1. Ignatius Antiochenus.

§1.AS touching Ignatius, So is Luther called [...] qui divino motu fertur, numi­ne afflatus: by Urban Rhe­gius in loc. com. vid. E­pist. Joan. Frederi in ante Rhegit loc. com. Ni­cephor. l. 2. c. 35. Magd. cent▪ 2, c. 10. (sur­named [...] and [...]) that Anci­ent and Eminent Bishop and Martyr, what Coun­try-man he was, how brought up and Educated, in what manner and by what means converted unto the Chri­stian Faith, and advanced unto the weightier functions in the Church, is no where extant nor recorded in history.Ubi supr [...]. The relation of Nice­phorus seems fabulous, and inconsistent with what is to be found in the Epistles attributed by some unto Ignatius himself, wherein 'tis said, that he never saw Christ corporally or in the flesh. He therefore could not be (as [Page 2] the above-named Author reports him to have been) that little Child that Christ cal­led unto him and set in the midst of his Di­sciples, commending simplicity unto them, and saying,Mat. 18. 2, 3. Except ye be converted, and be­come as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

But though he so saw not the Lord Jesus, yet did he live, and familiarly converse with them,Cent. ib. that had so seen him; being (as is generally received) the Disciple of the Apostle Iobn, as were also his contempora­ries, Papias Bishop of Hierap [...]lis, and Poly­carp ordained by the said Apostle Bishop of Smyrna, as was our Ignatius Bishop of An­tioch by the Apostle Peter, Hieronym. Catalog. Scultet, in Medul. of whose right hand (saith Theodoret) he received [...]; of which Church he was the third Pastor or Bishop,Episcopus post Petrum Antiochi [...] secundus. Origen. hom. 6. cap. 1. in Lucam. in Synopss. Eccles hist. l. 3. c. 19. Merid. Han­ [...]rs Chronol. the Apostle Peter be­ing the first, to whom next succeeded Evo­dius, one of the seventy Disciples, as saith Dorotheus. Eusebius makes Ev [...]dius the first, and our Ignatius the second Pastor there; which is true indeed of the fixed Bishops of that City: for Peter stayed but a while there, and then departed unto Ierusalem and other Eastern Regions. If therefore the Apostle Peter begin the Catalogue (as some make him to do) then is he the third; but if Evodint (as others) then the second Bishop of that place.

His zeal toward the house of God was ex­ceeding great,Cent. 2. c. 10. even burning hot; for which he was had in as great esteem, and most ac­ceptable unto those of chiefest note, especially Polycarp and the rest of the Asian Bishops: [Page 3] whereof they gave an ample testimony by their flocking to him as the most famous man of all the East,Baron. an­nal. an. 109. § [...]. when they heard that he was lead bound toward Rome. For in his way, being at Smyrna, the neighboring Churches having notice thereof, sent each of them their messengers to salute and visit him in their be­half; among whom were the Bishops of some of those places, accompanied by the Elders and Deacons; the like also was performed by the Bishop of Philadelphia, Ib. § 1 [...]. upon his coming to Troas; An evident demonstration of the high and more then ordinary respect which they bare unto him; and his answerable worth who (as they deemed) deserved it from them.

§ 2. He was accounted the first and chief of the Oriental Bishops,Baron. an. 109 § 5. Posseum. apparat. as excelling them all, both in the holiness of his life, and his power­fulness in Preaching the Gospel; as well as in the prerogative of his seat: yea among the Fathers of the Primitive Church he holds the first place:Usher Ignat. Epist. A Doctor in every regard blessed;Theodoret. Dialog. 1. Serm. 7. in Psal. qui ha­bitat. Montac [...]te. apparat. whom Bernard stiles by the name of the great Ignatius, our Martyr, with whose precious reliques (saith he) our poverty is inriched: a most holy Man, and altogether the most Ancient of all now extant; one truly Divine, and even unto our memory fa­mous and in the mouthes of many:Euagr. hist. l. 1. c. 16. Eus. l. 3. c. 32. Scultet. Medul. Trithem. de Script. a clear evidence of his admirable worth, and that variety of the gifts of the holy Ghost where­with he was choicely adorned, a man of emi­nent Sanctity, as also a singular and [...]ervent lover of our Lord Jesus Christ; in publishing the word of God very zealous and no less [Page 4] Learned; in so much as his Learning, as well as his vertues were celebrated of old; [...]ivet. Crit. Sac. amongst which, the magnanimity of his spirit in the cause of Christ, happily conjoyned with sweet humility and holy simplicity, did add not the least lustre to this accomplish'd Martyr.Baron. an. 109. § 12.

§ 3. The remains of his Learning and la­bors are only some few Epistles, written by him unto several Churches and Persons not long before his death;Ibid § 5. which as a certain well drawn picture do excellently represent and give us a lively image of him: for therein are notably discovered his vigorous and sin­gular love to Christ, his fervent zeal for God and his glory, his admirable and undaunted courage and magnanimity in his cause, ac­companied with such sweet humility and ex­emplary meekness of Spirit, that as in all he shewed himself to be a true Disciple and fol­lower of Christ, so may he well serve as a pattern for the imitation of succeeding gene­ration.Ibid. § 11. Talis erat sublimis illius animi sub­missio, & è contra, ejusdem submissi animi sub­limitas, ut mirâ quadam connexione summis ima conjungat, quae admiratione & delectatione animum simul afficiant. Such was the sub­mission of that sublime soul, and on the other side, such the sublimity of that sub­misse soul, that with a certain admirable connexion he joyned together the low­est with the highest, both which may well affect the mind with wonderment and delight.

[Page 5] These Epistles do amount (as now ex­tant) unto the number of fifteen, and may be divided or ranked in three sorts. 1. Such as are Genuine, and for the main and bulk of them by most apprehended and granted to be his;Exercitat, § 15. of which Casaubon thus▪ For the Epistles of Ignatius, to deny them to be (those) of that most ancient Martyr, and Bi­shop of Antioch, would be Heresie at this day; and verily as for some of them, we shall else where (if it shall please the Lord) defend their antiquity by new reasons.

These are six in number, though common­ly thought to be seven, because so many are said to have been collected by Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna, and so many are contained in the catalogues both of Eusebius and Ierom. Hist. 3. cap. 32. in cata­log. Script. Ignat. Epist. cap. 2. But that skillful Antiquary the Reverend Vsher conceives, that the Epistle to Polycarp (which is reckoned among, and makes up the seven) is none of his; Ignatius writing no peculiar Epistle unto him, but that unto the Church of Smyrna only, directed both unto them, and also unto him joyntly, as their Bishop or Pa­stour: And this (saith that learned Author) I do not at all doubt to have been in the mind of Ierom; whose words, (Et propriè ad Po­lycarpum commendans illi Antiochensem Eccle­siam) are to be read as in a Parenthesis,In catalog. not as denoting a distinct Epistle from that to those of Smyrna, but as relating to the same. For (as the quick eyed Casanbon observes) those words of Ignatius mentioned by Ierom immediately after,Exercitat. 16. cap. 426. (in quâ arte) are not ta­ken out of the Epistle to Polycarp, (as Baroni­us imagined) but out of that unto the Church [Page 6] of Smyrna, where only to this day they are to be read,Hist. lib. 3. cap. 33. and not in the other. And Eusebi­us produceth the same words out of the E­pistle to the Smyrncans: Thus, Hic Ignatius cum Smyrnaeis scriberet, &c. Hence Honorius Augustodunensis, in his Book de luminaribus Ecclesiae, (being an Epitome of Ierome, Ben­nadius, Cap. 17. Isodore Hispalensis, Beda and others) enumerating the Epistles of Ignatius, altoge­ther omits that unto Polycarpus, which there­fore ought to be (and is by Vsher according­ly) ranked among the second sort of his E­pistles.

The six Genuine Epistles then are these,

• His Epistle
  • 1. To the Ephe­sians, wherein he mentions Onesimus their Pastour.
  • 2. To the Church of Magnesia, lying on the River Me­ander, whose Bi­shop was Dama.
  • 3. To the Church of Trallis, whose Overseer was Poly­bius.
  • 4. To the Church of Rome.
    • All these were writ­ten at Smyr­na in his journey from Syria to Rome.

• His Epistle
  • 5. To the Church of Philadelphia.
  • 6. To the Church of Smyrna.
    • Written from Tro­as.

[Page 7] Which yet the Centurists leave to the con­sideration of the diligent Reader,Cent. 2. cap. 10. how unlikely it is that they who conducted him should go so much out of the direct way and Road leading to Rome, and fetch so great a compass about in their journey.

Though these (and these only) are judg­ed to be genuine, yet have they not escaped the hands of those who have offered no small injury unto them; having most unworthily corrupted these ancient Reliques, partly by addition and interpolation of what never fell from the pen of Ignatius, and partly by dimi­nution and substraction of that which they saw would prove of disadvantage and preju­dicial unto them. These Epistles (saith Chemnitius) have in them many sentences not to be contemned,Examen pat. 1. pag. 198. especially as they are read in the Greek, but withal there are ming­led other things, not a few, which verily have not in them Apostolical Gravity: It's most certain therefore (saith Cook) that his Epistles are either supposititious,In censur. or at least fil­thily corrupted;Crit. [...] so mangled and changed by insertion or resection. That (saith Rivet) they are of little or no credit, but only in those things wherein they do agree with the wri­tings of the Apostles, from whose Doctrine that Ignatius did not recede, both his Piety and Learning do perswade us. So that even those six Genuine Epistles, through the foul abuse that hath been offered unto them, have clearly lost much of that authority which they they had of old.

For the discovery of this fraud, take a few instances: [...] In Epist. ad Philadelph. mention is [Page 8] made of this Heresie; that there was in Christ no humane Soul: yet was Apollinarius Laodi­cenus the first author thereof, who lived a­bout the year 370, a long time after Ignati­us. And as this is foysted in, so are those words left out, which are cited by Theodoret, in Dialog. 3. being taken by him out of the Epistle to the Smyrneans: Scultet. in medull. [...], &c. i. e, They, saith he, (speaking of those Hereticks that denyed the truth of Christ's flesh) admit not of Eucharists and oblations, but reject them, be­cause from the Eucharist is proved the truth of Christ's flesh. For thus doth Tertullian learn­edly argue, lib. 4. contra Marcionem.

I wonder therefore (saith Scultetus) what judgment they have, who bring this place of Ignatius to establish trans and consubstantiati­on.Lib. 3. ad­vers. Pelagi. That passage also mentioned by Ierom, (Ignatius that Apostolical man boldly writes, that the Lord chose Apostles who were sin­ners above all men) is not now to be found, which yet Ierom had out of one of the seven,Rivet. crit. sac. (if not rather six) Epistles contained in his catalogue, for he speaks of (and therefore 'tis probable he had seen) no more.

The second sort of Epistles are such as are dubious, and concerning which it is very que­stionable whether they be his or no: of these there be also six in number,Ignat. E­pist. cap. 6. & 18. being the second collection, made (as the reverend Vsher con­jectures) [Page 9] by one Stephanus Gobarus Tritheita about the year 580: by Anastasius Patriarch of Antioch, about the year 595: and by the Pub­lisher of the Constantinopolitan Chronicle, a­bout the year 630.Idem ibid. cap. 6. So that in the sixth Century after Christ, they grew up to the number of 12, coming out of the same Shop that vented the Canons of the Apostles, augmented by the ad­dition of 35 to the former; as also the Apo­stolical Constitutions variously trimmed and altered. So that these are of a much later date than the former, the only Genuine Birth of this famous Martyr.

These latter six are

1. Epistola ad Mariam Cassabolitam, Coci Censur. Usher Ignat. or (as some call her) Zarbensem. In two ancient Manuscripts she is stiled Maria Proselyta Chas­sabolorum, or Castabolorum. It seems to be derived from the place of her Birth or Abode, or both, which may be a City in Cilicia, in the lesser Asia, not far from Tarsus, famous for the Birth of the Apostle Paul there.Geograph. lib. 12. Hist. lib. 5. c. 25. For so I find Strabo making Castabala to be a Town of Cilicia, situate somewhat near un­to the Mountain Taurus. Pliny also reckons it for one of the inland Towns of this Coun­try,Cesarea Au­gusta Plinio, quae priùs Anazarba. Ptolem. near unto which are the Anazarbeni, now called Caesar-Augustani: the Inhabitants of the City Anazarbus (fruitful in Olives,Geograph. lib. 5. c. 8. Lect. antiq. lib. 12. cap. 19. saith Rhodignie) the Birth place of the Re­nowned Dioscorides, as also of Oppian the Poet: so Stephanus Bizantii, [...]· To whom add Niger, Vadian. E­pit. thus speaking,Lib. [...]. The City Cesarea was aforetime called Anazarbeum, In Geograph▪ Asi [...]. situate near the Moun­tain Anazarbeum: Ibid. Again, Castabala also is a­nother [Page 10] Town beside the Mountain Taurus. So also Ca­stabala, op­pidum Cili­ciae. Ptolem. Geograph. lib. 5. c. 8. So that with a little alteration (which might happen through time and the errour of Tran­scribers) she might have the name of Casso­bolita from the one, and of Zarbensis from the other of those Towns. Accordingly I find in one of the Latine Versions,Usher Ignat. ep. cap. 19. this Epi­stle inscribed thus, Ad Mariam Cassobolitam, sive Castabalitam: And so doth the Reverend Primate chuse to name her in the same Cha­pter.

The Scholiast upon this Epistle, thinks this to be that Mary whom,Biblioth. patr. among others, the A­postle Paul salutes, Rom. 16. 6. a woman of singular piety,In Epist. and stiled by our Author, [...], most accom­plished for wisdom and learning, and his most learned Daughter.Epist. ad Heronem.

2. To Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna.

3. To the Church of Tarsis.

4. To the Church of Antioch.

5. To Hero Deacon of Antioch.

6. To the Church at Philippi.

Baronius is very confident, that these as well as the former are Ignatii germanas eas­demque sincerissimas, Ad an. 109. § 19. The true and unfeigned Epistles of Ignatius: supposing that none can rationally doubt thereof, who will compare them together; seeing that in the judgment of all the Learned, their agreement in stile, character and many other notes of words, sen­tences and things doth plainly speak out and evidence so much; Than which (saith he) a better proof cannot be brought or desired▪ so that there is no ground for the least suspici­on of imposture. But these big words of his [Page 11] upon examination will appear to be of little or no force,Ignat. Epist. as the Reverend Vsher shews: for as touching the likeness of stile, &c. be­tween these Epistles, it is not such or so great, but he that would counterfeit Ignatius, might easily imitate him so far. The Forger observ­ed some forms of speech and composition, frequently occurring and familiar to him, which he conceived was for his purpose care­fully to retain. He considered that Ignatius delighted in compounding words with [...] in the end, and [...] in the beginning: for as he himself was surnamed [...]; so are the Ephesians praised by him as [...] which words and the like he useth also in other of his Epistles. Hence the same words are taken up by the framer of these Epistles. So likewise in the true Ignatius we meet with [...], &c. wherein he is imitated by his counterfeit, as also in divers other expressions and sentences, which the Impostor might do without any great difficulty: so that it ought not to seem strange, if there be in some sort an uniformi­ty of stiles found in them.

Besides, the deceit may be discerned by some passages contained in these, which can­not be imagined ever to have fallen from the pen of Ignatius, e. g. This is reckoned among the Heresies sown by the Ministers of Satan,Coci censur. Epist. ad Tarsens. that Christ is he who is God over all. A­gain,Epist. ad Philip. if any one shall fast on the Lord's day, or Sabbath (one only excepted) he is a mur­derer of Christ:Ibid. Also, if any one celebrate the Pascha with the Jews, or receive the sym­bol [Page 12] of the Festivity, he is partaker with those who slew the Lord and his Apostles: where­in he condemns the Romans, who used to fast on the Sabbath: and Polycarp, whom he calls most blessed, together with the Asian or Eastern Churches, who kept the Pascha or Easter after the manner of the Jews. viz. as to the day whereon they observed it: which plainly shew the Author of these Epistles to have been some latter, obscure and absurd fel­low,Epist. ad An­tioch. altogether unlike Ignatius. Moreover, in these Epistles there is some mention of some stiled Laborantes, who are ranked a­mong the orders of the Clergy: And Diaco­nissae, Epist. ad Po­lycarp. & cujusdam Divini cursoris, or Letter­carrier, of which Functions or Offices Eccle­siastical, there is a deep silence among the An­cients; which, how could it have been, had Ignatius written so plainly of them? Lastly, writing to Polycarp, he thus speaks, Attend unto your Bishop, that God may to you: what had he forgot, that he wrote to a Bi­shop? Almost throughout this whole Epi­stle, I find,In medull. in notis in Epist. saith Scultetus, the genuine Igna­tius wanting. And well might he say so, had he only taken notice of those two words, which argues the Author to have been but a mean Grecian, and very unskillful in that language, viz. [...], and [...] as if the copious Greek were destitute of words, by which to express the Latine depo­sita and accepta.

Upon such considerations as these, the fa­mous Whitaker thus concludes concerning five of these latter Epistles:Lib. de Script. quaest. 6. (for he accounts the Genuine to be seven, because that to Pa­lycarp [Page 13] is reckoned as distinct from that unto the Church of Smyrna, both by Eusebius and Ierom) It's apparent (saith he) that five of these are without doubt adulterate and spuri­ous: Again, it's certain these are suppositi­ous, and foisted in by others. And therefore though Baronius do affirm, that four of these should be added by the Philippians, Ad an. 109. § 19. unto the former, collected by Polycarp, and sent unto them; and that they were afterward com­monly known both to the Greeks and Latines (which yet neither Eusebius among the Greeks, nor Ierom among the Latines (both of them curious enough in their enquiries) came to the sight and knowledge of) who can imagine, and would give credit thereunto upon the bare report of the Cardinal? ‘—Credat Iudaeus Apella, Non ego.’

Besides these, there are three more of a later date added to the former by Antiocbus the Monk,Usher. Ignat. Epist. [...] cap. 18. who lived under the Emperour Heraclius, and so seems to be coetaneous with the Constantinopolitan Chronicler, one of those formerly mentioned, who collected the second rank of Epistles, between which two collections there could therefore be no great distance of time. Thus now at last they are grown up to the number of fifteen: the three last added are,

1. One unto the Virgin Mary, together with her answer.

2. Two unto the Apostle Iohn. Which,Descript. Eccles. saith Bellarmine, are not to be [Page 14] found among the Greek Copies of his Epistles,Ad an. 109. § 34. nor do they at all savour of the Gravity of Ignatius his stile. And Baronius leaves it to the prudence of the pious Reader, whether he will allow them any credit or no: Only (saith he) we know that they are cited by Bernard, Apparat. and some later [...] Authors make men­tion of them: But (saith Possevine) they are of no such certain credit as the other; yea, seeing they are not found written in Greek, nor mentioned by any of the ancient Fathers, ad Bernardum usque, unto the obscure age of Bernard: It's the safer course in my judgment (saith Mastraeus) to rank them among the number of Apocryphal Writings,Coci censur. or at least to account them not altogether certain and ge­nuine. So faintly and dubiously do even the Romanists themselves speak of the authority of these three last Epistles.

Hence may we observe with what caution the Epistles of Ignatius, even the most re­ceived and undoubted (since so corrupted) are to be made use of; and upon how weak and sandy a foundation (viz. the pretended authority of Ignatius) the Papists build their unsound Doctrines,Praefat. ad Epist. Ignat. in Biblioth. patrum. edit. Paris. 1586. per Magarinum la Bigne. of superstitious honour­ing the Virgin Mary, of the name of Pope given to the Bishops of Rome, of the real presence, of collegiate and cloystered Virgins, of the vertue of the Sign of the Cross to ter­rifie the Devil, of their Feasts and lenten Fast, of the authority of Traditions and of the Church of Rome. And well may they be driven to such shifts, who shun the Scripture [...] as insufficient: yea, justly are they given up to these delusions, who not contenting them­selves [Page 15] with the Sacred Oracles alone, and the Doctrines contained in them, (which are able to make perfect,Nihil naeniis illis, quae sub Ignatii no­mine editae sunt, putidi­us. Calvin. Institut. l. 1. c. 13. § 29. and wise unto salva­tion) do fansie and devise new ones in their own brains, and then Coyn and im­pose authorities pretendedly Ancient for the maintaining of them.

Frivolous therefore and vain is the flourish of Baronius; Ad an. 109. § 20. that it came to pass by the admi­rable Counsel and providence of God, that these Epistles should all of them be written by Ignatius, and notwithstanding the ship­wrack which so many writings have suffer'd, yet that these should be preserved intire and uncorrupt: whereas 'tis very evident that the greater part of them now extant are coun­terfeit, and not his, and the genuine misera­bly corrupted and alter'd. So that it may upon better ground be said, that herein the good providence of God hath been eminent­ly seen, that he hath been pleased to stir up and assist some of his servants in vindicating the writings of this, and other of the Anci­ents from the injury that hath been offered them by base and disingenuous spirits, who have preferr'd their own interest before the honour and truth of God; and in plucking off the vizar, and discovering the fraud and Leger-demain of those that would abuse and cheat the world, by the obtrusion of Novelty instead of Antiquity thereupon.

§ 4. His stile savours of a certain holy simplicity,Scultet in Medull. Vedelius. ex Usher. Igna. Epist. as did the State of the Church at that time, full of gravity, suitable unto a pri­mitive [Page 16] Bishop; lively, fiery and solid, be­coming so glorious a Martyr.

§ 5. That which is chiefly remarkable in these Epistles, are those passages which are mentiond by Eusebius and Ierom, as being most unquestionably such as fell from the pen­of this blessed Martyr: wherein are in a live­ly manner drawn and deciphered the purtrai­ture of his most excellent spirit, his singular and vigorous love to the Lord Jesus, (whose name is said to have been ingraven upon his heart in letters of gold) as also his undaunted courage and Magnanimity in his cause accom­panied with unconquerable constancy and sweet humility.

1. His earnest desire of Martyrdom, he thus expresseth:Jerom. in Catalog. ex Epist. ad Roman Ex editione Usheri. From Syria even unto Rome I fight with beasts, by land and sea, night and day; bound with ten Leopards, i.e. with a guard of Souldiers, who are the worse for favors: But I am the more instructed by their injustice, yet neither hereby am I justi­fied: Would to God I might injoy the beasts which are prepared for me; who, I wish may make quick dispatch with me; and whom I will allure to devour me speedily (lest, as they have been terrified at others, and did not touch them, so they would not dare to touch my body) and if they will not, I will even force them thereunto; [...]. Pardon me, I know what is best for me: Now I begin to be a Disciple (of Christ:) desiring nothing of these things which are seen, so I may win Jesus Christ. [...]. Let fire, cross, and troops of violent beasts, breaking of bones, dissipa­tion [Page 17] of members, contrition of the whole body, and all the torments of the Divel, let them all come upon me, that I may injoy Je­sus Christ.

2. When he was now condemned to the wild beasts,Ieron. ib. ex Epist. eade [...]. and with an ardent desire of suf­fering, heard the Lions roaring; saith he, I am the wheat of God, whom the teeth of wild beasts shall grind, that I may be found the pure or fine bread of God. Immediately before which, go these words. I write to all the Churches, and injoyn them all; because I willingly die for God, if ye hinder not: I beseech you therefore that your love toward me be not unseasonable. Suffer me to be­come the meat of wild beasts, by whom I may obtain God.

3. His care of the Churches was very great, whom he earnestly presseth to holiness and a conversation becoming the Gospel: And commendeth unto Polycarp, Euseb. lib. [...]. cap. 33. (whom he well knew to be an Apostolical Man), the Flock or Congregation of Antioch; praying him to be careful of the business there, about the ele­ction of a Bishop or Pastor in his room: ma­nifesting herein his zeal for God and his glory, as also his cordial affection and fidelity to the brethren.

Besides these, there are in the Epistles other things worthy of notice, though not so un­doubtedly his, as the above-mention'd; They are such as these.

4. His Creed or brief sum of Christian Do­ctrine,Epist. ad Magnesian. [...]. wherein he accords with the Apostles Creed. His words are, Beloved, I would have you to be fully instructed in (the Do­ctrine [Page 18] of) Christ who before all ages was be­gotten of the Father, afterward made of the Virgin Mary without the company of man; and conversing holily, and without blame, he healed all manner of infirmities and sick­nesses among the people, and did signs and wonders for the benefit of men, and revealed his Father, one and the only true God; and did undergo his passion, and by his mur­therers the Jews, suffered on the Cross under Pontius Pilate President, and Herod the King, and was dead, and rose again, and ascended into heaven unto him that sent him, and fitteth at his right hand, and shall come in the end of the world in his Fathers Glory to judge the quick and the dead, and to render unto every one according to his works. He that shall fully know and believe these things is blessed.

5. Though he were one of the most emi­nent men of his time both for Piety and Learning, yet out of the depth of his humi­lity he thus speaks of himself, when bound for Christ and his truth and lead toward his Martyrdom;In epist. ad Ephes. stiling his chains [...]: spiritual pearls: although I be bound (saith he) yet am I not to be com­pared unto any one of you that be at liberty. Again,In Epist. ad Magnesian. speaking of the Pastours of the Church; saith he, I blush to be named and accounted in the number of them; for I am not worthy, being the last, lowest or meanest of them, and an abortive thing: he also divers times stiles himself, [...]. Epist. ad Ephes. &c. [...], the least.

[Page 19] 6. Speaking of the Lords day;Epist. ad Magnesian. [...]. let every Chri­stian, saith he, Celebrate as a Festival, the day of the Lords resurrection, which is the most eminent of all days.

7. A Pious and Religious Man is money Coyned and stamped of God; but a wicked and irreligious Man is false and counter­feit Coyn of the Devils making,Ibidem. Matth. 22. 20.

8. As touching Antiquity,Epist. ad Philadelph. [...]. thus: I have heard, saith he, some to say; I will not be­lieve if I find not the Gospel among the An­cient Records. But to such I say, that JESUS CHRIST is to me Antiqui­ty; whom not to obey is manifest and irre­missible ruine.

9. The spirit of errour preacheth Self,Epist. ad Ephes. speaking it's own proper things, or no­tions, for it is self-pleasing, and glorifies it self: it is bitter, full of falshood, se­ducing, slippery, proud, arrogant, talka­tive, dissonant, immensurate, pertinacious, streperous.

10. He warneth the Ephesians to avoid and beware of Hereticks,Epist. ad Ephes. of whom many were sprung up in his time; and for so do­ing he commendeth that Church as most pure, renowned, and to be praised of all ages▪ because they denied them passage, who wandred up and down to spread their errours, and shut their ears against them. These Hereticks in his Epistle to the Trallensi­ans he particularly names, viz. Those who held the Heresie of Simon, as did Menander and Basilides, and their followers, the Ni­cholaitans, Theodotus, and Cleobulus: gi­ving [Page 20] them this Character,Epist. ad Trallens. that they are vain speakers and seducers, not Christians, but [...], such as set Christ to sale, and made a gain of him, fraudulently pretending the name of Christ, and corrupt­ing the word of the Gospel; mingling the venom of their errour with sugred words, as those that infuse poison into sweet wine, that by the delicious savour and relish there­of he that drinks it being deceived and ta­ken, may unawares be destroyed.

11. To the Romans he thus writes:Epist. ad Roman. Re­quest this only for me, that I may be sup­plied with strength, both within and with­out not only to say but to will, not only to be called, but also to be found a Christian. A Christian when he is hated of the world, is beloved of God. It is better to die for Christ, then reign to the ends of the earth. Life without Christ is death. My love was Crucified.

§ 6. As touching the cause of his Mar­tyrdom,Scultet. in Medull. it's thus related. When the Em­perour Trajan returned from the Parthian war, and every where in the Cities com­manded Heathenish Sacrifices to be offered; which were sharply and justly reprehended by Ignatius even in the presence of Trajan; He was delivered bound with chains unto a band of Souldiers to be carried to Rome; whither being come, he was not long after brought into the Theatre,Baron. ad an. 110. § 2. and there had two fierce Lions let loose upon him, and forth­with rent and devoured him leaving only the [Page 21] harder bones; and so according to his desire, the wild beasts became his Sepulchre:In Epist. ad Roman. Baron. ad an. 110. which betided him in the Eleventh year of Trajan; and of Christ, One hundred and ten; After he had been Bishop or Pastor of the Church of Antioch the space of fourty years:Baron. ad an. 71. § 11. for he succeeded Evodius in that Office, An. Seventy one, and continued therein unto the year, One hundred and ten. Shortly after, viz. Anno One hundred and eleven,Id. ad an. 11 [...] followed a mighty and terrible Earth-quake, wherein many perished in divers places,Zonaras. Tom. 2. by the fall of houses which overwhelmed them; among other in the City of Antioch, quam penè to­tam subruit, which was almost ruin'd by it; At what time the Emperour being there was in great danger,P. Orosius. l. 7. c. 12. and like to have perished by the fall of the house in which he lived,In vitâ Trajani. being drawn out of it through a window and so preserved; this terrible Earth-quake is parti­cularly described by Dion Cassius.

Iustin Martyr.

§ 1. JVstinus surnamed first the Philoso­pher, afterward the Martyr, he was the Son of Priscus Bacchius, Apolog. 2. John 4. 5. Adrichom in Theatro Ptolem. Ge­ograph. lib. 7. cap. 16. Jos. 20. 7. Plin. lib. 5. cap. 13. Magnin. Geograph. Epiphan. lib. 1. Tom. 3. in colloq. cum Tri­phon. of the City of Flavia Neapolis, of Syria Palesti­na; for so he stiles himself: which City was before called Sichem, and corruptly in the time of Christ, Sichar, the Metropolis of Sa­maria, situate in Mount Ephraim, a City of Refuge: the Natives called it Mabortha: Pli­ny M [...]mortha; now it hath the name of Na­polosa, or Napolitza and Naplos. Hence he is said to be a Samaritan, and he himself affirms so much, thus speaking, Neither did I fear to offend mine own Nation, the Samaritans, when I gave my Libel or Apology unto Cae­sar.

Being a Philosopher greatly delighted with the Doctrine of Plato, he was afterward con­verted to Christianity by the courage and constancy of Christians in their Sufferings and Martyrdom:Apolog. 1. for hearing that they were led Captives, neither fearing death nor any tor­ments which are accounted terrible: I thought (saith he) it could not be, that this kind of men should be subject unto vice, and set on pleasures; for what voluptuous or intempe­rate man can so embrace death? He also [Page 23] elsewhere relates how he was brought to the knowledge of the Christian Religion by a divine hand guiding him thereunto,In colloq. cum Tri­phon. after this manner.

Being enflamed with a vehement desire after true Philosophy, he joyned himself to almost all the several Sects of Philosophers, in order to his attaining of it: In the first place, unto that of the Stoicks; from whom after a while he departed, because among them he could learn but little of God: leav­ing them, he next applied himself unto one of the Peripateticks, who demanding a re­ward of him, he forsook him thereupon, as not esteeming such a one (a meer mercenary) to be at all a Philosopher: from him he went to one of great fame among the Pythagore­ans, who asked him if he were skilled in Musick, Astronomy, Geometry, &c. to whom he replyed, That he was altogether unac­quainted with those Sciences. Hereupon un­derstanding that it would be but lost labour, to endeavour after the knowledge of those things that conduce unto true happiness, till he had gotten somewhat that way; he was much grieved that he should fail and be dis­appointed of his hopes. Therefore bidding him farewel, he betakes him unto the Plato­nicks, under one of whom he profited very much, and was greatly delighted in those Stu­dies, deeming that in a short time he should this way attain unto the knowledge of God. Being much taken up, and eager in the pur­suit of what he sought for, he gets him into a desart from the society of men, where he was followed by (as he thought) a grave old [Page 24] man, who (when Iustin turning about had espyed him) asked him, if he knew him: he answered no. After much discourse with him, he told him it was a vain thing for him to i­magine, that he should find the knowledge of the truth among the Philosophers, who them­selves knew not God, nor were assisted by the Holy Ghost, and having for some time had communication together about the immorta­lity of the Soul, about rewards and punish­ments: Iustin assented unto what he had said, and demanded of him by what means he might arrive unto the true knowledge of God. He willed him to read and search the Pro­phets, and to joyn prayer thereunto: Asking him again what Master he should make use of? Above all (quoth the old man) do thou pray that the door of light or illumination may be opened unto thee: for those things (which are contained in the Prophets) cannot be apprehended by any, but by him alone to whom God and his Christ will give under­standing. And having so said, he suddenly vanished, neither did Iustin from that time see him any more. Hereupon forsaking the Philosophers whom formerly he had followed, he forthwith fell upon this course, and so became a Christian.

As touching the former of these Relations, it is nothing improbable, that the admirable and extraordinary constancy of Christians in their greatest Sufferings for Christ might be an in­ducement unto him to enquire after the Do­ctrine and Religion which they professed, the truth whereof they could so willingly and chearfully seal with their blood: a notable [Page 25] demonstration of the excellency and divine original thereof, and so might it make way to his conversion. Many instances might be given of the strange effects that such Specta­cles have produced in the hearts of those that have been the Spectators: Trajan himself (who moved the persecution against the Christians) hearing good Ignatius (at that time when the Lions were ready to be let loose upon him) to utter those words,Antonin. Chronic. I am the wheat of Christ, whom the teeth of wild Beasts must grind, to make me pure Bread for God: With admiration breaks out into these words, Grandis est tolerantia Christianorum, Great is the patience of the Christians: Who of the Greeks would suffer so much for his God? To whom Ignatius meekly replyed; Not by mine own, but by the strength of Christ do I undergo all this.

But as for the latter, whether he had such an apparition or no, and directions given him by his old man, what course he should take that he might come to the knowledge of the truth; Penes lectorem esto, I leave unto the prudent Reader to judge; yet was not Au­gustin's tolle, lege, altogether unlike it; neither are Histories wholly barren and silent in rela­tions of the like kind. The gravity and piety of the Author may justly challenge from us a suspension at least of our censure, and stir us up to take notice of the variety of ways that God hath (who can, if in his infinite wis­dom he see it meet) go out of the way of his ordinary providence to bring his great counsels to pass, and the things he hath pur­posed to his chosen from eternity,

[Page 26] After that he had once given up his name to Christ,Cent. 2. cap. 10. he became a most notable Cham­pion and Defender of the Christian Faith a­gainst the Enemies thereof in every kind, e­specially the Heathen Philosophers, the bitter opposers of it, with whom he maintained with a great spirit many sharp conflicts and di­sputes for the vindication of it from their ca­lumnies: for which work he was singularly furnished and instructed,Euseb. lib. 4. cap. 8. being well studyed and exercised in the Doctrine of the Gentiles, and eminently skilled in Philosophy, as the very addition to his name more than inti­mates, being commonly stiled Iustin the Phi­losopher. Moreover, he was very ready and expert in the Scriptures, as may be eminently seen in his Colloquies with Triphon the Jew, whom (as another Apollos, Acts 18. 24. and eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures) he mightily convinced that Jesus was the Christ, and had undoubtedly won him to embrace the Faith, had he not rather chosen to imitate the inbred obstinacy of his Nation, than yield to manifest and invincible truth: as saith the publisher and perfecter of that Latine Translation and Edition which Gelenius had began and enterprised,In Epist. ad Lect. ante opera justin. but could not finish, being pre­vented by death.

§ 2. He was an holy man,Epiphan. Haeres. 46. and a Friend of God, leading a life very much exercised in virtue;Trithem. de Script. an eminent lover and worshipper of Christ, which he abundantly manifested in be­ing one of the first that in those times of hot persecution (wherein the very name of Chri­stian was accounted a crime sufficient for them [Page 27] to be proceeded against with utmost rigour) took unto him the boldness to be the Chri­stians Advocate, (a Title peculiarly given to one Vetius Epagathus, Euseb. lib. 5. cap. 1. who being moved with indignation at the unjust proceedings used a­gainst the Christians, desired that he might be heard in their behalf, undertaking to prove that no impiety was to be found in them; for which cause, he was afterward stiled [...], the Advocate of the Christians) publickly to plead their cause, to clear their innocence, and to vindicate them from the groundless calumnies wherewith they were aspersed by their Adversaries, in his Learned Apologies;Hieronym. Epist. 84. which he tendred unto the Emperours and Senate of Rome: As did also about the same time, Aristides and Quadratus, who all three presented their A­pologies unto the Emperour Adrian; the like did Athenagoras unto Aurelius Antoninus and Commodus the next succeeding Emperours. Wherein (having with singular zeal broken the Ice) they were afterward followed by di­vers: amongst the rest, Apollinaris Bishop of Hierapolis, Euseb. lib. 4. ca. 13. & 25. & lib. 5. cap. 19. Apollonius a Noble-man and Se­nator of Rome, Melito Bishop of Sardis, Ter­tullian, &c.

He was one that had attained the height and top of Philosophy,Photius in Biblioth. num. 125. both Christian and prophane, abounding in the riches of Learn­ing and History; but little studious to set out the native beauty of his Philosophy with the borrowed colours of the Art of O­ratory: and therefore, though his Books be otherwise full of strength and stuffed with knowledge; yet have they but little relish [Page 28] or savour of the sauce of Art, nor do they with winning inticements, and cunning insi­nuations allure vulgar Auditors: So much he himself freely confesseth; I shall (saith he) deal with you out of the Scriptures,In Colloq. cum Tryph. not shew­ing much Art in the choice and quaintness of words; for I am not endewed with such a faculty; only God hath given me grace to understand the Scriptures. So that there is to be found in him more solidity and strength of argument, than of the flowers and flou­rishes of Rhetorick. And yet is not this later altogether wanting in his writings in the judgement of the Author of the Parisian Edition:Epist. ad lect. For that he was an Oratour (saith he) is apparent from hence,Imperato­rem benig­num erga Christianos homines fe­cit. O [...]os. lib. 7. ca. 14. that his Apologies for the Christians prevailed so far with the Emperours, that the rigour and cruelty that was formerly exercised toward them, was much mitigated and abated; which to effect, no small piece of Rhetorick was requisite.

The success whereof Eusebius gives us an account of, to this purpose.

The Emperour upon the receit of his A­pology became more mild,Euseb. lib. 4. cap. 13. setting forth his decree at Ephesus, wherein among other, these words concerning the Christians are to be read. Concerning these Men, many of the Presidents of the Provinces have heretofore written to my Father Adrian: to whom he wrote back again; that such should not be molested, unless they were found to have at­tempted something against the Roman Em­pire. And many have informed me also concerning them; to whom I returned a like answer as my Father had done. If therefore [Page 29] hereafter any one shall persist to occasion trouble unto such, as such; Let him that is accused be freed from the accusation: and let the accuser undergo punishment.

§ 3. Of the Books which he wrote;lib. 4. ca. 18. In the know­ledge of the h [...]ly Scri­ptures are very dili­gently exer­cised therein. Bellarm. de Script. in the general Eusebius thus speaks: Iustin hath left behind him unto Posterity many Monu­ments of a mind accurately instructed, and full fraught with profit in every kind: which seem to be the first after the Apostolical times that have come to our hands.

Of these, some are lost and perished, only we find the names or titles of them recorded by himself and others; of this sort are, as Ierom hath them.

1. A Volume against the Gentiles,In catalog. where­in he disputeth of the nature of Devils: [...]: de exilio daemonum: of the Exile of Devils, saith Suidas.

2. A fourth Volume against the Gentiles,Quae ad no [...] pervenit. in­quit Euseb. lib. 4. ca. 18. de Script. which he entituled [...], a refutation; Trithemius calls it, castigationum, lib. 1.

3. Of the Monarchy of God: of which more anon.

4. A Book which he called, Psaltes.

5. Of the Soul: [...]: a Scholastical discourse, wherein various que­stions being propounded, he annexed the opi­nions of the heathen Philosophers, which he promised to answer, and to give his own judgement concerning them in a certain other Commentary.

6. Against Marcion the Heretick,Euseb. ibid. lib. 1. saith Trithemius: how many for number, it's [Page 30] uncertain.de Script. Cent. 2. c. 10. Books saith Photius, necessary to be read; stiled by Ierom insignia Volumina, famous and excellent Volumes.

7. Against all Heresies;Biblioth. num. 125. or Sects as Suidas, a profitable work, saith Photius.

8. A Commentary upon Genesis. Cent. ibib.

9. A Commentary upon the Apocalypse: In catalog. so Ierom in the life of the Apostle Iohn. Being banished, (saith he) into the Isle of Patmos, he wrote the Apocalypse, which Iustin Martyr and Irenaeus do interpret.

10. Possevine saith,In appa [...]at. that in the Catalogues of Greek Manuscript Books which came to his hands, is to be seen such an Inscription as this. Iustini Philosophi & Martyris, Explica­tio in St. Dionysii Areopagitae Episcopi Atheni­ensis Hierarchiam Ecclesiasticam, & mysticam Theologiam.

11. An Epistle ad Papam: mentioned by himself in his Epistle to Zena and Sirenus.

The Books now extant under his name are of two sorts.

1. Some genuine and by all granted to be his,Omnium consensu ip­si tribuuntur Scultet. in Medull. E­dit. Parisi­ens. 1636. gr. & lat. Scultet. Medullâ. viz.

1. Paraenesis, his exhortation to the Greci­ans: wherein he exhorts them to embrace the Christian Religion as being of greater Autho­rity, and of more antiquity than the Hea­thenish: and in the end, shews them the way how they may attain it.

2. An Oration unto the Greeks:Ibid. where­in he lays down the reasons, why he forsook their Rites; and invites them, to embrace the Christian Religion.

Yet is neither of these mentioned by Ei [...] ­sebius or Ierom.

[Page 31] 3. His first Apology, unto the Senate of Rome; which Bellarmine conceives to be the later,De Script. Eccles. & Baron. ad an 164. § 14. and not given up unto the Senate (as our Books have it) but unto Marcus and Lu­cius the Successors of Pius, and that this com­mon deceit was hence occasioned, because the first Apology (as they are usually placed) wants the beginning, and therefore it could not be known unto whom it was di­rected.

Herein 1. He complains of their most un­just proceedings in punishing the Christians meerly for the name.

2. He makes answer unto those things which were objected to them by the Gen­tiles.

3. He requests them, that to their decree, if they should publish any thing concerning this thing, they would publickly annex this Apology, that the innocency of the Christians might be known unto all.

4. His second Apology which he tendred unto Antoninus Pius, Aelius, A­drianus. to his Sons, and to the whole Senate and people of Rome; which Baronius calls, fortem & gravem Apologiam, a strong and grave Apology, first named both by Eusebius and Ierom, and therefore likely to be the first of the two. The sum whereof Baronius gives us in these words: Multa ex­probrat de iniquissimis in Christianos judiciis, &c, i. e. He much upbraids them for their most unjust proceedings against the Christians,Baron. ad an. 150. § 2. viz. for that without any inquiry into cause or matter, they were adjudged to death as the most impious and flagitious of all Men; and that for no other reason, but because they [Page 32] were Christians; the very name being ac­counted crime enough. Wherefore he doth notably clear them from the several calum­nies cast upon them, and fully demonstrates their innocency by many arguments: parti­cularly that they were not such as they were commonly fam'd to be, viz. Atheists, because though they worshipped not the gods of the heathen, yet they knew the true God, and performed that service that was agreeable un­to him: Also that they looked not for an earthly kingdom (as was suspected of them, for which cause the Romans stood in fear of a Rebellion and their defection from them) but a Divine and Heavenly, that made them most willing to run the hazard, and suffer the loss of this present life; which they never could do, were they possessed with a­ny desires of reigning in the World. More­over, he wipes off those blasphemies where­with the Christians were loaded, for their worshipping of a crucified Man, by such as were altogether ignorant of the mystery of the Cross of Christ. Shewing, that the Re­ligion of such as worshipped the gods was but a vain and sordid superstition. He like­wise Learnedly and copiously discourseth of the Divinity of Christ, and of his incarnation or assuming our Nature: and unfolds many things of the mystery of the Cross: and by many clear and convincing arguments proves the verity of the Christian Faith: withal in­sinuating their harmless Life, exact obser­vance of chastity, patience, obedience, peace­ableness, gentleness, and love, even to their very enemies. Lastly, he lays before them [Page 33] the Rites or manner observed by the Christi­ans in their sacred Mysteries, viz. Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, &c. because of the slanders that were raised and scattered abroad concerning them, as if horrible and abomi­nable things were practiced by them (such in­deed as are not to be once named among them) in their secret meetings upon such oc­casions. All which he performed with such admirable liberty and boldness, as became so zealous and Advocate in so good a cause: wherein the magnanimity of his Spirit mo­ved with an holy indignation, may evident­ly be discern'd by the seriousness of the mat­ter contained in it, and the solidity of the ar­guments by which, what he undertook is ful­ly proved.

5. A Dialogue or Colloquy with Tryphon a Jew:In praefat [...]ad opera Justi­ni. which Morel calls, Illustris disputatio; a notable disputation in Ephesus a most famous City of Asia, with Tryphon the chief of the Jewish Synagogue, continued by the space of two whole days,Cont. 2. c. 10▪ for the truth of the Christi­an Religion: wherein he proves the Jews to be incredulous, contumacious blasphemers of Christ and Christians; Infidels and corru­pters of the Scriptures, falsly interpreting the words of the Prophets:Possevin. in apparat. and most clearly de­monstrates by innumerable testimonies, fetch­ed from the old Law, that Jesus our Saviour, is the true Messiah, whom the Prophets fore­told should come.

6. An Epistle to Zena and Serenus; which comprehends the whole life of a Christian man, whom he instructs in all the duties be­longing to him: of which yet Bellarmine [Page 34] makes some doubt whether it be his or no.De Script. Eccles.

7. An Epistle unto Diognetus; wherein he shews why the Christians have left the Jews and Greeks;Scultet. in Medul. what their life and doctrine is, and why they contemn death. As not the two first, so neither are these two last mentioned by Eusebius or Ierom: yet are all these seven conceived to be the proper works of Iustine.

Besides these there are other extant under his name, which yet are either question'd, or conceived to be none of his; but supposititious, & falsly ascribed to him: They may be discern­ed from those that are genuine, either by the diversity of the Stile, or some other evident Notes distinguished the one from the other. And they are these that follow.

1. His Book de Monarchia: Scultet. in Medul. Ri­vet. crit. sac. the Stile whereof is not unlike that of Iustine: yet is it doubtful, whether he were the Author of it: 1. Because the Title differs from that mentioned by Eusebius, Ierom, Photius and Suidas, who intitle the Book written by him, de Monarchia Dei: whereas this is only de Monarchia. 2. In that he tells, that he fetcheth Testimonies not only from our own Authors, i. e. the sacred Scriptures; but also Writings of the Heathens: whereas in this now extant, the later sort of Testimonies only are to be found.

Gelenius also in his Latin Edition of the Works of Iustin, (which he saith compre­hended all those then extant) leaves this out altogether.In observat. Ri et. crit. sat. Perionius therefore concludes, that either this, that we now have is not [Page 35] perfect, but wants many pages; or else for certain Iustin wrote another Book upon this Subject.Note in Hieronym. Catalog. in Bibloth. Eccles. Miraeus is of this judgement, that half of the other Book de Monarchia remains; and that half of one Book de Monarchia Dei is lost.

The sum of it is to exhort the Greeks,Scultet. in Medull. to leave their idolatry, and to worship the true God; whom their Poets did acknow­ledge to be the only Creator and Governour of all things; but made no reckoning at all of their feigned gods.

2. An exposition of the true Faith, or of a right Confession of the holy and co­essential Trinity. Which by divers Argu­ments may evidently be proved to be none of his; especially.

1. By the Stile,Cent. [...]. cap. 10. Scultet. in Medul. which seems to differ from that of Iustin, being more curt and neat than his.

2. Because he speaks much more apertly and distinctly of the Mysteries of the Trinity,Bellarm. de Scrip. and Incarnation, than the Writers of that age are wont to do.

3. None of the Ancients make mention of it.

4. The words, [...], &c. were not then so usual in the Church: nor are they any where to be found in the Writ­ings of Iustin, when as yet he sometimes professedly handles the Doctrine of the Trinity.

Bellarmine himself therefore is doubtful of it:Ibid. Ambigo, saith he, [...]n ejus sit: and well he might,Scultet. ibid. there being so much cause. But whoever were the Author of it, it is an excel­lent [Page 36] and profitable discourse, and worthy of such an Author as Iustin.

Herein he shews, that there is indeed but one God, who is known in the Father, Son, and holy Spirit; and that these three have but one and the same Essence, as also dis­courseth of the Incarnation of the Word; who is Mediator according to both Natures, the manner of the Union whereof in Christ is ineffable.

3. A confutation of certain Opinions of Aristotle: In apparat. ad an. 165. § 8. which (saith Possevine) Iustin did not write; neither will Baronius undertake to determine whether it be his or no. Eusebins, Ierom and Suidas mention it not; for which cause it is justly rejected, as not written by Iustin; though Photius speak of it as his, and it have no evident note of falshood,De Script. Eccles. in the judgement of Bellarmine; Therefore, saith he, I have nothing to say one way or other.

4. Certain Questions propounded by the Christians to the Gentiles, and their Answers to them, together with a confutation of those Answers. Which piece, as the Stile bewrays it to be none of Iustins; so may it easily be discerned also from the often mention of the Manichees in the confutation of the answer to the first question:Bellar. ibid. & Possevin. in apparat. who arose above an hundred years after Iustin.

5. Certain questions propounded by the Greeks or Gentiles, with the answers of the Christians unto them.Cent. 2. cap. 10. Which are ranked with the former by the Centurists.

6. This answers to 146 questions,In apparat. de Scrip. unto the Orthodoxes: it seem not to Iustins, saith [Page 37] Possevine; the same thinks Bellarmine: yea, that this is certain,Scultet. in Medull. & Coci censur. & Cent. 2. cap. 10. many things contained in them do plainly evince. As 1. Some words, which were not in use in the Church, till a long time after Iustin. e. g. [...], &c. 2. In them is cited Irenaeus. Quest. 115. whom he stiles a Martyr: yet did Iustin die some fourty years before: viz. An. 165. where Irenaeus suffered Martyrdom, an. 205. according to the account of Baronius. Also Origen is quoted, Quest. 82. & 86. who yet was long after Iustin. 3. Divers passages are here to be found, which are cross to what is contained in the genuine Writings of Iustin. e. g. That the Witch of Endor did but delude the eye;In Dialog. cum Try­phon. that they seemed to see Samuel, when 'twas not he. Quest. 52. whereas Iustin asserteth that 'twas the true Samuel that was raised. Also, Quest. 112. the Angel that spake with Iacob and Moses, and other of the Patriarchs, is said to be a created Angel; and that for his office committed to him, he was honoured with the name of God. Whereas Iustin earnestly contends and affirms, that that Angel was Christ the Son of God.

Add hereto, that the stile shews them to be counterfeit;Bibliotia. lib. 4. which seems (saith Sixtus Senensis) not unlike unto that of Theodoret in his questions upon the Octoteuch: and it is conceived that they were written by some one who lived about that time. Besides all this, there are among them so many questions and answers,Sylburg. in Annotat. Scultet. in Medull. unworthy of the Piety, Candour and Learning of Iustin, that if they be compared with his true Writings, they will be found to differ no less than Gold and Lead, the one from the other.

[Page 38] Upon how frail a foundation then are those unsound Doctrines of the Papists built (for the proof whereof these spurious Writings are often alledged) viz. Dr. James corruption of the Futhers. Coci. censur. the lawful use of the Cross, the Virgin Mary without sin, keeping and worshipping of Reliques, religious Vows, Baptism necessary unto Salvation, the use of Chrism, Ceremonies of the Mass, Free-will and that Confirmation is a Sacrament.

§ 4. The stile that Iustin used, was vehe­ment and worthy of one that handled serious matters:Cent. 2. Cap. 10. but it came nearer to that of the Philosopher, than to that of the Orator; which is the reason why he is sometimes ob­scure.

§ 2. Many things of special Note, and very observable are to be met withal in this ancient Author: among the rest are such as these.

1. He acquaints us with the manner of the Christians performance of the duties of wor­ship in their publick Assemblies;Apolog. 2. which was thus: Upon the day which is called Sunday (saith he) or the first day of the Week, are the Meetings or publick Assemblies of those inhabiting both the City and Country: where are read, as time will permit, the Writings of the Prophets and Apostles: [...] Pre­sident. the Reader having ended, the Pastor or President makes an ex­hortation instructing and stirring them up to imitation of things that are honest: After­ward, we all rise up together, and offer up Prayers; which concluded, there is brought forth Bread, and Wine, and Wa­ter: [Page 39] then the Pastor, according to his ability, offers up Prayers and Thanksgivings, [...]: with all his might or ear­nestly: Thorndike of religious assembl. and service, cap. 7. rendred, Langus, quamtum pro virili suâ potest. by Gelenius; quantum potest. the people saying Amen. Then being consecrated, they are distributed unto every one, and sent to such as are absent by the Deacon. The wealthier sort, if they please, contribute some­what, as they will: and what is gathered, is deposited with the Pastor; who therewith relieves Orphans, Widdows, and such as through sickness, or any other necessity are in want; as also such as are in bonds and strangers; briefly he takes care of all that are poor. And therefore do we meet upon Sunday, because upon it God dispelling the darkness, and informing the first matter, created the World, and also because upon that day Jesus Christ our Saviour rose again from the dead.

