The Virgin Mary Misrepresented by the Roman Church, Chapter 1 · Section 2

The Virgin Mary Misrepresented by the Roman Church · Chapter 1 · Section 2

p. 27SECT. II. The Legend of the Bleſſed Virgin's Parents, and of her Conception.

Anaph.

Portifor. Sec. uſum ſarum, Jul. 26.PAter praecelſae Virginis Joachim erat nomine;

Mater Anna nobilis, quae regali fulſit ſemine:

In tres partes dividunt ſic rerum ſubſtantiam,

Dant Templo, dant pauperibus, ſervant ſibi tertiam.

THat Joachim begat the Virgin, 'tis agreed;

Anne was her Mother's Name, derived from kingly Seed:

When into Portions three their Riches parted were,

The Temple, Poor, and they had all an equal ſhare.

In 2do Nocturn. Anaph.

Annos quoque plurimos ducunt in conjugio

Steriles & triſtes, ſub legis opprobrio;

Exprobravit hunc pontifex, Joachim quod ſiſteret

Infoecundus cum foecundis, ſeque eis jungeret.

Joachim ex opprobrio in Templo triſtis exiit,

Nec ad domum vel uxorem, ſed ad paſtores tranſiit.

Theſe two in married ſtate full many years did paſs

Barren and Comfortleſs, under the Laws diſgrace;

The Prieſt with ſcorn rejects his Offerings as defil'd,

Who with the Fruitful dar'd t'appear and had no Child.

With foul reproach diſmay'd, and from the Temple ſent,

He left his Wife and Home, and to his Shipherds went.

In 3tio. Nocturn. Anaph.

Joachim & conjugi Angelus apparuit,

Dolenteſque nimium dulciter compeſcuit;

Preces veſtrae ſunt acceptae, habebitiſque filiam,

Per quam Deus magnificè praeſtabit ſanctis gratiam.

To this afflicted pair an Angel then appears,

Who bad them grieve no more, but dry up all their Tears;

God does accept your Prayers, and you ſhall have a Daughter,

Trough whom the Saints ſhall gain abundant Grace hereafter.

p. 28Hymn.

Horae ſec. uſum Hieroſol. Lugd. 1516.Fletus longaevi Rex regum miſertus,

Angelum mittit, gaudium pro luctu,

Ut dicat Annae tempore ſenili, Prolem habebis.

—Joachim magno gaudio repletur,

Vocem dum audivit Angeli dicentis,

Rariet tibi Anna matrem Dei Grandem prae cunctis.

Their griefs prolong'd made Heaven at length relent,

Which first to Anne this joyful meſſage ſent,

Thou ſhalt conceive a Child, though thou art Old,

An Angel this foretold.

Her Husband Joachim greatly did rejoice,

When after this he heard the Angels voice,

Which ſaid, that Anne God's. Mother ſhould bring forth.

Excelling all in worth.

Their Engliſh Feſtivale (Printed 1511.) has given an account of this matter more at large, thus, aaDe Concept. Mariae, Fol. 62.The Virgin had a Fader that was called Jochym, that was ſo holy a Man, that when he was but 15, yere of Age, he departed all his Goodes in 3. partyes; and one partye he deled to Wyddowes and Faderleſs Chyldren; the ſecond partye he gave to them that were poor and nedy; (here he left out the Temple and made two of one) the third partye he kept to himſelf and to his Houſeholde. And when that he was 32. yere of of Aege, for the great goodneſs of Anne he Wedded her, and when they were Wedded they were togeder 22. yere: in which tyme Anne never dyſpleaſed him with no maner thynge neither nyght nor daye; for ſhe was ſo gentyl to him, and they bothe good and holy: Yet God ſent them no Fruyte of theyr Bodyes, but were Baraynes. Wherefore they made a Vowe to God, That if he wolde ſende them a Chylde, they wolde offre it up to him into the Temple for to ſerve God bothe nyghte and daye. Than on a daye as Jochym wente with his Neybours to the Temple for to do his Offrynges, the Byſhop, that hyght Yſachar, rebuked him openly before all the People and ſayd, Jochym, it falleth not for thee that is Barayne and haſt no Fruyte to doo Offrynges with other People, that God hath ſent Fruyte in Jheruſalem. Than p. 29was Jochym fore diſmayed and …yed with this rebuke▪ Than he went home wepyng … his Shepeherdes pryvely with his Shepe, and were forth into a ferre Countree amonge Mountaynes and …ynes, and purpoſed to have be there all his Lyfe, and never more to come home to Anne his Wyfe. Than when Jochym was gone, Anne was ryght ſory and prayed to God and ſayd, Lorde, that I am woe and full of ſorowe, I am Barayne and I may have no Fruyte; and now moreover my Husbande is gone away from me, and I know not whyder he is gone. Lorde have mercy on me, poore deſolate Creature. Than as ſhe prayed thus, an Aungell came down and comforted her and ſayd, Anne be of good comforte, for thou ſhalt have a Chyld in thyn olde Aege, there was never none lyke ne never ſhall be. Than was Anne aferde of this Aungells Wordes and of the ſyghte of him; and laye alwaye in her Prayers as ſhe had been deed. Than wente the ſame Aungell to Jochym and ſayd theſe wordes, and badde Jochym take a Lambe and offre it in Sacrifice to God, and ſoo he dyd. And when he had done ſo, from Mydday till Evenſonge tyme he lay on the grounde in his Prayers, thankynge God with all his herte. Than on the morrowe as the Aungell badde he wente homewarde to Anne his Wyfe with his Shepe. And when he came nye home, the Aungell came to Anne and badde her goo to the Gate that was called the Golden-Gate, and abyde her Husbands tyll he came. Than was ſhe gladde and toke her Maydens with her and went to the Gate, and there ſhe met with Jochym and ſayde: Lorde I thanke thee, for I was a Wydowe and now I am a Wyfe; I was Barayne and now I ſhall bere a Chyld; I was Woo and Wepynge, and now I ſhall be in Joy and Lykynge: And ſoone after Anne conceived our Lady, and whan ſhe was borne ſhe was called Maria as the Aungell badde before.

p. 30REMARKS.

