Concerning the Right Use of the Fathers in Controversies, Book 1 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
Reaſon III. That thoſe Writings which go under the Names of the Ancient Fathers, are not all truly ſuch; but a great part of them ſuppoſitions, and forged, either long ſince, or of later Times.
I Come now to more important Conſiderations; theſe two former, though they are not in themſelves to be deſpiſed, or neglected, being yet but trivial ones in reſpect of thoſe which follow. For there is ſo great a confuſion in the moſt part of theſe Books whereof we ſpeak, that it is a very hard thing truly to find out who were their Authors, and what the Meaning and Senſe of them is. The firſt Difficulty proceeds from the infinite number of Forged Books, which are falſly attributed to the Ancient Fathers: The like having hapned alſo in all ſorts of Learning and Sciences; inſomuch that the Criticks at this day are ſufficiently troubled in diſcovering, both in Philoſophy, and Humanity, which are forged and ſuppoſititious Pieces, and which are true and legitimate. But this Abuſe hath not reigned any where more groſly, and taken to it ſelf more liberty, than toward the Eccleſiaſtical Writers. All Men complain on this, both on the one ſide, and on the other, and labour all they can to deliver us from theſe Confuſions, though oftentimes with little ſucceſs, by reaſon of the eagerneſs of their Paſſion, by which they are carried away, ordinarily judging of Books according to their own Intereſt, rather than the Truth, and rejecting all thoſe that any whit contradict them; but defending thoſe which ſpeak of their ſide, how good or bad ſoever they otherwiſe chance to be. So that, to ſay the truth, they judge not of their own Opinions by the Writings of the Fathers, but of the Writings of the Fathers by their own Opinions. If they ſpeak with Us, it is then Cyprian and Chryſoſtome; if not, it is ſome Ignorant Modern Fellow, or elſe ſome Malicious Perſon, who would fain cover his own filthineſs under the rich Garment of theſe excellent Perſons. Now if it were Paſſion onelyonly that rendered the Buſineſs obſcure, we ſhould be able eaſily to quit our hands of it, by ſtripping it, and laying it open to the World▪ and all moderate Men would find enough to reſt ſatisfied with. But the worſt of it is, that this Obſcurity oftentimes falls out to be in the things themſelves; ſo that it is a very hard, and ſometimes an impoſſible thing, to clear them; whether it be by reaſon of the Antiquity of the Errour, or elſe by reaſon of the near reſemblance of the …alſe to the True. For theſe Forgeries are not new, and of yeſteryeſterday; but the Abuſe hath been on foot above fourteen hundred years. It is the complaint of the greateſt part of the Fathers, That the Hereticks, to gain their own Dreams the greater Authority,Hegeſippus apud Euſeb. l. 4. c. 22. vented them under the Names of ſome of the moſt eminent Writers in the Church, and even of the Apoſtles themſelves. Amphilochius Biſhop of Iconium, who was ſo much eſteemed by the great S.Concil. 7. Act. 5. Tom. 3 p. 552. Baſil, Archbiſhop of Caeſarea, wrote a particular Tract on this Subject, alledged by the Fathers of the Seventh Council, againſt a certain Paſſage produced by the Iconoclaſts out of I know not what idle Treatiſe, entituled, The Travels of the Apoſtles. And I would to God that Tract of this Learned Prelate were now extant! if it were, it would perhaps do us good ſervice in diſcovering the Vanity of very many ridiculous Pieces, which now paſs up and down the World under the Names of the Primitive and moſt Ancient Chriſtians. S.Hier. l de ſcrip. Eccleſ Tom. 1. p. 346 B. & 350. C. Hierome rejecteth divers Apocryphal Books, which are publiſhed under the Names of the Apoſtles, and of their firſt Diſciples; as namely, of S. Peter, of Barnabas, and others. The Goſpel of S. Thomas, and the Epiſtle to the Laodiceans, Concil 7. Act 6.are put in the ſame rank by the Seventh Council. Now if theſe wretched Knaves have been thus ſawcy with the Apoſtles, as to make uſe of Their Names, how much more likely is it, that they would not ſtick to make as bold with the Fathers? And indeed this kind of Impoſture hath always been very ordinary. Thus we read,Concil. 5. Collat. 6. That the Neſtorians ſometime publiſhed an Epiſtle under the Name of S. Cyril of Alexandria, in the defence of Theodorus Biſhop of Mopſueſtia, who was the Author and firſt Broacher of their Hereſie:Marian. ep ad. Mon. Alex. ad calcem Concil. …halc. T. 2. p. 450. E. Leont. lib. extat. Bibl. SS. PP. T 4 part. 2. and likewiſe that the Eutychiſts alſo vented certain Books of Apollinaris, under the Title of The Orthodox Doctors, onelyonly to abuſe the ſimple People. Leontius hath written an expreſs Tract on this Subject; wherein he ſhews, That theſe Men abuſed particularly the Names of S. Gregory of Neocaeſarea, of Julius Biſhop of Rome, and of Athanaſius, Biſhop of Alexandria: and he alſo ſaith particularly, That the Book entituled, foreign, A particular Expoſition of the Faith, which is delivered unto us by Turrianus the Jeſuite,Greg. Thaumat. op. Par. ann. 1622. pag. 97. ubi vide Voſſ. Gerardus Voſſius, and the laſt Edition of Gregorius Neocaeſarienſis, for a true and legitimate Piece of the ſaid S. Gregory, is not truly his, but the Baſtard Iſſue of the Heretick Apollinaris. And the like Judgment do the Publiſhers of the Bibliotheca Patrum give of the XII Anathema's, Bibl. SS. PP. T. 1. Gr. Lat.which are commonly attributed to the ſame S. Gregory. The Monothelites alſo, taking the ſame courſe, forged an Oration under the Name of Menas Patriarch of Conſtantinople, Concil. 6. Act. 3. & Act. 14. T. 3. Concil.and directed to Vigilius Biſhop of Rome: and two other Books under the Name of the ſame Vigilius, directed to Juſtinian and Theodora; wherein their Hereſie is in expreſs terms delivered: and theſe three Pieces were afterward inſerted into the Body of the Fifth Council, and kept in the Library of the Patriarch's Palace in Conſtantinople. Concil. 