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THE

WORKS

OF

GEORGE BULL, D.D.
LORD BISHOP OF ST, DAVID'S,

COLLECTED AND REVISED

THE REV, EDWARD BURTON, M, A,

LATE STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH.

TO WHICH IS PREFIXED
THE LIFE OF BISHOP BULL,
BY
ROBERT NELSON, ESQ.
VOL. II.

OXFORD,
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.
MDCCCXXVII.

/yk3 mi

SEVERAL

SEVERAL DISCOURSES.

a 2

THE CONTENTS.

DISCOURSE I.
1 HE doctrine of the catholic church for the first three ages
of Christianity, concerning the blessed Trinity, consi
dered, in opposition to Sabellianism and Tritheism. P. 1.
DISCOURSE II.
The principal parts and branches of the pastoral office,
with rules and directions for the due performance of
each of them. - - P. 17.
DISCOURSE III.
Concerning the Spirit of God in the faithful ; how and in
what manner it doth bear witness with their spirits,
that they are the children of God ; and what degree of
hope or persuasion concerning their adoption this wit
ness of the Spirit doth ordinarily produce in the faithful.
P. 3L
DISCOURSE IV.
Is printed at the end of vol. VI. See the preface, prefixed
to the Life, p. x.
DISCOURSE V.
Concerning the first covenant, and the state of man before
the fall; according to Scripture, and the sense of the
primitive doctors of the catholic church, P. 52.
VI.
A Vindication of the Church of England from the Errors
and Corruptions of the Church of Rome. Vi^herein, as is
largely proved, the rule of faith, and all the fundamental
articles of the Christian reUgion, are received, taught,

vi CONTENTS.
professed, and acknowledged. Written at the request of
the comitess of Newburgh, in answer to a celebrated
Roman cathohc treatise, entitled. The Catholic Scrip-
turist, - - - - P,137.
VII.
The corruptions of the Church of Rome, in relation to ec
clesiastical government, the rule of faith, and form of
divine worship; in answer to the bishop of Meaux's
Queries. - - - P. 235.

BISCOURSE I.

DISCOURSE L"

THE DOCTRINE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR THE FIRS I
THREE AGES OF CHRISTIANITY, CONCERNING THE BLESSED
TRINITY, CONSIDERED, IN OPPOSITION TO SABELLIANISM
AND TRITHEISM.

J. HE unanimous sense of the cathoUc doctors of
the church, for the first three ages of Christianity,
concerning the article ef the Trinity, is in short
this :
I. That there are in the Godhead three (net mere
names er medes, but) really distinct hypostases or
persons, the Father, the Sen or Word ef God, and
the Holy Ghost.
II. That these three persons are ene God ; which
they thus explain :
1. There is but one fountain er principle ef di
vinity, Ged the Father, who only is AiroBeog, God ef
and frem himself; the Son and Holy Ghost deriving
their divinity from him ; the Son immediately from
the Father, the Holy Ghost from the Father and the
Son, or frem the Father by the Son.
2. The Sen and Holy Ghost are so derived from
the fountain of the divinity, as that they are net se
parate er separable from it, but de still exist in it,
and are most intimately united te it.
[" This Discourse was written 1697, for the satisfaction of lord
Arundel, as is stated at length in the Life, |. LXXXII. p. 422.]
VOL. II. B

2 The catholic Doctrine disc. i.
All the Fathers insist upon this, that if there were
more than one fountain of the divinity, er if the three
persons were each of them a self-dependent principle
of divinity, er if the three persons were separate from
each other, then there weuld be three Gods. But
being there is but one fountain of the divinity, the
Father, the Sen and Holy Ghost deriving their di
vinity from that fountain, and that so, as stiU te
exist in it, and be inseparably united te it, there is
but one God. That this is the unanimous censent
and constant doctrine ef the primitive Fathers, I have
fuUy shewed in my Defensio Fidei Nicence. I shaU
here resume, and more fully explain, enly ene tes
timony which I have there alleged, because it shews
us what was then accounted Sabellianism, what
Tritheism, and what the cathoUc doctrine concern
ing the blessed Trinity ; matters so hetly disputed
among us at this day.
Dionysius, bishop ef Rome, whe Uourished about
the year 259, whem his great namesake ef Alexan
dria styles Xoytov re Kai Bavpdaiov, a learned and won
derful man, in an Epistle against the SabelUans,
(which doubtless he wrote, as the manner then was,
with the advice and consent of the clergy of his die-
cese synodically convened,) after he had refuted the
doctrine ef SabeUius ^, thus proceeds, to disceurse
against the contrary heresy ef these " whe divide
" and cut asunder, and overthrew the most sacred
" doctrine ef the church of God, parting the me-
" narchy inte three certain powers and hypostases,
" separated frem each ether, and consequently into
" three Deities. For I hear that there are seme ca-
" Apud Athan. de Decret. Syn. Nie. tom. I. p. 275. [c. 26.
vol. I. p. 231.]

concerning the blessed Trinity. ?j
" techists and teachers of the word ef God among
" you, whe maintain this opinion ; therein diametri-
" cally, if I may se speak, opposing the hypothesis
" of SabelUus. Fer he blasphemeth by affirming that
" the Father is the Sen, and, on the other side, that
" the Sen is the Father ; but these men in a manner
" teach three Gods, whUst they divide the holy
" Unity inte hypostases, aUen and wholly divided
" from each ether. For it is absolutely necessary
" that we hold, that the divine Word is united to the
" God ef all things, and that the Holy Ghost re-
" mains and dwells in God ; and also, that the divine
" Trinity is gathered together and united into one,
" as inte a certain head ; I mean the omnipotent
" God, the Father of all things '^."
Here we see what is SabeUianism, viz. Te affirm
that the Sen is the Father, and the Father the Son ;
and consequently that the Holy Ghost is the same
with both. And all they come very near this heresj,
who acknowledge only a modal distinction between
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. What is Tri
theism he also shews us plainly, viz. That it is to
held, that the three persons in the Trinity are of a
different nature, or separated and divided frem each
other ; or that there is more than one fountain or
principle ef the divinity. According to which ac
count. Dr. Sherlock is certainly clear frem the charge
ef Tritheism : the catholic doctrine he declares to be
tbis, " That there are three really distinct hypostases
" in the Godhead, and yet that there is but one God ;
*= And afterwards in the conclusion he saith, that in this way
only, KCU Vj Oeia. Tpia^ Kai to dyioy K-fipvy^a, t^^ (jmyapxiai; diccG-u'^otTO,
i. e " Both the divine Trinity," (that is, a real Trinity,) " and also
" the holy doctrine ofthe monarchy, can be preserved." [p. 232.]
B 2

4 The catholic Doctrine disc. i.
" because the Father only is the head ef the divinity,
" and the Son and Holy Ghpst, as they are derived
" frem him, se they exist in him, and are insepar-
" ably united te him."
Of such a distinction and union ef persons we
have indeed no example, or exact similitude among
created beings : but what then ? It dees not foUew
that therefore there cannot be such a distinction and
union in the transcendent and most spiritual nature
of God. Tbe Antitrinitarians can never produce a
demonstrative reason te prove that this cannot be ;
and divine revelation assures us that so it is. The
most weighty arguments that are brought by the
Antitrinitarians against a distinction of hypostases
in the Godhead are reducible to one, which if well
answered, the rest will fall te the ground. The ar
gument is this :
The most simple being admits of ne distinction.
God is the most simple being ;
Therefore Ged admits of ne distinction.
Answ. If the Antitrinitarians that make this ob
jection are the Socinians among us, as I presume
they are, it is news to hear that they should argue
frem the simplicity of the Godhead, seeing the great
masters ef that sect, Socinus, CrelUus, &c. held that
God is a material being, and consequently com
pounded ef matter and form. Express citations to
this purpose may be seen in Dr. Edwards's Antidote
against Socinianism, part I. p. %b, Q^.
This opinion tbey held, because they could not
conceive how there can be any substance that is
purely spiritual, and abstracted from aU matter : and
if they could have conceived this, perhaps they would
not have stuck at the doctrine of the Trinity. For

concerning the blessed Trinity. 5
tbe great difficulty ef conceiving a Trinity in Unity
in the Godhead arises chiefly from hence, that men
are apt te measure the divine nature from ideas and
notions taken from material things. But to the
purpose :
1. The simpUcity ef the divine nature does indeed
exclude aU mixture ; i. e. all composition of things
heterogeneous in the Godhead, there being nothing
in God but what is God ; but for all that, there may
be distinction of hypostases in the Godhead, provided
they are homogeneous, and of the same nature, as
the cathoUc doctrine teaches.
2. The simplicity ef the divine nature, if rightly
considered, is sq far frem excluding, that it necessarily
infers a distinction of hypostases in the Godhead.
For wherein dees tbe simplicity of the Godhead
especiaUy consist but in this, that God is a pure
eternal mind, free from the mixture of all kind of
matter whatsoever? Now an eternal mind must needs
have in it from eternity an 'ewota or Xoyog, a notion or
conception of itself, which the schools term verbum
mentis; nor can it be conceived without it. This
word in God cannot be, as it is in us, a transient,
vanishing accident, for then the divine nature would
indeed be compounded of substance and accident,
which would be repugnant to its simplicity ; but it
must be a substantial subsisting word. The great
apostolical bishop ef Neecaesarea, Gregory, surnamed
Thaumaturgus, in his Panegyric te Origen, (by all
confessed te be genuine,) caUs it, " the most perfect,
" Uving, and animate word of the very first mind''."
This word also is manifestly (though not divided,
•^ TeXeioTaTOj' Kai 'ijivra Kai avroij toB irpccTOV vo'v \oyo'j ei/,\j/V)(fi-j.
B 3

6 The catholic Doctrine disc. i.
yet) distinct from the eternal mind from whence it
proceeds. And this is ne novel subtlety of the
schools, but a notion that runs through aU the Fa
thers, even these of the first ages, as appears from
the testimonies produced out of them in my De
fensio Fidei Nicence, and it is also grounded on
holy Scripture.
Hence the excellent Athanasius, than whem ne
man better understood the sense of Scripture and the
doctors of the church that were before him in the
article ef the Trinity, insists upon it in his Oration
against the SabeUians. In the beginning of which,
having first shewn hew the catholic church of Christ,
in ber notion and worship of God, differs from the
heathens and Jews, he proceeds to declare the dif
ference betwixt the orthodox Christians and the
Sabellians, and other Unitarians ef his time, whe
under pretence of defending the unity ef the God
head, denied all distinction of hypostases therein.
His words are these ; " We are separated also frem
" those who corrupt Christianity with Judaism, who,
" denying the God of Ged, profess ene Ged as the
" Jews de, affirming him (the Father) te be the only
" God, net upon account that he enly is unbegotten,
" and the only fountain of the Deity, but as if he
" were without a Sen, and barren, and void ef his
" Uving word and true wisdom. For they conceive
" the word of Ged te be such as proceeds from the
" mind ef man, and his wisdom to be such as that
" of ours ; and therefore affirm Ged with his Word
" to be one person, just as we say that a man toge-
" ther with his word is one man ; being in this ne
" wiser than the Jews, whe own not the EvangeUst
" in the beginning of his Gospel, proclaiming. In

concerning the blessed Trinity'. 7
" the beginning -was the Word, and the Word was
" with God, ctnd the Word was God. Fer if Ged
" hath a word in his mind not really begotten of
" him as Ged ef God, hew could the Word be with
" God, and hew could it be God ? Fer the word
" conceived in the mind of man is not a man with
" another man, seeing it neither lives nor subsists,
" but is enly a motion or operation of the same liv-
" ing subsisting mind."
This great man took it for granted, that St. John,
in the text aUeged, meant that the Word was with
God in the beginning, before any created being
existed, and consequently that he is caUed the Word
qf God, not with respect te the creatures, (though
it is true that he afterwards revealed the wiU of
God te mankind, and might in that respect also be
called the Word qf God,) but with respect to God
the Father, whose Word he eternally was, and with
whem he was in the beginning ; and therefore he
was not the same hypostasis with him, and yet be
was Ged as well as the Father. He bad never heard
ef the senseless interpretation of Socinus, who by the
beginning in that text understands the beginning
of the Gospel; there being then no heretic (among
these many that opposed the divinity of our Lord)
whe had the confidence te advance se ridiculous a
sense of those words : Laelius Socinus hath the ho
nour ef that interpretation.
If it be objected, that all this being granted
proves only two hypostases in the Godhead, not a
Trinity ; I answer, 1. This proves that a distinction
of hypostases in the Godhead is very consistent with
its simplicity ; nay, that frem the true notion of the
simpUcity of the Godhead, such a distinction neces-
B 4

8 The catholic Doctrine disc, i,
sarily follows. 2. If there be two hypostases in the
Godhead, there may be a third ; and that there is a
third, the holy Scripture assures us. Indeed, I do
net remember that any ef the Fathers of the first
three centuries have attempted te explain distinctly
the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father
and the Son, or from the Father by the Son ; there
being Uttle er ne dispute concerning the divinity ef
the Holy Ghost till Macedonius appeared, and dis
puted the faith of the church in that article. For
before him, all the Autitrinitarians, of what sort so
ever, chose especiaiUy to oppugn the divinity of the
Son of God, taking occasion from these texts of
Scripture which respect his human nature, and that
economy which fer our salvation he took upon him.
Which pretence seeing they had not to make use ef
in disputing against the Godhead of the Holy Ghost,
they thought it best to say nothing of it, contenting
themselves in opposing the divinity of the Son, and
by consequence to overthrew that ef the Holy
Spirit. But in general I have observed, that those
primitive Fathers held the Holy Ghost te be as it
were vinculum Trinitatis, " the bend ef the holy
" Trinity," the union of Father and Sen. Hence
seme ancient doxologies run thus, "Glery be te the
" Father and the Son in the unity ef the Holy
" Ghost." And the most learned Christian philo
sopher, Athenageras, whe flourished very near the
first succession of the apostles, expressly affirms the
Father and the Son to be one, evoryjn Ylvevparog^, i. e.
by the unity qf the Spirit; which I think imports
the same thing with what St. Augustin and ether
[« P. 287. in ed. Just. Mart.]

concerning the blessed Trinity.. 9
later Fathers say, that the Holy Ghost is Amor
Patris et Filii. But this by the way.
There is another notion which frequently occurs
in the writings of the primitive Fathers, tending to
shew the incongruity of asserting the Godhead te be
so simple a being, as to be povoirpoawirog, a solitary
single /hypostasis, which hath also a foundation in
the holy Scriptures, and it is this ; " without ac-
" knewledging a distinction of hypostases in the
" Godhead, we cannet well conceive that airdpKeta
" which we attribute te Ged, i. e. his self-sufficiency
" and most perfect bliss and happiness in himself
" alone, before and without all created beings^." But
by admitting this it plainly appears, that himself
alone is a most perfect and blessed society, the Fa
ther, the Son, and the Spirit eternally conversing with
and enjoying each other. See Prev. viii. 22, to 31
inclusive : where the wisdom of Ged, which is said
te be with God from everlasting, from the begin
ning, before the earth was, and to be his continual
delight, aU the Fathers unanimously understood to
be (as indeed the words themselves UteraUy and
plainly import) So^/« l<f>earwaa, a subsisting personal
wisdom, i. e. the Sen ef Ged, whe is accordingly by,
f Ante omnia Deus erat solus, ipse sibi et mundus et locus et
omnia : solus autera quia nihil aliud extrinsecus priEter ipsum ;
caeterum ne tunc quidem solus ; habebat enim secum, quam ha
bebat in seipso, rationem suam scilicet. Hane Graeci Aiyov di
cunt. Tertul. advers. Prax. cap. v. Satis igitur nobis scire solum,
nihil esse Deo coaevum ; nihil erat praeter ipsum, ipse solus multus
erat. Neque enim erat sine ratione, (Gr. tS Ao'yp,) &c. Hippol.
Hom. de Deo trino et uno. Bibl. PP. tom. XV. p. 622. Oi 9(ia,ii;
ea-Ttv, ov^e aKii/dvvov dia t^v aa-deveiav '/jfAuv to otroi/ ecj) Tjfjuv aicoa-TepsTaOai
rov 0€oy rov ae* a-vvovroc; avrS Aoyov [/.ovoyivo'vi;- liO^iaq 'ovrot; ^ irpoa-e^aipev*
ovra yap oXe aei x^-'P'^" v(nj6-^a-eTai. Origen. apudAthanasium, tom. I.
p. 277. [de Decret. Nie. c. 27. p. 233. J

10 The catholic Doctrine disc. i.
St. Paul expressly styled the wisdom of God, I Cor,
i, 24, And that the Aoyog, or Son of God, was
known by tbe ancient Jews themselves under the
title of the wisdom of God, sufficiently appears from
many passages in Philo, and from the author of the
Book of Wisdom, chap, vii. 26, compared with Cel,
i, 15. and Heb. i, 3,
Te conclude : The doctrine ef the church con
cerning the blessed Trinity hath been abundantly
confirmed by cathoUc writers, beth ancient and mo
dern, from many clear texts eut ef the holy Scrip
tures ; which as they assert the unity of the God
head, se de they also plainly teach us, that there are
three to whom the essential attributes and proper
operations of the Godhead do belong, viz, the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost, The interpretations, whereby
Socinus and his more immediate followers endea
voured te elude the texts alleged by the catholics, are
so manifestly forced and strained, that I do not see
hew any honest mind, that bears any reverence er
respect te the sacred Scriptures, can away with
them. This the Socinians among us ef late seem te
be sensible ef, and therefore have taken a shorter,
but mere desperate course, by calling in question the
authority of the principal Scriptures alleged by us.
Thus the author of the pamphlet, en^\\\.edThe Judg
ment of the Fathers, he. disputes the authority ef
the Gospel of St, John, For he teUs us from Epi
phanius, that the Alogians or Alogi (whem, accord
ing to his accustomed impudence, he highly magni
fies, and affirms te be the purest and most ancient
GentUe Christians, yea and coeval with the apostles,
whereas Epiphanius s expressly saith, that the be
fi Haer. LI. in ipso initio.

concerning the blessed IVinity. 11
resy of the Alogi appeared in the world after the
Cataphrygians, (er Montanists,) the Quintilians, and
the sect ef the Quartedecimani, and therefore could
not be earlier than about the beginning ef the third
century) were se caUed, because they denied the Ao
yog, er Word, ef which St. John speaks in his Gos
pel, Epistles, and Revelations, They said, that all
those pieces were written by Cerinthus, under the
name ef St, Jehn ; and in his Considerations he
produceth their arguments, and with this preface,
that he " should be glad te see a good answer to the
" exceptions ef those Unitarians against these books
" we receive of St, John's," Which implies, that
he thinks those arguments (which in truth are but
senseless cavUs) have not been sufficiently answered
by Epiphanius, or any other catholic ; and that he
himself cannot tell hew te answer them, and there-
fere must submit te the force of them, tiU he receives
better information.
New as fer the Apocalypse ; we acknowledge that
it hath been questioned by some, net enly heretics,
but catholics ; but upon slight grounds, as hath been
sufficiently shewed by divers learned interpreters,
and particularly by Grotius, in the preface to his an
notations upon it. The second and third Epistles also
have been, and still are, doubted ef by many, whe ra
ther think them to be written by St, John the pres
byter ; (see Grotius again in the preface to his notes
on the second Epistle.) But as fer the Gospel and
first Epistle attributed te St. Jehn, they have always
been received in the church of Ged as his undoubted
and genuine writings. They are cited as St. John's
by the catholic Fathers that lived nearest the times
of that apostle ; and particularly by Irenaeus, whe

12 The catholic Doctrine disc. i.
was an auditor ef St. Polycarp, the disciple ef St.
John. As for their being written by Cerinthus the he
retic, no man in his wits, and that understands any
thing of the dogmata of Cerinthus, can imagine it.
For it is evident, that the first chapter of the Gospel
according to St. Jehn, and divers passages through
out his first Epistle, are directly opposite te the Ce-
rinthian hypothesis, as I have fuUy shewn*^ ; and
accordingly Irenaeus and ethers ef the ancients tes
tify, that they were purposely written by St. Jehn
against the Cerinthian heresy, which in his time be
gan te trouble the church. So that those heretics
whe fathered the Gospel and first Epistle, which we
receive as St. John's, upon Cerinthus, were by Epi
phanius deservedly named "AXoyoi, men in this void
of all sense and reason.
But before I dismiss this account of the Alogi
frem Epiphanius, I must not emit by the way te ob
serve, that they rejected, net only his Gospel and
Revelation, but his Epistles also, and aU upon the
same account, because in them there was mention
made of the divine Aoyog, which they disowned, af
firming Christ to be entirely and wholly a mere
man that had ne existence before the blessed Virgin.
New where is there any text in the Epistles of St.
John concerning the Aoyog, that should give such of
fence to the Alogi ? Surely the most Ukely text is
that in tbe first Epistle, chap. v. 7. There are
three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, (<5 Aoyog,) and the Holy Ghost : and these
three are one. This text then was extant in the
'• Jud. Eccl. Cath. II, 3. et seqq.

concerning the blessed Trinity. 13
Greek copies of the first Epistle of St. Jehn, in the
age wherein the Alogi lived, i. e. about the begin
ning of the third century. And accordingly Tertul
lian, who then flourished, manifestly alludes te it in
his book against Praxeas, cap. xxv. in these words,
" Cennexus Patris in Filie, et Filii in Paraclete,
" tres efficit cohaerentes, alterum ex altero, qui tres
" unum sunt, {ol rpeig ev elatv,) uon unus." And net
long after him, St. Cyprian more clearly and fully,
" De Patre, FUio, et Spiritu Sancto scriptum est, hi
" tres unum sunt\" But to proceed.
The same author tells us ^, " He cannet beUeve
" that the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth
" verses ef the first chapter of the Epistle to the He-
" brews were originaUy a part of that Epistle, but
" have been fraudulently added." Whe can help the
infidelity ef ene who is such a slave te his hypothesis
as to resolve to beUeve nothing against it, though
never so certain ? These verses are found in aU the
Greek copies ef the Epistle te the Hebrews at this
day extant ; and aU ancient versions of that Epistle,
the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiepic, render them.
But the divine author's applying the words ef the
Psalmist concerning the creation ef heaven and
earth te the Sen ef God, ver. 10, 11, 12. is se clear
a proof of bis divinity, that the Socinian knew not
what te say to it, and therefore resolves it shall be
no Scripture. Indeed he weuld seem to sUght the
argument of the cathoUcs from those verses, if ad
mitted te be a part ef the Epistle, and weuld per
suade us that it is easily answered, by saying, that
the heavens and earth there meant, are enly the
' De Unitate Eccl. cap. iv. prope finem.
^ Judgment of the Fathers, p. 30.

14 The catholic Doctrine disc. i.
new heavens and earth foretold by the prophets,
even the Gospel economy and state.
But can the heavens and earth, which are said te
be made Kar dpydg, in the beginning, er ef eld, as it
is in Psalm cii. 25. possibly be understood of the
new heavens and earth, foretold by the prophets, as
to come ? Can it be said ef the new heavens and
earth, er the Gospel-state, that they shall perish and
wax old as a garment, and as a vesture be folded up^
Certainly whoever can give credit te such an inter
pretation must be given up to a reprobate mind.
But, O Deus ! in quce nos tempora reservasti,
ut ista patiamur f as the blessed martyr Polycarp
was went te say, when he heard the blasphemies of
the heretics of his time : the same wretched au
thor is not afraid te say, " There are shrewd pre-
" sumptions, that te the institution ef baptism by
" our Saviour, in the Gospel of St. Matthew, these
" words have been added, In the name qf the Fa-
" ther. Son, and Holy Ghost^."
They are presumptions, and shrewd presumptions
indeed, that are opposed to the faith of all the copies
ef St. Matthew's Gospel at this day extant, and te all
the ancient versions of it, and to the practice of the
universal church of Christ throughout the werld,
founded on these words, as undoubtedly the words of
our Saviour. But what are the shrewd presumptions
he speaks of? He names but one, and that is this :
" It appears in the Acts and Epistles of the apostles,
" that the apostles never baptized in that form of
" words, but only in the name ef the Lord Jesus."
But where doth this appear, either in the Acts or
' Judgment of the Fathers, p. 22.

concerning the blessed Trinity. 15
Epistles ef the apostles, that when the apostles bap
tized any man, they did it in this form only, / bap-
ti%e thee in the name ofthe Lord Jesus ? It is said
indeed, that they baptized in the name ofthe Lord
Jesus ; i. e. inte the faith and religion ef the Lord
Jesus ; viz. according te the form ef baptism pre
scribed by the Lord Jesus himself, i. e. In the name
ofthe Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Are net they baptized in the name ef the Lord Je
sus, that are baptized according te that form? do
net we aU understand the Lord Jesus to be meant
by the second person named in that form, viz. the
Sen? Hence Grotius upon those words. Acts xix. 5.
And when they heard this, they were baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus, hath this note, " In
" nomen Patris, et FiUi, et Spiritus Sancti." And
fer this he refers us te his notes en Matt, xxviii. 19.
where he handles this matter at large.
Indeed this wUl clearly appear, if we do but look
back to the verses preceding the aforementioned text
in the Acts : there we read, ver. 1,2,3. that St. Paul,
meeting with certain Christians at Ephesus, asked
them whether they had received the Holy Ghost'?
Te which they answered, that they had not so much
as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. St.
Paul> wondering at this, replies. Unto what then
were ye baptized f As if he had said. How can you
be ignorant whether there be any Holy Ghost? have
you net been baptized in the name ef the Father,
and of the Son, and ef the Holy Ghost? If net,
after what form, or hew have you been baptized ?
And they said. Unto John's baptism. John indeed,
as the apostle rejoins, only baptized unto repentance,
thereby to prepare men for the reception of the Mes-

16 The catholic Doctrine, <§c. disc. i.
sias. that was te ceme after him. He did net bap
tize in the name ef the Lord Jesus, i. e. in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and qf the Holy
Ghost. This form of baptism was first appointed
by our Saviour himself, and that net tiU after the
resurrection, just before he was to ascend inte hea
ven, and from thence soon after te pour out the
Holy Ghost after a wonderful manner upon the apo
stles. Then, and net before, they were commanded
by our Lord to baptize, " in plena et adunata Trini-
" tate," as St. Cyprian ™ expresses it.
To the most holy and undivided Trinity, Ged the
Father, Sen, and Holy Ghost, be ascribed all ho
nour and glory, adoration and worship, now and for
evermore. Amen. "" Epist. ad Jubaianum.

DISCOURSE 11.^

THE PRINCIPAL PARTS AND BRANCHES OF THE PASTORAL
OFFICE, WITH RULES AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE DUE
PERFORMANCE OF EACH OF THEM.
In a Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of St. David's.

Reverend Brethren ofthe Clergy,
I SHALL not waste my time and little strength by
detaining you with a long and useless preface. In
short, my business at this time shaU be to set before
you the several parts and branches of that holy office
and function, which you have undertaken, together
with seme rules and directions which are necessary
to be observed for the due performance of each of
them. The principal parts and branches of the pastoral
office are these five.
First, Reading divine service, or the prayers of
the church. .
Secondly, Preaching.
Thirdly, Catechising.
Fourthly, Administering the holy sacraments of
Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Fifthly and lastly. Visiting of the sick.
First, Reading divine service, er the prayers of
the church. This seme may think te be a sUght
and easy matter, that needs net any advice or direc-
^ [This appears to have been delivered in 1708. See Sermon
VI. vol. I.]
VOL. II. C

18 The principal Branches disc.ii.
tions ; but they are very much mistaken. Fer te the
reading ef the prayers aright there is need ef great
care and caution. The prayers of the church must
be read audibly, distinctly, and reverently.
1. Audibly, se that if ppssible, all that are present
may hear them and join in them. There are seme
that mutter the prayers, as if tbey were te pray only
to themselves, whereby they exclude most ef the
congregation frem the benefit of them.
2. The prayers ef the church ought to be read
distinctly and leisurely ; net to be gallepped over, as
the manner of some is, who read the prayers se fast
that they outrun the attention and devotion ef the
people, net giving them time te join with them, or te
make their responses in their due places. This rule
is to be observed in reading the prayers through
out, but especially in reading the Decalogue or Ten
Commandments in the second service. There are
some that read the Commandments so thick one
upon another, that the people have not time te add
that excellent prayer te each ef them, " Lord, have
" mercy upon us, and incline eur hearts te keep this
" law." Te this head, ef distinct, reading the prayers, I
shaU only add this ene observation. Whereas upon
Sundays and holydays the church hath appointed a
first and second service te be read ene after another,
it is convenient that there be a decent interval be
twixt them. Fer judge, I pray you, how absurd it
may seem to conclude the first service with St.
Chrysostom's prayer, and The grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and immediately without any inter
mission te enter upon the second service.
I verily beUeve the first intention of the church

of the pastoral Office. 19
was, that these two services should be read at two
several times in the morning ; but new custom and
the rubric direct us te use them both at the same
time. Yet in cathedral or mother churches there is
StiU a decent distinction between the two services :
for before the priest gees to the altar to read the se
cond service, there is a short but excellent anthem
sung, in imitation whereof in the churches of Lon
den, and in other greater churches ef the country,
instead of that anthem there is part ef a psalm sung.
3. And lastly, the prayers ef the church are te be
read with great reverence and devotion, se as te ex
cite and kindle devotion in the congregation. Thus
the prayers of the church are te be read, if we weuld
keep up the reputation of them, and render them
useful te the people. But, alas ! there are too many
ministers, who by disorderly and indecent and irre
verent reading of the Liturgy disgrace it, and ex
pose it to contempt. Te whem the church may com
plain, as one of old in the poet did, of the ill re
hearsal of his oration :
Quem recitas meus est, O Fidentine, libellus,
Sed male dum recitas incipit esse tuus.
" The book of prayers which ye read is indeed mine,
" but at the sad rate you read it, I am ashamed of
" it, it is none of mine, but yours."
I am verUy persuaded that this is one cause that
there are se many sectaries and separatists among
us. They find so little reverence and devotion in
the use of our common prayers, that they cannet
away with them, but run from the church te the
conventicle, where they hope te find mere devotion.
II. Another part of the pastoral office is preach
ing, L e. (as we commonly use the word) taking a
c 2

20 The principal Branches disc. ii.
text or portion of Scripture, explaining it, raising
seme useful point ef doctrine from it, and applying
it to the edification ef the hearers. For otherwise the
bare reading of the Scriptures is sometimes called
preaching; as Acts xv. 21. For 3£oses (that is, the
writings ef Moses) qf old time hath in every city
them that preach him, being read in the syna
gogues every sabbath day. But here I take the
word preaching iu the forementioned sense, as new
it is used. This is a noble part of the pastor's duty,
but difficult ; it is net a werk that every ene should
undertake or can perform : for it requires the know
ledge and understanding of the holy Scriptures, and
in order thereunto, some skill in the learned lan
guages and ether parts ef human learning ; it re
quires a good judgment and discretion, I add elocu
tion tee. The time will not give me leave (if I were
able) te set before you all the rules er precepts ef
the art of preaching, and to give you an entire sys
tem of it. There are many learned men whe have
written fuU treatises of this subject ; I mention only
our excellent bishop Wilkins, whe hath pubUshed
a treatise, entitled, Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher,
which I recommend to the reading of younger di
vines and first beginners in the art of preaching :
te whom also I give this farther advice, that they
should not at first trust te their own compositions,
but furnish themselves with store of the best ser
mons that have been published by the learned di
vines of our church. These they should read often,
and study te imitate them, and in time they wiU
attain te an habit of good preaching themselves.
Among the printed sermons, those ef the late arch
bishop Tillotsen are well known and approved by aU.

of the pastoral Office. 21
But what shaU be dene in these poor parishes,
where there are as peer ministers, altogether inca
pable ef performing this duty of preaching in any
tolerable manner? I answer, that in such places,
ministers, instead ef sermons of their ewn, should
use the Homilies of the church, which ought te be
in every parish. And they weuld do well also, now
and then te read a chapter or section out of the
Whole Duty qf Man, which (I presume) is trans
lated inte the Welsh tongue. I add, that it weuld
be a piece ef charity if the clergy of the neighbour-
heed te such places, who are better qualified, would
sometimes visit those dark corners, and lend some of
their light te tbem, by bestowing now and then a
sermon en the poor people, suited te their capacities
and necessities. They have my leave, yea and au
thority se te de ; and they may be sure the good
God wiU not faU te reward them.
III. The third work of the paster's office is cate
chising, without which preaching will not be suffi
cient. Fer if people be net well instructed in the
necessary principles ef reUgien when they are young,
they wiU hardly attain to any sound knowledge
when they are old. For according to the Greek
apophthegm, NeKpov larpeveiv Kat yepovra vovBereiv ravrov ean.
" To instruct an ignorant old man and te raise a
" dead man are things almost equally difficult." I
shaU net insist upon this subject, for the usefulness
and necessity of catechising is acknowledged by aU,
though the werk itself is by many ef the clergy sadly
neglected. Where such neglect is, it is the duty ef
the churchwardens to present. I shall make it my
business te see this fault amended.
c 3

22 The principal Branches DISC ll.
IV. Another, and a main part of the priest's of
fice, is the administration ef the holy sacraments,
Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
First, fer Baptism ; the church strictly requires
tbgt it be performed pubUcly, in the house of Ged,
net in private houses, except in case ef real neces
sity ; as when a child is weak, and cannet without
endangering itself be brought te church. But net-
withstanding this strict erder ef our church, iu most
places in this country, baptism is altogether admin
istered in private houses, and scarce any (if any)
baptized in the church. If this may be aUowed,
away with the fonts in your churches ; what de they
signify ? to what purpese are they there ? If all the
authority I am invested with can de it, I wiU see
this lamentable abuse of the sacrament of Baptism
reformed. But farther observe, that as our church strictly
requires that baptism be administered in public, se
it advises that it be performed (if conveniently it
may be) on the Lord's day, in a fuU congregation of
Christian people. Hear the words of the rubric,
" The people are te be admonished that it is most
" convenient that baptism should not be adminis-
" tered but upon Sundays and other holydays, when
" the most number ef people come together ; as well
" for that the congregation there present may testify
" the receiving of them that be newly baptized inte
" the number ef Christ's church, as also because in
" the baptism of infants every man present may be
" put in remembrance of his ewn profession made to
" God in baptism,"
I take leave te add, that it is most for the inter
est ef the infant te be se baptized, that it may have

of the pastoral Office. 23
the benefit of the united prayers of a full Christian
congregation, which is much te be valued. Me
thinks there should be ne need ef urging this te pa
rents, that have any real love or affection te their
children : this would incline them to desire that
themselves, which the church desires of them. Re
member, I beseech you, that yeur chUdren are te
be but ence baptized ; and what is but once dene,
ought to be well dene, in the best and most perfect
mauner. To ceme te the ether sacrament, the Eucharist, er
holy Supper ; this is the most sacred and mysterious
rite, the apex, the top and perfection ef Christian
worship, as the ancients term it, and therefore it
ought te be performed with the greatest reverence
and solemnity in every punctilio of it, according te
the direction ef our church in her rubric to the Com
munion Office. But this you are especially te take
care ef, that you administer not the holy sacrament
te persons known te be vicious and scandalous. Hear
the rubric ef the church to this purpose, viz.
" Se many as intend te be partakers of the holy
" communion, shall signify their names to the curate
" at least seme time the day before.  And if any ef
" those be an open and notorious evil Uver, or have
" done any wrong te his neighbours, by word er deed,
" se that the congregation be thereby offended ; the
" curate having knowledge thereof shall call him,
" and advertise him, that in any wise he presume not
" te ceme to the Lord's table, until he hath openly de-
" clared himseU" to have truly repented and amended
" his former naughty life, that the congregation may
" thereby be satisfied which before were offended,
" and that he hath recompensed the parties te whom
c 4

24 The principal Branches disc ii.
" he hath done wrong, or at least to declare himself
" te be in fuU purpose so te de, as seen as he conve-
" niently may."
I am not ignorant, that there are some who plead
for a free admission to the Lord's table ef aU that
are members of the visible church, and not yet ex
communicated ; and exclaim against the exclusion
ef men frem the holy communion, as a device and
usurpation of the presbyterians and other sectaries :
but these men are grossly mistaken, fer you see it is
the express order of our church, I add, that the
same order was observed in the primitive and apo
stolical churches, Fer Justin Martyr, whe flourished
within forty years after the apostolic age, (i, e, after
the death of St, Jehn the apostle,) in his second Apo
logy ''tells us, that in his time none were admitted to
the holy Eucharist, but these whe lived according te
the law ef Christ. It is a received distinction among
divines, that there is a twofold excommunication,
excommunicatio major et minor, " the greater and
" the lesser excommunication." The greater excom
munication is an exclusion of a man from the com
munion of the church, and the public ordinances
universally. The lesser excommunication is indeed
iu erder te prevent the greater, and to bring men
under the discipline and correction of the church for
the amendment ef their lives, that se at length they
may be fit to be admitted te the holy communion,
Se our church informs us in her rubric to the
Communion Office, where the minister, repelling any
from the communion, is required " te give an ac-
"- count thereof to the ordinary within fourteen days
^ [i. e. the first Apology, (§. 66.) according to the later edi
tions.]

of the pastoral Office. 25
" after at the farthest ; and the ordinary shaU pro-
" ceed against the offending person according te the
" canon." Se much for the administration of the
holy sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
V. I come to the fifth and last part of the pastoral
office, viz, visiting the sick, Fer this we have an
express command in the holy Scriptures, James
V, 14, Is any sick among you ? let him call for the
elders ofthe church; i.e. the presbyters ofthe church;
as supposing they may not otherwise have notice of
his sickness. Sick men too commonly neglect this
duty ; oftentimes eut ef fear, proceeding from an evil
conscience. They look upon the minister's coming
to their sick-bed, as a kind of a messenger ef death,
fer which they are uot se well prepared. But if the
sick man dees net send fer his minister, the minister
(having other notice ef his sickness) ought to ge to
him without being sent for.
How to perform this duty towards sick men aright,
our church fully directs him in her excellent Office
of the Visitation of the Sick, which is so full and per
fect, that there needs nothing te be added te it.
But observe farther, that it is the pastor's duty to
visit his parishioners, not only when they are sick,
but also when they are weU and in good health ; not
only with common neighbourly visits, but visiting
them to the purposes ef salvation. He should some
times ge heme te their houses, and minister te their
souls in private; mUdly reproving them for what
faults he observes in them, admonishing them of such
duties as he knows them to be ignorant of; as not
coming constantly to church, not frequenting the
communion, and the like. He is there seriously to
call upon them, te mind them ef the great concern

26 The principal Branches Disc, ii,
of their immortal seuls in time te prepare fer sick
ness and death, and the tremendous judgment that
foUews, Such particular private appUcations of the
minister to his parishioners are highly useful, and
will render the public ordinances more beneficial to
them. Te you, my brethren of the clergy, I shall con
clude aU I have te say, in a shert but serious and
affiectienate exhortation.
1. In the first place, and abeve all things, follow
after holiness, without which no man shall see the
Lord. Holiness is a quaUfication indispensably re
quired in every Christian, and that sub periculo
animce, " as he hopes to be saved," and te see the
face of God in heaven. And can it be imagined
that a minister of God should be saved without it ?
Nay, he is obliged to holiness in a double capacity,
beth as a Christian and as a minister. As a min
ister, his calling obliges him to be almost perpetually,
conversant about holy things ; which he profanes, if
he be net himself an holy person. He profanes
God's holy worship, his holy word, and his holy sa
craments ; and Ged wiU most certainly and severely
punish such profaners ef his sacred things.
Nay, a minister ef God is obliged to an exemplary
holiness. Epiphanius teUs us, that the duty of the
laity is, To avpperpov koi rb avyyvwarbv, a more mode
rate measure of piety, suited to their capacity, and
tempered with a greater indulgence and mercy.
But from the clergy is expected ij irepl irdvrwv dKpt/So-.
Xoyia, a more exact and accurate course qf life in
all things. And St. Paul speaks to the same pur
pose, when he charges Titus to shew himself in all
things an example er pattern of good works, Titus

of the pastoral Office. 27
U. 7. For every pattern must be excellent and ex
traordinary, and such as is worthy of imitation.
This the people will expect frem us, that we should
go before them, and lead them on to virtue and
piety by our example. And however they fail in
other civilities, they wiU be sure generally te observe
this piece ef good manners, they will readily give us
the precedence in the way te heaven, and be con
tent te follow us at a very humble distance. So
that our conversation must be somewhat extraor
dinary, if we expect by our example te bring them
up to the ordinary and necessary measures of piety,
and we shall hardly be able te de well, unless we
ourselves de somewhat excellently,
2, Be diUgent, very diligent, in the business ef
yeur calling; fer it is a laborious calling, that wUl
not admit ef ease and idleness. I speak especially
to the younger clergy ; ply your studies, give your
selves te reading, chiefly the holy Scriptures, and
the writings of learned men that have explained
them to you.
The exhortations ef St, Paul to Timothy are full
to this purpose : Till I come, give attendance to
reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Meditate upon
these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy
profiting may appear to all. 1 Tim, iv. 13, 15.
Consider, I beseech you, what kind ef person he was
whom St. Paul thus exhorts : he was ene, whe from
a child knew the holy Scriptures ; one that had the
gift of prophecy, and was endued with extraordinary
and even miraculous gifts. This man St. Paul earn
estly caUs upon to be diligent in reading and study ;
what need then have we, even the best ef us, ef this
diUgence, whe are se very far shert of his accom-

28 The principal Branches disc ii.
pUshments ! In a word, an idle person in any call
ing whatsoever is very contemptible ; but an idle
and lazy parochial priest is ef all mortals the most
contemptible and inexcusable. What ! so much bu
siness, and that ef se great importance as the sal
vation of men's souls, and yet idle ? Fer the Lord's
sake shake off" sloth, rouse up and bestir yourselves
in the business ef your calling, remembering that
the souls of your people, and your ewn seuls, are at
stake. 3. And lastly, Be much and often in prayer to"
"God, especiaUy in private prayer. Content not
yourselves with reading prayers at church, but take
care also that there be daily prayers in yeur fami
lies, at least morning and evening ; and some time
every day retire te your studies, and there, upon
your bended knees, earnestly beseech Almighty God
to have mercy en you, to direct and assist you in
your studies, and to give you good success in yeur
labours. Pray for the souls of the people committed
te your charge ; pray for your ewn souls, that while
you preach to others, you yourselves may not be
castaways. If you de these things, if you adorn yeur holy
profession with an holy conversation, if you be diU
gent in the business of your caUing, if you pray daily
to God fer his help and assistance, he will net fail
to be with you, and to carry you through all diffi
culties with honour and success ; and in the end
yeur reward will be great and glorious, and an
abundant compensation ef all yeur labours. So St.
Peter teUs you in that exceUent text, 1 Peter v. 2,
3, 4. with which I shaU conclude. Feed the flock of
God which is among you, taking the oversight

of the pastoral Office. 29
thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for
filthy lucre, but of a ready mind ; neither as being
lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to
the fiock. And when the chief Shepherd shall ap
pear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth
not away.
And now a word er two to you my brethren of
the laity.
First, Give honour and respect to yeur pasters
fer the Lord's sake, whatever their personal de
fects may be ; (which you are te overlook, and net,
Uke cursed Cham, delight te pry into the nakedness
of yeur fathers ;) their character and office calls fer
this from you. The contempt ef the clergy at last
redounds to the contempt ef all religion. Se our
Saviour tells you, speaking of his apostles, and in
them of their successors, He that despiseth you,
despiseth me ; and he that despiseth me, despiseth
him that sent me.
Secondly, Be strictly just in paying them their
dues : that Uttle they have, let them have in quiet.
Do net put them te vexatious lawsuits, to the dis
turbance ef their studies, and thereby to your ewn
loss. You will take it UI to be called thieves, and
yet such you are ; yea, guUty of the worst of thefts,
sacrilege. For by denying ministers their dues you
rob God, as Ged himself tells you, Mai, iii. 8. Will
a man rob God f Yet ye have robbed me. But ye
say. Wherein have we robbed thee f In tithes and
offerings, &c. If any peer minister be oppressed
and injured in this kind, I will be a patron te him,
stand by and defend him.
In the last place, one word te you that are
churchwardens. Remember you are upon your

30 The principal Branches, S^c. disc ii.
oaths; do net therefore fer fear er favour of men
perjure yourselves, i. e. damn your ewn souls. The
office ef a churchwarden, te which he is sworn, is
not se difficult as seme men make it ; an honest
man may easUy discharge it; for it is enly te be
honest, and present matters according tQ thfe best of
his skiU and knowledge.

DISCOURSE IIL

CONCERNING THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN THE FAITHFUL; HOW
AND IN WHAT MANNER IT DOTH BEAR WITNESS WITH THEIR
SPIRITS, THAT THEY ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD ; AND
WHAT DEGREE OF HOPE OR PERSUASION CONCERNING
THEIR ADOPTION THIS WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT DOTH OR
DINARILY PRODUCE IN THE FAITHFUL.

St. PETER hath long age observed, that in the
Epistles of his brother apostle St. Paul, there are seme
hvavoYjra, things hard to be understood ; which the
ignerant and unlearned did in his time (as indeed
there are some such that stUl do se in our time)
wrest to their own destruction, 2 Pet. iii. 16. And
he seems in that place, if it be heedfuUy considered,
te have a special respect te St. Paul's Epistle to
the Remans, which indeed hath mere ef these
hvavoYjra, or difficult passages, than any other ef his
Epistles. Such is his discourse of justification by
faith without works, which runs throughout the
Epistle, which was abused even in the apostolic age
te a dangerous kind of soUfidianism by the Gnostic
heretics ; against whose perverse interpretation St.
James afterwards wrote his Epistle as an antidote.
And indeed St. Paul himself expounds himself in
another Epistle very plainly to the same purpose,
viz. Gal. V. 6. In Jesus Christ neither circumcision
availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith
which worketh by love. From whence it is evident.

32 The Testimony ofthe Spirit disc hi.
that by the faith te which he attributes justification,
he means not an idle faith, but a working faith, at
tended with works of love both toward God and our
neighbour ; and consequently, that the works he ex
cludes frem justification are not evangelical works,
or such as are done in and proceed frem faith in
Christ ; but only, first, works of perfect obedience, er
sinless works, there being none such te be found
among the sens ef fallen man : er, secondly, works
done in the strength ef the Mosaic law, without the
gi-ace ef the Gospel : er, thirdly, the works of the
ceremonial law, such as circumcision, sacrifice, and
the like : or, fourthly and lastly, all manner of works
whatsoever, as far as they are relied en as meritorious
causes of our justification or salvation : there being
but ene enly cause of that kind, viz. the meritorious
obedience and sufferings ef eur dear Redeemer and
Saviour Jesus Christ.
Of this sort also are the discourses of St. Paul
concerning the conflict between the law ef the mind,
and the law ef sin in the members, in the same men,
chap. vii. and concerning the irrespective love and
hatred of Jacob and Esau, and of the obduration or
hardening of Pharaoh, chap. ix. and ef the bondage
and redemption ef the whole creation, chap. viii. 19
— 22. And such also is that passage, upon which
I shall found my present discourse concerning the
witness of the Spirit in the faithful, chap. viii. 16.
The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God. A passage almost in
every man's mouth, but rightly understood by very
few, yea by tee many dangerously mistaken and
abused. In handling whereof I shaU endeavour, with aU

of God in the Faithful. 33
the plainness and clearness I can, te pursue and re
solve these two inquiries.
First, How and in what manner the Spirit of God
in the faithful doth bear witness with their spirits,
that they are the chUdcen of God.
Secondly, What degree of hope er persuasion con
cerning their adoption this witness of the Spirit doth
ordinarily produce in the faithful.
I. First then I am te inquire, Hew and in what
manner the Spirit of God in the faithful doth bear
witness with their spirits, that they are the children
ef God,
I answer, first, negatively ; net by an immediate
oracle, voice, or whisper within them, in express
words pronouncing their pardon and acceptation with
God, er saying that they are the sons of God, after
the manner our Saviour told the man sick of the
palsy. Son, be of good cheer ; thy sins be forgiven
thee. Matt, ix, 2, or, as Nathan the prophet said to
David, The Lord hath put away thy sin, 2 Sam,
¦xU, 13, This is a vain imagination, and as dangerous
as it is vain, it being apt te lead some good men inte
despair, as not finding any such whisper within them ;
and to expose others to presumption and the delusion
of the evU spirit. Such a vocal testimony of the Spirit
is ne where promised in Scripture, and therefore not
to be expected by us ; though it is possible God may
to seme persons, and in some extraordinary cases,
give it. But that St, Paul means net any such vocal
testimony of the Spirit is evident frem hence, that
this vocal testimony weuld be the immediate testi
mony of the Spirit alone, whereas the apostle speaks
of a testimony of the Spirit concurring and adjoining
witb the testimony of our spirits, i. e. our minds or
VOL. II. D

34 The Testimony of the Spirit disc iii,
consciences; avppaprvpei ' ,our minds and consciences
therefore have a part and share in giving this testi
mony ; i, e, our consciences give this testimony by
and with the Spirit within us. In what manner, I am
to shew in the affirmative, te which I proceed,
2, Therefore affirmatively, the Spirit witnesseth
that we are the sons of Ged, (1,) By these gra
cious fruits and effects which it hath wrought in us,
which when we discern and perceive, we de er may
frem thence conclude that we are the sons of Ged,
those fruits and effects being the sure badge and li
very of his children. (2.) By enUghtening eur un
derstandings, and assisting the faculties of our seuls,
as need requires, te discern these gracious fruits and
effects which he hath wrought in us.
(1.) The first way whereby the Spirit of God wit
nesseth that we are the sens ef Ged, is by the gra
cious fruits and effects which the Spirit hath wrought
in us. The Spirit ef Ged in person is not the imme
diate suggester of this conclusion, that we are the
sons of Ged ; but the Spirit in the fruits and effects
ef it is the medium er argument from whence we
ourselves draw it, St. Paul tells us in the very same
chapter. Rem, viii, 9. If any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his. New hew shall we know
that we have the Spirit, but by the fruits of it in our
selves ? And what are the fruits of the Spirit ? St,
Paul describes them. Gal, v, 22, 23, The fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such
there is no law. Where, when among the fruits of the
Spirit the apostle reckons yapd, joy, the best inter^
preters understand him to mean, not that joy or
peace ef conscience, which is the result and reward

of God in the Faithful. 35
of duty, but a joy which is itself a duty, and a duty
respecting our neighbour ; for of that nature are all
the rest of the graces there mentioned by St, Paul,
Fer it is immediately subjoined to love, and after it
are added several other virtues, which all have refe
rence te eur neighbour; and therefore it is altogether
improbable that this joy, being placed in the midst
of these virtues, should respect any other than our
neighbour. And then by joy, we must understand
either that joy which a man takes in the good things
of his neighbour, or that virtue whereby a man stu
dies te create and cause joy to his neighbour, or to
gratify and please him in aU his actions, for his good
and edification. But this by the way. When there
fore I find these fruits of the Spirit within me, love,
joy, peace, he. I may conclude, that I am the son ef
Ged, and accepted by him ; and this comfortable
conclusion, though it be made by myself, yet is due
te the Spirit ef Ged, frem whem all those gracious
arguments of my comfort proceed ; and therefore it
may weU be said te be attested er witnessed by the
Spirit of Ged, in concurrence with my spirit, mind,
er conscience.
Thus St, John most plainly expounds St. Paul,
I John iv, 13, Hereby we know that we dwell in him,
and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
Se that the Spirit doth net immediately tell us this,
but we ceme to understand it by perceiving that we
have the Spirit, i, e, the fruits of the Spirit in us.
Hence tbe Spirit of Ged in Scripture is caUed
dppa^wv, God's earnest, 2 Cor. i. 22. who (that is,
God) hath also sealed us, and given the earnest qf
the Spirit in our hearts. Now an earnest is pars
pretii pro toto spondens, " part ef a sum, given in
D 2

36 The Testimony ofthe Spirit disc hi.
" assurance of receiving the whole afterwards." Se the
Spirit ef God within us is given us by way of earnest,
to assure us that in due time we shall receive from
Ged aU those other good things, and that fuU glory
and bliss, which he hath promised us ; always pro
vided we keep our earnest, and do not throw it back
to the giver, or by resisting the motions of the Spi
rit, provoke him to take it again from us. The fruits
of the Spirit are also called acppaylg, Ged's seal, in
the same place, and Ukewise Ephesians i. 13, where
the Ephesians are said te be sealed with that holy
Spirit qf promise. In which words St, Paul aUudes
te the custom of men, whe use te set their seals upon
these things which they would mark fer their ewn.
And thus the fruits of the Spirit are said to be Ged's
seal, because by them we know ourselves to belong
to Ged, and te be in his favour. When therefore we
find that we leve God abeve all things, and value his
favour more than all the world, and that our greatest
care is how we may glorify Ged and serve him in this
life ; that we leve eur neighbour sincerely, aud are
ready to do him all the good that lies in. our power;
that we bear ne malice te any man, yea and can
forgive eur very enemies ; that we are strictly just
in all eur deaUngs, and are ready to relieve the dis
tressed according to our abUities ; that we study
mortification, and te deny our fleshly lusts, and make
conscience of every thing we knew te be sin ; that
we deUght in religious exercises, especially in prayer;
that we have something within us continually cry
ing Abba, Father, and inclining us in all our wants,
necessities, and distresses, te have recourse te our
God by humble suppUcation, and te depend and
trust on him for help and relief; and finally, that

of God in the Faithful. 37
we can bear afflictions with submission te Ged's
will : by these things, as by the fruits of the Spirit,
we knew that we have the Spirit, and consequently
that we are the sens of Ged, and heirs ef salva
tion. Indeed the Christian's comfort is every where in
Scripture founded on those graces and good things
which the Spirit ef God hath wrought within him.
Thus St, Paul most plainly teUs us upon what foun
dation he built the peace, joy, and comfort of his
mind, 2 Cor, i, 12, Our rejoicing is this, the tes
timony qf our conscience, that in simplicity and
godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, we have
had our conversation in the world. The joy and
peace ef his mind arose from that testimony, which
his conscience gave him ef his integrity and since
rity. Thus the Spirit ef God in the fruits and effects
ef it did witness with his spirit, that he was a good
man, and accepted in the sight ef God, i, e, a son of
God. And the same method of censelation he pre
scribes te others. Gal. vi. 4. Let every man prove
his own work, and then he shall have rejoicing in
himself. We can have no true and soUd joy but
what arises from within ourselves, and proceeds
from a thorough proof, trial, and examination ef our
hearts, and finding things right and well there. This
matter of comfort, though it be within ourselves, yet
is it not of or frem ourselves, but is the fruit of the
Spirit, au effect of the grace ef God; and se the
glery of aU at last redounds te him. But stiU frem
within ourselves we must fetch our comfort.
They are therefore false apostles and teachers,
and betrayers ef tbe seuls for whem Christ died, whe
teach for sound, yea the only Gospel doctrine, that
D 3

38 The Testimony ofthe Spirit disc hi.
we are not te seek eur consolation frem within our
selves, i, e. that we are not to fetch eur comfort frem
the graces within us, er the duties performed by us ;
that this is to dishonour free grace, and to set up eur
own graces and duties in the room ef Christ's right
eousness. But as you leve your souls, avoid and take
heed ef these men, and of this doctrine, fer it leads
te perdition, and hath been, I deubt not, one main
cause that hath contributed te the ruin of multitudes
of men.
It is true indeed, we are net te build our comfort
and hope of salvation upon eur graces and duties, as
meritorious ef salvation. For the only meritorious.
cause thereof is the obedience, suffierings, and death
of our dear Redeemer, and enly Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, Nor are we te take comfort from our
graces and duties, as purely our ewn, i, e, as wrought
in us, or dene by us, merely by our own strength ;
for we have ne strength of our own in spiritual
things ; but it is Ged that works in us both to wiU
and te de. Indeed this weuld be to glory in our
selves, and net in the Lord ; te rob God and his
grace of their due honour ; te fetch onr comfort,
not from the grace er Spirit of Ged, but frem cor
rupt nature and the powers ef it, which whoso doth,
let him be anathema. But to derive our comfort
from the graces within us, as the fruits of God's Spi
rit, freely given us in Christ Jesus, te cherish eur
hopes by those duties', as conditions without which
our Lord Christ hath declared he wUl never save
us, this is not only lawful, but our duty ; this we
not enly may, but must de ; and if we seek fer solid
comfort and peace of conscience in any ether way
we shall never find it.

of God in the Faithful. 39
And thus I have explained tl) you the first Way
whereby the Spirit ef Ged doth witness with our
spirits, that we are the sens of God, or in a state of
salvation, viz, by those blessed graces and fruits
which he works in us,
(2,) The second way by which the Spirit ef God
witnesseth with our spirits, that we are the sons of
God, is by enUghtening our understandings and
strengthening the powers of our minds, as occasion
requires, te discern those gracious fruits and effects
which he hath wrought iu us. It would be but
Uttle comfort te us, that the characters ef Ged's Spi
rit are written upon our minds, if we ourselves de
net arrive te the knowledge of them. Now this is
the case of many Christians of great piety, but of
weak understandings ; they have the fruits of the
Spirit flourishing in them, but take ne satisfaction
from thence, because they de net perceive and dis
cern them. When therefore it is of use and expe
diency te them, that they should have a better know
ledge of themselves, the Spirit ef Ged is pleased te
shine upon their understandings, and raise and
strengthen the faculties of their seuls te an appre
hension and Uvely sense of these graces which he
hath wrought in them, that they may receive com
fort and satisfaction from them. How and after
what manner he doth this, I dare not undertake te
teU ; but though the manner of it cannot be ex
plained, yet the thing itself is certain, and ought not
te be denied.
That Spirit of God, which in the first beginning
of things moved upon the face ef the great deep, and
invigorated the chaos, or dark and confused heap of
things, and caused Ught to shine out of that dark-^
D 4

40 The Testimony ofthe Spirit disc hi.
ness, can with the greatest ease, when he pleases,
cause tbe Ught of divine consolation to arise, and
shine upon the dark and disconsolate soul. And
this he often doth. I may here appeal to the expe
rience of many good Christians, who sometimes find
a sudden joy coming into their minds, enUghtening
their understandings, dispeUing aU clouds frora thence,
warming and enUvening their affections, and enabling
them te discern the graces of God shining in their
brightness, and to feel them vigorously acting iu
their seuls ; se that they have been after a sort trans
figured with their Saviour, and wished with St. Peter
that they might always dweU on that mount Tabor.
And indeed we ought, in these happy intervals,
when eur understandings are thus irradiated and
enlightened, te make a judgment ef the state and
condition of eur seuls in the sight of Ged, and net
to take eur estimate of it when eur understandings
are eclipsed, and we are overshadowed with a dark
cloud ef sadness and melancholy.
Thus I have largely shewn the way and manner
how the Spirit of Ged doth witness with our spirits,
that we are the children of God ; viz. 1. By the fruits
of the Spirit, er these graces which he works in us,
2, By enlightening our understandings and strength
ening the faculties of our minds, if need be, te see and
discem these graces, and thence to make a right
conclusion concerning eur hopes of salvation. Though
this latter operation of the Spirit I do net think to be
meant by St. Paul, in the passage I have grounded
this disceurse upon, at least not principaUy. For he
seems to speak of a standing permanent witness of
the Spirit, that is always in aU the faithful ; and that
can be ne ether than the habitual grace of God with-

of God in the Faithful. 41
in them. Whereas that operation of the Spirit, in
irradiating our minds to discern the things of God
within us, is a transient occasional act, not always to
be found in the faithful, but enly in their extraordi
nary exigencies and necessities.
In this way of explanation, and in ne ether, it is
easy te understand the concurrence of God's Spirit
and our spirit in this witness or testimony, that we
are the sens of God, and so heirs of salvation, and
what part each of them hath therein. The Spirit of
God hath the main and principal part ; for it is that
Spirit which produces those graces in us, which are
the evidence of our adoption : it is he that, as occa
sion requires, iUuminates eur understandings, and
assists eur memories, in discerning and recollecting
those arguments ef hope and comfort within our
selves. But then our spirits or understandings have
their share in this testimony too. Fer Ged's Spirit
avppaprvpei, doHh witness, not without, but with our
spirits and understandings, se that our spirits concur
and cooperate, and act their part in this matter tee.
How ? We make use of our reason and understand
ing in considering and reflecting upon these grounds
of comfort which the Spirit of God hath wrought in
us, and from them draw this comfortable conclusion
to ourselves, that we are the sons qf God. This
witness er testimony is given, net by a direct imme
diate suggestion, either of God's Spirit or eur own,
but in a rational and argumentative way. For it
being certain from Scripture, that whosoever hath
the fruits of the Spirit, er these graces which none
but the Spirit ef Ged can werk, is in the favour of
Ged ; a good Christian, by considering and reflecting
en himself, finds that he hath those fruits ef the

42 The Testimony ofthe Spirit disc hi.
Spirit, and from thence he draws tbis certain con-
elusion, that he is in the favour of Ged.
Thus the witness ef the Spirit appears te be not
au unaccountable enthusiasm, as some have made it,
but a sober rational testimony. The right under
standing of this is of great use to settle the minds of
many good but weak Christians, who are infinitely
perplexed in their thoughts about the witness of the
Spirit within them. They sadly complain ef their
want of it, when indeed they have it, because they
de uot rightly understand what it is. They expect
some secret impulse er suggestion of the divine Spi
rit telling them directly that they are the children qf
God, and missing ef this, (which indeed God hath
nowhere, that I know of, promised,) they are in a
disconsolate afflicted condition. They look for com
fort only and iramediately frem the Spirit ef God,
while their own spirits are wholly inactive and idle ;
i, e, they de net make use of their reason and under
standing, in gathering comfort to themselves, from
those grounds ef comfort which the Spirit of Ged
hath wrought in thera.
We may very fitly apply the words of St, Paul,
borrowed frem Moses concerning the righteousness
ef faith, te the assurance ef faith. Rem, x, 6, 7, 8,
The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on
this wise. Say not in thine heart. Who shall ascend
into heaven f {that is, to bring down Christ from
above :) or. Who shall descend into the deep f {that
is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But
what saith it f The word is nigh thee, even in thy
mouth, and in thy heart. Se here de net seek after
an oracle or immediate revelation, er expect that a
voice frem heaven should assure thee, that thou who

of God in the Faithful. 43
art a true believer, and a sincere penitent, art in a
state of grace and favour with Ged; fer the reso
lution ef the case is nigh unto thee, and even within
thee, and te be sought after no farther than in thine
own heart and conscience. If thou perceivest that
thou dost believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with all
thine heart, with a faith working by love, leve to
God, and love te thy neighbour, thou mayest as cer
tainly conclude thou art in a state ef salvation, as if
a voice frem heaven had told thee se.
And se much of the first thing propounded. The
manner how the Spirit of Ged doth bear witness with
our spirits, that we are the children ef God.
II, I am next to shew you what degree of hope
or persuasion concerning their adoption, the witness
ef the Spirit doth ordinarily produce in the hearts of
the faithftil. And here again to this inquiry I an
swer both negatively and affirmatively,
1. Negatively, The witness ef the Spirit doth
not ordinarily produce in the faithful that highest
degree of persuasion, which amounts to a plerophory
or absolute and full assurance of his salvation, ex
cluding aU doubt thereof, A ftiU assurance of sal
vation is that which very few ofthe best of Christians
can boast ef. Indeed this seems net expedient in
any raan but hira that is near the end of his race,
that having fought a good fight perseveringly against
the werld, the DevU, and the flesh, is now ready to
ge off" the stage, and te take his crown ef glery, the
" reward ef his laborious corabat ; which seeras te be
the case ef St, Paul, 2 Tira, iv, 6, 7, 8, For I am now
ready to be offered, and the time i of my departure
is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I hame
finished my course, I have kept the faith ; hence-