ALthough the Salisbury Portuiſe, has given us, in the foregoing Hymns, a ſhort account of the Parents and Conception of the Virgin in the Legendary way; yet it is ſo ingenuous as to confeſs in another place, bbIn feſt. concept. Mar. Dec. 8. Lect. 2.that the Book that trea… of theſe is numbered by the Fathers among Apocryphal Writings, and therefore forbears to ſet down the Leſſons out of it. But what this has omitted, the old Roman Breviary (on the Twentieth of March, and Six and Twentieth of July) has inſerted; whoſe Leſſons are taken out of Two ſpurious Authors, viz. the Protevangelium of S. James, and the Epiſtle to Chromatius and Heli…dorus, concerning the Nativity of the B. Virgin, falſely fathered upon S. Jerome, whom it cites ccBrev. Rom. Antiq. ad 26. Jul. Lec. 3, & 6.. And becauſe theſe Two are the Shops from whence they fetch a great deal of their falſe Wares, I ſhall have ſay … little concerning them. The Learned Biſhop Mountague ddActs and Monu. c. 8. ſec. 35.ſays, not without great reaſon, That both theſe Books came … from the …ſticks, but interlaced after them and new vnbiſ… by the Ma…ichees; …ing whom Seleucus was a great deal… in this Trade. Conce…ing the firſt of them, (viz. … in the Monumenta Pat…um … of Eccleſiaſtical Writers ſays, There is … under the name of James, but was never re…d by the Church. If by the Church we underſtand that which in taught Devotions, it muſt needs receive it, when the Leſſon taken out of it were publickly read to them to inſtruct them, as we find them in the Roman Breviary before cited: But if he means that part of the Church which cenſures Authors, then indeed he ſays true that they never received it; but then the more horrid ſhame to ſuffer, nay obtrude that upon the People which they cenſure and know to be falſe. Pope Innocent the Firſt eeV. Council. Labbe. Tom. 2. p. 1256.about the Year 402, condemned this Goſpel of James the leſs, in his Third Epiſtle ad Exuperium. So does Gelaſius after him in the firſt Roman Council ffIbid. Tom. 4. p. 1264.: The Goſpel under the name of James the Leſs is Apocryphal. And Baronius ggAppar. ad Annal. n. 39.has taken ſuch diſtaſte at him, that he has baniſh'd all conſideration of p. 31him from his Writings; and indeed every one that will vouchſafe to peruſe him, will juſtifie his Cenſure and abhor the Cheat. Neither need he be moved by what he finds cited out of this Author, in the Hexaëmeron ſet forth by Leo Allatius, Anno 1629. under the name of Euſtathius Biſhop of Antioch, that great Father in the Council of Nice; or by what Allatius adds in his Notes upon him, to gain him ſome credit; for the Teſtimonies of the Ancients he produces, mention no work of his under the name of Hexaëmeron; though S. Jerome in Catal. Scriptorum tells us of his Book De anima & de Engaſtrimutho againſt Origen and his Epiſtles. And though Anaſtatius, Sinaita (Anagog. Contempl. in Hexaëm. lib. 9. if they are his, which is doubted) cites Words of Euſtathius about the creation of Birds and Beaſts, yet there are no ſuch to be found in this which Allatius publiſhed: Who alſo in his Notes confeſſes, That this Book has the very ſame Sentences and Words that S. Baſil uſes upon the ſame Argument, and that there was an Euſtathius who did Tranſlate Baſil's Hexaëmeron into Latin, which it's probable might give occaſion to fix the name of the famous Euſtathius to this work; who ſure was a greater man, than to believe ſuch ſtuff as his Jacobus and ours relates, of the Dove coming out of Joſeph's Rod at the Eſpouſals of the B. Virgin, and of a Mountain cleaving to receive and hide John the Baptiſt and his Mother when Herod ſought to kill him among the Infants; ſo far was he (as Allatius thinks) from leaving out and ſifting the Heretical and fabulous Additions which our Protevangeli…s does abound with; and could not all of them be ſet down by him in that ſhort account of the B. Virgins Nativity, which he has extracted out of him.

