partly on the People; and not wholly on the Clergy; but every Company of the Faithful, either choſe their own Paſtors, or elſe had leave to conſider, and to approve of thoſe, that were propoſed unto them for that purpoſe.zzPont. Diac. in vita Cypr. Judicio Dei, & plebis …avore, ad officium Sacerdot…, & Epiſcopatus gradum adhuc neophytus, ut putabatur, novellus, electus eſt. Pontius, a Deacon of the Church of Carthage, ſaith, that St. Cyprian, being yet a Neophyte, was elected to the Charge of Paſtor, and the Degree of Biſhop, by the Judgment of God, and the Favour of the People. St. Cyprian alſo telleth us the ſame in ſeveral places.aaCyprian, epiſt. 52. pag. 97. Factus eſt aurem Cornelius Epiſcopus, de Dei & Chriſti ejus judicio, de Clericorum penè omnium teſtimonio, de plebis, quae tunc affluit ſuffragio, & de Sacerdotum antiquorum, & honorum virorum Collegio. In his LII. Epiſtle, ſpeaking of Cornelius, he ſaith, That he was made Biſhop of Rome, by the Judgment of God, and of his Chriſt, by the Teſtimony of the greateſt part of the Clergi…, by the Suffrage of the People, who were there preſent, and by the Colledge of Paſtors, or Ancient Biſhops, all Good and Bious men. And in another place he ſaith; thatbbIdem. Epiſt. 68. pag. 166. Quando ipſa (plebs) maximè habeat poteſtatem vel eligendi dignos Sacerdotes, vel indignos recuſandi. Quod & ipſum videmus de divina auctoritate deſcendere, ut Sacerdos plebe praeſente ſub omnium oculis deligatur, & dignus atque idoneus publico judicio ac teſtimonio comprobetur. Ibid. pag. 166. Propter quod diligenter de traditione divina, & Apoſtolica obſervatione obſervandum eſt, & tenendum, quod apud nos quoque, & ferè per provincias univerſas tenetur, ut ad ordinationes ritè▪ celebrandas, ad eam plebem, cui Praepoſitus ordinatur▪ Epiſcopi ejuſdem provinciae proximi quique conveniant, & Epiſcopus deligatur plebe praeſente, quae ſingulorum vitam pleniſſime novit, & uniuſcujuſque actumde ejus converſatione perſpexerit. It is the …eople, in whom the power chiefly is, of chuſing Worthy Prelates, or refuſing the Ʋnworthy. Which very thing (ſaith he) we ſee is derived from Divine Authority, that a Biſhop is to be thoſen in the preſence of all the People; p. 163and is declared either Worthy or Ʋnworthy, by the Judgment and Teſtimony of all. Therefore (ſaith he a little after) ought men diligently to retain, and obſerve, according to Divine Tradition, and Apoſtolical Cuſtom, that which is alſo obſerved by us, and in a manner by all other Provinces: namely, that for the due and orderly Proceeding in all Ordinations, the Neighbouring Biſhops of the ſame Province are to meet together at that place, where a Biſhop is to be choſen; and the Election of the ſaid Biſhop is to be performed, in the preſence of the People of that place, who fully know every mans life, and by their long converſation together, underſtand what their behaviour hath been. And hence it was that Euſebius, Biſhop of Nicomedia, finding fault with many things in the Ordination of Athanaſius, reckoned this alſo among the reſt, ^c that it had been performed without the Conſent of the People. To which anſwer was made again, by the ^d Council of Alexandria, that the whole People of Alexandria had all with one voice de…ired him for their Biſhop, giving him the largeſt Teſtimonies that could be, both for his Piety and his Fitneſs for the undertaking that Charge. In like manner Julius, Biſhop of Rome, among other faults which he found in the Ordination of Gregory, who had been made Biſhop of Alexandria, adds, eeJulius ap. Athan. Apol. 2. pag. 748, 749. foreign, &c.That he had not been deſired by the People.

And it appeareth clear enough both out offfHieron. lib. 1. adverſ. Jovin. pag. 57. Tom. 2. & Com. 10. in Ezech. pag. 968. Tom. 4. & Com. in Agg. pag. 512. Tom. 5. & Com. 1. in Epiſt. ad Gal. pag. 271. Tom. 6. St. Hierome, and by the Acts of the Councils ofggConc. Conſt. 1. in Epiſt. ad Damaſ. pag. 94, & 95. Tom. 1. Conc. Gene…. Conſtantinople, and ofhhConc. Chalced. act. 11. p. 375. Tom. 2. Conc. Gen. & act. 16. pag. 430, &c. Chalcedon, and alſo by theiiPontific. Rom in Ordinat. Presbyter. fol. 38. vide ſupr. l. 1. c. 4. Pontificale Romanum, and ſeveral other pieces, that this Cuſtom continued a long time in the Church. But it is now above ſeven Hundred and Eighty years, ſince the Church of Rome ordained, in the VIII. Council, (which notwithſtanding hath been always unanimouſly and conſtantly rejected by the Eaſtern Church to p. 164this very day,) that the Promotions and Conſecrations of Biſhops ſhould be performed by the Election and Order of the Colledge of Biſhops only; forbidding, upon pain of Excommunication, all Lay perſons whatſoever, evenkkConc. VIII. Can. 22. Tom. 3. Conc. pag. 282. Neminem Laicorum principum, vel potentum ſemet inſerere electioni vel promotioni Patriarchae, vel Metropolitae, aut cujuſlibet Epiſcopi, &c. praeſertim cum nullam in talibus poteſtatem, quenquam poteſtativorum, vel caeterorum Laicorum habere convenist, ſed potiùs ſilere, ac attendere ſibi, uſque quò regulariter à Collegio Eccleſiae ſuſcipiat finem electio futuri Pontificis. Princes themſelves, to meddle in the Election or Promotion of any Patriarch, Metropolitan, or any other Biſhop whatſoever; declaring withal, that it is not fit, that Lay perſons ſhould have any thing at all to do in theſe matters: it becoming them rather to be quiet, and patiently to attend, till ſuch time as the Election of the Biſhop that is to be choſen be Regularly finiſhed, by the Colledge of Clergymen. And thus have they by this one Canon-ſhot beaten down the Authority of the Fathers, and of the Primitive Church; who always allowed to the faithful People ſome ſhare in the Elections of their Paſtors: neither hath this Cuſtom been able ever ſince to lift up its head again; the People being (as every man knows) now, more than ever, defrauded of this their Right, and having not the leaſt ſhare in the Elections, not of Popes, Primates, or Archbiſhops only, but not ſo much as of the meaneſt Biſhop that is.

