Bourignianism detected, or, The delusions and errors of Antonia Bourignon, and her growing sect which may also serve for a discovery of all other enthusiastical impostures / by John Cockburn.

Bourignianism detected, or, The delusions and errors of Antonia Bourignon, and her growing sect which may also serve for a discovery of all other enthusiastical impostures / by John Cockburn.

Table of contents

Title page

PREFACE.

Bourignianism DETECTED. Narrative I. THE CHARACTER OF Madamoiselle ANTONIA BOURIGNON, By her Disciples, Consider'd and Examin'd.

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Bourignianism DETECTED.
Narrative I.
THE CHARACTER OF Madamoiselle ANTONIA BOURIGNON, By her Disciples, Consider'd and Examin'd.

ANtonia Bourignon, the Daughter of one Iohn I Bourignon, and Italian Merchant, who lived at Lisle in Flanders, was born the 13th. of Ianuary, 1616; and she died at Franeker, in the Province of Friseland, the 30th. of Octob. 1680: so that she lived Threescore and four Years, Nine Months, and Fourteen Days. None of her Friends had the comfort of attending her when she died: but a Considerable Person, who some days before was allowed [Page] to visit her, came very opportunely to kiss her Feet, as she was laid in the Coffin, and to get her buried after the manner she her self desired. And he who gives this Account of her, adds,Lavie Continue, c. 34. n. 3. ‘That she was the most Divine and the most Pure Soul that ever lived upon the Earth, since Jesus Christ. She was of a middle Stature, slender and delicate; her Countenance was agreeable; her Complexion brown; her Forehead broad, and without Wrinkles; and her Eyes were a little bluish. She had an ingenious Air; and such an exquisite Sight, that she never used Glasses. Her Nose was well made, and proportionable. She was Out-mouthed, having Lips and Teeth somewhat big. Age had whiten'd her Hairs; Sickness had made her Face lean; and she was hollow about the Eyes. Her Mien, her Speech, her Address, and way of receiving Persons, were very taking and agreeable. Her Gate was grave, bearing her Head a little high; and she did not appear to be above Forty Years old. All her Senses, except Tasting, were strong and lively. She was of a quick and active Disposition. She was never sad, but always of an even Temper. She would never suffer her Picture to be drawn; not only because she did not approve of this sort of Vanity, but also because it very much concern'd her not to be known, upon the account of her Persecutors. As to the Gifts and Qualities of her Spirit, her Writings do partly shew them; but none is capable to know the greatness of them, save He who bestowed them.’

II This same Person tells us, ‘That from her Infancy she had the gift of Chastity in so high a degree,Ibid. c. 2. p. 21. that she often said, That in all her life, she never had, not even upon a Temptation or Surprize, the [Page] least Thought which might be unbecoming the Chastity of the purest Virgin-state. St. Teresa writes of her self, That God sometimes favour'd her with the same Grace. But as for Madamoiselle Bourignon, she possess'd it to that degree, that it overflowed (if one may have leave to speak so) upon those who conversed with her. Her Presence and Conversation did send forth such an Odour of Continence, as made others forget the Pleasures of the Flesh: And I leave it (saith he) to the Experience of those who read her Books with attention, to judge whether they do not feel some Impressions of, and whether they be not drawn with Inclinations to this Vertue that is so acceptable to God.’

Though this Character of Madamoiselle Bourignon be III very great, and declares the great Affection of him who gives it, yet it is very far short of what is furthen said of her; for this only respects her private Personal state, and sets her forth as a Woman singularly Good and Vertuous in this corrupt Age: But if we will take the Word of this anonymous Author, and some others, this Woman was above all that is Humane; she was inhabited by the Spirit of God; and all she did or spoke, was to be ascribed to Him, and to be reckon'd not so much hers as His, who design'd that she should be the greatest Blessing that ever was conferr'd on Mankind; therefore they are not either afraid or ashamed to bestow upon her the Epithets that are given to Iesus Christ; they set her on the same Level with Him; they honour her with his Titles; they apply to her the Prophecies which the Church hath always believed to be meant of Him; they draw a Parallel betwixt Him and Her, and do make Him [Page] the Type of Her; and not Him but Her the last and highest Expression of God's Love to Mankind. ‘To intimate which, God sent a Comet when she was born, another when she first began to write; and a third at her death, which was greater and more dreadful than any that was ever seen before. She is the Divine Sun of Righteousness; she is Truth, pure Truth, and the only Truth that can guide one to Heaven and Eternal Life. There is no other way of Life Eternal (says he) but what is in the Mouth, in the Writings, and in the Life of the most holy Antonia Bourignon. Ibid. c. 34. And again, If ever the Church of God be edified upon Earth, it cannot be by any other means but by the Remonstrances, the Rules, Doctrine, Spirit and Example of Madamoiselle Bourignon. He calls her the Woman spoken of in the Revelation, who was shewn to St. Iohn in a Vision, whom (saith he) our Eyes have seen, and by whom our Ears have heard, and our Hands have handled the Word of Life.’ And as he renders unto God Thanks for the Grace of knowing her,Ib. p. 598, 601. and of being acquainted with her; so he most passionately expostulates with God, for suffering her to die, ‘who was the only Just, the only Holy, the only Person who had the Spirit of God. Where, Lord? where is now your Holy Church? Alas! it is altogether destroyed, and subsists only in ruined Houses, in some scatter'd Stones; which, as the Stones of the ancient Sanctuary, are poured out upon the top of every street, broken, defaced and unpolish'd, and there is none to gather them together, nor to set about the building of your New Ierusalem; for you have taken away the holy Instrument of [Page] your Spirit, whom you had called and filled with the Treasures of your Grace, to labour in that Work! You have extinguish'd the Light which you sent to the World, for guiding well-disposed Souls. Where is now, Lord, the Truth of your Promises? Where are now your ancient Mercies, which never suffer'd the World to be destitute of living Witnesses? How have you suffer'd the time to come, in which it may be said, without exception, that the righteous is perished; there is no more a prophet amongst us, nor have we any who knows how long?’

I might bring many other Passages out of this Author,IV to this purpose, but I judge these are sufficient to prove his Sentiments of Antonia Bourignon: And they are not peculiar to him; for all who have taken this Woman's part, are of the same mind. He who writes the Apologetick Preface to her Works, employs all the Rhetorick, which Passion, and a strong-heated Passion can inspire, in defence of this Woman, to remove the Prejudices which are entertain'd against her Person and Doctrine, and to convince the World that she was filled with the Holy Ghost, and sent to renew the Church, and to bring it to its utmost Perfection. If this Author ought to be believed, all the Words and Writings of this Woman are Sacred as Scripture it self, they ought to have the same Authority, and should be as devoutly read; yea, much rather read: for if it be true what he says, they are more profitable, and do discover more fully the hidden Mysteries of God: As the Author of the Leipsick Transactions observes,Acta Lipsica Mense Ian. 16 [...]. p. 3. he makes the New Scripture of Madam Bourignon either to confirm the Old, or to explain them, or to correct them. In this Preface, [Page] the Author considers the several ways by which God may and doth communicate himself to Men: and he asserts confidently of Madamoiselle Bourignon, That God used all these several ways with her, as Visions, external Voices, intimate Impressions upon the Soul, and such ineffable Communications, as made her to know and understand the Mind of God, and all Truths as they are in him: ‘Her whole Life (saith he) was a continued Series of God's Word andPref. Apol. p. 188. Discourse with her, and of hers with him.’ And again, ‘She had so often those Communications with God, (which he reckons up in the Second Classis)Ib. p. 192. that they were very common with her, by which God communicated to her the intimate Knowledge of Things Divine and Humane, Matters of Right and Fact, Things Speculative and Practical, Things Mystical, Things appertaining to Faith and Morality, Things Future and Prophetick, such as are the Last Things of which she has often spoken.’ Finally, He makes a kind of Union between God and her Soul, and says,Ib. p. 193. ‘That they spoke to one another as two Friends use to do; and that the Discourse which she had with God, as well as that which He had with her, proceeded not from her self, but from the motion of God, which prompted her to speak; and that her Books are filled with such Divine Conferences.’

V The Prophets and Apostles were Men of like Passions and Infirmities with others, and several instances of their frailty are upon Record, at the Direction and Inspiration of the infinite Wisdom of God: But this Anonymous Advocate for Antonia Bourignon, as well as the other above mentioned, who continued and enlarged the History of her Life, begun by her [Page] self, I say, he will not allow her to be guilty of any slip, or inadvertency, or failing, in Word or Deed, unworthy of the Spirit of God it self. As it is in the Leipsick Transactions; Tantâ cum Religione veneratur, ut & Soloecismos ejus, & in stylo errata dictamini divino tribuat. He justifies all she said or did, by Parallels from the Prophets, from Christ and the Apostles; and confidently asserts, That the Opposition she meets with, the Prejudices and Out-cries against her, or her Doctrine, proceed from the same Spirit and Principles which persecuted them:Ib. p. 197. For to give you his Sentiments in short, ‘She was the Purest, the most Dis-interested and Self-denied Soul, and the most resigned to God that ever was upon Earth. The World, and all that is in the World, was of no Value to her; she was perfectly denied to all Sense, and to every thing that depended upon Imagination. In her Divine Conferences (that is, her conversation with God) she used neither Ideas nor Meditations; but was in an admirable vacuity of all Desire of knowing either this or that: having no will of her own, nor any Inclination nor Fondness for any Sentiment, no, not the most intimate and most divine; but a total, perfect, and most accomplished Resignation for receiving what it would please God to communicate to her, and no other thing, with an absolute Resolution to execute whatever would please God; tho' in doing it, it behoved to combat the World and Hell, and lose a Thousand Lives. In this Habitual and Invariable State, where she continued from the Eighteenth year of her Age, to the last moment of her Life: None but God alone could act in the Fund of her [Page] Soul, in all those several ways mentioned: And the whole Conduct of such a Person could not be but Divine, seeing she was united to God by a perfect Resignation.’

VI Now that the Reputation of Antonia Bourignon may not stand upon the Credit of two obscure and unknown Authors, who were afraid to expose their Names; that what hath been said, may not be thought their particular Rhapsodies, I will confirm the same, by Instances from some who have publickly owned it, and do glory in it. I will begin with Monsieur de Cort, one of her first Disciples, who was Superiour of the Oratory, and Pastor of Saint Iohn at Mechlin, and who (as it is said) lost his Life in her Cause. This Man, in a Letter to the Vicar-General of the Archbishoprick of Mechlin, after having told him how he had happened to read that Passage, 2 Kings xxii. about Hilkiah's finding the Book of the Law of the Lord, and sending to Huldah, the Prophetess, to enquire about it; he writes, ‘That having made a very serious Reflection upon all this, he was touched with a sensible Grief, considering that we have here an Excellent Woman, a Friend of God, the Favourite of Jesus, the Organ of the Holy Ghost, who is greater than Huldah, to whom God has communicated himself extraordinarily, and to whom he has discovered all his Secrets. She never yet deceived any person, was always faithful, firm, constant, immoveable; She possesseth the Holy Ghost, with his Gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Piety, Courage, Counsel, fear of God; and together with these, she possesses the Twelve Fruits of the same Spirit; Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, [Page] Longanimity, Goodness, and the rest: The Eight Beatitudes do also shine in her; she lives not to her self, but altogether to God; she speaks as she lives, and she lives as she speaks: Her words are Lively, Efficacious, and Operative; they are conform to the Gospel and the other Scriptures. Her Life is altogether miraculous: And I do remember that which your Reverence hath often said to me, how that she was an admirable Maid, that there was never found her like; we are happy to have such a Treasure; and truly she hath the Holy Ghost. Moreover, I remember, how I have brought Letters to her, in which you have earnestly desired her Prayers for your self and for your Friends, recommending to her many particular Affairs; and [...]ow as concerning the Publick, in the time of Universal Scourges; in all these Dangers no body consults her, no body makes Prayers to her, no body employs her! These Thoughts have touched my Heart very sensibly. As for me, I have thanked you, and do still thank you infinitely; because God inspired you to send me to this Creature. I never received, neither from Arch-Bishop, nor from Bishops, nor from Pastors, nor from my Directors and Superiours, nor from Saints, nor from God himself immediately, more good than from her by God only. I beseech you, for the Honour of God, for the Good of the Church, for your own private good, and for the good of all those who are under your Charge, to consult her, and to believe her as to that which she shall tell you from God concerning these deplorable Times. St. Ierome says, That Deuteronomium est secunda Lex, & Evangelicae legis praefiguratio, [Page] that is, Deuteronomy, or the Book that was found in the time of Huldah, is the Second Law, or the Second Establishment of the Law of God, and that it is a Figure of what shall be under the Evangelical Law. Now, I am of the Mind, that the Evangelical Law, which was first Established, and afterwards forgotten and lost, shall be renewed and re-established, as Deuteronomy was a Second time under the Ministry of this New Huldah.’ This Letter is prefixed to the Treatise which bears the Title of, The Word of God, or the interiour Life of Madamoiselle Bourignon: Where also there are Extracts of some Letters of the same Vicar-General, bearing a Testimony unto her.

VII Here we have had one bearing witness to Antonia Bourignon, not upon hear-say, or any uncertain Report, but from his own Experience. There is another still alive, who knew her, was intimately acquainted with her, and who gives her a Character above what either Man or Woman (besides Jesus Christ) ever deserved. It is Monsieur Poiret, who may be called the Chief Disciple, or First Apostle of Antonia Bourignon, he having spread her Fame and propagated her Opinions more studiously, and with more Zeal and Fervour than any other. As St. Paul desired to know nothing save Iesus Christ and him crucified; so this Man seems to desire to know nothing but Madamoiselle Bourignon. He does not believe a God more firmly, than that this Woman was divinely inspired: His words were (to some of my Acquaintance who visited him) Tam certus sum eam Virginem inspiratam esse quam Deum existere. She is ever in his Mouth, and on all occasions he recommends her Books as having Light and Instruction, and all desirable [Page] Advantages above all the Books in the World, without excepting the Scriptures. Some few Years after her Death, he sent a Memorial to Monsieur Bale, to be inserted in the Novelles de la Republique de la Lettre, that all the learned World might have the Knowledge of this wonderful Woman: And because Monsieur Bale had dropt something which did not savour of that respect which is due to Madamoiselle Bourignon, he again expostulated with him, and corrected him by another Memorial; both which may be seen in the Ninth Articles for the Months of April and May, for the Year 1685.

