True Christianity VINDICATED, BOTH IN preceding, Present, and Succeeding AGES, And the Difference between them who are Christians indeed, and them who are falsely so called MANIFESTED. Being a Collection of the several Testimonies of the Ancient Writers of the DOCTRINE, LIVES and MANNERS of the Primitive Christians many Ages ago, which being found Coherent with the Doctrine, Lives and Manners of the true CHRISTIANS, who are nick named QUAKERS at this day, are therefore made public. By Ambros Rig. Printed in the Year 1679. True Christianity Vindicated, both in preceding, Present and Succeeding Ages; and the Difference between them who are Christians indeed, and them who are falsely so called, Manifested, etc. CHristianity in its Primitive Lustre and Ancient Glory derived this honourable Title, from the Indwelling of the Life and Power of Righteousness, in Male and Female, who lived in and followed Christ in the straight Way of Self denial, through many Tribulations and Reproaches from the Gentiles or Heathens, among whom they lived and shined as Lights in the Darkness of Degeneration, which then Ruled in the World, whereby they suffered the loss of all things; and through Faith obtained a good Report and Victory over Death and the Power of the Grave, and were Living Monuments of the Mercy, Goodness and Righteousness of God: Their Chaste Conversation through the whole Course and Progress of their Lives witnessed that they sought a City, whose Builder and Maker was God. The Glory and Excellency of the Anticut Christians consisted not in the bare Name and Title of Christianity, but in the Manisestation of Piety and Righteousness in all their Actions; nay, they testified, That if any among them lived not according to the Discipline of the Gospel, they admitted them not the Name of Christians. For saith Clemens of Alexandria, Admon. ad. Gent. p. 76. No Man is with us accounted a Christian, or truly Rich, Temperate and Generous, but he that is Pious and Religious; nor does any further bear the Image of God than he speaks and believes what is just and holy. So that in short, this is the state of us, who follow God, such as are our Desires, such are our Discourses; such as are our Discourses, such are our Actions; such as are our Actions, such is our Life: Certainly none were ever greater Enemies to a naked Profession, and the covering of a bad Life under the Title of Christianity. Saith he, Do any live otherwise than Christ hath commanded? 'Tis a most certain Argument they are no Christians, though with their Tongues they never so smoothly Ap. 2. pag. ●3. profess the Christian Doctrine; for it is not a mere Profession, but those who live according to the Christian Doctrine that shall be saved; as Justin Martyr declared before the Emperor. Let no man (says Brazill) impose upon himself Comment in ca 1. Esa. to ca 2. pag. 28. with inconsiderate words, saying, Though I be a Sinner, yet I am a Christian, etc. But harken Sinner, all Wicked men shall be bundled together, and in the Great Day of Divine Vengeance shall be indifferently cast into those Merciless and Devouring Flames. Now you who so call yourselves, and would have others so account of you, measure your Ways, Lives and Actions, Doctrine and Discipline, with the Ways, Lives, Actions, Doctrine and Discipline of the Ancient Christians, whom your Priests cry up as Fathers of your Church; and see how far th●y differ from you, who though you live quite contrary to the Discipline of the Gospel, as your Fruits daily manifest, yet would assume to yourselves the honourable Title of Christians. Nay, the Ancient Christians stood at a wide distance from any thing (though Lawful in itself that seemed to carry an ill colour with it, as frequenting of public Lib. 7. pag. 375. Baths, or going to Sights or Show, because they seemed to owe their Original to Idolatry, and were the occasion of many gross Enormities This Origin tells Celsus. And speaking of those who only took sanctuary at the Name Christian; he adds, That those who lived not according to the Laws of Christ, but were only called by the Name of Christians, he begged of the Emperor that they might be punished. Oh! where is this Spirit that cannot take Sanctuary at the bare Title of a Christian, nor cannot go to public Baths, Sights or Shows; but leads all who are guided with it to delight in the Law of God, and to live according to the Discipline of the Gospel; Is this found among the Nominal Christians at this day? I believe nothing less. Athenagorus told the Emperor, That no Christian Leg. pro. Christ. p. 4. could be a Bad Man, except he were a Hypocrite. And Tertullian openly declares, That when Ap. ca 46. pag. 36. men departed from the Discipline of the Gospel, they so far cease amongst us to be accounted Christians. Now with the true Light of Christ Jesus measure yourselves, all you who are departed from the Discipline of the Gospel, whether you deserve the Name of Christians or not: Oh! what good will it do you in the Day of Account to have a name to live, and be found dead in Trespasses and Sins! Therefore be awakened to Righteousness, and shake off your Night-Garments, which are patched together of Figg leaves; the Lord of the Vineyard is come and coming, who looks for Fruit, yea, good Fruit; but all who are found Barren of, shall be hewn down and cast into the Fire. Tertullian tell us, 'Twas the common Accusation Ap. c. 3. p. 4. Ad. Demit. pag. 200. the Heathen of those Times had in their Mouths, Such, or such a one is a good man, only he is a Christian; or, I wonder at such a one, a wise man, but lately turned a Christian. Minutius Flaeix said to the Heathen, Should we Christians be compared with you? although our Discipline may seem some what inferior, yet we should be ●ound infinitely to transcend you; you forbidden Abultery and then practise it, we keep entirely to our own Wives; you punish Wickedness whe● committed, to us, even a Wicked Thought is Sin; you stand in awe of those who are Conscious of your Crimes, we of nothing but our Consciences, without which we cannot be? And Lastly, It is with your party the Prisons are filled and crowded; no Christian is there, unless it is suchas is either a shame to his Profession, or an Apostate from it. Here also let Christendom take a survey of their Ways and Actions: Is it not a common Accusation, Such and such a one is a good man, only he's turned a Quaker, or I wonder at such a one, a wise man, but lately turned a Quaker? not considering that true Christianity consisteth not in Names and Titles, but in Life and Righteousness; for the Name Christian was as Reproachfully given in those days, as the Name Quaker can be in our day. And do not many of the titular Christians now forbidden Adultery and then practise it? but the true Christians keep entirely to their own Wives. You punish Wickedness when committed; to us even a Wicked Thought is Sin, which nothing short of the true Light of Christ in our Consciences can demonstrate and manifest to us. You are afraid of them who are Conscious of your Crimes; we fear God, respecting his Witness in