Concerning the Right Use of the Fathers in Controversies, Book 2 · Chapter 3
CHAP. III.
Reaſon III. That the Fathers have Written after ſuch a manner, as that it is clear, that when they Wrote, they had no intention of being our Judges in Matters of Religion. Some few Examples of their Mistakes and Overſights.
WHoſoever will but take the pains diligently to conſider the Fathers manner of Writing, he will not deſire any other Teſtimony for the proof of this Truth. For, the very Form of their Writings witneſſeth clear enough, that in the greateſt part of them they had no intention of delivering ſuch Definitive Sentences as were to be Obliging, meerly by the Single Authority of the Mouth which uttered them: but their purpoſe onelyonly was, rather to communicate unto Us their own Meditations upon divers Points of our Religion; leaving us free to our own Liberty of Examining them, and to approve, or reject the ſame, according as we ſaw good. And thus hath S. Hierome expreſly delivered his Mind, as we ſhewed before, where he ſpeaks of the Nature and Manner of Commentaries upon the Holy Scriptures. And certainly, if they had had any other Deſign or Intention, they would never have troubled themſelves, as they ordinarily do, in gathering together the ſeveral Opinions of other Men. This Diligence, I confeſs, is Laudable in a Teacher; but it would be very Ridiculous in a Judge. Their Stile alſo ſhould then be quite of another kind, than now it is: and thoſe Obſcurities which we have obſerved in the Former Part of this Treatiſe, proceeding either from the Rhetorical Ornaments, or the Logical Subtilties which they made uſe of, ſhould have no place here. For, what uſe would there be of any ſuch thing in pronouncing a Sentence of Judgment, or indeed, in giving ones bare Teſtimony only to any thing? But that which makes the Truth of this our Aſſertion, more clearly to appear than all the reſt, is, the little care and diligence that they took, in compoſing the greateſt part of theſe Writings of theirs, which we now would ſo very fain have to be the Rules of our Faith. If theſe men, who were endued with ſuch exquiſite ſanctity, had had any intention of preſcribing to Poſterity, a true and perfect Tenor and Rule of Faith; is it probable that they would have gone careleſly to work, in a buſineſs of ſo great importance? Would they not rather have gone upon it with their Eyes opened, their Judgments ſetled, their Thoughts fixed, and every Faculty of their Soul attentively bent upon the buſineſs in hand; for fear, leſt that in a buſineſs of ſo great weight as this, ſomething might chance to fall from them, not ſo becoming their own Wiſdom, or ſo ſuitable to the Peoples advantage? A Judge, that had but never ſo little Conſcience, would not otherwiſe give ſentence concerning the Oxen, the Field, and the Gutters of Titius and Moevius. How much more is the ſame Gravity and Deliberation requiſite here, where the Queſtion is touching the Faith, the Souls, and the Eternal Salvation of all Mankind? It were clearly therefore the greateſt injury that could be offered to theſe Holy Perſons, to imagine, that they would have taken upon them to have paſſed Judgment in ſo weighty a Cauſe as this, but with the greateſt care and attention that could be. Now it is very evident on the other ſide, that in very many of thoſe Writings of theirs, which have come down to our hands, there ſeemeth to be very much negligence, or, to ſpeak a little more tenderly of the buſineſs, ſecurity at leaſt, both in the Invention, Method, and Elocutio…. If therefore we tender the Reputation either of their Honeſty or Wiſdom, we ought rather to ſay, that their deſign in theſe Books of theirs, was not to pronounce definitively upon this Particular, neither are their Writings judiciary Sentences, or final Judgments, but are rather Diſcourſes of a far different Nature, occaſioned by divers emergent Occurrences; and are more or leſs elaborate, according to the Time, Judgment, Age, and Diſpoſition they were of when they wrote them. Now although this want of diligence and of deliberation, appears of it ſelf evidently enough to any man, that readeth the Fathers, but with the leaſt attention that may be, yet notwithſtanding that I may not leave this Aſſertion of mine only ſaid, and not proved at all, I ſhall here give you ſome few Inſtances for a taſte only.