6. Act. 3. & Act. 14. T. 3. Concil.But this Impoſture was diſcovered, and convinced in the VI Council: for otherwiſe, who would not have been deceived by it, ſeeing theſe falſe Pieces in ſo Authentick a Copy? I bring but theſe few Examples, to give the Reader but a taſte onelyonly of what the Hereticks not onelyonly dared, but were able alſo to do, in this particular: and all theſe things were done before the end of the Seventh Century, that is to ſay, above nine hundred years ago. Since which time, in all the Diſputes about the Images in Churches,Concil. 7. Act. 6. Refut. Iconoclaſt. Tom. 5. and in the differences betwixt the Greek and Latine Churches, and indeed in the moſt part of all other Eccleſiaſtical Conteſtations, you ſhall find nothing more frequent, than the mutual Reproaches that the ſeveral Parties caſt at each other,Concil. Florent. Seſſ. 20. T. 4. accuſing each other of forging the Pieces of Authors which they produced each of them in defence of their own Cauſe. Judge you therefore, whether or not the Hereticks, uſing the ſame Artifice, and the ſame Diligence▪ now for the ſpace of ſo many Centuries ſince, though in different Cauſes, may not in all probability have furniſhed us with a ſufficient ſtock of ſpurious Pieces, ſent abroad under the Names of the Ancient Fathers, by their profeſſed Enemies? And do but think whether or no we may not chance to converſe with an Heretick ſometimes, when we think we have a Father before us; and a profeſſed Enemy, diſguiſed under the mask of a Friend? So that it will hence follow, That it may juſtly be feared, that we ſometimes receive and deliver for Maxims and Opinions of the Ancient Church, no better than the very Dreams of the Ancient Hereticks. For we muſt conceive, that they were not ſo fooliſh, as to diſcover their Venom at the firſt daſh, in the height of their Heretical Poſitions; but rather, that they onelyonly cunningly caſt in here and there ſome ſprinklings of it, laying the foundation of their Hereſie as it were afar off onelyonly; which makes the Knavery the more hard to be diſcovered, and ſo conſequently the more dangerous. But ſuppoſing that this Jugling Trick of the Hereticks may have very much corrupted the Old Books; yet notwithſtanding, had we no other ſpurious Pieces than what had been forged by them, it would be no very hard matter to diſtinguiſh the True from the Falſe. But that which renders the Evil almoſt uncurable, is, that even in the Church it ſelf this kind of Forgery hath been both very Ordinary, and very Ancient. I impute a great part of the cauſe of this Miſchief to thoſe Men, who before the Invention of Printing, were the Tranſcribers and Copiers out of Manuſcripts: of whoſe negligence and boldneſs in corrupting of Books, S. Hierome very much complained even in his time:Hier. Ep. 28. ad Lucin. Tom. 1. Scribunt (ſaith he) non quod inveniunt, ſed quod intelligunt; & dum alienos errores emendare nituntur, oſtendunt ſuos: That is, They write, not what they find, but what they underſtand; and whilſt they endeavour to correct other Mens Errors, they ſhew their own. We may very well preſume, that what liberty theſe Men took in corrupting, they took the ſame in forging Books too: eſpecially ſince this laſt courſe was beneficial to them, which the other was not. For by altering or corrupting the Books they wrote, they could not make any advantage to themſelves: whereas in forging new Books, and venting them under great and eminent Names, they put them off both faſter and dearer. So likewiſe if there came to their hands any Book, that had either no Authors Name; or having any, it was but an obſcure, or a tainted one: to the end that theſe evil Marks might not prejudice the venting of it, they would raſe it out without any more ado, and inſcribe it preſently with ſome one of the moſt Eminent and Venerable Names that was in the Church; that ſo the Reputation and Favour that That Name had found in the World, might be a means of the better putting off their falſe Wares. As for example: The Name of Novatianus, who was the Head of a Schiſm againſt the Roman Church, became juſtly to be odious to Chriſtian ears; as that of Tertullian was the more eſteemed, both for the Age, Wit, and Learning of the Perſon. Now the Tranſcriber conſidering this with himſelf, without any other deſign, or end, than onelyonly of his own private Gain, hath, in my judgment, made an exchange, attributing to Tertullian that Book of the Trinity, which is indeed Novatianus his; as we are given to underſtand alſo by S.Hier. Apol. 2. contr. Ruff. Hierome. And I am of opinion, that both the birth and fortune of that other Piece De Poenitentia hath been, if not the very ſame, yet at leaſt not much unlike that of the other. So likewiſe that Book which beareth Title, De Operibus Cardinalibus Chriſti, Auctor operis, De Operibus Card. Chriſti, inter Cyprian. oper. p. 444.which was compoſed and ſent by the Author of it to one of the Popes, without ſetting down his Name, as himſelf there teſtifies, hath been vented abroad under the Name of S. Cyprian, onelyonly becauſe by this means it is the more profitable to the Manuſcript-monger; and it hath formerly always paſſed, and doth ſtill paſs for his; notwithſtanding that, in my judgment, it is clear enough, that it cannot be his, as is ingenuouſly confeſſed byaEraſmus in edit. Cypr. ſuâ Sixtus Senenſ. Biblioth. lib. 4. Bellar. de Euchar. l 2. cap. 9. De amiſſ. grat. l. 6. c. 2. P…ſſevin. in Apparat. Scult. Medulla Patr. Andr. Rivet. l. 2. c. 15. Crit. Sacr. Aubert. de Euchar. l. 2. c. 8. very many of the Learned, both of the one, and of the other ſide. Ruffinus had ſome Name in the Church; though nothing near ſo great a one as Cyprian had: and this is the reaſon why the afore-named Merchants have inſcribed with S. Cyprian's Name that Treatiſe upon the Apoſtles Creed, which was written by Ruffinus. Beſides the Avarice of theſe