All which Monsieur Poiret writes now, is upon the Principles of this Woman: Her Doctrine is the Foundation of his Oeconomy Divine, in which he imagines that he has explained all the Mysteries both of Nature and Religion, cleared all Difficulties either in Philosophy or Divinity, and revealed the secret Purposes of the Counsel of God, both in respect of what is past, and of what is to come. All these great things he hath done by the Light which his Beloved Mistress afforded him: Take his own words for it. ‘I ought to acknowledge, that these Principles andPref. n. 28. many other things are not of my own Invention, but that I have been led to them by the Divine Writings, and by the Instruction of one of Unknown Worth. I should never have come to the knowledge of these Truths of my self, if the LightTom. 3. c. 11. n. 16. which God communicated to one of his Saints, had not Administred the Occasion: She is a Person whose Writings have led me into the Knowledge of the solid Principles of all things. Madamoiselle Bourignon hath received from God such certain and [Page] particular Light, as without which I neither could have seen, nor been sensible in this manner of these Divine Truths, how palpably soever the Text ofIbid. c. 12. p. 21. Scripture may seem to lead the attentive Reader unto them. God hath drawn me forth, not by the force and subtilty of my wretched Reason, nor by Study, or by Reading the Books of Learned Men, but by the Writings of a Woman, through which God has touched and illuminated my Heart, making me see a perfect Light in all these Matters and Difficulties, as well as almost in all otherIbid. c. 17. p. 340. things, whether Divine or Humane, Natural or Supernatural. Behold a great and notable Truth, and a Key of an infinite number of admirable Lights for explaining a Thousand Passages of Divine Scripture, and of the charitable and adorable Conduct of God towards Men? Nothing is wanting to make this rare and incomparable Truth to be received of Men, but that its Discovery, and the Explication of these Passages of Scripture, which point it out, have not been communicated by some Ancient Father, or by some great Doctor, but by an unlearned Woman, to whom God has been pleased to manifest himself so far, notwithstanding of the contrary Judgment of some bearded Animals. WhosoeverTom. 4. chap. 16. p. 379. would see these things in the most sensible and most Divine Light that can be desired, have no more to do but to consult the Works of Madamoiselle Bourignon; particularly, these Three or Four; The renewing of the Gospel-Spirit, Antichrist Discovered, The Light of the World, and the Touchstone: For I do acknowledge, That I have not perceived, that God, since the beginning of the World, did ever [Page] discover more clearly, more sensibly, more strongly, more plainly the greatness of Man's Corruption, as he hath done in our Days, by that excellent Organ of the Holy Ghost: And nothing but the Discovery of this Evil has offended all wilfully wicked Persons at her; their Proud Heart would not humble it self, nor be covered with Confusion, nor can they be induced to hate and renounce themselves. The Devil also, their good Friend, who dwells in their corrupt Hearts, not enduring to be thus exposed; has resolved to employ by his Diabolical Slaves, against this Divine Light, and this Holy Soul which declares it, his two ordinary Machines, Lying and Violence, which he hath inspired abundantly into the Hearts of many wicked Persons, both Learned and Idiots, who have not been wanting hitherto to labour in this, as it becomes them, in favour of their Master and King, the Murtherer, the Persecutor, the Lyar, the Calumniator from the Beginning, who will one Day give them his common Pay,Tom. 7. c. 3. p. 92. if they do not defeat the Work which they have Diabolically made for him against the most Divine, the most Splendid, and the most Solid Truth which ever yet appeared.’ Thus far Monsieur Poiret.

But that I may not be thought to impose upon the VIII English Reader, by Quotations from foreign Books, which are little known, and in few hands, I will justifie this high Character of Antonia Bourignon, by Passages of a parallel strain out of the Prefaces to her Treatise of The Light of the World, which is now rendred into English, to be read, understood, and considered by all who desire to be saved, as the Title-page [Page] bears. There her eminent Sanctity is declared and set forth in words which were never applicable to any Creature before; for none but Iesus Christ was ever said to be perfect, and without sin. ‘But the PurityPreface to the English Reader, p. 21. of Antonia Bourignon's Life was exact and constant; she was a perfect Pattern and living Exemplar of the Spirit and Doctrine of the Gospel. In short, We may all truly affirm, That we never observed in her any Vice, Sin, or any Weakness of Spirit;M. Corte's Pref. p. 43. but a perfect and solid Vertue, surpassing Natural and Humane Strength; which made us say, That her Life was altogether Miraculous, as if Adam had never sinned in her.’ And as to her Knowledge and Understanding, it is made Infinite; ‘for there were hid in her the Treasures of Divine Wisdom, whichIb. p. 17. enabled her to utter things unheard of, so marvellous and sublime, that we often remained quite lost with Admiration; for we had never heard such things. She explained likewise the Holy ScripturesIb. p. 41. so perfectly, that none of the holy Fathers have ever so done, nor any body since the Creation of the World.Ib. p. 44. 45. She knew the secret Thoughts of Men's Hearts, and Things to come; and did not foretell them by way of Supposition, or related them as if she had dreamt them. We found also, diverse times, that she could tell what past in her absence, and how our Souls behaved themselves towards God.Ibid. In short, This Divine Soul told us so many Secrets of the Mystical and Inward Life, that all our Theology was too short and insufficient to answer her to so high Questions, not only in Matters of Theology, but also in all other Matters, according to the various Rencounters and Occurrences [Page] which fell out: so that one would have thought, that though a Man had perused all sorts of Histories, and grown old in the study of all sorts of Sciences, he could not know, with such Understanding, all the things which this Pilgrimess told us. It is impossible to write in particular the admirable things which we have heard of this Pilgrimess:Ib. p. 46. so that We may say of her Discourses, what St. Paul said of his Rapture, That he had seen and heard things which eyes had not seen, nor ear heard, and that it has not entered into the mind of man what God has prepared for his elect.’

Now, lest any should think that this extraordinary IX Knowledge came to her by Natural Means, or that it was the effect of some Art and Industry, which others had not the happiness to know, neither were capable to undergo; we are told,Ib. p. 41. ‘That she never read, nor learn'd of any body; That she was without Study, even without Reading;Ib. p. 33. and, which is more, without Meditation. Years and Experience make others Wise and Knowing,’ but she had her vast Knowledge from the beginning: she was not wiser in her Old Age than in her Youth; for she was infallible in both: neither was there any occasion for correcting or amending that which she spoke or wrote in her first years;Ib. p. 21. ‘For if you peruse her Writings impartially, you will meet with many remarkable Characters that are not ordinarily to be found in many Writings. A clear and distinct Account of the Essential Truths of Christianity, with a constant urging of them as the one thing necessary, and distinguishing them from the accessory Truths which are not necessary to Salvation; an inimitable [Page] simplicity of Expression, which a Child may understand, with as singular a sublimity of Thoughts, a convincing power and force going along with them; a plain unfolding, in a few Lines, the Difficulties about which the Learned write many Volumes; a constant harmony and uniformity of Sentiments, in the Writings of a course of forty years, from about the Twenty third to the Sixty fifth year of her age, in which she died, with an evidence and clearness to the conviction of our Natural Reason: And all this by one who never read any Books; never conversed with the Learned, to be instructed by them; never premeditated what she wrote; never blotted out nor mended what was once written, but being attentive to the Love of God, in the calm and inward recollection of her Spirit, wrote as fast as her hand could guide the Pen; and when some Writings were laid by unfinish'd, for some years, returned to them and finish'd them after the same manner, without reading any more of what had been written, than some few of the immediately foregoing Lines, to make a due connexion.’ Thus Memory, and those Rational discussive Faculties which help others to the knowledge of Truth, were of no use to her; because they make her to have had an immediate intuition of all things in God,Ib. p. 13. with whom she had inward Conversation from her Childhood. She neither did nor would learn any thing from the Scriptures, though they were given by Inspiration, and were designed to make every Man of God perfect, and throughly instructed to every good word and work. She would take nothing from the second-hand, but would have all things immediately from God himself; [Page] and therefore she asked Him Questions, and received Answers from Him,Ib. p. 19. about the smallest matters. In a word, the design of these three Prefaces is to prove, That all her Words and Thoughts are God's, and that the Spirit was not given to her by measure, no more than it was to Iesus Christ, and that there was the same reason for both: For as God had chosen a Virgin for his Mother; so he had chosen another Virgin to be the Organ of his Light and Spirit, by whom he designed to renew his Church, and to give the last Blow and Overthrow to Satan's Kingdom; for which cause she is called the Light of the World: and these words of Isaiah are applied unto her, The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. And upon this account,Ib. p. 46, 47. Monsieur de Cort says, ‘I look upon her Acquaintance, as a greater favour than all the Graces and Favours which God hath bestowed on me in this World, yea, even than my Creation it self; for that would serve me in little stead, without the working out of my Salvation, which would have been in great danger, if I had not attained to the knowledge of my self, and of the Designs and Marvels of God, which I have learned and discovered by the means of this Creature; and she has certainly been sent me as the only Means of the Perfection of my Soul, and of all those who will profit by the recital of this Narrative, which I find my self obliged to publish, for the profit of many. This is the true treasure hid in the earth; he who shall find it, ought to sell all that he has, to by this Ground, to the end he may find and discover this [Page] Treasure, and take it up with Joy, as the most precious thing in the World.’

I have insisted the longer upon the Character of Madamoiselle Bourignon, her personal Endowments and Qualifications, her Divine Mission and Authority, as they are declared and set forth by her Disciples, because they are Material Points in our Enquiry about her: And for the same reason, I have chose to give these things in their own words, that it may appear to all, that I do not charge them with things which they do not, neither will own.

X And now I may have liberty to add, That if Madamoiselle Bourignon deserves the Character, which is here given to her; if it be true what these Authors I have quoted do say of her; if their Commendations and Praises are not rash and groundless, but built upon a solid Foundation, then she is, not only a very Singular and Extraordinary Person, but, without exception, the greatest that ever was Born of a Woman; She is above all the Ancient Patriarchs; she is to be preferred to Moses and the Prophets, to Iohn the Baptist and the Apostles; and at least she ought to be honoured equally with Jesus Christ, who is said to be God blessed for ever. She was as much without Sin as he was; and her Body was of a better Frame and Temper; for his was so much wasted by his Travels and the fatigues of his Ministry, that he seemed to be Fifty while he was not much above Thirty: Whereas Antonia Bourignon did not appear to be Forty years old, when she was Sixty and odd. And though I cannot pretend, that they do assert, in express terms, that she was personally united to the God head, yet I do think it is a clear Consequence [Page] from what they say; for I cannot understand how otherwise she could know all Truths, the deepest Mysteries of Nature and Religion, things hidden from the Wisest in all Ages; nor how she could, on all Occasions, speak and write about both small and great Matters certainly, clearly, and infallibly, as well as live up to the highest Perfection of an Universal Piety; and all this without consulting either Men or Books, without previous Reflection and Meditation; I say, I cannot understand how all this could be done by a meer Creature; and therefore she must either have been always personally united to the Deity, and so to be esteemed God-Woman, or else, as some Ancient Hereticks said of Jesus Christ, her Body and Humane Nature were not real, but a meer Phantome and Apparition by which God was pleased to declare his Mind and Will unto Men. And which soever of these be held, or whatever way God acted in her and by her, all her Words and Writings are Sacred as Scripture; they are of the same Authority, and do deserve the same respect, and ought to be read publickly, for the Honour of God, and the Edification of Men. Finally, there ought to be a Commemoration of Antonia Bourignon in the Publick Liturgies, as well as of Jesus Christ, and of the Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles. And as the Church has always used to give unto God Names and Titles, from the Signal Manifestations of himself; and as the latter took always place of the former, because more honourable and glorious; thus the God of Abraham, the fear of Isaac, he that brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, and delivered them from their Captivity, which were God's Names in former times, have been laid aside, to give way to [Page] that of the God and Father of our Lord Iesus Christ: So this, and all these should now give place to the God of Antonia Bourignon, to the Spirit who spoke by her, because she has brought a greater, a clearer, and a fuller Light into the World, and has made greater Discoveries of the Wisdom, and Power, and Goodness of God, than what came by Jesus Christ himself.

XI These things follow naturally and clearly from what was formerly delivered concerning Antonia Bourignon; but then they are of that importance, that none, but Madmen and Fools, will admit either the Premisses or Consequence without sufficient Evidence and Authority. For, if the things that are said be not true; if there be more ascribed to Madamoiselle Bourignon than what ought to be, then to pay her such Honour, Respect, and Esteem would be abominable Idolatry and horrid Blasphemy: If she require it, she is an Impostor, a Messenger from Satan, the Organ and Instrument of the Devil, whereby he designs to seduce the Simple and Unwary; She is not the true Light to be followed, but an Ignis fatuus, a false and dangerous appearance, to be carefully avoided by all who love and seek their own safety; and they who proclaim such high things of her are false Prophets; if they believe sincerely what they say, they are sadly infatuated and deluded; and if otherwise, they are monstrously and egregiously Wicked: if they be right, we cannot so much as give this Woman one Contradiction, without betraying our Conscience,Pref p. 47. as M. de Cort speaks: But if they do not speak the Truth, then if we hearken unto them, we receive those who speak in the Name of the Lord falsely, and we shall provoke God's Wrath and [Page] Jealousie, by the grievous offence of giving Divine Honour to another.

