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 ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 ANGLICANISM; 
 
 OB, 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE LITURGIES, HOMILIES, 
 
 AETICLES, BIBLES, 
 PRINCIPLES AND GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM OF THE 
 
 0f 
 
 BY 
 
 THE REV. W. WATERWORTH, S J. 
 M 
 
 LONDON : 
 BURNS & LAMBERT, 17 PORTMAN STREET, 
 
 PORTMAN SQUARE, 
 
 AND 63 PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 MDCCCLIT.
 
 PRINTED BY WILLLIAM DAVY AND SON, GILBERT STKEET.
 
 TO THE VERY REV. 
 
 THE REV. P. BECKX, 
 
 GENERAL OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS, 
 
 IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 BY HIS PATERNITY'S OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IN a former Volume, I have traced the spiritual connexion 
 of England and the Holy See, from the times of Lever 
 Maur, who applied to Rome in the second century for 
 instructers in the faith, down to the sixteenth century, 
 when Henry the Eight dissolved the ancient union, and 
 attached to the English Crown the rights and prerogatives 
 which had till then been unhesitatingly, and on principle, 
 conceded to the Roman Pontiffs. 
 
 To describe the grounds on which this transfer of power 
 was based ; to trace the origin of the liturgical, symbol- 
 ical, and other authoritative works which appeared in the 
 reigns of Henry, and of his two children, Edward and 
 Elizabeth ; and to examine in detail every important 
 circumstance connected with the Bible, which after the 
 separation of England from Rome had been effected, was 
 proclaimed to be, what it has ever since been believed to 
 be, the only rule of faith of Anglicanism, are the objects 
 which I propose to myself in the following pages. 
 
 The subjects referred to are obviously of great impor- 
 tance ; for on them turns the whole question of the divine 
 or human origin of the English Reformation. If it can be 
 shown that passion and not revelation ; that arbitrary 
 power and not divine right, were considered in the estab- 
 lishment of the Church of England ; if further it can be 
 demonstrated that the symbolical and doctrinal works of
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 the Reformers were characterized by inconsistency and 
 contradictions, it will be readily conceded that the new 
 religion was simply a human institution a kingdom of 
 this world, and nothing better. 
 
 Now, it appears to me, that all this, and much more 
 indeed, can easily be established by facts as patent as the 
 history of Henry's divorce from Queen Catherine, of 
 Henry's parliaments, and of the innovations connected with 
 religion, which marked the three score and eight years 
 which intervened between the apostacy of Henry the 
 Eighth and the death of Elizabeth. 
 
 These facts will be fully and accurately stated in the 
 sequel of this volume ; and further, such inferences as 
 logically flow from the historical premises will be briefly 
 laid before the reader, in order that a correct estimate may 
 be formed of that system of belief, which has been 
 guarded for the last three hundred years, by the two- 
 edged sword of penal statutes and state-patronage. 
 
 Though the questions discussed in this volume may 
 have frequently been laid before the English public in 
 former publications, they have not, it is believed, been 
 ever treated in the manner here adopted. Several writers, 
 for example, have ably developed the Solibiblical prin- 
 ciple ; they have, too, when engaged on the delineation of 
 Protestantism, referred to those frequent changes both in 
 doctrine and practice, which were the natural results of 
 Erastianism ; but no one has, I think, sifted the sixth 
 Article in relation to the Deutero-canonical writings, or 
 reduced the whole of Anglicanism to its original elements, 
 and thus tested its nature and its origin. 
 
 To me this analytical process seems highly satisfactory 
 and conclusive. It enables the reader to see things as
 
 PREFACE. VII 
 
 they really are; whilst it removes the earthy mound 
 beneath which truth has been too long buried. 
 
 No pains have been spared to render this work both 
 interesting and useful ; and with this conviction I submit 
 my endeavours to the discriminating judgment of the 
 friends of truth. Partizans men who adhere to systems 
 and opinions not from a conviction of their being true, but 
 on account of their agreement with religious or political 
 prepossessions will not approve of what I have recorded 
 in relation to Anglicanism. They would have me and 
 others forget the origin of the establishment ; and instead 
 of stating with Macauley that " the Church of England 
 sprang from a compromise, huddled up between the eager 
 zeal of Reformers and the selfishness of greedy, ambitious, 
 and time-serving politicians," they would wish me to 
 describe it as venerable and Heaven-sent. But this I 
 could not do. My object in writing is to teach ; and all 
 instruction should be truth. Truth is above and beyond 
 party feeling or individualism : it admits not of deflections : 
 it goes straightforward : 
 
 To sacrifice truth to party, or not to declare it openly 
 where revelation and man's eternal interests are at stake, 
 must ever be looked upon as an unworthy compromise, 
 and the very worst species of religious treachery. 
 
 QUI SON LIBEBE VERITATEM PRONGNCIAT, PEODITOE EST YEEITATIS. 
 
 Instit. Just. 
 
 J, HILL STREET, LONDON, 
 Dec. 8th, 1854,
 
 EKRATA. 
 
 Page 47, note, for Gebet, read Gerbet. 
 220, line 5, dele and third. 
 246, line I, for Hiliary, read Hilary. 
 
 'I-
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I.. Anglican statements relative to the defection of the 
 Universal Church. 
 
 Statement of the Homilies relative to an universal apostacy. Conse- 
 quences derivable from this statement These consequences, as well 
 as the general accusations proved to be untenable, 1 
 
 CHAPTER EL Examination of the principle laid down in the Homilies 
 relative to the defection of the Church. 
 
 The Church infallible proved first by an universal testification, and 
 secondly, by the Scriptures of the New Law, which are a realization of 
 the prophecies of the Old Testament. Use and end of the Ministry. 
 This end attained in Catholicity. The Ministry is useless on Protestant 
 grounds. The Protestant allegation of defection disproved. The charge 
 of idolatry shown to be absolutely groundless, from the zeal and cha- 
 racter of the Missioners of the middle ages, the countries they con- 
 verted, the monuments they erected, the books they wrote ; as also 
 from even the Protestant catalogue of Saints. Origin and progress of 
 the Protestant calumny. The charge not substantiated by reference 
 to Catholic doctrines. These doctrines are defended by eminent Protes- 
 tants. General observations on the folly and falseness of the Homi- 
 lies 8 
 
 CHAPTER III. On the Origin and Authority of the Articles of Reli- 
 gion of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 Importance of the examination of the History of the Articles. Their 
 authority in the Anglican Church. Henry's innovations destructive 
 of Episcopal and Clerical authority, generally. The six Articles, and 
 works in connexion with them. These Articles, &c. forced on the 
 people. The principle involved in the framing of the Articles, destruc- 
 tive of Anglicanism. Fox and others write against the Articles. The 
 Articles and religion of Henry are changed by King Edward. History 
 of the origin, number, nature, and subscription of the Articles of 
 Edward VI. The Articles mainly formed by Cranmer. His vacillating 
 character. Reproached for his changes by Gardiner, &c. Still, always 
 dogmatical, imperious, and cruel. Persecution of Mary. Her firmness.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Articles of Elizabeth ; their number and distinctive character. 
 Reported ignorance of the framers of the Thirty-nine Articles. The 
 Articles are enforced and subscribed. Review of the changes in the 
 national religion during the reigns of Henry, Edward, and Elizabeth. 
 These Changes wholly dependant on individuals. Proved from the 
 Zurich letters. The Articles are worthless as an authority. This 
 admitted even by Anglicans. Observations of Le Maistre on Protes- 
 tant Articles. Difference between the origin of the Articles, and the 
 Profession of Faith of Pope Pius. Justification of the latter 50 
 
 CHAPTER IV. On the Origin and Authority of the Homilies. 
 
 Origin and end of the Homilies Read in all Churches, by Order. Their 
 authors. Character of these Authors. Specimens of their gross incon- 
 sistencies and contradictions. The Homilies approved of by the Articles, 
 but disliked by the People. Signs of dislike. Condemned as false and 
 contradictory. The Justice of this condemnation. They are worthless 
 in themselves and in their origin 109 
 
 CHAPTER V. On the ^Anglican ^Liturgies. 
 
 ^x. f-'^^ 
 
 History of the Liturgical changes. Form'of prayer condemned, though 
 previously ascribed to the Holy Ghost. History of the Primer, &c. in 
 Henry's time. Edward's Liturgies. Changes in them. Authors of 
 the changes. Elizabeth's Liturgy. Changes, and grounds of the alter- 
 ations. The Liturgy disapproved of formerly and now. The objections 
 raised against it. Alterations suggested. The changes in the Liturgy 
 as well as in the Articles, prove the hollowness and worldliness of 
 Anglicanism. Observations on the words " our Liturgy." Whence did 
 the Anglicans derive those prayers, of which they boast so much ? 122 
 
 CHAPTER VI. On the Jtoyal Supremacy. \ 
 
 At the accession of Henry, not the King, but the Pope was head of the 
 English Church. His power considered to be divine, and as such defended 
 by Henry himself. Henry's work The title conferred on him in conse- 
 quence. Henry abandons the Pope, and makes himself head of the 
 Church. His conduct, and that of the Clergy, during the change. 
 Awful extent of the royal assumption Secured to him by Acts of 
 Parliament, by oaths, &c. Subserviency of the Clergy, and their 
 subsequent abject condition. More and Fisher die in defence of the 
 Papal Supremacy. Edward's claims to and exercise of the Supremacy. 
 Remonstrance of the Clergy. Indignation of the German and Hel- 
 vetic Reformers. Elizabeth refuses the title of Head, but assumes 
 that of Governor of the Church, with all the prerogatives of the 
 Supremacy. Remarks on the change in the title, by the Anglicans and 
 others. Opposition of the Catholic Clergy to Elizabeth's claims to the 
 Supremacy. Results. The Supremacy ever since claimed by and 
 allowed to our Sovereigns by Parliament. Grounds raised for the
 
 CONTENTS. XI 
 
 maintenance of the Supremacy proved to be untenable. Consequences 
 to England's Christianity flowing from the assumed Supremacy. 
 Folly of the recent address made to the Queen, relative to the Indepen- 
 dence of the Church in England. The scriptural proof in favour of 
 the Royal Supremacy, false as a fact, and absurd as an argument. 
 No mission in the Anglican Church. The marks of the Church have 
 disappeared here ever since a King was substituted for the Pope. . 138 
 
 ' CHAPTER VII. On the Anglican Authorized 
 
 Heretics, both ancient and modern, adopt some distinctive version of 
 the Scriptures. Necessity of this ; and consequent recriminations. 
 Translations formerly approved of, but condemned by Henry VIII. 
 Elizabeth's Bibles denounced. The Authorized version of 1611. 
 History of this version. The Translators, and the rules which they 
 were obliged by James to follow. No correct Anglican Bible till 
 seventy- seven years after the Reformation. Consequences to be drawn 
 from this admission, fatal to the Reformation. The Authorized Version 
 has been and is complained of by the learned. Proofs. Lowth has 
 shaken to pieces the very foundations on which the translation of the 
 Old Testament was based. Obvious difficulties in connexion with the 
 translation of the New Testament. Development of the principles of 
 this difficulty. Labours of Mills and others to recover the true Apos- 
 tolic text. Proofs given hi detail of the ignorance and unfitness of the 
 English translators 177 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. On the meaning of the word, Holy Scriptures ; and 
 on the inspiration, authenticity, and canonicity of the Bible. 
 
 Importance of this examination, and the difficulty it involves. Meaning 
 of the word Bible. Origin, age, country, and character of the sacred 
 writings. Inspiration required. What it is. Protestant theories de- 
 veloped. No fixed ideas on this head, though inspiration is essential to 
 the Bible. By extrinsic proofs only can inspiration be proved ad- 
 mitted by Taylor, Hooker, &c. Foolish proofs of inspiration adduced 
 by Anglicans from Christ's words. Authenticity. The canonical 
 writings. The sixth Article on this head, false. Some works admitted 
 by Protestants, were formerly doubted of as much as those writings 
 which they reject. Continuous evidence on this head. Principles 
 advocated by Cyril and others for discovering the canonicity of any 
 writing. "Whether Protestants reject or receive tradition, their posi- 
 tion is untenable. Belief of the Church at the end of the fourth cen- 
 tury relative to the sacred books. Lists of the Scriptures drawn up at 
 Carthage, at Rome, and elsewhere. Detailed and specific examination 
 of each of the divine writings rejected by Protestants. Their canonicity 
 clearly established. Falseness of the sixth Article in whatever way it be 
 tested. Protestants know absolutely nothing of the origin and mode of 
 settling the canon of the Old Testament. Varying accounts on this 
 head, in respect to Esdras, the Synagogue, and the works forming the
 
 Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 Bible, at various periods. Even after Esdras, books added to the 
 Canon. Testimony of Josephus, and the principle involved in it. 
 Observations on the statement of the sixth Article in connexion with 
 St. Jerome. The statement unfair, and disproved by St. Jerome him- 
 self. Catholic principle advocated by this Saint 194 
 
 CHAP. IX. The Solibiblical principle its difficulties and 
 contradictions. 
 
 -The Solibiblical principle false opposed to the teaching of Christ, his 
 Apostles, and the Church of all ages, and in direct opposition to the 
 antisymbolical origin and character of the Sacred writings. Mode of 
 acting of Christ, the Apostles, and the Church. How many Apostles 
 wrote, and why they wrote. The generative principle of faith in the 
 Apostolic and after times. Testimonies of the Fathers on this head. 
 The Solibiblical principle unavailable for more than 1400 years. The 
 Scriptures decide nothing about their own meaning this evidenced by 
 the Sects which pretend to believe the Bible. Selden's observations and 
 Henry the Eighth's restrictions. The Scripture full of difficulties 
 cause of this. Proposed limitation of this principle.-fJJseless as a prin- 
 ciple of faith and unjust in Anglicanism.V-Examination of the texts 
 ordinarily adduced in favour of the Bible being the only " Rule of Faith." 
 The Biblical system justly opposed by Catholics. It is irreconcilable 
 too with numerous tenets believed in by the English Church. Instances 
 in proof. Motives of the adherence of Catholics to the authority of the 
 Church 264 
 
 CHAP. X. On the Zeal of the Catholics in Transcribing and Circu- 
 lating the Sacred Scriptures, and the Grounds of Opposition to the 
 Bible Society. 
 
 Catholic Zeal in Transcribing, Translating, and Spreading the Sacred Scrip- 
 tures, attested by Protestants, and evidenced by a Multiplicity of Manu- 
 scripts in the various Libraries of Europe, &c. Continuation and Extension 
 of this Zeal after the Discovery of the Art of Printing. Bibles published 
 in every Ancient and nearly every Modern Language. Continuous proofs 
 of this point. Zeal and favour of the Popes. Catholic Commentators 
 as contrasted with Protestant Annotators. Origin of the Protestant 
 Idea respecting Catholic Opposition to the Scriptures. Origin of the 
 Index, and History of the Fourth Rule. This Rule both Wise and 
 Truthful, and conformable to the Apostolic Teaching. Even Protes- 
 tants approve of the Principle advocated in the Fourth Rule. Modifica- 
 tion of the Rule under altered circumstances. Causes of the Opposition 
 of the Pontiffs to the Bible Society. These Causes just and commend- 
 able. Antagonism of the Members of the Bible Society. This Anta- 
 gonism clearly demonstrated. Conclusion 345 
 
 APPENDIX 391
 
 THE 
 
 ENGLISH REFORMATION. 
 
 i\t fmi. 
 
 Anglican statements relative to the defection of the 
 Universal Church. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Statement of the Homilies relative to an universal apostacy. Conse- 
 quences derivable from this statement. These consequences, as well 
 as the general accusations proved to be untenable. 
 
 IT is stated in the second book of Homilies, that " Laity 
 and Clergy, learned and unlearned, all ages, sects, and 
 degrees of men, women, and children, of whole Christendom 
 (an horrible and most dreadful thing to think}, have been 
 at once drowned in abominable idolatry : of all other vices 
 most detested of God, and most damnable to man, and 
 that by the space of eight hundred years and more." 1 The 
 
 1 Third part of the Sermon against the Peril of Idolatry, p. 150, Ed. 
 1683. The second book of Homilies was first published in 1562 ; the first 
 was printed as early as 1547. Cranmer and Becon were the principal 
 writers of the first book, and Bishop Jewel of the second.
 
 & The English Reformation. 
 
 Homilies, if we may credit the declaration of the thirty-fifth 
 of the Thirty -nine Articles, contain " a godly and whole- 
 some doctrine and necessary for these times, ," 1 On their 
 first publication, they were commanded to be read in every 
 Church of the land, by the parochial Clergy, on whose capa- 
 city or orthodoxy neither Edward nor Elizabeth could 
 rely ; 2 and every minister is still bound to read them, at 
 least privately, 3 inasmuch as he subscribes the Articles, and 
 through them declares, that the doctrine of the Homilies 
 is " godly and wholesome"; for how can this declaration 
 be honestly made, if the Homilies have not been atten- 
 tively studied ? From this statement, then, which ministers 
 and people are commanded to believe in, and which is 
 repeated over and over again, not only in the Homilies, 4 
 but also in the writings of the first Reformers, it follows, 
 that Christianity had, according to Protestant belief, wholly 
 and entirely disappeared from the face of the earth ; that 
 from the year 734 down to the year 1534, when Protes- 
 tantism was introduced into this country, under the aus- 
 pices of our eighth Henry, idolatry had prevailed every- 
 where; men, women, and children, having all forfeited 
 the grace of Christianity, become objects of detestation 
 to the Deity, and amenable to Heaven's severest chastise- 
 ments. 
 
 Christianity, we are also told, was re-introduced by 
 the Anglican Reformation. Then idolatry became legally 
 extinct; and in the Prayer-book of the Established Church, 
 composed in 1548, was seen the manifestation of the Holy 
 Spirit, that work having been composed " by the aid of 
 
 1 See thirty-fifth Article. 
 
 2 Ibid., and Burnet's Exposition of the Articles, p. 375, Ed. 1705. 
 
 3 Burnet's Articles, p. 376. * Burnet, ibid.
 
 The English Reformation. 3 
 
 the Holy Ghost"* as we are solemnly assured, in the 
 preamble to the act of Parliament which approved of the 
 new Liturgy, and also enacted, under severe penalties, 
 that it, and it only, should be used by every minister of 
 the Church whilst celebrating divine service, through the 
 length and breadth of the land. 
 
 In the above statements, two most important proposi- 
 tions are contained : 1 Not only may Christianity, or the 
 one form of faith established by Jesus Christ, fail, but as 
 a matter of fact, it did fail utterly; and, for nearly a 
 thousand years, the system of religion introduced by our 
 blessed Saviour, was nothing more than matter of history 
 it was a thing which had once been, but which, eventu- 
 ally, had ceased to be. 2 When Christianity was again 
 restored, it was restored by the English Reformers, aided 
 "by a divinely assisted Parliament : the Articles of the new 
 religion contained the symbol of orthodoxy ; the Common 
 Prayer-book was a work of more than human wisdom ; 
 and the Homilies taught a godly and wholesome doctrine. 
 
 Now, I need hardly inform the reader, that both these 
 propositions are absolutely and unhesitatingly denied by 
 the vast majority of the Christian world. The first assertion 
 is denied by all Catholics, and the second is disallowed 
 by the whole of Christendom, if we except the compara- 
 tively small establishment, known by the name of the 
 Anglican Church. The Catholic Church, which is spread 
 
 6 See the preamble in BurneVs Reformation, vol. ii, p. 93, Ed. 1683 ; as 
 also in Lingard's Hist, of England, vol. iv, p. 396, Ed. 4to. This preamble 
 is remarkable, on account of a gross falsehood. It states that the Prayer- 
 book had been drawn up with one common agreement; whereas, it is a 
 well-known fact, that eight out of the eighteen prelates, on the committee 
 which framed the Liturgy, voted against it. Lord's Journals, 331.
 
 4 The English Reformation. 
 
 over nearly the whole universe, and which counts its 
 followers by hundreds of thousands, followers, who have 
 in every age given to the world the noblest proofs of 
 intellectuality, of genius, and of devoted piety, proofs, 
 which arrest the attention of the student and of the scholar, 
 in this, as well as other lands, and which, neither time, 
 nor influences more destructive than time, have been, 
 or ever will be, able to obliterate, not only denies the 
 fact of the errancy of the Church, but also, the possibility 
 of such an occurrence. This mighty body, consisting, 
 perhaps, of two hundred millions of members, asserts, that 
 the Church has not erred, and that it cannot err, since 
 Jesus Christ has promised to guard His Church against 
 all error, even unto the end of time. Such is the Catholic 
 statement ; and if the decision of this question were left to 
 mere human evidence if nations, or numbers, or learning, 1 
 or sanctity, were allowed to be decisive in such a matter, 
 it is plain that Protestantism would be cast ; units would 
 have to yield to thousands, and before our millions of 
 scholars and armies of saints, the fautors of the new 
 system would have to hide their diminished heads. 
 
 If, then, it can be made manifest, that the Anglican 
 Church can, at the best, offer only human evidence, in 
 favour either of this or any other distinctive conclusion, 
 
 1 Anglicans are for ever boasting of their own learning, and speaking 
 contemptuously of the learning of Catholic countries. Cobbett took an 
 easy way of testing the accuracy of the English idea. He fixed upon a 
 period most favourable to English, and least favourable to French and 
 Italian literature the period ranging from 1600 to 1787. Now what was 
 the result of this examination ? This : whilst England, Ireland and 
 Scotland could only boast of 132 writers of eminence during that period, 
 France could point to 676, and benighted Italy to 164! See CobbeWs 
 Letters, p. 34, 8vo Ed.
 
 The English Reformation. 5 
 
 it will be clearly seen, not only that the bold and Christi- 
 anity-destroying statement, contained in this first proposi- 
 tion, is utterly reckless and untrue, but also, that the 
 book of Homilies, in which this position is maintained, 
 and the Articles which sanction the Homilies, are value- 
 less as authorities. Now, all this can easily be established, 
 as we shall show during the course of this work. 
 
 The other proposition, which asserts, that when Christi- 
 anity was again restored, it was restored by the English 
 Reformers, and that the English Church professes the 
 one form of faith which the Apostles originally taught, 
 is again denied, and denied, as I have already observed, 
 with increased emphasis. Not only do Catholics rise up 
 in opposition, but the Eastern and Western world treats 
 the declaration with scorn. Greeks, and Nestorians, and 
 Eutychians, as well as Lutherans, Calvinists, Socinians, 
 Baptists, Presbyterians, Wesleyans, and the professors of 
 a hundred other creeds, all proclaim the word to be false. 
 The former tell the Anglicans, that the Protestant creed 
 is a creed of yesterday, a creed unheard of in past times ; 
 whilst the latter point to their sects as the living represen- 
 tatives of the Church of former ages ; and they openly 
 declare, that therefore have they joined the ranks of 
 dissent, because, through dissent only, could they become 
 real professors of Christ's one faith. 2 Such is the view, 
 which all but Anglicans take, of the grounds of the Re- 
 formation, and of the character of that Establishment, 
 
 2 Although, to gain the favor of the Dissenters, some Low Church 
 ministers have lately asserted, that the differences between Anglicanism 
 and Dissent are trifling, neither Dissenters have adopted this notion, nor 
 will the writings and laws issued against Dissent, bear out this time-serving 
 statement
 
 6 The English Reformation. 
 
 which arose in England in the sixteenth century, a view 
 not certainly very flattering, either to the originators, or 
 to the actual defenders of the new Church. 
 
 The propositions, however, are too important to be thus 
 hastily passed over ; on them the most important results 
 depend. If it can be shown that the Church cannot err, 
 then is the old, the unreformed Church, the Church which 
 discards the very notion of errancy, which upholds the 
 principle of inerrancy, and assumes an unchanging semper 
 eadem for its glorious motto, to be believed ; and reform 
 in all its shapes, is proved to be erring reason, set up in 
 opposition to the Divine mind, the apotheosis of ignorance, 
 and the metamorphosis of truth. Obviously, then, the 
 question of the errancy or inerrancy of the Church, is 
 deserving of the greatest attention. On the Church's in- 
 errancy, the Catholic relies with confidence ; here is his 
 anchor of security, and here his answer to all separatists. 
 These may prophecy the downfall of the Church; they 
 may declaim against a hundred truths, and call them blas- 
 phemies ; but he is unmoved. Believing in the authority 
 of the Church, he feels assured, that though the storm 
 may rage, the mystic vessel will not founder ; though 
 numerous enemies may assail the Church, it will not be 
 overcome : to be lashed by the waves, to be assailed by 
 enemies, was to be the lot of the Church ; but to endure 
 for ever, to survive every assailant, that was likewise to 
 be its destiny. Though accused of error, it shall be 
 truthful, for Christ the truth is with it; and though 
 scoffed at as foolish, it shall still be heaven-informed, for 
 with it and in it, the Spirit of wisdom unceasingly abides. 
 On the other hand, the Protestant of the Church of Eng- 
 land justifies his Reformation, and his rejection of the
 
 The English Reformation. 7 
 
 olden Church, 1 on the supposition of the actual failure of 
 the Church. If it have not failed, then his system is false, 
 and worse than worthless ; it is Anti-christian, and essen- 
 tially blasphemous. But mark ! Whilst the Church's in- 
 errancy proves the falseness of every opposing system of 
 belief, its fallibility would not evidence the truthfulness 
 either of the Anglican or any other form of faith. The 
 scores of conflicting fallible systems, have still to settle 
 their respective differences, and each fallible Church has 
 to prove, that, though fallible, it does not fail, and that 
 the propositions which it enunciates, and the practices 
 which it considers as essential to religion, are, in fact, the 
 revelations and the ordinances of the Almighty. How 
 this is to be done, how, without some infallible living 
 and teaching authority, the differences which separate and 
 divide this country are to be settled, is a problem, I think, 
 of at least difficult solution. But with this we have no- 
 thing to do : our observations will be restricted to the 
 doctrinal, sacramental, and governmental developments of 
 the Anglican Church. After examining the question of 
 the authority of the Church, we will further consider the 
 evidences which Protestantism offers for the creed of the 
 Articles, and the statements of the Prayer-book and of 
 the Homilies; thus adding evidence to evidence in re- 
 spect to the real character of that establishment which 
 supplanted the Church of this country, on the 30th day of 
 March, 1534. 
 
 ' See JeweFs Apology, passim, especially towards the close of the work.
 
 Examination of the principle laid down in the Homilies, 
 relative to the defection of the Church. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 The Church infallible proved first by an universal testification, and 
 secondly, by the Scriptures of the New Law, which are a realization of 
 the prophecies of the Old Testament. Use and end of the Ministry. 
 This end attained in Catholicity. The Ministry is useless on Protestant 
 grounds. The Protestant allegation of defection disproved. The charge 
 of idolatry shown to be absolutely groundless, from the zeal and cha- 
 racter of the Missioners of the middle ages, the countries they con- 
 verted, the monuments they erected, the books they wrote ; as also 
 from even the Protestant catalogue of Saints. Origin and progress of 
 the Protestant calumny. The charge not substantiated by reference 
 to Catholic doctrines. These doctrines are defended by eminent Protes- 
 tants. General observations on the folly and falseness of the Homelists. 
 
 CAN the whole Church of Christ, fall into damnable error, 
 as is stated in the Book of Homilies ? My answer shall be 
 clear : the Church of Christ 'cannot err, it cannot possibly 
 fall into that damnable idolatry, of which the book of 
 Homilies accuses it. And mark my proof: Christ the 
 founder, the parent of the Church, has absolutely promised 
 to secure it against all error, even unto the end of the 
 world. If further, you bid me say on what grounds I rest 
 this statement, I answer : I am acquainted with this fact 
 in the same way as I am with the fact of the existence of 
 Christ, the original planting of the Church, or the in-
 
 The English Reformation. 9 
 
 spiration and canonicity of the writings of the New 
 Testament. From a consentient and unanimous testi- 
 mony, I know that Christ has come into the world, that 
 he has founded a Church, and that the Apostles and others 
 wrote certain documents, under the immediate assistance 
 and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. From a similar consen- 
 tient and world-wide testimony, I learn what is the essen- 
 tial characteristic of the Church of Christ. All Catholics, 
 spread over the world, testify to TWO FACTS : 1 That the 
 Church cannot err in matters of faith ; and 2 That this 
 belief has been handed down, as the declaration of our 
 forefathers, from the days of the Apostles to these our 
 times. From these two facts, which are of world-wide 
 notoriety, it follows, that this belief has been handed down 
 by the last generation of Catholics, to the actual members 
 of the Church. The uniformity and simultaneity of the 
 testification exclude the possibility of doubt on this head. 
 No one nation could be induced to conspire at a given 
 moment to testify to a lie, much less could all the nations 
 of the earth, especially in respect to a matter which in- 
 volves the eternal interests of so many millions. But in 
 every nation, our fathers have all testified to one and the 
 same thing, as is evidenced by our actual belief; they 
 spoke then according to their belief, and this belief re- 
 garding a previous tradition, this very doctrine was taught 
 to them, and, for the same reason, to their forefathers. No 
 moment can be assigned, in which this uniform tradition 
 can have been forged; it is then no novelty; it is an 
 essential doctrine of Christianity, and as such the Catholic 
 world receives it. In a word, therefore, does the Catholic 
 world now admit the infallibility of the Church, because 
 it has been uniformly handed down as a revelation. The
 
 10 The English Reformation. 
 
 race of men who have taught us, taught us what they 
 had received, as a revelation of Jesus Christ, from their 
 'fathers, and thus the line of witnesses can never end till it 
 reaches Jesus Christ. There has been then, in every age, 
 from the Apostolic days, an uninterrupted body of testifi- 
 cators who have delivered, and of witnesses themselves 
 destined to be eventually testifiers who have received, 
 the doctrine in debate, as well as those other articles of 
 faith, to which I have already directed the reader's at- 
 tention, namely, the incarnation of Christ, the establish- 
 ment of the Church, and the inspiration of the sacred 
 writers of the New Covenant. Reject this mass of authority 
 and Christianity is undone. Not even Christ's existence 
 can be established without it ; and His divinity, and the 
 divinity of the sacred writings, will remain unproved, if 
 such extrinsic evidence can be rejected. There is not a 
 fact of history, there is not any merely literary or scientific 
 truth as firmly based, as the truth under investigation; 
 for what merely historic fact is there, what truth connected 
 with science and literature, to which two hundred millions 
 of individuals of every nation, tongue, and people testify, 
 in the same unhesitating and decided manner as the mil- 
 lions of Catholics scattered over the world, testify to the 
 infallibility of the Church ? If human testimony, then, 
 can make us cognizant of facts, if circumstances can tend 
 to confirm and strengthen the evidences of truth, then 
 were it madness to deny the infallibility of the Church : 
 for of all facts, this is palpably the most important, and it 
 is established by the evidence of millions of every age. 
 " Ipsa sola Ecclesise Catholicae auctoritas argumentum est 
 majoris ponderis, quam alia qusevis ratio, quia credendum 
 judicamus quidquid maxime et vitam et societatem hu-
 
 The English Reformation. 11 
 
 manam dirigit ac conducit." 1 On this testimony, St. 
 Augustine completely relied ; and lie hesitated not to say, 
 that but for it he would not have believed the Gospel 
 itself. 2 Viewing the Church in itself, and in its evidences, 
 this most learned convert to the Church observes : " There 
 are many other things (besides the heavenly wisdom of 
 the Church) which most justly keep me in her bosom. 
 The AGREEMENT of peoples and of nations keeps me. Au- 
 thority, begun with miracles, nourished with hope, in- 
 creased by charity > strengthened by antiquity, keeps me. 
 The succession of priests from the see itself of the Apostle 
 Peter to whom the Lord, after His resurrection, com- 
 mitted His sheep to be fed down to the present epis- 
 copacy, keeps me. Lastly, the very name of the Catholic 
 Church, keeps me ; a name, of which, in the midst of so 
 many heresies, this Church alone has, not without reason, 
 so kept possession, that though all heretics wish them- 
 selves to be called Catholics, yet to the enquiry of any 
 stranger, ' Where is the meeting of the Catholic Church 
 held?', no heretic dares to point out his own basilica or 
 house." 3 Assuredly, Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, 
 and Thomas Joseph, the Bishop of Menevia and New- 
 port, 4 are of the same mind : both speak alike, in respect 
 to the authority and infallibility of the Church; both, 
 alike, shrink with horror from the supposition that the 
 
 1 R. H. on Infallibility, p. 28, Ed. 1687. I believe that Abraham 
 Wbodhead is the author of the work referred to; at all events, the lan- 
 guage, arguments, &c. are like his. 
 
 2 Ego vero Evangelio non crederem, nisi me Catholicae Ecclesiae com- 
 moveret Auctoritas. Contra Epist. Manichcd fundam., t. viii, n. 5, 6. 
 
 3 Ibid. 
 
 4 See his Lordship's truly learned letters in answer to Bailey, passim. 
 Ed. 1852.
 
 12 The English Reformation. 
 
 Church of the living God may become apostate, and may, 
 instead of professing Christ's creed, set up some idol of 
 Gentilism for the adoration of her followers. The decla- 
 ration of the Homilies is unphilosophical ; it is worse, it is 
 absurd. It is the cry of desperation ; it is the straw which 
 the drowning man grasps, in order to escape from ship- 
 wreck ; it is the " stop-thief " of the plunderer, who raises 
 the cry in order to escape exposure ; it is the perversion 
 of the text, Expedit ut unus moriatur ne tota gens pereat : 
 the fautors of fallibility would read the text thus : The 
 nations of the earth must perish, in order that one may 
 survive. Condemned, utterly rejected by the entire of 
 Christendom, the new establishment was placed in this 
 dilemma ; it was either obliged to denounce a world or to 
 denounce itself. It chose the hazardous and suicidal act 
 of denouncing the world ; but in doing so, it seems to 
 have forgotten that there was a world to laugh at the 
 foolish act, and that whilst it proclaimed its own fallibility, 
 it published its own worthlessness, as a system of divine 
 faith. 
 
 From the records of the New Testament, which were 
 written after the Church had been planted and spread to 
 a considerable extent, and which, as we shall hereafter 
 demonstrate, are proved to be authentic, genuine, and 
 inspired by that very same principle of authority, which 
 we have alleged in favour of the inerrancy of the Church, 
 the truth, which we have been endeavouring to prove, 
 may be easily established. I do not say that the texts 
 are abstractedly so clear as to carry conviction along with 
 them, or are so worded as to force every one to interpret 
 them in one way, and one only; for, in fact, what one 
 passage is there in the Scriptures, which is not open to
 
 The English Reformation. 13 
 
 misinterpretation? If the Calvinist and Lutheran differ- 
 ently interpret the plain words, " this is my body," do not 
 the Socinians and Protestants differ about the meaning 
 of an equally clear phrase " the Word was made flesh" ? 
 But what I do fearlessly assert is this ; 1 That neither 
 clearer phraseology, nor more numerous texts, can be 
 adduced in favour of any truth, than are to be found in 
 the pages of the New Testament, in testification of the 
 Church's inerrancy ; and That every evasion of the 
 one meaning of the several passages of Scripture which 
 we are about to adduce, may be turned by the infidel and 
 dissenter with terrific effect against the whole system of 
 Anglicanism. 
 
 The things of the spiritual world, as well as the objects 
 of the world around us, to be seen, require some heavenly 
 light. Without light, the outer world is a blank ; things 
 are as if they were not. But let the sun shed its rays 
 around, and what a world of beauty and of loveliness, and 
 of endless variety, appears before us. It is indeed the 
 same world as was shrouded in darkness, but it was not 
 seen, it was not made manifest before the sun's light 
 illumined it. So it is too, to a great extent, with another 
 work of God the book of Revelation. Without the light 
 of faith, there is darkness there, and God's work appears 
 empty and void : forms are undefined, precious treasures 
 are unseen, and the heavenly handwriting is shrouded in 
 mystery. But shed on that book the heavenly light ; let 
 the reader be illumined, and then, then all will appear 
 wonderful : God's wisdom, and providence, and liberality 
 manifesting themselves at every turn. The Anglican 
 searches for the light: the Catholic has it. Whilst the 
 former suspends his assent on principle, until he has be-
 
 14 The English Reformation. 
 
 come acquainted with at least the letter of the Scriptures, 
 the latter, like those whom the Apostles instructed, and 
 to whom, eventually, but long after their conversion, were 
 committed some inspired writings, reads the Scriptures 
 already believing. This belief lights him on his road. 
 He already knows what the revelations of Christ are, and 
 hence in each page he readily detects, sometimes refer- 
 ences to, and principles of faith, whilst at other times, he 
 finds the doctrines of his religion expressed in language, 
 the clearest and the most emphatic. As instances, in 
 point, I will draw the reader's attention to the following 
 passages of Holy Writ. 
 
 First, then, what is the description which our Saviour 
 gives of the Church which he was about to establish ? Is 
 it of a building which is badly founded, and which is 
 quickly to pass away hurled down by the fury of con- 
 flicting elements ? No. The building is founded upon a 
 rock: "On this ROCK I will build my Church." 1 The 
 Church's foundations are not laid upon sand ; for had they 
 been, when the winds blew, and the rains fell, and the 
 floods came, the fabric would have fallen ; but they are 
 based upon a rock, in order that when "the rains fell, 
 and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat 
 upon that house, it might not fall." 2 The builder was 
 indeed the wise one of the Gospel, and his work was to 
 give evidence of his wisdom. Nor was our Saviour con- 
 tent with emphatically declaring, " I will build my Church 
 upon this rock," he distinctly promises that his Church 
 shall not be overthrown : " the gates of hell," he adds, 
 "shall NOT prevail against it." 3 The promise is absolute; 
 
 i S. Matthew, xvi, 18. 2 Ibid, vii, 25, 27. 
 
 3 C'esta dire, que, V Egliae ne pSrira jamais. Beausobre, Nouveau Test.
 
 The English Reformation. 15 
 
 and the existence of the Catholic Church, notwithstanding 
 all the defections and trials of eighteen hundred years, is 
 the standing proof of the wisdom and power of him who 
 made the promise. It exists, not in decay, not as a mere 
 antique; but it exists full of life, and full of youthful 
 vigour. " The Catholic Church," as Macauley observes, 
 " is still sending forth, to the farthest ends of the world, 
 missionaries, as zealous as those who landed in Kent with 
 Augustine, and still confronting hostile kings, with the 
 same spirit with which she confronted Attila. The num- 
 ber of her children is greater than in any former age. 
 Her acquisitions in the New world have more than com- 
 pensated for what she has lost in the Old. Her spiritual 
 ascendancy extends over the vast countries which lie 
 between the plains of Missouri and Cape Horn, countries 
 which, a century hence, may, not improbably, contain a 
 population as large as that which now inhabits Europe. 
 The members of her communion are certainly not fewer 
 than a hundred and fifty millions, and it will be difficult 
 to show that all other Christian sects united amount to 
 a hundred and twenty millions. Nor do we see any sign 
 which indicates that the term of her long dominion is 
 approaching. She saw the commencement of all the go- 
 vernments, and of all the ecclesiastical establishments that 
 now exist in the world ; and we feel no assurance that 
 she is not destined to see the end of them all. She was 
 great and respected before the Saxon had set foot on 
 Britain, before the French had passed the Rhine, when 
 Grecian eloquence still nourished in Antioch, when idols 
 were still worshipped in the Temple of Mecca : and she 
 
 vol. i, p. 70, in 1. Ed. 1741. For the meaning of the words " gates of hell," 
 see Eosenmiiller, in 1.
 
 16 The English Reformation. 
 
 may still exist in undiminished vigour, when some traveller 
 from New Zealand, shall, in the midst of a vast solitude, 
 take his stand on a broken arch of London Bridge to 
 sketch the ruins of St. Paul's." " Four times, since the 
 authority of the Church of Rome was established in 
 Western Christendom, has the human intellect risen up 
 against her yoke. Twice that Church remained completely 
 victorious. Twice she came forth from the conflict bear- 
 ing the marks of cruel wounds, but with the principle of 
 life strong within her. When we reflect on the tremen- 
 dous assaults which she has survived, we find it difficult 
 to conceive in what way she is to perish." 1 
 
 Ye winds and rains, ye proved her ; yet she stands. 
 
 Yes, the Church stands ; why or how, the wisest separatists 
 cannot tell. She ought to have perished, but she has not 
 she exists, strong and full of vigour. Why this is, 
 the Catholic only can tell ; the Catholic child may teach 
 the puzzled historian and philosopher a lesson. One word 
 explains the whole mystery : the Church is, because Christ 
 founded her on the rock, and promised, that not even the 
 mightiest power, the power of infuriated demons, should 
 prevail against her. Such is the plain word of Scripture 
 plain to the enlightened relative to the establishment and 
 perpetuity of the Church. When Christ actually sends 
 forth his Apostles, to build up the Church on the rock 
 which he himself had selected, as the basis, the founda- 
 tion of the heavenly structure, his words are equally clear 
 and emphatic : "All power," he says, " is given to me in 
 heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach (/x#0vjTtxr#T) 
 all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and 
 
 i Review of Ranke's History of the Popes, pp. 4, 5, 10, 11, Ed. 1851.
 
 TJie English Reformation. 17 
 
 of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching 
 them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded 
 you ; and, behold, I am with you all the days, even to the 
 consummation of the world" The ministerial line has 
 begun ; it has been sent forth by him who is omnipotent ; 
 it has been sent forth to teach authoritatively all the 
 nations of the earth. The task is an arduous one, but 
 the teachers are cheered by the assurance that he who has 
 all power in heaven and in earth, will be with them. This 
 word strengthened Isaac during his sojourn in Gerara, 2 
 and secured to Moses God's assistance, when sent forth on 
 his arduous task of confronting Pharaoh, and leading the 
 Israelites through the wilderness; 3 as it also did to Moses' 
 successor, Josue; 4 it cheered the ever Blessed Virgin, 
 when an angel announced his important mission; 5 and 
 now it gives confidence to the Christian minister. Not 
 for a short while is this assistance promised, it is promised 
 "for every day" e'yw (xe6 'u/xwv e!y,t K&trag rctg tiftepctg, "even 
 to the end of time" Then shall all the nations of the 
 earth have been evangelized, and when this has been 
 done, time shall be no more. Every word bears out the 
 one idea of Christ, expressed in his promise : interpret 
 the passage thus, and all is consonance ; affix another 
 interpretation, and Christ's rock is only a quicksand, and 
 his promise of unceasing assistance, an idle boast. If he 
 has not promised to guard, support, secure his Church 
 
 3 Genesis xxvi, 2, 3. 
 
 3 Exodus iii, 11, 12, and Deut. xxxi, 7, 8. 
 
 4 Josue i, 5, 9. 
 
 6 Luke i, 28. The phrase, I am with you, uniformly signifies a promise 
 of efficacious assistance. Cf. Genesis xxxi, 3, 5; xlvi, 3, 4; Jeremias i, 
 17, 19; Acts xviii, 9, 10; and the passages referred to in notes 2, 3, 4, 5.
 
 18 The English Reformation. 
 
 for ever, in the words adduced, in vain shall we search 
 for any doctrinal statement, in any other words of Christ : 
 the Trinity in Unity, as well as the procession of the Holy 
 Spirit, and the consubstantiality of the Son, will assuredly 
 remain without so much as the shadow of a proof. To 
 return to our text. The words of our divine Saviour, as 
 interpreted, contain the verification of former prophecies. 
 When the angel described the characteristics of the Mes- 
 sias, he used the following language : " He shall be great, 
 and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the 
 Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his 
 father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever : 
 and of his kingdom there shall be no end." l These words 
 are little more than a repetition of the prophecy of Daniel: 
 " The stone that struck the statue became a great moun- 
 tain, and filled the whole earth. But in the days of those 
 kingdoms, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that 
 shall NEVER be destroyed, and his kingdom shall not be 
 delivered up to another people : and it shall break in pieces 
 and shall consume all these kingdoms, and itself shall 
 stand for ever" 2 "I beheld, therefore, in the vision of 
 the night, and lo ! one like the Son of Man came with 
 the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the Ancient of 
 days, and they presented him before him. And he gave 
 him power, and glory, and a kingdom : and all peoples, 
 tribes and tongues shall serve him : his power is an ever- 
 lasting power, which shall not be taken away, and HIS 
 
 KINGDOM, THAT SHALL NOT BE DESTROYED." 3 And all 
 
 that the prophets foretold, has been further confirmed by 
 St. Paul. Contrasting, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, the 
 
 i Luke, i, 31, 33. 2 Ibid, ii, 35, 44. 
 
 3 vii, 13, 14; Cf. Michasas iv, 0, 7.
 
 TJie English Reformation. 19 
 
 Levitical priesthood, and the priesthood of our Redeemer, 
 according to the order of Melchisedech, the Apostle says : 
 "And the others indeed were made many priests, because, 
 by reason of death, they were not suffered to continue : 
 but this,ybr that he continueth for ever, hath an everlasting 
 priesthood" " The law maketh priests who have infir- 
 mity : but the word of the oath after the law, a Son per- 
 fect FOR EVER."* The Levitical law passed; but such 
 was not to be the character of the Christian dispensation : 
 its priesthood and its sacrifice were to be perpetual, and a 
 Son perfect for ever, was to confer unceasing honor on the 
 law of his own institution. 
 
 Nor did Christ promise only his own directing grace to 
 the Church, he conferred on it another privilege. " I will 
 ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, 
 that he may abide with you for ever," and this Paraclete 
 he calls emphatically the Spirit of truth? Thus for ever, 
 is the Spirit of truth to inspire the ministerial line. Aided 
 by his influence, the minister shall enunciate the truth for 
 ever. No day shall come when this Spirit shall not be 
 with his ministers ; no day then shall arrive, when the 
 Gospel shall not be taught, taught in its entirety, even as 
 Christ originally commanded, and to ensure which his own 
 and the Holy Spirit's presence is pledged for ever. The 
 promise is plain ; the power of the promiser is acknow- 
 ledged ; the end of this promise, the continuance of truth 
 in the Church for ever, is likewise manifest : who then 
 shall dare to gainsay his word which is to last for ever ? 
 When Christ then says that he is for ever with his Church, 
 who shall say that his Church is not ; when Christ assures 
 us that the Spirit of truth abides with the Church, who 
 
 * Heb. vii, 23, 24, 28. John xiv, 16, 17. Cf. xvi, 13.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 shall assert, that not the Spirit of truth is there, but a 
 damnable, idolatrous spirit ? When Christ assures us that 
 the gates of hell shall not prevail against his Church, who 
 shall deny his words and exclaim, they have prevailed, 
 they have prevailed for eight hundred years and more : 
 during that length of time, the whole world was plunged 
 in damnable Idolatry ? And indeed, when we find Christ 
 identifying himself with the teachers, and saying "he that 
 heareth YOU, heareth ME ; and he that despiseth YOU, de- 
 spiseth ME," x and further remember what we have already 
 adduced from the sacred Gospels relative to the continuity 
 of the line once commenced of ministers, is it not manifest 
 that such a representative body, cannot possibly teach 
 otherwise than in accordance with the revelations of Jesus 
 Christ. Therefore, according to St. Paul, God gave to the 
 Church various orders of ministers " apostles, evangelists, 
 pastors, doctors and prophets, that henceforth we be no 
 more children tossed to and fro, and carried about by every 
 wind of doctrine by the wickedness of men, by cunning 
 craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive." 2 What 
 if the ministry of the Church could have erred ; what if 
 the body of the pastors of the Church could have gone 
 astray ; so far from their being useful, they would have 
 been a curse to the world. By their errors they would 
 have easily misled mankind, and plunged the mass into the 
 deepest sink of moral and religious degradation. If there 
 had not been a heaven-secured ministry at the commence- 
 ment of the Church, St. Paul could not have absolutely 
 said " remember your prelates who have spoken the word 
 of God to you ; whose faith follow " 2 nor could St. John 
 have stated that the mode of trying if the spirits were of 
 
 i Luke x, 16. Eph. iv, 11, 14.
 
 The English Reformation. 1 
 
 God, was to see if people heard the Apostles. " Dearly 
 beloved, believe not every Spirit, but try the Spirits if they 
 be of God : because many false prophets are gone out into 
 the world. We are of God. He that heareth God heareth 
 us. He that is not of God, heareth us not. By this we 
 know the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error." 3 A test 
 of truth was required from the very commencement of the 
 Church, and the test was, obedience to and belief in the 
 ministry. A similar test would be still more requisite 
 when the Church had spread itself over the nations of the 
 earth, and had, in the midst of the errors of Gentilism and. 
 the false teachings of those who had forfeited the faith, to 
 make the one revelation manifest. The discriminative 
 characteristic continued unchanged, and thus Christians 
 were guarded against the innovations of heresy, and mo- 
 rally secured from being carried about by every breath of 
 doctrine by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness 
 by which they lie in wait to deceive. Thus again, the 
 Church well deserved the designation of " the pillar and 
 support of truth." 4 It was easy to know who heard and 
 who refused to hear the divinely appointed ministerial 
 body ; it was as easy formerly as now : and this known, 
 the difference of truth and error was at once manifest. It 
 was known who was and who was not a professor of the 
 one faith which Christ and the Apostles had taught. The 
 Church and its enemies stood forth in open antagonism. 
 
 And now, to examine still more closely, the grounds of 
 the Reformation, the position taken in the Homilies and 
 involved in the very idea of a reformation such as was 
 carried out here in the sixteenth century, to wit, that the 
 world had lost the faith once delivered by a cloud of wit- 
 1 John iv, 1, 6. * 1 Tim. iii, 15.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 nesses and had become idolatress ; I would ask, what does 
 history state, what do the very stones say, what do all the 
 Churches of the world which profess the old faith declare, 
 relative to the belief of the Catholic Church during those 
 eight hundred years of supposed apostacy ? We will date 
 these years from 734 to 1534. During this period the 
 idols of Germany were hurled down, and through that 
 wild and wide extent of territory was spread the faith of 
 Jesus Christ. Men, at the teaching of Boniface, 1 and 
 Burchard, and Lullus, and Willibald, and Wenebald, and 
 Wigbert, not to name scores of others of our sainted coun- 
 trymen who engaged in this noble undertaking, renounced 
 idolatry in every form ; and those who formerly had called 
 upon Thor and "Woden as divinities, thenceforth adored 
 one only true and living God, and no more. The writings 
 of several of these missioners, as of Boniface and Lullus, 
 are still extant : they breathe only one desire, and that 
 desire is to see God's holy name honored and adored ; and 
 they express joy only at one occurrence, at the conversion 
 of the Idolater. In the eighth century, Saxony and Fries- 
 land were converted at the preaching of Luidger, and of St. 
 Willehad. 2 This zeal for Christ was enduring. In the 
 next age, the Sclavonians were converted by SS. Cyril and 
 Methodius; 3 the Bulgarians, Moravians and Bohemians 
 
 1 See Boniface's Letters, as also those of Gregory III, especially Ep. 
 46. The Saint's real name was Winfrid. He was born at Kirton in 
 Devonshire, A.D. 680. 
 
 2 See his Life, written by Alfrid, and published in the second volume of 
 Pertz's Monumenta; and the Life of Willehad by Anschar, Archbishop of 
 Hamburgh, 1. c. 
 
 3 For a history of these zealous brothers, see Ada Sanct., die 9 
 Martii, as also Asscmani, Kalendaria Ecclesiae universse, t. iii, p. 175 ;
 
 The English Reformation. 23 
 
 joyfully yielded to the preaching of the missioners just 
 named, and of Adalbert and Paul, sent to them by 
 Nicholas I ; and the Danes and Swedes at the voice of 
 Anschar, and Ebbo, and Rembert, embraced the saving 
 truths of Christianity. 4 Further, when Vladimer embraced 
 Christianity, in which step he was joyfully followed by 
 the people over whom he ruled, towards the close of the 
 ninth century, his first act after his return to his country 
 was to destroy the idols which he had formerly adored, 
 and toss the broken fragments into the Dneiper. 5 Then 
 did the idol disappear in the Northern countries, and 
 where it had been, was hoisted the banner of the Cross. 
 This banner proclaimed Christ to be, " the power and the 
 wisdom of God." Equally successful was the zeal of the 
 Catholic missioners in the tenth age. Owing to the heaven 
 blessed toils of Adelbert of Prague, 6 Wolfgang and Radla, 
 Christianity was spread among the Hungarians about the 
 year 970, as it was too, nearly at the same period, among 
 the inhabitants of Poland. In 965 Duke Miecislaw, the first 
 Polish king, became a Catholic, 7 and in proof of his sin- 
 cerity dismissed the seven wives whom he had married 
 whilst yet an infidel. The Poles followed the example of 
 their Sovereign, and in testification of their zeal for the law 
 
 Dobrowsky's Essay on these Saints, p. 71 ; and the Letters of Pope John 
 VIII, apud Hardouin Conctt., voL vi, p. 61, &c. 
 
 * Histoire de Dannemarc, p. 54, par La Combe. See also Rimbert's 
 Life of Anschar, e. 13. We are told that Anschar was inspired to exert 
 all his efforts in favour of the Danes. 
 
 5 La Combe's Histoire de Russie, p. 406. 
 
 6 See Ada SS. die 23 Aprilis, c. vi, p. 192, relative to the toils and 
 successes of St. Adelbert among the Hungarians. 
 
 7 La Pologne adoroit pour lors les dieux du Paganisme, dont le cultc rut 
 aboli. La Combe's Histoire de Pologne, p. 376.
 
 24 The English Reformation. 
 
 of Jesus Christ, introduced the custom which for ages they 
 uniformly observed, of partly unsheathing their swords, at 
 the reading of the holy Gospels during the celebration of 
 the Mass. The son too of the mighty Eric, surnamed the 
 Victorious, Oloff II, embraced the faith, and at the preach- 
 ing of Sigafrid, Grimkil and David, both Swedes and 
 Norwegians, abandoned the gods of their fathers, and 
 openly professed Christianity in the eleventh century. 1 
 Europe, once the seat of idolatry of the most degrading 
 character, wondering and blessing, found itself at last 
 nearly Christian, in consequence of the zeal of missioners 
 sent forth by apostolic men, like Gregory the Great and his 
 successors in the Roman See, Gregoiy III and IV, Leo 
 IV, Nicholas I, John VIII, &c. Eskill and Ulfrid, and 
 Boniface of Camaldoli, continued the work of conversion 
 in the North in the eleventh century ; and in the twelfth 
 St. Henry was seen toiling in Finland ; and in Pomerania 
 St. Otho, cbmmissioned by Honorius II, succeeded in 
 extending the faith of Jesus Christ; whilst Nicholas 
 Breakspear, himself destined on some after day to be raised 
 to the dignity of Christ's Vicegerent on earth, became an 
 Apostle to the inhabitants of Norway. Thus was the work 
 of conversions continued. The work of conversion was as 
 actively prosecuted in the century of Apostacy, as in any 
 previous age : then was India evangelized ; Japan em- 
 braced the faith, and China was instructed by the Christian 
 missioner. And later history is full of facts connected 
 with the conversions of North and South America, of 
 Brazil, and of a thousand Islands once inhabited by men 
 of blood ; of Savages whose instincts seemed to be destruc- 
 tive of the very idea of Christianity. In the lands just 
 1 Histoire de Suede, p. 30,
 
 The English Reformation. 25 
 
 named more were converted to the one faith by the zeal of 
 a few individuals, than had been perverted by the human 
 systems of Luther, Calvin, and Henry VIII, notwithstand- 
 ing the rigours of the olden creed when Compared with 
 the sensualism and lawless tendencies of the modern 
 religions. 
 
 Is this the way to spread idolatry ? Is this the proof 
 which the Catholic Church has given to the world of her 
 adoration of the creature and rejection of God ? Where- 
 ever she appeared idols fell, altars sacred to false deities 
 were overturned, and the priesthood of Jupiter and Venus, 
 Woden and Thor, became extinct. Consult the history of 
 Japan and you will discover that the idols Brahma, Vich- 
 nou and Butzen, were abandoned at the preaching of the 
 Apostles of the Indies, St. Francis Xavier 2 and his Com- 
 panions ; and that those who had once been the professors 
 of Gentilism died with readiness in the cause of Jesus 
 Christ. America will give the same report. The Algon- 
 quins whose God was Manithou, the Caraebees who 
 adored Cheonien, the Hurons whose principal divinity was 
 Okki or Ares-Koui, not to speak of numerous other tribes 
 who adored the Sun and a multiplicity of creature gods, 
 will testify to the same fact : 3 that then did they turn to 
 the living God, when missioners from Rome visited them 
 and taught them the saving truths of the Gospel. Then 
 did the idol disappear, and the Eternal One become the 
 only object of adoration. The Moluches, Taluhets, Diui- 
 hets, Tehuelhets, and other inhabitants of Patagonia who 
 
 * See Pere Charlevoix's History of the Church of Japan, voL i, 76, &c., 
 Bouhour's "Xavier" passim. 
 
 3 See Pere Lafitau's Moeurs des Sauvages Ameriquains, passim, and 
 Kobertson's India.
 
 26 The English Reformation. 
 
 adored a good and an evil principle, the former called 
 Toquichen, and the latter Huecuvu, were taught by the 
 Jesuit missioners that there was one God only to be adored, 
 and at their preaching numbers were brought over to the 
 faith. 1 
 
 Ask the numerous nations which embraced or perpe- 
 tuated the faith of Rome, during the eight hundred years 
 consigned by the book of Homilies to idolatry, if idolatry 
 was inhibited by the missioners sent from, or in commu- 
 nion with Rome, and they will reply yes. Ask them fur- 
 ther, if any creature was allowed to be adored if any one 
 was to be adored, save the Eternal God ; and they will 
 return an indignant no. Ask them, if the Catholic Church 
 tolerated idolatry in any form ; and they will wonder at 
 the assurance or the wilful insolence of the interrogator : 
 for were not these principles every where advocated, 1 
 That there is but one God ; 2 That God alone is to be 
 adored ; and 3 That to give to any creature whatsoever 
 the adoration which is due to the one God, is the worst of 
 crimes. These principles are, they ever were, advocated 
 by Catholicity. Let those who will, deny this statement : 
 the gainsayers will only expose their own wickedness, and 
 their anxiety to buttress in any way a melancholy ruin. 
 From the writings too published by a cloud of witnesses 
 who nourished between 734 and 1534, in nearly every 
 country which had embraced Christianity, we may readily 
 learn what was the foith of our forefathers. These writings 
 may be said to be emphatically religious writings ; for in 
 
 1 See the account of one of these missioners, Father Falkner, in his 
 History of Patagonia, p. 114, Ed. 1774. The profession of faith which the 
 Indians were taught occurs at p. 143.
 
 The English Reformation. 2 7 
 
 Catholic times the revelations of God and the fortunes of 
 the Church became intimately linked with secular know- 
 ledge, as has been correctly stated by a modern writer in 
 the British Critic. Now in speaking of the faith of these 
 eight hundred years, is there any one author who maintains 
 the lawfulness of idolatry ; is there any one who does not 
 positively state that idolatry was destroyed by Christianity? 
 Search the creeds of the Church. Father, Son and Holy 
 Ghost are to be adored as God ; this is the distinct state- 
 ment of the middle ages : but where is it stated that the 
 creature may receive this same honor ? Study the writings 
 of the Angel of the Schools, Aquinas, whose opinions and 
 works obtained a world-wide celebrity, and you will find 
 him proclaiming idolatry a most grievous crime. 2 Consult 
 the explanations which Bonaventure and Alexander de 
 Ales, not to cite numerous other names, have left behind 
 them of the Decalogue, and you will find uniformly that 
 Catholicity denounced idolatry in every form, and made 
 use of language such as Gerson adopted when he says, 
 " Nos non adoramus imagines, sed refertur honor et ado- 
 ratio ad imaginatum." 3 Even beneath the images was 
 often found a full development of Catholic belief. I will, 
 though really the task may appear to well informed persons 
 a work of supererogation, transcribe a few lines from 
 Durand 4 in confirmation of this assertion: to Weever I 
 must refer the reader for further particulars and proofs. 
 
 Effigiem Christi qui transis, pronus adora ; 
 Non tamen effigiem, sed quod designat adora. 
 
 2 2 2 06 - q. xciv, art. i, ii, iii. 
 
 3 De Decem praeceptis, fol. xxvi, Ed. 1518. 
 
 4 Durand was Bishop of Mende in 1286. The words cited may be found 
 in Britton's Architectural Antiquities, vol. iv, p. 49, Ed. 1814.
 
 8 The English Reformation. 
 
 Esse Deum, ratione cave, cui contulit ease 
 Materiale lapis, effigiale manus. 
 
 Nee Deus est, nee homo, prcesens quam cernis imago : 
 Sed Deus est et homo, quern sacra figurat imago. 
 
 From this class of petrified doctrinal statements, as well 
 as from that other Soli Deo honor 1 which often arrests the 
 eye as it wanders over the noble arches raised by the 
 cowled fraternity, may be gathered the faith of our fore- 
 fathers, and the folly of the writers and approvers of the 
 second book of Homilies. What again, was the object of 
 the holy founders of the Camaldolese, the Cistercians, Car- 
 thusians, Gilbertines, Carmelites, Franciscans, Dominicans, 
 the poor Clares, the Servites, and Brigittins, not to bring 
 before the reader a longer list of venerable religious Orders 
 what, I ask, was the object of these institutions ? Was 
 it not to practise the Evangelical Counsels ; to benefit so- 
 ciety in every form from a love of Jesus Christ ; to present 
 to the world a living, energetic form of Christianity ; to 
 testify to all nations how worthy of love was the Eternal 
 God, and how for his sake parents, and wives, and chil- 
 dren, and lands and money could be abandoned, and a life 
 of poverty and hardship not unlike that which the Re- 
 deemer himself had selected, could be endured ? Let the 
 writers of, and believers in the Homilies, call these tens of 
 thousands, idolaters, if they will ; but let them do so, after 
 they have shown the same appreciation of the Gospel and 
 an equal willingness to abandon all things for the love of 
 Jesus Christ. The idolaters of former days, if such they 
 were, held in higher estimation the teachings and example 
 
 1 At Fountain's Ahbey, these words were^ boldly written in stone over 
 the great arch of, I think, the northern transept. I saw them in the 
 year 1841.
 
 The English Reformation. 29 
 
 of their Lord, than the so-called Christians, who are so 
 loud in denouncing the professors of the olden creed. The 
 former, seven times each day sung the praises of Almighty 
 God; the air became vocal with their praises of the Deity; 
 how often do their accusers pray ? When the edict went 
 forth that the praises of God as once sung should cease, 
 did not the worshippers of royalty, those who exchanged 
 the priest for a king, imitate their prototypes in the plain 
 of Dura, and the councillors of Darius who so zealously 
 enforced the decrees of the Medes and Persians, 2 and leave 
 Catholics alone to praise God ? The men of the middle 
 ages covered this and every other country with noble 
 cathedrals, and churches and chapels ; they raised up the 
 memorials of Christ's love, and of man's correspondence 
 with that love, and these were to be found in every street 
 and market-place and high-road: witness it ye noble 
 fabrics, Canterbury, and Lincoln, and York, and Durham, 
 and Westminster, and Peterborough, and Gloucester, and 
 Winchester, and Salisbury, and Worcester, and Exeter ; 
 witness it ye ruins of Woburn, and Reading, and Netley, 
 and St. Mary's York, and Fountains, and Bolton, and Ely, 
 and Chester, and Tavistock, and Tintern, and Shaftesbury, 
 and St. Albans, and Furness ; witness it ye spots in Eng- 
 land still bearing the name of the Cross, that Cross which 
 formerly consecrated the country and made it holy ground; 
 witness it ye sacred memorials which still exist in France, 
 Belgium, Germany, the Tyrol, and Italy, of blessed 
 Saints, who fought the good fight and kept the faith ; and 
 are these and such like men, the architects and builders of 
 Christian temples and of Christian memorials, still to be 
 branded as idolaters ? What proofs will posterity find in 
 
 2 Daniel vi, 8, 13.
 
 30 The English Reformation. 
 
 the railways and docks, and exchanges of this country ; in 
 the lions and dragons, and portentous figures of griffins, 
 and pagan gods and goddesses, which have gained admit- 
 tance into the very churches and chapels whence Christ's 
 blessed Image and the memorials of his Saints have been 
 ignominiously expelled, of the Christianity of the seven- 
 teenth and eighteenth century ? "What evidences will they 
 find here of a self-sacrificing, a mammon-hating, a God- 
 loving religion ? If Catholic memorials which exist under 
 a thousand beauteous religious forms, have not secured 
 our forefathers against the sweeping accusation of universal 
 idolatry, surely posterity will have to seek for some as yet 
 undiscovered term, expressive of the atheism of after 
 times, and of a recklessness of every thing, save worldly 
 comfort and accumulation of perishable riches. 
 
 Is not even the authorized Calendar of the Common 
 Prayer book, filled with the names of Saints, who lived 
 during the period so awfully denounced by the small sec- 
 tion, which originally subscribed the Thirty-nine Articles, 
 and read, by order of Parliament, the Homilies to the 
 people ? Dunstan, and Swithun, and the King Confessor, 
 and Hugh of Lincoln, and St. Edmund, are names familiar 
 to every one who has looked into the Prayer book ; whilst 
 the churches and the streets of England bear evidence to 
 the traditional sanctity of Saints Ethelbert, Editha, "Wol- 
 stan, Olave, Laurence, Isidore, Hedwiges, Giles, Thomas 
 of Aeon, Chad, &c. And this list might be extended 
 " even to the crack of doom," did we but wish to show 
 how every other country holds up before us scores of 
 blessed men, illustrious for their sanctity during the 
 eight hundred years referred to in the Homilies. But 
 enough surely has been already written on such a matter
 
 The English Reformation. 31 
 
 as this ; and I trust that this general survey of facts may 
 tend to stop further denunciations of that Church which, 
 during the eight hundred years preceding the English 
 Reformation, preserved the faith as well as the letter of the 
 Gospel. The task of defending the Church of the world 
 against an unfounded accusation emanating from a handful 
 of men, they were no more who drew up the Articles and 
 the Homilies, entails more pain than trouble, and is cal- 
 culated to awaken rather feelings of pity for the accuser, 
 than anxiety for the accused. Were a few of the accused 
 only named ; were the reader informed that such men as 
 Egbert and Alcuin, Ratramn and Walafrid Strabo, Floras, 
 Rabanus Maurus, Radbert, Hincmar and Scotus, Alfred 
 the Great, Luitprand and Ingulph, Lanfranc and Anselm, 
 Saints Malachy, Bernard, and the martyr of Canterbury 
 a'Becket, and John of Salisbury the friend and biogra- 
 pher of St. Thomas William of Malmesbury, Innocent 
 III, Stephen Langton, Alexander de Hales and Matthew 
 Paris, James de Voragine, Aquinas, Albertus Magnus, 
 Occam, Suso, Thaulerus, Gerson, Pius II, a Kempis, and 
 Picus de Mirandola, have individually been condemned, 
 swept away from the world of Christianity, and hurried by 
 their enemies into the temple of Paganism, there to offer 
 up an idolatrous worship, surely every man of learning l 
 would be filled with the deepest indignation. And yet, 
 these are the names of a few individuals only, out of the 
 
 1 Turner observes that " Thomas a Kempis is but one amid a numerous 
 society of congenial minds, among which, none more clearly show the 
 good that was taught, or will more gratify the spirit that loves and 
 cultivates the higher degrees of devout feeling, than the little volume on 
 the Union of the. Mind with the Deity, by the celebrated Franciscan and 
 Philosopher, Albertus Magnus." Turner's England during the Middle 
 Ages, v, p. 71.
 
 32 The English Reformation. 
 
 thousands who could be at once referred to, who, though 
 denounced as idolaters, would have rather spilt their blood 
 than have been guilty of idolatry. How shall we account 
 then for this act of folly, on the part of the assailants of 
 Catholicity ? Why they had a cause to support, a system 
 to establish ; and who knows not to what lengths partizans 
 go ? They had to uphold Anglicanism, and to maintain its 
 divinity ; and since this could not otherwise be done for 
 their system was new and opposed to every thing pre- 
 viously established than by asserting that the whole 
 world had denied the one faith, the position named was 
 assumed and defended : in what manner we have already 
 seen. The explanation given by Bossuet of the continuance 
 of Paganism, is applicable to the maintainer of the decla- 
 ration of the Articles and of the Homilies : " Enchante par 
 ses Idoles, il etait devenu sourd a la voix de la nature" 1 
 Court favour, passion, avarice, individual interest, all 
 pleaded in favour of the new creed here ; and men were 
 too willing to listen to these pleadings. And as Paganism 
 through its leading professors, had recourse to every 
 changing expedient when assailed by the arguments of 
 Christianity, so was it with the professors of the new 
 creed. At first the leading error of the world, was its 
 adherence to Rome. Images were maintained ; the Mass 
 was still offered up, and transubstantiation was so fixedly 
 believed in, that the denial of it subjected the disbelievers 
 to the severest penalties. Elizabeth seemed anxious to 
 repudiate the title of head of the Church ; not indeed 
 from a willingness to submit again to the papal supremacy 
 for the Pontiff who had bastardized her had wounded a 
 
 1 See Banier, "La Mythologie, &c." torn ii, p. 267, Ed. 1738, and 
 Bossuet, " Discours sur 1'histoire universelle."
 
 The English Reformation. 33 
 
 sovereign's pride too much to expect forgiveness but from 
 a consciousness of the impropriety of a woman's bearing 
 the title of head of the Church. But during her reign the 
 Mass was no longer looked upon as a holy Sacrifice ; it 
 was declared to be a blasphemous fable, and penalties were 
 fixed against those who dared either to offer it up, or even 
 assist at it. There was then, as now, always something to 
 alienate the mind from Catholicity ; but that something 
 varied with circumstances. If now, a person should se- 
 riously assert, what the Homilies state, that sacred images 
 cannot be kept in churches or elsewhere without the cer- 
 tain danger of idolatry, I imagine that his sanity would be 
 considered in this pictorial and artistic age, in this day of 
 architectural reformation and imitation of mediaeval art, 
 as more than doubtful. And yet, this was the teaching of 
 Anglicanism ; and not its mere teaching : it was made a 
 practical truth, to which ruined churches, mutilated figures, 
 and emptied niches plainly testified. Every change, how- 
 ever, tore the Establishment more and more from Rome ; 
 and the more it was severed, the more pleasing it was sup- 
 posed to be to the Deity. It was a first, a necessary 
 principle of the new creed, that Catholic belief was opposed 
 to revelation ; next, that this belief was idolatrous ; and 
 since this belief was historically proved to have been the 
 belief of the world for a long series of years, another de- 
 claration was requisite : to make England orthodox, a 
 world was given up to idolatry. Such were the downward 
 tendencies of a system which cut off England from the 
 world; destroyed all authority; and nullified the teach- 
 ings and traditions of more than eight hundred years. 
 
 From the general principles and practices of the new 
 religion, specific conclusions were drawn sadly adverse to
 
 34 The English Reformation. 
 
 the old faith. It was stated in the 31st Article, that the 
 Mass was a blasphemous fable ; and in the 28th, that the 
 doctrine of transubstantiation was adverse to the plain 
 words of Scripture ; and in the 22nd a similar declaration 
 was made relative to images and the invocation of the 
 Saints. Starting from these premises, it was stated, and 
 even sworn to, by every person who wished to qualify 
 himself for parliamentary, magisterial, or even still less 
 important public functions, " that the invocation or adora- 
 tion of the Virgin Mary, or any other Saint, and the 
 Sacrifice of the Mass, as they are now used in the Church 
 of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous." 1 The Pro- 
 testant was taught that the Saints were not to be invoked, 
 that images were not to be retained, that Christ was not in 
 the holy Eucharist verily and indeed, and that the Mass, 
 instead of being the thrice holy Sacrifice of which prophets 
 had spoken, and which was looked upon as propitiatory 
 for the living and the dead, was nothing better than a 
 blasphemous rite. In accordance with this belief, the 
 heaviest anathemas were uttered against the Catholic by 
 the Protestant, and in his zeal the latter denounced in 
 unmeasured terms all who differed from him. To the 
 Anglican this denunciation may be very gratifying, but it 
 proves nothing. If he denounce the Catholic, will not the 
 Catholic denounce him? If he, resting on his own in- 
 ferences, or the inferences of some others just as fallible as 
 himself, both as reasoners and as biblical expositors, pro- 
 claim certain practices of Catholicity idolatrous, will not 
 the Catholic of every country of the globe pity his assu- 
 
 1 See the declaration against Catholicity, 30 Charles II, st 2, c. i, in 
 Burns' Eccles. Laws, vol. iii, 17. As also Burnet's Articles, p. 239 and 
 p. 341, where he absolutely condemns Catholics of idolatry.
 
 The English Reformation. 35 
 
 ranee, and return the accusation, but on better and surer 
 grounds, of false -worship ? The Protestant will be con- 
 demned for not adoring God in the holy Eucharist, and he 
 will further be branded as grossly ignorant for refusing to 
 honor blessed Saints, but especially the first of Saints, the 
 Virgin Mother of God, whom God himself has so signally 
 honored. He will be told further, that the men who pro- 
 claim the Sovereign, and others perhaps not half so 
 exalted or half so virtuous, worthy of honor, can hardly, 
 with consistency, refuse to honor those whose elevation is 
 far above all worldly dignity ; and that those who believe 
 that the prayers of sinful mortals may be asked, 2 cannot, 
 with reason, refuse to ask the intercession of the sinless 
 multitude who stand before the throne of God. In fine, he 
 will be informed that the men who bow to the throne of 
 royalty, and on bended knee receive the sacramental bread 
 and wine, 3 and bend the head at the name of Jesus Christ, 
 will not easily justify their irreverence before the images 
 of Christ, and of his Blessed Mother, and of those others 
 who now encircle the throne of the Deity. Nature itself 
 would have answered the Protestant objection, had not a 
 false training obscured the light of reason. Only then are 
 men anti-Catholic when the name of religion is mentioned ; 
 at other times they are as decorous and as reverential, and 
 as fond of ceremonies as Catholics themselves whilst in the 
 
 2 See Romans xv, 30-1. Coloss. iv, 3, 4. Ephesians vi, 18, 19, 20. Cf. 
 Genesis xx, 7. 1 Samuel vii, 5, 8. 
 
 3 These practices are enjoined by authority. In the injunctions of 
 Elizabeth, 1559, and in 18th Canon of the second year of James I, it is 
 ordered that " At the name of Jesus due reverence be made of all persons, 
 young and old, with lowness of courtesie, and uncovering of the heads 
 of mankind, as thereunto doth necessarily belong." Wilkins' Councils, 
 vol. iv, p. 188, 382.
 
 36 The English Reformation. 
 
 temples of their God. Tertullian's position that every man 
 is naturally a Christian, may be extended. Every man is 
 naturally a Catholic. The principle of authority ; reve- 
 rence for exalted worth ; the acknowledgment of mystery, 
 and the necessity of submitting reason to a higher autho- 
 rity, which characterize the true faith, are glaringly con- 
 spicuous too in Protestant secular action. Authority a 
 living teaching authority is, under all circumstances, 
 appealed to ; reverence characterizes every step in society ; 
 and dependance on others is a principle uniformly insisted 
 on. Our answer, then, not an individual answer, but the 
 collective answer of the Catholic Church to the railing 
 accusations of superstition and idolatry, is this : " Ye err 
 neither knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God" 
 We adore one true, living God, and no more ; Him we 
 adore in the holy Mystery ; Him we adore, and love, and 
 invoke, through His Saints ; and Him again we pause to 
 honor, as often as we behold the memorials raised up to 
 remind us of the outpourings of grace on the Cross, or of 
 the reception of grace in the persons of the Saints. If 
 still the accusations be urged, we must answer in the in- 
 dignant language which St. Jerome addressed to Vigilan- 
 tius : " Thou dolt ! who at any time adored the martyrs ? 
 who could fancy that a mortal was God ?...." "If the 
 apostles and martyrs, while still in the body, can pray for 
 others at a time when they must be still anxious for them- 
 selves, how much more can they do so after their crowns 
 and victories and triumphs ? " 1 " We worship not, we 
 adore not, I do not say relics only, but not even the sun 
 and moon, not angels, not archangels, not the Cherubim, 
 not the Seraphim, &c., lest we serve the creature rather 
 i T. ii, adv. Vig. n. 6, 7, p. 392. T. i, Ep. cix, ad Eiparium, n. 1, 2.
 
 The English Reformation. 37 
 
 than the Creator, who is blessed for evermore ; but we 
 honor the relics of martyrs, that we may adore Him whose 
 martyrs they are. We honor the servants, that the honor 
 given to the servants may redound to the honor of the 
 Lord, who says, he that receiveth you, receiveth me." 
 " Christ took upon him earth from the earth, because flesh 
 is from the earth, and of the flesh of Mary he took flesh. 
 And because he walked here in the very flesh, and that 
 very flesh he gave to us to eat unto salvation, but no one 
 eats that flesh, unless he has first adored it, we have found 
 in what way the footstool of the Lord may be adored, and 
 we not only do not sin by adoring, but we sin by not 
 adoring." 2 The first Christians were called Atheists 
 " we are branded with the name of atheists," says Justin 
 Martyr ; 3 and indeed the apostate Julian, and the vicious 
 Lucian, hardly ever designate them in any other way. 4 Nay 
 more, this accusation was of long standing. Even Ter- 
 tullian in his Apology, was forced to rebut the calumny. 
 " You say, (he observes) we are atheists, and will not be at 
 the expence of a sacrifice for the life of the Emperors." 5 
 The object of their adoration was said to be a malefactor ; 
 " They make a God of a malefactor, who for his crimes 
 suffered the most dishonorable death ; and cursed crosses of 
 wood are a part of their religion such altars are indeed 
 good enough for these profligates, who worship the gallows 
 they deserve." 6 Nay more, " It is bruited about, that . . 
 they worship the consecrated head of an ass." 7 " Some of 
 
 3 S. Augustin, t. iv, in Ps. 98, n. 9, col. 1520. Paris Ed. by Gaume. 
 The text commented on is " Adore his footstool, for it is holy." 
 
 3 Apol. i, n. 5. * See Lucian's tyivtiopavT, p. 828. 
 
 * Apol. c. x, n. 1. Minucius Felix, Oct. p. 65, Ed. 1709. 
 
 ? Ibid, p. 64, 141.
 
 38 The English Reformation. 
 
 you/' observes Tertullian, " have dreamed yourselves into 
 the belief, that the head of an ass is the Christian's God." J 
 Did the practices of Christianity countenance such state- 
 ments ? Assuredly not. Whence, then, did the accusa- 
 tions proceed ? Simply from the most criminal ignorance. 
 And how were the objections met ? The apologists showed 
 the absurdity of the statements, declared what their real 
 faith was, and what the object of their adoration ; this 
 they did: it was all they could do. Our course is not 
 dissimilar. We show how monstrous must that accusation 
 be, uttered by a few individuals, which the world denied 
 and denies ; and we state that the only real object of our 
 adoration is the triune God. If our enemies will not be- 
 lieve us, let them look to it. WE ARE NOT GUILTY. 
 
 And, indeed, have not some of the most distinguished 
 members of the Protestant Church fully vindicated us, 
 both in general and particular, against the horrid and 
 unfounded charges in question ? " Let not," says the 
 learned and honest Thorndike, c< let not them who charge 
 the Pope to be Antichrist, and the Papists, idolaters, lead 
 the people by the nose, to believe that they can prove 
 their supposition, when they cannot." ' And hence it was 
 that he openly denounced the Homily on the Peril of 
 Idolatry, and declared that " in this particular, he must 
 have leave to think it fails, as it evidently does in others." 3 
 
 1 Apol. c. xvi. * Just Weights and Measures, c. 2- 
 
 3 Epil. 3rd part, p. 363 ; see too Just Weights and Measures, p. 67. 
 Dr. Heylin, in his introduction to Cyprianus Anglicus, p. 14, seems to have 
 thought much the same of the Homilies as Thomdike. He observes, that 
 " the vehemence used in those Homilies was not against images as in- 
 tolerable in themselves, but as they might be made in those broken and 
 unsettled times, an occasion of falling. But that people being well in-
 
 The English Reformation. 39 
 
 Bishop Parker speaks most pointedly in our defence : " So 
 black a crime as idolatry," he says, " that is, no less than 
 renouncing God, is not lightly to be charged against any 
 
 party of Christians Before so bloody an indictment 
 
 be preferred against the greatest part of Christendom, the 
 nature of the thing ought to be well understood. The 
 charge is too big for a scolding word, and how inconsistent 
 soever idolatry may be with salvation, I fear so unchari- 
 table a calumny, if it prove one, can be of no less damnable 
 consequences. It is a piece of inhumanity, that outdoes 
 the savageness of the cannibals themselves, and damns at 
 once both body and soul. And yet, after all, we have no 
 other ground for the bold conceit, than the crude and rash 
 assertions of some popular divines, who have no other 
 measures for truth or zeal, but HATRED TO POPERY." 
 Reasons for Abrogating the Test, p. 72-3. " I am pained," 
 says the late Dr. Parr, " by the outrageous invectives that 
 are thrown out against the Church of Rome : and I must 
 further confess, that they appear to me, not only unjust but 
 even inhuman" " I hope to find a better way of showing 
 myself either worthy to live or fit to die, within the pale 
 of the Church of England, than by insulting Roman Ca- 
 tholics, with the opprobrious imputations of superstition 
 and idolatry." 
 
 Nor are less powerful arguments made use of, in vindi- 
 cation of those images which the Homilies denounce, by 
 other distinguished professors of Protestantism. For years, 
 as is evident from the Zurich letters, Queen Elizabeth 
 would not give up the crucifix which stood in her chapel ; 
 and when James I was at Edinburgh, he silenced the 
 
 structed in the right use of them, images may be still kept for good uses 
 in Churches, and for stirring up of devotion. . . "
 
 40 The English Reformation. 
 
 meddling bishops, who would have prevented him from 
 placing religious memorials in his Oratory, by adopting 
 the following language : " You can endure," he said, 
 "lions, and dragons, and devils to be figured in your 
 Churches, but will not allow the like place to Patriarchs 
 and Apostles." 1 This word either was, or should have 
 been, answer enough for the levelling Calvinists. Dr. 
 Parker, in the work already cited, says: f; As to the use 
 of images in the worship of God, I cannot but wonder 
 at the confidence of these men, to make so bold a charge 
 against them (the Catholics), when the images of the 
 Cherubim were commanded by God himself; which in- 
 stance is so plain and obvious to every reader, there being 
 nothing more remarkable in the Old Testament, than the 
 honor done to the Cherubim, that it is a much greater 
 wonder to me that these men would advance the objection 
 of idolatry so groundlessly, and can so slightly rid them- 
 selves of so pregnant a proof against it." 2 Still clearer 
 on this head is Montague, Bishop of Norwich. "The 
 pictures of Christ, of the blessed Virgin, and the saints, 
 may be had in houses, set up in Churches ; respect and 
 honor may be given to them ; the Protestants give it ; you 
 say they must not have latria, so say we ; you give them 
 dulia; I quarrel not with the word, though I could. 
 There is a respect due to the pictures of Christ and his 
 saints. If you call this dulia, we give it too ; let doctrine 
 and practice go together, we agree." 3 
 
 Nor is there less distinctive evidence in favour of the 
 lawfulness of invoking the saints. " I grant," says Mon- 
 tague, " that Christ is not wronged in his mediation. It 
 
 1 Spotswood's History, p. 530. 2 Reasons for Abrog. Test, p. 130. 
 3 Gagger Gagged, 300.
 
 TJie English Reformation. 41 
 
 is no impiety to say holy Mary, pray for me. Holy Peter, 
 pray for me." 4 Thorndike states, " that all the fathers of 
 both the Greek and Latin Churches, have spoken to the 
 saints, and desired their assistance"; 5 and he adds, else- 
 where, 6 that "to dispute whether we are to honor the 
 saints or not, were to dispute whether or no we are to be 
 Christians. And whether this be religious or civil, no- 
 thing but the equivocation of words can make disputable." 
 Indeed, it does not require much mind, to understand the 
 nature of this veneration. As long as "pray for us " in- 
 volves the idea of supplication, on the part of even saints, 
 so long will it be felt that the saints are honored as saints, 
 as holy creatures, but not as gods. Our enemies must 
 confound all ideas, however distinct, must ignore the 
 obvious meaning of clear words, to justify the declaration 
 of the Articles and the oath of the legislature. They 
 must, in a word, prove to the world, that even a primer 
 is too deep a book for their comprehension, and that it 
 is questionable whether or not St. Paul, as well as all the 
 ancient fathers of God's Church, 7 did not make gods of 
 men. I leave them in the position in which the odium 
 theologicum has placed them. Indeed, who has ever read 
 
 4 On the Invocation of Saints, p. 118. 
 
 5 Ep. to Trag. Epil. part iii, p. 353. 
 
 7 Montague, writing on this universal belief, says : " It is the common 
 voice, with general concurrence, without contradiction, of reverend and 
 
 learned antiquity And I see no cause to dissent from them (the 
 
 Catholics) touching the intercession of this kind. Christ is not thus 
 wronged in his mediation. And it is no impiety to say as the Catholics 
 do: Holy Mary, pray for me." Inv. of Saints. 
 
 Even Luther allows the universality of this practice: "I allow, with the 
 whole Church, and believe, that the saints in heaven should be invoked." 
 De Purg, quorumd. Art.
 
 4 The English Reformation. 
 
 the statement of the catechism of the Council of Trent, 
 which is an exposition of the faith of the sixteenth century, 
 and of all former times, and can still dare to accuse the 
 Church of idolatry ? " "We entreat," are the clear words 
 of the Catechism, " the Almighty to confer upon us some 
 blessing; or to deliver us from some misfortune. But, 
 since the saints are more pleasing to him than we are, we, 
 hence, entreat them to lend us their assistance : and to 
 obtain for us the grants of our requests. For this reason, 
 the forms of our petition, on each occasion, are widely 
 different. Addressing ourselves to God, we say to him : 
 have mercy on us ; hear us. Whereas, speaking to the 
 saints, we merely say : pray for us." x 
 
 If, as a last support of a worthless cause, stress be laid 
 on certain phrases, such as worship, adoration, or other 
 similar terms; or on certain outward marks of respect, 
 such as kneeling, kissing, use of lights, and a multitude 
 of not dissimilar expressions of regard ; and inferences be 
 drawn, irrespective of the avowed and dogmatical teaching 
 of the Church, unfavourable to us, and on such things 
 as these, Anglican ministers, as well as those committed 
 to their charge, love to dwell, I would briefly observe, 
 in answer to such pitiful objections : 1 That no Anglican 
 would wish the divinity of the sacred writings to be thus 
 tested. In a thousand places, phrases are applied to the 
 Deity which must be explained away ; which cannot, con- 
 sistently with either natural or revealed religion, be 
 applied to God. Is God corporeal? Has he eyes, or 
 ears, or hands, or feet? Is he subject to change, or igno- 
 rant? Is he overcome by passion? In his anger does 
 he swear? Is his being limited? and has he to descend 
 1 Cat. Rom. Tit. de Invoc. Sanct.
 
 The English Reformation. 43 
 
 to see and learn what is taking place on earth ? And yet 
 in nearly every page of the Old Testament, words ex- 
 pressive of such ideas occur ! How are such expressions 
 to be explained, and on what fixed, immovable principles 
 are the orthodox explanations based ? Again : if in one 
 place or more the Scriptures say, "to God alone honor 
 and glory," do they not elsewhere say, "honor the king" 
 " honor thy father and thy mother " "glory and honor 
 and peace to every one that worketh good, to the Jew 
 first, and also the Greek "? And if God is said to have 
 been worshipped, is not this same word applied in the 
 very same sentence to the respect exhibited to the earthly 
 sovereign " all the congregation bowed down their heads 
 and worshipped the Lord and the king." 2 In fine; if 
 adoration be applied to the worship given to God, is it 
 not likewise used for the reverence given to men, by 
 Abraham, 3 by David, 4 and other holy personages ? How 
 shall these words be interpreted ? Why shall I say, that 
 the worship given to God was an act of divine worship, 
 whilst the word applied to the honor given to the creature 
 only designates an inferior mode of reverence ? Why 
 shall I say that Abraham and David truly adored God, 
 and that they did not adore in this same manner, man ? 
 The words are the same, and the prostration was the 
 same. On what principle am I to explain these words 
 and acts, and prove an important and essential difference ? 
 If I admit no difference ; then do I condemn the father of 
 the faithful, and the holy ones of the old law, as idolaters. 
 
 2 1 Chron. xxix, 20. Our mayors are " worshipful," and the Protestant 
 husband says " With my body Ithee WORSHIP." Can I justly exclaim, " Thou 
 wicked idolater " ? If not, why not ? 
 