Librarii, their own Ignorance, or at leaſt of thoſe whom they conſulted, hath in like manner produced no ſmall number of theſe ſpurious Pieces. For when either the likeneſs of the Name, or of the Stile, or of the Subject treated of, or any other ſeeming Reaſon, gave them occaſion to believe, that ſuch an Anonymous Book was the Work of ſuch or ſuch an ancient Author, they preſently copied it out under the ſaid Author's Name; and thus it came from thenceforth to be received by the World for ſuch, and by them to be delivered for ſuch, over to Poſterity. But all the blame is not to be laid upon the Tranſcribers onelyonly, in this particular: the Authors themſelves have contributed very much to the promoting of this kind of Impoſture. For there have been found in all Ages ſome that have been ſo ſottiſhly ambitious, and ſo deſirous, at what rate ſoever, to have their Conceptions publiſhed to the World, as that finding they ſhould never be able to pleaſe, and get applauſe abroad of themſelves, they have vented them under the Name of ſome of the Fathers; chuſing rather to ſee them received, and honoured, under this falſe Habit, than diſdained, and ſlighted, under their own true one. Theſe Men, according as their ſeveral Abilities have been, have imitated the Stile and Fancy of the Fathers, either more or leſs happily; and have boldly preſented theſe Iſſues of their own Brain to the World, under their Names. The World, the greateſt part whereof hath always been the leaſt ſubtile, hath very readily collected, preſerved, and cheriſhed theſe falſe Births, and hath by degrees filled all their Libraries with them. Others have been moved to uſe the ſame Artifice, not out of Ambition but ſome other irregular Fancy, as thoſe Men have done, who, having had a particular affection either to ſuch a Perſon, or to ſuch an Opinion, have faln to write of the ſame, under the Name of ſome Author of good Eſteem and Reputation with the World, to make it paſs the more currantly abroad: Juſt as that Prieſt did, who publiſhed a Book entituled,Hier. de ſcript. Eccl. Tom. 1. p. 350. Ex Tertul. li. de Baptiſmo, cap. 17. The Acts of S. Paul, and of Tecla; and being convinced of being the Author of it, in the preſence of S. John, he plainly confeſſed, that the love that he bare to S. Paul was the onelyonly cauſe that moved him to do it. Such was the boldneſs alſo of Ruffinus, Hier. l. 2. Apol. contr. Ruffin. Tom. 2. p. 334. & Ep. 69. T. 2. & Apol. contr. Ruff. ad Pammach. et Marc. Tom. 2.a Prieſt of Aquileia, (whom S. Hierome juſtly reprehendeth ſo ſharply, and in ſo many places) who to vindicate Origen's Honour, wrote an Apology for him, under the Name of Pamphilus, a holy and renowned Martyr; although the truth of it is, he had taken it partly out of the Firſt and Sixth Books that Euſebius had written upon the ſame Subject, and partly made uſe of his own Invention in it. Some ſuch like Fancy it was, that moved him alſo to put forth the Life of one Sextus, a Pythagorean Philoſopher,Hier. in Jerem. com. 4. tom. 4. under the Name of S. Sixtus the Martyr, to the end that the Work might be received the more favourably. What can you ſay to this? namely, That in the very ſame Age there was a Perſonage of greater Note than the former, who, diſliking that Hierome had tranſlated the Old Teſtament out of the Hebrew, framed an Epiſtle under his Name, wherein he maketh him repent himſelf of having done it; which Epiſtle, even in S. Hierome's Life-time, though without his knowledge, was publiſhed by the ſaid Author, both at Rome, and in Africk? Who could believe the truth of this bold attempt,Hier. l. 2. Apol. contra Ruffin. Tom. 2. had not S. Hierome himſelf related the Story, and made complaint of the Injury done him therein? I muſt impute alſo to a Fancy of the ſame kind, though certainly more innocent than the other, the ſpreading abroad of ſo many Predictions of our Saviour Jeſus Chriſt, and his Kingdom, under the Names of the Sibylls; which was done by ſome of the firſt Chriſtians, onelyonly to prepare the Pagans to reliſh this Doctrine the better;Orig contra Celſ. lib. 7. as it is objected againſt them by Celſus, in Origen. But, that which is of greater conſequence yet, is, that even the Fathers themſelves have ſometimes made uſe of this Artifice, to promote the Intereſt either of their own Opinions, or their Paſſions. We have a notable Example hereof, which was objected againſt the Latins by the Greeks, Concil. Flor. Seſſ. 2. p 457.above two hundred years ſince, of two Biſhops of Rome, Zozimus and Boniface; who to authorize the Title which they pretended to have of being Univerſal Biſhops, and Heads of the whole Chriſtian Church, and particularly of the African, forged, about the beginning of the Fifth Century, certain Canons in the Council of Nice, and alledged them for ſuch divers times,Concil. Afric. 6. cap. 3. in the Councils in Africa; which notwithſtanding, after a long and diligent ſearch, could never yet be found in any of the Authentick Copies of the ſaid Council of Nice, although the African Biſhops had taken the pains to ſend as far as Conſtantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch, to get the beſt and trueſt Copies that they could. Neither indeed have the Canons and Acts of the Council of Nice at this day, though it hath ſince that time paſſed through ſo many ſeveral hands, any ſuch thing in it… no, not in the Editions of thoſe very Men who are the moſt intereſted in the Honour of the Popes; as that of Dionyſius Exiguus, who publiſhed his Latin Collection of them about the year of our Saviour Chriſt 525. nor in any other either Ancient or Modern. For at for that Authentick Copy of the Council of Nice, which one Frier John, Concil. Flor. Seſſ 20.at the Council of Florence, pretended to have been the onelyonly Copy that had eſcaped the Corruptions of the Arrians, and had for this cauſe been always kept under Lock and Key at Rome, with all the ſafety and care that might be; out of which Copy