Concerning the Right Use of the Fathers in Controversies, Book 1 · Chapter 4

Concerning the Right Use of the Fathers in Controversies · Book 1 · Chapter 4

p. 34CHAP. IV.

Reaſon IV. That thoſe of the Writings of the Fathers which are Legitimate, have been in many Places corrupted by Time, Ignorance, and Fraud, both Pious and Malicious, both in the former and later Ages.

BUt, put the caſe now here, that you had by your long and judicious Endeavours ſevered the True and Genuine Writings of the Fathers, from the Spurious and Forged: there would yet lie upon you a ſecond Task, whoſe event is like to prove much more doubtful, and fuller of difficulty than the former. For it would concern you in the next place, in reading over thoſe Authors which you acknowledge for Legitimate, to diſtinguiſh what is the Author's own, and what hath been ſoiſted in by another Hand; and alſo to reſtore to your Author, whatſoever either by Time or Fraud hath been taken away; and to take out of him whatſoever hath been added by either of theſe two. Otherwiſe you will never be able to aſſure your ſelf, that you have diſcovered out of theſe Books, what the true and proper meaning and ſenſe of your Author hath been; conſidering the great Alterations that by ſeveral ways they may have ſuffered, in ſeveral Times. I ſhall not here ſpeak of thoſe Errours which have been produced by the Ignorance of the Tranſcribers;Hier. ep. 28. ad Lucin. Tom. 1. Who write (as Hierome hath complained of them) not what they find, but what themſelves underſtand: p. 35Nor yet of thoſe Faults which neceſſarily have grown up out of the very Tranſcribing; it being an impoſſible thing, that Books which have been copied out an infinite number of times, during the ſpace of ten or twelve Centuries of years, by Men of ſo different Cap…cities▪ and Hands, ſhould all this while retain exactly, and in every Particular, the ſelf-ſame Juyce, the ſame Form and Body that they had when they firſt came forth from the Author's own hand. Neither ſhall I here ſay any thing of the ſufferings of theſe Books, by Moths, and a thouſand other Injuries of Time, by which they have been corrupted; while all kind of Learning, for ſo many Ages together, lay buried, as it were, in the Grave; the Worms on one ſide feeding on the Books of the Learned, and on the other the Duſt defacing them; ſo that it is impoſſible now to reſtore them to their firſt integrity. And this is the ſad Fate that all ſorts of Books have lain under; whence hath ſprung up ſo great variety of Readings as are found almoſt in all Authors. I ſhall not here make any advantage of this; though there are ſome Doctors in the World, that have ſhewed us the way to do it, taking advantage from this Conſideration to leſſen the Authority that the Holy Scriptures of themſelves ought to have in the eſteem of all Men, under this colour, That even in theſe Sacred Writings there are ſometimes found varieties of Reading, which yet are of very little or no Importance, as to the Ground-work. If we would tread in theſe Mens ſteps, and apply to the Writings of the Fathers, what they ſpeak and conclude of the Scriptures, we could do it upon much better terms than they; there being no reaſon in the Earth to imagine, but that the Books of the Ancient Writers have ſuffered very much more than the Scriptures have; which have always been preſerved in the Church, with much greater care than any other Books have been whatſoever, and which have been learnt by all Nations, and tranſlated into all Languages; which all Sects have retained, both Orthodox p. 36and Hereticks, Catholicks and Schiſmaticks, Greeks and Latins, Moſcovites and Ethiopians; obſerving diligently the Eye, and the Hand, one of the other: ſo that there could not poſſibly happen any remarkable Alteration in them, but that preſently the whole World, as it were, would have exclaimed againſt it, and have made their Complaints to have reſounded throughout the Univerſe. Whereas, on the contrary, the Writings of the Fathers have been kept, tranſcribed, and read in as careleſs a manner as could be; and that too but by very few, and in few Places, being but rarely underſtood by any, ſave thoſe of the ſame Language; which is the cauſe that ſo many Faults have both the more eaſily crept into them, and likewiſe are the more hard to be diſcovered. Beſides, that the particular Stile and Obſcurity of ſome of them, renders the Errours the more important. As for example: Take me a Tertullian, and you ſhall find, that one little Word added, or taken away, or altered never ſo little, or a Full-point or Comma but out of its place, will ſo confound the Senſe, that you will not be able to find what he would have. Whereas in Books of an eaſie, ſmooth, clear Style, as the Scriptures for the moſt part are, theſe Faults are much leſs prejudicial, ſeeing they cannot in any wiſe ſo darken the Senſe, but that it will be ſtill eaſie enough to apprehend it. But I ſhall paſs by all theſe minute Punctilioes, as more ſuitable to the Enquiries of the Pyrrhonians and Academicks, whoſe Buſineſs it is to queſtion all things; than of Chriſtians, who onelyonly ſeek, in ſimplicity and ſincerity of heart, whereon to build their Faith. I ſhall onelyonly here take notice of ſuch alterations as have been knowingly and voluntarily made in the Writings of the Fathers, purpoſely by our holding our peace, to diſguiſe their S…nſe, or elſe to make them ſpeak more than they meant. And this Forgery is of two ſorts: The one hath been made uſe of with a good intention; the other out of malice: Again, The one hath been committed in Times long ſince paſt, the other in this laſt p. 37Age, in our own days, and the days of our Fathers. Laſtly, the one is in the Additions made to Authors, to make them ſpeak more than they meant; the other in ſubtracting from the Author, to eclipſe and darken what he would be underſtood to ſay. Neither ought we to wonder, that even thoſe of the honeſt, innocent, primitive Times alſo made uſe of theſe Deceits, ſeeing that, for a good end, they made no great ſcruple to forge whole Books, taking a much ſtranger and bolder courſe, in my opinion, than the other. For without all doubt it is a greater Crime to coin falſe Money, than to clip, or a little alter the true. This Opinion hath always been in the World, That to ſettle a certain and aſſured eſtimation upon that which is good and true (that is to ſay, upon what we account to be ſuch) it is neceſſary that we remove out of the way, whatſoever may be a hinderance to it; and that there can be no great danger either in putting in, or at leaſt in leaving any thing in, that may yield aſſiſtance to it, whatſoever the iſſue of either of theſe may in the end prove to be. And hence hath it come to paſs, that we have ſo many ancient Forgeries, and alſo ſo many ſtrange ſtories of Miracles, and of Viſions; many taking a delight in feigning (as S.Hier. ep. 4. ad Ruſtic. Tom. 1. Daemonum contra ſe pugnantium p…rtenta co…fingunt. Hierome ſays) great Combats which they have had with Devils in Deſarts: all which things are meerly fabulous in themſelves, and acknowledged too to be ſo by the moſt intelligent of them; yet notwithſtanding are tolerated, and ſometimes alſo recommended to them, foraſmuch as they account them uſeful, for the ſetling or encreaſing either of the Faith or Devotion of the People. What will you ſay, if at this day there are ſome, even of thoſe Men who make profeſſion of being the greateſt haters in the world of theſe ſubtilties, who cannot nevertheleſs put forth any Book, but they muſt needs be lopping off, or falſifying whatſoever doth not wholly agree with the Doctrine they hold for true; fearing, as themſelves ſay, leſt ſuch things coming to the eye of the ſimple Common People, might infect them, and poſſeſs their p. 38Heads with new Fancies? So firmly hath this Opinion been of old rooted in the Nature of Man. Now I will not here diſpute, whether this proceeding of theirs be lawful, or not: I ſhall only ſay by the way, That in my judgment it is a very great ſhame for the Truth, to be eſtabliſhed or defended by ſuch falſifications and ſhifts; as if it had not ſufficient Weapons, both defenſive and offenſive, of its own, but that it muſt be fain to borrow of its Adverſary: and it is beſides a very dangerous courſe too; becauſe that the diſcovery of any one Cheat, oftentimes renders their Cauſe, who practiſed it, wholly ſuſpected; inſomuch that, by making uſe of ſuch ſlights as theſe in Chriſtian Religion, either for the gaining to you, or confirming the faith of ſome of the ſimpler People, it is to be feared, that you may give diſtaſte to the more underſtanding ſort; and ſo by this means at length may chance to loſe the Affections of the ſimpler ſort too. But whatſoever this courſe of Cheating be, either in it ſelf, or in its Conſequences; it is ſufficient for my purpoſe, that it hath been a long time practiſed in the Church, in matters of Religion; for proof whereof, I ſhall here produce ſome Inſtances. The Hereticks have always been accuſed of uſing this Artifice: but I ſhall not here ſet down what Alterations have been made by the Ancienteſt of them, even in the Scriptures themſelves. If you would have a Taſte of this Practice of theirs, go but to Tertullian and Epiphanius, and you ſhall there ſee, how Marcion had clipped and altered the Goſpel of S. Luke, and thoſe Epiſtles of S. Paul, which he allowed to be ſuch. Neither have thoſe other of the Ages following been any whit more conſcientious in this Particular, as may appear by thoſe Complaints made by Ruffinus aaRuffin. in Expoſ. Symbol. & lit. de adult. ſcript. Origen., in his Expoſition upon the Apoſtle's Creed; and in another Treatiſe written by him purpoſely on this Subject: which is indeed contradicted bybbHier. ep. 65. Tom. 2. & Apol. 2. contr. Ruff. S. Hierome, but onelyonly in his Hypotheſis, as to what concerned Origen; but not abſolutely in his Theſis: and by the like Complaints of p. 39aaCyril. ep. ad Ich. Antioch. in Act. Conc. Eph.S. Cyril, and divers others