ff OV THK PRINCETON, N. J. SAMUEL A G N E W , O F P H r I. A I) E L P H I A , PA. 'ie, Division . w. Srw: I '^'/''''/' Seet.K>,v3b.S.l. Book, _^, _^ THE FUNERAL SERMONS, ORATIONS, EPITAPHS, AND OTHER PIECES ON THE DEATH OF THE / RIGHT KEV. PATRICK FORBES, BISHOP OF ABERDEEN. FROM THE ORIGINAL EDITION OF 1635. BIO&RAPHICAL MEMOIR AND NOTES, BY / CHARLES FARQUHAR ^HAND, ESQ. ADVOCATE. EDINBURGH : PRINTED FOR THE SPOTTISWOODE SOCIETY. M.DCCC.XLV. ALEX. LAURIE AND CO. PRINTERS TO HER MAJESTY. FUNERALS RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD PATRICK FORBES OF CORSE, BISHOP OF ABERDENE. Tov €v dyiois REVERENDISSIMI IN CHRISTO PATRIS, PATRICn FOEBESII A CORSE, EPISCOPI ABBEDONIENSIS, TVMVLVS. A multis omnium ordinum collaclirymantibus Variegato opere exornatus. Prov. X. 7. The meraovie of the Just, is blessed. Hieronym. Epist. ad Pammaddum, quce inclpit — Sanato vulneri. Phis sensimus quod habuimus, postquam habere desivimus. ABEEDENE IMPRINTED BY EDWARD RABAN. 1635. EDITINGl COMMITTEE Z'bt ^pDtti^toooiie SotietB FOR THE YEAR M.DCCC.XLV. The Rev. Thomas G. Suthek, St George's, Convener. The Rev. John Boyle, St Mark's, Portobello. The Rev. Berkeley Addison, St John's, Edinburgh. W, E. Aytoun, Esq. Professor of Rhetoric, Edinburgh University. Robert Robertson Glasgow, Esq. Advocate. William Forbes, Esq. Advocate. Charles G. Reid, Esq. Writer to the Signet. A. Forbes Irvine, Esq. Advocate. INDEX SERMONUM ALIORUMQUE OPUSCULORUM QU^ FUNEBRI HOC LIBRO CONTINENTUR.i A TABLE or THE SERMONS AND OTHER WRYTINGS CONTAYNED IN THIS FUNERALL BOOKE. PAGE Pateicii Episcopi Effigies, cum diebus nativitatis et obitus, et tem- pore ac loco sepulturse, et inscriptione marmoris sepulchralis, 2, 3 A Dedicatorie Commendation of the Worke, and of the deceassed Patrick Forbes, late Bishop of Aberdene, with some Funerall Poesies, by Master David Lindsay, Person of Belhelvie, and Moderator of the Presbytrie of Aberdene, - - 5-17 Arthuri Johnstoui, M.D. Medici Regii, Epigramma, de hoc Tumulo, 18 Johannis Lundini, Carmen Dedicatorium in Commendationem totius Ubri, 22 A Funerall Sermon Preached by Doctor Robert Baron, - 26 A Funerall Speach, by Doctor Alexander Scrogie, - - - 79 A Sermon Funerall, by Doctor William Guild, - - 93 A Sermon entytlcd, « Holinesse to the Lord," by Doctor James Sibbald, ^^^ A Consolatorie Sermon, by Doctor Alexander Rosse, - - 169 ' The new Index to this Edition will bo^ found at the end of the Volume. Vlll INDEX. PAGE SOME LETTERS, WITH SOME OTHER MONUMENTS, CONCERNINQ THE GODLIE ENTRIE OF PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE, TO THE BISHOPRICKE OF ABERDENE, AND HIS HAPPIE GOVERNMENT, AND BLESSED DEPARTURE TO COELESTIALL JOYE, VIZ. — A Letter of King James, of Glorious Memorie, to the Archbishops and Bishops of Scotland, - - - - - 193 Letter of the Archbishops and Bishops of Scotland, to Patrick Forbes, Laird of Corse, ---... 2OI The Archbishop of St Andrewes, to Master Thomas Mitchell, 203 The same Archbishop to the Laird of Corse, - - -204 The Lau-d of Corse to Master Thomas Mitchell, - - 205, 206 The Ministers of the Diocesse of Aberdene, to Patricke Forbes, Laird of Corse, -----.. 2O6 Certificatio D. Patricio Forbes de Corse, in Episcopatum Aberdon. electo, ----... 207 Procuratorium ad Exhibendam Certificationem de Electione Episcopi, 209 Diploma Regium, de provisione Patricii Forbesii, Episcopi Aber- donensis, - - - . . . -211 Letter of the Archbishop of St Andrewes, to Master Thomas Mitchell, -----.. 214 Instrument anent Patricke, Bishop of Aberdene, his Admission to the said Bishopricke, - - - - - 215 Letter of a Most Reverend Father in God John Spotswood, Arch- bishop of St Andrewes, and Primate of all Scotland, to Patricke Forbes of Corse, Bishop of Aberdene, in the tjTne of the said Patrick's Sicknesse, - - - - - - 217 Letters to John Forbes of Corse after his Father's Decease, written by the sayd Archbishop, now also Lord High Chancellour of the Kingdome of Scotland, ----- ib. AND BY THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHERS IN GOD. John Guthrie, Bisliop of Murray, - . . . 220 Thomas Sinsarffe, then BisIiop of Brechin, now Bishop of Galloway, 226 John Maxwell, Bishop of Rosse, .... 228 INDEX. IX PAGE Adam Ballendiue, Bishop of Aberdene, - - - - 230 David Lindsay, Bishop of Edmburgh, - - - - 231 Advertisement to the Reader, ..... 232 Pars Epistolfe Magiskri Joannis Setoni ad Adamum, Episcopum Aberdoniensem, ...... 233 Davidis Leochaei Oratio Funebris in obitum Patricii Forbesii Epis- copi Aberdoniensis, .----- 235 Joannis Forbesii Filii Sermo Funebris et Consolatorius, - 252 Ejusdem Metrum Consolatorium, .... 303 Ejusdem Dissertatio de Visione Beatifica, ... 304 SEQUUNTUR EPITAPHIA QU^DAM METRICA, QUORUM AUCTORES SUNT. Kobertus Gordonus, ..---- 330 Jacobus Sandilandius, ...... 336 Andreas Ramsaeus, ...-.- 338 Patricius Pantei'us, ...... 343 Georgius Wishartus, ...... 351 Gulielmus Leslseus, ...... 359 Arthurus Johnstonus, ...... 363 Gulielmus Johnstonus, ...... 365 Gulielmus Gordonus, .--..- 368 Robertus ^Magnus, " ...... 374 Ninianus Campbellus, ...... 377 Robertus Watsonus, ...... 382 David Leochaeus, „..-.-- 383 Joannes Lundinus, ..... 392, 445 David Wedderburnus, ...... 395 Gulielmus Wallas, 397 Robertus Dounseus, .----- 399 Joannes Armour, ..--.-- 402 Alexander Gardenus, .--..- 405 Joannes Raius, ...---- 406 Thomas WaUas, - - - - - - - 407 Johannes Hammiltonius, - - - - - -412 Gulielmus Laudenis, . - - - . 413, 416 Patricius Jaraisonus, ...... 417 INDEX. Jacobus Gordonus, Joannes Kempums, Jacobus Keythus, Georgius Robertsonus, Joannes Taylor, Alexander Dounaeus, Joannes Forbesius, Sii" Alexander Cummin, Patricke May t Ian, - William Wishart, Thomas Mitchell, M. I. L. P. A., Alexander Garden, Alexander Whyt, John Johnston, Edward Raban, PAGE 419, 452 421 423, 454 425 427 429 43!, 433 434 437 438 441 448 449 455 457 459 PREFACE. EW such literary Monuments have been raised to the memory of distinguished individuals as the " Funerals" of Bishop Patrick Forbes — the Collec- tion of Funeral Sermons, Orations, Epitaphs, &c. on the death of that Prelate, who filled the See of Aberdeen from a. d. 1618 to a. d. 1635. In so numerous a Collection the pieces are, as may readily be supposed, of very unequal merit, — but among the productions of many of the most learned men of the time in Scotland, contributions will be found from the whole of the celebrated " Aberdeen Doctors," who, by the acknowledgment of all parties, occupied a distinguished position for learning, charac- ter, and ability, in the deeply interesting discussions preceding the breaking out of the Civil War in the Seventeenth Century. The Documents connected with the Election and Induction of a Bishop to a Scottish See in the earlier part of that century, will possess a value in the eyes of the Ecclesiastical Antiquary. Xll PREFACE. It is to be regretted that several of the best por- tions of the Volume, the productions of the very learned Doctor John Forbes of Corse, the Bishop's son, of Doctor William Leslie, Principal of King's College, Aberdeen, of Doctor Arthur Johnston, the well-known Latin Poet, and others, being in the Latin language, will not be so accessible to a few of the Members of the Spottiswoode Society as could have been wished. It is confidently hoped, however, that the Work, as a whole, will be acceptable to the Subscribers. The Life of the Bishop prefixed to the Volume, and the Notes interspersed through the Work, contain a considerable amount of Biographical and other interesting details, from which a succinct view may be gathered of the Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Domestic state of some of the most important Dis- tricts of the North of Scotland, during the agitating period before and after the commencement of the Civil War. All acerbity of expression on subjects of religious or political controversy has been avoided. The polite communications of several eminent Antiquarian Friends are acknowledged in their proper places. Principally through their obliging assistance, the Editor has been enabled to correct some errors of former Biographers, and to add some additional memorials of eminent men now for the first time pubhshed. PREFACE. The spelling of the original Edition has been pre- served. It is interesting in a philological point of view. Where any word appeared altogether obsolete, an explanatory Note has been added. In some of the pieces, the references to the Fathers, Schoolmen, &c. are very numerous. Considerable pains have been taken to verify the leading quotations in good Editions of the original Writers, and in a few instances, where the noble Collection in the Advo- cates' Library failed the Editor, he has to acknow- ledge his obligations to friends at Oxford. India Street, Edinburgh, December 1845. BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR RIGHT REV. PATRICK FORBES, BISHOP OF ABEEDEEN. BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR RIGHT REV. PATRICK FORBES, BISHOP OF ABERDEEN. |T would not be easy, we think, to over- estimate the advantages we enjoy in the pre- sent age, from the practical recognition of the great principles involved in the common phrase — " Civil and Religious liberty."" It must be confessed, that even in the most civilized Com- munities of modern times, the discovery is but compara- tively late, that the capability of bejng a good Citizen does not depend on the profession of faith by the individual in a particular set of Christian dogmata, and that men can live as members of a common State, and bound by the same equal laws of civil polity, without identity in their religious belief, or unity in the form of approach to the presence of their common God. To this happy state, which we humbly apprehend is in the most perfect harmony with the true XVlll BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE Genius of Christianity, modern Christian Nations have only been able to attain, after tlie sanguinary struggles of General as well as Domestic Wars, and the fierce contentions of Ecclesiastical Eevolution. In the Middle Ages, which one of our Religious parties would represent as so " dark " and degraded, that Europe was little if at all removed from actual Barbarism, and which another would elevate to the most glorious rank in the His- tory of our race, as the very " ages of Faith,""! the civil and ecclesiastical Authorities came unfortunately to be so com- pletely identified — the Begale and Pontificale came unhappily to be so blended together — that the free exercise of indi- vidual judgment in matters of Religion, in opposition to the general belief of the times, was not only followed by a forfeiture of Civil rights and franchises, but exposed the individual as a Criminal to the heaviest penalties. This principle of making political Right dependant on religious Orthodoxy was so deeply impressed upon the public mind of Europe, that when the great religious Revolution of the sixteenth century broke out, the Reformers in their different countries, strove with ceaseless energy, to reduce all around them to the same standard of Christian belief and Eccle- siastical regimen. Such a thing as even religious Tolera- tion, far more any thing approaching to religious Equality among the inhabitants of the same State, was rejected by all parties as the dream of infidelity or folly. It was not till the discovery that the living principle of Human 1 Compare the exaggerated details of Ultra- Protestant writers on this period of the history of Europe, with the attractive hut deceptive pages of the Romanist Mr Digl)y, in his " ^Mores CathoUci." In the work of the Rev. S. R. Maitland, Librarian at Lambeth, entitled " The Dark Ages," a collection of amusing and instructive details relatmg to the times in question will be found, along with much sound and judicious observation. We suspect the truth is to be found here, as in most cases, in medio. The ju^te milieu is in this instance, as in most otliers, more easily ridiculed than refuted. RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XIX Opinion among highly civilised and educated men, in relation to subjects of such awful import, cannot be moulded into Uniformity at the will of civil and ecclesiastical Rulers — that — speaking generally — the possession of political Rights and Franchises in the leading Nations of the world, has ultimately and happily been accorded to all, without the exaction of a real or feigned adherence to any particular form of Christian profession. If we direct our attention more particularly to the political and religious History of our own Country in modern times, we find ourselves at once attracted to the contemplation of the struggles and discussions of our ancestors during the sixteenth and seventeenth Centuries, in the midst of which Bishop Patrick Forbes lived, and in which he had no incon- siderable share. That period of British history must ever engage the attention of those who would study the rise and progress of true Constitutional Government, embracing what is now generally admitted to be a necessary part of it — Freedom of religious opinion without civil Disability. Almost every Question, political or religious, which has been agitated among us since, was then fully discussed — many questions were indeed completely exhausted ; but above all, from the contests and struggles of adverse Interests and Classes — from the conflict of various Opinions, Minds, and Temperaments, ultimately, though not for a long period, arose that happy practical Equipoise in the Constitution of the Country, and that liberty of Conscience, without de- privation of Civil Rights, the solid foundation of the good government of modern times. It is not, of course, our intention here to review at length the Civil and Ecclesiastical Revolutions of Britain during the sixteenth and seventeenth Centuries. Looking back upon that stormy period of our History, we fear it must be admitted that faults, follies, and crimes, are but too XX BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE perceptible in the annals of all the contending Factions. The sanguinary violence of those times was perhaps the unavoidable penalty to be paid for the error which had been allowed to become established, of confounding the Civil duties of the individual as a Citizen of the State, — for which he is responsible to his civil governors, — with his Religious duties, with which, — while " his obligations as a Citizen are faithfully performed, — it will not be easy to shew that the State has any right whatever to interfere. The course of ecclesiastical Change was very differ- ent in Scotland from what it was in England. It is an historical fact, that the ancient Scotican Church was not, like the Anglican, strictly speaking, reformed. As the Scottish Bishops and the general body of the Clergy did not concur in the religious movement of the times, every thing was done in contempt of, and in direct opposition to their wishes and authority. Indeed, it was the boast of the Scot- tish Reformers, that they repudiated all connection with the ancient Church, of which they had once been members, and which they even declared to be " idolatrous and apostate." They acted accordingly in strict conformity with their own principles, in their endeavours to subvert and utterly annihi- late the ancient Church, — her framework and polity. In this they completely succeeded. In England there was no such Ecclesiastical Revolution as in Scotland, there was merely a reformation within the Church itself. The Bishops and Clergy in Convocation, were parties to all the alterations introduced by the Government; and thus, it is contended, that the iden- tity of the Anglican Church, as the old Catholic Church of the country, has been all along completely maintained, with her claims upon the Fidelity and Loyalty of her Children, unaffected and unimpaired.! In the different forms which ^ This is the view of the Reformation in the Church of England, main- tained by lier Doctors, particularly in controversy with the English Roman- RiaHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XXl the Reformation assumed in Scotland and England some may perhaps fancy they discern the traces of the National characteristics of the two predominating races, Celtic and Saxon — the former hasty, rash, and enthusiastic — the latter calm, phlegmatic, and discreet. But humanly speak- ing, the causes of the difference in the Scotch and English Reformations are sufficiently obvious. In the former, the Revolution was forced upon the civil and ecclesiastical Authorities by a portion of the second order of the Clergy, at the head of a numerous body of the middle and poorer classes, urged on by a far stronger, though far less honest party than either — a large section of the Scottish aristocracy, under the influence of a Foreign Power, and thirsting for the plunder of the property of the Church. In the latter, the civil and ecclesiastical rulers concurred in the alterations. It need not surprise us, then, to find, that the Changes in Scot- land were far more sweeping than in England, and were, as ists, who, it is further argued, are to be considered as a mere body of modern Dissenters, with a Clergy of doitbtful foreign orders, schismatically intruding into Dioceses, which have always been canonically full. Of the older writers on this subject Archbishop Bramhall may be thought to rank very high in the fii'st class. Within the last ten or fifteen years the sub- ject has engaged the attention of a crowd of learned authors. The work of the Rev. William Palmer, of Worcester College, Oxford, entitled a " Treatise on the Church of Christ," may, perhaps, be placed at their head. It is dedicated, by permission, to the two Primates of the united Church of England and Ireland, and has passed through several Editions in a few years. The learning and ability of the Author have been admitted on all hands, particularly by writers of the Roman communion, and no answer has as yet been attempted. However desirable Christian unity may be, the union of the Reformed Episcopal Churches of the world and the different Protestant communities seems as impossible, as the junction of the former or of the great Oriental Church with Rome. The intercourse between the Eastern Church and the Church of England, which appears never to have been interrupted, has, of late years, been much more frequent. Taken together, it would seem that along with the Churches in communion with the latter they would form the largest, or next to the largest. Christian Community in the world. — Palmer's ' Treatise on the Church,' 8vo. London, 1845. XXll BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE we have already said, different in kind as well as in degree. We are not here instituting any comparison between them — with reference to their merits or demerits, — we are merely stating what appear to be the facts of History. The Church, as reformed in England, was introduced into Scotland by the Consecration of Archbishop Spottis- woode and others in 1610. This was done in opposition to the wishes of a large number of the people, who were sincerely attached to a more democratic form of ecclesiasti- cal organization, and to different views of many parts of the Christian Creed from those held in every age by the Anglican Church. Various points of Ritual observance were not for some time insisted upon ; but a period of domestic agitation — of embittered social relations — and of mutual recrimination and reproach, followed. In the opinion however of writers of almost all parties, the acrimony of polemical discussion was gradually abating, a general tone of Moderation was beginning to prevail, when a concurrence of adverse cir- cumstances arose, and Episcopacy was again subverted and overthrown. The Crown, ill informed regarding the true state of affairs in Scotland, and relying too much on the advice of members of the English hierarchy, — whose conscientious zeal for what they believed the truth, very far exceeded their capacity for the management of public affairs, — arbitrarily insisted upon the Scottish Church receiving the whole of the English, or similar Rites and Ceremonies, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the Bishops, and the notorious and deep- rooted aversion of many of the Clergy and a large body of the People. It was in vain, in such circumstances, to urge the beauty, antiquity, and solemnity of these Ritual observ- ances. Such a course of proceeding was but to anticipate the knowledge, and to do violence to the wishes, habits, and feelings of the people — an ill-advised experiment in RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XXlU ecclesiastical affairs, as examples in our own times have shewn. The Bishops were generally unpopular — they leaned too much to the side of the Crown in the disputes with the People, forgetting that on the goodwill and affections of the latter must in every age depend the well-being and efficiency of the Church. The weight and influence of a large portion of the Aristocracy, who had contrived to divert almost the whole of the ecclesiastical revenues from any thing like public uses, and to secure them for then* own private purposes, were thrown into the scale against the existence of a Church, who never ceased to reclaim what she considered her own, and with whom they would in all probability have been obliged to share their newly and irregularly acquired possessions, if not to hand the whole over to her, with a chance of what they would have deemed but very inadequate compensation. The Bishops, in par- ticular, were obnoxious to many of the Aristocracy, being in their eyes but Upstarts of inferior birth, sharing in the possession of the great offices of the State, to the dignities and emoluments of which they deemed the members of their own Order the only parties entitled to aspire. From these, and other circumstances of minor importance, in combination with the many Constitutional questions spring- ing from the then unadjusted rights of the Crown and the People both in Scotland and England, arose the Civil War of the seventeenth century, the results of which, whether as regards political or ecclesiastical Considerations, it is unnecessary to recapitulate here. During seventeen years of the eventful and distracted period preceding the outbreak of the Civil War, the dis- tinguished subject of the present Biographical Memoir held the See of Aberdeen, one of the most ancient and important of the Scottish Dioceses. ^ Happily for himself he lived not ^ According to the tradition of the Scotioaii Church, Christianity wa*! XXIV BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE to see contending factions of his countrymen arrayed against each other in mortal conflict. From the flagrant instances of hypocrisy, insincerity, and corruption which meet us on every side in those troublous times, it is an agreeable relief to turn to the contemplation of the charac- ter of a good and great Man, whose virtues, learning, and abilities have been acknowledged, with few exceptions, by writers of all parties, — of whose admirable Episco- pal rule the impress has never been effaced from the dis- trict of the country over which he presided, — and against whom it may be said, that the only accusation which even the most enthusiastic writers against Episcopacy have been able to bring, was that of accepting a Bishopric in the introduced into Aberdeenshire and the neighbouring districts of Scotland by Machar, a Bishop, one of the Irish disciples of St. Columba ; but the list of Bishops is only complete from the eleventh or twelfth century. There is a jjoint of some Antiquarian interest to which we may take the liberty of here adverting, although scarcely connected with our present subject, we mean the origin of the Armorial Bearings of the city of Aberdeen. The Cathedral was dedicated to St Machar, and the largest Church within the town to St Nicholas. In the Preface to the " Description of Both Touns of Aberdeen," by James Gordon, Parson of Rothieraay, printed for the Spalding Club, 1842, p. xi., it is said — " The intelligent an- tiquary will not fail to recognise in the triple coned shrine of St Nicholas of the more ancient seal (of the city, of which an engraving is given,) the type of the triple-towered castle that figures in a shield, and within the royal tressure of Scotland in the later one (also engraved). By an easy gradation from thence we have the three separate towers, now the Armorial Bearings of the city." It may, we fear, appear something like presumption, to throw any doubt on the origin of the Arms of the city of Aberdeen, suggested by the accomplished Author of " The Book of Bon Accord," and of which the learned Editor of the " De- scription of Both Touns of Aberdeen," has approved. However we think the conjecture is at least a pardonable one, that the three Castles in the arms of the city owe their position there to the " three eminences" of local Topogi-aphers — " the Castle Hill, the Port Hill, and St Catharine's Hill," on the slopes of which the early Settlers built their habitations, and the tops of which were doubtless rudely fortified — the settlement thus presenting the appearance of three Castlee, which it mupt have re- tained for Centuries after its first foundation. RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XXV then established Church of his country, — at the call of his Prince and of the Clergy and Laity of the Diocese, — a Distinction which the modesty and unobtrusiveness of his own character would have led him to decline. Patrick Forbes of Corse and O'Neil, Bishop of Aberdeen, was born at his Father's Seat of Corse,i in Aberdeenshire, on the 24th of August, in the year 1564. He was the fourth in lineal descent from Patrick Forbes, Armour- bearer to King James III., to whom that monai-ch, in acknowledgement of his faithful services, granted, by Charter ^ " Collections upon the Life of Patrick Forbes, Barron of O'Neil and Laird of Corse, Minister of Keith, and Bishop of Aberdeen." — Wodrow MSS., preserved in the Library of the College of Glasgow, vol. xiii. The Editor has to acknowledge the ready politeness of the Rev. Dr Fleming, Professor of Moral Philosophy, Glasgow, in affording him the fullest access to the Manuscripts in the Library of Glasgow College. The sources from which Wodrow drew his materials will be found stated in his introduc- tion to those Collections, printed in a Note below. " The Castle of Corse" we are told [New Statistical Account of Scot- land, Aberdeenshire, Leochel and Cushnie, p. 1123] " has been long im- roofed and ruinous, but a good part of the walls is still standing. The date of the structure is pointed out by the inscription on the lintel over the door, " W. F. 1581. E. S." The initials are those of William Forbes, father of the Bishop, and of his wife Elizabeth Strachan. It is tradition- ally related, that his former dwelling having been plundered in his , absence by some Highland freebooters, he vowed, " if God spare my life I shall build a house at which thieves will need to knock ere they enter." Such depredations, as may readily be supposed, did not become less fre- quent in that district during the dissensions of the following century. In the very curious Brieffe Narration of Gilbert Blackball, (p. SO, &c.) will be found a graphic account of the discomfiture of a party of the Clan Cameron, who had come upon the lands of Aboyne for the purpose of plunder, by the conduct of that intrepid and energetic Missionary himself. [A BriefFe Narration of the Services done to thrie noble Ladyes, by Gil- bert Blackball, Priest of the Scots Mission in France, in the Low Countries, and in Scotland, 1631-1649, 4to, Aberdeen, printed for the Spalding Club, MDCccxLiv.] The Castle of" Corse" is mentioned by Monipennie in his " Briefe Description," among the Castles of " Marre" in 1612. [Miscel- lanea Scotica, 8^\'0, Glasgow, 1818, vol. i. p. 172. J XXVI BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE dated at Edinburgh the 17th of December 1476 — Omnes et singulas terras Baronice de O'Neil, videlicet terras de Coule, Kincraigie, et Corse, 4t.i Patrick Forbes, founder of the House of Corse, as this branch of the Family has always been denominated, from their residence being on the part of the estate so called, was the third son of James second Lord Forbes, the Head of that ancient Scottish House. The Surname is undoubtedly territorial, notwithstanding the fabulous relations of Genealogists, and for centuries has been both numerous and distinguished in the north of Scotland, particularly in the county of Aberdeen. Patrick Forbes, first of Corse and CNeil, was succeeded by his son David, whose eldest son and heir — William Forbes — was one of the earliest of those of any name in Scotland, who embraced the doctrines of the Reformation. His eldest son and heir, the father of the Bishop, was also named William, and Dr Garden, the biographer of Dr John Forbes, the Bishop's son, has described him as " a man of sagacity and spirit" — Vir sagax et magnanimus.^ The wife of William Forbes of Corse, and the mother of Bishop Patrick Forbes and the other children to be immediately noticed, was Elizabeth Strachan, a daughter of the House of Thornton in Kincardineshire,^ sometimes said to be the ' Douglas' Peerage, folio, Edinb. 1813, vol. i. p. 591 ; Douglas' Baronage, folio, Edinb. 1798, p. 75 ; Collections for a History of the Shires of Aber- deen and Banff, 4to; Aberdeen, printed for the Spalding Club, mdccoxliii, p. 607 ; Revereudi viri Joh. Forbesii a Corse Vita, by Dr George Garden, Professor in King's College, Aberdeen, and ]Minister of St Machar's Church, ejected at the Revolution for refusing to conform to the Presby- terian Establishment. This life, from which a considerable portion of the present Memoir has been derived, is prefixed to the Edition of the works of the learned Dr John Forbes, the well-known son of the Bishop, pub- lished in two volumes folio by the Wetsteins, Amsterdam, 1702-3. =* Vita R. V. Joli. Forbesii a Corse, § 1. '* Note by Dr John Forbes to the Dedication by tlie Bishop of his Treatise on the Lawful Call of the Protestant Cleigy, to William Strachan of Ti])])ertie in Aberdeenshire ; Latin edition 4to. Amsterdam, EIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XXVU eldest branch of that ancient Family.^ Of this union there was seven sons, of whom the Bishop was the eldest. 1646. See further regarding this Treatise and Edition infra, where the Bishop's Writings are noticed. — Lumsden's Genealogy of the Family of Forbes, with Continuations, Inverness, 8vo. 1819, p. 21. — This work, fi'om a want of dates, is not very satisfactory, and it is disfigured by the careless spelling of Proper names, particularly the names of places. ^ [The surname of Strachan, anciently Strathechin, Strathaquin, Sti-athauchine, &c. is of great antiquity in Scotland. It is derived from a parish of the same name in Kincardineshire. " By a charter supposed to be previous to the year 1165, Walderus [Waldevus] de Strathecan gi'ants to the monks of St Andrews " terra de Blackeroch [Blackerrich] estra silvam, cum communi pastura inter Feyham et De, ad sexaginta porcos, et ad sexaginta vaccas cum fetibus suis donee trium fuerint anorum, et ad viginti equas cum sequela sua, donee quatuor fuerint annorum." The boundaries of these lands are apparently the rivulets Feuch and Dy, in the present barony of Strachan in Kincardineshire. [Playfair's Baronetage of Scotland, Loudon, 1811, 4to, App. p. clxvi.] The charter will be found correctly printed in the Registrum Pi-ioratus S. Andree, published by the Bannatyne Clubj, mdcccxli. p. 276. "We may suppose the family radiat- ing from their original seat into the adjoining districts of Aberdeen- shu'e to the north, and of Kincardineshire to the south. The name is now rare among the landed jiroprietors in either county, although anciently, and down to the close of the seventeenth Century, it was very common. There were other intermarriages between the Families of Forbes and Strachan. Sir James Strachan of Thornton, the third Baronet, was married to Elizabeth Forbes, of one of the Aberdeenshire Families of that name. She died in childbed on the 10th January 1661 in the flower of her age. Her husband erected a splendid Monument to her memory in the family Aisle or Chapel in the old parish church of Maryku-k, in the county of Kincardine. This Aisle was allowed to remain on the removal of the old church, which took place about the year 1800, and to which it appears to have formed a sort of south Transept. The corresponding building on the other side of the long narrow body of the ancient structure was at one time usedas the Parish School. It had a vault underneath, the burying-place of the proprietors of the estate of Balmakewan, an old possession of the Barclays, the tlu-ee crosses pattee of whose shield appear on a stone in the north-west corner of this building, the ruins of which are still standing. The Thornton aisle had originally a large muUioned window at the south end where the gable was surmoimted by a Cross, the remains of which orna- ment were only destroyed within the last twenty years, by the destructive XXVin BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF TUB The second son, William, having acquired a large fortune by commerce, purchased extensive estates in various parts propensities of idle and thoughtless schoolboys. The interior of the Aisle had at one time been very magnificent. Besides the Monument already mentioned, occupying great jiart of the we^>tern wall, executed in beautiful freestone, coloured with vermilion and gold, and enriched with elaborate carvings of the heads of the Knight and his Lady, Angels, pomegranate branches, tilting spears, lances, and other weapons of war, and shields with armorial bearings, — the whole of the Ceiling was occupied with the Coats of Arms of tlie different branches of both Families, painted in their proper tinctures, and with their various mottos. All has sunk before the destnictive influences already alluded to, and nothing remains but portions of the monument, which from their massive size have resisted demolition. In 1828, the inscription, then partly illegible from time and violence, was accidentally copied. It is here inserted for preservation, with a translation made at the time by the transcriber, as his verses shew, a very inexperienced and youthful poet — " Epicedium Throenodicum in memoriam fseminae lectissimae, Dominse Elizabethre Forbesaj, Dominte a Thornton, .^ternitatis candidata3, quae meritorum plenissima, puerpera. Immature fato correpta est, dum annum setatis Vigesimum quartum quintum agebat, die decimo Januarii 61 : Cujus fragi'antissfE memoria;, licet abunde monumeutis Omni acre perennioribus abunde satis litatura sit. Hoc tamon magnifico mausoleo, parrentandum curavit conjunx ipsius Pullatus, D. Jacobus Strahanus Thorntonaj, eques auratus. " Siste viator babes summi monumentum doloris, Virtutis tumulum, pieridumque vidcs ; Omnis una fuit brevis hajc quani « * • Lux nuper patria3 nunc levis umbra. Aurea si tantas fudere crepuscula * * Luxisset, quanto sydere * * * Quanta fuit pietas quam stemmatis * * Enthea mens roseus quam sine sorde * Quantus et oris honos, Phcenix vixitque caditque, Qualera non poterant reddere Siccla decern, At matura poll chrisioque quid ultra, Ignavi srpcla numerant, facta boni." " A mournful Elegy to the memory of a most excellent Woman, Dame Elizabeth Forbes, Lady of Thornton, RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XX IX of Scotland, — among others, the lands of Craigievar and Fintry in Aberdeenshire, and founded the Family of Forbes of Craigievar, the eldest branch now in existence of the House of Corse, — represented by the present Sir John Forbes, Bart.^ On the death of this enterprising and A Candidate for eternity, who being full of all that adorns a woman, Was cut off by an untimely death, in Childbed, In her 26th year, on the 10th day of Jany. [16]61. In addition to the many other Jlonuments more lasting than brass, Her widowed husband. Sir James Strachan of Thornton, Has caused this splendid Tomb to be erected to Her most grateful INIemory. " Stay passer by ! before your eyes are traced. By grief, these lines : this monument is placed To female virtue — at whose short-lived shi-ine, To claim her kindi'ed, stooped the sacred Nine. She, to her country, while on earth she staid. Was light— alas ! is now a fleeting shade. If from her early dawn around her head Beams of bright Radiance were by nature spread. How great Refulgence roiind her would have shone, Had she been spared to see a joyous Noon. So great her Piety — though of a race For virtue famed — she did them all surpass. So great her Beauty — like Phoenix she Lived ; but unlike, she ne're again shall be Restored to earth. That fabled Bird of old. Once in ten ages shewed its wings of gold ; But ripe for Heaven — altho' so soon cut down — She left this world to gain a blessed crown. The Bad we note by age — by deeds the Good are known." 1 It has been said, that m the descent of the Family of Corse from the noble House of Forbes, thei-e is the Bend Sinister. — Gardyne's Garden of Grave and Godlie Flowers, Sonnets, Elegies, and Epitaphs, 4to. Edin. 1845, printed for the Abbotsford Club, Notes, p. 5. We liave not been able to find any evidence which can be said to support this position. XXX BIOaHAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE successful Merchant, Dr Arthur Johnston has left us the following lines : — IN OBITUM GULIELMI FORBESII, CRAGIVARRII. " Nobilis hie tunmlum Forbesi conspicis ; audi Qui fuerint mores, ingeniumque viri. Quod labor est aliis, ^'it0e dum carperet auras, Divitias illi quserere ludus erat. Cumque juberetur terris excedere, rideus Terra vale, coelo nunc potiemur, ait. Quas possedit opes et terrse jugera nemo Mii'etur, dominum plus fuit esse sui."^ He was succeeded by his son William, the first Baronet of this Family, who warmly espoused the cause of the Cove- nant, though it has been asserted that latterly, he saw rea- son to change his views.2 The Bishop's next brother was John Forbes, a Clergyman, minister of the parish of Alford, in Aberdeenshire, a man of ability, and a keen partizan of Presbyterian parity. He presided at the General As- sembly held at Aberdeen in 1605, declared illegal by the Civil power, — for which he was first placed in con- finement, and then banished from Scotland. He established himself in Holland, and was pastor of a congregation at ^ Epigrammata, 8vo. AberdoniEe, 1632, p. 22. ^ " This gentleman, affected by the epidemical madness of the period, rashly engaged in the cause of the Covenanters, and was for some time an active promoter of their measures ; but from the violence of their pro- ceedings, and their disregard to every sober i)rinciple, he foresaw what must be the consequence. Having withdrawn from their councils, he collected all the money he could, and intended to have gone to the king ; but the party, who kejjt a strict eye over all those who seemed to draw back, found means to strip him of his cash, for the public good, which was the pretext for all their oppressive measures. Tliis so much affected Sir William, that he died soon after of a broken heart. I was happy to have an anecdote which does honour to the gentleman's memory, from so good an author as the late Sir Arthur Forbes, his gi'cat grandson, whose veracity no man ever doubted." — F. Douglas' " Description of the East RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XXxi Middelburg, and subsequently of one at Delft. i His son Patrick did not inherit his principles. He was promoted to the Bishopric of Caithness in 1662, and held that See till his death in 1680.2 William Forbes' fourth son, Arthur, followed the profession of arms. Like many of his countrymen in those days he served abroad with great reputation, and having left the Swedish service, settled in Ireland, where he attained the rank of Baronet in 1628. His son was created Earl of Granard by Charles II. in 1675, as a reward for eminent services, both civil and military,^ from whom the Peerage has been since uninter- ruptedly inherited from father to son.* Of the other children of William Forbes of Corse and Elizabeth Strachan, little is now known.5 The great promise of his eldest son Patrick — the future Bishop — induced his father to pay more than ordinary attention to his education. He sent him as a pupil to the distant grammar school of Stirling, that he might be under the charge of Thomas Buchanan, the grandson of the poet Coast of Scotland from Edinburgh to CuUen," Paisley, 1782, pp. 224, 225, note. We have been assured, by a near relation of the family of Forbes, that this statement of Douglas is very problematical. 1 Irving's Lives of Scotish "Writers, Edin. 8vo. 1839, vol. ii. p. 43. — Preface by Dr John Forbes to his Latin Translation of his Father's Works, 4to. Amsterdam, 1646, noticed below. 2 Keith's " Catalogue of the Scotish Bishops," Bishop Russel's edition, Edin. 8vo. 1824, p. 218. ^ Vita R. D. Joh. Forbesii, § ii. * Lodge's Genealogy of the existing British Peerage ; 8vo. London, 1832, p. 165. ^ In Lumsden's Genealogy of the Family of Forbes, with Continuations, [Inverness, 8vo. 1819, p. 21], we find the following notice of them,— " Captain Alexander Forbes, who died without succession, James Forbes of Knockonoch, Robert Forbes, who died without succession, with fyve daughters— the eldest, Margaret, married to the Laird of Thainstone ; the 2d, Agnes, married the pryor of Monj-musk ; the 3d, to John Farquhar of Noram ; the 4th, Elizabeth, married Duncan Forbes of Campbell ; the 5th, man-ied Alex. Ogilvie of Mildarie." XXXII BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THB and historian, who then presided. as Rector over that Insti- tution. From Stirling he was in due time removed to the University of Glasgow, to stud}^ philosophy under the eye and care of the learned and well-known Andrew Melville, himself a relation of the family.! When Melville was called ^ The degree of Relationship Mill be found stated in a characteristic Letter, dated 17th August 1614, addressed by Andrew Melville while at Sedan, to Dr John Forbes, the Bishop's son, who was then a young man studying at Heidelberg. It is preserved in a note by John Forbes to his Latin translation of his father's works, published at Amsterdam in 1646. The note is appended to the Bishop's Dedication of his Treatise on the Valid Call of the Protestant Clergy, to AVilliam Strachan of Tippertie, in Aber- deenshire ; and the Bishop having spoken of ]Mr Thomas Mitchell {infra p. 203), as his " dilectum cognatum," Dr John Forbes adds the follow- ing explanatory note: — " Cognationis istius via est per M. Thomse Michaelis consanguinitatem cum clarissimo illo beatoe memorise D. Andrea Mehdno, S. TheologisB quondam Andreapoli in Scotia, et postea Sedani ad Mosam, publico pro- fessore, qui mihi, Heidelbergse sacris studiis operam danti, anno Domini 1614, suam mecum et cum nostra familia, et cum Regia etiam dome con- sanguinitatem, his epistolae sufje verbis explicabat ; " Sic enim magno Bri- tannise Regi a nobis e Londinensi et Cjesarea arce transmissa habet historica Veritas : — • " An fraudi, an laudi, quod avito sanguine tangam Immortale tuum. Rex lacobe, genus ? Quod tecum mihi, Quinte, atavus communis utrinque, Idem abavi proavus, Sexte, utriusque tui, Delicise humani generis, gentisque Britannae : Stirps Regnum, et radix regui utriusque tui. " Is est Johannes Beaufort, Johannis Gandavensis, qui natus Gandavi, filius, Edwardi tertii nepos, Ilenrici septimi et Jacobi tertii proaA^is ; Jacobi quinti tam paternus quammaternus, atcpie adco mens itidem atavus; Regibus Gallis, Anglis, Scotis oriundus, Scotorum et Anglorum deinceps Regum progenitor ; undo et tu etiam per proavum tuum avunculum meum Patricium Forbesium genus paternum ducis. Vides igitur, mi Forbesi, ut genus amborum findat se sanguine ab uno, eoque regio. Sod absit mihi gloriari, nisi in cruco D. N. J. C. Vi ou lf/.et Kofffiot lo-rdv^urai, Kayu rcf xi(rfiiu." Ilajc Andrcas Melvinus, 17. Aug. 1614." Dr Irving alluding to the connection of Andrew Melville with the Melvilles of Dysart, states, that the latter were "a family which boasted RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XXXlll to St Andrews in 1580, to fill the Chair of Theology in that University, he was accompanied thither by his young kinsman. While there, Forbes applied himself to the study of Theology and the Hebrew language with such assiduity and success, and his Character was marked by such propriety and gravity of deportment, and purity of conduct, that he was solicited to undertake the duties of Professor in that seat of learning.! It is stated by Dr Garden, in his Life of Dr John Forbes,2 that on the Bishop's father, who was then far advanced in life, stating his wish that his son should leave the University, and marry, — Forbes left St Andrews, and married Lucretia Spens, daughter of David Spens, the laird of Wormiston in Fifeshire, and resided till the death of his father in the neighbourhood of Montrose, occupying, with his family, a country mansion near that town. These details regarding this portion of Forbes' life, given by the biographer of his son, and which have been copied by subsequent writers,^ are not very accurate or complete. Various interesting circum- stances in his biography at this period have been overlooked. We proceed to supply, at least to some extent, this deficiency. In the interval between his leaving the University of St Andrews and his marriage, Forbes was in England, and appears at this time to have been closely associated with the Melvilles, the Ultra-Protestant party, and the banished Lords, to whom Elizabeth, in the course of her tortuous policy, afforded an asylum within her dominions. James Melville, in his Diary under the date of the year their descent from tlie blood royal, althoiigh the genealogical lines do not seem to be very distinctly traced." — Life of Andrew MelviUe : Lives of Scotish Writers, Edin. 8vo. 1839, vol. i. p. 170. This letter of Andrew Melville can scarcely be said to supply the requisite information. ^ Vita R. V. Joh. Forbesii a Corse, § iv. See infra, p. 36. ^ Ibid. ^ F. Douglas' Description of the East Coast of Scotland, 8vo. Paisley, 1782, p. 217. Encyc. Britannica, (New Edition) Art. John Forbes, &c. &c. C XXXIV BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE 1584, tells us — " Thus gratiuslie protected by my guid God, I cam to Berwick, whar I fand Mr James Lawsone and Mr Walter Balcanquhall, my uncle Mr Andro, with Patrick Forbes, appeirand of Cors, and sum other gentle- men, but twa days before entered in their journey southe oure (southward) .""i On this occasion he accompanied Andrew Melville to London,^ and probably was with him when he visited Oxford and Cambridge. We find Forbes again at Berwick in October next year. This appears from a letter which Calderwood has preserved from Forbes to James Melville, written from that town on 26th October 1585 — " Patrik Forbesse, Laird of Corse, now Bishop of Aberdeen, then a fordward man for discipline and the banished, sent this letter following, dated at Berwick, the 24th of October, to Mr James Melvill, yitt still remain- ing at Londoun : — " ' After duetie remembred : I thought good to recom- pense the shortnesse of your brethrein's letter, by writting to you at greater lenth. Which I might doe so muche the better than they, as my haste to depart from this place was not so great as theirs, as by their letter yee may perceave. The Lord hath givin us a prosperous journey, praised be his name ; and I pray God send you the like. The summe of ^ Autobiography and Diary of Mr James Melville, ijublished by Wodrow Society, 8vo. Edin. mdcccxlii, p. 170. — Mr James Melvine, Professor of Theologie in the New CoUedge of St Andrews, being advertised, that he was to be apprehended, for intertaining intelligence with his uncle ilr Andrew Melvine, fled to Berwick. His uncle Mr Andrew and Mr Patrick Forbes, thereafter Bishop of Aberdeen, and a turn-coat, had entred in their journey towards London, two or three dayes before he came to Berwick. Mr James was desired by the exiled Ministers to stay at Newcastle Avitli the Lords. lie set down the order and manner of exercise in Doctrine, Prayer, and Discipline which they practised during the time of their remaining in England." — [The True History of the Church of Scotland, from the beginning of the Reformation unto the end of the Reigne of King James VI. By Mr David Calderwood, m.dc.lxxviii. p. 60.] = M'Crie's Life of MelWlle, 8vo. Edin. 1819, vol. i. p. 320. RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XXXV other things yee heare in your commoun letter. The Lord Hammiltoun and Lord Maxwell sould meete the reste of our lords in Lanerik, and frome thence goe to Stirline. The Lord Hume is verie fordward, and so is Bothwell now, although at first, he gave not so good hope of his good will. The goodman of Huttonhall taketh plaine part, and openlie interteaned in his hous the Lord Coldinghame. Cesfurde and Coldingknowes, in like maner, beare our lords continuall corapanie. Mr Andrew and the rest are past to the lords at Kelso ; the 24th, upon Sunday. We heare they are to remove thence upon the morne to Jedburgh, from that to Peebles, and so to Lanrik, where they, the Lord Hammiltoun, and Maxwell, meete and ryde ford- ward to Stirline. The Lord prosper their interprise. All men travell in the south parts of Scotland als peaceablie as ever they did. All the faithfull heere pray to God for the good issue of this mater. We heare of no great pre- paratioun the King is making against them, save only of the proclamatioun for all men to passe against Maxwell. Mr Johne Rutherfurde is deid in the pest, and has glorified God by a notable confessioun of his indirect and evill dealing in the mater of his ministrie. Mr Andrew desires me to advertise you of Mr John Blackburn his book. The Resolution^ &c. He desires you also, if your memory reach so far, to bring at least one Tremilline finely bound along with you, and if Beza his Discipline be come forth, or any other new thing, bring it wt you. I am to go to Hutton Hall, and there to abide to see how things go, because I am not in point to go to the war. All the brethrein and freinds heere have them- selves recommended to you. Your son is well, and a goodly fellow, good be thanked. Commend us to Mr David Mony- pennie, Caldcleughe, Mr James Carmichaell, and your wife. " ' Tuus Patricius."' "i 1 Calderwood's Hist. Vol. IV. p. 380, Edin. 8vo. 1843, piinted for the XXXVl BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE It would appear that Forbes spent the whole of this interval in England, and it is most probable that it was at this time that he studied at Oxford. This latter fact we have not found alluded to anywhere else than in the Latin Funeral Oration pronounced by Mr David Leitch, Sub-principal of King's College, Aberdeen, on the day of the funeral of the Bishop—" Testor vos Universitates Andreapolitanam, Glascuensem, Oxoniensem, — quibus hodie, tantse eruditionis prima rudimenta, ad sempiternam vestram gloriam devoventur. E quibus singulis, et ad unum omnibus, tam generosus quondam surculus, tantse eruditionis succum tam foecundum, cum fructu baud qua- quam poenitendo hauserat."! No trace of the Bishop has been discovered at Oxford. The Records of the different Colleges have been examined, but his name has not been found matriculated in any of the Registers. " As far as I can perceive," says Wodrow, " M. Forbes returned to the New Colledge, when it was next year filled again with Mr Andrew and James Melvils, and when Mr James Melvil entered upon the care of a congregation, I guess the offer of his teaching the youth joyntly with Mr Andrew Melvil was made, which Dtr Garden sayes his father stoped, by calling him home to himself. He obeyed his father, and, during his life, was marryed to Lucretia Spense, daughter to a good gentleman, David Spense of Wormistoun. By Mr James MelviPs life I see he was marryed in summer 1589, and that he had some share in making up that marriage."" Mr MelviFs words are — " This winter I passed over to Dalkethe, and obteined the gift of the stipend of Anstruther Waster, whar God, be sum help of me, an unworthie instrument, called Mr James Nichol- WoDROW Society. The letter as liere given is taken from the Wodrow MS. Collections, and is fuller tlian in Calderwood's History just quoted. ^ See the Oration at length in its place, InfrUy p. 235. RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XXXVH son from the Court to the Ministrie, and in returning, of mere Providence, was the occasion of the mariage of Patrik Forbes of Cors with Lucres Spence, sister to the Laird of Wihnerston, maried in Anstruther in the simmer following"! In the interval between his marriage and the death of his father his residence was at a country house near Montrose,^ in Forfarshire. " There," says Wodrow, following Dr Garden, " because of his remarkable learning, prudence, and piety, in a little time he came to be so famous yt his house was continually filled wt the neighboring gentry and ministers, fond of his learned and useful conversation." His father, William Forbes of Corse, died in the month of July 1598.3 On this event, his son removed with his ^ Autobiography and Diary, of Mr James Melville, Edin. printed for the WoDROW Society, mdcccxlii, p. 260. lu another part of this curious "Work, (p. 17,) Melville writes of himself Avhen a boy at school, iu the neighbourhood of Montrose — " I was at that school the space of allmost fyve yeirs, in the quhilk tyme of publict news I remember I hard of the mariage of Heudrieand Marie, King and Quein of Scots, Seignneur Davie's slauchter, of the King's murder at the Kirk of the Field, of the Quein's taking at Carbarri, and the Langsyde field. Even at that tyme, me thought the heiring of these things moved me, and stak in my hart, with some joy or sorrow, as I hard they might helpe or hender the relli- gion ; namelie, I remember the ordour of the Fast keipit iu anno 1566 ; the evil handling of the ministerie be taking away of their stipends ; for Mr James Melvill, my uncle, and Mr James Balfour, his ousinggerman, bathe ministers and stipendles, with guid, godlie and hynd Patnck Fwhes of Cors." It is not clear what precise period of Forbes' life is here alluded to. ^ Dr Garden says, Vita R. V. Joh. Forbesii, § iv. — " Prffidio quodam rustico, prope urbem Montis Rosarum." Perhaps Newmanswalls, which, from the extension of the town, is now almost within it. It belonged to a family of the name of Paniter or Panter, Avhich produced some eminent Ecclesiastics in earlier times. [See note to Bishop Keith's Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops, Edin. 8vo. 1824, p. 193.] Forbes was a descendant of this family, his great grandmother having been a daughter of the pro- prietor of this estate. " David Forbes of Corss married Elizabeth Panter sister to Mr Patrick Panter of Newmanswalls, at Montrose." — [Lums- den's Genealogy of the Family of Forbes, Svo. Inverness, 1819, p. 20.] That Forbes resided here is of course only submitted as a mere conjecture. * Retour of the Bishop's service as heir of his father, dated 29th August XXXVlll BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE family to his paternal residence, where, we are informed, he continued assiduously to pursue his studies, not neglecting the culture and improvement of his family property ."^ At that period, the state of the northern districts of Scot- land, both with reference to the means of spiritual instruction afforded to the people, and the preservation of the public peace amid the quarrels, feuds, and animosities of the lead- ing Families, was wretched in the extreme. The following authentic cotemporary Document does not appear to exaggerate the evils of the times — " THE SYNOD OF ABERDEEN TO KING JAMES VI. " Sir — It may please youre most excellent Majesty. Maist humbill subjectis of the province of Aberden lament- abillie offeris to your Majesty the greiffis of the kirk, and all good men in our boundis, quhilkis, except your Majesty provyde speedie remeid, baith kirke and commone-weill are licklie to fall in ane miserabill confusioune, in thir north pairtis of your Majesty's realme. First, That Mr Jlione Hamiltoune, Mr James Setone, Luik Gordone, and utheris, uncouth priestis and jesuitis under them, are receat and are hard saying mass in Catli- ness, Sudderland, and this province, be great men and utheris under them, abusing the sacrament of baptisme to their infantis, sparsling (circulating) Hamiltoun's blasphe- mous new book^ amangst thame, and seducing them cverie way that ar simpill. 1598, presei'ved in Chancery. The day of the month on which William Forbes died is not given. The Jurymen were composed of county Gentle- men, (of whom a large proportion were Forbeses),and Citizens of Aberdeen. The Bishop's mother, Elspct Strachan, had a liferent of the lands of the Manor Place of Corse and of Kincraigie. 1 Vita R. V. Joh. Forbesii a Corse, § iv. ^ There were several Romish Controversial Works published about the EIGIIT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XXXIX Secondlie, That the Lairdis of Gicht and Newtone, excora- municat papists, cheiff mantenaris of these things, are sufferit, and no ordour tane with them. Thirdly, That quhen the ministrie of the Synodis of Aberdein and Murray laboris be the censuris of the kirk to reduce my Lord Marqes of Hunthe and Earll of Erroll to the acknowleging of the treuth and leaving of papistrie, they are continuallie dischargit be your Majestys letteris of horning. Fourthlie, That ane great number of kirkis planted in this countrey are leaft altogether desolate, be the lang con- tinuing in ward of their pastoris, seing the maist pairt of utheris kirkis are unplantit. Fyftlie, Be the occasion, the maist pairt of the rest of the ministrie are contemnit and rayled upon, and ther doctrine not hard, and discipline mocked, and Jesuits enteris in the kirkis, and parochinis wanting pastoris. In common Weill, First, Monye deadlie feudis arysin amangst Forbessis and Irwingis, Leslyes and Leythis, quhilk are liklie be thair parties to draw in the haill countrey to bloodie factionis. Secondlie, That everie man that plesis wearis gunis, pistolis, rydis with jacks, spearis, knopsknais [helmets], without controlment. Beseiking herfoir your Majesty in all humilitie and reverence to cans and command the saidis enormities to be stay it, that your Majestys good subjectis of thir pairtis may live in the fear and service of their God, and your Majesties obedience, and so the glorie of God and his trewth being reverencit, your Majesty may procure the continuance of his blessing, and prosperous regne to your self, and peace to your Majesty's good subjectis ; and so praying most earnest- • period, which would nearly suit this description. — See Mr Maidment's Catalogues of Scotish Writers, Edin. 8vo. 1833, i). 6. xl BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIE OF THE fuUie for the samen, we tak our leave from our Synod, at Aberdein, the twentie day of Februar, 1 606 yeares. " Your Majesties humbill servitoris, and daylie oratoris, " Mr Jon Shuthauche, Moderator of the Synod. " P. Blackburne.i " Mr R. Reid, Scribe to the Assembly ."2 It so happened, that the district of the country where Forbes' residence was situated was almost entirely destitute of Pastoral Superintendence. This arose from the rapacity of the individuals into whose hands the funds of the Church had fallen, amid the confusion of the Ecclesiastical Revolution in Scotland, and from several of the parochial clergy of the neighbouring parishes — and as we have seen, among others, his own brother John, the minister of the immediately adjoining parish of Alford — having taken part in the Assem- bly at Aberdeen, and having been subsequently incarcerated for their share in the proceedings of that Convention. Being vehemently pressed by the Bishop of Aberdeen and the clergy of the surrounding Presbyteries^ to extend his ^ See next page. Note 2. 2 Miscellany of the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, mdcccxlii. 4to. Vol. II. p. 151. ^ Vita R. V. Job. Forbesii, § v. — Cum tractus ille pastorum penuria laboraret, auctor adhuc laiciis, privatte suoi-um institutioni tempus con- cionibus publicis audiendis tribui consuetum impendebat : quod exer- citium postea Episcopi Aberdoniensis multoinimque pastorum rogatu, in vicinum templum pastoris et stipendii inane, ac vix mille passus ab sedibus suis distans, transferre coactus est ; adeo enim vehementer et indefessa importunitate id ab eo contenderunt Episcopi aliique ministri, ut sajpius hoc solo nomine, domum ejus, 18 passuuni millibus Aberdonia distantem, venientes, hortamenta, talentorum coilestium usum debitum poscentia, alia aliis adjicere non cessarent, donee tandem impetranmt : illic igitur sex plus minus supra biennium mensium spatio totam historiam Evange- licam, hoc est, Evangeliimi Matthtci, acta Apostolonmi, et Johannis Apocalypsin, ffvv ©if, in magna auditorum c locis etiam longc dissitis undiqueconflucntiuni tVequentia, onarravit." — Note by Dr John Forbes to the Autlior's Preface, in his Latin edition of his Father'.s Works. BIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. xH ministrations and teaching beyond the sphere of his own Fa- mily, he so far yielded to their request, that on each Sunday he delivered a discourse in his own Parish Church, situated close to his Castle, and which then wanted a Pastor, to the great advantage and edification, we are assured, of the people.^ The Bishop of Aberdeen^ and the whole Diocesan Synod, 1 Lay preaching, with the approbation of the Bishop, was not unknown in the best ages of the Church. Ecclesiastical historians inform us that this was practised by Origen before he became a Priest, and by various other devout and learned laymen. 2 Patrick Blackburn was one of the Titiilar Bishops without Episcopal consecration. These were first appoiiated in a General Assembly held at Leith in 1571-2, and continued till the consecration by the English Bishops in 1610. Of this anomalous system a " Plmntome Episcopacy" as it has been sometimes termed, James Melville has left us the following quaint but striking account — " A number of the Commissiouers of the Kirk meatt at Leithe with the Lords that baud the guid cans in hand (wharof everie ane was hounting for fat kirk leiving, quhilk gart them fecht [fight] the fastar), and thai aggreit to mak Bishops ; the warst turn that ever was done for the kirk leiving, as experience atteanes declared, when they war named ' Tulchains,' that is calfF's skinnes stuffed with stra, to cause the cow giff milk : for every Lord gat a Bishopric, and sought and pre- sented to the kirk sic a man as wald be content with least, and set them maist of fewes, takes and pensiones." — [Autobiography and Diary of Mr James Melville, Edinburgh, printed for the "Wodrow Society, 8vo. Edin. MDCCCXLii. p. 31.] It will be observed that the Moderator of the Synod subscribes the Letter from the Synod of Aberdeen to the Kiug, printed above, before the Bishop. This confirms the truth of Wodrow's remark, when giving Dr Garden's account of this part of the Bishop's Life — "Mr Patrick Blackburn, then Bishop of Aberdeen, as the Doctr continues his account, wt his Dioce- sian Synod, again and again importuned Mr Forbes of Corse to take ordina- tion and the pastoral care of any parish he pleased in his neighbourhood ; but he would not comply, from the deep sense of the weight of the pastoral charge, and the difficultys of the times. I know this was after Bishops were sat up by the Parliat. 1606. Before yt they pretended litle superiority in Synods. However, with the aprobation of the Synod, he continued to preach in that church as before, till they should be supplyed with a pastor. I give it only at my guess, that hitherto this gentleman had not got over his difficulties from his principles as to Presbiterian government. This was so i-epresented to Mr Gladstanes, Abp. of Saint Andrcwes, that he xlii BIOQEAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE over and over again urged upon him the duty, in such times, to enter the Church, and undertake the charge of some particular Parish. These sohcitations he steadily declined, pleading the importance of the Clerical office and the diffi- culties of the times, but, with the approbation of the Bishop and Synod, he continued his expositions of Scripture, till such time as a regular incumbent should be appointed to the parish in which his residence was situated. This state of matters reaching the ears of the King and the Archbishop of St Andrews^ — whether the facts had been misrepresented or exaggerated, or whether it was thought by those in authority that even the peculiar circumstances of the part of the country where Forbes resided did not warrant his actings — he was ordered by the Primate to discontinue his public teaching, till he should be regularly admitted a minister of the Church as then established. This mandate he immediately obeyed. A Letter has been preserved from Forbes to the King, which contains a clear and convincing statement of the honesty, propriety, and unobtrusiveness of his whole conduct in the matter.2 THE LAIRD OF CORSE, AFTERWARDS BISHOP OF ABERDEEN, TO JAMES yi. " Please your sacred Majesty ; By that which your sent his orders to tlie Laird of Corse to give over preaching till he should enter in Orders." ^ George Gladstanes, originally Titular Bishop of Caithness, was trans- lated to St Andrews in the year 1606. He was consecrated on the return of the Scottish Bishops from London in 1610. 2 It is mentioned by his son Dr John Forbes, that this letter laid the foundation of the favour of King James VI., by whom his father was subse- quently raised to the Episcopate. — Latin edition of his father's works, 4to. Amsterdam 1645 — " Annotatio in ]"'pistolam Nuncupatoriam." See also the Bishop's Treatise on tlic Apocalypse noticed below, — Dedication to King James V]. RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. xliii Majestys secretarie hath imparted to me, understanding your Majesty to be offended with sum of my dealing, more for the defect in form than matter, I was thairupon steired [stirred] by thoise to clear to your Majesty what I think the informer in my matter rather hath not truly knowne than maliciously concealed, so to recover and retrieve a place in your Majestys good grace, to whom, next God, I am both beholden, and study most carefully to approve my ways. Being cast in these parts where within the precinct of two presbyteries, at least twenty and one churches lay unplanted, whereby our state were little from heathen- isme, I began, in simple and private manner, (necessity enforcing it on my conscience) to catechise my own family. Thereafter the Churchmen of that province dealing earnestlie with me to accept of some publick charge in the ministrie of the Church, which, upon divers respectfull considerations, I could not as then yeild to, they next with all instance requested that, at least for the gude of others, I wold be content to transfer my domestic paines to ane void church, now joining to my house ; whairto having for a space con- descendit, they afterward by thair commissioners from thair synod, directed to me for that effect, yet more earnestly entreated that I wold still hold on that course which (as they judged) had been in some degree fruitfull. Now, Sir, as this made my voice to be heard in any public place, so all my uther carriage therein (if either they did inform who know it, or know it who informe), hath been such, both in respect of the place, ane obscure corner of any in all your Majestys kingdoms, and in respect of my quiet manner, so far from all pretences, as I never opened my mouth in any uther part (albeit oftener than once either seriously intreated or curiously tempted), and except ane ordinary lecture on Lords Day, never medled with any part of that calling in private or publick assemblie. As 1 never imagined xliv BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE the knowledge of my dealing should have gone so fai* as I now well perceive (I will not say the envie), but the miscon- struing thereof hath past, and that (if your Majesty were not as ane angell of God), to overthrow me in your Ma- jestys favour, whom nevertheless if any approved Christian, let be your Majesty, had found themselves justly offended, what upon request I was moved to do, being admonished, I was always ready to forbear. So far have I always been, and hope in God still to prove, from all busie and turbulent dealing ; and yet for such ane one am I content to be accounted of your Majesty, and demeaned accordingly, if, before I hard it from your Majesty, it was ever signified to me by any, that my doing was in any respect offensive. So remitting all to your Majestys rare wisdom and gracious consideration, I pray God may give your Majesty a long and prosperous regno heir, and eternall glory with himself hereafter. " Your Majestys humble subject, " P. Forbes of Corse, " Edinburgh, February 15, 1610." In obedience to the injunctions of the Archbishop, Forbes, as already stated, ceased to employ himself in any public teaching which might have the appearance of usurping the functions of the pastors of the Church. For the future, he restricted himself to the private instruction of his own family, attending public worship regularly each Lord's Day in a neighbouring parish church, and in the afternoon expounding to his liousehold a portion of Holy Writ.i ^ Vita R. V. Joh. Forbesii a Corse, § vi. With reference to this period of the Bishop's Life, Wodrow makes the following observations — " For many years after he left Mr Andrew IMelvil, he had no tem))tation to leave the principles and doctrines taught by him, and warmly espoused and professed by Mr Forbes, when the alterations and innovations were gradually brought in after the l.'JOy. By some hints in Calderwood, I find RIGHT REVEREND BISHOP FORBES. xlv In the year 1611, an occurrence of a very singular and tragical nature at length induced the subject of this Memoir to enter into Holy Orders, and to become a Pastor in the Christian Church, for which situation his whole character, — the previous bent of his mind, and the direction of his studies, so eminently qualified him. Mr John Chalmers, the Minister of the parish of Keith, in the adjoining diocese of Moray, who is described as having previously lived as an upright and pious man, having fallen into a state of morbid melancholy, laid violent hands upon himself by attempt- ing to cut his throat. He had scarcely inflicted the wounds, which proved ultimately, though not immediately fatal, than, struck with the deepest remorse and penitence, he bitterly repented of an act so rash and criminal. He he did not [approve of ?] them, and probably from this he chiised to live privately upon his own estate ; and did not, tho' very well qualified, in- cline to enter upon public preaching for some time, tho' educat in those studyes. He seems to have lived in the neighbourhood of his brother, Mr Jo. Forbes, and to have seen how staunch he was to our Presbiterian constitution, and it's probable the Bishop continued so likewise for some time after his sufferings." — "Wodrow JIS. Dr Irvuig, in his excellent Life of Dr John Forbes, states that it was during Forbes' residence near IMontrose that he officiated in a vacant parish church, and that several of the churches in that \'icinity were then deprived of their Pastors. — [Lives of Scottish Writers, 8vo. Edin. 1839, Vol. II. p. 44]. There does not appear, however, to be any evidence that the future Bishop so officiated while residing in Forfarshire. This hap- pened after he settled on his own paternal estate of Corse in Aberdeen- sMre. It is probable enough, that in the part of Forfarshire referred to, as in most parts of Scotland, at the period in question, there was a want of sufficient pastoral superintendence. This arose mainly from the heartless cupidity of the aristocracy in appropriating to themselves all the funds for the support of the Clergy on which they could lay their hands. In- deed, the number of ruined Churches and Chapels in that locality, as well as throughout Scotland generally, affords startling evidence of the dimi- nished number of places dedicated to the service of God. It is hoped that the uncertainty of dates in this portion of the Bishop's Life, to which Dr Ir\dng also aUudes (ibid.) is removed in the present Memoir. xlvi BIOaEAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE sent for the Laird of Corse, whose powerful admonition and addresses, by the blessing of God, so worked upon the mind of the unfortunate penitent, that his repent- ant and pious death went far to mitigate the evils and scandal which his unhappy conduct had brought on religion. When dying, it is stated that nothing weighed so heavily upon his mind and conscience as the reflection, that by his deeply criminal act so severe a blow had been struck at religion. He earnestly prayed Forbes, by the mercy and bowels of Christ, to enter into Holy Orders, and undertake the charge of the parish of Keith, that by his well known piety and pru- dence, the evil consequences which might be expected to flow from his rash and sinful deed, might, as far as possible, be diminished. The parishioners and the neighbouring Clergy having urgently joined in this request, Forbes at last con- sented. He was ordained in 1612, in the 47th year of his age, and became the Minister of the parish of Keith, situ- ated within the diocese of Moray, at no great distance from his own residence, with the unanimous applause of all who knew him. Such is the account of this melancholy affair, and of the entrance of Forbes into Orders, given by Dr Garden in his Life of Dr John Forbes. We proceed to give the more circumstantial details from Wodrow's Collections. The narratives differ in various particulars, which will not escape the reader's observation. After giving the substance of Dr Garden's narrative, Wodrow goes on to say — " I therefore give a large and very circumstantial account of this tremendous self-murder which Mr Calderwood has preserved to us with Mr Chalmer's own confession. I set down Mr Calderwood's narrative as yt agrees wt ane other old copy of an information as to this very singular fact I have by me. Upon the 4 of June 1611, Mr John Chalmers, lately admitted to the Mi- RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. xlvil nistry in the Kirk of Keith in the North, after he had cele- brated a marriage, went to his own chamber, and after he had shut the door upon himself, he struck himself twice with one of his own knives in the craigs [throat], the first stroak did him little hurt, with the second he cut his weasand [gullet], but by the providence of God his thraple [windpipe], was spared. Some gentlemen having at the Kirk missed him, sought him too and frae, and at last came to the chamber door. They found the door barred, but not locked, and when they cryed, no answer was made ; where- upon they broke up the door. When they went in, they found him sitting upon his knees, with his eyes lift up to Heaven, but he was not able for a while to speak, by reason of his weakness and great effusion of blood. The day fol- lowing he spoke more distinctly, and by the providence of God, the Marquise of Huntly was riding through Keith to the Bog, He, hearing of the accident, went in to him, and questioned him upon many things, but especially if he was not in doubt of his religion by reading of the Doctours ; for he alledged that many of our profession throu reading of the Doctours wer made to doubt. ^ Mr John answered — he never had doubted of the religion he had professed and preached, and that by reading of the (Popish) Doctors he was confirmed. He confessed that ye cheife thing by which the devil got victory over him, was his own covetousness. The day following, which was the Presbitry day, the exercise was made in his chambers. After the doctrine, he was enquired what he thot of the doctrine. He an- swered— he never received so much comfort as he did of that exercise. After that he gave a confession of his unna- turall fact, showed tokens of his repentance, and of the hopes he had to be forgiven, and desired them to absolve ^ The Marquess was a Member of the Roman Communion. xlviii BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE him in the name of Christ, which they did. When he con- fessed that the first advantage Satan got over him was his making excuses for not keeping the Presbitrys and other necessary meetings ; next, that he took a conceit of his own inabiHty to teach, and so left off to teach ; 3dly, that he disdained prayer. That lying in this case, he could nev^r have grace to wake up himself till " he enterprised this wicked fact." He exorted the Ministers to bewar of hypocrisy — to be diligent in their vocation — to cast away great care of the worlde, and to strive against ambition. He desired that Mr I^eonard Lesly, Parson of Rothes, as being a fitt man, might succeed him, and recommended him to the Lord Saltoun and the parishioners. Upon the Friday he made his testament. About the midle of that night, through the emptiness of his brains, he fell a-raving, but after he was refreshed with a little sleep, he came to himself again. The Laird of Corse being sent for, came to him on Saturday late at night. He affirmed, after he conversed with him, that this journey was the best he had ever made ; that Mr John had done more good by his death than ever he would have done by his life. On the Lord's day afternoon, the speech failed, and he continued speechless till Monday. During which time he gave ear to the hearing of the word and prayer. After he had got some refreshment by sleep on Monday, he was asked, how he was ? He said he was blyth, and said, he had a desire to sing, because he found that God had given him his speech again to glorify him, and desired that the 124 psalme might be sung. When that was ended, he desired the 103 psalme to be sung. After yt he conceived a prayer, and so continued in heavenly conference, prayer, and hearing of prayer, till about 9 or ten of the clock. When his speech failed, he held up his hands, and gave up the ghost. He confessed secretly * * * " that ho was BIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. xlix affected with a peculiar bodily weakness, which had preyed much upon his mind."i ^ Wodrow continues — " Mr Calderwood subjoyus his confession which he made the same day he committed the fact, as follows : — " I, Mr John Chalmer, grants and confesses my manifold sins wherein God left me for a time to the temptations of Satan, who in great measure wrot against me, and brought me to the attempting of this unnatural fact against myself, and yet in the very mean time the power of God, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ so prevailed against him in me, that God not only withdrew me from the fact, and spared me for a time, but also in my greatest infirmity, and in midst of my pain has showed his mervailous power and strenth in relieving me from Satan, in giving me finall end and victory over Satan, the worlde, and the flesh, and has restored me to the sight of his mercy, and the only Blood of Jesus Christ has so purified my conscience that even I find my only joy and felicity to stand in the presence of God through the merits of Jesus Christ, and await only for the resolution of my body from my soul for the possession and inheritance of that glory eternal, whereof the Holy Spirit gives me full assurance. Further, I confess that I had never any troubles in my conscience con- cerning the truth of religion, qch I ever professed and preached, save only that I was never so faitliful in my ministry as I ought. I acknow- ledge the religion presently professed in this land to be that undoubted truth of God grounded upon the word written in the Books of the Old and New Testament, and to be the true worship of God only accejotable to him, and brings salvation to man by Jesus Christ. I abhor and detest the merites of man as helpfull to salvation, and all doctrines invented by man beside the written word. I confess the only cause and matter of my tentation, whereupon Satan wrot, to have been over great love to the worlde, and excessive care thereof, beguiling and blinding me as though I had no cares thereof, whereas I had over much, qch I detest now as dung, in respect of that excellent and exceeding great riches which I now find in Jesus Christ. Requesting also the faithfuU ministers of the Gospell by my example to leave the cares of the worlde, setting them- selves on the Word of God, and continually and faithfully preaching the Word, and stri\ing for themselves and the people against Satan, whose chief temptation is to stop the mouths of the preachers, which in presence of God I testify by this my subscription, before thir witnesses under subscribing, at Keith the 4 of June 1611. " John Chalmers." " I suppose Mr Calderwood hath taken this relation of his fi-om a letter (qrof I know an old copy) from Mr William Gordon, a minister, who was with him during much of his illness and at his death, to my Lord Saltoun, I) 1 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE Patrick Forbes, as already stated, succeeded the unfor- tunate Mr John Chalmers as Minister of Keith. In this situation he remained till the year 1618, discharg- ing the duties of his cure with an ability, zeal, and effi- ciency, which attracted the eyes of all. The See of Aber- deen being vacant by the death of Bishop Peter Black- burn in 1615, a general desire appears to have been ex- pressed by the leading men of the diocese, in which the Primate Archbishop Spottiswoode shared,^ that the Laird of Corse should be appointed his successor. Their desire was not, however, granted by the Crown, on that occasion. The successor of Bishop Blackburn was Alexander Forbes, translated from the See of Caithness, which he had occu- pied since 1606.^ Few memorials of Forbes, during his charge of the parish of Keith have been preserved. Wodrow remarks — " The Doctor (Garden) has no more about him till he be raised which being something fuller than what is above, and the case being so very extraordinary, I have put it into the Appendix 31 (Copy MS. Fol. v. 42, p. 54.) I have brot in this account of Mr Chalmers on the Laird of Corse's life, because Doctor Garden takes notice of his singular usefulness to him in this extraordinary case, qch I nothing doubt of. But by the above account, Mr Chalmers appears to have had comfort and settlement before Mr Forbes came to him. We see by Mr Gordon's letter that Mr Chalmers recommended Mr Lesley to be his successor ; whether he after- wards altered his mind, and besought the Laird of Corse to take the charge of his flock, I know no further but what the Doctor (Garden) adds." ^ See the letters below, pp. lii, liv. " He held the See of Aberdeen for a very short period, having died in 1617. " In December 1617, Mr Alexander Forbes, formerly Bishop of Caithness, and now Bishop of Aberdeen, dyed at Leith the 14 of the month ; he would fain have spoken with B. Spotswood (but he was) so keen at the cards that he would not leave his game, and so did not see his brother Bishop." — Wodrow MS. Innumerable stories of this descrip- tion occur in the writings of the ultra-Presbyterians in Scotland. Very few of them can be said to be supported by any tiling like sufficient evidence. RiaUT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. U to the Episcopal Dignity, six or seven years after this. FU add a hint or two from Mr Calderwood : — " When the G. Assembly met at Aberdeen, August 13, 1616, there was a fast appointed by the King's proclamation, and indited by sound of trumpet. Mr Forbes was employed to preach in the morning. The Bishop of St Andrew''s suc- ceeded him in the forenoon, and Mr William Forbes in the afternoon. Now that he had come over the difficultys he once had agst Episcopall Government, and joyning with it, the Bishops made a great deal of him, and they had rea- son, for he was among ye most considerable men they had brought over to their side. In this Assembly, as we have seen in Mr William Scott and Galloway's Life,"^ Mr Forbes is at the head of the nomination made of persons, to review our old discipline and Canons, and form a new body of discipline. " Next year, 1617, when, as we shall see at greater length, Mr Calderwood was prosecute, and deprived by the High Commission for his share in the protestation, Mr Walter Whiteford came from the Bishop's wt a message to Mr David, that if he would do any thing, they would pro- cure him his liberty. Mr Forbes of Corse came wt Mr Whitford, but whether he was sent by the Bishops or not, Calderwood knows not. He asked Mr Whitford what the Bishops would have him to do to procure his liberty. To admitt their sentence, saith ye other, Mr Calderwood said he would rather be banished his native country than do that. The Laird of Corse interposed here, and said, ye may obey any unjust sentence tho' you acknowledge it not. How can it be, answered Mr Calderwood, can I be silent, seeing their sentence is null to ys. It was reply ed — that they caryed about their power as Bishops qrever they went. Mr Calderwood thought otherwise, and said, at that way 1 Other Biograpliical Collections by Wodrow. lii BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE of arguing they might carry about their power as members of the High Commission, and bring it into Synods.""! In 1618, Patrick Forbes was raised to the See of Aber- deen, vacant by the death of Bishop Alexander Forbes, apparently without the slightest solicitation on his part. From the documents which remain, and from the concurring testimony of many of the Contributors to the present Col- lection, there seems no reason to doubt, that at a time of such dissension and peril in the Church, he would rather have remained the simple parochial presbyter of Keith, to which charge he had been called in a manner so extra- ordinary, than undertake the high duties and deep respon- sibilities of the Apostolic office of a Bishop. We shall here insert some of the documents preserved, " concerning the godlie entrie of Patrick Forbes of Corse to the Bishopricke of Aberdeene," which will be found in their places, printed at length in the present volume, — with some additional ones drawn from other sources. In the month of January 1618, the King (James VI.) addressed the Archbishops and Bishops in these terms : — " James Rex. " Right Reverend Fathers in God, right trustie and well- beloved Councellours, and Reverend Fathers in God, our trustie and well-beloved, wee greet you well. The Bishop- ricke of Aberdene beeing now voyde, by decease of the late Bishop, and wee being sufficientlie perswaded, as well of the learning, gravitie, wisdome, and true godlinesse of Patricke Forbes of Corse, enhabling him duelie to exercise and discharge the calling of a Bishop, as of the great and earnest desire of our best affected subjects of that Diocesse, to haue him established their ordinaric, as was well witnessed by their expression thereof at the last vacancie of the sayd ' Wodrow MS. See also Calderwood's History, fol. Edin. 167S, j). 684. EIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. liii sea ; We haue therefore made special choyse of the sayd Patricke, to bee thereto preferred. Eeqiiyring you, for the more speedie and solemne performance thereof, to cause forme, and haste vnto vs, such writs as wee are to signe for that effect, and in everie other thing appertayning therevnto, to proceed according to the ordinance of the late Act made in our last Parliament, anent the election of Arch-bishops and Bishops. Which not doubting but yee will preciselie performe, wee bid you farewell. At New-market, the xxvij of Januarie, 1618."i The Archbishops, with such of the Bishops as appear to have been at the time in Edinburgh, wrote Forbes to the following effect : — " To OUR VERiE Reverend and loving Brother, THE Laird of Corse. " Right Reverend and loving brother, his Majestie hav- ing made choyse of you, before all others, to the Bishopricke of Aberdene, and signified the same by his letters vnto vs, which you shall receaue herewith inclosed, we could doe no lesse than to impart it vnto you, and witnesse the joy of our hearts, for this his Majestie's resolution : Not so much for the favour and respect wee perceaue carried by his M. to your selfe, though that both with you and vs should bee of no little account, as that wee fore-see the great profit that is to redound to the Church of God by this your advancement. Others doe interpret, according to their myndes, that these places are places of honour and ease, and for that respect desired : But wee, who haue had the experience of so manie years service, know that the care and burthen goeth farre beyond either commoditie or honour. 1 Infra, p. 193. liv BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE And were it not for God's service, and the vpholde of His Church amongst vs, wee could haue wished to liue private ministers rather than in the rowmes wee are called unto. But in such callinges, as you knowe better than anie of our- selues, the burthen and care of the charge, must no more deterre vs, than these outward showes of honour and ease allure vs. To seeke places of this kynd may well bee thought ambition ; but to refuse and draw back when God calleth, is disobedience ; and if it be done for the eschewing of vexations, it is farre from the Christian courage and resolution we should all haue. Now, wee are assured, if anie man did ever come to this place by God's calling, you are hee ; whether wee consider the instance made in the last vacancie of that Sea, by all the ministers and gentle- men of the country, which wee perceaue his Majestie doeth not forget, or your owne behaviour in it, that by the moyen of none, direct or indirect, hath made sute to bee preferred. And therefore, as wee from our heartes thanke God, who hath put it into his M. heart to goe this way, so wee must in the name of God, and by the loue you beare to the mayntaynance of His trueth, request and require you to accept the calling, assuring your selfe that wee, for our partes, howe long it pleaseth God to vse our service here, shall not bee wanting, by His grace, in anie thing that becommeth the brethren of our vocation towardes you. And our certayne hope is, that notwithstanding all these fightcs wee endure with enemies without, and those that should be friends within, our God shall glue vs strength to beare out, and by His blessing in tlie ende justifie to the world our proceedings ; wherein having you to bee a labourer and worker with vs, wee shall bee so much the more encouraged. As to the rest that should be done for your formall cntrie, wee remit the care thereof to him whom it concerneth, and commit you at this RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Iv tyme, and ever, to the protection and blessing of Almightie God.i " Yovr Loving Brethren, Saynct-Andrewes. Pa. B. of Ross. Ja. Glasgow, Jo. B. Cathness. An. Lismorensis. Al. B. of Murray. " Edinb. 5 Febr. 1618." On receipt of these communications, Forbes addressed the following long letter to Archbishop Spottiswoode, on which Oalderwood, as we shall see below, has animadverted in terms of the bitterest censure. It is not contained in the present volume. We have therefore deemed it proper to insert it here at length : — " Right Honorable, and my good Lord, your Lordships letter to me, and therein enclosed his Maj. letter to your Lordship, was delivered to me the thirteenth of Februar at night, whereby as I had good notice in what loving and gracious estimation his Highness hath me, his unworthie servant, giving thereof evidence in so liberal and princely an offer of high imployment, which is seconded with your Lordships congratulation, and serious encouragement of undertaking ; so if I should not make high account thereof, I might be esteemed the most ungrate and senselesse among men. Neither can my refusing of so undeserved, unsought- for, and unexpected favour, but draw upon me the imputa- tion of an inexcus^able misregard. If I be not mistaken in the reason of my hesitation, wherein I am so far from dis- allowing the office and degree of a Bishop (as hereupon men might apprehend) that they being rightly elected, and defined with such moderation of place and power, as may put restraint to excessive usurpation, and practising accordingly, 1 Infra,]). 201. Ivi BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE I think it not only a tolerable, but even a laudable and expedient policie in the Church, and very well consisting with God's written word, the only rule whereto all the affairs of his house should be levelled. Neither would I have your Lordship, or any man else to think, I being so far resolved in the matter itself, that because what through prejudices possessing the mindes of many, (otherwise zealous and godly men), what through the miscarriage perhaps of some men in that calling, hath fallen to be disliked of diverse, as my undertaking thereof should make no better in their account, nor {\ Demas, who for imbracing of the world, was sliding away from sinceritie, and all care of a good conscience. That therefore either for currying the applause of men, or for eviting of manifold misconstructions and misdeemings, I would earnestly decline the calling. I know very well how great a sin it is to offend one of the least ones that beleev- eth in Christ. But with that I know also that he is a man of a very weak and unstayed conscience, who is either so tickled with popular applause, as to be carried be guesse to a thing without light, thus to strengthen a common giddi- ness ; or is so terrified with misconstructions, as therefore to omit any dutie, which the honour of God, or good of his Church requireth of him. I know we must walk through good report, and evil report, and he is a very unfit man for a good purpose, either in Church or State, quiponit rumores ante salutem. I know how far I have been suspected al- readie. Some (otherwise good and holy men) because my calme, moderat, and equal carriage in our bygone distrac- tion, agreed not with the vehemencie of their minde, thought, that therefore, forsooth, I was taken with the love of such things, as (God knoweth) both were, and still are far from my heart. But being pri\'ic to myself, and having the testimonie of him before whom 1 walked, upon what respects, in so common, and as I think, so hurtful a heat on RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ivii both sides, I have walked so equallie and amicablie with all men, I will never, God willing, repent me of that manner of carriage. It is not for me in this age, whereto I am come, having been so strangly exercised under the hand of my Grod, as I stand a gazing stock to the world, and windshaken reed, and weather beaten wind-straw, to minde earthly things now, which the Lord hath so far disgusted to me, and me to them also. If I durst choose my own course, I had rather have a cottage in some wilderness, wherein to drive out the remanent of my dayes, then to be brought any more unto the view of the world, and in the mouthes of men. And if I were so vain as to be set for honour, ease, or commoditie ; yet, alas ! what honour could I look for, by accepting a Bishoprick, whereby the mindes of men, who now both honour and reverence me, above either my place or merit, shall be turned to account me a corrupted man, and ambitious aspirer ? What ease might I expect in so toilsome a task and heavie a charge ? What could be my commodity in so dilapidat and dissipat an estate ? Yet, as in this calling there is none of those to allure or tempt me, or any man having sense, so I protest uprightly, it is neither the fear of disgrace, or unease, or discommodity, that maketh me decline the charge. I lay no count for any ease in this life, but the ease of a good conscience. I never preached the Gospel for worldly gaine, nor to this hour hath made any gaine of that sort, whereby my reward is before me, and I hope my Lord shall hold my heart still fixed on him. And as for misconstructions I might incurre with men, (if there were no other thing to divert my minde), I would hope by the grace of him, who is best acquainted with my inwards, so to carrie my self, as in short time not only to rub away any conceived prejudice against my person, but even to make the most averse to think perhaps more equitablie of the calling also. For howsoever I neither Iviii BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE dare, nor will conderane the judgement or dealing of those men, who at the first, while the matter was in deliberation, did modestly oppose to the erecting of Bishops in our Chm'ch, the experience of tyrannical usurpation giving in former times no small reason to refuse the like evil here- after. Yet now they being established, and set at the rudder of our Church, I am so far from the judgement of them, who would have no godly nor singularly gifted men to accept of them, that I think it so far from a well informed zeal, as it is rather in my judgment a sort of transportation with the love of their own opinion ; that rather than any other thing disagreeable to their opinion, should obtain place in the Church, or be graced by any man''s well doing, they will put us rather in perill to have no Church at all, by leaving these rooms exposed only to belligods, hirelings, and sycophants, to the undoubted hazard of their own personal miscarriage ; as also of filling all the places of the Church with the off'-scourings of the world, and the dregs of men. Neither can I deny, but that (as your Lordship wrote to me) I have any other affair, and warrantable calling, so as if no other thing did stay my resolution, I could hardly in conscience make exceptions against it. This is that, my good Lord, which maketh all my scruple, the present condition and course of things (and we cannot tell how far a farther novation in our Church is intended) so peremptorily and impetuously urged on the one part, and so hardly received on the other, as betwixt these extremities, and the undertaking of a Bishoprick, I see no option left to me, but either to incurre his Maj. displeasure, which is the rock under Christ I am loathest to strike on ; or then to drive both myself and my ministcry in such common distast, as I see not how henceforth it can be any more fruitful. 1 dispute not here of the points themselves ; but I am pcrswaded, if so wise, so learned, and so religious a King, EIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. lix as God hath blessed us with, were fully and freely informed, or did throughly conceive the sad sequel of inforcing our Church, that neither in the points alreadie proponed, nor in any which we fear yet to ensue, for this intended con- formitie, would his Maj. esteem any of such fruit or effect, as therefore the state of a quiet Kirk should be marred, the mindes of Brethren, who for any bygone distraction were beginning again to warrae in mutual love, should be of a new again, and almost desperatly distracted, the hearts of many good Christians discouraged, the resolution of many weak ones brangled [shaken], matter of insulting ministred to Eomanists, and to profane epicureans, of a disdainful de- riding of our whole profession. Your Lordship remembers the other year, when my Lord of Glasgow and Ross refreshed our mindes with a very grateful relation of his Maj, royal care and zeal towards our Church. One speech specially cheared our hearts, wherein his Maj. had ex- horted us to mutual concord among ourselves, and that he should never urge anything upon us, that might disturb our quiet ; whereupon we were all joyfully erected to the certain hope of. a solid peace. Might it please God to holde his Maj. minde on this resolution, I thinke then in that calling men might do God and his Maj. good service ; and be answerable for a peaceable and well governed Church, for preservation of unitie in sound doctrine and holy worship, and for as obsequious and loving (though poor) subjects, as any King of the world might glorie of^ If wherein our Kirk seemeth defective, his Maj. would so far pitie our weakness, and tender our peace, as to enforce nothing but which first in a free and Nationall Councel were determined ; wherein his Highness would neither make any man afraid with terrour, nor pervert the judgement of any with hope of favour, then men may adventure to do service. But if things be so violently carried, as no end may appear Ix BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE of bitter contention, neither any place left to men, placed in rooms ; but insteed of procuring peace, and reuniting the hearts of the brethren, to stirre the coales of detestable de- bate ; for me I have no courage to be a partner in that work. I wish my heart blood might extinguish the ungra- cious rising flamme in our Kirk. But if I can do nothing for the quenching of it, then I would be heartilie sorie, to add fewell thereto. And this it is (my very good Lord) which only terrifieth me from undertaking that, which otherwise for the zeal of God's house, with all hazard, and with all my heart, I would embrace. So as your Lordship shall very much oblige me unto you, if with his Maj. favour, and your Lordship's good contentment, I may be permitted to retain a privat Ministery, carrying with it no more difficultie, but to answer well for my own personal carriage, and not to un- dergo the necessitie of not only being myself an actor, but either an urger and adactor also of my Brethren to the thinges which shall be against their minde, and perhaps against my own light also, or then to incurre dangerous indignation. And in any case your Lo. well knows, Turpius ejicitur quam non admittitur hospes. I may perhaps appear to your Lordship to builde up to myselfe idle and unneces- sarie fears. But I have in all singleness laid before your Lo. my whole minde, which I remit to your Lo. wise consi- deration. Beseeching God so to direct this whole matter, as he may have glorie, his Kirk may have good, and I may enjoy the peace of a good conscience. And thus commending your Lo. heartily to the gracious direction, and effectual blessing of our Lord, I rest. Keith, IG Februar 1G18." The date of this letter as given by Calderwood, appears to be erroneous. It probably ought to be the 1.3th February.^ ' " J imagine tlior is ii inistalvc in Caldoiwootl's diiU' of this letter, anrl RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixi On the 16th February 1618, the Primate addressed Forbes in these terms : — " TO MY VERIE LOVING BROTHER, THE LAIRD OF CORSSE. " Sir — As I was closing the former letter, a pacqiiet came to mee from Court, contayning a license to the Deane and Chapter of Aberdene, to meete, and elect a worthie person to that place which now vaketh, with a private recommendation of his Majestic for your selfe. Of this I thought meete to give you signification : because howe soone the licence can passe the scale, I will send it, with such directions as are fit for the orderlie proceeding of mat- ters ; neyther will I insist with you, not to declyne the place, upon the scruples mentioned in your letter, seeing wee have given you sufiicient satisfaction thereanent, and that nowe, thankes to God, wee are in the expectation of a good peace ; rather I will beseech you consider, what the state of this tyme, and the Church of GoD in it, craveth at your handes. I shall not mention the publicke enemie, or yet our politickes ; who, I am perswaded, did never heare of anie thing more to their discontentment, than your nomi- nation for this place. Onlie be pleased to looke unto our- selves ; and you shall see there was never more neede to keepe a Church from disorder. As yee wryte of your selfe, ' God is my witnesse, I could wish to bee unknowne in the world, and served God in the obscurest place, rather than where by His providence I am casten ;' but wee are not at our owne choyse, and so must you thinke. Where God calleth, to runne away, it is not modestie, but rebellion and disobedience. God give us in this sort tyme to bee wyse and faythfull, and to despyse all thinges in respect of the that he received the King's letter on the 12, and made his return on tlie 13."— Wodrow MS. Ixii BIOaRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE reward proposed ; on which, if wee holde our eyes, wee shall never bee disco wraged by the malice of the wicked. I take my leave, and rest " Your assured brother, " Sainct-Andrewes. " Edinburgh, 16th Feb. 1618."i From the letters of Forbes to the Eev. Thomas Mitchell, Minister of the parish of Udney, a relation and very inti- mate friend, with whom the Primate Spottiswoode com- municated officially regarding the formalities of the induction of the new Bishop, it appears that he was sincerely and truly anxious to decline the honour intended for him : — " TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFULL, MY DEARE BROTHER IN CHRIST, MASTER THOMAS MITCHELL, MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL AT UDNEY. " Right Worshipfull and deare Brother, after heartie Salutation, the Letters which together with yours are come to mee from the South, leade mee to thinke that you haue guessed rightlie at the purpose of the Archbishop's entreatie; For even this same night I haue receaved a Letter from all the Bishops in Edinburgh, together with his Majesty ""s Letters to them, and to the Lordes of his Highnesse Secret Counsell, verie playnlie and peremptorilic appoynting me for your Bishopricke. Nowe his Majestie's Letter is both so free and peremptorie, as truelie it hath casten mee into great anxietie of mynde, so as I stand much in neede of your counsel and prayers to God for direction. I haue sent you herewith the copy of his JNL Letter, that you may so much the better consider what difficultie of resolution I am put vnto. The Lord bee my Counsellour. Thus, referring > See ivfra, p. 204. EIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixui the issue of all to God, and commending you heartilie to His Grace, I rest ever " Your assured loving Brother, " P. Forbes of Corse. " Keith, 13th Febr. 1618."i " to my worshipfull and deare brother, master Thomas Mitchell, Minister of the Gospel at Udney. " Right Worshipfull and deare brother, after all heartlie salutation, I receaved your letter this Thursday after noone, the xij of March. After the recept of the letters whereof I sent you a copie, I wrote backe a long letter to the Bishops, whereby to excuse my selfe, and to lay off the burthen they had moved his Majestic to lay vpon me. But agaynst my expectation I haue reported nothing but a more vehement insisting, and that with certification, that by declyning the calling, I will incurre his Majestie"'s bitter indignation, and the imputation of contemning God's voca- tion, and the voyce of his Church also. My Lord of Saynct- Andrewes wrote to mee also, that a warrand was come to him, to be signed, and sent to the Chapter of Aberdene, for proceeding to the election, and that hee would sende it north with diligence. So as I am casten in such agonie, as I can doe nothing but attende the issue of God''s working. I would with all my heart have fled that charge in this so dangerous a tyme, and dangerous course in tyme. But they have put mee to too great a strayt, eyther to accept, or to incurre the King's indignation, which to a subject is the messenger of death. The Lord sende all to a good ende. The grace of GoD bee with you, " Your assured loving brother, " P. Forbes of Corse. " Keith, 12th March 1618."2 1 See infra, p. 205. ^ jnfra, p. 206. Ixiv BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIJR OF THE The reputation in which Forbes was held by those who had the best means of knowing and appreciating his cha- racter, is testified by the following address of the Chapter and Clergy of the Synod of Aberdeen : " TO THE RIGHT REVEREND AND HONOURABLE, THEIR LOVING BROTHER AND EELLOW- LABOURER IN THE GOSPELL, THE LAIRD OF CORSE. " Right Honourable, and Reverende, our love and duetie in our common Saviour remembered, please, at the last Generall Assembly holden in Aberdene, the greatest part both of Preachers, and Professours of all degrees, cryed, by a Supplication subscrybed by them, to that Assemblie, and by them to his Majestic, to fill our Bishopricke then vacant, with yourselfe, as fittest of all men for that seat. His M. finding nowe that seat vacant agayne, hath nominate you unto that rowme. The Chapter beeing conveaned this day, upon a Warrand directed from his M. and with them Brethren of the Ministerie, Commissioners from all Presby- teries within the Diocesse, have all in one joy full voyce made choyce of you, and have sent unto you some of their number, to acquaynt you with their election, and to require you in the name of God, not to flee this His Calling by their voyces, in a tyme of such evident necessitie ; to whose credit remitting, wee commende you for now, and ever, to the grace of God. " By your loving Brethren, and Fellow-Labourers in the Gospell, the Ministers members of the Cathe- dral Church of Aberdene, and the Ministers Com- missioners from Presbyteries ; " Master David Beit, Dean and Moderator, in the name of tlio whole Meeting. " Oldc Aberdene, the 24 of March, 1618."i ' Infra, ]). 206. On this })iocccdin<^ Wodrow remarks—" Upon the 24 of RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixv The Bishop was consecrated at St Andrews on the 17th May 1618, by Archbishop Spottiswoode and the Bishops of Dunkeld and Brechin.i The mere fact of his consenting to become a Bishop, was of course with the ultra-Presbyterian party, a crime of the deepest dye, and Calderwood has indulged in animadversions upon this part of the conduct of Bishop Forbes, with which even Wodrow, has shewn no disposition to sympathise. Oalderwood's remarks are given in the shape of a Comment- ary on Bishop Forbes' long letter to the Primate already in- serted in this Memoir. His words are these : — " This hypocrite conveyeth his answer after such a form, that the Bishops might easily perceive, that he would accept the Bishoprick nolens volens, as it was said of old. Nay, farther, he thinketh that his accepting might grace the office. He pretendeth he is loath to be an urger of cere- monies upon others ; yet, notwithstanding, none was so readie to consent at Perth. In the Diocesan Synod holden after in the year 1627, when the King did urge no cere- monies, ye£ he threatned the Ministers of his Dioce, saying, " ye think there will be no more dinne of conformitie, beguile not yourselves, I shall make the best of you conforme." He became so vehement, that he would have all counted schis- matics that will not communicat at the Communion, celebrat iafter this new form ; and to be excommunicat as hereticks, that maintain, that kneeling in the act of receiving the Sacramental elements of bread and wine, is idolatrie. It is known very well, that he undertook not the Ministery till Bishopricks were in bestowing, and that he could finde March, the Chapter of the Bishoprick of Aberdeen met there and choiced Mr Forbes to be their Bishop, whether it was common at the time in elections I cannot tell, but in this case the whole Presbytrys in the Diocess met with the Chapter by their Commissioners, and gave their consent, which they signified to tlie Bishop by their Moderator," 1 See Infra, p. 20G. E Ixvi BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE no better moan to repair his broken Lairdship. He pre- tended he would not enter but upon such conditions ; yet he entered by election of a Chapter, and without swearing to the caveats, and just after the same manner that the rest did"! In answer to this indiscriminate abuse, it appears quite enough to say, that throwing out of view the redundancy of expression and fulsome flattery of the Monarch, appear- ing in Forbes' letters, according to the custom of the age, — while it cannot certainly be said that they contain in so many words a positive and flat refusal of the office, they shew dis- tinctly that the Mitre was not a subject of his solicitude. He consistently enough maintained that the Ceremonies ought not to have been forced upon the Church, but that, nevertheless, when they were sanctioned by the competent Ecclesiastical and Civil authoaity, they ought to be observed when they thus came to be the law of the Church and of the Land. As to the insinuation apparently meant to be conveyed in the words — "he undertook not the Ministry till Bishopricks were in bestow- ing," it appears quite out of the question to suppose that any promise of being raised to the Episcopate could have been made to him at the date of his Ordination, which took place, as we have seen, in circumstances so peculiar. With re- gard to pecuniary embarrassments, we have not met with a single trace of evidence that any such inducement could have actuated Forbes in accepting a Bishopric. His habits were not likely to lead him into such difficulties. From various passages in the present Collection, it appears that he in- herited a considerable estate from his father. Regarding the mode of his entry to the See of Aberdeen, it would be ' Calderwood's History of the Church of Scotland, Folio, m.dclxxviii, p. G95. On the margin of the copy of tliis Work, in the Advocates' Lib- rary, the following words are written opposite the paragraph just quoted, in a hand apparently nearly coteniporary with the date of the publication of the volume. — " Inverccuuda Ceusura de modesto ct optimo Viro — a shameless censure on a man of modesty and great worth." RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixvii difficult to point out another instance of the appointment of a Pastor, where the choice was more completely in accord- ance with the wishes of the Crown, as well as of the Clergy, and inhabitants of the District. There seems much probability in Wodrow's remarkl that Calderwood was irritated against Forbes from the latter having taken part in the discussions with that most resolute Maintainer of his own opinions and clerical equality. Wod- row himself, whose opposition to Episcopacy no one can deny, has repeatedly expressed himself in very favourable terms regarding the character of Forbes; 2 and Presbyterian writers, in general^ have done the same. ^ " Mr Calderwood, who seems to be displeased with his (Forbes) inter- meddling in his trouble." — Wodrow MS. ^ We shall content ourselves with quoting Wodrow's Introduction to his Collections on the Life of Forbes, where he also mentions the sources whence he drew his information. " This learned gentleman is taken notice of by forraigners, tho' his learned son, (Dr John Forbes), whose life may come afterward in its own place, is yet more famouse by his many and justly valued writings. The father's life has never been yet given by itself. It's but collections concerning him and the rest of the piouse and remarkable persons in this period, that I am essaying. In- deed, I have moe helps as to the Bishop than in most persons at this time. There was publishedin 1635, the year he died, Fimerals of a Eight Reverend Father in God, Patrick Forbes of Corse, Bishop of Aberdeen. It's a collec- tion of sermons and fimeral discoiirses upon his death, letters to him and concerning him, and poems upon his death. It's very probable that the son, Mr John Forbes, then at Aberdeen, had the oversight of these things published at that time concerning his father. That book is but in the hands of few, and I shall make the best I can of the collection of papers therein. More lately, 1703, Dr George Garden published his son's works, in two vols, in folio, at Amsterdam, and in his son's life gives an abstract of the Bishop's. In both these there are high encomiums of the Bishop, and indeed I am ready to think he deserved them much more than most of Scots Prelates after the Reformation. IVIr Calderwood, in his MS. History, gives us severall things concerning this gentleman, which we are not to expect from the other two. The truth is best to be gatliered by comparing writers upon every side. From these and some other papers I'le endeavour to give as regular an account of his life as I can." — Wodrow MS. * The ultra-Protestant party must be excepted. For example, — Ixviii BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF TUE The year 1618, in which this zealous pastor was raised to the Episcopate, was remarkable for the General Assembly held at Perth in the month of August, at which the well known Observances, called the Five Articles of Perth,^ Forbes' elevation to the Episcopate is thus noticed by Row : — " In this moneth of May following [1618], the Laird of Corse, quho wes counted a powerfull preacher, and to be against the authoritie and gouvernment of Bischops, tooke on that oflSce upon himselfe, and wes maid Bischop of Aberdeine, and consecrat in St Andreis." — Row's His- torie of the Ku'k of Scotland, mdlviii-mdcxsxvii. — Vol. i. p. 126. — Printed for the Maitland Club, mdcocslii. On this passage we find the following commentary in " Additional Illustrations of Row's History, by his Sou, Mr Wm. Row, Minister of Ceres, at the end of " the Historie." Of the Clergy who accepted Bishop- rics, it is said — " Such as Patrick Forbes, Laird of Corse, Bischop of Abex'- deine ; and Mr Adam Balledyn, Laird of Kilconquhar, (indeid Ave know not, or we Ken-na-where [a witticism on the popxilar pronunciation of the name of this estate " Kinneuchar "], he or any of his, is this day !) first Bischop of Dunblane and Deane of the Chapell-Royall, then Bischop of Aberdeine. But with quhat reason or conscience these apos- tats embraced Bischopricks, after they had preached so much against that cursed hierarchie, the great day of the Lord Jesus will declare ; and with what success in their main aime they have done it, let their posteritie and all the Kirke and Kingdom of Scotland speake it out, to the glorie of God, and detestation of Papistrie ; for Antichrist is the devill's eldest Sonne and heire, and a proud Prelat is Antichryst's sonne and heire ; and ane hierarichall Doctor is the Prelat's eldest sonne and heire ; for as we sail heare, they behooved to be Doctorated (advanced to the degree of Doctor of Divinity) befor they were enaugurated Bischops," Ibid. pp. 478, 479. It must be confessed, however, that it would not be difficult to match the above specimen of railing from the writings both of Episcopalians and Romanists in Scotland. The civil and religious liberty of modern times, and the fair and free discussion thence arising, have brought religious parties much more into contact, and enabled them to know and appreciate each other better. The asperities of polemics have been lessened, and true liberality of sentiment and decency and politeness in argument pro- portionably advanced. ^ These were — " 1. Kneeling when receiving the Holy Communion. 2. The administration of the Holy Communion to the sick, dying, or infirm persons in their houses, in cases of urgeut necessity. 3. The ad- ministration of Bai)tism in private under similar circumstances. 4. The t'onfinnati.jn of the young by the Bisliop of tlie Diocese. 5. The observ- RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixix were introduced into the Scottish Church. " On the 25th of August the Assembly was opened at Perth, Lords Bin- ning, Scone, and Carnegie, appearing as the King"'s Commis- sioners, attended by the Earl of Lothian, Lords Ochiltree, Boyd, Crichton of Sanquhar, Sir Gideon Murray the Depute- Treasurer, Sir William Oliphant, Lord Advocate, and a number of gentlemen as assessors. The only Bishops absent were those of Argyll and The Isles, and Calderwood asserts that those Dioceses, as also those of Caithness and Orkney, sent no ' commissioners,' or representatives. In accordance with an intimation given in St John's church on the previous Sunday, the first day of the meeting was observed as a fast, and two sermons were preached, the one in the morning by Bishop Forbes of Aberdeen from Ezra vii. 23 ;l the other in the forenoon by Archbishop Spottiswoode from 1 Cor. xi. 16, which occupied two hours in the delivery, and was afterwards printed, probably by the authority of the Archbishop, by Bishop Lindsay of Brechin, in his account of the proceedings of the Assembly. Calderwood states that the argument maintained by Bishop Forbes was, that ' nothing should be done nor determined in the Church by any superior power whatever but that which is according to the commandment of the Almighty King; "2 From a cotemporary letter from Lord Binning to the King, we gather some farther particulars of the part Bishop Forbes took in the proceedings of the Perth Assembly :^ — ance of the five great commemorations of the Christian Church — the ' Birth, Passion, Resurrection, Ascension, and sending down of the Holy- Ghost.' "—Episcopal Church of Scotland from the Reformation to the Revolution, by Jolm Parker Lawson, INI.A. 8vo. Ediu. 1844, pp. .394, 395. 1 " Whatsoever is commanded by the God of Heaven let it be diligently done for the house of the God of Heaven : for why should there be wrath against the realm of the King and his sons ?" 2 76irf. p. 391. ■* We take this from Wodrow's Collections, wlio says—" I meet with Ixx BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE " Most Sacred Soveraigne, — At our coming to this toun, finding the most precise and wilful Puritans war chosen Commissioners by many of the Presbytrys, especially of Lothian and Fife, it was extremely doubtful of the success of your Maitys religiouse and just desires at the privat meeting of your Maity's Commissioners, and the Bishops My Lord of Saint Andrews, deemed not of the apparent difficulty, but declared that, being hopeful that the happiness yat alwise accompanys the justice of your Royall designes, would not fail in this action, he thought the victory would be more perfect, and the obedience more hearty, when the Puritans should see the Articles concluded in the presence of their greatest patrons, their opinions being confuted by lively reasons and undenyable truth. The Assembly sermon was made by the Bishop of Aberdeen, who with great dex- terity propounded the weight of the purposes to be entreated, and the necessity of consideration. That the body of the Church being assembled by your Royall direction for treat- ing of Articles propounded by your Maity, first to a number of the principall ministers at Saint Andrews, and thereafter in the Assembly at Saint Andrews, your Maity had con- ceived great offence for the delays then used ; and being persuaded in your excellent wisdome and conscience that the Articles were just and godlie, and only shifted be- cause propounded by your Maity, by such as had gloryed to be opposit to your sacred desires. It was to be feared that if at this time your Maity should not receive satisfaction, your wrath might so burn, as the Church, losing your wonted fatherly favour, might feel the heavy prejudice of that con- sequence, and therefore exortcd them in humility, zeal, and an al)stract of the Bishop's sermon at tlie opening of Pertli Assembly, in an original letter from my L. Binning to the King, dated Saint Johnstoun, 27 of August 1618, which I transcribe from ye Advocats' Library as muoli of it as relates to B. Forbes." RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixxi Christian love, to dispose themselves to proceed wisely, and with all due respect to your Majesty." It would appear that Bishop Forbes took a prominent part in the various discussions which followed this Assembly, with a view to compose the heats ai^d animosities which dis- turbed the peace of the Scottish Church. We find the following account of these actings of the Bishop in Wod- row's Collections, and it will not be forgotten that they are viewed by that indefatigable Presbyterian collector, and Oalderwood his leading authority here, through a medium far from the most favourable : — "At the conference after Perth Assembly, Nov. 24, 1618, betwixt the Bishops and severall Ministers who opposed those ceremonies there proposed, ye Primat, as we have seen in his life, pre- tended the end of this meeting was to take the Ministers advice what methods were best for the better preserving the peace of the Church. The Primat began with the Bishop of Aberdeen as the person whose authority would go furthest with the Ministers, he being (believed) to have the warmest side to them. Mr Calderwood hath pre- served to us the substance of Bishop Forbes'' speech, as follows : — ' In the fearfull and unpleasant divisions of our Kirk, I will consider, 1 st, The cause ; next, The danger ; Sdly, The remedy: First,astothe cause, — Icamhere toexcuse neither side, some preventing the Decree of the Church, pre- suming to preach and practise some of thir things, (Holy- days and Ceremonies,) before the Kirk had determined them, in quich precipitation I cannot excuse them. Others again, albeit the Kirk has determined the controversy, does still refuse obedience to them, quhairin I cannot excuse yem. For albeit I could have wished that these things had never been urged, and that the Church might have been without them, yet seeing they are in themselves indifferent, and the King, whose authority requires them, hath got an Act of the IXXll BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE Kirk on his side, I think it reason he should be obeyed, and wer ther nothing further than yat the Assembly of the Kirk hath decreed, that it is sufficient to move obedience in any reasonable person. The next thing is the danger quich is great, according to the variety of persons to be considered in our Kirk, for there are some Atheists, some Papists, and some weak professors. Atheists I call those who, though in the former estate of our Kirk, seemed to professe religion, and were keeped within the compass of some bounds,! but never made conscience of any religion. The next danger is by Papists, of whom I can speak by experi- ence, who, when they are desired to come to church and joyn with us in the worship of God, they answer, if you hold on the gate you are going, we will meet ere it be long. The last danger is in respect of weake ones, who seeing such a distraction of opinions and contrariety amongst Ministers, doubt of all religion, and know not what side to take them to. The remedy in my judgement is to submit ourselves peaceably to his Maity"'s desire, since the things are indiffer- ent and he hath obtained an Act of the Kirk on his side, quich may be a sufficient warrand to any reasonable person for conformity ; and therfor it wer good that bretheren should lovingly confer together one with another, that so they might come to an agreement.''