they had tranſcribed the ſaid Canons: I confeſs, this Copy muſt needs have been kept up very cloſe, under Locks and Seals, ſeeing that three of their Popes, namely, Zozimus, Boniface, and Celeſtine, could never be able to produce it, for the juſtification of their pretended Title, againſt the African Fathers, though in a caſe of ſo great Importance. And it is a wonderful ſtrange thing to me, that this Man, who came a thouſand years after, ſhould now at laſt make uſe of it in this cauſe; whereas thoſe very Perſons who had it in their cuſtody, never ſo much as mentioned one Syllable of it: which is an evident Argument, that the Seals of this rare Book were never opened, ſave onelyonly in the Brains of this Doctor, where onelyonly it was both framed and ſealed up, brought forth and vaniſhed, all at the ſame inſtant; the greateſt part of thoſe Men that have come after him, having laid aſide this Chimerical Invention, being aſhamed to make uſe of it any longer. And to ſay truth, that which theſe Men anſwer, by way of excuſing the ſaid Popes, is not any whit more probable; namely, That they took the Council of Nice, and that of Sardica, in which thoſe Canons they alledge are really found, for one and the ſame Council. For whom will theſe Men ever be able to perſwade, That two Eccleſiaſtical Aſſemblies, betwixt which there paſſed near twenty two whole years, called by two ſeveral Emperors, and for Matters of a far different nature; the one of them for the Explanation of the Chriſtian Faith, and the other for the Re-eſtabliſhing of two Biſhops in their Thrones; and in Places very far diſtant from each other: the one at Nicaea in Bithynia, the other at Sardica, a City of Illyricum: the Canons of which two Councils are very different, both in ſubſtance, number, and authority; the one of them having always been received generally by the whole Church; but the other having never been acknowledged by the Eaſtern Church; ſhould yet notwithſtanding be but one and the ſame Council? How can they themſelves endure this, who are ſo fierce againſt the Greeks, for having offered to attribute (which they do notwithſtanding with more appearance of truth) to the Sixth Council, thoſe CII Canons which were agreed upon ten years after at Conſtantinople, in an Aſſembly wherein one party of the Fathers of the Sixth Council met? How came it to paſs that they gave any credit to the Ancient Church, ſeeing that in the Greek Collection of her Ancient Canons, thoſe of the Council of Sardica are quite left out; and in the Latin Collection of Dionyſius Exiguus, made at Rome eleven hundred years ſince, they are placed, not with thoſe of the Council of Nice, nor yet immediately after them, as if they all made up but one Body betwixt them:Codex Can. Ec. Ʋn. Dionyſ. Exig. p. 99. but are put in a place a great way behind, after the Canons of all the General Councils that had been held till that very time he lived in? And how comes it to paſs, that theſe Ancient Popes, who alledged theſe Canons, if they believed theſe Councils to be both one, did not ſay ſo? The African Biſhops had diverſe and ſundry times declared, That theſe Canons, which were by them alledged, were not at all to be found in their Copies. Certainly therefore, if thoſe who had cited them, had thought the Council of Nice, and that of Sardica to have been both but one Council, they would no doubt have made anſwer, That … Canons were to be found in this pretended Second Part of the Council of Nice, among thoſe which had been agreed upon at Sardica; eſpecially when they ſaw that theſe careful Fathers, for the clearing of the Controverſie betwixt them, had reſolved to ſend to this purpoſe as far as Conſtantinople, and Alexandria. And yet for all this, there is not the leaſt Syllable, tending this way, ſaid by them. And certainly if the Canons of the Council of Sardica had been in thoſe days reputed as a part of the Council of Nice, it is a very ſtrange thing, that ſo many Learned and Religious Prelates as there were at that time in Africk, as namely▪ Aurelius, Alypius, and even S. Auguſtine, that glorious Light, not of the African onelyonly, but of the whole Ancient Church, ſhould have been ſo ignorant in this particular. But it is a wonder beyond all belief, that three Popes, and their Legates, ſhould leave their Party in an Ignorance ſo groſs, and ſo prejudicial to their own Intereſt; it being in their power to have relieved them in two words. We may ſafely then conclude, That theſe Popes, Zozimus, and Boniface, had no other Copies of the Council of Nice, than what we have: and alſo, that they did not believe that the Canons of the Council of Sardica were a part of the Council of Nice; but that they rather purpoſely alledged ſome of the Canons of Sardica, under the name of the Canons of the Council of Nice. And this they did according to that Maxim which was in force with thoſe of former times, and is not utterly laid aſide even in our own; namely, That for the advancing of a Good and Godly Cauſe, it is lawful ſometimes to uſe a little Deceit, and to have recourſe to your Piae Fraudes. They therefore firmly believing as they did, That the Supremacy of their See, over all other Churches, was a Buſineſs of great importance, and would be very profitable to all Chriſtendom; we are not to wonder, if for the eſtabliſhing this right on themſelvs, they made uſe of a little Legerdemain, alledging Sardica for Nice: reckoning with themſelves, that if they brought their Deſign about, this ſmall Failing of theirs would in proceſs of time be abundantly ſatisfied for, by the benefit and excellency of the thing it ſelf. Yet notwithſtanding this Oppoſition made by the African Fathers againſt the Church of Rome, Pope Leo, not many years after,Leo in ep. ad Theodoſ. Imp. Tom. 2. Concil. writing to the Emperour Theodoſius, did not forbear to make uſe of the old Forgery, citing one of the Canons of the Council of Sardica, for a Legitimate Canon of the Council of Nice: which