Concerning the Right Use of the Fathers in Controversies, Book 1 · Chapter 9
CHAP. IX.
Reaſon IX. We ought to know what hath been the Opinion, not of one, or more of the Fathers, but of the whole Ancient Church; which is a very hard matter to be found out.
THoſe who make moſt account of the Writings of the Fathers, and who urge them the oftneſt in their Diſputations, do inform us, That the weight of their Sayings in theſe Matters proceeds from hence, that they are as ſo many Teſtimonies of the General Senſe and Judgment of the Church; to which alone theſe men attribute the Supreme Power of Judging in Controverſies of Religion. For, if we ſhould conſider them ſeverally, each by himſelf, and as they ſtand by their own ſtrength onelyonly, they confeſs, that they may chance to erre. So that it will follow hence, That to the end we may make uſe of the Teſtimonies of the Fathers, it is not ſufficient for us to know whether ſuch or ſuch Sayings be truly theirs; and, if ſo, what the meaning of them is: but we ought further alſo to be very well aſſured, that they are conformable to the Belief of the Church in their time: in like manner as in a Court of Judicature, the Opinion of any ſingle Perſon of the Bench is of no weight at all, as to the paſſing of Judgment, unleſs it be conformable to the Opinion of all the reſt, or at leaſt of the Major Part of the Company. And now ſee how we are fallen again into new Difficulties. For, whence, and by what means may we learn, whether the whole Church, in the time of Juſtin Martyr, or of S. Auguſtine, or of S. Hierome, maintained the ſame Opinions in every particular, that theſe Men ſeverally did, or not? I confeſs, that the Charity of theſe Men was very great; and that they very heartily and conſtantly embraced the Body and Subſtance of the Belief of the Church, in all Particulars that they ſaw apparently to be ſuch. But, where the Church did not at all deliver it ſelf, and expreſly declare what its Senſe was; they could not poſſibly, how great ſoever their deſire of ſo doing might have been, follow its Authority, as the Rule of their Opinions. Whereſoever therefore they treat of Points which were long ſince decided, believed, and received, expreſly, and poſitively, by the whole Chriſtian Church, either of their own Age, or of any of the preceding Ages; it is very probable that they did conform to what was believed by the Church; ſo that, in theſe Caſes, their Saying may very well paſs for a Teſtimony of the Judgment and Senſe of the Church; it being very improbable, that they could be either ignorant what was the Publick Doctrine of the Church; or that knowing the ſame, they would not follow it. As for example, when Athanaſius, S. Ambroſe, S. Hierome, S. Auguſtine, and others, diſcourſe touching the Son of God, they ſpeak nothing but what is conformable to the Belief of the Church in General; becauſe that the Belief of the Church had then been clearly and expreſly delivered upon this Point: ſo that whatſoever they ſay, as to this Particular, may ſafely be received, as a Teſtimony of the Churches Belief. And the like may be done in all the other Points, which have either been poſitively determined in any of the General Councils, or delivered in any of the Creeds, or that any other way appeareth to have been the publick Belief of the Church. If the Fathers had but contained themſelves within theſe Bounds, and had not taken liberty to treat of any thing, ſave what the Church had clearly delivered its Judgment upon; this Rule might then have been received as a General one; and, what opinion ſoever we found in them, we might ſafely have concluded it to have been the Senſe of the Church that was in their time. But the curioſity of Mans Nature, together with the Impudence of the Hereticks, and the Tenderneſs of Conſcience, whether of their own or of others, and divers other Reaſons perhaps, having partly made them willingly, and partly forced, and as it were conſtrained them to go on further, and to proceed to the ſearch of the Truth of ſeveral Points, which had not as yet been eſtabliſhed by the univerſal and publick Conſent of all Chriſtians, it could not be avoided, but that neceſſarily they muſt in theſe Inquiries make uſe of their own proper Light, and muſt deliver upon the ſame their own private Opinions; which the Church, which came after them, hath ſince either embraced, or rejected. I ſhall not here ſtand to prove this my Aſſertion, ſince it is a thing that is confeſſed on all hands, and whereof the Romaniſts make ſpecial uſe upon all occaſions, in anſwering ſeveral Objections brought againſt them out of the Fathers. As, for example,Bellarm. de Rom. Pont. l 4. c. 14. Sect. Reſpondeo in primis, &c. where Cardinal Bellarmine excuſeth the Error of Pope John XXII, touching the ſtate of the Departed Souls, before the Reſurrection, by ſaying, that the Church in his time had not as yet determined any thing touching this Particular. And ſo likewiſe, where he applies the ſame Plaiſter to that (in his Judgment) ſo unſound Opinion of Pope Nicolas I, who maintained That Baptiſm adminiſtred in the Name of Jeſus Chriſt onelyonly, without expreſſing the other Perſons of the Holy Trinity, was not withſtanding valid and effectual.