And as the People Anciently had their voice in the Election of their Paſtors; ſo probably alſo they had the like in all other Affairs of Importance, that hapned in the Church. There happening in St. Cyprians time a very great Perſecution, many, who had been forced to yield by the cruelty of the Pagans, being afterwards touched with a ſenſe of their fault, deſired to return to the Church again: but yet to avoid the ſhame, and the length, and rigour of thoſe Penances, which were uſually impoſed upon all ſuch Offenders, the greateſt part of them begged of their Confeſſors to be favourably dealt withal, and corrupted their Prieſts, that ſo p. 165they might be received again into the Communion of the Church, without undergoing Canonical Penance. St. Cyprian, who was a ſtrict Obſerver of Diſcipline, wrote many things againſt this Abuſe; by which it evidently appeareth, that the People had their Right alſo in the hearing and judging of theſe Cauſes. For in his X. Epiſtle he ſaith,llCyprian. Epiſt. 10. pag. 30. Acturi & apud nos, & apud Confeſſores ipſos, & apud plebem univerſam cauſam ſuam. that thoſe Prieſts that had received any ſuch Offenders raſhly, and contrary to the Diſcipline of the Church, Should give an account of what they had done, to himſelf, to the Confeſſors, and to the whole People. And in another place, writing to the People of Carthage, mmId. Epiſt. 12. pag. 33. Cum pace nobis omnibus à Domino prius data, ad Eccleſiam regredi coeperimus, tunc examinabuntur ſingula, praeſentibus & judicantibus vobis.When the Lord (ſaith he) ſhall have reſtored peace unto us all, and that we ſhall be all returned to the Church again, we ſhall then examine all theſe things, praeſentibus vobis, & judicantibus, You alſo being preſent, and judging of them. And it is in this ſame Epiſtle, and touching this very Point, where he addeth that Paſſage, which we have before produced, in the Chapter touching the Corruption of the Writings of the Ancients. I deſire them (ſaith he) that they would patiently hear our Council, &c. to the end that, when many of us Biſhops ſhall have met together, we may examine the Letters and deſires of the Bleſſed Martyrs, according to the Diſcipline of the Lord, and in the preſence of the Confeſſors, and alſo according as you ſhall think fit. And hence it is, that in one of his former Epiſtles he proteſted to his Clergy,nnCypr. ep. 6. p. 19. Quando à primordio Epiſcopatus mei ſtatuerim nihil ſine conſilio veſtro, & ſine conſenſu plebis meae, privata ſententia gerere. That from his firſt coming to his Biſhoprick he had ever reſolved to do nothing of his own head, without their Advice, and the Approbation of his People. He that would yet be more fully ſatisfied in this particular, may read theooId. epiſt. 14. & 28. & 40. & 59. quaeſcripta eſt nomine LXVI. Epiſcoporum: & epiſt, 68. & in praefat. Concil Carthag. XIV. Epiſtle of the ſame Father, and the XXVIII. touching the buſineſs of Philumenus and Fortunatus, two Subdeacons; as alſo the XL. touching p. 166the buſineſs of Feliciſſimus; and the LXVII. which he wrote to the Clergie and People of Spain joyntly, commending them for having depoſed their Biſhops, who were guilty of hainous crimes. But now that no man may think that this was the Practice of the Church of Carthage only, I ſhall here take occaſion to inform the Reader, that theppEpiſt. quae eſt inter Cypr. ep. 31. Quanquam nobis in tam ingenti negotio placeat, quod & tu ipſe tractaſti priùs, Eccleſiae pacem ſuſtinendam, deinde ſic collatione Conſiliorum cum Epiſcopis, Presbyteris, Diaconis Confeſſoribus, pariter ac ſtantibus Laicis facta, lapſorum tractare ratio…em. Clergie of Rome alſo approved of this Reſolution of his, of bringing to tryal, ſo ſoon as they ſhould be at reſt, this whole buſineſs, touching thoſe who had fallen, during the Perſecution, in a full Aſſembly of the Biſhops, Prieſts, Deacons, and Confeſſors, together with thoſe of the Laity, who had continued conſtant, and had not yielded to Idolatry. And that which, in my judgment, is very well worth our Obſervation, is, thatqqCypr. ep. 55. ad Cornel. pag. 121. Quanquam ſciam frater chariſſime, pro mutuâ dilectione quam debemus & exhibemus invicem nobis, florentiſſimo illic Clero tecum praeſidenti, & ſanctiſſimae atque ampliſſimae plebi legere te ſemper literas noſtras; tamen nunc & admoneo & peto, ut quod alias ſponte at que honotificè facis, etiam petente me facias, ut hac epiſtola mea lecta, &c. St. Cyprian himſelf writing to Cornelius, Biſhop of Rome, ſaith, that He doth not doubt but that, according to that Mutual Love which they ought, and paid to each other, he did always read thoſe Letters which he received from him, to the moſt Flouriſhing Clergie of Rome that were his Aſſiſtants, and to the moſt Holy and moſt numerous People. Whence it appears, that at Rome alſo the People had their Vote, in the managing of Eccleſiaſtical Affairs.

I ſhall not need here to add any more, to ſhew how much the Authority and Example of the Ancients in this Particular are now ſlighted and deſpiſed: it being evident enough to every man, that the People are not only excluded from the Councils and Conſiſtories of the Biſhops, but that beſides, that man would now be taken for…an Heretick, that ſhould now but propoſe, or go about to reſtore any ſuch thing. But I beſeech you now, do but a little fancy to your ſelves an Archbiſhop, who writing to the Pope, ſhould ſay unto him thus: p. 167Moſt dear Brother, I exhort you, and deſire of you, that what you are wont honourably to do of your own accord, you would now do it at my requeſt: namely, that this Epiſtle may be read to the Flouriſhing Clergie, that are your Aſſiſtants there; and alſo to the moſt holy and moſt numerous People. Should not the writer, think you, of ſuch a Letter as this be laught at, as a ſenſleſs, fooliſh Fellow; if at leaſt he eſcaped ſo, and met with no worſe uſage? And yet notwithſtanding, this is the very Requeſt that St. Cyprian made to Pope Cornelius.

But as the Biſhops, and the reſt of the Clergie, have deprived the People of all thoſe Priviledges, which had been conferred upon them by Antiquity, as well in the Election of Prelates, as in other Eccleſiaſtical Affairs: in like manner is it moſt evident, that the Pope hath ingroſſed into his own hands not only this Booty, which they had rob'd the People of; but alſo in a manner all the reſt of their Authority and Power; as well that which they heretofore enjoyed, according to the Ancient Canons and Conſtitutions of the Church; as that which they have ſince, by many ſeveral admirable means, by little and little acquired, in the ſpace of ſome whole Centuries of years. All this is now quite vaniſhed, I know not how, and ſwallowed up by Rome, in a very little time. The CCC. XVIII. Fathers of the Council of Nice ordained,††Conc. Nic. Can. 4. foreign, &c. That every Biſhop ſhould be created by all the Biſhops of that Province, if it were poſſible; or at leaſt by three of them, if ſo be the whole number could not ſo conveniently be brought together: yet with this Proviſo, that the abſent Biſhops were conſe…ting alſo to the ſaid Ordination: and that the Power and Authority in all ſuch Actions ſhould belong to the Metropolitan of each ſeveral Province. Which Ordinance of theirs is both very agreeable to the Practice of the preceding Ages; as appears by that LXVIII. Epiſtle of St. Cyprian, which we cited a little before: and was alſo obſerved for a long time p. 168afterward, by the Ages following: as you may perceive by the Epiſtle of the Fathers of the I.* Conc. Conſt. I. in Ep. ad Damaſ. p. 94. T. 1. Conc. Gener. Council of Conſtantinople to Pope Damaſus; and alſo by the Diſcourſe of thoſe that ſate Preſidents at the Council of Chalcedon, touching the Rights of the Patriarch of Conſtantinople in his own Dioceſs.

And yet notwithſtanding all this, the whole World knows and ſees, what the Practice of the Church of Rome at this day is, and how that there is not at all left to the Metropolitans, and to their Councils, any true Power or Authority, in the Ordinations of the Biſhops within their own Dioceſſes; but the whole Power, in this Caſe, dependeth upon the Church of Rome, and upon thoſe whom it hath intruſted herein, either with their own liking, or otherwiſe. And indeed all Biſhops are to make their Acknowledgments of Tenure to the Pope; neither may they exerciſe their Functions, without his Commiſſion; which they ſhall not obtain neither, without firſt paying down their Money, and compounding for their Firſt-fruits, calling themſelves alſo in their Titles thus; We N. Biſhop of N. by the grace of God, and of the Apoſtolical See; of which ſtrange Cuſtom and Title, you ſhall not meet with the leaſt Trace or Footſtep, throughout all the Records of Antiquity, not ſo much as any one of all that vaſt number of Biſhops, whoſe ſubſcriptions we have yet remaining, partly in the Councils, and partly in their own Books, and Hiſtories, having ever thus ſtyled himſelf. And as for Provincial and Dioceſan Synods, where Anciently all ſorts of Eccleſiaſtical Cauſes were heard, and determined; as appeareth both by the Canons of the Councils, and alſo by thoſe Examples that we have left us; as in the Hiſtory of Arius, and of Eutyches, who were both Anathematized; the one in the Synod of Alexandria, and the other in that of Conſtantinople; they dare not now meddle with any thing, aaConc. Trid. Seſſ. 24. Decret. de ref. c. 5. Minores criminales Cauſae Epiſcoporum in Concilio tantum Provinciali cognoſcantur & terminentur, &c▪except ſome ſmall, petty Matters, being of no uſe in the Greater Cauſes, ſave only to inquire into them, and give p. 169in their Informations at Rome. Neither may any, the meaneſt Biſhop that is, be iudged, in any Caſe of Importance, and which may be ſufficient to Depoſe him, by any but the Pope of Rome: his Metropolitan, and his Primate, and the Synod of his Province, and that of his Dioceſs, (in the ſenſe that the Ancients took this word,) having not all of them any Power at all in theſe Matters, unleſs it be by an Extraordinary Delegation; and having then only power to draw up the Buſineſs, and make it ready for Hearing, and ſo to ſend it to Rome: None but thebbIbid Cauſae criminales graviores contra Epiſcopos. &c. quae depoſitione, aut privatione dignae ſunt, ab ipſo tantum ſummo Romano Pontifice cognoſcantur, & terminentur, &c. Pope alone having power to give ſentence in ſuch Caſes, as it is expreſly ordained by the Council of Trent. I ſhall here paſs by their taking away from the Biſhops, contrary to the Canons, and Practice of Antiquity, all Juriſdiction, and power over a good part of the Monaſteries, and other companies of Religious perſons, both Seculars and Regulars, within their Dioceſſes; Their aſſuming wholly to themſelves the Power of Abſolving, and of Diſpenſing in ſeveral Caſes, which they call Reſerved Caſes: whereas in Ancient times this Authority belonged equally to all Biſhops; as alſo their giving of Indulgences, and their proclaiming of Jubilees: a thing which was never heard of in any of the firſt Ages of Chriſtianity. And as for the Diſcipline which was Anciently obſerved in the Church towards Penitentiaries, whether in the puniſhing them for their offences, or elſe in the receiving them again into the Communion of the Church, it is now wholly loſt and vaniſhed. We have now nothing left us ſave only a bare Idea and ſhadow of it▪ which we meet with in the Writings of the Ancients; as namely, in the Canonical Epiſtles of Gr…gorius Neo…aeſare…nſ…s, of St. Baſil… ▪ and others and in the Councils, both General and Provincial. Where are now all thoſe ſeveral Degrees of Penance, which were obſerved in the Ancient Church; where ſome Offenders were to bewail their ſins without the Church▪ ſome might ſtand and hear the word among the C…tech…me…i; p. 170others were to caſt themſelves down at the feet of the Faithful: Some of them might partake of the Prayers only of the Church; and others were at length received again into the Communion of their Sacraments alſo? Where are thoſe Eight, thoſe Ten, thoſe Twenty years of Penance, which they ſometimes impoſed upon Offenders? All this whole Courſe of Penance, ſome kind of account whereof we meet with in the Writings of the Ancients, is now wholly ſwallowed up by Auricular Confeſſion, wherein no part of the Penance appears at all to the World.