our Consciences. And Lastly, It is with your Party the Prisons are filled and crowded, no true Quaker is there, except it be for the Testimony of a good Conscience, or else such who are either a shame to their Profession, or an Apostate from it. Concerning the true Christians Testimony against Idolatry, both Ancient and Modern. THe True, Ancient and Primitive Christians fully Manifested their Detestation of Idolarty, and testified against all Idols and Image Makers whatsoever; nay, they looked upon the very making of Idols (though with no Intention to Worship them) an unlawful Trade, and inconsistent with Christianity. How have we Renounced the Devil and his Angels, says Tertullian, if we make Idols; nor is it enough to De. Idolat. ca 6. p. 88 say, though I make them, I do not Worship them, there being the same cause not to make them, as there is not to Worship them (i. e.) the Offence that in both is done to God; yet thou dost so far worship them, that thou makes them that others may worship them. And therefore he fully Pronounces, That no Art, C. 11. p. 92. Vide. ●a. 9, 10. nor Profession, nor Service whatsoever, that is employed, either in making or ministering to Idols can come short of Idolatry. Nay, every Master of a Family was commanded Ca 41. pag. 57 to keep no little Idols nor Images in his House. etc. Origin tells his Adversary, That the Images that were to be dedicated to God were not to be canved by the hands of Artists, but to be framed and fashioned in us by the Word of God (viz.) the Virtues of Justice and Temperance, of Wisdom and Piety, etc. that conform us to Image of his own Son: those, says he, are the only Statues form in our Minds, and by which alone we are persuaded 'tis fit to do Honour to him, who is the Image of the Invisible God. Harken to this all ye Image-makers', and Image-Worshippers, throughout Christendom, who profess the Christian-Faith and Worship; Did not you in your Baptism in words, Renounce the Devil and all his Works, the Pomp's and Vanities of the World, and all the sinful Lusts of the Flesh; and engage to keep Gods holy Will and Commandments, and walk in the same all your days? And you ask, Why Infants are Baptised when (by reason of their tender Age) they cannot perform this? Yes (you say) they do perform it by their Sureties, which when they come to Age themselves, they are bound to perform. Oh! Wonderful large Promises indeed! But if we inspect the performance among the now Nominal Christians, we shall find not only their daily practice contradicting their Promise and Vow, but their belief also, that they cannot keep God's holy Will nor Commandments all nor one day in all their Lives; & so according to their Faith it is unto them: But the true Apostolical and Spiritual Christians, in scorn called Quakers, who keep his Commandments, as he said in the days of John, 1 John 5. 2, 3. and his Commandments are not grievous, but joyous. These now believe with Origin, that the Images that are to be dedicated to God, are not to be carved by the hands of Artists, but to be form and fashioned in them by the Word of God, the Virtues of Justice and Temperance, of Wisdom and Piety; these are the only Statutes they believe are to be form in their Minds, by which alone they are persuaded 'tis fit to do honour to him, who is the Image of the Invisible God. These are of old Tertullia's Mind, that the making as well as worshipping of Images is inconsistent with Christianity, and an offence against God. The Council of Illiberis that was held in Spain before Constantine, decreed expressly, that No Pictures ought to be in Churches, nor any thing that is worshipped or adored aught to be painted upon the Walls. Now you who call yourselves Protestant Christians, are you of this mind? nay, doth not your daily practice demonstrate the quite contrary? How many Images are painted upon your Walls? How many Image▪ makers are there within your Cities and Countries, which draws your Eyes, Minds and Hearts from the true Spiritual Worship of the invisible God, who is an Eternal Spirit of Life, Light and Glory, and dwells not in Temples made by the Hands of your cunning Carvers and Picture-drawers, of Likenesses of things in Heaven, and things in Earth, contrary to God's command? Exod. 20. And Oh! how far are you departed from the Image of God, which is Righteousness and Holiness, and run into Whoredom, Adultery, Idolatry and Uncleanness; and so are the perfect Emblem's of the Heathen Gentiles in your Practices, while you are with your Mouths professing Christianity? Concerning the Freedom of the true Christians from Covetousness, both Ancient and Modern. IVstin Martyr discoursing with Tripho the Jew, tells him, That they were careful with all fear, to Converse with men according to the Scripture; not greedily desiring to Gain Riches or Glory, or Pleasure to themselves, concerning any of which no man could lay any thing to their charge: and that they lived not like the great Men of his People, of whom God himself had left this reproachful Character, That their Princes were Companions of Thiefs, every one loving Gifts and following after Rewards. When Agbarus the Toparch of Edessa offered Thaddeus, one of the seventy Disciples, great sums of Gold and Silver for the pains he had taken, and the great things he had done amongst them, he refused them with this answer, To what purpose should we receive good things from others, who have freely forsaken and renounced our own. Harken to this ye greedy Hirelings of all sorts, are you not quite contrary in Life and Practice to these ancient Christians? and like Israel's false Prophets, every one seeking his own way, every one for his Gain from his Quarter. And those who will not feed you with Gifts and Rewards, you prepare War against them to the uttermost of your power, even to destroy them from the Earth, as hath been manifest to the view of thousands in this our Age, whose covetous Practices have manifested you to all (who have not willingly closed their Eyes) to be gone in the way of Cain, and after the Error of Balaam, nay worse; for Balaam, who though he loved the Wages of Unrighteousness, he durst not take it; but you are bold enough to ●ue for and take three times the value from them who will not give it you. But the true Gospel-Ministers then, as at this day, covet no man's Gold, Silver or Apparel, but receive freely and so give, labouring with their Hands Night and Day that the Gospel may be without Charge. Of their Heavenly-Mindedness, and Contempt of the World. THe ancient Christians did not study those arts of Splendour and Gallentry, as now the Titular Christians are overrun withal, as stately Palaces, costly Furniture, rich Hang, fine Tables, curious Beds, Vessels of Gold and Silver, the very Possession of which, as Clemens, Alexandrinus speaks, Creates Envy, Will not a Knife, saith he, cut as well, though it have not an Ivory Haste, or be not garnished with Silver? or an Earthen Basin serve to wash the Hands? Will not the Table hold our Provisions, unless its Feet be made of Ivory? or the Lamp give Light, although made by