of the Ancients: and among the Moderns, by thoſe very Perſons alſo who have put forth the General Councils at Rome, who inform us, in the Preface to the Firſt Volume,bbIn Praefat. in Tom. 1. Concil. Gen. That Time, and the Fraud of the Hereticks, have been the cauſe that the Acts of the ſaid Councils have not come to our hands, neither entire, nor pure and ſincere, that which hath remained of them: and before, they grievouſly bewail, that we ſhould be thus deprived of ſo great and ſo precious a Treaſure. Now this Teſtimony of theirs, to me, is worth a thouſand others; ſeeing it comes from ſuch who in my opinion are evidently intereſted to ſpeak quite otherwiſe. For if the Church of Rome, who is the pretended Miſtreſs and Truſtee of the Faith, hath ſuffered any part of the Councils to periſh and be loſt, which is eſteemed by them as the Code of the Church; what then may the reſt have ſuffered alſo? And what may not the Hereticks and Schiſmaticks have been able to do? And if all theſe Evidences have been altered by their Fraud, how ſhall we be able by them to come to the knowledge of the Senſe and Judgment of the Ancients? I confeſs I am very much ama…ed, to ſee theſe Men make ſo much reckoning of the Acts of the Councils, and to make ſuch grievous Complaints againſt the Hereticks, for having ſuppreſſed ſome of them. For if theſe things are of ſuch uſe, why then do they themſelves keep from us the Acts of the Council of Trent, which is the moſt conſiderable Council, both for them, and their Party, that hath been held in the Chriſtian Church theſe eight hundred years? If it be a Crime in the Hereticks, to have kept from us theſe precious Jewels; why are not they afraid, leſt the blame which they lay on others, may chance to return upon themſelves? But doubtleſs there is ſomething in the Buſineſs, that renders theſe Caſes different: and I confeſs I wonder they publiſh it not; the ſimpler ſort; for want of being otherwiſe informed, thinking perhaps, (though, it may be, without p. 40cauſe) that the reaſon why the Acts of this laſt Council are kept ſo cloſe from them is, becauſe they know that the publiſhing of them would be either prejudicial, or at leaſt unprofitable, to the Greatneſs of the Church of Rome: And they alſo again, on the other ſide, conceive, that in thoſe other Acts, which they ſay have been ſuppreſſed by the Hereticks, there were wonderful Matters to be found, for the greater advancing and ſupporting of the Church of Rome. Whatſoever the Reaſon be, I cannot but commend the Ingenuity of theſe Men, who, notwithſtanding their Intereſt, which ſeemeth to engage them to the contrary, have yet nevertheleſs confeſſed, That the Councils which we have at this day are neither entire, nor uncorrupted. But let us now examine, whether or no even the Orthodox Party themſelves have not alſo contributed ſomething to this Alteration of the Writings of the Primitive Church,Epiphanius in Anchor. foreign. Epiphanius reports, That in the true and moſt correct Copies of S. Luke it was written, that Jeſus Chriſt wept▪ and that this paſſage had been alledged by S. Irenaeus: but that the Catholicks had blotted out this Word▪ fearing that the Hereticks might abuſe it. Whether this Relation be true, or falſe, I muſt relie upon the Credit of the Author: But this I ſhall ſay, That it ſeems to me a clear Argument▪ That theſe Ancient Catholicks would have made no great ſcruple of blotting out of the Writings of the Fathers any Word that they found to contradict their own Opinions and Judgment; and that with the ſame Liberty that they inform us the Hereticks uſed. For ſeeing that, as this Father informs us, they made no Conſcience of making ſuch an Attempt upon the Goſpel of the Son of God himſelf; with how much greater confidence would they adventure to geld the Books of Men? Certainly Ruffinus, a Man ſo much applauded byaaHier. ep. 5. ad Flor. & ep. 41. ad Ruffin. S. Hierome, before their falling out; and ſo highly eſteemed bybbAug. ep. ad Hier. quae eſt inter ep. Hier. 93. & iterum ep. 97. S. Auguſtine, who very much bewails the Breach betwixt thoſe two; and whom ccGennald. in Catal. inter op. Hier.Gennodius hath placed, with a very high Elogie of his p. 41Worth, in his Catalogue of Eccleſiaſtical Writers; hath ſo filthily mangled, and ſo licentiouſly confounded the Writings of Origen, Euſebius, and others, which he hath tranſlated into Latin, that you will hardly find a Page, in his Tranſlations, where he hath not either cut off, or added, or at leaſt altered ſomething. S. Hierome alſo, although his Enemy, yet agrees with him in this Point;aaHier. ep 62. ad Theoph. Alex. & lib. 2. Apol. contra Ruffin. confeſſing in ſeveral Places, That he had indeed tranſlated Origen, but in ſuch ſort, as that he had taken liberty to cut away that which was dangerous, and had left only that which was uſeful, and had interpreted only what was Good, and had left out the Bad; that is to ſay, that if he found any thing there, that was not ſo conſonant to the Common Judgment and Opinions of his Time, and ſo might poſſibly give Offence to the ſimple People, he ſuppreſſed it in his Tranſlation; affirming alſo, that S.Hier. ep. 75. Id. praefat. in lib. Euſeb. de loc. Hebr. Hilary, and Euſebius Biſhop of Verceil, had done the like. And again, in his Preface to Euſebius his Book, De locis Hebraicis, he confeſſeth, that he had left out that which he conceived was not worth remembring; and that he had altered the greateſt part of it. And to make it appear, that this hath been his conſtant practice, we need but compare his Latin Chronology, with the Greek Fragments which remain of Euſebius; where you may plainly ſee what liberty theſe Ancients allowed themſelves in the Writings of others. And what doubt is there to be made, but that thoſe Men that came after them, following the Authority of ſo great an Example, carefully either took out of their Copies, or elſe left out of their Tranſlations, the greateſt part of whatever they found to be diſſonant to the Opinions and Cuſtoms which were received in the Church in the Times they lived in? and likewiſe, that for adding the greater Authority to them, ſome have had the boldneſs to add in ſome places what they conceived to be wanting? From whence elſe could it proceed, that we ſhould have ſo many unſeaſonable breakings off in many places, and ſo many imperſinent p. 42Additions in others, as there are to be met with frequently in the Ancient Authors? Whence otherwiſe ſhould we have thoſe many courſe Patches, that are ready to grate the Skin off our Fingers, in the midſt of their ſoft Sattin and Velvet? and that inequality of Pulſe and Breath, that we may obſerve in one and the ſame Author, in a quarter of an Hours reading? It would prove a troubleſom buſineſs, to bring in here all the Examples of this kind that we might; there being ſcarcely any of the Moderns, that have taken any pains in writing upon the Fathers, but have noted and complained of this Abuſe: and hence it is,Tom. 4. op. Amb. p. 211. lib. 2. de Abra. in marg. annot. that we oftentimes meet with ſuch like Notes as this, in the Margins of the Fathers: Hic videtur aliquis aſſuiſſe nugas ſuas, and the like. And that which is obſerved alſo by Vives, upon the XXI Book of S. Auguſtine De Civitate Dei, aaLud. Vives in lib. 21. de Civ. Dei, c. 24. In antiquis libris. Brug. & Colon. non le guntur iſti decem aut duodecim qui ſequuntur verſus.namely, That ten or twelve Lines which we find at this day in the XXIV Chapter of that Book, which contain a Poſitive Aſſertion of Purgatory, were not to be found in the ancient Manuſcripts of Bruges, and of Collen; no, nor yet in that of Paris, as is noted by thoſe that Printed S. Auguſtine, Anno 1531. OnebbHolſtein. op. lim. praef. tom. op. Athan. Neque ſolius Athanaſti ea fortuna, ut ineptiſſimorum interpolatorum manus ſubiret, cùm Chryſoſtomi, Procli, aliorum que homilias ſimilibus ſequiorum ſaeculorum ineptiis faedatas, in iiſdem regiis codicibus invenerim. Holſteinius alſo, a Dutchman, teſtifieth, That he had met with divers Pieces among the Manuſcripts of the King's Library, of Chryſoſtome, Proclus, and others, that had in like manner been ſcratched in divers Places by the like Hands, by ſome Interpolators of the later and worſt Ages. But I may not here forget to note, That this Alteration hath taken place, even in the moſt ſacred and Publick Pieces alſo; as namely, in the Liturgies of the Church, and the like: and I ſhall give you this Obſervation, to the end it may carry with it the greater gracefulneſs and weight, in the Expreſſions of Andreas Maſius, a Man of ſingular and profound Learning; yet of ſuch Candor and Integrity as renders him more admired, than his Knowledge doth; and which, together with his other Excellencies, endears him to all moderate Men of both Profeſſions. This Learned Perſon p. 43taking notice, that the Liturgy of S. Baſil was not ſo long in the Syriac, Andr. Maſius Praef. in Litur. Syr.as in the Greek, gives this Reaſon of it: For (ſaith he) Men have always been of ſuch a humour and diſpoſition in Matters of Religion, as that you ſhall ſcarcely find any that have been able to content themſelves with the Ceremonies preſcribed unto them by their Fathers, how holy ſoever they have been in themſelves: ſo that we may obſerve, that in tract of time, according as the Prelates have thought fitteſt to move the Affections of the People to Piety and Devotion, many other things have been either added, or altered; and (which is much worſe) many ſuperſtitious things have been introduced alſo: in which particular, I conceive the Chriſtians of Syria to have been more moderate, and leſs extravagant than the Greeks and Latins, as having not the opportunity of enjoying that quiet and plentiful ſtate of Life, which the others had. Thus the Learned Maſius. Caſſand. in Liturg. cap. 2.And Caſſander, who hath alſo turned over the Writings of the Ancients with innocent Hands, confeſſeth, and proveth out of other Authors, That the ancient Liturgies have by little and little been enlarged, by the ſeveral Additions of the Moderns. Thus proportionably as the World it ſelf hath changed, ſo would it have whatever there remained of Antiquity, to ſuffer its Alterations alſo; imagining, that it was but reaſonable that theſe Books ſhould in ſome meaſure accommodate their Language to the Times, foraſmuch as the Authors of them, in all probability, would have done ſo themſelves, believing and ſpeaking with the Times, had they been now living. Now to render them the more acceptable, they have uſed thoſe Arts upon them, that ſome old Men are wont to practiſe; they have new coloured their Beard and Muſtachioes, cutting off the rude and ſcattered hairs; they have poliſhed their Skin, and given it a freſh Complexion, and taught them to ſpeak with a new Voice, having changed alſo the Colour of their Habit: inſomuch, that it is much to be feared, that we oftentimes do but loſe our labour, when we ſearch in theſe diſguiſed Faces, p. 44and Mouths, for the Complexion and Language of true Antiquity.Euſeb. in Chro. edit…num. 2148. & 2158. Vide Scalig. in loc. p. 198 a. & 201 a. Thus have they taught Euſebius to tell us, in his Chronicon, that the Faſt of Lent was inſtituted by Teleſphorus; and the Obſervation of the Lords Day, by Pius, both Biſhops of Rome: which is a thing Euſebius never ſo much as dreamt of, as may appear out of ſome Manuſcripts of him,See alſo Card. Perron's Reply to K. James, Obſerv. 