And as theſe kinds of Puniſhments, which were moſt wholeſom for the Penitentiaries have been quite aboliſhed by them; ſo have they on the other ſide introduced other kinds of Penalties, which are indeed very beneficial and advantageous to the temporal Eſtate of the Church of Rome, but are moſt pernicious for the Souls of Offenders; ſuch as are their Interdictions, when, for the offence (and that oftentimes too, rather a pretended, than a true one,) of one, or two ſingle perſons, or perhaps of a Corporation, They will Excommunicate a whole State, wherein there are perhaps many millions of people; depriving them of the benefit of partaking of the Holy Sacraments; which are the means, by which the Grace and the Life of Jeſus Chriſt is communicated unto poor Mortals: an Example of which kind of proceeding I remember to have been practiſed by them, ſince my time, againſt the State of Venice. In what Code of the Ancient Church can you find, where any ſuch ſtrange kind of puniſhment was ever inſtituted, as that for the offence of a few, many millions of Souls ſhould be damned? How can you call that Power Apoſtolical, that puniſheth in this manner; ſeeing that the Apoſtolical Power was given for Edification, and not for Deſtruction?

I would alſo very fain learn of any man, that could tell me, upon what Canons of the Ancient Church that p. 171Bloody Diſcipline of the Inquiſition is grounded; where after they have got out of a poor ſoul, by crafty, ſubtile dealing, and many times alſo by ſuch barbarous, inhumane uſage, as would make a man tremble to read, a Confeſſion of his being guilty of Hereſie; inſtead of Inſtruction, they give him the ſentence of death; and ſo he is forthwith delivered over to the Secular Magiſtrates: to whom notwithſtanding, in a plain Mockery both of God and Men,aaNicol. Eyme. vic. Director. Inquiſ. pag. 2. c. 27. p 127. & ibi Pegna. item p. 3. p 512. they give an expreſs Charge, that they do not put him to death.bbPegna in Direct Inquiſ. p. 3. q. 36. Yet in caſe they fail of ſo doing, and if within ſix or ſeven days after at the moſt, they do not burn him alive; and all thisccDirect. Inquiſ. p. 3. Q. 36. & ibid. Pegna. p 563. Comm. 85. pag 564. without ever hearing his Cauſe, or what his Offence is; They themſelves ſhall be proſecuted by Eccleſiaſtical Cenſures, and ſhall be Excommunicated, Depoſed, and deprived of all Dignities, both Eccleſiaſtical and Temporal. And, that which yet ſurpaſſeth all belief, is, that although the perſon queſtioned ſhould confeſs his fault, and ſhould expreſs his hearty ſorrow for the ſame, and ſhould by way of ſatisfaction ſubmit himſelf to the ſharpeſt penance that could be; yet notwithſtanding ſhould not the poor wretch eſcape death;ddDirect. Inquiſ. p. 3. modo 9. termin. proceſſ. p 510. & ibi Pegna. if ſo be he be of the number of thoſe, whom they call, The Relapſed. O moſt inhumane cruelty! and worthy of the Scythians, and of the Margaias only! but very ill becoming the Diſciples of him, who commanded his Apoſtle to pardon his brother, not ſeven times only, but ſeventy times ſeven: & as ill beſeeming thoſe, who ſo highly boaſt of being the ſucceſſors & Inheritors of thoſe mild and tender-hearted Ancients, who taught,eeAthan. in ep. ad ſolit. vit. ag. Tom. 1. p. 55. foreign, &c. That it is the part of Piety not to conſtrain, but to perſwade, according to our Saviours Example; who conſtrained no man, but left every man to his own liberty, to follow him or not. And, that the ffIbid. p. 830. foreign, &c.Devil, p. 172as he hath no Truth in him▪ comes with Axes and with Hammers to break open the doors of thoſe that muſt receive him. But our Saviour is ſo meek as that his manner of teaching is, If any one will follow me: and▪ He that will be my Diſciple; Neither doth he conſtrainany one, that he cometh unto, but rather ſtandeth at the door of every one, and knocketh, ſaying; Open to me, my Siſter my Spouſe; and ſo entreth, when any open unto him: but if they delay, and will not open unto him, he then departeth. Becauſe the Truth is not to be preſſed with ſwords, and Arrows, nor with Souldiers, and Armed men, but by Perſwaſion, and Counſel: who alſo ſo ſharply reprehended the Arrians, for going about to eſtabliſh, and maintain their Religion by Force; ſaying,ggAthan. Ap…l. 1. de fuga ſua, pag. 716. Tom. 1. foreign. Of whom have they learnt to perſecute their Brethren? Certainly they cannot ſay, that they have learnt it of the Saints: no, they have rather had the Devil for their Tutor herein. And again; Jeſus Chriſt hath commanded us to fly, and the Saints have indeed fled ſometimes: But Perſecution is the Invention of the Devil. And in another place they proteſt, that hhId. contr. Arian. Or. 1. T. 1. p. 288. foreign.By that very courſe which the Arrians took in baniſhing (which yet is much leſs, than burning,) all thoſe, who would not ſubſcribe to their Decrees, they clearly ſhewed themſelves to be contrary to all Chriſtians, and to be the friends of the Devil, and his Fiends. In like manner hath another of the Ancient Fathers exclaimed, againſt the Proceeding of theſe Arrians, who made uſe not only of the Terrour of Perſecution, but of the Enticements alſo of worldly …iches, that ſo they might the more eaſily draw men over to their Belief. iiHilar. l. Contr. Aux. p. 86. At …unc proh dolor … divinam fidem ſuffragia terrena recommendant, inopſ que virtutis ſuae Chriſtus, dum ambitio nomini ſuo conciliatur, arguitur. Terret exiliis, & carceribus Eccleſi… credi que ſibi cogit, quae exiliis & carceribus eſ… credita▪ Pende… ad dignationem Communicantium quae perſequentium eſt conſecrata terrore. Fugat Sacerdotes, quae fugatis eſt Sacerdotibus propagata. Di…igi ſe gloriatur à mundo, quae Chriſti eſſe non potuit, niſi eam mundus odiſſet.But now alas! (ſaith this Father,) p. 173theſe are the ſuffrages, that recommend the Faith in God: Chriſt is now become weak and void of Power, and Ambition gains Credit to his Name. The Church terriſieth by Baniſhment, and Impriſonment, &c. She, that was conſecr…ted▪ by the Terrour of her Perſecutors, depende… now upon the Dignity of th…ſe, who are of her Communion. She, who hath been propagated by baniſhed Prieſts, now her ſelf baniſheth Prieſts. She boaſteth now, that ſhe is beloved of the World; who could not be Chriſts, unleſs the world bated her: Agreeable to whatkkHieron. epiſt 62 ad Theoph. Tom. 2. pag. 274. Fu…dendo ſanguinem, & pauendo magis quam faciendo contumelias, Chriſti fund…ta eſt Eccleſia, Perſecutionibus crevit, Martyriis coronata eſt. another of them ſaith; namely, That the Church of Chriſt was founded, by ſhedding of Blood, and by ſuffering Reproaches rather, than by Reproaching others: and, that it hath grown up by perſecutions, and hath been crowned by Martyrdoms. Another alſo of the chiefeſt among the Ancient Fathers reproached an Arrian, for having made uſe of the Sword and Axe, in Eccleſiaſtical matters.llAmbroſ. epiſt. 32. Tom. 3. pag. 126. Qui (A…xentius) quos non potuerit ſermone decipere, eos gladio putat eſſe feriendos; cru…ntas leges ore dictans, manu ſcribens; & putans, quod Lex fidem poſſic hominibus imperare. Thoſe whom he could not deceive by his Diſcourſe, (ſaith he) he thought good to make uſe of his ſword upon, uttering with his mouth, and writing with his hand Bloody Laws; and thinking that a Law can command mens Faith. And that you may not imagine, that he himſelf thought that lawful, which he found fault with in the Arrians, mmId. lib. 2. 27. T…m. p. 106. Poſtea cum videret me abſtinere ab Epiſcopis qui communicabant ei, vel qui aliquos dev…os, licèt à fide, ad necem petebant, &c.he ſays in another place that in a certain journey which he made into Gallia, he refuſed to communicate with thoſe Biſhops, who would have ſome certain Hereticks to be put to death. The Emperour Marcianus in like manner, who called together the Council of Chalcedon, and was a Prince that was highly commended for his Piety, ſolemnly proteſteth thatnnMarcian. epiſt. ad Archimandr. & Mon. Aeg. in Act. Conc. Chalcedon. T. 2. Conc. gen. pag. 453. foreign. He had forced p. 174no man to ſubſcribe, or to aſſent to the Council of Chalcedon, againſt his will. For, (ſaith he) we will not draw any man into the way of life by violence or by threats. And indeed ooHujus epiſt. ad Conſtantium, apud Athan. in epiſt. ad ſolit. vit ag. Tom 1. pag. 839. foreign, &c.Hoſius, Biſhop of Corduba, long before teſtified, that the moſt Catholick Emperour Conſtans never compelled any man to be Orthodox. And this is the courſe, which is approved of by all the Ancients.ppHilar. lib. 1. ad Conſt. fol. 84. Deus cognitionem ſui docuit potiùs quàm exegit; & operationum coeleſtium admiratione praeceptis ſuis concilians auctoritatem, coactam confitendi ſe aſpernatus eſt voluntatem, &c. Deus Univerſitatis eſt; obſequio non eget neceſſario: Non requirit coactam confeſſionem. God (ſaith St. Hillary) hath rather taught us the knowledge of himſelf, than exacted it of us; and authorizing his Commandments by the wonderfulneſs of his heavenly works, he hath refuſed to force us to confeſs his Name, &c. He is the God of the whole world; He hath no need of a compelled obedience; He requireth not any forced confeſſion. Which are the Reaſons this Author brought, with ſome other the like, to diſſwade the Emperour Conſtantius from uſing violence, and forcing the Conſciences of Men.

