OF TRADITIONS.

TO begin therefore with Traditions, which is your forlorne Hope that in the first place we are to set upon: this must I needes tell you before we begin, that you much mistake the matter, if you thinke that Tra­ditions of all sorts promiscuously are struck at by our Religion. We willingly acknowledge, that the word of God which by some of the Apostles was set downe in writing, was both by themselves, and others of their fellow-labourers, delivered by word of mouth: and that the Church in succeeding ages was bound not on­ly to preserve those sacred writings committed to her trust, but also to deliver unto her children vivâ voce the forme of wholsome words contayned therein. Tradi­tions therefore of this nature, come not within the compasse of our controversie: the question being be­twixt us de ipsâ doctrinâ traditâ, not de tradendi modo; touching the substance of the doctrine delivered, not of the maner of delivering it. Againe, it must be remem­bred that here wee speake of doctrine delivered as the word of God, that is, of points of religion revealed unto the Prophets and Apostles, for the perpetuall informa­tion of Gods people: not of rites and ceremonies, and other ordinances which are left to the disposition of the Church, and consequently be not of divine but of posi­tive and humane right. Traditions therefore of this kinde likewise are not properly brought within the cir­cuit of this question.

But that Traditions of men should be obtruded un­to us for articles of Religion, and admitted for parts of Gods worship; or that any Traditions should be ac­cepted [Page 36] for parcels of Gods word, beside the holy Scrip­tures, and such doctrines as are either expressely therein contayned, or by sound inference may be deduced from thence: I thinke wee have reason to gainsay. As long as for the first wee have this direct sentence from God himselfe; Matth. 15. In vaine doe they worship me, teach­ing for doctrines, the Commandements of men. And for the second, the expresse warrant of the Apostle, 2. Tim. 3. testifying of the holy Scriptures, not onely that they are able to make us wise unto salvation (which they should not be able to doe, if they did not containe all things necessary to salvation) but also that by them the man of God (that is, 1. Tim. 6.11. the minister of Gods word, unto whom it appertaineth Act. 20.27. to declare all the counsell of God) may be perfectly instructed to every good worke: which could not be, if the Scriptures did not containe all the counsell of God which was fit for him to learne, or if there were any other word of God which he were bound to teach, that should not be contained within the limits of the Booke of God.

Now whether herein we disagree from the doctrine generally received by the Fathers: we referre our selves to their owne sayings. For Rituall Traditions unwrit­ten, and for doctrinall Traditions written indeed, but preserved also by the continual preaching of the Pastors of the Church successively; wee find no man a more earnest advocate then Tertullian. Yet hee, having to deale with Hermogenes the hereticke in a question con­cerning the faith, (whether all things at the beginning were made of nothing?) presseth him in this manner, with the argument ab authoritate negativé; for avoy­ding whereof, the Papists are driven to flie for succour to their unwritten verities. An autem de aliquâ subja­centi materiâ facta sint om­nia, nusquam adhuc legi. Scriptum esse doceat Hermo­genis officina. Si non est scrip­tum timeat Vae illud adjicien­tibus aut de­trahentibus de­stinatum. Ter­tull. advers Her­mogen. cap. 22. Whether all things vvere [Page 37] made of any subject matter, I have as yet read no where. Let those of Hermogenes his shop shew that it is written. If it be not written, let them feare that Woe which is allotted to such as adde or take away.

In the two Testaments, saith Origen, In quibus li­cèat omne ver­bum quod ad Deum perti­net requiri & discuti; atque ex ipsis omnem rerum scienti­am capi. Si quid autem su­perfuerit quod non divina Scriptura de­cer [...]at, nullam aliam debere tertiam Scrip­turam ad au­thoritatem sci­entiae suscipi: sed igni trada­mus quod su­perest, id est, Deo reserve­mus. Neque e­nim in proesen­ti vitâ Deus scire nos om­nia voluit, Orig. in Levit. hom. 5. every word that appertayneth to God may be required and discussed; and all knowledge of things out of them may be understood. But if any thing doe remaine, which the holy Scripture doth not determine; no other third Scripture ought to be received for to authorize any knowledge: but that which remaineth we must commit to the fire, that is, we must re­serve it to God. For in this present world God would not have us to know all things.

Hippolytus the Martyr, in his Homily against the Heresie of Noëtus. Vnus Deus est, quem non aliunde, fra­tres, agnosci­mus, quàm ex sanctis Scriptu­ris. Quemad­modum enim si quis vellet sapientiam hujus saeculi exercere, non aliter hoc cōsequi poterit, nisi dogmata Philosophorū legat: sic quicunque volumus pietatem in Deū exercere, non aliunde discemus, quàm ex Scripturis di­vinis. Quaecunque ergo sanctae Scripturae praedicant, sciamus; & quaecunque docent, cog [...] ­noscamus Hippolyt. tom. 3. Biblioth. Pat. pa. 20.21. edit. Colon. There is one God, whom wee doe not otherwise acknowledge (brethren) but out of the holy Scriptures. For as he that would professe the wisedome of this world, cannot otherwise attaine hereunto, unlesse hee reade the doctrine of the Philosophers: so whosoever of us will exercise pietie toward God, cannot learne this else­where, but out of the holy Scriptures. Whatsoever there­fore the holy Scriptures doe preach, that let us know; and whatsoever they teach, that let us understand.

Athanasius, in his Oration against the Gentiles, to­ward the beginning: [...]. Athanas. The holy Scriptures given by in­spiration of God, are of themselves sufficient to the disco­verie of truth.

S. Ambrose: Quae in Scripturis sanctis non reperimus, ea quemadmodum usurpare possumus? Ambros. Offic. lib. 1. cap. 23. The things which vve finde not in the [Page 38] Scriptures, how can vve use them? And againe: Lego quia primus est, lego quia non est se­cundus▪ illi qui secundum aiunt, doceant lectione. Id in Virginis instit. cap. 11. I reade that he is the first, I reade that hee is not the second; they who say he is the second, let them shew it by reading.

It is well, Bene habet, ut iis quae sunt scripta conten­tus sis. Hilar. l. 3. de Trinit. saith S. Hilary, that thou art content vvith those things vvhich be written. And in another place, In quantum ego nūc beatae religiosaeque voluntatis veré te Domine Constanti Im­perator admi­ror, fidem tan­tùm secundùm ea quae scripta sunt desideran­tem. Id. lib. 2. ad Constantium. Aug. he commendeth Constantius the Emperour, for desi­ring the faith to be ordered onely according to those things that be vvritten.

S. Basil: [...]. Basil. hom. 29. advers. ca­lumniantes S. Trinitat. Beleeve those things vvhich are written; the things which are not written seeke not. [...]. Idem de Fide. It is a mani­fest falling from the faith, and an argument of arrogancy, either to reject any point of those things that are written, or to bring in any of those things that are not written. He teacheth further, [...]. Idem, in Ethicis, Regul 26. that every word and action ought to be confirmed by the testimony of the holy Scripture, for con­firmation of the faith of the good, and the confusion of the evill ▪ and that it is the propertie of a faithfull man, to bee fully perswaded of the truth of those things that are deli­vered in the holy Scripture, [...]. Id. ibid. reg. 80. ca. 22. and not to dare eyther to re­ject or to adde any thing thereunto. For if whatsoever is not of faith be sinne, as the Apostle saith, and faith is by hearing, and hearing by the word of God: then vvhatsoe­ver is without the holy Scripture, being not of faith, must needs be sinne. Thus farre S. Basil.

In like maner Gregory Nyssene, S. Basils brother, lay­eth this for a ground, [...]. Gregor. Nyssen. Dialog. de Animâ & Resurrect. tom. 2. edit. Grae [...]olat. pag. 639. vvhich no man should contra­dict; that in that onely the truth must be acknowledged, [Page 39] wherein the seale of the Scripture testimony is to be seene. And accordingly in another booke (attributed also unto him) we finde this conclusion made: Cùm id nul­lo Scripturae testimonio suf­fultum sit, ut falsum impro­babimus. lib. de Cognit Dei, citat. ab Euthymio in Panoplia, Tit. 8. Forasmuch as this is upholden vvith no testimony of the Scripture, as false vve will reject it.

Thus also S. Hierome disputeth against Helvidius· Vt haec quae scripta sunt non negamus; ita ea quae non sunt scripta re­nuimu [...]. Natum Deum esse de Virgine credi­mus, quia legi­mus: Mariam nupsisse post partum non credimus, quia non legimus. Hieron. advers. Helvid. As vvee denye not those things that are written; so vve refuse those things that are not vvritten. That God was borne of a Virgin we beleeve, because we reade it: that Ma­ry did marry after shee was delivered, wee beleeve not, be­cause wee reade it not.

In those things, In iis quae a­perté in Scrip­turâ posita sunt, inveniun­tur illa omnia quae continent fidem mores (que) vivendi. August. de doctrinâ Chri­stian. li. 2. cap. 9. saith S. Augustine, vvhich are layd downe plainly in the Scriptures, all those things are found which appertaine to faith and direction of life. And a­gaine: Quicquid inde audieritis, hoc vobis bene sapiat: quicquid extra est respuite, ne erretis in nebulâ. Id. in li. de Pastor. cap. 11. Whatsoever ye heare from the holy Scriptures, let that savour vvell unto you; whatsoever is without them, refuse, lest you wander in a cloud. And in another place: Omnia quae praeteritis tēporibus erga humanū genus majores nostri gesta esse meminerunt, nobis (que) tradiderunt; omnia etiam quae nos videmus, & posteris tradimus, quae tamen pertinent ad veram religionem quaerendam & tenendā, divina scriptura non tacuit. Idem, ep 42. All those things which in times past our ancestors have mentioned to be done toward mankind, and have de­livered unto us; all those things also which we see, and doe deliver unto our posteritie, so farre as they appertaine to the seeking and maintayning of true Religion, the holy Scrip­ture hath not passed in silence.

The holy Scripture, Suf­ficit divina Scriptura ad faciendum eos qui in illâ educati sunt sapientes, & probatissimos, & suffientissimam habentes intelligentiam: Cyril. li. 7. cont Iulian. saith S. Cyrill of Alexandria, is sufficient to make them which are brought up in it wise, and most approved, and furnished with most sufficient un­derstanding. And againe: [...]. Cyril Glaphyrorū, in Gen. l. 2. That which the holy Scrip­ture [Page 40] hath not said, by what meanes should wee receive, and account it among those things that be true?

Lastly, in the writings of Theodoret wee meete with these kinde of speeches. [...]. Theod. dialog. 1. [...]. By the holy Scripture alone am I perswaded. [...]. Id. dial. 2. [...]. I am not so bold, as to affirme any thing which the sacred Scripture passeth in silence. [...]. Id. in Exod. quaest. 26. quod in Graeco­rum Catenâ in Pentateuchum, à Franc. Zephy­ro editâ, ita ex­positū legimus: Impudentis est, quod á Scrip­turâ reticetur, velle inquirere. It is an idle and a senselesse thing, to seeke those things that are passed in silence. [...]. Theodoret. in Genesim. quaest. 45. Wee ought not to seeke those things which are passed in silence; but rest in the things that are written.

By the verdict of these twelve men, you may judge, what opinion was held in those ancient times of such Traditions as did crosse, either the verity or the perfecti­on of the sacred Scripture: which are the Traditions we set our selves against. If now it be demanded, in what Popes dayes the contrarie doctrine was brought in among Christians: I answer, that if S. Peter were e­ver Pope, in his dayes it was, that some seducers first laboured to bring in Will-worship into the Church; a­gainst whom S. Paul opposing himselfe, Coloss. 2. coun­teth it a sufficient argument to condemne all such in­ventions, that they were the commandements and do­ctrines of men. Shortly after them, started up other Hereticks, who taught, that Quia non possit ex his in­veniri veritas ab his, qui ne­sciant Traditi­onem. Non e­nim per lite­ras traditam illam, sed per vivam vocem: ob quam causam & Paulum dixisse; Sapientiam autem loquimur inter perfectos. Irenae. contr. hares. lib. 3. cap. 2. the truth could not be found out of the Scriptures by those to whom Tradition was un­knowen. forasmuch as it was not delivered by writing, but by word of mouth: for which cause S. Paul also should say; Wee speake wisedome among them that be perfect.

The verie same Text doe the Bellarmin lib. 4. de Verbo Dei, cap. 8. Iesuites alledge, to prove the dignitie of manie mysteries to be such, that they require silence; and that it is unmeet they should [Page 41] bee opened in the Scriptures, which are read to the whole world, and therefore can onely be learned by unwritten Traditions. Wherein they consider not, how they make so neare an approach unto the con­fines of some of the ancientest Heretickes, that they may well shake hands together. For howsoever some of them were so madde as to Dicentes, se non solum Presbyteris, sed etiam Aposto­lis existente [...] sapientiores, since [...]am inve­nisse veritatem. &c. Evenit ita­que neque Scripturis jam neque Traditi­oni consentire eos. Iren. ut sup. say, that they were wiser then the Apostles themselves; and therefore made light account of the doctrine which they delivered un­to the Church, either by writing or by word of mouth: yet all of them broake not forth into that open impie­tie; the same mysterie of iniquitie wrought in some of Antichrists fore-runners then, which is discovered in his ministers now. Confitentur quidem nihil Apostolos ig­norâsse, nec di­versa inter se praedicâsse, sed non omnia il­los volunt om­nibus revelâsse: quaedam enim palam & uni­versis, quaedam secretó & pau­cis demandâsse. quia & hoc verbo usus est Paulus ad Ti­motheum: O Timothee, de­positum custo­di. Et rursum: Bonum deposi­tum custodi. Tertull. de prae­script. advers. haeret. cap. 25. They confessed indeed (as witnes­seth Tertullian) that the Apostles were ignorant of no­thing, and differed not among themselves in their preach­ing: but they say, they revealed not all things unto all men; some things they delivered openly and to all, some things secretly and to a few. because that Paul useth this speech unto Timothy: O Timothy, keep that which is com­mitted to thy trust. And againe; That good thing which was committed unto thee, keepe. Which verie Texts the Bellar. lib 4. de Verbo Dei, cap. 5. Iesuites likewise bring in, to prove, that there are some Traditions, which are not contayned in the Scripture.

In the dayes of S. Hierome also, this was wont to be the saying of Hereticks: Filii sumus sapientium, qui ab initio doctrinam nobis Apostolicam tradiderunt. Hieron. lib 7. in Esa. ca. 19. We are the sonnes of the wise men, which from the beginning have delivered the do­ctrine of the Apostles unto us. But Sed & alia, quae absque auctoritate & testimoniis scripturarū, quasi traditione Apostolicâ spōte reperiūt at (que) cōfingūt, percutit gladius Dei. Id. in Agg [...]. c. 1. those things (saith that Father) which they of themselves finde out and faine to have received as it were by Tradition from the Apostles, [Page 42] without the authoritie and testimonies of the Scriptures, the sword of God doth smite. S. Chrysost. in Iohan 10. homil. 59. tom. 2. edit. Savil. pag. 799. Chrysostome in like ma­ner giveth this for a marke of Antichrist, and of all spi­ritual theeves: that they come not in by the doore of the Scriptures. For the Scripture (saith hee) [...] Ibid. like un­to a sure doore, doth barre an entrance unto Hereticks, safe­guarding us in all things that we will, and not suffering us to be deceived. Whereupon he concludeth, that [...]. Ibid. who so useth not the Scriptures, but commeth in otherwise, that is, betaketh himselfe to another and an unlawfull way, he is a theefe.

How this mysterie of iniquitie wrought when An­tichrist came unto his full growth, and what experi­ments his followers gave of their theevish entry in this kind, was well observed by the author of the book De unitate Ecclesiae (thought by some to be Waltram Bishop of Naumburg:) who speaking of the Quale my­sterium iniqui­tatis praeten­dunt plures Monachi in veste suâ, per quos fiunt, & facta sunt schis­mata atque haereses in Ec­clesiâ: qui e­tiam á matre filios segre­gant, oves á pastore [...]ollici­tant, Dei sa­cramenta di­sturbant: qui etiam Dei traditione contēptâ, alienas doctrinas appetunt, & magist [...]ria hu­manae institutionis inducunt Lib de unitat. Eccl [...]s. Tom. 1. Script. Germanic. á M. Fre [...]ero edit. pag 233. Monks that for the upholding of Pope Hildebrands faction, brought in schismes and heresies into the Church, no­teth this specially of them; that despising the tradition of God, they desired other doctrines, and brought in mai­steries of humane institution. Against whom hee alled­geth the authoritie of their owne S. Benedict, the father of the Monkes in the West; writing thus: Ideoque nihil debet Abbas extra praeceptum Domini quod sit, aut docere, aut constituere, vel jubere: sed jussio ejus vel doctrina, ut fermentum divinae justitiae in discipulorum mentibus conspergatur. Benedict. in Regulâ. The Abbot ought to teach, or ordaine, or command nothing, which is without the precept of the Lord: but his commandement or instruction should be spred as the leaven of divine righ­teousnesse in the minds of his Disciples. Whereunto also hee might have added the testimonie of the two fa­mous [Page 43] Fathers of Monasticall discipline in the East: S. Antony I meane, who taught his Schollers that [...]. A­thanas in Vitae Antonij. quod Evagrius An­tioch [...]nu. presby­ter redaidie: Ad omnem mandatorum disciplinam Scripturas pos­se sufficere. the Scriptures were sufficient for doctrine; and S. Basil, who unto the question, Whether it were expedient that novices should presently learne those things that are in the Scrip­ture? returneth this answere: [...]. Ba­sil. in Reguiis br [...]viorib. op. 95. It is fit and necessarie, that every one should learne out of the holy Scripture that which is for his use; both for his full settlement in godli­nesse, and that hee may not be accustomed unto humane traditions.

Marke here the difference betwixt the Monkes of Saint Basil, and Pope Hildebrands breeding. The No­vices of the former were trayned in the Scriptures, to the end they might not be accustomed unto humane tradi­tions: those of the latter, to the cleane contrarie intent, were kept back from the studie of the Scriptures, that they might be accustomed unto humane traditions. For this, by the foresaid author, is expressely noted of those Hildebrandine Monkes, that they Qui ne pue­ros quidem vel adolescentes permittunt in monasteriis habere studi­um salutaris scientiae: ut scilicet rude ingenium [...]u­triatur siliquis daemoniorum, quae sunt con­suetudines hu­manarum tra­ditionum: ut ejusmodi spurcitiis assuefacti, non possint gustare quam suavis est Dominus. Lib. de Vnitat. Eccles. pag. 22 [...]. permitted not yong men in their Monasteries to studie this saving knowledge: to the end that their rude wit might be nourished with the huskes of divels, which are the customes of humane tradi­tions; that being accustomed to such filth, they might not taste how sweet the Lord was. And even thus in the times following, from Monkes to Friars, and from them to secular Priests and Prelates, as it were by tradi­tion from hand to hand, the like ungodly policie was continued, of keeping the common people from the knowledge of the Scriptures; as for other reasons, so likewise that by this meanes they might be drawne to humane traditions. Which was not onely observed by [Page 44] Verùm enim­veró vereor, ne isti qui velint populum nihil attingere, non tam periculo commoveantur illorum quàm sui respectu: videlicèt ut ab istis solis, velut ab oraculis pe­tantur omnia. Quid hâc de rescriptum est? hoc scriptum est Quem ha­bet sensum, quod scriptum est? Sic intel­lige, sic senti, sic loquere. Atqui istuc est buba­lum esse, non hominem. For­tassis movet & nonnullos, quoniam animadvertunt divinam scripturam parùm quadrare ad vitam suam. malunt eam antiquari, aut certé nesciri; ne quid hinc jaciatur in os. Et ad humanas traditiunculas po­pulum avocant, quas ipsi ad suam commoditatem probé commenti sunt. E. asm in ena [...]rat. 1. Psalmi, edit. ann. 1515. Erasmus, before ever Luther stirred against the Pope: but openly in a maner confessed afterwards by a bitter adversarie of his, Petrus Sutor, a Carthusian Monke; who, among other inconveniences for which he would have the people debarred from reading the Scripture, alledgeth this also for one. Cùm multa palàm tradantur observanda, quae sacris in literis expressé non habentur: nónne idiotae haec animadvertentes facilè murmurabunt, conque­rentes cur tantae sibi imponantur sarcinae, quibus & libertas Evangelica ita graviter eleva­tur? Nónne & facilè retrahentur ab observantiâ institutionum Ecclesiasticarum, quando [...]as in lege Christi animadverterint non contineri? Sutor de tralatione Bibliae cap. 22. fol. 96. ed [...]t. Paris. an. 1525. Whereas manie things are openly taught to be observed, which are not to be expresse­ly had in the holy Scriptures: will not the simple people, observing these things, quickly murmure, and complaine that so great burdens should be imposed upon them, where­by the libertie of the Gospell is so greatly impaired? Will not they also easily be drawne away from the observation of the ordinances of the Church, when they shall observe that they are not contained in the Law of Christ?

Having thus therefore discovered unto these Deu­terotae (for so S. Hieronym. lib. 2. Comment. in Esai. cap. 3. & lib. 9. in Esai. cap. 29. Hierome useth to style such Tradition-mongers) both their grandfathers, and their more im­mediat progenitors: I passe now forward unto the se­cond point.

OF THE REAL PRESENCE.

HOw farre the real presence of the bodie of Christ in the Sacrament, is allowed or disallowed by us, I have at large declared in an Serm. a [...] West­minst. before the house of Com­mons. ann. 1620. other place. The summe [Page 45] is this: That in the receiving of the blessed Sacra­ment, we are to distinguish betweene the outward and the inward action of the Communicant. In the out­ward, with our bodily mouth wee receive really the vi­sible elements of Bread and Wine: in the inward, wee doe by faith really receive the bodie and bloud of our Lord, that is to say, wee are truely and indeed made partakers of Christ crucified, to the spirituall strength­ning of our inward man. They of the adverse part have made such a confusion of these things, that for the first, they do utterly denie, that after the words of con­secration there remaineth anie Bread or Wine at all to be received: and for the second, do affirme, that the bo­die and bloud of Christ is in such a maner present, un­der the outward shewes of bread and wine, that whoso­ever receiveth the one (be he good or bad, beleever or unbeleever) doth therewith really receive the other. We are therfore here put to prove, that Bread is bread, and Wine is wine: a matter (one would thinke) that easily might be determined by common sense. That which you see (saith Quod ergo vidistis, Panis est & Calix: quod vobis eti­am oculi vestri renunciant. August. in Ser­mone de sacram. apud Bedam▪ in 1. Cor. 10. & Ratrannum de corp. & sangu. Dom. vel in Sermone de Ver­bis Domini: ut citatur ab Al­gero, lib. 1. de Sacram. cap. 5. S. Augustine) is the Bread and the Cup: which your very eyes doe declare unto you. But be­cause we have to deale with men, that will needs herein be senselesse; wee will for this time referre them to Tertull. in lib. de Animâ, cap. 17. cui titu­lus: De quin­que sensibus. Tertullians discourse of the five senses, (wishing they may be restored to the use of their five witts againe:) and ponder the testimonies of our Saviour Christ, in the sixt of Iohn, and in the words of the Institution, which they oppose against all sense, but in the end shall finde to be as opposit to this phantasticall conceit of theirs, as anie thing can be.

Touching our Saviours speech, of the eating of his flesh, and the drinking of his bloud, in the sixth of Iohn; [Page 46] these five things specially may be observed. First, that the question betwixt our Adversaries & us, being not, Whether Christs bodie be turned into bread, but whe­ther bread be turned into Christs bodie; the words in S. Iohn, if they be pressed literally, serve more strongly to prove the former, then the latter. Secondly, that this Sermon was uttered by our Saviour, above a yeare be­fore the celebration of his last Supper, wherein the Sacrament of his bodie and bloud was instituted: at which time none of his hearers could possibly have understood him to have spoken of the externall eating of him in the Sacrament. Thirdly, that by the eating of the flesh of Christ, and the drinking of his bloud, there, is not here meant an externall eating or drinking with the mouth and throate of the bodie, (as the Ioh 6.52. Iewes then, and the Romanists farre more grossely then they, have since imagined:) but an internall and a spirituall, effected by a lively faith and the quickning spirit of Christ in the soule of the beleever. For [...]. Basil. in Psalm. 33. there is a spirituall mouth of the inner man, (as S. Basil noteth) wherewith hee is nourished that is made partaker of the Word of life, which is the bread that commeth downe from heaven. Fourthly, that this spirituall feeding upon the bodie and blood of Christ, is not to be found in the Sa­crament onely, but also out of the Sacrament. Fiftly, that the eating of the flesh, and the drinking of the b [...]ood here mentioned, is of such excellent vertue, that the receiver is thereby made to remaine in Christ, and Christ in him, and by that meanes certainly freed from d [...]ath, and assured of everlasting life. Which seeing it cannot be verified of the eating of the Sacrament (whereof both the godly & the wicked are partakers:) it proveth, not onely that our Saviour did not here [Page 47] speake of the Sacramentall eating; but further also, that the thing which is delivered in the externall part of the Sacrament, cannot be conceived to be really, but sacramentally onely, the flesh and blood of Christ.

The first of these may be plainly seene in the Text: where our Saviour doth not onely say, I am the bread of life, vers. 48. and, I am the living bread that came downe from heaven, vers. 51. but addeth also in the 55. verse. For my flesh is meate indeed, and my bloud is drinke indeed. Which words being the most forcible of all the rest, & those wherewith the simpler sort are cōmonly most de­luded, might carry some shew of proofe, that Christs flesh & blood should be turned into bread & wine; but have no maner of colour to prove, that bread and wine are turned into the flesh and blood of Christ. The truth of the second, appeareth by the four [...]h verse: in which we finde, that this fell out not long before the Passeover; and consequently, a yeare at least before that last Passeover, wherein our Saviour instituted the Sa­crament of his Supper. Wee willingly indeed do ac­knowledge, that that which is inwardly presented in the Lords Supper, and spiritually received by the soule of the faithfull, is that verie thing which is treated of in the sixth of Iohn: but wee denie that it was our Sa­viours intention in this place, to speake of that which is externally delivered in the Sacrament, and orally re­ceived by the Communicant. And for our warrant herein, wee need looke no further then to that earnest asseveration of our Saviour in the 53. verse: Verily, ve­rily I say unto you; Except yee eate the flesh of the Sonne of man, and drinke his blood, ye have no life in you. Wher­in there is not onely an obligation laid upon them for doing of this, (which in no likelyhood could be inten­ded [Page 48] of the externall eating of the Sacrament, that was not as yet in being:) but also an absolute necessitie im­posed, non praecepti solùm ratione, sed etiā medij. Now to hold, that all they are excluded from life, which have not had the meanes to receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper: is as untrue, as it is uncharitable. And therefore manie of the Papists themselves, as Biel, Cu­sanus, Cajelan, Tapper, Hessels, Iansenius, and others, con­fesse, that our Saviour in the sixth of Iohn did not pro­perly treat of the Sacrament.

The third of the points proposed, may be collected out of the first part of Christs speech, in the 35. and 36. verses. I am the bread of life: hee that commeth to mee, shall never hunger; and he that beleeveth on me, shall ne­ver thirst. But I said unto you, that yee also have seene me, and beleeve not. But especially, out of the last, from the 61. verse forward. When Iesus knew in himselfe that his Disciples murmured at it, hee said unto them; Doeth this offend you? What then if you should see the Sonne of man ascend up where hee was before? It is the spirit that quickneth, the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speake unto you are spirit and life. But there are some of you that beleeve not. Which words Athanasius (or whosoever was the author of the Tractate upon that place; Quicunque dixerit verbum in filium homi [...]is) no­teth our Saviour to have used; that his hearers might learne, [...]. A [...]hanas. that those things which hee spake, were not carnall but spirituall. For how many could his bodie have suffi­ced for meat, that it should be made the food of the whole world? But therefore it was that he made mention of the Sonne of mans ascension into heaven, that he might draw them from this corporall conceit; and that hereafter they might learne, that the flesh which he spake of, was celestiall [Page 49] meat from above, and spirituall nourishment to be given by him. For the words which I have spoken unto you (saith he) are spirit and life. So likewise Tertullian: Etsi carnem ait nihil pro­des [...]e, ex mate­riâ dicti diri­gendus est sen­sus. Nam quia durum & into­lerabilē existi­maverunt ser­monem ejus, quasi veré car­nem suam illis edendam de­terminâsset: ut in spiritu disponeret sla­tum salutis, praemisit; Spi­ritus est qui vivificat. atque ita subjunxit: Caro nihil prodest, ad vi­vificandum sci­licèt. Tertull de Resurrect. carnis. cap. 37. Although he saith that the flesh profiteth nothing, the meaning of the speech must be directed according to the intent of the matter in hand. For, because they thought it to be a hard and an intolerable speech, as if he had determined that his flesh should be truly eaten by them: that hee might dispose the state of salvation by the spirit, hee premised; It is the spirit that quíckneth. and so subjoyned; The flesh profiteth nothing, namely to quicken. &c. Quia & ser­mo caro erat factus, proinde in causam vitae appetendus, & devorandus auditu, & ru­minandus in­tellectu, & fide digerendus. Nam & paulò antè carnem suam panem quoque coelestem pronuntiârat; urgens usque­quaque per allegoriam necessariorum pabulorum, memoriam patrum, qui panes & carnes Aegyptiorum praeverterant divinae vocationi. Idem ibid. And because the Word was made flesh, it therefore was to be desired for causing of life, and to be devoured by hearing, and to be chewed by un­derstanding, and to be digested by faith. For a little be­fore he had also affirmed that his flesh was heavenly bread: urging still by the Allegory of necessary food, the remem­brance of the fathers, who preferred the bread and the flesh of the Egyptians before Gods calling. Adde hereunto the sentence of Origen: Est & in novo Testamento li­tera quae occidit eum, qui non spiritualiter ea quae dicuntur adverterit. Si enim secundùm literam sequaris hoc ipsum quod dictum est; Nisi manducave [...]itis carnem meam, & biberi­tis sanguinem meum occidit haec litera. Orig. in Levit. cap. 10. [...]om 7. There is in the New Testament also a letter which killeth him that doth not spiritually con­ceive the things that be spoken. For if according to the letter you do follow this same which is said; Except yee eate the flesh of the Sonne of man, and drinke his blood: this letter killeth. And those sayings which everie where occurre in S. Augustines Tractates upon Iohn: Quomodo in coe­lum manū mittā, ut ibi sedentē teneā? Fidē mitte, & tenuisti. Aug. in Evang. Iohan. Tract. 50. How shall I send up my hand unto heaven, to take hold on Christ sitting there? Send thy faith, and thou hast hold [Page 50] of him! Vt quid pa­ras [...]dentes & ven [...]rem? C [...]e­de, & mandu­càsti. Id. ibid. Tracta [...]. 25. Why preparest thou thy teeth and thy belly? Be­le [...]ve, and thou hast eaten. Credere e­nim in eum, hoc est mandu­ [...]a [...]e panem vi­vum. Qui cre­dit in eum, manducat. In­visibiliter sagi­natur, quia in­visibiliter rena­scitur. Infans intus est, novus intus est: ubi novellatur, ibi satiatur. Id. ibid. Tractat. 26. For this is to eate the living bread, to beleeve in him. He that beleeveth in him, eateth. He is invisibly fedd, because he is invisibly regenerated. He is inwardly a b [...]be, inwardly renewed: where he is renewed, there is he nourished.

The fourth proposition doth necessarily follow up­on the third. For if the eating and drinking here spo­ken of, be not an externall eating and drinking, but an inward participation of Christ, by the communion of his quickning spirit: it is evident, that this blessing is to be found in the soule, not onely in the use of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, but at other times al­so. It is no wayes to be doubted by anie one (saith S. Nulli est ali­quatenùs am­bigendum, tunc unum­quemque fide­lium corporis sanguinisque Dominici par­ticipem fieri, quando in baptismate membrum Christi effici­tur: nec alie­nari ab illius pan [...]s calicis (que) consortio, etiamsi antequàm panem illum comedat & calicem bibat, de hoc seculo in uni­tate corporis Christi constitutus abscedat. Sacramenti quippè illius participatione ac bene­ficio non privatur, quando ipse hoc quod illud sacramentum significat, invenit. August. in Serm ad in [...]ante [...] ▪ de sacram. apud Bedam, in 1. Cor. [...]0. Au­gustine) that every one of the faithfull is made partaker of the body and bloud of our Lord, when he is made a member of Christ in Baptisme: and that hee is not estranged from the communion of that bread and cup, although before he eate that bread, and drinke that cup, hee depart out of this world, being setled in the unitie of the body of Christ. For he is not deprived of the participation and the benefite of that Sacrament, when hee hath found that which this Sa­crament doth signifie. And hereupon wee see, that di­verse of the Fathers doe apply the sixth of Iohn, to the hearing of the Word also: as, Clem. Ale [...]andr. P [...]dagog. lib 1. cap. 6. Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen. in L [...]vit. cap. 10 homil. 7. Origen, Eusebius Caesareensis, and others. We are said to drinke the blood of Christ (saith Bibere autem dicimur sanguinem Christi, non so­lùm sacramentorum rit [...], sed & cùm sermones ejus recipimus, in quibus vita consistit sicut & ipse dicit: Verba quae locutus sum, spiritus & vita est. Origen. in Numer. cap. 24 hom. 16. Origen) not onely by [Page 51] way of the Sacraments, but also when we receive his word, wherein consisteth life. even as hee himselfe saith· The words which I have spoken, are spirit and life. Vpon which words of Christ, Eusebius paraphraseth after this maner: [...]. Euseb. lib. 3. Ec­clesiasticae Theologiae, contra Marcellum Ancyranum. MS. in publicâ Oxoniensis Academiae Biblio­thecâ: & in privatis virorum doctissimorum, D. Richardi Montacutij & M. Patricij Iunij. Doe not thinke that I speake of that flesh wherewith I am compassed, as if you must eate of that; nei­ther imagine that I command you to drinke my sensible and bodily blood: but understand well, that the vvords which I have spoken unto you, are spirit and life. So that those very words and speeches of his, are his flesh and blood; whereof who is partaker, being alwayes therewith nourished as it were with heavenly bread, shall likewise be made par­taker of heavenly life. Therefore let not that offend you, saith he, which I have spoken of the eating of my flesh and of the drinking of my blood; neither let the superficiall hearing of those things which were said by me of flesh and blood, trouble you. For these things sensibly heard, profite nothing: but the spirit is it, which quickneth them that are able to heare spiritually. Thus farre Eusebius: whose words I have layd down the more largely, because they are not vulgar.

There remaineth the fift and last point: which is of­tentimes repeated by our Saviour in this Sermon. as in the 50. verse: This is the bread which commeth downe from heaven, that a man may eate thereof, and not dye, and in the 51: If any man eate of this bread, hee shall live for ever. and in the 54: Who so eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternall life. and in the 56: He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in mee, and I in him. and in the 58: This is that bread which came downe from heaven: not as your fathers did eate Manna, and are [Page 52] dead: hee that eateth of this bread, shall live for ever. Whereupon Origen rightly observeth the difference that is betwixt the eating of the typicall or symbolicall (for so he calleth the Sacrament) and the true bodie of Christ. Of the former, thus he writeth: Quod sancti­ficatur per ver­bum Dei & per obsecratio­nem, non suáp­te naturâ san­ctificat uten­tem. Nam id si esset, sanctifi­caret etiam il­lum, qui come­dit indigné Domino: ne­que quisquam ob hunc esum infirmus aut aegrotus fuisset, aut obdormis­set. Nam tale quiddā Paulus demōstrat, quū ait: Propter hoc inter vos infir­mi, & male ha­bētes, & dormi­unt multi. Ori­gen. in Matt. 15. That which is sanctified by the word of God and by prayer, doth not of it own [...] nature, sanctifie him that useth it. For if that were so, it would sanctifie him also which doth eate unwor­thy of the Lord: neither should any one for this eating be weake, or sicke, or dead. For such a thing doth Paul shew, when he saith: For this cause many are weake and sickly among you, and many sleepe. Of the latter, thus: Mult [...] porrò & de ipso Ver­bo dici possent, quod factum est caro, verus­que cibus, quē qui comederit, omnino vivet in aeternum; quem nullus malus potest ed ere. Etenim si fieri possit, ut qui malus adhuc per­severet, edat Verbum factum carnem, quum sit verbum & panis vivus, nequaquàm scrip­tum fuisset: Quisquis ederit panem hunc, vivet in aeternum Id. ibid. Many things may be spoken of the Word it selfe, which was made flesh, and true meate; which whosoever eateth, shall cer­tainly live for ever: which no evill person can eate. For if it could be, that he who continueth evill, might eate the Word made flesh (seeing hee is the word and the bread of life) it should not have beene written: Whosoever eateth this bread, shall live for ever. The like difference doth S. Augustine, also upon the same ground, make betwixt the eating of Christs bodie sacramentally and really. For having affirmed, that wicked men Nec isti dicendi sunt manducare corpus Christi. quoniam nec in membris computandi sunt Christi. August. de Civit. Dei, lib 21. cap. 25. may not be said to eate the body of Christ, because they are not to be counted a­mong the members of Christ: hee afterward addeth. Denique ipse dicens, Qui manducat carnem meam, & bi­bit sanguinem meum, in me manet, & ego in eo; ostendit quid sit non sacramento tenus, sed reverà manducare corpus Christi, & ejus sanguinem bibere: hoc est enim in Christo ma­nere, ut in illo maneat & Christus. Sic enim hoc dixit, tanquàm diceret: Qui non in me ma­net, & in quo ego non maneo, non se dicat aut existimet manducare corpus meum, aut bi­bere sanguinem meum. Id. ibid. Christ himselfe saying, He that eateth my flesh, and drin­keth [Page 53] my bloud, remaineth in mee, and I in him, sheweth what it is, not sacramentally but indeed, to eate the flesh of Christ and drinke his bloud: for this is, to remaine in Christ, that Christ likewise may remaine in him. For hee said this, as if he should have said: He that remayneth not in me, and in whom I do not remaine; let not him say or thinke, that he eateth my flesh or drinketh my bloud. And in another place, expounding those words of Christ here alledged; hee thereupon inferreth thus: Hoc est ergo manducare il­lam escam, & illum bibere potum; in Christo mane­re, & illum ma­nentem in se habere. Ac per hoc qui non manet in Chri­sto, & in quo non manet Christus, pro­culdubio nec manducat spi­ritaliter carnē ejus, nec bibit ejus sanguinē, licèt carnaliter & visibiliter premat denti­bus sacramen­tum corporis & sanguinis Christi: sed magis tantae rei sacramentū ad judicium si­bi manducat et bibit, quia im­mundus prae­sumpsit ad Christi accede­re sacramenta. Id. in Evangel. Iohan. Tract. 26. This is therefore to eate that meate, and drinke that drinke; to re­maine in Christ, and to have Christ remayning in him. And by this, he that remaineth not in Christ, and in whom Christ abideth not, without doubt doth neither spiritually eate his flesh, nor drinke his bloud: although he do carnal­ly and visibly presse with his teeth the Sacrament of the bodie and bloud of Christ; and so rather eateth and drin­keth the Sacrament of so great a thing for judgement to himselfe, because that being uncleane hee did presume to come unto the Sacraments of Christ.

Hence it is that we finde so often in him, and in o­ther of the Fathers, that the bodie and bloud of Christ is communicated only unto those that shall live, and not unto those that shall dye for ever. Hic est panis vitae. Qui ergò vitam mandu­cat, mori non potest. Quomodo enim morietur, cui cibus vita est? Quomodo deficiet, qui habuerit vitalem substantiam? Ambr. in Psal. 118. octonar. 18. He is the bread of life. He therefore that eateth life, cannot dye. For how should he dye, whose meat is life? how should he fayle, who hath a vitall substance? saith S. Ambrose. And it is a good note of Macarius: that, as men use to give one kinde of meate to their servants, and another to their children; so Christ who [...]. Macar. Aegypt. homil. 14. created all things, nourisheth [Page 54] indeed evill and ungratefull persons: but the sonnes which he begat of his owne seed, and whom he made partakers of his grace, in whom the Lord is formed, he nourisheth with a peculiar refection and food, and meat and drinke, beyond o­ther men; giving himselfe unto them, that have their conversation with his Father. as the Lord himselfe saith: He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my bloud, remayneth in me, and I in him, and shall not see death. Among the sentences collected by Prosper out of S. Augustine, this also is one. Escam vitae accipit, & ae­ternitatis pocu­lum bibit, qui in Christo ma­net, & cujus Christus habi­ta [...]or est. Nam qui discordat à Christo, nec carnem ejus manducat, nec sanguinem bi­bit: etiamsi tantae reisacra­mentum ad ju­dicium suae praesumptionis quotidie indif­ferenter acci­piat. Prosp. sen­ten [...]. 339. He receiveth the meat of life, and drinketh the cup of eternitie, who remaineth in Christ, and whose inhabiter is Christ. For he that is at discord with Christ, doth neither eate his flesh nor drinke his bloud: although, to the judgement of his presumption, he indifferently doth re­ceive everie day the sacrament of so great a thing. Which distinction betweene the Sacrament and the thing whereof it is a sacrament, (and consequently betweene the sacramentall and the reall eating of the bodie of Christ,) is thus briefely and most excellently expressed by S. Augustine himselfe, in his exposition upon the sixt of Iohn. Hujus rei sacramentum de mensâ Domi­nicâ sumitur; quibusdam ad vitam, quibus­dam ad exitiū. Res veró ipsa, cujus sacramē ­tum est, omni homini ad vi­tam, nulli ad exitium, qui­cunque ejus particeps fuerit August. in Io­han. tractat. 26. The sacrament of this thing, is taken from the Lords Table; by some unto life, by some unto destruction: but the thing it selfe whereof it is a sacrament, is received by every man unto life, and by none unto destruction, that is made partaker therof. Our conclusion therfore is this:

[Page 55] The first proposition is plainly proved by the Texts which have been alledged out of the sixth of Iohn. The second is manifest, both by common experience, and by the testimonie of the Apostle, 1. Cor. 11. vers. 17, 27, 29. We may therefore well conclude, that the sixth of Iohn is so farre from giving anie furtherance to the doctrine of the Romanists in this point, that it utterly overthroweth their fond opinion, who imagine the bo­die and bloud of Christ to be in such a sort present un­der the visible formes of bread and wine, that whosoe­ver receiveth the one, must of force also really be made partaker of the other.

The like are we now to shew in the words of the In­stitution. For the better clearing whereof, the Reader may be pleased to consider, first, that the words are not; This shall be my body: nor, This is made, or, shall be chan­ged into my body: but, This Is my body. Secondly, that the word THIS, can have relation to no other sub­stance, but that which was then present, when our Sa­viour spake that word; which (as wee shall make it plainly appeare) was Bread. Thirdly, that it being pro­ved that the word This, doth demonstrate the Bread; it must of necessitie follow, that Christ affirming that to be his BODY, cannot be conceived to have meant it so to be properly, but relatively and sacramentally.

The first of these, is by both sides yeelded unto: so likewise is the third. For this is impossible, saith the Glosse Hoc tamen est impossibile, quòd panis sit corpus Christi. De consecrat. dist. 2. cap 55. Panis est in al­tari. Gloss. upon Gratian, that bread should be the bodie of Christ. And it cannot be, saith Cardinall Non igitur potest fieri, ut vera sit propo­sitio, in quâ sub [...]ectum sup­ponit pro pane, praedicatum autem pro corpore Christi. Panis enim & corpus Domini res diversissimae sunt. Bellarmin. de Eucharist. lib. 3. cap. 19. Bellarmine, that that proposition should be true, the former part where­of designeth Bread, the latter the Body of Christ: for as­much [Page 56] as Bread and the Lords Body be things most ad­verse. And therefore hee confidently affirmeth, Ibidē scrip­si [...] Lut [...]erus, verba Evange­listae, Hoc est cor­pus meum, hunc facere sensum, H [...] panis est cor­pus meum: quae sententia aut accipi debet tropicé, ut pa­nis sit corpus Christi signifi­cativé; aut est plané absurda & impossibilis. nec enim fieri potest ut panis sit corpus Christi. Id. lib. 1. de Eucharist. cap 1. that if the words, This is my body, did make this sense, This bread is my body: this sentence must either be taken tro­pically, that bread may be the body of Christ significative­ly; or else it is plainly absurd & impossible for it cannot be, saith he, that bread should be the body of Christ. Doctor Matth. Kelli­son, Survey of the new Religi­on, lib. 8. chap. 7. sect 7. Kellison also in like maner doeth freely acknowledge, that If Christ had said, This bread is my body; wee must have understood him figuratively and metaphorically. So that the whole matter of difference resteth now upon the second point: whether our Saviour, when hee said This is my body, meant anie thing to be his Bodie, but that Bread which was before him. A matter which easily might be determined, in anie indifferent mans judgement, by the words immedia [...]ly going before. Hee tooke bread, and gave thankes, and brake, and gave it unto them, saying: This is my bodie which is given for you; this do in remembrance of mee. (Luk. 22.19.) For what did hee demonstrate here, and said was his Body, but that which he gave unto his Disciples? What did hee give unto them, but what he brake? What brake hee, but what he tooke? and doth not the Text expressely say, that he tooke bread? Was it not therefore of the Bread, he said; This is my Body? And could Bread pos­sibly bee otherwise understood to have beene his Bo­die, but as a Sacrament, and (as hee himselfe with the same breath declared his owne meaning) a memo­riall thereof?

If these words be not of themselves cleare enough, but have need of further exposition: can we looke for a better, then that which S. Paul giveth of them, 1. Cor. 10.16. The bread which we breake, is it not the communi­on [Page 57] of the bodie of Christ? Did not S. Paul therefore so understand Christ, as if he had said; This bread is my body? And if Christ had said so; doth not Kellison con­fesse, and right reason evince, that hee must have beene understood figuratively? considering that it is simply impossible, that Bread should really be the Bodie of Christ. If it be said, that S. Paul by Bread, doth not here understand that which is properly Bread, but that which lately was bread (but now is become the bodie of Christ:) we must remember, that S. Paul doth not onely say The bread, but The bread which vvee breake. which breaking, being an accident properly belonging to the bread it selfe, and not to the bodie of Christ (which being in glorie, cannot be subject to anie more breaking) doth evidently shew, that the Apostle by Bread understandeth Bread indeed. Neither can the Romanists well denie this, unlesse they wil denie them­selves, and confesse that they did but dreame all this while they have imagined that the change of the bread into the bodie of Christ, is made by vertue of the sacra­mentall words alone, which have not their effect untill they have all beene fully uttered. For the Pronoune THIS, which is the first of these words, doth point to somthing w^ch was then present. But no substance was then present but bread: seeing by their owne grounds, the bodie of Christ commeth not in, untill the last word of that sentence, yea and the last syllable of that word, be completely pronounced. What other sub­stance therefore can they make this to signifie, but this bread only?

In the institution of the other part of the Sacrament, the words are yet more plaine, Matth. 26. vers. 27.28. He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, say­ing, [Page 58] Drinke yee all of it. For this is my blood of the new Testament: or, (as S. Paul and S. Luke relate it) This cup is the new Testament in my blood. That which hee bidd them all drinke of, is that which hee said was his blood. But our Saviour could meane nothing but the Wine, when he said, Drinke ye all of it: because this sen­tence was uttered by him before the words of consecra­tion, at which time our Adversaries themselves doe confesse, that there was nothing in the cup but wine, or wine and water at the most. It was wine therefore which he said was his blood: even the fruite of the Vine, as he himselfe termeth it. For as in the deliverie of the other cup before the institution of the Sacrament, S. Luke (who alone maketh mention of that part of the historie) telleth us, that hee said unto his Disciples; Luk. 22.18. I will not drinke of the fruit of the Vine, untill the kingdome of God shall come: so doth S Matthew and S. Marke like­wise testifie, that at the deliverie of the Sacramentall cup, when he had said, This is my blood of the new Testa­ment, which is shed for many for the remission of sinnes; hee also added: Matth. 26.29. Mark. 14.25. But I say unto you, I will not drinke henceforth of this fruit of the Vine, untill that day that I drinke it new with you in my Fathers kingdome. Now seeing it is contrary both to sense and saith, that Wine or the fruite of the Vine, should really be the blood of Christ; there being that formall difference in the na­ture of the things, that there is an utter impossibilitie that in true proprietie of speech the one should be the other: nothing in this world is more plain, than when our Saviour said it was his blood, he could not meane it to be so substantially, but sacramentally.

And what other interpretation can the Romanists themselves give of those words of the institution in S. [Page 59] Paul? [...]. 1 Cor. 11.25. This cup is the new Testament in my blood. How is the cup, or the thing contayned in the cup, the new Te­stament, otherwise then as a Sacrament of it? Marke how in the like case the Lord himselfe, at the instituti­on of the first Sacrament of the old Testament, useth the same maner of speech, Genes. 17.10. [...]. Gen. 17.10. This is my Covenant, or Testament (for the Greeke word in both places is the same:) and in the words presently follow­ing, thus expoundeth his owne meaning. [...] (vel, [...]. Gen. 17.11 It shall be a SIGNE of the Covenant betwixt me and you. And ge­nerally for all Sacraments, the rule is thus laid downe by S. Augustine, in his Epistle to Bonifacius: Si enim Sa­cramēta quan­dam similitudi­nem earum re­rum quarum sacramenta sunt non habe­rent, omninò Sacramēta non essent Ex hâc autem similitu­dine plerum (que) etiam ipsarum rerum nomina accipiunt. Sicut ergo secundùm quendam mo­dum sacramen­tum corporis Christi corpus Christi est, sa­cramentū san­guinis Christi sanguis Christi est; ita-sacramentū fidei fides est. Aug. epist. 23. If Sacra­ments did not some maner of vvay resemble the things wherof they are Sacraments, they should not be Sacraments at all. And for this resemblance they doe of oftentimes also beare the names of the things themselves. As therefore the Sacrament of the bodie of Christ, is after a certaine maner the bodie of Christ, and the sacrament of Christs blood is the blood of Christ; so likewise the sacrament of faith, is faith. By the sacrament of faith hee understandeth Baptisme; of which he afterward alledgeth that saying of the Apostle, Rom. 6.4. Wee are buried with Christ by baptisme into death: and then addeth. Non ait, Sepulturā significamus: sed prorsus ait, Consepulti sumus. Sacramentū ergo tantae rei non nisi ejusdē rei vocabulo nuncupavit. Id ibid. He saith not, We signifie his buriall; but hee plainly saith, Wee are buried. Therefore the sacrament of so great a thing hee would not otherwise call but by the name of the thing it selfe. And in his Questions upon Leviticus: Solet autē res quae significat, ejus rei nomi­ne quā significat nuncupari. sicut scriptum est: Septē spicae, septē anni sunt▪ (non enim dixit; Septem annos significant) &, septem bo [...]es, septem anni sunt: & multa hujusmodi. Hinc est quod dictū est: Petra erat Christus Non enim dixit, Petra significat Christū; sed tāquā hoc esset, quod utique per substantiā non hoc erat, sed per significationē. Sic & sanguis, quoniā propter vitalē quandā corpulentiā animā significat, in sacramentis anima dictus est Aug. in Levit. quaest 57. The thing that signifi­eth [Page 60] (saith he) useth to be called by the name of that thing which it signifieth. as it is written: The seven eares of corne, are seven yeares; (for hee said not; they signifie se­ven yeares:) and the seven Kine are seven yeares: and many such like. Hence was that saying: The Rocke was Christ. For he said not, The Rock did signifie Christ; but as if it had beene that very thing, which doubtlesse by sub­stance it was not, but by signification. So also the blood, be­cause for a certaine vitall corpulencie which it hath, it sig­nifieth the soule; after the maner of Sacraments it is called the soule. Our argument therefore out of the words of the institution, standeth thus:

The first proposition hath bene proved by the undoub­ted principles of right reason, and the cleare confession of the adverse part: the second, by the circumstances of the Text of the Evangelists, by the exposition of S. Paul, and by the received grounds of the Romanists themselves. The conclusion therefore resteth firme: and so wee have made it cleare, that the wordes of the Institution do not only not uphold, but directly al­so overthow the whole frame of that which the Church of Rome teacheth, touching the corporall presence of Christ under the formes of Bread and Wine.

If I should now lay downe here all the sentences of the Fathers, which teach that that which Christ called his Body, is Bread in substance, and the Body of the [Page 61] Lord in signification and sacramentall relation: I should never make an end. Iustin Martyr, in his second Apologie to Antoninus the Emperour, telleth us, that the bread and the wine, even that [...]. Iustin. Apo­log. 2. sanctified food where­with our blood and flesh by conversion are nourished, is that w^ch we are taught to be the flesh and blood of Iesus incar­nate. Irenaeus in his 4^th book against heresies, saith, that our Lord Quomodo autem justé Dominus, si al­terius patris existit, hujus conditionis, quae est secun­dùm nos, acci­piens panem, suum corpus esse confiteba­tur; & tempe­ramentum ca­licis suum san­guinem confir­mavit. hen. lib. 4 cap 57. taking bread of that condition which is usuall among us, confessed it to be his body: & Calicem, qui est ex eâ crea­turâ quae est se­cundùm nos, suum sanguinē confessus est. Id lib. 4. cap. 32. the cup likewise contayning that creature which is usuall among us, his blood. And in his fift book he addeth: Eum calicem qui est creatura, suum sangui­nem qui effusus est, ex quo auget nostrùm sanguinem; & eum panem qui est á creaturâ, su­um corpus confirmavit, ex quo nostra auget corpora. Quando ergo & mixtus calix & fra­ctus panis percipit verbum Dei, fit Eucharistia sanguinis & corporis Christi, ex quibus au­getur & consistit carnis nostrae substantia. Id. lib. 5. cap 2. edit. Colon an. 1596. That cup which is a creature, he confirmed to be his blood which was shedde, wherby he increaseth our blood; and that bread which is of the creature, to be his body, wherby he increaseth our bodies. Therefore when the mixed cup and the broken bread doth receive the word of God, it is made the Eucharist of the blood and body of Christ, whereby the substance of our flesh is increased and doth consist. Our Lord, saith Clemens Alexandrinus, [...]. Clem. Alexand. Paedagog. lib. 2. cap. 2. did blesse vvine, vvhen hee said; Take, drinke, This is my blood, the blood of the Vine. Tertullian: Acceptum panem & distributum discipulis, corpus suum illum fecit, Hoc est corpus me­um dicendo, id est, figura corporis mei. Tertull. advers. Marci [...]n. lib. 4. cap 40. Christ taking bread and distributing it to his Disciples, made it his body, saying, This is my body, that is, the figure of my body. Origen: Ille cibus qui sanctificatur per verbum Dei, perque obsecrationem, juxta id quod habet materiale, in ventrem abit, & in secessum ejicitur: caeterùm juxta precationem quae illi accessit proportione fidei fit utilis, efficiens ut perspicax fiat animus, spectans ad id quod utile est. Nec materia panis, sed super illum dictus sermo est, qui prodest non indigné Domino comedenti illum. Et haec quidem de typico symbolicóque corpore. Origen. in Matth. cap. 15. That meate which is sanctified by [Page 62] the word of God and by prayer, as touching the materiall part thereof goeth into the belly, and is voyded into the draught: but as touching the prayer which is added, accor­ding to the portion of faith it is made profitable; enlight­ning the minde, and making it to behold that which is pro­fitable. Neyther is it the matter of bread, but the word spo­ken over it, which profiteth him that doth not unworthily eate thereof. And these things I speake of the typicall and symbolicall bodie; saith Origen. In the Dialogues a­gainst the Marcionites, collected for the most part out of the writings of Maximus (who lived in the time of the Emperors Commodus and Severus) Origen, who is made the chiefe speaker therein, is brought in thus di­sputing against the Heretickes: [...]; Orig. Dial. 3. If Christ, as these men say, were without bodie and blood: of what kinde of flesh, or of what body, or of what kinde of blood did hee give the bread and the cup to be Images of, when he commanded his Disciples by them to make a commemoration of him? S. Cyprian also noteth,Quâ in par­te invenimus calicem mixtū suisse quem Dominus ob­tulit, & vinum suisse, quod sanguinem sun̄ dixit. Cypr. epist. [...]. sect. 6, that it was Wine, even the fruit of the Vine, which the Lord said was his blood: and that Nec corpus Domini potest esse fa [...]ina sola, aut aqua sola; nisi utrumque adunatum fue­rit & copulatū, & panis unius compage soli­datum. Id. ibid. sect. 10. floure alone, or water alone, cannot bee the bodie of our Lord, unlesse both be united and coupled together, and kneaded into the lumpe of one bread. And againe; that Nam quan­do Dominus corpus suum panem vocat de multorum granorum adunatione congestum; populum nostrum, quem portabat, indicat adunatū: & quando sanguinem suum vinum ap­pellat, de botris atque acinis plurimis expressum atque in unum coactum, gregem item no­strū significat, cōmixtione adunatae multitudinis copulatum. Id. epist. 76. sect. 4. the Lord calleth bread his body, which is made up by the uniting of many cornes: and wine his blood, which is pres­sed out of many clusters of grapes, and gathered into one li­quor. Which I finde also word for word in a maner, transcribed in the Commentaries upon the Gospels, attributed unto Theoph. Antioch. in Evang. lib. 1. pag. 152. tom. 2 Bibliothec. Patr. edit. Colon. Theophilus Bishop of Antioch. Wher­by [Page 63] it appeareth, that in those elder times the words of the institution were no otherwise conceived, then as if Christ had plainly said; This bread is my body, and, This wine is my blood: which is the maine thing that wee strive for with our Adversaries; and for which the words themselves are plaine enough. the substance whereof we finde thus laid downe in the Harmonie of the Gospels, gathered, as some say, by Tatianus, as o­thers, by Ammonius, within the second or the third age after Christ. Mox acceptopane, deinde vini calice, cor­pus esse suum ac sanguinem testatus, man­ducare illos jussit & bibe­re; quòd ea sit futurae calami­tatis suae mor­tisque memo­ria. Ammon. harmon. Evang. tom. 3. Biblioth. Patr. pag. 28. Having taken the bread, then afterward the cup of wine, and testified it to be his body and blood, hee commanded them to eate and drinke thereof; forasmuch as it was the memoriall of his future passion and death.

To the Fathers of the first three hundred yeares, we will now adjoyne the testimonies of those that flourished in the ages following. The first whereof shall be Eusebius: who saith that our Saviour [...]. Euseb. lib. 8. Demonstrat. E­vangel. in fine cap. 1. delivered to his Disciples the symboles of his divine dispensation, comman­ding them to make the Image of his owne body; and [...]. Id. ibid. ap­pointing them to use Bread for the symbole of his Body. and that we still [...]. Id. l [...]b. 1. Demonstr. cap. ult. celebrate upon the Lords table, the memory of his sacrifice, by the symboles of his body and blood, accor­ding to the ordinances of the New Testament. Acacius, who succeeded him in his Bishopricke, saith that Panis vinumque ex hâc materiâ vescentes sanctificat. Acac. in Gen. 2. Graec. caten. in Pentate [...]ch Zephyro interp. the bread and wine sanctifieth them that feed upon that mat­ter: acknowledging thereby, that the materiall part of those outward elements do still remaine. In the Church, saith [...]. Macar. Aegypt. homil. 27. Macarius, is offered bread wine, the type of his flesh and blood: and they which are partakers of the visible [Page 64] bread, doe spiritually eate the flesh of the Lord. Christ, saith S. In typo san­guinis sui non obtulit aquam, sed vinum. Hie­ronym. lib. 2. ad­vers. Iovinian. Hierome, did not offer water, but wine, for the type of his blood. S. Augustine bringeth in our Saviour thus speaking of this matter. Non hoc corpus quod videtis mandu­caturi estis, & bibituri illum sanguinem, quem susu [...]i sunt qui me crucifigent. Sa­cramentum a­liquod vobis commendavi: spiritualiter in­tellectum vivi­sicabit vos. Au­gustin. in Psalm. 98. You shall not eate this bodie which you see, nor drinke that blood which they shall shed that will crucifie mee. I have commended a certaine Sacra­ment unto you: that being spiritually understood vvill quicken you. The same Father in another place writeth, that Adhibuit ad convivium, in quo corporis & sanguinis sui figuram disci­pulis commen­davit & tradi­dit. Id. in Psal. 3. Christ admitted Iudas to that banquet, wherein he commended and delivered unto his Disciples the figure of his body and blood: but (as he elsewhere Illi mandu­cabant panem Dominum: ille panem Domini contra Dominum. Id. in Evang. Iohan. tract. 59. addeth) they did eate that bread which was the Lord himselfe; hee the bread of the Lord against the Lord. Lastly: the Lord (saith Non e­nim Dominus dubitavit dicere, Hoc est corpus meum; cùm signum daret corporis sui. Au­gust. contr. Adimant. cap. 12. he) did not doubt to say, This is my body; when he gave the signe of his body.