 8 Genesis xxiii, 7. 4 1 Kings xxiv, 9.
 
 44 The English Reformation. 
 
 This cannot be done : it is in direct opposition to what we 
 know of their characters: how shall I then justify the 
 language of Scripture and the outward acts of those whose 
 names I have referred to? A real answer, an admissible 
 justification of the inspired words, will be an answer to 
 the accusations of anti-catholics, and a justification of the 
 language and conduct of the Universal Church. 
 
 What Catholic action is there which the enemies of 
 Catholicity can accuse of idolatry ? Is it kneeling ? Do 
 not Protestants kneel before the bread and wine of the 
 Sacrament ? Is it bowing ? Do not they bow to the 
 throne, at the sound of the holy name, to one another ? Is 
 it the light which is sometimes burnt before the holy 
 image ? Are they ignorant that such lights were and are 
 still burned in the East before statues of kings ? and have 
 they no illuminations in honor of worldly triumphs, of 
 earthly sovereigns? no fires enkindled on the festival 
 of Guy Fawkes the festival of religious hate and 
 rancour a commemoration at the recurrence of which, 
 as is well observed by a recent Protestant writer, every 
 Protestant should hang down his head in shame; for it 
 was Protestant cruelty alone, which drove some dozen 
 Catholics almost to desperation. As Chamier, 1 a Calvin- 
 istic minister, has well observed, there is not a word or 
 action expressive of supreme adoration, which is not 
 applied to an inferior kind of honor, such as man may 
 exhibit to man, in the pages of sacred Scripture. Lan- 
 guage and action are too limited for the full expression of 
 all our ideas and intentions. To interpret these aright, 
 circumstances and known belief must be considered atten- 
 
 1 See his words in Hawarden's " True Church, &c.," vol. ii, p. 259, 
 Ed. 1715.
 
 The English Reformation. 45 
 
 tively. If these be overlooked, we shall assuredly expose 
 ourselves to the danger of breaking one of the divine 
 commandments, " thou shalt not bear false witness against 
 thy neighbour," at the very moment that we are accusing 
 our neighbour of violating another, 3 which enjoins the 
 adoration of God, and forbids the worship of the creature. 
 In elucidation of this question, if further elucidation be 
 possible, I will translate a passage from a Protestant En- 
 cyclopedia, 3 which enters somewhat fully into this matter. 
 "If Lot," it is said, ."prostrate himself before the two 
 angels who visit him, this is a civility done to two stran- 
 gers ; if Jacob prostrate before Esau, this is the deference 
 which a younger has for an elder brother; if Solomon 
 prostrate before Bethsabee, it is the act of a son honoring 
 a mother ; if Nathan prostrate before David, it is a subject 
 who offers his respects to his prince. But if a man pros- 
 trate himself, whilst praying to God, then it is the creature 
 who adores his Creator I suppose that an Is- 
 raelite has prostrated himself in approaching his sovereign ; 
 nobody will accuse him of idolatry. If he had done the 
 same before an idol, this same bodily action would have 
 been interpreted as an act of idolatry. But why? Be- 
 cause we should have inferred from this action, that he 
 regarded the idol as a true divinity, and that he had 
 towards it those feelings which are involved in adoration, 
 according to the restricted sense which this term has in 
 our language. What then, must we think of what the 
 
 2 See some valuable observations on this matter, in the eloquent and 
 learned "Letters" of the present Bishop of Newport, p. 117; as also 
 Lingard's Tracts, p. 108, Ed. 1813. 
 
 3 Encyclopcedie, Ed. d' Yverdun, torn, i, art. Adorer. The original words 
 may be found cited by Perrone, Prselect TheoL vol. iv, p. 341, Ed. Lou- 
 vain, 1839.
 
 46 The English Reformation. 
 
 Catholics do in honor of the saints, relics, the wood of the 
 cross ? They will not deny that this exterior cultus re- 
 sembles entirely that which they pay in honoring God 
 externally. But have they the same ideas of the saints 
 and of the cross, as they have of God ? I do not believe 
 that any person can justly charge them with this ; and 
 hence it appears to me, that we ought not to denounce 
 
 them as idolaters If we limited ourselves to saying, 
 
 that a cultus rendered to beings who are really ignorant of 
 that which is done to honor them ; that prayers addressed to 
 creatures who are powerless to do what is asked of them, 
 is an unreasonable cultus, I should not hesitate to sub- 
 scribe to this ; but I would not accuse the Catholics of 
 idolatry." The whole charge, as Lingard has long ago 
 observed, "appears to be the blundering job of some 
 clumsy workman;" who this workman was, we shall have 
 occasion to show a little later. It dies felo de se ; and a 
 jury may be impannelled to decide whether it deserves 
 the honor of Christian burial." 1 
 
 On the charge derived from the adoration of the Holy 
 Eucharist, I shall only say a few words, because a few 
 words will suffice. "We adore the Eucharist, because 
 Christ the very God is there. We believe his word ; we 
 will not gainsay it, though the Jew and the infidel may 
 ask, " how can he give us his flesh to eat," or may say, 
 " this is a hard saying." We believe before we receive 
 the Holy of Holies, a harder word than this "This is my 
 body, this is my blood"; we believe in a Trinity; we 
 believe in an eternal generation; we believe in an eternal 
 procession of the Holy Spirit; we believe in the overpow- 
 ering mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God, WITH 
 1 Lingard's Tracts, p. 251.
 
 The English Reformation. 47 
 
 ALL ITS CONSEQUENCES : we believed all these things be- 
 fore we fell down and adored Christ in the Holy Mystery. 
 If Christ be in the Sacrament, he is as adorable there as 
 in heaven. God is ever a hidden God. He is adored, 
 not because he is visible in his majesty to the eye; not 
 because we apprehend his infinity ; but, because he is 
 God : wherever he is we adore him ; and if, for love of 
 us, he condescend to dwell corporally among us, like the 
 Magi, we will fall down, and present him our gold, our 
 frankincense, and myrrh. His star, ever points out the 
 spot in the temple where he abides ; and, under the gui- 
 dance of that star, we pay our adoration. Christ, I repeat 
 it, we adore ; nor more nor less. Were he not in the holy 
 mystery, we should not adore ; but being there, his nature 
 demands nothing less than adoration. Protestants deny 
 his presence : we wonder not then, that they adore not. 
 But let not these men teach us what faith is. We have a 
 higher instructer than an earthly sovereign, and a better 
 tribunal than an English Parliament, to guide us in mat- 
 ters of religion. Christ has said, "This is my body," 
 "This is my blood": and the Church, which is the "pillar 
 and support of truth," the Church which is ruled and 
 guided by its heavenly founder, and by the Paraclete, the 
 Spirit of truth, teaches us what that word means, and 
 bids us fall down to worship, with hearts overflowing with 
 gratitude, him, who is ever in the adorable sacrament; 
 that mystery which has been well called " the generative 
 principle of love," the principle of light, and the heart 
 through which the life-blood of Catholicity flows. 3 
 
 What we maintain, is allowed by the most respectable 
 names which Protestantism can boast of. Bishop Andrews, 
 2 See Gebet's admirable work on the Holy Eucharist.
 
 48 The English Reformation. 
 
 speaking of King James I, says, " The king acknowledges 
 Christ to be truly present in the Eucharist, and to be 
 adored. I also, with Ambrose, adore the flesh of Christ 
 in the mysteries." x Thorndike is equally explicit : " I 
 suppose (he says) the body and blood of Christ may be 
 adored wheresoever they are ; and must be adored by a 
 good Christian, where the custom of the Church, which 
 a Christian is obliged to communicate with, requires it," 8 
 " If Jesus Christ," says Calvin, " be present in the Eu- 
 charist, then, no doubt, it is necessary there to adore 
 him." 3 And Beza calls this same Heshusius, against 
 whom Calvin wrote, " an ass," for denying the obligation 
 of adoring the Eucharist, in case Christ were truly and 
 really there. And well might Beza thus designate the 
 man who denied so obvious a truth: all but stupid or 
 irrational creatures must see its obviousness. In fine, 
 Bishop Forbes, observes, that "the sounder Protestants 
 make no difficulty about adoring Christ in the Eucharist. 
 It is (he continues) a very monstrous error of certain 
 rigid Protestants, to deny that Christ is to be adored in 
 the Eucharist, by any other adoration than that of the 
 mind." 4 
 
 From what has been hitherto said, it follows, that the 
 statement of the Homilies, and the only reason which 
 could apparently justify the establishment of an inde- 
 pendent and isolated Church in England, namely, the 
 defection of a world from that code of doctrines which 
 Jesus Christ originally promulgated in person, and through 
 the ministry of his Apostles, is nugatory and false. For 
 1 We have seen that the world could not thus err : this 
 
 Reply to Bellann. c. 8, p. 194. 2 Epilogue 1. iii, c. 30, p. 350. 
 
 8 Calv. contra Heshusium. * De Eucharistia.
 
 The English Reformation. 49 
 
 has been proved from the consentient testimony of a body 
 which could neither deceive nor be deceived, and from 
 the express declarations of our Lord and Saviour. 2 The 
 charge of idolatry we have scattered to the winds : its 
 general absurdity has been shewn -at great length, and the 
 specific charges, as well as the general one, we have fur- 
 ther seen rejected with shame and indignation, by abler 
 men by far than those are, who still urge their railing 
 accusations. So far from images leading from God, they 
 remind man of him, and force him as it were to remember 
 God's mercy and power; and as for the invocation and 
 veneration of the saints, whilst by the latter act we pay 
 honor to that which is truly honorable, by the former we 
 hurry, as it were, before the throne of the Deity, hosts of 
 praising and supplicating angels, and thousands of "just 
 made perfect." From what we have observed too, in 
 relation to the holy Mystery, it will be clear to every 
 honest mind, that in consequence of it, Christ is being for 
 ever praised and adored. The holy Eucharist is emphati- 
 cally the mystery of love, and less love than is exhibited 
 by the Catholic, could not be consistently given by the 
 believer in the real presence. The very foundations of 
 the Eeformation have been undermined ; they have been 
 removed : shall the building stand ?
 
 50 
 
 On the Origin and Authority of the Articles of Religion, 
 of Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Queen Elizabeth. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Importance of the examination of the History of the Articles. Their 
 authority in the Anglican Church. Henry's innovations destructive 
 of Episcopal and Clerical authority, generally. The six Articles, and 
 works ii connexion with them. These Articles, &c. forced on the 
 people. The principle involved in the framing of the Articles, destruc- 
 tive of Anglicanism. Fox and others write against the Articles. The 
 Articles and religion of Henry are changed by King Edward. History 
 of the origin, number, nature, and subscription of the Articles of 
 Edward VI. The Articles mainly formed by Cranmer. His vacillating 
 character. Reproached for his changes by Gardiner, &c. Still, always 
 dogmatical, imperious, and cruel. Persecution of Mary. Her firmness. 
 Articles of Elizabeth ; their number and distinctive character. 
 Reported ignorance of the framers of the Thirty-nine Articles. The 
 Articles are enforced and subscribed. Review of the changes in the 
 national religion during the reigns of Henry, Edward, and Elizabeth. 
 These Changes wholly dependant on individuals. Proved from the 
 Zurich letters. The Articles are worthless as an authority. This 
 admitted even by Anglicans. Observations of Le Maistre on Protes- 
 tant Articles. Difference between the origin of the Articles, and the 
 Profession of Faith of Pope Pius. Justification of the latter. 
 
 IN the previous chapter, vre have had occasion often to 
 allude to, and indeed to cite, the Articles and Homilies of 
 the Reformers. It will be our task now to describe the
 
 The English Reformation. 51 
 
 origin of the various sets of Articles which were rapidly 
 drawn up by King Henry and two of his children, Ed- 
 ward and Elizabeth, and to see if these Articles have 
 either intrinsic or extrinsic evidence in their favour. The 
 investigation of this matter is of paramount importance. 
 The Articles have been regularly subscribed by the Re- 
 formed Clergy of England, and by them, the ministerial 
 teachings have been of course directed. They are the 
 accredited standard of clerical orthodoxy; the doctrines 
 they distinctly affirm, are looked upon as certainly sacred, 
 whilst those which are denounced are consequently con- 
 sidered to be untenable. Guarded by pains and penalties, 
 their orthodoxy was secured, as far as this was attainable 
 by human enactments ; and innovation, excepting such as 
 emanated either from the head of the state, or from some 
 popular outburst of feeling, which the state Would be 
 found too weak to quell, and to which indeed, for political 
 purposes, the actual government would be forced, as at 
 the time of the Commonwealth, to yield, was rendered 
 impossible. 
 
 Hardly had Henry VIII obtained from the Clergy the 
 title of " Ecclesice et Cleri Anglicani Protector et Supre- 
 mum Caput" l than the Bishops discovered that they had 
 forfeited the power which they had formerly possessed. in 
 convocation, for the better regulation of the affairs of the 
 Church. The Commons wishing that "the convocation 
 should be brought down to the same level with the houses 
 of Parliament, and that their acts and constitutions should 
 not bind their subjects as before, .... until they were 
 confirmed and ratified by the regal power," petitioned the 
 
 1 Parker tells us, that Cranmer and Cromwell were the secret advisers 
 of this title, see Antiq. Brit. p. 325.
 
 58 The English Reformation. 
 
 king to this effect. In vain did Gardiner answer this 
 remonstrance, in vain did the remonstrance meet with the 
 disapprobation of both houses of convocation ; the petition 
 of the Commons was approved of by the Monarch ; and 
 the Clergy, who had abandoned their spiritual head, and 
 conferred upon Henry the power which the Eoman Pon- 
 tiffs had formerly possessed, had now to reap the harvest 
 of their own sowing. On the 10th of May, 1532, the 
 king absolutely required of the clergy, through Fox of 
 Hereford, that "no constitution or ordinance should be 
 hereafter by the clergy enacted, unless the king's highness 
 did approve the same, and his advice and favour be also 
 interposed for the execution." 1 Further, it was decreed 
 that the sovereign was possessed of absolute power in 
 settling questions connected with religion. " In consi- 
 deration that your majesty is the only and undoubted 
 supreme head, Sfc. to whom by Holy Scriptures all power 
 and authority is wholly given, to hear and determine all 
 manner of causes ecclesiastical, and to correct vice, &c. 
 may it therefore be enacted, &c. ; " 3 and he was likewise 
 made the source, the fountain of all kind of jurisdiction, 
 as well civil as ecclesiastical. 3 The subservient and cringing 
 Parliament, not content with enacting "that no speaking, 
 doing, or holding against any laws called spiritual laws, 
 made by authority of the See of Home, by the policy of 
 man, which be repugnant to the laws and statutes of the 
 
 i Heylin, i, p. 7. 2 See Act 3? Henry VIII, 17. 
 
 3 Rex tarn in Episcopos, Clericos, &c., quam in Laicos, plenissimam 
 jurisdictionem tarn civilem quam Ecclesiasticam, exercere potest, cum 
 omnis jurisdictio et Ecclesiastica et Secularis ab eo, tamquani ex uno et 
 eodem fonte derivantur." See Reform. Leg. Ecdes. Tit. de officio et Jurisd. 
 omnium Judicwm.
 
 The English Reformation. 53 
 
 realm, or the king's prerogative, shall be deemed to be 
 heresy," 25 Henry VIII, 14 c., further declared, " that 
 if any spiritual person or persons, shall preach or teach 
 contrary to the determinations, which, since 1540, are or 
 shall be set forth by his Majesty, as is afore-mentioned, 
 that then every such offender, offending the third time, 
 contrary to this act, shall be deemed and adjudged a 
 heretic, and shall suffer pains of death by burning." 4 The 
 Parliament and the king, or rather the king alone through 
 the Parliament, became the arbiter of religion. By his 
 enactments all were bound ; his decrees were as truthful 
 in the eyes of the law, as the acts of councils, or the con- 
 sentient testimony of the prelacy of the world. They were 
 even more so : for in case the monarch opposed, alone and 
 unsupported, a world, his opposition was to be reverenced, 
 and his decisions were to be obeyed, under the severest 
 penalties. To be sure, a clause was frequently inserted, 
 relative to the necessity of the kingly being agreeable to 
 the scriptural declaration ; but such a clause was a clause 
 of course a clause, in truth, devoid, under circumstances, 
 of meaning. For if the king was supreme judge, and a 
 Parliament was sure to approve of his judgment, and even 
 boldly assert that he was under the inspiration of heaven 
 when he decreed any point, it would never be admitted 
 that the royal declaration was irreconcileable with the 
 Scriptural statement. The monarch's will was a revela- 
 tion ; to question that revelation was heresy, and heresy 
 was deserving of death. 
 
 Acting, then, on these principles, the king, with the aid 
 of his theologians, drew up some Articles of Religion, 5 in 
 
 * See 34, 35 Henry VIII, 1 c. 
 
 5 Wilkins, Con. iii, 804, 8, 17, 23. These Articles were published in
 
 54 The English Reformation. 
 
 which, the old doctrines were, as a whole, strenuously 
 maintained. These were ordered to be read, without note 
 or comment, to the people, and against them no one was 
 allowed to utter a dissentient opinion. Nor was this all : 
 having assumed the character of religious dictator, the 
 monarch did not stop here ; he commanded the convoca- 
 tion to set forth "a plain and sincere exposition of doc- 
 trine;" and this was done to the royal satisfaction in a 
 work entitled, " The godly and pious institution of a 
 Christian man" which was approved of and subscribed 
 by the Archbishops, Bishops, and other distinguished in- 
 dividuals, both of the clerical and legal profession, as 
 agreeing "in all things with the very true meaning of the 
 Scripture" The " Institution " was followed by the " Ne- 
 cessary Doctrine and Erudition," which is an amplification 
 of the former work, and was intended, as we are told at 
 the very commencement of the book, " for the institution 
 and erudition of the common people." This work was to 
 supersede the use of the Bible, which the monarch, in the 
 plenitude of his power, had withdrawn from that general 
 circulation which originally he had furthered; and from 
 it, the people were to learn " what to believe in point of 
 doctrine, and how to carry themselves in points of prac- 
 tice." 1 That it might appear with the highest sanction, the 
 king caused an act to be passed in Parliament, " for the 
 abolishing of all books and writings comprising any matter 
 
 1536, with the following title : " Articles devised by the king's highness 
 majesty, to establish Christian quietness and unity among us." They 
 approve of the three creeds, and advocate the lawfulness of the invocation 
 of saints, and prayers for the dead, and use of images. Purgatory, the 
 real presence, auricular confession, too, are maintained as formerly. See 
 Fuller's Church History, 1. v, p. 216. 
 
 1 Wilkins, 1. c. p. 830.
 
 TJie English Reformation. 55 
 
 of Christian religion, contrary to that doctrine, which, 
 since the year 1540 is, or any time during the king's life 
 shall be, set forth by his highness." 2 These decrees, thus 
 set forth by royal authority, all Englishmen " were fully 
 to believe, obey, and observe"; and, "if any spiritual 
 person should preach or teach contrary to those deter- 
 minations, or any other that should be so set forth by his 
 majesty, such person offending the third time, contrary to 
 that act of Parliament, was to be deemed and adjudged a 
 heretic, and suffer pains of death by burning." 
 
 The royal writings and ordinances, did not, however, 
 prove as satisfactory to the people or to the Bishops, 
 as to the monarch. He had flattered himself into the 
 belief, that uniformity of truth would result from the 
 publications already named ; but in this he was doomed 
 to disappointment. It was thought strange that the prince 
 of Reformers in England should limit the spread of Re- 
 form : that he, who had, in opposition to a world, set up 
 himself as supreme head of the Church of England, should 
 refuse to others the right of judging for themselves, and of 
 advocating those principles and practices, which to them 
 might appear most consonant to reason or revelation. And 
 hence it happened, that diversity of opinion was soon seen 
 to spread in many directions, and instead of the one faith 
 formerly professed, England was deluged by a torrent 
 of tempestuous creeds. To obviate the results of unre- 
 strained private opinion, to stop, in fact, the spread of 
 that very principle which was made the basis of Protestan- 
 tism the king commanded a committee to be chosen, on 
 the re-opening of Parliament in May, 1539, to consider 
 what were the differences of opinion which were publicly 
 2 Heylin, Hist. Church of England, iv, p. 23.-
 
 56 The English Reformation. 
 
 advocated, and which were to be rejected, and which held 
 as divine truths. The committee, however, was far from 
 being of one mind. The followers of the new creed of 
 Germany, Cromwell, Cranmer, and the Bishops of Salis- 
 bury and Ely, were vigorously opposed by the Archbishop 
 of York and the Bishops of Durham, Carlisle, Bath, and 
 Bangor. It was soon seen that agreement was impossible 
 in the committee. To the consideration of the House, 
 six questions were then submitted, relative to the Eu- 
 charist, communion under one kind, private masses, auri- 
 cular confession, the celibacy of the clergy, and vows of 
 chastity; and to hasten the deliberations of the committee, 
 Henry himself descended into the arena of controversy. 
 Prior to the royal visit, Cranmer had vigorously opposed 
 the ancient faith; with that visit his eloquence ceased. 
 Firm against the decisions of his episcopal opponents, he 
 yielded to the arguments or authority of his king ; and 
 all, save Salisbury, who earned, in the language of the 
 times, the character of "a lewd fool," 1 yielded assent to 
 the following propositions, which form the first creed of 
 Protestantism, commonly called, " The Six Articles," or 
 "The Bloody Statute." 2 1 In the Sacrament of the 
 Altar, after the consecration, there remains no substance 
 of bread and wine, but under those forms, the natural 
 body and blood of Christ are present. 2 Communion 
 under both kinds, is not necessary to salvation to all per- 
 sons, by the law of God. 3 Priests may not marry, by 
 the law of God. 4 Vows of chastity ought to be observed, 
 by the law of God. 5 The use of private masses ought 
 to be continued. 6 Auricular confession is expedient 
 and necessary. The title of the bill containing these arti- 
 i Cleop". E. 5, p. 128. 2 31st Henry VIII, c. xiv, anno 1539.
 
 The English Reformation. 57 
 
 cles was, " An act for abolishing diversity of opinions in 
 certain articles concerning Christian religion." It was 
 further stated, that the Articles had been agreed upon by 
 the king, and had obtained the assent of both houses of 
 Parliament ; and it was enacted, that " if any, after the 
 12th of July, did speak, preach, or write, against the first 
 Article, they were to be judged heretics, and to be burnt 
 without any abjuration, and to forfeit their real and per- 
 sonal estates to the king. And those who preached, or 
 obstinately disputed against the other Articles, were to be 
 judged felons, and to suffer death as felons without benefit 
 of clergy ; and those who either in word or writing op- 
 posed them, were to be prisoners during the king's plea- 
 sure, and forfeit their goods and chatties to the king for 
 the first offence, and if they offended a second time, they 
 were to suffer as felons." All the marriages of priests were 
 declared void, and " if any priest did still keep any such 
 woman, whom he had so married and lived familiarly with 
 
 with his wife, he was to be judged a felon; and if a 
 priest lived carnally with any other woman, he was, upon 
 the first conviction, to forfeit his benefices, goods and 
 chattels, and to be imprisoned during the king's pleasure ; 
 and upon the second conviction, was to suffer as a felon. 
 Those who contemned or abstained from confession or 
 the sacrament at the accustomed times, for the first offence 
 were to forfeit their goods and chatties, and to be impri- 
 soned; and for the second were to be adjudged of felony." 3 
 
 Such were the Articles, and such the first code of belief, 
 emanating from a temporal sovereign and a mixed parlia- 
 ment. Henry and his followers did not profess either to 
 
 3 Burnet, Hist, of Keform. vol. i, p. 400-1 j and Herbert's Henry VIII, 
 p. 510-1.
 
 58 The English Reformation. 
 
 believe or to enforce the Articles, because they contained 
 an expression of the belief of former times, or because they 
 were evidenced by the testification of nearly the whole of 
 Christendom at that very moment ; but they received them 
 and enjoined obedience to what had been ordained, because 
 they could prove such doctrines to be really divine. The 
 principle of decision was new, though the articles of faith 
 were old. Their antiquity, indeed, would hardly be a re- 
 commendation to one like Henry, who had begun a new 
 religion, of which he himself was the head, and who had 
 formally rejected the dogma of Pontifical Supremacy, 
 which he had lately shown to be "so ancient, that its 
 origin was quite forgotten ; and so uniformly admitted, 
 that since the conversion of the world all Churches in the 
 Christian world had been obedient to the See of Rome." l 
 The decision was the expression of the royal will, and the 
 result of an authority which was practically supreme. This 
 authority was submitted to by a parliament, which had all 
 along been the Sovereign's tool ; and though for awhile a 
 few of the bishops, including Cranmer, opposed the pass- 
 ing of the Articles the Archbishop had no little interest 
 in doing so, for he himself was married they at length 
 yielded ; sanctioned the act ; passed the code of penalties ; 
 and eventually inflicted the sentence of death on all who 
 dared to violate the injunctions of the Statutes. Heresy 
 was made dependant on the royal denunciation, as also on 
 the co-legislative parliamentary power. This again was a 
 new power. It was a thing wholly unheard of in the 
 annals of the Church, that an English parliament had 
 authority to decide on matters of faith. As Heylin well 
 observes : " As long as the clergy were in power, and had 
 1 Assertio Septem. Sac. c. ii, Eng. Ed. p. 242.
 
 The English Reformation. 59 
 
 authority in convocation to do what they would in matters 
 which concerned religion, those of the parliament con- 
 ceived it neither safe nor fitting, to intermeddle in such 
 business as concerned the clergy, for fear of being ques- 
 tioned for it at the Church's bar ; but when that power 
 was lessened, though it were not lost, by the submission 
 of the clergy to King Henry VIII, and by the Act of 
 Supremacy which ensued upon it, then did the parliament 
 begin to entrench upon the Church's rights, to offer at, and 
 entertain such businesses, as formerly were held peculiar 
 to the clergy only." 1 We shall soon have occasion to see, 
 how the acts of Henry were despised by his son Edward, 
 and his daughters Mary and Elizabeth ; and further, how 
 Cranmer and the parliament repealed the Articles of belief 
 which they had previously ratified, and framed others 
 directly and absolutely negativing those of 1539. Our 
 Sovereigns did not deem it criminal to undo what Henry 
 and his had done ; and if prelates gave their assent to 
 the Forty-two Articles of Edward, and the Thirty-nine of 
 Elizabeth, they claimed a right to do so, on the same prin- 
 ciples which their forefathers had advocated, when they 
 rejected the Papal Supremacy, and substituted the King 
 for the Pope, and the Six Articles for the ancient Creed of 
 Catholicity. 
 
 Fox, the notorious martyrologist, condemns the Articles. 
 " Although," he says, "they contained manifest errors, 
 heresies, and absurdities against all scripture and learning, 
 yet such was the miserable adversity of that time and of 
 the power of darkness, that the simple cause of truth was 
 utterly forsaken of all friends. For every man seeing the 
 King's mind " (the reader will remember that the King 
 2 Eng. Reform, justif. p. 41, by Heylin.
 
 60 The English Reformation. 
 
 had been made the judge of truth) "so fully addicted, 
 upon politic respects to have these Articles, to pass for- 
 ward ; few or none in that parliament would appear, who 
 either could perceive that which was to be defended, or 
 durst defend that they understood to be true." " To 
 many who be yet alive, and can testify these things, it is 
 not unknown, how variable the state of religion stood in 
 these days ; how hardly and with what difficulty it came 
 forth ; what chances and changes it suffered ; even as the 
 king was ruled and gave ear, sometimes to one and some- 
 tunes to another ; so, one while it went forward, at another 
 season as much backward again; and sometimes clean 
 altered and changed for a season, according as they could 
 prevail who were about the king. So long as Queen Anne 
 lived, the Gospel had indifferent success. After that she, 
 by sinister instigation of some about the king, was made 
 away, the course of the Gospel began again to decline, but 
 that the Lord stirred up the Lord Cromwell (!) opportunely 
 to help in that behalf, who did much avail for the increase 
 of God's true religion. . . .After the taking away of which 
 Cromwell, the state of religion more and more decayed, 
 during all the residue of the reign of King Henry. And 
 amongst these adversaries was Stephen Gardiner, who 
 brought the king at length clean out of credit with the 
 reformed religion." 3 Similar is the statement of Latimer, 
 with regard to the fluctuation and uncertainty of religion, 
 after the establishment of the Royal Supremacy and the 
 independent Church of England. " I refer you," says 
 Latimer, " to your own experience, to think of our country 
 parliaments and convocations, how and what ye have there 
 seen and heard. The more part in my time did bring forth 
 i Fox, 1036-7.
 
 The English Reformation. 61 
 
 the Six Articles, for then the king would so have it, being 
 seduced of certain. Afterwards the more part did repeal 
 the same, our good Josiah (Edward) willing to have it so. 
 The same Articles now again, alas ! another greater, but 
 worse part hath restored. O what an uncertainty is this. 
 But after this sort most commonly are man's proceedings. 
 God be merciful unto us ! " 3 
 
 Hardly was Henry dead, when the fabric which he 
 had erected with so much pains, was nearly levelled to 
 the ground. The pillar and foundation stone of Angli- 
 canism removed, the building fell; and those who had 
 once helped the sovereign in his arduous task of reforma- 
 tion, were the foremost in pulling to pieces what they 
 had been instrumental in erecting. Henry only aban- 
 doned the Church, as his whole history proves, because 
 the Church was the obstacle to the gratification of his 
 i11ir.it amour with Anne Boleyn. He separated from the 
 Pontiff to be united to Anne, and that union effected, 
 he thought little of reform. Indeed, his pride of intellect 
 induced him to oppose that reformation, which Cranmer 
 and others well affected to the German reformers, would 
 have introduced. Henry was an author as well as a king. 
 He had written a work against the head of the foreign 
 separatists, in vindication of the doctrines and practices 
 of the Church of Rome ; and for this work he had obtained 
 the praise of the Pontiff, the distinguished title of " de- 
 fender of the faith," and the approbation of the sovereigns 
 and illustrious scholars of Europe. His book was nearly 
 as dear to him as his crown ; and the new title which he 
 had earned he was as anxious to retain, as the title of sove- 
 reign of the realm. To oppose the olden faith, where his 
 * See Ridley's Works, p. 130-1. Parker, Soc. Ed. 1841.
 
 62 The English Reformation. 
 
 private interests were not at stake, or to deny what he 
 had formerly so eloquently and logically demonstrated, 
 would have been considered by Henry, as nothing less 
 than self-condemnation. Further, Luther, and Luther's 
 partizans, had not simply written against him ; they had 
 used term after term of contempt and obloquy; had 
 addressed the sovereign of England in language unfit for 
 the ears of any street wrangler, so low, so criminatory, so 
 ungentlemanly was it. This the king could not forget; 
 hence his opposition to those distinctive tenets which 
 characterized the German and Helvetic Churches. As 
 has been well observed, " the English Reformation, upon 
 whatever theological grounds it may eventually have been 
 based, was, undoubtedly, in the first instance, a mere 
 political movement." x It was not the result of a system, 
 but of circumstances. With changed circumstances, it 
 altered ; and as the followers of Luther and Calvin gained 
 or lost influence in this country, so did the popular creed 
 exhibit more or fewer evidences of the effects of the 
 foreign teachings. 2 
 
 Cranmer and Somerset were now at the head of affairs. 
 They, in fact, governed both Church and State ; for what 
 could a boy king, only 10 years of age be, but a puppet 
 in the hands of wily and cunning men like the two indi- 
 viduals just named. Whilst the former was well known 
 to be hostile to the six articles, for reasons already men- 
 tioned, the latter was devotedly attached to the principles 
 of the foreign reformers. The consequences of the spiri- 
 tual ascendency of such men, may readily be anticipated. 
 
 1 The subject of Tract XC Examined, p. 15. 
 
 2 See on this point, Cardwell's Preface to the two Prayer-books of 
 Edward VI, p. 9.
 
 The English Reformation. 63 
 
 Cranmer availing himself of his favourable position, drew 
 up, with the assistance of Becon one of the most violent, 
 and assuredly the most scurrilous writer, of the reformers 
 the book of Homilies, in which he developed those 
 doctrines most congenial to his own feelings and convic- 
 tions, or the feelings and convictions of the foreigners 
 whose approbation he was anxious to ensure. To have 
 done only this would not have sufficed. He would make 
 the Homilies the standard of orthodoxy ; and for this end, 
 they were ordered to be read in every Church on all 
 Sundays and Holidays. Furthermore, to ensure this one 
 form of teaching, no one, not even a bishop, was allowed 
 to preach without previously obtaining either from Somer- 
 set or Cranmer, permission to do so. In vain did Gar- 
 diner challenge Cranmer to prove the new doctrines 
 advocated in the Homilies, and accuse him of duplicity 
 and tergiversation : he was speedily sent to prison, there 
 to ponder on the effects of resisting the dogmatism of the 
 fickle metropolitan. 
 
 But the publication of the Homilies, was only a step in 
 the course of reform planned by Cranmer. The six 
 articles were soon repealed ; and the Archbishop looked 
 forward with pleasure to the moment when he might, 
 without let or hindrance, enjoy the society of the woman 
 whom he had forced from his palace, in order to evade 
 the displeasure of Henry, if not to testify his hearty 
 assent to the articles, to which he had outwardly at least 
 given his approval. Priests were allowed to marry; 3 com- 
 munion was commonly hereafter to be received under both 
 kinds; images were ordered to be removed; and the 
 observances of Candlemas-day, Ash-wednesday, and Palm 
 
 Wilkins, iv, 22.
 
 64 The English Reformation. 
 
 Sunday, were utterly abolished. Still, as formerly, the 
 mass was offered up, and the ancient creed was nearly 
 universally professed. This creed was now to be altered ; 
 but gradually. To pave the way, and prepare the public 
 mind for greater alterations, a catechism was le set forth " 
 by Cranmer in 1548, " for the singular profit and instruc- 
 tion of children and young people." Notwithstanding 
 many changes, much remained in accordance with the 
 olden faith. The people were still told to believe that 
 " in the communion, the body and blood of Christ were 
 received with the bodily mouth;" and the advantages 
 of confession and sacramental absolution were strongly 
 inculcated. 1 It is not generally believed, that Cranmer 
 himself composed this catechism. It seems to have been 
 originally written in German, and was in all probability 
 one of the many catechisms to which Luther's gave rise, 
 and by which the German reformation was forwarded. 
 Likely enough, the elder Justus Jonas composed it, and 
 it is more than probable that to Cranmer's chaplain, 
 Rowland Taylor, the public were indebted for the English 
 translation. 2 Since, however, Cranmer sanctioned the 
 work by his own name, it must be considered as an ex- 
 pression of another phase of this reformer's varying 
 notions of religion as " another proof of the slow and 
 painful process through which he arrived at what he 
 conceived to be the truth." 3 At this period, Cranmer 
 was engaged on a more important and more arduous un- 
 dertaking; an undertaking which was followed by a 
 moral earthquake, which nearly threw down the new 
 
 1 Burnet, ii, 71. 
 
 9 See Blunt's Sketch of the Reformation in England, p. 209. 
 
 8 Blunt, 1. c.
 
 The English Reformation. 65 
 
 fabric of religion, whilst it frightfully convulsed the whole 
 of this and the sister kingdom, as we shall have occasion 
 to show at a* future period of this history. The work to 
 which we refer, was no other than the substitution of an 
 English and reformed, for the ancient and venerable 
 liturgy of Rome. It was completed in 1548, and in 1549 
 was published by authority, and appointed to supersede 
 every other form of divine worship. To Edward the 
 new prayer-book afforded "great comfort and quietness 
 of mind ; " and the Parliament, by declaring that the 
 prelates and learned men engaged on the task, had accom- 
 plished it BY THE AID OF THE HOLY GHOST, 4 With One 
 
 common agreement, must have felt no ordinary satisfaction 
 at the termination of the labours of the prelates and their 
 coadjutors. But time soon proved either the falseness of 
 the statement relative to the aid of the Holy Spirit, or the 
 wickedness of the reformed Parliament of 1552; for the 
 ritual which had been drawn up " by the aid of the Holy 
 Ghost " was again subjected to alterations; the unctions in 
 baptism and confirmation, the sign of the cross in matri- 
 mony, the anointing of the sick, and prayers for the dead, 
 though sanctioned by the first ritual of Edward, were 
 omitted in the second, Martyr and Bucer being on this 
 occasion the inspiring divinities. 5 
 
 The catechism and liturgy being completed, and forced 
 upon the nation, it was time so Cranmer at least thought, 
 and his foreign advisers, Bucer, Martyr, Melancthon, 
 and Calvin the combination must strike the reader who 
 
 4 See the preamble to the Act, 1549. 
 
 Compare the rituals as published by the Parker Society; or see 
 Cardwell's comparison of the two. Cranmer, Ridley, and Goodrich of 
 Ely, were the chief compilers of the first ritual.
 
 66 The English Reformation. 
 
 is looking for unity of principle in the English autocrat, 
 to frame a code of articles. To this, the archbishop then 
 directed his attention, and before the end 'of 1551 the 
 work was prepared. It was at once placed in the hands 
 of several prelates, in whose possession it remained until 
 the beginning of 1552; and in the following May, the 
 council addressed a letter to the archbishop, directing him 
 to " send the articles that were last year delivered to the 
 bishops, and to signify whether the same were set forth 
 by any public authority." The articles were accordingly 
 forwarded as directed; but we find them four months 
 afterwards again in the hands of the archbishop, by whom 
 they were revised, according, in all probability, to some 
 suggestions he had received from those in power ; and 
 eventually they were forwarded to Edward for the royal 
 approval. But other changes and alterations in the 
 original draft of Cranmer had still to be made. The 
 document was next submitted to the examination of some 
 divines attached to the king's household ; then it was 
 revised by the primate, and eventually forwarded to the 
 council, with a request that measures might be imme- 
 diately taken, to authorize the Bishops to compel their 
 clergy to subscribe the important instrument. It was at 
 length published in 1552 1 in forty-two Articles, and before 
 Edward's death every member of the Universities prior 
 to his admission to any degree was obliged to swear to 
 the truth of the new creed, and to promise to defend it 
 
 1 In the Title prefixed to the Articles, they are said to have been 
 agreed upon in the Synod of 1552 ; whereas the royal letter makes use of 
 these words " in Synodo Londiniensi Anno Domini, 1553." The differ- 
 ence arises from the different mode of computing the ecclesiastical and 
 civil year.
 
 The English Reformation. 67 
 
 in all places as agreeable to the word of God ; 2 and every 
 clergyman, schoolmaster and churchwarden too, was 
 under the necessity of subscribing it. Of what authority 
 these articles were, it is impossible, from want of docu- 
 mentary evidence, to determine ; it would seem, however, 
 that they never received the sanction of convocation. 3 
 
 The chief points of difference between these articles 
 and those of Elizabeth, to which we shall soon direct the 
 reader's attention, may be reduced to two : first, discrepan- 
 cies regarding doctrines; and secondly, occasional omis- 
 sions or additions. With regard to the first : in the articles 
 of Edward, the Eternal generation and consubstantiality of 
 the Son, are only at the most implied ; whereas, in the 
 code of Elizabeth, both these important truths are dis- 
 tinctly maintained. Further, the real presence is very 
 crudely denied in the articles of Edward, notwithstand- 
 ing the Bishop's catechism, in which the real presence was 
 clearly advocated : it is denied on the ground that the 
 same body cannot absolutely be in more than one place 
 at the same time. In Elizabeth's reign, this reason is 
 carefully omitted, and in its stead is substituted the decla- 
 ration that " the body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten 
 in the supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual man- 
 ner." If Burnet's authority can be relied on, this change 
 
 3 Burnet, ii, 166 ; Wilkins' Councils, iv, 79. 
 
 3 On this fact, great stress was laid, whilst the agitation caused by 
 Tract XC lasted. Dr. Lamb, in his historical account of the thirty-nine 
 Articles, is decidedly of opinion that "they were drawn up by individuals 
 appointed by the king, totally independent of convocation ; " and such is 
 the general belief, I think, of all those who have really entered fully arid 
 impartially into the historical question. See the above named able work 
 of the Master of C. C. College, for a full and impartial examination of this 
 subject.
 
 68 The English Reformation. 
 
 was made, in order to conciliate the Germans, who pro- 
 fessed Lutheranism; but others will have it, that the 
 reformers had a still more domestic object in view, to 
 conciliate the Catholics who still formed the bulk of the 
 nation, and to render as indefinite as possible the belief 
 of Anglicanism on this vital article of religion. The ob- 
 scurity of the meaning of the article has caused much 
 controversy during the last two hundred and more years : 
 its meaning has even yet to be discovered. 
 
 The forty-two articles, point out the nature of grace and 
 free will ; define what is the sin against the Holy Spirit 
 of which the scriptures speak; declare that the resurrec- 
 tion of the dead is not passed already; that the soul 
 neither entirely perishes nor sleeps after death; that 
 Millenarianism is a fable; and lastly they condemn the 
 declaration of the Origenists, that all men are at last to be 
 saved. 1 The articles containing these doctrines are all 
 omitted in the thirty-nine Articles of Elizabeth. What 
 those articles are, and what additions are there made to 
 the second code, or second symbol of Protestantism pub- 
 lished in 1552, we shall have occasion to explain a little 
 later. 2 
 
 A second Reformation was thus effected, differing widely 
 from the first. Cranmer had altered nearly all his prin- 
 ciples, not only such as he had avowed in the reign of the 
 despotic father of Edward, but also such as he had openly 
 professed in his Catechism and public ministrations. Justi- 
 fication by faith only 3 was now defended ; indirectly the 
 
 1 See Articles x, xvi, xxxix, xl, xli, and xlii. 
 
 2 The reader will find in note A at the end of this work, the Articles of 
 Henry, Edward, and Elizabeth. 
 
 Burnet was so ashamed of this word only, that he preferred rather to 
 falsify the Articles than insert it. See his Articles in 1.
 
 TJie English Reformation. 69 
 
 doctrine of the Catholic Church regarding purgatory, par- 
 dons, invocation of Saints, and the honor given to the relics 
 of Saints and to their memorials, was attacked and pro- 
 nounced to be " a fond thing vainly invented, grounded 
 upon no warrant of Scripture, but rather perniciously 
 repugnant to the word of God ; " the use of the Latin 
 tongue was condemned during the public service, unless 
 some were present to interpret ; no Sacraments were ad- 
 mitted as such, except Baptism and the Supper of the 
 Lord ; not only was Trans ubstantiation rejected, but also 
 the real or corporeal presence of the body and blood of 
 Christ in the holy Eucharist ; the Mass was pronounced to 
 be a fable and a dangerous deceit ; the new Prayer-book 
 was approved of as very pious, and " in nothing contrary 
 but agreeable to the wholesome doctrine of the Gospel ; " 
 Edward was called the supreme head on earth of the 
 Church of England and Ireland ; 4 and in fine it was stated, 
 though it may require no little ingenuity to conciliate this 
 declaration with that of a previous assertion, that at the 
 resurrection which is not already passed, men will receive 
 rewards or punishments according to their works. 
 
 The reader need not be told in how many ways these 
 Articles differ from those which Cranmer originally, and 
 till recently, had approved of. His was an incessantly 
 dissolving view of religion. His religion changed and 
 changed again, till it became difficult, if not impossible, to 
 say what were his actual religious opinions. Assuredly, in 
 the faith of yesterday there was no evidence of his faith of 
 to-day : with yesterday, yesterday's faith ceased ; and the 
 newly adopted creed was as of uncertain duration as any 
 previous one. During Edward's reign, Cranmer had 
 4 See Articles xi, xxiii, xxv, xxviii, xxxi, xxxv, xxxvi, xxxix.
 
 70 The English Reformation. 
 
 solemnly offered up the Mass, 1 and during that same reign 
 he had condemned that Mass, with all that rendered it so 
 sacred, namely, the presence of Christ, and its efficacy for 
 the living and the dead. He had offered up the Mass in 
 the language of ancient Rome, and during it he had shown 
 his respect for the Crucifix, and had invoked the Saints of 
 God, and prayed for the repose of departed spirits ; and 
 within a few years, as we have just seen, he was found 
 condemning the ancient service, with the veneration of 
 images, the invocation of Saints, and prayers for the dead, 
 which were all involved in that service. 2 If such a vaccila- 
 ting character was bitterly reproached by others for his 
 duplicity and changeableness, who will feel surprise? 
 Gardiner, whose practices and belief the Archbishop sought 
 to control, scornfully alluded to the temporizing conduct of 
 the prelate, 3 whom he challenged to the proof of certain 
 doctrines which had been recently imposed on the nation. 
 Bonner called him to his face a notorious heretic, and re- 
 proached him bitterly for his subserviency and inconstancy 
 in matters of religion. Even weak women dared to taunt 
 him for his unfixedness of belief : " It is a goodly matter," 
 exclaimed Joan Bocker, whom the Archbishop had con- 
 demned as a heretic and delivered over to the secular 
 power for execution, " it is a goodly matter, to consider 
 your ignorance. It was not long ago that you burned 
 Anne Askew for a piece of bread, and yet came yourself 
 soon after to believe and profess the same doctrine for 
 which you burned her : and, now, forsooth, you will needs 
 burn me for a piece of flesh, and in the end will come to 
 
 1 Strype's Cranmer, 144. 
 
 2 See the Ancient Liturgies, as published by the Kev. W. Maskell. 
 
 3 Strype's Cranmer, App. p. 74.
 
 The English Reformation. 71 
 
 believe this also, when you have read the Scriptures and 
 understand them." Her words were indeed singularly 
 prophetic. Even the Prayer-book of his own approval, 
 the book which was drawn up to supplant the old ritual, 
 and which was forced upon a reluctant nation, even this 
 book, though it was said to have been composed by " the 
 aid of the Holy Ghost," was altered and changed, as we 
 have already stated, to please the prejudices or the ortho- 
 doxy of the reformers, Martyr and Bucer. 
 
 And yet, notwithstanding this uncertainty of creed, of 
 which the Archbishop offered greater and more striking 
 evidences year after year, the most violent and unwarrant- 
 able means were resorted to, to compel both prelates and 
 people to acquiesce in each new form of faith as it first 
 appeared. The Archbishop and the Court, in the very 
 hour of their change, practically claimed to be looked upon 
 as infallible ; and punished with incarceration and pe- 
 nalties, and sometimes death, those who ventured on that 
 course of alteration which they themselves were constantly 
 pursuing. It was zeal and religion in Cranmer, and his, 
 to alter ; in others it was disrespect and irreligion either 
 to change, or to remain strenuous advocates of, the olden 
 creed. Gardiner was sent to the Fleet, and afterwards to the 
 Tower ; Bonner was confined for years in the Marshalsea ; 
 and Heath of Worcester, and Day of Chichester, were 
 likewise made prisoners, for not believing in the orthodoxy 
 of Cranmer, and assenting to that form of faith and liturgy 
 which the Archbishop had foisted on the nation. Nay, 
 more, though the nation as a body for eleven-twelfths of 
 it still remained Catholic 4 and devoted to the old liturgy, 
 
 * " The use of the old religion is forbidden by a law : and the use of the 
 new is not yet printed in the stomachs of eleven of twelve parts of the
 
 78 The English Reformation. 
 
 rejected with indignation the new service, which they 
 called a " mere Christmas play," * and rose up in arms 
 simultaneously in fifteen counties, 2 and eventually in 
 a more threatening manner in the counties of Norfolk, 
 Cornwall, Devonshire and Oxfordshire, in defence of their 
 belief and of their altars, which the reformers would upset, 
 their convictions were not respected. The forty-two 
 Articles of the new ritual were maintained ; and it was 
 forbidden not only to keep a copy of any record of the 
 former faith, under the penalty of a fine for the two first 
 offences, and of imprisonment during the royal pleasure 
 for the third transgression, 3 but also to offer up or assist at 
 the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, either in public or in 
 private. 
 
 Even the daughter of Henry, and the sister of Edward, 
 was prohibited from worshipping God in accordance with 
 her convictions, and in the manner in which she and all 
 the sovereigns and princes of England had worshipped, for 
 nearly a thousand years. Her head chaplain was tossed 
 into prison, 4 and some others of her household were treated 
 with equal or greater severity. Nor was this all. The 
 princess herself was ordered, as she valued the royal favor, 
 to assist at the service of the new ritual. 
 
 realm ; what countenance soever men make outwardly to please them, in 
 whom they see the power resteth." Apud Strype, ii, Rec. 110. This letter 
 was written by Paget to the Protector, on July 7th, 1549. 
 
 * Fox, ii, 15. 
 
 2 These counties were Worcester, Warwick, Leicester, Rutland, Glou- 
 cester, Wilts, Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Berks, Hampshire, Essex, Suffolk, 
 Somerset and Leicester. 
 
 3 Stat. 3, Edw. VI, 10. For the names of those who voted against this 
 unjust and tyrannical measure, see Journals, 384, 
 
 * Strype, ii, 252, 256.
 
 The English Reformation. 73 
 
 But Mary was possessed of an amount of courage and 
 resolution which nothing could daunt, and of a faith which 
 she was determined never to abandon. She declared that 
 she would not obey the royal order, and that rather than 
 use any other service than was followed during her father's 
 life-time, she would willingly lay down her life on the 
 scaffold. Should they endeavour to force the new service 
 on her, she would quit, she said, her home at once and for 
 ever. 5 
 
 But was Cranmer even now settled in his new creed ; 
 that creed which he had endeavoured to fasten on the 
 people, and in the carrying out of which design he had 
 had recourse to such inconsistent, cruel, and barbarous 
 
 5 See Archaeologia, xviii, 154, 166. Mary's firmness and steadiness in 
 her peculiar circumstances, must strike the thoughtful reader. Nor will 
 he fail to dwell in mind on the effrontery of Edward's Councillors, who 
 dared thus to insult the religion and dearest feelings of the highest subject 
 of the land. What recommendation did the lives and conduct of the 
 changelings of those days carry with them to convince the princess of the 
 orthodoxy of the new creed ; or what right had these to force their new 
 religion on the conscience of any one? Apostates from the creed of 
 Christendom, surely they might have allowed to others that liberty of 
 conscience which they had but just claimed for themselves. On the 
 whole, the firmness of Gardiner, who said : " Obedire oportet Deo magis 
 quam hominibus," (Strype's Cranmer, App. 74,) and of Bonner, who told 
 his judges with a firm voice and a nobleness of mien, which proved the 
 honesty of his words, that he had " three things, a few goods, a poor 
 carcass, and a soul ; of which the two first were at their disposal, whilst 
 the last was at his own ; " and of Day, who refused to remove the altars 
 in his diocese, on the ground that " his conscience would not permit him," 
 and who further met his threateners by saying that he thought it a less 
 evil to suffer the body to perish, than to corrupt his soul ; and of Heath, 
 who declared that he would rather endure deprivation or any other 
 punishment than oppose his conscience by obeying the reformers, is pecu- 
 liarly gratifying, and bears ample evidence of their sincerity. See Council 
 book, f. 200. 
 
 E
 
 74 The English Reformation. 
 
 conduct ? No. After persecuting others, and throwing 
 the whole nation into confusion, and burthening it with an. 
 unprecedented weight of debt, in consequence of the ne- 
 cessity of supporting a large army to quell that spirit of 
 rebellion which the demons of reform had evoked, and 
 adding treason to religious innovation he had the weak- 
 ness and wickedness to sign an instrument for depriving 
 Mary of the throne of England he lived, to prove still 
 further to the world his treachery and dishonesty in matters 
 connected with his sovereign and his God, and to see the 
 fabric which he had raised levelled to the ground ; the 
 liturgy over which he had toiled condemned by the par- 
 liament, on which he had so confidently relied, as "a new 
 thing imagined and devised by a few of singular opinions;" 
 the forty-two Articles of religion entirely repealed ; the na- 
 tion solemnly reunited to the Pontiff of Rome, whom, not- 
 withstanding his oath, he had vigorously opposed for twenty 
 long years and more ; and the laws which he himself had 
 framed with so much care, and by virtue of which heresy 
 was made a crime which the State was to punish in some 
 instances even with the severest penalty, the penalty of 
 death, turned against their framer. 
 
 Seven times during the reign of Mary, did Cranmer 
 recant and retract his former errors. Suspecting the sin- 
 cerity of the fallen Archbishop, the examiners condemned 
 the four first retractions, because to them they appeared 
 somewhat evasive ; but the fifth was so explicit that it was 
 joyfully received. In the sixth, in which he condemned 
 his previous conduct, acknowledged that he had been a 
 greater persecutor than St. Paul, that he deserved not only 
 temporal, but everlasting punishment, and that he was 
 undeserving of favour, he evinced either a consciousness
 
 The English Reformation. 75 
 
 of the criminality of his former course of vacillation, or an 
 extent of duplicity lengthened out to the last days of life, 
 unparalleled in the annals of ecclesiastical malversation. 
 He was, he said, " the cause and author of the divorce ; he 
 had blasphemed against the sacrament, and had sinned 
 against heaven. He conjured the Pope, the king, and the 
 queen to pardon his offences against them ; the whole 
 realm and the universal Church to have pity on his 
 wretched soul ; and God to look down with mercy on him 
 at the hour of his death." J 
 
 Such a man was calculated to disgrace and cast contempt 
 on any cause. But when we remember that Cranmer was 
 the author of the faith of Protestantism, the individual 
 specially selected to frame the laws, the Articles, the Cate- 
 chism, the books out of which the people were to be in- 
 structed, and the whole Church of England and Ireland 
 was to pray, we shrink with horror from the sight of such 
 a man, and pity indeed the abettors and panegyrists of 
 such a character. Even on the brink of the grave Cranmer 
 was not sincere. The recantation which he had promised 
 to read prior to his execution, which he himself had tran- 
 scribed and presented in his own hand writing to a Spanish 
 friar, by whom he was constantly attended at the close of 
 his life, was revoked in his last speech. 2 Then he attributed 
 the past retraction to a hope fondly cherished, that by thus 
 acting, he should obtain mercy from his sovereign. " I 
 renounce and refuse them," he said, " as things written 
 with my hand, contrary to the truth which I thought in 
 my heart ; and written for fear of death, and to save my 
 life, if it might be." 3 Obviously Cranmer was unwilling 
 
 * See Dr. Lingard's Vindication against Todd, pp. 95-6-7. 
 J Fox, Acts, &c., 559. s Strype, iii, 237.
 
 76 The English Reformation. 
 
 to receive the martyr's crown. He preferred life, at any 
 rate, to death. He was willing to stultify the doings of a 
 life ; to disgrace the party with which he had been formerly 
 connected and which had relied so implicitly on his power, 
 or honesty, or ability ; to lie in matters of religion ; to pen 
 what his heart abhorred, in order to obtain a commutation 
 of the sentence of death which had been passed on him, 
 and to escape the punishment which he had so ruthlessly 
 and unpityingly inflicted on others. Is such a man to be 
 looked upon as a God to Pharaoh, and is his word deser- 
 ving of the slightest credit ? His end showed clearly that 
 what " he had written with his hand," in the days of his 
 prosperity and absolutism, might well be suspected to have 
 been "contrary to the truth which he thought in his heart" 
 The desire of pleasing Henry in the first instance, and his 
 anxiety to gratify the German reformers and the Court 
 parasites, whose thirst for the wealth of the Church was 
 insatiable, at an after period, not to speak of personal mo- 
 tives of a still more degrading character, enable us easily 
 to explain the course of conduct pursued by this unfortu- 
 nate man, and to account for all the changes which marked 
 the entire period of his life whilst Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 It is now time to say something relative to the present 
 Articles of the Anglican Church, which were published 
 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, in the year 1562. 
 As the reader has already been told, these articles are 
 thirty-nine in number ; and though they differ from those of 
 Edward in several respects, they are however in general 
 identical with those of 1552. Which articles were omitted 
 in the Elizabethan code, I have already stated. It re- 
 mains for me to describe the origin of the Elizabethan 
 Articles, and to refer to the ratification which they
 
 The English Reformation. 77 
 
 received, and the authority in which they are held by the 
 clergy and laity of the Establishment. 
 
 In* the beginning of her reign, Elizabeth gave her 
 assent to "thirty-nine Articles, agreed upon by the 
 archbishops and bishops of both provinces, and the whole 
 clergy, in the convocation holden at London in the year 
 1562, for avoiding diversities of opinion, and for the 
 establishing of consent, touching true religion." The 
 code of Edward had been repealed by Mary ; and now 
 the religion of Mary was again banished the land by the 
 laws and articles of Elizabeth. Like all other human 
 things, the articles did not arrive at immediate perfection, 
 even according to the declaration of the English reformers. 
 They were retouched in 1571, and since that period have 
 been made the test of clerical orthodoxy. The articles 
 of 1562 were drawn up in Latin ; but in 1571, they were 
 published in English as well as in Latin, and both copies 
 were subscribed by the members of the houses of convoca- 
 tion. 1 The following is a general division of the articles. 
 The five first regard the Blessed Trinity; the three 
 next refer to the authority and number of the sacred 
 books, and the creeds which are to be received and be- 
 lieved ; the ninth treats of original sin, whilst in the five 
 following, the important questions of free-will, justifica- 
 tion, good works, works before justification, and works of 
 supererogation are agitated. The fifteenth regards Christ's 
 immunity from sin, and man's sinfulness. In the three 
 next articles, the nature of post-baptismal sin is declared, 
 
 1 See Burnet's Articles, in 1, and Prettyman's Elements, vol. ii, p. 34-5, 
 as also Bennet's Essay on the Thirty-nine Articles ; in which not only 
 the history of the articles is given, but also a critical account of the 
 minutest discrepancies which occur in various copies of the articles.
 
 78 The English Reformation. 
 
 and the doctrines of predestination, election, and salvation 
 through Christ only, are developed at considerable length. 
 The characteristics of the Church, its authority and the 
 authority of general councils, are treated of in three other 
 articles. The twenty-second is indeed a sweeping article. 
 In it, purgatory, indulgences, invocation of saints, and the 
 veneration of relics and images, are unequivocally con- 
 demned as futile and contradictory of the word of God. 
 The twenty-third tells us who are true ministers ; and in the 
 twenty-fourth, it is stated that neither public prayers should 
 be said nor should sacraments be administered in a language 
 unknown to the people. The twenty-fifth and following, 
 down to the thirty-second inclusive, regard the sacraments, 
 the sacrifice, the dispositions required in the minister, and 
 the validity of marriages contracted by bishops, priests, 
 and deacons. The thirty-third shows in what light those 
 should be viewed who have incurred the sentence of 
 excommunication. Traditions and ceremonies ; the na- 
 ture of the homilies, and the authority of the ordinal of 
 Edward VI; the authority of the sovereign, and the 
 rejection of the Roman pontiff; the lawfulness of inflicting 
 capital punishment, and of waging war, are defined in 
 Articles 34, 35, 36, and 37. The doctrine of community 
 of goods maintained by the Anabaptists is afterwards 
 rejected; and in the thirty-ninth article, the lawfulness 
 of swearing under certain circumstances is maintained. 
 Such are the articles of religion professed in the times 
 of Elizabeth, and still adhered to, if subscription be any 
 evidence of adherence, and not simply as some have main- 
 tained, an evidence of non-resistence. The leading doc- 
 trines of Catholicity were again denied: such as the 
 mass, the real presence, the supremacy of the pontiff,
 
 The English Reformation. 79 
 
 and the inerrancy of the Church ; besides those other 
 doctrines comprised in the twenty-second article, &c., 
 to which I have already drawn the reader's attention, 
 though Elizabeth and her Parliament, and the nation at 
 large, had formerly professed their belief in them. Awful, 
 however, as was the task of framing a fresh code of belief, 
 it seems to have engaged the attention of the houses of 
 convocation for a very brief period indeed. 1 The articles 
 of Edward furnished the materials ; these were approved 
 of, or rejected, or added to, according to the humour of 
 the moment, or the convictions of the men engaged in 
 the work of framing the national code of belief. If Neale's 
 statement be correct, the intrinsic value of the articles is 
 low indeed. He observes that the mass of the members 
 of the convocation, to whom the Established Church owes 
 its thirty-nine Articles, scarcely knew how to append 
 their names to the instrument which they palmed on the 
 nation, as divine in its enunciations. This is at least cer- 
 tain : the ignorance of the officiating clergy of England 
 at this period, was absolutely unprecedented. The pri- 
 vation of the Catholic prelacy, as well as of a hundred of 
 the leading clergy, on account of their unflinching ad- 
 herence to the ancient creed; the suppression of the 
 monasteries and of numerous schools and colleges, wherein 
 the English youth had been formerly instructed in every 
 branch of literature; and the frequent changes of the 
 national belief which eventuated in the greatest civil and 
 religious discord, all tended to dry up the fountain of 
 letters, and stop the progress of education. In the year 
 after the publication of the articles, it was stated by the 
 
 1 For some interesting facts connected with the compilers of the 
 articles, see Heylin's Reform., p. 159, part the second, ad arm. 1562.
 
 80 The English Reformation. 
 
 speaker of the House of Commons, that " the Universities 
 were decayed, and the great market towns without either 
 school or preacher, while immorality was stalking over 
 the land." * In 1565, not even a preacher for the queen 
 could be found. 2 Parker, whose authority was paramount 
 at the period of the passing of the articles, writes to Cecil 
 in a pitiful strain relative to the clergy, whom Elizabeth 
 well designated hedge parsons : " Take away," he says, 
 "a few of the clergy, namely, those who were specially 
 appointed to preach before her highness, and I take the 
 rest to be but a simple sort." 3 Unimpeachable evidence 
 on this head may be gathered from the private correspon- 
 dence which passed between the English and foreign 
 reformers, at the beginning of Elizabeth's reign. In the 
 first series of the Zurich letters may be seen a letter sent 
 from Coventry by Lever to Bullinger, on the 10th of 
 July, 1560. Among other things he observes : " Many 
 of our parishes have no clergyman, and some dioceses are 
 without a bishop. And out of that very small number 
 who administer the sacraments throughout this great 
 country, there is hardly one in a hundred who is both 
 able and willing to preach the word of God; but all 
 persons are obliged to read only what is prescribed in the 
 books." 4 In the same year, the most learned man of the 
 Protestant party, Jewel, of Salisbury, wrote the following 
 words to Peter Martyr, on the 6th of November : " We 
 are only wanting in preachers ; and of these there is a 
 great and alarming scarcity. The schools also are entirely 
 
 1 Collier, ii, 480. 2 Strype's Parker, i, 401. 
 
 3 Ibid, ii, 226. For further instances of this wretched posture of affairs, 
 See Cooper's "Anglican Church, the Slave of the State," pp. 87-8-9. 
 * Zurich Letters, Parker Soc. Ed. p. 85.
 
 The English Reformation. 81 
 
 deserted ; so that unless God look favourably upon us, we 
 cannot hope for any supply in future. The existing 
 preachers, who are few in number, those especially who 
 have any ability, are listened to by the people with favor 
 and attention." 5 Stapleton, who wrote so ably against 
 Jewel, calls the ministers of Protestantism, " common 
 people taken from the high roads and taverns " (e triviis 
 et tabernis). Even in Edward's time, the decay of learning 
 was perceived and deplored. Latimer, in the last sermon 
 he preached before the youthful sovereign, says : " I think 
 that there be at this day ten thousand students less than 
 were within these twenty years, and fewer preachers ; and 
 that is the cause of rebellion. If there were good bishops, 
 there should be no rebellion." 6 
 
 Still, whatever may have been the extent of the igno- 
 rance of these men, or however recently they may have 
 altered their religion, they were no sooner in power, than 
 they claimed obedience from others, who in intellect, 
 learning, and consistency, were undoubtedly their betters. 
 They endeavoured to force the new articles on the nation, 
 and to make doubt and opposition to them a legal crime. 
 It was proposed that " whosoever should preach, declare, 
 write or speak anything in derogation, depraving or des- 
 pising the said book (of articles), or any doctrine therein 
 contained, and be thereof lawfully convicted before any 
 ordinary, he should be ordered as in case of heresy, or 
 else should forfeit 100 marks for the first offence, 400 
 for the second, and all his goods and chattels, with per- 
 petual imprisonment, for the third." 7 Fortunately this 
 
 5 Loc. cit. p. 92. 
 
 8 See Latimer's Works, vol i, p. 269 ; Parker Soc. Ed. 
 
 7 Stxype, 282. See too ibidem, 302, and Wilkins, iv, 241.
 
 82 The English Reformation. 
 
 unjust and insulting act was repudiated by the council. 
 In 1584, which is known in our history as "the woeful 
 year of subscription," the clergy were called upon to 
 subscribe the Articles ex animo, as also the Three Articles 
 of the Queen's Supremacy, and the Book of Common 
 Prayer. Eventually every priest was forbidden to offer 
 up, and every Catholic to assist at, the Sacrifice of the 
 Mass. The doctrines of Catholicity and its practices 
 were equally proscribed ; and he who dared to contravene 
 the law, soon had to feel the effects of his opposition. 
 Imprisonments, fines, death, these were the penalties 
 which the Catholic had to endure for following the dic- 
 tates of his conscience. His creed was as severely inter- 
 dicted in England in the sixteenth century by the framers 
 of the new religion, as Christianity itself had previously 
 been during the reigns of Nero, Tiberius, Dioclesian, 
 and Maximian. 
 
 It may be useful to state somewhat in detail, what was 
 done then and afterwards, to secure assent to the Articles. 
 1 By Canon V, it was thus ordained : " Whoever shall 
 affirm, that any of the Thirty -nine Articles. . . .of the 
 year 1562, are in any part superstitious or erroneous. . . . 
 let him be excommunicated ipso facto" 2 By the 13 
 Eliz. c. 12, it was enjoined, that no one should be admitted 
 to the order of deacons, or be allowed to preach, or be 
 admitted to any benefice with cure, unless such person 
 had subscribed the Articles. 3 James I, in the declara- 
 tion which ordinarily precedes the Articles, published in 
 the book of Common Prayer, says, " that if any public 
 reader, in either of our Universities, or any head or master 
 of a college, or any other person respectively in either of
 
 The English Reformation. 83 
 
 them, shall affix any sense to any Article, or shall publicly 
 read, determine, or hold any public disputations, or suffer 
 any such to be held either way, in either the Universities 
 or colleges respectively; or if any divine in the Univer- 
 sities shall preach or print anything either way, other 
 than is already established in convocation with our royal 
 assent; he or they the offenders shall be liable to our dis- 
 pleasure, and the Church's censure, in our commission 
 ecclesiastical as well as any other ; and we will see there 
 shall be due execution upon them." Further, he " re- 
 quires all his loving subjects to continue in the uniform 
 profession of the Articles, and prohibits the least differ- 
 ence from the said Articles." 4 By the 13th and 14th 
 of Charles IT, c. 4, it was commanded, "that every go- 
 vernor or head of a college or hall in either of the Univer- 
 sities, or of the Colleges of Westminster, Winchester or 
 Eton, shall within one month next after his election or 
 collation and admission into the same government or head- 
 ship, openly and publicly in the church, chapel, or other 
 public place of the college or hall, and in the presence of 
 the fellows and scholars of the same, or the greater part 
 of them there resident, subscribe unto the Thirty-nine 
 Articles, and declare his unfeigned assent and consent unto 
 and approbation thereof"; and after this the penalties are 
 named for violating this ordinance. Well might Went- 
 worth, as he considered the arbitrary and dictatorial con- 
 duct of the bishops of his day, say to the house of Commons, 
 of which he was a member, " Sure, Mr. Speaker, the 
 speech, ' you will refer yourselves to us, as to the agree- 
 ment, of the Homilies, fyc. with the word of God, seemed 
 to me to be a Pope-like speech ; and I fear lest our bishops
 
 84 The English Reformation. 
 
 do attribute this of the Pope's canons unto themselves, 
 Papa non potest errare" x These words the reader will 
 know how to apply to the regal ordinances. Fallible, their 
 framers acted as if infallibility had been their attribute ; 
 and though reformers themselves, and changers in matters 
 of religion, in the widest sense of the word, they forbad 
 others to do what they themselves were so proud of having 
 done, and forbad it under the heaviest penalties. What 
 if they had been restrained by similar ordinances ? 
 
 In taking a retrospective view of the rise of the three sets 
 of Articles, &c. it will not be necessary to say much with 
 regard to the ordinances of Henry VIII. These were 
 soon rejected, in nearly their entirety, by the very indi- 
 viduals who had framed them, and they are still rejected 
 by the Anglican Establishment. Henry would maintain 
 their orthodoxy; and so Prelates, Parliament, and people 
 were told to look upon them as containing neither more 
 nor less than the revelations of the Almighty. They were 
 subscribed, and Cranmer, as well as Henry, seemed to 
 believe them. 
 
 The period of Edward's supremacy was disgraced by 
 the most flagrant vacillation, and contradiction, and pan- 
 dering to the wishes of the German reformers. At first, 
 Catholic doctrines and Catholic practices were enjoined; 
 next these doctrines were denounced, and the practices 
 which had been proclaimed in the first Anglican Prayer- 
 book to be sacred, and sanctioned by the Holy Spirit, were 
 eventually suppressed by the framers of the first Prayer- 
 book. Cranmer was the chief mover in the Reformation, 
 and the adviser of the king in matters concerning religion 
 during the whole period of Edward's life, as he had been 
 1 D'Ewe's Journal, p. 239.
 
 The English Reformation. 85 
 
 during the life-time of Edward's father ; and we have seen 
 what kind of man this Cranmer was. As we have had 
 already occasion to observe, Cranmer's work was not 
 marked either by sincerity or by a love of religion: in- 
 deed, these things were obviously wanting in all that he 
 did. Self in some form was his idol ; and to save self, the 
 unworthy possessor of the See of S. Augustine was ready 
 to forswear himself and abandon his God. The admirers 
 of Cranmer may deny this: but those only will be his 
 admirers who have never studied his history in connexion 
 with his perjury on becoming Archbishop, his subservi- 
 ency to Henry in marrying and divorcing, his violation 
 of his solemn engagement to lead a life of celibacy, his 
 assenting to the Bloody Statute in which he did not be- 
 lieve, his proclaiming the almost divine character of a 
 Prayer-book which he altered, his subscribing a document 
 by virtue of which the rightful sovereign was to be 
 deprived of her throne, and his raising up a religion, 
 buttressed up by Homilies, Prayer-book and Articles, 
 which he was willing to condemn and tear down piece by 
 piece, provided he might be permitted to extend his already 
 too lengthened life by a few months or years. If Christi- 
 anity had been thus characterized by inconsistency in its 
 origin, it must have been universally condemned, as want- 
 ing the first mark of divinity truth. Reason and reve- 
 lation would have alike denounced it: this same reason 
 and revelation bid us now repudiate the Cranmerian 
 system. Had Jesus Christ, or rather, had his Apostles, 
 when commissioned to go and teach a world, put up to pull 
 down, and pulled down to put up again, they would have 
 earned, and deservedly, the title of impostors; and are 
 those who did so, at the moment in which they were pre-
 
 86 The English Reformation. 
 
 tending to reconstruct the fabric of Christianity, deserving 
 of a more honorable name ? 
 
 As for the Elizabethan code, this being substantially 
 the same with that of Edward, it is deserving of no further 
 attention. It was imposed upon the nation in opposition 
 to the teaching of the olden prelacy, who had been de- 
 prived, merely because they could not be drawn away, by 
 the wishes of Elizabeth, from the creed of their fathers 
 as also of the vast bulk of the learned and pious of the 
 land, both of the clergy and laity. Elizabeth, who had been 
 a believer in the Six Articles during the time of Henry, 
 and a professor of the Forty-two in the reign of her bro- 
 ther, and a Catholic, not only during the reign of Mary, 
 but also at the period of her coronation, she was crowned 
 by a Catholic prelate during the solemnization of the Mass 
 was, as her whole history proves, absolute and despotic. 
 Her will was law; and by that will, civil and religious 
 observances were alike regulated. Jewel, 1 in a letter 
 written from London, on the 22nd of May, 1560, gives 
 us an early proof of the queen's determination: "Bonner," 
 he says, " the monk Feckenham, Pate, Story the civilian, 
 and Watson, are sent to prison, for having obstinately 
 refused attendance on public worship, and everywhere 
 declaiming and railing against that religion which we now 
 profess. For the queen, a most discreet and excellent 
 woman, most manfully and courageously declared, that 
 she would not allow any of her subjects to dissent from 
 this religion the religion of a year and a half's antiquity 
 with impunity." 2 The writer bears evidence too, to 
 Elizabeth's time-serving, and to the reason of the conver- 
 
 1 Jewel had already twice changed his religion. 
 
 2 Zurich Letters, vol. i, 79.
 
 The English Reformation. 87 
 
 sion of the people. Writing to Martyr on the 14th of 
 April, 1559, he thus gives expression to his convictions : 
 "If the queen herself, would but banish it (the Mass) 
 from her private chapel, the whole thing might easily be 
 got rid of. Of such importance among us are the examples 
 of princes. For whatever is done after the example of the 
 sovereign, the people, as you well know, suppose to be done 
 rightly. She has, however, so regulated this Mass of hers 
 ( which she has hitherto retained only from the circum- 
 stances of the times}, that although many things are done 
 therein, which are scarcely to be endured, it may yet be 
 heard without any great danger. But this woman, ex- 
 cellent as she is, and earnest in the cause of true religion, 
 notwithstanding she desires a thorough change as early as 
 possible, cannot however be induced to effect such change 
 without the sanction of law; lest the matter should seem 
 to have been accomplished, not so much by the judgment 
 of discreet men, as in compliance with the impulse of a 
 furious multitude. Meanwhile many alterations in religion 
 are effected in Parliament, in SPITE OF THE OPPOSITION, 
 
 AND GAINSAYING, AND DISTURBANCE OF THE BISHOPS. 
 
 These, however, I will not mention, as they are not yet 
 publicly known, and are often brought on the anvil to be 
 hammered over again." 3 Still, notwithstanding the oppo- 
 sition of bishops and clergy, notwithstanding the opposition 
 of the numerous members of the Universities, which still 
 clung to the old faith, " In Oxford," as Jewel says, 
 "there were hardly two individuals who thought with 
 
 3 Ibid. p. 18. The Clergy remained firm in their opposition. Cox, in a 
 letter to Weidner, says, that " whilst of the laity many became Protestants, 
 of the clergy there were none at all." See Zurich Letters, 27 and 39.
 
 88 The English Reformation. 
 
 the Reformers ;"! "there is," he again observes, " a dismal 
 solitude in our Universities: the young men are flying 
 about in all directions, rather than come to an agreement 
 in matters of religion." 1 Elizabeth carried on her work 
 through the instrumentality of her Parliament. Though, 
 as Hilles notices, " no thing had been publicly determined, 
 down to the 28th Feb. 1559, with respect to the abolishing 
 Popish superstition, and the re-establishment of the Chris- 
 tian religion," there was, however, " a general expectation 
 that all rites and ceremonies would shortly be reformed 
 by our faithful citizens, and other godly men in Parlia- 
 ment, either after the pattern which was lately in use in 
 the time of King Edward VI, or which is set forth by 
 the Protestant princes of Germany, in the Confession of 
 Augsburg." 2 This anticipation was prophetic; for Lever 
 was able to inform Bullinger in the following August, 
 how " Popery had been abolished by act of Parliament." 3 
 Still, though the Queen, for obvious reasons, was willing 
 to spite the Pontiff, she was not always willing to comply 
 with the wishes of the bishops of her own nomination and 
 appointment. By her obstinacy, or slowness of belief, she 
 certainly tested their subserviency. In the first place, she 
 repudiated what her father and brother had accepted and 
 had forced upon a people's assent, the title of Head of 
 the Church; 4 she retained the crucifix in her chapel, 
 notwithstanding the reasonings, and anxieties, and scruples 
 of her bishops, and even bishops were obliged by her " to 
 officiate at the table of the Lord ; one as priest, another as 
 deacon, and a third as sub-deacon, before the image of the 
 
 1 See Zurich Letters, pp. 33, 40. * Ibid. voL ii, 16, 17. 
 
 3 Ibid, p. 30. * Ibid. vol. i, pp. 29, 33.
 
 The English Reformation. 89 
 
 crucifix, or at least not far from it, with, candles, and 
 habited in the golden vestments of the Papacy." 5 The 
 bishops felt, or affected to feel, scruples at the conduct 
 of their sovereign ; they wondered if they could lawfully 
 conform tc her wishes ; and to solve their doubts, they 
 deemed it requisite or prudent to ask the advice of the 
 Reformers on the continent. Bullinger, ^and Bucer, and 
 Martyr gave their oracular responses; but still, though the 
 answers were far from satisfactory, the prelates did not 
 think it expedient to avow their own convictions in such a 
 way as to incur the displeasure of the queen. She was, if 
 not head, at least governor of the English Church, and the 
 English prelacy; and to the governor's wishes, the pre- 
 lates quietly acceded here, whatever might be the extent 
 of their opposition there. Had not the bench of bishops 
 bided their time, they would in all probability have heard 
 the Virgin Queen declare on oath, Cox of Ely was thus 
 frightened into order that she would unfrock them. 
 
 How devoid of conscientious liberty the clergy were 
 expected to be, can easily be gathered from a very impor- 
 tant letter written to Bullinger by Withers and Barthelot. 
 In answer to some statements sent to Switzerland, by the 
 Bishops of London and Winchester, they observe : " On 
 the 26th of March, 1566, all the London ministers were 
 summoned before the Archbishop of Canterbury, the 
 Bishop of London, the Dean of Westminster, and some 
 canonists ; and were there asked whether they were willing 
 to acquiesce in the royal proceedings in matters of religion 
 
 5 See Sampson's letter to Martyr, Jan. 6, 1560, ibid. p. 63, as also 66-7, 
 74, &c. The cross proved a cross indeed to the new clergy. They wished 
 to remove it altogether, hut could not. To effect their object, they strove 
 to enlist the services of Bulliuger, &c. '
 
 90 The English Reformation. 
 
 ordained and TO BE ORDAINED .... Those who refused 
 compliance were deprived. The archbishop, too, when 
 he grants anyone a licence to preach, binds him in these 
 words : f Provided always, that in your sermons, you shall 
 not persuade the people to procure any alteration or in- 
 novation in religion, beyond or contrary to that which the 
 Queen's majesty has already effected, or shall effect? " * 
 " There is power given by act of Parliament, to the queen 
 and the archbishop, to introduce whatever ceremonies they 
 please into every Church in the kingdom." Again we 
 are told, " that if anyone should presume to interpret the 
 Scriptures, without their (the bishops') permission, he is 
 brought to trial as being guilty of contempt ; and should 
 he not then conform, they punish him by imprisonment 
 or exile." Addressing again the Elector Palatine, Fre- 
 derick III, whose interest he sought for the amelioration 
 of the doctrine, the administration of the sacraments, and 
 the discipline of the English Church, Withers at last thus 
 prays : " We beg and entreat, .... that you will earnestly 
 pray and obtain (and this we hope you will be able to 
 accomplish) for those who abominate the relics of Anti- 
 christ, the liberty of not being obliged, either to adopt them 
 against their conscience, or to relinquish the ministry" 
 Was there ever slavery like to this ? to be bound to a few 
 individuals whose fallibility was acknowledged, and whose 
 authority to legislate in matters of religion, neither had 
 been, nor could be established ! This authority had been 
 assumed, and like every other usurpation, was defended 
 with a tyrant's sword. The Reformers were taught that 
 to think for self was a duty ; but thought was severely 
 punished, unless it chanced to accord with the wishes of 
 1 Zurich Letters, ii, 148, and pp. 150, 161-2. 2 Ibid, ii, 163.
 
 The English Reformation. 91 
 
 the higher powers : they were bid to believe that they 
 had shaken off a yoke, when they rejected the authority 
 of the Pontiff; but they soon discovered that the yoke of 
 the Pontiff had been removed for the far heavier one of 
 a Queen, and that to each of them might be applied the 
 poet's words 
 
 Incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim. 
 
 " We endure" says Pilkington, " I must confess, many 
 things against our inclinations, and groan under them, 
 which, if we wished ever so much, no entreaty can remove. 
 We are under authority, and cannot make any innovation 
 without the sanction of the queen, or abrogate any thing 
 without the authority of the laws ; and the only alternative 
 now allowed us is, whether we will bear with these things, 
 or disturb the peace of the Church." 3 Such is the con- 
 fession of a Protestant bishop in the year 1573 ! ! 
 
 The authority of the Articles then, is evidently nought : 
 the whole system of the Reformation was clearly a human, 
 a royal, a temporizing, and a self-seeking enactment. The 
 very framers of the Establishment had no faith in it, as 
 their conduct proved; they were willing to change and 
 reform, reform and change again, according to the will of 
 the sovereign. Elizabeth, and Parker and Jewel, the 
 three who ruled the English Church, were no better than 
 Henry, and Edward and Cranmer, their reforming prede- 
 cessors. These were all changelings, and so were they. 
 These were reckless of a nation's feelings, of the teachings 
 of Christendom, and of the will of the Spiritual order, and 
 Elizabeth and hers allowed only one authority to be 
 obeyed, and one code of laws to be observed ; that autho- 
 
 3 Zurich Letters, i, 287-8.
 
 92 The English Reformation. 
 
 rity was her own, and that code of laws was the system of 
 which she herself approved. Where Elizabeth, or Edward, 
 or Henry, or their followers, discovered that, though 
 fallible they did not err, and that to them and to their 
 parliaments it was given, even when in opposition to the 
 teaching of the body of the clergy as was the case 1 in 
 the beginning of Henry's Reformation, and afterwards in 
 the reign of Elizabeth, to conclude aright in matters of 
 religion, and be entitled to denounce and punish those as 
 heretics who differed from their creeds, they have not been 
 pleased to tell us. Assuredly, such a notion is in direct 
 opposition to the teaching of the Church, and the express 
 word of the New Testament, as we have already seen. 
 And yet, to such lengths did men run in order to prop 
 up the new system, as to pass the following enactment : 
 " Nothing shall henceforth be accounted heresy, but what 
 is so adjudged by the holy Scripture, or in one of the four 
 first general councils, or in any other national or provincial 
 council, determining according to the word of God, OR 
 finally, which shall be so adjudged in the time to come by 
 the court of parliament, with the assent of the clergy in 
 convocation." 1 Eliz. Acts of parliament alone can make 
 Articles of faith, and acts of parliament alone can declare 
 any doctrine heretical ! Such is the great principle of 
 Protestantism. This proves that the Church of England 
 is certainly of this world. It is very different from the 
 kingdom of Christ, which is not of this world. Light and 
 darkness are not more opposed, than are the principles and 
 establishment of the one Church of Christ, and those of the 
 State Church of the Sixteenth Century, which came forth 
 the " accuser " of a world, on its first appearance in 1534. 
 How can the Catholic, or any one indeed who professes
 
 The English Reformation. 93 
 
 Christianity to be a divine system, a system confirmed and 
 ratified by such, evidences as render the repudiation of it 
 criminal, be expected to feel or to show, any reverence for 
 Articles, or Homilies, or Prayer-book, emanating from 
 such a source as has been already pointed out, as the foun- 
 tain head of Protestantism ? Protestantism in its origin 
 and numerous developments is not only simply unproved, 
 it is opposed to every thing sacred in religion, either as a 
 dogma, a practice, or a proof. 
 
 Notwithstanding the 4th, 5th, and 36th Canons of the 
 Synod of James I, in 1603, and the ordinances of Eliza- 
 beth already adduced, it seems to me, that even Anglicans 
 have hardly dared to face the difficulty involved in the 
 framing and subscribing of the Articles. They appear 
 indeed, like the writers in the British Critic, more dis- 
 posed to look upon them as " Articles of peace," than as 
 " Articles of faith ; " as statements rather intended to bind 
 together the heterogeneous particles of Protestantism, than 
 as dogmatical decisions intended to bind the conscience. 
 " We do not look," says Bishop Bramhall, f< upon the 
 Articles of the Church of England, as essentials of saving 
 faith, or legacies of Christ and his Apostles; but in a 
 mean, as pious opinions fitted for the preservation of unity ; 
 neither do we oblige every man to believe them, but only 
 not to contradict them" 1 " The Church of England," 
 says Stillingfleet, " excommunicates such as openly oppose 
 her doctrine, supposing her fallible ; the Roman Church 
 excommunicates all, who will not believe, whatever she 
 defines to be infallibly true." 2 Bishop Sanderson declares 
 that the only thing he ever meant whilst subscribing the 
 Articles was to declare that " the constant doctrine of the 
 1 Schism Guarded, p. 190. * Stilling, p. 104.
 
 94 The English Reformation. 
 
 Churcli of England is so pure and orthodox, that whoso- 
 ever believes it and lives according to it, shall be saved ; 
 and that there is no error in it which may necessitate any 
 man to disturb the peace or renounce the communion of it." 1 
 And Chill in gworth's notions of subscription are contained 
 in the following declaration : " I do verily believe the 
 Church of England a true member of the Church (Catholic), 
 that she wants nothing necessary to salvation, and holds 
 nothing repugnant to it." 2 
 
 Others have spoken even more clearly in relation to the 
 character of the Articles. So far from looking on them as 
 expressions of the divine mind, they have denounced them 
 in the most unmeasured terms. " Understanding," says 
 Jeremy Bentham, " that of such signature, the eifect and 
 sole object was the declaring after reflection, with so- 
 lemnity, and upon record, that the propositions therein 
 contained were in my opinion every one of them true; what 
 seemed to me a matter of duty was, to examine them in 
 that view, in order to see whether that were really the 
 case. The examination was unfortunate. In some of 
 them no meaning at all could I find ; in others no meaning 
 but one, which, in my eyes, was but too plainly irrecon- 
 cilable either to reason or to Scripture. Communicating 
 my distress to some of my fellow collegiates, I found them 
 sharers in it." 3 Paley's ideas of the truthfulness of the 
 Articles were equally low. " They who contend," he 
 observes, " that nothing less can justify subscription to the 
 thirty-nine Articles, than the actual belief of each and 
 every proposition contained in them, must suppose that 
 
 1 Bishop Sanderson, apud ''Free Disquisition," p. 168. \ 
 
 2 Maizeaux's Life of Chillingworth, p. 168. 
 
 3 Life of Bentham, apud Penny Encyc.
 
 The English Reformation. 95 
 
 the legislature expected the consent of ten thousand men, 
 and that in perpetual succession, not to one controverted 
 proposition, but to many hundreds. It is difficult to con- 
 ceive how this could be expected by any who observed the 
 incurable diversity of human opinions upon all subjects, 
 short of demonstration." 4 Archdeacon Balguy says, " The 
 Articles, we will say, are not exactly what we might wish 
 them to be. Some of them are expressed in doubtful 
 terms ; others are inaccurate, perhaps unphilosophical ; 
 others again may chance to mislead an ignorant reader into 
 some erroneous opinion ; but is there any one among them 
 that leads to immorality ? " 5 
 
 Bishop Watson even doubts the Church's right to 
 frame articles of faith. " It is still a question," he says, 
 " whether any Christian Church has a right to require 
 from its public teachers, any other profession of faith 
 than that of a belief in the Bible, as containing a reve- 
 lation from God ? It is still a question, whether, granting 
 the abstract right, the use of it be expedient in any degree, 
 and to what degree, in the present condition of the Church 
 of England." 6 
 
 Nay, more, it is openly and honestly avowed by Fel- 
 lowes, that " since the time of Archbishop Laud, when an 
 Armenian priesthood began to officiate in the Church, 
 notwithstanding the Calvinistic complexion of the articles, 
 the doctrine of original sin, though supported in the ninth 
 article, has never been either believed, or inculcated by, at 
 least nine-tenths of the clergy of the Established Church. 
 The same (he adds) may be said of many other articles 
 
 * Moral, &c. PhUosophy, p. 45. 5 P. 293. 
 6 Tracts, vol. vi, 3rd page from end, 2nd Ed.
 
 96 The English Reformation. 
 
 which have been either openly impugned or tacitly denied 
 by many bishops and dignitaries of the Establishment, 
 and by numbers of the inferior clergy, who have shed a 
 lustre on the society to which they belonged, by their 
 erudition and their virtues. Had the Church of England, 
 adopting a less liberal and enlightened policy, hurled her 
 anathemas and levelled her persecutions against all those 
 who supported any tenet which was at all adverse to any 
 one of those complex propositions, which are called the 
 ARTICLES of the Church, our Taylors, our Barrows, our 
 Tillotsons, our Clarks, our Jeffreys, our Hoadleys, our 
 Jortins, and our Newcomes, and, in short, the whole 
 galaxy of our best divines, must have sought a refuge 
 
 among the members of a different communion But, 
 
 when the Church of England got rid of one Pope, it never 
 intended to raise up thirty -nine in his place; but what 
 would the thirty-nine Articles be, but thirty-nine Popes, 
 if, instead of the Scriptures being their expositors, they 
 were made the infallible expositors of the Scriptures" 1 
 There is much truth in all this. Anglicans do teach 
 diametrically opposite doctrines. The real presence, and 
 an actual absence, of Christ in the Holy Eucharist ; the 
 power of absolution, and a scornful rejection of this power, 
 when exercised after confession ; the collation of grace in 
 baptism, and the empty character of this rite of Chris- 
 
 1 Memoirs of the Life and Doctrines of Christ, vol. i, pref. xix, and 
 seqq. From the history of our own times, we know how truthful are 
 the observations just made. High Church and low Church, Puseyites 
 and Evangelicals, tear the Anglican Church to pieces. The high Church 
 man proves his tenets by high Church evidence ; and the Evangelical his 
 by writings of the Clapham school. So apparent are these differences, 
 that the Government dares not allow the Convocation to act as a free and 
 independent body. The permission would be suicidal.
 