Firſt of all, there are very many Pieces, among the Works of the Fathers, which were written in haſte; and ſome too, which were meer Extemporary Diſcourſes, and ſuch, as in all probability the Authors of them themſelves would have found many things therein, which would have required correction, had they had but leiſure to have reviewed the ſame.Hier. Prolog. in Hom. Orig. in Jeſ. Nau. St. Hierome in a Prologue of his to ſome certain Homilies of Origen, tranſlated by him into Latine, ſaith that Origen made them and delivered them in the Church, Ex tempore. Touching theſe therefore, we are pretty well ſatisfied by St. Hierome; but how many in the mean time may there be of the like nature, among thoſe ſo many Homilies of St. Chryſoſtome, St. Auguſtine, and others; all which we perhaps imagine to have been leiſurely and deliberately ſtudied, digeſted, and compoſed, which yet ſome ſudden occaſion might perhaps have put forth into the World upon an inſtant, and which were as ſoon born as conceived, and as ſoon publiſhed as made? St. Hierome often telleth us, that he dictated what he wrote in haſte.Hier. Ep. 128. …d Fabiol. T. 3. vid. & in Epi…aph. Marcel. Epiſt. 16. Extr. Thus at the end of that long Epiſtle, which he wrote to Fabiola, he confeſſeth, that he had diſpatched it in one Evening only, when he was now ſetting ſail for a journey. And (which is a matter of much more importance) he ſaith in another place,†Id. Praef. in Prov. Itaque, &c. tridui opus nomini veſtro conſecravi, interpretationem videlicet trium Salomonis voluminum. That he had allotted himſelf but three days, for the tranſlating of the three Books of Solomon; namely, the Proverbs, Eccleſiaſtes, and the Canticles; which yet a man will hardly be able to read over, well, and exactly, in a month, by reaſon of the great difficulties he will there meet withal, as well in the Words and Phraſes, as in the ſenſe. And yet for all this (if, what the Church of Rome pretends to, be true) this little Three-days Work of St. Hierome hath proved ſo fortunate, as to deſerve, not only to be approved, and highly eſteemed, but even Canonized alſo by the Council of Trent. Now whether the will of God be, that we ſhould receive this Tranſlation of his, as his pure Word, or not, I ſhall leave to thoſe, who have a deſire and ability to examine: However I dare confidently affirm, that St. Hierome himſelf never had any the leaſt thought, or hope, that ever this Piece of his, ſhould one day come to this honour, it being a thing not to be imagined, but that he would have taken both more time, and more pains in the thing, if ever he had either deſired, or foreſeen this. And thus it ſometimes falls out, that Men have better Fortune, than ever they wiſhed for. The ſame Author ſaith, at the end of another Piece of his,Id. Ep. 47. Extemporalis eſt dictatio, & tanta ad lumen lucernulae facilitate profuſa, ut Notariorum manus lingua praecurreret, & ſigna ac furta verborum volubilitas ſermonum obrueret. That it was an Extemporary, and Running buſineſs, as he there ſpeaks, and hudled out ſo faſt, as that his Tongue over-run the Hands of his Amanuenſes, and by its Volubility and ſwiftneſs, in a manner confounded them and their Cifres, and Abbreviations. He elſewhere excuſeth in like manner another Work of his of no ſmall importance neither, which is, his Commentary upon the Goſpel of St. Matthew; telling us, that by reaſon he had been ſtraitned in time, he was conſtrained to dictate it in very great haſte. And ſo likewiſe in the Preface to his Second Commentary, upon the Epiſtle of St. Paul to the Epheſians, he confeſſeth, that he wrote it in ſo great haſte, as that he many times made as much of it, as came to a thouſand lines in a day. In a word, that I may not cloy the Reader with producing all the Inſtances of the ſame kind, that I could here bring in, it is his ordinary way of excuſing himſelf either in his Prefaces, or elſe at the cloſing up of all his Diſcourſes, to ſay, that either the Meſſenger was in haſte, or ſome other deſign called him away; or elſe ſome other the like cauſe, whatſoever it were, was pretended. So that he never did any thing almoſt but in haſte, and at full ſpeed. Sometimes again, either ſome ſickneſs had taken him off his metal; or elſe, the ſtudy of the Hebrew had let his Tongue grow ruſty▪ or his Pen is not now able to reach its wonted pitch. Now I would fain know if ſo be he would have us receive all his ſayings, as Oracles; and did not indeed deſire us to excuſe rather ſome things in him, and to forgive him ſome others; why ſhould he uſe theſe ſpeeches unto us? Who ever heard a Judge excuſe himſelf, by reaſon of the ſhortneſs of the Time? Would not this be rather to accuſe, than to excuſe himſelf, by making ſuch an Apology as this for himſelf; for as much as the giving of over-haſty Judgment, in any Cauſe, is a very great fault? And in my Opinion, the Fathers could not more clearly have deprived themſelves of this Dignity of being our Judges, wherewith we will inveſt them, whether they will or no, than by writing and ſpeaking after this manner. But yet although St. Hierome had not given us theſe Advertiſements, which yet ought to make us look well alſo to the reſt of the Fathers; it appeareth evidently enough, out of their very Writings themſelves, how little both time and diligence they beſtowed, in compoſing the greateſt part of them. For, otherwiſe how could ſo many ſmall trifling Faults, both in Hiſtory, Grammar, Philoſophy, and the like, have eſcaped ſo great and Eminent Perſons, who were ſo well furniſhed with all ſorts of Literature? How happened it, that they ſo either forgot, or elſe miſtook themſelves, as they have ſometimes done?