^ The Bishop at this Conference proposed an [Easter] meeting, and that ye Ministers should name their own Conferrers, and seemed very tender of them. " The Bishop grew more severe upon the Ministers the longer he continued in his office. His sermon two years after this was much taken notice of in November 1021, during the ' This word is scored out in the MS., and another substituted, wliich is illo^Mblo. ■^ The whole of tliis .speech is written in a smaller and more indistinct hand than the other parts of the MS. RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixxiii Convention quich was called to support the King's son-in-law, the illustriouse Elector of Palatine, in the Bohemian warrs. The Bishop [preached?] in the Litle Kirk of Edinburgh, Nov. 26 ; the whole of it [the sermonj was an invective against the Ministers who stood out against Perth Articles. Mr Calderwood tells us ' the Bishop said that there was some, that in a peaceable time were unworthy to have a place in the Kirk, who, to get themselves a name, and to draw disciples after them, and to be counted singular, maintained strange errors, to wit — of the Brounists, Formalists, Sepa- ratists,' &c. ' Yet,' says Mr Calderwood, ' the Bishop was not able among all the Ministers of Scotland, to name one tainted with these opinions.'i Further, he said ' they were like the Salamander that delighted to live in the fire, because ther were matters brought into the Kirk quich were dis- putable, they would break the peace of the Kirk and set all on fire, that they counted none religiouse but such as spake evil of the King and men in authority. He began, con- tinued, and ended with these odious imputations, saving ^ The passage in Calderwood's History, published in 1678, is in these terms : — " Upon the Lords day the 26 of November, Patrick Forbes Laird of Corse, Bishop of Aberdeen, preaching in the Little Kirk of Edinburgh, said, that there were men that in a peaceable time were counted unworthie to have a place in the Kirk, who, to get themselves a name, did draw the Disciples after them, and, to be counted singular, maintained the strange errours of Anabaptists, Familists, Brounists and Separatists. And yet was he not able to name, among all the Ministers of Scotland, so much as one tainted with these opinions : Neither coidd he distinctly set down the opinion of these Sectaries. Farther he said, they were like the Salamanders, that delighted to live in the fire ; because matters disputable were brought in into the Kirk, they would break the peace of the Kirk, and set all on fire. They counted none religious, but such as spake evil of the Kmg and of men in authoritie. He began, continued, and ended with these and the like odious imputations. He was sometimes of another niinde : But now when he had need of a Bishoprick to repair his broken Lairdship, he verified the old saying iu hi.s own person, — Omnis Apodata osor siii onliiiis." See siqyra, p. Ixv. Ixxiv BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE that he had a short exortation for contributing to the warr in the Palatinat.' " With the same force the Bishop exerted himself on behalf of the Perth Articles in the Parliament which con- vened July 1621, to give them ye force of a law. He was one of the Lords of the Articles. There the Acts of the Assembly at Perth passed pretty easily. The Laird of Prestoun, Commissioner for East Lothian ; the Laird of Haltoun for West Lothian; the Laird of Leyes Burnet, Commissioner for the Shire of the Mearns, and Duncan Paterson, Provost of Stirling, were the only persons upon the Articles, who voted against ratifying the Acts of Perth Assembly. The Earle of Mortoun absented, and it was thought of purpose, because not for them ; albeit the matter was carried by a great plurality, yet the Bishop of Aberdeen showed his discontent that the vote was not unanimouse, and broke out in this expression — ' My Lords, there are some that must ever be singular. He had said befor in his harrangue, that the Kirk of Scotland was in better case without these ceremonyes than with them, yet seeing his Maity will have them brought in, I protest on my salvation and condemnation, yat there is no danger in using of them. They are indifferent in themselves, and therfor whosoever refuseth to give his Maity obedience in using of yem are contentious, and troublers of the peace of the Church and its unity, and therfor worthy to be punished. He protested also that the Church was not to be troubled with any far- ther ceremonies, as the Marquise of Hamiltoun, his Maity's Commissioner, had assured.' A Nobleman put him in mind that he was too liberall in his promises without assur- ance of performance, for his Maity would not bind himself in that sort.'' Wc have deemed it best to present our readers in one view with all that Wodrow has collected on the Bishop's RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. IxXV share in what may be termed the public administration of the affairs of the National Church, although this narrative extends over a considerable number of years. We shall now proceed to submit to our readers the details which have come down to our times, regarding his management of the affairs of his own Diocese, and the private life and manners of this learned and religious Prelate. Forbes was no sooner preferred to the See of Aber- deen than he proceeded to make himself thoroughly ac- quainted with the condition of his Diocese. From what we have already seen, it may be inferred that this was in many respects most deplorable. He immediately applied himself with the most zealous care, to remedy abuses — to incite his clergy to diligence and fidelity in the performance of their duties, and to compose and assuage the quarrels, dissensions, and feuds of the country. In the season of summer, he had a custom of visiting all his parish Churches, and this with- out any train of Attendants, that his visits might in no degree prove burdensome to the Clergy or Gentry. His examination into the spiritual condition of each parish, the character, and. ministerial ability and fidelity of each in- cumbent, was minute and honest. He would arrive in the neighbourhood on Saturday, without giving notice to any one, and would make his appearance in the parish church on Sunday, carefully noting what he saw and heard. After- wards, if need required, he proceeded by private admoni- tions to correct in the Pastor what he saw amiss in his conduct or manner, in his mode of instructing his flock, or in the general condition of the parish. When a case occurred of scandal arising to the Church from the igno- rance, the carelessness, or the misconduct of a Minister, the Bishop, assisted by some of his Clergy, immediately in- stituted a visitation of the parish, removed the unworthy profaners of the mysteries of God, and supplied their places Ixxvi BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE with faithful pastors. In many districts of the Diocese, from the covotousness of laymen into whose hands the tithes had fallen, and who, as the reverend Biogi-apher of the Bishop's son somewhat quaintly remarks, " deque pecudibus magis quam animabus solliciti erant"! — " were more soli- citous about their cattle than the souls of men,"" two or more parishes were left to the charge of one Clergyman, The Bishop earnestly set himself to remedy so clamant an evil, and before his death was successful in effecting the dis- junction of most of these unholy unions. In other parts of the Diocese, the parishes were of so great a size, that it was beyond the power of any single Clergyman to perform the du- ties, and impossible for all the people to attend the parish church. These parishes the Bishop managed to get divided into two or three lesser ones, as the case required, and pro- cured the settlement of an able, efficient, and pious Clergy- man in each portion. The City of Aberdeen, the capital of the Diocese, the seat of the Cathedral, and of the two Universities, demanded and received much of his attention and care. So successful was he in procuring learned and able men for its pulpits, that, under the name of " the Aberdeen Doctors," they were not only famous at home for their distinguished piety and erudition, but celebrated throughout the whole of Europe. There is perhaps no part of a Bishop\s duty more import- ant, than the training of candidates for the ministry of the Church. To this fundamental and indispensible matter, Forbes directed the whole energies of his mind. With the consent and assistance of his Clergy, he revived the Pro- fessorship of Divinity in King\s College, which had fallen into abeyance, for the pm-pose of enabling Students in Divi- nity to receive the necessary instructions in their progress to ' Nita 1{. N'. -loll. I'dilirsii a Corse, § ix. RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixxvii assume the offices of the Church. The Bishop and his Clergy, from their own private and limited resources, raised a fund for the support of the Professor, and not long after they were able to procure the necessary means for instituting a Chair of Theology in the other University, situated in the New Town of Aberdeen. He was most anxious to secure some regular provision for the support of students of Divinity, and before his death, he was able to see no mean resources provided for this most useful end. With the con- cert of his Clergy, he established a set of Synodal rules by which candidates for the ministry were examined, both with respect to their literary qualifications and their moral conduct. 1 As may readily be supposed, the general state of the two Universities situated within his Diocese, engaged much of the attention and solicitude of the Bishop. King's College was founded, as we have seen, by his predecessor, the munifi- cent Bishop Elphinstone, in 1494, — and Marischal College was erected in 1593 by the Earl Marischal. of the day, principally from the spoils of religious houses in Aberdeen, in this instance applied to purposes far more useful and laudable than was generally the case. By the original con- stitution of King's College, as framed by its pious founder, the Bishop, as Diocesan, was the Cha,ncellor and supreme Governor, to whom were committed the care of choosing and admitting the Professors, the disposal of the revenues, and the direction and order of the studies. Forbes on his pro- motion to the See, found every thing connected with this University in a very neglected state, — the buildings hasten- ing to decay and ruin, — the rents and income of the College dilapidated, — the statutes neglected, — several of the Pro- fessorships altogether fallen into disuse,— the Professors careless in the performance of their duties, and the whole 1 Th;d. Ixxviii BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE liberal arts and sciences, for the promotion of which Bishop Elphinstone had so zealously laboured, almost unknown and expired. The Bishop, with great prudence and discretion, proceeded to remedy these abuses, and to restore the University to its former honour and dignity. He recovered and enlarged the revenues — he repaired the magnificent buildings left by Elphinstone — he restored the Professorships, which had been allowed to fall into decay, — he caused the old and admirable statutes of the Founder to be enforced, and by his own example and authority the Professors were reminded of, and urged to the performance of their duties. By the original constitution of the Uni- versity it was mainly designed for the education of the Clergy, and the Bishop took care that this object, which he had so much at heart, should be carried out to its fullest extent. He accordingly revived the old statute by which the Regents or Teachers of Philosophy having studied under the Primarius Professor of Theology were obliged, at the expiry of six years, to leave the University, whenever it appeared to the Bishop that the good of the Church or University required it, and undertake the charge of parochial cures, giving place to others, in course of training for the work of the ministry. This excellent statute, which, during his life, the Bishop caused to be carefully observed, was after- wards allowed to fall into desuetude. Whenever the cure of any parish within the Diocese became vacant, he selected from the Regents the one who appeared, by his piety and learning, the best fitted for the situation, filling up his place in the College, from among the most promising of the students. By this method, so successfully was the good of the Church promoted, so effectually were all negligence and sloth on the part of the Regents prevented, and proper encouragement given to the piety and diligence of the students, that in the University, and throughout the whole Diocese, — a new RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixxix vigor, a new aspect of affairs speedily arose, — the parishes were provided with a pious and learned Clergy, and in the University itself all the liberal arts flourished : — " Sub teste benigno Vivitur, egregios invitant prsemia mores. Hinc priscfe redeimt artes felicibus inde, Ingeniis aperitiir iter, despectaque Musae Colla levant."^ Claudian. 1 Vita R. V. Job. Forbesii, §§ ix. x. xi. In the Glasgow Assembly of 1638, a Committee was appointed to visit the University of Aberdeen, on a petition to the Assembly by Mr John Lundie, blaster of the Grammar School, and Professor of Humanity in King's College, Aberdeen, who was allowed to sit in the Assembly as representative of that University, although he had received no proper authority from the Professor. He set forth in his petition that the Canonist, Cantor, Choristers, &c., which had been restored in the time of Bishop Forbes, should be removed as unnecessary members, and as brought in by the Bishop contrary to the foundation of the College established by James VI. Spang, in his Historia Motuum, writing from the information of Principal Baillie, thus notices the appointment of the visiting committee : — " Designati etiam qui Academiam Abredonensem visitarent, ejus ad synodum legato instante ac querente, tantuni nam oppressam fuisse miseram illam Academiam usurpatione Episcopi, qui reditus artium liberalium ac scientiarum professoribus destinatos transtu- lerit in Canonicos, Prebendaries, juris Canonici Professores, et id genus damnatas a reformatis ecclesiis functiones."* The Parson of Rothiemay, who has been described as " favourable to a moderate Episcopacy," in his History of Scots Affairs, thus animad- verts upon the appointment of this committee, and appears satisfactorily to refute the notion that any blame was attributable to Bishop Forbes. " Ther could be no mor arrant lye then that supplicatione its narrative ; for bishop Patricke Forbesse, laird of Corse, whom he reflected upon, who died but anno 1G35 befor, a gentleman of great wortheand integritye, was knowne to be so farr from oppressing the Universitye, that, upon the contrarye, he freed it from oppressione, and erected a professour of divi- nitye ther, and made up a yearly revenewe to him by contributione, who yet standes to this daye. " And, because its a great questione whither Mr John Lundye or Mr William Spange, who has rngrost this in his Historia Motuum, have done greatest wronge to bishop Patricke Forbesse his memorye, who deserved a better rewarde, I shall begge the readers patience to vindicate the fame * Rerum nuper in Regno Scotiae Gestarum nistoria. 8vo. Dantisci. 1641. IXXX BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE With his brethren, the Clergy, the Bishop Uved on the most intimate and friendly footing. Without their advice and reputatione of that eminent and wyse bishopp, upon my certaine knowledge, having both seene oftne and lyckwayes perused the authen- ticke instruments of the foundatione of that Universitye, and relating what followes upon certaine information. " Bishopp "William Elphinstone, by the liberal contributions of King James the Foui-th, besyde what he largly spent that way of his own privat revenew, laide the foundatione of that Universitye, anno 1500 ; and what he could not (being prevented by death) bringe to a periode, he recommended by testament to be done by his successor, bishop Gavin Dunbarr, to whom he left the expence for that pourpose. But befor he dyed, he sett downe the institutione of that Universitye in a large instru- ment, which tackes uf) a booke of veleim parchement yet extant, sub- scrybed and sealed. He did obtaine from Pope Alexander sixth, and Julius second (as the fashion then was), and from the Kinge,that it should enjoye as ample preveleidges as the Universityes of Parise or Bononia ; that it should be ane Universitye for all sciences, etc. Amongst the rest he instituted a professor for the civill law, and another for the canon law. After the reformatione of the relligione, the then members of the Univer- sitye beganne to think upon a new modell of the institution of the Universitye ; to which pourpose one Mr David Raite, ther princii^ell, drew a draught of a foundation, wherin all the old institution was turud up syde downe. This they presented to James the Sixth, then King of Scottlande ; and it went neer to be ratifyd in parliament, had it not been opposed by secretair Elphinstoune, a great statesman, who, in favours of bishopiJ AViliam Elphinstouns memorye (both of them being cadetts of the familye of Shelms), said it was no reason for to perverte the founders meaning, as farr as it could stand with the reformed relligione. So the new draught was stifled in the birth ; and that paper coming afterwards into the handes of bishopp Patricke Forbesse, with a sollicitatione for him to sett it anew on foote, he threw it into the fyre, wher it ended ; and instantly, being chancellor of the Universitye, caused sett the old institution on foote, as farr as it could subsist with the protestant relli- gione : The two professiones of the civill and canon lawe he united into one, or rather commanded the civill law to be taught in place of the other. " The rentes that belonged to severall professors, by the avarice of such as had been members of tlie Universitye, wer fewed or lett out for ])ay- ment of so little as could not raantaine them, and ther verye dwelling houses impropriat ; which, being thus squaudard, bishopp [Patricke] Forbesse could hardly recover all his lyfe tyme, and was forced, as I have already tould, for to sett uj)p the j)rofessionc of theologye by waye of con- tribntionc : So farr was it from trutlie that he liad either opprcssd them RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixxxi and consent, he made it a rule to do nothing, in this respect carefully observing the primitive order, that in the manage- ment of the Diocese, the Bishop should exercise no despotic sway, but in all things concede to the Presbyters their due place and honour. To all solicitations of the great and powerful to lead him from the fair and honest discharge of his authority, he invariably turned a deaf ear. In those days, as occasionally in our own times, the division of the area of the parish church among the Heritors was a fruitful source of animosity and bad feeling. By law the determining of such questions then lay with the Ordinary. It happened on occasion of a dispute on this subject between two pro- prietors in the same parish, that one of them, who was much richer and more powerful than the other, had contrived to obtain from the King a letter to the Bishop, ordering an award in his favour of the disputed sittings in the Church. To this mandate Forbes paid not the slightest regard. He put the other party in possession of the disputed portion of the area of the Church, at the same time writing to the Secretary of the Privy-Council, that he was indeed indebted for his position to the Crown, but that his conscience was his God's. On this the King is said to have remarked, that he or misapplyd thes rents, theii- having not been so much left undilapidate at his entrye as to mantaine all the professors according to ther institu- tione. Bishop Adam Ballendyn, who succeeded to bishopp Forbesse, could not be the oppressor, for the short tyme that he sate ther he touched nor did innovate nothinge. So great treuth ther was in the reasone of that comissione." — [Gordon's Scots Affairs, printed for the Spalding Club, 4to. 1841, vol. ii. p. 155-157.] This account is substantially confirmed by the Report of the last Commission to inquire into the state of the Scottish Universities. Professor John Lundie, on his return home, was accused before Bishop Bellenden and the other members of the College for his conduct in this affair. He pled guilty, and confessed his error. He had previously in several poetical compositions (some of which are in the present Collec- tion) bestowed the highest encomiums on Bishop Forbes as the Restorer of the University. — See infra, p. 22. F Ixxxii BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE blessed God he had such a Bishop, who in the face of the most powerful solicitations, knew how to perform his duty. Accordins: to the custom of the times, which not a little contributed to the unpopularity of the Episcopal Church- men, both with the Nobility and the mass of the people, King James VI. and his son and successor Charles I., made use of the great abilities and talent for business pos- sessed by Forbes, by giving him a seat at the Board of the Privy-Council. Wo are assured that his opinion carried so great weight with his colleagues, that it was generally followed. Great confidence being reposed in his judgment, ability, and equity, he was chosen Arbiter in many dis- putes ; and the district over which he presided in spiritual matters, was, by his care and conciliating decisions, saved from those inveterate and ruinous litigations then so com- mon in other parts of Scotland. The clear decernment of Forbes, his knowledge of his countrymen, and the state of religious feeling in Scotland, made him a strenuous opposer of the innovations in the Church so heedlessly urged forward by Charles I. and some of the English Bishops who enjoyed his confidence. While the state of his health enabled him to attend the Privy- Council, he steadily gave his opinion against all attempts to introduce forms and ceremonies in the order of public worship resembling, or identical with those of tlie Anglican Church. To such forms and ceremonies, sanctioned as they have been by the usage of ages, he himself had not, and could not have any objection, but he well knew, from the temper of the times, that any attempt to force them upon the adoption of the Church, would certainly lead to schism in its body, and probably to a civil war in the State. How completely the result justified his anticipation, we need not here remark. On the other liajid, he all along deemed it his duty to show the greatest firmness in supporting the RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixxxiii laws of the Church when once established by the proper and competent authority. To the cavillings of private indi- viduals against various of the rites when established in the Church by the competent ecclesiastical and civil powers, he would not listen, no not for a moment. We have seen that his conduct in this respect gave great offence to the ultra-Presbyterian party, and we find a very striking in- stance of his unbending firmness in such matters mentioned in a letter from the Primate Spottiswoode to Dr John Forbes, written on occasion of the Bishop's death. — " When Bishop Elphinstone, the Founder of your Col- ledge, was layde in grave, the tradition is, that a voyce was heard to cry, ' Tecum^ Gulielme, Mitra sepelienda^ — and, that the Pastorall Staffe brake in pieces. Hee was certaynlie an excellent man ; and I may truely say, since him, unto your Father, there arose not the lyke in that Church. What say I, in that Church ? Everie man can speake of that hee hath knowne and seene : and for myselfe, I speake trueth ; So wyse, judicious ; so grave and grace- full a Pastor, I have not known in all my tyme, in anie Church. Not to speake of his learning in all sortes of Divinitie, of his prudencie in Church-government, of his solid advysses in matters of State, or of the manie gracious conferences I have had with him in private. I shall never forget the answere hee gave to some Brethren, who desired of us a Letter to his Majestic, for dispensing with their obedience to the order prsescribed in the ministration of the holie Sacrament. When all had consented to wryte, as they desired. ' And will you,' sayd he, ' justifie the doc- trine of these men, who have called the reverend gesture which we use Idolatrie, and raysed such a schisme in our Church ? Till they be brought publicklie to confesse their errour, or Heresie rather, I shall never be yeelding for my part. It was before indifferent, nowe I esteeme it neces- sarie, in regard of the false .opinions they have dispersed, Ixxxiv BlOGKAPIlICAL MEMOIR OF THE to retayne constantlie the foi'iiie wee have receaved/ With such a zeale, and courage, did hee in that matter expresse himselfe, as they that made the motion, were stricken dumbe, SureHe, I myselfe, that never behelde him without reverence, did heare him that day with wonder"! Forbes did not consider that he fulfilled the whole responsibilities incumbent upon him as a Bishop, if he did not devote a large portion of his time to the direct instruction of the people. When at home he preached regularly every Sunday, deeming that an essential part of the Episcopal functions. His powers of eloquence are said to have been very great. His sermons, we are told, were not inflated with an idle pomp of words, nor filled with philoso- phic reasons, removed from the apprehensions of ordinary hearers. He affected no theatrical gestures in the pulpit to attract a vulgar popularity ; but being himself deeply im- bued with a feeling of Divine things, he desired, — heart speaking to heart, to impress the same upon others — ex- pounding the mysteries of God, not in the words of human prudence, but in those taught by the Holy Spirit.^ As old age came upon him, he in no way relaxed his efforts. Though he had reached the years of threescore and ten, no change was observable in the vigour and energy with which he discharged the full routine of all his Episcopal duties. At last he received a solemn warning that his Master was about to call him home. In the year 1632 he was struck with paralysis. The honest local Chronicler Spalding,^ * See the letter at length below in its place, p. 217. 2 Vita R. V. Joh. Forbesii a Corse, § xv. ' History of the Troubles and Memorable Transactions in England and Scotland from mdoxxiv to mdcxlv, Bannatyne Club Edition, 4to. Edin. MDCCCXXViii. In the notes to the present volume, copious extracts from this most amusing and interesting Chronicle will be found. The faithful and graphic delineations of the men, the manners and events of his day, with the quaint simplicity of style, and amiable credulity of the writer's own charact<>r exhibited in every page, will always make "tlie Troubles" a popular work. Although frequently reprinted, an edition of Spalding, RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. IxXXV in his usual quaint way, informs us — " Patrick, Bishop of Aberdene, sitting in his own chair in the Old Town, was, upon the day of 1632, suddenlie stricken in ane apoplexie, and his right syde clean taken away, and was forced to learn to subscrive with his left hand. He was carried in men's armes, semetimes to Provinciall Assemblies, and sometimes to Sermons." By the good providence of God, the power of speech was not taken from the aged Prelate, and his mental faculties remained unimpaired. His zeal for the discharge of his duties knew no diminution. He presided at the assemblies of his Clergy as usual — he ceased not to preach — and feeling himself now truly standing on the verge of eternity — his passionate and anxious appeals were, if possible, more eagerly addressed both to the Clergy and Laity. At length, when human nature could no longer withstand the approach of dissolution, surrounded by many of his Clergy and friends, he exhibited in what peace and comfort a virtuous man can die. He expired on the 28th March 1635, in the Episcopal Palace of Old Aberdeen, early in the morning of Easter Eve. His closing hours will be found described in several of the Funeral Sermons and other Pieces contained in the following Collection, — an imperishable monument to the memory of this great and good Bishop. We present our readers with the following minute account of the last days of the Bishop, translated from the Latin Funeral Sermon on the death of his father, by Dr John Forbes, printed below.^ — " After he was Avitli Notes and Illustrations, is still a desideratum. It is to be hoped that the Spalding Club of Aberdeen, which has done so much for the antiqui- ties of that part of Scotland, will favour its members with a new edition of the Historian from whom it takes its name, — for which task it numbers among its associates so many able hands. 1 " Invest^atio ingentis invictique solatii quod ex Domini Nostri Jesu Christi sessione ad dextram Dei, ubertim et constanter pcrcipiebat, Patricius Forbesius a Corse, i fixiia,^4Tti{ F4jiscopus Aberdoniensis, Coii- siliarius Regius, Studii genoralis Aberdoniensis Instaurator et Cancellarius* Ixxxvi BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE seized with the palsy, which gave him warning of the approach of death, he in no way relaxed his former pious zeal, but the nearer he felt that the day of giving in his reckoning was approaching, the more diligently did he apply the whole strength of his mind, and what remained of his bodily vigour, that his Master, who had committed to him the oversight of a flock, and given him a charge in his house, — when he should arrive, — might find him " so doing." After he was struck with disease, he was present at some Synods of his Clergy, as well as at public sermons, being carried thither in a chair. He presided as Bishop at those meetings as usual, and what was matter of consolation and wonder to us all — by the obvious assistance of the strengthening hand of God — he preached on those occasions, as he was wont to do, with his usual eloquence and vigour of style. The whole Clergy of the Diocese (of Aberdeen), with whom he held those Synods, besides the many other individuals who heard him, know the facts as well as I do, speak of them openly, and will attest them while they live. " After this, when his disease encreased, and he was altogether confined to his bed, both the Clergy and Laity, who anxiously crowded to visit him, know well with what gentleness of spirit, with what mental endurance, with what confidence, humility, and piety, he bore the Divine afiliction ; how readily, how willingly, with what firmness he quaffed the cup which he saw was presented to him by his Heavenly Father ; how gratefully he acknowledged the boundless mercy of God in visiting him thus so mildly, and allowing him so gradually to die. Of this gentle dealing he had full experience ; for after ho had lost the use of the whole of his right side by palsy — contrary to the nature and usual Baro de Oneil, &c. : Qiiam ad Dei gloriam, ct audientimn jcjJ,ificationoin, et proprii doloris levamen, pro Concione proposuit, .Joannes Forbesius Filius." " Dixit Dominus Domino meo, Sede ad dextram meani, donee Iionain inimicos tiios scabellum pedibus tuis." — Psal. ex. 1. RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. Ixxxvii course of that disease — his power of speech, and the faculties of his mind, by the mercy of God, remained unimpaired. " When his body was wrung with pain, he submitted him- self so placidly to the will of God, that not a single word of impatience was heard to escape his lips. Meanwhile, with what meekness of temper and affability did he receive all who came to inquire for him — with what composure of mind, and happy countenance, did he converse with his visitors — how anxiously did he instruct them, as their Pastor and Father, — the whole is so well known to all, that we need not add our testimony here. There are witnesses innumerable, of all ranks, around us, who saw and heard these things, and, with joy and wonder, and to the praise of God, have related them to others. " He often repeated that he eagerly desired to be at once set free, and to be with Christ ; but he added that he neither would take it upon him, nor did he desire to inter- fere with God, to fix the time of his dissolution, — to oppose with his impatience, or ungrateful murmuring, the determi- nation of the time of his departure ; that he knew in whom he believed, *■ for yet a little while and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry ."* " He saw with joy the day of his departure hastening on, and eagerly desired the health giving viaticum of the Holy Eucharist. He received it along with six of his Pres- byters (of whom I was one) with the utmost devotion, reverence, and comfort. I asked him if he fully tasted the life-giving sweetness of the Bread of Life, he answered — that he now could sing to God, with good old Simeon — ' Lord now let Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy Salvation."* The other Clergymen who were present, his children, domestics, and friends, eagerly craving his blessing, he laid his hand, which was not paralized, on the head of every one in turn, and in a IxXXviii BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF THE short, but most earnest prayer to God, bestowed his pater- nal blessing on each of us, kneeling before him. This was a very great consolation to us all, and we yet look back upon it with the most grateful remembrance. " We passed the time in earnest conversation on divine things ; on the misery entailed on man by sin — on the mercy of God — on the blessedness of the redeemed by Christ — on the vanity of this world — on the shortness of this life — on that most dear invitation and promise of our Saviour — ' Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' He spoke with the deepest spiritual delight of righteousness, peace, and joy, in the Holy Ghost — of the death of the body — of the im- mortality of the soul — of the resurrection — of the inheri- tance laid up for us in the heavens — and of the beatific vision. It happened, a few days before his death, while he was very weak and suffering much pain, that I was urging upon him unceasing trust in God, of which no sufferings can deprive the just, since no amount of calamities can separate those who are washed in the blood of Christ, and thus justified in the sight of God, from his merey which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. His answer testified his un- shaken faith. He repeated the end of the fifth Psalm, and its last words in Hebrew — ' With favour wilt Thou compass him as with a shield.' It was evening, and he wished to sleep. Surrounded, strengthened, and crowned with the favour of God, he dropped into a placid slumber. " I chanced to speak to him of one of our Relations who had lately died, — how differently his mind had been affected by the attack of sickness, which carried him off in a few days, from what it was on occasion of a former illness which he had had some years before, and which he at the time believed was to terminate fatally. On the first occasion he was in such a state of consternation and fear of death, that j EIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES, Ixxxix he could not speak of his impending fate without sighs and tears. However, by the blessing of God, he recovered from that attack, and his life was prolonged for a period of about three years. When he was struck with his last disease, I went to call upon him, when he told me, of his own accord, that it would afford him the greatest joy, if God would take him to himself immediately from this world. His prayer was within a few days granted. My father, on my mention- ing all this to him, said — ' So graciously are those whom God loves dealt with, that he will not allow them to be taken away unwillingly, but before they depart, he gives them a willing mind, that they themselves desire to lay aside this body, and pass to better regions.' " In the words of St Augustine, in the 25tli chapter of the 14th Book of the City of God — ' A Christian desires to die, not that he is unwilling to live, but that after death he mav live more perfectly.'! JNIy father did not mean to speak as if it were given to all to descend with equal forti- tude into the arena, to enter upon the dreadful conflict with death. It is only to some that this fortitude and Christian confidence is vouchsafed, ' according to the measure of the gift of Christ,'' (Ephes. iv. 7.) ; that is, as it has seemed good to Christ to give unto each of us, or as the Apostle in another place (Rom. xii. 3), expresses himself, according as God ' hath dealt to every man the measure of faith :' to all not in the same degree, but still although by the natural and blameless desire of preserving the union between body, spirit and soul, man naturally has a horror at their separa- tion, still to all who die in the Lord that sufficient and invincible grace of Christ is given, by which his strength is perfected in their wenkness, so that by it we attain to certain victory. By this gracious influence, as the Lord brought us ^ The Works of Saiiit Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Benedictine Edition, folio, Paris, 1679, vol. vii. p. 376. XC - BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIJi OF THE to believe, so sometimes at least, he brings the unwilling willingly to die. " It appears that my dearest father, when he used the above expressions, and indeed many years before, (as is shown, among other proofs, by his verses on his reaching his grand Climacteric, subjoined to his ' Eubulus'),! was not affected by the love or desire of this passing fleeting life, nor distressed by the dread of approaching death, but was filled with an ineffable and earnest heavenly wish to appear in the presence of his Lotd, and to mingle in the joys of Heaven, Accordingly, when he was told of the general wishes and prayers to God for his restoration to health, he answered in the words of Ambrose, which Paulinus has pre- served in the life of that holy man sent to Augustine — ' I have not so lived among yoii that I am ashamed to live, nor do I fear to die, since we have a just God V^ And he added, that he earnestly longed to leave this world and to be with Christ. " When any of us praised the virtuous life he had led, he was wont to say that he had been supported by the mercy of God alone — that to God alone did he ascribe any victory he had gained over temptation — that in God was all his rejoicing, who had of his favour granted him the testimony of his conscience — that in simjjlicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, he had had his conversation in the world (2. Cor. i. 11). But he said, yet am I not hereby justified (1. Cor. iv. 4). The Lord grant unto me that I may find mercy of the Lord in that day (2. Tim. i. 18). This, I trust, is my desire. So long ago wrote that blessed martyr Ignatius in his Epistle to the Trallians. ' It is good to glory in the Lord. Although ^ See tliis poem printed at the end of this Memoir. " " Non ita inter vos vixi, ut pudeat me vivere : ucc timco mori quia Dominum bonum habemus." The Works of Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, Benedictine Edition, Fol. Paris, 16"J)0, vol. ii. App. p. 12. RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. XCl I am strengthened in those things which are of God, yet have I the more cause to fear ; nor can my mind repose on what they say who vainly flatter me, for they who do so, do in reahty only torture me/l " A short time before his death, my father, addressing me, said — ' I perceive, John, that the close of my earthly course is fast approaching, and that the end of my life draweth nigh. I feel a blessed assurance that it will be happy, and full of consolation."' " The day before his death, which was the day of our Lord's Crucifixion, while we were meditating on the life-giving pas- sion of our Saviour on the Cross, I reminded him of His prayer to the Father — ' Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit,' in which I remarked, that Christ not only com- mitted to the Father his own spirit hypostatically united to his Godhead, but likewise the soul of every faithful dying Christian ; and thus, by the eternal power of these words of Christ, his (my father's) own soul was commended to God by Christ, who standeth at the right hand of the Father, interceedeth for us. Hearing this, he raised his drooping eyes as well as he could, and said — ' Without doubt this is the true interpretation, and the very sense of the Lord's words, who prays for us, and is always heard by the Father' (John xi. 42). " The saying of Augustine^ regarding Christ praying to the Father, and being heard by the Father, assists us in under- standing the subject. ' How as man may he not pray to the Father, who as God hears with the Father,' — Chap, xiv of his 3d Book, against Maximinus, one of the Arian Bishops. ^ " Quamquam enim roboratus sim in iis quas Dei sunt [ra xata, Qilv] tamen i^lus niilii timenduni est, nee animus illis intendendus, qui frustra me inflaut xa.) fin ^^ Eubulus, p. 152, 155. RIGHT REVEREND PATRICK FORBES. CXV tation on the G3 year of his Age, now Out-runne ." We subjoin the latter : — " This is (I know) my Climactericke yeare, And, wherein, if it shall please GOD to take mee, What profit, or what pleasure, have I here. So lovelie, as the love thereof may make mee, Affect frayle Life, which must, at length, forsake mee ? Which is of Illes, but a Succession Sphericke : "Whereof each houre, I count my Climactericke. On surer Hopes, my Soule itselfe heere stayeth : T neyther loathe, nor love, long heere to live. Long byding heere my Blessednesse delayeth. Heere, under Sinne, I doe but groane and grieve : Pleart-broken, but that firmlie I believe. My Death, an ende shall set to Sinne and Sorrow, Gladlie come on then, gratefuil Guest, to-morrow. Meanwhyle, my God, with Thy good Sprite direct mee, So as I never wander from Thy wayes : And, by Thy Potent PoAver, so protect mee. As, stable I may stand, 'gaynst all Essayes. Discowrage not Thy Servaunt with delayes : But howsoev'r it shall please Thee to prove mee, Still let me feele, my Lord, that Thou dost love mee. Each moment teach mee of my dayes to number : To Wisedorae, whollie, that myne Heart applying, I never sinke downe in a senselese slumber : But, (Lusts, and all ungodlinesse denying ; And on Thy loving Promises relying) In all Assaultes, I may have Hope and Hearting : And, last, to Thee, a peaceable departing. I seeke not Peace, with Sinners or with Sinne, But Peace which passeth understanding all : Which New-birth, heere, doth in our breasts begin. In that mee keepe, till hence. Lord, Thou mee call. From Fayth, Hope, Love, Lord, let mee never fall ; But fighting out this good Fight, by Thy Grace, .3<;ternallie, syne (then)- let mee see Thy Face. CXvi BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR, ETC. There shall I fynde that inexhaustod Fountajme Of endlesse Blisse : there shall my Soule bee filled, With sight of Thee : there, settled on thy Mountayne, I shall have more, than Heart ev'r wisht, or willed. In Booke of Lyfe, there shall I see mee Billed (enrolled). Societie of Joyes lyes there in store. And unperturbed Pleasures, evermore. Passe up, then, Soule ; possesse that pleasant Place, Onlie for God's peculiar Ones prepared. Goe in to Glorie, by the Gate of Grace ; Where never more iu Sinue thou slialt bee snared. What wee shall bee, there shall it be declared. I long to know the Case, which never Eye Here saw, Eare heard. Heart thought, what that may bee.' PSAL. ex. " Dixit DoMiNCS Domino meo, Sede ad dextram Meani, donee ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum." Gregor. Part I. Cur^ Pastorales, Cap. I. " Ars est aitiimi, regimen animarum." PsAL. xxxvii. 37. " Marke the perfect man, and bcliolde the upright : for the ende of that man is peace." Gregor. Nazianz. Orat. 20. {Qme estfunehrh in Basilimn magnum.) " Tlain vifidi ^v a^trtii^ id est omnibus lex erat virtutis. Unto all he was a Law of Vertue." Natus est ad diem 24. Augusti, Anno Domini. 1564, Pie in Domino obdormivit sub horam tertiara matutinam, in confinio noctis et aurorse, pridie Paschatis. 28. Martii. Anno Domini. 1635. Sepultus est die nono Aprilis proximo sequuti, in Templo Cathedrali Dioeceseos Aberdoniensis, illic ubi duorum ejus- dem quondam sedis antistitum, videlicet Gavini Dumbari, ad dextrum, et Davidis Cunincfamii, ad sinistrum Patricii latus, distinetis quidem ac separatis, proximis tamen et con- tiguis compositcB monumentis reliquiae conquiescunt.i 1 [In the original edition of the " Fnnerals," there is a Portrait of the Bishop, Avhich should face this page. It is frequently to be met with, misplaced by the binder. He is represented in the black gown of the period, Avith a large ruff and flowing beard, and althougli as a work of art the engraving is but indifterent, it conveys to the eye the representation of a wise, grave and thoughtful Prelate. In a border round tlie portrait, the following words appear — Patricius Forbesius a Coirsb. Episcopus Aberdonensis et Consiliarius Regius ; and beneath are these lines : — Pectoris indicio data frons est, quacque profundo Corde latent, tacitis reddit imago notis. Hoc vultu pictas, probitas, constantia, candor, Sinceri referunt archetypos auimi. The engraving in Pinkerton's Iconorjrapkia Scotica is from a different original, which would seem to pourtray the Bishop at an earlier period of his life.— E.l MARMOm SEPULCRALI CUM OENTIS ET FAMILIiE ET MUNEKIS INSIGNIBUS, INGISA SUNT HiEC VERBA 'H aojiYj^ia TOO Qzoo ^Jjoov zai too ' A^vioo. Apoc. vii, 10. Hie requiescit vir incomparabilis, fulgentissimum quondam Scotise sidus, Patricius Forbesius, Episeopus Aberdonien- sis, Rector prudentissimus, Pastor Fidelissimus, Praedicator eximius, Scriptor egregius, Consiliarius Regius, Studii gene- ralis Aberdoniensis Instaurator et Cancellarius, et novae professionis Theologicae in eodem fundator : Baro de Oneil, Dominus a Corse. Qui placide ac pie obiit, pridie Paschatis. 28. Mart. Anno Dom. 1635. ^tat. sufe 71. Cwtus Stella Sacri, Pasforum Gemma, Regentwn Delicioe, CoRSJ5 Gloria, Cura Poll. SALUS PER CHRISTUM. NEMO TOLLAT, qui DEUM TIMET. Benigne Lector, postreniorum liujus iuscriptionis verboriim liic sensus est. Ut nemo hoc operimentum auferat, neqiie ossa beati ptfcesulis Patricii vel ejus cineres seu pulverem efFodiat, ut alius ibi sepeliatur, neque alium mortuum reliquiis ejus superinjiciat. Nam etsi in casu extremse neces- sitatis, hoc Elisai reliquiis in sepulchre quiescent ibus contigisse legimus ;^ attamen baud urgente ejusmodi necessitate, inhumanum videtur mortuum super mortuum mittere ; ideoque id fieri Patres Antisiodorenses^ baud 1 II. Reg. xiii. 21. ^ Concil. Antisiod. Anno. Dom. 590. — [Concilium Antisiodorense, Synodus ab Aunachario Episcopo Antisiodorensi [Auxene] cum Dioecesis iinmerito prohibuerunt. Can. 15. lliimaudis igitur fidelium reliquiis spatia laxanda sunt ; ut loquitur Ambrosius, lib. ii. de Officiis, cap. 28. Certe vita? potius mortali redouaudum censuit deus ilium moituum quein Elisai sepulchro illatum neccssitas excusare videbatur, quam permittendum ut super sancti propliettc reliquias humatus jaceret.^ suae Abbatibus et Presbyteris celebrata, sub Annum Christ! dlxxviii. id est, Palagii ii. Papa?, i. ; Chilperici regis, xvii. ; Labbe's Councils, vol. V. p. 956. [Anno 586.— Sir H. Nicolas' Chronology of History, 8vo. 1838, p. 221.] The 15th Canon is in these words, — " Non licet mortuum super mortuum mitti." — E.] ^ [The Bishop's Tomb is now in the open aii-, the portion of the Cathedral within which it stood havmg been demolished. The inscrip- tion is stUl quite legible, the stone having been lately cleared from moss and earth. The denunciation on the ^Monument against those who shall in any way disturb or interfere with the ashes leposing beneath, reminds us of the similar warning on the tomb of Shakespeare. It would seem that the Family of Corse at this time used the motto — Sahis2yer Ch'istum, — as it appears on the Monument. We are told by Nisbet, [Edmburgh, Folio, 1742, vol. i. p. 328], that the motto of the Corse branch of the Family of Forbes is " Eosis coronal spina" under a wreath or crown of thorns for crest, while the words on the Bishop's tombstone are assigned to the Family of Forbes of Tolquhon and its branches, ibid. p. 329. — E.] TO THE TRUELIE HONOURABLE, AND WORTHIE OF REVERENCE, DR JOHN FORBESi OF CORSE, RECTOR OF THE UNIVBRSITIE OF ABERDENE, AND PROFESSOR OF DIVINITIE IN THE SAME. The Carian ladie, in a statelie frame Of richest matter, with Dedalean hands, ^ [Dr John Forbes of Corse, the well-known son of Bishop Patrick Forbes, by his wife Lucretia, daughter of David Spens of Wormiston in Fifeshire, and perhaps the most learned theologian whom Scotland has produced. These lines, as well as the three following pieces, — all of very ordinary merit, — are the productions of David Lindsay, " Person of Belhelvie, and INIoderator of the Presbyterie of Aberdene." Lindsay appears to have acted as Editor of the Collection, imder the superintend- ence of Dr Forbes. Some notices of the former will be found appended to the last of his contributions, [infra, p. 14.] During the unhappy " Troubles" of the 17th century, the city of Aber- deen may not inappropriately be said to have been the Oxford of Scotland, whether we regard the attachment of the great body of the citizens to the Royal party, or the learning and abilities of the eminent persons who, by the provident care of Bishop Patrick Forbes, were found, at the breaking out of the Civil War, occupying its pulpits and academic chairs. The effect of tlieii- Episcopal teaching was not evanescent. In later times, when an attempt was made by the Civil Power to blot that Church from the face of Scotland,— deserted and forsaken by her members in many parts of the country, and particularly by those of the higher classes,— she found her chief stay and support, till the pressure of penal legislation was lightened, among the humble ]3casantry of Aberdeenshire. Those famous Divines of the 17th century, "the Aberdeen Doctors," 6 OausM build a tombe, to vindicate the fame Of her deceased Lord, from Lethes' sands. who made so i-emarkable and powerful a stand in argument against the Covenanters, have been celebrated by Clarendon [Hist, of Rebell. Oxford, 1826, vol. i. p. 145], and Burnett [Life of Bishop Bedell, Preface], and the excellence of their characters, and the eminence of their abilities and erudition admitted by writers of all parties. The following account of the arrival of the Covenanting Commissioners in Aberdeen in 1638, and of their recejition there, is contamed in the History of Scots Affairs from m.dc.xxxvii. to m.dc.xli. by James Gordon, Pai'son of Rothiemay, lately published by the Spalding Club, and edited with great care and ability. Its author has been thus described — " Though a firm loyalist, and perhaps favourable to a moderate Episcopacy, he was hostile to the Liturgy and the Book of Canons, as well on account of their matter, as on account of the way in which they were introduced." (Preface). The work is a valuable contribution to the historical literature of Scotland. " I must now leave the Commissioner (JIarquess of Hamilton) upon his journey towards Greenwitch, wher the King was at that tyme, and for a whyle remove the stage to the northe of Scottland, wher the most considerable opposition for learning and armes that the Covenant was lycke to meete with, stood as yet unbrockne. For how soone Hamiltoune was gone for England, the Covenanters, who knew how much it concerned them to cleare the coast in thes places by appoyntment from the Tables, sent towards Aberdeen a select number for to invite such of the ministry and gentrye in to the Covenant, who either by Huntlyes authority or example, or by the Doctors of Aberdeenes means wer withheeld. Thes of greatest note who went about that expedition, wer James Grahame, Earle of Montrosse, and Arthur Erskin of Scottish Craig, brother to the Earle of Marre ; Lord Couper ; Alexander, Master of Forbesse ; Sii- Robert Graham, ^Morfey ; Sir Thomas Burnett, Leyes. Of the ministry, wer sent Mr Alexander Henderson, minister (then) at Lewchars in Fife ; Mr David Dickson, minister at Irving, in the west; and Mr Andrew Cant, minister at Pettsligo, in Buchan, in the shyre of Aberdeene ; Mr James Guthry, afterwards minister at Strivling : Who came (with others good- willers to the worke) to Aberdeen upon Frydaye, July twentieth [1638], in the afternoon. But no sooner wer they alighted from their horses but the doctors, and divinitye professors, and ministers of Aberdeen, (who befor had lowde advertishments of tlier progresse), did presently send unto the ministers some Queries concerning the Covenant, professing withall that if they could satisfee their doubtes, they would not refoose to joyne in Covenant with them, and protested that they wishd the floorish- ing of relligion as much as anye, and that the reasone whye they had sent them that paper was that it might be knowne to ther brethei-ne that, if hithertoo they had not fouude themselves iuclynde to enter in Covenant with them, they and all men might know that it was not Avithout weightye causes, which concerned their consciences in all, wliich they both desyred and wer willing to be resolved. They who sent them the challoudge wer, Dr Johne Forbess of Corse, doctor and professor of divinitye in Aber- deen ; Dr Alexander Scrogye, minister at Old Aberdeen; Dr William Leslye, principall of the King's Colledge of Old Aberdeene, and professor So shall this treatise to the world declare, Thy father's honour, and thy filiall care. of div-initye ; Dr Robert Barron, minister at Aberdeene and professour of di-vinitye in the Marischall College of New Aberdeene ; Dr James Sibbald, minister at New Aberdeene ; Dr Alexander Rosse, minister at New Aber- deen. Time it is, that Dr William Guild, muiister at Aberdeen, did lycke- wayes subscrybe the Queeres with the rest ; but he fell off and subscrybed the Covenant, alone of all the rest, befor ever the disput came the lenth of a replye ; therefor he is not to be added upon anye just accompt. Ther is no questione but the three Covenanter ministers wer ill matched for ther abilityes with the maist pairt of thes Aberdeens doctors, and it was impar congrcssus Achilli; yet did they not declyne the challendge, and ther for returned unto them ane ansuer in wrytte to-morrow after ther arryvall, Saturdaye, July twenty-first. Nor needed the ausiier they sent to the doctors any long t^'me to consult upon it, for it was but a kynde of decHnator of the dispute and a smoothing of matters, and something worse then silence. Nor wer they come to Aberdeen Avith ane intention to dis- pute it with ther peunes ; the bussnesse was to trye whom they could fetche to ther partye by allurments and pairtly by that terrible argument ab incommodo, which moves many to swallow downe thinges contrare to knowledge and conscience. Yet ther rethoricke drew off nou but Dr Guild, a man of little learning in comparison of most of the rest, and some others who wer inclynd ther waye befor ther comming. Or, if they gott ane acessione of other proselittes, they were some poor mechanickes or of the faeminine gender ; yet, all putt together, not able for to macke any- thing lycke a jjairtye ther." — Vol. i. p. 82, 83. On the merits of this famous discussion, and the comparative ability shewn by the contending disputants, different opinions wUl of course be entertained ; but " the Doctors" had at least the advantage of having the last word, and thus, in some measure, may be said to have remained masters of the field of argument, which was soon to be turned into the field of battle and bloodshed. Spalding, the cotemporary local Chronicler, with great simplicity, remarks — " I leave the consideration of thir (these) pieces to the judicious and ingenious reader. Allwayes thir writings, pro et contra, bred no small trouble to the consciences of good Christians, seeing such contrar opinions amongst the clergy within a reformed settled Kirk : not knowing whom to believe for salvation of their siUie souls, nor whose opinions they should follow in thir troublesome times." [History of the Troubles in Scotland and England, Bannatyue Club edition, Edin. MDCCCXXVIII. v. i. p. 61.] Contributions from the pens of all of these six learned individuals will be found in the present volume. Among them, the name of Dr John Forbes of Corse has ever been conspicuous. Dr George Garden, in the Dedication to Queen Anne of the folio edition of Dr Forbes' works, published by the Wetsteins at Amsterdam in 1702-3, infoi-ms us that he stood at the head of the Doctors. The lead, however, in this literary conflict has been claimed for various of the other combatants on the same side. Dr Baron has been placedby the indefatigable Chalmers "at their liead," [Caledonia, vol. i. p. 884], thus confirming the words of Middleton [Appendix to Archbishop Spottiswoodes History, p. 29], that Dr Baron " bare the greatest share of that famous debate, anno 1638, between the Doctours of 8 In it characters of his matchlesse worth, Are to the lyfe exprest, in measured lynes ; Aberdene and the Covenanters." It is to be remarked, however, that in Mr Maidment's Catalogues of Scotish Writers [Edinburgh, 1833, p. 131], we find a statement iu a letter from Bishop Sage to Bishop Gillan in these terms — " The demands, replys, and duplys of the Doctors of Aber- deen, as I was informed when there, tliough subscribed by six, were all formed and digested by I)r Seely (a provincialism for Lesley), Principal of the Old Town College." The fair inference from all this would seem to be, that these Mere tlie three leading members of the learned confra- ternity, to either of wliom it is impossible to assign the first place. As the works of Dr John Forbes are included in the list of publications projjosed to be issued by the Siiottiswoode Society, and when printed, will doubtless be accomiianied by a full and suitable biography of theii' eminent author, little more will be here attempted than a notice of some of the leading events of his chequered life. Dr John Forbes of Corse was born on the 2d of INIay 1593, and by the death of an older brother in 1625, became the heir of the family. After leaving school, he studied iu King's College, Aberdeen, and subsequently at Heydelberg and other foreign seminaries. He retin-ned to Scotland in 1619 an accomplished scholar and theologian, and remarkable for his sincere and fervent piety. The same year he Avas, with universal appro- bation, appointed Professor of Divinity in King's College, Aberdeen, the duties of which he discharged with great applause. He took part in the discussions which followed the adoption into the Church of the Five Articles of Perth, and published in defence of these regulations his Ireniaun, addressed to " the loveis of peace and truth in the Church of Scotland." In the discomfiture of the lloyal party after the famous Glaso-ow Assembly of 1638, when the Bishops were " excommunicated" and " deposed," he of course shared. The dispersion and flight of the Royalists in Aberdeen, on the triumph of the Covenant in the South, are thus trraphically described by honest Spalding iu his usual strilcing and quaint way : — " And in the mean time, ilk man begane to look to his own particular Weill, for eschewing of this imminent danger. Some removed then- best goods out of the way ; other some fled the toun with their wiffes and bairnes. Amongst others, there fled be sea about 60 of the bravest men and youths of Aberdein, weill armed with sword, musket, and bandilier, as excellent cavalliers ; they took one of the toun's colours and John Poak their drummer with them, and resolve to goe to the king. Thus, they all fled, before they were compelled to subscrive the covenant, con- tribute in expences, and see the assemblie acts published, wliich they had 80 long withstood before. Others againe bade within the toun, such as Mr Alexander Jafl^iay provost, the baillics, and others, covenanters. AUwayes, about the 28tli of March, shijips at Torry our toun's cavilliers in ane ship attending their service. AVith whom shipped also Doctor Lesslie jn-incipall of tlie King's C'olledge, Dr Barron professor of diviuitie (for Barron was not ane ordinar minister then in Aberdein, but i)reaclied once in the 20 dayes, because he was professor and teached diviuitie), Dr Sibbald one of the ministers of Aberdein, Dr Bo.ss, and Dr (luild, other two of the toun's ministers ; but Dr l{oss miglit not flie, because he was 9 And this ensueing piece is heere set foorth, To bee the usher to these great ingyns, lying sore sick at that time. Thus, all fled to England, except Guild who fled to Holland. There also shipped with them the laii-ds of Drum, Pitfoddels, young Foverane, Balgouny, Mr Alexander Irvine, Robert Irvine, and some others ; and, upon the said 28th of ]March, hoyse up sail, and to the king goe they. But this flight did little good ; as after ye may heare. Doctor Forbes of Corse, Doctor Scroggie minister at Old Aberdein, and ]\Ir Gilbert Ross reader, fled all their liouses, and throAv the countrie goe they. ]\Ir Alexander jNIiddleton, Mr Alexander Gairden, and My Mexander Scroggie, regents, with Mr Robert Ogilvie sub-principall of the King's College of Old Aberdein, cast up the colledge yeitts and sett the students at liberty, and fled throw the countrey themselves ; this was done upon the 22d of ]\Iarch. The bishop of Aberdeiix [Bishop Bellenden, successor of Bishop Patrick Forbes,] flyes oiit of Aberdein, upon 27th March, with John Bellenden his sone, Mr John Bellenden his brother sone, and John Blaccater his servitor ; and quietly throw the countrie goes he. [Spalding's Hist, of the Troubles in Scotland and England, Bannat)-ne Club edition. Edin. mdcccxxviii. vol. i. p. 105.] The Covenanters were anxious to join to their party a man of Forbes' character and erudition. The proceedings set on foot, for the purpose of depriving him of his chair were not summary, but failing at last to satisfy the dominant party, he was ejected. " He had purchased two liouses," says Dr Irving, a Presbyterian writer," adjoining to the College, and had assigned one of them to the Professor of Divinity, and the other to the Cantor, a person on the foundation. In the deed of conveyance he neglected to reserve to himself a Hfe-rent of the Professor's house : nor can it be mentioned without regret and indignation, that he was obliged to vacate it for his successor in oifice." [Lives of Scotish Writers, Edin. 8vo. 1839, vol. ii. p. 50.] Still refusing to subscribe the Covenant, he was forced into exile. • He passed a few years in Holland, and was allowed to return to Scotland in 1646. He died in 1648 at his country house of Corse, and was buried in the churchyard of Leochel, haAing been some- time before his death refused permission by the Presbytery of Aberdeen, to have his bones laid beside those of his father and wife in the Cathedi-al Church. No monument mai-ks his place of sepulture. " His Diary, or as he himself entitles it, ' Spiritual Exercises' in his own handwriting, is still preserved at Fintry House, the residence of Sir John Forbes of Craigievar, who now represents the family of Corse. It extends from the 3d of February 1624 to the close of 1647, and contains many interesting particulars of private history, outlines of sermoifs, expositions of passages of Scripture, meditations and prayers, all characteristic of the sound learning and habitual piety of its author. It was included in Dr Garden's edition of his works [su2)ra], but in a Latin dress, which nmcli impairs, in many cases, its highly impressive phraseology." [New Statistical Account of Scotland, Leochel, and Cushnie, p. 1 1 18.] By his wife Soete Roosboom, [Sweet Rosetree], a native of Holland, he had nine children. He was survived by only one of them a son, who, in the words of Dr Garden in his copious Life of Forbes, prefixed to the edition of his Works above mentioned, was pnediovum Jiaud rcro eniditionis ct virlutum Jicercs, the heir of his father's property, but not of liis learning and virtues. [Vita R. V. 10 Whose quills are deeplie dyv'd in Cyrrha streame, And so the fitter for this stateHe theame. Joh. Foibesii a Corse, § ex.] He was named George, and married a daughter of Kennedy of Kermuck, an ancient family (now extinct), in which the office of Constable of Aberdeen was hereditary. This title of Constable of Aberdeen was retained by them till the end of the 16th century. George Forbes and his wife had issue. [Lumsden's Genealogy of the Faniily of Forbes, with continuations, Inverness, 8vo. 1819, p. 22.] The princijjal works of Forbes are — Theologise Morahs Libri decern in quibus Prtecepta Decologi exponuntur, et variaj circa Dei legem et specialia ejusdem Prsecepta Controversias dissolvuutur, et casus consci- entia; explicantur : his Irenicum already mentioned : Liber de Cura et residentia Pastorali : Instructiones Historico-Theologicaj, characterized by Bishop Burnet as " a work which, if he had finished it, and had been suffered to enjoy the privacies of his retirement and study to give us the second volume, had been the greatest treasure of theological learning that perhaps the world has yet seen." [The Life of AVilliam Bedell, D. D. Bishop of Kilmore in Ireland, London, 1685, 8vo. Preface.] — E.] A DOLOEOUS EXPRESSION, OF A WOFULL BREACH MADE IN OUR CHURCH AND POLICIE, BY THE DEATH OF THAT HONOURABLE, DISCREIT, AND ADMIRABLY GIFTED PRELATE, PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE, LATE BISHOP OF ABERDENE, CHANCELLER AND RESTORER OF THE UNIVERSITIE OF THE SAME, AND WORTHILIE ONE OF HIS MAJESTIES PRIVIE COUNSELL, ETC. Who, under the hope of a glorious Resurrection, most chearfully layd dotvne his Talernade, at his Palace in Aierdene, the xxviij of March 1635. Consider (sacred Nyne) the cause why I doe weepe, And in this time of pubHcke griefe, a doleful consort keepe, Stricke sad upon your lyre, threnodicallie sing, And let the torrent of your teares match your CastaPan spring. Send out your sighs with myne, as heralds of our woe, To tell the world, wee are injured, by mankynds ruethles foe ; Whose hand, alace, hath spoyld our countreys rarest gemme, And slayne Minerva's minion, sprung from a statelie stemme, Who can abstaine from teares, to see his shryne enterrd. On whom the Lord, with libVall hand, so many gifts conferr'd. And these in mercie were so seasoned with grace. That every eye saw him a man proportionVl for his place. And which adomM him much, and did inlarge his fame, He clearly taught the wayes of Clod, and walked in the same. 12 His thoughts converst with God, his lips vvereTrueth her keys, Authoritie and courtesie were pincell'd in his eyes. And what I ever thought, my pen shall now proclaime, Hee was the splendor of our Church, and glorie of his name. Our soveraign Lord, our Church, our schools, and publick Stat, Doe all concurre (through sense of losse) for to condoU this fate, For while hee liv'd, his gifts were usefull for them all : But God for to afflict the earth, by death did him recall. Leaving his darling Church, the orphane of his care, The world the relict of his worth, this Sea an emptie chaire. Yet everie place retaynes characters, of his worth. Which ravisht myndes did oft admire, but no hand could set foorth. Then, Muse, bee not ashamM, sincerelie to confesse. That thou will but obscure his worth if thou preasse to expresse. This pearlesse Prelats praise, in whom we saw combynd Minerva's wit, Apollo's tongue, and Phineas' zealous mynde. An unrelenting hope, firme fayth, and daring cowrage ; A soule devote, a lyfe unstaynM, a kyndlie-raanlie visage. A will prepense to good, a just-divyded care ; A marble breast, well fortified against th' assaults of feare : A heart cnricht with love, a mynde with deepe conceptions ; A tongue and pen replenished with ravishing expressions. His wit untyed all knots, his cowrage overcame All incident difficulties. Hee ever was the same. But since my slow-plum'd JNIuse, with her unsasseFd phraises, Can not amount the high extent of his deserved praises, T will resigne this taske to some Maron'an pen. Which can more fitlie celebrate this quintessence of men. Yet no VirgiFan quill can honour him so much. As hee will dignilic the same; his worthienesse was such. Whei-ein I dare avow hee hath exceeded all That ever did possesse this Chaire, T feare, or ever shall. 13ut if that Sions Lord, who treads upon the Sphcars, Shal blesse this Church with such a guide, then FU recant my fears. And with a heart enlarg d, praise Him while I have breath. Who only can fil up the breach, made by our Prelats death. OF HIS SEPULCHRE. If halow'd ashes can renowne a place ; If relicts of rare Saincts procure respect : If sacred vessels of great gifts and grace, Can viants hearts with deepest groanes affect : Then none can look upon this Prelates Urne, But, with a due respect, must sigh and mourne : And for his worth preferre this sleeping rowme, To Mousolus his much admired tombe. MASTER DAVID LINDSAY, Person of Belhelvie, and Moderator of the Presbytrie of Aberdene. AN ECLOG ON THE DEATH OF THE SAME INCOMPARABLE PRELATE : Written by the foresayd Master David Lindsay^ Person of Belkelvie, and Moderator of the Preshytene of Aberdene. OOMPR^HENSOR. VlATOR. C. Speake pastors of this Church, with whom I once converst, And tell raee whence your teares proceeds ; Are all your flocks disperst ? Is this our Prelates voyce, whom wee enjoy de of late ! Is't thy imparadized soule, that doeth condole our state. 1 [During tlie period from IGIO, the date of the first consecration of Scottish Bishops after the subversion of the ancient line of Prelates, to the overthrow of the Episcopal Church in 1638, various observances not reconcileable with strict Church order prevailed. Hence Lindsay appears as " Moderator of the Presbyterie of Aberdene." He was one of the fii'st in that part of the country to join the Covenanters, and in urging the sub- scription of the Covenant, among his neighbours is described as " one who wouldbe either amongst the first or not at all there." — Gordon'sHist. of Scots Affairs, printed for the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, m.dccc.xli. vol. i. ]). 85. He was sent by the adherents of that party in the Presbytery of Aberdeen to the Glasgow Assembly in 1638. His commission, and that of Dr (Juild, who had been nominated along with him, having been sustained in opposi- tion to the appointment of l)rs Barron and Sibbald, he sat in the Assembly, and was a very active member. [Princijml Baillie's Letters and Join-nals, Bannatyne Club edition, I'klin. m.dccc.xli. vol. i. p. 149.] Baillie has given his character in the following account of tliis double commission from the Presbytery of Aberdeen: — " The Presbytrie of Aberdeen sent two com- missions, one with their moderator, ]Mr David Lindosay i)arson of Bel- helvie, a stirring and a pragmatick bold man, and Dr (hiyld; another, with one Harvie, for himself and Dr Baron, and, as I thinke, Dr Sibbald : in the tryall we found Belhelvie's commission to bo approven, and tlie other rejected ; yet lieartilie did we wisli the coming of Dr Baron and his colleagues. For a tyme we were jiut in confidence of their presence, and 15 Then give triumphing ghosts, can stoupe to thinges belowe, And condiscend th' afflicted case of militants to know, Wee will unfolde the cause of our luxurious teares ; It's thy translation from this seat, to the coelestiall sphears. of some of the Bishops. Ross, Brechin, and Galloway, were in the castle of Glasgow, as I remember, that day, and sundrie dayes thereafter in the palace of Hamilton ; hot it lies been their resolution, taken iu common with the Commissioner, not to compear, knoAving the Commissioner's determination to desert and leave us, as shortlie he did." — Ibid. pp. 135, 136. It may not be amiss to add the statement given by a moderate Episco- palian of the same transaction. — " The next electione that was called in questione was that which was sent from the Presbytrye of Aberdeene. Ther wer two commissions produced from that Presbytrye. One was of Covenanters, made by a few ministers, but many ruling elders, at which neither the moderator nor clerke had been present, nor had they mett upon the right presbytrye daye. The other electione was made only by ministers, and at which the moderator and clerke wer both present, and it was made upon the right presbyteriall dyett, Avhich was appoynted by common consent of the presbytrye. The commissioners chossne in it wer Doctor Robert Barron and Doctor James Sibbald (two of them who pro- posed the queries to the three ministers); yet ther electione was rejected, albeit it was attested by Mr James Hervye, minister at New Machor, clerke to the presbytrye, who was lyckwayes chossne, and was the only man of the three who kept the Assembly, — to no purpose, for he was glade to returne home againe in the beginning of the Assembly, voice being deneyd to him. And, albeit no presbyteriall acte can macke faith without the moderator and clerke's hande, or one of the two, yet the commissione of the two Covenanter ministers, Mr David Lindsey, minister at Belhelvy, Dr William Guild, minister at Aberdeene, wanting both, was accepted of as valide upon the bare relatione of one of the Covenanter ministers who was worongfully chossne, and the attestatione of the other, whom the moderator openly, in the Assembly, called upp and desyred for to testifie whither the relatione of his fellow wer true. This was thought a straunge methode of ane probatione of a publicke recorde, for to tacke the pairtye who pleaded against it for to be witnesse iu his oune cause. Yet they saye that they wished that Dr Barron, or any of the divynes of Aberdeen, might have beene present that, in f)ublick dispute, they might have been put to it concerning Episcopacye, and ther mouthes closed. Ane needlesse wish (if truth), for ther duplyes, then and ever since, stand unanswered. Nor did Dr Barron and Dr Sibbald, though bothe chossne by the presbytrye, see any reason to goe ther, wher they wer sure not to meete with aeqwall hearing. The reasones of ther absence, that the Latine writter of the History of the Troubles [Spang, to whom Baillie sent information] renders to us (viz. that they wer disswaded from comming by thoise who had advysed the Commissioner to prorogate the synode,) are not worth tacking notice off, nor dares he call them otlier then con- jectwrall." — Gordon's Hist, of Scots Affairs, vol. i. p. 153, 154. The parson of Belhelvie continued one of the most active and energetic of the Covenanting party in Aberdeenshire, and his name will be found in connection with most of the leading Ecclesiastical Affairs in that district of Scotland, for a considerable period. — E.] 16 C. What I doe yee grudge my state, who have made gayne by death ? V. No : but lament our losse of thee, with sorrow-sounding breath. How can wee cease from teares, when wee remember now, The loving aspects of thy face, the terrors of thy brow ? The fii'st inlyf 'd our hearts ; the nixt did guarde our sheepe ; Thy zeal, thy wit, thy active care, did all in safetie keepe. When thou our center wast, wee thy circumference. The rod of Aaron blossomed faire, by thy wyse influence. But now wee languish all, our Halcyon dayes are ended : Andthatmost justlie, weeconfesse, forhappietyrae mispended. Our hands were steeFd by thee ; thou clear"'d our clowdie sight ; When any thing was out of frame, thou joynted all things right ; The errant, wilfull, weake thou carefullie observM, Whom thou reclayniM, constrained, releivM, thou all in peace preservM, Our losse, alace, is gayne, to the Ignatian brood, Whose machinations thou forsaw, whose practice thou withstood. Since thou removedst hence, they dare accoast our flocks ; The wholesome seede that wee haue sowne, there nocive darnel chocks. Now at thy emptie chayre wee stand amaz'd to see. So great a tropicke of our state so suddenlie to bee. 0. Wraquhill Comilitons, why should yee thinke it strange. To see a Church that's militant, subjected to a change ? For neyther tymo nor place is priviledg'd below : A Church that wants parallaxes, is in the heavens, yee know. And give the tymes bee ovill preserve your owno soules pure : That which yee cannot rectifie, with griefe of heart endure. Let not your zeale disbend, proove faithfull in your places ; Communiccte with no mans sinne, set God before your faces : 17 Who will your paincs at last remunerate in love, And place you with the rest of saincts upon these thrones above, Then let hope of this allay your crosses heere : Lift up your heades, yee drooping saincts, for your releasse drawees neare. I know Viators thinke, their Lord makes long delay : But with the weyght of endlesse blesse, hee'll recompense his stay. V. And art thou gone, deare ghost? C. Yes, I have stayed too long ; For I must goe, and beare my part of our triumphing song : Whereof I know one day yee shall sustaine your parts, And sing the praises of the Lambe, with jubilating heartes, Meane tyme present your selves, with heaven erected eyes, And recommend your faynting hearts, your weakned hands and knees. To him whom God hath made, Brabeutes of your hosts ; Hee heares your cryes, Hee sees your teares, not one of them is lost. As wee have joyfull proofe, who are triumphers now : The lyke estate, undoubtedlie, Hee will vouchsafe on you. Under the hope whereof I bid you all goodnight. Till yee enjoy what ye expect, and Faith bee changed in siffht. ARTHURI JONSTONI,! M.D. MEDICI REGII, E P I G R A M M A DE HOC TUMULO, QUEM REVERENDISSIMO PATRI PATRICIO FORBESIO JOANNIS FORBESII filii pietas marmore ET iERE PERENNIONEM EXCITAVIT. ^ [The celebrated Dr Arthur Johnston, born in 15S7, Physician to Charles I., and a Latin poet of such ability that he has even been considered by some critics, entitled to dispute the palm of pre-eminence with his countryman Buchanan. He was the fifth son of George Johnston of that Ilk, and of Caskieben (now Keith Hall) in the county of Aberdeen, a family which contests the chieftainship of that ancient Scottish surname with the great Annandale stock. His mother was the Honourable Christian Forbes, daughter of the seventh Lord Forbes. [Genealogical Account of the Family of Johnston of that Ilk, formerly of Caskieben ; by Alexander Johnston, Jun. W.S. pp. 1, 36. Edin. Mccoxxxii. 4to. ; Douglas' Baronage, p. 36.] Dr Johnston was thus connected, though distantly, with the eminent ICcclesiastic to whose Tumulus he contributed this Epigram, and a beautiful Latin poem which will be found below. Johnston received the rudiments of his education at Kintore, a Royal Burgh not far from his father's castle, from thence he was removed to the then lately established University of Marischal College in Aberdeen. Having finished the usual course of studies observed in that seat of learn- ing, he proceeded to the Continent, according to a frequent custom of the Scottish youth of the times, to which they were impelled not more by the national characteristics of enterprise and a liberal curiosity, than by the poverty and want of employment at home. He apjdied himself to the 19 FoRBESios hie cerne duos, sine compare patrem, Et natum, secli sidus utrumque sui. study of medicine, and took his degree of Doctor in that science, at Padua in tlie year 1610. We find him soon afterwards in France, and Sir Thomas Urquhart tells us [Jewel, Edin. 1774, p. 125,] " that before he was^ full thi-ee and twenty years of age, he was laureated poet at Paris, and that most deservedly." He visited Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and England, as we learn from the following lines, forming part of a poem addressed to his intimate friend David "Wedderburn, Rector of the Grammar School of Aberdeen, and Professor of Humanity in Kmg's College, himself a contributor to the " Funerals," and one of the numerous body of learned scholars who, in the earlier half of the seven- teenth century, shone as a Constellation in that Northern city. " Quas ego non terras, quae non vagus aequora pressi, Hsec licet ingenio sint minus apta meo ? Bis mihi trajectse vicinse nubibus Alpes : Tybris, et Eridani pota bis uuda mihi est Prtebuit hospitium bis binis Gallia lustris : Conjugis haic titulum terra, patrisque dedit. Me Geta, me Batavus, me vidit Cimber et Anglus, Et quje Teutonico terra sub axe riget. Non tot Dulichius pater est erroribus actus, Dum i^eteret patrios per vada sseva lares. Quinta Caledonite me rursus Olympias oraa Reddidit eifaatura, dissimilemqiie mei. Numina jam decies et ter fecere parentem : Pignora sex superant, csetera turba fuit. Bis mihi qusesivi nee ab una gente maritam : Bis conjunx, bis jam me reor esse senem." [Parerga, pp. 39-40. Aberdoniae, 1632.] From these lines we also learn that he was twice married, and had thirteen children. The name of his first wife, who was a native of Mechlin, in Brabant, has not been ascertained, nor the period of her death. In some former biographies of the Poet, it is stated that he remained in France for many years, and did not return to Britain till about 1632. From the followmg memorials, for which the Editor is indebted to his friend the Author of the Genealogical Account above mentioned, — a lineal descendant of the Poet's eldest brother, John Johnston of that Ilk, — it will be seen that these statements are erroneous. These notices, also, furnish us M'ith farther information regarding Johnston's domestic history altogether new. From difi^"erent entries in the Baptismal Register of the Burgh of Aberdeen, it is evident that Dr Johnston had resided there so early as 1622, his name occurring as a witness at the baptisms of children of many of the citizens about that year. In August of the same year, he was admitted a burgess and guild-brother of the city. At the upper right hand corner of a porti-ait of Johnston, painted by Jameson (most likely wlien the latter was following his profession in his native place), and now in the Hall of M.irischal College, the date " 1623, aetatis 36," is distinctly traceable. 20 Ante dedit vitam nato pater, omine Iseto, Nunc patrem nati vivere ccrnis ope. There is no portrait of the Poet preserved in King's College, as has some- times been erroneously stated. From the Register above referred to, it appears that his second wife was named Barbara Gordon, of what family is uiiknown, but in all likelihood a native of Aberdeenshii-e. " Barbara Gordon, relict of l)r Arthur Johnston," is stated in the accoxmts of the master of kirkworks of the burgh, to have been interred in the town church-yard of Aberdeen on 21st iSIarch 1650, having survived her hus- band for a period of nine years. Of Johnston's second marriage, the son who appears from the Baptismal Register of the Burgh to have been baptized at Aberdeen on 10th April 1G22, was probably born. This child's Christian name is not given in the record referred to. The burials of several (unnamed) children of Dr Johnston are mentioned in the kirk-master's accounts of Aberdeen, as having taken place in the town's church-yard in December 1623, in July 1628, and January 1629. From the Baptismal Register of the Burgh it farther appears, that in July 1631, Dr Arthur Johnston and Barbara Gordon his wife had a daughter named Barbara baptized ; and that in December 1636, the same couple had a son christened, named William. This son "William is the only one of Dr Arthur's descendants, in a direct line, of whom we have been enabled to procure any certain account. He was designed " of Forrester-hill," from the circumstance of his having been proprietor of a small property so called, (and still known by the same name), in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen. lie was, in the year 1657, — when he could scarcely have attained majority, — appointed one of the Regents of King's College, Aberdeen. This office he held until 1669, when he was promoted to tlie Chair of Civil Law in the same University. He is believed to have died about 1673, as in that year he was succeed- ed, as Civilist, by Sir George Nicolson of Kemuay, also a native of Aberdeen. In December 1659, Mr William Johnston, " one of the Regents of King's College, — eldest lawful son of the deceased Mr Arthur Johnston, Doctor of Medicine," was, — as appears from the Burgess Register of the City of Aberdeen, — admitted a burgess of guild "jure paternitatis." He married, in April 1662, Helen Cullen, third and youngest daughter of George Cullen, Provost of Aberdeen, by his first wife Marjorie Forbes. It does not appear that there was any surviving issue of this marriage; and about 1673 tlie lands of Fon-ester-hill were adjudged for debt ; the widow of tlie Professor having, however, witliin a year or two of the last mentioned date, made good her claim to a part of the rents of the appraized lands. (Writs of Forrester-hill, in Ruthricston Charter-Chest). Provost Cullen married a second wife, named Barbara Johnston, — pro- bably the daughter of Dr Arthur Johnston and Barbara (Jordon, — men- tioned above as having been baptized in July 1631. AVere this so, the second Mrs Cullen must have stood in the position of stepmother to her brother's wife, Helen Cullen. The family of Cullen was of old standing in Aberdeen, and produced several Provosts of the town. It is rennu-kable that, at this day, not one individual bearing this ancient and resi)ectable surname is known to be in existence in or near Aberdeen ; at least no 8uch name is to be found in the Aberdeen Directory for the present year. 21 Plus meruit natus, quam cepit clauditur a?vo, Quam dedit annorum limite vita caret. Previous to the year 1628, Charles I. appointed Johnston his Physician in Ordinary. In 1637 appeared his translation of the Psalms of David into Latin verse — a work undertaken, it is said, at the suggestion of his friend Archbishop Laud. "About the same time," Dr Ir\-ing tells us, [Lives of Scotish AYriters, vol. ii. p. 31, Edin. 8vo. 1839,] " he lent his aid to the pub- lication of the ' Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum hujus sevi illustrium.' Amst. 1637, 2 torn. 12mo. These volumes were neatly printed by Bleau, at the expense of Sir .John Scot, who himself appears in the list of contributors, and who doubtless retained the power of admitting or rejecting. Johnston has frequently been considered as the editor, from the circumstance of his having written the dedication to Scot, and prefixed the ' Musarum Elogia,' addressed to the same individual. His contributions are more extensive than those of any other WTiter. The entire collection forms a conspicuous monument of the scholarship, ingenuity, and taste of our countrymen ; and the poems of Johnston may safely be brought into competition with those of any other writer whose name is to be found in the catalogue of contributors." In the above-mentioned year (1637), he was chosen Rector of King's College, Aberdeen. Dr Samuel Johnson has, from inattention, erroneously stated that he was its Principal. [Journey to the Western Islands : London, 1842, vol. xii. p. 232.] He died at Oxford in 1641 while on a visit to a son-in-law, a Clergy- man, and was buried there. No memorials of Johnston are to be found in that city. This the Editor ascertained, after particular inqviiry. Various editions of his Latin Psalms have been published since his death, both in Great Britain and on the Continent, and a collection of his whole Works was printed abroad, in 1642, under the superintendence of William Spang, the correspondent of PrinciiDal Baillie. — Arturi Johnstoni Scoti, Medici Regii, Poemata Omnia. Middelb. Zeland. 1642, 16to. Spang appeared to have suppressed some beautiful verses not favourable to the party of the Covenant. [Gordon's Scots' Affairs, mdcxsxvii. to mdcxli. published by the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1841. Editor's Preface, p. 32.] Of the Editions of the Psalms, and of the literary war arising out of the discussions regarding the comparative merits of Buchanan and John- ston as Latin poets, in which the celebrated Ruddiman took a conspicuous share, notices will be found in Dr Irving's Life of Johnston, already referred to. — E.] NOBILI, ClARISSIMO AC GeNEROSO DoMINO,DoMINO JOANNI FORBESIO, Domino a Corse, Baroni be Oneil, &c. Universitatis Abredoniensis Rectori Magnifico, S. S. theologiie doctori eximio, ejusdemque, in academia Regia Professori dignissimo, musarum Abredonensium ACERIMO VINDICI AC PROTECTOR!, HiEC QUALIACUNQUE OrA- TORIA ET POETICA VARIORUM AUCTORUM MUNUSCULA SERIO COMMENDAT, Jo. LuNDiNUS,! In Academia Regia Humaniorum Lite- rarum Professor^ et Facultatis Artium, pro tempore^ Decanus. Magne Heros, magni soboles generosa parentis, Magna perantiquse spesque decusque domus : Cui veterum assurgunt tituli juvenilibus annis : A quo semidei nobilitantur avi. Accipe quse sacrse mittunt tibi sacra Oamsense, Accipe quse sacri praeses Apollo Chori. 1 [John Lundie was Master of the Grammar School, Aberdeen, and subsequently Professor of Humanity in King's College there. He was one of the few inhabitants of that city who subscribed the Covenant in July 1C38, on tlie first i)reaching of Messrs Henderson, Dickson, and Cant, — [Si)aUling's Troubles, Bannatyne Club Edition, v. i. p. 58] ; and the same Chronicler mentions that he did not subscribe the King's Covenant, as it was called, in October of the same year, when it was signed by the Bishop [Bellcndcn] the Professors, and otlier inhabitants of Old Aber- deen.] " Upon Munday the 8th of October, the marquess [Huntley] came over to the bishop's house of Old Aberdoin, wher the bishop him- selfe was present, i)rincipall, regents, and haill body of the tonne, was conveincd, and ther caused ])ublickly read out the foresaid Confession of Faith and Band of Mantainance wliich was inq)rinted ; as ye may see hereafter sett doun word be word. After reading wlierof, the 2.3 Dona ferunt manibus, nam sunt sua dona Poetis Parva, licet magnis dona petenda Deis. Hie laudes percurre tuas, percurre tuorum, Picta hie insigni laude trophae feres. Hie sua virtuti, sua sunt hie praemia laudi, Hie digesta leges fortia facta Patris. Ut pia Pierides, sic dulcia prselia miscent ; Arma parat Vates : Rhetor et arma parat. Fervidus hie dubiis medius Mars errat in armis, Stringit et hie nivea tela Minerva raanu. bishop, the principall, the regents, gentrie and haill commons of the toun, willingly obeyed and snbscrived the samen ; whose names was (besydes theii- subscriptions) M-ritten and noted upon ane other paper. But ^Ir John Lundie master of the grammar school subscrived not this covenant." — Ihkl. p. 74. He was sent to the Glasgow Assembly by the Professors of King's College, with a commission limited to such aflFairs as might concern them, and to answer to such complaints as happened to be given in against them — {Ihid. p. 75.] The Parson of Rothiemay gives the following amusing account of his recei^tion in the Assembly: — " The University of Aberdeene sent none of ther professors to the Assembly ; for it was scarce safe to come, they having wi-yttene flattly against the Covenant. Only they sent one of ther number, no di\'yne, but ther pro- fessor of humanitye, or rather maister of the grammar scoole, Mr Joline Lundye, to excuse ther absence. His comissione being readde, gave him only power to be ther, and did constitute him ther agent in any thinge which should concerne ther Universitye ; req^vJTing him to continow ther, and from tyme to tyme to give them advertishment of all that passed. The moderator did justly affirme that that was no comissione, the pairtye having no power by it to give any voice in the Assemblye, and so ther was no mor to be saide to it; but immediatly something being transmitted by whispering from eare to eare, untill it came to the moderator's eare, the moderator beganne presently for to retract his former judgement of the commissione, and, perusing his letter of credence, saide ther was only wante of formalitye in the draught, which he might easily passe over. So they allowd that for a comissione which was none, and the Assembly gave him that power which the Universitye of Aberdeene would not give him, admitting him to have voice in the Assembly ; for if the Universitye had meant him a voice ther, they would have sent a divyne, not a grammarier. The reason of that whisper which made the moderator so quickly recant was that he gott secrett informatione that ]SIr Johne Lundy was a Cove- nanter, although he expected none such from the Universitye, and he was, at home, knowne to be one then and afterwardes." [Gordon's Scots Affairs, published by the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, mdcccxli, vol. i. pp. 154, 155.] He went, however, beyond his commission, and gave in " ane petition to the Assemblj-^, desireing Mr James Sandielauds canonist, the cantor, choristers and chaplains, to be removed as unnecessary members, living upon the coUedge rents, brought in against tlie king's foundation. It was heard, and ane commitie appointed to visit the said colledge." — [Spalding, vol. i. p. 81.] 24 Deli us hie Clypeum, laterique aceommodat ensem Totaque Thespiadum saevit in arma Coliors. Nulla prius traxit plurcs in prrelia vates Palma triumplialis, palma nee uUa trahet. Quceque suos confert pulchra in certamina vires, Prsestat et officium quseque Camrena suura, JMagnaque eum faciant, se nil fecisse fatentur ; Maxima sunt mentis inferiora tuis, The sequel of this matter is thus detailed by the same writer: — '' Right suae, the masters and members of the King's Colledge of Old Aberdein, possest with the like fear, that they [the Covenanters] should come and hold ane committee within their colledge, by procurement of ^Ir John Luudie, as ye have befor, who, without warrand, desired the bishop of Aberdein as alleadged chancellor, Mr James Sandielands canonist, and Doctor William Gordon medicinar, to be removed, as unnecessary members, frae the said Colledge, and unlawfully brought m and established by umquhile Patrick bishop of Aberdein against the foundation set down be umquhile king James, takeing up the rents without any lawfull service, whilk rather belonged to the masters and inward members of the said Colledge, who cairfully attended their callings for upbringing of the youth. The forsaid petition was given in befor the generall Assemblie without warrand of the Colledge members, yet Avas weill heard by the Assemblie, who ordained ane committee to come and visite the said Colledge. The which comeing to the masters ears, directly accused the said ISIr John Lundie for passing by his commission, and giveuig in such ane petition befor the said Assem- blie, and accused him befor the bishop Belleuden and other outward members of the said Colledge, alleadging he had wronged the liberties of the house, by drawing them under censure of ane committee of the assem- bly, who were only answerable to the king and his councill for any offence or oversight ; but the said Mr John Lundie pleaded guiltie and confessed his error, and by ane act, not subscrived with his hand, confessed he had no wari-and nor commission to the effect forsaid. Allwayes, the masters being under fear, that this committee holden at Turreft" would come and visite then- Colledge in their homegoeing ; therfore they sett theh- liaill students to libertie, closed up the yeitts, and ilk man went ane sundrie gate, thinking if they came they sliould find fast yeitts, and no man ther to abyde their censure ; but disappointed of their expectation, and seeing they came not, they reeonveined shortly their schollars, and ilk man fell to his own studie and charge calmly and quietly." — [Ibid. pp. 95, 96.] Lundie's recantation was not confined to this matter. A few months after refusing to take the King's Covenant, he subscribed it " of his own accord, upon plain fear of trouble" [ibiil. p. 88]; but on the 10th April 1()39, he again returned to his former views, and signed the National Covenant [ibid. p. 117]. If he is to be identified witli the party mentioned in the following passages of Spalding, as would appear from the Bannatyno Club edition of the Troubles, he continued a zealous adlierent of the Presbyterian party : — " Now thundring dailie out of pulpites against jiapistis in Abirdeue ; none durst be sein, hot serchit and sochf, sic as Thomas Meingzeis of Balgouny his wyf and children, Mr tieorge 25 Plura etiam nemo est qui se debere negabit, Et majora, animo vel magis sequa tuo. Nostra vel imprimis, quae jam sua rura Thalia Possidet auxiliis auspiciisque tuis. Per te ruris opes, raihi ]\Iantua Iseta ministrat : Mantua sacrilegis nuper adempta Getis. Hinc tibi serta parant sacrantque seterna Camsenje, Frigoribus nunquam depositura comam. Audersone, Robert Irving and Johne Forbes, who had commissioun for this paroche, accompaueit with ]Mr John Lundie and James Innes balleis of Old Abirdeue, went out, upone the Saboth day beuig the 16 of Aprile, efter efternoue's sermon, with captioun to tak Alexander Hervie in Grandhame for poperie, who wes lying bedfast in the gut, to have takin him as ane excommunicat papist ; hot thay culd not fynd him. His sone they saw upone horsbak excommunicat lykuaies ; hot thay had no com- missioun aganes him, and so thay cam bak agane without more expeditioun. Strange to sie, that thir commissiouns, be instigatioun of Mr Andrew Cant and remanent ministeris of both Abii'denis, suld be execute upone ane Sonday, expreslie prohibeit in uther causis be the la wis of this kiagdome ;" — [vol. ii. p. 122.] " Upone Sonday the 29 of October, our Covenant agane red out of oure iDulpit in Old Abirdene be !Mr Williame Strathauchtn minister. He exponit the same, not to be aganes the King, hot against the malignant Prelatis and Papistis in England. He first himself sueir and subscrivit the same to be lauchfuU and just with God, his reidar richt sua ; syne doctor Goold principall, !Mr Alexander Aliddiltoun subprincipall, Mr Alexander Gairdin, Mr Patrik Gordoun, and JNIr George Midilltoun, regentis, cam doun fra the loft whair thay war sitting, to ane tabill set befoir the pulpit of purpois, and sueir and subscryi'it this covenant. Johne Forbes, Mr William Rait, and Jlr Johne Limdie, Old toun balleis, cam next, with the elderis and deacones, as thay were callit upone cam in, for the maist pairt sueir and subscryvit, except Williame Gordoun of Gordouns- mill and Mr Thomas Gordone at Bethokismilne, who tuke to be advysit. At last thay on another day cam in, sueir, and subscryvit. Utheris craftis and commouns sueir and svbscrivit that day. And in a word, sic wes oure ministeris cair and diligens, that he maid the haill parochin to sueir and subscrive, and the women to uphald thaii' handis, veray few exceptit (this wes oure ordour for the parochin of Sanct Macher) ; and sic as could not subscrive of the men Alexander Wilguis reidar sub- scrivit for thame." — [Ibid. vol. ii. p. 165, 166.] Besides three poems in the present volume, Limdie left several compo- sitions behind him. One of those published at Aberdeen in 1631 bears tliis title — "Oratio Eucharistica et Eucomiastica, in benevolos Universitatis Aberdonen&is Benefactores, Fautores, et Patronos." In two of Luudie's pieces in the present collection, lavish encomiums are bestowed on Bishop Patrick Forbes as the restorer of the University, and it is believed that this is also the case in the production just named, which is now very scarce. These, imhappily for their author's character in point of con- sistency, were forgotten on occasion of the petition submitted by him to the Glasgow Assembly. — E.] A SEEMON PREACHED AT THE FUNERALL OF THE R, R. FATHER IN GOD, PATRIOKE FORBES, LATE LORD BISHOP OF ABERDENE, IN THE CATHEDRALL CHURCH OF THAT DIOCES, THE 9tH OF APRILL 1635, BY ROBERT BARON,! DOCTOR AND PROFESSOR OF DIVINITIE, AND ONE OF THE MINISTERS OF GOD\s WORD IN THE BURGH OF ABERDENE. Revel. Chap. xiv. Vers. 13. " Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord." )HIS sentence may justlie bee called an heavenly sentence ; and that not onlie in these gencrall respects, for the which other passages of Scripture are so called ; but also for sjieciall causes, or reasons. For it was delivered to Saynct John by a voyce from Heaven. It telleth us, that perfect happinesse is not to be found in ^ [See note su])ra, p. 5. — Robert Baron was a younger son of tlie Family of Kinnaird, in Fifeshire, [Vita R. V. Joh. Forbesii k Corse, § xlii. prefixed to tlie Amsterdam folio edition of Forbes' Works, 1702-3; Sibbald's Hist, of Fife and Kinross, London, Svo. 1803, p. 427, App.] and a brother of Dr John Baron, Principal of St Salvador's College, St Andrews, who did not shew the same perseverance and consistency in resistuig the Covenant all along manifested by his brother. [Gordon's Hist, of Scots AfFair.s, published by the Sj)aldiiig Club, Aberdeen, mdcccxm, v. ii. ]>. 5 ; Baillie's Letters and Journals, Iklin. MDcccxLi. V. ii. p. 98.] The learned Professor of Divinity at Aberdeen A FUNERALL SERMON. 27 earth but in heaven ; that none may expect, or attaync thereunto, but these who hve and die in a league with heaven ; and, as it were, in the armes, in the bosome of was edxicated at St Andrews, " where, as we learn from an anecdote pre- served by Clementius, his early proficiency in learning attracted the notice of King James VI. — De ipso Anthore ejusqne vita et excessu plura fortasse alias trademus, si necessaria subsidia suppeditentur. Lnbet interim hie attexere, quod a B.M. Parente meo notatum comperio, dum in Andreapolitaua Academia studiorum causa versaretur. Narrat ergo in Pugillaribus siiis, nostrum hunc Baronlum imberbem adhuc et adniodum juvenem, Anno cio lo cxvii coram Rege Jucoho, et freqiientissimo Audi- torum coetu, summa ingenii ac judicii dexteritate Disputationem sustinu- isse de materia miscelli generis, maxime Politica. Regem inter haec vultu in Baronium defixo, siugularem attentionem atque admirationem prae se tulisse. Tandem in verba erupisse, Baronlum interrogasse ut sibi vellet exhibere demonstrationem certae cujusdam Theseos, (quae fuerit, non possum scire) ; qua ab Adolescente accepta, palam et ilium et illam laudavit, pluraque in eandem rem adjecit, omnia Latino sermone ; ad- mirantibus cunctis, tum siugularem Maximi Regis affectum et benevo- lentiam, tum ipsius Adolescentis miram jam ilia aetate sagacitatem ac pi'omiititudinem." — [Note by Editors of Gordoia's Scots Affairs, v. iii. p. 236.] " After having for a short time professed Philosophy at St Andrews, on the advancement of Patrick Forbes of Corse to the See of Aberdeen in 1618, Baron succeeded him in the cure of the parish of Keith in the district of Strathisla, in Banffshire, where he appears to have married, as his lady is described in a passage m Gordon's Scots Affairs, which will be found quoted near the end of this note, as having been "borne" in Strathisla. In 1624 he was appointed one of the clergy of the city of Aberdeen, and was nominated the first Professor of Theology in Marischal College, on the institution of that chair in 1625." — [Vita R. V. Joh. Forbesii a Corse, §. xlii.; Kennedy's Annals of Aberdeen, v. ii. p. 119.] Having taken a very prominent part in the controversy against the leaders of the Covenant, as already mentioned, he only escaped formal expulsion from his chau-, if not danger to his life, by voluntaiy exile. He fled to Berwick, and died there in the month of August 1639. — [Spalding's History of the Troubles in Scotland, Bannatyne Club edition, Edin. MDCocxxviii. vol. i. pp. 105, 106, 167.] Baron some time before his death had been elected to fill the See of Oi'kney, but v/as never consecrated. [Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishojis, Bishop Russel's edition, Edin. 1824, p. 227.] His decease is thus with commendable feeling alluded to by the restless and conceited but acute and energetic Principal Baillie : — " INIy heart was only sore for good Dr Barron ; after he had been in London printing a treatise for the King's authoritie in Church affairs, I suspect too much to his country's jirejudice, he returned heavilie diseased of his gravell ; he lay not long at Berwick till he died. Some convulsions he had, wherein the violent ojjeuing of his mouth, with his own hand or teeth, his tongue was somewhat hurt ; of this symtome very caseable, more din was made by our people than I could have wished of so meeke and learned a i^erson." — [Letters and Journals, Edin. mdcocxli. vol. i. p. 221.] Baron is described by Bishop Sydserf in the preface to the " Consider- ationcs Modestw et Pacificce" of William Forbes,first Bishop of Edinburgh fmb 28 A FUNERALL SERMON. the King of Heaven ; and that they can not come to it but by death, which is to them Janua Coeh, the Gate of Heaven. The Lord furnish us at this time with a competent measure fiiie), as " vir in omni Scholastica Theologia, et omni literatura versatissimus" and as lie died before the rancour of political and religious animosity rose to its height, writers of all parties have united in praise of his virtues and learning. A number of these testimonies are collected in a copious bio- graphical note by the Editors of Gordon's Scots Affairs, vol. iii. p. 235, ■where a list of his writings, both printed and in nianuscrijjt, will be found. Arthur .Johnston, the celebrated Latin poet, addressed various of his pieces to him, and in the following well turned epigram has celebrated his praises and those of William Forbes, Bishop of Edinburgh — De Gulielmo Eorbesio et Roberto Baronio, Theologis Abredouensibus: — " Nil quod Eorbesio, Christi dum pascit ovile Nil quod Baronio comparet, orbis habet. Eloquio sunt ambo pares ; discrimen in uno est, Quo lubet, hie mentes pellicit, ille rapit." [Epigrammata Aberdonia?, 1632, p. 14.] The same poet has two ei^igrams on Baron's discussion with George Turnbull, a learned Jesuit. We siibjoin the latter of the two : — De Diatriba Roberti Baronii D. Theologi ad versus TrumbuUium : — " En sacra Baronius movet et TrumbuUius anna, Pene sub Icariis natus uterque rotis, Ambo Sacerdotes, divinoe Palladis ambo Artibus et calami dexteritate pares. Hoc discrimen liabes : magno molimine causara, Hie agit Ausonii Prassulis, ille Dei." [Ibid. p. 13.j The foUowmg notices relating to Dr Baron and very characteristic of the excited state of religious feeling in Scotland after the well-known Glasgow Assembly of 1638, in which the Bishojjs were " excommuni- cated," will be interesting to our readers. Baillie writes to Spang in September 1640 — " Our Assemblie at Aberdeen was kejjt with great peace. We found great averseness in the liearts of manic from our course, albeit little in countenance * * * * * Poor Baroun,otherways ane ornament of our Nation, wc found has been much in multis the Canterburian way ; great knavery and intercourse with his Grace (Archbishop Laud) we found amougthem, and yet all was hid from us that they could." — (Letters and Journals, Edin. MDCCc.xLi. v. i. p. 248.) The Parson of Rothiemay tells us when narrating the proceedings of the same Assembly at Aberdeen — "Dr Robert Barron was deade the yearc befor, yet somewhat must be done concerning him. They tliought him not orthodoxe in some of liis tenents ; therfor, such of his pai)ers as wer un- printod they must see them, and they must be censurd and purgd. Ilis widdow liad i-cteered to the Strayla, wlior she was borne ; therfor order was A FUNERALL SERMON. 29 of lieavenlie grace, and fill our souls with heavenlie thoughts; that this our present exercyse may tende to the glorie of Him that dwelleth in the Heavens, and to our benefit, who exspect one day to see His glorious, His beautifull, and lovelie countenance there. In this sentence we have onlie two things to consider : to wit, the persons of whom the Spirit of God here speaketh, and the blessednesse attributed unto them. The persons who are the subject of this proposition are the godlie who have departed this lyfe. Yee have a description of them in these words — The dead who die in the Lord : where, by the dead, we must not with Ambrosei and sent to [General] Monroe with all expeditione, for to searche the place wher she stayd, and send herselfe, and such papers of her husbands as she had besyde her (if tlier should be any founde), to Aberdeen under a sure gward. This was readily obeyd by jNIunroe, who made tlie gentlwoman prisoner at the Asseniblyes instance, and sent her, and all such papers as could be founde besyde her, under a safe convoy to Aberdeen ; whither she was no sooner come but she must delyver the key of her husbands librarye, that it might be searched for manuscripts and letters. Some letters wer founde wryttne by the Bishopp of Rosse, concerniuge the printing of the Booke of Canons, and a timber peece of tailly (hi, pierre, whereupon was cut the Kings amies, to be printed into the frontispeece of that booke. Thes letters wer publickly reade in that Assemblye, as if they had imported something very extraordinar ; but ther Avas none present to ansuer for them. Only the printer, Edward Eaban, ane Englishman, was calld upon ; and because they could not formally challendge him for printing the Bishopps canons, tlierfor it was objected that he had manked ane common prayer in a new editione of the psalm booke, which some yeares befor he had printed in a large octavo. It was a forme of ane evning prayer, whence he had tackne of the conclusione for want of paper, it being the closure of the last sheete of the booke. Ther wer other coppyes of that prayer readde, and they wold needs have the printer confesse that he had throwne away all that clause out of designe, or by warrant of some of the ministers of Aberdeen. The printer protested solemnly that what he did was of himself, and was done for want of paper ; and simply that if they wer offended, he craved them humble pardone ; that he could instance that, except in that coppy, he had never omitted to print the conclusione of that e\aiiing prayer in any other editione of the psalmes in meeter, and should never omitte it againe. So, after a rebooke for his z'ashuesse in curtailing a prayei", he gott licence to be gone, without furder censure." — Gordon's Scots Affairs, v. iii. p. 235-239. Itaban was the printer of the " Funerals," and the author of the last piece in the Collection. Some notices relating to him will be found appended to his verses. At the Restoration, the merits of Baron were not forgotten ; two hun- dred pounds were presented by Parliament to his " relict and children." (Acts of Pari, of Scotland, Edin. folio, mdccoxx. vol. vii. App.p. 78) .--E.] ^ Or rather the Author of that Commentarie upon the Revelation which is falslie attributed to St Ambrose.— [Beicngaudi Expositio in Apoca- "^ A FUNERALL SERMON. Alcazar,! understand these who are spirituallie or misticalHe dead to the world and to sinne : ney ther will we follow the phan- tasticall conceit of Aureolus.^who did understand by the dead here spoken of these who, by monasticall vowes, have seques- trated themselves from the world and the ordinarie conver- sation of men. But wee must here understand these who are naturallie dead, or whose souls are separated from their bodies. Neither must we limitate the subject of this pro- position to those who were dead before S. John heard this vo^'ce in Pathmos ; as if blessednesse were here ascribed to them only, others being excluded, who were to die thereafter. But the words of this proposition must be understood cum anipliatione terminorum, as the Summiilists call it : that is they must be ampliated or extended to al differences of tyme. For the meaning of this sentence is, not onlie that the dead who have alreadie died in the Lord are blessed, but also that these who hereafter shall die in the Lord shall by death attayne unto perfect happinesse and blessednesse. The description of the persons to whom blessednesse is here attributed consisteth of a general part common to all, and of a particular part limitating this description to the elect. To die is common to all ; it is the way of all the earth. s To die in the Lord is the way not of all but of some few, or the last part of that narrow way which few doe finde.4 And to this is another way opposite, which is the way of manie ; even that broadway which leadeth to destruction, in the which all doe walke who are not in Christ. So, then, if we consider the generall part, or the genus -of this description, together with the limitation, or difference added thereunto ; and if we compare this difference with its con- trario (for everie difference hath its contrarie), wee shall have these three wayes of men mentioned in Scripture ; to wit — The way of all, the way of few, and the way of manie.^ As for the general part of this description set downe in the word dead, I can not lot it goe without some observation; neyther can I observe anic thing so fitly thereanent, as that lypsin. De Visione IV. Aiip. Ambrosii Opera Bened. Editio, Fol. Paris 1690. Tom. ii. ]). 555.] * A Spanish .Jesuit. The reference is probably to his Vestip^tio Arcani Sensus in Apocalypsi, which has frequently been rcjnintcd. 2 Aureoliis Petrus (Oriel), a learned French Schoolman of the 13th century. ^ .Joshua xxiii. 14. * Matth. vii. 13, 14. * Via omnium, via paucorum, ct via nmltorum. A FUNERALL SERMON. 31 same which I have ah'eady touched ; to wit, that it is a general!, yea, so generall, that it includes all who have bene before us in the world, (those beeing excepted whom God extraordinarlie hath exempt from death), and ere it be long, shall actuallie include us all who are now in it, as also those who, when we are removed, shall come in our rooms. No nation, no province, nor citie, yea, no ranke nor degree of men, hath exemption from this common mortalitie, or necessitie of dying : and therefore Hormisdas the Persian, who fled from his native countrey to Rome, in the dayes of Constantius the Emperor,! and who was in Rome when Oonstantius, after he had overcome Magnentius and his adherents, entered the citie in a most magnificke and triumphant manner, being asked by the Emperour what hee thought of that glorious citie, and the rare monumentes he had scene therein : wittilie replyed, checking the Em- perour's pryde — " That nothing which he had observed in Rome pleased him so well as this, that the inhabitants thereof were mortall, and died as other men.'"^ This generall and inevitable necessitie of deathe is knowne to al, even to the Ethnicks, by an experimentall tradition almoste as olde as the worlde. But the knowledge which we who are Christians have of it, as it is more excellent, being more perfect, and grounded upon supernaturall or divine revelation ; so it obligeth us to make better use of the consideration of death than others can make. How deficient wee are in this, the profane lyves of manie amongst us doe sufficiently declare. " Wee die daylie, wee are daylie changed," sayth Jerome, " and yet we live as if we were immortall.""^ Xerxes, when hee viewed his hudge armie from an eminent place, wept, because within an hundreth years none of all that number should be found alyve. " But, O,'"^ sayth Jerome, " if we might ascend to such an high mountayne or spy-tower, from whence we might see the whole earth under our feet, then I should let you see the ruines of the whole world, the conflict of nations, the great diversitie of the estates or conditions of men, and that within a short tyme, not onlie such a multitude as ^ Zouaras, Aunal. torn. iii. — [Joamiis Zouarce Annales. Fol. Paris 1687. Tom. ii. fol. 12.] ^ Id tantum sibi placuisse aiebat, quod homines didicisset ibi quoque mori. Ammianus Marcellinus, lib. xvi. c. 17. — [Lib. xvi. c. 10. § 16, 8vo. Leipsic 1806. tom. i. fol. 94.] =* Epist. iii. ad Heliod.— [Ep. 36. Nov. Old. Beucd. Ed. Fol. Paris 1706. Tom. iv. Tart 2, fol. 275.] * Ibidem. 32 A FUNERALL SERMON. Xerxes his arniie, but all the men who are now upon this stage, shall be removed from it by death,"" This sight might make anie man weepe, if he would seriouslie consider that which my Text insinuateth, that the greatest part of these who are now upon this stage, and ere it be long, shall be in their graves, are to passe from the miseries and troubles of this lyfe, to payne cndlesse and easelesse in hell. For this Text attributeth happinesse onlie to those few who die in the Lord ; and consequentlie declareth, that all others after death are cternallie miserable. But of this I shall speake heereafter. I come now to the particular part of this description, set downe in these words, " Who die in the Lord." Anent the which, one thing is of it selfe cleare and manifest, to wit, that it is proper and peculiar to the Elect ; and no wayes can bee extended to the wicked, who depart this lyfe. But two thinges doe heere occur, which do need explication. One is, whether or not this particular part bee so ample, as that it comprehendeth all the godlie, or elect ? The other is, how, and in what sense, those whom it comprehendeth, are sayd " to die in the Lord V As for the first ; some Popish wryters, because this text, if it be extended to all the Sayncts, M'ho are departed, or shall depart this lyfe, is as contrarie to their doctrine of Purgatorie, as Blessedness is to Miserie, Eest to Vexation, and Rewarde of good works to Punishment of sinnes ; therefore they craftily labour to restrict the words to the Martyrs, affirming, that by dying in the Lord here, is understood dying for the Lord ; and consequentlie, that blessednesse immediatelie after death is not ascrybed here to all the Elect ; but onelie to those who scale their profession with their blood, and are crowned with martyrdome. This glosse may seeme the more pro- bable, because it is followed by some Reformed Divines, by Bezai in speciall, and by Piscator,^ in their notes upon this place. Others of our adversaries doe extend the particular part of this description somewhat farther ; and yet not so farre as they should : for they thinke that it comprehendeth not onlie martyrs, but also all these Christians whom they call men perfectlie just, or men free of all sinnes, even vcniall, and of all guilt of punishment duo unto them for their mor- tall sinnes. Both these sorts of men, say they, are said to ^ [The learned Iteloniicr Tlieodoio Beza. Born 151!). Pied 1605. — E.] ^ [John Piscator, Professor of Divinity at Hcrborn. liorn 1546. Died 1626.-E.] A FUNERALL SERMON. 33 " die in the Lord" by way of excellencie ; because they are perfectly united with Christ ; whereas others may be sayde to die partly in the Lord, in respect of true charitie, or the love of God, which they carrie with them ; and partly not in the Lord, in respect of their sinnes, which also they carrie with them. So sayeth Bellarmine in his first booke, De Purgatorio,! and diverse moderne Jesuits following him. These restrictions of the particular part of this description we doe reject; and that not without reason, as ye shall shortly perceave ; and on the contrary, that all God's dear children may have their due consolation from this heavenlie sentence, we affirme, that the Spirit of God here speaketh of all these who die in the estate of grace ; and proclaimeth them al to be blessed, whatsoever their worldlie estate or condition hath bene in this lyfe, whatsoever bee the cause of their death, and whatsoever bee their estate, condition, or carriage in death. First, I say, all they who die in the estate of grace are happie, whatsoever their worldlie estate hath bene in this lyfe ; that the poore ones of this world, who are rich in fayth, may comfort themselves with these words,^ as well as the great and mightie ones. Worldlie happiness is not granted unto them, and their estate is so miserable in the eys of the world, that the rich apprehend a great difference, and put a large distance betwixt them and the poore. They will not suffer them to sit at table with them ; nay, not to walk with them, or stand beside them ; and whereas they should pitie their wants, oft tymes they laugh and jest at them, accord- ing to that of the Poet ;^ Nil liabet infelix paupertas durius in se, Qiiam quod ridicules homines facit. But within a short tyme death putteth an end to that differ- ence, and equalleth them in glory and happinesse with Kings and Emperors. Ye that are rich, consider this, and despyse not the poore, when ye look upon their base and contemptible worldlie estate, but rather be readie to help them ; remem- bering this which the Spirit of God here telleth you, that if they die in the Lord, they shall one day bee participant of that same kingdome, that same robe of immortalitie, that 1 Cap. 12, resp. ad object. 10.— [Fol. Ingolstad. 1601. torn. 1.] 2 James ii. 5 ; 1 Thess. iv. 18. ^ Juvenal, Satyr iii. 1.52. ,*J4 A FUNERALL SERMON. same banquet of angels, which yee looke for. And therefore hoHe Augustine, cliecking the disdaynfull and uncharitable carriage of the rich towardes the poore, wittilie and pithilie sayth unto them^ — " Wherefore shall not the poore eate with thee, who shall one daye reygne with thee ? Wherefore wilt thou not give so niuche as thy olde coat to him who shall one day receave the robe of immortalitie with thee ? How is he not worthie of thy bread, who hath obtayned one and the selfe-same Baptisme with thee? or of the reliques of thy dishes, who is with thee invited to the banquet of angels V Be not prowde, then, of your worldly prerogatives, neyther apprehend such distance or difference betwixt you and the poore as yee doe. The difference which these few worldlie thinges maketh betwixt you and them is but for a short tynie, and in things of small moment ; the matters of greatest consequence God hath made common to rich and poore, even the two best things that can befall men, to wit, grace and glorie ; the two worst things, to wit, sinne and damna- tion ; and the two most dangerous things, to wit, death and judgement .2 The poore are not excluded from the first two, more than the rich ; neyther are the rich exempted from the other two more than the poore. And as for the last two, neyther rich nor poore can eschew them. For " it is ap- poynted unto men once to die ; but after this the judge- ment." ^ Such like, yee that are poore in this world, and rich in faith, possesse your soules in patience, and bee not grieved because the rich and ye meet unequall upon the streets ; for ye shal meet equall with them at the right hand of the Judge. Yea, if they be not rich towards God,-^ and as they are charged 1, Tim, vi. 18, " rich in good works," they shall meet verie unequall with you in judgement, for yee shall have " dominion over them, in matitutino illo, in that morning" of Resurrection, when by the bright appear- ance of the Sunne of Righteousnesse, these things which now are invisible during this night of ignorance shall be brought to light ; to wit, the " hid things of darknesse, the secret counsels of the heart,"*'"' the mysteries of God's provi- ' Serin, ii. de temp. — [Pseudo-Augnstinus — Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1679. Tom. V. App. 116. § 4.] ^ Duo oj)tima. Duo pessima. Duo poriculosissima. » lleb. ix. 27. * Luke xii. 21. « 1. Cor. iv. 5. ATUNERALL SEKMON. 35 dence in governing the world, and the glorie, happinesse, and excellencie of the sonnes of God. For although " we be the sonnes of God, yet it doeth not appeare what we shall be ;''''i that is, how happie and glorious wee shall bee in the world to come. But in that day it shall appeare to all; and the wicked shall see it with unspeakable grief and astonishment, and shal say of the godlie man, whom before they despised, " this was he whom we had sometyms in derision, and a proverbe of reproach ; we fools accounted his lyfe madnesse, and his ende to be without honour. How is ho numbred amongst the children of God ! and his lot is amongst the Sayncts."^ Secondlie, I say all these who die in the estate of grace, are happie, whatsoever the cause of their death be ; that is, whether they die as martyrs " for the Lord," or as ordinary professors " in the Lord." For, first, as for the matter itselfe, although the Martyrs have an eminent degree of glorie in Heaven above manie others, which the schoolmen, by a barbarous word of their own devysing, call aureolam martyrum, yet neyther is blessednesse immediatelie after death appoynted onelie for them, even by the confession of our adversaries ; nor yet is that wherein the glorie and excellencie of martyrdome chiefelie consisteth, altogether proper and peculiar to them, but in some sort common to other Sayncts. The dignitie and excellencie of martyrdom standeth in two things, which, as Bonaventur sayth, doe make up a compleat martyrdom :3 First, in a pious willing- nesse or desire to undergoe whatsoever tribulation, yea death itselfe, for the testimony of Christ, if God should require it. Secondlie, in the goodnesse of the cause wherfore we suffer. For " Martyres non facit psena, sed causa," sayeth holie Augustine,'^ it is not the suffering, but the cause of suffering, which maketh the Martyr. Now the cause of suffering is two-fold, to wit, causa calamitatis, the cause wherfore the calamitie cometh upon the Martyr, and causa tolerantioe, seu patientice^ the cause wherefore he willinglie doeth under- goe and endure it. The dignitie and glorie of martyrdome dependeth as much from the second as from the first, and 1 1. John iii. 2. ^ Wisdom, v. verses 3, 4, 5. * Ad Martyriuni completum duo concurriint, scilicet, justa voluntas, et justa causa. In [tom. v. lib.] 4. Sent. dist. 4. [part 2, resp. 1.] "* Cone. 2, in Psalm xxxiv. [torn. i'v. § 13.] 