was the cauſe that the Emperour Valentinian alſo,Valentin. in ep. ad Theod. Tom. 2. Concil Galla Placid. in ep. ad Theodoſ. Tom. 2. and his Empreſs Galla Placidia, writing in the behalf of the ſaid Pope Leo to the Emperour Theodoſius, affirmed to him for a certain Truth, That both all Antiquity, and the Canons of the Council of Nice alſo, had aſſigned to the Pope of Rome the Power of judging of Points of Faith; and of the Prelates of the Church; Leo having before poſſeſſed them, That this Canons of the Council of Sardica was one of the Canons of Nice. And thus, by a ſtrong perſeverance in this Pious Fraud, they have at length ſo fully perſwaded a great part of Chriſtendom, that the Council of Nice had eſtabliſhed this Supremacy upon the Pope of Rome, that it is now generally urged by all of them, whenever this Point is controverted. I muſt crave pardon of the Reader, for having ſo long inſiſted on this Particular, and perhaps longer ſomewhat than my Deſign required: yet, in my judgment, it may be of no ſmall importance to the Buſineſs in hand. For (will the Proteſtants here ſay) ſeeing that two Popes Biſhops, and Princes, which all Chriſtians have approved, have notwithſtanding thus foiſted in falſe Wares; what ought we to expect from the reſt of the Biſhops and Doctors? Since theſe Men have done this in the beginning of the Fifth Century, an Age of ſo high repute for its Faith and Doctrine, what have they not dared to do in the ſucceeding Ages? If they have not forborn ſo foully to abuſe the ſacred Name of the Council of Nice, the moſt Illuſtrious and Venerable Monument of Chriſtianity, next to the Holy Scriptures; what other Authors can we imagine they would ſpare? And if in the face of ſo Renowned an Aſſembly, and in the preſence of whatever Africk could ſhew of Eminency, both for Sanctity and Learning; and even under the eye of the great S. Auguſtine too, they made no conſcience at all to make uſe of ſo groſs a piece of Forgery; what have they not ſince, in theſe later Times, while the whole World for ſo many Ages lay covered with ſo thick darkneſs, dared to do? But as for my part, I ſhall neither accuſe nor excuſe at preſent theſe Mens Proceedings; but ſhall onelyonly conclude; That ſeeing that the Writings of the Fathers, before they came to us, have paſſed through the hands of thoſe who have ſometimes been found to uſe theſe jugling Tricks; it is not ſo eaſie a matter as People may imagine, to diſcover out of thoſe Writings which now paſs under the Names of the Fathers, what their Opinions were. The like Inclinations produced the very ſame Effects in the Fifth Council;Concil. 5 Act. 5. Tom. 2. Concil. where a Letter forged under the Name of Theodoret, touching the Death of S. Cyril, was both read, and by a general ſilence approved by the whole Aſſembly; which yet notwithſtanding was ſo evidently falſe, that thoſe very Men who cauſed the Body of the General Councils to be Printed at Rome, have convinced it of falſhood, and branded it as ſpurious. Such another precious Piece is that fooliſh Story of a Miracle wrought by an Image of our Saviour Chriſt in the City Berytus, which is related in very ample manner,Concil. 7. Act. 4. Tom. 3. Concil. in the VII Council, and goes forſooth, under the Name of S. Athanaſius, but is indeed ſo taſteleſs a Piece, and ſo unworthy the Gallantry and clearneſs of that great Wit, that he muſt not be thought to have common ſenſe, that can find in his heart to attribute it to him. And therefore we ſee, that notwithſtanding the Authority of this Council,Nannius in edit. op. Athan. Bellar de imag. l. 2 c. 10. & lib. de ſcript. Eccleſ. in Athan Poſſevin. in appar. in Athan. both Nannius, Bellarmine, and Poſſevine, have plainly confeſſed, that it was not written by Athanaſius. I ſhall place in this Rank the ſo much cried up Deed of the Donation of Conſtantine, which hath for ſo long a time been accounted as a moſt Valid and moſt Authentick Evidence, and hath alſo been inſerted into the Decrees, and ſo ſtifly maintained by the Biſhops of Agobio, D. 96. C. Conſtantino noſtro. 14. Auguſti. Steuchius de Dona. Constant. Baron. in annal. Melchior Canus locor. Theolog. l. 11. p. 511.againſt the Oppoſitions of Laurentius Valla. Certainly thoſe very Men who at this day maintain the Donation, do notwithſtanding diſclaim this Evidence, as a piece of Forgery. Of the ſame nature are the Epiſtles attributed to the firſt Popes, as Clemens, Anacletus, Euariſtus, Alexander, Sixtus, Teleſphorus, Hyginus, Pius, Anicetus, and others, down to the times of Siricius; that is to ſay, to the year of our Saviour Chriſt CCCLXXXV. which the World read under theſe Venerable Titles at the leaſt for eight hundred years together; and by which have been decided, to the advantage of the Church of Rome, very many Controverſies, and eſpecially the moſt important of all the reſt, namely, that of the Pope's Monarchy; which ſheweth plain enough the Inclination, (ſhall I call it…) or rather the purpoſed Deſign of the Merchant that firſt vented them abroad. The greateſt part of theſe notwithſtanding, are accounted forged even by many of the Learned of their own Party;Hen. Kaltheiſ. ap. Magdeb. cent. 2. Nic. Cuſan. Conc. Cath. l. 2. c. 34. Jo. de Turrecr. de Eccl. lib. 2. c. 101. Jo. Driedo de dogm. & ſcrip. Eccl. l. 1. c. 2. Cl. Eſpenſ. de Contin. l. 1. c 2. G. Caſſand. defenſ. lib. de officio pii viri, p. 843. Sim. Vig. ex reſponſ. Syn. Baſil. &c. en la lettre contr. Durand. Baron. Annal. T. 2. an. 102. & an. 865. Eraſm. praefat. in Hieron. as namely, Henricus K…ltheiſen, Nicolas Cuſanus, Jo. de Turrecremata, both Cardinals; Eraſmus, Jo. Driedo, Claudius Eſpenſaeus, Caſſander, Simon Vigor, Baronius, and others: as indeed their Forgery appears plain enough, by the barbarouſneſs of their Stile, the Errors that you meet with every foot in computing the Times, and in Hiſtory; the Pieces that they are patched up of, ſtollen here and there out of ſeveral Authors, whoſe Books we have at