And a little before he thus speaks of the same Matter. [...]. After Baptism we bring him that believes and is added to us, to the place where the Brethren, as they are called, are congregated, making their joynt Prayers for themselves, or he that is Illuminated or Baptized, and for all others every where, with all their might. Prayers being ended, we mutually salute one another with a kiss: then is there offered unto the Pastor (or Pre­sident) Bread and a Cup of Water and Wine: he receiving them, [...] returns or sends up Praise and Glory unto the Father of all things, through the name of the Son and holy Spirit; and largely gives thanks, for that he accounted us worthy of these gifts: when he hath fi­nished the Prayers and Thanksgiving, all the people that are present, follow him with their [Page 40] well-wishing acclamations, [...]. saying, Amen, And, Amen, in the Hebrew Tongue, signifies, be it so. Then, after that the President hath ended the Thanksgiving, and all the people have given their acclamations and approba­tions, they that with us are called Deacons distribute to every one of those that are pre­sent, [...]. that each may partake of that Bread, Wine and Water, that hath been blessed, and carry it unto those that are absent. And this nourishment or food among us is called the Eucharist: Whereof it is not lawful for any to partake, but only such a one as believes our Doctrine to be true, and hath been washed in the laver for remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and lives so as Christ hath de­livered or taught.

In this plain and simple manner were the Ordinances according to Christs institution then administred; without all those pompous Observations, Ceremonies and superstitious Additions, which in after times by degrees were brought in, practised and prevailed to the great dishonour of God, detriment of Souls, disturbance of the Church, and despoiling of the Ordinances themselves of much of their beauty and lustre, which then shines forth most, when they are preserved in their native purity, and kept most free from all debasing mixtures of mens devices and adventitious supposed Ornament, which rather deform than deck and adorn them.

2. O [...] the sufferings of the Christians, their joy in them with [...] ground thereof, and the [...] thus speaks. [...] we are [...] [Page 41] slain, we rejoyce, having this perswasion that God will raise us up by his Christ. There is none that can terrifie or bring us into bond­age, who by believing have given up our names to Jesus; this is manifested through all the earth: For when we are slain with the sword, crucified, and punished with bonds, fire, and all kind of torments, it is sufficiently known that we forsake not our profession: and the more we are tormented, the more is the number of Believers, and such as embrace the true Religion, through the name of Jesus increased. For as by pruning, the Vine spreads and becomes more fruitful; so fares it with us: for his people are a Vine or Vineyard planted by God and our Saviour.

3. He shews that the gift of casting out Devils, of Prophesie, and other extraordinary gifts of the holy Ghost, continued unto this time. Whereof he thus speaks.

We call Jesus Christ our Helper and Re­deemer,Dialog. cu [...] Triphon. the virtue of whose Name the Devils tremble at and fear; and even at this day be­ing adjured by the Name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, the Go­vernour of Iudea, they obey us: that thence also it may appear unto all that the Father hath given him so great power, that even the Devils are subject to his Name, and to the Oecomony, [...]. or dispensation of his Passion. Now if the Oeconomy of his Passion be shewn to have obtained, and to obtain so great power, how great will it be at his glorious appearing?

Concerning this we have another passage to the same purpose,Apolog. 1. pag. 31. gr. lat. Edit. in his first (as its ordi­narily accounted) Apology: as also no less [Page 42] than twice more doth he make report there­of in his Dialogue with Tryphon. In the last of which places (which I therefore set down as his Creed,Dialog. cum Tryphon. pag. 312. because it contains the sum of the Articles of the Apostles Creed, that respect Jesus Christ) he thus saith: By the Name of this very Son of God, and first born of every Creature, born of the Virgin, and made a Man subject to sufferings, crucified under Ponti [...] Pilate by your Nation, who died and rose again from the dead, and ascended into Hea­ven; every Devil adjured is overcome and brought into subjection. But if ye should adjure them by any name of the Kings, or just Men, or Prophets, or Patriarchs that have been among you, not one of them should yield obedience. Again, mentioning that Pro­phesie:Ibid. pag. 315. I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and upon my Servants, and upon mine Handmaids, and they shall prophesie: Among us (saith he) you may see both women and men, having gifts from the Spirit of God. Lastly, among us even unto this day there are prophetical gifts:Pag. 308. from whence you ought to understand, that those (gifts) which of old time were in your Nation, are now translated unto us.

Of such places of Scripture as do seem to contradict one another,Dialog. cum Tryphon. pag. 289. he declares what he himself doth, and others should think of them. I shall never dare to think or say that the Scri­ptures are contrary one unto another: but, if any Scripture be propounded, which seems to be such, and to have a shew of being contrary to some other; I being throughly perswaded, that no one Scripture is contrary unto ano­ther, [Page 43] will rather confess that I do not under­stand the things that are spoken; and will endeavour that those who suspect the Scri­ptures to be contrary, would rather be of the same mind with me. So great was the reve­rence and respect that he bare unto the sa­cred Scriptures.

5. Unto what persons, and in what man­ner Baptism, was then administred, he ac­quaints us, saying:

As many as are perswaded and do believe those things that are taught and spoken by us to be true, and promise to live accordingly, they are taught to pray fasting,Apolog. 2. p. 93. 94. and to beg of God the pardon of their former sins, we praying and fasting together with them: Then are they brought by us unto the place where the water is, and are regenerated after the same manner of Regeneration wherewith we were regenerated. For in the name of the Father and Lord God of all, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit they are then washed in Water.—And through the Water we obtain remission of those sins which we had before committed. And this washing is called illumination, [...] ▪ be­cause the minds of those that learn these things are enlightned.

6. We make account that we cannot suffer any harm from any one, unless we be convict­ed to be evil-doers,ibid. p. 54▪ or discovered to be wick­ed persons. You may indeed put us to death, but you cannot hurt us.

7. Such was the innocency and tenderness of Christians; that, whereas (saith he) be­fore we believed, we did murther one ano­ther, [Page 44] now we not only do not oppugn or War against our enemies,Apolog. 2. p. 78. but, (that we may not lie nor deceive the Inquisitors) confessing Christ we die willingly.

8. So great was the courage and resolution of Christians:ibid. p. 83. that although, saith he, it were decreed to be a capital crime for any to teach or even to profess the name of Christ; we notwithstanding both embrace and teach it.

9. Concerning the Translation of the Sep­tuagint, he gives this account: That Ptolemy King of Egypt, erecting a Library at Alex­andria, and understanding that the Jews had ancient Books which they diligently kept,Exhortat. ad Graecos. p. 13. he sent for seventy wise men from Ierusalem, who were skill'd both in the Greek and He­brew Tongues, and committed unto them the care of translating those Books. And that being free from all disturbance they might make the quicker dispatch of the translation, he commanded a like number of Cells, or little Rooms to be made, not in the City it self, but about seven furlongs from it, where the Pharos was built, that each one should finish his interpretation by himself alone, re­quiring the servants attending them, to be in every regard serviceable to them; only to hinder them from conversing together, to the end that the exact truth of the Interpretation might be known by their consent. And co­ming to know that these seventy men used not only the same sense, but also the same words in the translation, and that they dif­fer'd no not so much as in one word one from another, but had written in the same words of [Page 45] the same things; being hereat astonished, and believing the Interpretation to be accompli­shed by divine assistance, he judged the men worthy of all honour as loving, and beloved of God, and with many gifts commanded them to return again into their own Country: And having the books in admiration (as there was cause) and consecrating them unto God, he laid them up there in the Library: These things we relate unto you, O ye Greeks, not as fables and feigned stories, but as those who have been at Alexandria, and have seen the footsteps of those Cells yet remaining in Pharos: This we report as having heard it from the Inhabitants, who have received the memorable things of their Countrey by tra­dition from their Ancestors: Which also you may understand from others, and chiefly from those wise and approved Men who have re­corded these things, namely Philo and Iosephus.

10. Concerning the Sibyls, thus, O ye Greeks,Exhortat. ad Graecos pag. 34. If you have not greater regard unto the fond or false imagination of them that are no gods, then unto your own salvation give credit unto the most ancient Sibyls, whose Books happen to be preserved in the whole World, teaching you from a certain powerful Inspiration by Oracles, concerning those who are called, [...]. but are not gods: and plainly and manifestly foretelling the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of all things that were to be done by him. For the know­ledge of these things will be a necessary Prae­ludium or preparation unto the Prophecies, [...]. [Page 46] or to the reading of the Prophecies of holy Men.

§ 6. Though his excellencies were great, yet were they accompanied with many im­perfections, viz. his slips and errours that he had, which we shall briefly point at and give notice of, and they were such as these.

1. He was an express Chiliast or Millenary, Victor. Schol. in Hi­eronym. ca­talog. Hie­ronym. in ca­talog. and a most earnest maintainer of that opinion, as were many of the Ancients beside him, viz. Irenaeus, Apollinarius Bishop of Hierapolis, Nepos an Egyptian Bishop, Tertullian, Lacta [...] ­tius, Hieronym. ibid. Euseb. lib. 3. c. 36. Victorinus, &c. The first broacher of this errour was Papias, the Auditor or Disciple of Iohn, not the Apostle, but he who was called Presbyter or Senior, and whose the two latter Epistles of Iohn are by some conceived to be. This man was passing eloquent▪ but of a weak and slender judgement, as by his Books appears; yet did he occasion very many Ec­clesiastical Men to fall into this errour, who had respect unto his Antiquity: and among the rest, Iustin, as appears in divers places of his Books: particularly in his Dialogue with Tryphon the Jew;pag, 30 [...]. E­dit. Gr. & Lat. Paris. who pressing him after this manner. Tell me truly saith he, do you ac­knowledge that the City Ierusalem shall be built again, and that your people shall be there gathered together, and live in plea­sures with Christ, &c. To whom I thus re­plyed, saith he, I am not such a wretch, O Tryphon, as to speak otherwise then I think; I have confessed unto thee before, that my self and many others are of the same mind, as ye fully know, it shall be even so: but [Page 47] withal I have signified unto thee, that some Christians of a pure and pious judgement, do not acknowledge this:—But as for me, and those Christians who are of a right judgement in all things, we do know that there shall be a Resurrection of the Flesh, and a thousand years in Ierusalem re-built, beau­tified and enlarged, as the Prophets Ezekiel, Esay and others have published.—And after­ward that there shall be an Universal and E­verlasting Resurrection of all together and a Judgement, as a certain Man of our own, whose name was Iohn, one of the Twelve A­postles of Christ, in that Revelation which he had, hath foretold.

2. He entertained a gross Judaical conceit,Apolog. 1. page 44. concerning some of the Angels: of whom he hath these words: That God having made the World, and put the Earth in subjection unto Man:—He committed the care of Men themselves and of the things under the Heavens unto certain Angels whom he had appointed hereunto: but the Angels trans­gressing the Ordinance of God, were over­come with the company of Women, on whom they begat those Children which are called Daemons: and moreover they brought the rest of mankind into servitude unto them­selves,—and sowed Murthers, Adulteries, Wars, and all kind of wickedness among Men, This errour took its rise from an an­cient Edition of the Septuagint,Sixt. Senens. Biblioth. lib. 5. annot. 70. which Philo Iudaeus, and Eusebius followed: they finding, Genesis 6. 1. [...] filii Dei, the Sons of God, rendred those words [...]. and hence it came to pass, that many of the [Page 48] Ancients both Greek and Latin, did so ex­pound that place, whence sprung the errour above mentioned.

3. He attributes too much to the writings of Plato. and other Philosophers, saying, that the Doctrines of Plato differ not from Christ, [...]. Apolog. 1. p. 51. but that they are not altogether like: also, whosoever live according to reason, [...]. although they have been accounted without God, wor­shippers of no deity, yet are they Christians: Such among the Greeks were Socrates, He­raclitus and the like to them. This it seems he delivered,Epit. Hist. Eccles. Cent. 2. lib. 4. c. 4. that he might the more easily draw the Gentiles unto the Faith of Christ; saith Osiander.

4. He too highly advanceth the power and freedom of Man's Will: whereof he thus speaks. Apolog. 2. interprete Gelenio. Caeterùm, nequis nostra dicta sic acci­piat, quasi fati necessitatem asseramus, & que fiunt ideo fieri, quia praedicta sunt; explicabi­mus hoc quoque. Poenas ac praemia pro digni­tate operum cuique reddi verum est, & comper­tum ex Prophetarum oraculis. Alioquin si fato regerentur omnia, nihil omninò relictum esset in nostrâ potestate: nam si fatali lege alius bonus esset, alius malus: nec laudeni ille, nee hic mereretur vituperium: Et nisi homines ar­bitratu suo possunt turpia fugere, honesta secta­ri, extra culpam erunt, quicquid agant. Caete­rùm quòd liberâ voluntate vel pèccent vel offici­um faciant, sic demonstrabimus, &c.

These things I mention not to discover the nakedness of this venerable Father, but that it may from hence appear that the wri­tings of the holy Prophets and Apostles only are exempt from errour and defects, and that [Page 49] those of the most eminent men are to be read with caution, to be examined by that Touch stone, and so far only to be approved of, as they shall be found agreeing with that unerring and perfect word, and no further: for by it must we try the Spirits whether they be of God, and proving all things, hold fast that only which it shews to be good.

7. As for his Death or Martyrdom, he was brought unto it by the procurement of one Crescens a Cynick Philosopher, with whom he had much contended: Which he himself did before apprehend and expect,Apolog. 1. pag. 46. as appears from his own words: I look (saith he) by some one of them who are called Philoso­phers, [...]. to be betrayed, or brought to the Stake or Tree: [...]. it may be by Crescens himself the Philosopher, a lover of popular applause, and of insolent Arrogance: [...]. a Man unworthy to be called a Philosopher, because he publickly witnesseth, the things which he knoweth not, as if the Christians were Atheistical, and Impious: which he doth to curry favour with, and to pleasure the multitudes whom he hath deceived.

This Crescens, Cent. 2. c. 10. he had provoked, and stirred up his implacable malice against him, for that he had in a disputation publickly before the Senate reprehended him not only of being ignorant of those things which it became a Philosopher to know, but also for his foul and debaucht manners: wherefore he accused him to be a Christian, and never [Page 50] left, till by his restless solicitations he had brought him to his end.

So at Rome he joyfully suffered Martyrdom for the Name of Christ,Baron. under the Empe­rours Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, An­no Christi, 165.

Irenaeus Lugdunensis Episcopus.

§ 1. COncerning his birth, where and of what Parents he was born,Cent. 2. c. 10. Graecus Asi­anus & fortè Smyrnaeus fuit. Possev. apparat. we have nothing certain; Only probable it is that for Country he was an Asian, and that he came of honest and pious parents not far from, if not in the City of Smyrna: for there in his youth was he train­ed up in the School of blessed Polycarp a Di­sciple of the Apostle Iohn; Euseb. l. 4. c. 15. in Ep, Smynens. and Bishop of Smyrna; Of whom it is reported, that being brought before the Proconsul, and by him urged to blaspheme and revile Christ, he thus answered him, Fourscore and six years, saith he, have I served him, neither hath he in any thing ever wronged me; and how can I then revile my King, that hath hitherto preserved me? Also in the same Epistle of the Church of Smyrna, it follows concerning him; that being in the fire, which in the form of a vault or sail of a ship, encompassed him about as a wall, his body seemed as gold or silver tried in the furnace; and that from it there pro­ceeded a sweet and fragrant smell, as of fran­kincense or some such like precious perfume: and that at length, the persecutors perceiving [Page 52] that the fire consum'd not his body, com­manded the tormentour to lance him in the side with a spear; which done, there forth­with issued such a stream of blood out of his body, as quenched the fire to the great admi­ration of the multitude.

Upon this Reverend Father did Irenae [...] with so great diligence attend, that the Do­ctrine which he learned from him was deeply ingraven in his breast; so that even to his ol [...] age he firmly retained the remembrance of i [...] yea his very gestures: so much he himself te­stifieth in his Epistle unto Florinus, sometime his fellow Scholar, but tainted with that opi­nion that God was the Author of evil, an [...] afterward with the errour of Valentinus: remember, saith he, the things of old, bett [...] then those of later times: for the things [...] learn in our childhood, sink farther into [...] minds, and grow up together with us; [...] that I do well remember,Eus. l. 4. c. 18. the place whe [...] Polycarp sate when he taught, his going o [...] and coming in, his manner and course [...] life, the figure and proportion of his body the Sermons which he made unto the mult [...] ­tude the relation he gave of his converse wit [...] the Apostle Iohn and others which saw t [...] Lord; how he remembred their sayings, [...] what he heard from their mouths touchin [...] the Lord, [...]. hae­res 24. Hie­ [...]mym. in Ca [...]log. his power, Doctrine, &c. Hen [...] is he not unjustly stiled a man of the Apost [...] ­lical times, very near unto them, and the su [...] ­cessor of them.

By Polycarp he was s [...]nt unto the City [...] Lyons in France, Greg. Tu­ [...]onens. l. 1. hist. c. 27. whereby his admirable v [...] ­tue [Page 53] he soon became famous; in so much that in a small space of time by his preaching he had made almost the whole City Christian. Of this Church he was at first a Presbyter of Pothinus (as Ierom, In catalog. l. hist. 5. c. [...]. Eusebius and Nicephorus call him) or Photinus, (as the Centurists, Ba­ronius and Gregory of Turon) who was the first Bishop of that place.

At this time the Churches of Asia being much infested with the New prophesies and delusions of Montanus, Cent. 2. c. 10. Alcibiades and Theodo­tus; the Gallicane Churches (either of their own accord out of their brotherly love to and care of them, or else at their request craving assistance from them against these corrupters of the Gospel) sent Irenaeus unto them as the meetest man for such a work, with their letters; that he might comfort those afflicted Churches, confirm them in the truth, and confute those heretical adversaries: He took Rome in his way, haply to confer with and crave the advice and help of Eleutherius Bi­shop there, about this affair, unto whom he had letters recommendatory from the Churches making Honourable mention of him.

During his absence upon this weighty oc­casion,Eus. l. 5. c. [...] ▪ in the great persecution under Antoni­nus Verus (which much raged in the Churches of France) the good Bishop Photinus aged ninety years, is imprisoned: and being brought before the tribunal, and by the Pre­sident asked this question; who is the God of the Christians; he perceiving this demand to be made rather in way of scorn, then out of a serious desire to be informed; because h [...] [Page 54] would not cast pearls before swine, vouch­safed him no other answer but this; si dignus fueris, cognosces: when thou shalt become worthy, thou shalt know. With which an­swer, as contumelious, the President being highly provoked, commanded the Officers to beat him; which accordingly they did, hand­ling him in a most barbarous and cruel man­ner, and afterward, almost breathless, cas [...] him into a filthy prison; wherein about two days after by a glorious death he obtained the crown of Martyrdom.

The Church of Lyons by this means being destitute of a Bishop, none was thought mo [...] worthy to suceed the aged Martyr,Euseb. lib. 5. cap. 5. then his Presbyter Irenaeus, who not long after returning,Baron. ad a [...]. 180. § 1. was accordingly chosen an [...] took upon him the Government of tha [...] Church.

He entred upon the administration thereo [...] in a very unquiet and turbulent time; the sta [...] of affairs being much distracted,Fevard. in vitâ Irenaei. not only b [...] reason of that grievous storm of persecutio [...] they had lately been under, yea which [...] yet scarcely calmed and blown over; [...] also through the busie attempts of dive [...] impostours cunningly seeking to undermin [...] the Doctrine of Christ.Cent. 2. c. 10. For now had th [...] Valentinian Hereticks prevail'd and spread [...] far as France, and among others bewitch [...] sundry eminent women with their sott [...] and absurd opinions, by means of one M [...] ­cus a wretched sorcerer, and a wicked decei­ver and abuser of the weaker Sex; But [...] such a manner did this vigilant watchma [...] and painful Pastour bestir himself, that he no­tably [Page 55] prevented the farther spreading of this Pest, and recovered many of those who had been therewith infected: And having happi­ly secured his own charge, he rested not here, but proceeded farther, affording his help by his excellent letters unto other Churches also; particularly unto that of Rome; out of which he endeavoured to weed those tares, which the envious man had there sown; their careless Bishop (how unfit to be an universal overseer!) it seems securely sleeping the while, and leaving the work, that properly belonged to himself unto another. The chief instruments that Satan here imployed in sowing those tares; were Florinus and Blastus Presbyters of this Church,Theodoret. h [...]ret. f [...]bul. lib. 1. but by the Bishop degraded for their impiety; in commiseration of whose sad condition infected with so soul Heresies, he wrote (as is reported) those five learned books now extant.

In such kind of laborious imployments did he spend much of his time,Baron. ad▪ an. 180. under the Em­perours Antoninus, the whole of Commodus, and a good part of Severus Reigns: being very serviceable unto the Church of God in his generation, not only by his preaching and disputations, but also by his writings which he left behind him, as singular mo­numents unto posterity of his zeal for the glory of God, and love to his truth: as a bright shining lamp lighted and set up by the Lord, he diffused his Rayes for the good of many, till the oyl was wholly spent and consumed.

[Page 56] In his time fell out that sharp and lasting contention between the Eastern and Western Churches,Euseb. lib. 5. cap. 21. 23. about the observation of the Feast of Easter, as also about the kind and manne [...] of fasting. The Churches of Asia, as from an ancient Tradition, and herein following the examples of Philip and Iohn Apostles, as also of Polycarp with others their Successors, observed this Feast on the fourteenth Moon, upon what day of the week soever it fell out, on which day the Jews were to offer thei [...] Paschal Lamb. But the Church of Rome, to­gether with others in the West, did celebrate it always upon the Lord's day; and hence grew a great rent between them: for those of the East refusing to leave their former usage and custom (for which they had so good [...] warrant) and to conform themselves herei [...] unto the other: Victor, who was the Bishop of Rome (possessing that Chair that would afterward usurp authority over all Churches,Cent. 2. and acting accordingly) in the heighth of his pride, and the heat of his passion begins to threaten and thunder out his excommunica­tion against them. Hereupon Irenaeus (brook­ing his name, as a lover of peace) with the Brethren of the Gallican Churches, being grieved at such insolent and harsh proceed­ings, and foreseeing the sad effects they might produce, thought it their duty not to stand still as idle Spectators, but to interpose at least by their Letters, and to endeavour a pre­vention (if it might be) of those evils that were like to ensue,Gallic [...] San­ctâ (que) liber­tate objur­gat. Feuard. in vita ejus. and follow upon so rigo­rous and sharp a censure: which they did accordingly, dealing plainly and roundly with [Page 57] the proud Prelate, tartly reprehending him for handling his Brethren in so unchristian a manner; and that for things indifferent (which he made necessary) he would fall up­on so extreme a course, the cutting off of so considerable a part from the Body; shewing withal, that his excommunication was void, and of no force. Now, so great was the au­thority of the man with the Bishop of Rome (who had not as yet exalted himself so high, that it should not be lawful for any of his Fel­low Bishops to take the boldness to admonish him, or to say, what dost thou, though he should lead thousands to Hell) and such the strength of the arguments alledged, that the issue was (as Feuardentius relates) the as­swaging of his fury,In vitâ Ire­naei. and the deterring of him from that rash attempt of cutting off so many famous Churches from the Body of Christ: whence followed a more serene face of things, and a great tranquillity to the Churches of Christ.

§ 2. He was a man exceeding eminent,Vir Aposto­licorum temporum, & Papiae, au­ditoris E­gelistae Joan­nis discipu­lus. Hiero­nym. Epist. 29. and of chief note among those of his time, very ancient, and not far from the days of the Apostles. Honourable mention is made of him by those of the following ages: for Eu­sebius, Inter omnes coaetaneos ei palmam tribuit, gives him the preheminence above all his contemporaries:Theodoret. dialog. 1. & haeret. fab. lib. 1. Others stile him an Aposto­lical man, admirable, and the light of the Western Churches,August. lib. 1. contra Julian. tom. 7. an ancient man of God; highly commended he is as one in whom the resplendent Beams and brightness of Aposto­lical Doctrine did gloriously shine forth:Baron. ad an. 205. [...] § 30. for [Page 58] what he had learned and received from Poly­carp, and Polycarp from the Apostle Iohn, he retaining it in its purity, communicated i [...] unto the Church; so that in all things he re­sembled the face of the Apostles.

He excelled both in piety and learning,Sixt. Sen [...]ns. Biblioth. lib. lib. 4 Haeres. 32. be­ing so admirably endued with both, that he was no less famous for the one than for the o­ther: stiled therefore by Epiphanius a sacer I­renaeus, holy man, so singularly accomplished and fitted for the work he was designed and called unto, as that he became praeclarum orga­num, Cent. 2. cap. 10. [...] a choice instrument for the good of the Churches of Christ.

Admirably well skilled he was in all sorts of Learning,Trithem. de Script. both sacred and secular; very studious and ready in the Holy Scriptures, having by this means attained unto a more than ordinary measure of understanding and insight into them. And how notably instru­cted and furnished with knowledge in the Arts and Sciences,F [...]uard. in vitâ Iren. is abundantly manifested, by his subtil investigation of abstruse Heresies which, though wonderfully obscure and con­fused, he representeth and sets forth to pub­lick view with very great perspicuity and or­der: as also by his most acute and quick di­sputations, wherein he throughly discovers their vanity, and as soundly confuteth them: So that it is most evident (saith Erasmus) that he was very exact in all the liberal Sci­ence [...].Epist. ante I­ren. Yea, how diligently he had read over the Books both of the ancient Philosophers, Thales, Anaximander, Anaxagoras, Democri­tus▪ Empedocles▪ Plato, Aristotle, &c. As also of the Poets,Cent. 1. ibid. Tragick, Comick and Lyrick, [Page 59] may be gathered from hence, in that he clear­ly evinceth those Heresies which he impugned, to have been taken and to have had their o­riginal from those prophane Authors, the names only being changed.Tertull. ad­vers. Valen­tin. So that he was not without cause stiled by Tertullian, Omni­um doctrinarum curiosissimum exploratorem; a most curious inquirer or searcher into all sorts of Doctrines: very large is Epiphanius his Encomium of him (who held him in high esteem, as appears by the great use he made of him) Old Irenaeus (saith he) every way adorned by the Holy Ghost,Epiphan. Haeres. 31. brought into the Field by the Lord as a valiant and expert Sol­dier and Champion, and annointed with Hea­venly Gifts and Graces, according to the true faith and knowledge, contended against all the arguments of sottish Hereticks, and most exactly confuted them.

Add hereunto (which put a lustre upon all the rest) that he was of a very meek and modest spirit,Illyric. in catalog. a great lover, and as studious a preserver of peace among Brethren; but withal no less earnest and zealous in the cause of God, and a bitter adversary of the wretched Hereticks of his time:Epist. Nun­cupat. ante Iren. Magnus (to give you Erasmus his words to this purpose) Ecclesiae propu [...]nator, ac pro sui nominis [...]ugurio, pacis Ecclesiasticae vindex.

§ 3. He wrote divers learned Books upon several subjects and occasions; the greater part whereof (indeed all to one) through the injury and neglect of foregoing ages are quite lost, not any of them remaining and extant at this day: and they are (such as we find mention of.)

[Page 60] 1. A brief Volume against the Gentiles:Hieronym. in catalog. Miaeus. Schol. in ca­talog. Hiero­nym. And, saith Ierom, another of discipline; but herein is he mistaken, and those that follow him, as Honorius Augustodunensis, Trithemi [...], &c. who supposed that they were two distinct Books; whereas by Eusebius it appears 'twas but one and the same Volume;Euseb. lib. 5. cap. [...]4. for thus he speaks of it: Extat adhuc liber illius adver­sus Gentes compendiosissimus & summopere necessarius, de scientia inscriptus.

2. A declaration of the (manner and way, [...]. Hieronym. ibid. Possevin) of the Apostles preaching unto a certain Brother, one Marcianus.

3. A Book intituled [...], variorum tractatuum, Ibid. saith Ierom, variarum dictionum inquiunt centuriatores, or a disqui­sition of sundry things. Possevin.

4. A Book or an Epistle de schismate, un­to Blastus.

5. A Book de Monarchiâ, Possevin. apparat. or, that God is not the author of Sin, unto Florinus, whose Doctrine (he being of this opinion) he proves to be both impious and blasphemous.

6. A Book entituled Ogdoas, Cent. 2. cap. 10. in cata­log▪ or [...], written also for Florinus, who was bewitched with the errours of Valentinus, which Ierom calls commentarium egregium, an excellent commentary: in the close whereof we have these words, containing a solemn ob­testation, which both Eusebius and Ierom thought worthy of special notice:Euseb. lib. 5. cap. 18. Hieronym. in catalog. Adjur [...] te, &c. I adjure thee (whosoever thou art that copyest out or transcribest this Book) by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by his glorious com­ing, wherein he shall judge the quick and the dead, that thou compare what thou hast [Page 61] written, and correct it diligently by the exemplar from whence 'tis transcribed: and also that thou do likewise write out this ad­juration, and insert it into the copy so taken. The like hereunto is that of Ruffinus in his preface in his Translation of Origen, Tom. 2. Epis. 63. [...], which is found among the Epistles of Ierom, charging both the Transcriber and Reader not to add or diminish, to insert or alter any thing therein, but to be exact even to a Letter, &c.

7. Divers Epistles unto Victor, Euseb. lib. 5. cap. 18. & 22. and many other Pastors of Churches about the Con­troversies of Easter; as also against those who at Rome did corrupt the sincerity of the Churches.

8. Volateran saith,Anthropo­log. lib. 16. that he wrote an Eccle­siastical History, quam mutuatus est Euse [...]ius testem (que) citat.

9. A Commentary upon the Apocalypse, Biblioth. lib. 4. as saith Sixtus Senensis. But these two latter are very questionable, seeing that neither Eusebi­us, nor Ierom in his Catalogues, not Honori­us A [...]gustudonensis, nor Trithemius make mention of any such.

That of his which to this day the World injoys,Liber doctis­simo & elo­quentissimo sermone compositus. Hieronym. Epist. 29. is only a Volume containing five Books against the Heresies of the Gnosticks and Valentinians, wh [...]ch was thus intitled, as both Eusebius and Photius have it;Lib. 5. cap. 7. Biblioth. 120▪ [...]. of redargution and the eversion of knowledge falsly so called:Rivet. crit. sac. a learned and most famous piece,Bellarm. ca­talog. Script. full fraught with Learning and Piety. This too, it seems, was almost lost, at least as to the Western Churches;Registr. lib. 9. Epist. 5 [...]. For, (saith Gre­gory) [Page 62] we have long and diligently made in­quiry after the Writings of Irenaeus, but hi­therto not any of them could be found.

Erasmus therefore tells us, he that might well call him his,Epist. nun­cupat. ante Iren. as being by his industry brought to light (after it had been almost buried) and recovered from the dust, being mouldy and moth-eaten.Ibid. And should they have remained in perpetual oblivion: the loss had been exceeding great: for (saith he) his writings do breath forth the ancient vigour of the Gospel; yea his very phrase came from a breast prepared for Martyrdom; for the Martyrs have a certain serious, bold and mas­culine kind of speech.

It hath been a question,Bellarm. in Catalog. Scrip. and doubted by some learned men, whether he wrote these Books in the Greek, or Latine Tongue: be­cause they are now not to be found but in the Latin only:In Epist. nuncupat. ante Iren. yet was he a Greek by Nation, and his phrase savours of that Language, having many Grecisms in it. Erasmus, a man of more than ordinary perspicacity and judgement this way, rather inclined to think it written by him in Latin, yet would not peremptorily conclude it: For, saith he, it is not clear to me, whether of the two he wrote in; though I rather soppose that he wrote in Latin, but was more expert in the Greek, and therefore speaking Latin he is bold to make use of Greek figures and forms of speech. But most are of another mind, judging the Greek to have been the Original Language, werein his Books were written; And that they were afterward translated by himself,In vita Iren. Rivat. crit. [...]ac. saith Feuardentius, (to cover over [Page 63] the faults of the Translator, which are not a few, or lest the Testimonies alleadged from the translation should lose of their Authority and Weight) or (which is most likely) by some other.Ad An. 180. § 5. Biblioth. lib. 4. All consent in this (saith Baronius) that he wrote In Greek; he wrote many ex­cellent Volumes in the Greek Tongue,In Annotat. in lib. Ter. tull. advers. Valent. also our learned Fulke. Ire­neus wrote in Greek, and is tran­slated into Latine by one that fol­lowed very much the vulgar La­tin Text in his Preface to the E­pist. dedicat. ante Ter­tull. saith Sixtus Senensis: and, saith Rhenanus, pro­culdubio, without doubt he wrote in Greek; for else would not Ierom have ranked him among the Greek Fathers, nor have made Tertullian (as he doth) the third, but the fourth, (as he should) among the Latins. Pamelius also thinks that both he and those first Roman Bishops unto his time wrote ra­ther in Greek than Latine, which things considered, it's a wonder that Erasmus should herein be of the mind he was: The Latin Copy of Irenaeus (saith Cornatius) is an ex­ceeding faulty Translation, and may better be restored out of Epiphanius, than afford any help in the translating of Epiphanius: In Praefat. ad Epiphan. so that marvailous it is that Erasmus, a man other­wise endued with a piercing judgement in things of this Nature, should think that Irenaeus did wr [...]tein Latin.In Epist. ad. Thomsonum num. 239. To the same purpose speaks the great Scaliger: I do admire (saith he) that from such a feverish Latin Interpreter, as he is whom now we have, Erasmus should imagine, both that 'tis the true Irenaeus, and that he imitates the Greeks: That Latin In­terpreter was most foolish, and either omitted or depraved many things, which he under­stood not. The fragments which are extant in Epiphanius; also the History of the things done by Irenaeus in Eusebius, do sufficiently [Page 64] prove both that the man was a Grecian, and wrote in Greek: neither is it to be doubted of, &c.

The Greek Copy therefore written by him­self is long since perished;Rivet. crit. sac. only there are some remains of it to be found scattered in several Authors, who saw and made use thereof: Thus we have seven and twenty Chapters of of his first Book by Epiphanius inserted into his Panarium; (who took a good part of his second and third Books word for word out of Iu­neus) and some few fragments in Eusebiu [...] and Theodoret: Chitraeus. in Orat. de stud. Theo­log. by comparing of which wit [...] the Translation we now have,Feuard. commonit. in 5. ab. I­renaei. it will easily appear how great a loss the Church sustains in the want of it: For instead of elegan [...] Greek,Rivet. crit. [...]ac. we have nothing else (in the Ire [...]e [...] now extant) but rude and ill-favoured Latin [...] Nor indeed can a Translation, especially [...] of Greek into Latin, equal the Original, seeing that (as Ierom speaks) the Latin Tongue r [...] ­ceives not the propriety of the Greek.

The Contents of the five Books of this ex­cellent Volume (to give you a brief accou [...] of them from Grynaeus) are these.In praefat. ante Iren. 1. In th [...] first he at large sets down the dismal and diabolical Errours of the Valentinians; toge­ther with a narration of the discords and im­pieties of those wretched Hereticks:In Argu­ment. lib. 2. Wh [...] opinions (saith Erasmus) are so horrid, th [...] the very bringing of them to light, is confu­tation sufficient: yea the very terms, as w [...] as the opinions, are so monstrous (saith the sa [...] Author) that it would even turn the stomach and tire the patience of any one,In Epist. ante Iren. but to peru [...] them over.

[Page 65] 2. In the second, he treats of the one Eter­nal, True, Omnipotent and Omniscient God, besides whom there is none other: And that not any feigned Demiurgus or Angels, but this eternal God alone, Father, Son and holy Ghost, did out of nothing produce this whole Fa­brick, both of Heaven and Earth; and gave being to Angels, Men and all inferiour Crea­tures; and refuses the Errours of the Gno­sticks concerning the same; shewing what they stole from the Philosophers to deceive the simple withal, and wounding, yea over­coming them with Weapons or Arguments fetched out of their own Magazines and Ar­mory.

3. In the third, which is partly polemical, and partly exegetical, he discovers and proves the Hereticks to be foully guilty of that hey­nous crime of corrupting and curtailing the sacred Scriptures: and evidently demonstrates the perpetual consent of the Prophets and Apostles concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, God and Man.

4. In the fourth he clearly, and by solid Arguments proves, that one and the same God was the Author of both the Testaments, the Old and the New; and that therein he hath revealed himself and his Will concerning the Restitution and Salvation by Jesus Christ, of all men that do repent; largely discoursing of the power of the Will, and of our imper­fection; and being gotten out of the craggy and intricate places, he enters into a large field, explaining many Scriptures depraved by the Hereticks.

5. In the fifth and last Book having made [Page 66] a repetition of divers things formerly handled, he comes to confute the vain conceits of the Gnosticks concerning the utter perishing of the bodies of men; and proves that our bodies shall not only be raised by Christ at the last day, but also that the very bodies of the Saints shall injoy eternal life, and be saved together with their Souls. In the handling whereof he gives a notable experiment (as the diligent Reader may observe) of a clear head, and as of a choice a spirit; whence his weighty arguments sharpned with holy Zeal, do pierce deeply into the very hearts of the Enemies of the Truth, to their shameful prostration, and utter overthrow: for great is the Truth, and will prevail.

He is one of the Ancients, and the only one among those contained in this Decade, that had the good hap not to have his name abused by being prefixed to the Books he ne­ver wrote, nor the bastard-brats of others to be father'd upon him.

§ 4. As for his Stile 'tis somewhat obscure and intricate,Cent. 2. cap. 10. yea he is oftentimes neglectin [...] of his words, and speaks improperly: ye such is the subject he discourseth of, that [...] will hardly admit of clear and plain expressi­ons:In Prooem. lib. 1. He himself disclaims Eloquence, a [...] dwelling among the Celtae, a people of a bar­barous speech; Look not, saith he, for the art of Oratory, which we have not learned: but what simply, truly and [...] in [...] vulgar manner we have written in Love, i [...] Love receive. Yet understand him of affect­ed Rhetorick, and not that he was altogether [Page 67] ignorant of that art: which could not be, seeing that in a subject so thorny and perplex, his stile is perspicuous,Erasm. in Epist. nun­cupat. digested and coherent. So that considering the matter he handleth, 'tis no wonder he is so obscure, and that so little art appears, but rather a wonder he is no more so: which proceeded not so much from want of skill in himself, as from the incapacity of the Subject whereof he treateth.Erasm. Prae­fat. ante Hilarium. A most difficult thing it is (saith the same Author) for him that discusseth things of a subtile Nature, to joyn with perspicuity, the care of polishing his Language.

§ 5. Among many wherewith this Learn­ed Piece is righly fraught and stored, I shall cull out and present you with a few memora­ble passages.

1. His Symbol or Creed, containing a brief sum, and confession of the Faith of the Churches of Christ (at least in the West) at that day: his words are these.

The Church,Lib. 1. cap. 2. although dispersed through the whole World, even unto the ends of the Earth, received the Faith from the Apo­stles, and their Disciples; which is, to be­lieve,

In one omnipotent God, which made Hea­ven and earth and the Seas, and all things that are in them; and in one Jesus Christ the Son of God, incarnate for our Salvation; and in the Holy Ghost, who by the Prophets preached the mysteries of the dispensation and coming of Christ, [...]. Dispositi­ones Dei. So doth the Centurists render it. and his Birth of a Virgin, and his Passion, and Resurrection from the dead, and the Assumption of the Beloved [Page 68] Christ Jesus our Lord in his flesh into Heaven, [...]. and his coming from Heaven in the Glory of the Father to restore (or recapitulate and ga­ther into one) all things, and to raise the flesh (or bodies) of all mankind, that unto Jesus our Lord, and God and Saviour, and King, [...]. according to the good pleasure of the Father invisible, every knee should bow, both of things in Heaven, and in the earth, and un­der the earth, and that every tongue should confess to him, and that he should pass a righ­teous sentence or judgment upon all, and send the spiritual wickednesses and the Angels that fell and became apostate, and also ungodly, unrighteous, lawless and blasphemous men into eternal fire: but for the righteous and holy, [...]. and such as did keep his command­ments, and abide in his love, some from the beginning, and some by repentance gratifying them with life, might bestow on them incor­ruptibility, and give unto them eternal Glo­ry.

Where observe by the way, that though it may be wondered at, that Irenaeus should no where expresly call the Holy Ghost God, yet that he held him to be God equal with the Fa­ther and the Son, is manifest, in that he makes in his Creed the object of faith to be all the three persons of the Trinity alike:In prooem. lib. 4. As also from hence, that elsewhere he ascribes the creation of man unto the Holy Ghost, as well as to the Father and the Son.

2. He gives the reason why the Mediatour between God and man, ought to be both God and man:Lib. [...]. cap. 20. For, saith he, if man had not overcome the enemy of man, he had not been [Page 69] justly overcome: again, unless God had given salvation, we should not have had it firmly; and unless man had been joyned unto our God, he (viz. Man) could not have been made partaker of incorruptibility. For it be­came the Mediator of God and Men,Domestici­tatem. by his nearness unto both, to reduce both into friendship and concord; and to procure that God should assume Man (or take him into communion) and that man should give up himself unto God.

3. The whole Scriptures,Lib. 2. cap. 46. both Prophetical and Evangelical (are) open or manifest, and without ambiguity; and may likewise be heard of all.Lib. 2. cap. 47. Again, we ought to believe God, who also hath made us; most assuredly knowing, that the Scriptures are indeed per­fect, as being spoken (or dictated) by the word of God and his Spirit.

4. Fides, quae est ad deum, justificat homi­nem, Lib. 4. cap. 13. Faith towards God ( [...], Heb. 6. 2.) justifieth a man.

5. Concerning the marks of the true Church,Lib. 3. 11. and that it is not tied to one place or succession; he thus speaks, When once the Gospel was spread throughout the world, and the Church gathered out of all Nations, then was the Church no where tied to one place, or to any certain and ordinary succes­sion; but there was the true Church where­soever the uncorrupted voice of the Gospel did sound, and the Sacraments were rightly administred according to the Institution of Christ. Also, that the pillar and ground of the Church is the Gospel and Spirit of Life.

5. Of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy [Page 70] Ghost,Lib. 2. cap. 58. continuing unto his time, thus, Some (saith he) cast out Devils soundly and truly; so that oftentimes even they who were clean­sed from wicked Spirits do believe, and are in the Church: others have the foreknow­ledge of things to come,Dictiones. and also propheti­cal Visions and Sayings: others do cure and restore to health such as labour of some infir­mity by the laying on of their hands. More­over, as we have said, the dead also have been raised and continued with us many years: [...]. And what shall I say? the Graces are not to be numbred, which throughout the whole world the Church receiving from God, doth dispose in the name of Christ Jesus (cru­cified under Pontius Pilate) every day for the help of the Nations, neither seducing any one, nor taking money from him. For as it hath freely received from God, so also doth it free­ly administer: nor doth it accomplish any thing by Angelical Invocations, nor incanta­tions, nor any wicked curiosity, but purely and manifestly directing their prayers unto the Lord, who hath made all things.

6. He plainly asserts that the world shall continue but six thousand years: For, saith he,Lib. 5. pag. 613. cap. 28. Feuardent. edit. look in how many days this world was made, in so many thousand years it shall be consummate. Therefore 'tis said in Gen. 2. 2. On the sixth day God finished all his works, and rested the seventh day. Estenim dies Dominl. Now this is both a narration of what was done before, and also a prophecy of things to come: for one day with the Lord is as a thousand years: in six days the things were finished that were made; and it is manifest that the six thousandth year is the consumma [...]ion of them.

[Page 71] 7. He finds the number of the Beasts name,Irenaeus an­tiquissimus theologus hoc nomen tanquam valdè con­sentaneum huic myste­rio divinâ sagacitate indagavit. Paraeus Comment. in Apoc. 13. 18 lib. 5. ca. 30. Edit. Feuar­dent. viz. 666. i [...] the word [...]: whence he concludes it as very probable that the seat of that beast is the Latin or Ro­man Kingdom. Take his own words. Sed & Lateinos nomen (habet) sexcentorum sexa­ginta sex numerum; & valdè verisimile est quoniam novissimum (verissimum. Erasm. edit.) Regnum hoc habet vo [...]abulum. Latini enim sunt qui nunc regnant: Sed non in hoc nos glo­riabimur.

8. Of the four Evangelists he thus writeth: Mathew (saith he) delivered unto the He­brews the History of the Gospel in their own Tongue.lib. 3. cap. 1. When Peter and Paul preached at Rome, and planted that Church, after their departure. Mark the Disciple and also In­terpreter of Peter, delivered unto us in wri­ting such things as he had heard Peter preach. And Luke the companion of Paul comprised in one Volume the Gospel preached of him. After these Iohn the Disciple of our Lord, who also leaned on his breast, published a Gospel, remaining at Ephesus in Asia.

9. When the Hereticks, saith he, are con­vinced from the Scriptures, they betake them to the accusation of the Scriptures them­selves,lib. [...]. cap. 2. as if they were not right, nor of any Authority, [...] sunt dictae. and because they are variously spoken, and because from them the truth can­not be found out, by them that know not Tradition.

1. We ought to obey them that are Pres­byters in the Church, even those who have succession from the Apostles, as we have shewn, who together with the succession of [Page 72] their Bishoprick,lib. 4. ca. 43. have received the certain gift of truth,Ch [...]risma. according to the pleasure of the Father.—Succession of Doctrine is the principal, and without that certain gift of truth, it is vain yea impious to boast of per­sonal succession.

11. Of the Translation of the Septuagint, thus.lib. 3. ca 25. Ptolemy willing to have an experiment of them, and fearing le [...]t perhaps by consent they should through their interpretation hide that truth which was in the Scriptures: he separating them one from another, command­ed them all to interpret the same Scripture, and this he did in all the Books: when there­fore they come together into one place with Ptolemy, and compared their Interpretations▪ God was glorified, and the Scriptures were believed to be truly divine, all of them reci­ting the same, both in the same phrases and in the same words from the beginning to the end: [...]. So that even the Gentiles that were present did acknowledge that the Scri­ptures were Interpreted by the Inspiration of God.

12. Very memorable is that passage of his in an Epistle unto Victor Bishop of Rome, Euseb. lib. 5. cap. 23. [...]. Divini senis verba no­ [...]anda. Ca­saub. exerci­tat. 13. p. [...]35. re­corded by Eusebius. Although saith he, Christians differed in their Judgements about the manner of Fasting, yet notwithstanding were they at unity one with another, for this variety of fasting commendeth the unity of Faith.

They that were Presbyters before Soter of that Church, whereof now thou art Presi­dent, Anicetus, I mean, and Pius, and Hyginus, and Telesphorus, and Xystus, neither did so ob­serve [Page 73] it themselves, nor left any such Com­mandment to their posterity, and yet never­theless they (not observing it) were at unity with them, who resorted unto them, from those Churches that did observe the same, when yet their observance was contrary to those who observe it not. Neither was any one at any time rejected, (or excommunica­ted) for such kind of fasting: but those very Presbyters who were thy predecessors, have sent the Eucharist to the Brethren of those Churches who kept it after their own man­ner. And when Polycarp was at Rome in the time of Anicetus, and they were at variance among themselves about some certain small and trifling matters, they were soon reconci­led; but about this particular they had no contention at all. Neither was Anice [...]us able to perswade Polycarp (mark, the Roman Bi­shops used not, it seems, to command them as now) that he should not retain that which he had always observed with Iohn the Disciple of our Lord, and the rest of the Apostles with whom he had been conversant: neither did Polycarp perswade Anicetus so to observe it, but told him he ought to observe the Ancient Custom of the Elders, whom he succeeded? And things being at this pass, they held com­munion one with another: and in the Church Anicetus granted the Eucharist unto Polycarp for the reverence which he bare him; and so they parted from each other in peace, and in the Universal Church, both those that did observe it and those that did not observe it, were at peace one with another.

These and many other the like worthy say­ings [Page 74] are to be found in the Books of this An­cient Father, but let it suffice to have given you this tast of them.

§ 6. Yet are there some things observed in him as his blemishes and failings, wherein he is not to be followed, because therein he swerves from that un-erring Rule the word of Truth. Even the most eminent Men in the Church, (after the Apostles) have built some hay and stubble upon the foundation they held, which will not endure the trial of the Fire: Those of this Father are as fol­loweth.

1. Somewhat harsh and to be corrected, iib. 2. ca. 49. is that concerning Christ. Si quis exquirat cau­sam propter quam in omnibus Pater communi­cans Filio solus scire & horam & diem Domino manifestatus est, neque aptabilem magis neque decentiorem, nec sine periculo alteram quam hanc inveniat in praesenti: quoniam cum solus verax Magister est Dominus, ut discamus per ip­sum, super omnia esse Patrem. Etenim Pater, ait major me est, & secundem agnitionem itaqu [...] praepositus esse Pater annunciatus est à Domino Nostro, ad hoc, ut & nos, in quantum figura hu­jus mundi-sumus, perfectam Scientiam & tales quaestiones concedamus Deo: Et ne fortè que­rentes altitudinem Patris investigare, in tantum periculum incidamus, uti quaeramus, an super Deum alter sit Deus.

2. He hath some passages concerning free will, not to be admitted, though again in o­ther places he hath somewhat directly oppo­site thereunto. E.g. Dedit deus bonum, & qui operantur quidem illud, & gloriam & honore [...] [Page 75] percipient, quoniam operati sunt bonum, cum possint non operari illud.lib. 4. ca. 71. Hi autem qui illud non operantur, judicium justum recipient Dei, quoniam non sunt operati bonum,lib. 4. ca. 72. cum possint operari illud. Item. Quoniam omnes sunt e­jusdem naturae, & potentes retinere & operari bonum & potentes rursum amittere id, & non facere; justè etiam apud homines sensatos, quanto magis apud Deum, alii quidem laudan­tur, & dignum percipiunt testimonium electionis bonae & perseverantiae: alii verò accusantur, & dignum percipiunt damnum, eò quòd justum & bonum reprobaverint. Adhuc: Quoniam li­berae sententiae est Deus,Ibid. eujus ad similitudinem factus est, semper consilium datur ei, continere bonum, quod proficiscitur ex eâ quae est ad Deum obedientiâ: Et non tantum in operibus, sed etiam in fide liberum & suae potestatis arbitrium homini servavit Dominus.

Contrà Dominus pollicitus est mittere se paracletum,lib. 3. ca. 19. qui nos aptaret Deo. Sicut enim de arido tritico massa una fieri non potest sine humore, neque unus panis: Ita nec nos multi unum fieri in Christo Iesu poteramus, sine aquâ, quae de caelo est. Et sicut arida terra, si non percipiat humorem, non fructificat: sic & no [...] lignum aridum existentes primum nunquam fru­ctificaremus vitam, sine supernâ voluntariâ pluviâ i. e. Spiritu Sancto.

3. His opinion concerning the Age of Christ, is evidently contrary to what may be collected from the History of the Evangelists, for thus saith he: Omnes venit per seipsum salvare,lib. 2. ca. 39. omnes, inquam, qui per [...]um rena scuntur in Deum, infantes, & parvulos, & pueros, & juvenes & Seniores. Ideò per om­nem [Page 76] venit aetatem, & infantibus infans factus, sanctificans infantes: in parvulis parvulus, sanctificans hanc ipsam habentes aetatem, sim [...] & exemplum illis pietatis effectus, & justitie & subjectionis. Iuvenibus juvenis, exemplu [...] juvenibus fiens, & sanctificans Domino. Sic & senior in senioribus, ut sit perfectus Magister i [...] omnibus, non solùm secundum exposition [...] veritatis, sed secundum aetatem sanctificans simul & seniores, exemplum ipsis quoque fiens, &c.—Quia autem triginta annorum [...] primae indolis est juvenis,Ibid. & extenditur usque ad quadragesimum annum, omnis quilibet confite­bitur, a quadragesimo aut quinquagesimo ann [...] declinat jam in aetatem senior [...]m, quam b [...] ­bens Dominus noster docebat, sicut Evangeliu [...] & omnes seniores testantur, qui in Asia apud Ioannem Discipulum Domini convenerunt, id ipsum tradidisse eis Ioannem: permansit au­tem cum eis usque ad Trajani tempora. Qui­dem autem eorum non solùm Ioannem, sed & alios Apostolos viderunt, & haec eadem ab ipsis audierunt, & testantur de hujus modi relation [...]. Non multum aberat a quinquaginta annis, & ideò dicebaut ei,lib. 2. ca. 40. quinquagi [...]ta annorum nondum es, & Abraham vidisti? Io. 8. 57.

4. Ierom and others ascribe unto him the errour of the Chiliasts or Millenaries,In catalog. Papias. though it be not to be found so expresly in his wri­tings now extant.

All which the impudent Fryar Feuardentius (glad to take, yea to make an occasion, that he might fall foul upon the Lutheran and Cal­vinian Hereticks, as he calls them) labours after a sort to defend him in, as if they were meer calumnies and causless criminations: [Page 77] Although some chief ones of his own Catho­lick faction;In argum. in lib. Irenaei. to wit, Baronius and Possevine, as also Erasmus, charge him, with the same as well as others: and who so lists to peruse his books shall find they had just cause so to do. But the Antidotes (as he calls his defence prefixed to his Edition of Irenaeus) of such Mountebanks are no better then poyson;Crit. sac. and, saith the learned Rivet, I would admonish young Students to beware of the Edition of this shameless and faithless Monk, as being in many things corrupted, and defiled with his impious and lying Annotations.

Besides these there are some other things and expressions which fell from the Pen of this worthy Man, that do need the friendly and favourable construction of his Reader: among the rest, is that passage. lib. 3. cap. 21. Propter hoc verbum Dei homo, & qui filius Dei est, filius hominis factus est, Commixtus verbo Dei, ut adoptionem percipiens fiat filius Dei. Also that, lib. 5. cap. 26. Be [...]è Iustinus dixit, quoniam ante Domini adventum, nunquam a [...] ­sus est Satanas blasphemore Deum, quippe nondum sciens suam damnationem. Also that, lib. 4. cap. 30. Henoch sine circumcisione placens Deo, cum esset homo, Dei legatione ad Angelos fun­gebatur, & translatus est, & conservatur usque nunc testis justi judicii Dei, quoniam Angeli transgressi deciderunt in judicium, homo autem, placens, translatus est in salutem. Lastly that, lib. 5. Discipulorum animae abibunt in invisi­bilem locum, definitum eis a Deo, & ibi usque ad resurrectionem commorabuntur, susti [...]entes re­surrectionem; post recipientes corpora & perfectè resurgentes, hoc est, corporaliter, qu [...]madmodum [Page 78] & Dominus resurrexit, sic venient ad conspectum Dei. These and such like, do crave the can­dour and indulgence of the judicious Reader.