36 A FUNERALL SERMON. perhaps more ; for although a man be persecuted for a good cause ; that is for profession of the trueth, yet if the cause or motive which maketh him to undergoe persecution be bad and perverse, as for example, if hec suffer onlie or chieflie that he may be praised or admired of men, he sheddeth his blood in vayne, as Jerome sayth.i Now to apply all this to the present purpose ; manie who doe not actuallie suffer death for the cause of Christ, have in some sort both these two things, wherein the glorie and dignitie of martyrdome chieflie consisteth, to wit. First, a pious willingnossc or readinesso to suffer the losse of all things, yea of lyfo itselfe, for Chrisfs sake, which is a thing so acceptable and gracious in the sight of God, that Hee esteemeth this a kynd of " dying for His sake." And therefore Chrysostome^ wry ting upon these words, — Rom. viii. 36, — " For Thy sake we are killed al the day long ; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter,''"' sayeth, that although we actually can die but once for the Lord's sake, yet God hath granted this to us, that if wee bee readie or willing to die for Him, we may, by vertue of this our resolution and willingnesse, die everie day for Him ; yea, everie day we may die manie tymes for Him; and so obtayne not one, but manie crowns of martyrdome herafter. Secondlie, as for the cause of the ordinarie sufferings of true Christians, although in tyme of their troubles or distresses, the evill or calamitie doth not always come upon them for the Lord's sake, yet it is for the Lord's sake that they patientlie suffer it. And when they die, although we cannot say that they are " put to death for the Lord's cause ;" yet wee may say that they accept of death, and suffer willinglie all the pains of it, for the Lord's cause, to wit, because it is the Lord's will, and because they long to bee with Him, and consequentlie wee may even say in some sort that they " die for the Lord." Hence it is that divers of the fathers have extended this glorious title of martyrdome to those who died not for the cause of Christ, as to the blessed Virgine, to the penitent thiefe, yea, in generall, to all Sayncts.^ 1 Timco dicere, sed dicendum est, Martyrium ipsinn si ideo fiat, ut adiuirationi et laudi habeamiir a fratribus ; frustra sanguis cffusus est. Comment, in Gal. v. [Fol. Verona), 1732, torn. iv. i. 307.] ^ Serm. 15 in epist. ad Rom. [Benod. Ed. Fol. Paris. 171S, torn. ix. p. 178.] =* Cypr. [Boned. Edit. I'ol. I'aris. 1726] Ep. 73 ad Jubaiamim. [§22]. A FUNERALL SERMON. 37 Next, as to the Apostles phrase, although the particle, " in the Lord," be soraetymes taken as all one with, for the Lord, yet in phrases lyke to this, which the Apostle here iiseth, such as to " be in Christ," to " abyde in Christ," to " sleepe in Christ," or to " bee asleepe in Him,"i it is not so taken, but onelie importeth the union of the faythfull with Christ, or else the continuance of that union, so that the restriction of this text to martyrs, who " die for the Lord," is violent and repugnant to the native or ordinary sense of the phrase. But although it were not violent, yet we would have suffi- cient reason to reject it, for phrases of sacred Scripture ought not to bee restricted, nor yet extended beyond their ordinarie signification, except upon solid and evident war- rand or reason from the analogie of fayth, or from the text itselfe. But no such reason can be brought to prove that the Apostle is here speaking onelie of martyrs, as some of the most famous Popish wryters doe confesse ;2 yea, the Jesuit, Cornelius a Lapide, speaking of these wryters, who extend the words of this text to all the godlie, sayeth, that they interpret this text plenius et planius, more playnlie and more fullie. And as for the judgement of the best and most famous interpreters of this book, we have manie of them for us, to wit, Ambrose Primasius, Andreas Caesariensis, Beda, Richardus de Sancto-Victore, Joachim. Abbas, Coelius Pannonius, &c. ; yea, so manie, that scarce can our adver- saries name one of them who strictly and precisely adhereth to their exposition. To them we may adde other ancient wryters who have spoken occasionally of this text, as St Augustine in his twentieth booke De Civit. Dei, cap, 9, although the Rhemists imagine that hee favoureth their glosse, Bernard in diverse places of his workes^ and others. Author serm. de pass. [p. 518,] et de coena Domini apud eundem, [p. 218.] August. 1. i. de anima et ejus origine, torn. x. cap. 9 ; et Serm. 250, de tempore ; [Pseudo- August. Ed. cit. torn. v. App. 293, § 3,] et Serm. 46, de Sanctis, [Pseudo- August. Ed. cit. torn. v. App. 224, § 1,] Hieron. [Fol. Verona?, 1734,] ad Damas. Epist. 58 ; Sophronius apud eundem, serm. de assumpt. B. Marife. Gregor. [S. Papa, Bened. Ed. fol. Paris, 1705,] Dialog, tom. ii. lib. iii. cap. 26 ; tom. i. liom. 3 et 35, tom. v. ad. Paul, et Eustoch. in Evang. Bernard, Serm. i. in oct. pasc. [p. 244, fol. Antveq}. 1576.] 1 Job. XV. 4, 5, 6, 7; Rom. viii. 1, aud xvi. 7; 1. Cor. xv. 18 ; 1. Tbess. iv. 14 and 16. 2 Ribera, Viegas, Cornel, a Lapide,and Estius,all wry ting upon this place. 3 Serm. ii. in festo omnium sanctorum, [Ed. cit. fol. 63.] Serm. xxiv. ex parvis, [fol. 120,] et epist. 98, de Maccabfcis, [fol. 23.] 38 A FUNERALL SERMOX. Thirdly, I say al these who die in the estate of grace are blessed, whatsoever their spiritual estate or condition be in the hour of death, for if they be in Christ, " there is no condemn- ation to them ;"" yea, they cannot " come to condemnation, but are alreadie passed from death unto life ;" and if they being " fred from sinne," and made " the servants of God," have had " their fruit here unto holinesse," what can follow hereafter, but " the ende everlasting lyfe."! How then can they be condemned after death to grievous and intollcrablo payns in Purgatorie ? or what may hinder their present admission and enterance into their master's joy ? for al their sinnes are pardoned to them, yea, so pardoned, that God will not remember them any more to punish them.2 I know our adversaries doe speak and think farre otherways of the remission of sinnes, whether they be mortall or veniall, as they call them. For first, concerning the remission of mortall sinnes, they too boldly affirme, that although the elect, when they are first reconciled to God, or justified in baptisme, they get a plenarie or full remission not onlie of their sinnes, but also of the whole punishment due unto them; yet if they sinne mortally afterwards, upon their repentance they are fred indeed from eternall punishment, but in lieu thereof they must endure temporall paynes, and these most grievous in Purgatorie, if they doe not free themselves from them by voluntarie satisfaction, or penall exercyses in this lyfe. And this they labour to prove, partlie because we finde in Scripture that God, after Hee hath pardoned the great and enormous offences of his servants, hath inflicted many tymes great temporall punishments upon them, in special upon Moses, Aaron, David, and others ;3 and partlie because the ancient Church observed a severe discipline towardes those who were relapse in mortall sinnes ; imposing upon them long and paynfull exercyses of repentance, which they stiled by the name of Satisfaction. It is no strange thing with our adversaries to affirme, that God pardoneth mortall sinnes committed after baptisme, with a reservation of the temporall punishment, which is only a part of the punishment due unto them, seeing they are so bold as to maintaine that God, after this lyfe, ' Rom. viii. 1 ; Joh. v. 24 ; Rom. vi. 22. =• Esa. xx.wiii. ]7,xliii. 2"), and xliv.22 ; K/.ocIi. xviii. 22 ; Mich. vii. I.O. ^ Numb. XX. 12 ; 2. Sam. xii. and xxiv ; Psal. xcix. 8 ; 1. Cor. xi.32. A FUNERALL SERMON. 39 pardoneth veniall sinnes, with a reservation of the whole punishment ; that is, discharging nothing of the punishment due unto men for them.i And, which is more strange, that God, de potentia ahsoluta, might, if he pleased, pardon a man his mortall sinnes, and yet punish him eternallie in hell for them.2 Wee have not learned to distinguish so subtillie betwixt the remission of sinnes, and the remission of the punishment due unto them. But, on the contrarie, we hold, and that with most sufficient warrand, both from Scripture and antiquitie, that when God pardoneth our sins, he doth it not with reservation of a part of the punish- ment due unto us ex rigore justiticB ; muche lesse of the whole punishment ; but dischargeth all punishment of malediction, or pure revenge. As for these calamities or temporal evils, which manie tymes have beene inflicted upon the elect, they cannot serve for that which our adversaries intende ; that is, to prove that remission of sinnes in baptisme is more perfect than it is after baptisme ; or, that the whole punishment is discharged in baptisme and not thereafter. For we see, by experience, that infants are not fred by baptisme from sicknesse, death, and other miseries, which were inflicted upon mankynde for sinne : and consequentlie the whole temporall punishment is not discharged in baptism, more than after baptism. They answere to this — That these are not properlie punish- mentes, but rather penalities,^ as they call them ; and that because they are common to all mankynd, and have their originall from the naturall constitution of mans bodie. But first, what is that to the purpose ; They were inflicted upon mankynd, in the wrath of God, for the common transgres- sion of our first parents : and unto all these who are not in Christ they are most truelie and properlie pimishments. Secondlie, we can easilie cloze up this lurking-hole to our adversaries. For what if a man, baptized after ho hath come to perfect age, have bene, before his baptism, plagued by God for his bygone actuall sinnes, with povertio, 1 Vasquez in 3 part. Th. torn. iv. qusest. 87, art. 1, dub. 2. [Fol. Ant- verp. 1614 et 1616.] Suarez in eandem part. Th. torn. iv. disp. 11, § 4. [Fol. Conipluti 1590.] Caspar Hiirtado, [lib. do Sacr. et Cens.] disp. 2, de pajnitent. diflic. 17. [Fol. Antverp. 1633.] ^ Suarez opere cit. tom.iv. disp.. 10, § 2. Taunerus, [Disputatt. Thcol, 8vo. Ingolst. 1618] in 3 part. Th. disp. 5, thos. 64, et alii. ^ Pajualitates. 40 A FUNERALL SERMON. blindnesse, lamenesse, or any other grievous sicknesse ; will our adversaries say, that by baptisme hee shal bo frcd from them ; as they imagine, that Constantine, when he was baptized by Silvester, was fred from his leprosie ? I think they dare not say it ; foi* then, as Aquinas and Durandus doe reason^ — " Men would seeke the benefit of baptisme for worldly respects ;" to wit. That they may be fred from temporall miseries, and not for the glorie of eternall lyfe. Ye see, then, that this difficultie anent the reservation of temporall punishment, after sinne is remitted, concerneth our adversaries as well as us : and that, for ought we know of God his dealing with men in baptisme, and in penitential reconciliation after baptisme, temporall punishment is alyke discharged in both ; so that, if baptismall remission free a man from Purgatorie fire after this life, penitential remission must have the lyke effect. Wherfore, as our adversaries do say of these penalties, or temporal miseries, unto which the baptized are subject after baptisme, that they are not truelie and properlie punishments, (they should say, they are not punishments merelie vindictive, for indeed they arc punishments), that the baptized are still subject to them, for their own weale : especiallie to the effect they may be conformed to Christ their head : that although they remayne after baptismall remission, yet baptismall remission is full and perfect ; no wayes exposing the baptized to a necessitie of suffering Purgatorie paynes after this lyfe : and, that although men be not fred from them presentlie, yet by vertue of baptismall remission, they shall, in the world to come, especiallie in the day of resurrection, be fullie fred from them. So we may say, and ought to say, of these temporall afflictions and calamities, unto which the elect are subject, after their sinnes are pardoned in penitentiall reconciliation : First, that they are not punish- ments meerlie vindictive or satisfactorio to the justice of God. Secondlic, that they are inflicted upon them for their weale ; to wit, that they may bee unto them exercyses of their vertues, and meanes wherby they are conformed ' Propter impassibilitatem prsesentis vitae, et non propter gloriam vitao etenifo. Aquinas [D. Thomas, 4to. Venetiis, 17871. 3 part. Sumina\ qu. fif), art.3. Projjtcr conimoditatcm vita* pripsentis, ot non propter fructum vita; spiritualis. Durandus in 4. Sent. Dist. 4. qua-st. 3. [§ i). Fol. LuRd. 1587.] A FUNEEALL SERMON. 41 unto Christ their head. Thirdlie, that although they bee inflicted after penitentiall remission, yet penitentiall remission is perfect, and no ways exposeth penitent sinners to a necessitie of suffering Purgatorie payns after this lyfe. And last of al, that although penitent sinners be not fred from them in this lyfe, yet by vertue of penitentiall remission, and of Christ's merits, which by it are applyed unto them, they shall obtayne a totall and perfect deliverance from them in the lyfe to come, when all the stayne or deformitie of sinne shall be fullie purged out. Here indeed such a deliverance cannot be expected : For although our Saviour hath merited unto us a deliverance, both from sinne, and also from the punishments and consequents of it, yet seeing it hath not pleased God to free us fullie from sinne in this lyfe, it is not to bee marveled that wee are not fullie delivered, so long as we live here, from these evils and miseries which are the punishments and consequents of sinne. But blessed be God, as we are here fred from the dominion of sinne, so also are we fred from the malediction of the punishment. And as we shall hereafter be altogether fred from sinne itselfe ; so shal we also be fred altogether from the miseries which are the consequents thereof. But to leave this, and to come to that other argument which our adversaries doe bring agaynst us, from the severe discipline observed in the auncient Church towards those who had fallen into mortall sinnes after baptisme, and from the long and paynful exercyses of repentance imposed upon them : truelie it is a wonder that our adversaries should be so impudent as to affirm that that laudable custome of the ancients doeth make for them, seeing it maketh so manifestly against them. For these penitentiall exercyses were not by the ancient Church imposed upon men after absolution or remission of sinnes, as means requisit for a removall of temporall punishments, or for a deliverance from Purgatorie paynes ; but were imposed ordinarily before it, as means requisit for obtayning remission of the sinne itselfe, and deliverance from eternall damnation. For the Fathers gave not absolution to sinners untill such tyme as they had accomplished penitentiall actions enjoyned: and after absolu- tion was given, they did not anie more impose such penance upon them, which I might easilie prove by a cloude of ancient witnesses ; but I need not, seeing so manie of our 42 A FDNERALL SERMON. adversaries doe eonfesse it.^ By this ye may perceave, that the Fathers of the ancient Church beheved, that in penitentiall reconciliation, there is a full discharge of the whole punishment. For if they had thought otherwayes, they would have imposed penall exercyses upon penitentes after they were absolved ; to the effect that by them they might be fred from these reserved or undischarged punishmentes. I know Bellarmine sayeth — That those penal exercyses, which in the ancient Church preceeded absolution, were imposed ad pcenam temi^oralem expiandam, to the end that the penitents might be fred from those temporall punishments, which would have bene reserved after the remission of their sins, if those satisfactorie exercyses had not preceeded. But this is flat contrarie to the mynde of those Fathers : for they thought, that if those penitentiall exercyses or satisfactions, as they called them (but not in that sense in the which Papists now take this word), did not proceed, nothing of the punishment should bee discharged unto the delinquents ; and consequentlie that one part of it, to wit, the temporall punishment, should not bee reserved, Temporall punishment is sayd to bee reserved onlie when the eternall is discharged ; or, as our adversaries speake, when the eternall is so remitted, that in liew thereof, temporall punishment is imposed. But the ancients thought, that without prsecedent satisfaction, by posnall exercyses, eternall punishment is not discharged ; or, which is all one, sinne is not remitted :^ and consequentlie, they thought, that 1 Bellarni. [Fol. Ingolstad. 1601. torn. 3.] de pscnit. lib. iv, cap. 5 [§ ad h£cc] ; Estius, [torn. iv. Fol. Duac. 1616,] in 4 sent. dist. 15, § 10 ; Suarez [Fol. Compluti, 1590,] in 3 part. Tli. toni. iv, disp. 38, sect. 2, § 5 ; N^asquez [Fol. Ajitverp. 1614 et 1616] in eandeni part. Tli. torn, iv, qua>st. 90, art. 1. dub. 2, num. 26 ; Vide ctiam Cassand. [Fol. Paris. 1616] consult, art. 12, de poenit. ; Albasp. [4to. Paris, 1623] de voter. Eccles. ritibus, lib. 2, observ. .3, p. 21.5, et lllienanum in Annotat. in TcrtuUiani libruni de J'ccnitentia, p. 25. [TcrtuUianus, Fol. Franckerso, 1597.] '■^ Tertul. lib. de Pcenitcntia, cap. 6. Quani porro inoptum quam paini- tentiam non adiiuplerc, et veniam [delictorum ?] sustinere ; hoc est, expec- tare. Ambros. 63, § 16, ad Fcclcs. Vercellensem. [Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1616] Quaj nobis salus esse potest ni.si jejunio eluerimus peccata nostra I Et [Lib. de lajtsis Virg. consecr. §§ 33, 37.] PuMiitudo enini lajtsis necessaria estjsicut vulneratis ncccfsaria sunt nu'dicaniina. Et infra ; graude scelus, graudem necessarians habctsatisfactioneni, August, lib. (piimniagintalionii- liaruni, Iloniil. .50. [Edit. cit. Tom. 5. sermon .351, § 12.] Non suflicit mores in melius commutare, et a factis malis rccedere, nisi etiam de liis quon facta A FUNERALL SERMON. 43 when satisfaction doeth not proceede, temporall punishment is not reserved. Ye have heard what Popish doctors say concerning the greater, or mortall sinnes of those who die in the Lord, and concerning the temporall punishment which they thinke is ever reserved, when they are remitted after baptisme. Now I come to the smaller sinnes of the godlie, which they call veniall. Our adversaries say of them, that although a man die in the Loi*d, yet he may die Avith the guiltinesse of these sinnes, not having as yet obtayned pardon or remission of them ; especially if ho die suddenly, or in the rage of a fever : and that in respect hee hath never retracted them by repentance, nor craved pardon for them. In which case, say they, " he cannot enter into Heaven immediately after death, (because no polluted or unclean thing can enter into that glorious citie), but must, for a tyme, be tormented in Purgatorie, to the effect he may be fully cleansed from the guiltinesse of those sinnes." This comfortlesse doctrine of our adversaries consisteth of three assertions, which we shall particularlie, but verie shortlie consider. The first is, that sinne is never pardoned, except it bee retracted by repentance : or, to use their owne phrase, except there bee some reall change in the sinner, or some previous disposition, whereby he is fitted and prepared for receaving remission. The second is, that those of the elect who die suddenlie, or in a raging fever, can not have this previous disposition, which consisteth in the acts of repentance ; and consequently, they die without remission of their veniall sinnes. The third is, that they who die so must bee purged from their guiltinesse, by suffering Purgatorie payns. The first of these assertions, if it bee taken in its full generalitie, and extended to all cases, it ought not to bee admitted. For although in that great and mayne justifica- tion, whereby wee are translated from the estate of sinne into the estate of grace, mortall sinne is not remitted to those who are come to perfect age, without some reall and intrinsecall alteration in them, or without some previous sunt Deo satisfiat, &c. Cassiaims Collat. 23, cap. 15, [p, 848, Fol. Atrebati. 1628.] Qiiisquis enim post baptisnmm et scieutiam Dei in mortis irrucrit corpus, sciat se purgandum afflictiono pocniteutiic diuturna, aut pcrnali dolore, non quotidiana gratia Christi ; id est, facili remissioue — aut ccrto pro iis deputandum sc esse postca poenis aiternis, &c. 44 A FUNERALL SERMON. disposition, whereby they are disposed and fitted for it. According to that of holy Augustine,! " he who made thee, without thy consent and concurrence, doeth not justifie thee without thy consent and concurrence." Yet it is possible, yea, verie probable, that these smaller sins are sometyms remitted by our gracious Lord to those who are alreadie justified, without anie previous change or disposition on their part, especially when by suddentie of death, and indisposition of bodie and mynde, they are impeded from considering and acknowledging of their offences. This should not seeme strange to our adversaries, seeing manie of their moderne scholasticke wryters, and those of greatest note, do teach : First, that God, according to the fulnesse of his abso- lute power, might, if he pleased, remit sinnes, both mortall and veniall, without anie infusion of grace, yea, without anie in- trinsecall change or previous disposition by repentance in those to whom they are remitted.^ Secondlie, that mortall sinnes not onlie may bee, but also sometymes are remitted, without anie act of contrition, (or formall repentance, as they call it) especiallie in the case of oblivion ; that is, when a man is altogether unmyndfull of them. 3 Thirdlie, that veniall sinnes may bee, and often are, remitted, without anie act of repentance, whether formall or virtuall, by aspersion of holie water, Episcopall benediction, giving of alms, &c. and that ex opere operator Now, if God, out of the fullnesse of his absolute power, can remit anie sinne, without repent- ance upon our part ; and if hee sometymes doeth show this fullnesse of his power, together with the greatnesse of his mercie, in pardoning the mortall sinnes of the elect, without anie prscvious act of contrition, when they cannot be remembered, as also in pardoning veniall sinnes without the same, even when they may be easilie remembered, shall ^ Qui fecit te sine te, noii te sine te justificat. Serm. de Verbis Apostoli, c. 11. [Ed. cit. Serm. clxix.§ 13,] '■^ Suarez de gratia, Pars. I. lib. 7, c. 23, § 2; Curiel in lam 2^= S. Tlioni. qu. 113, art. 2, dub. 2, § 2. [Lecturrc sen Quest, in D. Thomam, fol. Duac. 1618.] Zumel in lam 2a" art. 2. 2 disp. torn. ii. [Zumel al. C'umel. fol. Salmanticre 1593] ot Tannenis in l-im 2"" disp. 4. thes. GG. ^ Suarez in 3 part. S. Th. torn. 4. disj). 9. sect. 1, assert 2 ; Vasq. in oandem part. S. Th. qu. 86. art. 2. dub. 1. num. 18. toni. iv. p. 77. "•Valent. [(Jreg. de] in. Tli. torn. iv. disp. 7- qu. 4. punct. 1. [Fol. Vcnet. 1600] ; Victoria [Fr. a] in smnnia Sacram. tract, de paMiit. num. 110. [Svo. Antverp. 1.580] ct Melch. Canus, 1. 12. de locis, cap, 3. ad 9. A FUNERALL SERMON. 45 we not think that he will dispense with the defect of repentance in them for their veniall sinnes, and supplie it by gracious condonation, when through suddentie of their departure, or through indisposition of body and mind, they are not able to have it ? Manie things in such a case pleade for mercie and favour to the godlie man ; yea, pleade more powerfullie and eflfectuallie with God, than aspersion of holie water, Episcopall benediction, or anie other of these things, which Papists call Sacramentalia ; to wit, inherent grace, (which is a habituall repentance ; for by it wee habituallie detest and forsake all sinne) the prayer of the faythfull, who are then present with him, the prayer of the Church in generall, which at all tymes recom- mendeth to God most earnestlie those who are in distresse and danger, eyther temporall or spirituall ; and, above all, the intercession of our Lord and Saviour for him in the Heavens. To these wee may adde the prayers of the godlie man hiraselfe, (who dieth so), by which long before death, preparing himselfe for death, hee most frequentlie and ferventlie besought the Lord to grant unto him a happie departure, and a full discharge of all his sinnes before his dissolution. The godly put up this request to God ordinarilie in their prayers ; and consequently it is granted unto them. For seeing the eflPectuall fervent prayer of the righteous avayleth much ;l and seeing Christ hath told us, that "■ if wee abyde in him, and his wordes abyde in us, wee shall aske what wee will, and it shall be done unto us ;*'*'2 it were great follie to imagine that the godlie in vayne put up this request to God. In the second assertion of our adversaries, there is no certaintie at all. For although a godlie man die suddenlie, or in a great rage and distemper, yet who knoweth what operation the Spirit of God hath secretly upon his departing soule immediatelie before it bee loosed from the bodie ; or what communication hee hath with God, after the passages of his senses are so stopped that hee can have no communi- cation with men ? It may bee, when hee seemeth to thee altogether senselesse, that then hee is most sensible of his spirituall estate, and is crying " peccavi, miserere, I have sinned greatlie in that I have done ; and now I beseech thee, 1 Jamef? v. 16. ^ John xv. 7. 46 A FUNERALL SERMON. 0 Lord, take iiway the iniquitie of thy servant."^ It may bee, when hee is speachlesse, and past conference with men, that hee is then entertaining an heavenlie conference or dialogue with Christ his Saviour : that liee hcareth Christ saying — " Surelie I come quicklie ;" and is replying — " Even so, come Lord Jesus,"^ that he is saying — " Lord, remember me, for now thou art in thy kingdom ;" and that he heareth Christ rounding in his eare, that which Hee sayd to the penitent thief — "To-day shalt thou be with mee in Paradise."^ 1 will not take upon mee to determine whether or not these of the godlie who die suddenlie, or in a raging fever, have anie such exercyse of prayer and repentance after they have lost the use of their senses ; but this one thing I will say — If God have decreed to pardon no sin, how small soever, but upon subsequent repentance, as our adversaries affirme in their first assertion, it is more than probable that God granteth that benefit to al the godly before their departure whatsoever be the manner of their death, or their carriage in death. The third assertion of our adversaries which is drawne out of the other two, as a conclusion from its prsemisses, hath but two faultes ; one is, that these prsemisses upon which it is grounded are not sure; the other is, that although they were infallibly true, yet the conclusion itselfe might bee denyed. For although wee should grant that repentance by God's appoyntment and decree is absolutely necessary for remission of everie sinne, how small soever, and that manie godlie die without it, yet it will not follow that they must bee tormented after this lyfe in Purgatorie ; for the common and receaved doctrine of the Papists themselves anent the remission of these veniall sinnes with which a man dieth, doeth shewc us a fayr and easic way to eschew that melancholious and fearfull consequent. For they all (some few being excepted) affirm, that those venial sinnes from which the elect are not fred before death, are remitted to them in the verie instant of death, or (which is all one) in that instant in the which the soule is separated from the bodie. This doctrine was not onlie maintained by Alensis, Thomas, Scotus, Durandus, Almainus, and manie other 1 2. Sam.xxiv. 10. - Rtncl. xxii, 20. •' Luko xxiii, 42, 4.'$. A FUNERALL SERMON, 47 auncient schoole-men, (who iadeede doe differ verie much amongst themselves anent the meane or disposition whereby remission of veniall sinnes is obtained, in that first instant of separation) but also by their most famous late wryters, whohave handled this matter, partlie in their disputes against us, and partlie in their commentaries and disputes upon the third part of Thomas his summe. Quest. 87.^ Now, if these sinnes bee remitted in the moment of dissolution, what can followe after that moment, but eternitie of blessednesse : For that which did let or impede the present entrance of the godlie man into his Master's joy, to wit, his guiltinesse of veniall sinnes, is removed by God's gracious condonation, in the verie dissolution of his soule and his bodie, as our adversaries affirme. And perhaps it is so ; yea, that most learned and judicious divine. Doctor Field,2 seemeth to have beene altogether of this mynde. But I dare not peremptorlie affirme anie thing in a matter so secret and hid from our knowledge ; (for perhaps the remission of these veniall sinnes precedeth the moment of dissolution, as I have alreadie marked) onelie I maintaine this conditionall assertion, that if those sinnes bee remitted in the instant of death, there is no punishment inflicted for them after death. I know they will reply, that although these sinnes bee pardoned, yet the whole punishment due unto them is reserved, and no wayes discharged. ^ But this conceat is so fond, that it needeth not anie refutation ; for it is repugnant to the verie nature of remission,* and to the ordinarie conception which men have of it, (for who would say that the King did pardon a traytor, if hee did inflict upon him all the punishment due unto him for his treason) ? as also to that notable proportion which is betwixt 1 Suarez in 3. part. S. Th. torn. 4. disp. 11. sect. 4. [§ 18]; Vasquez in eandem part. Th. quest 87. art. 1. dub. 2. n. 17 ; Valent. torn. iv. disp. 7. quest. 4. punct. 1 ; Becanus Theolog. Scholast. part. 3. cap. 32. qu. 9 ; [4to. Mogunt. 1628] ; Gaspar Hurtado, [Fol. Antverp. 1633,] tract, de Sacram. disp. 2. de pcenit. difficult. 17, &c. ^ Appendic. ad lib. 5. de Ecclesia, parte 1. pag. 775. — [Appendix to 2nd book " Of the Church," Fol. Oxford, 1628, p. 775.] 3 Suarez, in 3. part. S. Th, Quest. 87. Disp. 11. de Pcenit. Sect. 4. § 18. Vasquez in eandem part. S. Th. qu. 87. art. 1, dub. 2, num. 22. * Peccatum Veniale remitti nihil aliud est quam poenam ad quam homo est obligatus ratione venialis totaliter solvi, aut nobis condonari, aut saltem commutari in obligationem ad minorem poenam. Almain. in 14. Sent. Dist. 21. qu. 1.— [8vo. Paris, 1526. fol. 146.J 48 A FUNERALL SERMON. our deliverance from sinne, and from those miseries which are the consequents thereof. For, as I observed before, the reason wherefore men are not fully delivred in this lyfe from those punishments or miseries which are the consequents of sinne, is because they are not fully fred from sinne itselfe. But in death, as all doe grant, the soule of a good man is fully fred from sinne : nothing remayneth therein which displeaseth GoD ; and that which pleaseth God, to wit, inherent righteousnesse, is perfect in it. Hence wee justlie conclude, that as it is fully fred from sinne, so also is it from all the consequents of sinne ; and that in respect nothing remayneth in it which may offende GoD, or provoke Him to doe that which Hee is unwilling to doe ; I meane to punish. 1 This also ought to bee confessed by those Popish wryters, who doe teach concerning inherent grace, that it is so amiable or lovelie a qualitie in the sight of God, that by it selfe, or by its own naturall force, and not for anie reference which it hath to Christ, for whose merits it is infused, it maketh God to accept those in whom it is found, unto eternall lyfe, as His children and heyres. Now, if this be the naturall force and efficacie, or the connaturall effect, (as Suarez calleth it)^ of inherent righteousnesse, even when it is imperfect, or at least when it is conjoyned with originall concupiscence, the reliques of vicious acquired habites, the rebellious motions of the flesh, and manie veniall enormities, as they call them ; what force shall it have to make God to respect, to love, to affect tenderlie, the soule of a man after death ? and, consequentlie, not to torment and punish it, when it is fuUie fred from all those vicious inclinations and motions. I have showne you, at great length, (and that because of the perverse opinions of our adversaries), that to die in the Lord is common to all the elect. Nowe I come to that other poynt, which I propounded to bee handled anent the same wordes ; that is, to showe you what this phrase, to die in the Lord, (taking it as it is common to all the godlie), importeth. All those who take it so, agree amongst themselves anent the meaning thereof; to wit, that it is ^ Laniont. iii. .TJ. - Suarez, de Gratia Div. lib. 7, c. 12. Vide etiam cap. T), eju.sdem lib, A FUNERALL SERMON. 49 to die in that liappie union which wee have with Christ by true fayth, and other theologicall vertues. There bee foure thinges wherein men are sayde to die this bodihe death, mentioned in holie Scripture. I. Men die in Adam. 2. Men die eyther in prospcritie or adversitie ; riches or povertie, or moyen condition ; in high honour or in lowe degree ; in payne or without payne, &c. 3. Men are sayde to die in their sinnes. 4. Men are sayd to die in Christ. The first of these foure is simpHe common to all the children of Adam by naturall propagation. The second is disjunctivelie common to all. The third befalleth all who die without Christ. The fourth appertayneth to them onelie who in this text are called blessed ; " blessed are they that die in the Lord." The first hath a diverse manner of signification from the other three. For " to die in Adam"" signifieth not onelie the co-exist- ence of a man''s beeing in Adam, and of his dying, but also the meritorious cause of our death, to wit, that by the sinne of Adam, in whom we all sinned, and from whom wee bring with us into this worlde originall corruption, wee are all lyable to death. " As in Adam all die," as sayeth the Apostle, " even so in Christ shall all bee made alyve." i This dying of all in Adam is explayned by the same Apostle elsewhere, " by one man sinne entered into the worlde, and death by sinne ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned ."2 Whereby is evidentlie overthrowne that errour of Pelagius and his followers, who falselie denyed death bodilie to have beene brought in by sinne ; affirming — as Augustine relatetli^ — that altho Adam had not sinned, yet hee had died bodilie death. Which assertion, as verie pernicious and hsereticall, and brought in for denying of originall sinne, was justly condemned and anathematized in the second Milevitane Councell.^ The other three beeing understood of bodilie death, doe signifie rather the estate wherein a man is found when hee dieth. For altho hee who dieth in his sinnes, hath in his I I. Cor. XV. 22. 2 Rom. v. 12. =» Aug. haiies. 88. [torn. \dii. p. 26. Ed. cit.] ■* Concil. Milev. ii. cau. 1. [Concilium Milevitanum, Milevium in Numidia : Anno 416. — Sir H. Nicolas' Clironology of History, 8vo. 183S, p. 217.-E.] 4 •"'O A FUNERALL SERMON. sinnes the merite of both the first and second death, yet when a man is sayde to die in his sinnes, is not so much poynted at the cause of his bodilie death, beeing now common to all flesh, as the miserable and dolefull condition wherin death findeth him, and carrieth him away. Which before wee explayne, let us speakc a word of dying in prosperitic or adversitie, &c. " One dieth,"" sayeth holie Job,i " in his full strength beeing whollie at ease, and quyet ; his breastes are full of milke, and his bones are moystened with marrow. And another dieth in the bitternesse of his soule, and never eateth with pleasure. They shal lye downe alyke in the dust, and the worms shall cover them." Here are two things to bee observed : — 1. That men are sayd to die in prosperitie or adversitie, onelie in regard of their estate before they bee dead, and not in respect of anie condition in and after death ; for the one so dieth in prosperitie, and the other in adversitie temporall, as by dying, both hee leaveth his pros- peritie, and hee his adversitie. 2. In regard of that transient estate, they are made by death both asquall. " They lye downe alyke in the dust. There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the wearie bee at rest. There the prisoners rest together, they heare not the voyce of the oppressour. The small and great are there ; and the servant is free from his master." 2 Mors sceptra ligonihus cequat. The third thing wherein men are sayd to die is in their sinnes. This befalleth all the unbelievers who die in unbeliefe, according to that saying of our Saviour — " I sayde therefore unto you, that yce shall die in your sinnes. For if yee believe not that I am Hee, yee shall die in your sinnes.'"^ Where is not meaned, that they shall cease to bee in their sinnes, or in the stayne and guiltinesse therof, as those who dying in worldlie wealth or povertie cease to bee in them anie more : but hee that dieth in his sinnes, " his bones are full of the sinno of his youth, which shall lye downe with him in the dust."* Now, as Salomon sayth, " If the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be :^ That is, 1 .lob xxi. 23, 24, 25, 26. « Job iii. 17, 18, 19. '•* Joan. viii. 24. ' .Tob. xx. 11. ^ ]''oclos. xi. 3. A FUNERALL SERMON. 51 as Saynct Hieromei expounds the place, " In what estate a man dieth, eyther in sinne or in righteousnesse, hee shall for ever reraayne in that same estate." The miserie of such a man is descrybed in the Evangell of Saynct John, with the felicitie of those who live and die in the true fayth of the Sonne of GoD, briefelie, in these wordes, " Hee that believeth on the Sonne hath everlasting lyfe : and hee that believeth not the Sonne, shall not see lyfe, but the wrath of God abydeth on him."^ Therefore this proposition " Blessed are they that die in the Lord," is reciprocall, they die in the Lord who are blessed, meaning of mortall men, who die this bodilie death ; of whom none are blessed but onlie they that die in the Lord. " Neyther is there salvation in anie other ; for there is none other name under heaven given amongst men whereby wee must bee saved.^s To die in the Lord, signifieth not that the Lord is the cause of our death, as Adam to them that die in Adam ; but it signifieth that happie estate of a dying man that hee is in the Lord, and consequentlie of the number of those of whom the Apostle sayeth, " There is no condemnation to those which are in Christ Jesus."^ Neyther doeth dying in the Lord import ceasing from beeing in the Lord, as they who die in worldlie wealth or povertie doe cease to bee in that estate anie more : but " to die in the Lord,"^ signifieth to die beeing and remayning in the Lord, before death, in death, and after death. The Lord is our lyfe, even reternall lyfe. He then that dieth in the Lord remayneth in lyfe, according to that saying of our Saviour, " Verilie, verilie, I say unto you, he that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Mee, hath everlasting lyfe, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto lyfe."^ Death may separate our soule from our bodie, but it cannot breake that union which wee have with Jesus Christ,^ whose wee are, whether wee live or die. I come nowe to a more particular consideration of this union which wee have with Christ in lyfe and death, and ' Hieron. coram, in Eccles. cap. 11. — [torn. ii. p 778. Ed. cit.] 2 Joan. iii. 36. » Act. iv. 12. * Rom. viii. 1. 5 Joann. i. 4 ; Coloss. iii. .*? ; 1. .Joann. v. 12, 20. « .Joann. v. 24. " Rom. xiv. 8. OZ A FUNERALL SKRMON. ill respect whereof wee are sayde heere to die in the Lord. This union is so strange and wonderfull, that it cannot bee sufficientlio expressed by anie one kynde of union ; and therefore the Spirit of God in the Scripture expresseth it by manie, and those raost diverse sortes of union or conjunction : to wit, by the iniion of eonformitie ; telhng us, that " wee are prsedestinated to bee conformed to the image of the Son of God," by the union of affection : yea, of most entire affection or friendship ; telhng us, that wee are His friends, brethren and spouse, by the union of influence or reall operation ; telling us, that Hee is the vine and wee are the branches ; that Hee is the head and we are His members -A whereby is signified, That as the roote of the vine, by reall influence, doeth communicate lyfe, nowrishment, and gi'owth, unto the branches, and as the head, by reall influence or operation, doeth communicate sense and motion unto the inferiour members, and doeth direct them in their actions, — so Christ, by the secret and most powerfull influence of His Spirit, doeth communicate spiritual lyfe, sense, motion, and growth, unto the members of His mysticall bodie : as also directeth them in their actions, making them to " walke circumspectlie,"" and " to worke out their salvation with feare and trembling."^ And because thinges are united, or joyned together, two wayes, by the union of influence ; to wit, eyther so that they concurre together to make up one totall or composed substance ; (as for example. The head and the members make up one totall substance, and so doe the roote and the branches) ; which sort of union is called a formall, substantiall, and physicall union :^ or else so that no totall or composed thing is made up of them : (so the loadstone, and the iron which it draweth to itselfe, are united together), which sort of union is called utiio efectiva,^ an union of meere influence or efficiencie. Therefore our conjunction with Christ is expressed in Scripture, sometymes by a formall and physicall union, as when Hee is called the Vine and we the branches ; or when ' Unio conformitatis ; Rom. viii. 2,0. Unio per affectum ; Joan. xv. 15 ; Heb. ii. 11 ; 2. Cor. xi. 2 ; Ephes. v. 25, &c. Unio per influxxim ; Joan. XV. 1, 2 ; Ephcs. i. 22, 23 ; Coloss. i. 18. 2 Ephes. V. 15 ; Thilip. ii. 12. '•* Unio formalis. * Unio effoctiva. A FUNERALL SERMON. Oo Hee is called the Head, and wee the members of His bo die : and sometymes by the union of meere influence ; as when He sayeth, " If I bee lifted up from the earth, I will drawe all men unto Mee ;"i and, " Loe, I am with you alwayes, even unto the ende of the worlde."2 Now, to apply all this to the present purpose : — The godlie have all these kyndes or sorts of union with Christ in death as well as in lyfe, and therefore they are most justlie sayde to die in the Lord. And first, as for the Union of Conformitie ; although the learned, speaking of that conformitie with Christ unto which wee are prfedes- tinated, doe onlie mention our conformitie with him in grace and glorie ; yet betwixt these two wee may verie well take in another part of degree of our conformitie with Christ ; to wit, our conformitie with Him in our death, which is the passage from grace to glorie. For as wee resemble Him by an holie lyfe, so also by an happie and victorious death. This degree of conformitie which the godlie have with Christ is grounded chiefelie upon three respectes. For first, as Christ died voluntarilie, and by way of obedience to GrOD His Father^s commandement, so the godlie die, humblie submitting themselves and all their desires unto God's will. For although, when that bitter cuppe of deadlie sicknesse is presented to a godlie man, he sometymes say with Christ, " Father, if it be possible, let this cup passe from mee, "^ yet He ever doeth subjoyne this, " Neverthe- losse, not as I will, but as Thou wilt." Secondlie, As Christ died to destroy the " works of the devil C'^ that is, to take away our sinnes ; so the godlie desire to die that they may be fred from their sinnes, and not offende GoD anie more ; saying with Sampson, " Let mee die with these my enemies.""^ Thirdlie, As Christ died to acquire a kingdome to Himselfe,^ so death is to the godlie an entrance into " that kingdome which God hath promised to those that love Him t'"^ and everie godlie man may, when hee dieth, say with Paul, " Hencefoorth there is layde up for mee a crowne of righteousnesse."^ Secondlie, As for the union of love or friendship whicli 1 .Joan. xii. 32. ^ Matth. xxviii. 20. ■' Matth. xxvi. 39. * 1. Joaii. iii. 5 and S. '^ Judg. xvi. 30. ® Rom. xiv. 0. '' James ii. 5. '' 2. Tim. iv. 8. 54 A FUNERALL SERMON. the godlie have with Christ, death cannot eude or dissolve it : for Paul telleth us, " That nothing is able to separate us from the love of Christ,''! and in the wordes following boldhe giveth a defyanee to death; affirming — That it is not able to effectuate this separation. Mainie, yea great and inffisteemable benefits redound unto the godlie by vertue of this union in the hour of their death. For, first, by reason of it, Christ Jesus, in that most dangerous houre, pleadeth for them most earnestlie and efffectuallie. Our necessitie doeth require this. For when wee are arreasted by death, and are going to bee prsesented before that dreadful tribunall, where all our works of righteousnesse, yea all our sufferings can not sufficientlie pleade for us ; wee have more nor neede, that that blood " which speaketh better thinges than that of Abell,"'''^ should pleade for mercy and favour to us. His love also, and most tender affection, which made Him to ware or bestowe His blood and His lyfe for us, cannot but make Him to ware his request for it, in that tyme of our great neede. Hee who upon the crosse prayed for His cruell tormentors, will undoubtedlie, nowe when Hee is in His kingdome, remember His friendes, and say — Pater, ignosce Us ; Father, forgive them.3 Hee who in that last and most dolourous night of His lyfe, when Hee made, as it were, His legacie, and declared His latter will to his Father, sayde, concerning all the elect — " Father, I will that they also whome thou hast given Mee, bee with Mee,""* &c. Hee, I say, will particularlie, for everie one of them, at the houre of their death, say — " Father, it is My will, that this My servant, whom Thou hast given Mee, bee with Me where I am, that hee may beholde that glorie which Thou hast given Mee. Secondlie, In respect of this union, Christ doeth strengthen the godlie upon their bed of languishing, and " makcth all their bed in their sicknesse ;"5 yea, Hee maketh a bed of inward joye and comfort unto their soules, wherein they may rest and be refreshed, when their bodily payns are most greivous and intollerable : For then Hee speaketh to them, by His Spirit, " wordes of comfort ;"" or rather, as Peter calleth them, " words of reternal lyfe.^^ He sayth to them, as Hee sayde to the ' Horn. viii. 35. ^ Ilobr. xii. 24. ^ Liikc xxiii. M. ' .Toan.xvii. 24. » Psal. xli. 3. •"• Joun. vi. 68. A FUNERALL SERMON. 55 poenitent thiefe — " To-day shalt thou bee with Mee in Paradise."! Hee sayth to them, as Hee sayde concerning Lazarus his sicknesse — " This sicknesse is not unto death ;""2 yea, " This death is not unto death,^ but for the glorie of God, and also for your glorie, that by it yee may attayne unto seternall glorie and happinesse ;" and as He sayd to Jacob, when hee was going downe to /Egypt — " Feare not to goe downe to ^gypt, for I will goe downe with thee, and will surelie bring thee up agayne ;" so sayth He to His languishing and dying servants — " Feare not to goe downe into the darke and silent grave, for I will goe downe with you, and I also will surelie bring you up agayne."* These and the like comforts Christ Jesus, by the inward and secret language or testimonie of His Spirit, doeth communicate unto manie of His servantes upon their death- beds ; but whether or not he doeth communicate them unto all the elect without exception, I dare not determine, as I said before. One thing I firmlie believe — That all the elect are, in some measure, strengthened by Him upon the bed of languishing ; I meane, upon their death-bed ; yea, so strengthened, that all the powers of hell can not make them to die in that fearfull sinne of desparation. For GOD, who is not deficient in thinges necessarie for our naturall lyfe,^ and much lesse in thinges necessarie for our spirituall estate, hath given us this sweet promise — " I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee ;'"6 and, consequentlie, doeth ever conserve in His own children such a measure of fayth and hope as is sufficient for salvation. Thirdlie, As the godlie in the houre of death are bolde to " commend their spirites unto Christ,"7 and, as it were, to breathe out their soules into His bosome (for this is the last sute of a departing saynct, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit") ;8 so Hee also, in regard of this union, granteth their desire ; that is, He receaveth their spirits. He welcometh them with this sweet salve; — Intra in gaudium Domini tui — Enter into the joye of thy Lord ; and Hee prsesenteth them unto His Father, saying — 1 Luke xxiii. 43. ^ Joaiin. xi. 4, * Hoc est ergo, quod ait, infirinitas \vxc nou est ad uiortem, quia et ipsa (mors) nou erat ad mortem. August. Tract 49, in Joann. [torn. iii. p. 261. Ed. cit.] •* Genes, xlvi. 3. ' Deus uon deficit in necessariis. « Hebr. xiii. .5. " Luc. xxiii. 46. » Act. vii. 69. 56 A FUNERALL SERMON. " Beholde, I and the children which God hath given Mee."" John, I am sure, was glad when Christ sayde to His mother, Beholde thy sonne, and to him Behold thy mother.l Howe much more shall wee rejoyce when Christ, bringing our soules into God's chamber of prsesence, shall say to God, Ecce Jilli tui, Beholde thy children, and to us, Ecce Pater vester, Beholde your Father, The third, or last sort of imion, which the godlie have with Christ, to wit, the union of influence, or reall operation ; and in speciall that union whereby the godlie are united with Christ, as members of his mysticall bodie, and branches ingrafted in him, not onlie continueth or endureth unto death, but in death ; and by vertue thereof the spirituall lyfe which is communicated unto the godlie in their regenera- tion, and the vitall operations of the same, are so effectuallie and reallie preserved, that the godlie may be sayd not onlie to live when they die, but also to come by death to a greater perfection of their lyfe. For the Spirit of God in the Holio Scripture telleth us, that the supernaturall lyfe which we have by grace, is an everlasting lyfe ;2 as lykewyse that it is but imperfect here, and shall be perfected hereafter. For here we walke by fayth, and not by sight ;^ and now (that is, in this present lyfe) we see through a glasse, darklie ; but then (that is, in the lyfe to come) we shall see God face to face.4 And therefore holie Augustine sayeth verie well, that our lyfe, which now is nothing but hope, shall hereafter be seternitie ; and that the lyfe of this mortall lyfe is the hope of an immortall lyfe.^ Yee have heard now that the union which the godly have with Christ is not abolished, nor yet diminished, but rather augmented and perfected by death. Whereby ye may learne first, how firme and stable that union is which wee have with Christ, seeing, as I have shown you, death itselfe is not able to dissolve it. Happie are these then who " count all things but dung, that they may gaine Chi-ist, and that they may be found in him,"" 6 &c. For with Mario they have " chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from ' .Joan. xix. 26, 27. " Joan, v, 24. ^ 2. Cor. v. 7. '1. Cor. xiii. 12. ■"' Vita nostra modo spes est, vita nostra jtostea ajtcrnitas crit. Vita vitto jnortali.s, spes est vitsc iminortalis. Enaiiat. in Psal. ciii. Cone. 4. [S 17.] « riiilip. iii. S. A FUNERALL SERMON. 57 them ;"! and on the contrarie, miserable and mad fooles arc they who have set their heartes upon worldlie thinges, and are united unto them by affection ; for first, they shall shortlie be divided or separated from these things ; next, that separation shall procure more griefe to them nor ever they had delight or contentment by enjoying these evanish- ing trifles ; and thirdlie, which is worst of all, in that dread- full judgement which followeth after death, they shall be condemned to everlasting torments, for the inordinate love which they carried to them. Bernard sayeth verie wittilie,'2 that the death of the wicked man is evill, in respect of the losse of worldlie things, worse in respect of the unhappie separation of his bodie from the soule, and worst of all because of that double torment or vexation of the wormc and of the fire. Moreover, the indissolubilitie and aeternitie of that union which the Godlie have with Christ maketh the union which they have amongst themselves, perpetuall and indissoluble by death. " They are lovelie and pleasant in their lyves," — as David in his mourning song sayd of Saul and Jonathan, — "and in death they are not divided." 3 For although some of the members of Christ's bodie be called out from this lyfe before others, yet they remaine still united to one head, and consequentlie are still united amongst them- selves, and albeit they be locallie separated for a tyme, yet they shall shortlie meet together in their father's house, and shall joyfullie sing for ever that song of David, " Beholde how good and how pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unitie.*"'* Yee then who are united unto Christ by a true and lyvelie fayth, be carefull by your godlie admo- nitions and good example, to make these whom yee tenderlic affect, to be participant of the same union ; for if yee eflfectuate this, neyther death, nor judgement, nor anie other thing, shall divide you ; but if it be otherwayes, death and that judgement which followeth thereafter shall so divide you, that yee shall never have a joyful! meeting together agayno ; for when Christ shall come to judge the worlde " two women > Luke X. 42. '■^ Mors peccatorum pessliua. Et audi uncle pessima. Mala siquideiu est ill inundianiissione,pejor in caniis separatione, pessima in vennis ignisquc duplici contritionc. Epist. cv. adRomaiuim. •' 2. Samuel, i. 23. ' Tsal. cxxxiii, 1 . 58 A FUNERALL SERMON. shall be grinding together, the one shall be taken and the other left ; two men shall be in the field together, the one shall be taken and the other left ; yea, of two which shall be in one bed, one shall be taken, and the other left."! But what if they be both left and condemned to hel fire, shall they have anie comfortable societie or fellowship together ? No, for as in hell there is fire without light, night without rest, and death without an ende ; so there is corapanie with- out comfort ; yea those who were companions in sinne, when they meet together there, they salute each other with mutual] execrations, and curse the day that ever they saw other. Secondlie, consider for your use, how sweete an effect this our union with Christ produceth, seeing by vertue of it we spirituallie live, both in death and after death. If lyfe be so sweet as we commonlie say, and if this mortal, yea, this momentanie life, be so much esteemed by us, as that " a man will give skin for skin, and all that he hath, for his lyfe,''''^ how much should we esteeme and affect this spiritual! lyfe, and that blessed union with Christ, by vertue whereof it is begun, and also conserved in us unto all seternitie ? Hormisdas, the Persian, as I shew you before, thought little of all the glorie and statelinesse of Rome ; and that because he perceaved that men were mortall there as well as in other cities of the world. O, but if God had given him grace to enter by fayth into that " heavenly Hierusalem, the citie of the living Godf^ and if " the eyes of his understanding had bene enlightened, that he might have known what is the hope of our calling, and the riches of the glorie of God's inheritance in the Sancts ;"'^ that is, if he had known, that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to his aboundant mercie, hath begotten all these who are truelie and indeed citizens of this citie, in spem vivam ; unto a ly velie hope, (that is, {)i sjyem vitw ; unto the hope of lyfe, as Jerome^ expoundeth it ; or in spem vitw wternce, unto the hope of ?eternall lyfe, as Augustine rcadeth it),^ and to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and which fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us : If he, I say, had knowne this singular praerogative of 1 Luke xvii. 34, 35, 36. ^ Job ii. 4. » Hob. xii. 22. ■« F.plies. i. is. •■' Lib. I. contra Joviiiiamuii. — [Ed. cit. toin. 4. part 2. p. 182. J " Lib. I. de pccoatorum ineritis, et remiss. — [Ed. cit. toni. x. § 41.] A FUNERALL SERMON. 59 the citizens of heavenlie Hierusalem, he would have thought the glorie of Rome, and of all other cities in the world, to be basenesse in comparison of it ; and would have sayd with David, " Glorious thinges are spoken of thee, O citie of God fi or as he sayetli in another place, " Mount Sion is beautifull for situation, and the joye of the whole earth.^^ Thirdly, observe, I pray you, how sweet and comfortable a thing it is to the godlie, in the lioure of death, to consider that they are in Christ, and that the union which they have with Christ is perpetual and indissoluble. How comfortabhe and joyfullie may the faythfull servant of Christ then say, " There is no condemnation to them which are in Christ :"^ I am now dying, " neverthelesse I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me r"^ in Christ my Saviour " I have boldnesse and accesse unto the Throne of Grace, with confidence by the fayth of him."5 0 how excellent and happie a thing it is to a man then to have Tccpp^ataVy boldnesse with God to speake what he pleaseth, and to propound all his sutes ; to say. Lord, strengthen me against all my infirmities, and ray feares; "perfect thy strength in my weaknesse ('"'^ put an ende to all my miseries and my pains ; and " enter not into judgement with thy servant ;"" " Lord, walke with mee in this valley of the shadowe of death, that I may feare no evill ;""S " Father, I comend my spirit into Thy hands ;"9 " Heare me speedilie, O Lord, my spirit faileth : hide not thy face from me, lest I be lyke unto them that go down into the pit."lo The wicked cannot have this 'TTcc^^Tjfficcv, this boldnesse of speaking to God when death approacheth. They shall then finde how true that saying of our Saviour is, " Sine me nihil potestis facere ^ Without me you can do nothing. H For they may well in that houre cry " dliserere'''' with their lips, and say " Lord, let thy servant depart in peace ;" but their heart shall contradict them, and tell them, that " There is no peace to the wicked-^'l^ I come now to the consideration of that blessednesse, or happinesse, which is here attributed to these who die in the 1 Psal. Ixxxvii. 3. ^ Psal. xlviii. 2. ^ Rom. viii. 1. * Gal. ii. 20. ^ Ephes. iii. 12. « 2. Cor. xii. 9. ^ Psal. cxliii. 2. ® Psal. xxiii. 4. " Luke xxiii. 4f.". i» Psal. cxliii. 7. " John xv. 5. "* Isai. Ivii. 21. 00 A FUNERALL SERMON. Lord ; in the handling whereof, I intend not to fall out in a theologicall discourse, concerning that most noble and divine operation of our soule, wherein our sumnmni honum consisteth — I meane, the vision and fruition of the glorious countenance of GoD ; nor yet to trouble you, and my selfe both, with the debating and discussing of these (juestions, which are too curiouslie agitated, and too boldlie deter- mined by manie divines anent it. I shall onlie show you what is, and hath bene holden, as certane, and undoubtedlie true, by the greatest part of Christians, and what is called in qusestion by judicious and orthodoxe divines, concerning the estate of the godlie after this lyfe. First, then, it is certaine that these who die in the Lord shal, in the day of resurrection and judgement, attaine to perfect and consummate happinesse of soule and bodie ; for " in that day, the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give the crowne of righteousnesse unto all these who love his appearing."! Secondlie, the greatest part of Christians have ever believed that the blessednesse which we shall attaine unto, consisteth in the vision and fruition of the glorious essence of God, which the Schoole-men call visionem Dei per essen- tiam. This is evidentlie revealed unto us in diverse places of Scripture ; for our Saviour promiseth this as a I'evvard to the " pure in heart,'' that " they shall see God -.""^ and Paul telleth us, that this vision of God shall be a cleare, imme- diate, and intuitive sight of his essence ; for he sayeth that we who now see God " through a glasse darklie,'" shall then see him " face to face :"3 and Sainct John lykewyse sayeth, that " when he shall appeai'e, we shall see him as he is."-^ This also hath bene constantlie believed by the Fathers of the ancient church ; for none of them ever denyed this, except some fewe Greeke Fathers, following Chrysostome, who in diverse places of his workes affirmeth, that God his infinite essence cannot be seene by anie created or finite understanding.^ Thirdlic, as for the estate of the souls of men during that ' 2. Tim. iv. S. ^ Mattli. v. 8. ^ 1. Cor. xiii. J2. ' 1. .lolin, iii. 2. ■• lloiuil. 14. in .Johaim. — [toni.viii. Ed. cit.)— ot lioniil. ;?., do iiuom- liiclionsibili Dei natura.— [fom. i. p. W^. Ed. cit ] A FUNERALL SERMON. 61 tyme which intcrveaneth betwixt death and judgement, although some have most fondlie and absurdlie beUeved, that the soule perisheth with the bodie ; and that both soule and bodie shall be raised up together at the day of judgement ;i and others, no less foolishlie, have imagined that the soule, after it is separated from the bodie, hath no operation nor knowledge of its owne estate, but lyeth, as it were, in a dead sleepe, untill the day of judgement, for the which cause they are called Ps^chopann^chiica : neverthelesse, the Spirit of God, in the holie Scripture, telleth us that these " who kill the bodie, can not kill the soule ;"2 and con- sequentlie, that the soule liveth when the bodie is killed ; that in the heavenlie Hierusalem, there are not onlie angels, but also " the spirits of just men made perfect ;''"'3 that the godlie, when they are " dissolved," are " with Christ,*'''* and " in paradyse."^ Likewyse that they are not there sleeping, but have use of their understanding, we may clearlie see by the parable of Dives and Lazarus, by the storie of Christ's transfiguration, in the which we reade that Moses and Eliah talked with Christ ; and by that which we reade concerning the soules of martyres, crying under the altar, for acceler- ation of the punishment of their persecutions. ^ Herefore the Fathers constantlie taught, that the souls of men, when they are separated from their bodies, doe remember of the things which they did upon earth," and that those of them who are glorified in heaven, are sure of their owne hap- pinesse, and sollicite, or carefull, for the vveale of the church militant ; and, in particular, are myndfull of their parentes, children, brethren, and other friends, whom they have left behind them on earth ; longing to see them in that place of glorie where they themselves are.^ Yea, even these of the ^ This opinion is maintained by AnabaiDtists, and was of old maintained by those hajretickes whom Augustine calleth Arabicos, in his booke De heresibus, ad Quod Viilt-Deiim, hferes. 83 [torn. 8, p. 24. Ed. cit.] ■■" Matt. X. 28. » Ileb. xii. 23. ■* Philip, i. 23. ' Luke xxiii. 43. 6 Revel, vi. 9. ^ Plenissime docuit Dominus non solum perseverare animas, sed et meminisse operum quae egerunt hie. Iren. lib. 2, contra hosreses, cap. 62. [In the original the passage stands thus : — Plenissime autem Dominus docuit, non solum perseverare, non de corpore in coi'pus transgredientes animas, sed et characterem corporis, in quo etiam adaptantur custodire eundera : et meminisse eas operum quae egerunt hie, et a quibus cessave- runt. [Irenfeus S. contra her. Fol. Oxon. 1702.] ^ Magnus illic carorum numerus uos exspectat, parentum, tVatruni, 62 A FUNERALL SERMON. Fathers who believed that the departed souls of godlie men are not fully glorified as yet, and that they shal not attaine to the perfection of that happinesse, whereof they are cap- able before the day of judgement, thought not that they are sleeping and senselesse during the tyme of their separation from their bodies ; but, on the contrary, thought that they are in "Abraham's bosome,"" in a state of refreshment, and joye.i Fourthlie, although some few of the ancients taught that the souls of the Sancts departed are not as yet rewarded, but keeped in one place, and in one estate and condition, with the wicked, not being as yet so much as assured of " that glorie which shall be revealed in them ;*"^ yet the common opinion of the Church of God, in all ages, hath bene, that they are in a happie and blessed estate, and with unspeakable joye doe expect the accomplishment of their happinesse : yea, many of them affirme, that they are with Christ, that they reygne with him, and that they, in some sort, see God's face. This is also clearly revealed in Scripture, for Paul wisheth to " be dissolved, and to be with Christ ;"3 and telleth us, that when wee are " absent from the bodie," we are " present with the Lord."^ Christ also sayde to the poenitent thiefe, "To-day shall thou bee with Mee in Paradyse :" and here a voyce from heaven proclaymeth the happinesse of " the dead who die in the Lord." filioniin, frequens nos et copiosa turba desiderat, jam de sua iinmortalitate secura, et adhuc de nostra salute sollicita. Cyprian, serni. de mortali- tate, in fine. [p. 236. Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1726.] ^ See concerning this, Tertull. in his booke De Anima, cap. 58. Chrysos- tome, ^\Tyting upon the Epistle to the Philip, [torn. xi. serm. 3. § 4. Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1718.] August, lib. 20, de Civit. Dei, cap. 9, § 1. et 13. [torn, vii.p. 586, 5.90. Ed. cit.] For he also believed that the souls of the godlie attain not unto the perfection of that happinesse whereof they in them- selves are capable, before the day of the general judgement ; as \vc may ea.silie perceave by his 12tli booke De Genesi, cap. 35, [tom. iii. p. 322,] where he affirmeth, that the .soule separated from the bodie .seeth not God as the Angels see him. Yea, sometyme he was of that opinion which manie other of tlie Fathers did holde, concerning the place where the soules of tlie saincts departed are nowe ; to wit, that they are keeped in secret and subterranean places, until the Daye of Judgement. I^ib. 12, De Civit. Dei, cap. 9, § 2. [tom. 7.] et cnarrat. in Psal. 36. Cone. 1. § 10. But hee seemeth to have left this opinion afterwards, as appeareth by his 20th booke, De Ci\-it. Dei, cap 15. [tom. vii. p. 592.] ^ Nee tamen quisquam putet animas post mortem protinus judicari ; omnes in una commimique custodia detinentur donee, etc, Lactant. lib. 7, divin. institut. c. 21 [vol. i. 8vo. Biponti 1786.] •' IMiili,.. i. 2:1. * 2. Cor. v. S. A FUNERALL tIEllMON. G3 This ti'ueth, so manifestlie revealed in the Scripture, although, as I have saydo, it hath bene constantlie professed in the Church, yet it hath bene vitiated or corrupted by the admixtion of two erroneous doctrines. For, first, although none, before holie Augustine, did talke of such a purgatorie fyre as our adversaries doe mayntayne, yet some Fathers, who lived in the third and fourth age of the Church, to wit, Origen, Lactantius, Hilarie, Ambrose, Ruffinus and Jerome, believed that there shall be a generall purgatione of al souls by fyre at the day of Judgement, and that none shall bee free of it (except Christ, who is the righteousnesse of God),1 no, not the blessed and glorious Virgine Marie.2 This opinion is not nowe mantayned by anie : at least it doeth not trouble the peace of the Church ; and therefore I will not meddle with it. Secondlie, since the 400 yeare of our Lord (about which tyme Augustine flowrished), some Fathers have mentioned, and expressed in their works, a sort of purgation by fyre, verie far different from the former. For they thought that all the elect doe not under- goe this purgation by fyre, but onlie they who die in some kynde of guiltinesse, and that these begin to be purged immediatelie after their departure. Saynct Augustine spake doubtfullie of this sort of purgation. 3 Gregorie the Great did hold it as a thing certayne ;'^ but hee knew no matter or cause of this purgation, except the guiltinesse of these smaller sinnes which are called veniall : for hee dreamed not of that imperfect remission of mortall sinnes committed after baptisme, which Papists doe now holde, as a mayne ground of their doctrine concerning Purgatorie. But I have alreadie confuted this fond conceat, and have showne that poenitentiall remission of sinnes, committed after baptisme, is no lesse perfect and absolute than 1 Ambros. exposit. ia Psal. cxviii. [Serm. 20, § 11. torn. i. Ed. cit.] Ideo unus iguem ilium sentire non potuit, qui est justitia Dei Christus, quia peccatum uon fecit. 2 Hilar, enarrat. in Psal. cxviii. octonar 3, § 12. An cum ex omui otioso verbo rationem simus prtestituri, diem judicii concupiscemus, in quo nobis est ille indefessus ignis snbeundus, in quo subeunda sunt gravia ilia expiandse a peccatis aninife supplicia ? — si in judicii severitatem capax ilia Dei Virgo Ventura est, desiderare quis audebit a Deo judicari ? 3 De Civitate Dei, cap. 26, [§ 2. Lib. 21, torn. vii. Ed. cit.] in Enchiridio, cap. 69, [tom. vi.p.222.] etlib. DeFideet Operibus, §27. [torn. vi. p. 180.] ' Dialog. Lib. 4, cap. 39, tom. ii. et in Psal. iii, penitent, v. 1. 04 A FUNERALL SERMON. baptismal remission. It is true, indeed, these who after baptismc, or after their first justification, doe fall backe into ffrievous sinnes, have not so easie accesse unto the Throne of Grace for obtayning mercie, as they had before, (which, T thinke, moved the Ancient Church to enjoyne such hard pennance to these who, after they were baptized, fell into great sinnes), as also, because of their ingratitude for bygone favours and benefits, they are oft tymes (I will not say alwayes) punished or chastised with greater and more fearfull judgementes, even after they are reconciled to God by repentance. But this will never prove such a reservation of temporall punishment to bee inflicted in Purgatorie, in case of not satisfaction by poenall exercyses in this lyfe, as our adversaries doe raayntayne. Fiftlie, it is certayne that the glorie and happinesse which the dead who have died in the Lord shall have, after the generall judgement, shall be greater extensive in extension noi" it is now ; and that because it shall be extended or communicated to their bodies also. But whether or not it shall be intensive greater after the generall judgement, that is, whether anie further degree of glorie shall be then given to their soules, it is not so certayne. For manie of the Ancients,! and some judicious and orthodoxe divines,^ doe thinke, that although they are now with Christ, in the companie or fellowship of the blessed angels, and in an estate of unspeakable joye ; yet they have not attayned as yet unto that consummate and accomplished happinesse which consisteth in the vision or immediate sight of God's glorious essence, and which the schoolcmcn call heatitudinem essentialem, essentiall happinesse ; or if they have attayned unto it, yet they have not attayned to the perfection or the fulncsse of that joyfuU and blessed sight which they shall have hereafter. Others boldlie affirme, that they have already gotten a full sight of God's glorious essence, and that nothing is wanting to their happinesse but the glorification 1 Chrysost. Ilomil. 39, in 1 Cor. [§ 2 ;] et Ilomil. 28, in Epist. ad Hebr. [tom. X. xi. Ed. cit.] Ainbros. lib. 2, de Cain ct Abel, cap. 2. § 9. [torn. i. Ed. cit.] ; et lib. de bono mortis, [§ 47 et 48.] An^nist. Epist. 14S, ad Fortunatianimi, [torn. ii. Ed. cit.] et lib. 12 de Gencsi, § GS. [tom. iii.]. Bernard in festo omnium Sanctorum, Serm. 2, 3, et 4. 2 Calvin, lib. iii. Institut. cap. 25, J? (>. [tom. viii. Fol. Amstel. 1(567] Spalat. lib. v. de Heimb. Ecd. cap. S, uum. 75, et sequent. A FUNERALL SERMON. C5 of their bodies. For my part, although I incline most to the first opinion, esteeming it more probable in respect of the consent of antiquitie, and of divers places in Scripture, which seenie to favour it (for wee reade in Scrip- ture, that wee shall bee satisfied with the lykenesse of God when we awake ;^ that is, in the day of our resurrection — that the labourers shall bee called together in the evening,^ that is, at the end of the world, and shall then receave their hyre, that the crowne of righteousnesse shall be given that day to all these who love the Lord's appearing,^ and that when Hee shall appeare, wee shall bee lyke Him, and shall see Him as Hee is) ;* yet, I thinke, they are wysest who suspende their judgement, and are not bold to determine anie thing in such matters as are not clearlie revealed in God''s word, of which sort this whereof I am now speaking is one. Judicious and learned Calvine, who also inclined more to the first opinion, condemneth their foolish rashnesse who pry too narrowlie into this secret, and willeth us to be content with these bounds or limits of our knowledge con- cerning this matter, which are prsescribed in Scripture.^ And truelie, it is sufficient for our comfort and encowragement agaynst death, as also for that Christian and cowragious desire of death which we ought to have ; it is, I say, sufficient to know, that it is an estate of such heavenlie glorie and such joyfull happinesse, that all wordlie happinesse or con- tentment is but miserie in respect of it. That ye may the better conceave this, consider, I pray you, that if we thinke it a delightsome and joyfull thing to dwell in a statelie and glorious pallace with these whom we love best, and whose companie is most pleasant unto us, it must be a thing exceedinglie farre more happie and joyfull to live in that heavenlie pallace, whereof we now see nothing but the pave- ment, yea, nothing but the inforiour superfice of it ; and yet we see more glorious stateliness in it than in all other parts of the world. For in it doe shyne those glorious lightes which enlighten and beautifie the whole world, and which made David to say — " Lord, what is man that thou art myndfull of him ? and the sonne of man that thou visitcst him V^ It must be a most delightfull thing, and a matter 1 Psal. xvii. 15. " Matth. xx. 8. =* 2 Tim. iv. 8. ^ 1 John iii. 2. ' Loc. cit. supra. •* Psal. viii. 4. 5 CO A FUNERALL SERMON. of exceeding great joyc to dwell in that coelestial paradyse, with an innunierablo companic of angels — with all our pious friendes who have gone before us, and who shall follow after us — with the Prophets, Patriarchs, Apostles, Martyrs, and other famous worthies, whose vertues are so much praysed and admired on earth — and with our great Lord and Master, our kynde Saviour, Christ Jesus, " who loved us, and gave himselfe for us,""! What joye, I pray you, shall we have there in beholding Him who died and suffered so manie things for us I How shall wee bee affected and ravished in mynde, when wee shall viewe His glorious Head, which was one day crowned with thornes for us — His handes and feet, which were one day pierced with nayles for us — and His syde, which was runne thorowe with a speare for us I But, above all, if wee shall then be admitted to the cleare and immediate sight of God's infinite essence, (which, truelie, is verie probable), what admirable, unspeakable, yea, incon- eeavable delight and contentment shall that sight worke in us, although it bee not so full and perfect as it shall bee after the gencrall judgement. How joyfullie shall wee then say with David — " A day in thy Courts is better than a thousand C^^ or, as he sayeth in another place — " As wee have heard, so have wee scene in the Citie of the Lord of Hostes;''*'^ or, rather, as the Queen of Sheba sayde — "Beholde, the halfe was not tolde us''''^ — the glorious honour of thy Majestic infinitelie exceedeth the same which wee heard.5 This doctrine concerning the felicitie unto which the godlie doe attayne, when their soules are separated from their bodies, affordeth manie profitable lessons and uses unto us ; for, first, wee may justlie collect from it, that although the godlie bee manie wayes blessed or happie while they live here ; to wit, in respect of that insesteemable benefite of the remission of their sinnes,*^ in respect of these super- naturall vertues, wherewith they are endowed, and of the operations or actions of the same,'^ in respect of God's fatherlie providence, and care which hee hath of them ;S yea, even in respect of his chastisementes, and of their manifolde 1 Gal. ii.20. ^ Tsal. Ixxxiv. 10. ^ P.sal. xlviii. 8. * 1 King, X. 7. ' Psal. cxlv. 5. * Psal. xxxii. 1, 2. " Psal. i. 1, 2, ;]; cxii. 1 ; cxix. 1. * Psal. cxliv. 15. A FUNERALL SERMON. C7 sufferinges ;l yet this their happinesse is nothing in compari- son of that " exceeding great revvard,''''^ or of that " farre more exceeding and seternall weyght of glorie"^ which they get after this lyfe. Glorious thinges indeede are spoken of the Citie of God ; that is, of the Church mihtant. The estate of these who truehe and indeede are citizens of it, is an estate of happinesse ; but of such happinesse as consisteth in sorrowing or mourning for their sinnes and manyfolde infirmities.* It is an estate of righteousnesse ; but of such righteousnesse as standeth rather in the remission of sinnes, nor in the perfection of vertues ; and unto the perfection whereof is necessarihe required a true acknowledgement, and a humble confession of its imperfection, as Say net Augustine piouslie and judiciouslie sayeth.^ It is an estate of peace, but of such peace as is prasserved by mayntayning a continuall and most dangerous warfare agaynst the devill, the world, and the flesh. It is an estate of joye, but of such joye as is not onlie mixed with sorrowe, but even grounded upon their sorrowes and teares.^ For when they get grace to sorrow, they have reason to rejoyce and praise God for it. But, alace, when they looke to the measure of their sorrow, they finde a new reason or cause of sorrow, because they can not sorrowe so much and so con- stantlie as they ought. "^ In a word then, if we shall look to the manifolde sorrowes, feares, dangers, and sinfull infirmities, unto which the godlie are subject in this lyfe ; and, on the other part, to that plenarie, or full deliverance, from all these evils which they obtayne by death, wee shall finde that wee have more than reason to say with Solon, and in the words of the poet, although not according to their sense — Dicique beatus Ante obituni nemo, supremaque f unera debet. That is, no man can bee called perfectlie happie or fuUie blessed, so long as hee liveth in this valley of teares. 1 Psal. xciv. 12 ; Matth. v. 10, 11, 12. ^ Genes, xv. 1. 3 2 Cor. iv. 17. * Matth. v. 4. » De Civit. Dei, lib. 19, cap. 27, [§ 17. torn. x. Ed. cit.] et contra dims Epistolas Pelagianonnn, lib. 3. " Aiifriist. lib. de vera et falsa poenitentia, c. 13, [§ 28. torn. 6. Ed. cit.] Tamdiu enim gaudeat et speret homo de gratia, qiiamdiu sustcntatur a poenitentia, — ct infra, — Hinc semper doleat, et de dolore gaudeat. '' Idem ibid. Et non satis sit quod doleat, sed ex fide doleat, et iion semper doluisse doleat. 68 A FUNERALL SERMON, Secondlio, this doctrine showoth you that the godHe have no occasion to feare death, but rather ought to desire and wish for it. The true Christian may not oneHe meet approaching death with cowrage, and say — " 0 death, where is thy sting l O grave, where is thy victorier ^ but also with joye, and say — " How beautifull upon the mountaynes are the feete of him that bringeth good tydinges/'^ Thou art come to tell me the best and most joyfull newes that ever I heard ; for thou art come to tell mee that my warfare is accomplished, and that I shall nowe enter into peace,^ that my sorrowfull seedtyrae is ended and that my joyfull harvest is at hand. 4 Thou art come to bring mee home to my father's house, to take my crosse from my sholders, and to put my crovvne upon my head. If the godlie have such reason to wel- come death chearfuUie when it commeth, ought they not to desire and long for it before it come ? Cyprian, Chrysostome, and Ambrose, doe most excellentlie and eloquentlie urge this poynct ;5 and Paul telleth us, that all the godlie have a longing or desire, yea, a vehement desire of that glorie and happiness which is begun immediatelie after death, and shall bee consummated in the day of the Resurrection. Yet all the godlie have not this vehement desire in a lyke manner and measure ; for some of them have desiderium mortis plenum et ahsolutum, a plenarie and absolute desire, or a desire not opposed or impeded by anie other desire. Such a desire of death, I tliinke, was in olde Simeon, when hee had gotten Christ in his armes, andsayde — " Nunc dimittis :"" For the onlie thing which detayned him in this lyfe, or made him willing to bee detayned in it, was the desire hee had to see Christ ;6 and, therefore, having gotten his desire, hee was most willing to depart.'' Some agayne of them have desiderium mortis lipatmn et impeditwn, a vehement desire of death, but opposed, impeded, and, as it were, bound up by another spirituall desire. Such a desire had Paul, when 1 1 Cor. XV. 55. 2 Isai.lii. 7. -^ Isai. Ivii. 2. ■» Tsal. cxxvi. 5. 5 Cyprian, ii. lib. de mortalit. [p- 230. Ed. cit.] Chrysost. in epist. ad rhilipp. serra. iv. [§ 1. torn. xi. Ed. cit.] Anibros. lib. de bono mortis, cap. 12. [torn. 1. Ed. cit.] •* Veniebat ille Christus, illo Simeon ibat ; sed donee ille vonirct, ille ire nolebat. Jam senectus matura excludcbat, sed sincera pietas dctincbat. Angust. serm. 3, de verbis Apostoli. [163. § 4. Ed. cit.] " Vide jiistnm, velut corporcne carcere molis inclusuii', vclle dissolvi ut essct cum Cliristo. Ambros. lib. 2, in Lucam. [§ .'')9. torn. 1. Ed. cit.] A FUNERALL SERMON. 69 hee sayd — " I am in a strayt betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to bee with Christ, which is farre better. Nevertheless, to abyde in the flesh, is more needfull for you."' So also manie of God's deare servantes, although they have withdrawne their heartes from the worlde, and long to bee with Christ ; yet in respect they have not as yet attayned to such assurance of remission of their sinnes as they would, therefore, they wish with David, that God would spare them, to the effect they may recover strength before " they goe hence and bee no more f^ or, as Job sayeth, that they may " take comfort a little before they goe whence they shall not returnees Last of all, there are some of the godlie, who although they labour earnestlie to get their affection on thinges above, yet they finde, to their exceeding great griefe, that they are still so affected with the love of this lyfe, and the thinges which they enjoye heere, that they can not attayne to that vehement longing for a better lyfe, that cowrageous and heroicke desire of death, which other godlie men and women have. Neverthelesse, seeing Paul generallie affirmeth that all they " who have receaved the first fruites of the Spirit, groane within themselves, wayting for the accomplishment of their adoption, and willing to be absent from the bodie,^ that they may bee present with the Lord;"5 wee may verie well say, that even they have vehemens desiderium mortis^ et coelestis beatifudinis. For although they have it not actuallie, yet they have it in vofo et conatit by way of earnest desire, and carefull stryving to attayne to it. Thirdly, seeing these only are blessed after death who die in the Lord, it followeth manifestlie that wofull, miserable, and lamentable, is the estate of the greatest part of the worlde after death : I meane of the wicked who live not in the Lord, and consequentlie can not die in the Lord. Death, which is to all a change, and to the godlie a blessed change, shall bee to them a dolefull and unhappie change. For the terminus ad quern of their change, or the estate unto which they shall bee changed, is an estate of remedilesse miserie, easelesse paine, and endlesse death. This their case may justlie seeme the more miserable, if wee shall consider also the terminus a quo of their change : that is, ^ Philip, i. 23, 24. ^ p^al. xxxix. 1.3. " Job, x. 20, 21. * Rom. viii. 2.3. ^ 2 Cor. v. 8. 70 A FUNERALL SERMON. if we shall looke to the temporall or worldhe estate and condition from which they shall bee changed. For some of them arc acting a tragoedie upon the stage of this worldc ; that is, they spende all their dayes in povertie, dishonour, and manie other miseries. To these death is a change from the miseries of this worlde to miseries incomparablie greater in another worlde : and therefore their estate and condition in this lyfe is called by Bernard, ^ " Via wrumnosa ad mortem^'''' a miserable and sorrowfuU way unto seternall death. Others of them are acting a comedie upon the same stage ; but such a comedie as shall ende in a wofull tragedie : that is, they live in wealth, honour, and aboundance of worldly delights. To them death is a change from moraen- tanie pleasures of this worlde to everlasting torments and sorrowes in the world to come. And their estate or con- dition in this lyfe is called by Bernard, " via deliciosa. ad mortem^'''' a delightsome way unto death. To these two estates of wicked men in this lyfe, Bernard addeth a third ; to wit, the estate or condition of these who have aboundance of worldlie thinges, and yet not beeing contented therewith, doe continuallie vexe themselves with anxious care and paynfull labour in acquiring more wealth : so that these riches which they have " perish by evill travell," and " all their dayes they eat in darkness ;"2 that is, with much sorrow and wrath. This estate or condition of wicked men in this lyfe is called by Salomon " a sore evill ;" and by Bernard " via lahoriosa ad mortem ,•" a paynfull and wretched way unto death. In a word then, whatsoever bo the temporal estate of wicked men in this lyfe, death is to them an unhappie change, even in respect of the terminus a quo of their change. For to some of them it is both a change and an endo of their joyes ; to others it is a change but not an ende of their sorrowes ; and a meane whereby they are infinitelie multipjyed and increased. Last of all, yee sec here how wyse a choyse they make who, with Moses, " choose rather to suffer affliction with the children of God, having respect unto the recompcnce of rewarde, than to cnjoyo the pleasures of sinne,"'^ which last but for a season, and therefore are called by Bernard,^ ^ In his Bookc of Sentences, if that book be his. « Ecclcs. V. 14, 17. ^ Ilebr. xi. 25, 26. " Ibidem. A FUNERALL SERM02f. 71 " Momentanew dulcedines et Jiorariw suaviiates ,-" that is, such dehghts, such sweetnes of earthly objects, as last but for an houre, yea but for a moment. The estate of the godlie in this lyfe seemeth, to our corrupt reason, a trouble- some and melancholious estate. For when they enter into this estate they must put on the " mourning weede of repentance," and never put it off while they live : they must put on " the whole armour of GoD," and never put it off untill their wynding-sheet be put upon them. They must, perhaps, put on Lazarus his ragges, and never put them off untill they die upon a dunghill or by a dyke syde. Neverthelesse our estate is an estate of " joye unspeakable and full of glorie."i And although it were not, yet " the joye which is set before us,''''^ might make us, yea should make us, gladlie to undergoe it, and all the vexations, troubles, and griefes, which accompanie the same. All these who have gone before us to heaven have entered into that kingdome " through much tribulatione :"3 yea, it behoved Christ Jesus himselfe first to " suffer," and then to " enter into his glorie.""^ And therefore, if anie of you be unwilling to take up his crosse, in hope of this glorie, I will say to him, as Jerome sayde to Heliodorus, " Delicatus es, /rater, si et hie vis gaudere cum sceculo, et postea regnare cum Christo .'"^ Thou art too delicate, my brother, if thou wouldst both rejoyce here with the world, and also reygne hereafter with Christ. And, as hee sayetli in the words following, so say I to everie one of you, " That day shall come in the which this corruptible and mortall shall put on incorruption and immortalitie."^ " Blessed shall the servant be whom his Lord shall then finde watching."''' If he finde thee so, " the earth, with the people which are in it, shall shake and tremble at the voyce of the trumpet, but thou shalt rejoyce." " When the Lord shall come to judgement the worlde shall sadlie roare and groane." foolish Plato, with his schollers, shall then be arraygned : Aristotle his argumentes that day shall avayle him nothing. Then thou, although thou be a poore clowne, shalt rejoyce, and laugh, and say, " Beholde my God who was crucified : 1 1 Pet. i. 8. 2 Psal. iv. 7 ; Heb. xii. 2. » Act. xiv, 22. ■» Luko, xxiv. 2(). ' Epist. 1, ad Heliodoi-um, [§ 10. torn. i. p. 37. Ed. cit.] * 1 Cor. xv. 53. ^ Luke xii. 37. 72 A FUNEEALL .^EKMON. beholde the Judge of the Worlde, who one day cryed as a new-borne eh ylde, being wrapped in swedling clowts,and layde in a manorer. This is Hee who was the son of a craftsman and of a workwoman. This is Hee, who being God, fled from the face of man into yEgypt, carried upon his raother\s breast. This is Hee whom the souldiours, by way of derision, cloathed with purple, and crowned with thornes," &c.i Having gone through my text, I now apply myselfe, and my text both, to this present text, which lyeth before us ; I meane, the dead halfe of our late most worthie, and reverend, and now most blessed Prelate, whom death hath not destroyed, but divided into two halfs, or parts ; his one halfe, his living, and better halfe, is now in suo elemento, in its owne element ; in terra viventimn, in the land of the living ; that is, in that land where death hath no place.2 His other halfe is, as ye see, seazed upon by death. But I may justlie say to death, which hath seazed upon it, as Bernard said in a funeral sermon upon Humbert the devote monke^ — " 0 death, thou cruel beast, thou most bitter bitternesse, the stinch and horrour of the sonnes of Adam, what hast thou done ? thou hast killed, thou hast possessed : but what ? truelie nothing but his flesh, or his bodie." And this was dead, before it was dead ; for Paul sayeth, " the bodie is dead, because of sinne,"" to wit, through infirmities, sicknesse, and troubles ; and in respect it is by a judiciall sentence, nigh six thousand yeares since, condemned to die. The most, then, O death, which thou hast done, is this, — thou hast put a dead bodie out of payne, a bodie condemned to die, out of feare of * Judicaturo Domino, lugubre mundus immugiet. adducetur cum suis stultus Plato discipulis : Aristotelis argmiienta non proderunt. Tunc tu rusticanus et pauper exultabis, et ridebis, et dices ; Ecce crucifixus [DEUs]— [deus is not in the text of the Fol. Ed. of Verona 1734, cited above,] — meus ; Ecce .Judex qui obvolutus pannis in prfcsepio vagiit. Ilic est ille operarii et qna;stuari:x> Filius ; hie qui matris gestatus sinu, homi- nem deus fugit in iEgyptum ; hie vestitus coccino ; hie sentibus coronatus, &c. Hieron. ibidem. § 11. ^ St August, in the explication of the xxvii. Psalm, verse 13, [EnaiTat. ii. Ps. 27. § 22. tom. 4. Ed. cit.] callcth Heaven — ten-am viventium, — and this earth — terram morientium. '■' O mors, crudelis bestia, amaritudo amarissima, fnetor et horror filiorum Adam, quid fecisti ? occidisti, possedisti. Quid ? carnem utique sohuu, anima; enim non habcs quod facias. Bern. serm. ad init. in obitu Ilumborti dovoti monarhi.- [Fol. 74. Ed. cit.) A FUNERALL SERMON. Jo death, and this is a vantage ; for the feare of death is worse than death ; — Morsque minus poence, quam mora mortis hahet. Well then, thou hast gotten little, thou hast little ; and therefore, as Christ sayeth, that " from him who hath little, even that which hee hath shall bee taken ;"' so say I to thee, and Bernard in that same place sayde it before mee ; even that same bodie which thou seemest to have, shall bee taken from thee.i This bodie was the receptacle ingentis et generosi animi — of a great and generous mynde. It was hospitmm — the lodging-house of a mightie and most active spirit. But what a lodging-house ! It was ever hospitium exile — a slen- der lodging-house ; but within these few years it was also incommodum et ruinosum hospitmm — an incommodious and ruinous lodging ; and, to use Plautus^ his phrase, it was hos- pitium calamitatis, for manie bodilie infirmities and diseases lodged in it. And now, at last, it is to us documentum mortalitatis — a document of our common mortaiitie ; or, to use your owne ordinarie phrase, it is to us a memento mori ; yea, a memento mori in Domino — a memento, not onlie of dying, but also of dying as he died, that is, " in the Lord." This can not bee so well declared unto you, as by showing you that hee lived in the Lord ; and that hee lived so, I can not demonstrate, but I must fall out into his justlie deserved prayses, or rather into the prayses of God's bountie and liber- alitie towards him. For, as Gregory Nazianzen reasoned concerning Athanasius his prayses, to " prayse him, it is to prayse vertue ; and to prayse virtue, it is to prayse God, who is the author and giver of it."3 I say, that to prayse him is to prayse vertue ; because, as Nazianzen there sayeth of Athanasius, manie rare vertues, both morall and spirituall, were collected, and united together in him. Think not that I speak hyperbolicallie ; for I dare affirme, that there was as great a varietie of God's graces in him as in anie laicke or clergie-man of this kingdome. These who knewe him 1 Sed et ipsum corpus quod videris habere, auferetur a te. Ibidem. 2 In Trinum. 2. 4. 1. 153. 'ASavaa'lov i-raivuv a^irhv Itto ivion Sunday the seventh of Aprile (1639), devotion be stranger ministers throw all the pulpits of New Aberdein, seeing their own ministers were fied and gone. The Nobles and others filled the churches. After sermon, intimation was made of the sentence of excommunication pronoimced be Mr Alexander llondorsone, moderator of the Assembly, against the Archbisiiops of St Andrews and Glasgow, the Bishops of Edinburgh, Aberdein, Galloway, Ross, Dumblain, Brcchine, charging all men not to hear their ])reaching nor bear them company, under ])aines of censure of the kirk. Mr Patrick Lesslie minister at Skeyne (Doctor Scroggie being fied and obscure) j)reaclied tliis samen Sunday in the Old toim, and made the iilce intimation out of tlie pulpit of tlie same sentence." — Ili'nL ]■>. 116. " Wednesday tiio Idth of Aprile A FUNERALL SPEACH. 81 worthie Diocesane, a man of eminent and best place amongst (1639), ane solemne fast was keeped throw New Aberdein, but none in Old Aberdein, foj* Dr Scroggie durst not be sein. Both before and after- noon, there was preaching and prayers. Mr Robert Douglas minister at Kirkaldie preached before noon. After sermon he read out the covenant, and caused all the haill toune's peojile conveined, who had not yet sub- scrived, to stand up before him in the kirk, both man and woman ; and the men subscrived this covenant. Thereafter, both man and woman was urged to swear be their uplifted hands to God, that they did subscrive and swear this covenant willingly, freely, and from their hearts, and not for any fear or di-ead that should happen. Syne the kirk scailled and dissolved. But the Lord knows, how thir toune's people were brought under perjurie for plaine fear, and not from a willing mind, by tyi-anny and oppression of thir covenanters, who compelled them to swear and subscrive, suppose they knew it was against their hearts." — Ibid. p. 116, 117. " Upon the first day of December [1639], being Sunday, Doctor Scroggie celebrated the communion in Old Aberdein. He, in his ser- mon, begane now to exhort the people to obey the ordinances of the kirk, with much such matter. Allwayes, the people received the samen sitting (Doctor Forbes took it after the samen manner), and no kneiling was there, as was wont to be. The minister gave it to two or thi'ee nearest him, then ilk ane took his own communion bread out of the bassen, and in like manner the minister gave the cup to the two nearest him, syne ilk ane gave the cuj) to his neighbour. Strange to see such alterations ! One year giveing the communion to the people kneil- ing, by vertue of ane act of parliament founded upon Perth articles ; and that self same ministers to give the communion after another manner, sitting, at the command of the General Assembly, unwarranted by the king."— iiicZ. p. 179. " Sunday the 7th of June (1640), Doctor Scroggie preached in Old Aberdein, and celebrat the communion ; but there was scarce 4 burds of communicants, in respect of thir troubles." — Ihid. p. 210. " Ye heard before, how sundrie ministers were summoned be ordmance to compear before ane committee holden at Aberdein the 7th of July. Well, this committee was holden, wher ilr John Foi-bes, parsone of Auchterless, was simpliciter deprived ; Mr John Ross, minister at Brass, Mr Richard JNIaitland, minister at Aberchu'der, JNIr Alexander Strachan, minister at the Chappell of Garioch, Doctor Sibbald, one of the ministers at Aberdein, ]Mr Andrew Logic, i^arson of Rayne, with some others, were all suspended frae preaching till the third day of the nixt general assem- bly. Doctor Forbes of Corss, and Doctor Scroggie, were both attending, yet none of them at this time was called, except Doctor Scroggie, he was with the rest also suspended." — Ihid. p. 224. " Doctor Scroggie is accused for not subscriveing the covenant ; besydes, for concealling of adulteries within his parish and some fornications, abstracting of the beidmen's rents in Old Aberdein, with some other particulars maliciously given up against him ; and whereupon Mr Thomas Sandilands, commissar, (his extreme enemy), Mr Thomas Lillie and Thomas JNlercer were brought in as witnesses, after doctor Scroggie's answer to ilk article was fii'st wrytten : But shortlie upon the first day of August, be this committee was he deposed and simpliciter deprived, and preached no more at Old Aberdein nor elsewhere." — Ibid. p. 283. " Sunday, being Whytsunday and 6 82 A FUNERALL SPEACH. US ; whom, albeit, wee had cum necessitate amittendi, and have lost him cum spe recipiendi, and so are comforted with 13th of June, Mr William Strachan gave the communion in Old Aberdcin, as before, the second time. Doctor Scroggie, notwithstanding he was forbidden out of pulpit to come to the table, as he had not subscrived the covenant, took his commimion ; whilk bred some fear to the minister, doubtful! to refuisc him the communion or to give it ; but no impediment was made to him, and so lie received it." — Ibid. p. 326, 327. " Wednesday the 23d of June (1641), doctor Scroggie, ane old reverend preacher at this kirk, is now, sore against his will, compelled to quitt his dwelling house in Old Aberdein, and yeards pleasantly planted for the most part be himselfe ; so he removes this day his wife, bairues, liaill familie, insight plenishing, goods and gear furth and from the samen, and delivers the keys to Mr William Strachan, that he may enter, alsewelU to the bigging as to the pulpite. Himselfe transported all to Ballogie, and took ane chamber for his comelng and goelng in New Aberdein. Thus is this wise, famous, learned man handled in liis old age. Allwayes, it is said, the said INIr William Strachan payed him for his planting 400 merks before he gatt entress." — Ibid. p. 328. " To this Assembly (1641), doctor Alexander Scroggie (after he is deposed, put frae his kirk and house, and spulzied of his goods) gives now in ane supplication (notwithstanding of his wryteing with the rest of the Aberdein's doctors against the covenant) oflfering to swear and subscrlve the samen, whllk he had refuised before, and to doe what farder it should i)lease the brethrein to iujoyne him. The Assembly heard glaidly his supplication, and referred him to the committee of the kirk at Edinbin-gli, ordaining him to go ther and give them full content, whllk he promised to doe, and whllk he did at leasure." — Jbid. p. 333. " Doctor Scroggie came not to tliis Provinciall Assembly, as was ordered befor by the committee of the kirk at Edin- burgh, but stayed in Edinburgh, and writt his excuse ; but the moderator and bretherin accepted not thcrof pleasantly. Allwayes, he wroiight so, that he had gifted to him, out of Ross, eight chalders \actuall durelng his lifetime, since his kirk was taken frae him. Mr Alexander Inues, minister at Rothemay, his goodsone, and dei^osed frae his kiik, also Air Alexander Scroggie his sone deposed frae his regencie, as ye have heard before, ilk ane of them had gotten some pension frae the king." — Ibid. p. 345. " Thuirsday 26 May [1642], the prcsbltrle of Ablrdene changes thair presbiter day of Avelklle melting fra Thuirsday to Txiysday. It was first changelt fra Fryday to Thuirsday, and now fra Thuirsday to Tuj-sday ; sic changes now goes. Doctor Scrogle compelris befolr this presbitrle, and produces, wnder his owne hand, his o\vne recantatioun following : — 1. AVhairfoir, cleiring (dearly ?) decerning my former mistnkingis in opposing the Nationall Covenant of tlio Kirk and Kin^dome, I do now pass from all the ressonos and arffumcntis spoken or given ojit ]>y my self allone, or otlicris, either before or at the lait Assemblio of Abirdeno, against imrc subseriveing thairof, in als far as thay militat against the Covenant, or ntteris any thing to tlio prejudice thairof. 2. And particularly, I dcelnro now the pointis quhairnpone I wes qucstiond at my deposition, aud did not then eleirlio gif satisfuctioun, as foUouis: — 1. I prnfcs tho liumanitic of Christ ought not to bo painted for religious uses, or to bo had in public pl.accs of worship. 2. That the kirk of Rome is nnc hereticall, apostaticall, and idolatrious kirk, and not tho true kirk. A FUNERALL SPEACH, 83 the will of the LoRD,i that must be done ; yet not to have feeling of that which so nearlie concerneth us, were not patience, but blockish stupiditie, contrarie the example of 3. I now declare cleirly, that it is imlauchfull in a Christeano kirk to have, or use altaris, cappingis and bowingis before them, the preistis habit whill he offeris (as sur- plessis, roohettis, keapis) the table standing altar wayes, prayeris touard the cist. 4. I do also, according to cure Covenant, refuse the Service-book, Book of Cannonis, Ordinatioun, and heighe Commissioun, evin as they are eondempned by oure Generall Assemblies, and iipone the same gioim.dis. 5. I farder do declare, that albeit in the Lordis Supper there is a commcmoratioun of the sacriiice of Christ for ws, jit the samen ought not to be called properlie a Sacrifice, either propitiatorie or commemorative. 6. I also renunce the absulut necessitie of private baptisme. 7. I deny the Sacrament of the Lordis Supper sould be givin to dying persones as a viaticon, and think the giveing or taking thereof to be superstitious. 8. I cojifes that the citing of the place, Mathew xxvi. 52, " All those that tak the suord sail perish by the suord," and Rom. xiii. 2, " Thay who resist sail receave to them selfis condempnatioun," to condempne the just and necessarie defens of this natioun ar mis- applyed ; and do blis God that oure Soveraigne the King, and oure nightbour kingdome of England, have taken notice of, and caused to publish the dewtifulness and loyal tie of cure nation thereanent. 9. And if any other thing be foimd, set out be me or otheris about Abirdene, contrair to the just and lauchfuU caus of the Covenant, I disclaim them all. 18. Fjmallie, I allow and avow the lauchfulnes of reulling elderis in the govemamentof the Kirk, and in all the Assembleis thereof. At the Presbitrie of Abirdene, 26 May 1642. Sic Subscribitur, Mb. Alexb. SCROGIB. This Recantation wes wondred at be many, he byding out so long, with gi'yte lois of menis and credet both, cumis now in, as is befoir nottit, first in Edinbnighe, now in Abirdene, resolving to leive quyetlie m the toune with his wyf and barnes (children), and to abyde his tyme with patiens." —Ibid. p. 47-48. Dr Scroggie sur\'ived till 1659, when he died at Rathven, in Banff- shire, in the ninety-fifth year of his age. — [Gordon's Scots Affairs, v, iii. p. 22, note.] The elder of Ms two sons, Alexander, was a Professor in King's College, Aberdeen. — [Kennedy's Annals of Aberdeen, v. ii. p. 405.] He was deposed from his chair, as we have already seen from Spalding's Narrative in 1639. The younger was named William. The same author tells us " Tuysday 20 September [1642], Mr Alexander Scrogie, younger, exercisit heu- in Old Abirdene, befoir the presbitrie, veray learnedhe, to his gryte commendatioun. He wes referrit to be minister at Forgelyn, albeit deposit fra his regencie of the CoUedge of Old Abirdene, as ye may sie befoir. Mr WiUiame Scrogie, his brother, thairefter exercised lykuaies lernedlie." — [Spalding's History of the Troubles in Scotland, v. ii. p. 82.] Alexander appears to have been appointed first minister of the cathedral church of Aberdeen in 1659. [Kennedy's Annals of Aberdeen, v. ii. p. 352] ; and WiUiam was ulti- mately advanced to the See of Argyl in 1666. He died in 1675. " He was buried in the church-yard of Dunbarton, and his executors erected a handsome monument over his grave, adorned with his arms and an inscription." — [Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, — Bishop Russell's edition, Edin. 1824, p. 291.] See note by Editors of Gordon's Scots Affairs above referred to. This " Funerall Speach" is the only writing of Dr Scroggie known to exist. — E.] ^ Acts xxi. 14. 84 A FUNERALL SPEACH. heathen and sayncts, and the Lord Jesus mourning for Lazarus, the destruction of Hierusalem, and hard heart of the Jewes. This is a praecursorie judgement and punishment. So God maketh a way for his judgementes to come upon a church or kingdome, when insensibhe and graduallie hee eateth out the heart and strength of a State ; and so, by degrees, weakeneth and praepareth it for a fatall blow, that so, without resistance, hee may mine it ; as pyking out, and taking away, nowe a prudent and experienced counsellor, and then another out of the way ; and those that pray for the welfare of the nation, and wrastle mightilie with God for the peace of it — the charets and horse-men of the land — the staffe and the stay and pillars of the house ; and so (by degrees departing himselfe) a new judgement in his anger entereth in rowme thereof. Then trueth and holinesse commonlie depart and ministers begin to bee corrupt : the prophet is a foole, and the spirituall man is mad : the power and puritie of the trueth, and the good and olde way departeth : and so idolatrie groweth, and sects encrease, and a perilous desolation and change of all things enseweth. What mischiefe followed the death of Samuel, David, Salomon, and Josias ? The Gothes, after the death of Ambrose, made in that same place irruption, and setled the seat of their kingdome. When Augustine ended his dayes in defence of the grace of God, the Vandales crueltie and errours succeeded. And after the death of blessed Martin Luther, i the bloodie Spaniards invaded Germanic, and tooke Wittenberg. And shall wee not wit, when God departeth, but bee as Sampson ?2 God by death hath taken away, within this short space, a great number of rare and worthio men, both for wisdome and learning, which were ornamcntcs and lightos in this diocie ; and wee see no great evidence howe to fill up this gap. It is an ancient proverbe — Vivorum oportet meminisse; and why, then, should there not bee made an honourable mention ^ Anno 154G. — [Could our author have foreseen the results of Luther- anism in (Jerinauy, his praise of its founder would assuredly have been somewhat modified. — E.] ' Judges xvi. 20. A FUNERALL SPEACII. 85 of them who have died in the Lord, because they live to God. " Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his sayncts ;"! (and shall it seeme unto us superfluous, at such times as these are, to hear in what manner they ended their lives?) and he hath so exactly recorded in Scripture in what sort they have closed their dayes on earth, that hee descendeth even to their meanest actions ; as, what meat they longed for in their sicknesse^ — what they spake to their children or friends^ — howe they framed their testaments* — where they have willed to be buried ;5 yea, the verie turning of their faces, to this or that side^ — the setting of their eyes — the degrees whereby their naturall heate departed from them^ — their cryes, groanes, breathinges, panting, and last gasping, hee hath solemnlie commended to all generations. And God, by the Prophet, hath for ever commended to the Church David his epitaph and funerall song of wicked Saull and Jonathan his sonne.^ He decoreth them, as if God from heaven had said, that the captaynes of the armies of Israeli should not bee convoyed to the grave without honour and teares. And no lesse they who have deserved well of the church and commonwealth, who have put to flight the enemies with the sword of their mouth and of the spirit, than they which have slayne them with the mouth and edge of the sword and by armies. God maketh an honourable commemoration of them that did assist his service and cause, and giveth them their glorie that doe any thing for hira,^ which Christ applyeth to the woman that anoynted him.io So that it is not onlie lawful, but also profitable, that the godlie lyfe, manners, and vertue, manner and forme of the death of the faythfull servands of God, worthie of aeternal prayse, bee recommended to future ages, that they may be acquaynted therewith. So the care of the living to live and die well is encreased, when they know that their death and life shall not be folded up in silence. They are stirred up to the imitation of their lyfe ^ Psal. cxvi. 15. 2 Genes, xxvii. 3. ^ Genes, xlix. * 1. Reg. 2. 5 Genes, xhii. and xlix. and L. « 2. Reg. 20. '■ 1. Reg. 1. "2. Sam. i. 19, » Hebr. xi. ; Prov. x. 7, i. 12, 8. i" Matth. xxvi. 13. Ob A FUNEKALL SPEACH. and example, and are taught to walke in a good conscience, as they have done before them. And when they heare how mercifulHe God hath dealt with them in the houre of their last ncede, besides the prayse they give to God for his graces shyning in them, and the joye which they finde in the communion of Sayncts, their hope is much confirmed agaynst the day of their last dissolution ; beholding God delivering his servandes from these miseries and restlesse temptations, and receavinof them into rest with himself in the heavens. Yea, the sound of these thinges doeth not so passe the eares of those that are most dissolute in lyfe, but it causeth them sometyme or other to wish in their heartes, " 0 that wee might die the death of the righteous, and that our ende might bee lyke his."i And especiallie in these dayes it is needfull that in charitie wee testifie the trueth of our brethren departed, and mayn- tayne their fame, and justifie them from the calumnies of the wicked who open' their mouthes to prattle agaynst pastors both living and dead ; unthankfuUie rendering evill for good, and cruellie censuring on bare rumour, agaynst charitie, especiallie them of most eminent place. As before the per- son was wont to beare of manie blowes from the function, nowe the function woundeth the person; and that which should command respect brandeth them; mens inconsiderate zeale breeding monstrous conceptions, uncharitable censures and envie of their greatnesse : Mortuis leonibus, vim lepores insultant. Wee here especiallie who reape the fruit of his laboures, ought of duetie, of a pious affection, and thankfull mynde, lament his losse, and acknowledge his worth, who was ivyivtjg^ xai ^dvcov xai Krdvuv, as Sophocles commended Philoctetes ; and was, as Theodor^ sayde of Irenseus, ^cutrr-^p rm ZKKki^aiuv icTn^im, and is nowe a glorious starre in the heavens above, as hee was a shyning lampe in the firmament of the Church here on earth. ^ Num. xxiii. 10. ^ [In the forty Theodores in the Bodleian Catalogue, nothing resembling the passage quoted has been foimd. The quotation is not unlike a passage in Tlieodoret, (Ilscret. Fab. Comp. Dedication. Ed. Paris, fol. 1642, torn. iv. p. 189.) Kflsi' E'ip*i»a)ov mv ra KlXrixos xai ytai^yrifecfrts K«< ^urifuvros iivri — for which possibly it is quoted memoriter.J A FUNERALL SPEACH. 87 And what my selfe have observed by long acquayntance, nude nuda loquar, neyther for fashion, nor flatterie, that neyther his just prayse be silenced, nor anie thing besides the trueth bee forged, I may say with Bernard " Doleo quod plenum affectu exili cogor designare stylo, et hrevi chartula latam comprehendere charitatem, festine enim ista dicta sunt, et oh Jioc minus festive T'^ As hee was largelie honom-ed by God, in blood, in name, and descent of an honourable stocke ; so he honoured it with all the true ornaments of vertue and wisdome ; in his private lyfe by his pietie, and religion, and constant profes- sion of the trueth in the strictest sort, by diligent and pro- fitable hearing therof, and living accordinglie ; and as a godlie christian, teaching others by his example, and might have sayde as Gedeon " as I doe, so doe yee."2 Thereafter receaved to bee a pastor and churchman, hee was not an ydle shepheard, but diligent and paynfull from his entrie in the ministrie, and feeding of the people with sound doctrine powerfullie delivered ; alwayes resident, and never a deserter of that flocke, and in that tyme ever vigilant by all meanes to procure the peace of the Church and the staffe of the binders unbroken,^ but to bee still knit together in God and the spirit of concord and unitie. Thereafter his calling to the Episcopall dignitie was rare and exemplarie, without his knowledge or seeking, directlie, or indirectlie, sine amhitu and usurpation, hunting after places and preferment, as manie doe, tharow ambition and love of gayne and glorie, not awayting on the Lord''s calling. Onlie this I can not forbeare ; our gracious Soveraygne of blessed memorie, did not so much honour him as himselfe and the age, in the freedome of his noble and unexpected choyse ; and that elogie which Nazianzen giveth to Saynct Basil,^ truelie and properlie fitteth our Bishop, hee was pro- movedS ' Of ;iX£'4/a? rnv h^ouffiocv, ovh aq^daag, oubldico^ag TTJv rtybriv, ocKk' V'tto tyjg ri[/jrjg btcwx^ug. And though hee ^ Cap. 19 and 108. [S. Beraardi Abbatis Primi Clara3 Vallensis Opera Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1680. This quotation after considerable pains, has not been found.] 2 Judges vii. 17. ^ Zech. xi. * Orat. 20. [Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1777, Tom. I. p. 792, Orat. 43, § 28.] ' See to this purpose the letters sent from the King and from the Bishops, which yce shall find in this booke, after these Funerall Sermons. 88 A FUNERALL SPEACH. acknowledged a deepo obligation to many great and honour- able friendes, yet he ought it to no thing to no man, but to God's providence and the King's bountie. And thus shall it be done to all them that honour God and the King : GoD and the King, without doubt, will honour them. Hee bceing preferred to bee a Bishop, Overseer, and President of others in the Church, and to bee employed in matters of weyghtiest importance, and having put on that sacred honour, yet was hee never lesse in his owne appre- hension, what ever he seemed to others ; not statelie, but gentle, courteous, and effable to all. It agreed to him which is spoken of Simon the son of Onias the Priest,^ in the Greeke text, " 'E^6?a(7g UTgg- Qokfjv ayiuc^urog, hee glorified the sacred priestlie gar- ment with vertue, wisdome, and nobilitie : not feeding him- selfe, nor ydlie and unprofitablie spending his lyfe but in the worke of the LoRD.2 That whereas in others wealth and power furnished them fewell to the fire of their lusts, in him it furnished greater matter of doing, and set his vertuous mynd the more on worke, as Gregorie Nazian. reporteth of Basilius the Great, " the more libertie he had the lesse he challenged to himself:" remembering what Seneca said, " Ccesari cui omnia licent, propter hoc ipsum multa nan licent ••"^ not languishing with ease and delicacie, and enjoying few free houres : that beeing overspent with worke, hee often tymes complayncd of his change, and heartilie wished to have returned to a private lyfe (by reason of the cares, toyls, and vexations which attende that place), as Saynct Gregorie did, if nothing but earthlio respectes had swayed him. But hee followed the calling of GoD, to whose service hoc willinglic sacrificed himselfe, and whose glorie was the ende of his beeing. His first and foremost care was for the House of GoD, and cspeciallie of the Cathodrall Church where hee did reside, edifying and reparing the mines thereof, and furnishing it with ornamentes convenient, and which had lyen waste and desolate since the Reformation, wanting a preacher, because they who sacrilcgiouslio had impropriated the tithes wanted conscience to provyde a minister and ' Ecclcs. L. 11. " Ez. iii. ' De Consol. [L. Annsci Scnccac Lib. do Cousolat. Taris. Fol. 1613, ).. 754.1 A FUNERALL SPEACH. 89 may ntay nance for him. And that there might alwayes bee an able and godhe ministerie, hee caused found a profession of divinitie, and a rent for the entertaynment thereof in all tymes comming. The benefit whereof the countrie hath alreadie with great contentment beholden. And in his frequent visitations of the churches in his Diocie, hee removed from manie places ydle lubbards, and purged out all uncleane and unprofitable ministers — planted churches where there were none, and caused endow them with land and living, that there might bee mayntaynance in the House of God for the prophets and their sonnes after them.l Hee dissolved in manie places the unhappie union which was made of churches, and procured severall planta- tions of them. Jerome sayeth — " Tanta debet esse scientia et eruditio Pontificis Dei, ut gestus ejus, et motus, et universa et vocalia sint, veritatem mente concipiat, et toto earn habitu et ornatu resonatr^ So was hee learned in this learned citie, where there is the seat of learning — wyse in ordering and governing God's House — faythfull, impartiall, and solid in judging — discret in admonishing — compassionate in correcting — full of power and authoritie in censuring and rebuking to reduce the inordinate — and when neede was, to cutt off evill examples from the flocke : In dispatch of businesse speedie, and with great dexteritie ; alwayes provident and careful! to advance the Gospell, and paynfuU even in the tyme of his sicknesse : Without all carnall and base fear of men — not bowed with boastes to betray the Church — or daunted and discowraged from executing his office with great cowrage, spirit, and resolutenesse of mynd — contending with them that contended with God,^ and fighting a good fight, both in defence of the truth, and expugnation of heresies, schisms, and seditions, brought in by adversaries. And which is a speciall mark, descerning a faithful Pastor from an hyreling, who seekes his own things :* Hee was not given to filthie lucre ;5 but hating covetousnes, all simoniacal practises, all cunning and covetous dealing -.^ not corrupted by brybes ; " non erat manu porrecta ad 1 Mai. iii. « Ep. ad Fabiol.— [Bencd. Ed. Fol. Paris, 1693, &c.] •■' Ez. iii. 9. ■» Tim. iii. ^ Tsal. ii. 21. « 2. Cor. xii. 18. 90 A FUNERALL SPEACII. accipiendum, et collecta ad dandumy^ But in word and work benevolent, charitable, and hospital. Not as Tacitus (lib. 1.) spake of Otho, " Opes perdere iste sciet, donare nescit.'''' An honourable patterne of pietie and huraanitio to all — a lover and favourer of good men — a comfort to the best — a terrour and a wound to enemies and the worst inclyned. And as Augustine spake of Cyprian, " Mtdti erat jneritl, midti pectoris, multi oris, multoe mrtutis?'' In outward carriage and actions, grave, modest, and constant, procuring reverence of all that beheld him. And which is especiallie worthie of mention and imitation, he was sincere and upright, being within what he seemed without. Not as Tertullian saitli of certain philosophers, " Miniice affectant veritatem, et affectando corrumpuntT For as Seneca says of Clemency, " Nemo potest diu personam fidum ferre^^ But this integritie and constancie appeared in him unto the ende ; and it was not onlie a naturall inclination in him, but a spirituall and gracious disposition. At last, being overtaken with a longsome and grievous disease, which he did beare with his accustomed cowrage and constancie, not using any word of impatience, complaint, or motion, showing any discontent with God, but with a quyet invinceable undaunted heart, as an immoveable rocke, uphelde himselfe by fayth and hope, resting in God his Saviour ;S only lamenting his infirmitie in this, " That it unabled him from the discharge of his office as hee had done when health lasted. And yet in tyme of his weaknesse, his memorie and senses beeing perfect, hee caused carrie him (diverse tymes) both to the publicke meeting of the ministerie, and ordinarilie to the church to the publicke worship of God, where hee was an attentive and comfortable hearer. And at last cxtremitie of sicknesse, and death drawing neare, hee was compelled to kcepe home, in divine confer- ence with all that visited him ; in speach jocund and pleasant, uttering diverse Christian apophthegmes before death — often saying, " That hee had passed the halfe of death alreadie :"" — " Pulchra res est consummare vitam ante mortem, ut mors pauca inveniat quw aholere possit.''''^ And ' Bern, dc raodo bene vivendi. — lEd. cit. torn. ii. p. SIC] ^ Lib. 1, ad Ncronem. Ed. cit. \>. 260. — [Nemo eniin potest personam diu ferrc : Ficta citu in naturani siiam reoidunt.| •' Job xiii. 15. ' Seneca. A FUNERALL SPEACH. 91 laying aside all other care, hee composed himselfe whollie unto that heavenlie lyfe ; and v/ith that store of comforts which hee had taught others, prepared himselfe to death, to yeeld his dayes peaceablie, and with good resolution : "Ei' lu(p??|W//a Tiksurccv. Wherein hee shewe great contentment, and willingnesse to die, and change this lyfe with a better. For hee knewe, by his singular wisedome and pietie — " Nihil esse stultius, quam ad prcemia ccelesfm non ohsequio voluntatis accurrere, sed necessitatis vinculo invitum trahir And, for his farther comfort, receaved the holie sacrament of the bodie and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, with great devotion, in the companie, and together, with diverse reverend and godlie men, the ministers of both the townes ; unto whom hee verie heartilie, in token of his agreement, and comfort hee had of their fellowship in his lyfe, gave his blessing, and recommended them unto the grace of God. After which, strength and speach fayling, he gave diverse tokens, to them who were present, of a mynde setled and established, by faith and hope, in assurance of the mercie of God, in the remission of his sinnes. And then the extremitie of paynes chased that soule of his, out of the tabernacle of this flesh ; which the angels have carried unto the bosome of his father Abraham ; being delivered from the wearisomnesse and perils of this lyfe, and now eateth the fruits of his labours : and his conscience the comfort of his former fidelitie ; and with unspeakeable joye awayteth for our comming thither. A SERMON, PREACHED AT THE FUNERALL OF THE R. R. FATHER IN GOD, PATRIOKE FORBES, LATE LORD BISHOP OF ABERDENE, SPECIAL CHURCH OF THE CITIE OF ABERDENE CALLED SAYNCT NICOLAS, THE 12tH OF APRILL 1635. By William Guild,^ Doctor of Divinity, Chaplane to his Majestie^ and Minister of God's Word in the foresaid Citie. Luke ii. Verse 29. " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart m peace, according to thy word." >HESE words (dearly beloved in our Lord and Saviour) which I have read in your present audience, according to the opinion of some, are the words of prayse, and of others are the words of petition. Of prayse, olde Simeon in them having now gotten the performance of that ^ [William Guild, Doctor of Divinity, was the son of Matthew Guild, a citizen and bui'gess of Aberdeen, and by trade an armourer. The elder Guild figures in the records of the city as a sturdy opponent of the new system of things attempted to be introduced at the religious revolution in Scotland in the 16th century, when the general legislature, as well as the local magistrates of the counti-y, began to interfere with the games and amusements of the people, for the purj^ose of suppressing those demon- strations of mirth and festivity, which formerly had not only been allowed, 94 A SERMON. promise made unto him, " that hee should not see death till hee saw the Lord's anointed ;" and having the babe, but encouraged and regulated by those in authority. As iUustrations of the modes of thinking and manners of tlie day, the following extracts from the registers of the city relating to Matthew Guild and other contumacious citizens, will, we think, be interesting to our readers. " I4th May 1565. — The said day, Johnne Kelo, belman, maid faytht in jugement that he, at command of the prowest and baillies, past, on Setter- day wes viij dais, viz. the v day of jVIaii, and on Setterday last was, \iz. the xij day of Maii, throw all the rewis [streets] and gettis of this toune, be oppen voce, and maid inhibitioune to all burges men, craftismen, and all utheris, inhabitantis and induellaris of the said toune, that nane of thame tak upone hand to mak ony conventione, with taburne plaing, or pype, or fedill, or have anseinges [banners], to convene the qucnis legis, in chusing of Robui Huid, Littil Johnne, Abbot of Ressoune, Queyne of Mail, or sicklyk contraveyne the statutis of parliament, or mak ony tumult, seism, or conventione. " The said day, James INIasar, Lourens Masar, Methow Guild, Thomas Huntayr, and Andi-ow Wysman, wer con\'ickit for the cumyng throw the toune, upon Sunday last wes, eftir none, with ane menstrall playand befor thaim, throch the Gallowgett, in contemi)tioune of the towaiis actis and proclamaciouns maid obefoir, and breaking of the actis of parliament, and contravening of the same ; quhei-for thai wer in amerciament of com't, and wer ordanit to remane in the toUbuth, quhill thai find sourtie for fulfilling and satisfeing of the emends to be modifyt be the consel." " ISth May 1565. — The sayd day, the Consell present for the tyme, being convenit to decern anent the emendis and punyshment of James Masar, Lourens Masar, sadlar, JNIathow Guild, armerar, Andrew Wysman, cor- dinar, and Thomas Huntar, cutlar, quhilk ar convickit for contempning and dissobeying of the townis actis and ordinans obefoir, and contravening of the actis of parliament, the counsall, ryjjly adwysit, considering the said attemptat, and groimd quharof the same proceidit, to be to genir schism and discord within the burgh, dischargit the saidis personis of tliair fredome, and fra all exercitioune of thair crafts, conforme to the act of parliament ; and ordanis publict proclamacioun to be maid heirupoun." — [Extracts from the Council Register of the Burgh of Aberdeen, 1398-1570. Aberdeen, printed for the Spalding Club, mecccxliv., pp. 459, 460.] These makers of " seism " were subsequently restored to their burgal privileges. Dr James Shirrefs, one of the ministers of Aberdeen, published a diffuse biography of Dr "William Guild. It is entitled, " An Inquiry into the Life, Writings, and Character of the Reverend Doctor William Guild, one of the Chaplains in Ordinary to his INIajesty King Charles I., and Founder of the Trinity Hospital, Aberdeen ; with some Strictures upon Spalding's Account of him, and of the Times in which he lived." [2d edit. Svo. Aberdeen, 1799.] From this biogi-apliy we learn that the subject of it was born in 15S6, and as his father M'as in opiilent circum- stances, that he enjoyed the advantage of receiving the best education the country could at that period afford. The younger Guild was an alumnus of the College of Aberdeen founded l)y the Earl Marischal of the day, and at the ago of twenty-two shewed his progi'ess in theology, the favourite and popular study of the times, by publishing a work dedicated to llcn)y. A SERMON. 