I 
 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 AN 
 
 Important Inquiry ; 
 
 Or, the NATURE of a 
 
 Church Reformation 
 
 FULLYCONSIDERED: 
 
 Wherein is fhown, 
 From Serif ture> Reafon> and Antiquity 
 
 THAT T H 
 
 Late pretended REFORMATION 
 
 Was groundlefs in the ATTEMPT, an4 
 defe&ive in the EXECUTION. 
 
 Revifed and Corrected, with ample Additions, and an 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 Concerning COMMUNION under One Kind^ 
 
 Jn the Whole competing a Body of all the ma* 
 terial Points of CONTROVERSY. 
 
 The S E C O N D EDITION, 
 
 "i -in Out of iblnt cyjn mouth will I jxdge thee. 
 
 LUKE, c. xix. v. 22. 
 
 - Thiu baft fan prized irf. the ballance t and art founj 
 of weigh, 
 
 PA?J, c. v. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed in the Year M DCC LVIII.

 
 THE 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 /fN account of the prefent Edition. page ix 
 
 T&? Preface. xi 
 
 5T& Introduction, xvii, 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 f & /ntf Cburcb of Chrijl can never err in matters of 
 Faith - y and) therefore, an attempt on a Reformation- 
 of her was vain andgroundlefs. i 
 
 SECT. I. The Church's Infallibility proved from clear 
 Scripture. 3 
 
 SECT. II. Inferences from the Premifes^ confirming the 
 Catholic Dottrine of the Church's Infallibility, with 
 other collateral and rational Proofs fully confuting the 
 oppofition of her adverfaries. 1 3 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 The article of Spiritual Supremacy -, or, the being of a 
 vifible Head of the Church^ impartially confidered, and 
 fully proved. 22 
 
 SECT. I. The fupremacy of St. Peter, and his fuccejjors, 
 
 "proved from clear and pofttive texts of Scripture. 2 3 
 
 a SECT. 
 
 ! 149040!
 
 Jv The C O N T E N T S, 
 
 SECT. II. 1 he fupremacy further evinced, from reafonand 
 prejcriptive PoJfeJJion, in a continual fuccejjion of P aft or 5 
 from Si. Peter, cenftantly averting their prerogative} 
 find the oppofition proved to be dejiitute of every founda- 
 tion, either from Authority or Reafont 33 
 
 CHAP, in; 
 
 $* article of the Real Prefence of CHRIST'S Body and 
 Blood, in the bleffed Sacrament of the Eucharift, con- 
 fideredi. 39 
 
 SEC T.I. Tranfubjlantiation evinced from clear Scripture. 42 
 
 SECT. IL The article of the Real Prefence, and Tranfub- 
 ftantiation confirmed from the general fenfe of Antiquity ', 
 cr the unanimous teftimonies of the primitive Fathers. 57 
 
 SECT. III. fbe doctrine of franfubjtantiation further 
 evinced, from the weaknefs and insufficiency of the argu- 
 ments in the oppofition. 7 1 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 ffie article of the Sacrament of Penance conjidefed. 94 
 
 SECT. I. The Inflitution of the. Sacrament of Penance 
 proved from . Scripture and Antiquity ; and its benefit to 
 mankind, in his prefent State, enforced from the nature 
 of the Sacrament, and tur want of thefe means of 
 'mercy >, 101 
 
 CHAP, v, 
 
 
 
 6 $?:.:: :;;? the invocation of Saints and Angels. 
 
 SECT*
 
 The C O N T E N T S. v 
 
 SECT. I. The'Veneration and Invocation of Saints warrant^ 
 by Scripture, the holy Fathers, and Reafon. 128 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 The Honour of the Eleffed Virgin Mary offeried, and aft 
 extraordinary Veneration proved to be due to her. 145 
 
 SECT. I. The Blejfed Virgin Mary has undoubtedly been 
 privileged by Heaven with extraordinary prerogatives* 
 clearly expreffed in Scripture, which entitle her to ex- 
 traordinary honours i 148 
 
 SECT. II. The Prerogatives of the Eleffed Virgin, afore- 
 faid, lefpeak our fmgular Veneration of, and attach- 
 ment to her -, and render the extraordinary confidence we 
 repofe in her Inter ceffion, and tur Devotions to her, dif- 
 creet and regular. j 59 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 The Catholic article of Faith, concerning the law f nine fs of 
 venerating the Saints Relicks, and their Pictures and 
 Images, conftdered. 178 
 
 SECT. I. The Veneration of the Relicks of the Saints it 
 not contrary to the Word of GOD, nor to reafon ; and has 
 the warrant of Antiquity or primitive Practice, to plead 
 for it. 1 80 
 
 SECT. II. A profscution of the Subjeft, with a vindica- 
 tion of the primitive Fathers, as vouchers to this, and 
 
 every Catholic Doftrine occafioned from a late writer 
 
 calling their credit in quejlion, and rejecting their evi- 
 dence,. 189 
 
 SBCT,
 
 vi The C O N T E N T S. 
 
 SECT. III. The Veneration of Piftures and Images juflified 
 upon the af or ef aid principles* 200 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 Concerning the Article of Purgatory. AH 
 
 SECT. I. Purgatory ', and the Catholic practice of praying 
 for the Dead, proved from Scripture, R&afon and An- 
 tiquity. 2 1 3 
 
 SECT. II. T.be Queftion of Indulgences fairly Jlatcd, and 
 the meaning and intent of them fet forth in their true 
 light, and vindicated from the mifreprefentations, rail- 
 leries and calumnies of our Adversaries. 225 
 
 CHAP. IX. 
 
 fbe Catholic Church is as pure in her Morals as Jhe is 
 found in Faith ; Jhe is as Holy as Jhe is Orthodox: and 
 
 -t'Litvaf 
 
 therefore, the pretended Reformation is alfo, from this 
 head, unjujlifiable. 234 
 
 SECT. I. 'The Catholic Church has all the Marks or 
 Signs of being pojjejjjed of the means leading to Holinefs, 
 according to the Jlandard of the Gofpel; which the 
 Reformed Churches neither have, nor dare pretend 
 jo. 236 
 
 .SECT. II. The Catholic Church can prove her claim to the 
 
 Miraculous Powers -, the Reformed Churches has dif- 
 claimed them : therefore Jhe has this ajjured mark of her 
 Orthodoxy and aftual Holinefs, which they are dejlitute 
 f- 250 
 
 SECT.
 
 The C O N T E N T S. vii 
 
 SECT. III. The Church's Claim to the Miraculous Powers* 
 
 fince the Apoftolic age, further confirmed, and vindicated 
 
 'from the Jkeptical exceptions of the late Dr. Conyers Mid- 
 
 dleton in his treatife entitled, A free Enquiry, &c. 259 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 A review of the Premifes addrejjed to every Chriftian 
 Reader, who having his Salvation at heart, is really 
 in earneft in his fearch after the true Faith, or the af~ 
 fured means to fave his foul, and fubmitted as a di- 
 reftion to him in this important refearch with a Jbort 
 tomlufion, in a word of advice, particularly to the 
 Catholic reader. 281 
 
 A Word of Advice to the Catholic reader. 
 
 A N

 
 A N 
 
 Account of the prefent EDITION. 
 
 AT venturing to fend the following Effay, 
 <? fecond time abroad, I beg leave to 
 acquaint my courteous reader, that I 
 barely confined myfelf to the 
 amendments, it may have wanted, but 
 have alfo endeavoured to give it fome improvements, 
 by throwing in feveral material additiom into the 
 body of the work, and by annexing an appendix at 
 the clofe of it, which in the whole, makes a kind of 
 compleat JyftetR of controverfy. 
 
 1 N my jirft undertaking, I had canvaffed all 
 the fundamental points concerning faith, in regard 
 to which there is any controverfy fub/ijiing between 
 the PrQtejlant and Catholic Churches, and which 
 indeed, being fully fettled, might, I humbly appre- 
 hend, be fiifficient to put an end to all difputes be- 
 tween us and them. However, there being, alfo, 
 a point of difcipline about Cwnmunion under one 
 Kind, to which many make as great a demur \ as to 
 the controverted articles of faith -, / have therefore 
 in the Appendix thoroughly handled that fubjeci. 1 
 have tranjiently therein, as it fell in pertinently to 
 myfubjett, touched projcffedly on fome points, and in 
 the clofe of the controverfy have laid down fome gene- 
 ral rules and principles, ,as an explanation and vin- 
 dication of all tbg other practices of the Catholic 
 b Cburcb,
 
 X An Account of the prefent EDITION. 
 Church, and its whole fyftem of dif tip line. As all 
 fhefe, no doubt, jiand upon the fame bottom ; the 
 rules Ifoall offer will, I flatter my f elf, without en- 
 tering into a minute and drcumftantial dijcujjion of 
 each particular point , be Jound fufficient towards 
 refolding any difficulties or objections, that can be 
 made on thoje federal heads, and prove fatisfaftory 
 to every dijpajjionate and unprejudiced reader. 
 
 A'T lea ft, if the fir ft edition of my poor e?idea<- 
 vours for the fervice of my neighbour > in defence of 
 the Catholic caufe, divefted of prefent improvements, 
 was favourably received, I hope thefe will not be a 
 means of rendering the Second Edition lefs accep* 
 table. 
 
 THE
 
 T H 5 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 |^*>|(OLEM1C traces are become fo many 
 I*, P <*, and voluminous at this time o'day 
 
 fubje6l has been fo thoroughly dif- 
 cuffed, arid, in a manner, exhaufted, that a fur- 
 ther attempt on the topic may be deemed an acl; 
 of temerity and prefumption : but I conceive it to. 
 be with books as it is in regard to diet ; and fe- 
 veral elTays on a fubjec"l, like different cookeries 
 of the fame meat for different palates ; what is 
 unfavory to one man's tafte may relim with ano- 
 ther's, and a writing which is not agreeable tp 
 this perfon's way of thinking mayfympathize with 
 mine, and from thence will affect and pleafe ; not 
 for that it is better than what had been wrote be- 
 fore, but becaufe it feerns, as it were, to be my 
 own. 
 
 Upon this hazard I venture tp trouble the 
 Public with a few reflections on the old and 
 trite fubjecl: of the pretended Reformation, hope r 
 ing they may have the chance to 'coincide with 
 the thoughts of fome one elfe. If they meet 
 with this good fortune, and are of fervice to any 
 one, I mail have attained my aim, and the fum- 
 mit of my ambition'. 
 
 b 2 No\y
 
 xii' PREFACE. 
 
 Now, as often as I have ruminated on that 
 memorable event, the pretendedReformation, which 
 has been the caufe of fo great diviiions in Chril- 
 tendom within thefe two centuries and a half, it 
 has always appeared to me, That an examination 
 into this much-boafted performance, from the 
 nature of the thing, according to the mofl fimple 
 and precife idea of it, would be the readieft way 
 to trace its merits, and the mofl effectual towards 
 terminating all our differences: I conceive that 
 the point to be duly coniidered and thoroughly 
 weighed in this matter is, The natural purport or 
 meaning of a Church Reformation j what exigency 
 there was of one at the time the pretended Re- 
 formation was put up, and how that work has an- 
 fwered this fimple idea and the fuppofed exigency : 
 for, if the Church could and did ftand in need of 
 a reform at that epoch of time, and if the Refor- 
 mation attempted has anfwered that end to all in- 
 tents and purpofes, it then, no doubt, carries with 
 it its own merit, and every one muft be to blame 
 who does not come into it heartily and lincerely. 
 
 But, if it be proved that the pretence for the 
 late Reformation was vain, and the end, which 
 mould have been propofed by it, unanfwered j or 
 in a word, that it was groundlefs in the attempt, 
 and defective in the execution j then the abettors 
 of it ought to renounce their pretenfions to this ar- 
 rogated, unmerited title, and mould return back to 
 their Mother Church, from which they departed. 
 
 For, it is not the plaufible name of a thing 
 which mould tranfport us into a precipitate per- 
 fuafion of its being accompanied by merit. We 
 fee it often fall out in the mofl material events, 
 
 as
 
 PREFACE. xiii 
 
 as well as in the common occurrences of life, that 
 honorary names, take their rife from the moft 
 trifling incidents, or, at leaft, without any juft 
 recommendations to them. With refped to com- 
 mon life, it frequently happens that a military 
 title accrues to a man, and adheres to him as long 
 as he lives, from the meaneft fervices : a quack in 
 phyfic, and a mere pretender to the law, are 
 indifcriminately complimented with denomina- 
 tions, which, in juftice, are only due to the 
 heads of their profeffton. So, in the cafe lying 
 before us, there is not a fed: ever fo contempti- 
 ble, and even exploded by the more rational part 
 of the Reformation, but, as it derives its origin 
 from the fame caufe, and is grounded on principles 
 avowed by the whole body, in confequence there- 
 to affeds to be a member of it, and aflerts its 
 right to the pompous title. It is, therefore, merit 
 alone that can call for our attention, or mould, in 
 any degree, influence our judgment. 
 
 The merits, then, of the Reformation, are 
 ,what I prefume to take upon me to inquire into 
 in the following Sheets -, and, in venturing on this 
 undertaking, I beg leave to obferve, That I have 
 no particular National Church in my eye, "any 
 further than it may happen to difient from us in, 
 the refpedive tenets which may hereafter come 
 under our confideration ; nor, ftridly fpeaking, 
 car i be faid to attack the Reformation in ge- 
 neral : the Authors of this Religious Revolution 
 were the aggreffors, by declaring war againft us ; 
 or, rather, by revolting from their Mother Church : 
 the abettors of it, ever iinte, keep open the 
 breach, and iupport the quarrel; and therefore 
 
 fa
 
 xiv PREFACE. 
 
 ib often as we may feem to impugn them, we, in 
 fact, are only defending ourfelves. 
 
 Befides, to confider this matter in another light, 
 inafmuch as we might be glad (I fptakfeetemium 
 hominem, or according to the dictates of nature) to 
 have our Religion Iquare, as near as poffible, 
 with our temporal interefts, and the inclinations 
 of flem and blood, by enjoying one without de^ 
 parting from the duties of the other, it certainly 
 would highly concern us, in this refpect, to be 
 certified of the juftice of the Reformation, and 
 to be afcertained of the poffibility of falvation 
 within its precincts : For, temporal advantages, 
 and the contentments of nature, are fo evidently 
 on the Reformers fide, and the members of the 
 Catholic Communion are kept at fuch a diftanc* 
 from them, that a man muft be wholly blind to 
 his own intereft not to be inclined to give the 
 former the preference, if he could do it with equal 
 fecurity to his eternal welfare. For who, for ex- 
 ample, could be fuch a, fool to profefs himfelf, 
 within thefe realms, a member of a Church which 
 renders him obnoxious to the ftate, the object of 
 general fccrn and contempt, and lays him under 
 numerous difadvantages prejudicial to his fortune, 
 if motives of confcience did not retain him in it ? 
 Who, again, if his falvation could be infured to 
 him in the Proteftant Communion, which makes 
 the road to Heaven level and eafy, and throws ail 
 the thorny difficulties of Confefiion, Penance, 
 and Mortification out of the way, would not rea- 
 dily come into it, rather than toil to the xlefired 
 ferm thro' the craggy paths of innumerable felf- 
 
 denials
 
 PREFACE. xv 
 
 dehials and painful injunctions impofed on the 
 profeflbrs of the Catholic Faith ? An examination 
 therefore, into the merits of t&e Reformation, iSj 
 in fad:, no more than a rational inquiry, whether 
 it be fafe to conform to it or no ; or, at moft, it 
 is only fetting forth our reafons why i* appears to 
 us not to be fafe, and why we are held in the 
 old Religion, which we alTuredly believe to be 
 the Mother Church, poffefTed of the primitive 
 Faith eftablifhed by CHRIST, propagated by the 
 Apoftles, and, by an invariable tradition, in an 
 uninterrupted fuccefliori of lawful Paftors, handed 
 down to us ; and, by virtue of CHRIST'S indefea- 
 fible promife to his Church, as we mall fee here- 
 after) to continue the fame to the end of the 
 world. In a word, whatfoever I preiume to offer 
 on our behalf at prefent, or, whatfoever other 
 Catholic controvertifts have ever faid in defence 
 of the Church's doctrine, againft it's reforming 
 opponents, is no more than what we are enjoined 
 to do by the firfr. Vicar of JESUS CHRIST, and 
 vifible Head of his Church, St. Peter, who di* 
 reds us 'to be always ready to fatisfy every $ne 
 that fijketh you a reafon of that hope which is in you* 
 i Pet. iii. i 5. 
 
 I can't conclude this apology for my under- 
 taking without adding a word concerning the me- 
 thod I have purfued in the management of my 
 fubjec~l, which by fome may, perhaps, be judged 
 too loofe and declamatory for a Polemic Eflay ; 
 For this reafon I had entertained fome thoughts 
 of dividing the following controverfies into fo many 
 difcourfes -, but fmce, without giving it this altera- 
 tion,
 
 xvi PREFACE, 
 
 tion, I flatter myfelf that I have, under it's prefent 
 drefs amd chara&er, kept clofe to the dehgn of 
 my work, and ha^j conduced it thro' the whole 
 with tolerable method, regularity, #nd peiipicuity, 
 I hope it may have the chance of not being dif- 
 relimed as it is$ and that it may, moreover, prove 
 of fervice to my neighbour, in being edifying to 
 him and inftruH"e. If it be fo fortunate as to 
 meet with this defirable fuccefs, it is a matter quite 
 indifferent under what appellation it compares 
 it, whether as a Polemic Effay, or as Difcourfes. 
 Religion itfelf comprifes this double end, Refor- 
 mation and Information, to exhort as well as to in- 
 Jlrutt j and the fame ought to be every contro- 
 vertift's aim ; and therefore conviction is only one 
 part of his talk 5 for a fteril belief will avail no- 
 thing, fince the devils believe and tremble. St. Jam. 
 Ep. A belief operating by charity is a Chriftian 
 belief. 
 
 To exhort then, as well as to inftrudr, is the 
 plan I have had in view, and have endeavoured 
 to follow. But, after we have done all that lies 
 in our power, 'tis from Heaven we muft exped: 
 the fuccefs we wifh for j Paul planted, Apolle 
 'wateredy but GOD has given the increafe. I Cor. 
 iii. 6. 
 
 It is, therefore, from the Divine Mercy, that 
 I beg for myfelf and my reader the frefBng we 
 reciprocally have occalion for, viz. that what I 
 have now undertaken for his fake may be of ufe 
 to him, and that he may be favoured with the 
 grace to make his advantage of it. Amen. 
 
 THE
 
 THE 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 )e#8C HEN Luther rofe in open rebellion 
 * W * againft his Mother Church, and beat the 
 drum to a general revolt - t when, as he 
 
 himfelf made a boaft of, and the fad: is 
 not only confefTed, but has been magnified into 
 an ad of the moft heroic magnanimity by his ad-r 
 Jierents ever ilnce, when, I fay, he prefumed to 
 ftand alone againft the whole world, that is, 
 againft all the viiible prexiftent Churches upon 
 earth, in order to model one by his own whims 
 and fancies. The undertaking was fo daring, 
 that he was neceffitated to look out for the moil 
 plaufible pretences to give it the colour of a 
 {auction, and to obtain it a tolerable reception 
 from his own deluded profelytes. For though 
 the temporal revenues of the Churches and their 
 coftly ornaments for divine fervice, through the 
 indulgence of this new gofpeller, abandoned to 
 the difcretionary plunder of avaricious ilateihien 
 and wicked princes -, were fuch an agreeable 
 as they readily fwallowed, and were an eftecluaf 
 means of conciliating them to his intereft ; 
 
 a wide
 
 xviii The INTRODUCTION. 
 
 a wide field, opened to libertinifm, flattered the 
 paflions of other difTolute men, and gained them 
 eafily to his party ; yet the foberer paft of man- 
 kind was to be brought over by fome other ftra- 
 tagem ; none more fit to impofe on fimple unwary 
 minds, and the . well-meaning fort of people, 
 than a loud outcry againft errour and fuperftition, 
 and a fpecious attempt upon a godly Reformation. 
 The fcheme no doubt, was plaufible ; but yet 
 an old antiquated one, under a new name j a ftale 
 contrivance, praclifed by hereticks of every de- 
 nomination, and of all ages, from the very birth 
 of Chriftianity, who conftantly affected to infinuate 
 their errours under the cover of truth. 
 
 Truth is fo amiable, that its greateft enemies, 
 afhamed to appear in their own fhape, would 
 be thought to become its warmeft advocates : and, 
 indeed, a fearch after truth has always been the 
 great bufinefs of human underftanding, the pro^ 
 per employment of every rational man, and the 
 duty of a Chriftian. But then, this fearch, to be 
 ferviceable, ought to be tempered with three ef- 
 fential qualities: it muft be fincere, difinterefted 
 and difpaffionate j for want of thefe requifite qua- 
 lifications there are found many pretenders to, 
 truth, who deviate the wideft from it, whilft 
 intereft is their bias, and paflion their guide ; and 
 confeqwently their quefr after it unfincere and un- 
 fuccefsful. The moft extravagant opinions that 
 ever made their way into the world, and feized 
 mens minds, were ufhered in, and impofed 
 upon them, under the colour and m.aik of truth, 
 
 This
 
 The INTRODUCTION. xix 
 
 This has been particularly notorious in the nume- 
 rous religious innovations which have been made, 
 from time to time, in matters of faith, the re- 
 vealed truths. 
 
 Our BlefTed Lord foretold that this would come 
 to pafs, that falfe Prophets would appear, and 
 fuch as mould dare give themfelves out for 
 CHRIST himfelf; and he forewarned his Difsi- 
 ples againft the importers, by whom even the juft 
 would be in danger of being deceived. * 
 
 The Apoftles, within their own days, fa*w 
 their Bieffcd Matter's prediction verified in fome 
 degree, and bewailed the confequences of 
 it, the fedudion of many deluded fouls. But to 
 come to particular and known inftances; the 
 Church was no fooner blefled with a refpite from 
 a general bloody perfecution of above three hun- 
 dred years duration, when the Devil, envious of 
 its happinefs, and jealous of its future increafe 
 under that repofe, attempted to ftem its progrefs ; 
 not any more by open violence, and by innMgating 
 its avowed and profefled enemies againft it, as 
 before ; but by fomenting inteftine divifions, by 
 raifing falfe friends, and undutlful rebellious chil- 
 dren, to difturb its peace. The prophet fore- 
 boded and rued the evil, many ages before, crying 
 out, " 'The fons cf my mother have rifen up 
 <c againjl me." Cant. i. 6. 
 
 Arius was one of thefe concealed enemies, the 
 infttument to the Devil's malice, and an unna- 
 tural fon of the Church : he counterfeited a zeal 
 c 2 for
 
 x* the INTRODUCTION. 
 
 for truth, in order to pave the way for errour and 
 feduction ; he impugned the divinity of the Son of 
 GOD, and his confubftantiality to his father, by 
 impeaching the Catholic Doctrine of fabellianilmj 
 and under this difguife obtruded his own blafphe- 
 mies for the genuine faith of the Church. 
 
 In the enfuing century, NeftofiuSj copying the 
 former arch-heretic's hypocrify and profound dif- 
 fimulation, affected to be no lefs a zealot for truth 
 and a champion for the Church than the former, 
 that he might infmuate, lefs fufpe&ed, his pef- 
 tiferous errours againft the incarnation, in aflert- 
 ing a diverfity of perfons in JESUS CHRIST, and 
 render them the more plaufible : and the Euty- 
 chians, upon the foot of this hcrefy, and under 
 a pretended zeal of oppugning it, fell into the 
 oppofite extreme, by confounding the divine and 
 human nature* 
 
 Thefe inftances, to omit many others, are fuf- 
 ficient to make good my aflertion, That it has 
 been the avowed and uniform conduct of Here- 
 tics, of every ftamp, and of every age, to coun- 
 terfeit a zeal for truth, as a means to facilitate 
 their infmuating the moft monftrous errours and 
 abfurdities ; and therefore, as I further obferved 
 to our prefent purpofe, our modern innovators, in 
 fetting up a pretended Reformation within thefe 
 late daysj have only copied after their forefathers^ 
 all the Heretics of former times, and walked in 
 their footfteps. 
 
 This
 
 The INTRODUCTION. xxi 
 
 This perfect refemblance fubfifting between the 
 Reformation and the anathematifed herefies of 
 ancient times, muft, at leaft, be owned a ftrong 
 prejudice again ft it ; yet not the only one, nor the 
 moft material. 
 
 The fatal divrfions, which are known to have 
 prevailed within the precincls of the Reformation, 
 fince its firft eftablifhment, are another unan- 
 fwerable objection to the credit of it, and a per- 
 petual inherent difgrace; Variations in the expo- 
 fition of Faith, as the Bimop of Meaux judici- 
 oufly obferves, have been always looked upon as 
 a mark of falfhood ; and yet it is notorious, that 
 even the original feel: of the Reformation, under 
 the infpection and immediate direction of its 
 founder, was continually wavering and varying 
 in its fymbols or confeflions of faith j as may be 
 feen at length in the hiftory of the variations of 
 the Proteftant Churches, by the learned Bimop 
 juft mentioned. But the fundamental difagree- 
 ments in faith, which immediately broke out 
 among them, in the numerous heterogeneal feels 
 fpringing up, like fo many hydras heads, out of 
 Luther's revolt, and as different from one another 
 in their belief and terms of Communion, as they 
 were from their Mother Church, from which 
 they firft deferred, confirm our objection to the 
 credit of the Reformation, beyond a reply, Lu- 
 ther, 'tis well known, was the ringleader of the 
 rebellion : many, fond of novelties, flocked to 
 him, and lifted, at firft, under his ftandard ; 
 aiming at nothing more than barely making war 
 
 againft
 
 xxii The INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ttgainft their Mother Church at any rate: but 
 having now renounced their natural allegiance, 
 and caught the itch of innovating from their 
 leader they began to think themfelves as well 
 qualified as him for the talk, grew impatient of a 
 fiibjection x to a chief, and therefore foon revoked 
 from him, to put up their own colours; and 
 being thus divided into feparate bodies, became 
 the authors of different and .contradictory fyftems 
 of doctrine. A frightful idea of a godly Refor- 
 mation ! No, it cannot be imagined, it was not 
 pofiible that a work, fo inconfiftent with itfelf, 
 ihould be infpired and conducted by the Holy 
 Ghoft, and therefore it is certainly mifcalled under 
 that pompous title. 
 
 Again, the bad characters of thefe pretended 
 Reformers, their diflblute lives, and the motives 
 which engaged them in their revolt, viz. pride, 
 luft, and other inordinate paffions, as is well 
 known to every one the leaft converfant in the 
 hiftories of the late religious revolutions, is another 
 additional prejudice to the Proteftant caufe, and 
 a corroborative proof that the fpirit of GOD, which 
 breathes nothing but fanctity and truth, never 
 made ufe of, nor was aiding to fuch wicked in- 
 ftruments, for the propagation of his honour cr 
 the Reformation of his Church ; nor to have had 
 any hand in a work undertaken upon fuch corrupt 
 principles. For, how much foever the authors of it 
 may have given it out for the work of light, or 
 the purity of the gofpel, and obtruded it as fuch 
 on their deluded Diiciples, it appeared the con- 
 trary, in all^ its circumftances, to every unpreju- 
 diced
 
 The INTRODUCTION. xxiii 
 
 diced eye j the co-operation of the powers of 
 darknefs was vifible through the whole, and the 
 marks of untruth and ungodlinefs were evidently 
 ftampt upon it. 
 
 To make good this afTertion, we need only draw 
 a parallel between the authors of the Reforma- 
 tion and the Apoftles, the firft planters of Chrif- 
 tianity, as well as other minifters of GOD'S word, 
 indifputably allowed to be fuch, on other occa- 
 fions 5 and to weigh the manifeft difparity between 
 the merits and works of the one and the other ; 
 for, as it is faid, oppofites appear in their trueft 
 light, being confronted together. Firft then, 
 what the late pretended Reformers were, their 
 own avowed characters will beft declare; viz, 
 worldly, carnal men, uncommiffioned, with- 
 out marks of being divinely infpired; deftitute 
 not only of the gift of miracles, but of fanctity 
 of life, and common virtue, to gain credit to 
 their arrogated prerogative of becoming Apoftles : 
 apoftate friars, or diffolute priefts, wearied of ce-> 
 libacy and religious retirement, w'Ko fet out by an 
 open difobedience and rebellion againft the Church 
 and their fupreme and lawful paftors ; forwarded 
 their daring undertaking, and gained profelytes to 
 their opinions, by flattering mens paffions, and 
 by an avowed efpoufal of liberty : who, in mort, 
 under the fpecious pretence of reforming errours 
 and correcting abufes, broached novelties, intro- 
 duced immorality, and fupported it by principle. 
 
 And, who were the abettors of thefe irregular 
 proceedings ? ambitious princes, profefled liber- 
 tines,
 
 xxlv The INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tines, men of abandoned confciences, who found 
 their account in an unreftrained enjoyment of their 
 pleafures, by taking up with fuch indulgent, con- 
 defcending guides } and avaricious ftatefmen, who 
 plundered and ranfacked the Churches, and filled 
 their own coffers out of the fpoils. The cha- 
 racters I have here fet forth are neither feigned 
 nor exaggerated - 3 attefted facts, and the hiftories 
 of the late religious confufions, vouch to the 
 truth of them. Vtd. Heyjin's hiftory of the Re- 
 formation of the Church of England. 
 
 The conclufion from thefe pfemifes is the 
 direct proof of what I juft averred, That men of 
 fuch corrupt manners and principles were unlikely 
 perfons to be chofen by Almighty GOD for the 
 extraordinary calling of the Apofllefhip, and the 
 Reformation of his Church ; and that, on the 
 contrary, that boafled performance, coming from 
 fuch hands, ought to be looked upon no other- 
 wife than as an act of the greateft arrogance, and 
 a barefaced cheat and impoiture. 
 
 For whatfoever the advocates for the Reforma- 
 tion, no lefs idly than weakly, oppofe to thefe 
 invincible prejudices againil the authors of it, as 
 being unfit and unequal to fo great an undertaking; 
 thati Almighty GOD has, on occafions, drawn 
 good out of evil : this, being admitted in general, 
 can be of no fervice to the particular cafe of the 
 Reformation, but makes it only appear in a more 
 declining ftate, and is merely catching at a twig 
 to fave themfelves from finking. 
 
 Almighty
 
 The INTRODUCTION. xxv 
 
 Almighty GOD has, no doubt, on occafions, 
 thwarted the evil defigns of wicked men, and 
 drawn this good from them, to make them turn 
 out, not only contrary to their prefumptuous ex- 
 pectations, but even to their own confufion. 'Tis 
 a truth no one quertions. He has alfo, by his 
 juft judgments, and the fecret dilpolitions of his 
 impenetrable counfels, made ufe of one wicked 
 man or kingdom to puniih another j of which 
 both Holy Writ and ecclefiaftical and profane hif- 
 tory furnifh us with innumerable inftances. He 
 has alfo obferved the fame conduct in correcting his 
 difobedient children, to reclaim them to their duty. 
 Thus he ufed to chaftife his own chofen people the 
 Jews, by means of the Affyrians, and their neigh- 
 bouring enemies, (though idolatrous wicked peo- 
 ple themfelves) who were the occafional fcourges 
 to the Divine Juftice to punifh their infidelity, 
 and to bring them back to repentance. In the 
 like manner, fince the eftablimment of the law 
 of grace, he, from time to time, chaftifes his 
 Church by the means of external perfections and 
 inteftme divifions, to the end the faithful may 
 be proved, the unfaithful be known, and her 
 rotten members cut off from her. Our Bltffed 
 Lord himfelf foretold that fcandals would be, 
 and mentions it as an occalional, or a kind of ne- 
 ceflary evil, in order to feparate the cockle from the 
 'wheat ', the wicked from the good. And in a 
 word, by the fame extraordinary difpofitions of 
 his unfearchable Providence, we fee, oftentimes, 
 the wicked opprefs the juft for the exercife of their 
 d patience,
 
 yxvi The INTRODUCTION. 
 
 patience, that their juftice may prove more cbn- 
 fpicuous, their merit be encreafed, and Almighty 
 GOD glorified in their virtue ; which, no doubt, 
 are great bleflings refulting from fome evil. But 
 then, in all thefe inftances, where evil has pre- 
 vailed, it is evident that Almighty GOD'S Provi- 
 dence has been barely paffive, or permiffive, for 
 the feveral ends already alleged, and for other 
 hidden defigns of his impenetrable wifdom. 
 
 But I appeal to all hiftories, infpired, ecclefi- 
 aftical and profane, whether it was ever known, 
 from the beginning of the world to the time of 
 the Reformation, that Almighty GOD made ufc 
 of wicked men* as his chofen and immediate in- 
 ftruments for propagating the honour and glory 
 of his name, for the eftablifhing his Church, or 
 for the promulgation of truth and the abolishment 
 of errour : and I appeal to the fenfe of all man- 
 kind whether fuch a conduct feems fuitable to our 
 notion of an omnipotent, omnifcient and benign 
 Providence. The Pfalmift indeed fays, that Al- 
 mighty GOD is pleafed to receive his praifes from 
 the mouths of infants and fuckling babes. Pfalm viii. 
 v. 3. The Apoftle alfo obferves that He has, on 
 cccafions, chojen the foolijh of the world to confound 
 the wife, and the weak to defeat the jlrong. j Cor. 
 c. i. v. 27. But it is no where mentioned in Holy 
 Writ, that Almighty GOD made choice of the 
 impious as proper inftruments to bring about fuch 
 extraordinary events, or to co-operate with him 
 in his works of grace. And therefore, if no 
 
 inflancs
 
 The INTRODUCTION. xxvii 
 
 inftance can be produced till this renowned 
 epoch, of Amighty GOD'S acting in this manner ; 
 and if it be inconfifrent with our idea of his in- 
 finite wifdom and goodnefs ; why (hall we preiume 
 to think that he then, and only then, began to 
 alter his conduct, and the ufual courfe of his 
 Divine Providence, in chufing, for the Reforma- 
 tion of his Church and abolishing errour, men of 
 abandoned confciences, without virtue, without 
 principles, without fanctity of life and manners, 
 to gain credit to their enterprife ? no, it is not cre- 
 dible, we muft renounce our faith, our reaibn and 
 common fenfe, to give into fuch an extravagant 
 paradox : and this reflection might alone be luf- 
 ficient, to every man of ferioub thought and un- 
 prejudiced judgment, to link the reputation of a 
 Church fo inaufpicioufly founded, c,-.nied on upon 
 the moft corrupt motives, and concluding (as L 
 hope to prove in the fequel of this effay) in the 
 fubverfion of the true faith, of pure chriftian vir- 
 tue, and evangelical morality. 
 
 But now, to come to the other part of the pa- 
 rallel; as the deformity of vice is difplayed in 
 its trueft (hades, when confronted with its con- 
 trary virtue, arid falmood feen bed through its 
 oppofite truth, fo the following inftances of Apof- 
 tolic men, whole virtue and election were never. 
 queftioned, oppofed to our late Reformers, being 
 in character the very reverfe of them, will dif- 
 cover their unfitnefs to the great undertaking they 
 prefumptuoufly pretended to, beyond aU contw- 
 d 2 dictioii
 
 xxviii The INTRODUCTION. 
 
 dicTJon. I fay therefore, that if we look back 
 into all foregoing ages, we (hall find that it has been 
 the conftant, unvariable conduct of Almighty 
 GOD to make ufe of chofen fouls, for the under- 
 taking and carrying on enterprizes of the greateft 
 moment; thofe particularly which had immediate 
 relation to the propagation of his divine honour : 
 to wit, he made choice of men actually qualified 
 for the great purpofes to which they were called ; 
 men of confummate virtue, of integrity of life ; 
 men of fanctity, and, in every refpedt irreproach- 
 able j or rendered them fuch by a profufion of his 
 extraordinary graces conferred upon them, and 
 even by privileging them with the miraculous 
 powers. 
 
 SUCH was MOSES, the leader of the Ifraelites, 
 GOD'S once chofen people, a man endued with all 
 kind of qualifications, natural and fupernatural j 
 a profound wifdom, and unparalleled virtue, and 
 gifted with the powers of working extraordinary 
 iigns and miracles. Thefe diftinguifhed privi- 
 leges were what created him a name, and obtained 
 him a credit amongft his people, gave a fanction 
 to his million and betokened it to come immedi- 
 ately from GOD himfelf. AH the reft of the Pa- 
 triarchs and Prophets of the old law, delegated 
 by Almighty GOD on errands of the like nature, 
 and the ipiritual guides of that people, were alfQ 
 diftinguUhed by iimilar gifts of nature and grace. 
 The. great John the Baptift proved alfo his mif- 
 ik>n by his exemplary iiie and uncommon virtues ; 
 
 and
 
 The INTRODUCTION. xxix 
 
 and the Apoftles, called by JESUS CHRIST to the 
 miniftry of his word, to divulgate the glory of 
 his name, and to echo the truths of his gofpel 
 to the remoteft parts of the world, (though ori- 
 ginally fimple illiterate fifhermen) were firft brought 
 up in the School of CHRIST, imbued by this Di- 
 vine Mafter in the rudiments of virtue, and the 
 fcience of eternal life ; gradually weaned from the 
 world and its corruptions, and laftly illuminated 
 in a miraculous manner, and confirmed in grace 
 by the defcent of the HOLY GHOST upon them, 
 to qualify them for their fublime miniftry : and 
 even Saul, of a perfecutor of CHRIST and his 
 Church, miraculoufly brought into his fold and 
 become a Difciple, was yet to be prepared by 
 prayer, fading and the infufion of fupernatural 
 gifts into his foul, to fit him for the office of an 
 Apoftle of the Gentiles, and to become a veffel 
 of election. 
 
 I'LL clofe this lift of Apoftles with one of a 
 modern date, a cotemporary to the pretended 
 Reformers, the great St. Francis Xavier, the Apof- 
 tle of the Indies, whofe avowed and celebrated 
 virtues, unwearied labours, blefled by Heaven 
 with a ftupendous fuccefs in the converfion of 
 above a million of Infidels to the faith of CHRIST, 
 and fealed with the power of working miracles, 
 in their nature furprizing, and in their number 
 fo many as to feem to have been a habit infufed : 
 thefe fupcrnatural qualifications and endowments 
 of grace did, I fay, denote him to have been 
 
 another
 
 xxx The INTRODUCTION, 
 
 another veflel of election, for the propagation of 
 GOD'S honour, for the divulging of the Gofpel, 
 and the dilating of his Church. 
 
 But how unlike to this great man and the other 
 eminent and chofen minifters of GOD'S word, our 
 late pretended gofpellers and Reformers were, this 
 plain parallel between one and the other manifeftly 
 ihows : and how infinitely they fall fhort of the 
 juft idea we conceive of perfons chofen by GOD, 
 and delegated by him to promulgate the purity of 
 the Gofpel and to reform his Church, or, in 
 other terms, to be the abolilhers of errour, and the 
 reftorers of truth, is equally evident from their 
 avowed characters. For, in a word, all we know 
 of them is, that they were wicked, profligate and 
 facrilegious men ; commencing Apoftles by the 
 breach of the moft folemn vows they had made 
 to their Divine Maker : we know, that they rofe 
 in open rebellion againft their Mother Church, 
 and that the- fprings of their revolt were hum,an 
 paffions, the fpirit of pride, revenge, difobedience, 
 and the moft criminal motives. But we are no 
 where aflured that, upon their taking upon them- 
 felves, in 'this prefumptuous, inaufpicious man- 
 ner; uncommiilioned, uncalled, unqualified to 
 become Reformers, that they became more re- 
 formed themfelves, more fanctified and regular in 
 their conduct, more chafte, mortified, humble, 
 or pbfervant of the evangelical counfels ; and 
 therefore we have the lefs reafon to think them 
 capacitated for operating fuch a reform on others, 
 
 or
 
 The INTRODUCTION. xxxi 
 
 or that they were chofen and gifted by Almighty 
 GOD for the execution of lo great a deilgn. And 
 this, I prefume to repeat again, has. and will al- 
 ways be, an invincible objection to the Proteftant 
 caufe with every rational man, unbialTed and dif- 
 paffionate, in fpice of their idle plea, that Al- 
 mighty GOD can and has drawn good out of evil : 
 for tho' this be true, in the limited fenfe, in which 
 we have inftanced it above, yet in the moft im^ 
 ports nt concern of conftituting or reforming a 
 Church, it is wholly unprecedented. 
 
 Our adverfaries are fo well fatisfied of the force 
 and juftice of this reafoning, from the nature of 
 the thing, that they occafionally adopt it in their 
 own defence, againfl fuch as, from time to time, 
 revolt from them, and quit their tenets to fet up 
 a hew fyftem of doctrine. Thus the Anabaptifta 
 no fooner feparated from their head Patriarch Lu- 
 ther, and modelled a Church after their own 
 fafhion and humour, than he called upon them to 
 prove their comrriiffion by undoubted marks of 
 its coming from Heaven, and of its being ftamped 
 with the divine feal j and in default of their pro- 
 ducing thefe credentials, he conjured them to ad- 
 here to the fcheme of faith they had received from 
 him. And without appealing to any other 
 remote inftances of the like nature, does not the 
 Church of England, at this time ufe the fame 
 language with the new fet of innovators called 
 Methodifls, and with as many others as* renounce 
 her authority, and dllTcnt from her ia points of 
 
 doctrine
 
 xxxii The INTRODUCTION. 
 
 dodtrine or difcipline ? how inconfiftent indeed they 
 are with themielves, and Luther before them, in 
 this conducl, is obvious to every one's reflection ; 
 for, by the fame right that Luther himfelf fepa- 
 rated from his Mother Church, without being able 
 to produce his credentials or powers to give a fanc- 
 tion to his revolt, by that right did his followers 
 depart from him, and others again from them, and 
 fo may continue to do to the end of the chapter ; 
 according to that celebrated faying of Tertullian 
 above fifteen hundred years ago, grounded on his 
 obfervation of the differences among the innova- 
 tors of thofe early days : " What is allowed to 
 C Valentin, is likewife io to the Valentim?,ns j the 
 " Marcionifts have equal power with Marcion ;" 
 ^ertut. de Pr&fcrip. c. 42. which only evinces this 
 certain and inconteftable truth, that a caufe ori- 
 ginally and fundamentally bad, can never be 
 brought to a ftate of perfection and ftability by 
 any alterations whatsoever; but, like an edifice 
 raifed on a fandy foundation, or a tree bad at the 
 root, will either fuddenly fall to the ground, or 
 infenfibly decay. 
 
 However, waving this ftrong prejudice againft 
 the Reformation, (which can never be got over) 
 from the undue commiflion of the authors of it, 
 and their want of qualifications to render them 
 equal to fo great an undertaking ; we will, pur- 
 fuant to my firft defign, give it all the weight the 
 circumftances of it will bear, or that our adver- 
 faries can in juilice expecl, by examining it by the 
 
 gofpel
 
 The INTRODUCTION. xxxiil 
 
 gofpel-rule, the tree by its fruits ; that is to fay? 
 we will conlider how far its real merits anfwer 
 the pompous title. To this effect it will be ne- 
 ce/Tary, as I have already premifed, to fix a fimple, 
 precife idea of a Church Reformation, ftrictly fuch, 
 and to examine how near the late much-boafted 
 performance comes up to it; for it is not, as I 
 faid before, what a thing is called, pr what it is 
 fuppofed to be, but what it effectually is, which 
 mould influence our judgments: and real, not 
 imaginary merits are to determine our differences. 
 
 Now I apprehend that a Church Reformation 
 may be defined, or not improperly conceived, un^ 
 der this disjunctive idea, yiz t an aboli foment of 
 errour and fuperftitton, or an alteration of dif- 
 cipline, in order to the amendment or perfecting 
 of mens lives and manners, That the Church is 
 fufceptible of a reform, in the fecond larger ac- 
 ceptation of the word, was never doubted ; and 
 has been often pratifed by a change of difcipline 
 in regard to the whole body, or a part of the 
 Church, ' according to the feveral exigences of 
 times and circumftances. This with regard to 
 the whole body has been done from time "to time 
 by decrees of general councils, or by ordinances 
 from the fupreme paftors, directed to the diffufivc 
 body of the Church, and fealed by their acceptance 
 and filial fubmiffion to them : and relatively to 
 particular parts of the Church, the feparate regu* 
 iations of diftinct diftrifts and diocefes, the initi^ 
 tutions of feveral religious orders, promoting the 
 fervice of Almighty GOD upder their refpe<tive 
 C
 
 xxxiv The IN T R O D U C T I O N. 
 
 rules, are, ftrictly fpeaking, fo many particular 
 reformations of manners and private difcipline j 
 and therefore a reformation in this refpect has 
 never been difallowed, or the legality of it dif- 
 puted. 
 
 The main qucftion, then, between Proteftants 
 and us, is, Whether the Church was ever liable 
 to a reform in point of doctrine; or in other 
 terms, Whether it has, or could fall into errour 
 and fuperflition ? our adverfaries aflert it, as needs 
 they muft, to juftify their claim to their pre- 
 tended merit of becoming Reformers, and to give 
 a plaufible pretence to their reparation from their 
 Mother Church. Catholics, on the other hand, 
 not only have as positively' and conftantly denied 
 it, but prefume to mew that their pretended Re- 
 formation has been even defective in the fecond 
 and larger acceptation of the word, a reformation 
 of manners and difcipline, and that it turns out, 
 in the whole, like a fumptuous edifice which is 
 faulty in the foundation, and irregular in the fu- 
 perftructure, and has nothing but a pompous out- 
 ward mow of a front to recommend it. 
 
 But ftil], it muft be owned, we are never the 
 nearer the end of our controverfy, for what one 
 fays or the other denies j avowed facts and merits 
 can only decide it : what thefe are, or ought to be, 
 the definition of a Reformation, jufl flated, plainly 
 infmuates > and whether the pretended Reforma- 
 tion can lay a claim to them is what we are next 
 
 to
 
 The INTRODUCTION. xxxv 
 
 to inquire into ; to ivit> whether it has effectually 
 contributed to a general amendment or man- 
 ners ?. whether it has eradicated loofe and liber- 
 tine principles, and has introduced a ftricter dif- 
 cipline and regularity in their fttad? whether 
 it has tflablimed a more implicit unlimited obe- 
 dience to Almighty GOD in his reprefentatives, the 
 Church and its minifters? whether, thro' its 
 means, the evangelical counfels have been more 
 enforced, and the practice of morality has been 
 feen to gain ground ? whether, the way of the 
 Crofs, felf-denials and mortifications have been 
 inculcated, and the ancient fafts of the Church 
 kept up to their primitive rigour ? but chiefly and 
 fundamentally, whether it has caufed the abolifh- 
 ment of errour and fuperftition, and brought back 
 the faith of CHRIST, iuppofed to have been cor- 
 rupted, to its primitive purity ? 
 
 Thefe are the fruits which were to be ex peeled 
 from this pretended evangelical work : but if the 
 Reformation has failed of anfwering thefe feveral 
 expectations, and is proved to be an idle, pre- 
 fumptuous attempt; and it can be proved, on the 
 other hand, that the Catholic Church is clear of 
 all their impeachments of errour, and comes up 
 to our perfect idea of the Church of CHRIST, not 
 only in the integrity of her faith, as necefTary to 
 falvation, but in the exactnefs of her difcipline, as 
 a means to evangelical perfection ; it then follows, 
 of courfe, that (his much-boafted Reformation, 
 or Proteltants feparating from us, was without 
 e 2 reafbn,
 
 fcxxvi The INTRODUCTION. 
 
 reafon, without foundation, and unjuiYifiable } a 
 titulusfme re y a mere pompous empty name. 
 
 To make good therefore this inference is my 
 prefent tafk; the vanity and unjuftifiablenefs of 
 the Reformation, in all its circumftances, and the 
 infufficiency of it to k the feveral purpofes, for which 
 it ought to have been intended and framed, is 
 what I undertake to prove ; and to the end my 
 proofs may be lefs liable to exception, I flatter 
 myfelf to be able to deduce them from their own 
 principles and fuppofed rule of faith, Scripture, 
 in its obvious and natural fenfe. I fay, their fup- 
 pofed rule of faith, becaufe, though they pretend 
 to make Scripture their rule of faith, yet it is cer- 
 tain that it is not Scripture in its genuine fenfe, 
 but Scripture wrefted and tortured to an alien 
 meaning by the interpretation of private judgment, 
 Xvhich is effectually their rule of faith. But fince 
 they make a boaft of appealing to the plain word 
 of Got), and we agree to put the iflue of the de- 
 bate to this tefl j yet, the rule being in itfelf im- 
 perfect and unfit to be made a fixt ftandard of 
 faith, therefore, in order to prevent all ambiguity 
 and miftakes on this head, and to obviate any 
 cavils, that might arife from them, I beg leave to 
 obferve, firft, that by Scripture in its obvious and 
 genuine fenfe, I mean the natural import of die 
 text, refulting from a ferious reading of every 
 man of found judgment, and of an honed heart 
 and unprejudiced mind j not of any ignorant pea- 
 fant, conceited Cfaftfman, or Church empirick. 
 But ftill, by plain Scripture I do not mean the 
 
 dead
 
 The I N t R D U C t I O N. xxxvii 
 
 dead letter, but Scripture as explained by, and re* 
 conciled to itfelf in obfcure paffages, by others clear 
 and perfpicuous : I mean, in fine, Scripture as if 
 has been underftood and expounded by the facred 
 interpreters of the primitive and pure ages of the 
 Church. In this fenfe, I fay, I undertake to prove 
 the tenets of the Catholic Church to be perfectly 
 confonant to the word of GOD, and the Reforma- 
 tion to be wholly dilTonant from it. I obferve, 
 fecondly, that by putting the ifTue of our debate to 
 clear Scripture, we would not be underftood thereby 
 to admit the dead letter of Scripture, fo, much lefs 
 Scripture of private interpretation, to be the decilive 
 rule of faith and arbiter of religious controverfies : 
 thirdly, I do not mean by this con defcen dance to 
 renounce apoftolical tradition as a part of the word 
 of GOD and actual rule of faith, nor to exclude 
 the Church from her prerogative in fared to her, 
 by CHRIST'S folemn promifes, of being the fole 
 interpreter of the divine oracles, and arbiter of all 
 religious controverfies and differences ; on the con- 
 trary, as this point is the fundamental corner (lone 
 of the Church, the bone of* offence, and ftumb- 
 ling block to our adverfaries, and the main object 
 of their fpleen in their rafh attempt upon a Refor- 
 mation, it juftly challenges our firft attention ; and 
 therefore, is what I propofe to begin with the de- 
 fence of, in the following diflertations. But ftiil, 
 I fay, without giving up the Church's undoubted 
 right and prerogative of being the legal and natu- 
 ral judge of all our religious debates, we have fuch, 
 a confidence in the goodnefs of our caufe, that, in 
 
 conde-
 
 xxxviii The INTRODUCTION. 
 
 condefcenfion to our adverfaries, we are not afraid 
 of bringing it to their own bar, the plain text of 
 Scripture in its obvious fenfe. Such is the force 
 of truth, that it cannot fail of appearing to advan- 
 tage at every tribunal : magna eft veritas <j pra- 
 va/et. All I have to fear, is, left the caufe of 
 truth may fuffer under my management of it, 
 which that GOD may avert is my repeated prayer ; 
 that the enemies of truth may be converted, or 
 confuted, is the extent of my malice ; and that 
 its friends may be confirmed in their profeffion of 
 it, is the term of my wifhes, and the whole fcope 
 of my feeble endeavours. 
 
 A N
 
 A N 
 
 Important Enquiry, 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 \ 
 
 The true Church of Chrift can never err in matters of 
 
 Faith ; and^ therefore, an attempt on a Reformation 
 
 of her was vain and groundless. 
 
 H E being or not being of an unerring 
 guide, in matters of faith, has been always 
 jiiflly looked upon as a point of the laft 
 importance towards fixing the Church's 
 authority and {lability ^ the point by 
 which the means of falvation are afcertained to her 
 members , by which the merits of the Reformation 
 may be directly determined, and the fecondary ieiTer 
 xcontroverfies decided under one. For, if there is a 
 living unerring guide in points of faith, and the 
 Church can make good her claim, to that preroga- 
 tive, fhe from thence becomes the fanctuary and re- 
 pofitory of Truth, and her authority ought to be re- 
 vered and obeyed : by the tenure of the fame privilege 
 her members are fafe under her influence and direction , 
 the door is thereby abfolutely fhut to a Reformats 
 
 B 
 
 and
 
 2 *The Church is infallible^ therefore 
 
 and the Church is out of the reach of every impeach- 
 ment whatfoever. 
 
 THE Ringleaders of the Reformation were fenfible 
 of the juftice and force of thefc Inferences : they knew 
 that fo long as the Church was flickered under the 
 cover of infallibility, fhe was impregnable in every 
 othe* part, and therefore their firft attempt was to 
 diflodge ' her out of thefe intrenchments -, but, how 
 vainly, and unfuccefsfully, we are now to confider. 
 
 As our adverfaries affect to take Scripture alone, 
 that is, the written word of GOD, for the ftandard 
 and teft by which they would have all controversies 
 tried, I muft obferve that nothing lefs than clear 
 Scripture ought to be admitted in the prefent debate, 
 or to be allowed of fufrkient weight to difpofiefs the 
 Church of her tenure of infallibility and her pre- 
 icriptive right of being the fovereign judge and arbi- 
 ter in matters of faith ; which, by her own account, 
 Jhe claims from the foundation and eftablifhment of 
 chriftianity i and, even by the confeffion of her ad- 
 verfaries, had been in quiet, uninterrupted pofTefiion 
 of for the fpace of feveral hundred years : cavils, there- 
 fore, quibbles, falfe glories and mifreprefentations, have 
 nothing to do in this controverfy : Scripture is the um- 
 pire mutually agreed to ; but Scripture, I fay, in its 
 plain and obvious fenfc, and as imderilood in the ear-- 
 lied times 'by the , facred interpreters, revered for their 
 virtue and learning , and not as mifreprefented by the 
 forced conftruclions gf wit, difingenuity and the fpi- 
 rit of innovating, which is ever more fruitful of in- 
 vention than equitable to truth. 
 
 Now, Catholics think they can produce clear Scrip- 
 ture in fupport of their fide of the debate, the Church's 
 claim to infallibility ; we dare deiy our adverfaries to 
 produce clear Scripture in oppofition to it , and as to 
 their replies to the plain texts quoted by us, we doubt 
 not, by the grace of GOD, to make it appear, that 
 they are no more than {trained explanations and mere 
 
 cavils,
 
 tie "Reformation groundless. $ 
 
 cavils, which, as I juft obferved, muft be deemed in- 
 fufficient to over-rule our plain evidences. 
 
 I'LL confine myfelf, in this controverfy, to the texts 
 of the New Teftament, which, as they immediately 
 affect the fubject in queftion, are more fit to determine 
 the ifiue of it, and will fully anfwer this defirable pur- 
 pofe with every man divefted of paffion and preju- 
 dice, who has no other view than that truth mould pre- 
 vail. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The Church's infallibility proved from dear Scripture. 
 
 AMONG th'e many texts of the New Teftament 
 which the Catholics have to produce in defence 
 of the Church's indefeafible right to infallibility, our 
 blefled Lord's promife to St. PETER I take to be not 
 the lead clear, appofite and fignificant. 'Thou art 
 
 PETER, that is a rock, and upon this rock I will build 
 my Church, and the gates of Hell Jhall not prevail againft 
 it, Matt. xvi. v. 18. The natural import of this text 
 is obvious, implying, as ' plain as words can exprefs, 
 three important truths -, i. The {lability of the Church, 
 intimated by its folid foundation, being built on a 
 rock; 2. A prediction of the violent efforts which 
 would be incelfantly made by the powers of darknefs- 
 to undermine the Church and fubvert its conftitution ; 
 and, laftly, CHRIST'S folemn promife of his effectual 
 aid to enable her to defeat all thefe vain attempts of 
 her infernal enemies, the gates of Hell Jhall not pre- 
 vail, &c. The prediction we have feen verified in the 
 innumerable dorms raifed againft the Church from out- 
 ward perfecutions of infidels and unbelievers, and from, 
 inteftine xlivifions of its 9wn rebellious children ; and 
 we have no more reafon to diftruft CHRIST'S power 
 or fidelity, in fulfilling his promifes, than to queftion 
 B 2 his
 
 4 tte Church's Infallibility 
 
 his foreknowledge of thefe future events ; it would 
 even be blafphemy to do it. Moreover, the noble 
 victorious ftand the Church had effectually made from 
 time to time, before the epoch of the Reformation, (ac- 
 knowledged even by our adverfarks) fufficiently in- 
 ftances CHRIST'S extraordinary providence over his 
 Church;, and, to every unprejudiced perfon, that is, to 
 every one who has not made it his intereft to con- 
 teft the Church's prerogatives, evinces the accomplifh- 
 ment of CHRIST'S promifes to her. 
 
