A View of Antiquity Presented, Part 10

A View of Antiquity Presented · Part 10

p. 390Hilarius Pictaviensis.

§ 1. HE was born in France, and yet not Gallus; Antonin. hist. part. 2. cap. 3.as himself answered Leo Bishop of Rome in a certain Council, asking him at his entrance in a proud insulting manner: Tune es Hilarius Gallus? At ille. Non sum, inquit, Gallus, sed de Galliâ: ac si diceret: non sum natione Gallus, sed de Galliâ praesul. Erat enim gente Aquitanicus; pontificali autem dignitate praeminebat Gallis: for he was Bishop of Po…ctiers the chief City of the Celtae or Galli. Nomenclat. Geograph. ad Caesar. comment.For France of old was divided into three parts or Provinces, viz. Belgicam, Aquitanicam, (bodie Guienne vocatur) & Celticam. Now the inhabitants of this later were properly those called Galli; ipsorum linguâ Celtae, nostrâ (inquit Caesar) Galli appellantur. In commen. de bello Gallic. l. 1. Plin. l. 4. c. 17 S…rab. l. 4. Pomp. Mela. l … c. 2. Mag. in Geog l. 4.So doth Sulpitius Severus distinguish his Country men into these three sorts, Aquitanes, Galli and Brittaines: the two former are so far differing the one from the other (saith Strabo) both in habit and Language, that the Aquitanes are more like unto the Spaniards, then unto the Galli.

It is reported of him, that in his younger years applying himself unto study,Antonin. …. …art 2. cap. 3. and not profiting as he desired, (which made him to doubt whether he should ever attain unto p. 391that which he aimed at) he left the Schools, purposing to fall upon some other course: and passing along by a certain well in the way, walled up with great stone, he observed that those stones were much worn and hollowed in some places, by the often rubbing of the Rope upon them, wherewith they used to draw the water: Hereupon he fell into this consideration with himself: if this Cord, that is much softer, hath by frequency of fretting made this hard stone hollow; then surely may I also, by continuance of time, both profit and perfect or accomplish my desire: Accordingly, he betook him again unto the Schools, where by assiduity and constancy in study he at length became a most Learned and accurate Scholar.

He seems to have been at first an Ethnick,Cent. 4. c. 10 at what time perceiving and considering with himself how vain the opinions and conceits were which the Philosophers had of the gods, musing much hereupon, he at length light upon the books of Moses, Hilar. de Trinit. l. 1.the Prophets, and the Apostles, by the diligent perusal whereof he came to the knowledge of the truth, and to embrace the Christian Religion; being now well stricken in years: yet in a short time did he so much profit in the Doctrine of Christianity,Bellar. de scrip. Eccles. that he was deservedly esteemed a chief Doctor and pillar of the Catholick Church.

His Country men, coming to understand of his great worth, soon advanced him unto a high degree of dignity; though a married man, he being by them chosen to be Bishop of Poictiers, chief City of the Province of Poictou. p. 392About this time, the persecution under the Emperor Constantius, Bin concil. tom. 1.grew very hot; in so much that many eminent Bishops for holding fast and sticking close unto the Catholick Faith, were exiled and driven into banishment. Hereupon Hilary with divers other Gallicane Bishops, convening together, with mutual consent did by a Decree separate Saturninus, Valens and Vrsatius (who were violent Arians) from their Communion: adding withal, that if any, being admonished to shun their society, did not herein obey the sentence of the Catholick Bishops, they should be excommunicated. Saturninus who was Bishop of Arles (a factious and mischievous man) took this very grievously,Sulp. Sever. hist. l. 2. vir sanè pessimus, & ingenio malo pravó que verùm etiam praeter h…resis infamiam multis at que infandis criminibus convictus, Ecclesia e…ectus est. Angelocrator. ep. conc. that he should be Anathematized and excluded from Communion with the rest of the Bishops; (yet after this was he sor heinous crimes cast out of the Church) wherefore by the favor of Constantius he procured Synods to be congregatted at Byterris, and at Arles Cities of France, unto which the Catholick Bishops should be forced to come: Hilary, being one of those who were present in these Synods, fearing least by the subtilty of the Arians (as was their manner) the Orthodox through simplicity might be circumvented, offereth a libel to be read, wherein the close conveyances, crafty fetches, and blasphemous Heresies of the Arians were laid open and discovered unto all. But the adversaries withstanding the Reading thereof, prevailed so far, that Hilary refusing to subscribe unto their ambiguous and captious contessions and decrees (for he was very circumspect and p. 393quick sighted to discern and avoid their cunning devices and impostures) was banished into Phrygia in the East, where he continued for the space of three whole years and upward.