the Potter, as well as if it were the work of the Goldsmith? May not a man sleep as well upon a mean Couch, as upon a Purple Venetian Carpet? Our Lord eat his Meat out of a common Dish, and made his followers sit upon the Grass, and washed his Disciples Feet, without ever fetching down a Silver Bowl from Heaven: he took the Water which the Samaritanness had drawn in an Earthen Pitcher, not requiring one of Gold, showing how easy it was to quench his thirst; for he respected the Use, not the Vain and Superfluous state of things. Give Ear to this you pretended Christians of all sorts; has not the Fineness and Gallentry of the Gentiles overrun you? Has not the Lust of the Eye, and of the Flesh, and the Pride of Life compassed you on every side, till there is no room for Plainness and Simplicity to enter amongst you? you drink your Wine in Bowls, and Chant at the sound of the Viol, but you consider not the affliction of Joseph; your Vine is the Vine of Sodom, and your Fruit the Fruit of Gomorrah: God give you Repentance unto Life, if you have not sinned out your ●ay. The Primitive Christians were not more studious Min. Foel. pa. 10. Consist. Apostle. lib. 2 ca ●2. pa. 886. of Pleasures and Recreations abroad, than they were of Fineness and Bravery at home; they went not to public Feasts, nor frequented the Shows which were made for Disport and entertainment of the People. The Heathen charged it upon them as part of their Crime; observe how he in Minis. Foelix draws it up. The Romans (says he) govern and enjoy the World, while you in the mean time are Careful and Mopish, abstaining even from lawful Pleasures; you visit not the Shows, nor are present at the Pomp's, you abhor the Holy Games, the Sacrificial Meats and Drinks, Crown not your Heads with Garlands, nor purfume your Bodies with sweet Odours, a ghastly, fearful and miserable People. And when Octavius the Christian comes to answer, he grants it all to be true, and tells him, That there was very good reason why they should abstain from their Sights and Shows, Pomps and Divertisments, at which they could not be present without great Sin and Shame, without affronting their Modesty, and offering distaste and horror to their minds, and indeed they reckoned themselves particularly obliged to this, by what they had vowed and undertaken at their Baptism, when they solemnly engaged to Renounce the Devil and all his Catich. Mist. p. 510. Works, Pomps and Pleasures (i. e.) says Cyril, the Sights and Sports of the Theatre and such like Vanities. The Truth is, they looked upon the public Sports and Pastimes of those days, as the Scenes not only of Folly and Lewdness, but of great Impiety and Idolatry, as places where the Devil eminently ruled and reckoned all his Votaries that came thither. Accordingly, Tertullian tells us of a Christian de Spect ca 26. pa. 83. Woman, Who going to the Theatre, was there possessed by the Devil, and when the evil Spirit at his casting out was asked, how he durst set upon a Christian, he presently answered, I did but what was fit and just, for I found her upon my own Ground. Draw near, and give Ear ye pretended Christians; who is it now that refrains from your wicked Sights & Shows? and cannot go with you to your Theatres, nor adorn their Heads with Garlands, nor perfume their Bodies with sweet Odours, whom you like your Ancestors (the Heathen Gentiles) call now a ghastly, fearful and miserable people. Are you not directly in the Steps of them who nourished their Hearts as in a day of Slaughter, and sat down to eat and drink, and risen up to play, living wantonly, and in Pleasures upon the Earth, as they did whom God destroyed? you have had a long time of Laughter and Mirth, but a Day of Sorrow and Mourning is at hand, ready to break in at your Doors: Oh! therefore Repent, and put on Sackcloth instead of your Gold and Silver tinkling Ornaments, and sit down in Ashes; for God is Angry with you, and his Bow is bend against you, and his Arrows are ready, some of which you have had already; but the most terrible Ones are yet behind. Oh! that you knew in this your Day the things which concern your Peace. Mourn, Mourn, you careless Daughters, who walk with stretched out Necks and wanton Eyes, the Lord will slain your Glory, and turn it into Contempt, unless you Repent with speed. The ancient Christians could willingly part with Athen. Leg. pro. Christ. pa. 2. any thing that was dear unto them, Friends, Estate, Liberty or Life itself. We are not moved, says one of their Apollogists, with the loss of our Estates, which our Enemies wrest from us, nor with the violence which is offered to our Credit and Reputation, nay we cannot only when beaten, refrain from striking again, and make no resistance against them that invade and spoil us, but to them that smite one Cheek, we can return the other, etc. Justin Martyr says, The Christians dwell in their own Country but as Inmates and Foreigners; they have all things common with other men as fellow Citizens, and yet suffer all things as Strangers and Foreigners; every foreign Region is their Country, and every Country is foreign to them; they Mary like other men and beget Children, but do not expose or neglect their Offspring; they feast in common, but not exceed like other men; they are in the Flesh, but do not live after the Flesh; they dwell upon the Earth, but their Conversation is in Heaven. Learn these things ye Professors of Christianity, and do not think to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our Father; for if you were of Abraham, you would do the Works of Abraham; and if you possessed the true Faith, the Works thereof would manifest themselves in you, as they did in the ancient Christians, who through Faith obtained an immortal Crown, but walked as Strangers and Pilgrims in the Earth, suffering patiently the loss of all things dear unto them in this Life, with great freedom and joy, having only respect to the Recompense of Reward laid up for them. When Quintianus the Precedent under Decius the Emperor asked Agatha the Virgin Martyr, Why? being descended of such rich illustrious Parents, she would stoop to such low and mean Offices as she took upon her, she presently answered him, Our Glory and Nobility lies in that we are the Servants of Christ. To the same purpose was the answer of Quintianus the Martyr under the Dioclesian Persecution, when the Precedent asked him, How it came about that he being a Roman Citizen, and the Son of a Senator would trucle under such a Superstition, & Worship him for a God whom the Jews had Crucified? The Martyr told him, That it was the highest Honour and Nobility to know and serve God, and that the Christian Religion, which he called Superstition, ought not to be traduced with so base a Name, seeing it immediately guided its followers to the highest degree of Happiness. There are three things, as the Son of Syrach well observes, which show a Man what he is, viz. his Attire, Excessive Laughter, and his Gate; there is not certainly more open Evidence of a vain Mind than a vain Garb and Habit. SAint Bazil Discoursing what Habit best becomes Rig. fus. disput. interrog. 