§ 7. As touching his Death and Martyr­dom;Commentar. atas. 6. c. 11. Hist. lib. 1. c. 27. ad an. 205. § 28. Ado Bishop of Vienna, Gregory Bishop of Turon, and Baronius do report, that in the persecution under the Emperour Severus, which raged especially about Lyons, by the command of the Emperour, the said City was invironed with Soldiers, who slew with the Sword all the Christians that were found therein, the chief of whom was this Irenaeu [...] their Bishop, who with the rest received the glorious Crown of Martyrdom: At what time the slaughter was so great, (saith Gregory Turonens.) that the very streets ran with blood. In what year this hapned Historians record,Ad an. 196. § 22. not only Baronius conjectures that the perse­cution of the Christians under Severus began not until the tenth year of his Reign; and that one of the first places wherein he exerci­sed his cruelty, was this City; of whose con­stancy he had had such experience; that he knew neither threats nor flatteries would make the Church there under such a Prelate to bend or yield, and therefore determined to destroy them by the Sword. He therefore refers the Martyrdom of Irenaeus Ad. an. D [...]m. 205. Severi. 11.Baron. ad an. 205. § 28.

Clemens Alexendrinus.

§ 1. HE Stiles himself Titus Flavius Clemens: for with this inscripti­on were his books of Stromes extant in Eusebius his time:Lib. 6. c. 12. Biblioth. num. 111. and so also had Photius found in a very old Copy, as he saith, those books of his Entituled.

What country man he was by birth is somewhat uncertain:Cent. 2. c. 10. Patria [...]uit Atheniensis. Baro. ad an. 196. § 22. Communis quaedam In­stitutionis & eruditionis officina. Diodor. Si­cul. biblioth. lib. 13. Lib. de Aca­dem. c. 1. haeres. 32. Nobilissi­mum orbi­terrarum gymnasium. Cicero. in epist. famil. l. 4. Ep. 12. only it is conjectured that he was born in Athens, that City so much famed for Learning throughout the world; where was the first Academy, or Schools of Learning known by that name, which since is become the common appella­tion of places of that nature. Academiae nomen Athenis primùm inclaruisse apud omnes▪ fermè authores convenit, inquit Iunius. Epi­phonius therefore speaking of him: some, saith he, call him Clemens of Alexandria, o­thers of Athens; this latter being the place of his birth, as the former of his breeding and most abode: and as in the one he drew his first breath, so in the other having spent the most of it, he breathed out his last.

Being exceedingly desirous of learning and knowledge, he spent his first time of study [Page 80] in Greece; from whence going Eastward, he came into Palestine, Cent. 2. c. 10. and lastly from thence into Egypt, setling in the famous School of Alexandria, wherein he conti­nued the remainder of his time, either as a Scholar in learning, or as a Doctor in teach­ing: Whence he got that name by which to this day he is commonly call'd and known, viz. Baron. ad. an. 169. § 23. of Clemens, not the Athenian, but the Alexandrian.

In this place he was first an Auditour of Pantaenus, (when or how he was converted to Christianity is uncertain,) a man very e­minent both for his life and learning and this both Sacred and Secular; who being at first a Philosopher of the Sect of the Stoicks,Hieronym. in Catalog. Rhenan. in Tertul. lib. De poeni­tent. ex Eu­seb. l. 6. c. 5. and afterward converted unto Christianity, was the first after the Apostles who there exercised the Office of Magister [...], or instru­ctour of the Catechumens, and Governour of the School or Academy,Epist. 24. Doctor Audientium (as Cyprian calls this Officer) the Catechist; unto which function he was called by Deme­trius, the then Bishop of that place: whose work it was to open and Interpret the Scri­ptures, to instruct the Catechumens or young believers in the grounds and principles of Christianity,Cent. 2. c. 10. and to refute Ethnick and hereti­cal opinions; which they used to do not in Sermons and Homelies, but in a Scholastical manner: their Auditors being not only such as were newly converted from heathenism, but also the children of believers grown up to years of understanding,Of these Schools. see Hospin. de orig. tem­plor. cap. 5. specially such as were intended for Ecclesiastical imploy­ments:

[Page 81] Accordingly not only were the principles of Religion taught, and the Sacred Scriptures expounded in these Christian Schools,Cent. 2. c. 7. Hospin. ibid. Cent. 1. l. 2. cap. 2. (where­of this at Alexandria is conceived to have been the first and most famous: being found­ed by Mark the Evangelist, who planted the first Church in that City) but those who were trained up in them did also apply themselves to the study of the liberal arts and languages: in which regard Alexandria is by Gregory Na­zianzen in his Oration in the praise of Cae­sarius, Orat. 24. called [...] the shop of all kind of learning.De benefic. lib. 1. c. 15. Of these Schools Duarenus gives us this account: Fuerunt, inquit, antiquitùs Ecclesiasticae scholae, ad clèrìcorum & aliorum egentium eruditionem institutae: quibus scholis praeficiebantur magistri qui non literas modò sacras, sed Grammaticam etiam & liberales disciplinas docerent. Erat igitur hoc munus a pastoris officio distinctum & separatum. Hence it is conceived our Uni­versities took their Original in this Town (viz. Alexandria) Gautenus, Geograph. (saith Heylin) (he should have said, Pantenus) read Di­vinity and Philosophy, An. 180. from whom it is thought, that the Orders of instituting Universities first began in Christendom. Thus did the Ancients deem the liberal Arts to be of great use, and very requisite to the preser­vation of the purity of Religion;Cent. 3. c. 10 for which end Origen exhorted his Scholars to the diligent study of them, affirming them to be very needful both for disputations, and also the explication of the Sacred Scriptures: And it is evident that the most famous Fa­thers of the Church did much excel therein, [Page 82] being richly furnished with the knowledg of them.

Clemens having here spent some time in these kind of studies with great proficiency, was at length made Presbyter of this Church;Hieronym. in Catalog. Magister il­lius Ecclesi. Ruffin. in Apolog. pro Origine. Baron. ad an. 196. § 23. and after a while; Pantenus dying, he was esteemed worthy to succeed him in the Office of Doctor or Moderator of that School; in which imployment he continued long, even unto the end of his days, managing it with much industry and prudence to the great be­nefit and advantage of those that attended upon him, and gaining general applause and approbation.

§ 2. He was a man of admirable and choice endowments of nature,Cent. 2. c 10. of an acute wit, & most tenacious memory, which he imployed and improved to the uttermost, sparing neither industry nor travail for the attaining of learning and knowledge, which he was very greatly desirous, yea greedy of; for which cause he betook him to the Schools of those men in divers provinces and countries,Baron. ib. who were most eminent and famous, drawing from them what he found to be best, and might most advantage him in that which he sought for. Nor did he attend only upon the living, but also applied himself unto and consulted with the dead, diligently and judi­ciously perusing the Monuments of men learn­ed in every kind that went before him: as well Heathen (Poets, Philosophers, Historians, whether Greeks or Barbarians) as Christian; as his works full stuft with multiplicity of Authors and variety of reading do amply te­stifie.Hieronym. in Catalog. [Page 83] By this means did he attain unto a great height and more then Ordinary mea­sure of learning,Chemnit. examen. par. 1. Baron ad. an. 196. § 22. Ep. 84. Mag. Idem. in Catalog. Trithem. de script. Bergoma. supplem. chron. Nicet. Coniat. Or­thodox. l. 3. cap. 10. both Divine and Humane; so that in all Antiquity he was accounted Vir celeberrimus, most renowned; Clarissimus horum temporum Ecclesiasticus tractator; and in the judgment of Ierom (than which what more accurate?) the most Learned of all the Ancients: in whose books, saith he, what is there to be found unlearned? yea, what not extracted out of the very bowels of Philoso­phy? they are full fraught with Learning and Eloquence. Hence he is adorned by others with the titles of an egregious, most Learned and most eloquent man; an holy man, & who exceeds all others in his skill and cunning in many things,Casaub. exer­citat. 1. In praefat. ad annotat. in Clem. Contra Juli­an. l. 10. of notable and al­most incredible knowledge (saith Gentian Hervet. in Epist. ante Paedagogum) in whom it so abounds, that he cannot be drawn dry, briefly he is, saith Heinsius, penu eruditionis & scientiae, a full store-house and plentiful magazine of Learning and knowledge; so that Cyril (who was afterward Bishop of the same City, where our Clement was Presbyter and Professor) calls him, [...], an eloquent man, endued with mul­tiplicity of knowledge, one that dived so far into the writings of the Greeks, as few of those had done, who went before him.

His piety and zeal for the honour of God and the advancement of Christian Religion,Cent. 2. c. 10▪ Trithem. de­script. Euseb. l. 6. c. 13. were no less than his Learning; being a de­vout, and holy Man: For he was serviceable not only to the Church of Alexandria (where­unto he stood in special relation) but went [Page 84] from thence unto the Churches of Ierusalem and Antioch, who, by his preaching among them, were not a little advantaged, some be­ing edified and confirmed in the Faith of Christ, and others recovered from their er­rours, who had been seduced by false teach­ers. Somewhat this way sounds the testi­mony concerning him of Alexander at that time Bishop of Ierusalem, in his congratula­tory Epistle unto the Church of Antioch: Hieronym. in Catalog. These lines, saith he, I send unto you by Clement the blessed Presbyter, whom ye also know, and shall now more fully recognize; who coming hither by the providence and vi­sitation of God, hath confirmed and increased the Church of the Lord. Thus as a faith­ful servant and steward, did he diligently lay out, and imploy the talents that he had recei­ved, for the advantage of his Lord and Ma­ster, who had intrusted him with them.

He likewise greatly improved both the Learning and Life of his Master Pantenus, (who was a pious and a prudent man) re­ceiving from him not only instructions as a Doctor, for his information, but also an ex­ample and pattern, as a president, for his imi­tation,Lib. 4. c. 33. for (saith Nicephorus) as he succeed­ed him in his place and imployment, so did he also tread in his steps, and observed the same manner and method both in his life and lectures.

§. 3. He was exceeding useful unto the Church of Christ as well by his pen, as by his preaching: for being a man of singular and more than ordinary abilities he wrote di­vers [Page 85] books, wherein he transmitted unto po­sterity the doctrines which he had received and taught, and vigorously asserted and maintained the truth against the adversaries and opposers of it. Of which writings ma­ny are lost through the injury of time and neglect of succeeding ages; and some are re­maining unto this day.

Of the first sort, are such as these, by Ierom and Eusebius;

1. A Commentary de Paschate: In Catalog. Lib. 6. c. 12. which, saith Eusebius, he composed at the instance of some friends who earnestly desired that he would commit to writing for the benefit of posterity, those things which he had heard and received from the Ancient Presby­ters. In which book he remembers Melito, Irenaeus, and certain others whose expositions he inserts and makes use of.

2. A book thus intituled, Quis dives sal­vetur. So Eusebius; or as Ierom; Quisnam dives ille sit, Lib. 4. c. 33. Apparat. qui salvetur. A Treatise Learn­edly composed, saith Nicephorus, and worthy to be perused: whence, saith Possevine, Euse­bius took that famous story of the Young man, by the Apostle Iohn recommended to the care of a certain Bishop; who afterward became very debaucht and gave himself to all kind of vice, but was again by the same Apostle in an admirable manner recalled and recovered: who so list may read this story at large in Eusebius, li [...]. 3. cap. 21.

3. His disputations of Fasting:Ibid. which (as also the following) Nicephorus calls Ho­milies. Honorius Augusto dunensis divides the title; but amiss: setting down as two [Page 86] distinct Books,Honor. August. de Script. Eccles. cap. 39. De Iojunio unus: De Discepta­tione unus: contrary to Ierome, whose cata­logue (with some others he epitomized:) Trithemius also is guilty of the same errour.

4. De Obtrectatione, or of slander.

5. An exhortatory unto patience, com­posed for such as were newly baptized.

6. Of the Canons of the Church, or an Ec­clesiastical Canon, and against those who fol­low the errour of the Jews; which Book, [...],De Script. Eccles. Cent. 2. cap. 10. he peculiarly dedicated it unto Alexander, Bishop of Ierusalem: Trithemius and the Centurists make these two distinct Books, wherein they may be presumed to be mistaken, seeing herein they differ from Eu­sebius and Ierom: the latter of the two the Centurists entitle thus: Of those who in the Scriptures follow the sence of the Jews.

7. [...], Eight Books of Dispo­sitions, Informations or Institutions: (fetch­ing the name haply from 2 Tim. 1. 13.Cent. ibid. Sixt. Senens. lib. 4. [...]) wherein he goeth over the whole body of the Scriptures in a brief Commentary or compendious ex­planation of them,P [...]otius in Biblioth. Numb. 111. if not rather some special places of both Testaments, the scope of the whole work seeming to be an interpretation of Genesis, Exodus, the Psalms, the Epistles of Paul, and those called Catholical, and lastly of the Book called Ecclesiasticus: yea, he omits not some of those that are Ap [...]cryphal, al­together and generally rejected,Cent. ibid. Nicephor. lib. 4. cap. 33. [...] it. in Clement. viz. the Re­velation under the name of Peter, and the E­pistle of Barnabas. Heinsius gives us this ac­count of them: These Books (saith he) as the Inscription teacheth us, did contain an [Page 87] institution or delineation of the Doctrine of Christianity; not so much methodical, dog­matical and artificial, as free and bound up or restrained by no rules; for he interpreted di­vers places of the Sacred Scriptures, out of which without doubt he gathered a Body of Doctrine.In Biblioth. num. 19. The want of these Books cannot be accounted any great loss, if the report of Photius concerning them be a truth: For (saith he) although in some things he seems to be Orthodox and sound in his judgment, yet in others he discourseth altogether fabu­lously and impiously: as in asserting the mat­ter whereof the world was made to be eter­nal, in ranking Christ among the number of things created, in mentioning with allowance and approbation the Pythagorean [...], or transmigration of Souls; and that many worlds were before Adam, that the word was not truly made flesh, but only seem­ed so to be, together with very many such like passages, withal adding (as admiring and amazed that such an one as Clement should be the author of them) all which, either he him­self, or else some other under his name blasphe­mously uttereth,In edit. Clement. in not. ad mar. in apparat. which latter (saith Andrew Scho [...]tus and Possevine) is the more likely; for the Arrians had corrupted his writings, as Ruffine reporteth in his Apology for Origen; and the Doctrine contained in his other Books is more sound and orthodox.Photius. Biblioth. numb. 110. Cent. cap. 10.

Besides these, there is elsewhere mention of the following Treatises.

8. Of the Resurrection.

9. Of Continence.

10. Of Marriage: of these three he him­self [Page 88] speaks in his Books of Stromes; and par­ticularly of the last in his Paedagogus, lib. 3. cap. 8. where we have a summary of the con­tents of it, viz. how the Wife ought to live with her Husband, of the Administration of the Government of the Family, the use of Servants, and what things ought to be done by her apart, of the time of Marriage, and of those things which appertain to women.

11. Sozomen saith that he compiled an Hi­story:Lib. 1. cap. 1. and indeed Suidas makes mention of one Clemens [...], the Historian, who wrote of the Roman Kings and Emperours: but Baronius supposeth they meant not this but a­nother Clement; and the truth is they both speak of a Clement indefinitely, without any addition of the Alexandrian, or otherwise.

12. Many Epistles.Trithem. de Script. Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 12.

13. He also promised a Commentary upon Genesis, which accordingly he clearly and en­tirely performed upon the whole Book, as some do affirm, whom herein (saith Sixtus Senensis) I will neither give credit unto,Biblioth. lib. [...]. nor gainsay.

Of the second sort of his Books, viz. those remaining and commonly received at this day, are only the three following.

1. [...], his admonition or exhortation unto the Gentiles,In catalog. adversus Gentes, liber unus, saith Ierom.

2. [...], his Schoolmaster, com­prised in three Books.

3. [...], Eight Books of Stromes, a work variously woven after the manner of Tapestry, mixed with testimonies taken out of the Sacred Scriptures, as also Poets, Phi­losophers and Historians,Nicephor. l [...]b. 4. cap. 33. whence he got the [Page 89] name of [...], contextor, or the Wea­ver. He himself gives the reason of the name, and why these Books were so entitu­led by him:Strom. lib. 4. Est in exiguo quidem spacio (in­quit) multa genitalis copia semine eorum dog­motum quae comprehenduntur in hoc opere, tan­quam ager omnibus herbis plenus. Vnde etiam propriam habent inscriptionem stromata commen­tariorum, &c. Again, Permixtim nobis instar prati variata est stromatum descriptio: Strom. lib. 6. [...] Of its proper and primi­tive signification the most learned Casaubon gives us this account;In Animad­vers. in A­thenaeum. lib. 1. cap. 4. Solitos veteres stragulam vestem pellibus involvere, & loris constringere, etiam Iurisconsulti testes sunt—Constat au­tem ex-veterum lectione, & stragula superiora, & involucrum istud, quod antiquiores [...], recentiores [...] vocarunt, va­r [...]s coloribus distincta ferè fuisse. Inde translatae eae dictiones ad res significandas varietate insig­nes: cujusmodi fuit piscis [...] dictus ob coloris aurei virgas per totum illius cor­pus productas, inquit Athenaeus, lib. 7. Similiter & viri docti excerpta sua ex variis auctoribus, aut propria etiam scripta, sed veterum referta testimoniis, soliti [...] vel [...] appellare, ut Clemens Alexandrinus, &c. Those Books and Commentaries (saith Martianus Victorinus) men call Stromata, Schol. in Hi­eronym. E­pist. 65. which con­tain in them variety of matter, because Car­pets and Garments of this, compounded of divers colours and Histories, were so inter­woven.In vitâ Ori­gen. bibli­oth. lib 3. The name [...] (saith Eras­ [...]ns) is taken from pictured Carpets or Tape­stry. Also Sixtus Senensis thus; a Rapsody, [Page 90] which some call Stroma, or a stromatical ex­position, is an exposition made up of a compo­sition out of divers Authors. And in very deed such are Clemens his Commentaries or Stromes, which contain so great and innume­rable riches of all kind of Learning (saith Gentian Heroet) that there is no one who is endued with any Arts and Sciences,In Epist. an­te Strom. but may receive from him exceeding great profit. Yea (saith the learned Daille) what can you name more mixed and fuller of variety than Clemens his Stromata, Treat. of the right use of the Fathers. lib. 1. as he calls them, and his other works; which are throughout inter­laced with Historical Allusions, Opinions, Sentences and Proverbs out of all sorts of Writers, both sacred and profane, being here heightened with rich lightsome colours, there shaded with darkness, in such sort as that it is a vain thing for an ignorant person to hope e­ver to reach his meaning? For which cause Casaubon quoting a passage of these Books, doth it after this manner:Exercitat. 1. ad apparat. Annal. Ba­ron. Sic ait Clemens A­lexandrinus, lib. 7. [...], centonum, which we may well call varias lectiones.

The excellency and usefulness of all three,In Epist. ante opera Clem. is thus fully and at large set forth by Gentian Heroet, who among others translated them in­to Latine. Of how great utility (saith he) this ancient Father may be, doth from hence evidently appear: Are there some that are de­lighted with the most ancient Histories? Let them read Clement, who retained them all so exactly, that none of these things which were done throughout the world, seem to have escaped his knowledge. Are there who reverence the Verses of the old Poets, [Page 91] and certain divine answers of the Oracles? These must needs have Clement in very high esteem, who citeth the testimonies of very many Poets, whose works are at this day utter­ly lost and perished. Are there, who would fain know and acquaint themselves with the ancient Rites and Ceremonies observed in or about the sacrifices of the Gods? Let such betake them unto Clement, who so unfolds all those abominable mysteries, that if any one among Christians do yet praise and ad­mire those old Heathenish Ordinances and Customs (and would to God there were none that did so) he will forthwith (unless he be more stupid than a stone) upon the reading of Clement cast away every fond opi­nion of those false Gods, and must needs be ashamed of the madness of those who afore­time did worship them. Would any know the decrees or opinions of the old Philoso­phers? Let them view Clement, who so de­livers and describes the original of all Philo­sophy, together with the several Sects, Suc­cessions and Maxims of all Philosophers; that seeing a man so singularly learned hath pre­ferred Christian Philosophy (or Religion) before all other; they will be forced (though unwilling) to confess that this is plainly di­vine, and in very deed inspired and published from God. Have any a mind to understand what were the Doctrines of those Hereticks, who in its infancy and first rise disquieted the Church of God? They may hear them by Cle­ment explicated and confuted. Are any wil­ling to have evil and corrupt manners cor­rected and amended? There is none that in­veighs [Page 92] against vice more sharply, none that better exhorts unto vertue, none that shews the way how men should order and lead their lives more exactly then Clement doth. An encomium large enough to invite the most curious Reader, seeing there is such choice fare, and variety of dishes for his enter­tainment.

There is observable in these works of his fore-named, an admirable order and method, purposely intended by himself; which shews the mutual aspect and close connexion of the one unto the other;Heinsius in annotat. in Clement. So that even herein he is mysterious, and Pythagorical. For,

1. In the first, he sets forth the vanity of Heathenish Idolatry;Scultet. in Maedull. by arguments drawn from the original and matter of their gods, and the judgement of the more sound Eth­nicks; who, though unwillingly, yet acknow­ledged their errour: Also from the vanity of their Temples and Images: and in the end exhorteth unto the profession of Christi­anity and Worship of the one only God,Heinsius in annotat. which may not unfitly be called [...], or a purgation of such as would become Chri­stians from Heathenish superstitions.

2. In the second, viz. his Paedagogus; he teacheth, that the Son of God is our School­master,Ibid. and what the manners of Christians ought to be. This is [...]: the initiation or catechising of the new Con­vert to Christianity, wherein he omits no part of a Christian life, which he doth not adorn with wonderful Wisdom and Learn­ing.Possevin. in apparat.

[Page 93] 3. In the third,Libri stro­mateon octo sunt, adver­sus Paganos atque haere­ses pugnath instituentes. Photius. num. 3. Heb. 5. 14. viz. his Stromes, there is great variety and plenty of matter, fetched both from the sacred Scriptures and prophane Authors; for the more perfect instruction of those who had been initiated; as setting strong meat before such as were of perfect or riper age, and had their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. And it may be called, [...], sive [...] ad sacra maxima, supremam dei notionem & aeternam contempla­tionem admissio: H [...]i [...]s. ibid. an admission unto the high and hidden Mysteries of Christianity.

Concerning this last, take a hint of these two things:

1. That herein he tyeth not himself unto any exact method or order, but is somewhat confused and abstruse: for so he himself con­fesseth, rendring the Reason why he did so, viz. Strom. lib. 7. he therefore dispersed the Doctrines that excite unto true knowledge here and there, that they might not easily be found out by any that are not initiated into these mysteries: therefore, saith he, neque ordinem neque dictio­nem spectant libri Stromaton; Strom. lib. 1. the Books of Stromes respect neither order, nor words: So that here, it seems he was curious in neither. Again, [...].Strom. lib. 6. these Books being as a bo­dy composed of variety of Learning, will ar­tificially conceal the seeds of knowledge: Wherein things as they occasionally offered themselves and came into his mind, are scattered up and down, as a Meadow is vari­ously deckt and adorned. And this seems to have been the manner of the Ancients: in so [Page 94] doing (saith Peter Halliox) Clemens imitated Dyonisius Areopagita, Quest. 2. de vitâ & opi­bus Dionys. Areopagit. viz. in that he volunta­rily and on purpose wrote his Books some­what obscurely, and would hide the seeds of knowledge, and sometimes makes use of new words: to the end that, (as in hunting) the truth being found with much pains, might be the more sweet and acceptable, as also that it might be the more remote and secure from the scorn and cavils of petulant men, who appre­hend not holy things.Contra Cel­sni. pag. 774. Yea, (saith Origen) using such obscurity, he did herein as the Pro­phets were wont to do. To which let me only add the account which he himself gives of his end in compiling these Books; his words are, as rendred in the Parisian Edition; Non est hoc opus Scriptura artificiosè comparata ad ostentationem, Strom. lib. 1. sed mihi ad senectutem recon­duntur monimenta, oblivionis medicamentum verè image & adumbratio evidentium & anim [...] ­tarum illarum orationum, quas dignus hahitus sum qui audirem, & virorum beatorum qui­que reverà erant maximi precii & aestimationis.

2. The eighth Book of Stromes is different from the rest.

1. In the bulk of it:Heins. in An­notat. being shorter then the fore-going; whence it appears not to be an entire book.

2. In the Inscription thereof: fo [...] in some copies it hath this Title,In Biblioth. saith Photius, Quis dives salveter: (of which before) and begins with these words, Qui laudatorias or a­tiones: in other Copies it is thus inscribed, Stromat [...]n Octavus, as the other seven, and be­gins with the same words, which the now extant eighth book doth; Sed neque anti­quissimi Philosophi.

[Page 95] 3. In the subject thereof, or matter con­tained and handled in it: for the seven pre­ceding books are altogether Theological, but this wholly Logical;In Medul. nihil continet (inquit Scultetus) Theologicum, sed de syllogismis ar­gumentisque logicis quasdam praeceptiunculas) wherein there are some things unsound, though not so many as in his [...] or institutions:In Annotat. so far Photius. Heinsius sup­poseth that this may be a fragment, taken out of his Institutions, to which some things contained in them that were not sound did stick: so that he conceives this book was long lost, and that now a part of the institu­tions hath invaded the place thereof: Which haply may be the reason,Chron. tom. 2. lib. 2. cap. 27. wherefore Frecul­phus reckons the books of Stromes to be but seven. This I thought good to intimate, and so to leave it unto the discreet Reader, to judge and make what use of it he can.

That small Commentary set forth by Bigne, which he calls adumbrationes or shadowings (Baronius gives them the name of breves notae, Biblioth. pa­trum, tom. 1. Ad an. 196. §. 24. short notes) upon some of the Catholical E­pistles, viz. The Epistle of Peter, the Epistle of Iude, and the first and second of Iohn (and the truth is, they give but little light into those Scriptures) though they bear the Title of this ancient Father, yet in all likely­hood are they none of his;Rivet. Crit. Sac. for neither Euse­bius nor Ierom make any mention of them; only Cassiodorus affirms it, and that it is done in an Attick or Elegant stile; wherein many things are spoken subtily indeed, but not so warily as they should have been. Pro­bable it is that these notes also were by some [Page 96] one taken out of his Institutions. For these are said to contain in them an explanation of a great part of the sacred Scriptures, and par­ticularly of the Catholical Epistles.

§ 4. For the stile that he useth 'tis elegant and full of gravity: both Ierom and Cyril commend in him his eloquence; and Trithe­mius stiles him Eloquentissimus, a most eloquent Man: It's conceived that he was born in A­thens, and consequently it is likely that there also he had his first Education, and the Lan­guage of the place, which was of all other the best and finest.Lib. de An [...] ­mâ. Athenis (inquit Tertulli­anus) sapiendi dicendi (que) acutissimos nasci re­latum est: In Athens are born the most acute men, for Wisdom and Speech: Athens being fa­mous for Eloquence,Rhodig. Iect. antiq. lib. 18. cap. 1. as was Sparta for Arms. His Books of the School-master (saith Photius) are nothing like unto his Institutions or [...]:Biblioth. num. 110. for besides that they have not in them any of those sottish and blasphemous opinions, which were to be found in the o­ther; the very phrase is more florid and rhe­torical, rising to a certain well temper'd gra­vity mixed with sweetness. Such was the Attick Dialect:Ibid. cap. 25. Atticorum aures teretes ad quas qui se accommodat is existimandus est At­ticè dicere (inquit Rhodiginus. Erasm. adag.) ut nil sentiatur insolens, nil ineptum; omnia ornata, gravia, copiosa: Whence grew that adage; [...], pr [...]venustâ lepidâ (que) oratione.

§ 5. Those excellent Monuments of his own extant, may not unfitly be compared unto a pleasant Garden, richly furnished with [Page 97] great variety of the choicest herbs and flow­ers: wherein the judicious Reader may with much contentment recreate himself, and be thence abundantly stored both for his profit and delight. I shall gather and present you with a view for an invitation.

1. Concerning the Holy Scriptures he speaks very venerably, plainly asserting the Divine authority, perspicuity and perfection of them thus:

We make use (saith he) of the Scriptures for the finding out and judging of the truth of things:Strom. lib. [...]. [...]. Now whatsoever is judged, is not believed before it be judged; wherefore nei­ther is that a principle, that needs to be judged. If it be not enough to affirm what seems to be a truth, but that a proof of what is spoken be requisite, we expect not the Testimony of men, but we prove what is inquired after by the Voice of the Lord, which is more worthy to be believed than any demonstration, or rather is the only demonstration. Again, as in war, that order is not to be foresaken, which the Commander hath given to the Soldier: So neither is that order to be forsaken, that the word hath prescribed to us, [...]. which we have received as the Prince or Moderator both of knowledge and practice.

2. To believe in Christ,Strom. lib. 4. is to be made one with him and inseparably united to him: Not to believe is to doubt, and to be divided and at distance from him.

Faith is a voluntary anticipation (or afore­hand taking hold of what is promised) a pious assent: [...], Hesychius. the substance of things hoped for, and argument of things not seen. Others; [Page 98] an uniting assent unto things not apparent;Strom. lib. 2. a demonstration, or manifest assent unto a thing not known.

3. The whole life of a godly man is,Strom. lib. 7. as it were, a certain holy and solemn festival day: his Sacrifices are Prayers and Praises, and the reading of the Scriptures before his repast; as also Psalms and Hymns while he is at meat: likewise before he goeth to rest, yea, and in the night to Prayers again. By these he unites and joyns himself unto the Quire of Heaven. But doth he know no other Sacrifices? Yes; namely, the largess of instruction, and relief of the poor. [...].

4. The Sacred Scriptures are they,In protrep­tico. which make men holy like unto God. [...].

5. This is to drink the Blood of Jesus,Paedagog. lib. 2. cap. 4. viz. to be made partaker of the incorruption of the Lord.

6. It's the greatest argument of Divine Pro­vidence,Strom. lib. 1. that the Lord permits not sin and vice, which had its rise from mans volun­tary defection, to remain unprofitable, nor yet altogether hurtful: for it is the office of the divine wisdom, vertue and power, not only to do good (for this is (to say it once for all) the nature of God, as it is of fire to burn, and of light to illuminate) but also, and that chiefly, to bring that unto some good and profitable end and issue, that hath been devi­sed by wicked men, and to use those things profitably, which seem to be evil. Again, nothing comes to pass without the will of the Lord of all: It remains therefore that we briefly say,Strom. lib. 4. that things of this Nature, (viz. [Page 99] persecutions, &c.) do come to pass, the Lord not letting or hindring them; [...]. for this only salves both the Divine Providence and Good­ness: for we ought not to imagine that he doth effectually cause afflictions; far be it from us so to think; but we ought to per­swade our selves, that he doth not hinder those who are the authors of them, but make use of the bold attempts of adversaries unto a good end.

7. God,Strom. lib. 6. who is good and gracious, cha­stiseth for three causes. 1. That he who is chastised may become better than he was. 2. That such as may or shall be saved, being admonished by Examples, may be prepared. 3. That he who is injured, may not be con­temned, and apt (or exposed) to more in­jury.

8. Speaking of the several sorts of Offi­cers in the Church,Strom. lib. 6. he makes mention only of those three commonly received, viz. Bi­shops, Elders and Deacons.

9. Reprehension is, [...]. as it were, a kind of Chirurgery of the affections of the Soul: and admonition is, [...]. as it were, a kind of dyet for the sick soul:Paedgog. lib. 1. cap. 8. which counselleth and ad­viseth unto those things that are to be taken; and forbids such as are to be for­born.

10. He calls pleasure [...],Strom. lib. 6. the Metropolis, or principal seat of Vice.

11. As touching the Author of the Epi­stle to the Hebrews (because I find it recorded by Eusebius, Euseb. lib, 6. cap. 13. Nicephorus and others,Niceph. lib. 4. cap. 33. I thought good not to omit it) he affirmeth it to be [Page 100] Pauls undoubtly (whom he calls [...]: the divine Apostle) and therefore writ­ten in the Hebrew Tongue,Strom. lib. 2. for the Hebrews sakes, but faithfully translated by Luke (who was the Disciple of Paul) and published un­to the Gentiles or Greeks: and therefore we find in it the like phrase or manner of speech, as is used in the Acts of the Apostles. And that we have not the wonted superscription prefixed in this Epistle, viz. Paul an Apostle, &c. he gives this reason of it; For, saith he, writing unto the Hebrews, because of the ill opinion they had conceived of him, he very wisely concealed his name, left upon the sight thereof they should be dismayed, and refuse to read the Epistle: And also, (even as Ma­carius the Elder said) for as much as the Lord himself was the Messenger of the Al­mighty, and sent unto the Hebrews; Paul for modesties sake, or out of his humility be­ing the Apostle of the Gentiles, wrote not himself the Apostle of the Hebrews, partly for the honour due to Christ, and partly also for that he being the Apostle of the Gen­tiles, did freely and boldly write unto the Hebrews,

12. Of the Order of the Evangelists ac­cording unto the tradition of the Elders,Euseb. Ni­c [...]ph. ibid. he thus writeth.

The Gospels which contain the Genealo­gies are placed and accounted the first, (viz. Matthew and Luke) The Gospel according to Mark was written upon this occasion; when Peter preached openly at Rome, and published the Gospel by lively voice; many of his Auditors entreated Mark (having been [Page 101] a hearer and follower of that Apostle a long time, and one that well remembred his words) to deliver unto them in writing such things as he had heard Peter Preach before; which thing, when Peter afterward under­stood to be done, though he had not given command that it should be done; yet being done, he forbad it not. Iohn last of all see­ing in the other Evangelists the Humanity of Christ set forth at large, being intreated by the Disciples, and filled with the holy Ghost, he wrote chiefly of his Divinity.

13. By the Gnostick in our Author (in whom this term is freequently used) we are to understand the compleat and perfect Chri­stian;Scultet. in Medull. whom he so stiles in opposition unto those foul Hereticks and false Christians, who for the excellency of knowledge, which they vainly boasted of,Augustin. de Heres. He­ins. annotat. proudly assumed and appropriated unto themselves this name and title of Gnosticks or knowing men; by which they are commonly known: Against these he opposeth the true Gnostick, for the in­formation and description of whom, he wrote his Books of Stromes; Lib. 6. ca. 12. in Biblioth. as the inscri­ption set down by Eusebius, and more at large by Photius, doth more than intimate: though especially and particularly he dis­courseth upon this subject, in the sixth and seventh Books: wherein he treateth of the Affections, Science, Speech, Prayers, Love both to God and to the Truth, of the be­nignity, Sacrifices, and Contemplation of the true Gnostick. In which description he is so exact, that he therein shews rather what a one a Christian should be, than [Page 102] what any one is: there being no such exam­ple to be found; such as was the pourtraict of a wise man by the Stoicks, and of a common­wealth by Plato, whom herein our Author imitated.

14. He shews whence several Heresies have their several names.Strom. lib. 7. Some (saith he) take their names from the Authors of them; as from Valentinus, Marcion and Basilides; al­though they boast that they bring the opinion of Mathias: for both the Doctrine and Tra­dition of all the Apostles was one and the same: Some are named from the place; as the Peratici: Others from the Nation; as the Heresie of the Phrygians: Some from their profession; as the Encratitae, (because they abstained from Marriage, Wine, and the eating of Flesh) others from their proper opinions as the Docitae and Haematitae: [...]. Some from their hypotheses, [...]. and the things which they ho­noured; as those which are called Cainists and Ophiani: Others from those things which they nefariously perpetrated and dared; as those of the Simoniani, who are called Enty­chitae. Of which last Danaeus thus speaks: Canistae (qui ab amoribus turpissimis ita sunt ap­pellati) fuerunt tetriores: Comment. in Augu­stin. de Hae­res. cap. 1. § 2. quanquam Clement, strom. lib. 7. putat fuisse Eutychitas; sed erro­rem subesse in condicibus impressis, nemo qui a­liorum de eisdem rebus scripta legerit, dubi­tabit.

15. In the first Book of Stromes, under­taking to demonstrate the antiquity of the Christian Religion; and that it was before the Philosophy of the Heathen; he proves that Moses (who flourished in the time of Inachus [Page 103] the King of the Argives) was more ancient than any of the Greek Poets, Philosophers, or Wise men, yea, most of their gods: to which end he sets down and reckons the times of the Kingdoms of the Jews, Persians, Ma­cedonians and Romans: and so presents us with an exact and accurate Chronology from the time of Moses, unto the death of Em­perour Commodus; in whose Successors reigns, viz. Lib. 6. cap. 5. Severus, (for Pertinax, who came between them, held the Empire but a few Months) he wrote these Books as Eusebius concludes: for thus he: Clemens writing his Books of Stromes, comprised in the first Volume a Chronicle, containing the times unto the death of Commodus; so that it is evident, (saith he) that he finished his Books under Severus.

16. He thus descants upon those words of Christ:Strom. lib. 4. Matth. 10. 23. When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: he doth not here perswade to fly, as if to suffer per­secution were evil; nor doth he command us, fearing death to decline it by flight; but he wills us, that we be to none the authors or abettors of evil; he requires us to use cau­tion: but he that obeys not, is audacious and rash, unadvisedly casting himself into manifest perils. Now if he that kills a man of God, doth sin against God; he also is guilty of that Murther, who offers himself to Judgement. And such a one shall he be ac­counted, that avoids not persecution, pre­sumptuously offering himself to be taken. He it is, that as much as in him lyeth, helps forward the impiety of him that persecutes. [Page 104] Much like to this is that of Athanasius, Numb. 11. vid.

17. Behold,In protrep­tico. O man (saith he) for how small a matter the Lord doth give thee Land to till, Water to drink, another Water where­by to send forth, or export, and to return or import thy Commodities, Air wherein to breath, a House to cover thee from the injury of the weather, Fire wherewith to warm thee, and whereat to imploy thee, a World wherein to dwell: all these things so great, so many, thy Lord hath, as it were, rented out unto thee, at a very easie rate; a lit­tle Faith, a little Thanks, so it be true, so they be hearty: And most unkind thou, if thou denyest him that rent; the earth is the Lords, and the fulness thereof: if then thou dost not acknowledge thy Lord being compassed round with his blessings; he will then say unto thee; Get thee out of my Land, and from out of my House; touch not my Water, partake not of my Fruits. If I have rented these out unto thee for so small a matter, a little thanks, and thou dost deny me that little; thou hast, in so doing, for­feited the whole, and I will require the for­feiture at thy hands.

§ 6. These and many such like excellent passages do his Writings abound with; but yet there are intermixed and scattered up and down,Gratian. part. 1. distinct. 15. [...] 19 [...]. § 26. such things as are neither sound, nor sav [...]ry, which are therefore carefully to be heeded and avoided. In so much as for this cause Pope Gelas [...]us did providently require, (saith Baro [...]ius) that the works of this [Page 105] Clement should be branded with the note of Apocryphal:Because La­ctantius de­ny [...]d the sub­stance of the holy Ghost; quis mihi interdicere potest, ne le­gem institu­tionum ejus libros, qui­bus contra gentes scrip­sit fortissi­mè, quia superior sententia dete [...]tanda est. Hiero­nym. Epist. ad Pam­mach. & Oceanum, de errorib. Origen. wherein notwithstanding he may justly be accounted more wary than wise; for were this ground sufficient to reject the labours of the ancients, because among much good grain there is some chaff to be found, none of them would be remaining, or of any credit at this day. Let us rather sever the Gold from the Dross, than dam up the Mine, and let what's bad be suffer'd to continue for the sake of what is good and useful in them, rather than what's good be rejected for the bads sake. Nevertheless, it may not be amiss to give notice of what will not endure the test and trial; lest through in­advertency, and because of the antiquity and authority of the Author, that should be e­steemed and taken up for sound and current, which upon examination will prove adulterate and unpassable. Of which sort are these that follow.

10. It is a ridiculous thing (saith be) to imagine,Strom. lib. 6. [...] that the Body of our Saviour, as a body, did stand in need of necessary aids and Ministries that it might continue: for he did eat not for his bodies sake, which was upheld by an holy Power; but lest it might occasi­on those with whom he conversed to think otherwise of him; as indeed afterward some were of opinion, that he appeared only in a Vision and Phantasm: For, to say it once for all, he was void of passion, being one whom no motion of affection could take hold of, neither pleasure nor grief. A strange and gross conceit▪ and directly contrary to clear Texts of Scripture.

[Page 106] 2. That Christ ought to preach but one year only,Strom. lib. 1. he fondly gathered from, Luke 4. 19. he hath sent me, To preach the accep­table year of the Lord: and supposeth that he suffer'd in the thirtieth year of his age. Both which,Exercitat. 1. § 26. as his errours, Casaubo [...] maketh men­tion of; and how manifestly repugnant they both are to the History of the Evan­gelists, is obvious to every observing eye.

3. He is of the mind, that Jesus Christ descended into Hell for this cause, that he might preach the Gospel unto the dead,Strom. lib. 6. and that these are the bodies spoken of, Matth. 27. 53. 53. that arose at the time of Christ's pas­sion, that they might be translated unto [...] better place. Yea, that the Apostles, as well as the Lord himself,Ibid. did preach the Gospel unto those that were dead. Chemnitius thus reports it:In examin. parte 1. de­tradit. Clemens Alexandrinus (inquit) multa citat ex apocryphis, quibus peregri [...]s dogmata stabilire conatur: Vt ex libro Pastoris Hermae probat Apostolos post mortem praedicasse illis qui anteà in infidelitate mortui fuer [...]nt, & illos conversos vivificasse. He thought that no man was saved before the coming of Christ, but that those who lived piously and righte­ously by the Law, or by philosophy were ac­counted righteous, [...]. yet wanted Faith: where­fore in Hell they expected the coming of Christ, and the Apostles, and that by their preaching they were converted to the Faith, and so saved.

4. He frequently asserteth the freedom of man's will in spirituals.In protrep­tico. e.g. Yours is the Kingdom of Heaven, if directing or turning your free-will unto God, you will believe [Page 107] only, and follow that short way that is preached unto. [...]. Again, neither praises nor dis­praises, neither honours or rewards, nor pu­nishments are just, if the soul have not free power to desire, and to abstain. Also, because it is in our power to obey or not to obey; [...]. that none may pretend ignorance, the divine word gives a just call unto all;Strom. lib. 2. and requires what every one is enabled to perform. Lastly, defection, going back, and disobedience are in our power as is also obedience.Ibid. And in this particular he erred not alone, the two im­mediately preceding, and divers other of the Ancients being of the same judgement; the ground whereof may be conceived to be this, because many of them had been in their first years brought up in the study of Philosophy,Ce [...]t. 2. cap. 4. and of Philosophers being converted, became Christians; this made them attribute so much, even too much unto Philosophy, which proved the occasion of many errours in them:Lib. advers. H [...]rmogen. Hence it is that Tertullian calls Philo­sophers Patriarchas haereticorum: and Rhe­n [...]nus having shewn of how great advantage the Philosophy of Platonicks was unto Valen­tinus (who had been of that Sect) in the hatching of his wild and sottish Heresies;In argumen. lib. Tertull. advers. Va­lentinian. breaks out into these words; See (saith he) how great mischief Philosophy hath always done unto Christianity, well therefore might the Apostle so caution the Colossians; Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit. Coloss. 2. 8. Ierom also exercising some er­rours of his,Epist. ad Pammac [...]. & Oceanu [...] de orrorib. Orig. wherein he had followed Origen, thus pleads for himself; Fae me, inquit, er­rasse in adolescentiâ & philosophorum, i.e. gen­tilium [Page 108] studiis eruditum,Patrum non­nulli sunt, qui pro eâ quâ imbuti fue­runt adoles­centes in Scholis eth­nicorum Philosophiâ naturae viri­bus plus ae­quo tribu­ [...]t. Ar­rowsm. Tactic. lib. 2. cap. 2. § 2.in principio fidei d [...] ­mata ignorasse Christiana, & hoc putasse in Apostolis, quod in Pythagorâ & Platone, [...] Empedocle legeram. Cur parvuli in Christo, [...] lactentis errorem sequimini? Cur ab eo impu­tatem discitis, qui necdum pietatem noverat [...] Secunda post naufragium tabula est, culp [...] simpliciter confiteri. Imitati estis errantem, imitamini & correctum. Erravimus juven [...], emendemur senes, &c. Now among other things Philosophy doth beyond measure ad­vance the power of mans will and natur [...] abilities:Cent. 2. cap. 10. and this opinion drew on withi [...] the extenuation of Original sin, and the de­pravation of the Doctrine of the Merit of Christ; into both which this Father among the rest was but meanly insighted. And this may be the reason why the Reverend Cal [...] stiles that Doctrine of Free-will,Comment. in Rom. 8. 7. Heatheni [...] Philosophy: Procul sit (inquit) à Christi [...] pectore illa de arbitrii libertate Gentilis Phil [...] ­sophia.

5. He affirms, that because the [...] hath Free-will,Strom. lib. 1. he may repent: which say­ing of his seems to have been the occasion [...] that errour in Origen his Scholar, that the Devils might be saved;Cent. 2. cap. 5. as both the Cent [...] ­rists, and also Gentian Heroet conceive; who in his Education hath this Note in the M [...] ­gin upon these words of Clement; hinc [...] Origenis.

7. He also phansied,Strom. lib. 3. & 5. that some of the A [...] ­gels were incontinent, and being overcome with lust, they descended and disclose [...] [Page 109] many secrets unto those woman with whom they fell in love, and whatsoever things came to their knowledge, which the other Angels conceal'd, and reserved unto the com­ing of the Lord.

Besides these there are some other things wherein he is judged to be both unsound and uncertain; sometimes affirming one thing, sometimes another; as concerning the Baptism of Hereticks, which he seems alto­gether to condemn: Also, that second Mar­riages have imperfection in them, and are not without sin, yea, are little better than fornication; contrary to that express Text. 1 Timoth. 5. 14. I will that the younger wo­men (viz.Cent. 2. cap. 4. Widows, verse 11.) marry. Like­wise, concerning good works, perfection and repentance, he seems sometimes to contradict himself, and vents very dange­rous opinions: adeò in multis articulis lu­bricus est, ac saepenumerò sibi contradicit, ut quid constanti sententiâ affirmet, vix interdum agnoseas.

§ 7. How long this Father lived, as also when, where and how he ended his days is very uncertain: Histories being silent herein: only probable it is that he attained unto many years, and continued long after the death of his Master Pantaenus: For it seems that he compiled his Book,Cent. 2. cap. 10. both of Stromes and In­formations or Institutions (if not all the rest) after that time, seeing he mentions him as dead, and some good while before: as al­so that he had through length of time for­gotten [Page 110] many of those things, which he ha [...] heard from him. He flourished (saith I [...] ­rom) under the Emperour Severus and Au­toninus Caracalla: and (as some report) [...] ended his Pilgrimage by a natural death [...] Alexandria, In Catalog. where he had long taught; dying▪ In a good old age, and full of days, em [...] ­annum 195.

Tertullianus.

HE stiles himself in the Titles prefixed to his Books by the name of Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; Pamel. in vi­tâ Tertull. per­haps to distinguish himself from some others, whose names did in part agree with his own. For his Country, he was an African, and had for the place of his Birth there the famous City of Carthage, [...] (as it's called by Strabo) Rome's Cor­rival,Geograph. lib. 10. Hist. natu­ral. lib. 15. cap. 18. de terrarum orbe aemula (saith Pliny) that contended with it for the Empire of the world. And 'tis observed as memorable, that in his time two of his Countrymen held the places of highest Dignity both Civil and Ec­clesiastical,Pamel. ibi [...] viz. Septimius Severus and Victor, both Africans, the one being Emperour, and the other Bishop of Rome.

His Father was a Centurion,Hieron. in catalog. [...] one of emi­nent Rank, as bearing the office of a Procon­sul, who took care to have his Son from his tender years to be well educated, and trained up in the Schools;Baron. ad an. 197. §. 18. where, having a pregnant wit and excellent parts, he proved a notable proficient, and soon attained unto such a mea­sure of knowledge in Philosophy and all kind of Learning, that he was by all esteemed for one of the most exquisite and best accom­plished Scholars of his time.

[Page 112] He for some years professed and taught the art of Rhetorick in Carthage with approba­tion and applause;Sixt. Senens. lib. 3. from which, after a while he proceeded to the practice of the Law (to the study whereof he had formerly applied himself, and became well skilled therein, as Eusebius testifieth, stiling him a man well ex­perienced in the Roman Laws) accuratâ le­gum (inquit Nicephorus) & actorum Rom [...] ­norum peritiâ clarus) performing the office of an Advocate,Lib. 2. cap. 2. in pleading the causes of such Clients as entertained him,Lib. 2. cap. 8. with much dexte­rity. But he is designed unto a more high and honourable employment, viz. to plead the cause of God, and to publish the glorious mysteries of the Gospel: in order whereunto the divine goodness finds out a way for the translating of him from the School of the world into the Shool of Christ, by his con­version from Gentilism to Christianity.

As touching the time and manner thereof, though nothing be lef [...] upon Record, either by himself, or others directly pointing it out, and acquainting us therewith; yet are then some things to be found from whence it may be probably conjectured, that it fell out while he was yet but young, and in the prime of his years. For

1. He wrote a Treatise of the troubles at­tending Marriage, cum adhuc esset adoleseens, when (saith Ierom) he was but a young man: yet Baronius conceives it most likely to have been done by him after his conversion;Advers. Jo­vinian. lib. 1. Ad an. 197. § 19. for (saith he) I cannot think that Ierom would have directed Eustochium (whom he wished to read that Book of his) unto the writing [...] [Page 113] of an Heathen for her instruction in that par­ticular.

2. Ierom and others report concerning him,In catalog. Nicephor. lib. 4. c. 34. that he continued an orthodox Presbyter in the Church, usque ad statam mediamque aeta­tatem, unto his middle age; and afterwards fell away unto the Heresie of the Montanists: but now evident it is, that he wrote the most of his Books before that time, to the doing whereof, and furnishing for such a work, a great deal of time must needs be requisite. In the judgment of Pamelius, In vitâ Ter-Tertull. and according to his computation, he became a Christian in the third year of the Reign of Severus, in which also he is of opinion, that he wrote his Book de P [...]llio, or of the Cloak; and so con­tinued year after year to put forth some or o­ther of his Labours unto the time of his de­fection, which fell out in the eighteenth year of that Emperour's Reign: so that he remain­ed in the Church after his conversion about fifteen years before he arrived unto his mid­dle age, and therefore could be of no great age when first he gave up his name to Christ.

That which gave the occasion of his relin­quishing the Heathenish,In Apolog. and embracing the Christian Religion, some conceive (taking a hint hereof from a passage of his own) to have been this,Pamel. in vi­tâ Tertull. viz. that the Devils being sometimes adjured, did, though unwillingly, confess that they were the Gods of the Gen­tiles. This put him upon the search and study of the Scriptures, whose great antiquity (as transcending all other writings in this regard) asserted their authority, and the truth of the predictions contained in them (testified by [Page 114] answerable events) was a sufficient argu­ment of their Divinity: which two, duly considered, could not but prove strong in­ducements to perswade him, that the Do­ctrine and Religion therein taught and dis­coursed, must needs be the truest, and above any other most worthiest to be believed and embraced: To which he added, as no small help hereunto, the diligent perusal of those writings of his Predecessors, wherein they had testified against the Gentiles their profane practices and abominable Idola­tries.

Having after his conversion spent some time in Carthage (where he was promoted unto the degree and office of a Presbyter) he afterward came to Rome, Euseb. lib. 2. cap. 2. in which City he was had in great estimation,Clericorum nominatissi­mis Romanae urbis. Opus detemporib. mundi. being famous a­mong those learned men who flourished there at that time. Upon what occasion he came to Rome, and how long he made his abode there is uncertain:In vitâ Ter­tull. Pamelius conceives th [...] his Book de coronâ militis was there writte [...] in the sixteenth year of Severus, in the eigh­teenth year of whose Reign he made his de­fection from the Church, upon which he was excommunicated, and consequently in al [...] likelyhood then left that place, returning a­gain unto Carthage. But how long or short soever his continuance was there, it prove [...] too long for him, in regard of the mischi [...] that there betided him; for in this place [...] was, that he split and dashed himself upon the Rock of Montanism, either through [...] overlargeness of the Sails of self-conceit, [...] the impetuous gusts of his own passions.

[Page 115] Ierom and divers other Historians do agree in this,In catalog. cent. Rhe­nan Platina. Nicephor, &c. that his defection took beginning from the envy conceived against, and contumelies cast upon him by the Romish Clergy; moved hereunto, either by his Learning and Virtue (wherein haply he might go beyond and out­shine them,Cent. 3. cap. 10. and so seem to detract from their worth, and eclipse their Glory) or for that being extremely studious of continence and chastity,Pa [...]el. in vi­tâ. they thought him to lean toward, and too much favour (though closely) the Heresie of Montanus: or lastly, because in some of his Books he had too sharply repre­hended the vices which he had observed a­mong them: hereupon, being a man of a cholerick and violent spirit, impatient and un­able to brook and bear such injuries (Cum in­genio & calamo omnia vinceret, Scultet [...] Medull. impatientiam vincere non potuit, inquit Scultet. Miserri­mus ego (inquit Tertullianus ipse) semper aeger caloribus impatientiae, Lib. de pati­ent. patientiae sanitatem suspi­cem necesse est) he openly joyned himself unto that Sect, which being once faln to, he as zealously laboured to defend and plead for, as he had formerly opposed it; proving as vehe­ment an adversary of the Orthodox, as he had been of the Hereticks. Some con­ceive the occasion of his fall might be,Pamel. in vit [...]. concil. tom. 1 Bin­nii notae in­vit. Victor. be­cause that after the death of Agrippinus he suffered a repulse, and was put by the Bisho­prick of Carthage: Rhenan. in argument. lib. Tertull. advers. Va­lentinian. (Sic Valentinus, cum cu­jusdam Ecclesiae Episcopatum ambiret, & ipsius non fuisset habita ratio, offensus hac re, veteris cujusdom opinionis praestigias adversus orthodoxos docere caepit, hoc videlicet pacto sui contemptum ulturus) whereunto may be added as a step to [Page 116] his fall, that he was a man of an easie belief, and of no great judgement,Baron. ad an. 201. con­trovers. Tract. 2. q. 23. § 23. (saith Rivet) in­somuch as he was apt to give credit unto the feigned Relations of every silly woman, and to prefer them before the most certain and Ca­tholick Doctrines.