44 The Testimony of the Spirit disc, iii.
forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteous
ness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall
give me at that day.
It is the opinion ef very learned interpreters, that
St, Paul was warned by an oracle or revelation from
heaven ef his near approaching martyrdom, after
the manner that St, Peter was, 2 Peter 1, 14, Know
ing that I must shortly put off this my tabernacle,
even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.
St, Paul being thus ready to be offered, i, e, to suffer
martyrdem for Christ's sake, and having, through
the whole course ef his past life, had experience of
the grace ef God carrying him through a multitude,
an infinite variety ef sufferings, with honour and
victory, was assured that he should not fail in this
last act, but that the same grace would complete his
former victories with a crown of martyrdom. This
assurance was necessary in hira at this time to sup-
pert him in his last trial, and there was new ne
danger that he should abuse it. But before this,
when the blessed apostle was farther off" from the
end of his race and corabat, he speaks in a raore
doubtful raanner, 1 Cor, ix, 27, / keep under my
body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any
means when I have preached to others, I myself
should be a castaway, i. e, a reprobate. St, Paul
cannot be supposed at that tirae, when he wrote this,
te be absolutely certain of his salvation. Indeed
such an assurance, as I said before, seeras no way
expedient for any man whe is yet in the midst ef his
combat with the adversaries of his soul, the DevU,
the world, and the flesh ; because it would be apt to
betray him to security. The case in this particular
is much the same, between the Ufe of our bodies and

of God in the Faithfid. 45
the salvation of our souls. If divine Providence
should give any man an absolute assurance ef a very
long life, he weuld be apt te neglect the means ef
his health, and te take ne care for the preserving of
his Ufe : so if God should give a man beforehand
assurance ef his perseverance te the end, and se ef
his salvation, it would probably make him careless
and negligent in the use of the means appointed for
his perseverance, i, e, watching and praying,
2, I answer affirmatively. And the affirmative
I wUl lay dewn in these foUowing prepositions,
(1,) The witness of the Spirit of God doth ordi
narily produce in the faithful such a degree ef hope
and persuasion ef their adoption, as shaU render their
Uves in sorae raeasure comfortable, and free frem
tormenting fears and anxieties, and such as shall be
sufficient te encourage them in the discharge of that
duty which Ged requires of them,
(2,) The degrees ef this comfortable hope and
persuasion iu the faithful are ordinarily proportioned
to the degrees ef their other graces.
The graces of. the Spirit within us, as I have
already shewn, are the evidences of our titles te hea
ven : and therefore the greater and stronger eur ha
bitual grace is, the greater and stronger evidence we
have of our title te glery.
This grace is the great witness ofthe Spirit with
in' us, testifying that we are the children of God,
and se heirs of salvation ; and consequently the
greater this grace is, the greater and clearer witness
we have of our adoption. And, en the contrary, the
witness and evidence of our adoption raust needs be
darker and more obscure, as this grace is weaker
and raere imperfect in us. And therefore as the

46 The Testimony ofthe Spirit disc. ill.
characters of the Holy Spirit in our seuls are raere
er less apparent and legible, se wiU our hope and
comfort be greater or lesser.
Indeed sometimes he that hath a lesser degree of
grace, may have a greater raeasure of corafort ; be
cause perhaps in the circurastances wherein he is, he
needs it ; as being under sorae heavy pressing out
ward affliction, which, were he net supported by a
greater raeasure ef inward comfort, weuld be apt to
sink and crush him. Or perhaps he is a raan of a
stronger and clearer understanding, er an happier
teraper and constitution of body, and se better quali
fied te take corafort frem these grounds of comfort
that are within hira, than another whe yet hath
arrived te a greater perfection in grace and virtue
than hiraself. But regularly, ordinarily, et cceteris
paribus, the more grace the raere comfort. The
mere strictly we walk with God in the ways of holi
ness, the greater wiU be the peace and satisfaction ef
our minds. And accordingly we may observe in
Scripture a very close connection between hope and
holiness. Thus the Holy Ghost, describing the ex
emplary piety ef the priraitive Christians, teUs us,
that they walked in the fear of God, and in the
comfort of the Holy Ghost, Acts ix. 31. A seem
ingly incongruous couple, fear and joy, fear and hope,
or comfort. But indeed these two are so far from
being inconsistent, that they can hardly be separated.
The raere a raan fears to offend God, and the greater
his care is te please him, the greater his hope and
comfort wUl be. The mere we fear, the less reason
we have te fear ; i. e. if we fear Ged, we need not
fear any thing else. In this fear we are safe and
secure, and aU the powers of hell cannot hurt us.

of God in the Faithful. 47
(3.) The Spirit of Ged doth always administer
sorae degree of hope te aU the faithful, so rauch as is
sufficient to keep them from despair.
Some degree ef hope is absolutely necessary to
preserve the very life and being ef eur ether graces.
It is in this sense also the Christian's true raotto,
Dum spiro, spero ; " He hopes as long as he lives
" and breathes." And if ever his hope should ut
terly fail hira, his spiritual life would expire and
cease, and aU his ether graces weuld languish and
die with it. And therefore the Spirit of God never
fails to give some degree of hope to aU the faithful.
Indeed it is possible for the hope of a good Chris-,
tian to be at so very lew an ebb, that he may think
hiraself to be in despair, but indeed he is not so ;
there is some degree ef hope stUl left in him, which,
though he hiraself cannot discern, yet another that
is a diUgent observer may perceive, in his earnest
desire ef God's grace and mercy, in the conscience
that he stUl raakes of coramitting any sin that he
knows te be such, and his endeavour to de that
which he thinks te be his duty to the best of his
power, and iu his requesting the prayers ef good
people to Ged for him. For to what purpose doth
he these things, if he were indeed fuUy resolved in
himself that his case is desperate, if he had not seme
degree of hope yet remaining in hira ?
Thus sorae have been known, in a raelancholy fit,
te think they have lest all faith, and seriously te ac
cuse theraselves of downright infideUty, and an utter
disbelief of the Articles of the Christian religion, and
thereupon have been plunged into horrible fears,
perplexities, and agonies of raind; whereas these
very fears are a plain demonstration that they are

48 The Testimony of the Spirit disc. m.
not guilty of that infideUty, the supposal whereof
is the cause ef their fears. Fer if they had no beUef
at aU of the matters of religion, they could net be so
much troubled for their unbelief. For hew can a
man possibly be troubled fer net believing that, which
he is fuUy resolved and reaUy persuaded in his own
mind is false, and so ought not to be beUeved ?
In Uke raanner sorae men think theraselves veid
of all hope, and that they are guilty ef utter despair,
when their ewn actions at the sarae tirae plainly de
clare the contrary. But yet to be thus next door to
despair is a very sad condition, though it may be
safe. And, Ged be thanked, the instances of good
men in this pitiable estate are coraparatively very
rare. And where they are found, it coraraonly ap
pears that much ef their misery is te be attributed
to an excess of melancholy in their natural temper
and constitution ; and much to the false notions of
reUgion which they have imbibed and sucked in
frem these unlicensed, unlearned, ignorant, or cor
rupt teachers, which perhaps, through their own
wantonness and felly, they raade choice of. But
still the hand ef Ged is to be acknowledged in the
case, perraitting then! at least by such means te fall
into the heaviest of afflictions and calamities in this
world, fer reasons best known unto himself, always
wise, just, and righteous, and, as it wiU appear in
the issue, good and gracious tee.
Obj. But here it may be objected. How is the
case ef these disconsolate Christians consistent er
recencUeable with this truth. That the Spirit of
God beareth witness with the spirit qf the faithful,
he. Fer whereas St. Paul, manifestly speaking ef aU
true Christians, all that have the Spirit ef Ged in

of God 'hi the Faithful. 44)
general, saith, that the Spirit doth bear witness
with their spirits, that they are the children of God;
these afflicted persons, whora we suppose te be true
Christians, are se far from having any such thing
witnessed te them, as that they are the chUdren ef
Ged, that on the contrary they are under dreadful
apprehensions of their being reprobates and cast
aways. Ans. I answer, that this passage is, as many other
places of Scripture of the like nature are, to be un
derstood, not so much of the certainty or necessity of
the effect itself spoken ef, as of the nature of the
thing, to which that effect is attributed, and its
sufficiency te produce it, if not hindered by seme
obstacle intervening. Thus for instance, the Gospel
of Christ is every where in Scripture described as a
Gospel of peace, and which should cause an universal
peace in the world; because, though through the
corruption of raen, it tee generally fails of that bless
ed effect, yet in its ewn nature it is apt and fitted to
produce it, and would de se, if its raost strict pre
cepts of peace and leve, and most powerful motives
and arguraents te enforce that excellent virtue, were
duly regarded and attended to. So here the Spirit,
1. e. the fruits and graces ef the Spirit within us, are
said te testify and witness to and with our spirits,
that we are the children qf God ; because in thera
selves wherever they are, they are a sufficient evi
dence ef eur adoption ; and if by this Spirit we are
net actuaUy assured ef it, it is because our own spi
rits are net rightly fitted and disposed to receive that
evidence. Se that all true Christians, even those
disconsolate ones, have in themselves the witness qf
the Spirit, which St. Paul speaks of, i. e. they have
VOL. II. E

50 The Testimony ofthe Spirit disc hi.
that habUual grace, which is a certain arguraent er
testiraony ef their being the children of God; but
they de net at present discern it, through the weak^
ness and indisposition of their rainds, and tee often
of their bedies also ; which indisposition the good
and gracious Ged wUl seme time er other, sooner or
later, remove: and the same divine Spirit, which
implanted that grace in thera, will in due tirae illu
rainate their understandings, to perceive and see
that blessed work ef God within theraselves.
And now to conclude this disceurse : the best ad
vice that can be given upon the whole matter is
this ; Let us carefully raind eur duty which the word
ef God hath laid before us, and then leave our com
fort te eur good and gracious God, who will Certainly
dispense it in such measure as he sees best and fittest
for us. There is many a one who might have been
in a much raore comfortable state of mind than he
is, if he had minded his comfort less and his duty
more ; if he had studied more the pleasing of God,
than the pleasure, peace, and satisfaction ef his own
mind ; if he had laboured more te be a true obedient
child of God, than to know that he is so. De not
therefore, as the manner of seme is, lie down whining
and crying for comfort and assurance, in tbe mean
whUe neglecting thy duty ; but rise up in the name
and strength of God, and set thyself in good earnest
to thy duty ; honestly study to know and do the wiU
ef God ; take heed of defiling thy conscience with
any wilful sin ; call upon Ged for his grace by con
stant and daily prayer ; and in this way ef weU-doing
commit thy soul te the goodness and mercy of God
in Christ Jesus ; and whUst thou dest se, be assured
thou art safe, and canst never raiscarry. Fer it is as

of God in the Faithful. 51
certain that Ged is good and gi'acious, as that he is,
and that therefore he will never cast off" these who
thus cast themselves upon him. Remember that
ordinarily an abundant comfort is the reward ef a
fruitful piety, and therefore endeavour te grow in
grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Sa
viour Jesus Christ, 2 Peter iU. 18.
In a word, persist and persevere in thy duty, and
thou canst net fail ef that comfort which is conve
nient for thee ; and to be sure, what is wanting in
thy joy and comfort here, shall with infinite advan
tage be raade up hereafter, in that fulness of joy,
and those pleasures which are at God's right hand
for evermore.

E 2

DISCOURSE V.

CONCERNING THE FIRST COVENANT, AND THE STATE OF MAN
BEFORE THE FALL, ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE, AND THE
SENSE OF THE PRIMITIVE DOCTORS OF THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH.
W^ritten at the request of a Friend.

[''In all the transactions between Ged and man
kind, some preraises bave ever been condescended to
on God's part, and seme conditions have ever been
required on our side, in order to obtain and preserve
his favour. Se it was in the state ef innocency, as
appears frem the very original law given to man in
Gen. ii. 16, 17. which was net established only with
a threatening, but with a premise also annexed ; and
consequently was more than a mere law. So it con
tinued after the faU, as is undeniable frem those
most remarkable words ef Ged to Cain, recorded in
Gen. iv. 7- and frem the constant manner ef Ged's
proceeding with the patriarchs and others in the
Old Testament. But then it ought nevertheless to
be observed, that besides the seeds ef natural reU
gion sown in raan's mind at the creation, he was also
endowed with certain supernatural gifts and powers,
in which his perfectien chiefly consisted, and with-
» [See Life, p. 437.J
^ The beginning of this MS. being wanting, that which is in
cluded between the two crotchets is added to supply the introduc
tion, being extracted from the author's own writings.

The State of Man hefore the Fall. 53
out which his natural powers were of themselves in
sufficient te the attainment of an heavenly immor
taUty ; and consequently that the law of nature as
considered now in fallen man, without divine reve
lation, and without any supernatural assistance, is
much less able to confer the heavenly immortaUty
and bliss upon thera that live up te it. Since both
from Scripture, and the consentient testiraony of the
ancient catholic writers, it is plain, as I have else
where shewed % that there was a covenant ef Ufe
made with raan in his state of innocence, and nel?
(as seme pretend) enly a law imposed upon hira ;
that this covenant was by the transgression ef the
protoplast raade void both to him and his posterity;
that all his posterity as such were thereby wholly
excluded frora the proraise ef eternal life made in
that covenant, and consequently subjected te a ne
cessity of death without hope of ajiy resurrection ;
that as such, they are enly under the obligation of
the law ef nature, and the dictates of common rea
son ; that this law is not a law ef perfect obedience,
or a rule of perfection ; that it hath not the reward
of eternal life annexed ; and that there is ne cove
nant ef life eternal, which Ged ever entered inte
with the posterity ef fallen Adam, but that enly
which is confirmed and ratified in Christ, the second
Adam ; and which is by consequence the very sarae
with the Gospel itself.
But because from what I have already written on
this head, it may not be sufficiently evident to all,
what the nature ef this covenant ef life eternal was,
which God raade with raan in his state ef integrity,
" Appendix ad Animad. XVII. §. 2, &c.
E 3

54 The State of Man disc v.
and what were the means proportioned to it in order
to the end, I shaU readUy take the pains to explain
the sense of the cathoUc church hereupon, iu which
I readily concur and acquiesce ; and I would have it
te be accounted as my own. That there was then
such a covenant made with man by God, I cannot
doubt in the least, I ara net ignerant that the
school ef Socinus (which taketh too] ^ great a U-
berty ef interpreting Scripture against the consent
of the catholic church) flatly denies it, affirming the
tew given to Adam te have been a mere law, esta
bUshed only with a threatening, and ne covenant, or
law with a proraise annexed. But the contrary is
most evident, Fer, 1. the prohibition given te Adam,
concerning the not eating ef the tree ef knowledge,
is ushered in (which very few interpreters take any
exact notice of) ^ with this express donation or grant
ef God, that he might freely eat ef aU the rest of the
trees in paradise, the tree of Ufe not excepted. New
it is certain the tree ef Ufe was so called, because it
was either a sacrament and divine sign, or else a
natural raeans ef iraraortality; that is, because he
that should have used it, would (either by the na
tural virtue of the tree itself continually repairing
the decays ef nature, or else by the power of Ged)
have lived fer ever, as Ged hiraself plainly assures
us. Gen. iii, 22, 23, 24. So that the sense of this
whole legislation to Adara is apparently this : " If
¦1 Here the manuscript in the bishop's own hand begins.
= This was long ago observed by Theophilus Antiochen. 1. II. ad
A-utolyc. p. loi. [c. 24. p. 366.] where, speaking of the law given
to the first man, he hath these wordsj 'EveTt/Xaro air$ a-m Tcdinav
ruv Kap-nSv iaSieiV, SvjXovoti Kai a-no ro'v t^; ^onj^, /io'vou 8e ex Toy ^tlXov Tm
T^5 yvuaiui, hetti'Karo air$ jM) ytvaairQai.

before the Fall. 55
" thou shalt obey my comraandraent in net eating of
" the tree of knowledge^ thou raayest continue in
" paradise, and freely enjoy all the ether deUghts
" thereof, net being debarred frora the tree of life
" itself, which thou raayest eat ef, and live for ever :
" but if thou transgress this my commandment, iu
" eating ef the tree of knowledge, thou shalt cer-
" tainly die." 2. The very cemmination itself, in
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die, manifestly implies a promise. This consequence
(whatever some idle wits have fancied to the con
trary) is most firm : Ged threateneth death te man,
if he eat ef the forbidden fruit; therefore he pro
raiseth Ufe if he de net eat. ^ Fer hew insignificant
weuld have been tbe threatening of death to man's
eating of the forbidden fruit, if he should certainly
and necessarily have died, whether he had eaten er
not? However, that Adam should net have died if he
had net siuned, is so manifestly the doctrine of the
Scriptures, and of the church of God, beth before
and since Christ our Saviour's appearance in the
flesh, that Pelagius of old, and Socinus in this latter
age, are justly to be esteeraed the raost irapudent ef
mortals fer daring te caU it inte question. Yet be
cause Tve live iu an age wherein toe raany take the
confidence Kivelv dKivYjra, te shake the foundations of
religion ; and he is laughed at as guilty ef a sharae
ful petitio principii, that shall offier to beg any cora
raon principle ef Christianity, even in a disceurse
with such as profess themselves Christians ; I shall
^ Supposing the observance of the law natural, which man had
before received, even in his very creation, and which also obliged
him to obey every positive precept that God should give him.
E 4

56 The State of Man disc v.
therefore (although I have already suggested such
arguments as may satisfy the equal reader) give you
a fuU state and resolution ef this question in a few
words of Grotius, in his approved book De Satis
factione Christi, cap. I. p. 27 — 31. where he thus
discourseth : " For the right understanding of the
" state of this questien ; we deny net, that raan,
" when he was created, was earthly, whe had a cer-
" tain vital power, but ne vivific power, as Paul
" teacheth us, 1 Cer. xv. 45, 46 ; and se that the
' condition of his body was such, that unless God
" supported it, it would have perished. But yet we
" stiffly raaintain, that in the decree ef God he
" should not have died, if he had persisted in inno-
" cence. This the very nobUity and erainence of
" that creature evinceth, as being alone said to be
" created after the iraage ef Ged ; that is, with un-
" derstanding and liberty ef will, which is the foun-
" dation of his dorainion ever the ether creatures ;
" fer he cannet be lord ef other things, who is not
" lord ef his ewn actions. This excellency therefore
" above other creatures is an arguraent, that in the
" creation of raan there was designed raore than a
" teraperary use of hira. But new what is more
" clear than that voice of Ged ? If thou eatest
" thereof thou shalt die. The act ef death is here
" raeant, whether that should be violent er other-
" wise. Therefore this very thing, to die, would net
" have happened te raan, if he had not happened te
" sin. No less clear and general is that ef Paul,
" The wages, that is the punishraent, of sin is
" death. Rem. vi. 23. He had before said. By sin
" death, and so death passed upon all men. He
" saith, all men, therefore he speaks concerning the

before the Fall. 57
" comraon end ef all raankind. By man therefore,
" that is by the act of raan, came death, and by man
" the resurrection qf the dead. As in Adam all
" die, (as many as die,) so also in Christ shall all
" be made alive s, (as many as shall be raade alive,)
" 1 Cor. XV. 21, 22. Whe is there, that, reading the
" words theraselves, doth net presently see that this
" place te the Corinthians exactly answers to that
" to the Remans? Such a death therefore is here
" meant, as is common te the posterity of Adam, and
" out of which they rise, whosoever de rise. Where-
" fere also comparing this place with that te the Re-
" raans, we say that this is raeant of Adara as a sin
s' See Rom. viii. lo, 1 1. On which text St. Austin thus excel
lently discourseth. Puto quod non expositore, sed tantum le-
ctore opus habet tam clara et aperta sententia. Corpus, inquit,
mortuum est, non propter fragilitatem terrenam, quia de terra
pulvere factum est, sed propter pe"ecatum ; quid amplius quaeri
mus? Et vigilantissime non ait mortale; sed mortuum. Nam
antequam mutetur in illam incorruptioneni, quas in sanctorum
resurrectione promittitur, poterat esse mortale, quamvis non mori-
turum, sicut hoc nostrum potest, ut ita dicam, esse aegrotabile,
quamvis non segrotaturum. Cujus enim caro est quae non aegro-
tare possit, etiamsi aliquando casu priusquam' aegrotet occumbat?
Sic et illud corpus jam erat raortalcj quam mortalitatem fuerat ab-
sumptura mutatio in ffiternam incorruptionem, si in homine justi
tia, id est, obedientia permaneret ; sed ipsum mortale non est fa
ctum mortuum nisi propter peccatum. Quia vero ilia in resur
rectione futura mutatio, non solum nullam mortem quse facta est
propter peccatum, sed nec mortalitatem habitura est, quam cor
pus animale habuit ante peccatum, non ait, qui suscitavit Jesum
Christum a mortuis, vivifieahit et mortua corpora vestra, cum su
pra dixisset, corpus mortuum, sed vivifieahit, inquit, et mortalia
corpora vestra, ut scilicet jam non solum non sint mortua, sed
nec mortalia, cura animale resurget in spiritale, et mortale hoc
induct immortalitatem, et absorbebitur mortale a vita. De Pecca
torum Merit, ete Rmiss. c. Pelagianos, c. 4, 5.

58 The State of Man disc v.
" ner ; for what is here said, by man, he there saith,
" hy sin. The animal condition of Adara is above
" twenty verses after touched on by the apostle upon
" a quite diff"erent occasion : fer here death is op-
" posed te the resurrection ; but there the quaUties
" of the body, as at first created, and then as raised,
" are corapared with each other ; whereof the ene
" had, with the natural possibility of dying, conjoined
" a possibility also of Uving through the favour of
" God : but the other shall have life itself after such
" a raanner, that it shall have no natural possibility
" of dying at all. I cannet forbear here to add the
" notable testiraony of the raost excellent author of
" the Book ef Wisdora, which although it be not in
" the Hebrew canon, is yet of venerable antiquity,
" and was always had in esteem amongst Christians.
'^' Thus therefore he. For God made not death :
" neither hath he pleasure in the destruction ofthe
" living. For he created all things, that they might
" have their being: and the generations qf the
" world were healthful ; and there is no poison qf
" destruction in them, nor the kingdom qf death
" upon the earth: (for righteousness is immortal:)
" but ungodly men with their works and words
" called it to them : for when they thought to have
" it their friend, they consumed to nought, and
" made a covenant with it, because they are worthy
" to take part with it, chap, i, 13 — 16 *', And pre-
" sently after. For God created man to be immortal,
" and made him the image of his own • propriety.
" Nevertheless, through envy of the DevU came
" death into the world: and they that do hold of his
^ See Ecclesiasticus xxv. 24. i Greek 'ISw'tijtii?.

before the Fall. 59
" side do find it, chap, ii, 23, 24. That the death
" here, wbich Ged is said not te have created ner
" wUled, te wit, with a will antecedent to sin, is to
" be understood of every kind ef death, the d^Bapala
" or incorruption opposed thereunto sheweth, unto
" the hope whereof raan is said te be created ; and
" that hope is not obscurely intimated to bave been
" part* ef the divine image, er at least a consequent
" thereof. Now incorruption excludes every kind of
" death, whether violent or net. And what the
" apostle said, that death entered by raan and by
" sin, this author had no less truly said, that death
" entered by the envy ef the Devil, For all these
" speeches note the sarae fact, viz, the first sin of
" man comraitted by the suggestion of the Devil,
" Nor is that any hinderance, that the author here
" notes a certain special eff"ect ef death in relatien
" to the wicked, Fer death entering by the first
" sin, and having obtained a right ever all men,
" doth receive a certain pecuUar force by the griev-
" eus and continual sins of particular men ; in which
" sense sin is said to be the sting of death, 1 Cor.
" XV. 56. Therefore they whe dying are denied all
" passage te a better life, are justly called the cenfe-
" derates of death, er the yielding captives {dedititii),
" and the proper possession of death. It were raost
" easy to deraonstrate, if that were our business,
" that it was the constant opinion both of the
" Jews and Christians, that every kind of death
" whatsoever is the punishment ef sin," Thus far
Grotius, I knew these irrefragable arguments were after
wards nibbled at by CreUius the successor ef Socinus
and Smalcius in the chair at Craeevia ; but the frivo-

60 The State of Man disc v.
lous and plainly ridiculous exceptions ef the heretic
are abundantly refuted bythe famous Rivet, (who iii
this question happily proved the lirepaairtaryjg ef Gro
tius,) upon the second chapter of Genesis, Exercit. 21.
whither I refer you for full satisfaction. I have dwelt
the longer in asserting this great truth, that Adam
should never have died if he had net sinned ; because
this foundation being once surely laid, it will appear
that the whole superstructure of the catholic doc
trine concerning the state of man in his integrity,
and concerning man's fall by sin, which is to be
measured by the forraer, is firraly built thereon :
which is the reason why the Pelagians forraerly, and
the Socinians ef late, have so strenuously opposed
this verity. For let it be ence granted, that man, if
he had continued obedient, should have enjoyed an
everlasting life, any raan of reason, that shall more
closely consider the raatter, will presently collect,
that this Ufe should net, could not in any congruity
be perpetuated in the earthly paradise, and therefore
the man was in the design ef Ged, after a certain
period of tirae, te have been translated to a higher
state, i. e. a celestial bliss. And frora thence it wiU
as readUy fellow, that raan, being designed for such
a supernatural end, raust be supposed gradually at
least te have been furnished by Ged with means
proportioned thereunto, i. e. with certain supernatural
gifts and powers, which we coraraonly call original
righteousness : beth which hypotheses you wiU see
anon to have been the doctrine of the cathoUc church.
In the raean time let us proceed in erder.
It is questioned by some, whether Adara, besides
this positive law given to him, had also another law
implanted in him, which the Hebrews caU nVl "'pIpH

before the Fall. 61
the statutes in the heart, we the law of nature 'S
A raan would think indeed, that no raan in his wits
should question tbis ; yet Socinus not only questions,
but flatly denies it, although the Reraenstrants in
their Apology (I know net with what design) en
deavour to excuse and purge hira from this errer.
But they wash the Ethiopian in vain ; fer any one
that doubts may find this opinion professedly avowed
and maintained by him in the third chapter, of his
Praglectiens. Besides, it is well known that Socinus
taught that no man can by the Ught ef nature (which
it is certain he at least supposed te be the same in
man before and since the fall) knew that there is a
God, and that this notion is due te God's revealing
hiraself unto raen. Nay, Episcopius hiraself, who
penned that Apology ef theReraenstrants,doth charge
this error upon Socinus, and spends a learned and
elaborate discourse in the refutation ef it, so that I
wonder he should se far forget himself. For if So
cinus held, that no man can by the Ught of nature
know that there is a God, then certainly he believed
(er else raaintained the grossest contradiction imagin
able) that ne man can by the mere light of nature
discern any notion of religion whatsoever ; seeing all
notions ef reUgion are raanifestly founded on that
first principle, that there is a God. This therefore
is another faraous specimen of the intolerable im
pudence of that heretic in contradicting both the
Scriptures (which raanifestly assert such a natural
law. Rem. i. 19, 20. and chap. U. 12, 14, 15.) and also
the comraon sense and experience ef mankind. For
' Kjtv tS 'noii'iv vojAov tiiaKai; airS 'tj/.^vrov OTra; o'iKoBiv /cai icap' tavrov
exoi TOI aicipftara t^; Btoyvuiriai;. Sic Liturgia Clementis de Adamo.
Const. 4post. VIII. 12.

62 The State of Man discv.
the history of the world assureth us, that nulla gens
tam barbara, " there is no nation so barbarous," so
debauched, but that therein are to be found some
notions of a Deity, and of moral good and evU.
That the protoplast, if he had done any thing con
trary te the dictate of this natural law, i. e. of his
reason, had sinned and been Uable to punishment
frora Ged, ne raan that considers what he says will
deny. The enly question therefore reraaiuing con
cerning this natural law, in reference te the positive
law superadded, is this. Whether man's right to im
mortality (and such a right we have already proved
he had) was founded in this natural law, or in the
positive law er covenant superadded ? Or, to speak
mere plainly, (if possible,) Whether Adam by the
observance of the law natural, if there had ne posi
tive law or covenant been superadded thereunto,
could have challenged to himself a right of immor
taUty ? And this question (of great moraent if well
considered) wiU by any sober judgment be quickly
resolved in the negative. For if iraraortality had
been due te the observance of the law implanted in
man frem his creation, then certainly the legislation
superadded, wherein that immortality was premised
te man, ne otherwise than upon the observance of
the positive precept, would have been supervacane
ous, and even absurd. In a word, the protoplast
could have no right to iraraortality but what was
founded in the gratuitous stipulation and covenant
of God ; or otherwise you raust assert that Adam by
his natural abiUties could raerit it. New we read
ef no other stipulation or premise ef life eternal
made te Adam, but what is annexed te the positive,
law we have se long dwelt upon.

hefore the Fall. 63
Paraeus, in his Commentary upon Gen. ii. 7. pro
pounds this question to be discussed, " Whether,
" how far, and when Adara with the aniraal life re-
" ceived also a right ef life eternal ' ?" And he truly
says of it, Non est qucestio inanis, " It is no vain
" useless questien." But he that reads hira wiU find
(which I speak with the reservation of all due respect
te the fame and learning of the writer) that he
handles the questien very perplexedly, which yet is
very easily resolved upon the grounds already laid,
premising enly these two very easy expUcatiens,
which nothing but the too rauch subtilty of the
learned raan could have rendered necessary.
1. That by eternal life in this question is raeant
a never-ending life qf happiness, (whether this life
should have been continued in the earthly paradise,
or enly have ceraraenced there, and been perpetuated
in a higher estate, is an inquiry te be resolved anon
by the judgraent ef the church, and very good rea
sons confirming the same.) 2. That by right is te be
understood net an absolute, fixed, irarautable right,
fer it is certain Adam had no such, fer then he could
never have lest it ; but^'w* pendens, " a right depend-
" ing" upon a condition to be perforraed. These things
being preraised, an answer te each raeraber of the
threefold questien is easily given. First, as to the
questien, whether Adara had a right to eternal Ufe?
it is answered, he had a right to a never-ending Ufe
ef happiness ; for we have already proved, that if he
had net sinned, he should never have died. Secondly,
as to the quatenus, or quomodo, how far Adara had a
right, or what raanner of right he had to life eternal ?
' An et quatenus et quando Adam cum animali vita etiam ac
ceperit jus vitae Eeternae ?

64 The State of Man discv.
it is answered, he had no absolute, fixed, er immut
able right, but enly a right dependent upon a condi
tion to be performed. Lastly, as te the quando,
when Adam received this right ? it is answered,
when he received the promise er covenant, and not
before. Adam indeed was before heKriKog capable of
a blessed immortality, (as you shall hear the Fa
thers speaking anon,) but a right to this immor
taUty he had not tiU God made it ever to him by
covenant. In this covenant of grace and favour,
(for se in confidence of the premises I shall be bold
te caU it,) as the sanction did assure Adara ef a re
ward net due te his nature, viz. a blessed immor
tality ; se the precept dictated a religion correspond
ing thereunto. Fer this positive law (whatsoever
some divines are pleased te say ef it, I suppose, ora
torio more to exaggerate the sin of Adam, (which
may be proved heinous eneugh without this circum
stance,) that it was prceceptum facillimum) did lay
ne small restraint upon raan's natural (and so ante
cedently te the precept) lawful appetites. And that
first upon his sensitive appetite. For the tree that
was forbidden hira was a mighty temptation to
the eye, and therefore it is said. Gen. iii. 6. to be
D''!l''5^S nii^n « desire, i. e. most desirable to the
eyes, more aUuring than the rest of the trees in that
garden ef pleasure, having indeed ne rival but the
tree ef life •" ; which, together with it, was placed in
the centre of paradise, and therefore much raore ex
ceeding any tempting deUght which the earth impo-
" Although that seems not to have been of so inviting an ap
pearance, the benefit and necessity thereof sufficiently recom
mending it to man's use.

before the Fall. 65
verished by Adara's sin now affords. This tree
Adam raust approach to and beheld, as often as he
had (for his necessity) a recourse te the tree of life ;
but touch it, taste it, he must not, under pain of
death : and this was ne smaU trial. But moreover
the restraint laid upon eur first parents in this ene
instance was, no doubt, a general intimation and
hint given them, to caU them frem the animal te
the divine Ufe, Fer hereby they were adraonished,
that their felicity did net consist so much in these
earthly pleasures, wherewith paradise abounded, (for
then Ged would net have bound up their hands from
touching the most deUghtful tree in that rich plant
ation,) as iu virtue aud obedience to Ged, wherein if
they persisted, a happiness greater than all this
awaited them. But, 2. This law did, in my judg
ment, lay a far greater restraint upon man's rational
appetite. For the tree forbidden was by God him
self styled a tree qf knowledge, and it was a motive
that seduced Eve, that the fruit of it was good te
make ene wise. The desire of knowing more is it
self natural, and se lawful ; and there is ne desire
mere strong and forcible in raan fallen, who is in
any degree exalted above sense. To such a one it
is raere easy te aUay the titiUation of concupiscence
than the itch ef curiosity ; nay, this busy, prying, in
quisitive creature is ofttimes observed te quit aU the
pleasures of sense, to forget his very meat and drink,
to macerate his flesh with study in the pursuit of
seme new discovery, which when he hath made, you
shaU hear hira loudly proclairaing his evpyjKa ! and ap
plauding hiraself no less than if he were becorae
master of the wealth ef both tfie Indies ; se great is
man's thirst after knowledge. But this desire Adam
VOL, II. F

66 The State of Man disc v.
is commanded to repress and keep within its due
bounds, i. e. te acquiesce fer the present in those
measures of knowledge he had, to content himself
with that blessed siraplicity, which as the child of
Ged he enjoyed, and therewith a happy freedora, and
sported hiraself in paradise, as" Cleraens Alexandri
nus elegantly expresseth it, not hunting after new
inventions, (Ecclesiastes vii. 29.) but waiting en God
in the way ef prayer and obedience, for an increase
of aU useful knowledge, te be dispensed as it should
seera good to the divine wisdora. This precept then
te Adara was a bridle to the delicieusness of his
sense, and a check te the curiosity of his reason, a
great experiraent ef his self-denial in beth, and in
general a call te the divine life ; and se no such
sUght and easy precept, as sorae have fancied, either
mistaking the first natural constitution of man, of
net weighing rightly the nature of the precept it^
self. These seem to rae te cast unawares a slur
upon the divine wisdom, which was pleased to lay the
raain stress ef the whole covenant raade with the
first man upon this ene precept, and te suspend the
great reward proraised upon the performance there-^
of. St. Augustine's great wit easily observed this,
and therefore he calls this precept, perfectionis prce-

" Admonit. ad Gent. edit. Heinsii, p. 69. [c. 11. p. 86.] '0
isparoi;, ot€ tV liapo&iiaa, ewai^t \ihn>Amg, iire) iiatilov ypi tou ©tou'  '
isap-riyiTo eni6vjA,taii; o itaiq, avipii^ojjieiioq aiceiSei^'  'O Si' miXoTijra X£-
hvfihoi aj/fif uwo;, &c. Before him Theophilus Antiochenus inquir
ing into the reasons why God forbade man to eat of the tree of
knowledge, gives this for one, eVi izXelova xponov ^jSoJXcto traXoEv kcu
aKepaiov iia/ieTvai tov avBpamov vr(iiiaCfivTa' tovto yap ocriov la-rtv, 8:C.
[1. 2. c. 25. p. 367.] This seems to be the sense of that place in
Ecclesiastes. Grot, in locum. Vide Phil. Jud. de Mund. Opif.

before the Fall. 67
ceptum°, " a precept ef perfectien," and tells us with-
sH, that Adam was upon the receiving ef this precept
advanced abeve his natural aniraal condition to a
spiritual state, and that he received the sarae, ut
consummaretur, " that he raight be perfected." Net
but that he thought, that the protoplast was frora his
very creation itself designed te this spiritual state,
and ftirnisbed with endowraents accordingly, (for it
was certainly St, Austin's opinion, that Adam was
creatus in gratia, " created in" grace," as the schools
speak,) but that upon the receiving of this positive
law, he was actuaUy caUed te this estate, whereunto
he was before designed, and te the exercise ef these
endowments, wherewith he before was furnished.
And this brings us to the very head of eur inquiry,
concerning the first covenant, and the state ef man
before the faU, The church of Ged then (if we
may gather its judgraent frem the writings ef the
most approved doctors thereof in their several ages)
hath constantly believed and asserted these two
things. 1. That paradise was te Adara a type ef heaven ;
and that the never-ending life of happiness premised
to our first parents, if they had continued obedient,
and grown up to perfectien under that economy
wherein they were placed, should net have been con
tinued in the earthly paradise, but enly have com
menced there, and been perpetuated in a higher
state ; that is to say, after such a trial ef their obe
dience, as should seera sufficient to the divine wis
dom, they should have been translated from earth
te heaven.
2, (Which is indeed a consequent ef the former
° De Gen. cont. Manich. II. 8.
Y 2

68 The State of Man disc. v.
hypothesis,) That our first parents, besides the seeds
of natural virtue and reUgien sewn in their rainds, in
their very creation, and besides the natural innocence
and rectitude, wherein also they were created, were
endowed with certain gifts and powers supernatural,
infused by the Spirit of God ; and that in these gifts
their perfection consisted. Because I see these two
hypotheses are by raany very learned raen with too
great boldness questioned, and they seera to rae the
two main pillars of the catholic doctrine concerning
original sin, I shall give you an ample demonstration
of them out of the writings of the ancients ; and the
raany testimonies te be produced, you wiU, I presume,
read, examine, and consider with as much patience
at least, as I myself underwent the great labour of
collecting them.
I begin witb the first hypothesis. That paradise
was te Adara a type ef heaven ; and that the never-
ending Ufe ef happiness proraised te eur first parents,
if they had continued obedient, and grown up to per
fectien under that econoray wherein they were placed,
should net have been continued in the earthly para
dise, but only have ceraraenced there, and been per
petuated in a higher state ; that is te say, after such
a trial of their obedience, as should seem sufficient
te the divine wisdom, they should have been trans
lated from earth te heaven. Which you wiU find
confirraed by the following* testimonies.
1. Justin Martyr, Apol. II, p, 58, \Apol. 1, 10, p.
48.] speaking of the creation of the werld, deUvers
net his ewn private opinion, but the coraraon sense
of the Christians in his tirae, in these words, " We
" have been taught that he, (viz, God,) being good,
" did in the beginning make aU things eut of the

hefhre the Fall. 69
" unformed matter fer the sake of men, who, if by
" their works they rendered themselves worthy of
" his acceptance, we presume should be favoured
" with his friendship, and should reign together
" with him, being made incorruptible and irapas-
" sibleP," 2, Tatian, the scholar ef Justin Martyr, in his Ora
tion te the Greeks, p, 152, [c, 13. p. 255.] speaking
ef eur first parents, and shewing that the Spirit of
God was faraiUarly conversant with their seuls
whUst they retained their integrity, hath these
words, " The soul, having obtained a conjunction
" with the divine Spirit, is net left helpless, but as-
^' cends te these regions whither it is led by tbe
" sarae Spirit : for the seat or habitation hereof is
" abeve, but the generation of the ether is frora be-
" neathi." The sarae Tatian in the sarae Oration, p.
146. [c. 7. p, 249.] speaks of the sanie matter raore
clearly thus, " For the heavenly. Word, the Spirit
" begotten ef the Father, &c. made raan the iraage
" of immortality, in imitation ef him that begat
" him : that as iraraortality is with Ged, se after the
" sarae manner man, having received a portion of
^' God, (viz. the divine Spirit,) raight becorae also
" iramortaP." Where he expressly speaks of that
P Kai -navra r)]V apy^v ayaOov ovra i-/j[A,iovpyljirai airov tf a,jJU>p<pov uXij;
8i' oivBpunovi SeBiSoy/teSa' ot iav a^lov^ Tp eKeivov ^ovXe6jA,ari kavroi^ Si'
tpyav ^el^a<ri, rrji jier airov avaa-TpO(jr'iji; Kara^iaStijvai upoireikli^ajjiev
a-vji^airikevovTaf, atpBaprovf koi a-naBeTi; yevoiA,evov(.
1 Xvt^vylav Se KeKTiJi/Av-q (i/fx*/) ""V '"''v Seiov Tlvivfiaro(, ovk co-tii' ajSo-
)jfli]TO;' avepx^-rai^e icpo^aiiip avr-iiv oSij^fi %i)ipla to nvetJ/ta" toS /*t»
ydp Ianv ava to olK-ijT-ripiov, tij? Se KaroiBev ia-r)v ij yiveaii,
^ Aoyo^ yap o esovpavio^ 'HvevyM yeyovui; ouno ro'v Uarpoi;, Kai Aoyoi; ck
¦t-qi X«yiK^? tvvdjieai;, Kara T^v rdu yevv-i\aavToc, a,irov Harpog iM/^ija-iv,
tiKova vSji; aiavaaiai tov avBpamov eiso'iiiaev' 'Iva ua-mp ij a(j)Bapcria -napa r^
F 3

70 The State of Man disc v.
immortaUty which is with God, and which far ex
ceeds that pendulous (if I may se speak) and adven
titious imraortality, which Adam had in the earthly
paradise ; and he affirms that the protoplast, if he
had retained and cherished the divine portion of the
Spirit given te him, should at length have attained
such immortality.
3. Irenaeus, the auditor of Polycarp, who was the
disciple ef St. Jehn, frequently deUvers the same doc
trine; his'constant and every where repeated opinion
being this, that we recover the sarae happiness in
the second Adara which we had lest in the first.
Yet I shall give you seme particular testimonies eut
ef hira also. In the very beginning of the twenty-
eighth chapter ef his fourth book, [c, 14, p, 243,]
having imraediately before told us, " That the friend-
" ship ef Ged grants immortaUty to them that come
" unto him^ ;" he gees on thus, " Therefore in the
" beginning God forraed Adam, not because he
" needed man, but that he might have an object,
" whereon to place his bounty, &c. Our service to
" God doth net 'give any thing te hira, nor doth God
" need man's obedience, but he gives life and incor-
" ruption, and eternal glory te these that fol-
" low and obey him*," And presently after, " The
" Lord hath formed and prepared us for this very
©eS, TOV ¦air\v rpoicov ©eoB juoipav avBpmcog lA-eTaVM^av, kxYj Kai ro aBd-
varov. ^ Amicitiam Dei immortalitatis esse condonatricem iis, qui ag-
grediuntur eam.
' Igitur initio non quasi indigens Deus hominis plasmavit
Adam, sed ut haberet in quem collocaret sua beneficia, &c. Ser-
vitus erga Deum Deo quidem nihil praestat, nec opus est Deo
humano obsequio : ipse autem sequentibus et servientibus ei vi
tam et incorruptelam et gloriam aeternam attribuit.

before the Fall. 71
" end, that whilst we remain with him, we should
" partake ef his glory. And so also from the begin-
" ning he made man fer his ewn bounty"."
4. Theophilus, the sixth bishop ef Antioch after
the apostles, lib. IL ad Autolyc. p. 101. [c. 24. p.
366.] " Ged translated him (Adam) from the earth,
" out ef which he was taken, inte paradise, adminis-
" tering to hira raatter er occasion ef proficiency ;
" that increasing and being made perfect, he raight
" at length be canonized er consecrated, and se as-
" cend inte heaven itself^." Where, speaking te
the Gentiles, he describes the designed translation ef
Adara frora paradise te heaven, after the raanner ef
their diroBewaig, or consecration ef an here inte the
nuraber of the gods, er celestial inhabitants.
To the same purpose he speaks a Uttle after,
p. 103. [c. 27. p. 368,] " Therefore he raade him
" (Adam) neither imraortal ner raortal, but, as we
" said before, (p, 101,) capable ef either state, that
" keeping the ceraraandment ef Ged, he might gra-
" dually proceed unto, and by way ef reward eb-
" tain immortaUty from him, and so be consecrated
*' or canonized y."
5. Clemens of Alexandria, Stromal. VI, p. 662,
663, [c, 12, p. 788,] to this question of certain he-
" Dominus formavit et ad hoc praeparavit nos, ut dum sumus
cum eo, participemus glorise ejus. Sic et Deus ab initio hominem
quidem plasmavit propter suam munificentiam.
^ MeTe'6))Ke Se avrov ('ASa/*) o ©eo? eK t^; ¦y^?, el ij? iytyovei, ei{ rov
TcapaSeia-ov, SiSoi? air$ oupoppiiiv mpoKO^q, 'oTioig aigdvuv Ka'i TeXeio? ¦yevo-
ftevo;, eTi Se Kai ©eo; dvaSeixBeii} hvtok; Kai ei; Toy oipavov ava^,
y Oi?T€ ovv aBdvarov airov (^'A^af/.) emoi-fiaev, ovre jm-t/v Bv-firov, dXKoc
KaBuf i-ndva irpoeip-^Kaj^ev, SfKTi/cev aiMporepaV "va f eij-il ewi Ta t^; aBa-
vaiTiag, rvip-^aai; t^!/ ivroXiiv ruv ®em>, j^ktBov KOjtt/ffijTai vap' avrov rr/v aBa~
vaariav, Kai yev-qrai ©eo'?. [lege 'iva tl pe'if/jj ed. Benedict.]
F 4

72 The State of Man discv.
retics in his tirae, (whether Adam was made perfect
or iraperfect? if iraperfect, hew the work of the per
fect Ged carae te be iraperfect ? but if perfect, how
he happened te transgress the coraraandraent of
God ?) thus answers, " Let them understand even
" from us, that he was not raade perfect in his cen-
" stitution, but apt te receive (perfect) virtue : for
" it is no sraall matter fer man te be made apt or
" disposed te (perfect) virtue and the enjoyment
" thereof. But he weuld have us te be saved ef eur-
" selves'^." Where he plainly enough teacheth, that
Adam was frora the beginning not indeed made per^
feet, but yet endowed with the capacity (if I may
so speak) whereby he might arrive to perfect virtue,
and so to that eternal salvation which accorapanies
it. He explains his meaning more clearly presently
after in pursuance ef his answer te the sarae question
in these words, " They are ignorant of the raysteries
" of God, that God created man to immortality, and
'¦ made hira the iraage of his own propriety ; accerd-
" ing to which propriety of hira that knoweth aU
" things, he whe is endowed with knowledge ahd
" just and holy, doth by wisdora strive to attain unto
" the measure of the perfect age*." And therefore
in another place, speaking of the end te which in
the gracious design ef God man was at first created,
he tells us, that he was " made fer the contemplation
' 'AKOva-ovrai yap xai nap' Yi[iuv,-oTi Te'Xeio; Karct t^v KaratTKexniv ovk
eyeveTo, itpoi Se to dvahiiaa-Bai t^i/ aper^y eitiT^Seioj' Siatbipei yap Sij itov
ejri rriv dperwv yeyovevai IwiTijSeiov wpo; t^v KT^aiv auT^?' ^jwa; Se e'f yjfiuv
avTuv ^ov'Kerai a-u^eaBai.
^ Ovk eyvwaav jMCT-ripia ©eoi!" oti o ©eo; eKriaev rov avBpomov liii dip-
Bapalq,, Kai eiKova t^; iSi'«5 iSio'tijto; iitoi-qaev airov' KaB' ^v ihoTvira rov
•sdvra eiSoTo; o yvua-riKof Kai tiKaio ;Kai o'trio; jhctoj (ppov-^a-eui; ei< u,erpov
'^XiKi'a; TeXe/a; dipiKveTadai aitevSei.

before the Fall. 73
" of heaven, and a plant truly heavenly''," Yet
afterwards, in the same book, p. 69- [c, 11. p, 86,]
he thus writes, " O mystical miracle ! The Lord is
" bowed down, and man is risen ; and he that fell
" frora paradise receives a greater reward of his obe-
" dience, even heaven''," But these things agree
very weU together. For Cleraens raeant, that Adam
was in possession only of the earthly paradise, and
that frem thence he fell ; net denjdng in the mean
whUe, but that if he had persisted in obedience, he
should have been advanced to a higher felicity.
And therefore ethers of the Fathers speak often
after the same manner, whose most raanifest opinion
yet it is, that Adara, if he had not sinned, should have
arrived te a celestial beatitude,
6, TertulUan, de Pcenitent. cap. XII, teUs us, that
Adara was " by confession or repentance restored to
" his paradise'';" manifestly shewing, that Adam was
upon his repentance, by the mercy of the second co
venant established in Christ the Mediator, restored
to the sarae happiness, which he was designed to in
the first covenant, and which by the violation
thereof he had lost. This he expressly declares to
be his opinion in his second book against Marcion,
c. 4, where, speaking of the creation of Adara, he
tells us. That God in his goodness having designed
man for the knowledge of himself, did, before he
made him, first prepare an habitation fer him, even
the great fabric of the visible world. " That in
*> Admon. ad Gent, p, 63, [p, 80.] eVi r^v oipavov yevi/Aevov Beav,
^VTov oipdviov Ui dXvjBSg,
"^ " Cl Sau/xaro; ftuo-Twcou ! KeVXiTai fiev o Kipiog, dveaT-i\ Se avBpuitOf'
Ka) 0 eK roil irapaieia-ov tieifuv f/nTCpv vicaKmji dBXov oipavovf dnokajJi^dvei.
^ Exomologesi restitutus in paradisum suum.

74 The State of Man disc V.
" the great fabric, as iu a lesser, he might give a
" proof or essay of his virtue and proficiency, and so
" be advanced frem the good ef Ged, that is, the
*' great habitation, to Ged's best, that is, the greater
*' habitation^," 7. Methodius, (whe is supposed to have flourished
in the year of our Lord 255 ^,) in his book entitled
Concerning the things which have happened from
the beginning ofthe worlds, he. about the beginning
thereof, discoursing of the fall ef eur first parents by
the temptation of the Devil, hath these words ; " The
" Devil seeing himself banished out of heaven, yet
" remaining stUI in great power, bent his designs
" te displease God, and in all things to oppose him,
" And because he saw the first man, to wit, Adam,
" placed with his wife in the earthly paradise, as in
" a place ef pleasure, graced with innocence, and lord
" ef all the beasts, fowls, and fishes, and withal, THAT
" HE was to possess THOSE HEAVENLY SEATS
" which he himself with his adherents had by pride
" lest, he was greatly troubled, and envying his hap-
" piness, designed to weaken, yea and utterly to de-
" stroy hira''."
= Ut in magna tanquam in minore proluderet atque proficeret,
et ita de bono Dei, id est, de niagno, ad optimum quoque ejus,
id est, ad majus habitaculum promoveretur.
' According to the Latin translation in the Orthodoxograph.
S. Patrum, p. loo.
[8 This work is not mentioned by Lardner among those
which are ascribed to Methodius, and according to Cave is un
doubtedly spurious.]
•» Videns autem Diabolus se expulsum e coelo, in magna ta
men potestate relictum, cogitavit quomodo posset displicere Deo,
et in omnibus ipsi contrariari. Et quia vidit primum hominem,
Adam scilicet, cum sua uxore in terrestri paradiso collocatum,

hefore the Fall. 75
8. St. Athanasius {de Incarnatione Verbi "')
araongst other things worthy of observation, con
cerning the priraordial state of our first parents,
(which hereafter we may have occasion to produce,)
hath these words ; " He brought them therefore
" (Adam and Eve) into his paradise, and gave them
" a law ; that if they should preserve the grace
" given then, and continue obedient, they raight eu-
" joy in paradise a life without grief, sorrow, or
" care ; besides, that they H/^d a promise
" ALSO OF AN IMMORTALITY IN THE HEAVENS J."
Where he doth not raean that they had an express
proraise of such iraraortaUty; but that in the general
proraise, that if they continued obedient they should
live fer ever, a proraise ef such immortaUty was
really in God's intention, and necessarily in the rea
son and nature of the thing included ; which is most
certain. The sarae Athanasius a little after affirras, p. 57.
that if the protoplast had kept the sirailitude ef Ged
entire, " he should have been afterwards raade incer-
" ruptible, and consecrated te a celestial life ^."
9. St. BasU, {Homilia dicta in Laci%is, tora, I.
scil. in locum voluptatis, innocentia decoratum, ac omnium be-
stiarum volatilium et piscium dominum, nec non possessurum
in coelo sedes, quas ipse cum sibi adhaerentibus per superbiam
amiserat, doluit vehementer ¦- et invidens ejus foelicitati, propo-
suit ipsum debellare et totaliter interficere.
' P. 56. edit. Paris. 1627. [c. 3. p. go.]
J Ei; tov eavrov yap napdteiaov avroiig iiaar/ar/av, eSu/cev airoig vojMV
"va el jnev tpvXd^aiev r\v pjaf (V, Kai jMvoitv Kciko), ejjatri t^v ev napateiaa
aXuTTOv Koi dvaivvov Kai ajjiepi/ivov ^<<>^v, irpo^ rS Kai t^; ev oipavoTg dipBap-
a'lai airabi tyjv enar/ye'Atav e;(eiv.
^ "h^Baprog av e'^-rj Xoiirov b; ©eo;. [c. 4- P- 5 '•!