95 Christ Jesus, in his arms, he prayseth God for this perform- ance, and acknowledgeth that now he was letting him depart Charles, and Elizabeth, the Royal Family of James I., entitled " The New Sacrifice of Christian Incense ; or the True Entry to the Tree of Life, and Gracious Gate of Glorious Paradise." In 1608 Guild became the pastor of the parish of King-Edward in Aberdeenshire. In 1610 he married a lady of the name of Rowen or RoUand, but had no family. Several years after this period appeared his treatise named " Moses Unveiled," dedicated to the learned Bishop of Winchester, Dr Lancelot Andrewes, whose pious exertions had greatly contributed to the restoration of the Church in Scotland in the begmning of the 17th century. Guild, probably through the influence of his countryman Dr Young, then Dean of Winchester, was appointed a Royal Chaplain. On a vacancy occurring in one of the pastoral charges of the town of Aberdeen, Dr Guild was elected by the Magistrates and Council. This appointment took place in January 1631, and was most probably with the full sanction and approbation of Bishop Patrick Forbes, who, it is well known, exercised the greatest care and vigilance in securmg efficient and able men to fill the cures of his Diocese. Guild, it Avould appear, inherited considerable wealth from his father, and being childless, was enabled to indulge his natural disposition, Avhich appears to have been liberal and benevolent, though certainly marked by instability of purpose and a want of firmness, and perhaps by some measure of vanity and ostentation. Before leaving the parish of King-Edward, he had given to the Town-Council of Aber- deen a donation of a house, which he had bought some time previously, for the purpose of enabling them to improve the entrance to Marischal CoUege, and by a deed ratified by royal charter in 1633, he conveyed to the Incorporated Trades of the city, " the Place or Monastei-y of the Holy Trinity of the Brethren of the burgh of Aberdeen," &c., " to be an hospital for the poor old tradesmen of the burgh." In this Institution, it is believed, the wishes and directions of the founder have been, and continue to be, faithfully and successfully carried out. It has been already stated [supra, p. 7], that although Guild was a party to the celebrated queries propoimded by the " Aberdeen Doctors" to the Commissioners of the Covenant on their arrival in Aberdeen in July 1638, he was one of the first of the inhabitants of any note who ' subscribed that famous " Band." This, hoAvever, he did not do in unqua- lified terms. The following conditions were insisted upon by him and by the Rev. Robert Reid, then minister of Banchory-Ternan ; — " That we acknowledge not, nor yet condemn, the Articles of Perth to be imlawfidl or heads of Popery ; but only promise (for the peace of the Church, and other reasons) to forbear the practice therof, for a time. 2do, That we condemn no Episcojiall Government, secludeing the personall abuse therof. 3tio, That we still retaine, and shall retaine, all loyall and dewtifuU subjection and obedience unto our dread Soveraigne the King's Majestie. And, that in this sense, and no otherwayes, we have put our hands to the foresaid Covenant." — [Spalding's Hist. of Troubles, Bannatyne Club edition, vol. i. p. 58.] Although from the terms of his restricted signature to the Covenant, it might be supposed that he was at this period a supporter of Episcopacy, we have seen, [supra, p. 14], that he was a member of the Glasgow Assembly- in 1638, which subverted the Scottish 96 A SERMON. in peace, for his eyes (according to His word of promise made unto him) had scene his salvation. And those who Hierarcliy, and at a subsequent period he subscribed the Covenant with- out restriction or limitation. On the expulsion by the Covenanters of Dr William Leslie, the amiable and learned Principal of King's College, the claims of Guild were preferred over those of his competitor, the well- known Robert Baillie. From this situation he was deposed, it is said, through the jealousy and dislike of the fervent and enthusiastic Mr Andrew Cant [Gordon's Scots Affau-s, vol. i. p. 88 ; vol. iii. p. 286], but it would ai)pear that he was not actually displaced tiU the visitation of Cromwell's military Commissioners in 1651. Dr Guild died at Aberdeen in 1657. By his last will he founded three bursaries in the INIarischal College, and bestowed various other charitable bequests. " The University of St Andrews, much indebted, in other respects, to his liberal patronage, received a legacy of his library ; excepting only one valuable Manuscript, supposed by some to be the original, or first copy, of the memorable Letter from the States of Bohemia and Moravia to the Council of Constance (1415) relative to John Huss and Jerome of Prague, whicli he bequeathed to the University of Edinburgh. " A description of this INIanuscript, and a detail of what it contains, may be found, by those who wish for further information concerning it, in Maitland's History of Ediubui'gh. According to that author, who seems to have examined it very minutely, there is reason to think that it is an original. He introduces it to the notice of his readers (b. \'i. p. 371), as a very gi-eat curiosity ; and traces its progress, to the place where it now is, thus—' brought to Scotland by a gentleman, at his return from his travels in foreign parts, probably about one liundrcd years ago ; for by Conienius it appears to have been m the College Library of Aberdeen above eighty- seven years since ; but, that it did not belong to that library, is manifest by Dr William Guild's having bequeatlied the same to the College of Edinburgh in the year 1657 ; and it being received by the Town-Council in the month of January, anno 1658, they ordered a receipt to be given to his relict Katharine Holland for the same.' " — [Shen-if s Life of Guild, SMp>-rt.] Guild wrote various works, principally theological, but none of any great merit. A long list of these will be foimd in Mr ^laidment's Catalogues of Scotish Writers. Edin. 8vo. 1833, p. 36. As may be supi^osed, he was no favourite with his contemporary townsman Spalding. This decided but in generalfair and candid Churchman, for once seems to have allowed his feel- ings to get tlie better of his calmer reason. He has certainly pressed too hard upon Guild. The following allusions to him are amusing, and characteristic both of the liistoi-ian and of the times. On occasion of Guild's first and limited adherence to the Covenant, Spalding adds — " This Guild was ane of the King's own chaplains of the ChajipcU Royall, and he setts out ane imprint(>d I'aper direct to the nobilitie, gentrie, burrows, ministers, and others of tlie combination of the Covenant, and printed at Aberdcin, in anno 1639, wishing no amies to be raised against the King ; whereof the coppie is sett down hereafter. Notwithstanding of all thir cloaks, he subscribed the Covenant absolutely but [witiiout] limitation ; as ye may see afterwards." — [Spalding's Hist, of Troubles, Bannatyne Club edition, vol. i. p. 59.] A SERMON. 97 SO expound this text, have for their warrand the word kicokviiq-t in the present tyme, « Upon the 5th of January [1639], Doctor Guild returns frae the General Assemblie [at Glasgow] home to Aberdein. Upon the morne being Sunday, he intended to read the Assemblie Acts, after sermon, and names of the excommunicat Bishops, as he was directed ; but the toun of Aberdem sent him word they would not hear them read out of their pulpitts, saying, the kuig's proclamations charged his loyal subjects not to hear nor obey the samen. Whereupon Dr Guild went and preached ; but made no publicatione, whyle he wrote to the Table at Edinburgh ; whilk he did ; wherupou meikle sorrow followed upon noble Aberdein." — Ihid. p. 86. « Upon the 17th day of October [1639], there was a committee holden within the CoUedge of Old Aberdein be diverse barrens, ministers and commissioners, and Mr David Lindsay, person of Belhehde. Ther were appointed to keep this committee sundrie noblemen, but they were m Edinburgh attending the parliament. Their errand was for placeing Doctor Guild in the principalitie, in the deposed Doctor William Lesslie's place. But because the committee was not fully convened, they caused Doctor William Guild subscrive the covenant absolutely, who had subscrived the samen first with limitation ; and he is chosen rector of this universitie for a year, by such as were present, to begin withall ; and thereafter he was chosen principall, as ye may see hereafter ; and this committee was continowed to the day of November nixt. This Doctor Guild wrote out ane paper called ' Aue freiudly and faithful advyce,' whilk was printed, concerning thir troubles, and against raising of armes be subjects against thir lawfuU king, whilk herafter is copied Avord be word. Nevertheless he now subscrives this covenant, but [without] limitation, contrair to the opinion of his printed paper, as it would appear, and to his first subscription, being allwayes a temporizer." — nid. p. 172, 173. « Wednesday the 5th of August [1640], the earle of Seaforth, colonell master of Forbes, Mr John Adamsone princii>all of the coUedge of Edin- burgh, William Rigg burgess ther, doctor Guild rector of the King's CoUedge of Old Aberdein, with some other barrens and gentlemen, held ane com- mittee at the said King's CoUedge, where Mr James Sandielands discharged , before to be canonist is now made civilist, loth to want all. Thereafter, they came aU rydeing up the gate, came to Machar Kirk, [Cathedral of Aberdeen,] ordained our blessed Lord Jesus Christ his armes to be hewen out of the foir front of the pulpit therof, and to take down the portraitt of our blissid Virgine Mary and her dear sone babie Jesus in her armes, that had stood since the upputting therof, in curious work, under the sylring at the west end of the jjend, wheron the great stipell stands, onmoved whyle now ; and gave orders to colonell master of Forbes to see this done, whilk he with all diligence obeyed. And besydes, wher ther was any crucifix sett in glasseu windows, this he caused pull out in honest men's houses. He caused ane mason strike out Christ's armes in hewen work, on ilk end of bishop Gavin Dunbar's tomb ; and sicklyke chissell out the name of Jesus, drawen cyplier wayes, HIS, out of the timber wall on the foirsyde of INIachar Isle, anent the consistorie door. The crucifix on tlie Old Toun cross dung down ; the crucifix on the New Toun closed 98 A SERMON. Some, agayne, (both ancient and modornc) make these wordes to bee the wordes of petition, and to contayne the up, being loth to brake the stone ; the crucifix on the west end of St Nicholas' Kirk in New Aberdein dung down, whilk Avas never troubled before. But this diligent coUonell master of Forbes kept not place long time theraftcr, but was shortly casheired, as ye may see ; and after diverse fortunes, at last he, with his lady, went to Holland to serve." — Ibid. p. 234 ; and Gordon's Scots Affairs, vol. iii. p. 218. " Wedinsday 6 Aprile [1642], Doctor Goold began to preiche within the College Kirk ane weiklic sermon to be taught that day to the Old toun people, studentis, maisteris and memberis of the college. He causit tak doun the organ cace, quhilk wes of fyue wanescot, and had stand within the kirk since the reformatioun. This ordour semit strange, to preiche outwith Maucher kirk as wes sumtyms usit befoir, and bring down the people, man, wyf and maidis to the College kirk among young scolleris and studentis ; and he being a prhicipall to teiche in English, where, by the foundatiouu, he is bound to preiche or give out his lessons in Greik, Ilebrue and Latyne, except exercis and presbitrie dayes, that he sould use the vulgar toung. The reidar at IMaucher kirk wes tyit to this weiklie sermon to tak wp the psalnie. The gryt bellis of the College and Maucher kirk bellis rang both thrie tjnns to ilk sermon, for conveining ane audi- torie, quhilk wes never usit befoir, and whiche schortlie decayit to his disgrace, as he justlie deservit. " Upone the foirsaid 6 of Aprile, drum went throw the town straitlie chargeing all manor of man not to bring in flesches of whatsoever sort to the marcat quhill [until] Setterday the last of Aprile, -mider the pane of confiscatioun of their flesliis; quhaii-upou none could be gottin in Abirdene. This done to tak away the memorie of Pash-day, quhilk this yeir fell upone the tent of Aprile ; quhairupoue no fleschis could be gottin to by nor to eit, as the old use wes, ilk man making good cheir on this day according to his pouer, now holdin by thir new lawis sui)erstitious ; and the Lentron contynewit to the last of Aprile, according to ane ordinans of ane committe holdiu at Edinbrughe, and for keiping of store to the foir, quhilk in many yeires bygane wes weill aneuche keipit for Pash-day. No sennon nather on good-frydday nor yit that day, as the old forme wes, suche wes this suddant alteratioun. " Pashe-day 10 Aprile, no fleshe durst be sold in Abirdene for making good cheir, as wes wont to be ; so ilk honest man did the best he culd for himselff. A mater never befoir hard of in this land, that Pashe-day sould be includit within Lentron tyme, becaus it wes now holdin superstitious; nor na communion givin on good-frydday nor this Pash-day as wes usit befoir. Mcrvallous in Abirdene to fie no Marcat, foule or flesche to be sold on Pash-evin. — Ibid. p. 29, 30. " About the begining of this monetli of June, Doctor Guild, principall, presentlie brakis doun the insicht and plenishing withiu the bischoins houssis (quhilk wes left oudistroyit befoir), sic as bedis, burdis, &c., and causit transport them doun to jilenish the college chalmeris and uther wark ; gcstis and gryte tymber he cuttit doun. Ho tinit the too-fallis of the haill office housis, sic as baikhous, brcwhous, byris, stables, yea and of sum too-fall chalmeris also, and careit rooff and sklait away, quhairwith A SERMON. 99 holie desire of this happie olde man, wherein now having gotten in his lyfe-tyme a sight of his promised and longed- he rooffit ane sang-scool and sklaitet the samen Avithin Bereold Innes clos, quhair never sang-scool wes befoii*. Thus, as he dang doun the wallis of the Snaw kirk to big wp the College dykes, as ye have befoir, so now he is demolishing the bischopis houssis, in forme and to the effect foirsaid. Pitiful! and lamentable, to behold kirkis and statelie buildiuges first to be cassin doun be rufEans and rascallis ; and nixt, be churchmen, wnder cuUour of rehgioun, to be broken doun." — Ibid. p. 54. "Upone the 16 of December, Doctor GooldandMr Williame Strathauchin yokit "Williame Charles, wricht in Abirdene, to the doun-taking of the back of tlie hie altar standing upon the eist wall of bischop Gawin Dimibaris lyll, als lieiche nar by as the sylring thairof, curiouslie wrocht of fjTie Avanescot, so that within Scotland there wes not a better wi'ocht peice. It is said, the craftisman wald not put his hand to the doun-taking thairof, whill [till] ilr William Strathauchin, our minister, laid first hand thairto, which he did, and syne the wark wes begun. And in doun-taking of ane of the thrie tyniber crouns, quhilk they thoclit to have gottin doun haill and uubrokin, by [contrary to] ther expectatioun, [it] fell suddantlie upone the kirkis gi-yt ledder, brak it in thrie jjieces and it self all in blaidis, and brak sum pavement with the weclit thairof; bot the people wes all saif. Now oure mmister deAy sit ane loft, for eis of the people at sermon, going athuart the churche south and north, quhilk took away the staitly sicht and glorious schow of the body of the haill kirk ; and with this bak of the altar, and uther ornamentis thairupone, he decoii-it the foirsyde and back- syde of this beistlie loft, whairas fourtie pimdis wold have coft als mekill uther tymber as wold have done the samin, if thay had sufferit the foirsaid ornament to stand. This wes done but [without] advis of the Old toun Ses- sioun, and, as sum said, but consent of the bretheren at the last visitatiouu of oure churche. It wes a weU wrocht peice, haveing thrie crounes upper- most, and thrie uther kynd of crounes beneth, Weill carAat with golden knappis, now on this loft. Thair wes 2000 merkis left be Doctor Scrogie in the kirk box, with the quhilk oure minister theikit the ku-k, too-fallis, steple and Gawin Dumbaris lyll with new sklait ; and kest with lyme that pairt quhair the bak of the alter stood, that it suld not be kend."— Ibid. p. 106. " Doctor Goold, princii^all and moderatour, at this tyme refusit to give play to the studentis at Yool [Christmas] day ; bot they took it at thair owne hand, and the gramariares bothe, who at last be compositioun gat aucht dayis play. This yeir, Yool day fell upone Sonday, oure minister and ministeris of Abirdene preiching aganes all myrrines, play and pastyme ; and the nicht befoir, be touk of drum throw Abirdene, the toimesmen commandit to keip them selfis sober and flie all sui^erstitious helping of dayis. Upon Mononday, the bell throw the Old toun commandit all manor of man to oppin ther buith durris, and go to wark that wes craftismen and utheris : bot the studentis fell upone the belman, took fra him the bell for giveing sic ane unusuall charge ; bot tlie people maid gryte cheir and bauketting, according to ther estaites, and past thair tymes Mononday and Tuysday both, for. all thir threatningis." — Ibid. p. 107, 108.— E.] 100 A SERMON. for Saviour, while Hee was presented in the Temple, he desireth now a peaceable and happie departure, as having seene Him who is the death of death, and Lord of lyfe, after whom hee longed. Tn which text we have to consider — 1. That there is a departure out of this life. 2. That this is common to the servants of God, aswel as to the wicked ; therefore sayeth old Simeon — " Now, Lord, let thy servant depart." 3. Wee see how the death of God's servants is called, to wit, a dimission, or freedom to depart. 4. The difference betweene the death and departure of the godlie and the wicked, to wit, the one is peace, the other not. 5. From whom this peaceable departure is had, and what is the ground of the godlie's assurance of the Lord's granting the same, to wit. His word and promise. And last, what is it that maketh the death of the godlie to bee peaceable, and, by consequence, so appetible, to wit, even the sight of the Lord's salvation : " For myne eyes" (sayeth hee) " have seene thy salvation." First, then, wee see, that as there is an oritur^ or an cntrie into this lyfe by birth, so there is a moritur, or a departure out of this lyfe by death : a Genesis wee have by the one, an Exodus by the other. And this is grounded upon that common law, by reason of man's transgression — " Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt returne."! Where- unto is agreeable that which is sayd by the Apostle — " It is appoynted for all men once to die, and after this is judgement ;"2 therefore sayeth the Psalmist, (without anie exception) — " What man liveth, and shall not see death."^ " For we have here no continuing citie,"^ (sayeth St Paul), and our journey is from the wombe to the worme, carried in the swift chariot of tyme, upon the two restlesse wheeles of motion and mutation, till we arrive at that inne in the ende wherein wee shall say to corruption — " Thou art our father, and to the worme, thou art our brother and our sister."5 And as wee were made of the earth, and live on it, so wee shall returne to it, to rest in it, till wee ryso from it, age still wearing us, sickncsse preparing, death arresting, the grave expecting, and the wormes at last welcomming us. > Gon. iii. 19. = Ilcb. ix. 27. •* I'sal. Ixxxi-x. 48. ■• lleb. xiii. 11. '' Job xvii. 14. A SERMON. 101 Therefore, well may it be saidc of all as it was wittilie saidc to a grammarian, that though hee could decline a nowne in everie case, yet death can not bee by any declined in no case. Whence wee learne — 1. Seeing our mansion place is not here, but (as Isai sayeth)i " our age departeth, and s removed from us as a shepheard's tent," and we must depart ourselves at last, and (as the Apostle subjoyneth) " then come to judgement ; therefore the remembrance of our departure should ever bee before our eyes, and a daylie preparation for the same should ever be our practise, praying with Moses — " Lord teach us to number our dayes, that wee may applye our heartes unto wisedome,'"^ and acknow- ledging this only to be true wisedome, to worke out the worke of our owne salvation in feare and in trembling ; therefore sayeth one — Mors tibi semper sit in tiia cogitatione, quia ea semper est in tua expectatione. Which moved Abraham to make a buriall place his first possession in the promised land, and Joseph of Arimathea to have his tombe in his garden of pleasure. Nothing being more powerfull than this dayhe remembrance, to kill sin, quell pryd, quench concupiscence, convince avarice, confound luxurie, abate vaine-glorie, and weane our hearts from all worldlie vanitie ; and, therefore, this having bene ever the godlie's arithme- ticke, the Sainct's geometric, and the Christian's philosophie. Seeing we must depart from this world, then let not our soules bee insnared, and intangled with the love of the world, let us eschew the serpent's curse, to bee still cleaving to the dust of the earth; or with Esau, to content with the fatte of the same ; let us not bee so base as to be filii terrce onlie, and earth wormes, who are borne anew, to bee children to God, and citizens of Heaven ; but in tyme separate ourselves in affection therefra, using the same as if wee used it not ; that our separation by dissolution therefra may be the fruition of a better inheritance ; and considering that a little earth must once containe, whom the whole earth cannot content. Seeing we must depart from hence, and that wee know not how soono (as the Lord sayd unto Abraham, Exi de ' Isai. xxxviii. 12. ^ Tsal. xc. 12. 102 A SERMON. terra tua) we be in lyke manner charged to goe out of this earthhe tabarnacle, let us forecast with our selves, and thinke of our after-estate, which is not to bee for a short tyme, but eternall for ever : and therefore let us be like that wise steward spoken of in the gospell, and make friends to our selves with the mammon of iniquitie, that when we fayle wee may be receaved into everlasting habitations ; Prospice et prccmitte, must bee the practise then of a prudent Christian, that so he may know the reason of his cupio dissohi to bee with the Apostle ; this confidence of his after-estate, esse cum Christo, else dolefull will bee the sight of death, lyke Jehues march be towards him, when hee can onlie say this, or worse, with that heathen wretch, Animula hlandula vagula, quce nunc ahihis in loca ? And if it please the Lord in this lyfe to exercise us with crosses, or discontentments, yet let us not grudge with our lot, but possesse our soules with patience, and remember, that our tyme of bearing the crosse after our Saviour is but short ; and a tyme draweth neare, wherein wee shall depart from them, and they inlykemanner give an eternall farewell to us ; the Canaanite shal no more be in the land, the rod of the wicked shall be no more upon the backe of the righteous, the godlie shall no more sowe in teares ; but it shal be sayd to the soule by her blessed brydegroome, as wee have in the Canticles,^ " Aryse, my love, my faire one, and come away ; for loe, the winter is past, the raine is over and gone ; the flowers appeare on the earth, the tyme of singing of birds is come, and the voyce of the turtle is heard in our land,"" &c. Vespera quos fleutes ducit sata sancta ferentes, Fasciculis gravidos aurora reducet ovantes. Secondly, this text intimateth unto us that death, or this bodylie departure, is common to God's servants, as well as to the wicked ; therefore sayeth old Simeon, " Now, Lord, let thy servant depart in peace :" and accordingly docth the Psalmist inquire, without any exception, saying, " What man is hee that liveth, and shall not see death ;" for which cause wee see that this is ever the common clausule of that record of the lyvcs of all those worthies from Adam to ' Caut.i. 1(», 11, 12. A SERMON. 103 Noah, Gen. v. (and hee died.) Howsoever, then, that Abraham bee commended for fayth, Isaac for pietie, Jacob for integritie, Joseph for chastitie, Moses for meeknesse, Samuell for uprightnesse, David for zeale, Solomon for wisdome, and Job for patience, &c. yet death's sythe mowed them all downe as grasse, and they slept with their fathers. The reasons of which the Lord's doing, are, 1. For the manifestation of his trueth, in that threatening of Adam, and all his posteritie, " Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt returne :" 2. For declaration of his power over sinne, which brought in death, wherein God's wonderful! power is seene, that hee maketh death which sinne brought in, utterlie to abolish sinne which bred and brought in the same : so that thereof it may bee sayde, Filia devoravit matrem ; and that sinne which in us grace maketh morihundum^ death killeth out-right, and maketh it to bee mortuuni: the brood of this viper gnawing foorth so, the wombe which hatched the same, and Goliah's sword cutting off as it were his owne head. Next, hereby the Lord declareth his power over death (as well as formerlie, over sinne by death), that although death seeme so to prevaile over the godlie, as to turne their bodies into dust, and to have them surelie laid fast in his strong holde of the grave : yet as Potiphar's wyfe catched onlie and kept the upper garment of Joseph, but himselfe went free, and thereafter being advanced was royallie arrayed ; even so death layeth holde onelie on the garment whereof wee must bee uncloathed before our better part get free, or that wee bee gloriouslie arrayed in that place of heavenlie advancement. As also, the power of our good GoD shall appeare yet more wonder- full, when in the resurrection, death and the grave shall render up the bodies of his elect, as being onlie there depositum : and as the Apostle sayeth, that which was sowne in corruption and weaknesse, shall aryse in incorrup- tion, in glorie, and in strength. And 4. This is done by the Lord for working a conforraitie of the members with their head Christ Jesus, that as he tasted of death, and thereby entred into lyfe eternall ; so must they in lykemanner. And last, as Saynct Augustine sayth, it is ad certamen, and that by the strugling with the feare thereof, and overcom- niing the same, the strength and power of fayth may appeare, 104 A SERMON. the fortitude of patience, and the vietorie of the godlie thereby, may be the more compleet and glorious. Therefore sayth that hohc ancient,^ '^ Si enini parva virtus esset jidei qucv per dilectionem operatur, mortis metum vincere, non esset tanta maHyrum gloria^ nee diceret Bomiiius, majorem liac charitatem nemo habet, quam ut animam suam ponat pro amicis suis, nequaquam ergo pro justitia in morte subeunda ml contemnenda laudaretur prwcipua patientia, si mortis non esset magna multumque dura molestia, cujiis timorem qui vincit ex fide ^ magnam ipsius fidei comparat gloriam jus- tamque mercedem. The third thing which we have to consider in this text is how the death of God's servants is called, as the word aTO- 'kmiq signifieth unto us ; to wit, that the same is a dimission from servitude or captivitie, or a departure out of prison. This prison being the bodie, the doore whereof by death is opened, that the soul may goe free ; and as Noah's dove returned to him who sent her foorth, with an olive branch- in her bill, so the spirit of man which came from God, may returne (as sayeth Ecclesiastes) unto God that gave it. Mors ergo olstetrix animw. Death then is but the mid- wyfe to the soule ; and as our first birth brought us out of the prison of the worabe, and our second out of nature and sinne, so this third and last birth, by death, shall bring us perfectlie, the soule out of the prison of the bodie, and the whole man out of the prison of all worldlie miserie ; the pangues of death being but the showers or throwes of the bodies travelling before the soules deliverie ; and our sicklie groanes and dead rattle at last, beeing but the sound of the jaylour's key (as it was opening the prison doore.) Death doeth then to the godlie, as Gideon and his souldiours did to their earthen pitchers, wherein the burning lamps were inclosed, and as it were imprisoned ; their earthen pitcher is broken, that the lampe of their soule may bee at libertie, and shyno more brightlie in gloric ; or as the fyre of that fornace wherein the three children were castcn, did onelie burne the fetters wherewith they wer bound, without harm- incr themselues, even so death burstcth onelie that bond of naturall lyfe whereby the soule and bodie are tyed together ' Auf». do peccatonnn merit, et reniissionc, lil). ii. p. 117. [Bencd. Ed. Fol. Taris, 1(>96, v. x. p. C«, § 54 1. A SERMON. 105 here in miserie, but can not bereave us of our true lyfe, eyther in Christ of Grace, or with Christ of Glorie. As Pharao's Butler then was glade at the end of the three dayes, to goe out of prison, and comfortable was the in- comming of the jaylour to him for his liberation ; so when the few and evill dayes of the pilgrimage, and the imprison- ment of the Lord's servants in their bodies is at an ende, 0 how joy full is the comming of the messenger of death unto them ! for as the wicked man dying, may say unto death, as Ahab said to Eliah, " Hast thou found mee, O myne enemie V^ and trembleth (like Felix), at the hearing of the same,2 so on the contrarie, as Adoniah sayde to Jonathan the Sonne of Abiathar,^ " Come in, for thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tydings." And as David, in lyke manner, sayde of Ahimaaz,^ that he was a good man, and brought good tydings with him, so death is a good messen- ger to them, and bringeth good tydings with him, even (as the Angell sayde to the shepheards at Christ's birth, " Tydings of great joye," to wit, that their souls are to be fred from all earthlie miserie, and to enter into eternall joy ; and that as the blessed of the Lord, they shall rest from their labours, and their workes follow them. There- fore as Laban welcomed Abraham's servant, and sayd, " Come in, thou blessed of the Lord," even so the Godlie may justlie welcome death, and invite him as it were to come in, the curse and course whereof to them is turned to a blessing. Seeing, therefore, the death of the godlie, is a freedome, and dely verie out of prison, and captivitie, we see how farre we should be from the love of this lyfe, being the time onelie of such a painfull imprisonment, such a languishing labour, an Egyptian bondage, a Babylonish captivitie, a woful exile, a stormy sea voyage, a wearisome pilgrimage, and a dange- rous warrefare, fraile itselfe, and having an hourlie and circular necessitie of such frayle things to support the pillars thereof, whose foundation is in the dust, which is nourished by dust, and in ende the honour and vigour whereof must be laide in the dust ; involved in a world of vanities, and wrapped about with a cloud of vexations, carnall lusts, 1 1 Kings xxi. 20. ^ ^gts xxiv. 25. '' 1 Kings i. 42. * 2 Sam. xviii. 27. lOG A SERMON. thornie cares, and domesticke discontentments ; Satan tempting without, corruption betraying within, the con- science stinging, pleasures alluring, feares affrighting, adver- sitie fretting, prosperitie flattering, sicknesse assaulting, and death ever at last (as a burreau), attending our execu- tion ; besides, who can recount the losses and crosses, the cares and calamities, disquyetings and discontentments, with the miseries and mutabilities that are incident to this mortall and moraentarie lyfe ; rightlie therefore compared to grasse, which withereth ; a flower, which fadeth ; a buble, or water bell, which breaketh ; smoke, which evanisheth ; a weaver's shittle, which passeth ; a traveller, who posteth ; the fatte of lambes, which consumeth ; a shepheard's tent, which flitteth ; a fraile ship, which floateth ; a dreame, with- out soliditie ; a thought, for celeritie ; a hyreling's time, for miserie ; and in a word, meere and onlie vanitie. Wherein to be, then, is not to live, but to be daylie dying, thoughts tossing the mynde, cares torturing the heart, paines pinching the bodie, pensivenesse possessing the soule, feares fretting, crosses consuming, and death at last consummating. And wherein there is not any houre wherein we are not eytlier in the remembrance of calamities bypast, or the sense of some present, or under the feare and foresight of some that are to come. So that it is most true what Job sayeth of man in this lyfe, " Man that is borne of woman, is of short con- tinuance, and full of trouble."! " Curasque, subiise molcstas : Sors liomini connata tulit, veliit edita priiuis Sciutilla ignitis, tenues vaga scandit in aiiras."^ " 0 then," as sayeth Moses, " that men were wyse, and would consider their latter ende,""^ and would think on the world"'s vanitie, to despyse it ; lyfe's frayltie, to contemne it; death's certayntie, to expect it ; judgement's severitie, to prevent it ; hell's miserie, to avoyde it ; and heaven's felicitie, to attayne it. Seeing the death of the godlio is a parting, and not a perishing ; a dclyveric, and not a destruction, an analysing, and not an annihilating, " In qua potius miseria Christiani, ' Job xiv. 1. 2 joi, V. 7. ■■> Dout. xxxii. 29. A SERMON. 107 quam ipse Christianus moritur..''''^ Therefore the same is not to be feared by them who die, nor yet excessivelie deplored by us who survive, " prwmittuntur enim, et non amittuntur ; oriuntur potius quam morimitur, eorumque fmiera sunt Us maxima fwnieraT So that death unto them is rather pre- miall, nor penall ; lyfe, nor losse ; and the day thereof, lyke a birth-day, to bee celebrated (in respect of them) rather with mirth, nor mourning, therefore they rather desire, nor dread the same, saying with David, " My soul thirsteth for God, even for the living God : when shall I come, and appeare before God f^ Or with St Paull, " I desire to bee dissolved, and to be with Christ .'"^ Or with Simeon here, " Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace." Or with the Say nets, saying, " How long, O Lord, which art holie and true \ Come, Lord lesu, come quicklie."* And good reason they have for doing so, because three things concurre to them which are matter of great joye to us in this lyfe ; a glad marriage, a glorious triumph, and a solemne coronation ; the marriage with Christ, the triumph over all their enemies, and the coronation with a crowne of righteousnesse. If poore Esther, then, and all her kinred, were glad when shee was assumed by King Assuerus, to bee his Queene : if David rejoyced when hee came backe triumphing after the slaughter of Goliah, and if the earth itself rang for joye with the acclamations of the coronation of Salomon ; O how joye- full a day is that wherein the poore soule of a Christian, is married gloriouslie with Him who is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords ; and at the sight of that blessed Bryde- groome, (as at Elizabeth's hearing of the blessed Virgine's salutation the Baptist did) how doeth that soule spring and leap for joye ? O with what joyeful acclamations also doe these glorious spirits welcome the triumphant soule that is victorious over the enemies of God's glorie, and man's good, and who so rejoyce at the conversion of a sinner, much more shall they not at the coronation of a Saynct, assumed up to heaven, associate to the Patriarches, made equall with the Angells, and conformed to Christ. The fourth thing which this text offereth to our consider- ' Pliil. i. 21. 2 Psal. xlii. 2. ^ Phil. i. 23. ^ Rev. vi. 10 ; xxii. 20. 100 A SERMON. ation, is the difference between the death of the godlie, and the death of the wicked : the one is in peace, the other not; therefore, sayeth the Prophet, " There is no peace to the wicked (sayeth my God)"i gut on the contrary, " Marke the Godhe, and the upright man,"" (sayeth the Psahnist,) " for the ende of that man is peace ;"2 for according to his soule's estate, (as saith Isaias^) hee entereth into peace, and according to his bodie, he resteth in the grave, as a sweet sleeping bed, so that hee may say with David, " I will lay mee downe in peace, and sleepe ;4 and when I awake, I shall be satisfied with thy lykenesse."5 The cause of which death in peace, is the lyfe of grace ; and because they live the lyfe of the righteous, therefore they die the death of the righteous. But as for the wicked, they depart not in peace, because their life was destitute of grace ; both which the Apostles joyne as inseparable in their salutations [grace and peace] therefore sayth the Prophet^ of them, " The way of peace they have not knowne, and there was no uprightnesse in their goings ; but they made them crooked pathes, wherein whosoever goeth, he shall not know peace." Wherefore they shall be in death, as Balthassar was in his agonie, seeing nothing but their guilty conscience wryting bitter things against them ; sorrowing for their sinnes bygone, being in anguish for their present miserie, and in terrour for torments to come. Satan now accusing them, the conscience convict- ing them, the lawe condemning them, the Gospell forsaking them, the Heavens debarring them, and (like Jona's whale) hell gapeing to swallowe them. O dreadfuU perplexitie, when feare is so on everie side ! a wrathfuU Judge above, un- quenchable flames beneath, a gnawing worme within, a dreadfull dittie before, fearfuU fiends about, and a dolofull doome at hand. Whereas on the contraire, the death of the Godlie hath peace for perplexitie, solace for sorrow, and for dreadour, desire of dissolution, their sinnes are silent, their conscience calm ; the Law absolveth them, the Gospell comforteth them, their Saviour attendcth them, Heaven is open to them, the Angells accompanie them, and their good workes doe follow them. O comfortable is the clayme that ' Isa. Ivii. 21. ^ Psal. xxxvii. 37. •' Isa. Ivii. 2. ' Tsal. iv. 8. » r.sal. xvii. 15. " Isa. lix. 8. A SERMON, 109 the soule maketh in that houre ; to God as a reconciled Father ; to Christ as her brydegi'oome and Saviour ; to his blood as her ransome ; to His sufferings as her satisfaction ; to His promises as the covenant; to Heaven, as His purchase for her ; and to the societie of the Sayncts and Angels, as fellow-citizens in eternall glorie with her, 1. Seeing then, that this is onlie the priviledge of God's servantes, to depart in peace, let not Satan's slaves, in their senselesse securitie, clayme or expect the same : for such a pearle is not for swyne ; nor this bread of God's children is not to be given to doggs. Therefore it may be sayde to them, as Jehu said to Joram, " What hast thou to doe with peace,"! gQ \ong as thy impieties are so manie, and thy impenitence so great ? Or as the Lord sayth to the wicked, " What hast thou to doe, to take my covenant of peace in thy mouth,"2 and that thou shouldest expect to die the death of the righteous, who wilt not live the lyfe of the righteous ? Seeing that, " Qui in vita moritur per viiia, certo in morte transire oportet ad wterna supplicia f 2, Seeing the departure of the godlie is in peace, and that (as the Prophet^ sayeth) in that houre they enter into peace, or into a joyfull and peaceable estate, resting from their labours ; it followeth then, that they depart not with the terrifying expectation of a fyrie purgatorie, wherein their perplexed soules are to satisfie, and suffer in those infernall flames no lesse torment nor the soules of the damned, except onlie in shorter endureance. For this were not to die in peace but perplexitie, and in the fitt of such a panik feare as over-tooke Balthasser, and by which their godlesse and groundlesse assertion, whereby lyke the scorpion tailes of those locusts in the Revelation they stryke with the terrour of torment poore simple soules, God's mercie is marred, Christ's merit maimed, his trueth belyed, his death debased, his sufferings stained, and his people abused, by these who have made gaine their godlinesse, but not godlinesse to bee gaine ; turning God's temple again e into a den of thieves ; and therein making merchandise, not of doves, but of men's soules, (as is fore-tolde of them^), being 1 2 Kings ix. 19. ^ pg^l. 1. IG. ^ jg^i ivii. 2. * Rev. xviii. 1.3. 110 A SERMON. better seene (as one saycth) in the golden number of actuall reccat, nor for their warrand in this poynt in the dominicall letter of sacred and holie writ. Out of these thinges also which have bene formerlie spoken, to wit, that the death of God''s servants, is a peaceable departure out of the prison of this bodie and miseries of this world, wee may consider these three things in the same ; to wit, the 1. Necessitie of their death ; 2. The facilitie ; and 3. The felicitie thereof. Necessitie, which maketh resolution ; facilitie, which giveth consolation ; and felicitie, which causeth appetition. Necessitie showeth it to bee inevitable ; facilitie, easily tollerable ; and felicitie, greatlie desiderable. The necessitie is herein, that it is our Passe-over, and that wee must depart out of the Egypt of this world before wee can enter into that heavenlie Canaan. A dissolution it is called ; and therefore a separation must be of the soule from the bodie before that ccelestiall union can bee effectuated with our Saviour Christ. A devesting of mortalitie must be before we put on immortalitie ;l and a throwing downe of our earthlie tabernacle before wee get that better house to dwell in not made with hands, eternall in the heavens. 2. The facilitie of the death of God's servants is in this, that their death is a peaceable departure, death having lost its perplexing feare, its paynfuU sting, and horrid shape ; and the soule being more ravished with that approaching sight of God, than the bodie is payned with the sense of death ; the passion of mortalitie being so beaten backe with the impression of seternitie, that the soule is so far from slackenesse to goe foorth (as Lot was out of Sodom^), as on the contrarie, it hasteth to bee in that place, where it may truelie say with the disciples, Bonum est nobis esse hie, even as Abraham hasted to mecte the Angells, or Peter and John hasted to the grave to see that CHRIST was risen. And as willinglie they lay downe the bodie when death commeth for them, as Peter did his shackels^ whereof he was unloosed, when the Angell came to bring him out of prison. Hence it is called in Scripture onelio a falling asleep, a giving up the ghost, a gathering to our fathers, a > 2 Cor. V. 4. » Gen. xix. 1«. ' Acts xii. 7. A SERMON. Ill laying down of this earthlic tabernacle, and an unclothing of us, lyke Joseph, of his prison garments, or the prodigall of his beggarlie raggs, to be gloriouslie arrayed, and highlie advanced to a heavenlie preferment, where all losses are recompenced, all wants supplied, all crosses removed, all teares wiped away, all promises performed, and all happi- nesse procured ; where Satan is trod under, death over- come, corruption abolished, sanctification perfected, and glorie at last obtayned. 3. The felicitie also of the death of the godlie, in the bright sight of the Lord's salvation, is unutterable, when that eternall Sabbath commeth, and joyefull jubile approacheth, when the Lamb's Bryde shall enter into that marriage- chamber, to sight most specious, in rowme most spacious, and in beautie most glorious ; wherein to come is highest dignitie, to dwell is greatest felicitie, and to live in is most joyfull eternitie ; the pleasures whereof are so plentifull, that for greatnesse they cannot be measured ; so manie, that they cannot bee numbered ; so precious, that they can- not be esteemated ; and so dureable, that they cannot be limited : which we shall enjoye without wearinesse, admire without ignorance, affect without measure, and feed on without loathsomness ; never to be terminated, impossible to be determinated ; where securitie is with safetie, peace with all plentie, light with all libertie, rest with all rejoycing, and tranquillitie with all felicitie ; where youth flowrisheth, that never fadeth ; health continueth, which never altereth ; beautie lasteth, which never blasteth ; love aboundeth, which never abateth : and lyfe endureth, which never endeth. The fift poynt is, from whom this peaceable departure is sought, to wit, from the Lord, who onelie can make it such by that inward assurance of reconcilement with himselfe, wherein as wee see the practice of the godlie, ever for all good or comfort, eyther in lyfe or death, to have their con- stant recourse to God onlie, and to no creature, saynct, or angell whatsoever. So wee see that the godlie are so farre from putting the memorie of death away (as others doe) from before their eyes, as a tormenter of them before the tyme, that they hold it ever in their sight, and (with old Simeon here, and the Apostle) earnestlie desire the approach thereof, saying with the Psalmist — " Bring my soule out of 112 A SERMON. prison, 0 Lord, that I may prayso Thy name.l" And so they can not onelie pray with Moses — " Lord,'teach us to number our dayes, that wee may apply our hearts unto wisdorae f- but also can wish the acceleration thereof in God's good tyme, even as the w^orkman longeth for the shadow, or the hyreling for the ende of his worke.^ And this they doe not out of a fitt of impatience, as wee see in Jonas,4 nor out of such discontent, as wee perceive even in godlie Eliah ;5 but out of a longing, ^ with David, to see God's face with joye, and of that happie conjunction with Christ, whereof the Apostle speaketh. Hence it is, that they make not themselves for death when sicknesse cometh, because they must die out of nature's necessitie ; but be- cause they would die out of grace's desire ; manie things giving up their last worke at death, which make the godlie with the Apostle cry out in life — " Who shall delyver mee from this bodie of death V For then Satan giveth his last assault, sinne leaveth her temptation, the world its allure- ment, corruption its repyning, the conscience its accusing, the bodie its painfull toyle, and men their hurtfull injuring ; and then the soule, in the strongest affection thereof (set upon heaven and heavenlie thinges), having gone before, now in its purified substance, is not so much thrust by death's hand out of the bodie (as Lot was out of Sodom by the Angell), as it goeth foorth joyefuUie (lyke Noah out of the Arke), and is pulled into that coelestiall mansion by the hand of God, as the dove was taken into the Arke againe, when shee could find no rest to the sole of her foote. The last thing which this text offereth to our considera- tion is, the reason of this wish of old Simeon, or what it is that maketli the death of the godlie to be peaceable, and consequentlie so appotible ; to wit, even the sight of the Lord's salvation, for so calleth bee CilRiST, and which word in the Greeke {auri^^iov) signific thas much as that hce is the author, yea, the verio treasurie and store-house wherein all salvation is contayned, as hee is lykewyse called so by the Prophet (Isai. lii. 10), and so clearlie distinguished from all others who in Scripture were styled by the name of Saviours. ' Psal. cxlii. 7. " Psal. xc. 12. » Job v-ii. 2. * Jonah iv. 3. s 1 Kin-j^ xix. 4. "' I'sal. xlii. 1, 2. A SERMON. 113 Neyther is it that wee must thinke that a corporall sight heere is onelie meant, for that was common ; but that with the eye of fayth also, which is speciall and proper onelie to the elect, he saw this blessed Babe to be that salvation preordayned and appoynted by the Lord, promised, and now sent in the flesh for the redemption of mankynd. Whence wee observe — 1. In that it is formerlie sayde, that this just and devote man, Simeon, wayted for the consolation of Israeli, and had it revealed unto him, by the Holy Ghost, that " before hee sawe death, hee should see the Lord's Anoynted;" and now that his longing is satisfied, and that promise which was made unto him (as he confesseth) is fulfilled, wee see that as the godlie hunger and thirst speciallie after spirituall things, so they are ever heard in their godlie desires, and in such things that concerne their salvation ; therefore, as in David's words doubtlesse hee had sayde before — " 0 Lord, I have longed for thy salvation ; yea, my soule faynteth for the same : when wilt thou comfort mee fi and with the holie Patriarches (as the Apostle showeth) as hee had embraced the promise thereof spirituallie, which was made unto him there anent ;2 so now at last wee see hee getteth him who was promised, to embrace in his armes corporallie ; and accordinglie acknowledgeth joyfullie that his eyes now did see the Lord''8 salvation. And so the Lord's promise is performed, his longing satisfied, and his wayting accom- plished. Let us then onelie (with olde Simeon) wayte patientlie and constantlie for his consolations, and rest assured that he is myndfull of us and his own promises, and in his owne good and fitte tyme will come unto us for our joye, and will make no tarrying. 2. Wee see the ground or cause of a peaceable and comfortable death, to wit, a preceeding sight of the Lord's salvation, which he hath decreed to bee by the Sonne of his love, Christ Jesus ; and for whose sake and merit of his death, hee hath admitted such of mankind to lyfe, as hee hath elected, for the manifestation of the riches and glorie of his grace. This, therefore, is the right art of dying well, to get true fayth, and to fix the eye thereof (as the people in the 1 Psal. cxix. 174, 81, 82. ^ Heb. xi. 8 114 A SERMON. wildernesse did) upon that true brasen Serpent, Christ Jesus, the Lord of Lyfe. Incorporate thyselfe in him then and there shal be no condemnation to them that are in Christ. Wrap thyselfe in his righteousnesse, and it shall bee lyke Elias mantle, which devyded the waters of Jordan ; cleave thereby to his crosse, and it shall be lyke that tree that made the waters of Marah sweet ; or Moses rod, which made a safe passage to Israeli, thorow the Red Sea. Set the Arke of the Covenant in these waters, and from the desert of this woi'ld thou shalt have a patent and pleasant path to that heavenlie Canaan ; yea, tho'' stones were flinging about thy eares, to braine thee, as was done to that proto- martyr Steven, yet looking up with the eye of fayth, and getting a sight of Jesus Christ, standing at the right hand of his Father, readie to receave thee, thy departure shall bee most calme and comfortable ; and thy sinnes being silenced by him who is this salvation spoken of, thou shalt heare nothing but the sweet voyce of that " blood of sprinkling which speaketh better things nor the blood of Abell ;"" and dying, as it were in the amies of thy Lord. As Jacob sawe with joye of heart, the chariots that Joseph sent for him for his transportation ; so shalt thou see the glorious and blessed Angels sent for thee, and thy good workes following thee; the one to guyde thee, and surrender their charge ; the other to gladden thee, and receave their reward. 3. As we see what is the ground of the peaceable death of the godlie, so on the contrarie, wee may perceave what is the cause of the terrour of death in the wicked ; and that the memorie thereof so much tormenteth them before the tyme, that as Pharao did to Moses, they bid it goe packing out of their sight ; even this is the cause thereof, that being blinded by Satan, all the dayes of their lyfe, in committing sinne, and never once looking with a tearing eye of true repentance upon them, therefore in death they never get a sight of this salvation of the Lord's, nor have they anie assurance that hee who is the Saviour of the world, shall bee a Saviour to them ; but on the contrarie, then they finde that hoe who was their tempter, bcginncth to be their tormentor ; then they begin to hear the clamours of their accusing conscience, to see the uglie shape of their sinfull soulcs, the dreadfull aspect of their haynous sinnos, the wrathfull face of the A yERMON. 115 angrie Judge ; Heaven closed above, to debarre them, as Adam was from the tree of lyfe ; and Hell opened beneath to swallow them, as the earth was to swallow up Korah ; then they beginne to feele the approaching flames of that infernall fyre, paynfullie to scorch them ; the worme that never dieth, drawing neare, to gnawe them ; the wrath of God that never shall bee appeased, most furious to astonish them ; and the infernall fiendes, to attende, to terrifie, and cruellie to torture them. In which wofull estate, to hyde themselves, is impossible ; to avoyde these miseries, inevi- table ; and to endure them, intolerable. Hence the sting of death shall torment them, the rememberance of judgement perplexe them, the gulfe of despare (without hope or helpe) swallowe them, and the apprehension of eternitie, in ease- lesse and endlesse payne, confound them. O ! who can then expresse their sad sorrow for sinnes past, their agonizing anguish for miserie present, and their trembling terrours for the tormentes to come, being justliethus served, as they have deserved ; and finding at the dolefull parting of the sinfull soule from the wretched bodie (whose meeting agayne, and re-uniting, to be a faggot in hell fire, shall be much more dolefull and dolorous), no comfort from heaven nor earth, the Creator nor the creature, but matter of con- fusion. The ground of all which deep distresse beeing this, because the soule (with olde Simeon here) can get no sight of the Lord''s salvation. 4. Wee see here a neare and cleare way, howe to con- temne all earthlie and worldlie thinges, the bewitching love whereof hath made manie to make ship-wracke of a good conscience, and clogged their hearts so to the earth, that it hath debarred them for ever from the joyes of heaven. Eeven this is the way, labour to get a sight of the Lord's salvation, which if thou doe, all other thinges will seeme but dung and losse, and that which dazeleth the eyes of the wicked, with the glorie of them (wherewith Satan would have tempted our Saviour) will appeare unto thee, but as they are ; to wit, base dust, vayne tryfles, and altogether worthlesse. Then, getting this comfortable and contenting sight, thou wilt not care, tho thy eyes bee closed, from seeing anie other earthlie after-sight ; and wilt say rather with old Simeon, " Let thy servant depart in peace," from 116 A SERMON. seeing farther here, in respect of that sweet sight of thy salvation, which I have gotten by grace, and long to have it more clearlie, and fullie in glorie. Surclie, as when the three disciples sawe this salvation of the Lord in His transfiguration, they despysed all sights beside, and sayd, Bonv.m est nobis esse hie ; so will they who get this spirituall sight of Hira, and assurance of salvation in Him, despyse all worldlio thingcs, and say, that to be dissolved from them, and to be with Christ, is the best of all ; whereas others, alia non despiciunt, quia non euni respiciimt ; and are so in love with earth, because they were never acquaynted with heaven. 5. If this was such joy to old Simeon, to see Christ Jesus, a poor babe, in the estate of hurailitie, that hee desired to depart in peace, 0 what joye is it, and shall be, to His sayncts, to see Him as He now is, in the estate of glorie ; not (as then) upon earth, but nowe in heaven ; not amongst sinfull men, but glorious angels, and spirites of the just ; and not subject to passion and injuries, but now in exalta- tion, and inhabiting prayses. Old Jaakob was so ravished with joye, when hee saw Joseph in ^gypt, that almost with the verie lyke words he cryed out with olde Simeon, " Now let me die, since I have scene thy face."i The people of Israeli also they shouted for joy, when the Arke of God came into the hoste ; the earth it selfe lykewyse rang for joy, when the people saw Solomon anoynted, and crowned their king ; and the Baptist also in his mother'^s wonibe leaped for joy, at the approach of our Saviour, newlie conceaved. O then, howe shall the elect soule, departing out of this earthlie bodie, be ravished with joye, when it shall see Christ Jesus glorious in the heavens, when it shall beholde that true Arke of God, and heare the heavens ring with joyfull prayses of that true Salomon, the King of kingcs, and Lord of lordes, who sitteth upon the throne. And if Moses face did shyno, when hee was but a few daies with the Lord on Horeb, and saw but his back-parts, O how shall they shyne, then, who in all seternitie shall see Him face to face, upon that heavcnlie mountayne ? Or if those servantes of Salomon's were pronounced blessed, who 1 Gon. xlvi. 30. A SERMON. 117 stood before him, and heard his wisdome, how much more blessed shall His servantes and sonnes bee, who is greater than Salomon, who in those coelestial mansions shall stand before Him, heare Him, see Him, and for ever live with Him? Whom to see is felicitie, to heare is heavenlie melodie, and to live with Him a most blessed societie. 6. Last of all, these words of olde Simeon, decanted neare his death, are called " The Song of Simeon," beeing heerein lyke the swan, who is sayde to sing sweetlie about that tyme when death approacheth unto her. Wherein we see what way to make our death joy full and comfortable unto us, wherein we may not begin to sorrow but to sing, to wit, with Simeon, who is sayd to be a just and devote man — to leade a holie lyfe, and embrace offered salvation ; and so we shall die a happie death, and eschew damnation. Sow then in tears betyme, if thou wouldest reape in joy, and let thy tears here prevent thy terrours hereafter — a holie lyfe, a hellish death — and true sanctification, seternall condemnation. Having thus expounded this text, I made choyse thereof in this Funerall Commemoration of the late Right Reverend Prelate, our most worthie Diocesane and Ordinarie, for these respects — 1. Two days before his happie departure, having an earnest desire to participate of the blessed Com- munion with us his clergie, ministers of Aberdene, and ordinarie assessors ; when most devotelie hee with us had receaved that blessed pledge of his salvation, there was read unto him thereafter this portion of holie Scripture, unto which wordes of olde Simeon — " Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace," &c. (with his eyes lifted up) hee gave an heartie Amen. This being then the portion of Scripture which was read, and whereof he so tooke holde before his death, I have now made choyse of at this tyme after his death to expound. Next, with this text, and him who uttered these words, to wit, old Simeon, this Reverende late Prselate most fitly in these things is found to symbolise — 1. Simeon was an old man ; and so the Lord honoured him in whose Funerall Commemoration these words are handled, with many years, and a full age, which is a crown of glorie, being found in the way of righteousnesse. 2. Simeon was a devote and just J 18 A SERMON. man, and so was this religious Prelate, adorned both with pietie and equitie, devote towardes God in his worship of Him, and just towardes men in his dealinges with them. 8. Simeon was of good report amongst his people, and so was this worthie PrseUxte, as Paull willeth a Bishop to bee, " of good report, even amongst those that were without," and of a singular both great respect and good report amongst them that were within, both in Church and policie. 4, Simeon was a priest in the Jewish Church, so this venerable and honourable man was a Prselate in the Christian Church, advanced to that top of eminencie for his lyfe and learning, worth and wisdome, godlinesse and gravitie. 5. Simeon now stricken in age, having gotten a sight of the Lord*'s salvation, desired to depart in peace. Even so this Reverend and glorified Prselate, beeing also stricken in age, having not onelie gotten himselfe a sight of the Lord's salvation, but also having given, by his manie years preaching, a sight thereof to others ; at last having finished his course with joye, he desired lykewyse to depart in peace, and be with his Lord. Of whose blamelesse lyfe, sound literature, vigi- lant care, sober conversation, good behaviour, hospitall heart (all relucent vertues requisite in a Bishop) besides his kyndnesse and cowrage, prudence and patience, worth and other vertures, rare partes, and just prayses, seeing my Reverend colleagues which went before, have more amplie discoursed; ne Ugna in st/lvas feram, — and that my speach seeme not to wrong, by a ruder rehearsall, and needlesse tautologie, what so truelie and worthilie hath beene alreadie spoken, I cannot but abruptlie end ; deploring the losse which both Church and Commonwealth sustayneth in him ; who (as yee all knowe) was borne honourablie, lived amongst us piouslie, preached the trueth powerfullie, mayntayned the same couragiouslie, ruled in this Church prudentlic, died at last most comfortablie, and nowe resteth (we hope) with Christ Jesus in glorie a?ternallie : To whom, with the Father, and the Holie Spirit, be ascribed all honour, glorie, majestic, praysc, power, and dominion, for ever and ever, world without ende. Amen. HOLINESSE TO THE LORD, OR A SERMON Upon the 36 Verse of the 28 Chapter of Exodus : IN COMMEMOllATION OF THE MOST WOETHIE AND REVEREND PRELATE OF BLESSED MEMORIE, PATRICK, BISHOP OF ABERDENE. Preached hy James 8ihhald^ Doctor of Divinitie, and Minister of Sainct Nicola'' s Church of Aherdene, April 16, 1635. ExoDtis xxviii. vers. 36. " And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, lyke the engravings of a signet, Holinesse to the Lord." ^ [See Note, supra, p. 7. Dr Sibbald was a son of the respectable family of Sibbald of Keir in the county of Kincardine. He was educated at Marischal College, Aberdeen, in which University he was nominated a Regent in 1619. — [Kennedy's Annals of Aberdeen, vol. ii. p. 118,] He was appointed one of the clergy of the city in 1625, and faithfully and zealously discharged the duties of his cure till he was obliged to fly from Scotlandin 1638. [&y«'a, Note,p.S.] Hereturnednext year, and we are told by Spalding, [Hist, of the Troubles, Bannatyne Club Edition, Edinburgh, MDCccxxviii, vol. i. p. 172], " he was wiellcome, entered to his ministrie in Aberdein,and served ther for a whyle.* He was ejected by the Presbyteriaji Assembly held at Aberdeen in 1640. Principal Baillie writes, " Dr Sibbald in manie points of doctrine was found vcrie corrupt ; for the which we 120 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD, THE CONTENTS. I. Tlie Introduction. Our purpose, n. 1. Intention of God's Spirit here. The dignitie of tlie high priest's garments, n. 2. II. The first part. Of the plate, or holie crowaie. What it was, n. 1. What siguifieth a crowue, n. 2. What signified this croA\Tie of priesthood, deposit him, and ordained him without quick satisfaction to be processed. This man was there of great fame ; it was laid on poor me to be all their examiner, and moderator to their process." — [Letters and Journals, Bannatyne Club Edition, Edinburgh, mdcccxlii, vol. i. p. 248.] The Parson of Rothiemay has left us the following account of Dr Sibbald's expulsion and character : — " To Dr James Sibbald it was objected befor the Assembly that he had preached poyntes of Armi- uianisme publickly in the pulpitt of New Aberdeen ; that speacking to one who was doing pennance upon the stoole of repentaunce, he had saide that if he had improved the grace givne him from God, he needed not to have fallne in that sinne, etc. Some of las private conferences to this pourpose was objected. His accuser was !Mr Samwell Rutherfoord, who, in former tjTiies, had been his hearer at such tymes as Air Samwell was confyned in Aberdeene ; finally, that he refoosed to subscrybe the Cove- nant. His maine fault was, that he had opposd it, having had a hand in the Aberdeens querees; that mind him, though least objected. He spocke for himselfe, and deneyed Air Samwells accusation ; but it was bootlesse, for, by vote of the Assembly, he was deposed, and he and Dr Scroggye (if my memory faile not) ordered to be processed, if they subscrybe not the Covenant ; which seems to me to have been the cause why not long after he fledd to Ireland, and ther was placed minister at Dublin till his deathe. As for his Arminianisme objected to him, it was strainge they should accuse him for preaching that way, befor theye had condemned it ui Glasgow Assembly, 1638 ; for after that, they could laye nothing of it to his charge ; nor did I ever heare him tainted with it, except so farr as Mr Samwell Rutherfoord objected it ther, yet but testU sinr/ularis. It will not be affirmed by his very enemyes, but that Dr James Sibbald was anc eloquent and painefull preacher, a man godly, and grave, and modest, not tainted with any \nce unbeseeming a mmistei-, to M'hom nothing could in I'eason be objected, if you call not his ante-covenanting a crjTne." — [Gordon's Hist, of Scots Affairs, 1637-1641, published by the Bannatyne Chib, Aberdeen, mdcccxli. vol. iii. p. 228-230.] Sibbald foil a victim to the plague raging in Dublin during his assiduous and unremitting attention to tlie infected. His name appears among those of theclergy of Dublin who .subscribed a declaration in favour of the Liturgy in 1647. [Bishop Plant's History of the Church in Ireland, vol. i. p. 591.] He left a volume of posthumous sermons published at Aberdeen in 1658, in which the present sermon is included. At the Restoration, two hundred j)onnds were voted by Parliament to the relict and cliildren of Dr Sibbald. [Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, folio, Edin. mdcocxx. vol. vii. App. p. 78.]. [Vita R. V. Joh. Forbesi a Corse, § 47, by Dr Garden, prefixed to the Amsterdam edition of 1702-3, of Dr Eorbos, whole works ; Note by Editors to Gordon's Scots Affairs, ad loc. cit. — E.] HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 121 11. 3. The crowue of Christians, n. 4. The crowne of Chi'istian Bishops, n. 5. The Pope his crowue touched, n. 6. III. The second principall part. The Inscription, Ilolinesse to the Lord. The words explayned, n. 1. God's great name, u. 2. IV. Holinesse belonging to the Lord, di\Hded into three branches. The first branch, Holinesse belonging to God, considered in Himselfe. "What is holinesse, n. 1. Holinesse essentiallie belongeth to God, n. 2. His holinesse substantiall, n. 3. Dependence of our holinesse from it, n. 4. The infinitnesse of it, n. 5. His goodnesse admired, in beholding our impuritie, n. 6. V. The second branch. How holinesse belongeth to God, in respect of his wayes. The fii-st degree, Hee neyther doeth nor willeth evil, n. 1. The second degree. He wiUeth not evill in anie condition, nor for auie end whatsoever, n. 2. The thii-d degree. Impossible it is for Him eyther to will or doe evill, n. 3. The fourth degree, Hee hateth unholinesse, and that infinitelie, n. 4. Prtedetei-mination to e\'ill, contrarie to His holi- nesse, n. 5. Evasions of the prosdetcrminants rejected, n. 6. The objection taken from God's concurrence, answered first, n. 7. The second answere, n. 8. The argument from giving power to sinne, and from permission thereof, answered, n. 9, Our evill is from our selves, n. 10. VI. The third branch, Holinesse belongeth to God, in respect of all that pertajTie to Him. The whole world His holie temple, n. 1. Man a more holie temple, n.2. Man's holinesse at his creation, n. 3. His holinesse in his restauration, n. 4. Great necessitie of holinesse now in all men, n. 5. Our defect herein lamented, n. 6. The holinesse of the priest, how great it should be, n. 7. VII. Transition to the prayse of the Bishop of Aberdeen. Reasons of his renewed prayse, n. 1. His judgement, n.2. Learning, n. 3. Prudence, n. 4. His eloquence, n. 5. His magnanimitie, n, 6. His holinesse in advancing God's glorie, n. 7. His care to advance learning, n. 8. His care of planting Churches, n. 9. His integritie, n. 10. His holinesse in private lyfe and death, n. 11. The Conclusion, n. 12. INTKODUCTION. HAVE made choyse, this day, of this text, both that I may sedifie you in j q^^. p^j.. hohnesse, and that I may performe p°^^" that duetie, and pay that debt, which I owe to the vertues and memorie of our hohe, reverend, and worthie Prselate, of blessed memorie. The holie prophet Moses, in prseceeding verses, in this now read, and in some following after, setteth „ ^ downe the direction of God concerning: the holie *'";\of/"0»'s o Spirit here. vestments of Aaron and his sonnes, who were to cignitioof succeed him in the office of the High Priest. pHe^i^g' Glorious were those vestments, giving the High and'the"r*' Priest more than a humane splendor. Glorious, ^'soiti^auon. 122 nOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 1 . Considered in themselves, and with reference to the High Priesfs dignitie, and one of the most precious things in the world, higlilic esteemed, and most carefullie kept by the Jewes, as you may see at length in Josephus.i Whence Jesus, the sonne of Syrach, speaking of this (Eccles. xlv. 7), sayth, that " God beautified or blessed the high Priest, with comely ornaments ; and cloathed him with a robe of gloria. Hee put upon him perfect glorie ; and strengthened him with rich garmcntes." And verse 13, " Before him there were none such : neyther did anie stranger ever put them on ; but onelie his children, and his children''s children, perpetuallie. 2. Much more precious yet were they in respect of their signification ; which was, (1.) Of the incomparable excellencies of Christ Jesus, that great High Priest for ever, who is the ende of the lawe, adorned with all perfections, whereby hee is to GoD most acceptable, and most venerable to us; (2.) Of the excellencie required in those of that place, whether under the law or under the gospell ; which challengeth greater perfection, " That," saith Beda, " which outwardlie did shyne in the ornamentes of the priestlie vest- mentes, should inwardly be deeplie seated in the raynds of our priestes being spirituallie understood ; and should out- wardlie shyne glorious in their actions, above the ordinarie vertues of the faythfull." It is not anough for them, to be lyke unto other men, though good : for " the priestlie authoritie,"'"' saith Ambrose,^ " requireth a singular weyght of vertues, and a most serious endevour thereunto." So Greg. Nazianzen,^ speaking of Sainct Basil, sayeth, that " hee accounted the vertue of a private man, to stand in fleeing of evill, and attayning to some degree of goodnesse. But that it is blameable in a Prelate not to bee excellent ;" since even by his excellencie scarce can he drawe people to a mediocritie of vertue. The Christian Church^ hath thought 1 Joseph. 1. iii. Antiq. 8. [Colonise, Fol. 1691, p. 84.] « Ambros. lib. i. Ep. 6. [T^asilcfp, Fol. 1567, p. 68.] ^ Nazian. Orat. 20. [Fiinebris Oratio in Laudem Basilii Magni Cscsariensis Ejnscopi, § 64. S. Greg. Nazianz. Cognomin. Tlieologi opera. Fol. Lutet. Paris. 1609, t. ii. p. .343.] ■• Cone. Cartliag. iv. Can. 45. Clericus j)rofcssionem snani ct liabitu ct incessu probet. fConcil. Cartliag. Africio Qiiartuin, habituni an. cece.xxxvi. vol. i. ; Hard. Collect, (^oneil. Fol. Paris. 1715, ji. 982. 1 Cone. Matiscon. 1. Can. 5. [Concil. Maticonense i. habituni an. dl.x.xxi. ; Ibid. vol. iii. p. HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 123 it good to enjoy n her priestes, even an outward habit and conversation differing from that of others ; but much more different, and much more excellent, should bee the inward disposition, and vertues of their mynd, which is before God of great pryce. " Let the priests be cloathed with salvation, and the saincts shall shout for joye," Psal. cxxxii. 16. In the wordes which I have read, a singular h pl.^t piece of this holie vestment is commanded to ^^'^' be made ; to wit, the plate of the holie crowne, having this incription— " Holinesse to the Lord." Let us consider, 1. The Crowne itselfe ; 2. The Inscription of it. The accomplishment of this commandement heere con- Hoiie crown ... , _, , . _ „ . , what it was. cermng it, is set down, llixod. xxxix. dU ; And they made the plate of the holie crowne of pure golde, and wrote thereon a wryting lyke to the ingraving of a signet, Holinesse to the Lord. So Levit. viii. 9 ; " And hee put the mitre on his head ; also upon the mitre, even upon his fore- front, did he put the golden plate, the holie crowne, which the Lord commanded Moses. Ecclesiasticus xlv. 12 ; He set a crowne of gold upon the mitre, which was ingraven Holinesse ; an ornament of honour, a costlie worke, the desire of the eyes, goodlie and beautifull." Here it is called " a plate of gold," Exod. xxxix. " a crowne of holinesse," tt'llpn 113. It was, as it were, a semi-circle, from the one eare to the other, upon the fore-front of the mitre, tied behind with a blew lace ; Exod. xxviii. 37, " And thou shalt put it on a blew lace, that it may be upon the mitre, upon the fore- front of the mitre it shall be." Josephus sayth, that beside the ordinarie cap of the priestes, the High Priest had another, which a golden crowne did compasse, in a threefold order. His words are these — The High Priest's hat was such as the other priestes used ; on which there stood another sewed thereunto, and flowrished with Hyacynthyn. This, after a triple order, was environed with a golden crowne, in which there were divers vessels of gold, made after such a sort as may be scene in that herbe which we call Daccharus ; and amongst the Grecian Herbalists, 452, Can. 5. Ut nuUus clericus sagum aut vestimenta vel calceamenta ssecularia, nisi qua; religioneni deceant, iuduere prsesumat, &c. Sidon. ApoUinar. Ep. 24, lib. 4. Habitus vero giavis, pudor, sonno roligiosus. [Habitus viro, gradus, pudor, color, sernio religious— Maxima Bibliotheca Vet. Patrum. Lugduni, Fol. 1«77, p. 1009.1 124 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. Henbane.i But the Scripture, though verie exact in the description of these garnientes, mentioneth no such thing. Howsoever, the plate was the ornament, and, as it were, the crowuo of the High Priest's crowne. And indeed it was a kynd of crown covering a good part of the head, fi'om the one eare, to the other before, upon the mitre. A Crowne was appointed to adorne the head, 1 11 Pi"- ^'^''^a' the most emment and most absolute part oi the signifioth a ■*■ Crowu. bodie ; to declare that it signified the greatest and most excellent thing. No greater thing amongst men than Vertue, and the reward thereof Honour, as the Philosopher^ calleth it. Therefore a crowne was used to signifie holinesse, ingine and learning, cowrage and victorie ; and, finallie, high dignities, joye, and felicitie therein. All this was signified by a crowne ; hence what- soever in lyfe is perfect and excellent, even the top, ende, consummation, and perfection of everie thing is so called. He that sayth a crown, sayth al this. Ecclesiasticus i. 11 ; " The feare of the Lord is honor and glorie, gladnesse and a crowne of rejoycing." Ecclesiasticus xxv. 6 ; " Much experience is the crowne of old men, and the feare of God is their glorie." Plinie sayth, that " a crowne was not given of olde to anie but to God.^^ The Hebrew doctors make a threefolde crowne, of kingdome, of knowledge, and of priesthood ; of which last we are now more particularlie to speake. This crowne was given to the High Priest m. -^vhat by God; 1. Because he was a type of Christ, ^'?;^1/'"^ who is not only a Priest, but also a King — ^"'^s*^°o • a King " whose kingdome is an everlasting kingdome, and whose dominion hath no end," Dan. vii. 14. And this is marked by Clem. Alexand.^ who sayeth, that the "golden hat of the High Priest, exalting him, did signifie r^v s^ovfficiv rrjv QccffikiKrjv rov zov^tov, the royall ^ Joseph, lib. iii. Autiq. cap. 8. [Ed. cit.] ^ Arist. lib. iv. de moribus, cap. 17. [De Morib. IV. 7, Lugduui, Fol. 1590. Tom. II. p. 28.] ^ riin. lib. xvi. cap. 4. — [C'aii Plinii Secundi Hist. Nat. Paris. Fol. 1 723. Tom. II. p. 2.] ■* Clem. Alex. lib. v. Stromal um— [Opera Gr. et Lat. Oxoii. Fol. 1715. Tom. II. p. 64.] HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 125 power of our Lord. 2. To signifie the dignitie of his priestlie office, and the exeellencie or crowne of vertues wherewith such should be adorned, both then and now. For if the dignitie of High Priests was so great under the Old Testa- ment, and their vertues answerable thereunto ; how much greater is the dignitie of priesthood under the New Testa- ment, and of vertues required to it ? 2 Cor. iii. 7, 8, " If the ministration of death, written and ingraven in stones, was glorious," &c., " how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious V For clearing this, it shall not be amisse, shortlie to looke to the crowne of all faythfull Clu'istians. We finde jy. crowne in the ancient monumentes of the Christian Church, ° ^^"^ '''"'*■ that all Christians after baptisme were crowned. This cere- monie indeed was not used before TertuUian, nor in his tyme, as appeareth by his book " Be Corona Militisy Yet was it in use in the tyme of Nazianzen,! as appeareth by his twenty- third Oration, where hee desireth Hero the philosopher to come to him, that he might crowne him. 2 So Oration forty. So Chrysost. Homil. ad iajptizatos, concerning the vertue of baptisme. Severus Alexand. Lib. de Baptismo, most playnlie expresseth it.^ So the forme of baptisme, according to the forme of the Ethiopians.^ All Christians are ^ccffikswv k^urzviJjcc, " a royall priesthood," 1 Pet. ii. 9. " Nothing is so royall,"" sayth Leo, Serm. 3, in annivers. die suce as- sumptionis, " as that our soules being subject to God, should rule the bodie. Nothing more priestlie than to consecrate to God a cleane conscience, and to offer to Him unspotted sacrifices of pietie upon the altar of our heart." Unspeak- able is the matter of joye that wee have, through the benefit of baptisme ; wee are fred thereby from the servitude 1 Nazianz. Orat.23. [Ed. cit. Tom. I. p. 409.] 2 Elias Cretens. indeed interpreteth him there otherwise. — [Comment. in Greg. Nazianz. Ed. cit.] ^ Scvcnis Alex, de Baptismo ;— Et elevant baptizatos ad altare eisque dant mysteria, Eucharistiam, et sertis coronat eos Sacerdos. [Severi Patriarchs; Alexandr. de Kit. Bapt. Maxima. Bib. Vet. Patrnm. Fol. Liigd. 1677, Tom. XII. p. 728.] * Ordo confirmat. secundum usum Etkio2mm : — Domine Pater, bone et sancte, qui coronasti servos tuos, corona quae non cornimpitur, benedic eis, qui dignos nos fecisti, qui eas imponeremus capitibus famulorum tuorum, ut sint eis corona honoris et gloriae, Amen. Corona benedictionis, et sahitis, &c. 12C HOLINESSE TO THE LOUD. of Satan. Therefore sayetli Tertullian — " When one is baptised, the devill perceaveth him, 'plane liberatum, trueHe dehvered out of his hands."" And Nazianzenl calleth bap- tisrae " a freeing of us from servitude." Yea, by it wee are advanced not onhe to hbertie, but also to the dignitie of God's children ; for it is the washing of the new birth, Tit. iii. 5. Hence Chrysostom — " By baptisme we become free ; and not onlie free, but also righteous ; and not onlie that, but also children ; and not onlie children, but also heyrs ; and not onlie heyrs, but also the brethren of Christ, and joint-heyrs with Him.''^ Hence another of the Ancients^ calleth baptism — " Coelestis regni comparationem,'''' the ob- tayning of the heavenlie kingdom. By it Christ becometh our crown. " In that day the Lord of Hosts is unto us for a crown of glorie, and for a diadem of beautie," Isai. xxviii. 5 ; and wee by it obtayne a title to the incorruptible crown of glorie ; which undoubtedlie we shall receave, if wee, as a " royal priesthood," or priestlie kings, fight valiantlie the battels of the LoRD.4 This is that "crown of lyfe, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him," James i. 12 : which none getteth but he that " stryveth lawfuUie," 2 Tim. ii. 5 ; and which everie one receaveth that doeth so. " Be thou faythfull unto the death, and I will give thee a crowne of lyfe," Rev. ii. 10. This is that " incorruptible crowne," 1 Cor. ix. 25 ; and which " fadeth not," 1 Pet. v. 4. " The beautifull crowne of Amaranthus," sayeth Clemens Alex., " is layd up for him that doeth well ; it is heaven alone, and not the earth, that can bring foortli this flowre."^ This onlie flowre fadeth not, and hence hath this name.^ To this ^ Nazianz. Orat. 40. [Ed. cit. Tom. I. p. C.37.] AeuXtlas avai^tirit S«(r^»» iK>.U(n(. ^ Chrysost. liomil. ad Neophyt. [Opera omnia Bened. Ed. Paris. 1735, Fol. This passage has not been found, but many of tlie same import occur in this Father's writings.] ^ Optatus Milevit. lib. v. contra Farm. [S. Optat. Afri. Milevit. Epis- cop. de Scismate Donat. advcrsus Farmontianum. Maxima Bibliotheca Vet. Fatrum. Lugd. 1677, Tom. IV. p. 3G0.] Nazianz. Orat. 40. [Ed. cit. Tom. I. p. 638.] KXi); oi^avuv PiaffiXiids. * Clemens Alex. lib. ii. Fedag. c. 8. [Oxon. Fol. 171o, Tom. 1. p. 214.] riilv St 0 "Tct-rh^ 'ray SXuv x,ai rrit tKKXriffiaf >p. 1, ad Corinth. [Ed. cit. unpra, loni. x.p.22.] ^ Clirysost. lloni. 55, ad popul. Antioch. [Ed. cit. supra, Iloni. xv. in 1. Tim. torn. xi. pp. G40, 641.] ^ Ammian. Marc. 1. xxix. cap. 25. — [Amniiani IMarcel. Qusc ir'n])ersunt, Leips. 1808, 8vo. vol.i.p. 52. lib. xxix. 5. 16.] — Militaria signa et coronam sacordotalom cum ceteris cpia; interccpcrat nihil cunctatns restituit. " Cornel, a La])idc upon this place. — [Connn. in I'cntat. Paris, 1637, fol. p. 518.] « Lorin. 1. Pet. 2, 9.— [Mogunt. 4to. 1640, p. 383.] ' Marta in epistola Romas scripta ad Paulum 5. [Tloratius Marta Nca- IIOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 129 flatterers, Vice Deus : Onmipoteniiw Pontificlw Conservator ;^ another God, as it were, and conserver of the Papall Omnipotencie : and, in a word. Optimum^ Maximum^ sempi- ternum Numen in ierris, as Stapleton^ calleth him. This crowne of our Pligh Priest was oneHe the crowne of Priest- hood, and no inscription in it, but " HoHness to the Lord." Who, I pray you, gave the Pope such a crown ? Christ ? His owne " kingdome was not of this Avorld," John xviii. SQ, And all that Hee promised to St Peter, was to give him the keyes of the kingdome of heaven. Hee is novve indeed crowned with glorie and honour, but on earth was crowned with thornes. Did Saynct Peter weare a crowne of golde, who sayde truelie, " Golde and silver I have none V It is Saynct Bernard's argument.^ Though the Church's estate then had beene most prosperous, would Saynct Peter have worne such a crowne, who would not have his head upwardes upon the crosse wherounto hee was nayled, as was the head of his Saviour ?4 But Constantino, they say, gave this crowne of golde, and the earthlie power with it, unto Silvester, and his suocessoures. This of all fables the most impudent, hath beene long since solidlie confuted.^ Yea more, I am perswaded, that those holy Fathers and blessed martyres, that first did hold that see, would not have accepted of such an offer, though it had been made. The crowne they thought upon was the crowne of martyrdome. They thought deeplie upon Christ his crowne of thornes. If Godfray of Bulloygne, proclaimed King in Hierusalem, refused a golden crowne, because Christ there had worne a crowne of thornes, what would they have done ? By that crowne of thornes, sayeth Gregorie Nazianzen,^ " I have learned to crowne my selfe with severitie of lyfe." So Clemens Alexand.7 sayeth, " wee ought not to have so politanus in Cur. Rom. Aclvocatus, de Jurisdict. Fol. Aveniona; 1G16. Epist. Dedic. p. 1.] 1 They painted Paul tlie V. at Rome with this inscription. 2 Staplet. in prefat. ad princ. fidei doctrin. — [Thomas Stapletoui Angli, Sacrrc Tlieologi;c Doctoris, Opera. Liitet. Paris. 1G20. Fol.] ■^ Bernard, de Cousideratione ad Eugenium lib. iii. cap. 2. [Ed. cit. kuj^ra, Tom. III. p. 428.] ■* Hier. in Petr. [Ed. cit. sv.pra.'] 5 Laurent. Yalla, de Donatione Constantin. [Fasciculus Gratii, Fol. Londini, 1G90, p. 32. •^ Nazianz. Orat. 25. [Ed. cit. supra, Tom. I.] 7 Clem. Alex. lib. ii. Pcd. cap. 8. [Ed. cit. supra, Tom. I.] 130 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. much as a crowne of flowres, since our Lord was crowned with thornes." What would these, and the rest of the hoHe Fathers say, if they did now see the Papall crowne ? Yet even they are called to bee witnesses of this earthlie crowne and monarchic. But wee might wryte upon their statues, as some did upon that of Brutus, when Csesar usurped in Rome the lyke superiorities, TJtinam viveretis, " O that yoit were alive."! Yea, they live, and by their writs proclayme alowde with Esai. xxviii. 1, " Woe to the crowne of pryde." They cry to all that have eares to lieare, that the crowne of the greatest Prelate then was this holie crowne, wherein was ingraven, " Holinesse to the Lord," the inscription which now wee come to. " And grave upon it lyke the engramng of a signet, Holinesse to the Lord.'''' III. Here is the second part, the ingraving upon this crowne, " Holinesse to the Lord."2 This was not lightlie insert, but ingraven, Exod. xxxix. 30, and that with the ingraving of a signet, Scripiura disiincta, sayeth the Caldean interpreter, that ^The inscrip- it might be easilie and clearlie read. Josephus seemeth to think, that God's name was onlie ingraven here.3 " On the same," sayeth he, " there was as it were a band of golde, on which the name of GoD was ingraven." So Philo, " Unto this crowne," sayeth hee, " was prefixed a golden plate, having foure small letters ingraven in it."* So Hierorae also.^ It may be sayde, that they exclude not the ingraving of holinesse, when they mention the ingraving of God's name.^ If their wordes admit this exposition, it is well ; but though they would not receave it, yet the wordes of holie Scripture are so cleare, that I make no doubt to thinke with others,^ that both this great name of God, mrr' and holinesse also was ingraven. ^ Sueton. in vita .Julii Ctesaris. ^ { mrT'b ]i7lp '' .Tosep. Aiitiq. lib. iii. cap. 8. [Ed. cit. suj^ra.l * Philo, lib. iii. de vita Mosis. [Pliilonis Judsei Opera, Gr. et Lat. Fol. Paris, 1640, p. 664.] '^ lliorom. ep. ad Fabiol. [Et cit. supra. Tom. II. fol. 581.] 8 Drusius in Exod. xxviii. [Critici Sacii, Fol. Amstel. 1698. Tom. I.] ' Salvianus, aun. M. 2544, num. 662. [Max. Bibl. Vet. Patrum, Fol. Lugdun. 1677, p. 339.] I. The SECOND PRIN- CIPAL PART. HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 181 Let us therefore speak shortlie, 1. Of this great name ; and, 2. Of the hohnesse, whereupon chiefeHe wee intend to insist. The NAME of God ingraven here, is that great name, which the Jewes called secret or wonderful!, Judg. n. ood-s in- xiii. 18. Josephus,! speaking of Moses, saycth, ^^'^^^^ '^^™^- That God declared unto him his proper name, before unknowne to men, " whereof," saith he, " it is not law- full for mee to speake." Philo^ sayeth, that " this name is called Ineffable, because it is lawfull for them onhe that are purged by vvisdome, to heare and name it in Divine Service, and to none else." Gregory Nazianzen sayeth, that " it was in great veneration amongst the Jewes, and ineffable.^s So Theodoret, " This name amongst the Jewes is called ineffable, and they forbid the pronouncing of it.""^ So Hierome calleth it h.n7i(pa)- vYiTQV ;5 and in lyke manner doe others, both Greeke and Latine Fathers, speake of it."^ But whatsoever be the pro- nouncing of it, whereupon it is not pertinent for us to stay, thus much can not bee denyed, that it signifieth God's Being, and that as perfectlie as can bee. No name can perfectlie expresse God, because of the infinitenesse of his nature. Wee are but men, and therefore can not speake of God, but with an humane tongue. " Wilt thou aske," sayeth Nazianzen, " what is God, which neyther the eye hath seene, nor the eare hath hearde, nor hath entered into the heart of man? Why desirest thou that to be expressed by the tongue, which the heart can not conceave ? Truelie, God is such a thing that when It is sayd, can not be sayd ; and when It is esteemed, can not be esteemed,, and when defined, i'pm definitione crescit.'''"^ " That which is," sayeth Tertullian,8 or whosoever was author of the booke ' De Tri- nitate,' ascribed to him, " according to that which It is, can neyther bee expressed by humane speach, nor perceaved by humane eares, nor be taken up by humane sense." Wee 1 Joseph, lib. u. Antiq. cap. 5. [Fol. Ainst. 1726, c. 12, Tom. i. p. 106, et Fol. Oxen. 1720. Tom. ii. c. 2. 12, 4. p. 82.] 2 Philo. lib. iii. de vita Mosis. [Ed. cit. sujira. Fol. Paris. 1640. p. 682.] 3 Naz. Orat. 36. [Ed. cit. supra. Orat. 30, 17. Tom. i. p. 552.] * Theod. qusest. 15. in Exod. [Opera Gr. et Lat. Fol. Paris. 1642. Tom. i. p. 86.] 5 Hierou. Epist. 136. [Ed. cit. sty»-«. Tom. ii. fol. 705.] ^ Chrysost. Hom. 1, contra Anomfeos. [Ed. cit. siqu-a. Tom. i. p. 444.] ^ Naz. Orat. 49. [Ed. cit. siqva, de fide orthodoxa contra Arianos, 1. 10. App. p. 900.] 8 TertuU. lib. de Trinit. cap. 7. [^Novatiani de Trin. c. 7, ad calcem. Op. TertuU. Par. 1663. fol. p. 710. Dionys. c. 1. de Divin. Nominibas, [Ed. cit. supra. Tom. i.] 132 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. can not conceave God, but imperfectlie or confusedlie : and our knowledge is tlie fountayne, and ohstetrix sermonis, that whieli briiiofoth foorth our speach. Yet have wee no name that more expressHe and distinctlie signifieth God than that which is heere ; for it signifieth such a one that is per essen- tiam — by his essence, and from none other ;i whose being never began, nor shall ende ; in whom is nothing bypast, or to come ; no vicissitude or change ; but such a One as is seternall, being All at once the fountayne and originall of all being ; contayning in Himselfe united, and eminentlie whatsoever can be. Thus it explayneth the Divine essence, the ground of all Divine perfections ; so that no name can manifest it more inwardlie, or better. Hence the LoRD, being demanded of Moses concerning His name, Exod. iii. 14, answ^ered — " I am that I am ; thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent mee unto you." And Exod. vi. 2, hee groundeth his veracitie or fidelitie upon this, " And God spake unto Moses, and sayde unto him, I am the Lord : and I appeared unto Abraham, Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of GoD All-mightie ("'nty--^i<) by my name Jehovah was I not known unto them." That is, I so appeared unto thee, that I did show that 1 was able to give the land of Canaan unto them ; and so that I was ''ll£'-'~?K, God Almightie : but by this name Jehovah was I not knowne unto them, for then did I not performe my promise : but now shall yee know, by the effect, the power of this NAME, even that I AM ; and that I give being to my promises, " calling the things that are not, as if they were." Tliat which I have promised, and which heretofore I have declared to bee possible to mee, I will now reallie performe ; and so will show my selfe to bee Jehovah. Most justlie, then, is God called by this name, which sig- nifieth Being ; for not onlie giveth he being to his promises, and to all thinges else that have anie being, but also in respect of his infinitenesse — Hee contayneth in himselfe all perfection of being. He is independentlie ; He is rcternallie ; contayning and filling all duration, Revel, i. 8 ; xvi. 5. Hee is immcnsclie, contayning and filling all space. Hee is uni- versallie, contayning formallie or eminentlie all that is. He is the fulnessc of being. Whatsoever goodnesse, beautic, perfection, or being, is in the creature, is in Him infinitelic more perfectlie and fuUie. » Hilar, lib. i. de Trinit. [S. Hilarii Pictav. Episc. Opera. Fol. Paris. 1693, § 5, p. 768.] HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 133 This being is so proper to him, that all other things com- pared to him, arc not ; they are nothing, but in so farre as they are from him, and in him ;l for " of him, and through him, and to him, are all thinges," Rora. xi. 36 ; Isa. xl. 17. " All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted to him lesse than nothing, and vanitie." The Ethniekes saw this darklie, and therefore Plato called God rov Mt/ra.^ Hence Nazianzen calleth him " the infinite and unbounded ocean of essence," and sayeth that " He onlie hath no name, and yet all names." All, because all are contayned in him, and yet Hee is sayd to be none of these, because Hee is above all thinges which wee can con- ceave. Well, therefore, was this great and glorious name put heere, to ground His " holiness, to crowne and protect all the beautie of the High Priest," as Sainct Hierome^ marketh ; and to signifie, both to High Priest, and to us, that " in Him, and by Him, wee live, and have our beeing," which is Philo's observation. Thus, having adored His Great Name, we come to consider His holinesse. Holinesse. Holinesse was ingraven, together with God's Name, for three causes, as it is well observed by Cajetane. — l.To Hounessc. show that God is Holie in Himselfe agaynst those that thinke unreverentlie of the Divine Nature, and ascrybe to it thinges unbeseeming one that is infinitelie pure. 2. To show that Holinesse is in all His works agaynst those that are bolde to open their mouth to accuse His providence and government. 3. To show that it should bee in all thinges that have reference to him ; as well the inward motions of the mynde, as outward actions, sacrifices, and oblations, agaynst those that are prophane. This order wee shall follow, and therefore, by God's grace, for opening up of this poynt, wee shall show you, that Holinesse belongeth to the Lord ; 1. Considered in Himselfe ; 2. Considered in his workes and wayes ; 3. Considered with reference to those that serve Him, especiallie that are priests, or high priests. For clearing of the first branch wee will — 1. Show what is ^ Aug. Tract, de co quod dictum est, ego sum, iScc. [lucerti auctoiis August. Opera. FoL Paris. 1531. Tom. vi. p. 17f>.] 2 Seneca, Epist. .57. [Ed. cit. »? Anib. de fid. lib. iii. cap. 2. [Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 16S6.] i:iias Crctcn.s. Ora(. 4. Naz. [Ed. cit. nvpro.^ HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 137 puritie in the creatures. It is Hee that infuseth grace in angels and men, that converteth us unto Himself, and purgeth our sinnes, Heb. i. S, and washeth us, Revel, i. 5, and giveth us both the light of fayth, and all other supernaturall graces. " Everie good gift, and everie per- fect gift, is from above, and commeth down from the Father of lightes," Jam. i. 17 ; Levit. xx. 8. " I am the Lord, which sanctifieth you." 2. Our holinesse dependeth from Him as from the object, for it standeth in love of Him, and in conjunction with Him. Holinesse is puritie ; and therefore as impuritie aryseth from the touch of things unclean, bodilie or spirituall, so puritie from cleaving and adhering of the affection to thinges that are cleane. Now, of all such the most pure is GoD. " He is light, and there is no darknesse in Him at all," 1 John i. 5. Where Hee is not, nothing is cleane ; where Hee is, nothing uncleane. Therefore holinesse is called by Saynct Peter (2. c. i. 4.), " a participation of the Divine nature." 3. Which followeth hence our holinesse dependeth from Him and His holinesse as from the rule. Hee hath none to whom Hee should conforme Himselfe ; but, on the con- trarie. His seternall law, which is Himselfe, because nothing else but the rectitude of His Divine reason is the rule and exemplar to which all should bee conforme that would bee holie, Levit. xi. 44. " Yee shall be holie, for I am holie ;" and chap. xix.'2; and chap. xx. 7 ; 1 Pet. i. IG. 4. It dependeth from Him as from the end. All holinesse of the creature is directed to the prayse of the glorie of His grace, Ephes. i. 6, as to the end. And therefore is everie one sanctified that is holie, that he may cleave to God as to his last end, honour, prayse, and glorifie Him, " For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all thinges ; to whome be glorie for ever. A men.'''' Rom. xi. 36. Fourthlie, His HoHnesse is altogether infinite. ^ hisHoh- 1. Intensively, for Hee loveth himselfe as much J5nftl,'in"cn- as Hee is lovelie ; and as great puritie is there in ext'ensivciy. His love as in the perfection of His essence. Hee loveth the creature indeede, but for Himselfe ; and there- fore most holie in the love of all ; in the which He doeth not stay or rest, but in the infinite cxcollencie of His owne goodnosse. 2. Extehsivelie, That oxtendcth it self to infinite thinges : for all that Hee sccth in His essence, 138 UOLINESSE TO THE LORD. Hce loveth : all these please Him for Himselfe, and for His glorie. So His holinesse is a perfection, infinitelie lifted up above ours ; superessentiall, and the infinite fulnesse of holinesse. In regard of it, all holinesse in the creature, howe sublime soever, is as it were nothing ; yea, and as it were impuritie ; even as all power, wisdome, beautie, and excellencie, compared to his power, wisdome, &c. is as nothing. Hence his solerane style is The Holie One, Esai. i. 4, 10, 20, xvii. 7, 29, xix. 30, xi. 12, 31, i. &c. Hence the Seraphim's cry, Isai. vi. HoLlE, HoLiE, HOLIE ; and the foure beasts. Revel, iv. 8, " rest not day and night, saying, holie, holie, holie. Lord God AU-mightie, which was, and is, and is to come." Which song the Church from most ancient tymes most devoutlie hath used in her service : " So sweete and so desirable a voyce is this, that it could not breede loathing, though it were uttered both day and night," say the fathers in an ancient councell.i Hence appeareth howe wonderfull is His good- nesse, that anie waves accepteth us dwelhno; m goodness in ^ ,. . , beholding our tabernacles of clay, and defiled not onlie with impuritie •'/ _ _ admired. the dust of earthlie thinges, but also with the filth of sinne. " The Heavens are not cleane in his sight ; and His Angels Hee chargeth with follie," Job XV. 15, and iv. 18. The Scraphims cover both their faces and feete before him, Isai. vi. If those heavenlie spirites, free from all bodilie tainture, attaine not to the puritie which His service might require, howe can wee, so farre inferior to them, " whose foundation is in the dust, whose jflesh is as it were a mothie garment,^ who dwell continuallie as it wore, and are trayned up in sinne," as Gregor. Nyssen. speaketh, " be pleasant in His sight."^ When all is sayde of the perfection of our holinesse, that can bee truelie sayde, when wee arc propter excelleniiam vitw, Greg. lib. 12, moral, cap. 17, called the heavens, yet are wee not cleane in His 1 Concil. Vascnse. [Concil. Vasensc ii. cclobrat. an. 529, can. 3. Hard. Col. torn. ii. p. 1106.] Tain dulcis ot dosiderabilis vox, etiiunsi dio noctu- qne ])0ssit dici, fastidiinu non poterit gencrare. '^ Cref^. lib. i. moral, quasi quirdani vestis anininc caro est ; and this garment saytli hue, liabct tineam siiani, quia ab ipsa carnalis tentatio oritur ex qua laeeratur. [Bened. Ed. I'ol. Paris. 1705.] ^ Nyss. de Opific. hominis, cap. 16. [Ed. cit. supra.] HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 139 sight, infinitelie yet are wee distant from that most sublime^ h"ght, whereof the most pure light heere is but a small ray and beame. It is much for anie created nature, howe pure soever, to drawe neare anie way to Him that is onlie bright, and shyning, and in puritie exceedeth all bodilie and spirituall nature, " whose goodnesse is His verie being," as August.2 speaketh. Notwithstanding, so marvelous is His goodnesse, that Hee calleth us " undefiled and fayre, holie and without blame before Him in love, and maketli us accepted in the beloved," Ephes. i. 4, G. And thus much of holinesse belonging to God, as considered in Himselfe. I come nowe to the Second Branch, which is holiness belong- ing to Him, considered in His works and waves. If wee consider God in His wayes, holinesse belongeth most perfectlie to Him, Psal. cxlv. 17- nelse^beiong- " The Lord is righteous in all his wayes, and respect of his holie in all His workes." We shall lay this open i. Degree. „ , lie neither to you m some measure, m these loure degrees : doeth nor ■^ , . willeth evil. The first, whether wee consider His workes done by Himselfe alone, or with us, there is no blot to be found therein, Psal. v. 4. " Thou art not a God that hast pleasure in wickednesse, neyther shall evill dwell with thee." Saynct Basil, 3 in a homilie of this subject sayeth, that it is as great an impietie to affirme GoD to be the cause of evill, as to say with the foole, " There is no God," Psal. xiv. 1 . " They both deny GoD to be good ; for if Hee bee the cause of evil," sayeth hee, " Hee is not good ; and if not good, then not God." God and good are not so neare in name as in nature. " Therefore," sayeth hee, " in both these there is a^vTjGig rov hov, a denyall of God." Hee is not the author of those things whereof Hee is the revenger. To affirme the contrarie is '■'• feralis opinio, a detestable tenet," sayeth Ambrose.4 " It is a most horrible injurie against GoD," sayeth Eusebius.5 Therefore Plato commanded that none should bee permitted in the Common-wealth, young or olde, ^ Naz. Orat. 26. [Ed. cit. s%i,pra.'\ Bja;j;i;« m a-roffoh xai a'lra.vya.ffft.a,. ^ Aug. de perfectione justitise : cui bonum esse, hoc est ipsum esse — therefore alone good, Luke xviii. 19. [Ed. cit. stywa.] 3 Basil homil. Quod Deus non sit author mali. [Ed. cit. sw^wa.] Faust. Rheg. 2, de grat. cap. 3. [Bibl. Vet. Patr. Lugd. 1677. Tom. viii. p. 525.] Nee quarum rerum ultor est deus, earum et author credendus est. * Ambros. hexam. lib. i. cap. 8. [Ed. cit. hxipnir^ ^ Euseb. 6, de prcparatione, cap. 5., [Fol. Paris. 1628.] 140 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. in sport or earnest, to say that God is the cause of evill. " All that Hee made was good," Gen. i. 31. And all that Hee maketh is so. Hee neyther doeth evill nor desireth it to bee done ; neyther giveth Hee strength and concurrence for that ende ; neyther anie way approveth Hee it when done, Habak. i. 12, 13, " Art not Thou from everlasting, O Lord my God, ni}' Holie One ? Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evill, and canst not look on iniquitie." And this is verie true not onelie of actuall, but also of habituall evill. False and absurd is it which some of the Schoolmen say, that " God may immediatelie, and without concurrence of the second cause, infound a vicious habite into the mynd of man.""i For such an habite should be an habituall impelling and inclyning to an evill act ; in respect whereof God might be sayde to "impell and urge us to sinne,"2 which is flat contrarie to His Holinesse. The second degree is, " GOD willeth no unholinesse, in anie condition, or for anie ende." Evill actions, if 2. hc wju- proceeding from GoD, could not bee allowed for fnai°c*eondi- anie ende, howe good soever. For a good ende anit'endehow is not sufficient to make thinges lawfull, which ^°° are of themselves evill and unhonest, Rom. iii. 8. " Evill may not bee done, that good may come," And this is so true, that the good which prsesupponeth sinne, is not desired by God of itselfe. It is not the finall cause of permitting of sinne, but causa sine qua non. If sinne bee necessarie to the execution thereof, it cannot be desired nor intended, before sinne. Such a good is the remedie of sinne, repentance ; the chastisementes of sinne, whether medicinall in this lyfe, or of meere revenge in the lyfe to come ; the exorcysc, and patience, and humiliation of the Sayncts ; the manifesting of mercio in pardoning, or of justice in punishing. All these, and the lyke, which cannot be had without the intcrveaning of sinne, GoD desireth not of them- selves, neyther seeketh Hee occasion of doing them, before sinne. Yea, of Himselfe Hee desireth that there were never occasion of anie such good, though sinne being sup- poned, Hee desire and intcnde them ; for then they have rationem boni, and are desirable ; and the execution of them ' VaKqucz. Disp. 40, in primani seciiiultic, caj). 1. [Fol. Antvorp. K>14 and 1G16.] '^ Sec Gabiiol Alvarez, in Isai. <'np. 44, vcisc 2.'). HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 14i may bee without sinne. Hence Hee is sayd to will them not voliintate antecedente^ but consequente, which taketh occa- sion of us. Bee it farre, therefore, from us to say with some, that Hee made our first parentes, hoc consilio ut laberentur, of purpose that they might fall ; because other- wayes, say they, Hee could not attayne to those principall endes ; the manifesting of his mercie, in saving some ; and justice, in punishing others ; since Hee could not have mercie, but on the miserable ; nor justlie condemne anie, but sinners. " Say not thou, it is through the Lord that I fall away. For thou oughtest not to doe thinges which Hee liateth. Say not thou, Hee hath caused mee to erre : for Hee hath no neede of the sinfull man," Ecclesiasticus xv. 11, 12. " Wee are so farre from believing," say the Fathers of the second Arausican Councell,! '■'■Can. uU. that anie man is appoynted to evill by the power of GOD ; that on the contrarie, if anie will be so bolde, as to believe so great an evill, cum omni detestatione in illos anathema dicimus ; let such bee most dreadfuUie accursed. Justice itselfe should bee unjust, sayeth Fulgentius, if it should not finde, but make men guiltie, that so they might bee punished." The third degree is, all his affections and actions are so exactly conforme to the rectitude of his seternall ^^ ^^^ lawe, that there is no possibilitie in Him of such f™.P(°^';'^''' evill. For, first, His infinite perfection cannot ^y^Jjfj'j ^°^,^^^ stand with anie possibilitie of sinfull defect. All apprehende God as such a One that nothing better can be conceaved. Yea, Hee exceedeth all good that can be comprehended by thought, or by understanding. Nyssen. de Opific. hominis, cap. IG. Which should not bee, if Hee were not out of all danger of falling, and had libertie in respect of morall evill. Secondlie, GoD necessarily loveth Himselfe, and all other thinges but secon- darilie, and with reference to Himselfe ; therefore can Hee not love anie thing, but that which is lovelie, and which may bee referred to his owne soveraygne goodnesse.^ Thirdlie, ^ Concil. Araus. secuncUim. [Concil. Arausican. ii. celebrat. an. 329. can. 25. Hard. Col. Tom. ii. p. 1101.] Nee justicia jnsta dicetur si punien- dum reum non invenisse, sed fccisse dicatur. Fulgent, lib. i. ad Monim. cap. 22. [Max. Bib. Vet. Patr. Fol. Lugd. 1677. Tom. ix. p. 22.] ^ Thorn, part. i. q. 63, art. 1, in corporc. [Summa Tlieologica S. Thonia; Aquinatis. Fol. Paris. 1().'52. Tom. i.) 142 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. As the rule cannot crre, because of itselfe it is right, and cannot fall from itselfe ; but the hand may erre, because not beeing itselfe a rule, it may decline from the rule, and not bee conforme to the outward direction thereof : So anie creature, because it is not the rule, may erre ; but GoD, who is the rule, and cannot deny Himselfe, is not subject to sinne, or morall errour, it is impossible that He should doe anie thing amisse. " It cannot bee, that Hee can bee the procurer or doer of anie evill worke, that taketh to Him- selfe, and justlie, the name of Perfect, Father, and Judge."! Light cannot bee changed into darknesse, nor goodnesse itselfe become wicked. Wicked Martion, as crooked and perverse as his mynd was, was aifrayde to ascrybe evill to the good God ; and choosed rather geminare Deitatem, and to divide it betwixt two, one good, and one evill. The philosopher- affirmeth indeed that GoD and good men may doe evill thinges. But hardlie can I thinke that hee speak- eth there according to his owne mynde ; but rather according to the common opinion of those amongst whome hee lived. Neither is this prejudiciall to the liberty of GoD. Possibi- litie to doe evill is not necessario thereunto. This is a weaknesse of created freewill, which is flexible to evill, and lyable to defect. " It is a blessed necessitie, whereby God cannot bee evill," as Augustine^ teacheth us. Not onlie can Hee not will or doe evill, but also of necessitie Hee hateth it, and that with an infinite ^ Dgg^ee. hatred. For, 1. Since necessarilie Hee loveth J/,^^'^^i\*;^^g^ the rectitude of His j£ternall lawe, of necessitie -^^t'^i^'^^'' in^- Hee must hate whatsoever is contrarie there unto ; and such is all sinne. 2. Hee necessarily loveth His goodnesse, and perfection of His nature ; and there- fore must necdes hate sinne, which is repugnant, and con- trarie thereunto, as darknesse to light, and dcformitie to beautie, and crookednesse to strayghtnesse, and defylment to puritio. The infinitenesse of His hatred appcarcth, first, From that Hee depryvoth a sinner for it, of an infinite good; to wit, Himselfe. 2. To blot it out, Hee sent His owne Sonne, both to take our flesh, and to undcrgoo death. 1 TertuU. Ill), iv. contra Mai-cion. [Ed. cit. s«^m.] 2 Aristotle iv. Top. cap. 3. [Fol. 1690. Lugduni. Tom. i.] ^ Aug. 22, do Civitate dei, cap. iilt. [VA. cit. aupra.] HOLTNESSE TO THE LOUD. 143 3. Hee for it inflicteth infinite sorrowes, and ignominie, even seternall tormentes. And though one had innumerable good workes, yet for one grievous sinne, Hee forgetteth them all, Ezech, xviii. For one sinne, Hee thrust downe from heaven so manie millions of angels ; Hee cared not for their innumerable multitude, nor for their eximious beautie, nor for the excellencie of their nature, most nearlie resem- bling his ; nor for their depth of engine, pearcing and comprehending so many things ; nor for that blessed sight which should for ever have shyned in their mynds, or perfect love, whereby they should have loved Him above all thinges ; nor for the prayse, thankesgiving, and glorie, which Hee should have had for ever, through saving so manie spirites. Hee cared not for all the evill which Hee knewe could come by their condemnation, their aeternall blasphemies, and contumelies, the fall of man-kynde, and perverting of the whole worlde. So hatefull infinitelie to His holinesse was sinne, that passing by all these considerations, Hee did stryke them immediatelie with the thunder-bolt of con- demnation. The lyke terrible demonstration of His infinite hatred of sinne may also be scene in His dealing towardes man. Hence Isai. vi. in that mysticall vision, the Seraphims, provoke Him, as it were, to punishment of that wicked people, by a threefolde compellation of His holinesse. What man should not .bee infinitelie punished by His holinesse for sinne, if Hee were not restrayned by His infinite mercie ? Hence clearlie may appear the errour of those who teach, that God by an absolute will, prsedefyned and 5. pr^ede- decreed from seternitie, all actions, and positive to^lufr^ effectes of the creatures, howe wicked soever, so " ^ ' and so to bee done in particular, with all their circum- stances ; and that, accordinglie, in tyme He moveth, pusheth, and physicallie prsedeterminateth them to those efffectes ; this praevious motion beeing such, that without it no creature can do anie thing ; but it beeing present, they must needes doe that whereunto it carrieth them. This doctrine at once destroyeth both the libertie of men, and sanctitie of God. The first. For that prscmotion, or prscdetermination, is independent from our libertie. It is not in our power, though it bee simplie necessarie to our actions, according to the authors thereof, when wee have it 144 HOLINESSE TO TUE LORD. not ; therefore we cannot work, some necessarie thing beeing deficient to us, which God alone can give. If it bee present, wee must needes doe that whereunto it impelleth ; and this necessitie is antecedent, which playnlie overthroweth hbcrtie, as Anselme observeth.i 2. It destroy eth the sanctitie of God ; for if Hee so move, push, and praedetermine the will to evill, that it cannot doe otherwayes, nor in another manner, howo can Hee bee more effectuallie and powerfuUie the author of evill, which is an horrible blasphemie. To advyse and command sinne, should not make Him so truelio and effectuallie the author thereof, as by this doctrine Hee is made, according to which Hee directlie willeth the evill act, and inwardlie moveth, applyeth, and prsedetermineth the will, that it may be done. Advyce and commandement move onlie objectivelie, and may be resisted ; but this praedetermination pearceth the essence of the will, and inwardlie frameth it to worke, so that no way it can bee resisted, or the worke hindered. If you say, that God is to bee esteemed in g Evasions these actions, as a naturall and necessarie cause, termUianTs'*' and not free, it is false ; for Hee doeth nothing '^'^ " ^ ' ad extra, without Himselfe necessarilie, but altogether freelie. 2. If you say, that God willeth not that which is formall in sinne, this is not sufficient ; for by the materiall of sinne, whereunto they say God prsedetermin- ateth, they understand the actions, according to all the conditions and circumstances, determining and making it individuall. Nowe, if GoD bee the cause of this, in- wardlie moving and praideterminating our wills, to con- sent thereunto, Hee must needes also bee the cause of that which is formall. Hence, first, GoD forbiddcth that in sin which is materiall ; as when He forbiddeth to commit adulterie or steale. The sense is not. Beware heercof, that when thou takest another man's goods agaynst his will, there bee in that action the privation of rectitude, or moralitas malitice ; for wee can not hinder this sequell of evill. liut the meaning is, Take heede thou doe not this act, whereunto evill is necessarilie joyned. If God forbid it, and dcterre from it, can Hoc effectuallie praedcter- ^ Anselm. lib. do concord. pra»sci. ft praMlest. caji. 1. ( lionod. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1721.] HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 145 mine mee thereunto, before all inclination of my will, and altogether independentlie from my libertie ? 2. Man is no other wayes the cause of that which is formall in theft, or the lyke sinne, but by producing the positive entitle, and free act, of taking another man's goods. Hee willeth not the formall evill ; yea, hee would that this action had beene without it ; yet doeth hee properlie a morall evill, because evill necessarilie cleaveth unto his action. 8. Admitting that prsedetermination, great and light tempta- tions should not differ by veheraencie of the object, or temptation of the Devill ; but all the danger should be from this Divine prsemotion and impulse, which beeing present, wee should fall into the lightest, and beeing absent, should stand in the greatest, assaultes. All this is so absurd, that even some of the Dominicans themselves, though they mayntayne prfedetermination in good actions, yet they denye it in evill ; as Franciscus Cumel,l Disputat. ad primam partem^ et primam secundce Thomce, pag. 209. If it be objected, That the same absurdities follow upon the immediate concourse of GoD to the act of sinne, though there bee no prsemotion or prse- jecuon^ tal-en determination, I answere, 1. That this prsemotion ciri^urrence is more absurd ; for, 1. The prsedeterminantes admit this immediate concurrence, and the moving or impelling of the agent besides. 2. Prsedetermination hath a necessarie and determinate connexion with the act of sinne, so that it can not be joyned with the con- trarie act ; and God, they say, frameth the decree of it of Himselfe, and without anie respect to our will. But the denyers thereof say. That God's concurrence, though immediate, is generall, indifferent, and indeterminate, in so farre as the concurrence of God in actu primo ; that is, God, ut paratus ad concurrendmn quantum est ex se, et ex munere causce primce, according to His place, is readie to co-operate to anie action of the creature, whether good or evill. This they meane by God's indifferent concourse, and not that the action is onlie from God, secundum rationem genericam^ as some doe chyldishlie interpret them. 2 And so probablie they teach, though the act of sinne, in respect 1 Cumel. [Ed. cit. supra, \). 44.] ^ "Weston, 1. i. cap. 11, de trip, offic. homiiiis. 10 146 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. of that which is materiall, bee from GoD, and the creature both ; yet considered as it is free, and in respect of the moraUtie founded upon Hbertie, it is not from GoD. — Vasquez,! Canus,2 Scotus,^ Vega,* Eaynaud.5 So in a vitall act of understanding or love, though the vitaHtie bee one with the entitie of the act, yet the vitahtie of the action followeth not the same cause that the entitie thereof doeth. For the act of understanding is vitall, by reference to that onlie principle from which it inwardlie floweth, to wit, the understanding, and yet it receaveth not the whole entitie or beeing from the understanding alone, but also from the species and habite which sometymes interveaneth. Prsedetermination, therefore, is much more repugnant to Divine holinesse and innocencie. Secondlie, Some, and those verie learned, have 2. Answere. affirmed. That the concurrence of God to evill thil^fmmedi- actions is not immediate, and, as they speake, ^o^evrnf"""^*^ identificatus, or altogether one with the act itselfe. So not onlie Durand.^ and AureoU who denye this kynde of concurrence to anie act ; but also diverse others. " Albeit,*" saith Vasqu.^ " the opinion of Durand. and Aureol. taking it in the full latitude thereof, hath no other patron, tamen quod spectat ad actum peccati, non videtur ita destituta. For amongst the Schoole-men,"" saith hee, " Antisiod. L. 2, Summse, Tract. 27. 0. 3, and Gregorius Arriminensis, thinke it probable." Diverse also in the tyme of the Master of Sentences were of this mynde, as hee showeth. Lib. 2. Dist. 37, where hee himselfe also dare not take upon him to define the contrarie — " illarum verb sententiarum judicium prudentis lector is arhitrio relhiquimiis : We leave it," sayeth hee, " to the prudent reader to judge which of these two opinions is most true." Scotus^ also thinketh this opinion probable. Aristotle was of this mynd, ' Vasqu. in primam Sccundoc. [Ed. cit. sitjyra.} ^ Canus lib. ii. do locis, cap. 4 ad 8. [Melchior Canus, Pad. 1727, 4to.J ^ Scotus lib. i. de nat. ct gr. cap. 18. [Colon. Agi-. 4to. 1618.] * Venja, lib. ii. cap. 15. ^ Raynaud, in Tlieol. natur. dist. 1, q. 3, art. 1. [Lugd. 1665, Fol.] 8 Dur. 2, Sent. Dist. 1, q. 3. 7 Aureol. 2, Sent. Dist. 37, q. 1, art. 1. ** Vasq. in primam Secundie disj). 12f), cap. 2. [Ed. cit. siy^ra.] 9 Scot. 2, Sent. Dist. 37. [Ed. cit. siq->ra.] HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 147 sayth Lessius.l But which is most of all, holie Augustine seemeth to have beene of this mynde concerning evill actions. 2 " Saynct Hieron. Dialog. 1. contra Pelag."" sayetli Vasquez^ in the place before cited, " seemeth to favour this opinion :" but farre more clearlie August.^ for in his Second Booke, de lib. Arbit. cap. 20, hee sayeth, that motus amrsionis, which is sinne, is not from GoD : '^ Ad Deum non pertinere ne duhites^'' sayeth hee : " It belongeth no wayes to GoD, but to our will." Neyther speaketh hee onelie of the defect, but also of the act it selfe. So in his booke De Perfect. Justitise, hee sayeth, sinne is not res but actus ; for hee granteth a distinction betwixt these two, understanding by res a substance, as in diverse other places he doeth ; and thereupon he admitteth, that there must be some other author, even of the act of sinne, than God, esteeming it onlie absurd to admit an author alicujus rei — that is, of some substance beside God. So hee playnlie sayeth, that the motion itselfe of the will whereby wee sinne is not from God. " Thou toldest mee," sayeth hee,"" also with a strong voyce, 0 Lord, in my inner eare, howe that it is thy selfe who made all these natures and substances, which are not what thy selfe is, and which yet have their being ; and howe that onelie is not from thee which hath no beeing, no, nor the will that slydeth backe from Thee, that art (eminentlie), unto that which hath an inferiour beeing, because that all such back-slyding is transgression and sinne.'''^ This I have insisted so much in, to show that there is no necessitie in this philosophicall argument to make us admit anie thing contrarie to true divinitie, and prsejudice of the sanctitie of GoD. Leaving, therefore, more curiouslie to search in this manner of God's working, I conclude this poynct ^vith holie Augustine, speaking of ^ Less, de Grat. cap. xviii. num. 8, et 11. [Ant. 1610. 4to.] 2 Vide Theodorus Ab. opusc. 35. Theodori Abucaraj Opuscula, 35. Bib. PP. Lugd. Fol. 1677. Tom. xvi, fol. 750.] ' Vide Vasq. ibidem. * Aug. de perfect. Justitise ; ratione quarta. [Ed. cit. svpra. Tom. x. fol. 169, and 741.] s Aug. lib. xii. Confess, c. 11. [Ibid. Tom. i.] Item dixisti mihi, Domine, voce forti, in aurem interiorem, quod omnes naturas atque substantias, quae non sunt quod tu es, et tamen sunt, tu fecisti, et hoc solum a te non est, quod non est motusque voluntatis a te qui es, ad id quod minus es',quia talis motus delictum atque peccatum est. 148 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. this matter, this, to wit, that sinne is not from GoD, &c. " Thou hast manifested unto me, and. Lord, make it more and more manifest, and grant that in this manifestation I may continue sober under Thy winges."! If yee urge yet more, that even the power of sinning, given by GOD, and the permission of sinne seeme 9. The ar- , , /> TT' Tx T • TT- 1 gument from to derogate from His Hohnesse m His works ; giving power because, as the Ethnicke sayeth in J ustin Martyr, permission ' . . thereof, an- " Hee that may hinder, and permitteth, in effect swered. doeth what hee permitteth ."^ I answere, first, concern- ing the power of sinning, that if wee understand thereby a licence to doe evill, it is not from GoD ; for this is an unbrydled disorder of the will, importing in it per- mission, impunitie, and a formall or virtuall approbation of him that giveth this libertie. Thus it is not from God, Ecclesiasticus xv. 20, " Hee hath commanded no man to doe wickedlie, neyther hath Hee given anie man licence to sinne." But if wee understand by the power of sinning a naturall power, that may bee exercysed well or evill, it can not bee denyed that, so taken, it is from GoD ; and so, with Augustine,^ the Schoole-men teach.^ Neyther is there anie blame in this, for if it were not, our libertie would not appeare. The free power of doing one thing is joyned with the power circa oppositum in us, as the philosopher^ teacheth, and August.^ with him. " When it is in our power to doe, it is also in our power not to doe," &c. So Thomas there. Therefore this power of sinning is not evill but good, and hath a good use, to wit, to make us free. Hence Tertullian,7 Basil,^ and others grant it, when having to doe with those that made God the author of sinne. I meane not that the power of sinning belongeth to libertie, taking ^ Aug. lib. xii. Confess, c. 11. Hoc in conspcctu tuo claret mihi, et magis magisque clariscat, oro te, atque in ea manifestatione persistam sobrius sub alis tuis. [Ed. cit. supra. Tom. i. fol. 212.J ^ Vasq. in 1, 2, disp. 129, cap. 10. [Ed. cit. supra.'] 