I ſhall here give the Reader ſome few examples of this kind, not to take off any thing from the Praiſes due to theſe Learned Perſons; as if we thought them really to have committed theſe Errours out of ignorance; but rather to let the World ſee, that they did not alway… make uſe of their whole ſtock of Worth and Learning; and that ſometimes they either could not, or elſe would not make uſe, but of ſome part only of their Knowledge, and of their Time: which is a moſt certain Argument, that they had never any intention of being received by us as Judges in Points of Faith. I ſhall not ſay much of their Errours in matter of Time, which are both very notable ones, and alſo very frequent with them: as, for example, where Juſtin Martyr *Juſt. Apol. 2. foreign.ſaith, that David lived Fifteen Hundred years before the Manifeſtation of the Son of God; it being very apparent, by obſerving the Courſe of Times, derived along through Hiſtories, both Sacred and Profane, that from the death of David, to the Birth of our Saviour Chriſt, there paſſed no more than a Thouſand and Twenty five, or Thirty years, or thereabout. So likewiſe, when*Epiphan. in Aneor. num. 11…. foreign, foreign. Vide Petav. in eum locum. Epiphanius writeth, that Moſes was but Thirty years old, when he brought forth the Children of Iſrael out of Egypt: whereas the Scriptures clearly teſtifie, that he was Fourſcore years of age: And ſo, where he affirmeth,*Epiphan. lib. de Ponder. & Menſ. num. 12 foreign. That the taking of the City of Jeruſalem, happened ſixty five years after the Paſſion of our Saviour Chriſt. And truly the Chronology of all the Ancients is generally very ſtrange, and for the moſt part very far wide of the truth; as hath been obſerved, and alſo proved at large, by all the Moderns, as Scaliger, Petavius, and others. But theſe matters are ſo very nice and tickliſh, that oftentimes the moſt diligent Inquirers into them, may chance to miſtake: I ſhall therefore forbear to inſiſt any longer upon this Particular; and ſhall now lay before you ſome examples of another nature, and ſuch as ſhall moſt evidently diſcover the ſecurity and negligence of theſe Authors. Juſtin Martyr, ſpeaking of the Tranſlation of the LXX Interpreters, ſaith,†Juſtin. Mart. Apol. 2. foreign, foreign. that Ptolemy, King of Egypt, ſent his Ambaſſadors to Herod King of Judaea. Whereas the truth of the ſtory is, that he ſent to Eleazar the High Prieſt, Two hundred forty and odd years, before Herod came to be King of Judaea. *Epiphan. in Panar. lib. 1. & Anaceph. pag. 127, 128, 133.Epiphanius tells us, in two or three places, that the Peripateticks and Pythagoreans were one and the ſame Sect of Heathen Philoſophers; which yet were as much different one from the other, as the Stoicks and Epicureans were, as every Child knoweth. The ſame Author confidently affirmeth alſo, though contrary to the ſaith of all Ancient Hiſtory,†Id. contr. Haereſ. lib. 1. that the ſeveral Sects and Opinion in Philoſophy ſprung from ſome certain Myſteries brought to Athens, by Orpheus, a Id. Haereſ. 5.and others; and, that the Stoicks believed the Immortality, and Tranſmigration of Souls; both which are as falſe, the one as the other: and likewiſe*Id. Panar. lib. 1. that Nebuchadonoſor ſent a Colony, into the Country about Samaria, after the taking of Hieruſalem; whereas in truth, it was Salmanaſſar, who had ſo done, long before the others time. What can you think of him, when you find him miſtaken in ſuch things, as happened not many years before he was born: as namely, when he ſays†Id. Haer. Arrian. 69. num. that Arius died before the Council of Nice: and when he relates the ſtory of Meletius, and his Schiſm, clean otherwiſe than the Truth of it was? Juſtin Martyr likewiſe aſſures us, for a certain Truth,*Juſtin. Mart. Apol. 2. foreign, foreign. that in the Reign of the Emperour Claudius, there was erected at Rome a Statue to Simon Magus, in the River Tiber, betwixt the two Bridges, with this Inſcription, TO THE HOLY GOD SIMON: whereas, as our Learned *Deſider. Herald. in Apol. TertukCriticks now inform us, it was only an Inſcription to one of the Pagan D…mi…gods, in theſe Words, …SEMONI DEO SANCO; which this Good Father miſtook, inſtead of Semoni, reading Simoni, and for Sanoo, reading Sancto. †Euſeb. in Chron. & foreign. 8. pag. 250.Euſebius ſaith, and*Hier. Epiſt. 150. Hedibiae. Comment. 4. in Matth. ep. 17. quae eſt Paul. & Euſtoch. St. Hierome divers times repeateth it after him, that Joſephus, the Jewiſh Hiſtorian reporteth, that at the time of our Saviours Paſſion, the Heavenly Powers forſook the Temple of Hieruſalem; and that there was a great noiſe heard, and a voice ſaying, foreign, Let us depart hence; and yet nevertheleſs the Truth of the ſtory is, that Joſephus reported this to have happened at the ſame time, when the City was beſieged, that is to ſay, above Thirty five years after the Death of our Saviour. *Euſeb. Hiſt. Eccleſ. lib. 2. cap. 15, 16. Hier. lib. de Script. Eccleſ.The ſame Authors, and in a manner all others after them, have conſtantly delivered as a certain Truth, that Philo Judaeus in that Book of his, entituled De Vitâ Contemplativâ, deſcribeth unto us the manner of Life of the Chriſtian foreign, or Monks: and yet that Book of Philo, which we have at this day under this Title, proclaimeth loud enough, that he there ſpeaks, not of the Chriſtians, but of the Eſſenes, who were one of the three Sects among the Jews; as hath been obſerved by †Scalig. de Emend. Temp. l. 6 c. 1.Scaliger, and by divers others after him. We have touched, how*Ambr…ſ. l. 2. de fide ad Gratian. St. Ambroſe, without giving us any Account of his Reaſons why he doth ſo, underſtands by Gog and Magog, mentioned in†Ezech. 33. Ezckiel, the Nation of the Goths, who in his time over-run all Chriſtendom. He tells us in another place, with the very ſame confidence that*Ambroſ. Comment. in Luc. Zacharias, the father of John Baptiſt, was the High Prieſt of the Jews; which yet †Baron. in Apparat. num. 69.Baronius hath clearly proved to be falſe. Thus you ſee how little the Later Writers are beholding to thoſe that went before them, as to this Particular. †Epiphan. in Ancor. foreign.Epiphanius affirmeth, that Piſon, which was one of the Four Rivers that watered the Terreſtrial Paradiſe, mentioned by Moſes, was the ſame that the Indians and Ethiopians call Ganges, and the Greeks Indus: which River paſſing at length through Ethiopia, diſcharged it ſelf at laſt into the Ocean at Cales. What wonderful ſtrange Geography have we got here, (if at leaſt we may call it by this name,) which jumbleth together the Eaſt and the Weſt, and confoundeth, and maketh all one, Places, which are very near a whole Hemiſphere diſtant from each other.*Baſil. Hom. 3. in Iſa. foreign, &c. St. Baſil alſo, who is otherwiſe an Excellent Author, hath miſtaken likewiſe, though not ſo much, the courſe of the River Danubius; for he hath only made it to ſpring out of the Pyrenean Mountains.