76 The State of Man disc v.
p. 468. edit. Paris. 1638.) describing in a florid dis
ceurse the envy of the DevU, occasioned by the very
great feUcity of man in his first estate, hath these
words ; " He saw that the man-loving God was not
" content with his enjoyment of this earth, but that
" he chose him as his proper delight, darling, and
" ornament, and placed him in paradise. The DevU
^' dealt maUcieusly when he saw the affluence ef en-
" joyments, wherewith raan was surrounded; the
" angels attending hira as his tutors and guardians,
" and Ged himself discoursing with hira with his
" own voice, and in the sarae tongue or language ;
" and the infant child on every side educated and
" instructed, that he might grew up into the simili-
" tude of Ged, When, I say, he understood and saw,
" that the Lord had called raan, that sUly aniraal, to
" a dignity equal with that of angels, training him
" up by virtue and sobriety ef life to the perfection
" of his seul, he fell through envy V &c. He ex
presseth the same thing as fully, although in fewer
words, in his HomUy entitled. Quod Deus non est
Author Mali, tem. I, p. 370. thus, "(The Devil,) see-
" ing hiraself cast dewn frora the angelical society,
" could not endure to see the son of the earth (Adam)
' EiSev tn oiK iipKeaBri o ipiKdvBpttmof ©eo; tJ t^; yri^ diio'ka.-vaei, aXX'
«i; e\aiperov eviiairvifMi, to I'Siov eyKoWimia-jjt.a tov avBpa-nov eavrov ^ovXo-
juevo; eivai, KareariiiTev elq rov itapdSeiirov, eicovyipeva-aro o AiocjSoXo; opuv mX-
Xijv airoXauo'iv nepi^peovaav r^ dyBpaitip' dyyeXovq tiai^ayuyovg itape^pevov-
ra( air^- ©eov iiMyXuaaov yiijoj^vov toi; dvBpamoig, ha'Myoji.evov dm liiaf
^uyrii' TiavraxoBev tov waiSa tov vijmov iraiSevo'jUevov, "va ei; ©eoS o/*oio'-
TYfTa dvaSpdfi-}' eireiSav KarejMtBe Toy dvBpaitov, eireiSav eiSev oti to jAiKplv
TOUTO ^Sov «/!«; T^v tSv dr/yeKav o/iOTi/Aiav o KtJfio; upoeKaXetro, tm t?;
dper^i avdyav airov, Kai Sia aa^poavvrig tSv Ka,ra tov ^I'ov e-ni ryp TcXei'-
aaiv T^; i|'ux?<; 'Kei-nti.

before the Fall. 77
" lifted up or exalted by proficiency in virtue to the
" dignity of angels ™."
The authors hitherto alleged are such as Uved be
fore the unhappy Pelagius was born to trouble the
church of God, and therefore their testimonies are
the mere considerable. And I can safely say, that I
have net yet raet with any approved author living
before Pelagius (although I have read sorae others
of that antiquity, beside the writers produced) who
is of a contrary opinion. Nay, the ancient priraitive
church was so certain of this truth, that she inserted
the article inte her pubUc offices and prayers. For
in the Liturgy of Clemens, (the most ancient now
extant, and certainly elder than the Pelagian heresy
by one whole age at least,) in the prayer of con
secration of the Eucharist, we read these words con
cerning Adam, " When thou breughtest hira into
" the paradise of pleasure, thou gavest hira free
" leave te eat ef all the other trees, and ferbadest
" him to taste of one only for the hope of bet-
" TEB things ; that if he kept the commandraents,
" he raight receive immortality as the reward of
" his obedience °,"
If we corae now to the doctors ef the church
that flourished after the Pelagian heresy arose, (as
a comet portending direful effects te the Christian
world,) it is confessed that they aU maintained the
same hypothesis : se that it would be a superfluous
"' 'Opuv yap lavrov eK ruv dyyeXav Kara^pupevra, oiK e^epe /3Xeireiv
TOV yyfivov eicl t^v d^iav ruv dyyeKuv ita irpoKOinig dm^j^olJ[l.evov.
" Constit, Apost, VIII. 12. Ela-ayofyuv he eig rov t^; rpvifn^g irapdhei-
a-ov, icdvrav jjiev d;^Kag aira t^v esovaiav itpof jMrd'K'rj^iv, evog Se juovov ti)v
yeva-tv &-iteXicag eic eX.m'Sf Kpeirrovav' "va edv ((ivXdgyi rijv evToXijv, //.la-Bov
rairtii ryp dBavaa-iav Ko^iVtjTai,

78 The State of Man disc. v.
labour to shew the conveyance of this tradition
through the several ages succeeding. Yet for our
fuUer satisfaction, I shall produce sorae testimonies
also out ef these authors, that are known to have
been the chiefest antagonists ef Pelagius ; such as St.
Augustin, Prosper, Fulgentius, and Petrus Diaconus.
10. St. Austin (lib. I. de Peccat. Merit, et Bemiss.
cap. 3. [vol. X. p. 3.]) thus elegantly, as his raanner
was, discourseth, " For if Ged raade the garments
" and shoes of the IsraeUtes not to wax old for so
" many years, what wonder is it, if such a power
" were given to man obedient, that having an ani-
" raal and raortal body, he should yet have a certain
" state therein, whereby it might last fer a great
" nuraber ef years without decay; being himself, in
" God's due tirae, to pass frora mortality te immor-
" tality, without death intervening " ?"
11. Prosper {contra Collatorem, cap, 18, [c, 9- p.
327, ed. 1711.]) in the very beginning hath these
words, " It were a sin to doubt of this, that the first
" man, in whom the nature of all men was con-
" created, was made upright and void of aU sin, and
" that he received such a Uberty of will, as that, if
" he forsook net Ged assisting him, he might con-
" tinue in these good things which he had naturally
" received, because he weuld ; and by the merit of
" Si enim Deus Israelitarum vestimentis et calceamentis prse
stitit, quod per tot annos non sunt obtrita ; quid mirum si obe
dient! homini ejusmodi potentia praestaretur, ut animale ac mor
tale habens corpus, haberet in eo quendam statum, quo sine de-
fectu esset annosus, tempore quo Deus vellet, a mortalitate ad
immortalitatem, sine media morte, venturus ? Vide lib. XIII. de
Civitat. Dei, cap. i. et cap. 19. prope finem, where he asserts this
doctrine to be de Me catholica. [The words are, quod fides Chri
stiana prcedicat.']

before the FaU. 79
" voluntary obedience arrive to that bliss, wherein
" he neither weuld nor could fall away p."
12. Fulgentius {ad Petrum Diac. Epist. XVII.
c. 12. [p. 299. ed. 1684.]) layeth down certain prin
ciples ef cathoUc doctrine, firmissime credenda,
" most firraly te be beUeved" by every raan that
hath net a raind " te bear the narae ef a Christian
" in vain, yea te his ewn damnation *> ;" (the severity
of which expression I approve net applied te all
that which follows,) and amongst them this is one,
" The good and just Creator prescribed to that man,
" whora he created in an aniraal body, and enriched
" with the gift ef understanding and righteousness,
" a condition en beth sides just and equal, viz. that
" if he kept his obedience, which is the prime vir-
" tue, he should from the aniraal quality ef the body,
" wherein he was created, pass without the death of
" the body (because without any sin in his soul) to a
*' spiritual and iraraortal state ; and should have re-
" ceived by the divine gift, if he had kept the com-
" mandments, net only a perfect and never-faUing
" iraraortaUty of the body, but also such a grace in
" the soul, of Uving heUly and righteously, that frora
" thenceforth he should net at aU be able to sin, if
" he did not sin whUst he was able ''."
P Rectum atque omni vitio carentem creatum esse hominem
primum, in quo omnium hominum concreata natura est, dubitare
fas non est, eumque tale accepisse liberum arbitrium, ut si auxili-
antem sibi Dominum non desereret, posset in bonis, quae natu
raliter acceperat, perseverare, quia vellet ; et merito voluntariae
perseverantiae in eam beatudinem pervenire, ut nec vellet decidere
in deteriora, nec posset.
1 Christianae religionis inaniter, imo damnabiliter portare vo»
cabulum. ¦^ A bono justoque Creatore illi homini, quem in corpore ani-

80 The State of Man disc. v.
Lastly, Petrus Diaconus {de Gratia Christi, cap.
6.) speaks the sarae thing in fewer words, " Death
" and imraortality were after a sort put inte the
" bauds ef raan's free will and choice : for he was
" capable of beth ; so that if he kept the cemraandr
" raent, he should becorae iraraortal without tasting
" death ; but if he despised it, death should pre-
« sently foUow ^"
I have made choice of these aUegations out of
a great abundance that raight have been produced,
because they are not only so many testimonies of
what the cathoUc church of old thought in this con
troversy, but also suggest very evident reasons
whereby the thing in questien (laying aside the au
thority of the writers themselves) may be easUy de
monstrated. The reasons are two.
1. There is nothing raore certain, as I have al
ready shewn, than that our first parents, if they had
never sinned, should never have died. Nor is it less
certain, that the IraraortaUty, which obeying God
they should have enjoyed, whilst they d\7elt in this
earth, and in the animal and earthly body, would
mali conditum ditavit intelligentiae ac justitiae dono, justa est
utrimque statuta conditio, ut scil, si obedientiam, quae primaria
virtus est, custodiret, ex animali in qua creatus erat corporis quali-
tate ad spiritualem immortalemque statum sine corporis morte
(quia sine aniraae iniquitate) transiret, accepissetque divino mu
nere, si praecepta servasset, non solum perfectam atque inamissi-
bilem corporis immortalitatem, verum etiam in anima talem gra
tiam sancte justeque vivendi, ut peccare deinceps omnino non
posset, si non peccaret, donee peccare potuisset.
' Erat mors et immortalitas in ejus (Adami) posita quedam
modo arbitrii libertate. Capax enim erat utriusque rei, ut si ser
varet praeceptum, sine experientia mortis fieret immortalis : si
vero contemneret, mors continuo sequeretur.

before the Fall. 81
have beien adventitious, and above (yea in some sort
against) nature, that is, the natural tendency of
such a body, and such as would have needed an ex
traordinary and pecuUar care and providence of Ged
for its sustentation. New seeing we find, that the
most wise God hath se ordered and appointed the
course of things, that nothing which is violent useth
to be perpetual, it necessarily feUews, that our first
parents, after they had civen an experiraent of their
obedience, for such a space of tirae as Ged should
think fit to appoint, should at length have passed
inte such a state, wherein the aniraal quality ef
their bodies being wholly laid aside, they should
have possessed a natural, internal, and never-failing
iraraortality ; that is, an immortality properly so call
ed. Read again the testimonies ef Tatian, Theophi
lus Antiochenus, &c. St. Austin, Prosper, Fulgentius,
and Petrus Diaconus.
2. It seeras most absurd to affirm, that man, be
ing a creature endowed with liberty of wiU, and so
capable ef reward and punishment according te his
good er Ul behaviour, should presently upon his cre
ation have obtained his ultiraate end. It was neces
sary," no doubt, that raan should first be a viator, as
the schools speak, and then a comprehensor ; be put
in stadio, " in the race," before he arrived ad me-
tam, " to the goal ;" and, in a word, give a speciraen
of his virtue and obedience before he received his
reward. The first man therefore had net obtained
his ultimate feUcity, when presently upbn his crea
tion he was placed in the earthly paradise, but was
only put in such a state, wherein (matter and occa
sion ef proficiency being on every side ministered te
VOL. II. G

82 The State of Man disc v.
him) he might tend, and by degrees proceed and go
forward to a farther and higher beatitude. This
reason aU the testiraonies we have alleged univer
saUy insinuate. The coldness therefore and indiffer
ency ef Grotius in this question is ne way coraraend
able, who speaking ef Adara hath these words.
" What Ged weuld have done with him if he had
" continued obedient, I dispute not ; I wiUingly
" leave every mau te his own judgraent in this mat-
" ter*." Fer certainly it is very unreasonable, that
every man should be allowed the liberty of opining
as he pleaseth, in a question already determined by
so universal a censent ef the catholic doctors, and
that too upon reasons se evident.
Let us new proceed to the demonstration of the
other hypothesis, viz. That our first parents, besides
the seeds of natural virtue ahd religion sewn in their
minds, in their very creation, and besides the natu
ral innocence and rectitude wherein also they were
created, were endowed moreover with certain gifts
and powers supernatural, infused by the Spirit of
Ged; and that in these gifts their perfection con
sisted. This indeed, as I have already noted, is a conse
quent ofthe former hypothesis; fer the raeans ought
to be proportioned and suited te the end. If there
fore our first parents had been designed only te a
natural, i. e. earthly felicity, a supernatural gift
would have been useless, or at least unnecessary to
them ; for " a means of a superior order is in vain
t Votum pro Pace, p. 19. Quid de eo facturus fuisset Deus, si
obedire perstitisset, non dispute ; libenter hac in re suum cuique
relinquo judicium.

before the Fall. 83
" required for the obtaining of an inferior end"."
And so on the contrary, if the protoplasts be sup
posed te have been designed te a supernatural, i. e.
celestial bUss, it necessarily follows, that they were
furnished with powers suited to the obtaining ef
such an end ; that is, supernatural. Yet because all
men perhaps are not able to discern the necessity of
this consequence, and because this latter hypothesis
is chiefly questioned by learned men, I shall net re
fuse the labour ef proving this assertion also eut ef
the writings of the ancients, and that somewhat
mere copiously than I have done the forraer.
Justin Martyr, who flourished " in the first suc-
" cession of the apostles'^," and that about the raid-
die thereof, in his Epistle te Diegnetus, p. 502. [c.
ult. p. 240.] speaking ef the tree of knowledge of
good and evil, and the tree ef Ufe, said te be planted
together in the midst of paradise, and giving an al
legorical sense ef the text, hath these reraarkable
words, " Fer those things are net without significa-
" tion which are written, that God in the beginning
" planted the tree of Ufe in the raidst of paradise,
" pointing eut the way to life by knowledge ; of
" wbich knowledge our first parents not making a
" holy use, were by the imposture of the serpent
" stripped and divested. For neither is there life
" without knowledge, ner sure or certain knowledge
" without true life, and therefore both (trees) were
" planted near together y." There is nothing raere
" Ad finem inferiorem frustra assumitur medium ex ordine su
perior!. ^ 'EvTj icpur-f SiaSox? ruv dvocrroXav. [Eus. E.H. III. 37- ^y " ''"^
" middle thereof" is probably meant the middle of the second
century.] y OtSe ydp aaiiiAa Ta yeyfa/tfteva, a; ©eo; die' dp-ffn f JXov 5«^; ev jAe-
G 2

84 The State of Man disc v.
evident, than that the blessed raartyr, by the know
ledge he here attributes te the first raan in the state
of integrity, raeans net raere natural reason, er any
effect thereof, but seme supernatural gift er effect
of the Spirit. Fer, 1. He speaks expressly of such
a sure and certain knowledge, which retained, is in
separably accorapanied witb true, that is, eternal
Ufe. 2. He affirras Adam to have been stripped or
divested ef this knowledge by his sin^. But sure
the protoplast did not by his sin lose his reason, or
cease to be a man. 3. The very metaphor the Fa
ther useth of being stripped, er divested, shews he
speaks of something extrinsical and adventitious to
the nature of man, such as is a garraent to the
body; and not ef any thing essential or natural to
man. But what need ef many words? They that
are any whit acquainted with the language of anti
quity, know very well, that yvwaig and (ppovvjatg
among the Greek Fathers, and cognitio and sapien
tia among the Latins, when attributed te man in
the state ef integrity, are constantly used te express
that whole complexion of supernatural virtues (of
which, divine illumination er knowledge is the lead
ing grace) wherewith he was in that state adorned,
and to which, being lost through sin, he is restored
by the Spirit in regeneration. See Col. iii! 10.
Tatian, the scholar of Justin, explains his master's
meaning very clearly in many places of his oration
against the Greeks. Thus, p. 146, 147. [c. 7.
au Ttapa^eiaov e^vrevae, Sta yvuaeuq ^ai^v eTriSei/fVi?;' ^ y}/] KaBapaq j^Oijffa-
^evoi oi aw' dpx^i, icXdv-rj toS o^eoi; yeyv/jiyavrai' oiie ydp '^u\ dvev yva-
aeui, oihe yvuatf daipaXiji; dvev ^a^; dXvjfloS;' Sio nX-qa'iov eKarepav necjii-
revrat. ^ Philo Judaeus Alleg. 1. II. p. 70. says, that our first parents
were after their sin yvf^m ao^iaq.

hefore the Fall. 85
p. 249. " After that men had followed a certain
" (spirit) raere subtle and cunning, because ef
" greater age and experience than the rest, and
" held hira fer a ged, that opposed hiraself to the
" divine law ; then the POWER of the Word de-
" prived beth the author of this madness, and the
" men that foUowed hira, ef his familiarity and
" friendship ; and he that was made after the image
" of Ged, that mere powerful Spirit withdraw-
'"' ing frem him, becarae raortal''." So p. 150. [c. 12.
p. 253.] he declares the ceinraen doctrine ef the
Christians in his tirae, in these words ; " We (Chris-
" tians) acknowledge two kinds of spirits, whereof
" the one is called the soul, the other is mere excel-
" lent than the seul, as being the very image and
" simiUtude of God ; now beth these were given te
" the first men''." Where by the first men he un
doubtedly means Adam and Eve, but he names them
not, as speaking te the heathens, that were ignorant
of the history of the creation delivered by Moses.
Again, p. 152. [c. 13. p. 255.] he hath these words;
" The" Spirit was at the beginning familiar te the
" soul, but because it would net follow the Spirit, it
" was forsaken by it. So that now the soul, al-
" though it stiU retain as it were a certain fuel, apt

" Kai eireiS^ tivi <l>povii/,urepep napd Tot; Xoiirot; ovti Sia to wfoiTo'iyovov
awe^-/IKoXovBvjaav, Kai Beov dvehei^av oi dvBpunoi, Kai tov IvaviardjAevov r^
vofiep Toii Beov, ToVe ^ tou Ao''you Suva;ui;, toV Te ap^avra t?; dmovoiag, Kai
tou; awaKoKovB-tiaavTaq rovrcp, t^; avv aira hiair-fji; icap-rirtjaaro' Kai o
y, ev Kar e'lKova rov @eov yeyovaq p^wpitrfievTo; dn' airov rdv Ilvev[/,aroq tou
hwaruTepov, flvijTo; ytverai.
^ Auo TTveu/AaTBV Sia^opa; iVftev iiji.t'ii, uv to jA.ev KaXe'irai 4"'X^' '^° he
jj.eT'Cfiv /MV T^; i/zuj^^;, ©eou Se eiKwv Kai OjWOiWi;' CKarepa he napd toi; dv-
6p uitoig toi; itpuroii; iirf,pxtv.
G 3

86 The State of Man disc. v.
" te be kindled by the power of the sarae Spirit, yet
" by reason ef the withdrawing thereof, not being
" able throughly te discern the things that are per-
« feet, in seeking after the ene God, it hath framed
" te itself raany gods"." To conclude our testimo
nies out of tbis most ancient writer, p. 153. [c. 15.
p. 256.] ef the same oration, he expresseth this
matter briefly yet fully in these words; " It remains
" that we new seek and endeavour after the reco-
" very of that again, which we once had, but lost,
" viz. the conjunction ef eur seuls with the holy
" Spirit, and a union with God"^."
Irenseus (lib. v. cap. 6.) professedly undertakes to
prove that the first man was net raade a perfect
raan, or according to the likeness of God, by a rea
sonable seul and a huraan body only, without the
addition of a third principle, viz. the divine Spirit.
Where araongst raany other things he hath these
words ; " When the Spirit is mingled with the soul,
" and (beth) uflited te the body, by the effusion of
" the same Spirit man becomes spiritual and perfect;
" and this is the raan that was made after the image
" and Ukeness ef Ged. But if the Spirit be wanting
" to the soul, he that is such is indeed animal and
" carnal, and being so left is imperfect^." Presently
' Teyove jAtv ovv avvh'iairov dp-jfffiev t'o Tlveujuo rvj \}/vxfi' ro Se Hveufia
TauTTjv eiseaBai /joj jSouXo/*evtjv auT^ KaTaXeXomev' ^ Se uaicep evavajjM t?;
hvvdj).eo( airov KeKrripUv/i, Ka) hid rov ;(o)pcr/*ov Ta TeXeia KoBopfv jM) hv-
vajAevi], ^ijTovaa tov ©eov, iroXXou; Beovg dvervicaae.
^ Kai xfil Xoiffov ^jua; mcep ejjovTe; duoXuXmajAev, touto vuv ava^'JTeli',
^cu<yvuvai' Te Tr/v if/u^^ijv tjj XIveu/^aTi t^ dy'np, Kai tvjv Kara ©eov ffw^u-
•yi'av itpayiMxreieaBai.
= Cum Spiritus commixtus animae unitur plasmati, propter ef-
fusionem Spiritus, spiritualis et perfectus homo factus est : et hic
est qui secundum imaginem et similitudinem factus est Dei. Si

before the Fall. 87
after having Reckoned up these three principles, the
body, the seul, and the divine Spirit, he adds, " the
" mixture and union of all these together make up
" a perfect man^." Where if any man be stumbled
at Irenseus's affirming, that he whe is veid ef the
Spirit is but part of a man, net a perfect man, let
him remember, that man raay be considered in a
double order er relatien.
1, In relation te the natural, aniraal, and earthly
life. And se he is a perfect raan, that hath enly a
reasonable soul and a body adapted thereunto ; fer
the powers and faculties of these are sufficient to the
exercise of the functions and operations belonging to
such a life.
But, 2. Man raay be considered in order to a su
pernatural end, and as designed te a spiritual and
celestial Ufe; and of this Ufe the Spirit of Ged is the
principle, Fer raan's natural powers and faculties,
even as they were before the faU entire, were not
sufficient or able of theraselves te reach such a su
pernatural end, but needed the power of the divine
Spirit to strengthen, elevate, and raise thera there
unto. He that denies this, opposeth hiraself against
the stream and current of the holy Scriptures, and
the consent of the cathoUc church, aud raust betake
himself into the tents of Pelagius, Therefore te
the perfect constitution of man, considered in this
relatien, a reasonable soul and a body adapted there
unto are net sufficient ; but there is necessarily re-

autem defuerit animae Spiritus, animalis est vere, qui est talis, et
carnalis derelictus imperfectus erit, &c,
f Commixtio autem et unitio horum omnium perfectum homi
nem efficit.
G 4

88 The State of Man discv.
quired a union of the divine Spirit with both, as it
were a third essential principle. This, as it is a cer
tain truth, se it is a great mystery in Christianity,
which weuld deserve a larger disceurse fer its ex
planation than this place wiU admit of. We there-
fere proceed. The same Irenaeus, (Ub, iii. cap. 37.)
[c. 23, 5. p. 221.] by a fiction ef person, intreduceth
Adara after his fall thus acknowledging his sin and
raisery ; " That robe ef sanctity or holiness which
" I had frora the Spirit, I have lost by disobedi-
" ence, &c s."
The author of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy
(whoever he were) speaketh thus, c. iU. §. 11, p, 296,
" Mankind having frem the beginning faUen through
" feeUshness from the divine good things, re-
" ceived a life obnoxious to many passions, and which
" was to be terminated in death and corruption •>.
Therefore Adara had, beside his naturals entire, cer
tain divine good things, which he lest to hiraself and
us by his sin and felly,
TertuUian {De Patientia, cap, 5,) tells us that
Adara upon his sin " was no longer wise te Ged, was
" no longer able te bear heavenly things ',"¦ There
fore before he sinned he was endowed with a divine
wisdom, and capable ef heavenly things, and se was
net in a merely natural er animal state and condi
tion. But we need not thus pick out the meaning
of the Father frem such single expressions dropping
8 Eam quam habui a Spiritu sanctitatis stolam amisi per in
obedientiam, &c.
T^v dvBpuTcdav ipiaiv dpxrjBev duo tSv Beiwv dyaBav dvo-qTuf e'JoXi-
aB-rjaaaav, 5) ¦noXvtcaBeardrtj ^«^ SiaSe'^eTai, Kai tou (pBopoicoiov Bavdrou
nepaq. ' Desivit Deo sapere, desivit coelestia sustinere posse.

hefore the Fall. 89
from him by the by, for he expressly and fully owns
this doctrine, {De Baptismo, cap. 5.) where, speak
ing of the regeneration of man by baptism, he hath
these words ; " Thus man is restored te God, and
" to his Ukeness, who was before made after Ged's
" image, &c. Fer he receives again the Spirit ef Ged,
" which he then had by his inspiration, but after-
" wards lost by sin'',"
Cyprian {De Bono Patientice) delivers the same
doctrine in these words ; " He shews and teaches
" the regenerate to be then censumraated, when the
" patience ef Ged the Father remains in us, when the
" divine simiUtude, which Adam lest by his sin, is
" manifested and shines in eur actions. What a
" glery is it te be raade like unto God ! What and
" hew great felicity, te have those virtues, which may
"equal the divine praises M" Wherehe manifestly
places the perfectien of that divine sirailitude, which
Adam had, but lost by his sin, in these divine and
supernatural virtues, te which we are restored by the
heavenly birth, and which we receive from Christ
the second Adam, Afterwards, in the same sermon,
he teUs us, that " Adam being impatiently desirous
" of the deadly food, against the heavenly command-
" ment, became Uable te death ; ner did he by pa-
¦^ Ita restituitur homo Deo ad similitudinem ejus, qui retro ad
imaginem Dei conditus fuerat, &c. Recipit enim ilium Dei
Spiritum, quem tunc de afflatu ejus acceperat, sed post amiserat
per delictum,
' Sic consummari ostendit et docuit ccelesti nativitate repara-
tos, si patientia Dei Patris maneat in nobis, si similitudo divina
quam peccato Adam perdiderat, manifestetur et luceat in acti
onibus nostris. Quae gloria est similem Deo fieri ? Qualis et
quanta felicitas, habere in virtutibus quod divinis laudibus possit
aequari ? [p. 248.]

90 The State of Man disc, v.
" tience keep the grace received from Qod^,"
So in his seventy-fourth Epistle, ad Pompeium, he
interprets the words ofthe Scripture spoken of Adam,
Gen. ii, 7, And God breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life, concerning the grace ofthe Holy Ghost
infused by Ged inte the first man. Which exposition
is foUowed by very many others of the Fathers.
Nor is it se absurd a gloss, as at first appearance it
may seem to be. For these Fathers raeant net this
se ", as if Adara in the insufflation did net receive
his soul, or the principle of his natural life, but that
this was net all that he then received. For they
believed, that together with his seul, or the principle
of his natural life, he received also the grace ef the
holy Spirit, as a principle of the divine Ufe, to which
he was also designed ; that is, that Ged did net send
the pure and iraraaculate soul of the first raan unto
his body naked, but staraped all the irpoaytvofj-evov dr/kv
Ylvevfj-arog yapaKryjp tariKov IhiwptM that Cleraens Alexan
drinus speaks of, i, e, " the characteristical pro-
" priety of the holy Spirit superadded i°." Thus St.
BasU expressly comparing the divine insufflation
upon Adam with that of Christ, Jehn xx. 22, upon
the apostles, tells usp, that it was the same Son of
God " ^ by whom God gave the insufflation, then in-
" deed together with the seul, but new inte the soul."
"" Adam contra coeleste praeceptum cibi lethalis impatiens in
mortem cecidit : nec acceptam divinitus gratiam patientia custode
servavit. [p. 253.]
" In which sense alone St. Austin opposeth this interpretation
as grossly absurd. De Civit. Dei, XIII. 24.
° Strom. VI. p. 681. [c. 16. p. 808.]
P Lib. V. con. Eunom. 119. [vol. I. p. 304.]
1 Al' ou 0eo; hehuKe t\v i/Mpva-ijaiv-- rore j/.ev fteTa ipuxWj "'''' ^ "t
}pvx-^v.

before the Fall. 91
And this is no more than what mapy of the "^ school^
men affirm, that Adam was creatus in gratia, "cre-
" ated in grace," i. e. received a principle ef grace
and divine life from his very creation, or in the mo
raent of the infusion of his seul, ef which fer mine
own part I little doubt. For we find this notion net
only in the ancient writers of the Christian church,
but to have been known also to the church of the
Jews in our Saviour's time, and before; and sup
posed by them to be the recondite sense ef the text
before aUeged out of Gen. ii. I will give you a raost
IUustrious testiraony for this out of Philo Judaeus,
who lived near the tirae ef our Saviour, yea part of
it, and whe seeras to rae te have first opened the
rich treasure of the mere mysterious learning of the
Jews, and te have exposed it in the coraraon tongue
to the knowledge ef the Gentiles ; although, I confess,
with the addition of sorae dress ef his ewn.
Thus therefore he, discoursing upon the fereraen-
tiened text. Gen. ii. 7, " These words do also disco-
" ver a certain secret ef nature. For there are three
" things here required, the thing inspiring, the thing
" that receives the inspiration, and the thing received
" by the inspiration. That which inspires is God,
" that which receives the inspiration is the raind, and
" the thing received by the inspiration is the Spirit,
" What therefore is the result of this ? There is a

¦¦ Ab initio creationis virtus, quae vitam ministrat, simul cum
Spiritus S, ingressa erat in hominem, ut haec creatura foret se
cundum imaginem Dei, quasi unus reciperet utrumque. Nam
impossibile est, ut inteUectus noster gestet imaginem Dei, si non
fuerit illuminatus a Spiritu S. &c. Igitur anima a primordio suae
creationis vitalem vim et Spiritum S. pariter nacta est. Procop,
ad cap. I. Genes, p. 42, edit. Tigur.

92 The State of Man disc. v.
" union of these three things, whilst Ged doth exert
" frem himself a certain power, which by nerves
" of the Spirit reacheth to the subject receiving it.
" And te what other purpese, than that hereby we
"might attain the notion of hira? otherwise how
" could the seul have known God, unless himself
" had first inspired and touched it according to its
" capacity ? Fer the mind ef mail durst not have
" aspired so high, as to attempt the knowledge of
" God's nature, unless God hiraself had raised it
" up to himself, as far as it was capable of being so
" raised ^" In these words the whole ef that, which
the Christian writers assert concerning the state of
the first man, is comprehended. For here, 1. We
have beside and above the to yjyepioviKbv, er highest na
tural faculty ef man, his raind, a faculty superadded,
viz. ofthe divine Spirit. For that the vovg here sig
nifies the TO Yjyeii.oviKov, appears frem the express words
ef Philo presently following, " The ruling and high-
" est faculty of the soul is the mind ; this only God
"inspires*. 2, Itis affirmed here, that Adam re
ceived this divine principle in his very creation, at
the same tirae when his natural seul was breathed
inte hira. 3. He tells us, that the first raan had
^ AUegor. 1. I. p. 47. 'Eijupaivei he ti Kai <pva iKurepov i) npoipopd.
rpia ydp eivai hei' to e/Aicveov, to hexofAevov, to ejAicveojAevoV to jaIv aiv
e/ATCveov, iariv o ©eo';' to Se hex^f-^vov, o vou;' to Se ejAicveofAevov, ro TVvevfia'
Tl ovv €K Tovrav avvdyerai ; evuaii; ytverai ruv rpiuv, retvovrog tov ©eou
T»jv d^' eavrov hvvafAiv hid tou jAeaov XivevjAaroi axpi tou visoKetjAevov.
Ti'vo; 'eveKa, i) oira; evvoiav auTOu Xd^ajAev; eirei ir£; av evoYiaev ^ if^^JJ^
©eov, ei jAY) tveicvevae Kai i]\f/aTo auTij; Kara hvvajAiv; oi ydp av im-
ToXfMiae TOo-ouTov dvahpa/Aeiv o dvBpuicivof vou;, a; dvriXa^eaBai ©eou
(jivaeai;, ei ftij auTo; o ©eo; dveaicaaev auTov wfo; eauTov, a; eV^v dvBpamivon
vovv dvaairaaBrivat.
' ^"X?? ijytjAiviKov ianv o vou;" tout^ jAova ijAicvfT o ©eo';.

before the Fall. 93
this divine principle given to hira, that thereby he
might be raised to the saving knowledge of Ged,
which otherwise he could not have reached unto by
his natural powers. Put these things together, and
what de they araount to more or less than what
the Christian writers have taught us, viz. that Adam
in his very creation received a supernatural prin
ciple in order te a supernatural end ; and that this
is the mystical sense ef these words. Gen. ii. 7-
Nor did this notion drop frem Philo unawares, or
by the by, er was screwed out of the text to serve
his present purpese ; fer he frequently inculcates the
very same thing, not only in his Allegories, but in
his ether writings. And it were easy to allege other
Jewish writers delivering the same notion with Philo.
Hiskuni in his commentary tells us, that " God did
" with his own inspiration, which is the Holy Ghost,
" breathe into man "." And it will be apparent to
any man that considers that this is the very raeaning
of the threefold distinction ef the powers of the soul,
frequently occurring in the Jewish rabbins, into tz}03
the living soul, iril the spirit or the rational soul,
and rTOtZ73 the inspiration or the divine afiiatus,
which Adara received iu his creation. Fer although
sorae of the latter rabbins, toe ignorant ef the de
generacy ef raan's nature by Adara's sin, and divers
learned men, as Drusius, Grotius, and others, being
misled by them, tell us that Nesama in this dis
tinction signifies no more than the intelUgent er ra
tional soul, yet it is manifest eneugh frem what hath
been said, that the Nesama signifies sorae super
natural power distinct frora and above the highest
" Cum inspiratione sua, quae est Spiritus Sanctus, inspiravit
Deus in hominem.

94 The State of Man disc. v.
natural faculty or power in raan, the sarae with the
IIi/eD/Aa in Philo, and that the to vjyefJioviKbv, or highest
natural faculty in man, is in this distinction com
prehended in the word Ruach or Spirit. If it be
objected, that the ancient Jews and Christians did
groundlessly iraagine this sense in the text fore-
raentioned, because after the raentien of the insuf
flation it presently follows, and man became a liv
ing soul, intiraating that this was all the man re
ceived by this insufflation, the answer is easy, that
this arguraent, if it proves any thing, proves too
much, viz. that the first man by the divine insuffla
tion received ne more than what is in every brute,
viz. a living soul. But all sober divines acknowledge,
that there was given to man in the insufflation some
thing more than such a seul, viz. an intelUgent and
rational soul. And why net then this intelUgent
soul, impressed with the divine character, and touched
with the virtue of the Holy Spirit, as the ancient
Jews and Christians generally believed, taught this
(I Uttle deubt) from the prophetic Cabala, which
being first received among the Jews was from theiti
derived into the Christian church ? It hath been ob
served by many learned interpreters, both ancient
and modern, that Moses in the history of the crea
tion meddles not with things spiritual and incorpo
real, (and therefore wholly omits the creation ef an
gels,) but describes only such things as faU under
sense. And se accordingly in this instance, having
mentioned the divine insufflation into the first maii,
in the following words he describes only the more
sensible effect ef that insufflation, viz. that thereby
the dead lump ef man's body was animated and em
powered te the actions ef life and sense. But he

hefore the Fall. 95
that should hence imagine that this was the entire
effect of that insufflation, would thereby discover
himself te be a very duU seul, and really as brutish
as he fancies tbe very first man to have been made.
Moreover in these words, and man became a living
soul, is signified, that the effect of this insufflation as
to the body of man was enly this, that thereby it
received the animal Ufe, and se was in its ewn na
ture mortal, as the bodies of the ether animals are,
and that it had net yet received that vivific power
in itself, whereby it was raade imraortal and incor
ruptible, as our bodies in the resurrection shall be,
as St. Paul discourseth, 1 Cer. xv. 42. of which
mere anon.
He that shall attend to these things wiU be easUy
persuaded, that the notion of Irenaeus abeve men
tioned, asserting that man is net perfect in his con
stitution, without the divine principle of the Spirit,
was no idle fancy, er dream ef his, but a real, al
though mysterious, truth, as being acknowledged by
the wiser Jews before Christ, and frora them derived
into the Christian churches planted by the apostles.
For he means no more than this, that man veid of
the Spirit wants the Nesama, (as the latter rab
bins speak,) er the Hvevi/.a, (as Phile termeth itj)
which the first raan received in his creation, in order
te a supernatural life. And perhaps frora hence
also you raay gather the right sense of these words
of St. Paul, 1 Thess. v. 23. where speaking te Chris
tians, (whe are supposed te have recovered that in
the second Adara which they had lest in the first,)
he raentiens these three principles in thera, the Spi
rit, the soul, and the body. Indeed raany learned
interpreters teU us here, that St, Paul alludes to the

96 The State of Man disc, v-
threefold distinction of the soul, into the vegetative,
the sensitive, and the rational, and se that the Spi
rit in St, Paul signifies ne mere than the to ojyepv;-
.Kov, er mind. But it seems plain to me, that the
apostle raeddles not with the threefold faculty of
man's seul, (fer what hath the body te de in that
distinction ?) but rather describes the threefold prin
ciple of the compositum, if I may se speak, of a
Christian, (which St. Paul caUs the bXoK^yjpov,) who
besides his body and soul, which make him a perfect
natural man, hath also the Hvevi^a, the Spirit, (that
Philo speaks on,) te render him a perfect man in
order to a supernatural Ufe.
It is a weak argument that Didymus of eld ob
jected against this interpretation, " It is incredible
" and even blasphemous te imagine, that the apo-
" stle should pray that the Spirit might be preserved
" entire, (in the Thessalonians,) whe is net capable
" either ef mutation er augmentation ^." Fer I be
seech you, doth not the same apostle teU us, that the
Spirit may be grieved, Ephes. iv. 30. yea and
quenched, 1 Thess. v. 19. ? And is it net manifest,
that in these texts he speaks of the divine Spirit, or
some effect thereof? The meaning therefore of the
apostle in such cases is clearly this, that the divine
Spirit given by God must be carefully preserved
and cherished by prayer and obedience te his dic
tates, and avoiding every thing that is offensive to
him, or else God raay justly, and will certainly de
prive us of the sarae. And thus Irenseus y inter-
* Incredibile atque blasphemum, orare apostolum ut Spiritus
S. integer servetur, qui nec immutationem potest recipere nec pro
fectum. y Lib. V. 6.

before the Fall. 97
prets the place under consideration ; and thus the
Greek Fathers generaUy by the Spirit understand
the ydpiafka, or gift. Read carefully Grotius's anno
tation upon the place. Nay, St. Paul seems te in
terpret hiraself very expressly in another place, viz.
Eph. iv, 23, exhorting the Ephesians ^ to be re
newed by (for so I weuld translate it, and not in)
the Spirit of their mind. Where Chrysostora gives
us this paraphrase of the words, by the Spirit which
is in their minds\ Modern interpreters indeed tell
us, tha,t the apostle by the Spirit ofthe mind raeans
no mere than the Spirit which is the mind. But
whe sees not hew flat and duU an interpretation
this is ? Is it net much mere reasonable te iraagine,
that the apostle, being a Jew, and trained up at the
feet of Gamaliel in the mere mysterious Jewish
learning, speaks here the language of the wiser and
more learned Jews that were before hira ? Now
they, as we have seen, beside and abeve the vovg er
highest natural faculty in inan's soul, believed an
other principle necessary in order te a supernatural
life, viz, the divine Spirit ; and that this divine Spi
rit immediately affects only the vovg, (and se is fitly
termed IJvevpun rov vobg,) being from thence derived
into the inferior faculties, as we but new heard out
of Philo, I say it is very reasonable thus to inter
pret the text, especiaUy seeing it is raanifest that
St, Paul, in discoursing of other raysteries of the
Christian reUgien, and those ef the greatest iraport
ance, hath the sarae comraon notions and phrases
too with PhUo and other Jews wbich were before
him ; which I could easily deraonstrate in many in-
^ 'AVaveovaBai ra Ylvei/Aari tou voo';. " Tj; XlveviAari rS iv r^ v^.
VOL, II. H

98 The State of Man Disc. v.
stances, if this were a proper place for it. By the
help then ef this Spirit in their rainds, the apostle
exhorts the Ephesians te be renewed, er te put on
the new man, i. e. to acquire these gracious qualities
of righteousness and true holiness, wherein that new
man consists, which (he adds) was created after
God, that is, after God's image, according to which
the first man was made, who had in his creation
given him that Spirit, that Nesama in his mind,
but lost it by his sin and felly''.
In a word, that the first man in his creation re
ceived the Spirit of Ged, and that in order te a ce
lestial life, er the attainment of the beatific vision,
(which is the doctrine of the ancient Christian writ
ers,) the same PhUo in another place expressly teach
eth. For in his book {de Mundi Opificio, p. 33.)
speaking of Adam before his faU, he hath these most
remarkable words; " Having much of the divine
" Spirit flowing in upon him, he studied beth te do
" and speak all things so as te please his Father and
" King, treading on his footsteps in that highway of
" virtue, which was chalked eut unto hira, and in
" which those souls alone raay walk, whose aim and
" end it is to attain at length an assimilation to that
" God that begat them'=." Here we have Adam
^ It is tlie same thing the apostle means in the phrase nv6U;K«Ti
•Ta; npd^et^ rov aujAaroi; Bavarovv, Rom. viii. 13. where it is manifest
from the whole context, that by the Spirit is meant the divine
Spirit, or the Spirit of Christ. See especially ver. 16.
"^ IloXXoS pvevroc, 61; airlv tou Betov IIveu/AaTo;, icdvra Kai Xeyeiv Kou
icpdrrem iaicovhd^ev ei; dpiaKeiav tou IlaTpo; Kai BaffiXe'o);, eVo'/*cvo; aury
Kar lyyoq Tai; oSoi;, a; a; Xeucpopovi; dvarejAvovaiv dperai' hi' av jiovuii \pv-
Xaii BejAif irpoaepxeaBai, Te'Xo; ^yovjAevai^ t^v itpof tov yevv-^aavra @eo»
igo/Aotoiaiv.

before the Fall. ,99
supposed in his creation te be furnished with super
natural powers, viz. a copious raeasure of the divine
Spirit, and that in order te a supernatural end, the
being made like unto Ged, which is attainable enly
by the beatific vision. And I know not where we
can find in the writings of the Christian doctors a
testimony more clearly asserting the truth I contend
fer, than this ef Phile.  You will new, I pre
sume, easily pardon this large digression, being in it
self net unuseful, and being also necessary te remove
a stone of offence, often cast in the way of the
reader that converseth with the writings ef the an
cient Fathers,
Nay moreover I shaU persuade myself, that frem
this ene instance (among raany) you will learn frora
henceforth the raodesty ef subraitting yeur judg
raent to that of the cathoUc doctors, where they are
found generally te concur in the interpretation of a
text ef Scripture, hew absurd soever that interpre
tation may at first appearance seem to be. For upon
a dUigent search you will find, that aliquid latet,
quod non patet,^' there is a mystery in the bottom;"
and that what at the first view seemed even ridicu
lous, wiU afterwards appear te be a most iraportant
truth. Let thera therefore, whe reading the Fathers
are prone to laugh at that in them which they do
net presently understand, seriously consider, quanto
suo periculo id faciant. And so let us proceed in
our citations.
Origen, {cont. Cels. 1, VI, p. 319- edit. Cantabrig.
1658. [c. 63. p. 681.]) after that he had sufficiently
refuted the gress and profane conceits of Celsus, that
great disciple of Epicurus, concerning the image ef
Ged, after which the first man is said to be created,
H 2

100 The State of Man discv.
Gen, i, 27. thus (as it were delivering the common
sentiraent ef the Christians ef his tirae) concludes his
discourse, " It reraains, that the iraage of Ged be
" placed in the inward man, (as we caU it,) which is
" renewed and fitted te represent the image of his
" Creator ; se that we are te conceive this to be the
" image ef God, when a man becomes perfect, as the
" heavenly Father is perfect, and obeys the voice of
" Ged, Be ye holy, as the Lord your God is holy :
" and when learning that lessen. Be ye followers of
" God, he receives inte his well-disposed soul the
" characters of God ^."
From which words it is plain that Origen (with
the Christians of his time) thought, that the perfec
tion ef the divine iraage, after which Adam is said
te be created, consisted in holiness and supernatural
virtues, and in those characters of God, which were
impressed en his soul. Read that which fellows in
Origen, The author of the five dialogues, amongst the
works of Athanasius, (which the famous Scultetus
judgeth te be the work of a very learned writer, and
highly worth eur reading ^) doth frequently deUver
the same doctrine, but especiaUy in his third dialogue
between Macedonius and the orthodox or catholic
Christian, So p. 225. [c. 16. p. 516.] he takes it for
granted, that Adara could net be said to be made
° AeiireTai S?| to Kar e'lKova tou ©eou iv ra KaB' jjjua; XeyovUva eaa dv-
6pdicq>, Kai dvaKaivovjAeva, Ka) icecpvKori ytyveaSat Kar' e'lKova tou Kriaavroi;
voeTaBai ro Kar' e'lKova' ore ylverat ti; Te'Xeio;, »; o IlaTM o oipdviof Te'
Xeio'; eo-Ti" Kai aKoiei OTi "Ayioi eaeaBe, oti iyeli ayioq Kuoio; o ©eo; vjuii'
Kai 'jAavBdvav to, Mi/*)jTai tou ©eou ytveaBe, dvaXa/Apdvet ei; t^v eavrov
evdperov i^u%^v tou; ;^a()aKT^|!a; tou ©eou.
« [The Benedictine editors are inclined to ascribe it to Maxi
mus, certainly not to Athanasius.]

hefore the Fall. M)l
after the image of God, " if he had not been sancti-
" fied by the Spirit of holiness ^." And presently
after we find the Macedonian and the catholic Chris
tian thus discoursing ; " Mac Are net therefore all
" men made after the iraage ef God ? Orthod, Sin-
" ners are net ; but they that raortify the deeds of
" the flesh, and put en the new man created after
" Ged, these only have the image of Ged, For such
" was Adara before his transgression s," Where when
he denies wicked raen te have the iraage ef God in
thera, he is te be understood ef the perfectien ef the
divine iraage which wicked raen want, whe in the
raean time retain these Unearaents ef the iraage
which are implanted in the nature of man, such as
the power ef understanding, and the liberty of will
ing, and that dominion over the other creatures
which is founded thereon : of which mere hereafter.
The same author a little after ; " We see that man,
" created after the image of Ged, was endued with
" the cooperation ofthe Spirit h," Se p,226, [p. 517.]
he takes this fer a thing universaUy granted araongst
all Christians, " that Adam in paradise was holy ' ;"
yea and so created, as it presently fellows.
But let us hear the true and undoubted Athana
sius. In hira also this notion frequently occurs. I
shaU produce one most iUustrious testimony eut of
hira, which may be instar omnium. In his oration
^ M5) dyiaaBeii tu Tivevfiari t^; dyioavvii^.
S MAK. OiK ea/Aev ovv icdvrei; Kar e'lKOva ; OP0. O! djAaprdvovre^, oi
oi he Ta; icpd^eig tou aajAarof; Bavarovvre^, Kai ivhthvaKojAevot rov Kaivov av-
Bpuicov, TOV Kara ©eov KnaBevra, ej^ouffi to KaT* e'lKova' toiouto; ydp ^v i
'Aha/A irpo T^; icapaKmjg.
^ Tov KTiaBevra avBpuicov Kar e'lKova jAerd t^; tou Tlvev)AarO(; avvep-
yelai opu/Aev 'ovra,
" "Ot» 0 'AhdjA ev icapaheiau dyio; y^v.
H 3

102 The State of Man disc. v.
entitled, de Incarnatione Verbi, tem, I, p, 56. [c. 3,
p. 49.] you may read him thus exceUently discours
ing concerning the original state and condition of
the first man ; " God created aU things eut ef no-
" thing by his Word, our Lord Jesus Christ. But
" abeve aU his creatures, he was most abundant in
" his mercy te mankind : for considering that they
" were not able to subsist fer ever by the condition
" ef their nature, he freely bestowed en them SOME-
" THING GREATER THAN IT, and did net simply
" create mankind as he did ether brute animals upon
" earth, but raade thera after his own iraage, im-
" parting te thera also the virtue er power of his
" own Word, that having as it were certain sha-
" dews and Unearaents ef that Word, and being
" raade partakers thereof, they raight be able te per-
" severe in blessedness, living in paradise a true Ufe,
" even the life ef the holy angels. And again con-
" sidering that the will ef raan was flexible to either
" part, [i. e. to good or evil,] he took care by way of
" prevention to secure the grace given thera, by the
" reverence of a law, and the place wherein they
" were set ''."
I knew net how any thing could have been spoken
more apposite te our purpose. Fer this great author
^ 'E$ OVK 'ovruv rd icdvra -ne-nottiKev \o ©eo;] Sia tou iS/ou Ao'-you tou
Yi.vptov ijjAav 'I'/jao'v Xpiarov' ev oiq icpo icdvrav ruv eic) yijt, ro duBpuicav yevo;
eXe-tjaat;, Ka) Beup-qaaq w; ovk iKavov e'tij Kard rov Tij; iSi'a; yeveaeaq Xoyov
htajAevuv de), ic'Aeov n j^api^OjOcevo; airo'ig, ovx dicXaq, uaicep icdvra rd eici
•y^; aXoya '^ua, eKriae tou; dv9paicov<;' d'AXd Kara r-ijv eavrov elKova iicoi-
-ijaev avrovi, /Aerahovi airo'ii Ka) t^; tou iSi'ou Ao'^ou hwdjAeui' "va uaicep
aKidf Tiva; ej^ovTe; tou Ao'you Ka) yevojAevoi XoyiKo), hiajAeveiv iv jAaKapioTi(Ci
hvvyfiuai, ^SvTe; tov liXijflivov Ka) ovTa; tSv ayluv iv icapahelaa BtoV elhvt
he icdXiv T^v dvBpaicav ei; dfAiporepa veveiv hvvay,evvjv icpoatpeaiv, icpoXa^m
vjacpaX'iaaro vo'(ao) koi rma Trjv hoBtlaav auTo?; xa(iiv.

before the Fall. 103
doth here raost expressly teach, that God did freely
bestow upon the first raan in his creation, besides his
nature, soraething greater than it, which also he
calls grace, the virtue er power ef the Word er the
Sen ef Ged, the divine image ; and that upon the ac
count ef the lubricity ef his wiU, and because by the
raere condition of his nature, (without such grace,)
he was net able te persevere in that blessed life,
wherein he Avas placed in paradise, or te arrive to
that more blessed life iu heaven te which also he
was designed ; as Athanasius hiraself tells us, in the
words immediately following, which we have before
cited in their proper place. A Uttle after he tells us,
p. 57. [p. 51. c. 4.] " For man indeed is by nature
" mortal, as being made ef things that were net.
" But yet by reason ef the divine simiUtude, which
" he might have kept by attending to it, he should
" have repelled that his natural corruption, and re-
" luained incorruptible ^." Again, in the same page,
" God did not only make us eut of nothing, but also
" freely bestowed on us the power of living the life
" ef God by the help of the Word'"." And a few
lines after, speaking stiU ef the protoplasts, he tells
us, " Although they were by their nature, as we said
" before, corruptible, yet by the help of the Word,
" of which they were raade partakers, they should
" have avoided that which was natural to them, if
" they had remained obedient. Fer by reason ef
" the Word which was present with thera, that na-
' 'EffTi jU.ev ydp Kard tpvaiv avBpuico:; Bv-/}Toq, are Sv) e^ ovk ovrav yeyo-
vw;' Sia Se t^v ttoo; tov ovTa o^oiOTTjTa, -qv el icpvXarre hid T^; icpoi; avrcy
Karavo-fiaeuq, ijjWjSXuvev av t^v Kara fpvaiv (pBopdv, koi ef/,eivev adfBaproq,
*" 'O jAev ydp ©eo; oi jaovov i^ ovk ovtwv '^jua; iceicot-ijKev, dXXa Kai ro
Kard ©eov ^fv -ihaTv ixapiaaro rv, tou Aoyou x^jjiti.
H 4

104 The State of Man Disc-v.
" tural corruption should have had no access unto
" them"." In all which places, Athanasius manifestly acknow
ledgeth a divine principle in our first parents, which
he terraeth the grace, the help, the participation of
the Word or Sen of Ged, (that is, the Holy Ghost,)
by which they were enabled beth te live the divine
life as te their souls, and also te persevere incor
ruptible and imraortal in their bodies ; that is, se as
that the corruption, te which their bedies were na
turally subject, should have been repeUed and staved
off", frem them, by virtue ef the divine principle, as
long as God should think fit to continue them in
the aniraal body ; and that in God's due tirae their
bodies should be changed, and becorae naturally and
internally immortal, by the power of the same prin
ciple. I weuld desire the reader te censuit the en
tire disceurse ef Athanasius in the pages cited.
The great Basil, in his HomUy entitled. Quod
Deus non est Author peccati, speaking of the na
ture of man, as it was at first created, hath these
words ; " What was the chief er principal good it
" enjoyed? te wit, THE ASSESSION of God and
" ITS conjunction with him by love ; from
" which, when it fell, it became depraved with vari-
" ous and manifold evils °." Se in his book, de Spi
ritu Sancto, cap. 15. he plainly tells us, " The dis-
" pensation of God and our Saviour towards man is
" ' OvTe; |Kev Kara <f)vaiv, k; upoei-rcov, cpBapro'', xdpin he rrji; tou Aiyov
jAerovata^ tou KaTa <f utriv iKtpvyovre(;, el jAejAeveKeiaav KaXo'i' hid ydp riv
avvovra rovroig Aoyov, Kai -rj Kara (jyvatv (bBopd toutwv oiK Tjyyi'Ce.
" Tl Se vjV airr) to icpotryo-ifAevov dyaBov ; yi icpoaehpeta rov ©eou, Kai %
6ia T^; dydicrji avvd<peia' ij; eVTrecrouira, toi; ttoiki'Xoi; Kai icoXvrpmoii d^pa-
ar-lijAaaiv eKaKaBi}. [§. 6. vol. II. p. 78.]

hefore the Fall. 105
" but the recalling of him frem the fall, and his re-
" turn into the friendship of God, from that aUena-
" tion which sin had caused. This was the end of
" Christ's coming in the flesh, of his life and cen-
" versation described in the Gospel, ef his passion,
" cross, burial, and resurrection ; that raan, whe is
" saved by the imitation of Christ, might regain
" that ANCIENT ADOPTION P," Where he plainly
supposeth that man before his faU had the adoption
of a son, and consequently the Spirit of adoption.
And se he expressly interprets himself afterwards in
the same chapter ; " By the Holy Spirit we are re-
" stored inte paradise, we regain the kingdom of
" heaven, we return to the adoption ef sens i."
Again, {Homil. advers. Eunomium, V, p, 117,) we
have these express words ; " We are called in the
" sanctification of the Spirit, as the apostle teacheth.
" This (Spirit) renews us, and makes us again the
" image ef God, and by the laver ef regeneration, and
" the renewing of the Holy Ghost, we are adopted to
" the Lord, and the new creature again partakes of
" the Spirit, of which being deprived, it had waxed
" old. And thus raan becoraes again the image of
" God, whe had fallen frem the divine simiUtude,
" and was becorae like the beasts that perish'^."
P 'H TOU ©eoiJ Ka) aurripoq ijfAuv icep) tov dvBpaicov oiKovojAta, dvaKXijaif
eanv dico t?; iKicraaeug, Ka) ewavoSo; ei; o'lKeiuaiv ©eou, dico t?; Sia t^v
itapaKOTiV ¦yevojUe'vTj; dX'Xiyrpiuaeui' hid touto, ^ ;weTa aapKoq iicihtijAta kpt
arov' y} ruv eiatyyeXiKuv icoXirevjAaruv vicoriicaaig' rd icdB'/j' o aravpoq' m
Tacjy/]' IJ dj/daraaiq, aare rov aa'^ojAevov avBpaicov hid jAifA-^aeu^ Xpiarov,
T^v dpxatav iKetvtjV v'loBea'iav owtoXa/Seiv. [vol. III. p. 28.]
1 Aia Tlveijiaroq dyiov, ^ ei; icapdheiaov dicoKardaraaiC rj eig ^aai-
Xetav oipavav avoSo;* ^ ei; uiofleo-i'av eiravoSo;. Vide ejusdem libri, cap. 9.
'' 'Ev dyiaa/Aa tou JIveujaaTo; iKX-^BvifAev, a; 0 dicoaroXoi hihdaKei, rovro
rj/Adq dvaKaivoT, Ka) icdXiv elKoyaq dvaheiKvvai ©eou, Sia XouTfou naXtyyeve-

106 The State of Man disc. v.
St. CyrU (7. Dialog, de Trinit. p. 653.) delivers^
the same doctrine with great perspicuity and ele
gancy, in these words ; " For when the aniraal (viz,
" raan) had turned aside unto wickedness, and eut of
" tee much leve ef the flesh had superinduced on
" himself the disease of sin, that Spirit, which
" FORMED him AFTER THE DIVINE IMAGE, AND
" AS A SEAL WAS SECRETLY IMPRESSED ON HIS
" SOUL, WAS SEPARATED PROM HIM, and SO he
" became corruptible and deforraed, and every way
" vicious. But after that the Creator of the uni-
" verse had designed to restore to its pristine firm-
" ness and beauty that which was fallen into cer-
" ruption, and was become adulterated and deformed
" by sin superinduced, he sent again into it that di-
" vine and holy Spirit which was withdrawn frem
" it, and which hath a natural aptitude and power
" te change us inte the celestial image, viz, by trans-
" forming us into his own likeness ^," And in the
fourth book of the sarae werk, " When the only-be-
" gotten Son was raade raan, finding raan's nature
" bereft of its ancient and priraitive good, he hast-
(7i'a; Kai dvaKaivuaea:; Xlvevuaroi; dryiov vtoBeroiiAeBa Kvptu' Kaivvj icaXiV
KTi'o-i; jAeraXafA^dvovaa tou XIvtu/^aTo;, ovicep iaTep-rjjAevfi ice-na'Kaiuro, e'lKuv
icdXiv ©eou 0 dvBpuTCOi; iKiceauv T^; 0|«oioT))To; t!); Betaf, Ka) icapaavfi^Xij-
6ei; KT-Qveaiv avoijTOi; Ka) o/Aoi«6ei; auToi;. [vol. III. p. 303.]
^ AiaveveuKo'To; ydp tou ^wou icpoi to icXrijAfAeXei, Ka) tyjv e'laico'i-iirov
ajtaprlav iK t^; eladicav ^iXoaapKtaq Yi^paarvjKOTOf, to orfo; dei'av e'lKova
hiajAopipovv airo, Kat a-zjiAavrpov hiK'/}V dicopp-^ruq ivreBeijAevov dicevoatpt^ero
UveviAa, <f)BapTov re ovtu, Ka) axaXXe;, Ka) rt ydp oujji tSv e'/cTiwrav iruv-
eiXYjipoi dvaice<j)avrai ; eTrei Se 0 tSv oXwv •yeveo-ioufi'yo; dvaKOjAf^eiv YjBeXev ei;
ehpatoTYjTd re Ka) 6VKoai/.tav t^v ev dpxaTi; to hioXiaBijaav ei; (pBopdv, icapdavj-
fAov re, Koi dKaXXeq hid t^v elaicot/jrov yeyovoi d/Aaprtav, iv^Kev avBii airf
TO d/icotfyoiTYjadv icore Betov re, koi aryiov VLvevfAa, jAeraaroixtio'vv eu juaXa
TTfo; TYjV vicepKoa lAiov e'lKova, koi iceipvKOf Ka) hwdjAevov hid tou icpog ih'iav
¦^/*a; jAerappvB/Ai'^eiv iff^epeiav.

before the FaU. 107
" ened to transform it again inte the same state, out
" of the fountain of his fulness, sending forth (the
" Spirit,) and saying. Receive the Holy GhostK"
St. Arabrose (lib. VI. Hexamer. cap. 7, [vol, I,
p. 129.]) interprets the image of God, after which the
first raau is said to be created, of the ornaments of
grace and supernatural virtue, wherewith his soul was
beautified, and then adds these words ; " After this
" iraage was Adara made before his sin ; but when
" he fell, he laid aside the iraage ef the heavenly,
" and assuraed the image ef the earthly ene "," So
in his commentary upon Luke, [vel, I, p, 1427,] ex
pounding the parable, chap, x. of the man that fell
among the thieves, he tells us, " that the angels of
" darkness, when man fell inte their hands, stripped
" hira ef the garraents ef saving grace ^,"
St, Hierom, upon the fourth chapter of the Epi
stle te the Ephesians, [vol, VII, p, 631,j expounding
these words ef St. Paul, {Grieve not the Spirit of
God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of re
demption,) hath this note, " We are sealed with the
" holy Spirit of Ged, that beth our spirit and soul
" raight have the irapress of Ged's seal, and we
" raight again receive that image and simUitude,
" after which in the beginning we were created.
" This seal of the holy Spirit is, according te the
' 'Ore "yeyovev avBpuTCOg o jAovoyeviji;, efijfiTjv tou icdXai Ka) iv apxati
dyaBov t^v dvBpuicov (pvaiv evpuv, icdXiv airYjv eic, iKeivo jAer aaroix^iovv
Ypetyero, KaBdicep dico icYiyrig tou iSi'ou icXyipujAar^g e'viei'; Te Ka) XlyaV Ad
here TivevfAa a/yiov.
" Secundum hane imaginem Adam ante peccatum j sed ubi-
lapsus est, deposuit imaginem coelestis, et sumpsit terrestris effi-
giem. ^ [Qui sunt isti latrones, nisi angeli noctis atque tenebrariim ?
Hi ante dispoliant quae accepimus indumenta gratiae spiritalis.].

108 The State of Man disc v.
" speech of our Saviour, put ou by the impression of
"Gody." St, Austin (lib, XI, de Genes, ad Liter, cap, 31,
[vel. III, p, 290,]) thus speaks ef our first parents,
" As soon as they had transgressed the cemmand-
" ment, being wheUy stripped within of the grace
" of God forsaking them, they looked upon them-
" selves %" &c. So {de Corrept. et Grat. cap, 11,
[vel, X, p, 767. §. 31,]) speaking again of Adam,
he saith, " Ner would God have him te be without
" his grace, which he left in the hand of his free-
f* will ^," Again, (lib, IV. cont. Julian, cap. ult. [vol.
X, p, 625, §, 82,]) he speaks te the same purpose ;
" What doth the discovery of the nakedness, after
" the tasting of the forbidden fruit signify but this,
" that what before was covered by grace, was now
" made bare by sin ? For there must needs be a
" mighty grace, where the earthly and animal body
" felt ne bestial lust. He therefore, that being clothed
" with grace, had nothing in his naked body to be
" ashamed ef, being despeUed ef grace, was sensible
" of soraething that needed a covering '^."
y Signati autem sumus Spiritu Dei sancto, ut et spiritus noster
et anima imprimantur signadulo Dei, et illam recipiamus imagi
nem et similitudinem, ad quam in exordio conditi sumus. Hoc
signaculum sancti Spiritus, juxta eloquium salvatoris, Deo impri-
mente signatur,
^ Mox ut praaceptum transgress! sunt, intrinsecus gratia de-
serente omnino nudati, in sua membra oculos injecerunt.
^ Nec ipsum Deus esse voluit sine sua gratia, quam reliquit in
ejus libero arbitrio.
^ Quid est, gustato cibo prohibito, nuditas indicata, nisi pec
cato nudatum, quod gratia contegebat? Gratia quippe Dei ma
gna ibi erat, ubi terrenum et animale corpus bestialem libidinem
non habebat. Qui ergo vestitus gratia non habebat in nudo cor-

hefore the FaU. 109
Prosper, the scholar of St, Austin, {contra Collar
torem, cap, 19- [c, 9, p, 320, ed, 1711,]) deUvers the
sarae catholic doctrine in these words; " For iu that
" ruin ef the universal prevarication, raan's nature
" was not bereft either ef its substance er faculty of
" wiUing, but only ef the light and beauty of those
" virtues, of which by the imposture of the envious
" (spirit) it was stripped or divested. Now having lost
" those things, by which alone it was able to attain
" an eternal aud never-failing incorruption ef seul
" and body, what hath it remaining beside the things
" belonging to this temporal life, which is wholly a
" Ufe ef condemnation and punishment ? For which
" cause there is a necessity, that these whe are born
" in Adam should be born again in Christ, lest any
" man should be found in the generatien which pe-
" rished. Fer if the posterity of Adam dwelt natu-
" raUy in those virtues, in which Adam was before
" his sin, they would net be the children of wrath,
" they would net be darkness, or under the power of
" darkness ; lastly, they would not need the grace of
" a Saviour, because they would net be good in vain,
" ner defrauded of the reward of righteousness, hav-
" ing those good things, by the loss whereof eur first
" parents deserved to be banished eut of paradise,
*' But now seeing ne man can escape eternal death,
" without the sacraraent of regeneration, doth it net
" most plainly appear from the singularity of the
pore quod puderet, spoliatus gratia sensit, quod operire deberet.
Read the same St. Austin, De Civitat. Dei, XIII. i, 13, 24. et
XIV. 10, II, 17. et lib. de Spiritu et Lit. cap. 17. See also what
Philo speaks to the same effect, TvjAVorYira oi tyjv tou auj/Mroc, icapa-
Xa/AjSavei, d'>OM KaB' %v o vou; a/Mifo; Kai yvfAv'og dpervji dvevpiaKcrai.
Philo Allegor. II. p. 71. [1. III. p. 98.]

110 The State of Man disc. v.
" reraedy itself, inte what a depth of evils the na-
" ture of all raankind is plunged, by the prevarica-
" tion of him in whom all men sinned, and lost what-
" soever he lest ? New he in the beginning lost
" faith, he lost continence, he lost charity, he was
" despoiled of wisdom and understanding, he was
" bereft ef counsel and fortitude*^," &c.
Lastly, Fulgentius {de Incarnatione ei Gratia
Christi, ad Petrum Diaconum, cap. 12. [p, 299. ed,
1684,]) asserts it as a thing te be held undoubted
among aU catholics, " That the supreme and true
" God did te the first raan, whora out of his free
" goodness he raade good according to his own
" image, implanting in him a faculty ef knowing and
*' loving hira, not only give the gift of a good-wiU,
" but also create in him a free will, entire and sound,
'^ Naturae enim humanae, in ilia universalis praevaricationis rui-
na, nec substantia erepta est nec voluntas, sed lumen deccsque
viKTUTUM, quibus fraude invidentis exuta est. Perditis autem
per quae ad aeternam atque inamissibilem corporis animseque in
corruptionem poterat pervenire, quid ei remansit, nisi quod ad
temporalem pertinet vitam, quae tota est damnationis et poenae?
Propter quod, natos in Adamo renasci oportet in Christo, ne in
ilia quis inveniatur generatione, quae periit. Nam si posteri Adse
in illis virtutibus naturaliter agerent, in quibus Adam fuit ante
peccatum, non essent natura filii irse, non essent tenebrae, nec sub
potestate tenebrarum : Salvatoris denique gratia non egerent :
quia non frustra boni essent, nec justitiae praemio fraudarentur :
habentes ea bona, quorum amissione primi parentes de paradiso
exulare meruerunt. Nunc autem, cum sine sacramento regenera-
tionis aeternam mortem nemo possit evadere ; nonne ex ipsius re-
medii singularitate apertissime patet, in quam profundum malum
totius humani generis natura demersa sit, illius praevaricatione, in
quo omnes peccaverunt, et quicquid ille perdidit, perdiderunt?
Perdidit autem primitus fidem, perdidit continentiam, perdidit
cbaritatem, spoliatus est sapientia et intellectu, car^it consilio et
fortitudine, &c.

before the Fall. Ill
" fer the having and keeping ef that righteousness
" which was bestowed on hira ; so that if the faculty
" and notion ef his free will did net forsake the
" grace of God assisting it, the goodness of God
" raight bestow on man the reward of eternal life :
" but if despising tbe divine righteousness it fell
" from grace, the justice ef God raight punish the
" offender ''." Where he plainly acknewledgeth in
the first raan, before his fall, not only a natural fa
culty of free will, created entire and seund, but also
a grace of Ged assisting it, and a divine righteous
ness to be kept and preserved by it. So a little
after he hath these express words ; " Therefore the
" first raan, being created out of the earth earthly,
" received indeed the grace whereby he could not sin,
" if he weuld net sin, but he had net yet se great a
" grace, as whereby he neither vvould at all nor could
" sin ^." It were easy te go on in the proof ef this
doctrine, eut ef the succeeding writers approved in
the churcb, and eut of the schoolraen themselves ;
but it is already well known and confessed, that they
were aU generaUy ef this opinion.
^ Summum et verum Deum, primo homini, quem ad suam
imaginem gratuita bonitate bonum fecit, cui facultatem quoque
suae cognitionis ac dilectionis inseruit, non solum bonae volun
tatis donum, quin etiam ad habendam custodiendamque justi
tiam, integrum sanumque creasse libertatis arbitrium, ut facultas
atque motus inditae libertatis si juvantem se gratiam Dei non
desereret, praeraium vitae aeternae tribueret Dei bonitas homini :
si aulem justitiam divinam contemnens, a gratia excidisset, sup-
plicia retribueret justitia peccatori.
^ Creatus ergo primus homo de terra terrenus accepit quidem
gratiam, qua non posset peccare, si peccare nollet, nondum ta
men tantam _acceperat gratiam, qua nec peccare vellet omnino
nec posset, 8&.