It therefore highly concerns us what part we XII ought to take in this Matter, whether we ought to admit these Men and their Testimony, or if we should reject them. And indeed, whatever respect be due to these Gentlemen, I crave leave to say, that the Matter in hand is of greater weight, than to be supported merely by their Authority; nor can their Testimony be judged sufficient to receive Antonia Bourignon for such a Woman as they have described her. I will not reflect upon their Honesty, nor will I deny Integrity to some of them: Nay, I will easily grant that all of them may speak as they think, and that they have written these things of this Woman from no other Motive than the sincerity of their own Perswasions. But what then? This cannot reasonably decide the case: Nor can we, without a most culpable rashness, join issue with them, until we examine the Grounds of their Belief, and see their Reasons why they come to be so and so perswaded. Every one that is Honest, is not also Wise and Knowing: Nor are all infallible who may be numbered amongst the Wise and Learned. Good Men may be mistaken; nor are well meaning Persons secure from being deceived and imposed upon: Nay, not only the Simple and Ignorant are liable to be seduced, but also Men of Understanding, Learning, and Knowledge, of which many Instances may be brought both out of Ancient and Modern Histories. Tertullian was carried away by the Error of Montanus. Neither all the first, nor yet all the present followers of Mahomet ought to be reckoned Dunces or Designing Men: Nor were it Just to deprive all the [Page] Disciples of George Fox, of Understanding and Sincerity; and yet he would not act wisely nor conscientiously who should plead for these Impostors, and justifie their Errors and Delusions, because some in other things of Sence and Judgment, have taken part with them. None indeed, but wicked Men and Villains will study a Cheat, and endeavour to impose upon the World that which they know and believe to be false: But how often have we seen and known Persons seduced and drawn into such hellish Designs, who ought not to be branded with such odious Characters; though at the same time I cannot but say, that whatever reason there may be to excuse their Sincerity, there is all the reason in the World to censure their Judgment, Discretion and Conduct; for who does not act wisely and cautiously, can never be said to act innocently, though he may not be so culpable as others.

As no Man loves to be cheated in any thing, so no Man should suffer himself to be cheated in Religion and Messages from Heaven; for they are Matters of the highest Importance, and therefore our Sentiments about them should be built upon some sure Foundation: without some reasonable Conviction, without some Evidence which may satisfie Sober Men, and which may be defended when required and called in Question, we ought not to receive Doctrines, nor embrace particular Systems of Religion, nor should we close with this or that Method of Salvation, otherwise we are shamefully lazy, negligent and easie in things which do most concern us. 'Tis true, the generality of the World practise the contrary, they take these things upon trust, and are satisfied with that which is first proposed, [Page] and which lie nearest them: But this is a Reproach to Mankind, nor can there be a greater instance of the Corruption of Humane Nature, than this, that Men use their Reason least in things of greatest moment. However we are not to consider what is commonly done, but what should be done; what is fit to be done by wise and good Men, by such as would build their present Peace and Comfort, and their eternal Interest, not upon Sand, but upon a Rock which can hold out against Storms and Tempests.

Now, if in such cases a reasonable Conviction, a satisfying Evidence be necessary, then to receive Madamoiselle Bourignon as one so highly dignified by God, and her Scheme of Religion and System of Opinions as Divine, and absolutely necessary to be followed, we ought to have something more than the Authority and Testimony of those Men formerly quoted: for whatever their Morals be, they are fallible as others; if they will not wilfully deceive, yet they are liable to be deceived; and if they have been imposed upon, where are we if we follow them. The Testimony of Men is only valuable so far as they are competent Judges of the things which they declare: It is unjust to deny the Testimony of sincere honest Men, when they bear witness only to Matters of Fact, to things which they have heard and seen; but when it comes to Opinions, Perswasions and Sentiments, both good and wise Men ought to be submitted to a Tryal and Examination, whether there be Reasons for their Belief. Now the Case before us, is of the Nature of the last; that is, It is not a Matter of Fact, but a Matter of Faith and Opinion; and therefore we must be allowed to judge the Validity of the Reasons of [Page] these Mens Sentiments of Antonia Bourignon, before we can or ought to be of their Side: And I am confident, that if their Reasons be weighed in the Balance, if they be put into just and equal Scales, they will be found light, and wanting Weight to make them pass for the Value which is put upon them.

XIII I will not conceal any of their Reasons, nor will I misrepresent them. I do not remember to have met with any besides those which follow, which have been suggested and which may be gathered from what has been said above. 1. An Early and Extraordinary Sanctity. 2. The secret Knowledge of Mens Thoughts. 3. Foretelling things to come. 4. A Sublime and Wonderful Knowledge of Divine Mysteries, with an Uniformity and Agreement of Sentiments both with her self and Scripture. 5. The Supernatural Means and Method of her coming to the Knowledge of all these things, viz. without Reading, without consulting Men or Books, and without Meditation. 6. The apparition of Comets at her Birth, when she began to Write, and at her Death. From these Reasons they conclude that she was Divinely Inspired, and sent to the World upon some great Design; and for these Reasons they make her the Woman in the Revelation who was cloathed with the Sun, and had the Moon under her Feet, they call her the Spouse of Christ, and give her that large Character which we have seen above.

I intend to consider these Reasons calmly and impartially. First, whether supposing them true, the Consequence drawn from them be just and necessary, and then what truth is in them.

XIV I begin with the First, viz. her Early and Extraordinary Sanctity. And I do acknowledge that true [Page] Sanctity is only from God. It is not the work of Nature but of Grace; No Man can be perfectly Holy of himself, nor can the Devil either intend or effectuate such a thing; if therefore any have the Gift of Sanctity, they have it from above, God certainly is the Author of it, whose Spirit only can subdue our Natural Corruption, and raise us to a Conformity to the Divine Nature. And as this Gift is of God, so it is more valuable than the Gift of Miracles, Prophecies, speaking with divers Tongues, and such like; for it is a greater sign of the love of God, and does better secure an Interest in him. When our Lord bestowed the Power of Miracles and of casting out Devils upon the Seventy Disciples, that they might not overvalue this Special Privilege or boast too highly of it, be said unto them,Luk. 10. 20. Notwithstanding in this rejoyce not, that the Spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoyce, because your names are written in Heaven. Now all who are truly holy have their Names written there: Many who have Prophesied, and cast out Devils, and done many wonderful Works, shall be disowned in the great Day of the Lord; they shall be commanded to Depart from Christ our Saviour; but they who are truly sanctified, will never be separated from him, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven for ever.

But though Sanctity be a great and most desirable token of God's Love and Favour, yet it is not always attended with extraordinary Illuminations and Inspirations: It may be without these, and these may be separated from it. Good and Holy Persons in the other World shall have a full and clear Vision of all things, then they shall understand the Intricacies of Providence, and the Secrets of the Divine [Page] Counsel; then they shall see God as he is, and know even as they are known: But at present the best and most Holy see as through a Glass darkly, and are ignorant of many things, as well as others; nay, persons very good and holy, and very dear to God, may not know so much as some that are wicked and unsanctified. What St. Paul supposeth, may be proved by several Instances, that one may have the Gift of Prophecy, and understand all Mysteries, and all Knowledge, and yet be without Holiness; for if they may want Charity, they want a special part of Holiness. Wherefore suppose we should grant Sanctity to Antonia Bourignon, suppose her to be truly and extraordinarily Holy; yet she is not therefore to be reckoned Infallible, nor endued with all Knowledge, nor are her Doctrines to be received Implicitly. Let her Sanctity be never so great, yet that alone doth not raise her to the Station and Dignity of a Prophet, at whose Mouth the Church, and all particular Persons, should receive the Law and Will of God; for though Holiness doth certainly not only dispose Persons to receive special Influences of the Spirit of God, but also give a deeper Sence of Divine Truths than Reading, even as Practice in any Art doth make one Wiser and more Skilful than Speculation; yet every Holy Person must not pretend a Revelation of all particulars, or to know the Mind of God in every thing: Wherefore we find St. Paul distinguishing warily what was his own Judgment, from what he had certainly from God. Madamoiselle Bourignon might be Holy, and yet no Infallible Oracle.

And there is yet far less reason upon this account to entitle her the peculiar Organ of the Holy Ghost, the Singular Spouse of Christ, the Queen of Heaven, [Page] the Mother of the Faithful, and the like: For though Saints be dear unto God, and very precious in his sight; though he has prepared for them things which Eyes have not seen, nor Ear heard, neither have entred into the heart of Man; though they receive secret Favours and Communications, which none knoweth neither can understand, save he who receiveth them; yet they themselves should keep still the distance of Creatures, and cloth themselves with Humility, and acknowledge their Unworthiness: And others when they honour them, should beware of running into Excess; they should not exalt them unto an Equality with God, nor yet unto Degrees which approach near to it; for this is to Deify Creatures, which as it is foolish, so it is very provoking. 'Tis true, God bestoweth, in the Scripture, upon Saints great and glorious Epithets, which are most worthy of our Contemplation, because they declare the Greatness of God's Love: but also we may perceive that the Saints were both ashamed and afraid to receive them, from the sence of their unworthiness and infinite distance from God. Humility is the foundation of true and perfect Sanctity, and it teacheth neither to reject or despise the free Expressions of that great Love, with which God is pleas'd to honour his Servants, nor yet to claim and enhance them by way of merit. For any to arrogate these Divine Honours as peculiarly belonging to them, is intolerable Pride; as it is high Presumption and Insolency for any to take upon them to give or appropriate these unto others, without special Command and Direction: For the giving of Honours is an Act of Soveraignty, and appertains to God, and not unto Men. The Saints in Scripture, shewed the greatest Humility when God [Page] magnified them most, and they used to speak of one another with great Modesty. The affecting of great Names and Titles proceeds from Pride and Vanity, and none but rash, inconsiderate and unthinking Persons will bestow them lavishly.

High Encomiums are the Effects of a strong, fervent, and interess'd Passion, and not the Product of a solid Judgment. We ought, indeed, to praise famous Men,Ecclus. 44. 1▪ according to the Exhortation of the wise Son of Sirach, that others may be excited to imitate them; but then our Praises should be just and true, modest and proper, suitable to the present Condition of Mankind, which is frail and mortal, and liable to many weaknesses. We ought to praise Men, but we should also remember that they are Men, and not magnifie them above what they are, or make Gods of them. I do not know which is more Criminal or more to be censured, whether the detracting from ones just Praise, or the giving extravagant and excessive Commendations: perhaps more may be said against this. It has many pernicious Consequences, and does proceed from the same partial Spirit, which regards Humour and Interest, more than Truth or Justice: both are reproved and condemned in Scripture, and the one as well as the other, is very unbecoming the Spirit of the Gospel, which requires us not to rest in the Admiration of the Persons of Men, or of any Creature, but to carry our Thoughts from these up towards God, who alone is worthy to be admired and praised, and who is the Author of all the good that is in any.

There ought, indeed, to be a Cognizance of the Divine Wisdom, Power, Goodness, Mercy and Grace which are manifested in any, or towards any; we [Page] ought also to honour those, whom God has honoured thus, yet only so as to make them the Subject Matter of praising and honouring God. But we make Idols of Men, when we either ascribe to them Perfections which they never had, or fix upon their personal Qualifications, and consider their Virtues as theirs, without looking higher. This was a great part of Heathenism, and from hence sprung that abominable Idolatry which the World was so full of: Immoderate Flattery of Mens Persons, was the occasion of it. To prevent which among Jews and Christians, the infinite Wisdom of God did and doth still represent those worthy Persons he made use of, as Men, that is, as Persons of the like Passions and Infirmities with other Men: The meanest of the Prophets or Apostles were greater by far than the Gods whom the Gentiles worshipp'd, and yet that Divine Honour might not be paid to them, that they might not be adored as Gods, as Originals of their own Virtues and Qualifications, their Failings and Weaknesses are not concealed, but exposed to the View of all the World; they shewed themselves Earthen Vessels while they manifested the heavenly Treasures of Wisdom and Power committed to them, that the Praise may be unto God, and not unto Men. God is a Jealous God, and is not pleas'd, when the Glory which is due to himself is given either in whole or in part to another: which may be done without offering Sacrifice, or burning Incense, or making Prayers; for this is done by an excessive Admiration of any ones Person, by thinking of them above what we ought to think, by ascribing to them much more than is due, and expecting from them that which God only can be the Author of. Upon this account [Page] we accuse the Church of Rome of Idolatry towards the Virgin Mary, and other Saints, because she raiseth and honoureth them above the Rank and Condition of Creatures: And yet neither the Virgin, nor any other pretended or real Saint is so much honoured by that Church, as Madamoiselle Antonia Bourignon is by Monsieur de Cort, Monsieur Poiret, and their Followers. There have been Published several Blasphemous Encomiums of the Blessed Virgin, but they are all short of that which has been said above of this Woman: and therefore I can be bold to say, that the Bourignianists are at least in this as much guilty of Idolatry as the Church of Rome; nor can they ever justifie themselves, without proving that she is no Creature, but a God or Goddess. Her Sanctity will not excuse them, be it never so great or unspotted; nor though it would, is her Sanctity so great as is pretended. Which is the next thing I intend to shew.

XV It may look a little Invidious to go about to lessen the Reputation of another, and I have always consider'd them as sordid Souls, like Swine, who take Pleasure in raking up the Faults of others: But as in some cases there is reason for it, so here it is necessary for curing the dangerous Delusions of some, and for securing others from the like Contagion. Truth must be always preferr'd to Persons.