*Id. ibid. c. 12. Sect. Reſpond. Nicolaum, &c. Non invenitur ulla certa definitio Eccleſiae de hac re. Id. ibid Sect. ult. ex his. This is a Point (ſaith Bellarmine) touching which we find not the Church to have determined any thing. And, how dangerous, and almoſt Heretical ſoever the Opinion of thoſe Men ſeem to him to be, who hold, That the Pope of Rome may fall into Hereſie; yet doth he permit Pope Adrian to hold the ſame, not daring to rank him among the Hereticks, becauſe that the Church had not as yet clearly and definitively delivered it ſelf touching this Point. The ſame Bellarmine, in another Controverſie of great importance, touching the Canonical Books of the Old Teſtament, finding himſelf hardly put to it, by his Adverſaries urging againſt him the Authority of S. Hierome, who caſts Tobit, the Book of Wiſdom, Eccleſiaſticus, and the Maccabees, out of the Canon, contrary to the Judgment of the Church of Rome, which receiveth them in▪ rids his hands of this Objection, after the ſame manner. I confeſs (ſaith he) that S. Hierome held this Opinion, becauſe that no General Council had as yet ordained any thing touching theſe Books. Seeing therefore it is moſt clear, both from the Confeſſion of our Adverſaries, and alſo by the conſideration of the thing it ſelf, that the Fathers have ven…ed in their Writings very many of their own particular Opinions, digeſted out of their own private Meditations, and which they had not learnt in the School of the Church; who ſees not, that before we give any certain credit unto their Sayings, we ought firſt to be aſſured of what Nature they are? Whether they were their own particular Opinions onelyonly, or the publick Senſe of their Age? Since it is confeſſed by all, That thoſe of the former ſort are not always obligatory neceſſarily; but are ſuch as oftentimes may, and ſometimes ought to be rejected, without any ſcruple at all. You will object, perhaps, to a Proteſtant, That S. Hierome▪ worſhipped the Reliques of Departed Saints. How ſhall I know (will he reply upon you again) whether this was his private Opinion onelyonly, or not? If the Authority of this Father, for want of being grounded upon ſome Publick Declaration of the Church, could not bind Bellarmine to receive his Opinion, touching the Canon of the Old Teſtament; why ſhould this Opinion of his, which is not any whit better grounded than the other, perſwade me to the Worſhip of Reliques? The ſame will he reply upon you, and many times with much more appearance of Reaſon, concerning divers other Teſtimonies produced out of the Fathers. So that, whether you would confirm your own Faith, or whether you would wreſt out of your Adverſaries hand this manner of Reply, and make good all ſuch Allegations; it will concern you to make it clear, concerning any Paſſage whatſoever, that you ſhall urge out of a Father, that it is not his own private Opinion, but was the Opinion of the Church it ſelf wherein he lived: which, in my Judgment, is a thing that is as hard, or harder to be demonſtrated, than any one of all thoſe things we have yet diſcourſed of. For, thoſe means by which we might eaſily attain to this Knowledge, are wanting unto us; and thoſe which we have left us, are very weak, and very little concluding. If the Fathers themſelves had but taken ſo much pains as to have diſtinguiſhed betwixt theſe two ſorts of Opinions, informing us in every particular Caſe, which were their own private Opinions only, and which were taught by the whole Church; or, at leaſt, had but propoſed ſome of them as Doubtful, and others again as Aſſured Truths, in like manner as Origen hath ſometimes done; they would indeed have eaſed us very much: though, to ſay the truth, they would not have wholly cured us of our Grief: foraſmuch as ſometimes (as we ſhall hereafter make it appear) they attribute to the Church thoſe things,Infr. l. 2. c. 1. which it is moſt evident that it never held. But they very ſeldom uſe to make any ſuch Diſtinction, but commonly …ent their own private Opinions in the very ſame manner as they do the publick▪ and ſometimes alſo, by reaſon of the Paſſion, which theſe Authors may chance naturally to have been ſubject unto, be the thing what it will, we ſhall have them recommending unto us with more eagerneſs, that which they have conceived, and brought forth themſelves, than that which they have received from any other hand: ſo that we ſhall meet with very little in them, that may give us any light in this Particular. There would be left us yet another help in this buſineſs, by comparing that which they ſay here and there throughout their Writings, with the Publick Opinions of the