 BUT our bleffed Lord's fpecial providence over his 
 Church is more diftinctly declared in the iequel of his 
 promifes, by which he confirms, (Irengthens and en- 
 hances, thofe he had juft given before. His paternal 
 concern for her prefervatioa- did not reft m providing 
 indefinitely for her defence and fafety, but he y more- 
 over, gracioufly vouchfafed to fignify and point out 
 the particular means by which this victorious, fuper- 
 natural aid would be fubminiftered to her. Thefe happy 
 tidings ftand upon record in the 1 1 Ch. of St. JOHN, 
 where our blefled Saviour is mentioned to addrefs his 
 difciples in words affording prefent comfort to them, 
 and an earned to his Church, thereafter, of its becoming 
 the object of his ever- watchful care: I will fray the 
 father, and he will give you another paraclete, that he 
 may abide with you for ever, the fpirit of truth : John, 
 xiv. v. i6 y 17. and he had told them before, that 
 when he Jhall come (the fpirit of truth) he Jhall guide 
 you into all truth ; John, xvi. v. 13. Here, our blef- 
 fed Lord firft acquaints his difciples with the nature 
 of the blefling his eternal Father had in ftore for them 
 and his Church, to wit, another paraclete, that is, a com- 
 forter, who, when he were feparated from them, would 
 fupply his perfonal abfcnce, and be always with them y 
 as their fupport under all their future trials, preffures 
 and difficulties ; a bleffing which would be the fpirit of 
 truth; fo that what is as incompatible with truth as 
 darknefs with light, to wit, error and feducJion^ fhould 
 be abfolutely excluded from it, and find no admit- 
 tance
 
 proved from Scripture. $ 
 
 t&nce or accefs ; that tho' the gates of Hell would be 
 open to fend forth all its infernal forces to deftroy it, 
 they Jhould not prevail : and laftly, he infures to them 
 the continuance or perpetuity of this bleffing, that be 
 may abide with you for ever ; that is, with them, with 
 their fucceffors, and with the whole Church for ever 
 to the end of the world. 
 
 IN a word, thefe texts are fo intelligible, and di- 
 rectly appofite to the point I have undertaken to main- 
 tain, that to offer to explain them, or to place them in 
 a clearer light than they appear in their own naked 
 view, di veiled of all gloffes and interpretations, would 
 be as ridiculous as to attempt to prove firft principles ; 
 and that man muft be very fruitful of fubtleties and 
 diftinctions who can wreft the texts to any other fenfe 
 or meaning than what the words .naturally import. i to 
 wit, that which is the Catholic fenfe of them, and is 
 the direct affertion .of the Church's pretenfions. I am 
 confident that had our hleffed Lord delivered the con- 
 tradictory of the texts I have now laid : before you, our 
 adverfaries would have looked on them as pofitive 
 proofs of their favourite opinion of the Church's fal- 
 libility ; and therefore why the prefent tenor of the texts 
 fhould not carry the fame weight, and be deemed 
 equally -conclu five for .its infallibility, and influence our 
 underftandings into an undoubted afient to it, requires 
 more fagacity to difcover than I am ma,fter of. 'Tis 
 certain that they had this effect .00 the great Apoftle of 
 the Gentiles, who looked upon thefe declarations from 
 the Oracle of truth, in the behalf of his Church, as 
 fuch an am.ple and unqueftionable eftablifhment of her 
 prerogative, that he was not content barely to profefs 
 his belief of ir, but endeavoured to conform to his 
 divine Mafter in his conception of the thing, and his 
 manner of expreffing it; for, as CHRIST fignifres the 
 indefedtibility of the Church by the firmnefs of its 
 foundation, comparing it to a houfe built on a rock, 
 fo this veffel of election, the faithful interpreter of 
 CHRIST'S doctrine, itiles it the pillar and ground of 
 B 3 truth,
 
 6 The Church's infallibility, 
 
 truth-, i Tim. iii. v. 15. a metaphor which, in its own 
 nature, imprints .on our minds a fimilar idea of fta- 
 bility and immutability : and unlefs our blefled Lord 
 had fettled his Church on this indefeafible footing, it 
 is not to be conceived how He himfelf mould direct 
 fuch an unlimited obedience to be paid to her authority, 
 as to anathematife for heathens, publicans, and aliens, 
 all fuch as mould behave refractory to it : yet this he 
 has done very exprefly // he will not hear the Church, 
 fays he, let him be to thee as a heathen and a publican, 
 Matt, xviii. v. 17. And ftill, addrefiing his Church 
 in more emphatical terms, he, as it were, equals her 
 authority with his own, and interprets every flight put 
 upon her as a perfonal injury offered to his own divine 
 prerogative, and to his eternal Father himfelf; be, fays 
 he, that hears you hears me ; he that defpifes you defpifes 
 me*; and he that "defpifes me defpifes him that fent me, 
 Luke, x. v. 1 6. Now, I fay, it is not credible that 
 our blefled Lord would have conferred his divine au- 
 thority* on a fallible Church, fuch as the Church is fup- 
 pofed by our adverlaries, and which, being in that de- 
 iective capacity, might be liable to act in a manner de- 
 rogatory to the honour, and unworthy of the influence 
 of his increated wifdom, fanctity and truth. 
 
 SUCH, neverthelefs, are the unavoidable^ and even 
 avowed confeqnences of our adverfaries doctrine ; and, 
 what is worfe, they are contradictory to the facred tefti- 
 monies of the word of GOD, to which they pretend to 
 appeal. For, in fhort, the ftate of the prefent contro- 
 verfy, in the cleared and moft fimple view, is this : here 
 are two oppofite opinions concerning the Church's au- 
 thority, and her fpiritual capacity -, the one is the Ca- 
 tholics, aflerting the Church, as a fpiritual guide, to be 
 infallible in her faith and in her decifions; the other 
 the Proteftants abfolutely denying her this privilege : 
 and thefe opinions are to be tried by Scripture : Scrip- 
 ture we produce directly relating to the point in dif- 
 pute. Now the queftion is, Which of the two opini- 
 ons is fupported by thefe facred teftimonies ? the plain 
 
 words
 
 proved from Scripture. j 
 
 words and natural import of them, as we have feen, 
 are clearly on the Catholics fide -, and, confequently, 
 nothing but evafions and forced conftructions can be 
 the Proteftant plea , the principal whereof is, that the 
 alledged promifes are conditional, viz. depending on 
 the Church's fidelity , or, that they are limited to the 
 perfons of the Apoftles. But how arbitrary and pre- 
 carious thefe aflertions are, I leave to every one to 
 judge from the direct tenor of the texts, which are 
 as abfolute as words can make them, without the leaft 
 intimation of any condition tack'd to them. And the 
 caufe or motives of CHRIST'S giving thefe folemn 
 promifes to his Church, viz. the exigency of his ex- 
 traordinary affiftance and prefence to preferve it from 
 error, fubfifts to the lateft times ; or, rather, is the 
 more prevalent, as the Church is farther removed 
 from the Apoftle's happy days, in which CHRIST'S in- 
 ftructions were recent and freih in every one*s me- 
 mory. What our blefTed Lord told his Apoftles juft 
 before his Afcenfion, when he commiffioned them to 
 enter on their Apoftolic charge, is an abfolute confir- 
 mation of this prefumption Going therefore, fays he, 
 teach ye all tiaticns and behold I am with you always,, 
 ii'en unto the. end of the world. Matt, xxviii. c. 19, 20. 
 
 IN this text I muft obferve again three things to be 
 implied, or rather plainly expreficd; the firft is 
 CHRIST'S commiflion to his Apoftles, to baptife and 
 teach all nations ; the fecond is his promifc of being 
 aiding to them in the execution of this commiflion, 
 and the faithful difcharge of their miniflry ; and the 
 laft is a continuance of this aid to the end of the world. 
 The commiffion itfeif cannot be fuppoied, even by our 
 adverfaries, to have been perfonal ; that is, to be li- 
 mited to the Apoftles, and terminating in them : be- 
 caufe, fo long as there mould be any remains of fu- 
 pcrdition and infidelity in the world as long as man- 
 kind were fubjecl: to error, fo long would there be oc- 
 cafion. for evangelical labourers, in order to difabufe 
 than of their errors, and to bring them to the know- 
 B 4 ledge
 
 8 The Church's infallibility 
 
 ledge and belief of CHRIST-, and fo long alfo would 
 thele facred mimfters Hand in need of fpecial help and 
 afliftance from above, to enable them to accomplifh 
 this great work. The exigency, as I juft obferved, 
 but too vifibly fubfifts, and is like to fubfift to the end 
 of the world ; and therefore there can be no doubt of 
 GOD'S gracious mercy in providing for it: and, in 
 fhoit, our bleffed Lord, to remove all caufe of diftruft 
 of the perpetuity of this ineftimable bleffing, has, in 
 the aforefaid text, exprefly promifed it at all times, and 
 to prolong it to the end of time. And behold^ fays he, 
 / am 'with you always , even unto the confumation of the 
 world -, Matt, xxviii. v. 20. not with the Apoftles only, 
 inoft certainly ; becaufe, being mortal men, their lives 
 were circumfcribed by the courfe of nature within a 
 ihort period of time , therefore it was to be with 
 them, and with the Church, in a continual fucceffion of 
 paftors to the world's end. 
 
 AGAIN, the circumftances of time, and the remark- 
 able occafions in which our blefled Saviour made thefe 
 folemn pr-omifes to his Church, are not the lead deferv- 
 ing our notice, nor a fmall confirmation of their defign, 
 efficacy and extent. 
 
 THE firft promife, intimating that the gates of helljhall 
 not prevail againft his Church, Matt. xvi. v.i 8. was di- 
 rected to St. PETER upon that folemn occafion when, in 
 reward of his unparalleled faith and glorious profeffion of 
 the divinity of CHRIST, he conftituted him his vicar, and 
 vifible head of his Church ; in token whereof he changes 
 his former name of SIMON into that; of PETER, which 
 is interpreted a rock, and declares his intentions of build- 
 ing his future Church upon him and upon this rock I 
 
 <will build my Church, Matt. xvi. v. 18. He gives 
 him a name adapted to the nature and efficacy of the 
 thing which he propofed to fignify, viz. the unfliaken 
 liability of the Church; which,' like an edifice raifed 
 upon a rock, would be proof againft any ftorms whatfo- 
 ever ; fo that, tho' Hell would afiail her with all its in- 
 fernal forces, and put every ftratagem in execution to
 
 proved from Scripture. 9 
 
 undermine her foundations, they fliould fail in their vain 
 attempt' the gates of belljball not prevail, &c. 
 
 THE other promifes were delivered either on the eve 
 of his facred Paffion, or jufi before his glorious Afcenfi- 
 on, when, at both one and the other of thefe occafions, 
 he was going to leave them in the utmoft ftate of de- 
 reliction, on their impending lofs of him, and confe- 
 quently in the greateft concern for the welfare of his in- 
 fant Church, which was Icarce founded , than, humanly 
 fpeaking, it was looking towards its final diilblution. 
 Our blefled Lord therefore paternally obviates thefe 
 diftruftful, defponding thoughts; difilpates their appre- 
 henfions, and rouzes their hopes, by giving them the fo- 
 lemn afiurance of another comforter, and a more lading 
 fupport the fpirit of truth, to guide his Churcb into all 
 truth^ St. John c. 16. v. ij.- and to abide with it to 
 the end cf the world. Matt. c. 28. v. 19, 20. Thefe 
 promifes, I lay, were not more comfortable than fea- 
 fonable. 
 
 How many concurrent evidences and corroborative 
 proofs are here cf the Catholic pretenfions ! the plain 
 words of the facred texts, which nothing but affected dif- 
 ingenuity and forced confcructions can wreft from their 
 natural meaning, are an unconteftable evidence, and fuch. 
 a one as our adverfaries, by the rule of faith they pretend 
 to appeal to, clear Scripture in its bbvious and natural 
 fenfc, are bound to admit of. The end of thefe divine 
 prornile?, to wit, our dependance on the perpetuity and 
 preservation of his Church to the lateft times, plainly 
 expreffed in the tenor of the texts, is another invincible 
 proof. The time or occafions on which thefe folemn 
 promifes were delivered are an undeniable confirmation 
 of the intent of them ; and even the obftinate refiftance 
 our adverfaries make to thefe undeniable evidences to the 
 Church's prerogative, becomes itfelf an additional proof 
 of it , becaufe it evinces that there can be nothing fo 
 evident which wit and difingenuity may not find ways of 
 eluding, or the wilfulnefsand perverfenefs of man's mind 
 will not be ready to conteft ; and therefore Scripture can- 
 not
 
 i o The Church's infallibility 
 
 not bd fb clear in itfelf, on the Catholic fide of the quefti- 
 on, but heretical depravity can torture it to a contrary- 
 meaning, which concludes a feeming necefiity of the 
 exiftence of a fuprerhe tribunal, from which there mould 
 be fuffered no appeal. But, in the mean while, as fuch 
 a tribunal is by our adverfaries rejected, we have only a 
 middle way of adjufting our differences, ufual among 
 contending parties when they cannot come to an agree- 
 ment, and .decline carrying on their difpute to a higher 
 court, viz, of putting it to a reference : none more pro- 
 per in our prefent cafe than the primitive fathers of the 
 Church, who muft be admitted to be the moft faithful 
 and unexceptionable interpreters of the facred Writings. 
 But, becaufe thefe venerable authorities may be confult- 
 cd at length in a full collection of them in almoft every 
 treatife that has appeared on this fubject, for brevity's 
 fake I'll content myfeli with producing two or three fhort 
 extracts from them, as far as may anfwer my purpofe, 
 barely to fhew what was their fenfe and opinion of 
 CHRIST'S aforefaid promifes to his Church, and to prove 
 the Catholic interpretation of them to be conformable to 
 theirs. 
 
 St. CYRIL of Alexandria declares the Church of 
 CHRIST to be fettled and eftablimed on St. PETER, 
 through hi*- faith, (which was the caufe of his being thus 
 privileged by CHRIST) as never to fail, but to bear up 
 againft the gates cf bell, and fo to remain for ever, St. 
 CYRIL, Alex. Dial, de Trin. 1. 4. A Catholic could 
 not exprefs the doctrine of infallibility in plainer terms. 
 St. CYPRIAN, more at length, delivers him felf on the 
 fame fubject as follows, " CH R i ST, in the Gofpel, when 
 " his difciples went away from him as he was fpeaking, 
 *^ turning to the twelve faid, What! will you alfo de- 
 " part? PETER anfwered him, Lord, to whom mail 
 " we go ! Thou haft the words of eternal life ; and we 
 " believe and have known that thou art the fon of the 
 " living GOD. PETER fpeaks here, upon whom the 
 " Church was built, declaring, in the name of the 
 41 Church, That tho' great numbers of fuch ftubborn 
 
 " and
 
 proved from Scripture. I \ 
 
 K and felfwilled people as will not fubmit, become de- 
 " ferters, yet the Church will never fall from CHRIST ; 
 *' which Church is, The people united to the prieft, and 
 " the flock following their pallor, Cypr. Epift. 69. ad 
 Flor. Papinianum. 
 
 AND again he fays that " The Church, being the 
 
 " fpoufe of CHRIST, cannot be an adult refs > fhe is un- 
 " corrupt and pure fhe it is that preferves us for Hea- 
 " ven, and gives to her children, whom fhe has brought 
 " forth, the inheritance of a crown, St. Cypr. ibid. 
 
 St. AUSTIN alfo, on thefe words of the 57thpfalm 
 they have gone aftray from the womb and fpoken lies ex- 
 
 prefTes himfelf to the following effect " Were they 
 
 " therefore gone aftray from the womb becaufe they 
 " have fpoken lies ? or, rather, have they not fpoken 
 " lies, becaufe they were gone aftray from the womb ? 
 " For 'tis in the Church's womb that ttuth remains : who- 
 " foeveris feparated from this womb of the Church muft 
 " of nece/ity fpeak lies, &c. Aug. Exer. in Pf. 57. 
 Numb. 6. Tom. 4. p. 545. 
 
 AGAIN " Here is (hewn GOD and his temple ^ 
 " which is the holy Church, the one Church, the true 
 *' Church, the Catholic Church, which fights againft all 
 " herefies. Fight fhe may, but Jhe can't be foiled. All 
 " herefies have gone out from her like ufelefs branches 
 " lopt off from the vine : but /he remains in her root<^ 
 " the gates of Hell jhall not prevail againft her, St. Aug. 
 de Symbol, ad Catech. Ch. 6. Tom. 9. 
 
 AND upon thefe words of the loift pfalm, In the 
 aflcmbUng the -people together in one, and kings to ferve out- 
 Lord, he anfwered him i.n the way of his ftrength* 
 the fame faint introduces heretics objecting to the Church's 
 . ftability, and refutes their objection as follows " But 
 " that Church which was fpread through all nations 
 " now has no longer a being it is quite Joft ! This is 
 " the cry of thofe who are not in the Church. O im- 
 " pudcnt clamour ! fhe is not, becaufe you don't belong 
 
 " to her- fee that you have not, for that reafon, loft 
 
 ? 6 your being-, for fhe will have a being tho* yon have 
 
 " none.
 
 i-z *Tbe Church's infallibility 
 
 * c none. Fbis abominable and accurfed calumny, full of 
 prefumption and deceit ', void of all truth, wifdom and 
 reafon ; idle* temerarious^ rajb and pernicious, the fpi- 
 rit of GOD forefaw, when, even, as it were, againft 
 them, he proclaimed her unity, maffembling the people 
 
 in one, and kings to fervt our lord Becaufe there 
 
 were to arife fome that would fay againft her 'tis 
 true fhe was, but now fhe is perifhed : Shew me, fays 
 me, tke fewnefs of my days. 1 do not enquire for my 
 cc days in the next world, thofe are without end. 'Tis 
 ** not thofe days of eternity I alk for, I defire to know 
 ** my continuance in this 'world. Thefe days I defire 
 " you to mew me- And he has mewed me, neither 
 *' was the anfwer infignificant. And who was it but he 
 *' that is the very way? And what .was the information 
 *' he gave me ? Behold I am with you to the end of the 
 " world, Aug. Enarr. 2. in P/. 101. 
 
 Now from this, and all the foregoing citations, 'tis 
 plain that the fathers unanimoufly concurred in the belief 
 of an unerring, infallible Church -, for what elfe means 
 thefe exprefiive declarations, that it is in the Church's 
 
 womb truth remains that being the fpaufe of CHRIST 
 
 Jhe can't become an adultrefs that the is pure and - 
 
 corrupt, and will always remain in her root, even to the 
 tnd of the world ? 
 
 IT is alfo certain, that they maintained the Church's 
 .prerogative with no lefs warmth and zeal againft the op- 
 pugners of it, the heretics of their own days, looking on 
 their oppofition with the greateft horror and indignation ; 
 St. AUSTIN in particular, as we have feen, ftiles it an im- 
 pudent clamour an abominable and accurfed calumny : 
 .and by the fame token, all other opponents, in whatfo- 
 ver age they appear, come under the fame cenfure. 
 
 IT is alfo obfervable, that the Fathers ground their 
 fledfaft belief of the Church's infallibility on the promifes 
 of CHRIST to his Church before cited, viz. that the 
 gates of helljhall not prevail againft her behold lam with 
 o the end of the world, &c, &c^
 
 proved from Scripture. 1$ 
 
 THE confequence, immediately flowing from thefe 
 obfervations, is the direct confirmation of what I had to 
 prove, viz. That the Catholic interpretation of the afore- 
 laid promifes, by the judgment of thefe unexception- 
 able referees, is true and genuine, and in the fame fenfe, 
 and to the fame effect as they themfelves underftood and 
 expounded them ; that is, towards the eftablimment of 
 the Church's undoubted prerogative : that therefore the 
 contrary interpretation of the Reformers muft be re- 
 puted fpurious, arbitrary and unnatural, anathemadfed 
 long ago by thefe great lights of the Church, or, as I 
 faid, comprifed within their condemnation of the Here- 
 tics of their own times. 
 
 AND therefore, tho' I might here very well drop my 
 pen, and clofe this important debate with the teftimonies 
 of thefe irrefragable vouchers ; yet I cannot forbear 
 drawing fome other obvious confequences from the fore- 
 going premifes, which further evince the juftice of the 
 Catholic caufe, and the badnefs of our adverfanes ; or ac 
 leaft, if they cannot give an additional weight to the 
 precedent proofs, they may make us more fenfible of the 
 weight they carry already, and will place their merit in a 
 light more confpicuous. 
 
 S E C T I O N II. 
 
 Inferences from the premifes confirming tie Catholic doftrine 
 cf the Church's infallibility, with other collateral and 
 rational proofs fully refuting the oppofttion of her adver- 
 faries. 
 
 WHE N our late Gofpellers undertook the work of 
 Reforming, they pretended, as we have feen, 
 to raife their edifice upon the foundation of Scripture ; 
 that is, on the pure word of GQD alone : The purity of 
 the Gofpel was the general cry : All religious tenets were 
 to be brought to this teft ; and therefore if their pomp- 
 ous
 
 14 Inferences from the premiss, &c. 
 
 ous performance has not come up to this ftandard, it 
 muft be judged to have failed in the foundation, and the 
 whole ftructure to be confequently faulty and ruinous. 
 Yet this, I prefume to think, ajid flatter myfelf I have 
 proved to be their cafe in the prefent eontroverfy, which 
 is acknowledged to be the principal and fundamental be- 
 tween them and us. We have produced clear Scripture 
 on the Catholic fide of the queftion : we have made it 
 appear that our adverfaries have no clear Scripture to 
 bring againft it , and therefore if, at firft fetting out, 
 they recede from their own eflablifhed rule, by quitting 
 the plain and natural fenfe of the text for their own ar- 
 bitrary interpretations, nothing but convincing, irrefut- 
 able reafons can juftify this difceffion. 
 
 WHEN the Catholic Church, with regard to any part 
 of the facred Writings, feems to quit the literal fcnfe of 
 the text, the motives inducing her to it are apparent, folid, 
 and unexceptionable ; fuch as arc the reconciling Scrip- 
 ture with itfelf, where there is a feeming clafhing or con- 
 tradiction in the texts. Thus, for initance, where our 
 blefled Saviour is mentioned to fay, my father is greater 
 than /, John c. 14. v. 28. (which, literally under- 
 flood, infmuates an inequality of the divine perfons, and 
 eftablifhes the Arian Dogma) the Church, confronting 
 this text with many others, pofitively afierting the fon's 
 confubftantiality with the Father, juftly concludes this 
 fpeech to have relation only to the human nature of 
 CHRIST : and therefore to argue from parity of reafon, 
 it lies on our adverfaries, in the prefent eontroverfy, 
 to produce clear Scripture in oppofition to, and directly 
 refuting the literal meaning of CHR IST'S promts of In- 
 fallibility to his Church ; or to (hew manifeft contradic- 
 tions and fatal inconveniences to flow from this preroga- 
 tive as for example, that it is inconfiftent with his in- 
 finite wifdom and bountiful providence that it is pre- 
 judicial to the good and perpetuity of his Church or, 
 infine, that it is injurious co mankind in general, and an 
 obftruction to his attaining the great end of his exiftence. 
 But if no clear Scripture be, or can be brought againft 
 
 the
 
 Inferences from the premifes, &c. 15 
 
 the point in difpute, to ballance our quotations for the 
 affirmative, (as has been already proved there cannot) 
 and if the aforefaid confequences can in no refpect be faid 
 to follow from the Catholic doctrine, and are, on the con- 
 trary, a necefTary fequel of the Protettant tenets ; then 
 this controverfy may be judged to be here at an end, and 
 the caufe decided. 
 
 YET this, to argue the cafe ad bomznem, that is, can- 
 vafling the matter with our adverfaries from their own 
 way of reafoning, I apprehend to be the real truth of the 
 matter, and fo felfevident, that to go about to prove it 
 may appear an idle and fuperftuous labour. But I mud 
 obferve, that while \ve appeal to human probabilities and 
 rational congruities, we would not be thought to build 
 our main truftupon them : the Catholic belief reds up- 
 on a more lading and folid foundation, the promfes of 
 CHRIST ; and not upon any congruity of reafon. We 
 do not prefume to circumfcribe the divine providence, or 
 to define in what manner it was becoming GOD'S infinite 
 wifdom to govern his Church : 'tis enough for us that 
 we have CHRIST'S infurance for thefupport of our faith, 
 independent of human probabilities and plaufible argu- 
 ments deduced from the pure lights of reafon. But 
 when the one is made plain and undeniable, that is, when 
 the word of GOD is clear on our fide, (as we have feen 
 it to be) the other may be allowed to carry weight in con- 
 junction with, or rather, in confequence of thefe facred 
 authorities , efpecially as we are contending with adver- 
 faries who lay their principal ftrels upon mere rational in- 
 ferences, or forced interpretations of Scripture, and ar- 
 bitrary proofs. 
 
 Now, to ftate this argument impartially, and to fet it 
 in the mod unexceptionable light, we will confider the 
 two oppofite fyftems of fallibility and infallibility proble- 
 matically, and as bare hypothecs, and examine which of 
 the two feems more agreeable to our idea of an infinitely 
 wife and bountiful providence, and moft conducive to 
 the refpective ends of the prefervation of the Church, 
 and to the good of mankind in general. We will alfo 
 
 con-.
 
 l6 Inferences from the premlfe s, &Ci 
 
 confider, which of the two comes up to the prophetic 
 defcription ISAIAH gives of the Church, faying, that it 
 ihould be zpath or way to falvation, that it would be cal- 
 led the holy way^ as fools Jhall not err therein, Ifaiah xxxv, 
 8. that is, being travellers in this mortal life, in a flrange 
 place, tending to our heavenly country, and ignorant of 
 our road, the Church is our guide; and, according to 
 the Prophet, is to put us into fo direct a road, that the 
 moft weak, unlearned and ignorant may purfue his jour- 
 ney fecurely, without the leait riik of miffing his way. 
 
 I SAY then, firft, fuppofmg the fyftem of infallibility 
 to take place, that there is nothing in this fyftem, but 
 what is directly confiftent with, and allb moft agreeable to 
 our idea of an omnifcient and benign providence, and 
 perfectly reconcilable at the fame time with the liberty of 
 the creature , nothing but what afcertains the perpetuity 
 of his Church, and an unerring rule of faith, and con- 
 fequently a fure means of falvation to her children. For, 
 to fay that Almighty GOD in his infinite wifdom could 
 not provide for his Church in general in this manner, 
 without abridging each member in particular of his li- 
 berty, will be nothing lefs than blafphemy ; for, tho* 
 every individual be in himfelf fallible, yet Almighty 
 GOD could, undoubtedly, not only prevent the whole 
 collection of them from chiming together in an erroneous 
 fyftem of doctrine, but by the direction of an inward in- 
 effable illumination of the Holy Spirit, bring them to 
 confpire unanimoufly in the profeffion of one and the 
 fame orthodox faith. And to fay again, that, providing 
 for his Church in this manner, (he would not be fecure 
 from error, and her members fafe under her influence -, 
 or, to purfue the Prophet's thought, to fay, that we 
 fhould not travel more fafely by the direction of an in* 
 fallible than a fallible guide, is to talk rank nonfenfe. 
 
 ON the other hand, it is certain that the oppofite fyf- 
 tem is attended with every one of thefe inconveniences, 
 and is manifeftly injurious to our idea of an infinitely 
 wife and benign providence ; for, if the Church, from 
 its firft eftabliihment, be fuppofed ta be out ol the fhel- 
 
 ter
 
 Inferences from the premifes, &c. 17 
 
 ter of infallibility, and unprovided with the infurances 
 of an unerring guide to govern and direct it, it was 
 confcquently in a fluctuating ftate, liable to be toft to and 
 fro by every blaft of erroneous doElrine, Ephef. c. 4. v. 14. 
 (as St. PAUL defcribes all thofe who are out of the 
 pale of the true Church of CHRIST,) and therefore 
 the gates of hell, that is, the efforts of Satan and the 
 fpirit of feduction might, without a fpecial and extra- 
 ordinary Providence, have prevailed again}} it, arid me 
 would be thereby in danger of leading her children 
 out of the way. 
 
 AND, fuppofmg it again in this wavering condition, 
 liable to err, and that it had, according to the im- 
 peachments of our adverfaries, effectually fallen into 
 many grofs errors, when the reformers undertook to 
 difcover them to the world, and to awaken it out of 
 its profound lethargy, in which it had dozed for many 
 centuries ; as long as they themfelves could lay no pre- 
 tentions to infallibility, and that, by their fundamental 
 principle, infallibility was a mere chimera, and a hu- 
 man invention, they could not certify us, that, though 
 the Church they undertook to reform was in the wrong, 
 they themfelves were in the right; and then there 
 was ftill room left for another Reform, or rather for 
 Reforms on Reforms, without end , and a wide field 
 opened to fceptifcifm and deifm ! what a chaos of 
 confufion, and heap of uncertainties muft this pro- 
 duce ! for, firft as I faid, in the very . aft of con- 
 demning the Church of error, the Reformers, being 
 avowedly fallible, may themfelves have been miftaken. 
 Secondly, the doctrine they pretend to fubflitute for 
 truth in lieu of this fuppofed error, which they cenfure, 
 may itfelf be an error, and fubjedt to another Reform : 
 on this foundation, in effect, CALVIN reformed on 
 LUTHER, others on him ; and by the fame principle, 
 as I jufif obferved, there can be no end of reforming. 
 They may attempt to pull down, but it is impoflible 
 they fhould raife any folid ftructure, while the foun- 
 dation is bad and defective. 
 
 C HERE
 
 1 8 Inferences from the premtfes, &c. 
 
 HERE then, again, the Reformation fails in its very 
 embrio, and proves abortive : inftead of drawing man- 
 kind out of the ftate of error and darknefs, it plunges 
 him into an abyfs of darknefs, and a labyrinth of 
 errors, out of which no Reformation, fet up on the 
 fame defective principles, can poflibly extricate him. 
 
 AND how inconfiftent this fyftem of fallibility is 
 with our idea of an infinite wifdom and goodnefs, 
 providing for the prefervation of his Church, muft be 
 obvious to every one, from the foregoing premifes. 
 We do not, indeed, for our own parts, as I faid before, 
 build our faith on theie rational congniities, but upon 
 the exprefs promifes of CHRIST to his Church; yet, 
 with our adverfaries, who give fo much to reaibn, 
 thefe inferences mould carry weight. 
 
 AFTER what has been urged in behalf of the Ca- 
 tholic caufe, to argue for the fallibility of the Church 
 from reputed actual errors, me is pretended to have 
 fallen into, (which is the Proteflants laft and principal 
 fhift) is no lefs ridiculous than groundlefs and illogi- 
 cal. For, befides that, ic is begging the point in 
 queftion ; befides that the objection has been, in fub- 
 flance obviated, and implicitly refuted already, I fay 
 the reafoning itfelf is moreover fallacious, unconclufive, 
 and directly derogatory from the divine authorities 
 above alledged. To argue, indeed from a real effect 
 to a caufe, or, from an act to a capacity, that is, from 
 the actual exercife of a power to the power itfelf, is 
 entirely logical and conclufive : thus, for inftance, from 
 the act of motion, we conclude the power of motion, 
 and a rational being, from the exercife of reafon ; 
 and that man muft throw up all prentenfions to reafon 
 and common fenfe, who takes it into his head to dif- 
 pute it. But, to argue from a fuppofed or a doubtful 
 act to an abfolute power ; or, from a fictitious effect 
 to a real caufe, is wholly illogical. Yet this is the 
 cafe of our Reformers in the prefent debate, or rather, 
 their cafe is much worfe, while they fallen the cha- 
 racter of fallibility on the Church, or a capacity of 
 
 erring
 
 Inferences from the premifes, 8cc. 19 
 
 erring, upon grounds not only fuppofitious and ima- 
 ginary, but in direct contradiction to CHRIST'S folemn 
 promife of her infallible rarj-^ity. In a word, the 
 Proteftant argumentation {lands thus -, the Church has 
 (to their thinking;) actually erred; therefore CHRIST 
 has not vefted her with infallibility, and therefore his 
 promifes literally importing A", muft have a different 
 tendency or meaning. 
 
 THE Catholic reafons in a different manner. CHR IST, 
 fays he (who being the increated wifdom and truth, 
 can neither deceive, nor be deceived) has abfolutely 
 promifed to preferve his Church from error, therefore 
 in confequence to this promife, me has not erred, and 
 can not err. 
 
 WHICH of thefe two argumentations is moft rational 
 and moft Chriftian, and confequently moft conclufive, 
 I fubmit to every impartial judge. The refpective 
 merit of the one and the other will appear ftill in a 
 clearer light confidered in a parallel inftance. A Dtrift 
 reading the facred writings, contemns the fimplicity 
 of the ftile, affects to be mocked at the hidden myf- 
 teries and the many furprifmg pafTages therein con- 
 tained ; and weighing them in the bailance of human 
 underftanding, concludes them to be fabulous, or, 
 at leaft, unworthy of the credit of revealed truths. 
 The Chriftian on the other hand, being convinced 
 from innumerable marks of credibility, of the reve- 
 lation of the Scriptures, believes the contents, how- 
 foever furprifmg and feemingly beyond belief, upon 
 the divine authority. 
 
 THE cafe, I fay, between Proteilants and us is ex- 
 actly parallel : CHRIST, as plain as words can fpeak, 
 has infured the charter of infallibility to his Church ; 
 he has moreover conftituted her the definitive judge 
 of religious controverfies, and has injoined an unli- 
 mited obedience to her d.~cifions. //I?, fays he, -that 
 hears you, bears me ; be that defpifis you^ dtjpifos me. 
 St. Luke x. v. 1 6. And again, if be does not kear 
 C 2 the
 
 20 Inferences from the premifes> &c. 
 
 the Church^ let him be to thee as a heathen, and a pub- 
 lican. Matt, xviii. v. 17. 
 
 The Catholic ther e/bre, relying upon the fidelity of 
 CHRIST'S promifes, is under na apprehenfion of being 
 led out of the way in taking the Ciwirch for his guide i 
 and, in fubmitting to her, without hesitation or limi- 
 tation, is convinced' 1 that Ue obeys CHRIST himfelf in 
 his Church. 
 
 THE Proteftant, on the contrary, prefumes to can- 
 vafs her decifions, and to try them over again at the 
 private tribunal of his own judgment , and, as one 
 wrong ftep is generally followed by another, he dares 
 to boggle at fome tenets, to difcard others, and, upon 
 the iflu?, to renounce entirely her juridical prerogative : 
 and in order to cover the unwarrantablenefs of this 
 proceeding, and to give it at leaft the appearance of 
 a fandlion from divine authority, he is under a necef- 
 fity of mifconftruing, or wrefting to an alien fenfe, the 
 clear declarations of CHRIST, which eftablifh and con- 
 firm to the Church her charter. 
 
 THIS, in epitome, is the whole fyftem of the much- 
 boafted Reformation ; but particularly, fo far as it af- 
 fects the article of Church authority ; how much fhort 
 of anfwering, in any degree, our idea of that pompous 
 title, I appeal to the fbnfe of every man divefted of 
 paflion and prejudice. For, firft, in lieu of bringing 
 her magnified performance to the ftandard of clear 
 Scripture, that is to the plain word of GOD, me, at 
 her letting out, and in the rriofl fundamental point, 
 recedes from the obvious literal meaning of the text, 
 to intrude upon us her own forced interpretations, with 
 the vifible marks of drift, and defign in this unfair 
 dealing. Secondly, inftead of calculating her work, 
 for the liability of the Church, and the good of man- 
 kind in general, (which is the true and natural idea 
 of a godly Reformation) it is attended with every 
 confequence deftructive of thefe defirable purpofes. 
 And this mifcarriage gives at once a mortal blow to 
 the Reformation, and clenches the , Catholic caufe -, 
 
 for,
 
 Inferences from the premtfes, &c. 21 
 
 for, the want of weight in their fcale, mud necefla- 
 rily throw the ballance into ours. In a word, if the 
 Church cannot be proved to be fallible, fhe is of con- 
 fequence in full poffeflion of the contrary prerogative, 
 if the principal indictment has failed, tho' the com- 
 bined endeavours of wit, difingenuity, and the fpirit 
 of innovating have concurred to make it good, all 
 other impeachments of actual errors mull be deemed 
 unjuft and groundhfs. 
 
 HOWEVER, waving this invincible prefumption in 
 our favour, we are ready to put the leffer controverfies 
 to the fame iffue, viz. to be tried by the plain words 
 of Scripture ; not meaning hereby, as I obferved in the 
 beginning, to give up the Church's charter of infal- 
 libility, or her right of being the legal arbiter of re- 
 ligious controverfies , but, out of condefcendance to 
 our adverfaries, waving her privilege ; nattering our- 
 felves, that their remaining impeachments will appear 
 as defencelefs and unwarrantable, at this tribunal, as 
 their principal indictment. 
 
 N. B. I HAVE waved an application of the proofs 
 of the Church's prerogative of infallibility to the 
 Roman Catholic Church , that is, to the Church in 
 communion with Rome, as a ronclufion, fuppofed to 
 follow directly from its premifes, or implicitly under- 
 ftood. Firft, becaufe the prefent conteft is only fub- 
 fifting between the Reformed Churches and her. Se- 
 condly, becaufe fhe is acknowledged to be the Mother 
 Church-, the Church from which all the Proteftant 
 Churches deferted, and from which they derive the 
 only pretenfions they have of being a Church them- 
 felves. And laftly and principally, becaufe fhe both 
 does aflfert, and always has afferted her claim to infal- 
 libility ; the Reformers have as conftantly and unani- 
 moufly renounced it, and no other Church ever dared 
 put in for it. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 22 The article of, &c. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 'The article of Spiritual Supremacy -, 0r, the being of a 
 vijible head of the Church, impartially conjidered and 
 fully proved. 
 
 TO the prerogative of the Church's infallibility ac- 
 cedes, next, the fpiritual fupremacy of her Head, 
 which is the band and cement of unity , becaufe, with 
 him we become one fold end cnejhspherd. John, c. x. v. 1 6. 
 While thefe prerogatives fubfift, the very attempts to- 
 wards a Reformation is manifeftly temerarious and 
 chimerical , and, in the want of either of them, the 
 conftitution of the Church, and the beauty and har- 
 mony of; its ceconomy, would be imperfect : like a 
 kingdom without a ruler, or a city ftript of its bul- 
 warks and fortifications, it would become a prey to, 
 and the fcorn and derifion of its enemies. For, if me 
 is a fallible Church, me can be reputed no better than 
 the miftrefs of error, or, as the blind leading the blind ; 
 the confequence whereof would be, from the afievera- 
 tion of our blefled Lord, that both me herfelf, and 
 thofe me conducts, muft fconer or later fall into the 
 pit of perdition -, that is, that me muft come to inevi- 
 table ruin -, and, being deftitute of a viiible head, me 
 is conkquently in a ftate of anarchy and confufion. 
 On the other hand, under the tenure of the firft pre- 
 rogative me is out of the reach of impeachment of 
 error; and, by virtue of the fecond, her authority is 
 uncontrolable. An invafion on the one is herefy, on 
 the other fchifm, anathematifed by CHRIST as a re- 
 bellion of the firft magnitude. 
 
 WHILE then, the Church makes good thefe feveral 
 claims, the authors of the late religious revolutions, 
 inftead of reaping the merit of becoming Reformers, 
 can be reputed no better than rebels to their Mother 
 Church, and invaders on her undoubted rights and 
 privileges -, and, as long as the Church refts on this 
 
 double
 
 The Supremacy of St. PETER, GV. 23 
 double bafis, infallibility and fupremacy, 'tis impoflible 
 her ftructure fhould ever fail, and equally impoflible 
 that a pretended Reformation, levelled at its deftruc- 
 tion, mould ever fucceed. 
 
 IT was therefore manifeftly the Reformers intereft to 
 leave no ftone unmoved in order to undermine this 
 double foundation of their Mother Church ; but inte- 
 reft and juftice don't always keep pace together, and I 
 hope to prove it to be directly the Reformers cafe in 
 the point in queftion. 
 
 THE mifcarriage and injuflice of their undertaking, 
 fo far as it was an attempt on the Church's charter of 
 infallibility, is what we have already fully confidered, 
 and thoroughly evinced, in the laft controverfy, from 
 undeniable evidence of Scripture, the Fathers, and 
 from other rational inferences. That the doctrine of 
 iiipremacy is equally fupported by the infpired writings, 
 and ftrenuoufly abetted by their faithful interpreters, the 
 primitive Fathers ; that is, that there is a vifible Head 
 of the Church, conftituted by CHRIST as his vicar and 
 reprefentative, and vefted by him with an abfolute fpi- 
 ritual jurifdiction over the whole body of the Church, 
 will, I apprehend, appear no lefs evident to every equi- 
 table judge, after an unprejudiced perufal of the fol- 
 lowing extracts from the revealed and ecclefiaftical au- 
 thorities. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The fupremacy of St. PETER, and his fuccejfors, proved 
 from clear and pofitive texts of Scripture. 
 
 SAINT PETER was that privileged Apoftle whom 
 our blefied Lord was pleaied to pitch upon, out 
 of the reft of the college, to be the deputy governor 
 of his Church, and vicar upon earth. His patents 
 are his fuccefibrs credentials for their pretenfions to 
 the fame prerogative, and a plain relation of his inve- 
 ftiture, from the evangelical hiflory, is our voucher to 
 
 the
 
 24 The Supremacy of St. PETER, Gfc. 
 
 the truth of the fact, and the confequences refulting 
 from it. 
 
 AFTER our bleffed Saviour had triumphed over 
 death, by his glorious refurrection, he made feveral 
 vifits, for the fpace of forty days, in his refufcitated 
 Hate, to his dejected difciples, for the fupport of their 
 truft in him, as their Meffiah and Redeemer ; for their 
 comfort under their late dereliction , for their own in- 
 ftruction for the time to come, and for the perpetual 
 inftruction of his Church, which was to be founded, 
 by their apoftolical labours, to the end of time. 
 
 IN the firft of thefe comfortable vifits, appearing to 
 the Apoftles gathered together, he gave to them, in- 
 difcriminately, their Apoftolic charge, faying, As the 
 Father bath fent me, fo I alfo fend you, &c. St. John, 
 ch. 20. v. 21. But, appearing afterwards to St. PETER, 
 St. JOHN, St. JAMES, St. THOMAS, &c. he fingled 
 out St. PETER from the reft, and made a triple de- 
 mand of a profeffion of his pre-eminent love, faying, 
 SIMON, loveft thott me more than thefe? &c. St. John, 
 ch. 2 1 .v. 15. And, in return for it, gives him a threefold 
 charge of his lambs and fheep ; faying, feed my lamb's, 
 feedmyjheep, &c. St. John, ch. 2i.v. 15. under which al- 
 lufions are clearly underftood, as we (hall prefently fhew, 
 the whole body of the Church , the paftors and the 
 flock ; that is, the fubaltern governors and their fub- 
 jects. This, in effect, was only a confirmation of a 
 prior commiflion he had given him on that folemn oc- 
 cafion, when he changed his name -, telling him, Thou 
 art PETER, that is a rock, and upon this rock I will build 
 my Church, &c. To thee I will give the keys of the king- 
 dom of Heaven. Matt. ch. 16. v. 18. 
 
 HERE, then, are folemn declarations of CHRIST to 
 St. PETfcR, which cannot befuppofed to be void of a 
 peculiar meaning : the Catholic^and, indeed, the ob- 
 vious meaning of them, implies a particular and fepa- 
 ratc commifiion, to that Apofcle, of inperintendancy 
 and command : for, -'to begin with the firft quoted 
 text, Feed my lambs, feed my Jbeefr &c. what ever was 
 
 meant,
 
 proved frvm Scripture. 2$ 
 
 meant, what can be meant by thofe metaphors and 
 allufions in the Scripture language, but the whole body 
 of the Church, comprehended under thefe feveral de- 
 nominations ? And therefore our blefied Lord, by 
 com mi/Honing his Apoftle to feed bis lambs and Jheep^ 
 what elfe can he be fuppofed to intend, but that he 
 fhould look on them as his flock, and they behave to 
 him as their mepherd ? 
 
 THE circum fiances, in which this commifllon was 
 delivered, confirm our prefumption that this, and no- 
 thing elfe, could be the meaning of it : for inftance, 
 the circumftance of demanding of this Apoftle an ex- 
 traordinary and pre-eminent jdegree of love, was but 
 a preparatory and requifite difpofition to qualify him 
 for the intended prerogative of becoming deputy go- 
 vernor of his Church, or paftor of his flock, which 
 he himfelf had loved to fuch a degree as to lay down 
 his life for its fake -, for, by no other token could the 
 Apoftle give a proof of his being worthy to fucceed to 
 the paftoral charge, than by teltifying his love for the 
 head paftor himfelf, CHRIST JESUS. The other cir- 
 cumftance of CHRIST'S fmgling out St. PETER from 
 the other Apoftles and difciples then prefent, when he 
 delivered to him this refpeftive charge, is a plain indi- 
 cation of a conveyance of a peculiar and cliftinctive 
 power to him on this folemn occauon ; becaufe, as I 
 hinted above, the general Apoftolic charge had been 
 imparted in common to him with the reft of his fel- 
 low Apoftles before, faying to them, As my Father hatb 
 fent me, I alfo fend you y &c. John, xx. therefore on 
 this other occafion there was a feparate and perfonal 
 commiflion given, a diftinctive prerogative, whereby 
 even they themfelves became a part of this Apoftle's 
 care. 
 
 OUR blefTed Lord had infmuated thefe intentions on 
 
 another occafion, when he faid to him (alluding to his 
 
 infirmity in denying him juft before his pafllon) SIMON, 
 
 SIMON, fabc-ld Satan has dcfired to Jbave tfae : out leave 
 
 D frayed
 
 26 The Supremacy of St. PETER, Gfo 
 
 frayed for tbee that tby faith fail not \ and when then art 
 wruer ted, confirm thy brethren. Luke, c. 22. v. 31, 32. 
 
 As the reft of the Apoftles were confirmed in grace 
 by the defcent of the Holy Ghoft, indifcriminately, 
 upon them all, they were certainly equal to St. PETER 
 in the participation of this gift, as well as in the Apo- 
 ftlefhip : this direction then of their Lord and Matter 
 to him muft have iome other tendency or meaning ; 
 and none elfe could it be but to give -him a diftinctive 
 prerogative,;, by conftituting him their head and fupe- 
 rior. And it is evident, from feveral paflages of the 
 evangelical hiftory, that they unanimoufly refpected 
 him in this capacity, and that he himfelf on fundry 
 occafions deported himfelf as fuch. For inftance, in the 
 election of St. MATHIAS to the Apoftlefhip, in order to 
 fill up the place of the traitor JUDAS, St. PETER took 
 upon him the fpeech to the whole afiembly, and pre- 
 fcribed the method of election ; and the reft acquiefced 
 in his directions : In confequence thereto the lot fell 
 upon MATHIAS, and he was entered into the lift of the 
 twelve, a member of the Apoftolic college. St. CHRY- 
 SOSTOM quotes this act of St. PETER as an undoubted 
 proof and an actual exercife of his fuperior jurifdiction 
 over his brethren : " See, fays he, how he acknow- 
 * e leges the flock entrufted to him, how he is the prince 
 " of the choir ; he had reafon to act here the firft of 
 4< all with authority, having them all delivered into his 
 " hands.'* Chryf. Horn. 3. in Act. It is moreover 
 obferved, that whenever the Evangelifts occafionally 
 give a catalogue of the Apoftles, St. PETER is always 
 placed at the head of the lift ; tho* neither prerogative 
 of age, nor priority of vocation, entitled him to this 
 precedency; for St. ANDREW was reputed the elder, 
 was the firft called to the Apoftlefhip, and was the 
 means of bringing his brother to the participation of 
 the fame privilege. 
 
 WHAT is ftill more remarkable, when their Divine 
 Matter was called on to pay his tribute toCjefar, Matth. 
 
 xvit.
 
 proved from Scripture. 2J 
 
 xvii. v. 27. he laid down a double ftipend, one for 
 himfelf, another for PETER, taking no notice of the 
 reft of the company, equalling him, as it were, by 
 this token, with himfelf, and alfo taking him into a 
 partnerlhip in government. 
 
 FROM feveral other inftances, recorded in the Sacred 
 Hiftory, befides that I juft hinted, upon the election 
 of St. MATH i AS to the Apoftlefhip, it is equally clear 
 that he conftantly took upon him the exercife of his 
 prerogative. Thus, after their miraculous illumina- 
 tion, oy the defcent of the Holy Ghoft, He was the 
 firft that opened the miniftry of the word ; the firft 
 who dared publicly aflert his Mailer's caufe, and to 
 promulgate his law ; and the blefling of Heaven fe- 
 conded his generous zeal i the converfion of three thou- 
 fand fouls following as the firft fruits of this firft fer 
 mon. It was He that took upon him the defence of 
 jiis fellow Apoftles againft the infurrections and mali- 
 cious cavils of the invidious Jews. The firft miracle, 
 in confirmation of the truth of the Gofpel, was wrought 
 by St. PETER. The vocation of the Gentiles was re- 
 vealed to him. He was the firft fent on the employ : 
 anc} the converfion of CORNELIUS the Centurion was 
 the firft fruits of Gentility and darknefs, brought to the 
 light of truth thro' his means. 
 
 Now, I put the queftion again ; Can all thefe di- 
 ftinctions fhewn to this Apoftle be without a particular 
 meaning ? And what meaning can we fix upon them 
 but what they import in their own nature fmgly, or as 
 'collected and compared one with the other, of fup- 
 pofing St. PETER to be the Head of the facred college, 
 conftituted fuch by CHRIST, and acknowledged as fuch. 
 by the reft of the Apoftles ? 
 
 AND, if we look back on the other folemn decla- 
 ration made to this Apoftle, thou art a reck, &c. and 
 the promife annexed to it, to thee I will give the keys 
 of the. kingdom of Heaven, &c. Matt, c, xvi. v. 18, 19, 
 Thefe connected together, the natural import of the 
 words, and their concomitant circumftances, concur to 
 D 2 eftablifh
 
 28 The Supremacy of St. PETER, &c'. 
 
 eilablifh his undoubted prerogative : for, at this time, 
 our blefied Lord drew out the plan of his Church ; 
 he himfelf being the corner or fundamental ftone, ap- 
 points this Apoftle as a part of the foundation, or the 
 ftone refling upon himfelf, and on which the whole 
 fuperftructure was to depend, upon this rock 'will I build 
 rny Clw.rcb-\ and in confequence to this he delivers to 
 him the keysj which, in the metaphorical language 
 of the Scripture, ever denotes fuperintendency, com- 
 mand, and a deputation of power. 
 
 To object to the firft part of this text, that the 
 Church was built on St. PETER'S faith, and not on 
 his perfon, as it is a mere arbitrary interpretation of 
 the words, wrefting them from their natural import 
 and meaning, fo it has been often anfwered beyond a 
 reply, that, though St. PETER'S faith (as ABRAHAM'S 
 faith heretofore) was the meritorious caufe of the re- 
 fpective promifes made by Almighty GOD to one and 
 the other, yet the promifes themfelves were undoubt- 
 edly given to their perlbns ; viz. to ABRAHAM, that 
 he mould be the Father of nations; to St. PETER; 
 that he, CHRIST, would build his Church upon him. 
 In this fenfe, as we mail prefently fhew, the holy Fa- 
 thers univerfally underftobd them ; and, indeed, words 
 muft be diverted of their proper and natural fignifi- 
 cation, if the text is to be tortured and mifconftrued 
 into any other meaning. 
 
 BUT now, fuppofmg this Apoftle's prerogative clear 
 and beyond diipute, it remains ftill to prove it heredi- 
 tary to his fucceflbrs ; which indeed, is the heart of 
 the caufe, and, if left undecided, we fhall ftill contk 
 nue in a ftate of darknefs and uncertainty. 
 
 As a preliminary towards clearing up this point I 
 muft premife, what is well deferving our notice, that 
 there has been a lineal defcent of fupreme Paftors from 
 St. PETER in an uninterrupted fucceflion to this day ; 
 which is the more remarkable, fince the fame cannot 
 be traced from any other member of the Apoftolic col- 
 lege, arid is a plain manifeftation of CHRIST'S extraor- 
 dinary
 
 proved from Scripture. 29 
 
 dinary and perpetual providence over his Church in this 
 particular. Our adverfaries have been fo far aware of 
 the notoriety of this fucceffion, as a fact not to be con- 
 tefted, and of the natural confequences flowing from 
 ft, viz. of St. PETER'S prerogative being entailed on 
 his defcendants, and becoming, as it were, their legal 
 and natural inheritance, that, precifely on this account, 
 they have made it their principal bufinefs to impugn 
 this Apoftle's perfonal right ; but, how vainly, we 
 have already and mail immediately further fhew. In 
 a- word, St. PETER'S right cannot be Ihook, being 
 founded on CHRIST'S indefeafible promifes -, his fuccef- 
 fors claim to the prerogative is in right of him, and 
 refts upon the fame ftable foundation. 
 
 THE arguments urged in the laft controverfy for the 
 extenfion of CHRIST'S promifes of the Church's infal- 
 libility to the end of the world, plead equally for the 
 perpetuity of St. PETER'S fupremacy to his fucceflbrs -, 
 for fimilar, or rather identical caufes produce iden- 
 tical effects ; to wit, the conftitution and government 
 of the Church was to fubfift to the end of the world ; 
 CHRIST'S divine ordinances and inftitutions regarding 
 his Church were not temporary, that is, were not li- 
 mited to the Apoftles time, nor to their perfons : It is 
 ridiculous to imagine it, and inconfiftent with our idea 
 of his paternal, omnifcient providence over his Church; 
 therefore what privileges CHRIST gave to his Church 
 at one time, (ealed and infured by his never-failing 
 promife, belong to her at all times, and are her inhe- 
 rent prerogative ; and, by parity of reafon, and in vir- 
 tue of the like pofitive promifes of CHRIST, St. PE- 
 TER'S prerogative becomes his fucceflbrs inheritance. 
 
 I forbear to tire the reader with an unneceffary .repe- 
 tition of our foregoing many proofs, thefe hints, with 
 the application of what we offered before, we flatter 
 ourfelves may be fatisfaftory to an unprejudiced reader; 
 and whatever elfe might be added would be insufficient 
 to convince a perfon biaffed by pallion and intereft 
 filone agairift all reafon. 
 
 HOWEVER,
 
 30 *The Supremacy of St. PETER, GV. 
 
 HOWEVER, the fentiments of the ancient Fathers 
 on this material point muft not be paffed over in filencej 
 for, tho' the method I propofed in the management 
 of the fubject of this efifay will not permit me to en- 
 large on thefe irrefragable teftimonies, yet the defer- 
 ence we owe to them, and even felf- intereft, will not 
 allow me to omit them intirely. The authority of the 
 Fathers is what all parties muft refpecl, and, for our 
 own part, we are fo confident of their. being wholly on 
 our fide of the queftion, that we are proud to own it 
 manifeftly our intereft to put the iffue of the debate 
 to their decifion. I'll content myfelf with felecting, 
 out of a cloud of thefe unconteftable evidences, two 
 or three who muft be reputed unexceptionable for their 
 authority and antiquity. 
 
 OF thefe St. IREN^US is one of the moft ancient, 
 living in the next age to the Apoftles, whole verdic~t 
 cannot be refufed. Now this great man, addrefiing 
 the Roman Church, gives the following teftimony t* 
 the fupremacy of her Head, as ample as the moft fan- 
 guine adherent to her intereft could pronounce at this 
 time of day. " By Apoftolical tradition, which the 
 " Roman Bimops have preferred, all feparatifts are 
 " confounded-, for, to this Church, by reafon of its 
 " mere powerful principality, 'tis necefiary that all 
 " Churches have recourfe." St. Irenaeus, 1. iii. c. 3, 
 The moft profeffed zealot for the Papacy could not, 
 as I faid, affert its prerogative in more full and ex- 
 preffive terms. 
 
 St. CYPRIAN, whofe fuffrage is as unexceptionable, 
 both for his antiquity and his merit, as the former, 
 living in the third age, and dying a glorious martyr in 
 the defence of truth, writing to the holy Pope of that 
 time, St. CORNELIUS, who alfo fealed his faith with 
 the effufion of nis blood, he (tiles Rome " the chair 
 " of St. PETER, and the principal Church from which 
 " the unity of prieflhood is (derived. Cypr. Ep. iv. 
 ad Corn. 
 
 St. HIERQM
 
 proved from Scripture. 31 
 
 St. HIEROM alfo addrefles Pope DAMASUS in the 
 following ftrong and emphatical terms, " I am joined 
 " in communion with your Holinefs, that is, with the 
 " chair of PETER ; upon this rock I know the Church 
 " is built. Whoever eats the lamb out of this houfe 
 " is profane : whofoever is not in the ark mall perilh 
 " in the deluge.'* Hier. Ep. 57. ad Damaf. 
 
 St. AMBROSE obferves, " That ANDREW followed 
 " CHRIST fooner than PETER, yet that ANDREW did 
 " not receive the principality, but PETER." Ambr. in 
 2 Cor. xii. 
 
 St. AUSTIN tells the Donatifts, " that in the See of 
 " Rome the principality of the Catholic Church was 
 " ever acknowledged." Aug. Ep. 162. 
 