These things thus making way for it, the work became the more facile and easie;Baron. ad an. 201. § 10. 11. whereof one Proclus was the unhappy instru­ment, reputed a most eloquent man and one of the more moderate followers of Montanus: with this Man being then at Rome Tertullian grew familiar, having him in admiration for his eloquence and Virgin old age: ut, Proculus (inquit) nostrae Virginis senectae & Christians eloquentiae dignitas: loqui autem eum de P [...] ­culo seu Proclo Montanistâ apparet, Lib. advers. Valentinian inquit P [...] ­melius, de quo suprà auctor lib. de praescri [...]. advers. haeretic. Proclus making his advan­tage hereof,In annotat. in loc. soon deceived him, telling him that the Doctrine which he professed, he had received not from Man, but from the Paracle [...] that descended first upon Montanus: Baron. [...]ibid. he highly commended chastity, injoyned fasting to be observed in the strictest manner, as by the in­stinct of the spirit, multiplyed watchings and prayers, and so much extolled martyrdom that he held it unlawful to fly, or use a [...] means for the preservation of life. What [...] thus confidently taught and delivered, was [...]greedily taken in by Tertullian, in so much [...] he quickly became giddy, yea even drunk [...] with his Fanatical opinions; which as he en­tertained with facility, so did he retain the [...] with pertinacy: in whom we find this veri­fied; that eminent gifts may occasion a [...] [Page 117] fall, but cannot keep him from falling: it being Grace alone that makes the soul steddy, and secures it against all the impetuous blasts of temptation.

Great par [...]s expose men to hazard.

1. Through pride, which is too often the companion of them, and begotten by them: hence they soar aloft, prying into things secret, not content to walk in the common and safe road: they would (as he, Acts 8. 9.) be some body more than ordinary; and so transcending the limits of sobriety, they do [...]: upon which precipice being once gotten, they soon fall into the snare of the Devil.

2. Through envy, which for the most part follows them, as the shadow the substance: this blasting their reputation, and being as a dead fly in the pot of their precious ointment; they betake them unto factions: chusing rather to side with the erroneus in esteem, then with the orthodox in disgrace.

3. Through ambition, they would fain be as eminent in place as in parts: accounting themselves injured when others are preferred before them: hence it comes to pass, that sometime in way of discontent and by way of revenge, they have deserted, yea set themselves against the truth, because they would make opposition against those that have stood in their way, and crost them in their ex­pectations.

By this means he lost both his repute, and also his place in the Church, which excom­municated and owned him no longer. Hence also it came to pass,Hilar. in Math. [...]. that having erred so fouly, his writings were of little authority [Page 118] and lost much of their esteem: being prohibi­ted to be read by Gelasius: Gratian. par. 1. distinct. 15. and because absurd opinions were in them,Cent. 3. c. 10. mingled with other things, they were by the orthodox condemned and reckoned in the number of Apocryphal books.Rivet. crit. sac. He was (saith Bellarmine) an arch Heretick, and in matters dogmatical of very small account: Ierom therefore being by Helvidius prest with the authority of Tertuli­an: Tom. 2. E­pist. 1. in his heat thus [...]oundly replies; I say no more of him but that he was no man of the Church. Nevertheless, that especially for which he was adjudged and proceeded against as an Heretick, was this, that betaking him to the Cataphrygians or Montanists, Augustin. de haeres. c. 86. (whom before he had opposed) he began to condemn second marriages (contrary to the Doctrine of the Apostle, 1 Tim. 5. 14.) as no better then fornication:Praefat. ant. opera Tert. which opinion he was the rather moved to embrace, (saith Rhe­nanus) because he thought that the last day (which elegantly he calls diem expeditionis lib. 1. ad uxorem.) was near at hand,Rhenan. in argument. in Tertul. ex­hort. ad ca­stitat. as also did Ierom and other of the Ancients ground­ing upon that of the Apostle, 1 Cor. 7. 29. [...] time is short, Hoc tum A­postolis, tum [...]ypriano (in exhortat. it remaineth that they that [...] wives, be as though they had none. [...] hereto he added (which compleated his fault) that being divided from the Cataphrygians, Martyri [...] quoniam in­quit, in fine [...] he [...] length gathered conventicles of his own, and became the Authour of that s [...]ct, which from [Page 119] him are called and known by the name of Tertullianists. August. de haeres. c. 86.

Doubtless the fall of this worthy Man struck a very great fear with admiration into the hearts of the faithful,Baron ad an. 216. § 17. when they saw one so eminent, and learned, such a lover of truth, and in every regard so accomplished, to miscarry.

In this sad condition did he remain unto the end of his life, for ought that appears in History to the contrary: which mentions his fall, but not his rise and recovery: herein greatly to be pittied, that having with so much zeal and strength maintained the Do­ctrine of Christianity against the adversaries thereof, he should at length unworthily de­sert the truth, and become a champion of the grossest errours.Gal. 2. 1 [...]. It is iniquity, and maketh a Man a transgressor, to build again the things which he had destroyed,Gal. 3. 3. and a point of greatest folly to begin in the spirit,1 Cor. 10. 12. but to end in the flesh; let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.

Yet I shall not omit to give you the judge­ment and charitable thoughts of the learned Daille concerning him;Treatise of the use of the Fath [...]rs lib. 2. cap. 4. We are to take no­tice (saith he) that his Montanism put no separation at all betwixt him and other Chri­stians, save only in point of Discipline, which he, according to the severity of his nature, would have to be most harsh and rigorous:Vid. lib. de Mon. cap. 2. Et li. contr. Psych. cap. [...]. S [...] also Meri [...] Casaubon, it's true he bacame a M [...]nt [...]nist or was [...] so at least; though in very deed he never was of his Congre [...]ation or Belief, gene­rally: but in matter of private Revelations only. Treatise of Enthusias [...]. for as for his Doctrine, it is very evident, that [Page 120] he constantly kept to the very same rule, and the same Faith that the Catholicks did. And this is evident enough, out of all those books which were written by him, during the time of his being a Montanist: wherein he never disputeth or contendeth about any thing, save only about Discipline.

§ 2. He is a very ancient Authour, nea [...] neighbour unto the Apostles times,Rhenan. in praefat. & in annotat. in lib. de cor. milit. item in arg [...]m. in li. de carne Christi. pri­mus Latino­rum qui qui­dem extet. the very first among all the Latin Fathers, and Eccle­siastical Writers, whose works are come to our hands, then whom the Christian World scarce hath an Elder: who preceeded all the Councils, (those in the Acts only excepted) and the first that strenuously asserted and vin­dicated the Doctrines of the Gospel against all the cunning cavils and bold attempts of prophane Hereticks.Theologus Aventi [...] an­nal. Rhenan. in praefat.

He was a Man of a sharp wit, and vehe­ment spirit,Hieronym. in catalog. very bold and undaunted, which he notably discovered in his plea and Apolo­gy for the Christians, wherein he budgeth not a jot from that constancy that became him,Zeph. in ar­gum in apo­goletic. not caring and little curious to curry favour, as knowing well he had a just and honest cause in hand. Vehementi ardore magnoque affectu pro orthodoxâ religione scribit, Rhenan. in argu [...]. in li­de patient. disputa [...], pugnat, ut liqueat, eum nihil fingere, verae pie­tatis atque Martyrii amantibus semper gratissi­mus. [...] in­stitut. lib. 5. [...] 1. So accomplisht was he and exactly skilful in all kind of Learning, [...]. Mag­ [...] as no Man more in the judgement of Ierom; in so much as he accounted that what himself had, was but very little in comparison:Epist. 128. also I pray (saith he to Fabiola) ne meam [...] [Page 121] comparetis: compare not my drop to his stream: Rhenan. in praefat. vir undecunque doctissimus: being ex­cellently insighted into Philosophy,Cent. 3. c. 10. a most accurate disputant, throughly exercised in the Art of Rhetorick, and most compleatly fur­nished with the knowledge of all Antiquity. He had diligently perused all sorts of Authors (a large Catalogue whereof is set down by Pamelius) Grammarians,Pamel. in vitâ. Poets, Historians, Phi­losophers, Mathematicians, Orators, Civilians, &c. from whence this industrious and busie Bee, as from so many flowers, gathered that honey wherewith his Hive was so replenished. He was no less acquainted with the Greek, then with the Latin Tongue, as appears from his being conversant in Authors as well Greek as Latin (the most of Ecclesiasticks that had gone before him, having written in Greek.) Shortly,In praefat. in Hilarium. in the judgement of Erasmus, he was inter Latinos Theologus multò omnium doctis­simus.

After his conversion he bent his studies to Divinity, and spent night and day in reading not only Ecclesiastical Writers, but chiefly the sacred Scriptures,Pamel. in vi­tâ. wherein his books shew him to be more than ordinarily versed: in citing whereof he follows the Interpretation of the Septuagint in the old Testament, and the Greek Text in the new: in translating whereof in a peculiar manner and different from all others, it's very manifest that he was no mean Grecian but familiarly acquainted with that Tongue. He had a notably faculty in teaching, and could do much that way wherein as also in writing,Cent. 3. c. 10. he excelled both in fulness and gravity: yet would he sometimes [Page 122] have such sprinklings of the salt of his wit among;Erasm. in prolegom. a [...]te Grigen. Cent. 3. c. 10. as that he would move laughter in his Auditors with his merry conceits: whom herein Ierom too often imitates.

He was as eminent and as exemplary in his life as other ways, non loquitur solùm mag­na, Rhenan. ar­gum. in lib. de patient. verùm etiam indubiè vixit, not only speaking great things, but without doubt acting and li­ving accordingly: as Minutius Felix his con­temporary; in his Octavio: speaks of the Christians of that time,Danzus. in Aug. de hae­res. cap. 86. non eloquimur magn [...], sed vivimus. Of a comely behaviour, innocent and harmless, ubique, mirum, magnumque animi Zelum in Deum spirat: full of zeal to­ward God and of great austerity, insomuch as his over-valuing of continence, watchings, fastings,Baro. ad an. [...]01. §. 8. &c. gave Proclus his Seducer no small advantage, and became one of those baits whereby he was at length insnared. These things had made his name and memory sweet and precious amongst Men unto this day, had not the dead fly corrupted and marr'd the sa­vour of the fragrant oyntment.

Let Vincentius Lyrniensis be heard, (an anci­ent Father too) and if any thing be wanting above,Contra hae­res. c. 24. he will supply it, and make his enco­mium full. He is (saith he) accounted the chief among the Latins, for who more learn­ed then this Man? who more exercised in things both divine and humane? In the won­derful vastness and capacity of his mind, he comprehended all Philosophy, and all the sects of Philosophers, the authors and assertors of those sects, together with all their Discipline: all variety of History, yea of all kinds of stu­dy. Was not his Wit so weighty and vehe­ment, [Page 123] that he propounded almost nothing to himself, to be overcome and master'd by him, which he either brake not through with the sharpness, or else dash [...] in pieces with the pon­derousness of it? Moreover, who can set forth the praises of his speech, which is so in­vironed with I know not what strength of reason, that whom he could not perswade, he doth even force to yeild to his consent: in whom there are as many sentences as words, and as many victories as reasons: as Marcion, Apelles, Praxeas, Herm [...]genes, the Jews, the Gentiles, Gnosticks and others knew full well, whose blasphemies he overthrew, with the many and mighty mounts and batteries of his Volumes, as it were with certain thunder­bolts. And yet even this man, by much more eloquent than happy, not holding the ancient Faith, even he also became in Ecclesiâ magna tentatio, a great temptation in the Churc [...] of God.

§ 3. As he was a Man of great abilities, s [...] was he of no less industry: as appears by those lasting monuments of his learned and elaborate Volumes; Acutus Scriptor & gravis (inquit Danaeus) & qui totum hominem deside­ret, imò etiam saepè ingenii communem captum superet, In Aug. in heres. c. 86. who was had in great estimation, e­specially by holy Cyprian; so that he suffered no day to pass, without the diligent reading and perusal of some part of him: testifying the extraordinary respect which he bare to­ward him by the words he was wont to use,Hieronym [...] in catal. when he called for him, saying, Da Magistrum, reach hither my Master: whom also in many [Page 124] things he imitated, borrowing even his words and expressions from him,Pamel. in vitâ. and transcribing many passages out of him, which he inserted into his own books: many other also of the Ancients that followed him made use of him, viz. Ierom, Ambrose, Fortunatus, Basil, Isidore, &c, which plainly shews that they had him in great veneration. As the anci­ent Ethnicks honoured Homer the Prince of Poets,Diogen. La­ert. in vitâ ejus. and particularly Arcesilaus the Acade­mick, who was so delighted with, and studi­ous of him, that he would always read some­what of him before he went to sleep, as also in the morning when he arose, saying that he went, ad Amasium, to his beloved.

Of his works some are wanting,Fertur mul­ta, quae non extant opus­cula condi­didi [...]le. Hie­ron. in cata. Hieronym. advers. Jo­vinian. lib. 1. In vitâ Ter­tul. annal. ad an▪ 197. § 20. but the most remaining unto this day. Of the first sort are.

1. His Treatise of the troubles attending marriage, unto a Philosopher his friend: which he wrote when he was but young, ( [...]um adhuc esset adolescens lusit in hac materiâ) be­fore, as Pamelius thinks, but in the judgement of Baronius, after his conversion.

2. His book of the Garments of Aaron, which Ierom mentions in his Epistle to Fabiola. Epist. 128.

3. Of the hope of the faithful: wherein he declares himself to be a Millenary:Hieronym. in catal. de Papiâ. himself mentions it, advers. Marcionem, lib. 3.

4. Of Paradise, which he thus speaks of himself, lib. de A [...]i­mâ. cap. 55. habes etiam de Paradiso a nobis li­bellum, quo constituimus omnem animum apud inferos sequestrari in die Domini.Tertul. lib. de carne Christi c. 8. Epiphan. haeres. 44.

5. Against Apelles; who (with Lucian the Heretick) having been the Disciple of [Page 125] Marcion; and falling upon errours of his own, differing from his Master, became the author of a Sect, that from him have the name of Apelletiani, (as Tertullian stiles them) or A­pelleiani (as Epiphanius) or Apellitae (as Au­gustine) or Apelliaci (as Rhenanus) alluding unto them,De heraes. c. 23. In annot. in li. de carne Christi. Ter. as the denyers of the Flesh of Christ (which was their errour) Quasi sine pelle, sive cute, hoc est, carne; ut Horatius Iu­daeum vocat Apellam, Pamel. frag­ment. Tert. quòd sine pelle sit, nempe quòd praeputium non habeat. Against these He­reticks did Tertullian write this Book, in­scribed adversus Apelletianos.

6. Six Books [...], Of Rapture; which (saith Pamelius) seem rather to have been written in Greek than Latine;Hieronym. in cat. and a seventh, which he wrote particularly against Appollonius; (who with Victor are the only two Latin Fathers that preceded Tertullian, who hath the third place among them in Ieroms Catalogue) wherein he endeavours to defend whatever the other reproved him for. These were written after his defection against the Church, containing in them divers of his wild, Montanistical conceits; which therefore may well be wanting without any detriment, the bad by much over-weighing the good that was in them; they might hap­ly be suppress'd by some, who wished well unto the peace of the Church;Rhenan. praefat. in o­pera Tertu. and surely the loss of them would have proved a gain, had the errours contained in them, been with them buried in everlasting oblivion. It's a mistake of Platina to say,In vitâ Ca­listi. that he wrote six Books of Ecstacy against Apollonius; whereas 'twas only a seventh: So it is also of Honorius [Page 126] Augustodunensis, De Script. Eccles. cap. 54. who reckons but five of Ecstasie, and six against Apollonius: and of Trithemius, who records but one of each, which he saith he had seen;De Script. Eccles. so that they seem to have been extant, even unto his time.

7. A Book against Marcion, Contra Marcion. lib. 1. as he himself intimates; written by him in his yonger years, somewhat overhastily: as Ierom speaks of an Allegorical exposition of the Prophet Obadiab composed by himself in his youth; liberè pro­fiteor illud fuisse puerilis ingenii; Abdiam Prophet. in libris quo (que) contra Marcionem Septimius Tertullianus hoc idem passus est.

8. Of the submission of the Soul.Inproleg. ante lib. Tertul. ad Nationes.

9. Of the superstition of that age, these two, saith Gothfredus, among the rest were in the Index of the Books of Tertullian, which was prefix'd unto that Ancient Manuscript, out of which he took those two Books of his ad Nationes which he published.

10. That the Soul is corporeal,In argumen. lib. Trrtul. de resur­rect. [...]arn. volumen hoc suppressum putamus, inquit Rhenanus. To which added.

11. De Fato.

12. De Nuptiarum angustiis ad Amicum philosophum.

13. De mundis & immundis animali­bus.

14. De circumcisione.

15. De Trinitate.

16. De censu animae adversus Hermoge­nem: which Pamelius hath in his Catalogue also.

17. Trithemius sets down in his Ca­talogue a Book of his Contra omnes Hae­reses; [Page 127] which begins with Divorum Haeretico­rum.

18. The Book of English Homilies, tom. 2. part. 2. against the peril of idolatry, mentions his Book, Contra coronandi morem; which I find no where else spoken off: unless it be the same with his Book, De coronâ Mi­litis.

19. Bishop Andrews in his Speech against Mr. Traske, mentions a Book of Tertullian's De Sabbato Iudaico, which (saith he) we have lost.

His Works that are extant follow here in their order, as Rhenanus, and others have set them down.

1. Of Patience,Hyper. de rat. stud. Theolog. wherein he ingeniously describes that grace, presenting us with a live­ly draught of it, pressing with divers nota­ble arguments to it, and proving that neither losses in Estate,Scultet. Medull. nor provocations, reproaches, nor the death of friends, the desire of re­venge, nor divine castigations are just causes of impatience.

2. Of the Flesh of Christ;Rhenan. argument. in l [...]b. that it was true and real Humane Flesh which he took: against Marcion, affirming him to be clothed only with imaginary flesh, and not born, also against Apelles, who granted him to have a solid body, but withal held that he took it not of the Virgin Mary, but borrowed it of the Stars and Coelestial Substances,August de heres. cap. 23. which he restored again, when he ascended.

3. Of the Resurrection of the Flesh:In Apolog. pro Zuingl. Cent. 3. cap. 4. Li­ber verè aure us; a truly golden Book, saith Gu [...]lther: wherein he proves it, luculentis­mis [Page 128] & firmissimis argumentis, most clearly and strongly:Scultet. in Medull. 1. Because the dignity of the flesh is such, that it ought to be raised. 2. The Power of God is such, that it may be raised. 3. The Justice of God requires that it should be raised up. 4. The Testimonies of Scripture are clear, that it shall be raised.

4. Of Prescriptions against Hereticks: an expression borowed from the Civil Law:Mynfinger. Schol. in mistitut. Just. lib. 2. In vocabu­lario. used by Civilians, pro exceptione perpetuâ: Pr [...]e­scriptio (inquit Altenstaig) est jus ex tempore capiens firmitatem. In what sense it is here to be understood, take Scultetus his words. Cum (inquit) vindicanti rem suam domino pos­sessio longi temporis objicitur, In Medull. praescribi ei dicitur; ea (que) See also Chamier. tom. 1. lib. 2. cap. 8. praescriptio longi temporis praecisâ locuti [...] pro Praescriptio ex longi temporis possessione appel­latur. Sic Praescriptionem haereticorum & Ec­clesiae vocat Tertullianus illud omne, quod j [...]ri [...] cujusdam specie, haeretici Ecclesiae, & contrà hae­reticis Orthodoxi opponebant. A most excel­lent, eloquent and convincing Commentary; a choice and truly golden piece (saith Zanchy) wherein being willing to put a stop,Baron. ad an. 201. § 8. Epist. de discer. Spi­ [...]itib. if possi­ble, to that spreading gangrene, he delivers unto the Faithful certain Rules, by which they might be enabled to discern, who are Hereticks; and the better know how to deal with them.

5. Against the Jews: wherein he con­vinceth them of their errours,Rhenan. in argument. Pamel. in arg [...]ment. in denying the Gentiles admittance unto the Gospel (as 1 Thess. 2. 16.) in ascribing too much unto the Law of Moses, and urging the Ceremo­nies as necessary unto Salvation, which he proves to be temporary and mutable; and that [Page 129] they were accordingly changed by the com­ing of Christ, as was fore-prophesied; whom they deny to come; therefore doth he from the Scriptures largely discourse of, and prove the Nativity, Kingdom and Passion of Christ; as also the calling of the Gentiles, rejection of the Jews, destruction of Ierusalem, and the second coming of Christ.

6. Five Books against Marcion; of whom Eusebius reports,lib. 4. cap. 14. that meeting Polycarp, and asking him; Dost thou know us? Polycarp, replyed, I know thee to be first born of Sa­than: Among other his wicked errours, this was one: That there were two Gods: one who was the Father of Christ, whom he called good, clement and merciful: the other the Creator of the World, whom he called not only just, (as Cerdon his Master had done from whom he sprung) but also cruel and e­vil; for which cause he is justly branded by Clement of Alexandria with this Note,Epiphan. haeres. 42. Augustin. de haeres. cap. 22. [...]; an ungrateful wretch towards his Creator, the God of Nature. This our Author strongly confutes, pro­ving the the Creator of the World to be the only true God, and the Father of Christ.

7. Against Hermogenes; Rhenan. in annotat. who was an Afri­can, our Authors Country-man; and by Profession a Painter. The Errour he held, (which here Tertullian confutes) was, that the matter whereof all things were made, was coeternal with God; which errour he therefore embraced,Rhenan. in argument. because he hoped by this means to excuse God from being the author of evil, Which (saith he) proceeded [Page 130] not from the Creator, but from the matte [...] whereof things were created:Idem. in annotat. Vix alibi [...] est argumentis: Scarce any where doth he arg [...] more strongly than in dealing with this Here­tick, whom he followeth closely, and press [...] hardly every where.

8. Against the Valentinians; who brought in and mixed their strange Platonical Fable [...] (crimina potiùs quàm numina inquit Tertul­lianus) with the Doctrines of Christianity [...] fancying no less than thirty Aeones, Dan [...]us in August. de haeres. cap. 11. (crimi [...] potius, &c.) Gods, Male and Female, Born, Ma [...] ­rying and begotten;Nicet. Cho­niat. The­saur. Orth. [...]id. lib. 4. cap. 4. not unlike the Heath [...] Poet Hesiod. Errours so gross and sott [...] that they are altogether unworthy of a gra [...] discussion; the bare narration of them [...] ­ing a sufficient confutation; etiam sol [...] modò demonstrare, Pamel. & Rhenan. in argument. destruere est: which th [...] ­fore our Author for the most part cont [...] himself withal, as deserving rather scorn [...]derision,Rhenan. Ibid. Pamel. in vita. than a serious consideration. [...] in this Book makes mention of Irenaeus, [...] before him had written on this Subject quem penè ad verbum est imitatus; for its ap­parent he took his relation from th [...] adding little thereto, beside quips and jests▪

9. Against Praxeas; Rhenan. in argument. who deny'd the [...] of persons in the Godhead: affir [...] that there was no God, but the Father [...] that he was born of the Virgin Mary, [...] upon the Cross, and was Jesus Christ: [...] Hereticks who held this opinion, as they [...] the name of Praxeani from their Author, [...] also of Patripassiani from their Errour,Augustin. de haeres. cap. 41. Danaeus in hunc lib. [...]ap. 36. [...] they said it was God the Father that suffe [...] Which Heresie Tertullian re [...]els, proving [...] [Page 131] sundry arguments the Doctrine of the Trini­ty. This Book he wrote after his middle age, and when he was tainted with Monta­nism: for herein we have him speaking of the Paraclete and new Prophesie:Pamel. in paradox. Tertull. its there­fore warily to be read; In nullo libro c [...]ntiùs legi debit (inquit Rhenanus) quam in eo quem adversus Praxeam scripsit, In admonit. de Tertull. dogmat. unde periculum esse possit imprudenti lectori.

10. Of the Souldiers crown or garland,Tertull. principio lib. Rhenan. in argumen [...] ▪ which was written upon this occasion. A Christian Souldier coming to the Tribune to receive the Emperous donative, brought his Crown or Garland of Flowers in his hand; which the rest (as the manner was) wore on their heads: for which being question'd, he boldly alledged this reason, that he was a Christian, and therefore that it was not lawful for him to observe that Ethnick Custom: hereupon he was hal'd unto the prison to be punished. This act of his being censured by many as unadvised and needless,Scultet. in Medull. Tertullian in this Book undertakes the defence of it, proving it to be unlawful for Christians to comply with the Heathens therein:Rhenan. ibid. 1. From Custom and Tradition (instancing in many particulars observed by Tradition, and shew­ing the force of it.) 2. From Nature. 3. From the Original of wearing those Crowns, in honour of the Heathen Gods. Wherein he with much zeal opposeth whatsoever be­cometh not the profession of Christianity; ear­nestly pressing Christians unto constancy in that way, which they have entred into without [...]rgiversation. He in this tract also disco­vers his Montanism; for, answering the cen­surers [Page 132] of the Souldier; planè superest, (inquit) [...] etiam martyria recusare meditentur, [...]e kins. problemat. qui prophe­tias ejusdem Spiritus Sancti respuerunt: it [...] therefore written after he was a Montani [...]: from whom he received all those idle Cere­monies which here he makes mention of, [...] the Centurists very profitably conjecture; though Pamelius would fain have it other­wise.In Annotat. numb 30.

11. To the Martyrs:Rhenan. in argument. which Book he [...] unto those that were in prison, whom h [...] stiles Designatos, destined unto suffering for the Testimony of Jesus; comforting, con­firming, and exhorting them to constancy; shewing the commodity or benefit of a pri­son; that the Spirit is ready, though the [...] be weak; and that even Heathens for [...] glory have endured the utmost.

12. Of the vailing of Virgins;Rhenan. in annotat. Pamel. in annotat. this [...] wrote as well in Greek as in Latin; whi [...] may be collected from those his first wor [...] Proprium jam negocium passus meae opini [...] Latinè quo (que) ostendam, virgines nostras [...] oportere. Wherein he proves that Virg [...] ought to wear a veil upon their heads: [...] he was moved to do by a contrary custom [...] those of Carthage, whose Virgins used [...] come into the Congregations unveiled, [...] so they might the more easily get them Husbands. And whereas some objected that [...] Apostle, 1 Cor. 11. 10. Spake of married Wo­men only, our Author shews that he meant [...] of Virgins also. He concludes this Bo [...] with these words, which plainly shew it [...] be his: Haec cum bonâ pace legentibus, &c. [...] those who with good and peaceable [...] [Page 133] read these things, preferring profit before cu­stom, peace and grace from our Lord Jesus be multiplyed upon them, with Septimius Ter­tullian, whose work this is.

13. Of the habit of Women: wherein he exhorts,Rhenan. in argum. unto Christian modesty, wishing them to avoid excess in their apparel, and for this end to remember the condition that Eve hath brought them into; that evil Angels were the first inventers of strange fashions, and that gold and silver were not ordained of God for such an use.

14. Of the decking or adorning of wo­men,Pamel. in argum. a Book of a much like subject with the foregoing; only herein he particularly blames curiosity about their hair and skin, exhorting them not to addict themselves unto paintings, and what might set off their Beauty.

15. Unto his Wife, two Books; wherein 1. He adviseth her,Rhenan. in argum. in case he should die be­fore her, not to marry again. 2. He exhorts Christian Women to abstain from marrying with Heathens, setting down the inconveni­ences of such Marriages, viz. that they cannot so freely attend the Duties of Christianity; and commends those of one Christian with another, because such may have full liberty in their whole Duty, which he thus particularly sets down,Tertul. ad uxor. lib. 2▪ sub finem. Liberè aeger visitatur, indigens susten­tatur, eleemosynae sine tormento, sacrificia sine scrupulo, quotidiana diligentia sine impedimento; non furtiva signatio, non trepida gratulatio, non mutae benedictio, sonant inter duos Psalmi & Hymni, & mutuò provocant, quis Deo meliùs [...]anat; talia Christus videns & audiens gaudet.

16. Of flight in time of persecution; be­ing [Page 134] consulted by one Fabius a Presbyter,Rhenan. in argum▪ whe­ther it were lawful to flie at such a time; [...] wrote this Treatise by way of answer, whe [...] in he holds that in such cases a Christi [...] ought not to flie, but rather valiantly to [...] for the name of Christ: and that that Pre­cept, Matth. 10. 23. When they shall perse­cute you in one City, flee ye into another, [...] temporal, and concern'd that time and stated the Church only. But (saith Peter Mony) who will so diligently weigh his reasons, [...] find that they have in them much more ele [...]gancy than strength. [...]pist. de fu­ [...] in perse­cut. This Book was [...] written against the Church after his defect [...] the errour herein maintained being one [...] those he had learned from Montanus; of [...] Baronius taxeth him somewhat tartly; [...] Montanistarum (inquit) de non [...] nec securitatem redimendo, Tertullianus in p [...] ­ceps semel infeliciter actus, [...]d an. 205. § 15. edito eâ de [...] mentario validissimè tutari conatus est, & [...] admodum.

17. Unto Scapula the President of C [...] ­thage, whom (because he threatened the C [...] ­stians with utmost punishment,Rhenan. in argum. unless [...] would abjure and deny Christ) he depre [...] and admonisheth not to persist in his [...] lest he should bring the wrath of God [...] himself and the whole City, as it had [...] others, whereof he giveth divers instances▪

18. An exhortation to Chastity, wh [...] he perswadeth his Friend,Rhenan. [...]n argum. who had lost [...] wife, to abstain from marrying again; c [...]cluding from those words, 1 Cor. 7. 29. [...] time is short: That the last day was not [...] off, and therefore he should forbear, as [...] [Page 135] because of the impediment arising from mar­riage. Here in his heat he condemns second marriage, accounting it (as Montanus had done) but little better than adultery. This Book is another of those which he wrote a­gainst the Church.

1. Of once marrying, or single marriage, wherein he shews this discipline not to be new,Scultet. in M [...]dull. but ancient, and peculiar unto Christi­ans. What in the former Treatise he only perswaded,Rhenan. in argum. in this he magisterially enjoyns, more openly condemning second marriage: they are both of the same subject,Pamel. in vitâ. Hieronym. in catalog. and in di­vers places agreeing even in the same words. This is the fifth of those Books which he wrote against the Church after his defection.

20. Of the Cloak;Rhenan. in argum. written upon this oc­casion, when Tertullian had laid aside his Gown (the Roman Weed) and taken on a Cloak, as more becoming Christian Simpli­city, he was by one branded with the note of inconstancy: hereupon (in vindication of himself) he writes this Book, therein shew­ing the antiquity and commodious use of the Cloak. This being the Garment of the Greeks, which they were wont to cast over their other Garments: hence it came to pass, that by way of reproach, the Christians using it, were called Grecians; and when they went abroad, they commonly heard this nickname or taunt, [...] al­luding unto their Garment. Also because of the simplicity or meanness both of it and those that used it, it grew into contempt; and it became a Proverb among the Carthagi­nians, a togâ ad pallium, from the Gown to the [Page 136] Cloak, noting the change from a more emi­nent to a meaner estate and condition, from riches to poverty.

21. Of the testimony of the Soul: where­in by a prosopopoea he fetcheth arguments from the Soul it self, Pamel. in argum. even of Ethnicks, whereby he convinceth them of their Atheism and a­bominable Idolatries: among the rest, from those speeches frequent in the mouths of such as are not Christians, e. g. Si Deus voluerit, Deus bonus est,Tertul. de [...] animae. benedicat te Deus, Deus videt omnia, Deo commendo, Deus reddet, Deus inter nos judicabit, &c. His last words in this Treatise are remarkable, which are these, M [...] ­ritò igitur omnis anima rea & testis est, in tan­tum & rea erroris, in quantum testis veritati [...] ▪ & stabit ante aulas Dei die judicii nihil habens dicere: Deum praedicabas & non requirebas; Daemonia abominabaris, & il [...]a adorabas; ju­dicium Dei appellabas, nec esse credebas; inferna supplicia praesumebas, & non praecavebas; Chri­stianum nomen sapiebas, & Christianum pers [...] ­quebaris.

22. Of the Soul: wherein he handles di­vers questions▪ Scultet. in Medull. and discusseth many contro­versies with the Philosophers about the es­sence, operations, adjuncts and various state of the Soul: which he would have to be cor­poreal, endued with form and figure, and to be propagated and derived from the substance of the Father to the body of the Son, and engendred with the body, encreasing and ex­tending it self together with it; and many o­ther the like dreams he hath, in the maintaining whereof, he useth so much subtilty, strength of reason and eloquence, as that (they are the [Page 137] words of the learned Daille) you will hard­ly meet with,Treatise of the right use of the Fa­thers, lib. 2. cap. 4. throughout the whole stock of Antiquity, a more excellent and more elegant piece than this Book of his: yet was it com­posed by him when he was turned Cataphry­gian.Lord Dig­by's second Letter. Hence Bellarmine having made use of a passage taken from hence for the proof of Purgatory, the most Reverend Vsher thus re­plies,In his an­swer to the Iesuits chal­lenge. he must give us leave (saith he) to put him in mind with what spirit Tertullian was lead when he wrote that Book de animâ, and with what authority he strengt [...]e [...]eth that conceit of mens paying in Hell for their small faults before the Resurrection; namely, of the Paraclete,cap. ult. d [...] animâ. by whom, if he mean Mon­tanus the Arch-Heretick (as there is small cause to doubt that he doth) we need not much envy the Cardinal for raising up so wor­shipful a Patron of his Purgatory.

23. Of Spectacles or Plays,Pamel. in vi­tâ Tertul. written (as Pamelius conceives) in the twelfth year of Severus the Emperour, in which were exhibi­ted unto the people those plays that were call­ed Ludi seculares, because they were present­ed only once in an age or an hundred years, unto which therefore the people were solemn­ly invited by a publick cry made in these words,Brisson. de formul. li. 8. Convenite ad ludos spectandos, quos ne­que spectavit quisquam, neque spectaturus est: Come ye unto those Spectacles which no man now beheld, or shall behold again. Hereupon Ter­tullian in this Book (which he wrote both in Greek and Latine) makes it evident that these plays had their original from idolatry, and were full of all kind of cruelty and ob­scenity, and that therefore it was utterly un­lawful for Christians to behold them, and [Page 138] that they should provoke the truth of God a­gainst them,Baron. ad an. 206. § 4. should they not fear to be pre­sent at them.Pamel. in an­notat. num. 1. Therefore Constantine the Great did by a law prohibit the setting forth and frequenting of such kind of plays. And herein our Author doth so largely treat of the several sorts of play which then were wont to be made use of, that a curious Reader needs no other commentary fully to acquaint himself with those Antiquities.

24. Of Baptism, against Quintilla one of the Disciples of Montanus, who denyed or took away Baptism by water; of whom he scoffingly thus speaks,Tertul. de baptism. Optimè novit pisciculo [...] necare, de aquâ auferens. He therefore proves, that it is not an empty or idle Ceremony,Pamel. in argum. but of great force and virtue,Scultet. in Medul. setting down the form and manner, together with the Rites ob­served by the Ancients in the administration thereof, and resolves divers questions about it. This also was written both in Greek and Latine.

25. Scorpiacum, In annot. in hunc lib. a Book against the Gno­sticks; so called from one Scorpianus an Here­tick, against whom particularly it was intend­ed, saith Pamelius: but more probably from the nature of it, being an antidote against the bite and sting of the Scorpion, to which pur­pose Ierom thus speaks,Advers. Vi­gilant. Scribit adversum haer [...] ­sim tuam, quae olim erupit contra Ecclesiam (ne & in hoc quasi repertor novi sceleris glo­rieris) Tertullianus vir eruditissimus, insigne volumen, quod Scorpiacum vocat rectissimo nomine, quia arcuato vulnere in Ecclesiae corpu [...] v [...]nena diffudit, quae olim appellabatur Cain [...] Haeresis, & multo tempore dormiens, vel [Page 139] sepult [...], nunc à dormitantio suscitata est. These Hereticks vilified Martyrdom,Baron. ad an [...] 205. § 19. This was also the Doctrine of Basilides the Heretick▪ See Origen. Tom. 2. in Math. Tract. 28. teaching that it was not to be undergone, because God would not the death of a Sinner, and Christ had died that we might not die. By this Do­ctrine they did much harm to many weak ones in the Church, who, to save themselves, would deny Christ and offer incense. Against these Tertullian herein opposeth himself, prov­ing Martyrdom to be good, and setting forth the excellency thereof by many examples. And in thus doing he deserved well, had he not (unhappy man) ran afterwards into the other extreme of the Montanists, who magni­fied Martyrdom too much (denying the law­fulness of flight to avoid danger in that case) as these did too much undervalue it.

26. Of Idolatry,Pamel. in vi­ta Tertul. written about the same time, with his Book de spectaculis; wherein, being desirous to take away all kind of idola­try,Pamel. in argum. lest Christians should longer labour under gross ignorance herein;Scultet. in Medul. he shews the original of it, and how many ways (and not only in the worshipping of Idols) they may be guil­ty of it, all which they ought to beware of and avoid, and not to comply with Idolaters in their Festivals, Solemnities and such like observations.

27. Of Chastity,Baron. ad an. 216. § [...]. In hoc libr [...] est vehemen­tior. which was written upon this occasion; Zephyrinus Bishop of Rome ha­ving published an Edict, in which he gave notice unto all the faithful, that the Catholick Church receives such as repent, though they had fallen into the sins of Fornication and A­dultery:Lib. de pudi­cit. paulo post initium▪ Tertullian herein opposeth him, as may be gathered from his own words: I do [Page 140] hear, saith he, that there is an Edict publish­ed, and that a p [...]remptory one: Pontifex scilicet maximus Episcopus Episcoporum, Veteres bo­ni ominis causa [...] Bonū factū praefari solebant in edictis. Tu [...] ­neb. adversa. l. 3. c. 22. dicit▪ ego & moechiae & fornicationis delicta paeniten­tiae functis dimitto. O edictum, cui adscribi non poterit Bonum factum.—Erit ergò & hic adversus Psychicos: so he used to call the Orthodox after he became a Montanist. Scultet. in Medull. And herein he undertakes to answer all the argu­ments brought for this practice; denying that such ought to be received. Ierom saith that he wrote this book against repentance,Epist. Da­maso. num. 146. and wonders at the man that he should think those publicans and sinners with whom Christ did eat,Math. 9. 6. to be Gentiles and not Jews, the better to defend his error, weakly ground­ing his opinion upon that in Deut. 23. non erit pende [...]s vectigal ex filiis Israel. This book he wrote against the Church.

28. Of Fasting, against the Psychiici: So, as we have said, [...]ame. in ad­notat. he contumeliously calls the Orthodox;See Rhenan. annot. in lib. Tertul. ad­vers. Praxe [...] Scultet. in Medul. accounting those to be carnal, who rejected the prophesie of Montanus, and those only spiritual (alluding unto, 1 Cor. 2.) who received and embraced it. Herein he defends the set Fasts and stations observed by the Montanists. Of the name Psychicus, Ba­ronius gives us this account. Ignominiae caus [...] Orthodoxos Psychicos nominare, fuit (ut autor est Irenaeus. lib. 1. cap. 1.) Valentini haeresiarchae in­ventum, Baron. ad an. 201. § 14. qui Psychicos nominabat homines qui non essent, sicut ipse, ut aiebat, spirituales. Transiit vox eadem ad Cataphrygas, qui aequè omnes non suscipientes Paracletum, Psychicos appellabant.

[Page 141] 29. Of prayer;Comment. in Math. Scult [...]t. in Medul. which Hilary calls, volu­men aptissimum; wherein he commendeth and commenteth upon the Lords Prayer, adding somewhat of the adjuncts of prayer. The title and subject hereof seem to intimate that it was a mistake in Sixtus Senensis, to imagine that he wrote two books upon this subject,Biblioth. sanct. l. 4. one whereof he intitles in orationem dominicam, the other de oratione.

30. An Apology against the Gentiles in the behalf of the Christians;This was written by him in the Latine Tongue, saith Nicephorus, l. 2. c. 8. but translated into Greek. wherein he notably and at large defends their innocency, clearing them of the crimes falsely charged upon them, and fully evincing the groundlesness of the adversaries hatred to, and unjust pro­ceedings against them; imitating herein Iustin and Aristides who had undertaken the same task before him, who yet he far tran­scends, both in sharpness of wit and soundness of Learning:Pamel. in argument. how boldly doth he stand up against the Gentiles? how constantly main­tain the purity of our faith? what Authors doth he not read? which of their disciplines doth he not touch? so that this book alone is abundantly sufficient to convince the per­tinacy of the Gentiles?In Epist. ad Magnum. 84 Zephyr. in argument. It contains in it (saith Ierom) cunctam saeculi disciplinam: wherein he is more elegant than ordinary: the strength whereof was such, that in likely­hood it was the thing that prevaii'd to the mitigation of the enemies fury, and, in some measure,Panel. in vi­tâ Tertul. the cessation of the persecution then raised against the Christians. It was written by him,Ibid. as both Pamelius and Baro­nius conj [...]ct [...], in the seventh year of the Emperor Severus, Baro. ad an. 201. § 37. An. Christi 201. Of the [Page 142] excellency hereof Prateolus thus speaks; proculdubiò, De haeres. lib. 18. inquit, verum est; quum acris & ardentis ingenii non ferens gentilium insolen­tiam at (que) saevitiam quâ in Christianos fereban­tur omnes ingenii sui nervos in borum defensionem intendit, incomparabiles interim eruditionis & eloquentiae suae opes isthic often­tans.

31. Ad nationes; In prolego. ante notas in l. Tertul. ad nationes. libri duo: set forth and published singly, by Iacobus Cothofr [...]dus, I.C. which by divers arguments he would prove to be Tertullians; also that they were written before his Apologetick, as a Prodrome or pre­paratory to it; as his book de testimonio anim [...] followed after and was added as a third way whereby he attempted the Gentiles, viz. by testimonies drawn from the soul, and by those forms of speech, wherein they named God in common use among them. He also shews it to differ from his Apologetick, because in these books he directs himself unto the Na­tions in general; but in that, only unto the Governors and Presidents of the Roman Empire: besides, these are purely Elencti­cal, wherein he undertakes not to defend the cause of the Christians (as in the other he doth) but reproves the iniquity of the Nations against the Christians,Epist. ad Magnū. 84. Novatianus scripsit de cibis Judai­cis. Honor. Augusto du­nens. descrip. Eccles. also, Hieronym. in catalog. Scultet. in Medul. and shews the vanity of the Gentile Gods. Ierom mentions these books contra gentes, as distinct from his Apology: quid, inquit, Tertulliano eruditius? quid acutius? Apologeticus ejus, & contra gentes libri cunctam saeculi continent Disciplinam.

Of these following, it is doubted whether they be his or no.

[Page 143] 1. An Epistle, concerning Judaical meats: wherein he shews that the difference between clean and unclean meats injoyned unto the Jews, is taken away and abolished under the Gospel.Pamel. edit. Tertull. Pamelius thinks this Epistle to be none of his, but rather Novatians, whose name therefore he prefixeth to it, thus, No­vatiani Romanae Ecclesiae presbyteri de cibis Iu­d [...]icis epistola. In catalog. script. It seems (saith Bellarmine) to have been sent by some Bishop unto his own people; but Tertullian was no Bishop: yet I determine nothing.Ctitic. Sac. Both the Stile (saith Rivet) and the Texts of Scripture otherwise Translated then in Tertullian; as also that the Author remembers his with­drawing in the time of persecution; (which Tertullian is every where against) plainly shew it to be none of his.

2. Of the Trinity:Ruffin. in apolog. pro Origin. Pamel. in argument. Sixt. Seneus. Bibloth. Sanct. l. 4. concerning which Ruffin and others do report that certain of the Macedonian Hereticks, who were [...], finding somewhat in Tertullians book of the Trinity which was for their ad­vantage inserted it among the Epistles of Cyprian, causing them to be dispersed about Constantinople and sold at a low rate, that so being the more bought up and read, what was unsound therein might be the sooner embraced for the Authority of so great an Author, by which means, as they supposed, their cause would be credited and promoted. But (saith Ierom) there is no such matter;In Apolog. advers. Ruff. for that book of the Trinity is neither Tertul­lians nor Cyprians, but Novatians; as both by the title and propriety of the stile doth evidently appear; characterem alium & genus [Page 144] dieendi nitidius in eo notat Laurentius. Hence Ierom speaking of Novatian: Rivet. Crit. Sac. In Catalog. Parker. de descens. l. 4. § 10. He wrote, saith he, grande volumen, a great volum of the Trinity, making as it were, an Epitome of Tertullians work upon this subject, which many igno­rantly think to be Cyprians: this piece of Novatians exceeding in bulk that of Tertul­lians now extant,Pamel. in frag. Tertul. it must needs refer unto some book of his on that subject, now want­ing; unless we will make (which is absurd) the Epitome to be larger then the book it self, whose compend it is. Bellarmine sup­poseth it to be beyond all doubt,In Catalog. script. & controvers. de Christo. l. 1. c. 10. that this book is none of Tertullians, because the heresie of Sabellius (which began almost an hundred years after Tertullians time) is there­in by name refuted,Pamel. in argument. with whom Pamelius accords, adding this as another reason of his confidence, that the Author in the sixth Chapter denieth Corporeal Lineaments in God, which Tertullian more then once af­firms. How ever it be; it is a learned and elegant book;Cent. 3. l. 10. (though yet there are some things to be found in it,In Medul. not agreeable to the Christian Faith) and I conclude, saith Scul­teius, that whoever was the Author, it is written according to the genius of Tertullian, and therefore deservedly set forth under his name; seeing it agrees so well with that Noble work of his against Praxeas. Ba [...]on ad an. 116. § 19 Baronius tells us, that those of the Eastern Church did receive it as the legitimate writing of Tertullian.

3. Of Repentance:Rhenar. in argument. wherein he discourseth of the excellency and utility thereof: per­swading to beware of recidivation and re­turning [Page 145] unto sin again after repentance: par­ticularly directing himself unto the Cate­chumens, who for that they believed their sins would be all blotted out and wash'd away in Baptism, were not so careful, as they should have been, to abstain from it. Est autem hic commentarius ejusmodi, Ibid. ut theo­logi eum debeant ad unguem ediscere: nam egregium monumentum est antiquitatis; tam sanctè docet, tam piè suadet, tam instanter ur­get rem ecclesiasticae disciplinae summopere ne­cessariam. Scultet. in Medull. In the argument of this book Rhenanu [...] that expert Antiquary & solertis­s [...]nus Tertulliani interpres, hath spoken so much and so freely against the Auricular Con­fession of the Romish Synagogue,Index ex­purgat. pe [...] Francise. Junium. (crudelis illa conscientiarum carnificina, that cruel rack of consciences) that the Council, or rather that politick and pack'd Conventicle of Trent, took order that the most part of it should be expunged, as unskilful, rash, false, heretical, and otherways scandalous: as, they did also, by somewhat contained in the argument of his book de carne Christi; because it suited not with their Doctrine of the perfection of the Virgine Mary; a short way, were it as safe and honest, to make all sure. But this book also, in the judgment of the quick-sighted Erasmus, grounded upon the differ­ence of the stile from that of Tertullian, Cent. 3. c. [...] Rivet. Crit. Sac. is none of his but of some other, very studious in our Author, and living about the same time: to whom Rhenanus subscribes,In argumen [...]. though the au­thor use many words and figures, agreeable to and borrowed from Tertullian. I am of opi­tion, saith Daille, that both the birth and [Page 146] fortune of that piece de paenitentiâ hath been,Treat. of the use of the Fathers part. 1. cap 3. if not the very same, yet at least not much unlike that of the Trinity; though Pamelius and Baronius be of another mind,In argum. ad an. 216. § 18. and would fain it should be his.

4. His Poems; which are diverse accord­ing to Pamelius, Pamel. Edit. Tom 4. viz.

1. Against Marcion 5. books.

2. Of the Judgement of the Lord.

3. Genesis.

4. Sodom.

5. His Poem to a Senator that turned from the Christian Religion to the service of Idols. But should we reject them all as A­pocryphal (seeing neither Ierom nor Eusebius make any mention of them) together with Iuret's,Biblioth. Patr. Tom. 8. Ionab and Nineveh (notwithstanding the Authority of his old Manuscript) I sup­pose that neither our Authour nor the Com­monwealth of Learning would at all be in­jured hereby.Praefat. in Tom. 4. Pamelius tells us, that in his Edition of Cyprian's works he had entituled them unto him as the composer of them; but thinks it not amiss to follow the censure of Sixtus Senensis who ascribes the Poem of So­dom unto Tertullian, induced hereunto by the fidelity (as he supposeth) of some Manuscripts: and because the stile is the same with that of the other, he concludes that all three were his, viz. Genesis, Sodoma & ad Senatorem. A weak ground for him to change his mind, and build such confident conclusions upon, as well may we deny them to be either Tertulli­ans or Cyprians, and so leave him to seek a Father for them.

[Page 147] § 4. For his stile and manner of writing, he hath a peculiar way of his own, s [...]us qui­dam est character, saith Erasmus: sufficiently elegant;In Epist. an­te [...]ilar. de [...]eres. ca. 86. Nicephor. Hieronym. Epist. 13. Sixt. Senens. lib. 4. ejus opuscula eloquentissimè scripta, inquit Augustinus; eloquentiâ admodum pol­lens est: full of gravity, and becoming a Learned man; creber est in sententiis, sed dif­ficilis in loquendo: very sententious, and of much strength and vehemency, but hard, dif­ficult and too elaborate:In vitâ Ter. varius est (inquit Rhenanus) in phrasi; in disputationibus diluci­dior & simplicior, in locis communibus, velut de pallio, Lactant. inst. lib. 5. cap. 1. &c. est durior & affectatior, Not so smooth and fluent as many others, and there­fore not in so much esteem as otherwise he might have been.Instit. lib. [...] ▪ cap. 13. § 28. His expressions, (saith Calvin) are somewhat rough and thorny, and therefore dark and obscure,In argum. in Apologetic. certè magis stridet quàm loquitur, idem in Epist. 339. Phraseos Character (inquit Zephyrus) minùs semper c [...]mptus, multùmque brevis & obscurus fuisse videtur. Commata enim potiùs habet qùam [...]ol [...], & frequentes periodos, qualia decent gravi vehementique stilo, quo semper ipse usus est. Casau [...]. ex­ercitat. fa­cundia ejus fe [...]rea. So that, durè & Tertullianicè loqui, to speak harshly, and like Tertullian are equi­valent phrases. And the causes whence this proceeded might be chiefly these four.

1. His Country, being an African, of the City of Carthage, which was a Province of the Roman Empire: Now those that were Provincials,Erasm. E [...] ▪ ante Hilar. scarce any of them could attain unto the purity of the Latin Tongue, except such only as were brought up at Rome from their child-hood: as was Terence, our Au­thour's Country [...]man, Romam perductus, cum [Page 148] in tenerâ aetate foret, comoedias sex composuit, easque ab Apollodoro & Menandro Poetis Graecis in Sermonem Latinum convertit,Pet Crini­tus. lib▪ 1. de poetis Lat.tantâ Sermonis elegantiâ & proprietate, ut eruditorum judicio nihil perfectiùs aut absolutiùs in eo scribendi genere habitum sit apud Latimos: Cicero in Epist. ad A [...]icum refert Terentium esse optimum autorem Latinitatis. De honest. disciplin. li. 8. cap 3. The same Author else­where speaking of the difference in this lan­guage among those living in several Coun­tries, thus observes: Romani omnes (inquit) in suo genere, pressi, elegantes & proprii: His­pani autem florentes, acuti & qui ad peregrinum inclinent: Punici & Carthagiuenses, duri, au­daces, improbi: palam aberrantes vitium virtuti praetulerunt: ut Tertullianus, Apuleius, & Cyprianus. It's also the observation of Loys le Roy, Lib. 2. in his discourse of the variety of things: Every thing, saith he, by how much the farther it is from its original spring, is the less pure, as the Gauls, Spaniards, and Africans, did not speak Latin so purely as the Romans, for although their words were Latin, yet they retained the phrase of their own Country: insomuch, that speaking Latin they were always known for Strangers.Lib. de tra­dend. discip. Perturbatissime loquitur Tertullianus (inquit Ludovicus Vives) ut Afer. Epist. ante Hilar. And in the decrees of the Africans (many whereof Augustin relates) you may perceive (saith Erasmus) an anxious affecta­tion of eloquence,Epist. 3. ad He [...]iodor. yet so as that you may know them to be Africans. 'Tis no wonder then Ierom should say,Pamel. in vi­t [...] Tertul. Brerewoods Inquiries cap▪ 4. that the stile of Ter­tul [...]ian and also of other Africans, was easily discerned by Nepotian: and it appeareth by Augustin in sundry places, that the Roman [Page 149] Tongue was imperfect among the Africans, even in the Colonies.