Church, which would be a pretty ſafe and certain Rule to go by, had we any where elſe beſides their Books, any clear and certain evidence, what the Belief of the Church hath been, in each ſeveral Age, touching all Points of Religion: and if this were ſo, we ſhould not then need to trouble our ſelves with the ſtudying the Writings of the Fathers; ſeeing that we read them for no other purpoſe, but only to diſcover out of them, what the opinion of Chriſtendom hath been, touching thoſe Points which are at this day controverted betwixt us. But now there is no man but knows, but this help is wanting to us. For, ſetting aſide the Creeds, and the Determinations of the ſix firſt General Councils, and of ſome few of the Provincial, you will not meet with any Piece of this nature, throughout the whole ſtock of Antiquity. Now, (as we have already made it appear in the preceding Chapter,) the Ancient Church hath not any where declared, neither in its Creeds, nor in the aforeſaid Councils, what the opinion and ſenſe of it hath been, touching the greateſt part of thoſe Points, which are now in diſpute amongſt us. It followeth therefore, that by this means we ſhall never be able to diſtinguiſh, in the Writings of the Fathers, which were their own private opinions, and which they held in common with the reſt of the Church. If we could indeed learn from any creditable Author, that the preſent Controverſies had ever been decided by the Ancient Church; we ſhould then readily believe, that the Fathers would have followed this their Deciſion: and then, although the Co…ſtitutions themſelves ſhould not perhaps have come down to our hands, yet notwithſtanding ſhould we be in ſome ſort obliged to believe, that the Fathers who had both ſeen, and aſſented to the ſame, would alſo have delivered over the ſenſe of them unto us in their Writings. But we meet with no ſuch thing in any Author: but it rather appears evidently to the contrary, through the whole courſe of Eccleſiaſtical Story, that theſe Matters were never ſo much as ſtarted, in the firſt Ages of Chriſtianity; ſo far have they been from being then decided. So that it manifeſtly appeareth from hence, that if the Fathers of thoſe Primitive times have by chance ſaid any thing of them; they fetched not what they ſaid from the Determinations of the Church, which had not as yet declared it ſelf touching the ſame; but vented rather their own private thoughts and opinions. Neither will it be to any purpoſe to object here, that the Teſtimonies of many Fathers together do repreſent unto us the ſence of the Church; although the voice of one or two ſingle perſons only is not ſufficient to do the ſame. For, not to anſwer, that that which hath hapned to one, may have hapned to many others; and, that if ſome particular perſons chance to have fallen upon ſome particular Opinions, poſſibly others may either have accompanied, or elſe have followed them in the ſame: I ſay further, that this Objection is of no force at all in this Particular. For, ſeeing that the Church had not as yet declared its opinion publickly, touching the Points at this day controverted; it is as impoſſible that many together, that lived in the ſame time, ſhould repreſent it unto us, as that one ſingle perſon ſhould. How could they poſſibly have ſeen that; which lay as yet concealed? How could they poſſibly meaſure their Belief by ſuch a Rule, as was not yet viſible to the World? The Chiliaſts alledge the Teſtimonies, not of one, not of two, but of a very great number of the moſt eminent and the moſt ancient among the Fathers, who were all of their opinion as we ſhall ſee hereafter. The Anſwer, that is ordinarily made to the Objection, is, That the Church having not as yet declared its ſence touching this Point, the Teſtimonies of theſe Men bind us not to believe the ſame: which is an evident Argument, that a great number, in this caſe, ſignifies no more than a ſmall, in the repreſenting unto us, what the Belief of the Church hath been; and that it is neceſſary, that either by ſome General Council, or elſe by ſome other publick way, it muſt have declared its judgment touching any Queſtion in debate that ſo we may know whether the Fathers have been of the ſame judgment, or no. So that according to this Account, we are to raiſe up again the whole Ancient Church, and to call it to account, touching every of theſe particular Points now debated, touching which the Teſtimonies of the Fathers are alledged; it being impoſſible otherwiſe to give any certain judgment, whether that which they ſay be their own private, or elſe the publick Opinion; that is to ſay, whether it be fit to be believed, or not. So that any man, that is but of the meaneſt judgment, may eaſily perceive how that it is not only a difficult, but alſo almoſt an impoſſible thing, to gather out of the Writings of the Fathers ſo much light, as is neceſſary we ſhould have, for our ſatisfaction in matters of ſo great importance.