In the fourth year of his banishment,Sulp. Sever. lib. 2. the Emperor commands a Synod of the Eastern Bishops to assemble,Bin. Tom. 1. Concil. at Seleucia a City of Isauria, (about the time that those of the West met at Ariminum) at the which Hilary was compelled by the Emperors deputy, to be present among the rest: this the Officers did by vertue of a General Command that they had received, for the convening of all the Bishops, having no particular order concerning Hilary: which yet came to pass, not without the special hand of God so disposing it, that a man so well instructed in the knowledge of Divine Truth, should be present, when matters of faith were to be disputed of. Being come, and received with a great deal of respect by the Orthodox the minds of all being toward him; they first demanded of him, what was the Faith of the Gallicane Churches, (for by the false reports of the Arians, they were suspected by the Eastern Bishops to be tained with the Heresie of Sabellius:) wherein having given them good satisfaction, and shewed them that in the Faith they agreed with the Council of Nice, he was taken into their society, and added unto the Council: in the which, the Arians after much debate, were condemned by those that were but little better, being Half-Arians.

p. 394Some are sent unto the Emperor, to give him an account of what had passed in the Synod.Ibid. Sulpit. Sever. Whither being come (those, who had been condemned, going thither also, presuming upon the strength of their party, and the Emperors favor, who was of their faction) they there found the delegates of the Orthodox partly that had met at Ariminum: who, partly through fear of the Emperor, and partly through the fallacy of the Arians, were compelled to joyn in Communion with the Hereticks, there having been delivered unto them a specious form of the Faith, wrapt-up in fallacious terms and expressions, which indeed seemed to be Catholick, but had the contrary doctrine closely couched under them.

Unto this, the Emperor required those of the Council of Seleucia to subscribe, threatning banishment unto them that refused so to do: in so much as the greater part were drawn to yield hereunto, some by one means, and some by another. Hilary being present with the Emperor, waiting upon him to know his mind whether he should again return into exile or no; and seeing the Faith in so much danger, the Western Bishops deceived and the Eastern deterred, and both overcome: he did most importunately by three petitions crave audience, and that he might be permitted to dispute the matter in controversie with the adversaries: which the Arians shunned and altogether refused. At length Hilary is commanded (as being the seminary of discord and disturber of the East) to return into France again.

p. 395Whither being come,Sulp. Sever. ib. c. 4. c. 10. he out of a mind burning with holy zeal, applyed himself with greatest care and industry unto this work chiefly, viz. To reduce into the right way again the Western Bishops that had been miserably deceived by the Arians. For which end divers Synods were assembled in France, wherein by his means the thing he intended, and so much desired, was at length happily effected: for the seduced were brought to see, acknowledge and amend their error, condemning what had been done and decreed at the Council of Ariminum, and so was that Church reformed and the saith therein restored unto its ancient state again.Euseb. Vercel. est vir omni vitâ Deo serviens Hil. ad Constantium. l. 2. For which great benefit the Gallicane Churches were (as is evident unto all) beholding chiefly unto Hilary to whom they owe their freedom: By the brightness of whose beams (as also of Eusebius Bishop of Vercellis) the thick mists of error that had so much darkned those Countries,Sozom. l. 15. c. 10. (viz. of Iuyricum, Anton. part. 2. c. 5.Italy and France) were dispelled and scattered.Ruffin. hist. lib. 1. c. 21.

§ 2. He was a very learned man,Trithem. de script. and of wonderful eloquence,Erasm. epist. ant. Hilar. wherein he so far excelled, that Ierom calls him a most eloquent man,Apolog. adv. Ruff. lib. 2. rhe most elegant of his time, even a Rhodanus of Latine eloquence: Of a notable faculty to perswade and win men unto the truth,In proaem. comment. in Galat. lib. 2. Ruff. lib. 1. c. 31. so that he was one of the most eminent lights of the age he lived in, and in France shining as the Moon at the full in the Temple of God:Erasm. ubi supra. In whom this among the rest deserveth admiration,Anton. hist. part. 2. that (though he were otherwise learn'd yet) being for the most part ignorant of Ecclesiastical p. 396controversies,Baron. ad an. 356. Bellar. de script. Eccl. he should in so short a time as he did, become so great a Doctor and Antagonist against the Arians, as to be worthily esteemed a chief pillar of the Catholick Church,Erasm. epist. ant. Hilar. being the first among the Latines that wrote against that heresie, of which he was a bitter enemy, branding the maintainers thereof with the black marks & characters of impious,Sulp. Sever. lib. 2. blasphemous, pests, Antichrists, travelling and taking exceeding great pains for the stopping of its current and the curing and recovering of the infected world, this contagion having spread it self far and near.

He was excellently skilled in the knowledge of the Scriptures and divine mysteries,Sulp. Sev. ib. so that he was of great fame and authority in the Church, as appears by the venerable mention that Ierom oftentimes makes of him.Erasm. epist. ant. Hilar. Cent. 4. c. 10. Many were the the rare gifts wherewith he was richly adorned, and among others with a singular dexterity in teaching, and a notable faculty of perswading:Ruff. hist. lib. 1. c. 31. unto which we may add, his acuteness in discerning and discovering the cunning conveyances and impostures of the Hereticks.Biblioth. lib. 4. epist. ad Magnum. 84. Sixtus Senensis stiles him an incomparable Bishop; and Ierom, the Confessor of his time, who stoutly maintained the truth, and constantly opposed the adversaries thereof, though in so doing he many times exposed himself to no small perils.