St. Ambroſe ſaith;qqAmbroſ. Com in Luc. lib. 7. pag. 99. Eos miſit ad ſeminandam fidem, qui non cogerent, ſed docerent, nec vim poteſtatis exercerent, ſed doctrinam humilitatis attollerent. Chriſt ſent his Apoſtles to plant the Faith; not that they ſhould compel, but that they ſhould inſtruct men; not that they ſhould exerciſe the force of Power, but that they ſhould promote the Doctrine of Humility. And hence is that which St. Cyprian hath, comparing the manner of proceeding in the Old Teſtament with that of the New: rrCyprian epiſt. 62. pag. 143. Tunc quidem gladio occidebantur, quando adhuc & circumciſio carnalis manebat. Nunc autem, &c. ſpirituali gladio ſuperbi & contumaces necantur, dum de Eccleſia ejiciuntur.Then (ſaith he) the proud and the diſ…bedient were out off by the fl…ſhly Sword, N…w they ſuffer by the ſpiritual, being thrown out of the Church. Certainly then they ſtill live, at this very day, under the Old Teſtament in Spain and Italy, and all thoſe other places, where the Inquiſition is in force: and, I b…lieve, he would find a very hard Task of it, that ſhould take in hand to reconcile this Paſſage of St. Cyprian to thatſſGirolamo, Carena nella vita di Pio Vp 126. Opinion of Pope Pius V. who ſaid, p. 175that Biſhops might have their Officers, and Executioners of Juſtice, for the Cauſes that appertained to their Juriſdiction; and might put their Sentences in Execution againſt Offenders; and, that the reaſon of their having recourſe upon all occaſions to the Secular Powers, was, not becauſe the Church could not make uſe of its own proper Officers of Juſtice in ſuch Caſes, but rather becauſe it had no ſuch; or if it had, they were ſo weak, and ſo few in number, as that for the ſuppreſſing and puniſhing of D…linquents, it would however ſtand in need of the aſſiſtance of the Temporal Power.

I ſhall ſhut up this Point with Tertullian, the moſt ancient Author of the Latine Church, whom Pamelius (as we have touched before) will needs have us believe to have been a Perſecutor of Hereticks; who yet was a man, that would not allow a Chriſtian ſo much as to draw a ſword, neither in war againſt a Publick Enemy, nor yet in diſcharging the Office of a Magiſtrate upon Offenders; whom all Civil Laws whatſoever puniſh with death.

Let us now therefore ſee what he ſays, touching Religion. aaTertul. Apolog. c 24. p. 58. Videte enim ne & hoc ad irreligioſitatis elogium concurrat, adimere libertatem religionis, & interdicere optionem divinitatis, ut non liceat mihi colere quem velim, ſed cogar colere quem nolim. Nemo ſe ab invito coli vellet, ne homo quidem.Conſider (ſaith he to the Pagans) whether this be not to add to the Crime of Irreligion, to take away the Liberty of Religion, and to interdict a man the choice of his God, by not ſuffering him to worſhip, whom he would; but to compel him to worſhip, whom he would not. There is none, no not among men, that takes pleaſure in being ſerved by any againſt their will. And ſome few Chapters afterward:bbId. Apolog. cap. 28. pag 61. Quoniam autem facilè iniquum videtur, liberos homines invitos urgeri ad ſacrificandum. Nam & aliàs divinae rei faciendae libens animus inducitur. This is a thing (ſaith he) that ſeemeth very unjuſt, that Free-men ſhould be conſtrained to do ſacrifice againſt their will. For, in the performing of ſervice to God, a willing heart is required. And in another Book, but ſpeaking of the ſame thing, he ſaith:ccId. lib ad Scapul. c. 2. Tatamen humani juris, & naturalis poteſtatis eſt, unicui que quod putaverit colere: nec alii abeſt, aut prodeſt alterius religio. Sed nec religionis eſt cogere religionem, quae ſponte ſuſcipi debeat, non vi; cum & hoſtiae ab animo libenti expoſtulentur. It is a Point of Humane p. 176Right, and a Natural Power that every man hath to worſhip that which he thinks fit. The Religion of another man neither hurteth, nor profiteth any one. Neither is it indeed the part of Religion; to compel Religion; which ought to be entertained willingly, and not by force; foraſmuch as Sacrifices themſelves are required only from willing minds. Upon which paſſage of his Pamelius gives us a marvellous, rare gloſs, ſaying; That we ought not indeed directly to compel men to our Religion, but yet we may puniſh them, if they will not change their opinion. Certainly he thinks it is no Compelling of a man, to force him to do a thing under pain of Death. Let any man that can, reconcile the Practice of the Inquiſition, and the Popes Thunderbolts againſt King Henry VIII. and his Daughter Queen Elizabeth, and againſt ſome of the Kings of France alſo, to this conſtant opinion of all Antiquity.