2. c. 8. where you ſhall find him wholly mu…e, as to theſe Points, wherewith the Moderns ſo much pleaſe themſelves. But to return, and to take the Times all along as they lie, we may obſerve that this Licence grew ſtronger daily, as the Times grew worſe; becauſe that the greater the diſtance of time was from the Author's own Age, the more difficult the diſcovery of theſe Forgeries muſt neceſſarily be: the Example alſo of ſome of the moſt eminent Perſons among the Ancients, who had ſometimes made uſe of theſe ſleights, adding on the other ſide boldneſs to every one, and courage to venture upon what they had done before them. For, I pray you, is it not a ſtrange thing, that the Legats of Pope Leo, in the year 451. in the midſt of the Council of Chalcedon, where were aſſembled 600 Biſhops, the very Flower and Choice of the whole Clergy, ſhould have the confidence to alledge the VI Canon of the Council of Nice, in theſe very Words,Concil. Chalced. Act. 16. Tom. 2. Concil.Acts 16 That the Church of Rome hath always had the Primacy: Words which are no more found in any Greek Copies of the Councils, than are thoſe other pretended Canons of Pope Zozimus: neither do they yet appear in any Greek or Latin Copies, nor ſo much as in the Edition of Dionyſius Exiguus, who lived about fifty years after this Council. When I conſider, that the Legats of ſo holy a Pope would at that time have faſtned ſuch a Wen upon the Body of ſo Venerable a Canon, I am almoſt ready to think, that we ſcarcely have any thing of Antiquity left us, that is entire, and uncorrupt, except it be in Matters of Indifferency, or which could not have been corrupted, without much noiſe; and to take this Proceeding of theirs, which is come to our knowledge, p. 45as an advertiſement purpoſely given us by Divine Providence, to let us ſee, with how much conſideration, and adviſedneſs we ought to receive for the Council of Nice, and of Conſtantinople, and for Cyprian, and Hiero…o's Writings, that which goes at this day for ſuch. About ſeventy four years after the Council of Chalcedon, Dionyſius Exiguus, whom we before mentioned, made his Collection at Rome, which is … printed at Paris, Cum Privilegio Regi…, out of very ancient Manuſcripts. Whoſoever ſhall but look diligently Into this Collection, ſhall find divers alterations in it, one whereof I ſhall inſtance in; only to ſhew, how ancient this Artifice hath been among Chriſtians. The laſt Canon of the Council of La… dicea, which is the 163. of the Greek Code of the Church Univerſal, forbidding to read in Churches any other Books, than thoſe which are Canonical; gives us withal a long Catalogue of them. Dionyſius Exiguus, although he hath indeed inſerted in his Collection Num. 162. the beginning of the ſaid Canon, which forbiddeth to read any other Books in the Churches, beſides the ſacred Volumes of the Old and New Teſtament; yet hath he wholly omitted the Catalogue, or Liſt of the ſaid Books: fearing, as I conceive, leſt the Tail of this Catalogue might ſcandalize the Church of Rome; where, many years before, Pope Innocent had,Innocent. 1. ep. 3. ad Exup. Tholoſ. c. 7. by an expreſs Decree to that purpoſe, put into the Canon of the Old Teſtament, the Maccabees, the Wiſdom of Solomon, Eccleſiaſticus, Tobit, Judith, &c. of which Books the Fathers of the Council of Laodicea make no mention at all, naming but XXII Books of the Old Teſtament; and in the Catalogue of the New, utterly omitting the Apocalypſe. If any Man can ſhew me any better reaſon of this ſuppreſſion, let him ſpeak: as for my part I conceive this the moſt probable that can be given; however, we are not at all bound to divine, what the motive ſhould be, that made Dionyſius out off that part of the Canon. For, whatſoever the reaſon were, it ſerves the turn well enough, to make it appear, that at p. 46that time they made no great conſcience to curtal, if need were, the very Text of the Canons themſelves. So that if we had not had the good luck to have had this Canon entire, and perfect, in divers other Monuments of Antiquity; as namely, in the Collections of the Greeks, and alſo in the Councils of the French Church; we ſhould at this Day have been wholly ignorant, what the judgment of the Fathers of L…odices was, touching the Canon of the holy Scriptur…s▪ which is one of the principal Controverſies of theſe times. It is true, I confeſs, that the Latins have their revenge upon the Greeks, reproaching them in like manner, becauſe that in their Tranſlation of the Code of the Canons of the African Church, they have left the Books of the Maccabees quite out of the Roll of the Books of the Scripture, which is ſet down in the 24. Canon of their Collection, expreſly againſt the Faith of all the Latin copies of this Collection,Perron Repl. l. 1. c. L. both Printed, and Manuſcript; as Cardinal Perron affirmeth: and yet there are ſome others,**Chriſt. Juſtel. in Not. ad Can. 24. God. Gr. Eccleſ. Afric. who aſſure us, that no Book of Maccabees appears at all in this Canon, in the Collection of Creſ…bnius, a Biſhop of Africk, not yet printed. The Greek Cud… repreſents unto us VII. Canons of the I▪ Council of Conſtantinople; which are in like manner found both in Balſamon, and in Zonaras, and alſo in the Greek and Latin Edition of the General Councils, printed at Rome. The three laſt▪ of theſe do not appear at all, in the Latine Code of … though they are very conſiderable ones, as to the buſineſs they relate to, which is, That Order in Proceeding, in paſſing Judgment upon Biſhops accuſed▪ and in receiving ſuch perſons, who forſaking their Communion with Hereticks, deſire to be admitted into the Church. … very hard to ſay, what ſhould move the … this Council thus. But this I am … in the VI. Canon, which is one of thoſe … hath omitted, and which treateth of judging of Biſhops accuſed, there is not the leaſt mention made, of Appealing to Rome, nor of any Reſerved Caſes, wherein it is not permitted to any, ſave only to the Pope p. 47himſelf, to judge a Biſhop: the power of hearing and determining all ſuch matters being here wholly, and abſolutely referred to the Provincial and Dioce…an Synods. Now whether the Greeks added this tail to the Council of Conſtantinople, (which yet is not very probable,) or whether Dionyſius, or the Church of Rome curtalled this Council, it will ſtill that way alſo appear clearly, that this boldneſs in g…lding, or making Additions to Eccleſiaſtical Writings, is not at all in uſe in theſe dayes. After the Canons of Conſtantinople, there follow in the Greek Code, VIII. Canons of the General Council of Eph…ſus, ſet down alſo both by Balſamon, and Zonaras, and printed with the Acts of the ſaid Council of Epheſus, in the Firſt Tome of the Roman Edition. But Dionyſius Exiguus: hath diſcarded them all, not giving us any one of them: and you will hardly be able to give a handſome gueſs, what his reaſon ſhould be: unleſs perhaps it were, becauſe that the buſineſs of the eighth Canon diſpleaſed him: which is, that the Biſhops of Cyprus had their Ordinations within themſelves, without admitting the Patriarch of Antioch to have any thing to do with it: and that the ſame courſe ought to be obſerved in all other Provinces, and Dioceſſes: ſo that no Biſhop ſhould have power to intrude into a Province, which had not from the beginning been under His, and His Predeceſſors juriſdiction: **Concil. Eph. Can. 8. qui in VII. Gr. eſt 178. Cod. Can. Eccl. foreign.For fear, that under the pretence of the Adminiſtration of Sacred Offices, the pride of a Secular Power ſhould thruſt it ſelf into the Church; and ſo by this means we ſhould loſe (ſaid theſe good Fathers) by little and little, before we were aware, the Liberty that our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, the Redeemer of all mankind, hath purchaſed for us with his own Blood. I know not, whether this Conſtitution, and theſe words, have put the Latines into any fright, or not: or whether any other reaſon hath moved them, not to receive the Canons of the Council of Epheſus into their Code. But this is certain, that they do not appear any where among them, and it is now at the leaſt ſeven hundred p. 48and fifty years and upward,Anaſtaſ. Biblioth. Praef. in Synod. VIII. Tom. 3. Concil. gen. that A…aſtaſius Bibliothecarius, the Popes Library Keeper, teſtified, that theſe Canons were not any where to be found, in the moſt Ancient Latine Copies; withal accuſing the Greeks of having forged them. But let them try out this diſpute among themſelves: yet whether theſe Canons were forged by the Greeks; or whether they have been blotted out of this Council, and ſmothered by the Latins; it is ſtill a clear caſe, that the Cheat is very near of eight hundred years ſtanding. But in the next example that follows, the buſineſs is evidently clear, without any more ado. For whereas the Greek Code, Numb. …06. ſets before us in the XXVIII▪ Canon of the General Council of Chalcedon, a Decree of thoſe Fathers, by which, conformably to the Firſt Council of Conſtantinople, they ordained, that Seeing that the City of Conſtantinople was the ſeat of the Senate, Conc. Chalc. Can. 28. Cod. Graec. Eccl. Ʋ ni…. 