So the Author of the Homily upon the 22. Psalme, (among the workes of Chrysostome:) Istam mensam praeparavit servis & ancillis in conspectu corum, ut quotidie in similitudinem corporis & sanguinis Christi, panem & vinum secun­dùm ordinem Melchisedec, nobis ostenderet in sacramento In Psal 22 Chrysost. tom. 1 This table hee hath prepared for his servants and hand-maydes in their sight: that he might every day, for a similitude of the body and blood of Christ, shew unto us in a sacrament bread and wine after the order of Melchisedec. And S. Chrysostome himselfe, in his Epistle written to Caesarius, against the heresie of Apolinarius: Si­cut enim antequàm sanctificetur panis, panem nominamus: divinâ autem illum sanctifi­cante gratiâ, mediante sacerdote, liberatus est quidem ab appellatione panis, dignus autem habitus est Dominici corporis appellatione, etiamsi natura panis in ipso permansit: & non duo corpora, sed unum Filii corpus praedicatur sic & hîc divinâ i [...]undante corporis naturâ (vel potiùs, divinâ naturâ in corpore insidente: Graecé enim [...] hîc legitur▪ in MS. Bibli­othecae Florentinae exemplari, unde ist [...] [...]ranstulit Perus Martyr) unum filium, unam personam, [...]traque haec fecerunt. Chrysost. ad Caesarium monachum. As before the bread be sanctified, we call it bread; but when Gods grace hath sanctified it by [Page 65] the meanes of the Priest, it is delivered from the name of bread, and is reputed worthy the name of the Lords body, although the nature of the bread remain still in it; and it is not called two bodies, but one body of Gods sonne: so like­wise here, the divine nature residing in the body of Christ, these two make one sonne, and one person. In the selfe same maner also doe Theodoret, Gelasius, and Ephraemius pro­ceed against the Eutychian heretickes. Theodoret for his part, layeth downe these grounds. That our Savi­our [...]. Theod. dialog. 1. [...], fol. 8. edit. Rom. ann. 1547. in the deliverie of the mysteries called bread his body, and that which was mixt (in the cupp) his blood. That [...]. Ibid. hee changed the names; and gave to the body the name of the symbol or signe, and to the symbol the name of the body. That hee [...]. Ib. honoured the visible symboles with the name of his bodie and blood; not changing the nature, but adding grace to nature. And that [...]. Ib. this most holy food, is a symbol & type of those things whose names it beareth, to wit, of the body and blood of Christ. Gelasius writeth thus: Certa sa­cramenta quae sumimus corporis & sanguinis Christi, divina res est, propter quod, & per eadem divinae efficimur consortes naturae; & tamen esse non desinit substantia, vel natura panis & vini. Et certé imago & similitudo corporis & sanguinis Christi, in actione myste­riorum celebrantur. Satis ergo nobis evidenter ostenditur, hoc nobis in ipso Christo Domi­no sentiendum, quod in ejus imagine profitemur, celebramus, & sumus: ut sicut in hanc, scilicèt in divinam transeant, sancto spiritu perficiente substantiam, permanente tamen in suae proprietate naturae; sic illud ipsum mysterium principale, cujus nobis efficientiam vir­tutemque veraciter repraesentant, &c. Gelas. de duab. natur. in Christo, contra Eutychen. The sacraments which we receive, of the body and blood of Christ, are a divine thing, by meanes whereof wee are made partakers of the divine nature: and yet the sub­stance or nature of bread and wine doth not cease to be. And indeed the image and the similitude of the bodie and blood of Christ are celebrated in the action of the mysteries. It appeareth therefore evidently enough unto us, that wee are to hold the same opinion of the Lord Christ himselfe, [Page 66] which we professe, celebrate, and are, in his Image. that as (those Sacraments) by the operation of the holy Spirit, passe into this, that is, into the divine substance, and yet remaine in the propriety of their owne nature: so that prin­cipall mysterie it selfe, whose force and vertue they truely represent, should be conceived to be. namely, to consist of two natures, divine and humane; the one not abo­lishing the truth of the other. Lastly, Ephraemius the Patriarch of Antioch, having spoken of the distinction of these two natures in Christ, and said, that [...] (Schottus the Ie­suite translateth this, & sensibi­lis essentiae non cognoscitur: which is a strange interpre­tation, if you marke it) [...]. Ephraemius de sacris Antio­ch [...]ae legib. lib. 1. in Pho [...]ij Bibliothecâ, cod. 219. no man having understanding, could say, that there was the same nature of that which could be handled, and of that which could not be handled, of that which was visible, and of that which was invisible; addeth. And even thus, the body of Christ which is received by the faithfull, (the Sacrament he meaneth) doth neither depart from his sensible sub­stance, and yet remayneth undivided from intelligible grace. and Baptisme, being wholly made spirituall, and re­mayning one, doth both retaine the propertie of his sensible substance, (of water, I meane) and yet looseth not that which it is made.

Thus have wee produced evidences of all sorts, for confirmation of the doctrine by us professed touching the blessed Sacrament: which cannot but give suffici­ent satisfaction to all that with anie indifferencie will take the matter into their consideration. But the men with whom wee have to deale, are so farre fallen out with the truth; that neither sense nor reason, neither authoritie of Scriptures or of Fathers, can perswade them to be friends againe with it: unlesse we shew un­to them, in what Popes dayes the contrarie falshood was first devised. If nothing else will give them con­tent: [Page 67] we must put them in minde, that about the time wherein Soter was Bishop of Rome, there lived a cou­sening companion, called Marcus; whose qualities are thus set out by an ancient Christian, Vet. author, citatus ab Ire­naeo, lib 1. cap. 12 who was famous in those dayes, though now his name be unknowne unto us.

Where first hee chargeth him to have beene an Idol­make [...]; then hee objecteth unto him his skill in A­strologie and Magicke, by meanes whereof, and by the assistance of Satan, hee laboured with a shewe of miracles, to winne credite unto his false doctrines, amongst his seduced disciples: and lastly hee conclu­deth that his father the Divel had imployed him as a forerunner of his antithean craft, or his antichristian deceiveablenesse of unrighteousnesse, if you will have it in the Apostles language. For he was indeed the Di­vels forerunner, both for the Apoc. 9.20, 21. idolatries and sorceries which afterward were brought into the East, and for those Apoc. 18.3, 23. Romish fornications and inchantments where­with the whole West was corrupted, by that man of sinne, 2. Thess. 2.9. whose comming was foretold to be after the wor­king of Satan, with all power and signes, and lying wonders. And that we may keep our selves within the compasse [Page 68] of that particular, which now wee have in hand: wee finde in Irenaeus, that this Arch-heretick made speciall use of his juggling feates, to breed a perswasion in the mindes of those whom hee had perverted; that in the cup of his pretended Eucharist, he really delivered them blood to drinke. For [...]. Irenaeus, lib. 1. cap. 9. fayning himselfe to consecrate the cups filled with wine, and extending the words of Invoca­tion to a great length, he made them to appeare of a purple and redd colour: to the end it might be thought, that the Grace which is above all things, did distill the blood thereof into that cup by his Invo [...]ation. And even according to this precedent we finde it fell our afterwards, that the principall and most powerfull meanes whereby the like grosse conceit (of the gutturall [...]ating and drinking of the bodie and blood of Christ) was at the first fastened upon the multitude, and in processe of time more deep­ly rooted in them, were such delusions and fained ap­paritions as these: which yet that great Schooleman himselfe, Alexander of Hales, confesseth to happen sometimes, either by Humanâ procuratione, vel fortè dia­bolicâ opera­tione. Alex. Halens. Summ. Theolog. part. 4. quaest. 11. memb. 2. artic. 4. sect. 3. [...]he procurement of man, or by the operation of the divell. Paschasius Radbertus, who was one of the first letters forward of this doctrine in the West, spendeth a large chapter upon this point: where­in he telleth us, Nemo, qui Sanctorum vi­tas & exempla legerit, potest ignorare, quòd saepè haec my­stica corporis & sanguinis sacramenta, aut propter dubios, aut certé propter ardentiùs a­mantes Christum, visibili spécie in agni formâ, aut in carnis & sanguinis colore monstrata sint: quatenùs de se Christus clementer adhuc non credentibus fidem faceret: ita u [...] dum oblata frangitur, vel offertur hostia, videretur agnus in manibus & crnor in calice, quasi ex immolatione profluere. ut quod latebat in mysterio, patesceret adhuc dubitantibus in mi­raculo. Paschas. de corp. & sangu. Dom. cap. 14. that Christ in the sacrament did shew himselfe oftentimes in a visible shape, eyther in the forme of a Lamb, or in the colour of flesh and blood, so that while the hoste was a breaking or an offering, a Lamb in the Priests hands, and blood in the Chalice should be seene as it [Page 69] were flowing from the sacrifice, that what lay hid in a my­sterie, might to them that yet doubted be made manifest in a miracle. And specially in that place hee insisteth upon a narration, which he found in gestis Anglorum, (but deserved well to have been put into gesta Romano­rum for the goodnesse of it) of one Ple [...]gils or Plegilus a Priest; how an Angell shewed Christ unto him in the forme of a childe upon the Altar, whom first hee tooke into his armes and kissed, but eate him up after­wards, when he was returned to his former shape again. Whereof arose that jeast which Berengarius was wont to use: Speciosa certé pax ne­bulonis; ut cui o [...]is praebuerat basium, dentiū inferret exitiū. Guilielm. Mal­mesbur. de gestis Reg. Anglor. lib. 3. This was a proper peace of the knave indeed, that whom hee had kissed with his mouth, hee would devoure with his teeth.

But there are three other tales of singular note; which though they may justly strive for winning of the Whetstone with anie other, yet for their antiquitie have gained credite above the rest: being devised, as it seemeth, much about the same time with that other of Plegilus, but having relation unto higher times. The first was had out of the English Legends too, as Io Diac. vit. Greg. lib. 2. cap. 41. Io­hannes Diaconus reporteth it in the life of Gregory the first: of a Romane Matron, who found a piece of the sacramentall bread turned into the fashion of a finger, all bloodie, which afterwards, upon the prayers of S. Gregory, was converted to his former shape againe. The other two were first coyned by the Grecian lyars, and from them conveyed unto the Latines, and registred in the booke which they called Vitas patrum: which be­ing commonly beleeved to have beene collected by S. Sanctus Hie­ronymus pres­byter, ipsas Sanctorum Pa­trum Vitas La­tino edidit ser­mone. Paschas. Radbert. in epist. ad Frudegard. Consule libros Carolinos, de Imaginib. lib. 4. cap. 11. Hierome, and accustomed to be read ordinarily in eve­rie Monasterie; gave occasion of further spred, and made much way for the progresse of this mysterie of [Page 70] iniquitie. The former of these is not onely related there, Inter senten­tias Patrum, áe P [...]agio Roman [...]e ecclesiae d [...]acono Latiné versas, libell. [...]8. cui [...]i­ [...]lus de Provi­dentiâ vel Proe­videntiâ: sive, ut in P [...]o [...]ij [...]ib­lio [...]hecâ habe­tur, [...]od. 98. [...]. but also in the Legend of Simeon Metaphrastes, (which is such another author among the Grecians, as Iacobus de Voragine was among the Latines) in the Tom. 4. Surij, pag 257. edit. Colon an. 1573. life of Arsenius: how that a little childe was seene up­on the Altar, and an Angell cutting him into small pie­c [...]s with a knife, and receiving his blood into the Cha­lice, as long as the Priest was breaking the bread into little parts. The latter, is of a certaine Iew, receiving the Sacrament at S. Basils hands, converted visibly into true flesh and blood: which is expressed by Cyrus Theo­dorus Prodromus, in this Tetrastich.

But the chiefe author of the fable was a cheating fel­low, who, Nomen Am­philochii ad mentiendum accepit. Baron. tom 4. an. 369. sect. 43. that hee might lye with authoritie, tooke upon him the name of Amphilochius, S. Basils compa­nion, and set out a booke of his life Scatens mē ­daciis, Id. ibid. an. 363. sect. 55. fraught with lea­sings: as Cardinall Baronius himselfe acknowledgeth. S. Augustines conclusion therefore may here well take place. Removean­ [...]ur ista vel fig­menta menda­cium hominū, vel portenta fallacium spiri­tuū. Aut enim non sunt vera quae dicuntur, aut si haereti­corum aliqua mira facta sunt, magis ca­vere debemus: quòd cùm di­xisset Dominus quosdā futuros esse fallaces, qui nonnulla signa faciendo etiam electos si fieri posset fallerent; adjecit vehe­menter commendans, & ait, Ecce praedixi vobis. August. de unitat. Eccles. cap. 16. Let these things be taken away, which are eyther fictions of lying men, or wonders wrought by evill spirits. For eyther there is no truth in these reports, or if there be any strange things done by hereticks, we ought the more to beware of them: because, when the Lord had said, that cer­taine deceivers should come, who by doing of some wonders should seduce (if it were possible) the very elect, he verie [Page 71] earnestly commended this unto our consideration, and said; Behold, I have told you before. yea and added a fur­ther charge also, that if these impostors should say unto us of him, Matt. 24.26. Behold he is in secret closets, wee should not beleeve it: which whether it be appliable to them who tell us, that Christ is to be found in a Pixe, and thinke that they have him in safe custodie under Locke and Key; I leave to the consideration of others.

The thing which now I would have further obser­ved, is onely this; that, as that wretched heretick who first went about to perswade m [...]n by his lying won­ders, that he really delivered wine unto them in the cup of the Eucharist, was censured for being [...], an Idol-maker· so in after ages, from the Idol-makers and Image-worshippers of the East it was, that this grosse opinion of the orall eating and drinking of Christ in the Sacrament, drew it first breath; Rom. 1.27, 28. God having for their idolatrie, justly given them up unto a reprobate minde, that they might receive that recompence of their errour which was meete. The Popes name in whose dayes this fell out, was Gregory the second: the mans name who was the principall setter of it abroach, was Damascen. Orthodox. sid. lib. 4. cap. 14. Iohn Damascen; one that laid the foundation of Schoole-divinitie among the Greeks, as Peter Lombard afterwards did among the Latins. On the contrarie side, they who opposed the Idolatrie of those times, and more especially the CCCXXXVIII. Bishops assembled together at the Councell of Constantinople, in the yeare 754. maintayned, that Christ [...]. chose no other shape or type under heaven to represent his incarnation by, but the Sacrament; which [...]. he delivered to his ministers for a type and a most effectuall commemoration therof; [...]. com­manding the substance of bread to be offered, which did [Page 72] not any way resemble the forme of a man, that so no occasi­on might be given of bringing in Idolatry. which bread they affirmed to be the bodie of Christ, not [...] but [...], that is, (as they themselves expound it) [...]. a holy and [...] &c. So a little after it is called [...], and [...]. a true image of his naturall flesh.

These assertions of theirs are to bee found in the Concil. gener. tom. 3. pag. 599.600. edit Rom. third Tome of the sixth Action of the second Coun­cell of Nice, assembled not long after for the reestabli­shing of Images in the Church. where a pratchant dea­con, called Epiphanius, to crosse that which those for­mer Bishops had delivered, confidently avoucheth that none of the Apostles, nor of the Fathers, did ever call the Sacrament an image of the bodie of Christ. Hee confesseth indeed that some of the Fathers (as Eusta­thius expounding the Proverbs of Salomon, and S. Basil in his Liturgie) doe call the bread and wine [...], correspondent types or figures, before they were consecra­ted: [...]. Ib. pag. 601. but after the consecration (saith hee) they are cal­led, and are, and beleeved to be the body and blood of Christ properly. where the Popes owne followers, who of late published the Acts of the generall Councells at Rome, were so farre ashamed of the ignorance of this blind Bayard; that they correct his boldnesse with this marginall note. [...]. Ibid. in margine. The holy gifts are oftentimes found to be called antitypes, or figures correspondent, after they be consecrated: as by Gregory Nazianz. in the funerall Ora­tion upon his sister, and in his Apologie; by Cyrill of Ieru­salem in his fifth Cateches. Mystagogic. and by others. And wee have alreadie heard, how the author of the Dia­logues against the Marcionites, and after him Eusebius and Gelasius, expressely call the Sacrament an image of Christs bodie: howsoever this peremptorie Clerke de­nieth, that ever anie did so. By all which it may easily [Page 73] appeare, that, not the oppugners, but the defenders of Images, were the men who first went about herein to alter the language used by their fore-fathers.

Now as in the daies of Gregory the third this matter was set afoot by Damascen in the East: so about a hun­dred yeares after, in the Papacie of Gregory the fourth, the same began to be propounded in the West, by meanes of one Amalarius, who was Bishop, not (as hee is commonly taken to be) of Triers, but of Mets first, and afterwards of Lyons. This man writing doubtful­ly of this point; otherwhiles followeth the doctrine of S. Augustine, Amalar. de Ecclesiastic. offic, lib. 1. cap. 24. that Sacraments were oftentimes called by the names of the things themselves, and so the Sa­crament of Christs bodie was secundùm quendam mo­dum, after a certaine maner the bodie of Christ: other­whiles maketh it a part of his Hic credimus naturam sim­plicem panis & vini mixti, verti in naturam ra­tionabilem, scilicèt corporis & sanguinis Christi. Id. li. 3. cap. 24. beleefe, that the simple nature of the bread and wine mixed, is turned into a reaso­nable nature, to wit, of the body and blood of Christ. But what should become of this bodie, after the eating ther­of, was a matter that went beyond his little witt: and therefore, said he, Ita veró sumptum cor­pus Domini bonâ intentio­ne, non est mi­hi disputandū utrùm invisibi­liter assumatur in coelum, aut reservetur in corpore nostro usque in diem sepulturae, aut exhaletur in auras, aut exeat de corpore cū sanguine, aut per os emitta­tur; dicente Domino, Omne quod intrat in os in ventrem vadit & in secessum emittitur. Idem, in epistolâ ad Guitardum, MS. in Biblioth. Colleg. S. Benedict. Cantabrig. cod. 55. when the bodie of Christ is taken with a good intention, it is not for me to dispute, whether it be in­visibly taken up into heaven, or kept in our body untill the day of our buriall, or exhaled into the ayre, or whether it go out of the body with the blood, (at the opening of a veyne) or be sent out by the mouth; our Lord saying, that every thing which entreth into the mouth goeth into the belly, and is sent forth into the draught. For this, and an­other like foolerie de Id. de Ecclesiastic. offic. lib. 3. cap. 35. triformi & tripartito corpore Christi, of the three parts or kindes of Christs body (which [Page 74] seeme to be those ineptiae de tripartito Christi corpore, that Paschasius in the end of his Epistle intreateth Fru­degardus not to follow:) he was censured in a Florus in Actis Synod. Ca­risiac. MS. apud N. Ranchinum, in Senatu Tolo­san [...] Regium Consiliarium. Vid. Phil. Morn. de Miss. lib. 4. cap. 8. Synod held at Carisiacum: wherein it was declared by the Bi­shops of France, that Panis & vinū efficitur spiri­tualiter corpus Christi. &c. Mentis ergo est cibus iste, non ventris: nec corrumpitur, sed permanet, in vitam aeter­nam. Ibid. the bread and wine are spiritually made the body of Christ; which being a meat of the mind, and not of the belly, is not corrupted, but remayneth unto everlasting life.

These dotages of Amalarius, did not only give occa­sion to that question propounded by Heribaldus to Ra­banus, wherof we have spoken Supr. pag. 16. heretofore; but also to that other of far greater consequence: Whether that which was externally delivered & received in the sacra­ment, were the verie same body which was borne of the Virgin Mary, & suffered upon the Cr [...]sse, & rose again from the Grave. Paschasius Radbertus (a Deacon of those times, but somewhat of a better and more modest temper then the Greek Deacon shewed himselfe to be of) held that it was the ve [...]ie same; and to that pur­pose wrote his book to Placidus, of the Body & Blood of our Lord: wherein (saith a Iesuite) Genuinū Ec­clesiae Catho­licae sensum ita primus expli­cuit, ut viam caeteris aperue­rit, qui de eodē argumento multi postea scripsere. Iac. Sirmond. in vitâ Radberti. he was the first that did so explicate the true sense of the Càtholick Church, (his owne Romane he meaneth) that he opened the way to those manie others, who wrote afterwards of the same ar­gument. Rabanus on the other side, in a writing dire­cted to Abbot Egilo, maintayned the contrarie do­ctrine: as hath before beene noted. Then one Frude­gardus, reading the third book of S. Augustin de doctri­nâ Christianâ, and finding there, that the eating of the flesh and drinking of the blood of Christ was a figura­tive maner of speech, began somewhat to doubt of the truth of that which formerly he had read in that fore­said Treatise of Paschasius: which moved Paschasius to [Page 75] write againe of the same argument, as of a question wherein he confesseth Quaeris e­nim de re ex quâ multi du­bitant and a­gaine. Quamvis multi ex hoc dubitent, quo­modo ille inte­ger manet, & hoc corpus Christi & san­guis [...]sse pos­sit. Paschas. epist. ad Frudegard. many were then doubtfull. But neither by his first nor by his second writing was hee able to take these doubts out of mens mindes: and therefore Carolus Calvus the Emperour, being desirous to compose these differences, and to have unitie setled among his subjects, required Ratrannus (a learned man of that time, who lived in the Monasterie of Corbey, whereof Paschasius was Abbat) to deliver his judge­ment touching these points. Quod in Ec­clesiâ ore fide­lium sumitur corpus & san­guis Christi, quaerit vestrae magnitudinis excellentia, in mysterio fiat, an in veritate, &c. & utrùm ipsum corpus sit, quod de Mariâ natum est, & passum, mortuum & sepultum, quodque re­surgens & coe­los ascendens, ad dextram Patris conside­at? Ratrann. sive Bertram. in lib. de corp. & sangu. Dom. edit. Colon. ann. 1551. pag. 180. Whether the body and blood of Christ which in the Church is received by the mouth of the faithfull, be celebrated in a mysterie or in the truth; and whether it be the same body, which was born of Mary, which did suffer, was dead and buried, & which ri­sing againe and ascending into heaven sitteth at the right hand of the Father? Whereunto he returneth this an­swer: that Panis ille vi­numque, figuraté Christi corpus & sanguis existit. Ibid. pag. 183. the bread and the wine are the body and blood of Christ figuratively; that Nam secundùm creaturarum substantiam quod fuerunt ante consecrationem, hoc & posteà consistunt. Ib. pag. 105. for the substance of the crea­tures, that which they were before consecration, the same are they also afterward; that Dominicum corpus & sanguis Dominicus appellantur; quoniam ejus su­munt appellationem, cujus existunt sacramentum. Ibid. pag. 200. they are called the Lords bodie and the Lords blood, because they take the name of that thing, of which they are a sacrament; & that Videmus itaque mul­tâ differentiâ separari mysterium sanguinis & corporis Christi, quod nunc á fide [...]ibus sumi­tur in Ecclesiâ, & illud quod natū est de Mariâ virgine, quod passum, quod sepultum, quod resurrexit, quod coelos ascendit, quod ad dextram Patris sedet. Ibid. pag. 222. there is a great difference betwixt the mysterie of the blood and body of Christ, which is taken now by the faithfull in the Church, and that which was borne of the Virgin Mary, which suffered, which was buried, which rose again, which sitteth at the right hand of the Father. All which hee [Page 76] proveth at large, both Animadver­tat (clarissime Princeps) sa­pientia vestra, quòd positis sanctarū Scrip­turarum testi­moniis, & san­ctorum Patrū dictis eviden­tissimé mon­stratum est; quòd panis qui corpus Christi, & calix qui sanguis Christi appellatur, fi­gura sit, quia mysterium: & quòd non par­va differentia sit inter corpus quod per my­sterium existit, & corpus quod passum est, & sepultum, & re­surrexit. Ibid. pag. 228. by testimonies of the holy Scriptures, and by the sayings of the ancient Fathers. Wherupon Turrian the Iesuite is driven for pure need, to shift off the matter with this silly interrogation. Caeterùm, Bertramum ci­ [...]are, quid ali­ud est, quàm dicere, haeresim Calvini non es­se novam? Fr. Turrian. de Eu­charist. contra Volanum, lib. 1. cap. 22. To cite Bertram (so Ratrannus is more usually named) what is it else, but to say, that the heresie of Calvin is not new? As if these things were alledged by us for anie other end, then to shew, that this way which they call heresie is not new, but hath been troden in long since, by such as in their times were accounted good and Catholick teachers in the Church. That since they have been e­steemed otherwise, is an argument of the alteration of the times, and of the conversion of the state of things: which is the matter that now we are inquiring of, and which our Adversaries (in an evill houre to them) doe so earnestly presse us to discover.

The Emperour Charles, unto whom this answer of Ratrannus was directed, had then in his Court a fa­mous countrey-man of ours, called Iohannes Scotus: who wrote a booke of the same argument, and to the same effect that the other had done. This man for his extraordinarie learning, was in England (where hee li­ved in great account with King Alfred) surnamed Iohn the wise: and had verie lately a roome in the Martyrolog. Rom. IV. ID. Novemb. edit. An [...]uerp. ann. 15 [...]6. Marty­rologe of the Church of Rome, though now he be eje­cted thence. Wee finde him indeed censured by the Church of Lyons and others in that time, for certaine opinions which he delivered touching Gods foreknow­ledge and predestination before the beginning of the world, Mans freewill and the concurrence thereof with Grace in this present world, and the maner of the punish­ment of reprobate Men & Angels in the world to come: but we finde not anie where, that his book of the Sa­crament [Page 77] was condemned, before the dayes of ^x Lan­franc; who was the first that leavened that Church of England afterward with this corrupt doctrine of the carnall presence. Till then, this question of the reall presence continued still in debate: and it was as free for anie man to follow the doctrine of Ratrannus or Iohan­nes Scotus therein, as that of Paschasius Radbertus, which since the time of Satans loosing, obtayned the upper hand. Men have often searched, and doe yet often search, how bread that is gathered of corne; and through fires heate baked, may be turned to Christs bodie; or how wine that is pressed out of manie grapes is turned, through one blessing, to the Lords blood: saith Homilia Pas­chalis, Anglo-Saxonicé impres­sa Londini, per Io. Daium: & MS. in publicâ Cantabrigiensis Academiae Bib­liothecâ. Aelfrick Abbat of Malmesbu­rie, in his Saxon Homily, written about 650. yeares a­goe. His resolution is not onely the same with that of Ratrannus, but also in manie places directly transla­ted out of him: as may appeare by these passages following, compared with his Latin layd downe in the margent.

Ille panis qui per Sacerdotis ministeriū Chri­sti corpus effi­citur, aliud ex­teriùs humanis sensibus osten­dit, & aliud interiùs fide­lium menti­bus clamat. Exteriùs quidē panis, quod antè fuerat, forma praeten­ditur, color o­stenditur, sapor accipitur: ast interiùs Christi corpus ostendi­tur. Ratrann. sive Bertram. de corp. & sangu. Dom. pag. 182. The bread and the wine which by the Priests ministe­ry is hallowed, shew one thing without to mens senses, and another thing they call within to beleeving mindes. With­out they be seene bread & wine both in figure and in taste: and they be truely after their hallowing Christs body and his blood by spirituall mysterie. Consideremus fontem sacri baptismatis, qui fons vitae non im­merito nuncupatur. &c. In eo si consideretur solummodo quod corporeus aspicit sensus, ele­mentum fluidum conspicitur, corruptioni subjectum, nec nisi corpora lavandi potentiam obtinere. Sed accessit sancti Spiritus per Sacerdotis consecrationem virtus; & efficax fa­cta est non solùm corpora verumetiam animas diluere, & spirituales sordes spirituali poten­tiâ dimovere. Eccè in uno eodemque elemento, duo videmus inesse sibi resistentia. &c. Igi­tur in proprietate humor corruptibilis, in mysterio veró virtus sanabilis. Sic itaque Christi corpus & sanguis superficie tenus considerata, creatura est, mutabilitati corruptelaeque sub­jecta: si mysterii veró perpendis virtutem, vita est, participantibus se tribuens immortalita­tem Ibid. pag. 187 188. So the holy font water [Page 78] that is called the well-spring of life, is like in shape to other waters, and is subject to corruption: but the holy Ghosts might commeth to the corruptible water through the Priests blessing; and it may after wash the body and soule from all sinne, by spirituall vertue. Behold now we see two things in this one creature: in true nature that water is corruptible moisture, and in spirituall mysterie hath hea­ling vertue. So also if we behold that holy housel after bo­dily sense, then see wee that it is a creature corruptible and mutable. If we acknowledge therein spirituall vertue, then understand we that life is therein, and that it giveth im­mortalitie to them that eate it with beleefe. Multâ diffe­rentiâ separan­tur, corpus in quo passus est Christus, et hoc corpus quod in mysterio passi­onis Christi qu [...]tidiè à fi­d [...]libus cele­bratur [...]bid. pag. 212. & 22 [...]. Much is be­twixt the bodie Christ suffered in, and the body that is hal­lowed to housel. Illa namque caro quae c [...]u­cifixa est, de Virginis carne facta est, ossi­bus & nervis compacta, & humanorum membrorum lineamentis distincta, ratio­nalis animae spiritu vivifica­ta in propriam vitam & con­gruentes mo­tus. At veró caro spiritualis, quae populum credentem spi­ritualiter pascit, secundùm speciem quam gerit exteriùs, frumenti granis manu artificis con­sistit, nullis nervis ossibusque compacta, nullâ membrorum varietate distincta, nullâ ratio­nali substantiâ vegetata, nullos proprios potens motus exercere. Quicquid enim in eâ vitae praebet substantiam, spiritualis est potentiae, & invisibilis efficientiae, divinaeque vi [...]tutis. Ibid. pag. 214. The body truely that Christ suffered in, was borne of the flesh of Mary, with blood and with bone, with skin and with sinewes, in humane limbs, with a rea­sonable soule living: and his spirituall body, which we call the housel, is gathered of many cornes, without blood and bone, without lim, without soule; and therefore nothing is to be understood therein bodily, but spiri [...]ually. Whatsoe­ver is in that housel, which giveth substance of life, that is spirituall vertue, and invisible doing. Corpus Christi quod mortuum est & resurrexit, & immortale factum, jam non moritur, & mors illi ultrà non dominabitur, aeternum est, nec jam passibile. Hoc autem quod in Ecclesiâ celebratur, temporale est, non aeternum; corruptibile est, non incorruptum, &c. dispartitur ad sumendum, & dentibus commolitum, in corpus trajicitur. Ibid. pag. 216.217. Certainly Christs body which suffered death and rose from death, shall never dye henceforth, but is eternall and unpassible. That hou­sel is temporall, not eternall, corruptible & dealed into sun­dry parts, chewed betweene teeth and sent into the belly. [Page 79] Et hoc cor­pus, pignus est & species: il­lud veró ipsa veritas. Hoc e­nim geritur, donec ad illud perveniatur: ubi veró ad il­lud perventum fuerit, hoc re­movebitur. Ib. pag. 222. This mysterie is a pledge and a figure: Christs bodie is truth it selfe. This pledge wee doe keepe mystically, untill that we be come to the truth it selfe; and then is this pledge ended. Christ hallowed bread and wine to housel before his suffering, and said: This is my body & my blood. Videmus nondū passum esse Christum, &c. Sicut ergo paulò ante­quàm patere­tur, panis sub­stantiam & vi­ni creaturam convertere po­tuit in propriū corpus quod passurum erat, & in suum san­guinē qui pòst fundendus ex­tabat: sic etiā in deserto manna & a­quam de petrâ in suam carnē & sanguinem convertere praevaluit &c. Ibid. pag. 193. Yet he had not then suffered: but so notwithstanding hee tur­ned through invisible vertue, the bread to his owne body, and that wine to his blood: as he before did in the wilder­nesse, before that he was borne to men, when he turned that heavenly meate to his flesh, and the flowing water from that stone to his owne blood. Manducavit & Moses man­na, manducavit & Aaron, manducavit & Phinees, manducaverunt ibi multi qui Deo placuerunt; & mortui non sunt. Quare? Quia visibilem cibum spiritualiter intellexerunt, spiritualiter esurierunt, spiritualiter gustaverunt, ut spiritualiter satiarentur. Ibid. pag. 217. ex August. in Evang. Iohan. tractat. 26. Moses and Aaron, and manie o­ther of that people which pleased God, did eate that hea­venly bread, and they died not the everlasting death, though they dyed the common. They saw that the heaven­ly meate was visible and corruptible: and they spiritually understood by that visible thing, and spiritually recei­ved it.

This Homily was appointed publikely to be read to the people in England, on Easter day, before they did receive the communion. The like matter also was delivered to the Clergie by the Bishops at their Synods; out of two other writings of the same Im [...]ress. Londini cum Homiliâ Paschali: & MS. in pub­licâ Oxoniensis Academiae Bibliothecâ▪ & Colleg. S. Benedict. Cantabrig. Aelfrick: in the one wherof, directed to Wulfsine Bishop of Shyrburne, we reade thus. That housel is Christs bodie, not bodily but spiritually. Not the body which he suffered in, but the bodie of which he spake, when he blessed bread and wine to housel the night before his suffering; and said by the bles­sed bread, This is my body: and againe by the holy wine, This is my blood which is shed for many in forgivenesse of [Page 80] sinnes. In the other, written to Wulfstane Archbishop of Yorke, thus. The Lord which hallowed housel before his suffering, and saith that the bread was his owne bodie, and that the wine vvas truely his blood; halloweth daily by the hands of the Priest, bread to his body and wine to his blood in spirituall mysterie, as wee reade in bookes. And yet notwithstanding that lively bread is not bodily so, nor the selfe same body that Christ suffered in: nor that holy vvine is the Saviours blood which was shed for us, in bodi­ly thing, but in spirituall understanding. Both be truely, that bread his body, and that wine also his blood, as was the heavenly bread, which vve call Manna, that fedde fortie yeares Gods people; and the cleare water, which did then runne from the stone in the vvildernesse, vvas truely his blood: as Paul wrote in one of his Epistles.

Thus was Priest and people taught to beleeve, in the Church of England, toward the end of the tenth, and the beginning of the eleventh age after the Incarnati­on of our Saviour Christ. And therefore it is not to be wondered, that when Berengarius shortly after stood to maintaine this doctrine, Sigebert. Gem­blac. & Guiliel. Nangiac. in Chron. an. 1051. Conrad. Bruwi­lerens. in vitâ Wolphelmi, apud Surium, April. 22. manie both by word and writing disputed for him: and not onely the English, but also all the French almost & the Italians (as Flor. histor. ann. 1087. Mat­thew of Westminster reporteth) were so readie to en­tertaine that which hee delivered. Who though they were so borne downe by the power of the Pope (who now was growne to his height) that they durst not make open profession of that which they beleeved: yet manie continued, even there where Satan had his throne, who privately employed both their tongues and their penns in defence of the truth; as out of Za­charias Chrysopolitanus, Rupertus Tuitiensis, and others I have De Christian. Eccles. success. & stat. edit. ann. 1613. pag. 190.191.192. et 208. elsewhere shewed. Vntill at length, in the [Page 81] yeare 1215. Pope Innocent the third, in the Councell of Lateran, published it to the Church for an oracle: that Cujus cor­pus & sanguis in sacramento altaris sub spe­ciebus panis & vini veraciter continentur; trāssubstantia­tis pane in cor­pus, & vino in sanguinem po­testate divinâ. Concil. Lateran. cap. 1. the body and blood of Iesus Christ are truely contayned under the formes [...]f bread and wine; the bread being trans­substantiated into the bodie, and the wine into the blood, by the power of God. And so are wee now come to the end of this controversie: the originall and progresse whereof I have prosecuted the more at large, because it is of greatest importance, the verie life of the Masse and all massing Priests depending thereupon. But this pro­lixitie shall be some wayes recompensed by the briefer handling of the points following: the next whereof is that

OF CONFESSION.

OVr Challenger here telleth us, that the Doctors, Pastors and Fathers of the primitive Church, ex­horted the people to confesse their sinnes unto their ghostly fathers. And wee tell him againe, that by the publike order prescribed in our Church, before the administra­tion of the holy Communion, the Minister likewise doth exhort the people, that if there be any of them, which cannot quiet his owne conscience, but requireth fur­ther comfort or counsell; he should come to him, or some other discreet and learned Minister of Gods word, and o­pen his griefe: that he may receive such ghostly counsell, advice and comfort, as his conscience may be relieved; and that by the ministery of Gods word hee may receive com­fort, and the benefite of absolution, to the quieting of his conscience, and avoyding of all scruple and doubtfulnesse. Whereby it appeareth, that the exhorting of the people to confesse their sinnes unto their ghostly fathers, ma­keth [Page 82] no such wall of separation betwixt the ancient Doctors and us, but we may well for all this be of the same religion that they were of: and consequently, that this doughtie Champion hath more will then skill to manage controversies, who could make no wi­ser choyce of pointes of differences to bee insisted upon.

Be it therefore knowne unto him, that no kinde of Confession, either publick or private, is disallowed by us, that is anie way requisite for the due execution of that ancient power of the Keyes which Christ bestow­ed upon his Church: the thing which wee reject, is that new pick-lock of Sacramentall Confession, obtruded upon mens consciences, as a matter necessarie to salva­tion, by the Canons of the late Conventicle of Trent. where those good Fathers put their curse upon everie one, that either shall Si quis ne­gaverit Con­fessionem sa­cramentalem vel institutam, vel ad salutem necessariam es­se jure divino: &c. Anathema sit. Concil. Tri­dent. Sess. 14. Can. 6. deny, that Sacramentall confession was ordayned by divine right, and is by the same right ne­cessary to salvation: or shall Si quis dixe­rit, in sacramē ­to Poenitentiae ad remissionē peccatorum necessarium non esse jure divino, confite­ri omnia & sin­gula peccata mortalia, quo­rū memoria cū debitâ & dili­genti praeme­ditatione ha­beatur, etiam occulta & quae sunt contra duo ultima Decalogi prae­cepta, & cir­cumstantias quae peccati speciem mutant: sed eam confessionem tantùm esse utilem ad erudiendum & consolandum poenitentem, & olim observatam fuisse tantùm ad satisfactionem canonicam imponendam; &c Anathema sit. Ibid. can. 7. affirme, that in the Sacra­ment of Penance it is not by the ordinance of God necessa­rie for the obtayning of the remission of sinnes, to confesse all and every one of those mortall sinnes, the memory wher­of by due and diligent premeditation may be had; even such as are hidden and be against the two last Commande­ments of the Decalogue, together with the circumstances which change the kinde of the sinne; but that this confes­sion is only profitable to instruct and comfort the penitent, and was anciently observed onely for the imposing of Ca­nonicall satisfaction. This doctrine, I say, wee cannot but reject: as being repugnant to that which wee have [Page 83] learned both from the Scriptures and from the Fa­thers.

For in the Scriptures wee finde, that the confession which the penitent sinner maketh to God alone, hath the promise of forgivenesse annexed unto it: which no Priest upon earth hath power to make voyde, upon pretence that himselfe or some of his fellowes were not first particularly acquainted with the businesse. Psalm. 32.5. I acknowledged my sinne unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid: I said, I will confesse my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquitie of my sinne. And lest we should thinke that this was some peculiar privi­ledge vouchsafed to 2. Sam. 23.1. the man who was raised upon high, the Anointed of the God of Iacob: the same sweet Psal­mist of Israel doth presently enlarge his note, and infer­reth this generall conclusion thereupon. Psalm. 32.6. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee, in a time when thou mayest be found. King Salomon, in his prayer for the people at the dedication of the Temple, treadeth just in his Fathers stepps. If they turne (saith 2. Chronic. 6.37.39. 1. Kin. 8.47, 50.hee) and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying; Wee have sinned, we have done amisse, and have dealt wickedly: if they returne to thee with all their heart, and with all their soule; &c. forgive thy people, which have sinned against thee, all their transgressions wherein they have transgres­sed against thee. And the poore Luk. 18.13, 14. Publican putting up his supplication in the Temple accordingly [God bee mercifull to me a sinner,] went back to his house justi­fied; without making confession to anie other ghostly Father, but onely Hebr. 12.9. the Father of Spirits. of whom S. Iohn giveth us this assurance: that 1. Ioh. 1.9. if wee confesse our sinnes, he is faithfull and just, to forgive us our sinnes, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousnesse. Which promise, [Page 84] that it appertained to such as did confesse their sinnes unto God, the ancient Fathers were so well assured of: that they cast in a maner all upon this Confession, and left little or nothing to that which was made unto man. Nay, they doe not onely leave it free for men, to confesse or not confesse their sinnes unto others (which is the most that we would have:) but some of them al­so seeme, in words at least, to advise men not to doe it at all; which is more then we seeke for.

S. Chrysostome of all others is most copious in this argument: some of whose passages to this purpose, I will here lay downe. Nunc autem neque necessa­rium praesenti­bus testibus confiteri: cogi­tatione fiat delictorum ex­quisitio, absque teste sit hoc judicium. Solus te Deus confi­tentem videat. Chrysost. homil. de Poenitent. & Confession. tom. 5 edit. Latin. col. 901. edit. Basil. an. 1558. It is not necessary (saith he) that thou shouldest confesse in the presence of witnesses: let the inquiry of thy offences bee made in thy thought, let this judgement be without a witnesse; let God onely see thee confessing. [...]. Id. circa finem homiliae 5. [...], de incomprehensib. Dei natur. tom. 6. edit. Graec. D. Hen. Savil. pag. 424. & tom. 5. pag 262.263. Therefore I intreat and beseech and pray you, that you would continually make your confession to God. For I doe not bring thee into the theater of thy fellow ser­vants, neyther doe I constraine thee to discover thy sinnes unto men: unclaspe thy conscience before God, and shew thy wounds unto him, and of him aske a medicine. Shew them to him that will not reproach, but heale thee. For al­though thou hold thy peace, he knoweth all. [...] Id. in epist. ad Hebr. cap 12. homil. 31. tom. 4. Savil. pag. 589. Let us not call our selves sinners onely, but let us recount our sinnes, and repeate every one of them in speciall. I doe not say un­to thee, Bring thy selfe upon the stage, nor, Accuse thy selfe unto others: but I counsaile thee to obey the Prophet, say­ing, [Page 85] Reveale thy way unto the Lord. Confesse them before God, confesse thy sinnes before the Iudge; praying, if not with thy tongue, yet at least with thy memory: and so looke to obtayne mercy. [...]. Id. in Psalm. 50. hom. 2. tom. 1. Savil. pag. 708. But thou art ashamed to say, that thou hast sinned. Confesse thy faults then daily in thy prayer. For do I say; Confesse them to thy fellow-servant, who may reproach thee therewith? Confesse them to God, who healeth them. For, although thou confesse them not at all, God is not ignorant of them. [...]. Id. homil. 4. de La­zaro, tom. 5. Sa­vil. pag. 258. Wherefore then, tell me, art thou ashamed & blushest to confesse thy sinnes? For doest thou discover them to a man, that he may reproach thee? Doest thou confesse them to thy fellow servant, that he may bring thee upon the stage? To him who is thy Lord, who hath care of thee, who is kinde, who is thy physitian, thou shewest thy wound. [...]. Id ibid. I constraine thee not, saith he, to go into the middest of the theater, and to make many wit­nesses of the matter. Confesse thy sin to me alone in privat, that I may heale thy sore, and free thee from griefe. [...]. Id. in [...] ad pop. Antio­chen. homil 2 [...]. [...]om. 6. Savil. pag. 608. And this is not only wonderfull, that he forgiveth us our sinnes, but that he neither discovereth them, nor maketh them open and manifest, nor constraineth us to come forth in publike and disclose our misdemeanours; but commandeth us to give an account thereof unto him alone, and unto him to make confession of them.

Neyther doth S. Chrysostome here walke alone. That saying of S. Augustine is to the same effect: Quid mihi ergo est cum hominibus ut audiant confessiones meas, quasi ipsi sanaturi sint omnes languores meos? Aug. Confess. lib. 10. cap. 3. What have I to doe with men, that they should heare my confessions, as though they should heale all my diseases? [Page 86] and that [...]ollection of S. Hilary upon the two last verses of the 52 Psalme, Confessionis autem caussam addidit, dicens: Quia fecisti. au [...]orem scili­cèt universita­tis hujus Do­minum esse cō ­fessus; nulli alii docens cō ­sitendū, quàm qui fecit Olivā fructife [...]am spei mise [...]icordia in seculum seculi. H. lar. in Psal. 51 that David there teacheth us to confesse to no other but unto the Lord, vvho hath made the Olive fruitfull with the mercy of hope (or, the hope of mercie) for ever and ever. and that advise of Pinuphius the Aegyptian Abbat (which I finde also inserted amongst the Antiqu. lib. Canon. 66. titu­lorum, MS. in Bibliot [...]ecâ Cot­toni [...]nà. Canons collected for the use of the Church of England, in the time of the Saxons; under the title, De poenitentiâ soli Deo cōfitendâ:) Quis est qui non possit sup­pliciter dicere? Peccatum meū cognitum tibi feci, & in [...]usti­tiam meam non operui ut per hanc con­ [...]essionem etiā illud confiden­ter subjungere mereatur: Et tu remisisti im­pietatem cor­dis mei. Quòd si verecundiâ retrahente revelare ea coram hominibus erubescis, illi quem latere non pos­sunt, confiteri ea jugi supplicatione non desinas, ac dicere [Iniquitatem meam ego cogno­sco, & peccatum meum contra me est semper: tibi soli peccavi, & malum coram te feci:] qui & abs (que) ullius verecundiae publicatione curare, & sine improperio peccata donare con­suevi [...]. Io. Cassiar. Collat. 20 cap 8 Who is it that cannot humbly say? I made my sinne knowne unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. that by this confession he may confidently adjoyne that which follow­eth: And thou forgavest the impiety of my heart. But if shamefastnesse doe so draw thee backe, that thou blushest to reveale them before men: cease not by continuall sup­plication to confesse them unto him from whom they can­not be hid, and to say [I know mine iniquitie, and my sinne is against me alwayes; To thee onely have I sinned, and done evill before thee] whose custome is, both to cure with­out the publishing of any shame, and to forgive sinnes without upbraiding. S. Augustine, Cassiodor, and Grego­ry make a further observation upon that place of the 32 Psalme: I said, I will confesse my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sinne. that God upon the onely promise and purpose of ma­king this confession, did forgive the sinne. Marke (saith Attende quanta sit indulgentiae vitalis velocitas, quan­ [...]a misericordiae Dei commendatio: ut confitentis desiderium comitetur venia, antequàm ad cruciatum perveniat poenitentia; antè remissio ad cor perveniat, quàm confessio in vocem [...]rumpat. Gregor. exposit. 2. Psal. Poenit [...]ntia al. Gregory) how great the swiftnesse is of this vitall [Page 87] Indulgence, how great the commendation is of Gods mercy; that pardon should accompany the verie desire of him that is about to confesse, before that repentance doe come to af­flict him; and remission should come to the heart, before that confession did break forth by the voice. So S. Basil, up­on those other words of the Psalmist, I have roared by reason of the disquietnesse of my heart; (Psalm. 38.8.) maketh this paraphrase. [...]. Basil. in Psalm. 37. I do not confesse with my lips, that I may manifest my selfe unto many. but inwardly in my very heart, shutting mine eyes, to thee alone who seest the things that are in secret, doe I shew my groanes, roaring within my selfe. For the groanes of my heart sufficed for a confession, and the lamentations sent to thee my God from the depth of my soule.

And as S. Basil maketh the groanes of the heart to be a sufficient confession so doth S. Ambrose the teares of the penitent. Teares (saith Lavant la­chrymae deli­ctum, quod vo­ce pudor est cō ­fiteri. Et veniae fletus consulūt, & verecundiae: lachrymae sine horrore culpā loquuntur; lachrymae cri­men sine offen­sione verecun­diae confitentur. Ambros. lib. 10. commentar. in Luc. cap. 22. he) doe wash the sinne, which the voyce is ashamed to confesse. Weeping doth pro­vide both for pardon and for shamefastnesse: teares doe speake our fault without horror, teares doe confesse our crime without offence of our shamefastnesse from whence, he that glosseth upon Gratian (who hath inserted these words of S. Ambrose into his collection of the Decrees) doth inferre; that Vnde etsi propter pudorem nolit quis confiteri; solae lachrymae delent peccata. Gloss. de Poenit. d [...]stinct 1. cap. 2. Lachrymae if for shame a man will not confesse, teares alone doe blot out his sinne. Maximus Taurinensis followeth S. Ambrose herein almost verbatim. The teare (saith La­vat lachryma delictum, quod voce pudor est confiteri. Lachrymae ergo verecundiae consu­lunt pariter & saluti; nec erubescunt in petendo, & impetrant in rogando. Maxim. homil. de Poenitent. Petri. Tom. 5. Biblioth. Pat [...]. part. 1. pag. 21. edit. Colon. he) washeth the sinne, which the voyce is a­shamed to confesse. Teares therefore doe equally provide both for our shamefastnesse and for our health: they ney­ther [Page 88] blush in asking, and they obtaine in requesting. Last­ly Prosper, speaking of sinnes committed by such as are in the ministery, writeth thus Deum sibi faciliùs placa­bunt illi, qui non humano cōvicti judicio, sed ultrò crimē agnoscunt: qui aut propriis illud confessioni­bus produnt, aut nescienti­bus aliis quales occulti sunt, ip­si in se volunta­ri [...]e excommu­nicationis sen­tentiam ferūt, & ab altari cui ministrabant, non animo sed officio separati, vitam tanquā mortuam plan­gunt; certi, quòd reconci­liato sibi effi­cacis poeniten­tiae fructibus Deo, non so­lùm amissa re­cipiant, sed etiā cives supernae civitatis effecti, ad gaudia sem­piterna perve­niant. Prosper, de vitâ contem­plativâ, lib 2. cap. 7. They shall more easily appease God, who being not convicted by humane judge­ment, doe of their owne accord acknowledge their offence: who eyther do discover it by their owne confessions, or o­thers not knowing what they are in secret, doe themselves give sentence of voluntarie excommunication upon them­selves, and being separated (not in minde, but in office). from the Altar to which they did minister, doe lament their life as dead; assuring themselves, that God being re­conciled unto them by the fruits of effectuall repentance, they shall not onely receive what they have lost, but also being made citizens of that citie which is above, they shall come to everlasting joyes. By this it appeareth, that the ancient Fathers did not thinke, that the remission of sinnes was so tyed unto externall confession, that a man might not looke for salvation from God, if hee concealed his faults from Man: but that inward con­trition, and confession made to God alone, was suffi­cient in this case. Otherwise, neyther they nor wee do debarre men from opening their grievances unto the Physicians of their soules: eyther for their better in­formation in the true state of their disease, or for the quieting of their troubled consciences, or for receiving further direction from them out of Gods word, both for the recoverie of their present sicknesse and for the prevention of the like danger in time to come.

Si peccavero, etiam in quocunque minuto peccato, & consumit me cogita­tio mea, & arguit me, dicens: Quare peccâsti? quid faciam? Respondit senex: Quacun­que horâ ceciderit homo in culpam, & dixerit ex corde, Domine Deus peccavi, indulge mihi; mox cessabit cogitationis vel tristitiae illa consumptio, Respons. Patr. Aegypt. á Pas­ [...]hasio diacono Latiné vers. cap. 11. If I shall sinne, although it be in anie small offence, and [Page 89] my thought doe consume me, and accuse me, saying; Why hast thou sinned? what shall I doe? said a brother once to Abbat Arsenius. The old man answered: Whatsoe­ver houre a man shall fall into a fault, and shall say from his heart, Lord God I have sinned, grant mee pardon; that consumption of thought or heavinesse shall cease forthwith. And it was as good a remedie as could be prescribed for a greene wound: to take it in hand presently, to present it to the view of our heavenly Physician, Novit omnia Dominus, sed expectat vocē tuam; non ut puniat, sed ut ignoscat: non vult ut insultet tibi Diabolus, & celantē pec­cata tua ar­guat. Praeveni accusatorem tuum: si te ipse accusaveris, ac­cusatorem nul­lum timebis. Ambr. de Poeni­tent. lib. 2. cap. 17. to prevent Satan by taking his office (as it were) out of his hand, and [...]. LXX. in Esa. 43.26. & P [...]overb. 18 17. accusing our selves first, that we may be justified. But when it is not taken in time, but suffered to fester and ranckle; the cure will not now prove to be so easie: it being found true by often experience, that the wounded conscience will still pinch grievously, notwithstanding the confession made unto God in se­cret. At such a time as this then, where the sinner can finde no ease at home, what should hee doe but use the best means he can to finde it abroad? Is Ierem. 8.22. there no balme in Gilead? is there no physician there? No doubt but God hath provided both the one and the other, for re­covering of the health of the daughter of his people: and S. Iames hath herein given us this direction. Iam. 5.16. Confesse your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that yee may be healed. According to which prescription, Gregory Nyssen, toward the end of his Sermon of Re­pentance, useth this exhortation to the sinner. [...], &c. [...], Greg. Nyssen. de Poenitent. in Operū Ap­pendice, edit. Paris. an. 1618. pag. 175.176. Be sen­sible of the disease, vvherewith thou art taken, afflict thy selfe as much as thou canst. Seeke also the mourning of [Page 90] thy intirely affected brethren, to helpe thee unto libertie. Shew me thy bitter and aboundant teares, that I may also mingle mine therewith. Take likewise the Priest for a partner of thine affliction, as thy Father. For who is it that so falsely obtayneth the name of a father, or hath so adamantine a soule, that he will not condole with his sonns lamenting? Shew unto him without blushing the things that were kept close: discover the secrets of thy soule, as showing thy hidden disease unto thy physician. Hee will have care both of thy credit and of thy cure.

It was no part of his meaning to advise us, that wee should open our selves in this maner unto everie hedge-priest; as if there were a vertue generally an­nexed to the order, that upon confession made and ab­solution received from anie of that ranke, all should be straight made up: but he would have us communicate our case both to such Christian brethren, and to such a ghostly father, as had skill in physick of this kinde, and out of a fellow-feeling of our griefe, would apply themselves to our recoverie. Therefore, saith Origen, Tantummo­dò circumspice diligentiùs, cui debeas confite­ri peccatum tuum Proba priùs medicum, cui debeas caussam lan­guoris expone­ [...]e, qui sciat in­firmari cum in­firmante, fle [...]e cum flente, qui condolendi & compatiendi noverit disci­plinam: ut ita demùm si quid ille dixerit, qui se priùs & eru­ditum medicū ostenderit & mise [...]icordem, si quid consilii dederit, facias, & sequaris O­rigen. in Psal. 37. homil. 2. looke about thee diligently, unto whom thou oughtest to confesse thy sinne. Try first the physician, unto whom thou oughtest to declare the cause of thy maladie, vvho knoweth to be weake with him that is weake, to weepe with him that weepeth, who understandeth the discipline of con­doling and compassionating: that so at length, if hee shall say anie thing, who hath first shewed himselfe to be both a skilfull physician and a mercifull, or if he shall give anie counsaile, thou mayest doe and follow it. For, as S. Basil well noteth, [...]. Basil. in Regul. breviorib. resp. 229. the verie same course is to be held in the [Page 91] confession of sinnes, which is in the opening of the diseases of the bodie. As men therefore do not discover the diseases of their bodie to all, nor to everie sort of people, but to those that are skilfull in the cure thereof: even so ought the confession of our sinnes be made, unto such as are able to cure them; according to that which is written. Yee that are strong, beare the infirmities of the weake, that is, take them away by your diligence. He requireth care and di­ligence in performance of the cure: being ignorant (good man) of that new compendious method of hea­ling, invented by our Romane Paracelsians, whereby a man Secundùm Archiepisc. imò sanctum Thomam, & alios Theolo­gos, in confes­sione fit quis de attrito con­tritus, virtute clavium. Sum­ma Sylvestrina: de Confess Sa­cramental. ca. 1. sect. 1. in confession of attrite is made contrite by vertue of the keyes; that the sinner need put his ghostly father to no further trouble then this. Speake the word onely, and I shall be healed. And this is that Sacramentall con­fession, devised of late by the Priests of Rome: which they notwithstanding would faine father upon S. Pe­ter, from whom the Church of Rome (as they would have us beleeve) received this instruction. Quòd si for­tè alicujus cor vel livor, vel in­fidelitas, vel a­liquod malum latenter irrep­serit; non eru­bescat, qui ani­mae suae curam gerit, confiteri haec huic qui prae est, ut ab ipso per verbū Dei & consi­lium salubre curetur. Clem. epist. 1. that if envie, or infidelitie, or anie other evill did secretly creepe into anie mans heart, hee who had care of his owne soule should not be ashamed to confesse those things unto him who had the oversight over him; that by Gods word and wholsome counsaile, he might be cured by him. And so indeed we reade in the apocryphall epistle of Clement, pretended to be written unto S. Iames the brother of our Lord: where in the severall editions of Crab, Si­chardus, Venradius, Surius, Nicolinus, and Binius, wee finde this note also laid downe in the margent; Nota de confessione sacramentali, Marke this of sacramentall confession. But their owne Maldonat. Disputat. de Sacrament, tom. 2. de Confessionis ori­gine cap. 2. Maldonat would have [Page 92] taught them, that this note was not worth the mark­ing: forasmuch as the proper end of sacramentall con­fession, is the obtayning of remission of sinnes, by ver­tue of the keyes of the Church; whereas the end of the confession here said to be commended by S. Peter, was the obtayning of counsaile out of Gods word for the remedie of sinnes. which kinde of medicinall confession wee well approve of, and acknowledge to have beene ordinarily prescribed by the ancient Fa­thers for the cure of secret sinnes.

For as for notorious offences, which bred open scandall, private confession was not thought suffici­ent: but there was further required publick acknow­ledgement of the fault, & the solemne use of the keyes for the reconciliation of the penitent. Si peccatum ejus non solùm in gravi ejus malo, sed etiā in tanto scan­dalo est aliorū, atque hoc ex­pedire utilitati Ecclesiae vide­tur Antistiti, in notitiâ mul­torum, vel etiā totius plebis a­gere poeniten­tiam non recu­set, non resistat, non lethali & mortiferae pla­gae per pudorē addat tumorē. August. in lib. de Poenitentiâ: quae postrema est homilia ex 50. in 10. Tom. If his sin do not only redound to his own evill, but also unto much scandall of others, and the Bishop thinketh it to be expedient for the profit of the Church, let him not refuse to performe his penance in the knowledge of manie or of the whole people also, let him not resist, let him not by his shamefastnesse add swelling to his deadly and mortall wound: saith S. Augustine. and more largely in another place; where he meeteth with the objection, of the sufficiencie of internall repentance, in this maner. Nemo sibi dicat, Occulté ago, apud Deū ago; novit De­us qui mihi ig­noscit, quia in corde ago. Er­go sine caussâ dictum est: Quae solveritis in terrâ, soluta erunt in coelo? Ergo sine caussâ sunt claves datae Ecclesiae Dei? Frustramus Evangelium Dei: frustramus verba Christi? Promittimus vobis quod ille negat? Nónne vos decipimus? Iob dicit: Si erubui in conspectu populi confiteri peccata mea. Talis justus thesauri divini obryzi, tali camino probatus, ista dicit: & resistit mihi fi­lius pestilentiae, & erubescit genu figere sub benedictione Dei? Quod non erubuit Impera­tor, erubescit nec senator, sed tantùm curialis? Superba cervix, mens tortuosa. fortassis, imò quod non dubitatur, proptereà Deus v [...]luit ut Theodosius Imperator ageret poenitentiam publicam in conspectu populi, maximé quia peccatum ejus celari non potuit: & erubescit Senator, quod non erubuit Imperator? erubescit nec Senator, sed tantùm curialis, quod nō erubuit Imperator? Erubescit plebeius sive negotiator, quod nō erubuit Imperator? Quae ista superbia est? Nónne sola sufficeret gehēnae, etiamsi adulteriū nullū esset. Id. hom. 49. ex 50. ca. 3. Let no man say [Page 93] unto himselfe: I doe it secretly, I doe it before God; God vvho pardoneth me doth know, that I doe it in my heart. Is it therefore said without cause; Whatsoever you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven? Are the keyes ther­fore without cause given unto the Church of God? Doe we frustrate the Gospell of God? doe we frustrate the words of Christ? Doe we promise that to you which hee denieth you? Do wee not deceive you? Iob saith: If I was abashed to confesse my sinnes in the sight of the people. So just a man of Gods rich threasure, who was tried in such a fur­nace, saith thus: and doth the childe of pestilence vvith­stand me, and is ashamed to bow his knee under th [...] blessing of God? That which the Emperor was not ashamed to doe, is he ashamed of, who is not as much as a Senator, but only a simple Courtier? O proud neck, ó crooked minde! per­haps, nay it is not to be doubted, it was for this reason God would that Theodosius the Emperour should doe publick penance in the sight of the people, especially because his sinne could not be concealed: and is a Senator ashamed of that, whereof the Emperour was not ashamed? is he asha­med of that who is no Senator, but a Courtier onely, where­of the Emperour was not ashamed? Is one of the vulgar sort, or a trader ashamed of that, whereof the Emperour was not ashamed? What pride is this? Were not this alone suf­ficient to bring them to hell, although no adultery had beene committed? Thus farre S. Augustine, concerning the necessitie of publike Repentance for knowne of­fences: which being in tract of time disused in some places, long after this, the Concil. Arelat. IV cap 26 & Cabilonens. II. cap. 25. Bishops of France, by the assistance of Charles the great, caused it to be brought in use againe, according to the order of the olde Canons.