3 Aug. de Gratia Christ, cap. 17. [Bened. Ed. cit. supra. Tom. x.fol. 238.] * Lomb. in 2, dist. 44 ; [Colon, i^gr. 1609, Svo.] Scotus [Ed. cit. supra] there, and others. ' Arist. iii. Ethic, cap. 7. [Ed. cit. mpra.] " August, de Spiritu ct Litera,c.31 . [Bencd.Ed. cit.sitpm.Tom. x.fol. 115.] ' Tertull. ii. in Marcion. cap. 6. [Ed. cit. s2q-»-a, fol. 384.] * Basil in homil. Quod Deus non sit author nialonnn. [Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris, 1722, Tom. ii. fol. 73.] HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 149 libertie in the largest amplitude thereof; for that is false, as we are taught by Thomas^ and others^, and it is manifest in God, who is most free, yet can not sinne. This Anselme meaned, when in his Dialogue, de lib. arhit. cap. 1. hee sayde that the power of sinning is neyther libertie, nor a part thereof; yet can it not bee denyed that this power belong- eth to mutable libertie. The act of sinning is a free act, so the power whence it proceedeth must be, actus primus, liber. 1. There cannot bee a second act, without the first, pro- portionable. 2. If this were not true, the power of desisting from sinne should not belong to libertie, for the libertie of one contradictorie, includeth the libertie of the other. This indeede is a defecte and imperfection, but so also is the mutabilitie of the will, and therefore the Divine libertie excludeth this, as well as that. Secondlie, as for the permis- sion of sinne, I answere, 1. God is not bound to hinder. 2. Hee hath most just and holie reasons for which Hee permitteth the evill of sinne ; for it is fit that the Universall and Supreame Governour, having furnished all thinges perfectlie and most sufficiently for every good, should suffer them to be carried freelie, with their owne motions : other- wayes the helpe given might seeme not sufficient ; and the good worke done, forced, and not worthie of prayse. Therefore Basil,2 having propounded the question, "Why God did not take from us the power of sinning f answereth — "As wee thinke not our servantes duetifull when wee have them bound, and in chaynes ; but when they doe willinglie that which they ought." So hee is gracious to God, not who doeth of necessitie, but of vertue ; " and vertue is of election," sayeth hee, " and not of necessitie, and election is of that which is in our power, and that which is in our power, is free." 2, It becometh men to waken up themselves to the doing of good and avoyding of evill, and ever to bee sollicitous and attentive, that they bee not inlacking to the grace of God ; but if God would permit no sinne, there should be no neede of this solicitude. 3. Hee can drawe great good out of evill ; as, first, the manifesting His good- nesse and patience, suffering the contempt of His Majestic * Thorn, q. 24, de lib. arb. art. 3, et in 2 dist. 44, art. 1, ad prim. [Ed. cit. supra.] " Basil. [Ed. cit. siqva.] 150 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. by sinne. 2. The manifesting of His Divine mereie par- doning it, whereunto belongeth the misterie of the Incarna- tion of the Sonne of God, and whatsoever Hee hath done and suffered for us. All this is by occasion of sinne, whereby Hee hath manifested His glorie farre more than if sinne had never beene. 8. The good of His chosen Hee draweth even out of this evill. Thus the crueltie of tyrants served to the encrease of glorie to the martyres. Hence Vincentius the martyr sayde to his torturer Dacianus, " Nunqiiam quisquam adeo bene servivit mihi ut tu. — Thou hast been the best servant that ever I had." So the wickednesse of heretickes serveth for the proving and clear- ing the faytli of the Church — " Nimquid perfecte de Trinitate tractatimi est, antequam oblatrarent Ariani? Nunquid de penitentia traciatu est, antequam olsisterent Novatiani ?" August. 1 Psal. 54. " Baptisme," sayeth hee there, " was not so perfectlie handled before the contradiction of the rebaptizers, or the unitie of Christ and His Church before the separation of schismaticks." Thus GoD maketh some- tymes a man's owne sinne to bee occasion of amending his coldnesse and presumption, and of greater care and humi- litie in tymes coming. Saynct Peter, and manie of the Sayncts, have been, by occasion of some fall, ever thereafter more warie, fervent, and humble. 4. This manifesteth the greatnesse of His Divine Majestie, which is such that one sinne committed agaynst it is worthie of seternall death. 5. Hee manifesteth heereby His Divine Justice, whyle Hee chastiseth one wicked man by the wickednesse of another, as Hee did to His people Israeli by the Assyrians, Isai. x. 5 ; or whyle Hee permitteth one's sinne, for the punishment of another in the sinner himselfe, Rom. i. Thus, sinne is called the punishment of sinne — not that it is properlie a punish- ment, for it is not intended by GoD the Punisher, but because the permission of it is a punishment willed by God for revenge, through which permission, by accident, another sinne falleth out. For when a man, by former sinnes, maketh himselfe unworthie of the inspiration and protection of God, Hee withdraweth it from him ; that is, Hee giveth him it not, as other wayes Hee would have done, and so ' Aug. Psal. liv. [Ed. fit. SMjjra.] y HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 151 hee falleth into other sinnes, which, by the grace of God, hee would have eschewed. Lasthe, The splendor of His justice shall appeare when sinne shall be revenged with seternall punishment. So Hee draweth manyfolde good out of sinne. " Almightie GoD,"" sayeth Augustine,^ " who hath power of all thinges, since Hee is infinitelie good, would suffer no evill at all to bee in His worke, except Hee were so powerfull and so good, as that He can draw good out of evill. So neyther doeth His permission derogate from His Holinesse, nor yet from his Providence. Hee is not an ydle spectator of sinnes and sinners, but everiewhere His Divine Providence over-ruleth them. Though they preasse to drawe themselves from His disposition and providence, yet can they not ; for whyle they withdraw themselves from the order of His Divine direction, they fall into the order of His chastisement ; and whyle they with- drawe themselves from the bountie of His mercie, they fall into the severitie of His justice ; and whyle they will not honour Him by well-doing, they are forced to honour Him by suffering evill : whyle they will not willingly bee subject by obeying His Ooramandements, they are forced, agaynst their wills, to bee subject by suffering tormentes. Hence sayeth holie Augustine^ — " No man's sinne doeth eyther hurt Thee, O Lord, or disturbe the order of Thy Governe- ment, first or last." Let no man, therefore, blame God for his sinnes. His Hohnesse is such (as hath bene showne), that Hee lo. oiirevu ... is from our can have no hand m the procurmg ot smne. selves. Jam. i. 13, 14, 15, " Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God ; for God can not bee tempted with evill, neyther tempteth Hee anie man. But everie man is tempted, when hee is drawne away of his own lust and entysed. Then when lust hath conceaved, it bringeth foorth sinne ; and sinne, when it is finished, bringeth foorth death." Let us, therefore, smyte our owne breastes, and rent our owne heartes ; our destruction is of our selves ; wee con- ceave and bring foorth this wicked brood, Isai. lix. 4, ^ August, in Euchyrid. cap. 11. [Ed. cit. su2mi.] ^ August. l.xii. Confess, c. 11. [Ibid.] NuUius peccatum aut tibi nocet, aut perturbat ordincm imperii tui, vel in primo, vel in imo. 152 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. " Consent not," sayeth Augustine,^ " to thy lust ; it hath not whereof to conccave but of thee. Hast thou consented ? Thou hast, as it were, lyen with it in thy heart. If thy concupiscence arise, deny thy selfe to it ; follow it not. When lust hath conceaved, it bringeth foorth sinne ; and sinne finished, bringeth death. Bee not, therefore, drawne away with thy lust : deny thy selfe unto it ; follow it not : it is unlawfull, it is licencious, it is filthie : it turneth thee away from GoD. Give not the imbracing of consent lest thou bewayle the woful brood thereof." The Devill, indeede, concurreth powerfullie ; and therefore absolutelie is called the Tempter, Math. iv. 2 ; 1 Thess. iii. 5. ; 1 Cor. vii. 5 ; Yet it may bee his hand is not so oft, and so much in our falls as wee thinke. Nazianz. — " Why cast wee all the fault upon our enemie, since our owne wickednesse giveth him strength ? Blame thy selfe whollie or chiefelie ; for thy fire is the DevilFs flamc^^ The Devill can not cast downe the will ; hee can but prepare the bayte and hooke ; and so allure and entyse, but not force and compell. If a man consent not, he can doe nothing. Therefore sayde hee to our Saviour, Matth. iv. 3 ; Luke iv. 3. — " Command these stones," &c. ; " cast thy selfe downe," &c. ; " if thou wilt fall downe," &c. all wordes of soUistation and provocation as Hieron.^ marketh. Much lesse can the allurement of the creature cast us down, which is but a trap for the feete of the foolish. Excellentlie sayeth Ambr. to this purpose — " Our danger is chiefelie from our selves, not from anie thing without : within is the adversarie, within the author of our errour. Thou thy selfe art the cause of thy impietie, thou thy selfe art the leader unto, and the kindler of, thy crymes. Why labourest thou to excuse thy falls by accusing of another ? O that thou wouldest not dryve and cast thyselfe headlongs, &c." And thus much concerning the second branch of Holinesse, as it belongeth to the Lord in His wayes. Nowe let us come to the third, and speake of 1 August. 1. 50. hom. 42, 8. [Ed. cit. supra.] ^ Nazianz. torn. 2. [Ed. cit. supra.'} Mi/a^ou atavrov, h to tuv, ri ri tXisv, TO -jru^ -jra^ h/Auv, it tii ^Xfl| rou tuv/jiaTtt . Aug. Tract. 32, in Joan. [Ed. cit. aupra.] 3 Hieron. Matth. iv. [Ed. cit. »«;<»«.] •» Ambr. Hex. 1, 8. [Ed. cit. supra.] HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 153 Holinesse, as it belongeth unto him in respect of those that serve Him. Holinesse belongeth to God in respect of all ^Jl'^™""" that pertayne unto Him, but especiallie, in re- be"nge«fto spect of men; and amongst these chief elie, in ^"ct'Jfaii respect of the Priest and High Priest. to Him.'"'"° All this worlde is, as it were, the temple of his Deitie, consecrated to His worship, sanctified by His presence, and filled with His glorie, Isai. vi. 3. Everie-where, as it were, wee may see Him present ; and ever, as in His j. The presence, should walke in it as in an holie temple, an uoiy tem- worshipping, praysing, and blessing Him ; for " in ^^®' His Temple doeth everie one speake of His glorie,"" Psal. xxix. 9. Even the senselesse creatures prayse and blesse Him ; because, so much as in them lyeth, they excite to this such duetie as have reason by their representation of the Divine perfections. Heerein their goodnesse and chiefe use standeth, and for it they were chiefelie made. Hence the creatures are called the proclaymers and witnesses^ of the Deitie, whose voyce is heard and understood everie- where, Psal, xix. 1, 2, 3; Act. xiv. 17- The spirites of men are yet more properlie His temple ; His presence in them is more illustrious than in 2. Man a , . , -.,. - , more holie thmges bodilie ; and they may come to Him, and temple. be joyned to Him more excellentlie than those : there is no soule which is not more capable of Him than the whole worlde besides: therefoi"e the Fathers Nyssen.2 and Chrysost.^ marke, that God proceeded to the making of man as it were with deliberation, and drew as it were before hand his portraiture by His word, showing what a one he should bee, and according to what lyknesse, and for what ende. Gen. i. 26. Hee is more especiallie sanctified unto His divine wor- ship and inhabitation than al things bodilie ; that convert- ing himselfe within to his indweller, hee may converse with God, worship and adore Him. Hee alone, and the angel- icall spirites, may know and love Him which is true Holi- nesse, whereby Hee dwelleth in them, and they become His temple, much more happie and sublime than all this bodilie ' Prosp. 2, de A"oc. Gent. cap. 4. " Nyssen. de opific. hom. cap. 3. [Ed. cit. supm.] ^ Chrysost. hom. 8, in Genes. [Ed. cit. supra.] 154 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. worlde, which is not sensible of His presence. This know- ledge and love unite them unto Him by a vitall band ; thereby " they are made partakers of His divine nature," 2 Pet. i. 4. Yea, and thereby are changed in Him whome they knowe and love, and become " one Spirit with Him," 1 Cor. vi. 17. So in them is requyred a more speciall Holinesse. Hence, though man receaved manie rich and costlie endewmentes from his Maker, in the day of his 3. Man-s ,-, • 11 n ^ Jiolinesse in creation, yet the jewell oi greatest pryce and the creation. value was Holinesse. The coloures wherewith God drew His image and lykenesse in man at the beginning were not bodilie ; but they were " puritie, immunitie from perturba- tions, blessednesse, and an estate free of all evill : — with such flowers did the framer of His image adorne our nature," sayeth Nyssen.l " This image," sayeth hee agayne, " was not adorned with purple, nor did show foorth its dignitie by a scepter or diademe ; but in stead of purple, was cloathed with vertue, which is the most royall garment ; and for a scepter, had the blessednesse of immortalitie ; and in stead of a royall crowne, was adorned with the crowne of right- eousnesse." By all other his perfections accompanying essence, lyfe, sense, or reason, hee was indeede lyke his patterne, more or lesse ; all these did in some degree and measure resemble that which in his Maker was entire, perfect, and infinite. Yet the chiefest of all these compared to His sanctitie, were but the foote-steppes of His Deitie. This was the lyvelie character of His image, Ephes. iv. 24. By this one hee was nearer God than by them all. This was the soverayne qualitie whereunto all the rest did homage, and whereupon the safetie of them all depended ; whyle it was safe, all these were well, but beeing lost, they perished. If wee consider the restauration of man-kynde, this will yet appeare more clearlie. For in Christ Jesus, 4. nisnoii- •^ . !•/> iiesso in his God by Himsclfe, and not by anie created gitt, restauration. sanctifieth the humane nature, drawing it above all thinges created to Himselfe, and substantiallie uniting it into the person of the Sonne of God. Thcrfore the ancients say ^ Nyss. de hom. opific. c.ip. !>, et cap. 4. [ Kd. cit. supra.] HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 155 that by the Deitie itselfe, the manhood of Christ is velut igne penetrata et unguento delihuta, pearced by it, as it were, with fire, and anoynted by it as with oyntment ; so the divine nature in this union is, as it were, the oyntment, and the humane nature that which is anointed. Whence also is the name of Christ : — "Christ,"" saith Nazianz.i "became man, that Hee by Himselfe might sanctifie men, and might bee, as it were, leaven to the whole lumpe ; and that uniting them to Himselfe, who was condemned, Hee might deliver them from damnation ; beeing made for us all that wee are, except sinne. The Sonne of man, in respect of whome he came." N6|M/hv, tJjv rZv fnyaXu)! fiVffTv^iaiv, avrirwrev. 2 Greg. lib. 1, Ep. c. 24. [Ed. cit. supra.] " Qui ad seternitatis Templum vasa ^'iventia in simi conversationis propria portat. * Hier. ep. 61, ad Pammachium. [Ed. cit. min-a.] •■* Malmesburiensis. HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 161 " Thou seest," sayeth Ambrose, " the neckes of kinges and princes bowed downe to the knees of priestes ; and having kissed their handes, they thinke themselves guarded by their prayers.""! Before wee ende, let us descend to a more particular application, and shortlie consider how this our Transition Reverend and Worthie Prelate, of blessed o? tul Bishop ,. , ., , . ,p . ,, 1 ,. of Aberdene. memorie, did acquite himselr m those duties ; so shall wee, according to our promise, conjoine to the consi- deration, rou oahv of the Holie One, and His Holiness, ra. Office, this sacred dutie that wee owe to the memorie of our Reverend and Holie Father. But ye will say — " We have heard alreadie his prayses." It is true, ye heard them iudiciouslie and elo- ' .' J 1. Reasons quentlie delivered the day of his Funeralls, and of his renewed since that agayne and agayne. The harvest and reaping, as it were, of his prayse was the day of his Funeralls, and therefore none prevented it, lest he should have seemed to have thrust his sickle into the field of another. But after reaping it is lawfuU to gleane ; neyther need yee feare this travell shall be unprofitable, for the fielde is rich. Beside, glorie is a frequent celebration by manie ; and there- fore Cicero sayth, that " it is an unanimous praise of good men, and uncorrupt voyce of manie judging right."2 And holy Augustine defineth glorie — " A frequent report, and fame with prayse."3 Now, if the mouthes of manie should be often opened to prayse the grace of God in this worthie Prelate, whose should rather than our's, his Presbyters, who so often and so much have tasted the sweete fruites of it ?. If wee consider our office, wee are debtors by necessitie ; if his graces, and the fruits of them, by love, which is farre more, as Augustine speaketh.^ We are debtors, I say, not to him alone, but to God also, who dwelt and wrought in him these thinges, and to you, whose loving and faythfuU Pastor he was. Come, therefore, and let us shortlie view the crown 1 Ambrose, de dignit. Sacerdotali, c. 2. [Ed. cit. sujmi.] See Sidonius Apollinaris, 1. vii. ep. 11, et 1. \aii. ep. 11. [Ed. cit. swi^ra.] 2 Cic. 1. iii. Tuscul. Consentiens laus bonorum, incorriipta vox bene judicantium de excellenti virtute. ^ Aug. 1. Ixxxiii. quaest. 31, frequens de aliquo fama cum laude. [Ed. cit. suj^ra.] * Aug. in Psalm ciii. Cone. 1. [/6/(?.] 11 1C2 IIOLINESSE TO THE LORD. of his excellent perfections, which have bene so steadablc to this whole Church, to this whole land, and to you cspeciallie, I aime not at a just pourtraict of his worth : that exceedeth my strength ; yea, I doubt not but the most sufficient will be contented with the excellent paynters of olde to drawe under their labours of this kynde, titulum pendente)^, as Plinie speaketh ;l and to say, " they are but doing, and had not yet done." It shall content our weaknesse to give some small and rude delineation. " Even God accepteth of that which wee are able to doc^^ The first Jewell of his crowne that I present unto your view is his judgement, which was in him most rare ; it was readie, pearcing, stayed, and happie. me'nt/*^"'^ None could more readilie conceave, deeplie dyve, or more resolutelie and solidlie conclude. Two rare ornamentes beautified it ; the first, singular learning in Holie Scripture, which from his youth „ , p 1 T 1 ^ Learning. he sought, and so followed after, that hee did happilie wade in the deepest mysteries of that high and sublime Apostle Saynct John, surnamed by way of excel- lencio " The Divine," as appeareth by his learned Com- mentarie upon his Revelation. The second was prudence, wherein he excelled not others onelie, but also himselfe. This made him even in youth famous at home and abroad ; and for it the wysest King that Europe had did take particular notice of him. By the same, when advanced to ecclesiasticall and specular preferment, he governed the difficile and turbulent state of this Church, wherein he did encounter with so manie distempered judgcmentes, perverse and unrulie humoures, in peace and quyetnesse those seaventeen yeares with wonderfull dexteritie. By this hee, as Jionorar'ms arbiter^ according to the practice of most holie and ancient Bisliops,3 settled the variances of laymen, having recourse to his wisedom as to an oracle — variances (I say) which, if not composed by him, might have broken out into the ^ Plin. in prsef. ^ Naz. Oral. 20, in laudem Basil. Ka/ hu ipixov re na-To. Vvta.iJ.it. [Ed. cit. sxq->ra.'\ ' Ambrose, op. 24. [Ed. cit. .w;)?-a.] Aug. ep. 147 ; Possidon. in vita Aug. c. 19; Hidonius A))oll. 1. vi. ep. 2. [Eds. cit. sxqwaJ\ HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 163 same doleful! effectes which the like dissensions have brought to other partes of the countrey. By the same was hee most steadable to the whole Estate, whether he sate in Parliament or Counsell ; and for it honoured and admired by the wisest of the kingdom. A most necessarie vertue this was for his place. " A priest," sayeth Chrysostome, " should be various ; that is," sayeth hee, " not subdolous, flattering, or dissembling ; but one that can accommodate and applye himself according to the matter in hand ; and that can both bee benigne and severe." Hee knewe by it how to accommodate himselfe to tymes, places, persons, and occasions ; so walking with a strayght foote, that in the meane tyme he remembered that he lived not in republica Platonis, hniinfwceRomuli — not in " Plato"'s commonwealth," but "in the midst of a perverse generation," which saying hee had often in his mouth, and for not observing whereof, hee sayd Cato was justlie censured by Cicero. Another rare gemme of this crowne was his eloquence. His expression was grave and maiesticke, power- „ „ ^ . 11 r, • • -x . , 5. Eloquence. lull, copious, and playne, havmg in it a singular and sweete insinuation and grace ; his face and eyes (as ye knowe) shyning ; so that by his speach thinges were pre- sented rather to the sight than convoyed to the eare. So great was his dexteritie in this, that if hee did reade the Holie Scripture, hee did so sensiblie and powerfullie convoy it to the mynd, that I have thought often one might have profite more by his reading than by reading the Commentaries of manie. To these great perfections was joyned that " ornament of all vertues (as the philosopher calleth it),l e. msmag- magnanimitie ;" so justlie may I call the generous, ii'"^"''^"*'^. cowragious, and constant disposition of his mynde. The philosopher telleth us that the magnanimous man is exer- cysed in great matters, and yet so great hee is that none of these is great to him. Such a depth and weyght hee hath of excellent vertues, as maketh him also stayed and setled in everie thing ; whence hee is neyther moved with allurement of honour, nor shaken with feare of danger, nor easilie taken up with admiration. Yea, in his verie wordes 1 Arist. 1. iv. de moribus, c. 7. [Ed. cit. supra, torn, ii.] 1C4 - HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. and gesture he is grave and stayed ; and finallie, is guided by trueth, and not by opinion. This worthie Prelate was such a one. He had a greatnesse and weyght more excel- lent than the philosopher could dreame of; for beside his naturall and morall perfection, which in this kynde was excellent, hee had that weyght of Divine grace which cstablisheth and imboldeneth the heart. God, the Eocke of Ages, dwelt in his soule ; to whome hee was most strictlie united by firme confidence. Hence was hee most grave and stayed in all his wordes, deedes, and behaviour. This made him, that hee chased not honour, as manie doe, nor turned his backe to terrours. His face was as adamant, when hee was to stryve for good against the perverse ; and no crosse could make his heart to breake (as hee used to say). Popular opinion and applause hee contemned, con- demning it exceedinglie in those that are affected with it, and recommending nothing more to others than the con- tempt thereof. In a word, hee was employed in great thinges, and was encountered with great crosses ; and yet hee was still greater than his fortunes (so to speake) whether good or evill. Thus truelie was he magnanimous. But what of all this rich and precious crowne, which was made up of so rare jewels, if wee find not en- 7 ^g i^^^jj, graven in it — " HoLiNESSE to the LoRDf This is vanclngcod^s the chiefe, and the lyfe of all the rest ; and this in ^^°"®' him was not wanting ; yea, so distinctly engraven that thou mightest " runne and reade." All these perfections he made to serve, both publicklie and privatelie, to the glorie of God who gave them. Though it would have seemed that he would have passed his lyfe as a layman, yet God had sanctified him for Himselfe. His Word and Spirit within him was a fire, which would needes burst out. There- fore, called to the holie ministerie, hee obeyed, and followed, and did holihe acquyto himselfe therein. Being yet higher advanced to a more sublime charge, all his endevour was to halowe the holie and reverende Name of God. So he did by his holie and devout preaching, whyle health served ; so did hee by his holie care of the estate of this Church ; for which, both for the present tyme, and for the tyme to come, hee excellcntlio provyded. No sooner had hee undertaken this charge, but liee began HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 1G5 with the Seminaries of Learning, from which the weale of the Church in all aeres moste dependeth. This hee did s. in ad- '^ ^ . vancement of senouslie, remembering it was layde upon hun par- learning. ticularlie, " as hee would answere to God in the Great Day." And so happie was his care in this, that what he found laieritia, and almost ruinated, hee left marmorea, repared in the aedifices, restored in the Bibliotheke, revived in the professions of DiviNiTiE, Physick, Canon LaW' ; whereunto he procured the adding of another profession of DiviNiTlE, to the great benefit of the Church, in all following tymes, restoring also the decayed honoures due to learning. To what purpose had the worthie and heroicke founders of that Universitie left it, if it had fallen ? And fallen appearantlie it should have, if by him not under-propped. This duelie considered, that Universitie may bee justlie called Anastasia, as was that temple of Nazianzen in Constantinople, for hee hath raised up in it good letters, almost fallen to the ground. Was not this Holinesse ? The lyke care had hee to plant good and worthie pastors for the present tyme, and such was the successe n 1 ' 1 • f 1 i'T-»i 9. In his of his care, that never anie of the worthie Prelates care of piant- . ing Churches. that went before him had such a learned Clergie. Yea, whyle this Diocesse enjoyed him, and that other worthie Prelate of blessed memorie, for singular pietie and excellent learning incomparable (I meane the late Bishop of Edinburgh, not long since your worthie pastor), it needed not to have envyed anie part of this kingdome. None had more sagacitie to discerne good spirites, or care to promove them. They might have sayde, whyle hee lived, with the Poet,i of him — " Sub teste beuigno Vivitur, egregios invitant prsemia mores, Hinc priscse redeunt artes, felicibus inde Ingeniis aperitur iter, despectaque Musse Colla levant." In all this publicke administration such was his integritie, that to him belonged that, as Plinie^ calleth it, lo. His in- Nohilis suspiratio Ciceronis of Cato — " 0 tefelicern^ tegntie. a quo Tiemo rem improbam petere audet." None durst attempt 1 Claud.. ' riiii. in prajfat. 166 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. to corrupt him. All which beeing duelie weyghed, I am not afrayde to say, hee might have beene a Statesman in the best state of Europe, and a Prelate in the best tymes of the Church. That which Plinie saieth of Cato, that hee was thought to have conjoyned in himselfe the three greatest thinges, Optimus Orator, Optimus Senator, Optimus Impera- tor, might bee not unfitlie applyed unto him, if yee will put a Prelate for a Commander. In his private lyfe and conversation he was hohe — none more familiar with GoD. The sweete fruites ^ ^.^^^ whereof he felt al his lyfe in manie sharpe con- iJ°te^fJ|'P^^ flictes and crosses which hee encountered with, so ^^^^^- especiallie before his death : For God continued with him, contrarie to the nature of his disease, his judgement and prudence, which was the crowne of his gray hayres ; and his tongue, which was his glorie ; and, which was most of all, his holinesse. So that his disease, though heavie, was but (^dffuvog ci^zr^g, the proofe of his virtue,i hee beeing more blessed in this than others were in health. It abated nothing of his care of the glorie of GoD, and well-fare of His Church ; hee traveled no lesse paynfullie nowe than before by his prayers, sound advyce, frequent, wyse, and powerfull letters. Amongst others yee had a singular proofe of his religious care a little before his death. When your sute was to have for your pastor his worthie, devout, and learned sonne,2 ye knowe howe willinglie he condescended to his transplantation, notwithstanding hee was the manager of his estate at that tyme, and, under God, the stay of his olde age, and the solace of his solitarinesse and sicknesse : whence he professed, that for his stay hee would have tripled what was to bee obtayned by his removall, if it had beene lawfuU to looke in that matter to worldlie respectes. A great argument this was, that hee disesteemed both estate, health, and private contentment, in respect of God's glorie, and your wcale ; which, knowing himselfe readie now to departc, hee thought hee could no better promove, than by leaving you in stead of himselfe the best expression hee had of himselfe, " that yee beholding his vertues in him. ' Naz. ep. 41. [Ed. cit. supra.] ° [Dr John Forbes. See snjvo, p. 5, note.] HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. 107 as in a clear and bright glasse, might in effect have him even after his departure," as Nazianzen^ speaketh of Nyssen, in reference to his brother, S. Basil. God also gave him, as "an earnest desire to bee dissolved, "so an " undaunted cowrage agaynst the feare of death." Some few dayes before his departure, having most devoutlie taken the holie Sacrament with us his Presbyters, and having most affectionatelie blessed us, he said most devoutly (teares bursting out for joy) with Simeon — " Lord, now lettest Thou thy servant depart in peace," &c. And setling himselfe in his former calmnesse and tranquilitie, did expect joyfullie his Lord — teaching men how to die, as he had taught them how to live — dying as one of the Patriarches, as Moses, Josua, or David, in a good age, having the crowne of gray hayrs, in the way of righteousnesse, Iv yh^a. KoCkco tcoa Tjfkrigrig rajv Kara hov Tj^z^aJv, as Nazianzen sayeth of Athanasius, Orat. 23. Therefore, I make no doubt but that gracious G-OD, who gave him the crowne of so many excellent graces, and 12. The the crowne of Priesthood, wherin His owne finger <^on<=i"sio"- did engrave Holinesse, hath nowe given him tlie crowne of Glorie. Let, therefore, his memorie bee blessed upon earth, as his soule is blessed in heaven : and yee, who were his people, and whose Pastor hee was, remember to follow him, as hee did Christ. This was, and is, his most earnest desire. So shall yee your selves bee crowned with him, and shall bee his crowne in that great day, 1 Thess. ii. 19 — " For what is our hope, or joye, or crowne of rejoyceing ? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His comming V There shall pastors and people meet ; there Saynct Peter shall appeare, and at his backe Judea, converted by him ; and Saynct Paul, leading almost the whole worlde, by him converted. There Andrew shall present before the Judge, Achaia — John, Asia — Thomas, India — converted, as Gregorie speaketh.2 ^ Nazianz. Epist. 37. "Iwa 6v //.it^aifi.iv. [Ed. Clt. SUpra.i ^ Ibi Petnis cum Judea conversa, quam post se traxit apparebit, ibi raulus conversum ut ita dixerim muiidum ducens, ibi Andreas post sc Achaiam, ibi Joannes Asiam, Thonjas Indiam, in conspectum sui judicis conversam ducet. Greg. horn. 17, in Evangel. [Ed. cit. supra.] 168 HOLINESSE TO THE LORD. O that yee may bee with him, in lyke manner with joye, at the right hand of the Judge in that day ! The Lord grant it, for Christ's sake, to whome, with the Father, and blessed Spirit, bee all prayse and glorie, for ever and ever. Amen. m ^^^B ^S ^^^^ ^^^^^w^ ^^ ^ ^S M fc i^ 1 CONSOLATORIE SERMON PREACHED UPON THE DEATH OF THE R. R. FATHER IN GOD, PATRICKE FORBES, LATE BISHOP OF ABERDEEN. By Alexander Rosse,^ Doctor of Divinitie, and Minister of the Evangell in Aberdene, in Saynct Nicolas Church there. Anno 1635, the \5th of Aprill. Dan. xii. 2. And manie of them that sleepe in the dust of the earth shall awake : some to ever-lasting lyfe, and some to shame, and ever-lasting contempt." |T may, perhaps, seem strange that the noyse of my mourning for the death of our late worthie Prelate was not these dayes by-past, with the rest of my reverend colleagues, heard in publicke. This duetie had beene performed ere now, were not Death (fearing that my unap- peased griefe, through sense of my great losse, should have ^ [Dr Ross was one of the "Doctors" who propounded to the Covenanters the celebrated queries {mpra, note, p. 6), and was prevented by sickness from flying with the other Royalists and Churchmen from Aberdeen in 1639 {supra, note, p. 8). " He was the son of James Rosse, minister at Strachan in the Mearns, afterwards in the parish church of St Nicholas in Aberdeen. He himself was, in 1631, translated from the parochial cure of Insch in The Garioch, to the chapel of St Clement, in Futtic, near Aberdeen ; and was, in 1636, preferred to St Nicholas' Church in Aber- deen. He was, says Spalding, ' a learned divyne, weill beloved of his flock and people whyle he was in life, and after he was dead, heavicly 170 A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. made moo to burst out into bitter and tragicke invectives agaynst her, and so have brought you all in hatred with her, as with that which the philosopher saicth is omnium terribilium terrihilissimum — of all thinges that are terrible the most terrible) did arrest mee by her mightie herauld Sicknesse : to the end, that by neare communing with her, I might knowe and impart the same unto you also ; that shoe is not so indeede, as her grieslie lookes doe prsetende : not an enemie to the godlie, as nowe in our mourning shee is holden to be, but a friende : and herefore in your mourning you should bee comforted. For by the death of Christ her nature is changed. " Through death Hee hath destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the Devill ; and delivered them who through the feare of death were all their lyfe tyme subject unto bondage," Hebr. ii. 14, 15. Death is no more death. " I am" (sayeth our Saviour) " the resurrection and the lyfe ; hee that believeth in me, though hee were dead, yet shall hee live. And whosoever liveth, and believeth in mee, shall never die," John xi. 25, 26. By her the godlie are " bound in the bundle of lyfe." She is but the way that " all flesh doeth goe," to put an ende to their regi'etted.' " Hist, of Troub. vol. i. p. 167. He has been sometimes cou- founded with another divine of the same name, Alexander Ross, chaplain in ordinary to King Charles the First, and master of the Free School of Sonthampton, a voluminous writer, who is now perhaps most generally known from the lines of Butler : — * There was an ancient sage philosopher That had read Alexander Ross over. And swore the world, as he cou'd prove, Was made of fightmg and of love.' HuDiBRAS, Part I. Cant. ii. v. 1-4." [Gordon's Scots Affairs, printed for the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, mdcccxli. vol. iii. p. 209, note.] A ludicrous instance of this mistake occurs in Dr Sheriff's Life of Guild. That biographer with much solemnity thus rebukes Butlerfor attacking the worthy clergyman of Aberdeen. "The attack could not possibly be more indelicate, or more personal, I had almost said more malicious. Whatever were the faults of J)r Ross as a w-riter, he was respectable as a man !" — [Life of Guild, j). .39 : Book of Bon Accord, or a Guide to the City of Aberdeen, small 8vo. Aberdeen, mdccoxxxix. — an admirable performance, equally remarkable for learning, taste, and spirit.] No other production of Dr Ross' pen, l)esides thoi)resent sermon, has been preserved. At the Restoration, ParliannMit acknowledged his meiits by granting the sum of one hundnnl and fifty pounds to his relict and children. (Acts of the Parliament of Scotland, Ediu. folio, 1820, vol. iii. App. p. 78).— E.] A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. 171 miseries : Shee looseth them out of prison, " gathereth them to their fathers," maketh them lay downe their tabernacle, and putteth them into a sound sleepe, from whence they shall " bee awakened to ever-lasting lyfe."" But because it were endlesse to showe you all the good we nowe obtayn by Death, I have bounded my selfe within the limites of this text, wherein we have a sweete cordiall for the reliefe of the heart of man from two great evils ; to wit, the ignorance of the nature of death it selfe, and the estate of men after death. Feare not to taste thereof ; for it is prsescrybed by the greatest Doctor in heaven or in earth, God Himselfe, the Soveraygne and onlie Physician both of soule and bodie. The apothecarie by whose hand it was delivered was an angell, who gave it for a strong consolation unto Daniel ; and hee who hath left it unto us for that same use was this same Daniel, mr desideriorum — " a man greatlie beloved of God" — a pen-man of holie Scrip- ture, who spake and writ as he was inspired by the Holie Ghost : and it is of an immortall and never-fading vertue, flowing from the immortall and all-sufficient worth and merit of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That Death, by the ignorance of the true nature thereof doe not dismay you, learne to knowe that it is but a sleepe. That the estate after death doe not dishearten you, learne that it is but a wakening, and such a one as is to lyfe, and such a lyfe as shall have no death — an ever-lasting lyfe — a sweete cordiall indeede, but the comfort contayncd in it doeth not indifferentlie concerne all. All indeede shall sleepe, all shall awake ; but not all to ever-lasting lyfe. The awakening of some shall bee to shame and contempt ; for qiialis vita finis ita — lyke lyfe, lyke ende, lyke awakening : " Who liveth in the Lord, shall die in the Lord ; rest from their laboures, and awake to ever-lasting lyfe." And who liveth in sinne, their ende is destruction, and their awakening is to shame. For this text hath its own both Extent and Restraynt. Extent — all indeede shall " sleepe," all shall " awake." Restraynt — " some to ever-lasting lyfe, some to shame and contempt." There bee some, I knowe, doe not allow to it this just extent, in regard it is saydo onlie manie that sleepe in the dust : For they thinke that all men shall not suffer death. 172 A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. which by sleepe is meant heere ; grounding themselves upon the wordes of the Apostle, 1 Cor. xv. 51 — " Beholde, I showe you a mysterie : wee shall not all sleepe, but wee shall all bee changed," Hee distinguisheth all men unto those who shall bee alyve, and remayne unto the comming of the Lord, and those that shal be asleepe : which dis- tinction iraporteth, that those who then shall bee alyve shall not die, but shall immediatelie, or without anie death interveaning, bee caught up, with the rest of the elect, to meete the Lord in the ayre. Tyme will not serve mee, to speake of this mysterie, as Paull calleth it, at such length as I would : onlie yee shall know, that the ancient Fathers of the Church have bene much divided in their judgments concerning those whom the Lord at his comming to judgement shall find alyve. Chrysostome wryting upon that place, and diverse Greek Fathers following him, have thought that they shall not die, but that they shall bee changed from the estate of mortalitie unto the estate of seternitie. Of this opinion also were some of the Latine Fathers ; in speciall TertuUian and Jerome, and diverse modern wryters, both Papistes, as Cajetane, and some others led by his authoritie, as also Protestants, as Oalvine, and some others following him. But manie have beene, and are yet, of another opinion ; that is, they have believed, or at least thought it more pro- bable, that even those who shall be alyve at the Lord His second comming shall truelie and reallie die, that they may undergoe the common punishment of man-kynde, and shall immediatelie thereafter bee raysed up, or quickened, that they may compeare with the rest unto judgment. Of this opinion were diverse, both of the Greeke Fathers, as Dydi- mus, one of the Doctors of Alexandria, and Acacius, Bishop of Caesarea (as we may perceive by Jerome his Epistle to Minerius, and Alexander, Epist. 152, where the judgement of them both in this particular is related), and Oecumenius in his Commentaries expounding this place ; and also of the Latine Fathers, as the author of the Commentaries upon Paul's Epistles, attributed to Ambrose, in Thes. cap. 4. Augustine, in some places of his Works, as Lib. 20, De Civitate Dei, cap. 20, although in other places lie sceme to encline to the former opinion, as Quaest. 3. ad Dulcetium. A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. 173 (For he was ever doubtfull of this matter, even when he writ his work of Retractions, Lib. 2. Retract, cap. 33.) I could also for this opinion cite diverse of the ancientes, who will have the wordes read — " Wee shall all sleepe, but wee shall not all bee changed." But besides these two readinges of this place (which both were to bee found in the Greeke editions of that age, as Jerome witnesseth in the ende of that Epistle before cited), hee lykewyse telleth us that there was a third most frequent in the Latine editions ; but not at all to bee found in the Greeke copies, to wit — " Wee shall all ryse, but wee shall not all bee changed." Which reading occurreth frequentlie in Augustine's Workes ; and Ruffinus, before him, followed it in the exposition of the Oreede, expounding the article of the Resurrection. I will not take upon mee to define or determine peremp- torilie this question, for I thinke with Lombardus, Lib. 4. Sent.Dist.43, that horum quid verius sit, non est Jmmanijudicii definire — which of these are most agreeable to the trueth, it is not for humane wit to determine. Nor yet will I take holde of that other reading of the Apostle's speech — " Wee shall all sleepe, but wee shall not all bee changed ;" although Acacius affirme, that it was in plurimis Grcecorum codicihus, to bee found in manie Greeke copies, as Jerome relateth of him. I will only declare two thinges unto you, concerning the extent of my text, or the universalitie of Death and Resurrection. The first is — That from this speach of the Apostle, even taking it according to the ordinarie reading of it as it is now in the Greeke copies, nothing can bee infallibly con- cluded to prove that those whom the Lord shall find upon the earth at His second comming shall not taste of death, properlie and truelie so called. For whereas the Apostle sayeth — " Wee shall all sleepe," it may bee verie probablie alleadged, that by sleeping hee understandeth not death itselfe, but the continuance of death ; or to use Oecutnen. his phrase, that the Apostle is speaking TSg/ ^ax,gov '^OLVcirov of a long death, or of a death continued for so long tyme, that the dead bodies may be altered and dissolved into dust. This may, out of all question, bee that they who then shall be living shall not sleepe ; for although they die. 174 A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. yet their death shall not bee as a sleepe, but rather a sudden slumber — a winke, or nod, of one that would sleepe, Neverthelesse, seeing manie interpreters, both ancient and moderne, do expound that speach of Saynt Paull other- wayes, thinking that hee is there speaking of death itselfe, consequentlie, that his speach iinporteth, that some men, and in especiall those who shall bee living at the day of judgement, shall not undergoe or suffer death — therefore my second Assertion is, that the universalitie of death and resurrection is to be understoode, with an exemption of those whom GoD Himselfe, for some speciall or extra- ordinarie causes or respectes, hath exeemed from them. This Peter Martyr observeth, speaking of Henoch and Elias, who for extraordinarie respectes were exeemed by God from death : — " And such," sayeth hee, " will bee the condition of those whom God shall find alyve when he commeth to judgment." Yet albeit of this extraordinarie exemption, it is the ordinarie course of all mankynde to die, according to that of Heb. ix. 27 — " It is appointed for all men once to die." The Jewes, although they allow this just extent of this text in this, that all shall die, yet they denye that all shall awake,! grounding themselves on the wordes. Psalm i. 5 — " Therefore the ungodhe shall not rise in judgment." But for answere to them, first, the reading of this place is wrong ; for the wordes are to bee read thus — " The ungodlie shall not stand in judgment." Secondlie, the text it selfe here refuteth them, for it sayeth, that " some" — meaning the wicked — " shall awake to shame and contempt." And our Saviour, John v. 28, 29 — " The houre is comming, when all that are in the graves shall heare his voyce, and shall come foorth ; they that have done good unto the resuri'ection of lyfe, and they that have done evill unto the resurrection of damnation." That the Extent, then, may be full, the word manie must bee eyther taken distributivelie, referring it to both mem- bers— " Manie shall awake to lyfe, and many to shame ;" so that multl is as much as multitudines duw^ one companie to lyfe, another to shame ; or the word is to bee taken collect- ivelie, not exclusivelie, but extensivelie and univoVsallie, as ^ R. D. Kinihi on tliis place. A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. 175 Rom. V. 18 — " By the offence of one man, the fault came upon all unto condemnation."" And in the next verse following — " Manie were made sinners," whereby it is evi- dent that manie is taken for all. The Restraynt is, that " some onlie shall awake to ever- lasting lyfe and some to shame and contempt." Of this last part, I will speak nothing at this tyme ; but (as Daniel sayde in his exposition of Nebuchadnezar''s dream) let it bee to them who by finall impenitencie " hate the Lord, and the interpretation onelie to his enemies." Wee have onlie here to speake of this text, so farre as it concerneth the godlie. Their death is called a sleepe, and their estate after death a wakening to ever-lasting lyfe. Death in Scripture usuallie is so termed, Deut. xxxi. 16, the Lord speaking to Moses of his death, sayeth — " Beholde, thou shalt sleepe with thy fathers." And our Saviour, Matth. ix. 24 — " The mayd is not dead, but sleepeth." And John xi. 11, " Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I goe that I may awake him out of sleepe." And the Apostle, 1 Thess. iv. 13, 14 — " I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleepe, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope : for if wee believe that Jesus died and rose agayne, so them also which sleepe in Jesus will God bring with Him." This sleepe, doe not thinke that it is of the soule, as some fondlie dreamed, that the soules separated from the bodies were casten into a dead sleepe, and reraaine without all action, untill the generall resurrection ; or that they doe rest a space in the dust with the bodies. Alace ! these men are truelie injurious to the soules of the godlie departed that would eyther denye them all fruition of GoD, or all action, whyle they are separated from the bodie. I affirme not that their happinesse is such, or at such an hight, as it shall bee when the tyme commeth, of which Peter speaketh, 1 Pet. V. 4, that is — " When the chiefe Shepheard shall appeare, and they shall receave a crowne of glorie that fadeth not away." But that they enjoye GoD, and even separated from the bodies they laude and prayse Him, is evident in that vision. Rev. v. 11, 12, where John sayeth hee " behelde, and heard the voyce of manie Angels round about the throne, and the Beasts, and the Elders ; and the 176 A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. number of them was ten thousand tyms ten thousand, and thousandes of thousandes, saying with a loude voyce, Worthie is the Lambe that was slayne to reeeave power, and riches, and wisdome, and strength, and honour, and glorie," &c. And as the Apostle witnesseth, 2 Cor. v. 8, being " absent from the bodie,'' they are " present with the Lord ;" and, Phil. i. 23, his desire was " to depart and to be with Christ." And expresslie Augustine sayeth, lib. xiii. De Civitate Dei, cap. 8. In requie enim sunt aninice piorum a corpore separatee ; impiorum autempcenas luunt, donee istarum ad oeternam vitam, illarum ad wternam mortem^ quce secunda dicitur corpora r&viviscanf. — The soules of the godlie, sayeth hee, being separated from the bodie, are at rest, and the souls of the wicked are punished, until that tyme the bodies of the one bee awakened to seternall lyfe, and the bodies of the other to seternall death, which is called the " second death." The bodies, then, onlie of the godlie doe " sleepe" in the dust of the earth. The souls may have, and have, their owne actions, without commerce with the bodies ; for in that the death of man is called a sleepe, it evidentlie signifieth that the soules of men are not as the souls of other creatures who lose beeing with their bodies, their death being no other than a destruction of both. But as when the bodie sleepeth, the soule will bee then thinking, meditating, and discoursing, so when the bodie is lying asleepe in the grave, the soule then is exercysing its owne heavenlie and spirituall functions. That nowe, then, wee may knowe the nature of the death of the godlie, we have to learne wherefore speciallie it is resembled to sleepe. This appellation it getteth in Scrip- ture, is to testifie what good, what happinesse, the godlie gayne by death. And, to omit manie other resemblances betwixt them, I will show it in this : Even as a man, all the day long wearied with toyle and travell, when the night com- meth, laying aside all traffique of the world, hee uncloatheth himselfe, goeth to bed, willingly yeelding to nature — where the senses, beeing tyed up by sleepe, hee resteth from all his travels, and sense of evill ; by which rest hee is more enabled agaynst his awakening for better cxercyses, as the Poet sayth of it — Pectora duris, Fessa ministeriis mulces, reparasque labori. A CONSOLATORIE SEEMON. IV V So the godlie, when the night of death commeth, or when death approacheth, they lay aside all worldlie thinges, and prepare themselves for it ; with Ezekiah they " set their house in order," knowing that they must die ; they yeeld to the God of nature, saying unto them — " Eeturne, yee chil- dren of men," Psal. xc. 3. They uncloathe their souls, and put off their " earthlie tabernacle." Then their bodies are layde downe in the dust, as in a sweete sleeping bed ; and, as Job sayeth — " As the waters fayle from the sea, and the flood decayeth, and dryeth up ; so man lyeth downe, and ryseth not ; till the heavens bee no more, they shall not awake, nor bee raysed out of their sleepe," Job xiv. 11, 12; w^here they are delivered from all cares, all toyle, and sense of evill, whereunto before they were subject ; and therein they are fitted and prepared for all happinesse. By this resemblance we may perceave, first, that the death of the godlie putteth an ende to all miseries ; for by it wee are delivered both a malo cul'pce and a malo poenoe^ from sinne it selfe, and from the punishment of sinne. After death the godlie doe not sinne anie more. Howe great happinesse this is may be easilie understood by that groan- ing petition uttered by the Apostle, Rom. vii. 24 — " O wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver mee from the bodie of this death V By death they are delivered from it; for " hee that is dead is freed from sin," Rom. vi. 7 ; and " delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious libertie of the sonnes of God," Rom. viii. 21. Yea, from all occasions and temptations to sinne. Desiit peccare, desiit jactari, desiit miser esse; he ceasseth to sinne, or to be tossed with anie winde of temptation to sinne. In a word, hee ceasseth to bee miserable, and therefore I sayde also that hee is freed a malo poenw. In this lyfe, " Man that is borne of a woman is of few dayes, and full of trouble," Job xiv. 1. And Salomon acknowledgeth that " there is nothing under the sunne, but trouble and vexation of spii'it," The bodie of man is morhorum seminarium, a seed-plot of all dis- eases. No sooner, yea, before wee begin to bee borne, wee begin to bee sicke : Qitis ille qui non wgroiat in hac vita. Quis non longum languorem trahit? nasci hie in corpore mortali incipere, cegrotare est. Aug. in Psal. cii. ante med. Who is hee (sayeth hee) that is not sicke in this lyfe ? 12 178 " A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. AVlio is hee that languisheth not ? To begin to bee borne in this mortall bodie is to bee sicke. The mynde and soule of man is subject unto griefe and anguish, which is an intollerable miserie : David compareth it to arrowes, Psal. xxxviii. 2 — ■" For thyne arrowes sticke fast in mee, and thy hand presseth me sore." Consonant whereunto is that of Job, chap. xvi. 13 — " His archers compasse me round about : hee cleaveth my reynes asunder, and dooth not spare." "And a wounded spirit," sayd Salomon, " who can beare 'f The sense of it made Christ himselfe say, " My soule is exceed- ing sorrowful, even unto death," ]\latth. xxvi. 38. The estate of man is subject to povertie and want : a grievous punishment ; for ridiculos homines fac it ; the poore are the object of mockerie. Salomon sayeth, Prov. xiv. 20 — " The poore is hated even of his owne neyghbour." And Prov. xix. 7 — "All the brethren of the poore doe hate him ; howe much more doe his friendes goe farre from him ? Hee persueth them with wordes, yet they are wanting to him." The name of man is subject to shame and contempt ; which even evill men abhorre more than death. Saul did rather choose to fall on his owne sworde than to bee matter of sporte to his enemies. The wicked at the day of judgement, ere they endured the indignitie of this evill, would rather that hills and mountayns should fall upon them. Yea, besides to howe manie miseries daylie is man lyable, to hunger, thirst, heate, colde, inaccommodation in dwelling, much travell, vaine hopes, &c. ; howe manie are his private crosses, his publicke calamities and evils which wee bring upon our selves, injuries done to us by others ? Yet when death commeth, it freeth us of all these. By " death wee lye still and are quyet ; wee sleepe and are at rest," Job iii. 13. And, " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord : they rest from their laboures," Rev. xiv. 13. Before death come there can bee no perfect freedome from these evils : for, as Bernard speaketh, " Liberatio plena atque perfecta ante diem sepulturw esse non poterit, quod ma neat jugum grave super jfilios Adam, a die exitus de ventre mat r is ipsorum, usque in diem sepulturw in matrem omnium. In liac ergo die eripiam eum (nempe^ justumj inquit, quando nihil jam ultra vel quod corpori, vel quod animw /aciat,mundus hahehit^ Bern. Serm. 16. in Psal. xc. " A full and a perfect freedome before the A CONSOLATORIE SEilMOX. 179 day of our buriall there can not bee ; for there is a heavie yoake layde upon the sonnes of Adam, even from the tyme they came out of their mother's womb, untill the day of their buriall, when they are receaved into the bowels of their common mother." " Then," (sayeth the Lord), " in that day I will deliver the just man ; when the world hath nothino; more to doe eyther with his bodie or with his soule." Whereunto consonant are the vvordes of Isidorus, cited by Bernard — " 0 mors, quam dulcis es miseris ! quam suavis es amare v'wentilus ! quamjucunda es tristibus, atque lugentibusP'' — O Death, how sweet art thou to them that are in miserie ! how pleasant to those who live in bitterness ! how delectable to the sad and mournfull ! For truelie of death wee may say, " Pon'it finem omnibus mails in hac vita ; dat ierminum mails in hoc sceculo ; adimit omnem calamiiatem. Mors prmbet terminum hominibus, in tribulationibics in hoc mibudoT It putteth, sayeth hee, an ende to all evils in this lyfe, a period to all miseries that fall out in this tyme ; it taketh away all calamitie, and maketh an ende to all troubles which befall men in this lyfe. Hee doetli therefore heereupon conclude — " Sed heu exijectata mors tarde venitr But alace, sayeth hee, long looked-for and much-desired death, commeth slowlie ! No marvell a Christian sayde so, since Cicero, an Ethnicke, Lib, i. Tusc. quest., could say — " Pro dii immor- tales, quam illud vere jucundiim hominibus esse debet, quo con- fecto, nidla reliqua cura, mdla solicitiido futura sit /" That is, O you immortall gods, how sweet and pleasant should that bee to men, which once being brought to passe, there shall bee no more care, nor anxietie ! The next happiness included in this, that it is called a sleep, is, that heereby wee are fitted and prepared for heavenlie happinesse. By death there is a preparation made for our change to the enjoying of seternall felicitie, whence it is called by Bernard — " Janua vitce, initium refrigerii, sancti montis scala, et ingressus in locum tabernaculi admirabilis, quod Jixit Dotninus, et non homo^ Bern. Serm. on the 19th verse of the 5th chapter of Job — " The door of lyfe, the beginning of our refreshing, the ladder whereby wee goe up to the holie mountayne, an entrie into the place of that admirable Tabernacle, which the Lord Himselfe made, and not man." 180 A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. What sleepe, then, is lyke to this sleepe ? and what sleepe more to bee desired than it, were it not that the bed wherein it is enjoyed, seeraeth to lessen all the former happinesse, for it is sayde by the angell — " They sleepe in the dust of the earth." The rememberance indeede of this bed wherein man must take his last sleep, doeth teach man humilitie and sobrietie, since as he was made of the dust, to dust he must returne againe. The grave must be his house, and he must make his bed in darknesse. " He must say to corruption, thou art my father ; to the worme, thou art my mother and my sister," Job xvii. 13, 14. Yet it doeth nothing derogate from the happinesse of death ; for, first, albeit it seeme base to lie in the dust of the earth, yet it is the common and onlie recept appoynted by God, to receave our bodies in our passage to heaven. Neyther is there anie other place for our bodilie rest alotted, untill our finall awakening : " Dust (sayeth the Lord) thou art, and to dust thou shalt returne," Gren. iii. 19. And therefore, Qiiis quceri potest se in ea conditione esse, in qua nemo non est ? Sen, Epist. 30. " Who can complayne of that estate, wherein all men are alike with him ?" Next, of all beds a man can lye downe into, it is the most kyndlie bed, for the earth is mater omnium nostrum. And when wee are layde downe in it, wee are but in the bosome of our common mother, who will bring us foorth agayne into another worlde ; in regarde whereof the resurrection is called YloCkiyyznGK/j regeneration, Matth. xix. 28. Thirdlie, It is of all beds the onlie bed of rest, wherein man most securelie sleepeth. Of all other beds, everie man, in some sort, may complayne with Job — " AVhen I say, my bed shall comfort mee, my couch shall ease my complaynt ; then thou scarrest mee with dreames, and temfiest mee through visions," Job vii. 13, 14. For " groat travell is created for everie man, and an hcavie yoke is upon the sonnes of Adam, from the day that they goe out of their mother\s wombe, till the day that they returne to the mother of all thinges," Eccl. xl. 1. No quyet anie where in the interveaning tymc ; but then they shall enter into their peace : " thoy shall rest in their beds," Isai. Ivii. 2. Fourthlio, It is a bed perfumed with the most costlio perfume in the worlde. Wee reade, Prov. vii. 17, that the A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. 181 harlot had " perfumed her bed with myrrhe, aloes, and cynamon ;" but it was a " bed of whoredome and wicked- nesse." This bed is a bed of holinesse, sanctified by the buriall of Christ Jesus. For as Hee died on the crosse for us, so lykewyse Hee would be buried, that by the touch of his most holie flesh, our buriall might be sanctified. Fiftlie, It is of all sortes of beds most honourable ; herefore it is written of Cyrus, in Zenophon, that hee sayd to his sonnes — " AVhen I am dead, lay not my bodie in golde, nor silver, or anie thing else ; but, with all haste, lay it down in the earth. For what is more blessed, than to bee mixt therewith, which not onlie breedeth all good and pleasant thinges, but also nowrisheth and cherisheth the same V And, lastlie, The second comfort in this text suddenlie ensuing taketli away all matter of disheartening ; for they shall not lye in the dust for ever. For, as one sayetli well — " £Jst somnus quidem diuturnior solito, non diutius tamen, quam ad Chrisii novissimmn advenfum duraturus ,•" that is, it is a sleepe longer than other ordinarie sleepes, yet not to last longer than the second comming of Christ Jesus. For they shall bee awakened to enjoye an happier estate, even ever-lasting lyfe. The knowledge of this estate after death, and long sleepe, wherein the bodies doe lye, it bringeth, without all mixture of sorrow, unexpressable comfort. First, that man shall be awakened out of this long sleepe ; heere is a singular comfort : but to bee awakened to everlasting lyfe, it is the hight of all comfortes. " Shall awake to everlasting lyfe ;" this is all one with this, " their bodies shall bee raysed againe out of their graves ; and after they are united with their soules, shall obtayne everlasting lyfe." This doctrine of the resurrection of bodies is onlie revealed in the word of GoD. It is to all those who have not learned it herefra, as it was to the Athenians, mockerie. Acts xvii. 32. And yet it is the onlie ground of our comfort ; " for if in this lyfe onlie wee had hope in Christ, wee were of all men most miserable," 1 Cor. XV. 19. It is that which giveth us confidence and hope ; for " Besurreciio mortuorum, est/tduciaChristianorum,''' sayeth Tertul. de Resur. Carnis. It is an speciall article of oin- fayth, which wee must holde undenyable against all 182 A CONSOLATORIE SERMOK, such wicked hereticks, who would denye the same; wickedlie thinking, that the bodies being resolved into their first principles, shall lye without hope of restoreing to lyfe. Or if there bee any bodies at all glorified, they shall not be the same which were layde in the grave, but some other made of the ayre, or such lyke thing — an impious hcresie — most manifestlie against infinite testimonies of Scripture, whereof this is one most evident. Wherefore, Augustine, Lib. 20, de Civit. Dei, cap. 23, showeth it to bee the same with that of our Saviour, John v. 28, 29. For those whom the angell sayeth that " they sleepe in the dust," are sayd by our Saviour to " bee in the graves." And what is to the angell — " They shall awake;" it is to Christ — " They shall heare the voyce of the Sonne of man, and come foorth." The angell sayeth — " Some to everlasting lyfe, some to shame and contempt ;" our Saviour sayeth — " Who have done good, unto the resurrection of lyfe, and who have done evill, unto the resurrection of damnation." So clearlie consonant, that our Saviour's wordes are a plaine exposition of the angel's. Tertullian most learnedlie in his booke " De Resurrectione Carnis," refuteth this heresie ; and the learned after him have done it most fullie. As for that they object that the bodie being a base, vyle, contemptible, and corrupted thing, how can it bee awakened to glorie l they should have considered, that albeit in matter it be base, yet it is made wonderfuUie honourable. By GoD Himselfe was man created to bee immortall : and Hee made him an image of His owne feternitie. And Christ Jesus, now incarnate, hath honoured us with this, that we are " members of His bodie, of His flesh, and of His bones," Ephes. v. 30. And by the glorifi- cation of His bodie, our bodies. His members, are alrcadie begun to be glorified. And that Hee might " present us unto Himselfe glorious," hath cleansed our bodies by " the washing of regeneration," and made '' them temples of the Holy Ghost :" and wee are fed by the bodie and blood of Jksus Christ, to the ccrtayno hope of this resurrection, according as our Saviour sayeth, John vi. 54 — " Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternall lyfe, and I will rayso him up at the last day." And as that father well marketh — " Non possunt separari in mercede, quos A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. 183 opera conjungit ;" For who worketh together in justice, should be rewarded together. In this poynt I raarvell much how they dare derogate from the power of CloD : for Hee who made man first of nothing, what can hinder Him againe now to make him up of some thing ? " For Hee that calleth things which are not, as though they were," Rom. iv. 17, how easihe may Hee call backe those thinges that were, and quicken the dead ? For what although the bodies bee burnt in ashes, bee devoured of beasts, eaten of fowles or fishes ? For TertuUian answering to this, sayetli — '"''Hahet et caro suos sinus interim,in aquis, in igoiibus, in alitihus et hestiis!''' The flesh also hath her own receptacles in the meane tyme in the waters, in the fyre, in the fowles and beasts. Cum in Time dissohi videtur, veliit in vasa diffmiditur. And when in these it is dissolved, it is powred in as it were in vessels. Si etiam ipsa vasa de/ecerint, cum de illis quoque defluxerit in suam matricem terram, quasi per ambages resorheiur, ut rursus ex ilia reprw- setitetur. And if (saycth hee) these vessels fayle, and it flowe out thereof, by turning againe, it is drunken in into the earth, and out of it, it may bee refounded againe, according to that which is wrytten, Revel, xx. 13 — " And the sea gave up the dead which were in it ; and death and the grave delyvered up the dead that were in them : and they were judged everie man according to his workes." Showing whatsoever kynde of death they died, they must all aryse and give presence at judgement. Knoweth not the Lord by His infinite wisdome where the smallest part of the dust, wherein their bodies are dissolved, lyeth : and by His infinite power is Hee not able to collect them altogether : shall wee denye Him that skill a master of familie hath in his owne house, or a gold-smith in his shop, who can readilie bring everie thing out of its owne place, and as they ought, in a perfect manner, put them together ? This power of God is evidentlie witnessed in the Phaenix,! ^ Dyverse of the ancients, and in speciall TertuUian, in his book " De Resurrections Carnis," cap. 13, doe bring the phosnix as an argument of the resurrection ; eyther because they thought tlic storie of tlie generation of this fowle to be undoubtedlie true, or else because they knewe that it was univcrsallie believed, which was suihcient for their purjiose. [C'pera Q. Septhnii Florentis Tertulliani Carthagiuiensis. Fol. liasilcio 153!), p. 54. De Resur. Carnis Liber, cap. !().] 184 A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. who albeit burnt in ashes, retumeth to lyfe : in the flees and wormes, dead in winter, reviving againe in summer ; in the day buried in the night, the nixt day returning. And to affirme that those bodies which shall bee glorified with the soule shall not bee the same bodies which were layde asleepe, it is to deny the resurrection. For who can call that a resurrection ? that is, a raysing up of that bodie which was fallen, a wakening of that which was asleepe. It were meerlie ridiculous, as the strength of the former argumentes evidentlie evinceth. Wherefore, we must undoubtedly holde with Tertullian, that resurget caro, et quidem omnis, quldem ipsa., et quidem integra. In deposito est uhicunque apud Deum per Jidelisshnum sequestrem Dei et hominum, Jesum Christum^ qui et homini Deum, et hominem Deo reddet, carni spiritum, et sp>iritui carnem : that is, the flesh shall aryse, and all flesh, that selfe-same flesh, whole, and in its integritie. For, where ever it be, it is in sure keeping with GoD, through that faythfull JNIediator betwixt God and man, Christ Jesus ; who will restore God to man, and man to God ; the spirit to the flesh, and the flesh to the spirit. The same bodies, then, which were layde asleepe in the grave shall bee awakened, and that by the ministerie indeede of the holy angels, who are ministring spirits for the good of the elect ; but efficiently it shal bee by the voyce of Jesus Christ, as Hee testifieth of Himselfe — " Yerilie, verilie, I say unto you, the houre is comming, and now is, when the dead shall heare the voyce of the Sonne of God ; and they that heare it shall live," John v. 25. Hee is their Head, and therefore will awake His owne members to the participation of His owne glorie. Hee is their King, and will therefore call on them to share of the happincsse of His kingdome, and to give them a full and finall evidence, that " death is swallowed up into victorie." Hee will declare by His voyce what vertuo is in Him, to quicken them ; and will possess them with that, which is the ende of their awakening, even everlasting lyfo. This is that happie estate which the godlie both in their soules and bodies shall enjoy at the last day. Happie, I say, because of lyfe, but more happie, because ajternall. The happincsse of this estate the wit of man can not conceave ; A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. 185 no tongue can expresse it, for no eye of man hath sene it, no eare heard it, nor have entered into the heart of man, the thinges which GoD hath prepared for them that love him, 1 Cor. ii. 9. And Gregorie speaking hereof sayeth — " Cum homo mortalis de ceterna gloria disserit, cwcus de luce disputat ,-" that is, When as a mortall man reasoneth of seternall glorie, it is as a bhnde man discerning coloures. Yet because such is the eagernesse of man's desire to knowe somewhat of that estate, and such unspeakable contentment it bringeth to the heartes of the godlie, which have the least glimpse of it ; therefore the Spirit of GoD in Scripture hath not left us in this comfortlesse, but is content to expresse it in some sort, that at least afarre off wee may see that which one day wee shall enjoye. Hee telleth us, " that that lyfe is a lyfe of all brightnesse, joye, felicitie, and glorie ; that therein wee shall get a kingdome, an inheri- tance uncorruptible, undefyled, that fadeth not away," 1. Pet. i. 4. "A crowne of righteousnesse," 2. Tim. iv. 8. '' A crowne of lyfe, a crowne of glorie,"" 1. Pet. v. 4. " An exceeding seternall weyght of glorie," 2. Cor. iv. 17. " That there shall bee glorie, honour, and peace, to everie man that worketh good," Rom. ii. 10. The bodies shall have their glorie : " For wee looke," (sayeth the Apostle) " for the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vyle bodie, that it may bee fashioned lyke unto His glorious bodie, according to the working whereby He is able to subdue all thinges to Himselfe," Phil. iii. 21. " That bodie which was so\ven in corruption shall be raysed in incorrup- tion : that which is sowen in dishonour shall be raysed in glorie : and that which is sowne in weaknesse shall bee raysed in power : and what is sowen a naturall bodie shall be raysed a spirituall bodie," 1 Cor. xv. 42, 43, 44. Where- upon it is that the schoole-men gather four speciall Endue- mentes, wherewith the bodie, as with a most gorgeous robe, shall be glorified. It shall be impassible, glorious, agile, and spirituall ; suffering no corruption, shyning in bright- nesse, as the starres in the firmament, with all readinesse and pleasure doing what the soule shall command ; free from all animall employraentes, as eating, drinking, begetting of children ; " neyther marrying, nor giving in marriage, but sequall with the angels of God," Luke xx. 3G. The 18G A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. soules agayne shall be in perfect happinesse, in regarde of their cleare vision of GoD. " Heere wee see Him but darklie, as it were in a glasse, but there wee shall see Him face to face. Now we know but in part, but there wee shall know, even as wee are knowne," 1 Cor. xiii. 12, And next, in regarde of their fruition of GoD — " For the Lambe which is in the middest of the Throne shall feede them, and leade them to the fountaynes of living waters ; and GoD shall wype away all tears from their eyes," Rev. vii. 17. And thirdlie, in regarde of their perfect love of GoD. Yea, in a word, man in that estate enjoying GoD, shall participate of that same happinesse wherewith God Himselfe is happie. For as the happinesse of God consisteth in the vision or contemplation of His owne essence, so our happinesse shall stand in the viewing of the essence of GoD : or, which is all one, in beholding of the glorious and amiable countenance of that Lord, " in whose presence there is fulnesse of joye, and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Wherefore I may saye with Bernard — " Et quis non illic hahitare vehementer desideret et propter pacem^ et propter amcenitatem^ et propter oeternitatem, et propter Dei msionem .^" that is, and who will not earnestlie desire to dwell there, for the peace, the pleasure, the seternitie, and the sight of God there ? Having thus shortlie run through this Consolatorie Text, the doctrine whereof, as it is at all tymes, so nowe moste necessarie, when your heartes are fraughted with griefe, for the death of our late Venerable Prelate, of whome albeit much hath been worthilie spoken, yet it is impossible for us (not beeing of cequall worth with himselfe) to speake according to his worth — " Vt enim de pictore, sculptore, Jictore, nisi artifex judicare, ita nisi sapiens, non potest, perspicere sapientem,'''' Plin. Sec. Lib. I. Epist. 10. Onlie a wyse man (sayth hee) can fullie observe a wyse man : and hee must bee of sequall worth who can remarke in the worthie what is worthie to bee observed. Therefore T resolved to cover his prayses with silence, and now onlic comfort you agaynst his death. IJut fearing, if too suddenlie I did stop the current of your griefe, it should rather over-flow nor cease, T can not A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. 187 but give you this vent, and with you acknowledge, that great is the losse which both Church and pohcie doeth sustayne, beeing deprived of him ; for justhe may that testimonie of prayse bee given him which the wyse man giveth to David, Eccl. xlvii. 2 — " As is the fat taken away from the peace-offering, so was David chosen out of the children of Israel." For albeit all the peace-offering amongst the Israelites was by a special law consecrated unto the Lord, yet onlie the fat would the Lord have given unto Himselfe, as the speciall, chiefe, and best part. So albeit all the people of Israeli were holie unto the Lord, yet David, in comparison with them, was as the fat of the sacrifice, above others chosen of God, and delectable unto Him. So may I say of our worthy Prelate — " As the fat taken away from the peace-offering ;" so hee, a man full of fat — that is, of choyce and excellent giftes, was speciallie chosen out by God to bee consecrated to His glorie, in the good of His Church and Commonwealth heere. For hee testified in all the actes of his lyfe that " the grace of GoD had appeared unto him, and taught him to denye all ungodlinesse and worldlie lustes," and to live " godlie, righteouslie, and soberlie,'" in this present worlde ; still seeking for that " blessed hope, and glorious appearance of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." And in particular, in the actes of his priestlie or ministe- riall calling, hee did testifie that hee was a chosen vessel unto "•' Christ, to carrie His name." For hee was " a worke-man who needed not to bee ashamed ; rightlie hee could divide the Word of Trueth, fled youthfull lustes, and did followe righteousnesse, fayth, charitie, and peace, with them that call on the Lord with a pure heart," &c. In the actes of his prelacie hee ky thed that the Lord had separated him for this worke as a man fit to rule. For hee was one that did " rule his owne spirit ;" and so, in Salomon's esteeme, " better than one that taketh a citie," Prov. xvi. 32. In which charge, as you have heard, hee worthilie did discharge himselfe ; provyding for seminaries of learning, and nowrishment for seede to grow therein. In these seminaries the youth, as pleasant plantes, did abun- dantlie spring up in his tyme, and he, after due tryall of their worth, planted them in the Lord's vineyard, yea, after 188 A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. hee had planted them, hee transplanted some of them from one part of it to another. For, as a wyse master gardner, sometimes hoc plucked fuUie up unprofitable trees out of their places that they should not trouble the ground anie more ; sometymes, according to the nature of the soyle, and the worth of the plantes, hee did transplant them that profitable trees might have profitable rowmes. And above all, hee had a care that the pestilent weedes of hseresie and schism should neyther abyde nor enter therein ; that almost heere, by his meanes, hee hath plucked up Popish superstition by the rootes. And in the actes of policie, as a Statesman, hee did evidentlie declare that our mightie Prince did choose him out, according to the wysecounsell of Jethroto Moses, " for an able man, one that feared God, loved the trueth, and hated covetousnesse," Exod. xviii.21. And so hee discharged himselfe in all employmentes of that kynde, that with Job hee might have sayde of himselfe, that hee was in such admiration amongst the Princes and Nobles, that " when hee spake they refrayned talking, and layd their hand on their mouth : they held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roofe of their mouth,*"' Job xxix. 0, 10. That such a man is taken away, it cannot bee denyed but that it prtesageth some heavie judgement upon this land ; and that the rather as Esay in the lyke case complayneth, because " the righteous perish, and no man layeth it to heart ; and mercifull men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evill to come." Esay Ivii. 1. Oh, if men would consider howe that such men are both lightes and pillars where they live, and what respect the Lord hath unto them, and howe from tyme to tyme Hee hath wonderfullie spared others for their sakes ; how all Israeli was spared for one Moses, and howe Hee would have spared Sodom and Gomorrah if there had been ten righteous men therein, Gen. xviii.; and how that the angell could not doe anie thing agaynst them untill Lot did escape to the mountaynes. The consideration of this would make them to take to heart the death of the righteous, and in tyme by repentance prsevent these judgementes which seem to ensue. This is the speciall use should bee made of our Prelate's A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. loD death, and not, as we are all doing, mourne or vveepe for him. For, knowing the happie estate wherein hee is, wee have matter to rejoyce and bee glad. His soule is convoyed to the bosom of Abraham, wherein the glorious companie of angels and blessed say nets, hee is pray sing the Lord. His bodie, nowe resting from manie toylesome travelles, is layde in a sound sleepe, out of which one day, by the sweete voyce of his Saviour Christ Jesus, it shall be awakened : and when Hee shall come in glorie, Hee will then bring him both in soule and bodic to glorie with Him : and then, with other wyse men, " hee shall shyne as the brightnesse in the firmament ;" and because " hee hath turned manie unto righteousnesse, as a starre for everand ever," Dan. xii.3. Wherefore should wee then mourne for him ? For as Bernard sayeth — "Pro defunciisfidelihusnon dehenms plorare ; sed Deo gratias agere^ quia eos de miseria hujus seculi dignatus est liberare, et eos ad loca refrigerii, lucis, ef pads, sicut credimus, fecit transire :'''' that is, wee ought not to mourne for the faithfull that are dead, but give thankes to God for them, who hath vouchsafed to delyver them out of the miseries of this lyfe, and as wee are perswaded, hath made them to flit unto the places of refreshment, light, and peace. And I am assured, if hee were now speaking to you, hee would tell you of his happinesse ; that hee " resteth now from his laboures, and that his workes have followed him." So that if wee mourne nowe, wee may hurt our selves, but not profite him. Let those onlie carnallie mourne for their friends that are ignorant of the nature of death, and denye the resurrection. But let us rejoyce who knowe they are asleepe, and shall bee awakened to everlasting lyfe. First, then, you worthy citizens, cease now, and leave off your mourning for your reverend Prelate : bee no more lyke Rachel, who " wept for her children and would not bee comforted ; nor with Joasli, weeping over the face of Elisha, and crying, " O my father ; the chariot of Israeli and the horsemen thereof." Albeit I must yeelde this much to your griefe, that being depryved of him you have these concurring judgementes : There is taken from you " the judge and the prophet, the prudent and the ancient, the honourable man and the counsellor, the eloquent orator," Esai. iii. 2, 3. Therefore I cannot better speake unto you 190 A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. than in the wordes of our Saviour to the women who followed him to the place of his sufferinges — " Weepe not for mee, but weepe for your selves, O yee daughters of Jerusalem." So you have no matter to weepe for him but onlie for your selves. Weepe, that when you had him, you made not a good use of him — that you did not obey his doctrine, follow his counsels ; and yet in this hee hath not left you comfortlesse, for more carefuUie he hath provyded pastores for your instruction nor ever anie that went before him : whose doctrine, if you hearken unto and obey, when death (which may bee shortlie) shall sease upon you, and yee shall bee gathered unto him, with comfort you shall see him, and say — " Heere is hee that turned us unto righteous- nesse ;" and at the sight of you joyfullie shall hee say — " Lord, loe, heere am I, and the children which thou hast given mee," Heb. ii. 13. Next, you, my reverend colleagues, his much respected presbyters, why continue you your mourning, lyke orphanes destitute of a father? you are not ignorant as these who have not hope. Remember you not how carefull hee was not to leave you comfortlesse ? what testimonies at his death had we of his love ? did hee not shortlie before his death communicate with us alone in the holie Sacrament of the blessed bodie and blood of Christ Jesus, which was the last testimonie of Christ his owne love to his disciples ? When Elijah was to bee rapt up into the Heavens, being desyrcd of Elisha, saying, " I pray thee let a double portion of thy spirit bee upon mee." It seemed hard this petition to Elijah ; yet how gladlie did our Elijah, when wee Elisha-lyke, on bowed knees, did begge his blessing, answere us, with his hand on everie one of our heades, saying, " The Lord blesse you, and double his grace and love to you, that ever Hee granted unto mee." What can wee but hope for vertue from that hand, as Elisha receaved vertue from the cloake of Elijah? Remember that storie rogistrated by Ambrose, de off. lib. 1. cap. 41. of Sixtus Bishop of Rome, and Laurens his deacon, who seeing his Bishop going to martyrdome, weeping, said — " Quo progredierls sine fdio pater? Quo sacerdos sine diacono properas ? nunquam sacrificium sine ministro offerre consueveras ? quid in me displicuif jxifer? num degenerem prohasti ? experire certe utrum idoneum mini strum A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. 101 elegeris, cui commisisii Dominici sanguinis dispensationem, cui consummandorum ; consortium sacranientorum : huic con- sortium sanguinis \tm'\ negas,'" iS^-cA That is, father, whither doest thou goe without thy sonne I 0 thou my priest, whither hastenest thou without mee thy deacon ? it was not hitherto thy custome to offer sacrifice without thy helper ? what is there in mee nowe that displeased thee I hast thou found mee faynte hearted I essay mee yet whether or no thou madest choice of a fit helper for thee, to whom thou diddest commit the dispensation of Christ's blood, and whose societie thou refusedst not in performing the holie sacramentes ; why wilt thou denye his fellowship in shedding of his blood with thee? To whom Sixtus replyed — " Non ego te, Jill, derelinquo aut desero, sed majora tibi dehentur ceriamina, nos quasi senes levioris pugnw cursum recepimus ; te quasi juvenem manet gloriosior de tyranno iriumpJms : mox venies, jiere desiste, post triduum me sequeris .•" that is, O my sonne, I doe not utterlie forsake thee, there are greater conflictes abyding thee, wee as olde men have undergon lesser skirmisses : to thee, as to a young man, abydeth over this tyrant a more glorious triumph. Thou shalt come shortlie, cease there- fore to weepe : for within three dayes thou shalt follow mee. How often in lyke manner before his departure did hee thus comfort us I yea, if hee were nowe speaking to you, would hee not say ? I doe not leave you succourlesse ; but as I have foughten cowragiouslie my fight, so follow my example : the tyme you have to abyde behinde mee is but short : your victorie shall be great, and your triumph glorious : and where I am as a starre in the firmament, you also shall bee there as brightnesse, shyning with mee in glorie. And as for you, his kinsmen and friends, let the dayes of your mourning and weeping have an ende ; Non amisistis, sed p>rwmisistis, you have not lost him, hee is but gone before you. You had his travelles while hee lived : let him now enjoy his rest, the ende of his travelles. I may say to you as Calvine, in a case not unlyke this, sayde to a 1 [D. Ambrosii Opera. Fol. BasiU-:e, 1567, p. 26.] 192 A CONSOLATORIE SERMON. friend — " Ideo Deus sustulit, quia et illi e niiindo emigrare, et Jiac orhitate vel te humiliarl, vel tuam patietitiam prolari utile eratr — Epist. 19.i God therefore tooke him away, because to him to flit out of this worhl, and to you by lacke of him, your parent, eyther to humble you or to trye your patience, it was always profitable. Neyther hath hee left you comfortlesse : for there bee few of you but enjoyeth some reall testimonies of his love and favour. For never was anie parent more affectionate to his children than he to his respected friends. You have also in his place a Sonne worthie of such a father, in vertue and pietie tracing his steppes : whom, if you duelie honour, his worth and affection shall supplie much the losse of such a father. And lastlie, let us all not onlie cease to mourne for him, but also cease to fret at death, since such utilitie shee bringeth to the godlie, and let our murmuring against death bee turned to an endeavouring to live a godlie lyfe, that living well wee may die well. For hona mors justi propter requiem, melior propter nomtatem, optima propter securitatem, : the death of the just man is good for his enjoyed rest, better for his newenesse of lyfe, and best of all for that safetie and securitie hee is put into. The Lord then grant that wee all may live the lyfe of the righteous, whereby we may die the death of the righteous ; that sleeping with them in the dust of the earth, with them also wee may bee awakened to everlasting lyfe, through Jesus Christ. Amen. 1 [Opera Omnia Fol. Arnst. 1667-1671.] SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, WITH SOME OTHER MONUMENTS, CONCERNING THE GODLIE ENTRIE OF PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE, TO THE BISHOPRICKE OF ABERDENE,! AND HAPPIE GOVERNMENT, AND BLESSED DEPARTURE TO C(ELESTIALL JOYE. LETTER OF KING JAMES, OF GLORIOUS MEMORIE, KING OF GREAT BRITANE, FRANCE, AND IRELAND, &c., TO THE ARCH- BISHOPS AND BISHOPS OF SCOTLAND. James Rex. IGHT Reverend Fathers in God, Right Trustie and Well-beloved Counsellours, and Reverend Fathers in GoD, our Trustie and Well-Beloved, Wee greet you well : — The Bishopricke of Aberdene beeing now voyde, by decease of the late Bishop, and wee being ^ [Some Account of the Diocese and Cathedral of Aberdeen may be here appropriately introduced. The following is condensed from the Work of Mr Kennedy. [Annalsof Aberdeen, 2 vols. 4to. London, 1818]:— 13 194 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. sufficientlie perswaded, as well of the learning, gravitie, wisdome, and true godlinesse, of Patrick Forbes of " The Episcopal see of Aberdeen, according to the account of Boecius, in his lives of the Bishops, as Avell as that of Archbishop Spottiswood, was originally founded by Malcolm II. at ilortlach, where he erected a church and a monastery, as a monument to perpetuate the memory of a signal victory which he obtained over the Danes, near that place, about the year 1010. Although, however, it may be certain that such a religious house was there established, and that INIortlach became the seat of the prelate, it is more than probal)le that the bishopric was not instituted till the reign of David I. when Nectanus was appointed, about the year 1136, bishop of the diocese of Aberdeen, which comprehended almost the whole territory situated betwixt the rivers Dee and Spey. The college of canons was founded by Bishop Edward, the successor of Nectanus, about the year 1157, in consequence of a bull from Pope Adrian, dated August lOtli of that year ; but the institutions which were at that time established seem to have been lost at an early period. They were, however, renewed in the year 1256, under the authority of a bull from Pope Innocent IV., by Bishop Peter Ramsay, who ordained the college of the cathedral to consist of twelve prebendaries, besides the prelate. Some of these he appointed dignitaries, and assigned to all of them diiferent benefices, according to their respective ranks and situations in the chapter. At the same time he allotted to each of them a lodging, a glebe, and a garden, in the chanonrie. The Bishop himself was parson of the parish of Saint Nicholas, Aberdeen, and the dignitaries were — The rector of the church of Kirktown of Seaton, who was dean of the chapter. The parson of Auchterless was precentor, or chanter of the cathedral. The parson of Birse, chancellor. The parson of Daviot, treasurer. The parson of Raine, archdeacon. The other prebendaries at that time ordained were— The parsons of Belhelvie, Mortlach, Oyne, Invercruden, Clatt, Banchory Devenick, Deer. There were also minor canons, or vicars choral, a sacrist, and four singing boys belonging to the institution. The diocese comprehended within its ecclesiastical jurisdiction the whole county of Aberdeen, excepting six parishes in the diN^sion of Strathbogie, but it included twelve parishes of Banffshire, and four parishes in the county of Kincardine. Within these territories there were situated five royal boroughs, and seven royal castles. Before the Reformation the diocese contained two cathedral churches, one city, two episcopal palaces, three episcopal manors, ten religious houses, three collegiate churches, one collegiate chapel, one University, one grammar school, and was di^^ded into five deanries. Previous to the institution of deanries, the diocese was formed ecclesiastically into two distinct divisions ; one of which consisted of the churches, (in ecclcsia, as it was termed), belonging to the cathedral, and composing the chapter ; and the other, of those churches which were not annexed to it, or extra ccclesiam. Some time previous to the Reformation, the diocese was ecclesiasti- cally divided into five doauries, namely Garioch, Mar, Aberdeen, Buchan, and Boyne. CONCEENING PATRICKE FOEBES OF CORSE. 195 Corse, enhabling him cluelie to exercise and discharge the caUing of a Bishop, as of the great and earnest desire of " The first royal grant to this venerable foundation seems to have been from David I. who bestowed iipon it considerable lands, salmon fishings, and revenues within the diocese ; and to these Malcolm IV. made great additions. About the year 1238, Duncan, Earl of Mar, gi-anted and confirmed to the bishop and the canons the church of Logie Rothman, in !Mar, with lands near it, for a provision to one of the chaplains, for celebrating yearly a mass of requiem for his own soul, and for the souls of his ancestors, of his wife, and of his heirs ; as he had Avowed and desired his body to be interred in the same jjlace with tliose venerable fathers the bishops. David II. by a charter dated 13th September 1351, granted to Alexander, Bishop of Aberdeen, and the chapter, the lands of GalchuU, in the shire of Banflfj for a provision to one of the chaplains, for celebrat- ing masses in the cathedral for his own soul, and for the souls of his ancestors and successors, kings of Scotland, and for those of all the faith- ful departed. King David was otherwise a benefactor to the church." Chantries, or particular altars, appropriated to the celebration of obits, and masses of requiem for the souls of departed christians, were a fruitful source of profit to ancient ecclesiastical establishments, and in the pro- gi'ess of time they became objects of considerable revenue to the Romish clergy. In the cathedral church of Aberdeen few of such institutions appear to have been established. We [says Mr Kennedy] have been able to discover only eight altars for devotional exercises, besides the great altar ; and most of these appear to have been founded by the clergy themselves. One of those was dedicated to Saint Andrew, the Apostle. Another of these altars was dedicated to the Virgin Mary ; and the others were sacred to the names of Saint Michael, Saint John the Evan- gelist, Saint Columbe, Saint Mauricius, Saint Katharine, and Saint Devenic, respectively ; but our information with regard to these is so imperfect that we are iinable to give any particular detail of their original foundations. In the Cartulary [which has been preserved] there is a list of a great number of obits and anniversai'ies, which appear to have been celebrated in the cathedral, and also of the several annuities payable to the common funds of the cathedi-al on that account. " THE ALTAR CLOTHS AND VESTMENTS. The altar cloths, and vestments, for the service of the church, in the time of Bishop Elphinston [raised to the See of Aberdeen in 1484], were imcommonly rich and splendid." [The following portion of the list given by iVIr Kennedy enables us to form a clear conception of the forms of divine service in the church at this period] : — One cloth of arras, of the epiphany, presented by Bishop Greenlaw, [1390] ; five pieces of arras, of the salutation of the angels, for the choir, given by Bishop Alexander Kyninmunde [1356] ; one piece of aiTas of the seven mortal sins ; one arras cloth, with a figure of Jesus; a piece of arras, with three images ; two cloths for the chair of the bishop, one over- gilt, and the other of silk ; four silk banners for processions, one of them painted ; one halchjn of red, overgilt, with the arms of Bishop Alexander ; eleven sacramentalia of cloth of gold, for the reliques ; one mantal for 19G SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. our best affected subjects of that Diocesse, to have him established their Ordinario, as was well witnessed by their our lady, bordered with velvet ; a frontal of gold aud green velvet ; another of blue silk, with images of gold ; four cushions of cloth of gold, lined with green velvet ; six of cut red velvet ; four of cloth of gold. « VESTMENTS FOR THE GREAT ALTAR. Two white vestments, embroidered with gold, with two corporals and two damasks for the bishop ; one vestment of red silk, with four corporals ; one vestment of white silk, embroidered with gold, with tlu-ee albes and garments ; one vestment, with two corporals of charMcyl ; one vestment of red, embroidered w ith gold, with two white tunicles and garments ; one vestment, de hlaveo serlco, with two tunicles ; one of red silk, embroidered with gold, with two tunicles ; another of brown colour, with two corporals. There likewise belonged to the cathedral the following sacred vest- ments : — One cop, embroidered with gold ; one buckle of silver gilt, for the bishop ; another of red, embroidered with images, and gilt buckle ; one cop of green, embroidered with gold ; one cop of white silk, embroidered with gold ; another of red velvet, embroidered with gold ; a white silk cop, embroidered with gold ; two cops of green velvet, one of them embroidered with gold ; one cop of charhuJcylis ; one cop of green silk, embroidered with gold ; one embroidered cop, called Lichton, [from the name of the donor, Duncan de Lychton, who presented it to the church in the year 1440] ; one red vestment of embroidered silk, presented to the church by Donald, Lord of Bute ; one vestment of red satin ; one black vestment of bastard silk, with the names of Jesus and Mary upon it. " The jewels and ornaments belonging to the cathedral church, in the time of Bishop Elphinston, were also very valuable. These consisted of two mitres, one enriched with pearls and precious stones, and the other of silk, embroidered with gold ; ten chalices of silver gilt, ten patins, and one silver chalice ; a crucifix of silver gilt ; another of silver, with a piece of the holy cross ; another of silver gilt with a piece of the cross of Saint Andrew ; one silver gilt cross, and four images ; one cross of silver gilt, with three precious stones ; one silver cross ; one silver arm of Saint Fergus, with the bones of the arm ; a crystal case, with a silver foot, containing sundry reliques. — Item, le culpe, for the eucharist, of silver gilt. — Two cases of silver, for preserving the reliques — in one of which were six images and one altar, with a chalice, containing bones of Saint Elen, of Saint Katharine, and of Saint iNIargaret, of Isaac the i)atriarch, and Saint Dutliac ; in the other, the vestments of the blessed Virgin Mary, and bones of Peter and Paul, of Saint Brigide and Saint Edmund. —One silver ring, with a precious stone ; another, with a square stone, of red colour ; one gold ring, with a precious stone ; one crystal stone, in a silver cover ; one box of ivory ; one jewel of gold, with the image of the Viro-in Mary ; two silver gilt crowns for Christ and our Lady, sot with precious stones ; iive embroidered purses, with reliques of Saints ; five silver phials, and three silver ci-uets ; one eucharist of silver gilt, in the form of a castle, with a beryl stone set in it, and on the top, a jewel of gold, with the image of devotion ; two silver censers, with two cars ; a CONCERNING PATRICRE FORBES OF CORSE. 197 expression thereof at the last vacancie of the sayd Sea : We have therefore made speciall choyse of the sayd gold ring, with a large saphir, and other precious stones ; a silver shell ; two silver gilt crosiers, one of them with a beryl stone in the top ; the image of the Virgin Mary, weighing 120 ounces ; one pair of gloves for the bishop, with two jewels, and images of Saints James and John, embroidered with gold ; one iron chair ; and a crescent. Bishop Dunbar, after the example of his venerable predecessor Bishop Elphinston, was not only a liberal benefactor to public works and insti- tutions, but also to the church. He presented to the cathedral, among other articles, a chalice of pure gold, with the patin, having three cut diamonds and two rubies set in the foot of it, weighing 52 ounces ; also a great silver eucharist, of fine work, double gilt ; two silver chandeliers ; one holy water font, with a pedestal of silver ; one silver crucifix, partly gilt ; and a MS. of the evangelists, of which one side was silver gilt. All these sacred articles were marked with his arms engraven upon them. During his episcopacy he also made considerable additions to the episco- pal vestments, and also to the ornaments of the church. About the da\vn of the Reformation all these articles, with the otlier sacred property belonging to the cathedral, appear to have been of con- siderable value. When intelligence was brought of the progress made by the reformers in Aberdeen, Bishop William Gordon delivered to the prebendaries of the church, chalices, and other plate, to the amount of 53 libs. 12 oz. 8 ds. in Aveight, for preservation ; and to the Earl of Huntly the bishop's mitres, with the sacred vestments, and the remainder of the gold and silver work, weighing 54 libs. 12 oz. 4 ds. on receiving his Lord- ship's bond, by which he obliged himself to restore them when he should be required by the bishop and chapter. What became of the ornaments and plate received by the canons cannot now be known. " The Cathedral, when in its perfect state, at the commencement of the Reformation, consisted of the nave and side aisles, the north and south transepts, or cross aisles, and the choir. The length of the nave and side aisles, which are all that now remain of it, is one hundred and twenty-six feet ; and, both together, sixty-seven feet six inches wide. The choir and the transept, over which the great steeple was raised, were, as nearlj' as can be conjectured from vestiges which remain of them, seventy feet long, consequently the whole length of the fabric was, perhaps, about two himdred feet. The building is of plain Gothic architecture, devoid of much ornament, and, indeed, inferior in beauty to many of those ancient edifices of a similar kind in this country. It was originally designed by Bishop Alexander Kyninmunde, the second of that name, who succeeded to the Episcopal See about the year 1357. He commenced tlie building upon the site of the old church, which he caused to be demolislied ; but very little progress was made in the work during his life time, for it had advanced only six cubits in height at the time of his death in the year 1381. His successors proceeded in the undertaking, according to the extent of their means ; but it was only about tlie year 1430 that Bisliop Lychton laid the foundations of the great steeple on the east end of it, and of the two towers on the west end. Bishop Lindsay, his successor^ made further progi-ess in the structure, and completed the roof of the nave 198 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. Patricke to bee thereto preferred. Requyring you, for the more speedie and solemne performance thereof, to cause about the year 1445. In this state the buildin<^ seems to have remained till the time of Bishop Elphinston, who succeeded to the See in the year 1484. He recommenced the work Avith zeal, rebuilt the ancient choir on the east end, and covered the roof of the nave with lead, the expense being defrayed by King James IV. lie also completed the great steeple, according to the plan of that of the church of Perth, about the year 1511, and furnished it with three valuable bells which had been brought from England, weighing together 12,000 libs." [Mr Kennedy gives a copy of the original contract between the Bishop and the master workman for building the steeple]. "Gavin Dimbar, who became Bishop of Aberdeen in the year 1518, completed this venerable structure. He finished the two turrets on the west end, and about the year 152*2 erected the south part of the ti-ansept, which was distinguished by the name of his aisle. He also ceiled the nave of the church with the finest oak, of excellent and curious workmanship, which may "vHe with any thing of the kind in Scot- land. It consists of three compartments of square pannels, joining at the opposite angular points. On these pannels are painted the arms and titles of the princes, nobles, and prelates, who contributed towards the expense of the building. Along the top of the walls are likewise inscribed the names of the successive sovereigns, from Malcolm II. to Queen Mary, on the south side ; also of the several bishops, from Nectanus to AVilliam Gordon, the last Roman catholic prelate, on the north side. All these inscriptions, as well as those on the roof, are painted in the old black Saxon character, but its great height renders them very difficult to be read. " From tlie circumstance of Queen Mary's name, and that of the two prelates who succeeded Bishop Dunbar, being so inscribed, it is evident that this part of the work had been executed a few years only previous to the Reformation. The work of this ceiling, according to tradition, was performed by James Winter, from Angus, and is a lasting monument of his abilities and genius as a mechanic and artist. Some years ago a neat painting of this ceiling was executed by Mr Cordiner, one of the ministers of Saint Paul's chapel in Aberdeen, and presented to the Royal Society of Antiqiiaries of London. This edifice, which was upwards of one hundred and fifty years in completing, did not remain forty years entire. In the year 156'0 the Reformers of our religion, in the vehemence of their zeal, after having accomplished the destruction of some of the monasteries of Aberdeen, proceeded in a body to the old town, and being disappointed of the spoil of the jewels and sacred ornaments belonging to the Cathedral, the greatest part of which had been ju-eviously secured by the Earl of Iluntly and the Canons, they wreaked the fury of their vengeance upon this venerable edifice, by stripping it of its roof, and carrying off the lead as their booty, along with the three valuable bells which had been presented to it by Bishop Elphinston. At the same time they demolished the choir and chancel on the east end, which was furnished with stalls for the accommodation of the priests in the celebration of Mass. The further progi-ess of the work of destruction was fortunately i)reveuted by the CONCERNING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 199 forme, and haste unto us, such writs as wee are to signe for that effect, and in everie other thing appertayning timely interference of Hiuitly, who, by bis exertions, saved tbe building from being completely destroyed. The lead of the church, along with the three bells, was, however, carried off by these sacrilegious people, and shipped at Aberdeen for the purpose of being sold in Holland : but their avaricious views were disappointed, for the vessel, with the whole plunder, had scarcely left the harbour, when she sunk within half a mile of itj near the Girdleness. Biit in the year 1688 a more serious disaster happened to the edifice. The lofty steeple on the east end, which, in those days, was a sea-mai-k, and contained three bells, Avhich had been presented to it by Bishop Patrick Forbes, fell to the ground, and by its fall crushed all the eastern part of the fabric, destroyed many of the sepulchral monuments, and materially injured part of the nave. The height of the steei^le, which was surmounted by a globe and brass weather- cock, was about 150 feet ; and its fall, according to tradition, was occasioned by jjart of the stones of the buttresses having been removed and cari-ied off by the English army stationed in Aberdeen during the Protectorate, for the purpose of erecting some works of fortification on the Castle-hill. By these means the foundation of the steeple was greatly weakened, and at length yielded to the in-essure of the superstructiire, which, for several years, Avas perceived to be iu imminent danger of falling. It is reported that some gentlemen of the city, undismayed by its situation, succeeded in taking down and removing the bells which hung in it a short time only before its fall. The two towers on the west end are one hundred and twelve feet high, and in the southmost one an excellent public clock and bell are placed, to which there is an ascent by a winding stair. The body of the church, which had been saved by the Earl of Huntly, remained iu a neglected state for many years. In 1607 it was repaired and covered with slates at the expense of the parishioners of Old ^lachar- During the different periods of Protestant Episcopacy in Scotland it served as a Cathedral ; and, since the Revolution, it has been used as a Parish Church. It has lately been repaired in a substantial manner, and the interior is neatly fitted up, and forms a large and commodious place of worship. At the west end the two steeples still remain entire, except that some of the ornaments of the belts which surround them have fallen down from decay. They rise square from the ground about fifty-two feet high, when three projecting courses of stones are laid, one above the other, with spaces between each, their projection being about fifteen inclies without the wall. At the extremity of this part of the work there is raised a parapet or breast wall of four courses of ashler, all around the tower. At this level their breadth is diminished about sixteen inches on each side ; they are then set off to an octagonal form, diminishing as they rise in height. The spires are divided into three stories, by two projecting courses of stones, and terminate in a point, on which there is an iron cross. They belong to no order of architecture, but appear to have been designed as humble imitations of the Pope's mitre or triple crown, and are built entirely of stone. " The side walls of the nave of the church, lieing about forty-two feet high, are supported by a range of pillars on each side, their height being 200 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. thereunto, to proceed according to the ordinance of the late Act made in our last Parliament, anent the election about fifteen feet six inches, and their diameter something more than three feet ; over these are seven Gothic arches, extending the length of the side walls of the church. Between the top of the arches and the level of the walls, on each side, there is an open passage, in the centre of the wall, from the one end to the other, the height of which is five feet nine inches, by one foot ten inches wide. There are galleries in each side of the church, on a line with the pillars, extending backward the ■whole breadth of the aisles. On both sides there are two heights of galleries in several of the arches, and the east end is appropriated to a gallery belonging to the King's College. The pulpit and reader's desk are in the north side. In the east end of the church there still remains one of the Gothic arches which supported the great steeple ; but it is now built up for enclosing the church. The columns of this arch are entire, and resemble trunks of trees bound together. Their capitals have been ornamented, and display beautiful foliage, in high relief. In the south aisle of the transept, or what was termed Bishop Dunbar's aisle, there is an ornamented arch, part of his tomb, in which his efiigy in niaible lay in a recumbent posture ; but about the time of the Reformation the tomb was defaced, and the efiigy broken in pieces. His body lies in the vault below, and all that remains of the epitaph is the word Sub. In the north side, or Saint John's Aisle, are the remains of the tomb of Bishop Lychtoun, who died in the year 1440. Although it has also sufl'ered considerably by the hands of the Reformers, there is yet to be seen in it a stone efiigy of the Bishop, 'in jwntificaUhus, at full length, with the mitre on his head, and the crosier in his hand. On the tablet of the tomb is the following inscription : — ' nic jacet bona; memoriae, Henricus de Lichtoiin, utriusq ; Juris Doctor, qui Ecclesiae Moraviens. Regimen olim esset assumptus, ubi septennis pracfuit, demum ad istam translatus fuit, in qua 18 annos rexit, praesentisq ; eccle§ife fabricam a choro statione seorsum usque ab summitateni pleno astruxit, anno Dom. millesimo quadringen- tesimo quadragesimo.' In these two aisles several Bishops are interred, but they have no other monuments to distinguish the places of their interment than common grave stones." Since the above note was put in type, two volumes have been published by the Spalding Club of Aberdeen, entitled " Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis — Ecclesie Cathedralis Abordonensis Regesta que extant in unum coUecta," to which the reader is referred for the fullest and most authentic information regarding the See of Aberdeen from the earliest times. The work is illustrated with plates of ancient seals, illuminated capitals, and of other portions of the various muniments contained in it. Of the contents of this very valuable contribution to the antiquarian literature of our country, some idea may be formed from the words of its learned Editor in the preface: — " It will lie found that the First A'olume of these collected Registers throws light chicHy on the ancient territorial state of the Bislioi)rick, its lands, churches, and revenues ; its relation to neighbouring proprietors ; and the condition and progress of the ])e<)ple of the diocese ; while the Second illustrates the church law of Scotland; the particular institutions of tlie diocese of Aberdeen ; its Cathedral CONCERNING TATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 201 of Arch-bishops and Bishops. Which not doubting but yee will preciselie performe, wee bid you farewell. At New- market, the xxvii of Januarie 1618. The inscription upon the backe of the Letter — " To the Eight Reverend Fathers in GoD, our Right Trustie and Well-beloved Counsellours, and to the Reverend Fathers in God, our Trustie and Well- beloved, the Arch-bishops and Bishops of our King- dome of Scotland." LETTER OF THE ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS OF SCOTLAND TO THE LAIRD OF CORSE. TO OUR YERIE REVEREND AND LOVINCi BROTHER THE LAIRD OF CORSE. Right Reverend and Loving Brother — His Majestie having made choyse of you before all others to the Bishop- ricke of Aberdene, and signified the same by his letters unto us, which you shall receave herewith inclosed, we could doe no lesse than to impart it unto you, and witnesse the joy of our hearts for this his Majestie's resolution. Not so much for the favour and respect wee perceave carried by his Majestie constitution and customs ; its ritual, and church service and ceremonies ; the interior of the choir, the treasury, and the chapter-house. , " The First Volume is calculated to be oftenest referred to, and perhaps most practically useful. No one living within the bounds of the diocese can turn it over without finding something to interest him — something throwing light on his family, his property, or his parish — showing the ancient state and occujaation of his own residence, or of conterminous property. It may require somewhat more reflection to appreciate the Church muniments in the Second Volume. But, rightly considered, tlie interest of mere local history is secondary to that of the Christian anti • quities of our country. If it be possible to trace the introduction of Christianity in its first simplicity, the Aveak beginning of the Cliurch when struggling for existence, its progressive acquisition of security, wealth, and power, it cannot be unprofitable to examine dispassionately the causes of its success, by what means it controlled the minds of men not easily led, and influenced their laws, banislied all sectarianism even in thought, and brought it about that men gave to the Church in the full confidence that they were giving to God." — E.] 202 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. to yourselfe, though that both with you and us shouM bee of no little account, as that wee foresee the great profit that is to redound to the Church of God by this your advance- ment. Others doe interpret, according to their myndes, that these places are places of honour and ease, and for that respect desired ; but wee who have had the experience of so manie years service, know that the care and burthen goeth farre beyond either commoditie or honour. And were it not for God's service, and the upholde of His Church amongst us, we could have wished to live private ministers, rather than in the rowmes wee are called unto. But in such call- ingcs, as you knowe better than anie of ourselves, the burthen and care of the charge must no more deterre us than these outward showes of honour and ease allure us. To seek places of this kynde may well bee thought ambition, but to refuse and draw back, when GoD calleth, is disobedi- ence ; and if it be done for the eschewing of vexations, it is farre from the Christian courage and resolution we should all have. Now wee are assured if anie man did ever come to this place by God's calling, you are hee, whether wee consider the instance made in the last vacancie of that Sea by all the ministers and gentlemen of the countrey, which we perceave his Majestic doeth not forget, or your owne behaviour in it, that by the moyen of none, direct or indirect, hath made sute to bee preferred. And therefore, as wee from our heartes thanke GoD, who hath put it into his Majestie's heart to goe this way, so wee must in the name of God, and by the love you bear to the mayntaynance of His trueth, request and require you to accept the calling ; assuring yourselfe that wee, for our partes, howe long it pleaseth God to use our service here, shall not be wanting, by His grace, in anie thing that becommeth the brethren of our vocation towardes you. And our certayne hope is, that notwithstanding all those fightcs wee endure with enemies without, and those that should be friends within, our GoD shall give us strength to beare out, and by His blessing in the ende justifie to the world our proceedings ; wherein having you to bo a labourer and worker with us, wee shall bee so much the more encouraged. As to the rest that should be done for your formall entrie, wee remit the care thereof to him whom it conccrncth, and commit you at this CONCERNING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 203 tyme and ever to the protection and blessing of Almightie GrOD. Your loving Brethren, Saynct-Andrewes. Pa. B. op Ross. Ja. Glasgow. Jo. B, Cathness. An. Lismorensis. Al. B. of MURRAY.l Edinb. 5th Febr. 1618. LETTER OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF SAYNOT ANDREWES TO MASTER THOMAS MITCHELL.2 TO MY VERIE loving BROTHER, MASTER THOMAS MICHELL, MINISTER OF GOD'S WORD. Brother — I have receaved your letter, and am glad you ^ [The Bishops who subscribe this letter were probably all the members of the Scottish hierarchy, who were then iu Edinburgh. The names are those of the well-known Archhisliop of Saint Andrews, John Spottiswood, consecrated at London in 1610, translated from Glasgow to St Andrews in 1615, forced to fly into England after the Covenanting Assembly of 1638, where he died the next year ; James Law, Archbishop of Glasgow ; Patrick Lindsay, Bishop of Ross, subsequently translated to Glasgow ; John Abernethy, Bishop of Caithness ; Andrew Boyd, Bishop of Lismore or Argyle, and Alexander Douglas, Bishop of Moray. See Bishop Keith's Catalogue, in Joe. — E.] 2 [Thomas Mitchell, related to the family of Bishop Patrick Forbes, (See Life of the Bishop), was at this time Minister of the parish of Udny, near Aberdeen. He was afterwards appointed to the cure of the parish of Turriif. He received a presentation to the Parish of Logie- Buclian, but was not inducted. [New Statistical Account of Scotland — Parish of Logie-Buchan, Aberdeenshire, p. 808.] Spalding, in narrating the conflict between the Covenanters and " the Barrens" at Turriff iu IMay 1639, describes JVIitchell's alarm in these words : — " There were some hurt, some slain : The Barrens sound the retreat and come immediately back to Turreff, takes meat and drink at their pleasure, and fears Mr Thomas IMitchell, Minister at Turreff, very evill." [History of the Troubles, Bannatyne Club Edition, Edin. mdcccxxviii, vol. i. p. 134]. Some years after this, IMitchell having fallen under suspicion of aggiavated scandal, was cited before the Ecclesiastical Judicatories, but escajjcd conviction, and this apparently on just grounds. Spalding tells us that after the accused had been able to impeach the testimony of the witnesses, the Committee of Ministers and Elders before whom he was tried, « took him deiplie sworne upone his innocencie, quhairupoue he was absolvit fra this scandall, and found a good barne, (child)." [Ibid. vol. ii. p. 94. Gordon's Scots Affaiis, vol. i. p. 8.5], Some very poor verses by Mitchell will be found towards the conclusion of the volume. — E.] 204 SOME LETTEKS OR EPISTLES, ETC. choosed rather to send a bearer than come yourselfe at this tyme. My earand was chieflie to signifie unto you that wee have obtayned his JNIajestie's consent for placing the Laird of Corse at Aberdene, which you and I much desired in the last vacancie. And I trust in God nothing shall prove more profitable to His Church, and a better man to beare downe the enemies of all within tliose partes than this. I looke day lie for his ]\Iajestie's warrand to the Chapter to con- veane, and proceede in that election ; and how soone it commeth, will sonde you the particular instructions anent the proceeding : Praying you to advertise me whither to sonde ray letters as soone as you can. And so to the next occasion, I rest, Your loving Brother, Edinb, 16th Febr. 1618. Saynct-Andrewes. LETTER OF A MOST REVERENDE FATHER IN GOD, JOHN SPOTSWOOD, ARCHBISHOP OF SAYNCT ANDREWES, TO PATRICK FORBES, LAIRD OF CORSE. TO MY VERIE LOVING BROTHER, THE LAIRD OF CORSSE. Sir — As I was closing the former letter, a pacquet came to mee from Court, contayning a licence to the Deane and Chapter of Aberdene to meete and elect a worthie person to that place which now vaketh, with a private recommenda- tion of his Majestic for yourselfe. Of this I thought meete to give you signification ; because howe soone the licence can passe the Scale, I will send it, with such directions as are fit for the orderlie proceeding of matters. Neyther will I insist with you not to declyne the place upon the scruples mentioned in your letters, seeing wee have given you satis- faction thereanent, and that nowe, thankes to GoD, wee are in the expectation of a good peace. Rather I will beseech you consider what the state of this tyme, and the Church of God in it, craveth at your handes. I shall not mention the publicke enemie, or yet our politickes, who I am perswaded did never hearc of anie thing more to their discontentment than your nomination for this place. Onlie be pleased to CONCEENING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 205 looke unto ourselves, and you shall see there was never more neede to keepe a Church from disorder. As yee wryte of yourself, GoD is my witnesse, I could wish to bee unknowne in the world, and serve God in the obscurest place, rather than where by His Providence I am casten. But wee are not at our owne choyse, and so must you thinke. Where God calleth, to runne away, it is not modestie, but rebellion and disobedience. God give us in this short tyme to bee wyse and faythfuU, and to despyse all thinges in respect of the reward proposed, on which if wee holde our eyes, wee shall never bee disco wraged by the malice of the wicked. I take my leave, and rest Your assured Brother, Edinb. 16th Febr, 1618. Sainct-Andrewes. LETTER OF THE LAIRD OF CORSSE, TO MASTER THOMAS MITCHELL. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFULL, MY DEARE BROTHER IN CHRIST, MASTER THOMAS MITCHELL, MINISTER OF THE GOSPELL AT UDNEY. Right Worshipfull and Deare Brother — After heartie salutation, the letters which, together with yours, are come to mee from the South, leade mee to thinke that you have guessed rightlie at the purpose of the Archbishop*'s entreatie; for even this same night I have receaved a letter from all the Bishops in Edinburgh, together with his Majestie's letters to them, and to the Lords of his Highnesse Secret Counsell, verie playnlie and peremptorilie appoynting me for your Bishopricke. Nowe his Majestie^s letter is both so free and peremptorie, as truelie it hath casten mee into great anxietie of mynde, so as I stand much in need of your counsel and prayers to God for direction. I have sent you herewith the copy of his M. letter, that you may so much the better consider what difficultie of resolution I am put unto. The Lord bee my counsellour. Thus referring the issue of all to GoD, and commending you heartilie to His grace, I rest ever. Your assured loving brother, Keith, 13. Febr. 1618. P. Forbes of Corse. 