As for the other, viz. the Epiſtle, under the Mask of S. Jerome, there is not one Learned Man of that Church that offers to defend it for his; and but one Jeſuit hhChriſtoph. a Caſtro Hiſt. Deiparae in Catal. Auctor. p. 701.that I meet with, that is concerned to vindicate him for an Author to be relied upon; and I do not blame him for bearing him a kindneſs, becauſe he has been beholden to him for a great deal that makes up his Hiſtory of the B. Virgin. He calls him a pious and ancient Author: We may gueſs at his Piety, by endeavouring to impoſe upon the World under thoſe great names, and by pretending that this account of the B. Virgin was written p. 32… as a great ſecret, which … …ate. As for his … as … Se…ſis ſays iiBibl. Saect. L. 2. tit. Matth. Evang.… and G…eſtiens, which … do …. Even he that is vo… … the … not vouch for the Truth … that it may be read … find per… … or …gned: Neit… … he pretend … to … that he will ſet down …ither what is there written … conſ…ter ſcribi pot…, or might be written in con…nce. So that the Learned …. V…ſius kkDiſſert. de genere J. Chriſt…i. p. 34.might we… … Impoſtor would ſeem to have made a Tr… … the Hebrew, I fear he underſtood not Hebrew, and that … took his Story either out of the Book of the Gnoſticks, called …, or out of Selencus his Book of the Nativity of Mary; and only paſſed over thoſe things which patronized the Ma…ich…an Doctrine: for he commen… Selencus that he had ſpoken truly of the Vertues and Miracles of the Apoſtles, though he had told many falſi…ies of their Doctrine, &c. He thinks it alſo pro…ble, That … th…ſe Writing under the … Matthew, m…ed and condemned by Innocent, in his … Epiſtle to Exuperius, are thoſe which this counterfeit Jerome ſays he Tranſlated out of Matthew in Hebrew. And it is alſo likely, that he is comprehended in that cenſure of … llLoc. ante citat.: … Books which L…ncl… … Diſciple of the Devil made, are Apocryphal … is the ſame with Selencus, as … Men have ſhown:) mmSee Caſaub. Exercit. 1. ſec. 16. Bp. Mountague's Apparat. 8. ſec. 31.And, Liber de Nativitate ſalvatoris & de Maria & obſtetrice, Apoc. The Book of the Nativity of our Saviour, and of Mary, and the Midwife, Apocryphal. Melch. Canus nnLib. 11. loc. com. c. 6.calls this Epiſtle Fabulam inſulſam aequè ac barbaram; An unſavory and barbarous Fable. Baronius ooApparat. ad Annal. n. 44.condemns him for an Author unknown and unskilful, that knew not how to avoid manifeſt Lyes, as he inſtances in his making Iſachar High-Prieſts; whereas he ſhows out of Joſephus, that there was none of that name about that time. And, to name no more, Biſhop Mountague ppActs and Monum. c. 8. p. 524.after he has told the Story of Joachim's Oblation at the Temple, and Iſachar's diſgraceful rebuking of him for his being Childleſs (which we heard p. 33before) out of this Author, he calls him Impudent, blaſphemous Impoſtor thus …, and gives many Reaſon… for th… ſharp cenſure **…. Yet this is he whom Xaverius in his New … as well as the Old Breviary, chuſes to follow in … concerning the B. Virgin. But enough of theſe … … thors. To return now to our Remarks upon the … Hiſtory.

I will not make any diſpute of it, that the names of the P… rents of the B. Virgin were Joachim and Anna: Neither will I urge that of S. Auſtin, qqL. 23. cont. Fau…. c. 9. ad ….That her Father was a Prieſt of the Tribe of Levi named Joachim, becauſe it is not Canonical, it does not bind me; becauſe he ſeems rather to oppoſe his being of the Tribe of Levi, as Fauſtus the Manichee held, than to doubt of his Name; eſpecially ſince Epiphanius rrHaereſ. 78, & 79.takes it for granted. There is no mention of them in Scripture, unleſs … S. Luke, c. 3.23. be the ſame with Joachim. Galatinus ssDe arcan. l. 7. c. 12.cites his famous Rabbi Haccados, that he had two Names Heli and Joachim: But that Author has been diſcarded by Baronius ttAppar. n. 39.for a forged one, who pretends to write Prophetically, in anſwer to ſeveral Queſtions propoſed by Antonius, a Roman Conſul, whereas no ſuch name is to be found among the Faſti of Conſuls at that time. Sanctius uuin Jerem. …. v. 3. n. 10.thinks that the Virgin's Father was called Helia…, or, which is the ſame, Helijoacim; and ſometimes Heli, ſometimes Joachim▪ Ger. Voſſius xxUbi ſupra, p. 31.that it is a contraction of Eliakim, and that Eliakim and Joakim are the ſame, as appears by 2 Kings 23.34. and that the High-Prieſt who is called Eliakim, Judith 4.5,11. (ſo it is in the vulgar Latin and Syriack) is called Joakim, Judith 15.9. However this be their own Authors are not backward to grant that the Scripture is ſilent concerning them. Pet. Damianus yyLib. 3. de Nativ. Virg.calls it a needleſs inquiry to ask who was the Father or Mother of the B. Virgin, and a ſuperfluous curioſity to ſeek after that, which the Evangeliſt had not thought fit to tell us. Nay ſeveral zzCatharinus in c. 3. Geneſ. Novarinus umbr. Virg. p. 349. Carthagena de arc. Deip. l. 2. hom. 2.of them draw a great myſtery from it; ſuch as the Apoſtle does from Melchizedeck's being without Father and Mother, and without deſcent, (Heb. 7.3.) to ſignifie that immortal Prieſt that ſhould come after: So here, in her caſe, it denotes her freedom from Original Sin. Who was her Father and Mother, ſays Novarinus, is not told us in Scripture, as if ſhe, the Virgin, had no Parents; and in this regard ſhe had none, becauſe ſhe derived no ſpot or ſtain from them.

p. 34The Legend makes her Parents to be Rich; Joachim was foreign, very Wealthy, ſays the Protevangelium; and Laverius aaHiſtor. Chriſt. p. 14.mentions their Riches after him, and how they expended them by a threefold diverſion, which Mantuan bbParthen. Ma…. l. 1.has thus expreſt.

Sic noſtras partimur opes, pars optima Templo,

Altera ſors inopi, ſervit pars tertia nobis.

That is,

Into Three parts our Subſtance we divide,

The firſt and beſt we to the Temple give;

The Poor is by a ſecond ſhare ſupply'd,

On the Remainder we our ſelves do live.

All which they borrowed from the Counterfeit Jerome. And if they had told us of their low Eſtate (foreign,) as the Scripture does of their Daughters, we had had as much reaſon to believe them. But ſince they alſo inform us how they laid it out, and into how many Portions they divided it, I wonder they did not give us the particulars of Joachim's Laſt Will, which I do not find in any of them; for it had been as eaſie to have done the one as the other.