Neyther is it here to be omitted, that in the time of [Page 94] the more ancient Fathers this strict discipline was not so restrayned to the censure of publicke crimes; but that private transgressions also were sometimes drawn within the compasse of it. For whereas at first, publike confession was enjoyned onely for publike offences: men afterwards, discerning what great benefit redoun­ded to the penitents thereby, (aswell for the subduing of the stubburnesse of their hard hearts, and the fur­thering of their deeper humiliation; as for their ray­sing up againe by those sensible comforts which they received by the publike prayers of the Congregation, and the use of the keyes) some men, I say, discerning this, and finding their owne consciences burdened with the like sinnes, which being carried in secrecie, were not subject to the censures of the Church; to the end they might obtaine the like consolation and quiet of minde, did voluntarily submit themselves to the Churches discipline herein, and undergoe the burden of publick Confession and Penance. This appeareth by Origen in his second Homily upon the 37 Psalme, Tertullian in his booke de Poenitentiâ, chap. 9. S. Cyprian in his Treatise de Lapsis, sect. 23. (or 11. according to Pamelius his distinction) S. Ambrose in his first booke de Poenitentiâ, chap. 16. and others. And to the end that this publication of secret faults might be perfor­med in the best maner: some prudent Minister was first of all made acquainted therewith; by whose dire­ction the delinquent might understand what sinnes were fit to be brought to the publick notice of the Church, and in what maner the penance was to bee performed for them. Therefore did Origen advise (as wee heard) that one should use great care in making choyce of a good and skilfull physician, to whom hee [Page 95] should disclose his griefe in this kinde. and Si intellexe­rit, & praevide­rit talem esse languorem tuū qui in conven­tu totius Eccle­siae exponi de­beat, & curari, ex quo for [...]assis & caeteri aedifi­cari poterunt, & tu ipse facilè sanari: multâ hoc deliberati­one, & satis pe­rito medici il­lius consilio procurandū est. Origen. in Psal. 37. h [...]mil. 2. if hee un­derstand (saith he) and foresee that thy disease is such as ought to be declared in the assembly of the whole Church, and cured there, whereby peradventure both others may be edified, and thou thy selfe more easily healed; with much deliberation, and by the very skilfull counsaile of that phy­sician, must this be done.

But within a while (shortly after the persecution raysed in the dayes of Decius the Emperour) it was no longer left free to the Penitent to make choyce of his ghostly father: but by the generall consent of the Bi­shops it was ordayned, that in every Church one cer­taine discreet Minister should be appointed to receive the confessions of such as relapsed into sinne after Bap­tisme. This is that addition, which [...]. Socrat. hist. lib. 5. cap. 19. Socrates in his Ecclesiasticall historie noteth to have beene then made unto the Penitentiall Canon; and to have beene ob­served by the governours of the Church for a long time: untill at length in the time of Nectarius Bishop of Constantinople (which was about CXL. yeares af­ter the persecution of Decius) upon occasion of an in­famy drawne upon the Clergie by the confession of a Gentlewoman, defiled by a Deacon in that citie, it was thought fit it should be abolished, and that [...]. Socrat. ibid. [...]. So­zomen. lib. 7. histor. cap. 16. libertie should be given unto everie one, upon the private exa­mination of his owne conscience, to resort to the holy Communion. Which was agreeable both to the rule of the Apostle, 1. Cor. 11.28. (Let a man examine himselfe, and so let him eate of that bread and drinke of that cup:) and to the judgement of the more ancient Fathers, as appeareth by Clemens Alexandrinus, who accounteth a mans owne conscience to be his [...]. Clem. Alexandr. lib. 1. S [...]rom. best di­recter in this case. howsoever our new Masters of [Page 96] Concil. Trid [...]t. Sess. 13. Can. 11. Trent have not onely determined that sacramentall confession must necessarily be premised before the recey­ving of the Eucharist; but also have pronounced them to be excommunicate ipso facto, that shall pre­sume to teach the contrarie.

The case then (if these mens censures were ought worth) would goe hard with Nectarius, and all the Bi­shops that followed him; but especially with S. Iohn Chrysostom, who was his immediat successor in the See of Constantinople. for thus doth hee expound that place of the Apostle: [...]. Chrysost. in 1. Cor. 11. homil. 28. Let every one examine himselfe, and then let him come. He doth not bid one man to exa­mine another, but every one himselfe; making the judge­ment private, and the tryall without witnesses. and in the end of his second homily of Fasting (which in others is the eighth de Poenitentiâ) frameth his exhortation accordingly. [...]. Id. tom. 6. Savil. pag. 837. Within thy conscience, none being pre­sent but God who seeth all things, enter thou into judge­ment and into a search of thy sinnes, and recounting thy whole life, bring thy sinnes unto judgement in thy minde: reforme thy excesses, and so vvith a pure conscience draw neare to that sacred Table, and partake of that holy sacri­fice. Yet in another place hee deepely chargeth Mini­sters, not to admit knowne offendors unto the Com­munion. But [...] Id. in fine hom. 82 in Matt. [...]dit. Graec. vel 83 Latin. if one (saith hee) be ignorant that hee is an evill person, after that hee hath used much diligence ther [...]in, he is not to be blamed. for these things are spoken by me of such as are knowne. And we finde both in him, and in the practise of the times following, that the or­der of publick Penance was not wholly taken away; but according to the ancient discipline established by the Apostles in the Church, open offendors were open­ly censured and pressed to make publick confession of [Page 97] their faults. Whereby it is manifest, that the libertie brought in by Nectarius, of not resorting to any Peni­tentiarie, respected the disclosing of secret sinnes only; such as that foule one was, from whence the publick scandall arose, which gave occasion to the repeale of the former Constitution. For to suffer open and no­torious crimes, committed in the Church, to passe without controule, was not a meane to prevent but to augment scandalls; nay the readie way, to make the house of God become a denne of theeves.

Two observations more I will adde upon this part of the historie. The one: that the abrogation of this Canon sheweth, that the forme of Confession used by the ancient, was Canonical, that is, appertayning to that externall discipline of the Church which upon just oc­casion might be altered; and not Sacramentall, and of perpetuall right, which is that our Iesuites stand for. The other: that the course taken herein by Nectarius, was not onely approved by S. Chrysostome, who succee­ded him at Constantinople; but [...]. So­zom. lib. 7. cap. 16. generally in a ma­ner by the Catholick Bishops of other places. howsoe­ver the Arrians, and the rest of the sectaries (the Nova­tians onely excepted, who from the beginning would not admit the discipline used in the Church for the reconciliation of Penitents) retained still the former usage. as by the relation of Socrates and Sozomen more fully may appeare. And therefore when within some XXI. yeares after the time wherein they finished their histories, and about LXX. after that the publication of secret offences began to be abolished by Nectarius, cer­taine in Italy did so doe their penance, that they caused a writing to be publickly read, containing a profession of their severall sinnes: Leo, who at that time was Bi­shop [Page 98] of Rome, gave order, that by all meanes Ne de singu­lorum peccato­rum genere li­bellis scripta professio pub­licé recitetur: cùm reatus cō ­scientiarum sufficiat solis sacerdotibus indicari con­fessione secretâ. Quamvis enim plenitudo fidei videatur esse laudabilis, quae propter Dei timorem apud homines eru­bescere non ve­retur: tamen quia non om­nium hujusmo­di sunt pecca­ta, ut ea, quae poenitentiam poscunt, non timeant publi­care, removea­tur tam impro babilis consue­tudo; ne multi á poenitentiae remediis arce­antur, dum aut crubescunt, aut metuunt ini­micis suis sua facta referare, quibus possint legum consti­tutione percel­li. Sufficit enim illa confess [...]o, quae primùm Deo offertur, tum etiam Sacerdoti, qui pro delictis poenitentium precator accedit. Tunc enim demùm plures ad poenitentiā poterunt provocari si populi aur [...]bus non publicetur conscientia confitentis. Leo, epist. 80. ad Epis [...]opos Campaniae, Samnij & Pi [...]ni. that course should be broken off; forasmuch as it was suffi­cient, that the guilt of mens consciences should be declared in secret confession to the Priests alone. For although (saith he) the fulnesse of faith may seeme to be laudable, vvhich for the feare of God doth not feare to blush before men: yet because all mens sinnes are not of that kinde, that they may not feare to publish such of them as require repentance, let so inconvenient a custome be removed; lest many be dri­ven away from the remedies of repentance, vvhile eyther they are ashamed, or afraid to disclose their deedes unto their enemies, whereby they may be drawne within the pe­rill of the lawes. For that confession is sufficient, which is offered first unto God, and then unto the Priest, who com­meth as an intercessor for the sinnes of the penitent. For then at length more may be provoked to repentance, if that the conscience of him who confesseth be not published to the eares of the people.

By this place of Leo we may easily understand, how upon the removeall of publick Confession of secret faults (together with the private made unto the Peni­tentiarie, which was adjoyned as a preparative there­unto) Auricular confession began to be substituted in the roome thereof: to the end, that by this meanes more might be drawne on to this exercise of repen­tance; the impediments of shame and feare, which ac­companied the former practise, being taken out of the way. for indeed the shame of this publick Penance was such, that in the time of Tertullian (when this discipline was thought most needefull for the Church) it was [Page 99] strongly Plerosque ta­men hoc opus ut publicationē sui aut suffuge­re, aut de die in diem differre, praesumo; pu­doris magis memores quàm salutis. Tertull. de Poenit cap. 9. presumed, that many did eyther shunne this worke as a publication of themselves, or deferred it from day to day, being more mindefull (as hee saith) of their shame than of their salvation. Nay S. Ambrose observed that Nam pleri­que futuri sup­plicii metu, peccatorū suo­rum conscii, poenitentiam petunt: & cùm acceperint, publicae suppli­cationis r [...]vo­cantur pudore. Hi videntur malorū petisse poenitentiam, agere bonorū, Ambr. de poeni­tent. lib. 2. cap 9. some, who for feare of the punishment in the other world, being conscious to themselves of their sinnes, did here desire their penance, vvere yet for shame of their pub­lick supplication drawne back, after they had received it. Therfore the conjecture of Porrò non aliam ob caus­sam compluriū hîc testimoniis usi sumus, quàm ne quis admiretur Ter­tullianum de clanculariâ istâ admissorum confessione nihil locutum: quae, quantum conji­cimus, nata est ex istâ Exomologesi per ultroneam hominum pietatem, ut occultorum pec­catorum esset & Exomologesis occulta. Nec enim usquàm praeceptam olim legimus. B. Rhe­nan. argument. in lib. Tertullian. de Poenitent. Rhenanus is not to be con­temned, that from this publick confession, the private tooke his originall: which by Stapleton, (in his For­tresse, part. 2. chap. 4.) is positively delivered in this maner. Afterward this open and sharpe penance vvas brought to the private and particular confession now used; principally for the lewdnesse of the common lay Christians, which in this open confession began at length to mocke and insult at their brethrens simplicity and devotion. al­though it may seeme by that which is written by Si ergo hujusmodi homo memor delicti sui, confitea tur quae commisit, & humanâ▪ confusione parvi pendat eos qui exprobrant eum confitentem, & notant vel irrident: &c. Origen. in Psalm. 37. homil. 2. O­rigen, that the seeds of this lewdnesse began to sprout long before; howsoever Certé periculum ejus tunc si fortè onerosum est, cùm penes insultaturos in risiloquio consistit, ubi de alterius ruinâ alter attollitur, ubi prostrato superscenditur. Caeterùm inter fratres atque cons [...]rvos, ubi communis spes, metus, gaudium, dolor, passio: quid tuos aliud quàm te opinaris? Quid consortes casuum tuorum, ut plausores fugis? Non potest corpus de unius membri vexatio­ne laetum agere: Tertullian. de Poenitent. cap 9. Tertullian imagined, that no member of the Church would be so ungracious as to commit such folly.

The publick confession therefore of secret sinnes be­ing thus abolished, by Nectarius first (for the scandall that came thereby unto others) and by the rest of the [Page 100] Catholick Bishops after him (for the reproach and danger, whereunto the penitents by this meanes were layd open:) private Confession was so brought in to supply the defect thereof, that it was accounted no more sacramentall, nor esteemed (at least generally) to be of more necessitie for the obtayning of remission of sinnes, then that other. So that whatsoever order af­terward was taken herein, may well be judged to have had the nature of a temporall law, which, according to the definition of S. Augustine, Appellemus istam legem, si placet, tempo­ralem, quae quamvis justa sit, commutari tamen per tem­pora justé po­test. August. de lib. arbitr. lib. 1. cap. 6. although it be just, yet in time may be justly also changed. Nay we finde that Lau­rence Bishop of Novaria, in his homily de Poenitentiâ, doth resolutely determine, that for obtayning remissi­on of sinnes, a man needeth not to resort unto anie Priest, but that his owne internall repentance is suffici­ent for that matter: God (saith Post Baptis­ma, remedium tuum in teipso statuit, remissi­onem in arbi­trio tuo posuit, ut non quaeras Sacerdotē cùm necessitas fla­gitaverit: sed ipse jam acsi scitus perspicu­usque magi­ster, errorem tuum intra te emendes, & peccatum tuū poenitudine abluas La [...]r. Nouar [...]om. 6. Biblioth. Patr. part. 1. pag. 337. a edit. Colon. hee) after Baptisme hath appoynted thy remedy within thy selfe, hee hath put remission in thine owne power, that thou needest not seeke a Priest when thy necessity requireth; but thou thy selfe now, as a skilfull and plaine master, mayest amend thine error within thy selfe, & wash away thy sin by repen­tance. [...] Author homiliae in illud; Quaecunque ligaveritis &c. inter opera Chrysostomi, tom. 7. edit. Savil. pag. 268. He hath given unto thee (saith another, some­what to the same purpose) the power of binding and loo­sing. Thou hast bound thy selfe with the chayn of the love of wealth; loose thy selfe with the injunction of the love of povertie. Thou hast bound thy selfe with the furious desire of pleasures; loose thy selfe with temperance. Thou hast bound thy selfe with the misbeleefe of Eunomius; loose thy selfe with the religious embracing of the right faith.

[Page 101]And, that wee may see how variable mens judge­ments were touching the matter of Confession in the ages following: Bede would have us In hâc sen­tentiâ illa de­bet esse discre­tio; ut quoti­diana leviá que pecca [...]a alteru­ [...]um coaequali­bus confitea­mur, corumque quotidianâ cre­damus oratio­ne salvari. Por­rò gravioris le­prae immūditiā juxta legem sa­cerdoti pan­damus, atque ad ejus arbitri­um qualiter & quanto tempo­re jusserit, puri­ficari curemus. Bed. in Iacob. 5. confesse our dai­ly & light sinnes one unto another, but open the uncleane­nesse of the greater leprosie to the Priest. Alcuinus, not long after him, would have us Volens di­mittere omnia his qui in se peccaverunt, confiteatur omnia peccata sua, quae recor­dari potest. Al­cuin. de divin. offi [...]. cap 13 in capite Iejunii. confesse all the sinnes that we can remember. Others were of another minde. For some (as it appeareth by the writings of the same Id. epist. 26. Alcuinus and of Haymo in Evangel. Dominic. 15. post Pentecost. Ite ostēdite vos Sacerdotib. Haymo) would not confesse their sinnes to the Priest; but Dicentes, sibi sussicere, ut soli Deo peccata sua confiteātur; si tantùm ab ipsis peccatis in reliquo cessent. Haymo, ut supra. said, it was sufficient for them that they did confesse their sinnes to God alone, provided alwayes that they ceased from those sinnes for the time to come. Others confessed their sinnes unto the Priests, but not fully Sed & hoc emendatione egere perspeximus, quòd quidā dū cōfitentur peccata sua sacerdotibus, non plené id faciūt. Concil. C. bilo [...]. II. cap. 32.: as may be seene in the Councell of Cauailon, held in the dayes of Charles the great where, though the Fathers thinke that this had need to be amended: yet they freely acknowledge, that it remai­ned still a question, whether men should only confesse to God, or to the Priests also; and they themselves put this difference betwixt both those confessions, that the one did properly serve for the cure, the other for dire­ction in what sort the repentance (and so the cure) should be performed. Their words are these. Quidā solūmodò Deo cōfiteri debere dicūt peccata, quidā ve­ró Sacerdotibus confitēda esse percensent: quod utrūque non sine magno fructu intra san­ctam fit Ecclesiā ita duntaxat, ut & Deo, qui remissor est peccatorū, confiteamur peccata nostra, (& cum David dicamus: Delictū meū cognitū tibi feci, & injustitiā meam non ab­scōdi, Dixi, Cōfitebor adversùm me injustitias meas Domino, & tu remisisti impietatē pec­cati mei.) et secundùm institutionē Apostoli, cōfiteamur alterutrū peccata nostra, & oremus pro invicem ut salvemur. Confessio itaque quae Deo fit, purgat peccata: ea veró quae Sa­cerdoti fit, docet qualiter ipsa purgētur peccata. Deus nam (que) salutis & sanitatis author & largitor, plerūque hāc praebet suae potētiae invisibili administratione, plerūque Medicorū o­peratione. Ibid. cap. 33 Some [Page 102] say, that they ought to confesse their sinnes onely unto God, and some thinke that they are to be confessed unto the Priests: both of which, not without great fruit, is practised within the holy Church. namely thus, that wee both con­fesse our sinnes unto God, who is the forgiver of sinnes (say­ing with David: I acknowledged my sinne unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confesse against my selfe my transgressions vnto the Lord: and thou for­gavest the iniquity of my sinne.) and according to the institution of the Apostle, confesse our sinnes one unto ano­ther, and pray one for another, that we may be healed. The Confession therfore which is made unto God, purgeth sins: but that which is made unto the Priest, teacheth in what sort those sinnes should be purged. For God the author and bestower of salvation and health, giveth the same sometime by the invisible administration of his power, sometime by the operation of Physicians.

This Canon is cyted by Grat. de Poe­nit. distinct. 1. cap. ult. Quidā Deo. Gratian out of the Peni­tentiall of Theodorus Archbishop of Canterbury: but clogged with some unnecessarie additions. as when in the beginning thereof it is made the Quidā Deo solummodò cōfiteri debere peccata dicūt, ut Graeci: qui dam veró Sa­cerdotibus cō ­fitenda esse percensent, ut tota feré sancta Ecclesia. Ibid. opinion of the Grecians, that sinnes should be confessed onely unto God; and of the rest of the Church, that they should be confessed to Priests. where those words, ut Graeci, in Gratian seeme unto Cardinall Bellarmine, Videtur ir­repsisse in tex­tum ex margi­ne: & margi­nalem annota­tionem imperi­ti alicujus fuis­se, qui ex facto Nectarii colle­git sublatam omnino Con­fessionem Sa­cramentalem apud Graecos. Nam alioqui in ipso capitulari Theodori, unde canon ille de­scriptus est, non habentur duae illae voces [ut Graeci,] neque etiam habentur in Concilio II. Cabilonensi, c. 33. unde Theodorus Capitulum illud accepisse videtur: sed nec Magister Sentent. in 4. lib. dist. 17. eandem sententiam adducens, addidit illud, [ut Graeci.] Bellarmin. de Poenitent. lib. 3. cap. 5. to have crept out of the margent into the text; and to have beene a marginall annotation of some unskilfull man, who gathe­red by the fact of Nectarius, that Sacramentall Confession was wholly taken away among the Grecians. For other­wise [Page 103] (saith hee) in the Capitular it selfe of Theodorus, whence that Canon was transcribed, those two words [ut Graeci] are not to be had; nor are they also to be had in the second Councell of Cauaillon, c. 33. whence Theodorus see­meth to have taken that chapter: neyther yet doth the Master of the Sentences, in his 4. booke and 17. distinction bringing in the same sentence, adde those words [ut Graeci.] But the Cardinalls conjecture of the translating of these words out of the margent into the text of Grati­an, is of little worth: seeing wee finde them expressely laid downe in the elder collections of the Decrees, made by Burchard. De­cret. lib. 19 cap. 145. Burchardus and Ivo Decret. part. 15. cap. 155. Ivo; from whence it is e­vident that Gratian borrowed this whole chapter, as he hath done manie a one beside. For as for the Capi­tular it selfe of Theodorus, whence the Cardinall too too boldly affirmeth that Canon was transcribed; as if hee had looked into the booke himselfe: we are to know, that no such Capitular of Theodorus is to be found: onely Burchardus and Ivo, (in whom, as we said, those controverted words are extant) setteth downe this whole chapter as taken out of Theodors Penitentiall, & so misguided Gratian. for indeed in Theodorus his Peni­tentiall (which I did lately transcribe out of a most an­cient copie kept in Sir Robert Cottons Threasurie) no part of that chapter can be seene: nor yet any thing else tending to the matter now in hand, this short sentence onely excepted. Confessionem suam Deo soli, si necesse est, licebit agere. It is lawfull, that Confession be made un­to God alone, if need require. And to suppose as the Cardinall doth that Theodorus should take this chap­ter out of the second Councell of Cauaillon: were an idle imagination▪ seeing it is well knowne that Theo­dore died Archbishop of Canterbury in the yeare of [Page 104] our Lord 690: and the Councell of Cauaillon was held in the yeare 813. that is, 123. yeares after the others death. The truth is; hee who made the additions to the Capitularia of Charles the great and Ludovicus Pius, (gathered by Ansegisus and Benedict) translated this Canon out of that Councell into his Ad. lit. 3. cap. 31. edit. Pi [...]ae [...], & Lindenbrogij. Collection: which Bellarmine, as it seemeth, having someway heard of, knew not to distinguish between those Capitularia, and Theodors Penitentiall. being herein as negligent, as in his allegation of the fourth book of the Sentences: where the Master doth not bring in this sentence at all, but having among other questions propounded this also for one, Vtrum suffi­ciat peccata confiteri soli Deo, an op [...]r­teat confiteri Sacerdoti Qui­busdam visum est sufficere, si soli Deo fiat confessio sine judicio Sacer­dotali & con­fessione eccle­siae. quia David dixit; Dixi Confitebor Domino, &c. non ait, Sacer­doti: & tamen remissum sibi peccatum di­cit. Petr. Lom­bard. lib. 4. Sen­ten [...] dist. 17. Whether it be sufficient that a man confesse his sinnes to God alone, or whether hee must confesse to a Priest; doth thereupon set down the diversitie of mens opinions touching that matter, and saith, that unto some it seemed to suffice, if confession vvere made to God onely without the judgement of the Priest or the confession of the Church. because David said; I said, I will confesse unto the Lord: he saith not, Vnto the Priest; and yet he shew­eth that his sinne was forgiven him. For in these points, as the same author had before noted,In his enim etiam docti di­versa s [...]ntire inveniuntur: quia super his varia ac pené adversa tradi­disse videntur doctores. Ibid. even the learned were found to hold diversly: because the Doctors seemed to deliver diverse and almost contrarie judgement [...] therein.

The diverse sentences of the Doctors touching this question, whether externall confession were necessarie or not, are at large layd downe by Gratian: who in the end, leaveth the matter in suspense, and concludeth in this maner. Quibus au­ctoritatibus, vel quibus rationū firmamentis u­traque senten­tia innitatur, in medium breviter exposuimus. Cui autem harum potiùs adhaerendum sit, lectoris judicio reservatur. Vtraque enim fautores habet sapientes, & religiosos viros, De P [...]ie. dist. 1. cap. 29▪ Quamvis. Vpon what authorities, or upon what [Page 105] strength of reasons both these opinions are grounded, I have briefly layd open. But to whether of them wee should rather cleave to, is reserved to the judgement of the reader. For both of them have for their favourers both wise and religious men. And so the matter rested undetermined 1150. yeares after Christ: howsoever the Romane Correctors of Gratian doe tell us, that now the case is altered, and that Certissimum est. & pro cer­tissimo haben­dum peccati mortalis neces­sariam esse cō ­fessionem sa­cramentalem eo modo, ac tē ­pore adhibitā, quo in Conci­lio Tridentino post alia Con­cilia est consti­tutum. Rom. C [...]rrect. ibid. it is most certaine, and must be held for most certaine, that the sacramentall confession of mortall sinnes is necessary, used in that maner, and at such time, as in the Councell of Trent after other Councels it is appoin­ted. But the first Councell, wherein we finde any thing determined touching this necessitie, is that of Lateran under Innocent the III. wherein wee heard that Trans­substantiation was established▪ for there it was orday­ned, that Omnis utri­usque sexus fi­delis, postquàm ad annos di­scretionis per­venerit, omnia sua solus pec­cata confitea­tur fideliter saltem semel in anno proprio sacerdoti; & injunctam sibi poenitentiam studeat pro vi­ribus adimple­re, suscipiens reverenter ad minùs in Pas­cha Euchari­stiae sacramen­tum: &c. alioquin & vivens ab ingressu Ecclesiae arceatur, & moriens Christianâ careat sepulturâ. Concil. Lateran. cap 21. Omnis utriusque sexus sidelis, every faithfull one of eyther sex, being come to yeares of discretion, should by himselfe alone, once in the yeare at least, faithfully con­fesse his sinnes unto his owne Priest; and indevour accor­ding to his strength to fulfill the penance injoyned unto him, receiving reverently at least at Easter the sacrament of the Eucharist: otherwise, that both being alive hee should be kept from entring into the Church, and being dead should want Christian buriall. Since which deter­mination, Thomas Aquinas (in his exposition of the text of the fourth booke of the Sentences, distinct. 17.) holdeth Magister & Gratianus hoc pro opinione ponunt Sed nunc post determinationem Ecclesiae sub Inn. 111. factam, haeresis reputanda est. Thom. the deniall of the necessitie of Confession unto salvation to be heresie: which before that time (saith Bonaventure, in his disputations upon the same fourth booke) was not hereticall, forasmuch as manie [Page 106] Catholick Doctors did hold contrarie opinions there­in, as appeareth by Gratian.

But Medina will not admit by anie meanes, Ideò dicen­dum, quòd praesata asser­tio non est stri­cté haeresis, sed sapit haeresim. Io. Medina. tractat. 2. de Confessione, quaest. 4. that it should be accounted strictly heresie: but would have it said, that it savours of heresie. and for this decree of Confession to be made once in the yeare, hee saith Nam illud, quod illic dici­tur de confessi­one semel in anno, non pro­cedit declaran­do, nec divinū jus interpretā ­do, sed potiùs tempus confi­tendi instituen­do. Id. ibid. quaest· 2. that it doth not declare nor interpret any divine right of the thing, but rather appointeth the time of confessing. Durand thinketh that it may be said, that this statute contayneth In quo prae­mittitur exhor­tatio sancta & salubris de cō ­fessione facien­dâ, & subjun­gitur praeceptū de perceptione Eucharistiae vallatum poe­nâ. Durand. in lib. 4. Sentent. distinct. 17. quaest. 14. an holy and wholsome exhortation of ma­king confession, and then adjoyneth a precept of the recei­ving of the Eucharist backed with a penaltie: or if both of them be precepts, that Et ob hoc posset rationabiliter videri alicui, quòd praedicta poena illius statuti respicit solum prae­ceptum de communione de cujus transgressione constare potest, & non praeceptum de con­fessione. Id. ibid. the penaltie respecteth onely the precept of communicating (of the transgression whereof knowledge may be taken) and not the precept of confession, of the transgression whereof the Church can take no certaine notice, and therefore can appoint no certaine penaltie for it. But howsoever; this wee are sure of, that the Canonists afterward held no absolute necessi­tie of obedience to be required therein, as unto a Sa­cramentall institution ordayned by Christ for obtay­ning remission of sinnes; but a Canonicall obedience onely, as unto an usefull constitution of the Church. And therefore where Gratian in his first distinction de Poenitentiâ, had in the 34. chapter and the three next following, propounded the allegations which made for them who held, Vnde datur intelligi, quòd etiam ore tacente, veniam consequi pos­sumus. De Poenit. dist. 1. cap. 34. Convertimini. Vid. initium eiusd. distinct. & Glossam. ibid. verb. Sunt enim. that men might obtaine pardon for their sinnes without anie orall confession of them; and then proceeded to the authorities which might [Page 107] seeme to make for the contrarie opinion: Iohannes Se­meca at the beginning of that part, upon those words of Gratian, Alij é contrario tes [...]antur, putteth too this Glosse. Ab hoc lo­co usque ad sect. His aucto­ritatib. pro aliâ parte allegat, quòd scilicèt adulto peccati [...] non dimittitur sine oris con­fessione. quod tamen falsum est G [...]oss. From this place untill the section His auctorita­tib. he alledgeth for the other part, that sinne is not forgi­ven unto such as are of yeares, without confession of the mouth which yet is false: saith he. But this free dealing of his did so displease Friar Manrique, who by the com­mand of Pius Quintus, set out a censure upon the Glosses of the Canon law; that hee gave direction these words, which yet is false, should be cleane blotted out. which direction of his notwithstanding, the Ro­mane Correctors under Gregory the XIII. did not fol­low: but letting the words still stand, give them a check only with this marginall annotation. Imó verissi­mum sine con­fessione in vo­to non dimitti peccatum. Rom. Correct. ibid. in marg. Nay it is most true, that without confession, in desire at least, the sinne is not forgiven.

In like maner, where the same Semeca holdeth it to be the better opinion, that Confession was Meliùs dici­tur ea [...] institu­tam fuisse à quadam uni­versalis Eccle­siae traditione, potiùs quàm ex novi v [...]l ve­teris Testamē ­ti auctoritate, Gloss. de Poeni­tēt. init. distinct. 5. In poenitentia. ordayned by a certaine tradition of the universall Church, rather then by the authoritie of the new or old Testament, and inferreth thereupon, that it is Ergo neces­saria est con­fessio in morta­libus apud nos, apud Graecos non: quia non emanavit apud illos traditio talis Ibid. necessarie among the Latins, but not among the Greekes, because that tradition did not spread to them: Friar Manrique commandeth all that passage to be blotted out, but the Romane Cor­rectors clap this note upon the margent for an anti­dote. Imò confessio est instituta à Domino, & est omnibus post Baptismum lapsis in mortale peccatū, tam Graecis quàm La­tinis, jure divino necessaria. Rom. Correct. ibid. in marg. Nay confession was ordayned by our Lord, and by Gods Law is necessary to all that fall into mortall sinne af­ter Baptisme, as well Greekes as Latins. and for this they quote onely the 14. Session of the Councell of Trent: [Page 108] where that opinion is accursed in us, which was held two or three hundred yeares ago by the men of their owne religion. among whom, Michael An­grianus in Psal. 29. Michael of Bononia (who was Prior general of the order of the Carmelites in the dayes of Pope Vrban the sixth) doth conclude strongly out of their owne received grounds; that con­fession is not necessary for the obtayning of the pardon of our sinne: and Panormitan the great Canonist, Multùm mi­hi placet illa o­pinio: quia nō est aliqua au­thoritas aper­ta, quae innuat Deū seu Chri­stum aperté in­stituisse confes­sionem fiendā Sacerdoti. Pa­norm. in 5. De­cretal. de Poenit. & remiss. cap. 12. Omnis utri­usque. sect. 18. profes­seth that the opinion of Semeca doth much please him, which referreth the originall of Confession to a gene­rall tradition of the Church: because (saith he) there is not anie cleare authority, which sheweth that God or Christ did clearely ordayne that Confession should be made unto a Priest. Yea, Omnes juris Pontificii peri­ti, secuti primū suum Interpretem, dicunt Confessionem tantùm esse in­troductam jure Ecclesiastico. Maldonat. Disp. de Sacrament. Tom. 2. de Con­fess. orig. cap. 2. all the Canonists, following their first In­terpreter, say that Confession was brought in onely by the law of the Church, and not by anie divine precept: if we will beleeve Maldonat. who addeth notwithstan­ding, that Sed tamen haec opinio, aut jam declarata est satis tanquā haeresis ab Ec­clesiâ; aut fa­ceret Ecclesia operae pretium, si declararet esse haeresim. Id. ibid. de praecepto Confess. cap 3. this opinion is eyther alreadie sufficiently de­clared by the Church to be heresie, or that the Church should doe well if it did declare it to be heresie.

And we finde indeed, that in the yeare of our Lord 1479. (which was 34. yeares after the death of Panor­mitan) by a speciall commission directed from Pope Sixtus the fourth unto Alfonsus Carillus Archbishop of Toledo, one Petrus Oxomensis, professor of Divinitie in the Vniversitie of Salamanca, was driven to abjure Quòd confessio de peccatis in specie suerit ex aliquo statuto universalis Ecclesiae, non de jure divino. Congregat. Complu­tens. sub Alfonso Carillo: apud Ca [...]ranzam in Summâ Concil. sub Sixto IV. this conclusion, which hee had before delivered as a­greeable to the common opinion of the Doctors; that confession of sinnes in particular vvas grounded up­on some statute of the universall Church, and not upon [Page 109] divine right. and when learned men for all this would not take warning, but would needs be medling againe with that which the Popish Clergie could not indure should be touched, (as Iohannes de Selva, among o­thers, in the end of his treatise de Iurejurando; Erasmus in diverse of his workes, and Beatus Rhenanus in his ar­gument upon Tertullians booke de Poenitentiâ:) the fathers of Trent within 72. yeares after that, conspired together to stop all mens mouthes with Concil. Tri­dent. S [...]ss. 14. Can. 6. an anathema, that should denie sacramentall confession to be of di­vine institution or to be necessarie unto salvation. And so we are come to an end of that point.

OF THE PRIESTS POVVER TO FORGIVE SINNES.

FRom Confession we are now to proceed unto Abso­lution: which it were pitie this man should receive, before he made confession of the open wrong he hath here done, in charging us to denie that Priests have power to forgive sinnes. whereas the verie formall words, which our Church requireth to be used in the ordina­tion of a Minister, are these: The forme of ordering of Priests. Whose sinnes thou doest forgive, they are forgiven; and vvhose sinnes thou doest retaine, they are retained. And therefore if this be all the matter, the Fathers and we shal agree well enough: howsoever this make-bate would faine put friends to­gether by the eares, where there is no occasion at all of quarrell. For wee acknowledge most willingly, that the principall part of the Priests ministerie is exercised in the matter of forgivenesse of sinnes: the question on­ly is of the maner how this part of their function is ex­ecuted by them, and of the bounds and limits thereof, [Page 110] which the Pope and his Clergie for their owne advan­tage have inlarged beyond all measure of truth and reason.

That wee may therefore give unto the Priest the things that are the Priests, and to God the things that are Gods; & not cōmunicate unto any creature the po­wer that properly belongeth to the Creator, who Esai. 48.11. will not give his glory unto another: we must in the first place lay this downe for a sure ground, that to forgive sinnes properly, directly, and absolutely, is a priviledge onely appertayning unto the most High. I, saith he of him­selfe, even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine owne sake, and will not remember thy sinnes. (Esai. 43.25.) Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth ini­quitie? saith the Prophet, Micah 7.18. which in effect is the same with that of the Scribes: (Mark. 2.7. and Luk. 5.21.) Who can forgive sinnes, but God alone? And therefore when David saith unto God; Thou forgavest the iniquitie of my sinne: (Psalm. 32.5.) Gregory surna­med the great (the first Bishop of Rome of that name) thought this to be a sound paraphrase of his words. Tu qui solus parcis, qui so­lus peccata di­mittis. Quis e­nim potest pec­cata dimittere, nisi solus De­us? Gregor. ex­posit. 2. Psalmi Poenittential. Thou, vvho alone sparest, who alone forgivest sinnes. For who can forgive sinnes but God alone? Hee did not ima­gine that he had committed anie great error in subscri­bing thus simply unto that sentence of the Scribes: and little dreamed that anie petie Doctors afterwards would arise in Rome or Rhemes, who would tell us a faire tale; that Rhemists, an­not. in Matt. 9.6. the faithlesse Iewes thought, as Hereticks now adayes, that to forgive sinnes was so proper to God, that it could not be communicated unto man; and that Rich. Hopkins, in the Memori­all of a Christ. life, pag. 179. edis, ann. 1612. true beleevers referre this to the increase of Gods honour, which miscreant Iewes and Hereticks doe accompt blasphe­mie against God, and injurious to his Majestie. whereas [Page 111] in truth the faithlesnesse of the Iewes consisted in the application of this sentence unto our Saviour Christ, whom they did not acknowledge to be God; as the senslesness of these Romanists, in denying of the axiom it selfe.

But the world is come unto a good passe, when we must be accounted hereticks now adayes, and consorted with miscreant Iewes, for holding the selfe same thing that the Fathers of the ancient Church delivered as a most certain truth, whensoever they had anie occasion to treate of this part of the historie of the Gospel. Old Irenaeus telleth us, that our Saviour in this place Peccata igi­tur remittens, hominem qui­dem curavit, semetipsum autem manife­sté ostendit quis esset. Si e­nim nemo po­test remittere peccata, nisi so­lus Deus; re­mittebat autē haec Dominus, & curabat ho­mines: mani­festum est, quo­niam ipse erat Verbum Dei, Filius hominis factus, &c., & quomodo ho­mo compassus est nobis, tan­quam Deus misereatur no­stri, & remit­tat nobis debi­ta nostra, quae factori nostro debemus Deo. Irenaeus advers. haeres. lib. 5. cap. 17. for­giving sinnes, did both cure the man, and manifestly dis­cover who he was. For if none (saith hee) can forgive sinnes but God alone, and our Lord did forgive them, and cured men; it is manifest, that he was the Word of God, made the Sonne of man: and that as man hee is touched with compassion of us, as God he hath mercy on us, and for­giveth us our debts which we doe owe unto God our maker. Tertullian saith, that Nam cùm Iudaei solummodò hominem eius intuentes, needum & Deum certi, quâ Dei quoque filium, meritò retractarent, non posse hominem delicta dimittere, sed Deum solum, &c. Ter­tullian. lib 4, advers. Marcion. cap. 10. when the Iewes beholding onely his humanitie, and not being yet certaine of his Deitie, did de­servedly reason, that a man could not forgive sinnes, but God alone: he by answering of them, that the Sonne of man had authoritie to forgive sinnes, would by this re­mission of sinnes have them call to minde that he was Illum scilicèt solum filium hominis apud Danie­lis Prophetiam, consecutum iudicandi potestatem, ac per eam utíque & dimittendi de­licta. Id. ibid. that onely sonne of man, prophesied of in Daniel, who re­ceived power of judging, and thereby also of forgiving sinnes. (Dan. 7.13, 14.) S. Hilary commenting upon the [Page 112] ninth of Matthew, writeth thus. Movet Scri­bas remissum ab homine pec­catum Homi­nem enim tan­tùm in Iesu Christo con­tuebantur; & remissum ab eo, quod l [...]x laxare non po­terat Fides e­nim sola justi­ficat. Deinde mu [...]murationē eorum Domi­nus introspicit, dicitque facile esse filio homi­nis in terraâ pec­cata dimittere. Verum enim, nemo potest dimittere pec­cata, nisi solus Deus: ergo qui remittit Deus est, quia nemo remittit nisi Deus. Deus in homine manens curatio­nem homini praestabat. Hi­lar. in Matth. Canon. 8. It moveth the Scribes, that sinne should be forgiven by a man. For they beheld a man onely in Iesus Christ; and that to be forgiven by him, which the law could not release. For it is faith onely that justifieth. Afterward the Lord looketh into their murmuring, and saith that it is an easie thing for the Sonne of man upon earth to forgive sinnes. For it is true, none can forgive sinnes but God alone: therefore hee who remitteth is God, because none remitteth but God. God re­mayning in man, performed this cure upon man. S. Hie­rom thus: Legimus in Prophetâ dicentem Deū: Ego sum qui deleo iniquitates tuas. Consequen­ter ergo Scribae, quia hominem putabant, & verba Dei non intelligebant, arguunt eum blasphemiae. Sed Dominus videns cogitationes eorum, ostendit se Deum, qui possit cordis occulta cognoscere: & quodammodo tacens loquitur; Eâdem majestate & potentiâ, quâ cogitationes vestras intueor, possum & hominibus peccata dimittere. Hieronym. lib. 1. Commentar. in Matth. 9. We reade that God saith in the Prophet; I am he that blotteth out thine iniquities. Consequently there­fore the Scribes, because they thought him to be a man, and did not understand the words of God, accuse him of blas­phemy. But the Lord seeing their thoughts, sheweth him­selfe to be God, who is able to know the secrets of the heart: and holding his peace after a sort speaketh; By the same majestie and power, vvherewith I behold your thoughts, I am able also to forgive sinnes unto men. or, as Euthymius expresseth it in his commentaries upon the same place: Veré nullus potest remittere peccata, nisi unus, qui intuetur cogitationes hominum. Euthym. cap. 13. in Matth. In truth, none can forgive sinnes but one, who beholdeth the thoughts of men. S. Chrysostome likewise in his Ser­mons upon the same, sheweth that Christ here declared himselfe to be God equall unto the Father: and that [...].Chrysost. in Matth. 9. hom 20. Graec. 30. Latin. if he had not beene equall unto the Father, he would have said; Why doe you attribute unto me an unfitting o­pinion? [Page 113] I am farre from that power. To the same effect also writeth Christianus Druthmarus, Paschasius Rat­bertus, and Walafridus Strabus in the ordinarie Glosse upon the same place of S. Matthew. Victor Antiochenus upon the second of Mark; Theophylact and Bede upon the second of Mark, and the fifth of Luke: S. Ambrose upon the fifth of Luke. who in another place also brin­geth this sentence of the Scribes, as a ground to prove the deitie of the holy Ghost withall: forasmuch as Peccata ne­mo condonat, nisi unus Deus: quia aequé scriptum est; Quis potest peccata donare nisi solus De­us? Ambros. de Spir. sanct. lib. 3. cap. 19. none forgiveth sinnes but one God; because it is writ­ten, Who can forgive sins but God alone? as S. Cyril doth to prove the deitie of the Sonne. Istud enim solum malicia Iudaeorum ve­ré di ebat, quòd nullus potest dimit­tere peccata, nisi solus Deus, qui legis Do­minus est Cyrill. Alexandr. The­saur. lib. 12. cap. 4. For this onely, saith he, did the malice of the Iewes say truely, that none can forgive sinnes, but God alone, who is the Lord of the law ▪ and thence he frameth this argument. [...]; Id. in lib. de rectâ fide ad Reginas. If he alone who is the Lord of all doth free us from our sins, and this agree­eth to no other, and Christ bestoweth this with a power be­fitting God; how should he not be God?

The same argument also is used by Novatianus and Athanasius to the selfe same purpose. Quòd si cùm nullius sit nisi Dei, cordis nosse secreta, Christus secreta conspicit cordis: quòd si, cùm nullius sit nisi Dei, pec­cata dimittere, idem Christus peccata dimittit: &c. meritò Deus est Christus Novatian de Trinitat. cap. 13. For if, when it agreeth unto none but unto God to know the secrets of the heart, Christ doth behold the secrets of the heart; if, when it agreeth unto none but unto God to forgive sinnes, the same Christ doth forgive sinnes: then deservedly is Christ to be accounted God, saith Novatianus. So A­thanasius demandeth of the Arrians: [...]; Athanas. orat. 3. contra Arian. pag. 239. tom. 1. edit. Graecolat. if the Sonne were a creature, how was he able to forgive sinnes? it be­ing written in the Prophets, that this is the work of God. [Page 114] For who is a God like unto thee, that taketh away sinnes and passeth over iniquities? [...]. Id. in epist. de Sy­nodis Arimin. & Seleuc. pag. 712. Vid. etiam Orat. 4. contra Arrian. pag. 254. & 281. But the sonne (saith hee) said unto whom he would; Thy sinnes are forgiven thee: when the Iewes murmuring also he demonstrated this for­givenesse in deed, saying to the man that was sicke of the palsie; Arise, take up thy bedd, and goe unto thine house. And therefore Bede rightly inferreth, that Sed multo dementiùs er­rant Arriani, qui cùm Iesum & Christum esse, & peccata posse dimitte­re, Evangelii verbis devicti negare non au­deant; nihilo­minus Deum negare non ti­ment. Bed. in Marc. lib. 1. cap. 10. the Arrians doe erre here much more madly then the Iewes: vvho when they dare not denie, being convicted by the words of the Gospell, that Iesus is both the Christ and hath power to forgive sinnes; yet feare not for all that to denie him to be God. and concludeth himselfe most soundly: that Si & Deus est iuxta Psal­mistam, qui quantum distat oriens ab occasu elongavit á nobis iniquitates nostras, & filius hominis potestatem habet in terrâ dimittendi peccata: ergo idem ipse & Deus, & filius hominis est; ut & homo Christus per divinitatis sure potentiam peccata dimittere possit, & idem Deus Christus per humanitatis suae fragilitatem pro peccatoribus mori. Id. ibid. if he be God according to the Psalmist, who removeth our iniquities from us as farr as the East is from the West, and the sonne of man hath power upon earth to forgive sinnes; therefore the same is both God and the sonne of man, that the man Christ by the power of his divinitie might for­give sinnes, and the same Christ God by the frailtie of his humanitie might dye for sinners. Whereunto wee will adde another sweete passage of his (borrowed from some ancienter author:) Nemo tollit peccata (quae nec Lex, quamvis sancta & iusta & bona, potuit auferre) nisi ille in quo peccatum non est. Tollit autem, & dimittendo quae facta sunt, & adiuvando ne fiant, & perducendo ad vitam ubi fieri omnino non possint. Bed. in 1. Iohan. 3. No man taketh away sinnes (which the Law, although holy and just and good, could not take away) but he in whom there is no sinne. Now hee taketh them away, both by pardoning those that are done, and by assisting us that they may not be done, & by bring­ing us to the life where they cannot at all be done.

P Lom­bard. lib. 4. Sentent. distinct. 18 D. Peter Lombard alledgeth this as the saying of S. Au­gustine: [Page 115] the former sentence only being thus changed. Nemo tollit peccata, nisi so­lus Christus, qui est agnus [...]ollens peccata mundi. August. None taketh away sinnes, but Christ alone, vvho is the Lamb that taketh away the sinnes of the world. agreeable to that, which in the same place he citeth out of S. Am­brose: Ille solus peccata dimit­tit, qui solus pro peccatis nostris mortuus est. Ambros. He alone forgiveth sinnes, who alone dyed for our sinnes. and to that of Clemens Alexandrinus: [...]. Clem. A­lexandr. Paedae­gog. lib. 1. cap. 8. He alone can remit sinnes, who is appointed our Master by the father of all, who alone is able to discerne disobedience from obe­dience. to which purpose also, S. Ambrose maketh this observation upon the historie of the woman taken in adulterie, Ioh. 8.9. that Donaturus peccatum, solus remanet Iesus. &c. Non enim legatus neque nuncius, sed ip­se Dominus salvum fecit populum suum. Solus remanet, quia non po­test hoc cuiquā hominum cum Christo esse commune ut peccata condonet. Solius hoc munus est Christi, qui tulit pecca­tum mundi. Ambros. epist. 76. ad Studium. Iesus being about to pardon sin, remayned alone. For it is not the ambassador (saith hee) nor the messenger, but the Lord himselfe that hath saved his people. He remaineth alone, because it cannot be com­mon to anie man with Christ to forgive sinnes. This is the office of Christ alone, who taketh away the sinne of the world. Yea S. Chrysostom himselfe, who of all the Fa­thers giveth most in this point unto Gods ambassa­dors and messengers, is yet carefull withall to preserve Gods priviledge entire, by often interposing such sen­tences as these. [...]. Chrysost. in 2. Corinth. 3. homil. 6. None can forgive sinnes, but God alone. [...]. Id. in Iohan 8. homil. 54. edit. Graec. vel 53. Latin. To forgive sinnes, belongeth to no other. [...]. Id in 1. Corinth. 15 homil. 40. To forgive sinnes, is possible to God onely. [...]. Id. ibid. God alone doth this: which also hee worketh in the washing of the new birth. Wherein, that the work of cleansing the soule is whol­ly Gods, and the minister hath no hand at all in effect­ing anie part of it; Optatus proveth at large in his fifth booke against the Donatistes: shewing that [Page 116] Sordes et ma­culas mentis la­vare non po­test, nisi qui e­jusdem fabri­cator est men­tis Optat▪ lib. 5. none can wash the filth and sports of the minde, but hee who is the framer of the same minde; and convincing the hereticks, as by manie other testimonies of holy Scriptur [...], so by that of Esai. 1.18. which he presseth in this maner. Dei est mun­dare, non ho­minis: ipse per Prophetam E­saiam promisit se loturū, dum ait; Et si [...]uerint peccata vestra velut coccum, ut nivem inalbabo. Inalbabo dixit; non dixit, faci­am inalbari. Si hoc Deus pro­misit: quare vos vultis red­dere, quod vo­bis nec promit­tere licet, nec reddere, nec habere? Ecce in Esaiâ fe pro­misit, Deus in­albare peccatis affectos, non per hominem. Id. ibid. It belongeth unto God to cleanse, and not unto man: he hath promised by the Prophet Esai that hee himselfe would wash, when he saith; If your sinnes were as scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. I will make them white, he said: he did not say, I will cause them to be made white. If God hath promised this, why will you give that, which is neyther lawfull for you to promise, nor to give, nor to have? Behold in Esai God hath promised that he himselfe will make white such as are defiled with sinnes; not by man.

Having thus therefore reserved unto God his pre­rogative royall in cleansing of the soule, we give unto his under-officers their due, when we 1. Cor. 4.1, 2. account of them, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Chrysost. in 1. Cor. 4. hom. 10. not as Lords, that have power to dispose of spiritual graces as they please: Id. in 2. Cor. 4. homil. 8. circa init. but as servants that are tyed to follow their Masters prescriptions therin; & in following therof do but bring their external ministerie ( [...]. Id. ibid. for which it self also they are beholding to Gods mer­cie & goodnes) God conferring the inward blessing of his spirit thereupon, when & where he will. 1. Cor. 3.5. Who then is Paul, (saith S. Paul himselfe) and who is Apollo? but Ministers by whom yee beleeved, even as the Lord gave to every man? Therfore, saith Optatus, Est ergo in universis servientibus non dominium, sed ministerium. Optat. lib. 5. in all the servants there is no dominion, but a ministerie. Id. ibid. simili [...]er & [...]hrysostom. in 1. Cor. 3. homil. 8 [...]. Cui creditur, [Page 117] ipse dat quod creditur, non per quem creditur. It is hee who is beleeved, that giveth the thing which is beleeved, not he by whom we doe beleeve. Whereas our Saviour then saith unto his Apostles, Ioh. 20. Receive the holy Ghost, Whose sinnes you forgive shall be forgiven: Ambros. de Spir. sanct. lib. 3. cap. 19. S. Am­brose, August. contr. epist. Parmenian. lib. 2. cap. 11. & homil. 23. ex 50. S. Augustine, Chrysost. in 2. Corin. 3. homil. 6. S. Chrysostome, and Cyrill. Alex­andr. in Io [...]an. lib. 12. cap. 56. S. Cyrill, make this observation thereupon; that this is not their work properly, but the worke of the holy Ghost, who remit­teth by them, and therein performeth the worke of the true God. For indeed (saith S. Et certé so­lius veri Dei est, ut possit à peccatis homi­nes solvere. Cui enin alii prae­varicatores le­gis liberare à peccato licet, nisi legis ipsius autori? Id. ibid. Cyrill) it belongeth to the true God alone, to be able to loose men from their sinns. for who else can free the transgressors of the law from sin, but he who is the author of law it selfe? Daturus erat Dominus ho­minibus Spiri­tum sanctum; & ab ipso Spi­ritu sancto fi­delibus suis di­mitti peccata, non meritis hominum vo­lebat intelligi dimitti pecca­ta. Nam quid es homo, nis [...] aeger sanandus? Vis mihi esse medicus? mecum quaere medi­cum. Augustin. homil. 23. ex. 50. The Lord (saith S. Augustine) was to give unto men the holy Ghost, and he would have it to be understood, that by the holy Ghost himselfe sinnes should be forgiven to the faithfull, and not that by the merits of men sins should be forgiven. For what art thou, ô man, but a sick-man that hast need to be healed? Wilt thou be a physician to me? Seek the phy­sician together with mee. So S. Ambrose: Ecce quia per Spiritum sanctum peccata donantur. Homines autem in remissionem peccatorum ministerium suum exhibent, non jus alicujus potestatis exercent. Ambros. de Spir. Sanct. lib. 3. cap. 19. Behold, that by the holy Ghost sinnes are forgiven. But men to the re­mission of sinnes bring their ministery, they exercise not the authoritie of any power. S. Chrysostom, though he make this to be the exercise of a great power (which also hee Chrysost. lib. 3. de Sacerdotio. elsewhere amplifieth, after his manner, excee­ding hyperbolically) yet in the maine matter accordeth fully with S. Ambrose; that it lyeth in [...]. Id. in Iohan. 20. homil. 86. edit. Graec. v [...]l 85. Latin. God alone to be­stowe the things wherein the Priests service is employed. [Page 118] [...]. Id. ibid. And what speake I of Priests? saith he. Neyther Angell nor Archangell can doe ought in those things which are gi­ven by God: but the Father and the Sonne and the holy Ghost doe dispense all. The Priest lendeth his tongue, and putteth too his hand. [...] Id. in 2. Tim. cap. 1. homil. 2. His part only is to open his mouth: but it is God that worketh all. And the reasons whereby both he,Id. in Iohan. 8. homil. 54 Graec. vel 53. Latin. and Theophylact after him, doe prove that the Priests of the law had no power to forgive sinnes; are of as great force to take the same power from the mi­nisters of the Gospell. first, because [...]. Theophylact. in Iohan. 8. it is Gods part onely to forgive sinnes. secondly, because [...]. Id. ibid. the Priests were servants, yea servants of sinne, and therefore had no power to forgive sinnes unto others: but the Sonne is the Lord of the house; who 1. Ioh. 3.5. was manifested to take away our sinnes, and in him is no sinne, saith S. Iohn. up­on which saying of his, S. Augustin giveth this good note: In quo non est peccatum, ipse venit au­ferre peccatū. Nam si esset & in illo peccatum, auferendum esset illi, non ipse auferret, August. tract. 4. in I. Iohan 3. It is he in whom there is no sinne, that came to take away sinne. For if there had beene sinne in him too, it must have beene taken away from him, he could not take it away himselfe.

To forgive sinnes therefore being thus proper to God onely and to his Christ: his ministers must not be held to have this power communicated unto them, but in an improper sense; namely because God forgi­veth by them; and hath appointed them both to apply those meanes by which he useth to forgive sinnes, and to give notice unto repentant sinners of that forgive­nesse. Quis enim potest peccata dimittere nisi solus Deus? qui per eos quoque dimittit, quibus dimittendi tribuit potestatem Ambros. lib. 5. commentar. in Luc. 5. For who can forgive sinnes but God alone? yet doth he forgive by them also, unto whom hee hath given power to forgive: saith S. Ambrose, and his Beda. & Strabus in Marc. 2. & Luc. 5. followers. [Page 119] And Quamvis Dei proprium opus sit, remit­tere peccata: dicuntur tamē etiam Apostoli remittere, non simpliciter, sed quia adhibent media, per quae Deus remittit peccata. Haec autem media sunt, Verbum Dei & Sacra­menta, Io. Ferus, annota [...]. in Io­han 20. Item, lib. 3. Comment. in Matth. cap. 16. though it be the proper worke of God to remit sins, (saith Ferus:) yet are the Apostles (and their successors) said to remit also, not simply, but because they apply those meanes whereby God doth remit sinnes. Which means are, the Word of God and the Sacraments. Whereunto also wee may adde, the relaxation of the Censures of the Church, and Prayer ▪ for in thes [...] foure the whole exer­cise of this ministerie of reconciliation (as the 2. Cor. 5.18. Apostle calleth it) doth mainly consist. of each whereof it is needefull that wee should speake somewhat more par­ticularly.

That Prayer is a meanes ordayned by God for pro­curing remission of sinnes, is plaine by that of S. Iames. Iam. 5.15, 16. The prayer of faith shall save the sicke, and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he have committed sinnes, they shall be forgiven him. Confesse your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed: for the fer­vent prayer of a righteous man avayleth much. The la­ter of which sentences hath reference to the prayers of everie good Christian, whereunto we finde a gracious promise annexed, according to that of S. Iohn. 1. Ioh. 5.16. If anie man see his brother sinne a sinne which is not unto death, he shall aske, and he shall give him life for them that sinne not unto death. But the former, as the verse immediat­ly going before doth manifestly prove, pertayneth to the prayers made by the ministers of the Church; who have a speciall charge to be the Lords remembrancers for the good of his people. And therefore, as S. Augu­stin out the later proveth, that Quòd etiam frater fratrem á delicti pote­rit contagione mundare. Aug. in Evangel. Io­han. tract. 58. one brother by this meanes may cleanse another from the contagion of sinne: so doth S. Chrysostom out of the former, that Priests doe performe this, not [...]. Chry­sost. lib. 3. de Sa­cerdot. tom. 6. edit. Savil pag. 17. by teaching onely and admonishing, but by assisting us also with their prayers. [Page 120] and the faithfull prayers, both of the one and of the other, are by S.Augustin. de Baptismo contra Donatist. lib. 3. cap. 17.18. Augustin made the especiall meanes whereby the power of the keyes is exercised in the re­mitting of sinnes: who thereupon exhorteth offendors to shew their repentance publickly in the Church, Id. homil. 49. ex 50. Agite poenitentiam qualis agitur in Ecclesiâ, ut o­ret pro vobis Ecclesia. that the Church might pray for them, and impart the benefite of absolution unto them.

In the life of S Basil, fathered upon Tom. 2. Vit. Sanct. ab Aloy­sio Lipomano e­dit. Vene [...]. ann. 1553. fol. 298. Vit. Patrum, ab Her. Rosweydo edit. Antuerp. an. 1615. pag. 160. Miscellan. á Gerardo Vossio edit. Mogunt. an. 1604 pag. 136. Amphilochius, (of the credite whereof we have before spoken) a cer­taine gentlewoman is brought in, comming unto S. Basil for obtayning remission of her sinnes: who is said there to have demanded this question of her. Hast thou heard, ô vvoman, that none can forgive sinnes but God alone? and shee to have returned him this answer. I have heard it, Father: and therefore have I moved thee to make intercession unto our most mercifull God for mee. Which agreeth well with that which Alex. in Sum. part. 4 quaest. 21. membr. 1. Alexander of Hales and Bonaventur. in lib. 4. Sent. dist. 18. art. 2. quaest. 1. Bonaventure doe maintaine: that the po­wer of the keyes extend to the remission of faults, by way of intercession onely and deprecation, not by im­parting anie immediate absolution. And as in our pri­vate forgiving and praying one for another, S. Augu­stin well noteth, that Nostrum est donante ipso ministerium charitatis & humilitatis ad­hibere: illius est exaudire, ac nos ab omni peccatorum contaminatione mundare per Christum, & in Christo; ut quod aliis etiam dimittimus, hoc est in terrâ solvimus, solvatur & in coelo. Augustin in fine tractat. 58. in evan­gel. Iohann. it is our part, God giving us the grace, to use the ministerie of charitie and humilitie; but it is his, to heare us, and to cleanse us from all pollution of sinnes for Christ, and in Christ; that what we forgive un­to others, that is to say, what wee loose upon earth, may be loosed also in heaven: so doth S. Ambrose shew that the case also standeth with the ministers of the Gospell, in the execution of that commission given unto them [Page 121] for the remitting of sinnes, Ioh. 20.23. I [...]i rogant, divinitas donat. Humanum enim obsequi­um, sed munificentia super­nae est potesta­tis. Ambros. de Spir. sanct. lib. 3. cap. 19. They make re­quest, (saith he) the Godhead bestoweth the gift: for the service is done by man, but the bountie is from the power above. The reason which hee rendreth thereof, is, be­cause in their ministerie it is the holy Ghost that forgi­veth the sinne; and it is God onely that can give the holy Ghost. Non enim humanum hoc opus, neque ab homine datur; sed invocatus á Sacerdote, á Deo traditur: in quo Dei mu­nus, ministeriū Sacerdotis est. Nam si Paulus Apostolus ju­dicavit, quòd ipse donare Spiritum san­ctum suâ au­thoritate non posset; & in­tantum se huic officio imparē credidit, ut á Deo nos spiri­tu optaret im­pleri: quis tan­tus est, qui hu­jus traditionē muneris sibi audeat arro­gare? Itaque Apostolus votum precatione detulit, non jus authoritate aliquâ vindicavit: impetrare op­tavit, non imperare praesumpsit. Id. ibid. lib. 1. cap. 7. For this is not an humane worke (saith he in another place) neyther is the holy Ghost given by man, but being called upon by the Priest, is bestowed by God: wherein the gift is Gods, the ministery is the Priests. For if the Apostle Paul did judge, that hee could not con­ferre the h [...]ly Ghost by his authoritie; but beleeved him­selfe to be so farre unable for this office, that hee wished wee might be filled with the spirit from God: who is so great as dare arrogate unto himselfe the bestowing of this gift? Therefore the Apostle did intimate his desire by prayer, hee challenged no right by anie authoritie: hee wished to ob­taine it, he presumed not to command it. Thus farre S. Ambrose of whom Paulinus writeth, that whensoever anie penitents came unto him, Caussas autem criminum, quas illi confitebantur, nulli nisi Domino soli, apud quē intercedebat, loquebatur: bonū relinquens exemplū posteris sacerdotibus, ut intercessores apud Deū magis sint, quàm accusatores [...]pud homines. Paulinus, in vitâ S. Ambrosij. the crimes which they confessed unto him hee spake of to none, but to God alone unto whom he made intercession; leaving a good example to the Priests of succeeding ages, that they be rather inter­cessors for them unto God, than accusers unto men. The same also, and in the selfe same words, doth Iona [...], in vitâ S. Eustachij Luxovi [...]nsi [...] abbatu, cap. 1. apud Surium, tom. 2. Mart. 29. Ionas write of Eustachius, the scholler of Columbanus our fa­mous countrey-man.