 St. CHRYSOSTOM'S fentiments on this head are evi- 
 dent from what we have quoted from him already on 
 the election of St. MATHIAS , and he is confonant to 
 himfelf, in this point, on many other occafions, which 
 for brevity's fake I pafs over. 
 
 But the words of St. OPTATUS MILEVITANUS to 
 PARMENION, a Donatift Prelate, are too remarkable 
 to be omitted. " You can't pretend, fays he to him, 
 " to be ignorant that St. PETER held the firft epifcopa! 
 *' chair in the city of Rome, in which Peter, head of 
 " all the Apoftles fat : in which one chair, unity 
 <e might be maintained by all, left the reft of the 
 ** Apoftles mould each claim his own feparate chair j 
 ic fo that he is now a Schifmatic, and an offender, who 
 " erects another againft this fingle chair. In this 
 " one chair, which is the firft of the properties of the 
 ** Church, PETER firft fat : to him fucceeded LINUS: 
 " to him CLEMENT, (sfc. Give you now an account 
 " of the origin of your chair ; you, who claim to 
 <c yourfelves the Holy Church." St. Optat, Meliv. 
 lib. ii. cont. Parm. 
 
 PLL conclude the quotations from thefe ancient irre- 
 fragable vouchers for the fupremacy, with a fhort ex- 
 tract out of an emphatical difcourfe on this fubject, 
 fpoken on the eve of the feaft of St, PETER, by Eu- 
 
 CHERIUS
 
 32 The Supremacy of St. PETER, fc. 
 
 CHERIUS Bifhop of Lyons, who lived in the beginning 
 cf the fifth century. " Firft CH IST entrufted him 
 with his lambs, next with his meep -, becaufe he 
 made him not only a flrpherd, but the foepherd of 
 Jhepherds. PETER then feeds the lambs, he alfo 
 K ds the fheep, he feeds both the young and the 
 mother, he rules bothfubjefts and prelates ; he is there- 
 fore a ftrpherd over all ; for, befides lambs and 
 fheep there is nothing in the Church." 
 THESE are a few of the innumerable teftimonies 
 from antiquity for the Catholic doctrine on the fubjecl: 
 under debate, which the more clear and undeniable, 
 the more ftedfaft the Church's tenure, fo well fupport- 
 ed. For, as the Scripture is the- teft we have agreed 
 to appeal, to 'in this controverfy, fo the ancient Fathers, 
 as I pbferved before, muft be allowed to be the faith- 
 ful and moft unexceptionable interpreters of thefe fa- 
 cred records i ' and therefore, while they are fo evi- 
 dently on our fide of the queftion, the caufe of the 
 Reformation muft be owned to be here alfo deficient ; 
 and every a thing they pretend to oppofe to the Church's 
 charter for the fupremacy, is to be reputed no more 
 than mere chicaneries and idle evafions, or, at beft* 
 but as negative arguments againft pofitive proofs : fuch 
 is their inference from St. PAUL'S reproving St. PETER 
 at Antioch for his feparating himfelf from the con- 
 verted Gentiles, out of a miftaken condefcenfion to 
 the Jewiih profelytes. A. fuperior may be liable to an 
 error in judgment; and in this cafe, it i.> neither un- 
 ufual nor unbecoming an inferior to admonifh him of 
 his miftake : and therefore, from St. PAUL'S zeal on 
 the occafion mentioned, no confequence can be drawn 
 in prejudice to St. PETER'S Primacy. And he is in as 
 little danger of forfeiting his prerogative from the 
 groundlefs furmife, which has come into the heads of 
 .our modern Reformers, of this Apoftle's not prefiding 
 in the Council cf Jerufalem, nor from other like ob- 
 jections, equally trivial and undeferving our notice. 
 
 Now
 
 Further Proofs of the Supremacy. 33 
 
 Now, as our adverfaries muft be judged, from the 
 premifes, to have failed in their principal plea, and 
 what, in this debate, by their own rule, mould be the 
 decifive tribunal, the clear words of Scripture j it is to 
 be expected, at leaft, as I obferved in the foregoing 
 controverfy, that they produce invincible reafons from 
 the nature of the thing in further fupport of their op- 
 pofition, in order to its retaining the fhadow or appear- 
 ance of a godly Reformation. How far they have 
 failed of coming up to thefe juft expectations we will 
 now examine. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The Supremacy further evinced, from reafon and prefcrip- 
 tive pojfejfion, in a continual fucceffion of paftors from 
 St. PETER, con/lent fy averting their prerogative: and 
 the oppofition proved to be deftitute of every foundation^ 
 either from authority or reafon. 
 
 ringleader of the Reformation, MARTIN 
 A LUTHER, when he renounced his obedience to 
 the Church and its Head ; in order to fcreen himfelf 
 from the imputation of being a rebel, was under a 
 neceffity of impugning the Church in her two funda- 
 mental articles of Infallibility and Supremacy. It had, 
 indeed, been more for his own credit, and for the re- 
 putation of the Reformation in general, if he had ma- 
 naged his oppofition and vented his refentment with 
 more temper, charity, and humility- than it is known 
 he did. Even his great panegyrift, Dr. TILLOTSON, 
 unwarily allows him to be " a bold, rough man," tho* 
 he deems him a fit wedge for the knotty work he had 
 in hand ; a character better becoming a hero of the 
 bear-garden, than an Apoftle or Reformer. And it is 
 certain that his violent, outragious and infolent beha- 
 viour favoured very little of the fpirit of the Gofpel, 
 and of that meeknefs fo much recommended by our 
 Divine Matter in words and example, and ftrictly fol- 
 E lowed
 
 3 4 Further Proofs of the Supremacy. 
 
 lowed by all who ever engaged in the Apoflolical 
 charge. 
 
 BUT, laying afide perfonal reflections, we will pro- 
 ceed to ' examine into the merits of the caufe. The 
 great man, whom I juft named, Archbifhop TILLOT- 
 SON, fpeaking of the point in debate, the article of 
 the Supremacy, confidently pronounces the following 
 judgment upon it : He fays, that It is not only an 
 " indefenfible, but an impudent caufe as ever was un- 
 "* dertaken : that there is not any tolerable argumtrxS 
 " for it, and a thoufand invincible arguments againft 
 " it : that the hiftories and records of all ages are a. 
 "perpetual demon ftratiori againft it." Tillot. Serm. 
 xlix. p. 588. A modern author is pleafed to deliver 
 hlmfeif, on the fubjecb, with a fimilar aflunmcc, the' 
 both the one and the other are as ddhtute of proofs, a.s 
 their aflertion is wide from truth : but railing is a 
 compendious way of managing a bad caufe. Bold af- 
 fertions occafionally fupply the want of proofs with 
 credulous readers, who 'take what is told them upon 
 the word and credit of their teachers, without further 
 examination : But whadbever thefe fwaggering declaim- 
 ers are pleafed to roar out againft us, we are net to be 
 filenced with r.oife , nor win powder and fmoke fcarc 
 us.} and therefore, in anfwcr to this hectoring ch~! 
 lenge, we are bold to fay, That we have not only tole- 
 rable but convincing arguments on the Catholic fide of the 
 queftion ; and that what is infmuat>'ci by our opponents 
 sgainft it, is no more than mere fophiftry or (lander. 
 
 FIRST, its divine inftitution, which we have already 
 proved from ' clear evidences of the New Teftament, 
 we think to be an invincible argument for the Supre- 
 macy : fecondly, the furrrages of the primitive Fa- 
 thers, which \ve have juft produced, are fuch proof?, 
 as, in common modefty, every one ought to fubmit 
 to , and therefore mows our caufe not to be an impudent 
 fydefenfible caufe, when fupportcd by Inch unexception- 
 able authorities : thirdly, pre'fcriptive poiTeffion, which 
 by the conations of our advcriarics -vvc have had for 
 
 mar.y
 
 Further Proofs of the Supremacy. 3 5 
 
 many hundred years, and, by our own calculation (as 
 we have proved already and fhall further) from the. 
 eftabliihment of Chriftianity, makes it clear that all 
 biftories and records are fo far from being a demonftration 
 again/I if, that they are, on the contrary, unanimous 
 vouchers for the juftice of our pretenfions. 
 
 WHAT 1 have already remarked of the lineal defcent 
 of the head paftors of the Church in a continual fuc- 
 ceflion from St. PETER, which cannot be traced from 
 any of the reft of the Apoftles, is a vifible inftance of 
 the peculiar Providence of Heaven in preferving this 
 fucceflion, and of the accomplimment of CHRIST'S pro- 
 mifes made to St. PETER, when he conftituted him 
 his vicar or deputy governor of his Church. 
 
 THIS was one of the prevailing motives which kept 
 St. AUSTIN within the pale of the Catholic Church. 
 His words are very remarkable, " A fucceflion, fays 
 " he, of Bilhops from the fee of St. PETER, (to whom 
 *' CHRIST, after his refurrection, committed his flock) 
 " to the prefent epifcopacy, holds me in the Catholic 
 " communion." St. /iuft. lib. iii. cont. epift. fund. 
 ch. 3. And that the fucceflbrs of St. PETER have, 
 from the beginning and at all times, aflerted their pre- 
 rogative of Spiritual Supremacy, will appear evident 
 from the following plain and unconteftable facts, which 
 are only a few out of the many that biftories and records 
 of every age furnmes us with. 
 
 IN the next age to the Apoftles St. VICTOR, as we 
 gather from ecclefiaftical hiftory, fitting at that time 
 ia St. PETER'S chair, intimidated the Churches of 
 Letter Afia v/ith menaces of excommunication for their 
 undue celebration of Eafter. Eufeb. lib. v. c. 24. 
 Now this aft muft be undoubtedly reputed an exercile 
 of his fuperior jurifdiction over thofe Churches. 
 
 IN the third age St. STEPHEN, Pope, acted with the 
 lame vigour, in the exercife of his authority, on the 
 occafion of the then controverted point about the vali- 
 dity of heretical baptifm. 
 
 E ^ TH*
 
 3 6 Further Proofs of the Supremacy. 
 
 THE great council of Chalcedon, held in the year 
 451, in their epiftle to the Pope, ftilehim, " their fa- 
 " ther and their head," Tom. iv. cone. p. 833. & feq. 
 which, if it be not acknowledging his fupremacy, 
 words cannot exprefs it, or muft be divefted of their 
 proper and natural meaning. 
 
 St. GELASIUS, Pope, who lived in the fifth century, 
 afierts the fupremacy of his fee from the appointment 
 of CHRIST, and his promife fo often alledgcd to St. 
 PETER, tfhouart PETER, and upon this rock will I build 
 wy Church. Tom iv. cone. lab. p. 1261. E. 
 
 To omit a cloud of other witneffes which the reader 
 may have recourfe to in fundry treatifes on this fub- 
 jedt, I'll conclude with the words of one of the Pope's 
 legates opening his commiffion to the General Council 
 of Epheius, An. 341 " No one, fays he, doubts, 
 " nay, it is a thing known to all ages, that St. PETER 
 " (Prince and Head of the Apoftles, who is the pillar 
 * c of faith, and the foundation of the Catholic Church) 
 received from CHRIST the keys of the kingdom or 
 Heaven, and had the power of binding and loofing 
 fins given him j and who to this time, and always, 
 lives in his fuccefibrs, and exercifes his authority : 
 whofe canonical fucceflbrs, Pope CE LEST IN, holding 
 his place, has fent us . to this council to reprefent 
 hisperfon." Afts 3. cone. Epef. T. 3. cone. lab. 
 p. 626.. A. 
 
 ALSO in the General Council of Chalcedon, con- 
 fifling-of 5^o Bilhops, An. 451, the legates of St. 
 LEO, indepofmg DIOSCORUS, ftile St. PETER, "the 
 " rock and foundation of the Church," Ads 3. T. 4. 
 p. 425. C. t>. 
 
 Now as this is the literal fenfe, or the very words, 
 of 'that Apoille's in(l:ilmerit in his prerogative, Matt. 
 q. xvi. v. 1 8. as thefe councils are admitted for 
 cecumenical by our adverfaries, as the Fathers of the 
 councils \vcre lo far from cpntcfting thefe folemn de- 
 clarations, or difputihg the Pope's prerogative, that 
 they fubmitted tp his authority, and acquielced in the
 
 Further Proofs of the Supremacy. 3 7 
 
 decifions of his reprefentatives ; what can we conclude 
 from all thefe evidences but that the fupremacy of 
 St. PETER and his fucceffbrs was the univerfal fenfe 
 and belief of the whole Catholic world at that early 
 and pure age of the Church , and that, therefore, our 
 adverfaries, in pretending to date the epoch of fupre- 
 macy from PHOCAS the emperor, and his flattery to 
 the bifhop of Rome then fitting in the chair, fabuloufly 
 and malicioufly contradict the foregoing teftimonies, 
 which deduce it from the earlieft times, that is, from 
 the birth of Chriftianity ? and Dr. Tillotfon muft alfo 
 be ftrangely miftaken, or, what is worfe, as he cannot 
 be fuppofed to be a ftranger to the avowed hiftorical 
 facts of thofe ancient times, muft be pamonately pre- 
 judiced, and as unfmcere and difmgenuous as his bre- 
 thren, in averring, " That the hiftories and records of 
 " all ages are a perpetual demonftnition againft it-'* 
 
 THEY, with as little foundation, raife their clamours 
 againft the pretended exorbitant power of the papacy : 
 they may affect to reprefent it in the moft odious light, 
 as a defpotic, arbitary and tyrannical ufurpation : in- 
 vectives will go down with the credulous vulgar, and 
 puzzling the queftion may fet their adherents at reft, 
 in leaving it, like a drawn battle, undecided , but can 
 never touch the heart of the caufe. For, it is not what 
 they pleafe to impofe on our belief, or even what may 
 be the particular fentiments of an indifcreet zealot, 
 or the private opinion of a {ingle divine or two of the 
 Catholic Church, which we are obliged to maintain, 
 or undertake to contend for. What we aflert, is, that 
 there is a vifible head of the Church conftituted by 
 CHRIST as his Vicar, who is the centre of unity, or 
 the means by which we become together, as united 
 and fubordinate to him, one fold and one Jbepberd^ 
 St. John, c. x. v. 1 6. 
 
 THIS we look upon as a providential blefling cal- 
 culated for the prefervation of the Church. The 
 jurifdiction we attribute to this paftor is purely fpiritual, 
 abftracted from all temporal pretenfions, or imaginary 
 
 encroach-
 
 38 Further proofs of the Supremacy. 
 
 encroachments. This infine, is the fyftem of our 
 belief in this point, delivered in our profeflions of faith, 
 and fet forth in all our catechifms, as the terms of 
 communion ; and is what, I hope, I have fufEciently 
 evinced in the foregoing premifes from the divine in- 
 ftitution, the primitive fathers, and the prefcriptive 
 poffeiTion of the Church from the foundation of Chrif- 
 tianity. In confequence hereto, the oppofition of our 
 adversaries muft appear to be as manifestly deftitute of 
 every fupport from Scripture, authority of the Fathers, 
 or reafon ; and as it fprung from the machinations of 
 pride and rebellion, fo it evidently keeps up and nou- 
 rilhes, the fame fpirit. 
 
 OUR firil parents forfeited their original juftice, and 
 their fettlement in the terreflrial paradife, by aiming 
 at independency, in liftening to the infernal tempter, 
 telling them, youjhcdlbt as Gods, Gen. c. iii. v. 5. and 
 by a like levelling principal our pretended Reformers 
 Ihut themfelves out of the pale of the Church. An 
 abiblute independance, and a liberty of thinking and 
 acting as they mould pleafe, was what they equally- 
 aimed at, . and effectually introduced, by difcarcling 
 the articles of infallibility and fupremacy. The un- 
 avoidable confequence of this ftep was confufion, dif- 
 order, and a total deftruction of unity. So that 
 inflead of correcting abufes and baniming errors, 
 (which is the natural idea of a godly Reformation) 
 they laid the foundation of every abufe, opened a gap 
 to latitiidmarianifm and deifm, and eftablimed a ftate 
 of anarchy. 
 
 CHAP,
 
 The Article of the, &c. '39 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 'The Article of the Real Prefence of CHRIST'S Body and 
 Blood, in the blejjed Sacrament of the Eucharijt^ con- 
 ftdered. 
 
 AMONG the tenets of the Catholic Church, 
 which the authors and abettors of the Reforma- 
 tion have thought fit to brand with the imputation of 
 errour, the article of the real prefence of CHRIST'S 
 Body and Blood in the holy Sacrament of the Eucharift: 
 may be reputed one of the moft fundamental ; becaufe 
 on the refolution of this fmgle queftion is to be deter- 
 mined whether the impeachment of idolatry, which 
 many of the Reformers are fond of fattening upon us, 
 for our adoration of CHRIST as really prefent in the 
 venerable Sacrament of the Eucharift, has any appear- 
 ance of equity and reafon ; or whether, on the con- 
 trary, we have not an undoubted right to retort the 
 charge of ingratitude on them, as well as infidelity, 
 for difbelieving and rejecting fo fingqlar and ineffable 
 a blefiing. 
 
 . BUT be our cafe, in this contefted point, what it 
 will, we have a principal and leading part of the Re- 
 formation to bear us company. For LUTHER, the 
 firft patriarch of the Reformation, with his followers, 
 is as fanguine for the real prefence as the moft zealous, 
 Catholic j and though, in explaining the myftery by his 
 whim of an impanation, or a confubftantiation of the Bread 
 with CHRIST'S Body, in lieu of a tranfubftantiation, 
 or, a change of the fubftances, which is the Catholic 
 belief, he renders it more irreconcilable to reafon, 
 and unintelligible , yet he agrees with us in the main 
 point of a real and corporal prefence , and which is the 
 very heart of the difficulty, in which it becomes a 
 ftumbling block and ftone of offence to the reft of 
 the Reformers. And fuch is his condefcenfion in regard 
 to the Catholic tenet, as to think the diverfity of opi- 
 nions
 
 40 The Article of the 
 
 nions between him and us to be a matter of indiffe- 
 rence. " I have taught, fays he, heretofore, and yet 
 " fuftain, that it avails little, and is a queftion of no 
 " great moment, whether we believe the bread to 
 " remain or not, in the Eucharift, or to be tranfub- 
 " ftantiated." Luth. de C<sn. dom. contra. Zuin. But, 
 it is certain that he does not mew himfelf fo well af- 
 fected to his diffenting brethren, the abettors of the 
 figurative and fymbolical fyftem, whom, on this head, 
 he lames with the fevereft cenfures and bittereft impre- 
 cations. In his Confeffio Parva, wrote about a year before 
 he died, he calls them, " Blafphemers againft GOD and 
 " CHRIST, a pack of liars, curfed, proud and arro- 
 ** gant fpirits ; bread-eaters, wine-drinkers, foul-mur- 
 c derers!" and in a tract wrote fome while after the 
 former, and when he was nearer his end, he repeats 
 and confirms his afbrefaid fentiments in terms equally 
 home and fignificant, " we feriouily think, fays he, the 
 *' ZUINGLIANS and all the Sacramentarians, to be 
 * c Hereticks, and feparated from GOD'S Church, who 
 " deny the Body and Blood of CHRIST to be taken in 
 " the mouth of our body, in the bleflfed Sacrament.'* 
 Luth. Thef, cont. lovan Thef. ii. 
 
 IN confequence to thefe material differences fubfift- 
 ing between the Reformers, the following appofite 
 queflions obvioufly occur. Firft, I would defire to 
 know of Dr. TILLOTSON, or any other panegyrift 
 of this head patriarch of the Reformation, how their 
 hero's honour and orthodoxy is to be faved in this 
 controverted point ? for if Catholics are here reprov- 
 able, how is he, who is in the fame belief, as far 
 as it is an object of exception and offence to them, 
 to be excufed ? and though his bold attack on the 
 papacy may glofs over his fmaller (lips, yet if the ar* 
 tide in queftion, be a grofs error and damnable ido- 
 latry, as our opponents pretend, he is confefledly 
 guilty of it, and therefore rnuft be judged either to 
 have wanted jagacity and infpiration to difcover the 
 ^rrour, or courage to impugn it : blemifhes of too 
 
 black
 
 Real Prefence conjldered* 41 
 
 black a dye to be admitted into the character of a head 
 Reformer. 
 
 I WOULD alfo beg leave to put one other queOion : Is 
 the Reformation a human or divine work ? That is, is 
 it to be deemed a mere human device and invention, or 
 as infpired and conducted by the Holy Ghoft ? They can- 
 not, for mame, adopt it under the firit notion \ becaufe, 
 being put on that footing, its credit finks, and forfeits 
 at once its pretenfion to an evangelical or godly Re- 
 formation ; and, yet, on the other hand, for a work 
 inconfiftent with itfelf to come from GOD, is mocking 
 to think, and blafphemy to utter. No, a fabrick com- 
 pofed of incoherent parts cannot have Almighty GOD 
 for its architect. The fpirit of" wifdom and truth could 
 not poffibly infpire contradictions, fuch as are the di- 
 verfity of opinions among the Reformers in the pre- 
 fent controverfy , viz. a Real Corporal Prefence^ tena- 
 ciouQy defended by LUTHER : a bare Remembrance or 
 Commemoration aflerted by ZUINGLIUS : A refinement on 
 both by CALVIN in his figurative Symbolical Sytlem : 
 and an unintelligible jargon of a Real non-corporal 
 prefence maintained by the Church of England. The 
 HOLY GHOST, I fay, could not infpire fuch contra- 
 dictions ; if one fyftem be true, the others mud be 
 undoubtedly falfe, or rather all equally fo, the pro- 
 ducts of innovating brains, big with invention. And 
 in whatfoever other points thefe differences amongd 
 the Reformers occur, the fame unanfwerable objections 
 return upon them. 'Tis the Catholic Church alone, 
 which having the HOLY GHOST, the Spirit of Truth, 
 for its guide, is always confident with itfelf, uniform, 
 and unvariable in its doctrine -, and therefore, leaving 
 the Reformers to patch up and adjuft their own differ- 
 ences as they can, I'll purfue my firft defign to vindi- 
 cate the Catholic tenet from the imputation of error, 
 by the ftandard of faith, which they themfclves pre- 
 tend to appeal to, the clear words of Scripture. 
 
 F To
 
 42 tfranfubftantiation proved 
 
 To this teft then I put the iflue of the prefent con- 
 troverfy of the real prefence, by afferting a tranfub- 
 ilantiation, or a fubftantral change of bread and wine 
 into the facred Body and Blood of CHRIST in the Sa- 
 crament of the Eucharift , in which fenfe it is the object 
 of our faith, and one of the terms of a Catholic com- 
 munion , and which I flatter myfelf to make good, in 
 the following fection, againft the cavils of our ad- 
 verfaries, from unconteflable evidences of the word of 
 GOD. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Tranfubftantiation evinced from clear Scripture. 
 
 THE jufteft and moft natural appeal we can 
 make in the prefent controverfy, and what de- 
 'ferves our preferable attention to every other proof, 
 (as Scripture is the teft by which our caufe is to be tried) 
 will be, I apprehend, to the words of the inflitution 
 itfelf of this auguft Sacrament , becaufe every other 
 proof refts on this bafis, and derives its merit and effi- 
 cacy from it. The inftitution of the blefled Eucharift 
 is admitted by all hands to have been our blefied Lord's 
 laft act and deed, in taking a farewell of his beloved 
 difciples, juft as he was entering on the tragical fcene 
 of his bitter paflion. It was, moreover, a declaration 
 of his will and teftament to his friends, and a legacy 
 or earned of his love, affection, and efteem, to conti- 
 nue with them after his impending reparation. 
 
 THE fingularity and folemnity of each of thefe cir- 
 cumftances, obvioufly raife our expectations of fome 
 extraordinary event, and (bine fignal tcftimonies of his 
 friendfhip : for, as a parting adieu, it inuft have been 
 moft kind and endearing, coming from the heart of 
 an Incarnate Deity, overflowing with love for his inti- 
 mate friends, from whom he was going to be violently 
 forced away : as a will and teftament it ihould, ac- 
 cording to the nature of fuch deeds, be clear and in- 
 telligible ; and, as a legacy, it could not fail of being 
 
 . fuch
 
 from clear Scripture. 43 
 
 fiich as would be worthy of the infinite munificence and 
 benevolence of the donor, and fuch as would redound 
 to the emolument of the receivers, and be to them a 
 perpetual memorial of their divine benefactor. And, 
 we cannot be fo injurious to our bleffed Lord, as to 
 doubt of his fulfilling thefe expectations in every re- 
 ipect, and to their full extent : Therefore to the words 
 of the inftitution of this auguft Sacrament we willingly 
 put the iflue of this debate. 
 
 The facred Penmen, the Evangelifts, are they from 
 whom we have the relation of this memorable tranfac- 
 tion, uniform, plain, and unaffected, in the following 
 words : Jefus took bread into his. hands, Ueffcd and broke 
 if, and gave it to bis difciples, faying, Take ye and eat : 
 This is my Body : and blcjjing the chalice, he gave it to 
 them, faying, Drink ye all of this, for this is my Blood 
 of the New Tejtament, which Jh all be Jhed for many, unto 
 the remiffion of fns. Matt. xxvi. 25, 28. So St. MAT- 
 THEW, and the reft, in identical, or equivalent and 
 fynonimous terms. St. LUKE expreflmg the confecra- 
 tion of the chalice with this variation, ftill, if pofiible, 
 more fignificant, 'This is the chalice, the New ^ejlament 
 in my Blood, wbicl Jhall fa Jhed for you. Luke xxii. 20. . 
 
 THESE then are the words of the inftitution ; plain, 
 undifguifed, and expremve ; from which I draw the 
 following natural and obvious inferences : Firfl, that 
 the literal and obvious meaning of the words import 
 a conveyance of CHRIST'S body and blood, and afub- 
 flantial change of bread and wine into them, to this 
 effect : Secondly, I aver this to be fo clear, that, fup- 
 pofmg it, for argument's fake, to have been a difputa- 
 ble point, and hitherto undetermined, yet in the hy- 
 pothefis that our bleffed Lord had intended at that 
 time to operate this miraculous change, and to make 
 a conveyance of his Body and Blood to his difciples, he 
 could not have delivered himfelf in more clear, expref- 
 five and figniiicant terms than he did - 9 and therefore, 
 without the moil invincible, demcnftrative arguments 
 to diiprove it, the literal interpretation ought to take 
 F 2 place,
 
 44- Tranfubflantiation proved 
 
 place, and influence us into a ftedfaft belief, that this 
 was the real intent and meaning of our Lord and Ma- 
 fter, and no objections from the information of our 
 fenfes (as I mail fhcw hereafter) can be admitted to 
 be of {ufficifnt weight to over-nile thefe plain, pofitive 
 affcr-ons of eternal truth. I infer, thirdly, that Lu- 
 TH R'S fyftem of a confubftantial prefence of CHRIST'S 
 body with the elements of bread and wine, is wholly 
 a r :iry, and inconfiftent with the tenor o the text ; 
 becaufe, in this fenfe the meaning of the words of the 
 inftitution muft (land thus, 1'his bread is my body , which 
 propofition is an abfolute contradiction, literally under- 
 ftood, importing one thing to be another, viz. Bread to 
 be CHIUST'J- body, and therefore directly impofiible. 
 Had indeed our bluffed Saviour delivered himfelf in 
 thefe terms, Here is my body ; in this cafe a concomi- 
 tant prefence of his facrcd body with the elements, by 
 fome mylrical union poffible to the Divine Power, 
 might have been inferred from it,, without implying 
 the like contradiction , but, as our bleflfed Lord did 
 not expnifs himfelf in this manner, the Catholic fenfe 
 ought to prevail ; and the literal import of the words, 
 as the facred text ftands, convey no other idea. 
 
 I INFER laftly and principally, againfl our chief 
 adverfiries, the abettors of the figurative and fymbo- 
 lical fenfe, that this fyftem is ftill more arbitrary, and 
 an abfolute alienation and torture of the words from 
 their natural meaning ; and as it explains the words 
 of the inftitution, This is my body, to this effect, This 
 is the fign or figure of my bodj^ is a manifeft breach of, 
 and a dr:-ct Violence on the common laws of i'peech : 
 for, tho* a known and adopted fign, allowed as fuch 
 by general ufe, is often called by- the name of the 
 thing it fignifies , as, pointing to a picture of the 
 king, we fay, That is the king ; meaning that it repre 
 fents his royal perfon ; yet to give a foreign word or 
 thing Rich an allufion (being difproportioned, and un- 
 fit in itfHf to fignify what it is intended to mean) with- 
 out previoufly preparing the hearer, by letting him 
 
 into
 
 from clear Scripture. 45 
 
 into our meaning, would be an abufe of words, and 
 an impropriety of fpeech, and wholly unintelligible. 
 Thus, for inflance, was any one to determine within 
 himfelf that a pebble mould fignify a diamond, and 
 purfuant to this fettled idea, without communicating 
 it to any one elfe, mould, pointing to a pebble, fay, 
 That is a diamond ; his language would be unintelli- 
 gible and ridiculous. And I beg leave to fay, that, 
 in the prefent cafe, our blefled Saviour's calling bread 
 his body, &V. (figuratively underftood, meaning only 
 the fign of his body) without a previous declaration 
 of this his meaning, is liable to the fame cenfure of 
 being a fpeech quite improper and unnatural, and 
 would have been an impolition on the under (landing 
 of his Apoflles, to whom he directed his difcourfe ; and 
 therefore we cannot offer fuch an indignity to his good- 
 nefs and wifdom, as to impute to him ,fo grofs an ab- 
 furdity. Our blefled Lord, on an occafion, exhorting 
 his.difciples to fly to the Divine afllflance in all their 
 exigencies, as an infurance of fuccefs, encouraged 
 them by this familiar example : Which of you, fays he, if 
 he ask his father bread, will he give him a ft one? or afjh y 
 will he for afijh give kirn a ferpent ? Luke xi. 1 1 . From 
 whence he infers, that his eternal Father will much 
 lefs deceive them, whenever they have recourfe to 
 him. And now, can we believe that he himfelf, the 
 identical image of his eternal 'Father's goodnefs, love, 
 and fmcerity, would on this occafion trifle with his in- 
 timate friends, and lead them into the groffeft miilake ; 
 to wit, that at the time that he was delivering to them 
 his laft will and teftament, and depofiting with them 
 a parting legacy, which he exprefly declared to be his 
 facred Body and Blood, that, I fay, in this folemn 
 act of confummate friendfhip, he would impofe upon 
 them a piece of bread, as a mere figure and fign of 
 his Body, in lieu of its truth and reality, in direct 
 contradiction to his faid exprefs declaration , and this 
 without giving them the leait previous intimation of his 
 private and hidden meaning ? Yet thcle confequences, 
 
 and
 
 46 ^ranfub/lantlation proved 
 
 and many others of the. fame natur >, as directly flow 
 from our adv ^rfaries figurative or fymbolical fyftem, 
 as they are mocking to every honed heart, and even 
 to common fenfe, and are injurious to the goodnefs, 
 wix r dom, and veracity of an incarnate Deity, and our 
 mod loving Redeemer. 
 
 BUT, for the fame reafon that a previous intimation 
 of his meaning had been requlfite for the Apoftles, if 
 he had intended to be underilood in the figurative fenfe, 
 in order to undeceive them, and to fcreen himlelf from 
 the imputation of impofinnr upon them , for this reafon, 
 the literal import of the words was neither ihocking 
 to them nor a matter of furprife ^ becaufe our blefled 
 Lord, had, long before, prepared them for the ac- 
 complilhment of this myftery, bypofitively promifmg to 
 bequeath to them his Body and Blood, as their fpiritual 
 food and nourimment ; and therefore, what he did at 
 his laft Supper, was no more than what they had long 
 expected : the manner in which he did it, of giving it 
 them under the veils of the elementary fpecies, was leaft 
 repugnant to human fenfe ; and the truth or reality of 
 the fact, that is, the effectual change of the elements 
 into his Body and Blood (after having feen him convert 
 water into wine, and work innumerable other changes 
 and prodigies) they could have no room to doubt of. 
 For, tho' this prefent change was not evident to their 
 fenf's, their Divine Mailer's pofitive. declaration of -the 
 fact, fuoported by prior motives of credibility, was a 
 fufficient warrant for the truth of it, without any other 
 tefHmony. 
 
 IT is from the fixth chapter of St. John that we ga- 
 ther this prior promife of our bleffed Lord to his difci- 
 ples, of giving them his Fleih for their fpi ritual nou- 
 rimment, and is a corroborative proof of the literal 
 fenfe of th. institution. The words are thefe : The 
 bread I will give is my Flejh^ for the life of the world : 
 Anun, I fay unto you, except you eat the Flcfh of the fan of 
 , and drink bis Blood, ycu jhdl not have life in you : 
 
 He
 
 from clear Scripture. 47 
 
 He that 'eatetb my Flejh, and drinketb my Blood has life 
 everlafting. St. John vi. 52, 54, 55. 
 
 Now the Ijteral import of thefe texts contains a ma- 
 nifeft prediction, and abfolute promife of the Divine, 
 legacy, viz. of CHRIST'S Flefli and Blood, which he 
 bequeathed afterwards to his Apoftles at his laft flipper ; 
 and therefore his fulfilling this promife at that time, 
 as I faid before, could be no fubjeft of furprife, or 
 matter of doubt. 
 
 BUT when the reft of the company, who were pre- 
 fent with the Apoftles at the uttering of this unexpected 
 fpeech, underftanding it in a carnal lenie, affected to 
 be {hocked and fcandalifed at it ; faying, How can tbis 
 man give us bis Flejb to eat, and his Blood to drink. John, 
 c. vi. v. 56. Did out blefied Saviour difabufe them of 
 their error, as in charity to their mifapprehendine; him, 
 if he had only meant a figurative or fymboiicai con- 
 veyance and manducation, it might be expected he 
 would, and might eafily have done ; and as he eriec- 
 tually did undeceive them, (as I {hall prefently Ihew) 
 with regard to their miitake of tlie manner of the con- 
 veyance of his flem to them. On the contrary, as to 
 the fubftance of the promife, he confirms it with the 
 folemneft affeveration , My jlcjh> fays he, is meat indeed^ 
 and my Bkod is drink indeed : he that eatetb my Flcfh c,nd 
 drinketb my Blood abidctb in we and I in him. John, c. vi. 
 v. 56, 57. And when this incredulous audience ftiiJ% 
 continued inflexible to the iblemri afleverations of 
 eternal Truth, and departed upon it, muttering to 
 themfelves, and calling them A bard faying*, who can 
 bear */, John, c. vi. v. 61. Our blefied Lord here- 
 upon, turning to his Apoftles, faid, And will you aUo ' 
 leave me? Johnvi. 67. But they, inftcad of joining in 
 the infidelity of the others, made the following gene- 
 rous profefiion of their faith ; .We believe^ laid they, 
 ami have known that tbou art tbe fen of GOD , John, 
 c. vi. v. 69 , which was as much as to fay, that ho\v 
 much foever his declarations and promifes were fur- 
 parTmg human comprelicnfion, yet they believed them 
 
 poflible
 
 jj.8 *IranJubflantiatwn proved 
 
 poflible to his omnipotent power, and therefore Mel 
 no reluctance in adenting to the feafibknefs and veracity 
 bf his promifes then, and were as little prompted to 
 difcredit the actual accomplifhment of them after- 
 wards. 
 
 HOWEVER^ it is objected, by our adverfaries to 
 this whole pafiage, that our bleffed Saviour himfelf, 
 On this occafiOn, qualified and limited his own faying 
 to a fpiritual fenfe, by adding, that // is the fpirit ?ubict> 
 quickenetb\ the fle/h profiteth nothing, the words I fpeak 
 to you, they are fpirit a nd life \ John c. vi. v. 64 from 
 tvhich they pretend to conclude an exclufion of a cor- 
 poral conveyance and manducation. But however 
 fond, the abettors of a figurative or fymbolical fenfe, 
 may be of this text, in laying a great ftrefs upon it 5 
 St. AUSTIN, in his comment on thefe words, has 
 obviated the objection, and refuted It to my hands. 
 * c What then, fays he, is the meaning of this -, Tki 
 " flejh profit eth nothing? as they, the Jews, underflood 
 *' it, as torn to pieces in a dead body, it profiteth 
 " nothing; but it profiteth animated by the fpirit.'* 
 St. Aug. in pfalm 98. That is to fay, as this doctot 
 further explains himfelf, dead flefh cut in the fhambles 
 (in which carnal fenfe the Jews apprehended our blefled 
 Saviour's faying, and were charitably difabufed by him 
 of their error) " it profiteth nothing 5 but it profiteth 
 *' as animated by the fpirit. 
 
 IN a word, though is be a corporeal fubftance which 
 we receive in the Sacrament, viz. CHRIST'S facred 
 Body and Blood , yet it is conveyed in a fpiritual 
 manner : fpiritualj becaufe under another appearance^ 
 being couched under the veils of bread and wine, and 
 thereby the object of faith, and out of the reach of 
 our fenfes : fpiritual, becaufe bequeathed to us, not for 
 our corporal but fpiritual nourilhment : ipiritual in 
 all the qualities of it, not being confined to the laws 
 of natural bodies^ commenfuration as to place and 
 t-xtenfion : fpiritual as to its endowments, being 
 immortal, incorruptible, -rV. But had 
 
 St. AUSTIN
 
 from clear Scripture. 49 
 
 St. AUSTIN been of the Reformers opinion and belief 
 of a figurative fymbolical fenfe, he certainly went round 
 about the bufli in refuting the Jews mifapprehenfion 
 in the manner he did j fmce he might have gone nearer 
 to work, in referring CHRIST'S words to a figurative 
 meaning : and, as he did not, it is a proof, amongft 
 many others we (hall prefently produce, that he was 
 a zealous abettor of the Catholic doctrine. 
 
 IN this pafTage of St. John, c. vi. we have heard 
 our bleiTed Saviour confirm the literal .fenfe of the 
 inftitution of the Sacrament of his Body and Blood j 
 or rather, previously declare it in the moil exprefs and 
 pofitive terms ; and when his hearers affected to be 
 fhocked at thefe declarations, fo far was he from re- 
 voking them, that he confirmed them by the moft 
 folemn affeverations, faying, My flejh is meat indeed, my 
 Blood is drink indeed. We have alfo feen that the 
 Apoftles, his faithful adherents, inftead of joining with 
 the incredulous difciples, or even queftioning their 
 Divine Mailer about the poflibility of this myflery, 
 though they were every now and then importunate 
 with him for the explanation of his parables, and 
 fome dogmatical points much lefs material , yet here 
 they gave an implicit aflent to this myfterious pro- 
 mife : nor does it appear from any part of the New 
 Teftament, or from any records of the tranfactions of 
 the Apoftles, that they ever varied a tittle from it. I 
 appeal to St. PAUL, to whom our adverfaries can have 
 no exception, for the fentiments of the whole Apoftolic 
 body. 
 
 THIS great Apoftle then, writing to the Corin- 
 thians,, after having recited to them the facred words 
 of the inftitution of this adorable Sacrament, with, 
 his Divine Mailer's ordinance of repeating it in remem- 
 brance of him, that is, as a memorial of his death 
 and paflion : he concludes by enforcing his Mailer's 
 injunction, in thefe emphatic words : As often, fays he, 
 as you jhall eat this Bread, and drink this Chalice, you 
 Jhall declare the death of our Lord till he comes : therefore, 
 Q iffboforver
 
 50 Tranfubftantiation proved 
 
 wbofoever /hall eat this Bread, and drink the Chalice un- 
 worthily, fhall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord, 
 for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and 
 drinketh judgment to himfelf, not difcerning the Body of 
 the Lord: Ep. i ad Cor. xi. 26, 27, 29. that is, not 
 remembring that he is eating the real Body of CHRIST. 
 
 Now whereas this was a dogmatical Epiftle, it is 
 prefumed that, in a point of fo great moment as was 
 the effence of this auguft Sacrament, which the Apoftle 
 occafionally touched upon, he would have been clear 
 and explicit j and yet beiides his recital of the words 
 of the inftitution, without adding any glofs or com- 
 ment to give it a figurative meaning, (which is a tacit 
 intimation of his contrary belief) his reiterated charge 
 on the unworthy receiver, of being guilty of the Body 
 and Blood of CHRIST, is a corroborative proof of 
 his ftedfaft belief of a corporal prefence. For, in this 
 fenfe, it is eafily underftood how the unworthy receiver 
 is guilty of the abufe and profanation of CHRIST'S 
 Body and Blood. In this fenfe it is literally true that 
 he puts a direct affront and infult on CHRIST'S facred 
 Perfon : whereas in the other fyftem it is merely in- 
 dire<5t and refpe<5tive, as every other breach of the 
 commandments is an offence againft Almighty GOD, 
 and every violation of a law is a refpe&ive affront 
 offered to the legiflator. 
 
 OUR adverfaries affeft to oppofe to thefe ftrong 
 proofs, from this great Apoftle, for the real prefence, 
 his calling the elements by their proper names after 
 their confecratioh. But firft this objection, to mean 
 what our adverfaries would have it, viz. that the 
 elements are not changed after confecration, mufl 
 make the Apoftle unfay all he had been faying before, 
 and invalidate the ftrength of his charge againft the 
 unworthy receiver of being, guilty of the (propha- 
 nation of the) Body and Blood of CHRIST. The 
 objection, I apprehend, is alfo in itfelf trifling and 
 merely elufive ; for nothing is more ufual in common 
 fpeech than to 'call a thing what it had been, before
 
 from . clear Scripture. I 
 
 it received its change. Holy writ itfelf furnifhes us 
 with feveral inftances. Thus it is faid to ADAM, duft 
 thou art, and into dujl thou fhalt return. Gen. iii. 19. 
 AARON'S rod being changed into a ferpent, ftill retained 
 the name of a rod : they caft down every man bis rod^ 
 and they became ferpents, but AARON'S rod fw allowed 
 up their rods. Exod. vii. 12. And even the Catholic 
 Church, which cannot be fuppofed to difavow her own 
 tenet, often calls the confecrated elements by their 
 former names. Of this nature there are figures in 
 difcourfe allowable from common ufe : thus amongft 
 the Jews, in the familiar dialed: of their language, an 
 entertainment was called breaking of bread, as amongft 
 us it is ufual to invite a friend- to drink a bottle -, and 
 yet a man mull have a very mean opinion of his 
 friend's fenfe and underflanding, or be next to an ideot 
 riimfelf to offer to explain his meaning, 
 
 BUT we need not go any farther for an anfwer to 
 this evafive objection than to the text itfelf in which 
 the name of chalice is indifferently made ufe of as well 
 as that of bread , as often as you eat this bread and drink 
 this chalice, &c. i Cor. xi. 26. the chalice, according 
 to the concefllon of our adverfarjes, by metonimy, 
 fignifies here the contents thereof continent pro ccntmto \ 
 and therefore, by parity of reafon, by the name of 
 bread is underftood CHRIST'S Body and Blood couched 
 under thofe facramental veils. For, fuppofmg this 
 miraculous change, which we have evinced from other 
 proofs, the metonimy is as eafy and natural in one 
 cafe as in the other. But, as a final folution to this 
 trifling objection, the Apoftle himfelf has obviated it, 
 and explained his own meaning in the foregoing chap- 
 ter of the fame Epiftle to the Corinthians, where he 
 fays, 'The cup of blejfmg which we blefs, is it not the com- 
 munion of the Blood of CHRIST ? and the bread which 
 we break, is it not the participation of the Body of our 
 Lord? i Cor. x. 1 6. for how can it be the Communion 
 .or the participation of the Body and Blood of CHRIST, 
 G i unlefs
 
 5 2 ^Tranjlibjlantiation proved 
 
 ^unlefs the Body and Blood are really couched under 
 the facramental fpecies ? 
 
 THIS illuftration of the Apoftle's meaning in the 
 alledged paffages, explains alfo fully thofe words of our 
 bJeiTed Lord himfelf, fpoken at the laft Supper, and 
 often objected to the fame purpofe, I will drink no more 
 of the fruit of the vine, until that day, when I jhall 
 drink it new in the kingdom of God. Mark xiv. 25. For 
 if this fpeech referred to the confecrated wine, its mean- 
 ing is eafy and intelligible in the figurative fenfe, calling 
 it by metonimy, v/hat it was before the myfterious 
 change, as juft explained in the other inftances. And 
 if it appertains to the unconfecrated wine of the pafch, 
 as St. LUKE'S placing this fpeech before the folemn 
 act of confecration, feems to import, it was literally 
 true,' for this was the laft time of Chrift's eating the 
 pafch with his Apoftles in his mortal flefh. 
 
 I mould not have dwelt fo long upon this frivolous 
 objection, which can carry no appearance of a diffi- 
 culty with an unprejudiced judgment, if our adverfa- 
 ries did not feem to lay a ftrefs upon it. Indeed it is 
 furprifmg how perfons of wit, learning, and fagatity, 
 can ferioufly give it any weight. But what flips and 
 'extravagancies are not the greateft men liable to, when 
 palfion and prejudice are their bias ? 
 
 THEY have equally overmot their wit, or rather 
 have betrayed the weaknefs of their caufe, which they 
 are neceflitated to prop up with every feeble fupport 
 rhey can lay hold of, when, from CHRIST'S deliver- 
 ing himfelf on feveral occafions, in parable and meta- 
 phor, as where, addreffing himfelf to his Apoftles, he 
 {aid, I am a vine, you are the vine branches , &c. they 
 nre pleafed to conclude that he has made ufe of the 
 fame mode of fpeech at his laft Supper, when, taking 
 bread into his hands, he faid ? This is my Bcdy, &c. Jf 
 this objection, as trivial as the former, deferved any 
 anfwer, it might be judged a fufficient and fatisfactory 
 one that, in the general fenfe of mankind, the former 
 fpeeches were never underftood any otherwife than as 
 
 metaphorical \
 
 from clear Scripture. 53 
 
 metaphorical -, for no one ever took it into his head to 
 think that Chrift was really a w'w^and his Apoftles 
 vine branches j whereas the words in difpute, which 
 CHRIST uttered at his laft Supper, muft be confefied 
 to have been taken by the moil confiderable body of 
 Chriftians, Catholics in general, and even by feveral 
 fectarifts 1 , in the literal fenfe : And from St. PAUL'S 
 report of this folemn act of our blefied Lord, who is 
 the only one of the Apoftles, except the Evangelifts, 
 that has fpoken profeffedly of it, it manifeftly appears 
 that they underftood it in this manner. But our ad- 
 verfaries themlelves will not contend for a ftri<5t fame- 
 nefs of meaning between the feveral texts ; for, in the 
 words of the inftitution the verb is being by them di- 
 vefted of its proper fignification, which implies identity, 
 is made to import, This fignifies my body : not fo in the 
 other texts , for they will not fay, I am a vine, means 
 I fignify a vine, &c. The difparity between thefe fe- 
 veral fpeeches is, in other refpects, too, vifible to leave 
 room for an argument from one to the other : For, in 
 the one CHRIST names an abftracted, undetermined 
 being, which has no exifbence but in our mind, and 
 were therefore, undoubtedly, fpoken in metaphor, and 
 meant no more than that CHRIST and his Apoftles had 
 the properties alluded to : And the literal fenfe, im- 
 porting that he was really transformed into a vine, and 
 they into vine branches, is fo abfurd, that it would be 
 an indignity offered to his increated wifdom, to impute 
 it to him ; and we muft fuppofe the Apoftles to have 
 been mere ideots, or their imagination over-clouded 
 with the vapours, to have thus apprehended him. But, 
 in the inftitution of the Eucharift, he exprefly afferts 
 the change of one determined being into another deter- 
 mined being ', This, fays he, is my Body. Had he, in 
 the former circumftances, faid, / am this vine, there 
 had been a nearer fimilitude of locution and ideas, and 
 more to be faid for it. But laftly and principally, 
 CHRIST in the fpeeches mentioned, was haranguing his 
 audience upon general topics, in which it was cufto- 
 
 mary
 
 54 'franfuhftantiation proved 
 
 mary with him, according to the Eaftern mode, of 
 fpeaking, to deliver himfelf in parable and metaphor : 
 and on another occafion, John x. where our blefled 
 Lord faidj I am a door, the Evangelift exprefly re- 
 marks that he fpoke in proverb^ or parable ; whereas 
 at his laft Supper, he was making his laft will and 
 teftament, which from the nature of that folemn act, 
 and from the conftant practice of mankind at all times, 
 mould, as J obferved before, be delivered in the plain- 
 eft and moft intelligible terms. From the whole, I 
 prefume to think this objection falls as fhort of weight 
 as any of the former. Yet our adverfaries fond pro- 
 penfity to ftart difficulties from the moft trivial in- 
 cidents, has given occafion to another of the fame 
 complexion. It is grounded on the words of St. PAUL 
 out of the firft chapter to the Corinthians, ver. 24. and 
 on the claufe of the words of the inftitution, importing 
 the holy Eucharift to be a memorial or commemoration, 
 Do this for a commemoration of me, Luke xxii. 19. 
 For what would they infer from this injunction ? Itis 
 certainly a commemoration of CHRIST'S death and 
 pafilon,' and the Catholic Church is fo far from deny- 
 ing it, that by juftly diftinguifliing between a Sacrifice 
 and a Sacrament, me, in ihe holy facrifice of the 
 mafs, folemnizes a more fpecial memorial of the aw- 
 ful myfteries, and pays a more direct obedience in this 
 refpect to CHRIST'S ordinance than any of the fecta- 
 ries of the Reformation. We know alfo, that as a 
 Sacrament it is a figure or fign, viz. An outward fign 
 of inward grace -, that is, of the fpiritual nourifhment 
 of our foul. We are' fenfible, that the outward fym- 
 bols are moreover a fign of the latent or hidden fub- 
 ftance couched under them, viz. CHRIST'S real body 
 and blood. But what we deny, is, that it is a bare 
 memorial, or only a figurative type of CHRIST'S 
 ^ody ; and aver, on the contrary, that the Real Pre- 
 fence of it in the Eucharift fulfills a commemora- 
 tion in the trueft meaning of the thing. For ex- 
 ample, a man in one circum fiance of life may repre- 
 
 fent
 
 from clear Scripture. 55 
 
 fent himfelf in another : thus a Prince himfelf com- 
 memorates, or, properly fpeaking, folemnizes his own 
 birth-day. , A General can exhibit, in his own per- 
 fon, the memory of a fignal victory gained by himfelf, 
 as was cuftomary in the Roman triumphs , and St. 
 AUSTIN conceives our blefied Saviour, hanging on the 
 Crofs between the good and impenitent thief, as an 
 emblem or type of himfelf, appearing at the day of 
 general judgment, with the juft on the right hand, and 
 the reprobate on the left. Now, from all thefe in- 
 ftances it is evident, that commemoration is fo far from 
 excluding a reality, that, on the contrary, it is per- 
 fected by it ; and confequently our blefled Lord, in 
 the unbloody facrifice of his Body and Blood in the Sa- 
 crament of the Eucharift, is a more perfect type of 
 himfelf in the bloody facrifice on Mount Calvary, than 
 if he had inftituted, in a figurative reprefentation of 
 his body, a mere commemoration of that difmal 
 tragedy. 
 
 FALLING upon this hint of a type, naturally leads 
 me to another proof of the Catholic doctrine. St. PAUL 
 fays, that every thing tranfacted in the old law was 
 only in type and figure, being fulfilled by CHRIST, 
 and evacuated in the law of grace, i Cor. x. 6, n. 
 and therefore, the inftitution of the Sacrament of the 
 Eucharift, being one of the moft folemn actions of 
 CHRIST'S life, to wit, a declaration of his laft will and 
 teftament, and a facred legacy or pledge of his love 
 to his Apoftles and to his Church for ever, he cer- 
 tainly on this occafion, if ever, fulfilled the types 
 and figures fignifying this fignal token of his love 
 and mercy : And yet, how can this act be reputed a 
 fulfilling thefe types, if in fact it was no more than 
 an exchange of them into another type, or a revival 
 of the old ones ? MELCHISEDEC facrificed in bread 
 and wine many ages before, and in this prefignrated 
 the Prieflhood of CHRIST, who was therefore called 
 a Prieft for ever, according to the order of MELCHI- 
 SEDEC ; but if the inftitution of the Sacrament of the 
 Eucharift
 
 56 Tranfubjlantiation proved, &c. 
 
 Eucharift confifts of the naked elements, it can . be 
 reputed no more than a continuation of the former 
 type, not a fulfilling thereof -, tho' even in thefe cir- 
 cumftances it might have had the ad vantage, of a pe- 
 culiar^and fpecial grace annexed to it. For, the que- 
 ftion is not what grace our blefled Lord might, in his 
 bounty, have allotted to the Sacrament as a mere type 
 and figure of his facred Body, but whether he did in- 
 ftitute it in this manner ? 
 
 MY former arguments, from plain evidences of 
 Scripture, particularly from the words of the inftitu- 
 tion itfelf, have tended to prove the negative of this 
 queftion ; and the ancient types and figures of it, I 
 conceive to be an additional confirmation, inafmuch 
 as every pure refemblance or reprefentative is eflen- 
 tially different from its original, or the thing repre- 
 fented. And, in fhort, it cannot be otherwife under- 
 ftood, as I juft hinted, how the types and figures of 
 the old law are evacuated in the new, and fulfilled in 
 CHRIST. 
 
 BUT howfoever juft thefe inferences may appear to 
 us, and are fo in themfelves, our adverfaries may look 
 on them with a different eye, and ftill deem them to 
 be arbitrary. We are a party, and as fuch may not 
 by them be allowed to be a judge in our own caufe. 
 But I muft obferve, that the fame plea holds ftronger 
 and with more equity on our fide againft the Reform- 
 ers, and therefore concludes, what we have proved in 
 a former controverfy, the apparent neceflity of a fu- 
 preme judge in dogmatical matters : fuch a one we 
 have, of CHRIST'S own appointment, viz. the Church, 
 infpired, directed, and guided into all truth by the 
 hidden but infallible illumination of the HOLY GHOST. 
 
 BUT, for argument's fake, waving at prefent this 
 prerogative of the Church, we will put the point in 
 debate to a reference ; and where, more juftly, than 
 to antiquity, the pure age of the Church ? That is, to 
 the primitive Fathers, who muft be fuppofed to be 
 beft acquainted with the Church's tenets and faith, as 
 
 having
 
 Tranfubflantlatlon confirmed, &c. 57 
 
 having derived them immediately from the Iburce it- 
 felf, CHRIST and his Apoftles ; and muft certainly be 
 admitted to be the mod unexceptionable interpreters 
 of- their doctrine. 
 
 FOR brevity's fake, Scripture alone being the direct 
 appeal agreed to in this controverfy, and the Fathers 
 only called in as creditable evidences or vouchers to 
 the truth of the Catholic interpretation, I'll content my- 
 felf with producing a few of thefe unexceptionable 
 witneffes, fmce what appears to be their opinion muft 
 be reputed to be the doctrine of the whole Church in 
 her pureft age, and what ought to be fubmitted to in 
 all after times. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The Article of the Real Prcfencc, and Tranfubftantiaticn 
 confirmed from the general fenfe of antiquity , or the una- 
 nimous teftimonies of the primitive Fathers. 
 
 IN having reccurfe to the primitive Fathers, St. IG- 
 NATIUS the Martyr claims a place at the head of 
 the lift, who was a cotemporary with the Apoftles 
 themfelves, their eleve and difciple, and confequently 
 cannot be fuppofed to be ignorant of the Apoftolic 
 doctrine. Now this holy Martyr, in his genuine epi- 
 ftle to the Church of Smyrna, has thefe remarkable 
 words (quoted alfo by THEODORET) concerning fome 
 obfcure Heretics of his own time : " They don't, fays 
 " he, admit Eucharifts, becaufe they don't confefs 
 " that the Eucharift is the Flefti of our Saviour JESUS 
 " CHRIST, which fuffered for our fins, and which 
 " the Father raifed again by his bounty." Theod. 
 Dial. 3. 
 
 ST. JUSTIN MARTYR, who li\ r ed in the fame age, 
 and was one of the firft writers of the Church, in his 
 apology for the Chriftians to the Gentile Emperors, 
 addrefles them, on the fubject of the Eucharift, as 
 follows : " As our Saviour JESUS CHRIST was himfelf, 
 H by
 
 5 8 'Tranfubftantiation confirmed 
 
 " by the word made flefli, and took for our fake 
 " both Flefh and Blood, fo we are taught that in the 
 *' fame manner this food, over which thanks have been 
 <c given by the prayers of his own words, by which 
 " our flefh and blood are nourimed, is the Flefh and 
 tc Blood of the fame incarnate JESUS." St. Juftin. 
 Mart, in Apolog. 
 
 ST. IREN/EUS, Bifhop of Lyons, who -lived in the 
 fecond Century, affirms, that our bodies will rife again, 
 becaufe they are nourimed with the Body and Blood of 
 our Lord. L. 4. con. Haer. c, 34. 
 
 ST. CYPRIAN Serm. in Caen. Dorn. fays, " The 
 " bread which our Lord gave to his difciples, being 
 " changed not in ihape, but in nature, by the omni- 
 " potency of the word is made Flefh." St. Cypr. in 
 Serm. in Caen. Dom. And in many other parts of 
 his works he talks the fame language. 
 