this day to ſhew: and alſo by the general ſilence of all the Writers of the Eight firſt Centuries, among whom there is not one word mentioned of them. Now I ſhall not here meddle at all with the Six or Seven laſt Centuries; where, in regard of diverſe Articles of Faith, moſt eagerly by them preſſed and eſtabliſhed, there hath been more need than ever of the Aſſiſtance of the Ancients; and where, in reſpect of the dark Ignorance of thoſe Times, and the ſcarcity of Oppoſers, they had much better opportunity than before to forge what Books they pleaſed. This Abuſe the World was never free from, till the Times of the Light breaking forth in the Laſt Century; at what time Eraſmus by name, gives us an account, how he himſelf had diſcovered one of theſe wretched Knaves, whoſe ordinary practice it was to lay his own Eggs in another Man's Neſt, putting his own Fooleries on S. Hierome particularly, and on S. Auguſtine, and S. Ambroſe. And who knows what thoſe many Books be, that are daily iſſued out of the ſelfſame Shops, that of old were wont to furniſh the World with theſe kind of Knacks? Is it not very probable, that both the Will, and the Dexterity, in forging and venting theſe falſe Wares, will rather in theſe days increaſe, than abate, in the Profeſſors of this Trade? So that, if beſides what the Malice of the Hereticks, the Avarice and Ignorance of Tranſcribers of Manuſcripts, and the ambition and affection of Men hath brought forth of this kind, there have yet ſo many others bent their endeavours this way, and that in a manner all along, for the ſpace of the laſt Fourteen hundred years, although they had their ſeveral ends; we are not to wonder at all, if now in this laſt Age we ſee ſuch a monſtrous number of Writings falſly Fathered upon the Ancients: which, if they were all put together, would make little leſs than a Fourth or a Fifth part of the Works of the Fathers. I am not ignorant, that the Learned have noted a great number of them, and do ordinarily caſt them into the later Tomes of Editions; and that ſome have written whole Books upon this very Subject; as namely, Ant. Poſſevine's Apparatus, Bellarmine's Catalogue, Scultetus his Medulla Patrum, Rivet's Critick, and the like, both of the one and the other Religion. But who can aſſure us that they have not forgotten any thing they ſhould have noted? Beſides, that it is a new Labour, and almoſt equal to the former, to read ſo many Books of the Moderns as there are. And when all is done, we are not preſently to ſit down upon their Judgments neither, without a due examination had of them. For each of them having been prepoſſeſt with the Prejudices of the Party in which they were brought up before they took this Work in hand, who ſhall warrant us, that they have not delivered any thing in this caſe, in favour of their own particular Intereſt, as hath been touched before? The juſtneſs of this ſuſpicion is ſo clear, that I preſume that no Man that is but any whit verſed in theſe matters, will deſire me to prove my Aſſertion. Neither ſhall I need to give any other reaſon of it, than the Conflict; and Diſagreements in Judgments which we may obſerve in theſe Men: the one of them oftentimes letting paſs for pure Metal, what the other perhaps will throw by for Droſs: Which Differences are found not onelyonly betwixt thoſe that are of quite oppoſite Religions; but, which is more, even betwixt thoſe that are of the ſelf ſame Perſwaſion. Thoſe whom we named not long before, who were all of the Roman Church, cry down (as we have ſaid) the greateſt part of the Decretals of the firſt Popes. Franciſcus Turrianus, a Jeſuite, receives them, and defends them all, in a Tract written by him to that purpoſe.Baron. Annal. Tom. 1. an. 51. Baronius calls the Recognitions which are attributed to Clemens Romanus, A Gulf of Filth and Ʋncleanneſs; full of prodigious Lies, and frantick Fooleries. Bellar. de lib. arbit. T. 5. c. 25. NOs fatemur librum eſſe corruptum, &c. Sed tamen vel eſſe Clementis Romani, vel alterius aequè docti, ac antiqui.Bellarmine ſays, That this Book was written either by Clemens, or elſe by ſome other Author as Learned and as Ancient as he. Some of them hold thoſe Fragments, publiſhed by Nicol. Faber, under the Name of S. Hilary, for good and legitimate Pieces; and ſome others again reject them. Eraſmus, Sixtus Senenſis, Melchior Canus, and Baronius, are of opinion, That the Book Of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, is falſly attributed to S. Hierome: Chriſtophorus à Caſtro, a Spaniſh Jeſuite, maintains the contrary. Cardinal Cajetan, Laurentius Valla, Eraſmus, and ſome others, hold the Books of Dionyſius the Areopagite for ſuſpected, and ſpurious: Baronius, and almoſt all the reſt of their Writers, maintain that they are true and legitimate. Turrianus, Bovin, and ſome others, commend unto us the Conſtitutions of the Apoſtles, for a legitimate Piece: But Baronius, Poſſevine, Petavius, and a great many others, ſpeak doubtfully of them. And a Man ſhall find in the Writings of thoſe of the Church of Rome, infinite variety of divided Judgments, in ſuch Caſes as theſe. He that hath a mind to furniſh himſelf with Examples of this Nature, may have recourſe to their Books, and particularly to the Writings of the late Cardinal Perron, who differs as much from the reſt, in this Point of Criticiſm, as he doth for the moſt part in the Method he obſerves in his Diſputations. Now I would willingly be informed, what a, Man ſhould do, amidſt theſe diverſities of Judgment; and what Path he ſhould take, where he meeteth with ſo diſagreeing Guides. But yet ſuppoſe that theſe Authors have done their utmoſt endeavour in this Deſign, without any particular affection, or partiality; how, notwithſtanding, ſhall we be ſatisfied concerning their ſufficiency for the performance of their Undertaking? Is it a light Buſineſs, think you, to bring the whole ſtock of Antiquity to the Cruzet, and there to purifie and refine it, and to ſeparate