Hitherto appertaineth that sentence cyted by Tho. Waldens. tom. 2. de Sacramentis, cap. 147. Tho­mas [Page 122] Waldensis out of S. Hieroms exposition upon the Psalmes: that voyce of God Quotidie in unoquoque nostrûm flam­mam libidinis per confessionē & gratiam Spi­ritus sancti in­tercidit, id est, per orationem Sacerdotis facit cessare. Hiero­nym. in exposit. Psalm. 28. inedit. cutteth off daily in everie one of us the flame of lust by confession and the grace of the holy Ghost, that is to say, by the prayer of the Priest maketh it to cease in us and that which before hath been alledged out of Leo; of the confession offered first to God, and then to the Priest,Qui pro de­lictis poeniten­tium precator accedit Leo, in fin. epist. 80. ad episc. Campan. vvho commeth as an in­treater for the sinnes of the penitent. which hee more fully expresseth in another epistle, affirming it to be Multū enim utile ac neces­sarium est, ut peccatorū rea­tus ante ultimū diem sacerdo­tali supplicati­one solvatur. Id. epist. 91. ad Theodor. episc. very profitable and necessarie, that the guilt of sinnes (or sinners) be loosed by the supplication of the Priest be­fore the last day. See S. Gregor. in 1. Reg. lib 2. cap. 3. ad illud: Si pec­caverit vir in virum, &c. Gregory, in his morall expositi­on upon 1. Sam. 2.25. Anastasius Sinaita or Nicaenus, in his answer to the 141. question (of Gretsers edition:) and Nicolaus Cabasilas, in the 29. chapter of his exposi­tion of the Liturgie: where he directly affirmeth, that remission of sinnes is given to the penitents by the prayer of the Priests. And therefore by the Order used of old in the Church of Rome, the Priest before hee began his worke, was required to use this prayer. Domine De­us omnipotens, propitius esto mihi peccatori, ut condigné possim tibi gratias agere, qui me indignum propter tuam misericordiam ministrum fecisti sacerdotalis officii, & me exiguum humilemque mediat rem constituisti ad orandum & intercedendum ad Dominum nostrū Iesum Christum, pro peccatoribus ad poenitentiam revertentibus. Ideoque dominator Domine, qui omnes homines vis salvos fieri, & ad agnitionem veritatis venite, qui non vis mortem peccatoris, sed ut convertatur & vivat: suscipe orationem meam, quam fundo ante conspectum clementiae tuae, pro famulis & famulabus tuis, qui ad poenitentiam & miseri­cordiam tuam confugerunt. Ordo Roman. antiqu. de officijs divinis, pag. 18. edit. R [...]m. ann 1591. Baptizatorum & Confitentiū Ceremonia antiquae, edit. Colon. an. 1530. Alcuin. de divin. offic. cap. 13 in capite Iejunii. O Lord God almightie, be mercifull unto me a sinner, that I may worthily give thankes unto thee, who hast made mee an unworthy one, for thy mercies sake, a minister of the Priest­ly office; and hast appointed me a poore and humble me­diator, to pray and make intercession unto our Lord Iesus [Page 123] Christ, for sinners that returne unto repentance. And therefore, O Lord the ruler, who wouldest have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, who doest not desire the death of a sinner, but that he may be recon­ciled and live: receive my prayer, which I poure forth be­fore the face of thy mercie, for thy servants and hand­maydes, who have fledd to repentance and to thy mercy.

Yea, in the dayes of Thomas Aquinas there arose a learned man among the Papists themselves, who found fault with that indicative forme of absolution then used by the Priest, I absolve thee from all thy sinnes, and would have it delivered by way of deprecation. al­ledging, that this was not onely the opinion of Guliel­mus Altisiodorensis, Gulielmus Parisiensis, and Hugo Car­dinalis; but also that Addit etiam objiciendo, quòd vix 30. anni sunt, quòd omnes hâc solâ formâ uteban­tur; Absoluti­onem & remis­sionem &c. Thom. Opusc. 22. cap. 5. thirtie yeares were scarce passed, since all did use this forme onely, Absolutionem & re­missionem tribuat tibi omnipotens Deus, Almightie God give unto thee absolution and forgivenesse. What Tho­mas doth answer hereunto, may be seene in his little treatise of the forme of absolution, which upon this oc­casion he wrote unto the Generall of his order. This onely will I adde, that aswell in the ancient Ritualls and in the new Pontificale Roman. edit. Rom an. 1615. pag. 567.568. Pontificall of the Church of Rome, as in the present practise of the Greek Church, I finde the absolution expressed in the third person, as attributed wholly to God, and not in the first, as if it came from the Priest himselfe. One ancient forme of Absolutio Criminum. Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus, & dimit­tat tibi omnia peccata tua, praeterita, prae­sentia & futu­ra, quae com­misisti coram eo & sanctis e­jus, quae con­fessus es, vel per aliquam negligentiam seu oblivionem vel malevolentiam abscondisti: liberet te Deus ab omni malo, hîc & in futuro, conservet & confirmet te semper in omni opere bono: & per­ducat te Christus filius Dei vivi ad vitam sine fine manentem. Confitentium Ceremoniae antiqu. edit. Colon. an. 1530. Absolution used among the Latins, was this. Almighty God be mercifull unto thee, and forgive thee all thy sinnes, past, present, and to come, visible and invisible, which thou hast [Page 124] committed before him and his Saints, which thou hast con­fessed or by some negligence or forgetfulnesse or evill vvill hast concealed: God deliver thee from all evill, here and hereafter, preserve and confirme thee alwayes in everie good worke; and Christ the sonne of the living God bring thee unto the life which remayneth without end: And so among the Grecians: [...]. Ierem. Pa­triarch. C. P. respons. 1. ad Tu­bingenses, cap. 11. whatsoever sinnes the penitent for forgetfulnes or shamefastnesse doth leave unconfessed, we pray the mercifull and most pitifull God that those also may be pardoned unto him, and we are perswaded that hee shall receive pardon of them from God; saith Ieremy the late Patriarch of Constantinople. Where by the way you may observe, no such necessitie to be here held of confessing everie knowne sinne unto a Priest, that if either for shame or for some other respect the penitent doe not make an intire confession, but conceale some­what from the notice of his ghostly father; his confes­sion should thereby be made voyde, and hee excluded from all hope of forgivenesse. which is that engine, whereby the Priests of Rome have lift up themselves into that height of domineering and tyrannizing over mens conscience, wherewith we see they now hold the poore people in most miserable awe.

Alexander of Hales and Bonaventure in the forme of absolution used in their time, Secundùm quod ascendit, habet se per modum infe­rioris & sup­plicantis: se­cundùm quod descendit, per modum supe­rioris & judi­cantis. Secun­dùm primum modum potest gratiam impe­trare, & ad hoc est idoneus: secundùm secundum modum potest Ecclesiae reconciliare. Et ideò in signum hujus, in formâ absolutionis praemittitur oratio per modum deprecativum, & subjungitur absolutio per modum indicativum: & deprecatio gratiam impetrat, & ab­solutio gratiam supponit. Alexand. Halens. Summ. part. 4. quaest. 21. membr. 1. & Bonaventur. in 4. Sentent. dist. 18. art. 2. quaest. 1. observe that prayer was premised in the optative, and absolution adjoyned af­terward in the indicative mood. whence they gather, that the Priests prayer obtayneth grace, his absolution pre­supposeth it: that by the former he ascendeth unto God [Page 125] and procureth pardon for the fault, by the later he de­scendeth to the sinner and reconcileth him to the Church. for Quia etsi a­liquis apud Deum sit so­lutus, non tamē in facie Eccle­siae solutus ha­betur, nisi per judicium Sa­cerdotis. Petr. Lombard. lib. 4. Sentent. distinct. 18. Vid. Ivon. Carnotens. epist. 228. & Anselm. in Luc. 17. although a man be loosed before God, (saith the Ma­ster of the Sentences) yet is he not held loosed in the face of the Church but by the judgement of the Priest. And this loosing of men by the judgement of the Priest, is by the Fathers generally accounted nothing else but a restoring of them to the peace of the Church, and an admitting of them to the Lords table againe: which therefore they usually expresse by the termes of [...]. Concil. Laodicen. can. 2. bring­ing them to the communion, Communio­ni, vel commu­nione reconci­liari. Concil. Eli­beritan can 72. reconciling them to or with the communion, Reddi ei [...] cō ­munionē. Amb. de Poenitent. lib. 1. cap. 1. & lib. 2. cap 9. restoring the communion to them, Ad commu­nicationem ad­mittere. Cypr. epist. 53. communicatio­nem dare. Id. epist. 54. tribue­re communica­tionem. Id. de lapsis. ad­mitting them to fellowship, Pacem dare. concedere pa­cem. Id. ibid. granting them peace, &c. Neyther doe we finde that they did ever use anie such formall absolution as this, I absolve thee from all thy sinnes: wherein our Popish Priests notwithstanding doe place the verie forme of their late devised sacrament of Penance, nay hold it to be so absolute a forme, that (according to Thomas Aquinas his new divinitie) In sacramentali absolutione non sufficeret dicere, Misereatur tui omni­potens Deus, vel, Absolutionem & remissionem tribuat tibi Deus: quia per haec verba Sa­cerdos absolutionem non significat fieri, sed petit ut fiat. Thom. part. 3. quaest. 84. art. 3. ad 1. it would not be sufficient to say, Almightie God have mer­cie upon thee, or, God grant unto thee absolution and for­givenesse. because, forsooth, the Priest by these vvords doth not signifie that the absolution is done, but intreateth that it may be done. which how it will accord with the Romane Pontificall, where the forme of Absolution is layd downe prayer-wise, the Iesuites who follow Thomas may doe well to consider.

I passe this over, that in the dayes not onely of S. Cyprian. epist. 13. Cyprian but ofAlcuin. de divin. offic. cap. 13. in capite Iejunii. Alcuinus also (who lived 800. yeares [Page 126] after Christ) the reconciliation of Penitents was not held to be such a proper office of the Priest; but that a Deacon, in his absence, was allowed to performe the same. The ordinarie course that was held herein,Vt secundùm formam Cano­num antiquorū dentur poeni­tentiae, hoc est, ut priùs eum, quem sui poe­nitet facti, á communione suspensum, fa­ciat inter reli­quos poeniten­tes ad manus impositionem crebrò recurre­re; expleto au­ [...]em satisfactio­nis tempore, sicuti Sacerdo­talis contem­platio probave­rit, eum com­munioni resti­tuat. Concil. To­letan. III. cap. 11. ac­cording to the forme of the ancient Canons, is thus layde down by the fathers of the third Councell of Toledo. that the Priest should first suspend him that repented of his fault from the communion, and make him to have of­ten recourse unto imposition of hands among the rest of the penitents: then, when hee had fulfilled the time of his satisfaction, as the consideration of the Priest did approve of it, he should restore him to the communion. And this was a Constitution of old fathered upon the Apostles: that Bishops [...]. Constitut. Apostolic. lib. 2 cap. 16. should separate those vvho said they repen­ted of their sinnes, for a time determined according to the proportion of their sinne; and afterward receive them be­ing penitent, as fathers would do their children. To this Penitential excommunication and absolution, belong­eth that saying eyther of S. Ambrose or S. Augustin (for the same discourse is attributed to them both:) Qui egerit vera­citer poenitentiam, & solutus fuerit á ligamento quo erat constrictus, & á Christi corpore separatus, & bene post poenitentiam vixerit: post reconciliationem cùm desunctus fuerit, ad Dominum vadit, ad requiem vadit, regno Dei non privabitur & á populo Diaboli se­parabitur. Ambros. in Exhortat. ad Poenitent. Augustin. homil. 41. ex 50. & inter Caesarij Arelat. sermones homil. 43. & 44. Hee who hath truely performed his repentance, and is loosed from that bond wherewith he was tyed, and separated from the body of Christ, and doth live well after his repentance: whensoever after his reconciliation he shall depart this life, he goeth to the Lord, he goeth to rest, he shall not be depri­ved of the kingdome of God, and from the people of the Divell he shall be separated. and that which we reade in [Page 127] Anastasius Sinaita: [...]. &c. [...]. A­nastas. Sinait. quaest. 6. Binde him, and till thou hast appea­sed God, doe not let him loose; that he be not more bound with the wrath of God. for if thou bindest him not; there remaine bonds for him that cannot be broken. Neither doe we enquire, whither the wound were often bound; but whither the binding hath profited. If it have profited, al­though in a short time, use it no longer. Let the measure of the loosing, be the profit of him that is bound. and that exhortation which another maketh unto the Pastors of the Church: [...]. Homil. in illud. Quae­cunque ligave­ritis, &c. inter opera Chrysost. tom. 7. edit. Sa­vil. pag. 268. Binde with separation such as have sinned after baptisme; and loose them againe when they have repented, receiving them as brethren. for the saying is true: Whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loo­sed in heaven.

That this authoritie of loosing remaineth still in the Church, wee constantly maintaine against the heresie of the Hieronym. e­pist. 54. contra Montanum, & lib. 2. adversus Iovinian. Tertullianus Montanizans, in lib. de Pu­dicitiâ, cap. ult. Montanists and Ambros. lib. 1. de Poenitent. cap. 2. Socrat. lib. 1. histor. cap. 7. Sozomen. lib. 1. cap. 21. Novatians, who (upon this pretence among others, that God onely had power to remit sinnes) took away the ministeriall power of re­conciling such penitents as had committed haynous sinnes; denying that the Church had anie warrant to receive them to her communion againe, and to the participation of the holy mysteries, notwithstanding their repentance were ever so sound. Which is direct­ly contrarie to the doctrine delivered by S. Paul, both in the generall; that Galat. 6.1. if a man be overtaken in a fault, they who are spirituall should restore such a one in the spi­rit of meekenesse: and in the particular of the incestu­ous Corinthian, who though hee had beene excommu­nicated for such a crime 1. Cor. 5.1. as was not so much as named [Page 128] amongst the Gentiles; yet upon his repentance the A­postle telleth the Church, that they 2. Cor. 2.7. ought to forgive him and comfort him, lest he should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Where that speech of his is specially noted and pressed against the hereticks by S. Ambros. de Poenit. lib. 1. cap. 16. Am­brose: 2. Cor. 2.10. To whom yee forgive anie thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave anie thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes I forgave it, in the person of Christ. 1. Cor. 5 4, 5. For as in the name, and by the power of our Lord Iesus, such a one was delivered to Satan; so 2. Tim. 2.25, 26. God having given unto him repentance, to recover himselfe out of the snare of the Divell, in the same name and in the same power was hee to be restored againe: the ministers of re­conciliation standing 2. Cor. 5.20. in Christs stead, and Christ him­selfe being Matth. 18.18, [...]0. in the mids of them that are thus gathered together in his name, to binde or loose in heaven, what­soever they according to his commission shall binde or loose on earth. And here it is to be noted, that Anasta­sius (by some called Nicaenus, by others Sinaita and An­tiochenus) who is so eager against them which say that Confession made unto men profiteth nothing at all; confesseth yet, that the minister in hearing the confession and instructing and correcting the sinner, doth but give furtherance onely thereby unto his re­pentance, but that the pardoning of the sinne is the proper worke of God. [...]. A­nastas. quaest. 6. For man (saith he) cooperateth with man unto repentance, and ministreth, and buildeth, and instructeth, and reproveth, in things belonging unto salvation, (according to the Apostle, and the Prophet:) but God blotteth out the sinnes of those that have confes­sed, [Page 129] saying; I am he that blotteth out thine iniquities for mine owne sake, and thy sinnes, and will not remember them.

There followeth now another part of the ministery of reconciliation, consisting in the due administration of the Sacraments: which being the proper seales of the promises of the Gospell (as the Censures are of the threats) must therefore necessarily also have reference to the Act. 2.38. Matth. 26.28. remission of sinnes. And so we see, the ancient Fathers doe hold, that Cyprian. epist. 76 (sect. 4. edit. Pamelij, 8. Gou­laertij.) Cyrill. Alexandr. in Ioann. lib. 12. cap 56. Ambros. de Poenitent. lib. 1. cap. 7. Chrysost. lib. 3 de Sacer­dot. tom. 6 edit. Savil. pag. 17. lin. 7.5. Vid. & tom. 7. pag. 268. lin. 37. the commission, Ioh. 20.23. Whose sinnes yee remit, they are remitted unto them, &c. is executed by the ministers of Christ, aswell in the con­ferring of Baptisme, as in the reconciling of Peni­tents: yet so in both these, and in all the sacraments likewise of both the Testaments, that August. quaest. in Levitic. cap. 84. Optat. lib. 5. contra Donatist. Chrysost. in Mat. 26. homil. 82. (edit. Graec. vel 83. Latin.) in 1. Cor. 3. homil. 8. & in 2. Tim 1. homil. 2. (circa fi­nem) the ministerie onely is to be accounted mans, but the power Gods. For, as S. Augustin well observeth,Aliud enim est baptizare per ministeriū, aliud baptizare per potestatem. Aug. in Evang. Ioan. tract. 5. it is one thing to baptize by way of ministerie, another thing to baptize by vvay of power: Sibi tenuit Dominus baptizandi potestatem, servis ministerium dedit. Id. ibid. the power of baptizing the Lord retayneth to himselfe, the ministerie hee hath given to his servants: Potestatem dominici baptismi in nullum hominem á Domino transituram, sed ministerium plané transiturum; potestatem á Domino in neminem ministrorum, mini­sterium & in bonos & in malos. Id. ibid. the power of the Lords Baptisme was to passe from the Lord to no man, but the ministery was; the power was to be transferred from the Lord unto none of his ministers, the ministery was both unto the good and unto the bad. And the reason which hee assigneth hereof is verie good: Hoc noluit ideò, ut in illo spes esset bapti­zatorum, á quo se baptizatos agnoscerent. Noluit ergo servum ponere spem in servo. Id. ibid: that the hope of the baptized might be in him, by whom they did acknowledge themselves to have beene bap­tized. The Lord therefore would not have a servant to put his hope in a servant. And therefore those Schoole­men [Page 130] argued not much amisse, that gathered this con­clusion thence. Paris pote­statis est interiùs baptizare, & á culpâ mor­tali absolvere. Sed Deus non debuit potesta­tem baptizan­di interiùs cō ­municare; ne spes poneretur in homine: Ergo pari ra­tione nec pote­statem absol­vendi ab actua­li. Alexand. de Hales. Summ. part. 4. quaest. 21. memb. 1. It is a matter of equall power to baptize inwardly, and to absolve from mortall sinne. But it vvas not fit, that God should communicate the power of bapti­zing inwardly unto any; lest our hope should be reposed in man. Therefore by the same reason it was not fit, that hee should communicate the power of absolving from actuall sinne unto any. So Bernard, or whosoever was the au­thor of the booke intituled Scala Paradisi: Officium baptizādi Do­minus concessit multis, potesta­tem veró & authoritatem in baptismo re­mittendi pec­cata sibi soli retinuit: unde Ioannes anto­nomasticé & discretivé de eo dixit; Hic est qui baptizat in Spiritu sancto. Seal. Paradis. cap. 3 tem. 9 operum Augustini. The office of baptizing the Lord granted unto many, but the power and authoritie of remitting sinnes in baptisme he retayned unto himselfe alone. whence Iohn by vvay of singularitie and differencing said of him; He it is which baptizeth with the holy Ghost. And the Baptist indeed doth make a singular difference betwixt the conferrer of the exter­nall and the internall baptisme, in saying: Mark. 1.8. Ioh. 1.26, 33. I baptize with water, but it is hee which baptizeth with the holy Ghost. While Iohn Illo operante dabat Deus, qui dando non deficit. Et nunc operantibus cunctis, humana sunt opera, sed Dei sunt munera. Optat. lib. 5. contra Donatist. did his service, God did give, who fayleth not in giving: and now when all others doe their service, the service is mans, but the gift is Gods; saith Op­tatus. and Arnaldus Bonaevallensis (the author of the twelve treatises de Cardinalibus operibus Christi, falsely ascribed to S. Cyprian:) touching the Sacraments in generall: Remissio peccatorum, sive per baptismum sive per alia sacramenta donetur proprié Spiritus sancti est; & ipsi soli hujus efficientiae privilegium manet. Arnald. abbas Bonaevallis, tract. de Baptismo Christi. Forgivenesse of sinnes, whether it be given by Baptisme or by other sacraments, is properly of the holy Ghost; and the priviledge of effecting this remayneth to him alone.

But the word of reconciliation is it, wherein the 2. Cor. 5.18, 19. A­postle doth especially place that ministerie of reconcilia­tion, [Page 131] which the Lord hath committed to his Ambas­sadors here upon earth. This is that key of knowledge: which Clavis, quae & conscientiā ad confessionē peccati aperit, & gratiam ad aeternitatem mysterii saluta­ris includit. Maxim. Taurin. de natali Petri & Pauli. hom 5. doth both open the conscience to the confession of sinne, and include therein the grace of the healthfull my­sterie unto eternitie; as Maximus Taurinensis speaketh of it. This is that powerfull meanes, which God hath sanctified for the washing away of the pollution of our soules. Now ye are cleane (saith our Ioh. 15.13. Vid. Eph [...]s. 5.26. & August. in E­vangel. Iohann. tract. 80. Saviour to his A­postles) through the word which I have spoken unto you. And whereas everie transgressor is Proverb. 5.22. holden with the cords of his owne sinnes: the Apostles, according to the commission given unto them by their Master, that whatsoever they should loose on earth should be loosed in heaven, did loose those cords by the word of God, and the testimonies of the Scriptures, and exhortation unto ver­tues. as Funibus pec­catorum suorū unusquisque constringitur. Quos funes at­que vincula solvere possunt & Apostoli, imitantes ma­gistrum suum qui eis dixerat: Quaecunque solveritis super terram, erunt soluta & in coe­lo. Solvunt au­tem eos Apo­stoli sermone Dei, & testi­moniis scriptu­rarum, & ex­hortatione virtutum. Hieronym. lib. 6. comment. in Esai. cap. 14. saith S. Hierome: Thus likewise doth S. Am­brose note, that Remittuntur peccata per Dei verbum, cujus Levites interpres & quidam executor est. Ambros. de Abel & Cain, lib. 2. cap. 4. sinnes are remitted by the word of God, whereof the Levite was an interpreter and a kinde of an executer: & in that respect concludeth, that Levites igitur minister remissionis est. Id. ibid. the Levite was a minister of this remission. As the Iewish Scribes therefore, by Luk. 11.52. compa­red with Matth. 23.13. taking away the key of knowledge, did shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: so Matth. 13.52. every Scribe which is instructed unto the kingdome of heaven, by Act. 14 27. opening unto his hearers the doore of faith, doth as it were unlock that kingdome unto them; being the in­strument of God herein Act. 26.18. to open mens eyes, and to turne them from darkenesse to light, and from the power of Sa­tan unto God, that they may receive forgivenesse of sinnes, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith [Page 132] in Christ. And here are we to understand, that the mi­nisters of Christ, by applying the word of God unto the consciences of men both in publick and in private, doe discharge that part of their function which concer­neth forgivenesse of sinnes, partly operatively, partly de­claratively. Operatively: inasmuch as God is pleased to use their preaching of the Gospell as a meanes of Act. 10.44. Gal. 3.2. 2. Cor. 3 6.conferring his spirit upon the sonnes of men, of 1. Cor. 4.15. Gal. 4.19. be­getting them in Christ, and of Rom. 10.17. Ioh. 17.20. 1. Cor. 3.5. Act. 14.27. and chap. 26. ver. 18, 20. working faith and re­pentance in them; whereby the remission of sinnes is obtayned. Thus Iohn Mark. 1.4. preaching the Baptisme of re­pentance for the remission of sinnes, and teaching Act. 19.4. the people, that they should beleeve on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Iesus; is said to Luk. 1.16, 17. turne manie of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and the dis­obedient to the wisedome of the just, by Ibid. vers 77. giving knowledge of salvation to Gods people, unto the remission of their sins. Not because he had properly anie power given him to turne mens hearts, and to worke faith and repentance for forgivenesse of sinnes when and where he thought good: but because he was trusted with the ministerie of the Act. 20.32. Psal. 19.7. and 119. vers. 50, 93. word of Gods grace, which is able to convert and quicken mens soules, and to give them an inheri­tance among all them which are sanctified. by the po­werfull application of which word, Iam. 5.20. he who converteth the sinner from the errour of his way, is said to save a soule from death, and to hide a multitude of sinnes. For how­soever in true proprietie,Rom. 4.6, 7. Ierem. 31.18. Revel. 1.18. 1. Thess. 1.10. Act. 3.26. Matth. 1.21. the covering of sinnes, the sa­ving from death, and turning of men from their ini­quities, is a priviledge peculiar to the Lord our God; unto whom alone it appertayneth to 2. Cor. 5.19. reconcile the world to himselfe▪ by not imputing their sinnes unto them: yet inasmuch as he hath committed unto his ambassa­dors [Page 133] the Ibid. word of reconciliation, they in performing that worke of their ministerie, may be as rightly said to be imployed in reconciling men unto God, and pro­curing remission of their sinnes; as they are said to Iob. 33.23, 24. deliver a man from going downe into the pit, when they declare unto him his righteousnesse, and to 1. Tim. 4.16. save their hearers, when they 1. Cor. 15.1, 2. Act. 11.14. preach unto them the Gospel, by which they are saved.

For as the word it selfe which they speake, is said to be Ioh. 17.20. their word, which yet 1. Thess. 2.13. is in truth the word of God: so the worke which is effectually wrought by that word in them that beleeve, is said to be their worke, though in truth it be the proper worke of God. And as they that beleeve by their word, are said to be their E­pistle, 2. Cor. 3.2. that is to say, the Epistle of Christ mi­nistred by them (as it is expounded in the verse follow­ing:) in like maner, forgivenesse of sinnes and those o­ther great graces that appertaine to the beleevers, may be said to be their worke, that is to say, the worke of Christ ministred by them. For in verie deed (as Op­tatus speaketh in the matter of Baptisme) Has res uni­cuique, non e­jusdem rei ope­rarius, sed cre­dentis fides & Trinitas prae­stat. Optat. lib. 5. contra Donatist. not the mi­nister, but the faith of the beleever and the Trinitie doe bring these things unto every man. And where the prea­ching of the Gospel doth prove Rom. 1.16. 1. Cor. [...].18. the power of God unto salvation; onely the weakenesse of the externall mini­sterie must be ascribed to men, but 2. Cor. 4.7. the excellency of the power must ever be acknowledged to be of God, and not of them: 1. Cor. 3.7. neyther he that planteth, being here any thing, neyther he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. For howsoever in respect of the former, such as take paines in the Lords husbandry may be accoun­ted [...], as the Ibid. vers. 9. Apostle termeth them, labou­rers together with God (though that little peece of ser­vice [Page 134] it selfe also bee not performed by their owne strength, but Ibid. vers. 10. according to the grace of God which is gi­ven unto them:) yet Iam veró quod sequitur, Sed Deus in­crementum de­dit; non per il­los, sed per seip­sum facit. Ex­cedit hoc hu­manam humi­litatem, exce­dit angelicam sublimitatem, nec omninò pertinet, nisi ad agr [...]colam Tri­nitatem, Aug. in Evangel. Io­ann. tract. 80. that which followeth, of giving the increase, God effecteth not by them, but by himselfe. This (saith S. Augustin) exceedeth the lowlinesse of man, this exceedeth the sublimitie of Angels, neither appertay­neth unto anie but unto the husbandman the Trinity.

Now as the Spirit of God doth not onely 1. Cor. 12.11. wo [...]ke diversities of graces in us, distributing to every man seve­rally as he will; but also maketh us to 1. Cor. 2.12. know the things that are freely given to us of God: so the ministers of the New Testament, being 1. Cor. 3.6. made able ministers of the same spirit, are not onely ordayned to be Gods instruments to worke faith and repentance in men, for the obtay­ning of remission of sinnes, but also to declare Gods pleasure unto such as beleeve and repent, and in his name to certifie them and give assurance to their con­sciences that their sinnes are forgiven. they having Act. 20.24. re­ceived this ministerie of the Lord Iesus, to testifie the Go­spell of the grace of God; and so by their function being appointed to be witnesses rather then conferrers of that grace. For it is here with them in the loosing part, as it is in the binding part of their ministerie; where they are brought in, like unto those seuen Angels in the book of the Revelation, Revel. 16.1. which powre out the vialls of the wrath of God upon the earth; 2. Cor. 10.6. having vengeance ready against all disobedience, and a charge from God, to I [...]rem. 15.1. cast men out of his sig [...]t: not because they are properly the avengers (for thatPsal. 94.1. title God challengeth unto him­selfe) or that vengeance did anie way appertaine unto them (for Rom. 12.19. Hebr. 10.30. it is written: Vengeance is mine, I will repay; saith the Lord) but because they were the denouncers, not the inflicters of this vengeance. So though it be [Page 135] the Lord that Ierem. 18.7, 9. speaketh concerning a nation, to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy, or on the other side, to build and to plant it; yet he Ierem. 1.9, 10 in whose mouth God put those words of his, is said to be set by him over the na­tions and over the kingdomes, to roote out, and to pull downe, and to destroy, and to throw downe, to build and to plant: as if he himselfe were a doer of those great mat­ters, who was onely Ibid vers. 5, [...]. ordeyned to be a Prophet unto the nations, to speake the things unto them which God had commanded him. Thus likewise in the thirteenth of Leviticus, where the Lawes are set downe that con­cerne the leprosie, which was a type of the pollution of sinne, wee meet often with these speeches, [...]. The Priest shall cleanse him, and, [...]. The Priest shall pollute him, and in the 44. verse, [...]. The Priest with pollution shall pollute him: Contami­natione conta­minabit eum, haud dubium quin Sacerdos: non quo con­taminationis author sit, sed quo ostendat eum contami­natum, qui pri­ùs mundus plu­rimis videba­tur. Hieronym. lib. 7. in Esai. cap 23. not (saith S. Hierome) that he is the author of the pol­lution, but that he declareth him to be polluted, who before did seeme unto many to have beene cleane. Whereupon the Master of the Sentences (following herein S. Hie­rome, and being afterwards therein followed himselfe by manie others) observeth, that In remitten­dis vel in reti­nendis culpis id juris & offi­cii habent E­vangelici sacer­dotes, quod o­lim habebant sub lege legales in curandis le­prosis. Hi ergo peccata dimittunt vel retinent, dum dimissa á Deo vel retenta indicant & ostendunt. Ponunt enim sacerdotes nomen Domini super filios Israel, sed ipse benedixit; sicut legitur in Numeris. Petr. Lombard. lib. 4. Sentent. dist. 14. f. in remitting or retay­ning sinnes the Priests of the Gospell have that right and office, which the legall Priests had of old under the Law in curing of the lepers. These therefore (saith hee) forgive sinnes or retaine them, whiles they shew and declare that they are forgiven or retayned by God. For the Priests put the name of the Lord upon the children of Israel, but it was he himselfe that blessed them, as it is read in Numbers. The place that he hath referrence unto, is in the sixth chapter of that booke, where the Priests are comman­ded [Page 136] to blesse the people, by saying unto them, The Lord blesse thee, &c. and then it followeth (in the last verse of that chapter:) So they shall put my Name upon the chil­dren of Israel, and I will blesse them.

Neyther doe we grant hereupon, (as the Bellarmìn. de Poenitent. lib 3. cap. 2. sect. ult. Adversa­rie falsely chargeth us) that a lay-man, yea or a woman, or a childe, or any infidell, or the Divell (the Father of all calumniators and lyars) or a Parrat likewise, if hee be taught the words, may aswel absolve as the Priest as if 1. Cor. 4.19, 20.the speech were all the thing that here were to be considered, and not the power: where we are taught, that the king­dome of God is not in word, but in power. Indeed if the Priests by their office brought nothing with them but the ministerie of the bare letter, a Parrat peradventure might be taught to sound that letter as well as they: but we beleeve, that 2. Cor. 3.6. God hath made them able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit. and that the Gospell ministred by them 1. Thess. 1.5. commeth un­to us not in word onely, but also in power, and in the holy Ghost, and in much assurance. For God hath added a speciall Rom. 10.15. beautie to the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, that howsoever others may bring glad tydings of good things to the penitent sinner as truely as they doe; yet neyther can they doe it with the same autho­ritie, neyther is it to be expected that they should doe it with such power, such assurance, and such full satisfa­ction to the afflicted conscience. The speech of everie Christian (we know) should be employed Ephes. 4.29. to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers; and a private brother in his place may deliver found doctrine, reprehend vice, exhort to righteousnesse, verie commendably: yet hath the Lord notwithstanding all this, for the necessarie use of his Church, appointed [Page 137] publicke officers to doe the same things, and hath given unto them a peculiar 2. Cor. 10.8. & 13.10. power for edification, wherein they may boast above others; and in the due execution whereof God is pleased to make them in­struments of ministring a more plentifull measure of grace unto their hearers, then may be ordinarily loo­ked for from others. These men are appointed to bee of Gods high commission, and therefore they may Tit. 2.15. speake, and exhort, and rebuke with all authoritie· they are Gods Revel. 1.20. Angels and 2. Cor. 5.20. Ambassadors for Christ, and therefore in delivering their message are to be Gal. 4.14. received as an Angel of God, yea as Christ Iesus. that looke how the Prophet Esay was comforted, when the Angel said unto him, Esay. 6.7. Thine iniquitie is taken away, and thy sinne purged; and the poore woman in the Gospell, when Iesus said unto her, Luk. 7.48. Thy sinnes are forgiven: the like consolation doth the distressed sinner receive from the mouth of the Minister, when hee hath compared the truth of Gods word faithfully delivered by him, with the worke of Gods grace in his owne heart. according to that of Elihu: Iob. 33.23.24. If there be an Angel or a messenger with him, an Interpreter, one of a thousand, to declare un­to man his righteousnesse; then will God have mercy up­on him and say, Deliver him from going downe to the pit, I have received a reconciliation. For as it is the office of this messenger and interpreter, to 2. Cor. 5.20. pray us in Christs stead, that we would be reconciled to God: so when wee have listened unto this motion, and submitted our selves to the Gospell of peace, it is a part of his office likewise to declare unto us in Christs stead, that we are reconciled to God: and 2. Cor. 13.3. in him Christ himselfe must bee acknowledged to speake, who to us ward by this meanes is not weake, but is mightie in us.

[Page 138]But our new Masters will not content themselves with such a ministeriall power of forgiving sinnes as hath beene spoken of; unlesse we yeeld that they have authoritie so to doe properly, directly, and absolutely: that is, unlesse wee acknowledge that their high Priest sitteth in the Temple of God as God, and all his crea­tures as so manie demi-gods under him. For we Oportet di­cere, in summo Pontifice esse plenitudinem omnium gra­tiarum; quia ipse solus con­fert plenam in­dulgentiam omnium pec­catorum. ut competat sibi, quod de primo principe Do­mino dicimus; quia de pleni­tudine ejus nos omnes accepi­mus. De regimi­ne Principum, lib. 3. cap. 10 in­ter opuscula Thomae, num. 20. must say (if we will be drunke with the drunken) that in this high Priest there is the fulnesse of all graces; because hee alone giveth a full indulgence of all sinnes: that this may agree unto him, which we say of the chiefe prince our Lord, that of his fulnesse all we have received. Nay wee must acknowledge, that the meanest in the whole armie of Priests that followeth this king of pride, hath such ful­nesse of power derived unto him for the opening and shutting of heaven before men: that Negatur re­missio illis, quibus noluerint Sacerdotes re­mittere. Bellar. de Poenit. lib. 3. cap. 2. forgivenesse is denyed to them, whom the Priest will not forgive; and his Absolution on the other side is a sacramentall act, which conferreth grace by the worke wrought, that is, (as they Activé, & proximé, atque instrumentali­ [...]er efficit gra­tiam jus [...]ificationis. Id. de Sacrament. in genere, lib. 2. cap. 1. expound it) actively, and immediately, and in­strumentally effecteth the grace of justification in such as receive it. that Vt flatus extinguit ignem, & dissi [...]at n [...]bulas; sic etiam Absolutio Sacerdotis peccata dispergit, & evanescere facit. Id. de Poenitent. lib. 3. cap. 2. as the winde doth extinguish the fire, and dispell the clowdes; so doth the Priests absolution scatter sinnes, and make them to vanish away: the sinner being thereby immediately acquitted before God, howsoever that sound conversion of heart be wanting in him, which otherwise would be requisite. for Id. ibid. sect. penult. a conditionall Absolution, upon such termes as these, If thou doest be­leeve and repent as thou oughtest to doe, is (in these mens judgement) to no purpose, and can give no securitie to [Page 139] the penitent; seeing it dependeth upon an uncertaine condition. Have wee not then just cause to say unto them, as Optat. lib. 5. Optatus did unto the Donatistes: Nolite vo­bis Majestatis dominium vendicare? Intrude not upon the royall prerogative of our Lord and Master. No man may challenge this absolute power of the keyes, but Revel. 3.7. he that hath the key of David, that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth; hee to whom Ioh. 17.2. the Father hath given power over all flesh, yea Matth. 18.18. all power in heaven and in earth; even the eternall Sonne of God, who hath in his hands Revel. 1.18. the keyes of death, and is able to Ioh. 5.21. quicken whom he will.

The Ministers of the Gospell may not meddle with the matter of soveraignetie, and thinke that they have power to proclaime warre or conclude peace betwixt God and man, according to their owne discretion: they must remember, that they are 2. Cor. 5.20. Ambassadors for Christ, and therefore in this treatie are to proceed ac­cording to the instructions which they have received from their soveraigne; which if they doe transgresse, they goe beyond their commission, therein they doe not [...] but [...], and their authoritie for so much is plainly voyde. The Bishop (saith S. Gregory, and the Fathers in the Councell of Aquisgran following him) Saepè in sol­vendis ac li­gandis subditis suae voluntatis motus, non au­tem caussarum merita sequi­tur. Vnde fit ut ipsâ hâc li­gandi & sol­vendi potestate se privet; qui hanc pro suis voluntatibus, & non pro subjectorum moribus exercet. Gregor. in Evangel. homil. 26. Concil. Aquisgran sub Ludovico Pio, cap. 37. in loosing and binding those that are under his charge, doth follow oftentimes the motions of his owne will, and not the merit of the causes. Whence it com­meth to passe, that he depriveth himselfe of this power of binding and loosing, who doth exercise the same according to his owne will, and not according to the manners of them which be subject unto him. that is to say, he maketh him­selfe [Page 140] worthy to be deprived of that power, which he hath thus abused; (as the Qui indig­nos ligat vel solvit, propriâ potestate se privat, id est, dignum priva­tione se facit. Petr. Lombard. lib. 4. Sentent. dist. 18. C. Master of the Sentences and Privat, id est, meretur priva­ri. [...]o. Semeca. Gloss. Grat. caus. 11. quaest 3. cap. 60. Ipse li­gandi. Se­meca in his Glosse upon Gratian, would have S. Grego­ries meaning to be expounded) and pro tanto (as hath beene said) actually voideth himselfe of this power, this unrighteous judgement of his given upon earth, being no wayes ratified, but absolutely disanulled in the court of heaven. For hee who by his office is ap­pointed to be a minister of Ephes. 1.13. Iam. 1.18. the word of truth, hath no power given him to 2. Cor. 13.8. do any thing against the truth, but for the truth: neyther is it to be imagined, that the sentence of man, who is subject to deceive and be decei­ved, should anie wayes prejudice the sentence of God, whose Rom. 2.2. judgement wee know to be alwayes according to the truth. Therefore doth Pacianus, in the end of his first epistle to Sympronianus the Novatian, shew that at that time, absolution was Scio frater, hanc ipsam poenitentiae ve­niam non pas­sim omnibus dari, &c. Paci­an. epist. 1. not so easily given unto penitents, as now a dayes it is: but Magno pon­dere magno­que libramine, post multos ge­mitus effusio­nemque la­chrymarū, post totius Ecclesiae preces, ita veniā verae poeniten­tiae non negari, ut judicaturo Christo nemo praejudicet. Ibid. vvith great pondering of the matter and with great deliberation, after manie sighes and shedding of teares, after the prayers of the whole Church, pardon was so not denyed unto tr [...]e re­pentance, that Christ being to judge, no man should pre­judge him. and a little before, speaking of the Bishop by whose ministerie this was done: Reddet quidem ille rationem, si quid perperàm fecerit, vel si corrupté & impiê judicârit. Nec praejudicator Deo, quo minùs mali aedificatoris opera rescindat: intereà, si pia illa administratio est, adjutor Dei operum perseverat, Id. ibid. He shall give an ac­count (saith he) if hee have done anie thing amisse, or if he have judged corruptly and wickedly. Neyther is there anie prejudice done unto God, whereby he might not undoe the workes of this evill builder: but in the meane time, if that administration of his be godly, he continueth a helper of the workes of God. Wherein he doth but tread in the [Page 141] steps of S. Cyprian, who at the first rising of the Nova­tian heresie, wrote in the same maner unto Antonianus. Neque enim praejudicamus Domino judi­caturo, quo minùs si poeni­tentiam plenā & justam pec­catoris invene­rit, tunc ratum faciat quod á nobis fuerit hîc starutum. si ve­ró nos aliquis poenitentiae si­mulatione de­luserit; Deus qui non deri­detur, & qui cor hominis intuetur, de his quae nos minùs perspeximus judicet, & ser­vorum senten­tiam Dominus emendet. Cypr. epist. 52. sect. 11. (edit Goulart.) Wee doe not prejudice the Lord that is to judge, but that hee, if he finde the repentance of the sinner to be full and just, he may then ratifie that which shall be here ordayned by us: but if any one doe deceive us with the semblance of repentance, God (who is not mocked, and who beholdeth the heart of man) may judge of those things which we did not well discerne, and the Lord may amend the sentence of the servants.

Hereupon S. Hierome, expounding those words, Daniel 4.24. It may be God will pardon thy sinnes; repro­veth those men of great rashnesse, that are so peremp­torie and absolute in their absolutions. Cum beatus Daniel, praesci­us futurorum, de sententiâ Dei dubitet: rem temerariā faciunt, qui au­dacter pecca­toribus indul­gentiam pollicentur. Hieronym. in Daniel. cap. 4. When blessed Daniel (saith he) who knew things to come, doth doubt of the sentence of God: they do a rash deed, that boldly pro­mise pardon unto sinners. S. Basil also resolveth us, that [...]. Basil regul. brevior. qu. 25. the power of forgiving is not given absolutely; but upon the obedience of the penitent, and his consent with him that hath the care of his soule. For it is in loosing, as it is in binding. Coepisti habere fratrem tuum tanquam publicanum: ligas illum in terrâ. Sed ut justé alliges, vide. Nam injusta vincula dirumpit justitia. August. de ve [...]bis Domini, serm. 16. cap. 4. Thou hast begun to esteeme thy brother as a publican, (saith S. Augustin:) thou bindest him up­on earth. But looke that thou bindest him justly. For un­just bonds justice doth breake. So when the Priest saith, I absolve thee: Maldonat confesseth, that hee meaneth no more thereby but, Quantum in me est, ego te absolvo. Maldonat. tom. 2. de poenitent. part. 3. thes. 5. As much as in me lyeth, I absolve thee: and Suarez acknowledgeth, that it implicity in­cludeth this condition, Nisi suscipiens obicem ponat. Fr. Suarez. in Thom. tom. 4. disp. 19 sect. 2. num. 20. Vnlesse the receiver put some im­pediment; [Page 142] for which hee alledgeth the authority of Hugo de S. Victore, lib. 2. de Sacramentis, pa. 14. s. 8. affir­ming,Hanc formā magis signifi­care virtutem suam, quàm e­ventum. Hugo. that this forme doth rather signifie the power and vertue, then the event of the absolution. And there­fore doth the Master of the Sentences rightly observe, that Ita & hîc a­perté ostendi­tur, quòd non semper sequi­tur Deus Eccle­siae judicium: quae per surre­ptionem & ig­norantiam in­terdum iudi­cat; Deus au­tem semper iu­dicat secun­dùm veritatē. Petr. Lombard. Sentent. lib. 4. distinct. 18. f. God doth not evermore follow the judgement of the Church: which sometimes judgeth by surreption and ig­norance; whereas God doth alwayes judge according to the truth. So the Priests Aliquando enim ostendunt solutos vel li­gatos, qui ita non sunt apud Deum: & poe­nâ satisfactio­nis vel excom­municationis interdum in­dignos ligant vel solvunt; & indignos sacra­mentis admit­tunt, & dignos admitti arcent. Sed intelligendum est hoc in illis, quorum merita solvi vel ligari postulant. Tunc enim sententia Sacerdotis iudicio Dei & totius coelestis curiae ap­probatur & confirmatur, cùm ita ex discretione procedit, ut reorum merita non contradi­cant. Quoscunque ergo solvunt vel ligant, adhibentes clavem discretionis reorum meri­tis, solvuntur vel ligantur in coelis, id est, apud Deum: quia divino iudicio Sacerdotis senten­tia sic progressa approbatur & confirmatur. Id. ibid. h. Vid Gabriel Biel, in eand. distinct. 18. quaest. 1. lit. b. sometime declare men to be loo­sed or bound, who are not so before God: with the penaltie of satisfaction or excommunication they sometime binde such as are unworthy, or loose them; they admit them that be unworthy to the Sacraments, and put backe them that be worthy to be admitted. That saying therefore of Christ must be understood to be verified in them (saith he) whose merits doe require that they should be loosed or bound. For then is the sentence of the Priest approved and confirmed by the judgement of God and the whole court of heaven, when it doth proceed with that discretion, that the merits of them who be dealt withall doe not contradict the same. Whomsoever therefore they do loose or binde, using the key of discretion according to the parties merits, they are loosed or bound in heaven, that is to say, with God: because the sentence of the Priest proceeding in this ma­ner, is approved and confirmed by divine judgement. Thus farre the Master of the Sentences: who is followed herein by the rest of the Schoolemen; who generally [Page 143] agree, that the power of binding and loosing commit­ted to the Ministers of the Church, is not absolute, but must be limited with Clave non errante, as being then onely of force Quod in terrâ Sacerdos clave non er­rante, & recto iudicio proce­dens retinet, nec dimittit; Deus etiam in coelo retinet, nec dimittit. Tolet. comment. in Iohan. 20. when matters are carried with right iudgement, and no error is committed in the use of the keyes.

Our Saviour therefore must stil have the priviledge reserved unto him, of being the absolute Lord over his owne house: it is sufficient for his officers, that they bee esteemed as Moses was, Hebr 10.5, 6. faithfull in all his house as ser­vants. The place wherein they serve, is a Stewards place: and the Apostle telleth them, 1. Cor. 4.2. that it is required in Stewards, that the man be found faithfull. They may not therefore carrie themselves in their office, as the Luk. 16.6, 7, 8. unjust steward did, and presume to strike out their Ma­sters debt without his direction, and contrarie to his liking. Now we know that our Lord hath given no authoritie unto his stewards, to grant an acquittance unto anie of his debtors, that bring not unfayned faith and repentance with them. Nec angelus potest, nec ar­changelus: Dominus ipse, (qui solus po­test dicere; E­go vobiscum sum) si pecca­verimus, nisi poenitentiam deferentibus non relaxat. Ambr. epist. 28. ad Theodosium Imp. Neyther Angell nor Arch­angell can, neyther yet the Lord himselfe, (who alone can say; I am with you) when we have sinned, doth release us, unlesse vvee bring repentance with us: saith S. Ambrose. and Eligius Bishop of Noyon, in his Sermon unto the Penitents: Ante omnia autem vobis scire necesse est; quia licèt impositionem manuum no­strarum acci­pere cupiatis, tamen absolutionem peccatorum vestrorum consequi non potestis, antequàm per compun­ctionis gratiam divina pietas vos absolvere dignabitur. Eligius Nouiomens. homil. 11. tom. 7. Biblioth. Patr. pag. 248. edit. Colon. Before all things it is necessary you should know, that howsoever you desire to receive the imposition of our hands; yet you cannot obtaine the absolution of your sinnes, before the divine piety shall vouchsafe to ab­solve you by the grace of compunction. To thinke there­fore that it lyeth in the power of anie Priest truely to [Page 144] absolve a man from his sinnes, without implying the condition of his beleeving and repenting as he ought to doe; is both presumption and madnesse in the highest degree. Neyther dareth Cardinall Bellarmine, who censureth this conditionall absolution in us for idle and superfluous, when he hath considered better of the matter, assume unto himselfe, or communicate unto his brethren, the power of giving an absolute one. For he is driven to confesse with other of his fellowes, that when the Priest Nam qui di­cit; Ego te baptizo, vel ab­solvo, non af­firmat se abso­luté baptizare vel absolvere, eùm non igno­ret, multis mo­dis fieri posse, ut neque bap­tizet neque ab­solvat, licèt ea verba pronun­ciet: nimi [...]um si is, qui Sacra­mentum susci­pere videtur, fortè non ha­beat suscipien­di intentionem, vel non sit ritè dispositus, aut obicem ponat. Igitur Minister illis verbis ni­hil aliud signi­ficat, nisi se, quod in se est, Sacramentum reconciliationis vel absolutionis impendere, quod vim habet in homine disposito pecca­ta omnia dimittendi. Bellarmin. de Poenitent. lib. 2. cap. 14. sect. penult. saith, I absolve thee, he doth not affirme that he doth absolve absolutely; as not being ignorant, that it may many wayes come to passe that he doth not ab­solve, although he pronounce those words: namely if hee who seemeth to receive this Sacrament (for so they call it) peradventure hath no intention to receive it, or is not rightly disposed, or putteth some blocke in the way. There­fore the Minister (saith hee) signifieth nothing else by those words, but that hee, as much as in him lyeth, con­ferreth the sacrament of reconciliation or absolution, which in a man rightly disposed hath vertue to forgive all his sinnes.

Now that Contrition is at all times necessarily requi­red for obtayning remission of sinnes and iustification, is a matter determined by the Fathers of Concil. Tridentin. sess. 14. cap. 4. Trent. But marke yet the mysterie. They equivocate with us in the terme of Contrition: and make a distinction there­of into perfect and imperfect. The former of these is Contrition properly: the latter they call Attrition. which howsoever in it selfe it be not true Contrition, yet when the Priest with his power of forgiving sinnes [Page 145] interposeth himselfe in the businesse, they tell us that A [...]t [...]i [...]io vir­tute clavium sit contritio. Romani Corre­ctor [...]s Gloss. Gratiani, De poeni [...]ēt. d [...]stinct. 1. in principi [...]: & alij passi [...]n. attrition by vertue of the keyes is made contrition: that is to say, that a sorrow arising from a servile feare of punishment, and such a fruitlesse Matth. 27.3.4.5. repentance as the re­probate may carry with them to hell, by vertue of the Priests absolution is made so fruitfull, that it shall serve the turne for obteyning forgivenesse of sinnes; as if it had beene that 2. Cor. 7.10. godly sorrow which worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of. By which spirituall coosenage, many poore soules are most miserably de­luded, while they perswade themselves that upon the receipt of the Priests acquittance upon this carnall sor­row of theirs, all skores are cleered untill that day: and then beginning upon a new reckoning, they sinne and confesse, confesse and sinne afresh, and tread this round so long till they put off all thought of saving repen­tance; and so the Matth. 15.14. blinde following the blinde, both at last fall into the pit.

Mali & faci­norosi, carna­les, animales, diabolici, á se­ductoribus suis sibi da [...]i arbi­trantur, quae non nisi mune­ra Dei sunt, si­ve sacramenta sive spiritales aliquas opera­tiones, circa praesentem sa­lutem. August. de Baptism. contra Donatist lib. 3. cap. ult. Evill and wicked, carnall, naturall, and divellish men (saith S. Augustin) imagine those things to be given unto them by their seducers, which are onely the gifts of God, whether sacraments, or any other spirituall workes, concer­ning their present salvation. But such as are thus sedu­ced, may doe well to listen a little to this grave admo­nition of S. Cyprian. Nemo se fallat, nemo se decipiat: solus Do­minus misereri potest. Veniam peccatis, quae in ipsum commissa sunt, solus potest ille lar­giri, qui peccata nostra portavit, qui pro nobis doluit, quem Deus tradidit pro peccatis no­stris. Homo Deo esse non potest major; nec remittere aut donare indulgentiâ suâ servus potest, quod in Dominum delicto graviore commissum est: ne adhuc lapso & hoc accedat ad crimen, si nesciat esse praedictum; Maledictus homo qui spem habet in homine. Cyprian. de Lapsis (sect. 7. edit. Pamel. 14. Goulart.) Let no man deceive, let no man beguile himselfe: it is the Lord alone that can shew mercy. He alone can grant pardon to the sinnes committed against [Page 146] him, who did himselfe beare our sinnes, who suffered griefe for us, whom God did deliver for our sinnes. Man cannot be greater then God; neyther can the servant by his indul­gence remit or pardon that which by haynous trespasse is committed against the Lord: lest to him that is fallen this yet be added as a further crime, if hee be ignorant of that which is said; Cursed is the man that putteth his trust in man. Whereupon S. Augustin sticketh not to say, that good ministers doe consider that Ministri e­nim sunt, pro [...]udicibus ha­beri nolunt, spem in se poni exhorrescunt. August. in E­vangel. Iohan. tract. 5. they are but ministers, they would not be held for Iudges, they abhorre that any trust should be put in them: and that the power of remitting and retayning sinnes is committed unto the Church, to be dispensed therein, No secun­dùm arbitrium hominum, sed secundùm ar­bitrium Dei. August. de Bap­tism. contra Do­natist. lib. 3. cap. 18. not according to the arbitrement of man, but according to the arbitrement of God. Whereas our adversaries lay the foundation of their Babel upon another ground: that Christus in­stituit Sacerdo­tes iudices su­per terram cum eâ potestate, ut sine ipsorum sententiâ nemo post Baptismū lapsus reconci­liari possit. Bel­larm. de Poenit. lib. 3. cap. 2. Christ hath appointed Priests to be Iudges upon earth with such power, that none falling into sinne after Baptisme may be recon­ciled without their sentence; and hath Igitur in ho­rum a [...]bitrio munus solvendi & ligandi, re­mittendi & re­tinendi pec­cata hominum, á Christo Domino, per Spiritum sanctum fuisse positum, liquido constat. Baron. An [...]al. tom. 1. ann. 34. s [...]ct. 197. put the authori­tie of binding and loosing, of forgiving and retayning the sinnes of men, in their arbitrement.

Whether the Ministers of the Gospell may be ac­counted Iudges in some sort, we wil not much contend: for we dislike neyther that saying of S. Hierome, that Qui claves regni coelorum habentes, quo­dammodo ante iudicii diem iudicant. Hieronym. epist. 1. ad Heliodorum. having the keyes of the kingdome of heaven, they judge after a sort before the day of judgement; nor that other of S. Gregory, that the Apostles, & such as succeed them in the governement of the Church, Principatum superni iudicii sortiuntur, ut vice Dei quibusdam peccata retineant, quibusdam relaxent. Gregor. h [...]mil. 26. in Evangel. obtaine a principa­litie of judgement from above, that they may in Gods stead [Page 147] retayne the sinnes of some, and release the sinnes of others. All the question is, in what sort they doe judge, and whether the validitie of their judgement doe depend upon the truth of the conversion of the penitent: wherein if our Romanists would stand to the iudge­ment of S. Hierome or S. Gregory (one of whom they make a Cardinall, and the other a Pope of their owne Church) the controversie betwixt us would quickly be at an end. For S. Hierome, expounding that speech of our Saviour, touching the keyes of the kingdome of hea­ven, in the sixteenth of S. Matthew; Istum locū Episcopi & Presbyteri non intelligentes, a­liquid sibi de Pharisaeorum assumunt su­percilio: ut vel damnent inno­centes vel sol­vere se noxios arbitrentur: cùm apud Deū non sententia Sacerdotum, sed reorum vita quaer [...]tur Le­gimus in Levi­tico de leprosis, ubi iubentur, ut ostendant se Sacerdotibus, & si lepram habuerint, tunc á Sacerdote immundi fiant: non quò Sacer­dotes leprosos f [...]ciant & immundos: sed quò habeant notitiam leprosi & non leprosi, & possint discer­nere, qui mundus quive immundus sit. Quomodo ergo ibi leprosum Sacerdos mundum vel immundum facit: sic & hî alligat vel solvit Episcopus & Presbyter, non eos qui insontes sunt vel noxii, sed pro officio suo, cùm peccatorum audierit varietates, scit qui ligandus scit quive solvendus, Hieronym. commentar. in Matth. cap. 16. The Bishops and Priests, saith he, not understanding this place, assume to themselves somewhat of the Pharisees arrogancie: as ima­gining, that they may either condemne the innocent, or ab­solve the guiltie; vvhereas it is not the sentence of the Priests, but the life of the parties that is inquired of vvith God. In the booke of Leviticus vvee reade of the Lepers, vvhere they are commanded to shew themselves to the Priests, and if they shall have the leprosie, that then they shall be made uncleane by the Priest. not that the Priests should make them leprous and uncleane, but that they should take notice who was a leper and who was not, and should discerne who was cleane and who uncleane. There­fore as there the Priest doth make the leper cleane or un­cleane; so here the Bishop or Priest doth binde or loose: not binde the innocent, or loose the guiltie; but when ac­cording to his office hee heareth the variety of sinnes, hee knoweth who is to be bound and who to be loosed. Thus farre S. Hierome.

[Page 148]S. Gregory likewise in the very same place from whence the Romanists fetch that former sentence, doth thus declare in what maner that principalitie of iudgement, which he spake of, should be exercised: be­ing therin also followed step by step, by the Fathers of the Councell of Aquisgran. Caussae ergo pensandae sunt, & tunc ligandi atque solvendi potestas exer­cenda. Videndū est quae culpa, aut quae sit poenitentia se­cuta post cul­pam: ut quos omnipotens Deus per com­punctionis gra­tiam visitat, illos Pastoris sententia absol­vat. Tunc e­nim vera est absolutio prae­sidentis: cùm aeterni arbitri­um sequitur Iudicis. Gregor. in Evangel. ho­mil. 26. Concil. Aquisgran. cap. 37. The causes ought to bee weighed, and then the power of binding and loosing exer­cised. It is to be seene, what the fault is, and what the re­pentance is that hath followed after the fault: that such as almightie God doth visite with the grace of compunction, those the sentence of the Pastor may absolve. For the ab­solution of the Prelate is then true, when it followeth the arbitrement of the eternall Iudge. And this doe they illustrate by that which we reade in the Gospell of the raysing of Lazarus, Ioh. 11.44. that Christ did first of all give life to him that was dead by himselfe, and then commanded others to loose him, and let him goe. Ecce illum discipuli iam viventem sol­vunt: quem magister resuscitaverat mortuum. Si enim discipuli Lazarum mortuum solverent: foe­torem magis ostenderent quàm virtutem. Ex quâ consideratione intuendum est: quòd illos nos debemus per pastoralem auctoritatem solvere, quos auctorem nostrum cogno­scimus per suscitantem gratiam vivificare. [...]idem ibidem. & El [...]gius Noviomens homil. 11. tom. 7: Bibliothec. Pa [...]r. pag. 248. [...]dit. Colon. Be­hold (say they) the disciples doe loose him being now a­live; whom their Master had raysed up being dead. For if the disciples had loosed Lazarus being dead: they should have discovered a stinche more then a vertue. By which consideration vvee may see: that by our Pastorall au­thoritie vvee ought to loose those, vvhom vvee know that our Authour and Lord hath revived vvith his quickning grace. The same application also doe wee finde made, not onely by P. Lombard. lib. 4. Sent. dist. 18. lit. f. Alexand. de Hales, Summ. part. 4. quaest. 2 [...]. membr. 1. &c. Peter Lombard, and other of the Schoolemen, but also by Iudocus Clichtoveus, not long before the time of the Councell of Trent. [Page 149] Sed ante prodiit redivi­vus Lazarus ex s [...]pulchro, & deinde ut sol­veretur á disci­pulis & sinere­tur abire á Do­mino jussum est: quia pec­catorem etiam consuetudine committendi reatus gravatū, priùs Dominus intrinsecus per seipsum vivifi­cat, postea veró eundem per Sacerdotum ministeriū ab­solvit. Nullus quippe pecca­tor absolvendus est, antequam per dignam poenitentiam correctus, & in­trinsecùs ap­pareat vivifica­tus. Vivificare autem interiùs peccatorē soli­us Dei munus est, qui per Pro­ph [...]tam dicit: Ego sum qui deleo iniquita­tes vestras. Clichtov. in E­vangel. Ioann. lib. 7. cap. 23. in­ter opera Cyrilli. Lazarus (saith Clichtoveus) first of all came forth alive out of the sepulchre, and then was commandement given by our Lord that hee should be loosed by the disciples and suffered to go his way: because the Lord doth first inward­ly by himselfe quicken the sinner, and afterwards absol­veth him by the Priests ministerie. For no sinner is to be absolved, before it appeareth that hee be amended by due repentance, and bee quickned inwardly. But inwardly to quicken the sinner, is the office of God alone, who saith by the Prophet: I am he that blotteth out your iniquities.