The ſpeaking of theſe Rivers puts me in mind, that †Theoph Antioch l. 2. Ambroſ. l. de Parad. c. 3. Ep. Panar. haer. 66. Hieron. de locis Hebr. voc. Geon alii.all the Fathers do unanimouſly underſtand by Gihon, one of the Rivers of Paradiſe, the River Nilus; which hath ſo deceived Cardinal*Du Perron en ſa Repl. pag▪ …50. Perron alſo, as that he ſo delivers it to us, as the expreſs Text of the Scriptures, by this means making it guilty of a manifeſt abſurdity, how innocent ſoever in it ſelf it be, and free from intending any ſuch thing; ſeeing that it is evident, that neither in the Hebrew, Greek, nor Latine Text, it is ever ſaid, that the River Nile watered the Land of Paradiſe: it being only a Dream of the Fathers, that one of theſe Rivers of Paradiſe, muſt needs have been the Nile; though this Fancy of theirs (as†Scalig. de Emend. Temp. Petav. in Epiph. p. 371. Scaliger makes it appear, and as it is confeſſed by † Petavius alſo) is built upon no ground, or reaſon at all. Neither hath their Philoſophy alſo been ſometimes leſs wonderful, than their Geography: as for example; when*Tertul. lib. de An. c. 19. Tertullian maintains, that Plants are endued both with ſenſe, and underſtanding too. So likewiſe where†Epiphan in Ancor. num 90. Epiphanius holds, that it is poſſible for a Dead Man to return to Life again, without the Reunion of the Soul to the Body. As alſo where aAmbroſe Hexaem. l. 2. c 3. Frequenter ſolem videmus madi…um, atque rorantem, in quo evidens dat indicium quod alimentum ſibi aquarum ad temperi…m ſui ſumpſerit.S. Ambroſe ſaith, That the Sun, to the end he may allay his extreme Heat, refreſheth himſelf with the Nouriſhment which he draweth up from the Waters: and that from hence it is, that we ſometimes ſee him appear as it were all over wet, and dropping with Dew. And ſo again, where you have ſome of them entertaining the Doctrine of the Spherical Figure of the Heavens, with very great ſcorn; andbJuſtin. Quaeſt. & Reſponſ. Qu. 130. ad Autolye. maintaining, That it is onelyonly as it were an Arch, which is built upon the Waters, as on its Baſe.cLactant. Inſtit. l. 3. c 34. August. de Civ. Det, l. 16. c. 9. Some others of them you have, who will not endure to hear of the Earths being of a Round, Spherical Figure, or of the Antipodes; and account thoſe Men little leſs than Infidels, that ſhall offer to maintain any ſuch Opinions. But theſe are not bare Miſtakes, and Overſights onelyonly; but are rather Errors which proceeded from the want of a due Examination, and a right Apprehenſion of things. As for their Grammatical Errors, they are more frequent and uſual with them, than any other: and the reaſon of their ſo often miſtaking here, is, the little knowledge they had in the Hebrew Tongue; as, for Inſtance, whendOpt. l. 2. contr. Don. Omnium Apoſtolorum caput Petrus, unde & Cephas appellatus eſt. Optatus, and ſome others of them, will needs deduce the Name Cephas, from the Greek foreign, which ſignifies a Head, whereas Copha is a Syriack word, and ſignifieseJoan. 1. 42. a Stone, as the Evangeliſt expreſly teſtifieth. S. Ambroſe is in the like manner miſtaken, where he derives the wordfAmbroſ. 1. de Paſc. c. 1. Quod quidem ſacrum nomen ab ipſius Domini paſſione deſcendir. Innoc. III. Ser. 1. in Conc. Later. Paſcha, which is of Hebrew Extraction, and which ſignifieth properly a Paſſing, from a Greek word, ſignifying to Suffer; in which Etymologie of his he is faithfully followed by Pope Innocent III. in an Oration of his, which he made at the Opening of the Council of Lateran.