If the fond Favorites of Madamoiselle Bourignon had only represented her as a Devout Religious and Virtuous Woman, it might have passed; if they had only propos'd her as a good Pattern, how one may escape the Pollutions of the World, and be good and upright even in a Corrupt Age, none could have found Fault with them, nor was there reason for Strangers [Page] to suspect the Truth of what they say. But they have betrayed themselves by an Extravagant Immodesty, and their Truth and Sincerity may be justly questioned now that they ascribe to her more than what is possible, if we look upon their Character by the Light of the Scripture. For they make her Impeccable, at least they say, (as was shewed above) that she never actually sinned, no, not in Thought, and that she derived no Guilt or Corruption from Adam, which must be Monsieur de Cort his meaning when he said, that it seemed Adam never sinn'd in her. Ps. 51. 5. 1 K. 8. 46. Whereas the Scripture saith that we are born in Sin and conceived in Iniquity; that there is no man, not the most just and perfect, that doth good and sinneth not; and that none are perfectly righteous in the sight of God, but all are guilty before him. If Monsieur de Cort and Monsieur Poiret their Description of Antonia Bourignon be true, she did not as St. Paul speaketh in the Name of the rest of Mankind, carry about with her a Body of Sin and Death, she had not a Law in her Members warring against the Law of her Mind; she needed no High Priest, nor Sacrifice for Sin, and the Blood of Christ would be applied to her in vain, for she is clean without it. If Madamoiselle Bourignon was the Woman which they represent her, she was indeed a very great Miracle, yea, the greatest Wonder amongst Mankind, for she was the Offspring of sinful and unclean Parents, and yet clean her self; she was born of Flesh, and yet no Flesh, or without the Natural and Inherent Properties of Flesh, and so she or they give the lye,Job 14. 4. not only to Iob, who said, Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one; Joh. 3. 6. 1 Joh. 1. 18. but also to our Lord himself, who said positively, That which is born of the flesh [Page]is flesh. But shall a De Cort or a Poiret, have more Credit than the Son of God? Should their words be received in Contradiction to the Scripture, which we know was given by Inspiration of the Holy Ghost? what Impudence is it in them to impose such notorious Falshoods upon us? or how strangely are they infatuated if they believe themselves? Both he that saith of himself, that he hath no Sin, and he that saith that another is without Sin,1 Joh. 1. 8. is deceived and the truth is not in them. This one Instance, as well as many others which follow, doth sufficiently prove that the Insallible Spirit of God has not guided the Pens of Monsieur de Cort, or Monsieur Poiret: and that though they pretend to be the truest and most perfect Christians, because Followers of Bourignon; yet it is much more probable that they belong to that Party, which the Apostle St. Iude describes, which he makes spots in the Christian feasts of Charity, Jude 16. whose mouth speaketh great swelling words, having mens persons in admiration because of advantage. Antonia Bourignon, was either Mother or Midwife to some wild Metaphysical Whimsies, and Extravagant Notions, which Monsieur Poiret is passionately fond of, and therefore to make them be received by all for Divine Truths, she must be exalted above the present State and Capacity of Humane Nature. Lord, how doth passion Blind Men! How do their Affections transport them without all bounds of Sense and Discretion?

XVI But it will perhaps be replied by the Poiretans and Bourignianists, that there is no reasoning against Matter of Fact, that a thing may be true, though it be strange and unaccountable; that Madamoiselle Bourignon is an extraordinary Instance, and an Exception from [Page] the General State of Mankind. And therefore I proceed further to shew, First, That the things instanced by them, which they insist most upon, and which they talk most of, are not certain Proofs of Sanctity. Secondly, That several things are own'd both by her self and them, which are very inconsistent with such extraordinary Sanctity as is ascribed to her.

First, I say, that the things instanced, are not XVII certain Proofs of Sanctity, By certain Proofs I do not mean strict Demonstrations, such as the Science of Mathematicks requires and doth afford; but such good Moral Assurances as may be the Ground of a reasonable Belief, and which may satisfie that we are not deceived and imposed upon. The present case differs very much from that of judging and censuring the Lives and Actions of our fellow Christians, who pretend to nothing extraordinary; there, a strict Enquiry is not necessary; there, Charity should bear the sway; and then we ought to believe and hope the best, providing we do not destroy the Notions of Good and Evil, nor yet recommend an evil Action out of an excess of Charity: But here, where there are more than common Pretensions, where an extraordinary Sanctity is pretended, a Sanctity worthy to be observed and imitated, a Sanctity which is thought sufficient to make the Person worthy to be received as a Prophet, as one sent from God to give great Light and Instruction both by Doctrine and Example; then every prudent Person ought to make a narrow Enquiry, and to judge warily; then we should ask for good and sufficient Evidence, and without it, we have all reason to suspend our Belief, and to deny our Assent. Now I do ingenuously declare, [Page] That having considered seriously both what Antonia Bourignon writes of her self, and the Accounts which others have given of her, I do not perceive any singular or extraordinary Instance of Sanctity, besides affected Solitude and Retirement, her Celibacy and resisting all Importunities to Marriage, Fastings, Watchings, Humiliations, wearing of Sack-cloth, a contempt of the common Ornaments of her Sex, and such like Austerities; as also great Raptures and Extasies in Prayer and Devotion: none of which are certain signs of true and solid Piety; for as these things may, and do sometimes proceed from the right Knowledge of God, a sincere Love to him, and a serious Consideration of our own Nature, and the Nature of other things; so they may be and often are only the Effects of a particular Temper and Constitution, as they may be, and often have been counterfeited by Persons in the gall of bitterness, and bonds of Iniquity.

These things make a great shew, which both surprizes unthinking Beholders, and also deludes the Persons themselves; but they deserve not to be admired or praised, except when they are transacted by Persons of sound and solid Judgment, whose sence and understanding are under no suspicion of being Sick, and when they are accompanied with a Spirit of great Humility and Submission towards God, of Meekness and Charity towards others; when there is a sincere respect had to all God's Commands, and suitable Honour and Obedience paid unto Men. But when these things are done by one that is continually a quarrelling with Providence and the state of Humane Affairs, by one that is vain, proud and censorious, full of himself, and who has no esteem for [Page] others; who observes no distance, neither pays any respect to other Mens outward Dignities or Moral Endowments; who is above all Advice and Counsel; who pretends a Privilege from Obedience, and a Right to Command; then I say these things are to be suspected and slighted deservedly; then we may, without uncharitableness, conclude that they are done out of some sinistrous Design, or that they are the Effects of a melancholy Head, or crazy Brain, or of some surly, peevish predominant Humour.

How many Instances may be given of the long Fastings and Watchings,See Causabon his Treatise of Enthusiasme, and Burton of Religious Melancholy. of rigid and severe acts of Mortification performed both by Hypocrites and Fools? How often have both Madmen and Wicked seemed to be transported strangely in the Exercises of Devotion? therefore these things are not certain Signs, nor sufficient Proofs of true solid Sanctity: Which consists in the Rectitude of the whole Man, in a sincere Conformity of our inward Thoughts and Sentiments, and of our outward Actions to the Will of God, manifested to us by Reason and Revelation. And therefore also we have no reason to take them for Divinely inspired, who mistake the Nature of Sanctity, who take fallible Signs and uncertain Appearances for sure Demonstrations.

Antonia Bourignon is often represented as having as XVIII much Evidence from Heaven as Jesus Christ had. I think the Comparison not only odious but impious; nor is there the least ground to make it: yet we are obliged to consider it, for detecting and curing the strange Delusions of this Party. Sure, his Sanctity was infinitely more evident than hers, none that hath either Eyes or Judgment, and are unbyass'd, can pretend any true or real Resemblance. His Sanctity [Page] was constant, and did shine with such a convincing Lustre, that no place is left for doubting it. He indeed made no vain ostentation of great Austeritius, he did not amuse People by severe and unimitable acts of Mortification; He wisely avoided these himself, nor would he enjoin them to his Disciples, because he knew the superstitious humour of Mankind, how fond they are of an External Religion, how much inclin'd to be Bigot, for things of an Indifferent Nature, rather than to love and esteem that which is really Good, and how ready to make atonement for the Sins of their Soul by the Exercises of their Body; and therefore he would not give any Example which might confirm their Errors, and encourage them in their Delusions: But he gave Instances of a true and perfect Sanctity, a Sanctity which cannot be contradicted, a Sanctity against which no shadow of Objection can be framed, either on the account of Deficiency or Redundancy. None but God can see the Heart of Man, but the Heart may be known by the Actions, and that the Heart of Jesus was Right, that it was full of the Love of God and wholly intent upon the pleasing him, is evident to a Demonstration, by his chearful complyance with the Will of God in every thing, whether it was to do or susser; He embraced all Opportunities of shewing Zeal for God, and he went up and down continually doing good unto Men, never wearying in either, whatever Difficulties, Discouragements and Provocations he met with; He wanted no Virtue, and exerted every one in the most perfect manner, neither over-acting any thing, nor yet being defective in any thing; His Life was so perfect, his Words and Actions so conform to Truth, so well adjusted to the [Page] Occasion, to the Time, Place, and other Circumstances, that Divine and Infinite Wisdom is not more discernible in the Creation, Contrivance and Harmony of the Material World, than in the Life and Actions of Jesus Christ, and therefore we are sure that both proceeded from one and the same Almighty, most Wise, and most Holy Spirit; for as the Invisible Things of God, his Eternal Power and Godhead, are clearly seen by the one; so from the other, it is demonstrable that the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in Jesus Christ: for so great an Effect could not be produced by any less Cause, nor could such exact Sanctity, such perfect Holiness, proceed from any meer Man. The most inspired Prophet was Inferiour to him, and though this Holy Jesus has had, and I hope still hath, many sincere Followers, yet never any was, neither can any be so perfect, so holy as he was: for his Holiness will exceed others, as much as the Works of Nature are beyond those of the most perfect Art. And there is as much, nay more foundation for a Parallel between the Actions of a Bedlamite and the even Tract of a most wise and virtuous Man, than for a just Comparison of the Sanctity of Antonia Bourignon to that of Jesus Christ. His Sanctity, like all the Works of God, will be found the more perfect and more admirable, the more narrowly it is examined and considered; whereas the Sanctity of Madamoiselle Bourignon, and all other (especially Enthusiastical or Conceited Persons) shews best at a distance: for if we view them near, they appear very defective, and wanting several stroaks to give them a true resemblance to Jesus Christ, who is the only Model and Standard of perfect Sanctity, whose Life ought to be studied with great attention, both for [Page] getting right Notions of Sanctity, and also for facilitating the attainment of it. Others are to be followed only so far as they are Followers of him; and we may assure our selves that nothing is an essential part of Sanctity, or a necessary Demonstration of it, but that which he practised: for as he declared all the Counsel of God concerning us, so he gave us an Example of every thing that is absolutely good or necessary to Eternal Life.

XIX I will not transcribe here, that which I have delivered elsewhere about Corporal Austerities;Serm. XV. On 1 Tim. 5. 23. nor will I at present enter upon the Examination of Raptures, Extasies and Visions, which are given as signs of the extraordinary Sanctity of Antonia Bourignon, because I may have hereafter a more proper occasion for this: But before I pass to another Head, I judge it may be of use, to speak more particularly of Solitude, and a Total retreat from the World, which is recommended as a Special Act of Sanctity, by the Example and Sentiments of Antonia Bourignon, and which others also, besides her Followers, seem to be exceedingly taken with.

Whether the Preference should be given to an Active, or to a Contemplative Life, has been much debated both by Heathens and Christians, and also by Ancients and Moderns: And I must say; that very few have offered a just Decision of the Matter; for the Advocates of either side, as generally those who manage Law Suits, have endeavoured to shew Wit rather than Truth, and the Judges have passed Sentence by Inclination or Interest, more than from the serious Consideration of the Nature of the Thing. Sanguine Persons have favoured the Active Life, as the Contemplative has been preferred by those [Page] that are Melancholy: Men have been in love with Publick Employment, when things succeeded according to their Mind; but when they went cross, then they turn'd peevish, and only admired Solitude. Charles the Fifth was sensible of the declining of his Affairs, and did foresee a change of his Fortune, before he thought of changing an Imperial Crown and Palace with a Monastery, or of preferring the Pleasures of Retirement to the Privilege of Supreme Authority and Command.

But to come close to the Point, I say, nothing is more disserviceable to Religion, or more prejudicial to Mens Peace and Comfort, than the consining Religion to a life of Solitude and Retirement. The appropriating the Name of Religion to Cloisters and Monasteries, as the Church of Rome hath done, is Unjust, it is Insolent and Scandalous, and is the Cause of much Mischief. It renders serious and welldispos'd Souls sad and melancholly when they cannot enter into that State, which is represented as necessary or highly expedient for their Perfection or Salvation; and it frightens and discourages others from the Practice of Piety and the serious observation of Religious Duties, upon the opinion that they are only proper for such as are Cloister'd and retired out of the World. The Providence of God has ingaged the generality of the World in an active Life, and made it impossible for them to retire from Trade and Business; shall we therefore say that by the Providence of God, it is impossible for the greatest part of Mankind to be Religious? that all whose Necessity and Circumstances involve them into Publick Employment, or the Affairs of the World, are exempted from the Obligations of Religion and a good Conscience? [Page] 'Tis true the Soul is better than the World, and one had better forfeit this than lose that. But who has Authority to impose harder Conditions than God has done? Does he require that all should be Monks or Hermits, that there should be no fellowship or Society kept up, nor business done. He has indeed Commanded not to love the World inordinately, not to set our Affections upon it, not to be Covetous, nor anxious about the things of this Life: but neither these, nor any other Command, make Trade, Commerce, or negotiating the Affairs of the World unlawful; nor do they imply that a Contemplative Life, or Total Retreat from the World is more Religious, than Business or Worldly Employments. God may be served the one way as well as the other; and a Man of Business, who manages his Affairs with Discretion, by the rules of Justice and Equity, without Covetousness, without sordid and sinistrous Dealing, keeping a Conscience void of offence towards God and Man, and who regards the other Life which is not seen, as well as the present which is seen; I say, This Man is really as Devout and Religious as any Monk or Hermit, or retired Person can be. Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Hezekiah, and several others mentioned in Scripture were such, and they are more worthy Examples, than any which can be produced from amongst either the Ancient or Modern Asceticks, Anchorets, or Coenobites. Nay, I say further, That the Antonies and Teresaes, the Brunoes and Catherines, the Founders and Observers of the strictest Orders, are not only short of those eminent Examples which the Spirit of God has thought worthy to be put upon Sacred Record; but also, that they have not exerted greater [Page] or more sincere Piety, than many others who negotiated Business, and conversed freely in the World: Nor were their voluntary Penances and Austerities, such Acts and Instances of Humility, Patience, Self-denial, contempt of Honour and Esteem, as the bearing the Insults and Impertinencies, the Follies and Indiscretions, the Slights and Affronts, which daily Conversation exposes one to.