The truth therefore of the Priests absolution, de­pendeth upon the truth and sinceritie of Gods quick­ning grace in the heart of the Penitent: which if it be wanting, all the absolutions in the world will stand him in no stead. For example, our Saviour saith: M [...]tth. 6.14, 15. &c. 18.35. If yee forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but, if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neyther will your Father forgive your trespasses. and in this respect (as is observed by Sedulius) In aliorum personis aut absolvimur aut ligamur. Se­dul. lib. 2. Paschalis Operis, cap. 11. in other mens persons we are eyther absolved or bound:

Suppose now, that a man who cannot find in his heart to forgive the wrong done unto him by another, is ab­solved here by the Priest from all his sinnes (according to the usuall forme of Absolution:) are wee to thinke that what is thus loosed upon earth, shall be loosed in heaven? and that Christ, to make the Priests word true, will make his owne false? And what wee say of charitie toward man, must much more be understood of the love of God and the love of righteousnesse: the [Page 150] defect whereof is not to be supplyed by the absoluti­on of anie Priest. It hath beene alwayes observed for a speciall difference betwixt good and bad men, that the one Odetunt pec­care boni vir­tutis amore. Horas. lib. 1. epist. 16. hated sinne for the love of vertue, the other onely for the feare of punishment. The like difference do our Adve [...]saries make betwixt Contrition and Attrition: Fatemur e­nim perfectum odium peccati esse illud, quod ex amore Dei, justitiaeque procedit; & ideò dolorem, sive odium ex timore poenae conceptū, non Contritionem, sed Attritionē nominamus. B [...]llarm. lib. 2. de Poenitent. cap. 18. that the hatred of sinne, in the one proceedeth from the love of God and of righteousnesse; in the other, from the feare of punishment. and yet teach for all this, that Id. ibid. Attrition (which they confesse would not otherwise suffice to justifie a man) being ioyned with the Priests Absolution, is sufficient for that purpose: he that was attrite being by vertue of this Absolution made contrite, and iustified, that is to say, hee that was led onely by a servile feare, and consequently was to be rancked among disordered and evill persons, being by this meanes put in as good case for the matter of the forgivenesse of his sinnes, as hee that loveth God sin­cerely. For they themselves doe graunt, that Argumentū recté probat eos, qui timo­rem servilem habeat, inordi­natos ac malos esse &c. Id. ibid. such as have this servile feare, from whence Attrition issueth, are to be accounted evill and disordered men, by reason of their want of charitie: to which purpose also they alledge that saying of Gregory, Recti diligunt te, non recti adhuc timent te. Such as be righteous love thee, such as be not right [...]ous as yet feare thee.

But they have taken an order notwithstanding, that non recti shall stand recti in curiâ with them: by assu­ming a strange authoritie unto themselves of iustify­ing the wicked (a thing, we know, that hath the curse of Prov. 17.15. God and Prov. 24.24. man threatned unto it) & making men friends with God, that have not the love of God dwel­ling in them. For although we be taught by the word of God, that 1. Ioh. 4.18. perfect love casteth out feare; that wee [Page 151] Rom. 8.15. have not received the spirit of bondage to feare againe, but the spirit of adoption whereby wee cry Abba, father; that mount Sinai (which Heb. 12.18, 21. maketh those that come unto it to feare and quake) Gal. 4.24, 25, 31. engendreth to bondage, and is to be cast out with her children, from inheriting the promise; & that 1. Cor. 13.2, 3. Vid. authorem libri de verâ & fal â poenitentiâ cap. 17 inter ope­ra Augustini, tom. 4. without love, both we our selves are nothing, and all that we have doth profit us nothing: yet these wonderfull men would have us beleeve, that by their word alone they are able to make something of this nothing; that feare without love shall make men capable of the benefite of their pardon, as well as love without feare; that whether men come by the way of mount Sinai or mount Sion, whether they have Legall or Evangelicall repentance, they have authoritie to absolve them from all their sinnes. as if it did lye in their power, to confound Gods Testaments at their pleasure, and to give unto a servile feare not the bene­fite of manumission only, but the priviledge of adoption also; by making the children of the bondwoman chil­dren of the promise, and giving them a portion in that blessed inheritance together with the children of her that is free.

Hebr. 6.1. Repentance from dead workes, is one of the foun­dations and principles of the doctrine of Christ. Poenitentiā certam non fa­cit, nisi odium peccati, & a­mor Dei. Au­gust serm. 7. de Tempore. No­thing maketh repentance certaine, but the hatred of sinne, and the love of God. and without true repentance all the Priests under heaven are not able to give us a dis­charge from our sinnes, and deliver us from the wrath to come. Matth. 18.3. Except ye be converted, ye shall not enter into the kingdome of heaven. Luk. 13.3, 5. Except yee repent, yee shall all perish: is the Lords saying in the new Testament. and in the old: Ezech. 18.30, 31. Repent, and turne from all your transgressi­ons: so iniquitie shall not be your ruine. Cast away from [Page 152] you all your transgressions, whereby yee have transgressed, and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will yee dye, O house of Israel? Now put case one commeth to his ghostly father, with such sorrow of minde as the terrours of a guiltie conscience usually doe pro­duce, and with such a resolution to cast away his sins, as a man hath in a storme to cast away his goods, not because he doth not love them, but because he feareth to loose his life if he part not with them: doth not he be­tray this mans soule, who putteth into his head, that such an extorted repentance as this, which hath not one graine of love to season it withall, wil qualifie him sufficiently for the receiving of an absolution, by I know not what sacramentall facultie that the Priest is furnished withall to that purpose? For all doe confesse with S. Augustin, that Timor nam­que iste quo nō amatur justi­tia, sed timetur poena, servilis est, quia carna­lis est, & ideò non c [...]ucifigit carnem. Vivit enim peccandi voluntas, quae tunc apparet in opere, quan­do speratur im­punitas. Cùm veró paena c [...]e­ditur secutura, latenter vivit, vivit tamen. Mallet enim li­cere & dolet non licere quod lex vetat: quia non spiritaliter delectatur ejus bono, sed carnaliter malum meruit quod minatur. August. in Psalm. 118. conc. 25. this feare which loveth not ju­stice, but dreadeth punishment, is servile, because it is car­nall, and therefore doth not crucifie the flesh. For the wil­lingnesse to sinne liveth, which then appeareth in the work, when impunitie is hoped for: but when it is beleeved that punishment will follow, it liveth closely, yet it liveth. For it would wish rather, that it were lawfull to doe that which the Law forbiddeth, and is sorry that it is not lawfull: be­cause it is not spiritually delighted with the good thereof, but carnally feareth the evill vvhich it doth threaten. What man then, doe we thinke, will take the paynes to get him a new heart and a new spirit, and undertake the toylsome worke of crucifying the flesh with the lustes thereof; if without all this adoe, the Priests absolution can make that other imperfect or rather equivocall contrition, arising from a carnall and servile feare, to [Page 153] be sufficient for the blotting out of all his sinnes? Or are wee not rather to thinke that this sacramentall pe­nance of the Papists is a device invented by the enemie to hoodwinke poore soules, and to divert them from seeking that true repentance which is onely able to stand them in stead? and that such as take upon them to helpe lame dogges over the stile after this maner, by substituting quid pro quo, attrition in stead of contriti­on, servile feare in stead of filiall love, carnall sorrow in stead of godly repentance; are physicians of no value, nay such as minister poyson unto men under colour of providing a soveraigne medicine for them? Hee therefore that will have care of his soules health, must consider, that much resteth here in the good choyce of a skilfull physician; but much more, in the paines that must be taken by the patient himselfe. For that every one who beareth the name of a Priest, is not fit to bee trusted with a matter of this moment; their owne De­crees may give them faire warning, where this admoni­tion is Decret. de Poenit. distinct. 1. ca. 88. Quem poenitet. & dist. 6. ca. 1. Qui vult twise laid down, out of the author that wrote of true and false repentance. Qui confite­ri vult peccata, ut inveniat gra­tiam, quaerat sacerdotem sci­entem ligare & solvere: ne, cùm negligens circa se extiterit, negligatur ab illo, qui eum misericorditer monet, & pe­tit, ne ambo in foveam cadāt, quam stultus evitare noluit. Lib. de ver. & fals. poenitent. cap 10. inter opera. Augustini, tom. 4. Hee who will confesse his sinnes, that he may finde grace, let him seeke for a Priest that knoweth how to binde and loose: least, while he is neg­ligent concerning himselfe, he be neglected by him vvho mercifully admonisheth and desireth him, that both fall not into the pit, which the foole would not avoid. And when the skilfullest Priest that is, hath done his best: S. Cy­prian will tell them, that Poenitenti, operanti, roganti potest clementer ignoscere; potest in acceptum referre, quidquid pro tasibus & petierint marty­res, & fecerint sacerdotes. Cyprian. de Lapsis. (sect. 13. edit. Pamel. 29 Goulart.) to him that repenteth, to him that worketh, to him that prayeth, the Lord of his mercie can grant a pardon; hee can make good that which for [Page 154] such men eyther the Martyrs shall request or the Priest shall doe.

If we inquire, who they were that first assumed unto themselves this exorbitant power of forgiving sins: we are like to finde them in the Tents of the ancient here­ticks and schismaticks; who 2 Pet. 2.19. promised unto others li­bertie, when they themselves were the servants of corrup­tion. Quanti pa­nem non ha­b [...]n [...]es & vesti­men [...]a, cùm ipsi esuriant & nu­di sint, nec ha­beant spiritua­les cibos neque Christi tunicā integram re­servârint; aliis & alimonia & vestimenta pro­mittunt, & ple­ni vulneribus medicos esse se jactant: nec servant illud Mosaicu, Pro­vide alium quē mittas; aliud que mandatū, Ne quaeras ju­dex fieri, ne fortè non pos­sis aufe [...]re ini­quitates. Solus Ie [...]us omnes [...] scriptum est▪ Qui sanat con­tritos corde, & alligat contri­tiones eorum. H [...]. onym. lib. 2. co [...]ent. in Esaei. cap. 3. How manie (saith S. Hierom) which have ney­ther bread nor apparell, when they themselves are hungry and naked, and neyther have spirituall meates, nor pre­serve the coate of Christ intire; yet promise unto others food and rayment, and being full of wounds themselves bragge that they be physicians: and doe not observe that of Moses, (Exod. 4.13.) Provide another vvhom thou mayest send; & that other commandement (Ecclesiastic. 7.6.) Doe not seeke to be made a Iudge, lest peradventure thou be not able to take away iniquitie. It is Iesus alone, who healeth all sicknesses and infirmities: of vvhom it is written, (Psalm. 147.4.) He healeth the contrite in heart, and bindeth up their soares. Thus farre S. Hierom.

The Rhemists in their marginall note upon Luke 7.49. tell us, that as the Pharisees did alwayes carp Christ for remission of sinnes in earth, so the Hereticks reprehend his Church that remitteth sinnes by his authoritie. But S. Augustin treating upon the selfe same place, might have taught them, that hereby the bewrayed them­selves to be the off spring of Hereticks, rather then chil­dren of the Church. For whereas our Saviour there had said unto the penitent woman, Thy sinnes are for­given; and they that sate at meate with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sinnes also? S. Augustin first compareth their knowledge and the knowledge of the woman thus together. [Page 155] Noverat ergo illum poste di­mittere pecca­ta: illi autem noverant ho­minem non posse peccata dimittere. Et credendum est, quòd omnes, id est, & illi discumbentes, & illa mulier accedens ad pedes Domini, omnes hi nō ­verant hominē non posse pec­cata dimittere. Cùm ergo om­nes hoc nos­sent: illa quae credidit eum posse peccata dimittere, plus quàm hominē esse intellexit. August. hom. 23. ex. 50. cap. 7. Shee knew that hee could forgive sinnes; but they knew that a man could not forgive sinnes. And wee are to be­leeve that all, that is, both they which sat at table, and the woman which came to our Lords feet, they all knew that a man could not forgive sinnes. Seeing all therefore knew this, shee who beleeved that hee could forgive sinnes, under­stood him to be more then a man. and a little after: Tamen illud bene nost [...]s, be­ne tenetis Te­nete, quia ho­mo non potest peccata dimit­tere. Illa quae sibi á Christo peccata dimit­ti credidit, Christū non hominē tantùm, sed & Deū credidit Id. ibid. That doe you know well, that doe you hold well; saith that lear­ned Father. Hold, that a man cannot forgive sinnes. Shee who beleeved that her sinnes were forgiven her by Christ, beleeved that Christ was not only man, but God also. Then doth hee proceede to compare the knowledge of the Iewes then with the opinion of the Heretickes in his dayes. Herein (saith Sed in eo melior Pharisaeus; quia cùm putaret hominē Christū, non credebat ab homine posse dimitti pec­cata. Melior ergo Iudaeis quàm haereticis apparuit intellectus. Iudaei dixerunt, Quis est hic qui etiam peccata dimittit? Audet sibi homo usurpare? Quid contrà Haereticus? Ego mundo, ego sanctifico. Respondeat illi, non ego, sed Christus. O homo, quando ego á Iudaeis putatus sum homo, dimissionem peccatorum fidei dedi. Non ego, respondet tibi Christus. O Haeretice, tu cùm sis homo, dicis; Veni mulier, ego te salvam facio. Ego cùm putarer ho­mo, dixi, Vade mulier, fides tua te salvam fecit. Id. ibid. cap. 8. he) the Pharisee was better then these men: for when he did thinke that Christ was a man, he did not beleeve that sinnes could be forgiven by a man. It appeared therefore that the Iewes had better understan­ding then the Hereticks. The Iewes said; Who is this that forgiveth sinnes also? Dare a man challenge this to him­selfe? What saith the Heretick on the other side? I do for­give, I doe cleanse, I doe sanctifie. Let Christ answer him, not I: O man, when I was thought by the Iewes to bee a man, I ascribed the forgivenesse of sinnes to faith. Not I, but Christ doth answer thee. O Heretick, Thou when thou art but a man sayest; Come woman, I doe make the safe. I when I was thought to be but a man said; Goe woman, thy faith hath made thee safe.

[Page 156]The Hereticks at whom S. Augustin here aymeth, were the Donatists: whom Optatus also before him did thus roundly take up for the same presumption. Intelligite ves vel seró o­perarios esse, non dominos. Et si Ecclesia vinea est, sunt homines & or­dinati cultores. Quid in domi­nium patrisfa­milias irruistis? Quid vobis, quod Dei est, vindicatis? Optat. lib. 5. con­tra Donatist. Vnderstand at length, that you are servants, and not Lords. And if the Church be a vineyard, and men be ap­pointed to be dressers of it: why doe you rush into the do­minion of the housholder? Why doe you challenge unto your selves, that which is Gods? Concedite Deo, praestare quae sua sunt. Non enim po­test munus abhomine dari, quod divinum est. Si sic putatis, Prophetarū voces, & Dei promissa ina­nire contendi­tis, quibus p [...]o­batur, quia De­us lavat, non homo Id. ibid. Give leave unto God to performe the things that belong unto himselfe. For that gift cannot be given by man, which is divine. If you think so, you labour to frustrate the words of the Prophets, & the promises of God, by which it is proved that God washeth (away sinne,) and not man. It is noted likewise by Theodoret, of the Audian hereticks: that [...]. Theodoret. haeretic. fabul. lib. 4. they bragged they did forgive sinnes. The maner of Confession which he saith was used among them, was not much unlike that which Alvarus Pelagius acknowledgeth to have beene the usuall practise of them that made greatest profession of religion and learning in his time. Vix enim aut rarissime aliquis talium confitetur nisi per verba generalia: vix unquam aliquod grave specificant. Quod dicunt unâ die, dicunt & alterâ: ac si in omni die aequaliter offendant. Alvar. de Planct. eccles. lib. 2. artic. 78. A. For scarce at all (saith hee) or very seldome doth any of them confesse otherwise then in generall termes: scarce doe they ever specifie any grievous sinne. What they say one day, that they say another, as if every day they did offend alike. The maner of Absolution was the same with that, which Theodoricus de Niem noteth to have beene pra­ctised by the pardoners sent abroad by Pope Boniface the ninth: who Omnia peccata etiam sine poenitentiâ ipsis confitentibus relaxârunt; super quibuslibet irregulari­tatibus dispensârunt inte [...]ventu pecuniae: dicentes se omnem potestatem habere super hoc, quam Christus Petro ligandi & solvendi contulisset in terris. Niem de schismaete, lib. 1. cap. 68. released all sinnes to them that confes­sed, without any penance (or repentance;) affirming that [Page 157] they had for their warrant in so doing, all that power which Christ gave unto Peter of binding and loosing up­on earth. just as Theodoret reporteth the Audians were wont to doe: who presently [...]. Theodor. haer. lib. 4. after confession graunted remission; not prescribing a time for repentance, as the lawes of the Church did require, but giving pardon by au­thoritie.

The lawes of the Church prescribed a certaine time unto Penitents, August. En­ [...]birid ad Laur. cap. 65. wherein they should give proofe of the soundnesse of their repentance: and gave order that afterwards they should be 2. Cor. 2.7. forgiven and comfor­ted, lest they should be swallowed up with overmuch heavinesse. So that first their penance was injoyned unto them, and thereby Vid. Nomoca­nonem Nesteutae in Theod. Balsa­monis coll [...]ct. Canon. edit. Pa­ris. an. 1620. pag. 1101. lin. ult. & Niconis epist. ad. Enclistium, ibid. pag. 1096 1097. & Anast [...]s. Si­nait. quaest. 6. pag. 64. edit. Graecola [...]. Gret­seri. they were held to be bound: after performance whereof they received their absolu­tion, by which they were loosed againe. But the Audian hereticks, without anie such triall taken of their repen­tance, did of their owne heads give them absolution presently upon their confession: as the Popish Priests use to doe now a dayes. Onely the Audians had one ridiculous ceremonie more then the Papists; that ha­ving placed the Canonicall bookes of Scripture upon one side, and certaine Apocryphall writings on the o­ther, they caused their followers to passe betwixt them, and in their passing to make confession of their sinnes: as the Papists, another idle practise more then they; that after they have given absolution, they in­joyne penance to the partie absolved, that is to say, (as they of old would have interpreted it) they first loose him and presently after binde him. which howsoever they hold to be done in respect of the temporall punish­ment remayning due after the remission of the fault: yet it appeareth plainly, that the penitentiall workes [Page 158] required in the ancient Church, had reference to the fault it selfe; and that no absolution was to be expect­ed from the Minister for the one, before all reckonings were ended for the other. Onely where the danger of death was imminent, the case admitted some excepti­on: reconci [...]iation being not denied indeed unto them that desired it at such a time, yet so granted, that it was left verie doubtfull, whether it would stand the parties in anie great stead or no. Si quis posi­tus in ultimâ necessitate ae­gritudinis suae, voluerit acci­pere poeniten­tiam & accipit, & mox recon­ciliatur, & hinc vadit: fateor vobis, non illi negamus quod petit, sed non praesumimus quia bene hinc exit. Non prae­sumo, non vos fallo, non prae­sumo. August. homil. 41. ex 50. Ambros. exhort. ad poenitent. If any one being in the last ex­tremitie of his sicknesse, saith S. Augustin, is willing to re­ceive penance, and [...]oth receive it, and is presently reconci­led, and departeth hence: I confesse unto you, wee doe not denie him that which hee asketh, but wee doe not presume that he goeth well from hence. I doe not presume, I deceive you not, I doe not presume. Agens poe­nitentiam ad ultimum & re­conciliatus, si securus hinc exit, ego non sum securus. &c. Poeniten­tiam dare possum, securitatē dare non possum. Ibid. Hee who putteth off his pe­nance to the last, and is reconciled; whether hee goeth se­cure from hence, I am not secure. Penance I can give him, securitie I cannot give him. Nunquid dico, damnabitur? Non dico Sed dico etiam, libe­rabitur? Non. Et quid dicis mihi? Nescio: non praesumo, non promitto nescio. Vis te de dubio liberare; vis quod incertum est evadere? Age poenitentiam dum sanus es. Ibid. Doe I say, hee shall be dam­ned? I say not so. But doe I say also, he shall be freed? No. What doest thou then say unto mee? I know not: I pre­sume not, I promise not, I know not. Wilt thou free thy selfe of the doubt? wilt thou escape that which is uncer­taine? Doe thy penance while thou art in health. Poenitentia quae ab infirmo petitur, infirma est. Poenitentia quae á moriente tantùm petitur, timeo ne ipsa moriatur. Augustin. serm. 57. de Tempore. The penance which is asked for by the infirme man, is infirme. The penance which is asked for onely by him that is a dy­ing, I feare lest it also dye.

But with the matter of penance we have not here to deale: those formal absolutions and pardons of course, immediately granted upon the hearing of mens con­fessions, [Page 159] is that which wee charge the Romish Priests to have learned from the Audian hereticks. Nonnulli ideo poscunt poenitentiam, ut statim sibi reddi commu­nionem velint: hi non tam se solvere cupi­unt, quàm Sa­cerdotem liga­re. Suam enim conscientiam non exuunt, Sacerdotis in­duunt. Ambros. de Poenit. lib. 2. cap. 9. Some re­quire penance to this end, that they might presently have the communion restored unto them: these men desire, not so much to loose themselves, as to binde the Priest; saith S. Ambrose. If this be true, that the Priest doth binde himselfe, by his hastie and unadvised loosing of others: the case is like to go hard with our Popish Priests, who ordinarily in bestowing their absolutions, use to make more hast then good speed. Wherein, with how little judgement they proceed, who thus take upon them the place of Iudges in mens consciences, may sufficiently appeare by this: that whereas the maine ground, whereupon they would build the necessitie of Auricu­lar confession, and the particular enumeration of all knowne sinnes, is pretended to be this, that the ghostly Father having taken notice of the cause may judge righteous judgement, and discerne who should be bound and who should be loosed, the matter yet is so carried in this court of theirs, that everie man com­monly goeth away with his absolution, and all sorts of people usually receive one and the selfe same iudge­ment. Ierem. 1 [...].19. If thou seperate the pretious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: saith the Lord. Whose mouth then may we hold them to be, who seldome put anie difference betweene these, and make it their ordinarie practise to pronounce the same sentence of absolution aswell upon the one as upon the other?

If we would know, how late it was before this trade of pardoning mens sinnes after this maner was esta­blished in the Church of Rome: wee cannot discover this better, then by tracing out the doctrine publickly taught in that Church touching this matter, from the [Page 160] time of Satans loosing untill his binding againe by the restoring of the puritie of the Gospell in our dayes. And here Radulphus Ardens doth in the first place offer himselfe: who toward the beginning of that time preached this for sound divinitie. Potes [...]as peccata rela­xandi solius Dei est. Mini­sterium veró, quod impro­prié etiam po­testas vocatur, vicariis suis concessit; qui modo suo li­gant vel absol­vunt, id est, li­gatos vel abso­lutos esse o­stendunt. Priùs enim Deus in­teriùs peccato­rē per cōpūcti­onem absolvit; Sacerdos veró exteriùs, sen­tentiam profe­rendo, eum esse absolutum o­stendit. Quod bene significa­tur per Lazarū, qui priùs in tumulo á Do­mino suscita­tur, & pòst, mi­nisterio disci­pulorum, á vi­tiis (f [...]r [...]. vittis) quibus ligatus fuerat absolvi­tur. Rad. A. den [...], homil. Dominic. 1. post Pascha. The power of relea­sing sinnes, belongeth to God alone. But the ministery (which improperly also is called a power) hee hath granted unto his substitutes; who after their maner doe binde and absolve, that is to say, doe declare that men are bound or absolved. For God doth first inwardly absolve the sinner by compunction: and then the Priest outwardly by giving the sentence doth declare that he is absolved. Which is well signified by that of Lazarus: who first in the grave was raysed up by the Lord, and afterward by the ministery of the disciples was loosed from the bands wherewith he was tyed. Then follow both the Anselmes, ours of Canter­bury and the other of Laon in France: who in their ex­positions upon the ninth of S. Matthew, cleerely teach, that none but God alone can forgive sinnes. Ivo Bi­shop of Chartres writeth, that Per internum gemitum satisfit inter­no judici, & id [...]irco indilata datur ab eo peccati remissio, cui manifesta est interna conver­sio. Ecclesia veró, quia occulta cordis ignorat non solvit ligatum, licèt suscitatum, nisi de monumento elatum, id est, publicâ satisfactione purgatum. Ivo Carnotens. epist. 228. by inward contrition the inward judge is satisfied, and therefore without delay for­givenesse of the sinne is granted by him, unto whom the inward conversion is manifest: but the Church, because it knoweth not the hidden things of the heart, doth not loose him that is bound, although he be raysed up, untill hee be brought out of the tombe, that is to say, purged by publick satisfaction. and if presently upon the inward conver­sion God be pleased to forgive the sinne: the absoluti­on of the Priest which followeth, cannot in anie sort [Page 161] properly be accounted a remission of that sinne, but a further manifestation onely of the remission former­ly granted by God himselfe.

The Master of the Sentences after him, having pro­pounded the diverse opinions of the Doctors touch­ing this point, demandeth at last, In hâc tantâ varietate quid tenendum? Ho [...] sané dice­re ac sentire possumus; quòd solus De­us dimittit pec­cata & retinet, & tamen Ec­clesiae contulit potestatem li­gandi & sol­vendi: sed ali­ter ipse solvit vel ligat, alit [...]r Ecclesia. Ipse enim per se tantùm dimit­tit peccatum; qui & animam mundat ab in­teriori maculâ, & á debito ae­ternae mortis solvit. Non au­tem hoc Sacer­dotibus conces­sit: quibus ta­men tribuit po­testatem sol­vendi & ligan­di, id est, osten­dendi homines ligatos vel so­lutos. Vnde Dominus leprosum sanitati priùs per se restituit, deinde ad Sacerdotes misit, quorum judicio ostenderetur mundatus. Ita etiam Lazarum jam vivificatum obtulit disci­pulis solvendum. Petr. Lombard. lib. 4. S [...]ntent. distinct. 18. e f. In this so great varie­tie what is to be held? and returneth for answer. Surely this we may say and thinke: that God alone doth forgive and retayne sinnes, and yet hath given power of binding and loosing unto the Church; but He bindeth and looseth one way, and the Church another. For he only by himselfe forgiveth sinne, who both cleanseth the soule from inward blot, and looseth it from the debt of everlasting death. But this hath he not granted unto Priests: to whom notwith­standing he hath given the power of binding and loosing, that is to say, of declaring men to be bound or loosed. Wher­upon the Lord did first by himselfe restore health unto the leper, and then sent him unto the Priests, by whose judge­ment he might be declared to be cleansed: so also he offered Lazarus to his disciples to be loosed, having first quickned him. In like maner Hugo Cardinalis sheweth, that it is Solius Dei est dimittere peccata. Hugo Card. in Luc. 5. onely God that forgiveth sinnes: and that Vinculo culpae & poenae debitae, non potest eum Sacer­dos ligare vel solvere; sed tantùm ligatum vel absolutum ostendere. Sicut Sacerdos Levi­ticus non faciebat vel mundabat leprosum; sed tantùm infectum vel mundum ostendebat. Id. in Matth. 16. the Priest cannot binde or loose the sinner, with or from the bond of the fault and the punishment due thereunto; but onely declare him to be bound or loosed. as the Leviticall Priest did not make nor cleanse the leper, but onely declared him to be infected or cleane. And a great number of the [Page 162] Schoolemen afterward shewed themselves to be of the same judgement: that to pardon the fault and the eter­nall punishment due unto the same, was the proper worke of God; that the Priests absolution hath no reall operation that way, but presupposeth the partie to be first justified and absolved by God. Of this minde were, Altissiodorens. Summ. lib. 4. cap. de generali usu clavium. Guilielmus Altissiodorensis, Alexand. Hae­lens. Summ. part. 4. quaest. 21. membr. 1. Alexander of Hales, Bonavent. in 4. dist. 18. art. 2. quaest 1. & 2. Bonaventure, Gu [...]l Ockam. in 4. Sent. quaest. 9. li [...]. Q. Ockam, Argentin. in 4. Sent. dist. 18. art. 3. Thomas de Argentinâ, Mi [...]h. Angri­an. in Psal. 29. & 31. Micha­el de Bononiâ, Biel. in 4. Sent. dist. 14. quaest. 2. d. n. & dist. 18. quaest. 1. k. Gabriel Biel, H [...]nr. de Oyta (al. lu [...]a) in pro­positionib apud Ill [...]ricum, in Ca­tal. [...]est. veritat. Henricus de Huecta, Ma [...]or in 4. Sent di [...]t. 18. quaest. 1. Io­hannes Major, and others.

To lay downe all their words at large would be too tedious. In generall, Hadrian the sixth (one of their owne Popes) acknowledgeth, that Hadrian in Quodliberic. quaest [...] art. 3 b. the most appr [...]ved Divines were of this minde, that the keyes of the Priest­hood doe not extend themselves to the remission of the fault: and Maior in 4. dist. 14. qu. 2. concl. 3. Major affirmeth, that this is the common Tenet of the Doctors. So likewise is it avouched by Ga­briel Biel, that Et illam opinio­nem communiter sequuntur doctores antiqui. Biel. in 4. dist. 14. quaest. 2. d. the old Doctors commonly follow the o­pinion of the Master of the Sentences; that Priests do forgive or retaine sinnes, while they iudge and declare that they are forgiven by God or retained. But all this notwithstanding, Suarez is bold to tell us, that Verunta­men haec sententia Magistri salsa est, & jam hoc tempore erronea. Fr. Suar [...]z. in Thom. tom. 4. disp. 19 s [...]ct 2. num 4. this opinion of the Master is false, and now at this time errone­ous. It was not held so the other day, when Ferus prea­ched at Mentz, that Non quòd homo proprié remittat peccatum; sed quòd ostendat ac certificet á Deo remissum. Neque enim aliud est Absolutio, quam ab homine accipis, quam si dicat: En sili, certifico te t [...]bi remissa esse peccata, annunc [...]o tibi te habere propitiū Deum; & quaecunque Christus in Baptismo & Evangelio nobis promisit, tibi nunc per me annunciat & promittit. Io. Ferus, lib. 2 comment. in Matth. cap. 9. edit. Mogunt. an. 1 [...]9. man did not properly remit sinne, but did declare and certifie that it was remitted by God. so that the Absolution received from man, is nothing else [Page 163] then if he should say: Behold my sonne, I certifie thee that thy sinnes are forgiven thee, I pronounce unto thee that thou hast God favourable unto thee; and vvhatsoever Christ in Baptisme and in his Gospell hath promised unto us, he doth now declare and promise unto thee by me. Of this shalt thou have me to be a witnesse: goe in peace, and in quiet of conscience. But jam hoc tempore the case is al­tered: these things must be purged out of Fer. in Matth. edit. Antuerp. an. 1559.1570. &c. Ferus as er­roneous; the opinion of the old Doctors must give place to the sentence of the new Fathers of Trent. And so we are come at length to the end of this long question: in the handling whereof I have spent more time, th [...] [...] ani [...] of th [...] r [...]st, by reason our Priests doe make this fa­cultie of pardoning mens sinnes to be one of the most principall parts of their occupation, and the particular discoverie thereof is not ordinarily by the writers of our side so much insisted upon. The performance therefore of my promise of brevitie, is to be expected in the briefer treating upon those articles that remaine: the fift whereof we are now to take into our conside­ration, which is

OF PVRGATORIE.

FOr extinguishing the imaginarie flames of Popish Purgatory, wee need not goe farre to fetch water: seeing the whole current of Gods word runneth main­ly upon this; that 1. Ioh. 1.7. the blood of Iesus Christ cleanseth us from all sinne; that all Gods children 1. Cor· 15.1 [...]. 1. Thess. 4.16. dye in Christ, and that such as Revel. 14 13. dye in him, doe rest from their labours; that, as they be 2. Cor. 5.6, 8. absent from the Lord while they are in the bodie, so when they be absent from the bodie they are present with the Lord; and in a word, that they Ioh. 5.24. come [Page 164] not into judgement, but passe from death unto life. And if wee need the assistance of the ancient Fathers in this businesse: behold they be here readie, with full buckets in their hands.

Tertullian, to begin withall, C [...]ristum lae­dimus, cùm e­vocatos quos­que ab illo, quasi miseran­dos non aequa­nimiter accipi­mus. Cupio, [...] jam, & [...] cum Christo quantò melius o­stendit votum Christianorū. Ergo votum si alios consequu­tos impatien­ter dolemus, ipsi consequi no [...]umus. [...]er­ [...]ull. lib. [...]e Pa­tient. cap. 9. counteth it iniurious unto Christ, to hold that such as be called from hence by him are in a state that should be pittied. whereas they have obtayned their desire of being with Christ: according to that of the Apostle, Philip. 1.23. I desire to depart, and to be with Chrest. What pitie was it, that the poore soules in Purgatorie should finde no [...] in those dayes to informe men better of their rue­full condition; nor no Secretarie to draw up such an­other supplication for them as this, which of late years Sir Thomas Moore presented in their name, The Suppli­cation o [...] soules, made by Sir Tho Moore. To all good Christen people. In most piteous wise continually calleth and cryeth upon your devoute charitie and most tender pi­tie, for helpe, comfort and reliefe, your late acquaintance, kindred, spouses, companions, playfellowes, and friends, and now your humble and unacquainted and halfe forgotten suppliants, poore prisoners of God, the sely soules in Purga­torie, here abiding and enduring the grievous paynes and hote clensing fire, &c. If S. Cyprian had understood but halfe thus much: doubtlesse he would have strucken out the best part of that famous treatise which hee wrote of Mortalitie (to comfort men against death, in the time of a great plague) especially such passages as these are, which by no meanes can be reconciled with Purgatorie.

Ejus est mor­tem timere, qui ad Christum n [...]lit ire: ejus est ad Christū nolle ire, qui se non credat cum Chr [...]sto incipere regna­re. Scriptum est enim, justū fide vivere. Si justus es, & fide vivis, si vere in Deum credis: cur non cum Christo futurus, & de Domini pollic tatione securus, quòd ad Christum voceris, amplecteris, & quòd Diabolo careas, grat [...]la [...]is? Cyprian, de Mortalit. sect. 2. edit. Goulart. It is for him to feare death, that is not willing to goe [Page 165] unto Christ: it is for him to bee unwilling to goe unto Christ, who doth not beleeve that hee beginneth to raigne with Christ. For it is written, that the just doth live by faith. If thou be just and livest by faith, if thou dost tru­ly beleeve in God; why, being to be with Christ, and being secure of the Lords promise, doest not thou embrace the message whereby thou art called unto Christ, and rejoycest that thou shalt be ridd of the Divell? Simeon said; Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seene thy salvation. Probans sci­licèt, atque cō ­testans [...]unc esse servis Dei pacem, tunc li­beram tunc tranquillam quietē; quādo de istis mundi turbinibus▪ [...] tracti, sedi [...] & securitatis ae­ternae portum petimus, quan­do expunctâ hâc morte ad immortalitatē venimus. Ibid. pro­ving thereby, and witnessing that the servants of God then have peace, then injoy free and quiet rest; when being drawen from these stormes of the world, vvee arrive at the haven of our everlasting habitation and securitie, vvhen this death being ended wee enter into immortalitie. Ad refrige­rium justi vo­cantur, ad sup­licium rapi­untur injusti: datur velociùs tutela fidenti­bus, perfidis poena. Ibid. sect. 11. The righteous are called to a refreshing, the unrighteous are haled to torment: safety is quickly granted to the faith­full, and punishment to the unfaithfull. Nec accipien­das esse hîc a­tras vestes, quando illi ibi indumenta al­ba jam sumpse­rint. Ibid sect. 14. Wee are not to put on black mourning garments here, when our friends there have put on white. Non est exitus iste, sed transitus, &, temporali itinere decurso, ad aeterna transgressus. Ibid. sect. 15. This is not a going out, but a passage, and, this temporall journey being finished, a going over to eternitie. Amplectamur diem, qui assignat singulos domicilio suo; qui nos istinc ereptos, & laqueis secularibus exsolutos paradiso restituit & regno coelesti. Ibid. sect. 18. Let us therefore embrace the day that bringeth every one to his owne house; which having taken us away from hence, and loosed us from the snares of this world, returneth us to Paradise and to the kingdome of heaven.

The same holy Father in his Apologie which hee wrote for Christians unto Demetrian the proconsul of Africk, affirmeth in like maner; that Donec aevi temporalis fine completo, ad aeternae vel mortis vel immortalitatis hospitia dividamur. Id. ad Demetrian. sect. 16. the end of this [Page 166] temporall life being accomplished, we are divided into the habitations of everlasting eyther death or immortalitie. Quando istinc excessum fuerit, nullus jam poeniten­tiae locus est, nul [...]us satisfa­ctionis effectus: hîc vita aut a­mittitur, aut tenetur Id. ibid. sect. 22. When we are once departed from hence, there is now no farther place for repentance, neyther any effect of satisfa­ction. here life is eyther lost or obtayned. But if Tu sub ipso licet exitu & vitae tempora­lis occasu, pro delictis roges: & Deum, qui unus & verus est, confessione & fidè agnitio­nis ejus implo­res venia con­fitenti datur, & tredenti indul­gentia salutaris de divinâ pic­tate concedi­tur; & ad im­mortalitatem sub ipsâ morte transitur. Hanc gratiam Chri­stus impertit, hoc munus mi­scricordiae sua [...] tribuit; subi­gendo mortem tropha [...]o cru­cis, redimēdo credentē pretio sanguinis sui, reconciliādo hominē Deo Patri, vivificādo mor­talē regeneratione coelesti. Ib. thou (saith he) even at the very end and setting of thy tempo­rall life, dost pray for thy sinnes, and call upon the onely true God with confession and faith: pardon is given to thee confessing, and saving forgivenesse is granted by the divine piety to thee beleeving; and at thy very death thou hast a passage unto immortalitie. This grace doth Christ impart, this gift of his mercy doth he bestow; by subduing death with the triumph of his crosse, by redeeming the be­leever with the price of his blood, by reconciling man unto God the Father, by quickening him that is mortall with heavenly regeneration.

Where Salomon sayeth, Ecclesiast. 12.5. that man go­eth to his everlasting house, and the mourners goe about in the street: S. Gregory of Neocaesarea maketh this pa­raphrase upon those words; [...]. Greg. Neocaesar. metaphras. in Ecclesiast. The good man shall goe re­joycing unto his everlasting house, but the wicked shall fill all with lamentations. Therefore did the Fathers teach, that men should [...]. Anton. Meliss. part. 1. serm. 58. &c. rejoyce at their death: and the anci­ent Christians framed their practise accordingly; Nos non nativitatis diem cele­bramus; cùm sit dolorum atque tentationum introitus: sed mortis diem celebramus; ut­pote omnium dolorum depositionem, atque omnium tentationum effugationem. Author [...]ib. 3. in Iob, inter opera Origenis. Vide S. Basil. homil. in Psalm. 115. pag. 318. edit. Graecolat. not celebrating the day of their nativitie, which they ac­counted to be the entry of sorrowes and temptations, but celebrating the day of death, as being the putting away of [Page 167] all sorrowes, and the escaping of all temptations. And so being filled with [...] & paulo pòst. [...]. Dio­nys. Ecclesiast. hierarch. cap. 7. a divine rejoycing they came to the ex­tremitie of death as vnto the end of their holy combates: [...]. Ibid. where they did more clearely behold the way that ledd unto their immortalitie, as being now made neerer; and did therefore prayse the gifts of God, and were replenished with divine joy, as now not fearing any change to worse, but knowing well that the good things which they possessed shall be firmely and everlastingly enjoyed by them.

The author of the Questions and Answeres attri­buted to Iustin Martyr, writeth thus of this matter. [...]. Iustin. resp. ad Orthodox. quaest. 7 5. After the departure of the soule out of the body, there is presently made a distinction betwixt the just and the un­just. For they are brought by the Angels to places fit for them: the soules of the righteous to Paradise, vvhere they have the commerce and sight of Angels and Archangels, &c. the soules of the unjust to the places in hell. That [...]. Athanas. de Virginitate. is not death (saith Athanasius) that befalleth the righte­ous, but a translation: for they are translated out of this world into everlasting rest: and as a man would goe out of a prison, so doe the Saints goe out of this troublesome life unto those good things that are prepared for them. S. Hilary out of that which is related in the Gospell of the rich man and Lazarus observeth; that Nihil illic dilationis aut mo­rae est. Iudicii enim dies, vel beatitudinis retributio est aeterna vel poenae: tempus veró mor­tis habet unumquenque suis legibus, dum ad judicium unumquenque aut Abraham reser­vat aut poena. Hilar. in Psalm. 2. as soone as this life is ended, everie one without delay is sent over either to Abrahams bosome, or to the place of torment, [Page 168] and in that state reserved untill the day of judgement. S. Ambrose in his booke of the good of Death, teacheth us, that death Et quia por­tus quidam est eorū qui mag­no vitae istius jactati salo, si­dae quietis sta­tionem requi­runt: & quia deteriorem sta­tum non effi­cit, sed qualem in singulis inve­nerit, talem ju­dicio futuro re­servat, & quie­te ipsá fovet, &c. Ambros. de bono mortis, cap. 4. is a certaine haven to them, who being tossed in the great Sea of this life, desire a rode of safe quiet­nesse: that it maketh not a mans state worse, but such as in findeth in every one, such it reserveth unto the future judgement, and refresheth with rest. that thereby Transitur autem á cor­ruptione ad in­corruptionem, á mortalitate ad immortali­tatem, á per­turbatione ad tranquillitatē. Ibid. a pas­sage is made from corruption to incorruption, from morta­litie to immortalitie, from trouble to tranquillity. There­fore he saith, that where Insipientes mortem quasi summum ma­lorum refor­midant: sapi­entes quasi re­quiem post la­bores & finem malorum expetunt. Ibid. cap. 8. fooles doe feare death as the chiefe of evills, wise men do desire it, as a rest after labours and an end of their evills. and upon these grounds ex­horteth us, that His igitur freti, intrepidé pergamus ad redemptorem nostrum Iesum, intrepidé ad Patriarcharum Concilium, intrepidé ad patrem nostrum A­braham, cùm dies advenerit, proficiscamur: intrepidé pergamus ad illum sanctorum cae­tum, justorumque conventum. Ibimus enim ad patres nostros, ibimus ad illos nostrae fidei praeceptores: ut etiamsi opera desint, fides opituletur, defendat haereditas. Ibid. cap. 12. when that day commeth, wee should goe without feare to Iesus our redeemer, without feare to the Councell of the Patriarches, without feare to Abraham our father; that without feare wee should addresse our selves unto that assembly of Saints, and congregation of the righ­teous. forasmuch as we shall goe to our fathers, we shall goe to those schoolemasters of our faith; that albeit our workes fayle us, yet faith may succour us, and our title of inheri­tance defend us.

Macarius, writing of the double state of those that depart out of this life, affirmeth that when the soule goeth out of the bodie; if it be guiltie of sinne, the Di­vell carrieth it away with him unto his place: but when the holy servants of God [...]. Macar. Aegypt. homil. 22. remove out of their bo­die, the quyers of Angells receive their soules unto their [Page 169] owne side, unto the pure world, and so bring them unto the Lord. and in another place, moving the question con­cerning such as depart out of this world sustayning two persons in their soule, to wit, of sinne and of grace; whither they shall go that are thus held by two parts? hee maketh answere, that thither they shall goe, where they have their minde and affection setled. For [...]. Id. homil. 26. the Lord (saith hee) beholding thy minde, that thou fightest, and lovest him with thy whole soule, separateth death from thy soule in one houre, (for this is not hard for him to doe) and taketh thee into his owne bosome, and un­to light. For he plucketh thee away in the minute of an houre from the mouth of darkenesse, and presently transla­teth thee into his owne kingdome. For God can easily doe all these things in the minute of an houre; this provided only, that thou bearest love unto him. then which, what can be more direct against the dreame of Popish Pur­gatorie? [...]. Basil Pr [...]m. in Regulas fusiùs disputat. [...]. Greg. Nazianzen. orat. 9 ad Iulianum [...]. This present world is the time of repentance, the other of retribution: this of working, that of rewar­ding: this of patient suffering, that of receiving comfort: saith S. Basil.

Gregory Nazianzen, in his funerall orations, hath manie sayings to the same purpose: being so farre from thinking of anie Purgatorie paynes prepared for men in the other world, that hee plainely denieth, that [...]. Na­zianz. orat. 42 in Pascha. after the night of this present life there is any purging to be expected. and therefore hee telleth us, [...]. Id. orat. 15. in plagam grandinis. inde (que) in locis com­munib. Maximi, serm. 45. & Antonij, part. 2. serm. 94. that it is better to be corrected and purged now, than to be sent unto [Page 170] the torment there, where the time of punishing is, and not of purging. S. Hierome, comforteth Paula for the death of her daughter Blaesilla, in this mater. Lugeatur mortuus; sed ille, quem ge­lienna suscipit, quem tartarus devorat, in cu­jus poenam ae­ternus ignis ae­stuat. Nos, quo­rum exitum Angelorum turba comita­tur, quibus ob­viam Christus occurrit, gra­vemur magis, si diutiùs in ta­bernaculo isto mortis habite­mus. Quia quamdiu hîc moramur, pere­grinamur á Domino. Hie­ronym. epist. 25. Let the dead be lamented; but such a one, vvhom Gehenna doth receive, whom Hell doth devoure, for whose paine the everlasting fire doth burne. Let us, whose departure a troupe of An­gells doth accompanie, vvhom Christ commeth forth to meete, be more grieved, if we doe longer dwell in this taber­nacle of death. Because, as long as wee remaine here, vvee are pilgrims from God.

By all that hath beene said, the indifferent Reader may easily discerne, what may be thought of the cra­king Cardinall, who would face us downe, that Omnes ve­teres Graeci & Latini ab ipso tempore Apo­stolorum con­stanter docue­runt Purgato­rium esse. Bel­larmin. de Pur­gator. lib. 1. c. 15. all the ancients, both Greek and Latine, from the very time of the Apostles, did constantly teach that there was a Purgatory. whereas his owne partners could tell him in his eare, that Alphons. de Castro advers. haeres. lib. 8. tit. Indulgentia. Io. Roffens. As­sert. Lutheran. Confutat. artic. 18. Polydor. Ver­gil. de invent. [...]er. lib. 8. cap. 1. in the ancient writers there is almost no mention of Purgatory, especially in the Greek writers; and therefore that by the Grecians it is not beleeved untill this day. He alledgeth indeed a number of authorities to bleare m [...]ns eyes withall: which being narrowly looked in­to, will be found eyther to be counterfeit stuffe, or to make nothing at all to the purpose; as belonging ey­ther to the point of praying for the dead onely, (which in those ancient times had no relation to Purgatory; as in the handling of the next article wee shall see) or unto the fire of affliction in this life, or to the fire that shall burne the world at the last day, or to the fire prepa­red for the Divell and his Angells, or to some other fire then that which hee intended to kindle thereby. This benefite onely have wee here gotten by his la­bours: that hee hath saved us the paynes of seeking farre for the forge, from whence the first sparkles of [Page 171] that purging fire of his brake forth. For the ancientest memoriall that he bringeth thereof, (the places which he hath abused out of the Canonical and Apocryphal scriptures onely excepted) Bellarmin. de Purgator. lib. 1. cap. 11. is out of Plato in his Gor­gias and Phaedo, Cicero in the end of his fiction of the dreame of Scipio, and Virgil in the sixth booke of his Aeneids: and next after the Apostles times, Id. ibid. cap. 7. & 10. out of Tertullian in the seventeenth chapter of his booke de Animâ, and Origen in diverse places. Onely hee must give us leave to put him in minde, with what spirit Ter­tullian was ledd, when hee wrote that book de Animâ: and with what authoritie hee strengtheneth that con­ceipt of mens paying in hell for their small faults be­fore the resurrection, namely of Hoc etiam Paracletus fre­quentissimé commendavit; si quis sermo­nes ejus ex ag­nitione pro­missorum cha­rismatum ad­miserit. Tertul­lian. de Animâ, cap. ult. the Paraclete; by whom if hee meane Montanus the arch- hereticke (as there is small cause to doubt that he doth) we need not much envy the Cardinal, for raising up so worshipfull a patron of his Purgatory.

But if Montanus come short in his testimonie, Ori­gen I am sure payes it home with full measure, not pres­sed down only and shaken together, but also running over. For he was one of those (as the Non defue­runt, qui adeò Purgatorium probârint, ut nullas poenas nisi purgatori­as post hanc vitam agnove­rint. Ita Orige­nes sensit. Bel­larmin. de Pur­gator. lib. 1. cap 2. Cardinall know­eth full well) who approved of Purgatory so much, that he acknowledged no other paines after this life but purga­tory penalties onely: and therefore in his iudgement Hell and Purgatorie being the selfe same thing, such as blindely follow the Cardinall may do well to look, that they stumble not upon Hell, while they seeke for Pur­gatorie. The Grecians professe, [...]. Gra [...]ci. in lib. de Purgatorio igne, á Bon. Vulcanio edit. that they are afrayde to tell their people of anie temporary fire after this life; [Page 172] lest it should breed in them a spice of Origens disease, and put out of their memorie the thought of eternall punishment, and by this meanes occasioning them to be more carelesse of their conversation, make them in­deed fit fuell for those everlasting flames. Which feare of theirs, wee may perceive not to have beene altoge­ther causelesse; when the Purgatorie of Origen re­sembleth the Purgatorie of the Pope so neerely, that the wisest of his Cardinalls is so readie to mistake the one for the other. And, to speake the truth, the one is but an unhappie sprigge cut off from the rotten trunck of the other: which sundry men long since endevou­red to graffe upon other stockes, but could not bring unto anie great perfection; untill the Popes followers tryed their skill upon it, with that successe which now we behold. Some of the ancient that put their hand to this worke, extended the benefite of this fiery purge unto all men in generall: others thought fit to restrain it unto such as some way or other bare the name of Christians, others to such Christians onely as had one time or other made profession of the Catholick faith, and others to such alone as did continue in that profes­sion untill their dying day.

Against all these S. Augustine doth learnedly di­spute; proving that wicked men, of what profession soever, shall be punished with everlasting perdition. And whereas the defenders of the last opinion did ground themselves upon that place in the third chap­ter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians, which the Pope also doth make the principall foundation of his Purgatory (although it be a Vniuscujus­que opus quale sit, ignis pro­babit. 1. Cor. 3.13. probatory, and not a pur­gatory fire that the Apostle there treateth of) S. Au­gustine maketh answere, that Augustin. de fide & operib. cap. 15. this sentence of the A­postle [Page 173] is verie obscure, & to be reckoned among those things which S. Peter saith are hard to be understood in his writings, which men ought not to pervert unto their owne destruction: and freely Id ibid. cap. 16 confesseth that in this matter he would rather heare more intelligent and more learned men then himselfe. Yet this he delive­reth for his opinion: that by vvood, hay, and stubble is understood that over-great love which the faithfull beare to the things of this life; and by fire, that tempo­rall tribulation which causeth griefe unto them by the losse of those things upon which they had too much placed their affections. But Sive ergo in hâc vitâ tan­tùm homines ista patiuntur, sive etiam post hanc vitam ta­lia quaedam iu­dicia subse­quuntur; non abhorret, quā ­tum arbitror, á ratione verita­tis iste intelle­ctus huius sen­tentiae. Id. ibid. c. 16. whether in this life onely (saith he) men suffer such things, or whether some such judgements also doe follow after this life; the meaning which I have given of this sentence, as I suppose, abhorreth not from the truth. And againe. Sive ibi tan­tùm, sive hîc & ibi, sive ideò hîc ut non ibi, secularia (quā ­vis á damnatio­ne venialia) concremantem ignem transi­toriae tribula­tionis inveniāt; non redarguo, quia forsitan verum est. Id. lib. 21 de Civit. Dei, cap. 26. Whether they finde the fire of transitorie tribulation (burning those secular affections, which are pardoned from damnation) in the o­ther world onely, or vvhether here and there, or vvhether therefore here that they may not finde them there; I gain­say it not, because peradventure it is true. And in another place. Tale aliquid etiā post hanc vitam fieri incredibile non est, & utrum ita sit quaeri potest, & aut inveniri aut latere; non­nullos fideles per ignem quēdam purgatoriū, quanto magis minúsve bona pereuntia dilexe­runt, tanto tardiùs citiusque salvari. Id. in Euchirid. ad Laurent. cap. 69. That some such thing should be after this life, it is not incredible, and whether it be so it may be inquired, and either be found or remaine hidden; that some of the faith­full by a certaine purgatory fire, by how much more or lesse they have loved these perishing goods, are so much the more slowly or sooner saved. Wherein the learned Father dea­leth no otherwise, then when in disputing against the same men, he is content, if they would acknowledge that the wrath of God did remaine everlastingly upon [Page 174] the damned, to give them leave to thinke that their paines might some way or other be lightned or miti­gated. Which yet notwithstanding (saith Quod qui­dem non ideo confirmo, quo­niam non re­fello. Id. de Ci­vit. Dei, lib. 21. cap. 24. he) I doe not therefore affirme, because I oppose it not.

What the Doctors of the next succeeding ages taught herein, may appeare by the writings of S. Cyrill, Gennadius, Olympiodorus, and o [...]hers. S. Cyrill from those last words of our Saviour upon the Crosse, Fa­ther into thy hands I commend my spirit, Quod nobis magnae spei fundamentum a [...]que originē praebet. Cre­dere namque deb [...]mus, quū á corporibus sanctorum animae abierint, tan­quam in manus charissimi pa­tris, bonitati divinae cōmen­dari; nec, ut quidam infide­lium credide­runt, in terris conversari, quousque se­pulturae hono­ribus affectae sint; nec, ut peccatorum a­nimae, ad im­mensi cruciatus locum, id est ad Inferos, deferri: itinere hoc no­bis á Christo primùm prae­parato, sed in manus potiùs patris evolare. Tradidit enim animam suam manibus genitoris, ut ab illâ & per illam facto initio, certam huius rei spem habeamus: firmiter credentes, in manibus Dei nos post mor­lem futuros, vitamque multo meliorem ac perpetuò cum Christo victuros. ideò enim Pau­ [...]us desideravit resolvi, & esse cum Christo. Cyrill. Alexandr. in Iohann. lib. 12. cap. 36. delivereth this as the certaine ground and foundation of our hope. Wee ought to beleeve that the soules of the Saints, when they are departed out of their bodies, are commended unto Gods goodnesse, as unto the hands of a most deare Father; and doe not remaine in the earth (as some of the unbelee­vers have imagined) untill they have had the honour of buriall; neyther are carried, as the soules of the wicked be, unto a place of unmeasurable torment, that is, unto Hell: but rather flye to the hands of the Father, this way being first prepared for us by Christ. For hee delivered up his soule into the hands of his Father, that from it, and by it a beginning being made, we might have certaine hope of this thing: firmely beleeving, that after death we shall be in the hands of God, and shall live a farre better life for ever with Christ. for therefore Paul desired to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. Gennadius, in a booke wherein hee pur­posely taketh upon him to reckon up the particular points of doctrine received by the Church in his time, when he commeth to treat of the state of soules sepa­rated from the body, maketh no mention at all of Pur­gatorie; but layeth down this for one of his positions. [Page 175] Post ascensi­onem Domini ad coelos, om­nium sanctorū animae cum Christo sunt, & exeuntes de corpore ad Christum va­dunt, expectan­tes resurrectio­nem corporis sui, ut ad inte­gram & perpe­tuam beatitu­dinem cum ip­so pariter im­mutentur: si­cut & pecca­torum animae in inferno sub timore positae, expectant re­surrectionem sui corporis, ut cum ipso ad poenam detru­dantur aeter­nam. Gennad. de Ecclesiastic. dogmatib. cap. 79. After the ascension of our Lord into heaven, the soules of all the Saints are with Christ, and departing out of the bo­die goe unto Christ, expecting the resurrection of their bo­die, that together with it they may be changed unto perfect and perpetuall blessednesse: as the soules of the sinners also being placed in Hell under feare, expect the resurrection of their body, that with it they may be thrust unto everlasting paine. In like maner Olympiodorus, expounding that place of Ecclesiastes,Eccles. 11.3. If the tree fall toward the South or toward the North, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be; maketh this inference thereupon. In quocun­que igitur loco seu illustri seu tenebroso, hoc est, sive in turpi scelerum statione sive in honestâ vi [...]tutum, de­prehendatur homo cùm moritur, in eo gradu atque ordine permanet in aeternum. Nam vel requiescit in lumine felicitatis aeternae cum justis & Christo Domino, vel in tenebris crucia­tur cum iniquis & principe mundi huius Diabolo. Olympiodor. in Ecclesiast. cap. 11. In what­soever place therefore, either lightsome or darke, that is, ei­ther in the foule station of sinnes or in the honest of ver­tues, a man is taken when he dyeth, in that degree and or­der he remaineth for ever. For either hee resteth in the light of eternall felicitie with the just and with Christ our Lord, or is tormented in darkenesse with the wicked and with the Divell the prince of this world.

The first whom we finde directly to have held, that Sed tamen de quibusdam levibus culpis esse ante judiciū purgatorius ignis credendus [...]st. Gregor. Dialog. l [...]b. 4. cap. 39. for certaine light faults there is a purgatory fire provi­ded before the day of judgement; was Gregory the first, about the end of the sixth age after the birth of our Sa­viour Christ. It was his imagination, that the end of the world was then at hand, and that Quemadmodū cùm nox finiri & dies incipit oriri, ante Solis o [...]tū simul aliquo modo tenebrae cum luce commixtae sunt, quousque discedentes noct [...]s reliquiae in luce diei subsequentis perfectè vertantur: ita huius mundi finis jam cum futuri saeculi ex ordio permiscetur, atque ipsae reliquiarum tenebrae quâdam iam rerum spiritalium per­mixtione translucent. Id. ibid. cap. 41. as when the night beginneth to be ended and the day to spring, before [Page 176] the rising of the Sunne the darkenesse is in some sort min­gled together with the light, untill the remaines of the de­parting night be turned into the light of the following day; so the end of this world was then intermingled with the beginning of the world to come, and the very darkenes of the remaines thereof made transparent by a certaine mixture of spirituall things. And this he assigneth for the reason, Quid hoc est quaeso te, quòd in his extremis temporibus tam multa de animabus cla­rescunt, quae antè latuerunt; ita ut apertis revelationibus atque ostensio­nibus venturū saeculū inferre se nobis, atque aperire videa­tur. Ibid. cap. 40. why in those last times so many things were made cleare touching the soules, which before lay hid; so that by open revelations and apparitions the world to come might seeme to bring in and open it selfe unto them. But as we see that he was plainly deceived in the one of his conceits; so have we just cause to call into question the veritie of the other. the Scripture especially having in­formed us, that a people for enquiry of matters should not have recourse to Esai. 8.19, 20. the dead, but to their God, to the Law and to the Testimony: it being not Gods manner, to send men Luc. 16.29, 30. from the dead to instruct the living, but to remit them unto Moses and the Prophets, that they may heare them. And the reason is well worth the obser­vation which the author of the Questions to Antiochus rendreth, why God would not permit the soule of any of those that departed from hence to returne backe un­to us againe, and to declare the state of things in Hell unto us: least [...]. Ad An­tioch. quaest. 35. inter opera A­thanasij. much errour might arise from thence unto us in this life. For many of the Divels (saith hee) might transforme themselves into the shapes of those men that were deceased, and say that they vvere risen from the dead; and so might spred many false matters & doctrines of the things there, unto our seduction and destruction.