Now after they have thus boldly ſlighted the Beliefes, the Ceremonies, and the Diſcipline of the Ancients, by changing, and aboliſhing whatſoever they have thought good; with what face can they ſtill cry up the Fathers, and alledge their Teſtimonies, and beſides place them upon the Seat of Judicature, and make them the Judges of our Differences? Or although they ſtill do thus, who would no… be ready here to bring againſt them thoſe words of Tertullian, which he made uſe of i… another the like Caſe?ddId. Apol. c. 6. p. 31. Nunc religioſiſſimi legum, & patornorum inſtitutorum protectores & Sultores reſpondeant velim de ſua fide & honore, & obſequio erga majorum conſulta, ſi à nullo diſciverunt? ſi in nullo exorbitaverunt? ſi non neceſſaria & aptiſſima quaeque Diſciplinae obli…eraverunt … Quonam illae leges abierunt, &c. I would be very glad (ſaith he) that theſe great… and moſt religious Defenders and … of the I…w… and Cuſtoms of their Fathers would … a little touching their own ſaith … and obedience towards the conſtitutions of their Anceſtors whether they have not departed from and forſaken ſome of them? … they have not razed out thoſe things … which were moſt neceſſary, and moſt uſeful in their Science? p. 177What is become of thoſe Ancient Laws? Ib. p. 33. Ub; religio? ubi veneratio majoribus debita à vobis? Habitu, victu, inſtructu, ſenſu ipſo denique ſermone proavis renunciaſtis: laudatis ſemper antiquitatem, & nove de die vivitis.&c. Where is the Religion? Where is the Reverence which is due from you to your Anceſtors? You have renounced your Fore-Fathers, both in your Habit, Apparel, Manner of Life, Opinion, and in your very Speech alſo. You are always crying up Antiquity, yet every day your ſelves take up a New manner of Life. Whether therefore they of the Church of Rome have upon Juſt Grounds dealt thus with the Ancients, or not; it ſerves my turn however to conclude, That by this their Proceeding they have given us a ſufficient Teſtimony, that they do not acount their Authority Supreme in Matters of Religion. And if ſo, what Reaſon have they to urge it for ſuch, againſt the Proteſtants? Seeing they have weakned the Authority of ſo many of thoſe Judgments, touching Points of Religion, which have been given by the Fathers, how can they expect that their Authority ſhould paſs for Authentick in any one? Let us ſuppoſe for inſtance, that they held, that there was ſuch a Place as Purgatory. But by your Favour, (will the Proteſtant ſay) if you have found their Belief to be ſo erroneous touching the State of the Souls of Departed Saints, till the Day of the Reſurrection; why would you impoſe upon me a Neceſſity of ſubſcribing to what they held touching Purgatory? The Laws of Diſputation ought to be equal; and therefore if you, by examining this Opinion of the Fathers by Reaſon, and by the Scriptures, have found it to be Erroneous; why will you not give us leave to try that other, touching Purgatory, by the ſame Touch-ſtone? Certainly, ſhould we but ſpeak the Truth, it is the plaineſt mocking of the World that can be, to cry out, as theſe Men do continually, The Fathers, The Fathers, and to write ſo many whole Volumes upon this Subject, as they have done; after they have ſo dealt with them, as you have ſeen. And if it be here objected, That the Proteſtants themſelves do alſo reject many of thoſe Articles which we have before ſet down; we anſwer, That this is nothing p. 178at all to the purpoſe; foraſmuch as they take the Scriptures, and not the Fathers, for the Rule of their Faith; neither do they preſs any Man to receive any thing from the hands of the Ancients, unleſs it be grounded upon the Word of God. And if, laſtly, you ſay, That the Authority of the Fathers hath no place, nor is at all conſiderable, in the Points before ſet down, becauſe that the Churcb hath otherwiſe determined touching the ſame; this is clearly to grant us that which we would have, namely, That the Authority of the Fathers is not Supreme. And as for the Church, that is to ſay, how far the Authority of it extends in theſe things, this is a New Queſtion to be diſputed of, which I ſhall not meddle withal at this time. Only thus much I ſhall ſay, That what Authority ſoever you allow it, whether Little, or Much, you will ſtill find, that it will very hardly be able to do any thing, touching the Deciſion of our preſent Controverſies; foraſmuch as you can never be able to make any uſe or benefit of this Poſition, till ſuch time as you are aſſured, both What, and Where the Church is, ſeeing that the Proteſtants ſtiffly deny, That it is That which appears at this day at Rome; and the greateſt Difficulty of all conſiſting in the Demonſtrating this unto them. For, if they did but once believe, that the Church of Rome was the True Church, they would immediately joyn themſelves with it; ſo that there would not henceforth be need of any further Diſpute.

We ſhall here conclude therefore, That the Alledging the Teſtimonies of the Fathers, upon the Differences that are at this day in Religion, is no proper Courſe for the Deciſion of them, ſeeing it is no eaſie matter to diſcover what their Judgment hath been touching the ſame, by reaſon of the many Difficulties that we meet with in the Writings of the Ancients: neither is it of ſo ſufficient Authority in it ſelf, as that we may ſafely build our Belief upon it; ſince the Fathers themſelves have been alſo ſubject to Errour: neither, laſtly, is it of any force, either p. 179a…nſt the one, or the other Party; ſeeing that they both regulate, and examine the Opinions, Ceremonies, and Diſcipline of the Ancients; the One by the Rule of the Scriptures, and the Other by that of the Church.

But here I find, that upon this Concluſion, Two Queſtions may ariſe. For, ſeeing that the alledging the Fathers is not ſufficient for the deciding of thoſe Points that are now in debate amongſt us; it may be demanded, in the firſt place, What other Courſe we ought to take, for the attaining to the Truth in theſe Controverſies? And then ſecondly, How, and in what Caſes the Writings of the Fathers may be uſeful unto us? Now although both theſe Queſtions are without the compaſs of our preſent Deſign, yet notwithſtanding, in regard they ſo nearly border upon it, we ſhall in the laſt place ſay a word or two in anſwer of them.

As for the Firſt, it would be a hard matter, in my Judgment, to find out a better way for Satisfaction herein, than that which one Scholarius, a Greek, who is very highly accounted of by thoſe who printed the General Councils at Rome, hath propoſed. This Learned Man, in a certain Oration of his, which he made at the Council of Florence, for the facilitating of the Ʋnion which was then treated of betwixt the Latins and the Greeks, and was afterwards concluded on, lays down for a Ground, firſt,eeScholar. Orat. 3. T. 4 Conc. Gen. p. 650. foreign. That we ought not to reject all thoſe things which are not clearly, and in expreſs Terms delivered in the Scriptures; which is a Pretext and Shift that many of the Hereticks make uſe of: but that we ought to receive with equal Honour, whatſoever directly followeth from that which is ſaid in the Scriptures; p. 180and to reject utterly whatſoever ſhall be found to be co… trary to thoſe things which are undoubtedly True. He ſays further, That In thoſe things wherein the Scripture hath not clearly expreſſed it ſelf, we muſt have recourſe to the Scripture it ſelf, as our Guide, to give us light therein, by ſome other Paſſage where It hath ſpoken more plainly. And after all this, he requireth, That we ſhould uſe our utmoſt Endeavour fully to reconcile thoſe ſeeming Contradictions which we ſometimes there meet withal, in ſeveral Paſſages; to that purpoſe taking notice of the Diverſity of Times, Cuſtoms, Senſes, and the like. And going on, he ſaith,ffIbid. p. 652, & 653. That the Fathers of the Council at Nice after this manner concluded, by the Scriptures, upon the True Belief touching the Son of God. and then applying all this to his preſent purpoſe, he adds,ggIbid. p. 654. foreign, &c. That the Scripture ſaith clearly and expreſly, that the Holy Ghoſt proceedeth from the Father; and that this is agreed upon by both Sides, both by the Greeks, and the Latins: But that It hath not ſo expreſly declared it ſelf, whether the Holy Ghoſt proceed alſo from the Son, or not: and that this is the thing now in Queſtion, the Latins affirming it, and the Greeks on the other ſide denying it.hhforeign; We ought therefore (ſaith he) to prove this, from ſome other things which are there more clearly delivered: Which he afterwards performeth, and indeed, in my Judgment, very Learnedly, and Happily; proving this Doubtful Point out of other Paſſages that are more Clear. And this was the Judgment of this Great Perſon; which will not give any offence to thoſe of the Church of Rome, becauſe it came from one that was of their Side. Neither do I ſee what could have been ſpoken more rationally. And indeed, this is the Courſe that is obſerved in all Sciences whatſoever: If thy Adverſary p. 181doubt of the truth of what thou propoſeſt, thou art to prove it by ſuch Maxims as are acknowledged and allowed of by him, making good that which is Doubtful, by that which is Certain; and clearing that which is Obſcure, by that which is Evident. And this is the Rule that I conceive we ought to walk by, in the Diſputes that are betwixt us at this day. The Word of God is our Common Book; let us therefore ſearch into It, for that upon which we may ground our own Belief, and by which we may overthrow the Opinion of our Adverſary. As for example, it is there ſaid clearly and expreſly, That that which our Saviour Chriſt took at his Laſt Supper, was Bread: and herein we All agree. But it is not at all there expreſſed, whether this Bread were afterward changed, or annihilated, or not. And this is now the Queſtion in Diſpute amongſt us. We ought therefore (according to the Counſel of Scholarius) to prove this by ſome other things which are there delivered clearly. And if thou doſt this, thou haſt got the Victory: If not, I do not at all ſee why or how thou canſt oblige any one to believe it.

In like manner, the Scripture telleth us, in as expreſs Terms as may be, That our Saviour Chriſt commanded His Apoſtles to Take and Eat, and to Drink, that which He gave them in Celebrating the Euchariſt. But It doth not at all ſay, that he commanded them to Offer the ſame in Sacrifice, either Then, or Afterwards. And this is now the Queſtion: which it concerns thoſe of the Church of Rome, if they will have us believe it, to prove by ſome other things, which are clearly and expreſly delivered in the Word of God.