We have formerly given a touch at ſome Errors of theirs of this nature, obſerved by S. Hierome, to whom the Church is very much obliged, both for the great pains that he took, in endeavouring to attain unto ſo exquiſite knowledge in the Hebrew Tongue; as alſo for the great courage that he had, in taking ſo much liberty to himſelf, as freely to note all ſuch Impertinences, whenſoever he met with them; who, or how great Perſons ſoever the Authors of them were. All the reſt of the Fathers, a very few only excepted, do here but, as it were, grope out their way in the dark: and hence it is, that we have ſo many wild Etymologi…s given by them, of the Proper Names that we meet with in the Scriptures. Who can read, without amazement, that whichgIren contr. H…r. l. 2. c. 41. Jeſus autem nomen ſecundum propriam Hebraenrum linguam, literarum eſt duarum, & dimidiae, &c. Matth. 1. 12. Iren. l. 2. c. 66. Irenaeus hath delivered, touching the Derivation of the Name of JESVS, which he will have to be compoſed of two Letters and a half; adding moreover, that in the Ancient Language of the Hebrews it ſignifieth the Heavens, notwithſtanding that the Angel expreſly teſtified, at the very beginning of S. Matthew's Goſpel, that our Saviour Chriſt was called JESVS, becauſe He was to ſave His people from their ſins. Of the like nature is that, where he ſaith, That the Name of God, Adonai, ſignifieth Wonderful: or, if you write it thus, Addhonei, it then ſignifieth. Him that boundeth and ſeparateth the Earth from the Water. And the like Etymologies doth he give us of the Word Sabaoth, and of Jaoth. Like to theſe, are thoſe Myſteries which he informs us of,Id. ibid. in the afore-cited Treatiſe of his, which no Author elſe, either Ancient or Mode…n, ever heard of: telling us withal, That Barneth is the Name of God in Hebrew; and that the Firſt and moſt Ancient Hebrew Letters, which were called Sacerdotales, were onelyonly Ten in number, and were written Five manner of ways. Out of the ſame Storehouſe hath h…lem. Alex. Strom. l. 4. foreign, foreign. Id. p. 222. foreign, foreign.Clemens Alexandrinus produced us that precious Etymology which he hath given of the Name of Abraham, ſaying, It is by Interpretation, The Elect Father of a Sound: and that other of the Name Rebecca, which he will have to ſignifie, The Glory of God. iHilar. in Pſ. 132. Seon infructuoſae arboris interpretatio eſt.S. Hilary ſaith, That Schon ſignifieth a fruitleſs Tree. But S.kHieron. ep. 141. ad Marcell. Hierome informs us, That S. Hilary underſtanding nothing at all in Hebrew, and being not ſo very excellent at the Greek neither, he was fain to make uſe of a certain Prieſt named Heliodorus, to interpret to him out of Origen whatſoever he himſelf underſtood not, who no… diſcharging his Truſt ſometimes ſo faithfully as he ſhould have done, was the cauſe of this Father's committing ſome certain Errors of this nature, in his Commentaries.lTheoph. Antioch. l. 2. ad Autol. Theophilus Antiochenus ſaith, That before Melchiſedeck's time the City of Jeruſalem was called Hieroſolyma; but that afterwards it was called Hieruſalem, from Him: which is a very ſtrange Fancy of his, and ſuch a one, as it is no very eaſie matter to gueſs what Ground he ſhould have for it. What ſtrange Dreams dothmAmbroſ. Ep. l. 10. ep. 82. S. Ambroſe entertain his Readers withal, where he expounds the Names of Chorah, and of Oreb; the one whereof, with him, ſignifieth, The Vnderſtanding, and the other, The whole Heart, or, As the Heart? And ſo likewiſe innAmbroſ in Pſal. 118. his Expoſition of the CXVIII Pſalm, where he gives us the meaning of each of the Hebrew Letters wherewith the firſt Verſes begin of every one of the 22 Octonaries whereof the ſaid CXVIII Pſalm, according to the Hebrew reckoning, conſiſteth. ButoId. lib. de Incarn. Da…. Socr. c. 9. he is by no means to be pardoned, where he is ſo much out in the Greek Tongue, which he underſtood reaſonably well, as to derive the word foreign, Eſſence, from foreign, Always, and foreign, Being: which is ſo groſs a Miſtake, as would not have been pardoned a School-Boy at the Grammar-School. And as for S. Hierome, it is true, that he is ſometimes at this Sport too; though I ſhould think he does it of purpoſe, and to make himſelf merry onelyonly, rather than any way miſtaking himſelf: as for example, pHier. in Sophon. cap. 3. ver. 8.when he derives the Latin word Nugae from the Hebrew foreign Nogè, which you read in the Prophet Zephaniah, chap. 3. verſ. 8. And ſo likewiſe whenqId. Comm. in Ep. ad Philem. he ſearcheth in the Hèbrew for the ſignification of Paul, Philemon, Oneſimus, Timothy, and other words which are purely Greek. And even in the very Scriptures themſelves, which they were both better acquainted with, and which they had alſo in greater Veneration than any other Books whatſoever, they often miſtake themſelves in citing them. As for example, whenrId. Apol. 2. Juſtine Martyr alledgeth a Paſſage out of the Prophet Zephaniah, which yet is not found any where but onelyonly in the Prophet Zechariah; and in another place,Id. ibid. where he names Jeremiah in ſtead of Daniel. So likewiſe whenſHilar. in Pſal. 2. S. Hilary tells us, That S. Paul, in the 13 Chapter of the Acts, alledgeth a certain Paſſage out of the Firſt Pſalm, which yet is found only in the Second… whereas S. Paul in that place ſpeaks not one Syllable of the Firſt Pſalm, but expreſly nameth the Second. So alſo whentEpiphan. in Ancor. Epiphanius ſays, out of the 27 Chap. Ver. 37. of the Acts of the Apoſtles, That the number of thoſe that were in the Ship with S. Paul, when he ſuffered Ship wrack, was one while 70. and by and