And here I cannot pass over a vulgar Error concerning the Clergy, which is, That they all ought to be Men of Study and Retirement. Indeed, they ought not to undertake Imployments which are below the Dignity of their Character, nor should they intangle themselves so much in Affairs, or engage in any such Business as may take them off from the exercise of their Function, or which may hinder them from pursuing the Ends of their Sacred Calling: And therefore by the ancient Canons it was not lawfulVI. Can. Apost. III. Can. Con. Chalced. Novel. Just. 123. for a Clergyman to be so much as a Tutor or Guardian, or the Executor of any one's Will and Testament, because all these were Incumbrances to the Work of the Ministry. But yet it is a Mistake to think that they should never be seen out of their Closets, or only when they are to Preach or Read Prayers; for their Business is not only to Preach, but to be an example of the Believers, in Word, in Conversation, 1 Tim. 4. 12. in Charity, in Spirit, in Faith, in Purity; which they cannot be if they be wholly abstracted and retired from the World, for then they put their Candle under a Bushel, which cannot give light to the House. As in the Pulpit they teach the Necessity of the Divine Laws, so by their Practice they should shew the possibility of them: And he who can entertain Conversation innocently, walking by the Faith [Page] which he Professes, and the Doctrine which he publickly teaches; who, as the occasion requires it, can be Serious without Melancholy, or Chearful without being Prophane; who can hear himself praised without Vanity, and accused without wrath, who can accept good things when they are offered without Scruple or brutal Joy, and yet never out of humour when they are wanting; and who can frame both his Discourse and Actions, so as to make them suitable to the times and the present State of the Church, his own Circumstances, and the Circumstances of his Company, I say, he who can do all this, doth answer his Character, and doth prosecute the ends of his Calling better than he who shuts himself intirely up; and his Conversation does more good, and does more promote Piety than the others Contemplation and Study.

But to Return. True Religion and Piety do agree with an Active Life as well as the Contemplative; and one who converses daily in the World, may be as devout and may serve God as faithfully as he who is totally sequestred from it; therefore Iohn Baptist did not advise the People, nor the Publicans, nor the Soldiers to abide with him in the Wilderness, or to lay down their several Imployments, but only gave them Rules, how they might follow them with Integrity and Uprightness towards God and Man. If all Religion consisted in Study and Contemplation, then every one who desired to be Religious, ought to seek out Solitude and a retired life; but it is also the Will of God that every one do that Business which his Place and Station, his Necessity and Circumstances, or the Duty which he owes unto others do require at his hands; and as this cannot be neglected without [Page] Injustice, so he who humbly submits to it, and who patiently and chearfully undergoes the fatigue of it, not out of respect to worldly Gain and Profit, but because it is the Will of God, and what his wise Providence calls him to, he doth give as great a Testimony of his love to God, as any who affects Solitude and Retirement: which deserves to be well considered, especially by all religious Wives and Servants, that out of a pretext of Devotion, as has been too often done, the one may not neglect the Service of their Masters, nor the other the Affairs of their Husbands, and the Care of their Family and Children.

Further, as it is evident that Religion cannot be confined or annexed only to the Contemplative Life, or a State of Sequestration from the World; so neither must we think this State more perfect or more eligible than any other. Perfection is attainable by the Active as well as Contemplative Life; and the choice of either is to be justified only by the prudent consideration of one's Natural Constitution, his outward State and Circumstances, for neither of these are agreeable to all, or proper for all. Retirement may be very prudent and proper for some in some Cases, and yet neither prudent nor commendable for others, nor for the same Persons at other times; but may be constructed deservedly an instance of unmanly Cowardice, and of a shameful desertion of their Post. So that in my judgment neither of these States is to be preferred to the other; nor do they wisely consider them who presume to determine absolutely which is best, for the one or other is best according to one's personal State and Circumstances or his Publick Ingagements. And I do also think that he is in the [Page] happiest Condition who partakes of both States, whose life is neither wholly Contemplative, nor wholly Active; but which is made up of both by the intermixture of Retirement and Business: For he that is wholly retired, lives only to himself, which makes him an idle Drone with regard to others, and he is a Drudge to the World who is always imployed in Business, and who neither has nor takes time to refresh his Mind with the sweet Pleasures of Retirement. Solitude is more Profitable for one's self, but Business and Conversation renders one more Useful to the World. In the one we enjoy our selves best, but it is only by the other that we can do any good, or manifest the Vertues and Graces which God hath bestowed on us. By Solitude we acquire Knowledge, and by being conversant in the World we learn Experience: In Retirement we may more easily preserve our Innocence, but without Conversation and Business we cannot exert Christian Wisdom and Courage, and other necessary Vertues. Solitude and Retirement are a safe Refuge for weak Constitutions; but they who are strong, should shew themselves upon the Theatre of the World. A Religious Retreat is as necessary to the Spiritual, as Rest is to the Bodily Life; for by it we renew our decayed Spirits, we recollect our dissipated Thoughts, and add strength and vigour to our wise Resolutions, and pious Purposes. It is impossible that one can act wisely, who never thinks seriously; or that he can think seriously and to purpose, who is always in the hurry of Affairs. Therefore certainly every one who consults his own Good, and is in any wise Master of himself, will so wisely contrive his business, and so order his affairs, that he may have Hours and Days, [Page] if not Weeks and Months for Meditation and Contemplation: That by this means he may have an intercourse and acquaintance with Heaven, while he lives upon Earth; that he may be fortified against all Encounters, and be qualified for gaining that Victory over the World, which will give him a right to the Crown of Glory.

And I am of the opinion, that frequent retreats are more adviseable to religious Persons, than a constant or total sequestration from the World. For such is the weakness of our Minds, while they are clogg'd with this gross Flesh, that they cannot hold out long, without wearying, in those divine and spiritual Exercises, for which Solitude and Retirement are to be desired. If our Spirits be too much extended at once, they will flag, and will become no more capable of being elevated unto degrees of Fervour, than a tired and spent Body is of quick and vigorous Motion. Therefore the Devotions of Cloister'd Persons are very often-dry and insipid, and they do frequently perform their Exercises with less tast and satisfaction than Men in the World. If there be not care taken to preserve those devout and sublime Thoughts which soar above material Things, and a sublunary World, they will either quite evaporate, or they will condense into airy Notions, or fantastical Conceits; whence it is that Dreams and Visions, and such like Extravagancies, do happen unto Persons altogether or very much abstracted from the World, more than unto others. Religious Retirements are liable to be abused, and are sometimes attended with dangerous Consequences, as well as Conversation and Business; nor have Persons who are entangled in the Affairs of the World more need of Monitors, than those who have sequestred themselves, of wise Directors.

[Page] All I shall add more upon this Head, is, That as the Church of Rome hath erred grossly, in chaining Religion so much to Monastries and Cloisters; so it was a great blemish in our Reformation, to demolish these Houses entirely, which as they ought to have been reformed from the abuses that had crept into them, so they might have been kept up to the advantage of Religion, and to the benefit of both the Publick, and particular Persons: They are very profitable, if the snare of Vows, and the delusion of a peculiar Sanctity in them be removed.

This Digression, about the nature of Solitude, and a Contemplative Life, is not altogether from our purpose; which is to shew the Mistakes of Enthusiastical Persons, who commonly are excessively fond of this state, and do ascribe more to it than it well deserves.

XX But now to return to Madamoiselle Bourignon: As the chief Instances alledged are not certain Proofs of her Sanctity; so there be several things, which she her self confesses, and which they who write her Life do acknowledge, which do not very well agree with that extraordinary Sanctity that is ascribed to her. For,

First, We are told, That until the Eighteenth Year of her Age, she run into a vain, light and idle Conversation, and followed the Pleasures, Recreations and Divertisements of the World, by which she lost her Conversation with God, as the Author of the Preface to the English Reader saith: which, in my judgment, is a flat Contradiction to what he said some few lines before,Light of the World, viz. That from her Childhood, Pref. p. 14. she had inward Conversation with God. It is, indeed, no strange thing to see Children and Youth taken with Vanities, when [Page] those of riper years do too much follow them: nor would there be reason to upbraid it here, if Madamoifelle Bourignon and her Disciples did not pretend that she was Sanctified from the Womb, and boast that at three or four years of age she was Divinely Inspired, and that even so early she began to express a sense of Divine Things above what all the DoctorsLa Vie Contin. c. 2. of the Church are capable of. They will have her, when she was little more than a weaned infant, to be sensible of Christian Perfection, and how much short of it those about her were: when she could hardly lisp out a word, it is pretended that she asked seriously whether there were any Christians, or Followers of Jesus, and where they lived? Now, if all this be true, and if these things had proceeded from the Spirit of God, to give early notice to the World, that He had anointed her to be a Prophetess, to declare his Will; I say, if so, it is no ways likely that God would have left her so soon to her self, or that he would have suffered her to be corrupted, whom he had appointed to be so great a Light. Samuel, Ieremiah, and St. Iohn Baptist, who were consecrated Prophets from their birth, and who were set apart to be special and signal Instruments of a Reformation among God's People, they never turned aside to a wicked, vain, or light Conversation; all their Life was unspotted from the World, and from their very Infancy they were Examples of a severe Piety: But this New Light of the World suffered an eclipse for some years, though, as is pretended, it began to shine very early. The early impressions of Piety which Antonia Bourignon is said to have had, were for some time smothered; and she who is brought in, at four years of age, complaining of other Christians, did her self, [Page] when grown up, follow their vain Example. Which is not agreeable to the Methods of the Divine Oeconomy heretofore, if God had raised up this Woman, and called her out to so great and high things as She and her Followers alledge. It is said of our Blessed Lord, that as he grew in Stature, so he did grow in Wisdom, and Favour both with God and Man: And if God had designed Madamoifelle Bourignon a second Saviour to Mankind, to finish the Work which was only begun by the other; it is not at all to be believed that he would have given place to a Spirit of Folly and Vanity, or that he would have suffered her to commit such things as were offensive to himself, and contrary to his own Purposes; that is, which were so far from reclaming Men from their Sins, that they rather tended to confirm them therein.

That which they say tempted her to this vain course of life, was the Censures and Misconstructions put upon her early Seriousness and Retirement; for upon that account, she was represented as simple, melancholy, and wanting Spirit. But could not the Spirit of God break through this Temptation? Was her extraordinary Grace too weak to resist it? Could one so Divinely Inspired, find out no other means of rectifying Peoples Mistakes? And must so holy a Person do evil, merely to pass for a Wit? Is Sense and Judgment no where to be manifested, but in the acts of a vain and trifling Conversation? But whatever was her motive and temptaion, or however she may be excused, she confesses that she was far engaged into the Vanities of the World, and the love of them:'La Parole de Dieu, n. 3. If we may believe her self, she was ambitious of Honour, and did love the Pleasures and Divertisements of Sense and Riches, because they did procure them: she took [Page]pleasure in the company of Young Men, admitted theirLa Vie Exterieure, §. 4.Courtship and Addresses, and was well pleased when they commended her Wit, and especially when they praised her for being Handsom and Agreeable, because she had been called always Ugly, by her Mother. Thus it appears, that Pride and Ambition, Sensuality and Covetousness prevailed with this Maid: and where these prevail, the Spirit of God does not much reside. It is said, indeed, That God did often visit her even in this state;Light of the World, That he did not cease, now and then, to awaken her, Pref. p. 14. even in the midst of her Divertisements; but Company, and these Amusements, still got the ascendant: that is, in plain terms, she all this time resisted the Spirit of God, and walked contrary to the Dictates of her Conscience: Videt meliora probatque, deteriora sequitur. Which is not compatible with a state of extraordinary Grace and Sanctity. I would not exaggerate this so much, if I was not provoked by the strange Impudence and Delusion of those, who will have us to receive this Woman, as more than Humane, as without Sin, as equal to Jesus Christ, who never yielded to the strong Temptations of the Devil, whereas she was carried away by the weak Persuasions of Men.

Again, As there appeared no extraordinary Sanctity in Antonia Bourignon before she arrived to the age of Eighteen; so even after this, which is pretended to be the time of her Conversion, she did not determine the great and important state of her Life, by Motives and Principles of Religion. It is the End, which sanctifies our Actions; and Persons truly Devout and Holy, make God the End of all that they do. They who respect only or chiefly their own Ease, Pleasure or Profit, are not to be reckon'd very holy, or above [Page] the common rate of Mankind, whatever state of Life they betake themselves to: For the height of one's Sanctity is not to be taken from their Outward Quality and Behaviour, but from the Inward Principles which move them. He that is sober only or mainly for saving of his Money, or on the account of bodily Health, doth indeed wisely; but his Temperance is no more an act of Religion, than another's eating and drinking out of Pleasure. He that retires from the World, because he loves his Ease, and has an aversion to Trouble and Vexation, his Retirement is not Religious, nor is he himself to be esteemed more holy than another who follows worldly Employments.

Now if Madamoifelle Bourignon had been so extraordinary holy as is pretended, if she had been Inspired from Above in every thing, she would have considered God, and not her self; she would have consulted that which was best for his Service, and not her own Humour and Conveniency: But she resolv'd upon a Coelibate State, only because she would not be cross'd and uneasie; because she hated the Restraints and Troubles of Marriage, though they be both the Occasions and Proofs of great Virtue, which was no great Instance of any peculiar Sanctity. She did not chuse a Virgins State, that she might only care for the things of the Lord, as the Apostle speaks, and not be incumbred in the doing that, by the Obligations of pleasing a Husband too: But she preferred this State to Marriage, only because she had no great or good opinion of the Husbands, who were offered to her, and because she was afraid that they might be all like her Father, who was sometimes rough, surly and ill-natur'd towards her Mother. [Page] This is the Account which she gives her self.La Vie Ext. § 6. p. 148. And he who continues her Life, according to his usual Custom, doth enlarge upon this Passage, and improves it to a great Act of Piety, not without a Reflection upon the rest of her Sex.La Vie Cont. c. 2. p. 20. ‘When, saith he, she perceived her Father rough and unkind to her Mother, notwithstanding the Care and Pains which were taken to please him, she retired and prayed, That God might never suffer her to Marry. A Prayer very unlike to that of St. Augustine before his Conversion, which was, Lord give me the gift of Chastity, but not yet; fearing to be too soon healed of the damnable and transient Charm of the Flesh. And yet (saith he) more will favour the Prayer of St. Augustine, than comply with the Prayer of Madamoiselle Bourignon, which was so acceptable to God, that he granted to her the full Intent of it.’