The ſame Counterfeit has alſo told the Story of their Barrenneſs, and determines it to Twenty Years, in which time they Faſted and Prayed for a Child with many Tears, and vowed to conſecrate it to God, if he would beſtow one upon them. Poza ccElucid. l. 2. tr. 8. c. 1.enlarges the time to about Fifty Years from their Marriage; and yet their Prayers and Faſtings muſt be continued, yea and Pilgrimages too many times, and that barefoot (if we believe Vinc. Ferrerius) ddSerm. 2. de Nativ. B. Virg.from Nazareth to Jeruſalem, which the Breviary eead Matt. 20. Lec. 5.Matt 20ſays, was Thirty two Miles. But faſting and Prayers to obtain a Child at this Age ſeems to be not over-wiſe a Buſineſs: Poza ffIbid. tract. …. c. 2. p. 499.therefore, to free this from the Imputation of Folly, is fain to grant that it was a Miracle they deſired, but ſays they were put upon it by divine Inſpiration; or perhaps they had the Promiſe of a Child by an Angel's Meſſage. Having now beſtowed this Faith and Patience upon them, the next Work is to cry it up: As Poza and others ggNovatinus, umbr. virg. n. 1230.do, preferring Joachim's Faith before that of Abraham, whom the Scripture calls the Father of the Faithful. Beholdp. 35here, ſays one, a greater Faith than in the Conception of Iſaac. But what talk we of Iſaac, when that bold Jeſuit hhPoza ib. l. 2. tract. 4. c. 1.will have this Conception of the B. Virgin by Two Parents both barren, to be equally a rare Thing in Nature, as the Conception of Chriſt himſelf of a Woman without a Man. Nay he goes farther, iiIbid. c 2.that it was more wonderful than this, abſtracting from Chriſt's Divinity; for only partes viri were ſupplied in her conceiving Chriſt; but Two barren Perſons were ſupplied with Strength in her Conception. But no Faith will be great enough to make the next Paſſage to go for currant with any intelligent Reader, where both the Fablers bring in Joachim rebuked and reproached by the High-Prieſt, and his Oblation rejected: And what wot you was his Crime? A new and ſtrange one; that he had hitherto begot no Child, taking it for granted, it ſeems, that it was his Fault, which was a little ſevere; eſpecially if Poza kkIbid. l. 2. tr. 2. c. 2, 3.has gueſſed right, That Anne laboured under a preternatural Impotency, and that the Marriage between her and Joachim was never conſummated, nor her Virginity loſt, till the B. Virgin was conceived; which, he ſays, is favoured by Germanus's Words, llEncom. de Virg. Praeſent.Immediately at God's Command Nature received Seed, which it durſt not do before the Divine Grace was beſtowed.

Xaverius mmIbid. p. 17.adds, that the Prieſt when he removed him in Indignation, told him for certain, That he was guilty of ſome ſecret Pollution, which was the Cauſe of his Barrenneſs. One may well be tempted to enquire the Name of this ſurly High-Prieſt, for he never had his Fellow in Story: But here the forenamed Cheats are not agreed; for St. James his Man calls him Reuben, and St. Jerom's Iſachar; the old Roman Breviary nnAd Mart. 20. Lec. 5.had ſo great a Reſpect for them both, that it takes them both in, Iſachar for the High-Prieſt, and Reuben for a Scribe that aſſiſted him: And they have alſo put a Text in his Mouth to confound poor Joachim withal. Maledictus omnis qui non genuiſſet maſculum in Iſrael, Curſed is he that hath not begot a Male-Child in Iſrael. But to ſee the good Luck of it, both the Curſe, and he that pronounces it are only of their own making, for there is no ſuch High-Prieſt to be found at this time among the Jews; nor no ſuch Scripture to be found in all the Bible. One would imagine that this Bolt ſhould have done no Execution: But they make Joachim juſt like one of their p. 36meek Devoto's at Confeſſion, tr…mbling at the Prieſt's Anger and not daring to diſp…te any of his …yings. He goes away confounded, and you find him preſently at his Penance, ſeparating himſelf from his Wife, and running into a Deſart, where he faſts Forty Days and Forty Nights ooProtevang. Jacobi.: or if you will believe the Breviary ppIbid. L…c. 6.ſpending almoſt Five Months in watching and faſting:

— qqMantuan. Parth. Mar. l. 2.patriam fugiens ob dedecus urbem,

Rus coluit, plureſque latens inglorius annos

Duxerat in luctu triſtem ſine conjuge vitam.

That is,

—Diſgrac'd he flies his native Seat,

Chuſing a Country and obſcure Retreat;

Where many Years he leads a penſive Life,

As far remov'd from Joy as from his Wife.

And you may well think that Anne muſt have her ſhare too in this Affliction; ſhe gives herſelf over to Sorrow, and could hardly be perſwaded by her Maid Judith rrProtevang. Ibid.(for they know the Names of all the Family) to put on her beſt Clothes upon a Gaudy Day. She cannot look upon a Sparrow's Neſt, but it works upon her melancholy Fancy, and ſhe ſighs and ſays, foreign, Alas! what Womb bare me, theſe Birds are Fruitful whilſt I am Barren, &c. Nay ſuch Prayers this falſe Goſpel and the later Greeks **Bp. Mountague deſervedly calls Cedrenus, Metaphraſtes, Nicephorus, Germanus, Andreas (Cretenſis vel Hieroſol.) Scriptores ſtramentitii & quiſquillae qu…dem Antiquitatis. Apparat. 8. Sect. 30. p. 299.(ſuch as Germanus ssIn Encom. de Virg. praeſentat.of Conſtantinople, who ſeems to have lick'd up his very Drivel) have put into her Mouth, as do not become a modeſt Woman, and yet they bring her in praying foreign, in the Holy of Holies (as the Hiſtory in Greg. Nyſſen, ttOrat. in Natal. Domini.which he calls Apocryphal, does) whither never any ſuch Prayers, no nor any Woman ever came.