Neither is it to be passed over, that in those appari­tions and revelations, related by Gregory, there is no mention made of any common lodge in Hell appoin­ted [Page 177] for purging of the dead (which is that which the Church of Rome now striveth for) but of certaine soules only that for their punishment were confined to Gregor. Dia­log. lib. 4. cap. 40. & 55. bathes and other such places here upon earth; which our Romanists may beleeve if they list, but must seeke for the Purgatorie they looke for somewhere else. And yet may they save themselves that labour, if they will be advised by the Bishops assembled in the Councell of Aquisgran (240. yeares after these visions were pub­lished by Gregory) who will resolve them out of the word of God, how sinnes are punished in the world to come. Tribus ita­que modîs pec­cata mortaliū vindicantur: duobus in hâc vitâ, tertio in futurâ vitâ. De duobus ita A­postolus in­quit: Si nos­metipsos judi­caverimus, á Domino non judicabimur. Haec est vindi­cta, quam in­spirante Deo omnis pecca­tor, pro suis ad­missis poeni­tendo, in seipso vindicat. Quod autem prosecu­tus idem Apo­stolus infert; Cùm judica­mur autem, á Domino corri­pimur, ut non cum mundo damnemur: haec est vindicta quam omnipotens Deus misericor­diter peccatori irrogat, iuxta illud: Deus quem amat, corripit, flagellat autem omnem filiū quem recipit. Tertia autem extat valde pertimescenda atque terribilis, quae non in hoc sed in futuro, iustissimo Dei iudicio, fiet saeculo, quando justus iudex dicturus est: Discedite á me maledicti in ignem aeternum, qui paratus est diabolo & angelis eius. Capitul. Aquisgran. Concil. ad Pipinum miss. lib. 1. cap. 1. The sinnes of men (say they) are punished three maner of wayes: two in this life, and the third in the life to come. Of those two the Apostle saith: If we would judge our selves, we should not be judged of the Lord. This is the punishment, wherewith (by the inspiration of God) every sinner, by repenting for his offences, taketh revenge upon himselfe. But where the Apostle consequently adjoyneth; When we are judged we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with this world: this is the pu­nishment, which almightie God doth mercifully inflict up­on a sinner, according to that saying; Whom God loveth, he chasteneth, and he scourgeth everie sonne that hee recei­veth. But the third is very fearefull and terrible, which by the most just judgement of God shall be executed, not in this world but in that which is to come, vvhen the just Iudge shall say: Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, which is prepared for the Divell and his angells. Adde [Page 178] hereunto the saying of the author of the booke De va­nitate saeculi (wrongly ascribed to S. Augustine:) Scitote, quòd cùm anima á corpore evelli­tur, statim aut in paradiso pro me [...]itis bonis collocatur, aut certè pro pec­catis in infer [...]i tartara praeci­pitatur. Lib. de vanit. saeculi, cap. 1. tomo 9. Operum Augu­stini. Know, that when the soule is separated from the body, pre­sently it is eyther placed in Paradise for his good merites, or cast headlong into the bottom of hell for his sinnes. and, that in the dayes of Otto Frisingensis himselfe (who wrote in the year of our Lord MCXLVI.) the doctrine of Purgatory was esteemed onely a private assertion held by some, and not an article of faith generally re­ceived by the whole Church. (for why should hee else write of it in this maner? Esse apud inferos locum purgatorium, in quo salvan­di vel tenebris tantùm affici­antur, vel expi­ationis igne decoquantur, QVIDAM asse­runt. Otto Fri­sing lib. 8. Chron. cap. 26. That there is in Hell a place of Purgatory, wherein such as are to be saved are either only troubled with darkenesse, or decocted with the fire of expiation, SOM [...] doe affirme.) and lastly, that the Pur­gatorie wherewith the Romish clergie doth now delude the world, is a new devise, never heard of in the Church of God, for the space of a thousand yeares af­ter the birth of our Saviour Christ.

For the Gregorian Purgatorie, which reached no further then to the expiation of Sed tamen hoc de parvis minimisque peccatis fieri posse credendū est; sicut est as­siduus otiosus sermo, immo­deratus risus, &c. Gregor. Dialog. lib. 4. cap. 39. small and very light faults, would not serve these mens turne; who verie providently considered, that little use could be made of that fire, if it had no other fuell but this to maintaine it. For such peccadilloes as these (they say) may be ta­ken away in this life Sext. Proaem. in Glos [...]â. verb. Benedictionem. Francisc á Victoriâ in Summâ sacramentor. Eccles. num. 110. Ia­cob. de Graffijs, decis. cas. conscient. part. 1. lib. 1. cap. 6. num. 10. by knocking the breast, by recei­ving the Bishops blessing, by being sprinkled with ho­ly water, and by such other easie remedies; that if this were all the matter to be cared for, men needed not greatly to stand in feare of Purgatorie. Yea admit they should be so extremely negligent in their life time, that they forgat to use anie of these helpes: they [Page 179] might for all this at the time of their death be more afraid then hurt; yea this Sed plerum­que de culp [...]s minimis ipse solus pavor e­gredientes i [...] ­storu [...] animas purgat. Gregor. Dialog. lib. 4. cap 46. feare alone (if there were nothing else) might prove a meanes to purge their soules, at the very parting, from th [...]se faults of the lightest kinde; if Gregory may be credited Nay, which is more, diverse of their owne Dele [...] gra [...]ia sinalis peccatū veni [...]le in ipsâ dissolutione corporis & a­nimae, &c. Hoc ab antiquis di­ctum est. sed nunc commu­niter tenetur, quòd peccatū veniale cùm hinc deferatur á multis, etiam quantum ad culpam, in Pu [...]gatorio purgatur. Al­bert Magn. in Compend. Theo­logicae veritat. lib. 3. c. 11. Vid. Alexand. Ha­len [...] Summ. part. 4. quaest. 15. memb [...]. [...]. artic. 3. Du [...]and. lib 4. dist. 46. quaest. 1. &c. elder Divines (to whom wee may adjoyne Cardinall Caietan. O­pusc. tom 1. tract. 23. de Purgator. quaest. 1. Caietan also in these later dayes) have taught; that all the remaines of sinne in Gods children are quite abolished by finall grace, at the verie instant of their dissolution; so that the staine of the least sinne is not left behinde to be carried unto the other world.

Now Purgatory (as Bellarmine describeth it) is a Locus qui­dā, in quo tanquā in carcere post hanc vitā purgātur animae, quae in hâc non plené purgatae fuerunt; ut nimirùm sic purgatae in coelum ingredi valeant, quò nihil intrabit coinquina­tum. De hoc est tota controversia. Bellarmin de Purgator. lib. 1. cap. 1. certaine place, in which as in a prison those soules are [...]ur­ged after this life, which were not fully purged in this life; that being so purged they may be able to enter in to hea­ven, wherein to no uncleane thing can enter. And of this, saith he, is all the controversie. If that be so: their own Doctors, you see, will quickly bring this controversie unto an end. For if the soules be fully purged here from all spot of sinne: what need have they to be sent unto anie other Purgatorie after this life? Yes, say they, although the fault be quite remitted, and the soule clearely freed from the pollution thereof: yet may there remaine a temporall punishment due for the ve­rie mortall sinnes that have beene committed; which (if reliefe doe not otherwise come, by the helpe of such as are alive) must be soundly layd on in Purgatory. But why in Purgatory, say we; seeing here there is no more purging worke left? for the fault and the blot being [Page 180] taken away already; what remaineth yet to be purged? The punishment onely they say is left behinde: and punishment, I hope, they will not hold to be the thing that is purged away by punishment. Againe we desire them to tell us, what Father or ancient Doctor did e­ver teach this strange divinity? that a man being cleer­ly purged from the blott of his sinne, and fully acquit­ted here from the fault thereof; should yet in the other world be punished for it with such grievous torments as the tongue of man is not able to expresse. And yet, as new and as absurd a doctrine as it is, the Pope and his adherents have builded thereupon both their guile­full Purgatory (with which it suteth as evill-favoured­ly as may be) and their gainefull Indulgences; which, by their own doctrine, Id. de Indul­gent. lib. 1. cap. 7. propos. 1. free not a man from the guilt of anie fault, either mortall or veniall, but onely from the guilt of the temporall punishment, which remay­neth after the fault hath beene forgiven.

When Thomas Aquinas & other Friars had brought the frame of this new building unto some perfection, and fashioned all things therein unto their owne best advantage: the Doctors of the Greeke Church did publickely oppose themselves against it. Matthaeus Quaestor by name wrote against Thomas herein: whose booke is still preserved in the Emperours Librarie at Vienna. So Athanasius his disputation against Purga­torie is (or lately was) to be seen in the French Kings Librarie: and the like of Germanus (Patriarch of Con­stantinople) and others, elsewhere. The Apologie of the Grecians touching the same subject, is commonly to be had: which was penned by Sixt. Senens. lib. 6. Bibliothec. Sanct. annotat. 259. Marcus Eugenicus archbishop of Ephesus, and Responsio Graecorum ad positionē La­tinorum, opi­nionem ignis purgatorii fun­dantium & probantium. Quae lecta & data fuit reve­rendiss. & reve­rendis patribus, & Dominis deputatis, die sabbati, XIIII. mensis Iunii, 1438. in sacri­stiâ frarrum minorum, Ba­sileae Praesen­tata Nicolao Cusano. Mar­ [...]in. Crusius in Turco-Graeciâ, pag. 186, ex libro MS. Ioan. Capni­onis. presented to Cardinall Cusanus and the deputies of the Councell of Basil, in [Page 181] the yeare MCCCCXXXVIII. the 14 of Iune; Ast. Concil. Florentin. the verie same day, wherein Bessarion Archbishop of Nice dispu­ted with the Latines of the same matter in the Coun­cell assembled at Ferraria. In that Apologie, the Gre­cians begin their disputation with this proposition. [...]. Apolog Grae­cor. de Purgator. á Bonav. Vu [...]can. edit. A purgatory fire, and a punishment by fire which is temporall and shall at last have an end; neyther have we received from our Doctors, neyther doe we know that the Church of the East doth maintaine. They adde further. [...]. Ibid. Neither have we received it from any of our Doctors, and moreo­ver no small feare doth trouble us, least by admitting a temporary fire both penall and purgatory, wee should de­stroy the full consent of the Church. And thereupon they conclude verie peremptorily. [...]. Ibid. For these reasons therefore, neyther have we ever hitherto affirmed any such thing, neither will we at all affirme it.

Yet within a yeare after, the Pope and his ministers prevailed so farre with them in the Councell at Flo­rence, that they were content for peace sake to yeeld, that [...]. Concil. Florentin. Sess 25. the middle sort of soules were in a place of punish­ment; but whether that were fire, or darkenesse and tem­pest, or something else, they would not contend. And ac­cordingly was the pretented Vnion betwixt them and the Latines drawne up: that,Si veré poenitentes in Dei charitate decesserint, antequàm dignis poenitentiae fructibus de commissis satisfecerint & omissis; eorum animas poenis purga­toriis post mortem purgari. Eugenij IV. Bulla Vnionis. ibid. Cuius [...] etiam inter [...] Cotteniana vidimus. if such as be truely peni­tent dye in Gods favour, before they have satisfied for their sinnes of commission and omission by worthy fruits of pe­nance, their soules are purged after death with purgatory punishments; neither fire, nor anie other kinde of pu­nishment being specified in particular. But neyther [Page 182] would Marcus the Bishop of Ephesus (who was one of the Legates of the Patriarches of Antioch and of Ieru­salem) consent to this union: neither could the Greeke Church afterwards by anie meanes be drawne to yeeld unto it. And so unto this day, the Romish Purgatorie is rejected as well by the Grecians, as by the Muscovites and Russians, the Cophtites and Abassines, the Georgians and Armenians, together with the Syrians and Chaldae­ans that are subject to the Patriarches of Antioch and Babylon, from Cyprus and Palaestina unto the East Indies. And this may suffice for the discoverie of this new-found creeke of Purgatorie.

OF PRAYER FOR THE DEAD.

PRayer for the dead, as it is used in the Church of Rome, doth necessarily suppose Purgatorie: and therefore whatsoever hath beene alledged out of the Scriptures and Fathers against the one, doth stand in full force against the other. so that here wee need not actum agere, and make a new worke of overthrowing that, which hath beene sufficiently beaten down alrea­die. But on the other side, the admittall of Purgatorie doth not necessarily inferre Prayer for the dead: nay, if we shall suppose (with our Adversaries) that Purgato­rie is the Matth. 5.26. prison, from whence none shall come out, un­till they have payde the utmost farthing; their owne paying, and not other mens praying, must be the thing they are to trust unto, if ever they looke to be delivered out of that jayle. Our Romanists indeed doe common­ly take it for granted, that Bishop against Perkins reform. Catholicke, part. 2. pag. 149. Purgatory and prayer for the [Page 183] dead be so closely lincked together, that the one doth ne­cessarily follow the other: but in so doing, they reckon without their hoste, and greatly mistake the matter. For howsoever they may deale with their owne devises as they please, and lincke their Prayers with their Purga­torie as closely as they list: yet shall they never be able to shew, that the commemoration and prayers for the dead, used by the ancient Church, had anie relation un­to their Purgatorie; and therefore whatsoever they were, Popish prayers we are sure they were not. I easily foresee, that the full opening of the judgement of the Fathers in this point, will hardly stand with that brevi­tie which I intended to use in treating of these latter questions: the particulars be so manie, that necessarily doe incurre into the handling of this argument. But I suppose the Reader will be content rather to dispense with that promise, whereby I did abbridge my selfe of the libertie which otherwise I might freely have taken: than be sent away unsatisfied in a matter, wherein the Adversarie beareth himselfe confident beyond mea­sure, that the whole streame of antiquity runneth clear­ly upon his side.

That the truth then of things may the better ap­peare: we are here prudently to distinguish the origi­nall institution of the Church, from the private opini­ons of particular Doctors which waded further herein then the generall intendment of the Church did give them warrant; and diligently to consider, that the me­morialls, oblations and prayers made for the dead at the beginning, had reference to such as rested from their labours, and not unto anie soules which were thought to be tormented in that Vtopian Purgatorie, whereof there was no newes stirring in those dayes. [Page 184] This may be gathered, first, by the practise of the anci­ent Christians, laide down by the author of the Com­mentaries upon Iob, (which are wrongly ascribed unto Origen) in this maner. Proptereà & memorias san­ctorū sacimus & parentum nostrorum vel amicorum in fide morien­tium devoté memoriam a­gimus; tam il­lorum refrige­rio gaudentes, quàm etiam nobis piam consummatio­nem in fide po­stulantes. Cele­bramus nimi­rum, religiosos cum sacerdoti­bus convocan­tes, fideles unâ [...]um clero; in­vitantes adhuc egenos & pau­peres, pupillos & viduas satu­rantes: ut fiat festivitas no­stra in memoriā requiei defun­ctis animabus, nobis autem efficiatur in o­dorem suavita­tis in conspectu aeterni Dei Lib. 3. commentar. in Iob, inter opera Origenis. Wee observe the memorialls of the Saints, and devoutly keepe the remembrance of our pa­rents or friends which dye in the faith; as well rejoycing for their refreshing, as requesting also for our selves a god­ly consummation in the faith. Thus therefore doe we ce­lebrate the death, not the day of the birth: because they which dye, shall live for ever. and we celebrate it, calling to­gether religious persons with the Priests, the faithfull with the Clergie; inviting moreover the needy and the poore, feeding the orphanes and widowes: that our festivity may be for a memoriall of rest to the soules departed whose re­membrance we celebrate, and to us may become a sweet sa­vour in the sight of the eternall God. Secondly, by that which S. Cyprian writeth of Laurentinus and Ignatius: whom he acknowledgeth to have received of the Lord palmes and crownes for their famous martyrdome, and yet presently addeth. Sacrificia pro eis semper, ut meministis, offerimus; quo­ties martyrum passiones & dies anniversariâ commemoratione celebramus. Cyprian. epist. 34. Wee offer sacrifices alwayes for them, when we celebrate the passions and dayes of the mar­tyrs with an anniversarie commemoration. Thirdly, by that which we reade in the author of the Ecclesiasticall Hierarchy, set out under the name of Dionysius the Areo­pagite. For where the partie deceased is described by him to have departed out of this life Vid. supr. pag. 167. replenished with divine joy, as now not fearing any change to worse, being come unto the end of all his labours; and to have been both privately acknowledged by his friends, and pub­lickly pronounced by the ministers of the Church to [Page 185] be a happy man, and to be verily admitted into the [...]. Dionys. Ecclesiact. hie­rarch. cap 7. so­cietie of the Saincts that have beene from the beginning of the world: yet doth he declare, that the Bishop made prayer for him, (upon what ground we shall afterward heare) that [...]. Ibid. God would forgive him all the sinnes that he had committed through humane infirmitie, and bring him into the light and the land of the living, into the bo­somes of Abraham, Isaac and Iacob, into the place from whence paine and sorrow and sighing flyeth. Fourthly, by the funerall ordinances of the Church, related by S. Chrysostome: which were appointed to admonish the living, that the parties deceased were in a state of joy and not of griefe. [...]; Chry­sost. in epist. ad H [...]br. homil. 4. For tell me (saith he) what doe the bright lampes meane? doe wee not accompany them there­with as champions? What meane the Hymnes? [...]. Id. ibid. Consider what thou dost sing at that time. Returne my soule unto thy rest; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. and againe: I will feare no evill, because thou art with me. and againe: Thou art my refuge from the affliction that com­passeth me. Consider what these Psalmes meane.

Fiftly, by the formes of the prayers that are found in the ancient Liturgies. as in that of the Churches of Syria, attributed unto S. Basil: Memento etiam Do­mine eorum qui decesserunt migrarunt (que) ex hâc vitâ & Episcoporum orthodoxorum qui inde á Petro & Iacobo Apostolis ad hunc us (que) diem, rectū Fidei verbū claré sunt professi; & nominatim Ignatij, Dionysij, Iulij, ac reliquorū Divorū laudabilis memoriae. Memento Domine eorū quo (que) qui us (que) ad sanguinem pro Religione steterūt, & Gregem tuū sacrum per justitiā & sanctitatem paverunt, &c. Basilij Anaphora, ab Andr. Masio. ex Syriaco conversa. Be mindefull, O Lord, of them which are dead, and are departed out of this life, and of the orthodoxe Bishops which from Peter and Iames the Apostles untill this day have clearely professed the right word of Faith; and namely, of Ignatius, Dionysius, Iu­lius, [Page 186] and the rest of the Saincts of worthy memory. Be mind­full, O Lord, of them also which have stood unto blood for Religion, and by righteousnesse and holinesse have fedd thy holy Flock. and in the Liturgie fathered upon the Apostles: [...], etc. Conctitus. Apostolic. lib. 8. cap. 12. We offer unto thee for all the Saints vvhich have pleased thee from the beginning of the world, Patri­arches, Prophets, Iust men, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Bishops, Priests, Deacons, &c. and in the Liturgies of the Churches of Aegypt, which carry the title of S. Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, and Cyrill of Alexandria. Memento Domine san­ctorum tuorū: dignare ut re­corderis omniū sanctorum tuo­rum, qui tibi placuerunt ab initio, Patrum nostrorum sanctorum, Patri­archarum, Pro­phetarum, A­postolorum, Martyrū, Con­fessorum, Euan­gelizantium, Euangelistarū, & omnium spi­rituum justorū, qui obierunt in fide: & inprimis sanctae, gloriosae semper (que) virginis Dei genitricis Mariae; & sancti Ioannis Praecursoris, Baptistae & Martyris; Sancti Stephani protodiaconi & pro­tomartyris; Sancti Marci Apostoli, Euangelistae & Martyris; &c. Liturg. Aegyptiac. Basilij, Gregorij▪ & Cyrilli, á Victorio Scialach ex Arabico convers pag. 22.47. & 60. ed [...]t. August ann. 1604. Bee mindfull, O Lord, of thy Saints: vouchsafe to remember all thy Saints, which have pleased thee from the begin­ning, our holy Fathers, the Patriarches, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, Preachers, Evangelists, and all the soules of the just, which have dyed in the faith: and espe­cially, the holy, glorious, the evermore Virgin, Mary the mother of God; and S. Iohn the forerunner, the Baptist and Martyr; S. Stephen the first Deacon and Martyr; S. Marke the Apostle, Evangelist and Martyr; &c. and in the Liturgie of the Church of Constantinople, ascri­bed to S. Chrysostom: [...]. Chrysost. Li [...]urg. Graec. We offer unto thee this reasonable service, for those who are at rest in the faith, our Forefa­thers, Fathers, Patriarches, Prophets, and Apostles, Prea­chers, Evangelists, Martyrs, Confessors, religious persons, and every spirit perfected in the faith. but especially for our most holy, immaculate, most blessed Lady, the mother of God and aye-virgin Mary. which kinde of oblation for [Page 187] the Saincts sounding somewhat harshly in the eares of the Latines, Leo Thuscus in his translation thought best to expresse it to their better liking after this maner. Adhuc offe­rimu [...] tibi ra­tionabile hoc obsequium pro fideliter dor­mientibus, pro patribus & proavis nostris▪ intervenienti­bus Patriar­chis, Prophetis, Apostolis, Martyribus, Confessoribus, & omnibus Sanctis. Chrysost. Liturg. Latin. We offer unto thee this reasonable service for the faith­fully deceased, for our fathers and fore-fathers; the Patri­arches, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors, and all the Saints interceding for them. As if the phrase of [...]; Chrysost. homil. 21. in Act. tom. 4. edit. Sávil. pag. 736. & tom. 7. pag. 928. offe­ring for the Martyrs, were not to be found in S. Chryso­stoms own workes: and more universally [...]. Epiphan. haeres. 75. for the just, both the Fathers, and the Patriarches, the Prophets and Apostles, and Evangelists and Martyrs and Confessors, the Bishops and such as ledd a solitarie life, and the whole or­der; in the suffrages of the Church, rehearsed by Epi­phanius. yea and in the Western Church it selfe: Pro spiritibus pausantiū Hilarij, Athanasij, Martini, Ambrosij, Augustini, Fulgentij, Leandri, Isidori, &c. Offic. [...]zarab. apud Eugen. R [...]bi [...]sium, in vi [...]â Francis [...]i Ximenij. for the spirits of those that are at rest, Hilary, Athanasius, Martin, Ambrose, Augustin, Fulgentius, Leander, Isido­rus, &c. as may be seene in the Muzarabicall Office u­sed in Spaine.

Sixthly, this may be confirmed out of the funerall orations of S. Ambrose: in one whereof, touching the Emperour Valentinian and his brother Gratian, thus he speaketh. Credamus quia ascen­dit á deserto, hoc est, ex hoc arido & inculto loco ad illas florulentas delectationes, ubi cum fratre conjunctus aeternae vitae fruitur voluptate. Beati ambo: si quid meae orationes vale­bunt; nulla dies vos silentio praeteribit. Nulla inhonoratos vos mea transibit oratio. Nulla nox non donatos aliquâ precum mearum contextione transcurret Omnibus vos oblationi­bu [...] frequentabo. Ambros. [...]e obitu Valentinians Imp. Let us beleeve that Valentinian is ascended from the desert, that is to say, from this dry and unmanu­red place unto those flowry delights; where being conjoy­ned with his brother, hee enjoyeth the pleasure of everla­sting life. Blessed are you both: if my orizons shall pre­vayle anie thing; no day shall overslip you in silence. no o­ration [Page 188] of mine shall passe you over unhonoured. no night shall runne by, wherein I will not bestow upon you some por­tion of my prayers. With all oblations will I frequent you. In another, he prayeth thus unto God: Da requiem perfecto servo tuo Theodo­sio, requiem quam praepa­rasti sanctis tuis. Id. de obitu Theodosij Imp. Give rest unto thy perfect servant Theodosius, that rest which thou hast prepared for thy Saints. and yet hee had said before of him: Absolutus igitur dubio certamine frui­tur nunc augu­stae memoriae Theodosius luce perpetuâ, tranquillitate diutu [...]nâ; & pro ijs quae in hoc gessit cor­pore, munera­tionis divinae fructibus gra­tulator. Ergo quia dilexit augustae me­moriae Theo­dosius Domi­num Deum suum, meruit sanctorū con­sortia. Id. ibid. Theodosius of honourable memory being freed from doubtfull fight, doth now enjoy everlasting light and continuall tranquillitie; and for the things which he did in this bodie, he rejoyceth in the fruits of Gods reward: because he loved the Lord his God, he hath obtayned the so­cietie of the Saints. and afterward also. Manet ergo in lumine The­odosius, & san­ctorum caetibus gloriatur. Ibid. Theodosius re­maineth in light, and glorieth in the companie of the Saints. In a third, he prayeth thus for his brother Sa­tyrus: Tibi nunc omnipotens Deus innoxiam commendo animam, tibi hostiam meam offero: cape propitius ac serenus fraternum munus, sacrificiū sacerdotis. Id. de obi [...]u fratris. Almightie God, I now commend unto thee his harmelesse soule, to thee doe I make my oblation; accept mercifully and gratiously the office of a brother, the sacri­fice of a Priest. although he had directly pronounced of him before, that Intravit in regnum coelorum, quoniam credidit Dei verbo, &c. Id. ibid. he had entred into the kingdome of hea­ven, because he beleeved the word of God, and excelled in manie notable vertues. Lastly, in one of his Epistles he comforteth Faustinus for the death of his sister, af­ter this maner. Tot igitur semirutarum urbium cadavera, terrarum (que) sub eodem conspectu exposita funera; non te admonent unius, sanctae licèt & admirabilis▪ foeminae decessionem consolabiliorem habendam? praesertim cùm illa in perpetuum prostrata ac [...]iruta sint; haec autem ad tempus quidem erepta nobis meliorem illic vitam exigat. Ita (que) non tam deplorandam, quàm prosequendā orationibus reor: nec moestificandā lachrymis [...]uis, sed magis oblationibus animam ejus Domino cōmendandam arbitror. Id. epist. 8. Doe not the carkases of so many halfe-ruined cities, and the funeralls of so much land exposed under one view, admonish thee; that the departure of one woman, although a holy and an admirable one, should be [Page 189] born with greater consolation? especially seeing they are cast down and overthrowen for ever; but she, being taken from us but for a time, doth passe a better life there. I there­fore thinke, that she is not so much to be lamented, as to be followed with prayers: and am of the minde, that she is not to be made sadde with thy teares, but rather that her soule should be commended with oblations unto the Lord. Thus farre S. Ambrose. Unto whom we may adjoyne Grego­ry Nazianzen also: who in his funerall oration that he made upon his brother Caesarius, having acknowledged that he had [...]. Greg. Nazianz in fun. Caesarij, orat. 10. received those honours that did befit a new created soule, which the Spirit had reformed by water (for he had beene but lately baptized before his departure out of this life) doth notwithstanding pray, [...] Ibid. that the Lord would be pleased to receive him.

Diverse instances of the like practise in the ages fol­lowing, I have produced in another Discourse of the Religion pro­f [...]ssed by [...]he an­cient I [...]ish. pag. 21.22.23. place: to which I will adde some few more, to the end that the Reader may from thence observe, how long the primitive insti­tution of the Church did hold up head among the tares that grew up with it, and in the end did quite choake and extinguish it. Our English Saxons had lear­ned of Gregory to pray for reliefe of those soules that were supposed to suffer paine in Purgatorie: and yet the introducing of that noveltie was not able to justle out the ancient usage of making prayers and oblations for them which were not doubted to have beene at rest in Gods kingdome. And therefore the brethren of the Church of Hexham, in the anniversarie commemora­tion of the obite of Oswald King of Northumberland, used Vigilias pro salute animae ejus facere, plurimaque psalmorum lande celebra­tâ, victimā pro eo manè sacrae oblationis of­ferre. Bed▪ lib. 3. histor. Ecclesiast. cap. 2. to keep their Vigiles for the health of his soule, and having spent the night in praysing of God with psalmes, to offer for him in the morning the sacrifice of the [Page 190] sacred oblation, as Beda writeth: who telleth us yet withall, that Id. ibid. cap. 12. & 14. he raigned with God in heaven, and by his praye [...]s procured manie miracles to be wrought on earth. So likewise doth the same Bede Id. lib. 4. hist. cap. 23. report, that when it was discovered by two severall visions, that Hilda the Abbesse of Streansheale (or Whitby in Yorke­shire) was carried up by the Angels into heaven; they which heard thereof presently caused prayers to be said for her soule. And Osberne relateth the like of Dunstan: that being at Bathe, and Repentè ad superna rap [...]us cujusdam disci­puli nobiliter á se apud Glesto­niam educati animam innu­merâ Angelorū frequentiâ hinc inde stipatam, atque immensi luminis sulgore perfusam, ad coeli palatium provehi con­spexit. Moxque in manus divi­ [...]ae pietatis eā commendans, dominos quo (que) loci ad com­mendandum invitat. Osber­nus, in vitâ S. Dunstani, MS. in Bibli [...]thec. Cottonianâ & [...]odl [...]ianâ. No­tandum veró, in Io. Capgravij Le­gendâ (in quâ prior narrationis huius pars ad verbum ex Osberno, ut alia de Dunstano complura, descripta cerni­tur) p [...]steriorem hanc sententiam omit [...]i peni [...]ùs: in Eadm [...]ro veró (ex quo, non autem ex Osberno vel O [...]berto, Vita Dunstani quae Mai. 19. apud Surium legitur est desumpta) ita tantummodò re­f [...]rri. Qui pro tantâ gloriâ fratris ultrà quàm dici queat exultans, & immensas corde & ore Deo cunctipotenti gratias agens; socijs quid acciderit manifestâ voce exposuit, & diem ac horam transitus ejus notari praecepit. beholding in such another vision the soule of one that had been his schol­er at Glastenbury, to be carried up into the palace of hea­ven; he straightway commended the same into the hands of the divine pie [...]ie, and intreated the lords of the place where he was to do so likewise.

Other narrations of the same kind may be found a­mong them that have written of Saincts lives: & par­ticularly in the Tome published by Mosander, pag. 69. touching the decease of Bathildis Queen of France; & pa. 25. concerning the departure of Godfry Earle of Cap­penberg. who is said there to have appeared unto a cer­tain Abbess, called Gerbergis, & to have acquainted her, Noveris, ait, me modo sine ullâ dilatione, aut ullo severioris examinis periculo ad summi Regis palatium commigrâsse, atque tanquàm Regis immortalis filium beatâ immortalitate vestitum. Vit. Godefrid. cap. 13. á Iac. Mosandro edit. Colon. an. 1581. that he was now without all delay, & without all danger of any more severe triall, gone unto the palace of the highest King, and as the sonne of the immortall King was cloathed with blessed immortalitie. & the Monk that writ the Le­gend [Page 191] addeth, that Mox fratri­bus Cappen­bergensibus in­dicavit beati viri obitum, & pro eo Missae sacrificium of­ferendum cura­vit. Ibid. shee presently thereupon caused the sacrifice of the Masse to be offered for him. which how fa­bulous soever it may be for the matter of the vision, yet doth it strongly prove, that within these 500. years (for no longer since it is, that this is accounted to have bene done) the use of offering for the soules of those that were beleeved to be in heaven was still retayned in the Church. The letters of Charles the great unto Offa King of Mercia are yet extant; wherein hee Deprecantes ut pro eo inter­cedi jubeatis: nullam haben­tes dubitatio­nē, beatam illi­us animam in requie esse; sed ut fidem & dilectionem nostram osten­damus in ami­cum nostrum charissimum. Carol. M. apud Guil. Malmes­buriens. de g [...]st. reg. Anglor. li. 1. cap. 4. wisheth that intercessions should be made for Pope Adrian then lately deceased: not having any doubt at all (saith hee) but that his blessed soule is at rest; but that we may shew our faithfulnesse and love unto our most deare friend. Lastly, Pope Innocent the third (or the second rather) being inquired of by the Bishop of Cremona, concer­ning the state of a certaine Priest that dyed without Baptisme: resolveth him out of S. Augustine and S. Ambrose, that Quia in sanctae matris Ecclesiae fide, & Christi no­minis confessi­one persevera­vit; ab origi­nali peccato solutum, & coelestis patriae gaudium esse adeptum, asse­rimus incun­ctanter. Decretal. lib. 3. tit. 43. de presbytero non baptizato, cap. 2. Apostolicam. & Collect. 1. Bernardi Papiensis, lib. 5. [...]it. 35 cap. 2. because he continued in the faith of the holy mother the Church and the confession of the name of Christ; he was assoyled from originall sinne, and had at­tayned the joy of the heavenly country. Upon which ground at last he maketh this conclusion: Sopitis igitur quaestionibus, docto [...]um patrū sententias teneas: & in Ecclesiâ tuâ juges preces hostias (que) Deo offerri jubeas pro presby­tero memorato. Ibid. Ceasing therefore all questions, hold the sentences of the learned Fathers; and command continuall prayers and sacrifices to bee offered unto God in thy Church for the foresaid Priest.

Now having thus declared, unto what kinde of per­sons the Commemorations ordained by the ancient Church did extend: the next thing that commeth to consideration is, what we are to conceive of the prima­rie [Page 192] intention of those prayers that were appointed to be made therein. And here we are to understand, that first prayers of Praise and Thankesgiving were presen­ted unto God for the blessed estate that the partie de­ceased was now entred upon: whereunto were after­wards added prayers of Deprecation and Petition, that God would be pleased to forgive him his sinnes, to keep him from Hell, and to place him in the kingdome of Heaven. which kinde of intercessions, howsoever at first they were well meant (as we shall heare) yet in pro­cesse of time they proved an occasion of confirming men in diverse errors; especially when they beganne once to be applyed not onely to the good but to evill livers also, unto whom by the first institution they ne­ver were intended.

The terme of [...], a thankesgiving prayer, I borrow from the writer of the Ecclesiasticall Hierar­chy: who in the description of the funerall observan­ces used of old in the Church, informeth us, first, that the friends of the dead [...] (vel [...]. Dionys. Eccle­siast. Hierarch. cap. 7. accounted him to be (as he was) blessed, because that according to his wish he had obtained a victorious end: and thereupon sent forth Hymnes of thankesgiving to the authour of that victory; desiring withall, that they themselves might come unto the like end. and then that [...]. Ibid. the Bishop likewise offered up a prayer of thankesgiving unto God; when the dead was afterward [...]. Ibid. brought unto him, to receive as it were at his hands a sacred coronation. Thus at the funerall of Fabiola, the praysing of God by singing Sonabant Psalmi; & aurata tecta templorum, reboans in sublime qua­ [...]icbat alleluia. Hieronym. inepitaphio Fabiola, epist. 30. of Psalmes, and resounding of Alleluia, is specially mentioned by [Page 193] S. Hierom: and the generall practise and intention of the Church therein is expressed and earnestly urged by S. Chrysostom in this maner. [...]. Chrysost. in epist. ad Hebr. homil. 4. Do not we prayse God, and give thankes unto him for that he hath now crowned him that is departed, for that he hath freed him from his labours, for that quitting him from feare he keepeth him with himselfe? Are not the Hymnes for this end? Is not the singing of Psalmes for this purpose? All these be tokens of rejoycing. Whereupon hee thus presseth them that used immoderate mourning for their dead. [...]; Id. ibid. Thou say­est; Returne, O my soule, unto thy rest, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee: and dost thou weepe? Is not this a stage-play, is it not meere simulation? For if thou dost indeed beleeve the things that thou sayest, thou la­mentest idely: but if thou playest, and dissemblest, and thinkest these things to be fables; why doest thou then sing? why doest thou suffer those things that are done? Wherefore doest thou not drive away them that sing? and in the end hee concludeth somewhat prophetically; that he [...] Ibid. very much feared, lest by this meanes some grie­vous disease should creepe in upon the Church.

Whether the doctrine now maintayned in the Church of Rome, that the children of God presently after their departure out of this life, are cast into a lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, be not a spice of this disease, and whether their practise in chanting of Psalmes (appointed for the expression of joy & thank­fulnesse) over them whom they esteeme to be torme [...] ­ted in so lamentable a fashion, be not a part of that scene and pageant at which S. Chrysostom doth so take on: I leave it unto others to judge. That his feare was not altogether vaine, the event it selfe doth shew. For howsoever in his dayes, the fire of the Romish Purgato­rie [Page 194] was not as yet kindled: yet were there certain sticks then a gathering, which ministred fuell afterwards un­to that flame. Good S. Augustin, (who lived three and twentie years after S. Chrysostoms death) declared him­selfe to be of this minde: that the Cùm sacri­ficia sive altaris sive quarum­cun (que) eleemo­synarum pro baptizatis de­functis omni­bus offeruntur; pro valde bonis gratiarum a­ctiones sunt, pro non valde malis propitia­tiones sunt, pro valde malis etsi nulla sunt ad­jumenta mor­tiorum, qua­lescun (que) vivorū consolationes sunt. Augus [...]in. En [...]h [...]rid. ad Laurent. cap. 110. oblations and almes usually offered in the Church for all the dead that re­ceived baptisme, were thankesgivings for such as were very good, propitiations for such as were not very bad; but as for such as were very evill, although they were no helpes of the dead, yet were they some kinde of consolations of the li­ving. And although this were but a private expositi­on of the Churches meaning in her prayers and obla­tions for the dead; and the opinion of a Doctor too, that did not hold Purgatorie to be anie article of his Creed: yet did the Romanists in times following gree­dily take hold of this, and make it the maine founda­tion upon which they laid the hay and stubble of their devised Purgatorie.

A private exposition I call this: not onely because it is not to be found in the writings of the former Fa­thers, but also because it suteth not well with the gene­rall practise of the Church which it intendeth to in­terpret. It may indeed fit in some sort that part of the Church-service, wherein there was made a severall commemoration, first of the Patriarches, Prophets, Apo­stles and Martyrs, after one maner; and then of the o­ther dead, after another: which, together with the conceit that Augustin. de Verbis Apostoli, serm. 17. an injury was offered to a Martyr, by praying for him, was it that first occasioned S. Id. ibid. & in Euang. Iohan. tracta [...]. 84. Augustin to thinke of the former distinction. But in the Non sunt praetermitten­dae supplica­tiones pro spi­ritibus mortuo­rum: quas fa­ciendas pro omnibus in Christianâ & Catholicá societate defunctis, etiam tacitis nominibus quorumque, sub generali commemoratione su­scepit Ecclesia. Id. de Curâ pro mortuis, cap 4. suppli­cations for the spirits of the dead, which the Church under [Page 195] a generall commemoration was accustomed to make for all that we [...]e deceased in the Christian and Catholicke com­munion: to imagine, that one and the same act of pray­ing should be a petition for some, and for others a thankesgiving only, is somwhat too harsh an interpre­tation. especially where we finde it propounded by way of petition, and the intention thereof directly ex­pressed. as in the Greek Liturgie, attributed to S. Iames, the brother of our Lord: [...]. Iacob. Liturg. Be mindfull (O Lord God of the spirits and of all flesh) of such as vve have remembred and such as we have not remembred, being of right beleefe, from Abel the just untill this present day. Do thou cause them to rest in the land of the living, in thy kingdome, in the delight of Paradise, in the bosoms of Abrahā and Isaac & Iacob, our holy fathers: whence griefe & sorrow & sigh­ing are fledd, where the light of thy countenance doth visit them and shine for ever. and in the Offices compiled by Alcuinus: Te, Domine sancte Pater omnipotens ae­terne Deus, supplices de­precamur pro spiritibus fa­mulorum & famu [...]arum tuarum, quos ab origine seculi hujus ad te accersire praecepisti: u [...] digneri [...], Domine, dare eis locum luc [...]dum, locum refrigerij & quietis; & ut liceat eis tran­sire portas infernorum, & vias tenebrarum, maneantque in mansionibus Sanctorum, & in luce sanctâ quam olim Abrahae promisisti & semini ejus Alcuin. Offic. per ferias. col. 228. Oper. edit. Pa [...]is. ann. 16.7. O Lord, holy Father, almightie and everla­sting God, we humbly make request unto thee for the spirits of thy servants and handmaydes, vvhich from the begin­ning of this world thou hast called unto thee: that thou wouldest vouchsafe, O Lord, to give unto them a lightsome place, a place of refreshing and ease; and that they may passe by the gates of hell, and the vvayes of darkenesse, and may abide in the mansions of the Saincts, and in the holy light which thou didst promise of old unto Abraham and his seed.

So the Commemoration of the faithfull departed, retai­ned as yet in the Romane Missall, is begun with this o­rizon: [Page 196] Requiem ae­ternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. In­truitus Missae, in Commem [...]ratio­ne omnium fide­lium defunctorū. Agēda mortuorū. in Antiphonario Gregorij, circ fin. Eternall rest grant unto them, O Lord: and let everlasting light shine unto them. Whereunto we may adde these two prayers (to omit a great number more of the like kinde) used of old in the same Church. Suscipe, sancta Trinitas, hāc oblationē, quā tibi offeri­mus pro omni­bus in tui nomi­nis confessione defunctis: ut te dexterā auxilij tui porrigente, vitae perennis requiē habeāt; & á poenis im­piorū segregati, semp [...]r in tuae laudis laetitiâ perseverēt. Miss [...] Latinae antiqua, edit. A [...]gentin. an. 1557. pa [...]. 52. Re­ceive, O holy Trinitie, this oblation, vvhich vve offer unto thee for all that are departed in the confession of thy name: that thou reaching unto them the right hand of thy helpe, they may have the rest of everlasting life; and being sepa­rated from the punishments of the wicked, they may alwayes persevere in the joy of thy praise. and, Hanc igitur oblationē, quā tibi pro cōmemoratione animarū in pace dormientiū suppli­citer immolamus, quae sumus, Domine, benignus accipias; & tuâ pietate cōcedas, ut & nobis proficiat hujus p [...]etatis affectus, & illis impetret beatitudinem sempiternam. Offic. Grego­rian. tom. 5. Oper. Gr [...]gor. edit Paris an. 1605. col. 235.236. Tom. 2. Li [...]urgic. Pamelij pag. 610 & Praefation. verust [...]it. Colon an. 1530. num. 111. This oblation, which we humbly offer unto thee for the commemoration of the soules that sleepe in peace, we beseech thee, O Lord, re­ceive graciously; and of thy goodnesse grant, that both the affection of this pietie may profite us, and obtaine for them everlasting blisse. Where you may observe, that the soules unto which everlasting blisse was wished for, were yet acknowledged to rest in peace, & consequently not to be disquieted with anie Purgatorie torment. e­ven as in the Canon of the Masse it selfe, the Priest in the Commemoration for the dead praieth thus: Memento etiam, Domine, famulorū famularamque tuarum, qui nos praecesserunt cum signo fidei, & dormiunt in somno pacis. Ipsis Domine, & omnibus in Christo quiescētibus, locū refrigerij, lucis & pacis, ut indulge­as, deprecamur. Canon. Missae, in Officio Ambrosiano & Gregoriano, & Missa [...]. Roma [...]o in Graecâ tamen Li [...]urgiâ B. Petro at [...]ributâ pro Cōmemoratione defunctorū posita [...]îc cernitu [...] Comm [...]mora­ [...]io viventium ( [...].) & in vetustissimis quibusdā Romanis Missalibus manuscriptis, haec mortuorū cōmemorationi [...] formula nusquā extat: (P. [...] lib 5. de adultera [...]. Coen. Dom. & Misse myst [...]r cap. 48.) a [...]nominatim in votust [...]ssimo Canone Gregoriano, qu [...] in Tigurinae Abbatiae Biblioth [...]câ habebatur, ex authentico libro Bibliothecae cubiculi de­scriptus, (apud Henric. Bullinger lib. 2. de Origine erroris, cap. 8.) Re­member, O Lord, thy servants and handmaydes, vvhich have gone before us with the ensigne of faith, and sleepe in the sleepe of peace. To them, O Lord, and to all that are at [Page 197] rest in Christ, we beseech thee that thou wouldest graunt a place of refreshing, light, and peace.

Nay the Armenians in their Liturgie, intreat God to P [...]r han [...] e­tiam obl [...]tionē da aeternā pa [...]ē omnibus. qui nos praece [...]se­runt in fide Christi, [...]anctis patribus, Pa­triarchis, Apo­stolis, Prophe­tis, Martyribus, &c. Litu [...]g. Ar­men. edi [...]. Cra [...] ­viae, Andreâ Lu­bel [...]z [...]ck interp [...]. give eternall peace, not only in generall unto all that have gone before us in the faith of Christ; but also in par­ticular to the Patriarches, Apostles, Prophets, and Mar­tyrs. which maketh directly for the opinion of those (against whom S [...]d hîc non­nulli decepti sunt, non gra­tiarum actio­nem, sed pro sanctis ad Deū supplicationē, eorum memo­riam esse pu­tantes. Cabasil. exposit. Liturg. cap. 49. Nicolaus Cabasilas doth dispute) who held, that these Commemorations contayned a supplicati­on for the Sainctes unto God, and not a thankesgiving only. as also doe those formes of prayer which were u­sed in the Roman Liturgie in the dayes of Pope Inno­cent the third: Prosit vel proficiat, huic sancto vel illi, talis oblatio ad gloriam. Inno­cent. III. epist. ad archiep. Lugdun. lib. 3. Decretal tit. 41. de celebrat. missar. cap. 6. Cùm Marthae. Let such an oblation profit such or such a Sainct unto glory. and especially that for S. Leo, which is found in the elder copies of the Gregorian Sacramen­tarie. Annue nobis, Domine, ut animae famuli tui Leonis haec prosit oblatio. Gregor. oper. tom 5. edit. Pa­ris. an. 1 [...]05. col 135 d. Grant unto us, O Lord, that this oblation may profit the soule of thy servant Leo. for which the later bookes have chopt in this prayer: Annue nobis Domine, ut intercessione famuli tui Leonis haec nobis prosit oblatio. Liturgic. Pamelij, tom. 2. pag. 314. Grant unto us, O Lord, that by the intercession of thy servant Leo this oblation may profit us. Concerning which alteration, when the archbishop of Lyons propounded such another question unto Pope Innocent, as our Challenger at the begin­ning did unto us; Tertio loco tua fraternitas requirit, quis mutaverit, vel quando fuit mutatum, aut quare, quod in secretâ beati Leonis, secundum quod antiquiores codice [...] cont [...]nent, &c. Inno [...]ent. [...]11. in Collect. 3. De [...]retal. (Petri Beneventam) l [...]b. 3. tit 33 cap. 5. vvho it was that did change it, or when it was changed, or why? the Pope returneth him for answer: Super quo ribi taliter respondemus: quòd quis illud mutaverit, aut quando mutatum fuerit, ignoramus; scimus tamen, quâ fuerit occasione mutatum. quia cùm sacrae scripturae dicat auctoritas, quòd injuriam facit martyri, qui orat pro martyre: idem est ratione consimili de sanctis alijs sciendum. Ibid. that who did change it, or when it was chan­ged, [Page 198] he was ignorant of; yet he knew, upon what occasion it was changed. because that, where the authoritie of the Ho­ly Scripture doth say, that he doth injurie unto a Martyr who prayeth for a Martyr, which is a new text of holy Scripture, of the Popes owne canonization) the same by the like reason is to be held of other Saincts. The Glosse upon this Decretall layeth down the reason of this mutation a little more roundly: Olim orabatur pro ipso: hodie ipse orat pro nobis. et ita mutatum est. Cap. Cùm Mar­thae. Extra. de ce­lebr. Missar. in Glossa. Of old they prayed for him, now at this day hee prayeth for us; and so vvas the change made. And Alphons. Mendoz Contro­vers. Theolog. quaest. 6. schola­stic. [...]um. 7. Alphonsus Mendoza telleth us, that the old prayer was deservedly disused, and this o­ther substituted in the roome thereof: Grant unto us, we beseech thee O Lord, that by the intercession of thy ser­vant Leo this oblation may profit us. which prayer in­deed was to be found heretofore in modernioribus Sa­cramentarijs (as Pope Innocent speaketh) and in the Roman Missalls that were published before the Coun­cell of Trent (as namely in that which was printed at Paris, an. 1529.) but in the new reformed Missall (wher­with, it seemeth, Mendoza was not so well acquainted as with his Scholasticall controversies) it is put out a­gaine, and another prayer for Leo put in; that by the celebration of those Vt per haec piae placationis officia, et illum beata retribu­tio comitetur, & nobis gratiae tuae dona con­ciliet. Mis­sal. Roman. ex decreto Concil. Tridentin. resti­tut. in festo S. Leonis. offices of atonement, a blessed retri­bution might accompanie him. Neither is there anie more wrong done unto S. Leo, in praying for him after this maner, then unto all the rest of his fellowes in that other prayer of the Romane Liturgie: Sumpsimus, Domine, divina mysteria: quae sicut Sanctis tuis prosunt ad gloriam, ita nobis, quaesumus, proficiant ad medelam Bellarmin. de Purgator. lib. 2. cap. 18. Six [...], Senens. lib. 6. Bibliothec. Sanct. annotat. 47. ex Gregorij Sacramentario. We have received, O Lord, the divine mysteries; which as they doe profit thy Saints unto glory, so we do beseech thee that they may profit us for our healing, and nothing so much as [Page 199] is done unto all the faithfull deceased, when in their Masses for the dead they say daily: Domine Ie­su Chris [...]e, rex gloriae, libera animas omniū fidelium de­functorum de poenis inferni, & de profun­do lacu: liberae eas de ore leo­nis, ne absor­beat eas Tarta­rus, ne cadant in obscurum. Missa in Com­memorat. omniū fidelium defun­ctorum. & in Missi [...] Quotidi­anis defunctorū. in Offertorio. Lord Iesus Christ, king of glory, deliver the soules of all the faithfull that are departed, from the paines of Hell, and from the deepe lake; deliver them from the mouth of the Lion, that Hell do not swallow them up, that they fall not into darkenesse. So that whatsoever commodious expositions our Adversaries can bring for the justifying of the Romane service: the same may wee make use of, to shew, that the ancient Church might pray for the dead, and yet in so doing have no relation at all unto Purgatorie; yea and pray for the Martyrs and other Saincts that were in the state of blisse, without offering unto them anie injurie thereby.

For the clearing of the meaning of those prayers which are made for Leo, and the other Saincts, to the two expositiōs brought in by Pope Innocent, Cardinall Bellarmine addeth this for a third; Adde tertio, fortasse peti gloriam corpo­ris, quam ha­bebunt in die resurrectionis. Nam etiamsi gloriam illam ce [...]tó conse­quentur, & de­betur eorum meritis; ta­men non est absurdum hoc illis desiderare & petere, ut pluribus modis debeatur. Bel­larmin de Pur­gator. li. 2. ca. 18. that peradventure therin the glory of the body is petitioned for, which they shal have in the day of the Resurrectiō. For although (saith he) they shal certainly obtain that glory, & it be due unto their merits; yet it is not absurd to desire & aske this for them, that by more meanes it may be due unto them. Where, laying aside those unsavourie termes of debt and me­rits (whereof we shall have occasion to treate in their proper place) the answer is otherwise true in part, but not full enough to give satisfaction unto that which was objected. For the primary intention of the Church indeed, in her prayers for the dead, had reference unto the day of the Resurrection: which also in diverse pla­ces we finde to have beene expressely prayed for. as in the Aegyptian Liturgie, attributed unto S. Cyrill Bi­shop [Page 200] of Alexandria. Resuscita corpora eorū, in die quem constituisti, se­cundum pro­missiones tuas veras & men­dacij expertes: concede eis se­cundùm pro­missa tua, id quod non vi [...]it oculus, & auris non audivit, & quod in cor hominis no [...] ascendi [...], quod praeparasti Do­mine amatori­bus nominis [...]ui sancti; ut sa­muli tui non p [...]rmaneant in morte, sed ut inde emigrent, etiamsi p [...]rse­cuta sit eos pi­gritia aut neg­ligentia, &c Cy­rill. Liturg. á Vi­ctorio Sci [...]la [...]h. ex Arabico con­vers. pag. 62. Raise up their bodies, in the day which thou hast appointed, according to thy promises which are true and cannot lye: graunt unto them, accor­ding to thy promises, that vvhich eye hath not seene, and eare hath not heard, and which hath not ascended into the heart of man; which thou hast prepared, O Lord, for them that love thy holy name: that thy servants may not re­maine in death, but may get out from thence; although slouthfulnesse and negligence have followed them. and in that which is used by the Christians of S. Thomas (as they are commonly called) in the East Indies: Resurrectionē faciat defunctis vestris in die novissimo; & dignos faciat illos regno incorruptibili Spiritus sanctus Missa Angamaliensis ex Sy [...]iaco convers in Itinerar. Alexij. Menesij. Let the holy Gh [...]st give resurrection to your dead at the last day; and make them vvorthy of the incorruptible king­dome. Such is the prayer of S. Ambrose for Gratian and Valentinian the Emperours: Te quaeso; summe Deus, ut charissimos juvenes maturâ resurrectione suscites & resuscites; ut immaturū hunc vitae istius cursū maturâ resurrectione compenses. Ambros. de obit Valentin [...]ani: in ipso fine. I doe beseech thee, most high God, that thou wouldest rayse up againe those deare yong men with a speedie resurrection; that thou mayest recompence this untimely course of this present life vvith a timely resurrection. and that in Alcuinus: Nullā laesionē sustineāt animae eorū; sed cùm magnus ille dies resurrectionis ac remunerationis advenerit, resuscitare eos digneris, Domi­ne, unâ eū Sāctis & electis tuis. Alcuin Offi [...] per f [...]rias; Oper. col 228 Prece [...]. Eccl [...]siast. á Georg. Cassan [...]ro colle [...]t. pag. [...]84 oper. Let their soules sustaine no hurt; but when that great day of the re­surrection and remuneration shall come, vouchsafe to raise them up, O Lord, together with thy Saincts and thine elect. and that in Grimoldus his Sacramentarie: Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, collocare dignare corpus & animā & spiritū famuli tui N. in sinibus Abrahae, Isaac, & Iacob; ut cùm dies agnitionis tuae venerit, inter sanctos & electos tuos eū resuscitari praecipias G [...]imola Sac [...]am [...]nt. tom. 2. Liturgi [...] Pamel. pag. 456.457. Habetur eadem o [...]atio in Missali R [...]mano nondùm reformato (nam in novo ex de [...]reto Con [...]ilij [...]ridentini restituto nusquā com [...]are [...]) corporis ta [...]tùm mentione omis­sâ: & tomo 5. oper. Gregorij edit. Paris. an. 1605. col. 234. corporis simul & spiritus nominibus praetermissis. Almightie [Page 201] and everlasting God, vouchsafe to place the body and the soule and the spirit of thy servant N. in the bosomes of A­braham, Isaac, and Iacob; that vvhen the day of thy ac­knowledgement shall come, thou mayest command them to be raysed up among thy Saincts and thine elect.

But yet the Cardinalls answer, that the glorie of the body may be prayed for, which the Saincts shall have at the day of the Resurrection, commeth somewhat short of that which the Church used to request in the behalfe of S. Leo. For in that prayer expresse mention is made of his soule: and to it is wished that profit may redound by the present oblation. And therefore this defect must be supplyed out of his answer unto that o­ther praier which is m [...]de for the soules of the faithfull depa [...]ted, that they may be delivered out of the mouth of the Lion, and that Hell may not swallow them up. To this he saith; that Eccl [...]sia orat pro animabus, quae in Pu [...]ga­torio degu [...], ne damn [...]tur ad poenas Ge­hennae sempi­rernas; non quid [...]m quòd certū non sit, eas non dam­nandas ad eas poenas, sed quia vult Deus, no [...] orare etiā pro ijs rebus, quas certó accepturi súmus. Bellarm. de Purgator. l [...]b. 2 cap. 5. the Church doth pray for these soules, that they may not be condemned unto the everla­sting paines of Hell: not as if it were not certain, that they should not be condemned unto those paines, but because it is Gods pleasure that we should pray, even for those things which we are certainly to receive. The same answer did Alphonsus de Castro give before him: that Saepissimè petuntur illa quae certó sci­untur eventura ut petuntur: & hujus rei pluri­ma sunt testi­monia. A [...]h [...]ns Caestr. contr hae­res. lib. 12. de Purgator. haer. 3. very often those things are prayed for, which are certainely knowne shall come to passe as they are prayed for; and that of this there be very manie testimonies. and Iohannes Medina: that Gaudet De­us orari, etiam pro his, quae alioqui facturus esset. Decreverat enim Deus post peccatum Adae, carnem su­mere; decrevit (que) tempus, quo venturus erat: & gratae illi fuerunt orationes Sanctorū pro sua incarnation [...], & adven [...]u orantium Decrevit etiam Deus omni peccatori poenitenti veniā dare & tamen grata est illi oratio, quâ vel ipse poenitens pro se, vel aliu [...] pro illo o [...]at, ut ejus poenitentiā Deus acceptare dignetur. Decrevit etiam Deus, & promisit Ecclesiā [...]uā non deserere, & Concilijs legit [...]mè congregatis adesse: & tamen grata est Deo o [...]atio, & hymni, quibus ejus praese [...]tia, & favor, & gratia ipsi Concilio, & Ecclesiae implora [...]ur. Io [...]. Medin. de Poe [...]it. tra [...]t. 6. quaest. 6. Codicis de Oratione. God d [...]lighteth to be prayed unto, even for those [Page 202] things, which otherwise he purposed to do. For God had decreed (saith he) after the sinne of Adam to take our flesh, and he decreed the time, wherein he meant to come: and yet the prayers of the Saincts, that prayed for his Incarna­tion and for his comming, were acceptable unto him. God hath also decreed to grant pardon unto every repentant sinner: and yet the prayer is gratefull unto him, wherein eyther the penitent doth pray for himselfe, or another for him, that God would be pleased to accept his repentance. God hath decreed also and promised, not to forsake his Church, and to be present with Councells lawfully assem­bled: yet the prayer notwithstanding is gratefull unto God, and the hymnes, vvhereby his presence, and favour, and grace, is implored both for the Councell & the Church. And whereas it might be obiected, that howsoever the Church may sometimes pray for those things which shee shall certainly receive, yet shee doth not pray for those things which shee hath alreadie received; and this shee hath received, that those soules shall not be damned, seeing they have received their sentence, and are most secure from damnation: the Cardinall repli­eth, that this obiection may easily be avoyded. Nam etsi a­nimae Purgato­rij jam accepe­rint primam sententiam in judicio parti­culari, eaque sententiâ libe­rae sint á Ge­hennâ: tamen adhuc superest judicium ge­nerale, in quo secundam sen­tentiam accep­turae sunt. Quocirca Ecclesia orans, ne in judicio extremo animae illae cadant in obscurum, nevé ab­sorbeantur á tartaro, non orat pro eâ re, quam accepit, sed pro eâ quam acceptura est ani­ma, Bellarmin. ut suprae. For although those soules (saith he) have received already their first sentence in the particular judgement, and by that sentence are freed from Hell: yet doth there yet re­maine the generall judgement, in which they are to receive the second sentence. Wherefore the Church praying, that those soules in the last judgement may not fall into darke­nesse, nor be swallowed up of Hel, doth not pray for the thing which the soule hath, but which it shall receive. Thus these [Page 203] men, labouring to shew how the prayers for the dead used in their Church may stand with their conceits of Purgatorie, doe thereby informe us how the prayers for the dead, used by the ancient Church, may stand well enough without the supposall of anie Purgatorie at all. For if we may pray for those things which wee are most sure shall come to passe; and the Church, by the Adversaries owne confession, did pray according­ly, that the soules of the faithfull might escape the paines of Hell at the generall Iudgement, notwithstan­ding they had certainly beene freed from them alreadie by the sentence of the particular Iudgement: by the same reason, when the Church in times past besought God to [...]. Liturg. Basil. & Chry­sost. remember all those that slept in the hope of the resurrection of everlasting life (which is the forme of prayer used in the Greeke Liturgies) and to give unto them rest, and to bring them unto the place where the light of his countenance should shine upon them for evermore; why should not we thinke, that it desired these things should be granted unto them by the last sentence at the day of the Resurrection, notwithstan­ding they were formerly adiudged unto them by the particular sentence at the time of their dissolution?

For as Quod enim in die judicij futurū est om­nibus, hoc in singulis die mortis imple­tur. Hieronym. in Ioel. cap. 2. that which shall befall unto all at the day of judgement, is accomplished in every one at the day of his death: so on the other side, whatsoever befalleth the soule of everie one at the day of his death, the same is fully accomplished upon the whole man at the day of the generall iudgement. Whereupon wee finde, that the Scriptures everie where doe point out that great day unto us, as the time wherein mercie and forgive­nesse, rest and refreshing, ioy and gladnesse, redemption and salvation, rewards and crownes shall be bestowed [Page 204] upon all Gods children, as in 2. Timoth. 1.16, 18. The Lord give mercie unto the house of Onesiphorus: the Lord grant unto him, that he may finde mercie of the Lord in that day. 1. Cor. 1.8. Who shall also confirme you unto the end, that ye may be blamelesse in the day of our Lord Iesus Christ. Act. 3.19. Repent ye therefore, and be con­verted, that your sinnes may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. 2. Thessal. 1.6, 7. It is a righteous thing with God, to re­compense unto you which are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Iesus shalbe revealed from heaven, with his migh­tie Angells. Philip. 2.16. That I may rejoyce in the day of Christ, that I have not runne in vaine, neyther labou [...]ed in vaine. 1. Thessal. 2.19. For what is our hope, or joy, or crowne of rejoycing? are not even yee in the presence of our Lord Iesus Christ at his comming? 1. Pet. 1. [...]. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, readie to be revealed in the last time. 1. Corinth. 5.5. That the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord I [...]sus. Ephes. 4.30. Grieve not the holy spirit of God, whereby yee are sealed unto the day of redemption. Luk. 21.28. When these things beginne to come to passe, then looke up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh. 2. Timoth. 4.8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righ [...]eousnesse, which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day. and Luk. 14.14. Thou shalt be re­compensed at the resurrection of the just.