I leave it to the fair Sex, to make what Resentments they please upon this Author's plain Insinuation, that all of them have strong Inclinations to Marriage, that they do heartily wish for an Opportunity, and are guilty of gross Dissimulation, when they pretend the contrary: But whether this be true or not, and whatever Opinion this Man may have of Women upon this account, I do say, that those who embrace Marriage, may do it upon more Religious Motives and Principles than this Idol Mistress of his did refuse it, who did so, because she undervalued all she saw, and could find none of Merit enough to deserve her. Antonia Bourignon, like the rest who pretend to more than ordinary Sence and Spirit, was nice and difficulty pleas'd, Critical and Censorious, apt to be disgusted at the least blemish, whatever Virtues it might be compensated with; She, as others [Page] who have a high conceit of themselves, aim'd at something above what is common, she would have had a more perfect Creature than Nature uses to produce, and a Husband with all Kinds and Degrees of Happiness, which the present Oeconomy of the World will not allow: And 'twas a wonder that she had not the common Fate of that Proud Gang, which is to take up with one at Fifty or Sixty, Inferiour to any of those whom they slighted at Twenty and Thirty.

Thirdly, Antonia Bourignon, by the Account we have of her, seems to have been of a very obstinate wilful Temper, neither respectful of those who were Elder, nor tractable or obedient to those, to whom God and Nature had subjected her: which is so far from being consistent with true Sanctity, that it is a shrewd sign that it is wanting. For where this Grace is given in any good measure, it corrects the ruggedness of our natural Constitution; it makes them who are naturally Stubborn, pliant and advisable; It fills them with Respect and Esteem towards others, and especially, it renders them Obedient to Parents. So it is said of him, who was a true Instance of most perfect Sanctity,Luke 2. 51. That he went down to Nazareth, and was subject unto his Parents. But as for madamoiselle Bourignon, this wonderful Holy Maid, she was cross and refractory, she would not obey her Parents in those things, in which they had a right to command, and pursued her own will, not only contrary to their Inclinations, but also against their express Commands. I could give several Instances, but one may serve, which was her Importunity to be admitted into the Cloister of the Discalceated or Bare footed Carmelites, even after her Father had most passionately declared [Page] against it,La Parole de Dieu. n. 8. p. 5. La Vie Ext. §. 6. saying, That he would rather see her Dead, or a Clinick and Bed-rid all her life-time, than a Nun of any Order whatsoever. And notwithstanding that, he charged her strictly to resort no more to the Houses of these Nuns, threatning to break her Legs if she did; yet she often went, and spoke to one Father Lawrence, who was Prior, to receive her without her Father's consent; and when that would not do, she stole away privately from her Father's House, dress'd up like a Hermit, as shall be related hereafter.

Perhaps the Defendants of this Woman will say, That this cannot be reckoned any Instance of Disrespect or Disobedience to her Parents; because she did it not only from a Religious Principle, that in that condition she might serve God better, but also by a particular Inspiration, which ought not to have been resisted; for it is better to obey God than Man. But what! Is Religion inconsistent with it self? doth it teach a Contempt of Parents! a breach of the first Command with Promise? Can a Violation of the Natural Right of Parents, be compensated by a Nuns Hood and Habit? Is it not the express Law of God, that the Vows of a Daughter shall not bind, unless ratified by her Father? 'Tis true, God has a Soveraign Authority over his own Laws, and all Persons; Father and Mother must be forsaken and hated, when he requires it: But how does it appear that he gave such a Command to this Maid? She says it, indeed, but is that sufficient to believe it? have we not seen Bedlamites pretend the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost, for most ridiculous things? must every whimsical Conceit of a disturb'd Head, of an uneasie and unsetled Mind be thought to come from God? When [Page] God gives extraordinary Commands, especially which seem to dispense with any of his former, he gives them with a convincing Evidence, and at the same time he inclines the Heart of such as have Power and Authority over those who receive particular Commands and Commissions, that they may either forward the Execution, or give no hindrance to it. Thus when God commanded Moses to go to Egypt, the Heart of Iethro his Father-in-Law, was moved to let him go in Peace, with his Wife and Children: And though God hardened Pharoah's Heart for a time, that he might have occasion to exert his Soveraign Authority, to shew his Almighty Power, and to demonstrate to all the World, that he was the only true God; yet the People of Israel were not to move a foot towards their commanded Journey, until he was willing to let them go. Nor is there so much as one Instance in all the Scripture, of a Wife, or Child, or Servant, or Subject, their being commanded to do any thing of an Indifferent Nature, which is not absolutely and necessarily good, without any regard to the Consent and Approbation of Husband, Parent, Master, and King. If the Case had been about turning Christian, Madamoiselle Bourignon ought to have done it without a particular Revelation, whether her Father would or not; but 'twas not lawful for her, either to Marry, or to devote her self to a Coelibate Life, against his Will or Without his Consent: Therefore her obstinacy to be a Carmelite Nun, was inconsistent with true Sanctity, was not of God, but only a wilful humour from a suddain inconsiderate Whim which struck her fanciful Noddle at that time. If it had been of God, the Revelation would have been made plain to her Father, or by some secret Suggestions [Page] he would have been inclin'd to favour it. And it was evident afterwards, that either she did not regard this pretended Revelation, or that 'twas not of God, for she did not pursue it, when Father and Mother were Dead; when she was at her own disposal, she neither engag'd her self into that Order, or any other, but hated and abhorred all. She indeed went and stayed some time at Mons, with the Nuns of Notre Dame there; but they soon wearied of her and she of them. But to go on,

I will give you a Fourth Instance, which all unbyass'd Persons must acknowledge, very unsuitable to one of Extraordinary Sanctity; nay, which does not well agree with common measures of Grace and good Nature, because it proceeded from an inordinate love of the World, and could not be managed without great disrespect to her Father.La Parole de Dieu, n. 91. p. 62. And this is her suing her Father at the Law, to divide his Goods with her, when he Married a Second time.

Monsieur Bourignon, upon his first Wife's death, employed some Priests and others who were most likely to prevail, that they might perswade his Daughter Antonia to abide with him, and to take the charge of his House and Family; which she did with some difficulty, for her Mind was wholly upon Solitude and Retirement from worldly Business: though her Father's Necessity and Command shewed that it was the Will of God that she should at that time lead an Active Life, and the Revelation ought to have been very Evident, which could excuse the not assisting her Father when he wanted it so much; and therefore it was told her, that even Vows were dispensable in this Case. She says that she manag'd the Affairs of her Father's Family very well, and also did take [Page] time for Interiour Retreats; but her Father was not so pleased with her Management, as not to think of taking home a Wife, which he at last did; commanding his Daughter to deliver up to her the whole Charge of his House. Antonia continued with her Father four Months longer, but without great Satisfaction either to her self, or to her Father and his new Wife. As these Relations seldom agree well together, but are often picking Quarrels and finding Fault one with another; so it was here: Madamoiselle esteemed her Mother-in-Law a Fool, and had her in the utmost Contempt, which the other did not bear patiently, nor could the Father well suffer it. He was obliged to take his Wife's part, and not to countenance his Daughter, which made her very uneasie; and at last to resolve upon leaving the House, which Monsieur Bourignon would neither encourage, nor yet hinder; but he flatly refused her Money, which did very much Pique her. And while she was in this discontented humour, he who was Husband to her deceas'd Sister, perswaded her to commence a Law Suit against her Father. He himself was a Counsellor at Law, and no doubt for his own Profit, encourag'd this Process, hoping to wheedle the simple Maid out of all, or a great part of what the Law might give her; but both he and she was disappointed at this time, for Monsieur Bourignon did cast them: And, indeed, whatever Singularities were in the present case; which might give litigious Persons a foundation for a Process, it seems very unreasonable to oblige a Father to bestow a Portion on a Daughter before she be Married, or has any particular occasion for it, especially when he is willing to keep and maintain her at home, if she will prove Dutiful.

[Page] But suppose Monsieur Bourignon had been obliged in Justice to have granted to his Daughter a Portion at this time; yet it was not becoming true Piety and Sanctity to go to Law with him. The using private Methods, and the Intreaties of Friends to bring him to rights, was allowable; but the going to Law was hardly justifiable, because it both increas'd his Displeasure and Wrath at her, and also exposed him as an Unreasonable, Unjust and Undutiful Father, who regarded neither the good of his Child, nor the memory of his former Wife. Law Suits are sometimes unavoidable, and it may be lawful for the most Devout Christian sometimes to go to Law, but generally Law Suits are Scandalous, and are very unsuitable to that Piety and Perfection which Christians profess and should aim at. They shew that there is little Justice, little Charity, little good Nature, and too much of Inordinate Affection for the things of this Life, either in the Plaintiff or Defendant, and too commonly in both. As a Wise Man will part freely with some of his Interest, to redeem himself from the Vexation and Slavish Dependance which are Inseparable from Law Suits; So a Good and Pious Man will, without the compulsion of Law, do more than that which he is obliged to in strict Justice. It does not favour of great Piety, when one is either very tenacious to keep all they have in Possession, or very rigid to exact of others every thing they may claim. Now therefore, saith the Apostle, there is utterly a fault among you, 1 Cor. 6. 7. because ye go to Law one with another: why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer your selves to be defrauded? If it is unbecoming Christians to go to Law, except in extraordinary and unavoidable Cases; if they ought to take Injuries [Page] and suffer Wrong, rather than do it, how doth the Extraordinary Sanctity of Antonia Bourignon appear, who went to Law with her own Father, when she had neither Law nor Reason on her side. She that would have had others live up to the Letter of the Christian Law, why did she not so her self here?

Though she gives an account of this Law Suit with her Father, yet he who enlarged and continued her Life, takes no notice of this Passage, so that it seems he knew not how to justifie it. But he gives an account of another Law Suit after her Father's Death, for recovering a Share of his Fortune from her Mother-in-Law, which was justifiable enough, if she had not pretended to so much Self-denial, to an entire abstractedness from the World, and to be sent to reclaim others from their Worldly-mindedness, and to Establish a most Spiritual Kingdom upon Earth. The aforesaid Author was sensible of this Objection, and therefore he obviates it,La Vie Cont. c. 12. and according to his Impious and Blasphemous Custom, he ascribes it to God: And says, That he engaged her in this Suit, and told her, that it was for his Divine Glory, and that she would have occasion for the Goods she obtained. He also runs out in the Enumeration of the good Deeds done by Madamoiselle, to shew how happy 'twas for others that she was Rich: and he might have instanc'd one more, if the Story be true which goes of Monsieur Poiret, who is said to be the Author of this Life, viz. That she left him a very good Legacy. But may not any thing be justified after this manner? Did not Iudas varnish his Covetousness with a shew of Charity? Compassion to the Poor was pretended, but the real cause why he complain'd of the wast of Ointment, was the keeping of the Bag. How many [Page] do excuse their Covetousness, and sordid Drudgery after the Things of this Life; by the Commands of being Diligent in their Business, of providing for their Family? But what signifie Words when Actions declare the contrary? Actions are true Indications of the inward Temper, and it doth sufficiently appear by these Particulars, That though Antonia talked often of a Contempt of the World, yet like other pretended Saints, her Mind looked very much towards it.

Which is further made out by her becoming Heir to Monsieur Du Cort, Ibid. c. 22. Dictionaire Hist. & Critique per M. Baile. to the great disturbance of her own Quiet, and to the Prejudice of others. This Man was so devoted to this Woman, that he thought nothing good but that which she approved, and therefore certainly he would not have made over his Estate to her, without her Advice and Direction, especially seeing they lived in one House together. Therefore also we may very justly conclude, that this Saint had a little tincture of Covetousness, seeing she desired Goods which she had no manner of Right to, which she did not need, having enough besides, and which she could not possess without defrauding the Relations and Kinsfolk of Du Cort, nor without a considerable diversion to that great Design, upon which she pretended that she was sent to the World, viz. The renewing the Church, and the bringing Men to true Perfection. For this involvedIbid. her in great Trouble, raised her many Enemies, and was the occasion of very hot Persecutions; all which she would have avoided, if she had not minded the things of the World as much or more than the things of God. No man, saith St. Paul, 2 Tim. 2. 4. that warreth, entangleth himself with the affairs of [Page]this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. If she was called to build the House of God, how came she to study so much the encrease and bettering of an Earthly Fortune, especially to the wronging of others? Are Riches necessary to the erecting of a Spiritual House? Is not this suspicious? Was this grasping at all she could get, a proper method to convert Men from the love of the World? Was this like St. Paul, who would not use his own Right, that his Doctrine and Ministry might not be suspected? How can they compare this Woman to Iesus Christ? How can they raise her Sanctity to an exactness with His, when she endeavoured to be as rich as possible? whereas He, both to shew and teach a true contempt of the World, did chuse to be poorer than the foxes, or the fowls of the air; for the one have nests, and the other have holes, but he had no place where to lay his head?

But this is not the only disagreement which is betwixt Madamoiselle Bourignon and Jesus Christ: so that she cannot be reckoned either truly or perfectly holy, if he be the Standard. For,

Fifthly, As it could be proved by a thousand Passages, she was exceedingly vain, and used always to magnifie her self; she despised others, and could not believe well of any body; nay, she would not admit that there was so much as any sincere Christian in the World; she slighted the Sacraments, and all holy Ordinances, as far below her, contrary to the practice of Jesus Christ, who though he needed them as little as any, yet he submitted to them, and carefully observed them, out of respect to the Divine Institution, to give good Example unto others, and to teach Humility to the most Perfect. She withdrew [Page] from the Publick Worship, and did forsake the Assemblies of all sorts of Christians, contrary to the express Precept of the Apostle, Heb. x. 25. These, and several other Particulars will fully appear hereafter; and both these and the former Instances, in my judgment, are incompatible with such great and extraordinary Sanctity as is ascribed to Antonia Bourignon; they do not appear to me small Beauty-spots, but like ugly Scabs and Ulcers, which quite disfigure the Face of a Saint.

Thus the first Pillar which prop'd up the high Character formerly given to Antonia Bourignon is removed, and I judge the rest may be taken away with as little difficulty.