But now it is high time to think of comforting them; and they have Two Angels ready if need be, uuProtevang. Jac.though the Epiſtles is contented with One; but if we believe Pantalion, the Deacon in Metaphraſtes xxIn feſt. Mic. Archang., he is no ordinary one, but p. 37Gabriel the Archangel: with whom agrees S. Briget yyOrat. 1. a deo revelat.who gives glory to the B. Virgin for having her birth foretold by the ſame Angel that brought the Meſſage to her concerning the Birth of Chriſt. And that the Mother and the Son may be as like as may be, Ludolfus de Saxonia zzDe Vita Chriſt. Part. 1. c. 2.brings him in ſpeaking juſt ſuch words to Joachim as Gabriel did at the Annunciation, Ecce uxor tua pariet tibi filiam, &c. Behold thy Wife ſhall bear a Daughter, and thou ſhalt call her Name Mary. They add alſo this farther Prophecy of her by the Angel aaSee alſo Xaverius. Hiſt. Chriſt. p. 17.That ſhe ſhould be conſecrated to the Lord, according as they had vowed, and ſhould be filled with the H. Ghoſt from her Mother's Womb, and her converſation ſhould be in the Temple of the Lord. The ſame Meſſage, ſays Xaverius bbIbid. p. 18.was carried by the Angel to Anne; only he added thoſe Words to it, Of this Daughter of thine, Chriſt the Reſtorer of the World ſhall be born. But now, to ſhew how theſe Lyers contradict themſelves, this Angel encourages him by the Examples of Sarah and Rachel, of the other Anna, and the Mother of Sampſon, who were all a long time Childleſs, and tells him, that Peccati non naturae ultor eſt Deus ccEpiſt. ad Heliod. & Chromat. Xaverius. Ibid., God is the Avenger of Sin, not of natural Defects, whom yet before this, the High-Prieſt had curſed out of the Law for being Barren. Here again one might be apt to wonder, how ſuch glorious and admirable Paſſages concerning the Parents of the B. Virgin, came to be paſſed over in Silence by the Evangeliſts, which yet are now ſo particularly made known to the World: The Anſwer is ready, ddNovarini umbr. Virg. n. 1201.It was partly, leſt the Eyes of Believers ſhould be too much dazled by ſo great a Light; and partly, that ſomething might always remain to recreate the declining World, and that the Faithful by theſe, as by ſo many freſh Diſhes, might feed and nouriſh their Devotion. So that now any Tales will ſerve to refreſh and entertain the old doating World; and if they be cloy'd with the old Goſpel, theſe Cooks are ready at hand to ſerve up theſe new Diſhes, which no doubt will abundantly gratify and pleaſe them. But if this will not ſatisfy, there is another will eeBernardin de Buſt. Marial. p. 2. Ser. 3.ſhow you, that all this was myſtically foretold in the very firſt Words of the Bible. In the Beginning God created the Heaven and Earth. That is, Joachim the Father, and Anne the Mother of the B. Virgin, for all things happened to them in a Figure. The Earth was empty and void, (i. e.) Anne was Barren and unfruitful. p. 38And Darkneſs was upon the Face of the Deep, (i. e.) the Darkneſs of Affliction and Confuſion was upon the Face of Anne. And the Spirit of the Lord moved upon the Waters, that is, upon the Waters of her Tears to comfort her, And he ſaid, Let there be Light, (i. e.) the Bleſſed Virgin.

Before the Angel departed, the Legend ſays he gave them this Sign that his Meſſage was true, viz. That they ſhould meet one another at the Golden Gate of Jeruſalem. There, ſays the falſe Goſpeller ffProtevang. Jacob. p. 73.Anna met Joachim, and hung about his Neck, bleſſing God, that ſhe now was no longer a Widow, but ſhould conceive: Molanus ggLib. 3. de Imag. c. 55.tells us of a Picture in which was exhibited Joachim and Anna kiſſing one another, at the golden Gate, with this Inſcription, Taliter concepta eſt B. Maria; Thus was the B. Virgin conceived. The like I have met with in the Hora of the Carmelites, printed at Lyons 1516. with a Motto little different: His Joachim dato oſculo Virginem Mariam ex Anna concepit: Here Joachim by a Kiſs conceived the B. Virgin of Anne. And Pelbartus hhLib. 4. Stellar. p. 2. art. 1.affirms, that this was the Sence of ſome of the common People in his time. If the Jeſuit Poza's forenamed Rule were true, ſeeing it makes ſo apparently for the Honour of the B. Virgin, methinks this Opinion ſhould prevail; but ſince the Fathers have over-ruled it (eſpecially Epiphanius iiHaereſ. 79., calling it an Error of unhappy Men; for Mary is not God, ſays he, nor received a Body from Heaven, but was begot of a Man and Woman,) however they will conſult her Honour as far as they can in this matter, and yet avoid too that Hereſy, as Gononus kkChronic. Deip. p. 2.calls it. The forenamed Jeſuit llPoza Elucid. l. 3. tr. 2. c. 1.finds a comfortable Myſtery in it; for asking the Queſtion, why the B. Virgin was generated by a Man and Woman, and did not come of a Virgin? one of his Anſwers is, That God took care hereby that Mary might be moſt dear to us, and therefore ſhe was begotten of a Man and Woman, that ſhe might more fully agree with us in the ſame Nature, (by which Reaſon, if God intended that Jeſus ſhould have been moſt dear to us, he ſhould not have been born of the Virgin Mary.) Others that will grant her Conception to have been after the Conjugal Commerce, yet aſſert that it was without any Motions of Concupiſcence: So another Jeſuit mmJac. Granado de immac. concep. B. Virg. p. 111., It is not to be ſaid of the B. Virgin, that ſhe was begotten by Concupiſcence, which ſignifies ſomewhat Inordinate; for the uſe of Matrimony, by which ſhe was begotten, was moſt p. 39pure, and altogether without Sin. So alſo S. Briget nnRevel. l. 1. c. 19. (vel 9.), When it was foretold them by the Angel, that they ſhould beget a Virgin from whom the Saviour of the World ſhould proceed, they would have choſen to die rather than join in Carnal Love, and all pleaſure was dead in them: and afterwards, contra voluptatem ſuam ex ſemine eorum per divinam charitatem caro mea compaginata eſt; By the Divine Love my Fleſh was compacted of their Seed, contrary to their pleaſure. This Galatinus ooDe Arcan. l. 7. c. 8.has explained more fully, I confeſs, ſays he, that S. Joachim and S. Anne, did couple as Man and Wife, yet their ardent Devotion, and vehement Contemplation (their Minds being upon better things) did extinguiſh all Bodily pleaſure, all Luſt and Concupiſcence. Which a Jeſuit ppSpinellus Mar. Deip. c. 18. p. 240.has thus illuſtrated, As Lot being drunk with Wine, did not perceive when he lay with his Daughters; ſo the Parents of the moſt ſacred Virgin, being inebriated with Spiritual Love, yet knowing well what they did (which makes it a ſpecial parallel) by a ſpecial privilege of God, they did not feel any unbridled pleaſure of Concupiſcence, but begat her, juſt as our firſt Parents, if they had not ſinned, would have procreated Children in Paradiſe; (for they know exactly how this matter would have been ordered there.)