by 80 Souls; whereas the Text ſaith expreſly, that they were in all 276. So likewiſe when in another place he affirmeth, out of the Goſpel, uId in Panar. l. 3. Haer. 80. foreign, &c. foreign, foreign.That our Saviour Chriſt ſaid to his Mother, Touch me not; whereas it appears plainly out of the Text, that theſe words were ſpoken onelyonly to Mary Magdalene. So wherexHier. Comm. 1. in Abac. S. Hierome troubles himſelf very much in reconciling a certain Paſſage alledged by S. Paul out Habakkuk, to the Original, telling us, that S. Paul had cited it in theſe words, The Juſt ſhall live by My Faith: whereas it is moſt evident, that he Apoſtle, both in the Firſt Chapter of the Epiſtle to the Romans, as alſo in the Epiſtle to the Galatians, hath it only thus, The Juſt ſhall live by Faith; and not, The Juſt ſhall live by My Faith. Athanaſius in his Synopſis (or whoever elſe was the Author of that Piece) reckoning up the ſeveral Books of Scriptures, evidently takes the Third Book of Eſdras, which hath been always accounted Apocryphal by the common conſent of all Chriſtendom, for the Firſt, which is received by all, both Chriſtians and Jews, into the Canon of the Scriptures. We might reckon to this number (if at leaſt ſo fooliſh a Piece deſerve to have any place among the Writings of the Fathers) that groſs miſtake which we meet with in an Epiſtle of Pope Gregory II. who raileth fiercely againſt Vzziah, Greg. II. in ep. ad Leon. Ifaur. de col. Imag.for breaking the Brazen Serpent; calling him, for this Act of his, The Brother of the Emperour Leo the Iconoclaſt, which, as he thought, was all one, as to reckon him amongſt the moſt miſchievous and wretched Princes that ever had been: and yet all this while the Scripture tells us, that this was the Act, not of Vzziah, but of the Good King Hezekiah; and that he deſerved to be rather commended for the ſame, than blamed. As for their ſlips of Memory, he had need to have a very happy one himſelf, that ſhould go about to reckon them all up. For example; yAmbroſ. l. 2 de Poenit. c. 2. Quod etiam aquila, cùm fuerit mortua, ex ſuis reliquiis renaſcatur.S. Ambroſe tells us ſomewhere, That the Eagle dying, is revived again out of her own Aſhes. Who ſees not, that in this place he would have ſaid, the Phoenix? But however, in another place giving us an Account of the Story of the Phoenix, Id. lib. de fid. Reſur. Atqui hoc relatione crebra, & Scripturarum authoritate cognovimus, memoratam avem, &c.as it is commonly delivered, he ſays, That this we have learned from the Authority of the Scriptures. By a like miſtake it was, that he affirmed, that theſe words, zAmbroſ. Ser. 10. Denique iterum Moyfi dicit, quia in hoc ipſum te ſuſcitavi, ut oſtendam in te virtutem meam.For this very purpoſe have I raiſed thee up, that I might ſhew my power in thee, were ſpoken to Moſes; to whom notwithſtanding the Lord never ſaid any ſuch word, but rather to Pharaoh. In like manner doth he attribute to the Jews thoſe words in the ninth Chapter of S. John, which were indeed ſpoken by Chriſt's Diſciples, who asked him, ſaying,aAmbroſ. ep. l. 9. ep. 75. Quam ſtolidi autem Judaei qui interrogant, Hic peccavit, an Parentes? Id. l. 2. de Sanct Jacob. c. 11. Maſter, who did ſin, this Man, or his Parents, that he was born blind? I impute that other miſtake of his, to the heat of his Rhetorick, where he brings in one of the ſeven Brethren in the Maccabees, who ſuffered under King Antiochus, and makes him, in his height of Gallantry, alledge the Example of John, and of James, the Sons of Thunder, two of our Saviour Chriſts Apoſtles, who came not into the World, as every one knows, till a long time after this. It was a ſlip of memory alſo in Tertullian, where he tells us,bTertul. contr. Marc. l. 4. c. 24. That the Lord ſaid unto Moſes, They have not rejected Thee, but they have rejected Me; which words were indeed ſpoken to *1 Sam. 8.Samuel, and not to Moſes. S Hierome alſo was overtaken in the like manner,cHieron. l. contr. Helvid. In quo primum adverſarius ſuperfluo labore deſudat, cognoſcendi verbum ad coitum magis quam ad ſcientiam eſſe referendum, quaſi hoc quiſquam negaverit. when he tells us, That none of the Fathers ever underſtood the word Knew, in the Laſt Verſe of the Firſt Chapter of S. Matthew, otherwiſe than of the Conjugal Act; not remembring, that his own dear Friend Epiphanius takes the word in a quite different ſenſe, and will have the meaning of the place to be, That Joſeph, before the Miraculous Birth of our Saviour Chriſt, knew not what Glory and Excellency was to befal the Bleſſed Virgin; Epiphan. in Panar. Haer. 78. Antidicom. foreign.knowing nothing elſe of her before, ſave only that ſhe was the Daughter of Joachim and of Annae, and Couſin to Elizabeth, who was of the Houſe of David: whereas he at that time knew clearly, that God had done him that Honour of ſending his Angel to him, and of chuſing his Eſpouſed Wife Mary to be the only Woman on Earth, on whom he would confer that ſo great and wonderful Benefit and Advantage, above all others. But we intend not here to give you an Inventory of all the Errors of this nature, which are to be found in the Writings of the Ancients: theſe Patterns may well enough ſerve to ſhew, what the whole Pieces are.
I ſhall only add here, That, beſides this Careleſneſs and Security, which is ſo ordinary with them, in writing thus confidently whatſoever came in their mind, or whatever others had delivered over unto them, for Sound and Good, without ever examining it throughly, they had yet another kind of Cuſtom, which ſeems not to ſuit ſo well with the Perſon of Judges, as we will needs have them to be.