206. foreign.and of the Empire, and enjoyed the ſame Priviledges with the City of Rome; that therefore it ſhould in like manner be advanced to the ſame Height, and Greatneſs in Eccleſiaſtical Affairs, being the ſecond Church in order, after Rome; and that the Biſhop of it ſhould have the Ordaining of Metropolitans, in the Three Dioceſſes of Pontus, Aſia, and Thrace; which Canon is found both in Balſamon and Zonaras; and alſo hath the Teſtimony of the greateſt part of the Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtorians, both Greek, and Latine, that it is a Legitimate Canon of the Council of Chalcedon; in the Acts of which Council, at this day alſo Extant, it is ſet down at large: yet notwithſtanding in the Collection of Dionyſius Exiguus, this Canon appears not at all, no more than as if there had never been any ſuch thing thought of at Chalcedon. We know very well, that Pope Leo, and ſome others of his Succeſſors rejected it: but he that promiſed us, that he would make an orderly Digeſtion of the Canons of the Councils, and tranſlate them out of the Greek, why, or how, did he, or ought he to omit, this ſo remarkable a Canon? If all other Evidences had been loſt how ſhould p. 49we have been able ſo much as to have gheſſed, that any ſuch thing was ever treated of at Chalcedon? Where, or by what means could we have learnt, what the opinion was of the DCXXX. Fathers, which met here together, touching this Point; which is the moſt important one, of all thoſe that are at this day controverted betwixt us? And it is now eleven hundred years, and upward, ſince this Omiſſion was firſt on foot. And who will paſs his word to us, that among ſo many other Writings, whether of Councils, or particular Mens Works, whether Greek or Latine, the like liberty hath not been at any time uſed? Rather by theſe Forgeries which have come to our knowledge, who can doubt, but that there have been many other the like, which we are ignorant of? Thou haſt gone along innocently perhaps, reading theſe Books of the Ancients, and believing, thou there findeſt the pure ſenſe of Antiquity; and yet thou ſeeſt here, that from the beginning of the Sixth Century they have made no ſcruple of cutting off, from the moſt Sacred Books they had, whatſoever was not agreeable to the guſt of the Times. And therefore, though we had no more againſt them than this, it were, in my judgment, a ſufficient reaſon to move us to go on here very warily, and, as they ſay, With a ſtiff Rein, through this whole buſineſs. In the next place, there is a very obſervable Corruption in the Epiſtle of Adrian I.Concil. VII. Act. 2. Tom. 3. Concil.Acts 2 to the Emperour Conſtantine, in the time of the Second Council of Nice. For in the Latine Collection of Anaſtaſius, made about ſeven hundred and fifty years ſince, Adrian is there made to ſpeak very highly, and magnificently of the ſupremacy of his See, and he rebukes the Greeks very ſhrewdly, for having conferred upon Taraſius, the Patriarch of Conſtantinople, the Title of Ʋniverſal Biſhop. And all this while, there is not ſo much as one word of this to be found, neither in the Greek Edition of the ſaid VII. Council, nor yet in the common Latine ones. The Romaniſts accuſe the Greeks of having ſuppreſſed theſe two Clauſes: and the Greeks p. 50again accuſe the Romaniſts, of having foiſted them in: neither is it eaſie to determine, on which ſide the guilt lies. However, it is ſufficient for me, that whereſoever the fault lies, it evidently appeareth hence, that this curtalling and adding to Authors, according to the intereſt of the preſent Times, hath now a very long time been in practice amongſt Chriſtians. Which appears alſo very evidently, in the next piece following in the ſame Council, namely, the Epiſtle of Adrian to Taraſius; which is quite another thing in the Greek, from what it is in Anaſtaſius his Latin Tranſlation; and that in Points too of as high importance, as thoſe other before mentioned. And ſo in the V. Act likewiſe,Conc VII. Act. 5. Tom. 3. Conc.Acts 5 where both in the Greek Text, and alſo in the Old Latin Tranſlation, Taraſius is called Ʋniverſal Biſhop; this Title appears not at all in Anaſtaſius his Tranſlation. In the ſame Act the Fathers accuſe the Iconoclaſts, Ib. p. 557.of having cut out many Leaves out of a certain Book in the Library at Conſtantinople; and that at a certain City called Photia, they had burned to the number of Thirty Volumes; and that beſides all this, they had raſed the Annotations out of a certain Book; and all this out of the malice they bore againſt Images, which theſe Books ſpake well and favourably of. But yet I do not ſee, how we can excuſe the Romaniſts, from being guilty of corrupting Anaſtaſius, in thoſe paſſages above noted; nor yet of the injury they do Euſebius, in the Expoſition which they give of ſome certain words of His, only to render Him odious;**Concil VII. Act. 6. adverſ… Synod. Iconocl. Sect. 5. foreign. Ibid. p. 625 foreign.Acts 6 objecting againſt Him, that He ſaith, That the Carnal Form of Jeſus Chriſt was changed into the nature of the Deity: whereas, all that he ſaith is, That it was changed by the Deity, dwelling in i…. Whence it appears, how much credit we are to give to theſe Men, when they alledge here and there divers ſtrange and unheard of pieces; and on the contrary, ſcornfully reject whatever their Adverſaries bring; as, for example, they did a remarkable Paſſage, alledged by them out of Epiphanius: which Paſſage they refuſed as ſuppoſititious; p. 51Becauſe (ſaid they) if Epiphanius had been of the ſame judgment with the Iconoclaſts, Ib. p. 616. foreign,he would then in his Panarium, have reckoned the Reverencing of Images among the other Hereſies. And may not a man by the ſame reaſon as well conclude, that Epiphanius was a favourer of the Iconoclaſts; for otherwiſe he would have reckoned their opinion among the reſt of the Hereſies by him reckoned up? I ſhal not here ſay any thing of their refuſing ſo boldly, and confidently, thoſe Paſſages alledged out of The odotui Ancyranus, and others. Since that time you ſhall find nothing more ordinary, in the Books both of the Greeks and the Latins, than the like reproaches, that they mutually caſt upon each other, of having corrupted the Pieces and Evidences wherein their cauſe was the moſt concerned: As for example, at the Council of Florence, Mark Biſhop of Epheſus diſputing concerning the Proceſſion of the Holy Ghoſt, had nothing to anſwer to two paſſages that were alledged againſt him; the one out of that piece of Epiphanius, Concil Florent. Act. 18. To. 4. Conc. foreign.Acts 18which is entituled, Ancoratus: the other out of S. Baſils Writings, againſt Eunomius; but that That piece of Epiphanius had been long ſince corrupted: and ſo likewiſe of that other paſſage out of S. Baſil, that Some one or other who favoured the opinion of the Latin…s, had accommodated that place to their ſence: withall **Ib. Act. 20.Acts 20proteſting, that in all Conſtantinople there was but four Copies only of the ſaid Book that had that paſſage alledged by the Latins▪ but that there was in the ſaid City above a thouſand other copies wherein thoſe words were not to be found at all. Then had the Latins nothing to return upon them more readily, than that it had been the ordinary practice, not of the Weſt, but of the Eaſt; to corrupt Books▪ and for proof hereof, they preſently cite a paſſage out of S. Cyrill, which we have formerly ſet down: where notwithſtanding he ſpeaks not any thing, ſave only of the Hereticks; that is to ſay, of the Neſtorians, who were ſaid to have falſified the Epiſtle of Athanaſius to Epictetus; but not a word there of all the Eaſtern men, p. 52much leſs of the whole Greek Church. The Greeks then charged back upon the Latines the ſtory of Pope Zozimus, mentioned in the preceeding Chapter. And thus did they bandy ſtifly one againſt the other, each of them, as may be eaſily perceived, having much more appearance of reaſon and of truth, in their accuſation of their Adverſary, than in excuſing or defending themſelves. I ſhall here give you alſo another the like anſwer, made by one Gregorius, a Greek Monk, a ſtrong maintainer of the Ʋnion made at Florence, Apol. Gregor. Mon. Protoſyn. contr. Ep. Marc. Eph. Tom. 4. Concil.to a paſſage cited by Mark Biſhop of Epheſus, out of a certain Book of John Damaſcene; affirming, that The Father only is the Cauſe, to wit, in the Trinity: Theſe words (ſaith this Monk) are not found in any of the ancient Copies: which is an evident argument, that it had been afterwards foiſted in by the Greeks, to bring over this Doctor to their opinion.Petavi… Not. in Epiphan. Petavin… hath in like manner lately quitted his hands of an objection, taken out of the 68. Canon of the Apoſtles, againſt the Faſting on Saturdays, which is obſerved in the Roman Church: pretending, that the Greeks have falſified this Canon. But whoſoever deſires to ſee how full of uncertainty the Writings of this later Antiquity are, let him but read the VIII. Council which is pretended by the Weſtern Church, to be a general Council, and but compare the Latine and the Greek Copies together, withal taking eſpecial notice of the Preface of Anaſtaſius Bibliothecarius; who after he hath very ſharply reproved the Ambition of the Greeks, and accuſed the Canons which they produce of the Third General Council, as Forged, and ſuppoſititious; to make ſhort work with them, he ſays in plain terms, that the Greeks have corrupted all the Councils, except the Firſt. What