He was of a sweet and mild temper,Ruff. ubi supra. very venerable in his life and manners,Trithem. de script. and of such modesty and humility, that though he were deservedly ranked among thosee of chiefest note in his time,Lib. de Synod. advers. Arian. yet did he account himself the most unskilful and unlearned of them all.Lib. 3. c 13. In a p. 397word, he was a man (saith Sozomen) truly divine in respect both of his life and learning, yet in this latter not a little defective, in that he had but small skill in the Greek and Hebrew languages:Erasm. in epist. ant. Hil. Hebraei sermonis (inquit Hieronymus) ignarus fuit, Graecarum quoque literarum quandam aurulam ceperat; Ep…ad Marcellam, num. 141.sed ab Hiliodorio presbytero, quo ille familiariter usus est, ea quae intelligere non poterat, quomodo ab Origene essent dicta, Ibid.quaerebat. Yet withal he adds, I dare not (saith he) reprehend so great a man, and the most eloquent in his time,In epist. ante opera Chrysostom. (vocalem illam Ecclesiae Catholicae tubam, inquit Erasmus) who both for the merit of his confession, industry of his life, and famousness of his eloquence, is spoken of as far as the Roman name reacheth.In epist. ad Ludovic. Imperat. de Judaie. superstitionibus. I may not omit a passage in Agobardus Bishop of Lyons concerning him. Quâ cantela (inquit) Iudaeorum semper et haereticorum devitavit Hilarius profana consortia, vita ejus scripta fatetur: quòd it a scilicet hujusmodi hostes Ecclesiae fuerit execratus, ut non solum convivium, sed ne salutatio quidem ei extiterit, cum his praetereunti communis.

I shall close his encomium in the words of Venantius, who was also Bishop of Poictiers, about the year of Christ, 575.Nicaeus. in auctario. de script. Eccl. And a Poet of chief note according to the time he lived in, He in four books of Heroick Verse wrote the life of S. Martin, by whose help he had been cured (as it is reported) of a great pain in his eyes, in the first of which books he thus speaks in the praise of our Hilary.

—Summus apex fidei,Biblioth. patrum. virtutis, amoris,

Hilarius famae radios jactabat in orbem:

p. 398Buccina terribilis, tuba legis, praeco Tonantis:

Pulchrior electro, ter cocto ardentior auro,

Largior Eridano, Rhodano torrentior amplo,

Vberior Nilo, generoso sparsior Hystro,

Cordis inundantis docilis ructare fluenta,

Fontibus ingenii sitienta pectora rorans.

Doctor Apostolicus, vacuans ratione sophistas,

Dogmate, luce, side informans virtute sequaces.

Which may be thus Englished:

Hilary, top of honour, faith and grace,

Whose fame doth dart its rays in every place,

The laws shrill Trumpet, preacher of the most High

Fairer than Amber, sparkling far and nigh,

More than refined Gold, larger than Po,

More vehement than Rhone of swiftest flow,

For fruitfulness passing th' Egyptian Nile,

Outstretching generous Ister many a Mile:

Whose swelling heart freely its streams out spues,

And with his wit the thirsty brests bedews:

Doctor Apostolick skilful to unty,

The cunning knots of subtile Sophistry,

And by sound doctrine to inform aright

His followers with virtue, faith and light.

§ 3. As for the Writings of this Worthy many of them have felt the force of time, which hath rak'd them up in the dust, so that, they are withdrawn from the view and use of the present, as also of some preceding Ages. The little of them which with their names have been preserved unto this day, is that which follows, viz.

1. His commentary or tractates upon the Book of Iob, Hierouym. Apol. 1. adv. Ruffin.which is little else than a translation p. 399of Origen: For herein (and in his comment upon the Psalms) are to be found almost forty thousand versesHierouym. ibid. (quadraginta fermè millia versuum Origenis in Iob et Psalmos transtulit) translated out of that Author,Hieron. in catalog. in which he keeps to the sence though not unto his words.Cent. 4. c. 10. These were extant in Ieroms time, for he had the sight of them.

2. His comment upon the Canticles, In catalog.which Ierom only heard of, but it came not to his hands.

3. Of Mysteries.Ibid.

4. Of the Septenary or uneven number, a book mentioned by Ierom, Apol. pro l… bris. advers. Jovinlan.dedicated unto Fortunatus: This book (saith Victorius) is extant under the name of Cyprian, In Schol. in Apol. istam.but that 'tis rather Hilary's, appears (saith he) from the stile, Ieroms authority ascribing it to him, and its dedication unto Fortunatus, who was Hilary's great friend, as his Poems do testifie.