And this is, that in their Writings they are ſometimes ſo jolly and ſportful, coming over us with ſuch rare Allegorical Obſervations as have ſcarcely any more Solidity or Body, than thoſe Caſtles of Cards that little Children are wont to make.Perron's Repl. p. 743. Theſe Cardinal Perron calls, Des Gayetez joyeuſes, Chearful Frolickings. I know very well, that Allegories are uſeful, and many times alſo neceſſary; if ſo be they be but ſober, clear, and well-grounded. But I ſpeak not here ſave only of ſuch as rack the Text, and, as it were, drag it along by the Hair, and, which make the Senſe of the Scripture evaporate in empty Fumes. And of theſe are the Writings of the Fathers full. S. Hierome often complains of the ſtrange Liberty that Origen and his Diſciples took herein. Certainly he himſelf often flies out in this kind; and whoſoever hath a mind to fee it, may read but his 146 Epiſtle, where he expounds the dHier. in ep. 146. ad Damaſ. paenè tot.Parable of the Prodigal Son: or let him but turn to the Diſcourſe which he hath made touching theeId. Comm. in Soph. Genealogy of the Prophet Zephaniah, and concerning the City of Damaſcus; and alſo upon the Hiſtory offId. ep. ad Nepot. Abiſhag the Shunamite; and alſo upon the Five and twenty Men, and the Two Princes, ſpoken of ingId. Comm. 3. in Ezech. Ezechiel, chap. 11. and upon the Deſtruction of Tyre, ofhId. Comm. in Ezech. Egypt, and ofiId. Comm. 9. in eundem. Aſſyria, foretold by the ſame Prophet; as alſo his ſubtile Obſervations uponkId. Comm. 10. in eund. Numbers, and upon KinglId. Comm. in Agg. Darius, and upon that Command of our SaviourmId. Comm. 1. in Matth. Chriſt, where he bideth us turn the Left Cheek to him that hath ſmitten us on the Right: and many other the like Diſcourſes of his. S. Hilary is ſo much taken with this manner of writing, as that his Expoſitions upon the Scripture are half full of theſe Allegories: and to be ſure to make himſelf the more work, he ſometimes framesnHilar. in Pſ▪ 136. certain Impoſſibilities and Abſurdities, which he would make the Scripture ſeem to be guilty of, which yet it is not; only that he may have ſome pretenſe to have recourſe to his Allegories. As for example, in the 136 Pſalm, he will needs have the Letter of the Text to be utterly inexplicable, where it ſays, That the Jews ſate down by the Rivers of Babylon, and hanged up their Harps upon the Willows; as if, in this Country, that was watred with Tigris and Euphrates, there had been neither River, nor Willow, nor any Aquatick Tree.
The ſameoId. ibid. fol. 108. Author alſo demandeth, as if it had been a moſt indiſſoluble Queſtion, if taken in the Literal ſenſe, who the Daughter of Babylon is; and, why ſhe is called Miſerable? which is ſo eaſie a Queſtion, as that any Child almoſt might very eaſily reſolve it, without torturing the Text with Allegories. So likewiſe, in his expoſition of the 146 Pſalm, he underſtandeth by the pId. in Pſal. 146. fol. 128. Haec ita intelligere, non dicam erroris, ſed irreligioſitatis eſt.Clouds wherewith God is ſaid to cover the Heavens, the Writings of the Prophets; and by the Rain which he prepareth for the Earth, the Evangelical Doctrine; by the Mountains which bring forth Graſs, the Prophets and Apoſtles; by the Beaſts, he underſtands Men; and by the young Ravens, the Gentiles: aſſuring us withal, that it would not be onelyonly Erroneous, but rather very Irreligious, to take theſe words in the Literal ſenſe. May not this be called rather Sporting with, than Expounding of the Scriptures?