 The English Reformation. 97 
 
 tianity, are and have been respectively maintained by 
 men who had sworn to receive the articles in their plain, 
 grammatical sense. Whether or not it be true to say, 
 that the thirty-nine Articles would in the case named, be 
 equivalent to thirty-nine Popes, I leave others to deter- 
 mine : but this is at least true ; when the Pope was 
 rejected, the Sovereign and Parliament assumed an autho- 
 rity which the Catholic Church never did or could exer- 
 cise. The former made their own will, law; and accord- 
 ing to this will, the people were bid to change their 
 religious creeds. Though fallible, they dictated as if 
 infallible; and though themselves changeable, they de- 
 manded an extent of subserviency, which not even those 
 on the Rock could have exacted. Instead of obeying an 
 authority whose age was venerable, and whose title to 
 rule was evidenced in the most solemn manner, Protes- 
 tants found themselves the slaves of the State, even in 
 matters of religion, though its authority to legislate in 
 such matters had only been established by the despotism 
 of force, and the threats of a cruel policy. The insur- 
 gents against unity, demanded unity ; the destroyers of 
 all existing creeds, raised up a creed ; and the opposers 
 of infallibility and inerrency, exacted under the most 
 severe penalties, submission and assent to the teachings of 
 a fallible and failing and changing system. The illus- 
 trious Count de Maistre has excellently described the 
 state of Anglicanism, in his far-famed work entitled, 
 " The Pope." " The Anglican Church is the only asso- 
 ciation in the world which has declared itself null and 
 ridiculous, by the very act which constitutes it. In this 
 act it has solemnly proclaimed thirty-nine Articles, 
 neither more nor less, absolutely necessary to salvation,
 
 98 TJie English Reformation. 
 
 and which must be sworn to in order to belong to this 
 Church. 1 But one of the articles (the 25th) formally de- 
 clares that God, in constituting his Church, has not left 
 infallibility upon earth ; that all the Churches, beginning 
 with that of Rome, have fallen into error ; that they have 
 grossly erred, even as regards dogma, even as regards 
 morality; so that none of them possess the right to lay 
 down a creed ; and that the Scriptures are the only rule 
 of faith. The Anglican Church declares, therefore, to 
 her children, that she is, indeed, entitled to command 
 them, but that they are equally entitled to refuse her 
 their obedience. At the same moment, with the same 
 pen and ink, on the same paper, she enunciates dogmas, 
 and declares she has no right to do so. I think I may be 
 allowed to entertain the conviction, that of the interminable 
 catalogue of human follies, this is one which will always 
 hold a distinguished rank. After this solemn declaration 
 of the Anglican Church, which nullifies itself, there was 
 only wanting the testimony of the civil power to ratify 
 this judgment ; and this testimony I find in the Parlia- 
 mentary debates of the year 1805, on the subject of 
 Catholic Emancipation : " Call to mind, (said the Attorney- 
 general,) that it is quite the same thing for England to 
 repeal the laws enacted against the Catholics, or to have 
 immediately a Catholic Parliament, and the Catholic 
 religion, instead of the existing Establishment." The 
 commentary on this wonderfully ingenuous observation at 
 once occurs. The Attorney-general might as well have 
 said in as many words " our religion, as you know, is 
 nothing else than a purely civil establishment, having no 
 
 1 This observation must be limited to the clergy. As is obvious, how- 
 ever, it does not affect the illustration or argument in hand.
 
 The English Reformation. 99 
 
 other foundation than the law of the country, and the 
 interest of each individual, &c." 2 
 
 From what has been said, it appears that not only are 
 the articles valueless as an authority, they are, moreover, 
 directly opposed to the first principle of Protestantism : 
 they in fact stultify the very idea of Reformation. They 
 establish a creed ; whereas the Reformation began in sub- 
 verting all creeds, and moreover maintaining the incom- 
 petency not only of particular churches, but of the 
 Church in the aggregate, to form a creed. They main- 
 tain the solibiblical system ; whilst the subscription in- 
 tended to ensure the submission of the clergy to the 
 articles, and without which subscription the articles would 
 have quickly become a dead and useless letter, tied the 
 minister down to dogmas about which the Bible says not 
 a syllable to dogmas, in fact, in direct opposition to the 
 Bible which had been made, in word at least, the rule of 
 all truth. "With one observation more, I will conclude this 
 chapter, which has already been too much extended. 
 
 The English Articles, as we have seen, were drawn up 
 
 2 Du Pape, Eng. Trans., p. 350-1. To those who have attended to the 
 declarations recently made in Parliament (June 1854), during the 
 discussion of the question connected with the admission of Dissenters 
 into the University of Oxford, the previous extracts, drawn frm the 
 writings of some of the leading . scholars of Anglicanism, will appear 
 particularly striking. Every word which I have written has been more 
 than confirmed. It has been publicly stated, that the Articles are full of 
 contradictions ; that they are not known, much less believed in, by too 
 many of those who subscribe them ; and further, that the late Bishop of 
 Norwich, Stanley, declared, that he had never known a man who 
 either did or could believe them. These parliamentary declarations are 
 of great service : they expose more and more the hollowness of the 
 Anglican system, and prove how little dependence is to be placed on the 
 subscriptions even of clergymen, who serve the Establishment.
 
 100 TJie English Reformation. 
 
 in 1562. In that year, or not very long after, they 
 became the standard of orthodoxy. They were subscribed 
 by the ministers of the Elizabethan establishment, who 
 promised to regulate their instructions by the statements 
 contained in the new code. The anomaly was indeed 
 allowed to exist, of a clergy preaching one doctrine, and 
 of a people believing another : still the articles were from 
 the date named, the standard of ministerial orthodoxy 
 the standard, in a word, of the Church, as established and 
 recognized by Parliament. These articles were a formal 
 protest against Catholic unity. They emphatically denied 
 what was elsewhere believed, and what had been believed 
 uniformly in this land from the period of England's con- 
 version in the second century, down to the apostacy in the 
 sixteenth. They repudiated that which even the Centuri- 
 ators of Magdeburg, and Gibbon, have allowed to have 
 been maintained from the beginning. " A well-informed 
 man, (says Gibbon,) cannot resist the weight of historical 
 evidence, which establishes that, in the whole period of the 
 four first ages of the Church, the principal points of the 
 Papistical doctrines were already admitted in theory and 
 in practice." L So obvious is this, that even Bishop 
 Newton, whom none will suspect of saying one unneces- 
 sary word in favour of the antiquity of Catholicity, is 
 forced to allow, that "the seeds of popery were sown 
 even in the Apostles' times." 3 He might have gone 
 further: he might have said, and said truly, that they 
 were sown even in the times of and by Jesus Christ. 
 Mosheim contents himself, as he records the doctrines of 
 each century, with denouncing as superstitious whatever 
 
 1 Gibbon, Memoir, vol. i, c. 1. 2 Dissert, on the Prophecies, vol. iii, p. 148.
 
 The English Reformation. 101 
 
 may be opposed to his own views. Referring to the doc- 
 trines of the fifth age an age which was illustrated by 
 the virtues and learning of a Jerome, an Ambrose, an 
 Augustine, a Chrysostom, an Optatus, a Prudentius, and 
 a host of other champions of orthodoxy, he says ; " The 
 happy souls of departed Christians were invoked by num- 
 bers, and their aid implored by assiduous and fervent 
 
 prayers The images of those who, during their 
 
 lives, had acquired the reputation of uncommon sanctity, 
 were now honored with a particular worship in several 
 
 places A singular and irresistible efficacy was also 
 
 attributed to the bones of martyrs, and to the figure of 
 
 the cross, in defeating the attempts of Satan We 
 
 shall not enter here into a particular account of the public 
 supplications, the holy pilgrimages, the superstitious ser- 
 vices paid to departed souls, the multiplication of temples, 
 
 altars, &c The famous Pagan doctrine, concerning 
 
 the purification of departed souls, by means of a certain 
 kind of fire, was more amply explained and confirmed 
 now, than it had formerly been." 3 Nor is Neander less 
 explicit than his predecessor Mosheim in reference to 
 the early belief in, and practices of, Catholicity : " From the 
 actions of daily life, (he observes,) in which this sign 
 (of the cross) was everywhere customarily employed, and 
 which were thus to be consecrated and sanctified, the 
 sign probably passed over at an early period, to the places 
 where the Christian communities assembled for worship. 
 .... At Rome, the name of the Apostles, Peter and Paul, 
 being often coupled together as martyrs, and the memory 
 of both celebrated on the same day, it came about, that 
 the figure of Christ attended by these two Apostles was 
 3 Mosheim's History, vol. i, p. 382-3-4.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 painted on the walls Images of martyrs, venerated 
 
 monks and bishops, were dispersed far and wide. The 
 Antiochians had the likeness of their deceased Bishop 
 Meletius engraved on their signets. .' . . . In the course of 
 the fourth age, men began, by degrees, to decorate the 
 
 churches also with images To exorcism was now 
 
 added insufflation The Bishop next touched the 
 
 ear of the candidate, saying in the words of Mark, 
 1 Ephphatha.' ' He next refers to the baptismal renun- 
 ciations, double unction, giving of salt, the Missa catechu- 
 menorum, and the Missa fidelium, and eventually he adds 
 " When the Bishop or Presbyter was about to finish 
 the consecration, the curtain which hung before the altar 
 was drawn up, and the consecrating minister now showed 
 to the Church the outward elements of the Supper, which 
 till now had been concealed from their eyes, lifting them 
 up as the body and blood of the Lord" 1 Such are the 
 avowals of enemies avowals clouded indeed by the dark- 
 ness of misconception, such misconception as originates 
 in the preconceived notions of revelation ; yet even these 
 clearly demonstrate this great truth that the Catholic 
 Church of to-day is the Church of the fathers of primitive 
 Christianity, even to the giving of a grain of salt, the using 
 of the mystic unction, the breathing on the babe, and the 
 uttering of a word "Be thou opened" These truths were 
 denounced, these practices were condemned by the Angli- 
 can Church. Some were condemned as blasphemous, and 
 others as idolatrous : and this condemnation men were or- 
 dered to believe, and to believe in numerous instances under 
 the severest penalties. Never had such a creed been heard 
 of as was proposed in the sixteenth century. No Church 
 1 Neander, vol. iii, pp. 405-6-7 and 461-2-3-4, and alibi passim, Bonn's Ed.
 
 The English Reformation. 103 
 
 in the world, no body of ministers testified to such a line 
 of teaching; all was new, as a system. Particular doc- 
 trines had been maintained indeed by individuals, such as 
 Aerius, Vigilantius, Pelagius, and others who had for 
 ages been named in the annals of history only as heretics, 
 as men cast out of the Church, as unfortunate persons 
 who had been cut off like rotten branches from the vine, 
 and whose end was destruction : but the English Articles, 
 as Church Articles, were utterly in opposition, as far as 
 they contained distinctive doctrines, to all existing creeds 
 of any former age, and to the whole system of Church 
 teaching which had been successively handed down as a 
 revelation of the Almighty. Now this, in Protestant con- 
 troversy, is always overlooked. Anglicans speak as if 
 this code was wholly unassailable on the score of novelty. 
 Nay more, they, the upholders of a new religion, new 
 in headship, new in sacraments, new in public worship, 
 new in doctrine, new in practices, new in its liturgical 
 language, and new in name, dare to allude to the novelty 
 of Pope Pius' profession of faith, forgetting that this new 
 profession of faith not creed is not, even as a published 
 document, more than one year posterior to the publica- 
 tion of the Anglican Articles ! The Articles were pub- 
 lished in 1563, and the profession of faith, known by the 
 name of the Fourth Pius, appeared in 1564. If Pius' 
 profession of faith be modern because published as late as 
 1564, are the Articles old because published as early as 
 1563? 
 
 Why do I allude to this ? For a very plain reason : to 
 show that Anglicanism stands self-convicted whilst reject- 
 ing the creed of Pius on the grounds it does. It cannot 
 on the grounds adduced, justify its own Articles, or its
 
 104 The English Reformation. 
 
 new creed. Further, I would wish the reader to consider 
 the material difference between the two documents. The 
 Protestant , creed was formed in opposition to the belief of 
 Christendom, whilst the Catholic profession of faith was 
 nothing more than the expression of Christendom in favour 
 of that religion which was spread then, and had been for 
 centuries on centuries spread over the world, but which 
 a few recent upstarts in Germany and England had de- 
 nounced. Protestantism would pull down Catholicity, 
 whilst Pius would defend the faith once delivered to the 
 saints. All was novelty in the former creed, whilst, as 
 Bramhall well observes, in one of his writings, which, I 
 do not distinctly remember, Pius did nothing more than 
 bind together the doctrines which Catholics universally 
 professed. The Pontiff acted in accordance with the cus- 
 tom of the Church admitted from the beginning, and 
 carried out a principle everywhere acknowledged as true. 
 The Apostles or Apostolic men gradually formed the creed 
 which bears their name. " There is," says Mosheim, 
 " much more reason and judgment in the opinion of those 
 who think that this creed was not all composed at once, 
 but from small beginnings was imperceptibly augmented 
 in proportion to the growth of heresy, and according to 
 the exigences and circumstances of the Church, from 
 whence it was designed to banish the errors that daily 
 arose." 1 As heresies sprung up the Church opposed 
 them ; and according to the exigences of the times, added 
 to the symbols such doctrines as heresiarchs had more 
 formally attacked : thus teaching the faithful, distinctly 
 
 1 Mosheim, vol. i, p. 94. See this opinion established in King's History 
 of tJie Apostles' Creed. On the other hand see Selvagio, Antiq. Christ, 
 vol. ii, p. 366, Vercellis, Anno 1778.
 
 The English Reformation. 105 
 
 and formally, to avow whatever others openly denied. On 
 this principle was formed, by the Fathers of Nice, in the 
 year 325, the Nicene Creed : then the consubstantiality of 
 the Son, which Arius and his followers had denied, was 
 more distinctly published and declared than it had been 
 in the Apostles' Creed; and in the year 381, to the 
 words, " I believe in the Holy Ghost," were added these 
 others : " The Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth 
 from the Father ; who, together with the Father and the 
 Son, is adored and glorified; who spake by the prophets." 2 
 Nor was this the last addition made to the Creed of Nice. 
 In the Tenth Council of Lyons, the words "filioque " were 
 added to the others, " who proceeds from the Father," to 
 express what had been previously denied, and what is 
 still denied by the Greek Church the procession of the 
 Holy Spirit from the Son, as well as from the Father. 
 These additions were made on principle. The Church 
 believed that she was the guardian of the faith ; that she 
 was appointed to hand down the truth to all times ; and 
 had the right, publicly to testify against all heresy, and to 
 demand obedience to all her decisions. She spoke as one 
 who had power ; as one who was assisted by the Son who 
 was wisdom, and the Holy Spirit who was truth. Such 
 was her character in the first age, such too was it in the 
 fourth century, such again in 1274, when the Tenth 
 Council of Lyons was held, such likewise in 1564, when 
 Pius promulgated the Profession of Faith, and such it 
 will remain, even unto the consummation of the world : 
 Jesus Christ yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Pius and 
 the prelates of the Church, testified to the doctrines which 
 they had received, and which they were commanded, like 
 
 2 See the Constantinopolitan Creed.
 
 106 Tlie English Reformation. 
 
 i 
 
 those who had previously borne the burthen of the mi- 
 nistry, faithfully to deliver, as St. Basil expresses it, from 
 hand to hand, to the rising generation. They claimed no 
 power to feign Articles of Faith, to invent, to innovate, 
 to oppose the dogmatical teaching of the Church which 
 they now represented, but of which they were once only 
 the little children, learning what the Church believed : all 
 they claimed was to say what was the faith of the Church, 
 and to define distinctly that faith. This they did ; that 
 they did no more, is established by the unchanged 
 belief of Christendom, by the liturgies, the monuments, 
 and the hundred other memorials of belief, which still 
 endure, of the public faith of the sixteenth and previous 
 centuries. Before the Profession of Faith of Pius ap- 
 peared, the Mass was offered at every altar; Christ was 
 adored in the holy sacrament ; and transubstantiation was 
 believed in as an ineffable mystery ; saints were invoked, 
 and their memorials were venerated; purgatory was a 
 state of temporary suffering on account of sin, in which 
 the souls of the dead were helped by the sacrifice and holy 
 prayer ; and the faithful, by good works performed for 
 this holy end, laboured to obtain the indulgences of 
 the Church. Not even were the additions to the creed 
 of Pius fresh terms of communion : all Catholics as such 
 were previously bound to believe them. That they were 
 believed, even the Articles of Protestantism, as well as the 
 laws of Eclward and Elizabeth, as clearly establish as the 
 document which emanated from the Holy See. Assuredly 
 the Fathers of Nice and Lyons had not as much extrinsic 
 evidence for their additions to the Creed of the Apostles, 
 as Catholics in the sixteenth century had, for those ap- 
 pended to the previously existing creeds. As Hawarden
 
 The English Reformation. 107 
 
 well observes, in reference to the wide distinction between 
 fresh articles of faith and fresh terms of communion : 
 " Articles of Christian faith are the work of God only. 
 He made them all, by revealing them to the Apostles, 
 who were commissioned to make them known to the 
 Catholic Church ; as she is commissioned, when the pri- 
 mitive and Apostolic faith is called in question, to make 
 it known to her children. For to make articles of faith, 
 and to make them known are quite different things. God 
 made them articles of faith; but the Catholic Church 
 and the Apostles made them known, as orthodox and 
 authentic publishers of the divine revelation. English 
 laws are not made, but by King and Parliament: but 
 those who print them by authority, make them known to 
 the public." x 
 
 Whilst all is consistency in Catholicity, and conformity 
 to ancient usage and more ancient principles, what is the 
 position which Protestantism takes, whilst framing articles 
 of belief and teaching dogmatically? Why, the reverse 
 of consistency. Though fallible, as I have more than 
 once noticed, the Anglican Church practically claims to 
 be looked upon as infallible ; though opposing the Church 
 from which it separated, it disallows all opposition to its 
 own ordinances ; though actually anathematizing a belief 
 which has been hallowed by the faith and virtues of ages, 
 it exacts assent to one, novel and unknown, or if known, 
 only known to be denounced by the professors of an olden 
 
 1 Charity and Truth, p. 178-9. This work is really valuable, as are 
 indeed all the works of this great scholar and clear-minded writer. I 
 recommend it highly to those who cannot understand the doctrine of ex- 
 clusive salvation, or the difference between new articles of faith and new 
 terms of communion.
 
 108 The English Reformation. 
 
 creed, and by the innovators in other lands. Its decrees 
 and ordinances are framed, not in consequence of a belief 
 constantly handed down, but they are made to suit the 
 feelings of the moment, the gratification of individuals, or 
 the chances of aggrandizement, resultant from the forma- 
 tion of articles of belief denunciatory of dogmas and cus- 
 toms, the profession of which, had eventuated in loading 
 the altars of religion with gold, and silver, and precious 
 things. Tradition and authority such authority, I mean, 
 as could consistently exercise any kind of control were 
 repudiated and ignored ; and man became, uncommis- 
 sioned, unsent, uninspired, a god to his fellow man.
 
 109 
 
 Cjppitr 
 
 On the Origin and Authority of the Homilies. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Origin and end of the Homilies. Eead in all Churches, by order. Their 
 authors. Character of these authors. Specimens of their gross incon- 
 sistencies and contradictions. The Homilies approved of hy the Articles, 
 but disliked by the people. Signs of dislike. Condemned as false and 
 contradictory. The justice of this condemnation. They are worthless 
 in themselves and in their origin. 
 
 To the ignorance of the clergy, and the determination on 
 the part of the Reformers, to propagate Protestantism, 
 we owe the two sets of Homilies. I have had occasion 
 already to notice the sadly degraded state of the new 
 clergy, and the treatment which they had to endure from 
 their superiors. Never were children more unceremoni- 
 ously commanded. The new clergy were forced to do 
 the bidding of the few in power, though by doing so they 
 published their own shame, and the contempt in which 
 they were held by those who knew them best. They had 
 the despicable task assigned them, of accounting for one 
 chapter of the Old or New Testament in the week ; and 
 since even this was found to be too difficult, in 1586 a 
 less "laborious lesson" was prescribed. 1 To express their 
 
 1 Cardwell's Coll. Doc. CI.
 
 110 The English Reformation. 
 
 own thoughts was interdicted at a very early period. They 
 were condemned to read what others had written, to their 
 respective congregations ; they were made mere automata 
 puppets, whose gyrations were directed by Cranmer, and 
 Latimer, and Becon, and Jewel, and such like adventurers. 1 
 The Homilies of the Church of England consist of two 
 parts. The first containing twelve discourses, was pub- 
 lished in the year 1547, during the reign of Edward the 
 Sixth ; whilst the latter, consisting of twenty-one sermons, 
 was published in the reign of Elizabeth, in the year 1560. 
 Both books, as we have seen, were approved of in the 
 thirty-fifth Article, as containing a godly and wholesome 
 doctrine. Of their authors little is positively known, and 
 Fuller assures us, that objections were raised against them 
 from this circumstance. " However some," he says, " be- 
 hold these Homilies as not sufficiently legitimated by this 
 Article, to be (for their doctrine) the undoubted issue of 
 the Church of England, alleging them composed by pri- 
 vate men of unknown parts, who may probably be pre- 
 sumed at the best, but the chaplains of the Archbishops 
 under whom they were made." 2 To Cranmer, however, 
 the first series is generally, if not uniformly ascribed. It is 
 however plain, that he did not compose all the sermons of 
 the series ; for Becon was undoubtedly the writer of the 
 Homily against whoredom and uncleanness? The origin 
 of the second book of Homilies is still more problematical : 
 but the public voice has assigned it to Jewel. It may be 
 his ; still I think that this is not sufficiently established. 
 
 1 See Burnet on the thirty-fifth Article ; as also Prettyman, pp. 5358. 
 
 2 See Fuller's Church History, Book ix, p. 75, &c. 
 
 3 See Becon's Works, p. 643. Parker Soc. Ed.
 
 Tlie English Reformation. Ill 
 
 Of the first of these three individuals we have said enough. 
 He was either uncertain about religion to the end, or his 
 life was one continuous act of hypocrisy and deceit. Such 
 a man's opinions of religion are undeserving of the atten- 
 tion of any one who looks for faith, and not for the aber- 
 rations of a mind seeking but never finding truth. Becon 
 may fairly be styled the Prince of Scurrility. Open his 
 works where you will these works are very numerous, 
 forming three large and closely printed volumes you will 
 be sure to find language which reason shrinks from and 
 Christianity reprobates. This man from a Catholic became 
 a Protestant, under some of the phases of Protestantism, 
 in the time of Henry VIII. But this Protestantism did 
 not please the Pope-king ; and accordingly Becon was 
 called to account for his opinions. Unwilling to receive 
 so soon the crown of martyrdom, he prudently recanted 
 his errors at Paul's Cross in 1542, in the following words : 
 " "Worshipful audience, for declaration of my sorrowful 
 heart, and the testifying unto you of my unfeigned con- 
 version from error to truth, I occupy this day the place of 
 a penitent, praying you to give credit to that, which I 
 shall now say of myself." 4 Soon afterwards he abandoned 
 his faith, and retracted like the Archbishop whose chaplain 
 he was, his retractation. How often he changed, or what 
 was his belief during the reigns of Edward, Mary, and 
 Elizabeth, it would be difficult to determine. Suffice it to 
 say, that his writings, like those of Cranmer, are exceed- 
 ingly discrepant ; and in consequence of this discrepancy, 
 the recent editor of his works has found himself necessi- 
 tated to write the following apology, if apology it can be 
 called, for the variations of his author's doctrinal develop- 
 
 * See Pref. to Becon's Works, p. viii.
 
 TJie English Reformation. 
 
 ments : " It must be remembered that his early writings 
 were composed in the earlier stages of the Reforma- 
 tion, when some doctrines and many ceremonies of the 
 Romish Church, afterwards rejected, were still retained. 
 Becon naturally wrote for the times ; he described the rites 
 which were performed before his eyes ; he was willing to 
 approve as far as he conscientiously could, the institutions 
 then in force. Besides, his own views did not and could 
 not at once arrive at the clearness and decision by which 
 they were afterwards distinguished. Indeed, this may be 
 said of all the contemporary divines, who renounced popery 
 step by step, as they became convinced of the erroneous 
 character of its tenets. But in consequence, when several 
 years afterwards, Becon came to revise his works, he found 
 that his doctrinal sentiments were modified, and that 
 several of the rites he had explained were used no longer. 
 He did not however deem it necessary, altogether to re- 
 model his treatises : he contented himself with a mere 
 change of the expressions, such as ' of the Sacrament of 
 the Altar,' into ' the Sacrament of Christ's body and blood ;' 
 and referring to the ceremonies, as those which were used. 
 It is very desirable that the reader of these early treatises, 
 should not forget that they were written before the full 
 development of the Reformation in England." 1 How 
 pitiful all this is ! But, as St. Augustin has well observed 
 " in mala causa non possunt aliter. At malam causam 
 quis coegit eos habere ? Still, such observations have their 
 use. They further evidence the rationalistic character of 
 the Reformation, which was a purely deductive, inferential 
 
 1 See Pref. p. xviii. The Works themselves are a proof that Becon's 
 changes were more than modifications. He denounced in the most un- 
 christian language whatever ran counter to his temporary convictions.
 
 The English Reformation. 113 
 
 system : and a system dependant on a thousand casualties 
 for success. It was man's work, and man's only; and 
 hence like all the other works of man, it proceeded, as the 
 editor just referred to graphically describes it, step by step. 
 The omnipotent fiat was wanting ; the influx of the hea- 
 venly grace, by virtue of which a man could exclaim 
 " Credo" was likewise wanting ; and man found himself 
 altering and altering, changing and changing, till the very 
 name of religion became a mockery, and England a Babel, 
 where no man understood his neighbour. Had life been 
 lengthened out in the Sixteenth century as much as it was 
 in the days of those who worked at the lofty tower, 
 heaven only can tell, whither men with changed leaders, 
 and parliaments and influences might have gone, step by 
 step. Assuredly their notions would have differed mate- 
 rially at the age of 600, from those which they had enter- 
 tained at 60 : individuality would have been entirely 
 forfeited. 
 
 Jewel's character is like that of the two preceding Pro- 
 testant worthies. A Catholic at first, and afterwards a 
 violent Protestant in the reign of Edward, he hesitated 
 not to subscribe " some of the Popish doctrines " in the 
 early part of Mary's reign. Afterwards, he joined the 
 ranks of Elizabeth, and fought her battles till death seized 
 him in the year 1571. He was closely connected with the 
 foreign Protestants, as is clear from the Zurich Letters ; 
 and it was at Frankfort that he made in 1554, a public 
 confession of his sorrow for his previous subscription to 
 the tenets of Popery. 2 As a controvertist. he has been 
 
 2 See these facts recorded in Jewel's Life. Biog. Diet., vol. vii, p. 388, 
 Ed. 1784, as also Penny Encyc. vol. xiii, p. 117. "Jewel," it is said,
 
 114 The English Reformation. 
 
 much praised by his party. So excellent indeed were his 
 works adjudged to be in the days of Elizabeth, that they 
 were found worthy to be chained up in the public church, 
 and associated with those of the mendacious Fox, as the 
 martyrologist has been justly called. To me, however, 
 his writings appear unworthy of any great leader of a 
 party. Learning, honesty, and consecutiveness should 
 characterize the productions of such a man : learning by 
 which each point shall be clearly illustrated and proved ; 
 honesty which shall serve to convince the reader that truth 
 and not system, religion and not interest, are the ends in 
 view ; and consecutiveness by which the discourse may be 
 made a whole ; sentence following sentence, idea idea, in 
 such a manner as to render the whole work in its plan and 
 development apparent and clear. Such is not the de- 
 scription which the impartial reader will give of Jewel's 
 writings ; for neither learning, nor honesty, nor clearness 
 can fairly be ascribed to them. Passages from St. Augustin 1 
 and St. Jerome, 8 relative to the sufficiency of the sacred 
 Scriptures, are shamefully corrupted and misrepresented ; 
 words are omitted in a citation from the Third Council of 
 Carthage, in regard of the books read in the Church, on 
 which the entire meaning depends ; and the disgraceful 
 language of Zwinkfeld relative to the Holy Scriptures, 
 which Hosius denounces in his work on the Word of God, 
 is ascribed to the illustrious Cardinal ! An objection urged 
 by de Magistris relative to the criminality of fornication, 
 is held up as the doctrine of that Divine ; and he is made 
 to assert that fornication is not a crime, though the whole 
 
 " it seems, for a short time, somewhat temporized." These expressions 
 are wonderfully considerate. 
 
 1 De Unit. Eccse. c. iii. 2 S. Jerome in c. i, Aggsei.
 
 The English Reformation. 115 
 
 chapter was written to prove that it was one of a most 
 deadly character. S. Leo is stated to have inhibited the ce- 
 lebration of two masses on the same day in the same church, 
 the text saying quite the reverse ; and St. Clement to have 
 declared that a Pope could not carry the "two swords," 
 whereas the saint speaks only about worldly cares? In 
 his pages too we find every fable faithfully recorded which 
 malice or ignorance had invented against the Roman Pon- 
 tiffs. Pope Joan appears before the reader as a wonderful 
 reality ; on Frederick's neck, the Pontiff is seen to tread ; 
 and by his orders Dandalus, the doge of Venice, is tossed 
 like a chained dog beneath the pontifical table, there to 
 gnaw the bones with which he might chance to be supplied. 
 In a word, the figments of Bale and Barnes are adopted 
 without examination by this unprincipled and overrated 
 writer and bishop of Salisbury. If Swift's word can be 
 relied on, Burnet had a worthy predecessor in the person 
 of Jewel. 
 
 Reckless in his statements, he fearlessly declared that 
 to be a fact, of which he actually knew nothing. In his 
 " Apology," 4 he states absolutely that the Greeks " have 
 neither private masses, nor mangled sacraments, nor pur- 
 gatories, nor pardons." This statement drew down upon 
 him a severe answer from Harding in 1565. Accordingly 
 we find him in the following year, thus writing from 
 Salisbury, on the 10th of March, to his great authority, 
 Bullinger : " I wish to know whether those Christians who 
 
 3 The reader acquainted with the Apology of Jewel will at once know 
 where the passages are to which I have alluded. I have not cited the 
 words of Jewel, or of the Fathers, for fear of crowding my pages too much. 
 Harding's Reply to the Apology is deserving of the reader's attention. 
 
 4 See 14 Chap, of Apology.
 
 116 The English Reformation. 
 
 are at the present time scattered throughout Greece, Asia, 
 Syria, Armenia, &c., use private masses, and what kind 
 of masses, private or public, are now in use among the 
 Greeks at Venice." * Again, in proof of Jewel's being a 
 hasty copier, and not a scholar, I will instance his reference 
 to Camocensis, who was made to state that " it was quite a 
 usual thing with the Popes to wrest the Scriptures," in his 
 "Apology," 2 as also in his reply to Dr. Cole. Thus the 
 word stood in four editions of Jewel's works. Now what 
 did Jewel know of this author ? Nothing. In the letter 
 to Bullinger just cited I find this other query. " Again a 
 certain Camocensis, is sometimes quoted, as having written 
 with asperity against the lives and insolence of the Popes 
 Who was this Camocensis, of what order, and in what 
 time and country did he live ? " 3 Thus he knew neither 
 who his authority was, nor what was his profession, his 
 country, or even the age in which he lived ! And yet, the 
 unknown author was confidently appealed to, because he 
 was supposed to be opposed to the Popes ! Indeed, Jewel 
 as an authority is worthless ; and further, the antecedents 
 of his life render all he says suspicious at the very least. 
 
 What opinion the people had of the Homilies which 
 were thrust upon them, may easily be gathered from 
 Latimer's account of their reception. " Some," he says, 
 " call them Homelies, and indeed so they may be well 
 called, for they are homely handled. For though the 
 priest read them never so well, yet if the parish like them 
 not, there is such talking and babbling in the church that 
 
 1 This query contains nearly all Harding's Reply. He observed that 
 in all the East, there were private Masses. Hence the lengthened en- 
 quiry. See Zurich Letters, vol. i, 156. 
 
 2 Harding, 286. * Zurich Letters, voL i, 156.
 
 The English Reformation. 117 
 
 nothing can be heard , and if the parish be good and the 
 priest naught, he will so hack it and chop it, that it were 
 as good for them to be without it, for any word that shall 
 be understood. And yet (the more pity) this is suffered 
 of your Grace's Bishops, in their dioceses, unpunished." 4 
 Gardiner and others immediately protested against the 
 new sermons ; proved them to be in direct opposition in 
 one instance at least, in respect to the Solifidian system, to 
 the sacred Scriptures ; and further showed how in num- 
 bers of places they contradicted the Commentary of 
 Erasmus, which, by being placed in the Churches and 
 recommended by the State, was looked upon as sacred, as 
 sacred as the Homilies with which the writings of Erasmus 
 were connected. With time the dislike increased; and 
 from some cause or other, these Homilies which by Eliza- 
 beth's order were at first read by all Parsons, Vicars, 
 Curates, and all others having Spiritual cure, on all Sun- 
 days and Holidays, in all Churches and Chapels, are now 
 nearly unread and unknown. 
 
 Quis legit haec ? Nemo hercule. Nemo ? 
 Vel duo vel Nemo. Turpe et miserabile ! 
 
 Montague and Burnet, and Overall, not to refer to 
 other authors, do not seem to have entertained any very 
 high opinion of these discourses. " They seem," says the 
 first named writer, " to speak somewhat too hardly, and 
 stretch some sayings beyond the use and practice of the 
 Church of England, as also their dehortations (as the 
 ancient Fathers often did) somewhat hard upon the 
 
 * Latimer's^Second Sermon before King Edward, vol. i, p. 121.
 
 118 The English Reformation. 
 
 tenters." 1 Burnet allows that "they need a little correc- 
 tion or explanation," and further says " that the Scriptures 
 are often applied in them, as they were then understood ; 
 not so critically as they have been explained since that 
 time : " 2 whilst Overall praises the Church for having 
 " wisely reserved to itself the authority of correcting them 
 and of setting forth others." 3 
 
 But are these Homilies in accordance with the teachings 
 of Anglicanism : do they agree even with the Sixth Article, 
 though they are praised in a subsequent one, the Thirty- 
 fifth ? Among the Apocryphal works of the sacred Scrip- 
 tures, are reckoned the Books of Wisdom, Baruch, Tobias, 
 &c. : and these are declared positively not to be Scripture 
 in the Sixth Article, which the Anglican ministers sub- 
 scribe. What if in the Homilies these books are distinctly 
 named, or virtually acknowledged to be, sacred and in- 
 spired writings ? Now this is the case. Tobias, in the 
 Second Homily on Alms deeds, is distinctly stated to be 
 inspired by the Holy Spirit, and to be a portion of the 
 Holy Scriptures. " The same lessons doth the Holy 
 Ghost also teach us in sundry places of the Scripture," 
 after which words Tob. iv is immediately specified. Baruch 
 is twice called a Prophet, and his book cited as a portion 
 of the Scriptures, in the first Homily against rebellion. 
 Again, the book of Wisdom which is referred to eleven 
 times in the Homilies for Rogation week, is cited as a work 
 of SOLOMON. 
 
 Nor is this all. In the third Homily on Charity, Henry 
 
 1 Appeal, c. xxiii. 2 Exposition of xxxv Article. 
 
 3 See Nichol's Appendix. Add to these the Seven Strictures of Milton, 
 " Animadversions on the Remonstrant's defence."
 
 The English Reformation. 119 
 
 VIII, of whom Heylin truly says, "he never spared woman 
 in his lust, nor man in his anger"* and whose character 
 has been so ably delineated by Mackintosh, as the imper- 
 sonation of. evil, 5 is compared to the noble and pious 
 princes, whose names are recorded in the sacred pages 
 with praise. " God did put light in the heart of his 
 faithful and true minister, of most famous memory, King 
 Henry VIII, and gave him the knowledge of his word, 
 and an earnest affection to see his glory, &c., as he gave 
 the like spirit unto the most noble and famous, Josaphat, 
 Josias, and Ezechias." Can this be the character of him, 
 whose name is allowed, at all hands, to be a blot on the 
 page of history? Others have thought that the light which 
 dazzled the monarch, emanated, not from heaven, but 
 "from Anne Boleyn's eyes," 6 and this conjecture is borne 
 out by the whole tenor of Henry's life : the ray of light 
 was earthly, it was meteoric ; it was not heavenly. And 
 indeed, if Henry received from God the knowledge of his 
 word, then is the Anglican Church of the Homilies, whe- 
 ther it be the Church of Edward, or his sister Elizabeth, 
 self-condemned. For did not Edward, as well as Eliza- 
 beth, repudiate the religion of their father, and each raise 
 up a system of belief, wholly different from that which 
 their parent had schemed ? If Henry was inspired by God, 
 then is Anglicanism, which disallows the real presence, 
 denounces the Mass as a blasphemous fable, repudiates 
 Penance as a sacrament, a heresy ; for Henry believed in 
 Christ in the Holy Mystery, and in the Mass, as a holy 
 and propitiatory sacrifice, and in Penance as a sacrament 
 by which sins were blotted out. If the Homilies contain 
 
 * Heylin, Hist of Reform, p. 15. 5 English Hist. vol. ii. 
 
 Ibid. p. 151.
 
 120 The English Reformation. 
 
 a true and godly doctrine on this point, Anglicanism 
 should cease ; if the doctrine they contain is false, then 
 should the believers in the Thirty-nine Articles, the forty 
 stripes less one, repudiate them: 
 
 Utrum horum mavis accipe. 
 
 In either case the present Church of England is proved 
 to be a nullity. 
 
 Nor do the discrepancies between the Homilies and 
 belief of Protestantism end here. I will content myself 
 with giving another instance of these differences, in respect 
 to a matter of great importance. Whilst some Anglicans 
 are holding meetings against certain practices sanctioned 
 by the Bishop of Exeter, relative to confession and abso- 
 lution, and agitating the country about this important 
 matter, the Homily of Common Prayer and Sacraments 
 maintains, that "absolution" which must, as is well known 
 and felt, be preceded by confession, (l hath the promise of 
 the forgiveness of sins ." Again, the Homilies are at vari- 
 ance with one another. In the Homily just referred to, 
 it is said, " As for the number of sacraments instituted by 
 Christ, and expressly commanded in the New Testament, 
 there be but two, namely, Baptism, and the Supper of the 
 Lord"; but the Homily against swearing distinctly speaks 
 of " the sacrament of Matrimony" immediately after the 
 sacrament of Baptism, If men, knowing the character of 
 these discourses, hesitate about subscribing them, except 
 in a qualified sense, no conscientious person will be sur- 
 prised. 1 
 
 The conclusions to be drawn from these remarks are 
 
 1 See Bennett and Burnet on the thirty-fifth Article, especially the 
 former, who enters at length into this matter.
 
 The English Reformation. 121 
 
 obvious. First, if the character of the compilers be con- 
 sidered, the Homilies are certainly of no authority ; and 
 secondly, if intrinsic evidence is to have any weight with 
 the reader, in this point of view the Homilies are to be 
 rejected as false and as contradictory; contradictory of 
 one another, and contradictory of the Articles by which 
 they are sanctioned.
 
 122 
 
 Jfiftlj. 
 
 On the Anglican Liturgies. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 History of the Liturgical changes. Forms of prayer condemned, though 
 previously ascribed to the Holy Ghost. History of the Primer, &c. in 
 Henry's time. Edward's Liturgies. Changes in them. Authors of 
 the changes. Elizabeth's Liturgy. Changes, and grounds of the alter- 
 ations. The Liturgy disapproved of formerly and now. The objections 
 raised against it Alterations suggested. The changes in the Liturgy 
 as well as in the Articles, prove the hollowness and worldliness of 
 Anglicanism. Observations on the words "our Liturgy." Whence 
 did the Anglicans derive those prayers, of which they boast so much ? 
 
 BY a natural transition, we proceed to the examination of 
 the Liturgy of the new creed. Lex orandi est lex cre- 
 dendi. According to this rule, we may easily infer, that 
 a material alteration of prayer, involves a material altera- 
 tion in belief, and that an uncertainty in the matter of 
 prayer betrays an uncertainty of system. Now the Liturgy 
 of the new Church, or its form of prayer, has changed, 
 and materially. This has been cursorily shown already : 
 it is now our duty to dwell upon this point at some length. 
 Prior to the Reformation, the Mass was considered to be 
 the great, the all-important liturgical act. Each day it
 
 The English Reformation. 123 
 
 was offered up before crowds of worshippers ; but on the 
 Sundays, the entire population deemed itself bound to 
 assist at the solemn rite. And the language used during 
 the Holy Sacrifice was not the vernacular of England : 
 the sweet Latin language was the language of the Mass. 
 This service Henry retained. He did more : he hoped 
 to see all his followers retain it ; and so little did he anti- 
 cipate the cessation of this rite, that, as Burnet says, he 
 " left by his will, to the Church at Windsor, 600 a year 
 for ever, for two priests to say Mass at his tomb daily." * 
 Still, he commenced the work of innovation in the prayers 
 of the Church, and those who came after him prosecuted 
 it to the extent of excluding even the Mass from the 
 Liturgy. He caused the Primer to be published in the 
 vernacular tongue in 1535, and ten years afterwards a 
 second Primer appeared by his authority. Edward im- 
 proved on his father's example. Guided by the meteoric 
 lights of Cranmer and Somerset, he wandered further 
 from orthodoxy than Henry had done ; and in 1549, was 
 published a Liturgy in the English language, differing 
 widely from that which had been used for nearly a thou- 
 sand years in this kingdom. It need not be said that 
 Cranmer, who was aided by Ridley and eleven other 
 bishops and divines, was the framer of this Liturgy. This 
 Liturgy which was approved of by the Parliament in 1548, 
 was declared to have been drawn up by the special assistance 
 of the Holy Spirit, and as such was thrust upon the accept- 
 ance of the nation in the following year. Still, as I have 
 already noted, though much was changed, much too was 
 retained which was Catholic. The Supper of the Lord, 
 commonly called the Mass, was offered up at the altar; 
 
 1 Vol. ii, p. 13, Ed. 1683.
 
 124 The English Reformation. 
 
 the round unleavened bread was, as formerly, made use 
 of; water too was mixed with the wine; the nearly 
 usual order of the service was retained; the dead were 
 prayed for in these Catholic words : " "We commend unto 
 thy mercy, O Lord, all other thy servants, which are 
 departed hence from us, with the sign of faith, and now 
 do rest in the sleep of peace: grant unto them, we be- 
 seech thee, thy mercy, and everlasting peace. .. ."; the 
 elements on the altar of bread and wine were bl^essed 
 and sanc^tified, " that they may be unto us the body and 
 blood of thy most dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ"; and 
 people were told to believe, that though the bread of 
 consecration was divided, they did not therefore receive 
 less than if they had received the whole : "And men must 
 not think less to be received in part, than in the whole ; 
 but in each of them the WHOLE BODY of our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ."" 1 The doctrine of the real presence, with its con- 
 sequences, was expressed in the most distinct language. 
 After the consecration, the minister humbly besought 
 God, "that whosoever should be partakers of this holy 
 communion, may worthily receive the most precious body 
 and blood of thy Son Jesus Christ, and be fulfilled with 
 thy grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body 
 with thy Son Jesus Christ, that he may dwell in them, 
 and they in him." 3 When the sacrament was adminis- 
 tered under the form of bread, these words were used by 
 the minister: " The/body of our Lord Jesus Christ, "which 
 was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto 
 everlasting life." This was called the delivery of "the 
 Sacrament of the body of Christ " ; and when " the Sacra- 
 ment of the blood" was administered, the language was 
 
 1 Liturgy of Edward VI, p. 8, 97, Parker Ed. 2 Ibid. 89, 92.
 
 The English Reformation. 125 
 
 equally orthodox and emphatic : " The blood of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee, preserve thy body 
 and soul unto everlasting life." In Baptism, the exor- 
 cisms were pronounced, the cross was made, and the child 
 was anointed with chrism, and clothed with the white 
 garment. The sick, too, if they wished it, were anointed ; 
 and when the soul had left the body, the minister who 
 officiated at the burial prayed thus : " Grant, unto this thy 
 servant, that the sins which he committed in this world be 
 not imputed unto him, but that he, escaping the gates of 
 hell, and pains of eternal darkness, may ever dwell in the 
 region of light with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the 
 place where is no weeping, sorrow, nor heaviness," &c. 3 
 But in a short while, all this was changed. The "heaven 
 guided " compilers of the work, were condemned to see, 
 perhaps themselves to undertake, a change in the Prayer- 
 book. In 1558 another edition was published. Prayers 
 for the dead, the baptismal unction, the collation of the 
 white garment, as well as the exorcisms, were quietly 
 suppressed; and instead of a clear declaration of belief 
 in the Holy Mystery, a contrary dogma was enunciated : 
 "the creatures of bread and wine" were received in re- 
 membrance of Christ's passion and death ; and when the 
 bread was delivered, oh how changed was the expression ! 
 It was now, " Take and eat this, in remembrance that 
 Christ died for thee, and feed on him in thy heart by 
 faith, with thanksgiving." 4 Instead of Christ, bread was 
 given ! The reality had disappeared, and men were bid 
 to feast on an idea: who shall wonder if such eaters 
 hungered and perished ! It was likewise stated in the 
 
 3 Ibid. 147. 4 ITbid. 279.
 
 126 The English Reformation. 
 
 rubric, that " the natural body and blood of our Saviour 
 Christ are in heaven, and not here ; it being against the 
 truth of Christ's natural body to be at one time in more 
 places than one," 1 and what was here said, was appended 
 to the Article on the Lord's Supper? But when Mary 
 came to the throne, the acts of 1549 and of 1551 were 
 repealed by the authority of the crown and Parliament. 
 It was then admitted that the faith of former times was 
 the true Catholic faith ; and, on bended knees, the framers 
 of these varying laws asked for and obtained absolution 
 from a Roman cardinal, for their former aberrations from 
 orthodoxy. It had been well if the changing tide had 
 here stopped; but it was not to be so. The Papally- 
 denounced daughter of Boleyn, Elizabeth, claimed the 
 right of establishing that form of faith and Liturgy, which 
 was most agreeable to her ideas of religion, or fondness 
 of innovation, when she came into possession of the crown 
 of England. The act of repeal was reversed, in opposition 
 to the wishes of the English prelates, all of whom, but 
 one, and he was looked upon as " the calamity of his see," 
 clung to the creed of Rome, and opposed strenuously all 
 alterations in religion. This opposition it was requisite 
 to stop ; and since neither entreaties nor menaces availed, 
 to alter the determination of the bishops, they were de- 
 prived, tossed into prison, and condemned to weep over 
 the boldness of a woman and a parliament of laymen, who 
 dared, in opposition to every known canon of the Church, 
 to supply their places by unauthorized, perhaps unor- 
 dained ministers, and to exchange the ancient Liturgy 
 for another modification of the second Prayer-book of 
 
 1 Liturgy of Edward VI, p. 283. 2 Ibid. 534.
 
 The English Reformation. 127 
 
 Edward VI. Still Elizabeth, who seems to have been, as 
 Heylin 3 observes, a zealous advocate of the real presence, 
 refused to admit the last declaration of Edward, relative 
 to the Holy Mystery, either into the Liturgy or the Arti- 
 cles ; and further, she deemed it advisable to restore the 
 rejected words, " the body of our Lord, &c. preserve thy 
 body and soul," which restoration remained in force till 
 1661. In this year, Charles II issued a commission to em- 
 power twelve bishops, and as many Presbyterian divines, to 
 consider the objections raised against the Liturgy, which 
 were both many and urgent, and sanctioned by the learning 
 and authority of Dr. Reynolds, Bishop of Norwich, Drs. 
 Tuckney, Connant, Wallis, and Manton, besides Jackson, 
 Case, Baxter 4 and others. The result was, that though 
 the declaration was not restored, the words in Elizabeth's 
 Liturgy, " It is here declared, that no adoration is in- 
 tended, or ought to be done, unto any real and essential 
 presence of Christ's natural flesh and blood "* were can- 
 celled, and in their place the following were substituted : 
 "It is here declared, that no adoration is intended, or 
 ought to be done, unto any corporal presence of Christ's 
 natural flesh and blood." Several lessons and prayers 
 appointed to be read, were suppressed, and others were 
 substituted which were deemed more suitable ; some of 
 the collects, too, were changed ; the Epistles and Gospels 
 were ordered to be read from the text of James's Bible ; 
 and the office of Baptism for those of riper years was like- 
 wise engrafted into the Prayer-book : the Liturgy was, in a 
 
 Hist, of Queen Elizabeth, p. 124. 
 
 * It may seem strange, but it is a fact, that to Baxter, though not a 
 Protestant, the bishopric of Hereford was offered. The offer was con- 
 sistently refused. Carwitheris Hist, of Eng. p. 402.
 
 128 The English Reformation. 
 
 word, brought to that state in which it now stands. The 
 recent alterations were subscribed, as several other altera- 
 tions had been subscribed by both houses of Convocation, 
 on the 20th of December, 1661; and eventually they re- 
 ceived the approbation of both houses of Parliament, which 
 passed an act for the establishment of this corrected and 
 amended edition of the Anglican Liturgy. 1 
 
 Such are the principal changes to which the Prayer- 
 book of the English Church has been subjected, during 
 the brief period of its uncertain existence. Some of the 
 changes are radical, affecting doctrines of vital importance : 
 changes which clearly establish the falsehood of either the 
 actual or the former Anglican creed. Such changes offer 
 further evidence of the human origin of the Establish- 
 ment ; they prove it to be a work of mere man, and not 
 of man divinely assisted or guided; they further shake 
 for ever all faith in the system itself, as well as in the 
 framers of the system. But, on this head, further remark 
 will be useless : we have, already more than once, drawn 
 the reader's attention to these obvious inferences. 
 
 It must not, however, be imagined, that though the 
 Liturgy of 1661 was established both by Convocation and 
 by Parliament, therefore men's minds have been satisfied. 
 Complaints have from time to time rung through the 
 nation relative to the state of the Liturgy. It has been 
 said, and perhaps never more clearly than in these our 
 days, that a change was absolutely required. Fault has 
 been found by some with the Athanasian Creed; by 
 others, with the form of absolution ; whilst a third party 
 
 1 See Shepherd's critical and practical Illustration of the Morning and 
 Evening Prayer of the Church of England ; as also Wheatly's Illustration 
 of the Book of Common Prayer; and Pretyman's Elements, vol. ii, pp. 27-8.
 
 The English Reformation. 129 
 
 has pointed with scorn to the emphatic words adopted in 
 the ordination service " receive the Holy Ghost for the 
 office and work of a priest in the Church of God, now 
 committed unto thee by the imposition of our hands : 
 whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven ; and 
 whose sins thou dost retain, they are retained " 2 as con- 
 trasted with the avowed faith of Anglicanism, and with 
 its use of this apparently collated power. 3 As an instance 
 of the lengths to which this feeling has been allowed to 
 run, I will lay before the reader a few words of a petition 
 addressed to the House of Lords, to which it was pre- 
 sented on the fifth of August, 1833, by the Kev. C. N. 
 "Wodehouse, prebendary of Norwich. The petition states 
 " that your petitioner, on reviewing in after years the en- 
 gagements which he had thus entered into, became doubt- 
 ful whether he could renew them if called upon to do so ; 
 that further reflection only serving to add strength to 
 such scruples, he feels himself bound no longer to conceal 
 his opinions ; and that he now ventures to lay them before 
 your lordships, in the hope of being relieved from the 
 difficulty in which he is involved. That your petitioner 
 begs accordingly to state, that when called upon to 
 declare the Liturgy and Articles of the Church of Eng- 
 land to be in every respect ' agreeable to the word of 
 God,' he thinks himself obliged to make such a declara- 
 tion according to the plain, obvious meaning of the words 
 then used by him ; and that your petitioner cannot con- 
 
 * The Ordering of Priests, in the Liturgy. 
 
 3 Whilst writing this, I have fresh evidence of the denial of the power 
 of absolution. McNeile and his, have been recently gathering together 
 to denounce a power, which, if words can convey a meaning, they ought 
 to have received, and to believe in.
 
 130 The English Reformation. 
 
 scientiously affirm the following parts of the Liturgy to be 
 sanctioned by Scripture, namely, the 2nd, 28th, 29th, and 
 42nd clauses of the Athanasian Creed ; the form of abso- 
 lution in the office for visiting the sick ; and the words 
 used at the imposition of hands in ordaining priests and 
 bishops." 1 Notwithstanding the proposal to effect altera- 
 tions on these and other points, no opposition was raised 
 to the petition by either the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 or the Bishops of London, Chichester, and Hereford, who 
 were present on the occasion in the upper house. By 
 numbers, and among these were men of the greatest emi- 
 nence, the objections were felt and admitted; it was dis- 
 tinctly allowed indeed that alteration was required. But 
 what induced them still to exclaim, "desine quieta movere f 
 Why this: they feared lest the fabric might be pulled 
 down, if touched. It seemed to them, as hazardous a 
 thing to allow Wodehouse to play with alterations, as to 
 permit Sampson to play before the Philistines. He played 
 with pillars, and pulled a palace down; and would less 
 fatal results follow from a profane removal of the pillars 
 of the moral fabric ? " Who is there (it was asked) who 
 would wantonly break that mere spell of opinion, which 
 now consecrates the Liturgy as an almost faultless com- 
 position, to so many hearts and minds which refuse to 
 perceive its little blemishes ? " The spell of opinion was 
 a delusion that was known and felt but was it to be 
 broken ! Whilst the people were taught to believe that 
 the ritual was all perfect, one of the ministers of Angli- 
 canism 3 was denouncing it " as spotted and wrinkled, 
 
 1 See Petition to the House of Lords, by Wodehouse, p. 10. 
 
 2 Riland's British Liturgy, p. 17.
 
 The English Reformation. 131 
 
 with such sarcasm, resentment, abuse, and assumption of 
 its own excellence, as grieves and irritates its best friends ; 
 while it furnishes gratuitous matter of contempt and re- 
 crimination to those whom and here duty and self- 
 interest are closely combined it ought to have pitied 
 and disarmed." The " apocryphal defilements " of the 
 Prayer-book, with its confused and fictitious version of the 
 Psalms ; the expressions in the marriage service which 
 were looked upon as quaint and unintelligible to the lower 
 orders, and which convey hardly any meaning according to 
 modern ideas and habits "/ " the sure and certain hope " 
 of the burial service; the courtly and complimentary 
 terms addressed or applied to the sovereign; the state 
 services, which seemed rather fitted to promote rancour 
 and hatred, than " peace and good will ; " in fine, the 
 Athanasian Creed, as well as the ordination services, and 
 the visitation of the sick, presented difficulties to thou- 
 sands of well-minded and piously disposed individuals; 
 difficulties which they were anxious to surmount by era- 
 sure, and substitution of something more consonant to their 
 ideas of right and orthodoxy. So opposed was Archbishop 
 Sancroft, prior to his elevation to the highest Ecclesiastical 
 dignity in the Anglican Establishment, to the Burial Ser- 
 vice, that, as he owned to Archbishop Tillotson, " for that 
 very reason he had never had a cure of souls." Mr. 
 Veneer declares, that " it is plain that the office for the 
 dead, was never intended to be used at the burial of men 
 notorious for their vices, of such as die in a state of noto- 
 rious impenitence, without any appearance of their return 
 to God," and hence he advises the omission of certain 
 phrases in the prescribed service. In the Commination 
 Service read at the beginning of Lent that period of the
 
 TJie English Reformation. 
 
 year which is to be hallowed by abstinence and fasts, 
 according both to the rubric and the ordinance of the 
 Church rubrics and ordinances which Protestant minis- 
 ters have received and promised to observe, a wish is 
 expressed relative to the establishment of the ancient 
 penitential courses of the Catholic Church ; but, as 
 Bingham observes, though this wish has been expressed 
 for some hundreds of years, "nothing is done towards 
 introducing it, but rather things are gone backward, 
 and there is less discipline for these last sixty years, since 
 the times of the unhappy confusions, than there was be- 
 fore." 1 And Bingham is but one of a mighty crowd, who 
 felt ashamed of the service just named. To give copious 
 extracts on this head would be superfluous. I will con- 
 tent myself with adducing the words of another writer, 
 and with referring the reader to others whose sentiments 
 and language exactly accord with the sentiments of those 
 whose words have been already cited. " That solitary 
 wish for the restoration of discipline, we yearly put up at 
 the beginning of Lent, has, after so many repetitions, 
 no other effect than to convince the world, that order and 
 discipline once dropt, it is hard to raise it up again. 
 Whither has our wishing brought us ? We have wished 
 the godly discipline used in the primitive Church at the 
 beginning of Lent were restored. For want of something 
 more than wishing, this godly discipline is sunk, and Lent 
 itself gone after it." 5 The wish was obviously absurd, 
 when and as it was uttered. It was felt formerly, as it is 
 
 1 Bingham's Antiquities, b. xv, c. 9, 8. 
 
 2 The Hermit, Nos. 25 and 29. See too Marshal's Penit. Discip. of 
 Prim. Church, p. 2, 5; White's Third Letter, p. 14; Contempt of the 
 Clergy, p. 173, &c. &c.
 
 The English Reformation. 133 
 
 now, that this expression of desire meant nothing; the mi- 
 nisters who publicly uttered it, did not desire to see the 
 discipline of former times restored. Not only did the 
 Anglican ritual permit, it commanded all the members of 
 the establishment to abstain and fast ; to abstain and fast 
 for forty days; and yet it was well known that even the 
 ministers were reading at the head of the fast, the Lenten 
 service, not fasting. They had broken their fast before 
 the hour of service, and ere the first day of Lent closed, 
 they had partaken of meats forbidden during Lent, just 
 as if no orders had been issued, and no wish had been 
 expressed. Nay more, it might have been easily dis- 
 covered, that so far from acting according to the wish, 
 the ministers tied down to observe the ritual, looked upon 
 fasting and abstinence as a characteristic of the great 
 apostacy, as the doctrine of devils which St. Paul had ages 
 before denounced ; 3 as an observance followed indeed by 
 Catholics, but followed by them to their own condemna- 
 tion ; for by their adherence to the laws of their Church, 
 respecting abstinence, they were proved, it was asserted, 
 to be opposed to the teaching of Christ, who had said, 
 " understand you not, that everything from without, enter- 
 ing into a man, cannot defile him, because it entereth not 
 into his heart, but goeth into the belly." 4 Such are the 
 ordinary arguments popularly advocated by Protestants 
 in their sermons and books. It would obviously be more 
 consistent in this class of men, either to reject the 
 Prayer-book, or to denounce such modes of attacking 
 Catholicity. As long as the Prayer-book command the 
 following vigils, the Vigils of the Nativity of our Lord, 
 of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of the 
 
 a 1 Tim. iv, 3. * St. Mark vii, 18, 19.
 
 134 The English Reformation. 
 
 Annunciation, of Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost, of 
 All Saints, St. John Baptist, SS. Peter, James, Bartholo- 
 mew, Matthew, Simon and Ju.de, Andrew, Thomas, and 
 Matthias, as well as all the Fridays in the year to be 
 observed as days of abstinence, and the forty days of 
 Lent, the Ember and Rogation days to be hallowed both 
 by fasting and abstinence, so long will honest men be 
 ashamed of those Anglicans who either violate these fasts 
 or days of abstinence, or turn to ridicule the Catholic for 
 observing that which, by his religion, he is bid to perform. 
 Suffice it to say, that this contradiction of belief and 
 practice, of prayer-book and dinner-book, has long been 
 censured, and has extorted from the pens of Protestant 
 writers, unwilling avowals against the Liturgy which they 
 had solemnly pledged themselves to receive and follow. 
 
 Such is the history of, and such the dissatisfaction felt 
 in respect to, the Liturgy. The Liturgies followed the 
 Articles, or went along with them, in all their changes ; 
 and hence, the inference drawn from the alterations of the 
 latter, are applicable too here. All is human in the 
 system. Unlike the light of God's creation, man's imita- 
 tion was subjected to unruled variations, and darkness 
 was the result. Each generation would be creative. It 
 would not believe that the past was better than the 
 present; that the previous race of men was more en- 
 lightened, more sincere, more God-helped, than that 
 actually existing : it rather thought that the present was 
 better than the past, more spiritualized, more assisted, 
 because more experienced, and therefore it scrupled not 
 to undo, or to take from, or to enlarge the works of 
 those of former times. The Roman forum is a ruin, and 
 Edom a wilderness ;' Jerusalem has fallen, and the glory
 
 The English Reformation. 135 
 
 of Greece is as a thing that was, but which is not : why 
 suppose that a Liturgy is imperishable, or that that which 
 was once in honor may not become despicable ? Change, 
 then, change : let us build a tower, and make unto our- 
 selves a great name. So, change after change took place ; 
 and for more than a century, articles and rituals were the 
 toys with which sovereigns loved to play, and over which 
 they were proud to gain the mastery. Those in power 
 seemed to say to those who were ambitious of rank and 
 distinction in Church and State : fall down and adore us 
 
 and we will give you and they adored the royal 
 
 teacher of the day, hoping for the reward. The com- 
 promise was made. Faith was made the slave of interest : 
 it was an item in a worldly bargain; and the world of 
 soul and thought became agitated by a moral earthquake, 
 more violent, more enduring and more destructive, than 
 any convulsion which this material globe has ever had 
 to experience. 
 
 Before quitting the subject of the Liturgies, I would 
 wish to draw the reader's attention to the following obser- 
 vation. It is a common thing to hear* Protestants praising 
 the beauty of our Liturgy in the same unmeasured terms 
 as they adopt when extolling the perfection of our cathe- 
 drals. The Liturgy is said to be only inferior to the 
 Sacred Scripture ; it has its faults this is allowed but 
 these faults are as few as can be pointed out in any human 
 composition. Now, I would wish it to be remembered, 
 that the Liturgy is substantially of Catholic origin. From 
 our Missals and Breviary has been derived whatever of 
 beauty or of excellence is to be found in the composition 
 of that work. To advert to the Collects, these, as Palmer 
 observes, " have been read in the Liturgies of the Church
 
 136 The English Reformation. 
 
 of (in ?) England from the most remote period. Not only 
 do we find them in the Liturgies of the English Church, 
 before the Reformation, but in those of the Anglo-Saxon 
 Church long before the Conquest. Most of these Collects 
 can, in fact, be traced to the very beginning of the Anglo- 
 Saxon Church ; and by that Church they were originally 
 derived from the Liturgy of the Roman patriarchate in 
 primitive times. We are thus enabled to trace them back, 
 in many instances, to the fifth century. So that our Col- 
 lects, with some exceptions, have been used for 1400 years 
 in the Church of God ; and their origin lies in the distant 
 glory of primitive Christianity." 1 Similar observations 
 might be made in reference to the Gloria, Credo, Preface, 
 &c., and even to the order of the service constantly retained 
 down to the unfortunate period, when the foreign re- 
 formers influenced the leaders of the English Reformation, 
 to substitute a second ritual in place of the first Prayer- 
 book published under the auspices of Edward VI. 2 To 
 Catholicity, Protestantism is indebted for the beauties of 
 the English Liturgy. It is as much indebted to Catho- 
 licity for these, as for those gorgeous and stupendous 
 fabrics, cathedrals and monastic churches, which still, 
 after ages of ruin and destruction, stud the English soil. 
 To be sure, the sacrifice and the altar are banished from 
 the Liturgy, as they have been from the temple; and 
 many an excrescence and anomaly spoils the nearly in- 
 spired composition, as does many a modern window, or 
 table, or pew, spoil the gothic sublimity of the material 
 structure. But these are innovations, alterations; for 
 these, Catholicity is not responsible. It is responsible 
 
 1 Palmer, Orig. Liturg., vol. ii, 39, 40. 
 
 2 For details I refer the reader to the work just cited.
 
 The English Reformation. 137 
 
 only for what is ancient, venerable, true, elevating ; for 
 that, through and by which the spirits of the primitive 
 and medieval saints magnified their God and Saviour : 
 it has nothing to do with the novel, the uncatholic ; with 
 that, in a word, which makes a man a member of an 
 Anglican, whilst it tears him away from the Catholic 
 Church. These few remarks, on a subject which admits 
 of almost any extent of development, have been made for 
 one object: to do that justice to those who have gone 
 before us, which has been well expressed in one brief 
 sentence REDDE CUIQUE SUUM.
 
 138 
 
 On the Royal Supremacy. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 At the accession of Henry, not the King, but the Pope was head of the 
 English Church. His power considered to he divine, and as such defended 
 by Henry himself. Henry's work The title conferred on him in conse- 
 quence. Henry abandons the Pope, and makes himself head of the 
 Church. His conduct, and that of the Clergy, during the change. 
 Awful extent of the royal assumption Secured to him by Acts of 
 Parliament, by oaths, &c. Subserviency of the Clergy, and their 
 subsequent abject condition. More and Fisher die in defence of the 
 Papal Supremacy. Edward's claims to and exercise of the Supremacy. 
 Remonstrance of the Clergy. Indignation of the German and Hel- 
 vetic Eeformers. Elizabeth refuses the title of Head, but assumes 
 that of Governor of the Church, with all the prerogatives of the 
 Supremacy. Remarks on the change in the title, by the Anglicans and 
 others. Opposition of the Catholic Clergy to Elizabeth's claims to the 
 Supremacy. Results. The Supremacy ever since claimed by and 
 allowed to our Sovereigns by Parliament. Grounds raised for the 
 maintenance of the Supremacy proved to be untenable. Consequences 
 to England's Christianity flowing from the assumed Supremacy. 
 Folly of the recent address made to the Queen, relative to the Indepen- 
 dence of the Church in England. The scriptural proof in favour of 
 the Royal Supremacy, false as a fact, and absurd as an argument. 
 No mission in the Anglican Church. The marks of the Church have 
 disappeared here ever since a King was substituted for the Pope. 
 
 WHEN the founder of the Anglican Reformation ascended 
 the English throne, he found England united through
 
 The English Reformation. 139 
 
 the Roman Pontiff to the rest of Christendom. Each 
 prelate swore obedience to the Supreme Pontiff; the 
 papal nuncio sat in the council chamber of the English 
 Sovereign; and the Sovereign himself had recourse in 
 the hour of difficulty to his Spiritual Superior at Rome, 
 whom he honored as a Father, and from whom he sued 
 for a dispensation, in case the royal wishes seemed opposed 
 to the positive enactments of the Pope. Henry did more. 
 He wrote a work, partly in defence of the Supremacy of 
 Rome, against Luther ; and in this work he expressed his 
 wonder at the audacity of the man who had dared, in 
 opposition to all actual and former testimony in favour 
 of the undoubted right of the Pope to rule the Catholic 
 world, to deny this authority. This work he dedicated 
 to His Holiness Leo X, from whom in return he received 
 the distinctive title, still assumed by the Sovereigns of 
 this kingdom, of Defender of the Faith ! the faith of Rome. 
 The authority too of the Pope was believed to be of divine 
 right. Christ had built his Church upon one; upon 
 Peter. To him he had committed the charge of the 
 whole flock. He was to feed and rule the lambs and 
 sheep of this flock. The Church was not to cease. It 
 was built upon a rock, to last ; to continue despite of the 
 winds and the storms, and the machinations of power in 
 its worst and most terrific forms. It was to continue on 
 the rock. Peter was to uphold for ever the divine Es- 
 tablishment ; to feed the flock and to rule it for ever. He 
 was never to die, as it were, for his race was ever-existing. 
 His power was to endure, and his power was inalienable. 
 Whoever succeeded Peter, he it was who was to support, 
 and sustain the Church. On him, all who professed the 
 heaven-born creed rested; by him all were supported;
 
 140 The English Reformation. 
 
 and through him this prophecy was to be fulfilled " the 
 gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church" Such 
 was the faith of England before the Reformation, down 
 to the year 1534 ; such is the faith of every portion of 
 Christendom at the present hour, where heresy has not 
 supplanted the ancient creed, and introduced novelty for 
 antiquity. The Bishops all over the world, here and 
 elsewhere, believed that the plenitude of Ecclesiastical 
 jurisdiction was centred in His Holiness, and was through 
 him communicated to the prelates who ruled over the 
 various dioceses into which the Church was divided. 
 Our Archbishops and others might indeed be elected by 
 the crown, but such elections conferred no Ecclesiastical 
 power till Rome's acquiescence had been obtained. Then 
 but then only, did they rule a portion of the Church of 
 God, when the Pontiff of Rome had admitted them to the 
 honors and responsibilities of the Episcopate. 1 
 
 Disappointed in his expectations of procuring from Cle- 
 ment a divorce, Henry, notwithstanding the belief of his 
 fathers, and his own published professions, resolved to 
 carry out the suggestion of his unprincipled favourite, 
 Cromwell, namely to separate from the Holy See, and to 
 make himself the centre of Anglican unity, and the source 
 of all ecclesiastical as well as civil jurisdiction in this 
 realm : in other words, the Monarch determined on pro- 
 claiming himself the Pope, as well as the King of England. 
 The clergy were amazed at the proposal ; and anxious to 
 save their consciences as well as the royal favour, they 
 agreed in convocation to call him the Supreme head, as 
 
 1 I have treated this subject so fully in my recent work, "England and 
 Rome." that I shall forego the labour of entering again on this matter. I 
 remit the reader to the work referred to.
 
 The English Reformation. 141 
 
 far as the law of Christ permitted this : " Et quantum 
 per Christi legem licet, etiam supremum caput ipsius ma- 
 jestatem recognoscimus" 2 But Henry heeded not this 
 quantum, or the protestations either of the Primate War- 
 ham, or of Tunstall, Bishop of Durham, against this title, 
 and all statutes in derogation of the authority of the Holy 
 See. He bound the clergy, " on the word of a priest," to 
 obey him in all spiritual matters ; and rather than incur 
 the royal displeasure, the spiritual order basely yielded. 3 
 Law after law was quickly passed, to extend the regal 
 and destroy the papal power. The Archbishop was told 
 by the Monarch, that, " We do recognize no superior in 
 earth, but only God," and that "because ye.be under us 
 by God's calling and ours, the most principal minister of 
 our spiritual jurisdiction within this our realm, 4 we 
 do not refuse to allow you to dissolve our marriage with 
 Catherine of Arragon." The divorce, which had been 
 sought in vain from Rome, was conceded by Cranmer, 
 and the uxorious Monarch was, five days afterwards, de- 
 clared the lawful husband of Anne Boleyn. 5 The King, 
 too, was, as a last authority, to be appealed to. 6 Recourse 
 was no longer to be had to the Holy See for confirmation, 
 which confirmation conferred on the prelate jurisdiction, 
 but to the king only ; 7 and even the archiepiscopal badge, 
 the pallium, was to be conferred by the authority of this 
 unconsecrated King-Pope. Dispensations might be granted 
 by the ecclesiastical authorities, but not without the royal 
 license ; 8 and so far was the Pope's power ignored, that to 
 appeal to him was made a crime, and even the very name 
 
 a Wilkins, iii, 742-5. 3 Wilkins, iii, 754-5. 
 
 4 Collier, ii ; Records, No. 24. 6 Wilkins, iii, 804. 
 
 6 25 Henry VIII, c. 19. 7 Ibid. c. 20 
 
 8 C. 21.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 of the Pontiff was carefully expunged from all books of 
 divine service. Henry, as also his heirs and successors, were 
 declared by the statute, 1 " to have full power and authority, 
 from time to time, to visit, repress, redress, reform, order, 
 correct, restrain and amend, all such errors, heresies, 
 abuses, &c., which by any manner, spiritual authority, or 
 jurisdiction, ought or may be lawfully reformed, repressed, 
 ordered, redressed, corrected," &c. ; it was also declared, 
 that the Sovereign had " secluded out of this realm, the 
 abuses of the Bishop of Rome, his authority and jurisdic- 
 tion, of long time usurped" (how delighted would not 
 Luther have felt, to find that the royal theologian had 
 forgotten his own arguments in proof of the absurdity of 
 this alleged usurpation !) ; and that, " the bishops utterly 
 renounced all oaths and obedience to any foreign poten- 
 tates, and all foreign jurisdictions and powers, as well of 
 the Bishop of Rome as of all other, whatsoever they be." 3 
 Finally, to finish this history of usurpation, the lay ruler 
 of the Church chose a layman, Cromwell, for his vicar- 
 general, who took the precedence even of the Primate of 
 England ; and the Sovereign was at length declared to be, 
 what he had all along assumed to be, the source of all 
 jurisdiction, both ecclesiastical and secular : " Quando- 
 quidem .... jurisdictio omminoda, tarn ilia quae ecclesias- 
 tica dicitur, quam secularis, a regia potestate, velut a 
 supremo capite. . . .primitus emanaverit." 3 It was further 
 enacted, by the 35 Henry VIII, c. 1, that the following 
 oath should be taken by persons at their ordinations, at 
 
 1 26 Henry VIII, c. 1. 
 
 2 To what an extent the clergy and the Universities carried their sub- 
 serviency, may be seen in Wilkins, iii, 769, 771, et seqq. 
 
 3 Wilkins, iii, 797-8.
 
 The English Reformation. 143 
 
 institutions to benefices, at admissions to degrees at the 
 Universities, and by every person at the King's pleasure : 
 " I, N.N., having now the veil of darkness of the usurped 
 power, authority, and jurisdiction, of the See and Bishop 
 of Rome, clearly taken away from mine eyes, do utterly 
 testify and declare in my conscience, that neither the See 
 nor the Bishop of Rome, nor any foreign potentate, hath, 
 nor ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, or authority 
 within this realm, neither by God's law, nor by any other 
 
 just law or means I .... now do freely and clearly 
 
 renounce, refuse, relinquish, and forsake that pretended 
 authority, power, and jurisdiction, both of the See and 
 Bishop of Rome, and of all other foreign powers .... and 
 that I shall accept, repute, and take the King's majesty, 
 his heirs and successors, when they, or any of them, shall 
 enjoy his place, to be the only Supreme head of the Church 
 of England and Ireland, in earth, under God, and in all 
 other his highness' dominions. And that with my body, 
 cunning, wit .... I shall observe, keep, maintain, and 
 defend all the King's majesty's styles, titles, and rights, 
 with the whole effects and contents of the acts provided 
 for the same, and all other acts and statutes made, or to be 
 made within this realm, in and for that purpose. . . ." 4 
 
 Thus the English Church was tied to the throne : it 
 depended entirely upon it. The King was its spiritual 
 head, and the bishops were solely his assistants : they 
 partook of a share of that power of which he enjoyed the 
 plenitude. 5 
 
 With the results of this assumption of power, all the 
 
 * See Lewis's notes on the nature and extent of the royal Supremacy in 
 the Anglican Church, p. 31, &c. 
 5 Wilkins, iii, 784.
 
 144 The English Reformation. 
 
 world is acquainted. Fisher and More, and afterwards 
 numbers of others, refused to concede to Henry and his 
 heirs what belonged to the Roman Pontiff; and for this 
 legal crime, they were condemned to pay the forfeit of 
 their lives. The scaffold was stained with the blood of 
 many a good and conscientious Englishman ; and England 
 became a huge Haceldema, when the peaceful Pontiff was 
 rejected, and the Sovereign usurped the power and pre- 
 rogatives of the Bishop of Rome. 
 
 The boy-pope, Edward VI, under such men as Cran- 
 mer and Somerset, was not likely to abandon the character 
 assumed by his father. In his reign, indeed, the spiritual 
 power was more distinctly made to emanate from the 
 crown. The King only had the inherent right to visit 
 the dioceses ; to him was committed the absolute appoint- 
 ment of his Vicegerents; and from him, "authority of 
 jurisdiction, spiritual and temporal, was derived and 
 " deduced." l The result of all these enactments was, that 
 the Clergy "became absolutely powerless. They soon 
 discovered that, not only had the Pontiff's power been 
 taken away, but theirs too had been destroyed ; and to 
 obviate the inconvenience to which they were subjected, 
 the lower order of Clergy requested that they might be 
 permitted to sit in the House of Commons when matters 
 connected with religion were being discussed. But this 
 request was indignantly refused. The Commons pro- 
 
 3 1 Edward VI, c. 2. Previously indeed, this wide expression had been 
 used in the Beformatio. Leg. Ecclesiast. tit. de officio et Jurisd. omnium 
 Judicum. " Rex tarn in Episcopos, Clericos, etc., quam in Laicos, plenissi- 
 mam jurisdictionem tarn civilem quam Ecclesiasticam exercere potest; 
 cum omnis jurisdictio et Ecclesiastica et secularis ab eo tanquam ex uno et 
 eodemfonte derivatur."
 
 TJie English Reformation. 145 
 
 ceeded in their former course, and without consulting 
 the Clergy, passed their decrees relative to religion. 
 (See Antiq. Britan. p. 339.) Their wings were indeed 
 clipped, as Heylin somewhere expresses it: and the 
 Clergy, when it was too late, discovered that the real 
 governors of the Church were the King and his Parlia- 
 ment. These passed laws, and made articles of faith ; and the 
 Clergy were bid to subscribe and enforce the observance 
 of the new enactments. The Clergy became in fact, 
 neither more nor less than royal bailiffs, or parliamentary 
 officers. Calvin was indignant when he beheld the Clergy 
 of England cringing and fawning at the footstool of power. 2 
 Not content with calling the sycophants, inconsiderate in 
 their concessions, he proceeded to use harsher language : 
 he styled them blasphemers, because they had named the 
 King, the Supreme Head of the Church under Christ. 
 ' But it was when Elizabeth claimed the Supremacy, 
 that the German Reformers' indignation reached its 
 height. When Chemnitz heard of the astounding event 
 of Elizabeth's claims to Anglican Supremacy, he in- 
 dignantly exclaimed : " Fcemineo fastu et a seculis in- 
 audito. " Mary, like a virtuous Catholic, rejected the 
 usurped power of Spiritual Supremacy, and restored it 
 again to the Roman Pontiff: but her acts were again 
 rescinded, and Elizabeth became the Spiritual Head of 
 the Anglican Establishment. She refused indeed the title 
 of Head of the Church; and by doing so, seems to 
 
 2 Qui initio tantopere extulerant Henricum Kegem Anglioe certe 
 fuerunt inconsiderati homines. Dederunt illi summam rerum omnium 
 potestatem ; et hoc me semper graviter vulneravit : erant enim blasphe- 
 mi, cum vocarent ipsum, summum caput Ecclesiae sub Christo. Calvin in 
 Caput 1 Amos. 
 
 H
 
 146 The English Reformation. 
 
 have afforded satisfaction to Jewel and his partizans : but 
 she assumed another title equally significative, the title 
 of Governor; 1 and further, she claimed all the power, 
 and rights, and jurisdiction, which her father and brother 
 had been possessed of, during the palmiest days of their 
 Ecclesiastical ascendency. It was decreed (1 Eliz. c. 1, 
 and 8 Eliz. c. 1) that " all jurisdictions, privileges, supe- 
 riorities, spiritual and ecclesiastical, as by any spiritual 
 or ecclesiastical power hath heretofore been exercised, for 
 the visitation of ecclesiastical state and persons, and for 
 reformation, order, and correction of the same, and 01 all 
 manner of errors, heresies, schisms, &c., shall for ever, 
 by authority of this Parliament, be united and annexed 
 to the Imperial Crown of this realm, &c." And in the 
 same Act, it was ordained, in reference to the extent of 
 the Queen's Supremacy, that " the branches, sentences, 
 and words of the said several Acts (made in the time of 
 Henry VIII), and every one of them, shall be deemed 
 and taken to extend to your Highness, as fully and largely 
 as ever the same Acts did extend to the said late King 
 Henry VIII, your Highnesses father." The Clergy, who 
 knew the meaning of these statutes, and who had seen 
 Henry and Edward claiming, in virtue of them, a right 
 to crush the vital powers and energies of the ministers 
 of religion, and to rule them more absolutely than the 
 Roman Pontiff could have done by right of his Supremacy, 
 would not consent to the enactments : they clung to the 
 
 1 " The Queen is not willing to be called the Head of the Church of 
 England, altJiough this title has been offered her; but she willingly accepts 
 the title of Governor, which amounts to the same thing." Zurich Letters, 
 May 21, 1559, first series, p. 29; see too Jewel's Letter, May 22, 1559, 
 p. 33, &c.
 
 The English Reformation. 147 
 
 Pontiff as their Spiritual Head, and rejected the Queen 
 in quality of Supreme Governor of the Church in Eng- 
 land. In the fourth Article of their defence of the 
 ancient and divinely established form of Church Headship, 
 they declared " that to Blessed Peter, and his legitimate 
 -successors in the Apostolic See, as to Christ's Vicar, was 
 given the supreme power of feeding and governing the 
 Church militant of Christ, and confirming his brethren." 2 
 And in the fifth Article they distinctly affirmed that 
 " not to laymen, but to clergymen only, was the power 
 granted by God of judging and defining in matters con- 
 nected with faith." 3 
 
 Succeeding Sovereigns claimed the powers conceded to 
 their predecessors. James, in the plenitude of his power, 
 restored to the homicide, Archbishop Abbot, the exercise 
 of his forfeited spiritual faculties. Charles the First sus- 
 pended Abbot; ratified again the Articles, and attached 
 to them a meaning which the House of Commons in vain 
 protested against. The Second Charles allowed of devia- 
 tions from the Rubric on the 25th October, 1660, and 
 dispensed with the subscription to the three Articles of 
 the Thirty-sixth Canon, and the oath of Canonical obe- 
 dience. Even the Dutch King, William III, was a 
 zealous maintainer of the rights of his Supremacy, what- 
 ever his own personal convictions might be in relation to 
 the orthodoxy of the Establishment. He deprived several 
 Bishops of their Sees, and issued injunctions to the Arch- 
 bishops, which they were accordingly bound to communi- 
 
 2 See the Articles of this most important meeting in Fuller's History, 
 1. ix, p. 54. He copied them out of the Lib. Syn., 1559. 
 
 3 On all these questions see the excellent work, A Relation of the 
 English Reformation, Oxford, 1687.
 
 148 The English Reformation. 
 
 cate to their suffragans. 1 Anne informed the Primate, 
 that she was determined to maintain the Supremacy, as a 
 fundamental part of the constitution of the Church of Eng- 
 land. 2 And thus have our Monarchs, from year to year, 
 down to the present period, continued to claim and exer- 
 cise the prerogatives of the Supremacy: they proclaimed 
 themselves to be the Spiritual Heads of the Prelates, and 
 of the Church in general, and prelates and people swore 
 to defend this Supremacy. Queen Victoria, like her 
 predecessors, has exercised as well as asserted the rights 
 of the Supremacy. It was ordained in the Statute 6 and 
 7 Viet. c. 62, that "if a Bishop become incapable of 
 performing his functions, it shall be lawful for her 
 Majesty, by letters patent under the great seal, to appoint 
 one of the bishops of the same province. . . .to exercise 
 all the functions and powers, as well with regard to the 
 temporalities as spiritualities of the Bishop or Archbishop 
 so found to have become incapable." And in a recent 
 meeting of convocation, the following words were agreed 
 upon, as an address to Her Majesty: "We not only 
 recognize, but highly prize your Majesty's undoubted 
 Supremacy in all causes, ecclesiastical and civil, over all 
 persons, and in every part of your Majesty's dominions, 
 as it was maintained in ancient times against the usurpa- 
 tions of the See of Eome, and was recovered and reasserted 
 at our Reformation. In connexion with this grave sub- 
 ject, we feel that your Majesty may expect from us the 
 expression of our solemn protest against that fresh aggres- 
 sion of the Bishop of Rome, by which he has arrogated 
 to himself the spiritual charge of this nation, thereby 
 denying the existence of that branch of the Church Catho- 
 
 1 Wilkins, iv, 624. Ibid. 625.
 
 The English Reformation. 149 
 
 lie which was planted in Britain in the primitive ages of 
 Christianity, and has been preserved by a merciful Provi- 
 dence to this day, as well as against many which have 
 preceded it : and we desire, on this our first occasion of 
 addressing your Majesty since its, occurrence, solemnly 
 to protest in the face of Christendom, and to lay this our 
 protest before your Most Gracious Majesty." 3 
 
 This Supremacy was said too, to be of divine origin. 
 By the 37, Henry VIII, c. 17, it was expressly declared, 
 that the Spiritual Headship was given to the Monarch 
 by heaven, a revelation to this effect being indeed ex- 
 pressly recorded in the Holy Scriptures. " In considera- 
 tion (it was said) that your Majesty is the only and un- 
 doubted Supreme Head, fyc., to whom, by Holy Scripture, 
 all power and authority is wholly given, to determine all 
 manner of causes ecclesiastical, and to correct vice, fyc., 
 may it therefore be enacted that all persons as well lay as 
 those that are married, being doctors of the civil law, who 
 shall be deputed to be any chancellor, commissary, fyc., 
 may lawfully exercise ALL MANNER of jurisdiction, com- 
 monly called ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, any constitution 
 to the contrary notwithstanding." 
 
 Whether or not, God and his holy word were thought 
 of by Cromwell who suggested, or by Henry who adopted 
 the idea of making the Sovereign of the land the Head of 
 the religion of the country, I leave the reader to judge. 
 This however is evident : the assumption of this authority 
 enabled Henry to gratify his passions, and Henry's suc- 
 cessors to wreak their vengeance on the Pontiff who dared 
 to pronounce his anathemas against kings and queens, 
 and on those who still clung, despite of legal enact- 
 3 See the Journals of the 27th November, 1852.
 
 150 The English Reformation. 
 
 merits, to the rock of their fathers, and gloried in their 
 dependence on the noble line of Peter's successors. But 
 the Royal Supremacy was attended with great inconve- 
 niences. For 1 this doctrine tore England away from 
 the rest of the world. Prior to the Reformation, the 
 Church in England was a branch of the Church Catholic. 
 With it, all the Churches of the world were in union. 
 They all offered up the same sacrifice, received the same 
 sacraments, believed the same doctrines, and acknow- 
 ledged the same Head, the Pontiff of Rome. To this Pon- 
 tiff, every court resorted, and none more so than that of 
 England; even down to the period when Henry felt, 
 or affected to feel, scruples on account of his marriage 
 with his brother's widow. But, by making the Sovereign 
 Head of the Church here, a new doctrine was established ; 
 a doctrine which the Roman Church and the Catholic 
 world repudiated, ascribing, and rightly too, its origin 
 to passion and to revenge. This new doctrine made this 
 an Insular Church ; the Church not in but of England ; 
 the Church not as before constituted, but as established 
 by an Act of Parliament, which had no power (this is 
 universally acknowledged) out of the realm of England ; 
 it ceased to be a portion of the Catholic Church of which 
 the successor of St. Peter was the Head. England did 
 not even after that affect to be a branch of the Catholic 
 Church: it was the Protestant Church: it was a whole. 
 It had no connexion whatsoever even with Lutheranism 
 or Calvinism, or the Greek Church: it was lopped off 
 from every other Established Church. Christianity, after 
 1500 years, was reduced in the Anglican hypothesis to a 
 few hundred worshippers, placed in the sea girt island, 
 of whom " the impersonation of evil " was the first head !
 
 The English Reformation. 151 
 
 The prayer of Christ for unity was rendered abortive, when 
 the English Sovereign claimed to be the Spiritual Head of 
 the Church in his kingdom. The principle advocated 
 was one of disunion, of severance, of isolation : it broke 
 up the Catholic Church: it made the world consist of 
 as many petty and independent Churches as there were 
 kingdoms, or dukedoms, or republics ; for assuredly no 
 Englishman was so foolish as to say, that it was permitted 
 to the English Sovereign only to rule a portion of the 
 Church; that he had a privilege which was denied to 
 other temporal Rulers ; and what would be usurpation on 
 the part of the Pontiff here, would be the ordinance of 
 heaven for France, Germany, Austria, and Bavaria, and 
 for Russia, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, and Swit- 
 zerland. Without an universal Head, where would be 
 the Catholic Church? If the Anglican Church was a 
 branch of the Church, as some writers have maintained in 
 this century, after her separation from Rome, could that 
 branch be anything but a lopped-off, rotten, condemned 
 branch a branch only fit for the fire ? It was joined to 
 no stock; it branched off from no trunk; it derived no 
 sap, no vitality from any root : surely it was dead ! In- 
 stead of speaking of the branch Church of England, the 
 members of the late convocation should have explained 
 their meaning. For years the explanation has been de- 
 manded ; it has been demanded by the learned of Italy, 
 and France and England ; the request should be attended 
 to. To others the word appears absurd ; has it a meaning 
 even in the minds of those who have just adopted it ? If 
 it have, let the meaning be assigned. Let it be shown 
 that the Anglican Church is anything better than a con- 
 demned, lopped-off branch a branch which has no fruit,
 
 152 The English Reformation. 
 
 which has no life. Let it be shown with what it is con- 
 nected ; where is its root, and where the trunk with which 
 it is immediately and essentially united. 
 