22. pag. 566. tom. 2. a Christian, tells us, That it ought to be such as most lively expresseth the Meekness and Humility of the Mind, that good men of old were so attired, and that having Food and Raiment we ought therewith to be content. 'Tis not enough, saith Tertullian, that a Christian De. cult. famine. Lib. 2. ca 13. pag. 160. be Chaste and Modest, but he must appear to be so, a virtue, of which he should have such great store and treasure, that it ought to flow from his Mind upon his Habit, & break forth from the retirements of his Conscience into the Supefecies of his life. St. Bazill tells us, The Habit of a Christian ought to be suitable to the two great ends of Clothing, instituted Ibid. pag. 567. of God (viz.) Honesty and Necessity, and that we ought to remember, that our are Moniters of our Apostasy, and that there's little reason we should pride ourselves in that which is only a covering for our shame. Necessity, and so were designed to keep the Body in convenient Warmth, and to defend it from those Injuries and Extremities, which otherwise would soon rot down this House of Clay; Are these two ends only answered by you, who now claim the Name and Title of Christians? Or do you not rather seem to regard neither, but give yourselves over to Excess and Superfluity, and the vain Garbs and Fashions of the World, which is an open evidence of a vain Mind? The Garments that we should wear (saith Ib. ubi. supr. pag. 244. Clemens of Alexandria) ought to be mean and frugal, not curiously wrought with divers colours, the Emblem of Craftiness and Deceit; but White, to denote our embracing of Innocency and Truth; and that's true Simplicity of Habit, that takes away what's Vain and Superfluous; and that is the best and most solid Garment, which is furthest from Art and Curiosity, and most apt to preserve and keep warm the Body. Chrysostom among other things, especially commends Olimp. 2. tom. 4. 617. and 623. Olimpias, A Woman of great Birth and Estate, and of no less Piety for the incredible modesty and meannes, of her Attire, not much better than that of the poorest Beggar; having nothing in her Garb or Gate that was Feigned or Gaudy; nothing Eleborate or Artificial. So far were they then from the Vanity and Affections of Pomp and Bravery, of dazzling the Eye with Rich and Costly Ornaments, that they thought they could never seem mean enough. Tertullian doth sarcastically describe, A great De cult. foem. Lib. 1. ca 8. p. 153. Estate (says he) is drawn out of a little Pocket, and many thousand Pounds may be spent upon one string of Pearls; a weak and tender Neck can make shift to carry about whole Woods and Lordships, vast sums of Money borrowed of the Banker, and noted in his Account-Book to be repaid every Month with Interest, are weighed at the beam of a thin slender Ear. Clemens Alexandrinus censures it very deep, That though Gluttonny and Intemperance be great Vices, yet not to be compared with a nice overcurious study of fineness and bravery. Saith he, A well-furnished Table and Cups that go round may quickly stop the Mouth of a Hungry Stomach; but where is a nice Affectation of bravery, of Gold Purple or Jewels there, not the Treasures of the Creation, not what's above or under ground, not the Spoils of the Tyrian Sea, nor the Fraughts from India or Aethiopia; No, nor Pactolus with his Golden Streams will suffice. And also that which the Ancients of those times did most severely censure, and cry out against, was not only the Expense and Costliness of their , but the Arts which they used to add greater Beauty and Handsomeness to themselves than God and Nature had bestowed upon them. This, it seems, the Pride & Folly of some Christian. Women of those days were got into, which the Zeal and Piety of those Times vehemently condemn and protest against: Some of the Gallants of those times pleaded, That they were Rich and had great Estates, and aught therefore to live like themselves, and to make use of the Estates that God had given them, etc. To this Cyprian answers, That they only are De Decip. & Habit. virgin. pag. 164. truly Rich that are Rich in and towards God; and that the World ought to be despised with the Pomps and Delights thereof, which we then renounced, when we happily turned to God, with the Love of whom all that is in the World, the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eye, and the Pride of Life is not consistent. That the use of Riches in this case is to be governed by just and moderate measures. The Apostle commands all Women, how Rich soever, To Adorn themselves in modest Apparel, with Shame facedness and Sobriety; not with Breidered Hair, or Gold, or Pearls, or costly Array, but that which becometh Women professing Godliness, with Good Works. St. Peter also requires of them not the outward Adorning of Gold, or sine Apparel; but the hidden ornament of the Heart, etc. And if they thought themselves Bound to use the Estates God had given them, God had showed them a more Execellent way, to relieve the Hungary, and seed the poor Members of Christ; and that was the best art of improving Riches, and the way to lay them up in safe and unsailing Treasures, where we may be sure to reap the Fruit of them another day, and not to throw them away upon Arts of bravery, and upon vain and Fantastic Dresses. Sometimes they pleaded, That they might Beautify and Honour the Body without any danger of violating their Chastity, or setting open the Casement for Luxury to fly in upon them. Tertullian answers, Let them who had a mind to it glory the flesh; but for us, we have no designs of glory there, partly as being highly unsuitable to us, who by the Law of God are under a profession of Humility; partly because all glory (to us especially) is vain and swelling, how much more that which arises from the flesh, if we must glory it is much sitter for us to follow spiritual things, and to please in the Excellencies of the Spirit, than in those of the Flesh. A Christians indeed may glory in the flesh, but it is when for the sake of Christ it is torn in pieces, that the Spirit may be crowned, not that it may prove a Snare to attract the Eyes and Sight of Young men's ungovernable passions after it, but when 'tis tormented for the Profession of the Christian Ut. Supr. pag. 103. Name, when a woman is found stronger than a Man that torments her when she suffers Fires, or Crosses, or wild-Beasts, that she may receive the Crown; these says Cyprian, are the precious Jewels of the Flesh. Tertullian says, Beauty being altogether unuseful Ter. Ibid. ca 4. to us, aught to be despised by them that want it, and to be neglected by them that have it a good Woman that is content with her own native Beauty has not that occasion to betray her into Lust and Folly, and if she had, it became her not to promote, but hinder it. Secondly, That these lose, delicate Arts came too near the practice of Lewd, Wanton Prostitutes, who made use of those ways and tricks for no other end, but to inveigle men into their embraces. And Cyprian tells them, That no Woman's Ubi Supr. page 105. Vide Ters. de cult. faemin. Lib. 1. ca 4. Grab is made so Rich and Gaudy, than theirs whose modesty is most, vile and cheap and this he tells us the Scripture shadows out by the Woman that was arraved in Purple and Scarlet colour, and decked with Gold and Precious Stones, and Pearls; having a Golden Cup in her hand full of Abominations and Filthiness of her Fornication. But chaste and modest Virgins shun the Dresses of the Defiled, the Habit of the Shameless, the Badges of Steves, the Ornaments of light and wanton Women. Whereas all other Creatures (says Clement's Alexandrinum) as Birds and Beasts are content with their own natural Paedag. 