then have we now left us to build upon, ſeeing that this Corruption hath prevailed even as far as on the Councils, which are the very heart of the Ancient Monuments of the Church? Neither yet hath the Nicene Creed, which hath been approved and made ſacred in ſo many General Councils, p. 53been able to eſcape theſe Alterations. For, not to ſpeak any thing of theſe Expreſſions, which are of little importance; De Coelis, from Heaven; ſecundum Scripturas, according to the Scriptures; Deum de Deo, God of God; which Cardinal Julian aaConcil. Flor. Seſſ. 12.affirmed, at the Council of Florence, were to be found in ſome Creeds, and in ſome others were not: it is now the ſpace of ſome Ages paſt, ſince the Eaſtern ChurchbbConcil Flor. Seſſ. 4 & 5. & Conc VII Act. 7. quo loco videnda annot. marg.Acts 7 accuſed the Weſtern of having added Filio que and the Son, in the Article touching the Proceſſion of the Holy Ghoſt; the Weſtern Men as ſenſeleſly charging back upon them again, that they have cut it off: Which is an Alteration, though it ſeem but trivial in appearance, that is of great importance, both to the one ſide, and to the other, for the deciſion of that great Controverſie, which hath hitherto cauſed a ſeparation betwixt them; namely, Whether or no the Holy Ghoſt proceed from the Son, as well as from the Father? Which is an evident Argument, that either the one or the other of them, hath, out of a deſire to do ſervice to their own Side, laid falſe hands upon this Sacred Piece. Now whatever hath been attempted in this kind by the Ancients, may well paſs for Innocence, if compar'd but with what theſe Later Times have dared to do; their Paſſion being of late years ſo much heated, that laying all Reaſon and Honeſty aſide, they have moſt miſerably and ſhameleſly corrupted all ſorts of Books, and of Authors. Of thoſe Men that go ſo deſperately to work, we cannot certainly ſpeak of their baſeneſs as it deſerveth: and in my judgment, Laurentius Bochellus, in his Preface to the Decreta Eccleſiae Gallicanae, Laur. Bochel Praefat▪ in Decret▪ Eccleſ Gal. Taceo innumeros Auctores ſacros, protanos, veteres, recentiores, ab iſ…i… tam improbi quàm in…oelicis ingenii homin…bus miſerab … decurtatos, vel ipſis Regibus parcero non aſſuetis, nedum S. Ludovico, cujus▪ Pragmaticae (ut vocant) Sanctionis articulos nonrull…s, maximè ad rei Gallicae ſtatum pertinentes, abs Bibliotheca illa SS. PP. Conſtitutionibus Regiis; & ſtatutis Epiſcoporum quorundam Synodalibus Reginae urbium Lutetiae nuper impreſſis expunxerunt. Vae, iterum vae, ut cum Vidente exclamem, Nebulonibus, qui tales Muſarum Caſtitati & integritati venerandae non ſolum inſidias ſtruunt, ſed & Muſas ipſas impudenter, & nequiter ſubdolo religionis zelo, nullius frontis homines devirginant, ſucum que iſtum pietatis nomen ementitum, inter Pias fraudes numerant.had all the reaſon in the world to deteſt theſe Men, as People of a moſt wretched and malicious ſpirit, who have moſt miſerably gelded and mangled ſo infinite a number of Authors, both Sacred and Prophane, Ancient and Modern; their ordinary cuſtom being, to ſpare no Perſon, no not Kings, nor even S. Lewis himſelf, out of whoſe Pragmatica p. 54Sanctio (as they call it) they have blotted out ſome certain Articles (principally thoſe which concerned the State of France) out of the Bibliotheca Patrum, the Conſtitutiones Regiae, and the Synodical Decrees of certain Biſhops, lately Printed at Paris. Wo, wo (to ſpeak with the Prophet) to theſe miſchievous Knaves, who do not only lay ſuch treacherous ſnares for the venerable Chaſtity and Integrity of the Muſes, but do alſo moſt impudently and wickedly d…flour, under a falſe and counterfeit pretence of Religion, even the Muſes themſelves; accounting this jugling to be but a kind of Pious Fraud. But we do not here write againſt theſe Men: it is ſufficient for us to give a hint only of that which is as clear as the Sun; namely, that theſe Men have altered, and corrupted, by their Additions in ſome places, and gelding of others, very many of the Evidences of the Ancients Belief. Theſe are they, who in this Period of the XII Epiſtle of S. Cyprian, written to the People of Carthage; **Cypr. Ep. 12. Extr. Audiant quaeſo patienter Conſilium noſtrum; expectent regreſſionem noſtram, ut cùm ad vos per Dei miſericordiam venerimus, convocati Coepiſcopi plures ſecundum Domini doctrinam, & Confeſſorum praeſentiam, beatorum Martyrum literas & deſideria examinare poſſimus. Cypr. Pamel & Gryph. Lugd. An. 1537. l 3. ep. 16. p. 148. Aliae Editiones, ut Manutii, item Morellii, Par. An. 1568. p. 158. legunt Secundum veſtram quoque ſententiam.I deſire that they would but patiently hear our Counſel, &c. that our Fellow-Biſhops being aſſembled together with us, we may together examine the Letters, and Deſires of the Bleſſed Martyrs, according to the Doctrine of our Lord, and in the preſence of the Confeſſors, & ſecundum veſtram quoque ſententiam, and according as you alſo ſhall think convenient: have maliciouſly left out theſe words, & ſecundum veſtram quoque ſententiam: By which we may plainly underſtand, that theſe Men would not by any means have us know, that the Faithful People had ever any thing to do with, or had any Vote in the Affairs of the Church. Theſe be they, p. 55who in his Fortieth Epiſtle, have changedaaCypr. Pamel. Epiſt. 40. p. 7. Cathedra una ſuper Petrum Domini voce fundata. Gryph. An 1537. p. 52. Morel. An. 1564. p. 124. habebant, ſuper Petram. Petram into Petrum, a Rock into S. Peter, and who following the ſteps of the ancient Corrupters, have foiſted in, in his Tract, De Ʋnitate Eccleſiae, here and there, as they thought fit, whole Periods, and Sentences, againſt the faith of the beſt and moſt uncorrupted Manuſcripts: as for example, in this place;bbCypr. Pamel. p. 254. Super illum unum aedificat Eccleſiam ſuam & illi paſcendas mandat oves ſuas. Quae verba deſiderantur in Edit. Gryph. anno 15…7 & Morel. anno 1564. He built his Church on him alone (S. Peter) and commanded him to feed his ſheep: and in this,ccCypr. Pamel. ibid. Unam Cathedram Conſtituit: Quae verba defiderabantur in Editione Gryphii, anno 1537. & Morel anno 1564. He eſtabliſhed one ſole Chair: and this other,ddCypr. Pamel. ibid. Primatus Petro datur, ut una Eccleſia Chriſti, & Cathedra una monſtretur; & paſtores ſunt omnes; ſed unus grex oſtenditur, qui ab Apoſtolis omnibus unanimi conſenſione paſcatur: quae verba omnia, exceptis illis, (ut una Eccleſia monſtretur) non habebantur in Edit. Gryph. neque Morel …ti ſup. The Primacy was given to Peter, to ſhew, that there was but one Church, and one Chair of Chriſt: and this,eeCypr. Pamel p. 254. Qui Cathedram Petri, ſuper quam ſundata eſt Eccleſia, abſunt à Gryph. & Morel. Edit. Who left the Chair to Peter, on which he had built his Church: Which are Additions that every one may ſee what they aim at. Theſe are the Men who cannot conceal theffPamel. in arg. ep. 75. Cypr. Atque adeo fortaſſis conſultius foret, nunquam editam fuiſſe hanc Epiſtolam; ita ut putent, conſultò illam omiſiſſe Manutium. regret they have for not having ſuppreſſed an Epiſtle of Firmilianus, Archbiſhop of Caeſarea in Cappadocia, who was one of the moſt Eminent Perſons in his Time; which Epiſtle Manutius had indeed omitted in his Roman Edition of S. Cyprian; but was afterward put in by Morellius in his, amongſt the Epiſtles of S. Cyprian, to whom it was written: and all becauſe it informs us, how the other Biſhops in ancient▪ Times had dealt with the Pope. So that we may hence obſerve, of what temper theſe Men have always been; and may gueſs how many the like Pieces have been killed in the Neſt.Nic. Faber, in ep. …d Front. Ducaum in Opuſc p. 216. Out of the like Shop it is, that poor S. Ambroſe is ſent abroad, but ſo ill accoutred, and in ſo pittiful a plight, that Nicolas Faber hath very much be wailed the corruption of him. For thoſe Gentlemen, p. 56who have publiſhed him, being over ingenuous (as he ſaith) in another mans Works, have changed, mangled, and tranſpoſed divers things; and particularly they have ſeparated the Books of the Interpellation of Job, and of David, which were put together in all other Editions; and to do this, they have, by no very commendable example, foiſted in, and altered divers things: and they have likewiſe done as much in the Firſt Apologie of David; and more yet in the Second, where they have raſed out of the eighth Chapter five or ſix Lines, which are found in all the ancient Editions of this Father.Ibid. p. 215. They have alſo attributed to this Author certain Tracts which are not his; as that, Of the Forbidden Tree, and that other upon the laſt Chapter of the Proverbs. And we may by the way alſo take notice, That this is the Edition which they followed, who printed S. Ambroſe his Works at Paris, Anno. 1603. Such hands as theſe they were that have ſo villanouſly curtailed the Book Of the Lives of the Popes, written by Anaſtaſius, or rather by Damaſus; leaving out, in the very Entry of it, the Authors Epiſtle Dedicatory, written to S. Hierome, becauſe it did not ſo well ſuit with the preſent temper of Rome: leaving out in like manner in the Life of S. Peter, the Concluſion of all, which I ſhall here ſet down, as it is found in all Manuſcripts.