112 The State of Man disc v.
New before I proceed te take off" the objections
against this doctrine, and to shew the great use of
it, it will be necessary te reflect a Uttle upon the tes
timonies alleged, and te take notice ef a difiiculty in
them, which if net satisfied may greatly weaken, if
net wheUy blast, their credit and authority. It is
easily observed, that almost all the Fathers, whose
testimonies we have produced, de place the image and
simiUtude of God after which the first man is said
to be created. Gen. i. 27. especiaUy in these super
natural powers, gifts, or graces, wherewith they sup
pose him te be furnished in his creation. At this
(I deubt net) the Socinian will laugh in his sleeve,
and frora this ene discovery will be apt presently to
conclude fer certain, that this notion of the Fathers,
asserting a supernatural righteousness in the first
man, was a raere dreara, an idle fancy ef theirs, as
being founded en a manifest falsehood. Fer, saith he,
what can be raere apparent, than that the image and
likeness of God, after which the first man is said to
be created. Gen. i. 27. is placed only in his dominion
over the other creatures in this visible world ? For
after Ged had said. Let us make man after our
own image and likeness, he immediately adds, ««</
let him have dominion over the fishes ofthe sea, he.
Where seeing the latter words are exegetical of the
former, it fellows, that by the image of God is meant
man's dominion ever the brutes. And in this argu
ment the Socinians beast as if it were a perfect de
monstration. But I have learnt long since te de
spise the confidence of this kind ef men, as having
by many experiments found, that their greatest
strength, where they oppose the sense of the catho
lic church, is perfect weakness. Sure I am, that

before the Fall. 113
this great arguraent qf theirs is a raere inconse
quence. For, 1. There is ne necessity arising frora the
text itself, that we should grant the latter words te
be exegetical ef the forraer ; for they may be under
stood enly as consequent to the former, that is, so as
to express, not the nature ef the divine image, but
what foUowed thereupon in the first man.
But, 2. Let us grant that there is an e^Y^yYjatg in
the words, and that the dominion mentioned in the
latter part ef the text is an exposition of the divine
image mentioned in the former words ; what then ?
doth it thence foUow that the dominion constitutes
the whole and entire image of God, after which the
first man is said te be created? Surely ne. It is
suflBcient, that it be acknowledged as a, part of the
divine image. For we find often in Scripture, that
what is in ene place in part only described, is other
where fully explained in all its parts : whereof
the one being described in one text, the rest are
not to be denied which are otherwhere explained.
Ab inclusiva ad exclusivam non valet consequentia.
Although therefore we wUUngly grant, that man's
dominion over the other creatures belongs to that
image of God after which he is said to be created,
yet it doth net thence follow, that this dominion
raakes up the fuU coraplete and adequate definition
of that divine image.
3. We have already observed, that Moses, in the
history ef the creation, designed te lead the rude and
carnal people of the Jews from things sensible, and
obvious, to the invisible things of Ged. Hence in
the instance new before us, having related the words
of God, Let us malee man after our own image, &c.
VOL. II. I

114 The State of Man disc. v.
he presently adds, and let him have dominion, &c.
net to signify that this was the chiefest part, much
less the whole of the divine image in man, but be
cause in this dominion, as an effect obvious to sense,
it mere plainly appeared, that man was made after
the image ef God. Let us leek to the words pre
sently following, ver. 28. concerning the divine bene
diction upon eur first parents ; in the beginning of
the verse it is said. And God blessed them ; and
imraediately it is added, and God said unto them,
Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth,
and subdue it ; and have dominion over the fish of
the sea, &c. Let new seme novice eut ef the Raco-
vian school step forth and tell us, that the latter words
are exegetical ef the forraer, and consequently that
the divine benediction raentioned in the beginning
of the verse extended no farther than the effects
immediately expressed in the following words ; that
is, that our first parents were blessed by Ged te no
other purposes than that of begetting children, and
exercising dominion ever the brute creatures ; and
se that they were not at all designed er consecrated
to these higher ends ef increasing and being fruitful
in virtue, of subduing and keeping their lower and
brutish faculties in a due erder and obedience te the
TO yjyefjLoviKbv, of glorifying the Ged that made them,
and of attaining a farther happiness by obedience to
his precepts : whe weuld not presently discem the
perfect brutishness of this kind of reasoning? and
yet this is every whit as wise a disceurse as that of
Socinus, concerning the divine image now under our
examination. 4. The image of Ged is a comprehensive thing,
and there are many hues requisite to complete the

before the Fall. 115
divine similitude, after which the first man was
created. To this belongs man's intellective power,
his liberty of wiU, his dominion ever the other crea
tures flowing from the two former. These make up
the TO ovatwheg, that part of that divine image which
is natural and essential te man, and consequently
can never be wholly blotted eut, defaced, er extin
guished, but stiU remains even in man fallen. But
beside these, the church ef Ged hath ever acknow
ledged, in the first raan, certain additional orna
ments, and as it were complements of the divine
image, such as immortaUty, grace, holiness, right
eousness, whereby man approached raere nearly te
the siraiUtude and likeness of God. These were (if
I may so speak) the Uvely colours wherein; the gra;Ce,
the beauty, and lustre ef the divine image principaUy
consisted ; these colours faded, yea were defaced and
blotted out by man's transgression.
St. Gregory Nyssen {lib. de Hom. Opificio, cap.
4. [vol. I. p. 53.]) sets forth this by a most apt and
elegant simiUtude, comparing the animated and Uv
ing eflBgies of that great King with the image of the
eraperor, wbich is se expressed by the hand of the
artificer, either iu sculpture er picture, as to reprcr
sent the very dress and ensigns of the royal majesty,
such as the purple robe, the sceptre, and the diadem.
For as the emperor'^ iraage doth represent, net only
bis countenance and the figure of his body, and, as
it were his substance, but also his dress and orna
ments, and royal ensigns ; so man doth then per
fectly represent in hiraself the image and simiUtude
of God, when to the good things of nature, which
cannot be blotted out or extinguished, the ornaments
of grace and virtue also are added : when man's na-
I 2

116 The State of Man disc. v.
ture is (as he saith) "not clothed with piirple, or
" vaunting its dignity by a sceptre er a diadem ; (for
" the archetype consists not in such things as these;)
'• but instead of purple is clothed with virtue, which;
" is of all other the most royal vestment ; and, for
" a sceptre, is supported by a blessed immortaUty;'
" ^nd instead of a diadem, is adorned with a crown
" of righteousness'."
New that these supernatural ornaments and jier-
fectiens were a part, and a chief part ef the image of
God, after which the first man is said te be created^
is net an idle dreara or fancy ef the Christian writers,
but was a notion received and acknowledged in the
Jewish church many years before our Saviour's ap
pearance in the flesh. This is very raanifest from the
almost divine author of the Book ef Wisdom, which
was always entertained in the Christian church with
a reverence next to that which they paid to the di
vinely inspired writings. Fer he tells us, chap. ii. 23.
that God created man for immortality, {eir.dcpBapaila,
fer an incorruptible estate,) and made him the image
qf his own propriety f^. Where he raanifestly placeth
the image of God, after which Adam was created,
(that is, the chiefest exceUency and perfection: therer
of,) in this, that he was made and designed for an
imraortal and incorruptible estate, and consequently
fitted with powers and faculties proportioned to such
an end. This blessed immortality was the Ihta ^torrjgi
' Ou icop<j>vpiha icepiKei/ievYj, oihe aK-^rcrp^ ka) hiai-ij/Aari t^v Sc^laii eii-
aYijAaivovaa' ovhe ydp ro dpxerinciiv iv toutoi; iartv dXX <ivTi /Aev Tijf SAjiVf'i
•yi'So; Ti)v dperYjv rjpupieaiAewj, o S^ icdvrav. ^aaiXiKaTarov iaByi/Adruv eartv.
dvri he tou q-K-rficrpov, ry lAaKapiorYyci t;^; dBavaala<; ipeiho/AevYi, dvri hi Ttu^
^aatXiKOv htah^fAarof, Tp t?; hiKaioavvYn areibdvcp KeKO(r/*t]uevn.
B [In our version we read eternity. Grabe's edition gives the
two readings ai'Sio'T^To; and iSioTijTo;.] i .:

before the Fall. 117
Ae proper propriety (which by a barbarous ele
gancy signifies the most especial propriety) of the
divine nature, by the participation whereof man
made the nearest approach to the divine image and
siraUitude. Let the duU and heavy divines of Raco-
via yet think so irrwr/wg Ka) raireivwg,poorly and meanly,
concerning the divine iraage, after which the first
raan was created, as to confine it to that little lord
ship {egregiam vero laudem !) which man enjoyed
ever the brute creatures; let tbem, I say, consider
the words of this ancient author, (living in those
dai'ker times, before the clearer revelation of divine
truth by our blessed Saviour,) and frora him learn te
correct this their gross and even palpable errer.
The same is evident eut of ; PhUo the Jew, who
bordered upon the very age ef eur Saviour's incarna
tion. In him you shall frequently raeet with this
raore sublirae notion of the divine image and siraiU
tude, So {lib. quod Det. Potiori insid. soleat, pi
171.) having told us that they only, who are ac
quainted with the writings of the divinely inspired
Moses, can give a true account how man attains tb
the knowledge of the invisible God, he presently aftei*
expresseth the sense ef the Mosaic narration in these
words ; " He speaks to this purpese. The Creator
"raade net any seul (enclosed) in a body apt ef it-
" self te see er know its Maker. But yet cqnsi-
" dering how hugely advantageous such knowledge
" would be unto the creature if it had it, (for this
" is the utraost bound of happiness and felicity,) he
" inspired inte it frora above something ef his ewn
" divinity ; which being invisible impressed upon the
" invisible soul its own characters, that so even this
" earthly region might not be without a creature
I 3

118 The State of Man Discv.
" made after the image ef God e." Where he ma
nifestly placeth the image ef Ged, (i. e, the perfection
thereof,) after which Adam was created, in those
divine characters which were impressed on his soul
in his creation, er in the supernatural gift and fa
culty whereby he was enabled to attain the vision
and perfect knowledge ef God ; and he also asserts,
that this was the recondite sense of Moses's words
in the history of raan's creation. The sarae notion of
the divine iraage he otherwhere {lib. de Plantatione
Noe, p. 216, 217.) delivers raere clearly and expressly
in these words; " The great Moses raakes not the
" species ofthe rational soul to be like to any ofthe
" creatures, but pronounceth it te be the image of
" the invisible God ; as judging (the soul) then to
" become the true and genuine coin of God, when it
" is formed and impressed by the divine seal, the
" character whereof is the eternal Word. For God,
" saith he, breathed into his face the breath of Ufe.
" So that he that receives the inspiration must df
" necessity represent the image ef hira that gives it.
" Therefore it is said, that raan was raade after the
" iraage of Ged •»." And he (presently after teUs us,
^'EXeye he &he, yl/vxijv oihejAtav r^ aujAan 0 icoiuv elpyd^ero iKaviiv ig
eauT^; tov wohjt^v iSeiv' XoytadjAevoi he ft.eyd'Ka ov^aeiv to Sij/tioufyi)/*!!, ei
Xa^oi TOU hYijAtovpy-qaavToi; 'ewotav' evhaijAovtai; ydp Kai jAaKapiornrof Ofo; ¦
ouTo;' avuBev iveicvei t^; Ihtov fleio'TtjTo;' ^ 8' dopdrui; dopdrf 4'U%5J tou;
eavTTJ; riicovi iveaippayii^ero, "va jAiih' 0 iceptyeioi; xapoi; eiVo'vo; -djmtp/'i\<r^
®eov. [vol. I p. 208.]
'' 'O 8e jiteya; Mbuo-^; ouSevi tSv yeyovoTuv ryji; Xoyi/c?; il'ux?; -»»
ei8o; ojAotuaev, dXX' eticev airvjv ro'v Betov Ka) dopdrov e'tKova, hoKtfMV
etvat vofu'tra;, oiaiuBetaav Ka) rvicaBeTaav acppaytht Qeo'v, ?; 0 xapaxr-nf
iartv ai8io; Aoyo;. ''Eveicvevae ydp, (j>ria)v, 0 ©eo; ei; to icpoamcov airiiv
icvoYjv ^o)^;' aare' dvdyK-ij icpof tov eKicejAicovra tov hexojAevov dnceiKovtaBat' 8«
Kat Xeyerat Kar e'lKova ©eou tov livBpaicov yeyenjaBai. [vol. I. p. 332'J

before the Fall. II9
that by the same divine Spirit, which fashioned man
after the image ef God, raan's soul was exalted and
Ufted up " to the highest altitude '."
New it being thus apparent, that this sublimer
notion of the divine image, after which the first raan
is said te be created, was se anciently received and
acknowledged in the Jewish church, and also so uni
versally entertained in the churches of Christ planted
by the apostles, it would seem very strange to rae if
any rational raan should doubt of the sense of St.
Paul's words, (were ithey net of theraselves plain
enough,) which we read Cel. iii. 9, 10. Ye have put
off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the
new man, which is renewed in knowledge afteb
THE IMAGE of Mm that created him. With which
place you raay corapare that of the same apostle,
Eph. iv. 24. Surely Mr. Calvin's .coUectdon is here
most genuine, whe frem the text alleged draws this
iaference ; " Hence we learn beth what is the end
" of eur regeneration, te wit, that w« be raade like
" unto God, and that his glory may shine brightly
" in us ; and also what is that image of God, of
" which mention is raade in the history of Moses ;
" naraely, the rectitude and integrity of the whole
" seul, whereby man, as it were in a glass, re-
" presents the wisdom, righteousness, and goodness
' Xipai; fiYiKiarov uif-o;. To the same purpose speaketh Philo,
"0Tav dKoia-)\c, 'AhdjA, yifivov Ka) tpBaprov elvai vofti^e" o ydp Kar eiKova,
ev yrfivoi;, dXK' oipdviof, Phil. AUegor. 1. i. p. 57. Aittov ^evo; dvBpaicav,
TO jAev Beta Jlvev/Aari Kai Xiyyta/A^ ptovvruv' to he aljAari Kai aapKoi; ijSovjj
^uvruv' -TOVTO TO eihoi ic'XAa-jAa, ciTTt'y^;, e/ceivo he Se/a; eiKovo; ijAipepei iK-
lAayeimi' yjpetoi he iartv oi jAerpta^ 0 iceicXaajAevof iijAuv x"'"') ""' dvahe-
•hevfjKvoi af/ABTi poYiBetai t^; eK ©eou. Idem lib. Quis Rerum Divin.
'Haeres. p. 489. [vol. I. p. 48 1 .J
I 4

120 The State of Man discv.
" ef God'^." Indeed (laying aside that reverence
which we ewe to so consentient a judgment of the
church of God, both before and after Christ) there
is light enough in the text itself (as we have already
intimated) to direct us to this interpretation. For
St. Paul affirms the Ephesians dvaKatvovaSat, to be re
newed, after this image of the Creator. Now te be re
newed most properly signifies " to receive again
" something which we ence had, but lest." So the
active verb dvaKatvl^etv is manifestly used, Heb. vi. 6.
And so also the Hebrew word ujin very often sig
nifies, to restore a thing unto its former estate, as
Psal. ciii. 5. Lam. v. 21. Man therefore once before
had (viz. in the state of integrity) that iraage of God,
to which he is forraed and fashioned again by the
grace of Christ the Redeemer. Se the apostolical
writer Irenaeus (V. 12.) paraphraseth en the place;
" In that he saith, who is renewed in knowledge,
" he shews, that the very man whe before was ig-
" nerant of God, is by the knowledge of him re-
" newed. For the knowledge ef God renews a man.
" And in that he saith, according to the image qf
*' the Creator, he expresseth the restoration of that
" raan, who was in the beginning made after the
" image of God '." And what the same Irenseus
* Hinc discimus, tum quis sit finis regenerationis nostrae, hoc
est, ut Deo reddamur similes, ac in nobis reluceat ejus gloria:
tum quae sit Dei imago, cujus mentio fit apud Mosem, nempe
totius animae rectitude et integritas, ita ut homo sapientiam Dei,
justitiam, et bonitatem quasi speculum repraesentet. Cah'm. in
Col. iiL IO.
1 In eo quod ait, qui renovatur in agnitio-nem, deraonstrabat
quoniam ipse ille qui ignorantiae erat ante homo, id est, ignorans
Deum, per eam quae in eum est agnitionem renovatur. Agnitio
enim Dei renovat hominem. Et in eo quod dicit, secundum

before the Fall. 121
otherwhere teUs us (III. 20. [c. 18. p. 209.]) is appa
rently the sense ef the catholic church, viz. " That
" what we lest in Adam, te wit, the divine image
" and simUitude, that we receive again in Christ
" Jesus ¦"."
I am sensible that my zeal of vindicating the ca
tholic doctrine hath carried me a little beyond my
design. To return again to the raatter proposed, it
is abundantly raanifest frora the many testimonies
alleged, that the ancient doctors ef the church did
with a general censent acknowledge, that our first
parents in the state of integrity bad in thera sorae
thing more than nature, that is, were endowed with
the divine principle ef the Spirit, in order te a super
natural felicity. Yet the most learned Grotius will
by no means grant this hypothesis. He acknew
ledgeth indeed, innocentiam quandam fuisse in
Adamo priusquam peccavit, (and we owe him no
thanks for that concession ; for Socinus will confess
as much ; and Grotius himself tell us ", that he is
not well in his wits that shall deny it,) but that Adam
in the state ef integrity was spiritual, er had any
thing of the Holy Spirit in hira, he will by no means
admit of. A man might well expect, that so learned
a raan as Grotius was, and otherwise so great a reve-
rencer of antiquity, should not without raost evident
reasons raaintain an opinion so raanifestly thwarting
the stream and current ef the catholic doctors. But
imaginem Conditoris, recapitulationem manifestavit ejus hominis,
qui in initio secundum imaginem factus est Dei.
" Ut quod perdideramus in Adam, id est, secundum imaginem
et similitudinem esse Dei, hoc in Christo Jesu reciperemus.
" Vide Grot. Not. in Cassand. ad Art. 2. et Vot. pro Pace ad
eundem artic. et discus, p. 30.

122 The State of Man disc. v.
alas ! he hath but one argument te defend his hypo
thesis, and that argument toe, when examined, wiU
appear to be a very weak ene, yea a very gross fal
lacy. The argument is this," St, Paul, when (1 Cor,xv.
" 45.) he opposeth the earthly Adara to the spiritual
" Adara, considers Adara as he was at first created,
" and net as fallen, &c, whence it feUews, that we
" have another kind of nature from Christ, than we
*' should have had, if Adara had remained in his first
" estate, and begotten children Uke himself °,"
With the same weapon an author, very ancient,
•but disallowed and censured by the learned as one
that prepared the way for the Pelagian heresy, op
pugned of old this catholic doctrine ; I mean the au
thor aithe book qf Questions out ofthe Old and New
Testament, which by a gress mistake usurps a place
among the works of St, Augustin, The cxxili.
Question, which he propounds, is this, " Whether
" Adara had the Holy Spirit ?" And in the entrance
te his resolution of this question he tells us, " that
" this was indeed affirraed by the generaUty of Chris-
" tians in his time upon this ground, that we receive
" in the second Adara what we lost in the first."
But he declares his ewn opinion to the contrary, and
proves it frora the foreraentioned text, 1 Cer. xv. 45.
j&cc. Frora whence he thus argues ; " What is more
" manifest, thau that Adam had net the Holy Spirit?
" for he was raade a living soul, and it is by Christ
" that raan is raade a quickening spirit P.r But it is
apparent, that the text alleged hath quite another
" Vot. pro Pace ad Art. 2.
P Quid tam apertum, quam quod Adam non habuit Spiritum
S. ? factus est enim in animam viventem, per Christum autem in
spiritum vivificantem.

hefore the Fall. 123
sense i than what is supposed in this objection, Fer
the apostle in that chapter, discoursing ef the resur
rection ef the body, shews, in the verses referred to,
the difference betwixt the body ef raan, considered
net enly in the state wherein it was after the fall, but
as it was at first created, and the glorious body which
Christ received in his resurrection, and we expect in
ours. The difference is this ; that the first Adara
(as Ukewise all that descend frem hira) needed raeat
and drink, and ether external helps, for the conserva
tion of his body : but Christ, the second Adara, after
his resurrection, received a -body in its own nature,
and by an internal principle imraortal ; and the Uke
body is premised te all those that believe in Christ
at the last and general resurrection. And what is aU
this te the purpese ef the objectors ? Surely there
is ne repugnancy at all betwixt these two prepesi-
tiens, that Adara before his fall had an animal body
in the sense explained, and that Adam in the same
state and condition had a spiritual soul, or a soul
elevated and raised by the divine Spirit. For both
these meet together in every true Christian, enly
with this difference, that our bodies new are not
only in a possibiUty, but under a necessity of dying,
the sentence of death being passed on every raan ;
but the body of the first man, although it was in its
own principles raortal and subject to death and cor
ruption, yet it should never have died, if raan had
not sinned, but should have been preserved by the
special grace and favour ef God to an incorruptible
estate. Nay, this argumentof the objectors may be
"1 See St. Austin excellently explainingthe'text, De Civitat. Dei,
XIU. 23.

124 The State of Man disc. v.
retorted upon themselves thus : It is evident from
the Scriptures, and the perpetual tradition of the
church, (and Grotius himself confesseth as much,)
that the first man, whose body was of itself and in
its own nature earthly, and se mortal, should yet by
the grace of God, and by a certain divine power, (of
which the tree ef life was a sacrament,) have perscr
vered in a blessed iramortality, and never have died
if he had not sinned. Therefore the protoplast 1 had
a gift of grace and supernatural power granted him
as to his body, whereby that should have been ele
vated and raised above its natural constitution ; and
why then should we so pertinaciously refuse to ac
knowledge a like supernatural gift aff'erded him as
to his soul ? I i
And now seeing we have left the judgment of
the church, and are fallen to our own reasonings, 1
crave leave te take my turn, and te propose an ar
gument er two (as an overplus to those reasons that
have been above suggested) in vindication of this
doctrine ef the catholic Fathers, taken out of the
history ef the primitive state of the first man, as it
is delivered by Moses himself. And these arguments,
if they be net demonstrative, yet sure I am they are
far more considerable than anything that hath been
yet produced in defence of the contrary novel opin
ion. !,
1. It is apparent from the account of Moses, that
the first raan in the state ef integrity was (as we
have heard TertuUian expressing it) Deo de pro
ximo amicus, " the intimate friend of God," that he
could coelestia portare, " bear heavenly things," and
sustain the approaches of the shechinah, er majes
tic presence of Ged, without any regret or starting

before the Fall. 125
back ; that he could maintain a conference or dis
course with Ged (as we have heard St. Basil speak
ing) in the same tongue er language, as we read
Gen. U. 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. Now fer any
man te think that a merely aniraal creature (such
as the learned raen we new oppose fancy Adam in
his best estate to have been) could be adraitted to,
or whilst such, fit fer, so divine a converse, seeras te
me a very senseless imagination, and se (I doubt
net but) it will appear to any man that shall raere
tilosely consider the raatter. Ne creature can bear
the divine presence, that is not prepared for it by
the* divine Spirit. And man's corarnunion, friend
ship, and converse with God, necessarily iraports an
union with hira, and the bond of the union is cer
tainly the divine Spirit. See 1 Cor. vi. 17.
2. It is likewise evident frora the same history ef
Moses,- that Adara in the state of integrity had a
knowledge of certain things, unaccountable upon
any other hypothesis but this, that his mind was ir
radiated with a divine Ulumination.
I raight here insist upon that adrairable philoso
phy-lecture, which Adara (appointed by God hira
self to that oflSce) read on all the other animals.
For although his theme here was a part of natural
philosophy, yet his performance herein, if we leek to
its circurastances, cannot but be judged by every
considering raan to be the effect of a raore than hu
man sagacity "¦. That in the infinite variety ef
creatures, never before seen by Adam, he should be
able on a sudden, without study or premeditation,
' '' Xlar/KaXu^ Ka) t\v Beaiv rZv ovojAaruv dvYj^j/e rS irpura' ao(ptai; ydp
Ka) ^aaiXetaf ro epyoV ao<poi he e/ceivo; airojAaBYH Ka) -aiTot'ihaKTo:; xdpiai
Betaii yevojAevou &c. Philo de Mundi Opific. p. 34. [vol. I. p. 35.]

126 The State of Man discv.
to give names te each ef theiUi se adapted and fitted
te their natures, as that Ged hiraself should approve
the nomenclature, hew astonishing a thing is it!
What single raan, among all the philosophers since
the fall, what Plato, what Aristotle, &;c. among the
ancients, what Descartes or Gassendus, 6^Ci among
the moderns, nay, what royal society, durst have un
dertaken this? Hence Plate hiraself {in Cratylo)
acknowledgeth the man that first imposed names on
things, to have been the wisest of raortals, nay he
aflSrras him to have had something raore than hu
man in him. His words are these ; " I suppose (0
" Socrates) the truest account of the problem ib be
" this, that a certain power more than human. im>.
" posed the first naraes en things ^."
But te let tbis pass. We read that Adam no
sooner saw his wife brought unto him by God, (who
was pleased to honour that first and most glorious
wedding, solemnized in paradise itself, by perform
ing the office of a matrimonial father, in giving and
presenting the bride with his own hands,) but he
presently gave an exact account ef her original, viz.
That she was taken out of himself, and imposed on
ber a name accordingly; although whilst the ad
mirable operation was performing in him, he lay in
the profoundest sleep, and so could be no way sen
sible thereof. Fer thus we read expressly. Gen. ii.
* Oijttai |iAev iya riv dXY\Beararov Xo'yov itepi toi;tbv eTvai, a "S-UKpare^,
juei^ova Tiva hivajAiv elvat ij dvBpaicetav, t^v BefAev/jV rd icpara ovejAare^
TO?; icpdyfAaat. See also what Procopius speaks to the same effect;
Adamus non sine singulari prudentia et solertia, quam a Deo ac
cepit, nomina dat creaturis, quae ipsarum substantias quasi in
speculo repraesentent. Procop. ad cap. 2. Genes, p. 57. edit. Ti
gur.

before the Fall. 127
21, 22, 23. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep
to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one
of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof.
And the rib which the Lord God had taken from
man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the
man. And Adam said. This is tiow bone of my
bone, and fl^sh qf my flesh; she shall be called
Woman, because she was taken out of man.
New whence could Adara have this knowledge* ?
He might indeed from the conformity of the parts
of that goodly creature presented te his eye, and her
nearest likeness to himself, guess that Ged had now
provided him the meet help which before he want
ed ; but it is scarce imaginable how he could se
punctually describe her original, and the manner of
her formation, otherwise than by a secret inspiration
and internal suggestion of the divine Spirit. Besides,
the words foUowing, ver. 24. Therefore shall a man
leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto
his wife, and they shall be one flesh, are manifestly
enough the continuation of Adam's discourse, trans
ferring the former hypothesis inte a thesis : as if he
had said. As God hath joined me with ray woman
into ene flesh, so from henceforth every husband
shaU obey this order established by heaven, and,
leaving his dearest parents, cleave unto his wife as
his own flesh. Our Saviour, Matth. xix. 5. attri^
butes these words to God, because Adam uttered
thera by a spirit ef prophecy. And this interpreta
tion we raeet with in the ancient fragraents of Po-
' Adamus ista omnia prolocutus est divino et prophetico inspi-
ratus Spiritu. Nec enim propriis viribus, ex qua materia et in quem
finem mulier condita fuerit, cognoscere quivisset. Procopius ad
cap. 2. Genes, p. 58.

128 The State of Man disc. v.
lycarp", cited by Victor, bishop of Capua, abeve one
thousand two hundred years age. The sum is this,
" Beth Adam uttered tbis prophecy, and God the
" Father also is rightly said to have uttered the
" same, because he inspired him''." Hence Origen,
and ethers ef the Fathers, reckon Adam among the
divinely inspired persons, and expressly term him a
prophet. And the deep sleep, which Adam was cast into
before God forraed Eve out ef hira, the ancient
Christian writers generally understand te have been
designed by God, not only as an expedient for the
performance ef the wonderful operation in him,
without sense of pain, but also as an eKaraatg,io pre
pare him for the receiving of that divine oracle,
which presently upon his awaking he uttered. Like
that deep sleep which God sent upon Abraham, when
by the spirit ef prophecy he would acquaint him
with those events which were te happen to his pos
terity some ages after. Gen. xv. 12, &c. See Acts x.
10. and xxii. 17-
Thus Tertullian, speaking of the sleep that fell
upon Adam, and the words that he afterwards ut
tered, " There fell an ecstasy upon him, even the
" power of the Holy Ghost, causing him to pro-
" phesyy." And we find the same notion expressly
deUvered by many others ofthe ancients. See espe-
" Printed by Feuardentius, at the end of his Annotat. on cap. i.
1, III. Iren. p. 241. 1
" Et Adam hane prophetiam protulit, et Pater, qui eum inspira
vit, recte dicitur protulisse.
y Cecidit ecstasis super ilium, Sancti Spiritus vis, operatrix pro-
phetiae. Lib. de Anima, cap. 11. n. 144. Vide et cap. 21. ejusdem
libri.

before the Fall. ' 129
ciaUy St. Austin, lib. IX. de Genes, ad Lit. cap. ult.
and Bernard, Serm. II. Septuages. Let rae add
hereto, that Philo also, the most ancient and learned
writer among the Jews, acknowledgeth this sleep on
Adam to have been an ecstasy, interpreting the
ecstasy te have been a kind of recess of the seul
from the body, and bodily senses, in erder to the
more calm and serene contemplation of divine things.
Fer his words, speaking ef this place of Moses, {lib.
Quis Rerum Divin. Hceres. p. 517.) are these, " God
" sent," saith he, " an ecstasy upon Adara, and laid
" hira into a deep sleep; understanding by an ecstasy
" the quiet and tranquUUty of the mind. For the
" sleep ef the mind is the waking ef the senses, as
" also the waking of the mind is the leisure of the
" senses^." Thus you see, that if we look no farther than the
bare literal account of Moses concerning the first
man, we have ne reason at aU to conceive him a
creature so raerely animal, se wheUy veid of the
Spirit ef God, as the lew and plainly animal dis
course of divers learned men hath represented him,
yea that we have great reasons to entertain a quite
contrary conception of him ; and that if we regard
the sense of the catholic church, both before and
since our Saviour, it ought to be held fer certain,
that the protoplast was in the state of integrity en-
dewed with a principle of the divine life, or the gift
of the Spirit of Ged, iu erder to the attaining of that
^ 'Eice^aXe ydp o ®eo;, ipYjaiv, 'eKaraaiv iic'i rov 'AhdjA, Ka) vicvuatv,
'eKaraatv tijv ijpejAiav Ka) Y\avxiav rov vov icapaXafAPdvuv . uirvo; ydp vov,
ypYJyopati ianv alaB-^aea^. Kai ydp ai ypviyopaeic, t^; hiavotaq, alaBy\aeu^
aTcpagta.
VOL. II. K

130 The State of Man disc. v.
celestial bUss, to which also in the gracious purpose
of God he was designed.
You will now (I hope) excuse me, that I have
dwelt so long in the demonstration of these hypo
theses, stepping aside at every turn to meet with
those little scruples which have been raised against
them by adversaries ef different interests. Fer I
gave you fair warning beferehand, that you were to
expect this trouble from rae, and told you my rea
son, viz. that I leek en them as the two main piUars
of the cathoUc doctrine concerning the fall ef the
first man, and the sad consequents thereof as te his
posterity. And I do again profess, that I can by
no means understand hew that doctrine can be intel
ligibly explained, or rationally defended, otherwise
than upon the foundation ef the said hypotheses.
For if it be ence granted, that raan in his first and
best estate was a creature merely animal, I chaUenge
any man te shew rae, wherein that great faU of man
kind, ef wbich the Scriptures and the writings ef the
cathoUc doctors from the days of the apostles to bur
present age so loudly ring, can be iraagined to con
sist? Qui cadit in terram non habet unde cadat.
According to this hypothesis, man before the faU
was but an earthly animal creature, and he is no
worse now since the fall. Besides, you will find in
the sequel ef ray disceurse, that these principles
have a mighty influence on the determination of di
vers important questions in debate betwixt my ad
versary and myself, and that upon the admission of
these, some of the main foundations of his book
written against me are net only shaken, but utterly

hefore the Fall. 131
subverted: which consideration, I confess, induced
me to be rauch larger in explaining these things than
otherwise I should have been, if I had intended enly
an answer te your letter. In the raean time (that
you may net live wholly upon preraises, but see
something ef performance) I shall in general shew
you the great use ef this doctrine in three consider
able instances.
First, You may gather hence a clear solution of
that question se hetly agitated amongst modern di
vines ; " Whether the original righteousness of the
" first man was supernatural ^ ?" For the meaning
of this question, if it signify any thing te any con
siderable purpese, is clearly this, whether Adara in
the state of integrity needed a supernatural prin
ciple or power in order te the performing ef such a
righteousness, as, through the gracious acceptance ef
God, should have been available to an eternal and
celestial Ufe and happiness ? And the question being
thus stated ought to be held in the affirraative, if
the consentient deterraination of the church of God
raay be aUowed its due weight in the balance of eur
judgraents. There is a sense indeed, wherein we
may safely acknowledge the original righteousness
of the first raan te have been natural, and it is this ;
that he received the principle of that righteousness
a nativitate sua, " frora his nativity," in his very
creation, and together with his nature, Fer this (as
we have abeve shewn) is generally confessed by the
catholic doctors, whe teach us that Adara received
the principle of the natural and the divine life at the
sarae tirae, and by the same insufflation of God men-
' An justitia originalis fuerit primo homini supernaturalis ?
K 2

132 The State of Man discv.
tioned Gen. ii. 7- Others declare theraselves, in their
affirraing the original righteousness ef the first man
te have been natural, te mean ne mere than this,
that Adam had by nature a remote power ef per
forming such righteousness, but that he needed a su
pernatural assistance to bring this power into act;
that is, (te speak more plainly,) he had natural fa
culties capable of doing this, if excited, raised, ele
vated, and assisted by a divine grace. And who in
his wits will deny this ? Yet thus the famous TUe-
nus (even before he turned te the Remonstrants,
and when he was yet in flagrant favour with his
countrymen) explains this doctrine, {Syntag. Disput.
Theolog. par. I. disp. 32. n. 35 — 38.) using the si
militude ; " As the vine doth not therefore want a
" natural power to bring forth wine, because it needs
" these external helps of the sun, and rain, and cul-
" ture, to its actual bringing forth : so also in Adam,
" the rectitude ef his will, and the good erder of his
" affections, was never the less natural, although in
" actu secundo it was excited and assisted by the
" help ef moving grace ''." Now this similitude (I
say) we wilUngly admit, aUowing for the difference
betwixt natural and free agents. For hereby is sig
nified, that Adara in the state of integrity had natu
rally, and without the aid of the divine Spirit, no
mere power to perform a righteousness available to
eternal Ufe, than the vine hath to bring forth wine
*> Quemadmodum vitis non propterea caret vi natural! ad pro-
ferendum vinum, quod externis illi opus est auxiliis, puta sole,
pluvia et cultura, ut actu proferat : sic et in Adamo non ideo
naturalis non fuit voluntatis rectitude, et affectuum eira^ta, licet
in actu secundo, gratiae moventis auxilio excitaretur et adjuvare-

before the Fall. 133
without the warra influence ofthe sun, and the dew
of heaven, and dressing : which concession grants
as rauch as any sober man will contend for. And
yet the same learned man a little after doth plainly
enough confess, that the doctrine ef those protestant
writers, that affirra the original righteousness of the
first man te have been natural, cannet be excused
from Pelagianism, unless it be thus explained.
Hence seme, even of the systematic writers, stick
net in direct terms te acknowledge, that these per
fections, wherein the original righteousness ef the
first man is granted by all te consist, were super
natural te hira. I shall produce one testimony,
which may be instar omnium, and it is the testi
mony of WoUebius, whose system hath been se
thumbed by young students in theology. His words
{Christ. Theol. I. 8. can. 8, 9, 10.) are these ; " <= The
" gifts belonging te the image of Ged were partly
" natural, partly supernatural. The natural were the
" seul, a simple and invisible substance, and its fa-
" culties, viz. understanding and will. The super-
" natural were the clearness of the understanding ^,
" the liberty and rectitude of the wUl, the conformity
" ef the appetites er affections, the imraortality ef
" the whole man," &;c. But enough ef this.
Secondly, Upon the foundations laid, you raay
raise an irapregnable arguraent to evince the abso
lute necessity ef divine gi'ace in raan faUen, in erder
'^ Imaginis Dei dona partim naturalia erant. Naturalia erant
animae simplex ac invisibilis substantia, ejusque facultates, intel-
lectus nimirum et voluntas. Supernaturalia erant, inteUectus
claritas, voluntatis libertas et rectitudo, appetituum seu affec
tuum conformitas, totius hominis immortalitas, &c.
^ Viz. in reference to supernatural acts or objects.
K 3

134 The State of Man disc v.
te the performance of that righteousness which is
required unto his eternal salvation, against the he
resy ef Pelagius. The argument is by the above-
mentioned learned man, Daniel Tilenus, {Syntag.
Disput. Theolog. par. I. disp. 34. n. 24.) fernted a
majori ad minus, thus ; " If the natural raan, even in
" the state ef integrity, could not ef himself attain to
" a supernatural end, with what face can he now,
" in the state ef corruption, arrogate to hiraself so
" great a strength and confidence « ?" But what
need I fly te the testimonies of single authors, espe
cially moderns ? We find this arguraent expressly
made use ef by the council of Orange, purposely
caUed against the heresy of Pelagius reviving in
France. {Concil. Aurausican. cap. 19. inter opera
August, tom. VII. p. 614. edit. Paris. 1635.) The
words of the holy Fathers, assembled in that council,
are these ; " The nature ef man, if it had remained
" in that integrity wherein it was created, could by
" ne means have saved itself without the assistance
" ef its Creator. Wherefore seeing without the
" grace ef God it could not keep the salvation
" which it had received, how can it possibly with-
" eut the grace of Ged recever that which it hath
"lostf?" Lastly, You rnay frem that large account which I
have given you ef the sense of antiquity, as to the
= Si homo i|/u;)jiKo;, ne in integra quidem natura, supernaturalem
finem per se erat assecuturus; qua fronte tantum roboris, aut
fiduciae, sibi arroget corruptus ?
f Natura humana, etiamsi in ilia integritate, in qua est con
dita, permaneret, nullo modo seipsam, Creatore suo non adju
vante, servaret. Unde cum sine gratia Dei salutem non possit
custodire, quam accepit, quomodo sine Dei gratia poterit repa-
rare, quod perdidit?

before the Fall. 135
last hypothesis, most certainly assure yourself how
unjust a charge that is, which some « bold men have
fastened on all the Christian writers before Pelagius,
especiaUy en those that flourished within the first
three centuries ; namely, that they held the same
doctrine, which was afterwards condemned by the
church as heretical in Pelagius ; exalting the rb avr-
e^ovaiov into the throne of the divine Spirit, and as
serting a sufficiency of man's natural powers in his
lapsed estate, without the grace ef Ged, te perform
those things which conduce unto eternal life. For
you may now evidently discern, that those excellent
persons were se far from this persuasion, that they
believed an absolute necessity of a divine and super
natural principle, even in raan entire, to raise and
elevate his natural powers unto the attainraent ef se
high an end. And this notion you nowhere find
raere clearly delivered, than it is by the writers of
the first three hundred years. Many learned raen
have, with a laudable zeal, steed up in vindication
ef the holy Fathers and raartyrs frem this foul ca
lumny, and have raore than sufficiently done it, by
araassing many testimonies out of their writings,
wherein they expressly acknowledge an absolute ne
cessity of the divine gi'ace, and the operation ef the
Holy Spirit in lapsed man, in order to his eternal
salvation. But none of them (that I have yet met
with) hath made use of this notion, which yet runs
(as it were) in a continued vein through the writ-
s Among the rest, our countryman Mr. Baxter tells us, " Yet
" the truth is, most, if not all the Fathers of the first two hun-
" dred or three hundred years do speak in a language seeming
" to lean strongly that way — But the plain truth is, till Pelagius's
" days, al! spoke like Pelagians." Saints' Rest, part I. p. 154.
K 4

136 The State of Man before fhe FaU. disc. v.
ings of all the primitive Fathers, and strikes (as we
but now- observed) at the very heart ofthe Pelagian
heresy. Thus I have returned a very large answer to the
enquiry, concerning the covenant ef life made with
man in the state of integrity, much larger, I believe,
than was expected, and, I ara sure, than I at first
intended,- For I have scarce, I think, omitted any
thing which might be said of that covenant with
any certainty, either from the express dictates of the
sacred oracles, er from the consent of the catholic
church, the best guide we can fellow in these cases
wherein the holy Scriptures speak less plainly.

VINDICATION

OF

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND,

THE ERRORS AND CORRUPTIONS OF THE CHURCH
OF ROME.
Wherein, as is larsjely proved,
THE KULE OF FAITH, AND ALL THE FUNDAMENTAL ARTICLES OF
THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, ARE RECEIVED, TAUGHT,
PROFESSED, AND ACKNOWLEDGED.

DR. GEORGE BULL,
LATE LORD BISHOP OF ST. DAVID's.
WRITTEN',
AT THE REQUEST OF THE COUNTESS OF NEWBRUGH,
IV ANSWER TO A CELEBRATED ROMAN CATHOLIC TREATISE,
ENTITLED,
" THE CATHOLIC SCRIPTURIST."
Published from his Lordship's Manuscript, by his Son Robert Bull, Rector of
Tortworth, and Prebendary of Gloucester.

THE

PREFACE.

Sometime in last December I received a letter
frora Mr. Curll the bookseller, acquainting rae that
a raanuscript of ray father's, entitled, A Letter
to the Countess of Newbrugh, was found araong
the papers ef a gentieraan lately deceased. The
manuscript hath since been transmitted te me, and
I have carefully perused it. And though I was at
first surprised to find it uot written in ray father's
own hand, yet, upon farther recollection, I see no
manner ef reason te questien but that the treatise
is his ; having frequently beard him mention such a
letter, and- seen several of his papers (written, as
near as I can guess, about the same time) transcribed
by the sarae hand. Frem whence I farther con
clude, that the raanuscript, of which I am now speak
ing, is the very same that was sent te the countess
of Newbrugh, and which Mr. Nelson so laraents the
loss ef, p. 66. ef his Life of ray father. For the
sake of those readers whe may net have seen that
excellent piece ef Mr. Nelson's, I shall here insert
the whole paragraph.
" While Mr. BuU was rector ef Suddington, the
" providence of God gave hira an opportunity of

140 PREFACE TO A VINDICATION OF
" fixing two ladies of quality, in that neighbourhood,
" in the protestant coraraunion, whe had been re-
" duced to a very wavering state of mind, by the
" arts and subtleties of some Romish missionaries.
" Their specious pretences te antiquity were easily
" detected by this great raaster of the ancient Fa-
" thers ; and by his thorough acquaintance with
" Scripture, and the sense ef the catholic church
" in matters ef the greatest importance, he was able
" te distinguish between primitive truths, and those
" errors which the church of Rorae built upon them.
" He had frequent conferences with both these la-
" dies, and answered those objections which ap-
" peared to them te have the greatest strength, and
" by which they were very near falling from their
" steadfastness : For one qf them he writ a small
" treatise, which she had requested from him, but
" no copy qf it is to be found among those papers
" he left behind him ; nothing remaineth of it but
" the remembrance that it was written, and that
" he did thereby succeed in establishing the lady
" in the communion of ihe Church of England.
" Both the ladies always owned, with the greatest
" sense ef gratitude, this signal service they received
" frora the learning and capacity ef Mr. Bull. None
" can well apprehend hew grievous a state ef human
" life doubt is, in raatters of consequence, but they
" who feel it ; and therefore no wonder if they
" blest that happy instruraent by which fresh Ught
" was conveyed into their rainds, and those uncer-

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 141
" tainties cleared up which they laboured under,
" in reference to raatters ef the greatest moment.
" The method indeed they took was prudent and
" Christian, te seek fer knowledge at those lips
" which are appointed te preserve it, and te bring
" their doubts te their ewn pastors, before they sub-
" mit te the authority ef others. And I questien
" net but for this reason, among many, God thought
" fit te give thera the satisfaction they sought for ;
" and if others, whe are assaulted after this raanner,
" weuld take tbe sarae course, I doubt not but that
" they would find the same success."
If the reader is desirous to know who those ladies
(raentioned in the beginning of the paragraph) were,
I can only tell him, that one of them was the wife
of a worthy person now Uving, who (fer reasons best
known te hiraself) was unwilling her narae should
be raentioned upon such an occasion by Mr. Nelson ;
and supposing hira to be still of the sarae opinion, I
shall not insert any thing here which raay be grating
to him. The other was the countess of Newbrugh,
for whose sake this treatise was composed : and of
her all the account I can at present give is, that she
was daughter and sole heiress of sir Henry Peel,
bart. of Salperten, in the county ef Gloucester, and
wife to Charles Levisten ", whe, for services done
¦' [This marriage is omitted in all the Peerages which I have
seen ; and probably because there was no issue from it. Robert
Bull vvas however mistaken in calling the first earl of Newburgh
Charles; his name vvas James Livingston, or Levingstone : he

142 PREFACE TO A VINDICATION OF
the crown in the reign ef king Charles the Second,
was by hira created earl ef Newbrugh in the king
dora ef Scotland, and held a considerable place in
that king's favour as long as he Uved. She was a
lady (as I have been informed by persons who very
well reraeraber her) of great personal endowments;
and the reader may collect the same frem several
passages in the foUowing letter. It seeras to have
been her raother, the lady Pool'' of Cirencester,
whe first advised her to consult ray father in this
iraportant affair; who, eut ef a sense ef gratitude
for this and other services done her family, and to
testify the great esteera she had fer hira, did after
wards, in her last wUl, appoint hira te be her ex
ecutor '-".
As te the letter itself, I shall forbear giving any
character of it, ray near relation te the author un
qualifying rae for such an undertaking. The reader
hiraself must judge of that, who (I question not)
upon a full perusal ef it, will esteem it a perform
ance worthy the author whose name it bears. I
will ne longer deprive the reader of the satisfaction
the following treatise raay afford hira, than to let
him knew he is obliged te that worthy gentleman,
married first Anne, daughter of sir Henry Pool, and secondly lady
Catharine Howard, daughter of Theophilus, earl of Suffolk, and
widow of George lord Aubigny, by vvhom he had Charles the
second earl.]
*> See note *>, p. 148.
'^ See the Life of Bishop Bull, p. 41.

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. 143
Mr. Richard RawUnson, A. M. ef St. John's coUege
Oxon. and F. R. S. fer the discovery of this raanu
script, who for rescuing it frem tbe obscurity it
had lain in for almost fifty years, and bestowing it
on the pubUc by rae, has a just right te the thanks
of every ene whe shaU receive advantage frora it.

Tortworth, ROBERT BULL.
April 18, 1719.

THE
CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION _ Page 147
Of Corporal Austerities - - 148
A Reply to a boo/c entitled. The Catholic Scripturist ;
{or, the Plea of the Romati CatJiolics : shew
ing the Scriptures to hold the Roman Faith
in above forty of tlie ctiief Controversies now
under debate. By Joseph 3Iumford, priest,
of the society of Jesus) - 151
Of Tradition - . _ 154
Of the Invocation of Saints 155
Of the half Commimion, or receiving the Sacra
ment only in one kind - 1 78
Ofthe Infallibility ofthe Roman Church 185. 226
Of Transubstantiation, 8jc. - 186.203
Of Image-ivorship - - 189
Ofthe True Church - 192
Of tlie Succession of Pastors in our Church - 204
The Case fairly stated 205. 229
Of the Liturgy of the Church of England 207
Of the Reformation, and Thirty-nine Articles 210.211.225
Of the fundamental Principles of the Christian
Religion, and of the Rule of Faith - - 213
Ofthe Trinity - - - - 214
Of the ancient Doxologies - - 217
Of the Prevarication of the Trent Fathers con
cerning the Rule of Faith, 8fc. - 219.230
The Church of England cleared from Prevari
cation - - - - 225
Ofthe Decrees ofthe Council of Trent - 229
. Of the Decrees of the first Council of Nice - 23 1
The Conclusion - - - - - -232
VOL. II. L

LETTER
TO THE niQHT HONOURABLE THE
COUNTESS OF NEWBRUGH.
Madam,
I. T HUMBLY beg yeur ladyship's pardon, that I
have net sooner perforraed my duty, and obeyed
yeur ladyship's desires, (which with rae ought te
have the force of coraraands,) by returning an an
swer te the letter of yeur Roraan catholic friend and
relatien. The truth is, the letter came from your la
dyship te my hands (after a considerable stop) in a
very ill season, when I was wholly taken up by
other businesses not te be dispensed with ; and I do
net reraeraber, that in all my life I have had a task
imposed en me in se unhappy a conjunction of cir
cumstances*: yet seme hours I have forcibly snatched
from the importunity of those urgent occasions, in
which I have made a shift te shape the following
answer. In reading whereof, all the favour I shaU
desire from yeur ladyship is this. First, That you
would trust me in these citations eut ef the Fathers
and learned authors which I produce, till the author
of the letter shaU prove rae guilty of prevarication
therein, which I ara sure he will never be able te
de. Secondly, That your ladyship weuld excuse
[f He probably alludes to the controversies in which he was
engaged concerning the Harmonia Apostolica.]
L 2

148 A Vindication of sect. ii.
that sharpness ef style, which I sometirae make use
of in my answer. Indeed, the honourable relatien to
yeur ladyship, which the author of the letter lays
claim to, hath restrained me frora handUng hira as
he deserves ; but ray zeal to the honour of Ged and
his holy truth, so grossly confronted by him, (which
I persuade myself is dearer also to your ladyship
than your own honour,) hath constrained me some
times to give him a just rebuke. Having premised
these my humble requests unto your ladyship, I
shall proceed (without the corapUraent of any farr
ther preface) to exaraine whatsoever may seem any
way considerable in the letter.
II. That collection of texts of Scripture concerning
corporal austerities, which the author ef the letter
mentions, what it is I know not, your ladyship it
seeras having forgotten to send it '', and therefore can
not give hira a direct answer to this part of his let
ter : but, in general, I can give your ladyship St.
Paul's determination of the question, 1 Tim. iv. 8.
Bodily exercise profiteth little : but godliness is
profitable unto all things, &c. In the former part of
which sentence the apostle acknowledgeth some Ut
tle use of bodily exercise, er corporal austerities, or
restraints and castigations laid upon the body : these
may be in some degree useful, at least to some per
sons and in some cases, provided they are kept in
the due bounds, tacitly laid down by the apostle
otherwhere. Col. ii. 23. where he tells us, these aus
terities bave a shew'^ of wisdom in** voluntary observe
•= 1 have since received it from the lady P. and find it so incon
siderable, as not to deserve any more particular answer than is
here given to it.
'^ Or notion, 'M/yov 'exovra aoiptag. '^ iv iBe'AoBprjaKii^.

the Church qf England. 149
atien, which oui- translation renders in ivill-worship,
in humility, in neglecting the body, and not in any
honour to the satisfying pf the flesh. So tiiat all
the show and appearance ef wisdom, that such auste
rities can be allowed to have, consists in these three
things First, That they be undertaken voluntarily
and freely, not by imposition from others, not as ne
cessary acts ef piety. Secondly, That they be used
with huraility, net priding ourselves in thera as
great achievements in religion ; not superciliously
condemning or despising ethers who aUow them
selves a greater (if lawful) freedom than we de.
Thirdly, That tbey be really made use ef fer tbe
castigation ef the body, and not in hypocritical pre
tence, so as that in the mean time we indulge our
selves in as great delights, or greater than those from
which we abstain. I beseech your ladyship to con
sider these three cautions of the apostle ; and then I
shaU leave it to yourself to judge, how far the aus
terities, commonly practised in the church ef Rome,
are from being conforra to those golden rules. Fer
I am not willing to take the occasion, that is here
given rae, ef laughing at the folUes ef our adversa
ries in this particular. Corporal austerities, thus li
mited, the true sens of the Church ef England most
wilUngly adrait ef and erabrace ; and I speak frem
ray conscience, that I think these austerities are, in
silence, better practised by sorae ef our church, than
by the generality ef the Roraanists that so much
glory in them. But it is the latter part ef the apo
stle's deterraination that we mainly stick te ;" God
liness is profitable unto all things ; that is, true
piety, consisting in the love ef Ged, and eur neigh
bours as ourselves, together with the fruits and ef-
L 3

150 A Vindication of sect. hi.
fects of these, is always and to aU persons, useful :
indeed this is the unum necessarium, that one ne
cessary thing.
III. To this trial we will stand ; let that church,
that most earnestly presseth this real piety, carry
the beU, and be acknowledged for the best church ;
and if this coramendation be found due to the
church ef Rorae, in its present estate, I wUl never
speak a word to dissuade your ladyship from leav
ing eur coraraunion, and casting yourself into the
bosora of that church, which is displayed at this day
with se alluring a bravery ; but will engage myself
te attend yeur ladyship in a voyage te Rome, in the
quality of one of yeur lackeys. The truth is, this
very consideration kept me, when I was yet unac
quainted with the true state ef the controversy be
tween us and the Reman church, frem having any
affection to the sarae, although I have not wanted
sorae considerable teraptations to entertain better
thoughts thereof; for ever since I understood any
thing ef religion, I have apprehended the certain
truth of what St. Paul tells us, Rora. xiv. 17- That
the kingdom of God doth not consist in meat and
drink, and such like external things, but in right
eousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost;
that the soul ef piety lies in the piety ef the soul;
and then observing hew the spirits of the Reman
devotion spend themselves in outward and external
things, leaving the heart and vital parts thereof
cold and languishing: hew like the pharisees they
shew themselves mighty zealots in the little ap
pendages of reUgion, whilst they neglect the weight
ier matters of the law: how amongst them it is
accounted almost (if not altogether) as heinous a

the Church of England. 151
crime te break a frivolous institution ef one ef their
vainly devised orders, as to transgress a direct cora
raand ef God : how that faction araong thera that
governs the church of Rorae, (the Jesuits,) are of all
raortals the easiest and loosest casuists in questions
that concern the substance of religion : how the cor
poral austerities they se much beast ef, and com
monly used by them, are commutations fer the great
and indispensable duties ef Christianity, and um
brages te the foulest vices and impurities : (whence it
comes te pass, that the raost carnal and sensual pre-
testants are most easily induced te undertake thera ;
and it is te be observed by every ene nowadays,
that the filth of our church doth erapty itself inte
the sink of Rome :) I say, when I considered these
things, I was se far frem admiring the church ef
Rorae fer that face of religious severity which it
hath affected to put on, that that very affectation
made me out of love with it, yea, wrought in me a
kind of loathing of it : but enough of the corporal
austerities ef the church ef Rome.
IV. In the next place, supposing that the collection
ef texts ef Scripture raentioned had opened te yeur
ladyship a prospect into farther doubts, that is, had
puzzled yeur ladyship, and unsettled you, and so
made way for his farther attempts upon yeur con
science and religion ; he proceeded te recoraraend to
your ladyship the perusal of a book, caUed the Ca
tholic Scripturist^, and proraiseth that therein you
shall find, not only the faith, but the practice of the
^ I wonder he should proraise himself such great matters from
so sorry a scrip of paper. [A second edition of this book was
published in 1686.]
L 4

152 A Vindication of sect. v.
church ef Rome, in matters of reUgien, manifestly
confirmed by the holy Scriptures. I am sorry I
have net the book by rae, as your ladyship suppos
eth ; fer the book you were pleased te lend rae upon
taking ray leave ef yeur ladyship, when last at Lon
don, after a cursory perusal of it, I left with a friend
of mine te be speedUy returned te your ladyship,
with ray humble thanks ; and by what accident it
hath been intercepted I cannot understand. By
what I remember of the contents ef the book, I may
venture te say, it is an errant piece ef sephistryj
like those that used te be scattered among us by the
ministers of the church ef Rome. Indeed, if I had
the book by me, it would be too long a work for a
letter te answer the several chapters thereof; but
otherwise the task would be easy ; I desire none
mere facile.
V. However, by its title-page (ifl could remem
ber no mere) I were able te refute it : The Catho
lic Scripturist. What, doth he mean the Roman
Catholic Scripturist? Yes, doubtless : but then your
ladyship raay presently discern in the very title a
contradiction in terms : you raay easily see, that the
very design of that book is contrary te the professed
design and doctrine ef the church of Rome : to
make this plain, I desire your ladyship to ask the
author of the letter these few questions : 1. Are all
the points defended in the book, called the Catholic
Scripturist, clearly proved by the holy Scriptures ?
2. Is the belief of these points, (which are aU
principal ones in controversy betwixt us and the
churcb ef Rome,) together with the beUef ef the
other fundaraentals of the Christian faith, equaUy

the Church of England. 153
acknowledged by us and them te be delivered in
the holy Scriptures, a belief sufficient unto salva
tion ?
3. Doth net tbe church ef Rome professedly main
tain, that all things necessary to be known and be
lieved unto salvation are neither in express terms,
er by necessary consequence, delivered and con
tained in the holy Scriptures, and that there is need
ef the tradition of the church, as a supply in this
case? He cannet (fer shame) but answer affirm
atively to each of these questions. Fer as fer the
first questien, it is the professed design ef that book
te raaintain, that all the points undertaken to be de
fended therein may be proved out of the holy Scrip
tures ; and the author of the letter adds manifestly,
and he afterwards tells yeur ladyship, that be doubts
net but that the result ef his letter te you, and the
book attending it, will end in tbis admiration : " Whe
" would have thought it, that the papists could have so
" much to say for themselves out of raost clear texts
" ef the word of God'?" Indeed, I never so much as
dreamed that the papists could, out ef the holy
Scriptures, produce any thing to the purpese in de
fence ef their tenets concerning image-worship, in
vocation of saints, transubstantiation, the half-cora-
raunien, indulgencies, &c. Ner hath the book in
the least altered ray thoughts and apprehensions.
4. That the points defended in the book, (called
the Catholic Scripturist^ together with these other
points that are on both sides acknowledged te be
clearly delivered in the holy Scriptures, do make up
*^And the Catholic Scripturist tells us, that he would produce
for the points most misliked in his religion many and loud-
speaking texts. Pref n. 4.

154 A Vindication of sect. vi.
a full and complete body of catholic principles, or
the necessary articles ef the Christian faith, he raust
acknowledge; otherwise, what bounds wiU he put
te the necessary articles df religion ? Hew shall a
sincere Christian know when he believes and prac-
tiseth that which is sufficient in erder te his salva
tion ? And, besides, what ether point ef the Roman
faith can he produce more difficult te be proved out
of the holy Scriptures, than those, whose defence is
undertaken by the author ef the Catholic Scrip
turist ? Frem these two propositions granted, it un
deniably feUews, that all necessary points ef Chris
tian doctrine raay be proved eut ef the holy Scrip
tures, and that by most clear and manifest texts;
which is directly contrary to the known and avowed
doctrine ef the papists themselves : nay, the Catho
lic Scripturist hath a chapter (if I forget not) con
cerning tradition ; the professed design whereof is to
prove, that we must be beholding to tradition for
many necessary points of faith, and that the Scrip
ture is not a sufficient rule. I confess I am amazed
when I observe with what a fatal stupidity, or ra
ther with what an evil conscience, and how frau
dulently, the Roraanists defend their cause ; but in
deed a cause se bad could no otherwise be de
fended. VI. Many particular instances of the sophistry of
that book I might give your ladyship, if I had it by
me ; but there is ene instance I took special notice
of, and wrote ray observations in a scrip of paper,
because it was a point wherein your ladyship seemed
to need satisfaction, viz. the point of invocation of
saints. He undertakes net te prove the laudable-
ness of that practice of his church by express Scrip-

the Church of England. 155
tures, but by necessary consequences frem certain
principles clearly deUvered in Scripture. The prin
ciples he lays dewn, point 36. n. 2. p. 235. " 1. That
" the angels and saints, with God, can hear our
" prayers. 2. That they can and wiU help us."
From these principles he draws this conclusion ;
" Therefore it is laudable to pray te them." I will
net quarrel (at present) with the consequence, but
inquire only how he proves the antecedent. Many,
yea most ef the principal texts, whereby he endea
vours to deraonstrate his two principles, are taken
out ef the Old Testaraent : when he ceraes to his
37th point, (which is the first of his principles,).
" That the angels and saints can hear our prayers,"
he proves it especially by texts that are either taken
out ef, or at least have reference te, the Old Testa
raent. Thus, (num. 4.) frora Luke xvi. 26. he ob
serves, (like a learned divine arguing frora such pas
sages in a parable, which de net in the least belong
to the scope thereof,) that though there be a great
gulf fixed between the souls of Abraham and
Dives, yet God gave them some means to hear
what each qf them said; from whence he raakes his
inference by way ef questien : " Can he then find no
" raeans for saints to hear us ?" This text is indeed
taken out of the New Testaraent, but it hath a
raanifest reference to the state ef Abrahara, and the
saints departed under the Old Testaraent. But,
nura. 5. he professedly produceth one text eut ef
the Old Testaraent, which he tells us he had kept
as a reserve, te declare how saints, even there, knew
what passed. It concerns the writing that came
from Elias after his death (as is supposed) te king
Jerara, 2 Chron. xxi. 12. In the 38th point, he

156 A Vindication of sect. vii.
delivers his second principle, together with the con
clusion drawn frora both, in these words : " That
" saints can and will help us ; therefore it is laud-
'' able to pray to them." How proves he this ?
(num. 4.) " That by the merits of saints we may
" beg and obtain favours," he proves, frem 1 Kings
XV. 5. and Isai. xxxvii. 35. And (nura. 5.) he tells
us, that " the power which the prayers of saints
" have, and that tbey use carefully tp pray for us, is
" often expressed in Scripture;" where he cites Jerem.
XV. 1. and Ezek. xiv. 14. 20. and the instance of
Elias's care te assist his people after his death, men
tioned in the former point, (num. 5.) and the famous
vision ef Judas Maccabseus, 2 Mace. xv. 12. AU
these texts are again eut of the Old Testament :
and he proceeds (num. 6.) to prove the same thing
from Dives's praying to Abraham, Luke xvi. 27.
which texts I have already observed to have refer
ence te the saints departed under the Old Testa
ment. VII. Now, after this laborious proof out of the
Old Testament of both the foundations ef invoca
tion of saints, viz. That the saints can hear our
prayers ; 2. That they can and will help us ; who
would not conclude according to the author's own
way of reasoning, " That it was a laudable practice
" te pray te saints even under the Old Testament ?"
But the Catholic Scripturist himself will by no
raeans own this conclusion. Fer in the 38th point,
nura. 1. p. 253. he expressly tells us, that " ef pray-
" ing to saints the Old Testaraent could not write,
" no saints being as then in heaven." For the un
derstanding of which, yeur ladyship raay please to
observe, that these two hypotheses are generally re-

the Church qf England. 157
ceived among the papists: 1. That the saints de
parted this life since the ascension of our Saviour,
are in the third heaven, and de enjoy the beatific
vision ; and that in the glass of the holy Trinity, er
some ether way, they de see er understand the par
ticular necessities of men on earth ; and therefore
may rationally be invecated and prayed unto. So
the author of the Catholic Scripturist, point 36.
numb. 1. being to enter upon his head province, of
proving the invocation of saints and angels out ef
Scripture, lays down this as his foundation, in these
express words, for the ground of this question : " I
" lay this foundation eut ef Scripture, that as the
" angels are in heaven, se the souls ef the saints ge
" directly from hence te heaven, without they have
" sorae few offences te clear in purgatory." 2. That
the souls ef the faithful, that died before our Saviour,
went net te heaven, enjoyed net the beatific vision,
nay, were net se much as in paradise ; but contra
rily were in a state of confinement, and shut up in
a sorry place, which they call limbus patrum; and
that our Saviour, after his death, descended to that
place, to fetch and deliver thera from thence ; and
consequently that it would have been an absurd
thing for raen, under the Old Testament, to pray te
saints departed fer help, that were in a condition
wherein they needed help theraselves. And yet the
author of the Catholic Scripturist, who acknew
ledgeth beth these doctrines of his church, hath the
impudence to atterapt tbe proof out of the Old Tes
tament ef beth his principles, whereon he grounds
invocation of saints ; viz. that the saints can hear
our prayers, and that they can and wiU help us ;
and consequently, that it is laudable to pray unte

158 A Vindication of sect. vii.
thera. And it is pretty to observe again, how di
rectly he contradicts hiraself in this questien : we
have already heard hira acknowledge there could be
ne such thing as praying te saints, delivered in the
Old Testaraent. Why? Because the saints then
were net in heaven. If there could be no such
thing taught, there could be ne such thing laudably
practised, under the Old Testaraent ; and yet that
invocation of saints was practised, and that laudably
too, under the Old Testaraent, he otherwhere plain
ly enough affirras, (point 38. nura. 5. p. 258.) where
having spoken of the vision of Judas Maccabaeus,
2 Mace. XV. 12. wherein he saw Onias the high
priest, (and chief of Ged's people,) dead, and Jere
miah the prophet dead long before, praying for the
people ef the Jews, he adds, " We have frem thence,
" that the most holy high priest, and chief ef God's
" enly people, believed that saints prayed fer us, and
" helped us ; and that aU the people (who were said to
" be encouraged by this vision) were ef the same be-
" lief. Hew far then is this from aU novelty, which
" can be proved te have been practised before the days
" of the apostles ?" &c. New, what is the practice
which he affirms can be proved from the history of
the Maccabees to be clear ef aU novelty, and to have
been in use in these days ? He raust, if he will ac
knowledge himself to have written sense, confess,
he meant the practice of praying to saints ; so that
under the Old Testaraent there could not be any
such thing as invocation of saints, departed this
life, laudably practised ; and yet such a thing there
was even under the Old Testament practised, and
that laudably. What a rare art have these men of
reconciUng beth parts of a contradiction ! But it is

the Church of England. 159
no wonder that this Uttle author bath in this con
troversy split himself against the reck ef se evident a
contradiction : seeing there that great Bellarraine
himself also underwent the sarae fate before him.
Fer he, as well as our Catholic Scripturist, produc
eth divers texts out of the Old Testament, to prove
invocation ef saints, in the place vvhere he treats ef
that subject ; but otherwhere, he makes this inge
nuous confession : " Before the coming of Christ,
" the saints, which died, entered not inte heaven,
" neither did they see Ged ; nor could they ordina-
" rUy knew the prayers ef these that suppUcated te
" them ; and therefore it was net the custom for
" men under the Old Testament te say, Holy Abra-
" ham, pray for me ; but the men of those times
" only prayed te Ged s." Where, by the way, yeur
ladyship may please te observe, that Bellarmine ex
pressly confesseth, that raen under the Old Testa
ment " prayed only unto God," and therefore net
te the saints ; ne, ner angels neither. But the au
thor of the Catholic Scripturist (as indeed Bellar
mine hiraself otherwhere) professedly raaintained,
that, men, under the Old Testaraent at least, prayed
unto the holy angels. What sincere Christian is
there, (whe hath his eyes open to see these things,)
who doth net abominate such egregious prevarica
tions in the great matters ef salvation?
VIII. Let us now come te the New Testament :
and here, before we enter upon the testiraonies pre-
? Ante Christi adventum sancti qui moriebantur non intrabant
in coelum, nec Deum videbant, nec cognoscere poterant ordinarie
preces supplicantium. Ideo non fuit consuetum in V. Test, ut
diceretur, Sancte Abraham, ora pro me; sed solum orabant homi
nes ejus temporis Deum. Bel. I. 19. de Beat. Sanct.