3. cap. 2. pag. 220. Beauty and colours, Woman only, as if she were inferior to the Beasts, thinks herself so deformed that there's need to repair the Defect by external, bought and borrowed Beauty; for while by infinite Arts of curious and costly Dresses (some whereof be there particularly mentions) they seek to ensnare them who (Child like) are apt to admire every thing that is strange and gandy, they show themselves to be Women that have put off Shame and Modesty, and whoever (says he) calls them so shall do them no wrong, as carrying the Signs, Representations of it in their very Faces. Thirdly, The Ancient Christians mainly insisted upon this, Ap. lib. 1. c. 8. p. 823. That those Arts were Injurious to God, and a Disparagement to his Workmanship. We are not, says Tertullian, to seek after neatness and sinery beyond what is simple and sufficient, and what pleases God, against whom they offend who are not satisfied with his Workmanship. Cyprian prosecutes the same Argument with a great deal of zeal and sharpness, and faith, Those additional arts De Decipl. & Hab. urig. p. 166. of beauty are a bold and sacrilegious attempt, and an high contempt of God; that it is to reform what God hath form, and to alter and change his Work, and (as much as they can) to disfigure that person which God hath created after his own Image and Likeness, and that such a one has cause to fear, that when the Day of Resurrection comes he that made them should not know them, etc. Theodoret reports of his own Mother, That in Hist. Relig. ●a. 9 in vit. Pet. page. 343. her younger Years having a Blemish in one of her Eyes, which had bassled the Arts of Phystick; she was at length persuaded to make her Address to one Peter, famous for the gift of Miracles, who lived near Antivoh, a very serve and ascetic course of Life, and to render herself (as she thought) the more considerable in his Eye, she put on all her bravery, her richest Robes, her Pendants and Chains of Pearl, and whatsoever could render her sine and splendid, no sooner was she conse unto him; but the serve and uncomplimental man at first sight bluntly entertained her with this discourse; Tell me Daughter, suppose an excellent Artist, having drawn a Picture according to all the Laws and Rules of Art, should expose and hang it forth to view; and another rude and unskilful bungler coming by, should find fault with this excellent piece, and attempt to men But, and draw the Eye brows to a larger length, and add more colour to the Cheeks, would not the true Author be (and that justly) Angry, that his Art was disparaged and undervallued, and needless additions made to the piece by an unskilful Hand: And so it is here; Can we think that the great Artificer of the World, the maker and former of our Nature is not justly Angry, when you accuse his incomparable Wisdom and Perfection of unskilfulness, and want of knowledge; for you would not add your Reds, Whites and Blacks, did you not think your Bodies needed these additions; and while you think so, you condemn your Creator for Weakness and Ignorance. Corrupt not therefore the Image of God, nor attempt to add what he in infinite Wisdom thought not sit to give; study not to invent this adulterate Beauty, which even to haste persons often proves a cause of ruin by becoming a snare to them who look upon it. The Beauty of the Body, faith Clemens of Alexandria Padag. lib. 3. ca 11. p. 248. consists in a good Complexion, and an apt Scimitary and proportion of its Parts; but the greatest Beauty is that of the Soul, when it is adorned with the holy Script and the excellent Graces of it (viz.) Justice, Prudence, Fortitude, Temperance, and the love of Goodness and Modesty, which is the lbid. ca 2. p. 216. brightest and most lovely Ornament the Eye of man can behold. He willingly compares those Women that curiously trick and trim up the Body, but are negligent of the Soul within, to the Algyptian Temples, Look upon their outside & they are most Splendid and Magnificent, encompassed with delicate Groves, built with large Enteries, and stately Portica's surrounded with fever sorts of Pillars; the Walls both within and without set off with Stones of several Countries, curiously Wrought and Carved; the Temples themselves garnished with Gold, Silver, Amber, and all the glittering and precious Stones that India and Ethiopia can afford; but enter within them and inquire for the Deity that is there Worshipped, and you shall be gravely showed behind a Curtain a Cat, or a Crocodile, or a Serpent of the Country, or some such ill-favoured Beast, which is the Residentiary or Tutelar Deity of that place. And just such, (says he) ' do those Women seem to me, who trim themselves with Gold, and are taken up with Curling their Hair, Painting their Faces, and Blacking their Eyes, Colouring their Locks, and other undue Arts of Softness, & Luxury, beautifying the Rail and Fence; but if a Man look within the Veil and ●overing of the Temple what is under all thi● Gayness and Finery, he shall be so far from meeting with what is truly Beautiful, that it will Excite his Horror and Aversation; for he shall not find the Image of God dwelling there, as might reasonably be expected; but instead thereof some filthy and treacherous Beast, that possesses the most inward Recesses of the Soul, a lustful Ape, or the crafty Serpent that devours the understanding of a Man, and turns his Soul into a Nest or Den full of most deadly Venom, and the Poison of his Error and Deceit. The Account Gregory gives of his Sister Gorgonia, That she used no Gold to make her fine, no yellow Hair ordered into Knots and Curls, nor any other Tricks to make her Head a Scene and Pageantry, no lose and transparent Garments; no Lustre of Stones and Jewels enlightening the Air round about and reflecting splendour upon them that wear them; no devices, and arts of painting; no affectation of Beauty that may be easily bought; no Counter working God's Creation, Dishonouring▪ Reproaching and Covering his Workmanship with False and Deceitful colours, suffering a Spurious and Superstitious Beauty to steal away that natural Image which ought to be kept entire to God, and the future state. The Prim. Chri. part 2. pag. 65, 6●. only Redness that pleased her, was that which was the Fruit of Blushing and Modesty; no other Whiteness but what came thorough fastening and abstenence, leaving Fucuses, and Painting, and Living Pictures, and Fading Beauty, to