If theſe have hit the mark, they muſt grant that S. Bernard was much miſtaken, when he ſays, qqEpiſt. 174. ad Canon. Lugd.Quomodo peccatum non fuit, ubi libido non defuit, &c. How could her Conception be without Sin, when it was not without Luſt, unleſs we ſay that ſhe was Conceived by the Holy Ghoſt, and not by Man? The ſecret of this fancy, is only to avoid a ſaying or two of S. Auſtin's rrOr Fulgentius lib de fide ad Petrum. p. 1. qu. 24. ſo alſo l. 1. de Nupt. & Concupiſ. c. 24. Ex concupiſcentia carnis qu…cunque neſcitur p…le… originali eſt obligata pecato.Believe firmly and in no wiſe doubt, that every one that is conceived by the commixture of Man and Woman, is born with Original Sin, ſubject to death, &c. Which becauſe he was unwilling to grant of the Bleſſed Virgin, Galatinus reſtrains it thus, He that is generated Per concubitum, cum corporis libidine & voluptate, where the Parents have bad pleaſure; which is as wiſe a reaſoning, as if when one had made this a Rule, That whatſoever is nouriſhed will at length be corrupted and die; another ſhould put in this exception Yes, if it eats its meat with pleaſure, otherwiſe it is not neceſſary. But we have not yet done with their Conceits about her Formation. Many will have her Body to be formed and animated differently from other Conceptions, which they ſay ordinarily in Females is eighty days after the Man has known his Wife. S. Amideus p. 40his Revelations ſſApud Th. Raymud. Dipt. Marian. p. 22.ſay, That the Soul was infuſed into the Body of the B. Virgin ſix hours after the uſe of Matrimony by her Parents, her Fleſh (which was unuſual) being in that ſhort ſpace of time formed and figured. Bapt. Poza ttElucidar. l. 3. tract. 3. c. 1, &c.is peremptory, That ſhe had no part of her Body, which was not compleatly perfect on the firſt day of her Conception, ſo that ſhe might have been fed at the Mouth, and have beheld the common light: Only he is put to it, to reſolve without a Miracle (ſince ſhe might have been born the ſame day ſhe was Conceived) how ſhe could have been ſuckled, if ſhe had then been born: ſince according to Fienus, a humane Body, when it is firſt quickened in the Womb, does not much exceed the bigneſs of a Barley-Corn, or as others, of a young Bee; and it is hard in ſuch a ſmall Body to imagine how the Mouth can receive and draw the Mothers Breaſts; and it would be to no purpoſe to trouble you with his fooliſh Reſolution. But if you ask again, what End this invention of her momentaneous formation ſerves? Though he conceals, I think, one Reaſon, which is a thing mainly intended by them, to make every thing almoſt in her to anſwer what was done in our Saviour, whoſe Body the Schoolmen uuSee Aquinas 3 part. qu. 33. art. 1, 2. Durandus l. 3. diſt. 2. qu. 2: Becanus Sum. Theol. part 3. tract. 1. c. 5. qu. 2. Eſtius in 3 lib. ſent. dift. 2. ſect. 6. Greg. de Valentia Tom. 4. diſp. 1. qu. 6 punc. 1. Greg. Gallicanus ſays the ſame after them, Corpus Chriſti in inſtanti fult formatum perfecte in …arra quantitate ſicut una apis. Marial. p. 165.generally make to have been formed in its ſeveral parts at once, and at the ſame inſtant animated and united to the Divinity; yet he diſcovers another Myſtery; and he will quickly reſolve you xxElucid. l. 2. tract. 5. c. 2., That this did that for her, which Chriſt's being born of a Virgin did for him, viz. made her not guilty of Original Sin, becauſe not included in the Covenant with Adam, her Conception not being ordinary, but Miraculous. Nay he goes ſo far as to Aſſert, that by reaſon of this Miraculous formation, ſhe was excuſed à debito originalis peccati, from being liable to Original Sin, as well as from the ſin it ſelf. As wiſely alſo, in another place, yyIbid. tract. 7. c. 1.he concludes, that although no violence was done to the B. Virgin, when ſhe was made of the Female Sex, yet conſidering the perfection of her Soul and Body, it was a Miracle that ſhe was not a Man rather than a Woman, ſince all the wonderful productions mentioned in the Scripture that ſprang of barren and effoete Parents, were all Males.