 ST. CYRIL of Hierufalem fpeaks fo plainly the lan- 
 guage of the Catholic Church, that is, the doctrine of 
 Tranfubftantiation, that I cannot forbear giving the 
 reader his fentiments at length. His words are thefe : 
 " Since then he himfelf (CHRIST) affirms and fays of 
 *' the bread, This is my Bcdy, who fhall henceforward 
 * c dare to doubt of it ? And fmce he aflures us, and 
 " fays, This is my Blood, who can diftruft the truth of 
 *' it, or fay it is not his Blood ? He changed water 
 *' into wine in Cana of Galilee -, and does he deferve 
 *' to be lefs credited concerning the change of wine 
 *' into his Blood? Wherefore let us receive (thefe 
 *' things) with a full conviction, as the Body and 
 *' Blood of CHRIST : for, in the figure of Bread is 
 46 given to you the Body, and in the figure of wine is 
 " given to you the Blood. Do not then look on 
 " thefe things as common bread and wine, for as our 
 " Lord has affirmed it, they are the Body and Blood 
 " of CHRIST. And alt ho* your fenfe might fugged 
 " to you otherwife, let faith confirm you ; judge not 
 " of the things by your tafte, but by faith afiure 
 " yourfelfv without the lead doubt, that you are ho- 
 
 " noured
 
 from the Fathers, 59 
 
 <c noured with the Body and Blood of CHRIST ; being 
 " taught thefe things, and moft fully allured,, that 
 " what appears bread is not bread, tho' it feems fo to 
 " your talte, but is the Body of CHRIST, and that 
 " what appears wine is not wine, tho' the tafte will 
 " have it fo, but is the Blood of CHRIST." St. Cyr. 
 Hcjurulal. cate<5t. myftag. 4. 
 
 IN confequence to this ancient Father's delivering 
 himfelf on the point in queflion, in the manner we 
 havejuft heard, begging one fmall and reafonable con- 
 ceffion, that he is fuppofed to have ipoken common . 
 fenfe ; I infer, that whereas he makes a direct compa- 
 rifon between the miraculous change at Cana in Galilee, 
 and the change made by CHRIST in the inftitution of 
 the adorable Sacrament of the Eucharift , fuch as one 
 is, fuch mud alfo the other be. But the firft mira- 
 culous change was certainly a real and fubftantial 
 change ; as fuch, is related in the Gofpel ; as fuch, 
 was ever underftood ; and if it had not been a fubftan- 
 tial change, would have been no miracle at all : there-- 
 fore, to make the companion adequate, and to fuppofe 
 the good Father, I fay, to talk common fenfe, the 
 fecond change muft alfo be real and fubftantial ; that 
 is, it muft be a change of the fubftances of bread 
 and wine into the Body and Blood of CHRIST , and 
 how our fenfes are to give way to faith, of which the 
 Father makes reiterated demands in this paflagc, but 
 by fuch a fubftantial change, is equally unintelli- 
 gible, 
 
 BUT then, from this reafonable conceflion, that this 
 Father fpoke fenfe, and would be underftood to mean 
 what he fpoke, I infer again, that he muft have been 
 a rank Papift in this controverted article ; and I ap- 
 peal to every candid reader, and impartial judge, whe- 
 ther it be poffible for the moft fanguina advocate for 
 Tranfubftantiation to deliver this doftrin- in more clear 
 and explicit terms than he has don?. 
 
 AND again, as ths paflage I hive produced is ex- 
 tracted from a catechiflical and dogmatical initrudion, 
 H 2 iii
 
 60 'Uranfubjlantiation confirmed 
 
 in this he muft be fuppofed to" have declared the ge- 
 nuine Faith of the whole Catholic Church at that 
 time -, or if he had not, it is furprifing there was not a 
 loud outcry of the other orthodox Fathers, his co- 
 temporaries, raifed againil him, and this his opinion 
 . anathemarifed, with fcveral other novelties of thofe 
 days. But the contrary being moft certain, I infer, 
 laftly, and conclude from the whole, that this fmgle 
 teftimony, fo ftrong and full, is an ample declaration 
 of the belief of the whole Catholic Church at that 
 early time, and therefore I might fpare my reader's 
 patience, of running over any more quotations from 
 thofe ancient and venerable authorities. However, I 
 cannot forbear, out of numbers, to add to the lift of 
 theie irrefragable vouchers for Tranfubftantiation, two 
 eminent Doctors of each of the Eaftern and Weftern 
 Churches, renowned champions for, and avowed Pil- 
 lars of, the Catholic Faith. 
 
 I BEGIN with St. CHRVSOSTOM, the great light of 
 the Oriental Church, who, concerning this fubftan- 
 tial change of the elements of bread and wine into 
 CHRIST'S Body and Blood in the holy Eucharift, writes 
 thus : " Let us always believe GOD, and not contra- 
 14 diet him, tho' what he fays feems to be repugnant 
 *' both to our thoughts and our fenfes : for, his words 
 " cannot deceive us, but our fenfes may be eafily de- 
 " ceived : he never errs, and thefe are often miftaken. 
 . " Since therefore he fays, This is my Bcdy^ let us be 
 c>; fully perfuaded of it. How many fay now, Oh ! 
 tc that I could fee him in his own fhape, or his cloaths, 
 " or any thing about him , believe me, you fee him, 
 tc you touch him, you eat him. You would fee his 
 " cloathsj and he lets you not only fee him, but alfo 
 " touch him, and eat him, and receive him within 
 " you." Chryf. Horn. 83. in St. Matt. Now if 
 words are. to be underftood in their natural meaning, 
 I dare be confident^ that none can more clearly exprefs 
 the Catholic doctrine of Tranfubftantiation than the 
 jbovc quotation of this learned Father and Doctor of
 
 from the Fathers, 6 1 
 
 the Church. It muft obvioufly occur, upon reading 
 this paflage, and is greatly deferving our notice, that 
 the Father here, directly fubverts the foundation of 
 our adverfaries oppofition to the Real Prefence, the in- 
 formation of t^eir jenfes : to wit, they pretend they can't 
 fubmit to a belief that contradicts their fenfes i and St, 
 CHRYSOSTOM here pofitively avers that our fenfes muft 
 give way to faith -, that thofe are often miftaken, and 
 that therefore in the very point under confideration, the 
 Real Prefence in the Eucharift, the plain words of 
 CHRIST, This if my Body r , ought to over- rule the fug- 
 geftions or informations of our fenfes, and influence 
 us into a ftedfaft perfuafion of its being, what he has 
 made and declared it to be, his Real Body. Thus far, 
 I fay, it has fallen in pertinently to this capital argu- 
 ment of our adverfaries (which I fhall fpeak to more 
 fully in the next fedtion) to mew that this learned Fa- 
 ther has here obviated and refuted it to my hands, 
 His fentiments in fupport of this article of the Catho- 
 lic Faith, are uniform and equally ilrong and explicit 
 in numerous other parts of his works ; as where he 
 fays, " that what is in the chalice is the fame that. 
 " flowed from CHRIST'S fide : this fame Body, lying 
 " in the manger, the Sages adored ; but you don't 
 " fee it in the manger, but on the altar." Chryf. 
 Horn. 24. in i ad cor. And in another place, as it 
 were in rapture and extafy, at the confideradon of the 
 ineffable mercy conferred upon us in the inftitution of 
 this adorable Sacrament, he cries out, '* Oh miracle ! 
 * c Oh the goodnefs of GOD ! He that fitteth abova 
 " with his Father, in that very inftant (of* Confecra-r 
 ." tion) he is held in the hands of every one,' ? Lib. 3, 
 .de facerd. c. 4. that is, in the hands of the Priefts. 
 
 St. GREGORY NYSSEN, another light of the Ori- 
 ental Church, living in the fourth century, and fome- 
 thing the fenior of St. CHRYSOSTOM, having premifed 
 that " we receive the immortal Body of C'KR IST into our 
 f bowels , that though received by thoufands of people, 
 f i it is intjre in egcli and every part (of the confecrated 
 
 elements)
 
 6 2 Tranfubptintiation confirmed 
 
 elements) he concludes, that as bread was changed 
 into CHRIST'S Body, during his mortal fojourning 
 on earth, by nourimment, " fo now it is changed into 
 1 the Body of CHRIST, not by nourifhing it, but (being 
 ' fancttiied by the word of GOD and by prayer) is fud- 
 ' denly changed into it by thefe words, T'his is my Body, 
 ' the nature of thefe things that appear, being tranfele- 
 * mented into it by the power of confecration." Greg. 
 Nyf. Orat Catech. c. 37. T. 3. Edit. Parif. An. 1638. 
 ST. AMBROSE, one of the Pillars and Doctors of 
 the Latin Church, in his book de Initiatis, conformably 
 to the fentiments and doctrine of thefe Greek Fathers, 
 avers, that bread and wine are fupernaturally changed 
 into the Body of CHRIST, the fame which was born 
 of the Virgin, and into his Blood, which he proves 
 to be poffible, from the feveral miraculous changes 
 recorded in the Old Teftament, as of MOSES'S rod 
 converted into a ferpent j the rivers of Egypt changed 
 into blood, and by the prayers of MOSES, refuming 
 their own nature ; the leas opening a paiTage ; the 
 ftream of the river Jordan returning back , and laftly, 
 of iron by the command of ELIZHA, contrary to its 
 natural inclination, fwimming on the furface of the 
 -water : from all which wonders and aftonifhing 
 changes and operations, he concludes thus : " We 
 " fee, therefore, fays he, that grace is ftronger than 
 " nature. Now, if a man's bleffing could change 
 *' the courfe of nature, what do we think of the di- 
 " vine confecration itfelf, in which the very words of 
 4 our Saviour operate ? for, the Sacrament which you 
 *' receive is made by the words of CHRIST. And, if 
 * c ELIJAH'S words were able to draw fire from Heaven, 
 " will not CHRIST'S words be able to change the fpe- 
 " ties of the elements ? we read of all creatures in 
 <c the world, He /aid, and they were made; be com- 
 " manned) and they were created : is not then the word 
 " of CHRIST, which could give a being to that which 
 " had none, able to change thofe things which arc, 
 " into what they were not before ? for it is not lefs to 
 
 * c give
 
 from the Fat ben 63 
 
 <c give new natures to things than to change their na- 
 " tures." This holy Doctor laftly concludes his argu- 
 ment with a corroborative proof from, the myftery of 
 the incarnation. " Was our Lord, fays he, naturally 
 " born ? it is clear he was-born of a Virgin, above the 
 " laws of nature -, and this Body, which we confecrate 
 " was born of the Virgin. Why t-ien do wefeek for 
 " the order of nature in the Body of CHRIST, who 
 " was born of a Virgin, contrary to it?'* St. Ambr. 
 Lib. de Initiatis. 
 
 To omit many other paflages from this holy Doctor's 
 learned writings, to the fame effect as what we have 
 now quoted, and to pafs by the unconteftable proof 
 of the Real Prefence, and of Tranfubftantiation, from 
 the author de Sacramentis, fuppofed to be St. AM- 
 BROSE, or a cotemporary ; I beg leave only to draw 
 two confequences from what we have already cited, 
 allowed to be undoubtedly his : firft, that either, when 
 he talked the language we have juft heard, he believed 
 the articles of Tranfubftantiation and a Real Prefence of 
 CHRIST'S Body in the Eucharift, or we muft fuppofe 
 him to be a mere trifler in his way of arguing, and to 
 have drawn inferences not only unworthy of himfelf, 
 but nonfenfical and ridiculous ; for in the fuppofition 
 of his holding a mere figurative prefence, and no real 
 change of the elements, his argument, and the argu- 
 ments of the reft of the learned Fathers, who like him 
 reafon from the aforecited examples, muft ftand thus : 
 MOSES changed his rod really and fubftantially into a 
 ferpent : he changed waters into real blood, &c. &c. 
 the other fervants of GOD operated the like real and 
 miraculous changes. GOD, by his omnipotent word, 
 produced real and fubftantial beings out of nothing, 
 therefore CHRIST, by the fame omnipotent word, 
 changed bread into his Body ; not really and fubftan- 
 tially, but merely figuratively, inftituting it as a bare 
 type and fign of his facred Body. Now if this is not 
 trifling nonfenfe, unworthy of the great men whom it 
 is imjrofed upon, nonfenie, from henceforward may 
 
 be
 
 64 Yranfubflanttation confirmed 
 
 be reputed fenfe; black be called white, and every 
 thing be named by its contrary. Yet it is certain that' 
 our adverfaries muft put all this trifling fluff, and flat, 
 barefaced contradictions into the mouths of thefe 
 eminent Doctors of the Church, if they pretend to 
 challenge them as advocates for their fymbolical 
 fyftem. 
 
 ALSO in the fame fuppofition, St. AMBROSE'S laft 
 argument, drawn from the incarnation, to prove the 
 fuperior power of grace over nature, evidently falls 
 to the ground, and is deftitute both of fenfe and mean- 
 ing, and the allufion quite impertinent. For, what 
 extraordinary power of grace, can we fee or imagine 
 in the bare inftitution of a fign ? that is in bread, re- 
 maining bread, to be the fign or figure of CHRIST'S 
 Body ? and what refemblance would it have in this 
 fenfe, with the prevailing power of grace over nature, 
 exemplified in the myfteryof the Incarnation? Certainly 
 none at all. 
 
 IF therefore, in order to clear thefe eminent men 
 from the imputation of talking fuch nonfenfe, and to 
 make them confiftent with themfelves, we muft, on 
 the contrary, admit them to be avowed patrons and 
 abettors of the Catholic doctrine of Tranfubftantia- 
 tion ; it follows from thence, as a direct and imme- 
 diate confequence, that the fame was the unanimous 
 opinion and belief of St. AUSTIN, St. HIEROM, and 
 other lights of the Church, who were their cotempo- 
 raties, and in communion with them ; and was, there- 
 fore, the univerfal faith of the Catholic Church till the 
 end of the fourth century. 
 
 IT follows alfo, from the faid premifes, that any 
 obfcure paffages culled out of the works of thefe vene- 
 rable monuments of antiquity, or any fcraps of fen- 
 tences disjointed from the context to favour the oppo- 
 fite opinion, muft be deemed inefficient to over-rule, 
 or even to ballance their other clear and pofittve afier- 
 ticns of the Catholic Faith: for, in this cafe, the 
 Fathers are to be reconciled to themfelves by. the fame 
 
 rule
 
 from the Fathers. 65 
 
 rule, by which we reconcile the feeming contradictions 
 in the facred writings, viz. Scripture explained by 
 Scripture : the Fathers by the Fathers ; that is, the 
 obfcure texts of one and the other, by other texts, 
 clear, explicit, and more numerous. 
 
 A FURTHER attention to the following obfervations 
 and diftinctions, which have alfo been partly premifed 
 before, will clear, beyond all ambiguity, many obfcure 
 paffages that occur in the writings cf thefe primitive 
 lights of the Church. Firft, There are two things to 
 be diftinguifhed in the Eucharifl, viz. the hidden vir- 
 tue or fubftance of it, which is CHRIST'S real Body, 
 and the outward accidents or appearances. Relatively 
 to thefe feveral acceptations ' the Sacrament is di- 
 verfely. called, both in Scripture, by the Fathers, and 
 at this time of day by Catholic Divines ; and even 
 CHRIST himfelf fpeaks to both thefe relations, where 
 he fays, John vi. 51. The bread that I Jb all give is my 
 Fle/h for the life of the world ; and where in different 
 places the Divine Banquet is iignified by the denomi- 
 nation of breaking of bread. 
 
 zdly, THO' the Eucharifl be the real Body and 
 Blood of CHRIST, it is alfo, as we have often laid, a 
 fign, type, and memorial, viz. An outward fign of in- 
 ward grace, accruing to the worthy receiver ; a fign 
 of the latent fubftance, CHRIST'S Body and Biood 
 couched under the facramental fymbols ; and, in fine, 
 a type or memorial of CHRIST'S Death and Pafllon. 
 Now the language of the infpired writers, of the Fa- 
 thers, and even of Catholics at this prefent time, 
 fpeaking of the holy Eucharift, is, as I faid, accom- 
 modated to thefe various acceptations , fo that we may 
 hear both the one and the other call it by the names of 
 the elements, and term it a type, figure, and memo- 
 rial without any prejudice to, or exclufion of, the rea- 
 lity cf CHRIST'S Body in the Sacrament. As a due 
 attention then to thefe remarks are fit to elucidate 
 many obfcure and ambiguous pafTages in the writings 
 of the ancient Fathers ; fo \\ is for want of making 
 I thefe
 
 66 Tranfubftantiation confirmed 
 
 thcfe proper diftinftions, that our adverfaries often 
 miftake the fenfe of the holy Fathers, or foully mif- 
 reprefent them. 
 
 THO* the fcntiments of St. AMBROSE, in this con- 
 troverfy, fo plainly attcfted above from his own mouth, 
 are 1 a fufficient indication, as I juft hinted, of the opi- 
 nion of his diciplc St. AUSTIN, whom he had the 
 happinefs to reclaim from error, and therefore mutt be 
 iuppofed to have reconciled to the faith he profeiTed 
 himfclf, in this, and every article of the Catholic 
 Church ; yet the credit and fmgle authority of this 
 great man is fo juitly elpoufed by the Church, and 
 what our adverfaries dare not but revere, that I cannot 
 omit giving at leaft an abftraft of his proftfifed belief 
 in this principal point of the Catholic doctrine, as they 
 occafionally occur in his writings. They are compre- 
 hended under the following heads: Firft, That CHRIS': 's 
 Body is really prefcnt upon the altar, under the Sa- 
 cramental Signs : Secondly, That we receive it not 
 only with our heart jf but alfo with our mouth : Thirdly, 
 That it is actually received even by the unworthy 
 communicant : Fourthly, That tho* the fpecies or ac- 
 cidents of bread and wine may, in one refpect, be 
 called the Signs of Chrift's Body and Blood, they are 
 the figns not of a thing abfent, but of a thing Utent ; 
 or, as couched under thofe Sacramental veils, " in 
 *' the fame manner (to ule one or two of his own fa- 
 " miliar comparifons, adopted lincc by St. ANSELM) as 
 *' blood is the fign of a foul, and breath an indica- 
 " of life." St. Aug. lib. cbnf. ch. 13. Id. c. 2. cont. 
 adv. legis& Prophetarum. ch. 9. Id. Ser. u. deverb 
 Dom. c. 1 1. & alibi. 
 
 THE fame Doctor commenting on the ^d Pfalm, 
 and fpeaking firft to the title thereof, as it is in the 
 Septuagint, He voas carried in bis own bands ^ he argues 
 directly to the point in hand, and conclufively : *' Who, 
 44 fays he, can conceive this poffible fora-man? Was 
 44 ever man carried in his own hands? He may indeed 
 *' be carried in the hands of other people, but no 
 
 " man
 
 from the Fathers. 67 
 
 man was ever carried in his own. I underftand nor, 
 then, how this can be meant literally of David, but 
 we find it verified in CHRIST, for he was carried 
 in his own hands, when giving his vrry Body, he- 
 faid, This is my Body : for that Body he carried in 
 his own hands." St. Aug. cone. i. in Pfal. xxxiii. 
 .And in another comment on Pfal. xcviii.- he writes 
 thus: " He (CHRIST) t;>ol< Flefh of the Flem of 
 MARY, and becaufe in this Flem heconverfed, he 
 gave us aifo the fame F'lefli to eat, for our falva- 
 tion. Now there is no body that eattth of this. 
 Flclb, but fird adores it. And we not only don't 
 fin in adoring it, but we fin if we don't adore it." 
 St. Auft. in Plal. xcviii. 5. 
 
 Now, if faying that under the Sacramental veil is 
 contained the identical Flcfti of CHRIST, which he 
 took of his Virgin Mother, and declaring it the object 
 of our adoration, be not afierting the Catholic doctrine 
 of the Real Prefcnce, I cannot conceive any words 
 pluin and fignificant enough to exprefs it ; and thofe 
 we have jtift quoted mult be fuppofed to be divefted 
 of their proper and natural meaning. This extract, 
 then, with the other hints 1 have given from this great 
 Doctor's works, I apprehend to clench effectually the 
 teftimonies we have produced from the reft of the 
 holy Fathers, his cotemporaries : is moreover an am- 
 ple declaration of the conformity of his own belief, 
 and a corroborative evidence to the Catholic Faith in 
 this material arricle of it; therefore, with the fenti- 
 ments of this great man, not to trefpafs on the pa- 
 tience of my rrader, I may clofe my extracts from 
 thefe primitive lights of the Church : For, as thofe I 
 have already produced, fliew to a degree of demon- 
 ftrarion, that the doctrine of Tranfubftantiation was 
 the univerfal faith of the Church in its primitive age, 
 at a time it is allowed to have been wholly free from 
 corruptions, therefore what was orthodox then, muft 
 have been 16 in. fucceeding ages, and may excufe me 
 I 2 the
 
 68 ^ranjiibjlantiation confirmed 
 
 the trouble, and my reader, I fay, the patience, of 
 tracing any lower this doctrinal point. 
 
 FOR brevity's fake, I beg leave, however, to com- 
 prife it under one fingle obfervation, and > within the 
 fame to compendiate the fentiments of the whole body 
 of the Catholic teachers, thro' every age of the Church : 
 but as it Has often been taken notice of, and tho- 
 roughly managed by feveral other better hands, a tran- 
 ifient view of it \\ ill anfwer my prefent purpofe. The 
 obfervation I would recommend is, briefly, as fol- 
 lows. 
 
 THE article of the Real Prefence is fo fcemingly 
 repugnant to human fenfe, that if it had been a no- 
 velty, or an error intruded into the Church, and im- 
 pofed on the faith of mankind, as cur modern Re- 
 formers would fain perfuade us, it could not have 
 failed of undergoing the fate which has vifibly attend- 
 ed all other confiderable changes and innovations in 
 religious matters, viz. of meeting with the warmeft op- 
 pofition : or, at lead, we cannot fuppofe it could have 
 crept in by ftealth, and fo infenfibly into the world, 
 but that the epoch of this extraordinary event, and 
 the means by which it was brought about, would have 
 been recorded in hiftory, with every circumftance be- 
 longing to it. 
 
 THUS, a particular account of all herefies, which 
 ever appeared in the Church, have been tranfmitted 
 to poftenty ; the authors of them are known ; the 
 very date of their rife and fall ; the progrefs they 
 made, and the vigorous oppofition they met with, 
 Hand upon record. We need not go any further for a 
 proof than the late pretended Reformation itfelf, re- 
 lating whereto there is no incident, whether confidered 
 in regard to the whole body, or the particular branches 
 of it, but has been minuted down, and entered into 
 the hiilory of thcfe religious revolutions. 
 
 IN the -article of Tranfubftantiation (barring the 
 adoption of the term, which was introduced for a 
 clearer explanation of the myftery) nothing of this 
 
 appears ;
 
 from the Fathers. 69 
 
 appears : on the contrary, the primive Fathers, as we 
 have feen, are avowed abettors of it, and thereby are 
 irrefragable .witneflcs to its being the Faith of the Uni- 
 verfal. Church in their own time, and vouchers to the 
 orthodoxy of it in the fnbfequent ages ; becaufe, as I 
 juft obferved, what is once orthodox muft be always 
 ib : and, unlefs our adverfaries are fond of calling to 
 their aid the obfcure impugners of the Real Prefence, 
 whom St. IGNATIUS the Martyr hints at in his epiftle 
 above cited, and brands with the ignominy of Inno- 
 vators on the fame account , their fyftem was never 
 heard of till Berengarius, in the eleventh century, 
 broached his temerarious opinions on this head, which 
 no fooner made their appearance, than they were ftig- 
 matifed and condemned as a novel doctrine, till then 
 unknown, and a fcandal to the Chriflian world. 
 
 IT was upon this event, or foon after, that the 
 term Tranlubftantiation was occafionally adopted in 
 the Church, in opposition to this pernicious error ; not 
 by coining a new article ot Faith, as our adverfaries 
 difingenuoufly mifreprefent it, but by explaining the 
 old one, viz. as old as Chriftianity itfelf, as I have al- 
 ready, and mall further mew. 
 
 SUCH is the antiquity of Tranfubftantiation, and 
 fuch the modern production and rife of the contrary 
 fyftem ; an unnatural child, no fooner begot but dif- 
 owned and abjured by the parent of it (Berengarius) 
 who was afhamed of his monftrous offspring. Thus 
 abandoned, it was buried in oblivion till the two laft 
 centuries, when the fpirit of Reforming coming into 
 faftiion, ZUINGLTUS, CALVIN, and the reft of the 
 train of Sacramentarians, revived the Berengarian 
 error , in this point reformed on their patriarch LU- 
 THER, and how roughly they were handled by him 
 for it we have already heard , and, to the indelible 
 fcandal of the Reformation, their differences and va- 
 riations do, and mull ever fubfift, as long as they 
 continue feparated from the Catholic Church, in which 
 Unity of Faiti| is only to be found, 
 
 IN
 
 70 Tranfubftantiatlon confirmed, Gfc. 
 
 IN the mean while, to the point I undertook to prove, 
 I beg leave to fay, that the fixed epoch of the figu- 
 rative fyftem being of a modern date, and fo notori- 
 oufly known, and the epoch of Tranfubftantiation, on 
 the contrary, immemorial, is an irrefragable demon- 
 ftration of the novelty of the one, and the antiquity 
 and orthodoxy of the other. In effect, the rife and 
 different ftates and vicifTitudes of the firft, are what no 
 one, the leaft converfant in the hiftory of the late, 
 changes in Religion, can be ignorant of. But, of 
 the Catholic tenet, (if litigating about terms be laid 
 afide, and the things themfelves become the fubject of 
 our debate) we defy our adverfaries to trace its origin, 
 or to fix its birth ; and therefore, by St. AUSTIN'S 
 rule, it can have no other than that of the Church itfelf, 
 derived from the Apoflles, the founders of it, under 
 CHRIST, from whom we have received the whole fyf- 
 tem of her belief: " When any Doctrine, fays this 
 *' learned Father, is found generally received in the 
 *' vifible Church, in any age whatsoever, whereof 
 " there is no certain author or beginning to be found, 
 " then it is fure that fuch a Doctrine came down from 
 " CHRIST and his Apoftles." St. Aug, c. 4. de Bpt. 
 c. 6. 24. Item. L. de unit. Ecclie. c. 19. 
 
 FROM all we have hitherto urged in this and the 
 former fedlion, I draw the following inferences, which 
 I prefume to think no lefs pertinent to our fubject than 
 cpnclufive : firft, if poffefTion immemorial can give a 
 prefcriptive right, the article of Tranfubftantiation lays 
 a juft claim to it, which derives its birth from the birth 
 of Chriftianity : fecondly, if the teltimony and au- 
 thority of the primitive Fathers deferve any weight, 
 we flatter ourfelves that it falls into our fcales, fince 
 v/e have made it appear, that they are unanimoufly 
 and entirely on our fide of the debate : thirdly, if we 
 are to appeal to, and abide by the words of the infti- 
 tution of this auguft Sacrament, and by the correlative 
 extracts out of the' other part of the infpired writings, 
 taken in their literal and obvious fenfe v cxclufive of 
 
 forced
 
 Tranfubflantiation further winced^ &c. 71 
 forced and ftrained conftruftions of the texts -, we are 
 confident that they are clear for the Catholic belief. 
 All thefe I look upon as plain evidences to the Catholic 
 caufe, and therefore none but the like plain evidences, 
 for the oppofite fide, can be judged of equal weight to 
 ballance them, and nothing left, than demonftration 
 itfelf, will be fufficient to over-rule our foregoing con- 
 clufive proofs. Yet we apprehend that our adverfaries 
 arguments fall fo far fhort of thefe juft demands, that, 
 on the contrary, the Catholics have many collateral 
 poofs, connected with the foregoing premifes, to 
 ftrengthen and confirm their belief-, and that our ad- 
 verfaries have nothing material to oppofe againft them ; 
 which is what I undertake to make good in the next 
 Section. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 The Dottrine of Tranfubftantiation further evinced from 
 the weaknefs and inefficiency cf the arguments in the 
 oppojition. 
 
 THE Evangelift St. JOHN, preparing us 'for 
 his relation of our blefled Lord's laft farewell, 
 which he took of his difciples on the eve of his Paf- 
 fion, fays of him, That having loved his own who 
 were in the world^ he loved them unto the end : St. John 
 xiii. i . that is, being a true and conftant lover, he fuf- 
 tained this character to the laft, by giving the ftrongeft 
 proofs of his inflamed affections at the laft interview, 
 when he was juft going to be feparated from them. 
 For, as our bleffed Saviour (being GOD as well as man) 
 could not be fubject to the viciffitudes of human paf- 
 fions, his love was, no doubt, intrinfically the ' fame 
 at all times : but, according to the diverfity of cir- 
 cumftances he happened to be in, it pleafed his increated 
 wifdom to vary his external proofs of it, as he judged 
 moft conducive to our advantage , and therefore, upon 
 this laft farewell and impending feparation, befides 
 that ineffable unparallelled proof of his love which he 
 
 x gave
 
 72 franfubflanttation further evinced 
 
 gave the next day in laying down his life for theirs 
 and our fakes ; it appears, in the Catholic fenfe of the 
 inftitution of the bleffed Sacrament of the holy Eucha- 
 rift, how he alfo by this act gave them an anticipated 
 teftimony of his inflamed affections, by bequeathing 
 to them his precious Body and Blood, as a perpetual 
 earneft and memorial of his love. Says St. JOHN, So 
 GOD loved the world as to give for it his only Sen, John 
 iii. 1 6. viz. in the myftcry of the Incarnation : and 
 the Son, the Eternal Word, confubflantial to his Father, 
 and therefore uniform in his actions, and unanimous 
 in his affections, repeated, or rather perpetuated, this 
 act of love, in giving himfelf over again to the world 
 in the myftery of the holy Eucharift. In this auguft 
 Sacrament is verified, in reality and truth, what the 
 royal Prophet afcribed, or rather, applied to the 
 Manna in type and figure, A memorial of all kisv} Gliders ^ 
 in giving food, viz. his own Body and Blood, to tkofe 
 that fear hmii and love him. Plalm cxi. 4. The adorable 
 Sacrament of the Eucharift may therefore, in the Ca- 
 tholic fenfe, be properly called the Sacrament of love, 
 the compendium of all the other myfteries, a reca- 
 pitulation of his manifold wonders and miracles, a 
 repetition of his unfpeakable mercies ; and, at once, 
 an exercife of all his divine attributes. The creation 
 was, indeed, a manifeftation of his omnipotency , the 
 incarnation was an inflance and ineffable token of his 
 mercy , but, in the inftitution of the Sacrament of the 
 holy Eucharift he unites, as it were, thefe two myi- 
 teries in one : for by changing one fubftance into another, 
 bread and wine into his facred Body and Blood, he no 
 lefs dilplays his omnipotence, as Sc. AMBROSE, cited 
 "in the laft fection, juftly obferves, than by making 
 every thing out of nothing, in the work of the crea- 
 tion : and he, on this fame occafion, renews the co- 
 venant of his mercy, which he had ftrnck up with us 
 at his incarnation, but, I may fay, in feme rdpect in 
 a more aftonilhing and endearing manner-, for then 

 
 from the Weaknefs> &c. 73 
 
 he was only fpecifically united to t]s, in afluming our 
 nature ; here individually, by incorporation. 
 
 SUCH, then, being the wonderful efforts of CHRIST'S 
 love, mercy and gcodnefs to man, in the inftitution of 
 this Sacrament of love, and myflery of propitiation, 
 to reject fo great a blefling: by a wilful opiniative dif- 
 belief of its exiftence, argues no lefs ingratitude than 
 infidelity. A greater indignity cannot be offered to the 
 memory of a friend decealed than to difdain to accept 
 of, or to undervalue his dying legacy, the laft token 
 .of his friendly affection. And can the conduct of our 
 adverfaries be deemed any thing elfe, in rejecting 
 CHRIST'S gracious legacy in ^the Sacrament cf the 
 Eucharift, by miftaking it for what he never intended 
 it ; when they fubftitute the figure of his facred Body 
 and Blood for the reality ; and this in direct contra- 
 diction to his exprefs and pofitive declarations ? 
 
 BUT, let us fee what is the plea our advrrfaries 
 make ufe of to fcreen themfelves from thefe juft im- 
 putations. The mod fundamental, and what the 
 learnedeft of them lay the greateft ftrefs upon, is, the 
 teftimony of their fenfes, feconded by human reafon, 
 or, the feeming contradiction in the Real Prefence, 
 both to one and the other. They think it a wonderful 
 myftery, out of the reach of their fenfes, and above 
 their comprehenfion , and therefore adjudge it incre- 
 dible. This is their capital objection. In a word, 
 the cafe fairly ftated, is this ; CHRIST, as pofitively 
 nnd plainly as words can exprefs, has afferted a change 
 of bread and wine into his facred Body and Blood, 
 faying, 'This is my Body, &c. our adverfaries, weighing 
 this declaration in the ballance of human reafon, and 
 putting it to the tcft of their corporal fenfes, judge th : 
 literal meaning of it what actually is not, or what even 
 could not be : for the bulk of their arguments againft 
 this myfterious change directly lead to this concluficn, 
 which, if they would but fpeak cut, is, to fay ho- 
 jieftly and truly, that they pay a greater deference to 
 thefe human teftimonies than to the divine authority, 
 K and
 
 74 Tranfubftantuition further evinced 
 
 and that therefore, CHRIST'S power, veracity or fm- 
 cerity, being placed in competition with thefe eviden- 
 ces, are to be diftruftt-d. 
 
 How blafphemous and injurious to Almighty GOD 
 this judgment is, the matter itfclf fpeaks ! for, as 
 we are rational and free creatures, there are two tri- 
 butes due from us to the great Author cf our being ; 
 the firft isj the tribute of our will by love, thankf- 
 giving and adoration : the fecond is, the fubjection of 
 our underftar.ding, with all its faculties, by faith : in 
 confequence whereof, the moft daring and direct infult 
 a man can offer to GOD is atlieifm and idolatry. By 
 atheiim, we abfolutely deny or difhuft his divine 
 exiftence : by idolatry, we give his elTenci and glory 
 to another. The injury nearelt approaching to thefe, 
 is to difcredit what he has revealed. Yet this latter 
 guilt the Reformers cannot be excufed from, when 
 they prefurne to conteft the Real Pretence of CHRIST'S 
 Body and Blood in the Sacrament, in direct contradiction 
 to his pofltive affirmation of it : in v/hich reipect, as 
 fheir conduct is mocking to pious fenfe, and injurious 
 to Almighty GOD, fo it i:- no lefs unreafonable in itfelf, 
 and inconfiftent with their avowed belief of feveral 
 other articles of faith, no lefs difficult and mcompre- 
 henfible, where they make no fcraple of fubjecting 
 their reafon to its dictates, as is evident from the in- 
 frances I will now produce : and in feveral other cir- 
 cumftances are equally obliged to acknowledge the 
 deception or miftake of their fenfes, as I hope to make 
 appear from the fundry inftances, I mail appeal to by 
 and by. 
 
 FIRST then, with regird to the captivating our 
 underftanding in obedience to the dictates of faith : 
 this in the myfteries of the Trinity and Incarnation 
 is indifpenfable. For that there mould be Three Perfons 
 in the Godhead, and that thefe Three mould be diftinct, 
 and yet be one and the flame, are myfteries that give 
 fuch a fliock to reafon, as nothing but an humble and 
 fubmiffive faith can over-rule. We may believe them, 
 
 we
 
 from the Weaknefs, &c. 7$ 
 
 we cannot conceive them. Again, that an increated, 
 felf-exiftent, illimited, unchangable being mould be 
 united to a created, limited and changable one : in a 
 word, that GOD mould become man, that he mould 
 be liable to all his infirmities (fin excepted) in fine, 
 that a GOD mould fuffer, and a GOD die, was a fcandal 
 of old to the Jews, and a ftumbling-block to the 
 Gentiles. It is a myftery which the more we think 
 of, the more thought and reafon is loft, and we have 
 nothing left but to pay an implicit belief to what we 
 cannot comprehend : and herein alfo the main body of 
 the Reformed Churches intirely acquiefce. They alfo 
 read of the wonderful works of the Creation, of all 
 things being made out of nothing, and of themfelves, 
 and every creature, receiving a being which had none 
 before ; and they believe it : they hear in the facred 
 writings of the miraculous changes operated through 
 the miniftry of the fervants of GOD, as well as by 
 CHRIST himfelf ; viz. of rivers converted into blood, 
 of MOSES'S rod changed into a ferpent, of water con- 
 verted into wine in Cana of Galilee, and many others 
 of the like nature ; and their faith is not the leaft ftag- 
 gered at the relation of thefe extraordinary events : 
 they hear them, and they being attefted by Divine Re- 
 velation, the written word of GOD, they readily give 
 their afTent to them ; but, when they hear attefted 
 from the fame divine authority, that CHRIST taking 
 bread into his hands changed it into his facred Body, 
 faying, This is my Body, they affect to be mocked at 
 the literal and only proper meaning of the words : 
 they cannot conceive them to import a real change of 
 the fubftance : it is a hidden myftery to them, and out 
 of the reach of their fenfes j and therefore they refufe 
 to believe it. 
 
 Now the vanity and incoherency of thefe evafive 
 excufes we have heared already obviated arid fully 
 refuted by St. AMBROSE, Section II. which I need 
 not repeat: but, in confequence to what this great 
 Poftor of the Church has urged there, with fo 
 K 3 much
 
 76 TranfiLbftantiation further evinced 
 
 much truth and ftrength of reafon, I'll only beg leave 
 to put one or two obvious queftions. Is Almighty 
 GOD'S power contracted, or lefs operative now than ic 
 was heretofore ? 'Tis what no one can prefume to fay : 
 therefore, if he could, in the beginning, create every 
 tiling out of noth r-g, and in procefs of time could 
 convert water into wine, and by himfelf and his mi- 
 nifters did the other miraculous changes juft mentioned, 
 he certainly is not lefs able now to tranfmute bread and 
 wine into his facred Body and Blood ; nor is his vera- 
 city lefs to be depended upon now, that he pofi- 
 tively declares he has operated this myfterious change, 
 than he is to be believed, by virtue of the fame omni- 
 potent word, to have given a being to what was not, 
 when he only fpoke the word, and they were made^ 
 Gen. i. and to have done the other manifold and fur- 
 prifmg wonders afterwards. The truth of thefe changes 
 is unqueftionable ; admitted as fuch by our adverfa- 
 ries ; the Divine Power by which they are operated is, 
 alfo undoubtedly extenfive, by the will and pleafure of 
 GOD, to all times and circumftances i and the actual 
 exerciie of this power, in the inftitution of the Sacra- 
 ment of the Eucharift, is equally evident, if credit is 
 to be given to CHRIST'S plain words which aver the 
 ,fact, or to the Evangelifts who relate it. 
 
 HOWEVER, our adverfaries pretend to difcover a 
 material difference betwixt the miraculous changes we 
 have jufl inilanced, and the change in difpute, viz. 
 that the former were perceptible to the fenfes of thofe 
 who were the witneffes of them, and therefore certain ; 
 the latter imperceptible, and therefore affording grounds 
 for a doubt of it. 
 
 THE allegation is true, but the illation intirely fo- 
 phifacal. In anfwer to it I mil ft obferve that the 
 fither recited changes were bare miracles ; this a my.- 
 ilery : thofe the object of fenlc, and therefore to be 
 . attefted by car fen's -, this of faith, and therefore to 
 be believed, tbo' out of the ken of our fenfes , fince 
 c-ur bklTcd Lord himfelf has pronounced thofc. bleffsft
 
 from --the Weakness, Sec. 77 
 
 who believe 'what they have not fern. For this is the 
 merit and perfection of faith, .that the object be hid 
 from our fenfes, and even out of the reach of our com- 
 prehenfion ; and it is not faith; in its full perfection 
 but under thefe circumftances, according to the Apo- 
 ftle's definition of it ; Faith is the- evidence of things 
 that appear not. Heb. xi. i. Purfuant to this rule of 
 faith, we heard St. CHRYSOSTOM fay, in the laft Sec- 
 tion, " That our reafon and fenies muft bend to faith, 
 " tho' what it propounds to us may be feemingly re- 
 " pugnant to both one and the other". St. Chryf. 
 Horn. 83. in St. Matth. And SOLOMON had caution- 
 ed us, long before, not to be 1 too prying and inqui- 
 fitive into the fublime myfleries : What is above you, 
 fays he, do not enquire into ; in his (Almighty GOD'S) 
 works do not be curious : for it is not necejfary you Jhould 
 fee with your eyes what is hid. Ecclef. iii. 22, 23. And 
 this expofition of the nature of faith, and the effential 
 difference fubfifting between the facred myfleries, which 
 are the proper objects of Divine Faith, and miracles, 
 which are the immediate objects of our fenfes, is a 
 direct anfwer to, and a refutation of a favourite and 
 capital argument of Dr. TILLOTSON, and other ftick- 
 lers againft Tranfubftantiation : they are pleafed to 
 aver, that the very notion of a Tranfubftantiation, in 
 contradiction to our fenfes, deftroys the certainty we 
 have of CHRIST'S Refurrection ; and, in confequence 
 thereto, that it overturns our whole belief, and the 
 grounds of Chriftianity ! which they pretend to prove 
 thus : " The Apoftles (fay they) had no other affurr 
 " ance of the truth of CHRIST'S .Refurrection than 
 ?' the information of their fenfes ; but if our fenfes. 
 " are under a deception in the holy Euchariir, they 
 " might have been equally deceived in the other 
 " circumftances ; therefore the truth of the Refurrec- 
 *< tion may ftill be a matter of doubt, and the whole 
 V fum of Chriftian Religion, depending upon it, dif-
 
 7 8 Tranfubftantiation further evintcd 
 
 IN anfwer to this formidable argument, I fay, That 
 the reality of CHRIST'S Refurrection, tho' an object 
 of faith to us who were not eye-witnefies of it, was not 
 properly fuch to them, as ocular evidences ; and there- 
 fore when fome of the difciples, at the firft fight of 
 their Lord and Mailer, miraculoufly reffufciated, had 
 a diftruft of its being a phantom or fpirit they faw, 
 our blefled Saviour - difabufed them by appealing to 
 the aid of their other fenfe of feeling ; telling them, 
 That fpirit s bad not flefb and boms like him, Luke xxiv. 
 39. And afterwards, as a conviction to the incredu- 
 lous THOMAS, who could not be prevailed on to give 
 credit to the atteftation of his fellow Apoflles concern- 
 ing the truth of the myftery, CHRIST, appearing a fe- 
 cond time to him, in company with the reft, appealed 
 alib to the information of this difbelieving Apoftle's 
 fenfe of feeling : Then he faith to Thomas, Put in thy 
 finger hither, find fee my hands, and bring hither thy 
 hand, and pit it into my fids, and be not fai thief s, but 
 believing, John xx. 27. And the reafon of our bleffed 
 Lord's making ufe, with them, of thefe means of 
 conviction was, that refpectively to the Apoftles who 
 were to afcertain the truth of CHRIST'S Refurrection 
 to their profelytes, ' it was the object of experimental 
 knowledge, arid not properly of faith. 
 
 BUT the inflitution of the Sacrament of the Eucha- 
 rifr, being to them as well as to us entirely a myftery, 
 CHRIST neither appealed to their fenfes nor to ours, 
 as a proof or evidence to the truth of it, but left it 
 wholly as an object of faith. And even in the point 
 of his Refurreclion, our bleffed Saviour told St. THO- 
 MAS, that Btejftd an they who have not feen find believe, 
 John xx. 29. infmuating, that the faithful, who in 
 after times would credit this myftery independent of 
 the teftimony of their fenies, mould merit thereby 
 more than he who refufed his a (Tent to it upon any 
 other terms but their bare evidence. And even this 
 incredulous Apoftlc himfulf, b^ing thus compelled into 
 
 a coiir
 
 from the PFeaknefs, &c. 79 
 
 a eonfeilion of his infidelity in this point, did not 
 affect to lay, " That he now believed CHRIST to be 
 " really rifen," becaufe the fact was made vifible and 
 evident to him -, but he declared his belu f of what he 
 did not fee, viz. of CHRIST'S Divinity, confefiing him 
 his Lord and hi; GOD, John xx. 28. This manner of 
 reafoning on this partiular conduct of St. THOMAS, 
 St. GREGORY the Great makes ufe of: " It is plain, 
 fays he, " that Faith is the evidence of things which do 
 " not appear, becaufe what appears is not then be- 
 " lieved, but known to be what it is : why therefore, 
 proceeds this Father, " when the Apoflie both felt 
 and faw CHRIST, is it faicj to him, Becaufe you fee 
 me you believe? Becaufe he law one thing and be- 
 lieved another ; for the Divinity could not be feen 
 with mortal eyes, and yet, feeing him in human 
 flefh, he confeffed him to be GOD, crying out, 
 My Lord and my GOD." St. Greg. Horn. 26. in 
 John xx. So this great Doctor, entirely agreeable to 
 what I juft offered my reader upon this paffage, ob- 
 viating and directly refuting the favourite argument 
 of the Archbifhop of Canterbury and his afibciates, 
 viz. That the deception of our fenfes, in matters of 
 faith, can be any means of undermining the founda- 
 tion of Chriflianity, or of overturning the grounds of 
 our whole belief. 
 
 HOWEVER, the circumftance of the deception of 
 our fenfes in the holy Eucharift is not deftitute of pre- 
 cedents, even from the facred writings, and therefore 
 the motive of our adverfaries incredulity fetched from 
 the evidence of their fenfes, is ftill inefficient and 
 groundlefs. Holy Writ, I fay, furnifhes us with nu- 
 merous examples, which clear up this matter, in the 
 feveral apparitions of the angelical fpirits, delegated 
 by Almighty GOD to his fervants on earth, on fundry 
 errands and rneflages. For, how did they appear ? 
 Not as they were in themfelves and in their own na- 
 ture ; fmce, being pure fpirits, they muft have been 
 invifible to corporal eyes : they aflumed therefore a 
 
 human
 
 So ^ranfiibflantiatjon further evinced 
 
 human fhape, the proper and natural object of hu- 
 man fenfe ; appeared to be what they were not, but 
 were believed to be what they were. Thus RAPHAEL, 
 the Archangel, afibciating himfelf, by GOD'S com- 
 mand, to TOBY the younger, had the appearance of a 
 young man, feemingly eat, drank, converfed, and 
 performed all the other functions of a human corporeal 
 being ; as fuch he was looked upon by TOBY, till, 
 having difcovered his angelic nature and his embaffy, 
 he was believed and reverenced for what he was, tho* 
 appearing to be what he was not. The Angels alfo 
 appearing to the Apoftles, and to the good women, 
 vifiting CHRIST'S Sepulchre, affected in a different 
 manner, their faith and their fenfes-, feeming to be 
 men, believed to be Angels. The HOLY GHOST, 
 appearing over the head of our blefled Lord at his 
 Baptifm, and defcending afterwards upon his Apo- 
 ftles on the day of Pentecoft, had the likenefs of a 
 dove, on the firft occafion, of fiery tongues on the 
 latter ; figures which carry the neareft analogy to that 
 holy Spirit, but, by its furprifing effects, was believed 
 to be what he was, the Divine Parachtc, which en- 
 lightens and inflames every man fitly difpofed to be 
 fufceptible of his influence : known, I fay, by its in- 
 ward irrefiftable force, not by any outward characters. 
 
 To thefe inftances of the error of fighr, I'll , add 
 one ih which the other fenfes had a fhare of deception; 
 this was in regard to the Manna miraculoufly fhow- 
 ered down on the Ifraelites in the defart, which being 
 mercifully bellowed upon them by Almighty GOD for 
 their food and nourishment, and being vifibly the 
 fame thing to all, yet varied in its tafte, according to 
 the refpective .appetites and inclinations of the eaters, 
 relifhing that, which each one had a fancy for, and 
 conceited it, or wiflied it to be ! 
 
 IN Ihort, all thefe inftances (to omit innumerable 
 others, which are to be gathered from the facred writ- 
 ings) it is certain, that the external fenfes laid under 
 a grofs error and rriftake. The facts are undoubted, 
 
 and
 
 from the Weaknefi, &c. 81 
 
 and our adverfaries cannot conteft the truth of them : 
 Why then fuch a wonder raifcd at the deception of 
 our fenfes in the point in queftion ? Why, upon their 
 bare information, is the reality of CHRIST'S prefence 
 in the Sacrament of the Eucharift rejected ? when it 
 is proved, from fo many undoubted precedents, that 
 our fenfes are liable to be deceived : that in thofe fun- 
 dry circumftances they have been deceived, and there- 
 fore may be again deceived : and, from the very na- 
 ture and intent of this auguft Sacrament it was ne- 
 cefTary, in this cafe, that they mould be deceived. 
 For, our blefTed Lord's defign was, as we have al- 
 ready (hewn, to communicate himfelf to us, to in- 
 corporate himfelf with us, and to become our food, 
 for the fpiritual nourifhment of our fouls , which 
 could not be done in his own natural Ihape, nor, in- 
 deed, in any other than a borrowed fhape. And it 
 was fitting, moreover, for a t trial and proof of our 
 faith, that his Corporal Prefence mould be concealed 
 under thefe veils ; fmce, as I hinted above, it is only 
 thus that it becomes the object of faith. To fee, 
 feel, hear, and to tafte, are the- means (tho' fallacious 
 and liable to miftake) of coming to experimental 
 knowledge, and the teft by which it is tiied, but can- 
 ^not be admitted to be the proof of Divine Faith ; be- 
 caufe, on the contrary, by the Apoftle's rule, Faith is 
 the evidence of what does not appear , Heb. xi. i* and 
 CHRIST pronounces them blefled who attain t yis 
 perfection of it : Eleffed are thofe ivho have not feen and 
 believe. John xx. 29. 
 
 BUT after all this great clamour raifed againft 
 Tranfubftantiation, on account of the deception of our 
 fenfes ; what, if we take upon us to maintain, with 
 the great St. THOMAS of Aquin, that in fact our 
 fenfes are not deceived : for, properly fpeaking, it 
 is the accidents, . properties, and the covers, if I may 
 fo call them, of the fubftance, and which are feparable 
 from it, that are the immediate objects of our fenfes, 
 L and
 
 $2 c TranfubJian'tiation further evinced 
 and not the fubftance itfelf : and that thefe are diftinct 
 qualities from the fubftance and it-parable from it, is 
 evinced from undeniable inftances in the Holy Bible. 
 For heat and light are certainly, no lefs the properties 
 of fire, than colour and tafte are of bread ; yet by the 
 Almighty's will and power, fire loft its heat with re- 
 fpect to the three Hebrew Children, when they walked 
 unhurt, in the midrt of the Babylonian furnace : and 
 the infernal fire, by the fame divine power, retaining 
 its burning quality, for the torment of the unhappy 
 victims ot GOD'S wrath, there confined, is for their 
 greater punimment deprived of light : fcorching 
 flames, with intenfe darknefs, being ever commemo- 
 rated in the Scriptures, as the joint properties of that 
 inftrument of the divine vengeance. Let one example 
 more out of numbers, parallel to the foregoing, tho* 
 of a different kind, fuffice, which is, of iron lofing 
 its gravity, when ELISHA, by the miraculous power 
 he was indued with, made an axe, that had dropt into 
 the river, come up floating on the fur face. 4 Kings 
 vi. rj. 
 
 HowEver, it may be faid, that the knot of the dif- 
 ficulty ftill remains unfolved, how the accidents can 
 fubfift out of their natural fubiefb ? to this I anlwer 
 that the difficulty is not of fuch an enormous fize as 
 to be infurmountable : the poflibility of their iVparate 
 and independant exiftence is not without it's founda- 
 tion in reafon, and is maintained upon peripatetic 
 principles. But whether in this cafe, quantity is the 
 fupport of the other accidents, and in what manner 
 quantity itfelf fubfifts, are philofophical nicctirs, which 
 I leave to the difcuflion of the curious -, we have no 
 other tafk lying on our hands, than to mew the exift- 
 ence of the accidents, out of their fubftance, a pof- 
 libility to the divine power ; and this I think evident 
 from the following reflexions and proofs. 
 
 THEREFORE, I fay, that the fame divine power, that 
 has lufpended the activity of the agent, or taken away 
 
 from
 
 from the Weaknefs, &c. #3 
 
 from it it's properties, as we have juft feen, can furely 
 fupport the properties or accidents out of their fub- 
 ject \ one miracle is no more aftonifhing than the other, 
 and therefore it will be prtfumption in man, fo to 
 circumicribe the Omnipotency, as to cooteft the equal 
 poflibility to it, of both of them : however, if no- 
 thing lefs than facts can be fufficient to vindicate the 
 divine attribute againft obftinare fcepticifm, I think 
 that the Scriptural intlances we have produced before 
 of the deception of our lenfes, with regard to the fub- 
 ftances in the manna, and the angelical apparitions, 
 equally evince this ftcond verity of the leparate tx- 
 iftence of the accidents out of their fubjcct. It was 
 experienced in the manna, relatively to tafte and quan- 
 tity ; for it tailed of that which it was not, according 
 to the fancy and inclination of the eater, relifhing of 
 'flcfh to one, of fifh to another, of fowl, vegetables, 
 and fo of the reft. And as to the quantity, fuch a 
 portion was allotted to each family, and they that 
 gathered more had no more, and they that collected 
 Jefs, had no lefs. Again, with refpect to the appari- 
 tions of Angels, the figure, mien and all the attitudes 
 and appearances of man vifibly fubfifted without the 
 reality. 
 
 THE diftinction then, and divifibility of the acci- 
 dents from their fubflance, and their fubfifting out of 
 their natural fubjeci, by the divine power, being fb 
 evident and well attefted from irrefragable fcripturai 
 facts i it affords, I apprehend, a fatisfactory anfwer 
 to a formidable argument our adverfaries affect to 
 draw from a paflfage of THEODORET, in his contro- 
 verfy with the Eutychians, a fet of pretended refor- 
 mers of his time. 
 
 THESE heretics, under an outward mow of op- 
 pugning the Neftorian error, which had aficrtcd two 
 perfonalities in CHRIST, fell into the other excreme of 
 confounding the two natures, the human and divine. 
 The human nature, they thought, by the Hypoftatic 
 union, was fo abforbed in the divine, like a drop of 
 L 2 honey,
 
 $4 Tranfubftantiation further evinced 
 honey mixed with the fea, as to lofe its natural pro- 
 perties ; and in this confequence confifted the ftrefs, 
 malignity and drift of their erroneous opinion. Among 
 the arguments, they pretended to produce in fupport of 
 it, they drew a parity from the myfterious change ope- 
 rated in the Holy Eucharift : and it was here THEO- 
 DORET clofed with them, and undertook to foil them 
 with their own weapons , " You are caught, fays be^ 
 " in your own nets." For though, purfues he, there 
 be an undoubted change of the fubftances, and there- 
 fore, what was Bread before, is no more Bread after 
 confecration , yet the properties of Bread remain. 
 Thefe are his words, as recited and rendered by CAR- 
 DINAL PERRON, and many of the Learned : " The 
 " myftical fymbols, after confecration, do not depart 
 " from their own nature j for they remain in the figure 
 " and fhape of their former fubftance, and are vifible 
 " and tangible, as they were before -, ^w ?% iV) T? 
 
 " -srcoli^y.- V/a? x} T o^poi/cc >^ TS l^?. But 
 
 " they are underftood to be the things, which they 
 " are made, and ib they are believed -, and they are 
 " adored, as being the things which they are believed.'* 
 Theod. dial. 2. 
 
 FROM this whole controverfy betwixt THEODORET 
 and his antagonift I draw the following inferences. 
 i. That he believed, himfelf, a real change of the fub- 
 ftances in the Eucharift, becaufe he fays it appeared 
 one thing, but was believed to be another, and was 
 adored for what it was believed. 2. It is certain that 
 this fubftantial change was agreed on by both fides ; 
 and therefore becomes a proof that it was the uncon- 
 troverted belief of the Church at that time ; becaufe 
 the Eutychian argues from it in favour of his erro- 
 neous opinion of the confufion of the two natures in 
 CHRIST after the Incarnation. 3. Directly to our 
 prefent purpofe, it appears from the courfe of their 
 arguments, that the accidents, or properties of Bread 
 were allowed to fubfift out of their natural fubjecl, and 
 to be the objed of our fenfes i becaufe, as the Euty- 
 
 chiau
 
 from the Weaknefs, &c. 85 
 
 chian did not contend for the deftruftion of the entity 
 of the human nature in CHRIST, but only for its be- 
 ing fwallowed up, as it were, in the Divine Nature, 
 and lofmg its natural properties ; the medium he 
 made ufe of, proved in that refpect directly the con- 
 trary , fmce the properties of Bread and Wine, in the 
 Eucharift, confefiedly remained ; which made THEO- 
 DOR.ET tell his adversary, " That he was taken in his 
 " own nets." 
 