2. His calling and profession:Pamel. Inad­not. in lib. de praescript. num. 1. for before his conversion he had studied and practised the Law: wherein he was very skilful: hence it comes to pass,Pamel. in vi­tâ Tertul. In Aug. do haeres. c. 8 [...]. that using many Law terms (& juris verborum erat retinentissimus) and phrases borrowed from thence, his Language comes to be more perplex and obscure. It's apparent (saith Danaeus) from his continual stile and manner of speaking, that he was a most expert Lawyer, and by reason of the unusual novelty of his words,Biblioth. sanct. lib. 4. his stile is ve­ry obscure, saith Sixtus Senesis.

3. His constitution and natural temper,Novator vo­cabulorum Tertullianus Pamel. in ad­not. in lib. de prescript. num. 125. & Rhenan. in annot. in lib. eundem. Epist. ante Hilar. for words are the mind's Interpreters, and the clothing of its conceptions, wherein they go abroad, which therefore are in a great mea­sure fashioned by it and receives a tincture from it. Hence it is that most Mens stiles do differ as well as their faces: suus cuique stilus est (inquit Erasmus) & quisque suum quendam habet gustum peculiarem: every one hath somewhat peculiar to him in this partic [...] ­lar. Accordingly our Author,Hieronym. in [...]atal. duri in genil. being a Man, [...]cris & vehementis Ingenii, of a rough, sharp, and vehement spirit, Baron ad [...]n. 197. § 19. makes use of a stile an­swerable, viz. quick and crabbed, and conse­quently harsh and obscure: which he did of purpose,Pamel. in [...] ­pist. dedicat. Rhenan. in argum. lib. ad ers. Va­lentin. affecting it as most agreeable to his Genius; so that his expressions are such even in things that are plain and easie. This Rhe­nanus▪ renders, as the reason why his writings had so many faults,In praefat. ante Tertul▪ or Errataes in them, viz. [...]eglectus aut [...]ris, quo multis annis non est lecto­tum manibus tritus, & ips [...]m dicendi g [...]nus [Page 150] affectatum & Africanum (& affectati stili duri­ties molestiam addit) quod etiam magis effecit,Bond. in E­p [...]st. ad lecto­rem.ut minùs leg [...]retur, quàm quidvis aliud. Which betided the Poet Persius, qui consul [...]ò est obscu­rus, suisque scriptis caliginem & tenebras exindustriâ objecit: for being by one taken in hand, and perceived to be so dark and cloudy, he was fairly laid aside with such like words as these: Si nol [...]t intelligi, non legetur.

4. His converse in the Greek Authors whom he diligently read, being very skilful in that Tongue, idenim temporis nihil extaba [...] (inquit Rhenanus) apud Latinos in sacris, In annot. in lib. Tertul. advers. Va­lentin. praeter testamentum utrumque, tantum Victor & Apollonius scripserant opuscula: hence it is, that transcribing much from them, he retains their phrases: (though he quote not his Au­thors;Hoc erat il­lius aetatis praeter S. Scripturas neminem nominatim citare Eras. Epist. ante Hilar. In vita Ter­tul. which was the manner of the first a­ges, viz. to cite none by name, but the sacred Scriptures only; especially if they had drawn the Water out of the Wells of the Greeks) and imitates their manner of speaking. By his assiduous perusal of their Books, (saith Pa­melius) adeò Graecas loquendi formulas imbibe­rit, ut etiam Latinè seribens illarum oblivisci nequiret: he so drank in their forms of speech, that when he comes to write in Latin, he cannot forget them: Rhenan. in annot. in lib. a [...]vers. Va­lentin. and both himself and Rhenanus have taken notice of many phrases in him, which he borrows from the Greeks, and wherein he conforms unto them.

Most of these, I find observed by that Learned French-man Mr. Iohn Daille, lib. 1. cap. 5. in his choice Treatise concerning the right use of the Fathers. What shall I say (saith he) of Tertullian, who besides his natural harshness [Page 151] and roughness which you meet with in him throughout, and that Carthagmian spirit and genius, which is common to him with the rest of the African writers, hath yet shadowed and over-cast his conceptions with so much learning, and with so many new terms and passages out of the Law, and with such va­riety of all visions, subtilties and nice points, as that the greatest stock both of learning and attention that you can bring with you, will be all little enough to fit you for a perfect under­standing of him.

§ 5. This father is full fraught with and abounds in grave and excellent sentences; some few whereof I shall here insert; which may serve a little to acquaint us with the state of those times in reference unto both the Do­ctrine and Discipline then professed and pra­ctised in the Chuches of Christ.

1. Take a view of his Symbol or Creed, containing a summary of the faith which was generally received and maintained in his time:Lib. de ve­land. virg. l. de praes [...]rip. ad [...]er. h [...]res. pri [...]oomniū emissu [...]. Altogether one, the only immoveable and irreformable rule, as he stiles it: which is this. To believe that there is but one God, nor he any other beside the Creator of the world, who made all things of nought, by his word, first of all sent forth: Colos. 1. 16, 17. That word to be call'd his Son; in the name of God variously seen by the Pa­triarchs:Delatum. always heard by the Prophets; last of all brought down, by the Spirit of God the Father, and Power, into the Virgin Mary, made flesh in her womb, and of her born a man, and that he is Jesus Christ; [Page 152] moreover that he preached a new law, and a new promise of the Kingdom of Heaven: that he wrought or did wonders, was fastned to the Cross, arose the third day; that being taken up into heaven, he sate down on the right of the Father;Vicariā vim Sp Sancti. qui agat. sent the power of the Ghost in his stead, that he might guide or act believers: that he shall come in glory to take the Saints into the fruition of eternal life,Factâ utri­us [...]; partis resuscitati­one. and heavenly pro­mises, and to adjudge the wicked unto perpe­tual fire; a resurrection of each part being made with the restitution of the flesh. This rule instituted by Christ, as shall be proved, hath no question made of it among us, but which Heresies bring in, and which makes Hereticks.

A compend or brief hereof is to be seen in the beginning of his book of the veiling of Virgins, as also in that against Praxeas the Heretick: unto which he subjoyns these words. This Law of Faith remaining, other things that concern discipline and conversa­tion, do admit of a newness of Correction; the grace of God working and making a pro­ficiency unto the end. So that where there is a consent in the fundamental and substantial truths of the Gospel, differences in things of less moment may be born with, nor should they cause divisions among Christians. [...]. B. That rule holding here, that Opinionum varietas, & opinantium unitas non sunt [...]. He adds, that this rule hath ran down from the beginning of the Gospel, even before any heresie sprung up;Lib. advers. [...] insomuch as from hence this appears to be a firm Truth; id esse verum [Page 153] quodcun (que) primum; id esse adulterum, quodcun (que) posterius.

Again, The Church acknowledgeth one God, Creatour of the universe: and Jesus Christ, of the Virgine Mary, the Son of God the Creator; and the resurrection of the flesh: it mingleth the Law and the Prophets, with the Evangelical and Apostolical wri­tings; and from thence drinks in that faith. It signs with water,De praescrip­potat. clotheth with the holy Ghost (which Pamelius understands of con­firmation) feeds with the Eucharist,Pamel. in notis. exhort­eth with Martyrdom;Martyrio exhortatnr. and so receives none against this institution.

2. He prescribes and lays down this for a sure rule,Lib. de prae­script. by which the truth may be known, viz. If the Lord Jesus Christ did send out the Apostles to Preach, other Preachers are not to be received then those whom Christ did institute: because neither doth any other know the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son hath revealed him; neither doth the Son seem to have revealed him unto any others, save to the Apostles whom he sent to Preach. Now what they have preached, (i.e. what, Christ revealed to them) ought no other way to be proved, then by the same Churches which the Apostles themselves founded; preaching unto them as well by a lively voice, as they say, as afterward by E­pistles. If these things be so, it is then evident, that every Doctrine which agrees with the faith of those Apostolical, Mother and Original Churches, is to be accounted the truth [...] undoubtedly holding that which the Churches received from the Apostles, the [Page 154] Apostles from Christ, Christ from God: but all other Doctrine to be adjudged false, which savoureth contrary unto the truth of the Churches, and of the Apostles, and of Christ, and of God.

3. As touching their Church Meetings at that time, and the exercises about which in them they were imployed, he gives us this account.In Apolog. quasi manu factâ ambia­mus. We come together, saith he, into the congregation, that we may as it were with an Army; besiege God without prayers; which violence is pleasing unto God. We pray for the Emperors and for their Ministers and inferior powers,Pro [...]statu sculi. pro morâ finis. for the state of the world for the peaceable condition of affairs, and for the delay of the end. We are assem­bled for the rehearsal of the Divine Scriptures, if the quality of the present times doth need any thing by way of Premonition or recogni­tion. Surely with the holy Word do we feed our faith,Densamus. raise up our hope, settle our affiance, nevertheless we do strengthen the discipline with inculcation of precepts: There are also exhortations, castigations, and the Divine censure: and judgment is past with a great deal of weight and authority; as among those who are certain of the presence, or in­spection, of God: and it is the highest pro­gnostick of the judgment to come for one so to offend, as to be cast out or removed from Communion of Prayer, and our assemblies, and all holy Commerce. Approved Elders are Presidents who have attained this honour not by price but testimony. Every one brings some small piece of mony to the chest if he can, one day in a month, or when he will: [Page 155] for no man is compell'd, but gives freely. This is, as it were a pious depositum; for it is not laid out in feasts, or gluttony or gor­mundizing; but for the feeding and interring of the poor; and for Boys and Girls that are destitute of Estate and Parents; also for such as are aged, and for such as have suffered shipwrack: and for any who are condemned vnto the Mines, are banished into Islands, or are in Prison, &c.

4. Of their Love feasts, thus; Of how great cost soever they be 'tis [...]gain to be at ex­ [...]ence for pieties sake;In Apolog. seeing that the needy are holpen by this refreshing.Praegustetur No baseness or immodesty is admitted; they sit not down [...] prayer to God be first made: they eat as much as hungry ones use to take, to satisfie their hunger only: they drink as much as is meet for sober men to do: they are so filled, as who remember, they must even in the night worship God: they so discourse as those who know that God hears. After water for the hands is brought, as any one is able from the holy Scriptures, or of his own invention, he is invited to sing unto God in the midst of all: hence it appeareth how hath he drank: likewise prayer concludes the feast.

5. We pray with our hands stretched out,In Apolog. because innocent; with our heads uncovered, because we blush not; lastly, without a Mo­nitor, because from our brest or heart.

6. The power of casting out Divels conti­nued unto his time;In Apolog. & lib. ad Scapulam. for hereof he thus speaks. The Devils by our touch and breathing do unwillingly grieving and blushing (because [Page 156] you Gentiles are present) depart out of the bodies, which they possessed.

7. Afflict,In Apolog. torment, condemn, break us in pieces; your iniquity is the trial of our in­nocency: therefore doth God permit that we should suffer these things.—Your exquisite cruelty, speaking to the persecutors of the Christians, will avail nothing at all: it is ra­ther an allurement unto our Sect: we be­come the more, the oftner we are cut down by you; the blood of Christians is seed; that very obstinacy which you upbraid us withal is a mystery; for who is not moved by behold­ing it, to inquire, what is in the matter? who having inquired, comes not unto us? and coming, desires not to suffer? &c.

8. Take away from Hereticks those things which they hold with Ethnicks,Lib. de re­surrect. carn. that they may ground their questions upon the Scriptures only; and they are not able to stand.— Again; we need no curiosity after Jesus Christ, nor inquisition after the Gospel; when once we believe it, we desire to believe nothing else; for this is the first thing that we believe, that there is nothing more which we ought to believe.

9. The greatest Antiquity challengeth the chiefest Authority unto the Sacred Scriptures or Instruments:In Apolog. the Cabinet of one Prophet, viz. Moses, for age surpasseth all your Origi­nals; the veins of your ancient stile, the most Nations, your famous Cities, the very effigies of your Letters, yea even your very Gods themselves, their Temples, Oracles and Sa­cred Rites.

[Page 157] 10. Of the sufficiency and perfection of the Scriptures;Lib. advers. Hermogen. adoro scripture plenitudi­ [...]em; I do adore, saith he, the fulness of the Scripture.

11. He hath a most elegant resemblance of mans body unto the earth out of which it was taken:Lib. de carn. Christ. what is the blood,Glebae, saxa. calculi. saith he, but a red humor? what is the flesh; but earth turned into its figures? consider the several qualities; the muscles as clods; the bones as rocks or stones; also about the Paps, certain pebbles? Behold, the firm connexion of the nerves, as the traductions of roots; and the branchy running about of the veins as the windings of the rivers: the down, as moss; the hair as grass; and the hidden treasures of the marrow, as the metals of the flesh.

12. He gives us a lively draught or pour­traicture of the grace of Patience,Lib. de pa­tient. together with a large encomium of it from the admi­rable sorce and excellent fruits thereof: in these words: It fenceth faith, helpeth love, armeth or instructeth humility, governs the flesh, secures the spirit, bridles the tongue, binds the hand, tramples upon temptations, drives away scandals, consummates Martyr­dom. It comforts the poor, moderates the rich, it delights the believer, and invites the Gentile; it commends the servant unto the Master, and the Master unto God; it adorns the wife, and approves the husband, it is lovely in a child, laudable in a youth, and admired in the aged; it is amiable in every sexe and age. The patient man he thus de­scribeth; he hath a serene and pleasant coun­tenance, [Page 158] a smooth forehead, not furrowed with any wrinkle of grief or anger: his eyebrows alike remiss in a chearful manner:Remissa. his eyes cast down through humility, not adversity; his mouth sealed up with the honour of silence; his colour such as is that of secure and harmless ones; the motion of his head frequent against the Devil, and a threatning laughter; the attire about his breast candid and close to his body; as of one who is neither puffed up, nor dis­quieted.

13. The Flesh shall rise again,Lib. de re­surrect. even all, the same, and the whole: For it is every where deposited with God,Fidelissi­mum seque­strem dei & hominum. by the most faith­ful Mediator between God and Men, Jesus Christ, who shall restore both God to Man, and Man to God, the Spirit to the Flesh, and the Flesh to the Spirit. For that which thou supposest to be the destruction thereof, know 'tis but a departure. Not only the soul is separated or laid aside;Seponitur. the Flesh also in the interim hath its receptacles in the Waters, Fires, Fowls, Beasts. When it seems to be dissolved into these, it is, as it were, poured into Vessels; if also the Vessels themselves shall fail, when it flits out of them, it is, as it were, by certain windings swallowed up a­gain into its Mother Earth.

14. If thou wouldest spend the time of thy life in pleasures,Lib. de spe­ctacul. why art thou so un­grateful, as not to acknowledge and account sufficient, so many and such pleasures as art afforded thee of God? For what is more than reconciliation with God the Father, than the Revelation of the Truth, than [...] [Page 159] calling to remembrance of our Errour, than the pardon of so many sins past? What greater pleasure than the loathing of pleasure it self? than the contempt of the whole World? than true Liberty, than a sound or good Consci­ence,Vita suffi­ciens. than a sufficient Life, then no fear of death? that thou tramplest upon the Gods of the Nations, that thou castest out De­vils, that thou dost Cures, that thou co­verest Revelations, that thou livest unto God?

15. How shall I be able to declare the happiness of that Marriage,Of Marri­age. which the Church knits together,Lib. 2. ad uxorem. the oblation confirms, the An­gels reports it sealed, the Father ratifies? For neither on Earth do Children rightly marry without the consent of their Parents.Angeli re­nunciant obsignatum. What a match is that of two Believers, of one hope, one vow, one discipline, the same service? Both Brethren, both Fellow-servants, no dif­ference of Spirit or Flesh; but truly two in one Flesh:Volutantur. where the Flesh is one, and the Spirit one: they pray together, they are humbled and fast together, leading and ex­horting one another: in distresses and refresh­ments neither concealeth, avoideth, or is grievous unto the other: the sick is freely visited, the poor sustained; alms are without torment,So Albaspin. in notis. sacrifices without scruple, (i.e. offerings for Ministers and the Poor) signing (viz. with the cross) is not by stealth, greet­ing not with trembling, nor benediction mute: Psalms and Hymns sound forth from two, and they mutally provoke one another, who shall sing best unto their God: Christ rejoyceth to behold and hear such things. [Page 160] Which words (saith Rhenanus) are worthy to be written in Letters of Gold.In annotat. in loc.

16. He would have these to be the Orna­ments of Christian Women.Womans ornaments. They should (saith he) take whiteness from simplicity,Lib. de cult. foeminar. redness from modesty; their eyes should be painted with bashfulness, their spirits with silence, hanging in their ears the Word of God, tying about their necks the Yoke of Christ. Submit unto your Husbands (saith he) and you shall be sufficiently adorned: imploy your hands in wooll; let your feet keep at home; and you shall more please, than if deck'd with Gold. Cloth you with the Silk and Purple of Virtue, Holiness and Chastity; being thus beautified, you shall have God for your Lover.

17. A woman going unto the Theatre,Lib. de spectacul. returned from thence possessed of the Devil: wherefore in the Exorcism, being pressed how he durst adventure upon a Believer, he constantly replyed: I do it most justly: In meo eam inveni. For I found her upon mine own ground.

18. As touching the carriage and course of Hereticks,Lib. de prae­script. he thus describes it: First of all, it is uncertain who among them is a Catechu­men,Of Here­ticks. and who a Believer: they congregate together, and hear together, pray together: if even heathens come in among them, they give that which is holy unto dogs, and cast pearls (though not true ones) before swine: they will have simplicity to be the prostration of Discipline; the care whereof among us they call an inticement: they also make peace eve­ry where with all: For it matters not with [Page 161] them, though they hold different opinions; so that they agree together for the overthrow of the Truth: they are all puffed up, they all promise knowledge; even heretical women how malepe [...]t, who dare teach, contend, ex­ [...]rcise, promise cures, and perhaps baptize too: Their ordinations are rash, light and incon­stant; sometimes they place in novices, some­times such as are addicted unto the World; sometimes our Apostates, that they may ob­lige them by Glory (or Preferment) whom they cannot by Truth: Proficiency is no where more facile,Ipsum esse illic pro. meter [...] est. than in the Camps of Rebels; where even to be a desertor is a stept to pro­motion; therefore one is a Bishop to day, to morrow another: to day he is a Presbyter, who to morrow is a Lay-man; he is to day a Deacon, who to morrow is a Reader: For even unto Laicks do they commit Pastoral Charges, or the Priestly Office. What should I speak of the Administration of the Word? Seeing their business is not to convert the Heathens, but to subvert ours: This glory they rather covet, if they may ruine those that stand, than raise up those that are fallen: Because their work proceeds not of their own proper building, but of the destruction of the Truth. Besides, they know not to respect or reverence those that are over them; and hence it is that there are scarce any Schisms amongst Hereticks; for when there be, they obey not. Finally, if we look narrowly into Heresies, we shall find them all in many things differing from their Authors: many of them have no Churches; they wander up and down, without a Mother, without a seat, de­stitute [Page 162] of the faith, like banished ones: it is also observed, that Hereticks have much ac­quaintance with Magicians, Juglers, Astrolo­gers, Philosophers, being given to curiosity: every where minding that; Seek and ye shall find. So that the quality of their Faith, may be estimated from their manner of conversati­on. Doctrine is the Index of Discipline. They deny that God is to be feared: there­fore all things are free and loose among them. &c.

§6. Though these and many such like excellent passages are to be found in his works throughout; yet is there a great deal of caution and judgement to be made use of in the peru­sal of them: For,

1. He hath many inconvenient and dan­gerous expressions, which without a favour­able interpretation are not to be allowed of,Osiand. E­pit. Hist. cent. 3. lib. 1. cap. 5. for although in some of them he haply thought more commodiously than he wrote: yet his absurd phrases are no way to be ap­proved of,August. de Haeres. cap. 86. nor can some of them by any means well be excused: As, where he saith, that God is corporeal,Lib. advers. Praxeam. and hath a body, though not fashioned or figured: who (saith he) can deny that God hath a body, although God be a Spirit? which expression of his is very inconvenient, and unsuitable unto the most simple Nature of God. Yet hath the great Augustine herein pleaded his excuse:Aug. ibid. He might perhaps (saith he) by a body, mean the very Divine Nature, Substance or Essence: which term he therefore useth, lest he should seem to make God an empty Phantasm, and [Page 163] meer nothing. And indeed, comparing this expression with divers passages in the works of our Author, we shall find there was cause why he should conceive this to have been his meaning, and that he had ground sufficient for so friendly a construction of his words. As, where he saith, the very substance is the body of every thing:Lib. advers. Hermog. Also, every thing that is, is a body in its kind; nihil est incorporale, nis [...] quod non est: Lib. de carne Christi. Nothing is incorporeal, but what is not. Again, who will deny God to be a body, though he be a Spirit? For a Spi­rit is a body of its kinds in its shape and fa­shion:Lib. advers. Praxeam. The less reason had Alphonsus de Ca­stro, Lib. 5. ad­vers. haeres. to make Tertullian the first Author of the Heresie of the Anthropomorphites: (though they might abuse these expressions of his, and by them be confirmed in their opinion) confidering withal, that those Scriptures upon which they built their gross conceits of God, art otherwise understood by him, than they were by them, e. g. where the Scriptures do speak of the eye, ear, hand and feet of God, they understood them literally; but he me­taphorically, and as spoken after the manner of men to our capacity: For (faith he) by those expressions the Divine operations are declared,Lib. de Tri­nitat. but not corporeal lineaments given or ascribed unto God: For by the eye is sig­nified that he seeth all things;August. de▪ h [...]res. c. 86. by the ear, that be heareth all things, &c. this therefore made him not an Heretick.

Another such expression is this; that the father was before the Son;Lib. de Tri­nitat. and that the son had his original or beginning, when the [Page 164] Father would that he should proceed from him. Yet doth he in the same Book assert the Eternity of the Son; saying, That he was always in the Father, nor can time be assigned unto him, who was before all time.

Again, [...]ib. advers. Praxeam. the Father is the whole Substance; but the Son a derivation or portion of the whole.Controvers. de Christo. lib. 1. cap. 10. Of which words Bellarmine gives this favourable interpretation; Haec verba, in­quit, intelligi debent de sola distinctione perso­nali, quem iu toto libro intendit: vocat autem Filium portionem, & Patrem totam substantiam; quia Pater est fons & principium aliarum per­sonarum, & in eâ ratione majoritatem quand [...]m habet. These and other the like dangerous expressions are scattered up and down his Books; in regard whereof Rhenanus saw cause, why he should in the Margin against the last mentioned passage, warn the Reader, that here and elsewhere Tertullian is to be read with caution: Again, Here and else­where (saith he) let the Reader remember that he is perusing Tertullian. In argum. lib. de carue Christi. Yet again, Divines, saith he, are to be admonished, that they do interpret some things more commo­diously,In argum. lib. advers. Praxeam. or aptly then they sound, and indulge something to antiquity.

2. He delivereth and laboureth to maintain many unsound Opinions and gross Errours, which are carefully to be avoided and rejected, as what is sound and Orthodox in him to be embraced: the good is not to be neglected for the bad, nor the bad to be received for the sake of that in him which is good. I think [Page 165] (saith Ierom) that Origen for his Learning is sometime to be read in the same manner,Epist. 76. Tranquil­lino. as Tertullian, Novatus, Arnobius, Apollinarius, and some other Ecclesiastical Writers, both Greek and Latin, viz. So that we chuse the good in them, and refuse the contrary: ac­cording to the Apostles saying;1 Thess. 5. 21. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. We are to make use of him as Cyprian did, who ho­noured him with the Title of Master:Hieronym. Epist. Pam­mach. & O­ceano. N. 65. though he took a great deal of delight in the wit of that learned and zealous man, yet did he not follow Montanus and Maximillia with him. And this gives a hint of his foulest Errour, which I shall mention in the first place.

1. He became a follower of Montanus; whose gross and sottish Errours having once entertained, he (for ought that appears to the contrary) persisted in unto the end of his days; stiling and owning the blasphemous Heretick,Lib. de re­surrect. car­nis. & sae­pius alibi. lib. advers▪ Praxeam. initio. (together with his Female con­sorts Priscilla and Maximilla) sor the Para­clete or Comforter, whom Christ promised to send, distinguishing him from the holy Ghost: contrary to that clear Text, Ioh. 14. 26. The Comforter, which is the holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, &c. This say his followers, descended upon the Apostles, but the Paraclete upon Montanus and his Minions; Hieronym. advers. Vi­gilant. Rhe­nan. in an­notat in lib. ad [...]ers. Praxeam. whose Prophesies, or ra­ther idle Dreams, and Fancies they much magnified: wherein second Marriages are condemned, and Fastings and Martyrdoms are exacted: which things Tertullian being o­vermuch taken with, and approving of, he [Page 166] thereupon embraced that new Prophesie. A strange thing that so learned and eminent a man should give credit unto such foolish and frantick conceits: Especially considering that, not long before, himself had ranked the followers of Montanus, viz. Proclus and Aeschines amonst the most notorious Here­ticks;Lib. de prae­script. whom he chargeth with this blas­phemy, as he call it, that they say the holy Ghost was in the Apostles, but not the Para­clete; and that the Paraclete had spoken more in Montanus, than Christ had delivered in the Gospel; and not only more, but better and greater things.Sculte [...] in Medul. lib. lib. 7 cap. 42. Erasm. in vitâ Origen. Erasmus conceives that he did this contra mentis suae sententiam, appel­lans Montanum omnis veritatis deductorem: For he could not be perswaded that a man of so piercing a judgement, and so exercised and versed in the Sacred Scriptures, did ever be­lieve that Montanus was the holy Ghost or Paraclete, whom Christ promised unto the Apostles.

2. He advanceth the freedom of mans will after the fall so highly, that even Pelagius himself would scarce dare to do it with the like Liberty, e. g. The Law (saith he) would not have been given to him, that had not the obedience to the Law, in his own power. And,Lib. 2. ad­vers. Marci­ [...]n. a little after, thus: So we find the Crea­tor propounding unto man, or setting before him good and evil, life and death; exhorting and threatning; which he would not have done, unless man had been free, and voluntary to obey or contemn. Again, Behold, (saith he) the Kingdom of God is within you:L [...]k 17. 21. Lib. 4 ad­vers. Marci­on. Who will not so interpret it? within you [Page 167] i. e. in your own hand and power; if you hear, and do the command of God? Also, that the Patriarchs,Lib. advers. Judaeos. Noah and Abraham were just by the righteousness of the Law of Na­ture.

3. He condemns second Marriages,Exhortat. ad castitat. lib. develand. Virginib. account­ing them no better than Adultery, and wor­thy of Excommunication: May we not say, (saith he) that second Marriage is a kind of Adultery? &c. Also, he calls the lawful com­pany of Man and Wife, contumelia commu­nis: A common contumely or reproach.

4. He denys that it is lawful for a Christi­an to flee in time of persecution;Lib. de fug. in persecut. being im­moderate in the praise of Martyrdom; as if it merited pardon of sin. Who (saith he) doth not wish to suffer that he may purchase the whole favour of God, and all pardon from him by the compensation of his Blood? Omnia enim huic operi delicta do­nantur.

5. He was of the opinion (as was also Clemens Alexandrinus and Cyprian, Lib. de ido­lolatr. lib. De disciplin. & babit. Virgin.) that the Angels fell in love, and accompanied with Women (misunderstanding that passage of Moses, Gen. 6. 1.) and that they discovered many secrets and hidden Arts,Lib. de ha­bit. muliebr. and especially divers cu­riosities for the adorning and setting forth of Women; for which they were con­demned.

6. He held also the Errour of the Chiliasts or Millenaries: Lib. 3. ad­vers. Mar­cion. We confess (saith he) that a Kingdom is promised unto us in the Earth, before Heaven; but in another state; namely, after the Resurrection for a thousand years in a [Page 168] City of a Divine Work or Building. Ierusalem coming down from Heaven, &c. this we say is provided of God for the Saints, to be there refreshed with all spiritual good things, in recompen [...]e of those things which in the World we have either despised or lost. For it is a righteous thing, and worthy of God, that his Servants should exult and rejoyce there, where they have been afflicted for his name.

7. He thought that both Angels,Lib. de ani­m [...]. and also the Souls of men, were corporeal; and the latter derived from the Parent unto the Child by way of propagation. [...]x traduce. Anima in utero se­minata pariter cum carne, pariter cum ipsà sor­titur & sexum, Lib. de hae­res. cap. 86. &c. Augustine tell us, his opi­nion was, that the worst Souls of men are af­ter death converted, or turned into Devils; which absurd conceit Pamelius thinks ought rather to be imputed unto those Hereticks,In vitâ Ter­tull. that took their name from him, than unto Tertullian himself, because it is not to be found in any of his Writings:In lib. Au­gust. de haeres. cap. 86. nor could Danaeus easily be induced to believe, that Augustine should charge him herewith, seeing he is more equal toward him.

8. He approves of and labours to defend the superstitious facts and stations;Cent. 3. cap. 10. as also o­ther ridiculous Ceremonies of the Montanists, viz. the superstitious use of the sign of the Cross, Oblations for the Dead, and annual upon Birth-days, Processions, &c. (Antiquae observationes (inquit Chemnitius) quorum apud▪ Tertullianum fit mentio, [...]. part. 1. non sunt omnes Aposto­licae traditiones; sed multae ex Montani Para­cleto profectae sunt) these and such like, which [Page 169] he borrowed from those Hereticks, did he practise and augment: though he himself confess that there is no warrant for them in the Scriptures, nor were they instituted by the Apostles.Lib. de coron. m [...] ­lit. Who list, may there see a large Catalogue of such Observations and Pra­ctices; which are built upon none other, than the sandy foundation of uncertain Tra­dition. The materials of the Anti christi­an Synagogue were preparing betimes.

§7. As touching his Exit, Trithem. de Script. or the close of his life, I find this only recorded; that he lived long,Hieronym. in Catalog. even to old age, yea, us (que) ad deerepitam aetatem: unto decrepit old age; which yet Pamelius would have to be but unto sixty three years:In vitâ Ter­tull. At what time (saith he) decrepit old begins: So that according to his account, he, (as many other eminent men have done) ended his pilgrimage in his Climacterical year: Or rather, then ceased to write any more; for he is loath to affirm that he lived beyond this time, considering what Ierom had delivered concerning him. Some do rank him among the Martyrs that suffered for the name of Christ;Cent. 3. cap. 10. and Rhenae­nus makes Regino the reporter of his Martyr­dom;In vitâ Ter­tull. though, after diligent perusal, I do not find him so much as named by that Hi­storian: This therefore seems to be a mere and groundless conjecture, and very unlikely, seeing that neither Eusebius, nor Ierom do make any mention of it. True it is, that he was very desirous of Martyrdom; but it might be a righteous thing with God, not to vouchsafe that honour unto him, who [Page 170] had so unworthily deserted the Truth, and esteemed Martyrdom meritorions. But what kind of death soever put a period un­to his life, he is herein much to be lamented, that having as a Star of the first Magnitude, shined in the Church of Christ so brightly the most part of his time; he should at last, by forsaking it, be so much obscured, and go out so ingloriously.

Origenes Adamantius.

§5. HE is commonly known by the name of Origenes Adamantius; so called of the Adamant; a stone of such hardness, that it yields not to the stroke of the hammer: not unlike where­unto was the spirit and temper of Origen, indefatigably labourious, both in reading and writing; Scriptoribus aliquot propter indefati­gatam studii tolerantiam Admantini cognomen inditum fuit; Erasm. adag. Didymus Scripsisse super ter mille & quingentos libros per­hibetur. Meurs. in notis in Hesych. de illust. Epist. 18. Marcello. Victor. Schol. in Hieronym. ut Didymo grammatico & Ori­geni Theologo: For which cause also Ierom gives him the name of Chalcenterus & verè Adamantinus, or brazen sides; for so may the greek word [...] be rendred: of [...], and [...], intestina. Photius ren­ders this, as the reason of his name, quòd ra­tiones, quas colligaret, adamantinis quibusdam quasi vinculis non absimiles viderentur. He was one whom neither austerity of life, nor perpetual pains taking,Biblioth. cap. 118. nor the hardship of poverty, nor the unworthy carriage of such as envyed him,Erasm. in vitâ Orig. nor fear of punishment, nor any face of death, could in the least remove from his holy course and purpose.

His Country was Egypt, and the place of his birth therein (as is conjectured) the fa­mous City of Alexandria; he descended of [Page 172] Christian Parents, both Father, Grand-father, and great Grand-father, and pious from his childhood, trained up like another young Timothy, in the Christian Religion and Knowledge of the Scriptures.Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 1. His Father's name was Leonides, a pious and learned man, and according to some,In verb. Ori­gen. a Bishop: for so Suidas; [...]: who in the cruel persecution under Severus was crowned with Martyr­dom, being beheaded for the name of Christ, Origen was then but young, yet so fervently affected toward Christian Religion, that be­ing hindred by his Mother (who hid his ap­parel from him to prevent the danger he would have exposed himself unto) from going unto, and visiting his Father in prison, he could not rest, but wrote unto him a Letter, wherein he thus exhorts him; Faint not, O Father (saith he) nor think of any thing (be­cause of us) but suffering constantly.

His Father in his life time had carefully instructed him in the holy Scriptures in the first place,Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 1. and after that in the Liberal Arts, and prophane Literature, in both which he profited exceedingly, and above his years: His manner was to demand of the child a daily task of some certain sentences, which he injoyned him to learn by heart; by which means he grew unto such promptness and acquaintance with the Scriptures; that he contented not himself with the bare and usual reading of them, but proceeded farther, search­ing into the hidden and profound meaning of them; so that many times he would even gravel his Father, questioning him what [Page 173] was meant▪ by this and that place, in­somuch as his Father would check him some­times in outward appearance, admonishing him not to enquire curiously above the capa­city of his years, and more than the plain Letter gave him to understand; yet inwardly did he rejoyce greatly hereat, and would of­tentimes uncover the Breast of his child while asleep, solemnly kissing it as the Shrine or Closet of the Holy Ghost, giving hearty thanks unto God that he had made him the Father of such a Son.

From this domestical Discipline he was de­livered over unto other Masters,Cent. 3. cap. 10. whereof the famous Clement of Alexandria was one,Erasm. in vi­tâ Origen. and the learned Philosopher Ammonius another, whom he heard for the space of seven years.

When his Father was martyred, he was left an Orphan of the age of seventeen years,Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 2. with his Mother and six Children in great want,Hieronym. in catalog. his Father's Substance and Estate being all confiscated into the Emperour's Treasury: Origen therefore casting himself upon the providence of God,Cent. 3. cap. 10. he stirred up the heart of a Matron in Alexandria, Gabriel Powel in his discourse of the unlaw­fulness of to­leration, speaking of this Paulus, and this very passage, adds (as I think, saith he, Samosate­nus) who was Bishop of Antioch: as Euseb. lib. 7. cap. 26. very rich, and also religious, to compassionate him in his necessi­ties, who received him into her House, and not only maintained him, but also liberally helped and promoted him in his studies at her own cost. There was in the house at the same time a certain man of Antioch, named Pau­lus, accounted a profound and wise man, but a notable Heretick, whom she had adopted for her Son; to him resorted a very great number, not only of Hereticks, but also of the Orthodox as unto their Master. Origen [Page 174] then of necessity using his company, and ha­ving made so good a progress in Learning, that he could discern between true and false Doctrine, would by no means be drawn ei­ther to discourse, or to be present with him at prayers; nor would he give him any respect at all; so much did he detest his heretical o­pinions.

About the eighteenth year of his age▪ he [...] publickly at Alexandria began to pro­fess and teach the art of Granmar, wherewith he maintained himself, that he might not be burthensome to any one; Olim senile & ar­duum fuit negotium Grammaticam profiteri: A work of great difficulty in former time (saith Erasmus) to the due performance whereof much labour and no less skill was requisite.Erasm. in vi­tâ Origen. And because by reason of the heat of persecution, those who had formerly ca­techised and taught in that School were forced to flie, so that none of them were lest; he under the person of a Grammarian acted the part of a Catechist,Hieronym. in catalog. Sub occasione secularis li­teraturae in fide Christi eos instituens, together with Grammatical Rules, scattering some seeds of piety and Christian Doctrine in the minds of his hearers; which may be the ground of Zonaras his words concerning him, Annos, Tom. 2. in Severo. inquit, octodecim natus institu [...]ndis Christianae Religionis tyronibus praefuit. The Seed thus sown grew and prospered so well, that divers of his Scholars profited exceeding­ly,Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 2. sucking from his lips the juice of Christian Religion and Heavenly Philosophy; among whom one Plutarch was the first, who at length was crowned with Martyrdom; the [Page 175] second, Heraclas the Brother of Plutarch, who afterward succeeded Demetri [...]s in the Bishop­prick of Alexandria.

Having for a while continu [...]d in this exer­cise with good success,Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 7. the charge of the School or Office of Catechist at Alexandri [...] (wherein he succeeded Clement his Master) was committed unto him by Demetrius the Bishop of that City:Cent. 3. cap. 10. Origen perceiving that many Scholars did resort unto him,Hieronym. in catalog. & Epist. ad Pammach. & Ocean. and fre­quent his Lectures, he laid aside the reading of humanity, and applyed himself to a more profitable course, viz. the exercise of godly Discipline, and in the instructing of his Au­ditors in the Sacred Scriptures, in which em­ployment he continued and flourished for di­vers years.Euseb. 6. cap. 14. But at length the number of those who in companies flocked unto him, and that even from morning to night, grow­ing so great, that he had scarce a breathing time afforded him; and perceiving that by himself alone he was not able to undergo the burden of so great a work, nor could enjoy that leisure which he much desired, to search into the profound mysteries of the Scriptures, which his mind was chiefly carried out after, he made choice of Heraclas, a man expert in the Scripture, most eloquent, and not unskil­ful in Philosophy, to be his assistant in the work of catechising, committing unto him the instruction of those who were newly come to the faith, reserving unto himself the care of such as had made a farther pro­gress therein, having attained unto more per­fection.

While he was thus employed in preaching [Page 176] the word,Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 7.and instructing not only men, but also women resorting unto him, that he might cut off all occasion of suspicion and slander from the Infidels, literally understanding those words of Christ, Matth. 19. 12. There be some who have made themselves Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heavens sake: He practised upon himself, either by abscission, or else by exsiccation, and deading of those parts by certain herbs or medicaments which he made use of for that purpose. [...]rasm. in vi­tâ Origen. A thing it seems commonly practised by the Heathen Priests: for so Servius affirms, Sacerdotes, inquit, qui maximae sacra accipiebant, renunciabant omni­bus rebus, nec ulla in his nisi numinum cura re­manebat,In Virgil. Aeneld. lib. 6. herbis etiam quibusdam emascula­bantur, unde etiam coire non poterant. Ierom gives us an instance hereof in the Hierophantae, a sort of Priests among the Athenians, [...],Suidas in verbo. [...]. sacrorum interpres, mysteriorum praeses) (qui enim sacris praesunt ceremoniis praedicti­onibusque Deorum multiplici nomine censentur, namque Hierophantas aliquos,Genial. dier. dier. lib. 5. cap. 17. alios Hierodidas­calos, nonnullos Hieronomos, plerosque Hi [...]rophy­laces aut Nomophylaces,Advers. Jo­vinian. lib. 1. & in Epist. ad Ageru­chiam vidu­am de Mo­nogamiâ. n. 11. qui frequentes erant, appellarunt Graeci, inquit Alexander ab Alexan­dro) Of these (saith he) Legant Hierophan­tas Atheniensium usque hodie cicutae sorbitione castrari, & postquam in Pointificatum f [...]erint e­lecti (surrecti fuerint,Lect. antiq. lib. 31▪ cap. 6. inquit Rhodiginus) vi­ros esse desinere, ut castissimè sanctissiméque sacrum facerent.Alex. ab. A­lex. ibid. lib. 4. cap. 17. Of the virtue of which herb Pliny thus speaks, Certum est, quod lac puerperarum mammis imposita extinguat,Hist. Natu­ral. lib. 25. cap. 13. ven [...] ­remque testibus circa pubertatem illita.In exam. part▪ 3.

Chemnitius makes the reason of his so do­ing [Page 177] to be his too great admiration of single life, which example of his many others fol­lowed, Adeò ut Ecclesia coacta fuerit severiter [...] prohibere. Can. 1. Bin. Concil. So doth the Council of Nice provide, that whoever was found guilty of g [...]lding himself, if he were already in orders, he should be deposed, if not, he was not to be or­dained:Can 21. 22. agreeable to what we find in the Ca­nons of the Apostles (as they are called) con­cerning this thing.

This unadvised act of his Origen desired to conceal, yet could not carry the matter so close­ly, but that it came to the knowledge of De­ [...]eirius the Bishop, whereof what use he made, we shall hereafter declare.

Leaving Alexandria he went unto Rome in the time when Zephyrinus was Bishop there,Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 13. Ad an. 220. § 6. a little before his death, as Baronius conjectures: the cause why he undertook this journey, was the great desire that he had to see the most ancient Church of the Romans; Erasm. in vitâ Origen. where, having made but a little stay, he returned un­ [...] Alexandria again, and there diligently at­tended his charge, the success of his pains be­ing the gaining of many to the embracing of the truth, and the recovering of others from errour,In catalog. Epiphan. Haeres. 64. among whom one Ambrose (addicted unto the Valentinian Heresie, or (as Ierom reports) unto that of Marcion, or (as others) partly a Marcionist, and partly a Sabellian) was brought to see and forsake his error, and afterward called to the Office of a Deacon in the Church of Alexandria, Hieronym. in catalog. & Schol. Miraei in loc. famous for his confession of the name of Christ, a man no­ble▪ rich and learned.

The same of Origen was now spread a­broad [Page 178] even unto other Countries;Euseb. lib. [...]. cap. 1 [...]. for a cer­tain Soldier sent from the Governour of Ara­bia, comes to Alexandria, bringing with him Letters unto Demetrius the Bishop there, and also unto him who was then Lieutenant of Egypt, Cent. 3. cap. 10. requesting them with all speed to di­spatch Origen unto him, that he might in­struct him and his people in the Doctrine of Christianity:Osiand. E­pit. hist. cent. 3. lib. 1. cap. 7. for although there had before been a Church of Christ in Arabia, yet it is credible, that the Duke or Governour with his Court had persisted in his Heathenish Im­piety even unto the time of Origen, it being observed that for the most part the propaga­tion of the Christian Religion begins with the lowest of the people, and gradually by little and little ascends unto the Governours of Common wealths.Cent. 3. cap. 10. Origen accordingly goeth thither, and having happily accomplished the end of his journey, he not long after return­eth again unto Alexandria, where, through a sedition, finding all in a combustion and tu­mult, and his Scholars scattered, so that there was no abiding for him there, no nor in a­ny other place of Egypt in safety, he left his Country, and betook himself unto Caesarea, a City of Palestina, where he was earnestly en­treated by the Bishops of that Province to ex­pound the Scriptures, though he were not as yet called to the Ministry (Legatione ad eum missâ Episcopi permisere, Hist. Eccles. lib. 5. cap. 14. ut dissereret de sacris literis: so Nicephorus reports it.) This act of his (condescending to their request) was much distasted by Demetrius, who in a Letter which he wrote unto those Bishops, thus speaks of it, that such a practice was ne­ver [Page 179] heard of, nor could there any where the like Precedent be found, that Lay-men in the presence of Bishops have taught in the Church.Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 19. But they in defence of what had been done, returning an answer unto him, have therein such words as these, we know not for what cause you report a ma­nifest untruth, since there have been such sound as in open assemblies have taught the people, yea, when as there were present learn­ed men that could profit the people, and moreover holy Bishops at that time also ex­horting them to preach: for example, at Laranda Euelpis was requested of Neon, at Icouium Paulinus was requested by Celsus, at Synada Theodorus by Atticus, who were godly Brethren. It is like also that this was practi­sed in other places, though unknown to us. Thus was Origen, being a young man, ho­noured of Bishops that were strangers unto him. But the storm of civil dissentions being blown over, and both Demetrius and the Deacons of the Church by Letters earnestly soliciting him to return, he leaves Palestine, and comes back again unto Alexandria, and there applyeth himself to his accustomed manner of teaching.

Not long after Mammaea the Mother of the Emperour Alexander Severus, Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 20. a most pious and religious woman (Christianissima, De Script. Eccles. inquit Trithemius, quae a Christianissimo non abhor­ [...]it, Hist. Eccles. Epit. inquit Osiander) hearing of the Elo­quence and Apostolical Life of Origen, and [...]iving then at Antioch with her Son, sent for him by some Soldiers to come unto her, ac­counting it no small happiness if she might [Page 180] see him, and hear his wisdom in the holy Scriptures, which all men admired. To whom he accordingly repaired, and staying a while with her, he instructed her in the Do­ctrine of Christianity,N [...]cler. Zonoras. which found so good acceptance with her, that she became both a lover of it, and a favourer of those who pro­fessed it; (not that she was now first brought to the knowledge and embracing of it, as some conceive; (audito Origene Christian [...] facta est) but rather further confirmed therein) who so far prevailed with her Son,Chronic. Ur­spergens. Osiander. Hist. Eccles. Epit. that not only the persecution against the Christians ceased, but they also had a place granted them for the exercise of Religion, and were had in high esteem with him. Having here detained him a while, she at length dismissed him with honour, who again betook him to his School at Alexandria.

And now did he begin to comment upon the holy Scriptures,Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 21. being much instigated thereunto by Ambrose whom he had reduced from errour, as hath been before said; who, for his encouragement, furnished him with neces­saries for that purpose, allowing parchments, and no less than seven Notaries,Erasm. in vi­tâ Origen. who by turns took from his mouth, and wrote what he dictated unto them; and as many Libraries (maintained all at the charge of Ambrose) who transcribed or copied out more fairly what the other had formerly taken; and that this was the difference between the No­tarii and the Librarii, Ibid. may be gathered from Erasmus his calling the one [...], or swift, the other [...], or fair writers. Notariorum, Ad an. 220. §. 11. inquit Baronius, erat scribere; [Page 181] Librariorum exscribere. In notis in Hieronym. catalog. in Hyppolyto. Ierom (saith Mirae­us) calls those Notaries, who with a swift hand took the words of him that did dictate, and sometimes they wrote by notes or cha­racters: but those Librarii, or Scriveners; who afterward more accurately committed the things so taken unto Books. Of this Turuebus thus speaks,Adversar. lib. 14. c. 24. Scribere notis non est compendio quodam literarum verba complecti ad celeritatem, sed quibusdam fictis signis compre­hendere, idque docebantur pueri, non tantùm scribere; Cassianus enim Martyr, qui puerorum s [...]ilis confossus Christo animam reddit, notis scri­bere docuit: Prudentias [...], Hym. 9.

Martial also the Epigrammatist, of the Notary thus:

So thirsty after the knowledge of the Scri­ptures,So Jerom calls Nepo­tian. Epist. ad Helio d [...] ­rum. num. [...]. and so pressing upon Origen, unto this work was Ambrose (whom he therefore [Page 182] calls [...]) that he would scarce af­ford him sufficient time to eat,Hieronym. in catalog. sleep or walk for his recreation, or to read and review what the Notaries had written, as himself complains in a certain Epistle to his Friend.Cent. 3. cap. [...]0.

About this time the Churches of Achaia being much pest [...]red and vexed with divers Heresies,Eras [...]. in vi­tâ Origen. Hieronym. in catalog. Origen is sent thither with Letters testimonial for the suppressing of them, who was now in his middle age, or about forty and three years old,Ad an. 230. § 7. as Baronius conjectures: he supposeth that the cause of his going into Greece, was his great desire to get the sixth Edition of the Bible, which was this year found at Nicopolis, that he might adjoyn it unto the other five Versions, which with un­wearied pains and diligence he had formerly found out; and so compose that laborious work of his, which he called Hexopl [...]. Now,Eras [...]. ibid. Cent. 3. cap. 10. passing through Palestine toward A­thens, he was (by Alexander and Theoctistus (who greatly admired: Origen) two Bishops of great authority,Osiand. cent. [...]. lib. 1. cap. 7. the one of Hierusalem, the other of Cesarea) by imposition of hands made or ordained Minister at Cesares; Niceph. lib. 5. cap. 18. which office gained him much more respect, so that he was had in great esteem. This begat envy in Dem [...]trius, who was highly offended with those Bishops for what they had done, [...]eronym. in catalog. and by aspersions endeavoured to darken and eclipse the Glory of Origen in his Letters un­to all the Bishops throughout the world:Euseb. lib 6. cap. 7. & 2 [...]. and having nothing else to charge him withal that might tend to his disparagement, he publish­ed his unadvised act of castration, as a mo [...] foul and absurd fact of his, though when he [Page 183] first came to the knowledge thereof,Ut rem Piam & fortem approbave­rat. cent. 3. cap. 10. he had admired and praised him for it, encouraging him still to go on in the office of catechising.

Origen therefore perceiving how much the mind of Demetrius was alienated from and in censed against him (forbearing to make use of any bitterness against his detractors) chose rather to pass by the injury in silence,Erasm. in vi­tâ Origen. and to give place to their passion, than further to exasperate them: he therefore after his re­turn and abode there for some small time, lest Alexandria, Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 29. having committed the office of a Catechist there unto Heraclas formerly his assistant in that work, and went again into Palestine, remaining at Cesarea, where he ap­plyed himself unto the preaching of the word, many not only of that Country, but also strangers from other places resorting thi­ther and attending upon his Ministry: among whom were divers eminent men, and of spe­cial note, viz. Firmilian Bishop of Cesarea in Cappadocia, Ad refor­mationem Ecclesi [...] su [...] Osiander. in Epitom. Fra [...]m. in vi­tâ Origen. Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 26. who one while invited him into his Province, to edifie or reform the Church­es there; another while under pretence of visiting the holy places, he made a voyage in­to Palestine, and for a good space continued there, that by Origen he might be brought to the further understanding of the Scriptures. Also Theodorus, Hieronym. in catalog. called afterward Gregorius, Bishop of Neocaesarea in Pontus, a man most renowned, and for the miracles which he wrought,Baron. adan. 266. § 23. surnamed Thaumaturgus, together with his Brother Athenodorus, whom (con­tinuing with him about the space of five years) he converted from Heathenism to Christianity; for which cause this Theodorus a [Page 184] while after penned a Panegyrick or Enco [...] ­miastick Oration in the praise of Origen, to testifie his thankfulness for what he had re­ceived from him.

After this,Euseb. l. 6. cap. 32. Beril, Bishop of Bostra in Ara­bia falling into Heresie, and maintaining that Christ before his Incarnation had no being:Hieronym. In Catalog. Angelocrat. in epit. Con. he was dealt and disputed with by divers Bishops assembled together: Origen also was sent for who by strength of Argu­ment so convinced him of his error, that he restored him again to his former sound opi­nion: for which he returned him solemn thanks in divers letters written unto him: Also certain others arose in Arabia, Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 36. who broached this pernicious Doctrine that the soul died and perished together with the bo­dy, and that in the general resurrection, they arose together and were restored unto life again. These Hereticks are by Augustine called Arabiei, De h [...]res. cap. 83. & Dan [...]us in com. in loc. by Damaseen [...], Animimortales; about which a great Synod was assembled, wherein Origen so discoursed of this matter, that the erroneous did soon renounce their absurd opinion, and were re­duced to a better judgment. He also sup­pressed the Heresie of the Helcesaits, Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 37. which sprung up about the same time (called of Epiphanius Sampsaei; in the region of Per [...], whose first Author was one Elxaeus) who rejected part of the Old Testament:Epip. h [...]r. 53. denyed the Apostle Paul wholly: counted it an in­different thing to deny or not to deny with the mouth in time of persecution, so that thou persist faithful in thine heart; and used a certain book, which (as they say) came down [Page 185] from heaven, the which whosoever heareth and believeth (say they) shall obtain another kind of remission of sins then that which Christ purchased for us.

Growing now old (above sixty years of age) and much worn out and wasted with long study and painful exercise,Euseb. l. 6. cap. 35. he at length was prevaild with and permitted, that those things which he publickly preached and di­sputed, should by Notaries be taken and Co­pied out; which before he would not suffer to be done;Eras. in vitâ Origen. Jam scil. quando in eo erat vitae gravitas & maturitas [...] ­tatis & mul­t [...] experien­ti [...] authori­tas. Haymo. eccles. hist. lib. 6. cap. 3. This Erasmus understands of his Sermons or Homilies: tantae erat modestiae, (inquit ille) ut serò p [...]ssus sit excipi quae dis­serebat. And thus was his time and strength laid out and spent in the work of the Lord, even from his Childhood unto his old age, not hiding his talent, but as a good servant im­proving it for the advantage of his Master, who had intrusted him therewith.