p. 41We are told by Aegid. Gelenius zzDe Colon. Magnit. p. 266.of a great rarity ſhown at Colen, viz. ſome remains of the place (I ſuppoſe of the Duſt or Earth) where the Bleſſed Virgin was Conceived. And Xaverius has given us another Diſcovery, aaHiſt. Chriſti, p. 18.and I think none has prevented him herein, that S. Anne conceived the Bleſſed Virgin upon a Thurſday.

But all this refers to her Body, and if there ſhould be nothing Rare and Extraordinary ſaid of her Soul, this better part would bear no Proportion with the other: But they have taken care that it ſhall have no reaſon to complain; though we have, for obtruding upon us ſuch raw and indigeſted Fancies.

We all know that our Reaſon comes very ſlowly upon us, and that the firſt Life we live is meerly animal: Our Underſtanding begins to dawn a little like the firſt Peep of Day, ſome while after we are born, and ſo proceeds by an imperceptible Progreſs, as Light does, till we arrive at our Noon, which is very late. But in her, they tell us, it was quite otherwiſe; Neſcit tarda molimina, &c. Her Underſtanding is anticipated bbVinc. Bruni Med. de B. Virg. p. 74., and they give her the uſe of her Reaſon in the firſt Moment of her Being; ccRaynaudus, ibid. p. 158.ſhe had the Uſe of Free-Will and perfect Light in her Mind, ſays S. Bernardine, ddDe concep. Virg. Serm. 4. Art. 1. c. 2.even in her Mothers Womb; ſo that ſhe could from the firſt Moment exerciſe ſupernatural Acts both of Knowledge and Faith; eeRaynaud. ib. p. 159.and by this Uſe of her Reaſon ſhe diſpoſed herſelf to all that Grace that ſhe received in her firſt Sanctification; juſt as the School-men ſay, That the Angels diſpoſed themſelves to all that Grace in which they were created: For her Sanctification was not in the way that other Infants are ſanctified ffVaſquez in 3 part. tom. 2. qu. 27. art. 6. c. 3, 4., only by the Infuſion and Reception of habitual Grace, but inſtar adulti, like one of age, by her own proper Act of Converſion to God, proceeding from the Aſſiſtance of Divine Grace. Only here is a great Doubt, whether this uſe of Reaſon was granted as a Privilege to the Bleſſed Virgin, only for that Moment of her firſt Juſtification and Conception, as Vaſquez ſpeaks, ggIbid. c. 4.and then ceaſed till ſhe came at the ordinary time to find it again, as ſome Infants have by a Wonder ſpoke once and no more, in their Infancy: This he ſays indeed was Cajetan's Opinion; but it ſeems more probable, That the Bleſſed Virgin, from the inſtant of her Conception, and ſo forward, p. 42all the time of her Infancy (without Interruption) had the full uſe of her Reaſon, at leaſt in thoſe things that appertained to God and Vertue: Having an uninterrupted Influence (ſays our late Contemplator) hhContempl. L. & Gl. of H. Mary, p. 20.of actual Graces ſo quickening her great Soul, that no one Moment of her Life, from the firſt Conception of her Soul, was vacant from divine Contemplations, heavenly Affections and Ecſtaſies of ſupernatural Love; or as he more fantaſtically expreſſes it elſewhere iiIbid. p. 45., She, from the firſt poſitive Inſtant of the Infuſion of her Soul, ever exerciſed the moſt ſublime Operations of the contemplative and unitive Life, without Recourſe to the Images of Imagination or Dependance on Senſe.—Her great Soul was ſo compleatly actuated, even in the Womb of her Mother, that her Contemplations, Sallies of Love, and Ʋnions with God were reſtleſs; ever increaſing in their Vigour, and ſtill expatiating through the vaſt Motives and Methods of myſtical Love. Nay She was, ſays another kkNovarini Umbr. Virg. n. 1323., in ſuch perpetual Contemplation of God and divine Things, that ſhe was never ſo buſied or ſo faſt aſleep, but ſhe directed her Mind towards God, and thought of him, ſo that in this Reſpect ſhe was in the State of the Bleſſed (par beatis.) If you have a mind to underſtand this ſtill more particularly, the Contemplator llIbid. p. 45.tells us, That by the Help of abſtractive Lights divinely infuſed, were repreſented, 1. The ſeveral Eſſences, Attributes and Motions of the whole Body of the Creation, in their ſeveral Degrees and Stations. 2. The Divinity of God, with its manifold Emanations, Operations and inexplicable Comprehenſions. And, 3. The Humanity of Jeſus, with all the Orders of Grace, Myſteries of Salvation, and extatick Loves of the Saints. But S. Bernardine mmLoc. ante citat.informs us of Seven things, that according to ſome, ſhe underſtood perfectly in her firſt Sanctification (viz. in her Mothers Womb.) 1. Irrational created Nature. 2. Rational created Nature. 3. Spiritual created Nature. 4. Divine increated Nature. 5. All things that were to be avoided. 6. All things to be followed and embraced. 7. After what manner and to what degree all things were to be hated or loved. He that could believe all this, might well add, That ſhe was (when impriſoned in the Womb) in a more ſublime State of Contemplation, than any humane Creature ever was in its perfect Age; and though ſhe ſlept in her Mothers Womb as other Infants do, yet Sleep did not effect that in her it does in us, for in us p. 43it buries the Acts of Reaſon and Free-Will, and by Conſequence Acts of Merit; but I believe her Soul by free and meritorious acting did then tend unto God, ſo that ſhe did more perfectly contemplate when ſhe ſlept, than any others ever did when they were awake. The Jeſuit Poza nnElucidar. lib. 2. trac. 15. cap. 4.tells us of Fr. Ximenes, a Patriarch of Jeruſalem, who has given an account of ſome of her ſorrowful Thoughts, and alſo joyful Reflections ſhe made in her Mothers Womb. S. Bernardine ooLoc. citat.ſeems to have been almoſt as skilful as the other, for he ſays, the impetus (force) of her firſt Sanctification did impel the Mind of the Bleſſed Virgin to deſire the Incarnation of the Son of God, out of fervent Charity for the Salvation of all the Elect. Her Charity they alſo equalize in this State to her Knowledge; for thus they ſing of her in the Hours ppLitaniae variae. Colen. 1643. p. 226.of her immaculate Conception.