The Scripture in like manner ſaith expreſly, That Jeſus Chriſt is the Mediator betwixt God and Man: and, That He is the Head of the Church; and, That He purgeth us by His Blood from our Sins. Now in all this both Sides are fully agreed. But it is not at all there expreſſed, p. 182That the Departed Saints are Mediators; and, That the Pope is the Head of the Church; and, That our Souls are in part cleanſed from their Sins by the Fire of Purgatory. And herein lies the Controverſie betwixt us. The Learned Scholarius his Opinion herein would now be, that certainly thoſe who propoſe theſe Points as Articles of Faith, deduce, and collect them from ſome things which are clearly delivered in the Scriptures: for otherwiſe they are not to be preſſed, as Truths. And although that in matters of Religion, or indeed in any other things of Importance, a Man may very well be excuſed for not believing a thing, when there appears not any ſuch Reaſon as may oblige him to believe it; yet notwithſtanding, if thoſe who reject the Articles now debated betwixt us, have a mind to go further yet, and to prove poſitively the Falſeneſs of them; you ſee this Author hath laid them down the way by which they are to proceed. He accounteth thoſe very abſurd, that require at your hands that you ſhould ſhew them all things expreſly delivered in the Scripture: and this ought principally to be underſtood of Negative Propoſitions, of which no Science giveth you any certain account: foraſmuch as to go about to number them all up, would be both an infinite, and alſo an unprofitable, uſeleſs piece of Work. It is ſufficient to deliver the Poſitive Truth. For, as whatſoever rightly followeth thereupon, is True; in like manner, whatſoever claſheth with, or contradicteth the ſame, is Falſe. wouldſt thou therefore demonſtrate thoſe Propoſitions that are preſſed upon thee, to be Falſe? Do but compare them with thoſe things that are clearly and expreſly delivered in the Scripture. And if thou findeſt them contrary to any thing there ſet down, receive them not by any means. As for example, If a Proteſtant, not contenting himſelf with having anſwered all thoſe Reaſons which are brought to prove that there is ſuch a Place as Purgatory, ſhall yet deſire to go further, and to make it appear, that the Opinion is Falſe; he is in this caſe to have p. 183recourſe to the Scriptures, and to examine it by thoſe things which are there clearly and expreſly delivered, touching the State of the Soul after it is departed this Life, and touching the Cauſe and Means of the Expiation of our Sins, and the like. And if the Opinion of Purgatory be found to contradict any thing there delivered, then (according to Scholarius) it ought not to be received by any means. But the brevity which we propoſed to our ſelves in this Diſcourſe, permitteth us not to proſecute this Point any further.

As for the Second Queſtion, it is no very hard matter to reſolve it. For, although we do not indeed allow any Supreme and Infallible Authority to the Writings of the Fathers, yet do we not therefore preſently account them Ʋſeleſs. If there were nothing of Ʋſe in Religion, ſaving what was alſo Infallible, we ſhould have but little good of any Humane Writings. Thoſe who have written in our own Age, or a little before, are of no Authority at all, either againſt the one or the other Party. Yet notwithſtanding do we both read them, and alſo reap much benefit from them. How much more advantage then may we make, by ſtudying the Writings of the Fathers, whoſe Piety and Learning was, for the moſt part, much greater than that of the Moderns? S. Auguſtine believed them not in any thing, otherwiſe than as he found what they delivered to be grounded upon Reaſon; and yet notwithſtanding, he had them in a very great eſteem. The like may be ſaid of S. Hierome, who had read almoſt all of them over, notwithſtanding that he takes liberty ſometimes to reprove them ſomething ſharply, where he finds them not ſpeaking to his mind. Though you ſhould deprive them not onelyonly of this Supremacy, which yet they never ſought after; but ſhould rob them alſo of their Proper Nomes: yet notwithſtanding would they ſtill be of very great Ʋſe unto us. For, Books do not therefore profit us, becauſe they were of ſuch or ſuch a Man's Writing, but rather becauſe p. 184they inſtruct us in thoſe things that are Good and Honeſt, and keep us out of Errour, and make us abhor thoſe things that are Vicious. Blot out, if you pleaſe, the Name of S. Auguſtine out of the Title of thoſe excellent Books of his De Civitate Dei, or thoſe other which he wrote De Doctrinâ Chriſtianâ. His Writings will inſtruct you never a whit the leſs, neither will you find any whit the leſs benefit by them. The like may be ſaid of all the reſt.

Firſt of all, therefore, you ſhall find in the Fathers very many earneſt and zealous Exhortations to Holineſs of Life, and to the Obſervation of the Diſcipline of Jeſus Chriſt. Secondly, you ſhall there meet with very ſtrong and ſolid Proofs of thoſe Fundamental Principles of our Religion, touching which we are all agreed: and alſo many excellent things laid open, tending to the right underſtanding of theſe Myſteries, and alſo of the Scriptures wherein they are contained. In this very particular their Authority may be of good uſe unto you, and may ſerve as a Probable Argument of the Truth. For, is it not a wonderful thing to ſee, that ſo many Great Wits, born in ſo many ſeveral Ages, during the ſpace of Fifteen hundred years, and in ſo many ſeveral Countries, being alſo of ſo different Tempers, and who in other things were of ſo contrary Opinions, ſhould notwithſtanding be found all of them to agree ſo conſtantly and unanimouſly in the Fundamentals of Chriſtianity? that amidſt ſo great diverſity in Worſhip, they all adore one and the ſame Chriſt? preach one and the ſame Sanctification? hope all of them for one and the ſame Immortality? acknowledge all of them the ſame Goſpels? find therein all of them Great and High Myſteries? The exquiſite Wiſdom, and the ineſtimable Beauty it ſelf of the Diſcipline of Jeſus Chriſt, I confeſs, is the moſt forcible and certain Argument of the Truth of it: yet certainly this Conſideration alſo is, in my Opinion, no ſmall proof of the ſame. For, I beſeech you, what Probability is there, p. 185that ſo many Holy Men, who were endued (as it appeareth by their Writings) with ſuch Admirable Parts, with ſo much ſtrength and clearneſs of Underſtanding, ſhould all of them be ſo groſly overſeen, as to ſet ſo High a Price, and Eſteem upon this Diſcipline, as to ſuffer, even to Death for it; unleſs it had in it ſome certain Heavenly Virtue, for to make an Impreſſion in the Souls of Men? What likelyhood is there, that Seven, or Eight Dogs, and as many Atheiſtical Hogs, that Bark, and Grunt ſo Sottiſhly, and Confuſedly againſt This Sacred, and Venerable Religion, ſhould have better luck in lighting upon the Truth, than ſo many Excellent Men, who have all ſo Unanimouſly born Teſtimony to the Truth? As for Atheiſts, their Vicious Life ought to render their Teſtimony ſuſpected to every one; notwithſtanding they may be otherwiſe (as indeed they conceive themſelves to be) Able Men. For, I beſeech you, what wonder is it, if a Whoremaſter, or a Bawd, or an Ambitious perſon cry down that Diſcipline, that condemneth theſe Vices to Everlaſting Fire? that he that drowneth himſelf every day, and at length vomiteth up his Soul in Wine, ſhould hate that Religion, which forbiddeth Drunkenneſs, upon pain of Damnation? The great Reaſon that theſe men have, to wiſh that it were Falſe, muſt needs make any man ceaſe to wonder at their pronouncing it to be Falſe.

To take any notice of what ſuch wretched Things as theſe ſay, is all one, as if you ſhould judge, by taking the Opinion of Common Strumpets, of the Equity, or Injuſtice of the Laws that enjoin people to live Honeſt. But the caſe is clean otherwiſe with theſe Holy Men, who have ſo Conſtantly, and ſo Unanimouſly taught the Truth of the Chriſtian Religion. For ſeeing they were Men, born, and brought up in the very ſame Infirmities with other men; we cannot doubt but that they alſo Naturally had ſtrong Inclinations to thoſe vices, which our Saviour Chriſt forbiddeth; and very little Affection to thoſe Virtues, which He commandeth. For as much therefore, as notwithſtanding p. 186all this, They have yet all of them Conſtantly … intained, that His Doctrine is True; Their Teſtimony certainly in this caſe neither can, nor ought in any wiſe to be ſuſpected. So that although They had not any of thoſe Great, and Incomparable Advantages of Parts, and Learning above the Enemies of Chriſtianity; Their …are word however is much rather to be taken, than the Others… ſeeing that theſe men are manifeſtly carried away by the force of their own vile Affections, of which the other cannot poſſibly be ſuſpected Guilty. And as for thoſe Differences in Opinion, which are ſometimes found amongſt Them, touching ſome certain Points of Religion, ſome whereof we have formerly ſet down; theſe thing are ſo far from taking off any thing from the weight of Their Teſtimonies, as that on the Contrary they add rather very much unto the ſame. For this muſt acquit their Conſenting of all ſuſpicion, that ſome perhaps might have, that it proceeded from ſome Combination, or ſome Correſpondence, and Mutual Intelligence. When thou findſt them ſo diſagreeing among themſelves, touching ſo many ſeveral Points; it is an evident Argument, that they have not learnt their knowledge from one another, nor yet have all agreed upon the ſame thing by common Deliberation; but have all of them collected it out of a ſerious Examination, and Conſideration of the things themſelves. And if we received no other Benefit by the Writings, of the Fathers than this, yet were this however very much.