**Hic B. Clementem Epiſcopum conſecravit, ei que cathedram, vel Eccleſiam omnem diſponendam commiſit, dicens: Sicut mihi gubernandi tradita eſt à Domino meo Jeſu Chriſto poteſtas ligandi ſolvendi que ita & ego tibi committo, ut ordines diſpoſitores diverſarum cauſarum, per quos actus Eccleſiaſticus profligetur; & tu minimè in curis ſaeculi deditus reperiaris, ſed ſolummodo ad orationem, & praedicationem populi vacare ſtude. Poſt hanc diſpoſitionem Martyrio coronatur. Habentur haec ex Euchar. Salm ad Sirmond. cap. 5. Editio Par. anno 1621. p. 664. He conſecrated S. Clement Biſhop, and committed to his Charge the Ordering of his Seat, or of the whole Church, ſaying, As the Power of Binding and Looſing was delivered to me by my Lord Jeſus Chriſt, in like manner do I commit to thy charge the appointing of ſuch Perſons, as may determine of ſuch Eccleſiaſtical Cauſes as may ariſe; that Thou thy ſelf mayſt not be taken up with worldly cares, but mayſt apply thy whole ſtudies only to Prayer, and Preaching to the People. After he had thus diſpoſed p. 57of his Seat, he was …rowned with Martyrdom. This is the Teſtament that S. Peter made, but it hath been ſuppreſſed and kept from us, becauſe in it he hath charged his Succeſſors with ſuch Duties as are quite contrary both to their Humour and Practice. And in another place, in the ſame Book,Anaſtaſ. in Stephano V. p. 219. Dei ordinante providentiâ Papa Orbis conſecratus eſt. Mſ. habent, Papa Urbis: ex Salm in Euchar. ad Sirmond. p. 464. in ſtead of Papa Ʋrbis; that is to ſay, The Pope or Biſhop of the City, namely, of Rome, as all Manuſcripts have it; theſe worſhipful Gentlemen will needs have us read, Papa Orbis, that is, The Biſhop of the whole World▪ foraſmuch as this is now the Stile of the Court, and this hath now long ſince grown to be the Title of the Biſhop of Rome. Theſe are the Men, who in**Vid Fulbert. Carnot. Edit. à Villerſio, anno 1608. Par. p. 168. Fulbertus, Biſhop of Chatres, where he cites that remarkable Paſſage of S. Auguſtine, This then is a Figure, commanding us to communicate of the Paſſion of the Lord, have inſerted theſe words, Figura ergo eſt, dicet Haereticus; It is a Figure then, will an Heretick ſay: cunningly making us believe this to be the ſaying of an Heretick, which was indeed the true ſenſe and meaning of S. Auguſtine himſelf, and ſo cited by Fulbertus. Theſe be the very Men alſo, who in S. Gregory have changed Exercitus Sacerdotum, Gregor. M…ep. l. 4. ep. 38. Omnia, &c. quae praedicta ſunt▪ fiunt. Rex ſuperbiae prope eſt; & quod dici nefas eſt, Sacerdotum ei praepatatur exitus Mſ. habent, Sacer…o…um …i praepatatur exercitus Ex Tho. Jameſ. in Vindic. Gregor loc. 666. quo modo citatur etiam à Bellarmino hic locus, lib. 3. de Rom P…nt c. 13. Sect. Addit. & ex…r. c. Sect. pari ratione.into Exitus Sacerdotum; reading in the 38 Epiſtle of his fourth Book, thus; All things, &c. which have been foretold, are accompliſhed. The King of Pride (he ſpeaks of Antichriſt) is at hand; and which is horrible to be ſpoken, the Failing, (or end) of Prieſts is prepared: Whereas the Manuſcripts (and it is ſo cited by Bellarmine too) read, an Army of Prieſts is prepared for him. Theſe be they who have made Aimonius to ſay,**Aimon. de Geſt. Franc. l. 5 c. 8. In quā Synodo, (quam Octavam Univerſalem illuc convenientes appellarunt,) de Imaginibus adorandis. ſecundum quod Orthodoxi Doctores anteà definierant, …tatuerunt: legendum, Al…tèr quàm Orthodoxi definierant; ſic enim legit ipſe Baron. Annal. Tom. X. an. 869. That the Fathers of the pretended VIII General Council had ordained the Adoration of Images, according as had been before determined by the Orthodox Doctors: Whereas he p. 58wrote quite contrary, That they had ordained otherwiſe than had been formerly determined by the Orthodox Doct. as appears plainly, not only by the Manuſcripts, but alſo by the moſt ancient Editions of this Author; and even by Card. Baronius his alledging of this Paſſage alſo, in the Tenth Tome of his Annals, An. Dom. 869. Theſe are they who have quite raſed out this following Paſſage out of Oecumenius; foreign.For they who defended and favoured the Law, introduced alſo the worſhipping of Angels; and that, becauſe the Law had been given by them. And this Cuſtom continued long in Phrygia, inſomuch that the Council of Laodicea made a Decree, forbidding to make any Addreſſes to Angels, or to pray to them: whence alſo it is, that we find many Temples among them, erected to Michael the Archangel: Which Paſſage David H…eſchelius, in his Notes upon the Books of Origen againſt Celſus, p. 483. witneſſeth. That himſelf had ſeen and read, in the Manuſcripts of Oecumenius; and yet there is no ſuch thing to be found in any of the Printed Copies. Who would believe but that the Breviaries and Miſſals ſhould have eſcaped their Razour? Yet,Simon. Vigor l. 1. de la Monarch Eccleſiaſtique, ch. 1. F. Paolo di Vinet. Apol. contr. Bellarm Sic legitur in B…ev. Clement. VIII. juſſu recognitis, p. 937. as it hath been obſerved by Perſons of eminent both Learning and Honeſty, where it was read, in the Collect on S. Peter's day, heretofore thus, Deus, qui B. Petro Apoſtolo tuo, collatis clavibus regni coeleſtis, animas ligandi, & ſolvendi Pontificium tradidiſti: that is, O God, who haſt committed to thy Apoſtle S. Peter, by giving him the Keys of the Heavenly Kingdom, the Epiſcopal Power of Binding and Looſing Souls: in the later Editions of theſe Breviaries and Miſſals, they have wholly left out the word Animas, Souls; to the end that People ſhould not think that the Popes Autority extended only to Spiritual Affairs, and not to Temporal alſo. And ſo likewiſe in the Goſpel upon the Tueſday following the Third Sunday in Lent, they have Printed,**Sic legitur in Bre…iar. Clem. VIII juſſu reco…n. p. 369. Dixit Jeſus Diſcipulis ſuis; that is, Jeſus ſaid to his Diſciples, whereas p. 59it was in the old Books,aaSic legebatur in Brev. impreſ. Pariſ. 1492. per Jo. de Prato. Reſpiciens Jeſus in Diſcipulos, dixit Simoni Petro, ſi peccaverit in te frater tuus: Jeſus looking back upon his Diſciples, ſaid unto Simon Peter, If thy Brother have offended againſt thee, &c. cunningly omitting thoſe words relating to Simon Peter, for fear it might be thought that our Saviour Chriſt had made S. Peter, that is to ſay, the Pope, ſubject to the Tribunal of the Church, to which he there ſends him. And if the Council of Trent would but have hearkned to Thomas Paſſio, a Canon of Valencia, they ſhould have blotted out of the Pontifical all ſuch Paſſages as make any mention of the Peoples giving their Suffrage and Conſent in the Ordination of the Miniſters of the Church; and, among the reſt, that, where the Biſhop at the Ordination of a Prieſt ſaith, ThatbbPontif. Rom. de Ordinat. Presbyt. fol. 38. Neque enim fuit fruſtrà à Patribus inſtitutum, ut de electione illorum, qui ad regimen altaris adhibendi ſunt, conſulatur etiam populus; quia de vita & conſervatione praeſentandi, quod nonnunquam ignoratur à pluribus, ſcitur à paucis; & neceſſe eſt, ut faciliùs ei quis obedientiam exhibeat ordinato, cui aſſenſum praebuerit ordinando. it was not without good reaſon, that the Fathers had ordained, That the Advice of the People ſhould be taken touching the Election of thoſe Perſons who were to ſerve at the Altar; to the end, that having given their Aſſent to their Ordination, they might the more readily yield Obedience to thoſe who were ſo Ordained. The meaning of this honeſt Canon was, that to take away all ſuch Authorities from the Hereticks, the beſt way would be to blot them all out of the Pontifical, to the end that there might be no trace or footſtep of them left remaining for the future. ccPet. Soavez. Hiſt. Concil. Trident. l. 7.But they have not contented themſelves with corrupting onelyonly in this manner ſome certain Books, out of which perhaps we might have been able to diſcover what the Opinion and Senſe of the Ancients have been; but they have alſo wholly aboliſhed a very great number of others. And for the better underſtanding hereof, we are to take notice, that the Emperours of the firſt Ages took all poſſible care for the ſtifling and aboliſhing all ſuch Writings as were declared prejudicial to p. 60the True Faith; as namely, the Books of the Arrians, and Neſtorians, and others▪ which were under a great penalty forbidden to be read, but were to be wholly ſuppreſt and aboliſhed, by the Appointment of theſe ancient Princes. The Church it ſelf alſo did ſometimes call in the Books of ſuch Perſons as had been dead long before, by a common conſent of the Catholick Party, as ſoon as they perceived any thing in them that was not conſonant to the preſent Opinion of the Church;Conc. V. Col. VIII. as it did at the Fifth General Council, in the Buſineſs of Theodorus, Theodoreius, and Ibas, all three Biſhops, the one of Mopſueſtia, the other of Cyprus, and the third of Ediſſa, anathematizing each of their ſeveral Writings, notwithſtanding there Perſons had been all dead long before: dealing alſo, even in the quiet times of the Church,Id. Col. V. & Col. VIII. Anath. XI. with Origen in the ſame manner, after he had been now dead about three hundred years. The Pope then hath not failed to imitate, now for the ſpace of many Ages, both the one and the other of theſe rigorous Courſes, withal encreaſing the harſhneſs of them from time to time: in ſo much that, in caſe any of the Opinions of the Ancients hath been by chance found at any time to contradict his, we are not to make any doubt, but that he hath very carefully and diligently ſuppreſſed ſuch Pieces, without ſparing any, though they were written perhaps two, three, four, or five hundred years before, more than the others. As for example: It is at this day diſputed, whether or no the Primitive Church had in their Temples, and worſhipped the Images of Chriſt, and of Saints. This Controverſie hath been ſometime very eagerly, and with much hea…, and for a long time together, debated in the Greek Church. That Party which maintained the Affirmative, bringing the buſineſs before the VII Council,Concil. VII. Act. 8. Car. 9.Acts 8 held at Nicaea, it was there ordained, That it ſhould be unlawful for any Man to have the Books of the other Party; withal charging every Man to bring what Books they had of that Party to the Patriarch of Conſtantinople, to do with them, as we muſt p. 61conceive, according as had been required by the Legats of Pope Adrian; Idem Act. 5. foreign.Acts 5that is, t…at they ſhould burn all thoſe Books, which had been written againſt the Venerable Images: including, no doubt, within the ſame Condemnation, all ſuch Writings of the Ancients alſo, as ſeemed not to favour Images; as namely, the Epiſtle of Euſebius to Conſtantia; and that of Epiphanius to John of Hieruſalem, and others, which are not now extant, but were, in all probability, at that