all the Droſs from it, which hath ſo deeply, and for the ſpace of ſo many Ages, been not only as it were tied, and faſtned on to it, but even throughly mixed, united, and incorporated with it? This Work requireth the moſt clear and refined Judgment that can be imagined, an exquiſite Wit, a quick piercing Eye, a perfect Ear, a moſt exact knowledge in all Hiſtory, both Ancient and Modern, both Eccleſiaſtical and Secular; a perfect knowledge of the Ancient Tongues, and a long and continued Converſation with all ſorts of Writers, both Ancient, of the middle Ages, and Modern; to be able to judge of their Inclinations, and which way their Pulſe beat; to underſtand rightly the manner of their Expreſſion, Invention, and Method in Writing; each Age, each Nation, and each Author, having their own peculiar ways in all theſe. Now ſuch a Man as this, is hardly produced in a whole age. As for thoſe Men who in our Times have taken upon them this part of Criticiſm, who knows not, who ſees not, that but reads them, how many of theſe forenamed Qualities are wanting in them? But yet ſuppoſe that ſuch a Man were to be found, and that he ſhould take in hand this Diſcovery; I do verily believe that he would be able very eaſily to find out the Impoſture of a bungling Fool, that had ill counterfeited the Stamp, Colour, and Weight, in the Piece which he would father upon ſome other Man; or that ſhould, for example, endeavour to repreſent either S. Hierome, or S. Chryſoſtome, with a ſtammering Tongue, and ſhould make them ſpeak barbarous Language, bad Latin, and bad Greek; or elſe perhaps ſhould make uſe of ſuch Terms, Things, or Authors, as were not known to the World till a long time after theſe Men; or ſhould make them treat of Matters far removed from the Age they lived in, and maintain Opinions which they never thought of, or reject thoſe which they are notoriouſly known to have held: And of this ſort, for the moſt part, are thoſe Pieces which our Criticks have decried, and noted unto us as ſpurious. But if a Man ſhould chance to bring him a Piece of ſome able Maſter, that ſhould have fully and exactly learnt both the Languages, Hiſtory, Manners, Alliances, and Quarrels of the Family he hath boldly thruſt himſelf into, and ſhould be able to make happy uſe of all theſe, aſſure your ſelf, that our Ariſtarchus would be here as much puzled to diſcover this Jugler, as they were once in France, to convince the Impoſtures of Martin Guerre. Now how can we imagine, but that among ſo many ſeveral Perſons, that have for their ſeveral Purpoſes employed their utmoſt Endeavours in theſe kinds of Forgeries, there muſt needs have been, in ſo many Centuries of years, very many able Men, who have had the skill ſo artificially to imitate the Fancy and Stile of the Perſons whom they act, as that it is impoſſible to diſcover them? Eſpecially, if they made choice of ſuch a Name as was the onelyonly thing remaining in the World of that Author, ſo that there is no mark left us either of his Stile, Diſcourſe, or Opinions, to guide us in our Examination. And therefore, in my judgment, he was a very cunning Fellow, and made a right choice, that undertook to write under the Name of Dionyſius the Areopagite: for we having not left us any true Legitimate Piece of this Author, by which we may examine this Cheat, the Diſcovery muſt needs be difficult; and it would have proved ſo much the more hard, if he had but uſed a more modeſt and leſs ſwelling manner of Expreſſion: Whereas for thoſe others, who in the Ages following made bold with the Names of S. Hierome, S. Cyprian, S. Auguſtine, and the like; of whoſe legitimate Writings we have very many Pieces left us: a Man may know them at the firſt ſight, meerly by the Stile; thoſe Gothick and rude Spirits being no more able to counterfeit the Graces and Elegancies of theſe great Authors, than an Aſs is to imitate the Warblings of the Nightingale. I confeſs, there is another Help, which, in my judgment, may ſtand us in more ſtead, in this Particular, than all the reſt; namely, the Light and Direction of the Ancients themſelves, who oftentimes make mention of other Writers of the Church which lived either before, or in their own Times: S. Hierome among the Latins, having taken the pains to make a Catalogue of all thoſe whoſe Names and Writings he knew of, down from the Apoſtles time to his own; which was afterward continued by Gennadius. To this we may alſo add that incomparable Work of the Patriarch Photius, which he calls his Bibliotheca, and is now publiſhed in this our Age; where this great Perſon hath given us his Judgment of moſt of the Authors of the Greek Church. Now this Help we may make uſe of two manner of ways: The one is, in juſtifying a Book, if it be found mentioned by theſe Authors: The other is, in rejecting it, if they ſay nothing of it. As for the firſt of theſe, it concludes onelyonly according to the Quality of the Authors who make mention of a ſuſpected Book. For, ſome of the Fathers themſelves have made uſe of theſe kind of Forgeries, as we have formerly ſaid; others have favoured them, becauſe they ſerved their turn; ſome have not been able to diſcover them; and ſome others have not been willing to do ſo, whatſoever their Reaſon hath been. I ſhall not here repeat the Names of any of thoſe that have done theſe things themſelves: And as for thoſe that have favoured them, there are good ſtore of examples, as Juſtin Martyr, Theophilus, and others, who alledge the Sibylls Verſes, as Oracles; which are notwithſtanding the greateſt part of them forged.Hier. ep. 84. ad Magn. Tom. 2. Clemens Alexandrinus, the moſt Learned, and moſt Polite of all the Fathers, in S. Hierome's judgment, how often doth he make uſe of thoſe Apocryphal Pieces which go under the Names of the Apoſtles and Diſciples, to whom they were moſt falſly attributed; citing under the Name of aClem. Alex. Strom. l. 2.Barnabas, and ofbId. Strom. l. 1. & l. 2. & alibi paſſim. Hermes, ſuch Writings