And that the Church in her Offices for the dead had speciall respect unto this time of the Resurrecti­on: appeareth plainly, both by the portions of Scrip­ture appointed to be read therein, and by diverse parti­culars in the prayers themselves that manifestly disco­ver this intention. For there [...]. D [...]onys. [...]. Eccle­siaest. [...]ap. 7. the ministers (as the wri­ter [Page 205] of the Ecclesiasticall Hierarchy reporteth) read those undoubted promises vvhich are recorded in the divine Scriptures of our holy Resurrectiō: and then devoutly sang such of the sacred Psalmes as were of the same subject and argument. And so accordingly in the Romane Missall, the lessons ordained to be read for that time, are taken from 1. Corinth. 15. Behold I tell you a mysterie. Wee shall all rise againe, &c. Ioh. 5. The houre commeth where­in all that are in the graves shall heare his voyce, and they that have done good shall come forth unto the resurrection of life, &c. 1. Thessal. 4. Brethren, we would not have you ignorant concerning them that sleepe, that yee sorrow not, as others which have no hope. Ioh. 11. I am the resur­rection and the life: he that beleeveth in me, although he were dead, shall live. 2. Maccab. 12. Iudas caused a sacri­fice to be offered for the sinnes of the dead, justly and reli­giously thinking of the Resurrection. Ioh. 6. This is the will of my Father that sent me; that every one that seeth the Sonne, and beleeveth in him, may have life everlast­ing: and I will raise him up at the last day. and, He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath life everlast­ing: and I will raise him up at the last day. and lastly, Apocal. 14. I heard a voyce from heaven, saying unto me: Write, Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord, from henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; for their workes follow them. Wherewith the Sequence also doth agree, beginning

and ending;

Tertullian in his booke de Monogamiâ (which hee wrote after hee had beene infected with the heresie of the Montanists) speaking of the prayer of a widow for the soule of her deceased husband, saith that Enimveró & pro animâ ejus orat, & refrige­rium interim ad postulat ei, & in primâ re­surrectione consortium. Tertull. de Mo­nogam. cap. 10. she reque­steth refreshing for him, and a portion in the first resurre­ction. Which seemeth to have some tang of the error of the Millenaries (whereunto not Id de Resur­rect. carnis, c. 25. Tertullian onely with his Id. advers. Marcion. lib. 3. cap. ult. Prophet Montanus, but Sicut Nepos docuit, qui pri­mam justorum resurrectionē, & secundam imp [...]orum confinxit. Gennad. de Ecclesiast. dogmat. cap. 55. Nepos also, and Lactant. In­stitut. divin. li. 7. cap. 21.24. et 26. Lactantius, and diverse other Doctors of the Church did fall) who misunderstanding the prophecie in the 20. of the Revelation, imagined that there should be a first resurrection of the just that should raigne here a thousand yeares upon earth, and after that a second re­surrection of the wicked, at the day of the general judge­ment. Yet in a certaine Gotthicke Missall I meet with two severall exhortations made unto the people, to pray after the selfe same forme. the one, that God would Quiescentiū animas in sinu Abrahae collo­care dignetur, & in partem primae resurrectionis admittat. Missal. Gottic. tomo 6. Biblioth. Patr edit. Paris. an. 1589 col. 251. vouchsafe to place in the bosome of Abraham the soules of those that be at rest, and admit them unto the part of the first resurrectiō: the other (which I find else­where also repeated in particular) that Deū judicem universitatis, Deū coelestium & terrestrium & i [...]fernorū, fratres dilectis­simi, deprecemur pro spiritibus charorum nostrorum, qui nos in [...]ominicâ pace praecesse­runt; ut cos Dominus in requie collocare dignetur, & in parte pr [...]mae resurrectionis resu­scitet. Ibid. col. 257. Gr [...]gor. Oper. tom. 5. col. 228. edit. Paris. Preces. Eccl [...]iast. á Georg. Cassandro [...]ollect. pag. 385. Operum. he would place in rest, the spirits of their friends which were gone before them in the Lords peace, and rayse them up in the part of [Page 207] the first resurrection. Which how it may be excused o­therwise then by saying, that at the generall resurrecti­on 1. Thess. 4.16. the dead in Christ shall rise fi [...]st, and then the wicked shall be raysed after them; and by referring the first re­surrection unto the Luk. 14.14. resurrection of the just which shall be at that day: I cannot well resolve. For certaine it is, that the first r [...]surrection spoken of in the 20. chapter of the Revelation of S. Iohn, is the resu [...]rection of the soule from the death of sinne and error in this world; as the second is the resurrection of the bodie, out of the dust of the earth, in the world to come. both whi [...]h be distinctly layd down by our Saviour in the fift chap­ter of the Gospell of S. Iohn: the first in the 25. verse; The houre is comming, and now is, when the dead shall heare the voyce of the Sonne of God, and they that heare shall live. the second in the 28. and 29. Marveile not at this: for the houre is comming, in which all that are in the graves shall heare his voyce, and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evill unto the resurrection of damnation:

And to this generall resurrection and to the judge­ment of the last day, had the Church relation in her prayers: some patternes whereof it will not be amisse to exhibit here, in these examples following▪ Quamvis humano generi mortis illata conditio pecto­ra nostra men­tesque contri­stet; tamen clementiae tuae dono spe futu­rae immortali­tatis erigimur, ac memores sa­lutis aeternae, non timemus lucis hujus su­stinere jacturā. quoniam bene­ficio gratiae tuae fidelibus vita non tolli­tur, sed muta­tur: atque ani­mae corporeo ergastulo libe­ratae, horrent mortalia, dum immortalia consequuntur Vnde quaesumus, ut famulus [...]uus N. in tabe [...]naculis beatorum constitutus, evasisse se carnales glorietur angustias, diemque iudicij cum fiduciâ voto glorificationis expectet. Pr [...]f [...]t antiqu edit. Colon. a [...]. 1530. num. 106. Tom. 2. Liturgi [...]. Pamel. pag. 608. & Tom. 5. Oper. G [...]egorij. edit. Paris. col. 233. Habetur & prior Praefat. huius pars in M [...]ssâ Ambro [...]ianâ, tomo 1. Liturg. Pamel. pag. 450.451. posterior in alterâ praefat. ibid. pag. 449. & Oper. Gregor. col 232 a. Although the condition of death brought in upon mankinde doth make our hearts and mindes heavy: yet by the gift of thy clemencie we are raised up with the hope of future immor­talitie; and being mindfull of eternall salvation, are not [Page 208] afraid to sustaine the losse of this light. For by the benefite of thy grace life is not taken away to the faithful, but chan­ged: and the soules being freed from the prison of the bo­dy, abhorre things mortall, when they attaine unto things eternall. Wherefore we beseech thee, that thy servant N. being placed in the tabernacles of the blessed, may rejoyce that he hath escaped the straytes of the flesh, and in the de­sire of glorification expect with confidence the day of Iudge­ment. Per Christū Dominum no­strum. Cujus sacram passio­nem pro im­mortalibus & bene quiescen­tibus animabus sine dubio ce­lebramus: pro his praecipue, quibus secun­dae nativitatis gratiam praestitisti; qui ex­emplo ejusdem Iesu Christi Domini nostri coeperunt esse de resurrectio­ne securi. Quip­pè qui fecisti quae non erant, potes reparare quae fuerant: & resurrectio­nis futurae no­bis documenta non solùm per Propheticam & Apostolicam doctrinam, sed per ejusdem unigeniti tui Re­demptoris nostri resurrectionem dedisti. Praesat. antiqu. 112. & 107. G [...]imold. Sacramentar. tom. 2. Liturg. Pamel pag 460.461 & tom. 5. Oper. Gregor. col. 235. Through Iesus Christ our Lord. whose holy passion we celebrate without doubt for immortall and well resting soules: for them especially, upon whom thou hast bestowed the grace of the second birth; who by the example of the same Iesus Christ our Lord have begunne to be se­cure of the resurrection. For thou vvho hast made the things that were not, art able to repaire the things that were: and hast given unto us evidences of the resurrection to come, not onely by the doctrine of the Prophets and Apo­stles, but also by the resurrection of the same thy onely be­gotten Sonne our Redeemer. Deus, qui universorū es Creator & conditor, quique tuorum es beatitudo Sanctorum; praesta nobis petentibus, ut spiritum fratris nostri corporis nexibus absolutum in beatâ resurrectione facias praesen­tari. Prec. Ecclesiast Cassandr. Oper. pag. 385. Tom. 5. Gregor. col. 228 e. O God, who art the Crea­tor and maker of all things, and vvho art the blisse of thy Saincts; grant unto us who make request unto thee, that the spirit of our brother, who is loosed from the knott of his body, may bee presented in the blessed resurrection of thy Saincts. Omnipotens & misericors Deus, tuam deprecamur. clementiam, quia judicio tuo & nascimur & finimur; ut animam fratris nostri, quem tua pietas de incolatu hujus mundi transue praecepit, in re­quiem aeternam suscipias, & in consortio electorum tuorum in resurrectione sociari per­mittas, ut in aeternâ beatitudine unâ cum illis sine fine permaneat. Alcuin. Offic. per f [...]rias, Oper. pag. 230.231. collat. cum simili, tomo 5. Gregor, col. 228. c. d. & in Operib. Cassandr. pag. 385. O almightie and mercifull God, vve doe in­treat [Page 209] thy clemency, forasmuch as by thy judgement we are borne and make an end; that thou wilt receive into ever­lasting rest the soule of our brother, whom thou of thy piety hast commanded to passe from the dwelling of this world, and permit him to be associated with the company of thine elect, that together with them he may remaine in everlast­ing blisse without end. Aeterne De­us, qui nobis in Christo unige­nito filio tuo Domino no­stro spem bea­tae Resurrectio­nis concessist [...]; praesta, quaesu­mus, ut animae, pro quibus hoc sacrificium re­demptionis no­strae tuae offe­rimus majesta­ti, ad beatae re­surrectionis re­quiem, te mise­rante, cum san­ctis tuis perve­nire merean­tur. Praefat. an­tiqu. 110. edit. Colon. an. 1530. Tom. 2. Liturg. Pamelij pag. 609. Tom. 5. Gr [...]gor. col. 236. e. Eternall God, vvho in Christ thine only begotten sonne our Lord hast given unto us the hope of a blessed Resurrection; grant, we beseech thee, that the soules, for which we offer this sacrifice of our redemption unto thy Majestie, may of thy mercy attaine unto the rest of a blessed resurrection with thy Saincts. Haec nos communio, quaesumus Do­mine, purget á crimine: & a­nimae famuli tui N. coelestis gaudij tribuat consortium, ut ante thronum gloriae Christi tui segregata cum dextris, nihil commune habeat cum sinistris. Tom. 5 Gregor. col 33. c. Let this com­munion, we beseech thee O Lord, purge us from sinne; and give unto the soule of thy servant N. a portion in the hea­venly joy, that being set apart before the throne of the glo­ry of thy Christ with those that are upon the right hand, it may have nothing common with those that are upon the left. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. In cujus adventu, cùm geminam jusseris sist [...]re plebem, jubeas et famulum tuum á numero discerni malorum. Quem unâ tribuas poenae aeternae evadere flammas, & justae potiùs adipisci praemia vitae. &c. Offic. Ambrosian. tomo 1. Liturgic. Pamel pag 450. Through Christ our Lord. At whose comming, when thou shalt command both the peoples to appeare, com­mand thy servant also to be severed from the number of the evill. and grant unto him, that he may both escape the flames of everlasting punishment, and obtaine the rewards of a righteous life. &c.

In these, and other prayers of the like kind, we may descry evident footsteps of the primarie intention of the Church in her supplications for the dead: which was, that the whole man (not the soule separated only) might receive publick remission of sinnes, & a solemne [Page 210] acquitall in the judgement of that great day; and so obtaine both a full escape from all the consequences of sinne (1. Cor. 15.26, 34. the last enemie being now destroyed, and death swallowed up in victory) and a perfect consummation of blisse and happinesse. all which are comprised in that short prayer of S. Paul for Onesiphorus (though made for him while he was alive:) 2. Tim. 1.18. The Lord grant unto him, that he may finde mercie of the Lord in that day. Yea diverse prayers for the dead of this kinde are still retained in the Romane Offices: of which the great Spanish Doctor Iohannes Medina thus writeth. Etsi quam­plures oratio­nes fidelium defunctorum legerim, quae in Missali Roma­no continen­tur; in nullâ tamen earum legi, per Eccle­siam pe [...]i, ut citiùs á poenis liberentur: le­gi tamē in non­nullis peti, ut, ab aeternis poe­nis liberentur. Io. Medin. in Co­dice de Oratione, quaest. 6. Al­though I have read manie prayers for the faithfull decea­sed, which are contayned in the Romane Missall; yet have I read in none of them, that the Church doth petition, that they may more quickly be freed from paines: but I have read that in some of them petition is made, that they may be freed from everlasting paines. For beside the com­mon prayer that is used in the Masse for the Comme­moration of all the faithfull deceased, that Christ would free them from the mouth of the Lion, that Hell may not swallow them up, and that they may not fall into the place of darknesse: this prayer is prescribed for the day wher­in the dead did depart out of this life. Deus, cui propriū est mi­sereri semper & parcere; te supplices exo­ramus pro ani­mâ famuli tui N. quam hodie de hoc seculo migrare jussi­sti: ut non tra­das eam in ma­nus inimici, ne­que obliviscaris in finem; sed jubeas eam á sanctis Angelis suscipi, & ad patriam paradisi perduci: ut qu [...]a in te speravit & credidit, non poenas inferm sustineat, sed gaudia aeterna possideat. Orat. in die obitus s [...]u d [...]positionis [...]efuncti: in Missali Romano reformato. O God, vvhose propertie is alwayes to have mercie and to spare; vve most humbly beseech thee for the soule of thy servant N. which this day thou hast commanded to depart out of this world: that thou mayst not deliver it into the hands of the enemy, nor forget it finally; but command it to be received by the holy Angels, and brought unto the country of Paradise: that because he hath trusted and beleeved in thee, he may [Page 211] not sustain the paines of Hell, but possesse joyes everlasting. which is a direct prayer, that the soule of him which was then departed might immediatly be received into Heaven, and escape not the temporarie paines of Pur­gatorie, but the everlasting paines of Hell. for howsoe­ver the new reformers of the Romane Missall have put in here poenas inferni (under the generalitie peradven­ture of the terme of the paines of hell intending to shrowde their Purgatorie, which they would have men beleeve to be one of the lodges of Hell) yet in the Missal. Rom. edit. Paris. an. 1529. old Missall, which Medina had respect unto, we reade ex­pressely poenas aeternas, everlasting paines; which by no construction can be referred unto the paines of Pur­gatorie. and to the same purpose, in the book of the Ceremonies of the Church of Rome, at the exequies of a Cardinall, a prayer is appointed to be read; that by the assistance of Gods grace he might Gratiâ tuâ illi succurrente, mereatur judicium evadere ultionis aeter­nae, qui dum víveret insigni­tus est signacu­lo sanctae Tri­nitatis Lib. 1. sacr. Ceremoniar. Rom. Eccles sect. 15. ca. 1. fol. 152. b. edit. Colon. an. 1574. escape the judge­ment of everlasting revenge, who while he lived was mar­ked with the seale of the holy Trinity.

Againe, Sunt aliae o­rationes, in quibus petitur, ut Deus animas defuncto­rū in corpori­bus ad beatitu­dinem in die judicii suscitet Io. Medin. ut suprà. there be other prayers (saith Medina) where­in petition is made, that God would raise the soules of the dead in their bodies unto blisse at the day of judgement. Such, for example, is that which is found in the Ro­mane Missall. Absolve, quaesumus Domine, animam famuli tui ab omni vinculo delictorum: ut in resurrectionis gloriâ, inter sanctos & electos tuos resuscita­tus respiret. Orat. p [...]o d [...]funct. in Missali Ro [...]ano, v [...]tere & novo. nec non in Gregorij Sacramenta­rio, tom. 2. Liturgic. Pam [...]lij, [...]ag. 386. & tom. 5. oper. Gregor edi [...]. Paris. col. 229, 230. Similis etiam o­ratiuncula habetur in G [...]egorij Antiphonario, pag. 175. Pamel [...], col. 62. ed [...]. Paris Erue Domine animas eorum ab omni vinculo delictorum: ut in resurrectionis gloriâ inter sanctos tuos resuscitari mereantur. Absolve, vvee beseech thee O Lord, the soule of thy servant from all the bond of his sinnes: that in the glory of the resurrection, being raysed among thy saincts and elect, hee may breath againe, or bee re­freshed. [Page 212] and that other in the Romane Pontificall. Deus, cui omnia vivunt, & cui non per­eunt moriendo corpora nostra, sed mutantur in melius; te supplices de­precamur, ut suscipi jubeas animā famuli tui N. per ma­nus sanctorum Angelorū tuo­rū deducēdā in sinū amici tui Abrahae Patri­archae, resusci­tandamque in novissimo judicij magni die: & quicquid vitiorum, Dia­bolo fallente, contraxit, tu pius & miseri­cors abluas in­dulgendo. Pon­tifical. Roman. Clem. VIII. iussu edit. Romae an. 1595. pag. 685. & Venet. an. 1572. fol. 226. col. 4. Lib. 1. sacr. Ceremon. Rom. Eccles. sect. 15. ca. 1. fol. 153 b. edit. Colon. Tom. 5. Oper. Gregorij, col. 227. edit. Paris. Prec. [...]cclesiastic. á G. Cassandro edit. pag 384. Operum. O God, unto whom all things doe live, and unto whom our bo­dies in dying do not perish, but are changed for the better; we humbly pray thee, that thou wouldest command the soule of thy servant N. to be received by the hands of thy holy Angells, to be carried into the bosome of thy friend the Patriarch Abraham, and to be raysed up at the last day of the great judgement: & whatsoever faults by the deceit of the Divel he hath incurred, do thou of thy pitie and mercy wash away by forgiving them. Now forasmuch as it is most certaine, that all such as depart in grace (as the Adversaries acknowledge that all in Purgatorie doe) are sure to escape Hell, and to be raysed up unto glorie at the last day: Medina perplexeth himselfe exceeding­ly in according these kinde of praiers with the received grounds of Purgatorie; and after much agitation of the businesse too and fro, at last resolveth upon one of these two desperate conclusions. that touching these Respondetur, quantum ad orationes quae pro defunctis in Ecclesiâ fiunt, posse primò dici, non esse neces­sarium omnes eas ab omni ineptitudine excusare. Multa enim in Ecclesiâ legi permittun­tur, quae quamvis non omnino vera sint, vel omnino apta, conferunt tamen ad fideliū devo­tionē excitandam & augendam. Talia multa credendū est contineri in historijs non sacris, & in Legēdis Sanctorū, & in opinionibus Doctorū, & Scripturis, quae omnia tolerantur in Ecclesiâ interim, dum super illis nulla movetur quaestio, nullum (que) insurgit scandalum. Ac proinde non mirum, in orationibus praedictis aliquid minùs aptum contineri, & ab Eccle­siâ tolerari: cùm tales orationes factae sint á personis privatis, non á Concilijs, nec per Concilia omnino sint approbatae. Io. Medin. ut supr. praiers which are made in the Church for the dead, it may first of all be said, that it is not necessary to excuse them all from all unfitnesse. For many things are permitted to be read in the Church, which although they be not altogether true, nor altogether fit, yet serve for the stirring up and in­creasing the devotion of the faithfull. Many such things [Page 213] (saith he) we beleeve are contayned in the histories that be not sacred, and in the Legends of the Saincts, and in the o­pinions and writings of the Doctors: all which are tolera­ted by the Church in the meane time, while there is no que­stion moved of them, and no scandall ariseth from them. And therefore it is no marvaile, that somewhat not so fitt should be contayned in the foresaid prayers, and be tolera­ted in the Church: seeing such prayers were made by pri­vate persons, not by Councells, neyther vvere approved at all by Councells.

And we easily doe beleeve indeed, that their Offices and Legends are fraught not only with untrue and un­fit, but also with farre worse stuffe: neyther is this any newes unto us. Agobardus Bishop of Lions complay­ned about 800. yeares agoe, that the Antiphonary used in his Church had Multa ridi­culosa et phan­tastica. Ago­bard. ad Cantores Iugdunens de Correct. Anti­phonarij, pag. 396. edit. Paris. many ridiculous and phantasticall things in it: and that hee was faine Hâc de cau­sâ & Antipho­narium pro vi­ribus nostris magnâ ex parte correximus: amputatis his, quae vel super­flua, vel levia, vel mendacia, aut blasphema videbantur. Id. ibid. pag. 392. to cut off from thence such things as seemed to be eyther superfluous, or light, or lying, or blasphemous. The like complaint was made not long since by Lindanus, of the Romane An­tiphonaries and Missals: Vbi non a­pocrypha mo­dó ex Euang. Nicodemi & aliis nugis sunt infarta; sed ipsae adeò se­cretae preces (imo ipse, prò pudor & do­lor, Canon & varians & re­dundans) sunt mendis turpissimis conspurcatae. Wil. Lindan de opt. gen. interpr. script. lib. 3. ca. 3. wherein not only apocryphall tales (saith he) out of the Gospell of Nicodemus and other toyes are thrust in; but the very secret prayers themselves are defiled with most foule faults. But now that wee have the Missale Romanum ex decreto sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini restitutum, Pij V. Pont. Max jussu editum, & Clementis VIII. auctoritate recognitum. Rom. an. 1604. Paris. 1605. Romane Missall restored according to the decree of the Councell of Trent, set out by the command of Pius V. and revised againe by the authoritie of Clemens VIII. I doubt much whether our Romanists will allow the Censure which their Medina hath given of the praiers contained therein. And therefore if this will not please [Page 214] them, he hath another answer in store: of which though his country man Alphons. Men­doz. Controvers. Theologic. quaest. 6. scholastic. num. 5. Mendoza hath given sen­tence, that it is indigna viro Theologo, unworthy of any man that beareth the name of a Divine; yet such as it is, you shall have it. Supposing then, that the Church hath no intention to pray for anie other of the dead, but those that are detayned in Purgatorie: this he de­livereth for his second resolution. Sciens Eccle­sia Deum po­testatem habe­re puniendi ae­ternaliter ani­mas illas, per quas, cùm vi­verent, fuerat mortaliter of­fensus; quod (que) Deus potestatē suam non alli­gaverit Scrip­turis, & pro­missis quae in Scripturâ con­ [...]inentur; quan­ [...]oquidem ipse super omnia est, & tam om­nipotens post promissa, acsi nil promisisset: ideò Ecclesia simpliciter Deum orat, ne illâ absolutâ omnipotentiâ contra animas fidelium, qui in gratiâ decesse­runt, utatur; ideò orat, ut eas ab aeternis poenis, & á vindictâ, & judicio condemnationis liberare, & ut eas cum suis electis resusci­tare, dignetur. Io. Medina, ut supr. The Church know­ing that God hath power to punish everlastingly those soules, by which, when they lived, he was mortally offended; and that God hath not tyed his power unto the Scriptures, and unto the promises that are contayned in the Scripture (forasmuch as he is above all things, and a [...] omnipotent after his promises, as if he had promised nothing at all:) therefore the Church doth humbly pray God, that he would not use this his absolute omnipotencie against the soules of the faithfull, which are departed in grace; therefore shee doth pray that he would vouchsafe to free them from ever­lasting paines, and from revenge and the judgement of con­demnation, and that he would be pleased to rayse them up againe with his Elect. But leaving our Popish Doctors with their profound speculations of the not limiting of Gods power by the Scriptures, and the promises which he hath made unto us therein: let us returne to the ancient Fathers, and consider the differences that are to be found among them touching the place and condition of soules separated from their bodies. for according to the several apprehensions which they had thereof, they made different applications and interpre­tations of the use of praying for the dead: whose par­ticular intentions and devotions in that kinde, must of [Page 215] necessity therefore be distinguished from the generall intention of the whole Church.

S. Augustine (that I may begin with him who was, as the most ingenious, so likewise the most ingenuous of all others in acknowledging his ignorance where hee saw cause) being to treat of these matters, maketh this Preface before hand unto his hearers. Infernum nec ego exper­tus sum ad [...]uc nec vos: & fo [...]tassis alia via erit, & non per i [...]fe [...]num erit. Incerta sunt enim haec. Augustin. in Psal. 85. Of Hell ney­ther have I had any experience as yet, nor you: and perad­venture it may be, that our passage may lye some other way, and not prove to be by Hell. For these things be uncertain. and having occasion to speake of the departure of Ne­bridius his deare friend: Nunc ille vi­vit in sinu A­braham, quic­quid illud est quod illo signi­ficatur sinu; ibi Nebridius meus vivit. Id. Confession. lib. 9. cap. 3. Now he liveth, saith he, in the bosome of Abraham, whatsoever the thing be that is signi­fied by that bosome; there doth my Nebridius live. But elsewhere he directly distinguisheth this bosome from the place of blisse into which the. Saincts shall be recei­ved after the last judgement. Post vitam istam parvam nondum eris ubi erunt San­cti quibus dice­tur; Venite benedicti Pa­tris mei, perci­pite regnum quod vobis paratum est ab initio mundi. Nondum ibi eris: quis nescit? Sed jam poteris ibi esse, ubi illum quondam ulcerosum pauperem dives ille superbus & sterilis in medijs suis tormentis vidit à longe requiescentem. In illâ requie positus, certé securus expectas judicii diem; quando recipias & corpus, quando immuteris ut angelo aequeris. Id. in Psalm. 36. conc. 1. After this short life (saith he) thou shalt not as yet be where the Saincts shall be unto whom it shall be said; Come ye blessed of my Father, re­ceive the kingdome which was prepared for you from the beginning of the world. Thou shalt not as yet be there: who knoweth it not? But now thou mayest be there, where that proude and barren rich man in the middest of his tor­ments saw a farre off the poore man, sometime full of ul­cers, resting. Being placed in that rest, thou dost securely expect the day of judgement; when thou mayest receive thy body, when thou mayest be changed to be equall unto an Angell. and for the state of soules, betwixt the time of the particular and generall judgement, this is his con­clusion [Page 216] in generall. Tempus au­ [...]em quod in­ter h [...]minis mortem & ul­timam resurre­ctionem inter positum est, animas abditis receptaculis continet; sicut unaquae (que) dig­na est vel re­quie vel aerum­nâ, pro eo quod sortita est in carne cùm vi­veret. Id. Enchi­rid. ad Laurent. [...]ap. 108. The time that is interposed betwixt the death of man and the last resurrection, contayneth the soules in hidden receptacles; as every one is worthy eyther of rest or of trouble, according unto that which it did pur­chase in the flesh when it lived. Into these hidden recep­tacles he thought the soules of Gods children might carry some of their lighter faults with them: which being not removed, would hinder them from com­ming into the kingdome of heaven (whereinto no polluted thing can enter) and from which by the pray­ers and almes-deeds of the living he held they might be released. But of two things he professed himselfe here to be ignorant. First, Sed quis iste sit modus, & quae sint ipsa peccata, quae ita impediunt perventionem ad regnū Dei, ut tamen san­ctorum amico­rum meritis impetrent in­dulgentiam; difficilimum est invenire, periculosissimū definire. Ego certé usque ad hoc tempus, cùm inde sata­gerem, ad eorū indaginem pervenire non potui. Id. lib. 21. de Civit. Dei, cap. 27. What those sinnes were, which did so hinder the comming unto the kingdome of God, that yet by the care of good friends they might obtaine pardon. Secondly, See before, pag. 173. Whether those soules did endure anie temporary paines in the Interim betwixt the time of Death and the Resurrection. For howsoever in his one and twentieth book of the City of God, and the thirteenth and sixteenth chapters (for the new patch which they have added to the foure and twentieth chapter is not worthy of regard) he affirme, that some of them doe suffer certaine purgatorie pu­nishments before the last and dreadfull judgment: yet by comparing these places with the Ex his quae dicta sunt videtur evidentiùs apparere, in illo judicio quasdam quorundam purgatorias poenas futu­ras. &c. Verùm ista quaestio de purgatorijs poenis, ut diligentiùs pertractetur, in tempus a­liud differenda est. nempe, ubi ad librum 21. perventum fu [...]rit. five and twen­tieth chapter of the twentieth booke, it will appeare, that by those purgatory punishments he understan­deth here the furnace of the fire of Conflagration, that shall immediatly go before this last judgement, and (as [Page 217] he otherwhere describeth the effects thereof) Hoc aget ca­minus: alios in sinistram sepa­rabit, alios in dexteram quo­dammodo eli­quabit. Aug. in Psalm. 103. conc. 3. separate some unto the left hand, and melt out others unto the right.

Neither was this opinion of the reservation of soules in secret places, and the purging of them in the fire of Conflagration at the day of iudgement, enter­tained by this famous Doctor alone: diverse others there were that had touched upon the same string be­fore him. Origen in his fourth book [...], as we have him translated by Ruffinus (for in the [...]. Origenis Philo­calia cap. 1. Extracts selected out of him by S. Basil and S. Gregory wee finde the place somewhat otherwise expressed) saith that De hoc mun­do secundùm communem mortem istam recedentes, pro actibus suis & meritis dispen­santur prout digni fuerint judicati; alii quidem in lo­cum qui dici­tur Infernus, alij in sinum Abrahae, & per diversa quae (que) vel loca, vel mansiones. Origen. de Principijs lib. 4. cap. 2. cum quo conferendus si­milis eiusdem locus in Numer. 31. homil 26. such as depart out of this world after the common course of death, are disposed of according to their deeds and me­rits, as they shalbe judged to be worthy; some into the place which is called Hell, others into Abrahams bosome, and through diverse eyther places or mansions. and in his Commentaries upon Leviticus, hee addeth further. Nondum receperunt laetitiam suam, ne A­postoli quidem; sed & ipsi expectant, ut & ego laetitiae eorum particeps fiam. Neque enim decedentes hinc Sancti, continuò integra meritorum suorum proemia consequuntur; sed expectant etiam nos licèt morantes, licèt desides. Jd. hom. 7. in Levit. cap. 10. Neyther have the Apostles themselves as yet received their joy; but even they doe expect, that I also may be made partaker of their joy. For the Saincts departing from hence doe not presently obtaine the full rewards of their labours; but they expect us likewise, howsoever staying, howsoever slacking. Then touching the purging of men after the Resurrection, he thus delivereth his minde in his Commentaries upon Luke. Ego pu­to, quòd & post resurrectionem ex mortuis indigeamus sacramento eluente nos at (que) pur­gante: nemo enim absque sordibus resurgere poterit. Id. in Luc. homil. 14. I thinke, that even after our resurrection from the dead we shall have need of a [Page 218] sacrament to wash and purge us: for none can rise without pollutions. and upon Ieremy: Si quis in se­cundâ resurre­ctione servatur, iste peccator est qui ignis indiget baptis­mo; qui com­bustione pur­gatur, ut quic­quid habuerit lignorū, foeni, & stipulae, ignis consumat. Id. in Ierem. homil. 13. If any one be saved in the second resurrection, he is that sinner vvhich needeth the baptisme of fire, which is purged with burning; that what­soever he hath of wood, hay, and stubble, the fire may con­sume it. Neither doth Lactantius shew himselfe to va­rie much from him, in eyther of those points; for thus he writeth. Sed & justos cùm judicave­rit, etiam igni eos examina­bit. Tum quorum peccata vel pondere vel numero prae­valuerint, per­stringentur ig­ni, atque am­burentur: quos autem plena justitia & maturitas virtutis incoxe­ [...]it, ignem illum non sentient. habent enim in se aliquid inde, quod vim flam­mae repellat ac respuat. Tanta est vis innocentiae, ut ab eâ ignis ille refugiat innoxius, qui accepit á Deo hanc potestatem. ur impios urat, just [...]s obtemperet. Nec tamen quisquam putet, animas post mortem proti­nùs judicari. Omnes in unâ, communique custodiâ detinentur, donec tempus adveniat, quo maximus Iudex meritorum faciat examen. Lactant. institut. divin. lib. 7. cap. 21. When God shall judge the righteous, he will examine them by fire. Then they whose sinnes shall prevaile eyther in weight or number, shall be touched with the fire and burned: but they whom perfect righteousnesse and the ripenesse of vertue hath throughly seasoned, shall not feele that fire. for from thence have they something in them, that will repell & put back the force of the flame: so great is the force of innocency, that that fire shall flye back from it without doing anie harme, vvhich hath received this po­wer from God, that it may burne the wicked and do service to the righteous. Yet notwithstanding let no man thinke, that the soules are presently judged after death. All of them are detayned in one common custodie, untill the time come, wherein the great Iudge doth make tryall of their doings. In like maner doth S. Hilary write of the one part. Exe­untes de corpore, ad introitum illum regni coelestis, per custodiam Domini fideles omnes reservabuntur, in sinu scilicèt interim Abrahae collocati: quò adire impios interjectū chaos inhibet, quous (que) introeundi iursum in regnū coelorum tempus adveniat. Hilar. in Psal. 120. All the faithfull, when they are gone out of the bodie, shall be re­served by the Lords custodie for that entry into the hea­venly kingdome, being in the meane time placed in the bo­some of Abraham; whither the wicked are hindred from comming, by the gulfe interposed betwixt them, untill the [Page 219] time of entring into the kingdome of heaven doe come. and thus of the other. An cùm ex omni otioso verbo rationē simus praesti­turi, diem ju­dicii concupi­scemus, [...]n quo nobis est ille i [...] ­defessus ignis obeundus, in quo subeunda sunt gravia illa expiandae á peccatis animae supplicia? Id. in Psal. 118. octonar. 3. Being to render an account of e­very idle word, shall we desire the day of judgement, where­in that unwearied fire must be passed by us, in which those grievous punishments for expiating the soule from sinnes must be endured? for Salutis igitur nostrae & judi­cii tempus de­signat in Do­mino dieens; Illé baptizabit vo [...] in Spiritu sancto & igni: quia baptizatis in Spiritu san­cto, reliquum sit consumma­ri igne judicii. Id. in Ma [...]h. canon. 2. to such as have beene baptized with the holy Ghost, it remaineth that they should be con­summated with the fire of judgement.

In S. Ambrose also there are some passages to bee found which seeme to make directly for either of these points: as these for the former. Solvitur cor­pore anima, & post finem vitae hujus, adhuc tamen futuri judicii ambiguo suspenditur. Ita finis nullus, ubi finis putatur. Ambr. de Cain & Abel, lib. 2. cap. 2. The soule is loosed from the body, and yet after the end of this life it is held as yet in suspence with the uncertainty of the future judge­ment: so that there is no end, where there is thought to be an end. Siquidem & in Esdrae libris legimus; quia cùm venerit judicii dies, reddet terra defunctorum corpora, & pulvis reddet eas quae in tumulis requiescunt reliquias mortuorum. Et habitacula, inquit, reddent animas quae his commendatae sunt: & revelabitur altissimus super sedem judicii. Ambros. de bono mortis, cap. 10. ex 4. Esdr. 7.32, 33. We reade in the books of Esdras; that when the day of judgement shall come, the earth shall restore the bo­dies of the deceased, and the dust shall restore the reliques of the dead which doe rest in the graves: and the habita­cles shall restore the soules which were committed to them; and the most high shall be revealed upon the seat of judge­ment. Denique & scriptura habitacula illa ani­marum promptuaria nuncupavit: quae occurrens querelae humanae, eo quòd justi qui prae­cesserunt videantur usque ad judicii diem, per plurimum scilicèt temporis, debitâ sibi re­muneratione fraudari; mirabiliter ait Coronae esse similem judicii diem, in quo sicut no­vissimorum tarditas, sic non priorum velocitas. Coronae enim dies expectatur ab omnibus; ut intra eum diem & victi erubescant, & victores palmam adipiscantur victoriae. Id. ibid. [...]u 4. Esdr. 4.35. & 5.41, 42. Also that scripture nameth those habitacles of the soules, Promptuaries (or secret receptacles:) and mee­ting with the complaint of man, that the just which have gone before may seeme to be defrauded (untill the day of [Page 220] judgement, which is a very long time) of the reward due unto them; saith wonderfully, that the day of judgement is like unto a crowne, wherein as there is no slackenesse of the last, so is there no swiftnesse of the first. For the day of crowning is expected by all; that vvithin that day both they who are overcome may be ashamed, and they who doe overcome may obtaine the palme of victory. Ergo dum expectatur ple­nitudo tempo­ris, expectant animae remu­nerationem de­bitam. Alias manet poena, alias gloria: & tamen nec illae interim sine injuriâ, nec istae sine fructu sunt. Ibid. Therefore while the fulnesse of time is expected, the soules expect their due reward. Paine is provided for some of them, for some glory: and yet in the meane time neither are those without trouble, nor these without fruite. and these for the latter. Igne ergo purgabuntur filij Levi, igne Ezechiel, igne Daniel. Sed hi etsi per ignē examinabun­tur, dicent ta­men: T [...]ansi­vimus per ignē & aquam. Alij in igne rema­nebunt. Id. in Psalm. 36. With fire shall the sonnes of Levi be purged, with fire E­zechiel, with fire Daniel. But these, although they shall be tryed with fire, yet shall say: We have passed through fire and water. Others shall remaine in the fire. Et si salvos faciet Dominus servos suos; salvi erimus per fidem, sic tamen salvi quasi per ignem. Etsi non exuremur, tamen uremur. Id. ibid. And if the Lord shall save his servants, we shall be saved by faith, yet saved as it were by fire. Although we shall not be burned up, yet shall we be burned. Siquidem post consummationem seculi, missis angelis qui segregent bonos & malos, hoc futurum est baptisma; quando per caminū ignis iniquitas exuretur, ut in regno Dei fulgeant justi sicut Sol in regno patris sui. Et si aliquis ut Petrus sit, ut Ioannes, baptizatur hoc igni Id in Psalm. 118. serm 3. After the end of the vvorld, when the Angells shall be sent to separate the good and the bad, this baptisme shall be; when iniquitie shalbe burnt up by the furnace of fire, that in the kingdome of God the righ­teous may shine as the Sunne in the kingdome of their Fa­ther. And if any one be as Peter, or as Iohn, he is baptized with this fire. Seeing therefore Sed quia hîc purgatus, iterùm necesse habet illic purificari: illic quoque nos purificet, quando dicat Dominus; Intrate in requiem meam. ut unu [...]quis (que) nostrûm ustus romphaeâ illâ fiam­meâ non exustus, introgrestus in illam paradisi amoenitatem, gratias agat domino suo, di­cens: Induxisti nos in ref [...]igerium Id. ibid. Vid. & scim. 20. i [...] cund. Psal. 118. he that is purged here, hath need to be purged again there: let him purge us there also, when the Lord may say; Enter into my rest. that e­very [Page 221] one of us being burned with that flaming sword, not burned up, when he is entred into that pleasure of Paradise may give thankes unto his Lord, saying: Thou hast brought us into a place of refreshment.

Hereunto wee may adjoine that observation of Suarez the Iesuite. Qui opinan­tur, animas ho­minum non ju­dicari in mor­te, nec proemiū aut poenam re­cipere, sed re­servari in abdi­tis receptaculis usque ad judi­cium universa­le; consequen­ter dicunt, si­cut non accipi­unt homines ultimum proe­mium vel poe­nam, ita ne (que) etiam purgari, donec sit fa­cta generalis Resurrectio, & Iudicium: ex quo satis con­sequenter di­ce [...]e potuerunt, purgandos esse homines igne conflagratio­nis. Fr. Suarez, in 3 part Thom. quaest. 9 a [...]t. 6. d [...]sput. 57. sect. 1. They who thinke, that the soules of men are not judged at their death, nor do receive reward or punishment, but are reserved in hidden receptacles untill the generall judgement; doe consequently say, that as men do not receive their last reward or punishment, so neyther are they also purged, untill the generall Resurrection and Iudgement do come: from vvhence they might say vvith reasonable good consequence, that men are to be purged with the fire of Conflagration. and with as good conse­quence also (may we further adde) that prayers were not to be made for the deliverie of the soules of the dead from any purgatorie paines, supposed to be suffe­red by them betwixt the time of their death and their resurrection; which be the only praiers which are now in question. [...]. Gre­gor. Ceram. h [...]mil. in Indictionis sive novi anni principium. In the Resurrection, when our workes, like unto clusters of grapes, shall be cast into the probatory fire as it were into the wine-presse; every mans husbandry shall be made manifest: saith Gregorius Cerameus, some­time archbishop of Tauromenium in Sicilia. and, [...]. Anastas. Sinait. (al. N [...]can.) quaest. 91. No man as yet is entred eyther into the torments of Hell or in­to the kingdome of Heaven, untill the time of the resurre­ction of the bodies: saith Anastasius Sinaita upon whom Gretser bestoweth this marginall annotation: that this is the Error veterum quorundam, & recentioris Graeciae. Grets [...]r. ibid. in marg. pag. 501. edit. Ing [...]lstad. Error of certain of the ancient, & of latter Greece. [Page 222] And we finde it to be held indeed both by some of the ancient (as namely in Caius, who lived at Rome when Zephyrinus was Bishop there, and is accounted to be the author of the treatise falsely fathered upon Iosephus, [...], a large fragment whereof hath beene lately published by Hoeschelius in his notes upon Photius his Bibliotheke:) and by the latter Grecians; in whose name, Marcus Eugenicus archbishop of Ephesus, doth make this protestation against such of his coun­trymen as yeelded to the definition of the Florentine Councell. [...]. Marc. Ephesius, in Epistolâ Encyclicâ contra Concil Florentin. Vid. & Gennadium Scholarium, in Defens. Concil. Florentin. cap. 3. sect. 2. We say, that neither the Saincts do receive the kingdome prepared for them and those secret good things, neyther the sinners doe as yet fall into Hell: but that eyther of them doe remaine in expectation of their proper lott; and that this appertayneth unto the time that is to come after the Resurrection and the Iudgement. But these men, with the Latines, would have these to receive presently after death the things they have deserved: but unto those of the middle sort, that is, to such as dye in pe­nance, they assigne a purgatory fire (which they faine to be distinct from that of Hell) that thereby, say they, being purged in their soules after death, they likewise may be re­ceived into the kingdome of heaven together vvith the righteous.

That barbarous impostor (as Io. Molan. histor. Imag. lib. 3. cap 36. Molanus rightly sty­leth him) who counterfeyted a letter, as written by S. Cyrill Bishop of Ierusalem unto S. Augustin, touching the miracles of S. Hierome, taketh upon him to lay down the precise time of the first arising of this sect [Page 223] among the Grecians in this maner. Postobitu [...] gloriosissimi Hieronymi, qua [...]dam haere­sis inter Grae­cos, id est, secta surrexit, quae ad Latinos usque devenit, quae suis nefandis nitebatur ra­tionibus pro­bare: quòd a­nimae beatorū us (que) ad univer­salis judicii diē, in quo eorum corporibus e­rant iterum conjungendae, visione & cog­nitione divinâ, in quâ tota constitit beati­tudo sanctorū, privabuntur; & damnatorū animae similiter ad diem illum nullis crucia­buntur poenis. Quorum ratio talis erat; Si­cut anima cum corpore meruit vel peccavit, ita cum corpore recipit proemia sive poenas. Asserebant etiam illius sectae nequissimi, nullum fore purgatorij locum in que animae, quae nondum de suis peccatis in mundo plenam egissent poenitentiam, purgaren­tur. Quâ quidem sectaâ pestiferâ crebrescente, tantus in nos dolor irruit, ut nos ampliùs pi­geret vivere. Pseudo-Cyrillus, tom. 2. operum Augustini, epist 206. & sub finem tomi 4. operum Hie­ronymi edit. Basil. vel 9. ut á Mariano Victorio [...]omi sunt dispositi. After the death of most glorious Hierome, a certaine heresie or sect arose a­mongst the Grecians, and came to the Latines also, which went about with their wicked reasons to prove: that the soules of the blessed untill the day of the generall Iudgment, wherein they were to be joyned againe unto their bodies, are deprived of the sight and knowledge of God, in which the whole blessednesse of the Saincts doth consist; and that the soules of the damned in like maner untill that day are tor­mented with no paines. Whose reason was this: that as the soule did merit or sinne with the body; so with the bo­die was it to receive rewards or paines. Those wicked secta­ries also did maintaine, that there was no place of Purga­tory wherein the soules, vvhich had not done full penance for their sinnes in this world, might be purged. Which pe­stilent sect getting head, so great sorrow fell upon us, that we were even weary of our life. Then he telleth a wise tale, how S. Hierome, being at that time with God, for the confutation of this new-sprong heresie, raysed up three men from the dead (after that hee had first Nam (ut mihi postmo­dùm interroganti dixerunt) beatus Hieronymus eos conduxerat secum in Paradisum, Pur­gatorium, & Infernum: ut quae ibi agebantur, patefacerent universis. Ibid. ledd their soules into Paradise, Purgatory, and Hell; to the end they might make known unto all men the things that were done there:) but had not the witt to consider, that S. Cyrill himselfe had need to be raysed up, to make the fourth man among them. for how otherwise should he, who dyed thirtie yeares before S. Hierome (as is knowne to every one that knoweth the history of those [Page 224] times) have heard and written the newes which those three good fellowes, that were raised by S. Hierome af­ter his death, did relate concerning Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory? Yet is it nothing so strange to me (I con­fesse) that such idle dreames as these should be devised in the times of darknesse, to delude the world withall: as that now in the broad day light, [...]i [...]sfeld. de condition ani­mr. post mortē, sect 5. Binsfeldius and Fran. Suarez in 3 part. Thom. tom 4. disput. 45. sect. 1. num. 1. Suarez, and other Romish merchants should adven­ture to bring forth such rotten stuffe as this, with hope to gaine anie credite of antiquitie thereby unto the new erected staple of Popish Purgatory.

The Dominican Friars, in a certaine treatise written by them at Constantinople in the yeare 1252. assigne somewhat a lower beginning unto this error of the Grecians: affirming that they Sequentes quendā hujus haereseos invē ­to [...]em Archie­piscopū quon­dam Caesareae Cappadociae, Andream no­mine; qui di­cit, propria corpora prae­stolari, ut cum cis, cum quibus bona vel mala cōmiserint, re­tributiones si­militer factorū recipiant. Tra­ctat. contra Grae­cos: in tomo au­ctorum á Petro Steuartio edit. Ingelstad. an. 1616. pag. 562. followed therein a certain inventer of this heresie named Andrew, Archbishop some­time of Caesarea in Cappadocia; who said, that the soules did wayt for their bodies, that together with them, with which they had committed good or evill, they might like­wise receave the recompense of their deeds. But that which Andrew saith herein, he saith not out of his own head; (and therefore is wrongfully charged to be the first in­venter of it:) but out of the judgement of many godly fathers that went before him. [...]. An­dr. Caesar. cap. 17. commentar. in Apocalyps. It hath been said (saith he) by many of the Saincts, that all vertuous men (after this life) do receive places fit for them; whence they may certainly make conjecture of the glory that shall befall unto them. Where Peltanus bestoweth such another mar­ginall note upon him, as Gretser his fellow-Iesuite did upon Anastasius. Haec sententia diserté est jam condemnata; & ab Ecclesiâ proscripta. Theod. Peltan. ad marginem Latinae sua versionis. This opinion is now expressely condem­ned, [Page 225] and rejected by the Church. And yet doth Alphonsus de Castro aknowledge, that Sunt adhuc alij hujus erro­ris patroni, viri quidem illu­stres, sanctitate perinde ac sci­entiâ clari: Ire­naeus videlicèt beatissunus pro Christo mar­tyr, Theophy­lactus Bulgariae episcopus, bea­tus Bernardus. Nec mirari quisquam de­bet, si tanti viri in tam pestife­rum erro [...]ē sunt lapsi: quoniam (ut beatus Ia­cobus Aposto­lusait) qui non offendit in ver­bo, hic perfe­ctus est vir. Al­phons. Castr. lib. 3. advers. haere­ses; verbo, Bea­titudo, haer. 6. the Patrons thereof vvere famous men, renowned as well for holinesse as for know­ledge: but telleth us withall, that no man ought to mar­vaile, that such great men should fall into so pestilent an error; because (as the Apostle S. Iames saith) he that offen­deth not in word, is a perfect man.

Another particular opinion, which wee must sever from the generall intention of the Church in her ob­lations and prayers for the dead, is that which is noted by Theophylact upon the speech of our Saviour, Luk. 12.5. in which he wisheth us to observe, that [...]. Theophylact. in Luc. 12. hee did not say, Feare him who after hee hath killed casteth into hell; but, hath power to cast into hell. For the sinners which dye (saith he) are not alwayes cast into hell: but it remaineth in the power of God, to pardon them also. And this I say for the oblations and doales which are made for the dead, which do not a little avayle even them that dye in grievous sinnes. He doth not therefore generally, after he hath killed, cast into hell; but hath power to cast. Wher­fore let us not cease by almes and intercession to appease him, who hath power to cast, but doth not alwayes use this power, but is able to pardon also. Thus farre Theophylact: whom our Adversaries doe blindely bring in for the countenancing of their use of praying and offering for the dead; not considering, that the prayers and oblati­ons which he would uphold, doe reach even unto such as dye in grievous sinnes (which the Romanists acknow­ledge to receive no reliefe at all by anie thing that they [Page 226] can doe) and are intended for the keeping of soules from being cast into Hell, and not for fetching them out when they have been cast into Purgatorie; a place that never came within the compasse of Theophylacts beleefe. His testimonie will fit a great deale better the prayer of S. Dunstan; O [...]bern. & Eadmer. (& ex [...]is, Capgrav. & Suriu [...]) in vitâ Dunstani. Vid. Gulielm. Mal­me [...]buriens. de gestis Regum Anglor. lib. 2. fol. 30. b. & lib. 1. de gestis Pon­tific. Anglor. fol. 115. [...]. edit. Londin. who (as the tale goeth) having understood that the soule of King Edwin was to be car­ried into Hell, never gave over praying untill hee had gotten him ridd of that danger, and transferred unto the coast of penitent soules: where hee well deserved, doubtlesse, to undergoe that penance which Injungatis mihi, ut secun­dùm voluntatē Dei sim in poe­nis Purgatorij usque in diem [...]ud [...]cii. Matth. Paru hist. Angl. an. 1198. Hugh Bi­shop of Coventry and Chester on his death-bed imposed upon himselfe; even to lye in the dungeon of Purga­tory, without bayle or mainprise, untill the generall jayl [...]-deliverie of the last day.

Another private conceyte, intertained by diverse (as well of the elder as of middle times) in their devotions for the dead, was; that an augmentation of glory might thereby be procured for the Saincts, and eyther a totall deliverance, or a diminution of torment at least wise, obtained for the wicked. [...]. Chrys [...]st. in Ma [...]th. homil. 31. Graec. (32. Latin.) indeque homil. 69. pe [...]pe [...]àm insc [...]ipt­ed populum Antiochen. If the Barbarians (saith S. Chrysostom) do bury with their dead the things that be­long unto them: it is much more reason, that thou shoul­dest send with the deceased the things that are his; not that they may be made ashes, as they were, but that they may adde greater glory unto him. and, if hee be departed hence a sinner, that they may loose his sinnes; but if righ­teous, that an addition may be made to his reward and re­tribution. Yea in the verie latter dayes, Iuo Carnotensis writing unto Mawd Queene of England, concerning [Page 227] the prayers that were to be made for the King her bro­ther his soule; saith, that Non vid [...]tur otiosum, si pro his intercedi­mus, qui jam requie perfruū ­tur, ut eorum requies augea­tur. Iuo, ep. 174. it doth not seeme idle, if vve make intercessions for those who alreadie enjoy rest, that their rest may be encreased. Whereupon Pope Innocent the third doth bring this for one of the answers, where­with he laboureth to salve the prayers which were u­sed in the Church of Rome, that such or such an oblation might profite such or such a Sainct unto glory: that Licèt pleri (que) reputent non indignum, San­ctorum gloriā usque ad judi­cium augmen­tari: & ideò Ecclesiam inte­rim sané posse augmentum glorificationis eorum optare. Innoc. 111. epist. ad archiep. Lug­dun. Cap. Cùm Marthae Extr [...]. de celebr. M [...]ssar. ma­ny repute it no indignitie, that the glory of the Saincts should be augmented untill the day of judgement; and therefore that in the meane time the Church may wish the increase of their glorification. So likewise for the miti­gation of the paines of them, whose soules were doub­ted to be in torment; this forme of prayer was of old used in the same Church (as in Grimoldus his Sacra­mentary may be seen) and retained in the Romane Mis­sall it selfe, untill in the late reformation thereof it was removed. Omnipotens & misericors Deus, inclina, qua sumus, ve­nerabiles aures tuas ad exiguas preces nostras, quas ante con­spectum maje­statis tuae p [...]o animâ famuli tui N. humiliter fundimus: ut quia de quali­tate vitae ejus diffidimus, de abundantiâ pietatis tuae consolemur; & si plenam veniam anima ipsius ob­tinere non potest, saltem vel inter ipsa tormenta quae forsitan patitur, refrigerium de abun­dantiâ miserationum tuarum sentiat. Orat. pro defunc [...]. in M [...]ss [...]li Romano, edit. Parisan. 1529. Grim [...]ld. Sacramentar. tom. 2. Liturgic. Pamelij, pag. 457. O almightie and mercifull God, incline (vve beseech thee) thy holy eares unto our poore prayers, which we doe humbly poure forth before the sight of thy Majestie for the soule of thy servant N. that forasmuch as we are distrustfull of the qualitie of his life, by the abundance of thy pitie we may be comforted; and if his soule cannot ob­taine full pardon, yet at least in the midst of the torments themselves, which peradventure it suffereth, out of the a­bundance of thy compassion it may feele refreshment. which prayer whither it tended, may appeare partly by that which Prudentius writeth of the play-dayes, which he supposeth the soules in Hell sometime do obtaine;

partly by the doubtfull conceits of Gods mercifull dea­ling with the wicked in the world to come, which are found in August. E [...] ­chirid. ad Lau­rent. cap. 110.112.113. Hiero­nym. lib. 1. contra Pelag. & in fine Commenta [...]ior. in Esai. Gregor. Nazianz orat. 40. de Baptismo. [...]. others: but especially by these passages that we meet withall in the Sermons of S. Chrysostom.

[...]; (the Latin [...]dition r [...]ndreth this, not very faithfully: Hoc igitur non plorabimus, dic, oro? non tentabimus nos ab his periculis e­ripere?) [...]. Chrysost. in Act. hom. 21. This man hath spent his whole life in vaine, neyther hath lived one day to himselfe, but to voluptuousnesse, to luxury, to covetousnesse, to sinne, to the Divell. Tell me therefore; shall we not mourne for him? shall we not ende­vour to pull him out of these dangers? For there be meanes, if we will, whereby his punishment may be made light unto him. If then we doe make continuall prayers for him, if we besto [...] almes; although he be unworthy, God will respect us. For [...]. Ibid. many have received benefite by the almes that have beene given by others for them: and found thereby, although not a perfect, yet some consolation. [...]. Ibid. This there­fore is done, that although we our selves be not vertuous, we may be carefull to get vertuous companions and friends, and wife and sonne; as looking to reape some fruit even by them also: reaping indeed but little, yet reaping some fruit notwithstanding. [...]; Id. in epist. ad Philip. hom. 3. Let us not therefore simply [...]eepe for [Page 229] the dead, but for such as are dead in their sinnes: these be worthy of lamentations and bewaylings and teares. For what hope is there (tell me) for men to depart with their sinnes, where they cannot put off their sinnes? for as long as they were here, there was peradventure great expectati­on, that they would be altered, that they would be bettered. but being gone unto Hell, where there is no gayning of any thing by repentance (for in hell, saith he, who shall confesse unto thee?) how are they not vvorthy of lamentations? [...]. Ibid. Let us therefore weepe for such, let us succour them to our power, let us finde out some help for them, little indeed, but yet such as may releeve them. How and after what maner? both praying our selves, and intreating others to make prayers for them, and giving continually unto the poore for them. for this thing bringeth some consolation.

The like doctrine is delivered by Andr. Hiero­solymitan. [...]. pag. [...]9. edit. Meursij. Andrew archbi­shop of Crete, in his Sermon of the life of man, and of the dead; and by Iohn Damascen, or whosoever else was author of the book ascribed unto him, concerning them that are departed in the faith: where three nota­ble tales are told, of the benefite that even Infidells and Idolaters themselves should receive by such prayers as these. One touching the soule of the Emperour Tra­jan, delivered from Hell by the prayers of Pope Grego­ry: of the truth whereof least anie man should make question, he affirmeth very roundly, that no lesse then [...]. Da­mascen. serm. de Defunctis. the whole East and West will witnesse that this is true and uncontroulable. And indeed in the East this fable see­meth first to have risen: where it obtayned such cre­dite, that the Grecians to this day do still use this forme of prayer; [...]. Eucholog. Grae [...]. cap. 19. As thou didst loose Trajan from punishment by the earnest intercession of thy servant Gregory the Dia­logue-writer, heare us likewise who pray unto thee. And [Page 230] therefore to them doth Hugo Etherianus thus appeale, for justifying the truth of this narration: Nolite quae­so dicere in cordibus ve­stris, falsum hoc aut fictum esse. Quaerite, si pla­cet, apud Grae­cos: Graeca certé omnis te­statur haec Ec­clesia. Hug. E­therian. de re­gr [...]ssu animar. ab Inferis, cap. 15. Do not, I pray you, say in your hearts, that this is false or fayned. In­quire, if you please, of the Grecians: the whole Greeke Church surely doth testifie these things. He might, if he had pleased, being an Italian himselfe, have inquired neerer home of the Romanes, among whom this feate was reported to have beene acted; rather then among the Grecians, who were strangers to the businesse. But the Romans, as wee understand by Io. Diacon. Vit. Gregor. li. 2. cap. 44. Iohannes Diaconus in the life of S. Gregory, found no such matter among their records; and when they had notice given them thereof out of the Legends of the Church of England (for from thence received they the newes of this and some other such strange acts reported to have beene done by S. Gregory among themselves) they were not verie hastie to beleeve it: because they could hardly be perswaded, that S. Gregory who had taught them, that Gregor. Moral. in Iob, lib. 34. cap. 16. quod pen [...] ad verbum de­scriptum etiam habetur lib. 4. Dialogor. cap. 44. Infidels and wicked men departed out of this life, were no more to be prayed for then the Divell and his angells which were appointed unto everlasting punishment; should in his practise be found to be so much different from his judgement. The second tale toucheth upon the verie times of the Apostles: wherein the [...]. Basil. Se­leuc. in ipso ini­tio Commentarij de vitâ Theclae. Apostolesse The­cla is said to have prayed for Falconilla (the daughter of Tryphaena, whom S. Paul saluteth, Rom. 16.12.) [...]. Damascen. a gentile and an Idolatresse, altogether profane and a servi­tour of another God, to this effect. [...]. Simeon. Metaphrast. in vitâ Theclae, O God, Sonne of the true God, grant unto Tryphaena according to thy will, that her daughter may live with thee time without end. or as [Page 231] Basil Bishop of Seleucia doth expresse it. [...]. Basil. Sel [...]us. lib. 1. de vitâ The­ [...]lae Grant unto thy servant Tryphaena, that her desire may be fulfilled con­cerning her daughter: her desire therein being this, that her soule may be numbred among the soules of those that have already beleeved in thee, and may enjoy the life and pleasure that is in Paradise.