5. His book or commentary (as Possevin calls it) against Dioscorus a Physician,Cent. 4. c. 10. or against Salust a Prefect:Hieron. epist ad Magnum num. 84. wherein (though it were but short, yet was it a learned and accurate piece) he shewed what he could do with his Pen, putting out all the strength both of his wit and eloquence:Erasm. in ep. ante Hilar. Possev. in apparat. which is wanting, not without the great loss of the History of the affairs of France, and other Countries.

6. His book against Valens and Vrsatius, Sulp. Sever. lib. 2.(two pestilent Arians, who had infected with their heresie, Italy, Illiricum, and the East,) containing the History of the Acts of the councils of Ariminum and Seleucia, Erasm. in epist. praedict.which is lost, unless perhaps it be contained in his book of of Synods.

p. 4007. A defence of the Catholick Faith.Trithem. de script.

8. Of heresies.

9. A book of Chronicles,Trith, ibid. Berg. chron. or an history from the beginning of the world unto the time of Christ.

10. A book of hymns, Ibid.he was the first among the Catholicks, that set forth hymns and verses. In epist. ant. Hilar.Declarat (inquit Erasmus) phrasis et compositio Hilariani sermonis, in carmine non infoelicem fuisse. Et fortassis aliquot hymni, quos hodiè canit ecclesia, non indoctos sed incerti authoris, illius sunt.

11. Divers Epistles, a work mentioned by Sulpitius Severus, Sac. hist. l. 2.which reporteth the great age of Osius the famous Bishop of Corduba, as being above an hundred year old.Cent. 4. c. 10. The most of them seem to have been written after his return from banishment into France, wherein condemning the Arian heresie, he labours to reduce therefrom those Western Bishops, who by the Eastern in the Council of Seleucia had been by cunning and craft deceived and drawn into it.

12. Whereas the Centurists speak of a book of his concerning the rebaptization of hereticks,Ibid. I suppose it belongs not to our,Rivet. crit. sac. but another Hilary, Hilarius quidam, non Pictaviensis episcopus sed Romanus diaconus denuo hanc Camarinam movit. Pamel. in vita Cypriani.who was a Deacon in the Church of Rome, and of Cyprian's mind in the point of rebaptization of those that had been baptized by hereticks, and particularly the Arians. He indeed wrote certain books upon this subject: of whom Ierom is to be understood, calling hlm the Worlds Deucalion, as one that thought the whole World would have perished in the baptism of Hereticks as in a second flood,In dialog. adv. Luciferian. had not he restored it by another Baptism.Victorius. in Schol. in loc.

p. 401There are extant to this day these following books, which are generally conceived to be his.

1. Twelve books of the Trinity against the Arians, Cent. 4. c. 10. Chemnit. in or. de lect patrum.which he wrote when he was banished into Phrygia, being the first among the Latine Fathers that dealt upon this subject: A work in this regard of no small advantage unto the Reader,Erasm. in ep. ant. Hilar. that therein he expounds divers places not a little obscure, in the Gospel of Iohn and Epistles of Paul, no less happily than accurately.Erasm. ibid. The first of these books as it seems he writ last, for it contains an account or sum of the whole work, setting down particularly the subjects or contents of each of the other books.Socrat. h. l. 5. c. 12. Theodor. l. 3. c. 14. It is an elaborate piece, of much strength, and commended even by the adversaries themselves.

2. Three books or Apologues unto Constantius the Emperour,Cent. 4. c. 10. who much favoured the faction of the Ariaus: In epist. ant. Hiiar.All which Erasmus thinks to be imperfect, for (saith he) they promise something exact and laborious, but perform not accordingly, being as it were suddenly silent. The first of these he conceives to have been written after the death of that Emperour, because he therein deals more freely and sharply with him; whereas in the other two he is more fair and moderate, Baronius supposeth the first as well as the two later, to have been written while the Emperour was alive, and therefore that the book mentioned by Ierome to be written after the death of Constantius, In catalog.is not now extant; because he saith that by this free confession, he tended to martyrdom, whereunto he exhorteth others by p. 402the like liberty of speaking, which would have seemed ridiculous if the persecutor had been now dead.De script. Eccless. But (saith Bellarmine) perhaps these different opinions may be reconciled, by thus saying: That at the Writing of the first Epistle, Hilary thought him to have been dead, though indeed he were then alive.

3. His book against the Arians or aga…nst Auxentius Bishop of Millain, Cent. 4. c. 10.written unto the Bishops and people detesting the Arian heresie: which by Ierom is stiled an elegant book:In catalog. wherein he accuseth the said Bishop as infected with Arianism. To which is annexed an Epistle of Auxentius, wherein he cleareth himself, as not guilty of the crime laid to his charge.