206 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. ANOTHER LETTER OF THE LAIRD OF CORSSE, TO M. THOMAS MITCHELL. TO MY AVORSHIPFULL AND DEARE BROTHER, MASTER THOMAS MITCHELL, MINISTER OF THE GOSPELL AT UDNEY. Right Worshipfull and Deare Brother — After all heartlie salutation, I receaved your letter this Thursday afternoone, the xii. of March. After the receipt of the letters whereof I sent you a copie, I wrote backe a long letter to the Bishops, whereby to excuse myselfe, and to lay off the burthen they had moved his Majestie to lay upon me. But agaynst my expectation I have reported nothing but a more vehement insisting, and that with certification, that by declyning the calling, I will incurre his Majestie's bitter indignation, and the imputation of contemning God's vocation, and the voyce of His Church also. My Lord of Saynct Andrewes wrote to mee also that a warrand was come to him to be signed, and sent to the Chapter of Aberdene for proceeding to the election, and that he would send it north with diligence. So as I am casten in such agonie, as I can doe nothing but attend the issue of God's working, I would with all my heart have fled that charge in this so dangerous a tyme, and dangerous course in tyme. But they have put mee to too great a strayt, eyther to accept or to incurre the King's indignation, which to a Subject is the messenger of death. The Lord sonde all to a good ende. The Grace of God bee with you. Your assured loving Brother, P. Forbes of Corse. Keith, 12th March 1618. LETTER OF THE MINISTERS OF THE DIOCESSE OF ABERDENE, TO PATRICKE FORBES, LAIRD OF CORSE. TO THE RIGHT REVEREND AND HONOURABLE THEIR LOVING BROTHER AND FELLOW LABOURER IN THE GOSPELL, THE LAIRD OF CORSE. RifjHT Honourable and Reverendk — Our love and dutie CONCERNING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 207 in our common Saviour remembered, please, at the last General Assembly liolden in Aberdene, the greatest part both of Preachers and Professours of all degrees, cryed by a Supplication subscrybed by them to that Assemblie, and by them to his Majestie, to fill our Bishopricke, then vacant, with yourselfe, as fittest of all men for that seat. His M. finding nowe that seat vacant agayne, hath nominated you unto that rowme. The Chapter beeing conveaned this day, upon a warrand directed from his M. and with them brethren of the Ministerie, Commissioners from all Presbyteries within the Diocesse, have all in one joyfull voyce made choyse of you, and have sent unto you some of their number, to acquaynt you with their election, and to require, in the name of God, not to flee this His calling by their voyces, in a tyme of such evident necessitie ; to whose credit remit- ting, wee commende you for now and ever to the grace of God. By Your loving Brethren, and Fellow- Labourers in the Gospell, the Ministers Members of the Chapter of the Cathedrall Church of Aber- dene, and Ministers Commissioners from Presbyteries : Master David Eeit, Deane and Moderator, in the name of the whole Meeting. Okie Aberdene, the 24 of March 1618. OERTIFICATIO D. PATRICIO FORBES DE CORSE, IN EPISCOPATUM ABERDON. ELECTO. Reverendiss. Patri AC Domino, D. Patricio Forbes de Corse, Vestri humiles Magister David Rait, Decanus Ecclesise Cathedralis Aberdon, et ejusdem Ecclesise Capitu- lum omniraodis obedientiam et reverentiam, tam reverendo Patri debitas et condignas cum honore. Vestrse reveren- diss. paternitati tenore prsesentium certificamus, quod die vigesimo quarto hujus mensis, literas Regias sub privato sigillo Scotise, ac etiani literas commendatitias Tllustrissimae Regise Majestatis sigillatas ac consignatas, et nobis decano et capitulo prsedict. Ecclesiae Cathedralis Aberdon. directas. 208 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC, in domo nostra capitulari cum ea qua decet reverentia accepimus, et nunc et ibidem juxta dictarum literarum tenoi-em, ad electionem futuri Episcopi et pastoris in dicta Ecclesia Cathedrali, quae jamdudum per mortem naturalem Reverendi Patris D. Alexandri Forbes, ultimi Episcopi ejusdem viduata,et pastoris soIatiodestitutafuit,procedendum fore decrevimus, omnesque ejusdem Ecclesise Canonicos et Pr?ebendarios, ac alios in ea parte interesse habentes citandos et evocandos ad diem 24 Martii mensis, sua suffragia ac voces suas daturos curavimus. Quandoquidem 24 Martii die adveniente, invocato prius Divino auxilio, et precibus Deo. Opt. Max. suppliciter ante omnia per nos fusis, in domo nostra capitulari congregati, et plenum capitulum facientes, ad electionem praedictam juxta leges Ecclesiasticas et statuta hujus Regni Scotise faciendam processimus, ac post tractatum diligentem inter nos habitum, qua via de futuro Episcopo procedere deberemus, tandem unanimi assensu et consensu omnes et singuli nullo prorsus discre- pante, subito et repente, quasi Spiritus Sancti gratia cooperante, et eo ut credimus inspirante, direximus oculos intentionis nostrse sive voces nostras in Vos D. Patricium Forbes de Corse, virum utilem, discretum, et providum, et apud nos clerum et populum vestris meritis exigentibus com- mendatum, de legitimo matrimonio natum, in aetate legitima, et in ordine sacerdotali constitutum, vita, moribus, et literarum scientia clarum, in spiritualibus et temporalibus plurimum circumspectum, scientem et valentem, jura liber- tates et privilegia Ecclesise Cathedralis Aberdon., Pastorem et Episcopum nominavimus et elegimus. Quam electionem sic factam, clero et populo statim in loco publico et usitato publicandam curavimus, caeteraque in ea parte de jure neces- saria fecimus, in prsesentia Tabellionis, et Notarii Publici, et aliorum fide dignorum, prout ex serie et tenore instru- mcnti publici quod super tota electione faciendum curavimus, plenius liquet et apparet. Quae omnia et singula juxta statuta hujus Regni Scotiae edit, et promulgat. habit, et fact, reverentiae vestrae significamus, humiliter suppli- cantes, quatenus hujusmodi clectioni sic habit, et fact, vostrum consensum et assensum impertiri dignemini. In cujus rei Testimonium sigillum nostrum commune praesen- tibus apposuimus. Dat. in domo nostra capitulari, vig(^- CONCERNING PATEICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 209 simo quarto die mensis Martii, Anno Domini millesimo, sexcentesimo, decimo octavo, etRegnilllustrissimi in Christo Principis et Domini nostri, Domini Jacobi, Dei Gratia, Anglise, Francise, et Hibernise decimo sexto, et Scotise quinquagesimo. Da\id Rhoetus, Decanus Aberdon. M. Joann. Maxuell, Rector de Mor- Mr John Strathauchin, Rector de tuUich. Kincardin. M. Gulielmiis Broun, Rector de M. Georgius Hay, Rector de Turreff. luveruochtie. M. Georgius Setonius, Cancellarius. JNI. Gulielmus Strathauchin, The- M. Gulielm. Gray, Cantor et Rector saiirarius. de Auchterles. M. Johannes Walker, Rector de M. Georgius Clerk, Rector de Aber- Kinkell. dour. M. David Rattra, Rector de Crow- M. Robertus Mercerus, Rector de dan. Banchoridevenyck. M. Al. Burnet, Rector de Oyne. Mr Alexander Guthrie, Parson of M. Ja. Abercrombi, Archidiaconus. Tullynessil. M. Al. GuthrEeus, Succentor. Mr Al. Youngson, Forbesensis et M. Jac. Strachanus, Rector de Cold- Clattensis Minister et Rector. stane. M. Al. Scrogie, Rector de Drum- M. Thomas Forbes, Rector de ]\Ioni- maok. mussle. M. Abrahamus Sibbald, Prebenda- M. Thomas Rires, Rector de Lon- rius de Deir. mey.^ PROOURATORIUM AD EXHIBENDAM OERTIFI- CATIONEM DE ELECTIONE EPISCOPI. Pateat universis per prsesentes quod nos Magister David Raitt. Decanus Ecclesire Cathedralis Aberdon. et ejusdem Ecclesise Capitulum unanimi assensu et consensu nostris ; Dilectos nobis inOHRiSTO, Magistrum Joannem Strathauchin, Rectorem de Kincardin, M. Georgium Hay, Rectorem de Turreff, M. Joannem Reid, Rectorem de Logie, M. Thomam Mitchell, Pastorem de Udney, procuratores conjunctim et divisim nostros, veros certos legitimes et indubitatos procuratores, actores, factores, negotiorumque nostrorum gestores, et nuncios speciales ad infra inscripta omnia et singula nominavimus, ordinamus, facimus, et constituimus per prsesentes, damusque et concedimus eisdem procura- toribus nostris conjunctim et eorum cuilibet per se divisim, ^ [From this list it appears that the ancient Chapter of the Cathedral (supra p. 194, Note) had by this time been almost restored. — E.] 14 210 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. ut prtefertur, et in solidum, potestatem pcrsonalcm et man- datum speciale pro nobis ac vice et nominibus nostris, Revercndum in Christo Patrem ac Dominum, D. Patricium Forbes, in Episcopum et Pastorem Ecclesise Cathedralis Aberdon. per nos electum adeundi, ipsumque ex parte nostra ad consentiendum election! de persona sua in ea parte factse et celebratse debita cum instantia petendi et requirendi, necnon electionem hujusmodi per nos de persona praefati Eeverendi Patris in Christo Domino Patr. ut proefertur factam, excellentissimo in CiiRlSTO Principi et Domino nostro, Jacobo Dei gratia Scotise, Angliae, Franciae, et Hiberniae Regi, Fidei Defensori, dict?e Ecclesise Cathe- dralis Patrono et Fundatori, intimandi et notificandi, et ejus assensum et consensum Regium in ea parte, humiliter implorandi, necnon decretum electionis praedict. et personam (sicut prsefertur) electam, coram quibusvis personis una vel pluribus Regia authoritate, vel alias legitime in hac parte fulto, prsesentandi et exhibendi, dictumque decretum sive processum electionis prsedict. et personam sicut praefertur electam, in debita juris forma confirmari et approbari, defectusque, si qui forte in ea parte intervenerint, debite suppleri, petendi, requirendi, et obtinendi, agendique et defendendi, ac litem seu lites contestandi, et contestari videndi, articulum seu articulos, libellum seu libellos, seu quascunque summarias petitiones dandi et proponendi, testes literas et instrumenta, ac alia quacunque probationum genera producendi et exhibendi, testesque hujusmodi jurari videndi et audiendi in causis et negotiis concludendi et con- cludi videndi, totumque confirmationis negotium usque ad finalem expeditionem ejusdem inclusive prosequendi, necnon administrationem omnium et singulorum spirituaHum et temporalium dicti Episcopatus eidem electo committi, ipsumque in realem actualem et corporalem ejusdem Epis- copatus possessionem juriunKjue, dignitatum, honorum, pra}- emincntiarum, ct pertinentium suorum universorum in- ducendum et intromizandum fore decerni, petendi, requirendi, et obtinendi, et gcneraUter omnia ct singula aha faciendi, exercendi, et expediendi, quse in praemisis, aut circa ea necessaria fuerint, seu quomodohbct opportuna vol requisita, etiamsi mandatum de magis exigant speciale quain superius est cxpressum, promittimusque nos gratum, ratum, ct firmum CONCERNIKG PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 211 perpetuo habituros totum et quicquid dicti nostri procura- tores soli vel eorum aliquis fecerint, seu fecerit in prsemissis vel aliquo prsemissorum, et in ea parte cautionem exponimus per prsesentes. In cujus rei testimonium sigillum nostrum commune prsesentibus appensum. Dat. in Donio nostra Capitulari, vigesimo quarto die mensis Martii, anno Domini millesimo, sexeentesimo, decimo octavo, et annis Regni Illustrissimi Principis, Domini nostri, D. Jacobi, Dei gratia, Regis Scotiffi, Anglise, Francise, et Hibernise ; viz. Scotiae quinquagesimo primo,i Anglise, Francise, et Hibernise decimo- sexto. DaAdd Rha^tus, Decanus Aberdon. M. Alexander Guthrie, Rector de Magister Joan. Strathaueliin, Rector TuUynessill, de Kincardin. M. Jac. Abircriimby, Archidiaconns. M. Georgius Hay, Rector de TnrrefF. M. Al. Scrogie, Rector de Drum- M. Georgius Setoun, Cancellariiis. maok. M. Gulielmus Gray, Cautor Absr- M. Al. Guthrseus, Siiccentor. donen. M. Robertus Mercerus, Rector de M. Gulielmus Strathauchin, The- Banchoridevenyk. saurarius. M. Abrahamus Sibbald, Preben- M. David Rattra, Rector de Crowdan. darius de Deir. M. Jac. Strachanus, Rector de Cold- M. Georgius Clerk, Rector de Aber- stane. dour. M. Al. Youngson, Forbesensis et M. Gulielmus Broun, Rector de Clatteusis Minister et Rector. Invernochtie. M. Johannes Walker, Rector de M. Joan. Maxuell, Rector de Mor- Kinkell. tuUich. M. Al. Burnet, Rector de Oyne. M.Thomas Rires,RectordeLonmey. DIPLOMA REGIUM, DE PROVISIONE PATRICII FORBESII, EPISCOPI ABERDONENSIS. JACOBUS DEI Gratia, Magnse Britannise, Francise, Hyber- nise,Rex,&c., Fideique Defensor: Omnibus probis hominibus suis, ad quos prsesentes literse pervenerint, salutem. SciATiS quia nos intelligentes Sedem et Episcopatum Aberdonen. in manibus nostris, per decessum quondam Alexandri, ^ [There is a singular discrepancy in the Scottish regnal year of the King in this and the preceding document, which are of the same date. James VI. began his reign in Scotland 24th July 1567 — Sir H. Nicolas' Chronology of History, 8vo. London, 1838, p. 382 ; consequently the latter date, which is followed in the subsequent Charter and Instrument of Admission, is correct. — E.] 212 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. ultimi ejusdem Episcopi, nunc vacare, ac ob humile deside- rium et pctitionem Decani et Capituli Ecclesiae Cathedralis Aberdonex. per alias nostras literas licentise sub nostro secrete sigillo de data apud die mensis ultimo elapsi, plenam potestatem, libertatem, et licentiani iis, qualificatam personam Episcopum fore dicti Episcopatus, eligere, ac nominare, dedimus ct concessimus. Et quia virtute dictarum literarum nostrarum licentise, dicti decanus et capitulum, dilectum nostrum Patricium Forbes de Corse, Dei verbi concionatorem, Episcopum et Pastorem ipsis dicta; Ecclesise fore elegerunt, ac nominarunt, prout literse testificationis sub eorum sigillis planius proportant : Igitur fecimus, creavimus, et ordinavi- mus, tenoreque, prsesentium facimus, creamus, et ordinamus, dilectum Patricium Forbes de Corse, Episcopum dicti Episcopatus Aberdonen. dando, et concedendo sibi duran- tibus omnibus su£e vitse diebus, prasdictum Episcopatum, et integrum beneficium ejusdem, cum omnibus aliis beneficiis eidem annexatis : Cumque omnibus et singulis terris, man- si onibus, castris, turribus, fortaliciis, maneriebus, hortis, pomariis, molendinis, sylvis, piscationibus, annuis redditibus, Ecclesiis, advocationibus, donationibus, et juribus patrona- tuum, decimis, tam Rectoriarum, quam Vicariarum, fructi- bus, redditibus, proficuis, proventubus, emolumentis, feudi- firmefirmis ; aliisque censubus, firmis, canis, custumis, commoditatibus, casualitatibus, annexis, connexis, partibus, pendiculis, et pertinentibus earundem quibuscunque, tam spiritualitatis, quam temporalitatis ejusdem qurecunque sunt, aut jacent infra Regnum nostrum ScOTiiE : Una cum jure privilogio et jurisdictione regalitatis, liberie capellse, et cancellarise : Ac cum omnibus et singulis diguitatibus, honoribus, pra^eminentiis, immunitatibus, jurisdictionibus, et libertatibus pertinentibus, et qua; pertinuerunt ad dictum Episcopatum ullis temporibus prrctcritis a prima fundatione ejusdem, et quaj possessse et gavisic fucrunt, sou possideri et gauderi potuissent per dictum quondam Alexandrum Aberdonen. Episcopum, aut aliquos alios suos prrcdices- sorcs, virtute provisionum dicti Episcopatus, aliorumque beneficiorum quorumcunque eidem per prius annexat. ipsis desuper confect. Cum plena potcstate pra^fato Patricio Forbes de Corse, fruendi, gaudendi, et possidondi pra?dic- CONCERNING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 213 turn Episcopatum Aberdonen. ac beneficium ejusdem, omniaque alia beneficia eidem annexat. Cum omnibus et singulis terris, mansionibus, castris, turribus, fortaliciis, maneriebus, hortis, pomariis, molendinis, sylvis, piscationi- bus, ecclesiis, advocationibus, donationibus, et juribus patronatuum, jurisdictione, jure et privilegio regalitatis, liberae capellae, et cancellarise : Omnibusque honoribus, dignitatibus, prseerainentiis, immunitatibus, jurisdictionibus, et libertatibus quibuscunque. Necnon intromittendi, levandi et disponendi super omnibus et singulis decimis, tam rector- iarum, quam vicariarum, feudifirmefirmis, aliisque censubus, firmis, canis, custumis, fructibus, redditibus, emolumentis, casualitatibus, proficuis, et devoriis, tam spiritualitatis, quam temporalitatis, ad dictum Episcopatum, aliaque beneficia eidem annexata pertinent, et spectant. aut quae possessa, gavisa, et levata fuerunt, per dictum quon- dam Alexandrum ultimum Aberdonen. Episcopum ; vel aliquos alios suos prsedecessores, ullis temporibus prseteritis.i Una cum omnibus et singulis libertatibus, commoditatibus, proficuis, asiamentis, ac justis pertinenti- bus quibuscunque, tam non nominatis, quam nominatis, procul et prope, ad praedictum Episcopatum spectantibus, seu juste spectare valentibus, libere, quiete, plenarie, integre, honorifice, bene et in pace, absque ulla revocatione, contradictione, .impedimento, aut obstaculo quocunque. PrjECIPIENDo per prsesentes has nostras literas Dominis nostri Consilii et Sessionis quatenus concedant et dirigant alias nostras litei^as super simplici mandate decem dierum solummodo, ad instantiam dicti Patricii Forbes de Corse, ad causandum ipsum suosque factores et camerarios suo nomine prompte responderi, obediri, et solvi, de omnibus et singulis decimis, tam rectoriarum, quam vicariarum, feudifirmefirmis, aliisque censubus, firmis, canis, custumis, casualitatibus, fructibus, redditibus, proficuis, proventubus, emolumentis, et devoriis quibuscunque, ad dictum Episco- patum, aliaque beneficia eidem annexata spectantibus et pertinentibus ; de croppa et anno Domini millesimo, sex- centesimo, decimo octavo. Et similiter, de omnibus annis 1 [The Bishop is recognised as in all respects the successor of, and identified ^^^tll the Bishops who sat in the See of Aberdeen, of the earlier succession. — Seeiw/ca, p. 218, Note. — l-^.] 214 SOME LETTERS OH EPISTLES, ETC. et terminis futuris dui'ante vita sua. Ac etiam pro reddi- tione et deliberatione dicto Patricio Forbes, aliisque sue nomine, omnium castrorum, turrium, fortaliciorum, manerie- rum, mansionum, hortorum, pomariorum, domorum, eedifi- ciorum, et aliorum quorumcunque ad dictum Episcopatum spectantium et pertinentium. In cujus Rei testimonium, preesentibus magnum sigillum nostrum apponi prsecepimus. Apud Wliyt-Hall, octavo die mensis Aprilis, Anno Domini millesimo, sexcentesimo, decimo octavo ; et regnorum nos- trorum annis quinquagesima primo, et decimo sexto. Apjjensum fuit Magnum Sigillum Begium in cera rubra. LETTER OF A MOST REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, JOHN SPOTSWOOD, ARCHBISHOP OF SAYNCT-ANDREWES, TO MASTER THOMAS MITCHELL. TO MY VERIE LOVING BROTHER, MASTER THOMAS MICHELL, MINISTER OF GOD's WORD. Loving Brother — I receaved this Sonday only the 26 of April, the pacquet, with his Majestie''s royall assent to the election of Aberdene, and a mandate for consecration. The one must passe the Great Seale, and the other the Privie Scale, for which there is tyme sufficient, as I have written to the Laird himselfe. I have thought the seventeenth of May the fittest tyme, and have given advertisement to the Bishops to meete at the day. I will have the Laird to dyne with me on the day of consecration, as I tolde you. You will have care that hee bee accompanied with some grave ministers, besides his owno friondes, which I knowe will attende him. No other thing cometh to my mynd to advertise, but that his Majestic is exceeding well pleased with your procedure in Aberdene at the election ; and oxpecteth good service both to God and himselfe, whereof I am perswaded. You will see that one be dispatched to Edinburgh for passing these thorow the Scales, and that CONCERNING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 215 they may meete you at your comming hither. What you would have done or provydcd on my part, I pray you adver- tise mee. And nowe commending you to God, I rest Youre assured Brotlier, Saynct-Andrewes. Saynct-Andr. 16 April 1681. INSTRUMENT ANENT PATRICKE BISHOP OF ABERDENE, HIS ADMISSION TO THE SAYD BISHOPRICKE. In Dei Nomine, Amen. Per hoc prsesens publicum instru- mentum cunctis pateat evidenter et sit notum, quod anno Incarnationis Dominicse millesimo, sexcentesimo, decirao octavo, mensis vero Maii die vigesimo sexto, ac annis S. D. N, Jacobi Sexti, Dei Gratia, Magnse Britanniae, Francise, et Hyberniae Regis, Fideique Defensoris, quinquagesimo primo, et decimo sexto. The which day in presens of us Connotaries publick, and witnesses underwritten, compeared a Reverende Father in God, Patricke Bishop of Aberdene, and presented to us Connotaries underwritten, within the Cathedrall Church of Olde Aberdene, at the pulpit of the same, the act of his Lordship's consecration and admission to the Bishopricke of Aberdene ; requyring and commanding the Arch-Deane of the said Cathedrall Church to induce and inthronize the sayd Patrick, by himselfe, or his procurators, sufficientlie appoynted to that effect, in the said Bishopricke, at what tyme it should please his Lordship to requyre the same. The sayde Patricke, Bishop of Aberdene, day and place aforesayd, compearing personallie at the sayde pulpit, within the sayde Cathedrall Church, produced and presented the sayde mandate, directed to the sayde Arch-Deane of Aberdeyne to give institution of the sayde Bishopricke to the sayd Patricke, as the sayd mandate, and admission of the date, at Saynct-Andrewes Castle, the seaventeenth day of May, one thousand six hundreth and eyghteene yeares, under the subscription of John, Archbishop of Saynct-Andrewes, Alexander and Andrew, by the mercie of God, Bishops of Dunkell and Breichen, 216 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. respective, proporteth : And that according to his Majestie's gift of presentation, under his Highnesse Privie Seale, after due and lawfull requisition and election, made by the Deane and Channons of Aberdene, according to a commission directed unto them thereanent, and publicke edicte lawfullie served to that effect. Master Walter Abircrombie, Arch- Deane of Aberdene for the tyme, by vertue of the sayde commission directed unto him under the subscriptions aforesayds, induced and inthronized the sayde Patricke, Bishop of Aberdene, by deliverie to his Lordship personallie present at the sayde pulpit, within the sayde Oathedrall Church of Okie Aberdene, of the Word of God, inclosed within a Bible ; decerning and declaring, by all the clergie and laitie of the Diocesse of Aberdene, the sayde Patricke to bee Bishop of Aberdene, according to the election, presentations, giftes, and admissions, respective, foresayde, in all respectes. Super quibus omnibus et singulis prsemissis dictus Patricius Episcopus Aberdensis, a nobis Connotariis publicis subscriptis sibi fieri petiit instrumentum, vel instru- menta, unum sen plura publicum vel publica. Acta erant hsec in dicta ecclesia, horam circiter secundam, post meri- diem, sub anno, die, mense, et annis Regnorum Regis, quibus supi-a, prgesentibus ibidem, Magistro Thoma Garden, rectore de Tarves ; Magistro Thoma Mitchell, rectore de Udney ; Magistro Roberto Mercer, rectore de Ellon ; et Magistro Joanne Walker, rectore de Kinkell : Testibus ad praemissa vocatis et requisitis. Ita est Georgius Mercer, Notarius Publicus in Pragmiss. rogatus et requisitus ad haec, manu propria. Ita est Thomas Davidson, Notarius Publicus, ac Testis in Praemissis ad hsco rogatus et requisitus, manu propria. CONCERNING PATKICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 217 LETTER OF A MOST REVERENDE FATHER IN GOD, JOHN SPOTSWOOD, ARCHBISHOP OF SAYNCT ANDREWES, TO PATRICK FORBES OF CORSE, BISHOP OF ABERDENE, IN THE TYME OF THE SAYD PATRICIAS SICKNESSE. TO MY VERIE REVEREND GOOD LORD AND BROTHER, MY LORD THE BISHOP OF ABERDENE. My Reverend Good Lord and Brother — I never thinke of your Lordship, nor have occasion to wryte, but my griefe encreaseth for want of your L. assistance and counsell in these necessarie tymes for our Church. But wee must submit our selves to the will of God, which, I pray, may bee done by us patientlie and willinglie. The Chancellar came this morning to me in Leith, &c. I rest, with my prayer to God for your L. Your L. most assured brother, Saynct Andrewes. Leith, 16 May 1633. LETTER OF A MOST REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, AND. MOST HONOURABLE LORD, JOHN SPOTSWOOD, ARCHBISHOP OF SAYNCT AN- DREWES, PRIMATE, AND LORD HIGH CHAN- CELLAR OF SCOTLAND, TO DOCTOR JOHN FORBES OF CORSE, UPON THE REPORT OF THE GODLIE DEATH OF HIS FATHER, PATRICK FORBES OF CORSE, LATE BISHOP OF ABERDENE. to my reverend and loving brother, doctor JOHN FORBES OF CORSE. Most Deare Brother — If it bee true which is commonlie sayd, and I verilie believe that great sorrowes are lessened when others partake of the same, then may your griefe bee much eased, considering the numbers that beare a part with you in this great losse. In so necessarie a tyme, to 218 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. bee bereaved of such counscll and comfort as GrOD had furnished him with — I meane your worthie father — for the directing of some and strengthening of others, I know not what it protendeth to our Church. When Bishop Elphin- stone, the founder of your Colledge, was layde in grave, the tradition is, that a voyee was heard cry — " Tecum, GuUelme, mitra sepelienda,'''' and that the pastorall staffe brake in pieces. Hee was certaynlie an excellent man, and I may truely say, since him, unto your father, there arose not the lyke in that Church.i What say I, in that Church I Everie man can speake of that hee hath knowne and scene ; and for myselfe I speake trueth — so wyse, judicious, so grave and graceful! a pastor, I have not known in all my tyme in anie Church. Not to speake of his learning in all sortes of divinitie, of his prudencie in church governement, of his solid advysses in matters of state, or of the manie gracious conferences I have had with him in private, I shall never forget the answere hee gave to some brethren who desired of us a letter to his Majestie, for dispensing with their obedience to the order pra?scribed in the ministration of the holie Sacrament, when all had consented to wryte as they desired. " And will you," sayd he, " justifie the doctrine of these men, who have called the reverend gesture which we use idolatrie, and raysed such a schisme in our Church ? Till they bee brought publicklie to confesse their errour, or heresie rather, I shall never bee yeelding for my part. It was before indifferent, nowe I esteeme it necossarie, in regard to the false opinions they have dispersed, to retayne constantlie the forme wee have receaved." With such a zeale and courage did hee in that matter expresse himselfc, as they that made the motion were stricken dumbe. Surelie I myselfe, that never behelde him without reverence, did heare him that day with wonder. To remember these things it doubleth my sorrow. But hee was come to yeares, ^ [The Primate here connects tlic older with tlie later line of the Scottish hierarchy. This is quite in conformity with the followin;^ sentence in Iiis well known tract entitled " Refutatio Libelli dc Regimino Ecclcsite Scoticanrc," published in 1620. — Nee aliud l^piscoporum genus sumus,quam qui ab incunabulis Christianrc Religionis, Ecclcsiio Scoticanjc pra>fuerunt, rciein-'tmomm Ptre.sulnm leyithni si'.ccesKorrs. The " Refutatio" is reprinted in the Spottiswoodo Miscellany, v. i. p. 61. See niipra, p. 21.% Note. — E.] CONCERNING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 219 and this age not worthie to enjoye him any longer. Let mee say this without flattrie — Our losses are some way recompensed in yourselfe, God hath given you both grace and learning ; and the expectation is great which the Church hath of you. Goe on, therefore, and bee comforted. Nothing in lyfe, I confesse, hath troubled my selfe so much as the death of them I loved, and the death of your worthy father in particular. But wee must yeeld to that Great Euler, and knowe that Hee disposeth most wyselie, both of persons and of thinges. Hee is gone from us to a better societie ; unto which I wish wee may all bee gathered in God His good tyme. I rest Your faythfull and assured brother, Saynct Andrewes. Dairsie,! the 2. of Aprill 1635. ^ [Dairsie in Fifesliire, the country seat of the Archbishojj. "We gather the foUowhig memorials of that locality from Air Lawson's Cluirch History : — " The Primate had become projjrietor of the estate of Dairsie, and erected the present parish church near his now ruinous castle in 1622 — one of the most elegant and finely proportioned structures of the kind in Scotland. It occupies a beautiful and picturesque situation on the bank of the river Eden, which debouches into the sea about four miles from St Andrews below the Guard Bridge erected by Bishop Wardlaw in the earlier part of the fifteenth century. The Primate also erected the bridge of three arches over the Eden leading to the castle and the parish church. The injury inflicted on the church of Dairsie after the Presbyterians obtained the ascendancy is sufficiently testified by a report of its internal state as finished by the Archbishop, in the minutes of the Provincial Synod of Fife, dated November 2, 1641. They had appointed sundry of their number to visit the church, and to report on the alleged ' super- stitious monuments ' it contained. Those enemies of architectural orna- ment stated that at the ' entrie of sundrie desks upon the platform, and above the great west door, there are crosier staffs, in some part alone, and in others as an aditament and cognizance of the last pretended Bishop's arms, not being any sign or cognizance ordinarie and commouue in the armes of that name or familie [of Spottiswoode], biit merely a signe of his degree hierarchall, according to the manner and form used among the Roman Hierarchists and others following them. Further, they find super- stitious a glorious partition wall, with a degree ascending thereto, dividing the body of the kirk from their queir [choir], as it is ordinarlie called in Papistrie, and among those that follow Papists (!) And because this par- ticular is not speciallie named in their commissioun, and a great part is the building and ornament of some desks ; and above the great door of their queir, so called, the arms of Scotland and England quartered, with divers crosses about and beside them ; whereupon the Kirk has not yet })ar- ticularlie determined.' On the 4t]i of October 1642, the ' partition timber wall in the kirk of Dairsie ' was ordered to be taken down, and on the 220 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. LETTER OF A RIGHT REVERENDE FATHER IN GOD, JOHN GUTHRIE, BISHOP OF MURRAY,i TO JOHN FORBES OF CORSE, IN RECORDATION OF HIS FATHER PATRICK FORBES OF CORSE, LATE BISHOP OF ABERDENE. TO MY REVEREND AND DEARE BROTHER JOHN FORBES OF CORSE, DOCTOR IN DIVINITIE, Reverend and Deare Brother — The tydinges of the departure of your most reverend father put a sore knell to my heart, and doubtlesse that wound had gone deeper if, with Job, the thing that I was afrayde of had not come unto mee. At my last loosing from him, which (yee remember) was fewe days, or rather houres, before his dissolution, I had no small wrastling in my breast betwixt joye and griefe. Griefe, I say, and no wonder, beeing to parte from one who was to mee in place of manie, and see his face no more. Yet had I beene unthankful! to God, and unduetifull to him with whose soule my soule was so nearlie knit — if I had not rejoiced in that grace of GoD which I saw so abundantlie in him, made manifest by the gracious speaches which at that time dropped from his lips : These two evills which have bene accustomed in exti'cmities to affect the strongest, moved him not at all. Not acerhitas doloris ; — sleepe had departed from his eyes — appetite to meat or drinke was gone — thus nature had fayled, and medicine could no more worke, yet all so patientlie endured, yea, so kyndlie and graciouslie accepted, as was wonderfull. Neither did the fear of death, which is omnium terrihilium 2O1I1 of May 1G45 those biootted individuals 'recommended to Alexander Inglis of Kingask, depiite-bailie of the regalitie of St Andrews, to have a care that the act of the Assembly be satisfied anent the fidl removing of what is superstitions in the kirk of Dairsie, and particularlic anent the levelling of tlio choir, which he being present did promise.' " — The Epis- copal Church of Scotland from the Ileformation to the Revolution, by .John Tarker Lawson, A.M. Edin. 1844, pp. 428, 429.— E.] ' [John (Juthrie, who had been minister at Perth and Edinhm-gh, was ]>romoted to the See of Moray in l(j23, and deprived by the Glasgow Assembly of 1638. He subsequently retired to Iiis own estate of (Juthrie in ]*'orfar.shire. He wa.s "a venerable, worthy, and hospitable prelate.'' — I?isliop ICeith's Catalogue in loco. — E. | CONCERNING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 221 terribilissimum, vexe him. Hee was not at that tyme to begin his acquaintance with it, as he at that instant pro- fessed to our great comfort who heard him ; and thereupon called to mynde a memorable storie which he deduced at length to our great admiration. Death was become familiar to him, and esteemed to bee in hero. He was not as a tree hewen down by violence, but as a sheafe of corne comming in due season into the barne. Having served his Master above 70 years, hee could say with Hilarion — " Egredere anima mea, quomodo mortem formidabo, quw me meo Creatori sit redditura^ What the renowned Archbishop of Canter- burie Lanfranck^ prayed often for — " That hee might die such a death as hindered not his speach," was granted to your most reverend father and more, having his speach articulate and distinct as ever, memorie and judgement, above all that could have bene expected. His last trust to me, which was his greatest care on earth, concerning the filling of that See with a man furnished, as the necessitie both of tyme and place requyreth, hath bene in part alreadie, aud shal yet more fuUie, (when occasion shall offer) by the grace of GoD, be discharged by me. A great Prelate is fallen in our Israeli. The hole wherein that cedar stood argueth his greatnes, and will not be easilie filled. The Lord in His mercy provide. In calling these things to mynde, I may be readilie thought a miserable comforter, but having to do with a man of understanding, I am confident to obtayne leave to fixe my tabernacle here a little, and communicate with you what have beene the thoughts of my heart concerning him who was your father and mine ; the man on earth, I must acknowledge, whose counsell availed me most in the manifold distresses which were common to us both. I had a reverend estimation of him while he was living, and know well how steadable he was both in Church and Commonwealth ; but now being dead, I knowe howe it is that my affection is more bended than when he was living. " Dulciora mdentur omnia, carentihus^'' said Nicolas de Clamangis, upon the death of his deare friend. They who have bene in their lyfe pro- fitable to others, and by whose lyfe much more good may be 1 [Died A. D. 10S9.— E.] 222 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. expected, no inarvell if they be still lamented. But he is gone. " Ahiit non ohiit.'''' We have somewhat of him that remaines after death ; the bodie gone to the earth, there to rest under the hope of that blessed resurrection, illo mane; the spirit returned to Him who gave it. His good name, better than a good oyntment, remayneth with us ; and what he was, and hath done, shall be spoken of throughout the world for a remembrance of him, both for his commendation and incitation of others who shall heare of him. His memorie is blessed. Those who truely feare God speak of your most reverend father wnth all respect ; they speak of him (to the great joy of my heart) what hath bene obser- veable in him from his verie first beginning — a child of God — one who early sought Him — and a man of God, who being planted in the House of God, and flowrishing in His courts, hath continued to bring foorth fruit even in his old age. Ye will excuse mee, if (falling on this subject) I enlarge myselfe a little, and make faythfuU relation to you of that which I have receaved from the mouthes of those of best note in the kingdome, and whereto I myselfe, in the most part, have bene privie. That blessed Apostle St Paul served God from his elders ; from them he tooke his being, from them his pietie and religion. Timothie, the first Bishop of Ephesus, had the lyke from his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice. And was not this a great mercie of God towardes your most reverend father that hee was the sonne of your grandfather, whose name is great in the Church for his zeale towardes God and his religion, his conversation being answerable thereto. His care in the education of his children, of whom God hath given good store, was not the least or last part of his commendation. Herefrae it came that your reverend father, who, as his first borne, had right to the double por- tion, spent not the most and greatest part of his younger years in trivialibus and juvenilibus, which being the case of that great Basile, was frequcntlie deplored and lamented by him : but I remember when I was yet of verie tender ycares to have scene him at Saint Andrews, following the studie of divinitie with great approbation. Then was he laying a good foundation for the time to come. God Almighty had shaped him for another course of life than he intended ; who CONCEBNING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 223 loved alwayes to be exercised in reading, writing, informing, and instructing others, by declining all publik charge. That could not be. The Church had need of him, therefore he could not be hid. Herefrom came his emploiments publick, — first at the Church of Keith, to the which he was in a manner forced by the earnest entreaties, yea and obtestations of those of the ministry of most respect in the Diocesse of Murray, where that Church lieth ; and Aberdene, who had no small eytlier losse or gain by the plantation thereof. His labor there in the Lord was not in vain ; res ipsa loquitur, and the posterity shall retain the monuments. But there might he not stay, howbeit as unwilling to leave, as hee was first to undergo that charge. He pursued not honour, but honour pursued him, as Nazianz. said of St Basil ; or as Cyprian of Cornelius, Bishop of Rome — '•'• Episcopatum ipsum, nee postulavit, nee voluit, nee ut cwieri quos arrogantice et superhiw suce tumor injlat, invasit, sed quietus et raodestus, et quales esse consuevenmt, quiadhunc locum divinitus eligutur!''' Andalittle after — '■'■Ipse vimpassus est,utJEpiscopaiumcoactus acciperetl''' The lyke is recorded of St Cyprian himselfe and others, who have done most good in the Church of God. I think in his translation to Aberdene I see the worthy Emp. Theodos. taking Nazianz. from the strayt and little Church wherein he taught, and putting him in a more large and famous, with these wordes — " Pater, tibi et sudoribus tuis, Deus per nos Ecclesiam tribuit.'''' What joye was to all honest minded men in his promotion, who thought no lesse of him than the great Constantino was accustomed to speake of Eusebius, Bishop of Caeserea — " Foelicem Eusebium, qui non unius urbis, sed orbisptrope totius Episcopatu dignus esset.''"' In him was the vive upset of the ancient renowned Bishops, Ambrose, Augustine, &c. No dumbe dogg, but endowed with the tongue of the learned. He could speak a word in season. And it was scene in him what St Augustine ob- served of St Ambrose — '■'■Inpopido mrbum veritatis rede trac- tantem, omni die Dominico.'''' Wherin your most reverend father was so instant that notwithstanding of his great age and multitude of effairs, for which scarcely any one man was sufficient, yet could he not hearke to them who, pittying him, wisht him to forbear preaching and pitie himself. Preaching was not all ; he preached viva voce ; that is, vita 224 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC, et voce. The course of his life and all his conversation was such as the devil himself, speaking against him, shall be quickly detected. With what wisdome, care, and authority he governed that See, there is none who knoweth not. Bonis amabilis, improbis Jbrmidabilis, utrisque admirabilis. It must be truelie sayd of him as of that worthie Jehojada — " He hath done good in Israel, and towards God and His House," As there was no vertue requisite in an accomplished prelate which was not in an eminent degree to bee found in him, so was there no state or person within his reach which did not partake of his good ; that bishopricke which, by injurie of tyme, wickednesse of some, and negligence of his prsedecessours, was almost brought to the last cast, had him a restorer. Your worthie and famous Universitie, founded by Bishop Elphinstone, and hospitall by Bishop Dunbar, may vaunt of him as of a second founder. Those Churches in that Diocesse which (I neyther can nor will say, were united, but) knit together in couples, to the destruction of manie thousand souls ; and by his great wisdome and payns have bene sundered, and severallie planted, may cry — " Hosanna, blessed," &c. The prophets, and children of the prophets, to whom he was alwais most affable, and who came to him as a father and oracle, in al their doubts and distresses, may now cry — " My father ! my father ! the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen therof !" The countrey people, both nobilitie, gentrie, and others, who had him a common arbiter for settling their questions and jarres, have good reason now to take heede to themselves, and be more calme and quyet, they know not where to find an odsmanl and composer of their effayrs, so wyse, faythfuU, and payn- fuU as he was. I will not mention his beneficence to poore friendis, and others in necessitie. I have both over-seene and overheard in my travells with him, when hee hath done with the right hand what he would not have the left hand the know. This is not all yet His good was not confined in these bounties ; the most eminent seats in the kingdome found their losse in his fall. How modest and grave was his carriage ! what wisdome and solemnitie was in his 1 [" Odisman, Odman— a term to denote a chief arbiter, or one called in to give a decisive voice when the original arbiters cannot agree." — Janiieson's Diet, sicb voce. — E.] CONCERNING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 225 advysses ! Such weyght and authoritie was in all his speaches, that I may truely say — " When he spake, the princes stayed talk, and laid their hand on their mouth : after his words, they replyed not, and his talk dropped on them." One thing graced all his doings at home and abroad, in publick and private ; his sinceritie, and godlie purenesse. It may be sayd most justly of him, that Nazianz. sayd of Basil, Yjvat yag ov hoKZiv sffTrou^ccffsv k^kttos — " He cared not for the applause of men." The prayse that Cicero gave to Brutus, and ]\Iarcelline to Praetextatus,! is more com- petent to him, who " did nothing to please, but whatsoever he did, pleased." My affection hath drawn me farther than I intended ; ye will pardon mee. I must draw to that which hath withdrawn him from us. That peremp- tory question propounded by the royal prophet — " What man liveth and shall not see death," I acknowledge to bee a triumphant negative, and will give no other answere than that of the great Apostle — " Staiutum est omnibus semel mori.'''' But I see under that, a singular providence of our God in the death of his secret ones, which he acknowled^eth to "bepreciousinhis sight." How many have sought after the lyfe of your most reverend father, layde their snares, consulted together in heart, and made a league agaynst him, and others with him, not for his or their offence, but for righteousness sake; let this suffice .for you who knoweth the guyse. But God hath not given him over to the will of his adversaries ; he is gone to his grave in peace, and in a full age, maugre their hearts ; and that same God hath filled their faces with shame : they have begun to fall, and shall surelie fall : a part of them hath been as stubble, and the rest will be found in their monethes. This is the Lord's work, and is marvel- ous in our eyes. He hath foughten that good fight, finished his course, kept the fayth, and now enjoyeth the crown. His departure is aliorum majore damno quam suo. Most justlie may I say of him, as that famous P. Martyr wrote concerning the most learned Bucer, the two lights of those two glorious Universities of Cambridge and Oxford — " N^mc ^ [Cum nihil ad gratiam faceret, omnia tamen grata \-iderentur esse qure factitabat. Amm. ]Vrarcel. xxvii. 9, 8, Lipsi.'p, 8vo. 1808. Vol. I. p. 453.— E.[ 15 22G SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. ille ad suum nostrumqiie Dominum Jesum Christum^ in pace migravit. Magno omnium piorum luctu, et meo inter cwteros maximo.'''' And a little after — " IIU opiime consultum est, nos miseri et infwlices hahendi sumus, qui adlmc procellis calami- tatum jactamurr The taking away of the righteous and men of merit is a prognostication of evil to come. The Lord make us wise to prevent it, and careful, every man in his station, to prove faithful. Hereafter (dear brother) you must be to me instead of your father. And my wish as my hope is, that this Church shall have a rod out of that stock, a younger Greg. Naz. to fil the rowme of the elder. In the meane tyme, let mee entreat you to make use of me as one who, reverencing the grace of God in you, will studie to approve himselfe Your most affectionate loving brother in Christ, Jo. B. OF Murray. Edinb. 4. Apr. 1635. LETTEE OF A RIGHT REVERENDE FATHER IN GOD, THOMAS SINSARFE,i THEN BISHOP OF BRECHIN (NOW BISHOP OF GALLOWAY) TO JOHN FORBES OF CORSE, CONCERNING THE DECEASE OF HIS FATHER, PATRICK FORBES OF CORSE, LATE BISHOP OF ABERDENE. TO THE REVERENDE, AND HIS BELOVED BROTHER, DOCTOR FORBES, LAIRD OE CORSE, Reverend Brother — The losse which commcth by the death of your worthie father is neither only nor most yours. Our Church hath lost a father with you ; yea, the Churches losse is greater than yours. Publik losses, in upright judgements, go before private, and the Church her children, ^ [" 1634. — Thomas Sinsarfe was now also translated from Brechin to Galloway — (this letter shews that the date of the translation given by Keith is erroncoiis) — from which last See he was removed l)y authority of the Assembly of 1638, and likewise excommunicated. lie was the only Bishop who survived the troubles ; and then ho was translated to the See of Orkney, 14th November 1662. He is said to have been a learned and worthy prelate." — Bishop Keith's Catalogue, m loco ; see Baillie's Letters and .Journals, 8vo. vol. i. p. 154 ; Gordon's Scots Affairs, vol. i. p. 29. — E.] CONCERNING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 227 who are deprived of him, are both mo in mimber, and so the more to be pittied ; as likewyse in a greater spirituall infancie, and so had more need of a fatherHe care. These thoghts made me to doubt whether you or I needed more comfort. Sure, we need both. In one thing I yeeld unto you, that your losse is double ; you being both his son by nature, and a child of our Church by grace. For the com- mon losse let us both condole ; and that so much the more that, as one said — " Learned men, when they die, should be more lamented than kings, because kings have heyi's, and learned men have none." So may we say — " Our sorrow ought to be the greater, when such glorious starres are darkened ;" for we are not sure of so bright to fil their place. As for your particular I can not deny but ye have sufficient cause of sorrow ; and therefore I will not preasse on you a stoicall apathie, but onlie invite you to a Christian moderation ; first, from the Apostle, because your sorrow is with hope of meeting again ; next, from God's long lend of him unto you. God took not your father from you till He made your selfe a father; and, which I account more of, till ye had by your father, in a long enjoied societie, as full a spirituall education, so to speak, in your ryper years, as ye had natural! in your younger. And this is some way singular in him and you, that we have not in our land a Prelate who hath left behind him a son of his owne calling, so advanced in age, and so rype in gifts. Let me close these few lines with two words — one for myselfe, and another for you. For myselfe, I pray GOD that the vine represen- tations of vertue and grace, which I ever saw in your father, and with the which, so oft as I was in his companie, I was wonderfullie affected, may have still force with mee to stirre up in mee the lyke. And for you, seeing God hath placed you as a star in our Church, and that right glorious in your own spheare, goe on, I beseech you, more and more to approach to your father's light, that the losse which our Church hath sustayned by his removall may be repared by you, and the setting of one sunne may be the rysing of another. This shall be a part of the daylie prayer of Your verie Loving Brother, Edinb, the 5 of Tii, B. of Brechin. April 1635. 228 SOME LKTTEKS OR EPIfcTLES, ETC. LETTER OF A RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, JOHN MAXUELL,! BISHOP OF ROSSE, TO JO: FORBES OF CORSE, IN RECORDATION OF HIS FATHER, PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE, LATE BISHOP OF ABERDENE. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL D. JOHN FORBES, PREACHER IN ABERDENE. "WoRTHiE Sir — Hearing of the happie death of your worthie father, as I could not choose but blossc God for it, yet can I not but regrate the great losse I have by it. With what a fatherly and tender affection did he embrace rae when first I receaved holie orders, and had a station neare to his. How happie was I under his governement, when shortlic after, in God's mercie for the good of His Church, he was advanced to the See of Aberdene. In my difficult service at Edinburgh, how often have I bene refreshed with his pious and prudent directions and advice. And wlien latelio GoD brought me agayne to serve in these northerne parts, when in my journeyes northward and southward I had the happinesse to enjoy him at his own house, what encouragements have I had from him in these difficult tymes to goe on in God and the King's service. Next to you — give me leave to say it — I have reason to 1 [Bishop Maxwell, " a son of the Laird of Cavoiis in Nithsdale, was first minister at Mnrthlack, and next in the city of Edinbui-f^h anno 1020. He was a very h^arned man, and afterwards Doctor of Divinity, and pnt into tlie See of Ross anno 1G;33." The friendship of Laud ensured him the enmity of the rival faction in Scotland. He was ohlij^cd to fiy from Scotland after the Assembly of 1G38, and was a])pointcd Hishop of Killala in Ireland, where he snfFered much at tlie liands of the Romanists. " Jolin Maxwell, Bishop of Ross, writt a book called Sacro- sancta Rcgnm ^lajestas. Item, Lysimachns Nicanor," whcrin he compareth the Presbyterians with the Jesuits, 4to. (But see note to Gordon's Scots Affiiirs, vol. i. p. 8, where it is said, " little doubt can be entertained but it was written by John Corbet, minister of Bonhill in the Lennox.") Item, The Burden of Isachar, or the Tyrannical Practices of the Presby- terian Covenant in Scotland, 4to. Loud. Ifi4()." — Maidment's Catalogues, p. 33, 34. He was also the author of a work entitled " Ispiscopacy not abjured in His Majesty's Realm of Sf-otl.and." See Piaillie's Letters and Journals, vol. i. p. IG'2 ; Gordon's Scots Affairs, vol. ii. j). 134. — K.J CONCERNr:NG PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 229 bemoane the losse of a father. Yet non amisinms, sed prcemisimiis. And if anie thing be to be regrated, it is the losse the Church suffereth, and chiefehe hoc temporis articulo ; that howsoever we have a pious and gracious King, whom I pray God Alhnightie to blesse with an happie and long reygne, yet varus et acerhis casibus concutitur. What might not be expected from him who was consulendo pnidens, eloquendo facundus, et agendo fortis. Hee is dead, yet shall ever live in the myndes and memories of good men. The good order and pence established in his Diocesse, the flowrisking reformation of the universitie and schools of Aberdene, the happinesse of both citie and towne of Aberdene in a pious, learned, and able ministerie, the peace settled in the countrey, discutiendo humiliora negotla, his exemplar pietie at home, his fatherlie authoritie in his See, his fidelitie, wi,?dome, courage, and pietie, in acquyting himselfe as became a Prelate, Counsellor, and Statesman, will make his memorie blessed, with all who feare God, to the worlde's ende. Suffer mec a little to solace both you and mee by remembring what hee was, although my expression be short of his worth. Vir fuit ut natalibus, sic dignitate clarus ; moribus ut scriptis politissimus : qui ad doctrinse orthodoxiam, vitam priscse pietatis, et animum, nihil prseter charitatem, ecclesise emendationem, et unitatemspiritus in vinculo pacis spirantem, attulit. In eo maximum pacis et quietis studium, summa conten- sionum et rixarum fuga, ut nisi de necessariis contendendum minime putaret ; qua animi moderatione et aequitate ut partiariorum theologorum iram et invidiam, ita vere Catho- licorum et optimorum amorem et benevolentiam meruit. Episcopus fuit omnibus virtutum numeris absolutus ; in eo, Chrysostomi profluentis orationis copiam, Hilarii Cothurnum, Basilii suaviloquentiam, Cypriani disciplinam, Hieronymi in Scripturis peritiam, Augustini in disputando acumen, Ambrosii aculeos, Gregorii puram nulloque fuco vitiatam pietatem ; in eo denique tanquam in una tabula, vividum Episcoporum exemplar, videro fuit. Gravis nee severus, facilis non contemptus, et quod paucis datum, non minus amabilis, quani vencrandus. 230 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC. Res Ecclesiae tarn abstinenter quam alienas, tarn dili- genter quam suas, et tarn relligiose quam sacras admini- strabat. Quid multis ? dignum vita sortitus est exitum, et animam virtutibus, et pietate onustam, bene de Republica Christiana meritam, Deo reddidit. Deum veneror ut omnes et singuli virtutum ejus vestigia prementes,eundem sortiantur vitae exitum. Sir — The manie bondes whereby I was tyed to the dead have made mee burst out in this weake expression of a strong affection, both to condole and congratulate with you. And yet when all accountes are made, blessed bee God, we have more true ground of true joy and content than sorrow and discontent. So praying God Allmightie to blesse you with manie good dayes, I rest Your loving Brother in Christ, Edinb. 6 Apr. 16.35. Jo. Rossensis. LETTER OF A RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, ADAM BALLENDINE,! BISHOP OF ABERDENE, TO DOCTOR JOHN FORBES OF CORSE. TO HIS REVEREND BROTHER, DOCTOR JOHN FORBES OF CORSE. My deare and Reverend Brother — Having now viewed and seene these partes, I glorifie God, who hath comforted mee in giving so happie preachers to this towne. This, under God, was the worke of your happie father of blessed ^ ["Adam Ballenden, son of Sir John Ballcndon of Achnoul, who was Justice-Clerk. He was first minister at Falkirk anno 1608, where he continued till the year 1615, at which time lie was presented to the See of Dunblane, and from thence to the See of Aberdeen anno 1635, [on the death of Bishop Tatrick Forbes.] Here he sat till he was deprived and excomnmnicatcd with the rest of his order by the wild Assembly at Glasgow, anno 1638; after which ho withdrew into England, where he died in a short time" [1642.] Keith's Catalogue iv loco; Baillie's Letters and Journals ; Spalding's Hist, of tlie 'I'roubles ; Gordon's Scots AflPairs, mb noiti. — E.] CONCERNING TATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 231 memorie, to whome succeeding ages are beholden for the same, and for the restitution of the Colledge, whoHie ruinated, till it pleased God, to stirre him up : as also in reviving the Episcopall revenewes in a farre better measure than hee found them. These workes, beside the great giftes given unto him by God, spake yet for him after his death. I professe, next unto the conscience of my calling, and the commandement of God, his pra?ceeding example doetli move mee to an holie emulation, having succeeded to him in this place. And I wish to God I had also succeeded to his vertues. In this God hath blessed you, qui es optimi patris^ non degener films. Your sermons, disputes, and conference, have refreshed me. The Lord encrease His graces, and crown them with perseverance. Expect from me what in GoD I am able to performe. The grace of God be with you. Your Brother in the Lord, Aberd. ultimo Septemb. 1635. Ad. Aberdene. LETTER OF A RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, DAVID LYNDSAY,! BISHOP OF EDINBURGH, TO DOCTOR JOHN FORBES OF CORSE. TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFULL AND MY WELL-BELOVED BROTHER, DOCTOR JOHN FORBES OF CORSE. Right Worshipfull — I receaved your letter. Ye shall assure yourselfe that what consisteth in my power I will ^ [David Lindsay, sou to Colonel John Lindsay, a brother of the House of Edzel in Angus, was minister at Dundee, and was consecrated Bishoi) of Brechin in 1619. He was translated to Edinburgh in 1634. The fury of the mob was like to have fallen heavy on this Prelate at the first read- ing of the Liturgy in the High Church of Edinburgh on Sunday the 23d July 1637. He was deposed and excommunicated by the Assembly in 1638, whereupon he withdrew into England, where he died during the following troubles. — Bishop Keith's Catalogue, in loco. His works include " Resolutions for Kneeling at the Communion," published at London in 1619 ; and " True Narration of the Proceedings in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland holden at Perth, 25th August 1618, with a Just Defence of the Articles therein concluded against a Seditious Pamphlet." — See Baillie's Letters and Joiirnals, Edin. 8vo. 1841, vol. i. j). 161 ; Gor- don's Scots Affairs, vol. ii. p. 131. — E.] 232 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC, doe, to further your ri^ht both for your owne worth and for your father's sake, of blessed memorie, a learned, wyse, and a couragious Prelate, who in his lyfe was a mirrour of pietie, justice, and sobrietie, expressing in his action what hee perswaded in his doctrine. I pray to God that as yee have begun, so yee may proceede to walk in his foot-steppes, that so the want of him may bee supplyed, to the glorie of God, the good of Christ's Church, and the joye of us who had the happinesse to be his friends and colleagues whyle hee lived, and hope after this lyfe to bee gathered with him to possesse the inheritance that our blessed Saviour, the Lord Jesus, hath promised and purchased by His passion. To whose grace I have you heartilie commended, and shall ever remayne. Your loving brother and assured friend, Da. Edenburgensis. From Holie- Rood-House, the 3d of October 1635. ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER. Know, gentle reader, that these Letters of the Bishops are not placed heere according to the order of their Epis- copal Sees, nor with respect of persons, but onlie according to the order of tyme, expressed in the date of everie Letter. CONCERNING PATRICKE FORBES OF CORSE. 233 PARS EPISTOL^ MAGISTRI JOANNIS SETONI, PHILOSOPHIC PROFESSORIS, IN OOLLEGIO MARESCHALLANO, QUOD EST ABERDONIC, AD REVERENDISSIMUM IN OHRISTO PATREM ADAMUM BALLENDINUM, PATRICII FORBESII PROXIMUM SUCCESSORUM IN EPISCOPATU ABERDONENSI. ExTiNCTis (Reverendissime Prsesul) inclytse nostrse civitatis luminibus, Reverendo Prsesule, Sancto in Christo Patre Patricio, Domino a Corse, &c. fortissimo Christi nuper in terris athleta, Sanctis jam Angelis gloria semulo, solatii impatiens civitas, atrata Ecclesia, puUatse Musse, talem videre optantes potius quara sperantes, certatim lugent. Ille enim civitatis nostrte gloria et gaudiam, Ecclesise Imnen et colmnen, scholarum juvamen et fulcrum, bonorum solatium, malorum mastix. Felix est Plinio, qui fecit scribenda, vel scripsit legenda : Felicissimus igitur, hie in Christo Pater, utroque praestito : obscuram (ut alia taceamus) prius Lynci Apocalypsin, luculenta sua illustratam exegesi, lippo per- spicuara et facilem reddidit. Divinge in Ecclesia Keithensi Presbyter facundias (concionatoris norma) coelesti pabulo, certatim confluentes citra satietatem aluit. Qui facundum dixerit, minus vero dicit, qui facundissimum, Tulliana vel Chrysostomi laude ornatum in eminenti gradu, ineffabili quidem disertum prsedicamus, imitandum si imitabilis esset. Ad Episcopatus non affectati, sed obtrusi apicem illata pise modestise vi evectus, languentem Ecclesise disciplinam restituit, liberalibus artibus spiritum et sanguinem reddidit, sacrarum literarum candidatos, negligentise morbo tabe- scentes, accurato promo vendorum institute examine, acerrimo virtutis stimulo, ad sedulitatem excitavit. Academise cen- sura et redditum auxit, sedificia ruitura reparavit, quorum cum restitutorum tum restituentis, tanto illustrior gloria, quanto ipsa moles restitutionis immanior fuit. Mores, vivum virtutis exemplar reformavit, ample alimento theologise studiosis necessario providit. Huic alii aliis virtutibus forte pares, invicta vero animi constantia et fortitudine nemo. Cujus foelicitati supremus cumulus accessit optimus, erudi- tissimus, piissimus, tanto prsesule dignus filius, patrimonii 234 SOME LETTERS OR EPISTLES, ETC, ampli, eximiarumque virtutum hseres optatissiraus. Tandem plenus annis et honoribus, finita mortalitate non vita, in ccBlestem patriam plaudenti angelorum chore, aeternum beandus receptus est. In quo cunctse nostrae musac pericu- limi adicre. Nostro dolori, tanto amisso patrono, Nepenthes subinde adhibere conati sunt oratores facundissimi, ipsius laudem, omnem laudantis facultatem, audientis quoque fidem pene excedentem, voce facunda, stiloque erudito celebrantes. Sed renovata viri raemoria, vulnus recruduit, dolor invaluit. Sola tua virtus, Reverendissime Praesul, &c. NOBILI, CLARISSIMO, ET REVERENDO VIRO, D. JOANNI FORBESIO,^ BARONI DE O^NEIL, DOMINO A C0THARIS,2 S. S. THEOLOGI^ UOCTORI EXIMIO ; EIUSDEMQUE PKOFESSORI SPECTATISSIMO, UNIVERSITATI ABERDONENSI SUMMO CUM GAUDIO, POSTLIMINIO REVOCATO, EJUSDEMQUE RECTORI MAGNIFICO, ETC. HANC SUAM FERALEM OPELLAM D. D. LOCHiEUS.^ N Tibi (Clarissime Domine) in tanta hac Lachrymarum abysso, Leocheianas etiam et has nostras Noenias, ad peracerbum SanctissimiTuiPatris funusubertim fusas, — Oratiuncula funebri, soluta an dissoluta potius, — postulantibus id ipsura (prout temporis augustia ferebat) authoritate tua, obsequio nostro, et demortui ^ [See supra, p. 8, note. — E.] ^ [" Corse, of old Cotharis." Collections on the shires of Aberdeen and Banff, published by the Spalding Club, p. 600. — E.] ^ [The Author of this Funeral Oration, Datid Leitch, was appointed a Eegent in King's College in 1628, and Sub-Principal in 1632. [Kennedy's Annals of Aberdeen, vol. ii. pp. 403, 40.5.] Some years later ho left King's College, to become the pastor of the parish of Ellon, in the county of Aberdeen. We learn from Spalding, [Hist, of Troubles, v. i. p. 145,] that he returned in 1639 to Aberdeen from England, witli " sundrie 236 EPIST. NUNCUPAT. merito. Et (juidem heic si non quod tanti Semonis meritis respondeat, at certe quod mearum virium pro tempore esse ministers" and others " who for this Covenant liad fled the countrie to the King." Next year he passed over to the side of the Covenanters. The same gossiping Chronicler, in recording this change of opinion on the part of Leitch, thus animadverts upon it. " Sunday the 19th of .July [1G40], Mr David Leech, minister at Logic, and principall outstander and gainestander of the covenant, and who had left his church, liis charge, his countrie, and gone into England, as ye may read before, at last he returns home, becomes penitent, and the forsaid Sunday he in Old Aberdem jn-eached aue penitentiall sermon, directed be our kirk, whilk that day was not found satisfactorie ; therfor, he was once againe ordained to preach upon the 14th of September ane other penitentiall sermon in the kirk of New Aberdein, whilk he did, and was found satisfactorie ; whereupon he was kindly received to his kirk and charge, whilk he was loath to want, and therfor yeilded first." [Ibid. p. 229.] In Mr David Laing"s Appendix to his excellent edition of Principal Baillie's Letters and Journals, [Edin. 8vo. mdcccxlii. v. iii. pp. 554, 555,] we find the following notices of Leitch some years later. The Presby- terians at this time [1648] contemplated certain additions to the psalmody then in use in Scotland. "Edinb. 25 Februarij 1648 — The Commission desires Mr Johne Adam- son to revise Mr David Leitch's papers of Poecie, and give his ojiinion to the Commission thereof. (Minutes of the Commission, p. 306.) Edinb. 5 April. 1648. — Concerning Mr David Leitch, The Commission appoynts the letter following to be written to the Presbytery of Allan, [in the margin, Ellon.] — Right Reverend and Welbeloved Brethkex, These are to show yow, that our brother INIr David Leich, being employed in Paraphrasing the Songs of the Old and New Testament, lies been in this town some tyme, and for als much as he yet is appointed to continue in that employment, our earnest desyre is, that yow endevour your selfes joyntly, for his further encouragmeut in that work, provyding that it be no hinderance to him in his present charge. So recomending yow and your labours to the blissing of God, wee rest Your louing Brethren, etc. Edinb. 5 Apryll 1648. Direct to their Reverend Brethren of the Presbytery of Ellon. (ib. p. 362.)- " It may be added, that in the Miuutes of the Commis.sion no further notice is taken of these Scriptural Songs by Leitch, which do not a])pear ever to have been printed." Besides the Funeral Oration, and the long Latin poem on the restora- tion of the University of Aberdeen by Bishop Forbes, in the present Collection, Mr Laing informs us that Leitch " published an academical oration, 'Philosophia Illachryman.s,' &c. In an account of the ' Learned jnon and Mriters of Aberdoon,' it is said, Leitch ' wrote several learned EPIST. NUNCUPAT. 237 potuit, vel tute, ipse facillimo negotio deprehendas. Immo- derata doloris acerbitas Dicturientem juxta, ac Scriptu- rientem nunquani non impertui'bare, et a proposito sibi scopo aliorsum abripere, solet. Ego me eadem reraora prae- peditum correptumque (dum in hsec), sincere et ex animo profiteor. Accedebat et insuper (quod quidem Rectorem te nostrum neutiquam latet), Vocationis mese gravissimse (qua quidem in dies horasque incessanter detineor) sollicita inspectio, quae quidem vel te judice, -ra^egya pene omnia a studiis meis exulare jubet. Et certe (ut quod res est sincere et sine fuco) nisi autoritatis tuse urgentes impulissent stimuli, utique ego consultius multo et conducibilius Schreddicum hoc suppressissem, et stillantes has lachrymarum guttas a me meisque, Musis tacite ruminandas, vel rebibendas potius reservassem, quam in apertum subsannientis hujus ?evi Theatrum protrusissem. Cseterum, quod a me heic pro tempore excidere passus sum, quantumvis illud quidem ad absolutissinife expressionis obrussam non sit redactum, et poems, and was one of the chaplains to King Charles II. and also of the army that went into England.' A volume of Latin poetry by him was printed at London, 1657, 12mo." Leitch was the younger brother of John Leech, who published a variety of Latin poems, under the name of Leochaeus. This is confirmed by the statement of Sir Thomas Urquhart, who says — " I forbear to spend encomiums upon that worthy gentleman blaster David Leech, who is a most fluent poet in the -Latin tongue, an exquisite philosopher, and profound TJicoIoff. " Seeing I am come to speak agame of Scotish poets which have flourished of late, the foresaid Master Leech hath an elder brother named John, who hath set forth four or five most excellent books of Epigrams and Eclogues in the Latin." [Lond. 1620, small Svo.] — Sir T. Urquhart's Jewell, Lond. 1652, p. 199. As to John Leech, see farther — Collections on the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff^, printed for the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1843, p. m. There was another minister of the same name, viz. " Mr Da\'id Leich, minister at Dundrennan," in whose behalf a collection was recommended to be made, " to aid him for his great and pitiful loss which the said Mr David had sustained by a sudden and fearfull fire," &c. (Scott's ISIS. Extracts from the Kirk-Session Records of Perth, 23d July 1634, vol. ii. p. 54. — Advocates' Library MSS.) Again, " David Lichaeus Mysta Ecclesiaa Rerirensis (N.B. Rerrick is the name of the parish formerly Dundrennan, Kii-kcudbrightshire) has twenty lines. In obitum Janpe Metellana?," in the Funerall Sermon by I. M. on Lady Jane Maitlane.— (Edin. 1633, 4to.) The Editor is indebted to the politeness of Mr Laing for' the greater part of these additional notices. — E.] 238 EPIST. NUNCUPAT. oratoriarum elegantiarum quodam veluti Antepagmento illi- tum, rei tamen veritate, et simplici rerum comraemoranda- rum sinceritate, haudquaquam uti speramus, injucundum futurum. Utut sit, si Genio tuo liaec qualiacunque essevides, csetera profecto ego susque deque et minimo minus. Aris- tarclios quippe non moror, sicubi sit, Eequa lance rem qui trutinet, et propensisimse voluntatis Affectum potius quam Effectum Geometrico medio qui expendat. Vale. ORATIO FUNEBRIS, In ohitum Beverendissimi in Christo Patris, Patricii For- BESii, Miseratione Dlvina, Episcopi Aherdonemis, Begique a Consiliis Secretioribus in Scotia, Universitatis Aherdon- ensis Cancellarii AmjMssimi, Ejusdemque instauratoris promdentissimi ; Baro7iis de G'Neil, Domini a Cotharis, ^c. raptim effusa, statim post ejusdem exequias honorificen- iissime celeiratas, dvo die Aprilis, Anno Dom. 1635, in Acroaterio Theologico Universitatis Aherdonensis coram illus- tribus et spectatissimis amicis, ei Maxima Synodi Aber- donensis parte. A Davide LEOCHiEO, Subprimario, Physiologiw et Infe- riorum Mathematum Professore, in Academia Begia Aberdonensi. I ingentis doloris prsenuntise, stillantes hse ab oculis Lachrymse dicturientis linguam non retardarent, utique, hodie habenda Oratio, et inhibenda omnis properatio esset (Audit.) Si tristissima hsec et lugubris rerum facies, funereum nescio quid, et de more querulum non Exordium. spiraret, pauxillum equidem speraret Orator, et pristinse facundise placidum tenorem Isetabundus resumerct, ut in immortales tarn Venerahdi Capitis laudes, eonsueto more consurgat : Verum immoderata hfec (quam in vultu 240 ORATIO FUNEBRIS. nostro depictam cernitis) moeroris acerbltas, misellam banc et streperam nostram Oratiunculam in arctum brevitatis gyrura cogit, et Oratorem hei, hei, qualem qualem hodie, in immonsaj confusionis abyssum prsecipitat. Etenim cecidit, cecidit nobis, pro dolor, Reverend issimus ille in Christo Pater, Patricius, Miseratione Divina, Episco- , . !• ' / Defuncti porum pene omnium nostri seculi ZTriGKO'TToraroc, : prssuus _-. T-. , . oratoria et Patricius, Patriciorum ad immu omnmm vera descnp- T-» • • Tn • ^^'^' maxnue, Patriems : llle uniis, per quem stetit foro justitia, literis decor, religioni nitor : In ortliodoxa religione constantissimus Constantinus : In solerti politise, turn civilis, tmn Ecclesiasticse moderatione, patiiciusin a&ccvarorarog AthanasiuS : Ille omnium augus- nu4uoad-^° tissimus Augustinus : Ille unus Chrysostomus *"''^''*'''"'^- omnium maxima x^VGO(rro^OQ : Ambrosius ille, Ambrosia Coelesti omnium maxime perfusus : Lactantius ille, sermone laeteo omnium maxime lacteus : Epiphanius ille, omnium maxime l'7ri(pa,v^g : Hieronymus ille, omnium h^a/vof/jco- rarog : Origenes ille, unde originem Borealis hujus plagae, quanta quanta est, et hausit et hauriet eruditio : ac ut verbo, ille unus immortalium Patrum, immortalis Pater, Patriae Pater, ac (quod dictu mirum) Proavorum Pater. Bone Deus, et quis mihi heic, vel Angelus desuper, dictionem materia^ parem : Delitise Regum, Regni, Regulorum, Rerum : Delitise ilia? unas generis humani : Titulo vere aureo, vel a Tito illo Vespasiano arrepto, et huic uni unice accommo- dando. Ad cujus plasticam beroici corporis Esterions rikZKijtnv, Natura et Ars, adeo conspirarunt, ut qS deil-" v(pKTTcc[Mvoi' illud usque adeo quondam conspicuum, "''''^"°- nunc vero hei quam luridum, squalidum jam, et de more exangue, cunctis vel exteris jure merito maxime suspiciendum exhibuerint : cujus vel vultus exterior, humanitatem sum- mam, heroica majestate interspersam ; ocelli incomparabilcm interioris mentis acrimoniam, mira sua volubilitate, et siderea scintillatione referebant. In quo severitas quidcm (prout oxiniiam illam dignitatis amplitudinem decuit), mira et multa, at mansuetudine, comitate, et jucundissima sermonis affabilitate adeo contemperata, ut prudens illud Gregorii illius theoloffi dictum in eum optime convcnerit. Kvagrius c • t 1- p • Hist. lib. 5. Severitas adeo cum mansuetudine temperata luit, cap.& uti neutra laederetur ab altera, sed utraque alterius ope. ORATrO FUNEBRIS. 241 maximam consequeretiir comraendationem. A cujus ore vere augelico quondam ykvKZ^ov (Mskirog p&sv ccvBt^, ad oircum- stantis coronse stuporem, an ,solatium verius : In interioris ^ ' _ mentis de- cujus voce et calamo (sive haereticum premeret, sciiptio. sive reum sceleris argueret, sive praeteritae ccvo[Jjicig con- scientia consternatum erigeret), habitabat Paulus, vel gladio anatliematis spirituali inarmatus, vel super-coelestis conso- lationis alexipharmaeo instructus. In cujus intimo pectoris gazophylacio, virtus, pietas (nobile par, sine quo vera nulla nobilitas) solerter inaedificarunt, et nidulos suos ingeniose posuerunt. In quo solo mirabatur natura stupida vires suas, suseque potentiae magnitudinem, pleno quasi in speculo, super-coelestis contemplabatur gratia. Mitto, mitto lubens ilium Generis splendorem, (cujus quidem hodie universa qua patet Britannia conscia) quo Ivy'ivi^g pariter, ««/ yzwcuog passim inclaruit : Mitto et illam CoTHARiSLE familise (cujus ipse olim prselustre caput) con- dignam celeb rationem : cujus vel sola nobilitas (si Eusdem nihil ultra) Patricium meritissimo jure Heroem PobuSas.^* coarguisset : Tester vos primam, perantiquam, ac celeberrimam Forbesiorum stirpem : Tester et vos ad unum omnes exinde identidem quse pullulastis prselustria Forbesi- orum germina : Tester et vos ex Cotharisia qui pridem, quique ex ea non ita pridem pullulastis Mavortia poj,tij,g;,„g. Forbesiorum pex^tora : Generosam intelligo illam ^ent/o'^'™"* Reverendissimi Pr^sulis Fraternitatera : quorum vel exteriora, Martem semper, mentes Minervam, linguae Mercurium, (quamdiu in vivis) spirabant : quorum Cory- phaeus, sive Martem raanu, sive Minervam sapientia, sive Mercurium lingua postulasses, Reverendissimus noster Prsesul semper fuit. Atqui natalitiam ille nobilitatem hanc suam, prosapiam, et praelustria proavorum suorum stem- mata, tanquam vilissima terrse GKV^akoc, et inanis pra-suns gloriolae bullas, prog veneranda eruditione, prae ei", si exquisitissimae memorise tenacitatem : ^rjTrjTtzog, si ^^jr^jooara toties ab eo mota an sub mota verius : (piko[jijoc0^g, si studium, si ardorem, si literaturae desiderium : (piKoTovog si inexhaustos labores, si lucubrati- ones, si denique ejusdem scripta lucernam I'edolentia : ^iX'/jKOog demum, si diligentissimam ejusdem attentionem, (quam doctioribus subinde et institutoribus suis sub ipso juvontutis vere, humillime, et tanto cum fructu adeo ex- hibuerat) sedulo pensitemus. Quidni ergo omnium maxima (pikoijjcc&rig tandem futurus, in quo olim, suo prope jure, tan- quam in proprio domicilio, tanta munerum singularium affluentia tranquille adeo residebat. Testor vos Uni- VERSITATES, AnDREAPOLITANAM, GlASCUENSEM, Educationis OXONIENSEM ; quibus liodie, tantae eruditionis ^°'^''^ prima rudimenta, ad sempiternam vestram gloriam devoven- tur. E quibus singulis, et ad unum omnibus, tam generosus quondam Surculus, tantas eruditionis succum tam foecundum, cum fructu haudquaquam poenitendo hauserat. Sed nee heic provida Praesulis constitit solertia: Coelestium quippe quum sit, supercoelestia jugiter meditari, coelestissi- mus adeo hie, posthabitishumilibus philologiae juxta ^^ ^.^.^.^ ac philosophise lucubrationibus (quarum pene om- f^^^ p^*"!"- nium ad nauseam usque satur semper) mysteriis theologicis totum sese addixit : Karissimum profecto, quod in nobili deprehendas, quem quidem (prout setas fert) commodum subblandientia naturae fortunae- subtiussimus -^ phuosophus. que munera aliorsum nunquam non rapiunt, et in evanidam mundanarum curarum solitudincm im- mittunt. Undo brevi factum, ut angelicis ejusdem uiTOioguT"* eloquiis qua privatim qua publice, perstrepere adeo Pulpita, sacras personare Cathedras, Tcmpla luxu_ Ejusdem in riare, ut redivivum dixisses Augustnium, quotiens mira uexteri- FoRBESiUM tanquam e Tripodo fulniinantem, et Ivfcai^cog, uKoci^cog, IXsyffuvTa, i-TTiri^riGavToi. ^a^a- Ka\i(javra, kv 'Truer f] (LaK^oOu(jjia^ koI hihuy^ Jiastonl'iem ' cepisses. Testor vos CoTiiAiusiyE familia} privates prSmo domes- Lares : Testor vos vulgi procerumquo ad tantjic suis* ^^•^'■<="'t ORATIO FUNEBRIS. 24^3 rei spectaculum freqntissirae identidem conglomeratam multitudinem : Tester et vos insignem KethtE Ecclesiam, Pastorem primo Patricium qui habuistis, et pastor Ketu- ardentissimo eundem desiderio retinuisse toties post^designa^ subinde qui exoptastis. Idipsum quidem olim provide (prout solebat) prsevidit Serenissimus aeternae memoria3 Jacobus Sextus : qui (prfeterquam quod Patricium hunc nostrum, nSo^desig- ipsissimo Patriciorum suorum in albo adscriptum, sexto. * ^'^^' et non mediocri literaturse tinctura aspersura vidisset) ulteriori honorum cumulatione eundem pro mentis liberaliter affieere non destitit : unde illi Episcopalis Mitrse reverentia, meritissimo quidem jure, ac sine uUo ambitu cessit : unde illse faustissimse Cleri, Procerum, Vul- gique, et omnium subsequutse congratulationes, quod tam venerandura dignumque Antistitem amplissimse huic Dio- eoesi Abredonensi, singularis Dei opt, max. patricius providentia prsefecissit. Quo quidem factum, ^egfus desig- ut nulla temporis interjecta morula, in secretions ^^^^^' Consilii ScoTiCANi delectum, dilectissimus adeo hie Deo, E.egi, Patriaeque suae, venerabundo applausu adscisceretur. Et si fata, si canities, si grave senium (cujus comes in- gravescens morbus) tulissent, ulterioris dignitatis spes maxima de Antistite promovendo superstes semper fuit. Cujus quidem tanta tam que augusta, in Politia cum civili tum Ecclesiastica autlioritas, ut in votum nutumque suum, quocunque voluerit (nee enim ejusdem Voluntas a norma rectse rationis vel tantillum declinaverat) CoUegas patricii mira una omnes ifcovrag aZKOvrccg identidem traxerit. et'^pcrorlndo Quod si nonnumquam (uti ut plurimum contigisse in'^conVentu •. 1 1 n J • 1 Senatoruiu. accepmius) venerabundo benatorum congressui, vel inextricabilis in re qualibet perplexa labyrintlius, vel in dirimendis dirigendisque regni negotiis, et controversiis gravioribus, Gordius aliquis sese obtulisset nodus ; ilico ad hunc recta consulitur, sciscitatur, et ardentissimis omnium votis, prudentissimi Patris judicium juxta et auxilium omnium maxime desideratur : quod quidem (tanquam ex ipso Delphici Oraculi tripode) majestate vere Apollinea, animose adeo proferre, et in vulgus spargei-e consueverat, ut stuporem cunctis, an secretam verius sui reverentiam, uni- versse adplaudentium multitudini nunquam non subinde 244 ORATIO FUNEBRTS. extorserit. Tester vos inviolandos Jacobi Sexti Manes : Tester vos Serenissimam Caroli nostri Majestatem : Tester vos saeratissima Secretioris Concilii Scoticani Numina : Testor vos, si qui vel quondam fuistis, vel insuper estis invictissimi Forbesii capitales hostes, quibus singulis et ad unum omnibus, incredibilis ilia tanti Senatoris sagacitas (quam foelicissimus nunquam non successus insequebatur), quara luculentissime innotuit. Ita, in minimis non tantum, sed et maximis quibuscunque cum subeundis turn consum- mandis, inter omnes omnium maxiraus, a vere maximis regni nostri antesignanis, FoRBESius dum vixit . . • ^ /-I in -r» i Bemardusad semper perstitit : uti de Gerardo fratre Bernardus cantic. cap. Pater :^ sed quid maximus ? Ita est (Aud.) si res gesta, secius, si rerum gerendarum propositum, si modestiam, si summam mentis raTsivocp^cocuvriV contueamur : quantum- vis enim ita aliorumque judicio maximus, ita omnium cal- culo omnibus sapientior, sibimet ipsi tamen minimus, et solus in suis oculis non sapiens ; utinam multos etsi minus sapientes non plus tangeret ista Prophetse Kapccokoyta, Vce qui sapientes estis in oculis vestris. Nee sine piaculo prsetermittendum duximus quod in tanto tamque eximio Antistite, per universum vitse su£e curriculum omnium eminentissime enituit : incredibilem nimirum illam, raram, nedum singularem in pastorali munere pus^emcum obeundo fidelitatem, pari constantia conjunctissi- jf^^entiai™ mam, quam quidem in publica Verbi Divini prae- J^i'^u'^J^obe- dicatione, et aperta Evangelii promulgatione, intra ""''°' praescriptos dioecseseos suae sibi coelitus demandatse limites, ex cathedra, palam cunctis significare non destitit. Insignem vero illam Nilammonis pusillanimitatem (de quo expresse Sozomenus2) an potius modestam ejusdem a publico sozom. lib. 8, reipublicse ecclesiasticas regimine tergiversationem "^ ' *'"^' (quam quidem Monastica ilia, eaque inveterata vitse soli- taria consuetude illi contraxerat) pro piaculo reputans, obnixissime aversabatur. Quem dum Theophilus, Episcopus quondam Alexandrinus, hortarctur, ut Geritarum Ejusdom vocationi acquiesceret, et ut erdinationem Epis- dissimin ex , , . , hist, ecclcsi- copalem a se eblatam annnitus amplecteretur, ast > [S. Bernard! Abbat. opera Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1G80. vol. i. p. 1353.] ' riTermifT Sozomeni ITist. EccIps. Fol. Cantal). 1720, p. .350.] onATIO FUNEBRIS. 24o perendina qiuidaiii eaquo consultissima procrastinatioue, ex meticulosa nescio qua modestia an molestia potius (qua pro tempore in tant?e provincise regimine suscipienda extra modura laborabat) inter orandura, prsesente Theophilo, extremum expirasse, pro certo accepinius. Patricius vero Vocationi Divin?e, et Ordinationi Ecclesiasticse humillime se subjiciens, posthabitis quibuscunque omnibus sollicitudini- bus, molestiis et serumnis (quibuscum illi in solicita muneris sui inspectione congrediendum ecrto certius cognoverat) invictissimum se Christi athletam, et vigilantissimum per omnia ovium sibi coelitus commissarum pastorem, ad sempi- ternum militantis Ecclesise solatium et ingenlfem ininiicorum passim grassantiura consternationem, ad extremum usque semetipsum exhibuit. Apostolici illius nunquam non memor: V(e mihi, si non evangelizavero. Et quidera quotiescunque incomparabilem illam Patricii Prsesulis, in strenua provineiae susceptse functione dexteritatem animo penitius volvo, ilieo cogita- multotio'ex ,. ,. -ij. 1101 rr\ T hist.ecclesias- tionem subire videtur quod de bylvano, iroadis ticaasimiii. Episcopo, Socrates ille Scolasticus, seternum com- 5e'™1"!^n"^ memorandum reliquit ;i qui sub ipsum statim in y^^c^'se!''' Troadem ingressum, onerariam quandam navim, ingentibus columnis transportandis recens in littore fabri- catam conspicatus (quam ne uni versa et ad id negotii effusa hominum multitude, ingeniosissimis machinis protraliere, et oceano committere potuisset) multumque a populo sollici- tatus, ut ad locum in quo immota navis detinebatur, arden- tissimas Deo preces funderet, quo quidem subinde, foelicissi- mus desuper successus insequeretur ; modestissime de se ipso primum prfefatus, se peccatorem instar omnium unum, nee nisi ab integerrimo et justissimo rem tanti momenti plene exequi potuisse. Effusis tandem Deo precibus, mori- gerum se, hac in re, populo pr?ebuit, prsehensoque fune, et cpcteris post strenue incumbentibus, facillimo negotio levissi- moque tractu in mare navigium sensim delabitur, ad stuporem non tantum, sed et tant?e multitudinis piam deinceps ani- morum conversionem. Ita Patricius, Aberdon- , ,. ^. Applicatio. cnsis ecclesia navim, immotam illam quidem et in littore uti aiunt mole sua hactenus laborantem, ((juam ne 1 [Socratis Scholastici Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. caps. 3(), 37. Fol. Cantab. 1730, torn. ii. p. 386, 387. 246 ORATIO FUNEBRIS. universa prsecedentium, et ad id operis evocatorum Epis- coporum multitudo vel junctis viribus oceano et ventis committere potis erat), ardentissimis suis precibus, et ingenio vere Archimedseo solus (Sylvano hac in re celebrior), et rite potuit, et plene prsestitit, ad immortalem nominis sui gloriam, sempiternum Aberdonensis synodi solatium, et summam Antistitum deinceps succedentium tranquillitatem. Ingravescente senio, quid mirum, si a prsedicatione et viffiliis, a labore et studiis grandaevus paullum • T^ 1 . . ,. . , , Quid in feriabitur Presbyter : quinuiio licitum hoc, et senectute •^ ^ . 1 • 1 strenue prae- ecclesiastico jure rite sancitum : si vero olanguidse f^^'^^^^ ^'■*- senectutis morbum adflictissima corporis valetudo consequatur, quidni ex ipsa necessitatis lege, interrumpenda studia, et injicienda laboribus tragula est. Patricius, prsescriptos mortalitatis liumanse terrainos pertingens, Septuagenarius licet, animose tamen, et solita cum dexteri- tate, in munere suo pastorali strenue defungendo .....,, 1 . T Prapsulis in assiduus perstitit, mvigilando, preedicando, oppor- praed^ando tune priTCsidendo, et eximia morum vitaeque incul- g°jjg"j„tg'° patse integritate, universse Clericorum fraternitati ^.f^i^^'j?* ^' omnium maxime prselucendo : fidelissimi Pastoris adinstar, ipsissimam pro ovibus animam depositurus ; usque adeo ut gravissimo tandem TLa^ccXvffBcog morbo cor- reptus, (quem tanquam expressissimum extremse hccXvcrscog prsesagium duxit, et ad finem usque patientissime tulit) ; adhuc tamen in salute et tranquillitate Ecclesise , . , • • n i 1 rra>siil tan- procuranda, pio quodam annni lervore et zelo, dem morbo ^ '■ '■ , IT correptus. ad extremum usque vitae anhehtum, totum sese adeo exhibuerit, ut nee ilia presentis grand asvitatis neces- sitas, ncc ista invalescentis morbi violentia, eundem ab officio suo vol tantillum dimovere potuerint : gratabunda dilectissimi sui filii D . Jo ANNis FoRBESii,! praesentia, Pjitricius auspiciis, et divinissimis eiusdem collociuis, ut non pracsentia et ^ . , . , . I)ietate filii parum delectatus, ita plunmum roboratus : cui «'" i>- Joan- r ' ^ _ ^ ^ iiis I'orbesii, in votis unice semper, in amplcxu Ccnitoris sui J!^"jgjj"^\™ placidissime recumbere, et ad expressissimam Joannis illius Apost. (in gremio Salvatoris sui jugiter recumbentis), similitudinem, exinde, tanquam a perenni verae religionis, et sincerae pietatis scaturigine, suavissimum illud aefcernae veritatis nectar et ambrosiam ubertim haurire. 1 [Sec a biographical sketch of Dr John Forbes, fupra, p. 8, Note — E.] ORATIO FUNEBRIS. 247 Cseterum, nee illud silentio heic prsetermittenduiii, quod nobilissimis amicis collegis, clericisque, languescentem subinde visitantibus, toties majestate consueta fuderat. Est quod Deo meo gratias (inquit) immortales, Emorbidi pro visitatione hac tam placida, tamque optata, miliaria * . r 5 1 r ' colloquia de qui me usque adeo grandasvum, ac tantum non morbo suo. mundi vitasque pertaesum, extremae mese dissolutionis certiorem reddere ex beneplacito suo ita voluerit : Gratias tibi, Deus mi, quod per Fsecialem tuum (Paralysin banc) sensim grassantem, et membra abjectissimi servuli tui paulatim pervadentem, extremae meae migrationis me com- monefeceris ; Hem quot, et quot indies inopina Mors incauto jugulat? quot, qui vitam cum morte tias Deosuo , ,, . . T . provisita- m momento, absque ulla previa mortis meditatione tione tam .... . . placida. commutant, ut vix resipiscendi, nedum respirandi occasio vel tantilla illis reliqua. Non ita mecum, Deus mi ; immensam erga me, hac in re, indulgentiam tuam, continua gratiarum cum actione agnosco, et ad finem usque (quantum in me) humillime agnoscam. DoMlNE Deus mi, in manibus meis mors mea ; imminet, accelerat, en ad ostium, exspecto, desidero, quam cupio dimitti, et esse cum CiiRiSTO, Ceterum quaeritantibus subinde amicis, et diuturniorem ei apud nos moram exoptantibus, respondebat Ambrosii utens verbis, (non ita inter vos vixi, ut pudeat me vivere ; nee j^ ^ita Am- timeo mori, quia DoMiNUM bonum habemus)! pa°ijin. ^ laudantibus dicebat, det mihi Deus consequi miser- August! ^ icordiam in die illo. Ita vitam sanctissimus patri- 4" coh'2?"*^ archa Patricius, inter compatriotas suos, strenue, ^ , . Mortis crebra et maxima cum laude traduxit ; et contemplatione meditatio. prorsus coelesti, non sine summo perfruendae patriae desiderio, residuum illud aevi, et extremae senectutis suas heroice prout illi usque solitum transegit ; assiduaque emortualium apo- thegmatum ejaculatione extremam sui dissolutionem cum apostolo expectando exspectabat ; at nunc sub ilia patriarcbae lucta (non dimittam te Domine) nunc sub ilia grandaevi Simeonis cantilena (nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine) nunc sub ilia sponsae k'7n. 2(i.— Iv] ORATIO FUNEBRIS. 249 gratissimo quodam Nilo sitibundus hie expressionis nostrae agellus, foelicissima aspergine irroretur, ut in publicam tanti Semonis concelebrationcm, vitseque feliciter ante-actse aper- tam commemorationem, omnium infimus hie quern conspi- citis orator, palam eonsurgeret. 0 vel temporis qua pre- miraur angustia, vel vestra qua eohiberaur patientia, vel solennis exequiarura celebritas tantillum ferre non grava- retur, O nostrarum virium vel esset sigillatim singula, et laudem meritis parem inviolandis FoRBESll manibus ad gratitudinis aram libare, et in seterna memorise urna seter- num reponere. Macte Forbesi vita istac tua, tanta, tali, tam rara, tarn prseolara ; macte meritis in Rempub. in Ecclesiam tot ingentibus ; macto et morte qua nulla foelicior, nulla facilior ; macte votorum summa istac qua nunc frueris ; macte foelicitate, brabio, laurea, trophseo, seternum potitis ; euge bone et fidelis serve, intra in gaudium Domini tui, mercedem capesse Deum tuum ; nos in malorum ergastulo hoc, durissimo in certamine constituti, authora- ... . . , ,,..,,.. Valedictio. mento mter vitiorum et mundanae solhcitudmis exulamus, et libertatem tibi pra^sentissimam in angore et languore miselli opperimur ; foelicissimum te Patrici pater, qui, mortalitate omni exuta, et corruptionis foece seposita, immarcessibili ilia u(p0u^a'tag kcci cc^avocffiug stola, cum REDEMPTORE tuo setemum adeo gaudeas ; illucescat dies ilia, qua tecum in patria nos tandem vivamus, regnemus, Isetemur in Domino et Salvatore nostro seternum. Amen. Atenim priusquam hinc vos Aberdonensis Synodi Reveren- dam (quara quidem hodie msestam moesti con- tuemur) fraternitatem, conscia vos sanctions Cleri Dioca;sin Abeidon. numma, vos venerandam symmistarum societa- tem, extremum compellare ardet et audet oratio. Eccum, eccum hodie reverendissimum vestrum prsesuleni, prse- sidem, praesidium, spem, decus, delicias, et omnia, rigi- dioris fati inclementia ultro terras derelinquentem, cceli- tuum numero meritissime annumerandum ; hodie mecura una in lachrymas et suspiria, quippe alio, ille unus in cujus solius sinu querelas vestras quondam deponere, cujus con- silio solo regi, cujus prudentia dirigi, cujus authoritatc tranquillc, et in pace viverc; cujusquc exemplo vitam Chris- 250 OKATIO FUNEBRIS. tianum (Ju"T r-,- ' tante hunc T' 7P Laudatio per nianum Davidis. Sic etiam Psaimum ... . vates cecinit. exponit mscriptiones Psahnorum cvni et cix. quos ipsi Davidi tribuunt Rabbini sine controversia : quamvis ut phirimum in ahis Psahiiis Targumista Hebraicum Le David lyib retineat in sua Paraphrasi : Divina tamen providentia factum est, ut in Titulo hujus Psahiii ex, et duorum proxirae antecedentium, clare et perspicue interpreteretur Le David^ Per manum David, ac si diceret, per ministerium, sive per OS Davidis, usitatissirao Habraismo, 1 Reg. xvi. 34, et 2 Reg. ix. 36, et x. 10, et xiv. 25, et Zachar. vii. 7. Est igitur hie Psahnus Davidis, quem suggerente Spiritu Sancto cecinit ac scripsit David. Id quod etiam diserte asserit Dominus noster inquiens, David in spiritu Dominum ipsimi vocat^ dicens ; Dixit Dominus Domino, meo, <^€. Matthsei xxii. Psalmus hie Propheticus est de Regno et Sacerdotio Servatoris nostri Jesu et'&^umma ""' Ohristi. Matthsei xxii. 4'3 ; Act. ii. 34; Hebr. i. ^"''"^ et viii. 1, et 1 Cor. xv. 25, 26. Prsemittitur decretum seu effatum Dei, vers. 1, subjicitur ejusdem expUcatio, de Regno, versib. 2, 3, de Sacerdotio, vers. 4. de utroque inde ad finem Psalmi. Nota in primo versu, 1. Quis sit loquutus; Analysis, Dominus dixit. 2. Cui ? Domino meo. 3. Quid ? ^'^'"®' ^' Sede ad dextram meain, &c. Dixit Jehovah.] Pater Filio dixit, non inspirando, neque externo intermedia} vocis ministerio, sed sriffnendo Sapientiam suam dedit ei omnia Patris vah Domiuo ® ° ' . . meo. placita.i Vel secundum humanitatem, cum ipsa humanitatis ilUus efformatio, et unitio sit indivisum opus ^ Vide Aug. Tract. 47 et 54, in Evang. Joann. — [IJpiiod. Edit. P'ol. Paris. 1689. Vol. iii.] CONSOLATORTUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 255 Sanctissimge Trinitatis, intelligenda est Trinitas dicens per decretum seternum de Christi Mediatoris exaltatione : Etsi per revelationem temporalem I'eprsesentatur Pater loquens sicut ad Jordanera, Hie est Films mens dilectus, Matth. iii. et Psal. ii. Tu es Filius meus. Non enim Trinitatis, sed solius Patris est Filius : Necque sunt duo Filii, sed unus idemque Filius Dei, et filius hominis, Emmanuel. Sic missio Christi hypostatiee spectati a solo Patre est, at secundum dispensationem Ivffa^KMfficog missio ejus est opus commune Trinitatis. Ambros.i in Symbolum Apostolorum, Cap. 6 ; August.2 Lib. 2, de Trinitate, Cap. 5. Ubi audivit hoc David? Respondet Augustinus Com- ment, in liunc Psalmum ; Audivit in Spiritu ; ubi ubi aucUvit nos quando audivit, non audiviraus ; sed loquenti '>oc David? quod audivit, et scribenti credidiraus. Audivit ergo prorsus: audivit in quodam secretario veritatis, in quodam mys- teriorum sanctuario, ubi Proplietse in occulto audiverunt, quod in aperto prsedicaverunt. Ibi audivit David, qui cum fiducia magna dixit. Dixit Dominus Domino meo, S^c. Dominus dixit ; ergo certo et infallibiliter fiet. consecta- Vide Aug. in hunc Psalmum. ""™' Domino Meg.] Aug. Et eo ipso quod carnem accepit Christus, quod in carne mortuus est, quod christus ut in eadem carne resurrexit, quod in eadem ascendit S"™j""^* ' -I Davidis et in coelum, et sedit ad dextram patris, et in eadem f^*^^^^^^' ipsa carne sic lionorata, sic clai'ificata, sic in cceles- tem habitum commutata, et filius est David, et Dominus est David. Christo secundum carnem resurgenti, ascen- denti, donavit nomen quod est supra omne nomen, ut in nomine Jesu omne genu flectatur, coelestium, terrestrium, infernorum. Ubi erit David, et non ei sit Dominus. In coelo sit, in terra sit, in inferno sit, Dominus ejus erit, qui est Dominus coelestium, terrestrium, et infernorum. Haec Augustinus Commentario in hunc locum. Hieronymus^ etiam et Theodoretus^ in Commentariis in hunc psalmum huic expositioni favent ; et Ambrosius lib. ii, ad Gratianum Augustum. 1 [D. Ambrosii Opera Fol. Basil, 1567.] ^ [Ed. cit. supra, torn, viii.] ^ [Opera Bened. Ed. Paris. 1694.] * [Opera Gr. et Lat. Fol. Paris. 1642.] 2oG SERMO FUNEBRIS, ET Attanicn ex hoc loco Dominus Jesus adstmit contra Pharisseos suani divinitatera, avrov r^J' objecUo : /•/ \\r/ \\ / Sessio ista BeoTrjTa, x.ai rov oimotiujOv 'rpog rov ^arspa ; Deitau-m .,.-__. _^, probat sedcn- Ut monent Hilarius/ et rlieronynms, etChrysosto- tisergoho- '-ur 1 •• mini non mus, et Theopnylactus,'^ Comment, ni Matth. xxn ; competit. et Chrysostomus, et Augustinus, et Tlieodoretus, Comment, in hunc Psal. ; et Ambrosius, lib. ii, de fide, ad Gratianmn Augustum. ; et in Enarratione hujus Psalmi, et in Apologia David posteriore, cap. 4, ubi ait ; neque enini de filio suo diceret, Dixit Dominus Domino Meo, Sede ad Dextram Meam. Quomodo enim filium suum Dominum nominaret ? Lex prohibet, repugnat religio, abhorret fides, ^ ut ad dextrum Dei Omnipotentis mortalem hominem loces. Et diserte affirmat Hieronymus Comment, in JNIatthreum, Dominum Davidis vocari, non secundum id quod de eo natus est, sed juxta id quod natus ex Patre semper fuit ; praeveniens ipsum carnis su8e Patrem. Quem Ambrosius mortalem, Heironymus in Matth. clarius vocat simplicem hominem, Chrysostomus ibidem soiutio; av^^ooTTOv -^piKov. Atque hinc patet difficultatis JataluiMus enodatio : non enim homo ille esset Dominus ^fnii?ufi ho'" Davidis, neque sederet ad dextram Dei, nisi idem jst" non wm- in unitate ejusdem persons esset Deus et Opifex ^®*'*' Davidis, Patri consubstantialis et sequalis, cui idcirco Throni ejusdem concessus jure competit. Nee ob assumptam carnem eo jure excidit ; sed idem ille homo peracta obedientia, quia etiam Deus est in ilia carne, declaratur esse Deus, omniumque Dominus ac propter dignitatem personrc Divinne, adeoque inaestimabilem personalis obscquii in assumpta carne pr^estiti valorem, coronatur etiam secundum humanitatem honore et gloria super omnes creaturas, et in throno judiciario collo- catur. Hue accoramodat'^ Oecumenius in Cap. 1, ad Hebrocos, illam Christi orationem ad Patrem ; Et nunc glorifica me tu Pater apud tcmet-ipsum ea gloria quam habui apud te priusquam mundus esset, Joan. xvii. 5. Unde Ambrosius in ennarratione hujus Psalmi — Nee mirum (inquit) si unius sedis offertur filio consessus a Patre, qui unius est substantiie et naturpc cum Patre. Et Augustinus etiam in 1 [Bened. Edit. Fol. Paris. 16.93.] '^ [Comment, in qnat. Evang. Fol. Paris. 1G35.] ^ [Conimont. in Acta Apost. &c. Fol. Lutctiae Paris. IC3() and 1G31.] CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 257 hunc Psal. respondens illi quaestioni Domini, Quomodo ergo David in Spiritu dicit eum Dominum, &c. " Quomodo (in- quit) nos dicereraus nisi a te disceremus ? Nunc ergo, quia didicimus, dicimus. In principio eras Verbura, et Verbum eras apud Deum, et Deus eras Verbum. Omnia per te facta sunt. Ecce Dominus David. Sed nos propter infirmi- tatem nostram, quia caro desperata, jacebamus, Verbum caro factus cs, ut habitares in nobis. Ecce filius David. Certe tu in forma Dei cum esses, non rapinam arbitratus es esse sequalis Deo, ideo Dominus David : sed temetipsum exina- nivisti, formamservi accipiens, inde filius David. Deniqueet in ipsa interrogatione tua dicens, Quomodo filius ejus est, non te filium ejus negasti, sed modum in quo id fierit inquisisti." " Ecce Virgo concipiet et pariet filium, et vocabunt nomen ejus Emmanuel."' Hsec August. De eadem disserens Domi- nica qusestione Ambrosius, in posteriore Apologia David, cap. 4. Una (inquit) qusestione Dominus noster Jesus Ohristus omnium Hsereticorum ora sepsit, sacrilegia con- clusit. Non solum enim Judeeos, sed et Photinianos, et Arianos, et Sabellianos hac redarguit quEestione," &c. Domino meo : Hoc quilibet fidelis sibi recte ]sron propter accommodat, et in illo suo Domino gloriatur, qui^fd^mhS'c fidelium suorum peculiari modo gratiosus est Do- ^'^"^ minus, ad quem etiam clamant cum Thoma, Apos- Joann.xx.28. tolo — " DoMiNE mi et Deus mi." " Sede ad dextram meam, donee," &c. Describitur his verbis, 1. Sublimitas exaltationis, " Sede ad dex- Effati Do- tram meam:" 2. Effectus dominationis, " Donee ^artes.*^"* ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum." In priore membro sunt, 1. Modus dicendi, deinde res ipsa. Modus dicendi est quasi imperativus, seu manda- prions partis tivus. Hieronymusi [in] hunc locum — " Deus non ^"^divisio. sedet, assumptio corporis sedet, huic ergo prsecipitur ut sedeat qui homo est, qui assumptus est." Hsec ille; Audit quasi homo, " Sede," sedet vero quasi Dei filius, Modus inquit Ambrosius, posteriore Apologia David, '''®° "' cap. 4. Non quod alius audiat, alius sedeat, sed ^^^^' quia homini honor datur propter dignitatem personse Filii Dei. Qui, (ut loquitur Ambrosius hb. ii. De Fide c. 4),2 1 [Bened. Ed. cit. sujyra. Tom, ii. Fol. 421.] ■'' [This Treatise, as well as the other ascribed to St Ambrose — De 17 258 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET " non ex prrecepto, neque ex gratia, sed quasi dilectissimus Filius ad dextram Dei sedet." Et paulo post ibidem Ambrosius ait — " Christus ut sedeat, non quasi jussus obsequitur, sed quasi Filius dilectissimus honoratur." Chrysostomus, Serm. 2, in Epistolam ad Hebrseos, in cap. 1. vers. 3. Ovz u-ttzv ori iKzhzvazv yj 'Tr^oGiraiiv^ ccXk' on ii'Tti (^pcudov) zai rovro ^i ovdh tn^ov aXh! hoc [Jj-^ olvu^- yjiv aurov voybiff^g zai uvcciriov. "OWi ya,^ hd rovro ovrojg uoyjKZ hrfkov la rov roTCOv rrig Tca&zbgccg ; id est — " Non dixit, quod jusserit vel imperaverit, sed quod dixerit, Sede, et hoc propter nihil aliud, nisi ut eum nequaquam existimes esse sine principio, et sine autore.i Quod enim propter hoc sic loquutus sit, manifestum est ex loco sedis." Idem repetit Oecumenius,2 Comment, in cap. 1. ad Hebrseos, explicans ilia verba, " Sede a dextris meis ;" ubi ait hoc manifestum esse ex loco sedis, qui honoris sequalitatem ro 6ftjort(Jbov indicat. Et addit — " Vel quia alio modo non poterat pro- pheta significare consensum ac voluntatem patris ut sederet, usus est verboSEDE. Magnum," inquit, " hoc est, nee tantum supra humanam naturam, verumetiam super omnem creatu- ram ; at tamen ob humanam quoque naturam hoc ei dictum est [ocv^^coTrtiiMg za) ocuroo s'i^'/irai] nam Filius quatenus Deus est sempiternum habet thronum ; thronus tuus, inquit, Deus in seculum seculi. Neque enim post crucem et passionem hoc honore donatus est Deus ; sed ut homo accepit quod jam habebat ut Deus ut homo igitur audit, ' Sede a dextris meis ;' nam ut Deus seternum habet imperium." Hsec Oecumenius. " DoMlNUS Pater," inquit Ambrosius, " DoMiNO Deo Christo Filio throni sui offert sublimem consessum, honoris gratia ad dextram suam ilium seterna sede constituit." Hsec Ambros. in hunc Psal.3 Trinitate, alias In Symbolum Apostolorum, sujyra, p. 255, appear in the App. to the Benedictine Edition, Paris, 1690, Tom. ii., but not as the genuine Works of that Father.] ^ Deum Patrem autorcm et principium filio vocat Aug. Lib. iii. contra Maximinuni, Capitib. 14 et 17. [Lib. ii. Bened. li^d. cit. unpra.] 2 [Ed. cit. sujira, p. 256.] * [In Psal. cix. Sermo pro die Pentecostes. Tliis is not considered the composition of St Ambrose by the Benedictine Editors, and does not appear in tliat edition. It is in tlie Bib. PP. Tom. ii. Fol. 869.] CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 259 Res ipsa, " Sede ad dextram meam." " Quid hac," inquit Ambros. Poster. Apolos-ia David, cap. 4, " potest J. . 11 .• , , ,. ^ Res ipsa. dici prsecellentms potestate, quse etiam carnem hominis ad dexterara Dei eollocavit ? Et infirmura illud conditionis humance, (postquam tamen verbum earo factam est) divinitati copulavit aeternse V Idem in enar- ratione hujus Psalmi ; " Secundum consuetudinem (inquit) nostram, illi consessus offertur, qui aliquo opere perfect© victor adveniens, honoris gratia promeretur ut sedeat. Ita ergo et homo Jesus Christus passione sua diabohmi superans, resurrectione sua inferna reserans, tan- quam perfecto opere ad coelos victor adveniens, audit a Deo Patre — ' Sede ad dextram meam.' Nee mirum est si unius sedis offertur FiHo consessus a Patre, qui unius est substantiae et naturse cum Patre."'' Haec ille. Idem ibidem ; " Videamus quae sit ratio quod idem Do- MINUS a David sedens prophetatur, stans vero a quj^ sjgni. Stephano prsedicatur — EccE, VIDEO COELOS aper- ses's'o^quid Tos, et Jesum stantem ad dextram Dei. Primo tiofdTex-'*' -r-w • • , • • M •!• J tram Patris. omnmm Deus qui mcorporeus et mvisibuis est. Act. vu. 55. sedere aut stare quomodo potest ? Deinde autem quali subsellio sedeat Deus qui infinitus est et immensis, intra se ipse magis creaturam cunctam continens ? Haec autem propterea a Sanctis viris dicta arbitror esse de DoMiNO, non quo sint contraria sibi, sed ut modo ejus potentia, modo MISERICORDIA describatur. Nam utique pro potestate regis sedere dicitur, pro bonitate intercessoris stare suff- A--1 ^- ■, l.Joann.ii 1. geritur. Ait enim beatus Apostolus, ' Quia advo- catum habemus apud Patrem, Jesum Christum.'' Judex ergo est Christus, cum residet ; Advocatus est, cum assur- git. Judex plane Judseis, Advocatus Christianis. Hie enim stans apud Patrem, Christianorum licet peccantium causas exorat ; ibi residens cum Patre, Pharisseorum perse- quentium peccata condemnat. Illis indignans vehementer ulciscitur, his interveniens leniter misereturc Hie stat, ut suscipiat Stephani Martyris spiritum : ibi residet, ut con- demnet Judae proditoris admissum.'" Hsec ibi Ambrosius. Dextra Dei non est corporis Dei pars ; nam Deus spiritus est incorporeus, immensus, impartibilis, &c. Sed potentiam denotat et majestatcm CilRlSTO datam. " Dextera Domini agit strenue, dextera Domini 2G0 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET elata," Psal. cxviii. 16. Ubidextera potentiam denotat. Et CilRiSTUS de hac sua sessionc dixit, " Ab hoc tempore vide- bitis filium hominis sedentem \k h'iicov rrjc Ivvu^zcog ad dextram potentiae," Matth. xxvi. 64. Et Apostolus de eadem ait ; "E^KaSiGiv h h'^ta rrjg (JbiyaXctxrvvj^g, Iv y-v^^jXo??, Hebr. i. 3. " Sedit ad dexteram Majestatis in excelsis."" In quern locum Chrysostomus, Y.Itmv h h^ia, ovx kffyyifJ^- driGiv avTov aXka ro 6[jb6ri[jjOV %hzi^i ro Tr^og rov Tarz^a,' iciest, " Dicens, ' ad dextram,' non illi [Patri] figu- i. Ratio, cur ram tribuit, sed eundem ostendit honorem Filii et chrisfus^ut Patris.'*'' Idem in expositione hujus Psalmi ; " Ubi ^quauf pa- idem est tlironus, ejusdem est regni par honor, Deltltem. /Vor/joo/a." Et paulo post : " Quemadmodum nos majorem Patre non dicimus, qui ad dextram habet sedem honoratis- simam ; sic neque tu minorem dicito et inferiorem, a'KK laoTiybov KCii 'iffov. Tovro yoi^ ri Koivcovia rrjg Kccdkhoccg hiiKoiy id est, " Sed honore parem et sequalem. Hoc enim com- munio sedis manifestum facit." Sic Ambrosius in hunc Psal. — " Ideo ad dextram sedit Filius, non quo prseferatur Patri, sed ne inferior esse cre- datur." Addit vero ibidem Ambrosius, " Et ideo ad dextram filius, quia secundum Evangelium, ad locum owbus 1 , 1 • • X i'j. 0. destinatum dexteram eves, ad smistram vero constituentur pastor anti- haedi. Necesse est ergo ut ovium partem primus Agnus obtineat, et sequuturo immaculate gregi locum dux immaculatus anticipet ; sicut ait Joannes in Apocalypsi, dicens ; hi sunt qui sequuntur agnum quocunque vadit, qui se cum mulieribus non coinquinave- runt." Hsec Ambrosius. Eodem sensu Augustinus, " Dicamus (inquit) quomodo id quod altissimus suscepit ex nobis in caelum levaverit, ad dexteram patris coUocaverit, ac fidei nostrse certum pignus dederit, ut secura sint membra de tanto capite, fideliterquo spercnt ad ipsum se posse pervenire, quem jam credunt ad dextram patris sedere. Sessionem istam, dilectis- 3. R^tj^, ^^ simi, non accipiatis humanis niembris positani, eum°"^.c7-*"'' tanquam pater sedeat in sinistra, ut filius sedeat tcnf ju'du-an- ad dexteram, sed ipsam dexteram intelligite potes- dum "i^ tatem, quam accepit homo illo susccptus a Deo, ut veniat judicaturus qui prius vencrat judicandus."" Lib. ii scoun- luma- nitateni. CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 2G1 de Syrabolo ad Catechumenos, cap. 7 ; et postea lib. iii. cap. 7, " Hoc (inquit) quod filius dicitur sedere ad dexteram patris, demonstratur quod ipse homo quem suscepit Christus, potestatem acceperit judicantis." Hsec Augus- tinus.i Ambrosius Epist.2 37, ad IreuEeum, explicans quomodo nos sedere fecerit Deus in coelestibus in Christo, sicutdocet Apostolus, Ephes. ii; "Non quo quisquam hominum (inquit) prserogativam sedendi meruerit in ilia sede Dei, de qua pater soli filio dixit, SEDE A dextris viatores" ""* MEis, sed quia in ilia carne Christi per consortium chrlsto " ede- ejusdem naturae caro omnis humani generis honor- cSiestibus. ata est." Haec ibi. Sed addendum erat ex illo loco Apostoli, altiorem etiam, et solis iis qui cum Christo vivificati et suscitati svmt peculiareni, datani esse nobis prserogativam et excellent excellentiam sessionis in ccelesti- bus in Christo, qui ibi sedet Caput nostrum, membris suis inde vigorem infundens, et locum aeternum parans. Quem fide tenemus, et spe possidemus : quam spem "velut Animae Anchoram habemus tutam ac firmam, et ingredientem usque in ea quae sunt intra velum : quo praecursor pro nobis in- gressus est Jesus. Hebr. vi. 19, 20 ; Benedixit nobis Deus omni benedictione spirituali in coelestibus in Christo," Ephes. i. 3. " Qui vicerit (inquit) dabo ei ut sedeat mecum _,, . .... Quo sensii m ihrono meo ; sicut et ego vici, et sedi cum dicatur com- mi • • 1? A 1 ••• o-i T 1 Pra?hensores patre meo m ihrono ipsms, Apocal.ni.2i. id^derein quod intelligendum est de congrua quadam honoris ciinsti cum participatione, non autem de honoris aequalitate. Sicut alibi dixit ; " Ego gloriam quam dedisti niihi, dedi iis, ut sint unum, sicut et nos unura sumus." Joann. xvii. 22. Ubi non idem est intelligendus unitatis modus inter Christum et fideles, qui est inter Deum Patrem et Filium : quamvis et hie et illic sit beata quaedam unitas. Nempe inter Patrem et filium substantialis, et inter Christum et Ecclesiam mystica ac spiritualis, per quam effici dicimur " divinae consortes naturae," 2 Peter i. 4. » [Pseud. August. Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1694. Torn. vi. pp. 563, 573.] 2 [Ed. cit. sujrm, Basil. 1567. Epist. 16 ; and Bened. Ed. cit. supra, v. ii. p. 108.] 264 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET Literarum est idioma : sic per vatem ait Deus, et donee senio confecti eritis, Ego sum: Esai. 46, 4: simile est dictum illud Apostolicum, oportet enim ipsum regnare donee ponat omnes inimicos sub pedes suos." 1. Cor. xv. 25. Attamen, ut prjedixit Daniel, et postea Gabriel, regni ejus non erit finis, et sancti cum eo seternum regnabunt. lUam quq sensu autem regni traditionem Deo ac Patri, 1. Cor. xv. christis 24. Eecte interpretatur Chrysostomus ibi, et in regnum dko hunc Psalmum, non abdicationem, sed zaro^dcoffiv rrjg ^ccaikziag ; id est, perfectionem regni per plenariam subjugationem omnis adversariae potestatis. Ut patet ex verbis Apost. eodem versu. Adde interpretationem illam Augustini ; " Quid est ergo (inquit) CUM tradiderit regnum Deo et Patri : Quasi modo non habeat Regnum Deus et Pater? Sed quia omnes justos, in quibus nunc regnat ex fide viventibus. Mediator Dei et horainum, homo Cliristus Jesus perducturus est ad speciem, quam visionem dicit idem Apostolus, facie ad faciem : Ita dictum est, cum tradiderit Regnum Deo et Patri ; ac si diceretur, cum perduxerit credentes ad contemplationem Dei et Patris." Hsec Augustinus, lib. 1, de Trinitate, cap. 3,1 ubi evacuation- em principatus omnis et potestatis aliter interpretatur quam Chrysostomus. Sic enim Augustinus ; " tunc revelabitur a filio pater, cum evacuaverit omnem principatum, et omnem potestatem et virtutem ; id est, ut necessaria non sit dis- pensatio similitudinum per angeUcos principatus, et potes- tates et virtutes."^ Hsec ille. Simplicior tamen et tutior videtur ilia Chrysostomi interpretatio, de evacuatione potes- tatis dsemonum dominantium adhuc in tenebris hujus seculi, et servisDei bella moventium, Ephes. vi. 1 2.3 Quomodo etiam verba hsec interpretatus est author qusest. et resp. ad Orthodoxos, quae Justino Martyri tribuuntur, ad qu. 81,4 et favet Justinus Apol, 2, verbis superius citatis. Eodem sensu legitur Donee, ut certam operis perfectio- nem, non autem temporis limitationem designet, Genes, xxviii. 15, Psal. cxii. 8, Math. i. ultimo. PoNAM.l OuicQuid facit Pater ad extra, id 1 ^ . , ^ , T 1 i PONAM. facit Filius, id facit Spintus Sanctus. Ideo recte 1 [Bened. Ed. fit. mpra. Tom. viii. p. 759, § 16'. | ^ [Ibid, inf.] ■> [Ed. cit. supra.] * [Opera, Fol. Liitet. Paris. 1615, p. 440.1 CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 265 Augustinus ; " Nee quisquam (inquit) ita existimet de Patre intelligeiidum, quod subjecerit omnia Filio, ut ipsum Filium sibi omnia subjecisse non putet. Quod Apostolus ad Philip, ostendit, dicens, " Nostra autem conver- opera Trini- ... ■,. , iinij i talis ad extra satio in eoelis est, unde et fealvatorem expectamus sunt indivisa. DoMiNUM Jesum Christum, qui transfigurabit corpus humilitatis nosti'se conforme ut fiat corpori glorise SU8B, secundum operationem suam qua possit etiam sibi sub- jicere omnia." Inseparabilis enim operatio est Patris et Filii, alioquin nee ipse Pater sibi subjecit omnia, sed Filius ei subjecit qui ei regnum tradit, et evacuat omnem princi- patum. — Ipse enim subjicit, qui evacuat. Nee sic arbitremur Christum traditurum Eegnum Deo et Patri, ut adimat sibi, &c. Hsec August. Lib. 1, de Trinitate, Cap. 8.1 Chrysostomus etiam in hunc Psalmum, ut ostendat Christum sibi hostes subjicere, adducit illud Pauli Apostoli testimonium, " Oportet ilium regnare donee ponat inimicos sub pedes sues,"" 1 Cor. xv. 25. Hie autem meminisse debemus, Christum hominem esse ad dexteram Potentise et Majestatis in Coelestibus, ^hristus non solum ut omnium hseredera et regem, Hebr. 1. {^rM^DEi*^^^ Sed etiam ut sacerdotem, Rom. viii. ; Hebr. viii. tuJJJ^^tg^at^;.. Qui non solum jure et autoritate regali prsesit ^°^' cselo et terrse, sed etiam sacerdotali intercessione obtineat ut quicquid fieri vult, id effectum reddat Divina Omni- potentia. Guadete vos vere Cliristiani. Nemo rapiet Christi Oves de manu ejus. Vse inimicis Christi nisi ex inimicis fiant amici. ScABELLUM Pedibus.] Id est sub pedibus, 1 Cor. XV. 25 ; Ephes. i. 22. Omnes oportet sub- pemiou^tSis. sterni pedibus ejus: aut per gratiam, qua ex inimico sit humilis cultor ejus, aut per victoriam Regis ac Judicis, ad poenam seternam. " Quaere ergo quem locum habeas sub pedibus Dei tui ; nam necesse est habeas, aut gratise, aut poense f ait August, in hunc locum. Non solum terra dicitur scabellum pedum Domini, Esai. Ixvi. 1, et terreni homines, sen inimici ejus hoc loco ; sed etiam sanctuarium ejus in terris appelatur scabellum pedum ejus, Psal. xcix. et Esai. Ix. 13; Thren. ii. 1. 266 SERMO FUNEBllIS ET Qui inimici ponuntur scabellum pedum ejus? Respondet Augustinus in hunc Psalmum: " Quibus tuos. freraentibus et inania meditantibus dicitur ; quare fremuerunt gentes, et populi meditati sunt inania, he. dixit DoMiNUS. Fremant illi, meditentur inania, perstrepant, numquid non implebitur fl Hsec ille. Theodoretus in hunc locum ; inimici ejus " potissimum diabolus, et hujus ministri dsemones, et qui ejus divinis praeconiis resistunt, nimirum Judsei et Grseci." Augustinus Judseis et Paganis addit Hsereticos, et falso fratres, in quorum omnium medio Ohristus prsedicitur dominaturus. Latins et plenius existimo exponi posse inimicos Qnatuor or- , , . dines in iniico- hoc loco, quatuor ordmum. mm ciiristi. 1. Diabolus diserte appellatur o sx^^og, Matth. xiii. 39. Cui adjunge Toiaav tyjv bvm[j;iv rov IxP^ov ; id est, spiritus immundos, Luc. x. 19. Lucta nobis est " adversus princi- patus et potestatus, adversus rovg %,o(T[^oz^ccro^ccg mundi- potentes tenebrarum seculi hujus, contra spiritualia nequitise, in ccelestibus, Ephes. vi. 12." 2. Peccatum est inimicum Deo contra quem admittitur, et homini qui hoc veneno a serpente perimitur, aut seipsum perimit : ro . 1234, § !).] I CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 2C7 1. Diabolum sub pedibus nostris content, Rom. xvi. 20 ; Hebr. ii. 14, 15 ; Apocal. xii, 9, 10. Om- victonam de . ' ' r Diabolo. nemque ejus hostilem potentiam, Luc. x. Iv. Clemens Alexandrinus,! Lib. 4, Stromatum ; " Si quis (in- quit) altercans dicat : et quomodo fieri potest ut caro imbecilla resistat potestatibus et spiritibus dominationum ? Illud sciat, quod Omnipotenti et DoMiNO freti in eoque habentes fiduciara adversamur potestatibus tenebrarum et morti. [on TM UavroK^ccro^t xai rco }Lv^ico ^appovvrsg avri'TroXt- rev6(M0a ru7g a^yjiig rov rrfcorovg koI toj 6avo!.roj,~\ isai. iviii. adhuc te loquente, inquit, dicet, ecce adsum. invictusad- . . . • " r^ jutornoster. Vide adjutorem invictum, qui nos defendit, Oga rov ccfjrryjrov j3o;j^oV roi/ VTrz^affTri^opra, yjftjciiv" 2. Peccatum opus Diaboli ut solveret, manifestatus est Filius Dei, 1 Joann. iii. 8. Datui* nobis turn 2. De peccato. contra reatum peccati, tum coram pestiieram ejus luem victoria per sanguinem Agni, qui mundat nos ab omni peccato, 1 Joan. i. 7- Qui Agnus Dei tollit peccatum mundi, Joan. i. 29. Purgationem peccatorum nostrorum per se ipsum fecit, Hebr. i. 3. Lavit nos a peccatis nostris in sanguine suo, Apocal. i. 5. In illo habemus redemp- tioneni per sanguinem ipsius, remissionem peccatorum, secundum divitias gratiae, Ephes. i. 7. Eum proposuit Deus placamentum per fidem in sanguine ipsius, Rom. iii. 25. Hinc per eum pacem habemus cum Deo, Rom. v. 1. In illius mortem baptizati sumus, Rom. vi. 3. Per ilium liberati a lege, constituimur sub gratia, unde sit, ut non dominetur nobis peccatum, Rom. vi. et cap. viii. vers. 2, 3, 4. Qui sunt Christi, carnem crucifixerunt cum affectibus et cupiditatibus Galat. v. 24. Ille nos gratia sua sufficiente semper efficaciter solatur et sustenat, 2 Cor. xii. 9. 3. De mundo etiam eiusque omnigenis copiis victonam nobis donat : " Conndite, ego vici mun- dum," Joan. xvi. ultimo. " Omne quod natum est ex Deo, vincit mundum ; et hjec est victoria quae vincit mundum, fides nostra. Quis est ille qui vincit mundum, nisi qui credit quod Jesus est Filius Dei,"" 1 Joann. v. 4, 5. " Per ilium mundus nobis crucifixus est, et nos mundo,'" Galat. vi. 14. " Plusquam victorcs nos facit ille qui diloxit nos," ^ LOpcra, Fol. Oxonii, 1715, p. •'58.% c. 7-1 268 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET Rom. viii. 87. Qui nunqiiam nos deseret neque derelinquet, adeo ut confidenti animo dicamus ; " DoMlNUS est mihi adjutor, nee metuam quid facial mihi homo," Heb. xiii. 6. " Hinc omnia valemus per Christum qui nos corroborat," Philip, iv. 13. Scientes iis qui dihgunt Deum omnia co-operari in bonum ; et ilium qui proprio filio non pepercit, sed pro nobis omnibus tradidit eum, omnia etiam cum eo nobis gratificaturum, Rom. viii. 28-82. 4. " Ultimus hostis aboletur mors," 1. Cor. xv. -,rt 4. De morte. 2o. Mortis autem, per Dei gratiam in Christo • Victoros nobis datam, victores constituimur, tum in hac mortis sumus _ in hac vita. Vita, tum in vita lutura. " Nam in hac vita per Christum liberamur a metu mortis," Hebr. ii, 15. Mortis, inquam, tum rp^„^ ^temse seternse illius quae secunda mors dicitur " Nulla secunda'*"* enim condemnatio est iis qui sunt in Christo '^"''*"''- Jesu," Rom. viii. 1. Et spiritus ejus testatur una cum spiritu nostro, nos esse Dei filios, ibidem vers. 16. Adeo- que nuUam esse nobis condemnationem. Hie spiritus non est servitutis ad metum, sed adoptionis spiritus, per quem clamamus, " Abba, Pater," ibidem vers. 15. Et Servator noster ait : " Amen, Amen, dico vobis, qui sermonem meum audit, et credit ei qui misit me, habet vitam seternam : et in condemnationem non veniet ; sed transivit a morte in vitam," Joann. v. 24. Qui ex hoc pane vitae comederit, " non morietur, sed vivet in Eeternum, habet vitam aeternam," Joann. vi. 50, 51, 54. Tum etiam temporalis Tum tempo- mortis qua corpus moritur victores simus, in hac qua^'nwritifr' vita, vincendo mortis metum, tergemina eaque meuim vm-"* haud(juaquam fallente persuasione et confidentia. 1. " Quia persuasi sumus neque mortem neque vitam posse nos separare a charitatc Dei quae est in Christo Jesu Domino nostro." Rom. viii. 38, 39. 2. " Quia scimus si terrestris hiijus domus nostrae soeunda tabernaculum dissolutum fiierit, aedificium ex Deo quam'in''hac' habituros, domiciliura videlicet, non manufactum, cirpoTis'^''''" fetcrnum in coelis," 2 Cor. v. 1. " Confidentes """^^''""'• igitur semper, et scientes nos dum adsumus in corpore, peregre abesse a Domino : (per fidem enim ambulamus, non per speciem), confidcnte autem animo sumus, et gratius CONSOLATORTUS, IN PSALM LTM CX. 2G9 est nobis abesse potius ex corpore, et adesse apud Dominum," ibidem, versib. 6, 7, 8. Hinc Oyprianus;! " Quod interim (inquit) mori- cyprian. mur,ad immortalitatem, morte transgredimur : nee potest vita seterna succedere, nisi hinc contigerit exire, NoN jjon exitus. EST EXITUS ISTE, SED TRANSITUS, et temporali ^"^ t'"'i"s»t"s- itinere decurso, ad seterna transgressus. Quis non ad me- liora festinet V Lib. de Mortalitate. Et supra, eodem Libro ; " Ejus est mortem timere, qui ad Christum nolit ire : ejus est ad Christum nolle ire, qui se non Tunc incipi- t , /^ r^ • unt regnare credat CUM Christo incipere regnare. Scrip- cum christo. tum est enim, justum fide vivere. Si Justus es, et fide vivis, si vere in Deum credis, cur non, cum Christo futurus, et de Domini pollicitatione securus, quod ad Christum voceris, amplecteris ; et quod diabolo careas ? Simeon Isetus de morte jam proxima, et de vicina accersitione securus, accepit in manus puerum, et benedicens Deum, ex- clamavit, et dixt ; " nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine, mei secundum verbum tuum, in pace; quoniam viderunt oculi salutare tuum." Probans, scilicet, atque contestans luc. ii. tunc esse servis Dei pacem, tunc liberam, tunc „ *■ ' ' Tune est pax tranquillam quietem, quando de istis mundi tur- qu^nd^hlnc binibus extracti, sedis et securitatis seternse portum ^"sraverint. petimus, quando expuncta hac morte, ad immortalitatem venimus. Ilia est enim nostra pax, ilia fida tranquillitas, ilia stabilis et firma et perpetua securitas."" Et paulo post ; " Deus tecum loquitur, et tu mente incredula Hoe sine du- perfidus fluctuas ? Deus de hoc mundo recedenti crcdendiun. tibi immortalitatem pollicetur, et tu dubitas? Hoc est Deum omnino non nosse : hoc est, Christum credentium DOMINUM et Magistrum peccato incredulitatis offendere ; hoc est, in Ecclesia constitutum, fidem in domo fidei non habere. Quantum prosit exire de seculo, Christus ipse salutis atque utilitatis nostra Magister ostendit ; qui cum discipuli ejus contristarentur, quod se jam diceret reces- surum, locutus est ad eos, dicens ;" Si me dilexis- joann.i4. setis, gauderetis, quoniam vado ad Patrem : docens, Gaudendum. scilicet, et ostendens, cum chari, quos diligimus, de seculo exeunt, gaudendum potius quam dolendum. Lucrum 1 [Opera Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1726, p. 229, et seq.] 270 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET maximum coraputat Apostolus pressuris exemptum proAciscun- ad Isetitiara salutis seternse, Christo vocante, pro- Iramiaiutis ficisci." Et postea ; " Mori plane timeat, sed qui '''*'"''^- ex aqua et spiritu non renatus, geliennse ignibus mancipatur : mori timeat, qui non Christi cruce et passione censetur : mori timeat, qui ad secundam mortem de hac morte trans- ibit : mori timeat, quem de seculo recedentem, perennibus poenis aeterna flamma torquebit : mori timeat cui hoc, mora longiore confertur, ut cruciatus ejus et gemitus interim dif- feratur. Mortalitas ista ut Judasis et Gentilibus et Christi hostibus pestis est, ita Dei servis salutaris exeessus saiutaris est. Hoc quod sine ullo discrimine generis liumani, <'^<=*^'**"*- cum injusti moriuntur et justi ; non est quod putetis bonis et malis interitum esse communem. Ad REFRI- ^^ refnge- GERIUM JUSTI vocantur, ad supplicium rapiuntur """• injusti." Et inferius, " Nobis prseceptum est, ut contestarer assidue et publico prsedicarem, fratres non amit- , . . -J-. tuntur, sed nostros non esse lusrendos accersitione Dominica praemittun- de seculo liberates ; cum sciamus non eos amitti, sed PR.^MiTTi, recedentes praecedere, ut profici- pesideran ' 1 ' J. debent, non scentes, ut navigantes solent : desiderari eos i»i^»s»- debere, non plangi : non accipiendas esse hie atras vestes, quando isti ibi indumenta alba jam sumpserint ; occasionem dandam non esse Grentilibus, ut nos merito ac jure reprehendant, quod quos vivere apud Deum vivunt apud dicimus, ut extinctos et perditos lugeamus." Et ^^""' postea ; " Potius, fratres dilectissimi, mente Integra, fide firma, virtute robusta, parati ad omnem voluntatem Dei simus : pavore mortis excluso, immortalitateni quae sequitur cogitemus. Hoc nos ostendamus esse quod credimus, ut neque cliarorum lugeamus excessum : et cum accersitionis proprias dies venerit, incunctanter et libenter ad DoMlNUM ipso vocante veniamus." Et paulo post : " Amplec- tamur diem, qui assignat singulos domicilio suo ; ^j^jpntp^ qui nos isthinc ereptos, et laqueis secularibus '""[I'^j'uo- exsolutos paradise restituit, et regno coelesti. 5p.i"ui"so""''' Quis non peregre constitutus properaret in etregno"""^ patriam regredi ? patriam nostram Paradisum •='^''^*''- computamus, parentes, Patriarchas habere jam paradJalTs!*"^" caepimus ; quid non properamus et currimus ut patriam nostram videre, ut parentes salutaro possimus ? CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 271 Magnus illic nos charorum numerus expectat, parentum, fratrum, filiorum frequens nos et copiosa turba desiderat, jam de sua immortalitate secura, et adhuc de nostra salute sollicitas, ad liorum conspectum et complexum venire, quanta et illis et nobis in commune Isetitia est ? Qualis illic Coeles- tium Regnorum voluptas sine tiraore moriendi, et cum seternitate vivendi I Quam sumraa et perpetua foelicitas ? Illic Apostolorum gloriosus chorus : Illic Prophe- tarum exultantium numerus : Illic Marty rum "'perpeu!^* innumerabilis populus ob certaminis et passionis c^m'apoSo- victoriam coronatus : Triumphantes illic Virgiues, puetis.^etc. quae concupiscentiara carnis et corporis, continen- tise robore subegerunt : Remunerati misericordes qui ali- mentis et largitionibus pauperum justitia opera fecerunt, qui Dominica Prsecepta servantes, ad ccelestes thesauros terrena patrimonia transtulerunt. Ad hos fratres dilectis- simi, avida cupiditate properemus ; ut cum his cito esse, ut cito ad Christum, venire contingat, optemus." Hecc omnia Cyprianus, lib. de Mortalitate.i Ex his patet quse fuerit Cypriani sententia, de statu animarum a corporibus separatarum ; nempe, omnes fidelium animas, omnes hominum animas quae gehennae' ignibus non mancipantur ibique seternis poenis status om- - nlum anima- torquentur : quaecunque ad secundam mortem rum, a cor- . , poribus sepa- non transeunt, eas omnes, moriente corpore, ad ratamm, ' ' *■ quae ad Christum ire, cum Christo incipere regnare, secundam ' 1 o ' mortem non pacem et liberam ac tranquillam quietem tunc con- transeunt. sequi, sedis et securitatis seternse portum petere, ad immor- talitatem venire, et fidam tranquilitatem, stabilemque et firmam ac perpetuam securitatem, ad Isetitiam salutis aeternse proficisci, ad refrigerium vocari, non amitti, sed praemitti : ad DOMINUM venire, Paradiso restitui et regno coelesti, in Patriam regredi ; ibique apud Deum vivere, in summa et perpetua foelicitate esse, cum Apostolis, et Prophetis, et Martyribus. Unde colligit, cum chari, quos diligimus, de seculo exeunt, gaudendum potius quam dolendum ; deside- rari eos debere, non plangi, nee accipiendas esse hie atras vestes, quando illi ibi indumenta alba jam sumpserint : et cum accersitionis proprise dies venerit, nos debere incunc- ^ [Bened. Ed. cit. supra, p. 268. Dr Baron refers to a portion of the same passage in his " Funerall Sermon," supra, p. 61, Note 8.] 