 2 The Royal Supremacy is in direct opposition to the 
 councils received by the English Church. The new 
 Church receives the four first General Councils, namely, 
 those of Nice, Constantinople, Chalcedon, and Ephesus. 
 Now, it is easy to show from these, that so far from 
 rejecting the Roman and believing in a kingly Spiritual 
 Supremacy, the fathers of these councils plainly con- 
 sidered the Roman Pontiff to be the Head of the Church, 
 of the whole of Christendom. I will draw the reader's 
 attention to what was respectively said by the prelates 
 assembled at Chalcedon and Ephesus. 1 They declare 
 that Pope Leo, " had presided over them, through his 
 delegates, as a head over the members ; " that to him " the 
 guardianship of the vineyard had been entrusted by the 
 Lord ; " " we have confirmed (they add) the Canon pro- 
 mulgated by the hundred and fifty fathers who assembled 
 at Constantinople, .... that after your most blessed and 
 apostolic (throne) that of Constantinople should have the 
 primacy. Being persuaded that, as the apostolic ray 
 shines with you, you will often extend it to this city of 
 Constantinople. . . .We therefore call upon you to honor 
 also with your sanction our judgment. Even as we have 
 brought our harmonious agreement unto the head in (all) 
 good things, so also let the head do what is befitting 
 for the children. For thus also will the religious Sove- 
 reigns be reverenced, who have confirmed the decision of 
 your Holiness as a law ; and the throne of Constantinople 
 will make you a return as it has ever fully exhibited all 
 zeal towards the things disposed by you in the cause of
 
 The English Reformation. 153 
 
 true religion, and has zealously united itself with you in 
 oneness of sentiment." (Epist. Synod. Leoni, t. iv, Condi, 
 col. 836-8, Labbei.) 
 
 See too, how plainly the Papal legate, Phillip, speaks 
 in respect to the acknowledged Supremacy of Rome, in 
 the Council of Ephesus. " It is a matter of doubt to 
 none, yea, rather, it is a thing known to all ages, that the 
 holy and most blessed Peter, the prince and head of the 
 Apostles, the pillar of the faith, the foundation of the 
 Catholic Church, received the keys of the kingdom from 
 Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, and Redeemer of 
 Mankind: and to him was given authority to bind and 
 loose sins : who even till this present, and always, both 
 lives and judges in his successors. Our holy and most 
 blessed Pope Celestine, the bishop, the canonical successor 
 and vicegerent of this Peter, has sent us as representatives 
 of his person." Condi. Eph. t. iii, act. iii, col. 625 ; Condi. 
 Labbei. Previously to this declaration, which was joyfully 
 listened to by the prelates, they had " united (in receiving 
 the letters of the Pontiff,) their holy members, by their 
 holy voices and acclamation, to that holy head (the Pope)." 
 Ibid. act. ii, col. 619. Such is the language which the 
 Eastern prelates as well as the Eastern Sovereigns, adopted 
 in reference to the Roman Pontiff. He is their head and 
 their father, and they are his members and his children. 
 The Pope is the guardian of the Lord's vineyard, not of a 
 portion of it, but of the entire vineyard; and whatever 
 authority, after the Holy See, Constantinople is to be 
 possessed of, that authority, it is known, is to be derived 
 from the Holy See ; and hence it is that the fathers 
 humbly petition his Holiness to accede to their wishes, 
 and confer on the second Rome, an extension of privileges
 
 154 The English Reformation. 
 
 and jurisdiction : and to further their ends, they declare 
 what zeal they have ever felt for the Holy See, and what 
 anxiety they have ever exhibited to be one in sentiment 
 with it. The words uttered in the Council of Ephesus 
 require no comment. Similar language was formerly used, 
 as I have already shewn, in a recent publication, by the 
 prelates and kings of England, in their addresses to the 
 Holy See. To the Roman Pontiff they were wont to 
 repair for spiritual favours; to his judgment they sub- 
 mitted their decrees ; and in virtue of his decisions were 
 greater as well as minor ecclesiastical affairs arranged. In 
 fact, the language of England was ordinarily even more 
 orthodox and more filial, when no momentary excitement 
 agitated the breasts either of the sovereign or of the hier- 
 archy, towards Rome, than that of any other country: 
 this I could easily prove, but I shall not do so here, since 
 I have elsewhere already entered fully into this important 
 and truly interesting subject. 1 Now in the face of these 
 statements made by the councils which Protestantism pro- 
 fesses to receive, 2 is it not folly, or something worse, to 
 cast off the authority of the Pontiff, and recognize that of 
 the Sovereign, in matters spiritual. 
 
 Thirdly, if the Sovereign, as such, be the head of the 
 Church, then it must be admitted either that the Church 
 had no head for more than three hundred years, or that 
 pagans were the heads of this divine system. The latter 
 position is ridiculous ; it is ridiculous to suppose that 
 Christ placed the regulation of the affairs of Christianity 
 in the hands of infidel sovereigns, whose most ardent 
 desire was this to exterminate the Christian name ; and 
 who, to realize their wish, waged a continuous war of 
 
 1 See "England and Borne" passim. 2 See Burnet's Articles, p. 207.
 
 The English Reformation, 155 
 
 persecution for nearly three hundred years against the 
 Church, filling prison after prison with crowds of be- 
 lievers, purpling the scaffold with the blood of Christians, 
 and hurrying to the lions numbers for the only crime of 
 abandoning paganism, and professing their adherence to 
 the Messias. If the former position be maintained, if it 
 be said that it was headless for three hundred years and 
 more, then I ask, on what authority is it stated that the 
 Church could be in such an anomalous position ? Further, 
 where is it stated that when, after three hundred years, 
 an emperor should profess the faith, he was to become the 
 visible spiritual head of the Church of his empire, the 
 rest of the world still remaining acephalous, because still 
 governed, and to fce governed for ages to come, by infidels. 
 These are important positions, and not to be maintained 
 at random, or to be admitted without evidence. They 
 are positions of vital importance, if Anglican principles 
 are deserving of the slightest attention. I find in the 
 sacred Scriptures of Christianity, one Peter appointed to 
 feed the flock ; I find that the Church, built on this 
 Peter, is perpetually to endure; I find Christ commis- 
 sioning Apostles -fishermen, not kings to go and preach 
 to all mankind, and these ordaining others to supply their 
 places, in order that the ministerial line may continue 
 after their demise; and I further learn, that with this 
 line, Christ promises to be all the days, even to the end 
 of the world ; but I do not find a king appointed to rule, 
 to govern the Church ; I do not find monarchs commis- 
 sioned to arrange the affairs of the Church. I find 
 Apostles and their successors, openly resisting the orders 
 of the rulers of the day, and declaring that bishops were 
 appointed by the Holy Ghost, to rule the Church ; but in
 
 156 The English Reformation. 
 
 vain have I sought for any warrantee of Holy Writ, in 
 favour of the supposition, that the Sovereign of England, 
 man or woman it matters not, or the sovereign of any 
 other land, has been appointed as such, to be the supreme 
 head or the supreme governor of the Church of the living 
 God. And yet, as we have seen, this authority was dis- ' 
 tinctly maintained to be given by Holy Writ to Henry 
 and his successors ! Why has not the chapter, the verse, 
 the book been pointed out? Why are we condemned to search 
 and search in vain for the portentous text ? Why, in a matter 
 of such moment, is it not tacked to the throne, written 
 upon the walls, fastened on the brow of royalty ? There 
 is no such text ; the declaration is false, as false as the 
 fact which it would sustain. Had there been such a text, 
 it would have been long ago paraded through the world. 
 
 Further, in the Holy Scripture, the Church is called 
 the kingdom of Christ; the flock of the Redeemer; the 
 city placed on the mountain top : it is one. But the 
 Anglican idea destroys this unity ; there must be king- 
 doms, and flocks, and cities, to make it convey any 
 meaning : kingdoms, having each a distinctive spiritual 
 ruler ; and flocks, having each its independent shepherd ; 
 and cities, wholly disconnected, separated, divided one 
 from the other. In Italy, France, Austria, Portugal, and 
 Spain, Catholic sovereigns shall, by the appointment of 
 Heaven, rule the Church ; in Russia, a schismatical Greek 
 shall be supreme ; in Germany, and Switzerland, and 
 Prussia, Lutheran and Calvinistic princes shall be sent by 
 God, to maintain systems diametrically opposed to those 
 upheld in England and elsewhere. Catholic princes may 
 be, and by divine appointment, heads of the Church in 
 other countries, but here it may not be so. Should Queen
 
 The English Reformation. 157 
 
 Victoria, the head of the English Church, return to the 
 faith of her fathers, she forfeits her title; her loyal and 
 spiritual subjects are absolved from their allegiance, and 
 the crown descends to the next Protestant heir, as if the 
 Queen were naturally dead ; for so the Calvinistic Dutch- 
 man, William III, King of England, and head of the 
 Anglican Church, willed it ! 1 And thus God is made a 
 god of inconsistencies and contradictions ; and he who 
 said that he desired unity of belief, and who indeed made 
 this unity essential to salvation, as well as to Christianity, 
 rendered this unity impossible by forcing the people to obey 
 heads, professing contradictory creeds, and promulgating 
 contradictory enactments connected with the important 
 affair of religion. 
 
 If kings be, by Holy Writ, appointed to rule the 
 Church, if from them, all spiritual jurisdiction flows, if 
 they be the judges of heresy, how comes it to pass, that 
 no king, no queen, no emperor, no empress, no head of 
 a republic, ever believed in or acknowledged such a 
 tenet before Henry's love for Boleyn, and the unscru- 
 pulous advice of Cromwell, suggested the new idea. The 
 first Christian emperor did not deem himself to have been 
 made by his baptism head of the Church. Judge of this 
 from his own words : " God," he says, " has constituted 
 you priests, and given you power to judge us ; and there- 
 fore we are rightly judged by you, but you cannot be 
 judged by men." 2 
 
 Nor did the sainted prelates of Christendom look upon 
 sovereigns as their spiritual lords. " What," asks St. Atha- 
 nasius, "has the emperor to do with the judgments of 
 
 1 1 William and Mary, c. 2. 
 
 2 Rufinus, 1. i, c. 1 ; S. Greg. 1. iv, Epist. 72 ; also Baronius, ad arm. 325.
 
 158 The English Reformation. 
 
 of bishops ? Has it ever been heard of, since the be- 
 ginning of the world, that the judgments of the Church 
 derived their force from the emperor ? " 1 And when 
 Osius had occasion to correct the Arian, Constantius, he 
 makes use of very unmistakeable language : " Meddle not, 
 O Emperor," he exclaimed, " in ecclesiastical causes, nor 
 take upon you to command us in this kind, but rather 
 learn those things from us. To you God has committed 
 the empire; to us the affairs of the Church." 2 S. Ambrose 
 also knew well what was the extent of the imperial, and 
 what of the episcopal power, in matters of religion. Dal- 
 matius the tribune, having been sent with a public notary, 
 by Valentinian the younger, to summon S. Ambrose to 
 dispute with the Arian bishop, Auxentius, received the 
 following reply from the illustrious doctor of the Church : 
 " I answered," says S. Ambrose, in his letter to the Em- 
 peror, " in the same manner as your glorious father did 
 on a like occasion, not only in words, by also by laws, 
 that in causes of faith and ecclesiastical order, priests only 
 are to judge priests ; and further, that should a bishop be 
 questioned for his conduct, this judgment should likewise 
 appertain to bishops. When did you ever hear, most 
 clement Emperor, that laymen judged bishops in matters 
 of faith ? You are yet young in years ; you will, by 
 God's grace, and the maturity of your age, be better 
 informed hereafter ; and then will you be able better to 
 judge what kind of bishop he is to be accounted, who 
 subjects the rights of the priesthood to laymen. Your 
 father, being a man of riper years, said, ' it belongs not 
 to me to be a judge among bishops : ' and will your cle- 
 
 1 Epist. ad Solitar. 
 
 2 Epist. ad Constant, apud Baronium ad ann. 355.
 
 TJie English Reformation. 159 
 
 mency now say, that you ought to be their judge ?" 3 But 
 it is not requisite to draw the reader's attention to the 
 sovereigns of other lands ; the question is, did any English 
 sovereign, prior to the times of Henry, ever pretend either 
 to be the head of the Church as a Church, or to be pos- 
 sessed of the jurisdiction claimed by Rome, and to be the 
 source, the origin of ecclesiastical authority. No : seven 
 Saxon kings, and another king of Danish origin, repaired 
 to Rome to receive the blessing of the Pontiff, whom they 
 called father, and head of the Church ; and on him, they 
 and their subjects declared themselves to be necessarily 
 dependent in all Church matters. These were Cseadwalla, 
 Ine, Offa, Ccenred, Offa, Siric, Ethelwulf, and Canute. 
 They, like their predecessors, sued for the Pontifical bless- 
 ing, deeming it a great privilege to receive the benediction 
 of the father of the faithful ; 4 and if they wished for an 
 extension of the hierarchy, or for a fresh disposition in 
 the ecclesiastical arrangements of the kingdom, they had 
 recourse to Rome; leaving to the Pontiff the right to 
 concede or refuse their petitions. In this manner acted 
 King Offa; and a similar line of conduct was pursued 
 by other sovereigns who successively filled the English 
 throne. Gregory, surnamed the Great, was the first who 
 arranged the sees of England; "Vitalian placed all the 
 Anglo-Saxon Churches under the jurisdiction of Theo- 
 dore ; Agatho limited the number of bishops to one metro- 
 politan and eleven suffragans ; Leo I established a second 
 metropolitan at York ; Adrian, a third at Lichfield ; Leo 
 III revoked the grant to Lichfield, and confirmed to the 
 
 3 Epist. 1. v ; Epist. 32. 
 
 4 Epist. Caenulphi, R. Leoni Papae ; Wilkins, 164 ; see also Sax. Chron. 
 86, 89, 90.
 
 160 The English Reformation. 
 
 Church of Canterbury that precedence of rank and au- 
 thority which it has always possessed since the eighth 
 century." 1 In fact, what is the ecclesiastical history of 
 our Country, save a constant succession of appeals to 
 Rome, by kings and bishops ; of confirmations of bishops 
 and of supplications for the pallium ; of transmission to 
 Rome of conciliary acts, and approbation of them by the 
 Holy Father ; of instructions issued from the Holy See 
 to the prelates and others, for the well-being of the 
 Church in England ; of approval and ratification of royal 
 and other charters ; of privileges granted to the kings or 
 particular sees ; of gatherings of Peter-pence ; of visits 
 to Rome and to other cities in order to assist at councils 
 convened by order of his Holiness ; of condemnations of 
 heresies ; of ecclesiastical censures extending to the whole 
 country, as in the case of interdicts; or of occasional 
 contests with regard to presentations, benefices, and pro- 
 visors. The spirit of the Pontiff hovered over people, 
 king, and priest. The idea had never been entertained of 
 placing the Church under a lay sovereign, nor had kings 
 assumed to be the heads of the Church, and the sources 
 of all ecclesiastical jurisdiction. This was a misfortune 
 reserved for the sixteenth century, when priest and people 
 deserved the chastisement and abandonment of heaven. 
 Blot out, during any previous period, the name and deeds 
 of the Pontiff of Rome, from the annals of our ecclesi- 
 astical history, and you will find that the page of history 
 is a blank. 2 Indeed, from the fact of England's 
 
 1 Lingard's Anglo Sax. Church, vol. i, 118. 
 
 2 My History of " Rome and England " is one continuous proof of 
 England's submission to the Holy See, from the third to the sixteenth 
 century. To this work I again remit my readers.
 
 The English Reformation. 161 
 
 Catholicity, may be readily inferred, what was England's 
 belief in respect of the Holy See. Catholicity was based 
 on the Popedom, and he was no Catholic, in the language 
 of the times, who was not governed by the Pontiff. What 
 St. Jerome said of the Holy See in his days, was said by 
 every person here, who professed to belong to the olden 
 creed : " Following no chief but Christ, I am joined in 
 communion with your Holiness, that is, with the chair 
 of Peter." 3 Men may, like the members of Convocation, 
 speak of the ancient British Church, whose independence 
 they assume ; but the world at large, and scholars in par- 
 ticular, will laugh at this way of evading a fact. If we 
 know anything about a British Church, this knowledge 
 is reduced to seven heads : 1 A Roman Pontiff sent mis- 
 sioners hither, at the request of King Lucius, to convert 
 the Britons. These Britons professed the faith of Rome, 
 which faith was guarded by another Pontiff, Celestine, 
 when exposed to the insidious attacks of Pelagius. 3 The 
 doctrines and practices of the British Church were those 
 which the missioners had learned in the Eternal City. 
 4 This Church had been nearly exterminated by the 
 perfidious conduct of the Saxon, when Augustine arrived 
 on the English coast. 5 Still in doctrine it remained the 
 same as before, though in some practices, owing to a want 
 of communication with other Churches, and the disorders 
 of the times, it differed from the universal Church. 6 
 Augustine was rejected, not on -doctrinal grounds, but on 
 the ground of being proud ; but 7 Eventually, obedience 
 was paid to the Papal representative, and Briton and 
 Saxon forgot the misdeeds or injustices of their forefa- 
 thers, and at last, not only professed the same creed, 
 
 3 Epis. xv, ad Damasum Papam. I\ T os. 1, 2.
 
 162 The English Reformation. 
 
 but laboured strenuously together to spread it everywhere. 
 This we know, but no more. If the Anglican seek for 
 a royal head, who ruled the British Church, he will seek 
 in vain ; he will seek as uselessly for this doctrine of 
 Anglicanism among the Britons, Saxons, Danes and Nor- 
 mans, as for these others : that the Mass is a blasphemous 
 fable; that the vows of religion and the monastic state 
 are to be disallowed ; that Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus are 
 only apocryphal works ; and that there is no authority 
 across the seas, to which recourse may be had for the 
 procuration of ecclesiastical dignities. Mass was daily 
 offered up ; the Catholic Scriptures were received as 
 divine ; vows were taken, and the holy cowled fraternity 
 was reverenced by the British Church, as is evident from 
 the writings of Gildas, 72, 76, 69, 71, as well as by the 
 Saxons and their followers. Why speak of an indepen- 
 dent British Church without knowing or referring to either 
 its ecclesiastical form of government, its doctrines, or its 
 origin ? 
 
 I have not noticed, nor is it indeed necessary to notice, 
 the examples ordinarily adduced from the Scriptures of 
 the Old Law, in favour of the Anglican notion of supre- 
 macy; for obviously such Scriptures neither do nor can 
 establish the position, that in the Christian dispensation, 
 kings are the spiritual heads of Christ's Church. The 
 question is not, what arrangements did God make for 
 the Church of one favoured people prior to the advent 
 of his Son, but what arrangements were made for the one 
 Church of all nations, after Christ had assumed our nature 
 and appeared amongst us. It is to evade the question, to 
 argue from one order of things to another of a higher 
 character, to pass from a particular to an universal propo-
 
 Tlie English Reformation. 163 
 
 sition, to infer, that because under the Judaical dispensa- 
 tion such a system was established, therefore that same 
 system was to be a portion of Christianity. But in fact 
 even the statement made in reference to the Old Law is 
 not true : kings, as such, were not the spiritual heads of 
 the Jewish Church ; the priest was the head. " It doth 
 not belong to thee, Ozias, to burn incense to the Lord, 
 but to the priests, that is to the sons of Aaron, who are 
 consecrated for this ministry." Par. xxvi, 18. 1 
 
 In fine, mere laics, such as our kings and queens are, 
 were always considered incompetent as such to confer spi- 
 ritual jurisdiction, they themselves being, by the appoint- 
 ment of Christ, cut off from such a power. A great branch 
 of spiritual jurisdiction consists in the power of binding 
 and loosing, of forgiving and retaining sins. To the first 
 ministers of religion this power was given. It was an im- 
 portant power ; one which the Church soon made use of, 
 a power too which, if words mean anything, is still claimed 
 by the Anglican Church. If kings and queens be the 
 sources of all jurisdiction, if others be merely their vicege- 
 rents, and exercise their powers depend ently on them, it 
 will be conceded, that majesty itself holds the spiritual 
 keys, and can bind and loose, forgive and retain sins. 
 Now, have laymen this power ? The ministerial or spiri- 
 tual power is not dependant, it should be remembered, on 
 any monarch's will in the first instance : it exists by 
 virtue of the will and free gift of Christ. He gave what 
 he chose; and on whom he chose he conferred his favours. 
 Man has no power over the divine appointments or the 
 
 1 Should the reader wish to see solutions to the anti-historical state- 
 ments of Jewel, about the conduct of princes in former times, I would 
 refer him to Harding's Confutation of Jewel's Apology, p. 303, &c. Ed. 1565.
 
 164 The English Reformation. 
 
 heavenly ordinances. If then we investigate the matter 
 under consideration as a fact, and refer either to the pages 
 of the New Testament or of history for information, what 
 inference must we draw ? This : that to his ministers, and 
 not to unconsecrated laymen, Christ gave this power. He 
 gave it not to Pilate or Herod, or Caiphas or Csesar ; he 
 left no instructions to others to confer this power on worldly 
 Sovereigns; but he gave it to Peter and Andrew, and 
 James and John, and the rest of the Apostolic College, 
 as an enduring power, which was to be perpetuated by 
 the imposition of the hands of the episcopal order. Such 
 is the account of the sacred record. Nor is the history 
 of the Church less explicit. Never is this power con- 
 ceded to mere monarchs, but only to Peter, and the 
 ministerial line. " Christ (says St. Hilary) gave forth 
 a voice of power, when he says to the palsied, arise and 
 walk; when he calls Lazarus from the grave; when he 
 says to Peter and the other Apostles ' Whatsoever ye 
 shall bind on earth, shall be bound also in heaven.' " 
 Comment, in Matt. c. xviii, n. 7. " The exalted dignity of 
 the priesthood (observes St. Ephrem) is far above our 
 understanding, and the power of speech. Remission of 
 sins is not given to mortals without the venerable priest- 
 hood." De Sacer. t. iii, p. 2. " He that has not the right 
 to loose," says S. Ambrose, " has not the right to bind. 
 
 To the Church both are lawful ; to heresy both are 
 
 not lawful, for this right has been conceded to priests alone." 
 L. i, de Pcenit. S. Ambrosii opp. t. ii, p. 392. 
 
 With the emphatic words of St. Chrysostome and of the 
 Apostolic Constitutions, I will conclude my observations 
 on this plain point. " Tell me not," says the illustrious
 
 The English Reformation. 165 
 
 prelate of Constantinople, " tell me not of the purple, of 
 the diadem, and the robes of gold. All these are but 
 
 shadows, and more transient than spring flowers 
 
 Tell me not of these things ; but if thou wouldst see the 
 difference between a priest and a king, examine the 
 measure of power conferred on each, and thou wilt see the 
 priest placed much higher than the king. For though 
 the kingly throne seems to us glorious, from the precious 
 stones set in it, and the gold that circles it, yet it is the 
 king's part to administer the things of this earth, and 
 beyond this he has no authority whatever ; whereas the 
 priestly throne is placed in heaven, and to it has been 
 committed the rule over the things that are there. Who 
 declares this ? Even the king of heaven himself : for 
 whatsoever, says he, you shall bind on earth, shall be 
 bound also in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on 
 earth, shall be loosed also in heaven." Tom. vi, horn, v, 
 in verba, " vidi Dominum." " They," he observes in 
 another work, " they who rule on earth have indeed also 
 power to bind, but the body only; whereas this bond 
 touches the soul itself and reaches unto heaven; and what 
 the priests shall do below, the same does God ratify above." 
 Lib. iii, de Sacerd. n. 5. The statement made in the 
 Apostolical Constitutions is equally clear. " Wherefore, 
 O Bishop, be careful to be pure in deeds, knowing thy 
 place and dignity, as bearing the -type of God amongst 
 men : ruling over all men, whether priests, KINGS, rulers, 
 fathers, sons, doctors, as also over all subjects. And so sit 
 in the Church, when thou announcest the word, as having 
 authority to judge those who have sinned, because to you, 
 Bishops, it was said : whatsoever ye shall bind on earth,
 
 166 The English Reformation. 
 
 shall be bound in heaven, &c. Judge therefore, O Bishop, 
 with' authority, as God, yet receive the penitent ; for God 
 is a God of mercy." Apostol. Constit. 1. ii, c. xi, xii. 
 
 Another point of spiritual jurisdiction is this : " to feed 
 and rule the flock," and instruct the people in all the 
 truths which Christ has been pleased to reveal to his 
 Apostles. Now to whom did Christ commit this power ? 
 To whom did he say feed, rule, teach ? Not, indeed, to 
 an earthly sovereign were these words uttered, but to Peter 
 singly, or to the Apostles collectively. To his ministers, 
 and his ministers only, was the commission given. They 
 were to confront tyrants, to oppose and overcome them ; 
 to yield to these in matters connected with the ministry 
 was absolutely inhibited. So far from the sacred writings 
 allowing women to teach, they bid them hold their peace ; 
 and further declare that it is shameful for females to speak 
 in the Church. Thus might I extend this matter inde- 
 finitely, in respect to the administration of the sacraments, 
 the regulation of church matters, &c. but what I have said 
 must suffice. It is plain that lay sovereigns have no spiritual 
 jurisdiction. Kings may govern in temporal matters, they 
 may, they ought to see that the affairs of their states are 
 well regulated, for the honor of religion and the good of 
 society ; this is their kingdom : but to govern the kingdom 
 of Christ, to rule it as a Church, this is out of their pro- 
 vince, with this they have no direct concern. Christ 
 regulated otherwise for his Church. Himself poor, scoffed 
 at, insulted, crucified by royalty, he did not choose to make 
 kings the rulers of his Church, or appoint them to regulate 
 its concerns, and confer jurisdiction on others. He chose 
 fishermen ; and these selected and ordained and conferred
 
 The English Reformation. 167 
 
 power on others whom they considered worthy of the 
 ministry. 
 
 Nor will he form a very high estimate of the origin of 
 the royal supremacy, who remembers that if a vacillating 
 parliament decreed at one period this important article of 
 faith, it altered it at another ; as indeed it altered every 
 other enactment which it had promulgated in reference to 
 religion. The framers and passers of the act abandoned as 
 we have already stated, not only the royal claim to supre- 
 macy, but also their right to concede it ; and on bended 
 knees petitioned the newly appointed Metropolitan and 
 Papal Nuncio to absolve them from the crimes of which 
 they had been guilty, by becoming the fautors of heresy 
 and the promoters of schism. 
 
 Henry the Eighth, then, merely usurped the spiritual 
 power a power which, as the laws of our country prove, 
 had previously been claimed and exercised by the Roman 
 Pontiff. He assumed this authority to the exclusion of 
 the Pontiff, for an end, and that end was the divorce of 
 Catherine, to be succeeded by the marriage of Boleyn. 
 He was helped in his task by others as unscrupulous as 
 himself; and it must have amazed the royal theologian, 
 to learn from his Parliament that his was a divine autho- 
 rity, that the Holy Scripture evidently pointed to him and 
 his, and the heirs of the English throne, as the Spiritual 
 Heads of the Church of England! But the Parliament 
 meant only to compliment or please the king ; it did not 
 then use measured phrases; for it was accustomed in one ses- 
 sion to ascribe to the Holy Spirit that which in another ses- 
 sion it altered, modified, or altogether suppressed. In Mary's 
 . time, the royal prerogative was confined within orthodox 
 limits, and in this the Parliament seemed cordially to
 
 168 The English Reformation. 
 
 acquiesce ; but in Elizabeth's reign the Supremacy was 
 extended as much, as it had previously been in the times of 
 her father and brother ; though even then, the legislature 
 gave unqualified proofs of its subserviency. Elizabeth 
 could not endure, as we have already been informed by 
 Jewel, the title of Head of the Church. She thought that 
 it involved a prerogative which belonged exclusively to 
 the Saviour; and hence it happened that not by the name 
 of Head, but of Governor of the Church, she wished to 
 be designated in her spiritual capacity. The vacillating 
 Parliament dared not resist the royal pleasure. The 
 Sovereign was no longer the Head, she was the Governor 
 of the Church; and this she was by virtue of an Act of 
 Parliament. Whence, the thoughtful reader will ask, 
 whence did the Parliament of England derive its autho- 
 rity thus to legislate ! Contrast the Pontiff's rights with 
 those of the Parliament, or the truthfulness of the Church 
 with the varying and discreditable statements of the 
 Reformers, and say which of the two must every sensible 
 man receive and reverence ? Compare the contempt 
 exhibited from the very commencement of the Reforma- 
 tion for all authority for the authority of the Church 
 either dispersed over the world or gathered together in 
 council with the adherence and attachment of the mem- 
 bers of the olden creed to everything venerable and 
 ancient, and say whether the abettors of novelty, or the 
 strenuous advocates of Catholicity, are the most deserving 
 of attention and respectful obedience ? Or, in fine, study 
 the characters of the principal agents employed in the 
 avulsion of England from Rome, and the establishment of 
 a royal in lieu of a priestly domination, and ask if it be 
 possible for any one to desecrate the name of religion,
 
 The English Reformation. 169 
 
 by applying it to a system characterized by novelty, 
 irreverence, disobedience, contempt, vacillation and moral 
 degradation ? The promoters of the Reformation were, 
 as Macauley observes, " a king, whose character may be 
 described by saying, that he was despotism itself personi- 
 fied; unprincipled ministers; a rapacious aristocracy ; a 
 servile parliament. The work which had been begun by 
 Henry, the murderer of his wives, was continued by 
 Somerset, the murderer of his brother ; and completed by 
 Elizabeth, the murderer of her guest. Sprung from 
 brutal passion, nurtured by selfish policy, the Reforma- 
 tion in England, displayed little of what had, in other 
 countries, distinguished it unflinching and unsparing 
 devotion, boldness of speech, and singleness of eye." J 
 Whilst the Pontiff ruled, unity of faith prevailed ; or if 
 ever any proud or demoralized individuals assumed the 
 character of reformers, there was a standard by which their 
 assertions were to be judged, and an authority whose 
 decision was absolute for the confutation and removal of 
 the error ; but afterwards all this was sadly altered : 
 anarchy prevailed, and error of every conflicting kind 
 was palmed upon the Almighty. England began to be, 
 what she now is, a Babel, where no one understood his 
 brother when speaking of religion. 
 
 Shrewd, sensible men, in matters of worldly policy, are 
 to be seen joining the ranks and advocating the principles 
 of Hall and Southcoat, of Wesley and Swedenborgh, of 
 Penn and Socinus, of Joe Smith and of every other indi- 
 vidual who has dared to rise up and accuse a world, and 
 call himself the heaven-sent messenger. The title-deeds 
 
 1 See Review of Hallam's Constitutional History. Edinburgh Review, 
 No. 88. 
 
 I
 
 170 The English Reformation. 
 
 of the claimant to the throne, or dukedom, or estate, would 
 be nicely and patiently scrutinized ; so keenly would every 
 thing be sifted, so cautiously would pedigrees be traced, 
 so accurately would every word and fact, and shadow 
 of a word or fact be examined, that the rightful heir 
 would be nearly sure to the exclusion of all pretenders 
 to be reinstated in his family possessions. But, in mat- 
 ters of religion, where eternal interests are at stake, little 
 or no attention is paid to the evidences of religion. The 
 pretender is received, and the one heir is rejected. The 
 Church is treated ignominiously, and, if human efforts 
 could have effected it, it would long ago have been de- 
 stroyed. For example, when Henry claimed to be head, 
 or Elizabeth the governor of the Church, ; when both 
 stated that the Pontiff of Rome had no right to rule the 
 Church here, what must have been the verdict passed 
 upon the English sovereigns, had their claims been fairly 
 and dispassionately weighed? Why, theirs had been a 
 hopeless cause ; the Judge would have shewn that there 
 was not a particle of evidence in favor of the new claim ; 
 he would, as Henry himself had done, have clearly proved 
 that the Pontiff had ruled here, as well as elsewhere, from 
 the earliest period of the conversion of this country, and 
 that his claim was established by the word of God, as well 
 as by the testification of a consentient world. 
 
 The Sovereign of this land not having any spiritual 
 jurisdiction, what becomes of the Anglican Church, which 
 hangs on this very doctrine. If the Sovereign has no 
 jurisdiction, by what authority do the Archbishops, 
 Bishops, and other Ministers act ? I speak not about their 
 character ; I ask not about their orders ; but I ask about 
 the Mission of these Superintendents of Anglicanism. I
 
 The English Reformation. 171 
 
 ask who sent them, in the days of Henry and Elizabeth, 
 who sends them now to preach, to administer sacraments ? 
 Orders are requisite for an Episcopal Church, but Orders 
 are not enough. Something beyond this is obviously 
 requisite, as may be made clear to the mind of any reader. 
 Put the case that Anglican bishops, or Anglican clergy- 
 men left the Establishment, to join the ranks of Hall or of 
 the Mormonites, would this fact, the indisputable reality of 
 ordination, be a certain proof that these defaulters from 
 Anglicanism had a mission to teach the doctrines of Mor- 
 mon, or Hall, and jurisdiction over the newly established 
 Churches or sects, or whatever else men may be pleased 
 in courtesy to call these human and modern institutions ? 
 Undoubtedly not, it will be answered. "When ordained by 
 Anglican prelates, and empowered to act by their ordainers, 
 theirs was the power to administer sacraments according 
 to the Liturgy of England, and theirs the mission to preach 
 conformably to the doctrinal decisions contained in the 
 Creeds, Articles, Homilies, and Liturgies : this power and 
 mission they received, but none other. To make, if pos- 
 sible, this important matter still clearer : when Christ said 
 to his Apostles, " Go and teach all nations, baptizing 
 them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost," he gave them, what is called emphati- 
 cally, mission; he entrusted to the Apostles the important 
 task of administering sacraments, and enunciating those 
 truths which he himself had uttered. This was their 
 mission. What if the Apostles had corrupted the form 
 and altered the matter prescribed for the administration 
 of Baptism ? what if, instead of preaching Christ and his 
 law, they had taught the Arian, or Eutychian, or Nes- 
 torian tenets about our Lord, or with Vigilantius, and
 
 TJie English Reformation. 
 
 Donatus, and Manes, had advocated a system entirely 
 opposed to that which they had received ? Could the 
 mission of Christ have been fairly alluded to, by the faith- 
 less preachers, in justification of their perverse teachings ? 
 No : they had a command from Christ to baptize and 
 to preach, but to baptize and to preach essentially in 
 accordance with his ordinance ; and to act in opposition 
 to this, was to oppose Christ, abandon their duties, and 
 repudiate all title to the character of heaven-sent mis- 
 sioners. Let this reasoning be applied to the reformers. 
 Those who were the first to undertake the duties of the 
 ministry, had been ordained according to the Catholic 
 ordinal, for the duties of the Catholic priesthood ; to offer 
 up the sacrifice, to administer seven sacraments, to pray for 
 the living and the dead, to invoke the saints, to uphold the 
 authority and primacy of the Holy See, and teach the 
 doctrines which had been defined and taught by the 
 Catholic Church. For these ends they were sent forth 
 as missioners ; but when they apostatized, did this mission 
 last? Orders were indeed perpetuated for the sacra- 
 mental character of the priesthood is indelible but the 
 mission on which they had been sent, did that endure ? 
 Obviously not : for then they were sent forth, not to 
 uphold, but to oppose the Popedom, and teach according 
 to the humour of the Parliament or the will of the Sove- 
 reign, doctrines diametrically opposed to those in which 
 the Catholic Church, the Church of their ordination, 
 believed. They were even taught that the Church of 
 their ordination was an apostate, an infidel Church. Whence, 
 I ask, had these men, and those who succeeded them, 
 their mission ? From Rome ? No : Rome's mission was 
 of a directly opposite character. From the Parliament,
 
 The English Reformation. 173 
 
 from the Queen, the King ? But whence had they, only 
 members by baptism of an apostate Church ! this power ? 
 These sent forth the new race of teachers and ministers ; 
 yes: but what right had they, and what power to give 
 the commission ? Whence had they, more than the mis- 
 sioners themselves, the right, the power to issue the 
 ordinances they did ? The apostolical mission, proveable 
 by the union of the ministers, in Catholic times, with 
 the unceasing authority of the Holy See, that Holy See 
 through which Augustine, and Pacian, and the other 
 fathers, proved their mission and their Catholicity was 
 stopped by the royal order, when that order was obeyed. 
 Whence, then, did the ministers of a new creed derive 
 their mission ? They received it from Henry, or Edward, 
 or Elizabeth, even as Wesleyans, and Hallites, and Mor- 
 monites received theirs from Wesley, and Hall, and Smith. 
 These were commissioned by as good, as available, and 
 as proveable an authority, to preach a different doctrine 
 from Protestantism, as were the early apostates from Ca- 
 tholicity to oppose the Pontiff. Apostolical mission is 
 wanting, is utterly destroyed and ignored, in point of 
 fact, in the Establishment. And hence, again, on this very 
 account, the nullity of Anglicanism is rendered apparent; 
 for the Church of Christ was ever to have a divine mission, 
 a mission which, commencing with the Apostles, was to 
 endure to the end of time. It does endure, plainly, mani- 
 festly ; it endures in the Church of the Popedom. The 
 successor of blessed Peter, through his prelates and pas- 
 tors, rules the world: these have their orders and their 
 mission, as well as their faith, from men commissioned and 
 lawfully empowered by the Holy See, to preach, to teach,
 
 174 The English Reformation. 
 
 and administer every ordinance of religion. " I am united 
 to your blessedness, that is, to the See of Peter, to whom 
 Christ said, ' feed my lambs,' ' feed my sheep,' " is the 
 cheering cry of every Catholic minister now, as it was 
 in the days of Jerome and Augustine. But out of this 
 Church there is no such mission. The Apostolical line 
 has been broken elsewhere by heresy, the line of preachers 
 is new ; it may ascend as high as some king-reformer, or 
 some other, who notoriously rebelled against, and left the 
 Church of his ordination, but there it stops; and there 
 a line begins, new, and isolated, and unknown as an 
 authority, to the rest of Christendom. The Church of the 
 new preachers may be be a regal Establishment, it may 
 have the authority of a parliament for its existence ; but 
 that is its highest honor, and this is its creation. The 
 Establishment being essentially English, it may be called 
 the English Church: but what becomes of the Church 
 of our common creed ? What is the meaning of the words 
 "I believe in the holy Catholic Church" when repeated 
 by an Anglican ? 
 
 What did religion gain by the removal of a Pope, and 
 the substitution of a King for the spiritual head ? Unity 
 of faith ? That has disappeared. Freedom from the state ? 
 She has become its slave. The power of enforcing dis- 
 cipline ? That has been taken out of her hands. The 
 appointment of her own ministers ? No, no : ministers of 
 state appoint these. I speak of a fact; I care not how 
 this fact may be explained in words ; but the state does 
 appoint the episcopal order ; and though the clergy, even 
 with a dean at their head, may denounce the bishop elect 
 as an infidel, still the bishop elect will soon become the
 
 The English Reformation. 175 
 
 consecrated prelate, and in his hands will be placed the 
 reins of spiritual power, together with the riches of the 
 see. 1 Has virtue been promoted ? No : even the An- 
 glican bishops are forced to regret the heathenism and 
 demoralization of these days. Has a knowledge of the 
 Bible at least been the result ? Again I answer no. See 
 the crowds who follow dissent in a thousand contradictory 
 forms, and my answer is at once justified. Attend to 
 the reports relative to the state of knowledge in our towns, 
 and what shall you find? That there are numbers who 
 know not who Christ is many, who hardly know even if 
 there be a God. And has England left herself a chance 
 of becoming Catholic, and of ceasing to be an object of 
 pity to the nations of the world, on account of her .sepa- 
 ratism ? No : the Dutchman's act justifies rebellion, in 
 case an English monarch shall dare to belong to the 
 Church of the Alfreds, and Edwards, and Richards, who 
 formerly held the English sceptre. Since that day, 
 
 On Christmas night no Mass is sung; 
 
 the Mass has been proscribed. Since the Reformation, 
 no more do we hear that knell 
 
 Which they were wont to toll 
 For welfare of a parted soul ; 
 
 for prayers for the dead, if not illegal, are not consistent 
 with Protestant ideas. Anglicans will not be helped by 
 the prayers of the faithful, or believe in a middle state of 
 
 1 Let the reader bear in mind what occurred on the appointment of 
 Dr. Hampden to the See of Hereford.
 
 176 TJie English Reformation. 
 
 souls ; but, with the profane Skelton, tutor to Henry VIII, 
 they say, 
 
 " I will no priestis for me sing Dies irae, dies ilia," &c. 
 
 No more 
 
 Merry sing the monks of Ely 
 
 When .... the king is passing by ; 
 
 The monasteries, still glorious, even in their present ruined 
 condition, are the receptacles of lowing cattle and birds of 
 night: God's praises may no more be celebrated there. 
 Angel guardians have been banished; the "communion 
 of saints" is no longer enjoyed; a table has taken the 
 place of the altar ; and Christ, having left his temple, it 
 seems to be under an interdict. Men no longer walk on 
 a rock, on the soliditas cathedrae Petri, but on a quick- 
 sand : here to-day, there to-morrow. Poor England ! If 
 some men will prefer the barley-corn to the gem; the 
 teachings of Wart, Slender, Mouldy, and Shallow, to the 
 teachings of the Leos, Gregories, and Piuses, who shall 
 envy their choice? To us, who have the happiness of 
 being Catholics, be it given to remain to the end, united 
 to Peter's See, that see which made England Catholic, 
 and further, which made it one, and holy, and happy.
 
 177 
 
 Cjjapier 
 
 the Anglican Authorized Bible. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Heretics, both ancient and modern, adopt some distinctive version of 
 the Scriptures. Necessity of this ; and consequent recriminations. 
 Translations formerly approved of, but condemned by Henry VIII. 
 Elizabeth's Bibles denounced. The Authorized version of 1611. 
 History of this version. The Translators, and the rules which they 
 were obliged by James to follow. No correct Anglican Bible till 
 seventy- seven years after the Reformation. Consequences to be drawn 
 from this admission, fatal to the Reformation. The Authorized Version 
 has been and is complained of by the learned. Proofs. Lowth has 
 shaken to pieces the very foundations on which the translation of the 
 Old Testament was based. Obvious difficulties in connection with the 
 translation of the New Testament. Development of the principles of 
 this difficulty. Labours of Mills and others to recover the true Apos- 
 tolic text. Proofs given in detail of the ignorance and unfitness of the 
 English translators. 
 
 AT all times, the various sects which have divided the 
 Church have had recourse to new translations of the 
 Sacred Scriptures. Marcion, as Tertullian informs us, 
 rejected the version made use of by the first apologist of 
 Christianity ; the Arians adopted an edition of the Scrip- 
 tures which was emphatically their own ; and so it was 
 with the other sects which appeared age after age. What 
 then happened has particularly characterized the heresies
 
 178 The English Reformation. 
 
 of the sixteenth and following centuries. Beza, and 
 Castalio, and Luther and Calvin, as well as the English 
 reformers, all heaven-sent, if their words are worthy of 
 credit, deemed it wise, if not absolutely necessary, to 
 issue fresh translations of the Sacred Scriptures, when 
 engaged in the task of teaching new systems and new 
 creeds. Innovations of the Bible kept pace with inno- 
 vations of faith: the Bible was to be reformed when the 
 Eeformation was to be spread. This was obviously 
 natural. As might be expected, the Bible of one party 
 met with opposition from the defenders of another Bible 
 and another creed. If Beza condemned the translation 
 of (Ecolampadius, Castalio condemned Beza's version, 
 and Molinceus condemned Castalio's. Luther censured 
 Munzer, and Zwingli Luther, for having mistranslated 
 the sacred text. Nor have the English translators escaped 
 censure. Notwithstanding the praise originally given by 
 the Anglican reformers to the translation made by Tyndal, 
 it was enacted by the authority of Parliament in 1543 
 " that all manner of books of the Old and New Testament, 
 of the crafty, false, and untrue translation of Tyndal, 
 be forthwith abolished, and forbidden to be used and 
 kept : and also, that all other Bibles, not being of Tyndal's 
 translation, in which were found any preambles or annota- 
 tions, other than the quotations or summary of the chap- 
 ters, should be purged of the said preambles or annotations, 
 either by cutting them out, or blotting them in such wise 
 that they might not be perceived or read; and finally, 
 that the Bible be not read openly in any Church, but by 
 leave of the King, or of the ordinary of the place; nor 
 privately by any women, artificers, apprentices, journeymen, 
 husbandmen, labourers, or by any of the servants of yeo-
 
 The English Reformation. 179 
 
 men, or under." * Nor was the great Anglican Reformer 
 even content with this. It is stated by Pretyman, that 
 in the last year of his reign, Henry " issued a proclama- 
 tion, prohibiting the having and reading Wycliffe's, Tyn- 
 dal's, and Coverdale's translations, and forbidding the 
 " use of any other not allowed by Parliament." 2 Nu- 
 merous editions were issued of the Geneva and Bishop's 
 Bible, during the reign of Elizabeth ; but with these the 
 prelates and ministers of the times of James I, were as 
 little satisfied as former ministers had been with Tyndal's, 
 and Coverdale's, and Wycliffe's biblical labours. Some 
 of the ministers of the diocese of Lincoln, denounced the 
 translations as sometimes " absurd and senseless, pervert- 
 ing in many places the meaning of the Holy Ghost." 
 And Broughton, in his advertisements relative to the 
 corruptions of the Bible, tells the Bishops, that " their 
 public translation of the Scriptures into English is such, 
 that it perverts the text of the Old Testament, in eight 
 hundred and forty places, and causes millions of millions 
 to reject the New Testament, and run to eternal flames." 
 The result of these and similar observations was, a new 
 translation, which appeared in the year 1611, which was 
 then appointed what it has ever since been considered to 
 be, the Authorized Version of the English Church. The 
 Royal Monarch himself drew up the rules according to 
 which the translation was to be made, and the under- 
 
 * St. 34 Henry VIII, 1 ; see also Pretyman, vol. ii, p. 12, Ed. 1799, 
 and Burnet, vol. i, p. 321. 
 
 2 Pretyman, vol. ii, p. 13. I suspect, however, that this writer con- 
 founds the King's Speech with a Proclamation. See the Speech in Hall, 
 160, and Burnet, p. 338.
 
 180 The English Reformation. 
 
 taking was entrusted to forty-seven individuals of whom 
 Bancroft was " the chief overseer and taskmaster" L 
 
 The translators were far from being distinguished, 
 as a body, by talent or erudition: assuredly they were 
 little fitted to instruct a world, either in the meaning 
 of the sacred word, or the real character of those 
 inspired writings, which they unhesitatingly cast out 
 of the Canon of the Scriptures, notwithstanding the 
 opposition of nearly the whole of Christendom, and de- 
 nounced as uninspired and apochryphal. They were 
 men too whose religious opinions were already fixed. 
 They were members of a Church which, though it dis- 
 claimed, and with reason, all infallibility, bound down all 
 its followers to a certain code of belief. They were be- 
 lievers in the Thirty-nine Articles; and he must be 
 indeed ignorant of the influence of preconceived opinions, 
 who can for a moment suppose that such belief would not 
 materially influence the translators in the work in which 
 they were engaged, and induce them to attach a meaning 
 to every doubtful text, according rather with their own 
 than with the belief of a rival Church. Thus fallible 
 Protestantism would direct the infallible word of God, 
 and the inspired writings would be subjected to the 
 influences of the framers of the Anglican profession of 
 faith. Every person will at once see the extent of these 
 educational or doctrinal prejudices in the version of the 
 Socinian or Unitarian. Texts demonstrative of the Divinity 
 of the Son are rendered absolutely nugatory; the divine 
 evidence being at once obscured, or entirely annulled, by 
 the change of a stop, or by references to some transcribers 
 
 1 Pretyman, vol. ii, p. 17.
 
 The English Reformation. 181 
 
 who have substituted one word for another, or added a 
 single letter to the text. And were Anglicans, under the 
 guidance of the wisest fool of Europe, 2 and the direction 
 of the greatest sycophant of the age, 3 less liable to an 
 internal or external bias, than the more modern sectarian ? 
 We imagine not. 
 
 From what has been said, it is obvious that there was 
 not, till the year 1611, any correct or authorized copy 
 of the Sacred Scriptures in the Anglican Establishment. 
 If Protestants will rely on Protestant testimony, they must 
 believe that the works circulated under the name of the 
 word of God, were no better than corrupt translations 
 of the original text, and so far from meriting approbation, 
 they deserved to be condemned, and eventually suppressed. 
 Neither Wycliffe's, nor TyndaPs, nor Coverdale's, nor 
 Roger's, nor any other person's version sufficed ; they were 
 all condemned as grossly faulty. What follows from this ? 
 A truth deserving of the most attentive consideration of 
 Anglicans, and the truth is this : from a corrupt source, 
 Anglicans were, in thejirst instance, called upon to derive 
 their faith. They were told to learn the faith from the 
 Scriptures then circulated, and those Scriptures needed 
 themselves a reformation. No one then can feel surprise 
 either at the errors of the Establishment, or at the ne- 
 cessity in which numbers found themselves, of reforming 
 the Reformation, and thus opening wide the gates of 
 dissent. 
 
 But was this edition calculated to satisfy the wants 
 
 2 Thus was James designated by the Due de Sully. 
 
 3 Bancroft referring to the conduct of James at Hampton Court, said 
 that " his heart melted within him to hear a king, the like of whom had 
 not been seen since the time of Christ!"
 
 182 The English Reformation. 
 
 of the people ? No. Soon, it too was denounced ; and 
 year after year we find men like Archbishop Newcome, 
 Symonds, Wakefield and Blackwall, suggesting important 
 alterations, and publishing what to them appeared more 
 correct and amended editions of the written word. " A 
 new translation (says Blackwall) can give no offence to 
 people of sound judgment and consideration ; because 
 everybody conversant in these, and unprejudiced, must 
 acknowledge that there was less occasion to change the 
 old version into the present, than to change the present 
 into a new one. Any scholar that compares them will 
 find that the old one, though amended by this that we 
 now use, in several places, is yet equal to it in very many, 
 and superior in a considerable number." x Let the reader 
 take up any one of the numerous private editions of the 
 Sacred Scriptures, whether published by members of the 
 Anglican Church, or of the Unitarian, Wesleyan, or 
 Independent sections of dissent ; let him consult any or 
 all of the commentaries which have appeared, and these 
 works abound in every part of the land, and he will find 
 all agreeing in one thing : that the Anglican version 
 published in 1611, and authorized by James I, is far from 
 being a fair representation of the written word, though 
 ignorant people are taught to believe that it is wholly 
 and entirely God's word, and of such authority that from 
 it may be fully and readily gathered the system of faith 
 and code of morality which immediately emanated from 
 the Almighty during the period of the old law, and at and 
 after the establishment of the new by our divine Re- 
 deemer. 
 
 Indeed, has not the illustrious and learned Oxford 
 
 1 Vol. ii, praef. xxii.
 
 Tlie English Reformation. 183 
 
 professor, Lowth, shaken to pieces the biblical fabric 
 which Bancroft and his collaborateurs had raised up? 
 These men, as every biblical scholar knows, closely 
 adhered to the interpretation of the Old Testament 
 adopted by the Masorites. Now what is the opinion of 
 Lowth, who is admittedly one of the ablest scholars Pro- 
 testantism can boast of, of this system of interpretation ? 
 Why, he denounces it as erroneous and deceptive. " Their 
 infallible Masora (he says) boasted to have been an edifice 
 raised by wise master builders on the rock of divine 
 authority, proves to have been framed by unskilful hands, 
 and built on sand ; its foundation has been shaken, and it 
 now totters to its fall." 2 
 
 And might not the difficulty be extended ? Might not 
 and will not every scholar ask, what copy of the New 
 Testament was made use of by the translators. That no 
 sacred writer either drew up two differently worded ac- 
 counts of our Saviour's actions, or penned varying copies 
 of the sacred Epistles, is universally admitted ; and yet it 
 is a fact, that though there was but one original, one type, 
 there are numerous copies differing considerably one from 
 the other. For the sake of convenience, these variations 
 have been reduced to certain classes and families; to the 
 
 2 See Moore, vol. ii, 325. 
 
 Johnson observes that " our English translators took the present 
 Hebrew text as it is printed by the Masorites to be the only sense and 
 meaning of the Old Testament." He shows how this text entirely annuls 
 the famous prophecy of Daniel ix, 25, by the insertion of an athnach, or 
 semicolon, after "threescore and two weeks." See too Sees' Cyclop. Art. 
 Masora. Simon also, in his History of the English Version, sadly deplores 
 the use of the Masora. See English Trans.
 
 184 The English Reformation. 
 
 Alexandrine and Constantinopolitan, if Griesbach's divi- 
 sion be adopted ; or, if the reader prefer the division of 
 Hug, to the common Greek Vulgate, and to the editions 
 of Hesychius, Lucian, and Origen. Now which of these 
 copies represents the original? That all do not is obvious; 
 but does any one fairly represent the word as it first was 
 penned by the inspired writers ? If any one does, which 
 is it ? And was this the copy which lay before the Eng- 
 lish translators of the version authorized by the English 
 Sovereign in 1611. 
 
 The various translations of the New Testament, which 
 were circulated at a very early period through the Church, 
 prove that all had not the same copy. The Vetus Itala, 
 differs from the Peschito and ancient Syriac versions ; and 
 these again, from the translations made use of in Armenia, 
 Arabia, and -/Ethiopia, What copy did each translator 
 follow ; and which, I again ask, had the correct edition ? 
 Since a word, a clause, an interrogation, may make a 
 material alteration in the text, it is of the utmost import- 
 ance to discover which copy was exactly conformable with 
 the divine original. To apply these observations : are the 
 first chapters of St. Matthew's gospel really a portion of 
 the inspired writings ; is the account of the adulterous 
 woman, which occurs in John viii, 1, 11, of the Anglican 
 version, authentic; or, to give another instance, is the 
 far-famed passage, relative to the three heavenly witnesses, 
 which occurs in chap, v, 7, of St. John's first epistle, a 
 forgery, an addition to the sacred text, or is it really the 
 original declaration of the beloved disciple ? Some copies 
 have appeared without these passages, whilst others con- 
 tarn them ; which copies are correct ? The Apostolic and
 
 The English Reformation. 185 
 
 other inspired originals, have long ago perished ; in these 
 instances then, of conflicting editions, what guide did 
 the English translators follow ? Why were those copies 
 adhered to, which contained, rather than those which 
 rejected the passages already named ? The Church was 
 rejected ; it had failed, it was said ; it had corrupted the 
 revelations of the Almighty; it had failed everywhere; 
 the whole world had abandoned the truth, and yielded to 
 damnable idolatry; how could the evidence of such a 
 world be received ? It could, in the Protestant hypothesis, 
 everywhere corrupt and reject the truth; could it not 
 as easily corrupt and reject, take from and add to, the 
 written word ? At all events, diversity did exist this 
 fact is patent relative to the letter of Holy Writ ; what 
 principle was adopted, or what guide was followed to fix, 
 and with certainty too, upon the particular edition of the 
 many in circulation, from which the English translation 
 was to be derived, to represent the pure word of God ? 
 Criticism, at that period, was hardly known in England ; 
 manuscripts were not compared, nor were any extraor- 
 dinary efforts made to obtain a certainly pure and autho- 
 rized text. Translation was the task of the forty-seven, 
 and not the critical examination either of ancient written 
 or printed copies of the text of the New Testament. 
 
 Thus, the text of the Old Testament, adopted by the 
 forty-seven, is found to be inadmissible, if learned Pro- 
 testants can be relied on ; and that of the New cannot be 
 proved in such a manner, as to convince anyone, on 
 Protestant grounds, that he really reads the Inspired 
 Volume, when he peruses the authorized version of the 
 Church of England. 
 
 What pains have been taken since the publication of
 
 186 The English Reformation. 
 
 James' Bible, to recover the original text of the New 
 Testament, is generally known. The names of Mills, and 
 Bentley, and Kennicot, and Hug, and Scholz, will be 
 sufficient to recal to the mind of the reader, the fatigue 
 endured, and expenses incurred, in the arduous under- 
 taking, by some of the greatest scholars and critics of the 
 day. It was found that the wording of the sacred text 
 was in a more lamentable state than the text of any pro- 
 fane author. Mills reckoned his variantia by tens of 
 thousands, and Bentley, notwithstanding his endeavours 
 to reduce the number, was forced to allow, that in his 
 edition, there would be "near six thousand variations, 
 great and little, from the received Greek and Latin ex- 
 amples." Bentley lived till the year 1742 ; so that if a 
 correct copy of the Bible was ever in a Protestant hand, 
 it was not a copy " authorized by James I." But is the 
 text even now settled ? It must be fixed, before a Pro- 
 testant can even fancy that he has a creed. His creed 
 depends upon the text, if his rule of faith be admitted to 
 be true. But he must be indeed able to hope against 
 hope, who can suppose that a comparatively modern appli- 
 cation of the rules of criticism to the text of the Bible, 
 has already been brought to perfection ; and that our 
 modern investigators have been so successful in their 
 search, as to have fallen upon the most ancient and cor- 
 rect \ manuscripts of the sacred text at once. May not 
 other Bentleys, Hugs, Scholz, and Rosenmullers arise ; 
 and may not the world eventually possess some perse- 
 vering and inventive decipherer of Biblical palimpsests, 
 equal in ingenuity and zeal to the illustrious Cardinal 
 Mai, who has discovered the lost works of many a Pagan, 
 Jewish, and Christian writer ?
 
 The English Reformation. 187 
 
 In order to shew the defectiveness of the authorized 
 Anglican translation, I will draw the reader's attention to 
 a few passages which have been so clearly mistranslated, 
 that every scholar will at once see, that the forty-seven 
 translators were ignorant of the fundamental principles of 
 the Greek language. 
 
 2 Cor. iii, 17, 6 Se Ku^/o? TO TrvfiO/xa <mv. If there be 
 six plain Greek words, these six words are they. But 
 how are they translated ? " Now the Lord is that spirit." 
 The pronoun is substituted ignorantly for the article, and 
 this substitution renders the meaning unintelligible. " I 
 am utterly at a loss," says Professor Scholefield, " to 
 imagine what sense our translators meant to attach to the 
 passage, in adopting the strange and inaccurate rendering, 
 that spirit." He again observes, that, " so free, unhappily, 
 did our translators make with the article, that they scru- 
 pled not at either its insertion or omission." This obser- 
 vation is most just, and it is as important as it is just : for 
 by this insertion or omission the text is often materially 
 affected. In illustration of this, I will adduce a passage 
 from St. Peter's second Epistle, i, 1. The words, ev 
 Smciiofrvvq rov Qeov i^xwv itoti Giartyog TbflWG Xp/oToO, are thus 
 translated : " through the righteousness of God and our 
 Saviour Jesus Christ." This translation misrepresents 
 the text ; for the Greek words clearly mean " our God 
 and Saviour" and are invaluable as a proof of the divinity 
 of Jesus Christ. In the Protestant translation the proof is 
 destroyed ; it is impossible to convince any person from 
 it, that Christ has any title to divinity. 
 
 In the following passage of St. Matthew, xx, 23 : oux 
 Sffriv eftov Sovvai, aAA' otg vjTO//xa<rrtf/ UTTO rov Tarpof /xou, which 
 is thus translated, "is not mine to give but it shall be
 
 188 The English Reformation. 
 
 given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father," the 
 professor already referred to, finds, and with reason, very 
 much to blame. " By foisting in," he says, " the super- 
 numerary words, we make the passage contain a doctrine 
 directly contrary to other places of Scripture, e.g., John 
 xvii, 2, Revelations iii, 21. Precisely the same expres- 
 sion, aAA* 01$, occurs above in chapter xix, 2, where it 
 is properly translated save. So also ^in 2 Corinthians, ii, 5, 
 aAA fab [Aepovs." It is vain to adduce the authority of the 
 Vulgate for the authorized translation ; vain too to retort 
 by pointing out defects in Catholic translations, whether 
 authorized or unauthorized : for the Bible alone is not our 
 rule of faith ; we do not believe that it is requisite to read 
 or to hear the text of the written word, to learn what are 
 the revelations of the Almighty. Protestants read to have 
 faith ; we read already having our faith fixed and deter- 
 mined. 
 
 But there are other errors of a more serious character 
 still. A modern Protestant writer has observed, that the 
 words, "search the Scriptures (St. John v, 39.)," have 
 undone the world. Now is there such a command in the 
 New Testament, as seems to be implied in the passage 
 cited? Are the words, eptwZrs TOU; ypaQctg, indicative or 
 imperative ? The best Protestant scholars of more modern 
 times, as Bishop Jebb, 1 Le Clerc, Lenfant, 2 Clarke, 3 Elsler, 
 &c. 4 agree in maintaining that the words are indicative 
 and not imperative ; and indeed, the whole context seems 
 to them, as to me, to require this explanation. Our Lord 
 
 1 Practical Theology, vol. i, pp. 287, 292. 
 
 3 In 1. c. Vous examinez, &c. Such is his reading of the text; of course 
 he alludes to the other reading in the note. 
 
 3 Clarke in loco. 4 In 1. vol. iii, p. 53.
 
 The English Reformation. 189 
 
 states a fact, and the cause of the fact ; but he still de- 
 mands obedience to his words; those words being a divine 
 testification, such as none would be excused for rejecting, 
 whatever inferences they might draw from a private pe- 
 rusal of the sacred text. What inferences they did draw, 
 we know. Stand they excused, for condemning Christ to 
 death, in consequence of their inferences ? But excused 
 they would be, if they had been thrown upon their own 
 deductions by Jesus Christ, and had been referred to the 
 Scriptures as the authority whence alone their knowledge 
 of the Messias was to be derived. 
 
 Passing over passages like these, which reflect little 
 credit on the knowledge or criticism of the translators, I 
 will now draw the reader's attention to errors of a graver 
 character; errors which can only be fairly ascribed to a 
 bias of the mind, resultant from the adoption of a distinc- 
 tive system of religious belief; in consequence of which, 
 the writers, as Dry den has well observed, " rule the Scrip- 
 tures, not the Scriptures them." 
 
 In* answer to a question proposed by the Apostles 
 relative to virginity, our Saviour thus replied : 'Ou Kccvreg 
 %caf6v<ri rov \6yov TQVTOV, ctKtfotg <$6$OTcu. (Matt, xix, 11.) 
 These words are thus translated in the authorized version : 
 " all men cannot receive this saying, &c." This corrup- 
 tion is as manifest as it is shameless : the obvious and only 
 meaning being : " all men do not take this word," not 
 cannot take. And mark this : when in the following 
 verse, the same verb %wf eirca occurs, it is translated in 
 reference to the act, and not as before, in reference to the 
 power : " Let him receive," the translators say, and not 
 " let him be able to receive."
 
 190 The English Reformation. 
 
 For a similar object this object was to inhibit celibacy, 
 and defend the marriage of all persons, even of those who 
 like the first reformers had vowed a life of celibacy the 
 text of St. Paul (Hebrews xiii, 4, 5) ri'fuog d ya/xo? e'v 
 7r<n, v.a.1 1\ wiry oi^iavrog. . . . oiQihd.q yupo? d Tfowog was thus 
 corrupted : " Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed 
 undefiled let your conversation be without covetous- 
 ness." If r/jx/oe 6 yajxos means, marriage is honorable, 
 then a<jWu*pyupo? d T^OTTO?, likewise means, your conversa- 
 tion is without covetousness. The construction is the 
 same; the nature of the declaration is the same. But 
 the absurdity of rendering the latter period declarative, 
 was obvious : equally obvious too, to every unprejudiced 
 mind, must be the folly of making the first words of 
 the Apostle declarative. The sentence is, as the whole 
 argument proves, simply hortatory. St. Paul wishes that 
 marriage may be honorable in all things that the bed 
 may be undefiled, &c. And this idea he eloquently 
 enforces. Take the words as they stand in the autho- 
 rized translation, and the passage becomes an absurdity. 
 If marriage be honorable in all, then it is honorable in 
 near relations, in persons of ages widely and shamefully 
 different, in those whom natural and positive laws pro- 
 claim unfit for the marriage state ; not to refer to a variety 
 of other examples equally subversive of the Protestant 
 interpretation, and of the whole scope of St. Paul's doc- 
 trinal statements on the point of matrimony. 1 
 
 Again, who has not heard denunciations of the use of 
 the Latin tongue in the Liturgy, on the ground of its 
 being an unknown tongue, and as such condemned by 
 
 1 See 1 Tim. v, 9, et seqq.
 
 Tlie English Reformation. 191 
 
 St. Paul in 1 Cor. xiv. In that chapter of the English 
 translation, the awful words, unknown tongues, occur no 
 fewer than five times ; and if Latin was indeed considered 
 by the Apostle as one of the unknown tongues, and his 
 address regarded prayers recited under circumstances 
 similar to those which characterize the liturgical addresses 
 of the Catholic Church, certainly the Protestant might 
 appeal with confidence to the chapter of the English 
 Bible just referred to. But unfortunately for Protes- 
 tantism, St. Paul neither speaks of Latin, nor of any 
 liturgical observances, nor does he once make use of the 
 words unknown tongues : he refers to the gift of the 
 Holy Spirit, which God was pleased to communicate to 
 the faithful at the beginning of the Church, in further 
 testification of the truth of Christianity, the gift of speak- 
 ing a language not humanly learned, but divinely received ; 
 and makes regulations in reference to this gift. But mark 
 this observation: though the word yAw<7<r#, tongue, is 
 throughout the entire chapter unencumbered by any 
 adjective, it is at one time rendered simply by the word, 
 tongue, and at other times, by the words, unknown 
 tongues : see verses 4, 13, 14, 19, 27. Of the folly of this 
 addition in some instances, the reader will be fully con- 
 vinced who attends to the reading of the 27th verse in 
 the authorized version : St. Paul ordains that some one 
 should interpret the unknown tongue : a difficult task, 
 assuredly, for any interpreter ! 
 
 Nor is the translation of the words, acre og UM ecQiq TOV 
 >T&V rovrov, vj TT/VVJ TO TOTVJ^OV TOV xvpov ctvafy'tag, &c. (1 Cor. 
 xi, 27), less culpable than the preceding instances of 
 ignorance or deceit. The disjunctive y, or, is rendered 
 by the conjunctive and ; and thus a material alteration
 
 19 The English Reformation. 
 
 is introduced into the text, an alteration of -which the 
 Protestant party has taken no little advantage. 1 This 
 translation was made to buttress up the Anglican doctrine 
 of communion under two kinds. The reader shall now 
 see what was done by the same truthful expounders of 
 the Greek text, in favour of the doctrine, not of the real 
 presence, but of the real absence of the body of Jesus 
 Christ in the holy mystery : and though the variation 
 may at first sight appear truly small, it will be soon seen 
 not to be unimportant. In the xxvi, 26, of St. Matthew, 
 the xiv, 22, of St. Mark, and the xxii, 19, of St. Luke, of 
 the Protestant version, occurs the small pronoun it, a word 
 of obvious importance in its relation with other words. 
 From the English text it would plainly appear, that our 
 Divine Saviour gave his Apostles nothing but bread at 
 the Last Supper; the it obviously connotating the bread 
 which our Saviour had previously taken into his hands. 
 The translation is as follows : " And as they were eating, 
 Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it 
 to his disciples, and said, Take, eat ; this is my body." 
 
 1 Such is the reading in the received, printed, and critical editions of 
 the Greek Testament : the disjunctive ^, not the conjunctive a, being 
 uniformly approved of; and that such was the reading in the edition used 
 by the translators in James' reign, is unquestionable. It is foolish then 
 to state, in justification of the mistranslation, that in some MSS. and 
 printed readings of this passage, KM occurs, and not ?/ ; for we are not 
 examining the value of this or that reading, but the value of the English 
 translation. Does T/ signify or, or does it not ? Is this the ordinary, 
 received meaning of the word ; and have the Anglican translators else- 
 where translated it as a disjunctive participle ? If the answer be in the 
 affirmative, then it is clear that YI should be here translated by or, and it 
 is equally clear, that it would have been thus translated, had not the 
 prepossession of heresy guided Bancroft and his friends in their task of 
 translation.
 
 The English Reformation. 193 
 
 will not the honest reader be surprised to find, that 
 this it is wholly redundant. The particulars of the Last 
 Supper are given by three of the Evangelists, and further 
 St. Paul " received of the Lord," 1 that which he delivered 
 to the Corinthians relative to the sacred institution of the 
 holy mystery. Now none of these sacred writers ever 
 once insert this it : nay, more, they studiously avoid its 
 insertion; leaving the decision of the nature of the gift 
 to Christ's Almighty words which immediately follow the 
 record of the blessing, breaking and giving. Had the 
 Apostles wished to say that Christ blessed it, broke it, 
 gave it, how easily and appropriately might they not have 
 inserted that pronoun ; by carefully avoiding its insertion, 
 they gave their readers to understand that the omission 
 was intended ; that there was an object in omitting the 
 word ; and what that object was is clearly developed in 
 the following words of our Lord : "this is my body ! " By 
 following the Apostolical example, the translators would 
 have avoided an act of unwarrantable misrepresentation; 
 they would have given, not a representation of their in- 
 sular error, but an exposition of the divine teaching ; and 
 this only does the biblical student desiderate. 
 
 1 1 Cor. xi, 24.
 
 194 
 
 % $%|% 
 
 On the meaning of the word, Holy Scriptures ; and on the 
 inspiration, authenticity, and canonicity of the Bible. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Importance of this examination, and the difficulty it involves. Meaning 
 of the word Bible. Origin, age, country, and character of the sacred 
 writings. Inspiration required. What it is. Protestant theories de- 
 veloped. No fixed ideas on this head, though inspiration is essential to 
 the Bible. By extrinsic proofs only can inspiration be proved ad- 
 mitted by Taylor, Hooker, &c. Foolish proofs of inspiration adduced 
 by Anglicans from Christ's words. Authenticity. The canonical 
 writings. The sixth Article on this head, false. Some works admitted 
 by Protestants, were formerly doubted of as much as those writings 
 which they reject. Continuous evidence on this head. Principles 
 advocated by Cyril and others for discovering the canonicity of any 
 writing. Whether Protestants reject or receive tradition, their posi- 
 tion is untenable. Belief of the Church at the end of the fourth cen- 
 tury relative to the sacred books. Lists of the Scriptures drawn up at 
 Carthage, at Rome, and elsewhere. Detailed and specific examination 
 of each of the divine writings rejected by Protestants. Their canonicity 
 clearly established. Falseness of the sixth Article in whatever way it be 
 tested. Protestants know absolutely nothing of the origin and mode of 
 settling the canon of the Old Testament. Varying accounts on this 
 head, in respect to Esdras, the Synagogue, and the works forming the 
 Bible, at various periods. Even after Esdras, books added to the 
 Canon. Testimony of Josephus, and the principle involved in it. 
 Observations on the statement of the sixth Article in connection with 
 St. Jerome. The statement unfair, and disproved by St. Jerome him- 
 self. Catholic principle advocated by this Saint. 
 
 WE will now proceed to investigate the character and num- 
 ber of the books themselves which form the canon of the
 
 The English Reformation. 195 
 
 Sacred Scriptures. This is obviously a most important 
 subject, far more important than that on which we have 
 been previously engaged; for it regards the book itself, 
 the letter of inspiration. If in the settlement of the books, 
 Protestantism has erred; if it has rejected works which 
 emanate from God ; if it has undermined the ecclesiastical 
 fabric which it was endeavouring to upraise, by removing 
 the foundation stone on which all depended, then indeed 
 it will be admitted that the state of Anglicanism is truly 
 deplorable. The sequel will shew what is the position of 
 Anglicanism under all these points of view: it will be 
 seen, that though "it is to the Church, authoritatively 
 declaring what scripture is to be accepted, and what 
 rejected, that men are indebted for the possessing of the 
 written word, still, some exercising their assumed right 
 of private judgment, have been disposed to pick and 
 choose in regard to whole books and chapters of the 
 Bible." 1 It will further be shewn, that Protestantism is 
 wholly and entirely unable to vindicate the canon of 
 Scripture which it receives : for the principle admitted in 
 the sixth Article is suicidal to Protestantism, whilst the 
 assertion "that those books only are to be admitted to 
 be canonical of which there was never any doubt in the 
 Church," is false in itself, and destructive of that very 
 canon of Scripture which Anglicanism holds out to its 
 followers as certainly divine. 
 
 To elucidate this matter, to render the biblical question 
 plain and intelligible, I will treat the whole subject in 
 detail. From these details alone, will the careful reader 
 be able thoroughly to understand the meaning of the 
 much abused words the Bible, the Inspired Writings, the 
 Canonical Scriptures, the Apochrypha. 
 
 1 See Digby's Compitum., vol. vi, 117.
 
 196 The English Reformation. 
 
 1 What is the Bible ? It is a collection of works 
 written by men who were not simply assisted, but who 
 were inspired by Almighty God during the composition 
 of their writings. These works form two distinct volumes; 
 one of which records facts, prophecies, and other circum- 
 stances connected with a period anterior to the coming 
 of our Divine Redeemer : whilst the other contains a 
 history of our Divine Saviour, and of some of his Apostles, 
 as well as sundry Epistles, written under a great variety 
 of circumstances, and a remarkable prophetic writing 
 regarding the fortunes of the Church in a period of severe 
 trial. The former volume, or the Old Bible, contains, 
 according to the decision of the Council of Trent, forty- 
 five books, or thirty-nine distinct treatises, whilst the latter, 
 commonly called the New Testament, consists of twenty- 
 seven treatises. These writings were penned by various 
 authors, of some of whom much is certainly known, 
 whilst of others we know absolutely nothing : by authors 
 whose education, and talents, and birth, were widely dif- 
 ferent ; some like a Moses, being trained in the palaces 
 of kings, whilst others like an Amos, were more used to 
 hard toil and labour than to the luxury of courts. They 
 were written too in countries widely remote, some in 
 Palestine, where magnificent scenery struck the eye at 
 every turn, where plenty abounded, and where there were 
 evidences of the special interposition of a divine Provi- 
 dence, which must have deeply affected the minds of the 
 observant and of the pious ; others in Greece, where pride, 
 and luxury, and idolatry, and fondness for the wrestle 
 and the race, prevailed ; and others again in Italy, where 
 each spot was immortalized by the valour of the soldiers 
 of imperial Eome, and adorned by some trophy of greatness,
 
 The English Reformation. 197 
 
 or some proof of the refinements and arts of civilization. 
 Again, they were written at periods widely apart : some 
 dating from a time coeval with the Exodus ; whilst others 
 regard events connected with the close of the first century 
 of Christianity. The object of the Sacred writings was 
 also very dissimilar : that of the oldest being to acquaint 
 the Jews with the origin of the world, and its earliest 
 history ; as also with the civil and religious polity of the 
 Hebrew theocracy : whilst others were prophecies of woes 
 or of blessings ; or songs in praise of the goodness of God ; 
 or histories full of Christ's wisdom and goodness; or 
 records of Apostolic zeal. These writings embody a mass 
 of miscellaneous information, such as will be sought for 
 elsewhere in vain, expressed in language of the most 
 unequal merit, if mere composition be considered. 
 
 These writings of such different times, and countries, 
 and languages, and subjects, and literary merit, are be- 
 lieved to be DIVINE writings, GOD'S word, INSPIRED com- 
 positions ; and on this account are preferred to all other 
 compositions, and are called emphatically THE books. Men 
 penned, but God directed the writing : they toiled and 
 laboured as if the works on which they were engaged 
 were simply human compositions, such writings as Jose- 
 phus or Philo, Hernias or Barnabas composed; but God 
 was in fact their guide, their special assistant, the principle 
 of light and of inspiration, though in some instances even 
 the sacred authors may have been unconscious of the 
 extent of the heaven-derived assistance. Inspiration, 
 whatever that word may mean, is of the essence of the 
 sacred books ; the writer must be inspired, if his compo- 
 sitions are to be entitled, Holy Scripture. It will be 
 important to discuss the meaning of the word at the begin-
 
 198 The English Reformation. 
 
 ning of this chapter which is dedicated to the discovery of 
 the sacred writings ; to the separation of the human from 
 the divine. 
 
 The question when simply stated, is this : what in- 
 terference is required on the part of God, to secure 
 to any writing the character of Sacred Scripture. As 
 is plain, God may variously and in various times concur 
 towards the composition of any writing, and all these 
 modes have been honored by the name of Inspiration. 
 Of these ways three and three only deserve our attention ; 
 for about these only has there ever existed any real 
 dispute among contending parties. God then may help 
 the writer either by his revelations, or directing influence, 
 or by way of inspiration. By revelation, I understand, 
 the manifestation of something of which the writer was 
 either wholly ignorant, or at all events of which he was 
 unmindful at the time, when that particular truth was 
 manifested by the Almighty ; whilst by direction, I mean, 
 that watchful providence of God, by which the writer is 
 secured against error or mistake. Inspiration, on the 
 other hand, signifies an interior movement of the soul 
 proceeding from God, urging on the writer to that parti- 
 cular task. As is clear, inspiration and revelation may 
 either precede or accompany the actual writing of a work. 
 God may reveal to another his truth, before the individual 
 begins to write ; or he may communicate his truths only 
 during the time of writing. The same observation is 
 applicable to the action of God, by way of inspiration. 
 Further, it may happen, that subsequently to the com- 
 pletion of any writing, God may reveal the truthfulness 
 of that instrument, and thus give the sanction of his 
 authority to a writing, purely human in its origin as a 
 writing.
 
 The English Reformation. 199 
 
 Now the question originally proposed occurs : what 
 kind of concurrence is required to entitle a writing to be 
 called Scripture : and in what way, as a matter of fact, 
 has God concurred to the writing of those volumes which 
 Jews and Christians honor as the written word of God ? 
 The first part of the question is clearly one of great im- 
 portance. On it turns, in point of fact, the divinity of 
 the sacred books; and unless this question can be dis- 
 tinctly answered, only words and not ideas are attended 
 to when men speak of inspired writings. 
 
 Now, has the Protestant, as such, any fixed meaning 
 when he speaks of the Sacred Scriptures ? He has not. 
 The word is wholly undefined ; it varies under the ex- 
 planations of nearly every writer, and it varies too in its 
 application to the various books and portions of books 
 which form the Canon of the Sacred Volume. " When 
 it is said, that Scripture is inspired, (says Pretyman,) it 
 is not to be understood that God suggested every word, 
 or dictated every expression. It appears from the different 
 styles in which the books are written, and from the dif- 
 ferent manner in which the same events are related and 
 predicted by different authors, that the sacred penmen 
 were permitted to write as their several tempers, under- 
 standings, and habits of life, directed ; and that the know- 
 ledge communicated to them by inspiration was applied to 
 the subject of their writings in the same manner as any 
 knowledge acquired by ordinary means." Thus the style 
 was not inspired, or even interfered with by God. Let 
 us see whether inspiration aifects FACTS, the subject matter 
 of the sacred documents. " Nor is it to be supposed, 
 (I still cite the above-named author,) that they were even 
 thus inspired in every fact which they related, or in every
 
 200 The English Reformation. 
 
 precept which they delivered. They were left to the 
 common use of their faculties, and did not upon every 
 occasion stand in need of supernatural communication; 
 but whenever, and as far as divine assistance was neces- 
 sary, it was always afforded. In different parts of Scrip- 
 ture, we perceive that there were different sorts and 
 degrees of inspiration. God enabled Moses to give an 
 account of the creation of the world; he enabled Josue 
 to record with exactness the settlement of the Israelites in 
 the land of Canaan; he enabled David to mingle pro- 
 phetic information with the various effusions of gratitude, 
 contrition and piety ; he enabled Solomon to deliver wise 
 instructions for the regulation of human life ; he enabled 
 Isaiah to deliver predictions concerning the future Saviour 
 of mankind, and Ezra to collect the Sacred Scriptures 
 into one authentic volume." Thus the inspiration is 
 widely different as to facts : some requiring at one period 
 or other, a direct revelation; whilst others only needed either 
 a heavenly impulse, or a divine guidance, or the superin- 
 tendence and protection of God. This only follows, I 
 say, at the most, from the writing cited. To me it appears 
 clear that the author has supposed much which required 
 proof. He argues from the necessity of a revelation at 
 some period, and to some person, to the communication of 
 that revelation during the period of writing, to the indi- 
 vidual writing, which is at least a gratuitous supposition. 
 A revelation made in any way, may be written by any- 
 body. The revelation is heavenly, but is the writing 
 necessarily so ? To prophesy requires the secret inspira- 
 tion and direct communication of heaven ; but does he 
 who pens the prophecy absolutely require this assistance? 
 Is it fair to say, that, because a volume contains myste-
 
 The English Reformation. 201 
 
 ries impervious to human reason, and above man's con- 
 ception, records prophecies which regard periods and 
 individuals yet unseen, and refers to positive commands 
 which God has promulgated, it is therefore an inspired 
 writing ? Assuredly not : else .every catechism, every 
 spiritual work, and exposition of the faith and practices 
 of Christianity, would be an inspired production. The 
 knowledge of revelation is widely different from revelation 
 itself. Whilst the latter is from God, the former may be 
 the result of attention and memory. A Jew or Gentile, 
 who heard Christ speaking of his Church, and announcing 
 the saving truths of Christianity, may have written down 
 every word, have written it as faithfully as even the 
 Apostles themselves. To do this, memory sufficed. The 
 same may be said relative to those who heard the Apostles. 
 Their hearers may have understood and remembered 
 every syllable which was uttered; this too they might 
 have penned; and yet in neither case, would the writings 
 of such persons have been inspired. Those writings would 
 contain indeed revelations ; but still the composition would 
 be essentially man's, and not God's work. In a word, 
 prophecies or mysteries when committed to writing, do 
 not by any means involve the supposition of their being 
 then primarily communicated when committed to paper. 
 All that they suppose is this, that they have been revealed : 
 the time, the how, the person, being in no wise involved 
 in the enunciation of the revelation. Hence those argue 
 illogically who infer the inspiration of the writer from the 
 inspiration of facts, and conclude that the writer must 
 have been inspired, because he communicated the truths 
 of inspiration. 
 
 To those unacquainted with modern writings, and in- 
 
 K 2
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 deed, with, older compositions of distinguished scholars, 1 
 these observations may appear superfluous, but by the 
 scholar they will be adjudged necessary; for numerous 
 writers have fallen into this error, and have argued on 
 this point in a manner unworthy of the reputation which 
 they had otherwise so well merited. 
 
 To proceed : the extent of inspiration is again a matter 
 deserving of consideration. "That the authors of these 
 books (the books of the Old Testament,) were occasionally 
 inspired," observes Pretyman, " is certain, since they fre- 
 quently display an acquaintance with the counsels and 
 designs of God, and often reveal his future dispensations in 
 the clearest predictions. But though it is evident that the 
 sacred historians sometimes wrote under the immediate 
 operation of the Holy Spirit, it does not follow that they 
 derived from revelation the knowledge of those things, 
 which might be collected from the common sources of human 
 intelligence" Obviously, it appears to be conceded, that 
 though portions of the Scriptures are inspired, this in- 
 spiration is not so essential that nothing can be called 
 scripture which is not inspired: and this is afterwards 
 distinctly conceded. "If it be asked/' it is said, "by 
 what rule we are to distinguish the inspired from the 
 uninspired parts of these books, I answer, that no general 
 rule can be prescribed for that purpose. Nor is it neces- 
 sary that we should be able to make any such discrimi- 
 nation." 
 
 Even supernatural assistance is not deemed requisite, 
 
 1 See Calmet's Dissertation on the Inspiration of the Sacred Scripture, 
 vol. i, p. 58 ; as also Sardagna, voL ii, p. 100, in proof of my positions. 
 Protestants, as a body, formerly and now, argue in the inconclusive 
 manner referred to in the text.
 
 The English Reformation. 203 
 
 in the composition of some parts of the sacred volumes. 
 "We may, in like manner, suppose," the same writer 
 continues, " that some of the precepts delivered in the 
 books called Hagiographa, were written without any 
 supernatural assistance, though it is evident that others 
 of them exceed the limits of human wisdom ; and it would 
 be equally impossible, as in the historical scriptures, to 
 ascertain the character of particular passages which might 
 be proposed. But here again, a discrimination would 
 be entirely useless. The books themselves furnish suffi- 
 cient proofs that the writers of them were occasionally 
 inspired, and we know also that they were frequently 
 quoted, particularly the Psalms, as prophetical, by our 
 Saviour and his Apostles, in support of the religion which 
 they preached. Hence we are under an indispensable 
 obligation to admit the divine authority of the whole of 
 these books, which have the same claim to our faith and 
 obedience, as if they had been written under the influence 
 of a constant and universal inspiration." 2 
 
 Nor is the Bishop of Lincoln singular, in his account 
 of the nature and extent of inspiration. In a long, and 
 generally able article on Revelation, in vol. xix of the 
 Penny Encyclopaedia, the reader will peruse the " various 
 theories which have been put forth," on the question of 
 scriptural inspiration, which have been advocated by per- 
 sons of eminence ; to wit, the theory of verbal inspiration, 
 the theory of plenary inspiration, in respect to every fact, 
 whether historical, moral, or doctrinal; and the theory 
 of partial inspiration, and partial liability to err, which 
 is thus described : " Lastly, there are many, and amongst 
 them divines of great eminence, and reputed orthodoxy, 
 
 2 See Pretyman's Christian Theology, vol. i, p. 21, 28.
 
 04 TJie English Reformation. 
 
 and not a few distinguished prelates of the English Church, 
 who limit the extent of inspiration as commonly received, 
 and suppose that parts of Scripture may have been written 
 with the liability to error incident to ordinary histories ; 
 those, for instance, which are purely historical, and con- 
 tain no religious truth." 
 
 It would seem, indeed, that all idea of inspiration, as 
 essential to the nature of a sacred volume, has been 
 overlooked by some Anglican ministers. For example, 
 Fellowes, in the very first page of his Concordance of 
 the Evangelists, 1 thus writes : " St. Luke's preface is a 
 very important part of the evangelical records ; for it 
 fully proves that he had compiled his history from the 
 best materials which he could procure, that he had spared 
 no pains in collecting information, that he had scrupu- 
 lously traced the authenticity of every fact which he had 
 recorded, and that the work which he had addressed to 
 Theophilus, was not the product of miraculous inspiration, 
 but of industrious research." 
 
 In Germany, and indeed in England too, several eminent 
 biblical students have hardly allowed the notion of in- 
 spiration ; they look upon the bulk of the sacred writers 
 as mere epitomizers and copyists, and nothing more. 
 Storr 2 refers SS. Matthew and Luke to S. Mark; Biis- 
 ching, 3 on the other hand, maintains that S. Matthew and 
 S. Mark have copied from S. Luke ; Grotius, 4 Townson, 
 Wetstein, 5 and Mill, 6 say that S. Mark borrowed from 
 S. Matthew, and S. Luke from both ; whilst Vogel 7 is of 
 
 1 Guide to Immortality, vol. i, p. 1, note. 2 Comment. Theol. vol. iii. 
 3 Harmonic der Evangelien. 4 In Matt, et Luc. c. i, 1. 
 
 * Prsef. in Marc et Luc. Prol. g 109, 116. 
 
 7 See Gabler's Journal, vol. i, 159.
 
 The English Reformation. 205 
 
 opinion that S. Mark copied S. Luke, and S. Matthew- 
 availed himself of the labours of both; and Griesbach 8 
 and Ammon 9 believe that S. Mark derived much infor- 
 mation from S. Matthew and S. Luke. Nor did even 
 this satisfy the learning or the ignorance of the foreign 
 divines. Eichorn, and his follower, Bishop Marsh, advo- 
 cate the existence of a document, of the origin of which 
 they know and decide nothing, and they suppose that this 
 was the basis of all the Gospels afterwards published. 
 The original was defective; it omitted some facts, was 
 incorrect in others, and viewed chronologically, was worse 
 than worthless. These defects, subsequent writers of holy 
 writ corrected; but beyond the task of correcting, they 
 are supposed to have done little or nothing. 10 
 
 Such are a few out of a multitude of opinions, advocated 
 by English and foreign divines, relative to the nature of 
 the inspiration of the sacred volumes. From them the 
 reader will have inferred : 1 That the word, inspiration, 
 is indeed an ill-defined expression. 2 That it is plain 
 that few or none distinctly know, what is essential to the 
 constitution of a divine writing. And 3 That the various 
 books of holy Scripture, cannot be supposed to bear very 
 distinct evidence of their inspiration, seeing that so many 
 contradictory systems have been devised, simply with the 
 object of reconciling terms with facts, and of enabling 
 the Christian to defend the divinity of the sacred writings 
 from the objections of the rationalist, or the arguments 
 of the biblical critics of our own times. 
 