160 A Vindication of sect. viii.
duced for invocation of saints out of the New Tes
tament, we have this strong prejudice against it:
that if men under the Old Testament, (wherein
Christ, as mediator, was not clearly revealed,) and
the saints, knew not (at least generally) the new and
Uving way ef drawing nigh unto God, and offering
up their prayers in the name ef Christ ; (whence our
Saviour hiraself, just before his death, saith of his
apostles, whe were born and bred in the Jewish re
ligion, that hitherto they had asked nothing in his
name, Jehn xvi. 24 ;) I say, if raen under the Old
Testaraent could raake a shift to pray te God ac
ceptably, without the raediation ef saints, then much
more may we do weU enough without it now under
the Gospel, vvherein Christ, the only raediator be
tween God and man, is perfectly and fully revealed;
but I shall let this pass, (though it be an observation
that utterly overthrows all necessity ef using the
mediation of saints under the New Testament,) and
follow the steps of the Catholic Scripturist. Con
cerning the four Gospels we have his full confession
(point 38. nura. 1. p. 253.) in these words : " The
" four Gospels writ ne farther than the ascension
" of Christ to heaven ; before which no saint also
" was in heaven; wherefore you need net wonder,
" that in the four Gospels you see ne raention of
" praying to saints in heaven." Indeed we do net
at all wonder at this, being able to render a much
better account of this sUence of the four evangelists;
but we wonder rauch at the irapudent sophistry of
this writer, who, within a few pages after he had
raade this confession, (viz. nura. 6.^) cited two testi-
'' See also point 37. num. 4. p. 248.

the Church of England. 161
monies eut ef the evangelists, te prove invocation of
saints, viz. Luke xvi. 27. and 9. of the same chapter.
He proceeds in the very next words te the Epistles
of St. Paul'. " In St. Paul's Epistles," saith he,
" you find hira begging prayers ef saints en earth :
" se Heb. xiii. 18. Pray for us. Seeing then that
" prayer te saints in heaven is more beneficial to us,
" it is also (by manifest consequence) raere to be
" used by us." A childish sophism ; se often and
so shamefully baffled by eur writers, that I wonder
again at his impudence in producing it, and that
as a manifest consequence. Indeed, who sees not
the difference between the coraraunication of prayers
amongst the faithful living on earth, which the
Scripture speaks of, and the practice of invocating
saints departed, which the papists defend? Fer, 1.
To entreat a saint living en earth, that he weuld,
together with us, pray unto Ged fer the obtaining of
any benefit to us, is net religiously te invocate that
saint, but invite hira to the religious invocation ef
Ged on our behalf: but the papists, in their inveca-
tien ef saints, de profess te give thera religious wor
ship, and stiffly raaintain (witness the Catholic Scrip
turist hiraself, point 36.) that such worship is due
unto them ; and accordingly they invocate saints
with aU the circumstances ef reUgious worship: they
rashly enshrine their images, and exalt them on
high, and faU prostrate before thera, &c. 2. The
papists do not only desire the saints te pray fer them
unto God that he would help them, but also pray
unto the saints theraselves that they weuld help
thera ; and frora thera expect help. This is appa
rent from many of their offices, especiaUy such as
' Page 253, 254.
VOL. II. M

162 A Vindication of sect. ix.
are directed to the blessed Virgin. 3. When we
beg the prayers ef a saint en earth, that is present
with us. We attribute te him nothing above human
nature ; but when papists invocate the souls of de
parted saints, they ascribe te them a power ef hear
ing these that are absent; ef hearing an infinite
nuraber ef supplicants, at a vast distance frem each
ether, praying te them at the same time ; and that
ef hearing thera se, as te understand with what in
ward affection they pray, and to know the secrets of
their hearts, which are powers abeve human nature,
though never se much exalted ; yea, proper to God
alone. IX. All the remaining texts produced by him out
ef the New Testaraent are taken out of the dark
and mysterious book of the Revelations. And though
it be in a serious matter, a raan can hardly restrain
his laughter, that observes bow pleasantly he argues
frora thera. The first text cited (point 38. num. 6.
p. 258.) is Revel, ii. 26, 27. And he that overcom
eth, and keepeth my words unto the end, to him
will I give power over the nations : and he shall
rule them with a rod qf iron; as the vessels qf a
potter shall they be broken to shivers. Bless us !
wbat argument can the conjurer raise eut of this
text, to prove invocation of saints ? " The saints,"
saith he, " having authority to rule nations so
" powerfully, (as is here expressed by a rod or
" sceptre ef iron,) they exercise this their power
" chiefly, by raaking intercession so powerfuUy to
" God fer us, as to obtain for us such graces as we
" stand raost in need ef." A forcible collection, if
your ladyship shaU please te grant the peer beggar
these two suppositions : 1. That these texts speak

the Church of England. 163
ef the seuls ef the saints departed in the state ef se
paration, and in the interval between their death
and the last resurrection^. 2. That to rule the na
tions with a rod qf iron, and to break them in
pieces as a potter's vessel, signifieth, " te raake in-
" tercession so powerfully to Ged for them, as to
" obtain fer thera such graces as they raost stand in
" need ef." Another text is, Rev. v. 8. The four
beasts and the four and twenty elders fell before
the Lamb, having every one harps, and golden
vials fill qf odours, which are the prayers of the
saints. Here again your ladyship must be se kind
te the author, as to grant, that the four beasts and
four and twenty elders are the seuls of departed
saints in the state of separation, wbich indeed weuld
be a liberal concession. If he asks me, what else is
raeant by the four beasts and the four and twenty
elders ? I answer, in the words of Cajetan, (a learn
ed writer of their own,) concerning this whole book
ef the Revelation, " Let hira that can expound it'."
St. Austin, by the four beasts, understands the four
ev^angeUsts ; (ef which St. Jehn, whe wrote the Re
velation, was one;) and shews frora sorae writers™
before hira, how aptly they are signified by the four
several beasts described by St. John, Revel, iv. 6, 7.
And Zegerus, a learned expositor araong the Ro
manists, teUs us, that " Interpreters fer the most
" part agree in this, that the four beasts signify the
^ The texts seem to intend the judiciary power which the saints
shall receive at Christ's second coming, or at the day of judgment :
of which read Matt. xix. 28. i Cor. vi. 2, 3.
' Exponat, qui potest.
'" Lib. I. de Consens. Evang.
M 2

164 A Vindication of sect. ix.
" four evangeUsts "." H. Grotius, by the ..four
beasts, understands the four apostles, er apostohcal
persons, then at Jerusalem. By the twenty-four
elders, the most learned interpreters" understand,
the governors and bishops of the church in St. John's
tirae, who, say they, are therefore reckoned twenty-
four, te answer to the twenty-four courses ef the
priests appointed by David under the Old Testa
raent, 1 Chron. xxiv. Surely the Greek word it^ea-
Pvrepot, vvhich St. John here useth, signifieth pres
byters, er priests ; and I hope the papists, though
they embrace for oracles the idle dotages of their
counterfeit Dionysius, concerning the hierarchy of
angels, yet will net dream so far, as te fancy an or
der ef presbyters araong the spirits of Just men made
perfect. Besides, it appears that the prayers, which
these four beasts and the twenty-four elders had in
their golden vials, were their ewn prayers; and
those not petitory, but eucharistical ; net petitions,
but thanksgivings. I say this appears from the
words immediately following, ver. 9. wherein they are
said, in a solemn hymn, te have given thanks to
Christ fer their rederaption, and the redemption of
the whole church by the bleed ef Christ. And,
however, let the four beasts and twenty-four elders,
er presbyters, be what the Catholic Scripturist shall
please to fancy thera, yet it is certain, that in this
text there is not the least intiraatien ef any prayers
made, or any religious worship performed to them.
His last text is. Rev. viii. 3, 4. And another angel
" Fere consentiunt explanatores, 4 animantia, 4 evangelistas
accipientes. Zeger. in Apoc. iv. 6, 7.
" Vid. Lyrum, Zeger. et Grot, in Apoc. iv. 4.

the Church of England. 165
came and stood at the altar, having a golden cen
ser ; and there was given to him much incense, that
he should offer it with the prayers qf all saints
upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And the smoke ofthe incense, which came with the
prayers qf the saints, ascended up before God out
ofthe angel's hand. To this I answer, first. This
text concerns the angels enly, and hath not the
least relatien te tbe saints departed; and we are
now inquiring chiefly concerning invocation ef
saints. Secondly, This text is variously interpreted
by the writers ef the church ef Rome themselves :
seme expounding this angel ef Christ, others of
Michael the archangel, others ef the angels in ge
neral •'. Thirdly, This text describeth enly a pro
phetical vision; wherein te conceit every thing te
be real and argumentative, weuld be as absurd as te
argue frem aU the little circurastances ef a parable ;
(which, indeed, is the usual way ef arguing of the
Catholic Scripturist, for want of better topics ;) and
then we raust fancy an altar before the threne ef
Ged, and a golden censer in the hand of the angel,
and incense burnt therein, and the sraoke thereof
ascending before the throne ef Ged ; that is, we
must turn the text inte sraoke. Fourthly, Let the
papists make their best advantage of this text, it
will appear to be nothing to their purpese : the ut
most that can be gathered frem hence is, 1. that the
angels are conscious te seme prayers ef the saints on
earth, as being present (especially) at the public
services of the church, and beholding the decorum
used there, 1 Cor. xi. 10. And what sober pro-

P Vide Zegerum in loc.
M 3

166 A Vindication of sect. x.
testant ever denied this ? 2. That these blessed spi
rits, as they do descend from their heavenly habita
tions, te take notice ef the services performed by us
mortals, se they ascend te heaven again, and, as it
were, make their returns, and give a report ef what
they hear and see to be done and performed of us.
3. That they join their devotions with ours, their
heavenly haUelujahs with our imperfect praises, yea,
and their hearty Amen te all our prayers ; wishing,
out of their fervent charity and burning love, all the
good things unto us that we pray for.
And all this is acknowledged by sorae writers of
the church in the purer ages, (as yeur ladyship will
by and by understand,) who yet never acknowledged
the invocation ef angels, much less ef saints, but ut
terly rejected both, as derogatory to the honour of
God and Christ the mediator. And the Catholic
Scripturist hiraself (as great a stock ef confidence as
he hath) durst not affirm, that the prayers of the
saints, mentioned in this text, and said te be offered
up by the angel, were made te the angel himself,
but te Ged. Se he tells us, iraraediately before his
citation ef this text, " that Raphael offered the
" prayers raade (te whora?) te Ged by Toby." And
then, what is all this te his purpose ?
X. Let us now (with your ladyship's leave) cast
up tbe account, and we shall find the total sum of
all the texts, that can with any colour of reason be
pretended by our Catholic Scripturist te prove invo
cation of saints, to amount to a very slender num
ber ; fer, by his ewn confession, aU the texts alleged
out of the Old Testament are to be deducted (which
are the greatest nuraber) as irapertinent, yea, sq-
phistically produced, seeing it is acknowledged not

the Church of England. 167
only that there was not, but that there could net be
any such thing as invocation of saints taught under
the Old Testaraent, ne saint being then in heaven.
Upon the same ground all the texts alleged out of
the four Gospels are to be deducted also, because
none ef them reach any farther than Christ's ascen
sion, before which tirae ne saint was yet in heaven ;
so that when yeur ladyship meets with any text for
invocation ef saints, cited eut ef any book ef Scrip
ture, frora Genesis to the end of St. John's Gospel,
you raay be assured, frora the confession of the pa
pists themselves, that it is nothing to the purpese;
and the few remaining texts eut of St. Paul's Epi
stles and the Revelation ef St. John, yeur ladyship
hath seen also hew irapertinent they are. And new
what is becorae of that formidable and numerous
army ef Scripture testimonies for praying to saints,
which the author had with so much ostentation
brought into the field, te encourage the Reman ca
tholic, and te affright the protestant reader, and te
abuse both ? It is gone and vanished, and there ap
pears not one text that will stand the ground in de
fence of se desperate a cause.
XI. But there is one text in the New Testament,
(which the Catholic Scripturist himself is forced to
produce,) wherein the reUgious worship (and se the
invocation) ef angels, and therefore much raere ef
saints, is plainly forbidden : the text is, Coloss. ii.
18, 19. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a
voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, in
truding into those things which he hath not seen,
vainly pufl'ed up by his fleshly mind, and not
holding the Head, &c.; where the apostle expressly
forbids the reUgious worship ef angels, and obviates
M 4

168 A Vindication of sect. xi.
also the specious pretence of the Romanists, where
by they endeavour te colour that unchristian prac
tice. The pretence is humility, and that they dare
not in their prayers, by reason of their unworthi
ness, approach iramediately unto Ged, but by de
grees and steps, addressing themselves te the holy
angels, and by thera raaking their suppUcations to
Alraighty Ged. The apostle assures us, that this
pretence is a raere cheat and fraud, serving to no
other purpese than to beguile souls ; and that (this
pretence notwithstanding) the practice ef invocat
ing and worshipping angels is beth vain and sinful.
1. Vain and rash; because hereby raen'' intrude into
these things they have net seen. They knew not
the nature and naraes, the distinct orders and offices
of angels, or when they are present and when not ;
and yet they pray unto thera and worship them.
2. Sinful and wicked; for hereby they, after a sort,
forsake Christ, and held net the Head of angels,
principaUties, and powers ; that is, they do not ac
knowledge Christ, the head of all angels, principal-
ities, and powers, to be a sufficient raediator be
tween Ged and raan ; but seek eut for other me
diators beside hira. Now what saith the CathoUc
Scripturist te this text? I beseech your ladyship
seriously te weigh the answers which he gives, point
36. nura. 8. p. 242, 243. he tells us, that St. Paul
could not forbid the worship of angels, which St.
John practised, &;c. Rev, xix. 10. and xxU. 8. Why
net ? seeing the angel hiraself, te whora St. John
offered to perforra that worship, forbade it and re
fused it. But, saith the sophister, he forbade it not
' A jAYj eupaKev ijA^arevuv.

the Church, of England. 1 69
as unlawful, but as unbecoming the dignity of St.
John, whe was a very great prophet and apostle ;
and by his office equal te angels. How vain this
shift is yeur ladyship will easUy discern, if you con
sider the angel, in the texts cited, forbids the wor
ship which St. Jehu was about to give hira, by such
reasons as equally extend te all Christians : 1. He
tells him, he was avv'^ovKog, his fellow-servant, ne
master ef his, to be worshipped by him ; but a crea
ture, obliged te worship and serve the suprerae Ged,
ne less than himself. 2. He expressly forbids this wor
ship offered to hira by St. John, as due only te Ged;
fer in both tbe texts cited, after the angel had for
bidden St. John to worship hira, he adds, worship
God ; as if he should say. That worship which thou
art about to offer me is due enly te Ged, and there
fore to him alone de thou give it. 3. In the latter
text, cited Rev. xxii. 9- there is an express clause,
which is se general, as te comprehend aU ether
Christians no less than St. John, or the prophets
and apostles, as net obliged, yea, forbidden te wor
ship angels. The words are, / am thy fellow-ser
vant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and qf them
which keep the sayings of this book ; that is, all obe
dient Christians, wlUch therefore are by this text ne
less exempted from the worship of angels than St.
Jehn hiraself was. But he urgeth, " By this you
" raake St. Jehn guilty of idolatry, in worshipping
" an angel, ne less than you pretend us Roraan ca-
" thelics te be." I answer, this is raost false ; for
we say that St. Jehn, surprised with the heavenly
glory, and transported witb the glad tidings ef the
marriage-supper in tbe forraer text, and the vision
of the heavenly Jerusalera in the latter, worshipped

170 A Vindication of sect. xi.
the angel that was the raessenger ef the one, and
the revealer of the ether, not knowing, or at least
net considering, who he was; and, being warned, for
bore te proceed in that his error and raistake. But
the papists knowingly, wittingly, deUberately, and
professedly worship angels, and being warned by
this exaraple of St. Jehn, and the express prohibi
tion of St. Paul, and raany other adraonitions of
Scripture, wiU not give it over, but stiU obstinately
persist in their sinful practice.
But I wonder the CathoUc Scripturist should so
far forget his own catechisra ; for the Trent cate
chisra (which I am sure he dares not disown) ex
pressly acknowledgeth % that the honour that St.
John was about to give unto the angel, was an ho
nour due unto God only, and upon that account
forbidden ; and some ef the most learned authors '
araong the Romanists acknowledge the sarae. But,
secondly, Let us exaraine the direct answer which
he gives te tbe above-cited text, in these words:
" The truth is, St. Paul speaks only of such reU-
" gious worship of angels, as had been taught among
" the Jews by Simon Magus, whe weuld have sacri-
" fice offered to all angels, as well evil as good, &c.
" And this is that which is conderaned in the coun-
" cU ef Laodicea." The plain sense ef which an
swer is this : That St. Paul forbids not the worship
of good angels, but only ef bad angels, er devils. But
sure the Catholic Scripturist is a raan ef a very for
lorn understanding, if he reaUy believes this answer
^ In Explic. Praecept. i.
' Vide Baron. Annal. tom. I. ad ann. 60., Greg, de Valentia,
lib. I. de Idolatria, cap. 4. Coster. Enchirid. cap. 16. Sol. Object. 7.
Aquin. Secunda Secundie, Quaest. 84.

the Church of England. 171
to be the truth ; for St. Paul prohibits the worship
ef angels in general. New if he had meant that
good angels may be worshipped, but bad not, he
ought te have made a distinction, unless he intended
grossly te deceive his reader. 2. St. Paul speaks of
all those angels and principalities ef which Christ is
the head, 10th and 19th verses : and I hope the
good angels are not to be excluded frem this num
ber. Nay Christ, in the most proper sense, is the
head ef the good angels alone. 3. St. Paul speaks
to a Christian church, the saints and faithful bre
thren which are at Colosse, chap. i. 2. These he
cautions te take heed of the worship of angels ; and
iraplies, that they were prone te that worship which
he forbids. Now sure they were very sorry saints
that were inclined to worship devils. 4. He teUs us
also, that the angel-worship which he forbids, was
gilded over with a specious pretence, with a show of
humility, viz. in net daring te approach the su
preme God but by his ministers, the holy angels.
But what specious pretence could there be fer the
worship ef devUs, the eneraies ef God ? What show
ef humiUty, er any other Christian virtue, could set
off" so helUsh and damnable a practice? I should
dishonour your ladyship's understanding, if I should
dweU any longer in the refutation of se senseless an
interpretation : so that from the text ef St. Paul,
(notwithstanding all the cavils ef the Catholic Scrip
turist,) I have leave to conclude, that the worship
and invocation of angels (and therefore much raore
ef saints departed) is sinful and unlawful. What he
adds concerning the council ef Laodicea, that this
devU-worship was the enly thing condemned by the
Fathers thereof, all the learned know te be an im-

172 A Vindication of sect. xii.
pudent falsehood. They conderan the sarae worship
of angels which St. Paul forbids ; and their decree
hath respect te the same countries, which the Epi
stle ef St. Paul to the Colossians condemns. For
Laodicea, where that council assembled, was the
metropolis of Phrygia, and not far from Colosse;
se that it seeras, the sarae superstitious practice of
worshipping angels, which had its beginning among
the Colossians in St. Paul's time, took such deep
root, as te continue in that part of the werld till the
time ef the council ef Laodicea, that is, above two
hundred years after ; which again renders it utterly
improbable, that this angel-worship should be the
worship ef evil angels or devils ; fer so detestable a
practice could net continue so long, at least among
these that still bore the name of Christians, such as
the persons concerned in the decree of the council
ef Laodicea are expressly acknowledged te be. In
a word, that council doth in general terms, and
without any distinction, forbid Christians to name y,
that is, invocate or pray unto angels.
XII. I have this to add concerning invocation of
saints, in reference te the New Testament, (if after
what hath been said, it be not superfluous to add
any thing more,) that whereas the Catholic Scrip
turist (as we have heard) ^professedly lays down
this as the ground ef his discourse concerning pray
ing te saints : that the saints, when they die, go im^
mediately to the third heaven, and there enjoy the
beatific vision ; this foundation is utterly subverted
y 'kyyeXovi; ovoji.d'^etv, i. e. Angelos invocare. Vide 2 Tim. ii. 19-
coUat. cum i Cor. i. 2. De vera autem concilii sententia conf.
Zonar. Comm. in Concil. Laodic. canon 35.
' See also point 37. num. 2.

the Church of England. 173
by the doctrine of the catholic church in the first
ages : fer the church ef Ged fer some ages after the
apostles believed, that the seuls ef the faithful, in the
state ef separation, though they are in a happy con
dition in paradise, yet are not in the third heaven,
nor de enjoy the beatific vision till the resurrection.
If the author ef the Letter, or the Catholic Scrip
turist, shall deny this, I will forfeit all ray credit
with your ladyship, if I do net fully prove it by very
raany and very manifest testiraonies out of prirai
tive antiquity. Nay, this was a doctrine so generally
received in the tirae of Justin Martyr ", that is, in
the first succession of the apostles, that we learn
frora the sarae Justin, that there were none but
seme profligate heretics that believed the souls ef
the faithful, before the resurrection, to be received
into heaven itself. And indeed the Scriptures of the
New Testaraent, as they de assure us that the seuls
of the faithful, departed this life, are in Abrahara's
bosora, Luke xvi. 23. or in paradise, Luke xxiii. 43.
so they do plainly enough intiraate, that paradise
and the third heaven are distinct places, 2 Cor. xii.
2, 3, 4. And so the Jews '°, frora whora the notion
and very terra of paradise was derived, universally
beUeved ; and it is raost certain, that eur Saviour
Christ, whose seul went to paradise presently upon
his death, ascended not te the third heaven tUl after
his resurrection. New the particular knowledge,
which the saints departed are supposed te have of
things done upon earth, depends, according te the
papist, on their enjoying the beatific vision ; and
* Dialog, cum Tryphone, p. 306, 307. edit. Paris, 1636. [c. 80.
p. 178.] Vide et pag. 223. [c. 5. p. 107.]
b Vide Grot, in Lucse c. xxiii. 43.

174 A Vindication of sect, xiil
upon this knowledge the particular intercession of
the saints in heaven is founded, and that again is
the foundation of invocation ef saints. Hence it
follows, that the prime foundation ef invocation of
saints, laid by the papists, is overthrown by the ge
neral censent ef the purest and best ages of the
church ef Christ, and that most agreeably also to
the Scriptures ef the New Testament.
XIII. And accordingly it is very apparent, that
there was no such thing practised in the church (by
the catholics I mean) as invocation of saints fer at
least three hundred years after Christ. Let the au
thor of the letter produce any ene testimony to the
purpose, out of any writer of these ages, that is not
by learned raen ef his ewn party acknowledged and
confessed to be supposititious and forged, and I will
yield them the whole cause in this controversy.'
This is a very liberal offer ; and yet I will stand to
it, and de net fear in the least that the protestant
cause will be any loser by it. Nay, it is manifest
that the church ef Christ, in those purer ages, pro
fessedly disowned the invocation of any creature,
saint, er angel, as derogatory to the honour of God,
who alone is te be invecated through Christ the only
mediator. I wiU give your ladyship ene iUustrious
testiraony, that shall reach as far as about two hun
dred aud fifty years after Christ. Origen ", defend
ing the Christian religion against Celsus, a profane
derider ef it, and answering a cavU of his concern
ing the holy angels, declares the opinion and prac
tice ef the Christian church in his age in these ex
press words : " We confess, indeed, that the angels
" Contra Cels. 1. V. p. 233. edit. Cantab, [c. 4. p. 579.]

the Church of England. 175
" are certain ministering spirits sent forth by God
" to minister unto them that are heirs of salvation;
" and that they do one while ascend te the pure ce-
" lestial places, yea, te the purer supercelestial re-
" giens, offering up the prayers of men ; another
" while descend frem thence, bringing back to every
" man, as he is found worthy, soraewhat ef these
" things they are appointed by God to minister unto
" them that are favoured by him. These spirits we
" are taught, frora their office, to call angels ; and
" we find that, by reason of a certain divinity that is
" in them, they are sometimes in the Scripture caUed
" gods ; yet this is not to be understood, as if we
" were comraanded to adore thera, or give thera di-
" vine worship, although they rainister and convey
" the good things of Ged unto us. Fer all prayers,
" all intercessions, deprecations, and thanksgivings,
" ought te be directed to Ged, the Lord of aU things,
" by our High Priest, who is greater than all angels,
" the Uving Word and Ged. Fer te invocate the
" angels without the knowledge of them, ef which
" mortals are incapable, weuld be unreasonable. And
" if we should suppose that we could attain the ad-
" mirable and hidden knowledge of them, so as to
" understand their nature and several offices, yet
" this weuld net warrant us with confidence te in-
" vocate any ether besides the supreme Ged, whe is
" abundantly able te supply all our wants by eur
" Savdeur, the Sen ef Ged. And this is eneugh te
" make the angels eur friends, and ready te de us
" any good office, that we are pious towards Ged,
" and, as far as eur mortal nature is able, imitate
" their virtues, who theraselves also de imitate
« God."

176 A Vindication of sect. xiii.
I beseech your ladyship seriously te weigh the
several things contained in this testiraony. This
ancient and famous writer doth here plainly teach,
1. That the angels, whe stand before the face of God
in heaven, are by no means te be invecated ; much
less the» the saints, whe are supposed by the church
of God (as we have before shewn) to be yet, at least,
a little lower than the angels. 2. That the angels
are blessed instruraents, betwixt God and us, of con
veying eur prayers to God, and the good things of
God to us, and yet are not to be invecated ; how
much less then the saints departed, to whom no such
ordinary ministry is attributed, either in Scripture
or antiquity? 3. That the angels are called in
Scripture gods, which is raore than the seuls of the
departed saints are, and yet they are not to be inve
cated. 4. That invocation is a part ef divine wor
ship, and therefore not to be given to any creature:
and therefore, 5. That all sorts ef prayers are to be
directed te Ged only by Christ, the enly raediator,
and that we have no warrant to direct thera te any
ether. 6. That te invocate God in Christ is suffi
cient, without having recourse te any ether medi
ators ; because Ged alone is able to supply aU our
wants. 7. That the pretence of these that tell us
that it is a prudent course te pray te angels, that- so
we raay make them eur friends, and procure theni
te use their interest in heaven in eur behalf, is vain ;
because the best and only way te procure friendship
of these blessed spirits, is sincerely te serve and wor
ship God alone, according to our measures, as they
de. I knew net how aU the cavils and Uttle pre
tences ef the Romanists, in this questien, could have
been raore clearly obviated in so few words. 8. AU

the Church of England. 177
this he delivers as the known and professed doctrine
of the church in his time, opposed te the philosophy
of the heathen, concerning worshipping of demons.
And whe sees net, if there had been any such prac
tice of invocating saints or angels amongst Chris
tians in these days, as is new in the church ef Rome,
the objection of Celsus weuld have been perfectly
groundless and ridiculous, and the answer of Origen
a gross falsehood.
Te return thither frora whence I have soraewhat
digressed, frem the premises it manifestly appears,
that, according te the principles acknowledged by
the papists theniselves, there could be no such thing
as invocation ef saints recoraraended er practised
in the Old Testaraent ; and that, according to the
grounds received by the priraitive Christians that
Uved nearest to the apostles, (and whe certainly, if
the apostles had taught either by writing or eral tra
dition any such practice, could not be se universally
ignorant thereof,) invocation of saints is net, cannet be
taught or delivered iu the New Testaraent, and, con
sequently, that the author ef the Catholic Scripturist
declares hiraself an egregious sophister, when he un
dertakes to prove their doctrine by clear texts eut of
beth the Old and New Testament. And therefore
seme mere leamed and ingenuous papists (whe had
net so hard a forehead as the Catholic Scripturist)
have plainly, and in downright terras acknowledged,
that the practice of their church, in praying to saints,
is no where taught in the Old or New Testament.
To emit ethers that I might cite, if I had room and
leisure, we have a fuU confession ef Barmes<^, a
^ Orationes esse ad sanctos faciendas, neque expresse neque
involute sacrse literae docent. 2. 3. Quaest. Art. 10.
VOL. II. T^^

178 A Vindication of sect. xiv.
known author among the Roraanists ; " That pray-
" ers," saith he, " are te be raade to saints, the holy
" Scriptures de neither expressly ner covertly teach
" us." XIV. I have ene instance raere, (fresh in my me
mory,) wherein the fraud and deceit ef the CathoUc
Scripturist is very conspicuous. One ef the points
he undertakes te prove eut ef Scripture is the half
comraunion, or receiving the sacrament only in one
kind, viz. the bread, practised and (not only so, but)
enjoined in the church of Rorae. I knew your lady
ship to be well versed in the holy Scriptures, and
therefore hurably beseech you only to recollect what
you have read therein concerning this matter; as;
That our Saviour instituted and comraanded the sa
craraent to be received in beth kinds, Matthew xxvi:
26, 27, 28 ; and that every institution and command
of Christ, especially in se important a matter as is
the great sacrament and most raysterious rite of
Christianity, ought with all possible care and exact
ness of religion to be observed, 1 Cer. xi. 23, 24, 25 ;
that St. Paul, in pursuance ef eur Saviour's institu
tion, enjoins, that every Christian, after due ex
araination, should not only eat qf the bread, but
also drink ofthe cup in the sacrament, 1 Cor. xi.28.
that it appears the apostolic church did accordingly
receive the sacraraent in both kinds, 1 Cer. xi. 26,
27, 29. and X. 21. and then I shall leave it to youf
ladyship's conscience to judge ef the intolerable ira
pudence of these hectors in divinity, who dare under^
take the proof of such things eut ef Scripture, as
may be discerned by all to be raanifestly repugnant
thereunto. Indeed, that the Romanists have no
ground in Scripture, or primitive antiquity, to rob

the Church of England. 179
the laity ef ene half ef the coraraunion, is plainly
confessed by that very council which first esta
blished this sacrilege ; I raean the council of Con
stance. For the Fathers ef that council (if it be
lawful to give that venerable title te a sorry conven
tion ef men se wheUy regardless ef the command of
Christ, and the practice of the apostolic church, yea,
ef the whole church of Ged, for ^ many ages after)
in express terms acknowledge, that Christ instituted
the sacraraent te be received in beth kinds, yea, that
it was se administered and received in the primitive
church ; yet, with a non obstante, notwithstanding
all this, they boldly and blaspheraeusly decree against
coraraunion in beth kinds, as a thing dangerous and
scandalous ; and the decree denounceth excerarauni-
catien te the priest that shaU dare te administer the
sacraraent as Christ appointed. I wrong thera net.
AU this is plainly deUvered in the thirteenth session
ef that council. And think you net, raadara, that
those were rare Scripturists ? Wh*at Christian is
there that bears any due honour to Christ, er re
spect or reverence to his coraraands, whose seul doth
not rise up against such an antichristian decree? But
where lies the danger and scandal ef coraraunicating
in both kinds, that the councU speaks of? Cardi
nal Cajetan ^ (who was best able te explain this mys
tery) teUs us in these words : " It is morally ira-
' De administratione S. S. sacramenti eucharistiae satis com
pertum est, universalem Christi ecclesiam in hunc usque diem,
occidentalem vero seu Romanam mille amplius a Christo annis,
in solenni prssertim et ordinaria hujus sacramenti dispensatione,
utramque panis et vini speciem omnibus ecclesiae Christi membris
exhibuisse. Cassand. Consult. Art. 22. De utraque Specie Sacra
ment. ' In 3. Aquin. Quaest. 80,
N 2

180 A Vindication qf sect. xiv.
" possible that so raany people should communicate
" in both kinds, without spilling the bleed under
" the species of wine : now te expose the blood of
" Christ te this danger is an act ef irreverence,
" yea, a sacrilege, imputable to the people and their
" governors." He adds, " that this is the chief and
" solid foundation ef the custom introduced of the
" people's coraraunicating in ene kind only." I con
fess I could not read these words ef Cajetan without
horror. For doth it not here follow, that Christ, by
instituting the sacraraent in beth kinds, (I tremble
again te utter it,) unavoidably exposed his o'wn blood
to irreverence and sacrilege? that the whole pri
raitive church, (wherein coraraunion in beth kinds is
confessed by the papists theraselves te be practised,)
beth the people, and their bishops, and governors,
were chargeable with irreverence and sacrilege done
to the blood ef Christ ; or, te speak in St. Paul's
phrase, were guilty ofthe blood of our Lordi
But whe sees not that the sacrilege is here charge
able on the church of Rorae, which hath robbed the
faithful of one half ef the blessed sacraraent, the cup
ef eur Lord, te which they had a right by the in
stitution of Christ, and the happy enjoyraent and
possession whereof they were invested with by the
prescription and practice of the catholic church for
many ages together after the apostles ? Fer when
they teU us, that the people receive a perfect sacra
ment only in ene kind, because both the body and
bleed of Christ are truly and perfectly contained
under each species ef the sacrament, they egregi
ously prevaricate in a raatter ef great concernment
to the seuls ef raen. Fer, I. If this be true, then
eur Saviour did superfluously institute the sacra-

the Church of England. 181
ment to be received in beth kinds : fer if there be a
perfect sacraraent in ene kind only, te what purpese
did Christ institute the other ? 2. It is most false,
that the body and blood of Christ are sacramentally
in each element : for it is the bread enly that doth
sacramentally signify and exhibit the body ef Christ,
and the wine enly that doth sacramentally signify
and exhibit the bleed of Christ. 3. That, which
doth not perfectly represent and set forth the death
and passion of eur Lord, is ne perfect sacrament ;
(fer this is the very end of this divine institution, to
shew forth the Lord's death, 1 Cor. xi. 26.) but
coraraunion enly in ene kind, viz. the bread, doth
net perfectly represent the death and passion ef our
Lord Jesus : therefore communion only in one kind
is ne perfect sacrament. The effusion and shedding
of Christ's bleed on the cross, (which is se consider
able a part ef his passion, as that it is every where
emphatically insisted on in the Scriptures ef the New
Testaraent, and Christ hiraself in the very institu
tion ef the sacrament urgeth it, when, consecrating
the cup, he saith. This cup is the new testament in
my blood, which was shed for many. Matt. xxvi. 28.
1 Cer. xi. 25.) I say, this effusion ef Christ's bleed
is iu the communion only of tbe bread so far frem
being perfectly, that it is net at all represented, but
tetaUy obscured. And therefore, 4. Some of the
more ancient and learned writers araong the papists
theraselves have plainly confessed, that coraraunion
in ene kind is but an imperfect sacrament : se Du
randus s, " This sacraraent was ordained ef God for a
" spiritual refection, which is signified by the cer-
" poral ; and it is net a perfect refection, unless
s In Sentent. Lombard. Com. lib. IV. distinct. 7. qu, i. p. 693.
N 3

182 A Vindication of sect. xiv.
" therein somewhat be propounded of meat and
" soraething of drink." Se Tapperus **, " Although
" whole Christ be under beth species, yet he works
" according te the signification of thera, and under
" one useth his body as an instrument, under the
" other his blood. And seeing the sacraraents con-
" fer the grace which they signify, where the signi-
" fication is raore perfect, there the effect also must
" needs be raore fuU and coraplete." And before
these eur Halensis, " Receiving under both kinds
" (which raanner of receiving eur Lord delivered) is
" of greater efficacy and perfection'." I leave it
new te yeur ladyship te judge hew kind a mother
the church of Rome is, which for so long a time
hath debarred her sens ef the refreshraent and com
fort of a perfect sacraraent, and condemned them to
a mutilated, maimed, and half communion. Indeed
the cause is so plain, that we might well wonder the
church ef Rome hath not long since retracted this
her rash, erroneous, and dangerous determination,
did we not know and were assured, that that church
(or rather court) is swayed and guided whoUy (not
by the maxims of piety and conscience, but) by
carnal policy. If she should recant, and restore to
the faithful their right te the blessed cup, it would
feUew, (they are the words ef Gerson '^, a famous
writer among tbe papists,) " that the church of
" Rorae hath hitherto thought araiss concerning the
" sacraraent, and that general councils have erred
" in faith and good raanners." Vain fear ! for as
•" Tapperus apud Cass, de Communione sub utraque Specie,
p. 1032.
' Lib. IV. Quaest. xi. Mem. 3. p. 225.
•^ Sequeretur ecclesiam Romanam hactenus non idem sensisse

the Church of England. 183
for the forraer branch ef the consequence, it is ma
nifest, and cannot be denied ; ner will the proctors
pf the churcb of Rome, with all their sophistry, be
ever able te stave it off". As for the latter part, it
doth net fellow, (at least from the premises,) fer it is
certain that the councils of Constance and Trent
(which established that wricked decree) were not
truly general councils. But it were better to grant
that part ef the consequence also, rather than te af
firm that Christ himself erred, in appointing the
sacrament to be received in both kinds ; that the
whole church of Christ, under the guidance ef the
apostles themselves, erred, and were chargeable witb
irreverence and sacrilege against the blood of our
Lord ; both which are unavoidable consequences of
admitting the decree of the council of Constance as
true and certain.
By these instances (te which many mere raight be
added) your ladyship raay be satisfied, how vain and
perfectly false is the pretence of the Catholic Scrip
turist and the author of the Letter, when they profess
te prove the points in controversy, between thera and
us, by Scripture ; between wbich and their tenets (for
the most part) there is the sarae agreeraent, as be
tween light and darkness, between heaven and hell.
XV. The author ef the letter, having advised your
ladyship to the reading of the foreraentioned book,
proceeds in the next place te direct you in the raan
ner hew to read it ; and here he is raighty earnest,
and again and again beseecheth yeur ladyship te
censuit yeur serious reason. Strange advice frora
de hoc sacramento, et concilia generalia in fide et bonis moribus
errasse. Gerso-n. contra Hceres. de Communione laicorum ab utra
que Specie, [p. 529. op. ed. 1606. vol. I.]
N 4

184 A Vindication of sect. xv.
a Reman cathoUc ! Will they then allow us to con
sult eur serious reason in the matter of religion?
This is all we desire frora them, that they weuld not
compel us te hoodwink eur reason, and te fellow
their church in all things by a blind iraplicit faith.
But stay ; net tee rauch of eur serious reason nei
ther. The reasonable Uberty which he gives your
ladyship with ene hand, (and earnestly desires you
te make use of,) he takes away with the ether. For
he presently adds, " and when any thing shaU occur
" to your thoughts as falsely imputed novelties in
" our church," (he means sure when you meet with
any point in that book that is (although falsely)
charged with novelty, and shall seera such te your
ladyship even after the use of your serious reason ;
well, what then ?) " be pleased, madam, te turn
" to the 12th point, numb. 2. p. 90. and you shall
" read there an invincible argument against any
" possibUity ef innovation in matters of faith." The
plain sense ef which advice is this : I advise your
ladyship te consult yeur serious reason in the read
ing ef the book called the Catholic Scripturist;
but yet you raust take heed hew you fellow its
guidance : fer I foresee there are many points there
in, which, after all that is said in defence ef them
by the author, wiU appear to your serious reason,
when you have in the best raanner consulted it,
perfect novelties, and no way consonant to the holy
Scripture : and therefore, when your serious reason
consulted tells you that the church of Rorae is guUty
of innovation in such points, you must net believe
it, but turn te such a place in the book, where you
have an invincible argument to prove that the
church of Rorae is infaUible, and cannot possibly be

the Church of England. 185
guUty of any innovation. But te what purpese is
it for your ladyship to censuit your serious reason
in the several points defended in that book, if, when
you have se dene, you are still at a less, and raust
net trust any thing te it, but enly leek to the proof
ef that point which concerns the infaUibiUty of the
Roraan church, and frora thence conclude the truth
of all the rest ? That invincible arguraent he speaks
ef I reraeraber net ' ; (indeed I cannet remember that
I met with any such throughout the whole book;)
but as soon as I see the book again, (which I hope
will be speedily,) I shaU give your ladyship a parti
cular answer te it, and doubt not to do it with most
araple satisfaction. In the mean tirae, it may suffice
to mind your ladyship of the true state of the ques
tion concerning the infaUibiUty of the Roraan church.
We pretestants profess and prove, by most evident
arguraents, that the church of Rome hath in sun
dry points erred, and is guilty of innovation. The
patrons of that church, not able to answer these
arguments ef ours, tell us this cannot be, that the
church of Rorae is infallible, and cannet possibly be
guilty of such innovation. Is net this an adrairable
way of reasoning and disputation ? Can the Roman
ists produce arguments to prove that their church
cannot err, so clear and evident as these aUeged by
us te demonstrate that she hath erred ? Surely no.
To raake this plain : if I can be infalUbly certain
that ray senses, rightly disposed, and all due requi
sites te sensation supposed, are infalUble, and cannet
be deceived about their proper objects, (and if I
cannet be assured ef this, the apostles had ne infal-
' [The argument is, that if transubstantiation had not been be
lieved at first, but introduced at any subsequent period, such an
innovation never could have been established.]

186 A Vindication of sect. xv.
lible assurance ef that which is the foundation of
the Christian faith, the resurrection of Christ, which
was evidenced te thera by their testimony of sense,
and that testimony pronounced infallible. Acts i. 3.
1 John i. 1, 2. ^) then I raay be infallibly certain that
the church ef Rorae is not infallible, yea, that she
hath grossly erred in her doctrine of transubstan
tiation, teaching the bread and wine, after the words
ef consecration, te be turned into the very flesh and
bleed ef Christ, which yet all my senses assure me
te reraain still the same in nature and substance,
that is, bread and wine. If I can be infaUibly cer
tain that Christ himself is infallible, that he would
not, could net appoint an institution that should be
dangerous and scandalous to his church, viz. of re
ceiving the holy eucharist in beth kinds : if I can
be infallibly certain that the whole church of Christ,
that was under the guidance and direction ef the
apostles, were net grossly deceived, and engaged by
the apostles themselves in a practice dangerous and
scandalous ; (and of this I raay be as infallibly sure
as I am ef the truth of the Gospel itself;) then I may
be infallibly certain that tbe church ef Rome not
only raay err, but hath grossly erred in that deter
raination of hers, whereby she rejects (in the councU
of Constance) comraunion in beth kinds, as a dan
gerous and scandalous practice. And in the same
raanner we might proceed te shew the falsehood of
divers other deterrainations of the church ef Rome,
if this paper would perrait : but these are sufficient
' Recita Johannis testationem, "Quod vidimus," inquit, "quod
" audivimus, oculis nostris vidimus, et manus nostrae contrectarunt
" de Sermone Vitae." Falsa utique testatio, si oculorum, et auri-
ura, et manuum sensus natura mentitur. Tertull. Lib. de Anim.
cap. 17.

the Church of England. 187
to any person, that shall (according to the advice ef
the author of the letter) censuit his serious reason.
Indeed I look upon it as a wonderful both just and
wise providence ef Ged, that he hath suff"ered the
church of Rorae to fall inte such gress errors, (which
otherwise it is scarce imaginable hew men in their
wits, that had net renounced, not only the Scrip
tures, but their reason, yea, and their senses toe,
could be overtaken with,) and to deterraine thera
for articles of faith. For hereby a person of the
meanest capacity (so he be sincere, and not under
the prejudice of education) raay evidently discern
with what a strange kind of irapudence that church
arrogates te herself au infaUibility in all her de
terminations. And fer such of our church that have
been informed of these things, and yet shall leave our
communion, and follow the guidance of that church
upon the account of her infallibility, I fear they are
in the nuraber of those miserable persons described
by the apostle, 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12. who are given up
to strong delusions, that they may believe a lie,
&c. That which foUews in the text I dread to
mention ; God avert it from thera.
XVI. A little after, the author of the letter ad
viseth yeur ladyship " te peruse the table ef the
" foreraentioned book, and to select any one er more
" points which you conceive raay most pinch the pa-
" pists, and to judge impartially of what you read,"
&c. I confess the proposal is very fair and reason
able, but yet it is ne more than what the defence of
his cause necessarily obliged hira te subrait te. For
such is the unhappy condition ef that church, which
arrogateth te herself infallibility in all ber deterrai
nations, that she must equally defend thera all ; and

188 A Vindication of sect xvii.
if she should be found te be mistaken in but ene in
stance, her whole authority is for ever blasted. I
humbly beseech yeur ladyship therefore te accept
the condition offered, and to pitch upon the in
stances already given, demanding that satisfaction,
which, in the sequel ef his letter, he proraiseth shaU
be given you with all fulness of clarity.
XVII. As for that undertaking ef your ladyship,
(which he raentiens,) " to make appear eur church to
" be the enly true church," &c. knowing your lady
ship's wisdora and prudence, I cannet believe you
ever undertook any such thing. None ef us do affirm
that our church is the only true church; for that
weuld be a schismatical assertion, like that ef the
Donatists ef old, and the papists nowadays, and
the highest breach ef charity, in damning all the
Christian world besides ourselves. What we affirm
is this, that our church is a true church, in all the
respects raentioned by the author ef the letter, and
also a pure church ; and therefore such, as from
which ne raan can separate, er desert her coraraunion,
without the guilt of schisra. This the writers ef our
church have affirraed, and by many large volumes
proved. If the author ef the letter can produce any
thing, worth the taking notice ef, te the contrary, I
wUl engage te yeur ladyship (although I have my
hand full of other werk) to answer it. But it may
be yeur ladyship said, that eur church ef aU ethers,
at this day, is the purest and best church, most con
form te the Scripture and primitive pattern. And
this (although comparisons are odious) is very de
fensible, and a well-weighed truth, ef which I have
(ever since I was capable ef judging) been verily
persuaded. But if the comparison be made between

the Church of England. 189
the Reman church and ours, he is stark bUnd that
sees not te which the preference is due. Fer in
the points controverted between the papists and us,
(wherein alone the comparison can be framed, see
ing in the rest we stand upon equal terras,) it is
very visible that we keep te the rule of Scripture
and the primitive pattern, frem which the church of
Rome hath widely deviated. And supposing (net
granting) that the Roman church could, in the said
questions, clear herself ef the heavy imputations of
idolatry and sacrilege, charged on her by ber adver
saries ; yet she wiU never be able to acquit herself
frem innovation, and the guUt of receding frem the
rule of Scripture and the primitive practice. No
thing but impudence itself (that is, such a thing as
the author of the Catholic Scripturist) dares affirra
that the Scriptures teach, er the priraitive church
practised, image-worship, invocation of saints, the
half comraunion, prayers in a tongue not under
stood by them that are required to join in them, &;c.
and therefore among the papists theraselves sorae
ef the more ingenuous and learned have confessed,
that none of these things can be found either in the
Scriptures er the practice of the primitive church.
Besides, our serious reason, if consulted, (according
to the advice of the author ef the letter,) wUl teU
us, that the side, en which eur church deterraines in
these questions, is at least best and safest. Suppose
the iraage-worship practised in the church ef Rorae
were not idolatrous, yet sure it is gross and carnal ;
and to worship Ged, whe is a Spirit, in spirit and
truth, without iraages and corporeal representations,
is a raere spiritual and generous worship than that
which is performed with and by them : and the best

190 A Vindication of sect. xvii.
plea which the papists have made for these images
is, that they raay be useful books for idiots and fools
to pere on '". So if we should suppose that invoca
tion of saints and angels were not at all derogatory
to the honour ef God and Christ the raediator; yet
seeing God hath nowhere commanded it, nowhere
annexed any promise thereunto in the Scriptures,
it raay be well doubted whether he will accept it.
"And seeing it is not, cannet be certain that the
saints are in a capacity of understanding eur par
ticular necessities, and hearing eur prayers ; neither
can it be certain that all the prayers we make unto
them are not frustraneous, and vainly poured out
into the air, without any benefit er advantage ac
cruing te us by them. But we are sure that it is
net only lawful fer us, but eur indispensable duty to
pray unto God, because he hath in a thousand places
expressly comraanded us so te do : we are sure that
he knows all our wants and necessities, and can hear
our prayers, as being omniscient, and every where
present ; we are sure that the prayers we offer up to
him, agreeable to his will, in the- name only of Christ
the mediator, shall be heard and accepted, God hav
ing obliged himself to grant such prayers by many
express premises. Now it is a known rule, in dubiis
pars tutior eligenda, " that ih doubtful cases we are
" to take the safest side," that which is liable to the
least doubts : much less then will a wise man de
liberate in his choice, where ene side hath no doubt
at all, the other raany. So if the church ef Rome
"" Idiotarum libri.
" Certa ratione nescimus,- an sancti uostra vota cognoscant
quamvis pie hoc credamus. Cajetan in secundam secunda Quasi.
8§. Art. s.

the Church of England. I9I
could excuse herself from sacrilege, in robbing the
laity of ene half ef the coraraunion, (which she will
never be able te do,) yet every ene sees that a whole
coraraunion is better than a half one, a more perfect
sacrament better than a less perfect ene ; such as a
coraraunion enly in ene kind is by the raere learned
papists confessed to be. And lastly, it is most evi
dent, that it is much better te " pray unto Ged with
the understanding than without it. Yeur ladyship's
wisdom will easily direct you te carry on the com
parison by the same raethod, in most ef the ether
points controverted between us and the church ef
Rome. But I have chosen te instance in these, as
being some of the most principal.
XVIII. His offer te read any book on eur side
that your ladyship shall recoraraend to hira, and
with all diligence and indiflTerence te peruse it, is
again very fair and ingenuous. In the abundance ef
excellent books ef this kind, it is hard te make a
choice. How many fuU and clear discourses have
been long since written against the errors of the
church ef Rome, as te the points in controversy be
tween them and us, that are yet unanswered, ahd
are like so to remain for ever! But if a new treatise
may be judged best, I humbly advise your ladyship
te recoraraend te his reading a book ef the learned
Dr. Stillingfleet, lately published p, and entitled, A
Discourse concerning the Idolatry ofthe Church of
Rome, &;c. and te hear what he can return in an
swer te it.
' " Cajetan in i Cor. xiv. Ex hac Pauli doctrina habetur, quod
melius ad edificationem ecclesiae est, orationes publicas, quae audi
ente populo dicuntur, dici lingua communi clericis et populo, quam
d'ici Latine. p [In 1671. J

192 A Vindication qf sect. xix.
XIX. And new we corae to his great boast ; so
great a one, that I wonder it should drop from the
pen of any well-advised person, that considers what
he saith er writes : " And this, raadara, give me
"leave to recoraraend to yeur reflections as most
" undeniable, that all Christianity, ever the whole
" world, was first planted by the missionaries and
" apostles sent by and from the heads ef eur church
" under Jesus Christ, by the iraraediate assistance of
« the Holy Ghost," &c. &c. O the hard forehead of
a Reman catholic !
This that he receraraends te yeur ladyship, as an
undeniable truth, is, indeed, (saving his honourable
relatien te your ladyship's bleed,) a raost gross false-
hoed. It is se far frora being true, that all Chris
tianity was first planted in the world by the mis
sionaries of the church of Rorae, that it is mani
fest that Christianity was planted in the eastern
parts of ^he werld, and divers eminent churches of
Christ formed and settled there before the church of
Rome had a being, and whilst the Tarpeian hill was
covered with a thick fog ef paganism. Christianity
was first planted (as every raan knows, that hath
read the Scriptures) in Jerusalem, where was a nu
merous church settled, and St. Jaraes, the brother of
eur Lord, by the hands of the apostles, (and as many
of the ancients tell us, by the iraraediate erder of
Christ hiraself,) constituted bishop. This was the
first and truly mother church. Frem this seminary
ef Christianity many other churches were planted
in Judaea; in Samaria, Acts vUi. 5, 6, 14, 25; in
Syria, and in particular in that noble city thereof,
Antioch, where the disciples were first called Chris
tians, Acts xi. 26. And it is observable, that aU this

the Church of England. 193
while the apostles preached the Gospel te none but
these of the Jewish nation er religion, Acts xi. 29.
All this while the city of Rome lay in darkness ; till
at length, in the reign of Claudius, as Eusebius re
lates it \ St. Peter carae to Rome, (and certainly
then he came, if ever,) and brought the light ef the
heavenly doctrine from the east into the western
parts of the werld. If the author of the letter shall
object, that all these plantations in the east were
made by St. Peter, who was afterwards head ef the
church of Rorae, the answer is easy. 1 . This plea is
impertinent, (how true soever it may be allowed to
be,) seeing it still appears that- these things were
not done by St. Peter, as the head of the church of
Rome ; fer this he could net be before that church
was in being. 2. St. Paul also planted seme churches
in the eastern parts of the world, before the Gospel
was preached in the city ef Rome. As soon as he
was converted, which was in the rei^n of Tiberius,
and in the nineteenth year thereof, as Eusebius tells
us in lus Chronicle, he went into Arabia, and preach
ed the Gospel there ; and this, as the learned have
observed, was the first plantation among the Gentiles
made by St. Paul, Gal. i. 17. Aftervvards (as he him
self teUs us) he preached the Gospel from Jerusa
lem, round about unto lUyricum, Rora. xv. 19. and
that so, as that he strove te preach it where Christ
was not yet named, ner the foundations of Christianity
already laid by ethers, ver. 20, 21. And indeed St.
Paul planted mere churches in the eastern and west
ern parts of the world thau St. Peter, or any other
of the apostles besides, yea, it seems, raore than all
1 Histor. Eccles. II. 14.
VOL. II. O

194 A Vindication of sect. xix.
the rest of the apostles together; for he laboured
more abundantly than they all, 1 Corinth, xv. 10.
Hence St. Clement ^ bishop of Rome in the apo
stolic age, speaking of the labours of St. Peter and
St. Paul, briefly touches on the former, but dweUs in
the praises of the latter, (not so much as mentioning
St. Peter's coming to Rome.) " St. Paul," saith he,
" having been seven times cast into bonds, scourged,
" and stoned, obtained the reward of his patience,
" and having preached the Gospel in the east and
" the west, became famous for his faith, instructing
" the werld in righteousness ; and, coming into the
" bounds of the west, suffered martyrdora under the
" eraperors, and so departed this life, and went into
" the holy place, being made an example of the
" highest patience." Much use raay be raade of this
testiraony by the wise and learned : but iny present
purpose, in alleging these words of St. Clement, (a
couteraporary and fellow-labourer of St. Paul, to
whora he bad a nearer relatien than te St. Peter,) is
to verify St. Paul's words, that he was raore abun
dant in his endeavours ef propagating the Gospel
than any other of the apostles, St. Peter himself not
excepted. Let me now seriously- and in good earn
est ask the author ef the letter, Doth he think that
St. Paul planted all these churches as the missionary
of St. Peter, (the vainly supposed head of the church
ef Rorae,) er by authority derived frora hira ? If he
be so confident er ignorant as te affirra this, St Paul
hiraself shaU refute hira, who solemnly declares, that
he received not his coraraission from any man on
earth, but imraediately from Christ himself. Gal. i-
¦¦ Epist. ad Corinth, p. 14. edit. Oxon. 1669. [c. 5. p. 156.]

the Church of England. I9.5
11. that as soon as he was converted by the heavenly
vision, he betook himself te his work of preaching
the Gospel, as not conceiving it necessary te ge up
te Jerusalera te take a commission frem St. Peter,
er any ether of the apostles residing there, whose
faces he saw not till three years after, ver. 15 — 18.
that St. James, St. Peter, and St. John, the three
pillars ef the church at Jerusalem, upon conference
added nothing unto him, viz. either of instruction er
commission, either of knowledge or authority, Gal.
ii. 6. that when these three apostles saw the Gos
pel qf the uncircumcision was committed unto him,
as the Gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;
they gave him the right hand of fellowship, verse 7,
8, 9- What can be raore plain than these words ?
For, according to the suppositions of the Romanists,
it should have been said, that the headship of the
whole church was committed to St. Peter, part of
the government whereof, viz. that which concerned
the circuracision ef the Jewish church, he kept te
himself, and committed the other, that respected the
Gentile Christians, te St. Paul : but the words are
quite otherwise ; St. Peter had his share of inspec
tion inte the churches committed te him, and St.
Paul his, and neither ef thera from the other, but
both frem Christ. And here, by the way, yeur lady
ship may please te observe how this very thing,
that the care ef the circumcision was committed by
Christ unto St. Peter, as his proper charge, doth, if
weU considered, utterly overthrew the pretences ef
the church ef Rome te the universal pastorship, de
rived from St. Peter. Fer, 1. The title of the apo
stle ofthe circumcision, given te St. Peter in Scrip
ture, would have been a great diminution to his dig-
o 2

196 A Vindication of sect. xix.
nity, if (as the Romanists fancy) he had been head
and governor (in an appropriated sense, net common-
to him with the other apostles) beth ef the circum
cision and uncircumcision, that is, ef tbe universal
church. 2. St. Peter's proper relation te the cir
cumcision, or churches ef the beUeving Jews, doth
not at all correspond vvith his taking the charge of
the church ef Rome (a Gentile church) above all
others, and residing there, and making that the
chief episcopal see. He might indeed occasionally
come to Rome ; and I am willing te believe (upon
the testimony ef many of the ancients) that he did
so, and preached there, especially to these of the cir
cumcision : although some very learned raen have
observed, that the whole tradition of St. Peter's
voyage te Rome was first derived from Papias, an
author indeed very ancient, but also very credulous,
and of a raean judgraent; (as Eusebius characterizes
hira ;) but that he fixed his chair at Rome, among
the Gentile Christians, and rauch raere that he ad
vanced that church to the priraary and universal
pastorship ever all the rest, (supposing it in his
power se te do,) is certainly a very idle and ground
less iraagination, and no way consistent with that
account of St. Peter which the Scripture gives us.
For the churches ef the circumcision were his chief
est and proper charge ; and all his ether labours, in
comparison ef what he bestowed on them, were, if I
might so speak, a kind ef Tiapepyov, er work by the by\
' Quod dicit Paulus Petro creditum fuisse apostolatutn cir-
cumcisionis, id intelligendum est, im rl -aoX-C. Nam et Petrus
Cornelium convertit incircumcisum, et Paulus Judaeos nonnuUos.
Sed praecipuum studium Petro erat circa Judaeos, Paulo circa
gentes alias. Grot, ad Gal. ii. 7.

the Church of England. 197
And therefore, if any church could have challenged
a priraacy ef authority ever tbe rest, upon the ac
count of St. Peter, it weuld have been ene ef the
churches ef the circumcision, as Jerusalem or An
tioch, te whem he had, abeve all other churches, a pe
culiar relatien, as being apostle ofthe circumcision.
But this I mention only by the way, although it
be very much te the purpese. My business was te
prove, (and I have dene it abundantly,) that St. Paul,
by whem most of the first plantations ef Christianity
in the werld were made, was ne missionary of the
church ef Rome, or of St. Peter, considered as head
thereof, or in any other relatien ; and consequently,
that what the author of the letter recommends to
your ladyship's reflection, as undeniable, is a palpable
untruth, viz. " That all Christianity ever the whole
" werld was first planted by missionaries and apostles,
" sent by and from tbe heads ef the Roraan church."
XX. Some perhaps will wonder what necessity
should drive the author of the letter te maintain se
extravagant an assertion ; but I acknowledge he had
very great and cogent reasons to force him on this
desperate attempt. Fer it is an article ef the Ro
manist's faith, that the church of Rome is new, and
ever was frem the beginning, the head of the catholic
church, from which all ether churches derive their
' very being of churches : that the church ef Rome is
" causaUy" (as cardinal Perron expresseth it') "the
" enly catholic church, as the centre and beginning of
" ecclesiastical coraraunion, infusing unity, which is
" the form of universaUty, into the catholic church."
Now this cannot possibly be defended, unless you
' Reply to King James, IV. 9.
O 3

198 A Vindication qf sect. xx.
suppose the church ef Rome te be the raother church,
and all ether churches te derive their Christianity^,
and the succession of their pastors, frem her. But this
foundation I have already utterly destroyed, and con
sequently the towering Babel superstructure raised
thereon falls te the ground. If no church be a ca
tholic church, but by its dependence on or derivation
from the church ef Rorae, then the first and most
noble plantations ef Christianity in the East were
no true and cathoUc churches ; because they were
made such churches as they were, before the church
ef Rome had a being : and if it be answered, that
the church ef Rome had then a being in her head,
viz. St. Peter, by whora, or by whose authority, those
plantations in the East were made, I have already
replied, I. That St. Peter could not be considered
as actuaUy the head ef the church of Rome before
that church existed : 2. that St. Peter was never
at all the head of the church ef Rorae, any more
than, no nor se much as he was the head ef some
other churches, as of Jerusalem, &;c. to which he had
a most especial relatien, as the apostle ofthe circum
cision : 3. that St. Paul planted raost churches
beth in the east and west, whe yet was ne depen
dant in the least upon St. Peter, either as the head
of the church of Rome, or in any other relation' :
and yet the churches planted by St. Paul were as
truly catholic and apostolic churches as any planted
by St. Peter. All these things are plain and' evident,
and whosoever doth not wilfully shut his eyes against
the clear light of the holy Scriptures and right rea
son, cannot but acknowledge them ; and being ac
knowledged, they do fer ever destroy the senseless
and arrogant pretences of the Romanists to a pri-

the Church qf England. 199
macy ef authority and jurisdiction belonging te their
church over all other churches in the werld.
XXI. Nay, from the grounds laid, it is manifest
that the church upon the hill (as high as she is) can
not lay just claim so rauch as to a prerogative of ho
nour (which yet we willingly grant to seme churches
before ethers) above all the rest, as originally due
unto her. Fer doubtless this prerogative of ho
nour was originaUy due to the mother or original
church : such the church of Rome was not, but in
deed one ef the younger daughters of Sion. The
Christian church, planted at Jerusalem, was really
and truly the seminary of all Christianity ever the
whole world. And upon this account the prerogative
of honour was originally due te her ; and not upon
this account alone: fer, 1st, this church was the more
constant seat and residence ef the apostles, wherein
they had their councUs, from whence they gave forth
their laws and decrees to the other churches, and te
which the other churches upon emergent difficulties
had recourse. Acts xv. 1, 2, 6, 7, &c. 2. The episcopal
see ef this church was constituted with such circura
stances, as agree te ne ether church ef the Chris
tian werld besides. St. James, the brother of our
Lord Jesus, (a person by that relation the most
honourable,) was made the first bishop there, and in
the whole Christian world, and that by an assembly
of the holy apostles, under whose eyes, and in the
place of their residence, he was te execute his office ;
and that again (if we will give credit te the united
testimonies of divers very ancient Christian writers")
by the express order and comraand of Christ him-
" Vid. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. VII. 19. et Vales. Annot.
o 4

200 A Vindication of sect. xxi.
self. Upon which accounts Eusebius tells us, that a
strange kind ef veneration was given to the very
threne and episcopal chair ef St. James, kept at Je
rusalem, even te his days, by certain superstitious
Christians, whe, if they had dreamt of an infallible
chair left by St. Peter at Rome, would doubtless
bave paid their homage there. 3. It is certain, that
a kind ef preerainence er precedence is every where
in Scripture given to the Jews (by reason ef the
covenant of Ged te their fathers) before the Gentiles
in the kingdora of the Messias, and in the participa
tion of these benefits that accrue te raankind by
Christ Jesus and his Gospel, ef which although the
Gentiles were no less partakers than the Jews, yet
in this erder, that they were dispensed te the Jew
first, and then to the Gentile, Rora. ii. 10. and iii.
1, 2. and St. Paul tells us, that it was necessary that
the Gospel should be first preached unto them, Acts
xiii. 46. The church of the Jews was then the elder
sister, and this right ef primogeniture she lost not
by becoraing Christian, which she raust have done
if we suppose her to have been subjected to the
church ef Rorae, er any ether church araong the
Gentiles. New Jerusalera was the chief church of
the circumcision, and therefore, as such, the preemi
nence was due to her. And accordingly we find,
that although this first aud famous church of Jeru
salem, not very long after the apostles, lost much of
her real dignity, not retaining so much as the juris
diction of the churches of Palestine, (whether this
happened through the several devastations ef that
city, whereby it was rendered poor and contempti
ble ; or through the inveterate hatred ef the Gentile
Christians against the Jewish beUevers, whereby the

the Church of England. 201
forraer sought by all raeans and arts to depress the
latter ; or through the poUtical distribution and sub
ordination ef churches, which was raeulded accord
ing te the civil disposition ef the Reman erapire,
wherein Jerusalem happened te have none ef the
best shares, I determine net, although I incline te
the last resolution,) yet still aU other churches for a
long time acknowledged (in words at least) a special
respect and honour due to that see ; and sorae of the
ancients have terraed it the " mother ef all other
" churches," even the " throne ef Christ upon earth,"
and the governors thereof " the princes of all other
" Christians in the werld ;" and which is raere, in
differences about rights and custeras, have appealed
frem ether churches, even the Roman church itself,
to the primitive orders and constitutions settled in
that first apostoUcal church, all which I could make
evident by raany express testimonies, if I durst be
so far troublesome te your ladyship.
XXII. But to conclude this disceurse, we may,
in confidence of the preraises, very justly and aptly
bespeak the arrogant Roraanists, that expect all
other churches should own a dependance upon
theirs, and claira to theraselves a privilege of giving
laws te the Christian werld, in the words ef St. Paul
to the Corinthians, (a learned, wealthy, and populous
city, and thereby rauch disposed to the humour of
the church of Rorae, as it is at this day,) 1 Cer. xiv.
36. What ? came the word of God out from you ?
or came it unto you onlyf ^The Cerinthian dec-
tors (it seeras) had introduced divers custeras con
trary to the institutions ef other churches, such as
^ Vide Grotium in locum.