§ 2. He was man of extraordinary parts and endowments of Nature,T [...]ihem. de script. vir magnus & excellentis ingenii: which began to appear in him even from his very childhood,Hieronym. epist. ad Pammach. n. 63. vir magnus [...]b infantiâ: being a man in understanding, when but a child in years; stiled therefore by Erosmus, In vitâ Orig. In epist. ante opera Orig. senilis puer; of a notable strong and piercing wit, perspicacississimo ingenio, saith Rhenanus; for which nothing was too hard (and so truly Adamantine [...]) nor nothing too high (and so truly Origenical, Eras in vitâ Origen. [...]. Montigena:) such a one as Learned Greece, the fruitful mother of the most happy wits, scarce ever bred the like;Hieronym. in catalog. immortale inge nium: so comprehensive, as not to be bounded [Page 186] within the limits of ordinary capacities; there being nothing within the Encyclopedy of Arts that could escape his knowledge: for he exactly perused all kind of Authors: wherein he had this advantage above many others,In vitâ Orig. that he lost no time; ei (inquit E­rasmus) nulla pars aetatis periit à studiis: his tenderest years being improved this way by his pious and careful father, By which means, the fair field of his great abilities being so well cultured and manured,Optimis di­sciplinis om­nifariam ex­cultus. Rhenan. In epist. ante opera Orig. began in his very spring to flourish and abound with the fruit of excellent skill in all the Liberal Sciences: whereof he gave a large proof and testimony, undertaking at the age of eighteen years the publick profession of the art of Grammar in the famous City of Alexandria; A task of no small difficulty, to the dispatch whereof was requisite, besides elegancy of Speech, insight into most authors,Eras. in vitâ Origen. See Polydor. Virg. de [...] in­ventor. rec. lib. 1. cap. 7. and acquaintance with hi­story and antiquity; together with a compe­tent measure of knowledge in Poetry, Rhe­torick, Logick, Arithmetick, Cosmography and Musick; all which, being so young he had attained unto with wonderful celerity, as Ierom testifies:In Catalog. He had diligently studied the writings of the several Sects of Philo­phers,Euseb. l. 6. cap. 18. viz. Pythagoreans, Stoicks, &c. but was specially conversant in Plato: in which kind of Learning he grew to such an height, that he became famous even among the Hea­thenish Philosophers; in so much as many, and those of chiefest rank among them, re­sorted unto him and attended upon his Le­ctures: in what esteem they had him, may be gathered from the words of Porphyrius in [Page 187] [...] Plotim: Cum, inquit, Origenes aliquando Romae venisset in Scholas, Plotinns (qui tum publicè ibidem profitebatur) statim genas ru­bore suffusus,Baron. ad an. 248. § 3.assurgere volu [...]t: Sermiones verò ab Origene continuare rogatus, respondit: stu­dium loquendi cessare, quando qui loquitur, [...]uimadvertit se ad illos, qui idem ipsi noverint, verba facturum: atq [...]e ita, cum pauca quaedam disseruisset,In praefat. ad lib. 19. lect. antiq.inde surrexit. These bitter ene­mies of Christian Religion; Porphyrius, Proclus & alii, (inquit Rhodiginas) fatentur eum exactissimam omnium disciplinarum liberalium [...]gni [...]onem tenere. Eras. in vitâ Origen. Yea, they frequently make honorable mention of him in the books written by them; and would sometimes refer unto him the resolution of perplex doubts and questions. Some of them also have dedicated their books unto him; and others have delivered to him what they had written, as unto the censure of a Master: so great was the Reverence they bare him,Opus de temp-mundi. and in such account was he had amongst them. He was Philosophorum omnium sui temporis princeps; tan [...] ingenii, ut nulla eum lingua, [...] latuerit: Socrates. l. 6. cap. 12. And is stiled by the great At [...]nasius, Admirabilis & summae [...] vir.

But these philosophical studies did he ad­dict himself unto,Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 17. 19. only as a step unto a higher form; he prized the Arts as things that might be of great use for the confutation of the Heathens; as also a help to the con­templation of Divine Mysteries, and a meet handmaid to serve and wait upon her Mistress Theology: and in this regard, as he judged them profitable and necessary for himself, so [Page 188] did he exhort and perswade others unto the study of them. Nor indeed are they of small advantage, as they do fit the vessel for the receit of more precious liquor, sublimating the understanding, and so disposing it to appre­hend those higher things contained in the Scriptures:Bacon. Essay. 29. for thus do Histories make men wise, Poets witty, the Mathematicks subtil, natural Philosophy deep, Moral grave, Lo­gick and Rhetorick able to contend; as that Noble Scholar hath observed.

To the study of the Scriptures therefore did he chiefly apply himself;Hieronym. Epist. 18. wherein he found such sweetness, and took so much de­light, that he thought nothing worthy of his time or pains in comparison of them:Epist. 65. quis ardentem (inquit Hieronymus) in Scripturis animum non miretur? both day and night was he thus exercised,Trithem. de script. Eras. in vit [...] Origen. neither did he account his meat or sleep sweet unto him, if not seasoned with reading somewhat of those Sacred Ora­cles: judging it an unworthy thing that the meaner part of man should be refreshed, and the better and more Noble neglected: To which he joyned fervent prayer as the best key to unlock that Cabinet, that so he might come to and enjoy the precious jewel con­tained therein:Epist. Pam­mach. n. 65. lectio orationem (inquit Hi [...] ­ronymus) excepit, & oratio lectionem. By this means the holy Scriptures became so fa­miliar unto him,Ibid. through continual use and his being daily conversant in them; that, by the help of a most strong and happy memory,Eras. in vit [...] Origen. he had gotten them by heart, ad unguem [...]b­solutus in divinis literis, and as it were at [Page 189] his fingers end; herein even another Esdras: and for that he was of a searching and soar­ing wit, he confined not himself to the low and obvious sense of the words, but would mount aloft into the sublime and mysterious meaning of them; yet herein is he blamed by many,Ibid. and not without cause, as being too studious of allegories: in allegoriis, inquit Erasmus, superstitiosior est interim & vio­lentior, nimium in hoc intentus, ut de­struat historicum sensum; Grinaeus in [...] ante Origen. in Genes. quasi locus non sit allegoriae, illo incolumi: In these he was to excessive and immoderate; though in the framing of them he took much pains, and is very happy in many of them. But the truth is, had he followed the Counsel given to Iearus: ‘—Medio tutissimus ibis:’

He might have avoided his fate, and not, by singeing his wings, have fallen into such a gulf of errors as he did, through his audaci­ousness this way. And because he saw that he wanted one principal help to the more ac­curate finding out of the meaning of the Scriptures,Trithem de script. Hieronym. in catalog. he (contrary to his age being somewhat old, and also to the custom of his country) fell upon the study of the Hebrew Tongue, the difficulties whereof he easily overcame;Hieronym. epist. 25. [...] Paulam. and (to the wonder of Greece) attained unto a competent measure of skill in that language in a few (not to say months, but) days. Being thus furnished he dili­gently improved his talent, affording the help not only of his frequent lectures to his [Page 190] contemporaries, but also of his learned Com­mentaries to posterity for the better under­standing of the Scriptures;Hieronym. Epist. 65. Pamach. & Oceano. sweating night and day in the study of the explanation of them.

Nor is this the meanest flower in the Gar­land of his praise, that he was the first among the Fathers that undertook a work of this nature; an enterprize of no small difficulty seeing he was to go in an untrodden path, none of those that lived before him, afford­ing him any help or direction herein: Primus (inquit Rhenanus) quasi glaciem scidit, In Epist. an­te opera O­rigen. jux [...] proverbium, in enarrandis Scripturis Divinis —divinae rei primus inventor. Homo pen [...] [...] (inquit Sixtus Senensis) & qu [...] primus aggressus est explanationem omnium di­vinarum Scripturarum, Biblioth. l. 4. nondum ob ingentem earum difficultatem ab aliquo attentatam. E­rasmus therefore setting him in the front of all the ancient Commentators both Greek and Latin,Ratio verae Theologiae. adds these words, Origenes, inquit, in­ter Commentatores sic est primus, ut nemo cu [...] illo conferri possit. And indeed who among them all can say, that he is not beholding to him? All that followed, took from him [...], their hints both of Teaching and Writing, so that they were not a little holpen by him; Basil and Gregory Nazianzen who collected the Philocalia, Tarinus in Epist. ante Philocal. call him omni [...] Theologorum cotem & maximum secundum Apo­stolos Ecclesiarum Magistrum. And as all the Latin Poets followed Ennins, so (saith Ranul­phus Cestrensis) all Expositors followed Ori­gen. In Polycro­nic. Ierom highly commends and ascribes much to his Interpretations, though he disli­ked many of his opinions;Epist. 62. & 65. he stiles him the [Page 191] Master of the Churches next after the Apo­stles (as Basil and Nazianzen did) wishing the envy of his name,In praefat. ante li. Heb. nom. with his knowledge in the Scriptures.In prooem. quaest. in Ge­nes. Hilary and Victorinus so much approved of him, ut ejus tractatus non ut in­terpretes, Hieronym. Epist. 65. sed ut Auctores proprii operis transtu lerunt. Pamphilus the Martyr had his expo­sitions in so high esteem, that with his own hands he copied out (as the greatest part of the Volumes written by him so particularly) five and twenty volumes of his expositions upon the twelve Prophets,Hieronym. in catalog. which Ierom hap­pily light on, kept and embraced, with as much joy, as if he had found the treasures of Craesus. Atque (ut pancis dicam) hortus qui­dam reverà nobis erat (inquit Gregorius Thau­maturgus) magni illins paradisi Dei similitudi­nem referens. In Orat. pa­negyric. ad Origenem. He beautified his learning with piety, being very eminent in this regard: sanctitate vitae incomparabilis: Fascicul. temp. a true Evange­lical Doctor, that practised in his Life, what he Preached with his Lips: there being a no­table agreement between his words and his works, prescribing rules with the one, and giving a pattern of them in the other.Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 2. Whence it was said of him, that as he taught so he liv'd, and as he liv'd so he taught: a sweet harmony.Trithem. de Script. Iejuniis, vigiliis, orationibus & continuis divinarum Scripturarum studiis Deo devotè serviens, intentus fuit. His abstinence and austerity was admirable, he often fasted and watched, always used a spare and mean dyet, only for necessity, forbearing altogether the use of flesh and wine; except through infirmity forced thereunto: insomuch, as that having sold the prophane Authors (which [Page 192] he had diligently perused) he enjoyned the buyer to pay him four half pence a day,Euseb. ibid. Erasm. invi­tâ Origen. which for the space of many years sufficed him for Meat, Drink, and Apparel. Abstinentiâ cor­poris vigorem àde ò domuit, ut omninò contabu­isse sceletumque factum esse videretur. Suidas. He took his rest (which was but little) not on a soft bed, but on the bare ground; and sup­posing that our Saviour ought especially to be observed, Mat. 6. 34. &c 10. 10. he would not wear two coats, nor shoes, nor take care or thought for the morrow. Such also was his love to, and zeal for the truth, and constant professors of it,Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 2. that in times of persecution he frequently exposed himself to so great and eminent dangers, as he could not have escaped, had not the divine power in a marvellous manner preserved him; he was sometimes so narrowly watched, and closely pursued by his persecutors, that he could no way pass safely through Alexandria, being forced of­tentimes to change his Lodgings, that so he might avoid them; yet would he not forbear to visit those that were imprisoned, yea and accompany such as were condemned, unto the places of execution, boldly embracing, kis­sing, and saluting them to his no small hazard, so that once the multitude in their rage had stoned him to death, had he not been even miraculously defended from them and pre­served.

It shall suffice concerning his worth every way, to add but a testimony or two more to what hath been already said,Lib. 2. annal. [...]ior [...]m. Origenes ille (in▪ quit Aventinus) maximus omnium secundum legat [...]s Christi, veritatis divine assertor, magn [...] [Page 193] famâ majori gloriâ caelestes literas interpretatus est; & Philosophiam Christianam magnâ audi­torum frequentiâ publicè docuit. Cultoribus quoque deorum venerabilis, ad Imperatores Ro­manos, Caesares Augustos matresque eorum in [...]ulam vocatus accessit, ad eosdem literas dedit. Omnibus ejus vita, mores, studium, doctrina, ad­mirationi fuerunt. Vincentius Lyrinensis more largely thus speaks of him. In him, saith he, so many excellent,Contra hae­res. cap. 2 [...]. singular, and wonderf [...]l things are to be found, that at first a Man would easily judge all his assertions were to be assented unto: for if the life give any Au­thority, his industry, purity, patience, and sufferings were great, if his stock and learning, what more noble? springing from a Family made Illustrious by Martyrdom. Moreover, for Christ was he deprived not only of his Father, but also of all his substance, he pro­ceeded so far in the straits of poverty, that he was oftentimes afflicted for the confession of the name of Christ: such also was the strength of his Wit, profound, sharp, and elegant, that by much and far he excelled well nigh all others; so great was his knowledge and learning that they were but few things in di­vine, and almost none in humane Philosophy that he throughly attained not unto? What was there so difficult to be perswaded, that by the force of disputation he cleared not up? What so hard to be done, that he made not to seem easie? His speech being so pleasant, de­lightful and sweet, that to me their seemed to flow from his mouth, not so much words, as honey. But perhaps, his assertions were wo­ven only with knotty arguments? Nay ve­rily, [Page 194] never any of the Masters did use more examples of the divine Law. But (you'l say) I believe he wrote but little; no mortal Man more: so that I have not only not read all his Books, but it seems even impossible to find them all: and lest any thing should be want­ing in him requisite unto the attaining of knowledge, fulness of Age also abounded. But perhaps he was not happy in his Scholars? who ever more happy? sith innumerable Do­ctors, Priests, Confessors, and Martyrs came from his bosom. Besides, who can express how great admiration, glory, and favour, he had amongst all men? Who any way religi­ous did not fly unto him from the utmost parts of the World? Who among Christians did not reverence him as almost a Prophet; among Philosophers, as a Master? How much he was respected, not only by those of a pri­vate condition, but also the Empire it self, Histories do declare, that report him to have been sent for by the Mother of Alexander the Emperour, for the worth of his Heavenly Wisdom. His Epistles also testifie the same, which in the authority of a Christian Master, he wrote unto Philip, the first among the Ro­man Emperours that was a Christian, con­cerning whose incredible knowledge, if any one will not receive the testimony of us Chri­stians reporting it, yet at least let him believe the confession of the Heathen Philosophers affirming it. For that impious Porphyri [...]s saith, that he was by the same of him, stirred up, (when almost but a child) to go unto A­lexandria, and that there he saw him being now aged; but surely such a one, and so [Page 195] great, as that he had gotten unto the very top of all knowledge. Time would fail me to speak even but a little of the things, which were in that Man, which notwithstanding ap­pertain not only unto the glory of Religion, but the greatness of temptation: for who would not use that sentence, (viz. of Cicero, concerning Plato) that he had rather err with Origen, than be of a right judgement with others? Thus far Vincentius.

Origen thus every way excellent was with­al a wonderfully industrious and laborious Man,In Math. 12. 32. & in de­cret. Nicen. Synod. [...]: inquit Atha­nasius, wholly spending his time and improv­ing his vast abilities in the work of the Lord and for the behoof of the Church: and this he did; partly by Preaching: for which em­ployment he was compleatly furnished, being so familiarly acquainted with,Erasm. in vi­t [...] Origen. and ready in the holy Scriptures, which he abundantly made use of, beautifying and adorning there­with (as with so many precious gems) his discourses throughout: Gentium Testimonia [...]usquam adhibet, nisi quoties id res ipsa postulat, quum nullum autorum genus non exactè tenue­rit: sed totus hujus Sermo (inquit Erasmus) S [...]crorum Voluminum sententiis undique seu gemmeis emblematibus distinctus est, sed adeò commodé & in loco insertis, ut nihilo seciùs cur­ [...]t oratio: dicas esse non ascita, sed ibi nata; [...] aliunde quaesita, sed suâ sponte praesto esse. And this he did the rather, (and I therefore add it because it is a notable testimony, that the Scriptures at that time were read by all sorts of persons,Eras [...]. ibi [...]. in the vulgar Tongue, or that in use among them) because in that Age [Page 196] the common people did understand the words of the Scripture, being frequently exercised in the reading of the sacred Volumes. For then even Weavers and Spinsters had those Books at home, which as often as they had leasure, they carefully perused: neither to the understanding of them was their need of any other Language, than that which the illiterate vulgar did make use of: and certainly that reading brought this profit with it, that they sate in the Church more docil or teachable before him that expounded the mysteries of the Scriptures unto them. He had an admi­rable faculty of speaking ex tempore, as he did many of those Homilies which were thought worthy of the publick view,Ruffin. in [...]. ad Chromatium such were his six and twenty Homilies upon Ioshua: Orati­uncul [...]s viginti sex in Iesum Nave, quas ex tem­pare in Ecclesiâ peroravit Adamantius senex ex Graeco Latinè tibi pro virium me [...]rum par­vitate disserui: In perorat. Translator. Sixt. Senens. Bibl. lib. 4. inquit Ruffinus. Also his ex­planation of the Epistle to the Romans. His sixteen Homilies upon Leviticus, &c. quotidi [...] & quasi ex tempore Scripturas ad populum ena [...] ­rabat. Of which kind of speaking Meri [...] Casaubon thus reports in his Treatise of En­thusiasm.Chap. 4. of Rhetorical Enthusiasm. For that faculty of the Sophists (saith he) of extemporary speaking upon any subject, it was their common profession, that is most certain:Such a one was Boethus cujus facili­tas apud Tarsenses maxima vi­debatur, a­deo ut ex tem [...]ore meo magno, impetu ad—omnem datam materiam [...] ret. Strab. Geo-graph. lib. 14. and it was accordingly per­formed by many of them, with singular dex­terity, to the great amazement of all their Au­ditors: [Page 197] such was Callisthenes the Sophist or Philosopher: The Tarsenses of Asia, are by the Ancients noted, as for their love to Learn­ing in general, so particularly to have excelled in this faculty:—And Quintilian a sober solid Man, makes this a chief end and fruit of long pains and exercises in the Art of Rheto­rick, to attain to such a faculty as to be able upon any sudden occasion, to speak pertinent­ly without any premeditation: thus he. Origen was also very zealous and lively in his delivery:Erasm. in vi­tâ Origen. for he loved the things which he spake, and of such we use to speak with affe­ction and delight. His Sermons were com­monly short, for he would never exceed an hour, lest he should cloy his Auditors, judg­ing it better to preach often than long. In reproving he always remembred Christian moderation; sharp he would be, yet never bitter; but for nothing he would more blame them, then for seldom and slack coming to the hearing of the Word, and for oscitancy when they came, accounting diligence or negligence this way one principal note of proficiency or deficiency in Piety. He observed this method: First, plainly and bri [...]fly to expound the Hi­story;Sixt. Senens. lib. 4. then would he stir them up to observe the Mystical and All [...]gorical sense; and lastly, handle some moral places,Erasm. in vi­tâ Origen. making application of what he had delivered and unfolded.

Partly also by writing did he improve his abilities;Frasm. ibid. Euseb. lib. 6. cap 21. and dictating unto those that wrote: whereunto of himself he was back­ward, but set upon it by the inst gation of Ambr [...]se, (Christianae fidei conf [...]ssor i [...]signis, in­quit Trithemius, De [...] qui etiam ad off [...]cium diacon [...] [Page 198] tus meruit promoveri, Vir nobilis & non inele­gantis inge­nii. Hiero­nym. in Ca­talog. vir certè doctissimus, & librorum studiosus amator.) who pressed him hereunto above measure, giving him no rest, and exacted from him a continual or daily task.

His works were innumerable, written by himself,Apolog. ad­vers. Ruffin. lib. 2. and others from his mouth; many whereof Ierom saith, he had gotten together and perused: but not all; For who of us, saith he,Epist. 65. Pammach. can read so much as he wrote? Some affirm, as from Ierom, that he composed six thousand Volumes;Is [...]dor. Hi­spal. in Orig. lib. 6. cap. 7. though yet Ierom him­self deny it; For, saith he, look over the Ca­talogue of his Books contained in the third Volume of the life of Pamphilus written by Eusebius, Apolog. ad­vers. Ruffin. lib. 2. and you shall not find the third part of that number; yet did he utter above a thou­sand Tracts in the Church,Hieronym. Epist. 65. Vincent. Lyrineus. and besides set forth Commentaries innumerable: in a word, no man ever wrote more: for which cause Sui­das stiles him [...], or the Composer. Ierom in his Epistle unto Paula, the Mother of Eustocbiu [...], (now not extant) reckons up all the Monuments of Origens Wit, com­paring him unto that learned,Aul. Gell. [...]oct. Attic. lib. 3. cap. 10. Varro, who by that time he had arrived unto the age of eighty four years: (which yet it seems, he exceeded;Hist. Nat. lib. 29. c. 4. for Pliny mentions the eighty and eighth of his age) had written four hundred and ninety Books; of whom Terentianus a Carthaginian Poet thus speaks.August. de Civit. dei. lib. 6. cap. 2. Vir doc [...] ­mus undecun (que) Varro, qui tam multa legit, ut aliquando scribere vacasse miremur; [...] multa scripsit, quàm multa vix quemquam le­gere potuisse credamus. Such another was Didymus of Alexandria, sirnamed also Chal­centerus, [Page 199] (Nobilis grammaticus, qui Iulii Cae­saris evo floruit) quod indefesso labore libris as­sideret, Mir [...]us in not. in Hie­ronym. ca­talog. who is reported to have written above three thousand and five hundred Books, as Meursius, In notis in Hesych. de viris illu­strib. and Suidas: four thousand (saith Seneca) but withal handling such trivial things, (quae (inquit) erant ded [...]scenda, si scires) that it cannot be said of him,Epist. 88. as Erasmus of Origen; In Origene nihil ineptum aut redun­dans. In censur. Orig. in lib. Job. Treat. of the use of the Fathers: lib. 1. cap. 1. Briefly, his Works were such and so many, That (saith the learned Daille) had we them all intire, they would perhaps be able to give us more light and satisfaction about the present Controversies in Religion, than all the rest of the Fathers.

His Works on the Scriptures are by Iero [...] distinguished into three sorts or classes;In Prolog. ante homil. Origen. in Ezech. (& nullam scripturae partem ille praetermisit, in quâ non scripserit, inquit Erasmus.) the first sort he calls [...];In censur. in lib. Origen. Vid. Sixt. Senens. lib. 3. vacatio­nes. p. 167. cent. 3. cap. 10. ociosa; i. e. brief Annotati­ons upon obscure and difficult places, when he had not leisure to frame a full and just Commentary: The second sort, [...], or homilies, that he preached unto the people publickly. Homilia est familiaris & domestica divinae Scripturae ad plebem elucidati [...]; Sixt. Senens. biblioth. lib. 3. cujus seopus est explicare & hortari sen applicare: The third sort, [...], (which saith Erasmus, he wrote himself) Books or Volumes,In vitâ O­rigen. majo­ris disputationis, wherein he disputes at large, spreading the sail of his wit to the full,Isido. Hispa. Orig. lib. [...]. c. 8. and lanching out into the deep: which title he himself, saith Ierom, gave unto his Commen­taries.Epist. 65. Pam [...]ach. To which three, Eusebius adds two other, viz. [...], i. e. Epistolare, in quo questiones ex divinâ scripturâ,Sixt Senens­ [...]ibl. lib. 4.amicor [...]m literis [Page 200] ad se missas, rescriptis explicavit Epistolis. E [...] [...], interpretivum, in quo genere de­mùm ponendae sunt omnes Scripturae divinae translationes, quas ipse, in Hexaplis, Octaplis, & Palaestinae editionis codicibus complexus est.

Of these his Labours, but few are now ex­tant, and they in Latine; and of those that are lost, the names of few are remaining at this day: So great were the endeavours of those,Erasm. in censur. lib. Origen. who (because of his errours) sought to suppress his Writings, that they would not suffer so much as the very Titles to remain; wherein they shewed more Zeal than Discre­tion and Wisdom;Scultet in Medull. for surely, might we have been so happy as to have injoyed all that he wrote, the errours found in them might the better have been born with, being counter­vail'd, and by much over-ballanced by what in them was sound and Orthodox. Of how great esteem his Works were among the An­cients, may be gathered from hence, that di­vers of them thought it well worth their time and pains to translate much of what he wrote;In Apolog. [...]. advers. Ruffin. Ierom tells us, that he himself tran­slated seventy Books of his: Ruffine not a few, though not so faithfully; Hilary tran­slated almost forty thousand Verses, Quadra­ginta fermè millia versuum; of Origen upon Iob, and the Psalms: and Victorinus many things, non ut interpretes, sed ut auctores por­prii operis, Hieromyn. [...] 65. & Apolog. 1. ad [...]ers. Ruffin. [...] and the Books of Ambrose, almost all of them are full of the sayings of this man.

§ 3. Of the almost innumerable number [Page 201] of those that are lost, we find recorded in di­ [...]ers Authors these following.

1. His Collections and Collations of the Translations of the Old Testament:Baron. ad an. 231. a Work of huge bulk,Hieronym. in praefat. in Josuam. collected with great pains, and composed with no less diligence; requiring no small cost to procure, nor less labour to pe­ [...]use it.Field of the Church. lib. 4. c. 26. An excellent piece, and of admira­ble use and advantage; which fill'd all the [...]amous Libraries in those times: highly commended even by Epiphanius himself, no friend to Origen; Lib. de Mensur. Herein (saith he) he did well and profitably; I would he had done o­thers things as well. These were of three sorts.

1. He compiled that work which he named Tetrapla, or his fourfold interpretation; con­sisting of the Translations;

1. Of the Septuagint.

2. Of Aquila of Pontus; Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 16. E­piphan. lib. de mensur. Miraeus. in notis in Ca­talog. Hie­ronym. who was first a Gentile, then a Christian; but being for his obstinacy in the practice of Astrology, and calculating Nativities, excommunicated, he became a Jewish Proselite, and was according­ly circumcised, being semi-Iudaeus, semi-Chri­ [...]nus, Buxtorf. Epist. de­dicat. ante lex Hebr. and having learned the Hebrew tongue, he translated the Old Testament into Greek; about the year of Christ 129. which he did,Miraeus in auctar. de S [...]ript. Ec­cles. to the end, that as much as in him lay, he might subvert the Prophesies of Christ, for which cause Epip [...]anius call him Iudai­zantem heraeticum.

3. Of Theodotion, De Script. Eccles. of Pontus also: Or, as Trithemius, an Ephesian: who being first a Christian; (but then a follower of those arch-Hereticks,Sixt. Senens. bibl. lib. 4. Tatianus, Marcion and Ebion) after­ward [Page 202] turned Jew;Buxtorf. Ibid. and having been among them well instructed in the Hebrew Tongue, he also translated the Old Testament into Greek:Praefat. in lib. Job. In the year of Christ 180. whom Ie­rom reckons among the Judaizing Hereticks:Bellarm. de verb. dei. lib. 2. cap. 5 he was more faithful in his Translation than the former; and therefore did the Churches of Christ always use to read the Prophet Daniel, Hieronym. praefat. in Dan. not according to the Septuagint, but Theodotions Interpretation or Edition.

4. Of Symmachus: Sixt. Senens. bibl. lib. 4. he was a Samaritan, ranked among their wise men; but not having that honour from them which he expected, he fell to the Jews,Bellarm. Ibid. and was circumcised the second time; Si quidem arte medicâ & certis instrumentis (spatisterem appellant) Iudaei so­lebant resectum praeputium iterum super indu­cere, sive attrahere; & hoc est quod Apostolus ait, 1 Cor. 7. 18. Qui circumcisus vocatus est, non adducat praeputium: vel, ut clariùs sonant verba Graeca, [...], i.e. non attraba­tur. But living ingloriously among these also, he became a Christian, embracing the Heresie of the Ebionites, Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 16. who held that Christ was a mere man, and born of Ioseph and Mary. He translated the Old Testament into Greek, not word for word, as Aquila had done, but according to the sense thereof: non verbum ex verbo, sed sententias ex sententiis reddidit: about the year of Christ 200. This Translation,Buxtorf. ibid. Origen saith, he found at Caesarea with a certain woman named Iuliana, which saith,Euseb. ibid. that Symmachus delivered it her to keep.

2. To the four above named, he added two more, viz. the Hebrew Text in Hebrew [Page 203] Letters [...].Sixt. Senens. lib. 4. And again, the same Text in the Greek Characters, for the help of those that could not read the Hebrew: These Texts with the former four interpretations were set one beside another; each page being divided into six distinct columns for that purpose; for which cause he intituled the work Hexapla, as the former Tetrapla, and the following Octopla, for the like reason; each page having in the one four, as in the other eight columns. Erasmus rather approves of the writing of it without an aspiration,In censur. in lib. Origen. viz. Exapla; ab [...]: to explain; as conceiving it to take the name not from the number of columns, but from the nature of the Work: but were it so, then might the same title have been given as well unto the foregoing and follow­ing, as unto this; the Etymology agreeing to them all alike.

3. To these six he added two more:Sixt. Senens. Ibid. which because he had found without the names of their Authors affixed to them, he called the one Quinta, or the fifth; and the other Sexta, or the sixth; the former whereof he had found in the City of Hiericho; the later at Nicopolis. These two, with the above named six made up his Octopla, or eight fold interpretation: wherein they were disposed or set in this order. 1. The Hebrew Text in the Hebrew Letters.Epiphan. de Mensur. Ba­ron. 231. § 8. 2. The Hebrew words in Greek Characters.Field of the Church, lib. 4. cap. 26. 3. The Translation of Aquila. 4. That of Symmachus. 5. The Septuagint. 6. The Translation of Theodo­tion. 7. That Edition call'd the fifth. 8. That call'd the sixth. Of which Alsted thus speaks:Encyclopaed. Hist. Octopla (inquit) opus laboriosum & [Page 204] insigne magno Ecclesiae malo amissum, and not much unlike,Controv. de Scriptur. cap. 4. our Learned Whitaker: His la­bour (saith he) was incredible in gathering together all these Editions: which being all thus brought into one body, proved a most Divine Work, the loss whereof is a great de­triment to the Church, and well might Am­brose say of him; Multorum interpretationes diligenti discussit indagine. In Psal. 118. Serm. 4.

4. He also set forth another Translation for daily use;Sixt. Senens. lib. 4. composed of the Septuagint, and that of Theodotion: being a third from them both;Dever. Dei. 2. cap. 5. it a ut nova videretur, inquit Bellarminus: which may be said to be, not so much a Translation,Fiel. lib. 4. cap. 26. as an Emendation of the Se­ptuagint: Wherein he added some things out of Theodotions Translation,Baron. adan. 251. § 37. which he found wanting in the Septuagint: and these additi­ons he noted with an Asterisk or shining StarMasius in E­pist. dedi­cante Jo­suam.: but those passages, quae Hebraicè nou erant dicta, which were not to be found in the Hebrew, he pierced through with a Spit or Spear—.Epist. Au­gust. Numb. 89. Of which Ierom thus speaks: Vbicun (que) virgulae, i.e. obeli sunt, significatur quòd Septuaginta plus dixerint, quàm habetur in Hebraew: ubi autem asterisci, i.e. stellulae prae­lucentes, ex Theodotionis editione ab Origine additum est. Again: Sed quod majoris est an­daciae, Praefat. in lib. Paralip. in editione Septuaginta, Theodotionis edi­tionem miscuit Origines; asteriscis videlicet de­signans quae minùs fuerant; & virgulis, quae ex superfiuo videbantur apposita. Isidore gives us this account of the notes; Asteriscus, inquit, apponitur in iis quae omissa sunt, De Origen. lib. 1. cap. 20. ut illucescant per eam notam quae de esse videntur. Obelus apponitur in verbis vel sententiis superfluè iteratis, [Page 205] five in iis locis ubi lectio aliquâ falsitate notata est. This work he undertook, because the Septuagint had been,Baron. ad an. 231. § 36. 37. through the carelesness of Notaries and Transcribers, not a little corrupted and depraved.In Epist. dedicat. ante Josuam. Cum manum (in­quit Masius) Septuaginta interpretationi admo­vere ausus est Origenes, erat etiam tum perver­fissima. Hieronym. advers. Ruffin. And though some have judged it rather a corruption, than a correction of the Septuagint; yet was it indeed a diligent collati­on of those two interpretations, and a Work very profitable unto all; it being a most accu­rate restitution of the Septuagint to its purity. Concerning which Emendation Andreas Ma­sius (a man,Treat. of the Fathers: lib. 1. saith Daille, of singular and pro­found Learning, yet of such candor and in­tegrity, as renders him more admired than his Knowledge doth) thus speaks:Epist. dedi­cat. ante Josuam. In cor­recting and conserving that interpretation of the Septuagint, Hesychius Aegypti E­piscopus Marian. Schol. in Hieronym. Ep [...]st. Luci­anu [...] Eccle­siae Antio­chenae Pre­byter Hie­ronym. in Catalog. to their no small praise did Helychius take great pains, Lucianus more, Origen most of all: by whose industry (he saith) he was provoked to deliver unto the age wherein he lived the Septuagint Transla­tion, sound and intire in that one History of Iosuah, as Adamantius had done the whole throughout. This Edition was afterwards so far approved of, that it quickly filled all Libraries,Sixt. Senens. lib. 4. and was received and made use of in their daily readings, by all the Churches of of Palestine and Syria; Hieronym. advers. Ruffin. so that it was account­ed as the vulgar Translation.

2. He wrote ten Books of Stromes;Hieronym. Epist. ad Magnum, Numb. 84. (in imitation of Clemens his Master, whose Work so intitled, consisteth of eight Books) where­in comparing the Scriptures and Philosophers [Page 206] together, he confirms the Doctrine of Chri­stianity by the sayings of those Heathens:Sixt. Senens. lib. 4. but the two last of these Books were spent in the exposition of the Prophesie of Daniel, and the Epistle to the Galatians.

3. His Books of the Interpretion of He­brew names contained in the Scriptures:Euseb. lib. 6. 23. mentioned by the Author of the answers unto certain questions propounded by the Orthodox,Respons. 86. falsely ascribed unto Iustin Martyr: Hieronym. in praefat. in lib. Heb. nom. which Ierom (who herein imitated him) reckons among the excellent Monuments of his Wit, wherein he took pains as a Chri­stian, to supply, what Philo, as a Jew, had omitted.

4. Of the Resurrection,Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 23. two Books.

5. Of Prayer.Cent. 3. cap. 10.

6. A Dialogue between him and one Candi­dus a Defender of the Valentinian Heresie; In whom (saith Ierom) I confess I have beheld (as it were) two Andabatae, Hieronym. advers. Ruffin. or blind-folded Champions encountring each other.Ad an. 23. § 7. Of Baronius thus: Non (inquit) [...] ▪ tantùm pluribus scatebat erroribus, sed & blas­phemiis refertissimus dialogus ille erat, quo­cum Candido haeretico de dogmatibus fusiùs de­sputavit.

7. Of Martyrdom,Euseb. l. 6. cap. 27. or a Book of Martyrs: which he dedicated unto Ambrose and Pro­toctaetus Ministers of C [...]sarea; for that they both suffered no small affliction, enduring most constantly examination and confession, in the time of Maximinus the Emperour, a cruel persecutor:An. 237. who (out of spite that he bare unto the house of Alexander his Prede­cessor, which harboured many of the faith­ful) [Page 207] gave commandment that the Governors only of the Churches,In specul. Hist. lib. 11. cap. 11. & Haymo hist. Eccles. lib. 6. cap. 3. as principal Authors of the Doctrine of our Saviour, should be put to death. Of which Book, saith Vin­centius Bellovacensis: scribit tantâ dictrictâ spiritus virtute, ut ejus sententiis tanquam validissimis nervis multos ad martyrium stabi­liret.

8. Above an hundred Epistles,Lib. 6. cap. 35. which being scattered here and there, were collected and comprised by Eusebius in several volumes, to the end they should be no more di­spersed.

9. Five Books against Hereticks.Trithem. de Script.

10. An Epitome of the History of Su­sanna. Bellarm. de Script.

Moreover, he commented upon most of the Books of the Old and New Testament: of which Works of his, besides those now extant, these are recorded in several Authors, viz.

Cyprianus.

§ 1. CYprianus, Epist. 69. Pamel. in vi­tâ called also Thascius, was born at Carthage, one of the chief Cities of Africa, he was very rich,Nazianz. o­rat. 29. and of great note and power there, being one of the Senatorian Order, and among them held the first or chief place: his breeding was liberal and ingenuous from his tender years,Pontius in vitâ. being trained up in, and sea­soned with the knowledge of the Arts where­in his proficiency was such, that (among the rest) he became an excellent Rhetorician,Lactant. de institut. lib. 5. cap. 1. and publickly professed and taught that art at Carhage, being had in very great esteem a­mong them; but all this while an Ethnick, without the knowledge of Christ, yea, a most bitter persecutor of the Christians, withal à Magician,Nazianz. i­bid. Epist. 2. § 1. edit. Gou­la [...]t. and skilled in those curious arts, though this last be very improbable in the judgment both of Baronius and Pamelius.

How long he continued in this condition is uncertain, yet that he was well stricken in years before converted unto Christianity, may be conjectured, 1. Partly from his own words: for (while being a Gentile, he thought of receiving the Christian Faith) he conflicted with such reasonings as these; he conceived it a hard and difficult thing (as [Page 249] sometime did Nicodemus) for a man to be born again, that he should by the washing of wa­ter put off what he was before, and have his mind changed: How (saith he) can such a conversion be possible, that so suddenly that should be put off which was genuine and na­tural, and through length of time and old age had taken such deep rooting?Ad an. 25 [...]. § 7. Hence it appears (saith Baronius) that he was se­nescens, near unto and upon the verge of old age when he was about to give up his name to Christ. 2. Partly also from the time that he sate Bishop of Carthage, which is gene­rally conceived to be about the space of ten years,Pamel. in vi­tâ. and not above; for he was chosen un­to the office about the year 249, and suffered martyrdom, an. 259. Now both Baronius and Pamelius, as also before them, Pontius his Deacon and companion in his exile, who wrote the story of his life, do all affirm, that he was made Bishop shortly after his conver­sion, and while but Neophytus & Novellus, a Novice in Christianity, and newly come to the Faith.

The instrumens by whom he was convert­ed,Pontius in vitâ Cypr. was one Caecilius a Presbyter, who part­ly by his pious conversation (which was ve­ry exemplary, he being a just man, and in honour, as well as age, a true Presbyter) and partly by his perswasions (upon which his eloquence did set such an edge,Cent. 3. cap. 10. that they were of great force and pierced deeply) pre­vailed with him,Baron. ad an. 250. § 6. and brought him unto the knowledge and profession of Christianity. It seems the special portion of Scripture that wrought upon him, was the prophecy of [Page 250] Ionab, In Jonan cap. 3. which haply Caecilius was unfolding and preaching upon at that time; for so much Ierom intimates, where he saith, Blessed Cy­prian having been before an assertour of Ido­latry, at length hearing the Sermon of Ionab, was converted and brought unto repentance. It is not unlikely that he had been before pre­pared and somewhat inclined unto the Chri­stian Religion, by reading the Books of Chri­stians, and particularly of Tertullian his Country-man, unto whom he was much ad­dicted, and greatly admired him; for had it not been so,Ad an. 250. §. 11. Baronius seeth not how (unless you will ascribe it to a miracle) he could in so short a time attain unto such a height of knowledge both in Doctrine and Discipline, as should furnish him for so high a function in the Church.

His love and affection unto his Caeeilius e­ver after was so great,Pontius in vitâ. that he respected and and reverenced him not as a friend and equal only, but as a spiritual Father, and one by whom he had received a new life, which he gave clear testimony of unto the world, by prefixing his name unto his own: so that un­to this day he is called and commonly known by the name of Caecilius Cyprianus, as did Eusebius in after times annex the name of Pamphylus unto his own,Post non multum temporis e­lectus in Presbyte­rum etiam Episcopus Carthagi [...]i­ensis con [...]ti­tutus est. Hi­eronym. in catalog. Pontius in vitâ. for the love that he bare unto that Martyr.

But a very little time did intervene between his conversion and advancement unto the chief Dignity in the Church; so great was his growth in the faith, that in a short space he attained unto such maturity as few perhaps do arrive at. Herein he was singular, there [Page 251] having been scarce the like example before, which Pontius speaks of as a thing almost in­credible: Nemo (inquit) metit, statim ut s [...]vit: Nemo vindemiam de novellis scrobibus expressit: Nemo adhuc unquam de noviter plan­t [...]tis arbusculis matura poma quaesivit: In illo omnia incredibilia occurrerunt. Praevenit, si potest dici, (res enim fidem non capit) praevenit, inquam, tritura sementem, vindemia palmi­t [...]m, Ad an. 250 poma radicem. Baronius sets down the story of his addition unto the Church, and a­scending unto the Episcopal Chair, as the oc­currents of the same year.

Unto this Dignity of sitting at the Helm,Baron. ad an. 250. § 1. in the first and principal of the African Churches was he elected by the unanimous consent of the whole Clergy and people, none contradicting, but the unhappy Presbyter Fe­lieissimus, with a few of his Associates, the seat being being vacant by the decease of Do­natus, Cent 3. cap. 10. Agrippinus or some other; for 'tis un­certain who was his immediate predecessour.

Being called unto,Pamel. in vi­tâ. and having undertaken so weighty a charge, as a careful Pastour he bestirs himself accordingly: and in the first place, and while as yet the peace of the Church lasted, he applyed himself with all his might to restore the Discipline delivered by the Lord (whereof he was a great lover and ad­vancer, and which long tranquillity had cor­rupted) unto its ancient purity.

But this continued not long;Baron. ad an. 25 [...] ▪. § 30. for a very sore porsecution ensued very shortly after un­der the Emperour Decius, which mightily wasted the Church of Christ: the violence whereof reaching as far as Carthage, Cyprian [Page 252] felt amongst the rest,In vitâ Cypr. attaining not long af­ter he was made Bishop (as Pamelius gathers from the words of Pontius, who saith it sell out, statim, eftsoon after) the Glory of Pro­scription, unto which was added (that not satisfying the people) their violent clamour often repeated in the Theatre, requiring him to be cast unto the Lions.

To avoid the violence of this storm,Pontius in vitâ. he withdrew not so much out of fear,Baron. ad an. 253. § 30. Pamel. in vi­tâ. as for di­vers other weighty reasons: as

1. In obedience to God, whose provi­dences spake out no less than his command what he should do,Epist. 10. § 4. as he himself speaks: You shall (saith he in an Epistle to the Cler­gy) hear all things, when the Lord shall bring me back again unto you, who com­manded me to withdraw. Of which Pon­tius gives us a larger account:In vitâ Cypr. 'Twas fear indeed (saith he) moved him so to do, but it was that just fear lest he should offend God, that fear which would rather obey God than be so crowned; for his heart being in all things devoted unto God, and his faith sub­ject unto divine admonitions, he believes that if he had not obeyed the Lord, requiring him then to hide, he should have sinned in his very suffering.

2. Lest by his presence he should stir up envy of the people,Pamel. in vi­tâ. who could less away with him than any other of the Presbyters;Cypr Epist. 15. § 1. & E­pist. 6. § 1. & Epist. 36. and so the sedition already begun among them, should grow unto a greater height.

3. The Church could not have been de­prived of him but to her exceeding great de­triment,Pontius in vitâ. especially at that time, there being [Page 253] none so able to afford that comfort, encou­ragement, direction, correction and restoring, which multitudes in the Church did then stand in need of: Well, well, therefore, (saith Pontius) and truly by divine provi­dence, it came to pass that a man so necessary in many regards, should be delayed the con­summation of Martyrdom. Yet it seems that some were unsatisfied with, and calum­niated this his action,Pamel. in vi­tâ. which he therefore took occasion to clear and vindicate in di­vers of his Epistles;Baron. ad an. 253. § 32. whereby he gave satis­faction unto the Clergy of Rome, who took it well, and judged what he did to be war­ [...]antable.

During the time of this his secession (which was about the space of two years) he was not wanting (though absent in body,Pamel. in vi­tâ. yet very vigilant as present in spirit) by his ad­monitions, and otherwise to provide for and promote the welfare of the Brethren as much as he could, constituting divers Presbyters to execute his office in his room. But that which did occasion no small grief unto him, was the schism and disorders that happened in the Church,Baron. ad an. 254. § 39. Pamel in vi­tâ. whereof his former adversary Felicissimus was the principal author, with whom joyned five other Presbyters, who granted rashly and promiscuously peace and communion to the Lapsi, or such as through fear had faln in that time of persecution.Euseb. lib. 6. c. 42. These were set on and abetted by Novatus a Presby­ter of Carthage (from whom afterward sprung Donatus and his Sect) with whom sided Fortunatus, Baron. ad an. 255. § 10, 11. set up by his party as a Mock-Bishop in opposition unto Cyprian, who yet [Page 254] were of a contray opinion to the former;H [...]nce Cy­prian calls Novatus in­terfector poenitentiae. denying all hope of peace to the Lapsi: but though they were opposite in judgement un­to each other, yet did they all at length con­spire together, and made up one faction a­gainst Cyprian; who had given order, that as the Lapsi should not be altogether excluded▪ so neither should they be admitted unto communion, but upon their repentance and satisfaction given unto the Church.

This Felicissimus with his complices pro­ceeded so far,Baron. ad an. 254. § 35. as that of those who adhered unto him (who in number increased daily) he constituted a Church of his own, which he congregated in a certain Mountain; from whence the name of the Montenses took its Original,Ibid. § 38. given afterward unto the party of the Donatists, who in imitation of these, lived in the Mountains.Ibid. § 39. But though Felicissi [...]us were the first in the Schism, yet was he the less famous;August. de haeres. cap. & Danaeus in comment. for his name growing more ob­scure, Novatus gave the title unto the whole Sect, who from him were called Novations; as also Cathari or pure; [...]ecause they refused to communicate with the Lapsi, Pamel. in vitâ. though re­penting, accounting them unclean.

These Schismaticks growing unto this height, the careful Cyprian, though in exile, is very sollicitous how to suppress them; and to prevent further mischie [...]s, that hereupon might ensue:Baron. ad an. 254. § 35. He falls upon the last remedy, writing unto Caldonius and Herculanu [...] his Collegues,Pamel. in vitâ. as also unto Rogatian and Numidicus, Compresbyters, that they ex­communicate Felicissimus and his followers,Epist. 38. which accordingly they performed,Epist. Cypr. 39. as appears [Page 255] by their Letters unto the Clergy of Carthage. After two years he returned from his banish­ment,Pamel. in vitâ. Decius that cruel Persecutor being slain by the Gotbs, and so peace restored unto the Church. Immediately after his return he useth his utmost endeavours to close up the rent that had been made in the Church during his absence; for which end he convenes a Synod, wherein after due debate, this mode­rate temperament was agreed upon concern­ing the Lapsi; that the causes and necessities of their fall being examined, the Libellatici (who were such as by their friends did offer or give in their Libels unto the Magistrate, wherein they did deny Christ, but withal desire that they might not be compelled to sacrifice) as the less Delinquents should be admitted unto communion upon their repen­tance;Go [...]lat. in notis in Cypr. Epist. 52. n. 39. but the Sacrificati (who were such,Angelocrat▪ Epit. Con­cil. as to preserve their Estates, or being by others perswaded thereunto, did offer unto the Idols) should have a longer time of repentance set and assigned unto them;Gesner. Hist. Concil. and in case in­ [...]irmity urged, they should receive peace, or be reconciled at the time of their death. In which Decree Cornelius Bishop of Rome agreed with them,Pamel. in vitâ. a little after calling a Council at Rome, Euseb. lib. 6. cap. 42. which consisted of sixty Bishops, so many Presbyters,Gesner. Hist. Concil. and many Deacons, wherein the business of the Lapsi was throughly scann'd, and Novotian (set up as Bishop of Rome by his party against Cornelius) together with Novatus and Felicissimus, were excom­municated; the sum of which decree was this, that Novatus together with such as con­sented unto his opinion, which was repugnant [Page 256] unto brotherly love, should be banished the Church, and that the Brethren, fallen through infirmity in the troublesome time of perse­cution, should be received, after that the salve of repentance and confession had been applied unto the Maladies.Baron. ad an. 256. § 34. By these Schisms was the Church much vexed for sometime, and Cyprian loaded with calumnies by the Authors and Maintainers of them; which he bare and overcame with invincible courage and patience. Many Councils were cele­brated at Carthage, Pamel. in vitâ. and in other Provinces, both of the Eastern and Western Churches, for the suppressing of them. What after­ward became of these Schismaticks is not found;Baron. ad an. 255. § 28. but persecution being renewed, seems for the present to have put an end unto these Controversies.

After this arose the question about the rebaptization of Hereticks returning again unto the Church:Baron. ad an. 258. which had been in use in the African Churches,Pamel. in vitâ Cypr. in the time of A­grippinus, the Predecessor of Cyprian, and before him in the time of Tertullian. Baron. ad an. 258. § 11. 12. This was occasioned by the practice of the Novati­ans, who were wont to baptize again, as un­clean, such as they had drawn from the Church unto their faction; which provoked divers African Bishops to emulation, among whom Cyprian was the chief.Ibid. § 27. 42. Three Councils were by him call'd about this thing, in the last whereof were assembled at Carthage, Bin. d [...] Con­cil. tom. 1. out of Africa, Numidia and Mauritania, eighty and seven Bishops; by whom it was concluded, that such as had been by Hereticks baptized, were upon their return unto the Church to [Page 257] be admitted again, by rebaptization: and that, because there is but one Baptism, which is no where to be found, but in the true Church. The sentence of Cyprian is in the last place set down in these words.Binnius ibid. My sentence (or judgement herein) (saith he) the Epistle written unto our Collegue Iubaianus hath most fully express'd, viz. that according to the Evangelical and Apostolical contestation, the Adversaries of Christ, and called Antichrists, when they come unto the Church, are to be baptized with the only Baptism of the Church; that they may be made friends of foes, and of Antichrists Christians. Which Opinion was rejected by Stephen Bishop of Rome, Baron. ad an. 258. § 42. and the Council by him there assembled. Yet did many of the Eastern Bishops, and of Egypt, as well as of Africa consent with Cyprian in this his opinion;Ibid. 49. which having for a while, to their utmost defended,Daille of the Fathers, lib. 2. they at last relin­quished it, subscribing to Stephen, and the rest of the Church of Rome; Baron. ad an. 259. § 1. 3. 4. and that Cyprian did so among the rest is very probable, of which more hereafter.

Shortly after followed another grievous persecution under the Emperour Valerian and Galienus, Ibid. § 6. which lasted three years and an half;Baron. ad an. 260. § 33. and extending very far, Africa as well as other Provinces felt the violence thereof;Pamel. in vitâ. where the first that was aimed at and vexed,Plin. Hist. nat. lib. 5. cap. 3. was Cyprian, who by Paternus the Proconsul was banished unto Curubis (or Curobis, as Ptolemy) a Town invironed with the Lybian Ocean,In Geo­graph. lib. 4. almost in the manner of an Island, standing on the Promontory of Mercury, Baron. ad an. 260▪ § 39. over against Sicily, distant from [Page 258] Carthage about fifty miles. In this place, of a pleasant situation,Pontius In in vitâ Cypr. was he fitted with a convenient lodging, and visited by many of the brethren: Continuing here the most part of a year,Pamel. in vitâ. he was not idle, as his Letters, not a few, written from hence do testifie; where­in he ceased not to exhort those, unto whom he wrote, to constancy in suffering, even unto the laying down of their lives for Christ; in which imployment let us a while leave him, till we shall come to speak of his Matyrdom.

§ 2. He was a man of excellent natural parts (the elaborate piece of Nature,In orat. in laudem Cypr. inge­nio faceto, copioso, suavi & aperto. Lactant. lib. 5. cap. 1. saith Nazianzen, the Flower of Youth) and these to the utmost improved by Education and industry; so that he attained unto a great height of secular Learning in all kinds, before his conversion. For besides his exactness in the art of Rhetorick, (whereof he was pub­lick Professor in the famous City of Carthage, Pamel. in vitâ. and he so far excelled, that he went beyond other men in Eloquence,Nazianz. in orat. in laud. Cypr. as much as we ex­ceed the brute Creatures) he was accurately skill'd in all other Arts; One (saith Nazian­zen) that had gotten unto the top of Learn­ing,Ibid. not only of Philosophy, but other Sciences, in every kind, take him where you will: so that, in variety of knowledge, and in absolute insight into the Arts, yea, in every regard, he excelled all others. To which was added, his through knowledge in the Tongues, viz. the Greek and Latin, (the two learned Languages) wherein he was most skilful.Possevin. in apparat. The most Eloquent Preacher, Danie [...] [Page 259] Tossanus, In Rheto­ric. Eccles. lib. 2. cap. 3. § 9. did perswade both my self (saith Keckerman) and other candidates of the Mi­nistery, that among all the Fathers, we would in the next place after the holy Scriptures, and most diligently, read Cyprian: and cer­tainly I know not what spirit of Eloquence breaths upon us, when we have read this Author. These things did afterward prove of great advantage unto him, as did unto the Jews the Gold and Silver whereof they spoiled the Egyptians; 'Tis Augustine's al­lusion,De doct. Christ. lib. 2. cap. 40. whose words for their weight and worth do deserve perusal, which I shall here insert. As the Egyptians (saith he) had Gold and Silver, and Rayment, which the people of Israel departing out of Egypt, did clancu­larly challenge for a better use, not by their own Authority, but by the command of God; the Egyptians ignorantly lending them those things, which they used not well: So the Doctrines of the Gentiles do contain the Liberal Arts, very useful to the Truth, and some most profitable moral precepts; as also some Truths concerning the worship of that one God; Which Gold and Silver, as it were, of theirs (that they themselves insti­tuted not, but did dig out certain Mines of the Divine Providence, extending it self eve­ry where, and which they perversly and in­juriously abused to the worshipping of Devils) [...] Christian, when he departs from them, and in heart separates himself from their miserable society, ought to take or bring away for the just use of preaching the Gospel; and what else did many of our good and faithful men? Do we not see with how great a burden of [Page 260] Gold, Silver and Rayment, the Most sweet Doctor and blessed Matyr, Cyprian departed out of Egypt? So also did Victorinus, Optatus, Hilarius, and innumerable of the Greeks, &c. thus he: And not much unlike is that passage of Ierom ( [...] alluding unto those words of Moses, Epist. 84. Deut, 21. 10, &c). who being demand­ed by Magnus a Roman Orator, Cur in opus­culis suis saecularium literarum interdum poneret exempla & caudorem Ecclesiae ethnicorum sor­dibus pollueret? responsum, (inquit) breviter habeto: Quis nesciat & in Moyse & in Prophe­tarum voluminibus quaedam assumpta de gen­tilium libris? Tit. 1. 12. Sed & Paulus Apostolus P [...]eta­rum Epimenidis, 1 Cor. 1 [...]. 33. act. 17. [...]8. Menandri, & Arati versicu­lis abusus est. Quid ergò mirum, si & ego sapientiam saecularem propter eloquii venustatem & membrorum pulchritudinem, de aneillâ & captivâ Israelitidem facere cupio? & si quicquid in eâ mortuum est idololatriae, voluptatis, erroris, libidinum, vel praecido vel rado; & mixtos purissimo corpori vernaculo, ex eâ genero Do­mino Sabaoth? labor meus in familiam Christi profecit.