4. His book of Synods unto the Bishops of France, Erasm. ant. Hilar. epist.whom he congratulates that in the midst of so great tumults as are in the world, they had kept themselves free from the Arian faction; wherein he declares in what meetings of the Bishops the Arian heresie had been condemned. This book (as himself testifieth) he translated out of Greek, but with this liberty that neglecting the words he kept still to the sense, and where the place invites him so to do,In or. de lect parr. ante loc. com. he adds and intermingles somewhat of his own. Of which, Chemnitius thus speaks. He gathered together (saith he) the opinions of the Greeks concerning the Trinity, and unless he had collected the decrees of the Eastern Synods, we should have known nothing of them as touching their opinions and doctrin…s.

5. His commentary upon the Gospel of Matthew, E…asm in epist ant. Hi…which he divided into thirty and p. 403three Canons,Sixt. Senens. biblioth. l. 4. by which name it is called of some: Going through almost the whole of that Evangelist, in a succinct and brief, but learned and solid explanation: Being more delighted with the allegorical than literal sense herein imitating Origen, out of whom I doubt not (saith Erasmus) he translated this whole work;Ibid. it doth so in all things savour both of the wit and phrase of Origen. For as it containeth many choice things which do proclaim the Author to have been most absolutely skilled in the sacred Scriptures, so is he sometimes too superstitious and violent in his allegories, a peculiar fault to be found in almost all the commentaries of Origen.

6. His commentary upon the Psalms, not the whole but upon the first and second: then from the one and fiftieth unto the sixty and second:In catalog. according to Ierom's reckoning, but as now extant in Erasmus his edition, from the one and fiftyeth unto the end of the sixty and ninth: which addition Sixtus Senensis saith he had read being printed.In biblioth. lib. 4. Also from the hundred and nineteenth unto the end of the book: only that upon the last Psalm is imperfect,In ep…st. ant. Hilar. the last leaf (saith Erasmus) in the manuscripts being either torn or worn away, as it oftentimes falls out. This work is rather an imitation than a translation of Origen: for he adds somewhat of his own, some do affirm that he set forth tractates upon the whole book of the Psalms, and that it was extant in Spain, But commonly no more is to be found than the above mentioned.Ep. ad Fl… rentium. num. 6. as also his book of the Synods, being very large, Ierom transcribed with his own hand at Triers p. 404for he had him in very high esteem.

There are also some books abroad under his name, which are justly suspected and taken for spurious▪ As,

1. An Epistle unto Abram or Afram his Daughter,Fra…n in ep. ant. Hilar. …t …. which is a mere toy of some idle and unlearned man, it hath nothing in it worthy of Hilary, much less that which follows, viz.

2. An Hymn which hath in it neither rhythm nor reason, yet doth Ierom testifie of Hilary, that he wrote in verse,Eras…. ibid. and perhaps some of those hymns which at this day are sung in the Church, whose Author is unknown, may be his:De poetis. He was so far skill'd this way, that Gyraldus gives him a place and ranks him among the Christian Poets. Bellarmine and Possevin had but small reason upon so slender a ground, as they have, to affirm both of these to be his without doubt.

3. A book of the unity of the Father and the Son,Bellat. de script. Ecci. which, whether it were his or no, seems very uncertain; seeing Ierom makes no mention of it. It seems to be a rhapsody of some studious man,In catalog. libr. Hilar. in edit. Erasm. Cent. 4. c. 10. taken partly out of the second, but for the most part out of the ninth book of the Trinity; who omitted and added what he pleased. With this as a distinct book from it, Bellarmine joyns another, of the essence of the Father and the Son, which yet I find not named by any other Author. Indeed there is an appendix unto the former of the various names of Christ,Ibid. (which Bellarmine mentions not) the phrase whereof differs much from Hilary's. R…v. crit. sac.The Author whereof would fain imitate Hilary, which he was not negligent p. 405in the performance of:De script. Ecclef. They are grave and learned books (saith Bellarmine of his two) and not unworthy the spirit and eloquence of Hilary.

4. An Epistle unto Augustine, concerning the remains of the Pelagian heresie, which cannot be Hilary's, Riv. crit. sac.because that heresie was not known in his time.

5. Another Epistle unto Augustine, being the eighty and eighth in number among Augustines: Ibid.in which he propounds certain questions to be resolved,Bellar. de script. Ecci. but neither this nor the …ormer are our Hilary's, who was dead before Augustine became a Christian, and yet in his answer he stiles him his Son.Riv. crit. sac. They both seem to belong unto another Hilary, that was afterward made Bishop of Arles; who together with Prosper of Aquitain, defended the cause of Augustine against the French Semipelagians, The former of the Epistles gave occasion unto Augustine to write his treatises of the predestination of the Saints and of the good of perseverance, to which are prefix'd this Epistle, together with one from Prosper concerning the same matter.

6. A fragment concerning the things that were done in the Council of Ariminum, Ad an. 352.rejected by Baronius.

7. An heroick Poem,Riv crit. sac. Bellar. de script. Eccl. stiled Genesis written unto Pope Leo, who lived Ann. 440. at what time Hilary had left this life: And therefore it cannot be his, but may better be ascribed unto the abovenamed Hilary Bishop of Arles.