 8 Comm. Theol. vol. i (1794), &c. 
 
 9 Diss. de Luca emend. Matt. Ed. 1805. 
 
 10 See a Critical Essay on the Gospel of St. Luke, by Dr. F. Schleier- 
 macher (1825), passim.
 
 206 The English Reformation. 
 
 This inspiration, however, is a dogma of Protestantism ; 
 it is essential to the constitution of all and each of the 
 sacred books ; it is not a vague but a specific term ; it 
 embraces the Bible as a whole, and it attaches to each 
 book, and each integral part of that book. It is, if I may 
 so speak, the soul of the book ; it spiritualizes, it vivifies 
 it : without it, there is nothing which is not human ; no- 
 thing which is not simply man's work, and man's creation. 
 
 But how shall this inspiration be proved? Whatever 
 inspiration be, it is something not external, but internal 
 to the writer ; how shall this be evidenced, and so clearly 
 as to force the prudent and the wary to admit it ? After 
 what has been said, it is too clear, that no one will stake 
 his proofs on the internal evidences contained in the 
 sacred writings. Every writer, nearly, adopts a different 
 conclusion on this head, even when the writers are Chris- 
 tians ; whilst rationalists scout the very idea of inspiration. 
 Will it then be said, that the books announce in words 
 their own inspiration ; that S. Paul, for example, as well 
 as other sacred writers, declare that all Scripture is in- 
 spired, and that, consequently, it is inspired? Surely 
 not. It is on their inspiration that all their doctrinal 
 authority depends ; until this is established, their authority 
 is not greater than that of the works of any honest-minded 
 and sincere ecclesiastical writer. You must not assume 
 the inspiration of the writer whose words you adduce ; 
 you must prove it. Even then, if the declaration of the 
 claim to inspiration were clear and explicit, and each book 
 were distinctly known, to which the Apostle referred, 
 when he honored it with the title of Scripture, the fact 
 remains to be established, that the witness to all the rest 
 of the sacred writers was inspired to write what he did.
 
 The English Reformation. 207 
 
 How will S. Paul's inspiration, on which that of S. Luke, 
 and S. Mark, of S. Jude, and S. James hypothetically 
 depends, be itself established ? " It is not the word of 
 God which doth, or possibly can assure us, that we do 
 well to think that it is his word. For if any book of Scrip- 
 ture did give testimony to all, yet still that Scripture 
 which giveth credit to the rest, would require another 
 Scriptftre to give credit unto it ; neither could we ever 
 come to any pause whereon to rest our assurance this 
 way." 1 Such is the clear language of the illustrious 
 author of the "Ecclesiastical Polity" language which 
 others equally learned, in the Anglican Church, have 
 made use of, in relation to the means of discovering the 
 number and character of the inspired writings. " It is 
 said," says Jeremy Taylor, "that the Scripture itself is 
 wholly derived to us by tradition, and therefore, besides 
 Scripture, tradition is necessary in the Church. And 
 indeed, no man that understands this question denies it : 
 this tradition, that these books were written by the Apos- 
 tles, and were delivered by the Apostles as the word of 
 God, relies principally upon tradition universal ; that is, 
 it was witnessed to be true by all the Christian world, 
 at their first being so consigned." '' 
 
 It is useless to say, in order to escape the difficulty, 
 that the Apostles were all inspired, and helped and aided 
 by Christ and the Spirit of Truth at all times; for the 
 question ever returns, whence is this information derived. 
 From the Scriptures ? Then 1 You either assume their 
 inspiration; you either suppose the writings to be from 
 God ; or your position is not proved, as I have already 
 
 * Hooker, Eccles. Polity, b. ii, n. 4, p. 109, Ed. 1705. 
 2 Taylor, vol. x, p. 426 ; see too p. 427.
 
 208 The English Reformation. 
 
 shewn. 2 You apply the promises made to the collec- 
 tive body of the Apostles, to each individual ; you apply 
 promises made to Apostles as oral teachers, to Apostles as 
 writers. Now is this fair or logical ? and on such prin- 
 ciples can anyone honestly rest his belief in the inspiration 
 of the sacred Scriptures ? Whilst Christ promised to 
 preserve the Apostolic line from error, a promise, by the 
 way, which is denied by Protestantism, he nowhere pro- 
 mised to secure this or that individual always excepting 
 blessed Peter from mistake or error. His promises were 
 made to the body of pastors, not to each individual ; and 
 such promises cannot be fairly applied to each person 
 constituting that body, as is obvious in respect to promises 
 made to other bodies. Again, as I have just noticed, the 
 promises were made to the Apostolic body as preachers, 
 teachers, instructors. Christ did indeed commission his 
 Apostles to go forth to preach his Gospel, and to give 
 them confidence, and others security, he promised ever to 
 assist them. But did Christ bid his Apostles write ; did 
 he command them to publish works ; and did he renew 
 his promises of assistance, and declare that he and the 
 Holy Spirit would then guide them into all truth ? He 
 did not ; or at all events, the Scriptures have not recorded 
 this important mandate and promise. 3 But if even this 
 were conceded, the difficulty is far from being removed. 
 For not all the writers of the New Testament were Apos- 
 tles. Of the twelve, only five, if even five, wrote a word : 
 Luke and Mark, to whom we are indebted for two of 
 the gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles, as well as St. 
 Paul, who wrote fourteen of the epistles, were not Apostles ; 
 and down to our own times, it has been strenuously main- 
 tained, that the Gospel of St. Matthew, in its present form,
 
 The English Reformation. 209 
 
 was not the work of that Apostle. 1 Put the case then, that 
 personal inerrancy had been promised to the members of the 
 Apostolic college under every kind of circumstance, whether 
 they acted as missioners or as authors, it still remains to be 
 shewn on what grounds is based the opinion or belief of St. 
 Luke's and St. Mark's inspiration, as also the inspiration of 
 those other portions of the sacred writings, about the author- 
 ship of which, doubts have been, and are still entertained. 
 Obviously, in this case, as indeed in every other, our 
 only means of obtaining certainty and faith, is through 
 the medium of an authority extrinsic to the Scriptures. 
 We must, as Taylor and Hooker rightly observe, learn 
 from tradition, and from tradition only, which are the 
 sacred books, and what is their true character. 
 
 An important dogma, then, one all-important to the 
 Protestant, who proves, or affects to prove, each specific 
 doctrine of his religion from the Bible only, is not prove- 
 able from Scripture alone. The Protestant neither knows 
 from the Scriptures which book is inspired, nor the mean- 
 ing of the phrase inspiration, nor finally, what modification 
 of that phrase is necessarily to be adopted when it is 
 applied to the writings which form the Bible. Whatever 
 he does know, on these heads, he has derived from tradi- 
 tion; from an authority, living, teaching, pronouncing 
 dogmatically, relative to the belief of former, as well as 
 of present times, on all these points. In the face of these 
 facts, how can an Anglican maintain the principle involved 
 in the sixth Article, that nothing is to be believed which 
 cannot be proved by the written word of God ? Since I 
 shall have to draw attention to this point a little later, I 
 will reserve the observations I have to make on the ob- 
 
 1 See Neander's Eefutation of Strauss' Life of Christ, p. 7. Holm's Ed.
 
 210 The English Reformation. 
 
 vious falseness of this declaration, to the close of this 
 chapter. 
 
 As the reader will at once see, the arguments which 
 have been used to demonstrate the impossibility of proving 
 the inspiration of the sacred Scriptures from the Scriptures, 
 are equally applicable to the insufficiency of Scripture, as 
 a rule whereby to prove the authenticity, the incorruption, 
 and the number of the sacred writings, as well as the 
 accuracy of the versions used by various sections of Chris- 
 tians. For 1 How do we know that Isaias, or Moses, Peter, 
 or James, ever wrote a line ? How do we know that those 
 writings which pass under their names are their writings ? 
 The original manuscripts have been lost for ages ; and 
 if they even existed, we should be none the wiser, for 
 their style of writing is absolutely unknown to us. From 
 the belief of the Jews, as well as from the belief of the 
 Christian, we learn, indeed, that these and other indivi- 
 duals did write ; we know, moreover, from a combination 
 of circumstances, such as serve to prove the authenticity 
 and genuineness of any other kind of written instrument, 
 that these writings are indeed the productions of the in- 
 dividuals to whom they are ascribed, and that they are 
 the faithful records of what passed in times long since 
 gone by ; but this information is traditional, it is extrinsic, 
 it is something beyond and out of the sacred writings 
 themselves : it is human evidence of the same kind and 
 character, as serves to prove the writings of Cicero or 
 Livy, of Anacreon or Homer, of Chrysostom or Gregory. 
 This is the extrinsic proof which scholars may have ; the 
 best proof which learning can offer; but, by the bulk 
 of mankind, another kind of authority must necessarily be 
 admitted, if the writings of the Old and New Testaments
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 are to be accepted as genuine and authentic ; for men, in 
 general, are unable, on many accounts, to prosecute this 
 critical examination. They do and must rely on general 
 testimony, on the outward assent of nations and peoples : 
 they admit, in a word, this fact, on the same grounds 
 as they receive other facts of history, other records, other 
 testimonies in relation to events which they themselves 
 never witnessed, and to persons and things of which they 
 never had had ocular testimony. Indeed, the wisest of 
 men admit the Scriptures on this general authority. Even 
 St. Austin felt himself obliged, though he was the oracle 
 of his day, and is admitted by Protestants to be the most 
 learned of the fathers, to acknowledge, that it was not in 
 consequence of his own individual and isolated researches, 
 that he admitted the sacred books, but on account of a 
 general tradition embodied in the teaching of the Church. 
 " I would not believe the Gospel," he exclaimed, {Contra 
 Epist. Fund.) " if the authority of the Church did not 
 induce me to do so." This language was afterwards 
 adopted by Bishop Taylor and Hooker ; it is still the 
 language of all persons who deserve the name of scholars, 
 for every scholar, everyone indeed, possessed of a rea- 
 soning mind, sees at once and admits that evidence, testi- 
 mony, and authority, wholly independent of the Scriptures, 
 can alone convince us of their character, number, geimiiie- 
 
 1 The reader will here appreciate the usual Protestant objection against 
 tradition. It is often said by Anglicans, when arguing against Catholics : 
 " to prove any specific doctrine, you must read all the fathers, and how 
 can each one do this ? " Of course, the objection, as usual, is in itself 
 false ; its falsehood is manifest, from what has been said relative to the 
 authority of the Church : but how will the Protestant prove his knowledge 
 of the sacred books ? From general tradition ? That he rejects. From 
 reading all the fathers ? !
 
 212 TJie English Reformation. 
 
 ness, inspiration, and incorruption, not to refer to other 
 important items connected with the Bible. 
 
 And indeed, do not the framers of the Articles, seem, 
 on one occasion at least, to throw themselves completely 
 on uninterrupted tradition for their belief in the Scrip- 
 tures ? Do they not so completely rely upon it, as to 
 believe whatever is thus evidenced, and to reject what 
 has not this evidence ? Let the reader attend to the 
 wording of the sixth Article, and he will admit, that to 
 authority, the framers of the Articles assign their belief 
 in the writings which they are pleased to call Scripture, 
 to the exclusion of every other work. " In the name of 
 the Holy Scripture I am citing the words of the 6th 
 Article we do understand those canonical books of the 
 old and new Testament, of whose authority was never any 
 doubt in the Church." Not to the intrinsic argument do 
 they appeal, not from that do they state that their belief in 
 all and each of the books is derived, but to the extrinsic 
 proof they refer, and that proof is the uniform assent of 
 all former ages. To this, Burnet in his proof of the sixth 
 Article, and Pretyman, the copier of Burnet, in his Ele- 
 ments of Christian Theology, and Lardner, in his learned 
 work, On the Credibility of the Gospel History, and 
 Michaelis in his Introduction to the Sacred Scriptures, 
 and Paley in his Evidences, refer, and on this as the proof 
 of the Sacred "Writings they ultimately rest. 1 
 
 The framers of the Articles would have us believe, and 
 all who receive the Articles should believe, that the 
 books received by them as canonical were formerly uni- 
 versally admitted; that in fact no doubt about any of 
 
 1 See all the works cited, and others of a similar character; as also 
 Gray's Old Testament, &c. passim.
 
 The English Reformation. 213 
 
 them ever existed in the Church. The existence of doubt 
 in regard to some works of the old Testament, is urged 
 too as a cause for rejecting and placing them in the rank 
 of Apocryphal writings ; of writings to which little respect 
 indeed has been latterly shown ; for the Bible Society has 
 deemed it advisable altogether to ignore them in its modern 
 editions of the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 It is time for us to test this Article, and this common 
 belief of Protestants : and if it can be shown, 1 that some 
 works which they receive as unquestionably Scripture, 
 have been doubted of; and 2 that there is as much evi- 
 dence for several of the so called Apocryphal writings, as 
 there is for several of their canonical writings, it will be 
 still further manifest how little reliance can be placed on 
 the dogmatical decisions of the framers of the thirty-nine 
 Articles, and how utterly worthless must be a system, 
 based on such authorities. 
 
 Among the writings of the new Testament which 
 Anglicanism receives as canonical, and consequently as 
 unquestioned at any former period, in the Church, are 
 the following : 1 the Epistle to the Hebrews, 2 a the 
 Revelations, 3 the second Epistle of S. Peter, 4 the 
 second and third Epistles of S. John, 5 the Epistle of S. 
 James, and 6 the Epistle of S. Jude. Now the sequel 
 will prove that all these writings have been doubted of in 
 the Church, and doubted of by many in the Church, and 
 that this doubt lasted for a considerable length of time. 
 
 1 Eusebius, 2 treating expressly about those Scriptures 
 which were acknowledged as genuine, and those which 
 were not, says: "This appears to me to be the proper 
 
 2 Eusebius, E. H., 1. iii, c. 25. The certain books are called, the 
 , the doubtful, the diriXtyo/wva, the spurious, voQa.
 
 14 The English Reformation. 
 
 place to give a summary statement of the books of the 
 New Testament already mentioned. And here, among 
 the first, must be placed the holy quarternion of the Gos- 
 pels ; these are followed by the book of the Acts of the 
 Apostles; after this must be mentioned the Epistles of 
 St. Paul ; which are followed by the acknowledged First 
 Epistle of John, as also the First of Peter, to be admitted 
 in like manner. After these, are to be placed, if proper, 
 the Revelation of John, concerning which we shall offer 
 the different opinions in due time. These are, then, 
 acknowledged as genuine. Among the disputed books, 
 although they are well known and approved by many, 
 is reputed, that called, the Epistle of James and Jude; 
 also, the second Epistle of Peter, and those called the 
 Second and Third of John; whether they are of the 
 Evangelist, or of some other of the same name. Among 
 the spurious, must be numbered the books called the 
 Acts of Paul, and that called Pastor, and the Revelation 
 of Peter. Besides these, the books called the Epistle of 
 Barnabas, and what are called the Institutions of the 
 Apostles. Moreover, as I said before, if it should appear 
 right, the Revelation of John, which some, as before said, 
 reject, but others rank among the genuine." Speaking 
 elsewhere, 1 he observes : " These however are those that 
 are called Peter's Epistles, of which I have understood 
 only one Epistle to be genuine, and admitted by the 
 ancient Fathers. The Epistles of Paul are fourteen, all 
 well known and beyond doubt. It should not, however, 
 be concealed, that some have set aside the Epistle to the 
 Hebrews, saying, that it was disputed, as not being one 
 of St. Paul's Epistles " 
 
 1 Libro iii, c. 3.
 
 The English Reformation. 215 
 
 In the sixth book of his history, Eusebius appeals to 
 and analyses some of the works of Clement of Alexandria. 
 Referring to the Stromata of Clement, he says: "In 
 these he also makes use of testimony from the aynXeyojaeva, 
 or disputed Scriptures; also from that book called, the 
 Wisdom of Solomon, and that of Jesus the son of Sirach ; 
 also the Epistle to the Hebrews; that of Barnabas and 
 Clement, and Jude. 
 
 From Eusebius, then, it is plain, that all the books 
 named by me as of once doubtful authority, were at a 
 very early period acknowledged to be such, and conse- 
 quently that the Sixth Article is not only false, but also 
 that the very foundations therein established, whereon to 
 raise the Sacred Scriptures, are plainly unsound unfit 
 for the work which they were intended to uphold. From 
 other authorities, this same fact will become plainer and 
 plainer. 
 
 St. Jerome, in his letter to Dardanus. savs : " The 
 
 * * 
 
 Epistle entitled to the Hebrews, is received not only by 
 all the Eastern Churches, but also by all the Ecclesiastical 
 Greek writers of former times ; though many ascribe it 
 to Barnabas, or Clement; and it is of no consequence 
 whose it is, since it is by some writer of the Church, and 
 is daily read in the Churches. And if the Latins do not 
 receive it among the canonical writings, neither do the 
 Greeks, using the same liberty, receive the Apocalypse." 
 (Epist. 129, torn, ii, p. 60S.) 2 From this testimony, it 
 follows that the Revelations, and the Epistle of St. Paul to 
 the Hebrews, were not respectively admitted by the 
 
 2 See also St. Jerome's Letters to Evagrius and Paulinus, in which he 
 distinctly states that the Epistle to the Hebrews was denied by many.
 
 16 TJie English Reformation. 
 
 Eastern and "Western Churches; and to the attentive 
 reader it will appear more than doubtful if the Epistle to 
 the Hebrews was looked upon even by the Easterns as a 
 divine and inspired writing ; for it was ascribed to authors 
 whose genuine writings have not been admitted to be 
 inspired; and the extent of St. Jerome's admissions 
 amounts to no more than this, that it was read in the 
 Church : a fact which in no way establishes the Scriptural 
 character of a work in the opinion of Protestants, who 
 read in the Church, works, the inspiration of which they 
 strenuously oppose. 
 
 Caius, a Roman Presbyter, maintained that the Apoca- 
 lypse was the production of the infamous Cerinthus ;* nor 
 was he singular in this belief, as may be gathered from 
 the treatise * On the Promises ' by the illustrious Dionysius 
 of Alexandria. " There were (he says) some ancient 
 writers who utterly rejected the Apocalypse, and confuted 
 it chapter by chapter ; they asserted that is was through- 
 out ignorant and irrational, and that its very name was a 
 fallacy, since it was not written by St. John, nor could 
 that properly be called a revelation which was buried 
 beneath a dark and impenetrable cloud of ignorance. It 
 was not written, they affirmed, by any of the Apostles, 
 nor by any pious member of the Catholic Church, but by 
 the heretic Cerinthus, who wished to give to his own 
 forgery the credit of the Apostle's name. But for myself, 
 I do not reject a work which is looked upon with reve- 
 rence by so many Christians." 2 Further, this work was 
 not admitted by the Greeks till after the fourth century ; 
 and it was excluded from the catalogue of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures named in the list published among the Apostolical 
 
 Apud Euseb. H. E., 1. iii, c. 28. 2 Ibid, 1. vii, c. 25.
 
 The English Reformation. 217 
 
 canons; from the sixty canons of the Council ofLaodicea; 
 from the catalogue of S. Cyril of Jerusalem, to which I 
 shall presently direct the reader's attention, on account of 
 the principle which it contains relative to the means of 
 discovering which were and which were not, inspired 
 writings ; and also from the metrical catalogue of S. Gre- 
 gory of Nazianzum. Amphilochius of Iconium does in- 
 deed, in his catalogue, refer to the Apocalypse, but his 
 testimony will not help the Protestant ; for if he state 
 that some received it, he adds the important remark, that 
 the majority looked upon it as certainly spurious. It is 
 deserving of notice, too, that the Apocalypse, as well as 
 several other writings of the New Testament, are not 
 contained in the famous Syriac version of the Scriptures, 
 which is certainly very ancient, and which, as Postel 
 informs us, who travelled into the East for the express 
 object of discovering whatever he could connected with 
 the old version of the Scriptures, the Syrians themselves 
 ascribe to St. Mark. Tremelius 3 maintains, that "it is 
 probable that the version of the Syrians was made in the 
 very infancy of the Church, either by the Apostles them- 
 selves or their disciples." Fuller is equally positive as 
 to its merits and antiquity " It is a most ancient, a very 
 excellent and truly divine monument of Christianity," 4 
 and "Walton strives to shew that it is coeval with the 
 Apostolic days. 5 Simon says, that " it preceded all those 
 schisms which afterwards divided the Eastern nations into 
 different sects ; and on this account it is highly esteemed 
 as an authoritative record." 6 Jones, too, defends its ex- 
 
 3 Tremelius, Pref. to this version. * Fuller, Miscel. Sac., 1. iii, c. 20. 
 
 Walton's Prol., 13, 15. 
 
 5 Simon, Histoire Critique du N. T., part ii, c. 13, p. 121. 
 
 L
 
 218 The English Reformation. 
 
 treme antiquity, and adduces all kinds of evidence, in- 
 ternal and external, in support of his opinion. 1 Now in 
 this version are wanting, the Second Epistle of Peter ; 
 the Second and Third of St. John; the Epistle of St. 
 Jude ; and the Apocalypse ; in other words, those writings 
 which we have stated to have been either openly doubted 
 of, or openly denied, are here entirely omitted. 
 
 In concluding this portion of our examination, I will 
 adduce a very important passage from the fourth catecheti- 
 cal instruction of St. Cyril of Jerusalem: "Learn care- 
 fully (he says) from the Church, which are the Scriptures 
 of the Old and which of the New Law ; and do not read 
 to me anything of the ApochrypKa; for why shouldst 
 thou, who knowest not what are acknowledged by all, 
 (d/xoAoyou/xeva) in vain torment and trouble thyself about 
 those which are doubtful and controverted (<*/x0i#AAo|xev). 
 Read the Divine Scriptures of the Old Law, the twenty- 
 two books which the seventy-two interpreters translated. 
 These read, and with the Apochrypha concern not thyself. 
 Those only meditate upon which we always read openly 
 in the churches. The Apostles and the early Bishops, 
 the Prelates of the Church who have delivered these 
 books, were much wiser than thou art. Do not therefore, 
 being a child of the Church, transgress and corrupt the 
 laws and determinations of the Fathers." Next follows a 
 list of the books of both Testaments, with respect to which, 
 it is to be observed, that Baruch is united to Jeremy, whilst 
 the Apocalypse is altogether omitted. The catechist then 
 
 1 Jones' " New and full method of settling the Canonical Authority of 
 the New Test.," p. 110, &c. See also Wiseman's Horce Syriacce, and 
 Butler's Horce Bibliccs, vol. i, p. 165.
 
 The English Reformation. 219 
 
 adds : " Let all the rest be held extraneous, and in the se- 
 cond rank ; and those which are not read in the churches, 
 read not thyself, as thou hast already heard." The prin- 
 ciple of Church authority is here upheld : by it Cyril knew, 
 and others like Cyril, which books were worthy of being read 
 in the churches, and of being honored as divine. In what 
 manner this authority spoke from the close of the fourth 
 century, when, owing to the restoration of peace, and the 
 increased facilities of communication, evidence could be 
 sifted, and publicity given to the actual, though till then 
 not formally promulgated, belief of the leading pastors of 
 the Church, we shall have occasion to shew hereafter. 
 
 Whether then Protestants reject or admit authority, they 
 will find themselves in a strange dilemma. To reject it, 
 is to cut off the only means by which the authenticity, 
 &c., of any work can be proved ; and to admit it, either 
 because it has been always unvarying and universal, or 
 because it eventually became so, is to destroy in the first 
 instance the canon which they themselves have framed ; 
 for no such universal and unvarying tradition existed from 
 the beginning in respect to several books of holy writ, as 
 has been already proved to evidence. But if the books 
 be admitted because eventually the tradition became uni- 
 form, then will they be compelled to admit the Catholic 
 Canon ; for the tradition then only became uniform, when 
 the so-called apocryphal works were acknowledged to be 
 the written word of God. 
 
 Prior to the close of the fourth century, there is not a 
 single catalogue of the Sacred Scriptures which wholly 
 agrees with the Canon admitted by Protestants. The 
 oldest catalogue known is that of Papias or Caius, to 
 which Muratori and the venerable President of Magdalen
 
 _ 
 
 220 The English Reformation. 
 
 College, Oxford, Dr. Routh, have drawn public attention. 
 It is certainly as old as the second century. Wisdom is 
 here inserted after the Second Epistle of St. John, whilst 
 the Epistle to the Hebrews, that of St. James, the Third 
 of St. John, and the Second and Third of St. Peter, are 
 wholly omitted. Melito, of Sardis, omits Esther and 
 Nehemias ; Cyril and the Council of Laodicea omit the 
 book of Apocalypse; the Apostolic Canons enumerate 
 among the sacred books, Judith, three books of Machabees, 
 with the addition of the Wisdom of Sirach, or Ecclesias- 
 ticus, for the younger people; as also two Epistles of 
 Clement. The Athanasian synopsis omits Esther, and 
 admits Baruch, the Song of the Three Children, and the 
 history of Bel and the Dragon ; Epiphanius too receives 
 Baruch; and Hilary, of Poictiers, acknowledges as 
 divine, the Epistle of Jeremias, and also informs us that 
 Tobias and Judith were looked upon by some parties as 
 canonical works. Already I have stated what books were 
 omitted from the ancient Syriac version ; and if I refer to 
 the Vetus Itala, I shall have at once drawn the reader's 
 attention to the important fact, that in the oldest version 
 ever made of the Sacred Scriptures, every book admitted 
 by the Catholic Church is inserted, if not from a convic- 
 tion on the part of the translators of the divinity of each 
 work, at least from a persuasion that those books were 
 sacred, and might ultimately be adjudged worthy of a 
 place among the really inspired books. 
 
 At the close of the fourth century, the traditions of the 
 Church began to assume greater consistency. In the 
 interval which had elapsed between the cessation of per- 
 secution and the close of the fourth century, the prelates 
 had found leisure and opportunities to collect and examine
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 the belief of the respective Churches of Christendom. 
 Obviously, such an examination was requisite, from the 
 nature of several of the sacred documents, and the re- 
 moteness of the countries which had been favoured by 
 Apostles and others with their writings. Whilst some of 
 the Epistles were written to the Christians at Rome, and 
 Ephesus, and Corinth, and Galatia, others were directed 
 to private individuals, and seemed to have been as St. 
 Paul's Epistle to Philemon, in behalf of Onesimus, and 
 St. John's, addressed to the charitable Gaius, intended 
 solely for the persons to whom they were originally ad- 
 dressed. To give publicity to these and similar writings, 
 to obtain evidence of their high and divine origin, re- 
 quired both time and a careful examination of evidence ; 
 and to search into this evidence, whilst the Emperors 
 raged against Christianity, and its sacred records, was 
 difficult, if not impossible. At the period named, we see 
 the results of this examination. In the year 397, Aurelius, 
 Bishop of Carthage, presided over a Council of Prelates, 
 convened at his see. S. Austin assisted at it, as well as 
 forty-three other prelates of the African Church. In this 
 synod the following decree was passed : " That nothing 
 besides the Canonical Scriptures be read in the Church, 
 under the name of Divine Scriptures. And these are the 
 Canonical Scriptures : Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Num- 
 bers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, four books of 
 the Kingdoms, two books of the Paralipomena, Job, the 
 Psalter of David, five books of Solomon, the books of 
 the twelve prophets, Isaias, Jeremias, Ezekiel, Daniel, 
 Tobias, Judith, Esther, two books of Esdras, and two 
 books of Machabees. The books of the New Testament 
 are : the four books of the Gospels, one book of the Acts
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles of the Apostle Paul, one 
 Epistle of the same to the Hebrews, two Epistles of the 
 Apostle Peter, three of the Apostle John, one of the 
 Apostle Jude, and one of James, and the Revelation of 
 John." * If the reader bear in mind, 1 that the Africans 
 and others looked upon the prophecy of Baruch as the 
 composition of Jeremias, " Some (says St. Austin) ascribe 
 this testimony (Baruch iii, 36, 38) not to Jeremias," but to 
 his scribe, called Baruch, though it is usually reckoned to 
 be from Jeremias, 8 and 2 that "Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus 
 were called the works of Solomon, as St. Austin expressly 
 assures us " the two books, one called Wisdom, and the 
 other Ecclesiasticus, are styled Solomon's, from a certain 
 resemblance to his writings, but are very uniformly declared 
 to have been written by Jesus the son of Sirach, which 
 books, however, since they have deserved to be received 
 into authority, are to be reckoned among the prophetical 
 writings," it will be manifest that every so-called Apo- 
 chryphal writing was looked upon as having such extrin- 
 sic evidence in its favour as to deserve to be classed, 
 as early as the year 397, among those Scriptures which 
 had been received from the earliest period of the Church. 
 On what principles, too, the Bishops then proceeded, 
 we may easily gather from St. Austin's famous work 
 on Christian Doctrine. " Let him (he says) who desires 
 carefully to examine the sacred writings, in receiving 
 the Canonical Scriptures, follow the authority of the 
 greater number of the Catholic Churches ; amongst which 
 Churches, assuredly are those which are Apostolic Sees, 
 
 1 Labbe's Concil., t.ii.p. 1177. 2 De Civ. Dei, 1. xviii, c. 33. 
 
 3 The Acts of the Council of 397, were approved of in the Sixth 
 Council of Carthage in 419, during the Pontificate of Boniface. See 
 Hardouin, t. i, fol. 968.
 
 The English Reformation. 3 
 
 and have received letters from the Apostles. This rule, 
 therefore, he will observe with regard to Canonical Scrip- 
 tures; he will prefer such as are received by all Catholic 
 Churches, to those which some do not receive ; and with 
 regard to such as are not received by all, he will prefer 
 those which are received by the greater number, and by 
 the more eminent Churches, to those which are received 
 by the smaller number, and by Churches of less authority. 
 But if he should find some received by the greatest number 
 of Churches, and others by the more eminent which 
 I think can scarcely happen I think such Scriptures are 
 to be held by him in equal authority." 4 The principle 
 here advocated is the same as St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 
 whose words we have already adduced, maintained. On 
 the judgment of the Church, the Eastern and Western 
 prelates relied for their certainty of, and belief in, the 
 Canonical Scriptures. 
 
 Through the Pontiff of Rome, Innocent, who succeeded 
 Anastasius in 402, the history of the Canon in its 
 entirety became better arid better known. Writing to 
 Exuperius, Bishop of Toulouse, Innocent gives the follow- 
 ing list of holy writings : " The following summary will 
 shew what books are comprised in the Canon of the 
 Holy Scriptures. These, then, are the writings which 
 you have desired me to mention : the five books of Moses ; 
 namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deu- 
 teronomy; Joshua, Judges, four books of Kingdoms, 
 together with Ruth; sixteen books of the Prophets; five 
 books of Solomon ; the Psalter : of the historical books, 
 one book of Job, Tobias, Esther, Judith, two books of the 
 Machabees, two books of Esdras, and two books of Para- 
 
 4 LTbro ii, de Doct. Christ., c. 8.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 lipomena. Of the New Testament, there are the four 
 Gospels, fourteen Epistles of the Apostle Paul, three of 
 John, two of Peter, the Epistle of Jude, that of James, 
 the Acts of the Apostles, and the Apocalypse of John." 
 Such was the faith of Rome when Innocent ascended the 
 pontifical throne. The examination had been instituted 
 in Italy and Africa, and the result was the same: the 
 admission of the same Canon which was definitively settled 
 more than a thousand years afterwards by the Fathers of 
 the Council of Trent. To the enemies of Rome, I will 
 address the language of St. Jerome, in reference to 
 Innocent: "Keep the faith of holy Innocent, who was 
 the successor in the Apostolic see of the above-named 
 Anastasius ;" 2 and of the Fathers assembled at Tours 
 in 567: "What priest shall dare to oppose such de- 
 crees as have emanated from the Apostolic See ? . . . . 
 Let us, therefore, following the decree of Innocent, 
 insert it among our canons, and decree that it shall be 
 observed." 3 
 
 The next witness, after an interval of eighty-nine years, 
 is Pope Gelasius, in conjunction with seventy bishops, 
 who met together in council in 494. 4 The identical canon, 
 sanctioned by the authorities already named, was again 
 confirmed. As a modern writer has well observed, " such 
 confirmation had become necessary, on account of either 
 the ignorance or perverseness of several theologians at 
 Marseilles, who were disposed to quarrel with St. Augustine 
 
 1 Apud Constant. Epist. Pont. Rom., inter Innoccntianas, Ep. vi, c. 7. 
 
 2 Epist. 130, alias 8 ad Demetriadem, 16. 
 
 3 Condi. Turonen. can. xx, Labbe, t. v, p. 859. The decretal letter of 
 Innocent to Exuperius, was written on the 20th of Feb. 405. 
 
 ConciL Mansi, viii, p. 145; Labbe, iv, 1260; Hardouin, t. ii, p. 937.
 
 The English Reformation. 225 
 
 for quoting from Wisdom; and who took upon themselves 
 to aver, that that book was not canonical. It will be 
 borne in mind, that about all such matters, there appears, 
 in ecclesiastical history, just the slight amount of contro- 
 versy, which tends to throw forward the real truth, and 
 render forgery or collusion impossible. The decisions of 
 a succession of illustrious Pontiffs at length hushed all 
 opposition throughout the Western world." Pearson, 
 indeed, in his vindication of the Epistles of St. Ignatius, 
 asserts, that the author of the list of sacred writings, pub- 
 lished in 494, is wholly unknown ; and Cave in his 
 literary history, hesitates not to say that it is absolutely 
 supposititious. These and other writers, dreaded to ac- 
 knowledge its genuineness, for reasons which need not 
 be further referred to ; but scholars are now generally 
 agreed, that the document did emanate from the Pope 
 whose name it bears, and this has been abundantly proved 
 by Constant, 5 Lupus, 6 Mabillon, 7 Pagi, 8 Fontanini, 9 and 
 others. 
 
 It is true, indeed, that in the Gelasian decree, express 
 mention is not made of Baruch; but I have already stated, 
 on the authority of St. Austin, and his authority might 
 be confirmed by a hundred references to other early eccle- 
 siastical writings, that it was the custom to unite Baruch 
 to Jeremias' prophecy. In some copies too, of this epistle, 
 mention is made of only one book of Machabees; but 
 these are incorrect. The ancient and authoritative copies 
 of this epistle, distinctly state, that two books of Macha- 
 
 5 In diatriba de decreto Gelasii Papae. t. ii, Epis. K. R. P. P. n. 4. 
 
 6 Bib. P. P. t. xv, Ep. 128. 
 
 7 In disq. de Cursu Gallicano, 1, n. 9. 
 
 8 Ad ann. 494. De Antiq. hort. L ii, c. 3.
 
 226 The English Reformation. 
 
 bees entered into the canon of the sacred Scriptures. 1 
 But even if the text were such as it is represented, it 
 would not contradict either the former decrees of Carthage 
 and Innocent, or the later ones of Eugenius and Trent; 
 for these two books contain but one and the same history, 
 in consequence of which, both Jews and Greeks cited 
 them as one work, as we learn from St. Jerome and 
 St. Isidore. 
 
 From the close of the fifth century, the same canon of 
 Scriptures seems to have been followed, throughout nearly 
 the whole world ; and almost every individual, whose task 
 it was to pass any observation on the sacred writings, 
 refers to each book of this canon as unquestionable Scrip- 
 ture, down to the fifteenth age, when a Pontiff again gave 
 expression to the belief of the Church on this head. As 
 intermediate witnesses between the times of Gelasius and 
 Eugenius, I will refer the reader to the illustrious Hinc- 
 mar, 2 who names the catalogue of Gelasius, without, how- 
 ever, adducing the words of it; and to the illustrious 
 preceptor of Charlemagne, who was the glory of our 
 country, Alcuin. 3 In his work, which is entitled, "A 
 Disputation of Children, on various matters" Alcuin thus 
 proceeds : " Into how many books is the Old Testament 
 divided? Answer: Into forty-five. Q. How are they 
 called ? A. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deu- 
 teronomy, Jesus Nave, Judges, Ruth, four books of the 
 kingdoms, two books of the Paralipomena, Job, the Psalter 
 of David, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Canticle of Canticles, 
 sixteen books of the Prophets, Tobias, Judith, Hesther, 
 
 1 See the copies published by Holstein and Schelstrate, and Chifflet ; as 
 also Hardouin, t. ii, col. 937. 
 
 2 Vol. ii, p. 638. Vol. ii, p. 431.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 and Machabees. Q. Are there any other books of the 
 Old Testament ? A. There are. Q. Which are they ? 
 A. Some add Ruth and Cynoth, which in Latin is called 
 " Lamentatio," the Lamentation of Jeremias, to the sacred 
 writings, and make twenty-four volumes of the Old Tes- 
 tament, according with the number of the elders who 
 assisted before the throne of the Lord. Q. Are there any 
 other books of the Old Testament? A. Yes. Q. What do 
 you mean? A. There is a fourth class of those books, 
 which are not in the Hebrew canon. Q. How are they 
 named ? A. The first is the book of Wisdom, the second 
 Ecclesiasticus, the third Tobi, the fourth Judith, the fifth 
 and sixth the Machabees, which though classed by the 
 Jews among the Apocrypha, the Church of Christ honors 
 and extols as divine books." These last words had pre- 
 viously been used by S. Austin, and they contain the 
 principle, whereby divine were distinguished from merely 
 human sacred from common writings. 
 
 As the Council of Florence, which is mainly memorable 
 in the annals of ecclesiastical history, for the temporary 
 reunion of the Latin and Greek Churches, was termi- 
 nating, the ambassadors of the Patriarch of Armenia, who 
 was at the head of a numerous but schismatical Church, 
 arrived at Florence, in order to unite their Church, if this 
 could be effected, with the Church in communion with 
 Rome. This object was speedily accomplished. Prior, 
 however, to the departure of the deputies, the Pontiff 
 drew up a decree, containing many points of instruction, 
 which were adjudged by him to be either necessary or 
 useful for the united Church ; and the number of books 
 which formed the Ecclesiastical Canon, was one of the 
 matters which was distinctly named. In this document, the
 
 228 The English Reformation. 
 
 list of the sacred books corresponds exactly with, the list 
 already given a list which was eventually sanctioned by 
 the decree of the fathers assembled together at Trent, 1 
 and guarded by an anathema, directed against those who 
 should hereafter dare to say, that the books admitted by 
 the Church as Scripture, were not sacred and canonical. 
 
 And if we now pass from a general to a specific state- 
 ment ; if, no longer consulting catalogues, we turn to 
 particular authorities in favour of each of the books which 
 Protestants have rejected, we shall not fail to find floating 
 evidence, in nearly every quarter, of the existence of a 
 tradition in various portions of the Church, regarding the 
 divinity of the books which the one Church of God uni- 
 versally admits. It would be a nearly endless task to 
 adduce full proofs in favour of each of the rejected divine 
 writings ; a few authorities will, under circumstances, be 
 deemed, by the general reader, amply sufficient. 
 
 1 Tobias. This work is cited as Scripture, by 1 St. 
 Cyprian: in his work, " De Opere et Eleemosynis" he 
 says (page 303, Ed. 1616.), that "the Holy Spirit says in 
 the divine Scriptures, that almsgiving freeth from death." 
 (Tobias, c. xii, 9.). And further (page 308), he cites 
 c. ii, 4, and c. iv, in proof of the religious instructions 
 which Tobias gave his son, in regard to corporal works of 
 
 1 Modern writers are for ever sneering at what they call the small 
 number of those who passed the decree at Trent. But what are the 
 facts ? There were present one hundred and one distinguished individuals: 
 five cardinals, eight archbishops, forty bishops, five generals of religious 
 orders, three abbots, and forty of the picked scholars of Europe, who 
 assisted the prelates by their learning and abilities. This decree received 
 the approval of the hundreds who assisted at the last session. What 
 authority can Anglicanism offer like this, for i/te Anglican Scriptures ?
 
 The English Reformation. 229 
 
 mercy. 2 St. Ambrose, 2 in two works calls this book 
 "Scripture, and a prophetical work" 3 St. Austin, 1. ii, 
 c. 8, De Doct. Christ, where he professedly treats on the 
 sacred Scriptures, ranks Tobias in the number of sacred 
 writings. 3 St. Hilary proves, from the intercourse of 
 Raphael and Tobias, two things: that angels exist, and 
 that they assist men. St. Chrysostom refers to it in his 
 fifteenth Homily on the Hebrews ; and St. Isidore 4 calls it, 
 in conjunction with Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom, Judith, and 
 the Machabees, divine Scripture. As we have seen too, 
 it was admitted by Innocent I, in his letter to Exuperius j 
 by Gelasius, in the Roman synod; and by the fathers 
 assembled on three different occasions at Carthage ; and 
 it was inserted in the edition of the Scriptures called the 
 Seventy, as also in the Vetus Itala, the oldest Christian 
 translation in existence. In fine, Origen distinctly refers 
 to it as sacred Scripture. 5 
 
 2 Judith. The book of Judith was admitted into the 
 canon of Scripture, by the fathers assembled together at 
 the great and important Council of Nice ; and in conse- 
 quence of this acceptance, and the persuasion of friends, 
 St. Jerome was induced to translate it, as well as other 
 sacred writings. " The book of Judith," he says, " which 
 is considered as less suitable as an authority in contro- 
 verted questions, is read by the Jews among the sacred 
 
 2 L. vi, c. 4, in Hexemeron; and 1. de Tobia, c. 1. 
 
 3 See the place cited. 
 
 4 L. vi, c. 1, Etymol. Sapientia, Ecclesiasticus, Tobias, Judith, Macca- 
 bseorum (libri), quos licet Hebraei inter Apocrypha separent, Ecclesia 
 tamen Christi inter divinos libros et honorat et prsedicat." The reader 
 will have seen that these precise words were adopted by Alcuin. 
 
 5 Origen, 1. v, contra Celsum, p. 244.
 
 230 The English Reformation. 
 
 writings (hagiographa). Being written, however, in Chal- 
 daic, it is ranked amongst the historical books. But as 
 the Council of Nice is recorded to have reckoned this 
 book in the number of the holy Scriptures, I have yielded 
 to your request, or rather to your command, and have 
 translated it." 1 It is cited by St. Clement of Rome, 2 
 Clement of Alexandria, 3 Origen, 4 Tertullian, 5 Isidore, 6 and 
 Hilary of Poictiers, 7 without hesitation; and it is plain 
 that they must have felt what the Church now believes, 
 and has for ages believed, that the work was really divine. 
 Add to this the statement of St. Jerome, relative to its 
 being admitted among the Hagiographa, and the decisions 
 of the fathers at Carthage and at Rome, and the cha- 
 racter of the work will be readily admitted to be clearly 
 established. 
 
 3 Wisdom. St. Polycarp has left us one brief epistle. 
 Though there is scarcely an allusion to the Old Testament, 
 in his Epistle to the Philippians, we have evidence of his 
 belief in respect to the book of Wisdom. It is cited as 
 the work of a prophet, p. 13, Ed. Le Moyne. Polycarp's 
 scholar and disciple, St. Irenseus, as Eusebius informs us, 8 
 cited this work, in a book which has been since lost, 
 
 1 Prsef. in lib. Judith. If the Jews, as St. Jerome states, ranked Judith 
 among the Hagiographa, must they not have acknowledged it to be a 
 portion of the Scripture ? Assuredly, many of the fathers, and St. Jerome 
 is one of the number, constantly assure us, that the Jewish Scriptures 
 were divided into the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa. See the 
 Prol. Qaleatus of St. Jerome, as also his Preface to the book of Daniel, in 
 which this triple division is retained. 
 
 2 Epist. 1, ad Cor. ' L. iv, Strom, p. 521. 
 
 4 Horn, xix, in Jer. 6 C. ult. de Monog. 
 
 8 L. vi, c. 6, Etymol. and 1. vii, C. 8, et 1. de vita Sane. c. 64. 
 
 T In Psal. cxxv. e H. E. 1. v, c. 26.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 entitled, A Treatise on Various Matters; and in his book 
 On Heresies, he again refers to it, citing c. vi, 20. 9 Cle- 
 ment of Alexandria, referring to the third chapter, calls 
 this the divine Wisdom. " The divine Wisdom," he says, 
 " says of martyrs, ' they seemed to the eyes of the foolish 
 to die.' " 10 Equally emphatic is the great biblical scholar, 
 Origen: "We read and know, from the sacred books, 
 that God loves all things that are, and hates none of the 
 things which he has made, for there was nothing which 
 he disliked. And we read too, that c he has mercy upon, 
 all, because he can do all things, and overlooks the sins 
 of men for the sake of repentance.' " Wisdom, xi, 24-5. 11 
 St. Cyprian, too, bears witness to the faith of the African 
 Church : " The Holy Spirit has shown and declared, 
 through Solomon, saying, and ' though in the sight of 
 men they suffered torments, their hope is full of immor- 
 tality.' " Wisdom iii, 4. 12 Thus he declares two things : 
 1 That Solomon was the author of the book of Wisdom ; 
 and 2 That what was said, emanated from the Holy 
 Spirit. It is also called the work of Solomon by Metho- 
 dius; 13 by St. Athanasius it is honored with the names of 
 "the Wisdom of God," and "the Scripture /' u and by 
 the bishops of Egypt, Lybia, and Pentapolis, who espoused 
 the cause of the sainted Archbishop of Alexandria, it is 
 said, citing Wisdom, " Let them fear that which is written 
 in the sacred Scriptures . . . . ' The mouth that belieth, 
 killeth the soul.'" Wisdom i, II. 15 St. Cyril of Jeru- 
 
 9 Adv. hser. 1. iv, c. 75. 10 L. iv, Strom, et alibi passim. 
 
 11 L. iv, c. Celsum, p. 178. 12 De Exhort. Martyrii. 
 " Apud. Epiph. hser. 64, n. 19 and 30. 
 u Tom. i, p. 11, Contra Gentes, and p. 12. 
 15 Ad Imp. Constant. Apol. torn, i, p. 723, opp. S. Athanasii.
 
 232 The English Reformation. 
 
 salem too, calls this Solomon's work, when he adduces 
 the xiii chapter, v. 5, of Wisdom ; 1 and St. Hilary entitles 
 the writer a Prophet : 2 . . . . " The prophet teaches us, 
 saying, f the Spirit of God hath filled the whole world.' " 
 Wisdom i, 7. Nor is the language of Epiphanius less 
 emphatic ; indeed, he classes this work with those writings 
 which were unquestionable, and cites it in such a way 
 as to leave no doubt of his own convictions. Writing 
 against the heretic Aetius, he thus expresses himself: 
 " Even had you, Aetius, been born of the Spirit, it be- 
 hoved you to do this : that after turning over all the 
 sacred records from Genesis to Esther, which are in 
 number twenty-seven, though reduced to twenty-two ; 
 also the four sacred Gospels, and the fourteen Epistles 
 of Paul, the Acts, also, of the Apostles, .... and the 
 Catholic Epistles of James, Peter, John and Jude, the 
 Apocalypse of John, the books of Wisdom, namely of 
 Solomon, the Son of Sirach ; after, in fine, running over 
 all the books of Scripture, you might condemn your- 
 self.. . . ." 3 And again, refuting Hierarcus, he calls the 
 writer of Wisdom, iv, 8, the blessed and wise Solomon 
 the most blessed of prophets ; 4 and this same authorship 
 is ascribed to Wisdom, by St. Basil of Ca3sarea, 5 who 
 repeatedly quotes the work when confuting heresy, and 
 defending the truth. If the reader wish for further au- 
 thorities, which will hardly be the case, for surely the 
 evidence already adduced, coming from the East and the 
 
 1 Cat ix, p. 75. 
 
 2 Tract, in Psal. 145; see too enar. in Psal. 127. 
 
 3 Adv. haer. 1. iii, hser. 76. 
 
 * L. v, contra Eunom. ; Epist. cxli, &c. 
 6 Horn, in Prov. t. ii, p. 100.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 "West, from countries far remote, and regarding periods 
 widely distant, is overpowering, he may consult the au- 
 thor of the work, De Divinis Nominibus, 6 Eusebius," 1 
 St. Ambrose* St. Austin? and the Councils, which I shall 
 refer to in the note below. 10 
 
 4 Ecclesiasticus. Clement of Alexandria repeatedly 
 refers to Ecclesiasticus, as an inspired writing j 11 and Ter- 
 tullian cites it as a portion of the old law ; 12 nor does either 
 Origen or Cyprian doubt of its divine character. The 
 former says : " Let us prove from the sacred writings, 
 that the divine Scripture also recommends to us the study 
 of dialectics, it being said in the wisdom of Jesus the Son 
 of Sirach, ' the knowledge of the unwise is as words with- 
 out sense.' " (Ecclus. xxi, 21 ;) 13 and the latter observes : 
 " We are taught and admonished by the divine Scriptures 
 thus : ' Son, when thou comest to the service of God, 
 stand injustice and in fear.' " (Ecclus. ii, 1.) S. Athana- 
 
 8 De Div. Nomin. c. 4. 
 
 7 L. vii, c. 12 ; 1. ix, c. 7 ; 1. xi, c. 14, Prcep. Evang. 
 
 8 Enarrat. in Ps. 1. 
 
 9 1. ii, c. 8, de Doct. Christ.; 1. xvii, c. 20, de Civ. Dei; and 1. de praedest 
 Sanct. c. xvi. St. Austin, vindicating his and St. Cyprian's use of the 
 book of Wisdom, against the ignorance of some persons who would not 
 admit the work to be Scripture, says, " Non debuit repudiari sententia 
 libri Sapientiae, qui meruit in Ecclesia Christi de gradu lectorum Ecclesiae 
 Christi tarn longa annositate recitari, et ab omnibus Christianis, ab Epis- 
 copis usque ad extremes laicos fideles, poenitentes, catechumenos, cum 
 veneratione divinae auctoritatis, audiri." L c. 
 
 10 See Condi. Sardicen, apud Theodoret, Hist. L ii, c. 8 ; ConciL Carthag. 
 iii, c. 47 ; ConciL Triburiense, c. 34, et C. Nicsen ii, act. 4. 
 
 Apud Euseb. H. E. 1. vi, 13 ; See Clement of Alex. 1. i, c. 8 ; Psedag. 
 et 1. viii, Strom, p. 763. 
 
 12 See Adv. Marc, p. 464 ; and Exhort, ad Cast. c. xii, p. 662. 
 
 13 L. viii, contra Celsum. p. 410 ; and Homil. 9, in Ezech. 
 w De Mortal, p. 174, et de Opere et Eleemos.
 
 234 The English Reformation. 
 
 sius also cites it as Scripture : " Thou shalt not sup with a 
 proud woman, nor shalt thou be familiar with an arrogant 
 woman ; for sacred Scripture says : ( He who toucheth 
 pitch, shall be denied by it.' " (Ecclus. xiii, I.) 1 S. Basil 
 thus refers to it : " The divine letters say, f Do nothing 
 without counsel, &c.' " (Ecclus. xxxii, 24.) 2 We have al- 
 ready seen what was the received canon of the sacred 
 Scriptures in the time of Cyril of Jerusalem ; now we 
 have to learn what was his own opinion relative to Eccle- 
 siasticus. This saint was thoroughly acquainted with the 
 book under investigation ; to it he often refers, and in 
 one instance at least he calls it Scripture. " The Scrip- 
 ture says, speaking of our souls, f he created in them the 
 Science of the Spirit.'" xvii, 6. 3 S. Hilary informs us 
 that the Latins looked upon Ecclesiasticus as the work of 
 Solomon, whilst both Jews and Greeks entitled it the book 
 of Jesus the son of Sirach ; and to it the Saint refers, in 
 the same manner as he does to the fully recognized 
 Scriptures. 4 What Epiphanius' opinion was, we have 
 already seen in a previous extract : to another passage 
 from one of his writings, I will limit my references to his 
 works. " Since the Divine Scripture reprehends us, saying : 
 ' Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and 
 search not into things which are too deep for thee.' ' 
 (Ecclus. iii, 12.) 5 John Maxentius adopts similar lan- 
 guage : " It is necessary to contend for the truth to the 
 effusion of blood; especially as the Divine Scripture 
 thus admonishes us, and says 'For thy soul be not 
 ashamed to say the truth ; and even unto death fight for 
 
 1 L. de Virgin, as also Orat. i, contra Arianos, torn, i, p. 319. 
 
 2 In reg.fwiu* tract, reg. 104. 3 Cat. xvi, p. 181. 
 
 * In Ps. 140, et alibi passim. 8 In Anchorato, c. xiL
 
 The English Reformation. 235 
 
 justice.' " (Ecclus. iv, 24, 33.) 6 Even St. Jerome enti- 
 tles it Divine Scripture in one of his letters : " The 
 Divine Scripture says ' a tale out of time is like music 
 in mourning.' " (Ecclus. xxii, 6.) 7 And the Fathers of 
 the Ephesine Synod, with whose authority I shall close 
 this critical survey, call the work Divinely inspired Scrip- 
 ture : " Do nothing without counsel, says the Divinely 
 inspired Scripture." (Ecclus. xxxii, 24.) 8 
 
 5 Baruch. Circumstances have forced me already to 
 draw the reader's attention to the fact, that the writings 
 of Baruch, the scribe of Jeremias, are very commonly 
 annexed by the Fathers of the Church to those of Jere- 
 mias : and from this fact it may be easily inferred that 
 the divinity of this portion of Holy Writ was uniformly 
 admitted. I will, however, adduce a few specific proofs 
 in order to satisfy the scholar on this head. 
 
 St. Irena3us calls Baruch an inspired prophet, and his 
 writings are distinctly named the word of God. " And 
 therefore, (he says) have the prophets who have received 
 the prophetic gift from the same word (Aoyo?) foretold his 
 advent in the flesh, by which the commixture and commu- 
 nion of God and man was effected in accordance with the 
 will of the Father ; the word of God foretelling from the 
 beginning, that God should be seen by men, and that he 
 would converse with them on earth" (Baruch iii, 38.) 9 
 And later, this same writer quotes as the work of Jeremias 
 the whole of the fifth chapter of Baruch. 10 
 
 6 Praef. dial. c. Nestorianos. 7 Epist. xxxiv, ad Julianum. 
 
 8 Epist. ad Synod. Pamphyliae, act vii. For further information the 
 reader may consult Cornelius A Lapide, prcef. in JZccles.; Widenhoffer, 
 voL ii, 366-8; and Natalis Alexander, torn, iii, p. 691-2, Ed. 1786. 
 9 Adv. hser. 1. iv, c. 37. l Ibid. 1. v, c. 35.
 
 236 The English Reformation. 
 
 Tertullian cites the work as the production of Jeremias : 
 " Let them remember too, Jeremias, who thus writes, now 
 shall ye see the gods of the Babylonians of gold and silver 
 and wood carried away, &c." * (Baruch, vi, 3 ;) and St. 
 Cyprian refers to it in a similar manner : " Also in the 
 prophet Jeremias we read, This is our God, and there shall 
 no other be accounted of in comparison of him," (Baruch 
 iii, 36 ;) 2 as does also St. Hilary. 3 St. Clement of Alex- 
 andria, is another witness : " Most beautifully does the 
 divine Scripture elsewhere say, directing its words to those 
 who are lovers of themselves and arrogant, f Where are the 
 princes of the nations, and they that rule over the beasts 
 that are upon the earth, that take their diversion with the 
 birds of the air, &c." (Baruch, iii, 16, 18. ) 4 St. Athanasius 
 often cites the work as that of Jeremias, and from the 
 words " this is our God " derives a proof of Christ's 
 divinity; 5 and Lactantius also quotes as Scripture the 
 adduced words, " this is our God." 6 As we have already 
 seen, St. Cyril of Jerusalem considered Baruch to be a 
 sacred writer, 7 and he, like almost all the Fathers, refers 
 to and cites Chap, iii, 38. In the list of sacred books pub- 
 lished by the Council held at Laodicea, about the middle 
 of the fourth century, Baruch occurs after Jeremias. In 
 the address of St. Cyril of Alexandria at Ephesus, the 
 famous text of Baruch is thus adduced : " Take as wit- 
 nesses the holy prophets ; does not Baruch nearly pointedly 
 
 1 Adver. Gnosticos p. 595. 2 L. ii, c. 6, Testim. p. 206. 
 
 3 In Ps. 68, n. 19. * L. ii, Pjedag. c. 3. 
 
 6 De Sane. Trin. Dial, iii ; as also see 1. ii, c. Arianos, for an extract 
 from Baruch, c. iv. 
 
 L. iv, p. 346. 
 
 7 See also his Cat. xxi, in addition to previous references.
 
 The English Reformation. 37 
 
 demonstrate the Emmanuel, for he says, ' He is our God, 
 and none other shall be compared with him.' " 8 Although 
 St. Gregory of Nazianzum, in the catalogue of the sacred 
 books which he drew up, does not expressly name Baruch, 
 yet that he looked upon this as a portion of Scripture, and 
 as divine, is certain. He too, refers to Baruch iii, 38, as 
 written by the most approved of the prophets? As St. 
 Austin observes, 10 though the words cited were by some 
 ascribed to Baruch the scribe of Jeremias, they were more 
 commonly cited as those of Jeremias. In fine, this work 
 is adduced as Scripture by the illustrious and learned 
 prelate St. Epiphanius : " These are the twenty-seven 
 books which are counted as twenty-two, together with the 
 Psalter, and the pieces which are united to Jeremias, 
 namely, the Lamentations and the Epistles of Baruch, 
 although these Epistles are not found amongst the Jews." 11 
 For further information, I refer the reader to Coccius, 1. vi, 
 art. xi, and Sylvius de Controv., p. 49. 
 
 6 Esther. As the learned de Rossi observes, " So 
 great is the connexion between the protocanonical portions 
 of Esther, and the deuterocanonical additions to this book, 
 that the denial of the latter necessitates the denial of the 
 former also." 12 For 1 as he justly states, many things are 
 said in the book itself to have been written, which really 
 occur in the additions, as certain passages of the book of 
 Esther are commonly called. The truth of this observa- 
 tion may be easily seen by comparing c. iv, 8, with xiii, 
 
 8 In Homilia Ephesi habita. 
 
 9 See Orat. xxxix ; as also Orat. xxxvi. 
 1 De Civ. Dei. 1. xviii, c. 33. 
 
 11 De Ponder, et Mens. t. ii, n. 5, p. 163. 
 
 12 Specimena Variarum Lectiomun, p. 117.
 
 238 The English Reformation. 
 
 1, 7 ; iv, 15-7, with xiii, 8, 18 ; ii, 3, and vi, 1, 2, with xi 
 and xii, 4 ; and viii, 9, 10, with xvi. 2 These so-called 
 additions are found in the edition of the Septuagint, as also 
 in the Vulgate, Syriac, Arabic, and other ancient copies of 
 the sacred Scriptures. 3 Josephus, 1 even, cites a letter of 
 Assuerus, perfectly agreeing with that contained in these 
 additions : and further, he supplies us with an analysis of 
 the speeches of Mardochseus and Esther, as also with an 
 account of Esther's visit to Assuerus, and their conversa- 
 tion, and with a history of the royal letters sent by Aman 
 to the princes of the provinces, relative to the murder of 
 the Jews. How in the face of all this, Calmet 2 can have 
 fearlessly stated that Josephus says not a word about these 
 additions, is to me perfectly unintelligible. 4 These addi- 
 tions exist in three most ancient MSS., one of which be- 
 longed to Pius VI, the second to the Vatican, and the third 
 to the Ambrosian Library. In the MS. of Pius, these 
 additions are written by the same hand and in the same 
 character as the preceding portions of Esther, and at the 
 end of the work occurs a clause, which uniformly indicates 
 the sacred character of such works, viz., the number of 
 verses, &c., contained in the book. In the Vatican MS. 
 these distinctions of sacred Scripture are wanting ; but in 
 that of Milan, the points, accents, and masoretic epigraphe 
 occur. The writing however of the additions is not quite 
 so large as that of the preceding portions of the inspired 
 instrument. 5 Finally, the Fathers refer, and continually 
 too, to these additions. 
 
 Origen, replying to Africanus, who had refused, it would 
 seem, to admit the history of Susannah and other portions 
 of Daniel, because these were not received ly the Jews, 
 
 i Antiq. Judaei, 1. xi, c. 6. * Prol. in Esther.
 
 The English Reformation. 239 
 
 makes the following important and useful observation: 
 "The two sections at the end of the book of Daniel, 
 which are spread throughout the Church of Christ, are 
 not the only portions of the Old Law which are not in 
 the Hebrew text, since even about two hundred verses, to 
 speak by guess, are omitted from another part of Daniel, 
 and are consequently excluded by Aquila, although in- 
 serted in the Septuagint version, and in that of Theodo- 
 tion. Nor is this peculiar to Daniel; since the same 
 omissions are found in many of the other sacred writings. 
 . .. .In the book of Esther, for example. .. .neither the 
 prayer of Mardochai, nor of Esther. . . .are received by 
 ttte Jews, neither are the letters of Aman respecting the 
 massacre of the Jews, nor of Mardochai, in the name of 
 Artaxerxes, freeing the same people from the sentence of 
 death." He eventually endeavours to shew how these 
 passages had been struck out of the Hebrew copies ; and 
 the omissions -he ascribes to the wickedness of the Jews, 
 who wilfully destroyed them for political reasons. 3 St. 
 Cyril was a great admirer of the Septuagint. As we have 
 already seen, he recommends that edition to the Christians 
 of his times, and personally he believed that that edition 
 was inspired. Since then, we know, that in the Septua- 
 gint, the additions of Esther occur, we are forced to 
 conclude, that they were received by Cyril as well as by 
 Origen and others, as Holy Scripture. 4 
 
 The fathers of the Western Church are equally explicit. 
 (See S. Hilary, Prsef. in Ps., S. Jerome, in Prol. galeato, 
 and Prsef. in Esther, &c.) And indeed, since these chap- 
 ters, now expunged from Protestant versions, uniformly 
 occurred in the old Vulgate, and not as now, disjointed 
 
 3 Ad Afric. p. 222, 4 See Cat. iv, previously cited.
 
 240 The English Reformation. 
 
 and separated, but in their natural order, (the present 
 allocation was the work of St. Jerome,) it is plain that the 
 Latins could not have admitted any portion of the book of 
 Esther without admitting the entire work. 1 Thus the 
 Greeks who followed the Septuagint, and the Latins who 
 adopted the ancient Italic version, equally admitted the 
 rejected chapters. See too St. Chrysostom, horn, iii, ad 
 pop. Antioch, August. Epist. 199, ad Ediciam, &c., and 
 Bellarmine, 1. i, c. 7, de Verbo Dei. 
 
 But who was the author of the so-called additions? 
 That Mardochaeus wrote some portion of the book of 
 Esther is plain from ix, 20, and xii, 4 ; and it is equally 
 clear from the Septuagint, that Esther too had a share m 
 the composition of the work. To me, it seems more than 
 probable, and this is likewise the opinion of De Rossi, 
 p. 128-9, 1. c., that formerly another work of Esther ex- 
 isted. This may be proved from the following words of 
 c. ix, 32, as literally translated from the Hebrew " And 
 the word of Esther confirming the things of those lots, was 
 written in the book" Obviously these words refer not to 
 this, but to some prior writing, and thus they have been 
 ordinarily understood by both Jewish and Christian 
 writers. This work, as we gather from references made 
 to it in viii, 9, and ix, 20, of Esther, contained the letters, 
 &c. that were written by Mardochffius, which were widely 
 
 1 The Church tolerated this alteration in the chapters, in order that the 
 faithful might know, what was and what was not in the Jewish Bible. 
 With regard to the seven last chapters, the inspiration of which Catholics 
 defend, and heretics deny, it may he as well to observe, that chapters 
 xi, and xii, belong strictly to the beginning of the work ; xiii, xiv, xv 
 and xvi, to the middle, and chapter x, to the end, as is clear from the 
 Septuagint, from the Vetus Itala, from St. Jerome's observations on 
 chapters xi, xii, &c., as also from the book itself.
 
 The English Reformation. 241 
 
 circulated among the Jews, as is evident from the last 
 reference. To procure copies of such letters involved no 
 difficulty; and it will not be rash to suppose that the 
 seventy, having made themselves thoroughly acquainted 
 with their history, translated and eventually inserted them 
 in proper chronological order in that version which Christ 
 and his Apostles ordinarily cited, which many fathers 
 of the Church, as Austin, &c., believed to have been 
 inspired, and which was in general honor throughout 
 the Eastern and Western Churches. 2 
 
 2 It may be expected of me to say a few words about this edition of the 
 Sacred Scriptures. Its history briefly told is this: 1 In the time of 
 Ptolemy Philadelphus, who succeeded, it is calculated, to the crown of 
 Egypt, 285 years before the birth of Christ, the Jews settled in Egypt, 
 being very ignorant, and without, it is said, any version of the law which 
 they professed, were forgetting even the rites and practices of their 
 religion. To obviate this inconvenience, as well as to enrich the library 
 of his sovereign, Demetrius Phalereus, who was then Ptolemy's librarian, 
 proposed to call to Alexandria, a number of Jews, perfectly conversant 
 with both the Greek and Hebrew tongues, in order to translate into the 
 former language, the Scriptures. Ptolemy assented. He wrote to the 
 Jewish High Priest, begging of him to send to Alexandria six persons 
 from every tribe, distinguished for their learning and integrity, who 
 might undertake the task of translation. To gain his end, he restored to 
 liberty all the Jews who were then slaves in Egypt, he himself paying 
 the price of their ransom, which amounted to the enormous sum of 660 
 talents! The letter was carried to the Pontiff by one Andrew and 
 Aristeas, from whom we are said to have derived a full account of this 
 translation, who went from Egypt laden with presents for the High 
 Priest, Eleazarus. The Pontiff readily granted the favour asked. Seventy- 
 two persons went to Alexandria, and thence they were sent to the Island 
 aros, where in seventy-two days they are said to have accomplished 
 their task. The translation was read in the presence of the Hellenistic 
 Jews, and of other competent witnesses, and by them was declared to be 
 a faithful version of the inspired original. Such is an abridged account 
 of the history of the pseudo- Aristeas. 
 
 2 But fama vires acquirit eundo: with time the particulars and details 
 
 M
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 7 DANIEL. We will now proceed to the examination 
 of the evidence in favour of those passages of Daniel 
 
 regarding this version increased, and swelled out into wonderful impor- 
 tance. By Philo, we are informed, (in vita Mosis, 1. ii,) that the Holy 
 Spirit dictated every word to each writer ; and hence it was found, at 
 the conclusion of their labours, that all the translations agreed to the 
 letter. Justin Martyr enters more into details. He tells us that each 
 writer had a separate cell, and that all communication between the tran- 
 slators was entirely cut off (Apol. ii.) St. Epiphanius is less liberal ; 
 for he assigns to these translators only thirty- six cells. (De Pond. n. 6.) 
 3 To separate truth from falsehood may not be very easy in this case ; 
 but I will observe, 1 that the Fathers, &c., seem, as a body, to admit 
 the general accuracy of the statement ascribed to Aristeas. It is admitted 
 by Justin M., 1. c ; by Clement of Alexandria, 1. i, Strom. ; by Tertullian, 
 c. xviii, Apol. ; by St. Irenseus, 1. iii, c. 25, adv. hser. ; St Cyril of Jems, 
 cat. iv; St. Epiphanius, 1. c; St. Augustin, 1. xviii, c. 42-3, de Civ. Dei et 
 1. ii, c. 15, de Doct. Christ. ; as well as by Philo, 1. c ; Josephus, Antiq. 
 Judaic. 1. xii, c. 2 ; and Aristobulus, apud Euse -. de Prsep. Evang. 1. xiii, 
 c. 7. To reject such a weight of authority without evidence would be 
 more than rash ; and counter evidence does not exist ; for I cannot sup- 
 pose that such as Didacus a S. Antonio has adduced, vol. i, p. 472, can 
 have weight with any reasonable critic. To me, Serrarius, Bonfrere, 
 Vossius, Usher, Walton, Morinus, Nicolai, and numerous other writers, 
 seem to have adopted a wiser course in defending, than have Bellarmine, 
 Scaliger, Valesius, Hody, Vandale, Dupin and Simon, in opposing the 
 general truth of the narrative just adduced. That a translation was 
 made in the reign of Ptolemy, and under very extraordinary circum- 
 stances, and with extraordinary results, appears indisputable ; though I 
 am prepared to say with St. Jerome " I know not who first fabricated the 
 story of the seventy cells at Alexandria," (Prsef. in Pent, et 1. ii, n. 25, 
 cont. Rufinum,) and that "the writers conferred together, and did not 
 propliesy." (Loc. cit.) Again, I think that the seventy-two did not 
 translate all the Hebrew Canon, but only the law, or the five books of 
 Moses. And I adopt this conclusion on the authority, 1 of Josephus, and 
 of the Jews in general, 2 of Aristeas; and 3 of St. Jerome, who justly 
 observes, that whilst the Pentateuch agrees literally with the Hebrew, 
 the other books do not. Nay more, in the other books, the same phrases 
 are differently translated, from what they are in the books of the Law. 
 See St. Jerome on this head, Prsef. Quest. Hebraic in Gen., and in. c. ii,
 
 The English Reformation. 243 
 
 which have been recklessly rejected by the Anglican 
 Church, namely, 1 the hymn of the three youths ; 2 the 
 history of Susannah ; and 3 the history of Bel and the 
 Dragon. Not only are these passages of holy writ 
 rejected, but one of them at least has been treated with 
 words of scorn hardly equalled by those used by the Jews, 
 when they cast away Christ, and insulted him on the 
 cross, or adopted by Voltaire in the last, and the Ration- 
 alists of Germany in this century, in reference to the 
 Scriptures in general, or those very books which Protes- 
 tantism still clings to, as divine. Rejection and strong 
 language, prove nothing of themselves ; and of this, Angli- 
 cans should be mindful when they resort to violent and 
 abusive expressions, whilst opposing either this written 
 revelation of Bel and the Dragon, or the peculiar dogmas 
 of Catholicity. At all events, we shall soon see, that the 
 Fathers wrote like the Catholics of the present day, and 
 not as Protestants ; and that they could not have approved 
 of the violent and indecent phraseology in which the 
 followers of Elizabeth indulge. 
 
 1 Hymn of the Three Youths. Tertullian calls this a 
 portion of Daniel. " To whom incorporeal things sing 
 praises in Daniel." 1 St. Cyprian calls this song, Daniel's, 2 
 and further, Divine Scripture " this the Divine Scripture 
 declares, Then those three, it says, as if with one mouth, 
 sung a hymn, and blessed the Lord." 3 Theodoret inter- 
 
 Mich. The contrary opinion has been ably refuted by Dupin, 1. i, c. 6 ; 
 Montfaucon in Hexap. Orig. c. iii, 8 ; Hody, &c. Before our Saviour's 
 coming, all the books were translated which form the Catholic Scriptures, 
 but when, we cannot distinctly state. 
 
 1 Adv. Hermog., p. 302. z Exhort., Martyr., p. 96. 
 
 3 De Orat Dom., p. 156.
 
 244 The English Reformation. 
 
 prets tliis, as well as the other portions of Daniel, as also 
 does St. Athanasius. The author of the Synopsis, believed 
 this to have been written by Daniel: "Daniel. . . .knew 
 the works of God, when he said, All ye works of the 
 Lord, bless the Lord." l St. Epiphanius, constantly refers 
 to this hymn, and looks upon it as heaven-inspired." 2 
 Basil speaks of those " who sung hymns to God from the 
 fiery furnace." 3 St. Ambrose calls this, a prophetical 
 hymn;^ and S. Augustin, who frequently cites the hymn, 
 makes use of it in one place, in order to prove against 
 the Manichees, that all things are good; for as he ob- 
 serves, it is written, that " darkness and light praise the 
 Lord." 5 What Origen's opinion was, the reader has 
 already been told. 
 
 History of Susannah, and Bel. I have placed both 
 these histories under the same heading ; for in general, the 
 Fathers who cite either of the histories, cite both. The 
 disciple of St. Polycarp, St. Ireneus, distinctly refers to 
 both passages, and calls both the work of Daniel. " Let 
 them listen (he says) to the words of the prophet Daniel, 
 O thou seed of Canaan, and not of Juda, beauty has 
 deceived thee, and lust perverted thy heart." (Dan. xiii, 
 56.) 6 And " who is like the God of the living, but God 
 who is above all things. . . .The God whom the prophet 
 Daniel proclaimed when the King of Persia asked him, 
 saying, Why dost not thou adore Bel ? and he answered 
 and said to him, Because I do not worship idols made 
 with hands, but the living God." (Dan. xiv, 3, 4.) 7 As 
 
 1 Ad Serap., t. i, p. 170. a In Anchor, t. ii, p. 28, 32. 
 
 3 De Spir. Sane., c. xxx. 4 Hexaemer., t. i, p. 2. 
 
 c L. de Nat. Boni. c. xvL 6 Adv. Haer., 1. iv, c. 44, et passim. 
 
 7 Ibid,, 1. iv, c. 11.
 
 The English Reformation. 245 
 
 Tertullian considered the Hymn of the Three Youths to 
 be divine ; so, too, did he look upon the two passages, 
 the sacred character of which we are now establishing, as 
 divine. The History of Susannah he admits in his book 
 on the Soldier ; 8 and that of Bel in his work on Idolatry? 
 Origen's letter to Africanus, 10 regarding the History of 
 Susannah, contains, as Eusebius (H. E., 1. vi, c. 31) ob- 
 serves, a full defence of the objected passages, and further 
 shews the difficulties which follow from adhering simply 
 to the Hebrew text. And in Horn, i, in Levit. he 
 makes use of the following observations : " But it is now 
 time, that we should apply the words of the holy Susannah 
 against those wicked priests, words which they indeed 
 reject, casting out of the catalogue of the divine vo- 
 lumes the history of Susannah ; but which we receive, 
 and from which we opportunely argue against them." 
 St. Athanasius calls both passages the work of Daniel : 
 " And in Daniel, Susannah exclaimed with a loud voice, 
 saying, *O Eternal God, who knowest hidden things, &C.' 11 
 " Daniel also said to Astyages : ' We do not worship idols 
 made with hands, but the living God '" : 12 and so too 
 does St. Cyprian. 13 For further information regarding the 
 authenticity of the history of Susannah, I refer the reader 
 to St. Fulgentius, Qusest. ad Ferrandum, who cites xiii, 
 42, 45, in proof of the divinity of the Holy Ghost ; to St. 
 Chrysostom, who explains this history in two sermons; 
 
 s De Milite., p. 206. 9 De Idol., p. 174. 
 
 10 See the passage already cited. 
 
 11 Contra Arian. Orat. ii, t. i, p. 319. 
 
 12 Ibid. Orat. iv, p. 483. 
 
 13 Epist. xl, et de Exhort. Martyrii, p. 190.
 
 246 The English Reformation. 
 
 to St. Hillary, 1. iv, de Trinit. ; and to S. Epiphanius, adv. 
 Hsereses., n. 30. 
 
 8 MACHABEES. Origen thus speaks of this last work 
 which we shall have thus specifically to defend : " That 
 we may show, from the authority of Scripture, that these 
 things are so, hear what is said in the book of Macha- 
 bees, where the mother of seven martyrs exhorts one of 
 her sons to endure torments. ' I beseech thee, my son, 
 look up to heaven.' " x St. Cyprian is equally explicit : 
 " The divine Scripture .... admonishes, saying, .... 'fear 
 not the words of the sinful man, for his glory shall be 
 come as dung and worms'" (1 Mace, ii.); 2 and his work 
 " de Exhort. Martyrii," is one continuous citation of, or 
 reference to the Machabees. St. Austin informs us, that 
 though the Synagogue did not, the Church does receive 
 the Machabees as canonical " Maccabceorum libros non 
 Judcei sed Ecclesia pro canonicis habet." 3 These words 
 have been, as we have already seen, adopted by numerous 
 other writers ; and they refer to an important fact a fact 
 to which former and actual belief bears evidence to wit, 
 the admission of books into the canon, which had not 
 been previously recognised as divine Scripture. The pre- 
 vious non-insertion of some divine writings into the canon, 
 only shews, that at a given period, those works had not 
 been sufficiently evidenced; whilst their admission into 
 the canon, proves, that after the traditions of the Church 
 had been sifted, their real character was fully established, 
 
 1 De Princip. 1. ii, c. 1. See too his Exlwrtation to Martyi-dom, where 
 he calls the Machabees, previously cited, Scripture. 
 
 2 Epist. Iv, ad Cornel. 
 
 3 L. xviii, c. 36, de Civitate Dei.
 
 The English Reformation. 247 
 
 by that authority which God had appointed to guide men 
 into truth, even unto the end of time. 
 
 In conclusion, need I tell the well-informed reader of 
 the New Testament, that constant reference is there made 
 to what are called the Apocryphal works ? For example, 
 Wisdom vii, 26, is referred to in Hebrews i, 3 ; and 
 Wisdom xv, 7, in Romans ix, 20, 21 ; and again, Wisdom 
 xiii, 1, in Romans i, 20; Ecclesiasticus xi, 19, xiv, 18, 
 and xlii, 1, are respectively referred to by St. Luke xii, 19, 
 by St. James i, 2, and St. James ii, 1 ; and vestiges of the 
 Machabees occur in the Epistle to the Hebrews, &c. 
 
 If the reader will bear in mind, what was the belief 
 of particular Churches at first, of Churches, which, owing 
 to circumstances, had been best enabled to test the cha- 
 racter of the sacred writings ; if further, he will remember 
 how, after the flow of ages, when evidence had been sifted 
 in the most careful manner, the Church dispersed through 
 the world, convinced of the character of the disputed 
 books, admitted them to be sacred and canonical ; if again, 
 he will attend to the origin and antiquity of the Septua- 
 gint, and the Vetus Itala, not to refer to numerous other 
 editions of the inspired writings, as well as to the fact of 
 Christ and his Apostles appealing, and distinctly refer- 
 ring to the first-named version, whilst the fathers cited 
 and commented the latter ; or if, in fine, he will consider 
 how distinctly the universally recognized inspired Scrip- 
 tures suppose the inspiration of the deuterocanonical 
 writings, he will readily admit the correctness of the lists 
 of the Scriptures drawn up by the Pontiffs and Bishops 
 already named, and the appropriateness of the definition 
 which was framed by the fathers assembled at Trent, 
 and publicly agreed upon, on the 8th of April, 1546.
 
 248 The English Reformation. 
 
 From what has been said, it follows : 1 That the canon 
 of the New Testament was not admitted in its entirety 
 from the beginning. 2 That in point of fact it could 
 not have been so admitted, owing to the difficulty which 
 existed of intercommunication, and of obtaining evidence 
 enough of the origin and character of several of the sacred 
 writings. 3 Owing to these difficulties, several writings 
 of the New Testament were not only doubted of, but 
 absolutely repudiated, by several fathers, nay more, by 
 considerable divisions of the Church. 4 These differences 
 were drawn nearly to a close towards the end of the fourth 
 century ; Africa, the child of Rome, leading the way to 
 unity. The fathers there bore testimony to the truth, 
 relative to the canon, as also to another dogma, namely, 
 the necessity of recurring to Rome for approval of their 
 decision. De confirmando isto canone (the 47th) Trans- 
 marina Ecclesia consulatur, is the important note ap- 
 pended to the African canon. Rome approved of the 
 decision ; for the African canon was well known already, 
 and acknowledged by the See of Peter ; and by this see, 
 the information was rapidly communicated to the rest of 
 Christendom. 5 The grounds of the acceptation of the 
 canon were not these ; the books now acknowledged were 
 always looked upon by all as divine ; but this was the 
 basis of the common belief: the Church having examined 
 the question, has agreed that such books are, and such 
 are not divine. Testimony was sifted with all human 
 care ; after this, the decision was given, and in this deci- 
 sion God was heard speaking, but speaking through that 
 instrument, which was to convey the truth to all nations 
 and to all times. As long as the Church forbore thus to 
 speak, so long was there hesitation ; but after she had
 
 The English Reformation. 249 
 
 spoken, obedience became a duty, as sacred as religion 
 itself religion, in fact, was involved in the act of obedi- 
 ence. This last point is one of vast importance, and the 
 reader will do well to recall to mind what the fathers, 
 whose writings have been cited, have said on this head ; 
 namely, Origen, in his Epistle to Africanus; Cyril of 
 Jerusalem, in his Fourth Catechetical Instruction; St. 
 Dionysius of Alexandria, and Eusebius, H. E. 1. iii, c. 35, 
 and 1. vii, c. 25; and St. Austin, De doctr. Christiana, 
 1. ii, n. 12. From the Church, and the Church only, do 
 they affect even to derive the Scriptures; without this 
 authority they would have either doubted of, or as St. 
 Austin says, have actually repudiated them. 1 
 
 The sixth Article of Anglicanism is clearly absurd, 
 when examined critically. Protestants accept the canon 
 of the New Testament on authority; and in this they 
 trust implicitly. But admitting Church authority a 
 living authority for individuals do not analyse, do not 
 examine each link in the chain of authority in respect 
 to one portion of the canon, how can they reject it in 
 reference to another to the canon of the Old Testament. 
 Is the Church only truthful in respect of a part of the 
 inspired word? The fathers did not think so. They 
 assert that therefore they admitted Tobias and Machabees, 
 Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom, and the Gospels themselves 
 to be divine writings, because they were recognized as 
 such, by the Church. Let the reader remember the 
 
 1 When the decision of Trent was promulgated, those who had previ- 
 ously entertained opinions somewhat at variance with that decision, at. 
 once yielded assent, on the very grounds just established. 
 
 Mo 
 M
 
 250 The English Reformation. 
 
 words of St. Augustine, " Ego vero Evangelio non cre- 
 derem, nisi me Ecclesise Catholics commoveret auctoritas," 
 as also his other strong expression regarding the book 
 of Machabees ; let him further call to mind the language 
 of Origen, Jerome, and the catechetical addresses of St. 
 Cyril of Jerusalem their language is a fair representation 
 of the opinions of those distinguished prelates who pre- 
 ceded, as well as of those who succeeded them, and it will 
 be impossible to entertain a moment's doubt on this head. 
 
 On what grounds, do Protestants receive some books 
 of the Old Testament, and reject others ? This matter is 
 deserving of an attentive consideration. If it can be 
 shown that all is uncertainty, on their own principles, 
 in reference to even the protocanonical works, and that 
 every argument favours and proves the Catholic canon, 
 which establishes the authority of several of the books of 
 the Old and New Law, it will be admitted by all believers 
 in the written word, that the Protestant canon is essen- 
 tially and radically defective, and as such must be cor- 
 rected by the decisions of the fathers of Trent. Now all 
 this can be shown to demonstration. 
 
 1 We are completely ignorant of the extent of the 
 first canon of the Jews, as also of the grounds on which 
 this canon was formed. That the first canon of the Jews 
 consisted of the Pentateuch only, is a received opinion; 
 but the belief is merely conjectural, based on statements 
 of doubtful certainty, and on a fact which proves abso- 
 lutely nothing : namely, that the books of the law were, 
 and are alone, received by the Samaritans. Nor is another 
 supposition, notwithstanding its general admission, better 
 supported by evidence. It is nearly taken as granted
 
 The English Reformation. 251 
 
 by writers of this age, as well as of former times, that a 
 catalogue of the sacred books was drawn up by Esdras, 
 soon after the Babylonian captivity ; though on this point 
 ancient authority is sadly scanty. Much less positive, 
 however, are the particulars regarding the mode or the 
 circumstances of the formation of the Esdrine canon. Some 
 suppose that the sacred books were lost during the years 
 of trouble and distress which the Jews had to endure, 
 and that to Esdras, during the space of forty days the 
 analogy intended is obvious God again communicated 
 the law. Though many great names, both ancient 1 and 
 modern, might be cited in advocacy of this inspiration, 
 there is no proof whatever of its truth: at the best, it 
 appears to be based on no higher authority than that of 
 the fourteenth chapter of the so-called Fourth book of 
 Esdras a work which Catholics and Anglicans equally 
 reject whilst it would seem to be distinctly contradicted 
 by the author of the Machabees, 2 who is the first to inform 
 us of the attempt made during the time of Antiochus 
 Epiphanes, to destroy the sacred records : and Prideaux 3 
 has adduced strong proofs of the zeal of Josias to preserve 
 the sacred writings by transcription. 
 
 Others, despairing of establishing this first opinion, 
 which advocated such an extent of destruction and of 
 inspiration, have adopted another theory : it is this. Es- 
 dras, according to them, collected together and collated 
 
 1 S. Irenseus Adv. Hser. 1. Hi, c. 21 ; Tertull. de Habitu Mulieris, c. iii ; 
 Clement of Alex. 1. i, Strom. ; S. Basil, Epist. xlii. 
 
 2 1 Mace, i, 59, 60 ; see too 4 Kings xxii, 8, and 2 Paral. xxxiv, 14. The 
 sacred Scriptures were in the temple obviously in the time of Helcias. 
 
 3 History of the Jews, part i, b. v.
 
 252 The English Reformation. 
 
 the existing copies of sacred Scripture, and eventually 
 informed the Jews which were the sacred writings to be 
 admitted. They further assure us, that from him we 
 derive the triple division of the sacred Scriptures into 
 the Law, the Prophets, and the Ketubim or Hagiographa; 
 and that by him were added those chapters or portions of 
 chapters which were required for the completion of cer- 
 tain books such as Genesis xii, 6, xxii, 24; Exodus xvi, 
 35, 36 ; Deut. ii, 12, iii, 14, and the last chapter of this 
 book ; Proverbs xxv, i, &c. 2 Nay more, we are seriously 
 told that Esdras substituted the Chaldaic for the Hebrew 
 character, and modernized throughout the names of places ; 
 and as if this was not a task sufficiently onerous for one 
 man, to him they ascribe the introduction of the vowel 
 points. One thing, however, is wanting, unfortunately, 
 to the perfection of this system : the semblance of a proof? 
 Proofs being wanting, I shall not, as I should have other- 
 wise done, show that even under such a system, no Pro- 
 testant can rest satisfied, on his own principles : for even 
 if Esdras had been all, and more than all, that he has 
 been represented to be by his admirers, we have yet to 
 see, how the Jews had evidence of his character, and on 
 what grounds they assented to his declarations relative to 
 the inspiration and incorruption of those writings, which, 
 down to the period of Esdras, had not been considered 
 
 2 Even Prideaux assigns some of the above passages to Esdras ; whilst 
 others ascribe them to Simon the Just, &c. &c. Chacun a son gout, is the 
 rule here, as in other things. 
 
 3 For a very lengthened, able, and truly eloquent exposition of the 
 various systems connected with this subject, I refer the reader to my 
 learned Brother's work, entitled, " An Examination of the Distinctive 
 Principle of Protestantism," pp. 57-8, &c.
 
 The English Reformation. 253 
 
 as canonical. What evidence did Esdras receive from the 
 Jews ; and how did he proceed in the examination of that 
 evidence ? Was it half as great in favour of the new 
 canon then received, as was adduced in proof of the canon 
 approved of in 397 ? and was Esdras as clearly designated 
 by heaven, to be the means of arriving at the knowledge 
 of a great dogmatical truth, as was the Church which has 
 sealed the sacred canon, but which Protestants dare to 
 deny and to oppose. But let this pass ; for as yet no one 
 proof has been given of the origin of the canon of the 
 Old Law, of or its extent, at the period to which I have 
 hitherto had occasion to refer. 
 
 But the difficulty does not end with the name of Esdras. 
 Let us allow that Esdras did, and authoritatively too, edit 
 the sacred canon, we have still to learn who appended 
 those books and passages of books, which appeared after 
 the demise of Esdras. For example, in Nehemiah and 
 the Paralipomena, there are genealogies brought down 
 at least to the days of Alexander the Great and Darius 
 Codomannus ; and further, there seems to be internal 
 evidence in the prophecy of Malachias to show, and this 
 is admitted by Gray 4 and others, that this inspired writer 
 lived after Esdras. By what authority was this book, as 
 well as the books of Esdras, and the additions just referred 
 to, added to the canon ? Was it by virtue of some decla- 
 ration of the great Jewish council; or was it in conse- 
 quence of some individual's authority ? Let the answer 
 
 * Compare Gray's account of the times of Ezra and Malachias, in his 
 work on the Old Testament, Cf. pp. 208 and 507. St. Jerome makes 
 Malachias contemporary with Darius Hystaspes, Prsef. in xii, Prophetas. 
 Consult also the Encyclopaedia Britann. article Bible.
 