 SUCH was the import of this celebrated paffage out 
 of THEODORET, fo often trumped up by our adver- 
 faries, and fo little availing their purpofe. The ob- 
 jections, then, againft the Real Prefence from the tefti- 
 mony or information of our external fenfes, being fo 
 weak and unconclufive, whether we fuppofe them to 
 . be deceived, as they undoubtedly are, with refpect to 
 the fubftance, or not to be deceived, having the acci- 
 dents for their immediate objects ; the Sacramenta- 
 rians, rather than give up, are willing to rally once 
 more their broken forces from reafon : and it is by 
 impugning replication, as the direct fequel from 
 Tranfubftantiation, that they think to give the de- 
 cifive blow : that, they are pleafed to deem impoflible, 
 and therefore conclude this incredible. For how, fay 
 they, is it pofTible for the fame identical Body to 
 be exiftent at the felf-fame time in feveral places ? or 
 to fpeak in the language of the fchools ; how can it be 
 replicated ? to this I anfwer, If it be afked how we 
 conceive the thing, or it be expected we mould clear 
 up the myftery, fo as to bring it within the reach of 
 our limited comprehenfion, this is what no Catholic 
 ever pretended to do. Myfteries are to be believed, 
 not to be comprehended. The Jews afked how 
 CHRIST could give his Flejh to eat, &c. Deifts conteft 
 the poffibility of moil fcriptural miracles ; but St.CvRif, 
 of Alexandria reputes all fuch queftions and doubts, 
 as blafphemy i becaufe, circumfcribing Omnipotence, 
 or meafuring it by an unequal rule, our mallow un- 
 derftanding. If then the poiTibility of replication, (to 
 
 fpeak
 
 86 Yranfulftantiation further evinced 
 
 fpeak in terms) be urged as a contradiction, we deny 
 it. To be, and not to be, at the felf-fame time and 
 place ; or concomitantly to be and not to be at all, is 
 certainly a contradiction in nature ; and therefore im- 
 poffible : but, to be in two, or many places at once, is 
 no contradiction ; and though above human conception, 
 yet poflible to the Divine Power, which can do 
 more than we are able to comprehend. Corn-penetra- 
 tion^ as it is termed in the fchools, that is, the co- 
 exiftence of one body in the felf-fame individual fpace, 
 with another body or folid, is as inconceivable, as for 
 the fame body to be in feveral places at once ; and yet 
 of. the firft miracle the gofpels furnifh us with incon- 
 teftable inftances, in CHRIST'S ineffable birth, without 
 prejudice to his Bleffed Mother's virginity : in his rifing 
 out of the fepulchre, The heavy Jlone it was covered 
 "joith being unmoved^ Mark xv. 46. And in his en- 
 tering into the room where his difciples were met to- 
 gether, after his refurrection, The doors being jhut, 
 John xx. 19, 26. 
 
 THESE are facts not more certain in themfelves, as 
 being tranfrnitted to us by the infpired penmen, than 
 evident proofs that a glorified and fpiritualized body 
 is not con fined to the laws of a body in its condition 
 of mortality and corruption : and who will be fo hardy 
 as to fay that replication is not equally compatible, as 
 well as compenetration with a body in its glorious ftate, 
 and poffible to the divine power. 
 
 Quit Blefled Saviour after his afcenfion up to Hea- 
 ven appeared to SAUL on Earth in his road to Da- 
 mafcus ; for this Apoftle himfelf, writing to the 
 Corinthians after his converfion, fays, 4ft er that, he 
 (CHRIST) tx& fan by JAMES, then by all the A$cfiks\ 
 and loft of all he was fan alfo by m^ as by one born cut 
 cf due time; i Cor. xv. 7, 8, whether the Apoftle 
 alludes to the apparition juft mentioned in his way to 
 Damafcus, or to any other, it is certain that he fpeaks 
 of CHRIST'S appearing to him in the fame manner after 
 his afcenfion, as he had appeared to the reft of the 
 
 Apoftles
 
 from the Weaknefs, &c. 87 
 
 Apoftles before it : now, it is the opinion of feveral 
 divines, that CHRIST on this occafion was in two places 
 at once, in Heaven and on Earth , and whatfoever 
 others may think to the contrary, this opinion muft, 
 at leaft, be allowed to carry the height of probability, 
 and is partly founded on the following paffage from the 
 A&s, where it is written of CHRIST, Wbom Heaven 
 indeed muft receive until the rimes of the reftitutwn of all 
 things, Acts iii. 4. which infmuates CHRIST'S liability 
 in his glorious ilate. The Church of England in it's 
 fourth article, feems to efpoufe this opinion, and to 
 allude to the authority juft cited, faying, that CHRIST 
 afcended into Heaven, where he^ fitteth until he return to 
 judge all men at the laft day. 
 
 THEREFORE, if according to this, he be perma- 
 % nently fixed in Heaven, he muft, as often as he appeared 
 on Earth, have been here and there at the felf fame time -, 
 and therefore, why not in ten thoufand in the Sacrament 
 of the Eucharift, fmce the multiplication of a miracle 
 can coft the divine power no more than its fingle ope- 
 ration ? 
 
 WE read in the Gofpels that CHRIST multiplied five 
 barley loaves and five fiihes, fo as to be fufficient for 
 the corporal fubfiftence of five thoufand people ; and 
 if he has bequeathed his facred Body and Blood for our 
 fpiritual nouriture, is he lefs able to replicate it for this 
 much more defirable effect ? and that the multiplying 
 the loaves and fifties, was by replication, feems to be 
 infinuated by St. JOHN, in his relation of this mira- 
 culous event, when he fays, That they filled twelve bajkets 
 with the fragments of the five barley loves that remained ^ 
 John vi. 1 3, which would not be literally true, if they 
 were multiplied by any other way than by replication. 
 And whereas CHRIST, the next day, declared to the fame 
 people, that had partaken of the miraculous multipli- 
 cation of the loaves and fifties, the more wonderful 
 miracle or myftery of giving them afterwards his Body 
 and Blood for their meat and drink, one feems to 
 have been intended as a prelude to the other -, and as a 
 
 preparation
 
 88 Tranfubflantidtion further minced 
 
 preparation to make them come more readily into the 
 belief of the feafibility of the fecond miracle, by being 
 witnefles to his operating the firft, and that as one, fo 
 both, were done by the fame divine power and after 
 the fame manner, viz. by replication. But, without 
 having recourfe to miraculous proofs, there are myf- 
 teries in nature of this kind, which human underftand- 
 ing, and all the wifdom of man is unable to unravel. 
 The furprifing increafe from generation, and the pro- 
 duction of thoufands of fruit from a fmgle kernel, is 
 what the greateft philofopher cannot account for ; the 
 fact we know, the manner of it is a myftery : and, as 
 SOLOMON obferved long ago, man in his inquifitive 
 inveftigation into the prodigies of nature, and the ope- 
 rations of the Deity, as author of nature, vani/hes 
 away and is loft in his own thoughts. Let us therefore 
 not prefume to meafure the infinite extent of the divine 
 power by our limited knowledge, but rather conclude 
 with the great St. AUSTIN, that, " Almighty GOD 
 " can do what is above the reach of human under- 
 " (banding to comprehend." 
 
 AND in the point, we have juft difcufied, of CHRIST'S 
 replication in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharift, 
 St. CHRYSOSTOM, in the two following extracts, avers 
 it as a miracle, calling for our admiration, but not to 
 be doubted of : " Oh miracle, fays he, oh divine 
 " bounty, he who fits at the right hand of the Father, 
 " is at the very fame inftant in all mens hands ," viz. 
 at the time that they handle the Sacrament, L. de fa- 
 cerd. c. 4. And again : " The myftery here changes 
 " for thee earth into Heaven ; for I will mew thee 
 " here placed upon earth, that which is moft precious 
 " and adorable in Heaven ; the Body of the King 
 " (that is CHRIST) is the moft magnificent thing in 
 " Heaven, but you may now fee it upon earth." 
 Horn, de fanfto Philagonio. 
 
 IN fpite then of our mallow comprehenfion -, in fpite 
 of any oppofition the fublimity of the myftery meets 
 with from human reafon, it is moft certain that CHRIST 
 
 being
 
 from the Weakness : , 5cc. . 89 
 being GOD as well as man, could by his divine power 
 change Bread and Wine into his facred Body and 
 Blood : And therefore, he could alfo replicate himfelf, 
 that is, be in fcveral places at once, and operate the 
 other manifold wonders, that; werfe efTential or confe- 
 quent to the accomplifhment of this myftery : 'tis no- 
 thing lefs than blalphemy to doubt of it. His love to 
 us was fo excefiive as to prompt him to execute, what 
 by his Omnipotency he was enabled, and what in his. 
 wifdom he judged convenient to do : and he having 
 pofitively allured us that he has operated this myfte- 
 rious change, we mall offer violence to ail his divine 
 attributes, to his power, his wifdom, his love and vera- 
 city, if we take upon us to conteit the truth of it. 
 
 THIS reflection might alone be fufficient, to refute 
 .any other objections to the Real Prefence of CHRIST'S 
 Body in the Eucharift, drawn from its leeming con- 
 tradiction to human reafon and our fenfes. Such are. 
 foine corifequences enfuing from the myftery, which 
 our adverfaries think to imply an abfurdity and an in- 
 dignity incompatible with a Supreme Being , as that we 
 mould be faid to eat the flefh of the GOD we adore ; 
 that it fhoukl be liable to many irreverences from men, 
 and to feveral accidental abuies from irrational crea- 
 tures. But thefe confequences can only be (hocking 
 to thofe, who meafure the incomprehenfibility of the 
 divine my fteries by their mallow understanding. Averroes 
 the philosopher, blafphernoufly fcoffed at the Chriftians 
 heretofore, for eating their GOD, and St. PAUL com- 
 pendioufly anfwered all fuch blafphemers, faying, 'That 
 ivefpeak the ivifdom of GOD in a myftery that is bidden j 
 that the fenfual man percciveth not tkcfe things, that are 
 of the fpirit of GOD, for it is foolifonefs to him, and -he 
 cannot underftand them, &c. I Cor. ii. 7. 
 
 IF myfteries were to be canvaffed from their con- 
 fequences,- they would ceale to be what they are j in- 
 fidelity would triumph and religion be no more. The 
 creation is involved in myfteries, and is attended by 
 confequences feerningly the moft fhocking and ir.cre- 
 M dibki
 
 90 ^ranfubftantlatlon further evinced 
 
 dible-, for, that GOD, mould make creatures indued with 
 reafon and liberty, who would abufe thefe gifts to fuch 
 an excefs of ingratitude, as almoft in the inttant of their 
 receiving their exiftence, to rebel againft the divine 
 author of their being ; that he vouchfafes to fubmit to 
 the outrageous affronts daily and hourly offered to him 
 by men, in the hellim curfes, imprecations, and blaf- 
 phemies, they vomit out againft him, and to bear to 
 be reviled by them infinite other ways, is fo amazing 
 and tranfcending all conception, that -nothing but our 
 being accuflomed to fuch indignities, and our want of 
 comprehending rightly the malice of fin, make them 
 not to be mocking to us. Again, the myftery of the 
 Incarnation is attended by fo many ftriking circum- 
 ftances, incredible to human underftanding, that there is 
 none, about which more herefies have been raifed, none 
 that has been more contefted than this. In a word, the 
 fufferings, paffion, and death of a God-man were from 
 the very beginning, as the Apoftle obferves, Afcandal 
 to the Jews and a Jtumbling-block to the Gentiles. In all 
 thefe myfteries the Almighty foars above our narrow 
 views, he has placed them out of our fight, and would 
 not fubmit them to our limited comprehenfion. And 
 in the myftery of the Holy Eucharift it is alfo certain, 
 that our blefTed Saviour did not judge proper to ac- 
 commodate it to our fenfes, nor to human reafon ; and 
 that therefore, in our diiquifitions into it, thefe are^ no 
 way to be confultecj. CHRIST'S facrecl Body in "the 
 Eucharift has afpiritual exiftence; and therefore, as it 
 is not confined to the laws of a natural body, it is 
 equally incapable of being affeded by the alterations 
 or injuries incident to a body in that mortal ftate. 
 CHRIST, fays St. PAUL, being rifen^ dies no more^ The 
 outward accidents are obnoxious to alteration and cor- 
 ruption; CHRIST'S immortal body, couched under 
 thefe accidents, is incorruptible : they may be abufed 
 by man or beaft, be fpit upon, trampled on, and many 
 other ways defiled, while that will be unhurt, unaf- 
 fected. The greateft profanation or indignity that can 
 
 be
 
 from tie Wcaknefs, &c. 91 
 
 be offered to it, is from human malice, when received 
 into a ftomach polluted with fin : and this the Apoftle 
 fo far from difowning, v/arns the unworthy commu- 
 nicant againft the horrid facrilege, telling him, That 
 whofoever /ball eat the Eread, or drink the Chalice of the 
 Lord unworthily i Jhall be guilty of the Body and Blood of 
 the Lord, i Cor. xi. 27. 
 
 EVERY divine inftitudon is, in a comparative and 
 proportionable degree, fufceptible of a fimilar profa- 
 nation and abufe, which mould influence our under- 
 ftandings in no other refpecb, than to make us fenfible 
 of the extent of GOD'S goodnefs and love to man, that 
 for the fake of the righteous, who by making a due 
 ufe of thefe bleflings, do reap benefit from them, he 
 would leave them to the abufe of the unrighteous, who 
 either partake of them unworthily, or make (light of 
 them to their own condemnation and eternal perdition. 
 The whole fyftem of religion is thus fcoffed at, and 
 made a fubjecb of profane rallery by infidels and un- 
 believers : but their fcoffs and (landers light on their 
 own head, as DANIEL told the infamous elders, who 
 had belied the chaft Sufanna. The Deity and his 
 divine attributes are invaded with luciferian impotency 
 by atheifts and theifts , the Church cii (regarded, and 
 ' her authority controled by heretics -, her morals and 
 , precepts tranfgreffed by her own undifciplined chil- 
 dren , and nothing fo holy, that has not by unhallow- 
 ed lips been burlefqued, or by evil manners profaned. 
 Yet GOD is what He is, omnipotent, eternal, all-per- 
 fect, in fpite of Lucifer's impudent arrogance to de- 
 throne him ; in fpite of idolaters and atheilts audacious 
 madnefs to undeify him : or the fenfelefs folly of deiih 
 to extenuate his divine prerogatives. Religion will . 
 remain pure, unrpotted, unblemimed, maugre the rnoft 
 diabolical malice to blacken it ; the Church, in de- 
 fiance of all the powers of hell, is ever immoveable ; 
 the myfteries of our holy faith will be unaue<5ted, tho' 
 denied by fome and reviled by others. And to con- 
 clude, The myfterious fpiritual manner of exiftence of 
 M 2 CHRIST'S
 
 92 'Tranfybftantiftien further evinced 
 
 CHRIST'S Body in the Holy Eucharift, puts it out of 
 the reach of injury from internal malice, or external ir- 
 reverences and indignities. Vain therefore are the 
 pretences for calling in queftion the ineffable myftery, 
 on account of its conferences. 
 
 LET, then, our Reformers cry out, as much as they 
 pleafe, that the Real Prefence of CHRIST'S Body in the 
 Eucharift is an incredible myftery, that it mocks their 
 reafon and contradicts their fenfes : let them make this 
 the foundation of their refufing an afTent to it ; by this 
 conduct: they only chime with the incredulous JEWS, 
 who faid before them, hearing our blefied Saviour's 
 declaration, that he would give them kis Flejh to eat 
 find lls Blood to drink) that it was a hard faying, wbv 
 can hear *Y, John, c. vi. 
 
 CATHOLICS argue in a different manner. It is cer- 
 tainly a great and ftupendous myftery, above human 
 comprehenfion, and out of the reach of our fenfes , 
 but yet fupported by the oracle of truth, the exprefs 
 words of CHRIST himfelfj and therefore, in compe- 
 tition with thefe, we judge the information of our 
 fenfes ought to be difrcgarded, and that our under- 
 ftanding mould bend with a blind and unlimited fub- 
 miflion to the divine authority. CHRIST'S declaration 
 is the foundation and bulwark of our faith, and the 
 confutation of their infidelity. His mercy, in the 
 inftitution of this Sacrament of love, is moreover the 
 fupport of our hope, and the aggravation of their 
 ingratitude. 
 
 AND, indeed, that the ftupendoufnefs of this myf- 
 tery, and the excefs of love, our b'leffed Saviour CHR IST 
 has manifefted in the accomplishment of it, mould be 
 the grounds for any one's difbelieving it, or a motive 
 for rejecting it, is, in fome degree, as inconceivable to 
 every rational mind, diveftecl of paflion and prejudice, 
 as the myftery itfelf. Yet fo it is : a GOD incarnate 
 opens the whole treafure of his mercy, in order to 
 make a tender of it to man, in the ampleft and moft 
 effectual manner it was poffible to his infinite power, 
 
 wifdom
 
 from the Weaknefs> &c. 93 
 
 wifdom and goodnefs, by bequeathing himfelf to him 
 in the auguft and ever adorable Sacrament of the Eu- 
 charift, and yet our Reformers difdain the gracious 
 legacy, by queftioning the truth of it : a conduct 
 which argues no lefs ingratude, as I juft obferved, 
 than infidelity ; and which puts our underftanding to 
 almoft as great a nonplus to divine the caufe of it, or 
 to difcover any tolerable reafons to juftify it, as to 
 fathom the myftery itfelf of Tranfubftantiation. For, 
 the Sacramentarians may alledge, as much as they 
 pleafe, the information of their fenfes and conviction 
 of reafon ; the plea is fo evidently vain and groundlefs, 
 -that it is plain their incredulity muft flow from fome 
 Other fource. 
 
 THE true caufe then of their difbelief, I apprehend to 
 be this ; a man plunged in vice, fenfuality and pleafures, 
 is eafily influenced to difclaim a mercy which he is fully 
 confcious to himfelf he has no right nor title to par- 
 take of. He firft ? by a habit of fin, renders himfelf 
 unworthy of the ineffable blefllng, and then doubts 
 of its exiftence. Vice blinds the underftanding and 
 perverts the will \ pride and immorality are ever ob- 
 ferved to be the mother of herefy. For, though pre- 
 judice of education, and a want of due information 
 may be a means of retaining thofe deluded fouls in 
 their erroneous belief, who take up with the religion 
 they profefs upon truft, and, as it were, by inheritance, 
 without enquiring further into the grounds of it i yet 
 the caufes I have juft affigned, certainly gave birth to 
 error, and were the firft eftablifhment of it. 
 
 CALVIN, ZUINGLIUS and the herd of Sacramen- 
 tarians, who firft oppugned the Real Prefence, were 
 profligate libertines, before they became arch-heretics : 
 their hearts were vitiated before their underftanding 
 was brought over to infidelity , or that they, at leaft, 
 attempted to be open abbettors of it -, their faith 
 became a facrifice to their fenfual appetites : they de- 
 cried the ufe of the Sacrament, then conteiled the 
 
 efience
 
 94 The Article of Penance cwfidered. 
 
 efTencc of it, fupporting a licentious life by an erro 
 neous faith. 
 
 THUS thefe ring-leaders of the pretended Refor- 
 mation excluded from themfelves and their profelytes 
 the participation of the greateft bleffing an infinite, 
 incarnate wifdom could invent in man's behalf: the 
 moft ftupendous miracle an omnipotent power could 
 operate, and the greateft mercy, an infinite goodnefs 
 could beftow ! 
 
 AND, therefore, how widely they fwerve, in this 
 material point as well as others, from the character of 
 Reformers, which they arrogantly aflumed, . the matter 
 itfelf fufficiently declares, and every perfon devefted of 
 paflion and prejudice, from an impartial view of the 
 foregoing premifes, may be a competent judge. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Fbe article of tke Sacrament qf Penance confidercd. 
 
 THE Sacrament of the Holy Eucharift, the 
 truth and e {fence whereof we have difcufled and 
 thoroughly proved, in the Catholic fenfe, in the laft 
 controverfy, is, according to the Catholic further ac- 
 ceptation of it, confidered with reference to its ufe, and 
 the benefit it is of to the faithful, called the Sacrament 
 of the Living ; becaufe it is required that the receiver 
 fhould be alive to Almighty GOD, by fanctifying grace, 
 before he can be judged in a fit difpofition to partake 
 of that ineffable blelTing , fo that, though agreeably 
 to the nature of a Sacrament, it is a direct means, 
 inftituted by CHRIST, of conveying grace toour foul, 
 yet it is fuch not by giving us fancYifying grace we had 
 not, but by beftowing on us an accumulation of grace, 
 or an addition to what we had. 
 
 THERE are alfo other Sacraments, which by the Ca- 
 tholic Church are termed the Sacraments of the dead ; 
 
 becaufe
 
 The Article of Penance confidered. 95 
 
 becaufe they are the merciful means, inftituted by 
 CHRIST, of raifmg us from the death of fin to the 
 life of grace. 
 
 OF thefe, the Catholic Church looks on theSacrament 
 of Penance, commonly called ConfefTion, to be one of 
 the moft beneficial to us, in our prefent unhappy ftate 
 of-rorfeited juftice j and is moreover a condition ge- 
 nerally pre-required towards a worthy participation of 
 the holy Sacrament of the Eucharift : and therefore 
 in the order of the controverfy in hand, and for the 
 importance of the fubje6t, the nature, meaning, ufe 
 and benefit of this Sacrament, deferves to come next 
 under our confideration. 
 
 THE Sacrament of Penance is, in its own tendency 
 and fignification, fo adapted to the exigences of our 
 , corrupt nature, that it is a matter of aftonimment how 
 it could ever come into the heads of pretenders to a 
 godly Reformation to lay it afide , and it certainly is 
 incumbent on them to mew inconteflable reafons to 
 juftify this extraordinary proceeding. 
 
 EVEN their own difciples were foon aware of 
 this grofs overfight of their leaders, in leaving out of 
 their reform, fo obvious and powerful a reftraint upon 
 man's corrupt inclinations and manners. The town 
 of Nuremburgh, which had very early embraced the 
 new gofpel, is a notorious inftance of it. The rria- 
 giftrates thereof feeing with regret that the people, 
 inftead of being bettered by their late change, were 
 become more depraved, and had run into the moft f 
 fhameful and impudent licentioufnefs ; and imputing 
 the evil to the barrier of confeflion being taken away , 
 they unanimoufly addrefied the Emperor Charles V. 
 that fo falutary a check upon libertinifm might be 
 reftored again by his imperial authority. The propofal 
 was received, as may be imagined, with laughter ; for, 
 when CHRIST'S divine ordinance was difregarded, it 
 were not to be expected that any human law would 
 prove more fuccefsful : the facl however is certain, 
 
 being
 
 9 6 The Article of Penance confidered. 
 being credibly attefted by Dominicus Sotus, Sot. 1. 4. 
 fentent. dift. 18. q. i. art. i. who, as he was confeffor to 
 the Emperor Charles the Fifth, had the means of being 
 informed of thefe tranfactions of the times. In the 
 mean while, as the fact was fuch, it evinces the necefllty 
 of auricular confefiion, and its fitnefs to be an effectual 
 remedy to the diforders of our foul, acknowledged even 
 by adverfaries. 
 
 WE have another inflance, of a more recent date, of 
 the like frank acknowledgement, from Proteihmts 
 themfelves, of the divine inftitution, as well as of the 
 ufefulnefs of Confefiion. When the late Dutchefs of 
 York, firft wife to King James II. juftly fcrupling on 
 this very point, opened her difficulties to two eminent 
 Prelates of the Church of England, SHELDON and 
 BLANDFORD, Bilhops of Canterbury and Worcefter; 
 they undertook to refolve her no otherwife than by 
 candidly owning, that Confeflion was undoubtedly a 
 means of grace of CHRIST'S inftitution , that they 
 wifhed fo effectual a help to falvation had been retained 
 within the Reformed Churches, and bemoaned fo ma- 
 terial an omiffion as the effect of hurry and precipita- 
 tion, with which the work of the Reformation was 
 conducted. Now, I prefume to think that this unfa- 
 tisfactory anfwer, though the beft the badnefs of the 
 caufe would admit of, muft make the fame imprefiion 
 on every unprejudiced judgment, it did on this vir- 
 tuous Princefs, to convince him that a work, fo efTen- 
 tially defective, cannot be thought to be the production 
 of Light ; or to be infpired and conducted by the di- 
 rections of the Holy Ghoft. 
 
 IN fudden revolutions of flate, and alterations of 
 government, which are the pure works of man, where 
 every thing is often-times begun- and carried on with 
 hurry and confufion ; blunders and omiflions in the 
 new modelling the political conftitution are eafily ac- 
 count-id for-, but in an evangelical Reformation, in 
 which the Church is pretended to be 'brought back, 
 under the directions of Heaven, to its primitive 
 
 purity,
 
 The Article of Penance conjidered. 97 
 
 purity, no fundamental flips or omi {lions can be ad- 
 mitted of, or even imagined ; and therefore this ma- 
 terial error muft be imputed to fome other caufe, 
 which I apprehend to be this: As the Reformers 
 thought fit to reform away, and to difcard the eflence 
 of the holy Sacrament of the Eucharift, 'tis no won- 
 der that Penance underwent the lame fate ; for, when 
 it could be of no further fervice as a preparation for 
 that auguft Sacrament, which was one principal ufe 
 of it, and as- it was otherwife intireiy difrelifhing to 
 our corrupt palates ; purfuant to the drift of the Re- 
 formation, which was, feemingly, to cook up a reli- 
 gion not the moft wholefome and falutary, but the 
 moft toothfome, this was to be reformed away amongft 
 the other unfavoury articles of the old religion. 
 
 IT muft indeed be owned, that LUTHER and his ad- 
 herents, who had not the confidence to withftand un- 
 deniable proofs and conviction itlelf, of the truth of 
 the Real Prefence in the Eucharift, have fhewn them* 
 felves alfo more fcrupulous about the prefent article 
 of auricular confeffion, than fome of their reforming 
 brethren, and in particular inveigh againft the Cal- 
 vinifts for wholly rejecting it, (Antichrift. prognof. fin, 
 Mund. p. 140, 141.) and by their antagonifts are 
 therefore nicknamed our New Popes. LUTHER him- 
 felf particularly recommends the ufe of confeffion at 
 the hour of death, as does the Church of England 
 hereafter inftanced. " A man, fays ke, being at the 
 " point of death, let him call the Prieft to him, to 
 " whom to confefs his fins : if he abfolves him, he 
 " may reft and die content with his abfolution, as jf 
 * it came from GOD himfelf; for he has reafon to 
 " rely as much on the Prieft's abfolution, as if GOD 
 " had fent an Angel, an Apoftle, or even CHRIST 
 " himfelf to impart it to him." 
 
 BUT now to come to thofe who reject this falutary 
 
 and effectual remedy for the diforders of our fouls, 
 
 And to enter into the heart of the queftion, it will be 
 
 neceflary to premife two or three poftulatums equally 
 
 N admitted
 
 9 8 The Article of Penance confidered. 
 admitted by both (ides , I mean, by the founder part 
 of the Reformation, as well as by Catholics. I fay 
 therefore, firft, that the merits and fufferings of CHRIST 
 alone radically cancel the guilt of fin in whatfoever 
 manner or degree of malice it is contracted : that thefe 
 are the condign fatis faction for it to the Divine Juftice, 
 and are, no- doubt, felf-fufficient to difcharge the 
 whole mafs of fin that has been, will be, or can be 
 committed. This is an article of faith which no 
 Chriftian, of whatfoever feel: or denomination, will 
 prefume to con tell. 
 
 I fay fecondly, that, in the prefent order of Pro- 
 vidence, fince the eftablilhment of the law of Grace, 
 the faid merits of CHRIST have not ufually their actual 
 effect, but inafmuch as they are applied to us by fuch 
 particular means or inftruments, inibtuted by CHRIST, 
 for this defirable purpofe. 
 
 I fay thirdly, that the Sacraments, fo called, are 
 thefe means of Grace, or the channels thro* which the 
 benefit of CHRIST'S merits and fufferings, his fanctify- 
 ing grace, is conveyed to our foul for the aforefaid 
 tnd, viz. for the effectual cancelling of fin, and our 
 reconciliation to the Divine Juttice, injured by fin : 
 As for inftance, the Sacrament of Baptifm, in virtue 
 of CHRIST'S inftitution, applying to us his infinite 
 merits and fufferings, is acknowledged by the genera- 
 lity of the Reformation, as well as Catholics, to wafh 
 away the guilt of original fin, contracted by our firft 
 Parents in Faradife, and from them entailed on us : 
 in which refpect Baptifm is, no doubt, a moft provi- 
 dential and fingular bleffing, in affording us fo eafy 
 and practicable a remedy to our fundamental difor- 
 der, and an effectual releafe from the devil's flavery. 
 And whereas the Reformed Churches, or the more 
 rational of them, are thus far of accord with us in 
 theory and practice ; what becomes a fubject of ailo- 
 nilhment is that, avowing the exiftence or thefe means 
 .of mercy, they mould be fo fhort-fighted as not to 
 lee into our further wants ; but that, on the contrary, 
 
 they
 
 Jbe Article of Penance confidered. 99 
 
 they fhould even difclaim the other means of Grace, 
 equally adapted to the faid wants and exigencies of 
 our finful ftate ! 
 
 IN order to explain my meaning, and to fet this 
 matter in the cleared light, I mud obferve that there 
 is a ftricl: analogy between our fpiritual infirmities, the 
 diforders of our foul, and every bodily contagion and 
 inveterate difeafe. Thefe latter, for inftance, even 
 when- the infection, by the medicinal power, is re- 
 moved, leave frequently behind them fatal fymptoms, 
 and a bad habit of body, fubjecting us to the danger 
 of relapfes, which, fo often as they return, we have 
 an occafion for their remedy to be repeated : In like 
 manner our foul is not fo cleanfcd from the infection 
 of original fin, in the laver of Baptifm, but that the 
 dregs and effects of it lurk behind, called the fuel 
 of fin, pregnant with innumerable other diforders; and 
 which, without a peculiar circumfpection on our 
 own fide, and the extraordinary grace of GOD to pre- 
 vent them, or his gracious remedies to cure them, 
 muft bring us inevitably to our fpiritual death and 
 ruin. 
 
 Now can we believe that the all-feeing Providence 
 of God, who is fo watchful over us and tender of our 
 welfare that a hair of our head does not fall without 
 hV knowledge and permifiion, who conftantly propor- 
 tions his helps to our indigencies : can we believe, I 
 fay, that he would abandon us in thefe neceflitous cir- 
 cirmftances, in thefe times of diftrefs ? Could the 
 Eternal Word, who abafed himielf fo far as to aflame 
 our human nature and to fuffcr an opprobrious death 
 in order to cancel fin, to ftem the current of man's 
 iniquities, to provide us with means to keep out of 
 the fnares of our fpiritual enemy ; or being unhappily 
 hampered therein, to fupply us with his aid to extri- 
 cate ourfelves out of them : could this merciful Sa- 
 viour leave imperfect an undertaking fo becoming his 
 goodnefs, fo glorious to himfelf, and fo beneficial to 
 us? Coujd this loving phyfician, who had prefcribed 
 
 us
 
 l oo Ike Article of Penance conjidered. 
 
 us fo prompt and effectual a remedy to a diforder not 
 perfonally our own, but only entailed on us by inhe- 
 ritance, omit to provide one for thofe of our own 
 contracting, which being more grievous on our fide, 
 and more frequent, we have a greater exigency of his 
 fpecial and effectual relief ? No, this is not credible, 
 it was not fuitable to his Providence, his love and 
 mercy. Let the Reformers get themfelves clear, as 
 they can, of thefe inconfiflencies, and of the juft re- 
 proach of being injurious to a divine, infinitely benign 
 Providence, by prefuming to charge upon it it's want 
 to us in thefe emergent necefilties, and to dare to con- 
 teft the exiftence of the moft confpicuous and bene- 
 ficial means of mercy he could confer upon us. 
 
 THE Catholic Church, on the contrary, is pofitive 
 that our bountiful Saviour, not more our Redeemer 
 in paying off a full, redundant ranfom for our fins, 
 than a tender and provident phyfician in prefcribing a 
 remedy, as an antidote and cure to the evil, has given 
 us as effectual a remedy as we could wifh for, in the 
 Sacrament of Penance, commonly called Confeffion^ 
 not by its becoming an incouragement to fin, in im- 
 boldening us in the repetition of it, as our adverfaries 
 unjuftly mifreprefent it ; but as an obvious, practical 
 means to rife out of that deplorable ftate, by virtue of 
 the keys or patents of remiflion of fins, delivered by 
 CHRIST to his Church; and as a powerful preferva- 
 tive againft a relapfe, in confluence to the effential 
 difpofitions and conditions prerequifite to a good and 
 valid Confefiion. In this fenfe the Catholic Church 
 recommends and inculcates the ule of it to her chil- 
 dren : in this fenfe I undertake to prove it from 
 Scripture, tradition, and antiquity, to be a divine or- 
 dinance ; that is, to be inftituted by CHRIST, as our 
 merciful Redeemer and provident phyfician. 
 
 SECT.
 
 The Sacrament of Penance proved, &c. I o I 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The injlitv.tion of the Sacrament of Penance proved frcm 
 Scripture and Antiquity ; and its benefit to mankind, in 
 his prefent ft ate, enforced from the nature of the Sa- 
 crament, and our want of thefe means of mercy. 
 
 OU R blefied Saviour, juft before his Afcenfion, 
 having delivered to his difciples their apoftolical 
 commiffion of promulgating his name and doctrine to 
 all nations ; to the fame patents he alfo annexed a 
 fpecial and diftinftive power of binding and releafing 
 fin. The tenor of their commiffion runs thus : " As 
 " the Father hath fent me, I alfo fend you. When 
 " he had faid this, he breathed upon them, and faid 
 ' " to them, Receive ye the Holy Ghoft : whofe fins you 
 " Jhall forgive, they are forgiven them , and ivhofefms 
 " you jhall retain they are retained" John xx. 21, 
 
 22, 23. 
 
 To fpeak firft, to the preamble of this commif- 
 fion, it is to be obferved that, the authority CHRIST, 
 as the fon of man, had received from his Eternal 
 Father, Tkat he makes over to his Apoftles as his 
 minifters, As the Father fent me, I alfo fend you, John 
 xx. 21. but with this difference, that he was the prin- 
 cipal, acting by an abfolute power immediately lodged 
 in himfelf, they his deputies, to act not in their own 
 right, but by commiffion from him, and in his name. 
 CHRIST fpecifies here only one part of the power, he 
 intrufts them with, viz. the a6t of judicature, or of 
 releafing and retaining fins ; and that CHRIST, as 
 man, had power to forgive fins ; that he was confli- 
 tuted by his Eternal Father Sovereign Judge over mens 
 confciences, while he was on earth, and that he aded 
 during his mortal fojournrnent on earth, in that ca- 
 pacity, is what he himfelf plainly declared to the Jews 
 on feveral occafions, as is related by each of the 
 Evangelifts. Neither, fays he in one place, does the 
 Father judge any man, but hath given all judgment to the 
 
 Son.
 
 io2 *rhe Sacrament of Penance 
 
 Son. Johny. 22. And prefently after he afligns the 
 reafon thereof, And he hath given him power to do judg- 
 ment^ becaufe he is the SON of MAN, John ibid. v. 27. 
 When, on another otcafion the paralytic was brought to 
 him, in order to obtain the cure of his body, as it is relat- 
 ed by three of the Evangelifts, CHRIST firft, in reward 
 of his extraordinary faith, beftowed upon him the cure 
 of his foul, telling him, Be of good heart, fon, thy 
 fins are forgiven thee, Matth. ix. 2. & alibi. And, 
 when the fcribes then prefent, viewing CHRIST barely 
 in his human capacity, conceived fcandal at him, and 
 thought he blafphemed, in ufurping a power of for- 
 giving fms not belonging to man but to GOD alone -, 
 did our blefied Lord, who penetrated into their 
 thoughts, difabufe them by declaring his Divinity, 
 and afcribing thereto his power ? No j on the con- 
 trary he gave them to underfland that the privilege be- 
 longed to him, as he was man : But that you may know^ 
 faid he to them, that the Son of man hath fewer to for- 
 give fms , (then faid he to themanfick of the palfy] arife^ 
 take up thy bed^ and go into thine houfe. Matth. ix. 
 2, &c. 
 
 IT is alfo certain that this privilege of CHRIST, as 
 man, was then peculiar to himfelf, never given, as 
 St. CHRYSOSTOM, hereafter cited, obferves, to any 
 man upon earth before, nor to Angel or Archangel. 
 As GOD, he, to be fore, from the beginning forgave 
 the fms of men in Heaven ; and tho' it was ordained 
 in the old law, Lev. v. and Numb. v. to make a 
 fpecial confefiion to the Priefts of fome grievous fins 
 there fpecified (an imperfect type of what was to be 
 done afterwards in the law of Grace) and tho* proper 
 facrifices were appointed to be offered, and atonement 
 to be made for thefe fevcral offences j yet thefe were 
 only conditions of forgivenefs, while the forgivenefs 
 itfelf was given in Heaven. When DAVID was pe- 
 nitent for his heinous crimes, the Prophet NATHAN, 
 on the part of GOD, only declared them cancelled, . 
 Nathan faid -unto David, Tbe Lvrd bath alfo put away 
 
 thy
 
 proved from Scripture. 103 
 
 'thy fin, thoujhalt not die, 2 Sam. xii. 13. not arroga- 
 ting to himfelf the power of abfolving him. This 
 was a privilege, as I faid before, referred for the new 
 covenant of the law of Grace, firft conferred by the 
 Eternal Father upon CHRIST in his facred humanity, 
 and by him transferred to his Apoftles, as his mini- 
 fters and deputies, and from them to defcend to their 
 fuccefTors ; viz. that contrary to what had ever pafied 
 on earth before, where fins were wont firft to be can- 
 celled in Heaven, and the pardon then, if at all, de- 
 clared upon earth , now the fentence of judicature 
 fliould be firft pronounced by man here on earth, 
 and then ratified in Heaven ^ here the Prieft, by the 
 authority delegated to him from CHRIST, giving ab- 
 folution from fin, and there fealed and confirmed by 
 , CHRIST himfelf. This order of the acts of judicature 
 between the two tribunals, the celeftial and terre- 
 ftrial, this judicial power vefted in the Prieft of the 
 new law, are even clearly diftinguiflied in the tenor of 
 the Apoftles commifiion above cited, Whofe fins you 
 /ball forgive, they are forgiven them, &c. John xx. 22. 
 And it was CHRIST'S eftablifhing this fupreme tribu- 
 nal of judicature here upon earth, which made the 
 great Apoftle of the Gentiles cry out that He had given 
 to^us the miniftry of reconciliation, 2 Cor. v. 18. So 
 pofitive was he of this judicial power, of binding and 
 loofmg fins, being lodged in the Apoftles and their 
 fucceflbrs ; but at what time precifely they were firft 
 of all inftalled in their miniftry, is quite impertinent 
 to the main point, of their being abfolutely vefted 
 with the prerogative. The commifiion St. JOHN fpeaks 
 of, given after the Refurrection, feems to be no 
 more than the fulfilling of a former promife of it, 
 or a confirmation of a prior inftalment, when fome 
 while before his Paffion he faid to them, Amen I fay 
 to you, whatfoever you Jhall bind on earth, Jhall be bound 
 alfo in heaven ; and whatfoever you Jhall loofe on earth, 
 (hall be loofed alfo in heaven. Matth. xviii ; 18. fnp- 
 pofing this laft text to imply an actual delivery of 
 
 the
 
 104 The Sacrament of Penance 
 
 the keys, and not a bare promife of a future -del] very ; 
 in this hypothecs the other text from St. JOHN, being 
 the, relation of a fact of a later date, muft be under- 
 ftood only to infmuate the extenfion of this authority 
 to an executive power, when entering on their Apofto- 
 lical charge they are directed to exercife it in this and 
 every other lhape. 
 
 WHICHSOEVER way we are to diftinguifh thefe facred 
 extracts, the inftitution of the Sacrament of Penance, 
 or the power of forgiving fins, is fo exprefly given and 
 declared in one or both of them, that unlefs our ad- 
 verfaries in this, as well as other controverfial points, 
 had equivalently laid on -us the ridiculous tafk, aRum 
 agere^ of proving what ,is already plain and evident, 
 I muft be thought to be very idle, in taking upon me 
 to explain texts which are clear and perfpicuous in 
 themfelves beyond every glofs and explanation pofiible : 
 they fpeak very plain their own meaning, that is, the 
 meaning which the Church has always underflood them 
 to import ; to wit, the delivery of the keys to the 
 Apoftles, to whom thefe fpeeches were directed, whereby 
 they were veiled with an abfolute power of binding 
 and loofing fins; and, in confequence to their patents 
 all who fucceed them in their Apoftolical charge inherit 
 the fame authority ; .becaufe every ordinance or infti- 
 tution of CHRIST, (as has been obferved in a foregoing 
 controvcrfy) which by its natural tendency is calculated 
 for the good of mankind in general, or of the Church 
 in particular, muft.be judged to remain in full force, fb 
 long as the Church has a being, and the fame occafion or 
 exigency of the inftitution fubfifts : but the univerfal 
 exigence of this inftitution, and the general ufe and 
 benefit refulting from it to mankind, is what we have 
 already hinted at in the beginning of this chapter, 
 and malf have occafion of mewing further by and by. 
 
 Now the main queftion is, how this Sacrament was 
 to be brought into practice, in order to be productive 
 of this fruit and advantage to mankind for which it was 
 instituted and defigned. Here is a fpirkual tribunal 
 
 erected
 
 proved from Scripture. 105 
 
 erected by CHRIST, in which the Apoftles and their 
 fucceflbrs are conftituted the arbitrators and judges of 
 every thing belonging to that court, that is, are en- 
 dued with a fovereign jurifdiction over the confciences 
 of all thofe who mould come under their paftoral care, 
 and a judicial power of Icofmg and binding their 
 refpective mifdcmeanours. But how, I fay, is this to 
 be put into execution ? if we are to refolve this doubt 
 from a fimilhude of circumftances and caufes, which 
 come before temporal tribunals, 'tis evident that it is 
 practicable no other way than by a previous cognifance 
 of the crimes which come under their jurtldiction. 
 Every act of temporal judicature prefuppoies a know- 
 ledge of the caufe : in order to be enabled to releafe, 
 reprieve, or condemn, with any form of jufticc, 'tis a 
 condition prerequifite, and indifpenfable, to be aj> 
 prifed of the Hate of the criminal ; and therefore, 
 from the dictates of common fenfe and the nature of 
 the thin<r, 'tis manifeft that the fame conditions and 
 forms of juftice are equally indlfpenfably annexed to 
 this fpiritual tribunal inftituted by CHRIST. 
 
 THIS, and no more, is meant and pradifed by the 
 Catholic Church in the ufe of this Sacrament of mercy 
 called Penance or Confeflion ; where the Penitent is 
 both the criminal, felf-accufer, and evidence ; the 
 Prieft, in virtue of the authority delegated to him by 
 CHRIST, fits as judge, and his fentence is the acl; of 
 judicature ; which is favourable or unfavourable, ac- 
 cording to the refpective difpofmons of the Penitent. 
 It is inconceivable how CHRIST'S injunction to the 
 ApofrJes of binding and loofmg fins could be executed 
 in any other manner ; and we have an infinuation from 
 St. JAMES the Apoftle, that it was in this form, and 
 in consequence to fuch previous informations, that 
 they exercifed their judicial power for, in his Ca- 
 tholic epiftle, he recommends to them to ccnfefs tlc:r 
 faults one to another-, Sr. James v. 16. that is to the 
 Prielb, whom juft before he had directed them to call 
 for, In the Acts of the Apofdes we are alfo told, that 
 O it
 
 io6 The Sacrament of Penance 
 
 it was the practice of the faithful to confefs and declare 
 their deeds. Acts xix. 18. I might add, that as the 
 law of grace was prefigured by the Molaic law in 
 moft eflential points, fo this divine inflitution had alfo 
 its type in the Levitic law, where it was ordained, that 
 fuch as were infected with leprofy (the emblem of a 
 foul in the ftate of fin) fhould mew themfelves to the 
 Prieft. Levit. xiii. 
 
 THE ordinances above quoted from Lev. v. and 
 Num. v. of manifefting to the Prieft fome fptcial fins 
 or diforders of the foul, though not attended with the 
 Sacramental advantage it has now by the indication 
 of CHRIST, was yet a livelier expreffion of it. 
 
 AFTER the undeniable proofs, we have produced 
 from the infpired writings, for the divine inftitution 
 of the Sacrament of Penance, it may be judged im- 
 neceffary, to bring a confirmation of it from the una- 
 nimous belief and practice ot the primitive ages of 
 the Church i if this were "requifite, we could trace it 
 from the Apoftks down to the epoch of the pretended 
 Reformation, and we have fo many unexceptionable 
 vouchers to it, as there are learned doctors anJ fathers 
 of thole different times. And, indeed, the Sacra- 
 ment of Penance, meaning auricular ConfefTion, it 
 being in this iliape that it is ufcd in the Church, and 
 as fuch the object of difiike to our fqueamifh Refor- 
 mers, is no doubt, fo difficult in itfelf, and forbidding 
 to flefh and blood, that if it had been a novelty 5m- 
 pofed on the' belief of the faithful, and unwai ranted 
 by Scripture, or an unjuft tyranny ufurped over men's 
 conferences, it wtrc a. matter of wonder how it ever 
 got eftablifhed in the Church without the moft remark- 
 able and general oppofition : ftill more furpriiiug that 
 perfons of every rank, condition and ftation of -life, 
 the laity as well as clerics, kings as well as fubjecis 
 fhould liibmit their necks to the yoke, and not dildain 
 to throw themfelves at the feet of a Prieft, to unfold 
 to him the inmoft fecrets of their heart, the moft 
 fharheful diforders of their foul, and to wait humbly 
 
 for
 
 prvued from Scripture'.' 1*07 
 
 for his abfolution. When, on the contrary, it cannot 
 be difavowe.d, by our very enemies, that~it had gained a 
 peaceable poffcfiion in the 'Church, with the other arti- 
 cles of the Catholic Faith, tor many centuries : when 
 we dare take upon us to prove that it -is to be traced up 
 to the earlitft timts of the Church, an'd that none ever 
 appeared againft it, but anathematized or reputed 
 Heretics ; then we muft conclude that Penance is of 
 divine inititution, and that the manner or ufe of it by 
 auricular Conreffion is of Apoftolic rradiiion : out of 
 a cloud of thele primitive evidences, (or brevity's 
 fake, I have only feieded the few that follow. 
 
 THE Novatians, a feet that fprung up between the 
 fecond and third century, were branded with marks of 
 novelty for maintaining it fufficient to confefs to GOD 
 alone, as tome of our modem innovators would pre- 
 tend to do at piefer.t. St. AMBROSE makes mention 
 of this opinion ana taxes it as repugnant to CHRIST'S 
 divine inititution. " The Novatians," fays he, " re- 
 " ferve the honour and power to GOD alone of remit- 
 " ting fin : but none do him a more glaring injury than 
 tc they, who make void the commiffion of CHRIST; 
 " tor, fince he himitlf has faid, wbofe Jins you forgive 
 " they are forgiven, &c. who honours :himmoft, he that 
 ' accepts of- CHRIST'S inlHtution," (as Catholics do) 
 '''or he that rejects ir," as the Novatians did formerly, 
 and Protefrants now. St. Ambr. i. i. de pen. c. 2. 
 St. AUSTIN in fevcral parts of his writings, cenfures 
 the fame fond opinion as erroneous, " Let no man," 
 fays he in one place, *' fay to himlelf I conftfs ft-crctly 
 *' to GOD, for this fufficcwig, without re .'ion it is 
 " faid, whatfofver you looje on earth, .(ball be losfed 
 " in heaven, without caule are the keys given to thre 
 11 Church of GOD. Thus we fruilratc the Gofpel, 
 " we make void the words of CHRIST, and vainly 
 " promifc ourfclves what he denies." viz. GOD'S ior- 
 givenefs of our fins independantly of the prior jud.g- 
 taient and abfolution, or the forgivencfs of his m millers.. 
 Aug. 1. 50. Homcliarum Hoiu. 49. Again clfewhere 
 O 2 he
 
 The Sacrament of Penance 
 
 he fpeaks as follows, " There are fome, who think 
 " it fumces for falvation to confefs to GOD alone; 
 " and either thro* obftinacy, mame, or difdain will 
 " not fhaw themfelves to the Prieft. But let them 
 " not deceive themfelves with the fond notion that 
 " thi-fe pretences will excufe them, for the Prieft's 
 <c judgment is to be fubmitted to, whom CHRIST has 
 " not difdained to fubftitute his Vicar or Deputy. 
 " Therefore afk the Prieft to come unto thee, and 
 " difcloie to him thy confcience and the whole ftate 
 " of thy foul. Let not the fuperflition of certain 
 " dreamers feduce thee, who pretend that the bare 
 " confemon of our fins to GOD will fave us without 
 " the miniftry of the Prieft. We don't deny that 
 " confemon is to be made to GOD, but we aver, and 
 " the found doctrine and practice of the Church vouch 
 " for it, that thou firft haft occafion of the fentencc 
 *' of the i'rieft, who may be a mediator to thy GOD 
 ** for thee i otherwife, how mould the Divine ordi- 
 4 * nance both of the old and new law be complied 
 " with, Co andjhew ywfehes to the Prieft, Lev. xiv. 
 " Ccnfef- your fins to one another^ St. James. Therefore 
 *' let the Prieft be called for in GOD*S place, to judge 
 *' of thy diforders ; make known to him thy ways, 
 " and he will give you the remedy of reconciliation." 
 Aug. 1. i. de Vifit. Infirm. 
 
 IN the paffage we have now cited, the holy Doctor 
 aflerts directly the Catholic doctrine in two points, 
 viz. the infumciency of conferring to GOD alone, and 
 in ccnfequer.ee to this, the neceffity arid obligation 
 of laying open the ftate of our fouls before other 
 judges of CHRIST'S appointment, the Priefts of his 
 Church, by whom we are to be tried, condemned, or 
 abfolved according to our deferts. In another part of 
 this fame treatife he goes on to confider the procefs 
 and nature of this court of judicature, and therein 
 fpeaks of auricular confemon in words fo plain and 
 explicit, as to prefcribe the very method after which 
 it is to be made : " Prefuppofe," fays he, " that thou 
 
 " art
 
 proved from Scripture. ' 109 
 
 " art before the Angels of GOD, for the Prieft is 
 " his Angel ; and fo fpeak to him, with that reve- 
 <l rence, that is due to GOD and nis Angels , difclofe 
 " unto him tbe fecrets of tky confdence. : thou muft re- 
 41 member the time, place, and characters of the per- 
 " fons (yet concealing their names) with \vhom you 
 " have finned." Aug. lib. 2. de Vifit. Infirm, c. 5. 
 Now I appeal to the candid reader whether any Ca- 
 tholic Catechift, at this time o' day, explaining the 
 method and form of auricular confeffion could be 
 more clear and particular on the fubjecl: than this 
 holy Father has been ? 
 
 ST. BASIL a Father of the Greek Church delivers 
 himfelf to the fame effect, and in terms equally plain, 
 fignificant, and inftructive : " Our fins," lays he, " are 
 " to be difcovered to them, to whom is committed 
 " the difpenfmg of the facred myfteries of GOD ; 
 " for we fee this form of penance primitively prac- 
 " tifed, it being written in the Gofpel that they con- 
 " feiTed their fins to JOHN, and in the Acts that they 
 " conferee! and declared their deeds to the Apoftles." 
 Baf. in regul. Brev. Interrog. 288. It is to be ob- 
 ferved that this Father, who lived in the fourth Cen- 
 tury, by appealing to primitive times, and even to 
 the practice of the Apoftles themfelves for the foun- 
 dation of his doctrine, muft have judged it to be of 
 Apoftolic tradition and divine inftitution. 
 
 IN fhort the Fathers in general are fo clear and 
 pcfitive for the ufe of private confeffion, that even 
 the Proteftant Centurifts candidly give up St. CYPRIAN 
 and TERTULLIAN for abettors of it. Speaking of 
 thofe primitive times, thefe Proteftant hiftorians tell 
 us, " That they were wont to give abfolution for 
 " fins in this manner : The faithful were firft to 
 " confefs their fins, for this/* fay they, " does TER- 
 " TULLIAN, in his book De P<enitenti^ greatly re- 
 v commend and inculcate : and it appears from fun- 
 *' dry places of St. CYPRIAN, that Private Confef- 
 '* fion was cuflomary in his time, wherein the faith- 
 
 " ful
 
 1 1 o The Sacrament of Penance 
 
 u ful difclofed their fins, and- 'even their intern?! 
 " wicked thoughts." Cent. 3. Col. 127. and Cent. 4. 
 c. 6. Col. 429. 
 
 THE narrow limits of this effay v;ili not allow me 
 here to fummon the whole band of primitive evi- 
 dences to this Catholic article, viz. JEHOM, ATHANA- 
 sius, the two GREGORIES of die Eaftern Church, 
 and ftill higher, OR.IGEN, CLEMENT, and innumera- 
 ble others, who talked of Confeffion as of a matter 
 undoubtedly of Divine inftitution, and the avowed 
 practice of the Church..- And the frank acknowledg- 
 ment of Proteftants, which we juft heard, that they 
 are indifputably on our fide, render this trouble need- 
 lefs. I'll therefore only trefpafs on my reader with 
 one more of thefe venerable vouchers, to whofe tefti- 
 mony there can be no exception, to fpeak for the reft, 
 becaufe by a rule we have laid do\yn in a foregoing 
 controverfy, what were the avowed fentiments of any 
 orthodox Father, confpicuous for his fanftity and 
 learning, in any dogmatical point, which does not 
 appear td have been controverted by his cotempora- 
 ries, or recanted by himfelf, muft be reputed the una- 
 nimous fentiments of the reft of the orthodox Fathers, 
 his laid cotemporaries, and to be the belief of the 
 whole Catholic Church both then and before., by a 
 continued fucceffion of dodtrine derived from the Apo- 
 ftles. I faid, what appears to be the uncontroverted 
 fentiments of any one orthodox Father, muft be thus 
 reputed to be the fenfe of the whole body of the 
 Church , becaufe tho' 'tis true that St. CYPRIAN, a 
 glorious light and martyr of the Church, erred in the 
 article of heretical baptifm, yet it was, refpeftively 
 to him, only an error of judgment, not of faith ; be- 
 caufe in his time it was a controverted point undecided 
 by the Church. The fame muft be faid of St. POLY- 
 CARP in the Afiatic Church, who varied frpm the ge- 
 neral practice of the Church as to the day of celebrat- 
 ing Eailer, by conforming to the time of the Jewifh 
 Pafch i a contrcverfy not fully fettled till a long time 
 
 after,
 
 proved from Scripture. in 
 
 after, by the firft general Council of Nice-. But none 
 of thefe differences appear, in thofe primitive times, re- 
 lating to the inilitution and ufe of the Sacrament of 
 Penance ; and the teftimony I have to produce for it s 
 clear, and beyond a reply : it is from St. CHRYSOSTOM, : 
 the great light of the Oriental Church, who delivers 
 himfelf on this fubjed as follows : *' Thofe who dwell 
 " on earth, are enabled to difpenfe the things of 
 " Heaven : to them power is given, which neither 
 " Angel nor Archangels enjoy ; for, to thefe it was 
 " never faid, M /r hatfoever youfball bind on earth is bound 
 " in Heaven^ &c. Earthly Princes have power to caft 
 <c into prifon, but their power is retrained to bodies 
 c< only ; whereas the bond we fpeak of reaches the 
 " foul and Heaven itfelf, infomuch as what Priefts 
 " do below, GOD ratifies above'; and the Lord con- 
 <c firms the ientence of the fervant. And what is this 
 " but to have all power put into their hands to dif- 
 <c pofe of Heaven ? Whofe fins you forgive, they are 
 <e forgiven , and 'whofe fins you retain they are retained. 
 " What power can be greater than this? GOD the 
 ' Father has given all power of judging to his Son, 
 " and the Son has communicated all that fame power to 
 " Priefts They not only regenerate us, but after- 
 " .ivards have power to forgive us our fins" St. Chryf. 
 lib. 3. de Sacerd. c. 5. Thus has this great and learn- 
 ed Father afierted the doctrine of Penance, in terms 
 as clear and explicit asBeLLARMiNE, or any other 
 the moft zealous champion for Papacy, could have 
 explained it at this prefent time ; and it being ground- 
 ed on the alledged teftimonies of Scripture, the words 
 of the inftitution, they give an unconteilable weight 
 to the Catholic Doctrine. 
 