A Second thing pretended for exalting Madamoiselle XXI Bourignon above all Mankind, is, her knowledge of Secret Thoughts, and of things done at a distance. And if 'twas true, she must indeed be acknowledged to be somewhat more than Humane: For both Reason and Scripture give it as a peculiar Property of God, to know the Heart of Man, and their Thoughts afar off; and this is one of the Proofs of the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he was [...]: that he needed not that any should tell him what was in Man, because he knew it before-hand. But how doth it appear that this Woman did penetrate so much into the Hearts of Men, that she could know what was transacted there, without communication, and without external appearances? for otherwise it was no strange thing. We have only some general Assertions of Monsieur du Cort for it, and not any Instance which may convince us. And by several Instances it doth appear, that he was one very easily imposed upon: He was possessed with a high Opinion [Page] of this Woman; he verily believed that she was Inspired, and therefore was fully disposed to magnifie every thing which she said or did, as her Vanity was ready enough to feed this extravagant Fancy. Prepossession has a strange ascendant upon Mens Belief. Thus the Vulgar, who follow Mountebanks, Astrologers and Fortune-tellers, make one another believe wonderful Instances of the Skill of these Persons, in the discovery of Secrets: when all the while, the cunning Men only told them the things which they had learn'd from themselves, by their simple and unwary Answers, and the inconsiderate words which had dropt from them.

The Knowledge of Things at a distance, though it be rare and unaccountable, yet it is not so miraculous as the knowledge of Mens Thoughts, nor doth it prove the Person Inspired. It is certain, that some Persons, in the High-lands of Scotland particularly, have that which is called the Second Sight, by which, sometimes, they have imparted to them those things which are transacted in some distant place, or which are to fall out shortly: And it is also certain, by undoubted Testimonies both from credible Histories, and living Witnesses, that an Account of Battels has been given the very day and hour in which they have been fought, at some hundred and thousand miles distance. I could give Instances of both these in our own time, if I had allowance to publish them, from the Persons whose Names I should be obliged to use.

Wherefore, as there is no Evidence or sufficient Proof, that Antonia Bourignon knew the secret Thoughts of Mens Hearts; so, supposing that she did sometimes declare the things done in places remote from her, yet this is not a good foundation for so sublime and divine [Page] a Character as she hath amongst her Disciples; because this has been, and is still done by some or other, who can lay no claim to any extraordinary Merit, or particular Communication with God. How this should come to pass, I will not adventure to explain; for I reckon it among the Arcana Dei & Naturae, which Philosophy it self cannot reach, except it be said that it is by the means of Spirits, whose Motion and Knowledge do much exceed ours, who are wrapt up in the thick and heavy Vehicle of the Flesh.

A Third Pretence for Elevating Antonia Bourignon XXII so high, is, her being able to foretell things to come; which (says Monsieur du Cort) she did not by way of Supposition, Light of the World, Pref. p. 44. nor did she relate them as if she had dream'd them: So he would have us to believe that she foretold future things plainly and positively as they were to happen, and as they did come to pass. And this, indeed, is so far above all the Knowledge which can be acquired by Natural means, that it must be confess'd, that they who can do this, must have something more than common Nature bestows. The Wisest, by either Reason or Observation, can only guess at that which shall be, and they both may be, and often are mistaken in their most reasonable Conjectures. Events, and Future Accidents, are not to be seen, by the best Telescopes, in the Stars and Planets, though Astrologers have long pretended to it: but the vanity of their Science has been often exposed, and there can be produced manifold Instances of the foolish and miserable Delusions of those who have trusted to it.

Some think the Fore-knowledge of all things impossible, and therefore they deny, even to God himself, the Prescience of such things as depend upon the [Page] arbitrary Will and Pleasure of Free Agents, among whom Monsieur Poiret makes one: But this is a robbing God of an Essential Attribute, which Reason and Scripture give unto him, and of which he has given many wonderful and convincing Manifestations. God certainly knows every thing which is to fall out in the World;See Enquiry into the Nature, &c. of Christian Faith, part. 2. p. 121. nothing can happen contrary to his Will, or beyond his Knowledge and Expectation, if I may be allowed to speak so: for as he cannot be resisted, so neither is he liable to be surprised. This is incomprehensible, but it is true; and they who think otherwise, have no true Notion, but mean and unsuitable Thoughts of the Infinite Being. And as God certainly hath the fore-knowledge of all things, so unless they be revealed some way or other, no Man can know before-hand these things which depend not upon Natural Causes, neither are the Effects of that Order that is established in Nature, as Eclipses of the Sun and Moon, the Conjunction of the Planets, and the like, which those who are skilful in Astronomy can calculate for some thousands of years to come.

Sure and undoubted Prophecies, as well as true Miracles, are certainly from God; they both bear their own Testimony, and are a sufficient Testimony to Persons and Things which are agreeable to the Nature of God, and which do not contradict his express and positive Will. St. Peter preferreth the conviction of Prophecy to that of Sense: We have not (saith he) followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Iesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty: And we have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, 2 Pet. 1. 16, 19. But though [Page] all Miracles and Prophecies are Super-natural, yet neither Persons nor Doctrines are to be received as from Heaven, upon single Instances of either Miracles or Prophecies, especially if the Consequence be unworthy of God, and contrary to other certain and unquestionable Declarations of his Will. For God himself hath forwarned us, Deut. xiii. 1. that he may sometimes permit False Prophets, for a tryal to his People, who may do Wonders, and give Signs which come to pass; and he there not only forbids to hearken to such, but also he ordains the putting such False Prophets to death, notwithstanding of their Wonders and Signs. So likewise it is said, That there shall arise false Christs, Mat. xxiv. 24. and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch that (if it were possible) they shall deceive the very elect.

Wherefore, even supposing that Antonia Bourignon has uttered some Prophecies, and foretold somethings which came to pass, she may deserve to be rejected, instead of paying her Divine Honour, as some do. But how much more deservedly is she to be abhorred, if she has uttered Lyes, and spoken falsly in the Name of the Lord! When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, Deut. xviii. 22. nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him. Now this Woman has told things very plainly and positively, which have not yet come to pass; as, That the Last Judgment was near at hand, when she had her Conferences with Monsieur du Cort; That within Three Years it would begin: Believe me, Light of the World. Co [...]f. 2. part 1. p. 17. Sir, There is nothing more true; we actually live in the Last Times; and the Iudgment is so near, that before Three Years, I believe that you will see [...][Page]of it. La Vie Cont. c. 19. p. 275. These Conferences were written in the Year 1664, though they were held long before; so that it is almost Forty Years since, and yet there is no more appearance of the near approach of that Terrible Day, than there was some hundred of years before she was born. So that here is a notorious Falshhood, besides a great Presumption, to take upon her to declare that which Jesus (whom we have all reason to believe) says the very Angels in Heaven do not know, nor any save the Father, and which shall come upon Men like a thief in the night.

In like manner, she put Monsieur du Cort in hopes of seeing Christ actually in the Clouds:Light of the World, part 1. p. 144. And as for her self, she did not doubt it, but expected it very shortly; and yet both he and she are dead, without that desirable Sight. Could she therefore speak these things by Divine Inspiration? Doth it not appear that she was a Deceiver of others, and also deceived her self? Indeed, she was so much deceived, that she would not believe that she was a dying, notwithstanding of her Age and Sickness; and when it came to the extremity, that she see perceived Death inevitable, she said,La Vie Cont. c. 34. p. 580. That it was not the Will of God, that she should die then; for she had not done that for which she was sent, nor that which she should have done and written. Thus there did not appear in this Woman the true Signs of the Spirit of God, but strong Delusions to the very last; and they must be strangely deluded and infatuated, who can believe this Woman Divinely Inspired, when they themselves do write and publish her gross Deceptions and Mistakes.

XXIII A Fourth Reason which perswades the Discipless of Antonia Bourignon to have her in so high esteem, is, Her sublime and wonderful Knowledge of Divine Mysteries, [Page] with an Uniformity and Agreement of Sentiments both with her Self and Scripture. It must indeed be acknowledged, that this Woman does speak and write more plainly and intelligibly than any of the Mystick Sect; and is somewhat more upon the Moral than others of that Gang, who feed too much upon curious Speculations: nor is she behind any in her attempts to penetrate into all the Mysteries of Nature and Religion, and is as positive as any Philosopher can be: which inconsiderate Persons take for plain Evidence. Her Spirit was not common, and she often takes high flights; but they are flights for which her Fancy is to be admired, rather than her Judgment. She, indeed, soars above Dull, Sober, Thinking Souls, who cannot rise higher than Reason and Meditation will permit; the last of which, they say, she was never clogg'd with, and the first very seldom. I do not deny that her Notions are sublime; and if that be a good reason for giving to her extraordinary Honour, we ought also to honour no less many a Bedlamite, whose Notions are and have been as much surprizing. But who will not preferr Common Sense, and a Sound Head, to the most sublime Conceits, if they either proceed from, or be attended with Madness? Truth is of more value than Sublimity, and Useful Knowledge is to be studied rather than Curious. Many are presumptuous to thrust themselves within the Veil whither they are forbidden; they search farther into Secrets and Mysteries than they are allowed, and they obtrude upon the World Relations which are not plain and evident; and for that very cause they ought not to be admitted, nor received with credit, whatever sublimity be in them.

[Page] As to the consistency of her Notions, and their agreement with Scripture; if this was true, 'twould prove something: But it is so far from being true, that I dare venture my Reputation, to prove that the Notions of Antonia Bourignon do neither hang well together, nor are they consonant to the Scriptures: Which, with God's assistance, shall appear to the satisfaction of all unbyass'd Persons, in the following Narratives, when I come to examine her particular Tenets and Opinions.

XXIV A Fifth Inducement to the receiving Antonia Bourignon as one Divinely Inspired, is, The Super-natural means by which she came to the Knowledge of all things, viz. without reading, without consulting Men or Books, and even without Meditation. Her Knowledge, as they say, was not acquired like other Mens, by the fatigue of Reading and Study, or the trouble of Thinking, but all was immediately inspired into her. And indeed it must be owned, that she consulted Men and Books very little, for she had both in great contempt; nay, the Sacred Scriptures themselves were not considered by her, for she threw them aside, as unworthy of her study, saying, That she could easily write such Books her self. And yet after all, there is no great reason to flourish so much in the commendation of her Knowledge, and sublime Thoughts; for unless they be solid and true, 'tis not much matter how she came by them; and besides, they were suggested by her Conversation with others, by the Sermons which she heard, by Conferences with Confessors, Priests, and learned Men. They had said something, if they had made her to be born and bred up in an Island by her self, like ABN YOKOAN, whose History Dr. Pocock translates from the [Page] Arabick; and as it is fabled of him too, if immediately, upon her first coming forth, without instruction, or the least suggestion from any, she had been able to speak upon all Points, both common and extraordinary. It was visible that the Apostles were Inspired, when without Education, without being acquainted with Letters, when after so many years drudgery in their particular Trades, they were capable to speak all Languages, to reason with Priests, Scribes and Philosophers about the highest Points of Religion, to instruct the fulfilling of dark Prophecies, and to unfold the hardest Texts of Scripture. But what wonder is it, that one of Spirit, and quick Imagination, given to Contemplation and Retirement, should talk of things that were the common subject of those she conversed with, especially when she misses the Mark as often as she hits it, and runs her self and others into gross Mistakes.

This Account they give of Antonia Bourignon; and the magnifying her so much for it, brings to my remembrance two mean Persons, one of them lived within the first Parish that I had under my charge, the other border'd upon it. This last could read, and was a contemplative Person; he did not much value the World, and follow'd no Trade, except sometimes to teach the Children of his Neighbours to read; he had not the opportunity of Books, and yet he studied the high Points of Predestination, Election, Free-will, and its consistency with Divine Prescience and Providence, of the state of departed Souls, and the manner of their Resurrection; and I have often been surprized with his Notions. The Metaphysical Head of Monsieur Poiret would have been much delighted with him; and if he had known him, [Page] he had certainly coupled him with Antonia Bourignon.

The other was a common Weaver by his Trade, and followed it, who could neither read nor write, but he had a Head capable of Knowledge, and did actually know both the Historical and Doctrinal part of Scripture, and did point out the particular Chapter and Verse where any Passage was, as well as those who could read; he could give some Account of the Primitive Church, the Doctrine, Discipline, Heresies and Councils of the first Centuries, and understood pretty well the modern Controversies with the Church of Rome, Quakers, Anabaptists, and others, and all this merely by his careful attention to Sermons, and by getting some or other to read to him such Books as he could find, while he was at work for himself and Family: but which was best in this Man, he was not vain, nor self-conceited; he did not despise the Publick Ordinances, nor set himself up above the Teaching of his lawful Pastors. None was more ready to receive Instruction; and I have several times employed him to teach and prepare some of his Neighbours, especially the Servants and Youth, for their Publick Examinations, that they might be capable to receive the Sacrament.

XXV The last Reason given for having Madamoiselle Bourignon in so high esteem, is, The Appearance of a a Comet when she was born, when she first began to write, and at her death. This I think hardly worth the considering, for 'twill have but little weight with Persons of Sense and Judgment. For though I am far from slighting the Signs, Wonders, and Extraordinary Appearances which God is sometimes pleased to give in those Regions above; yet the Inferences [Page] are not much to be regarded, which fanciful and cunning Men draw from them, to amuse unthinking People, and to dispose them to favour their Humour, Interest and Passions. Eclipses were sometimes as formidable as Comets; and though Comets be not yet so well understood, because they appear seldom; nevertheless some Skilful Astronomers have calculated their Motions, and reduced them to some System, which like that of other Planets, may be improv'd by after Observations. Comets indeed are Prodigies; that is, they are prodigious and stupendous Instances of God's Power, of the Vastness of the Creation, and Extent of the Universe; But how can they be said to point out particular Persons and Places? when, like the Sun, they are seen every where. Madamoiselle must be equal to Jesus Christ in every thing, and because there was a Star which directed the Wise Men of the East to his very Door, therefore she must have a Comet; and I wonder that he did not give this Reason, why her sign was more visible than his, because she was to be the greater and more Publick Blessing; no doubt the next Edition of her Life will have it. But the Fool should have remember'd that 'twas not for the Credit of his Adorable Mistriss, to mention a Comet, or to apply it to her; because all the Superstitious Observers of Comets, have look'd upon them as Presages of the Divine Wrath and Vengeance: If therefore these Comets were given for a sign to Antonia Bourignon, they signifie that she is the Scourge of God, a heavy Judgment to all who follow her. Which Interpretation is more just and reasonable than the other; for there cannot be a greater Judgment, than to be given up to Lyes and strong Delusions, which is the Judgment threatned to those who [Page] do not believe the Truth, but have Pleasure in Unrighteousness, that they may be Damned.