 254 The English Reformation. 
 
 be what it may, this will be clear, that the canon might 
 be, and was enlarged ; and further, that it was enlarged 
 by those of whom Protestants know absolutely nothing ! 
 What prevented its after enlargement, if sacred volumes 
 were written, and evidence was offered in their favour, 
 as great at least as could be adduced in favour of Esdras 
 or of Malachias. 
 
 2 That a fixed and well-known canon did exist among 
 the Jews of Palestine, at the time of our blessed Saviour, 
 is clear ; for we find that they all received the same books, 
 a coincidence which could not be the effect of mere chance 
 or of individual research. These books are said to be 
 twenty-two in number, but in fact they were thirty-nine 
 in all. For what reason, we know not, but it is a fact, 
 that it was the wish of the Jewish writers to confine the 
 nominal amount of the sacred books to the number of 
 the letters in the Hebrew alphabet, which, as I have 
 already insinuated, is twenty-two. Hence, it was requi- 
 site to reckon several books as one. This custom was 
 afterwards very generally followed by the fathers of the 
 Church, when speaking of the older canon ; and hence, 
 however much they may differ in their divisions and sub- 
 divisions of the thirty-nine books, the gross amount is 
 ordinarily found to be the same, twenty-two. 
 
 3 It is not equally easy to assign the exact number 
 of the books which formed the canon of the Hellenistic 
 Jews, who dwelt in Egypt in the time of the Ptolemies, 
 and for whom was framed the venerable version in Greek, 
 by the seventy-two scholars sent to Alexandria by the 
 Jewish high-priest. On the banks of the Nile nourished 
 an enormous Jewish population. Thence colonies passed
 
 The English Reformation. 55 
 
 to Home and the cities of the Mediterranean, and to 
 them, in course of time, was given the grace of Chris- 
 tianity. Their version contained all the books of the 
 Catholic canon, and to the nature of them, they were to 
 bear evidence everywhere. They would, indeed, state 
 which were canonical and which only sacred, which had 
 already been decreed to be divine, and which still were 
 in need of this decision : and thus the seed of orthodoxy 
 was sown, of which the Church in good time reaped the 
 fruit. That there were some books of venerable character 
 but of doubtful inspiration among the Jews, as afterwards 
 there were among the Christians, books whose divine cha- 
 racter could only be admitted after a careful examination, 
 and on the declaration of some competent authority, is 
 easily proved by the following testimony of Josephus. 
 
 "We have not an innumerable multitude of books 
 among us, disagreeing from and contradicting one another 
 (as the Greeks have), but only twenty-two books, which 
 contain the records of all time, and are justly believed 
 to be divine. And of them, five belong to Moses, which 
 contain his laws and the tradition of the origin of mankind 
 till his death : this time was a little short of three thou- 
 sand jyears. But as to the time from the death of Moses 
 till the reign of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, who reigned 
 after Xerxes, the prophets who were after Moses wrote 
 down what was done in their times in thirteen books. 
 The remaining four books contain hymns to God, and 
 precepts for the conduct of human life. 
 
 "It is true our history has been written since Artax- 
 erxes very particularly, but has not been esteemed of the 
 like authority with the former by our forefathers, because
 
 256 The English Reformation. 
 
 there has not been an exact succession of prophets since 
 that time. And how firmly we have given credit to these 
 books of our own nation, is evident by what we do ; for 
 during so many ages as have already passed, no one has 
 been so bold as either to add anything to them, to take 
 anything from them, or to make any change in them ; but 
 it is become natural to all Jews, immediately and from 
 their very birth, to esteem these books to contain divine 
 doctrines, and to persist in them, and if occasion be, 
 willingly to die for them, &c." J 
 
 From this testimony then it appears, 1 That the Jews 
 were in possession of several venerable writings, of which 
 the character was not adequately known ; 2 That it was 
 believed that these works might, under some circumstances, 
 be entitled to greater veneration, when their authenticity 
 and sacred nature had been still further demonstrated; 
 and 3 That the proof of their authenticity and sacredness 
 was derivable from the testification of some of the pro- 
 phetical line. Here, then, are all the elements, required 
 by us, for a definition, and an addition to the canon. 
 There are venerable writings, writings allowed to be at 
 least sacred ; and these are kept with the greatest care, 
 and handed down from age to age as venerable, and pos- 
 sibly divine. When Christ comes, the prophet indeed ap- 
 pears, who can pronounce on the nature of these writings; 
 and that he did speak, and his Apostles after him, is 
 evidenced at first, by the assent of the individual pastors 
 of the Church whose testimonies we have adduced, and 
 afterwards by the declaration of the Church, which is " the 
 
 1 Josephus, 1. i, c. Appionem, Whiston's translation ; Cf. Antiq. Jud. 
 1. xi, c. vi, B. 13.
 
 The English Reformation. 257 
 
 pillar and foundation of truth" and with which Christ and 
 the Spirit of Truth, uninterruptedly abide. Josephus 
 adopts that same tone and those very expressions which 
 the ecclesiastical writers make use of, as the reader has 
 seen, in reference to some books of the New Testament. 
 Whilst some are emphatically called Scripture, others are 
 handed down as doubtful; and of these it is said, that 
 their extrinsic character is widely different from those 
 universally received ; and such an expression, whether 
 used by Josephus or by the fathers, was the only orthodox 
 phrase to be used. Age follows age, and as time flows 
 on, we see the tradition in favour of the divinity of the 
 disputed works strengthening, and at last, a world believes 
 as certain what was once doubtful, and reverences as 
 divine what had been previously only considered vene- 
 rable. Compare the language of Josephus and of the 
 fathers ; examine the means referred to by each, as re- 
 quired for the attainment of a full knowledge of the 
 fact of the number of the works entitled to be considered 
 Scripture, and it will be seen, that in language and all 
 particulars, they are exactly similar : that it is impossible 
 to admit the New Testament canon without admitting the 
 Old, as approved of at Carthage and afterwards at Trent ; 
 and that all objections against the latter tend to cast more 
 than a doubt upon even the twenty-two books of the 
 original Jewish canon. 
 
 It is deserving of remark, that Josephus no where men- 
 tions which are the books which were received when he 
 wrote. All that we can learn from him is this : that the 
 books of Moses were five in number ; that there were 
 thirteen in the second class of Scripture, and four only in
 
 258 The English Reformation. 
 
 the third ; but the names of the books are no where given. 
 We may presume that he admitted the books which the 
 Articles seem to look upon as the old Jewish canon : but 
 this assumption is devoid of proof. Indeed, as Cardinal 
 Perron has proved long ago, Josephus no where refers to 
 the book of Job ; and there is nothing to prevent us from 
 believing, that all the sapiential books of the seventy may 
 have been included under the following description of the 
 writings of the favoured king Solomon : " He composed 
 fifteen hundred books of odes and poems, three thousand 
 books of parables and similies ; he wrote the history of 
 plants, and also of cattle and beasts of the earth, water 
 fowl and the birds of the air." L. viii, Antiq., p. 202. 
 
 These observations adequately answer the object of this 
 somewhat lengthened investigation of the nature and num- 
 ber of the sacred books, and of the means adopted both 
 by Jews and Christians to discover which were divine 
 writings, and which merely human compositions. I will, 
 however, before quitting this important subject, direct 
 the reader's attention to the reference made in the Articles 
 to the authority of S. Jerome, and to the constant state- 
 ment of modern and more ancient writers relative to the 
 catalogues which some of the Fathers of the Church drew 
 up at various times, of the sacred volumes. I shall not 
 indeed say much on either point ; for as to the latter it 
 has been shown in detail what opinions the fathers held on 
 the disputed books of the Jewish and Christian canon ; 
 and an answer has in fact been already supplied to the 
 remarks made on, and the inferences drawn from, the 
 words of S. Jerome by the compilers of the Elizabethan 
 Articles. After citing what Catholics call the proto-
 
 The English Reformation. 59 
 
 canonical works of the Old Testament, the writers of the 
 sixth Article thus continue: " The other books (as Hierom 
 saith) the Church doth read for example of life and 
 instruction of manners ; but yet it doth not apply them to 
 establish any doctrine. Such are these following : The 
 third book of Esdras, the fourth book of Esdras, the book 
 of Tobias, the book of Judith, the rest of the book of 
 Esther, the book of Wisdom, Jesus the son of Syrach, 
 Baruch the Prophet, the Song of the three children, the 
 history of Susannah, of Bel and the Dragon, the prayer 
 of Manasses, the first book of Maccabees, the second book 
 of Maccabees." Now what inference would the framers 
 and the imposers of the Articles wish the public to draw 
 from the words of S. Jerome ? This : that because at one 
 time certain works were not received as canonical, there- 
 fore such works could not be at any after period admitted 
 as canonical. Let the reader test this conclusion in this 
 way; let him state that according to S. Jerome the East 
 rejected the Apocalypse, and the West the Epistle of S. 
 Paul to the Hebrews, in the middle of the fourth century, 
 and thence infer the non-canonicity of these two books in 
 any after age, and what will be said ? That this conclu- 
 sion is fair ? No, that it is unfair ? Then let the objec- 
 tors solve their prior argument, and reject their own con- 
 clusions, for if this conclusion relative to the books of the 
 New Testament be illogical, assuredly the inference drawn 
 from a similar premiss regarding the Old Testament cannot 
 be logical. The most that can be deduced from this state- 
 ment of S. Jerome is this, that until certain books were 
 proved to be inspired, such works could not be cited as 
 conclusive authority in favor of any dogmatical question
 
 260 The English Reformation. 
 
 dependent on that authority. This statement is too plain 
 to be denied. But the question to be settled is this; can 
 works of questionable inspiration at one period, and con- 
 sequently of possibly questionable authority, eventually 
 be looked upon as certainly divine, and absolutely true ? 
 That the Fathers of the Church thought they could, is 
 plain from what has been already stated. Cyril and 
 Origen, Ambrose and Augustine, and afterwards provincial, 
 national, and oecumenical Councils, asserted and openly 
 this proposition ; and admitted as divine, writings which 
 at a former period had been doubted of, and even partially 
 denied, according to their own shewing. But was St. 
 Jerome, too, of this same opinion ? Assuredly he was ; 
 for in his observations on St. James' Epistle he makes use 
 of the following language. " James wrote but one Epistle 
 which is one of the seven Catholic Epistles ; which too, is 
 said to have been published by another in his name, but 
 has, gradually, in process of time, acquired authority" 1 
 And his observations bearing on this point are even more 
 conclusive in his remarks on the Epistle of St. Jude. 
 " Jude has left a short Epistle, which, because of a quota- 
 tion from an apocryphal book of Enoch, is rejected by 
 many ; however it has, by length of time and custom 
 obtained authority, and is reckoned amongst the Holy 
 Scriptures" 2 Whatever may have been the earlier 
 opinions of St. Jerome in regard of several of the deutero- 
 canonical writings, it would seem that in his later years he 
 adopted the common belief relative to the canon of sacred 
 Scripture. Assuredly he, 3 who stated what is mentioned 
 
 De V. I. c. ii. 8 De V. I. c. iv. 
 
 3 Prsef, in lib. Sal.
 
 The English Reformation. 61 
 
 in the book of Homilies, did not hesitate eventually either 
 to entitle the books of "Wisdom, 4 Ecclesiasticus, 5 and 
 Machabees, 6 divine Scripture, or Scripture, or to appeal to 
 them in proof of those dogmas which he was anxious to es- 
 tablish. These observations will enable the reader to form 
 a more correct notion of St. Jerome's opinions than could 
 have been derived from the mere words of the sixth 
 Article. 
 
 If we turn from St. Jerome to the catalogues of the 
 sacred writings framed during the earlier ages of Chris- 
 tianity, we shall feel equally convinced of the futility of 
 the statement made by Protestants, that the canon of the 
 Anglican Church is identical with that of primitive Catho- 
 licism. 1 Melito, whose object it was simply to state 
 which were the works universally admitted, 7 omits altoge- 
 ther the books of Esther and Nehemias. 2 Though 
 Origen presents to us a catalogue of the Jewish books, he 
 at the same time, as we have already seen, strenuously 
 maintains the divinity of other books and parts of books, 
 which were rejected by the Jews. 8 3 The Fathers at the 
 Council of Laodicea, admit Baruch and make no mention 
 of the Apocalypse. 4 St. Cyril of Jerusalem includes 
 Baruch and excludes the Apocalypse. 5 St. Gregory of 
 Nazianzum omits, like Melito, Esther from his list. 6 The 
 author of the Synopsis likewise omits Esther, whilst he 
 admits Baruch. 7 Epiphanius receives Baruch. 8 The 
 Apostolical Canons enumerate Judith, three books of 
 
 4 Comm. in Hier. c. xviii, t. ii, p. 587. 
 5 Epist. xxxiii, ad Julian. 6 Comm. in Isai. c. xxii, t. ii, p. 131. 
 
 7 See Eusebius, H. E. 1. iv, c. 26. 
 
 8 See his Epistle to Africanus already cited.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 Machabees, with, the addition of the Wisdom of Sirach for 
 the younger people. 
 
 The reader will not fail to remember the proofs already 
 given in detail, of these discrepancies. To sum all up in 
 one word : Melito, and the Council of Laodicea, and the 
 Apostolical Constitutions, and Origen, Epiphanius, and St. 
 Gregory of Nazianzum, present to us catalogues all differ- 
 ing from that which the Anglican system, and the fautors 
 of Anglicanism, 1 assume to be truly divine. And since, it 
 is customary with modern writers to state that the divinity 
 of the Protestant Canon of the Old Testament is established 
 by constant references in the New Testament to the in- 
 spired writers of the former Law, it may be as well to 
 observe, that there are at least eleven of the protocanonical 
 writings to which such an assertion is inapplicable ; for 
 neither Judges, nor Ruth, nor the Paralipomena, nor 
 Esdras, nor Esther, nor Ecclesiastes, nor the Song of 
 Songs, nor Abdias, nor Sophonias, nor the first or fourth 
 book of Kings are once referred to, throughout the entire 
 of the New Testament; whilst several of the deutero- 
 canonical writings are not indistinctly referred to, as the 
 reader has already seen. 
 
 From what has been said, it follows : 1 That the Pro- 
 testant canon has no support from antiquity, as a fair 
 representation of the belief of the Christian Church of the 
 number of the sacred writings. 2 That it is in direct 
 opposition to all the opinions entertained by the Fathers, 
 whether we consider them individually, or as representa- 
 
 1 See the unscholarlike observations of Burnet and Pretyman, on the 
 Sixth Article. It really appears wonderful to me, how such writers could 
 have ever obtained a reputation among even their own party ; for their 
 writings are full of inaccuracies and palpable misstatements.
 
 The English Reformation. 263 
 
 tives of the various sections of the Church of which they 
 were the leaders and distinguished guides. 3 That the 
 principles, advocated in all former ages, justify the present 
 canon of the Catholic Church for the Fathers readily 
 accepted as divine whatever consentient testimony evi- 
 denced to be such ; and 4 That the only way of arriving at 
 certainty in a matter of this importance, is an unhesitating 
 reliance on that teaching authority, which Christ himself 
 established, and blessed, and secured against error, in order 
 that men might believe and no longer " be tossed about 
 by every wind of doctrine."
 
 264 
 
 Solibiblical principle its difficulties and 
 contradictions. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 The Solibiblical principle false opposed to the teaching of Christ, his 
 Apostles, and the Church of all ages, and in direct opposition to the 
 antisymbolical origin and character of the Sacred writings. Mode of 
 acting of Christ, the Apostles, and the Church. How many Apostles 
 wrote, and why they wrote. The generative principle of faith in the 
 Apostolic and after times. Testimonies of the Fathers on this head. 
 The Solibiblical principle unavailable for more than 1400 years. The 
 Scriptures decide nothing about their own meaning this evidenced by 
 the Sects which pretend to believe the Bible. Selden's observations and 
 Henry the Eighth's restrictions. The Scripture full of difficulties 
 cause of this. Proposed limitation of this principle. Useless as a prin- 
 ciple of faith and unjust in Anglicanism. Examination of the texts 
 ordinarily adduced in favour of the Bible being the only " Sule of Faith." 
 The Biblical system justly opposed by Catholics. It is irreconcilable 
 too with numerous tenets believed in by the English Church. Instances 
 in proof. Motives of the adherence of Catholics to the authority of the 
 Church. 
 
 WHAT St. Hilary observes with, regard to the Scriptures 
 is very true : " Apices sine crimine sunt, sensus in cri- 
 mine" * The original text is true ; but can as much be 
 
 1 L. ii, de Trinit.
 
 The English Reformation. 265 
 
 said of the interpretations of this text ? If ever there was 
 a document, or a code of laws, variously explained, such a 
 document and such a code, is that commonly called the 
 Sacred Scripture. Every country boasts of its commenta- 
 tors, and though the number of these is legion, we are far 
 from being justified in adopting the conclusion that the 
 line of interpreters has ceased. Indeed, if we may be 
 allowed to form an opinion on this head, we should say, 
 judging from the publications which at present inundate 
 Germany, America, and our own country, that the days of 
 biblical criticism are only really beginning : manuscripts, 
 travels, archoeological researches, and railroads, 2 not to 
 speak of the results of private talent and study, all offering 
 their quota of information, and egging on numbers to pub- 
 lish results which are calculated to sink into insignificance 
 the writings of Luther and Calvin, of Beza and Zuingli, 
 of Capellus, Simon, Bos, Reland, Michaelis, Scheuchzer, 
 Rosenmuller, and of hundreds of others whose names are 
 familiar in England to the biblical reader ; for I deem it 
 unnecessary to name such writers as Whitby, Brown, 
 Clarke, D'Oyly and Mant, and Blomfield, Burton, and 
 Trollop e. 
 
 Notwithstanding the multitudinous writings which have 
 treated on the Scriptures, and the avowals of scholars, that 
 the sacred volumes are full of difficulties, 3 difficulties which 
 can only be critically surmounted by the possession of such 
 an amount of knowledge, of languages, history, and ancient 
 
 2 The Papers of the other day inform us that the burial place of Daniel 
 has just been discovered. 
 
 3 Even from the statements of Home and Carpenter, in their intro- 
 ductory works on the Scripture, it is plain that great acquirements are 
 necessary for a knowledge of the sacred writings. 
 
 N
 
 266 The English Reformation. 
 
 usages, as few indeed either do or can possess ; notwith- 
 standing the contradictory conclusions both with regard to 
 mere facts and to dogma which ancient and modern writers 
 have drawn and still do draw from the unexplained letter ; 
 notwithstanding the antagonistic sects which have sprung 
 up from this diversity of comment, sects which are the 
 practical evidences of the difficulties which are contained 
 in the sacred word, it is still stated, and this is a first 
 principle, an indisputable truth with all modern separatists 
 that the Bible is the only rule of faith, and that nothing is to 
 be received as divine truth which cannot thence be proved. 
 " The Bible and the Bible only," this is the Protestant 
 battle cry ; this is the word uttered when an onslaught is 
 to be made on Catholicity, and with this word the enemies 
 of Rome hope to confound the Catholic. Because the 
 latter will not admit this principle because he has re- 
 course to an authority for the meaning of the text as well 
 as for the text itself, therefore is he insulted : he is held 
 up as afraid of being tried by God's word ; and his creed 
 is denounced as a human figment and man's tradition ! He 
 is looked upon and pointed at as an enemy of the Bible : 
 and on this account both his creed and himself are despised. 
 The Catholic, however learned, talented or good, forfeits 
 his caste in society, because he will not adopt the principle 
 of division and call it the principle of unity, and allow that 
 to be the means of arriving at faith, which experience 
 proves to be the basis of every conceivable kind of heresy. 
 Mine will be the task to expose the incorrectness, and in- 
 deed palpable absurdity of the Protestant idea, in the 
 remainder of this chapter. 
 
 1 It has been already shown in chapter ii, what was 
 the original constitution of the Church, and what the sys-
 
 The English Reformation. 267 
 
 tern of religious polity prescribed by the Divine Founder 
 of Christianity. The Church was established for ever ; 
 its doctrines were for ever to be propagated and perpe- 
 tuated ; and this propagation was a task consigned to the 
 ministerial line, of which the first links were the Apostles. 
 This teaching body was invested by Christ with his own 
 prerogatives. To it was given the Spirit of truth ; to it 
 was promised infallibility and ceaseless perpetuity, and 
 with it Christ was ever to be the founder and the perpe- 
 tuator of the heavenly system. To the second chapter, 
 in which what I have already briefly stated is distinctly 
 proved, I again remit the reader. Teaching, was the 
 mode appointed for the preservation of truth; and 
 hence the Apostles so emphatically say : " Faith cometh 
 through hearing, and hearing through the word of God." * 
 " Remember your Prelates who have spoken the word of 
 God to you." And, " Dearly beloved, believe not every 
 spirit, but try the spirits, if they be of God: because 
 many false prophets are gone out into the world. He 
 that knoweth God, heareth us. He that is not of God, 
 heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth, and 
 the spirit of error." 3 At the bidding of Christ, 4 the 
 Apostles went forth and taught the nations ; they preached 
 to Jews and to Gentiles, and the sound of their words was 
 echoed throughout the world. Nor were their endeavours 
 unblessed. Thousands were converted as St. Peter spoke; 
 and the other Apostles were the instruments of salvation 
 to Parthians, and Indians, and Ethiopians ; to the inhabi- 
 
 1 Romans x, 17. 2 Heb. xiii, 7.' 
 
 3 1 John iv, 1,6. 4 Matt, xxviii, 18, 20.
 
 268 The English Reformation. 
 
 tants of Greece, and to those subject to the Roman Em- 
 perors, 1 as they preached the divine word. 
 
 So little did the Apostles believe in the Protestant system, 
 that few of them only five wrote a single line of Scrip- 
 ture ; seventeen out of the twenty-seven books which form 
 the New Testament being the compositions of men, who 
 were not members of the Apostolic College. And is there 
 a word in their writings, expressive either of the discon- 
 tinuance of the system of teaching, by means of which 
 Christianity had been so successfully propagated, or of an 
 intention to commit to paper the entire doctrinal code, 
 committed to them by Jesus Christ for the purpose of thus 
 spreading far and wide among Jews and Infidels, the 
 knowledge of Christianity. If the sacred writers record 
 how Christ proceeded in the work of converting, and by 
 what means Apostles propagated Christianity, they inform 
 us that Jesus Christ taught, and that Apostles taught, 
 and that this mode of spreading the faith was to be un- 
 varying ; they tell us, in a word, that the Apostles and 
 their successors were to preach and teach preach and 
 teach as the representatives of Christ that mankind was 
 bound to hear and obey this divinely appointed line, and 
 that thus and thus only was religion to be perpetuated. 
 Ere Apostles die, they bid others perform faithfully the 
 task of preaching committed to them; to others, they 
 impart the form of sound words to be communicated 
 
 1 See on the Apostolic Wanderings and Labours, Zaccaria's Dissert., 
 vol. iii ; as also Neander's " Planting of the Churches." By referring to 
 this German writer, I would not have it thought that I hy any means 
 approve of his theory. This I utterly repudiate. I refer to him as a man 
 of considerable information.
 
 The English Reformation. 269 
 
 fearlessly, and under every kind of circumstance ; and if 
 reference be made to the cause of the appointment of 
 ministers, the cause assigned will be this : " That hence- 
 forth we be no more children, tossed to and fro, and 
 carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the wicked- 
 ness of men, by cunning craftiness, by which they lie in 
 wait to deceive." 2 These statements exactly correspond 
 with the fact of the original propagation of Christianity ; 
 they confirm a truth already pre-existing and well known 
 how, the reader has already seen. 3 These positions, 
 then, prove that not by writings, not by private inferences 
 and deductions from writings, was Christianity to be 
 spread and believed in : it was to be spread by the teach- 
 ing of the ministry, and to the end of time this declaration 
 was to be true "faith cometh through hearing;" and 
 not as Prottstants will have it, through seeing, and through 
 merely individual research. Man was to be taught re- 
 ligion, in the same way as he was to be taught any other 
 branch of knowledge, but with this difference : whilst 
 other teachers communicate information in reference to 
 merely human sciences, the Apostolic line is to communi- 
 cate inspired truth ; and whilst others, even as a body, 
 may go astray in their advocacy of literary or scientific 
 pursuits, the successors of the Apostles are secured against 
 the possibility of such deflections from truth, whilst enun- 
 ciating the doctrinal and moral code of our Divine 
 Saviour. 
 
 To the careful reader, the words made use of by Christ, 
 when he commissioned his Apostles to go forth and teach, 
 will of themselves appear perfectly conclusive against the 
 Protestant supposition. These words regarded all teachers ; 
 
 2 See Eph. iv, 11, 14. 3 J n chapter ii.
 
 270 The English Reformation. 
 
 the duties of the ministry were distinctly fixed ; and the 
 Apostles, who owed their position to Christ, had no power 
 whatsoever to alter his appointment. If it be further 
 remembered, that as a matter of fact, all the Apostles did 
 preach, whilst only five wrote ; and that those who did 
 write, acknowledge the commission and command to preach 
 and to teach, without once stating that they had a command 
 to commit a line to paper, in reference to dogma, 1 our 
 observations will appear more and more conclusive, in 
 respect to the matter in hand. 
 
 And from the character of the sacred writings, and the 
 times in which they appeared, equally conclusive evidence 
 may be derived of their anti-symbolical and anti-articular 
 nature. The Acts of the Apostles, for example, were 
 published in order that the Christians might have a faith- 
 ful record of what took place in the Church after the 
 ascension of Christ, especially in the persons of St. Peter 
 and St. Paul ; and a similar motive induced St. Luke to 
 record what he had heard from faithful witnesses relative 
 to the sayings and doings of Jesus Christ. St. Luke 
 writes simply, as far as his intentions were concerned, 
 
 1 I have here guarded myself against all cavil, by the words, in 
 reference to dogma,. The Apocalypse, alone seems to refer to a command ; 
 but then this is rather a prophetical than a doctrinal work. As is clear 
 too, even a command to ivrite, would in no way militate with the original 
 command to teach orally the doctrines of Christianity. The two com- 
 mands are widely disparate in character. From the command to write, 
 it would be unfair to infer either that all was written which Jesus Christ 
 had revealed, or that if all had been written, each individual was enabled 
 and obliged to interpret the writings for himself, and thence to derive a 
 fixed and unerring code of belief. I have made this plain observation, in 
 consequence of the unscholarlike cavil of Palmer. See his " Church of 
 Christ," vol. ii, p. 3 ; c. i, Obj. 3, p. 18.
 
 The EnglisJijReformation. 
 
 as a faithful historian. He writes too, not to teach any 
 person, much less the world at large, the faith, but he 
 writes to believers, in order that they may have a faithful 
 history of previous events. Numbers were engaged in 
 writing spurious and false records : 2 these St. Luke had 
 heard of; and wishing to supply the believer with correct 
 information relative to the Saviour and his Apostles, he 
 determined on writing his two important works, the Gos- 
 pel which bears his name, and the Acts of the Apostles. 
 Obviously, however, he writes, as I have observed, to 
 and for believers ; to and for, in a word, those who already 
 professed the divine law of Jesus Christ, in consequence of 
 the Apostolic teaching, and not for those who either re- 
 
 2 The number of apocryphal works written in the early ages is truly 
 surprising. We have the Letter of Christ to Abgarus, King of Edessa, 
 Euseb. H. E., 1. i, c. 13 ; and another directed to a priest named Leopas, 
 in the city of Eris; a Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus ; the Proto-Evangelium 
 of St. James; the Gospel of Nicodemus; the Six Epistles of St. Paul to 
 Seneca; the Acts and Gospel of St. Andrew, Eusebius, H. E., 1. iii, c. 25; 
 Epiphanius liter, xlvii and Ixi, and Gelasius in Dec. ; the Gospel of the 
 Twelve Apostles, Origen, Comm. in Luc. ; the Gospel of Barnabas, Gela- 
 sius in L.; the writings of St. Bartholomew, Pseudo-Dion, de Theol. 
 My st. Gelas., I.e.; the Gospel according to the Egyptians, Clem. Alex. 
 1. iii, Strom., Hierom. Prcef in Matth., Epiph. hcer. xlii, n. 2; the Gospel 
 of Eve, Epiph. hcer. xxvi, n. 2 ; the Gospel to the Hebrews, Euseb. H. E., 
 1. iv, c. 22; the Gospel of Jude, Epiph hcer. xxxviii; of Judas Iscariot, 
 Iren. adv. hcer. 1. i, c. 35 ; of Matthias, Euseb. H. E. 1. iii, c. 25 ; and of 
 Marcion, Tertull. adv. Marcion, 1. iv, c. 2 ; the Gospel of Perfection, Epiph. 
 Hcer. xxvi ; of the Scythians, idem. Juer. Ixvi ; of Thaddseus, Tatian, 
 Valentinus, and of Truth, Irenceus adv. licer. 1. iii. Besides these, we 
 have the Acts of St. John ; those used by the Manichaeans ; the Acts of 
 Paul and Thecla, besides several other writings circulated under the name 
 of St. Paul; not to mention numerous other works honoured with the 
 name of Sacred Scripture. The curious reader may satisfy himself on 
 this interesting subject, by consulting the second volume of Jones' 
 learned work on the Sacred Scriptures.
 
 272 The English Reformation. 
 
 jected Christ or had not heard of him. A similar observa- 
 tion is applicable to the Gospel of St. Matthew and St. 
 Mark. Under peculiar circumstances, and for the purpose 
 of gratifying certain parties, each of these Evangelists 
 penned his Gospel, as we are informed by Eusebius. 
 Passages out of the writings of this Father of ecclesiastical 
 history, in proof of this assertion, have been already pre- 
 sented before the reader. Nor is a very dissimilar origin 
 to be assigned to the Gospel of St. John. At the request 
 of those who were already Christians, and in consequence 
 of accidental circumstances, he was induced to pen his 
 Gospel. Eusebius (H. E., 1. iii, 24, and vi, 14) informs 
 us, and the statement is confirmed by St. Jerome's autho- 
 rity, (De Scrip. Eccles., et Praef. in Matth.) that the 
 Bishops as well as the faithful of Asia earnestly entreated 
 John to write down what he had so often taught them by 
 word of mouth. The former author likewise says, that 
 the beloved disciple having discovered many omissions of 
 important events preceding and subsequent to the im- 
 prisonment of the Baptist, in the writings of the other 
 Evangelists, wrote his Gospel as a kind of supplementary 
 volume to the three Gospels which had been previously 
 published, and more or less circulated. Another reason 
 is assigned for the writing. Already had several here- 
 siarchs arisen, 1 who had even dared to attack the divinity 
 of our Lord. Among these early enemies of the divinity 
 were Cerinthus, and Ebion, and the Nicolaites. These 
 St. John undertook to confound ; and in the most sublime 
 and energetic language, he solidly established the divinity 
 of the Word. If, again, we turn to the Epistles, we shall 
 still more clearly see that their origin seems accidental, 
 
 1 Iren. adv. hser. 1. iii, to 11.
 
 The English Reformation. 273 
 
 occasioned by individual wants, or local circumstances; 
 and that there is nothing to shew that the writers looked 
 upon themselves as either tracing out the full doctrinal 
 code of Christianity, or providing records which were to 
 guide the Church in all after ages. For example, the 
 Corinthians were guilty of breaches of charity; and 
 among them there was a convert who had dared to sin 
 even with his father's wife. St. Paul writes an Epistle 
 to condemn both the general uncharitableness, and the 
 incestuous union. Does St. Paul leave another in Crete, 
 to govern the infant Church there established ? He 
 writes, in his anxiety for its welfare, a letter of instruction, 
 full of wise and important suggestions. A servant leaves 
 his master, and St. Paul sends him back, with a letter 
 supplicatory of pardon. Enemies rise up against the 
 Church, and St. Jude writes a hortatory Epistle to the 
 Christians, in order to encourage them to perseverance in 
 the faith which they had received. In fine, St. John had 
 heard with delight of the kindness which Gaius had shown 
 towards the Christians, and the result is a congratulatory 
 letter, full of expressions of regard and thankfulness. To 
 sum up these observations in one sentence : the Epistles 
 were, in their origin, rather of personal and local, than 
 general and Catholic interest ; they were written for the 
 benefit of the believer, and not for the conversion of the 
 the infidel. They are, abstracting from their inspiration, 
 exactly such letters as our prelates write at the present 
 hour, and have written in every age, to the faithful, es- 
 pecially to the charitable and virtuous, or the unkind and 
 faulty individuals, committed to their care. 
 
 We have already had occasion to notice two facts utterly 
 at variance with the Protestant belief relative to the soli-
 
 274 The English Reformation. 
 
 biblical system ; of which, the first is this : the canon of 
 Scripture was not fixed till the close of the fourth century 
 in any considerable portion of the Church. If the books 
 of Scripture were actually unauthorized, how could the 
 members of the Church either have derived their religion 
 from them, or have believed that they were the divinely 
 constituted means, for discovering and propagating the 
 one system of faith. And yet, the reader will not fail 
 to remember, that the four first centuries are called em- 
 phatically, by Protestants, the ages of faith, the period 
 of doctrinal purity; they are the ages which, they say, 
 they are willing to follow in matters of doctrine. I lay 
 no emphasis on this latter assertion, for it is notorious 
 that Grabe, and numbers of others who have given their 
 attention to the teachings of the fathers, admit that the 
 Mass was looked upon as a sacrifice, that the saints were 
 invoked, and the dead prayed for, from the earliest period 
 though Anglicanism rejects these doctrines and practices 
 of Catholicity ; but I draw the reader's attention to the 
 admitted orthodoxy of the first ages, in order that he may 
 see that religion flourished before the Protestant principle 
 was even possibly true, before the Bible could be a rule 
 to faith ; and that if it must be admitted that the world 
 did eventually abandon the truth, as utterly and entirely 
 as the framers of the Homilies believed, or affected to 
 believe, this admission regards a period posterior to the 
 settlement of the canon of the Scripture, when, owing 
 to the altered circumstances of the times, agreement on 
 this head, had become more feasible than it had been 
 previously. Having treated this matter fully, I shall at 
 once proceed to the second fact referred to. The fathers 
 admitted, on the authority of the Church, the Gospels, 
 as well as the other portions of Holy Writ. St. Austin
 
 TJie English Reformation. 275 
 
 positively affirms this to be true in his own regard, and 
 that he was not singular is clear, from the writings of 
 Cyril and Jerome, and of numerous other writers whose 
 opinions have been already adduced. Thus the Church 
 was held up as the pillar and support of truth. To her 
 even the most learned were indebted for the very letter 
 of Scripture ; and receiving from her, without limitation 
 or restriction, what they were to consider to be the written 
 word, can it be supposed that they would eventually ques- 
 tion her authority, reject her teaching, and declare that 
 she had erred, and constitute themselves the judges of 
 doctrine and morality ? This, Anglicanism and Anglicans 
 did and do ; but did the fathers do so ? No : and in proof 
 of this, it were easy indeed to adduce volumes of evidence. 
 They looked upon the Church as the expounder, as well 
 as the preserver, of the text. In fact, taught Christianity 
 before the sacred pages were put into their hands, they 
 already believed, in virtue of the teaching of the Church, 
 before they knew a line of Scripture : and the faith which 
 they had received, served them as a guide in all their ex- 
 planations and developments of the meaning of the written 
 word. "Where the gifts of God are placed," says St. 
 Irenseus, " there we ought to learn the truth (from those), 
 with whom is that succession of the Church, which is 
 from the Apostles, and that which is sound and irreprove- 
 able in conversation, and unadulterated and incorruptible 
 in discourse, abides. For they both guard that faith of 
 ours in one God, who made all things. . . .and they ex- 
 pound the Scriptures to us without danger, neither uttering 
 blasphemy against God, nor dishonouring the patriarchs, 
 nor contemning the prophets." Adv. Hcer. 1. iv, c. 26. 
 Tertullian's work On Prescriptions, turns completely
 
 276 The English Reformation. 
 
 on this : that those only have a right to appeal to the 
 Scriptures, who admit the Church's authority. " The 
 Scriptural contest," he says, "is of no avail, except to 
 turn either the stomach or the brain. That heresy receives 
 not certain Scriptures, and if it receives some, it draws 
 them to its own purpose by additions and subtractions ; 
 .... and if it receives in some way the whole Scriptures, 
 it nevertheless depraves them by diverse expositions. The 
 spurious sense is as great an obstacle to truth as the cor- 
 rupted text. What wilt thou gain, thou must be skilled 
 in the Scriptures, when that which thou doest defend 
 is denied, and when, on the other hand, that which thou 
 doest deny, is defended. Thou shalt indeed lose nothing 
 but thy voice in the contest, nor shalt thou gain anything 
 but anger from the blasphemy. Therefore there must 
 be no appeal to the Scriptures, nor must the contest 
 depend on those things in which the victory is none, 
 or uncertain, or at the best doubtful. For even though 
 the debate on the Scriptures should not so turn out as 
 to confirm each party, the order of things required that 
 this question should be first proposed, which is now the 
 only one to be discussed, ' to whom belongs the very faith ; 
 whose are the Scriptures ; by whom, and through whom, 
 and when, and to whom, was that rule delivered whereby 
 men become Christians ; ' for wherever both the true 
 Christian rule and faith shall be shown to be, there will 
 be the true Scriptures and the true expositions, and all 
 
 the true Christian traditions Should it chance that 
 
 the truth be adjudged to all of us, who walk according 
 to that rule which the Church has handed down from, 
 the Apostles, the Apostles from Christ, Christ from God, 
 the reasonableness of our proposition, which determines
 
 The English Reformation. 277 
 
 that heretics are not to be allowed to enter upon an appeal 
 to the Scriptures, whom we prove, without the Scriptures, 
 to have no concern with the Scriptures, is at once made 
 manifest." 1 Origen, commenting on these words of St. 
 Matthew, " Behold, here is Christ," &c. says : " There 
 will be many others too, who will be ready to say to the 
 disciples, out of the divine Scriptures, adding thereto their 
 
 own peculiar meaning, behold, here is Christ But 
 
 as often as they bring forward canonical Scriptures, in 
 which every Christian agrees and believes, they seem to 
 say: behold, in the houses is the word of truth. But we 
 are not to credit them, nor to go out from the first and 
 the ecclesiastical tradition ; nor to believe otherwise than 
 the Churches of God have by succession transmitted to 
 us." 2 What were the sentiments of obedience and sub- 
 mission of St. Austin to the Church, every ecclesiastical 
 student knows. A few words from his voluminous wri- 
 tings must, in such a matter, suffice. "When we read the 
 divine books," he observes, " let us by preference select 
 that, which, amidst the multitude of true meanings, -.ex- 
 tracted from a few words, and defended by the soundness 
 of Catholic faith, shall seem to have been certainly his 
 whom we read; but if this escape us, (choose) that at 
 all events, which is not in opposition to the context of 
 Scripture, and which harmonizes with sound faith; but 
 if the context of the Scripture also admits not of being tho- 
 roughly handled and sifted, (select) at least that meaning 
 only, which sound faith prescribes? For it is one thing 
 not to discover what the writer chiefly meant, and another 
 to ivander from the rule of piety" With the authority 
 
 1 L: de Praes. n. 37. 2 Series Comment, in Matth. n. 46. 
 
 s L. i, de Genesi ad Lit. n. 41.
 
 278 The English Reformation. 
 
 of the celebrated Vincent of Lerins, I will conclude this 
 part of my argument. In the second chapter of his " Corn- 
 monitory," which is entitled, Reasons for annexing the 
 tradition of the Catholic Church to the canon of Scripture, 
 he says : " But perhaps here a person may ask this question ; 
 since the canon of the Scripture is perfect, and abundantly 
 suffices for all things, what need is there for adding the 
 authority of the Church's meaning. The reason is, be- 
 cause all men do not take the sacred Scripture, on account 
 of its very profoundness, in one and the same sense; 
 but this man interprets its language in this way, and that 
 other in another way. So that it would appear that there 
 might be drawn thence nearly as many opinions as there 
 are expounders. For Novatian expounds in one way, 
 Photinus in another, in another Sabellius, in another 
 Donatus, in another Arius, Eunomius, Macedonius, in 
 another Apollinaris, Priscillian, in another Jovinian, Pela- 
 gius, Celestius, in another, in fine, Nestorius. And there- 
 fore, it is very necessary, on account of the many windings 
 of such varied error, that the line of interpretations, both 
 of Prophets and Apostles, be directed according to the rule 
 of the ecclesiastical and Catholic interpretation." " But 
 perhaps someone will here ask, whether heretics make 
 use of the testimonies of divine Scripture ? Use it indeed 
 they do, and with earnestness too. For you may see 
 them fly over the books of Moses and of the Kingdoms, 
 the Psalms, Apostles, Gospels, and Prophets. For whe- 
 ther amongst their own party or others, in private or 
 public, in conversation or in books, at table or in the 
 streets, they hardly ever advance anything of their own, 
 without endeavouring to overshadow it with the words 
 of Scripture. Read the works of Paul of Samosata,
 
 The English Reformation. 279 
 
 Priscillian, Eunomius, Jovinian, and of the other pests, 
 and (you will find an infinite collection of examples), 
 you will find hardly a page, which is not painted and 
 bedaubed with sentences both of the Old and New Tes- 
 tament. But they are to be specially avoided and dreaded, 
 because they would hide themselves beneath the shadow 
 of the divine law. For they are well aware that their 
 foul savours would soon be agreeable but to few, if they 
 were wafted forth in their natural state, and therefore 
 they sprinkle them as it were with the perfume of God's 
 word, that so he who would readily despise a human 
 error, may not readily condemn the divine oracles. They 
 therefore act like those who are preparing bitter draughts 
 for little children ; anointing the brims first with honey, 
 that unwary youth, first tasting the sweetness, may not 
 fear the bitterness." (c. xxxv.) After developing his 
 subject, and likening these texts to the sheep's covering 
 which the wolf may assume, in order to catch and destroy 
 its prey, he thus proceeds : " But, what says the Saviour ? 
 'By their fruits shall ye know them? That is, when they 
 shall begin, not only to bring forward these divine words, 
 but also to expound them, not only to glory in adducing, 
 but also in interpreting them then that bitterness, then 
 that sharpness, then that rage, will be perceived; then 
 that new poison will be exhaled; then will the profane 
 novelties be laid open ; then may you first see, the hedge 
 broken; then the boundaries of the fathers transferred; 
 then the Catholic faith immolated; then the ecclesiastical 
 dogma rent to pieces. Such were those whom the Apostle 
 smites, in his second Epistle to the Corinthians, for such 
 false prophets, he says, are deceitful workmen, trans- 
 forming themselves into the Apostles of Christ (xi, 13).
 
 280 The English Reformation. 
 
 What is 'transforming themselves into the Apostles of 
 Christ'? The Apostles alleged examples from the divine 
 law ; these likewise alleged them : the Apostles adduced 
 the authorities of the Psalms ; these likewise adduced 
 them : the Apostles cited sentences of the Prophets ; these 
 also cited them. But when those things which were 
 alleged alike, began not to be interpreted alike, then were 
 the simple discerned from the crafty, then the sincere 
 from the counterfeit, then the upright from the perverse, 
 then, in fine, the true Apostles from the false. And 
 no wonder, he says, for Satan transformeth himself into 
 an angel of light ; therefore it is no great thing, if his 
 ministers be transformed as the ministers of justice (xi, 
 14, 15). Therefore, according to the teaching of the 
 Apostle Paul, as often as either false apostles, or false 
 prophets, or false doctors, allege sentences from the divine 
 law, by which, ill-interpreted, they endeavour to establish 
 their own errors, there is no doubt but that they follow 
 the crafty devices of their author; which he assuredly 
 would never have invented, but that he well knew, that 
 there is no readier way to deceive, where the fraudulency 
 of nefarious error is covertly introduced, than to allege 
 the authority of the divine words. But someone may say, 
 whence is it proved that the Devil alleges examples out 
 of the divine law ? Let him read the Gospels, wherein it is 
 written, 'then the Devil took him tip,' &c. What will he 
 not do to poor weak men, who assailed the Lord of Majesty 
 himself, with testimonies? If, says he, thou be the Son 
 of God, cast thyself down ! Why so ? For it is written, 
 quoth he, .... And if any interrogate any one of the 
 heretics who is persuading him to these things, whence 
 doest thou prove, whence doest thou teach that I ought
 
 The English Reformation. 281 
 
 fo .WwvV '*(,// 
 
 to cast aside the universal and ancient faith of the Catholic 
 
 Church? at once he answers, for it is written. And 
 forthwith he sets forth a thousand testimonies, a thousand 
 examples, a thousand authorities, from the Law, from the 
 Psalms, from the Apostles, from the Prophets, by which, 
 interpreted in a new and evil manner, the unhappy soul 
 may be cast headlong from the Catholic citadel, into the 
 depths of the abyss of heresy." (c. xxxvi, and xxxvii.) 
 Next he refers to the boastings of heretics with regard to 
 personal spiritual gifts, and then adds : " But someone 
 may say, if both the Devil and his disciples, whereof some 
 are false apostles, and false prophets, and false teachers, 
 and all utterly heretics, do use the divine sayings, sen- 
 tences, and promises, what shall Catholics, and the sons 
 of our mother the Church, do ? In what way shall they 
 discern truth from falsehood in the holy Scriptures ? They 
 will, then, take very great care to adhere to that which, 
 in the beginning of this Commonitory, we have said that 
 holy and learned men had delivered to us, they will 
 interpret the divine canon according to the tradition of the 
 universal Church, and according to the rules of Catholic 
 doctrine. "Within which Catholic and Apostolic Church, 
 it is necessary for them to follow universality, antiquity, 
 consent. And if at any time, a part has rebelled against 
 universality, novelty has opposed antiquity, one or a few 
 have fallen into error against the consent of all, or, at 
 all events, of by far the greater number of Catholics, let 
 them prefer the integrity of universality to the corruption 
 of a part ; in which same universality, let them prefer 
 the religion of antiquity to the profaneness of novelty; 
 and likewise, in antiquity itself, let them prefer, before 
 the rashness of one or of a very few, first of all the general
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 decrees, if there be any, of an universal council; next, 
 if such a thing be not, let them follow that which is 
 nearest to it, that is, the statements of many and great 
 masters agreeing together; which things, with God's help, 
 being faithfully, soberly, carefully observed, we shall, 
 without any great difficulty, detect all the mischievous 
 errors of heretics as they spring up." 1 Assuredly the 
 fathers, as all history proves, believed, because the Church 
 taught; they interpreted the Scriptures, but where doc- 
 trinal matters were treated of, these interpretations were 
 not primarily resultant from a careful analysis of the text. 
 As Vincent of Lerins tells" us, these interpretations were 
 a consequence of that faith which had previously been 
 received from the Apostolic line of teachers. 
 
 Again, it is plain that the Protestant principle renders 
 the spread of Christianity during more than 1450 years an 
 impossibility. According then, to this system, two things 
 should be established ; 1 It should be proveable that 
 during that number of years, an amount of Bibles in any 
 ways proportionate to the end to be attained, existed or 
 could indeed have existed ; and 2 That society as a body 
 
 1 Commonit. c. xxxviii, &c. Obviously the heretics of the early ages, 
 acted like the heretics of the present times. Scripture, Scripture, nothing 
 but Scripture, was the cry theu, as it is the cry now of all separatists from 
 Catholicity. The wolves still wear the sheep's clothing, and the innovator 
 hides his errors under the shadow of the divine word. There is nothing 
 new in heretical action. Whoever will take up the tracts issued by 
 heretical bodies, it matters not what they may be called, or who may be 
 their parent, will see margin and text tricked with references to the sacred 
 Scriptures. Indeed, the phraseology of these people is scriptural; and 
 ever and anon, they intersperse Scripture, with ordinary narrative, in so 
 strange a way, as to leave the hearer in wonder at the profaneness of the 
 interpolations.
 
 The English Reformation. 83 
 
 was able to read and appreciate those writings. Now not 
 only are such propositions incapable of being proved, they 
 are admitted on all hands to be false. Before the middle of 
 the fifteenth century, there were indeed bibles in circula- 
 tion, bibles in the original languages, and bibles too in the 
 form of translations but of these it might be justly asked, 
 " Quid sunt hcec inter tantos " ? Laborious prelates, and 
 monks and nuns, had written out with infinite care and 
 industry, numerous copies of the Holy Scriptures. These 
 had worked hard and well, but the process of writing was 
 slow, and the materials and labour were expensive. Few 
 comparatively could engage in the task of transcription or 
 translation, and equally few could afford to purchase 
 works which had entailed on others years of fatigue. 
 Hence it happened that the Bible was comparatively a 
 rare work, and hence again it was seldom if ever to be 
 seen in the hands of the poor ; assuredly it was not in 
 common use. Those who were wealthy might indeed 
 purchase an occasional copy ; and those who lived within 
 the cloister or episcopal monastery, could borrow the 
 sacred volume ; but the bulk of the people was, and neces- 
 sarily so, without the Scriptures. The Church, then as 
 now, read, and interpreted portions of the sacred books. 
 By teaching she made the Catholics of those days, as 
 " wise unto salvation," as are the Catholics of the present 
 times ; but Bibles were not, could not be placed in every- 
 body's hand ; the pastors could not scatter them about " as 
 thick as leaves in Vallombrosa," and tell the people to 
 read and interpret for themselves. The people were 
 essentially dependent on the Church ; and the effects re- 
 sultant from the modern system are such, as to make 
 every religious mind long for the former dependence ; for
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 thus alone can blasphemy be silenced and unity of faith 
 restored. 
 
 A scarcity of books involves a scarcity of readers ; for 
 men will not as a body acquire with pains an art which 
 can never render them any corresponding service. Hence 
 it will not be rash to suppose that not one in a hundred 
 knew how to read either the Bible or any other book. 
 Even in these days, when millions of works of all kinds 
 and sizes are in circulation, of many of which copies can 
 be readily procured for the mere asking, or even some- 
 thing less, it is far from being true that all persons can 
 read. It will be found indeed on examination that there 
 are hundreds in every considerable town, and thousands 
 in rural districts, who cannot do so, even if they chance 
 to know the letters of the alphabet. Not one then in a 
 hundred could have adopted the Protestant principle : as 
 a form of Christianity, then, Protestantism was utterly im- 
 possible. If it was ever possible, it became so after the 
 art of printing had been discovered ; but not at any prior 
 period. Protestantism then even thus viewed, cannot be 
 identical with, or in any way a portion of primitive, early, 
 or even mediaeval Christianity. It is a religion resultant 
 from the defection and apostacy of a King, and dependent 
 on the human invention of the art of printing. This is its 
 historical, and this its highest origin. 
 
 Since then, the founder of Christianity wished his reli- 
 gion to be published to all nations ; since he attached His 
 graces to the recognition of His creed, and uttered the 
 most awful threat against such as did not believe ; since 
 the poor and the unlearned were as much regarded by the 
 Saviour as the rich and the well-informed; and since 
 again preaching, oral instruction, was fitted for the attain-
 
 The English Reformation. 285 
 
 ment of the prescribed ends referred to, whilst the biblical 
 system was an utterly inefficient system in itself, as expe- 
 rience has since proved, even if it had been, under cir- 
 cumstances, a possible system, which it assuredly was not, 
 it follows that the Bible was not appointed by our Lord, 
 to be the means by which Christianity was either to be 
 begun, or spread or perpetuated. 
 
 Were it requisite, I could further show how different 
 was the practice of primitive Christianity, from that pur- 
 sued by Anglicans and Dissenters. Whilst these spread 
 among infidels and disbelievers in their varying systems, 
 the sacred volume, and seem in their annual reports and 
 speeches to measure the progress of religion, by the 
 spread of the Scriptures in translations characterized by 
 inaccuracies resultant in some instances from an ignorance 
 of the language of inspiration, and in others from an 
 ignorance of modern vernacular tongues, the professors of 
 Christianity in the early ages of the Church, guarded the 
 divine word with the greatest care, preferring death to 
 the delivery of the sacred volume into the hands of the 
 infidel. " Not only was the Apostles' creed kept a secret 
 from all but the initiated ; not merely was the Lord's 
 prayer only suffered to be communicated to the baptized ; 
 but the most watchful precaution was taken to preclude 
 all but those already instructed, already baptized, already 
 with their faith formed, from having the sacred books." 1 
 But I shall not develope this matter ; for what has been 
 said will surely have convinced every dispassionate en- 
 quirer after truth. 
 
 Hitherto our observations have mainly regarded the 
 letter of the Scripture. Incidentally indeed, whilst stating 
 
 1 See the eloquent letter of my Brother, On the Index.
 
 286 The English Reformation. 
 
 what was the rule of faith admitted by the fathers, I have 
 made a few observations regarding the interpretation of 
 the letter ; but to this point I now purpose to direct in a 
 particular manner, the attention of the reader. 
 
 As Bishop Walton in his celebrated Prolegomena, c. v, 
 6, well observes, " ' the word of God ' does not consist 
 in mere letters, whether written or printed, but in the true 
 sense" When therefore we speak of God's word, we do 
 not, in point of fact, speak of any particular version of the 
 Scriptures, or even of the original letter, but we mean, if 
 we have any meaning at all whilst speaking, some definite 
 statement made by the inspired writer. In other words, 
 we appeal not to a sound, but to an idea ; not to a mere 
 word devoid of meaning, but to a word full of signifi- 
 cance, a word dear and sacred, because proceeding indi- 
 rectly at least from the Almighty. Now, if this meaning 
 be attached to the phrase ' Word of God,' if in appealing 
 to the Scriptures we appeal to definite statements of the 
 Almighty, it will be at once seen that the far-famed ex- 
 pression, ' the Bible, the Bible only,' is in the mouths of 
 Protestants and Dissenters a sound, and nothing more. 
 The Scriptures do not assign their own meaning. The 
 words contain a meaning; more, they contain the meaning 
 intended by God ; further, they express this meaning : 
 but which of all possible meanings which may be attached 
 to any or to all of the words, of the Scriptures, is the one 
 meaning of revelation, that the Scriptures never declare. 
 The written, lithographed, or printed words stand clearly 
 before you ; though a hundred different interpretations be 
 assigned to them, there they remain, unaltered, and un- 
 changed; silent, notwithstanding the discrepancies and 
 contradictions and blasphemies which may be indulged in,
 
 The English Reformation. 287 
 
 in reference to their meaning. Kingdoms pass, dynasties 
 cease, languages alter, customs change, commentary suc- 
 ceeds commentary, sect sect, but the Word is at the end 
 of all these fluctuations and alterations, what it was at 
 their commencement : it is the same. The text which the 
 believer in Christ admits, is the same which the Arian 
 read and studied, and from whjch he drew his anti-chris- 
 tian opinions. Augustin cited the Bible which was re- 
 ceived by Pelagius ; and yet whilst the former affirmed 
 the latter denied original sin : Cyril, the zealous defender 
 of the unity of Christ and of the fleoroxo?, did not admit a 
 text of the Scriptures different from that which Nestorius 
 appealed to; and if St. Cyprian endeavoured to prove from 
 the Fetus Itala, the invalidity of. heretical baptism, did 
 not his successful and orthodox opponent, St. Stephen, 
 recognise the accuracy of the texts cited by the prelate 
 of Carthage. As Macaulay says, " All divine truth is, 
 according to the doctrine of the Protestant churches, re- 
 corded in certain books. It is equally open to all who, in 
 any age, can read those books ; nor can all the discoveries 
 of all the philosophers in the world add a single verse to 
 any of those books. .. .A Christian of the fifth century 
 with a Bible, is neither better nor worse situated than a 
 Christian of the nineteenth century with a Bible, candour 
 and natural acuteness being, of course, supposed equal. 
 It matter not at all that the compass, printing, gun- 
 powder, steam, gas, vaccination, and a thousand other 
 discoveries and inventions, which were unknown in the 
 fifth century, are familiar to the nineteenth. None of 
 these discoveries and inventions has the smallest bearing 
 on the question ; whether man is justified by faith alone, 
 or whether the Invocation of the Saints is an orthodox
 
 288 The English Reformation. 
 
 practice. It seems to us therefore that we have no secu- 
 rity for the future, against the prevalence of any theolo- 
 gical error * that ever has prevailed in time past among 
 Christian men. We are confident that the world will 
 never go back to the solar system of Ptolemy. .. .But 
 when we reflect that Sir Thomas More was ready to die 
 for the doctrine of tranaubstantiation, we cannot but feel 
 some doubt whether the doctrine of transubstantiation 
 may not triumph over all opposition. More, was a man 
 of eminent talents. He had all the information on the 
 subject that we have, or that, while the world lasts, any 
 human being will have. The text, ' This is my Body,' 
 was in his Testament as it is in ours. The absurdity (!) 
 of this literal interpretation, was as great and as obvious 
 in the sixteenth century, as it is now no progress that 
 science has made, or will make, can add to what seems to 
 us the overwhelming force (!) of the original argument 
 against the real presence. We are, therefore, unable to 
 understand why what Sir Thomas More believed respect- 
 ing Transubstantiation, may not be believed to the end of 
 time by men equal in ability and honesty to Sir Thomas 
 More." 2 These observations are very just, as far as they 
 regard the results of bible-reading. The Bible is not 
 progressive and it allows itself to be turned to any un- 
 holy purpose. Even the Devil used it, as well as modern 
 sectarians, for the attainment of his ends. He cited it as 
 fairly, and applied as well as the generality of self-inspired 
 interpreters do : should I be stating an untruth, and acting 
 unfairly towards the enemies of a teaching Church, if I 
 
 1 In fact, what is Protestantism, but a revival of dead and buried 
 heresies? 
 
 2 JReview of Ranke's Popes, pp. 7, 8, 9.
 
 The English Reformation. 289 
 
 even said that the demon was fairer in his references and 
 more pointed in his applications than they are or ever 
 have been ? And need I refer to the conduct of the Jews ? 
 Did they not attempt to meet our Saviour's appeals by 
 adducing the Scriptures ? Did they not out of them urge 
 the most horrid accusations, and by them justify their 
 rejection of the Messias ? 3 
 
 What was done by demons, Jews, and early apostates, 
 was imitated the imitation was a necessary result, a con- 
 sequence immediately flowing from the rejection of the 
 Church, and the adoption of the new theory, by 
 Lutherans and Anglicans, and those who branched off 
 from the Established Church. What St. Jerome says of 
 " the garrulous old maids, and dotards, and wordy 
 sophists," 4 of his time, namely, that they affected to 
 explain what they were ignorant of, and in doing so, tore 
 the sacred words to shreds, is true of the reformers. 
 Hardly had Luther unfurled the standard of revolt, and 
 left the solitude of his cell to enjoy the company of Cathe- 
 rine Bore, than he discovered and proved too, if not to 
 the satisfaction of others, at least to his own, that poly- 
 gamy might be permitted ; that man could not sin so long 
 as he believed ; and that good works rather impeded than 
 facilitated admission into heaven. Calvin's mind was 
 equally inventive. From the Sacred Scriptures, he de- 
 rived, if his words are to be trusted, the information, that 
 man was not possessed of free will, that God was the author 
 
 3 See John vii, 52, and xix, 7, &c. 
 
 4 " Hanc (Scripturarum artem) garrula anus, hanc dilirus senex, hanc 
 sophista verbosus, hanc universi praesumunt, lacerant, decent antequam 
 discant . . . . et ne parum hoc sit, quadam facilitate verborum, immo auda- 
 ci&, edisserunt alios quod ipsi non intelligunt." (Epist. ad Paulinum.') 
 
 O
 
 290 The English Reformation. 
 
 of sin, that our reprobation or salvation depended purely 
 on the prevision and predetermination of the Almighty, 
 and that the last moments of our Saviour were moments 
 of despair. Socinus was an abler man than either Luther 
 or Calvin, and he gave indeed full play to his mind in 
 reference to religion. He discarded at once all mys- 
 teries: his religious system rejected the Trinity, the 
 Divinity of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and original 
 sin, and everything else which had been previously looked 
 upon as truly awful, because most inexplicable. In vain 
 did his enemies cite Scripture against him. He knew 
 the letter as well as they did ; and from this letter alone 
 he was willing to believe that he had established his own 
 positions, and refuted what he called the false notions of 
 his opponents. England was less gloomy, if not less pro- 
 fane, in working out a new religion. Interest was con- 
 sulted, as well as the Bible, and if the latter offered argu- 
 ments in favour of the Establishment, the former shed 
 light and lustre on the letter of the law. Men had itching 
 palms ; and as they beheld the gold and the silver which 
 covered the sanctuary, and the shrines, and statues, and 
 chalices, of enormous value; as they cast their eyes on 
 the inventories of Monasteries, and other religious Es- 
 tablishments, they exclaimed " ad quid perditio hcec ? " 
 and at once it was determined to ease the Church of the 
 golden load which oppressed it, and purify the holy places 
 from the offerings of superstition, and the idols of silver 
 and gold which crowded them. Mistaking avarice for 
 zeal, and sacrilege for piety, and their own imaginings for 
 revelations, they proclaimed the use of holy symbols to be 
 idolatrous, and the veneration of the saints and their 
 shrines, as rank superstition. The mass was declared to
 
 The English Reformation. 291 
 
 be a blasphemous fable, and the real presence was suc- 
 ceeded by a real absence of the body and blood of Jesus 
 Christ. And then began the scramble for the gold and 
 the silver, for the costly vestments and the precious stones, 
 which had become useless, in consequence of the doctrinal 
 changes; and poor indeed was that house, as Heylin 
 observes, which had not become richer by the spoliation 
 of the temple, subsequent to the alteration of religion. 
 
 But the necessary results of the system, proved sadly 
 perplexing to the original revolters from unity. Wherever 
 gospel liberty such was the name given to the apos- 
 tacy from Rome was proclaimed, contradictory doctrines 
 were taught, and to all appearance believed in by the 
 people, who, willing to avail themselves of the better gifts 
 of the charismata recently conferred on the world 
 became teachers instead of scholars, and expounders in 
 place of hearers of the written word : thus emancipating 
 themselves from those who had first of all claimed gospel 
 liberty, the right, in other words, of rejecting all authority, 
 and r of believing nobody, but self. Hence there soon 
 uprose, here and elsewhere, numerous bands of self- 
 constituted religionists, each orthodox, each supported by 
 the written word, and each anathematizing with fiendish 
 violence the other sects which had the boldness to dispute, 
 or the ignorance not to appreciate the truth of the creed, 
 which it proposed and upheld as the religion of the 
 Saviour. Luther, and Calvin, and Zuingle, and Socinus ; 
 Anglicans, and Anabaptists, and Baptists, and Indepen- 
 dents, and Unitarians, were openly opposed one to the 
 other : mutually they denounced, they reproached, they 
 cursed one another. In one thing each party did agree, 
 and this agreement offered abundant evidence of the
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 frightful extent of the disagreement, and of the unfitness 
 of the Scriptures to be the judge of religion, each party 
 agreed that it alone was orthodox, because it alone ex- 
 pounded aright the sacred text, and that all- dissentients 
 were grossly ignorant of holy writ. Does the Lutheran 
 believe the real presence ? See how clearly he proves it : 
 is it not written " this is my body " ? Does the Calvinist 
 deny it ? He too will appeal to Scripture, and he will 
 say, has not Christ said " lam the vine " ? and does not 
 the Scripture add " Christ was the rock " ? and are not 
 these passages clearly expository of the former words? 
 Does the Socinian oppose the Divinity of our Lord and 
 God Jesus Christ? He will cite in proof of his denial, 
 the words of Christ himself " The Father is greater than 
 I" If the Anglican admit of infant baptism, can he 
 pretend to establish it without drawing down upon himself 
 a storm of reproaches, and involving himself in a war of 
 words words derived one and all from the written record 
 of inspiration? Will not Baptists, and Quakers, and Rationa- 
 lists of numerous shades of opinion, cite text for text ; and 
 further endeavour to prove the injustice of even pretend- 
 ing to bind the child by promises which he may be here- 
 after unwilling to fulfil ? In fine ; nothing is too ridicu- 
 lous for the solibiblical system; for, as history shews, 
 all imaginable errors have been maintained by virtue of it. 
 Not to speak of the errors of the earliest ages, which were 
 truly gross, have not individuals in later years, appealed 
 to the Scriptures in proof of their being, some the Saviour 
 himself, and others the mother of the Redeemer ? Is not 
 the solifidian system to the utter disparagement of works 
 maintained by these, and do not those laugh at sacraments 
 and hierarchy, at mysteries, and all external rights and
 
 The English Reformation. 93 
 
 observances of religion, advocating only a religion of the 
 Spirit, and looking upon everything liturgical, as Jewish, 
 and opposed to the simplicity of the Gospel? Are not 
 sects on sects multiplying, all deflecting more and more 
 from unity, and rending into pieces, the very fragments of 
 religion, which were previously preserved here and else- 
 where, in consequence of the assumption, that the Bible 
 is the rule of faith ? Well might Selden say " these two 
 words, SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES, have undone the world"; 
 and if the English, royal heresiarch, horror struck at the 
 mischief he himself had caused, imposed " the penalty of 
 a month's imprisonment toties quoties any woman, hus- 
 bandman, artificer, yeoman, servingman, apprentice or 
 journeyman labourer, &c., should read the Scriptures to 
 themselves or to others, privately or openly," no one, 
 abstracting from the circumstance of the glaring incon- 
 sistency of the royal conduct, will feel surprised. His 
 Majesty had "perceived that a great multitude of his 
 subjects, more especially of the lower sort, had so abused 
 the Scriptures, that they had thereby grown and encreased 
 in divers naughty and erroneous opinions ; and by occa- 
 sion thereof had fallen into great divisions and dissensions 
 among themselves." * What these divisions and opinions 
 were, may be seen in Fox: 2 they are truly anti-Chris- 
 tian. 
 
 Is, then, the meaning of Scripture clear, or, to make 
 the proposition somewhat more technical, is the Scripture 
 the source of historic faith ; has God given it to man in 
 order that he may thence derive a thorough knowledge of, 
 and a belief in, those revelations which he has been pleased 
 to communicate ? I answer fearlessly, no : and my answer 
 
 i Stat. 84, 35, Henrici VIII. 2 Page 1136.
 
 294 The English Reformation. 
 
 is supported, 1 by all the observations previously made 
 relative to the belief and practice of former times, as also 
 by the obvious disunion, uncertainty, and utter want of 
 faith, which characterize the countries, in which the 
 solibiblical system is in vogue. It is evidenced too, 
 by all the varying and contradictory commentaries which 
 have been published. If Christ had intended the sacred 
 volume to be adopted as the rule of faith, assuredly he 
 would in his wisdom and mercy, have made the instru- 
 ment of faith of such a character as to be generally useful, 
 he would have drawn it up in such a manner as to render 
 it intelligible to the great bulk of mankind. Now, is the 
 Scripture such an instrument; is that work intelligible 
 to the great mass of the people ; is it easily understood 
 even by the most learned and the most pious ? The 
 answer is again plain : facts render all speculation useless. 
 If any men were fitted, according to the Protestant notion, 
 to understand aright the sacred text, they would be such 
 persons as Luther and Calvin, as Socinus and Cranmer, 
 as, in fine, the great leaders of the varying dissenting 
 bodies who protest against the dogmatical teaching of 
 Rome: Wesley, and Penn, and Irving, and Knox, and 
 Carpenter, and Pye Smith, &c. Now, viewing the deduc- 
 tions of these men, deductions derived, so they tell us, 
 from a careful and prayerful study of the Scriptures, 
 deductions drawn with a consciousness too of the awful 
 
 p 
 
 responsibility of ascribing to the Almighty what is false, 
 and much more, what is directly calculated to overthrow 
 the system of his own establishing, deductions made 
 after a careful and critical study, not of a mere translation, 
 but of the original text, what must we as rational beings 
 infer? This: that the Scriptures are not easily under-
 
 The English Reformation. 295 
 
 stood ; further, that they are the most obscure of records, 
 if they do contain one system of belief only, and only one 
 code of laws in reference to faith and practice. For, 
 what is the fact ? All these commentators are opposed to 
 one another, and so opposed as to maintain diametrically 
 opposite systems. The real presence is maintained by 
 Luther, and denied by Calvin; Carpenter and Socinus 
 deny the Divinity of Jesus Christ; Penn admits no 
 sacraments ; Wesley no Episcopal hierarchy : and if 
 Cranmer maintains Anglicanism after years of vacillation, 
 Knox and Irving are its sworn and implacable opponents. 
 If these men were sincere in investigating, truthful in 
 stating their convictions, wary in drawing conclusions, 
 and desirous of discovering the truth, and that they were 
 all this, it would be rash for any sectarian to deny ; then 
 I again repeat it, the Bible is not a record easily under- 
 stood ; it is a document which even the learned, the good 
 and the sincere may readily misunderstand, and which 
 none can, speaking independently, so interpret, as to build 
 on it an article of faith. For who will dare to say, that 
 what so many heresiarchs have explained so differently, 
 he understands so absolutely and positively, that his 
 interpretation must be right; that all opinions different 
 from his must be false ; nay, more, that the very suspicion 
 of error in reference to his interpretations, is criminal ? 
 Assuredly, no one would dare to maintain such a proposi- 
 tion, who was not insane : if maintained, the assertion 
 would be looked upon, with reason, as an ebullition of 
 unheard-of conceit and vanity, and the author of it would, 
 instead of convincing others, either of his wisdom or 
 inspiration, become the object of unmitigated pity or con- 
 tempt. His head would be as much mistrusted as his
 
 296 The English Reformation. 
 
 interpretations. Then the solibiblical system is not the 
 rule of faith ; it fixes, it determines nothing ; it is at best, 
 but a system of uncertain conjectures and uncertain criti- 
 cal inferences : and in such uncertainty, faith exists not. 
 It reduces religion, in point of fact, to one single truth, 
 a truth, however, which is taught by nature, the belief in 
 a God : for in what conclusions do the solibiblists agree, 
 beside that ? Not in the Trinity ; not in the Divinity of 
 Son and Holy Spirit ; not in the governmental or sacramen- 
 tal systems; not in the developments of doctrine; not, in fine, 
 in the characteristics and evidences of faith. And yet they 
 all believe in Scripture ! Put the case, that a will had been 
 in the hands of some parties for the last three hundred years, 
 and that notwithstanding the greatest endeavours to under- 
 stand its contents, in consequence of the importance of the 
 results which were expected to flow from its correct 
 interpretation, endeavours manifest in the works pub- 
 lished on it in the form of introductions, keys, dictionaries, 
 expositions, paraphrases, versions, transcripts, variantia 
 carefully marking out each alteration, however trivial and 
 unimportant, commentaries, lectures, as well as in the 
 societies established to propagate the instrument, the 
 professorships to elucidate its meaning, and the officials 
 who were paid abundantly by the State to explain it week 
 by week or oftener, the meaning of that will should after 
 the long period of three hundred years, be as little agreed 
 upon, as men are agreed upon the meaning of the Bible, 
 what conclusion would be universally adopted? This, 
 without doubt : that that will was difficult to be under- 
 stood; that it was a hopeless thing to expect to understand 
 it, unless some heavenly witness bore evidence to its 
 meaning, li py bsog vQyyoiro, as Plato observed in
 
 Tlie English Reformation. 297 
 
 reference to the necessity of the advent of a God to 
 remove the ignorance of his times ; 1 that it was a palpable 
 absurdity in the midst of the disputes of the wisest, 
 and the differences of the best, to assert that anybody 
 and everybody, every dotard, and every sophist, and 
 babbling woman, could easily interpret it, and interpret it 
 so confidently, as to stake both body and soul on its inter- 
 pretation. Such would be the observation of men, in 
 relation to a will strenuously contested; why is their 
 language different in reference to the Scriptures, when the 
 hypothesis referred to. in regard of a will, is a fact in 
 regard of the Scriptures. To this fact I confidently ap- 
 peal : it is the fullest reply to the texts to which some men 
 and women foolishly appeal. The scholar's answer to the 
 sophist's argument against motion, was the most conclusive 
 possible he moved. So here, the best answer to those 
 who maintain in words that the Bible is the rule of faith, 
 and a rule fitted for all persons, is to point to facts as 
 plain as the world itself. These will show that it is not 
 the rule of faith : that it is neither an easy, nor a possible 
 means to lead mankind to unity of religion ; that it is in 
 point of fact the principle of disunion and division, and 
 irreconcileable differences ; that to this, demon and infidel, 
 rationalist and Protestant appeal alike, and with equal 
 success. 
 
 To talk of the Bible being an easily understood book, 
 is to prove oneself grossly ignorant of the Scriptures. For 
 1 As our illustrious Cardinal 2 has recently observed, "what 
 meaning will the ordinary (or indeed talented) reader 
 
 1 Plato in Epinomide ; as also see hia second Alcibiades. 
 
 2 The Bible in Maynooth, p. 13.
 
 98 The English Reformation. 
 
 draw from the poetry of the Prophets ; from the woes of 
 Isaias against the Moabites, Ethiopians, Babylonians, and 
 Syrians ; from the obscure parabolic visions of Ezechiel ; 
 from the locusts of Joel, the unclean marriages of Osee, 
 the murmurings of Jonas, the dark adumbrations of Ha- 
 baccuc. And the Psalms, and Job, and Ecclesiastes, so 
 deep, so obscure, so full of danger to a single false step in 
 misapplication, who can conceive what nonsense, or even 
 blasphemy, an untutored mind may elaborate from them, 
 reading them, and certainly not understanding them, with 
 the proud assurance, that he is just as privileged as the 
 most learned doctor, to comprehend, and to explain, and 
 to apply whatever they contain? And last of all, take 
 the " Canticle of Canticles." What delicacy of mind and 
 feeling, what a knowledge of the existence and principles 
 of a mystical application, what a power of abstracting 
 from apparent sensuality of thought and phrase, and 
 dwelling only on its chastest antagonism love divine 
 does not this most mysterious, most perplexing, most 
 bewildering gift of divine inspiration demand, for its pro- 
 fitable, or even its safe perusal ? We hesitate not to repeat, 
 that merely as a book to be understood, the Bible presents 
 more difficulties, independent of phraseology or style, than 
 any other work." These words are little more in fact, 
 than an echo of those used by the Venerable Fenelon, in 
 his letter to the Bishop of Arras, on Bible reading, and 
 by Dr. Balguy: "Open your Bibles," says the latter, 
 " take the first page that occurs in either Testament, and 
 tell me, without disguise, is there nothing in it too hard 
 for your understanding ? If you find all before you clear 
 and easy, you may thank God for giving you a privilege 
 which he has denied to so many thousands of sincere
 
 The English Reformation. 299 
 
 believers." And the poet of English prose writers, Jeremy 
 Taylor, has used equally emphatic language, in his work 
 on the Liberty of Prophesying : " Since there are so many 
 copies (of Scripture) with infinite variations of reading; 
 since a various interp unction, a parenthesis, a letter, an 
 accent, may much alter the sense ; since some places have 
 divers literal senses, may have spiritual, mystical, and 
 allegorical meanings ; since there are so many tropes, 
 metonymies, ironies, hyperboles, proprieties and impro- 
 prieties of language, whose understanding depends upon 
 such circumstances that it is almost impossible to know 
 the proper interpretation since there are some mys- 
 teries which, at the best advantage of expression, are not 
 easy to be apprehended, and whose explication, by reason 
 of our imperfection, must needs be dark and sometimes 
 unintelligible ; and lastly, since these ordinary means of 
 expounding Scripture, as searching the originals, confer- 
 ence of places, parity of reason, analogy of faith, are all 
 dubious, uncertain, and very fallible, he that is the wisest, 
 and by consequence the likeliest to expound truest, in 
 all probability of reason will be very far from confidence, 
 because every one of these, and many more, are like so 
 many degrees of improbability and uncertainty, all de- 
 pressing our certainty of finding out truth in such mys- 
 teries and amidst so many difficulties." 1 Locke, too, in 
 his preface to St. Paul's Epistles, honestly declares that 
 he neither understood the doctrinal nor the discursive 
 parts of those Epistles. He could fathom the depths of 
 the " human understanding," but the Scriptures were 
 
 1 Liberty of Prophesying, sect. 4. See too on this head the Honble. 
 Mr. Boyle's observations on the nature of St. Paul's Epistles, in his Style 
 of Scripture.
 
 300 The English Reformation. 
 
 admittedly beyond his intellectual grasp. And yet we 
 are gravely told that the Scriptures are easy, and that 
 every blockhead is to read and interpret them ; and 
 further, we are condemned to be branded as profane, 
 and treated as enemies of the light, for maintaining, with 
 Balguy, and Taylor, and Locke, that the Scriptures are 
 not only difficult, but absolutely useless for the attainment 
 of the end to which Protestantism applies them. 
 
 To the biblical student it is well known, that the 
 Scriptures abound in tropes, figures, and modes of expres- 
 sion once perhaps familiar to those to whom they were 
 addressed, and among whom they were written, but now 
 strange to us at all times, and frequently unintelligible. 
 
 3 They abound in allusions now forgotten, in historical 
 facts to which we have no other references, and in chro- 
 nologies and genealogies which we cannot clear up by 
 means of such history as has been handed down to our 
 days. 
 
 4 Inverted and partial statements; transitions too which 
 necessarily obscure the end and object of the writer ; epi- 
 tomes too short to render the record clear; statements 
 which appear contradictory, and which thousands have 
 endeavoured to conciliate ineffectually ; prophecies of un- 
 certain fulfilment, whether time, or place, or person be 
 considered; and mysteries of unfathomable depth occur in 
 nearly every book of the sacred text, and prove the diffi- 
 culty of interpreting Holy Writ. The wonder then is 
 not, that the eunuch exclaimed, "How can I (understand 
 the Scriptures), if no one show me ? "/ or that our blessed 
 Redeemer explained and interpreted the written word, 
 that his Apostles might understand? or again, that St. 
 
 1 Acts viii, 31. 2 Luke xxiv, 45.
 
 The English Reformation. 301 
 
 Peter stated, in reference to the writings which had just 
 appeared of St. Paul, that there were some things in them 
 which could be with difficulty understood; 3 but here 
 is matter for amazement, that any persons should be so 
 rash, as to assert that the Scriptures are easy, that every 
 person may interpret them, and that Christ has acted so 
 foolishly, as to make his Church dependent on such inter- 
 pretation ! Look at the promises made by the Solibiblists, 
 and compare them with facts ; 
 
 Quid dignum tanto feret hie promissor hiatu ? 
 
 What have they done? Have they agreed upon the 
 meaning of the text ? Have they succeeded in esta- 
 blishing unity of faith, by their principle ? Have they 
 given one proof but one to the world, that unity of 
 faith is increasing, and that there is a chance of a 
 common belief through the common blessing of the circu- 
 lation of the Holy Volume ? Let Lutherans and Calvinists, 
 Socinians and Anglicans, Baptists and Independents, Pres- 
 byterians and Methodists, answer. This answer will be 
 a singular instance of what the poet calls symphonia 
 discors ! 
 
 Indeed, Protestants, thoughtful, intelligent, studious 
 Protestants, themselves repudiate the tenet of Anglicanism 
 the proposition so confidently uttered in the pulpit and 
 on the platform " that the Bible, and the Bible only, is 
 the rule of faith." The great Hooker, in his Ecclesias- 
 tical Polity, says, "The Scripture could not teach us the 
 things of God ; unless we did credit men, who have taught 
 us that the words of Scripture did signify those things." 4 
 And Lord Bolingbroke is equally explicit: "Writers of 
 
 2 Epist. Hi, 16. Hooker, 1. c. p. 116.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 the Roman religion have attempted to show, that the text 
 of Holy Writ is on many accounts, insufficient to be the 
 sole criterion of orthodoxy. / apprehend, too, that they 
 have shown it. Sure I am, that experience, from the first 
 promulgation of Christianity to this hour, shows abun- 
 dantly, with how much ease and success, the most oppo- 
 site, the most extravagant, nay, the most impious opinions 
 and the most contradictory faiths, may be founded on the 
 same text, and plausibly defended by the same authority." 1 
 Still later, the Protestant principle has, to my mind, been 
 wholly abandoned, as utterly untenable, by an able and 
 thoughtful writer in the British Critic, whose ideas I will 
 lay before the reader, omitting, however, such portions 
 of his observations as are not absolutely required for the 
 elucidation of his meaning. '"That the Bible, and the 
 Bible only, is the religion of the Protestant,' is a saying 
 undoubtedly true, when taken in its proper sense. But 
 we fear that, in these days, it is passed from mouth to 
 mouth, with but little consideration of the import which 
 it bore in the mind of its first utterer, and with as yet 
 little sympathy in his theological views. We have, in- 
 deed, more especially of late, been much dissatisfied with 
 the indiscriminate manner in which so pregnant a pro- 
 position has been bandied about, and been not seldom 
 astonished, if not disgusted, at the careless unexploring 
 confidence with which men have put forward a saying, 
 which bears on its very front, to enquiring eyes at least, 
 
 the marks of deep and difficult theological debate As 
 
 it is commonly understood, we believe, by the noisy and 
 loquacious debaters of this day, it means that the Christian 
 needs study no other ecclesiastical authors, than such as 
 
 1 Fifth letter on the Use and Study of History.
 
 TJie English Reformation. 303 
 
 are contained in the sacred canon, and even the study 
 thus limited, is, in the case of almost all those persons, 
 still farther confined to the English version, and English 
 commentaries. No wonder that so many should think 
 themselves qualified expounders of what seems in such 
 
 easy reach, and almost to come to every man's door 
 
 Every one who reads it (the New Testament) with that 
 accurate and yet comprehensive view which it demands 
 from a scholar and divine, must observe in it germs, as it 
 were, not expanded into full meaning, allusions incident- 
 ally made, which, as soon as he steps beyond the limits 
 of the volume, he finds put forth in the early fathers into 
 visible blossoms and fulness. Such, for instance, is the 
 case of the institution of the Lord's Day, and of the 
 establishment of Episcopal government, of which, observ- 
 ing the elements in the New Testament, and finding the 
 maturity in the early fathers, we can no more doubt of 
 their apostolical authority, than as if they had been expli- 
 citely laid down and commanded in the New Testament, 
 as the institution of the Sabbath and the appointment of 
 
 the Aaronic Priesthood are enjoined in the Old 
 
 " Perhaps we shall be now asked, in what sense we 
 ourselves understand the much bruited apophthegm, ' the 
 Bible, and the Bible only, is the religion of Protestants.' 
 We will give it as briefly as we can, and it is this, that 
 since the volume of the New Testament is of such a nature 
 externally as we have just described, and from its internal 
 nature (consisting as it does of independent treatises, 
 though all bearing to the same end) in very many places 
 alludes rather than expresses, hints circumstances rather 
 than relates them, takes for granted rather than enjoins, 
 on this account, the person who would examine for him-
 
 304 The English Reformation. 
 
 self the foundations of his Church, or who may distrust 
 its institutions, or be pressed with doctrines strange to 
 his communion, yet pretending to Apostolic antiquity, 
 who may be asked on what principle he acknowledges 
 the canon of Scripture itself, to such a person we say, 
 the Bible, and the Bible only, is not sufficient to establish 
 his religion. He must proceed beyond the volume into 
 the immediately succeeding series of uncanonical writers, 
 before he can meet with all the satisfaction which he 
 requires ; at the same time he must previously have well 
 studied that volume, must have diligently imbibed its 
 spirit, marked well the nature and relative position of the 
 passages, by which he is referred to succeeding writers. 
 Thus he will enter upon the field of tradition, informed 
 with a knowledge to distinguish the wheat from the chaff, 
 what is of Christ, and what is not of Christ ; what imme- 
 diately runs into union with the pure gold of Scripture, 
 and what is averse to it. Thus is the Bible only the 
 religion of Protestants : but it is the Bible as read by 
 the founders of Protestantism, the Bible as read by the 
 builders and worthies of our excellent Church, by Cran- 
 mer, by Parker, by Jewel, by Hooker, by Bull, by Taylor, 
 by Barrow " L These writers felt as others had pre- 
 viously, that it was monstrous to maintain the popular 
 cry and popular notion regarding the Bible. The popular 
 notion then, turns out to be absolutely false. It is not 
 the Bible alone, but the Bible with the primitive fathers 
 of Christianity, and with the primitive fathers of Angli- 
 canism. Ignatius, and Clement, and Polycarp, must help 
 Cranmer, and Bull, and Jewel, and such like worthies, to 
 develope the germ, and elucidate the obscure. But is the 
 
 1 British Critic, vol. x, pp. 256-8, 1831.
 
 TJie English Reformation. 305 
 
 mass of society benefited by this observation ? is it drawn 
 nearer to the truth in consequence of it ? No. For 1 
 Is this principle Scriptural, that the fathers must be read, 
 and that Cranmer and his are fair tests and criterions 
 of orthodoxy ? 2 Is it a principle which is admitted 
 generally; is it a principle which can be honored with 
 the name of Catholic, because universally applicable ? 
 Assuredly not : the world at large cannot read either 
 Ignatius' or Polycarp's opinions, or the opinions of Cran- 
 mer, and Jewel, and Bull. They have not their works ; 
 and, if they had them, they would not be better able 
 to understand their doctrinal systems, than the system 
 of faith which may be contained in the pages of the New 
 Testament : and what is more, all separatists from Angli- 
 canism will laugh at the idea of pinning their faith to 
 the phylacteries of such changelings as Cranmer and 
 Jewel. They will ask, why appeal to man, instead of God; 
 why go to the fallible, for the exposition of the infallible ; 
 why cry out the Bible, and the Bible only, and even- 
 tually declare that it is Polycarp, in fact, and Cranmer, 
 who are to rule and regulate the faith of Christendom. 
 Was not Knox as able as Jewel, and Wesley as inspired 
 as Parker, and Penn as disinterested in adopting biblical 
 conclusions and upraising his system, as that Cranmer 
 who retracted and retracted, married and divorced, burnt 
 some for believing the real presence, and others for dis- 
 believing it ? And if so, why explain the Gospels accord- 
 ing to Cranmer rather than according to Penn, and prefer 
 Jewel to the rude Scottish zealot, Knox? 3 Is it a 
 principle which is consistent ? Did not Anglicanism begin 
 in the rejection of all testimony? Did it not everywhere 
 proclaim that the world could err, and had actually be-
 
 306 The English Reformation. 
 
 come apostate ? Did it not state that the Bible was man's 
 guide, to the exclusion of popes, prelates, and ministers 
 of religion, all of whom it was stated, were liable to error 
 and deceit? How then can authority be consistently 
 appealed to ? How can those, who have been taught to 
 believe in the doctrine of a fallible Church, be expected, 
 after the establishment of Anglicanism, to trust in a 
 handful of men, such as Cranmer, and Jewel, and Parker ? 
 4 Even if the writers named were consentient, this would 
 not be any argument in proof of their doctrines being 
 divine : for thousands on thousands of authors of acknow- 
 ledged merit, equally eminent as biblists and as scholars, 
 adopt and defend conclusions widely different. But are 
 they consentient ? Do they all uphold the same doctrines ? 
 Are they even always self-consistent? They are not, as 
 every scholar knows. Cranmer is opposed to Cranmer, 1 
 and Jewel's greatest enemy, is John Jewel, whilom Bishop 
 of Salisbury. Reading is not the means of arriving at 
 faith : it is not by means of a book, that we are to believe : 
 "Faith cometh through hearing, and hearing through the 
 word of God." The task of wading through the fathers, 
 and adopting right conclusions, is impossible to mankind 
 at large. Men must be taught, and taught authoritatively. 
 Such a system of teaching may convey to us the meaning 
 of the sacred Scriptures and of the fathers, and guard us 
 against mistakes and errors, affecting the deposit of doc- 
 trine and morality which Christ committed to the safe 
 keeping of his spouse, the Church; a less authoritative 
 and divine teacher will not suffice. 
 