8. A fragment of the Trinity,Biblioth. Patr. gr … tom. 1. which contains his creed, but of little credit as being no p. 406where else mentioned. It might happily be an extract out of his work upon this subject.

§ 4. As for his stile, it is perplex and th…rny,Calvin. ep. 339. such, as should he handle matters in themselves very clear, yet would it be both hard to be understood and easie to be depraved. Very lofty he is after the Gallicane manner,Erasm. in ep. ant. Hilar. for this seems to be peculiar unto the wit and genius of that nation; (as appears in Sulpitius Severus Eucherius, and of late the famous Budaeus, adeo sublimis, ut tubam sonare credas non bominem; adeò faeliciter elaboratus, ut eruditum lectorem nunquam satiet, Hieron. ep. 13. ad Pauli…um.trivialiter literatos procul submoveat.) and being adorned with the Flowers of Greece, he is sometimes involved in long periods, so that he is far above the reach of, and in vain perused by unskilful Readers, which yet Sixtus Senensis thinketh ought to be referred unto his books of the Trinity,Biblioth. l. 4. wherein he imitated Quintilian both in his stile,Hieron. epist 84. ad Magnum. and also the number of the books: for in that work though the subject it self were profound, yet did he affect the praise of subtlety in the handling of it: which inconvenience (saith Erasmus) may be lessened in the Reader through custom and familiarity.In epist ant. Hilar. But in his commentaries upon the Psalms and Gospel of Matthew, Sixt. Senens. lib. 4.his stile is succinct without any affection of art, solid yet sometimes obscure, but far from all swelling haughtiness.

§ 5. There are many things in his works well worthy of note; I shall present you with a few which I shall chuse to do in his words p. 407lest they should lose too much of their weight, by the translation of them.

1. His Creed or the sum of his faith, Ad Constan. l. 3. sub sinemwhich he thus pithily sets down. Intelliges (inquit ad imperatorem Constantium) a me praedicari unum Deum Patrem, ex quo omnia; et quem misit Iesum Christum, per qnem omnia, natum ex Deo, qui est ante tempora aeterna, et erat in principio, apud Deum, Deus Verbum, qui est imago Dei invisibilis, in quo habitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis conporaliter: qui cum in forma Dei esset, humilians sese salutis nostrae causâ, formam servi ex conceptu Spiritus sancti de Virgine accepit, factus obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis, et post resurrectionem mortis deinde in caelestibus sedens, aderit judex vivorum et mortuorum, et Rex omnium aeternorum saeculorum. Est enim unigenitus Deus, et Deus verus et Deus magnus, super omnia Deus, et omnis lingua confitebitur, quia dominus Iesus Christus in gloriâ Dei Patris est.

2. Of the Scriptures,In Psal. 132.Ps 132 as containing in them all things necessary to be known: Quae (inquit) libro legis non continentur, ea nec nosse debemus.

3. Of God thus. De trin. l. ….Inter haec (speaking of his doubts concerning the heathen Gods) animus sollicitus, devinum et aeternum nihil nisi unum esse et indifferens pro certo habebat, quia id quod sibi ad id quod est autor esset, nihil necesse est extra se quod sui esset praestantius reliquisse. At que ita omnipotentiam aeternitatemque non nisi penes unum esse, quia neque in omnipotentiâ validius infirmiusque, neque in aeternitate posterius anteriusve cougrueret. In Deo autem nihil nisi aeternum potensque esse venerandum.

p. 4084. Much to the same purpose. In Psal. 2.Ps 2Deus (inquit) beatus at que perfectus profectu non eget cui nihil deest, demutatione non novus est, qui origine caret. Ipse est, qui quod est non aliunde est, in sese est cum est, ad se est, s…us sibi est, & ipse sibi omni… est, carens omni demutatione novitatis, qui nihil aliud quod in se posset incidere per id quod ipse sibi totum totus est reliquit.

5. Of Christ thus: …e Trin. l. 4.Hic unus est disponens ad Abraham, loquens ad Mosen, testans ad Israel, manens in Prophetis, per Virginem natus, ex Spiritu Sancto, adversantes nobis inimicas que virtutes ligno passionis affigens, mortem in inferno perimens, spei nostrae fidem resurrectione confirmans, corruptionem carnis humanae gloriâ corporis sui periniens.—Deo haec unigenito soli propria sunt.

6. Of the Anger of God, …n Psal. 2.Ps 2thus: Poena patientis, ira esse creditur, decernentis. At que ita irascitur Deus, cum per poenae dolorem iram decreti in se sentiat esse punitus, quae non per dem…tationem naturae in iram ex, placabilitate commota est, sed ex constitutione poenae ir… sit puniendis.