time aboliſhed. For, as for the Epiſtle of Epiphanius, that which we now have, is only S. Hieromes Tranſlation of it, which happened to be preſerved in the Weſtern parts; where the paſſion in the behalf of Images was much leſs violent, than it was in the Eaſtern: but the Original Greek of it is no where to be found. Adrian II. in his Council ordained in like manner, that the Council held by Photius, againſt the Church of Rome, ſhould be burnt, together with his other Books, and all the Books of thoſe of his Party, which had been written againſt the See of Rome: Cap. 1. Habetur in Concil. VIII. Act. 7. Ibid. Act. 1. in Ep. Adriani.Acts 7Acts 1and he commanded the very ſame thing alſo in the VIII. Council, which is accounted by the Latines for a General Council. It is impoſſible, but that in theſe Fires very many Pieces muſt needs have periſhed, which might have been of good uſe to us, for the diſcovering what the opinion of the Ancients was, whether touching Images, which was the buſineſs of the VII. Council; or that other Controverſie, touching the Power of the Pope; which was the principal Point debated in the Synod held by Photius; ſome of whoſe Pieces they, for the ſelf ſame reaſon, do at this day keep at Rome under Lock and Key; which doubtleſs they would long ere this have publiſhed, had they but made as much for the Pope, as in all probability they make againſt him. This rigorous proceeding againſt Books came at length to that height,Conc. Later. ſub Leone X. Seſſ. 10. as that Leo X. at the Council of Lateran, which brake up An. 1518. decreed, That no Book ſhould be printed, but what had firſt been diligently examined, at Rome, p. 62by the Maſter of the Palace; in other places, by the Biſhop, or ſome other perſon deputed by him to the ſame purpoſe; and by the Inquiſitor, under this penalty; That all Book ſellers offending herein, ſhould forfeit their Books, which ſhould be preſently burnt in publick; and ſhould pay a hundred Ducats, when it ſhould be demanded, towards the Fabrick of S. Peter; (a kind of puniſhment, this, which we find no examples of in all the Canons of the Ancient Church,) and ſhould alſo be ſuſpended from exerciſing his Function, for the ſpace of a whole year. This is a General Sentence, and which comprehendeth as well the Works of the Fathers, as of any others; as appeareth plainly by this, that the Biſhop of Malfi, Ibid. Reſponderunt omnes placere, excepto R. P. D. Alexio, Epiſcopo Malfitano, qui dixit, Placere de novis operibus, non autem de Antiquis.having given in his opinion, ſaying, that he concurred with them, in relation to New Authors, but not to the Old; all the reſt of the Fathers voted ſimply for all; neither was there any Limitation at all added to this Decree of the Council. This very Decree hath been ſince ſtrongly confirmed by the ††Concil. Trid. Seſſ 5. Decreto de Edit. & uſu Sacror. lib.Council of Trent, which appointed alſo certain perſons to take a Review of the Books, and Cenſures, and to make a Report of them to the Company,**Idem Seſſ. 18. Quo faciliùs ipſa poſſit varias, & peregrinas doctrinas, tanquam Zizania, à Chriſtianae Veritatis tritico ſeparare. To the end that there might be a ſeparation made, betwixt the good Grain of Chriſtian Verity, and the Darnel of ſtrange Doctrines: That is in plain terms, that they might blot out of all manner of Books, whatſoever reliſhed not well with the guſt of the Church of Rome. But theſe Fathers, having not the leiſure themſelves to look to this Pious Work, appointed certain††Concil. Trident. Seſſ. 25. decreto de Indice lib. Commiſſaries, who ſhould give an account of this matter to the Pope: whence afterward it came to paſs, that Pope Pius IV. firſt, and afterward Sixtus V. and Clement VIII. publiſhed certain Rules, and Indexes, of ſuch Authors and Books, as they thought fit ſhould be either quite aboliſhed, or purged only; and have given ſuch ſtrict order, for the printing of Books, as that in thoſe Countries p. 63where this order is obſerved, there is little danger that ever any thing ſhould be publiſhed, that is either contrary to the Doctrine of the Church of Rome, or which maketh any thing for their Adverſaries. All theſe Inſtructions, which are too long to be inſerted here, may be ſeen at the end of the Council of Trent, where they are uſually ſet down at large. And in order to theſe Rules, they have ſince put forth their Indices Expurgatorii, (as they call them;) namely, that of the Low Countries, and of Spain, and other places; where theſe Gallants come with their Razor in their hand, and ſit in judgment upon all manner of Books, raſing out, and altering, as they pleaſe, Periods, Chapters, and whole Treatiſes alſo often times, and that too in the Works of thoſe Men, who for the moſt part were born, and bred up, and dyed alſo in the Communion of their own Church. If the Church for eight or nine hundred years ſince, had ſo ſharp Razors as theſe men now have; it is then a vain thing for us, to ſearch any higher, what the judgment of the Primitive Chriſtians was, touching any particular Point: for, whatſoever it was, it could not have eſcaped the hands of ſuch Maſters. And if the Ancient Church had not heretofore any ſuch Inſtitution as this; why then do we, who pretend to be ſuch Obſervers of Antiquity, practiſe theſe Novelties? I know very well, that theſe men make profeſſion of reforming only the Writings of the Moderns: but who ſees not, that this is but a Cloak which they throw over themſelves; leſt they ſhould be accuſed as guilty of the ſame cruelty that Jupiter is among the Poets; for having behaved himſelf ſo inſolently againſt his own Father? Thoſe Pieces which they raze ſo exactly in the Books of the Moderns, are the cauſe of the greater miſchief to themſelves, when they are found in the Writings of the Ancients, as ſometimes they are. For what a ſenſeleſs thing is it, to leave them in, where they hurt moſt; and to raze them out, where they do little hurt? The Inquiſition at Madrid puts out**Ind. … gat. Sandoval. in Athanaſ. Ind. 1. theſe words in the p. 64Index of Athanaſius, Adorari ſolius Dei eſt; that is,††Athanaſ. Orat 3. …tra Arian. foreign. God alone is to be worſhipped: and yet notwithſtanding, theſe words are ſtill expreſly found in the Text of Athanaſius. The ſame Father ſaith,**Id. in Frag. & Feſt. foreign. That there were ſome other Books, (beſides thoſe which he had before ſet down,) which, in truth, were not of the Canon; and which the Fathers had ordained, ſhould be read to thoſe, who were newly come into the Chriſtian Communion, and deſired to be inſtructed in the word of Piety: reckoning in this number, the Wiſdom of Solomon, Eccleſi…ſticus, Judith, Eſther, Tobit, and ſome other. Nevertheleſs theſe very Cenſ…rs put out, in the † Index of Athanaſius his Works, thoſe words which affirm, that the ſaid Books are not at all Canonical. In the Index of St. Auguſtine they put out theſe w…rds, Chriſt h…th given the ſign of his Body: which yet are evidently to be ſeen in the Text of this Father, in his Book againſt Adimantus, Id. in Auguſt.Chap. 12. They put out in like manner, theſe words: Auguſtine accounted the Euchariſt neceſſary to be adminiſtred to Infants: which opinion of S. Auguſtine is very frequently found expreſſed, either in theſe very words, or the like, throughout▪ his Works, as we ſhall ſee hereafter. They likewiſe put out theſe words;Infr. l. 1. c. 8. Ind. Exp. Sandov. in Auguſt. Auguſt. contr. Maxim. lib. Nonne ſi templum alicui Sancto Angelo excellentiſſimo de lignis & lapidibus faceremùs, ana thematizemur à veritate Chriſti, & ab Eccleſia Dei, &c. We ought not to build. Temples to Angels: and yet the very Text of S. Auguſtine ſaith, If we ſhould erect a Temple of Wood, or of Stone, to any of the holy Angels, ſhould we not be Anathematized? And this is the practice of the Cenſors, both in the Low Countries, and in Spain, in many other particulars, which we ſhall not here ſet down. Now if thou cutteſt off ſuch Sentences as theſe, out of the Indexes of theſe Holy Fathers; why doſt thou not as well raze them out of the Text alſo? Or if thou leaveſt them in the one, why doſt thou blot them out in the other? What can the meaning be of ſo ſtrange a way of proceeding in ſo Wiſe Men? But yet, who ſees not the reaſon of it? For, theſe Sentences, which theſe Men p. 65…hus boldly and rudely correct, are as diſpleaſing to them in the Ancients, as in the Moderns; and where they may ſafely do it, they expunge them, as well out of the one, as out of the other. But this they dare not do openly, for fear of giving too much ſcandal to the World, which they are unwilling to do: becauſe if they ſhould deal ſo uncivilly, and make ſo bold with Antiquity, they would quite take off that reſpect, which all people bear toward it; which being a matter which very nearly concerns themſelves, it is a ſpecial point of wiſdom in them, carefully to keep up the Reputation of it. But in laſhing the poor Moderns, who have made Indexes to all the Works of the Fathers, they ſave their Credit, and do their buſineſs too; ruining the opinions which they hate, by chaſtiſing the one; and yet withal preſerving the venerable Eſteem of Antiquity, which they cannot ſubſiſt without, by ſparing the other. And yet I cannot ſee, why Bertram a Prieſt, who lived in the time of the Emperour Charles the Bold, which is about ſome ſeven hundred and fifty years ſince, ſhould be reckoned among the Moderns: and yet his Book, De Corpore & Sanguine Domini, is abſolutely, and without any limitation, forbidden to be read, in the Index of the Council of Trent, in the Letter B… among the Authorsof the ſecond Claſſis, as they call them. But yet the Cenſors of the Low Countries have dealt with him more gently, ſhall I ſay, or rather more cruelly; not taking his life away quite, only maiming him in the ſ…veral parts of his Body, and leaving him in the like ſad condition with Deiphobus in the Poet:

—Lacerum crudeliter ora,

Ora, manuſque ambas, populata que tempora, raptis

Auribus, & truncas inboneſto vulnere nares.