 In fact, as far as I can gather from the writings of this 
 
 1 On this matter see an able work entitled, " Tract XC Considered," 
 p. 16.
 
 TJie English Reformation. 307 
 
 century, even Protestants more than doubt of the truth 
 of their principle, as applied to all mankind. They see 
 the inconsistency of maintaining that the Bible is easily 
 understood, when after all their researches they are forced 
 to allow that it is replete with difficulties difficulties 
 which affect nothing less than the very foundation of 
 all Christianity. They blush in the face of facts, to pro- 
 claim it, the source of union ; and if all those conclusions 
 are deserving of attention, which are said to be advocated 
 by the letter of the Scripture, there is indeed cause 
 enough for shame. They see the folly of saying that 
 every one who chooses to interpret, and assume the cha- 
 racter of expounder of the written word, is as deserving 
 of credit, and as entitled by God to decide on the dog- 
 matical and moral code contained in the Bible, as the 
 ministers of religion themselves, as the whole Church, 
 even taken conjunctively. Hence, they would have some 
 kind of subordination ; they would limit the extent of this 
 principle; they would empower only a portion of the 
 community to explain the sacred records for themselves, 
 whilst the remainder should be compelled to listen to 
 and acquiesce in the explanations offered them of the 
 meaning of holy writ. In a word, by some persons at 
 least, faithful expounders are required; and to such, 
 the Bible is not the only rule of faith. And in point of 
 fact, did not Anglicanism stultify itself, as De Maistre 
 has well observed, and expose the hollowness of the cry 
 " liberty of conscience" by the publication of articles, 
 and homilies, and prayer-books, which were to be received 
 as certain, and conformable to holy writ. The Dissenters, 
 as a body, have not been thus inconsistent ; and owing to 
 their stricter adherence to principle, they, as well as
 
 308 The English Reformation. 
 
 Catholics, have been enabled to aim many a deadly blow 
 at Protestantism. 1 
 
 But the Protestant limitation just adduced will not 
 suffice. The principle is universal ; and these would-be 
 teachers, have no right to lord it over the consciences 
 and understandings even of the lowest and the meanest, 
 by altering that principle. On its universal truth, was 
 constructed Protestantism : deny its universal applicability, 
 and Protestantism is even thus proved to be a delusion 
 and a deceit. The texts cited in favour of the principle 
 against Catholics, as also the grounds of that principle, 
 namely, that man is fallible, and God's word only, infalli- 
 ble, all evince the same thing: namely, that the Bible 
 was originally held up as the sole authority through which 
 faith was attainable. 
 
 And indeed, pitiful would be the position of the poor, 
 and of the illiterate, if, after having abandoned the autho- 
 rity of priests, bishops, popes, councils, fathers, and the 
 whole of Christendom, these were directly opposed and 
 set at nought at the Reformation, on the plea, that the 
 whole world might err and actually had erred, they 
 were to be obliged to attach their belief to the teaching 
 of one or more individuals, whose authority was admitted 
 to be fallible, who claimed no connexion with any uner- 
 ring line of prelacy, and whose mission thus to preach, 
 and thus to dogmatize, had no evidences. The explana- 
 
 1 See in evidence of this, the famous Unitarian works of Acton and 
 Carpenter; as also the more recent works of the Hallite, Beverley. Gan- 
 dolfy's congratulatory letter to Dr. Marsh of Peterborough is very able 
 too. In vain did the bishop endeavour to escape from the consequences 
 of his own declaration, that the Prayer-book ought to be circulated with 
 the Bible.
 
 The English Reformation. 309 
 
 tions even of a Mant, and a Clarke, and a Whitby, are 
 but their interpretations ; perhaps capricious and fanciful 
 expositions, which others, equally learned, utterly and 
 entirely repudiate. Taught by such men, or an inferior 
 order of men, how can the illiterate have faith? They 
 may have faith in Mant, in Clarke, in Whitby, but have 
 they, and is this a consequence, faith in the positive reve- 
 lation of God? It should always be remembered, that 
 the interpretations of these men, are ignored by the bulk 
 of mankind, are admitted by none save a few of their own 
 party, who only look upon them, at the best, as probable 
 inferences, and fallible deductions. And are such autho- 
 rities to be the grounds of faith ? No : restriction of inter- 
 pretation is only tolerable, under a system of infallibility? 
 Whoever will call to mind, the workings of this princi- 
 ple, and further remember that instead of one creed, 
 there are in England at least two hundred organized 
 religions, the members of which hardly ever believe alike ; 
 that in Germany, as Starke, in his entretiens, and Muller, 
 
 2 In opposition to these advocates for a modified license of expounding 
 the Scripture, I would wish to draw the attention of the reader to the 
 opinions of some distinguished Protestant writers. " The Protestant 
 Church," says Bishop Watson, "permits every individual ' et sentire quce 
 velit, et quce sentiat, loqui.' " " The principle of the Reformation," says 
 Bishop Warburton, "was not so much the right of separation from the 
 errors of a corrupt Church, as that Christian liberty which gives every 
 man a right to worship God according to his conscience." Bishop Hurd 
 observes, " Our incomparable Chillingworth, and some others established, 
 for ever, the old principle, that the Bible and that only, interpreted by our 
 best reason, is the religion of Protestants." " The Protestant acknow- 
 ledges no universal head, nor deems the Church itself, acting even by its 
 legitimate rulers, to be either gifted with infallibility, or vested with such 
 authority as may annul the right of its individual members to appeal to the 
 Scripture itself." Van Mildert, Bampton Lectures.
 
 310 The English Reformation. 
 
 notice, there is scarcely one doctrine of Christianity which 
 is not systematically denied by the Lutherans, whilst in 
 Switzerland, the Calvinists blush to mention the doctrine 
 of original sin, and endeavour to rid themselves of every- 
 thing allied to the miraculous or the mysterious, and that 
 in all these countries, both the clergy and laity advocate 
 these contradictory and antichristian systems, on the war- 
 rantee, and by virtue of, holy writ^wall wonder how it 
 comes to pass, that such a principle can possibly be main- 
 tained, as a principle of unity, and of belief. I am not 
 arguing from the accidental abuses of the system ; I am 
 appealing to natural results; results which coexist with 
 the system, and are identified with it; results which are 
 inseparable from it, so long as each person is to be his 
 own teacher, his own expounder, his own guide in the 
 study, not merely of biblical hermeneutics, but of bible 
 faith, and bible faith only. 
 
 As long as men are unequal in society, unequal in 
 leisure, in talents, in research, unequal in the appliances 
 and means of study, and society cannot exist without these 
 and other differences ; so long must there be, as we have 
 already shewn from the admitted nature of the sacred 
 writings, the widest differences of interpretations, and the 
 most contradictory inferences. 1 This was even seen by 
 Voltaire. "If (he says) there was not an authority to 
 fix and determine the sense of the Bible, and the dogmas 
 of religion, the consequence would then be, that there 
 would be as many sects, as there are individuals who read 
 
 1 Even Tillotson says " We are not infallibly certain, that any book 
 of Scripture is so ancient as it pretends to be; or that it was written by 
 the persons whose name it bears ; nor that this is the sense of such and 
 such passages in it. All this may possibly be otherwise."
 
 The English Reformation. 311 
 
 the Bible." 2 Admit once the rule of Protestantism, and 
 it is impossible to say what will be the inferences which 
 the mind of man may draw from the Scriptures. What 
 appears true to-day, may to-morrow be adjudged false. 
 As knowledge comes, changes may result; and he who 
 began the year with fancying that he could prove from 
 Scripture, the mystery of the Trinity, and the Divinity 
 of Christ, the heavenly origin of the hierarchy, and of 
 the Sacraments, may end it in rejecting each and all of 
 these former articles of his ideal Church. This has been 
 observed upon not only by the French Encyclopaedists, 
 in their analysis and careful examination of the distinctive 
 rule of Protestantism, but also by Protestants themselves. 
 "The greatest benefit derived to religion by the efforts 
 of the reformers, (says Nightingale,) is that doctrine, 
 which they so often disallowed to others, but which they 
 found so convenient to themselves, of acknowledging 
 the unrestrained right of private judgment in matters 
 of faith. And there is little risk in asserting that, who- 
 ever proposes any contrary terms or articles of union, 
 as necessary to be admitted, violates one of the lead- 
 ing and fundamental principles of the Protestant Refor- 
 mation. But this would lead to downright Socinianism, 
 as the Catholics charge upon us. May be so. The 
 charge is not without foundation, notwithstanding what 
 some excellent Protestants have written on the sub- 
 ject. This dreadful consequence may follow. It is a 
 lamentable case. But there is no way to prevent it, while 
 you allow the principle. You may issue your orders of 
 synods, convocations, conferences, and acts of uniformity ; 
 you may enlarge or curtail the thirty-nine Articles ; you 
 
 2 Essai sur 1'histoire.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 may even pronounce the sentence of God's wrath and 
 damnation against heretics and schismatics: so long as 
 you admit that groundwork of the reformation the right 
 of private judgment though you spend your strength 
 in fulminations and your skill in devising new terms of 
 salvation, you will only be laughed at by the discerning 
 Christian, as inconsistent and intolerant." The believer 
 in the Trinity has no right, as a Protestant, to condemn 
 the Antitrinitarian, nor has the adorer of Christ, in this 
 system, a right to speak against him who is a sincere Arian 
 or Socinian ; because these have as much right to read and 
 interpret as the professors of rival creeds. The disbeliever 
 in Mysteries, has, on biblical grounds, as much reason to 
 upbraid protestantism and dissent, as Dissenters and Pro- 
 testants can have to reproach him. Faith, emanating 
 from such a source, is an uncertain thing : it is a Proteus 
 a creature of fables and fancies : it is not the revelation 
 of the Almighty, fixed, determined, unalterable, eternal. 
 He who possesses real faith, knows that this latter kind of 
 belief alone, is Christian. Protestantism then is not 
 Christian : its first notion is destructive of Christianity. 
 See the creeds it upholds, and the religions it has estab- 
 lished ; and its antagonism to revelation will be seen and 
 readily admitted by the sincere. 
 
 Though Protestantism has no right to appeal to the 
 Scriptures, as we have shown, and as others who wrote 
 against heresies in general have demonstrated seventeen 
 hundred years ago, in opposition to that authority whence 
 alone the knowledge of the letter of the Scriptures has 
 been derived : though again this appeal can have no 
 weight as an argument for those very reasons which we 
 have stated at considerable length, still since it may be
 
 The English Reformation. 313 
 
 useful to see on what passages of holy writ Protestants 
 rely, whilst maintaining that the Bible alone as interpreted 
 by each individual is the rule of faith for the Christian, 
 I will bring before the reader the leading texts which to 
 some at least seem to bear out their case. 
 
 The most remarkable passage which is ever brought 
 forward is the 39th verse of the fifth chapter of St. John's 
 Gospel : " Search the Scriptures, for you think in them to 
 have everlasting life; and the same are they, that give 
 testimony of me." 1 I have already observed on these 
 words ; and the reader will not fail to remember the 
 argument of Bishop Jebbe in favor of the reading, " You 
 do search the Scriptures." Thus interpreted, or rather 
 thus translated, a fact is simply stated, not a command ; 
 and the command alone can bear out even in appearance 
 the Protestant theory. But , to what do the words 
 refer ? to the means of arriving at the knowledge of the 
 particular truths of Christianity ? No : to the means of 
 discovering Christ; to the knowledge of his being the 
 Messias promised by the prophets. To what Scriptures 
 again do they refer ? To the Scriptures of the new Law, 
 which contain documents relating to and written by Chris- 
 tians, or to the Scriptures of the old Law, which contain 
 the precepts and doctrines enunciated for the benefit of 
 the Jew ? They allude only to the latter ; for, when 
 Christ spoke, not a letter of the new Law had been 
 penned, nor was a letter of it penned for years and years 
 afterwards. Since Christianity was a new Law, since it 
 contained revelations unknown to the Jews, and posi- 
 tive ordinances dependent solely on the will and benefi- 
 cence of Christ, obviously it would be folly to appeal to 
 the Old Testament in proof of the specific doctrines and
 
 314 The English Reformation. 
 
 ordinances of the new system. 3 Were not men bound to 
 hear and obey Christ, when Christ was known ? "Would 
 fallible men in the presence of this admitted infallible Mes- 
 sias be allowed to search and judge for themselves ? Was 
 it not the bounden duty of men to hear and believe what 
 Christ said, whatever might be their private comment on 
 ' either his words or deeds ? Obviously so : and even Pro- 
 testants allow that if there were now an infallible teacher 
 enunciating the meaning of the sacred oracles, or the reve- 
 lation in general of Jesus Christ, every one would be 
 bound to obey him. Hence, Apostles believed, not be- 
 cause they had read, but because they had heard; not 
 because they understood in this or that manner the Sacred 
 Scriptures, but because the God of the Scriptures had 
 himself taught them, and proved his word to be divine, by 
 evidencing his divinity : " Master, to whom shall we go ? 
 ihou hast the words of eternal life." 
 
 The text is clearly then beside the question it does 
 not even remotely regard the point at issue. At the most, 
 it can only be referred to the oracles testificatory of our 
 Lord's character, and not to the way in which one who 
 believes in Christ, who is already a Christian, is to learn 
 the truths of Christianity. It regards, in a word, the 
 unbeliever, not the believer. But the Protestant wants to 
 know what course the BELIEVER is to pursue what rule 
 he is to follow WHO ADMITS CHRIST to be the very truth. 
 Already we have answered the question ; we have shown 
 that our Lord taught, and bade others teach, all that he 
 had said ; and furthermore he invested these teachers with 
 his own authority. 
 
 To render still clearer the nullity of such a reference, I 
 will now draw the reader's attention to the dissimilarity
 
 The English Reformation. 315 
 
 existing between the Jew and the believer in Christ. 1 
 The Jew was already possessed of a divine system of reli- 
 gion, one of the principal articles of which was a belief in 
 a future Messias. He received from his Church the 
 Sacred Scriptures, and on its authority held them to be 
 divine. 3 All or most of the sacrifices, at which he 
 assisted, had a reference to the coming and sufferings of 
 the Redeemer, and he was informed which were the 
 prophecies to be fulfilled by the Messias. Now, on the 
 other hand, the Protestant, who takes the bible to guide 
 him to faith, is supposed 1 to have no Church, no belief; 
 2 he has no authority for the sacred records, inasmuch as 
 he rejects all authority if he is a consistent Protestant, as we 
 have already proved : he has no assurance of the inspira- 
 tion, genuineness, canonicity, or incorruption of the Scrip- 
 tures, independent of the Catholic Church, which adduces 
 as powerful proofs in favour of its perpetuity, inerrancy, 
 and authority to teach, as it offers in favour of the divinity 
 of the sacred writings. 3 The Protestant has no guide to 
 or in the Sacred Scriptures ; he has no prophets assigning 
 certain passages as the divine expression of this or that 
 tenet. He is himself the Prophet to the Bible, self-consti- 
 tuted and self-deceived. Those to whom Christ spoke are 
 supposed by many writers to have been the Doctors of the 
 Sanhedrim, who were styled the pillars of instruction, and 
 noted for their skill in the Scriptures j 1 but be this as it 
 may, our Lord's hearers were referred by him to well- 
 known and well-proved documents to documents legiti 
 mately explained to documents of which the teacher and 
 establisher of Christianity said at last that they bore evi- 
 dence of him: whereas Protestantism directs not priests 
 
 1 See on this Lead, Elsley's Annotations, vol. iii, p. 53.
 
 316 The English Reformation. 
 
 and ministers only, but the whole of mankind, to expound 
 the Scriptures, and interpret them, without the aid of any 
 infallible authority ; asserting a doctrine, and saying that 
 that is in the Scriptures. If a doctrine be already known, 
 known by virtue of a heavenly statement, then there is no 
 danger to him who believes that doctrine, in searching for 
 the written evidence. 1 Thus to the Catholic who believes 
 before he reads, the Scriptures offer fresh and fresh evi- 
 dences, and the more he searches, the greater appears to 
 be the number of references and allusions in the sacred 
 writings to his doctrines. But the question with the Pro- 
 testant is about the doctrine. He does not believe at all 
 before, he only believes in consequence of, reading. 
 He has no polar star, as it were, to guide him in his 
 course. His course depends upon his lesser or greater 
 ignorance or knowledge, boldness or timidity. The differ- 
 
 1 Tertullian's observations on this head are very apt and illustrative. 
 " For us there is no need," he says, " of curiosity after Christ Jesus, nor of 
 enquiry after the Gospel. When we do believe, we do not desire to believe 
 anything besides. For this we believe from the first, that there is nothing 
 which we ought to believe besides. I come, therefore, to that point which 
 even ours adduce for entering on, and which heretics urge for introducing 
 curious enquiry. It is written, they say, ' Seek and ye shall find.' Let 
 us remember on what occasion the Lord uttered this saying. In the very 
 first beginning, I imagine, of his teaching, when it was doubted by all 
 men whether he was the Christ, and when as yet not even Peter had pro- 
 nounced him the Son of God, and John had ceased to be certain about him. 
 With reason, therefore, was it then said ' Seek and ye shall find,' at a time 
 when he was yet to be sought,- who was not yet acknowledged. And this 
 as regards the Jews : for to them pertains the whole language of this 
 reproach, as having wherein they might seek Christ. ' They have,' he 
 says, ' Moses and Elias, the law and the prophets which preach Christ ;' 
 agreeably to which also, in another place, he says openly : ' Search the 
 Scriptures in which ye hope for salvation, for they speak of me.' " De 
 frcescrip. c. viii.
 
 The English Reformation. 317 
 
 ence, then, between the position of the Jew and the Chris- 
 tian is most marked ; and this difference will show the 
 folly of referring to John v, 39. "Whatever Christ might 
 be in himself, he was nothing to others, till he was known. 
 Now, how does our divine Saviour act, in order to prove 
 his real character, in the discourse of which the words 
 cited form but a small portion. First, he tells the Jews, 
 that John had borne witness to Him, " Ye sent unto John, 
 and he bore witness unto the truth :" and he appeals to 
 his own miracles as affording still more conclusive evi- 
 dence : " But I have greater witness than that of John : 
 for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, 
 the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the 
 Father hath sent me." Afterwards he appeals to a third 
 witness, the testimony of his Father : " And the Father 
 himself," he says, " who hath sent me, hath borne witness 
 of me ;" and lastly he observes : " Ye search the Scrip- 
 tures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life ; and they 
 are they which testify of me ; and ye will not come to me, 
 that ye might have life." 2 Thus it appears, that Christ is 
 condemning the Jews for their obduracy. Though John, 
 and miracles and the Eternal Father and the Scriptures, all 
 proclaimed the same one truth, that Christ was the 
 Messias, still the Jews remained obdurate. Evidences 
 enough were given, and yet all were rejected. Any one 
 was sufficient. Sufficient was the testimony of John; 
 sufficient was the testification of the Father ; sufficient were 
 the miracles which Christ had wrought ; but all collectively 
 were disregarded and despised. Hence this followed : if 
 the Jews were incredulous, if they refused to hear the 
 Messias, the fault was their own not God's. This was 
 
 2 John v, 33, 36, 37, 39.
 
 318 The English Reformation. 
 
 the conclusion which Christ drew, and not this other : the 
 Bible is the only rule of faith. With as much reason 
 might John, or the word which came from heaven, or 
 miracles be declared to be the only rule of faith, as the 
 Scriptures which Christ named. 
 
 Christ acted, in a word, precisely in the same manner as 
 the Christian does, when about to establish the Divinity of 
 Christianity. He adduced the motives of credibility, 
 before he demanded submission to his teachings. So the 
 Christian who wishes to prove to Jew or Gentile the 
 divinity of his system, proves it by extrinsic motives to be 
 divine. Until this is done, Christianity is extrinsically of 
 no authority to the Infidel. But, if this Christianity be 
 proved, then belief in its dogmas is a duty. What does 
 this Christianity teach, is the next obvious query ; as the 
 query after, not before, the evidences had been given in 
 proof of Christ's divinity would be, what has Christ 
 taught, and from what source am I to derive full informa- 
 tion, relative to the distinctive dogmas and regulations of 
 the Christian dispensation ? 
 
 At all events, the result of the Jewish appeal to Scrip- 
 ture will not appear very satisfactory to the Protestant : 
 it ended in disbelief, and in the rejection of Jesus Christ. 
 " There is one that accuseth you, Moses, in whom ye trust. 
 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me : for 
 he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how 
 shall ye believe my words" 1 The Jews did not reject 
 Moses' writings, neither did they disbelieve the letter of 
 the law, still they are said not to have believed. Why ? 
 Because they turned the text from its obvious meaning, 
 and substituted their interpretations for the Word of God. 
 
 i St. John v, 45, 47.
 
 The English Reformation. 319 
 
 This is precisely what the separatists from Rome do. The 
 written word bears testimony to the inerrancy, infallibility, 
 and perpetuity of the Church ; it teaches that the Church 
 of the living God is not an insular Church, the Church of 
 one kingdom, a Church established by an Act of Parlia- 
 ment, but the Church of all nations, and an establishment 
 founded by the Most High ; it teaches the doctrines of the 
 Holy Eucharist, of the remission of sins through the 
 ministers of religion, of the efficacy of the Holy Unction in 
 the hour of sickness, and of the intercessorship of those 
 who stand before the throne of God ; it maintains the 
 usefulness of praying for the dead, the necessity and merit 
 of works ; in fine, it proves that the Christian is to have 
 for ever an altar and a sacrifice a sacrifice pure and holy, 
 offered up according to the rite of Melchisedech. But 
 what the better are those who read these texts if they 
 continue ignorant of the doctrines of Jesus Christ ? x?0 ue ' 
 They stand accused by Jesus, and the Apostles, and the 
 inspired writers in general. They neither believe the 
 sacred writings, nor do they credit the divine words of 
 Christ. In the midst of light they are in darkness, and 
 though possessed of the letter of the law, they are without 
 the spirit which gives meaning, and force, and under- 
 standing. The letter kills ; it is like the lifeless body, a 
 principle to some, of corruption and of pestilence : it is the 
 odour of death unto death. 
 
 Similarly inapplicable will appear on examination a 
 second text often appealed to with confidence by Pro- 
 testants ; namely, the llth verse of the xmi c. of the Acts 
 of the Apostles. It is related in the chapter referred to, 
 1 that St. Paul when at Thessalonica entered the Syna- 
 gogue of the Jews, where for three Sabbath days he
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 reasoned with them out of the Scriptures relative to the 
 fulfilment of the prophecies regarding the Messias, in the 
 person of Jesus Christ. 2 The result of this was, that 
 whilst some believed, others disbelieved, and by these a 
 sedition was raised against the heavenly-commissioned dis- 
 putant. 3 The Brethren, in consequence, " sent away 
 Paul and Silas by night into Berea, who coming thither 
 went into the Synagogue of the Jews." 4 Of these 
 Bereans, this testimony is given, and the testimony is the 
 matter of the Protestant objection which we are about to 
 investigate. " These were more noble than those in 
 Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all 
 readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily 
 whether those things were so. Therefore, many of them 
 believed. Also, the honourable women who were Greeks, 
 and of men not a few." The answer is clear to this ideal 
 difficulty. I" The persons addressed, were not Christians 
 but Jews ; who had to learn that the Messias had come. 
 2 Out of the documents which they knew to be divine, 
 the Jews were taught by St. Paul, and infallibly, the 
 truth. 3 They heard his word ; they examined his 
 arguments, and the result was conviction. But when con- 
 vinced, what was the rule of Christianity ? Can any one 
 doubt after what we have said ? Then the Apostolic word 
 was to be heard and believed : the chooser then became a 
 heretic ; and the teacher of a doctrine opposed to that of 
 Paul, even had he been an angel, would have been sub- 
 jected to the Pauline anathema. As I have before 
 observed, it is one thing to examine the Scriptures for the 
 motives of credibility leading to Christianity, and another 
 thing to examine them as the only rule of faith after a 
 person is a believer in Christianity in general. Again, it
 
 The English Reformation. 321 
 
 is very different to examine them, when expounded and 
 positively referred to by one of the ministerial line 
 appointed to develope the truths of religion, and to exa- 
 mine them, ignorant of doctrine and without an infallible 
 exponent. It is, in fine, very different for the Christian 
 minister to argue with the Jew on his own grounds, in 
 order to convict him of his errors against Christ, and to 
 maintain that the knowledge of the doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity rests on that principle which may have effectually 
 disproved Judaism. To the present hour, the Catholic 
 minister acts towards the Jew, precisely as St. Paul did. 
 He points to the prophecies which the Jews admit, and 
 shows how in Christ all have been fulfilled : he further- 
 more, like the Redeemer, appeals to the fact of miracles 
 admitted even by Josephus, and to those other evidences 
 with which the readers of works on revelation and Chris- 
 tianity are already familiar. But would Jew or Gentile 
 thence infer that such evidences were the rule of each 
 specific doctrine of the Christian faith ; that the Christian 
 had no authoritative teachers of his doctrines and practices. 
 No : and this is evident in the conduct of the learned and 
 pious Jews and Gentiles who have been aggregated to the 
 fold of Catholicity, in all ages, not excluding the present. 1 
 St. Paul, in a word, attached a specific meaning to the 
 Scriptures ; those who corresponded with his teaching and 
 believed, became Christians, and those who did not, re- 
 mained unbelievers. So now, the Church gives her 
 divine evidence as to the nature and meaning of the sacred 
 word : those who believe become members of the Church, 
 whilst the disbelievers remain to their own ruin, out of the 
 
 1 The reader who has followed the history of conversions, will be 
 familiar with the names of Drach, Ratisbon, and others. 
 
 p 2
 
 TJie English Reformation. 
 
 fold. Will the Protestant justify those who rejected 
 Christ's word or St. Paul's on account of their own inter- 
 pretations, interpretations opposed to that which had been 
 divinely given ? If not, why in the name of common 
 sense and religion appeal to the conduct either of the 
 priests, or of the scribes, or of the Bereans? In the 
 observations made years ago by Dr. Bilson, there is much 
 good sense. " Where you say the Bereans are com- 
 mended by the Holy Ghost, for not believing that which 
 Paul spoke of religion, till they had examined by Scrip- 
 tures, and seen whether the truth were so as he uttered, 
 you speak not only unwisely and untruly, but if you 
 would have Christians to follow that course, you show 
 intolerable pride against the word of God : for the Bereans 
 were commended (whereas yet they neither believed in 
 Christ, nor acknowledged Paul's Apostleship) for their 
 readiness to hear, and care to search, whether Paul spake 
 true or no. This if now you assume to yourself over 
 Paul's words or writings, you incur the crime of flat 
 impiety. Paul's words to us that believe without further 
 search or other credit, are of equal authority with the rest 
 of the Scriptures, and not to believe him till we examine 
 and see the truth of his doctrine is mere infidelity." ' 
 
 There is only one other passage which can be urged by 
 any sensible man in defence of the sufficiency of the Sacred 
 Scripture, and that passage is the following : " But con- 
 tinue thou in those things which thou hast learned, and 
 which have been committed to thee : knowing of whom 
 thou hast learned them; and because from thy infancy 
 thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which can instruct 
 thee to salvation, through (Siu) the faith which is in Christ 
 
 1 Survey of Christ's Sufferings, p. 84.
 
 The English Reformation. 323 
 
 Jesus. All Scripture inspired by God is profitable to 
 teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice, that the 
 man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good 
 work." 2 This is another of the texts on which Protes- 
 tantism would erect its treacherous principle a principle 
 which seems to hold out great promises pleasing blossoms 
 indeed, but blossoms which are never destined to yield 
 good fruit. But the more the text is examined the more 
 reckless will those appear who use it as the prop and sup- 
 port of Protestantism. Take a survey of the Epistles of 
 St. Paul to Timothy, and the deception will be manifest. 
 1 St. Paul tells his faithful disciple " to keep that which 
 hath been committed to his trust ;" He bids him " hold 
 fast the form of sound words," which he (Timothy) had 
 heard from Paul, in faith and love which is in Christ 
 Jesus : f ' that good thing which was committed unto thee, 
 keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." 3 He 
 tells him that heresies will arise, and thus he guards him 
 against them : " Continue thou in the things ihou hast 
 learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom 
 7r o TI'VOS thou hast learned them " 4 He reminds him of 
 his early knowledge of the Scriptures, a knowledge 
 obviously derived from instruction because attained in 
 infancy ; and he informs him of the use of this knowledge 
 " through the faith which is in Christ Jesus." The Old 
 Testament then would be useful, but useful in consequence 
 of the teaching of Paul and the belief in the faith of Jesus 
 Christ. 5 Next, Timothy is addressed as a man of God, 
 as one who had been raised to the height of the ministry ; 
 and it is stated that to him the Scripture will be " profit- 
 able for teaching, for reproving, &c." Such is the pas- 
 
 2 2 Tim. iii, 15 and seqq.
 
 324 The English Reformation. 
 
 sage so confidently appealed to. But what does it prove ? 
 It is adduced in evidence of the solibiblical system : but 
 is there even a glimmering, the faintest ray of light to lead 
 us to such a conclusion? The Epistle is written to a 
 minister of religion, and to one who had been carefully 
 taught by St. Paul. The person addressed is warned to 
 adhere to the form of sound words which he had heard, 
 and thus still the vain babblings of proud men. The 
 Scriptures are mentioned, but they are those of the Old 
 Law ; they are Scriptures whose meaning had been 
 taught, Scriptures instructing to salvation but by means of 
 faith in Jesus Christ, Scriptures profitable for the minister 
 in many ways. This is stated in the objected passage, but 
 this only. The assertions go not beyond the individual 
 addressed or the order to which he belonged ; and not 
 one of them bears even lightly on the Protestant declara- 
 tion " the Bible, and the Bible only, is the rule of 
 Faith." 
 
 The sixteenth century system then, stands self-con- 
 victed. The Catholic reprobates it, 1 Because it is directly 
 opposed to the positive injunction of Christ and the 
 teaching of the one line of ministers which has come down 
 from the Apostles to the present period. 2 He reprobates 
 it because it has been made the ground, the root of all here- 
 sies. 3 He reprobates it because it puts rationalism and 
 infidelity, the de'nial of all mysteries, even the great mys- 
 tery of the Trinity and of the consubstantiality of the Son, 
 on a par with the maintenance of the most blessed and 
 God-sent truths. 4 He reprobates it, because it renders 
 Christianity an absolute impossibility for 1440 years, and 
 a moral impossibility for all after periods. 5 He repro- 
 bates it, because it treats God's written word with less
 
 The English Reformation. 325 
 
 respect, than any Government, or even any scholar would 
 allow either the laws of the realm or any able production 
 to be treated. For would any Government make any 
 body and every body the judge of the laws ? Would it 
 allow the decisions of the bold or the timid, of the igno- 
 rant or of the learned, to be conclusive of the question of 
 the meaning of the law j or would each erring commen- 
 tator be allowed to justify his aberrations of intellect or 
 deflections from every principle of right interpretation on 
 the ground of his having taken upon himself the character 
 of an expositor. Would the merits of a Virgil's or a 
 Homer's works, a Milton's, a Shakespeare's, or a Byron's, 
 be allowed to depend by a discerning public on the deci- 
 sions of the crowd. More, would the public be willing 
 to declare, that all persons were qualified for the office of 
 interpreters even of modern works, written in English 
 and in England, and only for Englishmen. For example, 
 would they be willing thus to test the intellectual worth 
 of Wordsworth, or Southey, or even of Dickens ? And 
 shall it still be proclaimed that all men are to be held up 
 as fitting interpreters of the awful volume whose charac- 
 teristics we have already described at some length ? 6 He 
 reprobates it, because he sees the folly of allowing to each 
 individual what is denied to the body of the Church by 
 the Protestant ; and of seeming to suppose that that could 
 have been appointed as the medium of faith, which, being 
 dependant on a thousand casualties, could not beget cer- 
 tainty in any one individual, much less in the mass of 
 human beings around. I allude of course to the differ- 
 ences which do and must exist between man and man, in 
 talent, in leisure, in facilities of obtaining information, &c. 
 7 He reprobates it, because its fruits are bad and bitter.
 
 326 TJie English Reformation. 
 
 Under this system, unity of faith, Apostolicity and Catho- 
 licity are absolutely annulled : sanctity is destroyed ; and 
 instead of humility the worst kind of pride abounds. It 
 has dried up the fountain of Sacramental graces; has 
 caused the better gifts to be laughed at ; has pillaged and 
 plundered the temples and altars of the living God ; has 
 uttered words of blasphemy against every doctrine of 
 Christ, and has made Christianity " a scandal to the Jews, 
 and a folly to the Gentiles." 8 He reprobates it, in fine, 
 because the Protestant thus divides the divine word; like 
 the cruel Nestorian, making of one two calling one the 
 Word of God, and degrading the other to the level of the 
 offspring of the mere creature, and calling it in derision 
 the Word of Man, as if Christ's spoken word was not as 
 holy as Apostles' written word, and as if the writing and 
 not the revelation was the important matter to be considered 
 in the Word of God. 
 
 Convinced of the necessity and institution of an ever 
 enduring teaching authority in the Church, which is to 
 teach all the days truth, we cannot be expected to submit 
 to hear the Bible, which has been and is made the play- 
 thing of the fancy, by Protestants, called the only rule of 
 faith. Lit up by a lunar ray, the imagination of the 
 solibiblist soon gives signs of madness signs which could 
 only admit of a doubt in matters connected with religion ; 
 delirious dreams are mistaken for revelations and the 
 images of insanity for the apparitions of the spirit. If the 
 Protestant wish to be the dupe of imagination, his prin- 
 ciple will readily gratify his wishes ; or if he wish to enter 
 upon a voyage of religious discoveries, he may plunge 
 with his Bible into the wide sea of controversy: but let 
 him not therefore fancy that his are the wishes of others,
 
 TJie English Reformation. 327 
 
 and that others have the same ideas of religious discoveries. 
 The Catholic knows the region of revelation; the road, 
 leading to it, is to him clear, well defined and well trodden 
 down ; he has his chart and his compass and a fixed light, 
 ever guiding him to the Holy Land, the land of truth, 
 of certainty, of perfect peace. "With these guides and with 
 this end, he is perfectly contented. 
 
 It will hardly be required of me now, to shew the 
 falseness of the assertion contained in the sixth Article, to 
 wit, that " Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary 
 to salvation : so that whatever is not read therein, nor may 
 be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it 
 should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought 
 requisite or necessary to salvation;" for already in the 
 preceding pages the untenableness of the position has been 
 demonstrated. Numerous articles of faith, articles of 
 faith affecting nothing less than the Scriptures themselves, 
 and the leading mysteries of religion, have been referred to 
 as either not being contained in or not being proveable 
 by the Sacred Scriptures, independently of an infallible 
 exponent and guide. Texts which to some prove one 
 thing, to another offer contradictory evidence; and he 
 must be indeed ignorant who has not heard of the scores 
 of interpretations which words simple as these, " The 
 Word was made flesh," " The Father is greater than I," 
 " This is my body," " Whose sins you shall forgive they 
 are forgiven," have received from able and diligent 
 readers of Holy Writ. The list might be lengthened to 
 nearly any extent. For the sake of brevity I will limit 
 my observations on the thus unproved Articles of faith, 
 admitted by Protestants, to the following. 1 The violation 
 of the divine command to keep the Sabbath, and the sub-
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 stitution of the Sunday in its stead, without the warrantee 
 of any scriptural injunction for the change. No where 
 does the Scripture state that the Saturday is not to be kept 
 holy ; no where does it command the observance of the 
 Sunday. It is silent, absolutely so, on this head : for I 
 cannot suppose for a moment that any mortal possessed of 
 mind sees either in the Resurrection of Christ, or in the 
 reference to the holding on some occasions meetings on 
 the first day of the week, either a divine precept to keep 
 the Sunday holy, or a permission to labour and toil on 
 the Sabbath. Further : it is no where written how the 
 Christian seventh day is to be kept holy. The Christian 
 does not keep it as the Jew did. He scruples not to light 
 his fire and cook his dinner, and employ his servants in 
 many works, as well as his horses and cattle. He measures 
 not his steps, nor does he maintain that the divine threat 
 has been uttered against such as attend not to the distance 
 of the Sabbath's journey. " Thus far and no further," 
 may, he says, regard the Jew, but it affects not the 
 Christian. Protestant ministers, and Protestant laymen, 
 enjoy a social feast on the Sunday as much as on the week 
 day, and find railroads and carriages easy and convenient 
 modes of transit, even upon the Lord's day. They may 
 denounce innocent games in which the poor unite ; they 
 may affect to dread the sight of ball and bat, of cards and 
 dice, and call their use a profanation of the Sabbath, for 
 to Judaize in this way is not uncommon, but they see no 
 harm in the bustle of the servant preparing the abundant 
 repast ; they find no sin either in making their beasts toil, 
 or in journeying forth to some distant spot for air and 
 exercise. But how is this ? On what biblical principles 
 do they proceed in consulting their appetites and tastes,
 
 The English Reformation. 329 
 
 and ease and health, and in hurling their anathemas at the 
 poor man, who, making neither servant nor beast toil, 
 spends a few hours in unbending in invigorating sports, 
 his overstrained body and cramped-up limbs. In a word, 
 why does the Protestant write in letters of gold the words 
 " Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day" and teach 
 that those words are a divine command, whilst he himself 
 neither observes the command as to time or circumstances, 
 nor intends others to observe the precept which he himself 
 had enunciated, as a heavenly ordinance. 
 
 2 A still more important difficulty may be raised re- 
 garding the validity of baptism given by heretics. It is 
 well known what a dispute was raised by St. Cyprian on 
 this very point. 1 He maintained, and so did scores of 
 African prelates, not to refer to those of other coun- 
 tries, 2 that Baptism was invalid unless administered by a 
 sincere believer, by a member of the one Church. And 
 what he maintained he endeavoured to prove. Scripture 
 was cited by him, and cited with a facility peculiar to the 
 talented and shrewd and learned prelate of Carthage ; and 
 such was the force of the passages cited and appealed to, 
 that St. Austin honestly allows that he would have taken 
 the side of the martyr of Carthage, had there existed no 
 authority greater than that of St. Cyprian, for the expo- 
 sition and certain interpretation of the written word. 
 
 That Christ commissioned the Apostles to confer the rite 
 of Baptism is certain ; and that he had the power to limit 
 the commission' to whatever extent he chose is indis- 
 
 1 On the details and documentary evidence of this controversy, see 
 Conte Giuseppe Eecco's Dissertation in Zaccaria's Storia Ecclesiastica, 
 vol. vii, p. 207, &c. ; and Maleville's, ibid., voL viii, p. 158. 
 
 3 See Tilkmont, note 44, on St. Cyprian.
 
 330 The English Reformation. 
 
 putable ; but that he never uttered a syllable which has 
 been recorded in the Scriptures indicative of a wish to 
 extend the ministerial privilege, is I think a fact beyond 
 cavil. Further, since there appears at first sight some- 
 thing like an irregularity in the polity and economy of 
 Christ, in the supposition that he made those out of his 
 Church, the ministers of admission into the Church, those 
 aliens from grace, the collators of the instrument of grace, 
 one would rather infer with Cyprian that the administra- 
 tion of Baptism has been strictly confided to the Church, 
 and that those out of the Church have no power over the 
 property of the Church, than maintain with the orthodox 
 that others, even those who were aliens to and enemies of 
 the Church, had the power to touch the holy thing and 
 give it to another. It seems to be tossing the pearl to 
 swine and the holy things to dogs, to allow the privilege. 
 And yet, on this point, the very Christianity of the world, 
 if Protestantism be deserving of a moment's attention, 
 turns. As we have noticed, the entire downfall of Christi- 
 anity was requisite for the upheaving of English Protes- 
 tantism. It required a moral deluge, to efface the idolatry 
 and wickedness of the Catholic world, and begin a new 
 system and order of things. The ark which bore along 
 Boleyn, the parent of spiritual joys and blessings, and 
 Henry, Cromwell, and Cranmer, the Sem, Cham, and 
 Japhet of Protestantism, rode on the element of universal 
 ruin. All flesh had corrupted its way : save HENRY and 
 his virtuous associates, all were corrupt, and therefore 
 came ruin. The record is heart-rending: "All men, 
 women, and children, were at the moment, antecedent to 
 the Reformation, and had been during the lengthened 
 term of 800 years, Idolaters." How were these Idolaters
 
 The English Reformation. 331 
 
 enabled to confer Baptism ? Whatever baptism Henry or 
 his had, that they had from Idolaters; or if they will, 
 from the church of their condemnation. Were they bap- 
 tized ? If so, can it be proved that Idolaters can baptize ? 
 can it even be proved that the baptism of heretics is valid; 
 nay, can it be even shewn, that by schism, the power is 
 not forfeited. Can this be proved from Holy Writ ? No : 
 it cannot. Anglicans cannot shew on their own principles 
 that there is one single Christian in the world ; much less 
 can they prove that there are any really ordained min- 
 isters, or that Baptism being the gate through which 
 admission is gained into the body of the Church there is 
 any Church at all. Let the impugners of Catholicity read 
 the lengthened articles of Bingham, in his Scholastic 
 History of Baptism-, 1 they will feel the importance of 
 the subject, and will not wonder at the earnestness of that 
 writer, to demonstrate from tradition, that St. Stephen was 
 right in his opinion and St. Cyprian wrong. The Pope's 
 decisions, and the orthodoxy of Rome, are sometimes at 
 least, of infinite service to our common Christianity ! 
 
 It were easy indeed to urge the difficulties connected 
 with Baptism further ; for the validity of infant baptism, 
 as is clear, cannot be satisfactorily proved and anything 
 less than a conclusive proof cannot satisfy the Christian 
 where dogma is concerned from Scripture ; for the only 
 passages bearing on Baptism seem, especially when con- 
 trasted with parallel passages of Holy Writ, to suppose 
 reason and the power of election ; nor can it be shewn 
 that mere aspersion or affusion suffices for the validity of 
 the baptismal rite: since the word &CTT/&U, as well as the 
 
 1 I think that that is the title of the treatise, which I read about 
 thirteen years ago ; but to which I have not since had access.
 
 332 The English Reformation. 
 
 mode of conferring Baptism undoubtedly made use of by 
 the Apostles, and their successors in the ministry for ages, 1 
 involve the idea of immersion, or an actual and real 
 plunging and burying, as it were, in the stream. But I 
 pass over these and other matters, such as the denial by 
 Calvin 2 and his of the necessity of using water at all, and 
 of the denial by others of the form " I baptize thee in the 
 name of the Father," &c. ; being quite content with the 
 more important and striking points already referred to. 
 
 3 Can even these three propositions of the Thirty-nine 
 Articles be clearly established from the sacred Scriptures 
 alone, 1 that in the unity of the divine nature, there are 
 three persons of the same essence, power, and eternity, the 
 Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit ; 2 that the 
 Son, who is the word of the Father, was begotten by the 
 Father from eternity; and 3 that the Holy Spirit pro- 
 ceeds from the Father and the Son? I answer fearlessly 
 that they cannot : nor will any person maintain the con- 
 tradictory of this, who has ever read the Arian or Socinian 
 or Greek controversies on these heads. The germs of 
 doctrine which may be contained in the Scriptures on 
 these subjects, require much development, ere they can be 
 appreciated ; and the mere reconciliation of Scripture with 
 Scripture in reference to the Trinity, to the eternity of the 
 Son, and the personality and procession of the Holy Spirit, 
 is above the power of most scholars. Beyond reconcilia- 
 tion, much is required for the establishment of dogma ; 
 and that much as even Bull and greater men than that 
 
 1 The ordinary mode of administering Baptism for nearly thirteen 
 centuries, was immersion. 
 
 * Calvin interprets St. John iii, 5, by St. Matthew iii, 11. 
 3 See Articles i, ii, and v.
 
 The English Reformation. 333 
 
 Bishop have allowed, can only be supplied by an authority 
 extrinsic to and in itself independent of, the Holy Scrip- 
 tures. In the last century, even Anglicans and Protestant 
 Bishops openly denied some or all of the points referred 
 to. Let the reader consult Clark's 4 Scripture Doctrine of 
 the Trinity, in which numerous Scriptureal citations are 
 adduced in favour of Arianism, and in general refer to the 
 controversy carried on between him and Waterland, which 
 ended in rather confirming than weakening Clark's con- 
 victions ; let him study the works of the famous mathe- 
 matical professor of Cambridge, Whiston, who openly 
 preached the heresy of Arius ; or the Essay of Spirit^ by 
 Bishop Clayton, who went so far as to propose to the 
 Irish House of Lords to expunge from the Liturgy the 
 Aihanasian and Nicene Creeds, and he will at once feel 
 the difficulties by which, to these men's minds at least, the 
 doctrines most sacred in Christianity, were surrounded ; 
 and he will further admit, that if Scripture alone be the 
 rule of faith, then no mystery is safe, and Christianity is 
 reduced to a name. 
 
 4 From the Scriptures alone, the 39th Article cannot 
 be proved, which maintains the lawfulness of swearing : 
 " We judge the Christian religion doth not prohibit, but 
 that a man may swear when the magistrate requireth, in a 
 cause of faith and charity, so it be done according to the 
 prophet's teaching, in justice, judgment, and truth." 
 Every one knows that numbers even at the present day 
 
 4 He was Queen Anne's Chaplain, and in 1709 was presented to St. 
 James', Westminster. 
 
 6 Some persons maintain that Clayton only wrote the Introduction to 
 the work. Still the point is the same : Clayton approved of the work and 
 published it at his own expense. See Biog. Diet, in verbo.
 
 334 The English Reformation. 
 
 object to swearing at all, looking on such an act as useless 
 and strictly inhibited. And indeed, if the mere words of 
 Christ be considered, " Swear not at all . . . but let your 
 communication be yea, yea, nay, nay, for WHATSOEVER is 
 
 MORE THAN THESE COMETH OF EVIL ;" X Or the Words of 
 
 St. James : " Above all things, my brethren, swear not, 
 neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any 
 other oath ; but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay ; 
 lest ye fall into condemnation," 2 it will be indeed impos- 
 sible to reconcile the Article with the Scriptures. Private 
 interpretations are substituted for Holy Writ, and logical 
 deductions for the divine declaration : and these are held 
 up as God's word, though they are nothing else than the 
 aberrations of ignorance and hallucinations of folly in the 
 opinion of others who deny both the doctrines and deduc- 
 tions alluded to. It may be useful here to point out the 
 usual way of proceeding adopted by Protestants in arguing 
 from Holy Scripture ; from my observations it will be 
 made clear that the arguers either are impostors or grossly 
 ignorant, and that those who believe in these texts as 
 interpreted are sadly duped. I will prove my position by 
 referring to a few leading articles of faith. 
 
 1 One of the points of religion which Protestants are 
 particularly fond of attacking, is the doctrine of the Inter- 
 cessorship of the Saints. This they absolutely deny, and 
 in proof of their denial and of the Catholic doctrine being 
 anti-Scriptural, they refer to two well-known texts, to 
 1 Tim. ii, 5, and 1 St. John ii, 1,2. Is it not written, they 
 say, " there is one mediator of God and man, the man 
 Christ Jesus." In order to convince the reader that these 
 words bear not in fact upon the point of doctrine attacked, 
 
 1 Matt, v, 34, &c. 8 St. James v, 12.
 
 The English Reformation. 335 
 
 and to show how here as elsewhere the Scripture is cor- 
 rupted for an end, I will cite the entire text. " God," 
 says St. Paul, " wills that all men be saved, and that they 
 come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one 
 God, one mediator of God and man, the man Christ Jesus, 
 who gave himself a redemption for all." Now, in this 
 text not a word occurs, 1 relative to mere advocates and 
 intercessors before the throne of God. The text of Scrip- 
 ture speaks of one mediator ; and the solibiblist goes be- 
 yond the Scripture in saying that this word means inter- 
 cessor, such as the saints are said to be by the Catholics. 
 That is his comment, his interpretation, it is not the word 
 of God ; and God's word, not man's word, is or is said to 
 be the Protestant rule of faith. 2 I assert further that 
 plainly the meaning, assigned by the Protestant, is in 
 direct opposition to the text of Scripture. St. Paul speaks 
 of one mediator who gave himself a redemption for all : 
 he speaks of a redeemer not of an intercessor simply, of 
 one who has offered up himself as the ransom for the sins 
 of mankind, and not of one who simply prays that the 
 ransom ofiered for man may be applied to man. And 
 really can any Protestant be so grossly ignorant as not to 
 know that even Moses is called emphatically by St. Paul 
 a mediator (Gal. iii, 19). It should, however, be noticed 
 that the Church does not apply in her conciliary decrees 
 the title of mediator to the saints, out of respect to Him 
 who is emphatically the mediator of man and God. 
 
 The second text, 1 St. John ii, 1," 2, is equally incon- 
 clusive. " I write," says St. John, " to you that you may 
 not sin. But if any one sin we have an advocate with the 
 Father, Jesus Christ the just ; and he is the propitiation
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of 
 the whole world." Does not this passage 1 obviously 
 speak of an advocate who is the propitiation for the sins of 
 the world ; and if it do, is it not clearly beside the ques- 
 tion ? For does the Protestant think that we admit two 
 advocates of this character, one of whom is God and the 
 other a mere creature ? No. But 2 put the case that the 
 Protestant will obstinately apply the text to Christ simply 
 as an advocate, and not as the advocate who is the Re- 
 deemer too, what will he gain? Nothing. Does the 
 Catholic deny that Christ is an advocate, and the advocate 
 emphatically ? Again, I answer no. For ever, is he the 
 great advocate, the advocate to whom saints appeal, and 
 from whom they obtain those favours for mankind which 
 Christ in his mercy is pleased to give. He is the eternal 
 advocate the God-man j the saints are mere creatures 
 interceding. The text if taken in the only sense a sense, 
 however, inadmissible in which it can be twisted into an 
 argument even by the sophist, is useless ; for whilst it 
 includes positively Christ, it excludes none from the office 
 of advocate. Allow Christ to be an advocate, and as far 
 as advocacy is concerned, as much has been admitted as is 
 asserted in the text. 
 
 As another illustration, let us review the proofs of the 
 assertion of the eleventh Article : ' ' Wherefore that we are 
 JUSTIFIED BY FAITH ONLY is a most wholesome doctrine" 
 They are taken 1 from Romans iii, 22, 28, Galatians ii, 
 16, and v, 6, Eph. ii, 8 ; and 2 from St. John's Gospel iii, 
 15, 16, &c. Now where 1 in these passages, or in 
 any other available passage of Holy "Writ, is it stated that 
 man is justified by faith ONLY. That faith is the root, the
 
 The English Reformation. 337 
 
 principle of justification is distinctly taught by the Council 
 of Trent, 1 that without faith it is impossible to please God, 
 and that he who believes not will be condemned, is again 
 admitted ; but still I seek in vain for either of these pro- 
 positions that " faith alone suffices for salvation," and that 
 " it only justifies." St. Paul, in the passages cited, as 
 well as elsewhere, argues strenuously in maintenance of 
 this truth, that Christians are not justified either by cir- 
 cumcision or by the Judaical observances. Some converts 
 seemed to be anxious to unite to the faith of Christianity 
 the observances of Judaism ; these St. Paul opposes not 
 incidentally, as it were, but at great length ; devoting five 
 long chapters to the establishment of his position and the 
 overthrow of the rites of the Synagogue. ' " Behold," he 
 says, " I Paul tell you, that if you be circumcised, Christ 
 will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man 
 circumcising himself that he is a debtor to do the whole 
 law. You are made void of Christ, you who are justified 
 in the law ; you are fallen from grace. For we in spirit 
 by faith, wait for the hope of justice. For in Christ Jesus 
 neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircum- 
 cision; but faith that worketh by charity." 2 And indeed, 
 that this was the sense of St. Paul is admitted by Pretyman 
 himself in his explanation of the eleventh Article of Angli- 
 canism. 3 Nay more, he goes further. He shows how 
 these words misunderstood were made the basis of the 
 error " that faith in Christ, without works or deeds of any 
 kind, that is, without the practice of moral virtue, was of 
 itself sufficient to procure salvation," 4 and how St. James 
 " reprobated and refuted the aforesaid interpretation, by 
 proving that a man is justified by his works, and not by 
 
 1 Sess. vi, c. 8. 2 Galatians v, 2, 6. 3 Vol. ii, 261. * Ibid. 
 
 Q
 
 338 The English Reformation. 
 
 faith only. . . . When, therefore, he says that a man is 
 not justified by faith only, he means that a man is not 
 justified by a bare belief of the divine mission of Christ ; 
 that belief must be accompanied by obedience, or it will 
 be ineffectual, that is, as he says in another place, ( Faith 
 without works is dead.' ' : 
 
 Hence it appears that the words faith and works are 
 used in different senses by St. Paul and by St. James. 
 St. Paul puts faith for the whole of Christianity, in contra- 
 distinction to the law of Moses ; and the works which he 
 declares to be unnecessary for justification are the rites 
 and ceremonies of that law. On the other hand, by faith 
 St. James means a bare assent to the truth in the Gospel ; 
 and the works which he declares necessary for justification 
 are the moral duties enjoined by the Gospel, and which 
 are produced by faith. St. Paul therefore says, the reli- 
 gion of Christ, if believed and obeyed, is sufficient to 
 justify. St. James says, the bare belief of the religion of 
 Christ, without conformity to its precepts, is not sufficient 
 to justify. These two propositions are perfectly consistent 
 with each other ; and the seeming contradiction in the 
 passages themselves, arises from the circumstance just now 
 noticed, namely, that the two Apostles in reasoning against 
 different errors, use the same words in different senses. 
 We may observe, in confirmation of our having rightly 
 explained St. Paul's meaning of the word faith, that every 
 one of his Epistles abounds with the most earnest exhorta- 
 tions and strict injunctions to the practice of the moral 
 duties, as forming an essential part of the Christian 
 character, and as absolutely indispensable to salvation; 
 and in his Epistle to the Romans, he expressly says, that 
 " God will render to every man according to his works ;
 
 The English Reformation. 339 
 
 tribulation and anguish unto every soul of man that doeth 
 evil, and glory, and honour, and peace to every man that 
 worketh good ;" and that " not the hearers of the law shall 
 be just before God, but the doers of the law shall be 
 justified." The word faith in this Article is used in the 
 same sense in which St. Paul uses it." 1 So then, after all, 
 faith only or alone does not justify ; for obviously faith is 
 something less extensive than faith with works, with its 
 fruits. That faith can exist alone is clear; that belief 
 does not necessitate man and deprive him of the power of 
 choosing evil and of acting against the conviction of his 
 mind is equally clear ; then faith working by charity, as 
 St. Paul denominates justifying faith, that faith which is 
 obeyed and not practically slighted, is something very 
 different from mere faith to which St. Paul thus refers in 
 his useful and important letter to the Corinthians : " If I 
 had faith to move mountains . . . and had not charity, I 
 am nothing." 2 Since, then, this faith alone does not 
 justify, the Article is proved to be false, and the argu- 
 ments adduced in favour of the Protestant position are 
 obviously null and void. In fact, who can remember 
 the words of Christ in reference to the last day, " He shall 
 render to every man according to his works," 3 or those 
 others of St. Peter, "Wherefore, brethren, labour the 
 more, that by good works, you may make your calling and 
 election sure," 4 and those of St. James, " What shall it 
 profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but hath 
 not works ? Shall faith be able to save him ? Faith, if it 
 hath not works, is dead in itself," 5 and not see clearly that 
 the statement contained in the Article is as much opposed 
 
 1 Pretyman, vol. ii, p. 263-4. 2 1 Cor. xiii. Matt, xvi, 27. 
 
 4 2 Peter i, 10. * James ii, 14, 17.
 
 340 The English Reformation. 
 
 to the Scriptures as it is to common sense. Pretyman's ex- 
 planation and reconciliation is indeed sufficiently Catho- 
 lic ; but it is a suicidal act in a Protestant to adopt such 
 language, and append it, moreover, to the eleventh Article. 
 The eleventh Article does maintain the solifidian system ; 
 and in this sense was it originally defended by the re- 
 formers. It is to repudiate the Article, to maintain that 
 faith only justifies when accompanied by good works. 
 
 Nor is the citation from St. John more conclusive. For 
 1 the word only no where occurs in the passage adduced 
 in relation to faith. 2 The words " believe in Christ " do 
 not in the passage quoted, or in numbers of other places, 
 simply mean a knowledge of the truths of Christianity, 
 but a practical knowledge, or as St. Paul calls it, " a faith 
 working by charity," or an operative and effective faith, a 
 faith which is not contradicted by deeds. This is evident 
 from the whole system of Christianity a system which 
 perfects in this and in other matters reason and common 
 sense; and does not contradict them, by stating that know- 
 ledge is all with God, and that he wholly disregards the 
 agreement of belief and practice as a principle of morality, 
 and a condition of salvation. 1 
 
 I have already shown, too, how the first principle of 
 Protestantism is not proveable from the Scriptures. For 
 1 neither the inspiration, nor the genuineness, nor the 
 authenticity, nor the canonicity of the sacred books can 
 be demonstrated from Scripture. 2 The Scriptures 
 no where say that they contain all truth ; nor 3 do 
 they assert that the Bible is the only rule of faith. This 
 has been already shown. And whoever will read the 
 passages commonly cited, " Thy word is a lamp to my 
 
 1 See 1 John iii, 15, and seqq. as also the Gospels passim.
 
 The English Reformation. 341 
 
 feet" " The word of the Lord remaineth for ever" 
 " These," (signs en-uae/a,) " are written, that you may 
 believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God ; and that 
 believing you may have life in his name," will at once 
 admit the irrelevancy of such citations. They neither 
 refer to the Scriptures of the new law, nor to the Scrip- 
 tures in general; nor do they remotely assert that the 
 Scriptures contain all truth, and that they are the only 
 rule of and guide to faith. Having, however, in detail, 
 shown to the reader the inapplicability of such passages, I 
 deem it useless to go back to the subject again. 
 
 Let any doctrine, indeed, advocated by Protestantism be 
 fairly sifted, and it will be found eventually that it is not 
 proved by Scripture only. Had not homilies and articles 
 and prayer-book, or catechism, sermons and oral instruc- 
 tion suggested or rather enunciated certain truths as 
 divine, and pointed to certain words of Holy Writ as 
 God's declaration in their favour, the Protestant would not 
 have hit upon his system more than upon any other. 
 Texts seemingly opposed to texts, not to refer to the con- 
 sciousness of an inability to decide on questions which for 
 centuries have divided Christendom, here and elsewhere, 
 would have left his mind a moral blank : he might have 
 become a Pyrrhonist or sceptic, as Blanco White, and 
 Chillingworth, not to mention still greater names, became 
 but he might not have become a Protestant or a dis- 
 coverer of the thirty-nine Articles in the Sacred Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 From what has been said the reader will have deduced 
 a few consequences of great importance to the Catholic. 
 1 He will have inferred that Catholics do not receive the 
 Protestant principle, because they look upon it as false,
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 and destructive of morality, of faith, and of that authority 
 which Christ has bid man hear, and which conveys to 
 mankind not simply the letter, but the heavenly inter- 
 pretation. Protestants are satisfied with the heavenly 
 hand-writing, niD*]&1 Hpn K30 ; the Catholic requires the 
 heaven-aided interpreter, in order to be assured of the 
 hidden mystery. The one divides the word, the other 
 receives the whole ; believing that not the writing but the 
 inspiration, the revelation howsoever communicated, be the 
 mode writing, or be the mode speaking, is the only impor- 
 tant item to be considered. 2 Hence, again, he will infer 
 how unjust it is to state as Protestants do state, that there- 
 fore does the Catholic refuse to be judged by the Bible, 
 because he shuns the light, rejects God's word, and knows 
 that the Bible and Catholicity are irreconcileable. All 
 this is neither more nor less than an unmitigated untruth, 
 although generally credited. No such motives do, or 
 could reasonably be supposed to actuate the Catholic. He 
 refuses on higher motives, on motives, as sacred indeed to 
 him as Christianity itself, to receive the divided word as the 
 source of all truth, and the sole guide to orthodoxy. He 
 believes that God has appointed not a book, but a living, 
 teaching, infallible authority to be the means of arriving at 
 the knowledge of His revelations ; and hence this and not 
 that is the authority by which he abides. He has no 
 choice : God has chosen and ruled all beforehand ; and to 
 his decision he willingly clings, notwithstanding the scoffs 
 and insults and jeers of a deluded crowd. Ignorant of the 
 principle of salvation, the scoffer may look upon it as a 
 sign of impotence and error to be attached to it : he may 
 say " descendat de cruce," let the Catholic abandon his
 
 The English Reformation. 343 
 
 condemned position : but the Catholic will not do so : for 
 that which is scorned is the election of Christ, who is the 
 wisdom and the power of God. 
 
 Nor can any one suppose, who really thinks, that any- 
 thing less than evidence could bind a Catholic to his 
 principles. For what is the position of the Catholic here ? 
 Is it not one of suffering, of incessant hardship and perse- 
 cution ? Is not his a religion full of restraints on passion 
 and carnal desires ? Is not his a nearly hopeless life as far 
 as secular advantages are concerned ? Let the reader call 
 to mind what is written in the statute-book against us ; let 
 him see what we have been deprived of, and to what pri- 
 vations we were subjected for centuries ; let him see how 
 crippled is our religion down to the present hour, even the 
 ministers of religion being forbidden to appear in public 
 in the robes of religion under penalties, no marriage being 
 lawful unless in the presence of a registrar, and the 
 minister of another creed claiming even the power a 
 power which is exercised, too to insult us by reading 
 prayers over our dead; let him remember the hatred 
 recently displayed against us, and the bitterness felt to- 
 wards us, a bitterness which manifests itself in tracts, in 
 circulating defamers, male and female, and in the pulpits 
 of the establishment where nothing is too outrageous for 
 assertion in the presence of hundreds on hundreds of wit- 
 nesses ; let him, in fine, remember how nearly every civil 
 post of emolument is conferred on Protestants, and that the 
 Catholic minister must be content to lead a life of hardship 
 and of poverty, hardship as great and poverty as pinching 
 as Apostles themselves had to endure, and he will allow 
 that the accusation of recklessness is indeed reckless, and 
 that indifference on our parts to truth, or a wilful oppo-
 
 344 The English Reformation. 
 
 sition to it, is inexplicable under existing circumstances, 
 on any hitherto discovered principles of psychology. " I 
 have believed, therefore have I spoken," is the Catho- 
 lic answer to the enquirer about his motives for adhe- 
 ring to this rather than to that principle ; and for being 
 a member rather of Catholicity than of Protestantism 
 easy, luxurious, wealthy, unrestrained Protestantism. 
 " I have believed"
 
 345 
 
 Chapter t|e 
 
 On the Zeal of Catholics in Transcribing and Circulating 
 the Sacred Scriptures, and the Grounds of Opposition 
 to the Bible Society. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Catholic Zeal in Transcribing, Translating, and Spreading the Sacred Scrip- 
 tures, attested by Protestants, and evidenced by a Multiplicity of Manu- 
 scripts in the various Libraries of Europe, &c. Continuation and Extension 
 of this Zeal after the Discovery of the Art of Printing. Bibles published 
 in every Ancient and nearly every Modern Language. Continuous proofs 
 of this point. Zeal and favour of the Popes. Catholic Commentators 
 as contrasted with Protestant Annotators. Origin of the Protestant 
 Idea respecting Catholic Opposition to the Scriptures. Origin of the 
 Index, and History of the Fourth Rule. This Eule both Wise and 
 Truthful, and conformable to the Apostolic Teaching. Even Protes- 
 tants approve of the Principle advocated in the Fourth Rule. Modifica- 
 tion of the Rule under altered circumstances. Causes of the Opposition 
 of the Pontiffs to the Bible Society. These Causes just and commend- 
 able. Antagonism of the Members of the Bible Society. This Anta- 
 gonism clearly demonstrated. Conclusion. 
 
 IN order to poison the public mind, the enemies of Catho- 
 licity incessantly repeat the cry that we are opposed to the 
 written word. They would have the people believe that 
 to them the world is indebted for the Bible ; that to others 
 
 2
 
 346 The English Reformation. 
 
 it is a sealed, an inhibited book ; and that, therefore, does 
 Rome condemn the Bible Societies, because Rome is op- 
 posed to the Bible. Need I tell any scholar, that here 
 there are as many misrepresentations as ideas ? But all are 
 not scholars : for the benefit of such as are not, I will 
 briefly expose the calumny. 
 
 1 The world is not indebted to Protestantism for the 
 Bible. Long before this religion was heard of, the Bible 
 was known, and circulated in the languages of Greece and 
 Rome. It was circulated in these languages so long as 
 they were the languages of civilization and of literature. 
 Earnestly and devotedly did Catholics toil and labour in 
 transcribing the sacred volumes ; and so great was the 
 number of copies thus produced by manual labour, one by 
 one, that there was no country, no city, no cathedral or 
 monastic establishment which was not possessed of the 
 Bible. Each copy became the parent of others ; and the 
 amount of Bibles existing prior to the discovery of printing 
 will appear really wonderful to any one who bears in mind 
 the labour and expense of transcription. " The Bible, it 
 is true, was," as Merryweather observes, " an expensive 
 work, but it can scarcely be regarded as a rare one ; the 
 monastery was indeed poor that had it not, and when once 
 obtained the monks took care to speedily transcribe it. 
 Sometimes they only possessed detached portions, but 
 when this was the case they generally borrowed of some 
 neighbouring and more fortunate monastery the missing 
 parts to transcribe, and so complete their own copies." 1 
 " Occasionally I have met with instances where, besides 
 several Biblia optima, the monasteries enjoyed Hebrew 
 codices and translations, and numerous copies of the 
 
 1 Merryweather's Bibliomania in the Middle Ages, p. 24.
 
 The English Reformation. 347 
 
 Gospels. We must not forget, however, that the tran- 
 scription of a Bible was a work of time, and required the 
 outlay of much industry and wealth. Brother Tedynton, a 
 monk of Ely, commenced a Bible in 1396, and was several 
 years before he completed it. The magnitude of the 
 undertaking can scarcely be imagined by those unprac- 
 tised in the art of copying ; but when this monk saw the 
 long labour of his pen before him, and looked upon the 
 well-bound strong clasped volumes, with their clean 
 vellum folios and fine illuminations, he seemed well repaid 
 
 for his years of toil and tedious labour Kings and 
 
 nobles offered the Bible as an appropriate and generous 
 gift, and bishops were deemed benefactors to their Church 
 by adding it to the library." 2 And, indeed, whoever is 
 acquainted with the works of Griesbach, Bentley, 
 Michaelis, Mill, Simon, Kennicott, Wetstein, Blanchini, 
 and Scholz on the numerous manuscripts of the Sacred 
 Scripture ; whoever has directed his attention to the 
 manuscript collections of the Bible in the Vatican, Am- 
 brosian and Magliabecchian libraries in Italy, and to those 
 which France possesses in the Mazarin, St. Genevieve, and 
 royal libraries of Paris ; whoever has visited the libraries 
 of Venice, of Vienna, Stuttgard, and Gottingen, or those 
 of the Bodleian and British Museum, or of Trinity College, 
 Dublin ; not to refer at greater length to the various col- 
 
 * Ibid, 26, 27. Several striking remarks on the subject in hand may be 
 seen in the same work at pp. 54, 61, 68, 70, 88, 97, 109, 119, 130, 131, 133, 
 140, 158-9, 161, 177, and seqq. Dr. Maitland in his " Dark Ages" has 
 anticipated Merryweather's remarks. So far from discovering that the 
 Bible was an unknown book, he maintains that the evidence is all the 
 other way ; and he lashes D'Aubigny for his insensate ignorance or 
 bigotry, or both.
 
 348 The English Reformation. 
 
 lections which exist in nearly every city in Europe j 1 who- 
 ever has read the writings of the bishops, priests, monks, 
 and lay historians of the middle and previous ages down 
 to the era of the discovery of printing ; nay more, who- 
 ever is acquainted with even the plays and the mysteries 
 enacted here and elsewhere, will be struck by the amount 
 of toil displayed in copying, in circulating, in studying, 
 and in interpreting the sacred word. 2 
 
 Nor did this zeal cease with the discovery of printing, 
 a discovery, like most others, by which society has been so 
 greatly benefited, made by Catholics. 3 Hallam proves 
 that the Bible was the first book printed (Hist, of Litera- 
 ture, vol. i, p. 96), and soon it was published in nearly 
 every language. In the year 1488, a complete edition of 
 the Bible in Hebrew appeared at Soncino, in the Cremo- 
 nese territory in the duchy of Milan ; and at Brescia in 
 1494. This edition was made use of by Luther (See I. G. 
 Palm, de codicibus quibus Lutherus usus est). Soon, too, 
 
 1 See De Rossis' Varice Lectiones for a complete list of Hebrew MSS. ; 
 also Kennicott's Dissertatio prcdiminaris, and the seventh and following 
 volumes of the Classical Journal, for a list of the same class of MSS. 
 existing in Britain at the present period. About the Greek MSS. the 
 reader may receive much information from Griesbach, Bentley, and 
 Scholz ; and Le Long, Blanchini, &c., may be usefully consulted in refer- 
 ence to the old MSS. hi other languages. 
 
 2 For an account of the reverence formerly shown to the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, and the care and expense lavished on the Bible, the reader may 
 consult Zaccaria, Dissertatione di Storia Eccles. vol. vii, 276. 
 
 3 The observations of his Eminence Cardinal Wiseman, regarding one 
 class of discoveries and by one country, have been too much for Protestant 
 England. Hence the comments on his speech at Leeds, but without the 
 text. I might add, that Father Fabri, S.J, was unquestionably the dis- 
 coverer of the circulation of the blood. See Paulian's Diet, de Physique. 
 Art. Fabri.
 
 The English Reformation. 349 
 
 a Cardinal, Cardinal Ximenes, undertook the expensive 
 and unprecedented task of printing a polyglott. The 
 printing of it commenced in 1504, and was happily termi- 
 nated in 1517. This polyglott contains an independent 
 Hebrew text, which became the basis of several other 
 editions, as also the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and a Chaldee 
 paraphrase. The New Testament contains the Greek 
 text and the Latin Vulgate. This noble work, worthy of 
 the proudest sovereign of Europe, was undertaken by a 
 Cardinal, and was dedicated to the patron of learned men, 
 Leo X. It was in six volumes, folio. The example of 
 Ximenes was a stimulus to others. In 1569 1572, ap- 
 peared the Antwerp polyglott, in eight volumes, folio; 
 Philip II, King of Spain, defraying the expenses of this 
 colossal undertaking. In addition to the text of the Com- 
 plutensian polyglott, were added another Chaldee para- 
 phrase of a part of the Old Testament, a Syriac version of 
 the New Testament, and the Latin translation of Pagninus 
 amended by the editor Arias Montanus, Nor did the 
 impulse end here. The Parisian polyglott appeared in 
 1628 1645 in ten volumes, folio. The work was under- 
 taken at the expense of a Catholic layman, who afterwards 
 became a Priest, of the name of Guido Michael le Jay. It 
 comprises all that had previously been published in the two 
 Catholic polyglotts, but has in addition an Arabic version 
 of the Old and New Testament, a Syriac version likewise 
 of the Old Testament, and the Samaritan Pentateuch. 
 
 After such a reference to zeal, reckless of expense and 
 toil, it will be nearly useless to allude to any ordinary 
 undertaking in connexion with the publication of the 
 Greek and Latin Scriptures. Suffice it then to say, that 
 the Aldine edition of the Septuagint appeared at Venice
 
 350 The English Reformation. 
 
 in 1518, and the Roman after the Vatican Codex, in 1586. 
 Of the early printing of the Latin text, the following 
 observation, made by a learned Protestant, offers sufficient 
 evidence: "After the invention of printing, the Latin 
 Bible was the first considerable work that was sent to the 
 press." Afterwards, editions of a critical character were 
 published in Paris in 1528, 1532, 1534, 1540, &c.j at 
 Louvain in 1547 ; at Antwerp in 1565 and 1574, and again 
 at Louvain in 1573 and 1586. Rome issued a splendid 
 edition in 1592, and as every one knows, hardly is there 
 a country which has not published numerous editions of 
 this authorised version, which has been uniformly used in 
 disputations, in preaching, and in expositions of the sacred 
 text, during the last two hundred and sixty years. 1 
 
 But were there translations of the Scripture in the ver- 
 nacular tongues ? Translations ? Yes indeed there were 
 translations in abundance in manuscript before the art of 
 printing was discovered, and after this invention had been 
 rendered generally available, copies were struck off by 
 thousands, in nearly every language of civilized Europe. 
 To this point I will briefly draw the reader's attention, for 
 to many the subject may prove both novel and highly 
 instructive, and corrective of prejudices which have been 
 carefully propagated by Protestants. 
 
 1 German Bibles. The first translation of the Bible 
 into German, is that of Ulphilas, Bishop of the Goths, 
 about the year 360. Only portions of this translation are 
 known to exist; but it is not improbable that in course of 
 time the entire translation may be discovered. The student 
 knows that down to the year 1819, only two manuscripts 
 
 1 See Le Long, 1. c., and De Bure's " Bibliographic Instructive," i, 
 32, 69.
 
 The English Reformation. 351 
 
 of this translation had been discovered, one of which is 
 preserved at Upsal in Sweden, and is called the Codex 
 Argenteus? from its silver letters, which are written on 
 vellum of a violet colour, whilst the other, which Knittel 
 discovered in 1756, is to be found in the library of the 
 Duke of Brunswick at Wolfenbiittel. 3 But in 1819, the 
 illustrious Cardinal Mai discovered on several palimp- 
 sests the following Epistles : the Epistle to the Romans, 
 the first and second to the Corinthians, the first and 
 second to the Thessalonians, those to the Galatians, Phi- 
 lippians, Colossians, and Ephesians ; the first and second 
 to Timothy; and the Epistles to Titus and Philemon. 
 Besides, there were two pages of Esdras, and four of 
 Nehemias; and abundant proofs in addition, that the 
 common belief that Ulphilas had not translated the books 
 of Kings, for fear of enkindling the martial fury of the 
 Goths, was altogether unfounded. 4 As Hallam rightly ob- 
 serves : " In the eighth and ninth centuries, when the 
 Latin Vulgate had ceased to be generally understood, 
 there is no reason to suspect any intention in the Church 
 of Rome, to deprive the laity of the Scriptures. Trans- 
 lations were freely made Louis le Debonnaire is said 
 
 to have caused a German version of the New Testament 
 to be made. Olfrid, in the ninth century, rendered the 
 Gospels, or rather abridged them into German verse." 5 . . . . 
 
 2 It was found in the abbey of Werden, in Westphalia. This MS. con- 
 tains the four Gospels, but with numerous and important lacunae. 
 
 3 The best edition of all these fragments of Ulphilas is that of Zahn, 
 published at Weissenfels in 1805. 
 
 4 See Mai's " Ulphilse partium ineditarum in Ambrosianis palimpsestis 
 ab A. Maio repertarum, specimen." Mediolani 1819. 
 
 5 View of Ewrope during the Middle Ages, p. 58, &c.
 
 352 The English Reformation. 
 
 Besides these, numerous manuscripts of every age exist, 
 through which the changes affecting the German language 
 may be distinctly traced. It is natural to suppose that in 
 the country where printing was discovered, the Bible 
 would soon appear in print. The first printed Bible ex- 
 tant is that of Nuremberg, 1447, and a second appeared 
 in 1466 ; but the names of the authors of both editions 
 are undiscovered. The edition of 1466 was so frequently 
 and rapidly reprinted, that prior to the publication of 
 Luther's Bible, it had been issued no fewer than sixteen 
 times : once at Strasburg, five times at Nuremberg, and 
 ten times at Augsburg. Three distinct editions too ap- 
 peared at Wittemberg in 1470, 1483, and 1490; 1 so that 
 before Luther was heard of or even born, the Bible, 
 judging from the numerous editions published, must have 
 been well known and well read. 2 Judge then of the 
 audacity of a modern writer, D'Aubigny, who has dared 
 to insult the public, by stating that "the Bible was an 
 unknown book" in the year 1517, and that Luther had 
 never seen it till his twentieth year ! 3 And yet has not the 
 inaccurate Home, who though an authority with Anglicans 
 is one of the most unsatisfactory writers either on the 
 proofs* of Scripture or on the mere facts connected with 
 manuscripts and printed copies, given his sanction to this 
 
 1 See SeckendorP s Comment in Luther, p. 204. 
 
 2 Le Long's Bib. Sac. t. i, p. 354 and seqq. Audin's Life of Luther, 
 p. 266 ; and the Dublin Review, No. 2, July 1836, p. 378, &c., may be 
 consulted on the printed editions. 
 
 3 Hist, of Reformation, vol. i, p. 131. 
 
 4 I find that several authors have recently expressed regret on finding 
 such a man using the feeble arguments he does in reference to the Inspi- 
 ration, &c., of the Sacred text. Home's day is over : and his Introduction 
 will be hereafter, in the eyes of scholars, in very truth only a Horn-book.
 
 The English Reformation. 353 
 
 error, by suppressing all reference to the numerous editions 
 which preceded Luther, though he had Le Long's work 
 before him to teach him better ? 
 
 The zeal of German Catholics has ever remained the 
 same, for the sacred writings : and Protestants have 
 admitted the singular merits of the more modern Catholic 
 versions of Schwarzel and Brentano and Allioli. These 
 men, and men like them, preserve the integrity of books 
 and text, whilst thousands of others in Germany are lop- 
 ping away book after book, and reducing the whole to a 
 myth : a Bible without revelation, or mystery, or mira- 
 cle! 
 
 French Bibles. Simon observes, in reference to this 
 class of translations, that " it is affirmed in France that part 
 of the Bible was translated into French under Charles the 
 5th of France ; and M. Charles du Moulin declares that 
 he had seen some manuscript fragments of it. Besides, 
 they of Geneva have at present in their public library a 
 French translation of the whole Bible, made by a Canon of 
 Aire towards the end of the thirteenth century. I believe 
 this to be the same translation which Robert Olivetan 
 speaks of, and which was read at Geneva before Calvin's 
 reformation, who set up another in its place." 5 Besides 
 the " Bible historiale" of Des Moulins, which appeared 
 about 1478, and which was reprinted sixteen times prior 
 to 1546, twelve editions being printed at Paris and four at 
 Lyons, Le Fevre published an edition of the sacred Scrip- 
 tures in 1512. Edition after edition eventually appeared, 
 as may be seen in Simon's writings on the Scriptures; and 
 no one can be ignorant of the merits and circulation of the 
 
 5 Simon's Hist. Crit. du V. T. Book ii, c. 22.
 
 354 The English Reformation. 
 
 translations of De Sacy, Corbin, Amelotte, Maralles, 
 Godeau, and Hure. 
 
 3 Flemish Bibles. Before 1210, the Bible was trans- 
 lated into Flemish, if we may rely on the authority of 
 Usher, by James Merland. In the Bodleian there is a 
 manuscript of the date of 1472. Eventually, as even 
 the writer in the Encyclopaedia Britannica allows, the 
 Flemish Bibles of the Catholics became very numerous, 
 though printed in general without the authors' names 
 down to the year 1548, when Vinck 1 published his trans- 
 lation at Louvain. The first printed edition appeared at 
 Cologne in 1475, and was reprinted at least seven times 
 before 1530, whilst the edition of Antwerp, of 1528, was 
 reprinted eight times in seventeen years. The later edi- 
 tions of De Witt, Laemput, and Schurr, testify as well to 
 the biblical knowledge as to the piety of the learned 
 Catholics of Flanders. 
 
 4 Spanish Bibles. But Had the Spaniards any copies 
 formerly of the sacred Scriptures ? Yes. And, not to 
 refer to older versions, for this is in fact useless, in 1405 
 the whole Bible was translated either by St. Vincent 
 Ferrer or by his brother Boniface. This translation was 
 printed at Valencia in 1478, with the formal permission 
 of the Inquisition, and reprinted in 1515, 2 and of it nu- 
 merous editions were published at Antwerp, Barcelona, 
 and Madrid, Eventually, however, it was superseded by 
 the labours of Scio de S. Miguel, whose translation has 
 
 1 Article, Bible. Others call this person Van Wingh ; which is indeed 
 the correct mode of writing his name. 
 
 2 See Simon, 1. c., and Dublin Review, 1. c. Simon refers to De Valere 
 for his statement
 
 The English Reformation. 355 
 
 been republished even by Bagster in 1823, on account of 
 its elegance and fidelity. 
 
 5 Italian Bibles. As early as 1290, Jacobus & Voragine, 
 one of the lengthened line of illustrious Archbishops who 
 have ruled the see of Genoa, published the entire Bible in 
 Italian. Another translation was prepared by the Camal- 
 dolese Monk, Nicholas Malermi, which was printed at 
 Venice in 1471, and again in Rome in the same year, 
 but with considerable alterations. It was so eagerly pur- 
 chased, that prior to the year 1525, no fewer than thirteen 
 editions of it had issued from the press. They were all 
 published with the permission of the Inquisition, as were 
 also eight other editions which were printed before the 
 year 1567. The most approved and accurate edition, 
 however, of the Scriptures was executed by the Arch- 
 bishop of Florence, Martini. The New Testament was 
 published in 1769, and the Old in 1779. During the last 
 seventy years, this copy has been reprinted in every size, 
 scores of times. It was hailed by the head of the Catholic 
 Church, Pius VI, as well as by the rest of the Italians. 
 The Pontiff praised the zeal and ability of the translator 
 in a letter which is now ordinarily prefixed to the English 
 Catholic versions of the Scriptures, 3 and exhorted the 
 faithful to avail themselves of the fruits of the learning 
 and industry of the venerable Archbishop. 
 
 6 English versions. Owing to the change of dynasty 
 and language, which was so frequent here, it will afford 
 little matter for surprise, if comparatively few editions of 
 the sacred Scriptures appeared in the vernacular. Briton 
 
 3 See for example the Bible dedicated to Dr. Brampston, in fol. ; the 
 Testament published in Belfast, Duffy's Bibles, &c. On the Italian ver- 
 sions see the Dublin Review, 1. c.
 
 356 The English Reformation. 
 
 and Saxon, Dane and Norman, rapidly succeeded one 
 another, and even long after the establishment of the 
 Norman power, the language of France was considered 
 the language of civilization, and together with Latin, of 
 law and literature. Still, that parts at least of the sacred 
 Scriptures were translated into Saxon, is certain; for 
 Venerable Beda was occupied in dictating his translation 
 of the Gospel of St. John, down to a few hours before his 
 saintly death. To what extent, however, his labours 
 went is a matter of great uncertainty; for whilst some 
 maintain that he only translated the Gospels, others as 
 positively assert, that the Saxons were indebted to him 
 for a version of the whole of the sacred Scriptures. In 
 the Cottonian library at the British Museum there are two 
 Saxon manuscripts ; one containing the Psalms, the other 
 the sacred Gospels. The Rushworth Gloss at Oxford, 
 too, contains the Gospels. Besides these, there are still 
 numerous manuscripts remaining, 1 in which occur trans- 
 lations of various portions of the Bible. By -ZElfric the 
 homelist, a very considerable portion of the sacred Scrip- 
 tures was translated, at the entreaty of his patron Ethel- 
 wcerd. This Ethelwcerd had an imperfect copy of an 
 English version of Genesis, which he was anxious to see 
 completed ; and judging that no one was more fitted for 
 the task than JElfric, him he asked to gratify his wishes. 
 Other circumstances impelled JElfric to prosecute his task ; 
 and it is quite clear, that very few books indeed of the 
 
 1 Of the wanton destruction of British manuscripts by the Saxons, and 
 of the Saxon by the Danes, no one is ignorant. But the English manu- 
 scripts were equally recklessly destroyed at the Reformation. Ship loads 
 were sold as waste-paper, and those which were not sent to the Continent 
 were torn to pieces. See Leland's, &c. account of this sad event.
 
 The English Reformation. 357 
 
 Scriptures escaped his attention. 2 Usher and Wood are 
 positive that Trevisa published a translation of the whole 
 of the Bible. Assuredly, as Sir Thomas More re- 
 marks, there was a translation in English which anti- 
 cipated that of the inconsistent and vacillating and 
 disappointed Wycliffe. In 1582 the New Testament 
 was published "at Rheims, from the MS. of Allen, 
 Martin, and Bristow, and the Old Testament was com- 
 pleted at Douay in 1609, 1610. Numerous editions, 
 more or less corrected and amended, have been published 
 of the entire Bible by the Catholics, in England, Ireland, 
 and Scotland ; and notwithstanding the numerous diffi- 
 culties by which we are surrounded, our Bibles, though 
 considerably larger than those circulated by the Protes- 
 tants, and not printed at a price ruinous to all engaged on 
 the work, 3 are now nearly as cheap as those sold by the 
 various branches of Protestantism. 
 
 When further it is remembered that the first Christian 
 edition of the Samaritan Pentateuch was published by 
 Catholics; that they were the first, too, to print and 
 spread far and wide the Greek, Arabic, Syrian, and ^Ethio- 
 pic versions, and the Chaldean paraphrases; that copies 
 innumerable of the Bible, in the language best understood 
 by all scholars, have been circulated by them of course 
 I refer to the publication of the Vulgate ; when, again, it 
 
 2 See Lingard's interesting account of the whole proceeding, in his 
 Anglo-Saxon Church, vol. ii, 315 and seq.; as also Merryweather, 1. c., 
 p. 48-9. 
 
 3 The reader will remember the said expose" of the system pursued to- 
 wards printers, &c., engaged on the Bibles of the Bible Society. It was 
 proved that the most cruel conduct was pursued towards the workmen and 
 workwomen ; and that the Bible maxim, " The workman is worthy of his 
 hire," was entirely overlooked.
 
 358 The English Reformation. 
 
 is remembered that from the Propaganda Press at Rome, 
 Bibles or portions of Bibles have issued in the languages 
 of one hundred and sixty-three different peoples (See 
 Kinsella's Letters, p. 8) ; that Houbigant was rewarded 
 by a Pope for his biblical researches ; that Kennicott ob- 
 tained in the Vatican that assistance which enabled him to 
 publish his critical work at the Clarendon Press in 1776 j 
 and that men like Rossi have spent their lives over the 
 palimpsest, and others like Fabricy have written volume 
 on volume to stimulate the learned to labour hard in their 
 Bible task ; when, in fine, it is felt and known, as it should 
 be, by every scholar, that to the Catholics the world is 
 indebted not only for the letter of the Scripture, but also 
 for every kind of commentary which may facilitate the 
 acquirement of a thorough knowledge of the text, whether 
 that knowledge regard the readings, the topography, the 
 chronology, the customs, the currency, the royal or sacer- 
 dotal duties, the faith and practices of the believer or of 
 the infidel, the natural history contained in the sacred 
 pages, or the history of kingdoms and dynasties, of nations 
 and individuals long since passed away ; and are not the 
 works of Petau, Ribera, Pineda, Ugolini, A. Lapide, 
 Menochius, Bonfrere, Tirinus, Salianus, Pradus and 
 Villalpandus, Agelli, Justiniani, Lamy, Houbigant, 
 Celada, Maldonatus, Estius, Cajetan, Toletus, Mariana, 
 De Sacy, Calmet, Ackermann, Windischmann, Secchi, 
 Patrizzi, and Scholz illustrative of the sacred history, of 
 European celebrity ? can any one hereafter be so reck- 
 less of truth or so anxious to stultify himself in the eyes 
 of every respectable man, as to assert that Catholicity is, 
 I will not say inimical to the Scriptures, but not anxious 
 in every available way to show her esteem and reverence
 
 The English Reformation. 359 
 
 for, and knowledge of, the sacred volumes in all their de- 
 tails. Puny are the efforts, notwithstanding all modern 
 boastings, of Protestantism, when compared with those of 
 Catholicity, in reference to the Bible ; and were those 
 who either speak against or who ignore the claims of our 
 authors to zeal and knowledge, stripped of their borrowed 
 plumes ; were the writers on the Psalms Home and 
 others compared with Agelli and Bellarmine j the mo- 
 dern commentators on Job examined by the side of 
 Pineda, and those on Ezechiel contrasted with the refined 
 and learned observations of Pradus and Villalpandus ; in 
 fine, were Clarke and other commentators of a hundred 
 names stripped of the treasures stolen from a Calmet or a 
 Lapide or Maldonat, it would soon be seen what are the 
 merits of Protestants, and what the independent merits of 
 Catholics as scholars, able, learned, profound: scholars 
 fitted for the task of expounding Holy Writ. 
 
 How then happens it, it will be asked, that Catholics 
 are looked upon as enemies of the written word ; why is 
 it stated and believed that they are afraid of the Bible be- 
 cause conscious of the discrepancy which exists between 
 the teachings of the Church and the teachings of the written 
 revelation, if facts be such as have been hitherto alleged ? 
 This query can only be answered in one way ; and in a 
 manner by no means flattering to the judgment or veracity 
 of our opponents. But the truth is this : these false asser- 
 tions are the offspring of hatred, and originate in an un- 
 willingness to judge favourably of a party which is hated 
 because dreaded, and dreaded because injured. As every 
 kind of base accusation was urged against the new law by 
 the enemies of Christianity, and was when once uttered
 
 360 The English Reformation. 
 
 credited and widely circulated, 1 and made the basis of a 
 superstructure of accumulated wicked allegations, so is it 
 now :- a falsehood is uttered by one, it is believed by the 
 many, and the many add such additional and varying 
 circumstances that at last the original mis-statement is 
 multiplied a hundred fold : it has increased in malignity, 
 in intensity, in cause, in effect; in every way it has 
 changed. The best of motives, and the holiest of reasons, 
 reasons which religion and a zeal for faith dictated, are 
 explained away in the most unfavourable manner ; what 
 was done for God is made to appear to have been done in 
 opposition to him ; and what was suggested by a love of 
 truth and a reverence for things sacred, and a desire to 
 secure the salvation of men, is held up as a conspiracy 
 against revelation, piety, and man's eternal interests. In 
 elucidation of this matter, I will endeavour to lay before 
 the reader a few facts, which will at once more distinctly 
 point out and meet the Protestant difficulty, which has 
 been fostered to such an extent, and dwelt on as something 
 very remarkable. 
 