202 A Vindication of SECT. xxin.
raen's covering their heads, and women being un
covered, in religious exercises and assembUes, women
preaching, &c. 1 Cer. xi. 3 — 6. and xiv. 34. In
these evil custeras they persisted, net regarding the
pattern of ether churches that were before them:
insomuch as the mild apostle is forced te charge
them with the guilt ef a contentious, perverse, and
proud humour, in slighting the customs ef the catho
lic church, 1 Cor. xi. 16. To these he thus speaks.
What f came the word out from you f are you the
mother church? did all the rest of the Christian
world receive the Gospel and its institutions from
you ? No. The Christian law came out of Sion, and
the Gospel was first preached, and the church of
Christ planted, in Jerusalem : look thither, and you
shall find ne such customs used as you obstinately
persist in. Or did the word qf God come only to
you P No. As you were not the first, se you are
not the only persons that received the Gospel and
became a Christian church ; there are raany other
churches besides, enjoying equal privUeges with
yourselves. Why are you then so arrogant ? Your
ladyship's wisdom can easily apply this,' and discern
how much mere deeply the present church of Rome
is concerned in this smart expostulation of the apo
stle. And now I leave it te yeur ladyship te judge
what advantage the author of the letter hath gotten
to his cause by his inconsiderate boasts.
XXIII. As for the raodern plantations ef Chris
tianity y, especially these made since the difference
y Concerning the admirable method used by the ministers of
the church of Rome in the conversion of the heathens in China
and other neighbour nations, your ladyship may please to read
Dr. Stillingfleet's late treatise, p. 439, 440, 441.

the Church of England. 203
between us and the church ef Rome, it is net worth
our while to speak of thera. The church of Rorae,' as
well as ether parts ef Christendora, raay fer sharae
be silent in this raatter. Nay, sure I am, the church
ef Rome, iu the posture it hath been for these many
years, hath se little reason te beast of ber advancing
and promoting the interest of the Christian religion
in the world, that it is apparent the gress corruptions
of catholic doctrine, defended by her, have stained
and darkened (nothing raore) the glory of Chris
tianity, and sullied its beauteous face, and hindered
its growth and progress. Let indifferent persons, that
have traveUed abroad in the world, judge here, and
they will tell us, that nothing doth more alienate the
hearts ef the Jews and Mahoraetans too frora Chris
tianity, than the iraage-worship and bread-worship
(so directly contrary to both their laws) which they see
with their eyes practised by them that call theraselves
the enly true Christians. And how raany doctrines
are there defended by the church ef Rome, which
lie as stumbUngblocks before thera ? What a raoun-
tain in their way is the article ef transubstantiation,
which a man cannot receive without utterly re
nouncing at once his reason and all his senses too !
Every man hath heard ef ene great person^ (and we
have reason to believe that there have been raany
more of his mind) that was turned off frora Chris
tianity by this just prejudice ; " If the Christians
" worship the God which they eat, let my soul be
" with the phUosophers." I have here a very copious
and profitable theme before me, if I had time and
^ Averroes. Si Christiani adorant Deum quem comedunt, sit
anima mea cum philosophis.

204 A Vindication qf sect. xxv.
room eneugh te enlarge upon it : but enough of this
fer the present.
XXIV. We proceed, in the next place, to the
constant visibility and succession of pastors in our
church, which he challengeth yeur ladyship, as
obUged by promise, te raake good. And here I
make hira this fair proposal : Let hira, er any one of
his party, produce any ene solid argument to de
monstrate such a succession of pasters in the church
of Rome, and I will undertake, by the very same
argument, te prove a like succession in our church.
Indeed, your ladyship wiU easUy discern, that the
author of the letter is concerned, no less than we are,
to acknowledge such a succession ef lawful pastors
in our church, tUl the time of the reforraation ; and
if we cannot derive our succession since, it is a hard
case. But eur records, faithfuUy kept and preserved,
de evidence to all the world an uninterrupted suc
cession of bishops in eur church, canonically ordained,
derived from such persons in whem a lawful power
of ordination was seated by the confession ef the
papists themselves. Fer the story of the Nagg's
Head Ordination is so putid .a fable, so often and so
clearly refuted by the writers of our church, that the
more learned and ingenuous papists are now ashamed
to make use of it.
XXV. His demand, that we should shew a suc
cession of pasters in our church, in all ages, holding
and professing the Thirty-nine Articles, is infinitely
ridiculous, absurd, and unreasonable : fer we our
selves acknowledge, that the pasters ef eur church"
were, before the reformation, involved, as weU as
ethers, in the errors and corruptions ef the church
of Rome, against which eur Thirty-nine Articles

the Church of England. 205
are mainly directed ; or else there had been no need
of reformation. And let hira, if he can, shew a con
stant succession of pasters in the church ef Rome,
always professing the decrees ef the council of Trent,
in the points of image-worship, invocation of saints,
coraraunion in one kind, purgatory, indulgencies, &c.
and I wiU promise with heart and hand to subscribe
te that council. But it is as clear as the light at
noonday, that the decrees of that council, in those
Articles, are most contrary to the doctrine of the
catholic church (and so of the pastors ef the church
ef Rome) in the first and best ages. As for our
selves, that which we maintain is this. That our
church, and the pasters thereof, did always acknow
ledge the same rule of faith, the same fundamental
articles ef the Christian religion, both before and
since the reforraation ; but with this difference, that
we then professed the rule ef faith together with the
additional corruptions ef the church ef Rome ; but
now (Ged be thanked) without them. So that the
change, as te matter ef doctrine which hath been in
our church, and her pasters, is for the better; like
that of a man from being leprous becoming sound
and healthy, and yet always the sarae man. This a
learned prelate * of our church solemnly proclaimed
to all the werld in these words : " Be it known to
" aU the werld, that our church is enly reforraed er
" repaired, net made new ; there is net one stone of
" a new foundation laid by us ; yea, the old walls
" stand still, enly the overcasting of these ancient
" stones with the untempered mortar of new in-
" ven tion 9 displeaseth us : plainly, set aside the cor-
" Bishop Hall's Old Religion, chap. III.

20j6 a Vindication qf sect. xxvi.
" ruptiens, and the church is the sarae. Aild what
" are these corruptions, but unsound adjections to
" the ancient structure of religion ? These we can-
" net but oppose, and therefore are unjustly and im-
" periously asserted. Hence it is that ours is by the
" opposite styled an ablative or negative re-
" ligion ; for so much as we join with aU true
" Christians in all affirmative positions of ancient
" faith, only standing upon the denial of some late
" and undue additaments to the Christian belief."
Let the author ef the letter prove, that our church,
since the reformation, hath departed from any one
article ef the common faith, always received in the
church of God, and more fully explained in the
creeds ef the first general councils, and he will per
form something te the purpose ; but till then aU his
discourses of our change in point ef doctrine wUl be
impertinent. And that he wUl never be able to
prove this, will appear afterwards.
XXVI. Indeed, the question is here the same
with that threadbare ene which the papists use to
reiterate, when they have nothing else to say for
themselves, Where was yeur church before Lu
ther ? Te which the answer is easy : Our church
was then where it is now, even here in England.
She hath not changed ene thing ef what she held
before, any way pertaining either to the being or
well-being of a church ; only she hath made an al
teration in seme things, which seeraed te her (and so
they will to all indifferent judges) greatly prejudicial
to beth. She still retains the same coraraon rule of
faith. She still teacheth the necessity of a holy life,
and presseth good works as rauch as before ; only
she is grown raere hurable, and dares net ascribe

the Chnrch of England. 207
any merit te them. She still observes all the funda-
raental ordinances and institutions of Christianity.
She baptizeth, she feeds with the holy Eucharist,
she confirmeth ''. She retaineth the same apostolical
government ef bishops, priests, and deacons. And
because she finds that a set form of Liturgy is used
by aU Christian churches in the world, without any
known beginning, she hath hers tee, and that a
grave, soleran, excellently composed one, conformed,
as near as she could devise, te the pattern of the
most ancient offices. A Liturgy, for its innocence
and purity, se beyond all just exceptions, that the pa
pists themselves, upon its first establishment, could
net but embrace it. And therefore fer several years
they came to our churches, joined in our devotions,
and communicated without scruple, till at last (as
an exceUent person of our church rightly expresseth
it) " a temporal interest of the church of Rome rent
" the schisra wider, and made it gape like the jaws
" of the grave :" nay, it is transmitted to us (as the
same exceUent author observes) by the testimony
of persons greater than all exception, that Paulus
Quartus, pope of Rome, in his private intercourses
and letters to queen Elizabeth, did offer to confirm
and establish the Common Prayer Book, if she would
acknowledge the primacy and authority, and the re
formation derivative from him. «^And this raethod
was pursued by his successor Pius Quartus, whe as
sured her she should have any thing frora hira, net
enly things pertaining te her soul, but what raight
>> Aqua signat, S. Spiritu vestit, Eucharistia pascit. Ita de ec
clesia Romana Tertull. de Prescript, adversus Hceret. cap. 36.
•= Camden's Annals, A. D. 1560. Baker's Chron. Eliz. anno
1560. p. 343.

208 A Vindication of sect. xxvi.
conduce te the establishraent and confirraation of
her royal dignity ; araongst which, that the Liturgy,
newly estabUshed by her authority, should not be
rescinded by the pope's power, was net the least
considerable. I beseech your ladyship to raake a
little pause here. Our Liturgy contains the whole
religion of the Church of England. This the popes
and bishops of Rome theraselves offer to confirm and
establish. Let me now ask this question, Is eur Li
turgy in itself a good and safe way ef worshipping
God, or not ? If not, these popes were te blame in
offering to confirm it ; for no subsequent decree of a
pope could make that safe and good, which was not so
antecedently. If it were in itself good and safe, then
it is so still, though the pope of Rome never con
firmed it ; and so the whole religion and reformation
of the Church ef England is safe and good, by the
plain confession ef the pope hiraself, the infalUble
judge of the Roman church. But let us proceed.
As te the catholic customs, our church (so far is she
frora the love of innovation) professeth all reverence
and respect unto thera. Upon this score, she stiU
observes all the great and ancient festivals ef the
church with great seleranity, viz. the feasts of the
nativity, circumcision, passion, resurrection, and as
cension ef our Saviour, the descent ef the Holy
Ghost, or the feast of pentecest, &c. ; she stUl ho
nours the memory of the holy apostles, saints, and
martyrs, and hath days wherein te express this, and
te bless Ged for them, and propound their virtues to
the imitation of her sens. The ancient fasts ef the
church she hath net rejected ; and therefore, be
cause she finds a Lent, or soleran fast, before, the
great festival of Easter, presently after the apostles,

the Church of England. 209
universaUy observed (though with a considerable va
riety '', as te the nuraber of days, and the hours ef
abstinence en those days) in the church ef Ged, she
receraraends the sarae observation to her sens, in the
full nuraber ef forty days, to be kept as days ef
stricter teraperance, and prayer too, by all these
whose health and ether circumstances will permit
them te undertake it. She still observes the fasts ef
the four seasons, er ember-weeks'^. She still re
commends the two weekly stations of the primitive
church to the observation of her sens, Wednesday .
and Friday ^, distinguishing thera frora ether days
ef the week by the raore solemn and penitential
office of the Litany. And in the table of the fasts te
be observed, aU Fridays in the year, except Christ-
raas-day, are expressly raentioned. I raight proceed
te ether instances ; but these are abundantly suffi
cient to shew, that the Church of England in her re
formation affected ne unnecessary change or innova
tion. Indeed, she raade no change or innovation,
but of those things that were theraselves raanifest
changes and innovations, yea, soraewhat worse ; such
as these abeve mentioned, iraage-worship, the wor
ship and invocation of saints and angels, the dry
comraunion, the senseless and unreasonable service
ef Ged in an unknown tongue, enjoined the people,
and not understood by thera. Wherein, as I have
already shewn, every raan's reason and conscience
^ Vide Iren. Epist. ad Victorem, apud Eusebium Hist. Eccl.
V. 24. et Valesii Annot. in locum.
' Concerning their antiquity in. England, see Spelman Cone.
Brit. p. 256, 518, 546. And concerning the continuance of them
in our churcb, see Can. 31. an. Dom. 1603.
f Quartse et sextae Feriae, vide Grot. Annot. ad Luc. xviii. 12.
VOL. II. P

210 A Vindication qf sect, xxvii.
wUI tell him, that the change is made for the better.
She hath also shaken off (and it was high time se to
de, seeing that St. Augustin so long ago complained
ef it) that intolerable yoke of ceremonies, many of
which were perfectly insignificant and ridiculous,
seme directly sinful, and their nuraber in the whole
se great, as to require that intention ef mind, which
ought te be eraployed about raere weighty and im
portant raatters, yet retaining stiU (to shew that she
was net ever nice and scrupulous) sorae few cere
raonies, that had on thera the starap ef venerable an
tiquity, er otherwise recoraraended themselves by
their decency and fitness. In a word, the authors
of our reformation dealt with eur church as they
did with eur temples or material churches. They
did not pull thera down and raise new structures in
their places, no, nor so much as new consecrate the
eld ones ; but enly removed the objects and occa
sions of idolatrous worship, (at least out of the more
open and conspicuous places,) and took away some
Uttle superstitious trinkets, in other things leaving
them as they found them, and freely and without
scruple making use ef thera.
XXVII. What next he saith concerning our no
torious prevarication frem the Articles ef our church
I de not perfectly understand. He very weU knows,
that aU eur clergy doth still subscribe them : and if
any man hath dared openly to oppose the declared
sense ef the Church of England in any ene ef these
Articles, he is liable to ecclesiastical censure, which
weuld be raere duly passed aud executed, did not
the divisions and fanatic disturbances, first raised
and stiU foraented by the blessed emissaries ef the
apostolic see, hinder and blunt the edge ef eur dis-

the Church of England. 211
cipUne. But possibly he intends that latitude of
sense, which our church, as an indulgent mother,
aUews her sens in seme abstruser points, (such as
predestination, &,c.) net particularly and precisely
defined in her Articles, but in general words capable
of an indiff'erent construction. If tbis be bis mean
ing, this is se far from being a fault, that it is the
singular praise and comraendation ef our church.
As fer eur being concluded by the Articles ef eur
church, if he means our being obUged te give eur
internal assent te every thing delivered in thera
upon peril of daranation, it is confessed that few,
yea none ef us, that are well advised, will acknow
ledge ourselves se concluded by thera, ner did eur
church ever intend we should. For she professeth
not to deliver aU her Articles (all I say, fer sorae of
thera are coincident with the fundamental points ef
Christianity) as essentials ef faith, without the beUef .
whereof no raan can be saved ; but only propounds
thera as a body of safe and pious principles, for the
preservation of peace to be subscribed, and not openly
contradicted by her sons. And therefore she requires
subscription te thera enly from the clergy, and not
frora the laity, who yet are ebUged te acknowledge
and profess all the fundamental articles of the Chris
tian faith, no less than the most learned doctors.
This hath been often told the papists by many
learned writers ef our church. I shall content my
self (at present) only with two iUustrious testimonies
of two famous prelates. The late terror of the Ro
manists, Dr. Usher, the most learned and reverend
primate of Ireland, thus expresseth the sense of the
Church of England, as to the subscription required
to the Thirty-nine Articles; " We do not suff"er any
p 2

212 A Vindication qf sect, xxvii.
" raan te reject the Thirty-nine Articles of the
" Church ef England at his pleasure, yet neither do
" we leok upon them as essentials of saving faith,
" er legacies of Christ and his apostles ; but in a
" raean, as pious opinions, fitted for the preservation
" of peace and unity ; neither de we oblige any man
" to believe thera, but enly not to contradict thems."
Se the exceUent bishop Hall, in his Catholic Propo
sitions, (truly so called,) denieth, in general, that
any church can lawfully propose any articles to her
sens, besides those contained in the common rule of
faith, to be believed under pain of damnation. His
third proposition is this : " The sum of the Chris-
" tian faith are these principles ef Christian reU-
" gion, and fundamental grounds and points ef faith,
" which are undoubtedly contained and laid down
" in the canonical Scriptures, whether in express
" terms er by necessary consequence, and in the an-
" cient creeds universally received and allowed by
" the whole church of Ged ^."
And then in the seventh and eighth prepositions,
he speaks fully to our purpese. Prep. 7- " There are
" and may be many theological points, which are
" went to be believed and raaintained, and so may
" lawfully be ef this or that particular church, or
" the doctors thereof, or their followers, as godly
" doctrines and profitable truths, besides those other
" essential and main raatters ef faith, without any
" prejudice at aU ef the coraraon peace of the
" church." Prop. 8. " Honrsoever it raay be lawful
" for learned raen and particular churches te believe
" and raaintain those probable or (as they may think)
B Schism, guarded, p. 150. See also p. 396.
J' Second tome, p. 183.

the Church of England. 213
" certain points of theological verities, yet it is not
" lawful for them to impose and obtrude the same
" doctrines upon any church or person, te be be-
" lieved and held, as upon the necessity of salvation ;
" or to anathematize or eject out ef the church any
" person er company of men that thinks otherwise."
As for the fundaraental principles of the Christian
reUgion, undoubtedly deUvered in the Scripturesi,
and allowed (except the Romanists, whe have so af
fected singularity, as to frame to themselves a new
Christianity) by tbe whole church of God, they are
by the censent of all Christians acknowledged to
be contained in that called the Creed, er rule ef
faith. XXVIII. This rule of faith, and that also as it is
more fully explained by the first general councils,
eur church heartily embi-aceth, and hath made a
part of her Liturgy, and so hath obliged all her sens
te make solemn profession thereof. To declare this
more distinctly to your ladyship, eur church receiv
eth that which is caUed the Apostles' Creed, and
enjoins the public profession thereof to aU her sons
in her daily service. And if this creed be net thought
express eneugh fuUy te declare the sense of the ca
tholic church in points ef necessary belief, and to ob
viate the perverse interpretations of heretics, she re
ceiveth also that adrairable suraraary ofthe Christian
faith, which is called the Nicene Creed, (but is in
deed the entire ancient creed of the oriental churches,
together with the necessary additional expUcatiens
thereof, raade by Fathers beth ef the council of
Nice against Arius, and the council ef Constantinople
against Macedonius,) the pubUc profession whereof
she also enjoins aU her sons (without any exception)
P 3

214 A Vindication of sect, xxviii.
te make in the morning service of every Sunday and
holyday. This creed she professeth (consentaneously
te her ewn principles) te receive upon this ground
primarily, because she finds that the articles thereof
raay be proved by raost evident testiraonies of Scrip
ture : although she deny not, that she is confirmed
in her belief of this creed, because she finds aU the
articles thereof, in all ages, received by the cathoUc
church. Sorae indeed have questioned, yea denied
this, concerning the additional explications of the
Fathers of Nice and Constantinople. As though aU
the Fathers of the first three hundred years had
understood the respective articles to which those
explications belong, in a sense quite different from,
yea contrary te the sense which these councils had
offered te them. But this suggestion is so manifest
a falsehood, that I wonder much to find it with so
great a confidence delivered in the writings of di
vers learned raen. The sura of what the Nicene
Fathers have added by way of explication te the
rule ef faith, is this : That the Son ef Ged is no
creature, but very God, subsisting in the very sub
stance, essence, and nature of his Father. New
although many of those ancient writers have let faU
such things, (especiaUy in the heat of contest,) as
seem net very consistent with the consubstantiaUty
of the Sen with the Father, yet the thing itself is
professedly and frequently acknowledged by all, not
one excepted, as I could raake appear by raany fuU
and express testimonies out of each ef them. In
deed, not one of them (ne not Origen himself,
charged by se raany with heresy in this article) ever
drearat the Sen ef Ged (in that nature wherein he
is more properly se called) to be a areature. Nay,

the Church of England. 215
TertulUan* (whe flourished about an hundred and
thirty years before the Nicene council, and hath as
many unwary expressions in this matter as any ene
of those writers whatsoever, yet) delivers this as the
received doctrine ef the catholic church in his time ;
that the three Persons ef the ever to be adored
Trinity, the Father, Sen, and Holy Ghost, are ef
one substance, and ene state, and ene power, because
one God. ^Vhere we have not only the full sense,
but the very words of the Nicene Fathers in this
article, which is especiaUy quarrelled at by sorae ne
less presuraptuous than peevish raen. And this he
deUvers as a doctrine understood to be contained
in the creed er rule of faith then received in the
church, and which before he had just laid dewn.
Nay, it is apparent frora the whole tenor ef Ter
tuUian's discourse iu that book, that the heresy of
Praxeas, asserting the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
to be but ene Person, was built upon these two hy
potheses ; 1st, That the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
were acknowledged by the catholics to be of ene
and the sarae substance and nature ; 2dly, That there
could net be three distinct persons subsisting in the
same divine essence. And indeed the main argu
ment raade use of by aU the several heretics, that
frora the beginning oppugned the Deity ef the Son
(as asserted by the cathoUcs) was this, that the
doctrine was repugnant te the unity and sirapUcity
ef the divine essence ; for which arguhaent there had
' OiKovojitai sacramentum quae Unitatem in Trinitatem disponit,
tres dirigens, Patrem, et Filium, et Spiritum Sanctum ; tres autem
non statu, sed gradu ; nec substantia, sed forma ; nec potestate,
sed specie : unius autem substantiae, et unius„ status, et unins
potestatis, quia unus Deus, &c. TertuU. advers. Prax. cap. 2.
P 4

216 A Vindication of sect, xxviii.
not been the least colour, if the catholics had only
asserted the Son to be a made Ged, er a creature (how
soever dignified, yet) of an essence and nature infi
nitely distant and alien frem the nature and essence
ef the Father. To these let me add ene argument,
which seems to me irrefragable. '' There was a fa
mous questioil much disputed in the early days of
the church, even in the first succession of the apo
stles, (as it evidently appears from the writings of
Justin Martyr, and his scholar Tatian, and others,)
concerning the raanner of the Son's generation, viz.
whether it were by a kind of abscission from the
essence of the Father, or by a simple communication
of essence, such as is betwixt fire producing other
fire, without any diminution of itself and the fire
produced. Now, how irapertinent, how frivolous,
hew even ridiculous had tbis controversy been, if it
had not been taken for granted en all hands, that
the Sen was begotten ef the very essence ef the Fa
ther, and net raade ef things that were not? The
sura of the explicatory addition made by the Fathers
ef Constantinople to the article concerning the Holy
Ghost is this, " That the Holy Ghost is no created
" spirit, but a divine Person, or very God, te whom,
" in conjunction with the Father and the Son^ divine
" worship and honour ought to be given." New we
have already shewn, that the catholic church, even
in TertuUian's time, (so long before the council of
Constantinople,) acknowledged the Holy Ghost, no
less than the Son, to be of ene substance, state, and
^ Vide Justin. Martyr. Dial, cum Tryph. p. 358. [c. 128. p. 221.]
Col. p. 284. [c. 61. p. 157.] et Tatian. Orat. contra Graecos ad
calcem operum Justini, p. 145. [c. 5. p. 247.] et librum de Recta
Confessione inter opera Justini, p. 380. [c. 9. p. 426.]

the Church of England. 217
power with the Father. And the same Tertullian '
afterwards, in the same book, (deUvering again the
comraon beUef of the cathoUcs in his tirae,) tells us
expressly, " That the Father is Ged, the Son is Ged,
" and the Holy Ghost is God, and every one of thera
" is God." And hew raany testimonies, out ef the most
ancient Fathers, raight I here heap together ? But it
is needless ; fer as long as the sacraraent ef Baptisra,
as it was appointed by Christ to be administered,
ill the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Ghost, shall continue in the church, (that is, whilst
the church shall continue,) as long as the doxology,
er glorification of the Father, Sen, and Holy Ghost
together, (which was received in the cathoUc church
in the very age that trod upon the heels of the
apostles, as appears from the testimony of St. Justin
Martyr ™ and others,) shaU retain a place in the Li
turgy and public offices of the church, se long shall
we not want a clear proof, and a practical evidence
and deraonstration that the Deity of the Holy Ghost,
and so the consubstantiality of each Person in the
raost blessed Trinity, is a catholic verity. This I
thought fit te observe, to obviate the vain plea of
the Roraanists, who, from the exaraple of the Fathers
of Nice and Constantinople, justify their bold and
presuraptuous additions of new articles te the rule
ef faith, er at least ef new expUcatiens ef the eld
articles te such a sense wherein they were never
before understood by the catholic church : for sup
posing the authority of their church equal te that
' Duos Deos et duos Dominos nunquam ex ore nostro profe
rimus, non quasi non et Pater Deus, et Filius Deus, et Spiritus
Sanctus Deus, et Deus unusquisque, &c. Tertul. adv. Prax. c. 13.
"' Apolog. II. p. 97, 98. [Apol. I. c. 6. p. 47.]

218 A Vindication of sect. xxix.
ef the two first general councUs, (which yet is te be
granted,) yet these councils will net at all excuse
thera ; fer neither did they add any new article to the
rule of faith, nor a new sense te any eld article.
XXIX. Te return. This creed (which our
church thus heartily owns, and obligeth all her sons
te profess) is a sufficient suraraary of the articles of
faith, and consequently eur church, by owning it,
sufficiently declares herself te be cathoUc in all
points of faith, and distinguisheth herself from all
heretical societies and combinations. If net, then
1st, The first general councils did net sufficiently
declare the rule of faith ; fer we receive all that was
declared by them to be de fide, or matter ef faith.
2. Then (particularly) the councU of Ephesus " (the
third general council) did err in the very definition
of the rule of faith, when the Fathers thereof thus
expressly determined : " That it should net be law-
" ful fer any ene te produce, write, or compose, any
" ether creed besides that which was agreed en and
" defined by the holy Fathers, who were raet toge-
" ther at Nice °, by the Holy Spirit ; and those who
" should dare te corapose, produce, er offer any
" other creed te such as desired te return te the
" knowledge ef the truth, frora paganism, Judaism,
" er any heresy whatsoever, should, if bishops, be
" deposed frora their episcopal throne ; if inferior
" clergyraen, deprived ef holy orders ; if layraen, ex-
" Concil. Ephes. Can. 7. apud Justell. p. 59, 60.
° They mean, notwithstanding, the creed established in the
council of Constantinople, as being the sarae, with a little addi
tion, with that of Nice. For it appears from the acts of the
Ephesian council, that it was the Constantinopolitan creed that
was openly read in the council, and that upon the reading thereof
this decree was passed.

the Church of England. 219
" coraraunicated, er cast eut ef the church." The
whole canon is remarkable and very rauch to our
purpese ; but we are especially te observe those
words, " or from any heresy whatsoever." Fer here
by the Ephesian Fathers declare. That if any per
son was charged with any kind ef heresy whatso
ever, he should sufficiently purge himself by the ac
knowledgment of the aforesaid creed ; and that upon
his subscription thereunto, er profession thereof, he
should be absolved, and received inte the comraunion
of the church as a complete and perfect catholic;
and that whoever should propose te such a person
any thing else to be beUeved, as a necessary condi
tion of ecclesiastical communion, should himself be
Uable te the censure ef the church. New, to apply
this : Our church deth se heartily embrace the afore
said creed, that she hath inserted it inte her Liturgy,
net enly te be now and then read, but on every
Lord's day, and in every more solemn asserably te
be openly professed by all her sens ; and therefore
she is in aU points of faith and necessary belief cera-
pletely and perfectly catholic and orthodox, by the
judgraent of the third general council ; and the pa
pists (that in the raean time caU us heretics, and
refuse to hold coraraunion with us as such) are them
selves Uable to a severe punishment.
XXX. And here (by the way) it is worth while
to observe the egregious prevarication of the Trent
Fathers (and the Fathers indeed of that which is
caUed the Roraan cathoUc reUgien) in this matter
ef the creed, er rule ef faith. In the third sessionP,
f Quare symbolum fidei, quo sancta ecclesia Romana utitur,
tanquam principium, in quo omnes qui fidem Christo profitentur
necessario conveniunt, et fundamentum primum et unicum, contra

220 A Vindication of sect. xxx.
before they come te define any ene particular article,
they declare it necessary, after the pattern (forsooth)
of the ancient Fathers and councUs, (whom they
have imitated net half so well as an ape doth a raan,)
to premise the symbol, or rule of faith, used in
the holy church of Rome, (which is indeed the creed
of Constantinople,) and beginning with these words,
" I beUeve in one God," and this creed they judge
necessary to be in so many express words professed
by their whole assembly, as " the principle wherein
" aU Christians, that profess the faith of Christ, do
" necessarily agree ; and the enly firra foundation,
" against which the gates of hell shall never prevail."
^Vbere, when they profess this creed te be the prin
ciple, wherein all Christians de " necessarily agree,"
they plainly intiraate, (if we poor pretestants may
presurae te understand their meaning by their
words,) that there is ne absolute necessity that all
Christians should agree in ether things. But their
following words are express, wherein they acknow
ledge this creed to be " the only foundation,"
and consequently, that nothing is te be laid as a
foundation beside ; nay, that this creed is " the only
" firra foundation, against which the gates of hell
" shall never prevail." Fer whe would not here
conclude, that (by the confession ef the Trent Fa
thers theraselves) whosoever fixeth his feet upon
this foundation, and departeth not frora any one
, article contained in this creed, stands sure, as to
all points of faith, and is in no danger at all of
quod portae inferni nunquam praevalebunt, totidem verbis quibus
in omnibus ecclesiis legitur exprimendum esse censuit. Quod
ejusmodi est. Credo in unum Deum, &c. et in Missali est. Caranz,
Sum. Concil. p. 705. edit. Duae. 1648.

the Church of England. 221
damnation, or hellfire, upon the account of heresy?
And yet, in the following sessions, how prodigally
doth this pack of bold and presumptuous raen be
stow their anatheraas, thundering eut hell and
daranation to millions of pious souls, whe stand
firmly upon this only firra foundation, and cannot
be proved te have denied any one point reducible
er deducible frora any article of the rule of faith.
Very raany are the instances that I raight give your
ladyship of this ; but I shall content myself to in
stance only in such points held and defined by the
councU of Trent, which I have already proved to be
se far from articles ef faith, that they are evidently
false, erroneous, and dangerous. In the thirteenth
session, canon 2, they anathematize and daran all
these who shaU dare so far to trust all their senses
wherewith Ged hath blessed them, as te believe that
the bread and wine in the sacrament do, after the
words of consecration, still reraain in substance the
same, (though they confess them transcendently
changed in use,) that is, bread and wine. And con
sequently, in the sixth canon of the same session, they
anathematize and damn all these who shall teach,
that the consecrated bread and wine ought not to be
worshipped with divine worship, (such as is due to
the only-begotten Son ef God himself,) or to be car
ried about in solemn precession, to be se worshipped
and adored by the people. A hard case ! All our
senses infallibly assure us of the truth of the former
proposition, and upon the supposal thereof the pa
pists de theraselves confess the truth ef the latter,
and yet, nevertheless, we raust be damned for thus
teaching. Se in the twenty-first session they are
anathematized and damned, " that shall say, that all

222 A Vindication of sect. xxx.
" the faithful are bound by the coraraand ef God to
" receive the raost holy sacraraent of the Eucharist
" in both kinds." And yet we have an express
coramand ef Christ concerning beth, whe took the
bread, and said, Take and eat, and the cup, and
said, Drink ye all ofit. Matt. xxvi. 26, 27- If the
patrons ef this wicked decree shall say, (as they have
the impudence te say,) that the latter branch ef the
precept. Drink ye all of it, concerns net the laity at
aU, but only the priests, such as the apostles were,
the horrid consequence ef this answer is visible to
any man, that is net wUfully er fatally blinded, viz.
that then the former branch ef the comraandment,
Take and eat, concerns not the laity neither, but
only the priests, seeing beth parts of the precept are
delivered in the sarae breath, to the sarae persons,
and in the same imperative and coramanding style.
And then we may next expect (and by the same
reason justify) another anathema or curse against
aU those presuraptuous persons that shall dare to
teach, that lay Christians are by any comraand of
Ged bound to receive the holy Eucharist at all, or in
any part thereof. And then at last, well fare the
dregs ef fanaticism, the Quakers and others, who
have whoUy laid this sacrament aside, as unneces
sary. Lastly, in the twenty-fifth or last session, they
coraraand the bishops (as a work, forsooth, worthy
of their great and sacred office) " to teach invocation
" of saints, the honour of relicks, the use of images,
" and that" (lest we should be ignorant ef their
meaning) " such as was established by the decrees"
(especiaUy) " ef the second Nicene synod ; and to
" proclaim these to be of impious opinion, that teach
" otherwise. And presently after they denounce an

the Church of England. 223
" anathema against any man, that should teach er"
(se much as) " think contrarily to these decrees."
And yet as te the use ef images, that is, the reli
gious veneration and worship of them, such as was
estabUshed by the convention of Nice p, it is notorious
(and confessed also by a very learned writer i of their
own) that the decrees ef that convention, as far as
concern the worship of images, were shortly after, in
a numerous synod of about three hundred bishops,
(called therefore the plenary council'',) eut ef all Italy,
Germany, France, and Britain, convened upon an
other occasion by Charles the Great at Frankfort,
after a diUgent reading of thera in tbe hearing of
the whole asserably, (and therefore net upon mistake
er misrepresentation, as Baronius and others with
out any colour ef truth pretend,) with an universal
censent condemned and utterly rejected, as " re-
" pugnant, net only te the Scriptures, and the an-
" cient tradition of the Fathers, but also to the
" custom of the Roraan church." Se that if we must
be damned for opposing the decrees of the conven
tion ef Nice concerning image-worship, we see what
company we have, even the bishops of aU Italy,
Germany, France, and eur Britain, (se many ages
before the reformation,) involved together with our
selves in the same guilt and danger. And if we
must suffer an anathema, fer thinking otherwise in
the point of invocation ef saints than the church ef
Rome teacheth, this is eur abundant comfort, that
we are of the same opinion in that article with the
whole catholic church of Christ fer at least the first
P [Which was held in the year 787.]
'! Cassander Consult, de Imaginibus et Simulachris.
¦¦ Concilium plenarium, v. Baron. Annal. ad an. Christi, 794.

224 A Vindication of sect. xxx.
three hundred years, (the best and purest ages of
the church,) as I have already clearly deraonstrated.
After the sarae manner the confession ef faith, ac
cording to the councU ef Trent, begins likewise (for
a show) with the Constantinopolitan creed ; but then
presently te the wholesome principles contained
therein, are added all the unsound and corrupt doc
trines ef the Roraan church concerning the prodi
gious riddle ef transubstantiation, the half-coramu-
nien, purgatory, the religious worship and invocation
ef saints, the worship ef images, relicks, indulgences,
the primacy ef the church and bishop ef Rome over
the universal church, yea, all the decrees ef the holy
council of Trent, as undoubtedly to be received.
Concerning this medley of religion, this raixture of
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stub
ble together ¦¦, the raiserable Trent papist is bound
to profess, " That this is the catholic faith, without
" which ne raan can be saved *," and that upon his
oath toe ; that is, he is bound to pawn his own sal
vation, that all the Christian churches of the world
are daraned besides the Roman, that deth but dis
sent from sorae ene, article of this prodigious creed :
and the main article concerning the priraacy of the
bishops ef Rome over the universal church is by aU
of thera universaUy disowned. Yea, there are thou
sands in the coraraunion of the church of Rome, that
will net acknowledge all the decrees of the council
of Trent for divine oracles, such as this confession of
faith declares thera te be. With so intolerable a
pride, arrogance, and presuraption (at which every
¦¦ I Cor. iii. 12.
' Hane veram et catholicam fidem, extra quam salvus nemo
esse potest, quam in prKsenti sponte profitear.

the Church of England. 225
man that fears God, and considei's the thing, cannot
choose but tremble, and be filled with horror and
amazement) do these men domineer and lord it ever
the faith and conscience of Christendom ! But, leav
ing the wretches te the righteous judgments of God,
let us return thither frora whence we have a little
digressed. XXXI. By what hath been said, we have abun
dantly cleared ourselves of prevarications from the
Articles ef our religion. For we have demonstrated,
1. As to the Thirty-nine Articles ef eur church, te
be subscribed by eur clergy, it is se far frem being
true, (what the author of the letter suggests,) that
few ef us wUl be concluded by them, that, en the
contrary, we all do and must suff"er ourselves te be
concluded by them, as far as eur church, in the im
position ef thera, intended we should. 2. That as
for those Articles of reUgien which eur church pro
poseth to aU her sons, (without exception,) to be
professed by them as points undoubtedly delivered
in Scripture, and contained in the ancient creeds,
and acknowledged by the catholic church in all ages,
she hath taken care (as far as a church can possibly)
to prevent any the least prevarication from them, by
enjoining every one of us te make an open and
solemn profession of them (in eur service and pubUc
Liturgy) before the face ef the congregation, and in
the presence of Almighty Ged.
XXXII. Let us now briefly consider how this
charge of prevarication, objected by the author ef
the letter against us, will return very heavUy upon
the men of his ewfl church. It is very manifest,
that divers, living in the communion ef the church of
Rorae, and professing themselves Reman cathoUcs,
VOL. II. Q

226 A Vindication of sect, xxxii.
have most egregiously prevaricated frem the articles
of the Reman faith. The articles ef the Roman
faith, did I say ? I confess it is very hard, if not
impossible, to define what they are, er to draw up
such a body of articles, as shall be acknowledged for
a standard of the Reman faith by all that profess
themselves te be of that religion. This is so true,
that I do solemnly profess, if I had any mind to be
a Roraan catholic, (which, God be thanked, I have
not,) I could not certainly tell hew to be, or when I
niight be assured that I ara such, unless I could per
suade rayself te the smutty faith ef the colUer, to
beUeve as the church doth, without knowing what it
is that the church believeth, or what is that church
which se believes, as I profess myself to do. But
let us fellow thera as far as we can in their labyrinth.
There are certain points received as articles of faith
at Rorae, (and a raan weuld be there accounted no
Roraan catholic that should deny them,) which yet
are openly denied by seme that profess themselves
Reman catholics. I instance enly in two, The
personal InfalUbiUty of the pope, and his supe
riority te a general council. As fer the first, eur
countryman, Mr. White, (a learned Roman cathoUc,
and ene who hath many followers, and leaders too,)
is so far frem acknowledging the personal infalUbiUty
of the pope, that he affirms the holding ef it to be
an arch-heresy, and the propagating of that doctrine
to be a grievous sin *. (And sure I am the doctors
of the Sorbonne were formerly of the same mind
with Mr. White, and I believe are so stiU.) And I
' Tabulae Suffrag. c. 19, 20, 21. Vide et Holdeni Divinae Fidei
Analysim, p. 179. [1. I. eg, p. 23 5. J

the Church of England. 227
myself have met with seme papists, who have plainly
derided the doctrine of the personal infalUbiUty of
the pope, and not without great indignation dis
owned it te be an article ef their faith. As for the
latter point, concerning the superiority of the pope
to a general council, all those whe disown the for
mer must reject this also. For the pope cannet be
imagined superior te a general council upon any
other account than this, that he is guided (at least
when he sits in his enchanted chair) by an infaUible
spirit, to judge of the determinations of general
councils, whether they are true or false, and accord
ingly to confirm or reject them. Yet this point must
be held by all that oavu the council ef Florence ^, er
the confession ef faith, according to the council of
Trent; for in beth of thera it is deterrained, that
the pope, er bishop of Rorae, is the paster, governor,
and head ef the universal church, which cannet be
true, if the pope be subject te the universal church,
represented by her bishops in a general council.
Hence Gregory of Valence ^, a learned papist, speak
ing of these that held a general council to be supe
rior te the pope, saith, " that they did indeed plainly
" thwart (though unawares) the most certain faith
" concerning St. Peter and the bishop of Rorae's
" priraacy in the church." Indeed they that do,
seem to forget their very name of papists, which
" Vide Caranz. Sum. Concil. Florent. et Synod, ann. 1439,
p. 65s, 6^6. [p. 864.]
" Atque hinc profecto iUorum auctorum sententia manifeste
revincitur, qui concilium universale pontifice superius faciunt.
Pugnant enim illi revera (licet non advertentes) cum certissima
fide de D. Petri ac Romani pontificis in ecclesia primatu. Gregor.
de Valent. Com. Theolog. tom. III. disp.i, qu. i. punct. 7. [p. 272.]
Q 2

228 A Vindication of sect, xxxii.
was given thera fi'ora their dependance en the pope,
as the vicar of Christ, the head ef the church, and
the infallible judge ef all controversies. This then
raust be held as an undoubted article of faith, and
the very foundation of the Reman catholic religion,
That the pope is superior te a general councU.
New frem this great article ef faith, not enly Mr.
White, and the persons but now mentioned, but
also divers other Roraan catholics ef a higher rank,
have egregiously prevaricated. We have a numerous
assembly ef many hundreds ef bishops, called toge
ther by the emperor Sigismund at Constance ?, de
termining point-blank against this great article : for
in the fourth session they define, " That the synod,
" lawfully gathered together in the Holy Ghost, and
" making a general council, and representing the ca-
" tholic church militant, hath a power iraraediately
" frora Christ, te which every raan, ef whatsoever state
" or dignity, though it be the pope hiraself, is bound
" to yield obedience," &c. And presently after they
decree, " That if any raan, though he were the pope
" hiraself, should refuse te obey the decrees of this
" synod, er any ether general council lawfully ga-
" thered together, he should de penance and suffer
" condign punishraent." And about sixteen years
after, the council ef Basil ^ (in the second session)
decreed the same thing in the very same words.
Nay, in the third session, they determined this to be
" a catholic verity, and that whosoever should op-
'' ppse it should be accounted an heretic." It is to
no purpese here to answer, (as Bellarraine and others
y Caranz. Summ. Concil. Constant, sess. 4, 5. p. 647, 648.
[p. 826.]
^ Caranz. Summ. Concil. Bas. p. 665, 672. [p. 848-9.]

the Church of England. 229
have done,) that these councUs were ne lawful coun
cUs, as not confirmed by the pope. Fer supposing
this to be true, (which certainly is most false, and it
may be easUy evinced that each ef these councils
was confu-med by a pope,) yet still it is confessed,
beth that these, bishops (which were well nigh all
the bishops of the western churches) were ef the
Roraan catholic reUgien and coraraunion, and that
they did so deterraine as we have said. Let rae
now ask the author of the letter this questien. Was
the superiority ef the pope to a general council an
article ef faith in the tirae of the council of Con
stance and Basil, or not ? If it was, then here we
have the Roraan cathoUc bishops generally guilty
of prevarication from an article of faith, and that
the main article of the Roman catholic religion.
And then what is become of that uninterrupted suc
cession of pastors (which the author of the letter se
much beasts ef) in the Reman church, always hold
ing the sarae articles of religion ? If it was net then
held fer an article ef faith, as it is raanifest enough
it was not, from the testimony of so many bishops,
then are they guUty of a grievous prevarication,
whe have since raade that an article ef faith which
was net se before, but rather was held to be an
error, yea a downright heresy. Se that, on the one
side or the ether, here raust ef necessity be acknow
ledged a very lamentable prevarication from a great
fundaraental article ef the Roman faith.
XXXIII. But let us come raore closely te that
standard ef the Roraan faith, which I ara assured
the author of the letter acknowledgeth fer such, viz.
The decrees of the councU ef Trent. It is weU
known, that a great nuraber ef these that call them-
q3

230 A Vindication of sect, xxxiii.
selves Reman catholics, are so far frem being con
cluded by the decrees ef that council, that they ut
terly reject the authority thereof, accounting it as an
unlawful and irregular convention. And yet the
author of the letter dares not (I am sure) pronounce
aU these to be heretical ; and as fer these that pro
fess te submit themselves to the authority of that
council, how egi'egieusly have many ef them pre
varicated frem the canons and decrees thereof!
If the gentieraan hath been so Uttle conversant
in the authors ef his own church as to deny this, I
will undertake to prove it by the clearest evidences,
even by the confession ef papists theraselves. But
that which I chiefly insist en (to shew the prevari
cation of the Trent papists) is this, that no man can
make profession ef his faith, according te the coun
cil ef Trent, without being guilty, in that very pro
fession, of prevarication, in the highest degree, even
to perjury. Fer yeur ladyship raay please to un
derstand, that the confession of faith, according to
the council ef Trent, is raade with a solemn oath :
now in this confession, I. They swear " te receive
" as undoubted aU things delivered, defined, and
" declared by the canons and general councils, and
" especiaUy by the holy council ef Trent *." New,
any understanding man, that impartially reads the
canons and the decrees ef these councils, acknow-
. ledged for general by the papists, will find it impos
sible te reconcile them one to another. II. They
swear, with the same breath wherewith they profess
= Omnia a sacris canonibus et oecumenicis conciliis, ac praecipue
a sacrosancta synodo Tridentina tradita, definita, ac declarata, in
dubitanter recipio ac profiteor.

the Church of England. 231
their reception ef all the canons and general coun
cUs, that " they acknowledge the holy catholic and
" apostolic church of Rome te be the raother and
" mistress ef all other churches, and tbe pope te be
" successor ef St. Peter, the prince ef tbe apostles,
" and te be also the vicar ef Jesus Christ, te whom
" eur obedience is due''."
New it is very raanifest, that the first and raost
faraous general councU ef Nice, in the sixth canon,
decrees. That every patriarch, within his province,
hath fuU aud perfect jurisdiction, without any de
pendance upon the church er bishop of .Rorae, er
any ether church or bishop ; and that the jurisdiction
of the church and bishop ef Rorae is ne less liraited
than that ef other churches and patriarchs. Let any
man compare the words'^ ef the canon with the usual
answers given by the papist, and (if he dees net
wink very hard) he must needs see what wretched
shifts a bad cause wUl put men to. Other instances
I might give your ladyship of the apparent contra
dictions ef that confession ; but these are sufficient
to shew, that ewerj raan whe swears te the confes
sion of Trent, must necessarUy be a perjured person,
either knowingly and wittingly, or ignorantly and
unadvisedly, and the best of these two sorts of per-
*> Sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Romanam ecclesiam
omnium ecclesiarum matrem et niagistram agnosco : Romanoque
pontifici B. S. Petri apostolorum principis snccessori, ac Jesu
Christi vicario, veram obedientiam spondeo ac juro.
¦^ Tas apxaia eBrj Kparetru, ra iv Aiyvitrf, Ka) At^v-ij, koi Hevra/noXei,
Sare tov iv 'AXt^avipeta i^taKovov itavruv toi/tkv ex^iv rvjv i^ovataV in-
(Mj Kat r^ iv T^ 'VujA-ri iiitaKovij) touto avv^Bei eariV ojAotug Se Kat Kara
rYjV 'kvrto%etav, Kai iv ra7( aXXati iitapxiaii, ra wpea^eia a£C,eaBai raTg
iKKAiiatatg. Justell. Codex Can. Ecclesite Univers. p. 30, 31., [p. 6.]
Q 4

232 A Vindication of sect, xxxiv.
jury is bad eneugh. And new I leave it to your
ladyship to judge who are the prevaricators.
XXXIV. Thus I have largely exarained every
thing in the letter, that seemed to rae any way worthy
of answer. What follows in the close, is nothing
else but a bundle of specious words, which I know
your ladyship to be too wise to be deceived by.
Only I cannet but take notice hew enthusiastical and
perfectly fanatical his disceurse is concerning faith
and conversion. He tells yeur ladyship very grave
ly, that true faith is the iraraediate gift of Ged.
But a graver apostle assures us, thdX faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God ; that is,
that a raan raust first have the object of his faith
clearly and convincingly propounded te him, and
that as declared by the word qf God er divine re
velation, before he can truly believe, or be obUged
so to de. He encourageth your ladyship te expect
a conversion no less miraculous than that of St*
Paul, and promiseth the contribution of his prayers
fer the obtaining of so great a favour. It seems he
supposeth yeur ladyship to be at present in a sad
estate, like that of St. Paul when he was yet a Saul>
in a state ef infidelity persecuting the church of
Ged. But yeur adhesion to the Church of England
(wherein, as I have largely proved, the rule ef faith
and all the fundamental articles of the Christian
religion are received, taught, professed, and acknow
ledged) secures you frora infidelity and heresy; and
yeur known and exeraplary piety gives rae ground
to believe, that you are in the number ef those
righteous persons (of whom our Saviour speaks,
Luke XV. 7.) that need no repentance, that is, no
universal change frem a state of sin and death to a

the Church of England. 233
state ef grace and salvation. But if your ladyship's
present estate were as bad as your kind relation re
presents it, yet he gives you ne just ground to ex
pect se miraculous a conversion as that of St. Paul's;
and I doubt all his prayers te saints and angels
weuld prove ineffectual for that purpose. But would
yeur ladyship understand the plain EngUsh of this
fanatic disceurse ? Fer all his pretences te the con
trary, he is unwilling that yeur ladyship should con
sult your serious reason : fer then he despairs (and
not without reason) that ever you wiU ceme off" to
the church ef Rome ; but he would have you te
wait for sorae violent, sudden, and unaccountable
irapulse, that should drive yeur ladyship (you knew
not why or wherefore) inte the bosora of their
church, where he proraises " a deUghtful and sweet
" repose." How sweet it wiU be I know not, but sure
I ara it wiU net be very safe. Let rae therefore
humbly beseech your ladyship to stick te his first
advice, " te censuit your serious reason," and (let rae
add) these learned divines ef eur church, that are
near you, who are abundantly able to rescue yeur
ladyship frora the Uttle trifling arrests ef the Roraan
emissaries ; and especially to censuit the undoubted
oracles ef God, the holy Scriptures, which the au
thor of the letter himself tells you, should be our
guidance unto true faith and perfection; and te
aU te add yeur daily prayers to Almighty God, that
he weuld lead you into and confirm you in his holy
truth, and deliver you from the snares ef errer,
which are with so close and cunning a contrivance
every where laid araong us ; and then I doubt not
but you will continue steadfast in the communion of
that church, wherein at present, by the gracious

234 A Vindication, 8^c. sect, xxxiv.
providence of Ged, you live, and bless God that
you are there.
If ray weak endeavours raay be farther serviceable
to your ladyship in this great affair, be pleased freely
te coraraand, Madara,
Yeur ladyship's most truly. devoted servant
in all Christian offices,
Suddington in Gloucester- rnnz-i-o/^in tittt t
shire, Oct. 18,1671.

THE
CORRUPTIONS

OF

THE CHURCH OF ROME,

IN RELATION TO

ECCLESIASTICAL GOVERNMENT,
THE
RULE OF FAITH, AND FORM OF DIVINE WORSHIP ;
IN ANSWER TO
THE BISHOP OF MEAUX'S QUERIES.
BY
THE REVEREND DR. BULL,
LOKD BISHOP OF ST. DAVID's.

[All the editions of this work prefix the letter of the bishop of
Meaux to Nelson, which is printed in the Life, p. 329, &c.
and therefore omitted here.]

DR. BULL'S ANSWER.
I. The approbation ef my writings by se learned
and Ulustrious a prelate as monsieur de Meaux,
especially when joined with the congratulations of
the learned clergy of France in general, is se high an
honour done me, that if I did net set a great value
on it, I were altogether unworthy of it.
But as te the wonder ef monsieur de Meaux, I
cannot but very rauch wonder at it, especially at the
reasons en which it is grounded. He wonders " how
" I, that speak se advantageously of the church, &c.
" can continue a raoraent without acknowledging
" her." Her ! What her deth the bishop raean ?
Doubtless, tbe present church of Rerae, in the cora
raunion whereof he hiraself Uves, and to which his
design seems to be to invite rae. But where do I
speak so advantageously of the present church of
Rorae ? No where, I am sure. My thoughts con
cerning her, I have plainly (perhaps too plainly and
bluntly in the opinion ef monsieur de Meaux) deli
vered in the book which he so coraraends, Jud. Eccl
cathol. c. 5. §. 3. where having spoken of that sin
gular purity of the faith, which was in the church of
Rorae in the first ages, and taken notice ef and ex
tolled by serae of the primitive Fathers, I thus con
clude : " Oh, that so great a happiness, such purity

238 Corruptions ofthe sect. i.
" of faith, had always continued in that church !
" But, alas ! we raay new cry eut in the holy pro-
" phet's words. How is the faithful city become an
" harlot""." Isaiah i. 21.
But monsieur de Meaux seeras to think the Ro
man and the catholic church to be convertible terms,
which is strange in se learned a man, especiaUy at
this time ef the day. Cannet the catholic church
be raentioned, but presently the Roraan church raust
be understood ? The book, which the bishop refers
to, bears this title. Judicium Ecclesice Catholicce
trium primorum Seculorum, &;c. Of the catholic
church ef the three first centuries I de indeed speak
with great deference. Te her judgment (next to
the holy Scriptures) I appeal against the oppngners
ef eur Lord's divinity at this day, whether Arians or
Socinians. The rule of faith, the symbols or creeds,
the profession whereof was, in those ages, the con
dition ef coraraunion with the catholic church, (men
tioned by Irenseus, Tertullian, and ethers,) I heartily
and firmly beUeve. This primitive catholic church,
as to her government and discipline, her doctrines ef
faith, and her worship of God, I think ought to be
the standard by which we are to judge of the ortho
doxy and purity of all other succeeding churches,
according te that excellent rule ef Tertullian, de
Prescript, adv. Hceres. c. 20, 21. " Every descent
" must necessarUy deduce itself frem its first ori-
" ginal. If these things are true, it is plain that
" every doctrine which these apostoUcal, these eri-
" ginal and mother churches held as analogous to
^ Utinam hKC felicitas, haec fidei puritas ecclesiae isti perpetua
fuisset! Sed proh dolor! Nunc prophetas divini verbis exclamare
possumus, Quomodo effecta est n'leretrix urbs Jidel'is !

Church oJ\Rome. 239
" the rule of faith, is to be owned as true, and as
" containing, without doubt, what the churches re-
" ceived frora the apostles, the apostles frora Christ,
" Christ frora Ged ; but that all other doctrine is to
" be looked upon as false, and no ways savouring ef
" those truths which have been delivered by the
" churches, and the apostles, and Christ, and God''."
And te the sarae purpose he discourseth, cap. 31.
ejusdem libri.
According to this rule, the Church of England
will be found the best and purest church at this day
in the Christian werld. Upon which account, I
bless Ged that I was born, baptized, and bred up in
her coraraunion ; wherein I firraly resolve by his
grace to persist, usque ad extremum vitce spiritum.
Hew far the present church ef Rorae hath de
parted frora this priraitive pattern, will appear
hereafter.- Monsieur de Meaux adds, as a farther reason of
his wonder, " that I speak ef salvation as only te be
" found in unity with her." Her ! deth the bishop
here again raean the present church ef Rome ? If he
deth, I must plainly teU hira, that I ara so far frora
ever thinking that salvation is enly te be found in
unity with her, that, on the contrary, I verily believe
they are in great danger ef their salvation, whe live
in her coraraunion ; that is, whe own her erroneous
'' Omne genus ad originem suam censeatur necesse est. Si.
haec ita sunt, constat proinde omnem doctrinam, quse cum illis ec
clesiis apostolicis matricibus et originalibus fidei conspiret, veritati
deputandam, sine dubio tenentem quod ecclesiae ab apostolis,
apostoli a Christo, Christus a Deo accepit : omnem vero doctri
nam de mendacio praejudicandam, quae sapiat contra veritatem
ecclesiarum et apostolorum et Christi et Dei.

240 Corruptions ofthe sect. i.
doctrines, and join in her corrupt worship, ef which
I shall give a large account before I have dene. I
de indeed, in the book which the bishop hath an eye
unto, shew, that there was a canon or rule ef faith
received in the priraitive church, which whoever in
any point thereof denied er opposed, was judged an
heretic, and if he persisted in his heresy, cast eut of
the comraunion of the catholic church, and so eut of
the ordinary way of salvation. But what is this to
the present church of Rorae and her comraunion ?
The bishop's last reason is, " that I ewn the in-
" falUhle assistance ef the Holy Ghost in the council
" of Nice, which infers the same assistance fer all
" ethers asserabled in the sarae churcb." Te which
I answer, I raentien this indeed as the opinion of
Socrates, but at the sarae tirae I give another ac
count of the credit that is to be given te the deter
raination of the Nicene councU in the article of our
Saviour's divinity, in the Prooemium of my Defensio
Fidei Nicence, §.3. where ray words are these :
" But the same Socrates, chap. ix. ef the same book,
" reproves Sabinus for not considering with himself,
" that tbey whe came te this council, how illiterate
" soever they were, yet being enlightened by God
" and the grace ef the Holy Ghost, could in ne wise
" depart frem the truth. Fer he seems te have
" thought the enlightening grace of the Holy Ghost
" always to accompany a general council of bishops,
" and te preserve them frora errer, especiaUy in any
" ef the necessary articles of faith. Which supposi-
" tion, if any one shall refuse to adrait ef, Socrates's
" arguraentation raay be thus directed and urged
" against hira : The Nicene Fathers, (let any iraagine
" thera as unskilful and illiterate as he will,) yet, in

Church of Rome. 241
" the raain, were doubtless pious raen : but it is in-
" credible that so raany holy and approved raen,
" asserabled frera aU parts ef the Christian werld,
" (whe, hew defective soever in any other sort of
" knowledge, could by no raeans be ignorant ef the
" first and fundaraental doctrine of the holy Trinity,
" a doctrine wherein the very catechuraens were not
" uninstructed, or of what theraselves had received
" frera their predecessors concerning it,) should
" wickedly conspire araongst themselves, te new
" model the faith received in the church concerning
" this principal article of Christianity '^." And, in
deed, all these things considered and laid together,
it was meraUy irapossible that the Nicene Fathers
should have erred, in the deterraination of the article
before them. And that they did net actually err, I

'^ Idem vero Socrates ejusdem libri cap. IX. p. 31. reprehendit
Sabinum quod non etiam secum reputaverit, uq e'l Kat Ibiurat ^aav
01 T?; avvoiov, KareXafAvov-ro oe vso ro'v @eo'v, Ka) r-ijg j^afiTo; Toii dyiov
TlvevjAaroq, ov^ajAuq aaro-^aat t^$ aX-ijBetai; i^vvavro. I. e. eos, qui ad
synodum illam convenerant, quamvis rudes essent atque imperiti, a
Deo tamen et Spiritus S. gratia illustratos, nuUatenus a veritate
aberrare potuisse. Quippe sensisse videtur Socrates, concilio
episcoporam vere universali seraper adesse Spiritus Sancti gratiam
illuminatricem, quae ipsos ab errore, saltem in necessariis fidei
articulis, liberos custodial. Quam hypothesin si quis nolit admit
tere, poterit ad ipsum argumentatio Socratis ita institui ac formari :
Patres Nicaani, ut imperiti et literarum rudes fuisse fingantur, pii
tamen certe maximam partem fuere : incredibile autem est, tot
viros sanctos et probatos, ex omnibus orbis Christiani regionibus
convenientes, (qui qualicunque alias imperitia laboraverint, certe
ignorare non poterant elementariam de SS. Trinitate doctrinam,
etiam catechumenis tradi solitam, aut quid ipsi ea de re a majori
bus accepissent,) nefarie conspirare potuisse ad hoc, ut receptam
in ecclesia fidem, de primario Christianismi articulo, innovarent.
VOL. 17 H

242 Corruptions ofthe sect. i.
have sufficiently proved, in the bishop's own judg
ment, in the foUowing treatise.
But suppose I were fully of Socrates's opinion,
concerning the infaUible assistance ef the Holy Ghost
attending every truly general council in matters of
faith, I should be never the nearer to the comraunion
of the church of Rome, as it is now subjected to the
decrees ef the Trent council. Fer as I afterwards
add in the same preface, §. 8. " The assembly at
" Trent is te be caUed by any ether narae, rather
" than that of a general council ''."
I proceed to the bishop's questions. He asks me
" What I mean by the cathoUc church ?" I answer :
What I mean by the catholic church in the book
which he aU along refers te, I have already shewn,
and the very title ef the book sufficiently declares.
If he asks rae, What I raean by the catholic church,
speaking of it as now it is? I answer: By the
catholic church, I raean the church universal, being
a coUection of all the churches throughout the werld,
who retain the faith {avra^) once delivered to the
saints, Jude 3 ; that is, whe held and profess, in the
substance ef it, that faith and religion which was
delivered by the apostles ef Christ te the first origi
nal churches, according te TertuUian's rule before
mentioned. Which faith and religion is contained
in the holy Scriptures, especially of the New Testa
ment, and the raain fundaraentals ef it ceraprised in
the canon or rule ef faith, universally received
throughout the priraitive churches, and the pro
fession thereof acknowledged te be a sufficient tes-
^ Tridentina conventio quidvis potius quam generale concilium
dicei)da est.