272 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET tanter et libenter ad Dominum, ipso vocante, venire : amplecti diem qui nos Paradiso restituit et regno coelesti. Quae certe commentitios Purgatorii cruciatus, prorsus evacuant. Quod figmentum ilia etiara ratio eviden- Exciuditur ter evertit, qua utitur Cyprianus ut Cliristianis rrer^vf™""'"' timorem mortis excutiat : quia videlicet, solis re- "*'"'"'^- probis hoe mora longiore confertur, ut cruciatus eorum et gemitus interim differantur. Quod utique verum esse non posset, si alicui electo statim post mortem sustinendus esset cruciatus Purgatorii, ut somniant Papistse : quos • RXors Pupistti- idcirco mirum non est illibenter ac trepidantes rum horroris mori, moram semper longiorem optantes, qua cruciatus quern in Purgatorio sustinendum sibi metuunt, interim differatur. Cyprianus autem manifesto docuit, omnes fideles, omnes qui Christi cruce et passione censen- tur, omnes qui ad secundam mortem de hac morte non transeunt, quando de seculo exeunt, eximi pressuris, et ad laetitiam salutis seternse, Christo vocante, proficisci, et illo die quo bine exeunt, exsolvi laqueis, Paradiso restitui, in Patriam regredi. Jacobus Pamelius injusto glossemate patrocinium Purga- torii affingit Cypriano, scribenti ad Antonianum, Epist. 52, " Aliud esse pro peccatis longo dolore cruciatum emendari, et purgari diu igni ; aliud peccata omnia Refeintur ,,, -.-r . .,,. , . , falsa glossa passione purgasse. ^ JNeque enmi lUis verbis lo- PameUi. quitur Cyprianus de igne aliquo purgante post mortem corporalem, sed de dolore pcsnitentium in hac vita, quo tanquam igne cruciati purgantur. Non enim comparatio illic instituitur a Cypriano inter defunctos glorificatos, et defunctos cruciatos ; sed inter martyres qui alacriter pro Christi nomine vitam suam ponunt, et lapses, ad pccniten- tiam admissos. Quod sic probo, 1. Ex verbis ipsius Cypriani eodem illo loco ; " nee putes frater charissime, hinc aut virtutem fratrum minui, aut martyrise deficere, quod lapsis laxata sit pcenitentia et quod poenitentibus spes pacis oblata. JSIanet vera fidentium robur immobile, et apud timentes ac diligentes corde toto DEUiM, stabilis et fortis perseverat integritas. Nam et moechis a nobis ' [Cypriani [Ctcc] Carthaginiensis E. 0])era, cum annot. Jacobi Pa- nielii. Fol. Paris. 1G43, p. lOO".] CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 273 poenitentise tempus conceditur, et pax datur, noii tamen idcirco virginitas in Ecclesia deficit, aut continentise pro- positum gloriosum per aliena peecata languescit. Floret Ecclesia tot virginibus coronata, et castitas ac pudicitia tenorem glorise suae servat, nee quia adulter© poenitentia et venia laxatur, continentise vigor frangitur, Aliud est, ad veniam stare, aliud ad ffloriam pervenire. Aliud ' ° . Matth. V. 26. missum in carcerem non exire inde, donee solvat novissimum quadrantem ; aliud statini fidei et virtutis acci- pere mercedem. Aliud pro peccatis longo dolore cruciatuni emundari, et purgari diu igne ; aliud peecata omnia passione purgasse." Hsec ibi. 2. Eodemraodo accipit at- i cor. m. que intergretatur ignem ilium (cujus mentio fit 1, ^^' ^^' Cor. iii.) Augustinus in Enchiridio.icap. 68, Nempe, . . . .,,.../ ! ^ . Kxpositio ut Ignis sit tentatio tribulatioms m hac vita, ustio ignis de quo. • 1 1 1 • • 1- ICor. iii. autem sit dolor de amissione rerum temporalium quo uri mavult pcenitens, quam Christo carere. Non autem intelligendum esse ignem ilium Purgatorii quern iraaginantur Papistse, vel ilia una ratio manifeste evincit, quam adfert Augustinus loco citato : " Ignis (inquit) de quo loquutus est eo loco Apostolus Paulus, talis debet intelligi, ut ambo per eum transeant, et qui sedificat aurum, et qui sedificat foenum : adjunxit enim, uniuscujusque opus quale sit, ignis probabit," &c. Quo argumento etiam recedendum est ab Expositione Chrysostomi, qui in Commentario illius loci, ignem ilium interpretatur ignem seternum quo cruciantur damnati. 3. Perversam Pamelii glossam destruit constans Cypriani doctrina de requie et laetitia in Paradise, quam omnibus animabus fidelium dari ait, quando hinc exeunt. Hanc doctrinam Libro de Mortalitate, prolixe et perspicue tradidit.2 Et in eandem sententiam scribit ad Demetrianum. " Nee separari generi humano ab invicem datui', nisi Fideies, et istinc de seculo recedatur. Intra unam domum tenteF?"b ,. .... . . •!•, ipsamorte bom et mall interim continemur : quicquid intra Paiadisus - , . . , hospitium domum evenerit, pan sorte perpetimur ; donee immortau- *• '■ ^ . tatis et copia sevi temporalis fine complete, ad seternse vel mortis ^^sn^^j^, vel immortalitatis hospitia dividamur. excipit. Quid hoc ad Dei servos quos Paradisus invitat, quos gratia omnis et copia regni Coelestis expectat ? Quando 1 [Ed. cit. sM;«-a, Tom. v.] ' [Ed. cit. supra, fol. 229.] 18 274 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET istinc excessum fuerit, nuUus jam pcenitentiae locus est, nullus satisfactionis effectus, hie vita aut araittitur, aut tenetur ; hie sahiti seternae, cultu Dei, et fruetu fidei, pro- videtur. Nee quisquam aut peccatis retardetur aut annis, quo minus veniat ad eonsequendam sahitem. In isto adhue mundo nianenti pcenitentia nulli sera est. Patet ad indulgentiam Dei aditus, et quserentibus atque intelligenti- bus veritatem faciHs aeeessus est. Tu sub ipso Heet exitu et vitse temporahs oecasu, pro dehetis reges ; et Deum qui unus et verus est, confessione et fideagnitionis ejus implores: venia confitenti datur, et credenti indulgentia salutaris do Divina pietateeonceditur; etad immortalitatem sub ipsa mortetran- situr." Hsec Cyprianus,! prope finem Libri ad Den\etrianum. Manifestum est igitur Cyprianum eonstanter pnedicasse transitum omnium animarum fideliura in Patriam Ccelestem, seu Paradisum ipso die exitus e corpore. Sie author Qusest. et Resp. ad Orthodoxos, qu?e Justino Martyri tribuuntur, ad Qusest. 75 ;2 Msra ^s t'/jv justini test; 1 -w/ '/v^- '/i^ ' ~5./ nionium, £« rov ffaoujarog s^ooov, ivBvg yivzrat rav o/«a/<4^i/ contra Pur- \>^/ f5> ,/•.> \f\~ gatorium, rz Kai aoix,ci)V rj oiadrokyj ; ayovrai yap vto tojv she authoris ayy'ikcov zlg a^ioug avrm roTOvg' «/ [mv raJv Resp. htKciicov -^vyji) zig rov Trcc^dhiffov, h^a amrvyjci, rg jca) 0soc a,yys}MV rs kui ap-x^ayyskaji/, Kocr h'irruaia.v h\ Kai rov ffcorj^^og X^isov, kocto, to sioyiyAvov ' Y^zhriiLovvng Ik rov ffcuyjarog, zai Iv^rjftjOvvrBg '^r^og rov Kv^iou. At bs rcov uhiKcov -il^vy^ai sig rovg h roj abrj roTOvg, zocroi ro sIpj^[/jSvov TS^t rov NaSu^o^ovoffOg ^(laCkzcag l^a^v'Kuvog' 6 tjid'/jg Karoj- 6iv iTTiK^dv&r} ffvvuvr^(Tag ao). Ka; ro!, kt^TJg. Ka/ zIg]v h rolg a^ioig avroJv r'o'rroig ipv'kurrof/jsvtti, s&jg ryjg rifM^ocg rvjg ccvaguTScog x,ai avrwro^ocrscog. Id est, " Post exitum vero animarum e corpore, ilico justi ab injustis segregantur, abducuntur enim ab Angclis, ad eondigna sibi loco ; ae justorum quidem animas in Paradisum, ubi consuetudine et aspectu fruuntur angelorum et archangelorum, per visionem autcm et ipsius sorvatoris Christi, pro eo atque dictum est ; peregre absumus a corpore, et praisentes ad- sumus apud Dominum." Injustorum autcm animre, in ipsius orci loca, per co atque dictum est do Ncbuchodnosere Rege Babylonis ; " infernus subter exacerbatus est in occursum 1 [Ed. cit. mpra, p. 217.] " fOppra. Fol. Paris. 161.'), p. 4^.] CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 275 adventus tui," et csetera. Et asservantur quseque in locis se dignis ; usque ad resurrectionis et compensationis diem. Similiter Hilarius.iinfineCommentarii in Psal. ii. ,^ „., .. ' ... Item Hilarii. " Testes nobis sunt evangelii Dives et Pauper, quorum unum Angeli in sedibus beatorum, et in Abrahse sinu locaverunt ; alium statim poense regie suscepit. Adeo autem statim pcenae mortuum excepit, ut etiani fratres ejus in supernis manerent. Nihil illic dilationis aut morse est. Judieii enim dies vel beatitudinis retributio est geterna vel poense. Tempus vero mortis habet interim unumquemque suis legibus, dum ad judicium unumquemque AUT ABRAHAM RESERVAT, AUT POENA." Hsec Hilarius, Pictaviensis. Idem docuerunt Philastrius,^ in Oatalogo Hsere- puiiastm. seon, quae sub Apostolis exstiterunt, Hseres. 7^. et Oassio- dorus,3 Lib. de Anima, Cap. 19. cassiodori. Et Arabrosius ;4 " Primum regnum coelorum Sanctis propositum est in dissolutione corporis ; secundum Ambrosii. regnum coelorum est post resurrectionem esse cum Christo." Haec ille, Comment, in Cap. 6. Lucse, in ilia verba, " Beati Pauperes, quia vestrum est Regnum Dei." Idem, in fine Libri de Fide,^ resurrectionis, ait ex hoc vitse anfractu discedentes Fidelium animas ad concilia superna conten- dere, et Angelis sociari. Chrysostomus,6 Homil. 3. de Lazaro, circa medium, omnes homines qui peccayerunt distinguit in tres ordines chiysost. respectu poenarum, quas propter peccata sua patiuntur. Alios dicit puniri hie duntaxat, et dat exemplum in Lazaro, et tales ait hinc abire puros. Alios dicit nihil hie tale pati, sed omnem vindictam illic recipere, et pro exemplo adducit Divitem ilium, cui in flamma infernali ardenti Luc.xvi. negata est aquae guttula. Alios denique turn hie tum illic, puniri, et id probat exemplo Sodomitarum, quibus tolerabilius fore in die judieii quam contemptoribus evangehi docuit Dominus noster. Unde etiam colligit 1 [Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1693, p. 52.] ^ [PMlastrius Brixieusis Episcop. De Hgeresibus, Max. Bibl. PP. Lugd. Tom. iv. p. 715.] =* [M. Aurelii Cassiod. Senat. Opera. Max. Bibl. PP. Lugd. Tom. xi. fol. 1267.] * [Bened. Ed. cit. supra, Tom. i. fol. 1370.] * [Bened. Ed. supra, cit. vol. ii. Stipposit.'\ ' [Ed. cit. supra, vol. i.] 27C SERMO FUNEBRIS ET Chrysostomus leviorem fore in inferno poenara illorum dara- natorum, qui hie aliquid supplicii pertulerunt. Ergo ex mente Chrysostomi nulla poena, nuUus cruciatus excipit quenquam electorum ex hac vita egressum : soli enim reprobi post hanc vitam cruciantur, licet alii levius, alii gravius. Idem Clirysostomugl Homil. 5. in Genesin, ait Fideles illuc ire Kudu^ovg rajv ccyba^T'/jUjOLrm, puros a peccatis : non enim possibile esse ut inveniat illic consola- tionem aliquam qui in prsesenti vita non fuerit ablutus a peccatis. Hoc esse agonis et luctae tempus ; illud coro- narum et retributionum et prsemiorum. Montani hreresiarchse fuit deliramentum a Paganism© traductum, animas etiara justorum (nisi martyrio purgatorii Paradisum obtinuissent) apud inferos sequestrari a Pagan*s"et in Diem Domini, ibique delicta lucre mora resur- hi^reslarcha . , , . Ml J dcrivatum. rectionis, hunc enim esse carcerem ilium unde non exitur ante solutionera novissimi quadrantis ; id „ . T • 1 Matth. V. est, modici cujusvis peccati. ieste ejus discipulo Tertulliano,2 lib. de Resurrectione Carnis, Cap. 43. et lib. de Anima Capitib. 55, 58, seu ult. Hoc insani illius Hsere- tici nugamentum, tandem labentibus annis modica inter- polatione adhibita, donatum est civitate ab Eugenie 4. in Con- cilio Florentine, in decreto de Purgatorio, Anno Dom. 1439. Hieronymus,3 Comment, in cap. Q5, Esaice, vers. 4. " Qui dum in hoc vivit corpore, veniam peccatorum, non Hieronym. fuerit consequutus: et sic de vita excesserit,DEO perit, et esse desistit : licet sibi subsistat in poenis." H?ec Hieronymus. Augustinus,* lib. 1-3, de Civitate Dei, cap. 8. " In requie (inquit) sunt animse piorum a corpore separata;, ^^ ^^ impiorum autem psenas luunt ; donee istarum ad seternam vitam, illarum vero ad seternam mortem, quae secunda dicitur, corpora reviviscant." Idem,^ Tractatu 2G in EvangeliumJoannis, ait, ilium qui manducat carnemCuRiSTi, et bibit ejus sanguinem, at / c^ ~ superamus rectionis corporum nostrorum, £'? ccvaGTCCGiv Lcariq. in imc vita, ■*• . est ccrtitudo Qui credit in Christum, habet vitam seternam, et resurrec- ^ ' , tionis inoitu- Christus suscitabit eum ultimo die, Joann. vi, 39, orum joann. 40 ^X Patruni quo- •av/, K)-t. rundam sen- Tertullianus* ait Libro de Resurrectione Oarnis, Srec'tione cap. 1. Fiducia Ohristianorum, resurrectio mor- mortuorum. tuorum. TertuUian. " Hoc est (inquit Augustinus) quod prsecipue Christianos a Gentili errore secernit banc ipsam August. animam tunc habebimus quam raodo habemus, et in hoc ipso quo nunc induimur, sumus corpore resuscitandi. Nemo ergo, fratres charissimi, de resurrectione desperet, in qua Ohristianorum spes tota consistit."'' Hsec Aug. Serm. 34, de verbis Apostoli.^ Epiphanius^in Ancorato; "In carnis (inquit) resurrectione, 1 [/6id. Tom. iii. fol. 900. 2dse partis.] 2 mid. Sei-mo. ix. De Decem Chordis, Tom. v. fol. 62, § 20.] =* [Tom. vi, App. fol. 274.] * llbid. Ed. cit. supra, p. 525.] ' lSu2y2iosit. Bened. Ed. cit. supra, Tom. v. App. fol. 198.] « [Epiphanii Constantise Episcop. Opera, fol. Paris. 1622, Tom. ii.] 278 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET omnis thesaurus et fundamentum omnis saplentis cogitationis, et omnis bonee operationis deposita."" ^'^ *"' Idem ; " Si non spes fuisset resurrectionis, qualis esset ossium cura, ut de corruptibilibus ossibus prceciperent justi ? sicut Joseph." Irenaeus,! Lib. 5, adversus Haereses, proUxe adstruit resurrectionem corporum nostrorum, ita ut non aha, sed hsec ipsa quae gestamus corpora, quas Spiritus Sancti templa, et Christi membra sunt per Dei potentiamreviviscant. Idquod etiam Athenagoras,^ Athenag. et Lib. de resurrectione mortuorum, et Ambrosius^ ^"^^""^ Lib. de fide Resurrectionis, et TertulHanus^ ac Epiphanius^ locis citatis, confirmant phirimis argumentis. Hieronymus Epistola ad Pammachium, adversus errores Joannis Hierosolymitani, — " Procedent," inquit, " de monumentis, ros enim qui a Deo est, medulla est ossibus ipsorum." Tunc implebitur quod DOMINUS loqui- tur per prophetara — " Populus mens intra in cel- laria tua aliquantulum, donee ira mea transeat."" Cellaria sepulchra significant, de quibus hoc utique profer- tur, quod conditum fuerat ; et exibunt de sepulchris suis veluti hinnuli de vinculis soluti," &c. Plura ibi lector inveniet.4 Hinc Augustinus^ commendat curam et officiosam pieta- tem circa funera justorum, propter fidem resurrec- tionis adstruendam, Lib. 1, " De Civitate Dei, cap. 13. " Etsi curatio funeris, conditio sepulturas et pompa exequiarum, magis sunt vivorum solatia, quam subsidia mortuorum. Christianis autem, et ipsius carnis, et membrorum omnium reformatio, non solum ex RedinteRra- terra, verumetiam ex aliorum elementorum secre- "o corporum ^ ' ^ dispcrsoruui. tissimo sinu, quo dilapsa cadavera recesserunt, in temporis puncto rcddenda et redintcgranda promittitur." Ut loquitur Augustinus eodem libro, cap. 12. Non soli autem resurgent justi, sicunt somniarunt non- nulli ex infidelibus Judscis, qui dixerunt impiorum KoMiitur ., . , . , .. Kinichii dc- animas cum corporibus mterire, et non esse iis urium. ^ [Bened. Ed. supra cit. Tom. ii.] ^ [Atlianagono Allien. Philos. Christ. Opera, Oxonii, 12nio. 1682. J ■' [Edits. Mipru cit.] •• [Ed. cit. su)tra, Tom. iv. Pars 2d, fol. 32().J ^ [Boned. Ed. cit. gvjira, Tmn. vii. fol. 12.] CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 279 resurrectionem ; in quo errore fuit Eabbi David Kimchi,! Comment, in Psal. i. et in finem Psal. xvii. et in Psal. xlix. Nam dormientium in pulvere terrse evigilabunt alii in vitani seternam, et alii in opprobrium, Daniel xii. 2. Omnes qui in monumentis sunt, audient vocem Filii Dei, et prodibunt, qui bona fecerunt, in resurrectionem vitse : qui vero Discrimen ^ ... resurrectionis mala egerunt, in resurrectionem condemnationis, justorum et o ' resurr. jni- Joann. v. 28, 29. Et Paulus Apostolus ait fore piorum. resurrectionem mortuorum, tum justorum, tum injustorum, Act. xxiv. 15. Non tamen impii liac resurrectione victoriam ullam consequentur, sed tanquam rei e carcere mortis prioris extracti, sistentur coram judice, ejusque sententia damna- buntur, et tradentur morti secundse. Quamvis autem Kimchius putaverit animas impiorum mori cum corporibus, neque fore impiis resurrectionem, Quj^ij^ni R^b- alii tamen nonnulli ex Kabbinis Judseorum, agno- rintlmpkf-' verunt impiorum sempiternam poenam. Nam Rabbi p^^am "ter- Joseph^ Targumista, in sua Chaldsea Paraphrasi in "''"'■ Psal. i. dictum illud Prophets tOSifT^n Q^ril'l IDp^'is^V, " non resurgent impii in judicium,'' interpretatur K2~i KTDVn ''j;"'ll'l ]"'DT"' ab Id est, " non justificabuntur [vel non invenientur innocentes] impii in die Magno." Et in Paraphrasi Psalmi xlix. " Vivet (inquit) bonus in vitam seternam, non videbit indicium ffehennse : quia sapientes videbunt impios Gehenna. in gehenna." Haec ille. Idem de gehenna, quod sit locus in quo animae impiorum post corporis mortem puniun- tur, tradiderunt Elias Levita, et Rabbi Joseph Castiliensis, verbis illis quse ex eorum Libris citantur a Gruidone Fabricio, in suo Dictionario Syro-Chaldaico, in radice D'H'li, in appa- ratu Bibliorum Reg. Et veteres Pharisceos credidisse resur- rectionem impiorum, testatur Paulus Apost. Act. xxiv. 15. Impiorum etiam resurrectionem sustulerunt illi Errorquonm- Hseretici, quos Philastrius scribit dixisse, animas corum de ani- . . mabus impio- impiorum transire m dsemones, ac pecudes, et lum. bestias, ac serpentes, atque ita verti in aliam natui'am. Quos refellit Philastrius, in Catalogo Hereseon, quse sub Apostolis extiterunt, Hseresi 73.^ 1 [Comment, in Vet. Test. Lib. Gothsp, 4to. 1613. This eminent Spanish Rabbi is referred to, supra, p. 254.] ^ [There are various learned Rabbins of this name] ' [Philastrius Brixiens. E. De. lla>resibus. M. Bibl. PP. Lugd. Tom. iv. p. 7!-,.] 280 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET Recte Irenseus,! lib. i. adversus Hsereses Valentin! et similium, resurrectionem carnis negantium, cap. 19. " Qui quideni (inquit) resurgent carne, licet nollent, iiti agnoscant virtutem suscitantis eos a mortuis. Cum justis autem non adnumerabuntur, propter incredulitatera suam." Hsec Irenaeus, Gregorius^ Magnus, lib, 14. Moralium, prope finem Libri, disserens de Kesurrectione, docet corpus resurrecturum subtile quidem per effectum spiritalis potentise sed palpahile per veritatem naturae. Et quod Apostolus dicit, " quia caro et sanguis regnum puspaipabue! Dei possidere non possunt, recte interpretatur, intelligi carnem secundum culpam, non carnem secundum naturam. Si quern nioveat ipsa temporalis mors iustorum, Quaestio cm- , . . ■. , . . nioriuntur ac SI victoria nobis promissa de morte, immuni- justi, quibus . . .. rcmissa sunt tatera postulare videatur ab hac temporali separa- peccata? tione animse et corporis : quo argumento Hseretici Pelagiani perperam contendebant hominem moriturum fuisse, etiamsi non peccasset : negantes enim originale peccatum, negabant peccato factum esse ut moreremur ; dicebant autem, si ex peccato mors ista, tunc credentes in Christum, jam remisso peccato, mortem istam non obituros. Respondens Augusti- nus3 lib. 2. de Peccatorum Meritis et Remissione, Capitibus 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, ait victores nos constitui turn superando metum hujus mortis in hac vita, tum post mortem istam resurgendo ad immortalitem. " Poterat autem (in- cap. 51. quit) etiam hoc donare credentibus, ut nee istius -^^^^ ^^ experirentur corporis mortem ; sed si hoc fecisset, a^ont^ief^^ carni qusedam felicitas adderetur, minueretur qurmorus^'' autem fidei fortitude. Quid enim magnum erat ""^ "™'"'*^" ' videndo non mori eos qui crederent, credere se non mori- turum ? Quanto est majus, quanto fortius, quanto lauda- bilius ita credere ut se sperct moriturus sine fine victurum V — " Hsec Laus Fidei non esset nee omnino fides esset, si homines in credendo prcemia visibilia sequerentur ; hoc est, si fidelibus merces immortalitatis in hoc seculo redderetur. Quandoquidem fides ita definita est ; fides est sperandorum 1 [Ed. cit. supra, Tom. i. p. 159. Lib. ii. c. 20.] ' [Bened. Ed. Paris. Fol. 1705.] 3 [Bened. Ed. cit. supra, Tom. x. fol. fi6.] CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 281 substantia, et convictio rerum quae non videntur. Quod timorem mortis fideles vincunt, AD AGONEM IPSIUS FIDEI pertinet, qui profecto defuisset, si mox esset credentes immortalitas consequuta." "Qusedam res sunt quarura Reatum ne post banc cap. 53. vitam obsint, Deus solvit, tamen eas ad certamen cau remp- FiDEi sinit manere, ut per illas erudiantur et ti^nTsljve-" „ neunt, quae EXERCEANTUR PROEICIENTES IN AGONE JUSTITI^. non simt jam Sicut illud quod propter peccatum dixit Deus catmum^sed homini ; " in sudore vultus tui edes panem tuum, et exercitatio- ., , . .1 . ,, T 1 nesq. justo- spnias et tnbulos pariet tibi terra. Item quod rum profici- . ... . . entium in dictum est muberi ; " m gemitu paries." agonejusti- " Ante remissionem sunt ista suppltcia peccato- cap. 54. rum, POST remissionem autem certamina exercitationes- QUE JUSTORUM. Ita et illis quos de morte corporis similiter movet, respondere debemus, ut earn et peccato accidisse fateamur, et post peccatorum remissionem, ut magnus Timor ejus a proficientibus superetur, ad certamen nobis relictam esse non dedignemur. Si enim parva virtus esset fidei, quae per dilectionem operatur, mortis metum vincere, non esset tanta Martyrum gloria : nee Dominus diceret majorem hac charitatem nemo habet, quam ut ani- mam suam ponat pro amicis suis. Mortis igitur cujus magna multumque dura molestia est, timorem qui vincit ex fide, magnam ipsius fidei comparat gloriam, justamque mercedem. Unde mirandum non est, et mortem corporis non fuisse eventuram homini, nisi preecessisset pec- 2 sam. 12. catum, cujus etiam talis poena consequeretur, et post cratra wro~ remissionem peccatorum eam fidelibus evenire, "rlnam"''" ut in ejus timore vincedo exerceretur forti- deXm^p'i^raH- TUDO JUSTiTiiE. Tale aliquid nobis insinuatum est post'cu°p» de patriarcha David, in libro Regnorum, ad quem satisfactoriis , . . pi'o peccato, Froplieta cum missus esset eique propter peccatum veunhoc '- . , . seculo vc-1 in quod commiserat, eventura mala ex iracundia Dei future, in A ' Purgatono. comminaretur, confessione peccati veniam meruit, |^°°g 1^^- . respondente Propheta, quod illud ei flagitium faci- dep^nifcap. nusque remissum sit, et tamen consequuta sunt quae c^tcchfi?om' Deus fuerat comminatus, ut sic humiliaretur a filio. ^f^M' 52 et^' Quare et hie non dicitur, si Deus propter pecca- "^ tum illud fuerat comminatus, cur dimisso peccato quod erat minatus implevit, nisi quia rectissime, si sic dictum fuerit. 282 SERMO rUNEBRIS ET respondebitur, remissionem illam peccati factam, ne homo a percipienda vita impediretur seterna ; subsequutum vero illius comminationis effectum, ut pietas hominis in ilia humilitate exerceretur atque probaretur ? Sic et mortem corporis propter hoc peccatum Deus homini inflixit, et post peccatorum remissionem propter exercendam justitiam non ademit." Hajc ibi. Ad eandem qusestionem idem Augustinus,! lib 13, de civitate Dei cap. 4, respondet in hunc modum ; " ista qiestio in alio nostro opere tractata et soluta est, ubi dictum est ; ad hoc relinqui anima experimentum separationis a corpore, quamvis ablato jam criminis nexu, quoniam si regenerationis Sacramentum continuo sequeretur immortalitas corporis, ipsa fides enervaretur, quae tunc est fides, quando expecta- tur in spe, quod in re nondum videtur, &c." Idem alibi : " Est autem fides nostra maxime discreta ab omni fide Gentilium in ressurrectione mortuorum,"" Serm. 33, de verbis Apostoli.2 Atque hsec de victoria ilia dixisse sufiiciat, qua per DoMiNUM nostrum Jesum Christum, suorum nostrorumque hostium domitorem ac triumphatorem, superamus mortem in hac vita. Eandem post hanc vitam, eodem Domino donante, vinci- mus, tribus victorise srradibus. Primo gradu vic- . . ° . ° . Mortem post tores constitunnur mortis secundse quoad animam iianc vitam. vincimus, lam cum coelitibus beatara, licet corpus sub morte tribus victo- " _ _ '- , _ ria; gradibus. prima adhuc jaceat. Secundo gradu victoriam consequimur de moi"te corporis, per gloriosam resurrec- tionem ; in qua resurrectione iterum Christus tanquam suo resurget in corpore ; ut pulchre loquitur Ambrosius, Com- ment, primo in cap. 17, Lucse.^ Tertio gradu de utraque morte reternum triumphamus in regno illo coelesti, de quo DoMiNUS noster in illo ultimo die illam ineffabilis consola- tionis plenissimam proferet sententiam, dicens ovibus suis ad dcxteram suam constitutis; " Adeste benedicti Patris mei, possidete regnum paratum vobis a jacto mundi funda- raento," Mattli. xxv. 34. Tunc fiet illud quod scriptum est; " Absorpta est mors ad victoriam. Ubi tuus, 0 mors, stimu- ^ [Ed. cit. supra, Tom. vii. p. .327.] =» [Tbid. Tom. v. p. 829. Sorm. 17.% oid. nov. | '^ [Bened. Ed. cit. Knpra, 'F'oin. i. Fol. ]-l7f>.l CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 283 lus ? Ubi tua, O scpulchrum [vel 0 inferne, w^^J victoria. Stimulus autem mortis est peccatum, vis autem peccati, lex. Sed Deo sit gratia, qui dat nobis victoriam per DoMiNUM nostrum Jesus Christum," 1 Cor. xv. 54, 55, 56, 57- Sicut prgedixit Dominus per prophetam Hoseam ; " E potestate inferni [blU'tV oldov] redimam eos, a morte redimam eos. Ero mors tua, 0 Mors ; ero morsus tuus, Inferne. Poenitudo abscondetur ab oculis meis," Hosese xiii. 14. Tunc perfecte implebitur quod praedixit Esaias propheta; " Perdet mortem in sempiternum, et absterget Dominus Jehovah lachrymam ab omni facie ; et opprobrium populi sui auferet ab universa terra," Esaiae xxv. 8. Quid igitur dicemus ad hgec ? Respondet Apostolus; " Si Deus pro nobis, quis contra nos ? Qui quidem f.,. •, 1 1 • •! Si Deus pro proprio lilio non pepercit, sed pro nobis omnibus nobis, quis ^ . , . , . . contra nos ? tradidit eum, quomodo non etiam cum eo omnia nobis gratificabitur 1 Quis intentabit crimina adversus electos Dei l Deus est qui justificat : Quis est qui condemnet I Christus qui mortuus est, imo vero qui etiam suscitatus est : qui etiam est ad dextram Dei : qui etiam inter- pellat pro nobis. Quis nos separabit a charitate ad dextram Ohristi I Num afflictio, niim anffustia, num perse- peiians pro ,. ° . , nobis. cutio, num tames, num nuditas, num periculum, num gladius I (sicut scriptum est, Tui causa occidimur totum diem : reputati sumus velut oves destinatfe mactationi) Imo in his omnibus amplius quam victores sumus [vTrs^vi- Kaj(/jiv'\ per eum qui dilexit nos. Nam mihi persuasum est, neque mortem, neque vitam, neque Angelos, neque Principatus,neque potestates, neque prsesentia, neque futura, neque sublimitatem, neque profunditatem, neque uUam rem aliam creatam, posse nos separare a charitate Dei, quae est in Christo Jesu, Domino nostro," Rom. Sumphaiis. viii. Omnibus inimicis bellum indicit, nee ipso quidem excepto peccato, quod nonnuUi cavillantur posse nos separare ab hac charitate Dei : nam prsesupponit electionem, et inde manantem vocationem secundum propositum, adeo- que justificationem irrevocabilem, quam infallibiliter sequitur glorificatio : unde infert triumphalem banc qusestionem : Quid igitur dicemus ad h?ec ? Et memoratam responsionem prorsus invictam et triumphalem. O beatos illos, quibus datur fideli cordc diccrc ; " Dixit 284 SEKMO FUNEBRIS ET DoMiNUS Domino meo, Sede ad dextram meam, donee ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedibus tuis." PARS SECUNDA, DE FRUCTIBUS QUOS EX PR^CEDENTI DOCTRINA FIDELES PERCIPIUNT ; CUM APPLICATIONE AD PATRICIUM FORBESIUM, BEATiE MEMORISE, EPISCOPUM ABERDONIENSEM. 'INC oritur in corde fideli, adversus Deum pietas, et fixa in Deo fiducia. 2. Et erga homines, examplo di- ^ ^j.^^^^^^ ^ vinae benignitatis, Aquinatis, Fol. Paris. Ifi25, Tom. i. fol. 14.5.] 3 |S. Ililarii Pictav. Ejusc. Bemnl. Kd. Fol. Paris. 1G43, fol. 12f);?.] CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 2Ul sinceram, atque coelestem in ilia Dei pace omnem mentem exsuperante, et cor ejus atque cogitationes ejus in Christo Jesu custodiente, incomparabiliter ampliorem judicans, quam in omnibus mundi hujus opibus, honoribus, amicitiis, et qui- buscunque oblectamentis. Quartum Officium est, ut causa omnis nostra sit Christi causa, ut dicere possimus, " convicia conviciantium tibi, ineiderunt in me" Psal. Ixix ; Rom. xv. Suos uteaussa""' • . . 1 1 •■ /-N 1 nobis contra emm mnnicos concuicabit (Jhristus, ponentur eosdem ini- scabellum pedibus ejus ; si igitur tibi cum Christo christo com- . , . . . . munis sit. Sit causa communis, etiam victoriae ens particeps, " In mundo (inquit) afflictionem habebitis : sed confidite, ego vici mundum," Joann. xvi. ultimo. Et Petrus Aposto- lus ait, " in eo quod consortes estis afflictionum Christi ; gaudete, ut et cum revelabitur gloria ipsius, gaudeatis exul- tantes,"&c.lPet.iv. 13. EtDoMiNUsbeatospronunciatillos qui persecutionem patiuntur propter justitiam : quoniam ipsorum est Eegnum Coelorum, Matth. v. 10. " Propterea voluptatem capio" (inquit Apostolus) " in infirmitatibus, in injuriis, in necessitatibus, in persecutionibus, in angustiis pro Christo ; cum enim infirmus sum, tunc potens sum," 2 Cor. xii, 10. De hoc etiam officio nunquam deserendo semper coffitans pise recordationis pater mens, nullam ° 11. T • • Patriciusut unquam habuit cum quoquam dissensioms causam, christi . . ,-^ p - -tr Ml- T T canssam tue- nisi qu?e Christi fuit. Neque ilh discordia cum letur, nuuas ..... . * !• liominum in- aliquo intercessit, nisi quia nullis moveri terriculis, j™j|[;j*ifj* ^°'" nullis inescari illecebris, nulla portarum infernalium machinatione frangi, neque ulla unquam ratione induci potuit, ut Dei caussam desereret, officio suo deesset, quod in commune utile esse judicabat,pr8evaricatrice silentio, suffo- caret, vel uUo pacto iniquitati aut mendacio consentiret. Eximia qua prsestabat rerum divinarum et humanarum scientia, admirabili qua pollebat facundia, et expedita in rebus agendis solertia, tam libere ac prudenter prudens usus est, quod juxta mecum nostrates omnes in- telligunt, ut apud duos sapientissimos Principes, Jacobum augustse memorise, et qui nunc paterno Britanniarum imperio fceliciter potitur, Serenissimum Regem nostrum, Carolum, in magna semper gratia fuerit ; omnium ordinum benevolentiam meruerit, et ab ipsis quoque hostibus ac in- vidis admirationem et reverentiam oxtorserit. Neo tam 292 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET apertas adversus ilium gesserint inimicitias (ter- rente eos manifesta Numinis in viro prsesentia) stans foni- qiiam occulta infoelices quidam odia fovei'int. Quae ille sciens insuper habuit, et solo Deo fretus, justum ac tenacem propositi virum sc constanter exhibuit. Laudatura ab illo memini, quando CuRlSTi causa agitur, et ob earn causam oftensio hominum incurritur, dictum illud Hieronymi, ad Euffinum, prope finem Apologise illius, quae incipit, LECTIS LiTERis ; " si ista est causa discordise, mori possum, tacere non possum." Si quis afflictse conscientise Christianus ex me quserat ; Quid igitur si ipse mihi peccato meo inimicitias . 1 . • • 5 AT Objectio procuraverim, et calamitates accersivei'mi ? JNum afflictocon- * _ , scientiae. propterea animum despondebo, quia non patior propter justitiam, et propter Christum, sed propter meam injustitiam ? Respondeo : Non est quod animum despondeas ; sed potius foelicem exitum et certam victoriam per C, ., . ,,. . . . • • Solutio con- HRiSTUM tibi pollicearis, si serio resipiscas : nam soiatoiia. poenitendo jam in Christi tutelam transis, qui venit vocare, peccatores ad poenitentiam, Matth. ix. 13. Qui peccantibus nobis ac recipiscentibus advocatum se prsebet, 1 Joann. ii. 1. "Ego (inquit) quoscunque amo, arguo et castiffo : semulare igitur ac resipisce," Apocal. ... -.^ -r^.,. . 1 • 1- J De affliction- m. 19. "Fill mi, ne neglexeris castigationem ibus peccato ^ , . „ accersitis. Domini, neque deficias animo, cum ab eo argueris, &c. Hebr. xii. quo circa dicit ; " Invoca me in die angustise, eruam te, et honorificabis me,"" Psal. 1. 15. Audies suavissi- mam illam Domini vocem, " Confidi, fili : remissa sunt tibi peccata tua," Matth. ix. 2. Atque his et similibus de Divina erga peccatores afflictos, et sub afflictione sincere resipis- centos, dementia et benignitato testimoniis Pater raeus in asperrimis suis quas expertus est conflic- pietas'^et tationibus se sustentans, ineffabilem consolationem, himumas. atque invictam animi constantiam Divinitus sibi dari perpetuo animadvertit. Quod multoties in privatis inter nos colloquiis, cum ardentissima Divinaj miscricordise celebratione, profcssus est. Quamvis cnim aliis cum eo degentibus horainibus innocens, inculpatus et observantissi- mua sequi fuit, sibi tamen, presertim ad Dei tribunal cum se sisteret, peccatis sordidus, clamabat cum Publieano ; CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. 29o " Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori :" et cum Luc.xviii.13. Davide, " Novi Domine quod aequitas judicia tua, ps- c^ix. jod. et in veritate afflixisti me. Sit quteso misericordia tua ad consolandum me, secundum eloquium tuum servo tuo." Quintum Officium, quod hie versiculus Psalmi, quem explicandum suscepimus, a nobis postulat, est, ut '•. ^ '^ , . 5m. Officium: sapiamus et quseramus quae sursum sunt, ubi smsiun Christus sedet ad Dextram Dei, non sapiamus terrena, sicut monet Apost. ad Colossens. iii. ut thesaurus noster et cor nostrum sit in Ooelo, ISIath. vi. 21. Ut voti nostri summa, et letitiae materia sit, Regnum Dei, Victoria Dei, Gloria Dei. Et Coelitum illud Carmen integremus ; "Regna mundi facta sunt Domini nostri, et Christi Apocai. xi. ejus, et regnabit in secula seculorura." Ut gaude- ^^' amus, quod nomina nostra scripta sint in Ooehs. Quod Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, in Christo et per Christum sit Pater noster, et Deus noster. ^uc. x. 20. Quod Christus sit noster Dominus et servator, •^°''"- ''''■ ^''• ac nos ejus servi et amici. In hujus officii prsestatione mirum quantum ex- n . . . . -r-» J • • Patriciuscor celunt pientissmius Fater mens, cuius animus et thesaurum . . . suum in semper coelestibus intentus, caduca omnia, quan- tceio semper . . . . 7 . liabebat. tamcunque inanis glorise vel fallacis securitatis speciem prse so ferrent, quaHbuscunque blandirentifr leno- ciniis, pro nihilo reputabat ; et omnia detrimentum existi- mabat, ac pro excrementis ducebat, prae eminentia cogni- tionis Christi Jesu Domini nostri. 'O e/mo? epco? ia-ravpoorai, " mens amor crucifixus est," scripsit olim in sua ad Romanes Epistola beatus Martyr Igna- 1 T -A !• Tx- • 1 A • 1 • r^ • Ignatii et tius.i Joanms Apostoh Discipuhis, Antiochise byriae Patriciiamor . . ■¥-» • ... Christus. Episcopus. Hoc ipsum et Patri meo divmitus concessum est, ut Christum noctu diuque in pectore gesta- ret, cogitaret, adoraret : in illo fiduciam collocaret : ad ilium sitienter anhelaret : in illo solo voluptatem caperet : ilium solum tiraeret : de illo solo gloriaretur : per ilium de omni- bus hostibus palmam reportaret. Metris Boethii,^ quae in ejus opere de Consolatione Philo- sophiae sparsim inveniuntur, jam indo ab adolescentia delecta- 1 [SS. Pat. Qui temp. Apostol. flor. Opera, Fol. Amstelaed. 1724, Tom. ii. fol. 29.] « [Boethii Consul. Philosophiae, Ed. Delphin. 4to. Paris. 1(584, fol, 226.J 294 SERMO FUNEBBIS ET tur, ea postea senex e locuplete memorise penu foeliciter depro- mebat : presertim ilia, quibus opum, voluptatum, honorura et glorise mundi hiijus vanitas depingitur : et animus ad altiora, veriora, ac duratura bona appetenda accenditur. Imprimis autem metrura illud quo scriptor ille Deum compellat, et in eo versus hosee, honesta cum ^^^gj^ jj^ 3 animi sui voluptate, et jucunda adstantium utili- Phuosopli. tate, frequenter usurpabat, metro 9. Da Pater aiig-ustam menti couscendere sedem. Da fontem lustrare boni, da luce reperta In te conspicuos animi defigere visus. Tu reqnies tranquilla piis : te ceruere finis, Principium, vector, dux, semita, terminus idem. Patricii con- Et hos, Timor Dei, dilectio Dei, fiducia in Deo, imitatio Christi, in verbis ejus, in oculis, et in omnibus CersaUo . - 1 T 1 Suncta, vitse partibus emicabat, et constanter ac splendide ca-iestis, refulgebat. Conversatio illius fuit Sancta, Coelestis, Angelica. Sanctus moribus, Coelestis affectibus, Angelicus fuit indefessa celebratione Dei, et pastoralibus excubiis circa haeredes salutis. Ut domi semper Sacrarum Scripturarum lectioni et meditationi affixus, nullis unquam intercurrentibus Mcditatio negotiis, animum suum passus est vel tantillum a vamnrserfp- Divinse Gratise contemplatione, et incumbentis sibi *"'"^'""°^- muneris recordatione dimoveri : ita etiam peregre agens, sive certo loco interquiesceret, sive iter faceret, aliquam Sacrarum Literarum irepio-^jv mente revolvebat : eamque apud se penitius intuens, ejusque sensum secretiori quadam indagine investigans, et cum aliis Scripturae locis collationem ejus instituens, assiduis interim ejaculationibus Coelum pulsans, in promptu semper liabebat, tum quo ipse animum suum in meditationibus reternum profuturis perpetuo dctin- eret, et adversus inferorum portas munitus atque invictus consisteret, tum quod ad Dei gloriam et audientium jedificatio- nem, pro concione, veluti ex tempore, in quacunque Ecclesia diceret [doceret ?] Eo factum ut ubicunque cum seduiitas in dies DoMiNicus, vel alius sacris publicis destinatus, p'"*'^""'"'!"- dcprsehendcret, cootus illius loci concione sacra nunquam dcstitueretur. Nam absento, vel a?gritudino aliqua laborante, vol ob impedimenta qua?libct imparato, vol etiam auxilium CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX, 295 ejus iraplorante loci pastorc, vel sicubi pastor nuUus esset, incunctanter ad concionandum ille Deo fretus, se accingere, et tanquam scriba doctus in Regno Ooelorum, de tliesauro cordis sui efferre nova et Vetera : quibus imperitos erudiebat, fatiscentes reficiebat, errantes in viam reducebat, perti- nacibus terrorem incutiebat, et sacrorum testimoniorum pondere os obstruebat. Quando solabatur, aut ad officium hortabatur, melle dulcior ejus fluebat oratio, ut (casto et sublimiori sensu*quam de Xenophonte olim Rhetore Facundia dictum est) in labris ejus Pitho sedisse, sermoneni ejus Charites finxisse videantur. Nee facta dictis fideni derogabant, nam hortamenta sua prseclaro vitae exemplo condecoravit, ijSus tov Xoyov, ^§10)1/ rov rpoTrov, N^zianz. " jucundus verbis, jucundior moribus f ut loquitur uuidibus Gregorius Nazianzenus de magno Athanasio.l ^"^^°'*''"- Quando docebat, vel abdita pandebat mysteria, tunc veluti introductis solis radiis, lumen rebus quae inaccessae puta- bantur, clarissimum inferebat, et veluti e puteo erutam veritatem in apricum producebat, et propius intuendam omnium oculis subjiciebat. Quando adversus hominum peccata ultionem divinam denuneiabat, tum vero ex ore ejus vibrabant fulmina ilia, quae KapSioKodropi Dei ipsius braehio contorta forebantur. Quod olim de beato Cypriano scripsit Lactantius^ lib. 5. Divinarum Institutionum, cap. 1. id ipsum in Patricio auditores mirabantur. Ingenio fuisse " facili, copioso, suavi, et (quae sermonis maxima est virtus) aperto, ut discernere nequires, utrumne ornatior in eloquendo, an facilior in explicando, an potentior in persuadendo esset."" Nee senex sibi pepercit, sed florens in atriis Domini, adhuc m senectute fructum ferebat. Memor illius obtestationis Apostolicae, ut Episcopus praedicet verbum, iustet tempestive, intempestive, arguat, objurget, exhortetur cum omni lenitate et doctrina. Et Apostolicis insistens vestigiis, sese erigebat ac solabatur jugi meditatione et crebra repetitione verborum illorum quibus olim Apostolus Paulus seipsum et alios ad piam fortitudinem et Christianam constantiam anima- Kemigium bat. " Propterea non segnescimus, sed etiamsi CffiumUese ^ [In Laudem Athanasii, Onit. xxi. Grog. Naziaii. Ojiera, Fol. Ltitet. Taris. 1609, fol. 373.] 2 f Lactaut. Opera, 8vo. Oxoiiii. 1684, fol. 410. 296 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET externus homo noster corrumpitur, internus tamen attoiientis. f' ' . 2. Cor. iv. 16, renovatur de die m diem. Nam ilico praetenens i^, is- levitas afflictionis nostrse, excellenter excellentis glorise pondus seternum conficit nobis. Non spectantibus nobis ea quae videntur, sed ea qute non videntur : nam quse videntur sunt temporaria, at quae non videntur sunt seterna." Propterea et ipsa correptus paralysi ilia, quse mortem ei propinquam portendebat, nihil remisit de ptistino Pcrpcs fideii- .,,.,■.. 1 . . tas et invicta pietatis studio, sed quo magis appropinquare sen- eonstantia, tiebat reddendje rationis diem, eo diligentius nervos pwc morbi. omnes animae, et quos poterat corporis, intendebat, ut DOMINUS, qui gregis suae curam et domus suae praefecturani ei demandaverat, eum inveniret iroiovvra oi/too?, Mattu. xxiv. " facientem sic."" Conventus aliquot synodicos tem- ^' pore illius morbi, cum symmystis egit, sella portatili, qua ad audiendas conciones sacras vectabatur, delatus in Templum, conventibus illis pro officii sui ratione praefuit, et quod magis omnes gratulabundi mirabamur, conciones item in eis habuit more consueto, cum solita facundia, et pristinis orationis nervis, ac evidenti Numinis eum potenter roborantis prae- sentia. Haec mecum sciunt, haec palam loquuntur, haec dum vivent testabuntur, praeter alios auditores plurimos, centum Presbyteri diocoeseos Aberdoniensis, cum quibus Synodos illas celebravit. Postea ingravescente morbo, cum in cubiculo, perpetim detineretur, norunt adhuc superstites, turn clerici, Mitis patien- , !•• •! •• 1 ,,• ti'i. et grata tum laici, qui ad eum invisendum certatim con- pietas. fluebant, quanta ille animi mansuetudine, quanto etiam interni hominis vigore, quam patienter, quam confidenter, qua humilitate, qua pietate, illam divinitus sibi impositam afflictionem sustinuerit : quam alacriter, quam libcnter, quam constanter poculum illud biberit, quod a Patre suo Coelesti sibi porrigi animadvertebat : quanta gratitudine immensam Dei, ilium tam benigne visitantis, et cum quasi per partes mori jubentis, clementiam depiwdica- Mansit ei uu- verit : quam in eo etiara ubertim experiebatur, smmi usus. quod artubus dextri latcris per paralysin labefactatis, praetor hujus morbi indolem et consuetudincm, Deus illi linguae et sensuum illibatum usum benigne conservaret. Cum autem acorbis subinde doloribus urgeretur, adco CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX, 297 placide Divinse se voluntati submisit, ut nulla Quaiis invi- unquam impatientise vox ex ejus ore audita sit. *'^°'''"^^- Interea quani suavis et affabilis salutantibus, quam praesenti animo et hilari vultu omnes exceperit, quam pastoraliter instruxerit, quam paterne consolatus sit, res ipsa adeo in aprico est, et tam sonora voce clamitat, ut nostro non indigeat testimonio. Omnium ordinum supersunt testes locupletissimi, qui hsec viderunt et audiverunt, et cum gaudio, et admiratione ad Dei laudem, aliis etiamnum recitant. Saepe dicebat, sibi in voto quidem ardentissimo votum. esse, hino protinus liberari, et esse cum Christo, piapatientia. sed nee audere se nee velle Deo limites ponere, aut fides. tempore figere, aut Paternse ipsius providentise per impa- tientiam obniti, vel ingrato fastu obmurmurare : scire se cui credideret,adhucenimtantillum,tantillum(inquam) 2 Tim. i. 12. et venturum qui veniet, neque tardaturum. Hebr. x.37. Accelerari dimissionis suse diem Isetus persentiscens, et salutare Sacro-Sanctse Eucharistise viaticum im- . .^ v Accepit TO pense cupiens, illud sibi dari postulavit, quo una nxivTatov cum sex Presbyteris (quorum ego pars fui) summa "^'' ""■ cum devotione, reverentia, et consolatione sumpto, interro- gatus a me an non vivificam Panis Vitse dulcedinem ubertim perciperet : Respondit, se jam Deo canere illud Laetus erupit senis Simeonis canticum ; " nunc dimittis servum slmeonts. tuum, DOMINE, secundum verbum tuum, in pace ; luc. ii. 29, 30. quia viderunt oculi mei Salutare tuum."" Tunc Symmystis illis, et suis liberis ac domesticis et amicis qui aderant, benedici ab illo enixe flagitanti- Benediction- bus, manum quam habebat a paralysi immunem, syj^mysui'^et singulorum capitibus imposuit, et per ardentissi- ^'''^"*' *=''• mam ad Deum precatiunculam, pastorali ac paterna eos benedictione sigillatim adgeniculantes, impertivit. Ea res nobis omnibus ingenti solatio fuit, et recurrente identidem suavissima ejus recordatione oppido recreamur. Tnter assiduas nostras coUocutiones, quibus, de rebus Divinis, de hominum miseria per peccatum, de coiioquia in- Dei misericordia, et foelicitate redemptorum per erjoanncnr Christum, de seculi hujus vanitate, de vitse hujus ''•'"* brevitate, de dulcissima ilia invitatione et promissione Ser- vatoris nostri : " Venite ad Me omnes qui laboratis „ „ . ,/,... Mattli. xi. 2t<. et onerati estis, et Ego refaciam vos : de justicia 298 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET et pace et gauJio in Spiritu Sancto, de morte corporis, de immortalitate auimse, de carnis resurrectione, de hiTereditate nobis in Ca^lis reposita, de visione beatifica, summa cum animorum voluptate dissorebamus ; accidit ut paucis ante obitum diebus, acri infestatum dolore, et corporis viribus nimiuni quanto defectum hortarer ad constantem in Deo fiduciam, quam nullae piis afflictiones excutiunt, cum hominera in Ohristi sanguine justificatum, adeoque jam Deo Judice justum, nulla calamitatum congeries separare possit a chari- tate Dei, quae est in Christo Jesu Domino nostro. Ille inconcussam suam fidem fortissima responsione Patricii con- „._ -ni' •• stans in Deo testatam lecit ; nnem Fsalmi qumti comraemorans, fiducia. ejusque verba ilia ultima Hebraice repetens, 13~it2pn )12J1 n32iD id est, " benevolentia veluti scuto coronabis (vel circun- dabis) eum." Atque ita Dei favore circumdatum, munitum, et coronatum mox placida corporis etiam quies complexa est. Vespertino istud tempore contigit, quo somnum capere cupiebat. Cum ei referrem de consanguineo quodam nostro nuper defuncto, quam dissimiliter animo affectus fuisset in isto morbo, qui ei mortem intra paucos dies attulit, servis datm-, ,. utnoninviti, ac m alio quodam morbo quem, ante paucos annos, sediibentes .... . ... . . moiiantur. mmari sibi mteritum existmiabat : nam m priore illo usque adeo consternatus timore mortis sestuabat ac trepidabat, ut non sine lachrymis ac suspiriis de propinquo (ut putabat) obitu suo loqueretur. Cum autem, Dei Bene- ficio, ex illo morbo revaluisset, die mortis triennium circiter prolongato, et asgritudine postmodum hac mortifera correptus decumberet, visenti mihi professus est ultro sine ullo fletu aut gemitu, perjucundum sibi fore si quamprimum Deus ilium ex hac vita ad seipsum transferrct : cujus voti intra paucos dies compos foeliciter factus est. His auditis, sub- jecit Pater mens, " tam clementer a Deo haberi dilectos suos, ut invitos abripi non sinat, sed antequam hinc exce- dant, dot animum obsequentem, ut volentes tabernaculum hoc deponant, et ad meliora transeant." Vult autem mori Christianus, " non quo nolit vivei'e, sed ut post mortem melius possit vivcrc :" ut lo(|uitur q„„ ^j,,,^^, Augustinusji Libro 14, de Civitate Dei, Cap. 2.3. ciidstlanu, Jllud autem Pator meus non eo asserobat, ac si """'" '""" J [ Benod. Ed. fit. su/ira, Tom. vii. fol. 37'!. | CONSOLATOllIUS, IX PSALM UM CX. 299 pari omnes alacritate ad hanc terribilem cum morte con- flictationem in arenam dcscenderent. Singulis enim ^.^ ^^ concessa est hsec pia fortitude, et Christiana fortuudo. fiducia, " Secundum mensuram donationis Christi, Ephes. iv. 7. id est, prout Christo libuerit earn admetiri, seu "*"■ ^"' ut alibi Apostolus, prout cuique Deus partitus est men- suram fidei : dispariliter quidem, ita tamen, ut quamvis irrepraeliensibili quadam conservandse inter corpus ggd in omni- et animam copulse appetentia, amarum istud di- vortium homo naturaliter exhorrescat, nihilominus unicunque nostrum in Domino morienti detur sufficiens ilia , ., . . y-, • . . 2. Cor. xii. 9. et msuperabihs gratia Christi, qua virtus eius m nostra infirmitate perficitur ; id est, per quam certam consequimur victoriam. Qua gratia Dominus nos ut prius ad credendum, ita tandem aliquando etiam ad moriendum, ex nolentibus facit volentes. Ipsum vero dulcissimum Patrem meum, cum ilia diceret et jam ante etiam a multis annis (quod inter alia testatur adhuc carmen ejus climactericum Eubulo affectus . " Patricius ad adiunctum)! ita cerneres comparatum, ut neque vivendum, , '' ^ ' ^ , ^, . _ ^ aut moiien- vitse liuius temporalis fastidio vel cupiditate dum, et '> "^ ...... niigrandum. duceretur, neque mortis imminentis formidine angeretur, sed DoMiNUM adeundi et supernis potiundi deliciis, concepta coelitus ineflFabili spiritus flagrantia, jugiter raperetur. Idcirco, cum omnes optarent illi atque adpreca- rentur a Domino vivendi commeatum ; id ille ubi rescivit, respondebat, verbis illis utens Ambrosii, quae in ejus vita ad Augustinum conscripta a Paulino commemorantur ; " Non ita inter vos vixi, ut pudeat me vivere : nee timeo mori, quia DoMiNUM bonum habemus."^ Addebat autem, se vehe- menti teneri desiderio cedendi de hoc seculo, et ad Christum proficiscendi. Laudantibus vitam ejus anteactam, dicere solebat ; " Sola Dei misericordia semper suffultum soli Deo se Piitiicii sin- acceptam referre quamcunque de tentationibus ctpii'iiumiu- victoriam reportaverit : se in solo Deo gloriari, sjbi a^iaiXn- qui hoc et benigne indulserit, attestante etiam DEogioriam , . • !• -i i. J. • • tribuens. sua conscientia, quod cum simplicitatc et smceri- 1 [This poem will be found printed above in the notice of the Bishop's Works subjoined to his Life.] ^ [S. Anihrosii Opera, Bencd. Ed. I'ol: PiU-is. 16*!)0, Tom. ii. Apj). ibl. xii. J 300 SERMO FUNEBRIS ET tate Dei, non cum sapientia carnali, sed cum 2. cor. i. 12. gratia Dei conversatus fuisset in mundo. Attamen 1. cor. iv. 4. (inquiebat) non per hoc justificatus sum. Det 2. Tim. i. la niihi DoMiNUS ut inveniam misericordiam apud Dominum, in illo die. Quod opto et spero." Sic olim beatus Martyr Ignatius,! Epis. ad Trallenses ; " In Domino gloriari bonum est. Quamquam enim roboratus sim in iis quae Dei sunt [to. Kara Qeov,! tamen plus mihi timendum „ •- . J * Humilis pie- est, nec animus illis mtendcndus qui frustra me t?s ignatii mflant, kui fxij irpoae-^eiv roU eiKp] (pvaiovcri jue, ^nt'o<-'iani. qui enim laudant, flagellant me, 0/ yap jue eiraivovvre^ ixaa- TiyOVCTlV.^^ Paulo ante ultimum vitse diem, me alloquens patricii mor- Pater meus, dixit, "Perspicio, Joannes, breviaffore pl^t'irfeux cursus mei terminum, et vitse liujus exitum, quem i"'"*"'''*'"- certo persuasus sum foelicem futurum et consolationis plenum." Pridie quam morieretur (qui erat Domini nostri immensa Jesu Christi passionis dies) cogitantibus nobis verbi's'^swy^- de vivifica Servatoris nostri Passione in Cruce, post« suggerebara illi Orationem illam Christi ad lJ Patrem, dicentis ; " Pater, in manus tuas com- mendo spiritum meum :" qua oratione aiebam commendari Patri a Christo non solum propriam ac Deitati hypostatice unitam suam animam, sed etiam omnem cujuscunque Christiani fidelis animam e corpore migrantem : atque adeo illius orationis perpete virtute jam animam ipsius com- mendari Deo per Christum, qui est ad Dexteram Dei, et intercedit pro nobis. lUe liaec audiens, lauguentes ut poterat attollens oculos ; " Hand dubie (inquit) , . . ... , Joan. xi. 42. haDC vera est mterpretatio, et ipsissnuus verborum Domini sensus, qui et orat pro nobis, et a Patre semper exauditur," Ad ista recte intelligenda conducit dictum illud Augustini, de Christo Patrem oranto, et exaudito a Patre, " Quo- modo non Patrem roffat ut homo, qui cum Patre ^, . , O ' 1 Chnstus orat exaudit ut Deus ?" Lib. 2, contra Maximinum "uj^'ut' ^*' Arianorum Episcopum, cap. 14.2 Quo sensu etiam "*"*• 1 [SS. Patr. Qui Temp. Apostol. flor. Fol. Amstelanl. 1724, Tom. ii. fol. 162.] ^ [Uened. Ed. cit. mpru, Tom. viii. fol. 707.J toris nostri i-emis in Cruce. jMC. xxiii. CONSOLATORIUS, IN PSALMUM CX. iJOl alibi ait — " Ex hoc enim rogat, quo minor est Patre : quo vero aequalis est, exaudit cum Patre." Aug. Lib. 1, " De Trinitate," cap. lO.l Vespere ante obitum ; nunc, inquiebam, " mi Pater, acci- dunt ad aures animse tuae dulcissima ilia servatoris Matth. xxv. verba ;" " Euge, serve bone et fidelis, intra in gau- ^^' "^" dim Domini tui;" nunc illani dabit beatam requiem, ^ ^'^*- ""-^ et immarcessibilem glorise coronam imponet tandem capiti tuo. Respondit paucis (non enim lingua multis verbis pro- ferendis jam sufficiebat) " Joannes, hoc faxit Deus." precatio Deinde hortor ut illius etiam suavissimae invitationis ^^*^^' solatio, ut ssepe antea, ita nunc proesertim sese erigat, atque confirmet, ad inceptum iter in patriam ad Dominum Jesum, licet per vallem mortis, alacriter conficiendum ; qua servator, qui est ille dilectus nostei', dicit cant. ii. lo. i 1 ,. . ,, quoPatri- fideli anmia?, " surge, amica mea, Formosa mea, et ciusimpense VENi,"Cant.ii.lO. "Quamellitissimacompellatione, ^ et benignissima excitationo nunc te vocat dilectus tuus, ser- vator tuus, ut ex hoc mundo, in quo peccatis serumnisque infestamur, in coelum properes, quod est habitaculum sanc- titatis et gloriae Dei ; ut hac nocte cum Christo Esai. ixiu. 15. sis in Paradiso." Respondit, " O iter optimum, ,.,„,.. . . „ . Luc.xxiii.43. cui nullum ahud foelicitate jequiparari aut conierri potest." Postea cessante jam linguae usu, quamdiu voces adhuc a nobis prolatas de Dei misericordia, de beato Quomodo se exitu morientium DoMiNO, de mansione ccelesti a foquTaLpUus Christo illi prseparata, in qua mox cum Domino "°" p^^"^^- futurus erat, et de consortio Angelorum, et Patriarcharum, et Apostolorum, et Martyrum, aliorumque beatorum, et de plenitudine ilia laetitiae quae ibi est cum vultu Domini, et jucunditatibus ad dexteram ejus sempiternis ; quamdiu, inquam, voces has auribus suis insonantes percipiebat, quantopere earum rerum meditationibus delectaretur, quor- sum tunc animus ejus ac vota ferrentur, et quam constanter Deo fideret, manus illius quae a paralysi libera erat, et oculo- rum crebra ad coelum levatione, manifestum faciebat. Et percunctante me, an vellet ut qui aderamus, Deo in genua procidui, unanimiter toto pectore supplicareraus, ut quem 1 [Jbid. fol. 763.] 802 SERMO FUNEBRIS, ETC. instare videbamus, eum coelestis Pater, ex immensa sua indulgentia et immota suorum in Christo dileetione, exitum praestaret beatum in Domino : ilico sese erigens ut poterat, manuque ilia et oculis in altum vibratis, et omnibus fla- grantissinii affectus datis indiciis, luculenter nobis testatum fecit, quam jucundum illi quam acceptura, quam serio exop- tatum fuerit illud nostrum pro eo precandi officium : et nostris votis sua ilium conjungentem ex manu et oculis, totoque vultus habitu, evidenter animadvertimus. Finita precatione, manum oculosque, ad dicta nostra auribus ipsius ingesta, paulisper attollebat : mox ^ audiendi sensus et omnis locomotiva facultas con- pielc piaci- quieverunt. Et nobis spectantibus, lachrymanti- obdomiivit, bus, Deumque toto pectore invocantibus, et ex iis tertiam'ma- , , ... tutiiiani, in quae audiendo et videndo clarissime perspexeramus coniinio noc- ^ , . ... r , tis et aurora?, beatse misrrationis certissimis argumentis consola- pridie Pas- ° ..,.,,,.. chatis, 28. tionem baud exiguam capientibus, die, dorraientis Martu, Anno O 1 Domini 1d35, instar, beatum ilium coeloque jam maturum suum j?pf;^J;J^'{>j^ spiritum,in manus Patris coelestis placidissime ex- ^J}?^p^f^(i^fh^ halavit. Tunc ego velutiPatriarcham olim Jacobum t'eteJem pa-* exspirantem conspicatus, et jam exanimem oscu- gonla^^'"' latus, lachrymis madens, oculos ejus digitis meis composui. Exequiarum deinde et funeris curam liabui. Domino interim, qui tantis gratise suae muneribus ilium ditavit, et in coelestem nunc gloriam introduxit, benedicens, similem mihi et vitae tenorem, et ex hac peregrinatione excessum, quandocunque accersitionis meae tempus adveniret, seriis precibus a Divina Clementia flagitabam. Id quod etianum constanter expeto, et ex Dei misericordia laetanter expecto, per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum. Deus autem spei, omnes servos suos hie peregrinantes magis magisque impleat omni gaudio et pace in credendo, ut spe abundemus per virtutem Spiritus Sancti. Cui cum Patre et FiLio, Trinuni vero soli Sapienti Deo, Servatori nostro, sit omnis Laiis, Honor, et Gloria, et Magnificentia, et Robur, et Potestas, et nunc, et in omnia sccula : Amen. METRUM CONSOLATORIUM. ENS raea, solicito cur me labefacta dolore Conficis i All tandem desine fessa queri. Cernis, ut interea fugit hora laboribus apta, Dum fracti aerumnis attonitique malis, Liquimur in lachrymas, et flendo ducimus annos: Et nostras pulsat mors properata fores ? Ite truces curae. Domini quae dextera clemens Porrigit, hsec alacri pocula mente bibam. Transit amarities : sanati seterna manebit Integritas animi. Mens mea fide Deo. Te propter majora tulit, nee linquet Jesds, Qui Patris ad dextram victor in axe sedet. Quae pateris nigris nil sunt collata gehennse Ignibus, ardebit queis scelerata coliors. Tu verbum meditare Dei : Christumque fatere : Te servire Deo vociferetur opus : Sit tibi communis cum Christo causa : ferantur Vota tua in Regnum justitiamque Dei. Kon metues Orci portas, mundive furores, Peccatum vinces, interitumque premes. Per varios casus, per multa pericula ducit In Patbiam cunctis semita trita piis. Hic tu olim victrix, et condecorata perenni Luce, beatific© laeta fruere bono. EJUSDEM JOAMIS FOEBESII DISSERTATIO. DE VISIONE BEATIFICA, LECTOEI S. CrEBATUR solennis Academic Panegyris, in qua mihi ex officio de Themate aliquo Theologico publico dicendum erat, et earn celobritateni Pater meus 6 ev dyioi?, non obstante ilia qua premebatur paralysi, Cha- rissimani filiam suam Universitatem Aberdonienscm (quam marcore longo extabcscentcm et situ informi squalentem sanitati ac nitori pristine, instaurator foolix, rostituerat) extremum invisens, manibus gestantium in auditorium por- tatus, veneranda sua pr?esentia condecoravit. Materiam igitur earn mihi deligendam existimavi, qure et illi Parentis mei conditioni maxime esset accommodata, et Theologo imprimis digna, et auditorio utilitatcm juxta ae voluptatem longe uberrimam allatura videbatur. Prfecipue vero ut hoc AD LECTOREM. 305 argumentura illo prcesertim tempore tractandum assumerem, vehemens animi impulit ardor, quo solandi atque exhilarandi pientissimum illud ae mitissimum pectus charissimi Genitor- is mei, senio simul et morbo gravati, et accersitionem sui de hoc sajculo in horas prsestolantis, flagrantissime rapiebar. Neque voto successus defuit, nam ille attentas, ut solebat aures prsebens, ad primum Visionis Beatificse auditum, usque adeo per Dei gratiam exultavit spiritu, ut veluti novis collectis viribus, sese ad audiendum, mira alacritate, compo- neret. Et quam impense Beatificse Visionis meditatione delectaretur, frequentibus postea inter nos colloquiis, ad extremum usque spiritum luculenter ostendit. Ut autem Dissertationem banc nunc publici juris facerem, his adductus sum rationibus. 1. Hoc ohm solamine Patriarcha David moerorem suum de fihoH morte conceptum leniebat, quod ad defunctum iturus esset. Et Ambrosius^ obitu fratris sui Satyri contris- tatus, se hac spe solabatur, quod cito ad fratrem suum venturus esset, nee digressus inter illos longa essent futura divortia, et ipse cum fratre inter Angel orum consortia, pro- pediem futurus. Hac ipsa patrem meum apud Christum videndi spe, me recreo atque sustento. Quae certe ad amicos nostros hinc translates profectio solatio esse non posset, nisi illos miseriis exemptos, ccelestibus jam potiri gaudiis cre- deremus. Quae . gaudia quo clarius praevisa, et certius animo prsecepta, et frequentius atque accuratius menti reprsesentata fuerint, eo mirabiliores sui amores in nobis excitabunt. 2. Ea etiam est prsesentis seculi, utcunque serumnosi, illecebrosa fallacia, et perniciosa blanditia, ut altioris reraigio contemplationis opus sit, quo mentes nostras coenosis degra- vatas affectibus humo revellere, et ad verae beatitudinis domicilium attollere valeamus. Torporem igitur hunc et exitiabilem inertiam quo facilius excutiamus, et ea quae Dei sunt, non autem quse mundi hujus sunt, libentei* et continenter sapiamus, hand exiguo per Dei gratiam adju- mento (ut hactenus mihi fuit) ita posthac tibi et mihi futuram confide, quam istam exhibemus Beatificae Visio- nis meditationem. Dicebat, mcmini. Pater mens, beatce 1 [S. Ambrosii Opera, Bciied Ed. Fol. Piuis. 1690, Tom. ii. fol, 1G90.1 20 306 DISSERTATIO 1)E memorise ; " Durante vitae nostrse curriculo, prseter Patncii foi- communia et perpetua pericula, unaraquamque Episcopi ' . . . ■"• Aberdoniensi setatem novis et peeuliaribus obnoxiam esse ten- yvufiii de tationibus : ideoque semper omnibus vigilandura bus. esse, ne accepta aliquando seeuritas indulgentiam pariat, et vetus denuo hostis obrepat, qui semper novas nobis non desinit neetere tendiculas, quamdiu adhuc in agone versantes, ad seternae tranquillitatis arcem nondum perveni- mus. Omnibus igitur cujuscunque aetatis viatoribus inde a pueritia ad extremum usque senectutis terminum neces- sarium est, ut Apostolum imitati, cogitent se non- , ,. . * Philip, iii. dum metam apprsehendisse, aut jam consummatos esse, sed persequantur an ipsi quoque appraehendant, cujus etiam rei causa appraehensi sunt a Christo Jesu. Ut ea quae a tergo sunt obliviscentes, ad ea vero quae a fronte sunt contendentes, scopum versus ferantur, ad palmam (^eirl to ^pa(3eiov) supernse voeationis Dei in Christo Jesu. Quo circa junioribus pariter ac senioribus, et omnino omnibus qui Creatoris sui memores esse optant, et ad supernam jULKrOairoSoaiau animum adjiciunt, atque anhelant, tracta- tum hunc destinamus. Deum suppliciter orantes ut et illi accepta, et lectoribus salutaria sint qusecunque in hac dis- sertatione subjiciemus. Vale, et pro nobis ora." DISSERTATIO, DE YISIONE BEATIFICA. MNIBUS quae sub aspectabili hoc sole gerun- tur, acuta sapientiie acio perlus- tratis,et sequamaturi judiciitrutina rerumsecuii pensitatis, sapientissimus Salomon deprajhendit quantum esset in rebus inane. Idcii'co omnia in unam congesta lancem (sequestrate DEicultu qui altioris est ordinis)non modo vana,sed ipsam asseruit esse vanitatcm, aut si quid cogitari potest vanitate vanius, ut hoc VISIONE BEATIFICA. .'W designaret, omnia quae sub sole fiunt, "vanitatem vanitatum" esse pronunciavit. Hominem de muliere natum, ^^^^ ^.^ ^ sanctus Job ait esse oXiyoaiov, et multis plenum miseriis. Ipsam dierum nostrarum prsestantiam p^^i_ ^c. Psaltes laborem vocat et dolorem. Cui congruit vna hujus illud Chrysostomi, ttoXX^? yefxei rapawrj^ rjfxwv jjmiseriaet y ^ y'ci'P ^ ' ' O' ' ' 1 ^revitas. C^ft)»/, KUL UOpv.^>"»'''"s '" patribus visus est, sicut Moysi, cum quo facie ad faciem loquebatur, " alicujus conspicabilis materise ^^I'^^^^^^l' dispositione assumpta, salva sua invisibilitate, videri oeui"corpo- potuit." Sic respondent Gregorius Nazianzenus, ^'^^^' et Hieronymus apud Augustinum, Epist. 111.2 ^li ipse ibidem ac sequente epistola Augustinus,^ et Ambrosius^ in cap. 1. Evangelii Lucse, exponens eum locum ubi angelus in templo apparuit Zacharise sacerdoti ; et Chrysostomus, Hom. 15. in Evangelium Joannis;^ et omnis sanoruni Theologorum schola consentit adversus hsereticos ""AvOom- TTO/ui.opcplTas. Chrysostomus, loco citato, de veteribus visi- tionibus loquens, quibus Deum vidisse dicuntur Patriarchse et Prophetee ; " Ilia," inquit, " omnia a-vyKara- -s.vyKari- Sacrew? rjv, ovk auT>7? tT]^ ovcrius yvixvyj'S o^i^, (inrn. 1 [S. Greg. Nazianz. Opera, Fol. Lutet. Paris. 1609, Tom. i. iol. 374] ^ [Epist. 148, nov. ord. Bencd. Ed. supra, Tom. ii. fol. 507.] =* [Epist. 147, nov. ord. Ibid. fol. 473.] ■* [Bened. Ed.cit. supra,Tom. i. fol. 1274.J ' [Bened. Ed. cit. nupra, Tom. viii. fol.- 84. J 310 DISSERT AT 10 DE " condescensio eraiit, noii ipsius nudte essentise visio, nam si ipsam vidissent, nulla ex parte differentem vidissent, quippe quae simplex est, aTrXij ku] aa-^^rj/uLaTiaro?, koi ^*-^I^^^\- ua-wOeTO?, Kal aTreplypaTrro^. Augustinus, Epist. '■^^^^■ 112,1 laudat illam Hieronymi sententiam ; " Kes incorpo- ralis corporalibus oculis non videtur." Et illud Ambrosii, " Deum ea specie videri quam voluntas elegerit ; non natura formaverit."" Et ilia ejusdem patris verba identidem inculcat, " Nee Deus in loco videtur, sed mundo corde, nee corpo- ralibus oculis Deus cernitur, nee circumscribitur visu, nee tactu tenetur, nee auditur affatu, nee sentitur incessu.'"' Hie vero gravis et expeditu difficilis se ingerit Qu^stio. qusestio, an et quatenus et quomodo Deus secun- ueus dicatur J . ... secundum dum naturae suae propnetatem se conspiciendum nature sua; ■,,■,. . . proprietateiu praebeat oculis mentis creata3, et quo sensu etiara visibius am 7 / , -"^ invisibilis intellectui humano vel Angelico invisibilis sit. mcnti creat*. Hieronymi verba sunt (apud Augustinum Epist. uesponsio 111).2 " Videre Deum sicuti est in natura sua, "'"""J-^^i- oculus hominis non potest. Non solum homo, nee Angeli, nee Throni, nee Potestates, nee Dominationes, nee omne nomen quod nominatur : Neque enim creatura potest aspicere Creatorem suum." Et alibi (in Cap. 1. Esaiae^) " Homo igitur Dei faciem videre non potest. ° . .. . ^ . . '^ Matth. xviii. Angeli autem etiam minimorum in Eeclesia semper vident faciem Dei. Et nunc in speculo videmus icor.xiii. et in aenigmate, tum autem facie ad faciem : quando de hominibus in Angelos profecerimus, et potuerimus cum Apostolo dieere. Nos autem omnes revelata facie gloriam Dei speculantes in eandem imaginem " transformamur a gloria in gloriam, quasi a DoMiNl Spiritu. Licet faciem Dei, juxta naturae suae proprietatem, nulla videat creatura : et tunc mente cernatur, quando invisibilis creditur." Quae Hieronymi verba perpendens Augustinus Epis. Ill, ad Fortunatianum ; " In his (inquit) AuRust. verbis hominis Dei multa consideranda sunt. Primum, Quia secundum apertissimam Domini i. sententiam, etiam ipse sentit tunc nos visuros faciem Dei, * [Epist. 147, nov. ord. Bcncd. Ed. cit. supra, Tom. ii. fol. 496, 47JI.1 ^ [Epist. 148, nov. ord. Dcued. Ed. cit. supnt, Tom. ii. fol. 497. J ^ [S. Hieroii. Opera, Bened. Ed. Fol. Tariff. 1704, Tom. ill. fol. 14. j VISIONE BEATIFICA. 311 cum in Angelos profecerimus, id est, sequales Angelis facti fuerimus, quod erit utique in resurrectione mortuo- rum. Deinde, Apostolico testimonio satis apparuit, non exterioris, sed iuterioris horainis faciera intelligendam, cum videbimus facie ad faciem. Dicit velamen super cor Judseorum positum esse, ut ostendat cordis faciem nobis esse revelatara, velamine ablato."! Quod autem dixit Hie- ronymus faciem Dei juxta naturae Divinae proprietatem a nulla videri creatura, id Augustinus refert ad j^^ygugtiniana corporales aspectus etiam Angelicos. Verum ve?borum quia satis durum est spiritibus illis Coelestibus '®''°°y""" oculos tribuere corporales, juvabit audire hac de re diffe- rentSs Ambrosium, (in Cap. 1, Lucse) et Chrysostomum, (homil. 15, in Evang. Joannis) et ipsura alibi Augustinum (Epist. 112). Ambrosius dictum illud Joannis Evangelistse, " Deum nemo vidit unquam :" ad ipsas etiam Ccelestes virtutes et Potestates extendit, quod Deum nun- quam viderint : idque in hunc modum explicat ; " Et ideo Deum nemo vidit unquam, quia earn quae in Deo habitat plenitudinem Deitatis, nemo conspexit, nemo mente aut oculis compraehendit. Vidit ergo ad utrumque referendum est. Denique cum additur, Unigenitus Filius ipse enarravit, mentium magis quam oculorum visio declaratur. Species enim videtur, virtus vero enarratur, ilia oculis, haec mente compraehenditur."'''^ Quae Ambrosii verba considerans Augustinus (Epist. 112, Cap. 9). " Aliud est (inquit) videre, aliud est totum videndo comprsehendere. Quandoquidem id videtur quod prsesens utcunque sentitur. Totum autem compraehenditur videndo quod ita videtur, ut nihil ejus lateat videntem, aut cujus fines circumspici possunt.''^ Posterior ista compraehensio Dei nulli est possibilis Distinctio. creaturae, ut cap. 8, eiusdem Epist. docebat essontiasicuti . '' .^ . . , est, sedpleni- Auffust. Visionem tamen Dei sicuti est, (quae tudo ejus non ^ . . comprsehen- etiam Apostolo compraehensio latiore sensu dicitur, ^ j^ata^ "L^cet (Philip, i.) nobis promittit Sacra Scriptura, quan- ;P^[Jifi,!^'''di. do in Angelos profecerimus. " Proinde'' (inquit ^.oJ;^p;..fhon- 1 [Epist. 149, nov. ord. Bened. Ed. cit. tsupra, Tom. ii. Ibl. 4f)9.1 ^ [S.AmbrosiijOpera, Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 168G,Tom. i. fol. 1274, 127o.] ' lEp. 147, nov. Old. Bened. Ed. cit. supra, Tom, ii. fol. 481.) 312 DISSERTATIO DE ibi Auo^ustiiius) " narrante unigenito qui est in sio.secundum sinu Patris, narratione ineffabili, creatura rationa- turae.quae imc lis munda et sancta impletur visione Dei ineffabili, p'^ti"-- qiiam turn consequemur, cum aequales Angelis facti I'ueri- mus." Et cap, 15. " Unigenitus Filius qui est in sinu Patris, Divinitatis naturam atque substantiam Insonabili- TER Narrat, et ideo dignis idoneisque tanto conspectu oculis etiam Invisibiliter Monstrat." Usee Augustinus.^ Loquaturnuncosaureuin,ai>ro oTrep ccttiv 6 9eo?, id quod est Deus, non modo Prophetse non viderunt, sed chrysost. neque Angeli, neque Archangeli. Et subjungit Evang. joan. eandem rationem qua usus est Hieronymus, ^ yap Kria-Trj cpvcris cnracra ttws Ka\ iSeiv Sui/UTai rou olktkttov \ (oninis enini natura creata quanam ratione videre poterit increatum?) Deinde proposito Servatoris dicto de Angelis semper vidcntibus faciem Dei, et altero illo, " Beati mundi corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt." Posterius sic exponit, Ttjv Kara ^lavoiav •« ^ara S,«- oyj/iv (pucr] t/jv jjjuliv Svi'aTt]V, Ka\ Ttjv evvoiav Ttjv ""*" '>'4"s- Tvep] Qeov. id est, visionem dicit intellectualem nobis possi- bilem, et intellectionem de Deo. Et ad prius rediens, ait, o'urco /cat eirl rwv ayyeXcev eKKr^Trreov, oti Sia rtjv KaOapav avTcov Ka] aypvirvov (bvcnv, ovcev erepov, aW r] tov Qeov ae\ (pavrd'^ovrai. Subjicit deinde ; " Propterea Christus, nemo, inquit, cognovit Patrem nisi Filius. Quid inquam 1 Num omnes in ignorantia sumus ? Absit. Sed nemo ita cognovit Patrem ut Filius. (^ovro)? ovSeU oT^ev COS 6 Y/op.) Sicut igitur viderunt eum multi Kara rtju €y)^(jopod(Tav avroh oyp-iv (visione ipsis congruente, sen pro suo captu) T)]v Se overlap ovSeh iOeacraTO' ovtw ku^pOp 'la/uLcv TToWo^Tou Oeop, T}]vSe ovcriau ovSehoiSev, OfTiiroTe e(TT/f, ei /mt] [JLOvo^ 6'yevvriQe\^ Km Tocraimjv barji/ o iraTijp e^et irepl tov iraiSos. Ka0 [Ibid.] "^ [nciu'd. Ed. cit. supro, Tom. viii. fol. 8(f. J VISIUNE BEATIFICA. 313 conteiiiplatione et compnehensione, qua Pater Filiuin, et Filius novit Patrem, sed tanturamodo pro captu seu modulo creaturae, Kara tjjv ey^copovaav avT0i9 o-^iv. Augustinus hac de re antiquiorum Patrum, priesertim Athanasii, Gregorii Nazianzeni, Ambrosii, et Hieronymi doctrinam, cui et ipse consentit, proponens, ait, Aug. Epist. Epist. 111.1 " INIagni quidam viri et in Scripturis ^^^' Sanctis doctissimi, qui plurimum Ecclesiam et bona studia fidelium suis literis adjuverunt, ubi eis occasio data est, dixerunt invisibilem Deum Invisibiliter videri. dkis videtur Hoc est per earn naturam quae in nobis quoque ^n^"*''''"'®?. invisibilis est, munda scilicet mente vel corde." Idem Epist. 112, seu Libro de videndo Deo, ad Paulinam, pro- ^^g, ^pi^t lixe contendit nos in statu glorise, " Mentis purse dl"via"ndi''' oculis intellectualibus nude et aperte visuros Deum ^'°' in sua natura, in forma Dei sicuti est/'^ Et Augustinus sequuta fere universa Theologo- yjgio faeiuus rum Scliola concorditer docet, beatos videre imme- '™™'^'''^ diate ipsam Dei essentiam, seu videre Deum in se^uent'^'"^ sua essentia, et non per medium eam representans Tiieoiogorum vel adumbrans, sed per ipsam Dei essentiam, quae imme- diate absque ulla similitudine conjungitur intellectui beato, hac eum conjunctione seu visione (ut vocant) faciali beatifi- cans." Ita decent Tliomas,3etScotus,^etDurandus,5 4 sent.cist. et alii, in quartum Sententiarum, Dist. 49, et rursum *^" Thomas in Summa Part. 1, Qusest. 12.6 Et authoritati Sacrse Scripturae, beatificam visionem Dei sicuti est, facie ad faciem, Sanctis apertissirae promittentis, adjiciunt hanc rationem : " Desiderium veraciter piorum (inquit August, i. Ratio pro T-i • 1 -« T r>\ • 1 T\ • immediata Epist. 112, cap. o), quo videre Deum cupiunt, et visione dei. inhianter ardescunt, non in eam speciem contuendam flagrat, qua ut vult apparet quod ipse non est, sed in eam substantiam qua ipse est quod est. Hujus enim ^ [Ep. 148, uov. ord. Bened. Ed. cit. siqM-a, Tom. ii. fol. 498.] 2 [Ep. 147, nov. ord. Ibid. fol. 483.] ^ [S. ThomsQ Aquinatis, in quat. libr. Senteiit. Comment, ad locnnt. Paris. Fol. 16-59. fol. 739.] * [Duns Scotus iu qiiat. lib. Sentent. ad locum. Fol. Antverp. 1620.J 5 [Durandus in quat. lib. Sentent. ad locum. Fol. Lugd. 1587.] " [S. Thomaj Aquinitatis iSumma Thcol. Fol. Taris. 1652, Tom. i. fol. 32.] 314 DISSERTATIO DE desiderii sui flaniinam sanctus Moyses fidelis famulus ejus ostendit, ubi et Deo, cum quo ut amicus facie ad faciera loquebatur, Si inveni gratiam apud te, ostende mihi temet ipsum. Quid ergo? Ille non erat ipse ? Si non esset ipse, noil diceret, Ostende mihi temet ipsum, sed ostende mihi Deum : et taraen si ejus naturara substantiamque conspi- ceret, multominus diceret, Ostende mihi temet ipsum. Ipse ergo erat in ea specie qua apparere voluerat, non autem ipse apparebat in natura propria quam Moyses videre cupiebat. Ea quippe promittitur Sanctis in aha vita. Unde quod responsum est Moysi, verum est. Quia nemo potest faciera Dei videre, et vivere ; id est, nemo potest eum in hac vita vivens videre sicuti est.*" Et postea eodem Hbro, cap. 11. " In illo (inquit) regno ubi eum videbunt Filii ejus sicuti est." Turn quippe satiabitur in bonis desiderium eorum, quo desiderio flagrabat Moyses, cui loqui ad Deum facie ad faciem non sufficiebat, et dicebat, Ostende mihi temet ipsum manifesto, ut videam te, tanquam diceret quod in Psahno ex eodem desiderio canitur, " Satiabor cum manifestabitur gloria tua.""! " Beatitudo (inquit Psai. xvii. Bonaventura in 4™ Sent. Dist. 49, Art. 1, Qusest. 1, Beatuudo. in resolutione) est finis satians nostrum appetitum f^ "Beatus non est (ait August, lib. 13, de Trinitate, cap. 5), nisi qui et habet omnia quae vult,et nihil vult male.'"^ Hsec ille. Desiderium igitur videndi Dei essentiam sicuti est, piis mentibus a Deo inditum, non erit inane, sed satiabitur. Alia ratio est, quam adferunt Thomas et 2. Rutio pro Scotus. Thomas verba sunt (in 4 Sent. Dist. 49, visioncDei. Quacst. 2, Art. 1.)^ " Si in perfectissima operatione Thomas. intellectus, homo non perveniat ad videndam essentiam Divinam, sed aliquid aliud : opportebit diccre quod aliquid aliud est beatificans ipsum homincm quam Deus. Et cum ultima perfectio cujuslibet sit in conjunctione ad suum principium, soquitur, ut aliquid aliud sit principium effecti- vum hominis, quam Deus, quod est absurdum." ' [Ep. 147, uov. Old. Bencd. Ed. cit. sujmi, Tom. ii. fol. 4!S3.| - I Oiiera Oiiiiiia ex Typ. Vat. fol. 1588.] •'' ( Bciicd. Ed. cit. mpra, Tom. viii. fol. 932. J ' ( Ed. cit. iixpra adlocum. Solutio.J VISIONE BEATIFICA. 315 Scotus^ (in 4 Sent. Dist. 49, Qii?est. 2,) similiter , oCOtlltj- philosophatur ; naturain scilicet intellectualem (cum sit suprema perfectibilis natura) non habere ultimain suam perfectionem et beatitudinem nisi in supremo perfec- tive extrinseco, non essendo illud realiter, nee habendo illud formaliter sibi inhaerens, sed attingendo illud, et sic habendo modo sibi possibili habendi. Nullam perfectionem intrin- secam beatorum esse beatitudinem, nisi pro quanto imme- diate conjungit perfectivo extrinseco, quod est objectum, beatificum. Qusestionis superius propositi duos jam expedivimus articulos, nenipe Deum in sua essentia sicuti est conciusio, videri oculis mentis creatae, visione nuda, aperta, essenuroiu"-' immediata, manifesta, licet plenitudinem Deitatis crea^^vkfea- nuUa creatura compraehendat comprsehensione ilia nu^s non "om- accurata, qua in Sanctissima Trinitate Pater §\^pieni-"'^ novit filium et filius Patrem, sed tantum pro modo suo eum perfecte attingant et teneant beatae mentes. Tertia pars omnium difficillima est, de modo quo sit haec visio, pro cujus investigatione, insignem ilium Librum de videndo Deo scripsit ad Paulinam qiristlo'dc Augustinus,2 et scholastic! subtiliter exercentur. h^c'immedi- TvY 1 , . . - ata Visio JNeque de eo modeste inquirere, sensumque adeo dei. sacrse scripturae, hanc visionem describentis, sobria sedulitate rimari, inutilis erit curiositas, et ventosa garruli- tas, sed pars quaedam conversationis illius coeles- Tau^abiiis t tis quam nobis commendant Sacrae Literae, qua es"hnju''s"'^ mentes nostras ab omnibus carnis sensibus, quoad p]a'\nvesu- ejus fieri poterit, paulisper sevocatae, per hujus- ^'^*'°' modi coelestia progymnasmata a sordidis mundi curis ad sublimia erigantur, et beatificae illius visionis suavis medi- tatio, ad eamque ardens anhelatio, et certa ejusdem expec- tatio cogitationes vanas a nobis abigat, mundanas cupidi- tates excutiat, anxiam rerum fluxarum solicitudinem expec- toret, ipsamque mortis, per quam ad hanc beatitudinem transmittemur, formidinem absorbeat. ^ [Ed. cit. supra, ad locum.] ^ [ Ep. 147, nov. ord. YA. cit. supm, Tom. ii. to!. 473.] 'ISIO INTUITIVA. 3. Visio Ra- TIOCINATIVA. yiG DISSERTATIO DE Paulo altius igltiir rem cum Augustiuo^ repeta- ^^^^ j, j^^ mus. 1. Videre dicimur ea quie sensu corporis igf'de Vrini- percipimus, ut corpora, per quorum etiam imagines **'^' ^' ^' quas memoria tenemus, etiam absentia cogitamus. y>si<"J"a- A ' o druplex. Talis Dei nulla est visio in sua natura, sod tan- tum in assumpta crcatura. Hsec Dei Visio docendi s'ymbolica. causa dicatur Symbolica. 2. Videmus ilia mentis intuitu quae oculis men- 2. vi tis plane prsesentia conspicimus, licet corporeos sensus fugiant, nee aliorum de eis testimonio nitamur : sic videt quisque vitam, voluntatem, cogitationem, memoriara, cognitionera, intelligentiam, scientiam, fidem suam, et quic- quid aliud mente conspicit, atque ita esse non tantum cre- dendo, sed plane videndo non dubitat, certa scientia et cla- mante conscientia. Hoc modo viatores Deum non videmus. Hsec est Visio Intuitiva. 3. Videmus et ea quae neque corporis sensibus, neque animi contuitu, in ejusdem rei quae cognos- cenda est, evidentia, percipimus ; sed ex iis quae vidimus cogitatione utcunque formamus, et memoriae com- mendamus, quo recurramus cum voluerimus, ut illic ea, vel potius qualescunque eorum imagines quas ibi fiximus, simili- ter recordatione cernamus. Hujusmodi Visione ratioci- nativa Deum vident viatores ex intuitu operum divino- rum, forraantes de Deo veros licet inadaequatos conceptus. Idque via triplici, viz. caussalitatis, eminentiae, ^^ ratioci- et negationis sen remotionis. Nam invisibilia ^onJniDEi Dei a creatione mundi per ea quae facta sunt i.'Via?!ufs- • • . . •!• J • J i salitiitis. conspicmntur : aeterna scilicet ejus turn poten- 2. via cmi- tia tum divinitas, ut monet Apostolus ad Roma- nos, cap. 1, vers. 20. Haec via est Caussalitatis, ab effectis ad causam. Altera est Eminentiae, qua colligimus et cogitamus, quicquid entitatis, bonitatis, et perfectionis est in creatura (^uacunque vol in omnibus creaturis, id totum esse emincntius in Deo. No vero quicquam Deo nisi OeoTTpeTrm tribuatur, accedit Via Negationis seu remotionis, per quam ab lilo removemus ea tionis sen quae ei non conveniunt : ad quam pcrtinet illud ' [Epist. 112, nov. ord. Bened. Ed. ciL mpra, Tom. ii. fol. 474 ; and Vic Tiinitato, Tom. viii. fol. 926.1 VISIONE BEATTFICA. 317 Damasceni, lib. 1. Orthod. Fidei. cap. 4.1 " De Deo non possumus scire quid est, sed solum quid non est :" et quod scite scripsit Auctor operis de cardinalibus Christi operibus (quod Oypriano^ tribuitur) in pnefatione ; " Affirmatio de Dei essentia in proniptu haberi non potest : neque definibi- lis est Divinitas : sed verius sinceriusque remotio indicat negando quid non sit, quara asserendo quid sit. Quoniam quicquid sensui subjacet, illud esse non potest quod omneui superat intellectum. Quicquid audiri vel videri vel sciri potest, non convenit majestati. Hebes est in bac considcr- atione omnis acies sensuura, et caligat aspectus.'' 4. Est at visio fidei per fidem : solo nixa testi- 4. monio Verbi Dei, cui de Deo asserenti aliquid ^'*'° "'" '' credimus. De qua Hieronymus dixit, tunc niente cerni Deum quando invisibilis creditur. " Yiatores per fidem incedimus, non per aspectum" (2. Cor. v. 7.) " Non est de Deo," (inquit Hilarius),^ " humanis judiciis sentiendum : neque enim nobis ea natura est, ut se in coelestem cogni- tionem suis viribus efferat. A Deo discendum est, quid de Deo intelligendum sit, quia non nisi se autore KcETulfi Fides. cognoscitur. Adsit licet secularis doctrinje elabo- rata institutio, adsit vitae innocentia, hsec quidem proficient ad conscientise gratulationem, non tamen cognitionem Dei consequentur." Hnec Hilarius Pictaviensis, lib. 5, de Trinit. Ubi mox subjicit, " Loquendum ergo non alitor de Deo est, quam ut ipse ad intelligentiam nostram de se loquutus est." Beatifica ilia, quam expectamus, Visio, nee Beatiaca ... HI' 1 visio est in- symbolica est, nee ratiocmativa, neque nclei, sea tuitiva, est Intuitiva, seu facie ad faciem ; non specularis et senig- matica, qualis est cognitio viatorum, sed per- fecta. Ex parte enim cognoscimus, et ex parte ico,-. xiii. prophetamus ; cum autem venerit ro reXeiov, quod perfec- tum est, tunc to e'/c /mepov?, quod ex parte est abolebitur. Quseritur iam quid sit ilia intuitiva Dei viso. Quid sio dei Visio intui- Aug. lib. 12, de Genesi ad literam. Cap. 27,^^ " Sic tiva. intelligendum arbitror quod de Moyse scriptum est, con- ' [S. Joanuis Damasceni Opera, Fol. Paris. 1712, Tom. i. fol. 127.1 * [S. Cypriani Opera, Bened. Ed. Fol. Pari.s. 1726, App. p. Ixxiv.] •' [S. Hilarii Pictav. Opera, Bened. Ed. Fol. Paris. 1693, fol. 866. J * [Bened. Ed. cit. supra, Tom. iii. fol. .317.1 318 DISSERTATIO BE cupiverat enini, ut in Exod. legimus, viJere Deum : non utique sicut viderat in monte, nee sicut videbat in nescriptio tabernaculo, sed in ea substantia qua Deus est, ana!"" '"' nulla assunipta corporali creatura, quae mortalis carnis sensibus praisentetur : neque in spiritu figuratis similitudi- nibus corporum : sed per speciem suam quantum earn capere creatura rationalis et intellectualis potest, sevocata ab onini corporis sensu, et ab omni significativo senigmate spiritus." H?ec ille. Intuitiva Dei visio est, sicut jnt^jtiva ex prsemissis jam liquere arbitror, intellectualis, compendiiJfa manifesta, et symbolis imaginibusque atque ex- «i<^s'"p'>o- ternis omnibus testimoniis nuda, ipsius Divinse Essentiae immediata contemplatio. Qua descriptione excluditur etiam intermedia Rxciuditm- species intelligibilis. Quae licet sufficiat cogno- sJeo?e7intT scendae creaturse ; nulla tamen forma creata ^'si'i'iis. potest esse idonea species sen similitudo reprsesentans videnti Dei essentiam. Quia sola essentia Dei est infinita, et est ipsum suum esse, neque potest nisi admodum de- ficienter repraesentari per creatam speciem : nee tali specie indiffet, potcns per se intellectum possibilem faeere usus specip- ° ^ ^ . . . • , IV rum intelli- mtellectum aetu, qui est unicus speeierum mtelli- gibiiium. gibilium usus. Unde detegitur et aliud discrimon ; nam species intelligibiles informant intellectum actu Essentia intelligentem : Deitas vero eis non egens, licet i^'foi"u:T" perfectius per modum objecti intelligibilis seipsa s"cu"specics conjungatur cum intellectu, ut ipsa sit id quod '"*^"'8''»'"'- intelligitur, et quo intelligitur ; " Non tamen est vera forma intellectus nostri, neque ex ea et intellectu nostro offieitur unum simpliciter, sicut in naturalibus ex forma et materia naturali ; sed proportio Essentiae Divinae ad intel- lectum nostrum est, sicut proportio formae ad materiam,'"' ut loquitur Thomas in 4, Sent. Dist. 40, Quacst. 2, Art. 1.^ Si quaeras, quid in hac Visione intrinseeum habeat mens beata; Rcspondet Thomas,2 (Part. 1, Quaest. 12, q,,,-,, ;„ i,ae Art. 2 ; and in 3, Sent. Dist. U, Quaest. 1, Art. 8), l^^^^Z habet Lumen Divinae gloriac confortans et perfi- hontt! '"'"'' cions intellectum ad videndum Deum. Do quo 1 [Ed. cit. supra, ad locum .] ^ [Ed. cit. supra, ad /ooo.f.] VISIONE BEATIFIOA. 319 dicitur in Psalmo ; " In lumine tuo videbinuis Psai. xxxvi. lumen." Hoc lumen Bonaventura^ (in 4, Sent. Dist. Lumen 49, Art. 1, Qusest. 1), vocat " Influentiam Dei in infiuentia anmiam, quae est ipsa Deiformitas, et satietas. nuun.qua- Hsec taraen Deiformitas non in similitudine Dei peifonnitas, in quo con- objectiva consistit, sen .specie intelligibili Deum ^istat. reprsesentante, sed in ipsa operatione sen visione, qua mens Deum videndo attingit eique immediate conjungitur. Nam (ut monet Thomas in 3, Sent. Dist. 14, Qusest. 1, Art. 3, and Qujest. 2. Art. l.)^ omnis intelleetus creatus qui videt essentiam Dei, videt earn sine aliqua mediante similitudine: qui autem cognoscit Deum per similitudinem aliquam, sive iinpressam, sive a rebus acceptam, non videt essentiam Dei: sed ad hoc quod videat Deum oportet ut ipsa Dei essentia conjungatur intellectui ut forma qua cognoscit determinate. Innuere videtur Thomas, (ibi Qusest 1, Art. 3,) lumen srlorise perficiens intellectum possibilem ad cosrnos- ° ^ . TT 1 • 1 • Videtur non cendinn Dei essentiam, esse Habitum quendam in requiri uaM- '- , turn luminis intellectu. Si inesse intelliffat per modum habitus, qui prseedat a i. ' operationeni quamvis habitus proprie dictus non sit, consentit ™^""|j|^^^ cum Scoto,3 qui habitum ipsa visione priorem, aut ^uffi^Vg*^^^ ab ipsa visione distinctum negans (in 3 sent. Dist. iPonlsi'uniifn, 14, Qusest. 2, Num. 3 et 8,) sufficere docet ipsam ^J'enti^dmfat' mentis Deum videntis operationeni seu visionis bcaueiTper- actum, qui est ita permanens in intellectu sicut slntumif re- habitus, adeoque habet perfectionem actus primi bus impedi- , , . mentis. et secundi, permanens semper ex prfesentia per- petua objecti beatifici, absque qua non permaneret vel actus vel habitus. Non opus esse aliquo lumine intellectum ad videndum Dei essentiam perficiente, tanquam forma ab- soluta alia a visione ; turn quia ipsa visio est lumen perfec- tum : tum quia essentia Divina est lux summa ex se, et de se intelligibilis, et de se perfectissime motiva intelleetus ad actum intellectionis seu visionis, ita ut nullum lumen requi- rat co-operativum sibi. Ideo alibi idem Scotus ait (in 4 sent. Dist. 49, Qusest. 2, Num. 9.) " Essentia Divina illabens potentige intelligenti, pei'ficit eam tanquam causa extrinseca, ut objectum : et.perficit eam formaliter, per formam causa- tam, quae est operatic attingens ipsam ut objectum." Et ' [Ed. cit. ftuprn, nd Inciiin.] '^ [Kd. cit. supra, ad locoK.] •* [Vj(\. cit. snprUf ad locos.] 'V20 DISSERTATIO 1)E Nuin, 27, ibidem ; " Excepta relatione, ultima perfectio in- trinseca beati, et proxima objecto beatifico, seu immediatis- simnm eonjungens, est operatic."' Hsec Scotus.l Pro luminc glorias, tanquam non necessario, Durandus^ (in 4. Sent, Dist. 49, Quiest. 2,) substituit remotionem duntaxat omnium impedimentoruni,ut solam neces- sariam ad immediatam visionem Dei. Et Joannes Major,^ in 3. Sent. Dist. 14, Qusest. 2, postquam dixit lumen glorise ponendum esse in omni anima beata, Majorf^ nee posse intellectum creatum, de communi lege, videre Deum sine aliquo habitu, hoc est sine lumine glorise ; et id ipsum confirmavit ex Cleraentinis, Tit. de ^^. ^. i ', Objectio ex Haereticis, cap. ad nostrum. 4 Ubi Hsereticum esse ciementinis, ' r pro necessi- decernitur, si quis dixerit animam non indigere ^f/,^:;!^""''"* lumine glorije ipsam elevante ad Deum videndum, et eo beate fruendum. Postquam, inquam, lumen gloria} asseruit Major, mox ibidem subjicit, posse Deum supplere causalitatem luminis glori;ie (si quara habeat) quod homo Deum videat : partialiter illam visionem producendo, absque hoc quod lumen gloricTe concurrat. Item, posse Rcsponsio ex illam qualitatem quae est lumen gloriai stare in ex'''rpsil'cie- intellectu, absque hoc quod ilium habitum habens '"^ ""*" Deum videat : possa enim prius stare sine posteriore. Haec Major. Quod autom illam dementis Papse quinti et con- cilii Viennensis determinationem attinet, patet ex loco citato Clementinarum, earn opponi illorum duntaxat errori qui asserebant quamlibet intellectualem naturam in seipsa naturaliter esse beatam : nee indigere actione Dei, quo solo faciente videri potest ipsius essentia : qui error cvertitur sufficientcr, etiamsi teneatur doctrina Scoti et Durandi, habitum luminis glorine aliuni ab ipsa visione beatifiea negantium : sufficit enim agnosccre actum seu operation cm esse Dei donum, qui operatur in nobis et voile et pi,nip. ji. opcrari. Quod et ipse docet, Scotus^ in 3. Si nt. Dist. 14, Qu?ost. 2, Num. 4, ubi docet " Visionem Beatificam non posse inesse humano intellectni ox naturalibus suis, vel ' [Ed. cit. supra, ad locos.] ^ [Ed. cit. supra, ad locuni.] I 3 [In Libris Sentent. Pari.s. 151.9.] * [Clemeutis Quinti C'onstitutiones viilj,'. C'loiiicntiiioe ImiI. \j\\'^i\. ]')r>9. ibl. 2")0.] ■'' [Ed. cit. supra, ad locns.] VISIONE BEATIFICA. 321 ex causa naturali ; nee posse inesse, nisi a Deo causante istam visionem immediate et supernaturaliter." Et Duran- dusi in 4, Sent. Dist. 49, Qusest. 2, § 24, ubi profitetur hanc immediatam visionem fieri " non secundum ordinem naturae,"" sed " secundum ordinem Divinse gratiae."'*' Et § 28, ubi hanc rationem reddit diversorum gi'aduum beatitudinis Coelestis, etiam absque illo habitu luminis glorise, Ratio divor- , , •, 1 sitatis gra- quamvis mter mtellectus humanos non sit gradus duum beati- . . . „ . . . ^. . tudinis, abs- maioris et mmoris perfectionis, et essentia Divma que uabuu . .... . Uuiiims eodem modo et aequo immediate cuilibet intellectui gioric. beato repraesentetur, atque adeo non sit differentia vel ex parte intellectus recipientis, vel ex parte objecti prae- sentati. His, inquam, non obstantibus, hanc diversorum graduum beatitudinis inter homines, et aequationis homi- num cum Angelis, rationem reddit Durandus, quia " nihil- orainus Deus potest perfectiorem actum intelligendi in- fluere uni quam alteri, et homini quam Angelo, et sic poterit unus homo esse beatior altero, et aequo beatus cum Angelo," (quamvis habente naturaliter intellectum humano praestantiorem), " vel beatior ipso, secundum diver- sitatem perfectionis actus intelligendi impressi huic vel illi." Re convenit Durandus cum Scoto : uterque enim ponit operationem, et hsec impedimentorum postulat remotionem. Nee dissentiunt Thomas et Bonaventura et Cle- ^ .,. ^. Conciliatio mens, si lumen gloriae et influentiam et Deifor- responsio- ' o nuui qua; a mitatem exponas operationem mentis, Divino mu- a^feuntur. nere datam, et instar habitus permanentem in mente intuente Divinam essentiam, sese immediate reprae- sentantem et menti conjungentem ; quae operatio dici potest lumen et influentia et Deiformitas, quia est Dei donum, menti intrinsecum, conjungens earn cum Deo immediate. Scotus2 in 4, Sent. Dist. 49, Quaest. 12, Arg. 5, Q„omodo objicit sibi, posse Deum in vita mortali immediate i^ieaulr**^ cognosci per actum fidei. Et respondet, posse aalin/'fidei, ., .,.|..,.. T. . • secundum quidem cognosci et diligi hic immediate ; tamen in scotum. in communi et confuse : talera autem dilectionem et ultima , . , . ,. . beatitude notitiam non esse ultimam beatitudmem possi- iiominis. bilem homini ; sed hanc consistere in cognitione intnitiva clara, et dilectione correspondente. [FA. cit. mjyra, ad locum.] ^ [FA. c'lt. mpi'ct, ad I ocuin.} 21 322 DISSERTATIO DB Haec pauca de niodo liujus ineffabilis visionis suggessisse sufficiat. Tandem superest, ut dicainus quo sensu etiain intellectui humano vel Angelico invisibilis sit Deus. Hsec etiam pars breviter absolvenda est. Quatuor Quatuor tantum invisibilitatis hujus gradiis stric- fiMUatrsy . I- 1 quibus Dei tira mdlCabO. essentia est T, . 1 1 f-r- , •! 1 • invisibilis Primus gradus est, V latonbus ex lege communi intouectui non datur videre Dei essentiam, sed Patriae heec Ansc'uco. , • n T 'J. 1- Gradus: visio reservatur, ut docent passim bacrse Literse. immediata . \ visio essentiae Dixi, ex lege communi, quia, ut nulla moveatur pivi^nfc non (certe nulla nioveri debet) controversia de Doming exiesecom- >■ ' ^ mnni, sea nostro Jesu CHRISTO,qui ipse totaque ejus vita in- ^"^ p'i'"^- gensfuitmiraculum, o/noXoyoufxevo)^ fxeya ^vcrr/jpiov simul Vi- ator et Comprsehensor, utrecte observarunt Petrus Lombardus 3, Sent. Dist. 16, et Bonaventura ibidem Art. 2, Qusest. 2, in Resolutione. Et Thomas in 3, Sent. Dist. 15, Qusest. 3, Art. 2. Et in Summa ; 3. Part. Qfest. 15, Art. 10,1 et alii : ut inquam conticescat omnis de Christo dubita- ^hristus si- tio ; existiraarunt quidam Veteres Patres, eosque "J^iomprx- sequuti Scholastici Theologi visam esse Mosi adliuc i^'^^^o"'- in itinere constituto Dei essentiam, quia de eo • -Kir • Visio Divine dicit DoMiNUS in reprsehensione Aaronis et Manse, essentia? qui- i _ , busdam in Mosi autem per speciem, non per senigmata, et '^o^jtYg'^^jra. gloriam Domini videbit. Idem de Paulo sentiunt ^oice'ss'aT" in tertium Coelum rapto. Nempe, si eis tunc p^,u|°f' '^^ concessa est ea visio, miraculum fuit. De quo ita disserit Augustinus, Lib. de Yidendo Deo, sive Epist. 112, Cap. 13," Potest (inquit) movere, quomodo jam ipsa Dei substantia videri potuerit a quibusdam in liac vita positis, propter illud quod dictum est ad Moysen, " Nemo jju^. jg. potest videre fnciem mcam, et vivere :" Nisi quia2Cor. 12. potest humana mens divinitus rapi ex hac vita ad |,^°'"' ^sxiii. Angelicam vitam, antoquam per istam communcm mortem carno solvatur. Sic enim raptus est qui audivit illic incffabilia verba quae non licet homini loqui : ubi usque adeo facta est ab hujus vitse sensibus quredam intentionis aversio, ut sive in corpore, sive exti'a corpus fuerit, id est utrum sicut solct in vehementiori ecstasi, mens ab hac vita ' [ Eilitionos, cit. siipra, (id locos.] VISIONE BEATIFICA. 323 in illam vitam fuerit alienata, manente corporis vinculo, an omnino resolutio facta fuerit qualis in plena morte contingit, nescire se diceret. Ita sit ut et illud verum sit quod dictum est, "nenao potest faciem meam videre, et vivere," quia necesse est abstrahi ab hac vita mentem, quando in illius ineffabili- tatem visionis assumitur ; et non sit incredibile quibusdam Sanctis nondum ita defunctis, ut sepelienda cadavera rema- nerent, etiam istam excellentiam revelationis ejus concessam fuisse."" Haec Augustinus.i Ex ea revelationis hyperbole, Moysi et Paulo, in itinere, prae aliis meris hominibus viatoribus, concessa, uiKieuia exstitit ilia zeli probe oculati stupenda flagrantia, pauiiLusi- et charitatis alte volantis pernix sublimitas, qua e^xoZ xxxii. pro Dei gloria, et populi Israelitici salute, INIoses Rom. ix. de Dei libro deleri, et Paulus anathema a Christo esse, intrepide exoptarunt. Secundus gradus est ; haec visio solis conceditur mundis corde, juxta illud, " Beati mundi corde, quoniam ^ ipsi Deum videbunt." Ab hac igitur visione Dia- immundo ^ .... cordi invisi- bolus et oranes angeli ejus, et omnes cum eis impn bmsestDEus, sine ulla nebula dubitationis exclusi sunt, quoniam mundo corde non sunt. Verba sunt Augustini, Lib. de videndo Deo, cap. ll.l Unde etiam (ut idem monet cap. nit.) sine ulla dubitatione perspiciraus, ad videndum Deum, per ejus auxilium cor mundum nos debere praeparare. " Pa- cera," (inquit Apostolus), " sectamini cum omnibus, et sanctimoniam, sine qua nemo videbit DoJiiNUM." Tertius gradus est ; Deum non vident miseri, „ ^ , nam fuffat omnem miseriam base beatifica visio, ""no miser o 'Deum videt. juxta illud ; " Lsetitia sempiterna super caput eorum : Gaudium et Isetitiam apprsehendent, fugientque tristitia et gemitus." Item ; " Non occidet ultra Sol tuus, et Luna tua non deficiet : quia Dominus "it' erit tibi m lucem sempiternam, et completi erunt [sen finientur] dies luctus tui." Item; " Absterget Deus omnem lachrymam ab oculis eorum : et mors non Apocai. vii. erit amplius neque luctus, neque clamor, neque ^^' ^* ^^'' *' labor erit amplius." Horum insignem quidem arrham et dulces primitias largitur Deus ecclesiae peregrinanti : (sicut ^ f Epist. 147, 110V. ord. Bened. Ed. cit. supra, Tom. ii. fol. 485.] Epai. XXXV. lit. <:sai. Ix. 20. 324 DISSEETATIO DE in illustri suo in Apocalypsin Commentarioi Koverendissimus Genitor mens luculenter docuit) gloriosa tamen plenitude, seu beatifica perfectio in Patria demum obtinetur. Si de Mose et Paulo objiciatur, quod non obstante ilia visione quae ipsis consessa est, cum multis tamen o^gptj^^g neeesse habuerint conflictari miseriis : Eespondeo; JJ"^^^^* Durante ilia visione, nullo afficiebantur dolore, I'^sponsio. nam vires inferiores omnino a suis actibus abstrahebantur in illo raptu Pauli, ut recte monet Thomas,^ in 3, Sent. Dist. 15, Qusest. 2, Art. 3. Et ex ipsis Apostoli verbis manifestum est. Id ipsum verisimile est et Mosi eontigisse. Durandus^ visionem illam Paulo concessam ait fuisse per modum passionis transeuntis, non autem per mo- _. . r ' t- ^ Discrimen dum habitus permanentis, quomodo se habet Visio et^pTuio'^'''*' Beatorum in Coelis, in 3, Sent. Dist. IG, Qusest. 2, ^.5'J]{^i|\'ef. § 7. Et Joannes Major2 ait Mosen et Paidum *""«>^- vidisse Deum in vita raptim, in 3, Sent. Dist. 14, Qusest. 1. Idcirco Paulus profitetur se nondum comprsehendisse, Philp. 3 ; nempe, permanenter, ut beati et perfecti. At inquies, Ohristus habens visionem beatificam per modum habitus permanentis, multos interea sen- objectiode tiebat dolores, tempore suae mortalitatis. christo. Respondeo ; Christus solus simul viator et comprae- hensor, habuit simul bona viae quaedam, ut gratiae Rcsponsio. plenitudinem ; et bona Patriae, ut non posse pec- ^|",.f^„i^f,Q care, et Dei perfectam contemplationem ; et ciJ^J^'Jrs quaedam etiam mala viae ; ut afflictiones, et mor- eL"ot et com- talitatem : ut recte monet Petrus Lombardus,2 p^^ensor. lib. 3, Sent. Dist. 16. " Verum est (inquit ibi Bonaventura2) quod beatitudo miseriae opponitur secundum legem commu- nem, et non reperitur in aliquo simul gloria cum miseria. Et ratio liujus est, quia unusquisque est in uno statu, non in duplici : sed quoniam Christus in duplici statu erat, vel quasi rationem tenebat duplicis personae ; sicut in Christo status est compossibilis statui, sine repugnantia, sic beati- tudo cum miseria." Et paulo supoi'ius, ibidem j,,,,^,^. f.,„.ij.,j Bonaventura ; " Fuisse in anima Christi, secun- "o"traru.s dum eandem potentiam, et secundum eundem ?ioa'|s"n"c'' ^ [See this Treatise by Bishop Forbes, noticed among his other Works at tlie end of the Biographical Memoir prefixed to this volume.] ^ [Editiones cit. mpra, ml locos.] VISIONE BEATIFICA. 325 statum potentise, dolorem et gaudium, ita lit nee iiuui impe- ji . ,. ,. .. ,. , iliebat, aut dolor superveniens discontmaverit gaudium, sed minuebat. simul fuerit ; nee iterum (quod majus est) dolor intensus valde, fecerit gaudium esse minus perfectum. Dolorem autem ilium, et gaudium in Christo, non habuisse con- trarietatem, sed unum fuisse materiale respectu alterius, et ideo simul eidem inesse potuisse, quia ex hoc ipso Christus gaudebat in DoMiNO, quo sentiebat se pati et dolore pro Domino. Sicut etiam in vero poenitente videmus, quod simul doleat, et de dolore gaudeat." Hfec Bonaventura,! in 3, Sent, Dist. 16, Art. 2, Qusest. 2. Sic Thomas^ de eodem Christi dolore eodemque gaudio disserens ; " Qui tamen (inquit) dolor erat quodam modo materia gaudii fruitionis, in quantum gaudium illud se extendebat ad omnia ilia quae apprsehenduntur ut Deo placita. Et sic patet quod dolor qui erat in anima Christi nullo modo gaudium fruitionis impediebat, neque per modum contrarietatis, neque per modum redundantise," &c. Haec Thomas, in 3, Sent. Dist. 15, QuEcst. 2, Art. 3. Fuit hoc in ChriSTO speciale miraculum quod gloria animse non statimredundaverit in corpus, sed fuerit ,,. \ Miraculum aliquamdiu mortale, et quod cum Visione Beatifica jmpediens T- '1 iiiipassilita- dolorem passa sit ipsa ejus anima; ut recte ob- *q"\' j'JH^^j'i" servat Scotus,i in 3, Sent. Dist. 16, Qujest. 2, stanteTnio-" Num. 5. Et Dist. 18, Qusestione unica, Num. 15, "'*' ubi ait ; " Gloria et impassibilitas corporis et animae in- fuissent Christo in primo instante unionis, nisi per miraculum fuissent prohibita." Et paulo post, ait Christum affectione justitiae fuisse summe conjunctum fini, ita ut nullo modo posset injuste velle vel peccare, attamen quoad ^ota distinc- affectionem commodi, nondum fuisse summe con- aftectioiem'^ junctum, sed potuisse aliquid pati contra affec- aftl'ctionem tionem commodi, et illud Christum potuisse''""™*"*'' ordinate velle, et acceptare, et ita mereri : secus ac se habet in aliis beatis, quibus nullum occurrit in Patria objectum, quod affectione commodi, tanquam sibi incommodum avei'- sentur, et affectione justitise meritoria amplectantur, ideo- que sunt jam prorsus extra statum merendi. Non sic olim [Editioues cit. stqva, ad locos.] 326 DISSERTATIO DE Christus qui secundum aliquid, fuit in statu Via- Quinonest toris, et nondum omni modo in termino, Ideo est^'Jn'^^tatS passiones illas, ob nullum ipsius peccatum ei debi- »i«'"«>'^arei9 fxe €v(ppo(Tvvi]9 fiera tov irpoauiTrov aov. Psal. xvi. ult. Et repetit Petrus, Act. ii. 28. Tunc justi fulgebunt sicut Sol in Eegno Patris eorum (Matth. xiii.) Putas qualis tunc erit splendor animarum, quando solis claritatem habebat lux corporum ? Aug. Serm. 35, de verbis Apostoli.^ Nee solum firmamento, stellis, soli, sed etiam claritati Angelicse decor illius pulchritudinis electorum comparatur ; erunt enim tcrdyyeXoi, inio OeoeUeXoi, Deo similes per beatificam Dei visionem, 1 Joann. iii. 2. In ea fcelicitate (ait Aug. lib. 13, de Trinit. cap. 7),^ " quic- quid ambitur aderit, nee desiderabitur quod non incffabiiis aderit : omne quod ibi erit, bonum erit, et summus ^'^'"^'*"'*- Deus summum bonum erit, atque ad fruendum amantibus prsesto erit, et quod est oranino beatissimum, ita semper fore certum erit." Clemens Pauli*^ Apost. Discipulus in sua ad Corinth. Epis- tola, sive quicunque Autor fuit Epistolse illius qui Romano illi Clementi tribuitur ; Clamemus (inquit) ad cam ardenter, ut participes fiamus, rwv fxeydXeov Ka\ evSo^cov l-KayyeXiwv airrov, dicit cnini, occulus non vidit, nee auris audivit, nee in cor hominis ascendit, 1 [Bened. Ed. cit. mpra, Tom. vii. fol. 252.] 2 [Ibid. Tom. vi. fol. 248, App.} » [/6?(/. Tom. viii. fol. 770.] « [Ibid. Tom. V. fol. 201. App.] •' [Ibid. Tom. viii. fol. 933.] « [SS. Pat. Apostol. Opera. Fol. Amstclwd. 1724, Tom. i.J VISIONE BEATIFICA. 329 qufe prseparavit roh {jirofxevovaiv avrov, expectantibus eum. 'ii? fxaKOLpia Kai Oavfxaa-Ta. ra Scopa rod Qeov, ayaTrrjroi. Zcoj; ev aOavaa-'ui, Xa/nTrport]? ev SiKaiocrvv)], aXtjOeia ev Trapprjaria^ ttictti? ev TreTTOiOtjcrei) eyKpareia ev ayiacrfxw, KOI TOVTa inroir'nTTOv Trdvra vtto ttjv Sidvoiav rj/awv. riva ovv apd ecTTiv ra eTOifxaCpixeva roi9 inrofxevovcriv ; o orj^iovpyos Ka] -TTUTrjp Tcov aioovcov 6 Travdytos, avro^ yivcocTKei rijv TTOcTOTriTa Koi Trjv KaWov^v avTwv. rjixei^ ovv dyuivKTcofieOa evpeOtjvai ev rw dpiOfxip twv VTro/mevovrcov avrov, ottcos lULeToXd^cofxev rcov eTrriyyeX/mevcov Swpewv ; id est, " Quam beata, dilecti, et mirabilia sunt dona i)Ei ! Vita in immor- talitate, splendor in justitia, Veritas in libertate, fides in confidentia, temporantia in sanctitate, et heec omnia sub intellectum nostrum cadunt. Quaenam igitur sunt quse prestolantibus eum prseparantur ? Sanctus Opifex et secul- orum Pater, quantitatem et pulchritudinem eorum novit : nos igitur, ut promissorum donorum participes jsostrum fiamus, in numero expectantium eum reperiri, ^ffi'^"™- serio contendamus." Hsec ille. UnusquisQue nostrum cum Psalte Oret ; " Me- Precatio. . . , . • Psal. cvi. raento mei, Domine, m beneplacito populi tui : 4, 5. visita me in salute tua. Ut videam bonum electorum tuorum, ut Iseter in Isetitia gentis tuse, et glorier cum hsereditate tua." Hoc nobis ben-igne largiatur 6 eXe^fxoov, (piXdvOpwiro?, v7repdya6o9 Deus Salutis nostrse, per DOMINUM nostrum Jesum Christum, qui mortem quidem destruxit, vitam autem atque incorruptibilitatem in lucem per Evangelium produxit. Cui cum Patre et Spiritu Sancto, indivisae Trinitate, uni vero Deo, irpoa-Kwi^a-ei dfxepicrrw, Coelestes Angelorum Myriades, beati justorum consummatorum Spiritus, universa Primogenitorum, qui in Coelis conscripti sunt Panegyris et Ecclesia, omnia deniquo opera ejus, Seraphicum illud rpicrdyiov, et immortale con- cinant Halleluiah. Amen, et Amen.i ^ [This Dissertation, and the preceding Sermo Funebris et Consola- torius, are prmted in the folio edition of Dr John Forbes' Works : Wet- steins, Amsterdam, 1702-3, vol. i. p. 266-290. They are followed by a Simma of the Sermon preached at Edinburgh, 25th June, O.S. 1633, be- fore Charles II. by William Forbes, the first Bishop of that See. A Biographical Sketch of Dr John Forbes will be found supra, p. 18.J EPITAPHIA METRICA. Vmi OPTIMI ET INTEGERRIMI, PATRICII FORBESII, EPISCOPI ABERDONENSIS, IN SUPREMO SENATU CONSILIARII REGII, C0MARCHJ3 A CORSE, ETC. EPICEDIUM. I (juid ab ingenio liceat sperare, vel usus Addere ; si vigiles curac, labor improbus, segrara SoUicitare qucant crudeli vulnere mentem ; Sive quis Ausonio plectorc, fidibusque canoris, Aut Graio tonet ore potens, fandive peritus Serniones referat quos infans audiit orbis : EPITAPHIA METRICA. 331 Hie sese accincti sistant ; hoc carmine vires Intendant mecura socias : mcestaque cupresso Praesulis incingant feralia busta : supremi Temporis officium sic admonet ; ille molestis Liber agit curis, exoptataraque quietem Attigit ; baud tacitis hoc immedicabile damnum Qusestibus, elapsum compresso transeat ore. At non Castalios laticcs, Ephyrsea fluenta Poscere fas animo ; non Cyrrham perque sonantem Flectere Pernassum gressus : hinc cuncta prophana Arceo : sit mihi dux magno qui prsesidet orbi ; Ille hominum pecudumque sator, sator ille volucrum, vEolii qui flabra noti, tumidasque procellas Tcmperat, et rapidi sternit vada concita Nerei. Grampiacis devexa jugis loca, frigida coelo, Difficilique solo, septem subjecta trioni ; Undo vel Eridani nescit vel flamma Canopi Conspicier, ssevit campis ubi Caurus apertis, Quis putet herois tanti natalibus omnem Pone Caledoniam liquisse ; hinc divite vena Illuxisse orbi ingenium mirabile, cunas Hos habuisse lares, surgens ubi proxima coelo Marra, (robustis laudata et foeta colonis) Piniferas aperit rupes ; mitescere sensim Incipiens, terras Cereri camposque relinquit, Quam Dea pracingens, rapido petit ?equora cursu, Limpidus, illirais, puro liquidissimus amne. Cardine sed Borese foelicia rura pererrat Dona, recurvatis ludens per gramina ripis. Sic te Dalmatici montes Hieronyme ; sic te, Qui Buchanane feris sublimi sidera plectro, Asperioris agri Levinia protulit ; at nunc Ausonios revocas dubia ad certamina vates. Quid referam Thebas, Ascraraque, et maxima famae Nomina, quae propriis tantum debentur alumnis. Jam si nobilitas placeat, si stemmata famae In censum veniant, claris majoribus, illis Hand indignum atavis, baud inferioribus ausis, (Nil opus acciri falsse preconia linguie) Forbesidum dom. hunc generosi sanguinis altrix Edidit : banc plebis sortem et communia vulgi 332 EPITAPIIIA METRICA. lura supergressam factis audacibus, omni Cum procerum costu stupuit rex maximus, unde Patricius collatus honos : nee nupera facta Hoc peperere decus, longis annalibus ista Credita sunt, secli veteris melioribus annis. Sic neque degeneres sese ostendere nepotes, Armatas acies campis immittere, ferro Exei"cere manus ausi, civilibus annis Tisiphone nostras quateret cum barbara vires. At postquam arctois fulsit regionibus astrura Pacificum, cujus prrosens reverentia bellum Depulit, atque faces belli, Mars impius orbe Exulat e nostro, peregrinas vectus ad oras. Hoc fatis Jacobe tuis regum optime debet Pacis hyperborese vinclum, pax redita nobis. Sic posita feritate omnes mansuevimus, omnes Diversis agimur studiis, sua cuique voluptas. Pars Themidis streperique fori subsellia tentat : Pars Phariis numeris vigilat, magnique recursus Explorare poli : veteris pars dogmata Coi Indagare senis, juvat ars ex arte medendi : Hi sua rura colunt, validisque ligonibus instant. Oceanus placet his ; per stagna immensa profundi Consectantur opes, nee terrent proxima lethi. Et non exiguus populus, quem tfedia vitae Otiaque exagitant, cupide nova prselia poscens Exulat, atque aliis Martem vestigat in oris. At non FoRBESio stadio decurrere tali Fert animus ; dura placitum sudare palaestra. Ergo cupita sibi indicens certamina, nulla Tempora, nil nimium procrastinat, incitus, ardens, Legibus obsequitur quos dixerat ipse ; profunda Hinc probitas gemina diffusa propagine sanctum Altius impellit pectus ; natura ministrat Et consuetude duplici munimine vires. Nil quod dedeccat factum : morum integer, sevi Integer : innocuis vix laxat frena juventae Deliciis, canus studiis lanugino prima : Atque inclinati reparator plurimus tcvi. Rara quies, comis gravitas, tranquilla scrcna; Temperies frontis, parcis dapibusquc, profundo EPITAPHIA METRTCA. SliS Nunquam mersa mero sunt pocula, nulla prophanis Gratia convivis, castus sermonibus, asper Et castigator tristis peccantis amici Non animo indulsit sectari Heliconia serta : Displicuitque comes necti Phcebeia laurus, Et dedignatus Themidis fora, Pseonis artes, Nee Chaldaeorum damnata scientia cordi est. Sed vegetum ingenium regerens ad originis altse Semina, coelestum Vetera ad primordia rerum Fert avidos passus, animoque oculisque salutis Autorem agnoscens, coelo defixus inerrat. Et labefacta gemens pietatis germina ; laxis Moribus indomito pereuntia seeula luxu, Hinc caligantes sensus, mentisque veternum, Et libertatis qusesito nomine eertum Exitium, serpente malo, erescente ruina, Indoluit miseris, sacrisque operarier infit. Primaque eura fuit divini nectaris liaustu Perfudisse lares ; mox proxima limina sacrse -^dis inexhaustse senserunt fulmina linguae. Ac veluti occulto quae fulvi vena metalli Monte latet, vel quae nescitur clausa profundo Gemma mari, nullos hominum poscuntur in usus : Eruta diversis ludunt, capiuntque figuris. Talis erat, nondum curis immissus apertis, Divitiis opulens tacitis, tectoque metallo. Agnitus extractus placuit, penitusque probatum Ambitiosus honos nulla ambitione petitus Consequitur, sacer ordo premit, celsique fatigat Imperii diadema tenens ; communia vota Contulit hand taciturn justa ad suffragia vulgus. Infula sacra sacris manibus collata, decoram Canitiem velat ; Sed non hie limes honor um Constitit, ille artes atque hand vulgariter artes Edoctus princeps, quibus est Respublica sospes, Addidit augusti fastigia celsa senatus : Arbitrium patuit rerum, penetralibus altis Curia suscepitque lubens ; arcanaque regni Cum patribus consors consortibus ardua tractat. Non tamen ingenium (tanta est constantia) cedit Dulcibus illecebris, aut pondere victa laborat 334 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Ignea vis animi, curis gravioribus impar. Et quanquam illicibus certaret curia fallax Obsequiis tontare gradus, non fulgor lionorum Emollit rigid urn et non exorabile pectus. lUius infixum cordi, placet una voluptas Excubias agitare gregi, vigilantia semper Lumina, custodes oculos praetendere : si quem Devius error agat, reducem mox sistere : si quid Collapsum ofFendat mox instaurare ; labori Parcere difficilis, Pastorum munia recti Judicii trutinans examine ; pellere segnes, Eraeritos donis meritisque ornare trophseis. At non ilia mese pavidte constantia mentis, Ut te digna canat, (magni hsec sunt munia vatis, Et mihi desuetas Musas revocare raolestum Implicito curis gravioribus) aut mea vires Sufficiunt in vota leves, ut grandia rerum Exequar inculto versu ; violare pudorem Hoc erit, atque ture maculas adspergere famae. Nee tua carminibus vita indiget ; error amoris Pierios agitat numeros : tu solus inani Nee strepitu crescis verborum, nee tibi livor Palliclus emeriti decerpit culmen honoris. Audax morte tua dissolve vincula linguae Libra, non calamo venali posco laborum Pr£emia, non vocis pretium, pretiosius auro Sit mihi vera loqui, poscunt tua funera verum. At quae saepe meo volvi sub pectore, quaeque Faucibus errabant, dubiis, audita severe Ilia supercilio tibi fastidita, supremo Fas cineri, fas exequiis, moestoque sepulchro Promere, fas nato tanti solatia luctus Quaerere, quo vivis redevivus, sospite nulla Busti damna feres, nulla damnabere longi Temporis invidia, seris memorabcre seclis. ^ternumque mancnt victura volumina, culti Ingenii decus, et priscos referentia mores. His commissa tuae quondam tot millia curas Pascis adhuc dapibus, plenis laticescjue ministras Gurgitibus, nee sola tui provincia nostra Scntit opes calami, sed Tethys quicquid amaris EPITAPHIA METRICA. 335 Cingit aquis, gelidae porrecta per ultima Thules Litora diversam Rutupini ad marginis oram, RoBERTUS GoRDONUS, a Straloch.i ^ [Robert Gordon of Straloch and Pitlurg, whose attainments as an Antiquary and Geographer reflected lustre on liis country amid the fer- vours and animosities of religious fanaticism and civil discord. He was descended from one of the oldest branches of the noble family of Huntly. By his wife Katharine, daughter of Alexander Irvine of Lenturk (the eldest cadet of the ancient family of Drum) he had eleven sons and six daughters. — [Gordon's Hist, of Scots Affairs from mdcxxxvii. to mdcxli. printed for the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, 1841, Preface, p. 29.] Of these the fifth was James Gordon, Parson of Rothiemay, the author of the History just quoted, to Avhich the Editor has been much indebted in preparing the Notes to the present volume. Robert Gordon studied in Marischal College, and we are told in Mr !Maidment's Catalogues of Scotish Writers [Edin- burgh, 8vo. 1833, p. 119,] that he "was the first Master of the liberal arts created" in that seat of learning. On the eve of the Civil War in the North of Scotland, his moderation and peaceful disposition seem to have recommended him to the Royalist party in Aberdeenshire as a fit person to negociate with the Covenanters. We find him accordingly sent to treat with them on various occasions. — [Spalding's History of Troubles, Banna- tyne Club Edition, Edinburgh, mdcccxxviii. vol. i. pp. 103, 110, &c.] His earnest persuasions and endeavours were always directed to the main- tenance of peace and the saving of bloodshed. Gordon's fame rests upon his work — the " Theatrum Scotiaj," begun at the expense of Sir John Scot of Scots-Tarvet, one of the few persons in Scotland who in that unhappy age encouraged letters by their patronage. [Pref. to Scots Affairs, sm/m'«.] This publication contains maps of the Scottish Counties, and during its preparation Gordon was, by special Act of Parliament, exempted from military burdens, and the General Assem- bly issued a recommendation to the Clergy to afford him all the assistance in their power. This undertaking, said to be the first of the kind attempted in Scot- land from actual survey, was completed in 1648, and published by the Bleaus of Amsterdam. "Mr Gordon wi'ote several other works, some of which are said still to remain in manuscript. Two pictures of him re- main (believed to be by Jamieson of Aberdeen), one in Marischal College, the other at Parkhill, the residence of the present Mr Gordon of Pitlurg." — New Statistical Account of Scotland — County of Aberdeen, pp. 807, 808.— E.] 11 OBITUM REVERENDISSIMI EPISOOPI ABERDONIENSIS, PATRICII FORBESII A CORSE, &c. II. RGONE ille Deo flagrans, omnique recoctus Arte pius Prsesul, Suadse Sophiseque me- dulla, Mystarum Decus, et Regalis Gemma Senatus, Pacis amans, jurisque et servantissimus sequi Templa Deo instam'ans et Musis culta Lycaea, Mortali hac vita functus coelestibus umbris Additur, ut flentes terras in morte relinquat Tristibus exequiis et aeerbo funere mersas ? At sic in terris vixit sit visas ut usque Extra illas Coelis, et avito degere Regno. Sicque orbem linquens fruitur Ca?loque Deoque Ut sit adhuc terris per scripta per acta superstes : Parsque sui melior, rigidae sit nescia mortis. Fama viri tanti et virtus sine funere vivet. Detque Deus similem, nunquam majore fruemur. Jac. Sandil. J. U. D.i Officialis Aberdon. 1 [James Sandilands — wlio hero subscribes himself Doctor of tJie Civil unci Canon Law — was an Advocate— Commissary [Judge of the EPITAPHIA METRICA. 337 Consistorial Court] of Aberdeen, and Clerk to the General Assembly. At the famous meeting of this last body at Glasgow in 1638, his son Thomas Sandilands attended under a deputation from his father, but the Assembly proceeded to nominate a new Clerk in place of the elder Sandilands, who, it was alleged, was "aiged, and had excused himself by sicknesse." [Gordon's Scots Affairs, printed for the Spalding Club, Aberdeen, mdcccxli, v. i. p. 146.] Their choice fell almost unanimously on the well-known Archibald Johnston of Warriston. By the officious interference of Professor John Lundie at the same Assembly [sujyra, p. 23, note,] Commissioners were appointed to visit the University of Aberdeen, who " discharged" Mr James Sandilands, Younger, as Canonist. He contrived, however, to retain the emo- luments of office. " Mr James Saudielands was discharged as Canonist ; but he made application to the nixt Generall Assemblie, and craftily by moyan [private solicitation] gott his place, to teach the Cannon law by limitation, viz. — to teach Be matrimonio,testamentis,and teynds ; because all the rest of these lawes smelled of poperie, as they alledged." Spalding's History of the Troubles in Scotland, Bannatyne Ciub Edition, v. i. p. 1 18. " About this time (November 1639) Mr James Saudielands begane to teach the Canon lawes in the CoUedge of Old Aberdein, as he was restricted and limited be the General Assembly, viz. — to teach only upon Teynds, Testaments, and Matrimony, and to handle no farder of the Canon law, but these three heads ; moyan (suppose he had his own enemies within the CoUedge), bure him throw to be canonist in forme forsaid, for the whilk he gott yeirly payment of about 600 merks for teaching ane unprofitable lesson when he pleased, ance in the weelv, or anes in the moneth as he liked best ; for the whilk he M'as never found fault with, and he had few auditors except the Regents and some students, who thought they tint their lessons idly to hear him ; and the members of this CoUedge thought this gear waired [money spent] upon him was lost, and meitter to have been bestowed upon them, who indured paines, day and nigJit, for upbringing of the youth. AUwayes, as I have said, he was carried throw by moyan to be canonist in forme forsaid ; but it lasted not long, as ye may hereafter see. Strange, to see ane man admitted to teach the lawes, who was never out of the countrie studieing and learning the lawes ! Alwayes he is gott to be Canonist, and is chosen Civilist afterwards." \_Ibid. v. i. pp. 178-179.— E,] 22 IN OBITUM REVERENDISSIMI PR^SULIS VIT^ INTEGRITATB ERUDITIONE ET GENERIS SPLENDORE CLARISSIMI PATRICII FORBESII, ETC. ANDREAS RAMS^US,! Pastor Edinburgenus. III. ORSA dedit clarum proavis te in luminis oras, CoRSA dedit titulos, culta, laresque tibi. Imbuit omnigena te Palladis arte lyceum, Enthea Cocropio pectora plena sale. Postquam setas crevit sensit Respublica, virtus Quanta animo, linguae robore, quanta manu. ' [Ramsay was Sub-dean of the Diocese of Edinburgli, and Professor of Divinity in the University. He appears to have early opposed the intro- duction of the Liturgy, as much on the ground of liis dislike to itself, as to the mode in which it was so unwisely and irregularly attempted to he thrust on the people of Scotland. Si^alding informs us that "!^^r Andrew EPITAPHIA METRICA. VS9 Non odii flammas sopire potentior alter, Flexanirai eloquio et pacis inire vias. llamsay aud Mr Henry Rollock, Ministers at Edinburgh, were accused in September [1637] for not buying and useing of the Service Books at the King's command. They answered, It was contrau- to the orders of our kirk and their own consciences, and so would not use them." The Parson of Rothiemay introduces Ramsay as playing a conspicuous part on occasion of the first subscription of the Covenant in Edinburgh in 1638. The pas- sage gives a graphic view of the Excitement and Enthusiasm of the times : — " The Covenant, which was the grand result and conclusione of the Tables at ther meeting in February 1638, was no sooner agreed upon but instantly it was begunne to be subscrybed in Edinburgh first. And the churche chosne out for that solemnitye was the Gi-ay Freers churche in Edinburgh ; wher, after it had been reade over publickly, and a long speeche had been made by the Lord Lowdone in commeudatione therof, Mr Alexander Henderson seconded him with a prayer, and then all fell to sweare and subscrybe, some of the nobilitye leading the way. The first (as I am credibly informed) was Johne Gordon, Earle of Sutherlande, and the next was Sir Andrew Murrey, Lord Balvard,^ minister at Ebdy, in Fyfe : two noblemen who, out of zeale to ther professione, without any by ende, thought it ane happinesse to be amongst the first subscribents and swearers to the Covenant. After them all that wer present ranne to the snbscriptione of it, and then througli the rest of the cittye it went, evry one contesting who might be first ; and others, without furder exami- nation or questioning the articles therof, following the example of others, women, young people, and servant maides, did sweare and hold upp ther handes to the Covenant. All who wer present at Edinburgh at that meeting in the moneth of Februarye, subscrybed aud swore to the Cove- nante befor they went from thence ; and, at ther parting, ministers, and noblemen, and gentlemen, who wer weal affected to the caiise, carryd coppyes therof along with them, or caused them to be wryttne out after ther returne to ther seveiiill paroshines and counteys of j Scottlaud. Whicli coppyes wer ordinarly Avryttne upon great skinnes of parchement (for which cause at that tyme, in a wryttne pasqwell, the Covenant was termed Tlie Constellatione upon the backe of Aries). And such as tooke coppyes along with them for to be subscrybed, caused ordinarly such as had sworne or underwrytue ther names alreadye (if they were noblemen or ministers of note), for to sett too their hands anew to the several coppyes, that, wher themselves could not be present to invitte otliers, ther hand wrytte might be ther proxye. To sett ofi^ the great solemnity of this tacking the Covenant with the greater grace, there was one INIr Thomas Abernetthye (a new convert from popery, who laitly had been a seminary priest) reserved. This Mr Tliomas Abernetthye was brought in publicke by Mr Andrew Ramsey, and a preface made concerning liini, who was standing by in secular apjierrall, who afterwards seconded Mr Andrew Ramsey his discourse, and declared to the people how farr he had been missledd, and what great atteniptes the Pope and his Conclave had been, and was acting against Scottland, and did as yet continew to ' [Sir Andrew Murray was not r.aisotl to the Peerage until 1G41, when he was ercatcJ l^ord Halv.-tird.] 340 EPITAPHIA MET RICA Doctrinse monumentum ingens, clarescet in sevuin, Quo sole illustras, nube reclusa sacra. acte ; and now shewed, with teares, that he was a lost sheepe, and begged for to have the licence to siibscybe the Covenant, which was granted, and he was surrounded by the crowde of the devouter sexe present. There- after he gott a benefice, and was Commissioner at Glasgow, whei'eof I have his diarium manuscri2^tum in my handes. He was in armes as a souldiour at the Bridg of Dee," &c. Gordon's Scots Affairs, Aberdeen, published by the Spalding Club, mdcocxli. Vol. i. p. 43, 44. The same year Ramsay rendered himself equally conspicuous in the Glasgow General Assembly. " It is not to be forgottne that the Com- missioner of Rosse, Mr Thomas Makeinzie, fynding his commissione rejected, gave in a protestatione, to be reade in face of the Assemblye, against the laufullnesse therof, subscrybed [by] himself and some other handes. The reasones of it wer, because they had admitted ruling elders to vote ther ; and, secondly, because thes ruling elders wer admitted to have voice in the electioue of ministers. The King's Commissioner called for a copjiye of the protestatione ; but the tenour of it was so dis- pleasing to Mr Andrew Ramseye, minister at Edinburgh, that he had no longer patience, but upp he standes upon a stoole or fourme, and gave a publicke challendge, offering to dispute it with any, and to prove, against any man, the laufullnesse of ruling elders by Scripture, antiquitye, fathers, councells, the judgement and practise of all the reformed churches, even the Churche of England itselfe, who admitted them into the highe com- missione, besyde the constant practise of the Churche of Scotland from the very Reformatione. His These was that ruling elders not only ought to have a vote or suffrage in Assemblyes, but that they wer necessair (or essentiall) members of all Church Assemblyes, specially nationall. The Commissioner told him that he ranne no great hazard in his challendge, for he was sure that the judges would be his secondes ; yet, if it pleased him, he should fynde him one who should enter the listes with him, either publickly or privattly, upon that qwarell. Some wer displeased with the challendge ; but not a few thought it was a great poynte carryd, because Dr Ballcanquell, who was with the Comissioner at that tyme, and bore the repute of a greate divyne, did not accept of the challendge ; nor any of the bishopps, who, at that tyme, were said to be in Glasgow, or, at least, in Harailtoune, not farr distant, albeit it was presumed they might heare of it. It was late within the night when Mr Andrew Ramsey gave the challendge, and so the tyme of dispute for that night was past, and the sessione dissolved, all the members therof being at last constitute of ministers, or professors of divinitj'e, and ruling elders. The number of the ministers are said to have been, adding professors of divinitye to macke them out, ane hundreth fourty-three in all ; nyntye and fyve rnlinge elders, sent either fi"om presbytryes or borroughs ; of whom there wer seven carles, ten lordes ; knights and barrens twenty-eight, gentle- men sqwyres twell, macking fourty in all; burgesses or citizens, fiftye and one. Two of the towne's ministers, or therby, wore gownes ; all the rest of the clergye in their cloakes, and distinguished from others mostly by the colour of ther clothes, though not that waye neither from all the ruling elders ; the nobilitye and gentrye in secular liabites, ther clotlies EPITAPHIA METRICA. 