 At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the pastors 
 of Catholicity beheld with regret the dissemination of 
 heretical works of works dangerous both to faith and 
 morals. To facilitate the detection of this class of pro- 
 ductions, and thus to put the Catholic on his guard, 
 several zealous theologians published lists of works which 
 were deemed by them to be particularly dangerous and 
 prejudicial. Charles V of Spain was pleased with the 
 idea, and accordingly he advised the theological faculty of 
 
 1 See on this head my work on " The Jesuits" p. 39, &c., or fleeve's 
 Apologists of Christianity passim.
 
 The English Reformation. 361 
 
 Louvain to publish a catalogue of those works either posi- 
 tively heretical or suspected of heresy, and which might be 
 considered most dangerous at that critical period. The 
 work was accordingly undertaken and published, with the 
 Emperor's authority, in 1546. Another edition eventually 
 appeared under the same sanction in 1556. 2 Encouraged 
 by the imperial example, the Pontiff Paul IV, ordered the 
 heads of the Holy Inquisition, in 1557, to prepare for the 
 press a similar work. Accordingly they did so : and the 
 result of their toils appeared two years later, with the ex- 
 press approbation of his Holiness. This work is divided 
 into three parts : the first part containing a list of those 
 authors whose publications were altogether forbidden ; the 
 second a list of those particular works of any author which 
 alone were prohibited ; and the third consisting of some 
 anonymous writings, and a clause forbidding all such 
 works written since 1519. This clause was followed by 
 the names of sixty printers, whose works, irrespective of 
 author, subject, &c., were absolutely inhibited. As Spon- 
 danus observes, this Pope was the first to issue such a 
 sweeping condemnation. 3 
 
 Nor did the zeal of the pastors to secure their people 
 against the errors and demoralization of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury stop here. In the fourth session of the Council of 
 Trent, held February 26, 1562, it was proposed that some 
 persons should be selected to examine the works of 
 
 2 Edicta Flandrise, 1. i, rub. 7. 
 
 3 Ad ann. 1557. " Primus extitit qui universalem omnium perniciosorum 
 librorum cujuscumque argumenti etiam profani, a quibuscumque ;etiamque 
 religione Catholicis Scriptorum, vel etiam a suspectis Typographis de 
 quacumque arte editorum Indicem contexere studuerit ; cum ad eum usque 
 diem, librorum prohibitiones tarn a Pontificibus quam ab Imperatoribus 
 factse, nunquam excessissent terminos librorum haereticorum. . . ." 
 
 R
 
 362 The English Reformation. 
 
 heretics, and report to the Council their ideas relative to 
 the best course to be adopted for obviating the evils 
 resultant from such productions. After some discussion 
 the task was committed to Drascovitius, the imperial 
 orator for the kingdom of Hungary, to Trivinsanus, patri- 
 arch of Venice, and to a committee of four archbishops, nine 
 bishops, two generals of religious orders, and one abbot ; 
 but with this clause, " That the index should not be pub- 
 lished before the termination of the Council." 1 The task 
 was entered on with energy ; but on account of its extent 
 and the desire which was universally felt of bringing the 
 Council to a close as early as possible, it was not con- 
 cluded time enough to receive the approbation of the 
 assembled fathers. Before, however, parting, the fathers 
 decreed that " whatsoever had been done should be laid be- 
 fore the most holy Roman Pontiff; and that it should by his 
 judgment and authority be terminated and made public." 2 
 In conformity with this decree, passed at the very last 
 sitting of the Council, the Index was drawn up and pre- 
 sented to Pius, as he testifies in his brief Dominici gregis. 
 But the authors went beyond the instructions they had 
 received. Observing in the former Index of Paul 
 " several things which required explanation," they com- 
 posed, after having maturely and quietly weighed the 
 matter, and asked the advice of the most learned theolo- 
 gians of every nation, the ten rules of the Index, as 
 Forerius 3 observes, who was the secretary to the congre- 
 
 1 Spondanus ad ann. 1562, 17. 
 
 2 " Proecipit ut quidquid ab illis prcestitum est, sanctissimo Romano 
 Pontifici exhibeatur; et ejus judicio atque auctoritate terminetur et 
 evulgetur." Sess. xxv, c. 21, Concil. Trident. 
 
 3 See Forerius' Preface.
 
 The English Reformation. 363 
 
 jgation engaged on the Index. These rules were published 
 with the Index, which appeared on the 24th March, 1564? 
 three months after the Council had been brought to a 
 close. 
 
 From what has been said it follows, 1 that the very 
 notion of an Index originated in the unfortunate circum- 
 stances of those days. Lutherans and others were endea- 
 vouring to corrupt the public mind ; and Catholics strove 
 to shut out heresy in itself and in its works. 2 The 
 Index can only be entitled the Index of the Council of 
 Trent in a wide sense. 3 The ten rules of the Index 
 cannot in any way be called the rules of the Council of 
 Trent. This observation has escaped the notice of almost 
 all writers opposed to the Index ; still it is not new, for 
 St. Charles Borromeo drew a broad line of demarcation 
 between the origin of the Index and the rules of the 
 Index and than his no higher authority can be obtained 
 or indeed desired. In the fifth synod which he held at 
 Milan he says that the Index was published by order of 
 the Council of Trent ; but of the rules he observes in the 
 first synod, that they emanated from those to whom the 
 task of drawing up the Index had been entrusted. 4 When 
 once the Index was published, it became the duty of the 
 Inquisition to guard it and its rules. But this body was 
 
 * " Ab iis qui illi negotio a Sacrosancto Con. Trid. prsefecti fuerunt." 
 
 Van Espen, vol. i, p. 209, and seqq. 1 know, indeed, that even writers 
 
 of eminence, as Possevlnus in appar. verbo Index ; Sixtus Senens, 1. vi, 
 annot. 152 ; the faculty of Paris in 1567 ; the Council of Toulouse in 1590, 
 &c., call the rules the rules of the Council of Trent ; and this opinion is 
 warmly defended by Harney in his work, " De Sacra Scriptura linguis 
 vulgaribus legenda ;" but it is clear that the expressioi is inaccurate, and 
 directly opposed to the positive statements of even he framers of those 
 laws.
 
 364 The English Reformation. 
 
 already too much engaged ; hence the saintly successor of 
 Pius IV Pius V 1 instituted the Congregation of the 
 Index, which consists of a numerous body of cardinals, 
 bishops, prelates, and other learned men, to which he 
 assigned the guardianship of the faith and morals of 
 Catholics against the covert or open attacks of heresy and 
 infidelity, through the medium of the press. '.o^-v 
 
 The rules of this Congregation have naturally enough 
 been severely handled by heretics of every grade. Formed 
 with the express object of guarding the faithful against 
 error, and the subtle poison communicated through 
 writings of varying character, and of stopping the circula- 
 tion and the purchase of those books, it might naturally be 
 expected that they would be attacked in every way, regard 
 neither being paid to judgment, justice, or truth. s 
 
 But the fourth rule, regarding the sacred Scriptures in 
 the vernacular, is the one which has afforded the enemies 
 of Rome the most specious pretext, for insulting and de- 
 nouncing Catholicity. It has been to heretics what the 
 Sabbath was to the Jews. As in consequence of Christ's 
 mode of observing it, his enemies took occasion to calum- 
 niate and vilify, and justify their hatred and persecution 
 of, the Messias, and further to set at nought all the 
 miracles and other evidences which were day by day laid 
 before them of the advent of the Emmanuel; so on account 
 of the method pursued in regard to the Scriptures by the 
 framers of the rules of the Index, Protestants have shut 
 their eyes to the light, have denounced Christ's Church, 
 
 1 Van Espen says Sixtus V, but this is a mistake. See Devoti, vol. iv, 
 p. 103, and Scotti's Problem! di Politica, &c., vol. ii, on the language of 
 the ritual. 
 
 8 See Cracas for 1853.
 
 The English Reformation. 365 
 
 and assigned, as erst, all miraculous evidences and other 
 heavenly interpositions to fraud and jugglery and satanic 
 influences. Christ and Christ's spouse have ever been 
 treated similarly. This is the rule referred to. " Since 
 it is manifest from experience, that if there be no restric- 
 tion with respect to reading the holy Scriptures in the 
 vulgar tongue, more harm than good will come from it, on 
 account of man's presumptuous rashness: therefore it 
 shall depend on the discretion of the Bishop or the Inqui- 
 sitor, on the recommendation of the Parish Priest or the 
 Confessor, to give permission to read, in their own lan- 
 guage, any version of the holy Scriptures, which has been 
 made by Catholic authors, to those whom they shall know 
 to be in a state to receive no detriment from the perusal, 
 but an increase of faith and piety : it is required that the 
 permission be given in writing." To this rule our adver- 
 saries point in scornful derision ; and from it they deduce 
 their charges of hatred and aversion, on the part of Catho- 
 lics, to the sacred Scriptures. To me it appears clear, that 
 this lo triumphe, this posan of victory, is as ill-timed as it 
 is ill-judged. 
 
 For 1 What are the positions maintained in this rule ? 
 These : 1 that experience had proved that more harm than 
 good had resulted from an unrestricted reading of the 
 Scriptures in the vernacular. 2 That the cause of this 
 was not indeed the sacred text, but the rashness and pre- 
 sumption of the reader; and 3 that those therefore should 
 alone be allowed to read this class of translations who 
 would be benefited and not injured by the persusal. Now 
 can any one deny that these propositions are full of truth 
 and full of wisdom, when examined either abstractedly, or 
 according to those principles in which every Catholic does
 
 366 The English Reformation. 
 
 and must believe, if lie be a sincere member of his 
 Churcli ? I might lay great stress on this latter circum- 
 stance, for it is monstrous to allow the Protestant to assume 
 the truth of his solibiblical system, whilst examining the 
 conduct which Catholic prelates should pursue in refer- 
 ence to the flocks committed to their care. Catholics legis- 
 late on Catholic principles, and not on those maintained 
 by Protestants ; they legislate for believers, for those in, 
 not for those out of, the Church. Did we look upon 
 faith as something unsettled, or as something which had 
 yet to be discovered, or as something which God had left 
 to the decision of every individual; did we further be- 
 lieve that God had appointed a book to be the shibboleth 
 of orthodoxy, the bewildering moral maelstrom into which 
 every one was to plunge ere he could procure the pearl of 
 faith, then might the Protestant cry out victory, as he 
 heard the sentence inhibiting free access to the holy but 
 awful thing. But such are not our thoughts, such is not 
 our belief. Our adversaries must either refute our prin- 
 ciples, which hitherto has not been done, or show that the 
 causes of restraint are not valid, and this again is a task 
 above their puny strength, ere they affect to triumph over 
 us. Let us examine the three reasons adduced by the 
 framers of the fourth rule just cited. 
 
 1 Is it not a fact, that experience had shewn that more 
 evil than good had resulted from the promiscuous and 
 unrestricted reading of the Scriptures in the vulgar 
 tongue ? Let us examine facts. At that very time what 
 was before the world, as well as before the Fathers of 
 Trent ? Why, the most horrible of sights to a Christian. 
 Christianity was then being torn to pieces. Lutherans 
 and Calvinists, Anabaptists, Carlo stadians, and Zuing-
 
 The English Reformation. 367 
 
 lians, had already divided and subdivided even the sys- 
 tems which had just been established in Germany and 
 Switzerland; and in England similar effects were likewise 
 manifest. The new religionists, all pleaded the Gospel in 
 excuse for their blasphemies, and by the written word 
 justified their divisions and separations from unity. Al- 
 ready the reader has seen a proof of this in the enactments 
 of Henry, which practically forbad the tradesman and 
 the poor to use the Bible at all ; his attention will now be 
 directed to the statement of the great German reformer, 
 Luther. (f The devil has got among you : he daily sends 
 new visitors to knock at my door. One will not hear of 
 baptism; another rejects the Sacrament of the Eucharist; 
 a third teaches that a new world will be created by God 
 before the day of judgment ; another that Christ is not 
 God: in short, one this and another that. There are 
 almost as many creeds as individuals. .. . No later than 
 yesterday one came to me : ' Sir, I am sent by God who 
 - created heaven and earth ;' and then he began to preach 
 like a real idiot, that it was the order of God that I should 
 read the books of Moses for him. ' Ah ! where did you 
 find this commandment of God ?' ' In the Gospel of St. 
 John.' After he had spoken much, I said to him: ' Friend, 
 come back to-morrow, for I cannot read for you at one 
 sitting the books of Moses. . . . Whilst the papacy lasted 
 there were no such divisions or dissensions." 1 As early 
 
 1 Ein Brief e D. M. Lather an die Christen zu Autorf. Wittemburg, 
 1525, 4to., and D. M. Luther Briefe, t. iii, p. 60. For an account of the 
 Black Boar controversy between Luther and Carlostadt, the reader may 
 see Audin, p. 322, and for that with the cobbler at Orlamunde, see ibid, 
 p. 320, and Luther's works, Jense, torn. 1, fol. 467. Both parties of course 
 proved their doctrines from Scripture.
 
 368 The English Reformation. 
 
 as 1527, there were eight different interpretations of the 
 words, " This is my body," and thirty years later, there 
 were no fewer than eighty-five, 1 and Bellarmine tells us, 
 in a work which was published in 1577, that the number 
 of varying expositions had increased to two hundred. 
 (Bell, de Euch. c. viii.) The land where there had been 
 formerly but one faith, became a Babel of confusion ; and 
 men were what the Apostles had foretold, no better than 
 ff children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine." 
 Nor has the face of things improved either in Germany, 
 in Switzerland, in England, or indeed elsewhere where 
 the new system was set up. Based on the Bible, such 
 is the assertion, rationalism and heresy have multiplied 
 to such an extent, that it would fill a volume even to 
 describe briefly all the recent heresies. Some future 
 Epiphanius or Augustine, will fill volumes larger in size 
 on heresies and the "wanderings of the human intellect," 
 than were composed in the fourth and fifth centuries, by 
 the fathers just named. 
 
 Nor did morals fare better than faith : tf Hodie Lu- 
 theranice vivemus" became a term expressive of debauch 
 and drunkenness. As Erasmus well observes, the thoughts 
 of the early reformers were only intent on the gratification 
 of passion ; and that his account is not overwrought is 
 clear even from Luther's own statement. " I should not," 
 he says, " be astonished if God opened at length the gates 
 and windows of hell, and snowed or hailed down devils, 
 or rained on our heads fire and brimstone, or buried us in 
 a fiery abyss, as he did Sodom and Gomorrah. Had 
 Sodom and Gomorrah received the gifts which have been 
 
 1 Audin, p. 308.
 
 The English Reformation. 369 
 
 granted to us had they seen our visions and heard our 
 instructions they would yet be standing. . . . Since the 
 downfall of popery, and the cessation of its excommuni- 
 cations and spiritual penalties, the people have learned to 
 despise the word of God. They care no longer for the 
 Churches ; they have ceased to fear and honor God." 2 
 Bucer enters more into details. " The greater part of the 
 people," he observes, " seem to have embraced the Gospel, 
 only in order to shake off the yoke of discipline, and the 
 obligation of fasting, penances, &c., which lay upon them 
 in the time of popery, and to live at their pleasure, enjoy- 
 ing their lustful and lawless appetite without controul. 
 They, therefore, lend a willing ear to the doctrine that we 
 are justified by faith alone and not by good works, having 
 no relish for them." 3 Already we have stated in the lan- 
 guage of Henry and Latimer, what was the moral degra- 
 dation of England, consequent on the reformation : from 
 these and similar statements the attentive reader will easily 
 learn the genius of Protestantism. 
 
 Again, shortly after the reformation, a general insurrec- 
 tion of the peasants broke out, which eventuated in a 
 renewal of all the excesses in which the Hussites had for- 
 merly indulged. It was quelled indeed with vigour, but 
 not before much blood had flowed, and carnage had 
 stalked over the country. But ten years later, another 
 insurrection burst forth. John of Leyden at the head of 
 his adherents would establish the empire of God by fire 
 
 * Luther's Wercke, Altenberg, t. iii, p. 519. 
 
 3 Bucer, de regno Christi. On this scandalous subject, see Trevern's 
 Amicable Discussion, voL i, p. 84 ; Nicholas " Du Protestantisme," p. 543 ; 
 and an excellent article teeming with facts in the Dublin Review, March 
 1846.
 
 370 The English Reformation. 
 
 and sword. Amid excesses of the most disgusting cha- 
 racter, and words of horrid blasphemy, he made his tri- 
 umphant entrance into Munster. Of course excess was 
 followed by excess ; and if the fanaticism of the tailor 
 king was crushed, this was not effected without much 
 bloodshedding. But who was this Attila of the war 
 against the poor? Luther. As Menzel 1 well notes, his 
 violence against the emperor and the German princes at 
 the close of the Diet of Nuremberg in 1522, was the seed 
 of future seditions and wars. Egged on by Luther's 
 words, the peasants unfurled the standard of liberty; 
 and as they heard him 2 again accusing in language of 
 unmeasured violence princes and lords, bishops, priests, 
 and monks, of oppression and plunder, and saw him point 
 to the peasants swords, as God's instruments to chastise 
 those enemies of the peasant and of society at large, their 
 enthusiasm knew no bounds. They fearlessly made their 
 demands, the justice of which they established by refer- 
 ence to holy Writ ; hoping and believing that he who 
 had encouraged them to rise would not abandon them in 
 the hour of need. But great was their disappointment. 
 The Apostle of the Reformation 3 became the greatest enemy 
 of the peasants ; against them he wrote ; their emancipa- 
 tion he opposed, and their slavery he defended. Th e 
 Heresiarch heard of the butchery of 100,000 men, of the 
 
 destruction of numerous cities and monasteries, and 
 chur ches, but he had no tear to shed. " It is I who hav e 
 
 done it by order of God," he brutally exclaimed, " and 
 whoever has perished in this combat, has lost both body 
 
 1 See Audin, p. 285 and seq. 2 Ibid, p. 309, 310. 
 
 3 Tom. iii, fol. 139. Ed. Jense ; and Audin, 318.
 
 The English Reformation. 371 
 
 and soul, and is eternally damned!" "Poor peasants," 
 says Osiander, " whom Luther flattered and caressed while 
 they were content with attacking the Bishops and the 
 Clergy ! But when the revolt assumed another aspect, and 
 the insurgents mocked at his bull, and threatened him and 
 his princes, then appeared another bull, in which he 
 preached up the slaughter of the peasants as if they were 
 so many sheep. And when they were killed, how, think 
 you, did he celebrate their funeral? By marrying a 
 nun!" 4 Yes, as Erasmus feelingly remarks, whilst Luther 
 was revelling at his nuptials, " a hundred thousand peasants 
 were descending into the tomb." Morituri te salutant 
 was the cry which followed Luther to the bridal chamber. 
 The oppressors of the slave had often before listened to 
 the salutation ! 
 
 Such were the results of the indiscriminate use of the 
 Bible : discord in religion, discord in civil government, 
 and an overthrow of morality. What beneficial fruits did 
 the perusal of the Bible produce to outbalance this mighty 
 mass of miseries ? It produced none deserving of serious 
 notice. 
 
 2 The second proposition will be readily admitted by 
 every Protestant. For though disorders may arise from 
 the indiscriminate perusal of the Bible in the vernacular, it 
 does not follow that the Bible itself is to be blamed. He 
 only will be deserving of censure who applies it to a pur- 
 pose for which it was never intended by the Almighty ; 
 and who, Devoid of proper information, and of knowledge 
 
 4 See Spalding for this and numerous other passages drawn from German 
 writers, relative to their opinions as to the originator of this horrid catas- 
 trophe, p. 272 and seq., of his excellent review of D'Aubigny. I refer to 
 the Irish edition.
 
 The English Reformation. 
 
 sufficient to justify the assumed character of prophet to 
 and interpreter of the Bible, sets himself up as the judge 
 of orthodoxy, and as a commentator abundantly qualified 
 to decide on the meaning of the inspired text. 
 
 3 Nor can more doubt exist, relative to the third pro- 
 position, to wit, that those only should be permitted to 
 read the word who might be expected to derive rather 
 benefit than injury from it. This proposition is self-evi- 
 dent; and acting on this principle, every parent would 
 rightly extend, limit, or wholly interdict the use of the 
 most innocent and abstractedly useful things, to his chil- 
 dren. If experience prove, that certain studies, though 
 good in themselves, are to some individuals sources of 
 ruin; that companions however desirable in themselves 
 are in point of fact injurious ; that certain foods, though 
 good, are to this individual a stimulus to excess, or at this 
 season dangerous ; that allowances suited to another's 
 taste are made the prolific parent of crime and extrava- 
 gance, assuredly it becomes a duty to remove these causes 
 of misery, so long as they may be prudently adjudged to 
 be detrimental. The disorganised system must be treated 
 very differently from the well ordered ; and of this no one 
 either does or affects to doubt in matters regarding only 
 life and this present state of existence. Why should not 
 the principle be extended ? Why should it not be made 
 to embrace the future as well as the present, and eternal 
 as well as temporal interests ? 
 
 In fact, learned and zealous Protestants have written more 
 absolutely in reference to the necessity of some kind of 
 restriction, than even the compilers of the fourth rule. 
 Take as one instance out of many which might readily be 
 adduced, the following words of the illustrious Bishop
 
 The English Reformation. 373 
 
 Jebb. After assigning that meaning to the words epuv5r 
 rots yp#(p5f, which we have already vindicated, he con- 
 tinues : " The meaning thus established will, I hope, not 
 be found deficient in practical results of the most important 
 and most edifying character. From the case of the Jews, 
 we may learn how possible it is, not only to read the 
 Scriptures but to read them with attention, with diligence, 
 and even with some degree of lively interest, and at the 
 same time to reap no other fruit from this study than 
 heightened responsibility and aggravated condemnation. 
 And at the present day this lesson would seem to be par- 
 ticularly seasonable. For on the one hand, from a zeal 
 very sincere, but not very considerate, the Scriptures are 
 circulated in such a manner as, unintentionally, I am 
 sure, but still effectually, to countenance the notion, that 
 the mere perusal, I had almost said the bare possession of 
 the sacred volume, may be available for the attainment of 
 eternal life ; whilst on the other hand we find melancholy 
 proof, that the Bibles indiscriminately scattered through 
 the land, may be rendered instrumental to the most wicked 
 and infernal purposes. The volume of Scriptures is now 
 in every hand. And men without faith, without hope, 
 without charity, without God in the world, are labouring 
 to convert that volume into the text-book of anarchy and 
 atheism. The book, the chapter, and the verse, are un- 
 blushingly referred to, whence a disastrous and diabolical 
 chemistry extracts the poison of blasphemy and unbelief. 
 The shops, the markets, the stalls, the very courts of jus- 
 tice, are saturated with those materials of destruction 
 temporal and eternal. And at such a time, and amidst 
 such a deluge of unnatural impiety, the people ought to 
 be set upon their guard. They ought to be instructed
 
 374 The English Reformation 
 
 how possible it is to read the Scriptures, not only without 
 edification, but with moral and spiritual detriment. They 
 ought to be made sensible that the word of God, if it 
 prove not a saviour of life unto life, may become a saviour 
 of death unto death. They ought to be warned in the 
 same spirit, and almost in the same words, with which our 
 Blessed Saviour warned the Jews of old : take heed how ye 
 hear was his solemn admonition ; and from every pulpit of 
 this nation, and by every minister of God's holy word, I 
 could wish to hear pronounced the seasonable, salutary 
 warning, beware how ye read ! ' Jl And in a note attached 
 to a sermon preached in 1803, for an association which, 
 among other things, proposed to supply every house in the 
 kingdom with a Bible where there was not one, he makes 
 the following observation : " This declaration requires to 
 be qualified. As a final attainment the object should 
 never be relinquished. But, in the first instance, the pro- 
 bability, at least, should be ascertained, that, wherever the 
 Scriptures are given, they will be reverently received, and 
 piously employed, Otherwise, we may be found acting in 
 opposition to that injunction of our Blessed Lord, St. 
 Matthew vii, 6." 8 
 
 Such precisely were the views of the heads of the Con- 
 gregation of the Index views adopted, too, by the Roman 
 Pontiff. The precious thing was not to be given to dogs, 
 nor was the costly pearl to be tossed before swine. Holy 
 things were to be treated holily ; and where it was known 
 that they would be desecrated, it was deemed better, and 
 more conformable to the principles of the guardians of the 
 sacred deposit, and more useful even for the perverse, to 
 
 i Jebb's Practical Theology, vol. i, p. 303 and seq. 8 VoL ii, p. 29
 
 The English Reformation. 375 
 
 withhold rather than to grant what, under other circum- 
 stances, would joyfully have been conceded. Had not 
 experience proved the perverseness of certain persons, 
 had it not been evident that practically the book of God 
 had been made the book of Satanic teaching, had it not 
 been feared lest this wickedness might be perpetuated, 
 and still further insults be offered to God, even on account 
 of the inspired Scriptures, then no prohibition would 
 have been issued. The prohibition was against the wicked 
 and the perverse, for the good and the pious there was 
 practically no prohibition : these were exhorted by their 
 pastors to read the sacred word, for to them it would 
 prove a source of consolation and of encouragement ; and 
 reading in faith, they would recognize everywhere facts 
 and words confirmatory of the teaching of the Church. 
 The rule pointed out, in a word, those who would be 
 benefited and those who would be injured by the perusal 
 of the holy volume. To the former the Scriptures were 
 to be conceded ; but to the latter they were wisely denied. 
 In point of fact, as is evident both from the words of 
 Bishop Jebb and of the fourth rule, it was not the peru- 
 sal but the interpretation which was heeded. The conse- 
 quences drawn from the letter the setting up of self 
 against the Church the appointing individual reason as 
 the principle of faith instead of a properly constituted 
 authority, arrested the attention of the heads of the 
 Church, and forced them to interfere; for these conse- 
 quences and these principles were known to be anti- 
 Christian. Thus viewed the whole affair assumes again a 
 different aspect ; for it has been already shown, and this 
 is practically universally admitted, that all men are not
 
 876 The English Reformation. 
 
 capable of drawing up a rule of faith, a system of religion 
 from the Scripture ; and consequently that those who 
 affected to do this and this was the point guarded 
 against were unfit, in any sense, to read with profit the 
 Bible. And how pointedly the rule was directed against 
 the ignorant, against those who in fact could neither judge 
 of the integrity of the text, nor of the meaning of the text, is 
 obvious from this : only vernacular translations were pro- 
 hibited. Bibles in the original tongue, or in Latin, were 
 not at all proscribed. In other words, those who could 
 really study the text, those who were scholars, and were 
 best able as individuals to judge of its meaning, were not 
 in any ways impeded from studying, reading, when and 
 as much as they chose, the sacred word : and in the face 
 of this fact shall some be still ignorant enough to repeat 
 the foolish strain : Therefore does the Church of Rome 
 inhibit the perusal of the Bible, becausa she knows that 
 she is opposed to the Bible. She allows it freely to the 
 wise and learned, without fearing any such detection or dis- 
 crepancy ; and are the unwise they who are to make the 
 important discovery ? Those possessed of a thorough 
 knowledge of the language of the Jew, and Greek, and 
 Roman ; those whose time is their own ; those who have 
 all the appliances resultant from ease and wealth to prose- 
 cute their studies successfully ; those who have the power 
 of publishing to the world the results of their individual 
 discoveries, are unrestrained as far as any law of the 
 Church goes j and nothing is done to withdraw the Bible 
 from their hands. These are not dreaded ; and does the 
 Church dread the discoveries of the drunken and the 
 debauched, and of those whose intellectuality and appli-
 
 The English Reformation. 377 
 
 ances are on a par with their knowledge ? Surely, the 
 malicious insinuation, or rather assertion, is as the poet 
 
 An argument 
 
 Of human weakness, rather than of strength." 
 
 Would the Protestant know why the framers of the Index 
 drew up the rule they did? It was to save the less 
 favoured children of the Church from seduction ; it was 
 to guard them against the wickedness of heresy and the 
 foolish inferences of ignorance ; it was to secure them 
 against ruin in the hour of darkness and of tempest and of 
 deluge ; it was to snatch them from pastures which had 
 been laid bare, and from wells which had been poisoned, 
 and to give them saving and strengthening food, uncor- 
 rupted and uncontaminated. The Church was a mother : 
 and as a mother she was obliged specially to guard, and 
 specially to attend to the interests of her weaker children. 
 These thoughts guided the legislators who framed, and 
 the prelates who commanded the observance of, the rules 
 of the Index. The Church was bound to make her 
 teachings known, bound to teach all truth to the end of 
 time ; but she was not bound to command all persons to 
 read much less was she bound to tell each person to 
 read and judge for himself. Nay more, hers was the duty 
 to inhibit this private system of religion, since her authority 
 was paramount and absolute. And when it is remembered 
 with what rigour the Jews restrained their youth from 
 reading at all certain portions of the Scriptures, as the 
 Canticle of Canticles, the Book of Genesis, &c., though 
 there were few dangers then to faith and morals compared 
 with those which inundated the land, as we have already
 
 378 The English Reformation. 
 
 seen, in the sixteenth century ; when further it is known 
 how, as Lord Clarendon observes, regicides justified their 
 crimes formerly by appeals to the sacred texts, that poly- 
 gamy and neglect of families, and other still worse crimes, 
 not to speak of a thousand heresies, have in our own days 
 been vindicated as lawful on the warrantee of Holy Writ, 
 will not every one admit, that such a precaution as was 
 taken formerly might now well be adopted everywhere 
 and by everybody, howsoever opposed they may be to 
 Rome and her religion ? Where there is heresy, the letter 
 of the law is lifeless there is no vivifying principle in it : 
 it is the outward covering of the body of death, and not the 
 instrument of the Spirit. 
 
 The rules, however formed, were obviously of a disci- 
 plinary character. They were similar to those which had 
 been formerly made with the object of stopping the deso- 
 lation caused by the Albigenses, but which had, after 
 the momentary emergency, either fallen into desuetude of 
 been formally rescinded. The errors and corruptions and 
 principles of the sixteenth century caused the renewal of 
 the restriction. But the real nature of heresy did not long 
 remain a secret. From its fruits, its disuniting, unspiritual 
 and worldly character was soon manifest ; and after the 
 first revolutionary outburst, little need was there of alarm. 
 Within fifty years Protestantism attained its greatest 
 height in Germany and elsewhere, 1 and after that it 
 became year by year more divided and more impotent. 
 Kingdoms seemingly powerless to escape the pressure of 
 heresy, as France, Belgium, Bavaria, Bohemia, Poland, 
 Hungary, and Austria, passed through the ordeal success- 
 fully Protestantism was vanquished and humbled, and 
 
 1 See Macauley, Rankes' Popes, p. 16.
 
 The English Reformation. 379 
 
 the tide of heterodoxy was rolled back with resistless fury 
 on the oppressors of the Church. Catholicity everywhere 
 gained important victories, whilst Protestantism has been 
 unable to reconquer what was lost by her more than two 
 hundred years ago. Countries may have since become 
 infidel, but none have become Protestant. Protestantism 
 is too well known to gain over notwithstanding the re- 
 course had to bribery and political influences any king- 
 dom. Hence the original rules have been considerably 
 modified; and as the learned Father Perrone observes, 
 there is hardly a people now which has not the Bible in 
 the vernacular, and which does not make use of it with 
 either the tacit or express permission of the Roman Pon- 
 tiffs and Bishops ; all that these require being a faithful 
 version and suitable notes. 2 The modification referred to 
 dates from the thirteenth of June, 1757. In that year 
 Benedict XIV approved of the following decree of the 
 Congregation of the Index : " If versions of the Bibles of 
 this class in the vulgar tongue shall have been approved 
 of by the Apostolic See, or published with notes drawn 
 from the holy fathers of the Church, or from learned and 
 Catholic men, they are permitted." 3 Hence it happened 
 that Pius VI so warmly approved of the translation of 
 Martini : his words are the following : " At a time when a 
 vast number of bad books, which most grossly attack the 
 Catholic religion, are circulated even among the un- 
 learned, &c., you judge exceedingly well that the faithful 
 should be excited to the reading of the Holy Scriptures ; 
 for they are most plentiful fountains which ought to be 
 open to every one, whence to draw sanctity of morals and 
 
 2 Praelectiones Theolog. t. ix, p. 227. 
 
 3 On this matter see Scotti's " Problemi di Politico, &c., vol. ii, 269, 275.
 
 380 The English Reformation. 
 
 doctrine, to eradicate the errors which are widely dissemi- 
 nated in these corrupt times. This you have seasonably 
 accomplished, as you declare, by publishing the sacred 
 writings in the language of your country, suitable to 
 every one's capacity ; especially when you show and set 
 forth that you have added explanatory notes, which, being 
 extracted from the Holy Fathers, preclude every possible 
 danger of abuse. Thus you have not swerved either from 
 the laws of the Congregation of the Index, or from the 
 Constitution published on this subject by Benedict XIV." 
 Hence if the Bible be Catholic, and contain explanatory 
 notes, everything has been done which the Church pre- 
 scribes ; and every person is, as far as the Church is con- 
 cerned, at liberty to read modern and vernacular trans- 
 lations. 
 
 But even prior to this modification the fourth rule of 
 the Index was never enforced either in this or in many 
 other countries. The rule had not been promulgated by 
 numerous prelates. To them it appeared better, all cir- 
 cumstances considered, not to issue the forbiddance ; and 
 hence it has happened that the perusal of Catholic transla- 
 tions has always been in this, as well as in various other 
 parts of Europe, absolutely unrestricted. According to 
 the Protestant theory, then, England should be the land 
 of pure Protestantism, as well as of Bible reading ; and 
 here, at least, there should be no converts, no Catholics. 
 But what is the fact ? Do facts and theory agree ? No. 
 Hundreds of learned ministers have joined the faith, as 
 well as thousands of lay persons, in high and low life : 
 they have left Protestantism, because it is a religion with- 
 out a creed, and a merely human system, which is devoid 
 of all marks of divinity, and opposed in numberless ways
 
 The English Reformation. 381 
 
 even to the written word of God. Day by day Catho- 
 licism increases, and Protestantism decreases. It cannot 
 be said in return, that some Catholics have abandoned 
 their Church for Protestantism because they had dis- 
 covered in the Bible the errors of Popery. This cry has 
 been raised, indeed ; it has gone forth over England ; 
 Bible agents and Bible distributors and tract circulators 
 have given importance to the assertion, but it is well 
 known to be false. These apostates had either lost their 
 virtue before they had lost their religion, or at all events, 
 they had only adopted their new opinions in consequence 
 of some circumstances extrinsic to the Bible. This, I say, 
 is a fact co-extensive with the work of seduction. And 
 what opinions did such men embrace ; were they such as 
 Anglicanism can approve of? Were they indeed the 
 teachings of the Bible ? 
 
 But, it will be said, is it not well known that (C Rome is 
 opposed to the Bible ? Have not the leading Pontiffs of 
 this century, Pius VII, Leo XII, Gregory XVI, as well 
 as Pius IX, denounced in the strongest terms that Society 
 which is wholly devoted to the circulation of the written 
 word the Bible Society j 1 and does not this denunciation 
 involve a hatred of the Bible ? Do people denounce that 
 which they love, and is war made against that power 
 which is looked upon as friendly and serviceable in the 
 struggle for religion ? " The reply is easy ; it is deducible, 
 indeed, from what has been said. 1 The Protestant 
 Bible, in the opinion of the Roman Pontiffs, and indeed 
 of the Catholic Church, is not a true copy of the Bible : 
 
 i See the briefs of Pius VII, dated June 29th, and September 3rd, 1816 ; 
 of Leo XII, May 3rd, 1824 ; of Gregory XVI, in 1'Ami de la Religion, 
 October 24, 1840.
 
 382 The English Reformation. 
 
 for many a text is there corrupted, and many a sacred 
 book is either altogether omitted 1 or is denominated apo- 
 cryphal. This being the case, who can consistently affect 
 to feel surprise at the denunciations of the head pastors 
 of the Church ? Should an occasional chapter, or indeed 
 a verse here and there, be deliberately and of set purpose 
 dropped from some future editions of the Bible by either 
 Socinian, Dissenter, or Catholic, what would the Anglican, 
 who received that chapter and those verses, say ? 
 Assuredly, the words of Revelations, " If any man shall 
 take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, 
 God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and 
 out of the holy city," would be printed in staring capitals 
 against the corrupter of the text. Have not we heard of 
 stormy controversies occasioned by the alteration, real or 
 supposed, of a single letter of the Holy Scriptures ? 2 And 
 is the Travis and Person controversy relative to John i, 
 v. 7, even now forgotten, or so much as settled ? Now 
 the Pontiff is the guardian, as head of the Church, of the 
 Scriptures ; in their preservation he is and must be deeply 
 interested ; not to be watchful would be in him a crime. 
 This he knows ; and hence, recently as well as formerly, 
 he has raised his voice to warn the faithful against the cor- 
 rupters, the suppressors, and the denouncers of those 
 Scriptures, which are one, and one only ; and of that one- 
 ness, the Catholic Bible is the only fair representation. It 
 
 1 The Bibles of the Society are not the authorized version. This cir- 
 cumstance is not sufficiently attended to by orthodox Protestants, who rest 
 their faith on the Bible of James I. 
 
 2 The reader knows what a controversy raged about the reading of one 
 manuscript, whether the letter was 6 or 0. Even microscopes were 
 necessary to draw God out of the word.
 
 The English Reformation. 383 
 
 is, then, to misrepresent, to conceal the real state of the 
 question, to hold up Rome as opposed to the Bible, be- 
 cause opposed to a book so called, circulated by the Bible 
 Society. That book is not the Bible ; at the best, it is a 
 corrupt and imperfect copy : and to call it the Bible is, in 
 the belief of the Catholic, a denial of a sacred article of 
 faith, solemnly framed in the fourth session of the Council 
 of Trent, and approved of by Christendom. 
 
 The Pontiffs are opposed to the Bible Society, on 
 account of the principle advocated by the fautors of this 
 system. The principle is this : a book is to be the rule of 
 faith ', the means through which mankind is to be made 
 acquainted with the dogmas and the practices of religion. 
 This principle has been already shown to be false, and 
 directly opposed, indeed, to that advocated by Jesus 
 Christ, and maintained by Apostles and Apostolic men. It 
 is a principle, in fact, utterly inapplicable for 1450 years 
 and dependant, as we have demonstrated, for its possibility 
 on the invention of the art of printing. Christ appointed a 
 body of ministers, and not a book, to teach all truth to the 
 end of time. 
 
 3 They are opposed to it, on account of its constitution, 
 which betrays an utter ignorance of the first constituent 
 of Christ's religion, namely unity. For who form this 
 Society ? who are the men who support it, meet together 
 in its favour, laud its workings in speeches, in writings, 
 and in conversations, and sedulously labour to carry out its 
 objects ? They are men of a multiplicity of creeds ! 
 Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Socinians, and such like 
 heretics ! ! From this " discors concordia" this amalga- 
 mation of heterogeneous elements, and this open avowal 
 that the Bible is in the hands of Anglicans Anglican, of
 
 384 The English Reformation. 
 
 Baptists Baptist, of Methodists Methodist, is it not clear 
 that those who believe that such a combination is wickedly 
 latitudinarian, and only calculated to tear faith into innu- 
 merable pieces, and make Jews and Gentiles laugh at the 
 divinity of Christianity, which is thus practically main- 
 tained to be either in opposition with itself, or so strangely 
 obscure in its only rule, as to render the supposition of 
 unity utterly absurd and ridiculous, are bound to denounce 
 the propagandists of latitudinarianism and the supporters 
 of this hydra-heresy. What must be the feelings of the 
 religious mind, as it witnesses the shipping off of tens of 
 thousands of volumes, year after year, for the spread not 
 of the Gospel of Christ, for that is one, but of the doctrines 
 of every kind of fanatic, who may ascribe to the Almighty 
 his own folly or blasphemies. Surely a feeling of horror 
 must come over it ; and every one who has the right to 
 interfere will do so, in order to stem the stream of vice and 
 error. The Pontiff, then, does well in raising his voice 
 and warning the nations against the delusion. Instead of 
 censure, the Holy Father is deserving of the thanks of 
 mankind. Again, what must thoughtful Jews and Gen- 
 tiles conclude from the fact of so many varying religionists 
 circulating the same word as the word of God, and yet 
 professing creeds so diametrically opposed? Why, with 
 reason might they say, " Is your God, then, a God of con- 
 tradictions ? If he be, we want him not ; but if he be one 
 and truthful, then why do not you, who come hither to 
 enlighten us, agree among yourselves about Him and his 
 doctrines ? You tell us that the Bible is the rule of faith, 
 and that it is easily understood ; prove your words to be 
 true : agree about the meaning of your easy book ; let us 
 see Christians one, and then we may begin to read and
 
 The English Reformation. 385 
 
 study your authorities. Till that is done, we will cling to 
 the Synagogue, and we will continue to worship at the 
 altars of our fathers, and laugh at those who affect to pity 
 us." Is not the end of the writing of the Bible to make men 
 one ; and does not the Bible Society make men many ? 
 As long as Methodists, and Baptists, and Independents, 
 and Anglicans equally diffuse the book, is not the world 
 deluged by a multiplicity of faiths ? The defenders of one 
 creed are allied to the advocates of a contradictory system, 
 by an unhallowed compromise; and though the same 
 word may be used, and the same Bible circulated, the 
 discordance of sentiment and of object is palpably 
 admitted. 
 
 4 The device adopted, and the mal-appropriation of the 
 words Bible, Holy Scripture, Word of God, would of 
 themselves justify all the opposition which has been raised 
 by Rome against this kind of Society. It was seen by the 
 framers of the Bible Association that, as the Society was 
 to be composed of individuals of every persuasion, it 
 would be very important not to allow any observations to 
 be made regarding the meaning of the Bible. Hence no 
 note, no comment, no interpretation of any kind no, not 
 even such as appeared in the authorized version, was per- 
 mitted. The divine law was nominally to be left entirely 
 unexplained ; and the necessity of a ministry was to be 
 merged in the circulation of a Bible. At the meetings of 
 the Society all speak of the Bible, all agree that it is a 
 divine book, and all praise its merits to the skies ; if on 
 earth there be peace and harmony, surely they are to be 
 found in these meetings. " Tros Tyriusve " it matters 
 not what may be the religion of one's neighbour : he is a 
 friend of the Bible ; that is enough. But, in point of fact, 
 
 s
 
 386 The English Reformation. 
 
 is there any real union? Is not this peace the veriest 
 delusion ; and are not the words used, the speeches 
 spouted, reported, published, and widely circulated, in- 
 tended to deceive the unthinking masses. There is no 
 union of sentiment whatever ; and the various pastors, 
 whilst speaking of the Bible, mean something very dissen- 
 tient and discordant. They mean not a stringing together 
 of mere words and letters, but they mean words with a 
 specific meaning : for sounds, words only, are not God's 
 sayings, God's declarations ; they mean those interpreta- 
 tions which respectively they attach to the letter. And is 
 there here unity ? Is there unity of meaning, of interpre- 
 tation, of belief ? No : their speeches, then, were and are 
 a hoax on the public ; and their boasts are an insult to the 
 understanding of their audiences. Fancy to yourselves a 
 platform on which Anglicans and Socinians, Methodists 
 and Independents, Baptists and Hallites, and Quakers 
 appear in mighty array. All make the Bible the theme of 
 their praises, all proclaim it to be God's word, all describe 
 the advantages resultant from its circulation, all speak of 
 it as the very truth, all hold it up as the work which all 
 men should help to circulate everywhere, because it is the 
 only principle of true religion, the only infallible authority 
 to which man can appeal. Notwithstanding appearances, 
 can such a meeting have any other effect than to sicken 
 the true believer ? Dissentients in faith, of all classes, 
 met together to use language which either has no meaning 
 or is a known falsehood ! See these men sallying forth 
 from the meeting. One goes to the pulpit of the Church 
 of England, another to a Baptist Chapel, a third to a 
 Methodist Meeting, a fourth to an Independent Congre- 
 gation. Each opens his Bible, and from it proves his
 
 The English Reformation. 387 
 
 system of belief! The Anglican maintains the divine 
 origin of the hierarchy ; the Baptist laughs it to scorn ; 
 the Independent approves the doctrine of the Trinity, and 
 the Socinian looks upon it, not as a mystery of faith, but 
 as an unfathomable depth of folly ; the Methodist sings 
 the praises of Wesley, and the Hallite prefers to speak 
 with unheard of familiarity of and to the Deity, on the 
 authority of a sea captain, who looks upon honours as anti- 
 Scriptural, and upon all previous forms of religion as so 
 many deflections from truth. What a change has come 
 over the orators of peace and the panegyrists of Biblical 
 truth ! The change reminds us of the poet's description 
 of the Sybil : 
 
 Subito non vultus, non color unus 
 
 Non comptce mansere comas,; sedpectus anhelum 
 JEt rabie fera corda foment; majorque videri 
 Nee mortale sonans, adflata est numine quando 
 Jam propiore Dei. 
 
 Who shall wonder if the Pontiff directs attention to the 
 delusion and the deceit practised ? The Jews clung at 
 last to the letter ; and they rejected Jesus Christ. The 
 Bible Society men affect to cling to the letter ; but the 
 Church knows that the pretence ends in the rejection of 
 everything sacred in Christianity. Shall such results be 
 witnessed, without one voice at least being raised in vindi- 
 cation of God's one truth ? 
 
 5 The Pontiffs know, moreover, what are the practices 
 of the Bible Society. Wherever the Society obtains a 
 footing, the most strenuous endeavours are made to upset 
 Catholicity where it is established, or entirely to prevent 
 its introduction. Violence, falsehoods, misrepresentations, 
 anti-Catholic tracts yes, even in some instances anti-
 
 388 The English Reformation. 
 
 Christian works have been circulated, in order to carry 
 out this unholy design. 1 Such are the facts which have 
 reached the Vatican ; and in the face of these facts, shall 
 surprise be still felt at the proceedings of the Pontiffs, and 
 shall the briefs which they occasionally have published, in 
 condemnation of this unholy and anti-Christian Society, be 
 called instruments condemnatory of the Bible ? Surely 
 not. Out of the Church, I repeat it, and this declaration 
 should never be forgotten, there is no Bible no fair 
 representation of what God has really said. It is in vain 
 for Protestants to call theirs the Bible. Such is not the 
 belief of the Church of the living God. The language of 
 Protestantism is and must be wholly repudiated by the 
 followers of Him of Galilee. 
 
 1 See on this interesting and important subject the Annals for the last 
 thirteen years of the Propagation of the Faith. These letters are a repertory 
 of information against the Bible Society.
 
 APPENDIX.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE SIX ARTICLES OF HENRY THE EIGHTH. 
 
 I. In the Sacrament of the Altar, after the Consecra- 
 tion, there remains no substance of bread and wine ; but 
 under these forms the natural body and blood of Christ 
 are present. 
 
 II. Communion of both kinds is not necessary to salva- 
 tion, to all persons, by the law of God ; but both the body 
 and flesh of Christ are together in each of the kinds. 
 
 III. Priests may not marry by the law of God. 
 
 IV. Vows of chastity ought to be observed by the laws 
 of God. 
 
 V. Private masses ought to be continued; which, as 
 they are agreeable to God's law, so men receive great 
 benefit from them. 
 
 VI. Auricular confession is expedient and necessary, 
 and ought to be retained in the Church. 
 
 THE FORTY-TWO ARTICLES OF EDWARD THE SIXTH. 
 
 I. OF FAITH IN THE HOLY TRINITY. There is but 
 one living and true God everlasting, without body, parts, 
 or passions ; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness ; the 
 maker and preserver of all things, both visible and
 
 392 APPENDIX. 
 
 invisible. And in the unity of this Godhead there are 
 three persons, one substance, power, and eternity, the 
 Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 
 
 II. THE WORD OF GOD MADE VERY MAN. The Son, 
 which is the word of the Father, took man's nature in the 
 womb of the Blessed Virgin, of her substance : so that the 
 two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead 
 and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never 
 to be divided ; whereof is one Christ, very God and very 
 Man, who truly suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, 
 to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice not only 
 for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men. 
 
 III. OF THE GOING DOWN OF CHRIST INTO HELL. 
 
 As Christ died for us and was buried, so also it is to be 
 believed that he went down into hell : for his body lay 
 in the grave till his resurrection ; but his soul, being sepa- 
 rate from his body, remained with the spirits which were 
 detained in prison, that is to say, in hell, and there 
 preached unto them, as witnesseth that place of Peter. 
 
 IV. OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. Christ did 
 truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with 
 flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection 
 of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and 
 there sitteth until he return to judge all men at the last 
 day. 
 
 V. THE DOCTRINE OF HOLY SCRIPTURE is SUFFICIENT 
 TO SALVATION. Holy Scripture containeth all things 
 necessary to salvation, so that whatsoever is not read 
 therein, nor may be proved thereby, although sometimes 
 it may be admitted, by God's faithful people, as pious and 
 conducing unto order and decency, yet is not required 
 of any man, that it should be delivered as an article
 
 APPENDIX. 393 
 
 of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to 
 salvation. 
 
 VI. THE OLD TESTAMENT is NOT TO BE REJECTED. 
 The Old Testament is not to be rejected, as if it were con- 
 trary to the New, but to be retained. Forasmuch as in 
 the Old Testament, as in the New, everlasting life is 
 offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator 
 betwixt God and man, being both God and man. Where- 
 fore they are not to be heard, who feign that the old fathers 
 did look only for transitory promises. 
 
 VII. THE THREE CREEDS. The three Creeds, Nice 
 Creed, Athanasius' Creed, and that which is commonly 
 called the Apostles' Creed, ought thoroughly to be re- 
 ceived ; for they may be proved by most certain warrants 
 of the Holy Scripture. 
 
 VIII. OF ORIGINAL SIN. Original sin standeth not in 
 the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk, 
 and at this day is affirmed by the Anabaptists), but it 
 is the fault and corruption of every man, that naturally is 
 engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very 
 far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own 
 nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always con- 
 trary to the spirit ; and therefore, in every person born in 
 the world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation : and 
 this infection of nature doth remain, yea, in them that are 
 regenerated, whereby the lust of the flesh, called in Greek 
 (ppov^pus <r#pxo?, which some do expound the wisdom, some 
 sensuality, some the affection, some the desire of the flesh, 
 is not subject to the law of God. And though there is no 
 condemnation for them that believe and are baptized, yet 
 the Apostle doth confess, that concupiscence and lust hath 
 of itself the nature of sin.
 
 394 APPENDIX. 
 
 IX. OF FREE WILL. We have no power to do good 
 works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace 
 of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have 
 good will, and working with us, when we have that 
 good will. 
 
 X. OF GRACE. The grace of Christ, or the Holy 
 Ghost, which is given by him, doth take from man the 
 heart of stone, and giveth him a heart of flesh. And 
 though it rendereth us willing to do those good works 
 which before we were unwilling to do, and unwilling to 
 do those evil works which before we did, yet is no vio- 
 lence oifered by it to the will of man ; so that no man 
 when he hath sinned, can excuse himself, as if he sinned 
 against his will, or upon constraint ; and therefore that 
 he ought not to be accused or condemned upon that 
 account. 
 
 XI. OF THE JUSTIFICATION OF MAN. Justification by 
 faith only in Jesus Christ, in that sense wherein it is set 
 forth in the homily of justification, is the most certain and 
 most wholesome doctrine for a Christian man. 
 
 XII. WORKS BEFORE JUSTIFICATION. Works done 
 before the grace of Christ, and the inspiration of his spirit, 
 are not pleasant to God : forasmuch as they spring not of 
 faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they make men meet to 
 receive grace, or, as the school authors say, deserve grace 
 of congruity : yea rather, for that they are not done as 
 God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we 
 doubt not but they have the nature of sin. 
 
 XIII. WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION. Voluntary works, 
 besides, over, and above God's commandments, and which 
 they call works of supererogation, cannot be taught with- 
 out arrogancy and impiety ; for by them men do declare
 
 APPENDIX. 395 
 
 that they do not only render unto God as much as they 
 are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake than 
 of bounden duty is required : whereas Christ saith plainly, 
 When ye have done all that are commanded you, say, We 
 are unprofitable servants. 
 
 XIV. NONE BUT CHRIST WITHOUT SIN. Christ, in 
 the truth of our nature, was made like unto us in all 
 things (sin only excepted), from which he was clearly void 
 both in his flesh and in his spirit. He came to be a lamb 
 without spot, who, by sacrifice of himself once made, 
 should take away the sins of the world ; and sin, as St. 
 John saith, was not in him. But all we, the rest (though 
 baptized and born again in Christ) yet offend in many 
 things ; and if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, 
 and the truth is not in us. 
 
 XV. OF THE SlN AGAINST THE HoLY GHOST. Not 
 
 every deadly sin, willingly committed after baptism, is sin 
 against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore 
 the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall 
 into sin after baptism. After we have received the Holy 
 Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin ; 
 and by the grace of God we may arise again and amend 
 our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned which 
 say, they can no more sin as long as they live here, or deny 
 the place of penance to such as truly repent. 
 
 XVI. THE BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST. 
 The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is then committed, 
 when any man, out of malice and hardness of heart, doth 
 fully reproach and persecute in a hostile manner the truth 
 of God's word, manifestly made known unto him, which 
 sort of men, being made obnoxious to the curse, subject 
 themselves to the most grievous of all wickedness ; from
 
 396 APPENDIX. 
 
 whence this kind of sin is called unpardonable, and so 
 affirmed to be by our Lord and Saviour. 
 
 XVII. OF PREDESTINATION AND ELECTION. Predes- 
 tination to life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby, 
 before the foundations of the world were laid, he hath con- 
 stantly decreed by his counsel, secret unto us, to deliver 
 from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen out 
 of mankind, to bring them by Christ to everlasting salva- 
 tion, as vessels made to honour. Wherefore they which 
 be endued with so excellent a benefit of God, be called, 
 according to God's purpose, by his spirit working in due 
 season ; they through grace obey the calling, they be justi- 
 fied freely, they are made " sons of adoption," they are 
 made like the image of the only begotten Jesus Christ, 
 they walk religiously in good works, and at length, by 
 God's mercy, they attain to everlasting felicity. As the 
 godly consideration of predestination and election in Christ 
 is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to 
 godly persons, and such as feel in themselves the working 
 of the spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh, 
 and their earthly members, and drawing up their minds to 
 high and heavenly things, as well because it doth greatly 
 establish and confirm their faith of eternal salvation, to be 
 enjoyed through Christ, as because it doth fervently kindle 
 their love towards God : so for curious and carnal persons, 
 lacking the spirit of Christ, to have continually before 
 their eyes the sentence of God's predestination, is a most 
 dangerous downfall, whereby the devil doth thrust them 
 either into desperation, or into the wretchlessness of 
 most unclean living, no less perilous than desperation. 
 Furthermore, though the decree of predestination be un- 
 known to us, yet must we receive God's promises in such
 
 APPENDIX. . 397 
 
 wise as they be generally set forth to us in Holy Scrip- 
 ture ; and in our doings that will of God is to be followed, 
 which we have expressly declared unto us in the word of 
 God. 
 
 XVIII. EVERLASTING SALVATION TO BE OBTAINED 
 ONLY IN THE NAME OF CHRIST. They are also to be 
 accursed that presume to say, that every man shall be 
 saved by the law or sect which he professeth, so that he be 
 diligent to frame his life according to that law, and the 
 light of nature : for Holy Scripture doth set out unto 
 us only the name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be 
 saved. 
 
 XIX. ALL MEN ARE BOUND TO KEEP THE PRECEPTS 
 OF THE MORAL LAW. Although the law given from God 
 by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, do not bind 
 Christian men, or the civil precepts thereof ought of 
 necessity to be received in any commonwealth ; yet, not- 
 withstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is exempted 
 from the obedience of the commandments which are called 
 moral. Wherefore they are not to be heard which 
 teach, that the Holy Scriptures were given to none but to 
 the weak, and brag continually of the spirit, by which 
 they do pretend that all whatsoever they preach is sug- 
 gested to them, though manifestly contrary to the Holy 
 Scripture. 
 
 XX. OF THE CHURCH. The visible Church of Christ 
 is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word 
 of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly adminis- 
 tered, according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things 
 that of necessity are requisite to the same. As the Church 
 of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch have erred, so also 
 the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 living and manner of ceremonies, but also in matters of 
 faith. 
 
 XXI. OF THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH. It is not 
 lawful for the Church to ordain anything that is contrary 
 to God's word written, neither may it so expound one 
 place of Scripture that it be repugnant to another ; where- 
 fore, although the Church be a witness and a keeper of 
 holy writ ; yet, as it ought not to decree anything against 
 the same, so besides the same ought it not to enforce any- 
 thing to be believed for necessity of salvation. 
 
 XXII. OF THE AUTHORITY OF- GENERAL COUNCILS. 
 General councils may not be gathered together without 
 the commandment and will of princes, and when they be 
 gathered together, forasmuch as they be an assembly of 
 men, whereof all be not governed with the spirit and word 
 of God, they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in 
 things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things ordained 
 by them as necessary to salvation, have neither strength 
 nor authority, unless it be declared that they are taken out 
 of Holy Scripture. 
 
 XXIII. OF PURGATORY. The doctrine of the school- 
 men, concerning purgatory, pardons, worshipping, and 
 adoration, as well of images as of relics, and also invoca- 
 tion of saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and 
 grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather per- 
 niciously repugnant to the word of God. 
 
 XXIV. No MAN TO MINISTER IN THE CHURCH EX- 
 CEPT HE BE CALLED. It is not lawful for any man to 
 take upon him the office of public preaching or ministering 
 the Sacraments in the congregation, before he be lawfully 
 called and sent to execute the same ; and those we ought 
 to judge lawfully called and sent, which be chosen and
 
 APPENDIX. 993 
 
 called to this work by men who have public authority 
 given unto them in the congregation, to call and send 
 ministers into the Lord's vineyard. 
 
 XXV. ALL THINGS TO BE DONE IN THE CONGREGA- 
 TION IN SUCH A TONGUE AS IT is UNDERSTOOD BY THB 
 PEOPLE. It is most fit and most agreeable to the word 
 of God, that nothing be read or rehearsed in the congre- 
 gation in a tongue not known unto the people, which Paul 
 hath forbidden to be done, unless some be present to 
 interpret. 
 
 XXVI. OF THE SACRAMENTS. Our Lord Jesus Christ 
 gathered his people into a society by Sacraments, very 
 few in number, and most easy to be kept, and of most 
 excellent signification; that is to say, Baptism and the 
 Supper of the Lord. The Sacraments are not ordained 
 of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about ; but 
 that we should duly use them, and in such only as worthily 
 receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or opera- 
 tion ; not, as some say, ex opere operate, which terms, as 
 they are strange and utterly unknown to the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, so do they yield a sense which savoureth of little 
 piety, but of much superstition ; but they that receive 
 them unworthily receive to themselves damnation. The 
 Sacraments ordained by the word of God, be not only 
 badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather 
 they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace 
 and God's good will towards us, by the which he doth 
 work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also 
 strengthen and confirm our faith in him. 
 
 XXVII. THE WICKEDNESS OF THE MINISTERS TAKES 
 
 NOT AWAY THE EFFICACY OF DlVINE INSTITUTION. 
 
 Although in the visible church the evil be ever mingled
 
 400 APPENDIX. 
 
 with the good, and sometimes the evil have chief authority 
 in the ministration of the word and sacraments ; yet, for- 
 asmuch as they do not the same in their own name, but in 
 Christ's, and do minister by his commission and authority, 
 we may use their ministry both in hearing the word of 
 God, and in receiving the sacraments. Neither is the 
 effect of Christ's ordination taken away by their wicked- 
 ness, nor the grace of God's gifts diminished from such, 
 as by faith do rightly receive the sacraments ministered 
 unto them, which be effectual, because of Christ's institu- 
 tion and promise, although they be ministered by evil 
 men. Nevertheless it appertaineth to the discipline of the 
 church, that enquiry be made of evil ministers j and that 
 they be accused by those that have knowledge of their 
 offences ; and finally, being found guilty, by just judg- 
 ment, be deposed. 
 
 XXVIII. OF BAPTISM. Baptism is not only a sign of 
 profession and mark of difference, whereby Christian men 
 are discerned from others that be not christened ; but it is 
 also a sign of regeneration, or new birth, whereby, as by 
 an instrument, they that receive baptism rightly, are grafted 
 into the church ; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, of 
 our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, 
 are visibly signed and sealed ; faith is confirmed, and grace 
 increased by virtue of prayer to God. The custom of the 
 church, for baptizing young children, is both to be com- 
 mended, and by all means to be retained in the church. 
 
 XXIX. OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. The supper of the 
 Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought 
 to have amongst themselves one to another ; but rather it 
 is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death ; inso- 
 much that to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith
 
 APPENDIX. 401 
 
 receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking 
 of the body of Christ, and likewise the cup of blessing is 
 a partaking of the blood of Christ. Transubstantiation 
 (or the change of the substance of bread and wine), in the 
 supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by holy writ ; but 
 is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, and hath 
 given occasion to many superstitions. Since the very 
 being of human nature doth require, that the body of one 
 and the same man cannot be at one and the same time in 
 many places, but of necessity must be in some certain and 
 determined place : therefore the body of Christ cannot be 
 present in many different places at the same time; and 
 since (as the Holy Scriptures testify) Christ hath been 
 taken up into heaven, and there is to abide till the end of 
 the world, it becometh not any of the faithful to believe 
 or profess, that there is a real or corporeal presence (as 
 they phrase it) of the body and blood of Christ in the 
 holy eucharist. The sacrament of the Lord's supper was 
 not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted 
 up, or worshipped. 
 
 XXX. OF THE ONE OBLATION OF CHRIST FINISHED 
 UPON THE CROSS. The offering of Christ once made is 
 that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for 
 all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual ; 
 and there is none other satisfaction for sin but that alone ; 
 wherefore the sacrifices of masses, in which it was com- 
 monly said, that the priest did offer Christ for the quick 
 and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, were 
 fables and dangerous deceits. 
 
 XXXI. A SINGLE LIFE IS IMPOSED ON NONE BY THE 
 
 WORD OF GOD. Bishops, priests, and deacons are not
 
 40S APPENDIX. 
 
 commanded by God's law, either to avow the estate of 
 single life, or to abstain from marriage. 
 
 XXXII. EXCOMMUNICATED PERSONS ARE TO BE 
 AVOIDED. That person which, by open denunciation of 
 the church, is rightly cut off from the unity of the church, 
 and excommunicate, ought to be taken of the whole mul- 
 titude of the faithful as a heathen and a publican, until he 
 be openly reconciled by penance, and received into the 
 church by a judge that hath authority thereunto. 
 
 XXXIII. OF THE TRADITIONS OF THE CHURCH. It 
 
 is not necessary, that traditions and ceremonies be in all 
 places one and utterly alike, for at all times they have been 
 divers, and may be changed according to the diversity of 
 countries, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be 
 ordained against God's word. Whosoever, through his 
 private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly 
 break the traditions and ceremonies of the church, which 
 be not repugnant to the word of God, and be ordained 
 and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked 
 openly (that others may fear to do the like), as one that 
 offendeth against the common order of the church, and 
 hurteth the authority of the magistrate, and woundeth the 
 consciences of weak brethren. 
 
 XXXIV. OF THE HOMILIES. The homilies lately 
 delivered and commended to the church of England by 
 the king's injunction, do contain a godly and wholesome 
 doctrine, and fit to be embraced by all men; and for 
 that cause they are diligently, plainly, and distinctly to be 
 read to the people. 
 
 XXXV. OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, AND 
 
 OTHER RlTES AND CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH OF 
 
 ENGLAND. The book lately delivered to the church of
 
 APPENDIX. 403 
 
 England by the king and parliament, containing the man- 
 ner and form of public prayer, and the ministration of the 
 sacraments in the said church of England, as also the 
 book published by the same authority for ordering ministers 
 in the church, are both of them very pious, as to the 
 truth of doctrine : in nothing contrary, but agreeable to 
 the wholesome doctrine of the gospel, which they do very 
 much promote and illustrate. And for that cause they are, 
 by all faithful members of the church of England, but 
 chiefly of the ministers of the word, with all thankfulness 
 and readiness of mind, to be received, approved, and 
 commended to the people of God. 
 
 XXXVI. , Or THE CIVIL MAGISTRATES. The king of 
 England is, after Christ, the supreme head on earth of the 
 church of England and Ireland. The bishop of Rome 
 hath no jurisdiction in this realm of England. The 
 civil magistrate is ordained and approved by God, and 
 therefore is to be obeyed, not only for fear of wrath, but 
 for conscience sake. Civil or temporal laws may punish 
 Christian men with death for heinous and grievous of- 
 fences. It is lawful for Christian men, at the command- 
 ment of the magistrate, to wear weapons, and to serve in 
 the wars. 
 
 XXXVII. THE GOODS OF CHRISTIANS ARE NOT 
 COMMON. The riches and goods of Christians are not 
 common as touching the right, title, and possession of the 
 same, as certain Anabaptists do falsely boast. Notwith- 
 standing, every man ought, of such things as he pos- 
 sesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according to his 
 ability. 
 
 XXXVIII. IT IS LAWFUL FOR A CHRISTIAN TO TAKE 
 
 AN OATH. As we confess that vain and rash swearing is
 
 404 APPENDIX. 
 
 forbidden Christian men by our Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 James his Apostle ; so we judge that Christian religion 
 doth not prohibit, but that a man may swear when the 
 magistrate requireth, according to the Prophet's teaching, 
 in justice, judgment, and truth. 
 
 XXXIX. THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD is NOT 
 PAST ALREADY. The resurrection of the dead is not past 
 already, as if it belonged only to the soul, which by the 
 grace of Christ is raised from the death of sin, but it is to 
 be expected by all men in the last day : for at that time 
 (as the Scripture doth most apparently testify) the dead 
 shall be restored to their own bodies, flesh, and bones : to 
 the end that man, according as either righteously or 
 wickedly he hath passed this life, may according to his 
 works receive rewards or punishments. 
 
 XL. THE SOULS or MEN DECEASED DO NOT PERISH 
 WITH THEIR BODIES. They who maintain that the souls 
 of men deceased do either sleep, without all manner of 
 sense, to the day of judgment, or affirm that they die to- 
 gether with the body, and shall be raised therewith at the 
 last day, do wholly differ from the right faith and 
 orthodox belief, which is delivered to us in the Holy 
 Scripture. 
 
 XLI. OF THE MILLENARIANS. They who endeavour 
 to revive the fable of the Millenarians are therein contrary 
 to the Holy Scriptures, and cast themselves down headlong 
 into Jewish dotages. 
 
 XLII. ALL MEN NOT TO BE SAVED AT LAST. They also 
 deserve to be condemned who endeavour to restore that 
 pernicious opinion, that all men, though never so ungodly, 
 shall at last be saved : when for a certain time, appointed
 
 APPENDIX. 405 
 
 by the divine justice, they have endured punishment for 
 their sins committed. 
 
 THE THIRTY-NINE ARTICLES OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 I. OF FAITH IN THE HOLY TRINITY. There is but 
 one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, 
 or passions ; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness ; the 
 Maker, and Preserver of all things both visible and invi- 
 sible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three 
 Persons, of one substance, power, and eternity ; the Father, 
 the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 
 
 II. Or THE WORD OR SON OF GOD, WHICH WAS MADE 
 VERY MAN. The Son, which is the "Word of the Father, 
 begotten from everlasting of the Father, the very and 
 eternal God, and of one substance with the Father, took 
 Man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin, of her 
 substance : so that two whole and perfect Natures, that is 
 to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together 
 in one Person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, 
 very God, and very Man ; who truly suffered, was cruci- 
 fied, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and 
 to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for 
 actual sins of men. 
 
 III. OF THE GOING DOWN OF CHRIST INTO HELL. 
 
 As Christ died for us, and was buried, so also is it to be 
 believed, that he went down into Hell. 
 
 IV. OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. Christ did 
 truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with 
 flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection
 
 406 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 of Man's nature; -wherewith, he ascended into Heaven, 
 and there sitteth, until he return to judge all Men at the 
 last day. 
 
 V. OF THE HOLY GHOST. The Holy Ghost, proceed- 
 ing from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, 
 majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son, very and 
 eternal God. 
 
 VI. Or THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES 
 FOR SALVATION. Holy Scripture containeth all things 
 necessary to salvation : so that whatsoever is not read there- 
 in, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of 
 any man, that it should be believed as an article of the 
 Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In 
 the name of the holy Scripture we do understand those 
 Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose 
 authority was never any doubt in the Church. 
 
 Of the Names and Number of the Canonical Books. 
 
 Genesis, 
 Exodus, 
 Leviticus, 
 Numbers, 
 Deuteronomy, 
 Joshua, 
 Judges, 
 Ruth, 
 
 The First Book of Samuel, 
 The Second Book of Samuel, 
 The First Book of Kings, 
 The Second Book of Kings, 
 The First Book of Chron- 
 icles, 
 
 The Second Book of Chron- 
 icles, 
 
 The First Book of Esdras, 
 The Second Book of Esdras, 
 The Book of Esther, 
 The Book of Job, 
 The Psalms, 
 The Proverbs, 
 Ecclesiastes or Preacher, 
 Cantica, or Songs of Solo- 
 mon, 
 
 Four Prophets the greater, 
 Twelve Prophets the less.
 
 APPENDIX. 407 
 
 And the other Books (as Hierome saith) the Church 
 doth read for example of life and instruction of manners ; 
 but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine ; 
 such are these following : 
 
 The Third Book of Esdras, 
 The Fourth Book of Esdras, 
 The Book of Tobias, 
 The Book of Judith, 
 The rest of the Book of 
 
 Esther, 
 
 The Book of Wisdom, 
 Jesus the Son of Sirach, 
 Baruch the Prophet, * 
 
 The Song of the Three 
 
 Children, 
 
 The Story of Susanna, 
 Of Bel and the Dragon, 
 The Prayer of Manasses, 
 The First Book of Macca- 
 bees, 
 
 The Second Book of Mac- 
 cabees, 
 
 All the Books of the New Testament, as they are com- 
 monly received, we do receive, and account them Ca- 
 nonical. 
 
 VII. OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. The Old Testament 
 is not contrary to the New : for both in the Old and New 
 Testament everlasting life is offered to Mankind by Christ, 
 who is the only Mediator between God and Man, being 
 both God and Man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, 
 which feign that the old Fathers did look only for tran- 
 sitory promises. Although the Law given from God by 
 Moses, as touching Ceremonies and Eites, do not bind 
 Christian men, nor the Civil precepts thereof ought of 
 necessity to be rec'eived in any commonwealth ; yet not- 
 withstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is free from 
 the obedience of the Commandments which are called 
 Moral. 
 
 VIII. OF THE THREE CREEDS. The Three Creeds, 
 Nicene Creed, Athanasius 's Creed, and that which is com- 
 monly called the Apostles' Creed, ought thoroughly to be
 
 408 APPENDIX. 
 
 received and believed : for they may be proved by most 
 certain warrants of holy Scripture. 
 
 IX. OF ORIGINAL OR BIRTH-SIN. Original Sin standeth 
 not in the following of Adam, (as the Pelagians do vainly 
 talk ;) but it is the fault and corruption of the Nature of 
 every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring 
 of Adam; whereby man is very far gone from original 
 righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so 
 that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the spirit ; and 
 therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth 
 God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature 
 doth remain, yea in them that are regenerated ; whereby 
 the lust of the flesh, called in the Gr^ek, phronema sarkos, 
 which some do expound the wisdom, some sensuality, some 
 the affection, some the desire, of the flesh, is not subject 
 to the Law of God. And although there is no condemna- 
 tion for them that believe and are baptized, yet the Apostle 
 doth confess, that concupiscence and lust hath of itself the 
 nature of sin. 
 
 X. OF FREE- WILL. The condition of Man after the 
 fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare 
 himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to 
 faith, and calling upon God: Wherefore we have no power 
 to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without 
 the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may 
 have a good will, and working with us, when we have that 
 good will. 
 
 XI. OF THE JUSTIFICATION OF MAN. We are ac- 
 counted righteous before God, only for the merit of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our 
 own works or cleservings : Wherefore, that we are justified 
 by Faith only is a most wholesome Doctrine, and very full
 
 APPENDIX. 409 
 
 of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of 
 Justification. 
 
 XII. OF GOOD WORKS. Albeit that Good Works, 
 which are the Fruits of Faith, and follow after Justifica- 
 tion, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of 
 God's Judgment ; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to 
 God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and 
 lively Faith ; insomuch that by them a lively Faith may 
 be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit. 
 
 XIII. Or WORKS BEFORE JUSTIFICATION. Works done 
 before the grace of Christ, and the Inspiration of his 
 Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring 
 not of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they make men 
 meet to receive grace, or (as the School-authors say) de- 
 serve grace of congruity ; yea rather, for that they are not 
 done as God hath willed and commanded them to be 
 done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin. 
 
 XIV. OF WORKS OF SUPEREROGATION. Voluntary 
 Works, besides over and above God's Commandments, 
 which they call Works of Supererogation, cannot be taught 
 without arrogancy and impiety : for by them men do de- 
 clare, that they do not only render unto God as much as 
 they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake, 
 than of bounden duty is required : whereas Christ saith 
 plainly, When ye have done all that are commanded to 
 you, say, We are unprofitable servants. 
 
 XV. OF CHRIST ALONE WITHOUT SIN. Christ in the 
 truth of our nature was made like unto us in all things, 
 sin only except, from which he was clearly void, both in his 
 flesh, and in his spirit. He came to be the Lamb without 
 spot, who, by sacrifice of himself once made, should take 
 away the sins of the world, and sin, as Saint John saith, was 
 
 T
 
 410 APPENDIX. 
 
 not in him. But all we the rest, although baptized, and 
 born again in Christ, yet offend in many things ; and if we 
 say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is 
 not in us. 
 
 XVI. OF SIN AFTER BAPTISM. Not every deadly sin 
 willingly committed after Baptism is sin against the Holy 
 Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore the grant of repent- 
 ance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after Bap- 
 tism. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may 
 depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and by the 
 grace of God we may arise again, and amend our lives. 
 And therefore they are to be condemned, which say, they 
 can no more sin as long as they live here, or deny the 
 place of forgiveness to such as truly repent. 
 
 XVII. OF PREDESTINATION AND ELECTION. Predes- 
 tination to Life is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby 
 (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath 
 constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver 
 from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in 
 Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to 
 everlasting salvation, as vessels made to honour. Where- 
 fore, they which be endued with so excellent a benefit of 
 God be called according to God's purpose by his Spirit 
 working in due season: they through Grace obey the 
 calling: they be justified freely: they be made sons of 
 God by adoption : they be made like the image of his 
 only-begotten Son Jesus Christ : they walk religiously in 
 good works, and at length, by God's mercy, they attain to 
 everlasting felicity. 
 
 As the godly consideration of Predestination, and our 
 Election in Christ, is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeak- 
 able comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in them-
 
 APPENDIX. 411 
 
 selves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the 
 works of the flesh, and their earthly members, and drawing 
 up their mind to high and heavenly things, as well because 
 it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal 
 Salvation to be enjoyed through Christ, as because it doth 
 fervently kindle their love towards God : So, for curious 
 and carnal persons, lacking the Spirit of Christ, to have 
 continually before their eyes the sentence of God's Pre- 
 destination, is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the 
 Devil doth thrust them either into desperation, or into 
 wretchlessness of most unclean living, no less perilous than 
 desperation. 
 
 Furthermore, we must receive God's promises in such 
 wise, as they be generally set forth to us in holy Scripture : 
 and, in our doings, that Will of God is to be followed, which 
 we have expressly declared unto us in the Word of God. 
 
 XVIII. OF OBTAINING ETERNAL SALVATION ONLY BY 
 
 THE NAME OF CHRIST. They also are to be had accursed 
 that presume to say, That every man shall be saved by the 
 Law or Sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to 
 frame his life according to that Law, and the light of 
 Nature. For holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the 
 Name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved. 
 
 XIX. OF THE CHURCH. The visible Church of Christ 
 is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure 
 Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly 
 ministered according to Christ's ordinance in all those 
 things that of necessity are requisite to the same. 
 
 As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, 
 have erred ; so also the Church of Rome hath erred ; not 
 only in their living and manner of Ceremonies, but also 
 in matters of Faith.
 
 412 APPENDIX. 
 
 XX. OF THE AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH. The 
 Church hath power to decree Rites or Ceremonies, and 
 authority in Controversies of Faith : And yet it is not law- 
 ful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to 
 God's Word written, neither may it so expound one place 
 of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another. Wherefore, 
 although the Church be a witness and a keeper of holy 
 Writ, yet, as it ought not to decree any thing against the 
 same, so besides the same ought it not to enforce any thing 
 to be believed for necessity of Salvation. 
 
 XXI. OF THE AUTHORITY OF GENERAL COUNCILS. 
 General Councils may not be gathered together without 
 the commandment and will of Princes. And when they 
 be gathered together, (forasmuch as they be an assembly 
 of men, whereof all be not governed with the Spirit and 
 Word of God,) they may err, and sometimes have erred, 
 even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things 
 ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither 
 strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they 
 be taken out of holy Scripture. 
 
 XXII. OF PURGATORY. The Romish Doctrine con- 
 cerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping and Adoration 
 as well of Images as of Reliques, and also invocation of 
 Saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon 
 no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the 
 Word of God. 
 
 XXIII. OF MINISTERING IN THE CONGREGATION. 
 
 
 
 It is not lawful for any man to take upon him the office of 
 publick preaching, or ministering the Sacraments in the 
 Congregation, before he be lawfully called, and sent to exe- 
 cute the same. And those we ought to judge lawfully 
 called and sent, which be chosen and called to this work
 
 APPENDIX. 413 
 
 by men who have publick authority given unto them in 
 the Congregation, to call and send Ministers into the 
 Lord's vineyard. 
 
 XXIV. OF SPEAKING IN THE CONGREGATION IN SUCH 
 A TONGUE AS THE PEOPLE UNDERSTANDETH. It is a thing 
 
 plainly repugnant to the Word of God, and the custom of 
 the Primitive Church, to have publick Prayer in the 
 Church, or to minister the Sacraments in a tongue not un- 
 derstanded of the people. 
 
 XXV. OF THE SACRAMENTS. Sacraments ordained of 
 Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men's 
 profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and 
 effectual signs of grace, and God's good will towards us, 
 by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not 
 only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our Faith 
 in him. 
 
 There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord 
 in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of 
 the Lord. 
 
 Those five commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, 
 Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and extreme 
 Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gos- 
 pel, being such as have grown partly of the corrupt fol- 
 lowing of the Apostles, partly are states of life allowed in 
 the Scriptures ; but yet have not like nature of Sacraments 
 with Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, for that they have 
 not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God. 
 
 The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed 
 upon, or to be carried about, but that we should duly use 
 them. And in such only as worthily receive the same they 
 have a wholesome effect or operation : but they that receive 
 them unworthily purchase to themselves damnation, as 
 Saint Paul saith. T 2
 
 414 APPENDIX. 
 
 XXVI. OF THE UNWORTHINESS OF THE MINISTERS 
 
 WHICH HINDERS NOT THE EFFECT OF THE SACRAMENT. 
 
 Although in the visible Church the evil be ever mingled 
 with the good, and sometimes the evil have chief authority 
 in the Ministration of the Word and Sacraments, yet for- 
 asmuch as they do not the same in their own name, but in 
 Christ's, and do minister by his commission and authority, 
 we may use their Ministry, both in hearing the "Word of 
 God, and in receiving of the Sacraments. Neither is the 
 effect of Christ's ordinance taken away by their wicked- 
 ness, nor the grace of God's gifts diminished from such as 
 by faith and rightly do receive the Sacraments ministered 
 unto them ; which be effectual, because of Christ's institu- 
 tution and promise, although they be ministered by evil 
 men. 
 
 Nevertheless, it appertaineth to the discipline of the 
 Church, that enquiry be made of evil Ministers, and that 
 they be accused by those that have knowledge of their 
 offences; and finally being found guilty, by just judgment 
 be deposed. 
 
 XXVII. OF BAPTISM. Baptism is not only a sign of 
 profession, and mark of difference, whereby Christian 
 men are discerned from others that be not christened, but 
 it is also a sign of Regeneration or new Birth, whereby, 
 as by an instrument, they that receive Baptism rightly are 
 grafted into the Church; the promises of forgiveness of 
 sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the 
 Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed ; Faith is con- 
 firmed, and Grace increased by virtue of prayer unto 
 God. The Baptism of young Children is in any wise to 
 be retained in the Church, as most agreeable with the 
 institution of Christ.
 
 APPENDIX. 415 
 
 XXVIII. OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. The Supper of 
 the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians 
 ought to have among themselves one to another; but 
 rather is a Sacrament of our Redemption by Christ's 
 death: insomuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with 
 faith, receive the same, the Bread which we break is a 
 partaking of the Body of Christ ; and likewise the Cup of 
 Blessing is a partaking of the Blood of Christ. 
 
 Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of 
 Bread and Wine) in the Supper of the Lord, cannot be 
 proved by holy Writ ; but is repugnant to the plain words 
 of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and 
 hath given occasion to many superstitions. 
 
 The Body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten, in the 
 Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner. And 
 the mean whereby the Body of Christ is received and 
 eaten in the Supper, is Faith. 
 
 The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's 
 ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped. 
 
 XXIX. OF THE WICKED WHICH EAT NOT THE BODY 
 OF CHRIST IN THE USE OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. The 
 Wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, although 
 they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as 
 Saint Augustine saith) the Sacrament of the Body and 
 Blood of Christ, yet in no wise are they partakers of 
 Christ: but rather, to their condemnation, do eat and 
 drink the sign or Sacrament of so great a thing. 
 
 XXX. OF BOTH KINDS. The Cup of the Lord is not 
 to be denied to the Lay -people : for both the parts of 'the 
 Lord's Sacrament, by Christ's ordinance and command- 
 ment, ought to be ministered to all Christian men alike. 
 
 XXXI. OF THE ONE OBLATION OF CHRIST FINISHED
 
 416 APPENDIX. 
 
 UPON THE CROSS. The Offering of Christ once made is 
 that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for 
 all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual ; 
 and there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone. 
 Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, in the which it was 
 commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the 
 quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, 
 were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits. 
 
 XXXII. OF THE MARRIAGE OF PRIESTS. Bishops, 
 Priests, and Deacons, are not commanded by God's Law, 
 either to vow the estate of single life, or to abstain from 
 marriage : therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other 
 Christian men, to marry at their own discretion, as they 
 shall judge the same to serve better to godliness. 
 
 XXXIII. OF EXCOMMUNICATE PERSONS, HOW THEY 
 
 ARE TO BE AVOIDED. That person which by open denun- 
 ciation of the Church is rightly cut off from the unity of 
 the Church, and excommunicated, ought to be taken of 
 the whole multitude of the faithful, as an Heathen and 
 Publican, until he be openly reconciled by penance, and 
 received into the Church by a Judge that hath authority 
 thereunto. 
 
 XXXIV. OF THE TRADITIONS OF THE CHURCH. It 
 is not necessary that Traditions and Ceremonies be in all 
 places one, and utterly like; for at all times they have 
 been divers, and may be changed according to the diver- 
 sities of countries, times, and men's manners, so that no- 
 thing be ordained against God's Word. Whosoever 
 through his private judgment, willingly and purposely, 
 doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies of the 
 Church, which be not repugnant to the Word of God, and 
 be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 417 
 
 be rebuked openly, (that others may fear to do the like,) 
 as he that offendeth against the common order of the 
 Church, and hurteth the authority of the Magistrate, and 
 woundeth the consciences of the weak brethren. 
 
 Every particular or national Church hath authority to 
 ordain, change, and abolish, ceremonies or rites of the 
 Church ordained only by man's authority, so that all 
 things be done to edifying. 
 
 XXXV. OF THE HOMILIES. The second Book of 
 Homilies, the several titles whereof we have joined under 
 this Article, doth contain a godly and wholesome Doctrine, 
 and necessary for these times, as doth the former Book of 
 Homilies, which were set forth in the time of Edward the 
 Sixth ; and therefore we judge them to be read in Churches 
 by the Ministers, diligently and distinctly, that they may 
 be understanded of the people. 
 
 Of the Names of the Homilies. 
 
 1 Of the right Use of the 
 
 Church. 
 
 2 Against peril of Idol- 
 
 atry. 
 
 3 Of repairing and keep- 
 
 ing clean of Churches. 
 
 4 Of good works : first of 
 
 Fasting. 
 
 5 Against Gluttony and 
 
 Drunkenness. 
 
 6 Against Excess of Ap- 
 
 parel. 
 
 7 Of Prayer. 
 
 8 Of the Place and Time 
 
 of Prayer. 
 
 9 That Common Prayers 
 and Sacraments ought 
 to be ministered in a 
 known tongue. 
 
 10 Of the reverend estima- 
 
 tion of God's "Word. 
 
 11 Of Alms-doing. 
 
 12 Of the Nativity of Christ. 
 
 13 Of the Passion of Christ. 
 
 14 Of the Resurrection of 
 
 Christ. 
 
 15 Of the worthy receiving 
 
 of the Sacrament of the 
 Body and Blood of 
 Christ.
 
 418 APPENDIX. 
 
 16 Of the Gifts of the Holy 
 
 Ghost. 
 
 17 For the Rogation-days. 
 
 19 Of Repentance. 
 
 20 Against Idleness. 
 
 21 Against Rebellion. 
 
 18 Of the state of Matrimony. 
 
 XXXVI. OF CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS AND MINIS- 
 TERS. The Book of Consecration of Archbishops and 
 Bishops, and Ordering of Priests and Deacons, lately set 
 forth in the time of Edward the Sixth, and confirmed at 
 the same time by authority of Parliament, doth contain all 
 things necessary to such Consecration and Ordering: 
 neither hath it any thing, that of itself is superstitious and 
 ungodly. And therefore whosoever are consecrated or 
 ordered according to the Rites of that Book, since the 
 second year of the forenamed King Edward unto this 
 time, or hereafter shall be consecrated or ordered according 
 to the same Rites; we decree all such to be rightly, 
 orderly, and lawfully consecrated and ordered. 
 
 XXXVII... OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATES. The Queen's 
 Majesty hath the chief power in this Realm of England, 
 and other her Dominions, unto whom the chief Govern- 
 ment of all Estates of this Realm, whether they be Eccle- 
 siastical or Civil, in all causes doth appertain, and is not, 
 nor ought to be, subject to any foreign Jurisdiction. 
 
 Whereas we attribute to the Queen's Majesty the chief 
 government, by which Title we understand the minds of 
 some slanderous folks to be offended ; we give not to our 
 Princes the ministering either of God's Word, or of the 
 Sacraments, the which thing the Injunctions also lately 
 set forth by Elizabeth our Queen do most plainly testify ; 
 but that only prerogative, which we see to have been given 
 always to all godly Princes in holy Scriptures by God 
 himself; that is, that they should rule all states and degrees
 
 APPENDIX. 419 
 
 committed to their charge by God, whether they be Eccle- 
 siastical or Temporal, and restrain with the civil sword 
 the stubborn and evil-doers. 
 
 The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Kealm 
 of England. 
 
 The Laws of the Realm may punish Christian men with 
 death for heinous and grievous offences. 
 
 It is lawful for Christian men, at the commandment of 
 the Magistrate, to wear weapons, and .serve in the wars. 
 
 XXXVIII. OF CHRISTIAN MEN'S GOODS, WHICH ARE 
 NOT COMMON. The Riches and Goods of Christians are 
 not common, as touching the right, title, and possession of 
 the same, as certain Anabaptists do falsely boast. Not- 
 withstanding, every man ought, of such things as he pos- 
 sesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according to his 
 ability. 
 
 XXXIX. Or A CHRISTIAN MAN'S OATH. As we con- 
 fess that vain and rash Swearing is forbidden Christian 
 men by our Lord Jesus Christ, and James his Apostle, so 
 we judge, that Christian Religion doth not prohibit, but 
 that a man may swear when the Magistrate requireth, in a 
 cause of faith and charity, so it be done according to the 
 Prophet's teaching, in justice, judgment, and truth. 
 
 FINIS.
 
 

 
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