But now, that the Benefit, and Contentment, which we ſhall receive from this Conſideration, may not be interrupted, and diſturbed▪ by our meeting with ſo many ſeveral Private Opinions of theirs; we are to take notice, that Chriſtianity conſiſteth not in Subtilties, nor in the great number of Articles. The Efficacy of them is much more Conſiderable, than the Number. A great part of theſe Points of Faith and the end of all the …eſt, is, Sanctification; that is to ſay, A pure worſhip of God, and, A p. 187Hearty Charity towards Men. Thou maiſt therefore boldly conclude, That Man to be a true Obſerver of This Diſcipline; that thou ſhalt find to have a True, and Right Senſe, and Apprehenſion of theſe Two Points. Though perhaps he be ignorant of thoſe Other, that lie rather in Speculation, than in Practiſe, thou oughteſt not to reject him for that. And if, being carried away with his own Curioſity, or ſome other reaſon, he chance to err in ſome of thoſe other Articles, bear with him notwithſtanding. As God forgives us our Sins, ſo doth He alſo forgive us our Errours. The Hay, and the Stubble, and the Chaffe ſhall be conſumed: But yet He that buildeth therewith, ſhall be ſaved, if ſo be He but hold faſt to the Foundation. Neither oughteſt thou to be troubled, if thou now and then meeteſt with ſome Ignorant, or perhaps ſome Erroneous Paſſages in the Fathers, touching theſe Points. They are never a whit the leſs Chriſtians for this; and may for all this, have been moſt Faithful Servants of Jeſus Chriſt. There is not any Face in the World ſo Beautiful, but that it hath ſome Speckle, or Blemiſh in it. Yet is it not either the leſs eſteemed, or the leſs beloved for this. The Natural condition of Mortal Men, and Things, is, to have ſome Mixture in it of Imperfection.

But now, beſides what hath been hitherto ſaid, we may, in my opinion, make another very Conſiderable Ʋſe of the Fathers. For there ſometimes ariſe ſuch troubleſome Spirits, as will needs broach Doctrines, deviſed of their own Head, which are not at all grounded upon any Principle of the Chriſtian Religion. I ſay therefore, that the Authority of the Ancients may very Properly, and Seaſonably be made uſe of, againſt the Impudence of theſe Men: by ſhewing, that the Fathers were utterly Ignorant of any ſuch Fancies, as theſe men propoſe to the World. And if this can be proved, we ought then certainly to conclude, that no ſuch Doctrine was ever preached to Mankind; either by our Saviour Chriſt, p. 188or by His Apoſtles. For what Probability is there, that thoſe Holy Doctors of Former Ages, from whoſe hands Chriſtianity hath been derived down unto us, ſhould be Ignorant of any of thoſe things, which had been Revealed, and Recommended by our Saviour, as Important, and Neceſſary to Salvation? It is true indeed, that the Fathers, being deceived either by ſome Falſe manner of Argumentation, or elſe by ſome Seeming Authority, do ſometimes deliver ſuch things, as have not been revealed by our Saviour Chriſt; but are evidently either Falſe, or Ill grounded; as we have formerly ſhewed in thoſe Examples before produced by us. It is true moreover, that among thoſe things which have been revealed by our Saviour Chriſt in the Scripture, which yet are not Abſolutely Neceſſary to Salvation, the Fathers may have been ignorant of ſome of them; either by reaſon that Time had not as yet diſcovered what the ſenſe of them was▪ or elſe, becauſe that for lack of giving good heed unto them, or by their being carried away with ſome Paſſion, They did not then perceive, what hath ſince been found out. But that they ſhould all of them have been Ignorant of any Article, that is Neceſſarily Requiſite to Salvation, is altogether Impoſſible. For, after this Account, They ſhould all have been deprived of Salvation; which, I ſuppoſe, every honeſt Soul would tremble at the thought of.

I ſay then, and, as I conceive, have ſufficiently proved in this Treatiſe, that an Argument which concludeth the Truth of any Propoſition, from the Fathers having maintained the ſame, is very Weak, and Ill-grounded; as ſuppoſing that, which is Clearly Falſe; namely, That the Fathers maintained nothing, which had not been Revealed by our Saviour Chriſt. For, this would be ſuch a kind of Argumentation, as if a man ſhould prove, by the General Agreement herein of the Fathers, that all the Departed Souls are ſhut up together in a certain Place, or Receptacle, till the Day of Judgment: or, that the Enchariſt is Neceſſarily to be adminiſtred to Little p. 189Infants; and the like; where every one ſees, how Inſufficient, and Invalid this way of Argumentation is And, to ſay the truth, ſuch is the Proceeding of the Church of Rome, when they go about to prove, by the Authority of the Fathers, thoſe Articles which they propoſe to the World, and which are rejected by the Proteſtants.

I ſay moreover, that to conclude upon the Nullity, or Falſeneſs of any Article, that is not of the number of thoſe that are Neceſſary to Salvation, from the general Silence of the Fathers touching the ſame, is a very Abſurd way of Arguing; as ſuppoſing a thing which is alſo Manifeſtly Falſe; Namely, that the Fathers muſt Neceſſarily have ſeen, and Clearly known All, and every of thoſe things, which Jeſus Chriſt hath revealed in His Word.

Such a kind of Argument would it be thought among the Franciſcans, if any one ſhould conclude againſt them, from the Silence of the Fathers, that our Saviour Chriſt hath not at all revealed, that the Bleſſed Virgin Mary was conceived without Sin. But yet I confeſs again on the other ſide, that in thoſe Points that are accounted as Abſolutely Neceſſary to Salvation, an Argument that ſhould be drawn from the General Silence of the Fathers, to prove the Nullity or Falſeneſs of it, would be very Pertinent, and indeed Unanſwerable. As for example, His manner of Argumentation would be very Rational, and Solid, that ſhould conclude that thoſe Means of Salvation which are propoſed by a Mahomet, ſuppoſe, or a David George, or the like Sectaries, are Null, and contrary to the Will of our Saviour Chriſt, (how much ſoever theſe Men may ſeem to Honour Him,) ſeeing that none of ehe Ancient Chriſtians ſpeak ſo much as one ſyllable of it, and are utterly ignorant of all thoſe Secrets, that theſe Wretches have preached to their Diſciples, and delivered as Infallible and Neceſſary Means of Salvation. After this manner did Irenaeus diſpute againſt the Valentinians, p. 190and other of the Gnoſticks; who vented their own ſenſ… leſs Dreams, and Abſurd Iſſues of their Own Brain, ſaying, That the Creator of the World was but an Angel… and, that there were above Him certain Divine Powers, which They called Aeones that is to ſay Ages: ſome of them making more of theſe, and others fewer, and ſome reckoning to the number of CCCLXV. and an infinite number of other the like Prodigies; never ſhewing any Ground for the ſame, either in Reaſon, or out of the Scripture. **Irenaeus l. 3. Contr. Haer. c. 1, 2, 3, & 4.Irenaeus therefore, that he might make it appear to the World, that this ſo Strange Doctrine was produced out of their Own Brain only, goes about, and viſiteth the Arohives of all the Churches, that had been either Planted, or Watered by the Holy Apoſtles, turns over all their Records, Evidences, and Ancient Monuments; and theſe Aeones, Achamot, and Barbele of the Gnoſticks no where appearing,Id. 3. c. 2. nor ſo much as any the leaſt Part or Trace of them. He concludeth, that the Apoſtles had never delivered over any ſuch thing to their Diſciples, neither by Writing, nor by Word of Mouth, as theſe Impoſtors pretended they had. For certainly if they had done ſo, the memory of it could not have been ſo utterly loſt. This is alſo the Method that Tertullian followed, in his Diſputations againſt theſe very Hereticks, and others the like, in the 22 Chapter of his Book De Praeſcriptionibus adverſus Haereticos, and in other places. The Practice of theſe Great Perſons, who made uſe of it themſelves, will here ſerve to prove unto us, that this Courſe is Right, and Good.

And thus you ſee, that the Authority of the Fathers is of very great Uſe in the Church, and ſerveth as an Outwork to the Scriptures, for the repelling the Preſumption of thoſe, who would forge a New Faith.

But foraſmuch as thoſe, who broach New Doctrines of their own Head, do Ordinarily ſlight the Holy Scriptures; as thoſe very Hereticks did, whom Iraeneus confuted; p. 191who impudently accuſed Them of not being Right; Iren: l. 3. c. 2. Cum enim ex Scripturis arguuntur, in ac…nſarionem convertuntur ipſ…rum Script urarum, quaſi non rectè habeant, neque ſint ex …cctio…tate, & quia variè ſint dictae, & quia non poſſit ex his inveniri veritas, ab his qui neſciant Traditionem. Non enim per litteras tradi…am illam, ſed per vivam vocem.and that they are of no Authority; and ſpeak in very Ambiguous Terms; and that they are not able to inform a man of the Truth, unleſs they are acquainted with Tradition; the Truth having been delivered (as Theſe men pretended) not in Writing, but by Word of Mouth: For this Reaſon, I ſay, and for other the like, are the Writings of the …athers of very great Uſe in theſe Diſputes; and I conceive This to be one of the Principal ends for which the Divine Providence hath, in deſpite of So many Confuſions, and Changes, preſerved ſo many of them ſafe, down to our times.