The third tale he produceth out of Palladius his hi­storicall book written unto Lausus (although neither in the Greek set out by Meursius, nor in the three seve­rall Latin editions of that historie published before, the [...]e bee any such thing to be found): touching a dead mans skull, that should have uttered this speech unto Macarius the great Aegyptian anchorer. [...]. Damas [...]en. When thou dost offer up thy prayers for the dead, then doe wee feele some little cons [...]lation. A brainlesse answer you may well conceive it to be, that must be thought to have proceeded from a dry skull lying by the highway side: but as brainl [...]sse as it is, it hath not a little trou­bled the quick heads of our Romish Divines, and put m [...]ny an odd cratchet into their nimble braines. Re­natus Laurentius telleth us, that Non est du­bium quin An­gelus fuit qui in cranio lo­quebatur Re­nat. [...]au [...]ent. annotat. in [...]er­ [...]ullian de Ani­wâ. cap. 33. without all doubt it was an Angell that did speake in this skull. And Ad rem ita­que dico, caput illud, quod, ut habetur in D. Damasceno, in viâ jacebat, nō fuisse hominis damnat [...], sed justi existentis in Purgatorio: nam Damasce­nus non dicit in illo sermone, quòd fuerit hominis Gentilis, ut ibi patet. Alp [...]o [...]s Mend [...]z. Controv T [...]eolo [...] qu [...] scholast [...]e [...]t 5 I say (quoth Alphonsus Mendoza) that this head which lay in the way, was not the head of one that was damned, but of a just man remayning in Purgatory: for Damascen doth not say in that sermon, that i [...] was the head of a Gentile, as it may there be seene. And true it is indeed, he neither saith that it was so, neither yet that it was not so: but the Grecians generally relate the matter thus; that Macarius [...]. M [...]na. Graec. Ian [...]ar. 19. did heare this, from the skull of one that had [Page 232] been a Priest of Idoles, which he found lying in the wilder­nesse; that by his prayers such as were with him in pu­nishment received a little ease of their torment, whensoe­ver it fell out that he made the same for them. and among the Latins, Thomas Aquinas, and other of the Schoole­men take this for granted: because they found in the Lives of the Fathers, that the speech which the dead skull used was this. Vit. Paltum. edit. Lugdun. an. 1515. f [...]l 105. col. 3.4. & fol. 143. col. 1.2. & edi. Antuerp. an. 1615. pag. 526. & 656. I was a Priest of the Gentiles (so Iohn the Roman subdeaco [...] translateth it) or, as Rufinus is supposed to have rendred it, I was the chiefe of the Priests of the Idoles, which dwelt in this place: and thou art abbot Macarius, that art filled with the spirit of God. At whatsoever houre therefore thou takest pitie of them that are in torments, and prayest for them; they then feele som consolation. Well, saith Mendoza then,Quòd si D. Tho. hanc hi­storiam refe­rens ex Vitis patrum, dicit fuisse caput Gentilis, ipse nodum hunc tenetur eno­dare. Alphons. Mendoz ut supr. if S. Thomas relating this history out of the Lives of the Fathers, doth say that this vvas the head of a Gentile; he himselfe is bound to untye this knot. And so hee doth: resolving the matter thus; Thom. Aquin. in lib. 4. Sentent. distinct. 45. quaest. 2. artic. 2 ad 4. & Durād. in eand. quaest. num. 15. that the damned get no true ease by the prayers made for them, but such a phantasticall kinde of joy only, as the Divels are said to have, when they have seduced and deceived any man. At fortasse meliùs rejice­rentur, ut falsa & apocrypha, quae afferuntur de illo cranio. Bellarmin. de Purgator. lib. 2. cap. [...]8. But per­adventure, saith Cardinall Bellarmine for the upshott, the things which are brought touching that skull, might better be rejected as false and apocryphall. and Stephen Durant, more peremptorily: Quare quod de Trajano & Falconillâ (quos liberatos ex inferno orationibus S. Gregorij & Theclae, ex Damasceno, & quibusdam alijs, vulgò fertur:) quae item de Cranio arido interrogato á Macario, ex historiâ Pailadij ad Lausum referuntur, ficta & commentitia sunt. Steph. Du­rant. de ritib. Eccles. lib. 2. cap. 43. sect. 12. The things vvhich are told of Trajan and Falconilla, delivered out of hell by the prayers of S Gregory and Thecla, and of the dry skull spo­ken too by Macarius, be fayned and commentitious.

[Page 233]Which last answere, though it be the truest of all the rest; yet is it not to be doubted for all that, but that the generall credite which these fables obtained, toge­ther with the countenance which the opinion of the Origenists did receive from Didymus, Euagrius, Gregory Nyssen, (if he be not corrupted) and other Doctors, in­clined the minds of men verie much, to apply the com­mon use of praying for the dead unto this wrong end of hoping to relieve the damned thereby. S. Augustine doth shew, that in his time not onely Frustrà ita (que) nonnulli, imò quamplurimi, aete [...]nam dam­natorum poe­nam, & crucia­tus sine inter­missione per­petuos, huma­no miserantur affectu; at (que) ita futurū esse non credunt. Augustin. En­chirid. ad Lau­rent cap. 112. some, but excee­ding many also, did out of an humane affection take compassion of the eternall paines of the damned, and would not beleeve that they should never have an end. And notwithstanding this error was publickly con­demned afterwards in the Origenists, by the fifth gene­rall Councell held at Constantinople: yet by idle and voluptuous persons was it still greedily embraced (as Ioh [...]n. Climac. in fine 5. gradus Scalae suae. Climacus complaineth) and Sunt enim nunc etiam, qui ideirco peccatis suis ponere finem negligunt, quia habere quan­do (que) finem fu­tura super se judicia suspi­cantur. Gregor. Moral. in Iob, lib. 34. cap. 16. even now also, saith S. Gregory, there be some, who therefore neglect to put an end unto their sinnes, because they imagine that the judge­ments which are to come upon them shall sometimes have an end. Yea of late dayes this opinion was maintay­ned by the Porretanians (as Thomas calleth them) and some of the Gloss. in Graetian caus. 13. quaest. 2. cap. 23 Tempus. Durand in lib. 4. Sen­tent. dist. 45. quaest. 2. num. 7. Haec est sententia aliquorum Iuristarum. Canonists (the one following therein Gil­bert Porreta Bishop of Poictiers, in his booke of Theo­logical Questions; the other Iohn Semeca, in his Glosse upon Gratian) that by the prayers and suffrages of the living the paines of some of the damned were conti­nually diminished; in such maner as infinite propor­tionable parts may be taken from a line, without ever comming unto an end of the division: which was in [Page 234] effect to take from them at the last all paine of sense or sense of paine. For (as Quia in di­visione lineae tandem perve­nitur ad hoc quod non est sensibile: cor­pus enim sensi­bile non est in infinitum divisibile. Et sic se­queretur, quòd post mu [...]ta suf­fragia poena reman [...]s prop­ter sui parvita­tem non senti­retur; & ita non esset poe­na. [...]hom in 4. Sentenl. dist. 45. qu. 2. art. 2. Thomas observeth it rightly, and Durand, in 4. d 45. q. 2. num 8. Durand after him) in the division of a Line, at last we must come unto that which is not sensible: conside­ring that a sensible bodie cannot be divided infinitely. and so it would follo [...], that after many suffrages that paine re­mayning should not be sensible; and consequently should be no paine at all.

Neither is it to be forgotten that the invention of All Soules day (of which you may reade, if you please, Polydore Vergil in his sixth booke of the Inventers of things, and the ninth chapter) that solemne day, I say, wherein our Romanists most devoutly perform all their superstitious observances for the dead; was occasioned at the first by the apprehension of this same erroneous conceit, that the soules of the damned might not onely be eased, but fully also delivered by the almes & prayers of the living. The whole narration of the businesse is thus laid down by Sigebertus Gemblacensis in his Chro­nic [...]e, at the yeare of our Lord 998. Hoc tempo­re quidam reli­giosus ab Hic­rosolymis re diens in Siciliâ reclusi cujus [...]ā humanitate a liquandiu re­creatus, didicit ab eo interce­te [...], quòd in illâ v [...]iniâ es­sent [...] [...]ructantia flammarum incendia, quae [...]oca vocantur ab incolis O [...]lae Vulcani, in quibus animae reproborū luant diversa pro meritorū qualitate supplicia; ad ea exequ [...]nda d [...]pu [...]atis ibi daemonibus, quorum se crebrò voces, iras, & terrores, saepè etiam [...]julatus [...] dicebat, plangen [...]ium quòd animae damnatorū eriperentur de manibus eorum per [...] & preces fideliū; & hoc tempore magis per orationes Cluniacens [...]um, orantiū indefessé pro defunctorum requie. Hoc per ipsum Abbas Odilo compe [...]o, constituit per omnia monasteri [...] sibi [...]ubjecta, ut sicut primo die Novembris solemnitas omniū Sanctorum agitur, ita s [...]quē [...]i die memoria omniū in Christo quies ētiū celebretur Quiritus ad multas Ecclesias transions, fideliū defunctorū memoriā solemnizari fecit. Sigeberi. Ch [...]on. an. 998. This time, saith he, a certaine religious man returning from Ierusalem, be­ing intertained for a while in Sicile by the courtesie of a certaine anchoret, learned from him among other matters, that there were places neere unto them that used to cast up burning flames, which by the inhabitants were called the Potts of Vulcan, wherein the soules of the reprobate accor­ding [Page 235] to the qualitie of their deserts did suffer diverse pu­nishments; the Divels being there deputed for the execu­tion therof whose voyces, angers and terrors, and somtimes howlings also he said he often heard, as lamenting that the soules of the damned were taken out of their hands by the almes and prayers of the faithfull; and more at this time by the prayers of the monkes of Cluny, who prayed vvithout ceasing for the rest of those that were deceased. The abbot Odilo having understood this by him, appointed through­out all the monasteries under his subjection, that as upon the first day of November the solemnitie of all the Saints is observed, so upon the day following, the memoriall of all that rested in Christ should be celebrated. Which rite pas­sing into many other Churches, made the memory of the faithfull deceased to be solemnized.

For the elect, this forme of prayer was wont to be u­sed in the Romane Church. Dues, cui so­li cognitus est numerus ele­ctorū in super­nâ felicitate lo­candorum: tri­bue quaesumus, ut universorū, quos in oratio­ne commenda­tos suscepimus, vel omnium si­deliū nomina, beatae praede­stinationis li­ber asscripta retineat. Gre­gor. Oper. tom. 5. col. 226. Alcuin. lib. Sacramentor. cap. 18. Oper. col. 1190. Missal. Roman. edit. Pa­ris [...]an. 1529. in­ter Orationes commun [...]s. O God, unto whom alone is knowne the number of the elect that are to be placed in the supernall blisse: grant, we beseech thee, that the book of blessed predestination may retaine the names of all those whom we have undertaken to recommend in our prayer, or of all the faithfull, that are written therein. And to pray, that the names of all those that are written in the book of Gods election, should still be retayned therein, may be somewhat tolerable: considering (as the Divines of that side have informed us) that those things may be prayed for, which we know most certainly wilcome to passe. But hardly, I think, shall you finde in any Ri­tuall a form of prayer answerable to this of the monkes of Cluny for the reprobate: unlesse it be that, whereby S. Francis is said to have obtained, that friat Elias should be made Raphäel Vo­later [...]an. Com­mentar. Vrban. lib. 21. ex praescito praedestinatus, an elect of a repro­bare. Yet it seemeth, that some were not very well [Page 236] pleased, that what was done so seldom by S. Francis the Bonaventur. in Prelogo Vitae Francisci. Ber­nardin. d [...] Busto, Rosar tom. 2. serm. 27. [...]a. 1.2. Angel of the Friars, (& that for a reprobate yet living) should be so usually practised by the followers of S. O­dilo the Fulbert. Car­not [...]s. epist. 66. Archangel of the Monkes for reprobates that were dead: & therefore in the cōmon editions of Sige­berts Chronicle they have cleane strucke out the word damnatorū, & instead of reproborū chopt in defunctorū. which depravatiō may be detected, aswel by the sincere edition of Sigebert published by Aubertus Miraeus out of the Manuscript of Gemblac abbay (w^ch is thought to be the originall copie of Sigebert himselfe) as by the com­paring of him with Petrus Damiani in the life of Odilo, whence this whole narration was by him borrowed. For there also doe we reade, that in those flaming pla­ces In quibus etiam locis a [...]i­n [...]e reproborū d [...]versa luunt pro meritorum qualitate tor­menta. Petr. Dami [...]n in vit. Odd. [...]omo. 1. Su­ri [...], Ianuar. 1. the soules of the reprobate according to the qualitie of their deserts did suffer diverse torments: and that the Divels did complaine, Quòd ora­tionibus & ele­emosynis quo­rundam, ad­versus eos in­foe derabiliter concertantiū, frequenter ex eorum mani­bus eriperentur animae damna­torum. Inter caetera de Clu­niacensium cae­tu permaximā & eorum ab­bate querimo­niam faciunt, quia quàm sae pè per eos sui [...]uris vernacu­los perdunt. Ibid. that by the almes and prayers of Odilo and others, the soules of the damned were taken out of their hands.

By these things we may see, what we are to judge of that which our Adversaries presse so much against us out of Epiphanius: that he Allen of Pur­gatory and pray­er for the dead, lib. 2. cap. 14. nameth an obscure fellow one Aërius to be the first author of this heresie; that prayers and sacrifice profiteth not the departed in Christ. For ney­ther doth Epiphanius name this to be an heresie: ney­ther doth it appeare that himselfe did hold, that praiers and oblations bring such profite to the dead as these men dreame they do. He is much deceived, who thin­keth everie thing that Epiphanius findeth fault withall in heretickes, is esteemed by him to be an heresie: see­ing heresie cannot be but in matters of faith, and the course which Epiphanius taketh in that worke is not only to declare, in what speciall points of faith hereticks [Page 237] did dissent from the Catholicke doctrine, but in what particular observances also they refused to follow the received customes and ordinances of the Church. Therefore at the end of the whole worke hee setteth downe a Briefe, [...]. Epiphan. infine Panarij. pag. 465. first of the faith, and then of the ordi­nances and observances of the Church: and among the particulars of the latter kinde, he rehearseth this: [...]. Ibid. pag. 466. For the dead, they make commemorations by name, per­forming (or, when they doe performe) their prayers and divine service and dispensation of the mysteries, and di­sputing against Aërius touching the point it selfe, hee doth not at all charge him with forsaking the doctrine of the Scriptures, or the faith of the Catholick Church concerning the state of those that are departed out of this life: but with rejecting the order observed by the Church in her Commemorations of the dead; which being an ancient institution, brought in upon wonder­full good considerations, should not by this humorous hereticke have beene thus condemned. [...]. Id. haeres. 75. pag. 388. The Church, saith he, doth necessarily performe this, having received it by tradition from the Fathers: and who may dissolve the ordinance of his mother, or the law of his Father? and a­gaine. [...]. Ibid. Our mother the Church hath ordinances setled in her, which are inviolable and may not be broken. Seeing then there are ordinances established in the Church, and they are well and all things are admirably done: this sedu­cer is againe refuted.

For the further opening hereof, it will not be amisse to consider both of the objection of Aërius, and of the answer of Epiphanius. Thus did Aërius argue against [Page 238] the practise of the Church. [...]. Aërius, a­pud Epiphan. ib. pag. 386. For what reason doe you commemorate after death the names of those that are de­parted? He that is alive prayeth, or maketh dispensation (of the mysteries:) what shall the dead be profited here­by? And if the prayer of those here doe altogether profite them that be there: then let no body be godly, let no man do good, but let him procure some friends by what meanes it pleaseth him, eyther perswading them by money, or intrea­ting friends at his death; and let them pray for him, that he may suffer nothing there, and that those inexpiable sins which he hath cōmitted may not be required at his hands. This was Aërius his argumentation: which would have beene of force indeed, if the whole Church had held, as manie did; that the judgement after death was suspended untill the generall Resurrection, and that in the meane time the sinnes of the dead might be taken away by the suffrages of the living. But hee should have considered, as Stephanus Gobarus (who was as great an heretick as himselfe) did, that the Doctors were not agreed upon the point; some of them main­tayning, [...]. Go­bar in Photij Bibliothe: â vel. 232. the soule of every one that departed out of this life received very great profite by the prayers and oblati­ons and almes that were performed for him, and others on the contrary side, that it was not so: and that it was a foolish part of him, to confound the private opinion of some, with the common faith of the universall Church. That he reproved this particular error, (which seemeth to have gotten head in his time, as being most plausible to the multitude, and very pleasing unto the looser sort of Christians) therein he did well: but that thereupon he condemned the generall practise of the Church, which had no dependance upon that errone­ous conceipt, therein he did like unto himselfe, headily [Page 239] and perversely. For the Church in her Commemo­rations and prayers for the dead had no relation at all unto those that had ledd their lives lewdly and disso­lutely (as appeareth plainly, both by the [...]. Di [...]nys. Eccles. Hierarch. cap. 7. init E [...] postea: [...]. author of the Ecclesiasticall Hierarchy, and by diverse other evidences before alledged) but unto those that did end their lives in such a godly maner, as gave pregnant hope unto the living, that their soules were at rest with God: and to such as these alone did it wish the accomplishment of that which remained of their redemption; to wit, their publick justification and solemne acquitall at the last day, and their perfect consummation of blisse, both in body and soule, in the kingdome of heaven for ever af­ter. not that the event of these things was conceived to be anie wayes doubtfull (for wee have beene told, that things may be prayed for, the event whereof is knowne to be most certaine) but because the commemoration thereof was thought to serve for speciall use, not onely in regard of the manifestation of the affection of the li­ving toward the dead (he that prayed, as Dionysius no­teth, [...]. Id. ibid. desiring other mens gifts as if they were his owne graces) but also in respect of the consolation and in­struction which the living might receive thereby; as Epiphanius in his answer to Aërius doth more particu­larly declare.

The obiection of Aërius was this. The Comme­morations and prayers used in the Church bring no profit to the dead: therefore as an unprofitable thing they are to be reiected. To this doth Epiphanius thus frame his answer. [...]. Epiphan. haeres. 75. As for the reciting of the names of [Page 240] those that are deceased; what can be better then this? what more commodious, and more admirable? that such as are present do beleeve, that they who are departed do live, and are not extinguished, but are still being and living with the Lord: and that this most pious preaching might be de­clared; that they who pray for their brethren have hope of them as being in a peregrination. Which is as much in effect, as if he had denied Aërius his consequence: and answered him, that although the dead were not profited by this action, yet it did not therefore follow that it should be condemned as altogether unprofita­ble. because it had a singular use otherwise: namely to testifie the faith and the hope of the living, concerning the dead. the faith: in [...] Dionys. Eccl [...]s. Hierarch. cap. 3. [...]. Clem. Consti [...]ut Apost. lib. 6. cap. 29. declaring them to be alive, (for so doth Dionysius also expound the Churches intenti­on in her publick nomination of the dead) and as Di­vinitie teacheth, not mortified but translated from death unto a most divine life. the hope: in that they signified hereby, that they accounted their brethren to have de­parted from them no otherwise than as if they had beene in a journey, with expectation to meet them af­terward; and by this meanes made a difference be­twixt themselves, and 1. Thess. 4.13. others which had no hope. Then doth Epiphanius proceed further in answering the same objection, after this maner. [...]. (f. [...] Epiphan haer. 75. The prayer also which is made for them doth profite, although it do not cut off all their sinnes: yet forasmuch as whilest we are in the world, we oftentimes slip both unwillingly and with our will; it serveth to signifie that which is more perfect. For [Page 241] we make a memoriall, both for the just and for sinners: for sinners, intreating the mercy of God; for the just, (both the Fathers and Patriarches, the Prophets, and Apostles, and Euangelists, and Martyrs and Confessors, Bish [...]ps also and Anchorites, and the whole order) that vve may sever our Lord Iesus Christ from the ranke of all other men by the honour that we doe unto him, and that we may yeeld wor­ship unto him. Which, as farre as I apprehend him, is no more then if he had thus replyed unto Aërius. Al­though the prayer that is made for the dead doe not cut off all their sinnes (which is the onely thing that thou goest about to prove) yet doth it profite notwith­standing for another purpose: namely to signifie the supereminent perfection of our Saviour Christ above the rest of the sonnes of men, who are subiect to mani­fold slipps and falls as long as they live in this world.

For aswell the righteous, with their involuntarie slipps, as sinners, with their voluntarie falls, doe come within the compasse of these Commemorations: wherein prayers are made, both for Luk. 15 [...]. sinners that re­pent, and for righteous persons that have no such need of repentance. For sinners; that being by their repen­tance recovered out of the snare of the Divell, they may finde mercy of the Lord at the last day, and bee freed from the fire prepared for the Divell and his an­gells: For the righteous; that they may be recompen­sed in the resurrection of the iust, and received into the kingdome prepared for them from the foundation of the world. Which kinde of prayer being made for the best men that ever lived (even the Patriarches, Prophets, Apostles, Euangelists, and Martyrs themselves) Christ onely excepted; sheweth that the profite which the Church intended should be reaped therefrom, was not [Page 242] the taking away of the sinnes of the parties that were prayed for, but the honouring of their Lord above them: it being hereby declared, [...]. Epiphan. contra Aëri. haer. 75. that our Lord is not to be compared unto any man; though a man live in righ­teousnesse a thousand times and more. for how should that be possible? considering that the one is God, the other man, (as the praying to the one, and for the other, doth dis­cover) and the one is in heaven, the other in earth by rea­son of the remaines of the body yet resting in the earth, untill the day of the Resurrection, unto which all these prayers had speciall reference. This do I conceive to be the right meaning of Epiphanius his answer: as su­ting best both with the generall intention of the Church, which he taketh upon him to vindicate from the misconstruction of Aërius, & with the application therof unto his obiection, & with the known doctrine of Epiphanius, delivered by him elsewhere in these terms. [...]. Id. cont. Cathar. haer. 59. After death there is no helpe to be gotten, eyther by godlinesse, or by repentance. For Lazarus doth not goe there unto the rich man, nor the rich man unto Lazarus: neyther doth Abraham send any of his spoyles, that the poore may be afterward made rich thereby; neyther doth the rich man obtaine that which he asketh, although hee intreat mercifull Abraham [...]ith instant supplication. For the Garners are sealed up, and the time is fulfilled, and the combat is finished, and the lists are voyded, and the Gar­lands are given, and such as have fought are at rest, and such as have not obtained are gone forth, and such as have not fought cannot now be present in time, and such as have beene overthrowne in the lists are cast out, and all [Page 243] things are clearely finished, after that we are once departed from hence.

We are to consider then, that the prayers and obla­tions, for reiecting whereof Aërius was reproved, were not such as are used in the Church of Rome at this day, but such as were used by the ancient Church at that time: and therefore as we in condemning of the one, have nothing to doe with Aërius or his cause; so the Romanists, who dislike the other as much as ever Aërius did, must be content to let us alone, and take the charge of Aërianisme home unto themselves. Popish prayers and oblations for the dead, we know, do whol­ly depend upon the beleefe of Purgatorie: if those of the ancient Church did so too; how commeth it to passe that Epiphanius doth not directly answer Aërius, as a Papist would doe now, that they brought singular profite to the dead, by delivering their tormented soules out of the flames of Purgatorie? but forgetting as much as once to make mention of Purgatorie (the sole foundation of these suffrages for the dead, in our Adversaries iudgement) doth trouble himselfe and his cause, with bringing in such farr fett reasons as these: that they who performed this dutie, did intend to sig­nifie thereby that their brethren departed were not pe­rished, but remained still alive with the Lord; and to put a difference betwixt the high perfection of our Saviour Christ, and the generall frailtie of the best of all his servants. Take away Popish Purgatorie on the o­ther side, (which in the dayes of Aërius and Epiphanius needed not to be taken away, because it was not as yet hatched) and all the reasons produced by Epiphanius will not withhold our Romanists from absolutely sub­scribing to the opinion of Aërius: this being a case [Page 244] with them resolved; that Ad hoc etiā est univ [...]rsalis [...]cclesiae consu­e [...]udo, quae p [...]o defunctis o [...]at: quae qui­dem oratio in­u [...]ilis esset, si Purgatorium post mortem non ponatur. Thom. contr. Gentiles, lib. 4. cap. 91. if Purgatory be not admitted after death, prayer for the dead must be unprofitable. But though Thomas Aquinas and his abettors determine so, we must not therefore thinke that Epiphanius was of the same minde; who lived in a time wherein pray­ers were usually made for them that never were drea­med to have beene in Purgatorie, and yeeldeth those reasons of that usage, which overthrow the former consequence of Thomas everie whit as much, as the supposition of Aërius.

For Aërius and Thomas both agree in this: that prayer for the dead would be altogether unprofitable, if the dead themselves received no speciall benefite there­by. This doth Epiphanius (defending the ancient use of these prayers in the Church) shew to be untrue; by producing other profites that redounded from thence unto the living: partly by the publick signification of their faith, hope, & charitie toward the deceased; part­ly by the honour that they did unto the Lord Iesus, in exempting him from the common condition of the rest of mankinde. And to make it appeare, that these things were mainly intended by the Church in her Memorialls for the dead, and not the cutting off of the sinnes which they carried with them out of this life, or the releasing of them out of anie torment: he alledgeth (as wee have heard) that not onely the meaner sort of Christians, but also the best of them without excepti­on, even the Prophets and Apostles & Martyrs them­selves, were comprehended therein. from whence, by our Adversaries good leave, we wil make bold to frame this syllogisme.

The assumption or second part of this argument (for the first we thinke no body will denie) is thus proved.

The truth of the first of these propositions doth appear by the testimonie of Epiphanius, compared with those manie other evidences whereby we have formerly pro­ved, that it was the custome of the ancient Church to make prayers and oblations for them, of whose resting in peace and blisse there was no doubt at all conceived. The veritie of the second is manifested by the confessi­on of the Romanists themselves: who reckon this for one of their Fr. Suaerez, tom 4. in 3. part. Thom. disp. [...]8. sect. 4. [...]um. 10. Catholicke verities; that suffrages should not be offered for the dead that raigne with Christ. and therefore that ancient Illa formula precandi pro Apostolis, Mar­tyribus & caet. meritò per de­s [...]etudinem ex­olevit. Alphons. Mend [...]z. Contro­vers Theologic. quaest. 6. s [...]holast. s [...]ct. 7. forme of praying for the Apostles, Martyrs, and the rest of the Saincts, is by dis­use deservedly abolished; saith Alphonsus Mendoza. Nay Graeci sacrifi­cia & preces offerunt Deo pro mortuis; non beatis cer­té, ne (que) dam­natis ad infe­ros, quod plané esset absurdum & impium. Io. Azor. Institut. moral. tom. 1. lib. 8. cap. 20. to offer sacrifices and prayers to God for those that are in blisse, is plainly absurd and impious, in the iudge­ment [Page 246] of the Iesuite Azorius: who was not aware, that thereby hee did outstrippe Aërius in condemning the practise of the ancient Church, as farre, as the censu­ring it only to be unprofitable (for [...]; what shall the dead be profited thereby? was the furthest that Aërius durst to goe) commeth short of re­iecting it as absurd and impious. And therefore our Adversaries may doe well, to purge themselves first from the blott of Aërianisme which sticketh so fast un­to them, before they be so readie to cast the aspersion thereof upon others.

In the meane time, the Reader who desireth to be rightly informed in the iudgement of Antiquitie tou­ching this point, is to remember; that these two que­stions must necessarily be distinguished in this inquiry. Whether prayers and oblations were to be made for the dead? and, Whether the dead did receive any pe­culiar profite thereby? In the latter of these, he shall finde great difference among the Doctors: in the for­mer, verie little, or none at all. For Quamvis de statu illo ani­marum, quibus haec prodessent, non satis con­staret, nee inter omnes conve­niret: omnes tamen hoc of­ficium, ut te­stimonium charitatis erga defunctos, & ut professionē fidei de im­mortalitate animarum & futurâ resurre­ctione, Deo gratum & Ec­clesiae utile esse judicârunt. Cassand. Consul­tat. ad Fe [...]di­nand. l. & Ma­ximilian. II. artic. 24. howsoever all did not agree about the state of the soules (saith Cassander, an indifferent Papist) vvhich might receive profite by these things: yet all did judge this dutie, as a testimonie of their love toward the dead, and a profession of their faith touch­ing the soules immortalitie and the future resurrection, to be acceptable unto God and profitable to the Church. Therefore for condemning the generall practise of the Church herein, which aymed at those good ends be­fore expressed, Aë [...]ius was condemned: but for deny­ing that the dead received profite thereby, eyther for the pardon of the sinnes which before were unremitted, or for the cutting off or mitigation of anie torments that they did endure in the other world, the Church [Page 247] did never condemne him. For that was no new thing invented by him: diverse worthy men before and after him declared themselves to be of the same minde, and were never for all that charged with the least suspition of heresie. [...]. Iustin. r [...]sp. ad Orthod. quaest. 60. The narration of Lazarus and the rich man (saith the author of the Questions and Answers in the workes of Iustin Martyr) presenteth this doctrine unto us: that after the departure of the soule out of the body, men cannot by any providence or care obtaine any profite. [...]. Greg. Na­zianz in Ca [...]m. de rebus suis. Then (saith Gregory Nazianzen) in vaine shall anie one goe about to relieve those that lament. Here men may have a remedie, but afterwards there is nothing but bonds, or, all things are fast bound. For Post mortē poena peccati est immedica­bilis. Theodoret. quaest. in lib. 2. Reg. cap 18.19. after death the punishment of sinne is remedilesse: saith Theodoret. and therefore S. Hierome doth conclude: Obscuré li­cèt docemur, per hanc sen­tentiolam, no­vum dogma quod la [...]tat: dum in praesen­ti saeculo su­mus, sive orati­onibus sive consilijs invicē posse nos coadjuvari; cùm autem ante tribunal Christi vene­rimus, non Iob, non Daniel, nec Noe rogare posse pro quoquam, sed unumquemque por­tare onus suum. Hieronym. lib. 3. Comm [...]ntar in Galat. cap. 6. that while we are in this present world, we may be able to helpe one another, eyther by our prayers or by our counsailes; but when vvee shall come before the judgement seat of Christ, neyther Iob, nor Daniel, nor Noah can intreate for any one, but every one must beare his owne burden.

Other Doctors were of another iudgement: that the dead received speciall profite by the prayers and oblations of the living; eyther for the remission of their sinnes, or the easing of their punishment. but whether this were restrained to smaller offences only, or such as lived and died in great sinnes might be made partakers of the same benefite, and whether these mens torments might be lessened only thereby, or in tract of time quite extinguished; they did not agree upon. That Stephanus Gobarus, whom before I alledged, made a [Page 248] collection of the different sentences of the Fathers: [...]. Phot. Bibliothec. vo­lum. 232. whereof some contayned the received doctrine of the Church, others the unallowable opinions of certaine of the ancient that varied therefrom. Of this latter kinde he maketh this sentence to be one: [...]. Ibid. that such sinners as be delivered unto punishment, are purged there­in from their sinnes, and after their purging are freed from their punishment; albeit not all who are delivered unto punishment, be thus purged and freed, but some onely. whereas the true sentence of the Church was; that none at all was freed from punishment. If that were the true sentence of the Church, that none of those who suffe­red punishment in the other world were ever freed from the same: then the applying of prayers to the helping of mens soules out of any such punishments, must be referred to the erroneous apprehension of some particular men, and not to the generall intention of the ancient Church; from which in this point, as in manie others beside, the latter Church of Rome hath swarved and quite gone astray. The ancient writer of the Ecclesiasticall Hierarchie, handling this matter of praying for the dead professedly, [...]. Dionys. Eccles. Hierarch. cap. 7. doth by way of ob­jection move this doubt: to vvhat purpose should the Bishop intreat the divine goodnesse to grant remission of sinnes unto the dead, and a like glorious inheritance with those that have followed God? seeing by such prayers he can be brought to no other rest, but that which is fitting for him and answerable unto the life which he hath here ledd. If our Romish divinitie had bene then acknowledged by the Church; there had beene no place left to such questions and doubts as these. The matter might easily have beene answered, that though a man did die in the state of grace, yet was he not pre­sently [Page 249] to be admitted unto the place of rest, but must first be reckoned withall; both for the committall of those smaller faults, unto which through humane frailtie he was daily subject, and for the not perfor­mance of full penance and satisfaction for the greater sinnes into which in this life he had fallen: and Pur­gatorie being the place wherein he must be cleansed from the one, and make up the iust payment for the o­ther; these prayers were directed unto God for the deliverie of the poore soule, which was not now in case to helpe it selfe, out of that place of torment.

But this author, taking upon him the person of S. Pauls scholler, and professing to deliver herein [...]. Id ibid. that tradition which he had received from his divine Masters; saith no such thing, but giveth in this for his answer. The divine Bishop, as the Scriptures witnesse, is the inter­preter of the divine judgements: for hee is the Angell of the Lord God almightie. He hath learned therefore out of the oracles delivered by God, that a most glorious and divine life is by his just judgement worthily adwarded to them that have lived holily; his divine goodnesse and kindenesse passing over those blots which by humane frail­tie he had contracted: forasmuch as no man, as the Scrip­tures speake, is free from pollution. The Bishop therefore knowing these things to be promised by the true oracles; prayeth that they may accordingly come to passe, and those sacred rewards may be bestowed upon them that have li­ved holily. The Bishop at that time belike did not know so much as our Popish Bishops doe now; that Gods servants must dearely smart in Purgatorie for [Page 250] the sinnes wherewith they were overtaken through humane infirmitie: he beleeved that God of his mer­cifull goodnesse would passe by those slipps, and that such after-reckonings as these should give no stoppage to the present bestowing of those holy rewards upon the children of the promise. [...], etc. Id ibid. Ther [...]fore the divine Bi­shop (saith our author) asketh those things which vvere promised by God and are gratefull to him and without doubt will be granted: the [...]eby aswell manifesting his own good disposition, unto God who is a lover of the good; as declaring like an interpreter unto them that be present, the gifts that shall befall to such as are holy. Hee further also addeth, that the Bishops have a separating power, as the interpreters of Gods judgements: according to that commission of Christ; Whose sinnes ye remitt, they are remitted unto them, and whose you shall retaine, they are retained. and, Whatsoever thou shalt binde upon earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth shall be loosed in heaven. And as in the use of the keyes, the See above, pag. 135.161.162. Schoolemen following S Hierom do account the minister to be the interpreter onely of Gods judgement, by declaring what is done by him in the binding or loosing of mens sinnes: so doth this author he [...]e give them power onely to [...]. Dio­nys [...]u [...]. suprà. separate those that are al [...]eady judged of God, and by way of [...]. [...]d ibid. declarati­on, and convoy, to bring in those that are beloved of God, and to exclude such as are ungodly. And if the power which the Ministers have received by the foresaid commission doe extend it selfe to any further reall operation upon the living: Pope Gelasius will denie that it may be stretched in like maner unto the dead; because that Ch [...]ist saith, Whatsoever thou shalt binde up­on earth. Super ter [...]ā inquit nam in hâc ligatione defunctum nusquam dixit ab­solvi. Gelas in Commonitorio ad [...]. He saith upon earth: for he that dyeth bound, [Page 251] is no where said to be loosed. and, Quod ma­nens in corpore non receperit, consequi exu­tus carne non poterit. Leo, epist 89. v [...]l 91. ad Th [...]od [...]rimo. that which a man re­mayning in his body hath not received, being uncloathed of his flesh he cannot obtaine: saith Leo.

Whether the dead received profite by the prayers of the living, was still a question in the Church. Maxi­mus in his Greeke scholies upon the writer of the Ec­clesiasticall Hierarchy, wisheth us to [...]. Maxim. schol. in Eccles. Hierarch cap. 7. marke, that even before his time that doubt was questioned. Among the questions wherein Dulcitius desired to be resolved by S. Augustin, we finde this to be one; Virum ob­latio, quae sit pro quiescenti­bus, aliquid eo­rum conserat animabus? Augustin ad Dul [...]it. qu [...]est. 2. Whether the offering that is made for the dead, did avayle their soules any thing? and that Ád quod multi dicunt, quòd si al. quis beneficij in hoc locus possit esse post mor­tem; quanto magis sibi ani­ma ferret i [...]sa refr [...]geria, sua per s [...] illic con­fitendo pecca­ta, quàm in eo­rum refrigeriū ab alijs oblatio procuratur. Ibid. MANY did say to this, that if herein any good were to be done after death; how much rather should the soule it selfe obtaine ease for it selfe, by it owne confessing of her sinnes there, than that for the ease thereof an oblation should be procured by other men. The like also is noted by Cyrill or rather Iohn Bishop of Ie­rusalem; that he [...]; Cyr [...]ll. Cateches. 5. My [...]tagogic. knew MANY who said thus. What profite doth the soule get that goeth out of this world (ey­ther with sinnes, or not with sinnes) if you make mention of it in prayer? and by Anastasius Sinaita (or Nicaenus:) [...]. Anastas. sin. pag. 540 edit. Graecolat. Some doe doubt; saying that the dead are not profited by the oblations that are made for them. and (long after them) by Petrus Cluniacensis in his treatise against the followers of Peter Bruse in France: Quòd bona vivorum mortuis prodesse valeant, & hi haeretici negant, & [...]uidam etiam Catholici dubitare videntur. Petr. Cluniac. [...]p [...]st. contra Petrobrusianos. That the good deeds of the living may profit the dead, both these hereticks doe deny, and some Catholicks also do seeme to doubt. Nay in the West, not the profite onely, but the lawfulnesse also of these doings for the dead was called in questi­on: [Page 252] as partly may be collected by Boniface archbishop of Mentz his consulting with Pope Gregory, about 730. yeares after the birth of our Saviour; Pro obeun­tibus quoque consul [...]isse dignosceris, si li­ce at oblationes offerre. Gregor. II. vel III. epist. ad Bonifac. in tomis Conciliorū. Whether it were lawfull to offer oblations for the dead (which hee should have no reason to doe, if no question had beene made thereof among the Germans) and is plainly delivered by Hugo Etherianus, about 1170. yeares after Christ, in these words. Scio pleros (que) vanis opinioni­bus defor [...]ari, putantes non esse orandum pro mortuis; eo quòd ne (que) Christus, ne (que) Apostoli ejus successores haec scriptis intima­verint. Nesciūt quidem illi plura esse, ac persummé ne­cessaria, quae sancta Ecclesia frequentat, quorum traditio ex scripturis non habetur: nihilo tamen minus ad cultum Dei pertinent, & vigorem maximum obtinent. Hug. Etherian. de Animar. regr [...]ss. ab infer. cap. 13 I know that many are deformed with vaine opinions, thinking that the dead are not to be prayed for: because that neither Christ, nor the Apostles that succeeded him have intimated these things in the Scriptures. But they are ignorant that there be many things, and those ex­ceeding necessary, frequented by the holy Church, the tra­dition whereof is not had in the Scriptures: and yet they pertaine neverthelesse to the worship of God, and obtaine great strength. Whereby it may appeare, that this pra­ctise wanted not opposition even then, when in the Pa­pacie it was advanced unto his greatest height. And now is it high time, that I should passe from this ar­ticle, unto the next following

OF LIMBVS PATRVM; And CHRISTS DESCENT INTO HELL.

HEre doth our Challenger undertake to prove a­gainst us; not only that there is Limbus Patrum, but that our Saviour also descended into Hell, to deliver the ancient Fathers of the Old Testament; because be­fore [Page 253] his Passion none ever entred into Heaven. That there was such a thing as Limbus Patrum, I have heard it said: but what it is now, the Doctors varie, yet agree all in this; that Limbus it may well be, but Limbus Patrum sure it is not. An ab eo loco distinctus fue [...]it, in quo nunc in [...]a [...]tes sine baptismo de vitâ dece­dent [...]s recipi creduntu [...], Theologi du­bitan [...]; nec est qui [...]quam de re dubiâ teme­rè pronuntian­dum [...]o. Maldon. [...]omment. in Luc. [...]6.22. Whether it were distinct from that place, in which the infants that depart out of this life without baptisme are now beleeved to be received, the Divines doe doubt; neyther is there any thing to be rashly pronounced of so doubtfull a matter: saith Maldonat the Iesuite. The Dominican Friars, that wrote against the Grecians at Constantinople in the yeare 1252 resolve, that In quem (limbum) aute adventū Chri­sti sancti Patres descendebant: nunc vero pue­ri, qu [...] absque baptismo dece­dunt, sine poe­nâ sensibili, de­tinentur. [...]act. contr. Graec. in tomo auctorum á P. Situartio edit. pag. 565. into this Limbus the holy Fathers before the comming of Christ did descend; but now the children that depart vvithout baptisme, are detained there: so that in their iudgement, that which was the Limbus of Fathers, is now become the Limbus of Children. The more common opini­on is, that these be two distinct places: and that the one is appointed for unbaptized infants, but the other Nunc vacuus remanet. Bell [...]r. de Purgator. lib. 2 cap. 6. now remayneth voide, and so Manet autem, manebitque, licèt vacuus, hic infernus; ut testimonium perhibeat tùm justitiae, tùm misericordiae Dei. Henric. Vicus, de [...]es [...]ensu Christi ad inf [...]ros, sect. 41. Vi [...]. Abu [...]us. Paradox 5 cap. 183. shall remaine, that it may beare witnesse aswell of the justice as of the mercie of God. If you demand, how it came to be thus voyd, & emptied of the old inhabitants: the answer is here given; that our Saviour descended into Hell purposely [...]o deliver from hence the ancient Fathers of the Old Testament. But Aliud enim Inferi; ut puto, aliud quoque Abrahae sinus. Ter­tull. advers. Mar [...]ion lib. 4. ca [...]. 34 Hell is one thing, I ween, saith Tertullian, and Abra­hams b [...]some (where the Fathers of the old Testament rested) another: Non uti (que) sinus ille Abrahae, id est, secret [...] cujusdā quietis habitatio, aliqua pars Inserorum esse credenda est. Augustin epist. 99. ad Euodium. neyther is it to be beleeved, that the bo­some of Abraham, being the habitation of a secret kinde of rest, was any part of Hell; saith S. Augustin. To say then, [Page 254] that our Saviour descended into Hell, to deliver the an­cient Fathers of the old Testament out of Limbus Pa­trum: would by this construction prove as strange a tale, as if it had beene reported, that Caesar made a voy­age into Brittaine, to set his friends at libertie in Greece.

Yea, but before Christs Passion none ever entred into Heaven: saith our Challenger. The proposition that Cardinall Bellarmine taketh upon him to prove, where he handleth this controversie, is: Quòd ani­mae piorum nō fuerint in coelo ante Christi ascensionem. Be [...]larmin. de Ch [...]ist. lib. 4. cap. 11. that the soules of the godly were not in Heaven before the As [...]ension of Christ. Our Iesuite, it seemeth, considered here with himselfe, that Christ had promised unto the penitent theefe up­on the crosse; that not before his ascension only, but also before his resurrection, even Luk. 23.43. that day he should be with him in Paradise: that is to say, in the kingdome of heaven; as the Vera ergo expositio est Theophylacti, Ambrosij, Be­dae, & aliorum, qui per paradi­sum intelligunt regnum coelo­rum. Bellarm. de Sanct Beatit. lib. 1. cap. 3. Cardina [...]l himselfe doth prove, both by the authoritie of S. 2. Cori [...]. 12.2.4. Paul, making Paradise and the third heaven to be the selfe same thing, and by the testi­mony of the ancient expositors of the place. This, be­like, stuck somewhat in our Iesuites stomack: who be­ing loath to interpret this of his Limbus Patrum (as Henr. Vic. de des [...]ens. ad infer. sect 41 pag. 129. Vide Thom. in 3. part. Sum quaest. 52. art. 4.. ad [...]. & Lyranu [...]s in Luc. 23.43. o­thers of that side had done) and to maintaine that Pa­radise, in stead of the third Heaven, should signifie the third or the fourth Hell; thought it best to shift the matter handsomely away, by taking upon him to de­fend, that, not before Christs ascension (least that of the Thiefe should crosse him) but before his passion none ever entred into Heaven. But if none before our Sa­viours Passion did ever enter into Heaven: whither shall we say that Elias did enter? The Scripture assu­reth us, that he went up into heaven: (2. Kings, 2.11▪) & of this Mattathias put his sonnes in mind upon his death-bedd; that [...] ▪ 1. Maccab. 2.58. Elias being zealous and fervent for [Page 255] the law, was taken up into heaven. Elias and Moses both, before the passion of Christ are described to be Luk. 9.31. in glo­ry: Luk. 16.22, 25. Lazarus is carried by the Angells into a place of comfort, and not of imprisonment: in a word, all the Fathers Hebr. 11.1 [...], 14, 16. accounted themselves to be strangers and pilgrims in this earth, seeking for a better countrey, that is, an heavenly, as well as Hebr. 13.14. we doe; and therefore having ended their pilgrimage, they arrived at the country they sought for, as well as wee. They Act. 15.11. belee­ved to be saved through the grace of our Lord Iesus Christ, as well as we; they Habak 2 4. Rom 1.16, 17. lived by that faith, as well as we; they 1. Thess. 4.16. dyed in Christ, as well as we; they recei­ved Rom. 4.6, 7, 8, 9. Gal. 3.8, 9. remission of sinnes, imputation of righteousnes, and the blessednesse arising therefrom, as well as we: and the mediation of our Saviour being of that pre­sent efficacie, that it tooke away sinne and brought in righteousnesse from the very beginning of the world, it had vertue sufficient to free men from the penaltie of losse as well as from the penalty of sense, and to bring them unto him in whose Psal. 16 11. presence is fulnesse of joy, as to deliver them from the [...]uk. 16.28. place of torment where Matth. 8.11, 12. there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The first that ever assigned a resting place in Hell to the Fathers of the old Testament, was (as farre as wee can finde) Marcion the heretick: Sed Marci­on aliorsum cogit, scilicet utramque mer­cedem Creato­ris, sive tormēti sive refrigerij, apud inferos determinet eis positam qui Legi & Pro­phetis obedie­rint; Christi veró & Dei sui coel [...]stem desi­niat sinum & portum. Ter­tullian. lib. 4. contra Marcion. cap. 34. Vid. etiā lib. 3. cap. 24. who determined that both kinde of rewards, whether of torment or of refreshing, was appointed in Hell for them that did obey the Law and the Prophets. Wherein he was gainsayd by such as wrote against him, not only for making that the place of their eternal rest; but also for lodging them there at all, and imagining that Abrahams bosome was any part of Hell. This appeareth plainly by the disputation, set out among the workes of Origen, betwixt Marcus the [Page 256] Marcionite, & Adamantius the defender of the Catho­licke cause: who touching the In D. Bez [...] Grae [...]olitino Eu­angeliorum ve­ [...]e [...]and [...]e vit [...] ­statis e [...]emplari, quod in pu [...]licâ Cant [...]brigie [...]sis academi [...]e Bib­liothecâ asserva­tur; historiae h [...]ic praet [...]i [...]t [...] ­tur i [...]a pr [...]es [...]tio. [...]. [...] [...]i­milis e [...]iam in Missali R [...]m [...]no [...]feriâ 5 post Dominicam 2. Quadragesi­mae) legebatur: Dixit Iesus di­scipulis suis pa­rabolam hanc. Verùm in Mis­sali reformato duae po [...]teriores voces sublatae nuper sunt. parabolicall historie of the rich man & Lazarus in the sixteenth of S. Luke, are brought in reasoning after this maner. [...]. Ori [...]en. Dialog. 2. contra Marcion. MARCUS. He saith that A [...]raham is in hell, and not in the kingdome of heaven. ADAMANTIUS. Reade whether he sayt [...] that Abraham was in Hell. MARC. In that the rich man and he talked one to the other, it appeareth that they were to­gether. ADAMANT. That they talked one with another, thou hearest; but the great gulfe spoken of, that thou hea­rest not. For the middle space betwixt heaven and earth he calleth a gulfe. MARC. Can a man therefore see from earth unto heaven? it is impossible. Can any man lifting up his eyes behold from the earth, or from hell rather see into heaven? If not; it is plain, that a vally only was set be­twixt them. ADAMANT. Bodily eyes use to see those things only that are neere: but spirituall eyes reach farre. and it is manifest, that they who have here put off their body, doe see one another with the eyes of their soule. For marke how the Gospell doth say, that he lifted up his eyes. toward heaven one useth to lift them up, and not toward the earth. In like maner doth Responde­bimus, & hâc ipsâ scripturâ revincente oculos ejus, quae ab infernis discernit Abrahae sinum pauperi. Aliud enim Inferi, ut puto, aliud quoque Abrahae sinus. Nam & magnum ait in­tercedere regiones istas prosundum, & transitum utrinque prohibere Sed nec allevâsset di­ves oculos, & quidem de longinquo, nisi in superiora, & de altitudinis longinquo per im­ [...]ensam illā distantiam sublimitatis & profunditatis. Tertull. advers. Marcion, lib. 4 cap 34. Tertullian also retort the same place of Scripture against Marcion, and prove that it [Page 257] maketh a plaine difference betweene Hell and the bo­some of Abraham. For it affirmeth (saith he) both that a great deepe is interposed betwixt those regions, and that it suffereth no passage from eyther side. Neyther could the rich man have lifted up his eyes, and that afarre off, unlesse it had beene unto places above him, and very farre above him, by reason of the mightie distance betwixt that height and that depth. Thus farre Tertullian: who though he come short of Adamantius, in Eam itaque reg [...]onem sinū dico Abrahae, etsi non coele­stem, sublimio­rem tamen in­feris, interim refrigeriū, prae­bituram ani­mabus justorū, donec consum­matio rerum resurrectionem omnium p [...]ni­tudine merce­dis expungat. I [...]. I [...]id. making Abrahams bo­some not to be any part of Heaven, although no mem­ber at all of Hell; yet doth he concurre with him in this, that it is a place of blisse, and a common receptacle wherein the soules of all the faithfull as well of the new as of the old Testament doe still remaine, in ex­pectation of the generall resurrection▪ which quite marteth the Limbus Patrum of our Romanists, and the journey which they fancie our Saviour to have taken for the fetching of the Fathers from thence.

With these two doth S. Augustin also ioyne, in his 99. epistle to Euodius: concerning whose iudgement herein, I will not say the deceitfull, but the exceeding partiall dealing of Cardinall Bellarmine can verie hard­ly be excused. Augustinu [...], etsi in epist. 99. ambigere vide­tur, an sinus A­braham, ubi e­rant animae Patrum olim, in inferno esset an alibi: tamē lib. 20 de civit. Dei, cap 15. af­fi [...]at in infer­no fuisse; ut caeteri omnes Patre [...] semper docuerunt. Bel­larmin de Christ. lib. 4. cap. 11. in fine. Although Augustin (saith he) in his 99. epistle do seeme to doubt, whether the bosome of Abra­ham, where the soules of the Fathers were in times past, should be in Hell or somewhere else: yet in the 20. booke of the Citie of God, the 15. chapter, he affirmeth that it was in Hell; as all the rest of the Fathers have alwayes taught. If S. Augustin in that epistle were of the minde (as hee was indeed) that Abrahams bosome was no part of Hell: he was not the first inventer of that doctrine; others taught it before him, and opposed Marcion for teaching otherwise. [...]: alone he went [Page 258] not, two there were at least (as we have seen) that wal­ked along with him in the same way. But for that which he is said to have doubted off in one place, and to have affirmed in another: if the indifferent Reader will be pleased but to view both the places, he shall easily di­scerne that the Cardinall looked not into these things with a single eye. In his 99. epistle,Quanquam in his ipsis tan­ti magistri ver­bis, ubi ait dix­isse Abraham, Inter vos & nos chaos magnum fir­matum est; sa­tis, ut opinor, appareat non esse quandam partē & quasi membrum In­ferorum tantae illius felicitatis sinum. Aug [...]st. epist 99. from that speech of Abraham; Betweene you and us there is a great gulfe fix­ed: he maketh this inference. In these words it appea­reth sufficiently, as I thinke, that the bosome of so great happinesse is not any part and member of Hell. These seem unto the Cardinall to be the words of a doubtfull man: with what words then, when he is better resol­ved, doth he affirme the matter ? With these forsooth. Si enim non asburdé credividetur, anti­quos etiam sanctos, qui venturi Christi ténuerunt fidē, locis quidem á tormentis im­piorum remo­tissimis, sed a­pud inferos fuisse, donec eos inde san­guis Christi, & ad ea loca de­scensus c [...]ueret: profectò deinceps boni fideles effuso illo pretio jam redempti, prorsùs inferos nesciunt, do­ [...]ec etiam receptis corporibus bona recipiant quae merentur. Id. de Civit. Dei, lib. 20. cap. 15. If it do seem no absurditie to beleeve, that the old Saincts which held the faith of Christ to come, were in places most remote from the torments of the wicked, but yet in Hell; untill the blood of Christ, and his descent into those places, did deliver them: truely from henceforth the good and faithfull, who are redeemed with that price already shed, know not Hell at all. If, satis ut opinor apparet, [it appea­reth sufficiently, as I thinke,] must import doubting; and, si non absurdé credi videtur, [if it doe seeme no absur­ditie to beleeve,] affirming: I know not, I must con­fesse, what to make of mens speeches.

The truth is: S. Augustin in handling this question discovereth himselfe to be neyther of the Iesuits tem­per nor beleefe. He esteemed not this to be such an ar­ticle of faith, that they who agreed not therein must needs be held to be of different religions: as he doth modestly propound the reasons which induced him to [Page 259] think that Abrahams bosome was no member of Hell; so doth he not lightly reiect the opinion of those that thought otherwise, but leaveth it still as a disputable point. Vtrùm sinus ille Abrahae ubi dives impi­us, cùm in tor­mentis esset in­ferni, requie­scentem paupe­rem vidit, vel paradisi cen­sendus vocabu­lo, vel ad infe­ros pertinere existimandus sit; non facilè dixerim. I [...]. epist 57. Whether that bosome of Abraham where the wic­ked rich man, when he was in the torments of Hell, did be­hold the poore man resting, were eyther to be accounted by the name of Paradise, or esteemed to appertaine unto Hell, I cannot readily affirme: saith he in one place. and in another: Etenim apud inferos ut [...]ùm in locis quibus­dā fuisset jam Abraham; non satis possumus definire. Id. in Psal. 85. Whether Abraham were then at any certaine place in Hell, we cannot certainly define. and in his 12. book de Genesi ad literam: Proinde, ut dixi, nondū in­veni, & adhue quaero nec mi­hi occurrit in­feros alicubi in bono posuisse Scripturā dun­taxat Canoni­cam. Non autē in bono accipi­endum sinum Abrahae, & illam requiem, quò ab angelis pius pauper ablatus est, nescio utrum quisquam possit audire: & ideò quo modo eum apud inferos credamus esse, non video. Id. de Gen ad lit. l [...]b. 12. cap. 33. I have not hitherto found, and I doe yet inquire, neyther doe I remember that the ca­nonicall Scripture doth any where put Hell in the good part. Now that the bosome of Abraham and that rest, unto which the godly poore man was carried by the Angel, should not be taken in the good part, I know not whether any good man can endure to heare: and therefore how we may be­leeve that it is in Hell I doe not see. Where it may fur­ther also be observed, that S. Augustin doth here assigne no other place to this godly poore man, then he doth unto the soules of all the faithfull that have departed since the comming of our Saviour Christ: the questi­on with him being alike of them both, whether the place of their rest be designed by the name of Hell or Paradise. Therefore he saith: Quanquam & illud me nondum invenisse confiteor, inferos ap­pellatos, ubi justorum animae requiescunt. Id. ibid. I confesse, I have not yet found, that it is called Hell, where the soules of just men doe rest. and againe: Quanto magis ergo post hanc vitam etiam sinus ille Abrahae Paradisus dici potest; ubi jam nulla tentatio, ubi tanta re­quies post omnes dolores vitae hujus? Ne (que) enim & lux ibi non est propria quaedam & sui generis, & profectò magna; quam dives ille de tormentis & tenebris inferorū, tam u [...]i (que) de longinquo cùm magnū chaos esset in medio, sic tamen vidit ut ibi illu quondā contemptū pauperē agnosceret. Id. ibid. cap. 34. How much more after this life may [Page 260] that bosome of Abraham be called Paradise; where now there is no temptation, where there is so great rest after all the griefes of this life? For neyther is there wanting there a proper kinde of light and of it owne kinde, a [...]d doubtlesse great; which that rich man out of the torments and dark­nesse of Hell, (even from so remote a place, where a great gulfe was placed in the midst) did so behold, that he might there take notice of the poore man whom sometime he had despised. and elsewhere, expounding that place in the 16. of S. Luke: Sinus Abra­hae, [...]equies [...]st bea [...]on [...] pau­perum, quorū est r [...]gnu coe­lotum, in quo post hanc vitā recipiuntur. Id. Quaestion. Eli [...] ­ [...]el. lib. 2. cap. 38. The bosome of Abraham, saith he, is the rest of the blessed poore, whose is the kingdome of heaven, in which after this life they are received.

Bede in his Commentaries upon the same place, and Strabus in the ordinary Glosse doe directly follow S. Augustin in this exposition: and the Greeke inter­preter of S Luke (who wrongly beareth the name of Titus Bostrensis, and Chrysos [...]om) for proofe thereof pro­duceth the testimonie of Per sinum Abrahae, Isaac, & [...]acob, sanctus Dionysius Areopagita di­vinissimas illas fo [...]tunatas (que) sedes designatas asserit, quae omnes justos post [...]ehe [...]ssimā consummatio­nem intia sese recipiunt. [...]it. Bo [...]r. in Luc. cap. 16. in ipso fine. Di [...]nysius Areopagita, affir­ming that by the bosome of Abraham, Isaac, and Iacob, those most divine and blessed seates are designed, w [...]ich doe receive within them all just men after their most happy consummation. The words that he hath relation unto, be these, in the 7. chapter of the Ecclesiasticall Hierar­chy. [...] Dio­t [...] Eccl Hi [...]r cap. 7. The bosomes of the blessed Pa [...]riarches and of all the rest of the Saincts are, as I thinke, the most divine and blessed resting places, which doe recei [...]e all such as are like unto God, into that never-fading and most blessed perfe­ction that is therein. Hitherto appertaine those passages in S. Ambrose. Veni in gremium Iacob: ut sicut Lazarus p [...]uper in Abrahae si­mi, ita etiam tu in Iacob patriarchae tramquillitate requiescas. Sinu [...] enim Patriarcharum recessus quidam est quietis aeternae. Ambros. orat. de obitu Valentinian [...] Imp. Come into the bosome of Iacob: that as poore Lazarus did in the bosome of Abraham, so thou also [Page 261] mayst rest in the tranquillitie of the patriarch Iacob. For the bosome of the Patriarches is a certaine retyring place of everlasting rest. Ibimus ubi sinum suum A­brahā sanctus expandit, ut su­scipiat paupe­res, sicur susce­pit & Lazarū: in quo sinu re­quiescunt, qui in hoc seculo gravia atque aspera pertule­runt. Id de bono mortis. cap. 12. We shall goe where holy Abraham o­peneth his bosome, to receive the poore, as he did receive La­zarus: in which bosome they doe rest, who in this world have endured grievous and sharpe things. In Paradi­sum ascendi­tur, in Infernū descenditur. Descendant, inquit, in infer­num viventes. Ideoque Laza­rus pauper per angelos in A­brahae sinum est elevatus. Id. in Psalm. 48. Into Paradise is a ascent, into Hell a descent. Let them descend, saith he, quick into Hell. And therefore poore Lazarus was by the Angels lifted up into Abrahams bosome. Vide illuna pauperem bo­nis omnibus a­bundantem, quem sancti Patriarchae re­quies beata cir­cumdabat. Id. ibid. Behold that poore man abounding with all good things, whom the bles­sed rest of the holy Patriarch did compasse about. Lazarus in Abrahae sinu recumbens, vi­tam carpebat aeternam. Id. in Psal. 118. serm. 3. Laza­rus lying in Abrahams bosome, enjoyed everlasting life.

S. Chrysostom, or whosoever else was the author of that homily touching the Rich man and Lazarus, up­on those wordes of the text, that the rich man lifting up his eyes beheld Lazarus in Abrahams bosome, mo­veth this question: [...].Chrysost. homil. in Divit. & Lazar. tom. 5. edit. Savil. pag. 730. Why Lazarus did not see the rich man, as well as the rich man is said to see Lazarus? and giveth this answer thereunto: because Etenebris autem quae sunt in luce tuemur. Quod contrà facere in tenebris é luce nequimus. Lucret. de rer. nat. lib. 4. he that is in the light doth not see him that standeth in the darke, but hee that is in the darke beholdeth him that is in the light; ta­king it for granted, that Abrahams bosome was a place of light and not of darkenesse. He that wrote the Ho­mily upon that sentence of the Psalme, What man is he that would have life and desireth to see good dayes? who is commonly also, though not rightly, accounted to be Chrysostom; goeth further and saith, that the rich man Erexit oculos in coelum de loco tormentorum, & clamavitad patrem Abraham. Homil. in illud Psalm. 33. Quis est homo. tom. 1. Oper. Chrysost. lifted up his eyes unto Heaven out of the place of tor­ments, [Page 262] and cryed unto father Abraham: yea he expresse­ly affirmeth there, that Beatus pau­per migravit ad. oelum; & dives pu [...]pu [...]â tectus mansit in inferno. [...]. id. the blessed poore man did go un­to Heaven, and the rich man covered with purple did re­maine in Hell. which agreeth well with that undoubted saying of S. Chrysostome himselfe: [...]. Chrysost. lib. 1. de Provident. ad Stager. tom. 6. [...]dit Savil. pag. 96. Lazarus, who vvas worthy of Heaven and the kingdome that is there, being full of sores was exposed to the tongues of doggs, and strove with perpetuall hunger. and with that which he writeth elsewhere: that [...].Id. in illud: Intrate per an­g [...]st port. t [...]m. 5. edit. Savil. pag. 179. after famine, and soares, and lying in the porch, he enjoyed that refreshing which is impossible to be expressed by speech, even [...]. Ibid. pag. 180. unspeakable good things. Whereunto may be added that collection of his out of the words of our Saviour: Many shall come from the East and West, and shall sit downe with Abraham, and I­saak, and Iacob, in the kingdome of heaven, Matth. 8.11. that this kingdome is [...]. Id. in Matth. homil. 26. edit. Graec. 27. Latin. designed here by a new terme of the bosome of Abraham; and the [...], etc Ibid. consummation of all good called by the name of the bosomes of the Pa­triarches.