such as belong to Plays and Theatres, and to such for whom to blush and be ashamed, is a Shame and Disgrace, etc. Consider of the foregoing Lines, all Women who now have the Profession of Christianity; for here are set down and clearly demonstrated the Marks and Fruits of Chaste and Modest Matrons, and Women professing godliness with Good Works; what Adorning they loved and delighted to be attired withal, in which God delighted in them. And also the Marks and Characters of lewd and wanton Prostitutes, who frequented Plays, Shows and Theatres; their attire being most Rich and Costly, who Modesty was Vile and Cheap; Is it not so at this day? Oh! consider and lay these things to Heart; for he that took Vengeance for these things in Ancient Days, is the same at this day, whose Determinate Purpose none can change: It is not a Profession of the Christian Doctrine that will stand you instead, while the Fruits of Heathenism and Atheism is brought forth by you: If you say as the lose Women in Cyprian's days said, That you have great Estates, and therefore aught to live like yourselves, etc. He shows you how you may bestow them, to reap the Fruit of them another day. But the true Christians did then and do now charge all Women how Rich soever, to themselves in modest Apparel, not with Gold, nor Pearl, nor Broidered Hair, or Costly Apparel, 1 Tim. 2. 9 1 Pet. 3. 3. Obj. But it is said, That Pride lies in the Heart; which is true, for if it were not in the Heart it would not be on the Back; for as no Branch can grow without a Body and Root, so cannot Pride and Luxury spread over the Body, till first 'tis rooted in the Heart; therefore by the Fruits which you bring forth you are all known, both Male and Female, and accordingly must reap a Reward, who from the Righteous Judge of Heaven and Earth will cause all Wicked men and women, of both professed Christians and Heathens to be bundled together, and in the great Day of Divine Vengeance shall cast them in utter Darkness, where is weeping forever. Tertullian his Counsel to the Women of his time, was, To themselves with the Silk of Honesty, the De cult. foemin. lib. 2. cap. 13. add find. fine Vestures of Piety, the Purple of Modesty; and being thus beautified and adorned, says he, God himself will be your Lover. Among the many Temptations that besiege the L●fe of man and woman, there is scarce any, into which he is more eaisily betrayed, than into a vicious curiosity about Meats and Drinks, the Excess of an unruly Appetite. Therefore the Ancient Christians exhorted and warned the Saints and Believers in their day, to avoid delicate Dishes, and the Banquets of the Profane, the Lose and Waton Assemblies of the Unchaste. St. Bazill saith, That man's Food and Diet Reg. fus. Disput. interog. 19 ●om. 2 pag. 560. ought for the main to be regulated by the general end of it, which is not wanonly to please the palate, but to maintain Health and to repair the weakness and decay of Nature. Justin Martyr tells his Friends, That they ought to use such Food, not as may gratify their Ease and Epist. ad Zen. & Seren page 50●. Delliiacy, but such as make their Lives useful and serviceable. Wine (says he) is neither to be drunk daily to Excess, nor to be used as commonly as Water; both indeed are God's Creatures: Ibid. p. 512. But Water necessary, Wine given only to help and ●elieve the Body, which Immoderately taken, Chains up the Tongue, sparkles Fire out of the Eyes, and makes the Legs tremble, and the Understanding being gone, readily takes of its Cup of deadly Poison, and contrary to God's Ordination, it turns the peaceable Instrument of Husbandry into Swords and Spears. Clemens Alexandrinus Discourses at large, representing the great Evils and Inconveniencies of Gluttony and Excess, That it Wastes the Estate, Ruins the Body by imparing its sup●. cap. 1, 2. per. tot. Health, Debauching the Stomach, Deflowering its Taste, begetting an ill Habitude and Temper, and sow it with the Seeds of all Diseases, it dulls the Mind, and r●nders it unapt and slugguish, and prepares it for the entertainment of Vice and Wickedness. St. Jorom Counsels Laeta about the Education of Ad Laet. tom. 1. pag. 57 her Daughter, That her Diet should be thin and mean, and that she should never eat more than she might arise with some appetite. When they were at any time invited to public Solemnities, as Marriages or the like, the Prudence of the Con. Laod can. 53. Church thought fit to lay restraints upon them, not only to forbid them of light and ludicrous actions, as Leaping or Dancing, but that they should dine and sup gravely and modestly, as becomes Christians. When Julian the Emperor to raise Money for Basil. Epist. 208. tom. 3. pag. 225. Conser. Socrat. lib. ●. cap. 13. pag. 185 Prim. Ch●. part 2. pag. 74. his Wars, began to squeeze and oppress the Christians, he sent among others to St. Bazill, who had formerly been his Fellow Student at Athens, for One Thousand Pounds: The Answer he sends him was, That it could not be expected there, where he had not so much Provision before hand as would serve for one day. That there was no Arts of Cookery at his House, no Knives stained with the Blood of slaughtered Provision; his greatest dainties were a few Potherbs, and a piece of Bread, and a little sour vapped Wine. Chrysostom commends Olympias, not more for the modesty of her Garb than the meanness and sobriety of her Epist. 2. ad Olymp. tom. 4. pag. 616. Diet, to which she had so used herself, that she had got the perfect mastery over all undue appetites & inclinations, and had not only bridled the Horse, but tamed and reduced him to an entire subjection, and taught her Stomach to receive only such Meat and Drink, as was enough to keep her alive and in Health. Nay, our Feasts (as he says, in Minutius Faelix) are not only Chaste but Sober, we indulge not ourselves with Banquets, nor make our Feasts with Wine, but temperour Cheerfulness with Gravity and Seriousness, and indeed their often Watch and Fasting, and their constant Observance of the strictest parts of Devotion, sufficiently showed how little they pampered or indulged the flesh, the signs whereof they every where carried in their very Faces, and this was so notorious, that Pallidi trepidi apud eundem, pag. 10. their very Enemies reproached them with their trembling joints, and their pale ghastly looks. And Lucian giving an account of the Christian Assemblies into which he tells us Critias was Philopat. tom. 2. P. 1007. brought to be made Proselyte, describe them to a company of Persons with their Heads hanging down and Pale Faces. How often have you, who would be called Christians Sorcastically or Tauntingly described the true Christian-Quakers after this manner, To be a company of Persons with their Heads hanging down, and ghastly Looks, and not fit for your company, whose Eyes stand out with Fatness, and your Bodies puft up like over-sed Horses, your chiefest God being your Bellies, and your greatest Glory in that which ought to be your greatest Shame, and your Minds and Hearts are mostly taken up with Earthly things, fairing deliciously every Day, like the Glutton spoken of, Luke 16. 