 THIS atteftation of the prieftly jurifdiction in the 
 tribunal of confeffion, and the Father's plain infmua- 
 tion of their conftant exercife of this jurifdiction, and 
 of the fanction Heaven gave to it above, he faying, 
 as we have juft heard, " That the bond of loofmg 
 " fins reaches the foul, and even Heaven itfelf, info- 
 
 " much
 
 ii2 The Sacrament of Penance 
 
 " much that what the Priefts do below, God ratifies 
 " above " this teftimony, I fay, is a full confutation 
 alfo, of an objection fome Proteftants make to auri- 
 cular confeflion, as an abufe crept into the Church, 
 from a pretended abrogation of it by Nectarius Bilhop 
 of Constantinople, who was St. CHRYSOSTOM'S im- 
 mediate predeceflbr. In order, however, to put this 
 fact of Nectarius in it's true light, it is neceflary to 
 premife that, befides the conftant ufe and practice in 
 the Church of Private Confeflion, it was judged by 
 her neceffary, in the middle of the third century, on the 
 occafion of the rife of the Novatian Herefy, to ordain 
 public confeflions for notorious and public crimes. The 
 reafons inducing the Church to enact this canon are 
 too long to relate here : but fo it was ordained, and 
 for this purpofe one particular Prieft was felected out 
 of the reft of the Clergy for every metropolitan 
 Church, called the Penitentiary , to whom and to no 
 one elfe it belonged to execute this office, of receiving 
 and abfolving public penitents. Such was the practice 
 fubfifting in the Church of Conftantinople inNectarius's 
 time, when on the occafion of a notorious indifcretion 
 of the Penitentiary, and a great fcandal brought 
 thereby on the Church, he judged it convenient to 
 fupprefs it. The fact was this. A matron of con- 
 fiderable note having had the misfortune to entertain a 
 finful commerce with a Deacon of the Church ; repent- 
 ing of her crime, and having recourfe to the falurary 
 remedy of confeflion for her cure, her Confeflbr nnad- 
 vifedly injoined her the mame of a Public Confeflion 
 as an atonement for her guilt. This gave occafion to 
 fcandalous talk, and reflections on the Church and 
 Clergy, and was judged by Nectarius a fufficient caufe 
 for aboiifhing the practice of Public Confeflions there- 
 after ; not forbidding thereby private confeflion, which 
 till his time, and after his time, was perpetually kept 
 up in the Church, purfuant to the intent of the infli- 
 tution of the Sacrament of Penance, and to the great 
 benefit of the faithful, but barely fupprefling I : s 
 
 Confeilions
 
 proved from Scripture. 1 1 3 
 
 Confeffions, a practice occafionally introduced, and 
 now occafionally abrogated. Socrates an Ecclefuftical 
 hiflorian of thofe times, fpeaking of the abclifhmsnt 
 of this practice, reprefents it in this light, as of no 
 prejudice to or precedent againil private confefijo-i: 
 What St. CHRYSOSTOM'S fentiments were in this mat- 
 ter may be gathered from the extract from him above ; 
 and tho* he never repealed his predecefibr's prohibi- 
 tion of Public Confeflions, he perpetually recommends 
 private ones to the faithful, as the only means of re- 
 conciliation to the Divine offended Juftice y and par- 
 ticularly Horn. 30. in Genef. inculcates this peneten- 
 tial practice in the Great Week, as they called it, by 
 us the Holy Week^ as it had been done at the lame 
 times by Gregory NyiTen before. But after what has 
 been already produced, I need not tire my reader 
 with any more extracts from thefe venerable monu- 
 ments of antiquity : firft, becaufe, I fay, thefe I 
 have produced, connected with the fcriptural proofs, 
 I look upon to be conclufive : fscondly, becaufe 
 we have already heard LUTHER and his adherents 
 flrenuous abettors of this article ; we have moreover 
 heard two eminent Prelates of the Church of England 
 declaring Confefilon to be a means of falvation of 
 GHRIST'S appointment, v/iming it had been retained 
 within the precincts of the Reformation, and imputing 
 the omilHon to overfight rather than to any deliberate 
 defign. Dr. Montague, Bifhop of Norwich, and 
 feveral other Proteftant Divines, chime in fubiiance 
 with the Prelates juft mentioned, in aflerting the infti- 
 tution and lawfulnefs of Confeffion, and avowing the 
 advantage refulting from the ufe of it : and even thofe 
 who affect to be (ticklers againft this doctrinal point 
 act their part fo weakly, and with fuch an ill grace, as to 
 do no prejudice to the Catholic caufe. The Church 
 of England, in particular, in her order for the vifita- 
 tion of the fick, earneftly recommends to the innrm 
 party a confeffion of his fins, and feems unwilling he 
 Ihqyld quit the world unprovid:d with this Ibirirual 
 
 P ' IluC-ld
 
 1 1 4 ^ e Sacrament of Penance 
 
 fhield of mercy, and falutary help towards making a 
 happy end. '* Then," fays me, " mall the fick man 
 * c be moved to make a fpecial confeflion of his fins, 
 *' if he feel his confcience troubled with any weighty 
 " matter." Book of Com. Prayer. 
 
 IN confequence to the confeflion thus recommended, 
 the minifter is next directed to abfolve him : the judi- 
 cial power, ufurped by the minifter on this occafion, is 
 the fame as what is uled by the Priefts of the Catholic 
 Church , the form of abfolution equivalently allb the 
 fame. But how ridiculous and incoherent their conduct 
 is in fetting forth this ordinance, muft be vifibie to 
 every one ; fince, if a reconciliation be eligible and 
 rcquifite at any time, and there are means of CHRIST'S 
 appointment tor that purpofe, the exigency and obli- 
 gation of it hold in time of health as well as ficknefs-, 
 or rather, in fome degree, feems to bind Wronger in 
 the former circum (lances-, becaufe 'tis a prefumption, 
 as well as a folly, to put off fo falutary, I (hould fay 
 fo necefiary a means of falvation to the laft moments, 
 when we may run a rifk by fuch a delay, of being 
 difabled at that critical hour to dilcharge a duty of fo 
 great importance. 
 
 BUT now, in order to frame a juft idea of the nature 
 of the Sacrament of Penance, of its great importance 
 to mankind, and the infinite benefit accruing to him 
 from it -, 'tis necefiary we mould recall to our mind 
 the many fatal circumftanccs of our prefent unhappy 
 ftate; to look back on the fource of our misfortune, 
 .on the difficulties it has thrown us under in the con- 
 fequence, and the emergent occafion we have of a 
 ; fpeedy and effectual relief: to wit, we are all of us 
 fmners by inheritance, born flaves to Satan; GOD'S 
 fworn enemy and ours. All fiefh, fays Holy Scrip- 
 ture, is corrupted ; and though purged and warned 
 .in the lavcr of baptifm, yet, as I obferved above, 
 .fome dregs and fymptoms of the evil remain behind : 
 the feed of fin is fown in us, and our inclination to it 
 1 tlifcovers itfelf with our firft dawn of reafon : we no 
 
 fooucr
 
 proved from Scripture. 115 
 
 fboner begin to know what is evil, but we find a pro- 
 penfity to it; our understanding is blinded, our^ will 
 perverted, and our mrmory filled with innumerable 
 criminal ideas, which continually prompt us to what 
 is orTcnfive in the divine fight, and, in confequence 
 to thefe innate corruptions interwoven into our nature, 
 we effectually fall into daily and fundry kinds of fin. 
 
 THIS is a frightful, but, yet, true picture of human 
 nature in its preterit (late of forfeited jultice: fuch,was 
 the deplorable condition of man wh n the Lord of 
 Mercy appeared in his behall, not only as his Mediator 
 and Redeemer, but alfo as his Phyfician, prefcribing 
 for him a fovereign remedy co thefe epidemic evils, 
 in the inftitution of the Sacrament of Penance. True 
 it is, what I premifed in the beginning of this chapter, 
 that the infinite merits of an incarnate Deity were felf- 
 fufficient to cancel all our iniquities, and to difcharge 
 the debt in full,- due to the divine juftice, contracted 
 by fin ; and we might, no doubt, if GOD had pleated, 
 have felt the immediate efTc-cb of rhis blefiing, by a 
 happy reconciliation, independantly of every other 
 mec.ium. This I fay, was poffible to Almighty GOD, 
 but was not agreeable to the fecret difpofitions of his 
 equitable providence. He had created man a free 
 creature, and therefore his fpontaneous concurrence 
 with the divine mercies to fave himfelf, was made a 
 condition thereto, not to be difpenfed with. " He that 
 '*' created you," fays St. AUSTIN, " without you, 
 *' will not fave you without you." St. Auf. Conf. 
 The Almighty, therefore, would not intrude his mer- 
 cies upon us, but left it to our own liberty and option 
 to appropriate them to ourfelves, by laying hold on 
 the means prefcribed us by his divine providence: they 
 were in themfelves a fource of living waters, overflow-, 
 ing and fuperabundant tor all -, but yet were to be con- 
 veyed to none but thro* the channels of GOD'S appoint- 
 ment. Thefe indeed, were different at different times. 
 BEFORE the myftery of the incarnation was accom- 
 plilhcd, man's juftiftcation was annexed to the inward
 
 j 1 6 The Sacrament of Penance 
 
 motions of the heart, a ftedfoft faith in their future 
 MESSIAH, an intenfe love of GOD, and a fmcere for- 
 row for fin, exclufive of thofe fingular advantaged 
 and extraordinary means of grace, we now poflefs : for 
 it is fince that happy event that CHRIST, as I obferved 
 above, has gracioufly vouchfafed to inftitute the Sacra- 
 ments to be a continual commemoration, as well as an 
 application to us of this great myftery of mercy, to 
 the purpofe and intent for which it was fulfilled, the 
 Cancelling of fin, and our happy reconciliation to tjie 
 divine juflice irritated by fin. 
 
 Now, the Sacrament of Penance is one of the more 
 practical means of grace and mercy, than moil of the 
 reft, inafmuch as it is adapted to the fpecial and ex- 
 traordinary exigences of our corrupt ftate, capable of 
 being repeated as often as we may have occafion for it 
 by our unfortunate relapfes into fin. We are conceived 
 in original fin, which being warned away in the laver 
 of baptifm, it wants no more clcanfmg, and therefore 
 we are only once baptifed. Our actual fins are innu- 
 merable ; we are daily falling into fundry crimes, and 
 therefore have a free and repeated accefs to the remedy 
 of them in the Sacrament of Penance, and may depend 
 on receiving the benefit fought for, fo often as we 
 partake of it in the manner and difpofitions required, 
 " Have you finned ?" fays St. CHRYSOSTOM, " re- 
 " pent : have you finned a thoufand times ? repent ^ 
 < thoufand times ? 
 
 THESE heartening exhortations to relapfing finners^ 
 are grounded upon the folemn infurances of pardon 
 from Almighty GOD himfelf, to fmners truly repenting, 
 who by the Prophet EZEKIEL, declares that He defires 
 wt the death of theftnner, but that he turn from bis evil 
 ways and live-; Ezek. xxxiii. u. and by ISAIAH the 
 Prophet, that at whatfoever time the finner returns to 
 him with a fmcere repentance, though J?is Jins he as 
 red as Jcarkt., he Jhdl be made as. white as driven fr.cw* 
 Ifai. i. 1 8. The like prorr.ifes of mercy, made by our 
 bleficd Saviour in the New Teftament, are innumera-
 
 proved from Scripture. \ij 
 
 b!e, which for brevity's fake, they being known to 
 every one, I forbear inferting here : to my prefent 
 purpofe it may be fufficient to obferve, that his intent 
 and defign, in inftituting the Sacrament of Penance, 
 was to enable us thereby to attain, with more facility, 
 the forgiVenefs he fo gracioufly tenders to us, and this 
 forgivenefs we are fure can never fail to enfue from 
 a right life of this Sacrament of Reconciliation, in the 
 fmcere difpofitions of a contrite heart ; and, therefore, 
 who can be fo foolifh and blinded to his own intereft 
 as to reject fo ineffable a blefting ? who, laying under 
 fentence of death, would not have recourfe to the 
 mercy of his judge, when jt is attainable for afking 
 for ? what man, being mortally lick, would neglect 
 to call for his phyfician, or make flight of his pre- 
 fcription, from which there is not only hopes but an 
 affurance of a perfect cure ? how unjuft, therefore, 
 are our late Reformers to themfelves ; how injurious 
 to their divine Phyfician JESUS CHRIST; in not only 
 rejecting, but in daring to conteft the exiftence of a 
 remedy fo fovereign for all our fpiritual infirmities, as 
 is that, he has mercifully provided us with in the Sa- 
 crament of Penance ? how ftill more unpardonable 
 they, who with fcornful flirts and railleries explode it 
 as a prieftcraft, and a mere human device *, or mifre- 
 prefent it as an encouragement to the evil, from which 
 it is fo effectual a relief ? 
 
 OF this number is Pr. Tillotfon, more difingenuous 
 than ignorant, and therefore the lefs excufable, when 
 he is not amamed of charging upon us, as falfly as it 
 is monftrous, that any degree of forrow accompanied 
 by the Prieft's abfolution is adrnitted by us to be fuf- 
 ficient and effectual to a full remifiion of our fms, 
 howfoever grievous. Dr. Tillorf. Serm. u. From 
 the notion of Penance thus falfly ftatcd, he concludes 
 it to be an encouragement to the moft inveterate and 
 habituated diforders, and that a man abandoned to his 
 lufts, may give full loofe to his paffions upon this 
 prtfujnptuous fecurity. Dn Tillp.tf. Serm. 11. Thus. 
 
 I
 
 1 1 8 The Sacrament cf Penance 
 
 I fay, th Do&or, according to the Proteftant chari- 
 taoie cuftom, firft mifreprefents our doctrine, and then 
 draws his own odious . confequences from it. For, 
 it he had confulted the true expofition of this Catho- 
 lic tenet, fet forth by the Council of Trent, which 
 we profefs to abide by ; or rathgr, if he could have 
 prevailed on himfelf to have declared the truth (which 
 he couid not be ignorant of) he fliould have informed 
 his audience, that it is not any degree of forrcw., 
 which the Catholic Church is content with, or aU 
 lows to be fufficient for a facramental abfolution, but 
 a forrow which is fupernatural, flowing from the love 
 and fear of GOD, and pofitivcly excluding all actual 
 affection to fin, including a deteftation of paft tranf- 
 grefiions, and a firm purpofe of amendment for the 
 future -, which forrow is comprehenfively, the per- 
 fecteft forrow, tho' ^ufceptible of different degrees of 
 intenfenefs, and divifible into feveral orders and qua- 
 lities, termed contrition and attrition. And it is evi- 
 dent from the nature of the Sacrament of Penance, 
 thus truly declared, that it muft be productive of the 
 aforefaid fruits, Repentance and Amendment : add to 
 thefe effential ingredients, and indifpenfable conditions 
 of a good and valid confefiion, the humiliation and 
 confufion unavoidably accompanying it ; which cannot 
 fail to be operative of another double advantage to 
 us, with refpecl; to Almighty GOD and to ourfelves ; 
 with refpecl:, I fay, to GOD, by being a means of pa- 
 cifying his irritated juftice. 
 
 FOR, if the Pfalmift afiures us that be will not de- 
 fyife a contrite and bumble heart, Pf. 1, 19. if he had 
 proved the truth of it himfelf, when, for one peccavi, 
 a fmcere acknowledgment of his crime, he heard his 
 forgivenefs pronounced by the Prophet, and the guilt 
 of his fin cancelled in Heaven ; how much more will 
 a fimilar humiliation, but made in obedience to 
 CHRIST'S own ordinance and appointment ; an -humi- 
 liation the mofl repugnant to nature, and ihocking 
 
 to
 
 proved from Scripture. 119 
 
 to flefh and blood, of laying open the naked ftate of 
 our foul to one of our fellow creatures, be a means of 
 obtaining the fame mercy ? It muft needs, at the fame 
 time, prove of infinite fervice relatively to our own 
 conduct, in being a check upon it, and a warning to 
 us not to commit fin any more, when it is found to 
 be pregnant with fo much mifchief, viz. either unavoid- 
 able mame from an humble and fmcere confeffion, 
 <Dr certain perdition in the default of it. So that, in 
 fliort, the Sacrament of Penance, confidered in it's 
 full extent refpectively to all its conftituent parts and 
 efiential conditions annexed to it, is fo far from being 
 an encouragement, in any degree to fin, or a means 
 of emboldening the fmner to repeat his tranfgre (lions 
 with more freedom (as Dr. Tillotfon above, and others 
 no lefs falfly than ridiculoufly object) that, on the con- 
 trary, it implies an abfolute deteftation of pad mifde- 
 meanours, a prefent remedy' to the diibrders already 
 contracted, and a powerful antidote againft a future 
 relapfe. 
 
 BUT while this charge can, with no colour of rea- 
 
 fon, be fattened on the Sacrament in qyeftion, it is 
 
 certain, that in our prefent ftate of corruption, the 
 
 -want of thefe means of mercy, which is our adverfa- 
 
 ries cafe, as they have thereby no check or reftraint on 
 
 themfelves againft fin, and are not fubject to the 
 
 mame and confulion of an humble confefiion of it, 
 
 when committed, directly lays them under the fatality 
 
 they would make us liable to, of continuing in the 
 
 ftate of fin, and of being expofed to a more evident 
 
 rifk of adding fin to fin, till they have filled up the 
 
 meafure of their fins ; whereby, not being penitent 
 
 according to the means prefcribed by CHRIST, they 
 
 come to die finally impenitent. 
 
 THUS our Reformers, in reforming away and dif- 
 carding the Sacrament of Penance called Confeffwn^ 
 have reformed away the moft effectual help to falva- 
 tion, and have fhut the gate* of me'rcy againft them- 
 felves ,
 
 126 The Sacrament of Penance 
 
 felves ; and whether .this has happened by 
 (as the more moderate part of Proteitants affect to 
 palliate this aft) or by defign (as the barefaced im- 
 pugners of this Sacrament are not afhamed to fay* 
 maintaining a bad cauie with a worfe defence) it no 
 ways redounds to the credit of their pretended Evan- 
 gelical Work ; but, on the contrary, is a vifible 
 mark of its being defective in this important point of 
 faith and means of falvation ; and thereby falls mort 
 alfo on this head, of the merits of their arrogated 
 title. 
 
 HAVING clofed my difcufllon of the prefent point, 
 it may appear unneceflary to detain my reader any 
 longer upon it : but fmce a learned and Reverend Pre- 
 late, lately, thought proper to attack in particular the 
 Catholic Doctrine of Repentance, tho' what his Lord- 
 mip oppofes to it is no more than obfolete prejudices 
 and mifreprefentations already recited from Dr. Tillotfon, 
 and both now by us, and before by others often con- 
 futed ; yet as they may be thought to carry fome 
 weight, from the bare authority of fo Great a Man, 
 taking it into his head to revive them, and, if parTed 
 by here unobferved, might, by the ignorant and un- 
 wary, be judged unanfwerable : therefore, being en- 
 gaged in the argument, charity calls upon us to dif- 
 abule them of their prepofleffions : and our tenets, on 
 this occafion, being fo grofly mifreprefented, we have 
 a right to do juftice to ourfelves. 
 
 'Tis indeed a fubject of aftonifliment, and not to 
 be accounted for, that tho' the true and genuine Ca- 
 tholic doctrine of Repentance be to be met with in all 
 our Catechifms, yet that our Proteftant brethren, and 
 even their teachers and the learned among them, 
 fiiould be ever fo affectedly ignorant as to miftake 
 it's meaning, or fo unpardonably difmgenuous, as to 
 be perpetually and moft fhamtfully milreprefenting it. 
 This is the unfair dealing which we claim a right ta 
 complain of, from the Paftoral Letter of the Reverend 
 
 PieLte,
 
 proved from Scripture. 121 
 
 Prelate, directed to the flock under his charge, and on 
 iiich an occafion, when being prompted by ex^racr-' 
 dinary tokens from Heaven, of the divine wrath hang- 
 ing over their heads, to exhort them to repentance 
 for their fins ; it was to be expected that nothing, but 
 fincerity and truth, fhould have accompanied and 
 given weight to thofe inftructions. 
 
 THO' the letter is in every one's hands, yet I beg 
 leave to give a place here to the particular paragraph 
 relating to the point in queftion. '.' There is a great 
 " and grievous evil," fays the Bimop, " among us, 
 " which naturally fprings from the diforders before 
 ." mentioned ; I mean the great increafe of Popery in 
 " this kingdom. When men have loft all principles 
 44 of religion, and are loft to all fenfe of morality, 
 41 they are prepared to receive any fuperftition, when- 
 44 ever the decay of health, or the crofs accidents of 
 44 life revive the fears of futurity, which may be 
 44 ftifled, but cannot be extinguilhed : fuch per- 
 44 fons, not able to digeft the wholfome food of re- 
 44 pentance, by which their fpiritual condition might ' 
 64 be gradually mended, greedily fwallow the high 
 44 cordial of Abfolution, which, like other cordials, 
 44 gives fome prefent eafe, but works no cure. And, 
 44 with refpect to people of a ferious and religious 
 44 turn of mind, the manifeft and almoft general 
 44 contempt, or at leaft neglect, of the duties of Re- 
 * 4 ligion, gives a great advantage to the emiiraries of 
 44 Rome to impofe on their weaknefs, and to per- 
 <4 fuade them that they can h^e no hopes in the Re- 
 *' ligion of a Church, where Religion itfelf is hardly 
 44 to be found." 
 
 GOOD GOD ! How many difmgenuous infinuations, ' 
 and unfair mifreprefentations, are here crowded into a 
 few lines ? What reafoning, I beg leave to fay, wholly 
 inconfequent and unworthy of the great Man it comes 
 from ? for, fkft, how little caufe his Lordlhip has to 
 complain of the growth of Popery, I appeal to noto- 
 Q^ toriety
 
 The Sacrament cf Penance 
 riety of facts for it's confutation ; to wit, to the de- 
 fection of feveral Catholic families, which have gone 
 over to them of late years. Whether, indeed, motives 
 of liberty and intereft had not a greater iliare in thefe 
 changes than conscience, may be modeftly queftioned -, 
 ind if fo, the Proreftant Church has little reafon to boaft 
 of fuch profelytes. In the mean while, it being matter 
 of fact that they have fallen off from us, it muft be 
 judged from thence that our ftrength is not in-creafedj 
 but confiderably weakened. 
 
 WHAT his Lordfhip advances next, that a fettled 
 immorality " may fdfle, but cannot extinguifh the 
 " fears of fiiturity", (tho s whether fo or no, is not 
 material to the Catholic caufe) is however, I appre- 
 hend, alfo another miftake ; for it is found by daily 
 experience, and is evinced in many dreadful examples 
 in Holy Writ, that an habitual and pertinacious abufe 
 of GOD'S graces is ufually punilhed with a Subtraction 
 of his fpecid and extraordinary graces ; and that a 
 man's wilfully (hutting hrs eyes to the divine lights, 
 renders him unworthy of thefe bleflings, and in the 
 confequence proves a means of depriving him of them, 
 and of leading him gradually to obduratenefs of heart 
 and infenfibility. It was the deplorable cafe of Pha- 
 raoh, and of feveral others, inftanced in the infpired 
 Hiftory. But that, on the other hand, when it may 
 pleafe the Father of light, thro* his great and over- 
 flowing mercy and goodnels, to revive in fuch prodigal 
 Children the fears of futurity^ and to infpire them with 
 a defire of returning D their duty, either by the fa- 
 vour of inward checks and reinorfe of confcience at 
 the view of their unhappy ftate, or by decay of health, 
 or other crofs accidents of life ; that thefe gracious ad- 
 monitions of their deplorable condition and lecrct calls 
 to repentance fhould, I fay, prove a means (as his 
 Lordfhip reprefents them) of preparing thefe unfor- 
 tunate finners to receive any fuperjliticn, is a paradox 
 as unintelligible and Ihocking to pious ears, as it is 
 
 IB
 
 proved from Scripture. 12^ 
 
 In itfelf injurious to the difpofitions of a merciful and 
 bountiful Providence. For, to rife out of the pit of 
 immorality, in order to plunge into the guiph of fu- 
 perftition, would be only escaping out of Scylla, as the 
 laying is, to fall into Chary bdis ; . that is, to exchange 
 a lefs evil for a greater : and, to fuppofe this catar 
 ftrophe to be the natural coniequence of GOD'S fpe- 
 cial and extraordinary providence (fuch as certainly 
 are checks of confcience, falutary fears of GOD'S 
 judgments, and the reft) what is this lefs than to ac- 
 cuie Divine Providence itfelf of being defective ? 
 
 BUT, again, with refpeit to people of a ferious and 
 religious turn of mind, that the evil examples of cor- 
 ruption and immorality, among the profeffors of their 
 own Religion, mould be a means of their forfeiting 
 the faith they have been brought up in, and make 
 room for thofe of a contrary perfuafion to impofe en 
 their iveakmfs, and to make profelytes of them to 
 their belief, is another paradox his Lordmip advances, 
 irreconcileable to our idea of a divine and benign Pro- 
 vidence, as well as to reafon and common fenfe. 
 
 THE like examples, indeed, of Libertinfm and cor- 
 ruption of manne^ reigning among the members of 
 another Religion, of whofe principles we are ignorant, 
 roay, no doubt, be a means of either wholly alienating 
 our minds from it, or of keeping us at a greater dif- 
 tance; but with reipecl to the Religion we have been edu- 
 cated in, and whole tenets of faith and difciplinre we are 
 perfectly acquainted with, they cannot have the fame 
 influence upon us : in this cafe, fuch as do not live 
 up to their profeffion may become to us an occafion 
 of fcandal, but cannot prejudice us againft the Reli- 
 gion itfelf, unlefs, after mature examination, it ba 
 found to be deftitute of that purity of doctrine and 
 morals, fit to prevent fuch diforders, or is unprovided 
 with helps and remedies to recover or reclaim thofe 
 out of them, who have been unhappily engaged. And 
 whether this be not really the caie of the Reformation, 
 Q^2 I appeal
 
 T24- The Sacrament of Penance, &c.' 
 I appeai to every unbiafled judgment, from an impar- 
 tial view of what has been hitherto, and will be 
 hereafter offered to his confideration thro' the courfe 
 of this eflay. 
 
 WHAT the Reverend Prelate further oppofes dire&Iy 
 to the article in queftion, or rather fcornfully flings at 
 it, when he fays, '. that fuch perfons, (habituated 
 <c fmners) not able to digeft the wholfom food of Re- 
 " pentance, by which their fpiritual condition might 
 ' be gradually mended, greedily fwallow the high 
 " cordial of Abfolution, which, like other cordials, 
 * c gives fome prefent cafe, but works no cure." 
 This flirt, I fay, feems to be more immediately cal- 
 culated to fix his flock in their imbibed prepofleflions 
 againft this article of the Catholic Faith, than to con- 
 fute it , and, inftead of clearing up the truth before 
 their eyes, is throwing duft into them to hide it from 
 them. For, what gradual means of repentance would 
 his Lordfhip prefcribe, which are not required by the 
 Catholic Church as previous and neceflary conditions 
 to a valid Sacramental Abfolution ? I fuppofe that a 
 total converfion of the heart to GOD from fin, an 
 abjuration and deteftation of pafij|fins, and a pur-, 
 pofe of amendment for the future, are thefe means 
 which he would, or mould, point out : and are not 
 thefe alfo required by us as effential ingredients to 
 a Sacramental Abfolution ? Is not Abfolution looked 
 upon by us to be invalid, or to no effect, without 
 them ? Are not there moreover other conditions, 
 annexed to it, repugnant to flefh and blood, which 
 the indulgent Reformers have taken care to lay 
 afide ? I mean an undifguifed and humble manifefta-. 
 tion of our fins, and of the whole ftate of our fouls, 
 to a Pricft, to be followed by a fatisfadion or a re- 
 pentance, fhewing itfelf in penitential works, to be 
 unfeigned and effectual. Oh ! how has the fpirit 
 of paffion and prejudice tranfported this great and 
 iearncd man. beyond the bounds of truth, for the fake
 
 1%e Invocation , &c. 125 
 
 cf blackening us, and placing our caufe" in the moft 
 odious and difadvantageous light! 
 
 Under the pretext of cautioning his flock againft 
 an imaginary evil of fufifering the emiffaries of Rome to 
 impofe on their weaknefs, he imfcfes on our belief a 
 monftrous doctrine no man in his fenfes ever taught, 
 and no Crtholic ever dreamt of; to tvif, a high cor- 
 dial of Abfolution, qualified for vitiated confciences, and 
 deftitute of every ingredient to a true repentance ! but, 
 blefied be GOD, we difavow and abjure the ungene- 
 rous and difingenuous charge , and, as I faid in the 
 beginning, our common Catechifms, in every Ca- 
 tholic child's hands, are it's .full confutation. 
 
 C II A P. V. 
 
 Concerning the Invocation of Saints and Angels. 
 
 Catholic Church, that is, the Church 
 in communion v/ith the Church of Rome, is 
 allowed, by our acjverfaries, to be in poifefTion of the 
 fundamental articles of faith, and all the neceffary 
 means to falvation ; me is acknowledged to have the 
 dlential conftitutives of the Church of CHRIST, and 
 therefore, by deduction, muft be confefied to be the 
 original repofitory cf the credentials and powers be- 
 longing to it , 'viz. the Holy Scriptures., the Hierarchy) 
 the Sacraments, and the reft. 
 
 As large as thefe conccffions may fe'em to be, and, 
 in fome degree, ftrained compliments, coming out of 
 the mouths of enemies, it is no more than what the 
 evidence of truth has extorted from them, and what 
 they have been obliged to make for their own fakes, 
 and in their own defence : for, as they derive their 
 pretenfions to the very being of a Church from the 
 Roman Catholic Church, which they do not difown
 
 126 The Invocation of 
 
 to be the Mother of all other Chriftian Churches, or, 
 at leaft, the Church from which they had their 
 origin , to have difputed her the fundamentals and 
 conftitutivts of a Church, would have been to un- 
 church her, and, in confequence thereto, to unchurch 
 themfelves : for, it is as inconceivable how they 
 could receive a being from that which had none her- 
 felf, that is, how they could be the true Church of 
 CHRIST, fpringing from an idolatrous Church, as 
 that the principles of the Gofpel can be deduced from 
 the Alcoran , or, that the Hierarchy, Sacraments, and 
 other efientials of the law of Grace, mould be con- 
 vey td to. us thro* the channels of Mahometifm. 
 
 IN the mean while a plaufible plea was to be thought 
 of to juftify their revolt from their Mother Church, 
 and for fetting up a feparate communion. In order 
 thereto the more moderate abettors of the Reforma- 
 tion have recourfe to a middle expedient, which is, to 
 charge her with introducing additions to the primitive 
 faith : and it is in this, or the like manner, they ex- 
 plain their meaning. They pretend that at the time 
 of, and long before, the JErz of the Reformation, the 
 Church had fallen, as it were, into her dotage ; in 
 which ftate (he had infenfibly been raifing an edifice of 
 flraw and ftubble, clogged with fuperficial novelties 
 and fuperftitions ; fo that, tho' her foundation conti- 
 nued found, her luperftruclure was faulty. 
 
 BUT whatfoever ftrefs our advtrfaries may affect to 
 Jay upon this plaufible plea, on examining it ftrictly, 
 we fliall find that it has more of froth and empty con- 
 ceit in it than folidity ; for it muft either prove too 
 much, that is, more than they would mean and 15 
 for their purpofe , fo that in endeavouring to thruft 
 out one of our eyes, they part with two of their own j 
 or it will prove nothing at all. Becaufe, if this fup- 
 pofed fuperftruc"ture, or additions made to our faith, 
 call 'em by what names they pleafe, are nonfundamen- 
 and they have no other charge to lay againlt their 
 Church j then, the epithets they fallen on her, 
 
 on
 
 'Saints and Angela 127 
 
 on other occafions, of Idolatrous and /fnticbrijlian, are 
 unjuft i and their reparation from her, on account of 
 fuch fuppofed innovations, admitted to be immaterial, 
 was groundless, and grievoufly criminal ; becaufe it is 
 a (in of Scbifm^ which is ranked by St. PAUL in the 
 lift of deadly fins, deftructive of falvation : And there- 
 fore, if to get clear of this guilt, and our juft recri- 
 mination upon them, they return to their charge of 
 fundamental errors againft their Mother Church, they, 
 of courfe, as I have juft fhewn, muft un-church her, 
 and of confequence un-church themfelves. 
 
 SUCH are the miferable fhifts the Reformers are re- 
 duced to, in order to give fome colour of juftice to 
 their revolt : fuch the various language, they talk at 
 different times, to ferve a turn, and the flat contra- 
 dictions their rafh attempt, of impeaching the Church 
 of errors, throws them into. 
 
 HOWEVER, as they, in the courfe of this contro- 
 verfy fubfifting between us, lead the way, we muft 
 be content to follow them all their lengths, doublings 
 and windings, howfoever intricate and out of the road. 
 This condefcendance brings me at prefent to the con- 
 fideration of the meaning of this fuperftruffiure of faith t 
 (if it has any meaning at all) which they fo loudly 
 charge upon us. 
 
 FOR the fake of method and perfpicuity I'll exem- 
 plify it, at prefent, in the particular article of the In- 
 vocation of Saints and Angels^ at which fome of the 
 fqueamifh Reformers affect to be much fcandalifed : 
 the moft fanguine and violent of them exprefs of it the 
 greateft abhorrence and deteftation ; while, as we fhall 
 fee by and by, the moderate, the candid, and many of 
 the moft learned of their body, look upon it as an 
 article juflifiable in itfelf, and warranted from the un- 
 deniable practice of antiquity. 
 
 SUCH are their divifions among themfelves in this; 
 as well as in moft other points controverted between 
 us, Jcarce unanimous or agreeing in any thing but their 
 inflexible obftinacy in error, and their determined fe- 
 
 paration
 
 128 . 'The Invocation 6f 
 
 paraticn from their Mother Church. But while their 
 differences are a kind of negative evidence to the Ca- 
 tholic caufe, loud clamours and vulgar prejudices are 
 certainly no argments againtt it. Reafons, convincing, 
 undeniable reafons, can only be admitted in the 
 prefent controverted point, to confront demonftra- 
 tive proofs, backed by the prefcription of practice 
 immemorial. 
 
 THESE reafons, to carry any weight, ought, I ap- 
 prehend, to be one or all of thefe three following : 
 Jirft, the Divine prohibition of the invocation of 
 SaintSj clearly expreffed in the Infpired Writings : 
 or, fecondly, its being directly derogatory to the 
 honour of Almighty GOD and the mcdiatorfhip of 
 CHRIST: or, laftly, that it is a devotion ulelefs 
 and unprofitable. But, if none of thefe reafons hold, 
 and the contrary can be evinced from clear Scripture, 
 primitive practice, and reafon itfelf ; then, it is to be 
 hoped, the Saints may ftill keep pofleffion of their 
 charters, and their memories be as lawfully celebrated 
 in our churches, and their aid invoked in our litur- 
 gies, as their names are retained in the calendar. 
 
 THIS is the juftice which, in the following Section, 
 I undertake to do thffe faithful, beloved fervants 
 of GOD, our allured friends and undoubted inter* 
 ceffors. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The Veneration ar.d Invocation of Saints jujlifed ly 
 
 Scripture, tb'e holy Fathers, and reafon. 
 , 
 
 TO proceed with regularity and juftice in any de- 
 bate whatfoever, it is always rcquifite to fet the 
 ftate of the qutftion in a fair and true light : without 
 this nrcefiary precaution we fhould be beating the air, 
 or fighting in the dark, where friends and foes run 
 an even riik of falling victims to the blows. Yet this 
 is the folly, not to give it a worle name, our Reformers 
 are guiky. of in the prdl-nt .conrroverfy, while, by 
 
 miirtpre-
 
 jujlified by Scripture, &c. 129 
 
 rnifreprefenting our tenet, and impugning it in that 
 falfe light, they do not properly attack us, but a 
 phantom of their own brain and invention. 
 
 THE honour the Catholic Church pays to the Saints 
 and Angels, is fet forth by them under the notion of 
 divine worfhip ; the neceflary confequence whereof is, 
 that they muft make us idolaters. Now, whether this 
 is to be reputed a part of tktjtiperftrv&itre of ourfaitb, 
 in their modifh way of expreffing it, when they are 
 difpofed to be the mod merciful to us ; or whether it be 
 to be called a fundamental error^ (and certainly idolatry 
 can hardly come under a fofter denomination^) the 
 charge, as coming from the Jearneder part of the Re- 
 formation is inexcufable, becaufe they know it to be 
 unjuft; whatfoever may be faid to extenuate the rafh- 
 nefs of the vulgar, in taking up their prejudices with- 
 out examination, on the word and credit of their 
 teachers. However, if our caufe be to be tried by 
 this tefl, viz. by what the vulgar think and their teach- 
 ers fay of us -, and our belief is to be underftood ac- 
 cording to their expofition of it ; our condition would 
 certainly be defperate : but we hope to be allowed the 
 privilege granted to the greateft malefactors, not to be 
 condemned unheard. We hope, moreover, it will be 
 reafonably fuppofed that we know ourfelves what we 
 do believe, and what we do not believe. 
 
 THESE juft poftulatums being admitted, we, firft, 
 abfolutely difavow the dextrine our adverfaries would 
 father upon us : that is, we renounce and abjure all 
 divine mar/hip to any Creature whatfoever ; and 
 whereas the Church herfclf is the natural and fitted 
 expofitor of her own Faitb^ and as me has declared it 
 in the prefent point in debate, by her reprcfentativcs 
 in the Council of Trent, to this we appeal, and by 
 this we profefs to abide. Her expofition of this ar- 
 ticle is as follows ; " That the Saints, who reign with 
 *' JESUS CHRIST, offer up their prayers to GOD for 
 ** men ; that it is good and profitable to invocate 
 ' them after an humble manner, and to have recourfc 
 R " to
 
 Vac Invocation of Saints 
 " to their prayers, aid and a afiiftance, to obtain of 
 ?' GOD his benefits through our Lord JESUS CHRIST 
 " his Son." Cone. Trid. Sefs. 25. This is the ge- 
 nuine belief of the Church in this matter , how dif- 
 ferent alas ! from the unfair and malignant expofition 
 of our adverfaries ! in this fenfe we doubt not, with 
 GOD'S afliftance to be able to maintain it againft their 
 cavils and (landers, by unconteftable warrants . from 
 Scripture, primitive practice and reafon. 
 . THE firft evidence, I mall produce, is out of the 
 Apoftles Creed, \vhich, though not literally a part of 
 the written word of GOD, yet has the function of Apof- 
 tolic tradition, and has been adopted by the generality 
 of Chriftian fcclaries of moft denominations in every 
 age : and is, by the way, an irrefragable inftance that 
 every thing appertaining to faith is not exprefly con- 
 tained in the written Scriptures. Now in the ninth 
 article of this Apoftolic fymbol of faith, as every 
 child knows, we aflert and avow the communion of Saints: 
 the obvious and genuine meaning whereof we appre- 
 hend to be, that there is a communication betwixt 
 CHRIST'S Church militant on earth* and his Church 
 triumphant in Heaven ; that the faid communication 
 confifts in this, viz. that while the Saints in Heaven 
 are enjoying the reward of their labours and glorious 
 combats, for their couragious profefiion and defence 
 of truth here below, they, like MOSES, who lifted up 
 his hands in prayer, for the Ifraelites fighting the battles 
 of the Lord, are offering up their vows and prayers 
 before the throne of mercy in behalf of their brethren 
 on earth, actually engaged in the field of battle, and 
 in the like combats, in which they came off fo happily 
 victorious. And if it be reafonable to believe, as no 
 doubt it is, that thefe bleffed inhabitants of Heaven can 
 and do remember their brethren on earth , if their cha- 
 rity which, as St. PAUL afilires us, in that ftate of blifs 
 never ceafes, inclines them to do thefe good offices for 
 usi where can be the incongruity, unreafonablenefs, 
 
 much
 
 fy Scripture -, &c. 131 
 
 much lefs the unlawfulnefs* of our reque-fting this cha- 
 rity of them. 
 
 Tins then, is what we apprehend to be the fimpleft 
 and moft genuine meaning of this article of our fym- 
 bol, the communion of Saints ; this the friendly inter- 
 courfe fubfifting between the Saints and us : we com- 
 municating with them by fupplicating their intereft 
 and interceflion in our behalf, to the throne of Mercy : 
 they reciprocally communicating with us, by induig- 
 ing us the benevolence requcfted of them : one 
 is a confequence of the other. " The Saints can, 
 " and are willing to pray or intercede for us j there- 
 " fore we may lawfully defire their interceffion and 
 " prayers. 
 
 THOUGH the explanation I have given of this ar- 
 ticle of the Creed, I prefume to think quite eafy and 
 natural, yet we dare not flatter ourielves that we can 
 clear up any point to fuch a degree of perfpicuity, as 
 to obtain our adverfaries implicit afient to it, upon 
 our own bare word. While they are diipofed to mif- 
 reprefent our interpretations as arbitrary, though never 
 fo plain, and right or wrong to impugn them, it ren- 
 ders it neceffaryfor us to look out for other corroborative 
 evidences. It is our good fortune on the preient fub- 
 je$: to have one, to which they can make no excep- 
 tion, as to the teftimony itfelf. it being one of their 
 own moft creditable and eminent writers. The tefti- 
 mony I mean is the learned Mr. Thorndike, who in 
 his juft weight and meafures, refpectively to- the articles 
 of the Creed, I have juft difcuffed, not only agrees 
 with us in his fenfe of it, but alfo in the foundation 
 on which it refts. His own words will be the beft ex- 
 pofitor of his fentiments, which are as follow : " All 
 " members," fays he, " of the Church triumphant 
 " in Heaven, according to their degree of favour 
 " with GOD, abound alfo with love to his Church, 
 " militant on earth : therefore, it is certain* both that 
 " they offer continual -praters to GOD for its ntcejjhies^ 
 u and that their prayers mult be- of great force 
 R z " and
 
 132 ffie Invocation of Saints 
 
 " and effefb with GOD for the affiftance of the Church 
 " militant in this warfare , which, if it be true, the 
 " communion of Saints will neceffarily require, that 
 " the living beg of GOD a part and intereil in thofe 
 " prayers, which they, who are near to GOD in his 
 " kingdom, tender to him without ceafmg for the 
 " Church upon earth," c. 16. p. 107. Thus this Pro- 
 teflant author, whofe teftimony gives at leaft fo much 
 weight to our interpretation as to prove it not to be 
 arbitrary. I mail have an opportunity of producing 
 additional evidences from other eminent Proteftants, 
 by and by. 
 
 IT is at prefent incumbent on me, to mew clear 
 jScripture for the antecedent and confequence of the 
 pofitionjuft advanced, viz. that the Saints do pray for 
 us, and that therefore it is lawful for us to folicit their 
 prayers. Out of an abundance of thefe facred vouchers 
 which for brevity's fake I pafs over, the few following 
 
 I apprehend to be inconteftable that the Saints 
 
 and Angels inceffantly pray for us, is evinced from the 
 .following extracts. 
 
 THE Angel of the Lord anfwered and faid, Lord 
 of Hofts ! how long wilt thou net have mercy en Jeru- 
 falem, and on tbe cities of Judab, againjl which thou heft 
 bad indignation thefe threescore and ten years. Zahd. i. 12. 
 The four and twenty Elders fell down before tbe Lawb^ 
 having every cm of them harps and golden vials full of 
 edmrs, witch are the prayers of the Saints. Rev. v. 8. 
 And another Angel came and flood at the Altar^ having 
 a golden Ccnfer , and there was given unto him much In- 
 eenfe, that he jhould offer it with the prayers of all Saints 
 
 upon the golden ALtar^ which was before the 'Throne 
 
 and the fmoke of tbe Incenfe, with the prayers of the 
 S.aiviS) afc ended up before GOD out of the Angels hand. 
 Rev. viii. 3, 4. 
 
 THE Angel RAPHAEL, difcovering himfelf to TOBY, 
 and giving him to underftand how acceptable his pray- 
 ers and works of mercy were at the throne of GOD, faid 
 to him, When you foured forth your prdjcrs in, tears ^ 
 
 and
 
 jujlifed ly Scripture, Sec. 133 
 
 'end hiried the dead. / prefect ed your 'prayer to the 
 Lord) Toby xii. Now, that it is lawful to requeft 
 their prayers, is, as I obferved, but a confequence of 
 their praying for us, but is, however, further enforced 
 from the two following texts out of many, which I 
 emit. 
 
 God, before whom my fathers ABRAHAM and ISAAC 
 did walk y the GOD which fed me all my life long until 
 this day ; the Angel, which redeemed me from all evil, 
 bkfs the Lads, Gen. xlviii. 15, 16. Grace be. unto you, 
 and peace, from which is, ay& which was, and which is 
 to come, and from the Seven Spirits which are before his 
 throne. Rev. i. 4, 
 
 To thefe Scripture proofs I'll fubjoin one from 
 reafon itfelf, the natural refult of every one's un- 
 prejudiced judgment and impartial reflections on this 
 fubject. St. PAUL made no difficulty of requefting 
 the prayers of his living friends : it was his conflant 
 practice, through all his epiftles. The members of 
 the Reformation, as well as the Catholic Church, 
 copy after this great Apoftle's example, and have 
 adopted his practice into a general cuftpm. Now I'll 
 only aik one plain queftion. Can it be lefs lawful to 
 addrefs our friends for their interceffion in our behalf 
 when they are in the (late of bljfs, where their charity is 
 more perfect, their intereft with Almighty GOD fup- 
 pofed to be greater, and confequently our prefum- 
 ption of fuccefs better grounded, than to, folicit this 
 fame charity from them while they are in the (late 
 of mortality, weak and infirm veffels like our-, 
 felves, and fubjecl; to all our corruptions ? Or could 
 there have been any more incongruity in St.. PAUL'S 
 requefting the prayers of his congregation* had they 
 been in Heaven, than while they were cohabitants 
 with him in this earthly manfion ? To aver this incon- 
 gruity is, ridiculous i and therefore the negative mu-il 
 be certain. 
 
 I CONCLUDE, from the whole, that the Invocation 
 gf Saints is fo far from fcing illicit, or forbid by any 
 
 divine
 
 134 ffi f Invocation of Saints 
 
 divine ordinance, that, on the contary, it has the fane- 
 tion of the Creed, is feconded by reaibn, and is war- 
 ranted by undoubted records of Scripture, to render 
 it kwful and even highly comrpendable. Therefore 
 our adverfaries impeachment of it upon this firft 
 plea, of it's being unlawful, may be judged, from the 
 premifes, to have evidently failed : and we apprehend 
 that their fecond exception to it, for being derogatory 
 to the Divine honour, and injurious to the mediator- 
 Ihip of CHRIST, is not better grounded. 
 
 THIS truth is, in fact, but another fequel from 
 the foregoing premifes : for, if the Invocation of 
 Sa ; nts were really infeparable from thefe dreadful con- 
 fequences, *tis inconceivable how it fhould not come 
 within the lift of the divine prohibitions ; but from 
 what has been already alleged, and mail be further 
 produced prefently, it is certain there are no fuch pro- 
 hibitions ; that is, no divine ordinance forbidding it : 
 it is alfo certain, from the premifes, that there are 
 many plain and pofitive texts afTerting its lawfulnefs, 
 and recommending its practice : therefore the con- 
 clufion flowing, from thefe faid premifes is equally 
 certain that fuch a practice cannot be liable to the 
 cenfure our adverfaries would faften upon it, of being 
 any diminution of the honour due to GOD, or deroga- 
 tory to the mediatorfhip of CHRIST. 
 
 BUT the very nature of the thing, dating the cafe 
 in the Catholic fenie, not as mifreprefented by the 
 Reformers, puts the matter beyond all difpute : for, 
 if the refpect given to the Saints is to be interpreted 
 an encroachment on the divine prerogative, it muft 
 be fuch, either as it is an honour and veneration paid 
 to their memories, or as it is a fupplication to them 
 for their interceffion and intereft. But it is not fo con- 
 fidered in the firft light, becaufe all we profefs thereby 
 is only to glorify Almighty GOD in his Saints, as we 
 glorify him . in all his works, and as the three Chil- 
 dren ii\ the Babylonian furnace (Dan. iii.) fummon all 
 
 creatures.
 
 juftified by Scripture, &c. 135 
 
 creatures, fpiritual and corporal, rational and irrational, 
 and even the inanimate part of the creation, to declare 
 the praifes of their Maker. For, how much more 
 congruous is it to glorify him in the wonderful ope- 
 rations of his Grace ? efpecially fmce he has fignified 
 to us, by the mouth of the Royal Pfalmift, that in 
 thefe he takes the greateft complacency, and would 
 be chiefly admired : Wonderful^ fays he, is GOD in bis 
 Saints ! And therefore all the praifes we attempt to give 
 to thefe fervants of GOD, whatfoever refpect we pre- 
 fume to pay to their memories, are ultimately refe/red 
 to GOD himfelf, as to the Author, Caufe, and Re- 
 warder of their merit, and are centred in him. 
 
 BUT is it not laid in Holy Writ My glory I will 
 Hot give to another ) Ifa. xiii. 8. and, in another place, 
 GOD you Jhall only adore, and him alone Jh all you ferue ? 
 Luke iv. 8. It is fo, and the precept we fulfill to the 
 letter, in adoring GOD alone with divine worfhip , re- 
 fpecting the Saints only as his approved fervants and 
 bofom friends, acid terminating, as -I juft faid, all the 
 honour we attribute to them, in Almighty GOD. Had 
 we efpoufed the phantom our adverfaries would father 
 upon us, the charge againft us would be juft, and our 
 devotions to the Saints damnable : as, on the contrary, 
 we 1 difavow and execrate it, we are confequently out of 
 the reach of this odious indictment. 
 
 BUT, to the fecond part of the objection are not, 
 lay they, our addrefles to them, at leaft, blameable ; in 
 begging an aid and afiiftance which we Ihould expect 
 at the hands of GOD alone ? Much lefs : for, in this 
 we do not folicit or refpect the Saints as authors of 
 Grace, or beftowers even of any temporal bleffing we 
 may be in want of, but barely as IntercefTors for us 
 to the Throne of Mercy. 
 
 THIS anfwer is an implicit and fufficient folution to 
 another trivial objection levelled at the fame mark, 
 and grounded on the form of Prayer prefcribed and 
 left us by our blefled Saviour JESUS CHRIST, which 
 
 .is
 
 '136 'The Evocation of Saints 
 
 is addrefled to the Eternal Father alone, Our Father 
 li-i.o art in Heaven, &c. and which they are pleafed to 
 fuppofe that we abandon, by making a round-about 
 ^application to the Saints. But to this charge we alfo 
 plead Not Guilty. The Catholic Church profefies the 
 profoundeft reverence for, and fmgular attachment to 
 this Divine Prayer : fhe makes ufe of it continually ; 
 and the firft lefTon children are taught, as foon as they 
 are able in any degree to form their tongues to words* 
 is to liip the Lord's Prayer. But, as our blefled 
 Saviour, in giving us this particular form of Prayer, 
 perfonally directed to his Eternal Father, has not 
 thereby forbid any other diftinct addrefTes to the Two 
 other Divine Perfons, which the Reformed Churches 
 occafionally make ufe of as well as we -, fo the Catholic 
 Church judges, very juftly, that there is as little rea^ 
 fon for interpreting it a forbidance of a well-ordered 
 application to the Saints, as his approved friends and 
 fervants, and our powerful Intercefibrs. 
 
 FROM the firft to the laft it is evident that the 
 Invocation of Saints can in no refpect be looked upon 
 as an encroachment on, or a diminution of the Divine 
 honour ; and therefore this material part of our ad- 
 verfaries exception againft it failing, the other, im- 
 porting it to be injurious to CHRIST'S mediatorfhip, 
 muft, of courfe, mare the fame fate. As a further 
 confutation thereof, I'll only add one fmgle reflection : 
 CHRIST is, no doubt, our fole Mediator of Redemption : 
 the Catholic Church ever thankfully acknowledges 
 him as fuch -, but ftill looks upon this prerogative of 
 CHRIST as no exclufion of the Saints tenure and pri- 
 vilege, fo often repeated and ftrongly fupported, of 
 being our Mediators of Interceffion : and as a corrobo-- 
 rative proof that me addrefles them in this lower ca- 
 pacity, the perfonal fupplication made to them is di- 
 rected to God the Father^ thro'' tie Son, in union ivitb 
 the Holy Gkoft. This is the exprefs claufe of all the 
 Prayers of the Catholic Church. , And thence . we 
 
 juftly
 
 juftified by Scripture > &c, 137 
 
 juftly infer, that our addrefies to the Saints in this 
 manner and form, as bare Inter ceffors^ can be no more 
 incongruous in itfelf, nor derogatory to the Di- 
 vine worfhip, or injurious to CHRIST, than our re- 
 queft would be of the like interceffion, or mediator- 
 Jhip) if I may fo call it, of our friends and compa- 
 nions here on earth ; of whofe favour and intereft 
 with Almighty GOD, we cannot have the fame cer- 
 tainty which we have of the Saints united to 'him by 
 -the indiiToluble band of everlafting love and friend- 
 fhip. 
 
 AND yet how agreeable to Almighty GOD is the 
 interceflion even of his fervants here on earth : how 
 prevalent with his Divine Mercy, and fruitful of fuc- 
 cefs, we have numerous proofs out of the facred 
 Writings. Almofl every line of a confiderable part 
 of the Pentateuch furnimes us with inftances of the 
 afcendant intereft MOSES, the great leader of the 
 Ifraelites, had in Heaven ; and of the aftonifhing effi- 
 cacy of his prayers j fometimes by working the moil- 
 amazing wonders, in behalf of that People, and of 
 drawing down mowers of Wettings upon them : at 
 other times by appeafmg the Divine Wrath, provoked 
 againft them by their monftrous infidelity, and avert- 
 ing the fword of juftice hanging over their heads. So 
 prevalent was alfo the intereft of the great fervant of 
 GOD, SAMUEL , fo irrefiftable, as it were, his fup- 
 plications to the Almighty, that He feemingly com- 
 plained of their tying his hands, and obftruding the 
 execution of his determined refentment againft the 
 unhappy, unfaithful SAUL. How long, fays he, itill 
 you lament Saul, when I have caft him off frcm being any 
 longer a Ruler over my people of Ifrael? Lib. i. Reg. 
 c. xvi. v. i. 
 
 I CANNOT omit one particular inftance, where the 
 
 intercefiion of the juft man is not only declared to be 
 
 acceptable, but is even recommended and enjoined the 
 
 .delinquents, by GOD himfelf, as the only cffecTual 
 
 S means
 
 138 The Invocation of Saints 
 
 means of forgivenefe. It was in the cafe of the friencU 
 of JOB, whofe ram and prefumptuous difcourfes had 
 irritated Almighty GOD to fuch a degree, that h 
 would not be pacified upon any other terms than thro* 
 the mediation of his faithful fervant JOB. The Lord 
 faid to Eliphaz the 'Themanite, My wrath is kindled againfl 
 tkee, and againft thy two friends ; for ye have not fpoken 
 of me the thing that is right , as my fervant Jcb hath : 
 therefore take unto you now feven bullocks, and feven 
 rams, and go to my fervant Job, and offer up for your- 
 felves a burnt-offering, and my fervant Job (hall pray 
 for you , for, him I will accept, left 7 deal with you 
 after your folly, in that ye have not fpoken of jne the thing 
 that is right, like my fervant Job. Job xlii. 7, 8. 
 
 Now, according to the dictates of human reafbn, 
 the means of obtaining forgivenefs mould be adapted 
 to the nature of the offence : but the offence, on this 
 occafion, was a direct infult offered to the Deity, by 
 rafhly canvaffing the difpenfations of his Divine Pro- 
 vidence, and therefore the atonement adequate to the 
 crime, one would think, mould have been felf-humilia- 
 tion, facrifice, and fupplication of pardon, coming 
 directly from the offenders ; yet all thefe are declared 
 unacceptable and ineffectual, but as feconded by the 
 the intercefiion of his juft and faithful fervant. Job 
 ft) all fray for you, fays Almighty GOD, and him will I 
 accept. Therefore it is evident from this, and nu- 
 merous other inftances, that the foliciting the inter- 
 ceffion of the Juft in our behalf is in itfelf no ways 
 injurious to GOD, nor derogatory to his honour, and 
 is frequently moft conducive towards obtaining the de^ 
 fired effect. 
 
 BUT now, can the alteration of their circnm fiances, 
 from the ftate of mortality to the ftate of immortality 
 and glory, be a means of Icffening their intereft ? Or 
 mall we even make no difficulty of relying on the 
 prayers of our earthly friends, and look on a requeft 
 of the interceffion of the Saints as uf clefs and unprofita- 
 ble?
 
 ju/lifad by Scripture > &c: 
 
 tic? this is a parodox irreconcilable to- reafon and 
 common fenfe ; and yet it is our adverfaries laft fhift, 
 their third and principal plea, in fupport of the prefent 
 oppofition, and To inefficient that, I apprehend, a 
 fimple view of its weak grounds wili be its beft confu- 
 tation. 
 
 THESE grounds muflr apparently confift of one or 
 ail of thefe following miftaken reafons ; to wit 
 firft, that the Saints are deaf to our petitions, and 
 
 regardlefs of our indigences fecondly, that they 
 
 are unable to relieve them ; or, thirdly, and iaftly, 
 that they are ignorant of them. 
 
 THE firft of thefe allegations offers violence to the 
 Saints characteriftic quality, inherent to them in their 
 prefent (late of blifs, their eminent Charity, which, 
 as I obferved from St. PAUL before, never ceafes ^ 
 i Cor. xiii. 8. and in Heaven is perfected : and there- 
 fore this objection, fo injurious to the Saints honour, 
 confutes itfelf. in a word, it is certain that they love 
 us moft intenfely ; that they are intimately concerned 
 for our welfare, and are defirous and ready to be aiding 
 towards it. 
 