7. Of faith, De Trin. lib. 10▪thus: Pietas est non ambigere, & justitia est credere, & salus confiteri. Non in incerta diffluere ne que ad stultiloquia effervere, ne que modo circumscribere potestatem, ne que causas investigabilium sacramentorum retractare, Dominum Iesum confiteri, & à Deo suscitatum à mortuis credere salus est. Quae vr…ò insania p. 409est, qualis & oujusmodi sit Iesum calumniari, …um saelus sola sit hoc solum scire, quòd Dominus sit. In simplicitate ita que fides est, in fide justitia est, in confessione pietas est. Non per difficiles nos Deus ad beatam vitam quaestiones vocat nec multiplici eloquentis facundiae gener… solicitat. In absoluto & nobis ac facili est aeternitas, Iesum suscitatum à mortuis per Deum credere, & ipsum esse Dominum confiteri.

8. Of the evil of divisions thus,—usus inolevit, qui postquàm nova potiùs coepit condere, quàm accepta retinere, nec verterata defendit, nec innovata firmavit, & facta fides temporum potiùs▪ Evangeliorum, dum & secundum annos scribitur, & secundum confessionem baptismi non tenetur. Periculosum nobis admodùm, at que etiam miserabile est, tot nu…c fides existere, quot voluntates: & tot nobis doctrinas esse, quod mores & tot causas blasphemiarum pullulare, quot vitia sunt: dum aut ita fides scribuntur ut volumus, aut ita ut volumus, intelliguntur: & cum secundum unum Deum & unum Dominum, & unum baptisma, etiam fides una sit, excedimus ab eâ fide quae sola est, & dum plures fiunt, ad id coeperunt esse, ne ulla sit.

9. Of Hereticks, De Trinit. lib. 10.thus; Quis Doctrinae profectus est, placida magis quàm docenda conquirere? Aut quae doctrinae Religio est, non docenda desiderare, sed …esideratis coac…rvare doctrinam? Sed baec seducentium Spirituum incentiva suppeditant, & simulatae religionis falsiloquia confirmant. Sequitur enim fidei defectionem hypoerisis p. 410m…ndax, ut sit vel in verbis pietas quam amiserat conscienti….

10. Of pardon of sin, In Psal. 66.Ps 66thus: Ex copiâ bonitatis suae misericordiam in peccatorum remissionem largitur Deus; & peccatorum remissio non probitatis est meritum, sed spontaneae indulgentiae voluntas ex bonitatis divitiis ad miserandi …unus exuberans.

11. Of merit,In Matth. Canon. 27. thus, Virgines prudentes fatuis petentibus ut oleum mutuent; responderunt, non posse se dare, quia non sit fortè quod omnibus satis sit, alienis scilicet operibus ac meritis neminem adjuvandum quia unicui que lampadi suae emere oleum sit necesse. Suitable hereunto is that remarkable story recorded by Melchior Adams; In vita Gobelini Personae. vixit. ann. 1420.to this purpose that a little before the time of Gobelinus, there was set forth a play at Isenach in Germany, of the wise and foolish Virgins; wherein the foolish desiring oyl of the wise, (which the Actor thus interpreted; that they would intercede unto God for them that they might be admitted unto the Marriage, i. e. the Kingdom of heaven) they utterly denied to lend them any. The foolish fell to knocking, weeping and instant praying, but could not prevail a jot; but were bidden to be gone and buy oyl. Hereat Prince Frederick (being present) was greatly amazed, crying out Quid est fides nostra Christiana, si neque Maria (she was one of the five Saints that represented the wise Virgins) ne que alia sancta exorari potest: ut deprecetur pro nobis? quorsum tot merita & bona opera, ut Sanctorum apud Deus intercessionem p. 411nobi… conciliemus, & gratiam impetremus: This consternation was such, that through it he fell into a sore and dangerous disease, which ended in an apoplexy whereof he died about four days after.

12. Of the qualifications of a Bishop or Pastor: De Trin. l. 8.thus, Quae propria disciplinae ac morum sunt, ad sacerdotii meritum utilia esse significat Apostolus,Tit. 1. ….Titus 1 si etiam haec quae ad docendae ac tuendae fidei scientiam necessaria sunt, inter reliqna non deerunt. Quia non statim …oni at que utilis sacerdotis est, aut tantummodo innocenter agere, aut tantummodo scienter praedicare, cum & innocens sibi tant…m proficiat, nisi doctus sit: & doctus sine doctrinae sit autoritare nisi innocens sit. Non enim Apost…licus sermo probitatis bonestatis que praeceptis hominem tantùm seculo conformat ad vitam, ne que rursum per doctrine scientiam scribam synagogae instituit ad legem, sed perfectum Ecclesiae principem perfectis maximarum virtutum bonis instruit, ut & vita …jus orn…tur docendo, & doctrina vivendo.