341 EfFecit probitas, velaret ut infula crines, Qua Dona arctoa Doride miscet aquas. coloured. And that which made it look lycke a mixture of a court mar- tiall was that swordes wer worue by inilinge elders whilst they sate in the synode, a practise which will not fynde many examples in churche coun- cells befor thes tymes." — [Ibid. p. 155-157.] Ramsay was a man of learning, the author of elegant Latin verses, (See Delitiae Poetarum Scotorum), and possessed great fluency and readiness in public speaking. " When Mr David Dickson had made ane ende [of " a long exhortatory refutatione " of Arminianism], the moderator did request Mr Andi-ew Ramsey to speacke something to that poynte, whom he afiirmed to his knowledge (though unadverished), yet alwayes to be in readinesse against such eiTors. Mr Andrew ansuered, that he should speacke what was presently come' into his thought ; so he feU on, in the next place, and having expounded the goldne chaine of God's electione, of his grace and mercye, he did refute all the errors of the Arminians, drawing them to fyve heades, to the great satisfactione of all the Assem- bly, specially of the most pairt of the ruling elders ; who, with a devoute ignoraince, applauded thes deep poynts with ane implicite faithe, although many doubted if all of them understood either the Arminian tenents, or the refutatorye argumentes therof : But that was all one, they wer sure to saye with the reste." — [Ihid. vol. ii. p. 47.] That this last remark of the Parson of Rothiemay proceeds from no prejudice against the Presbyterian polity, appears from what Principal Baillie himself states regarding the qualifications of the ruling elders at the Glasgow Assembly as judges of points of doctrine. A minister in the Presbytery of Dundee, Mr James Auchinleck, was accused of the then much dreaded heresy of " Arminianism." " The man," says the Principal, " cleared himself to us of all but some quirks in the second article. The gentlemen, [the ruling Elders and Commissioners], who under- stood not well, thought eteo-y thing here capital heresy." — [Letters and Journals, Edin. 8vo. mdcccxli. vol. i. p. 154.] The Chair of the General Assembly which sat at Aberdeen in 1640 was filled by Ramsay. The following anecdote is preserved by the Parson of Rothiemay, creditable to the good sense of the Moderator. " That yeare, or not longbefor, the Magistratts of Aberdeen had tackne panes for to repaire the Grayfreere churche, and had adorned it with a costly seate, in a lofte just opposite to the pulpitt. The carpenter had shewed his skill in cutting upon the severall compartiments of the frontispeece of that lofte, the images of Faithe, Hope, and Charitye, and the Moral Vertwes, as they use to be painted emblem wyse : ther stood Faithe leaning upon the crosse. This was as soon qwarrelled at as espyed by severall ministers. Commissioners of the Assemblye, who looked upon all that new frontis- peece as savouring of superstitione, and wold needs have Faith or her crosse removed from her. The Magistratts durst not excuse it ; and many others wer silent, least they should be suspected. In ende, Mr Andrew Ramsey, the Moderator, interposed himself, and shewed the offended bretheren that thes pourtraictes wer only emblems, and evry wher uswall, without scandall to Protestants, with many wordes to that pourpose; so that by his mediatione they wer pacifyd, and Faith, with the 342 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Spectetur si vita onini sine labe peracta, Tu potes indigites sequiparare patres". Si tibi quis tumulum pario de marmore sistet, Hoc ego sigiiabo carmine busta tua : Htic qui Prwsulibus decori quamfata tulerunt, Ccelitvm wtheria nunc deem arce nites. IN EUNDEM EODEM AUCTORE. IV. INCULA amicitise resolutse stringere nexu, Discordesque animos concordi pace ligare, Prima fuit tibi ciira, ut verba ambone tonare Concessumque sacri operari, versat amoris Et pacis satagit studium, mortalia cordo Conciliare Deo. Quia pacis tramite vita Decursa, aeterna compostus pace quiescis. IN EUNDEM EODEM AUCTORE. V. EDDERE Concordes animos, non aptior alter Si linguam inspicias, si animum hand pru- dentior alter, Si cum lingua, aniraa, eventum, baud foelicior alter. rest of the vertwes, wer permitted to stand still, wher they as yett remaiue undefaccd to this daye." [Gordon's History ot'Scots Affairs, vol. iii. p. 219.] llamsay was himself d('])0sed in 1648 l>y the General Assembly, on account of his " malignancy." — E.] MEMORY SACRUM REVERENDISSIMI IN CHRISTO PATRIS, NUPER PR^SULIS DIGNISSIMI ABERDON. PATEICII FORBESII DOMINI A CORSE, BARONIS DE ONEIL, &c. DUOBUS REGIBUS A SECRETORIBUS CONSILIIS. VI. gUlSQUIS ades, tumulum lachrymis, et flore ^^ viator Sparge sacro ; magni contegit ossa viri : Scotia quo solo meruit, nunc orbaque moeret Quicquid Relligio, doctave Pallas habent. 1 [The author of these verses, Dr Patrick Panter, was Professor of Divinity and Principal of the Now College at Saint Andrews. He was deposed by the Presbyterian Assembly held at Glasgow in 1638. Prin- cipal BaUlie, one of its leading members, has left us the following account of his deprivation :— " The uixt was Dr Panter, Professor of St Andrewes : 344 BPITAPHIA METRICA. ALIUD. VII. ON Latium Curios jactet ; non magna Ca- tonum Nomina, Serranos, Fabritiosve suos ; Desine Aristidas, jam desine Grgecia ; prisca Vel majora sub hoc marmore clausa jacent. I never saw the man ; hot his ' Walaidos' makes me love him as one of the best poets I know now living : the man lies a bonny spirit ; somethings in all sciences ; hot St Audrewes [Archbishop Spottiswoode] was far in the wrong to advance him to a divinity profession before he had well learned the grounds of that science. He was never diligent ; but he had not sooner set- tled himself in his chair while he began to recommend the Englishe method of studie to our youth, to begin with the Popish schoolmen and Fathers, and to close with Protestant neotericks; a most unhappie and dangerous order. I hear, in his public notes, he hes deboirded to the Popish justification, and, in his discourses, to the grossest Pelagianisme in originall sin, let be in other points of Arminianisme. Did not the heavens cry for a vengeance against our Bishops, though we had been dumb, who did hear and see our Church undermynded with such instruments, of their own making and maintaining ?" — [Baillie's Letters and Journals, 8vo. Edin. mdcccxli. vol. i. p. 149.] The charge of Heterodoxy, advanced by an opponent, in times of such religious heats and animosities, will not be deemed of much importance. In 1633, Panter published the two first Books and a fragment of a third of his " Valliados," a heroic poem on the exploits of Sir William AVallace. He intended to have completed it in twelve Books, but no more of it was ever published. It is dedicated to King Charles I., and bears the Title, " Valliados libri tres, opus incohatum : Auctore Patricio Pantero ad Fanum Andrefe Theologo." Edinburgi : excudebant Hrcredes Andreoe Hart. 1633, small 8vo. It was reprinted by Sibbald m his " Collectanea Varia de Gestis 111. Herois Gullielmi Vallje." Edin. small 8vo. 1705. A few extracts from this rare and beautiful poem will not be out of place. The argument of the First Book is in these words : — " Cuminus expeditionis in Cumhriam irritus, oraculum Beg(e ibi consulit, quern amln- guo response suspensum Lcrmonthus (vulgo Rymour), istius temporis Calchas solatur, longa repetitione rerum Scoticarum ab ipsagentis originc." The following are the introductory lines :— " BeUigeri dura arma viri, Martemque sub Arcto Grassatum late populis, commissaciue campis Agmina, vorticibus qua Tina hinc fertur et illinc Irrigat arva Terns, tristiquc Calcdona bcllo Concussam, exactos hostes patriamquc receptam .lam canimus. Tu pande sacros a?ternc recessus EPITAPHIA METRICA. 345 ALIUD IN VIT^ MORTISQUE GENUS. VIII. USARUM prselustre decus, Patriseque, do- musque Forbesidum, famse post monumenta suse ; (Queis generi hiimano, queis toti claruit orbi, Et face nunc geminum lustrat utrinque polum : Liiminis augiisti, piiscaque abscondita fama Et vati longinqua refer, lie nomiua tanta Magnaiiiinum Herouin, tot fortia facta, ducesqiie Usque premaut alta miseranda silentia nocte. Da causas aperire niali, quid gentibus orbis Unius et fossae communis gurgite clausis In diversa trahens animos ; quse tristis Erinnys Immisit furias populis, Bellonaque semper Sanguineum quatiens curru volitante flagellum Non tulit unauimes, quos sic committere ssevos Inter se et notas in mutua vulnera dextras Cogere ludus erat ? quoties tibi Tueda Britauuo Sanguine purpureo tumuerunt flumina lapsu ? Regnandi, proh, dira sitis, vicinaque ferro Sub juga mittendi, superi sed nescia fati Invitisque diis, seterno foedere certum Queis uuire feros- et quos natura locusque Junxerat, irrupto in gentem coalescere regno ; Non ultra Scotum non An(jlum audire, futuris Nomina confundi, ue qute monumenta supersint Disidii, et solum memorari in ssecla Britannum. Quid frustra in vetitum nixi ? iium fata morari Prsecipere aut liceat ? sinite O stata tempera rebus Defluere, et placidis ne rumpite stamina parcis." The following Stanzas, toAvards the close of the Second Book, contain the description given to Wallace by his friend the patriot Graham, of the oppression of the English invaders, and the effect the Narrative had in rousing the former to escape from the retirement, in which he had been purposely kept, that he might attempt the Deliverance of his country: — " Hiiic ad Ediniacam recta fert impetus arcem, Et caput imperii, quam nuper Rege, senatu Et populo cclebrem, solain tunc nemo tenebat. Descruere omnes, portaque viaque patente Vix quisqam appareus, aut custos msenibus ibat. Tantus ubique metus, ea dcsperatio rcrum ; Tutis nulla fides ; hinc regia clara tot alta? 34G EPITATHIA METRICA. Queisque cluit, cunctis nunc invidiosa propinquis Et studiis foelix Aberdon alta suis) Stirpis imagiiiibus, tantis arx iude tropliaeis, (Tarpeiis sequata jugis) patuere ruenti Prseda liosti, et gazfe, veterum congestio reguin. His aucti auspiciis, tenias ex ordine captis Adjiciunt sedes veterum decora alta parentuin ; LimnucJmm, Sterolenqne altam, gemiuoque nitentem Falconum sub moiite domum, munitaque tecta, Pars sequata solo, pars commoda visa colono, Pernicies patriaj, stetit atque in viscera versa est. Nee ratio est rerum nee honos, non relligionis, Non prisci sanctique, fides ; loco sacra, profana Juxta habita, in divos pariter liominesque furit vis. Ipsa Deum sedes, ipsum inviolabile fanum Andreas Phcebi que lares (quam rupe relicta P'mplide, Barbaricis exterrita dicitur armis Calliope, legisse locum ; quam Cimher et omnes Horruerant per secla manus) temerata, tumultus Sensit, et iufaudos (heu barbara facta) furores. Nee minus et geminse, Phcebeia castra, sorores, Glascua et ad gelidos Ahredon projecta Triones ; Ssevitum in lapides, in jura vetusta, librosque, In famam, seclumque memor, abolentque premuntque Dant rerum monumenta rogo, vestigia seris Ne qua forent natis gentis, laudisve parentum, Excitura animos, nee avorum conscia virtus ; Sic vires sensusque, premi sic nascier ultro Degeneres sjierant, et laiulum nescia corda ; Sic fore se tutos, nullo nisi plebe relicto Imbelli fractaque malis, sic posse subactis Grassari et misero dominari impune popello. Roboris et si quid sobolesceret, atque juventfn, Dilectu assiduo minui ; tunc forte dedit res Militia exliaurire nova, quae Gallica primo Vere peregi-ino coucussit regna tumultu. Me quoque soUicite conquisivere, misellum In caput ardentes furiis, sed sede domoque Cum paucis profugus, latebrasque subinde per agros Mutando, caecisque viis fallendo sequentes, Cousului vix ipse mihi ; fera pcctora donee Anglorum satiata malis oblivia tandem Ca3pere, et pariter ii-aque metucjue cadente, Cessatum est vano porro iudagarc tumultu. Sed quae te tandem regio ? Quse devia tamdiii Distinuit sedes, patriae demortue curis ? Hie Vallas, quamvis eadem sperarat, et ista Non inopina forent aqua aut majora timenti, Pr.Tsenti scrmone tamen rerumquo malorumque Admota facie, propiusque, sul) ora rcdiictis ; EPITAPHIA METRICA. 347 Cessit tergemino Prsesul defunctus lionore, Et decies senas functus Olympiadas : Ingemuit volveiis molem, jam fuuditus exspem Extra aleaiuque vicis, conclamatmuque supremum. Demum jiauca refert ; eqiiidem uon fingit iuanes Suspicio plaerumque luetus, nee pectora fallunt lieu ! veri pr.Tsaga niniis : nunc sentio fi'audes Alma parens, patriee natique, lieu blanda dolori. All quoties subiere aninunu puerilia quamvis Pectora et haud nlli graviori obnoxia cura I Non temere fuit iste dolor, totiesque fluentes Sponte sua laclirymjp, nuUoque ciente, querelop. Ilceccine cura omnis fuit ? hrec custodia nostri Officiosa nimis, quo me patriaque, meisque, Distentum, in mortis nunc iiuncia sera reserves, Extremasque vices, conclamatumque supremum ? O patria, O Scoti veteres, 0 feirea bello Pectora, Bomanos qua? sistere sola furores, Et Picios pepulisse locis, Britomimqae, furores Non semel in priscos potuistis cogere fines, Cui tantum de te licuit : Nimi tauta sepulta est Fama virum ? Tarn notus lionos, invictaque gentis Gloria, centenis numerans sua sceptra tyrannis Externa non tacta nianu ? NuUusne priorum Nascitur, antiquo vel nomine dignus, avitis NuUus imaginibus ? Non cui tam perdita cordi Causa fiet, propriaque, velit reparare ruina ? O mihi Dii faciles siiit, aut fortuna secimda In partem ut mittant operis (nam vindicis infans Non peto, nee tantos ambit mihi pectus lionores). Vel si fata negant et rerum eerta ruina Attamen ulta cadas, dirumque, liostique cruentum Funus, et extinctae placeutur sanguine manes. Talibus incusans liserebat msestus, et omnis Consilii atque incertus opis, dum liinc sera volutat Auxilia, incseptique fidem ; dum que incitat illinc Vis animi, rumjjitque moras justosque timores ; Prapcipitatque vias et magno fluctuat sestu. Quid struat ; unde prius capiat rerumque operisquc Principium ; quod subsidium speretve receptum ; Vix demum vicit ratio, sententiaque alto Pectore subsedit tacito mollimine, belli Praetcntare vias, \'iresque animosque suorum Perspieere, et dubiis quae sit fiducia rebus. Ac veluti vastis agitata tumultibus unda Aut musto ftpx prima novo (vis ignea Bacchi Tauta furit, miscetque ciens) sibi pugnat, et in sc Funditur, usque vomens .spumas atnmiquc vaporem Donee fumiferas sensim exlialaverit iras, Et flatus animosa suos defciveat angris 848 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Mente tainen vegeta, tanto majorque labore Mortales artus exuit ante diem. Motibus, et fundo denmiii subsederit imo : Sic postquam vario pectus sibi Valla tumiiltii Ipse fatigavit, cxcoque hue impete et illuc Irritus impegit, nee votis porta pateseit, In sese rediit demum, iu\'itusque resedit." Of the Third Book there is only a Fragment. It contains a fine descrip- tion of the part of the array with which Edward was about to invade France, drawn from the north of England. " Jamque annum Austrino Phcelus referebat ab axe, Augebatque Dies, cum rebus Saxo paratis Jam totus spectabat iter, bellumque fremebat In Morinos ; late rerum seeurus et hostis A tergo, sua tuta putans, Arctun^^^e quietam Moturamque nihil ; quare quod roboris ustiuam Contrahit, et totis implet cava littora turmis. Vos O Pieredes, proles Jovi-! altaque Mncme, Quam non ulla latent deeursa ab origin e secla Fastorum, famacque parens, nunc j^andite sacra^ Claustra domus, nunc antra niihi, penetralia longi Temporis, obscuris monumeata obducta tenebris Excutite, et tanti censum mihi reddite belli. Qui ferro aimati reges ; Qu;p nomina prima Ductorum ; Quce cuique acies ; Quibus Albion armis Ferverit insurgens, nostis namque omnia, nee vos Nequicquara saci'is prapfeeit Jupiter aetis. Venit ab extrema Borece de partibus ora ITumbrorum numerosa eohors ; divortia Valli Trans habitant, Tlnam(\Vie bibunt, Tucdan\Me fluenta, Limite vix unquam certo ; nunc Saxone fines Prolatante sibi, nunc Smto ; et neutrius esse Mars sinit, assiduis vastans incursibus agros. V^ix ita qua refluos Euripus duplicat a?stus - Alternat maris unda vices, aut mobilis aura Cardinibus sjiirat dubiis, cum lurida ca;lo Tenipestas glomerat nubes, vel turbine nondum Composite fremitat ; non unquam tuta cuiquam lies sua, s^rpe dies niodo queni ditaverat, ipsa Nocte fuit pnrdnf>. Jus, et sua gcstat in armis, Non unquam seeurus agens. Quels flore juventse Percius insignis prime, et fulgent ibus armis Albenti est prsRvectus cquo, cui paruui leonem Capruleuin campo volitantem ostendit in uuioo ; Advatieae signa alta domus, doxtraque patcrnuin (Mcdcolnii turn csedc rubens, factoque reccnto Undo decus nomenque suis) hastilc gerebat Arduus, et campo primus se ostendit aperto. Signa sequebantur pcditum bis sena, pharetris EPITAPHIA METRICA. 349 Insita mens astris, quam jam praeceperat, segro Corpore perrexit carpere Iseta viam. Et ferro succincta levi ; quos ordine longo Hastatus praecessit eques, cui tergore tauri Lamiimlis ferri insutis, lorica rigebat, Et pannis densatus apex. Iluic limite dextrum Cumber ab occiduo clausit latus ; ille virentes Hexamiw campos, ripasque et flumen Edini, Escceumque latus tenet et qua Solvius aestu Virgivium iniscet pelagus, fluctuque retorto Funditur, et Scoto prope Sa.cona dividit isthmo. Quels pra?iens vastis sese vertebat in armis Grastocius, vetito quem Nympha Cevotia partu Edidit et sylvis ignotum eduxerat altis, Celatura nefas et duri conscia fati. Hie duo gesa manu rapiens, vastumque molaris In formam clypeum, socios clamore vocabat Increpitans, agnienque minis sub signa trahebat. Post hos Vestmarke coeunt in praelia gentes, Quique arces Dunelma tuas, Tineiac^e castra, Stammoriariu\\\e tenent, qui regia tecta frequentant Ditis Ehoraci, Trentam quique inter et Humbrum Rura Palis Cererisqae colunt uberrima regna, Quosque vetus priscis dicebat fama Brifjantas. Hos non unus agit ductor, paribusque regebant Auspiciis Viponte satus, NovaviUius et cui A clivo fortique notee, queis aemula virtus Musgravii, vix pone subit, Fennusqiie, Lagusque. Pars curru pars ibat equis, quatit horrida canipum Esseda, terrificis imitata tonitrua gyris. Ante alios sacris praefulget Becus in armis, Lamina cui fronteni tegit aurea, linea cingunt Tegmina, stat lino thorax, et lineus umbo." The Titles of the whole of the twelve Books are given by Sibbald in his preface, from the manuscripts of the Author at St Andrews. On the triumph of the Presbyterians, Panter retired to England along with Dr Baron of Aberdeen (supra, p. 26). On the death of the latter amiable and accomplished Divine he wrote the following lines : — " Si quis erat Musis, tetricse si qnando Minervae Natus, vel raucae ponere jura Scholae, Hie Situs est, mediis raptus Baronius annis ; Longa merebatur ^^vere secla Senex ; Vos, ne flete tamen, nee plangite funus acerbiini, Sat vixit, famae praemia quisquis habet. Aliud Raptus abest turbis Baro, Patriaeque mentis Ignibus, et paevas despicit arce faces. 350 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Elige tu subitse, Osesar, properata ruinse Vulnera ; victuro vita sit ante mori. IN EUNDEM ACADEMIC ABERDONENSIS RESTAURATOREM. IX. _R^SES ApollineEe decus et tutela cohortis, Qui statuis Musis pnemia, vel I'epetis ; Quo, dejecta suis, s(jualleusque et egena jacensque ; Ac prope perpetuam jam meditata fugain, Reddita Musa bonis, postliminioque vocata est Sedibus : Unde novos cantat ab area modes Vive Deo, meritisque tuis et honoribus exors, Prsemia vix ulli jure secunda tene. Magnus qui tantse posuit fundamina molis, Non minor, hoc seclo qui repararit, erit. Patricius Panterus, S. S. Theologise D. ejusdemque. Professor in Academia Sanctandreana. Quas furine quatiunt, revolutaqiie fata minaiitur Additaqiic humanis noxa maligna bonis. O nimium felix, sic nee subducta procellas Cimba tremit, nee jam Vulnera miles Ovans. He appears to have passed the rest of his days in England as Rector of Holgate in Shropshire. "While there he published some other works. Sibbald states that he had copies of various manuscripts left by him at his death. Dr Panter was a native of the county of Fife [Sibbald's History of Fife and Kinross, 8vo. Cupar-Fife, 1883, App. No. 1 . § 2. p. 627.] There was a family of the same name [anciently spelt Panlicrl, the proprietors of Nowmanswalls, near Montrose in Forfarshire, from which several eminent Churchmen sprung, in earlier times. — Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishoi)S, 8vo. Edin. 1824, p. 193, wote.— E.J LECTORI S. ^EQUENTIS Eclogm Auctorem neque modestia nomen suum projiteri, neque amicita a Carmine temperare passa est. Nos amici nostri nomen non sinit gratitudinis lex silentio ohrutum, ml confictis vocabuUs ohvolutum relinquere. Auctor hujus Eclogw est vir Beverendus ac Doctissimus, Georgias Wisliartus,'^ S. S. Theol. Doctor, et verhi Dei in Urbe Sand- Andrew (quw S. jReguli olim dicehatur), prwco eximius, quern pristinoe memorem amicitioe. In neraus egit Amor, subvexit, Fervor in auras, Carpit nbi liquidum candidus Ales iter. 1 [The well-known Dr George WiSHARTjat that time one of the ilinis- ters of St Andrews. After losing his charge in that city, through his oppo- sition to the Presbyterian party, we find him amid the tergiversations of Politicians and Churchmen, maintaining a steady attachment to Episcoi)acy and the Royal Family. For this consistency, he suffered much at the hands of the rival faction both in jierson and estate, lie tells us himself that he thrice endured spoliation, incarceration, and banishment. He accompanied the Marquis of Montrose as his Chaplain, and wrote the well-known History of the Wars of that leader in Latin, a copy of which work was suspended by the Covenanters around ^Montrose's neck at his execution. Such in- stances of tmworthy triumph over a fallen enemy are happily very rare in British history. " Wishart became Chaplain to Elizabeth, Queen of Bohe- mia, sister to King Charles I., with whom he came over into England anno 1660, to visit her royal nephew, King Charles II. after his Majesty's happy restoration, foon after which Mr AVishart had the Rectory of Newcastle-upon-Tyne conferred upon liim, where he was held in great veneration for his unspotted loyalty. Upon the restoring of Episcopacy within Scotland, he was preferred to the See of Edinburgh, into whicli he was consecrated, 1st June 1662, at St Andrews, where he continucil till death took him away, anno 1671, and was buried in the Abbey Church of Holyroodhouse, under a magnificent Tomb, with a long inscription in Latin verse upon it. He was a person of great religion ; and, liaving been a prisoner liimself, it is reported of liim, that he was always careful COEIDON ECLOGA. TN qua sub nomine Coridonis D. PAT. FOBBESII, Reverendissimi in CHRISTO Patris, et meritissimi Prcesulis, Episcopi Aherdonensis exequias celebrant Pastores duo^ olim ejusdem Pat. amantissimi Fratres, observantissimi servi, sub nominibus JSarvisti et Codri. INCEETO AUTHORE, AD LECTORES. MPORTUNA nimis, nimis molesta, Et raorosa nimis, nimisque dura, \/f^P Tempestiva minus, minus modesta Et jucunda minus, minusque grata Nostrje rusticitas levis Camoense Vestris obstrepet auribus maligne. Si vos carmina nostra pensitetis, Ut censere solent malos poetas -^qua judicii bilance docti. at each dinner, to send off the first mess to the prisoners." — Keith's Catalogue of Scottish Bishops, Bishop Russel's edition, pp. 62, 63. Baillie's Letters and Journals, 8vo. 1841, vol. i. pp. 151, 169 ; Lyon's Hist, of St Andrews, Edin. 8vo. 1843, vol. ii. pp. 10, 11, ri.—E.] EPITAPIIIA METRICA. 353 Certe qualiter, ille raucus olim, Ipso carmina concinente Plioebo, Ausus clangero Phrigius bubulcus. Certe qualiter, obstrepit canoris Cygni carminibus miscUus anser. Sod vos cariuina nostra pensitare, Ut censere solent malos poetas, -^qua judicii bilance, iniquum est. Quippo juilicio satis superque Autoris prills iuiprobata, caute Nostrum pandere uomen erubescunt : Sed si carmina nostra pensitetis lllius trutina tenelli amoris Quo nos exequias patris beati Flagrantes eelebramus ; baud edaces Morsus invidiae timemus atrae. Si vos numina cesserint benignos Censores, faeilesque, eandidos^ue, Tunc audacula JNlusa profiteri Autoris genus, abditumque nomen ^ Spondet solvere gratias perennes. Tunc mutata modis canct novellis Importuna minus, minus molesta, Et morosa minus, minusque dura, Tempestiva satis, satis modesta, Et jucunda satis, satisque grata Nostras rusticitas levis Camoense Vestris succinct auribus. Valete. CORIDON. XII. Est latebrosa specus, densataque vimine multo, Incertura manibusve hominum fabricata, vel ipso. Natunc genio, longum servata per sevum. Cui superincumbunt rupes, prseruptaque saxa, Subtus aqujB dulces praterlabuntur, ubi altum Regulus extollit quadrata cuspid e culmen.i 1 [Does the Poet here refer to a Cave near St Andrews which formerly 23 3o4 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Saepe domus nioestis Pastorura nota querelis, Hue se proripiunt Codrus et Sarvistus, acerbis Deflentes lachrymis mortem Coridonis, et segro Oordo pias curas noctesque diesque revolvunt. Heu Coridon Coridon, quse te fata improba nobis Eripiimt ? Falluntque prcces et inania vota. SARVISTUS. Sed postquam exhaustae vires, animique, nee ultra Sufficiunt lachrymis oculi, nee pectora planctum Ferre valent : Sarvistus ait, quid denique Codre Quid tantum insano juvat indulgere dolori ? Quid miseras miseri nos flendo perdimus horas ? Ingrati morimur. Moestis quin funeris umbris Inferias et justa damns ? Quin carmine sacro Plaeamus manes I Meritosque ex ordine honores Solvimus ? His saltern fas sit lenire dolorem. Heu Coridon Coridon, quse te fata improba nobis Eripiunt ? Falluntque preces et inania vota. CODRUS. Non equidem Sarviste tibi parere recuse. Ergo alacreis omnes, ad quas sacravimus aras Insontes castosque vocemus. Adeste frequeutes Dique hominesque, sacris, semperque infausta cupressus Serta dabit, pullis picese intertexta raeemis. Ferte leves violas, calathis date lilia plenis, Thus adolete pio cineri, vinoque reecnti Abluite ; et bibulam perfundite rore favillam : Tuque 0 magna tui Coridonis cura venito : Junge puer calamos, querulis et versibus apta. Heu Coridon Coridon, qute te fata improba nobis Eripiunt ? Falluntque preces et inania vota. was named after one of the early and devoted Christians to whom we owe the Religion of our Country, and now bears tlie name of a Lady who hon- oured it by drinking tea with her friends witliin its recesses I The " aqn;e dukes" of the text may perhaps scarcely suit the locality on the sea-shore, however convenient a constant snj)ply of that commodity would have been for the purposes to which the grotto has latterly been turned. — See Mr Lvon's History of 8t Andrews, 8vo. Edin. 1843, vol. i. ]ip. 21, 22. — E.] KPITAPIIIA METKK'A. 355 SARVISTUS. Diim Licidas formosus oves ad mulctra, capellas Mopsus agit ; temiique intersero vimine juncos Ut calathum faciam (calathi mihi plurimus usus Dum fortunate cineri, bustoque quotannis Thura, rosas, violas, et agrestia munera pendo) Alternare vices juvat, atque inducere C(p1o Carminibus ; nam dignus erat quem Thracius Orpheus Quemque Linus, Nymphreque omnes Musseque canorae Quem Pan, quem Charites, et quem cantaret Apollo. Heu Coridon Coridon, quse te fata improba nobis Eripiunt ? Falluntque preces et inania vota. CODRUS. Moesta veni Libitina, veni, sacrumque furorem Incute pectoribus ; ferales diccre cantus Aggredinuu% magnique olim celebramus amici Exequias : tu moesta modos, tu carmina manda, Tu lachrymis decora meritis, meritoque dolori Certet amor, dubio sicut certamine crescaiit. Heu Coridon Coridon, non te fata improba nobis Eripiunt? Falluntque preces et inania vota. SARVISTUS. Illius Armenise solitse mansuescere cantu Tigrides, Hircanique ferocia corda Leones Ponere, et insuetis submittere colla catenis. Armatumque pedo aut funda, quam ssepe furentes Avertisse lupos stabulis ; tunc vidimus ipsi, Nunc merainisse juvat ! Cum nos per amoena vireta Pascere fecit oves, posita formidine. Tanto Vindice securas fallebant somnia noctes. Heu Coridon, Coridon, quse te fata improba nobis Eripiunt ? Falluntque preces et inania vota. CODRUS. Ille levi calamo quondam, blandaque potentis Virtute eloquii, di?e et modulaiuine, vocis .).>(> EPITAPH r A METRIC A. Palantes revocavit oves, oviumque magistros, Cum procul a stabulis, cum per spelsea ferarum Per loca senta situ, per inhospita tesqua, per undas Erravere gregos variis ambagibus acti. Scilicet incautas mentes oviumque ducumquc Libertatis amor demens, studiumquc fefellit. Heu Coridon Coridon, qufe te fata improba nobis Eripiunt ? Falluntque preces et inania vota. SARVISTUS, Heu Coridon Coridon, pecoris fidissime custos, Postquam te rapuit durse inclementia mortis, Orbavitque tuis studiis, curaque paterna, Incubuere ferse stabulis. Penitusque cruentis Unguibus, et ssevo foedarent omnia morsu ; Ni tua progenies, quondam spes magna tuorum. Nunc decus, atque ingens pastorum gloria Daphnis Irruat, et late populantes arceat, et ni Provocet ipse alios, primusque in proelia tendat. Heu Coridon Coridon, quse te fata improba nobis Eripiunt ? Falluntque preces et inania vota. CODRUS. Tu ne etiam moreris longa dignissime vita Tu ne etiam Coridon ? Nee te fiducia divum, Nee tua te virtus, nee opimi ruris honores, Nee te noster amor, nee vota precesque tuorum, Nee lachrymse valuere pise defendere contra Fata trium (proli non ulli exoranda) sororum ? Ergo vale, Venerande Senex, semperque tuorum Sis memor ; et si quid tangant mortalia manes, Supplicibus tibi quse facinus nos annuo votis. Heu Coridon Coridon, quae te fata improba nobis Eripiunt ? Falluntque preces et inania vota. SARVISTUS. Sed quid Codre agimus ? Quo nos mains abstulit terror In diversa trahens animos ? Nimiusque fefellit Corda dolor ? Vivit Coridon, regnoque potitur : Sidereis long© super scthera vecta quadrigis Pars melior, solioque sedet sublimis eburno. EPITAPHIA METRICA. 357 Ergo modum lachrymis, et finem Codre dolori Pone tuo, et faustis celebremus gaudia votis. Non Coridon Condon, non te fata improba nobis Eripiunt, falluntque preces et inania vota. CODRUS. Credo equidem, non vera refers, nee vanus haruspex. Nee volueruai cursus, nee prtepetis omina pennse Praescia venturi nee viscera lenta ferarum Prsedixere mihi. Vidi vidi ipse volantem, Scandentera nubes caloantemque sethera, et ipsos Jam superare polos, et sidera, jamque tenebat Regalesque domes, altique palatia Coeli. Agnovi geniumque viri, faciemque decoram, Sidereosque oculos, et celsae frontis honores. Non Coridon Coridon, non te fata improba nobis Eripiunt, falluntque preces, et inania vota. SARVISTUS. Vos superae mentes, vos celsse numinis alti Participes animse, nee dis indigna secutse, Ccelorum facti cives, proceresque perennes, Currite in amplexus atque oscula, jungite dextras, Accipite banc animam, numeroque adscribite vestro. Spondeo non regno indecorem. Gratissimus astris Hospes adest, se sponte fores et limina pandunt. Non Coridon Coridon, non te fata improba nobis Eripiunt, falluntque preces, et inania vota. CODRUS. Vos Jovis aligeri comites, fidique ministri Ccelituum, vos militise pars maxima divum. Qui quondam patris imperium, quiquo arma secuti, Horrendas furiarum acies, animasque superbas Eumenidum, toto deturbavistis olympo : Vos quibus est nostras concredita cura salutis, Corporaque, atque ipsas hominura defenditis umbras, Hue alacres properato, ignites jungite currus, Suscipite banc animam, patrioque inducite Coelo. Non Coridon Coridon, non te fata improba nobis Eripiunt, falluntque preces, et inania vota. .358 EPITAPllIA METUICA. SARVISTUS. Tuque parens rciuni, Rex Omnipotentis Olympi, Prffiniia clans justis, scelerum certissime vindex, Tuque Dei soboles, Patris Imraortalis imago, .-Ti^qualisque Deus, qui crimina nostra piasti, Tuque sacrum Flamen, divini pignus amoris, Fcederis Arrha novi, consolatorque piorum Sancta Trias, Veneranda Trias, Deus unus et idem, Per fas, perque bonum, per fcedera sancta precamur, Promissamque fidem, per viscera tensa suprerai Regis, et immiti laniatum stipite corpus, Suscipite hanc animam, vestroque inducite Coelo. Non Coridon Coridon, non te fata improba nobis Eripiunt, falluntque preces et inania vota. CODRUS. Jamque vale, semperque vale, dignissime Pastor, Nam ruit, et tristi inficiens ferrugine Coelum Horrida nox, densis involvit cuncta tenebris. Et saturos ad castra greges, tutosque recessus Jam revocare monet, validisque obducere claustris. Custodesque canes vigili superaddere curse. Unde procul rabiem, tenerseque inhiantia prsedae Guttura despiciant ; placidissima gaudia somni Agniculi carpant, et loeta pace quiescant. Non Coridon Coridon, non te fata improba nobis Eripiunt ; falluntque preces, et inania vota. REVERENDISSIMI IN CHRISTO PATRTS ET DOMINI, PATRICII FORBESII, ANTISTITUM ABERDONIENSIUM OCELLI, ACADEMIC CANCELLARII ET INSTAURATORIS, CONSILIARII REGIT, TOPARCHiE COTHARISII, ETC. TOV €V dyioi?. ELOGIUM FUNEBRE.i XII. 1 AXIMUS exuvias posuit Ootharisius heros, Inter Grampiacos gloria prima Patres. Hoc prope ter senos Devana superbiit annos Prsesule, cognatis invidiosa Deis. Obruit hie veterum Semonum lumina ; luceni His tamen et laudes reddidit usque suas. ' [See Supra, pp. 6, 8, Notes. For the greater portion of the foUowirifr Notices of the Author of these lines — the amiable and accomplished Dr 360 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Unus hie inclinata stitit, labentia f'ulsit, Qu£e decessores constituere sui. William Leslie, Principal of King's College, Aberdeen, — the Editor is indebted to the accurate Editors of Gordon's tcots Aflfairs, [vol. iii. p. 231, Note] " Dr William Leslie was a descendant of the house of Kininvie, accord- ing to Dr Garden, or of the family of Crichie, according to Bishop Keith. He studied at tlie King's College and University, and was in 1617 chosen one of its regents. lie became its Sub-Principal in 1623 ; and about 1630 was preferred to be its Principal. ' Ye heard befor,' says Spalding, ' how Doctor Lesslie princiijall of the CoUedge of Old Aberdein, Doctor Sibbald minister in Aberdein, [siqyra, p. 119], and diverse others went to Berwick to the king. They came home with the town's commissioners in August. This Doctor Sibbald was wiellcouie, entered to his miuistrie in Aberdein, and served ther for a whyle : but Doctor Vv'illiam Lesslie being before de- posed, took himself to ane quiet chamber within the College, lived soberly in the toun upon his own charges, beheld patiently Doctor William Guild [siqyra, p. 93], occupy his})lace thereafter, and the changes in thir difficult times, lie was ane singular learned man, who could never be moved to swear and subscrive our Covenant, saying he would not hurt his conscience for woi'ldly means. He was never heard to speak immodestly against the Covenant nor procedure of thir times, but suffered all things with great patience, attending God's will ; none more fitt for learning, to his charge in the CoUedge, and thervvilh godly and grave. It is said the King gave him some money at Berwick, wherupon he lived for a short whyle ; and it is true he had no great means to the fore [left] of his own, at this time.' Hist, of Troub., vol. i. p. 172. ' Therafter, doctor Lesslie rendered the haill keyes of this coUedge, librarie, and all whilk he had, to doctor Guild, wherewith he shortly possessed himselfe. Doctor Lesslie was toUerat to keep ane chamber within the colledge to himself, wlierhi to ly and to study ; but bought his meat throw the Old Toun wher he pleased, with great modestie, resolveing with i^atience to abyde God's good will without murmuration or appearance of discontent, wher or in whatsoever societie he happened to be.' — Ibid. p. 329. " His deposition from the office of Principal is thus animadverted upon by the Parson of Rothiemay : — * To Doctor William Lesly was objected, that he was lazie, and neglective in his charge, and they strove to brande him with personall escapes of drunknesse ; and, finally, that he wold not subscryve the Covenant, etc., for which he was deposed, as the rest wer. I must pleade for him as for the rest, wherin I shall speacke truthe. His lazinesse might be imputed to his reteerd monasticke way of living, being naturally melancolian, and a man of great reading, a painefnll student, who delyted in nothing else but to sitte in his studye, and spend dayes and nights at his booke, which kynde of lyfe is opposite to a practicall way of living, lie never marryd in his lyfe time, but lived solitary ; and if sometymes to refresh himself, his frcends took him from his bookes to converse with them, it ought not to have been objected to him as drunknesse, he being knowne to have been sober and abstemiouse above his accusers. He was a man grave and austere, and e.NLcmplar. The Universitye was happy in havinge such a light as he, who was eminent in all (he sciences, above the most of EPITAPH lA METRICA. 361 Restituit disjecta unus, defecta, refinxit Omnia : sed mentis macta subinde novis. his age. He had studyed a full Encyclopedu' ; and it may be questioned whither he excelld most in divinity, humanity, or the languages, he being (of course) professor of the Hebrew and Divinitye. And it was tlier unhai)piuesse to wante him ; for since that tyme he was never paralleled by any Principall who succeeded him For some years therafter he lived private, in the house of the ilarquesse of Hmitlye, who was a freend to learning and learned men, and had him in great esteeme and' honour. After Huntly was engadged in the warre, Dr Lesly reteered to his kinnes- man, Alexander Douglasse of Spynye, a gentleman who entertaiud him till his death, which fell not out till after the Englishes were maisters of Scotland. He dyed of a cancer, whiche physitions know proceedes from melancoliouse bloode. Pittye it was that he left not mor behynde him of his learned workes ; but the reason was, his naturall bashefnlluesse, who had so small opinion of his owue knowledge, that he could scarce ever be gottne drawne for to speacke in publicke.' ' Hie est ille cujus eruditio omne genus, et sacra et exotica, omnibus qui eum norunt mage nota est, quani sibi. Hie est ille, qui si se aut nosset (qujB est ejus modestia, et de se existimatio exilis) aut nosse vellet, singulai-i ornamento nobis esse posset, ut jam plane magno est. Hie est ille denique qui etsi omnia non sciat, neque eniui hoc mortalis est, pauca tamen ignorat.' A. Strachaui Panegyric. luaug. in Aut. Acad. Aberd. p. 38. bir Thomas Urquhart writes — ' To the conversation of Dr William Lesly (who is one of the most profound and universal scholars now living), his friends and ac- quaintance of any literature are very much beholding, but to any books of his emission nothing at all ; whereat every one that knoweth him, woudi-eth exceedingly : and truly so they may ; for though scripturieucy be a fault in feeble pens, and that Socrates, the most learned man of his time, set forth no works : yet can none of these two reasons excuse his not evulging somewhat to the public view, because he is known to have an able pen, whose draughts would grace the paper with impressions of inestimable worth : nor is the example of Socrates able to apologize for him, unless he had such disciples as Plato and Aristotle, who having reposited iu their braines the scientifick treasures of their masters know- ledge, did afterwards (in tlieii* own works) communicate them to the utility of future generations : yet that this Caledonian Socrates (though willing) could not of late have been able to disjjose of his talents, did pro- ceed from the merciless dealings of some wicked Auites, Lycons, and ]Melits of the Covenant ; the cruelty of whose perverse zeal will keej) the effects of his vertue still at undei-, till by the perswasion of some honest Lysias, the authority of the land be pleased to reseat him into his former condition, with all the encouragements that ought to attend so prime a man.' Tracts, p. 123. Dr Garden describes him as ' Vii- egregie literatus, iu Unguis Orientalibus versatissimus, in Latina et Graeca Poeta eximius, cujus varia in utraque scripta adhuc exstant poemata. Eruditione poli- tiori insignis, cui omnes Authores Classici probe uoti ac familiares erant, in quos ei'uditas conscripsit notas ac emeudationes, quae, cum Vir eximius iniquitate temporum varie jactatus fuerit, intcrciderunt. Pra?lectiones habuit Theologicas antiquas quarum qua.'dam exstant.' Vita Johauuis 362 EPITAPllIA METRICA. Quod Schola nou .siiuallet, quod non EcclesiJi vasta est, Utraque Forbesio debet utrumque suo. XIII. IC Pater Ootharisi, ingens Patriaeque Pa- trumque Prresidium, quo Respublica stante stetit ; Quem Schola, quem Clerus, quern Plebs sanctusque Senatus Tarn recidivum optaiit, quam cecidisse dolent : Quis nobis, quid te eripuit ? Num effoeta senectus ? Vis morbi ? An potins vindicis ira Dei ? Foelicem perhibent, sua qui bona noverit : at nos Nee bona noranius, nee mala nostra satis. Nee satis in vita te totum agnovimus ; uno Nee quantum periit funere, scimus adhnc. Justi Elegii et lalemi Praeraetia, cum veris lachrymis posuit GuL. LESLiEUS, S. S. Theol. Doctor, Ejusdemque Professor, et Collegii Regii Gymnasiarcha in Academia Aberdoniensi. Forbesii, § 1. ' The many high encomiums,' tsays Dr Irving, ' bestowed on Dr William Lesley, must excite our deepest regret, that he should have bequeathed so small a portion of his knowledge to posterity. Although he was regarded as a profound and universal scholar, he never courted the fame of authorshij).' Lives of the Scotish Poets, vol. i. p. I'Sd. I'^din. 1814. Dr Garden has preserved in his life of Dr John Forbes (§ li.) a learned fragment by Leslie on the writings of Cassiodorus, ' Scriptorum Cassiodori accuratior Nomenclatura.' " According to Bishop Keith (Catal. of Scot. Bish., p. 30.0), Dr William Ijeslie was the brother of John ]>eslie. Bishop successively of the Isles, of Uaphoo, and of Clogher, fatlier of the excellent and learned Charles Leslie, the author of ' A Short and Easy Method with the Deists,' and many other admirable works." — K.] EPICEDIUM REVERENDISSIMI PATRIS PATRICII FORBESII A CORSE, EPISCOPI ABERDONENSIS, &c. QUI NATus Anno Domini 1564, mense Augusto, pie obi it Anno Domini 1G35, pridie Paschatis. XIV. ORSIUS occubuit Prsesul ; mens incola Coeli est, Corporis exuvias, quam premis, abdit hu- mus. Est Sacer hie mystte tumulus, venerabilis urna, Quam tegit ; augustus, quern eapit urna, cinis. Mens vivo sincera fuit, vox enthea, pectus Felle vacans, auris casta, benigna manus. Ingenii vis aeris erat, facundia melHs iEmula, judicii vicit utramque nitor. Ordo Sacer populique duces gravitatis in illo, Exemplar reliqui sobrietatis habent. Omnibus acceptum fecit conteraptus honorum, Et sibi commissi cura paterna gregis. Nullius in partes secedens ; juris et sequi Arbiter, et pacis saepe sequester erat. 3G4 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Nata siiiiul pietas, et pax fuit, utraque virtus Floruit hoc vivo, nunc pereunte perit. XV. 2. NSPICE natalem Forbesi, tempera vitoe Colligo, supremam mente revolve diem. Editus Augusto est : Patriis quod gessit in oris, Prsesul, id augusti muneris omen erat. Vixit Olympiadas bis septem : Condere tantum Ante diem Lachesis non fuit ausa jubar. Occidit hoc ipso quo CiiRlSTUS tempore, miles Christe tuus voluit te moriente mori. XVI. s. CCIDIT Aberdonse Prtesul Forbesius oi-se, Par cui Pontificum de grege nemo fuit, Marmoreis illi straverunt pontibus undas, Hie populo facilem fecit ad astra viam. Quas illi superis, JNIusis et egentibus ?edes, Struxerunt, hujus sustinuere manus. Quam fonnosa fuit tanti lux sideris autor, QuaB jubar hoc mersit tam fuit atra dies. XVII. 4. DSPICIS hicgelidam Forbesi Pr?esulisurnam, Qua sub Sole nihil sanctus orbis habit. Non tamen hie terris excessit sospite Nato, Pcctore qui totum spirat et ore patrem. Cousiushocsacro revirescit gerraine Phoenix, Et post exequias qui fuit ante manct. Artiu'uus Jonstonus,! Medicus Roijius. ^ [See Biograpliical Notice of Or Artliur Johnston, s('j>n/ p. 18, note.— K-l REVERENDISS. ILLUSTRISS. PRiESULIS, PATRICII FORBESII A CORSE, EPISCOPI ABERDONENSIS. PROSOPOPEIA.i XVIII. E mea majoi'um titiilis Libitina triumphet, Attalicis quamvis annumeraret avos. Hinc (ciii nil supcrcst) captet solatia vulgus. Est posita in DoMiNl gloria nostra cruce. Me crucis instituit vatem, me Prsesulis auxit Officio, vatum prseposuitque gregi. 1 [Dr William J hsstjn, the contributor of these verses to the C'ol- lection, " was the sixth and youngest son of George Johnston of that Ilk, by the Honourable Christian Forbes. He, as well as his immediate elder brother, Arthur, [inipra, Note, p. 18], studied at Marischal College. NViiliam afterwards taught philosophy at the University of Sedan, in Cormany, and from thence returning to his native country was, anno 1C26, appointed the first Professor of Mathematics in the University of Marischal College, Aberdeen, which Chair he occupied until his death. •iQQ EPITAPHIA METRICA. A cruce noster honos, Fidei crux anchora nostrte, A crucc nostra Jomus nomen et omen habet, " He married the fifth and youngest daughter of Abraham Forbes of Blacktoune, in Aberdeenshire, a cadet of the noble family of Forbes, and by tliis lady had one son and two daughters. He gave, anno 1632, to the Magistrates of Aberdeen, lOOOmei-ks Scots as a fund for the benefit of the poor. He also made presents of books to the library of Marischal College. Portraits of him, and of his Lady, by George Jameson, were in the possession of the late Andrew Skene of Dyce." [Genealogical Account of the Family of Johnston of that Ilk, by Alexander Johnston, jun. W.S. 4to. Edin. 1832, pp. 38, 39.] His death is thus noticed by the Parson of Rothiemay. — " Who will be pleased to tacke notice of the greate devastatione that befell Aber- deen iu thes tymes by the extinguishing of ther lights of learning wold thinke that the tjTue was ajjproaching that darknesse and ignorance should tacke upp their possessione ther. Dr William Forbesse, (first Bishop of Edinburgh, and author of the Considerationes Modestce et PaclficcB) ther minister, that most learnd and piouse divyne, was gone to Edinburgh, and deade ther. Dr William Gordon, pi-ofessor of medicine, {Infra, p. 368) dead this yeare in the spring. Dr Alexander Rosse, one of the ministers of the towne, deade lyckM'ayes about this tyme. {Supra, p. 169.) Thes wer followed by Dr William Johnstone, professor of the mathe- nuiticke in The CoUedge ^Nlarischall of New Aberdeene, a gentlman who, in his younger yeares, had been bredd in Spaine, and professed philosophy in the chaire of Nemause in Fraunce, weall seen both in the mathema- tickes and medicine. He dyed June fourteenth, before the sixtieth yeare of his age, suifocate with a squinance, a disease to which lie was much subjecte, being a corpulent man, and a sanguinean ; he was tackne awaye to the greate greefe of his freends and acipuiintance." — [Gordon's Scot.s' Affairs, vol. iii. pp. 208, 209, 210.] It has been said that " he Avrote on the Mathematicks ; his skill in the Latine was treuly Ciceronian." — Alaidmeut's Catalogues of Scotish Writers, p. 114. Panegyrical Latin verses by him are ^jrefixed to Dr Baron's Tetragonismum Pseudographum, Aberd. 1631, and to other works. He was, says Sir Thomas LTrquhart, "a good poet iu Latine, and a good mathematician acknowledged to be such (which was none of his meanest praises) by Master Robert Gordon of Straloch, one of the ablest men of Scotland in the mathematical faculties." — Sir Thomas Ui-quhart's Tracts, p. 125. Edin. 1774. " Quantum utercpie Johnstonus, ojusdem uteri, ejus- dem artis fratrcs, nuignum gentis, maximum suae Ampliss. familire decus, Mathesi profunda, (pumtum Poesi, & iu i)angendis carininibus valeant, iiovistis. Artiiurus, Medicus Regius, & divinus J'oeta Elegi;E & Epi- grammatis, quibus non solum suae ictatis homines superat, verum anti- quissimos quosque sequat : Gulielmcs rei Uerbariie, et Mathematuni (quorum Professor meritissimus est) gloria cluit. De Gulielmo certe idem usurpare possumus, quod olim de Tito Imperat. suavissimo dictum est, DeNcice est liumani generis; tauta est ejus comitas, tanta urbaiiitas. A. Strachani Panegyricvs Inavgvralis, p. 22." [Ibid. ]i. 210, note.] See also Dr Irving's Lives, Kdin. 8vo. 1S39, vol. ii. p. 39.] EPITAPUIA METRICA. 3G7 Crux mihi prsesidium fuerat, medicina doloris, Antidotum mortis, spes mea, vita, saliis. Jam resonat super astra crucem pars optima nostri, Accinit Angelicus me modulante chorus. Dumque meum claudent fatalia marmora corpus, Lseta celebrabunt marmora nostra crucem. Ut qui nascentur post secula multa nepotes Ossibus ill nostris hsec monumenta legant. Amoris debiti et moeroris symbolum posuit, Gui,. JONSTONUS, M.D. DULCISSIMIS MANIBUS ^TERN^QUE MEitORIiE PATRICII FOr.BESII BARONIS A CORSE, ILLUSTRISSIMI, PRUDENTISSIMI PR^SULIS ABERDONENSIS ERU- DITISS. REVERENDISS. INSTAURATORIS ET CANCELLARII UNIVERSITATIS VIGILANTISS, MUNIFICENTISS. M^CENATIS, AC PATRONI SUI DILECTISS. COLENDISS. THRENIS N^NIISQUE VIRGILIANIS PARENTAVIT DEVINCTISSIMUS ET MCESTISSIMUS CLTENS AC COGNATUS, GULIELMUS GORDONIUS,! MEDICINiE DOCTOR, ET EJUSDEM PUBLICUS PROFESSOR, IN ACADEMIA ABERDONIENSI. XIX. ^ENE ergo Venerande Pater, dum laeta veniret Invidet fortuna mihi,* seroque re- verso ^"••''• Urbe domuin, nusquam coram data copia fandi ? ^'n.in. Nee lieitum * extreraas audire et reddere voces ? ^En. i. 1 [See supra, p. 24, Note, and p. 366, Note.—Dr William Gordon was « Meflicinar" to the Marquoss of irimtly, and ProtVssor of Medicine in ^n.ll. Mu. 11. JEn.l. EPITAPHIA METRICA. 300 -En. 11. Hi nostri reditus, exspoctatitiue triumphi .En. 3. Hie labor extremus, longarum hsec nieta viarum ? .En. 11. Htec mea magna fides ?* hie me, pater optime, fessum ^"- ^• .En. 10. Deseris? *Hei raisero, nunc alte vulnus adactum. jEn. 2. Diis aliter visum. * Non hsee promissa parent! ^n.ii. ^n. 11. Discedens dederam, cum me complexus euntem -En. 9. Tot vatis oneras, et tot portanda darentur JEn. 3. Mandata, * et repetens iterumque iterumque moneres. ^-.n. 5. Turn vero in euras animus deducitur omnes. .En. 10. Nescia mens hominum fati, sortisque future. TEn. 11. Et nunc ipse quidem spe multum captus inani .En. 12. Prsecipitansque moras,* rebus jam rite peractis ^n. 4. .En. 7. Sublimisque in equis rediens pacemque reportans the University of Aberdeen. He appears frequently in the pages of Spalding and the Parson of Rothiemay, as employed by the Royalist party in negociations with the Covenanters. His death is thus alluded to by the former Chronicler :— " Dr Gordon, mediciner, and one of the founded members of the colledge of Old Aberdein, and common procurator therof, depairted this life upon the 10th of March [1640], in his own house in Old Aberdein ; a godly, grave, learned man, and singular in common works about the colledge, and putting up on the steiple therof most glo- rious, as you see, ane staitly crown, thrown down be the wynd before. Mr Robert Ogilvie, subprincipall, was chosen common procurator of the college in his roume."— Spalding's Hist, of Troubles, Bannatyne Club Edition, vol. i. p. 191. The following notices of Gordon are collected by the Editor of Gordon's Scots' Affairs: — " He is commemorated in Strachan's Panegyrical Oration on the founders and benefactors of the University of Aberdeen : ' Quam denique apte cum sublimi & tetherea suae artis contemplatione, facilem et expeditam praxin consociavit Gordonius ! Medicus & Alcymista eximius, setate quidem aliis minor ; at i)rudentia, morum gravitate, & vita sancti- monia (quam plerique dum causis secundis inhasrent negligunt) nemini secimdus : quibus omnibus de gente ilia (ex qua multi fuerunt, qui bello insignem gloriam pepererunt) posse etiam ingenia pacis artibus valentia prodire comprobavit." A. Strachani Panegyricvs Inavgvralis, quo Autores, Yindices, & EvergetsE Illustris Vniversitatis Aberdonensis, iustis elogiis ornabantur, pp. 22, 23. Aberd. 1631. Middleton speaks of him as "a very worthy person, of great judgment, and well seen in the science of physick." —Appendix to Archbishop Spottiswoode, p. 27. His son, James Gordon, parson of Banchory St Devenick, was the author of a work of which great erudition is not the only feature : " The Reformed Bishop : Or, XIX Articles, tendered by ,Xoc^x,7o;. A Well-wisher of the present govern- ment of the Church of Scotland, (as it is settled by law) in order to the further Establishment thereof. Printed for the author. Anno Dom. 1679." 8vo. Maidment's Catalogues of Scotish Writers, pp. 63, 115.]— Gordon's Scots Affairs, vol. iii. p. 128, 129, Note.— E.] 24 370 EPITAPH I A METUICA. Mi\. 8. Ingredior, verioque viam sermone levabam : ^n. 2. Hie mihi nescio quod trepido male Numen amicum, jEn.n. Et jam fama volans tanti praenuntia luctus, ^n. 8. Dum curse ambiguse, dum spes incerta futuri, iEn. 2. Confusam eripiunt mentem, quis talia fando jEn. 2. Teraperetalacrymis? *graviornamnuncius aures ^n. 2. ^n. 6. Vulnerat, extinctum, fatoque extrema sequutum. ^n.i2. Obstupui, varia confusus imagine rerum. ^n.i2. Ut primum discussae umbrse, et lux reddita menti, ^n. 11. Et via vix tandem voci laxata dolore est, iEn. 3. Dejicio vultum, * late loca questibus implens ; g. 4. .En. 10. Et csepi obductum verbis vulgare dolorem, iEn. 12. Multa gemens, * guttisque humectans grandibus ora, JEn. 11. ^n. 9. Hunc ego te Prsesul,* mea sola et sera voluptas .En. 11. iEn. 3. Scilicet amitto, curse casusque levamen ? ^n.io. 0 dolor atque decus patriae, * justissimus unus ^.n. a. JEn. 2. Qui fuit in Scotis, et servantissimus sequi. JEn. 10. Stat sua cuique dies, * nee te tua plurima Prsesul, JEn. 2. JEn. 2. Labantem pietas : nee Apollinis infula texit. ^n.ii. Nos alios hinc ad luctus eadem horrida bella ^n.ii. Fata vocant, salve seternum mihi maxime Prsesul, jed. 11. ^ternumque vale foelix, Verum hei mihi quantum ^n. 11. Prsesidium perdis misera Elphinstonia tellus ? G. 2. Non ego cuncta meis amplecti versibus opto : ^n. 1. Nee vacat annales tantorura audire laborum, ^n. 1. Gymnasii, sed summa sequar fastigia rerum. ^n. 9. Nee tam prisea fides facti quam fama perennis. ^n. 2. Principio fuimus Trees, fuit Ilium, et ingens JEn. 2. Gloria Teucrorum Priami dum regna manebant : JEn. 8. Aurea dum ut perhibent primis sub regibus essent ^n. 8. Ssecula, sic placida populos in pace regebant, Ec. 4. Sicilides Musse semper majora Canebant : EC. 6. Nee tantum Phoebo placuit Parnassia rupes, Ec. 6. Aut locus ullus erat quo so plus jactet Apollo, ^n. 8. Dcterior donee paulatim ae decolor setas, ^n. 8. Et belli rabies, et amor successit habendi. G. 3. Talis Hyperboreo septem subjecta trioni G. 3. Gens effraeno virum Cymbrseo tunditur Euro ; JEn. 8. Gensque virum truneis et duro robore nata, jEn. 5. Quam nee longa dies, pietas nee mitigat ulla : I EPITAPIIIA METRICA. 371. EC. 9. Nec curaro Deum credunt mortalia quenquam ? G. 3. (Dii meliora piis erroreinqiie hostibus ilium) ^n. 6. Aggressi manibus magnum rescindre Coeluni, ^n. 3. Et Patrio Musas insontes pellere regno : ^n. 6. Ausi omnes immane nefas, ausoque potiti. ^n. 2. Et tu qui plumbum sacrato avellere Templo, ^n. 1. Et statuas, scelere ante alios immanior omnes, jEn. 1. Quos inter ccecus venit furor ac amor auri. ^n. 2. Quis fando cladem Patrite nostrique Lycsei Mn. 2. Explicet, aut posset lachrymis asquare dolorem i ^n. 2. Postquam sacrilegi violassent dona IMinervse, G. 1. Impiaque seternam timuissent secula noctera : jEu. 2. Ex illo fluere et retro sublapsa referri -En. 6. Musarum splendor,* donee tu raaximus ille es .En. 6. Unus qui nobis collapsam restituis rem, JEn. 5. Dum melior vires sanguis dabat, semula necdura Temporibus geminis canebat sparsa senectus. Gymnasii infandos primus miserate labores, Primus Aberdoniam, (nam sors ea prima laborum) Keytheo reditus deduxti vertice Musas. Et nos reliquias furum terrpeque marisque, Omnibus exhaustos prope cladibus, omnium egenos Fovisti, et nostro doluisti seepe dolore, Et recidiva manu posuisti pergama Teucris. Euge Pater, nam te voluit Rex Magnus Olympi Talibus auspiciis exsortem ducere honorem ; Ante leves ergo pascentur in sethere eervi, Quam tuus e nostro labatur pectore vultus : Tarn bene apud memores veteris stat gratia facti. Semper honos nomenque tuum laudesque manebunt. Non opis est nostrfe grates persolvere dignas. Dii tibi, quseque pios respectant numina manes, Dii si qua Ooelo est pietas quae talia curet, Proemia digna ferant. quse te tarn Iseta tulerunt Secula ? Qui talem tanti genuere parentes ? ^n. 5. Jamque dies fatalis adest, quem semper acerbum, ^n. 5. Semper honoratum Collegia nostra tenebunt. ^n. 5. Quare agite o juvenes,* quod rebus restat egenis, Xu. 9. JEn. 5. Prsesulis extremum moesti eelebremus honorem, ^n.u. Funerese prseeantque faces, via luceat omnis A'.n. u. Ordine flammarum, et late discriminet agros ^n. 5. ^n. 1. G. 3. G. 3. Aiu. 1. JEn. 1. JEn. 1. JEn. 4. JEn. 5. Mn. 5. Eel Eel ^n. 4. JEn. 1. JEn. 1. JEn. 1. JEn. 2. JEn. 1. JEn. 1. 372 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Mn. 9. Interea moestam volitans pennata per urbem, ^n. 9. Nuncia faraa ruat, * viresque acquirat eundo, -'En. 4. G. L Vertantur species animoruni, et pectore motus, JEn. 2. Luctus ubique pavor, et plurima mortis imago. jEn.i2. Turn studio effusse raatres, et vulgus inermum, jEn.12. Invalidique senes turres et tecta domorum ^n.i2. Obsideant, alii portis sublimibus adstent. jEn.u. Et moestEe Iliades crinem de more solutse ^n. 1. Suppliciter tristes, et tunsse pectora palmis. JEn. a Tympana campanaeque et rauco eornua cantu JEn.ii. Incendant moestam magnis clangoribus urbem. Mn. 4. Sed quis Academite cernenti talia sensus ? Mn. 4. Quosque dabis gemitus, cum compita fervere late ^-n. 4. Prospicies arce ex summa, totamque videbis ^n. 4. Misceri ante oculos tantis clamoribus urbem ? ^n. 4 Improbe amor, quas non mortalia pectora cogis ^n. 4. Ire iterum in lacrimas * largosque effundere fletus? .En. 2. ^n.ii. Praecipuus fragor, et longi pars maxima luctus ^.n.ii. Gymnasio incumbat, puerisque parentibus orbis. ^n.i2. Inque vicem * pars ingenti succede feretro, ^n- e. ^n. 6. (Triste ministerium) * sunt hsec solatia luctus JEn.n. JEn.u. Exigua ingentis, * solennes ordine pompas -En. 5. Mn. 5. Ad Tumulum magna populi comitante caterva, JEn. 11. Postquara omnis longe comitum prsecesserit ordo, ^n. 2. Quo Deus et quo dura vocat fortuna, sequamur. G. 5. Et Tumulum facite, et Tumulo superaddite carmen, ^n. 6. uEternumque locus FoRBESi nomen habeto. ^n. 8. Pro Tumulo tellus quse sit tibi gratior ulla JEn. 5. Quam qure DuMBARi gremio complectitur ossa, Ain. 1. Daedaliusque Tholus media testudine Templi ? JEn. 2. Hue tandem concede, hsec ara tuebitur ambos. jEa 6. Quantos Macorio Sacer aut Antistitis sedi .En. 6. Campus aget gemitus i Vel quae tu DoNA videbis ^n. 6. Funera, cum Tumulum prseterlabere recentem ? ^n. 3. Vivite fa>lices animae, quie munere vestro JEn. s. Gymnasium Maria) votum inmiortale sacrastis. ^n. a Fortunati ambo, et foelici tempore nati. JEn. 9. Quae vobis qme digna viris pro talibus ausis Ma. 9. Proemia posse rear solvi I * pulcherrima saltern -En. 9. JEn. 9. Spondet Virgilius si quod sua Carniina possint. A.n.ic. Si qua fidem tanto est operi latura vetustas, EPITAPHIA METRICA. 373 .En. 9. Nulla dies unquam memori vos eximet sevo, jEn. 8. Et gnatis gnatorum, et qui nascentur ab illis. JEn. 9. Dumque Elfhinstoni capitolia celsa camoena jEn. 9. Accolet, iraperiumque pater mitratus habebit. Ec.4 Namque hsec ipse equidem spatiis exelusus iniquis. Ec.9. Ne videar nitidos interstrepere anser olores, G. 4. Praetereo, atque aliis post commemoranda relinquo.^ ^ [These verses may be thought more creditable to the ingenuity and dexterity of the author, than to his poetical powers. The particular passages in Virgil referred to may be found with the assistance of an ordinary Index Vocabulorum to the ^neid, &c. — E.] REVERENDI PATRIS, PATRICII FORBESII, ABERDONENSIUM EPISCOPI, PR/ESULIS, PIETATE, SAPIENTIA, ET DOCTRINA SPECTATISSIMI, EPIOEDIUM.i XX. UNEREIS tot Isesa notis si marmora quaeras : Quae sint ! FoRBESi sunt monumenta patris, ^- ■> Nobilibus qui natus avis, non degener ipse, ;^k^ Ante alios meruit nobilitare genus : Cui Solomon exemplar erat, qui sacra caducis Antetulit sophise jura cupidinibus. 1 [We learn from Priucipal Baillie, that Dr Robert Main, — the author of these lines, — was a native of Glasgow [Letters and Jour- nals, Edin. MDCCCXLii. vol. iii. p. 402.] He was elected one of the Regents of the College there in 1635, and in 1637 appointed Professor of Medicine, with a salary attached to the office. But he had probably taught medicine before this formal ai)pointment ; and hence he here subscribes himself " Professor Philosophiai et Medicinse." In the Act of Visitation of the College by the General Assembly of date 17th November 1642, he is called " Mr Robi-rt Maine, Professor of Medi- cine." In 1643, Baillie, in writing to his friend Spang, describing the EPITAPHIA METRICA. 875 Nam cum forte Viro fundus superesset avitus, PATRlcioque satis vivere more daret : Tempsit opes, titulosque leves, Pastorque vocari Maluit (o Proceres !) atque vacare sacris. Tanto pavit oves studio, Babylonis ut inde Terruerit rapidos cum meretrice lupos. Non sic Inachise centeno lumine vacc?e Servavit gressus Argus, ut ille gregem. Foelix usque De.e, foelix fuit accola DoN^ : Flexanimo quoties hausit ab ore sonos, Aut quoties justa librantem facta bilance Dicentemque suis jura videre fuit, A stream quis tunc terras liquisse fuisset Questus, et hand ipsam jura tulisse Themiu ? Novit Abredonius meritorum pondera civis, Novit, et in fastis connumerata tenet. Hunc ea lux memorat Bona qua Concordia discors Ipsa minansque sibi consiliata sibi est : Nee tacet ilia dies sacro celebranda Lyceo Qua reditus auxit Palladiumque chorum ; Progeniemque suam Jovis alitis obtulit instar. Vis cui Phoebseum sustinuisse jubar : Non fuerat satis hoc, aris servire parentem, Arte sed et soboles erudienda pari : Quis Phoebo Phsetonta parem, parilique rotatum Axe, per Arctoas crederet esse plagas I Occidit ille tamen ! Virtus si nescia fati est, Non conclamandus quam prius orbis erat. Occidit ! Est ea lex natis adnata, nee ulli Fit Genetrix, cui non sit Libitina, Venus, At quse fata negant, Superorum gratia prsestat, Et pompa instaurant funus inoccidua. state of the University of Glasgow, says — " Dr Maine in the Friday's afternoini and other dyetts, hath very elegant discourses on the choycest Phisick questions." In 1644 his name is appended, with those of others, to a laAV or regulation of the Faculty, as to the leading of books from the College Library, and he subscribes, Rohertus Magnus Medkince Professor lie died in 1646, as appears from the inscription on his Monument printed in M'Ure's View of the City of Glasgow (Glasgow, mdccxxxvi p. 258.) x\t his death the Professorship of Medicine fell into abeyance and was not revived till 1714. Several of the above notices the Editor owes to the politeness of Dr .John Smith, the learned and obliging Socre tarv of the Maitland Club. — E.J 376 liPITAPIllA METRICA. Spiritus ipse Dei supremas coUigit auras, PolHnctorque lavat FiLius ipse Dei. Justititeque toga praetexit corpora pura, Curat et efferri sic decorata domo. Ante triumphata impietas, et Numinis error, Px'ostratseque acies cum duce tartareae. It comes ambigua coelestis fronte caterva, Carmen et Aonides exequiale canunt. Jamque rogo positvmi et terrena mole carentem Consecrat, et summa collocat arce Pater. Qualis erit Ooelo radianti Lucifer orbe, Justorum qui tot millia salva dedit ? Parentabat Eobertus Magnus, Professor Philosophise et Medicinse, in Academia Glasguensi. JOANN. V. 35. 'l^K€ivo9 ^v 6 \v-^vo9 6 Ka\6iui.€vo9, Kcu (paivcov. PR^SULIS MERITISSIMI, PATRICII FORBESII, ABERDONENSIS EPISCOPI, F (E L I C I M E M O R I ^, SACRAVIT HOC CARMEN. XXL I UID me jubetis vernulam vestri Chori ^' Quem vix Apollo Delius Adspexit unquam, vix Camoenfe virgines Culto bearunt Carmine, Deflere surdos lachrymosa Nsenia Manes verendi Prfesulis ? An tu silebis mater Abredonia, Et sancta nutrix artium, Quarum Lyeei fama docti verticem Aquavit astris editura I Num versa retro gloria, ut fautor tuus, Patronus et vindex obit : 378 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Qui ssevientes civium discordias Pacis sequester sustulit. Nun(juid jaces afflicta ? Solare ut jubar Insigne toti ScoTIiE Moestis ademptum coetibus mortalium Prsesul cadit FoRBESius ? Fallacis horse prjeda fatalis suraus, Vivamus annos Nestoris ! Crudele fatum ! Funus ingentis viri Moerore rapti publico Effertur. Orbis luget orbus luraine, Nondumque vulnus percipit. Sternitque csecus Templa Musarum pavor Lseva cupressu consita. Pallcns Apollo foedat augur tempora Prseeincta Lauro Delphica. Cypris parentat, ssevus et prsepes puer Hoc mortis ictu saucius : Non ilia risu gaudet, hie raoerens nequit Arcum minacem tendere. Quos nee sequetur pulchra triplex Gratia Per nota Cypri littora. Mellita Pitho felle miscet pocula Multum fluentis nectaris. Intacta Pallas dsedalas artes suas Oppressa luctu negligit. Vocalis Hermes pacifer, Talariger Non dicta portat coelitus. Astrsea virgo cessit, et mater Themis Jus fasque terris invidet. Cum casta divum lancinentur pectora Luctus recentis conscia Morum magistri, vos sophorum principes, Mystsc sacrorum praesides, Plorate patres infulis circundati Et veste puUa incedite. En illc vestri splendor ingcns ordinis Fit pulvis, umbrae somnium : En qui perenni dignus est vita frui, Fit csca putris vermium. EPITAPHIA METRICA. 379 Ah quantus Heros inclytus tot dotibus (Mox ilicet) vobis fuit : Doctrinse abyssus, seculi miraculum, Gentisque princeps aurese, Fax et virorum flos venustatis raerus, Integritatis regula. Desideratur, posthumse laudis satur, Minoe dicam judice. Quis tale damnum sarciat ? Quis figere Legem dolori quiverit I Pastor popello montium sparso jugis Monstrando vitse semitam, Prsesul relapsam disciplinam moribus Finnando priscis ritibus, Prsestans Senator consulendo maximis Rebus salutis publicse, Pastor, senator, pniesul, unusque omnia Claudetur urna fictili. Ut terra terrse redditur, mens ignei Tradux Olympi, caelitum Vescetur aura, nubium tractus vagos Tranans stupendis ausibus. O quanta virtus ! Quanta mens ac indoles Jam despicit terrse pilam : lUustre semper nomen in terris erit ti's"i'n"iuc''J"'" Dum sol serenat nubila, tum.* '''"^"' Fluenta DoNiE dum nitentis et Deje Labuntur in vastum mare, Vir mentis acer, nota eui sunt abdita Coelestis aulse dogmata. Quot scripta Veri lucidis ex fontibus Exhausit, sevo pignora Tot sacrat : alta plurimamque indagino Vatis JOANNIS alitis commenta- Nobis revelans entheata oracula, hanni'"Apo- Queis Romuli regnum Jovis caiypsm. Dirum per omnes diditum mundi plagas Cunctis patescit gcntibus. Quem fulminantem rupe Tarpeia sacri Verbi rctundit fuhnine, 380 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Qui sit bidental triste contemptoribus Coelestis irse ac niiminis. Qui sit vocandus mystici jure et gregis Pastor, lupus qui sit vorax, Foedi luperci, lustra prsegnantis lupse Charta loquenti disserit. Nostri redemptor, gentis humanse salus, Et fons amoris perpetis, Coeli priusquara jacta sunt fundamina Elegit almam conjugem, Charam pudicam conspicandam virginem, Per quam stat orbis Machina. Quae proh i nefandi criminis tetra lue Et temporum contagio Eviluit, languore terpens dutino, Oblita forma3 pristinse. Ni nuper omnes adderes vivas notas EuBULE pictor nobilis Qui bracteatas explicasti voculas, Et futiles argutias : Quas ventilate conspuendus Syrmate Romanus urget pontifex. Quid vela pando ? naufrago ponto ratem Committo ? Pennis Dsedali Annitor l Audens Pegasi vestigia Prseverto plantis i ^mulo Contendo nisu qua volastis prsevii Vena Poet?e fervida ? Ad sacra quorum confero moestum melos, Hocque ingeni donarium Appendo celsi nominis sacrario : Quo Prsesulem Forbesium Vixisse noscat gens futura et posterum Qualem vetat mors emori. Sed quid dolemus ? Nunc secundis plausibus Ducenda pompa est funeris. Congratulandum sospiti est e tot malis Quot vita prsesens plectitur. Emersus undis ille, tempestatibus Tmmergimur nos horridis. 6. Etlibelluni vere aureum de vocatione Pastorum Evangelieo- rum. Et egregium opus de na- tura et notis verse ecclesise quod nierito EuBVLis in- Rcribitur. EPITAPHIA METRICA. 381 lUi quies jam parta, nos curis adhuc Distringimur mordacibus. Illi triumphus maximus, sed prselium Nobis, cruentum, multiplex. NiNIANUS CaMPBELLUS,! Apud Divi Macolmi, in Dioecesi Glasguensi, Kal. Januar. 1636. ^ [NiNiAN Campbell was the incumbent of the parish of Kilmalcolm in Renfrewshire, now within the Presbytery of Paisley. He was trans- lated to Roseneath in 1653. — E.] m OBITUM REVERENDISSIMl IN CHRISTO PATRIS, PATRICII FORBESII, PRiESULIS ABERDONENSIS, SANCTIORIS CONSILII SCOTICANI, SENATORIS PRUDENTISSIMI, DOMINI A CORSE, ETC. MJilCENATIS ET PATRONI SUI COLENDISSIMI, QUI DIE 28 MARTII 1635, VITAM CUM MORTE COMMUTAVIT. E L E Ct I A. XXII. CENIBUS his clausus, dormit Cotharistius Heros, Stemate preclariis, phospborusque nitens. _^ . . .. Dotibus ingenii Phoenix, qui Flamine Sancto ^v'z:^^^^^ Imbutus, docuit dogmata vera fidei. Patri par Lybico Scriptis, par pondere, ncciion Doctrina, ingenio, simphcitate, fide. Canities veneranda, beato traniite sancta? Jiistitise in Coelum pcrpetuavit iter. Ille ilhistre jubar, quo decedente ruit nox, Et rerum tristes heu subiere vices. Praesul Patricius, deflenda morte Britannis Oecubuit, Patriee gloria, gentis honos. RoBERTUS Watsonus, Prosbyter, Parochus Grangensis, in Diwccsi Moraviensi. ALLEGORIA, QUA REVEEENDISSIMI IN CHRISTO PATRIS, PATRICII FORBESII, EPISCOPI ABERDONENSIS, MUNIFICENTISSIMI EUERGETiE BENEFICIA PRiECIPUA, IN INCLYTISSIMAM ET CELEBERRIMAM UNIVERSITATEM ABERDONIENSEM COLLATA, QUA FIERI POTUIT BREVITATE SUMMATIM RECENSENTUR : IN QUA REVERENDISSIMUS PR^SUL PALINURO ET ACADEMIA NAVI, RITE COMPARANTUR, TANDEMQUE AD MORTEM LACIIRYMiE ET PALINURI ABSENTIS DESIDERIUM CORONIDIS LOCO SUBNECTUNTUR. AUTHORE DAVIDE LEOCH^O,i ACADEMIC SUB-PRIMARIO, PHYSIOLOGIiE ET INFERIORUM MATHEMATUM PROFESSORE. ^^^^^^ Rn-ONF. (Dii faveant) sine Rege et Remige, )jiWj|||^^P| Regia, per pelagi rabieni jactata, pererrat ^^^1^^^ Exposita innumeris, Palinuro absente, pe- Dii prohibere nefas : tuque invictissimi Nereu ^ [See a Biographical Notice of David Leitch, iuiyra, p. 235, Note. — E.] 384 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Miserabilem Academiae statum sub obitum'C'an- celliirii sui allegorice de- scribit. Hue ades, et Nautis paulum succurre relictis : serenilai-"^ Hos hauri gomitus : has has Pater excipe nostras u^r^gem! Turbatas lachrymarum undas, cui summa potestas Cessit et Arctoi Sceptrura Imperiale profundi, Hei miseranda Ratis, queis nunc immersa periclis ! Quo sine Rege ruis ? qure te, quae tarda moratur Vis Remorse, irati vastum per inane profundi Tendentem, validisque aptantem Oarbasa ventis? Tene tulit rapidas Fortuna secunda per undas Hactenus indemnem? spoHisque beavit opimis Improbus invicti labor, et pia cura Magistri ? Nuper an aurato radiabat Prora pyropo : Celsaque Hyperboream tangebant vela Booten ? Nuper an Herculeis Nautse incubuere lacertis, Dedaleaque unctos sinuabant arte Rudentes ? Transtra per et latebras, imasque in puppe cavernas Quisque suum curabat opus ? faustoque Magistri Omine, concordi festiva Celeusmata voce Nautarum exhilarata cohors geminabat I et ?ere JE.Te ciere alios, Martemque accendere cantu ? Quo duce Finitimse non intumuere Carinse, Sed sua seposito submisit Carbasa fastu Obvia quseque Ratis : visuque exterrita tanti Prsesidis, huic nostras solvebat Sostra Carinse : Quo duce foelici per tot vada caerula ductu Vecta Ratis, (currente hilari per Transtra Juventa) Spreverat ii-ati stridentia fulmina Coeli, Spreverat oppositi Technasque minasque Liburni, Spreverat et rigidi brumalia flamina Cori, Spreverat undarumque oestus, Coelique procellas Diraque cseruleis latitantia monstra sub undis. Die Pater ! queis ante tuum disrupta fenestris Regia Puppis erat Regimen I quassata sinistro Fulmine, disparibus miserc vexata Magistris, Privatis spoliata bonis, viduata Ministris, Manca suis membris, stolidi(iue opprobria Vulgi Passa diu, disrupta latus, cui nulla salutis Anchora, vel miseris congesta Viatica Nautis Praesto aderant, modici nedum vel copia Lembi Navita quo siccum peteret, sociisque relictis Frugiferce importct Cercalia Munia Terra? : Jtiserabilem Acadfiiiiii' statum, nnto sanotissi- mum Pr.Tsu- lis advcntum allegorice de- pingit. PcrLcnibuni, Scholam grainmatica- lein, Acade- niin" Seniina- riuin InteLli- git. EPITAPHIA METRICA. 385 Orba foris, contoque et plexi vimine Scalini, Vexillisque, Tubisque, et purpureis Aulseis Queis ElphinstoniusI puppim ditaverat Heros : Caetera quid memorem ? Telluris inutile pondus, Truncus iners, Pelagi foex, et sine nomine corpus, Quale annosa solet sicca putrescere arena Puppis, ab emerito, merito suspecta Magistro. Scilicet hoc quodcunque raali, prjesagus in ipso insignis diu- Viderat ingressu Palinurus, et agmine facto suussubip- o . sum jngres- Ocyus adflictae conscendit transtra Carinse, uemiam'*^''*' Imgemuitque deditque has imo pectore voces : p^^suf'et"^ Adspicis hoc Neptune nefas 1 Ut tarda moretur, Rpgi'jacobo Nescio quae Torpedo Eatem, quam provida primum nfemori^^^'^*'^ Cura Elphinstonii vestris commiserat undis ? Funda°tor7s"' Scilicet ille olim Vestras, vesterque Sacerdos phi.vsto'nu. Hoc construxit opus, vestroque dicavit honori : Qualis lo, turn qualis erat, cum turgida primum Vela dedit Pelago, placideque e littore solvens Tantara cseruleis ter bellica Buccina Divis Edidit, atque imum sonitu tremefecit Avernum. Nunc 0 nunc quantis immergitur ecce periclis ; desc^ptfo Cassa Gubernaclo, patuas et hiulca Cavernas, pHmam'^us-*' Orba solo, jactata salo, solique relicta nem.*^'^^''*'" Ipsa sibi, et diris hominum spoliata rapinis 1 Quare age vos vasti domitor Neptune profundi 4i^l!^abiUs Confer opem, dum spes superest : faxo omine fausto fut\"s*p"r''lo'- Rite Ratis rabidi superet vada caerula Ponti, nuiio?um°°°" Si modo magnanimis faveant pia Numina cseptis. et'sacrn'egiuni TVT -ivT • • • tj j_ ij. nonuUorum Nec mora, Navigmm pernix conscendit, et alta cubcmato- De puppi, ingentem Scelerum speculatur Abyssum primariorum. Errorumque immane Chaos : sine Remige pinum ingressjus T- _ . PrfBSulis m Nutantem, subitaque minantem clade ruinam, Academiam ' T. ' primus. Quique superfuerant somno torpente sepultos Una omnes : Clavo dextra, Sceptroque sinistra ^nl^rep- Arreptis, contendit ovans, puppimque ruentem ^"'*' Eriffit, et mediis sensim protrudit in undis : PaucUas <-j ' _ i- Membrorum Post-modo letifero obductos captosque veterno mira, eomn- ' A^ ^ dcmque Osci- Suscitat, et dictis Nautas affatur amicis : t'^"''^ Sicne jaces moribunda Cohors ? Mollem excute somnum, 1 [William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen, the founder of the Uni- versity, a Prelate whose memory will ever be revered. He sat in the Sea from 1484 till bis death in 1514.— E.] 251 386 EPITAPHIA METRTCA. Ocyus evigila, et velis immitte rudentes : Nonne vides ut nunc maria undique et undique da PrasuuV, 10 ad tantilluni COelum I Academic Nonne vides Helenem, proram puppimque tenen- proU^ore euperfuerat. tem Assolet adflietis cladem quae inferre Carlnis l Cernis ut immenso distet Terra intervallo, Humidaque horrisono pr£eceps ruat Oceano nox ! Utque undis impulsa, procul de littore puppis variapericuia. Trudatur ruitura, epotoque ebria Nereo poniTprL^ifi^ Fluctuet : et nimio fundum petat sequoris haustu, Academi^''^™ Passa trucis Borese rabiem, miserescite vestri piorat? Si qua piis pietas, si qua est vel cura salutis : Erige te secura cohors : timer omnis abesto : Ductor erit Palinurus, erit dum spiritus artus Hos reget, et portum incolumes imraittet in ipsum, Si modo Dii faveant ; mode si mihi Castor amicam Porgat opem PoUuxque, aliis dabo carbasa ventis, Regalemque Ratem propria statione reponam. Interea, antiquae quae sint Fundaraina Navis phinltJSa^' Prima rogat : primi quse sint Monumenta Magistri p.suuat""™ Scripta manu, vitreo Neptuni impressa Sigillo I ^'^''" " Sidere quo constructa ratis sit? quove Marini Principis arbitrio, per tot vada cserula ponti wum p?o Ilactenus emersere 1 olli obstupuere silentes, norluu'ia.'^' Conversique oculos inter se, atque ora tenebant. Turn senior, curis multum confectus et sevo Per TUerum ' _ _ C lariss. et Thserusi ad haec Domino : quorsum o quorsum ista yf"„nf jf p* iUlUlisLlOS ^ ^ telligitpro Poscis ? sacrilego Glaucus^ nam talia nisu il^i'Rlg^s^" Ipse Pater pridem Lethseis tradidit undis : p^mdw^-\im Nos reliqui in curis vitara traduximus omnem : Pr'manum. Ista equidem nos ista latent : nisi quod Pater olim Ad mortem Glaucus carieque situque sopultas Has dederit Chartas : quod si quae talibus insit Utilitas, tute ipse vide : Tranavimus sequor ^ [Dr David Rait was the immediate predecessor of Dr "William Lesly (supra, p. 360), in the office of Principal of King's College, Aberdeen. — E.] ^ [Under the name of Glaucus the poet aj)pcars to represent Dr Alexander Anderson, who was I'rincii)al of the University of Aberdeen at the Reformation, by whom some of its revenues were alienated, and a portion of its books and other property dispersed. — E.] EPITAPHIA METRICA. 387 Vctoruni Cliartarum exliibitio. Oymmerii fateor : tenebras tu discute nostras. Sf jri^^'T" '^' Nee mora, Cliartarum confusa Volumina, laetus MsquailL'^"^" Sumit : et ista acri noctesque diesque revolvens Judicio, antiquae Fundamina prima Carinse Reoperit, aurato Neptuni impressa Sigillo : Queis hilarata pii mens irrequieta Magistri Pergit, et oppressos somno simul excitat omnes Quotquot erant, vixdiim numerum, tantoque labori £[tOTfsfuS'da- Imparem, et alloquiis animos demulcet amicis, duigen'tiss'ime Corporaque Ambrosia refieit languentia Iseta : peTiJ^tJJ.'^ Dat victum, dat opes, dat debita pristina Nautis Dona Elphinstoniis, armisque instruxit avitis Et stimulis Nautas baud mollibus incitat omnes Addidit et sociis socios : Phoebique ministrum Bisephorum eloquio insignem, et coelestibus armis. Annua numinibus celebret qui festa marinis, Diaque coelitibus persolvat Thura beatis. Ilicet hie ille est divi Genitoris imago Viva, decus pelagi, tantoque propago parente Digna, parens tanto quoque exhilaratur Alumno Quem merito Arctous Semonem suspieit orbis : Puppis honos et amor : genitore seeundus ab ipso : Uniea eui innocuae eommissa est eura Carinae, Qui, quam sollieite puppique sibique suisque Invigilet, vasti tester vos numina penti. Scilieet hoc Pahnure tuum sanctumque piumque donensi a's'e^ Primum opus, hsee saeri fuerant primordia eultus : Frasuie Pati-e Ter foelix purse qui relligionis Asylum Reddidit hane nostram pulsa impietate Oarinam Interea incoeptis perstat fcelicibus Heros ; Barbariemque procul removens, civilia Nautis Nova oreetio vetoriim Mem- brorunj. Imprimis sta- l>ilitur Profes- sio is. S. Theo- logiae. Kcvercndum et Clarissi- mum D. D. JOANNUI FORBESIUM, S. S. Theolo- gize Doctorem subinnuit, ejusdemqiie Professorem rite designa- tum in Uni- 2o. Stabilitur Professio Ju- ris Civilis, Profcssore Jura dat, invieto quondam prseeunte Ohorammo ; sandilandio, • n T-k 1 TVT T» quem per Eceum, qui fausto Pelagus, Nautasque Ratemque chorammum Online, legitimis instruxit legibus, et qui Primus ab invieto foelieiter omnia rexit Prseside ; quem senium nisi detinuisset euntein (Continuus eui morbus adest comes) ilieet idem Maxima mansisset recidivse gloria puppi : Cujus adhue gnato (licet ingruat segra senectus) Consilio regimur ; justa qui singula lance Pensitat occulta; penetrans in viscera causae. subinnuit. 388 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Nec tamen heic invicta probae solertia mentis p^fe^^io m"J[ Constitit : innumeris sed cum conspexerit segrum tl^rTo'vliEl^-^ VulneribusNautarum agmen; claruminsuperaddit M°edicrns"""'' Nogrodum, Achyllseo morbos qui pelleret ausu, ^o^tore. Quique Machaonia curaret vuhiera dextra : Qui passim emeritis clarescit honoribus, et qui Instruit ignaros foelici hac arte Tyrones, Utilis, et lacerje importans non pauca Carinse Commoda, Venturis nunquam non pervia saeclis. Instat adhuc puppis Domitor: dat iuraMinistris i^- ftabiiuur ^ IT L r J Professio Ju- Sacra suis ; rixasque procul veteresque tumultus rjscanonici, Submovet. Et puppi leges praescribit eunti, sI^dilakdio Chorammo prseeunte ; Patrem qui passibus sequis ie°«)Te^del'ig- Moribus et vita insequitur : qui laude perenni °^*°" Gregoriana avidae volvit Decreta juventse : Cccrula cui meritam plectit Galatea corollam Ex hedera, lauruque, et purpureis hyacinthis ? Prefer, et incseptura placide sic perfice pensum Nate Deo, nostrse recolens sacra jura Carinse. Perstat adhuc Gnari mens irrequieta Magistri, So. staMiitur i _ o ' Proiessio Mu- Exhilaratque segras dulci modulamine mentes : loreb^Gi^L-' Dat quartum, qui vel Cy thara, vel voce canora ^^^"^^ kossw. Concitet harmonicis ccelestia Numina Rythmis : Ilicet hie ille est redivivus Thracius Orpheus, Carmine qui fluvios ; vel Methymnaeus Arion, Qui plectro mediis Delphinum flectere in undis Assolet : hie primus princepsque Choraula Carinse est Coelica dulcisono celebrat qui Numina cantu. Instat ovans : et opus solito dux perficit ausu, i>- Joanni . . . . . LlND.EO, Addit opes, et opem reliquis : validique Ledani anioeniorum Luxuriantem animum merita mercede remulcet, rrofesson an- ' nuos reditus Prima cui indomitse commissa est cura juventse : guh'^^^Per mV- Qui licet indociles Navali hac arte Tyrones quatuorRl- Imbuat, informetque : olii tamen Entheus ardor bi"i'^ia)VnnuVt, Quo valet Arcturumque, ipsosque notare Triones, sin'guiisfi'"o- A, • • • i. /-\ • fessorcs rcd- rmatumque auro circumspicit Uriona. didit prasui /-\ ' 1 n • ' • -tr' ad niaxiinuin Quid reieram m socios cura regnnenque Mmores Academia; (Ipse Pater toti quod declaravcrat orbi) Qui nunc provectae invigilant cum laude Juventse Quisquo Gregis proprii inspector, licet ordine quondam Confuso illicitoque, vagre cum clade Juventse ? EPITAPHIA METRICA. 389 Caetera quid memorem ? Victum viresque virosque Addidit, innocute post tot dispendia puppi Annua securis importans comraoda Nautis Marte suo, solus solus Palinurus, amico Per xiito- Tritonum auxilio : constans quos cura Carinse ruw Renos'"' Tangit adhuc, si quis contra vel pestifer Auster gubinnult Spiret, et hac rursum vel carbasa tensa retrorsum Concutiat, fluctusve ratem decumanus, iniqua Opprimat alluvie, nimiaque aspergine laedat. Nee tamen heic, requiem treraulis dux praebet ocellis, Sed ratis horrendas reficit sarcitque ruinas, Compactoque cavas eonstringit viscere fibras, Et pice conspersa riraas compinerit hiantes : instauratio- V isitat et latebras, firmat lundamina, restes demia? repa- rationem de- Explicat, et propriis appendit Carbasa Malis, scnbitaiie- Cunctaque sollicito firmat retinacula nexu : Diruta restituit, resecatque superflua, sparsa CoUigit, et dapibus Triclinia Regia lautis Instruit, et variis privata cubilia lectis : Quinetiam titulis Aulsea superba beatis Heroum Reffumque, intexto splendida bysso, Per Giaucum , o ± ' X ^ ^^ non nemineni Sacrilego quondam Glaucus^ quae vendidit astu antiquum ° -1 ^ ^ Academic (Sollicito gnati toties repetita rogatu) maifum sub'^'" Addit, et his propriam ditat, decoratque Carinam. ^d pi'stinam Quin etiam emerito Veteranos donat honore Hb"rt*uem' Quotquot erant, pileoque caput pelagique coroUis universuL Apparat, sequorea circundans tempera vitta. per soiennem Haec Pater, hsec nostrse, dum vixit, commoda n"em d"c'tora- lem nonnul- puppi, loruin Claris- Hanc requiem, hos reditus, hunc detulit unus Doctissimo- , ^ rum Virorum. nonore : Haec sunt haec tanti monumenta aeterna laboris, Gestaque magnanimi nunquam interituraMagistri. Caetera non memoro, immensa ne pagina mole Turgeat, et nimio excrescat lasciva tumore. Qui nunc qui vitreis aeternum obdormit in undis Poracerba m • 1 • T T 1 • Palinuri Torpidus, et saevi concussus arundme Lethi niors, et ad T\ . • • • mortem la- Deserit humanae pereuntia gaudia vitae, chrym«. Et vasto immersos lachrymarura gurgite Nautas : Spernit aquas, puppimque, et hyperboreos reboatus [See supra, p. 386, Note 2.J 390 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Oceani, rumpitque moras, clavoque relicto, Duleia perpetuse meditatur gaudia vitse. Spretorabis Palinui-e? etnos rape in omnia tecum; siibinnuit _, . . ■.-, , dolendaui Ibmius ima omnes capiet mora nulla sequentes : neverendi et ^. . _T 1 T-» • Clarissimi Sit satis o, Natum, te solo ratre minorem viri d. joan- NIS FORBE-II, Nuper vicinae transisse in transtra Carinse f ji" et n^re- l _ dis migratio- Aonidum imperio : quem non virtutis egentem J^^em Pas?o- Abstulit oppositi dira inclementia fati : Abredonirob- Credimus haec miseri? Quo nunc quo nostra Carina nidum™id^ett, Tendet ? Et emensi quae spes superesse laboris cmununibu's'*' Ulla potest ? Hei nullse : vicis misereseito nostrae «'i^'''''S"s. Die Pater (si quis sensus) : reminiscere pacti Foederis, et spretse moriens miserere Juventae, Quae peracerba sui recolit dum fata Magistri Caeruleum per inane, exlexque exrexque pererrat, Contristans querulo Pomonia marmora planctu : Haud aliter, quam multifidis cum piscis in undis Qui labyrinthaeis obseptus retibus, iliac lacifr^ma"'" Hacque miser fugitans, per mille foramina dulci Tentat abire fuga, sed dum tamen omnia tentat, Ducitur, et viridi vitam deponit in lierba. Heu pietas ! quam nulla homini est sincera vo- Querela ad ■•■ ■'• mortem Pra;- luptas ! si'iis- Nee bonitas, nee te potuit tua plurima virtus Incolumem servare tuis ? nil vota piorum, Nil castae valuere preces, gemitusque profusi ? Quin tecum nobis bona tot, bona tanta peritent i Quid prius heic, quid posterius, quid denique dicara ? Quid, taceam, attonitusve querat i Crudelia dicam Numina ? Crudeles Parcas ? Crudelia coeli Sidera 1 Crudeles parcas, crudelia dicam Singula, quae tantuni voluere extinguere lumen. Ecqua soli facies ? quid non lachrymabile restat ? Quid flctu vacuum ? quis enim quis ferrous udis Temperet a lachrymis 1 quis acerbo froena dolori Injiciat, tanti truculenta in morte magistri I ,,..,/. • 1 , 'I Miscrabilis Adspicis ut lerrugineo velatus amictu rerum facies Tristior Eois Phoebus consurgat ab undis ? suiis. "" ® '"'^ Adspicis horrendis ut circumfusa tenebris Moesto subobscuris Phoebe caput occulat umbris Pullatis invecta rotis? Utque anxia ccpH Sidera, sollicito renuent sua lumina mundo ? EPITAPHIA METRICA. 391 Cernis ut oppositis carmen lachrymabile ventis Accinat indignis Pallas comitata Camoenis ? Utque Athamanteo jampridem percitus ostro Spumea arenoso Nereiis ciet aequora fundo, Adverse adversas conturbans vortice moles ? Adspicis ut nimio rumpantur Saxa boatu, Horridaque indignas reperant ut monstra cavernas ? Utque ad hyperboreum terpens balena Booten Horrida continue convelvat pectora planctu, Epotas patulis efflans e naribus undas ? Adspicis ut tremulis mortem prognesticet alis Halcyonum lachrymesa cohors, utque agmine facto Imbrem, Hyememque ferant munde, tristemque ruinam ? Utque impulsa gravi rerum natura dolore Visa sit immensi reserare repagula mundi ? Indigites salvete umbrae : salve auree mystes Aiioquitur T-.. • , • 11 • • J 1 • , vies Praesulis Divorum, irati quem nulla smistra subegit Manes. Vis Pelagi, nee tristis Hyems, nee torrida Cancri Brachia, nee forti superavit Sirius sestu : Quem nulla annorum series, nee sera tacebunt Secla heminum, tacitos volvent dum sidera cursus, Altaque dum refluis Phcebe dominabitur undis. Interea (si qua adflictse vel cura carinae Novissime UUa tuse superest) divum celeberrime Nereu carou Maje^ /-N, . ■!-» 1 • -i 1 • 1 tatem alloqui- (Jui Pelagi consurgrt nones, regimenque, decusque, tur, pro suc- . , . -r> • 1 i 1 1 cessore idoneo, Adspice nos, Puppimque : et ne nos tarda moretur qui AcademiaE Vis Remorae ; aut furvas Erebi descendat in undas ram agat. Quassa Ratis, superadde Ducem : tantoque remote Praeside, da successorem, similemque Magistrum : Ne sine, ut Euboicae cautes, coecusve Caphareus, Scyllave, et Olenise sidus pluviale Capellse, Ventorumve injuncta lues, comitata procellis Intentent miserae damna ulteriora Carinae : Sat Nautis, Puppique datum, doctore remote Te Palinure vole, te, te, qualem aureus olim Nee habuit, nee habet vitreis Neptunus in undis. Tritonas qui nunc inter cenviva recumbens Semi-dees, positis curis requiescis ; et aevi Jam satur, aeterni saturaris Nectare Nerei. ^ [Biographical Notices of those learned Professors, whose names occur in the marginal index to this poem, and who are Contributors to the present Collection, will be found in their proper places. — E.] MISERRIMA ECCLESI^ ET UNIVERSITATIS ABREDONENSIS, (QU^ sub DONiE ET DE^E FLUVIORUM NOMINIBUS POETICE intelliguntur) conditio ante TEMPORA PATEICII FORBESII A CORSE, CUM FOELICISSISIMA ET FORTUNATISSIMA EARUNDAM CONDITIONE, FLORENTE PATRICIO, COMPARATUR, ET INTER SE CONFERUNTUR. XXIV. QUANTUM Augustine debet Clara Hippo ^"^A^ beato ; Tantuni Forbesio Dona sororque Dea. Flumina Numinibus vacua hie sine honore fluebant, Flumina finitimis vix bene nota suis. Capripides tantum satyri, Faunique colebant, Monstraque Pierio perniciosa Chore. EPITAPHIA METRICA. 393 Antraque torpebant (fugeres penetralia somni) Intus et informis squallor et horror erant. Atria deformi squallebant turpia rausco, Et delubra Deum, limina, Claustra, fores : Unguibus et foedae volucres fcedata trahebant Omnia, nee quenquam Flumina laesa movent. Sacraque portabant manibus direpta Deorum, Nee quidquam quod non prseda petita fuit ? Harpyisque avidis venduntur tecta : domosque Barbara turba dedit, barbara turba tulit. Mantua, vce miserEe niniium vicina Cremouse, Prima fuit rapidis esca petenda Getis. Barbarus has segetes, et non sua rura colebat, Quern non ulla saeri sacra movere fori. Mantua, num puduit, dum sic in vota vocati Barbara fraxineos fagineosque Deos ? Quos lapis, aut lignum, quos succina Gutta ministrat, Servat in orbiculis quseque puella suis. Nayades interea tacite sua fata dolebant, Usque per indignas imbre cadente genas. Adspexit Deus, et famulos miseratus egenos, Misit opem miseris, Forbesiumque dedit. Advenit, extemplo redeunt Saturnia regna, Phcebus, et Aonii turba novena Chori. Advenit, hue pariter remeant Artesque, Deusque, Et decus, inculti et gloria prima soli. Somnus abit, fugit et torpor ; vigilantia, virtus, Et labor, et pietas regia tecta tenent. Thure calent arse passim, vigilesque ]\linistri Ante aras Domino Oarmina Iseta canunt, Harpyse in Strophadas fugiunt, foedaeque volucres : Et reduces Musae, quod rapuere ferunt. Hebc canit errantem Lunam, Solisque labores ; Ilia solum, incertum monstrat et ilia salum. Haec pedibus plaudit, digitis hgec tympana pulsat : Altera Bistoniam verberat arte Chelyn. Hsec decorata comas incedit fronde salicti : Hsec niveo pictam syrmate verrit humum. CoUibus hserentes varios legit ilia colores : Digerit hsec lectos quot Dea Chloris habet. Ilia legit violam : flavam legit altera Caltham : I a papaveream carpit et ungue comam. 25'-^ 394 EPITAPH I A METRICA. Prisca renascuntur, remeant fcelicia secla, Et raeliora quidem, si meliora forent, Venimus ad summum fortunse : hinc vota, precesque Vix ultra quo jam progrediantur liabent. Sed dum Forbesius magna hsec sua dona coronat, Mors vetat, extensam detinuitque manum. Hinc Dea lugubri tundit sua littora planctu : Donaque cseruleas fletibus auget aquas. Utraque et in duro tandem lapidesceret alveo, Tu CoTH ARISE tuum ni sequerere Patrem. Joannes Lundinus,i In Academia Regia Humaniorum Literarum Professor, et Facultatis Artiura pro tempore Decanus. ^ [See a Biographical Notice of Professor John Lundie, the author of this Poem, — Supra, p. 22, Note. — E.] S. M. REVERENDISSIMI IN CHRISTO ANTISTITIS, PATRICII FORBESII, A CORSE, EPISCOPI ABREDONIENSIS LONGE EMINENTISSIMI EPITYMBION. XXV. ORBESIUS Prsesul Tumulo requiescit in isto: Hie Elphinstonii Dumbariique cinis. Hi nati, viguit quondam cum vivida virtus ; Secula FoRBESiUM nostra dedere Patrem. Ferrea secla quidem ; dignus melioribus annis Hie tamen, Cathedrae dignus honore sacrse, Quos Patriarcharum sacra quinque sedilia Mystas Cepere, hos dio rettulit eloquio. Par mens eloquio : mens spem super sethera librans : Mens pia, sidereo purior orbe nitens : Omnia mens lustrans Patrum monumenta priorum^ Lumine dum reserat Pathmia fata novo. 396 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Ut gravitate Cato, nitidis ita Csesar in amiis, Jus ita dicturis Justinianus erat. Mature, meditata diu, peragebat ; ab arte, A genio, a Proavum nobilitate sagax. Denique quod Quadrati hominis laus dictitat, omne Omne id Apostolicus suggerit iste thorus. Ponebat David Wedderburxus,i Latinse Scholse in Urbe Nova Abredonise Prsefectus. ^ [An interesting account of David "Wedderburn and his "Works will be found in the " Collections on the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff," pub- lished by the Spalding Club of Aberdeen, 1843, p. 60, &c., from -which we select a few notices. He was a native of Aberdeen, and a Scholar and Teacher of considerable reputation in the seventeenth century. In February 1602, he and Thomas Reid, subseqiiently Latin Secretary to James YI., Avere appomted Masters of the Grammar School of Aberdeen ; and on the resignation of the latter in the following year, "Wedderburn continued at the head of that Seminary till 1640, when " in regard of his old age and inhabilitie of body," he was allowed to retire on a salary gianted him by the Town-Council. He occa- sionally taught in both the Universities. A list of his Poems, many of them of great beauty, and of his "Works on Grammar, will be found in the publication above referred to. See also Dr Irving's Lives of Scotish Writers, Edin. 8vo. 1839, vol. ii. p. 32.— E.] IN OBITUM EEVERENDISSIMI EPISCOPI ABREDONIENSIS, PATRICII FORBESII, A CORSE. XXVI. ,UISNAM hie esse queat tantus mirabere, cujus Astat Sepulchre illachrymans Oircumfusa cohors Musarum, cujus Apollo, et Pallas parentant manibus. Hie est ille (sacri siqua est ea gloria Mystse) Venerabilis Forbesius Nobilibus prognatus avis, sed gloria major Obiisse digna Prsesule. Hinc laudum satis ampla seges, QeoTTPevcra verendi Oracla sarta tectaque Asseruisse Dei, et Pastorum prsedia, per fas Nefasque, per vim, per dolum Sacrilega direpta manu, et (quae maxima laus est, Sacranda cunctis saeculis), A caulis arcuisse lupos, avidosquc leones Ovile populantes sacrum, Tarpeiique Jovis sacra exccranda, vafrique Dogmata Batavi exotica. 398 EPITATHIA METRICA. Denique, ne, quicquam desit, quod Prsesule dignum Miretur setas postera, Ille tuas nuper rediviva Abredonia Musas Auxit decore pristine. Hie tibi marcentes catus instauravit honores, Dudum prope inter mortuos. Languentesque oculos jussit te attollere, Teque Vegeto vigori reddidit. Ergo age, quisquis amas nomen, faraamque secundam ^ternitati tradere, De Musis, Mystisque sacris bene disce mereri, Laudabili exemplo illius. Hinc tibi surget honos, patet hinc lata area, ubi se Cum laude virtus exerat. M. GuL. Wallas,! Latinse Linguse Professor, et Scholse Glasguensis Prseceptor. ^ [In the Burgh Records of Glasgow, under the date of 17th July 1630, the "Thesaurer" is ordered to give to "Mr William Wallace, IVIaster of the Gramer Scheie, twentie marks, to beir his chairges to ryde to Edinburgh, about the gramer to be imposit upon the countrie." See Memoir of David Wedderbume, Master of the Grammar School of Aberdeen, (Supra, p. 395) in the " Collections on the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff," printed for the Spalding Chib, 1843, p. 63.— E.] IN VENERANDI & SANCTISSIMI PATRIS NOSTEI, PATRICII FORBESII, DIVINA MISERATIONE ABREDONENSIS EPISCOPI, OBITUM, EPITAPHIDM. XXVII. LU S decern Olympiadas vixit Cotharisius Heros, Flemiis eum propere sed cecidisse nimis : Nam multum famseque opibusque sibique suisque Vixit sed Patriae non satis imo parum. Magna ac multa (inquis) fecit : majora sed olim Pluraque facturus (si modo vixit) erat. ALIUD. XXVIII. UE. bombarda minor majorquetonitruabombis Assimulant ? famje signa futura canunt. Cur non stemma patrum pictum ac insignia gentis? Vivus contempsit, mortuus ilia raagis. 400 EPITAPHIA METRICA. I, pictor, potius virtutem pinge, fidemque Divinam, humanam ; clarus iitraque fuit. Gratia pingatur, pingi nee gloria debet Qua fruitur, fingi nee quoque mente potest. ALIUD. XXIX. g UID primo de te dicam ? quid denique ? Magne \^ FoRBESiORUM Heros, Aberdonumque Pater. Te multo melius tua dicta et facta loquentur: Scripti a te referant enthea dicta libri. Facta Dei Domus, et Regis declaret, adaucta Auspiciis toties muneribusque tuis. Cedite Murthlaci, genus alta ab origine, Patres : Cedite Devanse, turba secuta, Patres : Vivat Patricius, majorum alpha atque minorum : E cinere exsurgant Lilia, Caltha, Rosae. Quam foelix istos cineres quae continet urna ! Et nimium foelix qui tegit ossa lapis. ALIUD. XXX. CRIBITUR a multis lesso arcto arctaque papyro Mors Patrici ; magnum vita volumen erit. Hanc quis scribet ? Eam metuo ne deterat alter, Si nolit Natus scriberc gesta Patris. Conscius hie morum, fidei zelique paterni, Conscius hie jugis nocte dieque precis. 0 quantus si nunc suporesses, docto Boeti,i Vitis et chronicis nunc foret illo tuis. 1 [Hector Boece, the First Principal of King's College, Aberdeen, wrote in Latin, the Lives of the Bishops of Mortlacli and Aberdeen (siq>ra, p. 194), published at Paris in 1522.— E.] EPITAPHIA METRICA. 401 XXXI. "AAAO. Ti]g ^KOTirjg ay'uDv TrpoTarov (paog Icttl k6Xoi'ju(3o9 ^A.(3peoeug (p6pj3ag (poj? ccrerai irporaTOV Qvvofxa Se eu(p6p(3os fxaWov, X'^P'J '^^ 'n'o^^t re 'Or' dyaOwv iroWwv aiTio^ outo^ ctju. Posuit ROBERTUS DoUNiEUS,! Bibliothecarius. ^ [Robert Downie, the author of this Greek Tetrastick, is said by Dr Irving to have been the Librarian of King's College (Lives of Scotish Writers, Edin. 8vo. 1839, vol. ii. p. 48); but in the admirable little work of the local Chronicler, the Book of Bon Accord, he is stated to have been Librarian of Marischal College, (p. 258). We further learn from the same volume, that Downie was INIiuister of one of the parishes of the city, and -wrote a work called " Eulogium Scoticimi," inscribed to Charles I., and a collection of poems dedicated to George first Earl of Kinnoul, Chancellor of Scotland. See also Mr JNIaidment's Catalogues of Scotish Writers, Edin. Svo. 1833, p. 1 19.— E.] 2G SINGULTUS BOREJE, IN OBITUM REVERENDISSIMI IN CHRISTO PATRIS, PATRICII FORBESII, PRiESULIS ABREDONIENSIS, OMNI LAUDE DIGNISSIMI, ETC, XXXII. UID BoREA moestum spiras furialibus antris? Luctificoque sono murmura dira boas ? Insolitumque furens placidi maris sequora turbas ? Fluctibus et tumidis littora nostra quatis ? Vimque parans, doctis gratissima rumpere gestis Otia ; concutiens pectora moesta metu ? Flatibus undiferis ne augusta Palatia Phoebi, Sacraque Musaruin diruta, lapsa cadant : Numquid bella movens iterum pro conjuge ssevis ? Herculeave dolens pignora caesa manu Ingemis ? Insano et juvat indulgere dolori I Qu?eque levet curas respuis seger opem ? Jam nee acidalio flagrant mihi corda furore, Ssevave pro acttea conjuge bella paro : Monstridomavo manu prolcm indignatus ademptam Prorumpo in fremitus, flamina dira ciens : Non antiqua queror dispendia ; supprimit ista Qusc, mi, intus stimulat pectora cura recens ; Nee qutccunque recens dedit hos mihi cura tumultus, ^rumnis quanquam bis tria lustra prcmor. Frendriac?c jam parva domus mihi danma vidcntur, Et Granti pracdas arbitror esse nihil : EPITAPHIA METRICA. 403 Et dictu durum quanquam et miserabile visu, Gordonidum fatum mens putat esse leve :^ Grandius ecce nefas premit alto corda dolore, Vixque sui est compos mens agitata malis, Heu sacros inter Patres celeberrimus unus Nuper mitrati gloria magna chori, Sedis AfiREDONiiE decus, et mea summa voluptas Eripitur gremio (proh dolor) ecce meo. Quem gens clara animis atque artibus inclyta belli De se prognatum FoRBESiDUM alta domus Jactat, et inde putat majores surgere laudes Quam Marte insignes quod tulit ipsa duces : An magis ipsa dolet tantorum facta virorum Magna premi unius laude sepulta viri I Palladiasque domus, fanum qua Regulus altum Ostentat populis, hunc tenuisse juvat. Nobilis et quamvis proavos dimissa per altos Jugera possedit plurima dives agri, Non divam Sophiam, sacri aut prseconia verbi Ortu aut fortunis inferiora putat. Hinc reducem in Patrias sedes, qui altaria curant Symmystam exoptant, dat rata vota Deus. Virtutum rectrix prudentia cuncta gubernans Ordine, et ipsa gregem more decente regit. Clara viri virtus, magnse constantia mentis, Ingenium vivax eloquiumque potens, Et niveus morum candor, vultusque severi Majestas clemens f rat rib us anteferunt. Tanta latere diu potuerunt munera ? Nunquam : Privato hsec nimium commoda magna gregi. Regis amor mandat, poscunt hunc publica vota, Quam non ambibat Prsesulis ad Cathedram. Nescia mens fastus non affectabat honores, Ast animo invictus munera nulla fugit. Quae postquam subiit, magno moderaraine Cleruni Dirigit imperils consiliisque fovet. Exemploque prseit, cuncti ut sua munera prsestent, Attente inspiciens, quod jubet ipse facit. Hinc inter doctos mystas doctissimus alte Eminet, inque bonis optimus ipse cluit. ^ [Allusion is here made to some well-kno^vn events of great local interest. — E.] 404 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Si quisquam doctae mentis monumenta relegit, Non Augustini hsec inferiora putet. Dulcius auriHuo baud fundit Chrysostomus ore, Suavi aut Bernardo mellea verba fluunt. Ingentes animos cordataque pectora gessit, Qualia Niliacus Prsesul, et Ambrosius, Quseque prius sparsim variis dementia Coeli Cesserat, hie unus omnia dona tulit. Prsesulis eximii nee tantum Ecclesia sentit Foelices curas auxiliumque pium, Sed, tibi quod propius forsan prsecordia tangit, Hunc quoque senserunt docta Lycaea Patrem. Prseteriti reparat secli dum damna benignus, Et studiis ardor prisons, honosque redit. An non dura nimis, nimis heu mihi justa dolendi Causa datur I Numquid ingemere ipse vetes : Singultire juvat moesto suspiria corde Tollam, nee luctus finiet uUa dies ; Magna tibi Borea fateor nunc causa doloris Orbarunt tanto quem fera fata Patre : At fremitus compesce graves, absiste furori Luctifico, et lachrymis ponere disce modum : Nee tibi foelicis fortuna dolenda parentis, Nee opus est casus ingemere usque tuos : Non ilium claudunt ferratse limina mortis, Coelestes animos nee libitina capit : Spiritus setherius Patrium remeavit Olympum, Et fruitur Isetus jam propiore Deo : Atque tibi superest magni stirps maxima Patris, Qui prsesens luctus leniat usque Tuos. Andreapoli mcerens scribebat M. Joannes Armour,i Philosophise Professor, in Collcgio Sancti Salvatoris. 1 [Principal Baillie, in narrating the reception the Covenant met with at St Andrews in 1638, alludes to Professor John Armour, the author of these verses — " The rest of St Andrewe's Doctors, Howie, Bruce, Mar- tine, Baron, [.mjmi, p. 26, Note], has all subscryvcd, The Arch-Deane, after reading of the Covenant in his Church by Mr (iabriel Maxwell, lies not preached that day— vl/. Amur wcs well pyked [sharply attacked] : So that toun has now no ordinare Ministers, but are supplied by the Pres- Ityterie."— Letters and Journals, Kdin. Svo. 1S41, vol. i. p. 98.— K.] TUMULUS REVERENDISSIMI IN CHRISTO PATRIS, PATRICII FORBESII, ABERDONENSIS EPISCOPI, SANCTIORIS CONCILII SCOTIOANI SENATORIS, UNIVERSITATIS ABRED. CANCELLARII, DOMINI A CORSE, ETC. XXXIII. ONDITUR hoc Tumulo, fama super aethera notus Forbesius, sacri gloria prima chori. Conditur hoc Tumulo, plenus gravitate serena Vultus, et insignis cum gravitate lepos. Nobilitate potens, lingua, calamoque disertus, Mente sagax, dextra fortis, et usque pius. Terror erat Latise turbae, quam fulmine vocis Pressit ; ut invictus religionis Atlas. Nunc pretium pietatis habet, nunc aurea Coeli Templa tenens, Christo carraina laeta canit. Quam sacer hie locus est ! quanto dignatus honore ! Qui meruit tanti Prsesulis exuvias. Al. Gardenus,! Philosophise Professor, in Acad. Regia Abred. ^ [Alexander Garden was appointed one of the Regents of King's College in 1635, [Kennedy's Annals of Aberdeen, 4to, London, 1818^ vol. ii. p 405.] He is frequently mentioned by Spalding in his His- tory of the Troubles.— See sujyra, p. 9, Note, and p. 25, Note. See also a Garden of Grave and Godlie Flowers, by Alex. Gardyne ; The Theatre OF Scottish Kings, by Alex. Garden, Professor of Philosophy ; together with Miscellaneous Poems by John Lundic, (supra, p. 22), Professor of Humanity in the University of Aberdeen, 4to, Edin. printed for the Abbotsford Club, 1845.— E.] REVERENDI ADMODUM PATRIS, PATRICII FORBESII, EPISOOPI ABREDONENSIS, SUPREMI SCOTOEUM SENATUS, CONSILIARII, MAGNI ACADEMI.E CANCELLARII, DOMINI A CORSE, ETC. EPICEDIUM. XXXIV. YNTHI^, quid nuper, tenebrosa expalluit umbra ? Insolito riguit terra nivosa gelu ? Corruit, et sacri quid Celsa Corona Lycsei, Quiddve Dicasterii, turbidine, ruptus apex? Si qua fides vero est : monstrabant vulnera terr£e, Coelum, bruma, forum, Celsa ruina Domus. Entheus, Heu, Phaebus terras, Astrsea reliquit Aurea, Cecropise magna columna Dese. FoRBESiUM abductum terris, hunc infula deflet Sacra Minerva gemit, luget et alma Themis. Solamen superest : Magni, Sacra Imago parentis In Coelo positi, viva relicta solo. Debit£e observantije ergo, Posuit Joannes Raius,i Philosophiir Moral, in Gymnasio Maroschallano Professor. ' fJoiiN Rae is stated in Kennedy's Annals of Aberdeen, v. ii. p. 118, to have been admitted Professor in Marischal Colle^re in 1G41, but from the designation wliicli lie licre adds to his name, it would appear tliat his appointment must Iiavo been some years earlier. — E.] EXEQUIIS PLURIMUM REVERENDI IN CHRISTO PATRIS, PATRICII FORBESII, ABREDONIENSIS EPISCOPI. PHILOMUSUS. PHILARETES. XXXV. PHILOMUSUS. ;EU, quanta ingentis video spectaculu luctus? Insolitae reriiin facies (proh) publica fata Oharaque non dubiis testantur funera signis : Undique funereas Cyparissos montibus altis Devolvi video, et tristes descendere Taxos, Pimplsei virides flaccescunt ruris honores, Conqueritur lachi*ymis oculos suffusa nitcntes, Et quasi collisa languescit Gorgone Pallas, Luget ut amissa virga Oyllenius Ales, Pindus agit gemitus, moestura Cortina lemugit, Clio lugubri vultus obducit amictu, 408 EPITAPIIIA METRICA. Suaviloquos calaraos Euterpe fletibus inflat, Lesboum refugit Polyhymnia tendere plectrum, Calliope mcesta fundit convitia lingua, Triste canens Erato fatales incropat horas, JEthera, Terpsichore diris ululatibus implet, Melpomene tentat lachrymis lenire dolorem, Moesta Thalia sui renuit solatia luctus, Urania toUit moestas ad sydera voces, Imprimis tristes iterat gemebunda querelas Relligio, et foedo deturpat pulvere crines, Squalent Templa, gravi resonant et pulpita planctu. Fare age, qu£e tantos Umbrae meruere dolores ? Nam tu etiam ex imo ducis suspiria corde, PHILARETES. FoRBESii manes, et magni Prsesulis umbram Plangimus, et merito cineres tumulamus honore : Ilium Pegaseis enutrivere sub antris Castalia de valle Deae, jam pendulus infans Spes amplas dat, et ampla olim docuraenta futuri Ingenii, quales puero prudentia mores Fingit ? Jam totum spirant pmecordia Phoebum, Socraticos tandem dignus conscendere currus Musarum meruit plausus, et prseside Phoebo, Circundat capiti sacras Abredonia lauros. Ast ubi jam firmata virum perfecerat setas, JNIajorum mcnti subeunt molimina rcrura : Non jam sufficiunt totse Permessidos undae, Ooncipiunt alias mentis penetralia flammas, Ut Dii ardentes restringuere pectoris ignes Haud valeant Heliconis aquae aut Aganippidos amnes, Jam Solymae sitienter hiat, dulcesque Syloae Ardet aquas, sanctosque cupit superare Sionis Colles, et sacris CiiRlSTi succedere Templis : Hoc erat in votis : tandem pia Numina voti Damnavere reum, studiis desueta profanis Inde OeoTTi/eucTTOu? plcne mens enthea vates Imbibit, et totum versans sub pectore Christum, Illius ingreditur sanctus penetralia Mystes Sacra ferens : aii<]uc)t tandom iabentibus annis, EPITAPHIA METRICA. 409 Imponit capiti venerandam Ecclesia mitram : In plausus coiere Schohie, tunc undique docta Turba togatorum meritos gratatur honores, Jam marcescentis revirescit 2:loria lauri. Ipse etiam ad tantse Phoebus prseconia fanicTC Advolat, et celebri Isetus comitante catcrva Aonidum, saltat per amoenos Phocidis agros, Et choreas ducit per celsa cacumina Pindi : Verum ipsa ante alias hilari sua gaudia vultu Relhgio testatur ovans, titulosque precatur Faustos, et tanto exultans se Prsesule jactat ; Namque illo haud alius vindex animosior hostes Ivit in adversos aut strinxit cominus ensem. Terruit ille quideni Lavinas Hannibal arces, Supremumque sibi victis Capitolia Cannis Speravere diem, sed tandem Martia Romse Collectis aquilis reparat dispendia belli, Et ponit trepida conceptos mente timores. Sed quod tot strictse rigidis mucronibus hastse, Et quod tot gladii, quod non et mille manipli Stipatseque acies valuere, hoc fulmine mentis Invictoque facit calamo, quels territat hostem Exanimatque duces, sternitque a culmine Romam : Ut jam Oalvinum aut Lutherum vivere credas Papanas toties qui constravere Phalanges : Magna fuit quondam Babylon spolianda Trophseis Ausoniis, nunc Scotorura spoliata Trophseis Ausonia est Babylon, et jam Bella arraa minasque, Beiiarmiimm. Et formidatas olim tua fulmina buUas, Qui Capitolina dominaris Jupiter arce Spernimus, Ingentem traxisti Roma ruinam. Lucifer e Ccelo cecidisti, acceptaque clades Exiguam misero suades sperare salutem. Nil possum ulterius, conabar pergere, sed mens Consternata jacet, veluti torpedine tacta Lingua silet : paucas nostri memorasse doloris Sufficiat causas, tantique in funere luctus. PHILOMUSUS. Proh superi quid enim misero hiihi dcnique rcstat Quam superos atque astra mcis lafjsarc rpicrclis ; 410 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Siccine praesidium Musarum, gloria, lumen, Laiisque Caledonise, Papanse malleus ille Haereseos, vindexque tui simul acer et ultor Enthea Relligio, communi morte peremptus Occidit, et fatis abiens concessit iniquis ? Non potuit pietas, non Coeli conscius ardor, Non probitas, non cana fides, Prudentia, et ilia Vivida vis animi, et virtus contermina Coelo Dllectum morbisquc caput, Lethique triumphis Eripere, et vita dignum donare perenni : Aut hoc si nimium est, non saltern Nestoris annis I Et Vos Aonides, quondam pia Nuraina, Musie, Prsesertim, cur non vetuisti gratus Alumnum Phoebe mori ? Per te concordant Carmina nervis, Inventum Medicina tuum est, Opiferque per orbem Dicere, et Herbarum est subjecta potentia. Sic te Jactabas memini, cum quondam captus amore Admisso Nympham premeres Peneida passu, Ergo quid segroto non auxiliaris Alumno, Et quin afflictis affers solatia membris ? Extinctum potuit INIedicis Epidaurius Herbis Excire Androgeum, potuit Ehodopeius Orpheus Eurydicen stygiis cantu revocare profundis, Tu tamen lieu oblite tui, heu oblite tuorura Cessas Forbesium Medica fulcire cadentem Phoebe manu ? Nescis, proh, nescis teque tuasque Aonidas moricnte mori, viventeque vesci FoRDESio, vitali aura : sed credere dignum est Non sibi non aliis Phoebum potuisse mederi ^gro FoRBESio, nam vol Cyclopibus ictis Pastor ad Amphrysum rursus famulatur ad amnem, Aut iterum aurato trajcctus pcctora telo Phoebus amat, vitoe([Uc cupit connubia Daphnes. PIIILARETES. Sed quid nos frustra scopulis impingimus undas, Aut quid nos tanto dcflomus funcra luctu FoRBESii 'i Exuviaj hac tantum tumulantur in Urna, Non jacct oxtinctus cujus mens coelica sedcs EPITAPHIA METRICA. 411 Incolit aeternas, vita donata perenni : Non jacet extinctus, cujus celeberrima nomen Scripsit in seternis praeclarum gloria Fastis : Vivit, FoRBESlus vivit super sethera notus. Mr Thomas Wallas, S. S. Theol. Stud, et Ministerii Verbi Candidatus in Academia Glasguensi. IN OBITUM PATRICII FORBESII. EPISCOPI ABRED. &c. XXXVI. ATRIOIUS silet hie Prsesul dignissimus, alto, Pectore Patriciis clarior Ausoniis, Ingenio, genere, et genio prseclarus, Alumnus Musarum, sacri lucida gemma chori. Enthea mens sacrata Deo, fallacibus orbis Despectis curis, tota Deum sitiit, Prajfuit ut Clero, sic multum profuit illi, Dura lieuit populo lux fuit alraa suo. Lampada Religio, columen Respublica deflet: . Et docus ercptum Patria moesta dolet. Coelestis vitae, clara et monuraenta supersunt DoctrinaJ, exiraii vivida imago viri, Consona fcelici vitse mors fausta, perennis Fama solo, Superum jungitur umbra choris. GLASGU^, Mr Joannes Hammiltonius. IN OBITUM AMPLISSIMI, CLARISSIMI, PIENTISSIMI, AC REVERENDI IN CHRISTO PATRIS, PATRICII FORBESII, ANTISTITIS ABREDONENSIS, SERENISSIM^ REGIiE MAJBSTATI A CONSILIIS SCOTIiE SECRE- TIORIBUS ET SANCTIORTBUS, UIIIVERSITATIS ABRED. CANCELLARII DIGNISSIMI, ET BARONIS A CORSE GENEROSISSIMI, HONORANDISSIMI. . EPICEDIUM. XXXVII. , RGO jaces venerande Senex, Clarissime Prae. sul ; Et-tantum famse vivis in ore vagse ? Certe vivis adhuc ; et quamvis fama sileret, Nee poterit virtus, nee tua facta mori. -^ternantque tuam vitam Collegia, Templa : Ast elieu tantum te memorare queunt : Quod memorare tuas virtutes possumus eia ; Eheu quod tantum te memorare licet. Queis oculis Urnam plenara, vacuamque Cathedrani Cernemus ? Madidis cernimus ista genis. Cum subit illius mcestissima noctis imago Qua secuit vitse stamina Parca tuse ; 414 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Perpetuas tenebras, noctem seternamque videmur Cernere, nam lux te nostra cadente, perit. Cur non te Lachesis Plioebo lucente necavit ? Noluit esse tuse testis Apollo necis. Noctc fuit fato mersus Palinurus iniquo ; Nocteque Presbyterum tu Palinure cadis. Nox orbi nimium funesta, obscura ; perennis Principium lucis sed fuit ilia tibi. Et tu nolueras ortum expectare diei, Quippe prope adspexti tu sine fine diem. I decus, I splendor noster, coelestia carpe Gaudia, sunt vitse quippe reposta tuse. I Patriae Pater ac Lux sancta ; I Serve fidelis, Ac intra in Domini gaudia magna tui. ALIUD. XXXVIII. ATRICIUS jacet hie; ipso vel nomine clams. !tj Et certe hoc, omen non leve, nomen habet. Quippe ilium invenies, regni vel teste Senatu, Inter Patricios vix habuisse parem. Patriciis genuit nil majus Roma, nee isto Patricio majus Scotia clara tulit. Patricius jacet hac et Sanctus Praesul in urna ; Et recte titulus quadrat uterque viro. Muncre prasclarus gemino, perfunctus utroque Et Clero, et populo commodo magna tulit. Ergo hodie unius duplex extinguitur astri Virtus, quiquo tulit conmioda tanta perit. Plangitcf Scotigenae ; Tumulo conduntur in uno, Et Sanctus Prsesul PATRiciusque gravis. Lachrymabundus posuit. GuL. Lauderus, Philosophise Magistcr, et S. S. Theologian Studiosus, in Academia Abredoniensi. MUSARUM ABERDONIENSIUM lachrymj:. IN OBITUM PATRONI ET PH(EBI SUI, PATRICII FORBESII PR^SULIS ABREDONENSIS. XXXIX. LANGAMUS Clarium quotquot Apollinem Ardenter colimus, major Apolline Noster Forbesius nam Pater occidit Ne dicam Sophise parens. Qui nos languidulas, et prope mortuas, Claras omnigenis reddidit artibus. Plangamus lachrymis non mediocribus, Et nostrum et Patriae Patrem. Cunctis ille piis flebilis occidit, Ceu flendus potius : flendus acerbius Nobis, ah miseris, quara perit omnibus, Eheu Forbesius Pater. Eheu nunc cecidit Presbyterum jubar, Mystarum columen, far quoque Consulum ; Et splendor Borese, gloria INIarriae, Ingens FoRBESiDUM decus. 416 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Sed vitae integritas, diaque sanctitas, In Sacro Officio mira fidelitas, Necnon sedulitas Forbesii Patris Laudari nequeunt satis. Laudari nequeunt quse nimis aut satis, Defleri nimium vel satis haud queunt. Illorum, at gemitus, moesta memoria Nostros amplificat graves. Tarn clari jubaris rclliquise piae, Solamen lachrymis protinus adferunt ; Yirtutumque viri, qui superest, nitor Ipsum non patitur mori. Haec sunt pulelira quidem, pulchrius at fuit Ipsum vel senio cernere debilem, Sed fortem ingenii dotibus, auream Monstrantem Sophise viam. Ah ! Quis nostra potest damna rependere ? Eheu queis lachrymis, queis ululatibus, Tam chari capitis funera flebimus ? Jam ne sit lachrymis modus. Eheu nos miseras ! Occidit, occidit Lux nostra et columen ; Nobilis occidit Prsesul FoRBESlUS, doctus et inclytus Virtute et sapientia. E centro citius terra movebitur, De Coelo citius sidera decident, Quam nos Forbesii funera plangere Cessemus raadidis genis. Condoluit idem Gul. Lauderus, Philo-musus. IN EXIMIUM DEI SERVUM, CONSULTISSIMUM JUXTA AO VIGILANTISSIMUM PR^SULEM, PATRICIUM, NUNQUAM TNTERITUR^ MEM0RIJ5, EPISCOPUM ABREDONIENSEM, MAGNO PRIMUM JACOBO, AC POSTEA CAROLO FILIO REGI NOSTRO SERENISSIMO, A CONSILITS SANCTIORIBUS ; ACADEMIC ABREDONIENSIS CANCELLARIUM, EJUSDEMQUE INSTAU- RATORTJM DESIDERATISSIMUM ; BARONEM DE ONEIL, DOMTNUM DE COTHARIS, &C. EPICEDIUM. XL. I genus anquiras ; Heros Cothorisius : artes Si teneras ; Necdum conscia Glota silet : Quaque Oaledonise jactant se jure Camoen£e Regulia, hinc titulos arrogat ipsa novos. Ut decus Aonise juvenis ; sic prima Senatus Gloria, sic Mitrse gloria prima, senex Nee media ablusit, teneris seiiiove, juventa : Constanti semper tramitecrevit honos. 27 418 EPITAPHIA METRICA. ALIUD. XLI. ^^^^^^^^^^, XI MI A eximium referant si symbola pectus, Unus FoRBESiUS singula puncta tulit. Fronte refulgebat cum maj estate verenda Alliciens animos comis amabilitas. Illita sacratis fluitabant verba Labellis Nectare : et accepto pondere dicta dabat. Incidit obscuri si quando pagina Libri, Interpres (mirum) Lectio nuda fuit. Interioris erat ut pectora condus Athenes ; Dexter lingua animi sic quoque promus opum. Quse bona cunque viro fuerant, qu£e Prsesule digna, Uni cuncta poll cedere cura fuit. ALIUD. XLII. USTRA decern supraque decern septena pere- git, Mente, manu, calamo, consilioque potens ; Quod si pro mentis cedant virtutibus anni, Debuit innumeros evoluisse dies. Efflagitantibus id, et divini viri meritis nostroque officio, fundebam, Patricius Jamisonus, Philosophise Magister, et S. S. Tlieol. Studiosus, in Acad. Abredoniensi. MEMORISE REVERENDISSIMI IN CHRISTO PATRIS, P A T R I C I I, ABREDONENSIS EPISCOPI MERTTISSISIMI, CONSILIARII REGII, ET DOMINI A CORSE, VIRI PERILLUSTRIS, VIT^ INTEGRITATE, AC OMNIBUS VIRTUTIBUS EXIMIIS PENE INCOMPARABILTS ; QUI SEPTUAGENARIA MORTE SOLUTUS, MORTALES RELIQUIAS, DUM (CHRISTO JUBENTE) RESURGANT IMMORTALES, DEPOSUIT, ANNO POST HUMANE SALUTIS VINDICEM CARNE DONATUM 1635, VIGILTIS PASCHiE. H^O MERITO MCERENSQUE SACRAVIT. XLIII. 'EIC pius Antistes situs est, Cathredaeque domusque ; Gloria ; lux cunctis splendida Scotigenis ; Inclyta Musarum soboles, columenque sa- crorum Eximium, populo os usque salutiferum. Cum decies septem brumas vidisset ; et aris Sacrasset vigiles cum totidem parochos : 420 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Huic curis senioque gravi, mors nuncia misit Expectata, quibus d extra columna ruit. Sic fractara morbo, tandem mors ipsa tabernam Quinta prseturae solvit Olympiade. NiENIA DE EODEM. XLIV. EISTIA dum foris haec ridet spectacula Roma Intus dum gaiidet seditiosa cohors : Tu plangas grex parve Dei Pastore remoto ; Ingemat hunc Clerus deseruisse Scholas. Munera nee jactet Trinarx, nam sanguis honorem Huic dedit et census : Pontificatus onus. APOSTROPHE. XLY. UNDUS te peperit, suspexit homo, arripit aether ; Flet te mundus, homo te indiget, astra colunt. J'ac. Gordonius,! Philosophise Magister, et S. S. Theol. Studiosus, in Academia Abred. ' [James Gordon subscribes himself at the end of some other lines by him printed below, " now minister of God's word at Kearne." The old parish of Kearne is now united with two others, viz. Tullynessle and Forbes. — [New Statistical Account of Scotland, Aberdeenshire, p. 440.] Spalding tells us that Gordon was sent in May 1640, by the Gordons, with a letter to General Monro, then on his march to the north, " craving assurance of peace," and returned with the answer, that " they could have no assurance of peace, except they would all come in and subscrive the Covenant, and obey what farther should be injoyned to them for furder- ance of the good cause."— [Troubles, Bannatyne Club Edition, vol. i. pp. 20.3, 204.] In the Presbytery Book of Strathbogie, printed for the Spalding Club, 1843, p. 24, ct scq., we find the record of (Gordon's admis- sion to the cure of the parishes of Kinnoir and Dumbennand, in Septem- ber 1640. Wo learn from the same Volume, that his namesake the Parson of Rothiemay entered to the charge of that parish about the same period. — E,] REVERENDISSIMI PATRIS IN CHRISTO, PATRICII. PR^SULIS ABREDONANI, A CONSILIIS REGIIS, DOMINI DE CORSE, ETC.l EPICEDION. XLVI. YSTARUM quid turba queunt? jam Cynthius oi'bem Liquit (delitife gentis honosque suae.) Qualis erat Nuraidas inter pater Augustinus, Bizantique vires aureus ore senex. Talis eras ; in te Cyprianum, Gregoriosque, Et cum mille aliis vidimus Ambrosiura. ^ [The Author of these Verses would appear to be the same individual referred to by Spalding, who calls him " Mr John Kempt, preacher," and states that he and various other inhabitants of Aberdeen and the neigh- bourhood, " who for this Covenant had fled the cuntrie to the King," returned home in 1639. [Hist, of the Troubles, Bannatyne Club Edition, vol. i. p. 145. See ibid. p. 232.] He is also probably the same person who figures in the following passage in the History of the Parson of Rothiemay, who tells us, when recording the proceedings of the Pres- byterian party at Aberdeen in 1640. — " Dr William Forbesse (of whom befor) who had been bishopp of Edinburgh some yeares befor, and dyed ther the first yeare after his entrye, was now mentioned. His memory was hatefull to them, as being a man anti-presbyterian to the outmost, and one who in his lyfe time, whilst he was minister of Edin- burgh, had been accused for heterodox doctrine (preached publickly in 422 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Regia perpetuam celebrabunt culmina famam, Olim Elphinstoni tecta dicata manu : Quae reduces habitant te deducente Oamoenae. Quseque Deum resonant pulpita muta prius. Jamque tuis Themis auspieiis, Medicinaque florent ; Doctrinseque omnes, te revocante vigent. In Patriam remeans, quera semper mente colebas, Nunc cernis, summo perfruerisque bono. Joannes Kemp^us,i Philosophise Magister, et S. S. Theol. Studiosus, in Acad. Abredoniensi. Ediuburgh) by one William Ridge, a great precisian accompted in thes tymes, so farr as to affect a singulai-itye in bis apperell, (whicli gave occa- sione to one who was none of the wysest to tell him, iipon a tyme, that his religion and his breeches were both out of the fashione.) This WiUiam Ridge, as he had persecuted Dr William Forbesse living, so, at this tyme being a ruling elder at the Assembly of Aberdeene, he resolves to per- secute his memorye, and, as farr as lyes in his power, for to suppresse the workes that Dr Forbesse was saide to have left behynde him ; for ther was a report that he had WTyttne a booke, in which he strove, as farr as was possible, for to reconceile the differences betuixt the protestants and papistes. The Assembly will have it enqwyred after, and all the young men expectants about Aberdeen are qwestioned what they knew of such a booke. The ministry lyckways are examined, and it was answered by some present that such a booke ther was extant, in manuscript, in severall handes. Amongst others, upp standes one Mr Johne Kempe, a citizen of Aberdeen, who had spent his stocke and was turned preacher, and tells them he had a coppy thereof besyde him. William Ridge is employd for to goe fetche it, who had offered himselfe to that ser\dce, and withall to goe searche Dr Robert Barrens study, if any such manuscript could be founde therin ; which instantly he did, and brought, into triumphant manner, a couple of coppyes into the Assembly house ; one delyvered by Mr Johne Kempt, who gott the thankes of the house for his ingenuitye ; and another founde amongst Dr Barrons librarye." — [Hist, of Scots Affairs, vol. iii. pp. 2.39, 240. See Siqmi, p. 28, 29, Notes.— E.] IN OBITUM REVERENDISSIMI, PRUDENTISSIMI, PIISSIMIQUE PR-^SULIS, PATRICII FORBESII, EPISCOPI ABREDONIENSIS, &c. XLVII. IC situs est Pr&esul, vita sanctissimus omni, Pieridum, Patriae, FoRBESlDUMque decus. ALIUD. XLVIIL R^CLARO qusecunque queunt de stemmate dici, In te FoRBESi cuncta fuisse patet. Quantus qualis eras nee lingua retexere possit, Nee mens complepti quara probus atque pius. 424 EPITAPHIA METRICA. ALIUD. XLIX. 'I URA, Labor, pietas, prudens vigilantia, virtus, Dulcedo morum, nobilitatis honos Hie tumulata jacerit ; rogitao : Die quseso, viator Possit an hie mundus jam superesse diu ? Posuit Misakmos,! Mr Jac. Keythe. ^ [The nieauiiig of the epithet which Mr James Keith here applies to himself, and which he also uses when subscribing the other lines written by him, printed below, is not very obvious. Perhaps the word is derived from (A^toi and axfjin, and may import — One wlio dislikes extremes. — E.] IN OBITUM REVERENDISSIMI IN CHRISTO PATRIS, PATRICII FORBESII, EPISCOPI ABREDONENSIS. AC DOMINI A CORSE, &C. CARMEN FUNEBRE. L. RTIBUS, baud pauci pravis, tolluntur in altum ; Nunc prece, nunc pretio, ssepe favore virum. Invitum blande sed vestigavit, et ultro FoRBESiUM ambivit pontificalis honor. Hie sapiens INIystes, observantissimus sequi, Ingenio pollens, eximieque pius, Claruit eloquio miro : vigor entheus intus Ardens, in sancto pectore firma fides. Auxilium viduis, prsesensque levamen egenis Omnibus, orbatis ssepe Parente Pater. Ferre crucem juvenis didicit, confectus et annis Constanter Domini servus obibat opus. Hie Instaurator puras pietatis, ab ipso In Synodo prsestans ordo, decensque nianet. 426 EPITAPHIA METRICA. Hie a secretis regni, prudensque senator, Consilii magni, judiciique fuit. Prsesulis exigua Corpus requiescit in Urna, At cum Christo animam jam Paradisus habet. Olim cum Corpus redivivum sistet Jesus, Patricio toti vita perennis erit. Ponebat Mr Georg. Robertsonus, Abredoniensis. tA5 ^Xs tXs Villiam M'Murray, Rev. W,, Dundas, Canada West M'Neil, Alexander, Esq. Advocate M*Phail, Mr John, Edinburgh Printing Company, 12, South St David Street M'Queen, Rev. John, Kidderpore, near Calcutta M'Rae, Rev. J., Hawick Madox, William, Esq. younger of Pit- reavie, 154, Albany Street, Regent's Park, London Maidment, James, Esq. Advocate, Edinr. Maitland, Thomas, Esq. Advocate, Edinr, Makgill, George, Esq. of Kemback Malcolm, Rev. H., St Mary's Church, Dunblane Malcolm, Robert, Esq. M. D. George Street. Edinburgh Malcolm, Niel, Esq. of Poltalloch, Loch- gilphead Mallinson, James, Esq. Halifax, Yorkshire Manning, Ven, Archdeacon, Laving- ton, Petworth — Patron Mant, The Venerable Walter B., Arch- deacon of Down, Hillsborough Mapelton, H. M. Esq. Mapleton, Rev. R. J., B.A. Berkswell, near Meriden Martin, Rev. George, Exeter Maryland, The Right Rev. The Bishop OF — Patron Mason, Rev. H. B.,Brewood, Staffordshire Matheson, Rev. Alexander, The Manse, Kippen, Stirling Maule, Hon. Mrs William Meath, The Lord Bishop of — Patron Mein, Alexander, *;Esq. 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