19, 20. and unless God in infinite Mercy give you Repentance, your end will be Destruction: Oh! w●ile you have time let your Laughter be turned into Mourning, your Feasting into Fasting, and your Joy into Heaviness; for the great and terrible Day of God Almighty cometh as a Thief in the Night, and woe to you who are found Eating and Drinking with the drunken, and Beating, Mocking and Dcriding your fellow Creatures, who are made to Sigh and Mourn for all the Abominations which are done and committed in the Land, which threaten Desolation and Destruction unto it, so that at the terrible stroke of divine Vengeance, your Faces (which now are full and fat) shall gather Paleness, and Trembling shall take hold of you, & fear on every side, which shall bow your now high and losty Looks; then shall the Cup of Trembling be taken out of their Hands, whom you have Oppressed, Scoffed and Derided, and shall be given to you, with which (except ye Repent) ye shall be drunk, and stumble and fall, and never rise again. We are, saith Octavius, Chaste in our Min. Foel. p. 26. Speech, and chaster in our Bodies; and very many of us (though we do not boast on't) do inviolably preserve a perpetual Virginity. But now you who would bear the name of Christians (though you take Wives) yet many of you are not content with them, but run into Whoredom and Uncleanness, by which you corrupt and destroy your Bodies, and bring your Souls into the horrible Pit of endless Torment, where all Whoremongers and Adulterers (whether called Christians or Heathens) shall have their part and lot. The Primitive Christians were zealously careful to shun all appearances and occasions of Lightness and Immodesty, and whatever might tend to inveigle the Sense, and to debauch their Minds and Manners; nay, whatever might give suspicion of Wantonness and Inconveniency. They declined, as much as might be, going to all public Meetings, such as Feasts, Plays, Shows, etc. There Cyprian severely chides with some Virgins, De Discip. & hab. Vir. p. 167. For being present at Weddings, where they laughed freely, and could not but hear lose Discourses, see uncomely Carriages, and seed upon Luxurious Dishes, all which must needs not only kindle, but add Fuel to the Fire, and fill their minds with undecent thoughts and desires. And as they were careful not to give offence to others, so they were not willing themselves to come within the Shadow: they stood at a distance from whatever was offensive either to their Eyes or Ears; their Ears they stopped against all lose idle Songs, and all filthy abscene Discourse; their Eyes they shut against all uncomely Admonit. ad Grae. pa. 40. Prim. Christ. tom. 2. p. 98. objects, all wanton and Lascivious Pictures, as Clemens Alexandrinus expressly tells us, not doing any thing that seemed but to carry an ill Colour with it. When ever any was found guilty of the least Uncleanness, it was looked upon and bewailed as a very heinous Sin, and a great dishonour to the Christian Name. What is it that I hear, says Cyprian? How detestable should it be to you, what with the greatest grief and affliction of my mind I have understood, that there are some amongst you who have defiled your Bodies, the Temples of God (even after they were sanctified) with filthy and infamous embraces, promiscuously using the Beds and Lodgings of the Women, when although they should be free from actual Adultery, yet even in this 'twould be a fault o mighty aggravation, that by their scandalous Examples others might be seduced into ruin. Tertullian uses this Plea in the close of his Apology to the Heathen, in the behalf of the great Chastity amongst the Christians at that day. Condemn us, Crucify and Torment us, your Cruelty and Injustice is the evidence of our Innocency, and therefore God suffereth this to come upon us; For while you choose rather to condemn a Woman that is a Christian to the Stews, then to the Lions, you plainly confess that the violation of Chastity is accounted by us a heavier Penalty, than any Punishment or kind of Death you can inflict upon us. Consider this ye Lustful wanton Ones, who are alluring one another through your unsatiable Lusts, into acts of Uncleanness: Who is your Example for these things, the Primitive Christians or the unclean Heathen? Of the Novalty that was charged upon the Primitive Christian Religion, and the Sufferings they underwent for the Vindication of it. TErtullian told the Enemies of the Christians in the Primitive Times, That by every Act of cruelty against them they did but tempt others to come over to their Party, and the Apol. cap. ult. pag. 40. oftener they were mowed down, the faster they sprung up again, the Blood of the Christians making the Church's soil more fat and fertile. Caecilius the Heathen in Minutius Faelix Accuses the Arnob. lib. 1. pag. 7. Minu Fa. p. 7. Christians for a desperate undone and unlawful faction. When Paul preached Athens we find the first thing charged upon him, That he was a setter forth of strange Gods, because he preached to them Jesus and the Resurrection, Acts 17. 18. Arnobius said, You are went to change our Religion as Noval, started up not many days ago, and that you ought Lib. 2. pag. 40. not to desert your ancient way, nor the Religion of your Country. And Eusebius saith, The Heathen were wont to reason Praepar. Evang. lib. 1. c. 2. p. 5. thus, What strange Profession of Religion is this? What new way of Life, & c? Julian the Emperor writing to the People of Alexandria, Epist. 51. oper. Jul. part 2. pag. 208. concerning the Galilaeans (for so he was wont in seorn to call the Christians) That he wondered that any of them durst dwell among them, or that they would suffer those Despisers of the Religion of their Country, to have any place among them. Lactantius speaking of the Heathens, They go on, says he, most perniciously to maintain and defend the Religion derived down to them from their Ancestors; not so much considering what they are, as concluding them to be right and good, because the Ancients conveyed them to them, etc. Upon these the Gentiles bore so hard upon Christianity, beholding it as a Mushroom Sect, sprung up of a sudden, and an encroaching Inmate undermining the established Religion of the World. Oh! ye pretended Christians, how often have you charged the true Christians in scorn by you nicknamed Quakers, who in Doctrine and Discipline do follow the steps of the Ancient & true Christians, with a Noval startup Religion, because the hope of our Glory, which is Christ manifested in us, hath been a Mystery hid from Ages and Generations, even from your Fathers, Grandfathers, and Great-grandfathers, for many Ages; so that the Religion which you uphold, and have, and do seek to establish, hath been and is that only which hath been derived from your Ancestors, by Tradition (Heathen-like) not so much considering whether they are right or good, as looking upon it to be Ancient, and lived in and practised by your Forefathers, who lived in the Dark Night of Apostasy and Degeneration from the Life, Marrow and Quitesence of true Christianity. Clemens Alexandrinus said, The Heathen told them that Admo. ad Gent. p. 57 they might not subvert the customs received from their Ancestors: But if so, why then, saith he, are we are not content without any other Food than our Mother's Milk, to which we were accustomed when we first came into the World? Why do we increase or impair our Estates, and not rather keep them at the same pitch, just as we received them from our Ancestors. Lactantius saith to the Heathen, What wilt thou do? wilt thou follow Reason or thy Ancestors? Lact. loco supralaudato. St. Ambros said, That old Age has true cause Amb. Epist. 