13. Of Scandal, In Psal. 140▪Ps 140thus. Differt laqueus à seandalo: Laqueus enim est adhortatio voluptatum, & ingenium appetitionis inhonestae, quod modo laquei fallens capit. Scandalum autem est uxor irreligiosa, filius iniquus, & caetera deinceps domi nomina, & omnis ex Ecclesiâ frater, aut contumeliosus, aut avarus, aut ebriosus, aut turpis. In his enim nobis est scandalum, quoticus ad necessitatem irascendi, inhibendi, vindicandi ex illâ quietâ fidei nostrae mansuetudine provocamur.

p. 41214. Of being under the power of corruption, In Psal. 125.Ps 125thus, Animae captivitas quàm infoelix est Avarus cariturus semetipso, carere timet pecuniâ, negociosus, tristis, anxius, sine requi… ulla, domni metu semper detinetur: honestatis immemor est, amicitiarum inobservans, humanitatis fugax, religionem nescit, bonitatem omninò odit. At verò cui libido domina est, in quo coeno dedecoris volutatur? Pendet ad occasiones adulteriorum, anxius circa lasciviae suae fervorem, oculis, mente, corpore totus in scortis est. Videns quotidie at que audiens humanas in adulteros leges, adulterium in ipso foro cogitat: quod agit timet, & quod timet non fugit. Quid verò infaelicius ebrietatis dominatu? Ventri ultra capacitatem infundere, sensuirationem a dimere, non loqui, non meminisse, non stare, & mortem quandam naturae incolumi imperare? quàm dedecorosus autem est furentium motus, temeritatis impetus, odiorum stimulus, livoris anxietas? Quanta ergò perturbatio eorum est, quanta calamitas, qui suprà memoratis malis serviunt?

§ 6. These and such like passages worthy of note, are frequently to be met with in the writings of this Father; wherein there also some things that call for the caution of the Reader, as not so warily and fitly uttered as they should have been, nor altogether allowable and to be approved of. Such are these that follow.

1. Suam cui que personam distribuens, Lib. 2. de Trinitat.aeternitatem adsignat patri, imaginem filio, usum p. 413Spiritui Sancto. In the explication of which place,Cent. 4. c. 10. Augustine much troubled himself, as not knowing what he should mean by the word Vsus.

2. Videtur Christo tribuere corpus & animam,De Trinit; lib. 10. nullis obnoxiam molestis affectionibus, e.g. hominem (inquit) verum secundum similitudinem nostri hominis non deficiens à se Deo sumpsit Christus, in quem quamvis aut ictus incideret aut vulnus descenderet, aut nodi concurrerent, aut suspensio elevaret, afferrent quidem haec impeturae passionis, non tamen dolorem passionis inferrent, ut telum aliquod aut aquam perforans, aut ignem compungens, aut aera vulnerans— homo ille de Deo est habens ad patiendum quidem corpus, & passus est, sed naturam non habens ad dolendum.

3. Parùm benè ab eo dictum est:Ibid. Mariam Virginem praeter concipiendi,Cent. 4. c. 10. gestandi & pariendi ministerium, nihil addidisse de suo: ac fi Christus non ex substantiâ corporis Mariae carnem & sanguinem suam sumpsisset.

4. Asserit,Do Trin. l. … nos cum filio & patre unum esse naturâ, non adoptione, neque consensu tantùm.

5. De creatione sensit:De Trin. lib. 12. omnia creationis opera simul & semel, sine intervallis aut ordine operum aliorum post alia creatorum, extitisse; quae opinio manifestè cum 1. capite Geneseos pugnat.

6. De libero arbitrio non satis videtur cauté p. 414locutus:In Psal. 118.Ps 118 cum ait. In Psal. 119. 33. Prius (inquit) quae à Deo sunt cum honore praeposuit, & tunc quae à se cum confessione subjecit. Orat igitur ut Deus tribuat. Est ergò à nobis cum oramus exordium, ut munus ab eo sit: dehinc quia de exordio nostro munus est ejus, ex nostro rursum est, ut exquiratur, & obtineatur, & maneat.Ibid. Item. Est quidem in fide manendi à Deo munus, sed impediendi à nobis origo est. Et voluntas nostra hoc proprium ex se habere debet, ut velit Deus incipienti crementum dare; quia consummationem per se infirmitas nostra non obtinet, meritum tamen adipiscendae consummationis est ex imtio voluntatis.

§ 7. As concerning his end,Cent. 4. c. 10. Osiand. epit. hist. Eccles. I find this: that upon the death of Constantius, Iulian his successor granting liberty of returning unto all those that by Constantius had been banished,Cent. 4. l. 3. c. 18. Hilary among the rest returned into his own country, where having remained by the space of six years he peaceably ended his days,Sulpit. Sever. l. 2. in the Reign of the Emperors Valentinian and Valens; Bucholcer. Chron. Baron. annal.A…n. Christ, Three hundred sixty six, or as others, Three hundred sixty nine.

FINIS.

Reader, you are entreated to correct the errors of the Press, particularly that in page 151. for all visions read allusions.