For they have cut you off, with one ſingle daſh of their Pen, two long Paſſages, conſiſting each of them of twenty eight, or thirty Lines a piece, and which are large enough p. 66to make up a very conſiderable part of a ſmall Treatiſe; ſuch as his is. And that the Reader may the better judge of the buſineſs, I ſhall here ſet down one of theſe Paſſages entire as it is. ††Bertram. Presbyt. lib. De Corp. & Sangu. Dom. Conſiderandum quoque, quod in pane illo non ſolùm corpus Chriſti, verùm etiam corpus in eum credentis populi figuretur: unde multis frumenti granis conficitur, quia corpus populi credentis multis per verbum Chriſti fidelibus augmentatur, (al. coagmentatur) Qua de re ficut myſterio panis ille Chriſti corpus acc…pitur; ſic etiam in myſterio membra populi credentis in Chriſtum intimantur. Et ſicut non corporaliter, ſed ſpititualiter panis ille credentium corpus dicitur: ſic quoque Chriſti corpus non corporaliter, ſed ſpiritualiter neceſſe eſt intelligatur. Sic & in vino, qui ſanguis Chriſti dicitur, aqua miſceri jubetur, nec unum ſine altero permittitur offerri, quia nec populus ſine Chriſto, nec Chriſtus ſine populo, ſicut nec caput ſine corpore, vel corpus ſine capite valet exiſtere. Igitur ſi vinum illud, ſanctificatum per miniſtrorum officium, in Chriſti ſarguinem corporaliter convertitur, aqua quoque, quae pariter admixta eſt, in ſanguinem populi credentis neceſſe eſt corporaliter convertatur. Ubi namque una ſanctificatio eſt, una conſequenter operatio; & ubi par ratio, par quoque conſequitur myſterium. At videmus in aqua ſecundum corpus nihil eſſe converſum, conſequenter ergo & in vino nihil corporaliter oſtenſum. Accipitur ſpiritualiter, quicquid in aqua de populi corpore ſignificatur; accipiatur ergò neceſſe eſt ſpiritualiter quicquid in vino de Chriſti ſanguine intimatur. I…em, quae à ſe differunt, idem non ſunt: Corpus Chriſti, quod mortuum eſt, & reſurrexit, & immortale factum jam non moritur, & mors illi ultrà non dominabitur, aeternum eſt, jam non paſſibile. Hoc autem, q…od in Eccleſia celebratur, temporale eſt, non aeternum; corruptibile eſt, non incorruptibile, in via eſt, non in patria, Differunt igitur à ſe, quapropter non ſunt idem. Quòd ſi non ſunt idem, quomodo verum Corpus Chriſti dicitur, & verus ſanguis? Si enim Corpus Chriſti eſt, & hoc dicitur verè quia Corpus Chriſti in veritate Corpus Chriſti eſt, & ſi in veritate Corpus Chriſti, incorruptibile eſt, & impaſſibile, ac per hoc aeternum. Hoc igitur Corpus Chriſti quod agitur in Eccleſia neceſſe eſt ut incorruptibile ſit, & aeternum. Sed negari non poteſt corrumpi, quod per partes commutatum diſpertitur ad ſumendum, & dentibus commolitum in corpus trajicitur.We ought further to conſider (ſaith Bertram, ſpeaking of the Holy Euchariſt,) that in this Bread is repreſented not only the Body of Chriſt, but the Body of the People alſo, that believe in him. And hence it is that it is made up of many ſeveral grains of wheat, becauſe that the whole Body of believing People is united together, and made into one, by the word of Chriſt. And therefore as it is by a Myſtery, that we receive this Bread, for the Body of Chriſt: in like manner it is by a Myſtery alſo, that the Members of the People believing in Chriſt, are here figured out unto us. And as this Bread is called the Body of Believers, not corporally, but ſpiritu…lly; ſo is the Body of Chriſt alſo neceſſarily to be underſtood to be repreſented here, not corporally, but ſpiritually. In like manner is it in the Wine, which is called the Blood of Chriſt; and with which it is ordained, that water be mixed; it being forbidden to offer the one without the other: becauſe that as the Head cannot ſubſiſt without the Body, nor the Body without the Head; in like manner neither can the People be without Chriſt, nor Chriſt without the People: ſo that in this Sacrament, the Water repreſenteth the Image of the People. If then the Wine, after it is conſecrated by the Office of Miniſters, be corporally changed into the Blood of Chriſt, of neceſſity then muſt the Water alſo be changed corporally into the Body of the Believing people: becauſe that p. 67where there is but one only, and the ſame Sanctification, there can be but one and the ſame Operation: and where the Reaſon is equal, the Myſtery alſo that fellows it is equal. But now as for the Water, we ſee that there is no ſuch corporal change wrought in it: it therefore follows, that neither in the Wine is there any corporal Tranſmutation. Whatſoever then of the Body of the People is ſignified unto us, by the Water, is taken ſpiritually: it followeth therefore neceſſarily, that we muſt, in like manner take ſpiritually, whatſoever the Wine repreſenteth unto us, of the Blood of Chriſt. Again, thoſe things, which differ among themſelves, are not the ſame: Now the Body of Chriſt which died, and was raiſed up to life again, now dieth no more, being become immortal; and Death having no more power over it, it is eternal, and free from further ſuffering. But this, which is Conſecrated in the Church, is Temporal, not Eternal; corruptible, not free from corruption; in its journey, and not in its native country. Theſe two things therefore are different one from the other, and conſequently cannot be one and the ſame thing. And if they be not one and the ſame thing, how can any man ſay, that this is the Real Body and Real Blood of Chriſt? For if it be the Body of Chriſt; and if it may be truly ſaid, that this Body of Chriſt is really and truly the Body of Chri…t: the Real Body of Chriſt being Incorruptible and Impaſſible, and therefore Eternal; conſequently this Body of Chriſt, which is conſecrate… in the Church, muſt of neceſſity alſo be both Incorruptible and Eternal. But it cannot be denied, but that it doth corrupt; ſeeing it is cut into ſmall pieces, and diſtributed (to the Communicants,) who bruiſe it very ſmall with their p. 68teeth,Index Expurg. Belq. in Bertram. Non malè aut inconſultè omittantur igitur omnia haec à fine p…ginae: Conſidera…dum quoque quod in pane illo, &c. Uſ que ad illud mul…ò poſt, Sed aliud eſt quod ex…eri… geritur, &c. in cad. pag. Et ſeq. pag omnia illa ſequentia, Item quae idem ſunt, unâ definitione comprehenduntur, &c. Uſque ad illud, Hoc namque quod agitur in viâ, spiritualiter, &c. Seq. pag. and ſo take it down into their Body. Thus Bertram. His other paſſage, which is longer yet than this, is of the ſame Nature; but I ſhall not here ſet it down, to avoid prolixity. Now theſe Gentlemen finding, that the language of both theſe paſſages did very ill accord with the buſineſs of Tranſubſtantiation, they thought it the beſt way to cut them clear out: for fear, leſt coming to the Peoples knowledge, they might imagine, that there had been Sacramentarians in the Church, ever ſince the time of Charles the Bald.

Thou then whoever thou art, that thinkeſt thy ſelf bound to ſearch in the Writings of the Fathers for the Doctrine of thy Salvation, learn from this Artifice of theirs, and thoſe many other Cheats which we, to their great grief, are now ſearching into, what an extreme deſire they have to keep from us the Opinion, and ſenſe of the Ancients in all thoſe Particulars, where they never ſo little contradict their own Doctrine: and remembring withal, how they have had, and ſtill have every day, ſuch opportunities of doing what they pleaſe in this kind, thou canſt not doubt, but that they have ſtruck deep enough, where there was cauſe: which blows of theirs, together with the Alterations and Changes, that Time, the Malice of Hereticks, the innocent and pious Fraud of the Primitive Church, and the Paſſion of the later Chriſtians have long ſince produced, have rendred the Writings, and Venerable Monuments of Antiquity, ſo imbroiled and perplexed, that it will be a very hard matter for any man to make any clear and perfect diſcovery of thoſe things, which ſo many ſevéral Artiſts have endeavoured to conceal from U….