XXVI Thus I have considered and examined the Reasons pretended for the high Character of Madamoiselle Bourignon, and have shewed the weakness of them; and if the Reasons be not sufficient to perswade us, the Authority of De Cort, Poiret, and others, who have publish'd her History will be found yet of less avail; for it is evident to all who read them, that they take but little heed to what they say: Passion and Fancy do inspire them more than Truth, and they write not like faithful Historians, but like Romancers, like Flatterers, and those who are brib'd to make Panegyricks, who study Hyperboles, and the Art of magnifying every thing. They are far from the Integrity and Candour of the Holy Apostles and Evangelists, who propose things plainly without any Affectation of Language, they write the Naked Truth, and despise the Artificial Dress of Words, which in the Judgment of all Wise Men, doth deface rather than beautifie; they set the Matter simply before us, and leave the Readers to draw the Consequence, which is done like Men who neither are deceived, nor intend to deceive. Whereas the other disguise Matters, being afraid to shew them as they are; they study the enticing words of Man's Wisdom, and in the multitude of their words, they lose themselves and the Truth too, and deceive others with an empty sound.

I will give one or two Instances, and let any judge whether I have not Reason on my side. The First shall be concerning that Passage of Madamoiselle, when but four Years old, which is very much insisted upon, viz. That then she ask'd for the Country of Christians, La Vie Ext. § . 3. [Page] and often desired to be carried thither. I do confess,La Vie Cont. c. 2. that if at that Age she understood what she said, 'twas remarkable; 'twas much for a Child to be sensible of the contrariety betwixt Christians and the Religion which they profess; though nothing is more palpable, and that one may, even in Christendom it self, ask for a Christian, as well as the Philosopher at Athens did look for a Man at Noon-day, that is, one who acted wisely and reasonably. But yet even this is not Matter of much Admiration, when it is remembred that common Children do often drop Sayings worthy of the wisest, without being sensible of the Importance of their own words. This might have been occasion'd by the Pious Discourses of her Father and others about her,See Light of the World, Part. 1. p. 7. when they read the New Testament, which Monsieur Bourignon caus'd to be put into the hands of his Children, notwithstanding that he was in the Communion of the Roman Church. However, the Author of her Life shews only his own vain Humour, when he spends almost a whole Chapter upon it, and magnifies this above all that was ever said or written. ‘All Doctors and Teachers,Ibid. p. 16, 17. yea, all the World ought to be silent, and to hearken to the Lisping of this Infant; and for my part, I love better to hear and meditate on these four words, (where is the Country of Christians) than to turn over all the Volumes of all the Learned of the World. Millions of Millions of Sermons are not to be compared to them from which more Light, more Instruction, more Saving Knowledge, more Rules for the Conduct of Life, may be drawn, than from all the most reasonable Opinions and Speculations, which often do not import much, and which have not more certainty than the Doctrine [Page] fo the probable Opinions of the new Saviours of the World.’ Noveaux Saveurs de la Terre.

Again, The Account of her Chastity, which is set down in the Second Article of this Narrative is a high stretch beyond Truth and the common sence of Mankind; for however free Madamoiselle might be of carnal Inclinations after her serious Conversion to God, yet it is hardly credible that all the while she followed a vain Conversation, she never had one Thought unbecoming the Chastity of the purest Virgin State; especially when she confesses that she delighted much in Mens Company. If the Opinion of some be received, that none are pure Virgins but such as do not know the distinction of Sexes; Madamoiselle cannot pass for one, for she had as much Philosophy, I will not say Experience, as to know that, nay, and the use of these Distinctions too; for sometimes she talks pretty sensibly of the Pleasure of Conception and Propagation, that Sin only hinders Women from having as much Pleasure in the Birth, as now they have in the Conceiving, and that in the other World this Pleasure shall not be light and short as at present, but lasting and perpetual.La Vie Cont. p. 330. Antonia was not altogether free of Suspition, but I will not accuse her; yet if she was not guilty of actual Defilements, there is one Passage which gives occasion to suspect her Imagination. Take her own account of it, which is thus: ‘One Sunday after Dinner,La Parole de Dieu, p. 158. being in a profound retreat, it was said to me, Why does thou not desire Children? I answered, Children, Lord? give me Children. Instantly the Pastor (which I suppose was Monsieur de Cort) was strongly imprinted in my Fancy, as if he had cast himself into my Embraces. I was surprized and said, Men, Lord, these [Page] are Men? It was answered, Yes, they are Men. Upon which, I thought, I conceived five comely Persons, P. C. E. L. L.’

But whatever may be pleaded for Madamoiselle her self; Monsieur Poiret, or whoever it was that continued her Life, strain'd a Figure above all Truth, and rais'd his Hyperbole to a perfect Falshood, when he said, That she sent forth such an Odour of Continence, as made others forget the Pleasures of the Flesh: For both he and she give an Account how that she was several times assaulted, first at Blatton, when she fled from her Father's House, disguised as a Hermite, where she was taken up, by some Soldiers, as a suspected Person,La Parole, de Dieu, p. 16. Ib. p. 64. and where the Officer that commanded them kept her all night in a Chamber with himself, continually importuning her to lie with him. Again, In her Solitude at the Church of St. Andrew, near Lisle, Ib. p. 77, 78. a Nephew of the Pastor of that Church made attempts upon her. And lastly, The famous Monsieur Saulieu, whom at first she took for a great Saint, pursued her so much, that she was forced to ask the assistance of others, to be delivered from him.

Now what regard is to be paid to these Men, who do so little consider what they write, who contradict themselves while the Pen is in their Hand, and are so impudent as to require a Belief, contrary to their own very Relations. I know no excuse for this, but that which Monsieur Poiret gives on another occasion, in his Preface to his Treatise of the Oeconomy Divine; with which, I suppose, very few will be satisfied:

All Diversity is not Contrariety; often, Contradictions are only in Appearance, and in the Spirit of the Readers: but to deal ingenuously, I desire the Reader not to give himself the trouble, more [Page] than I do, to adjust my Sentiments together, but but let him search out the Truth independently from what I have said before. Commonly, when I write a thing, I do not consider what I have said else where, but I proceed to discover the Truth anew. Lying, may be in a thousand ways contrary to it self: whosoever puts off Falshood, ought to have a good Memory, and to remember what he has said; Mendacem oportet esse memorem: but as Truth is uniform, so whosoever follows its course, needs neither Memory nor Reflection upon what is past.

A most notable way for reconciling Contradictions, and for removing the shame of belying one's self! By Monsieur Poiret's leave, Memory and Reflection are very necessary to secure us from wandring out of the way of Truth; and it is certain, that he who contradicts himself, as he has often done, does not tread the paths of Truth: And therefore neither his Evidence, nor the Evidence of Monsieur du Cort, (who are the Heads of the Bourignianist Faction) are sufficient for receiving Antonia Bourignon as sent of God, and Divinely Inspired; especially when the same Monsieur Poiret recommends Persons as Divine and Extraordinary, whom wise and sober Men can have no esteem for, as particularly Iacob Behmen, who is only to be admired for his wild Notions and Nonsence. But why should not Fowls of a feather fly together?

FINIS.

§

§

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Bourignianism Detected: OR THE Delusions and Errors OF ANTONIA BOURIGNON, AND HER Growing Sect. Which may also Serve for a Discovery of all other ENTHUSIASTICAL IMPOSTURES.

By IOHN COCKBVRN, D. D.

Narrative I.

LONDON, Printed for C. Brome at the Gun at the West-End of St. Paul's; W. Keblewhite at the Swan in St. Paul's Church-Yard; and H. Hindmarsh at the Golden-Ball over-gainst the Royal Exchange, Cornhill, 1698.

PREFACE.

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[Page]

AS before the coming of Iesus Christ, it is cortain, that God did at sundry times, and in diverse manners, speak by his Prophets, to prepare the way of this his only and well-beloved Son, and to dispose Mankind to receive this Soveraign Lord of Heaven and Earth, with all suitable Respect, Honour and Submission; so since his return to Heaven, many have pretended Divine and particular Revelations from thence, authorizing them to alter or add to the Rules and Doctrine which he taught and established, for securing and promoting our Salvation: which is no small Argument for the Divine Authority, of the Books of the New Testament, where this is very often and in express terms foretold.

Almost in every Age, and in every Country, some or other have set up for Prophets, and have spoken confidently in the Name of the Lord. But there is one in this Age, viz. Antonia Bourignon, whose Pretences are greater, and far beyond all were before; more cannot, nor yet so much can be said for the Apostles themselves: for they were but Servants and Ministers to Iesus Christ, who (if she may be believed) only laid the Foundation for her Work, and did no more than prepare the way for her Design. The last and greatest Manifestation of the Divine Wisdom, Power, Love and Goodness was reserved to her, and therefore she is and must be a greater Person than Iesus Christ himself.

It is not rare and unusual to see Persons exalt themselves above measure, and to think of themselves above what they ought to think: But it is somewhat astonishing, that others should be affected with their Pride and Vanity, and taken with their Delusion or Imposture, and that they should become Zealous to support them. Yet so it is, that the strongest Delusions and the greatest Imposture, have had Admirers and Followers: and so hath Madamoiselle Bourignon. She had only two or three Disciples, who adhered closely to her in her Life-time; for some who admired her upon the first Acquaintance, deserted her afterwards. But since her Death, a good many have been proselited, both to her Doctrine and the Opinion of her Person: there be several on the other side the Sea, but which concerns us most, the Infection has spread hither to this Isle, and has seized many especially in Scotland, which certainly obligeth every one to contribute all he can to put a stop to it, and to prevent as much as possible, the dangerous Consequence. They are not mean and ignorant Persons who follow this Woman, they are some of the better sort, who have been reputed, Men of Sense, Learning and Probity; which should lay the Pride of Man, and teach him who standeth to take heed lest he [...]all.

[Page] Errour, like Sicknss, seizeth upon strong Constitutions, as well as the weak: And as sometimes the Air is more infectious, and the Bodies of Men more susceptible of Diseases than at other times; so there are times which favour Errour very much, and in which it doth exceedingly spread. At present, there is, all the World over, a wonderful Disposition, in all serious Persons, to Enthusiasm, and the Delusions which follow it; as in others a tendency to Atheism and Scepticism: both which are Presages of some impendent Iudgment.

I am one of the weakest who may enter into the field, against these Enemies to Truth and True Religion: But God sometimes doth work by the meanest Instruments; and seeing at this time I have no Charge, which requires my attendance, I resolve to employ my Time and Thoughts this way, that I may at least shew my Zeal to the Cause of God, to whose Service I was devoted. I have already publish'd Two Parts of the Enquiry into the Nature, Evidence and Necessity of Christian Faith; and I intend a Third, as soon as the present Task is over, if not before it; by which (as well as by many other more accurate Treatises) Atheists and Scepticks may see that the Christian Religion is no cunning Fable, but a certain Truth, and worthy to be received. I have turned a while from the Atheist, only that I may, at the desire of some, encounter the Enthusiast, who truly does as much disservice to Religion, and is the best Tool which the Atheist doth work by.

At first, I design'd only to give some pat Instances to prove that Antonia Bourignon was not Inspired, nor her Doctrine agreeable to the Scripture; which is sufficient to preserve any from following this Way: But seeing this is the first time that Bourignianism was undertaken, I was persuaded to do it fully, and not to make an imperfect Work of it; and especially seeing the Examination of this, discovers all other Enthusiastical Impostures and Delusions. Our Quakers and Philadelphians, as well as the Quietists and Pietists abroad, are of the same kidney, and do all stand upon the same foundation; so that what overturns one, overturns all.

To have publish'd at once a full Examination of Enthusiasm, Inspiration, Visions, and the particular Tenets of Antonia Bourignon, would have required a longer time than the impatient curiosity of some would alallow: For this cause therefore, and for some other reasons, I have been prevailed with to set it forth by Parts, which are independent upon one another. This is the First Narrative; which shews the high Opinion that the Disciples of Antonia Bourignon have of her, and the Reasons for it: The next shall go instantly to the Press: So that one may be expected and had always within three or four Weeks at most after another. I pray God grant that they may be a means to recover some, and to preserve others from those Delusions that disturb the Peace and Vnity of the Church, and which lead private Persons unawares both into Temporal and Eternal Ruine.

Advertisement from the Printer.

The Reader is entreated to put Fancy for Passion, p. 5. l. 19. and to excuse the other Errata, if there be any.

ADVERTISEMENT.

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A Short Discourse upon the Doctrine of our Baptismal Covenant, being an Exposition upon the Preliminary Questions and Answers of our Church Catechism, proper to be read by all young Persons, in Order to their Understanding the whole Frame and Tenor of the Christian Region, and to their being duly prepared for Confirmation. With Devotions Preparatory to that Apostolick and Useful Ordinance. To which is added, An Appendix, being a Method of Family Religion. By Tho. Bray, D. D.

Printed for W. Hawes, at the Sign of the Rose in Ludgate-Street.

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Title statement

Bourignianism detected, or, The delusions and errors of Antonia Bourignon, and her growing sect which may also serve for a discovery of all other enthusiastical impostures / by John Cockburn.

Cockburn, John, 1652-1729.

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1698

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2003-11 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

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A33542

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Wing C4804

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ESTC R17688

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13163949

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ocm 13163949

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98203

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Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 98203)

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— Bourignianism detected, or, The delusions and errors of Antonia Bourignon, and her growing sect which may also serve for a discovery of all other enthusiastical impostures / by John Cockburn., Cockburn, John, 1652-1729..

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[4], 76, [1] p.

Printed for C. Brome ..., W. Keblewhite ..., and H. Hindmarsh ...,. London :: 1698.. ("Narrative I.") (Includes bibliographical references.) (Advertisement: p. [1] at end.) (Errata: p. 76.) (Reproduction of original in Huntington Library.)

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