So likewiſe in another place, ſpeaking of the Fowls of the Air, which our Saviour ſaid, neither reaped nor gathered into Barns,Id. Can. 5. in Matth. 6. 26. fol. 7. he underſtands, by theſe, the Devils; and by the Lilies of the Field, which ſpin not, the Angels. I ſhould much abuſe the Readers patience, if I ſhould here ſet down the ſtrange Diſcourſes he hath upon the Story of the two Poſſeſſed with Devils, who were healed by our Saviour in the Country of the Gergeſens; Id. Can. 8. in Matth. 8. 28. fol. 10.and upon the Leap which the Devils made the neighbouring Herd of Swine take into the Sea; and of the Swine-herds running away into the City, and of the Citizens coming forth, and intreating our Saviour to depart out of their Coaſts: or if I ſhould but give you the whole entire Expoſition which he hath made of theſe words,Id. Can. 10. fol. 13. Verſ. 29. Chap. 10. of St. Matthew: Are not two Sparrows ſold for a Farthing, &c. where by the two Sparrows, he underſtandeth Sinners, whoſe Souls and Bodies having been made to flye upward and to mount on high, ſell themſelves to ſin for meer Trifles, and things of no value by this means becoming both as one, the Soul by ſin thickning, as it were into a Body: and ſuch other like wild Fancies, the reading whereof would aſtoniſh a man of any judgment, rather than edifie him. Neither is St. Ambroſe any whit more ſerious,Ambroſ. in Pſ. 36. pag 503. Matth. 17. 20. Si habuer…tis fidem ſicut granum ſinapis, dicetis huic monti, Tollere & j… ctare in mare. Huic; Cui? Daemonio inquit, à quo iſte invaſus fuerat, &c. where expounding thoſe words of our Saviour, Matth. 17. 20. If you have Faith as a grain of Muſtard ſeed, ye ſhall ſay to this Mountain, Remove hence to yonder, place, &c. By this Mountain (ſaith St. Ambroſe) is meant the Devil. It would be too tedious a buſineſs, to ſet down here at length all that might be collected, of this nature, out of him: he that hath any mind to ſee more Examples of this kind, may read but his Homilies upon the 118. Pſalm; which Piece of his, will indeed be otherwiſe very well worth any mans reading, as being a very excellent one, and full of Eloquence and ſound Doctrine. But yet perhaps a man would find it a troubleſom buſineſs to make any handſom defence for him, where he makes bold ſometimes to uſe the Sacred words of the Scriptures in his own ſportful Fancies: *Idem Tract. de obit. Valent. pag. 11, 12. Qu…s dabit te frater fratrem m…hi, lactantem ubera matris meae? &c. Cant. 8. 1. Promittit fratri auguſtae memoriae, Gratianus, praeſto ſibi fructus diverſarum eſſe virtutum.as where he applies to Valentinian and Gratian, that which is ſpoken of Chriſt and the Church, in the Canticles: O that thou wert as my Brother, that ſucked the breaſts of my Mother! When I ſhould find thee without I would kiſs thee, &c. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my Mothers houſe, &c. I would cauſe thee to drink of Spiced Wine, and of the juyce of my Pomegranates. His left hand ſhould be under my head, and his right hand ſhould embrace me. In this place (ſaith he) is mean… the Emperour Gratian, of R…nowned Memory, who te…eth his Brother that he is furniſhed with the fruits of divers Vertues. And to the ſame purpoſe doth he make Application of divers other Paſſages of this Sacred Canticle; and with ſo great Licence, as to ſay the truth, no Poet ever laſhed out with more liberty and freedom than he hath done in that Book of his. I ſhall here purpoſely paſs by, what I might produce, of this nature, out of Gregory Nazianzen, St. Auguſtine, and almoſt all the reſt of the Fathers: for, this that we have already brought, is enough, and indeed more than we needed for our preſent purpoſe. Let the Reader therefore now judge, whether or no the Fathers, by this their manner of Writing, have not clearly enough witneſſed againſt themſelves, that their Intention, when they wrote theſe their Books, never was either to bound and determine our Faith, or to decide our differences touching the ſame. I muſt needs confeſs, that they were Perſons who were endued with very large Gifts of the Spirit; and with a moſt lively and clear Underſtanding, for the diving into the Truth. But yet thoſe, that have the greateſt …hare of theſe Gifts, have it yet to very little purpoſe, if ſo be they imploy it not all, and every part of it, to the utmoſt of their power, when the buſineſs they are to treat of is of ſo great both difficulty and importance; and ſuch, as to the deciding and diſcuſſing whereof we can never bring either more attention or diligence, than is needful. Now that the Fathers have not obſerved this Courſe in their Writings, appeareth clearly enough by what hath been formerly ſaid: Their Books therefore are not to be received by us, either as Definitive Sentences, or Final Judgments upon our preſent Controverſies. I confeſs that theſe ſmall, trivial Errors ought not to take off any thing of the Opinion we have of the Greatneſs and Gallantry of their Parts. I believe they might very eaſily have avoided the falling into them, if they would but have taken the pains to have looked a little better about them. And I …m of Opinion, that they fell into them meerly by inadvertency only, which may alſo ſometimes happen even to the greateſt Maſters that are, in any Sciences whatſover. I ſhall as willingly alſo yield to you, (if you deſire it,) that they have ſometimes done theſe things purpoſely; letting fall here and there throughout their Writings ſuch little ſlips from their Pen, ſportingly, and by way of Recreation; or elſe out of a deſign of exerciſing our Wits.
But certainly, whatſoever the Reaſon were, ſeeing that they had no mind to uſe any more either care or diligence in the compoſing of their Books, we may very well, and indeed we ought to conclude from hence, that they had never any Intention that theſe Books of theirs ſhould be our Judges.
Theſe Innocent Faults, theſe Miſtakes, theſe Overſights, theſe Forgetfulneſſes, and theſe Sportings of theirs, do ſufficiently declare for their part, that we are to make our Addreſſes to ſome others; and, that they have not ſo ſadly delivered their Opinions, as if they had ſate on the Seat of Judgment; but rather have ſpoken as in their Chamber, venting their own private Opinions only; and not as our Judges.
Theſe Conſiderations, joyned to what hath been ſaid, in this particular, by ſome of the chiefeſt and moſt eminent among themſelves, as we have formerly ſhewed, do make it, in my Judgment, evidently enough appear▪ that their own will and deſire is, that we ſhould not embrace their Opinions, as Oracles, or receive them as Definitive Sentences, but that we ſhould rather examine them by the Scriptures, and by Reaſon; as being the Opinions of Doctors, who were indeed very able and excellent Men; but yet notwithſtanding they were ſtill Men, ſubject to Errour, and who had not always the good Fortune to light upon what was true and ſound, and who peradventure, even in this very Caſe in hand, have not always done what they might; by reaſon of their employing either leſs time, or leſs and diligence, than they ſhould have done, if at leaſt they had had any ſerious purpoſe of doing their utmoſt endeavour in this Particular.