Church of Rome. 243
sera, or badge, of a catholic Christian. All the
churches at this day which held and profess this
faith and religion, however distant in place, er dis
tinguished by different rites and ceremonies, yea, er
divided in some extra-ftmdamental points of doc
trine, yet agreeing in the essentials of the Christian
reUgien, make up together ene Christian catholic
church under the Lord Christ, the suprerae Head
thereof. The cathoUc church, under this notion,
is net " a confused heap of societies, separated ene
" frora another." But it seeras, no other union ef
the church will satisfy the bishop, but a union of
aU the churches ef Christ throughout the werld
under ene visible head, having a jurisdiction over
thera all, and that head the bishop of Rome for the
time being. But such a union as this was never
dreamed ef amongst Christians for at least the first
six hundred years, as shall be shewn in its due
place. The catholic church, I believe, shaU never tetaUy
faU, that is, Christianity shall never utterly perish
from the face ef the earth, but there shaU be some
to maintain and uphold it te the end ef the werld ;
although seme ef the ancient doctors of the church
have given us a very tragical description of the state
of the universal church ef Christ, which shall be
under the reign ef the great Antichrist. But I knew
ef no premise ef indefectibUity frem the faith made
to any particular church, ne, not te the church ef
Rome itself. And if we may judge by the holy
Scriptures, and by the doctrine and practice of the
primitive cathoUc church, the present church of
Rerae hath already laraentably failed, and faUen
into raany dangerous and gress errors, as will by
R 2

244 Corruptions ofthe sect. ii.
and by appear. New that church which hath al
ready se far failed, why may she not utterly fail ?
If she be found but in ene error, the infalUble di
rection ef her judgraent, upon which her indefecti
bUity frem the faith must depend, is gene and de
stroyed. I add, that divers erainent* doctors, even
of the Reman communion, have discovered eut of
the Apocalypse, that Rome itself shall at length be
corae the seat ef Antichrist. If so, where will the
church of Rorae then be ?
But I wonder why raonsieur de Meaux should ask
rae, Whether by the catholic church I mean the
church of Rerae er the church ef England? He
knows full well, I mean neither the one ner the
ether. For to say either ef the church of Rome, or
of the church of England, er ef the Greek church, or
of any ether particular church, ef what denomination
soever, that it is the catholic or universal church,
would be as absurd as to affirra that a part is the
whole. And te be sure I never meant the church of
Rorae to be the catholic church exclusively to all
ether churches. I ara se far frora any such raean
ing, that my constant judgment of the church of
Rome hath been, that if she raay be aUowed still to
reraain a part er raeraber of the catholic church,
(which hath been questioned by sorae learned men,
upon grounds and reasons not very easy te be an
swered,) yet she is certainly a very unsound and
corrupted ene, and sadly degenerated frera her pri
mitive purity. This I raust insist upon, and have
obliged rayself te prove ; and I prove it thus :
II, The church of Rerae hath quite altered the
' Ribera et Viega in Apoc. xvii.

Church of Rome. 245
primitive ecclesiastical government, changed the
primitive canon or rule ef faith, and miserably
corrupted the primitive Liturgy or form of divine
worship. 1st. She hath quite altered the primitive eccle
siastical governraent, by erecting a monarchy in the
church, and setting up her bishop as the universal
paster and governor ef the whole cathoUc church,
and raaking all other bishops te be but his vicars
and substitutes, as te their jurisdiction.
For that the bishop ef Rorae had no such univer
sal jurisdiction in the priraitive times, is most evi
dent frera the sixth canon ef the first Nicene councU,
occasioned, as it appears, by the schism of Meletius,
an ambitious bishop in Egypt, whe took upon him
te ordain bishops there without the consent of the
metropolitan bishop of Alexandria. The words of
the canon are these : " Let the ancient customs pre-
" vaU f that are iu Egypt, Lybia, and PentapoUs,
" that the bishop ef Alexandria have the power ever
" them aU, forasrauch as the bishop ef Rerae also
" hath the Uke custom. In like manner, in Antioch,
" and aU other provinces, let the privileges be pre-
" served to the churches." Frera this canon it is
plain, that the three raetrepeUtan bishops, or pri
mates, (they were not as yet, I think, called patri
archs,) ef Alexandria, Rome, and Antioch, had their
distinct jurisdictions, each independent en the other ;
and that aU other chief bishops er priraates ef pro
vinces had the sarae privileges which are here con
firraed te them. It is true, this canon doth not
f Ta apxa'ia 'eBr) Kparetru. [The words of this canon may be seen
at p. 231 of this volume.] v. Can. Apost. 34. et Cone. Ephesin.
can. 8.
R 3

246 Corruptions ofthe sect. ii.
particularly describe er determine what the bounds
are ef tbe Roman bishop's power, as neither doth it
the liraits of the bishop ef Antiech's jurisdiction,
but only those ef the bishop ef Alexandria's pro
vince. The reason hereof is manifest ; the case of
the bishop of Alexandria enly was at this time laid
before the synod, whose jurisdiction in Egypt had
been lately invaded by the schismatical ordinations
ef Meletius, as I before observed. But that the
Roman bishop's power, as well as that ef the ether
metropolitans, had its bounds, is most manifest from
the example that is drawn from thence, fer the U-
mits ef ether churches. Fer what an absurd thing
is it, that the church ef Rerae should be raade the
pattern for assigning the Uraits to ether metropolitan
churches, if that church also had net her known
limits at the sarae tirae when this canon was made !
Intolerable is the exposition which BeUarmin and
other Roraanists give of these words of the canon ;
" forasrauch as the bishop ef Rome also hath the
" Uke custom S;" i. e. (they say,) " It was the custom
" of the bishop ef Rerae te perrait, er leave te the
" bishop ef Alexandria, the regiraen of Egypt, Lybia,
" and PentapoUs." Certainly, rovro avv-^Seg eartv im-
pUes a Uke custom in the church ef Alexandria and
in the church ef Rerae ; and the sense of the canon
is raost evident, that the bishop ef Alexandria
should, according te the ancient custora of the
church, (net by the perraission of the Roman bi
shop,) enjoy the full power in his province, as by
the Uke ancient custom the bishop of Rome had
the jurisdiction of his. But they that would see
this canon fully explained, and cleared frora aU the
6 'EiTfiS'/) Kai ra iv tj 'PujA-y i-itiaKonif toEto avvYjBeg iartv.

Church qf Rome. 247
trifling cavils and exceptions of the Romanists, raay
censuit the large and copious annotations ef the
learned Dr. Beveridge, bishop of St. Asaph, upon it,
where they will receive araple satisfaction.
Thus was the governraent of the catholic church,
in the priraitive times, distributed araong the several
chief bishops or priraates of the provinces, neither
ef thera being accountable to the other, but all of
them to an oecumenical council, which was then
held te be the enly supreme visible judge of contro
versies arising in the church, and te have the power
ef finaUy deciding thera. Hence the case of the
bishop ef Alexandria, before raentioned, was not
brought before the bishop of Rerae, er any ether
raetropolitan, but referred te the Fathers ef the Ni
cene council, to be finaUy deterrained by thera.
The universal pastorship er governraent of the
cathoUc churcb was never clairaed by any bishop
tiU towards the end of the sixth century, and then it
was thought te be chaUenged by John, patriarch ef
Constantinople, assuraing te hiraself the title of
oecumenical or universal bishop ; whom Gregory
the Great, bishop of Rome, vehemently opposed,
pronouncing him the forerunner of Antichrist, whe
durst usurp se arrogant a title. And it is worthy ob
serving hew passionately the sarae Gregory express
eth his detestation ef the pride and arrogance ef
the patriarch ef Constantinople, iu his letter to
Mauritius, the eraperor : " I am forced to cry eut,
" O tbe times ! O the manners ! All things in the
" parts ef Europe are delivered up te the power of
" barbarous people. Cities are destroyed, castles
" demoUshed, provinces depopulated, &c. and yet
" the bishops, whe ought to have lain prostrate on
B 4

248 Corruptions of the sect. ii.
" the ground, covered with ashes and weeping, even
" they covet to themselves names of vanity, and
" glory in new and profane titles ^." And yet
this name ef vanity, this new and profane title of
universal bishop, was afterwards accepted by Boni
face III. bishop of Rorae, when it was offered him
by that bloody miscreant Phocas the emperor ; and
the same title hath been owned by the succeeding
bishops of the Roman church, and that as due to
them by divine right. Indeed, it may be questioned
whether Jehn of Constantinople, by assuming the
title of oecumenical bishop, raeant that he had an
universal jurisdiction over all other bishops and
churches : but this is certain, that Gregory opposed
the title under this notion ; this appearing abun
dantly frem his epistle to John the patriarch M and it
is as certain, that under the sarae notion the bishops
ef Rerae afterwards assumed that title, and do claim
it to this day. Nay, the universal pastorship and
jurisdiction of the Roman bishop ever all bishops
and churches is now ne longer a mere court opinion,
raaintained only by the pope's parasites and flatter
ers, but is becorae a part of the faith of the church
of Rorae ; it being one of the articles of the Trent
creed, te which all ecclesiastics are sworn them
selves, and which, by the sarae oath, they are obliged
to teach the laity under their care and charge,
^ Exclamare conipellor ac dicere, O tempora ! O mores ! Ecce
cuncta inEuropee partibus barbarorum juri sunt tradita, destructae
urbes, eversa castra, depopulatae provinciae, &c. et tamen sacer
dotes, qui pavimento et cinere flentes jacere debuerunt, vanitatis
sibi nomina expetunt, ac novis et profanis vocabulis gioriantur.
Greg. 1. IV. epist. 32. [al. V. 20.J
' Lib. IV. epist. 38. [al. V. 18.]

Church of Rome. 249
as hereafter will appear. So that now there is no
roora fer that distinction, wherewith sorae have
seethed and pleased theraselves, between the church
and court of Rome; fer the court is entered inte
the church ef Rome, er rather the court and church
of Rome are all ene.
III. 2. The church ef Rorae hath changed the
primitive canon, or rule ef faith, by adding new
articles te it, as necessary to be believed in erder te
salvation. Leek to the confession ef faith, accord
ing to the council of Trent : it begins indeed with
the primitive rule ef faith, as explained by the
councU ef Nice and Constantinople ; and happy had
it been for the church ef Christ, if it had ended
there. But there are added afterwards a many
new articles ; and with reference te them, as well as
to the articles ef the eld creed, it concludes thus :
" This true catholic faith, without which none can
" be saved, which I now willingly profess and un-
" feignedly hold ; the same I proraise, vow, and
" swear, by the help ef God, raost constantly to keep
" and confess, entire and inviolate, even to my last
" breath ; and to endeavour moreover, te the utmost
" ef my power, that it raay be kept, taught, and
" professed by all ray subjects, or by those that are
" any way under ray care. Se help rae Ged, and
" these his holy gospels '^."
^ Hane veram catholicam fidem, extra quara nemo salvus esse
potest, quam in praesenti sponte profiteor, et veraciter teneo,
eandem integram et inviolatam, usque ad extremum vitas spiritum,
constantissime (Deo adjuvante) retinere et confiteri, atque a meis
subditis, vel illis quorum cura ad rae spectabit, teneri, doceri, et
praedicari, quantum in me erit, curatiirum ego idem N. spondeo,
voveo ac juro : sic me Deus adjuvet, et haec sancta Dei evangelia.

250 Corruptions of the sect. iii.
New, if you examine these articles that foUow
after the Constantinopolitan creed, you will find they
are net merely explicatory of any article er articles
ef the old canon ef faith, (such as that ef the ofxoova-tog,
or same substance iu the Nicene confession, which
was virtuaUy contained in the ancient canon, and by
good consequence deducible frora it, and was appa
rently also the sense ef the catholic church before
the Nicene council,) but they are plain additions to
the rule of faith. New if these articles were true,
yet they ought not presently to be raade a part of
our creed ; for every truth is net fundaraental, nor
every error damnable. We deny net but that gene
ral er provincial councils raay make constitutions
concerning extra-fundamental verities, and oblige all
such as are under their jurisdiction to receive them,
at least passively, se as not openly and contuma
ciously te oppose thera. But to raake any ef these a
part of the creed, and te oblige all Christians under
pain of daranation te receive and believe thera, this
is really te add te the creed, and te change the
ancient canon or rule of faith. But, alas ! these su
peradded articles of the Trent creed are so far frem
being certain truths, that they are most ef them
manifest untruths, yea, gress and dangerous errors.
Te raake this appear, I shall net refuse the pains of
examining some of the chief of thera.
The first article I shall take notice of is this ; " I
" profess, that in the mass is offered te Ged, a true,
" proper, and propitiatory sacrifice fer the living and
" the dead ; and that in the most holy sacraraent ef
"• the Eucharist there is truly, and reaUy, and sub-
" stantially the body and bleed, together with the
" soul and divinity, ef our Lord Jesus Christ ; and

Church of Rome. 251
" that there is wrought a conversion of the whole
" substance of the bread inte the body, and of the
" whole substance of the wine inte the bleed, which
" conversion the catholic church caUs transubstan-
" tiation i." Where this proposition, (" That in the
" raass there is offered to God a true, proper, and
" propitiatory sacrifice fer the living and the dead,")
having that ether ofthe " substantial presence ef the
" body and blood ef Christ in the Eucharist" iraraedi
ately annexed to it, the meaning of it must neces
sarily be this, that in the Eucharist the very body
and bleed ef Christ are again offered up to God as a
propitiatory sacrifice for the sins ef men. Which is
an impious proposition, derogatory to the ene full
satisfaction ef Christ raade by his death en the cress,
and contrary to express Scripture, Heb. vii. 27. and
ix. 12, 25, 26, 28. and x. 12, 14. It is true the
Eucharist is frequently caUed by tbe ancient Fathers
vpoacpopa, 8v!7ta, an oblation, a sacrifice. But it is to
be reraerabered, that they say also it is Ovaia XoytKVj
KM avaiixocKrog°^, a reasonable sacrifice, a sacrifice
without blood : which, how can it be said to be, if
therein the very bleed ef Christ were offered up to
God? They held the Eucharist to be a corameraorative
sacrifice, and se do we. This is the constant lan-

' Profiteer in missa ofFerri Deo verum, proprium, et propitia-
toriuin sacrificium, pro vivis et defunctis, atque in sanctissimo
Eucharistiae sacramento esse vere et realiter et substantialiter
corpus et sanguinem, una cum anima et divinitate Domini nostri
Jesu Christi, fierique conversionem totius substantias panis in
corpus, et totius substantiae vini in sanguinem, quam conver
sionem catholica ecclesia transubstantiationem appellat.
¦" [V. Constitut. Apost. VI. 23.]

252 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
guage of the ancient Liturgies, " We offer by way ef
" comraemeratien ° ;" according te eur Saviour's
words when he ordained this holy rite, Do this in
commemoration qf me °. In the Eucharist then,
Christ is offered, not hypostatically, as the Trent Fa
thers have determined, (for se he was but ence of
fered,) but commemeratively only : and this corame-
meratien is raade te God the Father, and is net a
bare reraerabering, or putting ourselves in raind of
him. Fer every sacrifice is directed to Ged, and the
oblation therein made, whatsoever it be, hath him
for its object, and not raan. In the holy Eucharist
therefore, we set before Ged the bread and wine, as
" figures er iraages of the precious bleed ef Christ
" shed for us, and ef his precious body," (they are the
very words ofthe Cleraentine Liturgy?,) and plead to
Ged the raerit ef his Sen's sacrifice ence offered en
the cress -for us sinners, and in this sacrament re
presented, beseeching him fer the sake thereof te
bestow his heavenly blessings on us.
Te conclude this matter : the ancients held the
oblation of the Eucharist to be answerable in some
respects te the legal sacrifices ; that is, they beUeved
that eur blessed Saviour ordained the sacraraent of
the Eucharist as a rite ef prayer and praise to God,
instead ef the raanifold and bloody sacrifices of the
Law. That the legal sacrifices were rites to invocate
" MejAv-^IAevoi vpoacjiepoiAtv. Commemorantes, or Commemorando of-
ferimus. ' Tot/TO icoieire etq T^y ijAYjV avdjAVYjatv. [Lukexxii. 19.] Vid. Justin.
Mart. Dial, cum Tryph. p. 296, 297. [c. 70. p. 168, 9.]
P ToS Ti|«iou a'tjAaroi I'/jao'v Xpiarov toS iKxvBlvroq viiep yijaSv, Ka) toC
Tip'ou aujAaroq ra avrtrvxa. Constitut, ApOSt. VII. 25. [See also
V. 14. et VI. 30.]

Church of Rome. 253
God by, is evident from many texts of Scripture,
see especially 1 Sam. vii. 9. and xiii. 12 ; Ezra vi. 10;
Prev. XV. 8. And that they were also rites for
praising and blessing Ged for his mercies, appears
frem 2 Chron. xxix. 27. Instead therefore of slay
ing ef beasts, and burning ef incense, whereby they
praised Ged, and called upon his name under the
Old Testament; the Fathers, I -say, believed eur
Saviour appointed this sacrament ef bread and wine,
as a rite whereby to give thanks and make suppli
cation te his Father in his name. This you may see
fully cleared and proved by the learned Mr. Mede, in
his treatise entitled. The Christian Sacrifice. The
eucharistical sacrifice, thus explained, is indeed \o'ytia\
6vaia, a reasonable sacrifice, widely different from
that monstrous sacrifice ef the mass taught in the
church ef Rerae.
The other branch of the article is concerning
transubstantiation, wherein the ecclesiastic profess
eth upon his soleran oath his belief, that in the Eu
charist " there is raade a conversion of the whole sub-
" stance of the bread inte the body, and of the whole
" substance of tbe wine inte the blood of Christ :" a
proposition, that bids defiance te aU the reason and
sense of raankind ; nor (Ged be praised) hath it any
ground or foundation in divine revelation. Nay,
the text ef Scripture, en which the church ef Rorae
buUds this article, duly considered, utterly subverts
and overthrows it. She grounds it upon the words
of the institution of the holy Sacraraent by our Sa
viour, the sarae night wherein he was betrayed ;
when he took bread, and brake it, and gave it te his
disciples, saying. This is my body, ro Itlof/.evov, saith
St. Luke, [xxU. 19-] to KXaifj^evov, saith St. Paul,

254 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
[1 Cer. xi. 24.] which is given and broken for you.
After the same manner he took the cup, and gave
thanks, and gave it te them, saying, Drink ye all
qf this, for this is my blood of the new testament,
ro eK'xvvofj.evov, which is shed for many for the remis
sion qf sins. New whatsoever our Saviour said
was undoubtedly true : but these words could not
be true in a proper sense; fer eur Saviour's body
was not then given or broken, but whole and invi
olate ; nor was there one drop ef his bleed yet shed.
The words therefore must necessarUy be understood
in a figurative sense ; and then, what becomes ef the
doctrine of transubstantiation ? The meaning ef our
Saviour is plainly this : What I new de, is a repre
sentation ef my death and passion near approach
ing ; and what I new de, de ye hereafter, do this in
remembrance of me; let this be a standings perpetual
ordinance in ray church te the end ef the werld ;
let ray death be thus annunciated and shewn forth
till I corae te judgraent. See 1 Cer. xi. 26.
As Uttle foundation hath this doctrine of transub
stantiation in the ancient church, as appears suffi
ciently from what hath been already said concerning
the notion then universaUy received of the eucha
ristical sacrifice. It was then believed to be an
avdfj^vyjatg, or commemoration, by the symbols ef bread
and wine, ef the body and blood of Christ, once of
fered up to God on the cross for eur redemption ; it
could not therefore be then thought an offering up
again to Ged of the very body and bleed ef Christ,
substantiaUy present under the appearance ef bread
and wine; for these two notions are inconsistent,
and cannet stand together. The ancient doctors,
yea, and Liturgies ef the church, affirm the Eucharist

Church of Rome. 255
te be incruentum sacrificium, " a sacrifice without
" bleed ;" which it cannot be said te be, if the very
blood of Christ were therein present and offered up
to Ged. In the Clementine Liturgy, the bread and
wine in the Eucharist are said te be antitypa, " cor-
" respondent types," figures, and images ef the pre
cious body and blood of Christ. And divers ethers
ef the Fathers speak in the same plain language.
Vid. Greg. Nan. Apol. Orat. 1. tom. I. Cyril. Hi
er osol. 5. Cat. Myst. Ambros. de Sacrament, lib. IV.
cap. 4.
We are not ignerant that the ancient Fathers ge
neraUy teach, that the bread and wine in the Eucha
rist, by er upon tbe consecration of thera, de be
corae and are made the body and blood qf Christ.
But we knew also, that though they de not aU ex
plain themselves in the sarae way, yet they de all
declare their sense te be very dissonant frora the
doctrine of transubstantiation. Sorae of the raost
ancient doctors of the church, as Justin Martyr i and
Irenseus ^, seem te have had this notion, that by or
upon the sacerdotal benediction, the Spirit ef Christ,
er a divine virtue from Christ, descends upon the
elements, and accompanies thera to aU worthy cora
municants, and that therefore they are said te be,
and are the body and bleed ef Christ ; the same di
vinity, which is hypostatically united te the body of
Christ in heaven, being virtually united te the ele
ments ef bread and wine on earth. Which also
seems te be the meaning of all the ancient Liturgies,
in which it is prayed, " that God would send dewn
" his Spirit upon the bread and wine in the Eucharist."
1 [Apol. I. 66. p. 83.] ¦¦ [IV. 18. p. 251.]

256 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
And this doubtless is the meaning of Origen in his
eighth book against Celsus, p. 399- [c. 33. p. 766.] ;
where, speaking ef the holy Eucharist, he says, that
therein, " we eat bread by prayer (i. e. by the prayer
" ef consecration for the descent ef the divine Spirit
" upon it) raade a certain holy body, which also sanc-
'' tifies these who with a seund er sincere purpose
" of heart use it ^;" but that neither Justin Martyr,
ner Irenaeus, ner Origen ever drearaed ef the tran
substantiation ef the eleraents, is raost evident. For
Justin Martyr and Irenseus do beth of thera plainly
affirm, that by eating and drinking the bread and
wine in the Eucharist, " our bodies are nourished,"
and that the " bread and wine are digested and
" turned inte the substance ef eur bodies ;" which to
affirm ef the glorified body ef Christ were irapious
and blasphemous, and te affirra the same ef the mere
accidents ef the bread and wine would be very ab
surd and ridiculous. And Origen expressly saith,
" that what we eat in the Eucharist is bread, but
" bread sanctified and made holy by prayer, and
" wbich, by the divine virtue that accompanies it,
" sanctifieth all these whe wortbUy receive it." He
that weuld see raore of this notion ef the ancient
Fathers, and particularly those places of Justin Mar
tyr and Irenseus fully cleared and vindicated frem
the forced and absurd glosses ef the Romanists, may
consult ray learned friend Mr. Grabe, in his notes
upon Justin Martyr's first Apology, ef his ewn edition,
p. 128, 129, but especiaUy in his large and elaborate
Annotation upon Irenseus, lib. IV. cap. 34. [c. 18.]
" ' Aprovq iaBtOjAev aujAa yevojAevovi;, Sia t^v ev-)^v ay tav rt Ka) dyiaCfiV
T0U5 jAeB' vyiovg iipoBeaeag avr^ p^^ujUEi'Si';.

Church of Rome. 257
I shaU dismiss this article with this ene enly ob
servation, that after the prodigious doctrine of tran
substantiation was confirmed by the first Lateran
council, there were raany in the coraraunion ef the
church of Rorae, whe could net digest it, did not
in truth beUeve it, and wished frora their hearts
that their church had never defined it. For this
we have the araple testimonies of very eminent
writers ef that church. " The conversion of the
" bread and wine inte Christ's body and bleed,"
saith Cajetan, par. 3. qu. 75. article 1. " all of us de
" teach in words, but in deed many deny it, think-
" ing nothing less ^- These are diversely divided one
" from another. For seme, by tbe conversion that
" is in the sacraraent, understand nothing but iden-
" tity ef place, that is, that the bread is therefore
" said to be raade the body of Christ, because where
" the bread is, the body of Christ becoraes present
" also. Others understand by the word conversion
" nothing else but the order of succession, that is,
" that the body succeedeth and is under the veils
" of accidents, under which the bread, which they
" suppose te be annihUated, was before." Occam,
Centilogii conclus. cap. 39, saith, " There are three
" epinions about transubstantiation, ef which the
" first supposeth a conversion of the sacramental
" eleraents ; the second the annihilation ; the third
" affirraeth the bread te be in such manner transub-
'^ stantiated into the body of Christ, that it is no
" way changed in substance, or substantially con-
" verted into Christ's body, or doth cease te be, but
" only that the body ef Christ, in every part of
*> [i. e. though they think that they do not deny it: putantes
se non negare illam.]
VOL. II. S

258 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
" it, becoraes present in every part of the bread."
Waldensis, tora. II. de Saeram. Eucharistice, cap. 19.
reports eut of ChrysepoUtanus Zacharias's book, en
titled. In unum ex quatuor, " That there were seme,
" perhaps many, but hardly to be discerned and
" noted, whe thought still as Berengarius did." The
same Waldensis, in the same book, cap. 64, saith,
" That seme supposed the conversion that is in the
" sacrament, te be, in that the bread and wine are
" assumed inte the unity of Christ's person ; some
" thought it te be by way ef impanatien, and some
" by way of figurative and tropical appellation. The
" first and second ef these opinions found the better
" entertainment in seme raen's rainds, because they
" grant the essential presence of Christ's body, and
" yet deny not the presence of the bread stiU re-
" maining, te sustain the appearing accidents." These
epinions he reports te have been very acceptable to
raany, net without sighs, wishing the church had
decreed that raen should fellow one of thera.
It cannet be doubted, but that there are at this day
many in the coraraunion ef the church ef Rorae, who
are in the sarae perplexity about this article of tran
substantiation, and have the same wishes, that their
church had never made it an article ef their faith ;
for the absurdities of transubstantiation, and the
reason ef mankind, are stiU the same. Now what a
lamentable condition are they in, who are forced to
profess (yea, and aU ecclesiastics now by the Trent
confession in the most solemn manner te swear) that
they beUeve what they cannot for their hearts be
Ueve; whose consciences, between the determina
tions ef their church, and the dictates of their ewn
reason, yea, and sense tee, are continuaUy ground

Church of Rome. 259
as between two millstones ! I have been long upon
this article, but shall be more brief en the next.
The next article is this : " I confess also, that
" under one kind only, whole and entire Christ, and
" the whole sacraraent is received '." Now this arti
cle ef the " sufficiency of the sacrament ef the Eu-
" charist, taken only in ene kind," as it refers te,
and is designed to justify the practice*ef the Reman
church, in the constant and public administration of
the sacraraent te all the laity only in one kind, viz.
the bread, denying them the cup, is manifestly against
eur Saviour's first institution ofthe sacraraent, against
apostoUcal practice, and the usage of the universal
church ef Christ fer a thousand years, as is con
fessed by divers leai'ued raen of the Roraan cora
mnnion. And yet, according to the Trent creed, all
men are daraned that do not assent te the insolent
(and as I raay justly term it) antichristian decree ef
the Reman church in this point. And whe can
without astonishment reflect en the stiffness and
obstinacy and uncharitableness of the Trent Fathers
in this matter ? Before they met, when it was noised
that a councU should be caUed to redress the mani
fold abuses and corruptions that were in the church,
it was the longing expectation and earnest desire
of many good men, that, araongst ether things, the
communion iu beth kinds raight be restored te the
laity. There were a raultitude of pious seuls, as it
were, upon their knees before thera, thirsting after
the cup ef blessing, and earnestly begging fer an
entire sacraraent. But these duri Patres, those
hardhearted Fathers, had ne corapassion on them,
' Fateor etiam sub altera tantum specie totum atque integrum
Christum verumque sacramentum sumi.
S 2

260 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
turned a deaf ear te their loud cries and suppU
cations, enly bidding thera believe for the future,
(what they could not believe,) that half the sacra
raent was every whit as good as the whole.
Iraraediately follows this article ; " I firraly held
" that there is a purgatory, and that the seuls detained
" there are relieved by the prayers of the faithful "."
Now this article of a " purgatory after this life," as
it is understood and taught by the Roraan church,
(that is, te be a place and state of raisery and tor
ment, wherein to many faithful souls ge presently
after death, and there remain tiU they are throughly
purged frora their dress, er deUvered thence by
masses, indulgences, &c.) is contrary te Scripture,
and the sense ef the cathoUc church for at least the
first four centuries, as I have at large proved in a
disceurse concerning the state ef the souls of men
in the interval between death and the resurrec
tion ^ '. which I ara ready to coraraunicate to raon
sieur de Meaux, if he shall desire it. Indeed the
doctrine of purgatory is net only an error, but a
dangerous one toe, which (I ara verily persuaded)
hath betrayed a multitude of souls into eternal per
dition, who might have escaped hell, if they had not
depended upon an after-game in purgatory. But
this article, being very gainful te the Reman clergy,
raust abeve others be held fast, and constantly main
tained and defended. " I firraly held it y."
== Prayers for the dead, as founded on the hypethe-
» Constanter teneo purgatorium esse, animasque ibi detentas
fidelium suffragiis juvari.
" [Sermon III. p. 72.]
V Constanter teneo.
' [This passage, " Prayers for the dead  misery and tor-
" ment," is taken almost literally from the third Sermon, p. 70, &c.]

Church of Rome. 261
sis ef purgatory, (and we no otherwise reject them,)
fall together with it. The prayers for the dead used
in the ancient church (those, I mean, that were more
properly prayers, i. e. either deprecations or peti
tions) were ef two sorts, either the common and
general cemraeraeration of all the faithful at the
oblation ef the holy Eucharist, or the particular
prayers used at the funerals of any of the faithful
lately deceased.
The forraer respected their final absolution, and
the censuraraatien ef their bUss at the resurrection ;
Uke as that our church useth both in the Office for
the Coraraunion, and in that for the Burial of the
Dead : which indeed seeras to be ne more than what
we daUy pray for in that petition of the Lord's
Prayer, (if we rightly understand it,) " Thy king-
" dom corae." The latter were also charitable oraens,
and good wishes of the faithful living, as it were
accerapanying the soul of the deceased te the joys ef
paradise, of which they beUeved it already possessed,
as the ancient author of the Ecclesiastical Hier
archy in the last chapter ef that book plainly in
forras us. In a word, let any understanding and
unprejudiced person attentively observe the prayers
for the dead in tbe raost undoubtedly ancient Litur
gies, especiaUy those in the Cleraentine Liturgy, and
these raentioned in ihe Ecclesiastical Hierarchy ;
and he will be so far from beUeving the Roraan pur
gatory upon the account of those prayers, that he
raust needs see they raake directly against it. For
they aU run (as even that prayer for the dead, which
is unadvisedly left by the Roraanists in their own
canon of the mass, as a testimony against them
selves) in this form : " Fer all that are in peace or
s 3

262 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
" at rest in the Lord." Now how can they be
said to be " in peace er at rest in the Lord," who
are supposed to be in a state of misery and tor
ment ?
The next article is this : " As also that the saints
" reigning together with Christ are to be venerated
" and invoked, and that they offer up prayers to God
" for us ; and that their relicks are te be venerated'^."
New, for the worship and invocation of saints de
ceased, there is ne ground or foundation in the holy
Scriptures, ne precept, no exaraple. Nay it is by
evident consequence forbidden in the prohibition of
the worship and invocation ef angels. Col. ii. 18.
with which text corapare the 35th canon of the
council ef Laodicea, and the judgment of the learned
Father Theodoret concerning it, whe flourished
shortly after that councU. He, in his notes upon
that text ef St.Paul, hath these express words; " The
" synod, raet at Laodicea in Phrygia, made a law
" forbidding raen te pray even te the angels ^." See
also Zonaras upon the sarae canon. He, as weU as
Theodoret long before him, rightly judged, that both
in the text of St. Paul, and in the Laodicean canon,
all prayers te angels are forbidden. New if we must
not pray to angels, then rauch less raay we pray to
saints. The angels are ministering spirits, sent forth
to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation:
they watch over us, and are frequently present with
us, nay they are internuncii, raessengers between
^ SimiUter et sanctos una cum Christo regnantes venerandos et
invocandos esse, eosque orationes Deo pro nobis ofFerre, eorumque
reliquias esse venerandas.
^ 'H avvoboq avveXBovaa iv AaoitKetoi t^; ^pvyiag vojAif KeKuKvKi Ka) roTq
ayyeXoti itpoaevxiaBat.

Church of Rome, 263
God and us, conveying God's, blessings to us, and our
prayers to God, Acts x. 4. Apoc. viii. 3. none of
which things are any where affirmed of the deceased
saints. And yet we raust not pray even to the
angels. Hear also Origen, whe lived long before the Lao
dicean council, delivering the sense ef the church
ef his tirae in this matter, lib. V. contra Cels. p. 233.
edit. Cantab, [c. 4. p. 580.J where he excellently
discourseth against the religious worship and invo
cation of angels ; in opposition te which, he first lays
dewn this as a received doctrine among all catholic
Christians, " That aU prayers, all suppUcations, de-
" precatiens, and thanksgivings, are te be offered te
" God the Lord of aU, by tbe chief High Priest, whe
" is above all angels, the living Word, and Ged ^."
And presently after he shews the felly and unrea
sonableness of praying to angels upon several ac
counts. As first, because the particular knowledge
ef angels, and what offices they severaUy perform, is
a secret which we cannet reach te; which is the
very reason which St. Paul suggests in the text be
fore mentioned, that whosoever worships and inve-
cates the angels, deth intrude into those things
which he hath not seen'^. Frem whence we may
easUy gather, that Origen, in this disceurse ef his,
had an eye te that text of St. Paul, and understood
it as we de, te be a prohibition of all prayer to
angels. 2. He argues, that if we should suppose
that we could attain such particular knowledge ef
'' Ylaaav jAev yap ie-ijaty, Kat 'npoaevxYiv, Ka) evrev^tv, Ka) evxaptariav,
avafnejAirreov ra iiu -naat @e^, dta ro'v e-nt iidvruv ayyeXuv dpxi^peuq, ijA-
^vxov Aoyov Ka) &eov.
¦^ "A /**; eupaKev ijA^arevuv.
s 4

264 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
the angels, yet it would net be lawful for us to pray
to them, or any other, save to Ged the Lord of all,
whe alone is all-sufficient, abundantly able to supply
all eur wants and necessities, through eur Saviour
Jesus Christ, the Sen ef God, his word, wisdom, and
truth. Lastly, he reasons to this effect, that the
best way to gain the good-will of these blessed spi
rits, is net to pray to them, but te imitate them by
paying eur devotions te Ged alone, as they do. Hear
the same Origen, Ub. VIII. p. 402. [c. 37. p. 769.J
where to Celsus talking of these spirits that preside
ever the affairs ef men here below, who were thought
te be appeased enly by prayers to' thera in a barba
rous language, he answers with derision, and teUs
him, he forget with whem he had te de, and that he
was speaking te Christians, " who pray te God alone
" through Jesus ''." And then he adds, that the genu
ine Christians, in their prayers to God, used ne bar
barous words, but prayed te hira in the language ef
their respective countries, the Greek Christians in the
Greek tongue, the Remans in the Roman language,
as knowing that the Ged te whora they prayed un
derstood all tongues and languages, and heard and
accepted their prayers in their several languages, as
well as if they had addressed theraselves to hira in
ene and the same language. Again in the same
book, p. 420. [c. 64. p. 789-] to Celsus discoursing
much after the- same rate, he gives this exceUent
answer : " The one God is to be atoned by us,
" the Lord ef all, and must be entreated te be pre-
" pitious te us, piety and prayers being the best
" means of appeasing him. And if Celsus would
'Xo7i; jAovu r^ 0ew hta ro'v 'Iijo-oU evx^jAevoiq.

Church of Rome. 265
" have others applied te after Hira, let hira assure
" hiraself, that as the body's raotion unavoidably
" moves its shadow, so likewise when Ged is once
" become propitious to any, aU his angels, souls, and
" spu'its, will becorae friends te such an ene =." Frera
these testiraonies of Origen, to which raere raight be
added, it is very evident that the catholic Christians
of his tirae raade ne prayers either te angels er
saints, but directed all their prayers to Ged, through
the alone mediation ef Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Indeed, against the invocation of angels and saints,
we have the concurrent testimonies of all the catho
lic Fathers ef the first three centuries at least. For
as to that testiraony of Justin Martyr, in his second
(or rather first) Apology for the Christians, p. 56.
[Apol. I. 6. p. 47.] aUeged by Bellarrain, and others
of his party, fer the worshipping of angels as prac
tised in the priraitive tiraes of the church, I have
given a clear account of it, Def. Fid. Nie. II. 4, 8.
where I have evidently proved that place of Justin
to be so far frera giving any countenance te the re
Ugious worship of angels, that it raakes directly
against it. And the like raay be easily shewn ef the
other aUegations ef BeUarrain out of the priraitive
Fathers. Te conclude : look inte the raost ancient Litur
gies, as particularly that described in the Eccle
siastical Hierarchy, and the Cleraentine Liturgy,
^ "Eva ovv r\v i-n) icaai @eov ijjAiv e^evjieviareov, Ka) toiJtov "Xea e%€iv
evKreov, i^evjAevXfljAevov evaefietgi Ka) -nda-rj aperr/ el te Kat oKKovi; rtvag
(3oi&i€Taj jAera tov in) icaatv i^evjievf^eaBai @eov, Karavoijadru, on uaitep
tS KivovjAevij) aujAart aKoXovBei ij t^; o-Ki'a? awToS Kiv/jaii, Toy avrov rpomv
TM iievjAevt'CfiaBat rov in) naai @elv, e-nerai evjAeveTg 'exeiv ndvrai; toii;
eKeivov (jitXovi; ayyeXovg, Ka) 4'"X"-f> ««' nvevjAara.

266 Corruptions qfthe sect, hi,
contained in the book, entitled the Apostolical Con
stitutions ; and you wiU net find in them ene prayer
of any sort te angels er saints, ne, net so much as
an ebUque prayer, (as they terra it,) i. e. a prayer
directed to God, that he weuld hear the intercession
of angels and saints for us. And yet after aU this,
they are for ever daraned by tbe Trent creed, whe
de net held and practise the invocation of the saints
deceased. For this is ene ef the articles of that
creed, without the belief whereof, they teU us, " none
" can be saved ^ :" that is, all are damned who pray
unto God alone through Christ the Mediator, as the
Scripture directs, and the catholic church ef the first
and best ages hath practised.
As te what follows, " that the saints departed do
" offer up their prayers te God fer us ;" if it be
understood of the intercession of the saints in gene
ral, we deny it net. But this is no reason why we
should pray to them to pray for us. Nay, on the
contrary, if the deceased saints do of their own ac
cord, and out of their perfect charity, pray fer us,
what need we be so solicitous te call upon thera fer
their prayers, especiaUy when our reason and Scrip
ture also tell us, that we are out of their hearing,
and that they do not, cannot know our particular
wants and necessities ? Fer, as te what the Roraan
ists teU us of the glass ef the Trinity, and extraor
dinary revelations, they are bold presumptuous con
jectures, destitute of any ground er colour frem rea
son or Scripture, and indeed are inconsistent with
ene another. To be sure, that conceit of the glass
of the Trinity would never have passed with the
' Nemo salvus esse potest.

Church of Rome. 267
Fathers of the first ages; fer they generally held,
" that the seuls ef the righteous" (seme indeed ex
cepted ef the souls of the martyrs) " do not pre-
" sently after death ascend te the third heaven, but
" go to a place and state of inferior bliss and happi-
" ness," (which they coraraonly call by the name of
paradise, though where it is situated they de not all
agree,) " and there reraain till the resurrection of
" their bedies ; after which they shaU enter inte the
" kingdora of heaven, and there for ever enjoy that
" consumraate bliss and happiness which consists in
" that clear vision of Ged, which the holy Scripture
" calls seeing him face to face." And indeed, their
distinction of paradise (tbe receptacle of holy seuls
presently after death) frera the third heaven, seeras
to have firra ground in the New Testaraent ; vid.
Luke xxiU. 43 ; 2 Cor. xii. 2, 3, 4 ; and Grot, in
loca; and was undoubtedly received in the church
of Ged before tbe coming of the Lord in tbe flesh.
However, tbis was a current doctrine in the Chris
tian church for many ages ; till at length the popish
council of Florence boldly determined the contrary,
defining, " that these seuls, which having contracted
" the blemish of sin, being either in their bedies, er
" out ef them, purged frem it, are presently received
" into heaven, and there clearly beheld Ged hiraself,
« ene God in three Persons, as he is «." This decree
they craftily made, partly te estabUsh the supersti
tion of praying to saints deceased, whora they would
make us te believe to see and know all our necessi
ties and concerns in speculo Trinitatis, as was said
before, and so te be fit objects of our reUgious invo-
s Eas animas quae post contractara peccati maculam, &c.

268 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
cation, partly and chiefly te confirm the doctrine ef
purgatory, and that the prayers of the ancient church
fer the dead raight be thought te be founded upon a
supposition, that the seuls ef some, nay, most faith
ful persons, after death, go inte a place ef grievous
torment, eut ef which they raay be deUvered by the
prayers, masses, and alras ef the living. But this by
the way.
It is added in the creed, " that net only the saints
" theraselves, but also their relicks are te be wor-
" shipped." A strange definition of the Trent Fa
thers, especiaUy if we consider the time when it was
made ; a time when the best and wisest men in the
Roraan comraunion sadly coraplained ef the vile
cheat put upon the peer ignerant people, by shewing
thera I knew net what relicks ef saints, and drawing
them te the worship of thera, only fer gain's sake,
and to pick their pockets. Hear the judgraent ef
the learned and pious Cassander as to this article :
— " Seeing there are a sraaU nuraber ef true and
" approved relicks, especiaUy in these provinces, and
" many ef those which are made show ef, are tee
" apparently liable te suspicion, and the frequenting
" and veneration of thera is of little service te true
" piety and devotion, though ef very much te super-
" stition er gain ; it seems te me much more proper,
" that all such ostentation of miracles were forborne,
" and the people were invited to worship the true
" reUcks of saints, that is, the examples ef piety and
" virtue they have left behind them for our imita-
" tion, as is recorded in what has been written either
" by thera or of thera ^."
^ Cum verae et compertae reliquiae, praesertim in his provinciis,
perpaucae sint, et multae ex iis quse ostentantur non temere sus-

Church qf Rome. 269
The next article ef the Trent creed is this : —
" I most firraly assert, that the iraages of Christ,
" and the ever Virgin Mother of Ged, and other
" saints, are to be had and retained, and that due
" honour and veneration are to be given thera '." A
doughty article indeed, worthy te be ushered in with
a Firmissime assero ! But is this really an article of
the catholic Christian faith, without the belief where
of there is no salvation ? What then is become again
ef the catholic church of the first three centuries
and downwards ? For it is certain, that the church
of those days never allowed the use of images in her
oratories or conventicles, much less the adoration
and worship of them. This appears frora what we
read ef Adrian the Roman eraperor, related by iEUus
Larapridius in the Life ef Alexander Severus, [c. 43.]
that he favouring the Christians, and wiUing te gra
tify them in their way ef worship, commanded that
they should have temples built for them without any
images in thera ; as well knowing their utter aversa
tion te the setting up ef iraages in the places of their
reUgious worship. This also raere plainly appears
frora the writings ef the Christian apologists ef those
times against the heathens objecting to them, that
they had ne iraages that they worshipped, and con
sequently, that they were atheists, and worshipped
pectae haberi possint, atque illorum frequentatio et veneratio non
multum pietati, plurimum vero superstitioni vel questui serviant;
multo consultius videtur, ut ab omni reliquiarum ostentatione ab-
stineatur, et populus ad veras sanctorum reliquias colendas, id est,
exempla pietatis et virtutum quae in scriptis, vel ab ipsis, vel de
ipsis extant, imitanda provocetur.
' Firraissirae assero imagines Christi ac Deiparae semper Virgi
nis necnon aliorum sanctorum habendas et retinendas esse, atque
eis debitum honorem et venerationem impertiendam.

270 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
no Ged at all ; fer they thought there could be no
religious werehip of any thing, without serae visible
iraage ef the object te be worshipped ; and finding
no iraage at all, of any sort, in the oratories of the
Christians, they concluded that the Christians wor
shipped no Deity. New eur apologists are se far
frera pleading to this objection, that the Christians
had iraages in their places ef worship, that they an
swer without any distinction, by way ef concession,
and that not enly granting that they had ne iraages,
but affirming they ought net te have them, and con
demned the Gentiles which had. See Minutius Fe
lix^, Arnobius', and Lactantius™.
In the fourth century indeed, there were seme
attempts te bring in pictures into the Christian ora
tories, but they were presently checked and repressed
by the governors ef the church, as appears from the
36th canon of the council of Eliberis in Spain, and
frem the relatien which Epiphanius gives us (who
flourished towards the end of the fourth century) in
his Epistle te Jehn bishop ef Jerusalem, translated
by St. Jerome out of Greek inte Latin, tom. II.
Oper. Hieronymi; [v. Epiphanii Op. ed. 1682.
vel. II. p. 317-] where he teUs Jehn of Jerusalem,
that going inte a church in the village ef Anablatha
te pray, he found there a picture hanging up, which
(though it were out of his own diocese) he cut in
pieces, as being scandalous and contrary to the holy
Scriptures; and desires Jehn te take care for the
future, that no such pictures be hung up iu any
church under his jurisdiction. The words of Epi
phanius are these : " At my entrance into the church
k [P. 91.] ' [VL init.] "> [II. 2.]

Church of Rome. 271
" to pray, I saw there a veil hanging within the
" doors of the sarae churcb, died, and painted, and
" having the image as it were of Christ, or seme
" saint, fer I de net weU reraeraber whose it was.
" When therefore I had seen this image ef a man
" hanging in the church ef Christ, against the au-
" thority of the Scriptures, I tore it in pieces, and
" advised the keepers ef the place to wrap therewith
" a poor dead man, and carry him te burial in it.
" And whereas they on the other hand murmured,
" saying, that if he weuld tear the veil, he ought in
" justice to change it, and give them another fer it :
" I ne sooner heard this, but I premised te give
" thera one, and that I would send it presently.
" However, sorae Uttle tirae passed, whilst I was
" seeking after the best veU, to send thera it ; for I
" thought I must send one frora Cyprus. But new
" I have sent such as I could meet with ; and I be-
" seech thee, comraand the presbyters of that place
" to receive the veil we have sent frora the bearer,
" and te coraraand for the future, that ne such veils
" as are contrary to eur religion be hung up in the
" church of Christ. For it becoraes thy worth to
" have the greater care in this respect, that thou
" raayest take away aU such scrupulosity as is un-
" worthy of the Christian church, and the people
*' coraraitted to thy charge °." The authority of this
" Cum intrassem in ecclesiam ut orarem, inveni ibi velum pen
dens in foribus ejusdem ecclesiae tinctum atque depictum, et ha
bens imaginem quasi Christi, vel sancti cujusdam, non enim satis
memini cujus imago fuerit; cum ergo hoc vidissem, in ecclesia
Chrhti contra authoritatem Scripturarum hominis pendere imagi
nem, scidi illud, et magis dedi consilium custodibus ejusdem loci,
ut pauperem mortuum eo obvolverent et efferrent. Illique contra

272 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
epistle is vindicated frem the cavils ef BeUarmin, by
the learned Andrew Rivet, in his Critici Sacri,
III. 29. Hew weuld the zeal of this great and
good bishop have been inflamed, if he had seen what
we nowadays see, net enly pictures, but massy
images in churches, and people praying, kneeUng,
and burning incense before them !
By what raeans iraage-worship in after- ages en
tered inte the church, is not se easy te tell ; ner is
it very necessary. But this is certain, that about
the beginning of the eighth century it had gotten
great ground. For in the year of eur Lord 754, in
the reign ef Constantine, nicknamed Coprenymus,
a general council was convened at Constantinople,
consisting of 338 bishops, declaring itself the seventh
general councU. Vide Syn. CP. in Act. Syn. Nie.
II. p. 621. edit. Col. an. 1618. This synod expressly
conderaned aU worship of images, " decreeing it to
" be abominable ; and that all images, ef whatsoever
" matter er colour they were made, should be cast
" eut of all Christian churches." Ibid. p. 965. And
presently after, they decree severe punishments to
any raan " that should dare frera thenceforward te
" raake, worship, er set up in the church, or in his
murmurantes dixerunt, si scindere voluerat, justum erat ut aliud
daret velum atque mutaret. Quod cum audissem, me daturum
esse poUicitus sum et illico esse missurum. Paululum autem mo-
rarum fuit in medio, dum quaero optimum velum pro eo mittere ;
arbitrabar enim de Cypro mihi esse mittendum. Nunc autem
raisi, quod potui reperire ; et precor ut jubeas presbyteros ejusdem
loci suscipere velum a latere, quod a nobis missum est : et dein
ceps praecipere, in ecclesia Christi istiusmodi vela, quae contra re
ligionem nostram veniunt, non appendi. Decet enim honestatem
tuam hane magis habere soUcitudinem, ut scrupulositatem toUat,
quae indigna est ecclesia Christi, et populis qui tibi crediti sunt.

Church of Rome. 273
" own house, any such image, as being a transgressor
" of the commandment of God, and an eneray to the
" doctrine of the Fathers." Where observe, that the
bishops of this council condemn all iraage-worship,
as contrary both te Scripture and also " to the doc-
" trine ef the Fathers of the church that were before
" thera," as indeed we have already shewn it te be.
In this council, Gerraanus bishop of Constantinople,
Geergius Cyprius, and Damascene a monk, who were
the chief sticklers for iraage-worship, were excora
raunicated. About thirty years after, viz. an. 787, another
councU raet at Constantinople first, and was after
wards translated te Nice, in which the decree of the
forraer synod was exploded, and image-worship first
established in the church. This council was called
by the empress Irene, a bigoted iraage-worshipper.
' She had se great an influence upon this synod, that
partly by her persuasions, partly by her threatenings,
several bishops, who in the forraer synod had con
deraned iraage-worship, were now fer it. Among
these, BasUius bishop of Ancyra, Theodorus bishop
ef Myra, and Theodosius bishop of Amoriura, were
brought in as pompce Circences, and offered te this
council their letters supplicant, confessing that they
had sinned in condemning the worship ef iraages in
the synod convened by Constantinus Copronyraus.
Dux foemina facti : it was a wontian that first
brought this childish worship (the great Hincraar of
Rheiras calls it puparum cultum, " baby-worship")
inte the church ef Christ. The bishops in this synod,
being destitute of Scripture proof and authentic tra
dition fer their iraage-worship, betook themselves
VOL. II. ' T

274 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
" to certain apocryphical and ridiculous stories ",'' as
Charles the Great observed. Fer in this synod, a
letter from Adrian, bishop of Rome, te Constantine
and Irene, was produced and openly read, full of the
most ridiculous fables, as particularly concerning
the leprosy of Constantine the Great before his con
version ; the barbarous remedy that he sought after
by the blood of innocent babes ; the appearing ef St.
Peter and St. Paul to hira in a dreara, advising him
to send fer pope Sylvester, who, upon we knew net
what persecution raised by Constantine against the
Christians, was fled with his clergy to the mountain
Seracte, and there hid themselves in the caves there
of; that when Sylvester carae to hira, he commanded
his deacons te produce the iraages of St. Peter and
Paul, which as seen as the emperor saw, he cried out
aloud, " These are the very images that I saw in my
" dreara ; I ara convinced, I believe, and desire the
" laver of baptisra ;" which when he had received,
he was imraediately cured ef his leprosy ; that there
upon, in gratitude fer the benefit he had received,
he ordered churches to be built foi- the Christians,
whose waUs and pillars' should be adorned with the
holy iraages of Christ and the saints. Was there
ever such a legend offered te a synod ef bishops?
And yet this letter of Adrian was accepted and ap
proved ef by the whole council. Had none of thera
read the life ef Constantine, written by Eusebius ?
Wherefore, about seven years after, viz, an. 794,
this Nicene synod was condemned and abdicated by
a council of about three hundred bishops, convened
" Ad apocryphas quasdara et risu dignas naenias. Car. Mag.
in. 3-

Church of Rome. 275
at Frankfort by Charles the Great, king ef France.
In this synod, were present not enly the bishops of
France, but also ef Germany and Lombardy, as pro
vinces subdued te the king of France. Pope Adrian
also sent his legates thither, and the great Charles
himself honoured this council with his presence.
The Romanists are hard put te it to ward the
stroke of this council against the worshippers of
images. They have several evasions. Genebrard p
and Bellarrain i teU us, that the Fathers at Frankfort
raisteek the meaning of the second Nicene council,
as thinking they had decreed, " the worship due te
" Ged alone ''," te be given te the images ef the
saints, which they were very far from doing. But it
is far mere probable that Genebrard and Bellarrain
were beth grossly mistaken. There were asserabled
in this council almost all the learned bishops ef the
west ; they had the acts ef the second Nicene synod
before thera, and diligently perused thera, and upon
exaraination conderaned thera as tothe pointof image-
worship. Besides, our Alcuinus, the eraperor's tutor,
the most learned man of that age, had before se fuUy
examined the Nicene acts, that he wrote a learned
discourse against thera, and notably refuted them, as
we shaU hear by and by. Lastly, it is certain that
the Fathers ef the council of Frankfort did net con
deran only cultum latrice te be given te iraages, but
aU raanner ef religious worship.
Others therefore teU us °, that they who urge the
P Lib. HI. Chron. an. 790.
1 Lib. II. de Imag. cap. 14. [Op. vol. II. p. 991.]
^ Cultum latriae.
' Surius in admon. ad lect. pro Syn. Frank, [vol. III. p. 226.]
Coriolanus in Concilio Frank, ad an. 794.
T 2

276 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
testimony ef the Frankfort synod against image-
worship are utterly mistaken ; that the synod which
the Fathers at Frankfort condemned was net the
council ef Nice, but that ef Constantinople under
Constantinus Copronyraus ; that the Frankfort synod
perfectly agreed with the Fathers of the Nicene
council, and confirmed the worship of images. This
is strange news indeed, but it is far from being true.
The raistake ef those writers whe tell us this (if it
were a raistake in them, and net a wilful prevarica
tion) arose frora hence, that the synod which esta
blished image-worship met first (as I noted before)
at Constantinople, though it was afterwards trans
lated te Nice ; and se might be truly said to be a
council convened at Constantinople, and thereupon
be mistaken for that council ef Constantinople,
which was convened by Constantinus Copronyraus,
which was indeed confirraed by the Frankfort Fa
thers. But that it was the second council of Nice,
that was conderaned by the synod at Frankfort, and
that upon this very account, that it had introduced
iraage-worship into the church, we have abundant
evidence. For this is testified, not enly by Walafridus Strabo,
but also by Ado Viennensis and Regino Pruraiensis
in their histories ; with whom Abbas Uspergensis
agrees in his chronicle, where he thus writes : " In
" the year 793, whilst Charles was celebrating the
" feast of Easter in Frankfort, a numerous syiiod ef
" bishops was gathered together out of all the pre-
" vinces of the realra ; the legates of pope Adrian
" were there also in his stead. In this synod the
" heresy of a certain bishop naraed Felix was con-
" deraned.  The synod likewise which a few

Church of Rome. 277
*' years before raet at Constantinople, under Irene
" and Constantine her sen, and was called the
" seventh general council, was universally reneunc-
" ed as useless, that so it inight neither be styled the
" seventh, nor by any other name '." That the
council here said to be conderaned by the Frankfort
synod was the second council ef Nice, is evident, for
it is expressly said te be the council convened under
the erapress Irene and Constantine her son, and that
but a few years before. But it is said te be convened
at Constantinople, because there indeed it first raet,
as was noted before.
Add te this the testiraony of Hincmar of Rheims,
an author in aU respects most worthy of credit in
this matter : " In the time ef the eraperor Char-
" leraaign, a general synod was held in France by
" erder ef the apostolic see, the said eraperor con-
" vening it. And according to the direction of the
" holy Scriptures, and the tradition of the ancients,
" the Greek synod was condemned and wholly laid
" aside. Of tbe condemnation whereof a volume of
" ne sraall size was sent frera the sarae eraperor te
" Rorae by some of the bishops, and I myself have
" read it in the palace in my younger days^^."
' Anno Dom. dccxciii. Carolo in Franconofurt pascha cele-
brante, synodus episcoporum magna collecta est ex omnibus regni
provinciis : legati quoque Hadriani papae in ejus vice afFuerunt.
In hac synodo haeresis cujusdam episcopi Felicis nomine damnata
est. — Synodus etiam, quae ante paucos annos in Constantinopoli
congregata sub Hirene et Constantino filio ejus septima et uni
versalis ab ipsis appellata est, ut nec septima nec aliquid diceretur,
quasi supervacua ab omnibus abdicata est. [p. 176.]
¦^ Tempore Caroli Magni imperatoris, jussione apostolicae sedis
generalis est synodus in Francia convocante praefato imperatore ce-
T 3

278 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
In the sarae chapter he afterwards adds, " Where-
" fere by the authority ef this synod the worship ef
" images was somewhat restrained : yet net se, but
" that Adrian and the other bishops persevered in
" their opinion ; and after the death of Charles,
" most earnestly proraoted their puppet worship :
" insomuch that Lewis, Charles's sen, wrote a book,
" wherein he fell much sharper upon the worship of
" images than his father had done''."
With what indignation and abhorrence the decree
ef the Nicene pseudo-synod was received by our
British church, eur historians teU us. Hear Roger
Hoveden. " Charles, king of France, sent the book
" of the council, directed te himself from Constan-
" tinople, into Britain ; in which book, alas ! alas !
" raany things were found unagreeable and con-
" trary te the true faith ; especiaUy, that by the
" unanimous assertion of almost all the eastern
" doctors, that is te say, of not less than three hun-
" dred or more bishops, the worship of images was
*' confirmed : which the church ef Ged utterly abe-
*' rainated. Against vvhich, Alcuinus wrote an epi-
" stle wonderfully supported with authorities eut
" of the holy Scriptures, and brought it with the
lebrata, et secundum Scripturarum tramitem traditionemque majo
rum ipsa Graecorum pseudo-synodus destructa et penitus abdicata ;
de cujus destructione non modicum volumen, quod in palatio adole-
scentulus legi, ab eodem imperatore Romam est per quosdam epi
scopos missum. Hincmar. Rhem. adv. Hincmar. Laudon. cap. 20.
[Op. vol. IL p. 457.]
" Authoritate itaque hujus synodi non nihil repressa est imagi
num veneratio : sed taraen Hadrianus et alii pontifices in sua opi-
nione perseverarunt.: et mortuo Carolo suarum puparum cultum
vehementius promoverunt : adeo ut Ludovicus, Caroli filius, libro
longe acriori insectatus sit imaginum cultiim, quam Carolus.