 THE fecond objection is a direct contradiction to 
 the numerous teftimonies already produced, of their 
 undoubted intereftat the throne of mercy ; and there- 
 fore wants no further anfwer. 
 
 THE third objection is trifling and ridiculous m 
 itfelf, and may be equally difproved from fimilar unde- 
 niable evidences out of the infpired writings. For 
 inftance, CHRIST tells us, That there is j.-y in the pre- 
 fence of the Angels of GOD over one Jinner that repents ; 
 Luke xv. jo. which is inconceivable, unlefs they arc 
 made privy to what is tranfacting by us here below, 
 and intereft themfelves in our well-doing. The fame 
 is evident from what St. PAUL fays, bat we are made 
 a fpeftacle to the world, to the Angels* and to men. 
 i Cor. iv. 9. 
 
 AGAIN, it is certain that though our great Creator, 
 
 having by his Almighty Word drawn us out of our 
 
 S 2 original
 
 i 40 The Invocation of Saints 
 
 origin*! nothing into the ftate of exiftence, could, if 
 he had a mind, by his immediate influence and his 
 fame omnipotent power, have conduced us through 
 every circumftance of our being, independently of 
 any other medium -, yet he has been pleafed to make 
 ufe of adminiftring fpirits, the Angels, to guard, pro- 
 tect and direct us in all our paths : therefore I appre- 
 hend this to be a token, firft, that Almighty GOD 
 requires of us to repofe a truft and confidence in thefe 
 guardians and protectors of our being , to behave our- 
 (elves with refptct and reverence in their prefence ; 
 to have recourfe t;o them in all our difficulties and 
 dangers, both corporal and fpiritual, and to be thank- 
 ful to them for our prefervation in thefe critical mo- 
 ments. It follows fecondly, from this fame confide- 
 ration, that whereas thefe blefled Spirits muft, without 
 all doubt, be intimately acquainted with all that pafies 
 within and without us, they can certainly make known 
 ouf wants and petitions to their afibciate partners in 
 glory, fo often as we may have further recourfe to 
 them for their concurrent intercefiion and aid. Infine, 
 if our exigences and requefts, conveyed through tbefe 
 channels, that is, by the' means of the Saints, to the 
 throne of mercy, are thus acceptable, as has been 
 proved they are, cannot Almighty GOD in his omnif- 
 cient wifdom, by means unnectflary for us to dive into, 
 impart our wants and applications to them, to whom 
 they are directed? the Apoftle plainly mfinuates this, 
 when he fays That in Heaven the Saints know things even 
 as they are known, i Cor. xiii. 12. that is in GOD, as 
 in a mirrour in which all things appear as they are. 
 In fhort, this truth is fo felf-evident and confpicuous, 
 that a man muft (hut his eyes not to fee it, or have 
 the front to deny firft principles, and to withftand de- 
 monftration itfelf, not to fubmk to it. 
 
 THE fame degree of evidence, I prefume to think, 
 accompanies every proof before alleged, of this Ca- 
 tholic tenet, and confequently overturns their vain 
 oppofition to it. At kaft I dare be pofitive that it 
 
 appeared
 
 j it/lifted by Scripture > &c. 141 
 
 appeared in this light to the whole world, and was the 
 univerfal belief ot the Church till the trade of Re- 
 forming came into falhion -, and that the plaineft truths 
 being reformed away, one after another, the Saints, 
 with the Mother Church which efpoufed their caufe, 
 were fent adrift, and difpoffefied of their tenure, 
 which they had held from the foundation of Chriftianity. 
 Till thefe late times of confufion, I fay, the honour 
 and veneration due to the Saints and Angels was an ar- 
 ticle never doubted of, and their invocation the general 
 practice -, infomuch that I dare challenge our adver- 
 laries to produce one authority in the primitive ages 
 of the Church, of not a convicted or a reputed Here- 
 tic againft it ; while we have a cloud of thefe venera- 
 ble witnefles of antiquity to bring forth in its defence. 
 Out of this great number of them, for brevity's fake, 
 I'll only quote one or two, whole authority is indif- 
 putable, and their fentiments exprefs and plain, and 
 therefore to be deemed the fentiments and belief of the 
 whole orthodox Body of the Church. 
 
 St. GREGORY NYSSEN addreffes himfelf to St. THE- 
 ODORE, Martyr, thus ** Intercede for your country 
 
 *' with our common Lord and King as a foldier 
 
 " fight for us, as a Martyr ufe the liberty of fpeaking 
 
 ** in behalf of your fellow fervants -If there be 
 
 'V'neceffity of greater iuppltcations, compel the choir 
 '* of your brethren martyrs, and with them all pray 
 
 *' Admonifh PETER, excite PAUL and alfo JOHN, 
 
 '.' the divine and beloved Difciple, that they would 
 * c be folicitous for the Churches they have planted." 
 Qrat. de St. Theod. T. 3. p. 585, 
 
 St. CHRYSOSTOM in his fermon upon the holy mar- 
 tyrs, DOMNINA, BERENICE, and PROSDOSCE, thus 
 exhorts his people : " Let us go to their tombs, not 
 "only on the day of their feafts, but upon other days 
 tl alfo. Let us befeech them, let us beg of them to 
 *>* be our protectrdles j for their power is great, not 
 " only when living, but alfo, and much more when 
 dead, For now they bear the marks of CHRIST, 
 
 and
 
 142 7/k Iniwcation of Saints 
 
 " and when they fhew thefe, they may obtain all things 
 " from the King." St. Chryf. T. i. p. 62. 51. 
 
 THE fame Saint, when Bimop of Conftantinople, 
 in a public Sermon delivers himfelf to his congrega- 
 tion as follows : " He that wears purple, comes to 
 *' thofe tombs (of the Saints) to kifs them -, and caft- 
 " ing off his pride, ftands humbly, invoking the Saint /, 
 " that they may defend him at the tribunal of GOD. 
 ** And that the Tent-maker and Fimerman, tho' dead, 
 *' may be his patrons, is the earneft requeft of him, 
 *' that wears the diadem. Tell me then ; dare you 
 " fay the Lord is dead, whofe fervants, tho' deceafed,. 
 " are patrons and defenders to thofe, who have all 
 " the earth under their command?" St. Chryf. 
 Horn. 26. in Epift. 2. ad Corinth. 
 
 ST. AMBROSE afierts, pofitiverjr, the lawfulnefs of 
 the Invocation of Saints, in the following words : 
 " Our Angel Guardians are to be invoked the 
 <c Martyrs are to be invoked, whofe patronage we 
 18 feem to have a claim to, by pofieffing their relicks. 
 " They have power to ajk pardon for our fins^ &c. Let 
 " us not be afhamed to make ufe of them as Inter ceffitrs 
 " for our infirmity^ who knew the weaknefs of the 
 ** body at the fame time that they conquered it.*t 
 St. Ambr. 1. de Vid. 
 
 ST. AUSTIN fays, " that we do not name the Martyrs 
 *' at the holy table, as we do others who reft in peace, 
 " fo as to pray for Martyrs , but rather that they 
 " may pray for us, &V." St. Aug. Trad. 74. in John. 
 In another place he fays, " 'Tis the practice of the 
 " Church, which the faithful "know, that when the 
 " Martyrs are named at the Altar, we pray not for 
 " them, tho' we pray for the other folds departed* 
 '* whom we name. For it is an injury to a Martyr 
 " to pray for him to whefe prayers we ought to commend 
 " curfehes" St. Aug. Serm. 159. de Verb. Apoft. 
 
 AND to omit the many addrefles, this holy and 
 learned Doctor made from time to time to the Saints 
 
 and
 
 jHJlified by Scripture, 6cc. 
 
 and Angels, to be gathered out of his pious writings, 
 he in his book of Meditations recommends himfelf to 
 tne whole Court of Heaven in the following emphatic 
 afpirations : " Holy and Immaculate Virgin, Mother 
 * of GOD, Mother of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, 
 " vouchfafe to intercede for me to Him in Heaven, 
 c whofe living temple you was made worthy to be 
 on earth! St. MICHAEL, St. GABRIEL, all ye 
 choirs of Angels, Archangels, Patriarchs, Prophets, 
 " Apoftles, Martyrs, and Confeflbrs, all ye holy 
 <c Monks and juft Souls ! I conjure you thro' him, 
 <c who chofe you and called you to the happinefs you 
 " now poflefs, that you'll pray to GOD for me a fin- 
 tc ner to deliver me from the jaws of Satan and eter- 
 " nal death." St. Auft. Meditat. c. 40. 
 
 To thefe venerable monuments of antiquity I might 
 fubjoin ORIGEN, THEODORET, and others of lefs 
 note ; tho* as they fpoke the language of the Church 
 in their times, and were never cenfured for their opi- 
 nions on this head, they muft be reputed orthodox. I 
 might add, that the innumerable Homilies and Ser- 
 mons extant, of almoft every holy Father, on the 
 the Saints Feftivals, are fo many vouchers to the le- 
 gality of honouring and invoking them. 
 
 I'LL conclude thefe venerable teftimonies with St. 
 JEROME'S anfwer to VIGILANTIUS, an Heretic of his 
 own time, and reputed fuch by him in the point in 
 queftion. " If the Apoftles," fays he, " and Mar- 
 *' tyrs, prayed for others in this world (when they 
 " were in concern for themfelves) how much more 
 <c after their crowns, vi&ories, and triumphs ? Mo- 
 " SES obtained pardon for fix hundred thoufand men 
 STEPHEN beggecl pardon for his perfecutors ; 
 ** and fmce they are with CHRIST will they have lefs 
 power ?" St. Hier. Lib. cont. Vigilan. It is to 
 be obferved from this fhort extract from St. JEROME, 
 that his Vindication of the honour and Invocation of 
 the Saints, againft his cotemporary antagonift, literally 
 
 coincides
 
 144 Th* Invocation of Saints 
 
 coincides with our foregoing proof 'of the Catholic 
 doftrine againft our modern Reformers, and refts on 
 the fame foundation. The frank declaration of fome 
 of the moft candid of our adverfaries, who could not 
 refrain fubfcribing to this truth fo creditably attefted, 
 fhall fupply the omiflion of the reft of thefe venerable 
 authorities. Mr. Thorndike's judgment on this fub- 
 ject I have quoted, at length, above. He further con- 
 feffes, that " the lights both of the Greek and Latin 
 " Churches BASIL, NAZIENZEN, NYSSEN, AM- 
 " BROSE, JEROME, AUSTIN, CHRYSOSTOM, bothCY- 
 " RILS, THEODORET, FULGENTIUS, St. GREGORY 
 " the Great, LEO More, or rather All, after that 
 ," time, have fpoken to the Saints, and defired their 
 <c afiiftance." Thorn. Epil. part. 3. p. 358. 
 
 IN another place he fays, " that to difpute whether 
 " we are bound to honour the Saints or not, were to 
 *' difpute whether we are to be Chriftians and, whe- 
 '." ther this be religious or civil, nothing but the equi- 
 <c vocation of words makes difputable -, and the caufe 
 <c of that equivocation the want of words." Ibid. 
 
 P- 353- 
 
 DR. MONTAGUE, Bifhop of Norwich's declaration 
 of his opinion in this point is expreffive and entirely 
 Catholic : " I grant," fays he, " CHRIST is not wronged 
 " in his Mediation ; it is no impiety to fay as they 
 " (the Roman Catholics) do Holy Mary, pray for me-, 
 " holy Peter, pray for me." 
 
 AND again, " I fee no abfurdity in nature, no in- 
 <c congruity unto analogy of faith, no repugnance at 
 _" all to facred Scripture , much lefs impiety, for any 
 * { man to fay Holy Angel Guardian pray for me" Trade. 
 Invoc. of Saints, p. 118. 
 
 AND the Biihop of Oxford, .in his edition of St. 
 CYPRIAN, fays, " We do not doubt but the fouls in 
 " Heaven pray earneflly to GOD that he may ihew 
 " his mercy to thofe that live h'ere." Ibid. p. 271. 
 
 FROM
 
 The Honour of the Bkfled, &c. 145 
 FROM thefe large conceffions, coming out of the 
 mouths of Proteftants now cited, to omit many 
 others, I beg leave to draw this obvious conclufion, 
 viz. that the force of truth muft be great indeed, 
 when it has obliged our enemies to fubfcrib:; to it. 
 And in the mean while, their frank confeflion is fuffi* 
 cient to give marrie to the reft of their brethren, who 
 Hill perverfeJy itand out againft the fame evidence and 
 conviction -, whilft it, at the fame time, fm'ks the cre- 
 dit of the Reformation in general, which amongft the 
 reft of it's temerarious proceedings, and manifeft in- 
 confiftencies, is guilty of robbing the Saints and An- 
 gels of an honour undoubtedly their due , and is in- 
 jurious to its own members, by depriving them of 
 the benefit of fo powerful and effectual a patronage. 
 
 C H A P. VI. 
 
 The Honour of the Bleffed Virgin MARY offer ted, and 
 an extraordinary Veneration proved to be due to her. 
 
 WHATSOEVER honour is admitted to be 
 lawfully given to the Saints and Angels, as 
 f^rvants and friends of GOD, muft, by parity of reafon, 
 be allowed in an eminent degree to be the BieiTsd Vir- 
 gin MARY'S unqueftionable right, as Mother of GOD, 
 and the Queen of all Saints. On this foundation the 
 Catholic Church has always profeffed a diftinguimed 
 and extraordinary devotion to this cheriihed Favourite 
 of Heaven, which it is far from me, or any true fon 
 of the Church, to difTemble. On the other hand, 
 the authors and abettors of the Reformation, as much 
 to their mame, have been as active and induftrious in 
 depreciating her memory. 'Tis true they glofs over 
 this particular conduct as they have done their whole 
 pretended Reform, with the ufual cant of impeaching 
 our excefTes and abufes ; and both one and the other, 
 T gs
 
 146 rfhe Honour of the Ble/ed 
 
 as we fliall fee prefently, without the leaH colour of 
 juftice or reafon. 
 
 WHAT has been already urged in the foregoing 
 chapter, in defence of the honour given to the Saints, 
 and the Invocation of them, may be reputed an im- 
 
 piicit vindication of the BUffed Virgin's caufe. But 
 while our adverfaries affect fuch a diltinguifhed fplren 
 
 . againft the Queen of Heaven (under whatfoever cloak 
 they endeavour to diiguife it) it behoves every Catho- 
 lic to appear, at leaft, equally zealous in her defence. 
 .This cunfidcration has induced me to employ a fepa- 
 rate chiptcr on this fubjeft, and apologizes for the 
 ramnds of my undertaking, in becomii g an advocate 
 in a caufe which wants none at all, or deferves one 
 better qualified for the tafk, than I dare flatter myielf 
 to be. 
 
 - IT happens in this debate, no lefs than in thofe whi'ch 
 have gone before, to be prerequifite to place the ftate 
 of the queftion in a true light, in order to be able to 
 
 ^proceed in the difcuffion of it with any regularity, 
 p ripicuity, and juftice ; and as a ntcefury precaution 
 againft the cavils of our adverfaries, generally running 
 on groundlefs ftippofitions, or wiliul milreprefcnta- 
 tions. The following notes' I propofe to anfwer this 
 purpofe. 
 
 NOT. i. In whatfoever degree of pre-eminence the 
 Church confidcrs the Blefild Virgin, as placed above 
 the other Saints and Angels, Ihe ftill looks upon her 
 no more than as a pure Creature, and confequently at 
 an infinite diilancc from Almighty GOD, and alfo 
 from the Word Incarnate JESUS CHRIST ; who, tho* 
 according to his human nature he be a Creature, yet 
 in virtue of the bypcftatical union fubfifting under the 
 Divine Perfonality, is GOD as well as Man, and there- 
 fore not a Creature merely fuch. 
 
 NOT. 2. As all ads of Religion are qualified by 
 the objects in which they are terminated, and ihe in- 
 tention airtcTmg them, we declare that all thofe which 
 are rdcired to the Blefled Virgin, whether by way of 
 
 honour,
 
 llrgin MARY -offer ted, &c. 147 
 
 honour, or of fupplication, to be fpecifkally difti.ict 
 from what are made jto the Blefied Trinity, or to 
 JESUS CHRIST ; to wit, that they are infinitely wide 
 of divine worfhip. And, whereas words, and even 
 actions, are Jigna ad placitum, that is, arbitrary figns, 
 determined to their meaning by our will and pleafure, 
 or by general ufage; we therefore further proteft that 
 any words made ufc of in our devotions to the Blefied 
 Virgin, which may be liable to an equivocal frnfe, to 
 be undc-rfiood and meant by us, according to the 
 redriftions herein exprefled. 
 
 NOT. 3. All addrefles, of every fort, made to the 
 Blefled Virgin are, in generj;^ that is, in kind, arid 
 their own nature, the fame as thofe made to the other 
 Saints and Angels j to wit, as barely to an intcrccflfor 
 for us to GOD, and not as the author or beftower of 
 any gifts, either fpiritual or temporal. 
 
 THIS is the true tendency of the honour we give 
 the Blefled Virgin: this the genuine brlief and fenfe 
 of the Catholic Church in this point ; though I am 
 fenfible 'tis not what the ignorant part ot our advcr- 
 faries miftake it, or what the learned Body of them 
 unfairly mifrrprefcr.t it. But be this as it will, 
 their calumnies can neither affect us, nor our caufe. 
 The Catholic tenet?, are what it is incumbent on 
 us to defend, not their mifreprefentations of them : 
 therefore, confequently to thefe notes, what I undertake 
 to prove in the prefent debate, is, 
 
 FIRST That the fuperior prerogatives and privi- 
 leges, the Bit fifed Virgin is poiu-fTed ot, being clearly 
 expreflfc'd in Scripture, entitle her to a fupt-rior and 
 dillincYive degree of honour, from what is given to any 
 other Creature j but ftili, as I faid above-, in eodcm 
 genere ; that is, as to a pure creature. 
 
 SECONDLY- That rhrfr prerogatives juftify the dif- 
 
 tinguiflicd devotion and extraordinary veneration 
 
 which the Catholic Church, within th- limitations and 
 
 reilrictions afordaid, pays to her memory j and more- 
 
 T 2 over
 
 1 4 8 - The Prerogative of tie Bleffed Virgin 
 
 over, tender the Truft ihe repofes in her intercefiion 
 
 entirely rational, prudential, and regular. 
 
 To make good thefe afiertions is the fubject of the 
 two following Sections, 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The BkJJed Virgin MARY has undoubtedly been privileged 
 by Heaven with extraordinary prerogatives, clearly ex- 
 preffed in Scripture, which entitle her to extraordinary 
 honours. 
 
 THE feeming refervednefs of the infpired'Penmen 
 in their commemoration of the BlefTed Virgin, 
 her name but feldom occurring in the courfe of their 
 writings, has been one handle her adverfaries fondly 
 lay hold of to depreciate her memory ; namely, Mr. 
 Leiley, in his Cafe Stated, difplays the whole ftrength 
 of his eloquence, to give weight to this groundlefs ex- 
 ception to the BleiTed Virgin's honour ; which, when 
 they have made the moft of, amounts to no more than 
 a bare negative : and even in this light, how little to 
 the purpofe, will be apparent to every one, who impar- 
 tially corfiders the drift and feveral defigns of thefe 
 facrcd Records. Each one, 'tis well known, has his 
 refpective theme, in which the Bleffed Virgin was no 
 ways concerned j for inftance, the bufmefs of the 
 Evangelifts was to afiert the Divinity of their Blefied 
 Mafter : to prove , him to have been the MESSIAH, fo 
 often promifed to, and long expected by the Jews, 
 the Saviour of the world ; and to give the hiflory of 
 his Life, Doffrine, Miracles, Death and RefurreRion, 
 which afcertained to us his divine prerogative, above 
 all doubt or contradiction. 
 
 THE drift of the Epiftles was to recapitulate and 
 confirm the Gofpel Truths, und to give us a fyftem 
 of Chriftian Morality. 
 
 THE
 
 proved from dear Scripture. 
 
 THE Acts of the Apoftles confift of two principal de- 
 figns or divifions the firft fetting forth the Apoftles 
 confirmation in Grace by the myfterions defcent of the 
 Holy Ghoft, and their inftallation and entrance on their 
 miniftry, with other incidents thereto relating the 
 fecond is a profeffed hiftory of St. PAUL, his miracu- 
 lous converfion, his extraordinary call to the Apoftle- 
 fhip, and his faithful difcharge of his truft, by which 
 he became fo inftrumental to the eftablilhment and 
 propagation of the infant Church of CHRIST. 
 
 Now the Blefied Virgin, as has been faid, and mult 
 be obvious to every one, being entirely unconcerned 
 in the related feveral defigns' of thefe facred Records ; 
 a digreffion to her from them would have been as im- 
 pertinent, as it would be, to thruft in a narration of 
 the achievements of Alexander the Great, into the 
 Annals of Great Britain. 
 
 IN that part of the Evangelical ftory where we are in- 
 formed of the accomplifhment of the myflery of the In- 
 carnation, to which, by the will and decree of Almighty 1 
 GOD, the Blefied Virgin was fo materially inftrumental; 
 {he is mentioned in fo ample and honourable a manner, 
 as to give us the moft exalted idea of her fublime pri- 
 viliges and prerogatives, and to lay the foundation of 
 all that honour, refpecl: and reverence becoming due 
 to her, that can poffibly be given to any pure crea- 
 ture : which made St. EPIPHANIUS fay that above all 
 creatures, the Blefied Virgin was the moft worthy of 
 the refpcct of both men and Angels. St. Ephip' de 
 laud. Virginis. 
 
 THESE prerogatives are of two forts , the firft ra- 
 dicaly the other acceffory : the firft clearly and pofi- 
 tively expreffed in the facred Writings : the others 
 partly expreffed, partly infinuated ; and, from our 
 own fenfe and reafon, to be adjudged absolutely fub- 
 fequent to the former. 
 
 HER prerogative of the firft kind is what muft 
 Immediately occur to every one who fets any eftimate 
 
 upon
 
 1 50 The Prerogative of the Bit fled Virgin 
 upon the benefit of his Redemption ; viz. her elec- 
 tion to the Maternity ; that is, her being chofen to 
 be Mother of a GOD made Man. This inilantly im- 
 prints on our mind fuch an elevated idea of her dig- 
 nity, that the great Light and Doctor of the Church, 
 St. AUSTIN, declares he wanted words to cxpfefs it: 
 - " With what praifes," fays he, " to extol you, Oh! 
 "facred Virgin, I know not-, fmce you have been 
 " deemed worthy to bear in your womb, whom the 
 " Heavens are unable to contain." St. Aug. Serm. 
 de Annunciat. 
 
 IN effect, to frame a true judgment of the dignity 
 of the Mother, it is neceflfary to dive into the incom- 
 prehenfible attributes and intrinfic worth of the Son ; 
 and therefore, in this refpect, that is, relatively fpeak- 
 ing, St. THOMAS of Aquin does not {tick to fay that 
 the dignity, the Blefled Virgin was raifed to, on 
 this occafion, was the extent of the Divine Power; 
 becaufe, as the Son was fuperior to every one elfe, ib 
 his Mother, as fuch, was without her equal. For, 
 if even, according to worldly eftimation ; advantages 
 of birth, fortune, and antiquity of family, which arc 
 merits purely relative, befpeak refpect : if the meaneft 
 creature imaginable, being raifed to the honour of a 
 'partnerflilp of the royal bed, and becoming Mother 
 of an heir apparent to the Crown, is ennobled and 
 royalifed by fuch an alliance, and her original mean- 
 nefs thereby obliterated ; what opinion muft we en- 
 tertain of the Blefled Virgin, who became Spoufe of 
 the Holy Ghoft, and Mother of a GOD Incarnate ? 
 
 A curfory view of the facred Hiftory of her eleva- 
 tion to the Maternity, will give us the juftefl idea 
 of her intrinfic merit and excellencies. This is faith- 
 fully fet forth in the plain and unornamented account 
 tiie Evangelift gives of her Annunciation or Saluta-* 
 tton, which, otherwife, may be called an Embaffy to 
 iv-r from the Court of Heaven , ?nd certiinly the 
 furprizirig that ever was heard of, and myfte- 
 
 rious
 
 proved from dear Script lire. 151 
 
 rious in every circumftance ; to ?:>//, an Angel dele- 
 gated from the Creator to a Creature, from the Blef- 
 fed Trinity to a poor Maid dwelling in a contemptible 
 cottage in Nazareth. Thus the Evangelift relates this 
 aftoniihing event : 'The Angel Gabriel^ fays he, was ftnt 
 by GOD into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth^ to a Fir^ 
 in and the Vir girts name was MARY. Luke i. 26, 
 
 THE fubjecl: of the embafiy was yet more unpre- 
 cedented and aftonifhing than the embafly itfelf, it 
 being to demand her concurrence to the accomplim- 
 ment of the great rnyftery of the Incarnation of die 
 Son of GOD, thro' the ineffable operation of the 
 Holy Ghoft upon her. The Holy Ghoft^ fays the Evan- 
 gelift, fo <all come upon thee, and the fewer of the mojl 
 High Jhdl overjftadow thee. Luke i. 35. 
 
 Now, could the Deity on his fide ftoop lower, or 
 a creature be poiTibly exalted to a higher pinnacle of 
 honour ? The dignity of the creature rifes by the hu- 
 miliation of the Creator. But the manner in which 
 this celeftial Envoy opened his Embafly, is another 
 circumftance of furpriz?, and reflecting ftill more 
 honour to the Bleffed Virgin. This was his Saluta- 
 tion Hail ! full of Grace, our Lord is ssitb thte j 
 ' Bleffed art tloou among ft Women. Ibid. 
 
 Full cf Grace y indeed : for, whether we confider 
 the extraordinary gifts, on the part of Heaven, in- 
 fufed into her, to qualify her for her fublime ftation, 
 or the eminent virtues me exercifed on her fide in the 
 accomplifhment of the decreed myftery, it mufb be 
 faid that nothing lefs than a plenitude of Grace pof- 
 fefled her blefled Soul, To this fulnefs of Grace is 
 to be referred her unparalleled purity, by a fpecial 
 privilege, while me became a Mother, continuing a 
 Virgin, in which, as St. BERNARD obferves, me ne- 
 ver was known to have had her precedent before, or 
 her fellow fmce me primatn fanikm jifa eft, nee ha~ 
 berc fc^uentem, 
 
 To
 
 i 52 The Prerogative of the Ble/ed Virgin 
 
 To this plenitude of grace is to be attributed her 
 unlimited obedience to the Divine Decrees ; at the 
 fame time that fhe declared the Myftery to be above 
 her comprehenfion, confenting, without the leaft he- 
 fitation, to be concurring to the accomplifhment of it 
 Be it unto me, replied fhe to the Angel, according 
 to thy word, Luke i. 26, &c. 
 
 FROM the fame fource, her fulnefs of Grace, flowed 
 her unprecedented and inimitable Humility, after ihe 
 had been elevated to the dignity of being Mother of 
 GOD, ftiling herfelf the Handmaid of the Lord. Ibid. 
 
 IF the Evengelift had fupplied us with no other 
 Informations of her pre-eminent merits, this fingle 
 teftimony is enough to give us the higheft idea of 
 them, and to entitle her to our diftinguimed re-ipect 
 and veneration : and, on the other hand, effectually 
 flops the mouths of her enemies, who ground their 
 flight of her memory, and affect tojuftify this con- 
 duc\ on the pretended refervednefs and filence of the 
 infpired penmen in her regard. For, to have been 
 indued with fuch a plenitude of grace as to become 
 entirely agreeable to the Almighty : and fuch the 
 celeftial envoy declared her, when encouraging he*r to 
 acquiefce, without referve, to the divine will, he faid, 
 Fear not MARY, for tbou haft found favour with GOD. 
 To be wholly abforpt in GOD, and to have GOD 
 reciprocally united to her, infmuated by thofe prior 
 words of the Salutation, the Lord is with thee^ and 
 taking an intimate complacency in the beauty of her 
 pure foul: thefe ineftimable advantages, I fay, convey 
 to us the idea of a creature the moft perfect and ex- 
 cellent that can be imagined j and were the effectual 
 caufe that the Angel inftantly pronounced her Bltffed 
 'Blefftd art thcu amongft women. 
 
 YET thefe extraordinary ornaments of her foul, we 
 have hitherto enumerated, were only a preparatory 
 difpofiticn to her decreed efppufals with the Holy 
 Ghoft: the means to render- ber a fit receptacle for 
 the Eternal Word to become Incarnate within her 
 
 chafte
 
 proved from clear Script lire. 153 
 
 chafle bowels; and was in fhort, only a prelude to 
 her future fanftity. '* From hence," fays St. AUSTIN, 
 " ,we gather the Blefled Virgin's fulnefs of grace to 
 " enable her to conquer all fin, becaufe fhe was to 
 " conceive and bring forth him (the Word Incarnate) 
 *' who was wholly without fin," St. Aug. Serm. 2. 
 de Anunc. But how great her future fandity proved 
 to be, after (he had been overfhadowed by the Divine 
 Spirit : after fhe was pofiefTed of the fource of all 
 fandtity within her womb : after, by Above thirty 
 years converfation and intimacy with the author of all 
 grace, a continual flow of this celeftial dew had pene- 
 trated into her foul what, I fay, her eminent fanc- 
 tity was, refulting from fuch fingularand accumulated 
 advantages, is not eafy to fay ; nor has the Evangelift 
 explicitly declared ; leaving to us to form a conception 
 of it from thefe aufpicious beginnings, and from the 
 nature of the circumftances in which me was con- 
 cerned. For if, ufually fpeaking, the integrity of our 
 lives, and the reclitude of our manners, are to be 
 gathered from our converfation ; canvaffing, I fay, 
 the Blefled Virgin's virtues and merits by this rule, 
 how much do they rife in real value, and ought, 
 proportionably, to rife in our eftimation, knowing that 
 fhe converfed, was intimate with, and poflefled the 
 Holy of Holies ? 
 
 PREVIOUSLY to thefe great advantages, the Angel, 
 as we have already heard, did not doubt to pronounce 
 her Bleffed among women: her Coufin St. ELIZABETH, 
 divinely infpired, faluted her with the fame title -, and 
 the Blefled Virgin herfelf, though through her unpa- 
 rallelled humility, demeaning herfelf in her own fen- 
 timents, in proportion to the height of honour fhe had 
 been raifed to by the Almighty, ftiling herfelf the 
 Handmaid of the Lord, at the very time fhe was af- 
 fumed to the title, of the Maternity ; yet this grenteft, 
 and together the humbleft of all pure creatures, en- 
 lightened and prompted by the Divine Spirit, alfo fore- 
 tells her Prerogative to be the means of perpetuating 
 U her
 
 1 54 tfhe Prerogatives of the Bleffed Virgin 
 her name in benedi&ion to all fucceeding generations. 
 My foul., fays {he, magnifies the Lord becaufe he hath 
 regarded the humility of his handmaid -, jor behold I 
 from henceforth all generations Jhall call me Blefed^ 
 becaufe he that is mighty hath done great things to me, 
 Luk i. 46, &fc . 
 
 THE Catholic Church literally fulfils this predic- 
 tion as often as (he invokes her afiiftance, or otherwife 
 occafionally mentions her name, by ftiling her Bleffed, 
 and by paying her all the veneration which is due to 
 that title. And the abettors of the Reformation, on 
 the other hand, have reafon to take fhame to them- 
 felves, not only for waving, for the moft part, both 
 in their familiar converfations and in their writings, to 
 give her this epithet, which (he lays fuch an indifputa- 
 ble claim to, but chiefly for catching at every frivo- 
 lous pretence to difcredit her memory. For, 
 
 BESIDES the miftaken filence of the Sacred Writers in 
 her regard, already fully accounted for, the incidental 
 behaviour of our Bleffed Saviour to her, related in the 
 Gofpel, at the Marriage in Cana of Galilee, or on other 
 occafions, interpreted by the impugners of her name, 
 to carry an air of indifference to her, is brought as 
 another argument for their odious purpofe. 
 
 MR. LESLEY, aforecited, induftrioufly alfo figna- 
 lizes himfelf on this head, when he has the confidence 
 to fay, hauling in St. Epiphanius for his voucher, 
 or rather mifreprefenting that Father's fentiments to 
 juftify his own " that our Bleffed Lord, forefeeing the 
 " fuperftition, that would come into the world on ac- 
 " count of his Mother, treated her always at a diftance, 
 " never once called her Mother no not upon the 
 " Crofs or by any appellation than that of Woman ; 
 " and, checking her forwardnefs, faid unto her, Woman* 
 " what have I to do with thee ? &c. &c. LeQey Cafe 
 Stated. 
 
 HERE now are the fentiments of a pious and learned 
 Father, for the moft (hameful purpofe that could be, 
 f iz. for the fake of depreciating the facred memory 
 
 of
 
 proved from clear Scripture. 155 
 
 of the Mother of our Redeemer, foully mifrepreft-nted, 
 as to the drift and intent of what he did Jay^ and words 
 put into his mouth, which he did not fay. Firft, as to the 
 drift of this holy Father's difcourfe, 'tis plain that it was 
 not to difcountenance a dutiful refpect to the BlcfTed 
 Virgin's memory, 'iuch as theCatholicChurch gives her) 
 but 10 explode a delirious herefy of the Collyridians, a 
 fet of doting women of Thrace, who took it into their 
 heads to make the BlefTcd Virgin a Deity, and to wor- 
 Jhip her with Sacrifice j whofr ridiculous phrenfy he con- 
 demns, by proving the BlefTcd Virgin not to be any 
 thing above the condition and nature of a Woman. 
 
 THE words of the Father, faithfully rendered, are 
 thefe " Wherefore we are alfo precautioned by the 
 " holy Gofpel ; wherein CHRIST fpeaks thus, Woman^ 
 " what is that to me and to thee ? my hour is not yet come" 
 John ii. 4. " where, for this realon, he called her 
 " Woman, left any one mould believe the BlefTd Vir- 
 ' gin to be of fome more excellent nature than the reft 
 " of her fex ; giving her, as it were prophetically, 
 *' that name, to confute the herefies and fchifms which 
 '* he knew would, in after times, happen in the world ; 
 " and left any one, through an exceffive opinion of 
 *' the moft holy Virgin, mould be addicted to the 
 " dotage and fooleries of that herefy," St. Epiph. 
 1. iii. T. 4. H. 79. 
 
 THESE are the true words of the Father, diverted of 
 the odious additions Mr. Lcfley has liberally foifted in, 
 of CHRIST'S calling the Blejfed Virgin, always, Woman 
 never by the tender name of Mother of treating 
 her at a diftance, and checking her forwardness ; with a 
 firing of other fpiteful reflections I am alhamed to 
 repeat. 
 
 AND tho* the objection, in the whole, carries with it 
 the glaring appearance of fpleen and prejudice, as little 
 becoming aChriftian as a Divine, and without the leaft 
 foundation in juftice ; however, in order to give a fur- 
 ther anfwcr to if, which is more than it deferves, f 
 U 2 mult
 
 1 56 The Prerogatives of the Bltftd Virgin 
 
 muft premiie that our Bleffed Lord is to be confidered 
 in a double capacity ; to wit, in his public , and in his 
 private and filial capacity. In his public capacity he ap- 
 peared and acted as the Son of GOD, and as the pro- 
 mifed MESSIAH ; was paving the way for the efta- 
 blimment of his Church, and was wholly attentive to 
 the Qifcharge of the feveral functions of his Divine 
 Mmiitry, which was one motive or end of his being 
 and converfmg with us in Human fiefh -, and there- 
 fore at thefe times he became All to All, without re- 
 fpect to perfons, his Bleffed Mother not excepted. We 
 have an early -proof of this fyftem of action, when, 
 at the age of twelve years, being found by his Bleffed 
 Mother, and reputed Father St. JOSEPH, after three 
 days fearch, in the Temple -, and they had tenderly 
 expreffed the uneafmefs his abfence had lain them un- 
 der, he made this mort anfwer ; that he was taken up 
 in the bufmefs of his Eternal Father Did you not 
 know, fays he, tbat I muft be about my Father's bujinefs? 
 Luke ii. 49. fignifying thereby, that to this, every 
 other concern was to give way. His reply, on another 
 occafion, to them that brought him word his Mother 
 and Brethren were waiting for him without doors 
 ffihofoever Jhall do the will of my Father who is in Hea- 
 ven, he is my Brother, my Sifter, and my Mother, Matt. 
 xii. 50. was an infmuation of the fame truth; mean- 
 ing, that the difcharge of his functions, in obedience 
 to the divine counfels, was his prefent employ, and the 
 fole object of his attention , and therefore, on the 
 occafion of the marriage-feaft, his anfwer to his 
 Bleffed Mother, minding him of the want of wine 
 Woman, what is that to me and to thee, my time is not 
 yet cQtne, cannot be looked upon in any other light 
 than as a bare admonition and remembrance of the 
 lame truth, infmuating, I fay, that he was acting then 
 in his fuperior capacity, by the immediate influence and 
 direction from above i and therefore that it behoved 
 
 him
 
 proved from dear Scripture. 157 
 
 Turn to delay the manifeftation of his miraculous power, 
 till the time preordained, as he himfelf tells her, fay- 
 ing, My time is not yet come, John ii. 4. 
 
 THIS I apprehend to be all that can be gathered 
 fom the words our BlefTed Saviour fpoke to his Blef- 
 fed Mother on this occafion, and the whole extent of 
 their meaning, exclufive of the lean: fhadow of a dif- 
 regard to her ; at leaft, I dare be pofitive, that this 
 interpretation is more natural and eafy, and much lefs 
 difrefpectful to her memory, than the indecent con- 
 ilruftion Mr. Lefley, above cited, has not been amamed 
 to put upon it, of their beipg " a rebuke and check 
 " to the BlefTed Virgin's forwardnefs." On the con- 
 trary, if this pafiage is to be thought in any fhape to 
 affect the Blefled Virgin, it was certainly by reflecting 
 greater honour to the Mother, in becoming a token 
 of her powerful intereft with the Son, while the firft 
 miracle, as St. JOHN notes, wrought by him, was done 
 at her interceflion, or at leaft by her motion and fug- 
 geftion. John ii. n. 
 
 * As then our Blefled Lord's pretended negle6t of 
 his Mother, when he was adting in his public capacity, 
 is fo juftly accounted fbr ; fo his Superlative refpeft 
 and regard for her in his private Life, which was from 
 his infancy till he was thirty years old, is equally cer- 
 tain, and muft be acknowleged by all hands. The 
 Evangelift declares it in few words, but fully ; faying, 
 That bewasfubjeff (Luke ii. 51.) that is, obedient, 
 to them ; which fuccindtly comprifes the whole fum of 
 filial duty. 
 
 I'll clofe this teftimony of our Blefled Lord's x .refpect 
 fbr his Mother, during the long courfe of his private 
 and hidden life, with a profeffion he made of his ten- 
 der regard for her on a public occafion, at a time when 
 every word he uttered, particularly demands our at- 
 tention -, ought to be carefully treafured up in our 
 breaft, and never to be out of our memory. It muft 
 be obvious, to every one, that the inftance I hint at, 
 is the endearing remembrance, our dying Lord made 
 
 of
 
 1 5 S Tfo Prerogatives of the Ble/ed Virgin, &c. 
 of his doleful Mother at his lafl moments ; when, 
 knowing to what degree her heart was pierced thro* 
 with the fword of grief, and feeing the inundation of 
 affliction that overwhelmed her bleffed Soul, he would 
 feem to forget his own forrows, in order to relieve 
 her, by committing her to St. JOHN'S care, truft, and 
 protection ; "faying to her Woman, beheld, thy Son ! and 
 to the difciple Behold thy Mother! John xix. 26, 27. 
 Thus did he recommend the mod valuable Treafure 
 he left behind him, his dearly beloved Mother, to his 
 chiefly beloved difciple. 
 
 Now this inftance, I am fure, is no mark of our 
 Blefled Saviour's indifference to his Mother ; but is, 
 on the contrary, an irrefragable proof of his fmgular 
 regard and concern for her, while he eminently diftin- 
 guifhes her from every other. 
 
 AND this anfwer I think to be more than fufficient 
 to her enemies mameful objection ; which, indeed, 
 carries with it fuch a mocking idea, that one may 
 juftly wonder how it could ever enter into the mind 
 and imagination of n O'riftiSn. 
 
 BUT, beiiQcs what has been urged through this Sec- 
 tion, from reafon itfelf, and the obvious refult of our 
 own unprejudiced thoughts on the fubject, in defence 
 of the Blefled Virgin's honour : her pre-eminent and 
 fingulaF prerogatives, fo inconteftably aflerted, if the 
 Angel GABRIEL is to be relied on, who declares them, 
 or the Evangel ift to be credited who records them ; 
 thefe prerogatives, I fay, overpoife every negative ob^ 
 jeftion which wit, difmgenuity or malice can devife, 
 to extenuate her diflinguifhed merits : they are an ag- 
 gravation of the extravagant folly, as well as ingra- 
 titude of the enemies of her name, in attempting it ; 
 and at the fame time become the foundation of our 
 inviolable attachment to he* memory, and an irrefra- 
 gable proof that the ftedfaft confidence, the Catholic 
 Church repofes in her powerful Interceffion, and the' 
 extraordinary devotions ihe has inilituted, and daily 
 
 addreffe*.
 
 Quffmgular Devotion to the, &c. 
 addrefles to this greateft, holieft, and pureft of all 
 creatures, are prudential and entirely regular. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The Prerogatives of the Blejftd Virgin, aforefaid, befpeak 
 our fmgular veneration of and attachment to her ^ and 
 render the extraordinary confidence we repofe in her in- 
 terceffwn^ and our devotions to her difcreet and regular. 
 
 f 'A H AT we ought to refpect every creature whom 
 i Almighty GOD himfelf deigns to diftinguifh with 
 particular tokens of his Divine honour and favour, is 
 a truth, I apprehend, evident from the light of rea- 
 fon ; and which no one will prefume to conteft. Ho- 
 nour, fays the Apoftle, to whom honour is due. Rom. 
 xiii. 7. Upon this principle we pay a deference not; 
 only to Princes, Magiflrates, Mailers, and to all in 
 power, but to every one, whom Almighty GOD has 
 placed above us in any fuperiority of life, either with 
 refpecl to birth or fortune. The great ones of this 
 world fquare their conduct in their political govern- 
 ment by this fame rule, in requiring a homage to be 
 paid to their favourite miniflers and fervants. In this 
 manner Pharaoh honoured the Patriarch Jofeph, and 
 AfTuerus rewarded the fidelity of Mardochai. And it; 
 is found, by conftant experience, that the moft effec- 
 tual way of gaining accefs to the Prince, is to make 
 court to a fervant in favour and power : and, on the 
 other hand, a contempt, or flight of perfons placed 
 in fuperiority, is frequently punifhed in an exemplary 
 manner, both by GOD and Man ; as is known from 
 numerous inflances in the facred Hiftory. 
 
 Now, if any one has the front to deny the BlefTed 
 Virgin to have been the diftinguimed favourite of 
 Heaven : to have been fmgled out, by Almighty GCD, 
 from the whole race of mankind, as the object of his 
 extraordinary honour, favour, and friendfhip ; towards 
 
 the
 
 160 Qurjingidar "Devotion to the 
 
 the ornamenting of whofe amiable foul he had opened 
 the whole treafury of his divine graces: if any one 
 I fay, will dare to difpute her thefe prerogatives, I 
 humbly apprehend that the proofs for them I have 
 produced in the foregoing fection, are fufficient to 
 confute him : and in the mean while, joining the faid 
 premifes with my prefent affertion, that it is incum- 
 bent on us to honour thofe whom Almighty GOD 
 deigns to honour; this being admitted, (which can- 
 not be denied) a refpective veneration of the Blefied 
 Virgin becomes a duty on us not to be difpenfed with j 
 and fuch our veneration ought to be, as to keep pace, 
 in fome degree, with the honours conferred upon her 
 by the Almighty ; that is, we mould endeavour to 
 copy, as near as we are able, the divine pattern, in 
 paying her extraordinary refpect whom Almighty GOD 
 has vouchfafed to diftinguifh with extraordinary and 
 fmgular marks of his grace and favour. To fwerve 
 a tittle from this conduct, is to cenfure the conduct 
 of a fuperior Providence in her regard, and, as it 
 were, to find fault with the diftinctions fhewn her, the 
 profufion of an intxhauftible treafury, and an Almigh- 
 ty, bountiful hand -, which can be nothing lefs than 
 blafphemy : and therefore, even a Proteftant Prelate, 
 Dr. Pearfcn, in his exposition of the Creed, p. 179. 
 could not refrain to avow, " That we cannot bear 
 ' too reverend a regard to the Mother of our Lord, 
 " fo long as we give her not that worfhip which is 
 " due unto the Lord himfelf." 
 
 FROM our aforefaid reafoning, fo juft and indifpu- 
 table, I prefume to conclude that the neglect and 
 flight, the bulk of the Reformers affect to (hew to the 
 Mother of GOD, (not to give it a worfe name) is as 
 unwarrantable, as we think the peculiar veneration the 
 Catholic Church pays to her memory, to be, .irom 
 the faid premifes, entirely difcreet and rational. 
 
 THE firft time the Church had occafion of exerting 
 herfclf with eclat and folemnity in defence of the 
 file fled Virgin's- honour, was, in the fifth century ; 
 
 when
 
 Ble/ed Firgin jujlified. 1 6 1 
 
 when it was invaded by the wicked NESTORIUS con- 
 tefting the prerogative of her Maternity. This im- 
 pious dogma no fooner made its appearance, but the 
 whole Catholic world took the alarm, expreffed their 
 abhorrence of it, evident marks of its being a no- 
 velty till then unheard of, and anathematifed it in the 
 moft folemn manner, in council affembled : the word 
 SOTOK-, meaning Mother of GOD, was adopted on this 
 occafion, fitted to explain the Faith of the Church 
 beyond ambiguity, and to fettle the prerogative of the 
 Bleffed Virgin's Maternity out of difpute. 
 
 HEAVEN itfelf feemed vifibly to intereft itfelf in the 
 Bleffed Virgin's caufe, and to ratify the fentence, the 
 Church had pronounced againft this impious Heretic, 
 by inflicting a judgment upon him correfponding to 
 the nature of his guilt : for, as we are credibly in- 
 formed from ecclefiaftical hiftory, his tongue, which 
 had vomited out his injurious blafphemies againft the 
 Mother of GOD, rotted in his head, v^hile he was yec 
 alive ; GOD testifying, by his temporal execution of 
 his juftice, how jealous he was of his Bleffed Mother's 
 honour. Baronius, Fleury, &c. Hift. Ecclef. 
 
 1 DO not, indeed, charge upon the generality of our 
 modern Reformers the individual blafphemy of this 
 arch- heretic, fo exemplarily punifhed by GOD, and 
 execrated by every good Chriftian : and as for thofe 
 who at leaft, tread fo nearly in his (leps, as to profefs 
 a manifeft difregard to the Bleffed Virgin's memory ; 
 fince her undoubted prerogatives are not prevalent 
 enough to bring them over to her intereft, it cannot 
 be expected that the relation of prodigies, which they 
 may not be inclined to believe, though ever fo credi- 
 bly attefted, will ever effect it. Therefore my fole 
 drift, in introducing this inftance from ecclefiaftical 
 hiftory, is, to (hew, by the vigorous refinance the 
 Church made againft this avowed enemy of the Bleffed 
 Virgin's name, at that early time, howconftant it's at- 
 tachment to her has been at all times ; how uniform 
 k's fentiroents in the Bleffed Virgin's regard, and how 
 X fteady
 
 j6a Ourjinguldr Devotion fo the 
 
 fteady it's zeal in averting her honour, on the lead ap- 
 pearance of an attempt made upon it. 
 
 NOR was this zeal confined 1 to a bare confefflon, and 
 defence of her prerogatives; nor to a Iptculative, 
 fterile admiration of her virtues : fhe has alfo extended 
 it to a dutiful homage of gratitude, which fhe never 
 failed to pay to htr memory ; and to a pious confi- 
 dence in htr powerful intereft and interceffion. 
 
 OF the firft fort, are thofo**repeated Antithefe?, 
 with which the writings of the Holy Fathers abound, 
 between our Mother EVE, as the caufe of our ruin, 
 and the Mother of our Lord, as the happy inftrument 
 of our reparation ; with acts of acknowledgement 
 and thankfgiving for this inerrable bleffing. The fol- 
 lowing extracts are a few, out of a great many of that 
 tenor. 
 
 ST. IREN^US fays, that " as EVE, deponing her- 
 '* fclf refractorily to GOD'S command, became the 
 " caufe of death to herfelf and her pofterity ; fo MARY 
 ' by her refpective obfequioufnefs to the Divine Will, 
 * has been the (inftrumental) caufe of our falvation 
 caufafatfa eftfalutis." St. Iren. lib. 3. c. 33. Again, 
 " fhe was influenced, fays he> to be obedient to GOD 
 ** thereby MARY, a Virgin, becoming an advocate 
 ** for EVE, a Virgin ; fo that, as human race was 
 " brought to ruin by a Virgin, it was faved by a 
 44 Virgin -, the obedience of one balancing the dif- 
 " obedience of the other." St. Iren. lib. 5. c. 19. 
 
 TXRTULLIAN, to the fame purport, fays that 
 " as we were loft by the fex, fo we were reftored by 
 c< it EVE, believing the ferpent, was guilty of Sin ; 
 " MARY, giving credit to the Angel GABRIEL, was 
 " inftrumental to its being cancelled bac credendo 
 * delevit. Tertul. de Cam, Chrift. c. 17. 
 
 And, in fine, St. EPIPHANIUS, to omit many others, 
 
 conformable to the fentiments of the Fathers we have 
 
 juft recited, fays, " Truly, by the BlefTtd Virgin MARY 
 
 " was the world reftored to life IIVE brought death 
 
 K *' upoa
 
 Ele/ed Virgin jujlified. 
 
 cc upon. -us ; MARY brought forth the Source of Life.'* 
 St. -Kpiph. Hsr. 73. 318. 
 
 I. MUST obierve that the expreffions, thefe Fathers 
 make ufe of, in their acknowledgment of their obli- 
 gations to the Hi-fled Virgin, rile to fuch a height of 
 hyperbole-, calling her the caufe of our reparation, 
 and fayi.-ig that ihe cancelled fin, (fo TERTULLIAM 
 above, literally rendered, exprefies himfelt) as would 
 be received with loud outcries and abhorrence, com- 
 ing out of a Catholic mouth, at this time ; and indeed 
 bring taken rigorouQy to the letter, are falfe and 
 blufphtmousj bur as thefe holy Doctors meant them, 
 and as the Catholic Churclvalways underflood them, 
 to Wtt^ that Ihe is the inltrumental caufe ot our repa- 
 iv.riou : that (he is the medium Almighty GOD made 
 ufe of to bring about the great mercy of our Re- 
 demption, and the dcftrucYion of fin, were ftricUy 
 'true ; be caufe me was the Mother of CHRIST, a GOD 
 Incarnate, who was the immediate caufe of our repa- 
 ration, and who effectually cancelled the. whole guile 
 am; debt of fin ; which made St. JEROM fay, that 
 " we rrlp, 61 her as the Author of our Salvation, be- 
 " caufe in receiving from Heaven the Author of her 
 " being and ours, in her womb, (he has given us a 
 *' Redeemer upon earth." St. Hierom. de AlTump. 
 
 THIS ecclaiFci0ement of the elevated fentiments 
 and ipeeches ot the primitive Fathers relatively to the 
 Mother of GOD, as often as they celebrated her tranf- 
 cendant virtues and prerogatives, I judged necefTary, 
 for their vindication and ours ; and I may fay, in be- 
 half of the Bleflkd Virgin herfelf ; becaufe we have to 
 deal with adverfaries who are fond of depreciating her 
 memory at any rate, and are ready to cavil at every 
 thing we offer in defence of fo good a caufe. Having 
 done the BkfTed Virgin and ourfelves this juftice, 1 
 mult now beg leave to obferve further, that to the 
 bill of debt to trie Mother of our Redeemer, for the 
 benefit of our reparation refulting from her,' in the 
 manner we have now fhewn, to which thef eminent 
 X 2 Doctors
 
 1 64 Our Jingular Devotion to tie 
 
 Doctors and lights of the Church nnanimofly fub- 
 fcribed, they have occafionally fubjoined repeated prd- 
 feflions of their undoubted confidence in her powerful 
 intercft, as intercefior for us to the throne of mercy, 
 as is plain from their following fhort and fervent eja- 
 culations, as well as from other pafiages, we have 
 already, and mall prefently cite, in which they fully 
 declare their fentirhents on this head. 
 
 To you have we recourfe, O Blefied amongft Wo- 
 men! cried out the great ORIGEN, who lived in the 
 infant agepf. the Church ; and had he been guilty of 
 any excefs in this point, would certainly have been 
 noted for it by fome of the cotemporary Fathers of 
 the Church, as he was for other errors and exotical 
 opinions. 
 
 INTERCEDE for us, O Miftrefs, Lady, Queen and 
 Mother of GOD, was the affectionate addrefs of thp 
 Catholic Champion, St. ATHANASIUS. 
 
 I THROW myfelf at your feet, was the ejaculation 
 of St. EPHREM. 
 
 SUPPLICATE Almighty GOD to fave our fouls! 
 fighed out, in earneft prayer, the great light pf the 
 'Oriental Church, St. CHRYSOSTOM. 
 
 AND St. AUSTIN with a heart, as it were inflamed 
 and an intire reliance on the intereft of this great Ad- 
 vocatrice in Heaven, addrefTes her in terms that might 
 be liable to cenfure, had he not explained himfelf on 
 other occafions, as he has in what we quoted from him 
 p. 142, 143. " You Oh MARY !'* fays he, " are the 
 " only hopes of fmners (that is thro* JESUS CHRIST) 
 " on your powerful intereft (with GOD, and your Blefled 
 " Son) reft our expectations of an Eternal Crown/* 
 St. Auftin. Serm. 2. de Anunc. 
 
 St. JUSTINA, as St. GREGORY NAZIENZEN informs 
 tis, being affaulted by magical enchantments had re- 
 courfe to GOD, through the inter. ceffion of the BlefTed 
 Virgin, befeeching the Virgin, to be afiiftant to her, a 
 difbeffed virgin, St. Greg. Naz.prat. 1 8, T. i . p. 279. 
 
 ALL
 
 Bk/ed Virgin juftified. 1 6 $ 
 
 ALL thefe ihort afpirations, or ejaculations, plainly 
 declare the entire confidence thefe virtuous and eminent 
 lights of the Church repofed in the Bleffcd Virgin's 
 powerful intereft and interceffion, and were fo many 
 earneft fupplications to her for it, 
 
 To the inflamed afpirations of thefe orthodox Fa- 
 thers of the Church, which difcover the intimate fen- 
 timents of their heart, I beg leave to add the teftimony 
 of a learned man of a latter date ; and though in other 
 refpefbs reprovable, yet a creditable witnefs, in this 
 point, of its being the avowed belief and practice of 
 his Church at that time. 
 
 THE teftimony I am going to produce, is from a 
 fermon of the learned PHOTIUS, the fchifmatic patri- 
 arch of Conftantinople, about the ninth century, deli- 
 vered upon the feaft of the Nativity of the Blefied 
 Virgin, as follows. " But you, O Blefled Virgin, 
 " and alib Mother of the Eternal Word, our pro- 
 " pitiation and refuge interceding for us with your 
 " Son, and our GOD ; and approaching him as our Me- 
 " diatrice, vouchsafe to render us your panegy rifts, 
 " after you have purged us from all filth and blemifh, 
 ? c fit to be admitted to the celeftial nuptials." , 
 
 BUT there can be no ftronger teftimony to the uni- 
 verfal fentiments of the whole body of the Fathers, 
 or rather, of the whole Church, on this head, than 
 the prayer annexed to the angelical falutation " Holy 
 MARY Mother of GOD, pray for us finners now, and at 
 the hour of our death" which, if it was not framed by 
 the Fathers, afiembled in the Council of Ephefus, in 
 order to affert the Blefled Virgin's prerogative, as from 
 tradition has been conftantly fuppofed was, at leaft, 
 adopted by the Church, and in general ufe, among 
 the whole body of the faithful, time immemorial before 
 the epoch of the Reformation. 
 