But the most splendid Jewels, that were his principal Ornaments, Christianity only fur­nished him withal; which made him exceed­ing amiable in the eyes both of God and Men▪ so that nothing was more illustrious or fa­mous in the whole world:In notis in Nazianz. orat▪ 42. (saith Billi [...]s quoting the words of Ierom) accounted by the Church as a Star of the greatest Manitude: Non solùm malos Catholicos (inquit Augustinus) nullo modo comparamus, De baptis [...]. contr [...] Do ratist. lib. 6. cap. 2. sed nec bonos facilè coaequamus beato Cypriano, quem inter r [...]ros & & paucos excellentissimae gratiae viros numer [...] [Page 261] pia mater Ecclesia. In orat. in laud Cypri­an. He was (saith Nazianzen) sometime (viz. before his conversion) the singular honour of Carthage; but now, viz. since his becoming a Christian, of the whole world. His natural disposition was very sweet and lovely; but being polished by Religion, it became much more so:Pontius in vitâ Cypr. in whom was to be found such an equal composition of gravi­ty and chearfulness, severity and mildness, that it might be doubtful whether he de­served to be more feared or loved, but that indeed he equally deserved both.

His knowledge in the Mysteries of the Go­spel was such, that for it he was renowned every where, his writings that were dispersed f [...]r and near, did spread his fame and made him of great note not only in the African and Western,Augustin. contr. dnas Epist. Pela­gianor. lib. 4. cap. 8. but also in the Churches of the East. In comparison of whom the great Augustin doth so far undervalue himself, that (saith he) I am very much▪ Contrà Crescon. prammatic. lib. yea incomparably inferiour unto the desert of Cyprian. And he was not only a shining, but also a burning light,Pontius in vitâ. so exemplary in his conversation, that the Rays of Grace and Holiness streaming forth therein, did even confound the minds of the beholders.In praefat. ante opera Cypriani Talis ubique Sermonis habitus et (inquit Erasmus) ut loqui sentias verè Chri­stianum Episcopum, ac Martyrio destinatum. Pectus ardet Evangelicâ pietate, & pectori re­spondet oratio: loquitur diserta, sed magis fortia quàm diserta: neque tam loquitur fortia, quàm vi­vit. Insomuch that in the sentence pronounced upon him,Pontius in vit [...] ejus. he is stiled the Standard-bearer of his Sect, and enemy of the gods qui futurus esset ipse documento, & cujus sa [...]guine inciperet Disci­plina sanciri▪ [Page 262] Among the rest, those graces, whose lustre and brightness, the place he held, the employ­ments he managed, and the condition of the times that he lived in, did more especially discover, were such as these.

1. His humility, that sweet grace, peculiar to Christianity, this added a beauty unto all the rest,De baptism. contr. Dona­tist. lib. 2. tanto erat excelientior, quanto humilior, inquit Augustinus; who was so much the higher in the account of others, by how much the lower he was in his own. Being to deliberate about weighty affairs, his manner was to decree nothing without his colleagues, neither would he pertinaciously love and adhere unto his own apprehensions,Cent. 3 c. 10. Scultet. in Medull. but rather embrace what was by others profitably and wholesomely suggested.

2. His Charity and compassion to those in want and durance:Pontius in vitâ ejus. for immediately upon his conversion he parted with what he had, and gave it for the relief of the Poor. He was (as Iob speaks of himself) eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame; Job 29. 15, 16, 17. a Father unto the Put, and the cause which he knew not, he searched out; he brake the jaws of the Wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his Teeth. And when many had been taken Captives by the barba­rous Goths, Pamel. in vi­tâ ejus & in notis in E­pist. 60. or Scythians, he sent an hundred thousand Sestertia from the Church, for the redeeming of them: so himself speaks: misi­mus (inquit) Sestertia centum millia nummû [...], quae isthic in Ecclesiâ, Epist. 60. § 4. cui de Domini indulgentiâ praesumus, Cleri & plebis apud nos consistentia collatione collecta sunt. The sum being so vast, Pamelius conjectures it ought to be only Se­stertia centum, In notis. num. 5. and that millia nummûm, added [Page 263] for explications sake,See Brere­wood de pretiis vet. nummorum. is from the Margin crept into the Text: or else, he thinks it should be thus read: Sestertium centum millia nummûm. Yea while he was in exile, he not only wrote, but also sent relief unto those poor Christians who were condemned unto the Mines.Pamel. in vitâ ejus. Cypr. Ep. 77. He manifested also this Grace in his Indulgence to forgive and receive those of­fenders, who repenting returned unto the Church:Epist. 55. § 18. Hear his own words—Remitto omnia, inquit, multa dissimulo, studio & voto colligendae fraternitatis, etiam quae in Deum commissa sunt, non pleno judicio Religionis ex­amino, delictis plusquam oportet remittendo penè ipse delinquo: amplector promp [...]â & plenâ dilectione cum paenitentiâ revertentes, pecca­tum suum satisfactione humili & simplici con­st [...]entes.

3. His patience in bearing injuries and wrongs: whereof he gave an ample testimony in his behaviour toward those who opposed him,Pontius in vitâ ejus. when he was chosen Bishop; Oh how patiently did he bear with them, and with what a deal of clemency did he forgive them; reckoning them among his friends to the ad­miration of many.

4. His equanimity and peaceableness; being a very great lover and maintainer of unity among Brethren, which he was studi­ous to preserve and hold, even with those that dissented from him:August. con­trà Donatist. lib. 1. & con­trà Crescqu. lib. 2. as appears in the grand difference between him and Stephen Bishop of Rome, and others about the re­baptization of Hereticks: for, as himself did not break Communion by separating from them, so neither did he cease to perswade [Page 264] others also, that they should bear with one another in love,Epist. 76. § 12. endeavouring to keep the u­nity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: his words that he used in the Council of Carthage, speaks out this sweet temper of his Spirit. Super est (inquit) Collegae dilectissimi, ut de hac ipsâ re quid singuli sentiamus, proferamus, ne­minem judicantes, [...]. Concil. Tom. 1. aut à jure Communionis, aliquem, si diversum senserit, amoventes.

To these many more might be added, as his contempt of riches,Nazianz in Orat. in Laud. Cypr. keeping under of his body, purity of Life, diametrically opposite to the lusts of his former conversation, gravity joyned with humanity, equi-distant both, from arrogancy and baseness: fidelity, pru­dence, industry, watchings and the like, which more at large are commemorated and record­ed by Pontius and Nazianzen, in all which regards he was very eminent:Lyrinens. contr. haeres. cap. 10. Hence Vin­centius stiles him, illud Sanctorum omnium & Episcoporum & Martyrum lumen, beatissimum Cyprianum: In praefat. ante opera Cypr. He may be instead of many (saith Erasmus) whether you respect eloquence or Doctrine, or the dignity of a Pastor, or a brest every where breathing forth the vigour of an Apostolical Spirit, or the glory of Mar­tyrdom. Whose writings (saith Scultetus) have in them so happy a genius,In medull. that, al­though they were interwoven with divers errours, yet they found some Doctors of the Church, not only admirers of the more sound Doctrine, but candid Interpreters even of the errours contained in them. How tran­scendent a Man he was in the judgement of the great Augustin is evident, and may be col­lected from the Titles he gives him, wherein [Page 265] the Epithets which for the most part he makes use of, such as are Doctor Suavissimus, lucidissimus, pacis amantissimus, excellentissimae gratiae, also Martyr beatissimus, fortissimus, glo­riosissimus, &c.Contrà Cre­scon. lib. 2. cap. 32. A Man (saith he) whose praise I cannot reach, to whose many Letters I compare not my writings, whose Wit I love, with whose mouth I am delighted, whose Charity I admire, and whose Martyrdom I reverence. Add hereto the Encomium of Prudentius, whose words are:

Let me shut up all with the words of Pon­tius: In vitâ Cypr. I pass by (saith he) many other and great things, which the Volume, lest it swell too big, suffers me not more largely to relate, of which let it suffice to have said this only, that if the Gentiles might have heard them at their Bars, they would perhaps forthwith have believed and become Christians.

§ 3. The monuments of this excellent and choice spirit were many,Hieronym. in catal. Sole clariora, lively representing as in a glass his great worth, and [Page 266] wherein though dead, he yet liveth and speak­eth:Strigel. cited in criseis Melancthon. Of which Augustin had so venerable an esteem, that he accounted all his own works not equal unto one of Cyprian's Epistles: And Ierom giving directions unto the noble Wi­dow Laeta for the pious education of her Daughter Paula, recommends the works of Cyprian to her continual perusal: Cypriani (inquit) opuscula semper in manu teneat. Ad Laetam Epist. 7. Bu­cholcer Chronolog. Cujus singula prope verba spirant Martyrium. They are but fragments as it were, that remain, and the loss of what is wanting is much bewailed by Erasmus.

Of those many that are lost, I find but few mentioned in any Authors: so that it seems, not only the Books themselves, but even their very Names and Titles are exstinct with them.In passione Cyprian. a­pud Pamel. Paulus Diaconus reckoneth among the innu­merable Volumes (as he hath it) which he wrote, a very profitable Chronicle compiled by him: Also that he discoursed most excel­lently upon the Evangelists and other Books of the Scripture. But how little credit this report deserves, will appear from the words of Ierom (a Man as well as most acquainted with the writings of those that went before him) who tells us,Epist. ad Paulinum. n. 13. that he never commented upon the sacred Scriptures,Marian Vi­ctor. in Schol. Erasm. in praefat. an­te opera Cy­prian. being wholly taken up with the exercise of vertue (totus in exereita­tione, aliàs, exhortatione virtutum) and occu­pied or hindred by the straits of persecution: Unless his three books of testimonies unto Quirinus (which are as it were common pla­ces out of the Scriptures) might be looked on by him as Commentaries,Pamel. in vitâ ejus. wherein indeed he briefly glosseth upon and giveth some light [Page 267] unto many Texts, though this were not the thing that he intended in those Tables.

Among the works of Cyprian that remain unto this day, his excellent Epistles are deser­vedly ranked in the first place;In Orat. de lect patr an­te loc. com­mun. as having a notable vein of piety running through them; (Epistolae Cypriani, inquit Chemnitius, referunt pectus ardens Pietate, ita ut lectorem accendere possint) and wherein is discovered abundance of that prudence, candour, meekness, modesty, gravity, and holy severity, wherewith his rare spirit was so much adorned. These are the most genuine births of our Author, though yet they have not continued altogether un­touched, nor have escaped the injury of those, whose fingers have been itching to tamper with and corrupt them,Rivet. Crit. Sac. For they have been bold to add not only sun­dry Epistles, but have blotted and blurred divers of them, which were most evi­dently written by that blessed Martyr, Dr. James, of the mysteries of the Indic [...] Expurgat. for the support of their tottering cause, which truth will never patronize.

There are at this day eighty three of them in number,Cent. 3. c. 10. whereof some few were from o­thers unto himself, the rest written by him unto the Bishops, Presbyters, and Churches or Brethren. They are by Pamelius digested and cast into this order, two were written shortly after his Baptism,Index ante opera Cypr. edit. Gou­lart. thirty and eight in his first Exile, which lasted the space of two years; eighteen during the time wherein Cor­nelius and Lucius sate Bishops of Rome; eight miscellany Epistles, written in the times of the peace of the Church; ten in the time of Stephen Bishop of Rome, concerning the Re­baptization [Page 268] of Hereticks; and seven in his last secession a little before his Martyrdom. The same Authour hath taken good pains in his more exact Chronological account of the par­ticular years, wherein these Epistles (as also his other Treatises) were written,Pamel. prae­fat. ad lecto­rem. which affords not a little light for the better under­standing of them: for he had found them to have such a mutual dependance one upon another, that many of them without the help of others could not well be understood. This Chronology is prefixed by Pamelius in his Edition of these Epistles, together with the rest of Cyprian's works, in whose diligence in his emendations and annotations (which con­tain many Ecclesiastical Antiquities for the illustration of them) deserveth commendation; Yet in this was he unhappy, that being a sworn Vassal of the Romish Synagogue, he strains his Wit and skill, [...]oulart. in Epist. ante o­pera Cypria. to reconcile (which cannot be) the opinions and judgement of Cy­prian and other Ancients, with Pontifician Traditions and the Anathematisms of the Tridentine Conventicle: which filth cast upon the famous Cyprian and Orthodox antiquity, Simon Goulart hath with good success endea­voured to wipe off in his Learned notes,Coci censur. as an antidote subjoyned unto those of Pamelius: by which means this Edition comes to be more exact than any that were before it,Bilson's dif­ference. though there were divers.In Epist. an­te opera Cypr. Of which Pamelius a Lovain Divine, the said Goulart gives this ap­probation, that he was an ingenious Man, of much reading, most diligent, of very accurate and quick expression, and one that had merited much of those studious in Theology in his [Page 269] Edition of Cyprian: if contenting himself to have pointed at the various readings, he had, either not touched, or more sincerely ex­plicated, those Antiquities.

As touching these Epistles,In medall [...] Pat [...]um. I shall refer the Reader for the Analysis and contents of them unto Scultetus, who hath taken laudable pains in surveying the works of our Authour, toge­ther with divers other of the Ancients. It shall suffice me to reflect upon them in a more general way, and what is remarkable in them; and to hint somewhat that may be of use in reference unto them: And herein I shall ob­serve that order wherein they are ranked and set down by Pamelius.

The second Epistle contains a flourishing and eloquent Narration of his conversion and Baptism, savouring much for its quaintness, of the Rhetorick Schools from whence he was newly come.Cent. 3. c. 10. In annotati­uncul. The phrase of this Epistle (saith Erasmus) is more neat and florid, then that of the rest, retaining still the scent of Scholastical eloquence.Erasm. in praefat. ante opera Cypr. In Secundâ Epistolâ nonnihil lusit apparatu pompâque Sermonis; unde & Augustinus, (Lib. 4. cap. 14. de Doctr. Chri­stian) comptae, jucundae splendidaeque dictionis de­promit exemplum. De Script. Eccles. It is entituled by Trithe­mius, Chronic. ad an. 263. lib. de gratiâ Dei. And by Antoninus, De Gratiâ & abundantiâ malitiae saeculi. But this accurate Eloquence of his gotten with so much sweat,Baron. ad an. 250. § 11. and augmented with continual exercise, and for which he was famous every where, he laid aside as of little profit and ne­cessity, preferring before it Christian simplici­ty. Yet, that in this Epistle he wrote in so high a strain, I suppose it therefore so fell [Page 270] out (saith Augustine) or rather was advisedly done,De doct. Christ. lib. 4. cap. 14. that posterity might know, what a tongue the soundness of Christian Doctrine had recalled from such redundance or super­fluity, and restrained to a more grave and mo­dest eloquence: such as in his following wri­tings is securely loved, religiously desired, but most difficulty performed. Wherefore this holy Man did shew, that he could so speak, because some where he spake so; but withal that he would not, because he afterward no where doth so.In praefat. ante opera Cypr. Nihil (inquit Erasmus) repe­ries in Cypriaeno, quod ad ostentationem inge [...] videri possit ascitum, aut quod ullo pacto vafriei­em sapiat.

In the twelfth Epistle,Ad plebem. ad plebem, wherein he desires them to wait for his return, that we (saith he) and our fellow Bishops being assembled together, may examine the Letters and desires of the blessed Martyrs, according to the Doctrine of our Lord, and in the pre­sence of the Confessors, & secundum vestr [...] quoque sententiam, and according as you shall think convenient. Those last words are ma­liciously left out; because (saith Daille) they would not have us to know,Treatise of the Fathers. that the faithful people had ever any thing to do with, or had any vote in the affairs of the Church.

In the thirty first Epistle, there remained for a long time a foul fault uncorrected,Cypriano Papae, Pres­byteri & Di­aconi Romae consistentes, salutem. by which the place was so depraved, that no per­fect sence could be made of it: which was at length happily amended by the dexterity of that Phoenix of her Sex for Learning,M. S. the Life of Sir Tho­mas Moor. Margaret the Daughter of Sir Thomas Moor: one unto whom Erasmus wrote many Epistles [Page 271] and dedicated his Commentaries on certain Hymns of Prudentius, calling her the flower of all the Learned Matrons of England. She was of a quick and sharp Wit, and composed in Greek and Latin both Verse and Prose; and that most eloquently, to the admiration of those that perused her writings. This Gen­tlewoman reading this Epistle, and being come to the place corrupted, (which was this; Absit enim ab Ecclesiâ Romanâ vigorem suum tam profanâ facilitate dimittere, & NISI VOS severitatis eversâ fidei Majestate dissolvere) pre­sently without help of other example or in­struction, quoth she, those words Nisi Vos, must be, Nervos: and so the sentence by that word is made plain and perspicuous.In annotat. num. 15. With this emendation is this Epistle set forth in the Edition of Pamelius, who making ho­nourable mention of the Author thereof,In Schol. in Vincent. Ly­rinens. re­ports it from Costerus, that tells us he had it from Doctor Clement a Learned Physician, one familiarly acquainted with Sir Thomas his Family, as having married Mrs. Margaret Gage another rare proficient in that famous Female Academy. Rhenanus stiles it a very notable Epistle;In annotat. in lib. Tert. de [...] Habemus (inquit) de Disciplinâ Ro­manae Ecclesiae valdè insignem Epistolam Presby­terorum & Diaconorum urbis Romae.

In the general there are three things especially observable in the Epistles of our Author.

1. There are to be found in them divers evident footsteps of the ancient Discipline of the Churches of Christ. As concerning Officers and the manner of electing them: of the power of those Officers, and how it was [Page 272] made use of by them; of the excommunica­tion of offenders, and the restoring of them unto Communion again, upon their repentance and satisfaction given unto the Church: of the care that ought to be had of the poor, imprisoned, &c. of which see Epist. 6. 11, 12, 13 31, 34, 37, 52, 54, 64▪ 65.

2. Many notable cases propounded unto, and resolved by him; particularly, these fol­lowing among the rest.

1. Whether Novatian the Schismatick could or might baptize or no?Ad Magnum Epist. 76. he denies that he could (though herein he erred) which he en­deavours to maintain and make good by divers arguments: but the good Bishop (as Goulart observes in his notes) undertook a bad cause, in defending whereof he discovered much weakness, though withal no less mo­desty, in the close of his discourse.

2. Whether a Stage-Player, persevering in the exercise of that unseemly Art,Ad Eucrati­um Epist. 62. ought to communicate? To which his answer is in the Negative, that he ought not. Puto, inquit, nec Majestati Divinae, nec Evangelicae Discipline congruere, ut pudor & honor Ecclesiae tam turpi & infami contagione foedetur, which place (saith Goulart) meets with those who admit unto the Communion without distinction,In Notis. such as are impious and impure.

3. Whether those who had been baptized by Hereticks, upon their return unto the Ca­tholick Church, ought again to be baptized? His answer is Affirmative, (wherein joyned with him many other Bishops) and as the ground of it, he labours to prove the Baptism of Hereticks to be a nullity; wherein he doth [Page 273] humanum aliquid pati. And this is the chief subject of divers Epistles, viz. from the se­ventieth unto the seventy seventh, among which in the seventy sixth Epistle, the first Quaere, viz. that about the Baptism of No­vatian, is answered.

4. Whether the Clinici (i. e. those who were baptized upon their sick Beds) are to be accounted legitimate or rightful Christians,Epist. 76. because they are not washed, but only sprink­led with baptismal water? Unto which his answer is affirmative: Nos, inquit, aestima­mus in nullo mutilari & debilitari posse benefi­cia divina, nec minus aliquid illic posse contin­gere, ubi plenâ & totâ fide & dantis & sumen­lis accipitur, quod de divinis muneribus hauri­tur, &c. This by Pamelius is made to be the latter part of the seventy sixth Epistle, and not an entire one by it self:In annotat▪ ante opera Cyprian. and so thinks Erasmus of it also, though in some Editions it be disjoyned from it: It's plain, saith E­rasmus, from the first words, that it is no entire Epistle; for who would begin an Epi­stle after this manner, Quaesisti etiam: yet in his Edition are these made two distinct E­pistles, viz. one the sixth of the first Book: the other the seventh of the fourth.

5. Whether Fortunatianus (sometime a Bishop) who had sacrificed unto Idols,Epist. 64. might challenge or take unto himself his office again? He answers negatively, rendring divers rea­sons why he so judgeth.

3. Many excellent and pressing exhortati­ons un [...]o constancy in suffering for the name of Christ; as also sundry choice documents and directions for Holiness and Christian Con­versation; [Page 274] for which work he was so com­pletely furnished, that Pontius would con­clude from thence, his flight in the time of persecution, and reservation from Martyr­dom for a while, to be from the special pro­vidence of God, because of the need the Church then had of him: For, saith he, who should teach the Lapsi Repentance,In vitâ Cy­prian. He­reticks Truth, Schismaticks Unity, the Sons of God peace and the Law of Evangelical Prayer? Who should comfort Christians tenderly affected with their losses, or rather those of little faith, with the hope of future things? Whence should we so learn mercy or patience? Who should raise up so many Mar­tyrs with divine exhortations? Well then it happened, that a man so many ways so neces­sary, should be for a while respited from Mar­tyrdom.In vitâ ejus. He was therefore, saith Pamelius, saved by the Lord, that being destined unto Martyrdom afterward, he might by his ex­hortations send before many Martyrs unto the Lord, who, had they wanted the incen­tive of this celestial Trumpet, might else have fallen from the faith. Hear the words of the Presbyters and Deacons at Rome, Epist. 31▪ to this purpose, say they in an Epistle unto him, Maximas tibi atque uberes gratias referre debt­mus & reddimus, quòd—victores [...] viribus tui sermonis animasti, ut quanquam h [...]e totum de fide confitentium & de divinâ indul­gentiâ venire videatur, tamen in martyrio [...] tibi ex aliquo debitores facti esse videantur. Of this kind among the rest are Epist. 6. 8, 9. 16. wherein in an eloquent and plainly divine stile,Pamel. in ar­gument. he confirmeth the confessors: also Epist. [Page 275] 25. 56. 77. & 81. In Epistolâ 77. (inquit Baronius) elucet mirificè Christiani nominis ex­cellentiâ quae eo gloriosior redditur, atque praecla­rior, quo magis fuerit afflictata molestiis, ac re­bus fatigata contrariis, praestat eas literas audire, utpote novissimos cygnaeos viri sanctissimi cantus, qui mirificum quendam reddunt flagrantis spiri­tus cum suavitate concentum.

For his other works, Pamelius conceives, that in the last recited words of Pontius, In praefat. in Tom. 2. is hinted the order in which they were written; for who can think, saith he, that meerly by accident, and not rather purposely and with mature deliberation, he should observe such an order in his words, which he therefore ob­serves in his Edition, and so shall I in the re­cital of them. His Treatises then are these following.

1. Of the discipline and habit of Virgins, entituled by Erasmus, Epist. ad De­metriad. n. 8. de Script. Pamel. in vi­tâ. only De habitu Virgi­num: and by Ierom and Trithemius, de vir­ginitate. It was written by him while he was yet a Presbyter, or at least shortly after he was made Bishop, viz. in the first year: of which Rhenanus thus speaks, Cyprianus scripsit de habitu Virginum, In argument. lib. Tertull. de patient. Epist. nitidior aliquanto f [...]ciliorque hoc nostro authore, viz. Tertulliano. Ierom stiles it an egregious Volume, wherein he exhorts Virgins to a conversation suitable to their profession, to contemn the world, and to shun the abuses and corruptions of it, which in a lofty strain he stirs them up unto: for so Augustin, De doct. Christ. lib. 4. cap 21. Erasm. in Margin. ad virginitatem magno accen­dit eloquio Cyprianus: In this Tract, (as in others also) he much imitates his Master, as he calls him, Tertullian upon the like subject.

[Page 276] 2. De Lapsis. Pamel. in praefat. ante tom. 2. 1. Of such as fell in time of persecution, which Erasmus calls by the name of Sermo: this with the two following was written shortly after his return from exile, peace being restored unto the Church:Pamol. in an­notat. where­in congratulating the Confessors, and bles­sing God for their invincible constancy under the Cross, he greatly bewails the fall of such, as by the threatenings of the adversary were drawn to sacrifice, and did not rather with­draw according unto the counsel of Christ, blaming them, that before their repentance they would even extort communion and peace from some Presbyters without the consent of the Bishop: and lastly, by divers arguments he exhorts them unto a publick acknowledg­ment of their sin, and to give satisfaction un­to the Church. Herein also he imitates Ter­tulian in his Book of repentance.

3. Of the unity of the Church;Antonin. chron. part. 1. tit. 7. in annotat. in Epist. 5 [...]. & in annotat. in lib. de uni­tat. Eccles. some do add the word Catholick: and this Pamelius (as himself more than once boastingly tells us) from the fifty first Epistle, first found out to be the true Title of this Book, which Erasmus and some others do stile, A Treatise of the Simplicity of Prelates: and Augustine an Epistle touching unity.Co [...]tra Cre­seon. lib. 2. c. 33. A golden Book, written by occasion of the Novatian Rent or Schism,Pamel. in vi­tâ. that he might deter his Carthaginians from siding with Novatus, Pamel. in notis. who were too much inclining unto, and not so averse from him as they should have been. Wherein he earnestly presseth the Pastours carefully to pre­serve unity in the Church, by many weighty arguments; shewing the original and sourse of Heresies to be the contempt of the truth [Page 277] and celestial Doctrine of Christ, commend­ing unity in the Church; and in the close he discourseth of the Duty of those who stand firm in the unity of the Church, viz. to shun the society of Schismaticks. This excellent piece of Cyprian the Vassals of the Romish See have been most busily tampering with, and as palpably corrupting for their advantage in point of the Popes Supremacy; having boldly foysted in here and there,Daille lib. 1. cap. 4. as they thought fit, whole periods and sentences against the faith of the best and most uncorrupted Manu­scripts:Treatise of the Fathers. the additions are these following,

1. He built his Church on him alone (viz. Peter) and commanded him to feed his Sheep.

2. He established one Chair.

3. The Primacy was given unto Peter, to shew that there was but (one Church of Christ) and but one Chair.

4. He that forsakes the Chair of Peter, on which the Church was founded, doth he hope himself to be in the Church? Of these last words, saith Philander (after Theophilus had named six Editions of Cyprian, Bilson's dif­ference, part. 1. in which they are not) indeed I confess the words were wanting, till Pamelius a Canon of Bruges found them in an old written Copy lying in the Abby of Cambron. All these additions will evidently appear unto any one, who (without having recourse unto other copies) will but compare Erasmus and Pamelius their Editions together. He that desireth to be far­ther satisfyed in the foul fraud of these shame­less forgers in this particular, let him please to peruse the learned Doctor Reynolds in his [Page 278] conference with Hart, chap. 5. division. 2. Bil­son in his difference, &c. part 1. pag. 89. and Doctor Iames, of the Corruption of the Fa­thers, part 2.

So many have been the mutations, addi­tions, detractions and variations of this small Book, that the laborious abovenamed Do­ctor Iames (in a little Treatise written by him, which he entituled Cyprian restored or revived) hath observed no less than two hundred and eighty eight of them,Rivet. crit. sac. by a dili­gent collation of four manuscript Copies: this the bold Jesuit Possevine in his Apparatus, James of the corrups. of of the Fa­thers. part. 2. pag. 10. 20. 22. inserts as his own, which the Doctor thus chargeth him with: It hath pleased him, saith he, in his first Tome, at the word Cy­prian, to steal a Treatise of mine, and con­cealing my name, mutatis mutandis, chopping and changing some few words at his plea­sure, to publish it unto the world: Sic no [...] non nobis mellificamus apes. A most unworthy act, and at least deserving the brand of base ingenuity: a fault that Crinitus blames in Macrobius, De honest. discipl. lib. 20. cap. 7. who having been much beholding unto A. Gellius, makes no acknowledgment thereof: Cum sit, inquit, obnoxiae mentis & ingenii maximè infaelicis, uunquam fateri, pe [...] quos authores profeceris.

4. Of the Lord's Prayer, which Treatise Augustine thus commends,Lib. de grat. & lib. arbit. cap. 13. I admonish, saith he, and much exhort you to read diligently that Book of Blessed Cyprian, which he wrote of the Lord's Prayer; and as the Lord shall help you, to understand and com­mit it to memory: he writes it unto one Va­lentinus and the Monks that were with him. [Page 279] In this piece commending this prayer;Schultet. in Medull. he shews how we ought to draw near unto God; then explains the several parts and petitions of it: unto which he subjoyns somewhat of the necessity of prayer, how the mind ought to be composed in this duty; and when it should be performed. Herein also he imi­tates Tertullian de Oratione. Bibl. Sanct. lib. 4. Est, inquit Six­tuì Senensis sanctae & venustae brevitatis expla­ [...]tio.

5. Unto Demetrianus, the Proconsul of Africa; an Apologetical or invective Orati­on;In Annotat. Erasm. in Margine. Erasmus wonders why any should rather call it a Treatise, then an Epistle. Wherein, using a more elaborate stile, he clears the Christians of those calumnies that were cast upon them by Demetrian and other Ethnicks; who imputed it unto the Christians not worshipping the Gods, that those grievous judgments of famine, pestilence and war, did so rage in the Romane Empire: the true cause whereof he shews to be their contempt of Christianity, which he proves by divers [...]guments; and closeth with an exhortation unto the Gentiles to come unto God, and to believe on Jesus Christ. In this likewise he imitates his Master Tertullian in his Apology,Pamel. in Annotat. De Justit. lib. 6, cap. 4. and in his book against Scapula; but is blamed by Lactantius for not handling the matter as he ought; because he dealt with an Heathen by Scripture testimonies, which Demetrian esteemed as fained and vain; who should have been refuted by reason and arguments grounded thereupon;Hieronym. in epist. ad Mag. n. 84. Ad an. 256. § 30. yet herein is he defended by Baronius who labors to ex­cuse him.

[Page 280] 6. Of the vanity of idols; or, that idols are not gods: wherein he proves that they were men, and consequently that the wor­shipping of them can be no way profitable: And that there is but one true God and Lord of all, whom the Christians worship. Erasmus suspects it to be a fragment of a larger work,In Annotat. because it begins so abruptly. Of which piece Ierom thus speaks,Ad Magnū. epist. 84. commending his wit and skill: with what brevity, with what knowledge of all Histories, with what splen­dor of words and sense hath Cyprian discussed that idols are not Gods? Herein also as he imitated Tertullian in his Apology, so likewise doth he Minutius Foelix in his Octavius; Pamel. in vitâ ejus. or Minutius him: for they lived near about the same time.

7. Of Mortality; written by him in a time wherein the pestilence invaded and raged in divers provinces,Ens. in Chro. refers it ad An. 255. Ans. to the Jes. chall. and chiefly Alex­andria and the rest of Egypt. Vsher calls it a famous Treatise: wherein by divers argu­ments, he armeth Christians against the fear of death; and admonisheth them not to grieve immoderately for those that die, shew­ing what are the fruits of death, and of how great advantage it is unto them that die in Lord.De praedest. l. 1. c. 14. A book, saith Augustine, laudably known to many, yea almost to all that love Ecclesiastical writings; in quo dicit mortem fidelibus utilem reperiri, quoniam peccandi pe­riculis hominem subtrahit, & in non peccandi securitatem constituit.

8. Of works and almsdeeds:Contr. [...]. Epist. Pelag. [...]. 4. c. 8. Epi. ad Pam­mach. 26. Augustin calls it an Epistle: and Ierom grande volumen, a great volum wherein he exhorteth those [Page 281] that were able, to contribute toward the re­lieving of the poor, who by pestilence, famine and other calamities had been reduced unto great exigencies.

9. Of the good of Patience, wherein, virtutem hanc per effecta magnificè amplificat: Keck. rheto. Eccles. commend­ing the practice of it from the example of God, Christ & the Saints: proving also both by Scripture and reason, that 'tis not only profita­ble, but also necessary for a Christian. Baronius shews us the occasion of the writing hereof. Veritus, inquit, magnopere Cyprianus, ne inter Episcopos obortis contentionibus, Ad An. 258. § 35. magno aliquo sebismate Catholica scinderetur Ecclesia, ad [...]ntevertenda futura mala, egregium illud pro­p [...]ylacticon praeparavit antidotum, libellum illum de bono Patientiae scribens, quò demonstraret abs (que), patientiâ impossibile esse servari inter fratres mutuam charitatem. And Cyprian himself in his Epistle to Iubaianus con­cerning the rebaptization of hereticks, having said in the last paragraph,Id Jubaian. Epist. 73. that he would not for Hereticks contend with his fellow Bi­shops; he shuts up all with these words: servatur à nobis patienter & firmiter charitas [...]nimi, collegii honor, vinculum fidei, & con­cordia sacerdotii. Propter hoc etiam libellum de bono patientiae, quantum valuit nostra medi [...] ­critas, permittente Domino & inspirante, con­scripsimus quem ad te pro mutuâ dilectione transmisimus. In this book also he much imitates Tertullian upon the same subject, with a pious and commendable emulation:Rhenan. in Annotat. in Tertull. de patient. for he feared lest (as it afterward fell out) the writings of so eminent a man should be lost or laid aside:Id. in arg. in 1. Tertul. de patient. many even then abstaining [Page 282] from the reading of him, because he had so un­happily separated from the Church.

10. Of zeal (he takes this word here in the worse sense) and envy: which by many arguments he dehorteth from; shewing whence it proceeds, and how much evil it produceth.Rhetor. Eccles. lib. 1. lib. de bapt. cont. Donat. l. 4. c. 8. Sermo praeclarus, inquit Kecker­man [...]us, & egregia coneio. Augustine calls this Tract also an Epistle; and Ierom, librum valdè optimum. In Epist. ad Galat. cap. 5. Pamel. in praefat. ante tom. 2. opera Cypr. The occasion of the writing of this, as of the former Treatise also, was the controversie and great contest that a­rose between Stephen Bishop of Rome and the African Bishops about the Baptizing of Hereticks.

11. An exhortation to Martyrdom; writ­ten unto Fortunatus; distinguished into twelve Chapters containing so many arguments, whereby he presseth unto Martyrdom: which are collected almost verbatim out of the Scriptures.Pamel. in arg. & Baro. ad an. 255. §. 45. Baronius and Pamelius are very confident, that it is Cyprians, and much wonder that any should ascribe it unto Hi­lary; In Annotat. in Hierony. Epist. 50. ad Pammach. Cens. Patr. which yet Marianus Victorinus doth as confidently, induced hereunto by the stile, and authority of Ierom. For which cause the industrious Mr. Cooke doubts not to rank it among the works falsly ascribed unto this Father.

12. Three books of Testimonies unto Quirinus, being none other then a rapsody or collection of several places of Scripture. The two first, against the Jews: In the one he shews that the Jews have departed from God,In praefat. Cypr. and so have lost that grace and indul­gence which formerly was afforded unto [Page 283] them; and that the Gentiles from among all nations have succeeded them, and come into their place. The other contains the mystery of Christ, that he came according as the Scri­ptures had foretold, and hath done and per­formed all things by which he might be known. In the third,Cent. 3. c. 10. praefa. Cypr. in lib. 3. which the Centurists stile, de disciplina Christianorum, he instructs Quirinus in a Christian life; it being a Col­lection of Divine Precepts and Commands, which may be the more easie and profitable for the Readers, for that, being but a few and digested into a Breviary, they are the sooner Read over, and more frequently re­peated.In argu. in l. Eras. in Annot. ante opera Cypr. In Medull. Pamelius cannot wonder enough at the censure of Erasmus, that it should seem more probable unto him, that these books are not Cyprians: Yet is this sagacious censor seconded by Scultetus, who renders some reasons why he should make question of it, viz. that some Greek forms of speech, are used in the third book, which are not to be sound in the other works of Cyprian: withal he adds, that many things do offer themselves unto the diligent Reader, by which without any great ado they may be distinguished from what of this Father is ge­nuine.

13. The sentences or suffrages of the Council of Carthage concerning the bapti­zing of Hereticks:Eras. in Annotat. which is none other than a rehearsal of what was done and said in that Council; as things were taken by the publick Notaries, whereof he gives an account unto Quirinus. This piece shuts up the second Tome in Pamelius his Edition.

[Page 284] His third Tome contains those books that are doubted of or falsly ascribed unto Cy­prian: [...] tom. 3. though in his preface Pamelius makes them to be of three sorts. First, Some, that by the stile and Scriptures cited, do certainly appear to be his genuine works: but how true this is, we shall hereafter examine. Se­condly, Others, of which there is some doubt; yet are there many things to per­swade us that they are his, or at least, of some Author, no less Ancient then he. 3. Some that are certainly found to be none of his. But though divers pieces have his name af­fixed unto them, that he was never the Author of; yet, saith Erasmus, herein was he more happy then some others,In praefat. ante opera Cypr. that no­thing is ascribed unto him but what is Learn­ed, and proceeded from great men.

These are, first, his book of Spectacles; which, he shews 'tis unlawful for Christians to be present at and behold. A book, which neither Trithemius nor the Centurists nor Erasmus take notice of:Bellar. de script. Eccle. Rivet. Crit. [...]ae. and therefore not without cause suspected; which also the stile gives sufficient ground for. Herein the Au­thor much imitates Tertullian upon the same subject.

2. Of Discipline, or the good of chasti­ty; wherein many passages are almost ver­batim taken out of Tertullian. Pamel. in Annotat. De script. Eccles. Bellarmine and Pamelius conceive it to be Cyprians: 'Tis a work of an uncertain but Learned Author, so that 'twere pitty it should be lost;In Annotat. (saith Erasmus) yet in his judge­ment, the stile plainly shews it to be none of Cyprians.

[Page 285] 3. Of the praise of Martyrdom,Baron. ad an 255. § 38. Erasm. in Annotat. unto Moses and Maximus; wherein, pennis elo­quentiae se mirificè extulit. But the stile is so elaborate and unequal, that Erasmus suppo­seth no man is of so dull a scent, but he must needs perceive it to be far different from that of Cyprian. He thinks it therefore to be an Essay of some one that would exercise his pen; wherein he shewed more care then, wit, and more affectation then ability. Car­dinal Baronius is very angry with him for this his censure,Ad an. 255. § 37, 38. calling him Mome; telling us that he that will prudently compare it with the Apologetick unto Demetrian, or his Epi­stle unto Donatus, will easily perceive by the same lineaments of their faces, that they pro­ceeded from the same Author. But the wit and wisdom of Erasmus (dictator ille rei literariae) and his ingenuity in this kind are sufficiently known and approved of by the Learned.Sphinx. c. 25. And as he was able, so was he no less diligent in comparing one thing with another, that he might the better give a right judgment: So that the cavil might well have been spared and deserves little to be regarded, as issuing rather from heat and interest, then from candid and impartial animadversion. The truth is, both the Car­dinal and the Canon Pamelius looked on it as advantageous and making somewhat for their market;Coci censu [...]. affording them a considerable authority for the Doctrines of Purgatory and the Invocation of Saints▪ who therefore strain hard and would fain perswade us that it is Cyprians; Rivet. Crit. Sac. though they be levissima argu­menta, very trivial and slender arguments, [Page 286] whereby they endeavor to make it appear so to be.

4. Unto Novatian the Heretick: that hope of pardon ought not to be denied unto the Lapsi, such as fell in time of persecution: which,In Annotat. saith Erasmus, the stile will not suffer us to believe that it is Cyprians: But withal, it is so Eloquent and Learned, that he judg­eth it not altogether unworthy of Cyprian; In Margine. yet rather thinks, that Cornelius Bishop of Rome wrote it: which conjecture he grounds upon the words of Ierom; In Catalog. Cornelius. whom herein Honorius Augustodunensis follows and ex­plains:De script. Eccles. saying, Cornelius wrote a very large Epistle unto Novatian and Fabius.

5. Of the Cardinal or Principal works of Christ, unto his ascension unto the Father: which, besides the Preface, consisteth of twelve Chapters or Sermons:

1. Of the Nativity of Christ.

2. Of his Circumcision.

3. Of the Star and Wisemen.

4. Of the Baptism of Christ, and manife­station of the Trinity.

5. Of his Fasting and Temptations.

6. Of the Lords Supper, and first institu­tion of the (Sacrament) consummating all Sacraments;Goulart. in animadvers. wherein is comprehended the sense and consent of Orthodox Antiquity, and the Catholick Church concerning the Lords Supper.

7. Of washing the Disciples feet.

8. Of Annointing with Oyl and other Sacraments.

9. Of the passion of Christ.

[Page 287] 10. Of his Resurrection.

11. Of his Ascension.

12. Of the Holy Ghost.

All these are urged as the authority of Cy­prian by divers Romish Champions for the maintenance of many of their unsound Do­ctrines;Coci Censur. Iames Ba­stardy of the Fathers. though it be doubted of by them­selves for sundry weighty reasons; among the rest these following,

1. The stile is lower than Cyprian's useth to be.Bellar. de script. Eccl. Possevin. in apparat.

2. The Author (in serm. de tentatione) s [...]ith that the Devil fell from Heaven before the creation of man,Pamel. in ap­parat. Pamel. in annotat. in praefat. contrary unto the opi­nion of Cyprian, in his Treatise de telo & in­vidiâ.

3. In the Preface he gives unto Cornelius Bishop of Rome, the Title of sublimitas ve­ [...]ra, your Highness: whereas Cyprian always stiles him brother and Collegue.

The stile, saith Erasmus, argues it to be none of Cyprian's, though it be the work of some learned man, whereof that age had store.Exercitat. 16. § 29. De amiss. grat. lib. 6. cap. 2. Non Cypriani quidem (inquit Casau­bonus) sed non indignus Cypriano. And Bel­larmin himself elsewhere affirms, that the au­thor of these Sermons, without doubt, lived long since Cyprian, yea, after the time of Au­gustine; and taxeth the boldness of him that first put Cornelius his name in the fore front of this Book. But in a very ancient Manu­script in the Library of All-Souls Colledge in Oxford, Iames B [...] ­stardy [...] of the Fathers. the Author is called Arnaldus B [...]na­ [...]illacensis, who lived in the time of Bernard, unto whom he hath written one or two E­pistles; and the Book is dedicated, not unto [Page 288] Cornelius, who lived about the year of Christ, 220. but unto Adrian the Fourth, who lived about the year, 1154. and succeeded Eugeni­us the Third, unto whom Bernard wrote his Book of Consideration.Answ. to the Iesuits chal­lenge. Also that Learned Antiquary the Reverend Vsher saith, he hath seen besides the abovenamed, another Manu­script in the publick Library at Oxford, Arnald [...]s Carnotensis Abbas bonae vallis. where­in this Book bears the name of the said Ar­naldus, as the author thereof. Taking it then for granted, that it is none of Cyprian's, let us give it its due in the words of Scultetus, It is a Book full of Religious Piety,In Medull. and of great use to Preachers: for they are popular declamations which do breath affections stir­red up by the spirit of God.

6. Of Dicers, which Game he proves by many arguments to be unworthy of a Chri­stian, especially an Ecclesiastical man.Rivet. crit. sac. But it certainly appears to be none of his by the stile, and seems to be written in the corrupter times of the Church.De script. Eccles. in annotat. Bellarmin and Pameli­us speak doubtfully of it; the former suppo­sing it rather to be written by some one of the Bishops of Rome, as plainly appears from the Author's assuming unto himself the Pre­sidentship of the universal Church, and to be Christ's Vicar, which indeed none ever dared to do, but that proud Prelate of Rome.

7. Of the Mountains Sina and Sion, against the Jews, being a mystical interpretation of them;De script. Eccles. in an­notat. the stile shews it to be none of his,Pamel. in ar­gument. as both Bellarmin and Pamelius confess, yea, it is altogether different both from the stile, and also the Genius of Cyprian, and is stuf­fed with such allegories and expositions of [Page 289] Scripture as are far from the Learning, Piety and Simplicity of this Blessed Martyr.

8. As for those Poems, viz. Genesis, Sodo­ [...], & ad Senatorem, Pamelius hath adjudg­ed them rather unto Tertullian, because of the stile,Pamel. in Tertull. and because Cyprian was never rank­ed among the Christian Poets, but only by Fabricius (he might have added Gyraldus) so that he leaves the matter doubtful: And, saith Bellarmin, De script. Eccles. we have no certain ground whence to conclude it. So also for the Hymn de Pascha, in many Manuscripts it is ascribed [...]nto Victorinus Pictaviensis: Rivet. crit. [...]ic. De script. Eccles. De Poet. Hist. But, saith Bellar­ [...]in of them, Opera sunt gravia & docta, & S. Cyprian [...] digna. To which I add the Ver­ses de Sanctae Crucis ligno, which Lilius Gyral­d [...]s ascribes unto Cyprian, being sixty nine Heroicks in number, Quos, inquit, ego legi: & si semel legatis, iterum & saepe legetis. But as I find them no where else mentioned as Cy­prian's; so I conceive Pamelius would not have failed to rank them among the rest, had he seen but the least probability why he might have eutituled them unto Cyprian.

9. Those two Prayers, one for the Mar­tyrs, the other made use of by himself (as is pretended) on the day of his suffering, have the like censure from Bellarmine that the Po­ [...]s had,De script. Eccles. who leaves them altogether uncer­tain.

10. Of the single life of the Clergy, and that they ought to abstain from the company of women.In annotat. In praefat. ante Tom. 3. operum Cypr. & in annotat. The work is not Cyprian's (as the many barbarous words to be found in it, and the phrase do plainly shew) as Erasmus conceives, to whose censure Pamelius sub­scribes, [Page 290] who thinks it rather to be Origen's, being induced hereunto by some authorities, (Vincentius Bellovacensis in speculo Hist. lib. 11. cap. 15. mentions a Book of Origen's, which he calls Liber pulcherrimus de singularitate cle­rieorum. Also Laziardus Caelestinus in Epitom. Hist. universal. [...]aec babet: fertur Originem co­dicem de singularitate clericorum composuisse) by his mentioning without dislike those who make themselves Eunuchs for the Kingdom of God, and by divers Grecisms here and there to be found in it.Ad an. 253. § 45. crit. sac. Prideaux. in orat. de Pseudepi­graph. In annotat. But, saith Bellarmine the stile is against this, which shews it to be the work not of a Greek but some Latine Author. Baronius supposeth it to be Cyprian's, though upon weak and slender grounds, as Rivet shews. Liber de singularitate Clericorum, Originem, Cyprianum, De script. Eccles. Augustinum praefert autores. It is therefore very uncertain whose it is; But, saith Erasmus, whoever were the author of it, it cannot be denyed that he was a learned and eloquent man: And without doubt, saith Bellarmine, very ancient.

11. An exposition of the Apostles Creed, which (though it be inserted among the works of Cyprian) yet is it generally conceiv­ed to belong unto Ruffinus a Presbyter of A­quileia, Bellarm. de script. In catalog. as appears both by the phrase, and al­so by the authority of Gennadius, who stileth him not the least part of the Doctors of the Church, and of an elegant wit to translate out of Greek into Latine: And, saith he, in this exposition, he through the Grace of God so far excelled, [...] that others in comparison of of him can scarce be said to have expounded it. Pam [...]lius therefore entitles it unto Ruffine, [Page 291] as the true author thereof, and not Cyprian; whose, that 'tis not, it's evident from the men­tion therein made of the Heresies of Arius, the Manichees, Samosatenus, Eunomius, who all lived after the time of Cyprian. Yet by the consent of all it is a learned piece,In annotat. and most worthy to be read; but herein blamed by Pamelius, because it denies the Books of Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Tobit, Iudith and the Maccabees to be of authority for the con­firmation of the faith; but for what cause is obvious enough.Pamel. in ar­gument. Bellar. de. script. Ec­cles.

12. Of the incredulity of the Jews, unto Vigilius: it is none of Cyprians, but rather the preface of one Celsus upon the altercation between one Iason a Christian, and Paviscus a Jew of Alexandria: Goulart. in annotat. and indeed in the close of it, the author so stiles himself: In mente, inquit, [...] habe puerum tuum Celsum. A confused piece it is,Pamel. in a [...] ­ment. Bellar. de script. no way suitable unto the piety or learning of Cyprian.

13. Against the Jews who persecuted our Lord Jesus Christ, written by an uncertain au­thor, the stile discovering it not to be Cyprian's.Pamel. in ar­gument. Erasm. in an­notat.

14. Of the Revelation of the head of Iohn the Baptist,Helvic. chron. and the translation of it in­to France under Pipin the Son of Charles Mar­ [...]ell. who lived about the year 750. by which it appears as clear as the Sun to be none of Cy­prian's,Scultet. in Medull. Ri [...]t. crit. sac. who was some hundreds of years before this time: and they are meer fables that are contained in it, it might well come but of the Cell of some superstitious Monk,Bellar. de script. Ec­cles. Rivet. crit. sac. Coci censur. being fabulous, superstitious and ridiculous.

15. Of a twofold Martyrdom unto For­tunatus; it is to seek of a Father; for Cyprian's [Page 292] it is not, as the mention of Dioclesian, and of the Emperour's war against the Turk, do fully evidence.In argumen. Pamelius thinks it to be the work of some Neoterick, and not un­likely (as Henry Grave conjectures) of E­rasmus: But this is very improbable, consi­dering how sharp Erasmus is against those, who by counterfeiting their writings,Rivet. crit. sac. have so abused the Fathers: and if he would in this kind have imposed upon the world, surely he was not so weak to let fall such passages as should so palpably discover it to be an impo­sture and supposititious; we leave it there­fore as an exposed Birth.Trithem. de script.

16. Of the twelve abuses of the world: the phrase is not Cyprian's, and the quotati­on of the Scriptures according to Ierom's Translation speaks it of a later date.Coci censur. Eras­mus is of the mind that it came from some honest Laick: and Pamelius guesseth it to have been written by one Ebrardus, or Io­hannes Climacus.

17. A small Tract entituled Coena: Goulart. in annotat. so un­worthy the name of Cyprian, Pamel. in ar­gument. that it deserves rather to bear that of a Turk than a Christi­an, it is so impure and ridiculous; the author seemeth to have been an Italian, some pro­fane knave, being so well acquainted with all sorts of that Country Wine.

§ 4. His stile is such as hath a certain pro­per and peculiar face whereby it may be known:Epist. 48. Nec omuinò nihil habet Africum Cy­prianus. E­ras [...]. in E­pist. ante o­pera Hilarii. In praefat. ante opera Cypr. saith Augustin, It tangs of his Coun­try, but yet is he more plain and candid than the rest of the Africans: And I wish, saith Erasmus, that as Augustin did exceed him in the number of the Volumes which he wrote, [Page 293] so that he had attained unto, and equalled him in the elegancy of his language: Oh would he had as happily emulated his tongue, as he ingenuously admires it! Tertulliano, inquit Ludovicns Vives, De▪ trad. di­scipl. lib. 3. Ibid. loquitur clariùs, sed & ipse nonnunquam Afrè. Time was, saith E­rasmus, when I accounted Ierom for the chief among the Orthodox Writers; but when I looked a little more narrowly into Cyprian, I was doubtful whether of the two to prefer, they both seemed to excel: but if a true and natural kind of speaking, and that which is more remote from a declamatory shadow, deserve the precedency; herein Cy­prian went as far beyond Ierom, as Demosthe­ [...]s beyond Cicero; he is every where more serious, and hath less of affectation; his ha­bit or form of speech is such that you may perceive him to be a true Christian Bishop, and destined unto Martyrdom: his heart burns with Evangelical Piety, and his words are answerable;Erasm. in E­pist. ante o­pera Chry­sostom. (Non minùs fortiter quàm disertè loquens) he speaks no less strongly than eloquently; for worthyness became him more than neatness: yet is he quick enough sometimes; as where he derides a certain He­retick that denyed him to be a Bishop: and likewise when he refutes those who deemed such not meet to be called Christians, but Cli­nicks, that in perilous diseases were baptized not only by immersion, but aspersion or sprinkling of water. For here besides that perpetual sweetness, which as blood runs through the whole Body, he useth quips and jests. Again, Africa sent forth many men fa­mous for eloquence and learning; among [Page 294] whom Tertul [...]ian and Augustin were chief; but scarcely unto any one happened the genu­ine purity of the Roman Language, but only unto Cyprian. Thus Erasmus, Like a pure fountain he flows sweetly and smoothly;Hieronym. Epist. [...]3. ad Pa [...]linum. and withal he is so plain and open (which is the chief virtue of speech) that you cannot di­scern,Lib. 5. cap. 1. institut. saith Lactantius, whether any one were more comly in speaking, or more facil in ex­plicating,In Hymn. de pass. Cypr. or more powerful in perswading. Prudentius also in this regard thus extols him:

His phrase is most elegant (saith Sixtus Se­nensis) and next unto Ciceronian Candour.Biblioth. sanct. lib. 4. E [...]cyclop. Hist. And in the judgment of Alsted, as Lactantius may be truly accounted the Christian's Cice­ro; so may Cyprian their Caesar; for these two among the Latines added ornament un­to Christian Doctrine. Now Caesar, saith Vives, De trad. di­sciplin. lib. 3. is egregiously useful for dayly speech, unto whom Tully gives the praise of a pure and uncorrupted dialect: Quintilian of ele­gancy, whom he peculiarly studyed: and Mr. Ascham in that learned and grave dis­course which he calls his Schoolmaster, judg­eth that in Caesar's Commentaries (which are to be read with all curiosity) without all exception to be made either by friend or [Page 295] foe, is seen the unspotted propriety of the Latine Tongue, even when it was in [...], at the highest pitch of all perfectness: yet is his phrase various: sometimes he soars aloft, and is very copious with abundance of words:Baron. adan. 255. § 37. August. de doct. Christ. lib. 4. cap. 21. as in his Epistle unto Donatus: another time he falls as low, as in his Epistle unto Caecilius, of the Sacrament of the Lord's Cup: but most commonly he is temperate, and keeps the middle way between these extremes, as in his Treatise of the Habit of Virgins.De stud. Theolog. In a word, he was, saith Hyperius, plain, vehe­ment, serious, and not unhappily fluent; his words breathing a venerable elegancy,Scultet. in Medull. as the things which he wrote did piety and martyr­dom: whereof I now proceed to give a taste.