Church of Rome. 279
" sarae book to the king of France, iu the name ef
" eur bishops and princesy."
Frora whence it appears, that the Nicene acts, sent
frera Constantinople te Charles the Great, were by
him before the Frankfort synod first sent to Britain ;
and being examined and abundantly refuted, and
that frem the holy Scriptures, by our raost learned
Alcuinus, were carried back again, together with
that refutation of thera, te the emperor in the name
of our bishops and princes : se that even then the
British church was protestant in this article con
cerning iraage-worship.
And indeed, I am persuaded that ne man of judg
ment and integrity, that hath been conversant in the
holy Scriptures, and in the writings of the mere an
cient doctors ef the church, will be able to read those
acts ef the pseudo-synod of Nice, without indigna
tion and abhorrence ef it, when he observes upon
what ridiculous fables, gross misinterpretations of
Scripture, falsifications, and impertinent allegations
of the ancient Fathers, the bishops of that conven
tion buUt their decree concerning image-worship.
Notwithstanding aU this, the bishops at Trent chose
to foUew that wretched synod, and have decreed,
y Carolus rex Francorum misit synodalem librum ad Britanniam
sibi a Constantinopoli directum, in quo libro (heu! prd dolor !)
multa inconvenientia et verse fidei contraria reperiebantur : max
ime quod pene omnium orientalium doctorum, non minus quam
trecentorum vel eo araplius episcoporum, unanimi assertione con-
firmatum fuerit, imagines adorari debere, quod omnino ecclesia Dei
execratur. Contra quod scripsit Albinus [Alcuinus] epistolam ex
authoritate divinarum Scripturarum mirabiliter affirmatam, illara-
que cum eodem libro, ex persona episcoporum ac principum no
strorum, regi Francorum attulit. Part. i. Annal. ad annum 792.
Vide et Matth. Westraon. ad ann. 793.
T 4

280 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
and that as an article of faith, raost firraly to be as
serted, "that the iraages of Christ and the saints are
" to be retained, yea, and worshipped tee." May not
one presurae to ask why ? What necessity is there
ef this ? Cannet the church of Christ be as well
without these iraages, and this hnage-wership new,
as it was in the more ancient and purer times of it ?
Nay, raay we not farther ask, what good use at all
can be raade of these iraages and this iraage-worship ?
The answer of the Roraanists here is, that these
iraages are libri laicorum, et idiotarum, " books fit
" te instruct the ignerant laity" that cannot read the
holy Scriptures, and apt te raise devotion in thera.
But te this plea for image-worship, raade use of by
Wading, a Jesuit ef Antwerp, his learned antagonist
returns this exceUent answer, with which I shall
conclude what I have te say upon this article : " I
" deny net but iraages may be of use to the stupid
" vulgar, who are led enly by their senses, fer rais-
" ing their devotion at the sight of them ; but see,
" I pray thee, whether many more and greater dis-
" advantages are not te be feared from the use and
" worship ef them, For in the first place, it is
" scarce possible but that the ignorant and profane
" vulgar will be apt hence to imbibe filthy and sordid
" notions of God and the saints, will depend upon
" these images and statues as their tutelar gods, will
" pay thera as bad er worse adoration than the hea-
" thens paid te their abominations ; and, lastly, will
" grow raere brutes by using iraages instead ef
" books, as if there were ne need ef understanding
" raore than these will teach thera. This, were it
" proper, raight be abundantly confirmed : but I
" only appeal to expeiience, as abeve all exception

Church of Rome. 281
" In the next place, it cannot be but the Jews must
" be most intolerably scandalized at the use and
" worship of images, and will be the more averse to
" all thoughts of ever embracing ef Christianity,
" inasmuch as the worship ef a statue er image is a
" dreadful, heinous, and enorraous crirae with thera.
" They raost firraly believe that he can never be the
" Messias, whose disciples allow as lawful what is so
" directly contrary to the divine law. And this is
" to be reckoned so rauch the greater evil, because
" it is alraost the principal occasion ef all the Jews'
" indignation against Christ and Christians ; so that
" their conversion te our religion is in ray opinion
" to be despaired of, unless this sturablingbleck be
" first taken out of the way. Thirdly, offence will
" hereby be inevitably given to an infinite number of
" Christians, and they will be irreconcilably alien-
" ated frera yeur church, whilst, having their rainds
" possessed with a true sense of the divine prohibi-
" tion, they think they have just reason te leek upon
" image-worship as ne better than idolatry : when
" also at the sarae tirae, those that contend for it de
" not beUeve it necessary by reason of any divine
" coraraand, yet nevertheless press it as rauch as in
" thera Ues upon men's consciences, as though it were
" necessary. Who sees not what great evils and in-
" conveniences these are ? The ignerant people are
" terapted to continue in their profane sottishness;
" the Jews in their destructive errer ; Christians in
" their deplorable schism ; and aU good men in an
" endless despair ef ever seeing an amendraent. So
" that I need not fear te raake thyself the judge
" between us ; and beg thee te tell me seriously,
" whether the single advantage ef using and wer-

282 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
" shipping iraages will equal, net te say prepon-
" derate, these so raany and so great mishiefs ^."
The next article is concerning papal indulgences,
in these words : " I also affirra, that the power ef
^ Non diffiteor imagines servire posse stupido vulgo, quod non
nisi sensibus suis ducitur, ut earum conspectu ad devotionem ex-
citetur : sed vide sis, obsecro, an non multo plura et graviora in-
commoda raetuenda sunt, ex usu et cultu earum. Primo enim,
fieri aliter vix potest, quin rude et profanum vulgus opiniones foe-
das et sordidas de Deo sanctisque inibibat, ut ex ipsis imaginibus
et statuis tanquam a diis suis tutelaribus pendeat, iis tribuat quae
Gentilium abominationibus paria sunt, si non deteriora : denique
ut istarum imaginum tanquam librorum suorum usu prorsus ob-
brutescat, quasi aliud quid scire aut sapere opus non habeat.
Confirmare hoc possera prolixe, si luberet : sed experientiam solam
testem do, quae omni exceptione major est. Secundo fieri non po
test ut per imaginum usum ac cultum non gravissime ofFendantur
Judaei, et a religione Christi amplectenda reddantur alieniores :
nimirum piaculum, scelus, aat flagitium summum pene ipsis est
statuae aut imaginis cultus. Messiam esse non posse firmissime
credunt, cujus discipuli tam directe contraria divinae legi licita
esse sibi persuadent. Hoc malum tanto pluris aestimandum ve
nit, quod praecipuum pene est, quod Judaeorum bilem in Christum
et Christianos acuit, adeo ut desperata mihi videatur eorum ad
Christianam religionem conversio, quamdiu hic obex ipsis ponitur.
Tertio, fieri non potest, ut non ofFendatur, immo alienissimus non
reddatur ab ecclesia vestra infinitus Christianorum numerus, qui
soUus interdicti divini religione adducti cultum imaginum idolo-
latriam sibi esse persuadent : cum ii, qui eum urgent, ex praecepto
divino eum non credant necessarium esse, nihilominus tamen
quanta possunt vi eum tanquam necessarium conscientiis imperent.
Quanta haec mala et incommoda sint, quis non videt ? Rudi po
pulo datur causa manendi in profano suo stupore ; Judaeis in fu-
nesto ipsorum errore ; Christianis in deplorando schismate ; piis
omnibus in aeterna remedii desperatione. Anne hisce tot tantis-
que incommodis una ista utilitas, quam ex imaginum usu cultuque
percipi vis, aequipoUeat, nedum praeponderet, te ipsum judicem
poscere non dubito. Episcopii Resp. ad Epist. Pet. Wadingi de
Cultu Imag. cap. 8.

Church of Rome. 283
" granting indulgences was left by Christ to the
" church, and the use of them tends very much to
" the salvation of Christians"." New the doctrine
ef indulgences, as it was before the council ef Trent,
and hath been since taught in the church of Rorae,
is big with gress errors. It depends en the fic
tion of purgatory ; it supposeth a superfluity of the
satisfactions of the saints ; which, being jurabled
together {horreo referens) with the merits and sa
tisfaction of eur Saviour, raake up one treasury of
the church ; that the bishop of Rome keeps the key
of it, as having the sole power of granting indul
gences, either by himself immediately or by ethers
cemraissiened frora hira : lastly, it very absurdly
extends the effect ef the power ef the keys, left by
Christ in his church, to men in the other world. Is
net this new a doctrine worthy of a place in our
creed, and te be raade an article of the cathoUc
faith ? That ' the doctrine and use of indulgences
were never heard of in the church of Christ fer
many hundreds of years is certain, and confessed
toe by divers learned raen of the Roman commu
nion. I shall cite only one of thera, but he such
a one as may be instar omnium. Our Roffensis '',
Luther's great antagonist, and Rome's martyr, gives
us this account of indulgences : " Many perhaps
" are tempted not te rely rauch upon indulgences,
" upon this consideration, that the use of thera ap-
" pears to be new, and very lately known amongst
" Christians. To whom I answer, it is net very
^ Indulgentiarum etiam potestatem a Christo in ecclesia relictam
fuisse, illarumque usum Christiano populo maxime salutarem esse
afGrmo. b [i. e. J. Fisher, bishop of Rochester.]

284 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
" certain who was the first author ef them. The
" doctrine of purgatory was rarely, if at aU, heard
" of amongst the ancients. And to this very day,
" the Greeks believe it not. Ner was the beUef either
" ef purgatory or indulgences se necessary in the
" primitive church as it is new. So long as men
" were unconcerned about purgatory, nobody in-
" quired after indulgences ; for upon that depends
" all the worth of indulgences. Take away purga-
" tory, and there is ne more need ef these. Seeing
" therefore purgatory was se lately known and re-
" ceived in the universal church, whe will wonder
" that in the first ages of Christianity indulgences
" were net raade use of' ?"
In this indeed the bishop seems to be mistaken,
that he thought the doctrine of purgatory and the
use of indulgences te be coeval, and that the latter
imraediately and necessarily follows frora the former.
It is true, purgatory and papal indulgences are both
ef them later inventions. But I think, when raen
were first seduced to a belief of purgatory, they
*> Multos fortasse movet indulgentiis istis non usqueadeo fidere,
quod earum usus in ecclesia videatur fuisse recentior, et admodum
sero repertus apud Christianos. Quibus ego respondeo, non certo
constare a quo primum tradi coeperunt. De purgatorio apud priscos
nulla vel quam rarissima fiebat mentio. Sed et Graecis ad hunc us
que diem non est creditum purgatorium esse. Nec tam necessaria
fuit sive purgatorii seu indulgentiarum fides in primitiva ecclesia
atque nunc est. Quamdiu nulla fuerat de purgatorio cura, nemo
quaesivit indulgentias. Nam ex illo pendet omnis indulgentiarum
existimatio. Si toUas purgatorium, quorsum indulgentiis opus
erit ? Quum itaque purgatorium tam sero cognitum ac receptum
ecclesiee fuerit universae, quis jam de indulgentiis mirari potest,
quod in principio nascentis ecclesiae nullus fuerit earum usus? Art.
18. cont. Lutherum. [Op. p. 496. ed. 1597.]

Church of Rome. 285
were net yet presently se foolish, as te think that
any ene mortal man had power by his pardons te
deliver raen out ef it. Antichristianisra in the Re
man church did net presently come to that matur
ity, ner was the papal power se seen advanced te
that prodigious height and greatness. It was at
first more reasonably judged, that the supposed mi
serable souls in purgatory were te receive their re
lief rather frem the prayers of the church, together
with the prayers, almsdeeds, and good works of
their living friends and relations.
To sum up this raatter in short : papal indulg
ences, as taught and used in the church of Rome,
(to which this article ef the Trent creed raust have
reference ; er else let any raan tell me what the
meaning of it is,) if tbey were freely granted, cau
by no means be justified and defended, but the mer
chandise and sale of them for money is abominable.
That such a vile trade of indulgences hath been
driven in the church of Rorae, cannet, without the
greatest impudence, be denied, as long as the Taxa
Cancellarice Apostoliccs" is extant. Of which filthy
book Espencseus, a learned doctor of the Roman
coraraunion, thus sadly and raost justly coraplains
in Epist. ad Tit. c. 1. " There is exposed te sale,
" and easUy te be had by any who wiU be at the
" charge ef purchasing it, a book openly and pub-
" licly printed here, and which raay be had new
" as weU as forraerly, entitled. The Tax of the
" Apostolical Chamber or Chancery, whereby raay
" be leamed raere sorts ef wickedness, than frem
b Taxa Cancell. Apost. Paris, apud Tass. Denis; 1520. [print
ed also in vol. XV. part I. of Tractatus illustrium Jurisconsulto-
rum, Venet. 1584, p. 368.]

286 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
" all the sumraists and the suraraaries of all vices,
" and a license for raost of thera, but an absolution
" for all, is offered to such as will bid weU for it.
" I spare naraes ; fer, as ene, though at present I
" cannot well recollect who, says, the very repeating
" ef thera is offensive. It is wonderful, that during
" this time and this schism, such an infamous kind
*' ef index ef se raany sucb foul and horrid wick-
" ednesses (that I cannot iraagine any more scan-
" dalous work is to be raet with in Gerraany er
" Switzerland, er any ef those countries that have
" withdrawn their obedience te the papal see)
" should not have been suppressed. Se far have
" the factors frora the Roraan coraraunion been frera
" suppressing it, that many new impunities fer such
" so gross enormities are granted, and the rest cen-
" firraed in the faculties of the legates despatched
" to their several countries'^." A little after, he
adds out of Mantuan, " It is sad to see how
" raoney carries all things at Rome'"." And not
very long before the council ef Trent, what a pro-
¦^ Prostat et in quastu pro meretrice sedet liber palam ac pub-
lice hic impressus, et hodieque ut olim venalis, Taxa Caraerae sen
Cancellariae Apostolicae inscriptus, in quo plus scelerum discas li
cet, quam in omnibus omnium vitiorum summistis et summariis;
et plurimis quidem Ucentia, omnibus autem absolutio empturien-
tibus proposita ; parco nominibus, nam quod ait nescio quis
Nomina sunt ipso pene timenda sono.
Mirum hoc tempore, hoc schismate, non suppressum tot tamque foe-
dorum tamque horrendorum scelerum velut indicem^deo infamem
ut non putem in Germania, Helvetia, et ubicunque a Romana sede
defectum est opus prostare majore hujus scandalo ; et adeo tamen
non supprimitur ab ecclesiae Romanae favissoribus, ut talium ac tan-
torum facinorum Hcentiae ac impunitates in facultatibus legatorum
illinc hue venientium bona ex parte innoventur atque confirmentur.
' Heu Romae nunc sola pecunia regnat. Mant. Eel. v. 123.

Church of Rome. 287
digious mass of raoney pope Leo raised by these in
dulgences, the noble historian Thuanus tells us :
" Leo," saith he, " to the guilt ef his dispensations,
" added another and greater, when at the instiga-
" tion ef the cardinal Laurence Puccius, he every
" where exacted monies in vast suras, sending his
" buUs through all the kingdoms ef Christendom,
" premising forgiveness of all their sins, and eter-
" nal life, at a price stated according to the quality
" of their crimes ^"
In a word, all sober men cried sharae at this abo
minable cheat, iraposed on the souls ef raen for
whora Christ died. And if the men, that influenced
and governed the Trent convention, had had any
true sense ef religion, they would have denounced
an anathema against this vile doctrine and practice,
and net (as they bave done) decreed, and that as an
article of faith without any restriction or qualifica
tion, " That the use of indulgences is highly con-
" ducing to the salvation ef Christians^." But they
were the pope's vassals, and received their instruc
tions from Rome not te reforra any thing, though
never se much amiss, that tended to the grandeur
and gain ef that see.
The last article I shall take notice of is contain
ed in these words : " I acknowledge the holy ca-
f Peccatum in sacris muneribus dispensandis admissum Leo
mox longe graviore cumulavit, cum Laurentii Puccii cardinalis
jmpulsu, ut pecuniam ad immensos sumptus undique corrogaret,
missis per omnia Christiani orbis regna diplomatis, omnium de-
lictorum expiationem ac vitam aeternam pollicitus est constituto
pretio, quod quisque pro peccati gravitate dependeret. Jac. Thuan.
H'lstor. sui temporis ad ann. 1515-
« Indulgentiarum usum Christiano populo maxime salutarem

288 Corruptions qfthe sect. hi.
" tholic and apostolic Reman churcb te be the
" mother and mistress of all churches, and proraise
" true obedience to the pope of Rerae, successor
" te St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, and the
" vicar of Jesus Christ s." Here the ecclesiastic
swears to three great untruths, one upon the neck
ef another. I " That the Roman church is the rao-
" ther of all other churches ;" which is a raanifest
falsehood in matter of fact. For every body knows
that the church of Jerusalera was the first raother
church, and is so called and acknowledged by the
ancient Fathers. St. Jerorae saith, " It was the
" church founded at Jerusalera, that planted all the
" ether churches''." And the synodical letter from
the council of Constantinople to Damasus and the
western bishops, calls Cyril bishop of Jerusalem,
" which is the raother of all churches '." Frora this
truly raother church divers ether churches were
planted in the east, before the Gospel came to Rome ;
as particularly the church ef Antioch'*^, where the
disciples were first caUed Christians. Upon the per
secution raised against the church ef Jerusalem, the
Christians of that church, being dispersed and scat
tered abroad, soon spread the Gospel far and near
through the east. And to corae nearer horae, it is
affirraed by sorae learned raen of the Roraan church,
that our Britain received the Gospel before Rome.
E Sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Romanam eccl. om
nium ecclesiarum matrera et raagistram agnosco ; Romano pon
tifici, beati Petri apostolorum principis snccessori, ac Jesu Christi
vicario veram obedientiam spondeo.
•¦ Ecclesia in Hierusalem fundata totius orbis ecclesias semina
vit. Com. in Is. [I. 2. p. 33.]
' T^; jviirpoi dnaauv ruv eKKXYjatuv. Theodoret. Eccl. Hist. V. 9.
k Acts xi. 26.

Church of Rome. 289
For Suarez confesseth ' that the Gospel was preach
ed here from the first rising of it. And Baronius
from sorae MSS. in the Vatican affixeth our con
version to Christianity to the thirty-fifth year of eur
Lord, which was near nine years before the found
ing ef the Roraan church. But if the credit ef these
MSS. be questionable, this however is evident, that
our Britain did net receive her first Christianity
frera Rome, but frera the east. This, I say, is
evident from the customs observed here from the
beginning in the observation ef Easter and the ad
ministration ef baptism, different frera the Roraan
use, but conform to the oriental churches. So that
we may justly check the arrogance ef the present
Reman church in the words of St. Paul te .the
proud Corinthians, setting up among themselves cer
tain customs, contrary to the institutes of all other
churches. Came the word of God out from you ?
or came it to you onhj'^ f Q. d. Are you the first
and only Christians ? your church the first and only
church of Christ ? Yes, say the Roraanists, eur
church is the mother of aU other churches. But
this is apparently false, for the law first came out
qf Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jeru
salem. The church of Rome pretends also te be
the only church of Christ, i. e. that there is no true
church of Christ but what is in union with and sub
jection te her. But this is as false a claira as the
other. For there were divers true churches of Christ
before the church of Rerae was in being, which there
fore could have ne dependance upon her.
2 " That the church ef Rome is the mistress of all
> Defens. Fid. Cath. 1. I. "' i Cor. xiv. 36.
VOL. n. u

290 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
" ether churches," is another great untruth. A pro
position which, if it should have been advanced in
the first ages of the churcb, weuld have startled all
Christendora. Every raetropolitical church weuld
presently have stood up, and loudly pleaded her
own iraraunities, rights, and privileges, independent
upon Rorae or any ether raetropoUs. These rights
and privileges were confirraed, as of primitive and
ancient custom, by the sixth canon of the great
council ef Nice, as hath been before shewn ; esta
blished also by the eighth canon ef the oecumeni
cal council of Ephesus, as by and by wiU appear.
Indeed in the days ef eld, when the church ef Rorae
was quite another thing frora what now it is, all
other churches upon several accounts paid a singu
lar respect to her, and gave her the preeminence ;
but they never acknowledged her mistresship over
thera, or theraselves te be her serving-raaids. This
language would then have sounded very harsh, and
been esteeraed insolent and arrogant by all the
churches of Christ. In later days indeed she hath
made herself raistress, but a raistress ef raisrule, dis
turbing the peace, invading the rights, and irapos
ing upon the faith of other churches.
3. " That the bishop of Rerae is the vicar of
" Christ," i. e. under Christ the head and governor of
the universal church, is another gross untruth. The
universal pastorship and jurisdiction of the bishop
of Rorae, over all ether bishops, was never heard of,
never pretended te by any bishop of that church for
the first six hundred years and raere, as I have
before shewn. To which all that I shaU now add
concerns eur British church. We say then, eur

Church of Rome. 291
church of Britain was never under the jurisdiction of
the bishop of Rome fer the first six hundred -years ;
Britain being a distinct diocese of the empire, and
consequently having a priraate of her ewn, inde
pendent upon any ether priraate er raetropolitan.
This appears first frora the custeras of our church
during that tirae, in the observation of Easter, and
the administration of baptisra, different frora, as
was before observed, the Roraan custora, but agree
ing with the Asiatic churches. Fer it is altogether
incredible, that the whole British church should so
unanimously have dissented frem Rome for so many
hundred years together, if she had been subject to
the jurisdiction of the Roman bishop, or that the
Roraan bishop aU that time should suffer it, if he
had had a patriarchal power over her.
Secondly, The same is evident by the unanimous
testiraony of our historians, who tell us, that when
Austin the raonk came into Britain, as St. Gregory's
legate, (which was after the sixth century was fully
complete and ended,) and required submission from
our church te the bishop of Rorae, as her patriarch,
the proposal was rejected, as ef a new and strange
thing never heard of before. The answer of Dine-
thus, the learned abbot of Bangor, in the name of
all the Britons, is famous, viz. " That they knew no
" obedience due te him, whom they called the pope,
" but the obedience of love, and that under Ged
" they were governed by the bishop of Caerleen."
Under God, i. e. iraraediately, without any foreign
prelate or patriarch intervening, they were to be
governed by the bishop ef Caerleen, as their only
primate and patriarch. Which privilege continued
to the succeeding bishops of that see fer seve-
u 2

292 Corruptions of the sect. hi.
ral ages, saving that the archiepiscepal chair was
afterwards removed frora Caerleen to St. David's.
And that this was indeed the sense not only ef
Dinothus, but of all the whole body of our British
clergy at that tirae, all our historians tell us, wit
nessing the absolute and unaniraous resolution of
the British clergy, both bishops and priests, syno
dically met together, not te subject themselves to
the jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome. Vide
Spel. Com. Gual. Mon. II. 12, Bedam omnesque
alios.
This being the ancient privilege of the British
church, we have an undoubted right of exeraption
from the jurisdiction of the bishop of Rorae by the
ancient canons of the catholic church ; particularly
by the sixth canon of the great Nicene council above
raentioned, by which it was decreed, " That the an-
" cient customs should every where obtain, and that
" the then privileges ef every province should be
" preserved inviolate." But this is raost evident
from the eighth canon of the council of Ephesus,
occasioned by the famous case of the Cyprian bi
shops; which was this : the metropolitan of Cyprus
being dead, (Troilus, the bishop of Constance,) the
bishop of Antioch pretended that it belonged te him
te ordain their metropolitan, because Cyprus was
within the civil jurisdiction ofthe diocese ef Antioch.
Upon this, the Cyprian bishops raade their cora
plaint to the general council at Ephesus, grounding
it upon the Nicene canon, and pleading that their
metropolitan bad been ef ancient time exempt frem
the jurisdiction of the bishop of Antioch, and was
ordained by a synod of Cyprian bishops ; which
privilege was not only confirmed to them by the

Church of Rome. 293
Ephesine council, but a general decree passed,
" That the rights of every province should be pre-
" served whole and inviolate, which it had of eld,
" according to the ancient custom." And it is to be
observed, that the bishop of Antioch had a more co
lourable pretence te a jurisdiction ever the Cyprian
bishops, than Gregory could have te a jurisdiction
over eur British churches : fer Cyprus was indeed
within the civil jurisdiction of Antioch, but our Bri
tain was originally itself a distinct diocese of the era
pire. Yet the Ephesine Fathers judged, that an
cient custora should prevail in the case of the Cyprian
bishops : hew much more then should it in ours ?
Certainly pope Gregory, when by his legate Austin
he challenged to himself a jurisdiction over our Bri
tish church, was ignerant of, or had forgotten, or else
regarded not the canons ef the Nicene and Ephesine
councils. If it be objected, that our British church
afterwards submitted herself te the bishop of Rome
as her patriarch, which power he enjoyed for many
ages, and that therefore eur first reformers cannot be
excused frera schisra, in casting off that power which
by se long a prescription he was possessed ef ; we
answer, we did indeed yield ourselves to the Roraan
usurpation, but it was because we could not help it :
we were at first forced, awed, and affrighted into this
subraission. Fer who hath not heard of the barba
rous massacre of the peer innocent raonks of Banger,
te the number of twelve hundred, for refusing Aus
tin's proposal, and asserting the ancient rights and
privileges of the Britannic churches ™? When this
"> [This is a mistake. The massacre at Bangor had no con
nection with Austin's mission. . See Turner's Hist, ofthe Anglo-
Saxons, vol. I. p. 319. &c.]
u 3

294 Corruptions ofthe sect. hi.
force ceased, and we were left te eur liberty and free
dora of resuraing our primitive rights, why raight we
net de it, as we saw occasion, without the imputation
of schisra ? This is net only our just plea, but it is in
genuously confessed by father Barns our learned coun
tryman, and of the Roraan comraunion. His words
are these : " The island of Britain anciently enjoyed
" the same privilege with that of Cyprus, that is to
" say, of being in subjection to the laws of ne pa-
" triarch : which privilege, though heretofore abe-
" lished by tumults and force ef war, yet being rece-
" vered by consent of the whole kingdora in Henry
" the Eighth's reign, seeras for peace sake most pre-
" per te be retained, se it be done without breach of
" catholic unity, er incurring the charge of schisni °."
Indeed, we had very great reason te resume our pri
mitive right and privilege of exeraption frera the ju
risdiction of the bishop of Rerae, when by means
thereof he lorded it over eur faith, and imposed ma
nifest and gross corruptions beth in doctrine and wor
ship upon our consciences. But this by the way.
We return to the article ef the Trent creed now be
fore us.
Concerning which, it is farther te be observed,
that it founds the universal pastorship of the bishop
of Rorae upon a divine right. It says, " the bishop
" of Rorae is the vicar of Jesus Christ ;" i. e. under
Christ the head and governor of the universal
" Insula autem Britanniae gavisa est olim privilegio Cyprio, ut
nullius patriarchae legibus subderetur. Hoc autem privilegium
etsi abolitum olim fuit bellorum tumultibus et vi, tamen cum
tempore Henrici Octavi totius regni consensu fuerit repetitum,
videtur pacis ergo retineri debere, sine dispendio catholicisrai, et
absque schismatis ullius nota. Barns. Cath. Rom. Pacif. sect. 3.

Church of Rome. 295
church. Quo juref He is St. Peter's successor.
What then? Why St. Peter was constituted by
Christ the prince ef the apostles, i. e. (if there be
any connection of parts in the article,) he had by
Christ committed te hira authority and jurisdiction
over the rest of the apostles, and consequently over
the whole church.
But the falsehood and folly of this pretence hath
been manifestly exposed by ¦ very raany writers of
eur church °, particularly that great raan Dr. Bram-
haU, primate of Ireland, hath sufficiently refuted it
in these few words p : " Let us consider," saith he :
" First, That all the twelve apostles were equal
" in mission, equal in coraraission, equal in power,
" equal in honour, equal in all things, except pri-
" ority of order, without which ne society can well
" subsist. " So much BeUarmin confesseth i, that by these
" words. As my Father sent me, so send I you, eur
" Saviour endowed them with all the fulness ef
" power that mortal men were capable ef. And
" therefore no single apostle had jurisdiction over
" the rest; equals have ne power over each other'';
" but the whole college of apostles, to which the su-
" prerae raanagery of ecclesiastical affairs did be-
" long in coraraon. Whether a new apostle was to
" be ordained, or the office of deacenship was te be
" erected ; or fit persons were to be delegated for
" the ordering of the church, as ' Peter and Jehn,
" Davenant Determ. Q. 47-
P [A just Vindication ofthe Church of England, Disc. II. 5.]
q De Pont. IV. 22.
¦¦ Par in parem non habet potestatem.
5 Acts i. vi. viii. 14. xi. xv.
U 4

296 Corruptions of the sect. Hi.
" Judas and Silas ; er inferraations ef great rao-
" raent were te be heard, as against Peter hiraself;
" (though Peter out of raodesty raight condescend,
" and submit to that te which he was not obliged
" in duty ; )'^et it had net becorae the other apostles
" te sit as judges upon their superior, placed over
" thera by Christ ;) or whether the weightier ques-
" tions of the caUing of the GentUes, and circura-
" cision, and the Law ef Moses were to be deter-
" mined, still we find tbe supremacy in the college.
" Secondly, That drowsy dreara, that the pleni-
" tude ef ecclesiastical power and jurisdiction was
" given by Christ te St. Peter, as te an ordinary
" pastor, te be derived frora hira to his successors,
" but to the rest of the apostles, as delegates fer
" terra ef life, to die with themselves, as it is lately
" and boldly asserted, without reason, without au-
" thority either divine or human ; se it is most re-
" pugnant to the doctrine ef the Fathers, whe
" raake aU bishops to be the vicars and arabassadors
" of Christ, (net of the pope,) and successors of the
" apostles, indifferently vicaria ordinatione, whe
" raake but ene episcopacy in the world, whereof
" every bishop hath his share. St. Peter was a pas-
" tor, and the pastoral office is of perpetual neces-
" sity in the church. True ; but so were all the
" rest of the apostles pasters as well as he. And if
" we exaraine the raatter more narrowly, cui bono?
" for whose advantage this distinction was de-
" vised ? it was net for St. Peter's ewn advantage,
" whe, setting aside his principality of order, is
" confessed to have had but an equal share ef
" power with his fellow apostles, but fer the pope's
" advantage, and the Roraan court's, whom they de-

Church of Rome. 297
" sire to invest solely with the key of all original ju-
" risdiction. " And if we trace on this arguraent. a little far-
" ther, te search out how the bishop of Rerae comes
" te be St. Peter's heir ex asse, to the exclusion of his
" elder brother the bishop of Antioch, they produce
" ne authority that I have seen, but a blind, ill-
" grounded legend, out of a counterfeit Hegesippus,
" of St. Peter's being about te leave Rerae, and
" Christ's raeeting him upon the way, and adme-
" nishing him to return to Rome, where he must be
" crucified fer his name ; which reason halts on both
" sides ; the foundation is apocryphal, and the su-
" perstructure is weak and unjointed, without any
" necessary connection."
We have now, I think, sufficiently raade good our
second charge against the church ef Rome, viz. That
she hath changed the primitive canon and rule ef
faith, by adding many new articles te it ; and those
so far from being necessary articles of faith, that
they are net truths, but raanifestly erroneous pro
positions, repugnant te reason, Scripture, and the
sense of the priraitive catholic church. And yet all
the clergy of the Roraan coraraunion are new
forced net only te subscribe, but in the most soleran
manner te swear te them. O miserably enslaved
clergy !
There was a time, when the Gallican church un
derstood her own liberty, and boldly asserted it, re
fusing to own the authority of the Trent conven
tion, as being altogether influenced and governed by
the court of Rome. It was a brave protestation of
the ambassador of France, made in the face of the
council of Trent, in the narae of the king his raas-

298 Corruptions qfthe sect. hi.
ter, and the French clergy, in these words * : " We
" refuse te be subject te the coraraand and disposi-
" tion of Pius the Fourth ; we reject, refuse, and
" conteran aU the judgraents, censures, and decrees
" ef the said Pius. And although (raost holy Fa-
" thers) your reUgien, Ufe, and leai-ning, was ever,
" and ever shall be, ef great esteera with us ; yet
" seeing indeed you do nothing, but all things are
" done at Rorae rather than at Trent, and the
" things that are here published are rather the de-
" crees of Pius the Fourth than of the council of
" Trent ; we denounce and protest here before you
" all, that whatsoever things are decreed and pub-
" lished in this assembly, by the raere will and plea-
" sure of Pius, neither the most Christian king will
" ever approve, ner the French clergy ever acknew-
" ledge te be the decrees of a general council."
I wish the Gallican church had still persisted in
this resolution : " Yes," (saith a great man of eur
church,) " so she did, aud deth te this day ". For
" though she doth net oppose the council of Trent,
" but acquiesce, to avoid such disadvantages as raust
" ensue thereupon, yet she did never adrait it." I
should be heartUy glad if this were true ; but if all
the clergy of France, which represent the French
church, de as well as the clergy of the ether Roraan
catholic dorainions subscribe and swear te the Trent
creed, (as I suppose they do ; and if they did not,
I cannot see how they could be accounted within
the ceramunion ef the Reman church,) then they
adrait ef the council of Trent with a witness, in its
full extent and latitude, as te all its canons, decrees,
' Goldast. tom. III. p. 571.
" Bramhall, tom. I. p. 128.

Church of Rome. 299
and definitions, not only which concern points of
doctrine, (as is pretended,) but all other which re
late to the discipline and government of the church.
For this is the last article of the Trent creed:
" Moreover, what things soever else are delivered,
" defined, and declared by the sacred canons and
" oecumenical councils, and especially by the holy
" councU of Trent, I undoubtedly receive and pro-
" fess ='."
IV. 3. The third and last thing we charge the
church ef Rorae with, is. That she hath laraent
ably corrupted the primitive Liturgy and form of
divine worship. This was a necessary consequent
of the former ; se corrupt a faith could not but pro
duce as corrupt a worship. Te enumerate and re
present in their proper colours all the corruptions of
the worship of God in the Reman churcb, weuld fill
a large volume. I shall therefore enly briefly point
at sorae of thera. The prayers of that church are in
a tongue generally not understood by the people,
contrary te reason, which of itself dictates, that
when we pray te God we ought te understand our
ewn prayers; contrary to the plain declaration of
Scripture, 1 Cer. xiv. contrary to the practice of the
catholic church in the first ages, when Christians
every where prayed te God in the language of their
respective countries, as Origen expressly teUs us
in his eighth book against Celsus, p. 402. [c. 37.
p. 769.] Justin Martyr also, who Uved very near
the apostolic age, inforras us, [Apol. I. c. 65. p. 82.]
that in the Christian assemblies of his time there
» Caetera item omnia a sacris canonibus et oecumenicis conciliis,
ac praecipue a sacrosancta Tridentina synodo tradita, definita et
declarata, indubitanter recipio atque profiteor.

300 Corruptions ofthe sect. iv.
were Kotvat ev^at, comraon prayers, i. e. prayers
wherein all that were present joined in comraon,
and bore a part ; and that (as we learn frem ether
very ancient authors y) by making their responses
aloud in due place, and by saying the other prayer
after the priest or deacon submissa voce. Now
there are no such common prayers in the church of
Rome ; the priests say and do all ; the people being
left te gaze about, or to whisper one te another, or
te leek upon their private manuals of devotion, ac
cording as their incUnation leads thera.
Again, whereas in the first and best ages, the
churches of Christ directed all their prayers, accord
ing to the Scripture, te Ged only through the alone
raediation of Jesus Christ ; the Liturgy of the pre
sent church of Rome is interspersed with supplica
tions and prayers to angels and saints, the un-
warrantableness whereof I have abeve sufficiently
shewn. Te what is there said, I shall only add these
two considerations.
First, Supposing (not granting) the learned men
ef the Roman church could by their subtle distinc
tions so refine the practice ef the invocation ef an
gels and saints, as to raake it innocent te thera
selves ; yet experience tells us, that the coramon
people, who understand not those distinctions, are
prone to transgress and run into sin, and a grievous
sin too, in their practice of it, viz. te be taken off in
a great degree from that trust and affiance, that en
tire dependance en Christ, that love and gratitude
toward him which they ought to have, and indeed to
be more fond ef the saints than ef their Saviour. It
y Cyprian. Serm. de Oratione.

Church of Rome. 301
is visible to aU men, with what zeal the sUly de
luded seuls run to the shrines of the saints, how
even prodigal they are in their offerings te them,
when in the mean time their devotion toward their
Saviour is very cold, and their oblations to him
sparing and niggardly. This is se manifest, that it
hath been confessed by learned men of the Reman
communion. It is acknowledged by Biel, in Can.
Miss. Lect. 30. in Expos. Cant. Marice: " Most of
" us are more affected towards seme saint, than te-
*' wards our Lord himself^." By eur Halensis,
Par. 4. Qucest. 26. Memb. 3. " Soraetiraes sinners
" are more inclinable te suppUcate the saints than
" the Judge *." Cassander also confesseth, there are
men in the church of Rorae, (otherwise no ill raen,)
who trust in their patron saints more than in Christ
their Redeemer. His words are these : " There are
" some, and these ne bad men neither, who have
" raade choice ef certain saints for their patrons and
" guardians, and put mere trust in their merits and
" intercession, than in the raerits of Christ ''."
Secondly, Whereas it is pretended by some Ro
manists, especiaUy ef late, that their prayers to saints
amount to ne mere than an Ora pro nobis, a pray
ing, er desiring them te pray for us, as we desire
the prayers of ene another here en earth ; this is
^ Plerique nostrum magis afficimur circa sanctum aliquem ali-
<]uando, quam etiam circa Dominum.
" Peccatores ad sanctorum interpellationem quandoque magis
animantur quam Judicis.
^ Homines etiam non mali certos sibi sanctos tanquam patro-
nos et tutores delegerunt, atque in eorum meritis atque interces-
sione plusquam Christi meritis fiduciam posuerunt.

302 Corruptions ofthe sect. iv.
manifestly false. For besides what hath been before
observed, that they pray to saints deceased, and in a
state and place vastly distant from thera, wherein
they cannet possibly hear their prayers, unless by
revelation, or in spepulo Trinitatis, which are
groundless iraaginations : I say besides this, divers
ef their greatest doctors ingenuously confess, yea,
and boldly profess, that they pray to tbe saints, as
they are appointed by Ged, te be canales gratice,
between hira and us ; conduit-pipes or instruraents
of conveying his grace to us. Se our Halensis :
" Seeing • the divine grace descends upon us by
" means of the saints, it is but fit that eur ascent
" te God be through their raediation •=." So their
learned archbishop of Florence : " It is the law of
" the Deity te raise the things below te those that
" are abeve, by these in the raiddle ; but as te
" the gifts of grace, the saints stand in the middle
" betwixt God and such as are travelling towards
" him. Hence the divine benefits descend upon us
" by the raediation of angels and holy souls ^."
They say also, that the saints do procure fer us, and
convey to us God's blessings by the merit of their
intercession, and that this is the ground of their
praying te them. So again ubi supra : " The saints
" are invoked by us by reason of our want ef raerit,
'' Divinorum charismatum ad nos per sanctos fit descensus :
unde congruum est, quod ascensus noster ad Deum fiat Sanctis
mediatoribus. Part. IV. Quaest. 26. Art. 5.
'^ Lex Deitatis est infima per media ad suprema adducere :
quantum vero ad dona gratiae, beati sunt medii inter Deum et vi
atores : divina igitur beneficia ad nos descendunt mediantibus an
gelis et animabus Sanctis. Part. III. tit. 3.

Church of Rome. 303
" that where eur defects fail, these of ethers raay
" help us out *." Se the great master of the Sen
tences, Peter Lombard : " We pray them to inter-
" cede for us, that is, that their merits may succour
" us f."
And indeed most of their prayers te the saints are
se expressed, that they cannot without violence be
interpreted to any other sense.
But raost extravagant is the invocation and wor
ship of the blessed Virgin, used and practised in the
church ef Rorae. I wUl net urge here the byran in
Cassander's s tirae sung in their churches : " Beseech
" thy mother, coraraand thy Sen, O happy parent,
" whe raakest expiation for our wickedness ; by thy
" authority as a raother coraraand the Redeeraer ''."
Nor the psalter of our Lady, mentioned also by Cas
sander', as that which was in use in bis tirae, in
which through the whole Book of Psalms, whereso
ever the name of the Lord occurred it was changed
into the name of eur Lady. Though I knew net
whether those horrid blasphemies were ever cen
sured and condemned by any public act of the Ro
raan church.
But I de affirm, that there are stUl such addresses
' Sancti invocantur a nobis propter nostram inopiam in me-
rendo, ut ubi nostra non suppetant merita, patrocinentur aliena.
f Oramus ut intercedant pro nobis, id est, ut merita eorum no
bis suffragentur. Lib. IV. Dist. 45.
8 Cassand. Consult. Art. 2 1 . de Cult, sanct.
'' Ora matrem, Jube Filio,
O felix puerpera.
Nostra plans scelera.
Jure matris impera Redemptori.
' Cassand. Consult. Art. 21. de Cult. sane.

304 Corruptions ofthe sect. iv.
and forms of prayer to the blessed Virgin, either en
joined, or allowed by authority to be used in the
church of Rorae, as ne raan, who hath a due con
cern for tbe honour ef his Redeeraer, can read or
hear without abhorrence and detestation. Such is
that, in the office of blessed Mary ^, where they thus
speak te her : " Hail, queen, the raother of raercy,
" our life, delight, and hope, hail ; we shelter eur-
" selves under thy protection, despise net our sup-
" plications in the tiraes ef our necessity ; but de-
" Uver us frora all dangers, thou ever glorious Vir-
" gin ^ !" This is surely raere than a " Pray for
" us '"." Fer they pray unto her as their life and
hope, and fly to her as their refuge and protection,
beseeching her to deliver them always frem all dan
gers : but chiefly it is to be remarked, that she is here
called the " queen and mother of mercy." Weuld
you knew the meaning ef this ? Berthorius will tell
you : " The truth is, whereas the kingdom of God
" consists in these two virtues, justice and mercy,
" God bestowed on Mary, the queen of paradise, the
" half part ef his kingdom, that is, the mercy. And
" fer this cause it is, she is called the mother, of
mercy "." The same exposition you may find in

C(

^ In officio beatae Mariae. -¦
' Salve, regina, mater misericordiae ; vita, dulcedo, et spes
nostra, salve; sub' tuum praesidium confugimus, nostras depre-
cationes ne despicias in necessitatibns : sed a periculis omnibus
libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa !
™ Ora pro nobis.
" Ista est Veritas, quod cum regnum Dei in duobus constet,
scil. in justitia et misericordia, isti reginae paradisi (Mariae) dimi-
diam regni sui partem, scil. misericordiae distribntionem contulit
Deus. Igitur regina dicitur misericordia. Lib. XIX. Moralita-
tum, cap. 4.

Church of Rome. 305
Biel °- And Cassander also acknowledgeth this to be
the sense of that title given to the blessed Virgin.
In the Litany of our Lady, published in EngUsh
here among us, she is called " Queen of angels, pa-
" triarchs, prophets, and apostles ; source of the
" fountain of grace, refuge of sinners, comfort of
" the afflicted, and advocate of all Christians." New
we have no instance of such attributes given to the
blessed Virgin, either in the holy Scriptures, or in
the writings of the ancient Fathers ; and indeed they
are too big for any mere creature. For here the go
vernment of heaven and aU the holy angels therein
is attributed to her, which belongs only to our Lord
Christ P. And what de they mean by that title
which they give her of " Source {scaturigo) of the
" fountain of grace ?" I cannot imagine any other
meaning of it than this, that tbe Virgin Mary re
ceiving first the eraanation or efflux of grace from
Ged the fountain of grace, by and through her all
grace is carried and conveyed down to all the faith
ful. And so indeed Bemardinus explains the mat
ter in these words : " No creature has obtained any
" grace or virtue frem God, but by the dispensation
" of this pious mother i." They that under this no
tion address themselves to the blessed Virgin, surely
do much more than desire her to pray for them, as
we desire the prayers of one another.
What do they mean when they say she is the re-
" In Can. Missae, Lect. 8.
P Ephes. i. 20, 21, 22.
1 Nulla creatura aliquam a Domino obtinuit gratiam vel virtu
tem, nisi secundum ipsius pise Matris dispensationem. Serm. LXI.
Art. I. c. 8.
VOL. II. X

306 Corruptions qfthe SECT, iv-
fuge of sinners ? Frera what hath been said before,
concerning the kingdora of raercy, supposed to be
coraraitted te the blessed Virgin, and concerning the
title of queen of mercy given her, we raay conclude
the sense te be this, that when sinners are troubled
in their consciences, and terrified with the sense ef
their sins, and ef the judgraents ef Ged denounced
against thera, they may and ought te have recourse
to her as the queen of mercy, as their asylum and
sanctuary, te shelter and protect thera frora the di
vine vengeance. This, a credible author assures us,
hath been represented in several Roraan catholic
teraples, in which Christ hath been painted with
an angry menacing countenance, casting his darts
against sinners, and the blessed Virgin interposing
herself as mediatrix and repeUing his darts. But
Christ our Lord directs poor guilty sinners, whose
consciences are oppressed with the burden of their
sins, to a far better refuge, yea, the only refuge they
are to fly te, even te hiraself: Com,e unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Matt. xi. 28.
And whe cau read without the greatest horror
such a prayer to the blessed Virgin as this that fol
lows? " O my Lady, holy Mary, I recoraraend ray-
" self into thy blessed trust and singular custody,
" and into the bosom of thy mercy, this night and
" evermore, and in the hour of my death, as also my
" soul and ray body : and I yield unto thee aU my
" hope and censelation, all my distress and miseries,
" my life and the end thereof, that by thy most
" holy intercession, and by thy merits, all my works
" may be directed according to thine and thy Son's

Church of Rome. 307
" will. Amen." What fuUer expressions can we use
to declare our absolute affiance, trust, and depend
ance on the eternal Son of Ged hiraself, than they
here use in this receraraendation to the Virgin ?
And who observes net that the will ef the blessed
Virgin is expressly joined with the will ef her Sen,
as the rule of our actions, and that so, as that her
will is set in the first place ? A smatch of their eld
blasphemous impiety, in advancing the raother abeve
the Son, and giving her a coramanding power over
him. Yet this recommendation te the blessed Vir
gin is te be seen in a manual of prayers and litanies
printed at Antwerp no longer age than I67I, and
that permissu superiorum, appointed to be used in
the evening prayer for Friday. The book I had
frem a near relatien of raine, (who had been seduced
te the church of Rorae, but afterwards returned
again te the ceramunion of the church of England,)
whe assured me, that she herself used it, by the di
rection of her confessor, in her private devotions.
There was a book published, (and that tee per
missu superiorum,) and in great vogue araong eur
English catholics, in the reign of king Jaraes the
Second, entitled, Contemplations of the Life and
Glory qf the holy Mary : wherein you raay find
these words ; " Ged hath by a solemn covenant pro-
" nounced Mary te be the treasury ef wisdom,
" grace, and sanctity under Jesus. So that whatse-
" ever gifts are bestowed upon us by Jesus, we re-
" ceive thera by the mediation ef Mary : no ene be-
" ing gracious to Jesus, whe is net devoted te Mary :
" nor hath any one been speciaUy confident ef the
" patronage of Mary, who hath net through her re-
X 2

308 Corruptions ofthe sect. iv.
" ceived a special blessing from Jesus. Whence it
" is one great mark of the predestination of the
" elect, te be singularly devoted te Mary, since she
" hath a full power, as a mother, to obtain of Jesus
" whatever he can ask of God the Father, and is
" comprehended within the sphere ef man's predes-
" tinatien te glery, redemption from sin, and rege-
" neration by grace. Neither hath any one peti-
" tioned Mary, who was refused by Jesus, nor
" trusted in Mary, and was abandoned by Jesus."
Afterwards he tells us, p. 9- " That though the con-
" dition of serae great sinners may be so deplorable,
" that all the Umited exceUency, merits, and power
" ef aU the saints and angels, cannet effectually bend
" the mercies of Jesus to relieve thera, yet such is
" the acceptableness ef the raother of Jesus to Jesus,
" that whosoever is under the verge of her protec-
" tion may confide in her intercessions te Jesus."
There needs ne comraent to set forth the herridness
of these assertions. Upon the whole raatter, I can
not but think these sUly woraen of Arabia, whe once
a year offered a cake in honour to the blessed Vir
gin as queen of heaven, to be as excusable at least
as her devotees in the church ef Ropie. And yet
they in their days were thought worthy of a place
in the catalogue of heretics ¦¦. Sure I am, most ef the
arguments Epiphanius useth against the CoUiridians
may serve every whit as well against the papists.
To pass by the worship of images, aUowed and
practised in the church of Rome, of which I have
said enough before.
Come we new to the principal part of the Chris-
¦" Epiphan. Haeres. III. 79.

Church of Rome. 309
tian worship, the holy sacrament ef the Eucharist.
How lamentably hath the church of Rorae vitiated
the primitive institution of that most sacred rite !
She hath taken from the laity the blessed cup, cen-
trai'y te eur blessed Saviour's express command as
expounded by the practice ef the apostles, and of the
universal church ef Christ, fer the first ten centuries,
as hath been above observed.
AU the learned advocates of the Roman church,
with aU their sophistry, have not been able te defend
her in this raatter frora raanifest sacrilege, and a
violation of the very essentials ef the sacraraent, as
te the laity administered, ner can they prove it so
administered to be a perfect sacrament. He that
weuld see this in a shert compass fully proved, and
aU the weak evasions of the Romanists obviated,
may consult our learned bishop Davenant ^ Be
sides, the whole administration of it is so clogged,
se metaphorized and defaced by the addition of a
multitude of ceremonies, and these some of them
more becoming the stage than the table of our
Lord, that if the blessed apostles were alive, and
present at the celebration of the mass in the Roman
church, they 'would be amazed, and wonder what
the meaning of it was ; sure I am, they weuld never
own it te be that sarae ordinance which they left to
the churches.
But the worst cereraony of all is the elevation of
the Host, to be adored by the people, as very Christ
hiraself under the appearance of bread, whole Christ,
©edvBpayitog, God and man, whUe they neglect the old
' Determ. Quaest. $8.
X 3

310 Corruptions ofthe sect. vi.
sursum corda, the lifting up of their hearts te hea
ven, where whole Christ indeed is. A practice this
is, which nothing can excuse frem the grossest ido
latry, but their gress stupidity, or rather infatuation,
in thinking that a piece of bread can, by any means
whatsoever, or howsoever consecrated and blessed,
becorae their very Ged and Saviour. A very sad
excuse indeed. Moreover, by what reason, by what
Scripture, by what exaraple or practice of the pri
raitive churches, can the Romanists defend their car
rying about tbe holy sacraraent in procession, er the
raockery ef their solitary raasses ? I raight pass from
the holy eucharist to the other sacraraent of bap
tism, and expose the many strange ceremonies used
in the Roman church in the consecration ef the font,
and in the very administration of that sacrament. I
raight also take notice of the prayers used by the
erder ef the Roman church in the consecration or
blessing ef certain inanimate things, for the pro
ducing supernatural effects, such as curing diseases,
driving away devils, &c. without any warrant frem
Scripture, er promise of God, that such effects shall
follow. But I shall step here.
I have now gone through the several heads of dis
course which I proposed te rayself, and sufficiently
I think proved, that the church of Rome hath altered
the priraitive ecclesiastical government ; changed the
primitive canon or rule ef faith; and lastly, mi
serably corrupted the primitive Liturgy, and forra
of divine worship. For these reasons laid together,
I can never be induced to enter inte the coraraunion
of the Roman church as now it is : and for the same
reason, (to speak ray mind freely,) I wonder hew so

Church of Rome. 311
learned a raan as monsieur de Meaux can with a good
and quiet conscience continue in it,
T'hus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and
see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good
way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for
your souls. Jer. vi. 16,

X 4

TEXTS
REFERRED TO OR ILLUSTRATED

IN

VOLS L AND IL

Gen. i. 27. U. 112.
 ii, 7. L 37. II. 90.
 ii. I, 2. 1. 270,
 ii. 24. II. 127.
 iii. 22 — 24. II. 54.
 V. 24. L 352.
I Kings XV. 5. II. 156.
2 Chron. xvi. 9. I. 291. 464.
 xxi, 12. II. 155.
Job. xxxviii. 4 — 7. 1. 273.
Psalm i. 1. 1. 196;
 xvii. 7, 8. I. 464.
 xxxix. 4. 1. Serm. XX.
 Ixii. 12. 1. 19.
 ciii. 15 — 17. I. Serm.
VIII.
' cxiii. 4. 1, 460,
 cxxxviii, ij 2, 1. 321.
Prov. viii. 22 — 31. II. 9.
Eccles. v. 4, 5. 1. 304.
 vii. 14. I. Serm. XVI,
XVII.
 xii. 7. I. 29. 199.
Isaiah xxvi. 19, 20. 1. 63.
 xxxvii. 35. II. 156.
Jerem. iv, 3, 4, 1. 3.
 ix. 23, 24. I. Serm.
XVIII. XIX.
 XV. I. II. 156.
Ezek. xiv. 14, 20. II. 156.
Hosea x. 12. 1. Serm. I.
Zech. iv. 2. 1. 291, 465.
Wisdom ii, 23. IL 1 16.

2 Mac. vii. 36. 1. 203.
— — XV. 12. II. 156. 158.
Matt. X. 30. 1. 463.
 xii. 50. 1. III.
 xiiir52. I. 144.
 xviii. lo.l. 293. 301.464.
 xix. 28. 1. 171.
 XX. I, I. 186.
 XX. 20, 21. I. 175.
 xxii. 31,32. I. 40.
 xxvi. 26, 27. II, 222.
Luke i. 43. 1. 95.
 i. 48,49.1. Serm. IV. 85.
 XV. 7. II. 232.
 XV. 10. I. 314.
 xvi. 22 — 25. 1. 60. II. 173.
 xvi. 26. II. 15s, 156. 161.
 xix. 16 — 19. I. 177.
xxiii.43.L33.58.II.173.

John i. I. II. 7.
 xiv. 2. I. 177.
Acts i. 25. I. Serm. II, III.
 vii. 25. I. 348.
 ix. 31. II. 46.
 xii. 12 — 16. 1. 302.
 xix. 5. IL 15.
¦ xxii. 3. I. 252.
Rom, viii, 13. II. 98.
.  viii. 16. II. Disc. III.
 xiv. 17. II. 150.
I Cor. i. 24. II. 10.
 X. 9. L 350.
 X. 21. II. 178.

3M

TEXTS REFERRED TO IN VOLS. I. AND II.

I Cor. xi, 10. I. 322.11. 165.
 xi. 26 — 29. II. 178.
 XV. 33. 1. 245.
 XV. 41, 42. I. 178.
 XV. 45, 46. II. 56. 122.
 XV. 56. II. 59.
2 Cor. i. 22. II. 35.
 iii. 6. I. 223.
 V. 8—10. L 34. 56.
 ix. 6. 1. 179.
 X. 10. I. 125.
 xii. 2—4. 1. 34. 54.
 xii. 7 — 9. I. Serm. V.
308.
Gal. iv. 13, 14. I. 123.
 V. 6. II. 31.
 V. 22, 23. IL 34.
Eph. i. 13. II. 36.
 iv. 23. II. 97.
 V. 31. I. 363.
Phil. i. 23. I. 56.
 iii. 14. 1. 362.
Col, i. 16, 17. I. 274.
 ii.18.1. 286.11. 167.262.
 ii. 23. II. 148.
 iii. I, 2. L 359.
I Thess. V. 23. I. 38. II. 95.
I Tim. ii. i, 2. 1. Serm. XIII.
 iv. 3. I. 91.
 iv. 8. II. 148.

I Tim. V. 21. 1. 315. 321.
2 Tim. iii. 1. 1. 372.
 iii. 5. 1. Serm. XV.
 iv. 13. 1. Serm. X.
Titus i. 2. I. 207. 355.
 i. 12. I. 244.
Heb. i. 9 — 12, II. 13.
 i. 14. I. Serm. XI. XII.
 iv. 12, 13. L 243.387.
 xi. 23. L 347.
 xi. 26. 1. Serm. XIV,
 xi. 35. I. 204.
 xii. 2. I. 363.
 xiii. 17. I. 160.
 xiii. 18. II. 161.
James i. 9, 10. L 90.
 iii. J. I. Serm. VI.
 V. 14. II. 25.
I Pet. iii. 19, 20. 1. 33.
2 Pet. i. II. I. Serm. VII.
 iii. 16. II. 31.
I John V. 7. II. 12.
Rev. ii. 26, 27. II. 162.
 iii. 4. 1. Serm. IX.
 iv. 6, 7. II. 163.
 V. 8. II. 163.
 viii. 3, 4. 1. 312. II. 164.
 xix. 10. II. 168.
 xxii. 8, 9. 1, 278. II. 168.
169.

INDEX
OF PRINCIPAL MATTERS

IN

VOLS L AND II.

Abel's sacrifice accepted, I.
206.
Abraham's bosom, I. 61.
Acosta, I. 44.
Adam, I. 204. II. 53. 60. 124.
129.
Adversity, I. Serm. XVIL
Affections, not to be set on
things of this life, I. 396.
Affliction,- a proper occasion
for prayer, I. 392.
Afflictions laid on the best of
God's servants, I. 134.
Alogi, II. 10.
America, I. 44.
Anabaptiiits, I. 395.
Angels, I. 181.464. Serm. XI.
and XII. n. 165. 176. 262.
Antinomians, I. 8.
Antitrinitarians, II. 4. 8.
Apocalypse, II. 11.
Apostles, I. 25. 173. 247.
Arabian heretics, I. 43.
Articles, Thirty -Nine, II. 210.
225.
.Assurance, II. 43.
Attrition, I. 9. 11.
Auricular confession, I. 12, 13.
Austerities II. 148.
Baptism, I. 334. II. 15. 22.
Barnabas, I. 27.
Barsabas, I. 23.
Bishop of Rome, II. 245. 290.

Bishops, jurisdiction of, II.
246.
Blasphemy, I. 381.
Blessings, more than our cross*
ings, L421.
Body, I. 37.
Boniface the Third, II. 248.
Bossuet, II. 237.
British church, II. 290.
Bull, Robert, II. 137. 143.
Catechising, II. 21.
Catholic church, II. 242.
 scripturist, II, 137.
145; 151-.
Celestial hierarchy, and its
author, I. 261.
Censoriousness condemned, I.
137- .
Cerinthians, I. 326. II. 12.
Charity, I. 402. 408.
Cheerfulness, I. 394.
Christ consubstantial with the
Father, II. 2 14.
 signified under the Old
Testament, I. 243.
Christianity, its great design,
I. 169.
Church of England. II. 188.
204. 206.
 Rome, see Rorne.
Churchwardens, II. 29.
Circumspection recommended,
I. 321.

3i6

INDEX OF PRINCIPAL MATTERS

Colleges of the prophets, I.
251, 252.
Confession, I. 13.
Constantine, II. 274,
Contrition, I. 9.
Council of Basil, II. 228.
• Constance, II. 179.

183. 228.

216. 272.

Constantinople, II.

Ephesus, II. 2 1 8.

292.

374. 27S-

¦ Florence, II. 267.
¦ Frankfort, II. 223.

262.

240.

Laodicea, II. 171.
•Nice, II. 214. 231.
— — second, II. 223.

273-

Trent, II. 183. 205.
224. 229. 242. 249. 259.
Councils, general, II. 227.
Covenant with Adam, II. 5 3 . 64.
Covetousness, I. 380. 404.
Creed, Nicene, II. 218.
Creeds, II. 213.
Cup in the eucharist, I. 14. II.
178. 191. 222. 259. 309.
Days, how to number them, I.
Serm. XX.
Death, I. 79, 80. 475. 477.
Decalogue, I. 7.
Degrees of glory in heaven, I.
Serm. VII.
Devil, the, I. 274. 306. 309.
310.
Discontent, I. 89.
Diseases; I. 134.
Dissenters, I. 108. 110. 131.
147- 255. 337. 340- 3^^-
II. 19.
Divine nature, simplicity of
the, II. 5.
Donatists, II. 188.
Doxologies, I. 331.
Dreams, I. 295,

Edwards, Dr. II. 4.
Elizabeth, I. 84.
Enoch, I. 206. 354.
Enthusiasm, 1. 255, 337. 358.
Episcopacy, I. 329.
Eternal ^ life, proraised to
Adam, I. 207. II. 6^. 68.
hoped for under the Law, I.
195. 204.
Eucharist, II. 23. 178. 251.
Evil, raixed with mercy, I.
422.
 spirits, I. 275. 306. 309.
Excoramunication, II. 24.
Faith, I. 8. 226. 360. II. 32.
Fasts, II. 208.
Festivals, II. 208.
Forms of prayer, I. 329. 335.
34°-
Future state, I. 208. 224.352.
354-
Gallican church, II. 297.
Gamaliel, I. 242.
Gift of healing, I. 132.
Good works, I. 2. 5. 15. 180.
183. 219. II. 32.38,
Gregory, Pope, I, 77. II. 247.
Half communion, I. 14. II.
178. 191. 222. 259. 309.
Hammond, Dr. I. 406.
Hebrews, Epistle to the, 1. 243.
Holiness, I. 155.
Holy Ghost, II. 8. 33. 96.
216.
Homilies, II. 20.
Humility, I. 176.
Hypocrisy, I. 375. 378. 391.
Image-worship, IL 189. 223.
269.
Indulgences, I. 14. II. 282.
InfalUbilitv of the church, II.
185.
 Pope, II.
226.
Ingratitude I. 383.
Inspiration, I. 248.
Intermediate state, I. 50, 62,
78. 490. IL 163. 173. 260.

IN VOLS. I. AND H.

3J7

Invocation of saints, II. 154.
262. 300.
James, St. II. 199.
Jerusalem, church of, II. 199.
288.
Jesuits, II. 151.
John, St. Gospel of, II. n.
 the Eighteen"ih, Pope, I.
77-
Judas, I. 24.
Justification, IL 3 1 .
King's evil, I. 133.
Leo, tbe Tenth, Pope, IL 287.
Liturgy of the church of Eng
land, II. 207.
Liturgies, I. 330. 339. II. 299.
Lord's prayer, I. 335.
 supper, II. 23. 178. 251.
Macedonians, II. 8.
Magnificat, the, I. 83. 109.
Mary, the Virgin, I. 84. 92.
98. II. 162. 303.
Mass, I. 13. 108.
Matthias, I. 23.
Meaux, Bishop of, II. 237.
Merit, I. 5. 18. 219. 232.
Miracles, I. 133.
Mortification, I. 485.
Moses, I. 347.
Mumford, J. II. 145.
Nature, law of, II. 53. 62.
Nestorius, I. 94.
Newburgh, countess of, II.
137. 139. 141.
— ^—  earl of, II. 141.
Nicene Creed, II. 218.
Oaths, I. 456.
Papists, I. 12. 70. 93. 96. 98.
103. 219. 257. 279.
Paradise, I. 58. II. 67. 173.
267.
Pastoral office, II. 17.
Paul, St. I. 114. 242. II. 193.
 theFourth, Pope, II. 207.
Pelagius and Pelagians, II. 55.
60. 77. 87. 133.
Penance, I. 10.
Peter, St. II. 193. 196, 295.

Pharisees, I. 36. 39. 377.
Pictures, II. 271.
Pius the Fourth, Pope, II.
207.
Pool, lady, II. 142.
sir H. II. 141.

Pope, infallibility of the, II.
226. not superior to councils,

II. 22*'.
Poverty, I. 88.
Prayer, I. 327. 454. II. 17. 28.
161. 190.
Prayers for the dead, I. 70. II.
260.
Preaching, II. 19.
Pride, I. 128. 319. 381. 400.
435-
Priestly office. I. Serm. VI.
Prophets, I. 251.
Prosperity, I. Serra. XVI.
Providence, I. 417. 452. 462.
Purgatory, I. 13. 70. 76. 333.
489. II. 157. 260. 284.
Quakers, I. 254. II. 222.
Reformation, II. 205. 209.
Relicks, IL 268.
Religion, I. 484.
Remonstrants, II. 61.
Resurrection, I. 36. 198.
Revelations, Book of, II. 11.
Reward, I. 357. 366.
Riches, I. 444.
Righteousness, I. 2. 19.
Rome, church of, I. 9. 12. 96.
219. 257. 279. 333. 344.
II. 150. 226. 237. 243. 288.
 infallibility
ofthe, II, 185.
 not the first
church, II. 192. 288.
Sabellianism, II. 2. 3. 6.
Sacrifice, I. 205. 355. 455.
Sadducees, I. 35. 41. 208. 357.
Saints, I, 103. 287, II. 154.
266. 300.
Salvation, I. 5, II. 35.
Satan, I. 126.

3i8 PRINCIPAL MATTERS IN VOLS. I. AND II.

Scribes, I. 144.
Scriptures, I. 150. 241.
Self-love, I. 379.
Sermons, II. 20.
Sherlock, II. 3.
Sibyls, I. 202.
Sick, visitation of, II. 25.
Sin, I. 205. 420.
Socinus and Socinians, II. 4. 7.
IO-54- SS- 59- 61. 112.
Soul, I, 28. 36. 49. 198.
Stillingfleet, II. 191.
Supremacy of St. Peter, II. 195.
231. 290. 295.
Taxa Cancellarise Apostolicae,
IL 285.
Temperance, I. 486.
Tillotson, U. 20.
Timothy, I. 249. 328.
Tradition, II. 154.

Transubstantiation, I. 14. 333.
II. 186. 203. 221. 251.
253-
Tree of knowledge, II. 64.
 life, II. 54.
Trinity, II. i. 216.
Tritheism, II. 2, 3.
Valentinians, I. 43.
Virgin Mary, See Mary.
Visiting the sick, IL 25.
Wilkins, Bishop, II 20..
Wisdom, I. 431. 435.
 ofGod, IL 10.
Witches, I. 275.
Word of God, II. 5.
Works, I. 15. 16. 22. II. 32.
Worship of images, II. 189.
223. 269.
 saints, I. 103.
280. 287. II. 154. 262.

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