In conceptione, charitate ignita,

Draconis poteſtas eſt à te contrita.

When firſt conceiv'd, with Love inflam'd,

By thee the Dragon's Power was maim'd.

She began to love God, ſays another, qqNovarinus ibid. p. 89. n. 296.from the very firſt Inſtant of her Conception, and never ceaſed to do ſo afterwards, never intermitted (as he explains it) the moſt fervent Act of Charity. If he had ſaid this of the Habit that it never ceaſed, it might have better paſſed; but underſtanding it of the Act, as he does, it is impoſſible to be true of any one that lives in Fleſh. But what we think impoſſible, they ſay no body need doubt of, as in this that follows, which concerns the meaſure of that Grace, ſhe had in the firſt moment again of her Conception; which we are told rrRaynaudus, ibid. p. 159. & Illeph. Giron in promptuar. conc. p. 60.was more copious and intenſe, than that which Angels and Men attain to in their Conſummation; which is admirably proved by that of the Pſalmiſt (Pſ. 87.) The Lord loveth the Gates of Sion ssSpinellus, ib. c. 7. p. 115., that is, the Conception of the Virgin, more than all the Dwellings of Jacob; that is, more than other Saints.

The Reader, I dare ſay, by this time, is paſt all Hopes of gueſſing, to what Pitch his Faith is to be ſcrew'd up, in matters that concern the Bleſſed Virgin. When I met with a Jeſuit ttSherlog Anteloq. 8. in Cantic. Sec. 1.aſſerting, That the oldeſt Saint in this Life, never p. 44attained ſo great a Meaſure of Grace, as was infuſed into her when ſhe firſt began to live, I was ready to think that he would make a bold Attempt that would carry the Matter higher: For though another uuMax. Sandaeus in Luna myſtic. p. 52.indeed was ſo great a Lunatick, as to call her, Antiqua dierum, the Ancient of Days, a Title given, by the Prophet Daniel, to God himſelf; yet his Reaſon for it was but the ſame; Becauſe ſhe in her Mother's Womb was filled with Wiſdom, Prudence, Underſtanding, and the reſt of the Gifts of the Divine Spirit, above all the moſt aged. But to tell us, that then her Grace exceeded the Meaſures of Angels and of Saints conſummate in Bliſs, is ſuch wild Divinity, as one would ſcarce look to meet with any where, unleſs from him that for half an Hour together cries Glory, Glory in Bethlem.

One would wonder whence this Fancy concerning her, of reaſoning in her Mother's Womb, and having ſuch Contemplations there, ſhould ariſe. The only acknowledged Reaſon of it is, That many Authors xxSee Vaſquez loc. citat. qu. 27. art. 6. c. 3.have attributed this to John the Baptiſt, when he leaped in his Mother's Womb; which they would have to proceed from the Uſe of his Reaſon, and a gift of Prophecy, conferred on him at the Preſence of our Saviour (which I will not now debate, becauſe we ſhall have Occaſion to conſider it under another Head, when we ſpeak of her Viſitation of Elizabeth) and it is not fit that any Saint ſhould out-go her in any Privilege.

Another Reaſon they reſerve as a Secret, though I doubt not but it is intended in all theſe Aſſertions, viz. The making her in every thing that is poſſible like unto Chriſt himſelf; that ſo, when their Lines run ſo parallel, they may the more plauſibly call her, a Helper, a Co-worker, a Co-redeemer, or what ever other Name they uſe, to ſignify how much we are engaged to her in promoting our Salvation.

This therefore being the common. Opinion of the Schoolmen, (as Eſtius yyIn lib. 3. Sent. diſt. 18. ſec. 1. See alſo Aquinas p. 3. qu. 34. art. 2, 3.atteſts) That Chriſt merited from the Beginning (i. e. from his firſt Conception) by the actual Ʋſe of Free-Will, which ſuppoſes the Uſe of his Reaſon; they have given the ſame to her: Though there was a time when this was denied her, even by him who is not ſparing in his Grants to her; I mean Aquinas zzPart. 3. qu. 27. artic. 3.: Non ſtatim habuit uſum liberi arbitrii adhuc in ventre matris exiſtens, hoc enim eſt ſpeciale p. 45privilegium Chriſti: He held it to be a ſpecial Privilege of Chriſt to have the Uſe of Free-Will in the Womb, and not to be affirmed of her: But now Chriſt muſt be contented to part with ſome of this Prerogative, as they make him reſign a ſhare in many a Privilege, for the pleaſing and honouring of his Mother, as we ſhall find it in the very next thing that follows.