§ 5. In his Treatise of the vanity of Idols,§ 6, 7, 8. we have a sum of his Faith, which Froben in his Index affixed unto the edition of Eras­mus, stiles the most elegant Creed or Symbol of Cyprian: containing the Doctrines of Christ, his Deity, Incarnation, Miracles, Death, Resurrection, Ascension and second coming. His words are these,

Indulgentiae Dei, gratiae, disciplinaeque arbi­ter & magister sermo & filius Dei mittitur, qui per Prophetas omnes retrò illuminator & doctor humani generis praedicabatur. Hic est virtus Dei, hic ratio, hic sapientia ejus & gloria, hic in Virginem illabitur: carnem, Spiritu Sancto cooperante, induitur; Deus cum homine misce­tur; hic Deus noster, hic Christus est, qui medi­ator duorum, hominem induit, quem perducat ad Patrem; quòd homo est, Christus esse voluit, ut & homo possit esse quòd Christus est—Cum [Page 296] Christus Iesus secundùm a Prophetis ante prae­dicta, verbo & vocis imperio daemonia de homini­bus excuteret, leprosos purgaret, illuminaret caecos, claudis gressum daret, mortuos rursus a­nimaret, cogeret sibi element a famulari, servire ventos, maria obedire, inferos cedere; Iud [...]ei qui illum crediderant hominem tontùm, de hu­militate carnis & corporis; existimabant magum de licentiâ potestatis. Hunc Magistri eorum at­que primores, hoc est, quos & doctrina illâ ille & sapientiâ revincebat, accensi irâ & indignatione provocati, postremò detentum Pontio Pilato, qui tunc ex parte Romanâ Syriam procura [...]at, tra­diderunt, crucem ejus & mortem suffragiis vio­lentis ac pertinacibus flagitantes—Crucifix­ [...]s, prevento carnis officio, spiritum sponte di­misit, & die tertio rursus a mortuis sponte sur­rexit. Apparuit discipulis talis ut fuerat, agno­scendum se videntibus praebuit, simul junctus & substantiae corporalis firmitate conspicuus ad dies quadraginta remoratus est, ut d [...] vel ab eo ad praecepta vitalia instrui possent, & discerent que docerent. Tunc in Coelum circumfusâ nube sub­latus est, ut hominem quem dilexit, quem in­duit, quem a morte protexit, ad patrem victor imponeret; jam venturos & è Coelo ad poenam Diaboli, & ad censuram generis humani, ultoris vigore, & judicis potestate.

2. Concerning the Article of Christ's de­scent into Hell,§ 2 [...]. the Author of the Exposition of the Apostles Creed, thus speaks, We are, saith he, verily to know that it is not to be found in the Creed of the Roman Church, neither in the Oriental Churches; yet the force of the words seemeth to be the same with those wherein he is said to be buryed.

[Page 297] 3. Of the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, the same Author of the Ex­position of the Apostles Creed, having enu­merated the same Books that we do: These, saith he, are they which the Fathers conclu­ded within the Canon, out of which they would have the assertions of our Faith to consist: But we are to know further, that there are other Books which our Predecessors called not Canonical, but Ecclesiastical, as the Books of Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Toby, Iudith and Maccabees, all which they would indeed have to be read in the Churches, but yet not to be produced for the confirmation of the Faith.

4. Of how little esteem custom ought to be,§12. Epist. 74. Pompeio. if not founded upon truth, he pithily shews in that short sentence; Consuetudo sine veritate, vetustas erroris est: Custom without truth is but mouldy errour. In vain therefore, saith he,Epist. 53. § 11 ad Jubai­anum. do some that are overcome by rea­son, oppose or object custom unto us, as if custom were greater than truth; or that in Spirituals were not to be followed, which for the better hath been revealed by the Holy Ghost. Again, if Christ alone must be heard, as Matth. 17. 5. we ought not to heed what another before us thought fit to be done,Epist. 63. § 11. Caecilio. but what Christ, who is before all, first did. Nei­ther ought we to follow the custom of man, but the truth of God.

5. He understands by Tradition, nothing but that which is delivered in the Scripture: Let nothing be innovated, saith Stephen un­to him,Epist. 74. § 2. Pompeio. but what is delivered. He replyeth, whence is this Tradition? whether doth it [Page 298] descend from the authority of the Lord, and the Gospel, or doth it come from the Apo­stles Commands and Epistles: for those things are to be done, that are Written:—If therefore this (speaking of the Rebap­tization of Hereticks, or receiving them into the Church only by imposition of hands, which later was Stephens opinion against Cyprian) be either commanded in the Evan­gelists, or contained in the Epistles or Acts of the Apostles, let it be observed as a Divine and Holy Tradition.

6. That the Baptism of children was then received and practised in the Church; and that performed by aspersion, as valid as that by immersion. This, saith he, was our sentence in the Council,Epist. 59. § 4. ad Fidum. that none ought by us to be kept back from baptism, and the grace of God, who is merciful unto all. Now seeing this ought to be retained and observed toward all, then we think it is much more to be observed about even Infants and such as are newly born.—Neither ought it to move any one that the sick are sprinkled or have water poured on them, seeing they obtain grace of the Lord.—it appears therefore that sprinkling also obtains even as the Salutary Laver: and when these things are done in the Church, where the faith both of the giver and receiver is sound, all things may stand, be consummated and perfected, with or by the Majesty of the Lord and truth of Faith. Concerning which opinion of his Augustine thus speaks;Epist. 28. Hieronymo. Beatus Cyprianus non aliquod decretum condens novum, sed Ecclesiae fidem firmis [...]imam servans, ad corrigendum eos [Page 299] qui putabant ante octavum diem nativitatis non esse parvulum baptizandum, non carnem, fed [...]imam dixit non esse perdendam, & mox natum [...]itè baptizari posse, cum suis quibusdam coëpi­scopis censuit.

7. That Devils were cast out in his time.§ 12. itē. de vanit. idol. Be ashamed (saith he unto Demetrian) to worship those Gods,§ 4. whom thou thy self must defend.—Oh, that thou wouldst but hear and see them, when they are adjured by us, and tortured with Spiritual scourges, and by the torments of words are cast out of possessed bodies, when wailing and groaning with humane voice and by Divine Power feeling whips and stripes, they confess the judgment to come. Come and know the things we say to be true—thou shalt see us to be intreated by them whom thou intreatest, to be feared by those whom thou adorest: thou shalt see them stand bound under our hand, and being captives to tremble whom thou dost honor and rever­ence as Lords. Certainly even thus maist thou be confounded in these thine errors, when thou shalt behold and hear thy gods at our demand forthwith to bewray what they are, and although you be present, not to be able to conceal their sleights and fal­lacies.

8. The various operations of the three per­sons in the Trinity,Tract. de bapt. Christi. § 6. are thus elegantly descri­bed in the book of the Cardinal works of Christ. In this School of Divine Mastership, it is the Father that doth teach and instruct; the Son that doth reveal and open the hidden things of God; the holy Spirit that doth [Page 300] replenish and endue us. From the Father we receive Power from the Son Wisdom, from the holy Spirit Innocence. By the Fa­ther is given us eternity, by the Son confor­mity unto his image; by the holy Spirit inte­grity and liberty; In the Father we are, in the Son we live, in the holy Spirit we move and go forward.

9. Of inadvertency in Prayer;Tract. de orat. Dom. § 22. what slothfulness is it, saith he, to be alienated and drawn away with foolish and profane thoughts, when thou art praying unto the Lord? as if there were some other things that thou oughtest to think on, then that thou art speaking with God. How dost thou desire to be heard of God, when thou hearest not thy self? wilt thou have the Lord to be mindful of thee when thou prayest seeing thou art not mindful of thy self? this is, not wholly to beware of the enemy; this is, when thou prayest unto God, to offend with the negligence of prayer the Majesty of God; this is, to watch with the eyes, and sleep with the heart; whereas a Christian ought, even when he sleeps with his eyes, to have his heart waking.

10. He doth most Rhetorically upbraid the slothfulness and sterility of the Lords people,Tract. de eleemosyn. § 19, 20. by bringing in Sathan with his sons of perdi­tion, thus speaking; I, for those, O Christ whom thou seest with me, have neither re­ceived blows, nor sustained stripes, nor born the cross, nor redeemed my family with the price of my passion and death; neither do I promise them the Kingdom of heaven, nor restoring unto them immortality do I call [Page 301] them back again to Paradise: And yet they prepare me gifts very precious, great and gotten with too much and long labor, &c. Shew me, O Christ, any of thine, admonish­ed by thy precepts, and that shall receive for earthly heavenly things, who bring thee such gifts:—By these My terrene and fading gifts (he means the Ethnick Spectacles) no man is fed, none clothed, none sustained by the comfort of any meat or drink; all perish in the prodigal and foolish vanity of deceiv­ing pleasures, between the madness of him that sets them forth, and the error of the be­holders, —thou promisest eternal life to those that work, and yet unto mine that pe­rish, thine are scarce equal, who are honored by thee with Divine and Celestial rewards. Oh; my dear brethren, what shall we answer [...]nto these things?

11. Of Admission into the Church, thus. We (saith he) that must render an account unto the Lord,Epist. ad Cornel. 55. § 17. do anxiously weigh and sollicitously examine; those who are to be received and admitted into the Church: For some there are, whose crimes do so stand in the way, or whom the brethren do so stiffly and firmly oppose, that they cannot at all be received without the scandal and danger of many. For neither are some rotten shells so to be gathered, as that those who are whole and sound should be wounded; nor is he a profitable and advised Pastor who so mingles diseased and infected sheep with the flock, as to contaminate the whole flock by the af­flictation (afflictatione) of evil cohering: Oh, if you could (dear brother) be present [Page 302] here with us when these crooked and perverse ones return from schism, you should see what ado I have to perswade our brethren to patience, that laying asleep or suppressing the grief of their mind, they would consent unto the receiving and curing of those evil ones. For as they rejoyce and are glad, when such as are tolerable and less culpable do return; so on the other side they murmur and strive, as often as such as are incorrigible and fro­ward, and defiled either with adulteries or sacrifices (and after these things yet over and above proved) do so return unto the Church, that they corrupt good dispositions within: I scarce perswade, yet extort from the common sort, to suffer such to be admit­ted: and the grief of the fraternity is made the more just, because that one or other of those (who though the people did withstand and contradict, yet were through my facility received) became worse then they were be­fore, nor could keep the promise of repentance, because they came not with true repent­ance.

12. That the people had at that time a voice in the election of their Bishop or Pastor, even in Rome it self plainly appears in the case of Cornelius so chosen; yea that it was the use every where, is evident, by these words of his:Epist. 68. § 6 That (saith he) is to be held and observed diligently from Divine Tradition and Apostolical observation, which is held with us also, and almost through all provinces; that to the right celebrating of ordinations, the Bishops of the same province next unto that people over whom the Chief [Page 303] Officer is ordained, do convene or meet together; and that the Bishop be chosen in the presence of the people, who most fully know the life and conversation of every one. Again,§ 4. the people obeying the Lords Com­mands and fearing God, ought to separate themselves from a sinful overseer, nor to mingle themselves with the sacrifices of a sacrilegious Priest; seeing they chiefly have the power either of chusing such as are wor­thy, or refusing the unworthy. Which very thing we see to descend from Divine Autho­rity. And else where, speaking of Cornelius, and of his great modesty and humility when called unto the Office of a Bishop; he hath these words worth our notice;Epist. 52. Anton. §. 4. Non, inquit, ut quidam vim fecit ut Episcopus fieret; sed ipse vim passus est, ut Episcopatum coactus [...]ciperet. Et factus est Episcopus à plurimis [...] nostris, qui tunc in urbe Româ aderant, [...] ad nos literas honorificas, & laudabiles, & testimonio suae praedicationis illustres, de ejus ordinatione miserunt. Factus est autem Cornelius Episcopus de Dei & Christi ejus ju­dicio, de Clericorum penè omnium testimonio, [...] plebis, quae tunc affuit, suffragio, & de sa­cerdotum antiquorum & bonorum virorum c [...]llegi [...].

13. Of the interest of the people in the management of the affairs of the Church,Epist. 6. § 5. ad Presby­teros & Diaco [...]os. thus he. I determined, saith he, from the very beginning of my Bishoprick, to do no­thing by my private sentence, without your counsel, and the consent of my people: but when, by the grace of God, I shall come unto you, we will then handle in common [Page 304] those things which either have been done, or are to be done, as mutual honor requires. Again, to the same purpose: This agreeth with the modesty, and discipline, and the very life of us all,Ep. 14. § 2. that (many Bishops meet­ing together in one, the people also being pre­sent, unto whom even unto them honor is to be given for their faith and fear.) We should dispose of all things with the Religious care of Common Counsel.

14. Of the Original and rise of Heresies,Epist. ad Pu­pianū. 69. § 4. thus; Thence Schisms and Heresies have, and do arise, when the Bishop (who is one and set over the Church) is by the proud presumption of some contemned, and, a man honored with the dignity of God, is by men judged unworthy.An Exposi­tion hereof, See in the hist. of the Council of Trent. l. 2. By one Bishop, that he means one Bishoply Office (unus Episcopatus) appertaining alike unto all rightly called thereunto, appears from. Epist. ad Antonia­num. 55. § 16. & tract. de unitate Eccle­siae. § 4.

§ 6. These and many the like excellent passages are to be found in the writings of this eminent Father; Yet was not the beautiful face even of this man without its blemishes; though they were fewer then are to be ob­served in most of the Ancients; and, those that were, for the most part so small, that they may not unfitly be called rather frec­kles and morphew that do detract but little from his great worth. Such as were some hard expressions that fell from his pen; either through in advertency and want of caution; or because they were in those times common­ly [Page 305] made use of, perhaps harmlesly then, but abused in after ages by those, who (to pal­liate their errors with a shew and pretence of Antiquity) strained them higher, and wrest­ed them to another sense, then the innocent Authors intended in them.

Of this kind are the following instances.

1. Concerning free-will;Ep. ad Cor­neliū. 55. § [...] Test. ad Quirin. l. 3. § 5 [...]. Ep. 7 [...]. § 5. which in di­vers places he seems to assert: he some other where seemingly crossing himself, speaks the contrary. e. g. God, saith he, remunerates with the reward of paternal piety, what­soever he himself hath performed, and honors that which he himself hath wrought in us.Ep. 2. § 2. Again, 'tis of God, I say, 'tis of God, (saith he) all that we can: thence we live, thence we have our strength.

2. He ascribes too much unto good works,Tract. de Eleemosyn. § 1. particularly unto alms; by which, he saith, the defilement contracted after baptism, is washed away; but that the sins preceding conversion are purged by the blood of Christ. Which yet he may be conceived to have ut­tered in a declamatory way:Goulart. in notis. n. 3. and is to be understood here (and throughout this whole treatise) of works as conjoyned with or ac­companying Faith.

3. He attributes remession of sins to our satisfaction,Tract. de lapsis. § 1 [...] ▪ wherewith, saith he, God is to be appeased: but of this a tolerable interpre­tation may be made; the word satisfaction be­ing▪ Catachrestically taken, for the repentance and confession of the Lapsi, wherewith the Church was satisfied,Goulart. in n [...]tis. n. 6 [...]. whereupon they were [Page 306] again admitted unto communion. And that they might the more commend unto men those Ecclesiastical Rites;Chemnit. examen. part. secund. cap. 10. the Ancients by little and little in their exhortations unto the people, began to speak hyperbolically of them, as, that pardon of sin and reconcilia­tion were this way obtained: upon which ground, those passages of satisfaction and alms, fell inconsiderately (saith Chemnitius) from the pen of Cyprian.

4. He too eagerly and even superstitiously urgeth the mixture of water with wine in the Eucharist,Epist. 63. because water and blood came out of the side of Christ;Chem [...]i [...]. in exam. part. secund. c. 9. True it is, that in the primitive times, the custom was in many Churches (that they might Celebrate the Lords Supper with the greater sobriety) to temper the wine with water: at length some went so far (so did the Aquarii, who had thence their name, quòd aquam offerunt in poculo Sacramenti) as to make use of wa­ter only,August. de haeres. c. 64. whom here Cyprian justly repre­hends; though yet he urgeth the mixture of both too vehemently and upon too slender grounds. Had he left it as a thing indiffer­ent and not pressed it as necessary (for which Chemnitius justly blames the Council of Trent) it needed not to have been ranked among his errors.Ubi supra.

5. He seems to allow of the admission of Infants or those not come to years of di­scretion, Tract. de [...]apsis § 20. unto the Lords Supper; (its like to have been the common error of that time) as appears by the story he relates of a young Girl, who had been partaker of the Idol Sacrifices: Afterward coming with her [Page 307] mother unto the Christian Assembly, puella mixta cum sanctis (to give you his own words) precis nostrae & orationis impatiens, nunc ploratu concuti, nunc mentis astu coepit fluctuabunda jactari, & velut tortore cogente, quibus poterat indi [...]iis, conscientiam facti in simplicibus adhuc anuis (facinus enim com­missum tam loqui & indicare non potuit, quàm nec intelligere prius potuit, nec arcere) rudis anima fatebatur. Vbi verò solennibus ad­impletis, cali [...]em diaconus offerre praesenti­bus coepit, & accipientibus caeteris locus ejus advenit; faciem suam parvula instinctu Di­vinae Majestatis avertere, os labiis obturau­tibus premere, calicem recusare. Perstitit [...]men Diaconus, & reluctanti licet, de Sacra­mento calicis infudit. Tunc sequitur singul­ [...] & vomitus. In corpore & ore violato Eucharistia permanere non potuit. Sanctifi­catus in domini sanguine potus, & de polu­tis visceribus erupit; tanta est potestas Do­mini, tanta Majest [...]s. The necessity of this and the other Sacrament he seems to con­clude from. Iohn 3. 5. Except a man be [...]orn of water and the spirit, he cannot en­ter into the kingdom of God; And, Ad Q [...]irin. l. 3. § 25. I [...]hn 6. 53. Except ye eat the flesh of the Son if man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

6. But the greatest errour to be noted in him, (which yet, oh how small, in compa­rison of some in many other of the ancients) was that about rebaptization,In orat. de lect. pa [...]ru [...] ante loc. com. by Chemnitius too harshly called a fundamental errour: Ha [...], inquit, errorem in fundamento. His [Page 308] judgment was this, that those who having been baptized by Hereticks, did forsake their Heresies, and return unto the Church, were to be received by Baptism. In this opinion many Bishops,Bin. Tom. 1. concil. not of Africa only, but of A­sia also, consented with him: about which, there having been three Councils convened at Carthage; in the third (wherein Cyprian was President) it was agreed in the affirmative, upon this ground chiefly, because they thought the Baptism of Hereticks to be a nul­lity.

Great was the contest between the African and Western Churches about this controver­sie:Epist. ad Pompeium contra Steph. Epist. 74. § 1. these latter holding with the Bishop of Rome, that Hereticks returning unto the Church, were to be received only by prayer and imposition of hands: wherein they are to be conceived no less erroneous than the former; for that they allowed the Baptism of all sorts of Hereticks,Bin. concil. tom. 1. ca [...]. 19. without making any distinction between them: whereas, not long after in the Council of Nice, if any one flie unto the Catholick Church from the Paulia­nists (meaning the Samosatenians,Hieronym. advers. Lu­cifer. dialog. August. de Haeres. cap. 44. called by either name from the Author Paulus Samo­satenus) and Cataphrygians, it is ordained or decreed that they ought altogether to be rebaptized. The reason was, because these Hereticks holding Christ to be none other than a meer man, they baptized not in the name of Christ; and so the substance and true form of Baptism not being retained by them, it was adjudged to be no Baptism. And in­deed whoever is baptized by such an Heretick as openly denies the Holy Trinity, ought to [Page 309] be rebaptized:Osian. Epist. cent. 3. l. b. 2. cap. 13. so that it was the errour of Stephen, and those who joyned with him, that they excepted not such Hereticks as these; as Cyprian erred in excepting none.

But Stephen, though he were little less er­roneous than Cyprian herein, yet did he differ much in his disposition and carriage:Epist Fir­mil. ad Cypr. 75. § 21. for ac­cording unto his hot and cholerick temper, he declared publickly against Firmilian Bishop of Cesarea in Cappadocia (of Cyprian's opini­on) and excommunicated all those that dis­sented from himself. Contrariwise, Cyprian discovering herein the mildness of his spirit, thus bespeaks his colleagues in the Council of Carthage: (Ierom in commendation of him,Advers. Lu­ciferian. cites two passages of his to the same purpose, the one ex Epistolâ ad Stephanum Episcopum Romanum: the other ex Epistolâ ad Iubaia­num: In the former his words are these, Quâ in re, inquit, nec nos vim cuiquam faci­mus aut legem damus; cum habeat in Ecclesiae administratione voluntatis suae liberum arbitri­um unusquisque praepositus, rationem actus sui Domino redditurus.)Bin. Tom. 1. concil. It remains, saith he, that we produce what each of us thinks con­cerning this thing, judging no man, or re­moving any of another judgment from the right of Communion: for none of us makes himself a Bishop of Bishops, or with tyran­nical terrour drives his collegues to a necessity of obeying: seeing every Bishop hath a pro­per judgment, according unto his own liber­ty and power; as, who cannot be judged by another, seeing that he himself cannot judge another. But we all expect the judgment of our Lord Jesus Christ, who only and alone [Page 310] hath power of preferring us in the Govern­ment of his Church, and of judging our acti­ons.See de [...] contra Do­natist. lib. 5. cap. 17. Oh how much is Augustin taken and delighted with the peaceableness, charity and moderation of Cyprian herein, for which he greatly admires and commends him.Ibid. lib. cap. 18. And, saith he, the Lord therefore did not discover this truth unto him, that his pious humility and charity in wholsomly keeping the peace of the Church, might be the more open and manifest, and taken notice of as a remedy, not only by the Christians of that time, but also by posterity, &c.

Moreover, let me add (as making much to his praise) that he was not obstinate in his errour; for as he was learned and skilful to teach oth [...]rs, so was he also docil and pat [...]ent to learn of others:Ibid lib. 2. [...]. 4 [...]. 4. cap. 5. which I doubt not, saith Augustin, he would have demonstrated, had he discussed this question with holy and learned men. Yea, saith he, perhaps he did correct his errour, but we know it not: for neither could all things, which at that time were done among the Bishops, be committed to memory and writing; nor do we know all things that were so committed.Epist. 48. Again, we do not find, saith he, that he corrected his errour; yet may we imagine not incongru­ously of such a man, that he did correct it, and that it was perhaps suppressed by those who were too much delighted with this er­rour, and were unwilling to want so great a patronage. And this hath been by some so far charitably believed, that they have plainly af­firmed so much, that he did, being convinced by the Orthodox, renounce his errour herein: [Page 311] so Bede, In vitâ Cy­prian. quoted by Pamelius, Supplement, Bergomens. Platina in vitâ Lucii: Scaliger in Elench. Ad an. 258. § 51. Trihaeres [...]i Nicolai Serari, cap. 31. And Baronius, who tells us that none can justly doubt of it, seeing both the Eastern and We­stern Churches have always used to celebrate the Birth Day of the Martyr Cyprian. Brief­ly, either he was not,Epist. 48. saith Augustin, of the opinion that you the (Donatists) report him to have been of, or he afterward correct­ed it by the rule of truth, or else he covered this (quasi naevum) spot as it were of his white Breast,Ubere: velo saith Doctor Gaude [...]. in his Suspiria Eccles. Anglican. lib. 3. c 13. with the pap or veil of charity; while he most copiously defended the unity of the Church increasing through the whole world, and most perseveringly detain'd the bond of peace.

§ 7. As touching his Martyrdom,Pontius in vitâ Cypr. it is recorded, that upon his first entrance into Cu­ [...]ubis (the place of his banishment) it was revealed unto him in a Vision (whereof he had divers,Epist. 69. § 8. and attributed much unto them) that upon that same day in the year following he should be consummate and crowned;Pamel. in vi­tâ ejus. which accordingly fell out: For being by Galerius Maximus (who succeeded Paternus in the Proconsulship) recalled from his banishment,Paul. Dia­con. in pass. Cyprian [...]. Pamel. [...] ejus he according unto the Impe­rial Edict, abode a while in his own Garden; from whence, being certified that certain Of­ficers were sent to bring him unto Vtica (a famous Town not far from Carthage) he withdrew for certain days,Epist. 83. § 1. by the perswasion of his dearest Friends, unto whom herein he consented, and, as himself saith, not with­out [Page 312] just cause; for that it is meet a Bishop should in that City wherein he is set over the Lord's Church, there confess the Lord, and so make the whole people famous by the con­fession of their present Overseer: for whatso­ever in that moment of Confession, the Con­fessour Bishop speaketh, God inspiring him, he speaks with the mouth of all. If it should be otherwise, the honour of our so glorious a Church shall be maimed, &c. Here there­fore lying hid, we expect the coming of the Proconsul, saith he, returning unto Carthage, that we may hear what the Emperour shall command, and speak what the Lord shall give in that hour. Accordingly there came suddenly (upon the Ides of September) two Apparitours to bring him before the new Prò­consul Galerius; Pamel. in vi­ [...]â. but being put off till the next day (the Lord so willing that he might dispose of the affairs of the Church) he was brought then into the Court of Judgment, where he received this sentence, that having been the Standard bearer of his Sect,Pontius in vitâ ejus. Paul. Dis­con. in pas­sion. Cypr. and an Enemy of the gods, and one that would still be an example unto his own, refusing to of­fer sacrifice, It is my pleasure, saith Galerius, that he be beheaded. Which Sentence being passed, he was led away unto a certain place called Sexti, about four miles (six saith Baronius) from the City,Ad an. 261. § 22. a great multitude following him, and crying, Let us die toge­ther with the Holy Bishop. Being come un­to the place, he submitted himself unto the stroke of the Sword, by which his Head being severed from his Body, he changed this frail for an eternal life, being the first of [Page 313] the Bishops of Carthage that sealed the truth with his blood.Pamel. in vi­tâ. He suffered under the Em­perours Valerian and Galerius, anno Christi, 259.

The Carthaginians did so highly honour,Niceph. lib. 17. cap. 12. and had him in such veneration, that they e­rected unto him a most magnificent Temple, and kept a yearly Festival in memory of him, which from his name they call Cypriana: as Mariners do also a certain storm that usually falls out about the same time.

Lactantius.

§ 1. LVcius Caelius was his name,Scultet. in Medull. cent. 4. cap. 10. unto which his eloquence gained him the addition of Lactantius, from his milky and smooth kind of speaking: as his Country that of Firmianus, being an Italian by Birth,Ad an. 302. § 61. in ap­parat. Magnin. in Geograph. in Ital. num. 15. (not an African, as Baronius and Posseviue imagine, because he was the Scholar of Arnobius that was so) of the Province called Picenum of old, but afterward by the Lombards, Marchia Anconitana, from the chief Town therein,Heylin. Geo­graph. Ancona: as also Mar­chia Firmiana, from the strong Town Firmi­um, heretofore the Head City of the Piceni, which Country is a part of the Land of the Church under the Government of the Popes of Rome. Some do contend that he was of the German Race;Winpeling. in Epitom. rer. German. cap. 10. and that at this day there is a Family not obscure among the Germans, which, bearing the name of the Firmiani, do boast themselves to be the posterity of Lactan­tius: but the general consent of Authors shews this to be but a vain conceit.

He was at first the Scholar of Arnobius, Hieronym. in catalog. Professour of Rhetorick at Sicca in Africa; as also some time at Rome, where Lactantius heard him, and profited much in the study of eloquence; who also instructed him in the [Page 315] Christian Religion, which it seems, he had embraced before he came into Bythinia; whither, under Di [...]olesian the Emperor, he was called, unto the City of Nicomedia, wherein for some while he professed the Art of Rhetorick, whereof he had been a learner before. But being a Latine in a Greek City,Hieronym, in catalog. his auditory grew thin, so that he was de­stitute of hearers: hereupon laying aside the work of teaching he betook him unto his pen and fell to writing; being provoked unto, and put upon it by a couple of im­pure and foul-mouthed Philosophers,Lib. Institut. 5. c. 4. who either of them had belched out their books, against both the Religion and name of Chri­stians.

He was at length in France made Tutor unto Crispus, Hieronym. in catalog. Trithem. de script. the son of Constantine the great (and his great friend) who committed him for his breeding unto the c [...]re of Lactan­tius; an evident argument both of his fame and faithfulness.

§ 2. He was a man of great Learning,Osiand. epito. cent. [...] script. eccles. de temp. c. 9. [...] eruditione clarus; abundanter [...], inqui [...] Trithemius: a very grave Au­thor, saith Hospinian; one notably skilled [...] the Art of Rhetorick, and in all Philosophy; having diligently perused the writings of all sorts of Humane Authors,Cent. 4. c. 10. as his books do suf­ficiently testifie in which he omitted almost [...]one of any science, or Profession, whose te­stimony he made not use of: and so excelled in [...]loquence of speech,Scultet. in medull. that therein he was judg­ed to be superior even unto his Master Arno­lius, who yet was of chief note among Ora­tors. [Page 316] He is for this cause often stiled Orat [...] disertissimus, Chron. Ber­ [...]om. the most eloquent and elegant Lactantius, who among the Latines especi­ally added Ornament unto Christian Do­ctrine; the very top, and most eminent of the Latine Rhetoricians: & in Divinis Scri­pturis nobiliter institutus. Trithem, de script.

His great abilities he notably improved for the publick good;Possevin. in apparat. for though he were somewhat defective in the inward knowledg of Divine Mysteries, and far inferiour unto many others for his skill in delivering and confirming the Doctrine of Christianity; yet was he a stout Champion for the truth and gave good testimony of his zeal thereunto in opposing with all his might the adversaries thereof; for which work he was excellently furnished, having such a dexterity herein, that he easily refuted and overcame them. Vtinam, Ep. ad Pauli­num. 13. inquit Hieronymus, tam nostra con­firmare potuisset, quàm facilè aliena destruxit. For observing the Christian Religion to be destitute of those that should eloquently de­fend it, the opposers of it being such, I, saith he, undertook this task; being grieved with the sacrilegious writings which they published;Instit. l. c. 4 and stirred up hereunto with their proud impiety, and conscience of the truth it self: that so with all the strength of my wit, I might reprove the accusers of righteousness: not that I might write against them, who might have been confounded in few words; but that I might at once, by one assault, put to flight all those, who every where do, or have undertaken the same work. A most laudable enterprise, wherein as he [Page 317] manifested no small love unto the truth in at­tempting it, so did he manage it with no less dexterity; for which he hath been de­servedly famous in the Church of Christ unto this day: His challenge that he makes of all the Heathen is remarkable.Instit. l. 5. cap. 20. Si qua, inquit, [...] fiducia est vel in philosophiâ, vel in eloquen­tiâ, arment se, ac refellant haec nostra; si pos­sunt, congrediantur comminus, & singul [...] quae (que); discutiant. Decet cos suscipere defen­ [...]onem Deorum suorum, ne si nostra invalue­rint, ut quotidie invalescunt, cum delubris [...], ac ludibriis deserantur.—Procedant in medium Pontifices, seu minores, seu maximi flemines, augures, item reges, sacrificuli, qui (que); sunt sacerdotes & antistites religionum. Convo­cent nos ad concionem, cohortentur nos ad su­scipiendos cultus Deorum, persuadeant multos esse, quorum numine ac providentiâ regantur [...]nia, ostendant origines, & initia sacrorum, ac deorum, quomodo sint mortalibus tradita, qui sons, quae ratio sit, explicent, proferant, quae [...]rces in cultu, quae poena in contempta maneat, quare ab hominibus se coli velint, quid illis, si beati sunt, humana pietas conferat. Quae [...]mnia, non asseveratione propriâ, (nec enim [...]let quicquam mortalis hominis authoritas) sed divinis aliquibus testimoniis confirment, ficuti nos facimus.—Doccant isti hoc modo, si qua illis fiducia veritatis est, loquantur, au­deant, inquam, disputare nobiscum aliquid ejusmodi, jam profecto ab aniculis, quas [...] con­ [...]emnunt, & à pueris nostratibus error illorum ac sultitia irridebitur, &c.

§ 3. Of the books that he wrote, many [Page 318] have been devoured by time, which hath left scarce any thing of them remaining be­sides the names, of which I find men­tioned,

1. His Symposium or banquet, which he wrote in Africa, Hieronym. in catalog. Cent. 4. c. 10. de script. Eccles. while he was but a youth in the Schools; or (say the Centurists) unto the youths of Africa: and (as Trithe­mius hath it) in Hexameter verse.

2. [...], or his journey from A­frica unto Nicomedia, Hieronym. in Catalog. in Hexameter verse: (this shews him to have been also an excel­lent Poet) of which I conceive Damasus is to be understood,Ep. 124. in­ter Hierony. Epist. (if not rather of his Epistles or of both) who gives us an ac­count of the number and nature of them; thus: I confess unto you that those books of Lactantius which you sent me of late, I there­fore willingly do not read, because in them many Epistles are extended unto the space of a thousand verses or lines,See Riccard. Vincent. in notis in Can­tacuzen. in Cantic. and they do rarely dispute of our Doctrine: whence it comes to pass, both that their length begets a loathing in the Reader, and, if any be short, they are more fit for the Schools then for us, disputing of verse or meeter, of the Situation of Regions or Countries, and Phi­losophers.

3. His book, which he Entituled Gram­maticus.

4. Ad Asclepiadem, lib. 2. apud Trithe­mium, l. 1.Hieronym. in Catalog.

5. Of Persecution.

6. Four books of Epistles unto Probus.

7. Two books of Epistles unto Severus.

[Page 319] 8. Two books of Epistles unto Demetrian his Auditor or Scholar.

All these Ierom reckons up in his Cata­logue.In Ep. ad Gal. c. 4. He also make mentions of the eighth book of his Epistles unto Demetrian: so that it seems he wrote so many unto him: Unless we may suppose, that all his Epistles were gathered into one volume, which make up the number of eight books; whereof the two last (and so one of them, the eight) were un­to Demetrian.

9. His book of Paradise, in Hexameter verse;Trith. de Script. All these are lost and perished, none of them being now to be found.

Those that at this day are extant under his name, are these that follow, viz.

1. Seven books of Institutions, In institut. libris contra gentes scrip. fortissimè. Hierony. Ep. Par [...]m. 65. Cent. 4. cap. 10. Instit. lib. 1. cap. 1. Ad an. 302. § 60. against the Gentiles, which with an high and Heroick Spirit he wrote under Constantine the Great; for so he himself speaks; Hoc opus, inquit, nunc nominis tui auspicio inchoabimus Constan­tine Imperator maxime. Baronius calls them luculentissimos libros.

That which occasioned the writing of them was the cunning and calumniating books, especially of two great enemies of Christianity: the one whereof, professing himself a man of chief note among the Phi­losophers, wrote three books against the Christian Name and Religion; whom Ba­ronius supposeth to be Porphyrius, an Apo­state, who at this time excelled among the Platonicks, and set forth bitter Commentaries against the Christians; (which then no other Philosopher did.) And therefore [Page 320] by Cyril not unjustly stiled, the father of Calumnies.

The other, (being of the number of the judges, and one that was the principal Au­thor of the persecution then raised against the Christians, in the City of Nicomedia and whole province of Bithynia) wrote two books not against the Christians, lest he should seem enviously to inveigh against them; but unto the Christians, that he might be thought gently and with humanity to ad­vise them: which books he intituled, [...]: Baronius thinks his name to be Hierocles, a crafty fellow, concealing the wolf under the sheeps skin, that by his falla­cious title he might ensnare the Reader. To confute these, and to render the truth op­pressed with reproaches, more illustrious and shining with her own beauty, Lactantius un­dertook this Noble task of Writing his seven most excellent books of Institutions. Thus Baronius. in annal. ad an. 302. § 43. ad 61. Of which in general Lactantius himself thus speaks. Quanquam, inquit, Tertullianus can­dem causam plenè peroraverit, in co libro, cui Apologetico nomen est, tamen quoniam aliud est accusantibus respondere, quod in defensione aut negatione solâ positum est; aliud instituere, quod nos facimus, in quo necesse est totius doctrine substantiam contineri; non defugi hunc labo­rem, ut implerem materiam, quam Cyprian [...]s non executus est in eâ oratione, quâ Demetria­num, sicut ipse ait, oblatrantem at (que); obstrepen­tem veritati redarguere conatur. Loctant. In­stitut. Lib. 5. cap. 4.

Athanasius.

§ 1. HE was born at Alexandria, of vetuous and godly Parents,Athanasii omnino vita praelegenda est ab eo qui ejus scripta cum fructu cupit evol­vere. Possev. in apparat. and their only Son: From his very Childhood he gave good evidences of his to­wardliness and inclination unto piety and spi­ritual things. One thing especially as very remarkable, and presaging his future dignity and employment, is recorded by most Histo­rians concerning him, and it is this:Socrat. lib. 1. cap. 11. He with his play fellows in their childish sports, imi­tating those things that were done in the Church,Ruffi [...]. hist. lib. c. 14. was chosen by the rest for their Bishop: Who acting his part accordingly, baptized some of the boys, that had not been baptized before, according unto the due form of interrogatories and answers usually prece­ding Baptism; giving them afterwards divers exhortations and admonitions. All which, Alexander, then Bishop of that place, passing by at a distance beheld, and understanding by examining them how he had proceeded, con­cluded with his Presbyters, that what was done, though in childish simplicity, was va­lid, and that those Children ought not again to be baptized.

Alexander being moved herewith, and ha­ving sent for his Parents, earnestly besought [Page 340] and charged them that he should be carefully trained up in piety and learning for the service of the Church: which accordingly they di­ligently performed, delivering him unto a cer­tain Notary,Ruffin. hist. lib. 1. c. 14. who instructed him in the Gram­mar: After which he spent some small time in the study of the liberal Arts; lest he should seem to be altogether ignorant in this regard; which having lightly tasted and passed thorow, he is, as another Samuel, by his Parents ac­cording to their promise presented unto the Bishop: With him, being taken into his care and tuition, he applies himself wholly unto the study of divinity, most diligently perusing and meditating in the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, by which means he became deeply insighted into them: hereunto he added also the study of the Law, wherein he attained unto so much skill, that Sulpitius Severus speaking of him,Sac. hist. l. 2. gives him the Title of Iurisconsultus or a Lawyer.

For a while he lived with the Bishop as his Amanuensis or Scribe,In Epist. ad Epictet [...]. who afterward promo­ted him unto the Office of a Deacon, and from thence unto the rest of the sacred orders; all which he passed through, behaving himself in an admirable manner.

The Council of Nice, (so famous even unto this day, of which Athanasius thus speaks; Nulla (inquit) est in Catholicâ Ecclesiâ synodus existimanda preter unicam Nicaenam, quae om­nium haersi [...]v profligatarum ac imprinius Arianae trophaeum habenda est. In praesat. a [...]t. concil. Sardicens. And Binnius thus: Patrum hujus consilii autoritas erat orthodoxae fi­dei clypeus, impiorum terror ac luctus, ecclesia­rum nexus & quies.) This Council, I say, [Page 341] being called by the Emperor Constantine the Great, Alexander Bishop of Alexandria go­ing thither, takes along with him young A­thanasius, who was present not only as a spectator,Ruffin, hist. lib. 1. c. 14. but an assistant unto the Bishop, now grown aged, helping him much in re­futing the subtile Sophisms of the adversaries: wherein he gave a notable experiment of his Learning and Piety, which much endeared him unto the Orthodox, but made him from that time no less envyed and hated by the Arian Hereticks.

Alexander survived this Council but a little while, not above the space of five months: when he was upon his death bed, he would often call for Athanasius, who purposely ab­sented himself, being unwilling to undertake the charge of that Church, which yet the old Bishop had designed him unto, using such like words as these; Athanasius, thou think­est to escape, but thou shalt not: meaning hereby both the Bishoprick, and also the many and great conflicts that he should undergo:Ruffin. hist. lib. 1. c. 14. which were such, that an Historian applies unto him those words of Christ unto Paul; I will shew him how great things be must suf­fer for my names sake. Act. 9. 16.

Alexander dying, Athanasius is by the ge­neral vote chosen Bishop in his room;Possev. in apparat. being then about four and twenty years of age, so great was his proficiency in whatever qualifi­cations were requisite for that Office. This his Election by an Universal consent, is testi­fied by the Church of Alexandria in these words. We with the whole City and Pro­vince do testifie, that the whole multitude [Page 342] and people of the Catholick Church, being met together, and, as but of one body and soul, did with clamors and cries require that Athanasius might be given us for the Bishop of this Church; and that with publick pray­ers they desired this of Christ; which that we the Clergy would do, they earnestly besought us night and day, themselves in the mean time not departing from the Church, nor per­mitting us to depart. Whence it evidently appears how great the inclination of them all was unto him, and how honorable an opini­on they had of him.

He no sooner undertook this weighty charge, but forthwith he applied himself di­ligently, (and made it his main work) to il­lustrate the truth, to assert and vindicate the Doctrine of the Eternal Deity of the Son of God, and to reduce those into the right way again,Nihil sibi prius a [...]en­dum rati sunt Aria­ni, quàm ut Athanasium Ecclesi [...] submove­rent, qui semper eis velut murus obstiterat, quo re noto, reliquos in suam libidi­nem cessuros [...] Sever. lib. 2.who had been led astray,In 1 Ti [...]. digre [...]. l. 1. c. 17. being in­fected with the Arian Heresie: for which reason, that faction (conceiving that their cause could not thrive and prosper, while it had such an adversary in so eminent a place & dignity) became his implacable enemies, still contriving mischief against him, and endea­vouring his disturbance by multiplied ca­lumnies, and false accusations: So that, Ejus annorum quadraginta sex Episcopatus perpetua fuit persecutio, (inquit Espencaeus) exilium propè irremissum, fuga frequens, & latitatio diuturna. The truth here of may be seen in the following passages of his life.

His chief adversary was Eusebius Bishop of Nicomedia, who with his complices many ways assailed him, as,

[Page 343] 1. They cavilled at, and found fault with his Election, as undue; but that came to nought.

2. They traduced him unto the Emperor Constantine the Great, as one that caused di­visions and distractions in the Church, and hin­dered concord: the ground whereof was, his refusing to receive the Heretick Arius (a Pres­byter of Alexandriae) into Communion, whose return from banishment had been pro­cured by a certain Presbyter about the Em­peror, upon his fained submission and con­sent unto the Nicene faith. Hereupon the Emperor, (giving too much credit unto the party of Eusebius) wrote menacing letters unto Athanasius, threatning to remove him from his place in case he should persist to re­fuse Arius: But he by his Letters, gave full satisfaction unto the Emperor; shewing that such an Heretick having been proscribed and justly excommunicated by so famous a Coun­cil, ought not to be received again, but upon his repentance manifested, and by the publick consent of the pious. This not succeeding, his adversaries.

3. Proceeded to accuse him as a fomen­ter of sedition aiding with mony one Phi­lumenus, who enterprised somwhat against the Emperor. But he, coming unto Con­stantinople, cleared himself, and made his in­nocence so to appear, that the Emperor not only acquitted him from all suspicion of the crime objected unto him, but also honorably sent him back unto Alexandria, with letters of high commendation. Being thus disap­pointed, his restless enemies ceased not to [Page 344] charge him with more heinous crimes, unto which he made his answer in the Synod of Tyre consisting of sixty Bishops, who were con­vened for the consecration of a Magnificent temple which the Emperor had built at Hierusalem: In notis in conc. tom. 1. of which Binnius thus speaks: conciliabulum (inquit) & malignantium con­ventus; ad quod convocati sunt Episcopi dun­taxat illi, quos Eusebius & Eusebiani nefarii haeresiarchae advocandos persuaserunt. The Bishops being assembled, Athanasius is

4. Accused before them, by an impudent Harlot (whom the Arians had suborned) to have vitiated and abused her. But Ti­motheus, a worthy Presbyter, speaking unto her, as if he had been Athanasius; did I ever, saith he, enter into thine house, or had any thing to do with thee? Unto whom she pointing at Timotheus with her finger, thus replyeth with much eagerness; Thou, thou art he that hast abused me, and dispoiled me of my chastity; By which means the fraud being thus discovered, those of the con­spiracy were surprised with shame, yet not de­sisting;

5. They proceed to charg him with the Murther of one Arsenius, (whom they had conveyed away and hidden) sometime a Reader, or, as some, a Deacon in the Church of Alexandria; producing and shewing forth the arm of a man, which they pretended to be his, and to have been cut off and kept by Athanasius for some Magick uses. Upon the sight whereof there was a great cry among them against Athanasius for so abominable a fact. But silence being made Athanasius demand­ed, [Page 345] whether any one there present had known Arsenius? Unto which some answering af­firmatively he hereupon brings forth Arsenius (who had the day before come voluntarily unto Tyre, and shewed himself unto Athana­sius) and presents him before the Council sound and having both his Arms: whereat the Conspirators were so abashed and con­sounded, that they knew not what to say, only they cried out, that he was a Magician, and deluded the eyes of the beholders. Unto all which they yet add,

6. That Macarius a Presbyter of Alexan­dria being sent unto Mareotis to forbid one Isehyras or Ischarion, (who usurped the Office of a Minister) to Officiate or Admi­nister the holy things: He by the command of Athanasius (as they suggested) had over­turned the holy Table broken the Chalice, and burned certain Books; but the falshood hereof was soon made apparent; for Ischyras repenting,Bin. in notis in concil. tom. 1. Socrat. hist. l. 1. c. 3. publickly confessed that he had slandered him, being suborned by the Mele­tions, and enforced so to do: (these Meleti­ [...]s, so called from Meletius a certain Aegyptian Bishop were in this conspiracy confederates with the Arians.) Hereat being greatly enraged, they would have offered violence unto Athanasius, which to avoid, he went out of the Synod, and betook him unto the Emperor. Being gone, they sentenced him, [...]s guilty of the crimes laid to his charge, to be deposed from his Bishoprick; writing Letters unto the Bishops every where not to Communicate or have any Commerce with him. The famous Confessor Paphnutius [Page 346] Bishop of the upper Thebais, being now present in this Synod, and perceiving that they purposed to proceed against Athanasi­us, taking Maximus Bishop of Hierusa­lem by the hand; Arise, saith he unto him, and let us depart hence, for it is not meet that we who have had our eyes put out for the word of truth, should par­take with these wicked men, in their vio­lent proceeding against the defenders of true piety.

The Emperor understanding what had passed, was much incensed against those Bishops, and by his Letters sharply repre­hended them for what they had done, requi­ring them to appear before him at Constan­tinople: whither being come, they waving all former accusations, instil into the Em­perors ears, another foul slander against Athanasius, viz. That he had threatned to hinder the transportation of corn (as was wont) from Egypt unto Constantinople: which begat in the Emperor such indigna­tion against the Bishop, that without hearing he banished him into France unto the City of Triers (Galliarum metropolis, Banished the first time. inquit Athana­sius; Treviris, ad Mosel [...]ae r [...]ipam, olim (inquie Victorius) insignis Galliae, In Ep. ad so­lit. vitam agentes. nunc Germaniae im­perialis urbs) then belonging unto that Kingdom,In Schol. in Hieronym. epist. 6. but since unto Germany being now the seat of one of the Ecclesiastical Electors:Hist. tripart. l. 4. c. 2. & [...] ­than. in Ep. ad vitam solit. agent. although some conceive, that the Emperor did this for the safety of Athanasius, and in hope, that hereupon peace and unity among the Bishops would ensue.

[Page 347] Arius upon the banishment of Athanasius, Athan. de morte Arii. entring again into Alexandria, occasions new tumults there, which when the Emperour un­derstood, he sendeth for him unto Constantino­ple, requiring him by subscription to testifie his [...]onsent unto the Nicen faith: this he doth [...]ignedly. Hereupon the Emperour requires Alexander Bishop of Constantinople, to receive [...]im into communion: Who all night long by [...]arnest prayer beseecheth the Lord either to [...]ake him out of this life, or else to take away [...], lest by him this Church should be in­ [...]icted with his heresie. Arius, the next day [...]oming with a great company toward the Church, in the way turns aside to ease him­self, which while he was doing he burst asun­der in the midst like another Iudas, so that [...]is bowels came out, and dyed ignominiously [...]n the place, whom the Eusebians with shame [...]nough took thence and buried him. So pre­ [...]lent were the prayers of the good Bishop Alexander.

Shortly after this dyeth the Emperour Con­ [...]nti [...]e the great, leaving the Empire unto his three Sons, viz. unto Constantius the East, and the West unto the other two, Constans and Constantine. Before his death he had a pur­pose to recal Athanasius from his banishment,Hist. tripart. lib. 4. cap. 2. [...] being prevented he commits the doing [...]ereof unto his Son Constantine, which he ac­cordingly performed, sending him back with Letters recommendatory unto the Church of Alexandria, unto which he returned after he had been about two years and four Months in exile. But he held not his government qui­etly above three years, for (returning with­out [Page 348] out common consent, and the decree of the Bishops) he was by the Arians accused unto Constantius (infected with,Entituled by Binnius. Concilium Antioche­num primum sub Julio Pa­pa primo, ce­lebratum, in quo Ariani Athanasium de posue­runt, at (que) Gregorium Cappadocem substitue­ [...]nnt. concil. tom. 1. anno 341. and a great favour­er of that Heresie) and thereupon by the Sy­nod of Antioch, (wherein the Arian faction prevailed) consisting of ninety Bishops, a­gain deposed and one Gregory set up in his Room.

Athanasius now finding it not safe for him to continue in Alexandria, fled unto Iulius Bishop of Rome; who assembling the Western Bishops, sends him back with Letters testi­monial, and pressing his restitution: But up­on his return unto Alexandria, He flyeth a second time. a great tumult being raised by the Arians wherein some were slain, the blame hereof is cast upon Athanasius, and this seconded with other calumnies: which so enraged the Emperour Constantius a­gainst him, that he sent one Cyrianus a Cap­tain with many Soldiers to apprehend him: Withal, by his Edicts he required all his Offi­cers to make diligent search for him, promi­sing rewards unto any that should bring him alive, or else his head unto the Empe­rour.

Hereupon he is for [...]ed to hide himself;Hides the third time. which for sometime he did in a certain Well or Cave which was known unto none, save only to one of his familar friends, who sent him necessaries by a Servant who at length dis­covered him: But Athanasius having timely notice hereof, the same night wherein he should have been apprehended, betook him unto another place.And flyeth. Yet finding it not safe for him to remain in the dominions of Con­stantius, he fled into the West unto the Em­perour [Page 349] Constance, Quia conci­lium Sardi­cense Nicaenae tantùm fidei tutelam sus­cepit et quia Patrum u­triusque una suit senten­tia, una mens unus spiritus, semper ap­pendix tan­quam Nicaeni concilii fuit habita. who very honourably re­ceived him. Unto whom he makes a very sad complaint of the injuries offered him by the Arians, earnestly desiring him that a Synod might be called for the discussing of his cause. The Emperour hearkning unto him, obtains of his Brother that an universal Council both of the East and Western Bishops, should be convened at Sardica in Illiricum: Of which, Binuius thus; Concilium Sardicense, (inquit) [...] Nicaeni appendix, Binnius ib. Praefat. ant­concil. Sard. et a multis Nicaeni nomine umprehenditur. Sculte [...]us stiles it, pa [...]em Ni­ [...]enae Synodo. Where being assembled, the Eastern Bishops required,In Medul. that Athanasius and his sautors should he removed from the Coun­cil: Which being denied as unjust, the East­ern Bishops withdrew, and instituted an An­ [...]synod at Philopolis in Thrace, wherein the de­crees of the Council of Tyre against Athanasius were confirmed, the doctrine [...] concluded and agreed on, and Iulius Bishop of Rome, Hosius of Corduba, Maximinus of [...]riers, and divers others for receiving Atha­ [...]asius unto communion, were deprived of their Bishopricks. What was the issue of these cross Councils, appears in the following words. Ex contrariis decretis harum Synodorum ortum est [...]tron et diuturnum Schisma inter Orientales et Occidentales Ecclesias, Angeloc [...]at. in Ep. consi [...]. quod ante Gratianum et Theodosium Imperatores non desiit, ita ut invicem [...]n communicarent.

For on the contrary, the Council of Sar­dica, having heard Athanasius clearing his in­nocency, received him unto communion, con­demning his accusers: Withal they confirm'd the [...] Council, and de­creed, [Page 350] that such as defended the contrary thereunto, should not only be deprived of their Bishopricks, but also excluded from the so­ciety and communion of the faithful.

Constantius, notwithstanding the decree of this Council of Sardica, for the restitution of Athanasius unto his Bishoprick, refuseth to admit of him: hereupon his Brother; the Em­perour Constans writes him a short, but sharp Letter, threatning that if he should still per­sist to oppose and hinder the return of Atha­nasius, he himself would come with an Ar­my, and whether he would or no, restore him again unto his place. This so far prevailed, that Constantius yields, and again and again invites doubtful and delaying Athanasius to return, by divers letters written unto him, who at length hearkens and returns ac­cordingly.