as have been forged under their Names? And did not the VII Council in like manner make uſe of a ſuppoſititious Piece, attributed to Athanaſius, as we have ſhewed before; and likewiſe of divers others which are of the ſame ſtamp? That even the Fathers themſelves therefore have not been able always to make a true diſcovery of theſe falſe Wares, no Man can doubt; conſidering that of thoſe many neceſſary Qualifications which we reckoned up before, as requiſite in this Particular, they may oftentimes have failed in ſome. S. Hierome himſelf, the moſt knowing Man among all the Latin Fathers, eſpecially in Matters of this nature, ſometimes lets them paſs without examination; as there, where he ſpeaks of a certain Tract againſt Mathematicians, Hier. ep. 84. ad Magn. Tom. 2.attributed to Minutius Foelix, If at leaſt (ſaith he) the Inſcription repreſent unto us the right Author of the Book. And in another place, whatſoever his reaſon was,Id. in Catal. Tom. 1. he delivers to us for Legitimate Pieces, the Epiſtles that go about under the Name of S. Paul to Seneca, and of Seneca to S. Paul; which, notwithſtanding,Baron. Annal. Tom. 1. an 66. Cardinal Baronius holds for ſuſpect… and ſpurious, as doubtleſs they are. But even thoſe Men who have been able to diſcover theſe falſe Pieces, have not ſometimes been willing to do it; either being unwilling to offend the Authors of them, or elſe not daring to caſt any diſrepute upon thoſe Books, which having many good things in them, had not in their judgment any falſe or dangerous Poſitions in them. And this is the reaſon why they made choice to let ſuch things paſs, rather than out of a little tenderneſs of conſcience to oppoſe them; there being, in their apprehenſion, no danger at all in the one, and much trouble and envy in the other. And therefore I am of opinion, That S. Hierome, for example, would never have taken the pains, nor have undergone the envy, in laying open the Forgeries of Ruffinus, if the miſunderſtanding that hapned to be betwixt them, had not engaged him to it. Neither do I believe that the African Fathers would ever have troubled themſelves in convincing the falſe Allegation of Zozimus, but for their own Intereſt, which was thereby called in queſtion. For wiſe and ſober Men never uſe to fall at variance with any Body, till they needs muſt; neither do they quickly take notice of any Injury or Abuſe offered them, unleſs it be a very great one; and ſuch as hath evident danger in it: which was not at all perceived or taken notice of at firſt, in theſe Forgeries; which nevertheleſs have at length, by little and little, in a manner born down all the good and true Books. Theſe Conſiderations, in my opinion, make it clearly appear, That the Title of a Book is not ſufficiently juſtified by a Paſſage or two being cited out of it by ſome of the Ancients, and under the ſame Name. As for the other way, which rendreth the Authority of a Book doubtful, by the Ancients not having made any mention of it, I confeſs it is no more demonſtrative than the other: foraſmuch as it is not impoſſible, that any one, or divers of the Fathers, may not have met with ſuch a certain Wri…r that was then extant; or elſe perhaps that they might omit ſome one of thoſe very Authors which they knew. Yet notwithſtanding is this the much ſurer way of the two; there being leſs danger, in this caſe, in rejecting a True Piece, than in receiving a Forged one; the want of the Truth of the one, being doubtleſs much leſs prejudicial, than the receiving the oppoſite Falſhood of the other. For as it is a leſs ſin to omit the Good, than to commit the Evil that is oppoſite to it, in like manner is it a leſs Errour not to believe a Truth, than to believe the Falſhood which is contrary to it. And thus we ſee what confuſion there is in the Books of the Ancients, and what defect in the Means which is requiſite for the diſtinguiſhing the Falſe from the True: inſomuch that, as it often falls out, it is much eaſier to judge what we ought to reject, than to reſolve upon what we may ſafely receive. Let the Reader therefore now judge, whether or no theſe Writings having come down along through ſo many Ages, and paſſed through ſo many Hands, which are either known to have been notoriouſly guilty, or at leaſt ſtrongly ſuſpected of Forgery, the Truth in the mean time having made on its part but very weak reſiſtance againſt theſe Impoſtures; it be not a very hard matter to diſcover, amidſt the infinite number of Books that are now extant, and go under the Names of the Fathers, which are thoſe that truly belong to them; and which again are thoſe that are falſly impoſed upon them. And if it be ſo hard a matter to diſcover in groſs onelyonly which are the Writings of the Fathers; how much more difficult a Buſineſs will it be to find out what their Opinions are touching the ſeveral Controverſies now in agitation. For we are not to imagine, that it is no great matter from which of the Fathers ſuch an Opinion hath ſprung, ſo that it came from any one of them: for there is altogether as much difference amongſt theſe Ancient Doctors, both in reſpect of Authority, Learning, and Goodneſs, as among the Modern. Beſides, that an Ages being higher or lower; either raiſeth or leſſeneth the Repute of theſe Writings, in the eſteem both of the one Party, and of the other, as it were, ſo many grains, as years: And certainly not altogether without good reaſon; it being moſt evident to any one that hath been but the leaſt verſed in the reading of theſe Books, That Time hath by degrees introduced very great Alterations, as well in the Doctrine and Diſcipline of the Ancients, as in all other things. Our Concluſion therefore ſhall be, That whoſoever ſhall deſire to know what the Senſe and Judgment of the Primitive Church hath been, touching our preſent Controverſies; it will be firſt in a manner as neceſſary for him, as it is difficult, exactly to find out both the Name and the Age of each of theſe ſeveral Authors.