If therefore the Proteſtants ſhould propoſe, of their Own Head, and ſhould preſs as Abſolutely Neceſſary to Salvation; any Poſitive Article, which doth not at all appear in Antiqui…y; without all Queſtion this Courſe might, with very good Reaſon, be made uſe of againſt Them. But it is moſt Evident, that there is no ſuch thing at all in their Belief: for they maintain only ſuch things, as are eithe Expreſly delivered in the Scriptures, or elſe are Evidently deduced from thence; and ſuch as have alſo been expounded, the greateſt part of them, and interpreted by the Ancients not in their own private Writings only, but even in their Creeds and Synodical Determinations alſo. They pretend not either to any Particular Revelation, o… Secret Tradition, or any other New Principle of Doctrine. Their Faith is grounded only upon the Old, and (which is the Moſt Authentick Inſtrument of Chriſtianity) the New Teſtament. Only in their Expoſitions either of the Doctrines therein Contained, or other Paſſages, They produce ſome few things, that are not at all found in the Fathers. But theſe things being not Neceſſary to Salvation, the Argument which is brought from the Silence of the Fathers herein, is not ſufficient to prove the Falſeneſs of them. Time, Experience, Aſſiſtance p. 192of others, and the very Errours alſo of the Fathers, having (as They ſay) now laid that Open to Them, which was Heretofore more Difficult, and hard to be diſcovered and taken notice of, in Divine Revelation. Who knoweth not that a Dwarf, mounted upon a Giants ſhoulders, looketh higher, and ſeeth further, than the Giant himſelf? It would be ridiculous in any man that ſhould conclude, that That which the Dwarf pretends to diſcover, is not at all in Nature, becauſe then the Giant muſt alſo have ſeen it. Neither would He be much wiſer, that ſhould accuſe the Dwarf of Preſumption; becauſe forſooth, He hath told Us that, whereof the Giant ſaid not a word: ſeeing that it is the Giant, to whom the Dwarf is beholding for the greateſt part of His Knowledge. And this is Our Caſe, ſay the Proteſtants: We are mounted upon the Shoulders of that Great, and High Giant, Antiquity. That advantage which we have above it, by its means enables us to ſee many things in Divine Revelation, which it did not ſee. But yet however this cannot be any occaſion of Preſumption to us, becauſe we ſee more than it did; for as much as it is this very Antiquity, to which we owe a great part of this our Knowledge.

It is Certainly therefore very Clear, that as for the Proteſtants, and what concerns the Poſitive Points of Their Faith, they are wholly without the Compaſs of this Diſpute. And as for thoſe of the Church of Rome, They cannot, for the Reaſons before given, make any Advantage of the Teſtimony of the Ancients, for the proving of any of thoſe Points of Doctrine which They maintain, ſave only of thoſe wherein their Adverſaries agree with them; and therefore, if they would have us to come over to Their Belief, They muſt Neceſſarily have recourſe to ſome other kind of Proofs. But yet I do not ſee, but that we may very well make Inquiry into Antiquity touching many Articles, which are now maintained by thoſe of the Church of Rome: and if we find, that the Ancients have not ſaid any thing at all of the p. 193ſame, we may then poſitively conclude, That they are not to be accounted as any part of the Chriſtian Religion. I confeſs, that there are ſome of them, againſt which this Argument is of no force at all; as namely, thoſe which they do not account Neceſſary to Salvation, and which both the Ancients heretofore might have been, and we alſo at this day may be ignorant of. But certainly, this Argument, in my Judgment, would be utterly unanſwerable, againſt ſuch Points as they preſs as Neceſſary, and whereon indeed they would have our Salvation wholly to depend: As for Example, The Supreme Authority of the Pope, and of the Church which owneth him as Its Head; The Adoration of the Holy Sacrament of the Euchariſt; the Sacrifice of the Maſs; the Neceſſity of Auricular Confeſſion, and the like. For, if ſo be they are of ſo great Importance, as they would make us believe, it would be a Point of high Impiety to ſay, That the Fathers knew not any thing at all of them; in like manner as it would be a moſt abſurd thing to maintain, That though they did know them, they would not yet ſpeak any one word of them, in all thoſe Books which we have of theirs at this day. And, if they had ſaid any thing at all of them in their Writings, we have no reaſon in the World to ſuſpect, that poſſibly thoſe Paſſages, where mention was made of them, may have been raſed out, or corrupted and altered by falſe hands; ſeeing that this Piece of Knavery would have been done to the diſadvantage of thoſe who had theſe Books in their Cuſtody. We have rather very good reaſon to ſuſpect, that whatſoever Alterations there are, they have been made in favour of the Church of Rome, as we have proved before in the Firſt Book. If therefore, after ſo long a time, and after ſo many Indexes as they of the Church of Rome have put forth, and ſo great a deſire as they have had to find theſe Doctrines of theirs in the Writings of the Fathers, and the little Conſcience that they have ſometimes made of foiſting into the Writings of the Fathers, what they could not find there; p. 194We can ſtill notwithſtanding make it appear, that they are not to be found there at all: After all this, I ſay, who can poſſibly doubt, but that the Fathers were ignorant of them? Who will ever be perſwaded to believe, that they held them as Neceſſary to Salvation? And if they were not known to be ſuch then, how can any body imagine, that they ſhould at length come to be ſuch now?

My Opinion therefore is, That although the Authority of the Fathers be not ſufficient to prove the Truth of thoſe Articles which are now maintained by the Church of Rome againſt the Proteſtants, although the Ancients ſhould perhaps have believed the ſame; it may notwithſtanding ſerve to prove the Falſeneſs of them, in caſe that we ſhould find by the Fathers, that the Ancients were either wholly ignorant of them, or at leaſt acknowledged them not for ſuch, as they would now have us believe them to be: which is a Buſineſs that ſo nearly concerns the Proteſtants, as that to be able to bring about their Deſign, I conceive they ought to employ a good part of their time in reading over the Books of the Ancients.

OnelyOnly it is requiſite, that either Party, when they undertake ſo tedious and ſo important a Buſineſs as this is, ſhould come very well provided of all Neceſſary Parts; as namely, of the Knowledge of the Language, and of Hiſtory, and ſhould alſo be very well read in the Scriptures, and, that they uſe herein their utmoſt Diligence and Attention, and withal read over exactly whatſoever we have left us of the Fathers, not omitting any thing that Poſſibly they can get; becauſe a little ſhort Paſſage many times gives a Man very much Light in the finding out their Meaning: and not think (as ſome, who much deceive themſelves, do) that they perfectly know what the Senſe and Belief of the Ancients was, becauſe perhaps they have ſpent four or five Months in the reading of them over. But above all, it is Neceſſary that they come to this Buſineſs void of all Paſſion and Prejudication: which is indeed the greateſt, and the moſt general Cauſe of that Obſcurity p. 195which is found in theſe Writings of the Fathers, whilſt every one endeavours to make them ſpeak to his ſenſe; whereas in the greateſt part of theſe Points of Religion which are now controverted amongſt us, theſe Ancient Authors really believed much Leſs than the one Party doth, and ſome little matter More than the other doth: and there are but a very few Points of all this number, wherein they are fully and abſolutely of the ſame Judgment that either of the Two Parties is. Neither is it ſufficient in this Buſineſs to take notice of ſuch Teſtimonies as either poſitively affirm or deny thoſe things which we look after; becauſe that how clear ſoever they perhaps may be, it will go very hard but a quick Wit will find ſomething to darken the ſenſe of them: as you may obſerve in all Books of Controverſies, where you ſhall have them ſo baffle, and make nothing of ſuch Teſtimonies as are brought againſt them out of the Ancients, as that you would hardly know what to hold to. But you muſt alſo obſerve, what the Neceſſary Conſequences are of each particular Article; it being impoſſible to conclude upon any One Point, that is of any Importance, but that there will preſently follow upon it divers Conſequences, as well within, as without the Church.

As for example: you are to conſider what the Conſequences are of the Tranſubſtantiation of the Euchariſt, as it is now held by the Church of Rome; of Purgatory; and of the Monarchical Authority of the Pope: and when you have obſerved them well, you are then to mark, in reading the Books of the Ancients, whether they appear there in Whole, or in Part. For, if you find them not there at all, it is a moſt Certain Argument, that the Doctrine from whence they proceed, and upon which they follow, is New and Ʋnſound. But I ſhall not proceed any further in this Diſcourſe, ſince divers have already treated hereof at large; it being, in my Judgment, no hard matter to collect, from what we have here delivered, how we ought to read the Fathers.

FINIS.

End of the text · Jean Daille, Concerning the Right Use of the Fathers in Controversies (1675)