2. contr. symach. inter Epist. sumach. p. 562. to blush, that is a shamed to reform; and that it is not the multitude of Years, but the goodness of manners that makes grey Hairs worthy of Praise and Honour: No Age is too late to learn, nor is it a shame to grow better Ambros argues thus with the Enemies of the Christians, Our way of Religion you say is new, and yours ancient; does this either hurt our Cause or help yours? If ours be new, 'twill in time become old; is yours old? there was a time when 'twas new, the goodness and authority of Religion is not to be valued by the length of time, but by the Excellency of its Worship, etc. Things charged upon the Ancient Christians, respecting their outward Condition. THe Primitive Christians were charged by their Emenies to be a very mean and inconsiderable sort of men, and that they were an Useless and Unserviceable People; nay, Pernicious and Mischievous to the World; and were looked upon as the lowest and meanest rank of men. Persons neither considerable Adu. gent. lib. 3. pag. 49. for their parts and learning, nor for their Estates and Quality: As Arnobius tells them, You scorn and spit us out, as Rude and Simple, and think that the Treasury of all Divine and Excellent Knowledge is only open to yourselves. Thus Celsus objected, that among the Christians not Orig. cont. Cells. lib. 3. pag. 137. wise men were admitted to the Mysteries of their Religion; saying, that such as are void of reason, slaves, silly Women, and little Children are fit D sciples for the God they Worship. And he goes on and says, Ibid. p. 141. That Weavers, Tailors, Fuller's, and the most Rustic and Illiterate Fellows at Home, when before their Elders and Betters, are as mute as Fishes, and when they can Page 144. get a few Children and silly Women together, than who so Wise and Learned, and so full of talk and so able to instruct as they! See (says the Heathen, in Minutius Faelix, to the Page 9 Christians) the most & best of all your Par●y are a Poor Beggarly, Hunger starved Generation, that have Arnob. adv. Gent. lib. 2. prop. fin Lactant lib. 5. De Instit. cap. 22. neither Riches nor Reputation to bear them out. But this was not all, the Christians were charged to be a very useless and unserv ceable People, that contributed nothing to the happiness of the Commonwealth; nay, as Destructive and Pernicious to Humane Society, and the procuring Causes of all those Mischiess that befell the World. Hear what Tertullian says in the Case, Certainly if any have cause (says he) truly to complain of our being unprofitable, Ap. cap. 42. p. 33. Ibid. cap. 43. they are Bawds, ●andors, Pimps, Hectors and Russians, Sellers of Poison, Soothsayers, Wizards and Astrologers, etc. and to be unserviceable to these is the greatest serviceableness. Oh! how parallel are the say of the ancient Heathen Gentiles, with yours now who are called Christians! how often have you slighted and reproached us as a mean contemptible & poor People, Rude in Speech & Behaviour, Rustic & Illiterate Fellows, a poor beggarly Generation, and very useless and unserviceable to the Government, and destructive to humane Society; without considering that in all Generations, God chose the weak and foolish things of the World to confound the Wise, etc. 1 Cor. 4. 25, 26, 27, 28, 29. Even so it is at this day. And we are useless and unserviceable to none, but to such, as old Tertullian reckoned up, as is instanced above, and to be useless and unserviceable is the account of such in the greatest serviceableness. How the Ancient Christians helped the Emperors in their Wars. WHen Celsus pressed the Christians to undergo public Offices, and to help the Emperor in his Wars. Origen answers that they did, though by divine, Adu. Cells. lib. 8. pag. 426, 427. not humane help, Above all men (says he) we fight for the Emperor, while we train up ourselves in Exercises of Piety, and that they really sought to reclaim men from Vice and Sin, to a good and virtuous Life; but said, that wicked men were the Pests & Plagues of humane Society, that taint and infect others by their bad Examples and Persuasions, and entail Vengeance upon the places of their Residence. Whilst good Men engage the Favour and Blessing of Heaven, who both by their Counsels and Examples bring over others Adu. Cells. lib. 1. pa. 9 to Sobriety and Virtue, whereby they establish and settle the Foundation of Government, and the happiness of civil Life, etc. Origen saith, Doth Celsus call upon us to bear Offices for the good of our Country? Let him know that the Country is much more beholding to Christians then to the rest of Men, while they teach them Piety towards God, the tutelar Guardian of the Country. Clement to the Corinthians said, Who did ever Clem. Ep. ad. Corinth. pag. 2, 4. dwell amongst you, that did not wonder at your sober & moderate Piety in Christ, being adorned with a most virtuous & venerable Conversation, & having the Laws and Commands of God written upon the Tables of your Hearts? They placed Religion not in talking finely, but living well. Amongst us (saith Athenagorus) the meanest and most Mechanic Persons and old Women, although not able to ●●g. pro. Christ. p. 12 discourse and dispute for the usefulness of their Profession, do yet demonstrate it in their Lives and Actions, They do not indeed critically weigh their words, & recite eloquent Orations, but they manifest honest and virtuous Actions; while being buffeted they strike not again, nor Sue them at Law who spoil and plunder them. Now to God's pure and living Witness in all Consciences, who shall read or peruse the Lines aforegoing, I leave them to be tried and judged, and also to manifest who are the true Christians at this Day, and of right aught to claim that honourable Name and Title, whether those who Traditionally have received it from their Ancestors, while they are Strangers and Enemies to the Cross of Christ, which crucifies to the World its ways and works of Darkness and Iniquity? or them who in Life, Doctrine and Practice live according to the Discipline of the Gospel; who though they are in the World, yet are not of the World; and though walking upon the Earth, yet their Conversation is in Heaven, having the Laws and Commandments of God written upon the Tables of their Hearts; these are they who are Christians indeed, whose praise is not of men, but of God. Gatton-place in Surrey, the 28th of the 9th Month, 1678. AMBROS RIGGE. THE END.