 THE undoubted truft, the Church conftantly re- 
 pofed in the intereft of the Bleflfed Virgin and the reft 
 of the Saints at the Court of Heaven, was declared in 
 a moft folemn manner, and at a moft foleran time, by 
 
 her
 
 1 66 Our fingular Devotion to the 
 
 her reprefentatives in the fecond Council of Nice, A& vi 
 in the following fhort emphatic fpeech. " Let us 
 "therefore," fays fhe, " have the fear of GOD 
 
 c before our eyes in all we do, (for this effect) fol- 
 
 1 liciting alfo the intercefiion of the ever unfpotted 
 ** Virgin MARY, our Lady, and Mother of GOD, 
 < and of all the Angels and Saints." And though 
 it may perhaps, be objected to this faid Council, 
 that the national Gallican Council of Frankfort, foon 
 after, thro' a miftaken information or a mifapprehen- 
 fion of another Aft of this fecond Nicene Council, con- 
 cerning the veneration of iqiages, demurred for a 
 .while, to that article (which however upon a ftricler 
 recognifance of the matter flie afterwards came into) 
 yet be this as it will, it can be of no prejudice to her 
 decree for invocating the Saints : on the contrary, her 
 boggling exprefsly at the one, till it was cleared up, 
 and her utter filence to the other is a tacit intima- 
 tion of her approving it, and that fhe looked upon 
 it as an uncontroverted practice of the whole Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 ANY greater evidence therefore than this, viz. the 
 voice of the Church by a public declaration of her 
 Council, for the point we have undertaken to maintain, 
 could not I think be required j yet if the teftimony of 
 the fecond Council of Nice be thought of too late a 
 date to be admitted by a Proteftant jury, I will appeal 
 to the firft Nicene Council : For, what that great cham- 
 pion of the Church St. ATHANASIUS, in the faid Coun- 
 cil, has faid upon any point of the Catholic Faith, muft 
 I conceive, be allowed to be the fenfe of her, and her 
 Council : and yet, not more ftrenuous an affcrtor of the 
 Divinity of the Son, than zealous for the prerogatives of 
 the Mother, and her .profefled client, he thus delivers 
 himfelf on this fubject : , " Whereas, fays he, CHRIST, 
 u born of a Virgin, being our King, is alfo our Lord 
 " and GOD ; for this reafon his Mother, who gave 
 tc him birth is truly and properly deemed Queen^ Lady 
 ** and Mother of GOD* This new EVE is ftiled the' 
 
 " Mother
 
 Eleffed Virgin jufttfied. 167 
 
 <c Mother of life, therefore we pronounce her again 
 " and again, and every way Mod Bleffed. To thee we 
 " cry out, Be mindful of us Oh bJeffed Virgin ! who 
 '*' even in your childbirth remained a Virgin, Hail full of 
 *5 grace, the Lord is with thee. Thee the angelical and 
 " terreflrial hierarchies proclaim BleiTed. Eleffed art 
 ** thou among ft women, and Heffed is the fruit of thy 
 " womb. Oh! Miftrefs, Lady intercede for us! 
 '* Queen and Mother of GOD pray for us." Athan. 
 in Serm. Sup. Ev'ang. de Sanctiffima Deipara. 
 
 THUS the great defender of the Catholic Faith in. 
 the firft Council of Nice, St. ATHANASIUS. 
 
 AND the entire confent of the Greek and Latin 
 Churches in this material article, is obfervable from the 
 paffages that are promifcuoufly gathered out of the 
 greateft Lights and Doctors of both of them. 
 
 WHAT were the fentiments of St. AUSTIN on this 
 fubject matter, and how he was affected to this pureft 
 and moft excellent of all creatures, and the entire con- 
 fidence he repofed in her rntereft at the throne of 
 mercy, is to be gathered from the fhort fervent ad- 
 drefies he made to her in particular, which we lately 
 heard, and from, the general one he made to the 
 Bleffed Virgin jointly, with the whole Court of Hea- 
 ven, quoted in the laft chapter, p. 142, 143. But I cart- 
 not forbear clofing the above extracts from him and the 
 other Holy Fathers by giving one paffage at length, 
 generally fuppofed to be St. AUSTIN'S, and is placed 
 among his fermons, Serm. 18. de Sanctis, or, Edit. 
 Lovan. Serm. 2. and though by fome afcribed to St. 
 FULCENTIUS Bilhop of Carthage, who lived in the 
 next century, and was coternporary with St. GREGORY 
 th Greet: yet as he was in high efteem with and 
 much commended by that fupreme PONTIF and Doctor 
 of the Church ; and as he was th^ fcourge of the heretics 
 of his own time, and the principal reftorer of the purity 
 of the Cathoiic Fa th to the Churches of Spain and 
 Africa ; Be- the paffage I am going to produce, St. 
 AUSTIN'S or his, the recited circumilances muft give it 
 
 fo
 
 1 68 Qurjingular Devotion to the 
 
 fo much weight as to render it an aft of the greateft 
 rafhnefs, to object either to it's authority or antiquity. 
 The words, then, are as follow : " Ch bleffed among 
 *' Women! who, knowing no man, yet conceived 
 " man in your womb MARY conceived man by 
 " giving credit to the Angel ; becaufe Eve was the 
 " ruin of man, by liftening to the illufions of the 
 * c ferpent. Oh ! happy obedience Oh ! furprifmg 
 *' operation of Divine Grace. Bleffed Mary! what 
 " fufficient thanks can we return to you, who, by 
 * c your fingle confent, became a feafonable fuccour 
 " to the world that had .perifhed What praifes ihall 
 " our frail nature give you ? fince, by your com- 
 " munication with the Eternal Word, you have open- 
 " ed the way to our recovery from our Ihipwrecked 
 " ftate. Accept, therefore, our acts of thankfgiving, 
 " tho' mean and unequal to your merits -, and, when 
 " you receive our vows, excufe, thro* your intercef- 
 " fion, our failings. Vouchlafe to liften to our 
 ** prayers, and to procure, in return for them, our 
 " happy reconciliation. What we importunately 
 " intrude, thro* you, on the Throne of Mercy, may 
 " it, thro' your intereft, be excufed What we con- 
 *' fidently requeft, by you, may it, by your intercef- 
 * c fion, be obtained. Receive our offerings gra- 
 " cioufly give what we afk ; becaufe you are the only 
 * ' I opes of fmners. c tbro > you we truft in the forgivenefs of 
 " cur fins : on you, Oh ! moft bLefTed among women ! 
 " is our dependance and expeffation of our reward. Holy 
 " MARY ! vouchfafe to fuccour the miferable, fup- 
 ct port the faint-hearted, cheer up thofe that are in 
 " tears, (and affliction) pray for the People (the Laity 
 " in general) interpofe in behalf of the Clergy, (in 
 " particular) intercede for the devout Female Sex r- 
 " Let all who celebrate your facred Feftival, feel the 
 tc effefts of your feafonable aid." St. Auft. Serm. 18. 
 de Sancl. in Med. 
 
 IN this paflage of th* great and holy Doctor, to 
 which foever of the two, St. AUSTIN or St..FuLCEN> 
 
 TIUS,
 
 Virgin juftified. 169 
 
 *rius, it 'belongs, is to be obferved, that the Father 
 plainly afTerts the two points we undertook to prove j 
 to wit) he firft eftablifhes, as an inconteilable truth, the 
 Blefled Virgin's tranfcendant prerogatives ; and, fe- 
 concily, he lays thefe down as the foundation of his 
 undoubted truft in her powerful patronage. Whatfo- 
 ever addrefles the Catholic Church makes to the Mother 
 of GOD, in her Litanies, or any other part of her Li- 
 turgy, at this time, whether by way of honour or fup- 
 plication, I dare be pofitive that they do not rife higher 
 than the nervous and elevated exprefiions of this learned 
 and pious Father ; and as they tally intirely with what 
 we have lately cited from St. ATHANASIUS and the 
 other Lights of the Greek Church, they mew, as I 
 before obferved, the confent of both Churches in this 
 point, or rather they declare the unanimous fentiments 
 of the whole Catholic Church at 'that early age. How 
 different, alas ! from the avowed fentiments of the 
 modern adverfaries of the Blefled Virgin's name ! 
 
 I WAS acquainted with an eminent Proteftant Di- 
 vine, who was not amamed to fay, " That it would 
 * e equally avail him, to pray to his old deceafed mo- 
 * ther, as to invoke the Virgin MARY." The inde- 
 cency of this exprefiion is fo mocking in itfelf, and 
 contemptuous of this cherimed favourite of Heaven, 
 that it is aftoniming how any one could have the af- 
 furance to utter it -, who owned her to be Mother of 
 GOD, and being read in Scriptures, and believing them 
 to be revealed truths, mtift be convinced from them 
 of the Blefled Virgin's other additional prerogatives, 
 and yet, tho* perhaps there may be few who would 
 be fo rafli as to talk the fame Unbecoming language 
 in terms, it is to be feared there are many who, in the 
 main, chime with him in his way of thinking, fo dif- 
 refpectful and injurious to the Blefled Virgin's me- 
 mory. 
 
 BUT while her enemies entertain ideas fo flighting 
 
 and contemptuous of her, and fo prejudicial to them- 
 
 Jfelves, in debarring themfelves the benefit of her pa- 
 
 Y tronage-,
 
 1 70 Our fmgular Devotion to tht 
 
 tronage ; we, on the contrary, declare, with the holy 
 Fathers juft cited. That we have a ftedfaft belief of 
 her great power and intereil in Heaven, and confe- 
 quently thereto, repofe in her an intire confidence, as 
 an in^er eflbr for us to Almighty God. Her perfonal 
 extraordinary prerogatives, fo often commemorated, 
 plead her power : reafon, and felf-love, prompt us 
 to place our dependance on it. For, if the Saints 
 and Angels, who are only the fervants, or bare friends, 
 of GOD, have an undoubted accefs to the Throne of 
 M r~y in our behalf, as we have already {hewn, who 
 will be fo injurious to the Mother of GOD, as to think 
 that {he is kept at a diftance from it ? On the contrary, 
 what intereft they may have by indulgence, feems to 
 be, as it were, the Bleffed Virgin's due, in right of 
 her Maternity. For, what will not the Blefied Trinity 
 grant, at her requeft towards the perfecting our recon- 
 ciliation with his offended juftice, who made the firlt 
 overture to it himfelf, thro' her concurrence, by de- 
 manding her confent to the accomplifhment of the In- 
 carnation of the Eternal Word within her chaflc 
 bowels ? 
 
 ST. AUSTIN, or be he, as fome are pleafcd to fup- 
 pofe, St. FVLGENTIUS, was fo much affeded with 
 this weighty confideration, as not to doubt to {ay, that 
 " by means of this, the Blefied Virgin's fole confenr, 
 " the world, being fettered in the bondage of fin, re- 
 " ceived the firit glimmering hopes of relief from it's 
 " flavrry. Qu<c fingulari ttto affcnfu tmmdo fuccurijii per- 
 " dito" St. Auft. Serm. 18. de SanClis. 
 
 AND, in thefe fentiments, the holy Doclor only 
 fpeaks after St. ELIZABETH, who, divinely infpired, 
 told the Blefied Virgin, Ble/ed art thou, wlo baft be- 
 lieved, becaufe the things ftjall be accompli/bed which were 
 fpcken to thee by the Lord. Luke i. 45. 
 
 IT therefore being fo, we cannot imagine that GOD 
 r?.ri deny this creature any thin'g at her fcqueft, whom, 
 from the beginning, he diftinguiflied by fuch remark- 
 -able tokens- of his f..vo .ir : and, again, fhe who was 
 
 made
 
 BleJJed Virgin juftified. 1 7 r 
 
 made worthy to have the Word Incarnate obfeqiiious 
 to her beck here upon earth, he having been fubjecV 
 and obedient to her, as the Evangelift affures us -, what 
 intereit may not fhe be fuppoied to liave with him, 
 now that he is feated on the right hand of his Eternal 
 Father, in his Throne of Glory and Majefty, f\vay- 
 ing the fceptre of power and univerfal command over 
 Heaven and Earth ? To me is given all power in Hea- 
 ven and Earth. Matt. v. 18. 
 
 IF her will and inclination to ferve us be the point 
 in queftion ; her eminent charity, tranfcending that of 
 the Cherubims and Seraphims, and the \vhole choir 
 of celeflial Spirits, ascertain it beyond all difpute, and 
 prove thefe benevolent difpofitions inhervnt to her in 
 a fuperior degree : therefore the Church, copying 
 after St. AUSTIN and other holy Fathers, does not 
 think me exceeds in filling her " the refuge of finncrs 
 " and Mother of grace and mere.' ;*' not by fuppofing 
 her the author of thefe gifts (as I obferved above ia 
 the third preliminary of this chapter) but by having, 
 thro' her unbounded charity, a prompt will and in- 
 clination to requeft them for us, and as Mother of. 
 CHRIST, who is the fource of grace and mercy, hav- 
 ing an undoubted intereft with him to obtain what 
 fhe requefls. In this fingle title of Mother of GOD, 
 as has been {hewn, all other tides are included and 
 centred ; and therefore the confidence we place in her, 
 retting on this foundation, becomes rational and pru- 
 dential. In more, every proof urged in the laft chap- 
 ter, in vindication of the Invocation cf Saints and. 
 Angels, enforces, in the ftrongeft manner, the reafona- 
 blenefs and lawfulnefs of our add relies to the Bi?fled 
 Virgin j becaufe, as her prerogatives are fo far fupe- 
 rior to thofe of every other Saint and Angel, her in- 
 tereft and charity rile in proportion : And thtrciore 
 the pofition then fettled (that tbe Saints can ferve us 
 (bat they have a will to ferve us , and that therefore it is 
 lawful to requeft tbeir jet-vice] is (till more conciyfive in 
 the -BlelTcd Virgin's regard. 
 
 Y 2 OUR
 
 172 Our fingular Devotion to the 
 
 OUR adverfaries, when they are no longer able to 
 withftand thefe undeniable confequences, attempt to 
 elude the force of them, by having recourfe to their 
 old threadbare fhift, of charging on us excefTes and 
 abufes in the devotions inftituted by the Church, and 
 daily practifed either in honour of the Blefied Virgin's 
 memory, or by way of impetration of her powerful 
 interceffion. What they would mean is, indeed, hard 
 to fay -, but, if any thing, it mull amount to this 
 that thefe devotions are either reprovable in their na- 
 ture and intent, or in the frequency and repetition of 
 them. But the notes we premifed in the beginning of 
 this chapter, effectually obviate and refute this objec- 
 tion under the firft notion j while, from thefe aforefaid 
 premifes, it is evident that we look on the BlefTed 
 Virgin in the fphere and condition of a pure creature, 
 infinitely diftant from GOD : our devotions and peti- 
 tions are directed to her as to a bare interceflbr for us, 
 and have not the leaft tendency of Divine Worfhip. I 
 fay, therefore, under thefe limitations and reftridtions 
 they cannot be reputed illicit, or reprovable in them- 
 felves, and their own nature. 
 
 THE objection under the fecond confideration is 
 equally groundlefs, and even ridiculous , becaufe what 
 is in itfelf lawful, cannot, by a repetition of it, become 
 unlawful ; and therefore if addreffing the BlefTed Vir- 
 gin by one act of devotion or prayer directed to her, 
 Be lawful and regular, by addreffing her ten times in 
 the fame manner, we only fo many times repeat the 
 fame lawful act. 
 
 As often as we approach (trait to the Throne of 
 Mercy, by a prayer immediately directed to GOD him-, 
 felf, as in the Lord's Prayer, we exercife an act of 
 adoration, humiliation, and dependance on GOD, as 
 the Source and Beftower of all Bleffings, fpiritual and 
 temporal ; and, when we addrefs him thro* the BlefTed 
 Virgin, we d<o not thereby pay him lefs thefe divine 
 tributes, which are his peculiar clue as the Author of 
 
 pur-
 
 Bleffed Virgin jujlified. 173 
 
 our being , nor do we prefume to withdraw our im- 
 mediate dependance on his goodnefs and mercy : but 
 we only fubjoin an additional relative honour, by glo- 
 rifying him in the Bleffed Virgin, in confequence to 
 the previous marks of honour and diftinction, he him- 
 felf had conferred upon her. And, laftly, being con- 
 icious of our own unworthinefs, and juftly diftruftful 
 of the fuccefs of our own prayers, we invoke the 
 Bleffed Virgin's power, merits, and mediate intercef- 
 fion to come to our aid : fo that, in fhort, our having 
 recourfe to the Bleffed Virgin does not extenuate our 
 fundamental dependance on. Almighty GOD, but ra- 
 ther heightens our truft in him, through the Bleffed 
 Virgin's powerful mediation. To Almighty GOD we 
 fay, Lord, have mercy on us ; Chrift? have mercy on us, 
 To the Bleffed Virgin, as to the reft of the Saints, 
 fray for us \ intercede for us. Almighty GOD we beg 
 to give us his divine grace the Bleffed Virgin, and 
 the Saints, we defire to requeft it for us. And how 
 agreeable to Almighty GOD is the mediation of the 
 Juft, we have had a proof in the cafe of the friends of 
 JOB, where it was enjoined by Almighty GOD himlelf, 
 and accepted of preferably to their own prayers, hu- 
 miliation and facrifice. How much, then, more agree- 
 able, and likely to prevail, is the intereil and intercef- 
 fion of the Mother of GOD ? And, if fo, why may it 
 not be lawfully coveted and requefted ? 
 
 THE laft objection, of any weight, deferving to 
 come under our notice, and which, if it were fup- 
 ported by the leaft colour of juftice and truth, ought,. 
 rio doubt, to take place, is, that ourdiilinguifhed zeal 
 for the Mother is an encroachment on the honour and 
 prerogative of the Son, as our Mediator between his 
 Eternal Father and us, But, befides that this weak 
 and groundjefs indictment has been, feveral times, 
 over-ruled in the courfe of this Controverfy ; befides 
 that the fpecifk difference, fettled in the preliminaries 
 to this Controverfy, between the mediation of Re- 
 demption
 
 1 74 Cur fmgular Devotion to the 
 
 derr.ption and of pure intercefiion, refutrs this charge at 
 once, and evinces, to a demonftration, that the intcreft 
 of rhc Blefied Virgin no way interferes with the fatif- 
 faclory merits of CHRIST; I beg leave to add, that 
 our fmgular attachment to the Blefled Virgin, and the 
 devotions, the Catholic Church has inftituted in her 
 honour, or for the fake of fupplicating her intercefiion, 
 have a quite different tendency, in their own nature 
 from what our adverfaries mifreprefent them ; and I 
 prefume to think, that, on the other hand, their 
 avowed flight of the Mother is generally followed by 
 a neglect of the Son, tho* difguifed under an affected 
 jealoufy of, and a pretended zeal for his honour. 
 
 THE whole fum of our duty to CHRIST, I appre- 
 hend to confift in thefe three fubftantial" points, 'viz. in 
 believing in him in trufting in bis Merits and obey- 
 ing his Precepts. Now, firft, that our attachment to 
 the Blefled Virgin is no ways deftructive of, or preju- 
 dicial to our firm belief in CHRIST, but rather an en- 
 couragement to it, is mod evident ; b^rcaufe it is 
 grounded on her Prerogatives, which derive all their 
 luftre from CHRIST, and are only, as it were, a re- 
 flection of the glory of the Son to the Mother: for it 
 is thro* our ftedfaft belief of his Divinity, that we 
 refpt-ct and honour the Blefled Virgin, fubminiftring 
 to him herFlt-fh in the accomplifhmcnt of the Myftery 
 of the Incarnation, as Mother of GOD ; and that we 
 fuppofe her to have been favoured with the additional 
 accumulation of graces, already recited, in order to 
 fir her for the fublime ftation to which fhe had been 
 elected. Thr Son is therefore the fundamental caufe 
 of all her Privileges, and the immediate object of our 
 veneration ; and we do not pretend to honour the 
 Mother but with reference to the Son, and in him. 
 ' There is no qu fiion, fays St. JEROM, but whatlb- 
 " ever praile is given to the Mother, it ail redounds 
 " to the Son," St. Jer Ep. ad Kuftochiam. Our de- 
 votion, then, to the Sleffcd Virgin, rather contributes 
 
 to
 
 Ble/ed Virgin ju [lifted. 175 
 
 to ftrengthen our faith in CHRIST, becaufe, on this 
 the other has an efTential dependance. 
 ' HENCE it has been obferved, at all times, that the 
 greateft Lights of the Church, and Champions for 
 CHRIST, have been profefied advocates for the BlefTed 
 Virgin. On the other hand, the enemies of the 
 Church, and of CHRIST, have been avowed enemies 
 of MARY ; and there never were any Heretics, the 
 Collyridians, a fet of delirious women of Thrace, ex- 
 cepted, whofe mad blafphemy the Catholic Church 
 utterly abhors, but, diredly, or indirectly, were ad- 
 verfaries to her name, and impugners of her me- 
 mory. 
 
 OUR confidence in the Blefied Virgin's Intercefiion 
 is much lefs a diminution of our hopes and dependance 
 on CHRIST, becaufe our truft on the one and the other, 
 as has been faid, is fpecifically different ; viz. as of 
 Intercefibr and Redeemer; fo that we apply to the 
 Mother only as a means to attain an eafier accefs to the 
 Son, and to fccure a participation of his infinite Merits 
 and Sufferings, thro* her powerful intereft. 
 
 AND, laftly, a devoted attachment to the Blefied 
 Virgin's fervice is fo far from being an obftruclrion to 
 the obfervance of Divine Precepts, and the practice of 
 Evangelical virtues ordairied and recommended by 
 CHRIST, that it is manifestly a help to thefe definable 
 and neceflary purpofes, and a fpur to the execution of 
 fubftantial duties. The principal Feftivals, and mod 
 folemn Devotions inftituted in her honour, have a re- 
 lation to fome circumftance of the Incarnation, and of 
 our Redemption. Of the firft are the Feafts of her 
 Annunciation, Purification,^. Among the inftances 
 of the fecond is the Devotion of the Rofary, which is 
 a commemoration of all the doleful and joyful Myf- 
 teries : The Ailbciation for obtaining a happy death, 
 another ; the defign and drift wrureof is to promote a 
 pious and aflured confidence in the merits of our dying 
 Saviour, thro* the powerful intercefTion of his dolo- 
 rous Mother, towards procuring us the happy paf- 
 
 fage
 
 176 Ourjingular Devotion to the 
 
 fage (it fo much interefts us to wifh for) out of time 
 into eternity. 
 
 THE other afTociations and confraternities, creeled 
 in her honour, approved and confirmed by the Church, 
 are fo many particular nurferies of all kind of virtue *, 
 where a true and folid piety is inculcated : the practice 
 of a ftricter difcipline, and the advancement of the 
 caufe of GOD and Religion, is folely attended to. And 
 it is remarkable, that among all the Sons of the 
 Catholic Church, there are none who are tied down to 
 ftricter regulations, and are bound to act more con* 
 formably to the precepts of CHRIST, and the rules 
 of the Gofpel, than the members of thofe feveral af- 
 fociations and inftitutes erected and dedicated in the 
 Blefled Virgin's name. 
 
 THESE obfervations I apprehend, clear up the fmgu* 
 lar attachment, the Catholic Church profefles to the 
 Blefled Virgin's memory, beyond cavil or reply, and 
 vindicate it fully from all the odious alperfions and 
 groundlefs impeachments of her virulent enemies. 
 
 AND now, in order to give my reader the fum and 
 iubflance of our prefent defence of this rightful and 
 truly laudable caufe, in one fingle view, I beg leave to 
 clofe it with a fhort recapitulation of the whole. 
 
 THE rule then, aforefettled for our addrefies, whe- 
 ther of honour or fupplication to this Favourite of 
 Heaven, is our warrant and direction', to wit, Al- 
 mighty GOD himfelf vouchfafed to honour the Blefled 
 Virgin : this we look upon as an intimation to us of 
 it's being his Divine Will, that we fhould honour and 
 relpect her, and becomes itfelf alone, both a reafon 
 that juftifies, and a law injoining us this conduct, not 
 only relatively to the Blefled Virgin, but to every 
 creature, who is known to have been the peculiar object 
 of the Divine regard, according to that of the Apoftle, 
 Rom. xiii. 9. Honour to ivbom honour is due. Again, 
 Almighty GOD has diftinguiihed the Mother of the 
 Word Incarnate with extraordinary and fmgular marks 
 
 of
 
 ~Bleffed Virgin juftifed. 177 
 
 6f his honour and favour, above every creature what- 
 foever, whether man or Angel : from hence all the 
 regard we can mow her, within the condi:ion of a 
 Creature, and fo as not to intrench on the Divine 
 Worfhip, derives it's fanftion ; muft be deemed to be 
 recommended to us from the Almighty himfelf , and 
 therefore as Dr. Pearfon, aforecited, has avowed, 
 becomes her jndifputable right. From thefe folid con- 
 fiderations arife our elevated idea of her fuperior and 
 unparalleled prerogatives ; on this foundation we pay 
 a profound regard to her memory : we become earneft 
 fupplicants for her prayers, and upon a well grounded 
 belief of her tranfcendant Charity, which renders her 
 willing to ferve us , and of her great power in Hea- 
 ven, which enables her to ferve us, we repofe an af- 
 fured confidence in her intereit at the throne of Mercy v 
 yet barely, as a Mediatrix of interceffion for us : which 
 therefore we think intirely regular, no ways derogatory 
 to the fupreme homage, that is due to GOD alone, 
 nor injurious to CHRIST, as our Mediator of Re- 
 demption. 
 
 LET then her adverfaries attempt' to difcredit her as 
 much as they pleafe ; their calumnies can be no pre- 
 judice to the Blefled Virgin's caufe; their inveterate 
 fplecn, affedted difingenuity, and ftudied cavils, mall 
 only contribute to ftimulate the zeal of every true fon 
 of the Catholic Church, and faithful client of the 
 Blefled Virgin, to undertake her defence with more 
 vigour, to arTert her rightful prerogatives againft every 
 opponent, and to repofe an undoubted confidence in 
 her powerful patronage. Therefore, in the fupplica- 
 ticn of the Church, we will inceflantly call upon her 
 to be. aiding to us in our necefiities. :" To thy help 
 '(that is to your patronage and interceffion) we have 
 recourfe, Oh! Mother of GOD." With the Church 
 alfo we will daily requeft, that Ihe will deign to accept 
 from us (finners as we are) her juft encomiums and 
 praifes, and enabls us to tight her battles againft the 
 Z oppugns rs
 
 178 Concerning the Veneration 
 
 oppugners of her Blefied name Voucbfafe me to praife t _ 
 thee. Oh ! [acred Virgin ; give me force againft thins 
 enemies. Thus powerfully fecondec, we doubt not 
 to fee the zeal of the Catholic Church, for the Blrffed 
 Virgin's honour, prevail, in fpite of malice and calum- 
 ny : to hear MARY for ever Bleffed, as (he herfelf has 
 prophefied, through all generations : her caufe every 
 where triumphant ; her clients rejoiced thereat, and 
 fully comforted* and her enemies confounded. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 <ke Catholic article of faith, concerning the lawfulnefs 
 of venerating the Saints Relicks y and thsir Pittttre* 
 and Images covftdered. 
 
 ANOTHER part of the Catholic Worfhip, re- 
 latively underftood, according to the explana- 
 tions and reftrictions hereafter mentioned, is the vene- 
 ration of the Relicks of Saints, and of their Pictures 
 and Images, and is only a corollary to the precedent 
 Article of the Veneration and Invocation of the Saints 
 themfelves. For if a rtfpective honour be lawfully 
 given to them, and is their undoubted due, (which is 
 what we have evinced in the foregoing controverfy) 
 a relative refpect payable to their Relicks and to the 
 pious memorials of their perfons and virtuous actions, 
 Seems but to follow from it as a natural confequence 
 from its premifes ; and, as a type, is to be refpected 
 for the fake of its original. And there are inftancesto 
 be produced from human and domeftic life in fupport 
 of this practice. ; 
 
 THUS it is cuftomary for a perfon to cherifh the 
 dear remains of a deceaied parent or friend, and he 
 willingly retains a picture, or any thing that is a re- 
 vival of his memory. Yet as agreeable as the Catho- 
 lic practice of refpecting the pious emblems of the 
 Saints, is to good fenfe and general ufage, in thefe 
 
 fimi-lar
 
 cf Relicks and Figures. 1 79 
 
 fimilar occurrences of common life, it is one of the 
 principal articles of impeachment, which o'ur adver- 
 faries affect to lodge againft the Catholic Church, 
 under the odious denominations of the fopperies of 
 Popery and a fuperflitious wo'rfhip. And, indeed, wasr 
 our Doctrine in this, as well as in other points, to 
 ftand or fall by their mifreprefcntations of it, it might 
 come within their indictment; but, if truth be to 
 prevail, we flatter ourfelvts to be as far out of the 
 reach of it, and in as little danger of luffering from 
 their cavils and (landers in this, as in any other point 
 of the Catholic Faith. 
 
 BUT, before we fct forth the genuine belief of the 
 Church on thus head, and fay what it is, it may be 
 proper to declare what it is not, and to proteft againft; 
 our adverfaries mifreprcfeniations of it. 
 
 THEREFORE, firft, we declare that we do not ac- 
 knowledge any intrinfic virtue inherent to the Relicks 
 of the Saints, much lefs to their Pictures and Images, 
 as is by our adverfaries ridiculoufly and wrongfully 
 fuppofed, or rather malicioufly impofed upon us. 
 
 SECONDLY, we deny and abjure any honour abfo- 
 lutely due to them in themfelves; and therefore the 
 charge of idolatry or iuperftition, which can only 
 refult from a worfhip thus circumftanced, is unjuft, 
 falfe, and fcandalous. 
 
 WHAT then, we believe and maintain in this point, 
 is, that there is a relative honour due to the Saints 
 Relicks and Pictures ; that is, an honour directed to 
 the Saints themfelves, reipecting, as I faid before, the 
 type for the fake of the original, and ultimately termir 
 nating in Almighty GOD, and centring in him, ac- 
 cording to the doctrine of the Church, fufrkiently 
 declared and explained in the foregoing controversy. 
 
 IN this limited and relative fenle we hold the Ca- 
 tholic tenet of the Veneration of the Saints HeljcJiS, 
 and of their Pictures and Images, to be 
 
 FIRST, Nothing againft Scripture, nor forbid by 
 te Divine Precepts. 
 
 2 ? >ECONDLl'.,
 
 180 The Veneration of 
 
 SECONDLY, That there are many precedents from 
 the Revealed Writings to juftify it. 
 
 THIRDLY That, much lefs is it repugnant to good 
 fcnfe and reafon. 
 
 AND laftly, That it is a worfhip, authorifed and 
 warranted by the practice of the primitive ages of the 
 Church. 
 
 FOR the fake of method and perfpicuity, we will 
 difcufs the two members of this article (the Veneration 
 of Relicks and Pictures) feverally, beginning with the 
 firft. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The Veneration of the Rehcks 'of the Saints is not contrary 
 to the Word of GOD, nor to reafon ; and has the 
 warrant of antiquity , or primitive pr office , to plead 
 f.rit. 
 
 POSSESION is faid to comprehend eleven points 
 of the Law , becaufe it is admitted to give a 
 prefcriptive right to any tenure, barring a prior title 
 made clear and indifputable. In virtue of this prefcrip- 
 tive right, the practice of the Veneration of Relicks^ 
 among the reft of the articles of the Catholic Church, 
 contefted by our adverfaries, ought to fubfift ; and 
 the lawfulnefs of it be allowed, unlefs juft caufe why 
 it mould be laid afide, can be produced; fuch as is 
 clear Scripture againfl it, or manifeft inconveniences, 
 appearing to refult from the practice. And, that our 
 adverfaries have failed in thefe feveral pleas, is what I 
 now take upon me to prove. 
 
 THEY, indeed, pretend to conclude a Divine for- 
 biddance of the Veneration of Relicks, from a fuppofed 
 reproof our blefled Saviour gave the Scribes and Pha- 
 rifees, for building and adorning Sepulchres to the 
 memory of their Prophets, Matt, xxiii. But it is evi- 
 dent from the drift of the whole chapter, tK'at it was 
 
 not
 
 Relic ks jufttfied, &c. 181 
 
 not the fpecific act of paying honour to the monuments 
 of thofe deceafed faithful fervants of GOD, which our 
 bleffed Lord found blameable, but the hypocritical 
 difpofition and corruption 'of their hearts, accompa- 
 nying this outward mow of devotion, which he in- 
 veighed againft and reproved : to wit, they affected to 
 honour the memory of their Prophets, and to cele- 
 brate their couragious fufferings in defence of Truth, 
 at the fame time that they were actually oppofing them- 
 felves to the Fountain of Truth, and were tranicribing 
 the deeds of the enemies of Truth into their own 
 lives, by treading clofely in > their footiteps, by perfe- 
 cuting with a fimilar inveteracy and hatred, the Lord 
 of .Prophets : and therefore our Blefled Lord imme- 
 diately prophetically added, And do you alfo Jill up the 
 yieafure of your fathers iniquity. This counterfeit d$- 
 votion then, and miflaken religion, our Bleffed Sa- 
 viour juftly condemns, and fo does every true mem- 
 ber of the Catholic Church ; which cannot any way 
 prejudice a well ordered Veneration of the Relic ks of the 
 Saint^ in the manner it is efpoufed by the Catholic 
 Church , confifting in a due honour and refpect paid 
 to their memories : a commemoration of their virtues 
 and glorious actions while on earth, and a pious emu- 
 lation of them, and a defire of imitating them , to 
 which defirable purpofes, the fight of thefe holy re- 
 mains of the Saints ferve as a memorial, and as a fpur 
 and incentive. 
 
 THE Reformers pretend to difcover another implicit 
 forbiddance of the Catholic practice, from the provi- 
 dential concealment of MOSES'S body from the Jews, 
 after his deceafe. But it is incumbent upon them, in 
 order to give weight to this fact, fo as to render it fer- 
 vviceable to their purpoie, to make it appear to have 
 been defigncd, either as a divine difapprobation of any 
 degree- of religious honour^ to be given to this Prophet's 
 body -, or if directly intended to prevent a Divine 
 Worihip, they mult prove in this particular, the 
 
 Catholic
 
 The Veneration of 
 Catholic practice to be fuch. But, we apprehend 
 both horns of this dilemma to be faulty, or too 
 fhort to reach us. And, firft, that the fact was not 
 defigned as a token of Almighty GOD'S difapproba- 
 tion of every kind of religious honour, but barely to 
 prevent a Divine Worjhip^ is evident from feveral cir- 
 cumilances. 
 
 THE fuperlative fuperftition of the people of Ifrael, 
 and their violent propenfion to idolatry, is to be ga- 
 thered from almoft every page of the Sacred Hiftory. 
 This fuppofed,x there was an apparent and imminent 
 danger, if the remains of that great Lawgiver had 
 continued among them, that the remembrance of his 
 wonderful actions, and a falfe refpect, or a miftaken 
 gratitude, might have attracted to him divine honours 
 from this felf- blinded, wilful people : The body being 
 tranflated, by the miniflry of Angels, to an unknown 
 place, this mifchief was effectually prevented, 
 
 ST. JUDE, in his Catholic Epiftle, does not ob- 
 fcurely infmuate this prefumption, hinting at a content 
 tion between St. MICHAEL and Satan, about this great 
 Prophet's body : the latter, being earneft to have it 
 within knowledge and view to the people of Ifrael, as 
 ,an occafion to them, and object of idolatry; the 
 other, as has been faid, by the divine appointment, 
 transferring it out of fight or knowlege, to prevent 
 ihis great evil. 
 
 BUT no evil or irregularity of this nature can, with 
 any colour of truth or juftice, be charged on the Ca- 
 tholic practice of venerating the Relicks of Saints. 
 We do not even venerate the Saints themfelves, but 
 with an honour barely religious, of an inferior na- 
 ture, much lefs their aihes or their relicks -, therefore, 
 as I juft faid, neither horn of the dilemma reaches us, 
 nor does any hurt to the Catholic caufe : and this ob- 
 jection, on the whole, is as inconclufivc as the for- 
 mer.
 
 Rettcks jujlfod, &c, 183 
 
 BUT while our adverfaries are utterly deftitute of 
 arguments from Scripture againft this Catholic prac- 
 tice, we flatter ourfelves to be able to produce incon- 
 teflable precedents, from the Sacred Hiftory, in de- 
 fence of it. 
 
 IN the Book of Kings, c. xiii. v. 21. -we read of a 
 dead man raifed to life by being placed contigu- 
 ous to the bones of the Prophet ELISHA. In the Acts 
 of the Apoftles, c. xix. v. 12. we are informed that 
 handkerchiefs and aprons which had touched the body 
 of St. PAUL, were operative of wonderful cures among 
 the fick, and were efficacious in expelling evil fpirits 
 from pofleffed perfons : therefore the dead remains of 
 ELISHA, and the aprons and handkerchiefs which had 
 touched St. PAUL, were, certainly, to thofe perfons 
 who had received benefit from them, and to others 
 who might have been defirous of partaking of the like 
 benefit, objects of refpect and veneration : and, by 
 their making ufe of them in order to procure the 
 wanted relief, 'tis plain that they entertained a truft of 
 their being, by the will of GOD, conducive to this de- 
 firable effect And whereas Almighty GOD bleffed 
 their pious faith with prefent and moft miraculous 
 cures, he thereby mewed he approved of it. 
 
 I CANNOT pafs over, in filence, one memorable in- 
 ftance ; which, tho* not referring to the Relicks of 
 GOD'S fervants, but to thofe of his Bleffed Son, CHRIST 
 himfelf, is equally pertinent to our fubject, and con- 
 clulive ; fince both the Relicks of CHRIST himfelf, as 
 well as thofe of the Saints, are equally excluded by 
 the Reformers from being the object of religious wor- 
 fhip ; and yet, in the cafe we are going to confider, it 
 has the warrant of CHRIST'S exprefs approbation. 
 
 IN the ninth chapter of St. Matthew, v. 21, &c. we 
 read of a woman, who, having been afflicted fome 
 years with a bloody flux , when the ftubbornnefs of 
 her diftemper had baffled all the endeavours of human 
 art; animated by the fame of the miraculous cures 
 
 our
 
 1 84 31k Veneration of 
 
 our BlefTed Saviour had wrought, flie refdlved to have 
 recourfe to this Divine Phyfician ; fhe accordingly gave 
 a diligent look out for him : fhe meets him in the 
 public ftreets, and tho* furrounded with fuch a throng 
 of people, that me defpaired of getting free accefs to 
 his perfon, yet, full of faith, fhe faid within herfelf, 
 If I /hall but touch his garment, IJhall be healed, Matt. 
 ix. 2 1 . She accordingly made her way through the 
 crowd j me did touch his garment, and what was the 
 coniequence ? Did our Blefled Saviour reprove her for 
 indulging an idle fancy, or a fuperftitious credulity ? 
 No, he turned to her, and faid, Be of good heart, 
 daughter, thy faith hath made tkce iuhck, Ibid. ver. 22. 
 and effectually, in that inftant, as the Evangelift in- 
 forms us, virtue flowed from him, and the infirm 
 party found herfelf moft miraculoufly and perfectly 
 cured. 
 
 Now, in confequence to thisifcriptural and unde- 
 niable fact, I beg leave to put one plain queftion : 
 Had this fame woman, or any other labouring under 
 a like lingering diforder, when our Blefled Saviour 
 was raifed up on the Crofs, or when laid even in the 
 Sepulchre, (there being no poflible accefs to his fa- 
 cred Perfon) had, I fay, fhe faid then, as fhe did on 
 this other occafion, If I can but get to touch his gar- 
 went, lying at the foot of the Crofs, I doubt not but I 
 (hall be healed ; would fuch an inward perfuafion within 
 herfelf have been more irregular, prefumptuous, or 
 reprovable in this, than it was in the prior circum- 
 ftances ? In the firft we have heard our Blefled Saviour 
 giving his approbation of the'woman's faith, and re- 
 warding it with a prefent cure : the faith in both cafes 
 would have been fpecincally the fame, grounded on a 
 iledfaft belief of a divine virtue flowing from CHRIST'S 
 Perfon, tho' communicated by the means of a bare 
 touch of his garment ; therefore we mud conclude, 
 that the faith in both one and the other would have 
 been equally lawful and commendable. 
 
 THIS
 
 Relicks jujllfed, &c. 1 85 
 
 THIS example makes good the third proof I un- 
 dertook to produce in favour of the Catholic practice, 
 it's reafonablenefs and agreeablenefs to good fenfe ; 
 which, however, are further enforced from the fol- 
 lowing reflections. 
 
 AND, firft, with regard to thofe things which ap- 
 pertained to CHRIST'S Perfon, as his Cloaths ; or 
 which had any relation to him, as the Crofs, Nails, 
 and other inftruments of his facred Paffion ; whether 
 confidered as the material caufe of our Redemption, 
 refulting from them, or as memorials of that ineffable 
 mercy , it furely cannot be deemed repugnant to good 
 fenfe or reafon, to pay a relative honour to them, under 
 that confideration ; according to the explanations and 
 meaning fo often fettled and repeated ; at leaft I am 
 confident it is highly agreeable to pious fenfe, and be- 
 coming every one to fet an ineftimable value on them, 
 being thus fanctified by CHRIST'S facred Perfon, at 
 this ever memorable time. 
 
 SECONDLY, As to the Relicks of the Saints, the 
 Martyrs, Penitents, ConfefTors, and the Servants of 
 GOD of every clafs, diflinguiihed by their eminent 
 virtues, what are they elfe but fo many trophies of 
 the glorious victories they gained over the Flefh, the 
 World, and the Devil ; and fo many incentives to 
 trace their footfteps, and to emulate their heroic at- 
 chievements ? Under the firft view, they become the 
 objects of our admiration and pious contemplations ; 
 in the other, they are productive of the moft defirable 
 advantage to us, by ftimulating and forming us to 
 the practice of every Chriftian virtue : in both refpects 
 the devotion is perfectly confonant to good fenfe, pro- 
 fitable and commendable. 
 
 IF we look on the Saints in another light, viz. in as 
 much as they were, during their mortal pilgrimage 
 on earth, the living temples of the HOLY GHOST, in 
 whom he deigned to inhabit, and to honour them 
 with his fpecial Prefence, by his fanctifying Grace. If 
 A a we
 
 1 86 The Veneration of 
 
 we view them again, in the clofe of their career, 
 becoming devoted victims to the caufe of GOD and his 
 Church, by laying down their lives in the defence of 
 it. If, laftly, we contemplate them as now arrived 
 into the port of reft from all their labours and fuflfer- 
 ings, and their fouls, the better part of their human 
 iabrick, in actual poffeffion of an everlafting, unpe- 
 rifhable crown, the juft reward of their Uithlul ier- 
 vices: thefe are fo many reaions to juftify, and mo- 
 tives to recommend to us a refpective veneration of 
 their bodies, their other part, which having been in- 
 dividual companions in all the conflicts, hardfliips and 
 fuffcrings of human life, are doomed to be, at the Re- 
 iurrection, fharers and copartners in Glory. 
 
 GOD required of MOSES and JOSHUA, Exod. iii. 
 Jof. v. to pull off their fhoes out of refpect to the 
 ground they ftood upon, being fanctified by his own 
 prt fence, or that of his Angels. Why therefore may 
 not we why mould not we rather pay a fimilar re- 
 fpect to the facred duft and afhes of the Saints bodies, 
 in which Almighty GOD had taken, heretofore, fuch 
 a fingular complacency, and had fanctified by the 
 fpecidl pre fence of his holy grace ? add to thefe ra- 
 tional preemptions, in behalf of the Catholic prac- 
 tice, that Almighty GOD has teftified by the miracles 
 above recited, and others we fhall have occafion of 
 mentioning hereafter, wrought by virtue of thefe pre- 
 cious remains of his faithful fcrvants, how agreeable 
 it is to his Divine Majefty that we fhould pay a relative 
 fefpect to them. 
 
 IN effect, all thefe reafons appeared fo cogent and 
 conclufive to the primitive Fathers of the Church, for 
 the Veneration of Relicks, that, when VIGILANTIUS, 
 jin Hereliarch of the fourth century, prefumed to decry 
 the holy practice, the attempt was received by the 
 whole Church with the utmoit deteftation and abhor- 
 rence, and anathematifed as an audacious innovation 
 till then unheard of. 
 
 ST. 

 
 Relic ks juftified, &c. ' 187. 
 
 Sr. JEROM particularly diftinguifhed himfelf, in 
 defence of the Catholic practice, againft this upftart 
 oppugner of it. His own words will bcft declare his 
 real fentiments, and fincere regard for one, and his 
 abhorrence of the other. " VIGILANTIUS, fays he y 
 " fights with the unclean fpirit, againft the Spirit of 
 " CHRIST, by aflerting that the tombs of Martyrs 
 " are not to be reverenced." Lib. cont. Vigilan. And 
 again, et The Devils, with which VIGILANTIUS is 
 44 polfeffed, roar at the Relicks, and confefs they 
 " cannot bear the prefence of the Martyrs all the 
 " Bifhops in the world are againft him." Lib. conr. 
 Vigilan. And, in the fifty-third epiftle, he writes 
 thus " You tell me that VIGIL ANTUS vomits once 
 " more his poilbn againft the Relicks of Martyrs ; 
 '* calling us duft-worihipers, and idolaters; for wor- 
 " fliiping dead mens bones. O unhappy Mm ! who 
 *' can never be fufficiently lamented." 
 
 FROM what this holy Father has faid, in the ma- 
 nagement of this controverfy with his antagonift, there 
 occur two obvious remarks Firft, that what were 
 the fentiments of VIGILANTIUS on the fubject of 
 Veneration of Relicks, which St. JEROM anathe- 
 matifed as heretical, and treated with the utmoft in- 
 dignation, are the identical fentiments and opinion of 
 the Reformers at this prefent time. 
 
 SECONDLY, that what this holy Father oppofed to 
 them then, as the unanimous and orthodox doctrine of 
 the Church, is the fime which the Cithoiic Church 
 makes profeffion of and teaches now: therefore, St. 
 JEROM being our judge, we are cleared, our ene- 
 mies condemned, the Catholic Doctrine declared the 
 Doctrine of the whole Church at that early time of 
 day, (" all the Bifhops in the world are againft him," 
 St. JEROM above) and the opposition cenfured and 
 anathematiled as heretical. Attcr fo ample and ex- 
 plicit a teftimony, I might fpare myfelf the trouble of 
 :;ng any of this primitive Father's cotemporaries. 
 
 A a 2 THAT
 
 1 88 ?be Veneration of &c." 
 
 THAT the fendments of St. AMBROSE, and St. AUS- 
 TIN, were entirely conformable to his, will appeal- 
 hereafter, from the recital of miracles, which we mail 
 have occafion of quoting from them, to have been 
 wrought by virtue of the Saints Relicks, which they 
 declare themfelves to have been eye-witneJTes of. 
 
 HOWEVER, THEODORET, a Greek Father of the 
 fame age, is fo explicit on the fubject, that I cannot 
 forbear clofing with him thefe venerable testimonies. 
 " Cities and villages," fays he, " dividing among 
 " themfelves the bodies of the Martyrs, efteem them 
 " their guardians, and the protectors and phyficians 
 " both of their fouls and bodies for, though the 
 " body be divided, the bleffing is not; but is boun- 
 " tifully diftributed according to the faith with which 
 " it is approached." Theod. lib. 8. cont. Grsec. T. 4. 
 
 597> 594- 
 
 THIS, now, is fo full an atteftation of the Catholic 
 practice fubfifting in thofe early times, that no ftronger 
 proof can be expected. If need, I could trace it from 
 the Apoftles ; but what, for brevity's fake, I pafs over, 
 the curious reader may, for his further fatisfaction, 
 meet with, in a full magazine of teftimonies in every 
 controvertift who has treated profefiedly on the fub- 
 ject ; or if he chufes to go higher, he need but con- 
 fult the learned Greek ficclefiaftical Hiftorian, EUSE- 
 BIUS, of the fourth century, where he will be informed 
 .among other inftances, how the facred bones and allies, 
 of the holy Martyrs, IGNATIUS, and POLYCARP, dif- 
 ciples of the Apoftles themfelves, were treafured up, 
 and a religious honour paid to them by their refpective 
 Churches and Congregations. 
 
 BUT, as felicitous as we have been, to prove anti- 
 quity on our fide, in the prefent debate, yet we ftill 
 have made no advance towards confuting a modern 
 fkeptic, and thofe of his way of thinking, who avow- 
 ing thtir fentiments, are pleafed to reject their evi- 
 dence j unlefs we can mew juft reafQn, why it fhould 
 be admitted.
 
 of the, &c. 189 
 
 IN order to make good this plea, I muft be obliged 
 to trefpafs on my reader with another fection on the 
 prefent fubject. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 A profecution of the fubjeft, with a 'vindication of the 
 primitive Fathers, as vouchers to this, and every Catho- 
 lic DoSfrine oc c ajioned from a late writer calling their 
 credit in queftion y and rejecting their evidence. 
 
 AS we have been free of our citations from the 
 primitive Fathers, both in the prefent and the 
 preceding controverfies, in fupport of the Catholic 
 fide of the queftion ; it might be wondered at, if I 
 were to s take no notice of the exceptions, a modern 
 fkeptic has made to thefe venerable evidences* 
 
 THIS was the late Dr. Conyers Middleton, who in 
 his free Inquiry into the Miraculous Powers, leaving 
 the beaten track of his friends, of contefting the anti- 
 quity of the Catholic Tenets, Rites, and practices, 
 has gone another way to impugn them, which is, 
 to invalidate the teftimonies of their moft ancient 
 vouchers. 
 
 OUR Tenets, &c. he allows to be of long (landing: 
 the Fathers of thofe primitive ages, he acknowledges 
 to have been abettors of the refpective Tenets, &V. 
 St. CHRYSOSTOM, JEROM, AUSTIN, by name, whom 
 he frankly confefles to have taught, practifed, and re- 
 commended feveral Dogmas and Rites, now Popilh, 
 and rejected by Proteftants as Unfcriptural, Superfti- 
 tious and Idolatrous. Poftfcr. to his Proteft. Antag. 
 He moreover owns that they produce numerous mira- 
 cles in confirmation of the fame. Introd. p. 76. But 
 then how does he go about to juftify his rejecting 
 Tenets, &fr. confeffed fo ancient, and to withftand the 
 evidence of miracles for them fo well attefted ? 'Tis 
 foreign to my purpofe to run thro' all that the Doctor 
 advances under the name of an argument, in fupport 
 of his wild oppofition j his exceptions, in general, to 
 
 the
 
 190 A Vindication of the 
 
 the exigence of the Miraculous Powers in the Church, 
 we (hall have occafion of examining in its proper place, 
 c.ix. feel:. 3. his main objection, affecting the prtfent con- 
 troverfy, and on which he lays a particular ftrefs, con- 
 lifts of two members the firlt, That the alledged 
 miracles were brought as evidences to fome Catholic 
 Doctrine, or Inftitution, which he thinks, upon Re- 
 formation Principles, to be erroneous. Ibid. Among 
 feveral examples, he inftances it with refpect to the 
 point we have juft been confidering, the Veneration of 
 Relicks The fecond member of his objection is, the 
 infufficiency of their vouchers His argumentation, 
 on behalf of the firft, is to the following effect. 
 
 MIRACLES, fays he, were attefted to have been 
 wrought by the means of Relicks, which gave a fanction 
 to, and promoted the veneration which was paid to 
 them . But this practice he thinks fuperftitious : There- 
 fore the alleged miracles, in fupport of them, he con- 
 cludes to be fpurious and counterfeit. The major, or 
 firft propofition, is one of the Catholic proofs we have 
 dwelt upon above, for the lawfulnefs of the practice. 
 The minor, or fecond propofition, which is wholly 
 Proteftant, begs the queflion, becaufc it fuppofes the 
 practice to be fuperftitious, which is the point to be 
 proved : and therefore the confequence inferred from 
 if, goes alfo a begging, and is inconclufive. 
 
 THE fame way of arguing was juft as good in the 
 mouth of the Jew and Infidel, againft the [Miracles of 
 our BlefTed Saviour, and of his Apoftles. Our Bleffed 
 Lord urged to the Jews the figns and miracles he 
 wrought, as evidences to his Divine Miffion, or to his 
 being their MelTiah. The Jews perverfely refufed to 
 acknowledge him in that capacity : and therefore, as 
 a cover to their obftinacy, were conftrained to blaf- 
 pheme his miracles, overlooking the hand of GOD, fo 
 confpicuous in them, and imputing them to a diabo- 
 lical virtue. In the lame manner, afterwards, the In- 
 fidel argued againft the miracles of the ApolUes. The 
 Apoilolic miracles were operated in confirmation of the 
 
 Cliriftiaa
 
 primitive Father -s, See. 191 
 
 Chriftian Law, which they preached to the Infidel 
 nations but rrany of them could not prevail on them- 
 felvts to fubmit to the Law ; therefore were alfo necef- 
 fitated to reject the miracles which were it's evidences, 
 as the productions rather of magic, or a diabolical than 
 of a Divine power. 
 
 Now whether thefe feveral argumentation^ the 
 Doctor's, againft the point in queftion, and the Jew's 
 and Infidel's againft the miracles of CHRIST and his 
 Apottles, are not exactly parallel, I fubmit to the 
 judgment of the candid reader j both one and the 
 other rejecting the refpective evidences upon the fame 
 grounds ; to wit, becaufe they became an atteflation 
 of what they were not inclined to believe. 
 
 THE fecond member of the Doctor's objection to 
 the faid miracles, the pretended infufficiency of their 
 vouchers, remains ftill to be examined. And to befure, 
 with refpect to thofe who live at a diftance of time from 
 thefe evidences, that is, who come after the miracles were 
 wrought, a further proof of the truth of them may be 
 expected ; and this can be no other, as it is the object 
 of human faith, than the credit of their vouchers. 
 
 THESE to the miracles of CHRIST and his Apoftles, 
 are the holy Scriptures, whofe authority is admitted 
 by Chriftians of all fects and denominations ; and, 
 being believed to be of Divine Infpiration, render the 
 Truths they deliver the objects of Divine Faith : to 
 the miracles of fucceeding ages, as they are, I fay, bare 
 objects of human faith, are the cotemporary Fathers 
 attefting them, whofe credit has been eftablifhed,. and 
 never Icrupled till now lately, that Dr. Middleton 
 thought fit to cill it in queftion ; and in order to fuc- 
 ceed in his temerarious attempt, omitting nothing his 
 fertile genius could devife, not even fcurrility and 
 (lander, to blacken their chara&ers and to fink their 
 reputation. A ftring of injuries and abufe, which he 
 liberally beftows upon thefe great Lights of the Church, 
 in the few following extracts, out of a great many to be 
 met with in his Free Enquiry^ will give the reader a 
 
 fpecimen
 
 192 A Vindication of the 
 
 fpecimen of the Doctor's own felf-fufficiency, and of 
 his utter contempt of every one elfe. 
 
 HE fets out, in his Preface, by telling us, that 
 " the Fathers are extremely credulous and fuperfti- 
 * c tious, pofiefied with prejudices, and an enthufiaftic 
 <e zeal, andfrrupling no art or means by which they could 
 f e propagate their principles. In fhort, that they were 
 <c of a character, from which nothing could be expeRed 
 *' that was candid and impartial efpecially where Re- 
 " ligion was the fubject, which, above all other mo- 
 " tives, ftrengthens every bias, and influences every 
 " paffion of human mind." Pref. p. 31, 32. Can any 
 thing be more derogatory to the honour of thefe great 
 men, or more reverfe to the general repute they have 
 poflefled in the Chriftian World thro* all ages, than 
 the picture of them the Doctor has here drawn ? But 
 it was his bufinefs to prepoflefs His reader againft 
 them in die beginning, that whatfoever indignities he 
 mould offer to them, in the body of his work, might 
 neither furprize him, nor be difrelifhed : and, by the 
 way, he makes as free with Religion, in the above 
 extract, as he does with its faithful advocates, whilft 
 he would have us believe it to be fubfervient to the 
 worft of purpofes, viz. to inflame every pajjion of hu- 
 man mind : that he muft mean euilpaffwns^ the drift of 
 his difcourfe evinces, in which he contradicts the fenfe 
 of every good man, concerning this Divine inftitu- 
 tion, which has always been thought to have been di- 
 rected to the contrary effect, viz. to the putting a check 
 on our paffions, and to bring them under fubjection. 
 
 WHAT the Doctor proceeds to tell us, with a confi- 
 dent afiurance, in his Introduction, that the miracles 
 of the fourth Age " were either forged by the Fathers 
 *' of that Age, or what they knew, at leaft, to be 
 " forged," (Introduct. p. 83, 84.) is boldly faid; but 
 without a proof. 
 
 THE fame injurious reflections, which he repeats 
 afterwards, are equally arbitrary, and .accompanied 
 
 with.
 
 Primitive Fathers, &c. 193 
 
 with a heap of incoherencies and contradictions ; his 
 words are, that the miracles of the early ages, " were 
 " mere fictions, which the pious and zealous Fathers, 
 " partly from a weak credulity, partly from reafons 
 " of policy, believing fome to be true, and knowing 
 " all to be ufeful, were induced to efpoufe and pro- 
 " pagate, for the fupport of a righteous caufe." Ibid 
 p. 91. For, that a righteous caufe mould want its 
 fupport from fuch finifter methods, is impious to 
 imagine, and injurious to the difpenfations of Provi- 
 dence. 
 
 AND again, that the Fathers, allowed to be pious 
 and zealous, mould be influenced to make ufe of thefe 
 finifter means, is to make them the moil wicked of 
 men, while he calls them the beft : and, in fhort, for 
 piety and zeal, with policy, hypocrify and forgery, to 
 be jumbled together into one character, implies a contra- 
 diction of fuch a monftrous fize, as is mocking not 
 only to pious fenfe, but alfo to common fenfe. 
 
 IN the next page he ufes thefe venerable vouchers 
 with no more ceremony than he had done all along, 
 taxing them with elpoufmg forged miracles, with the 
 manifeft appearance of defign, trick, juggling and 
 contrivance. Introduct. p. 92. This is the fubftance 
 of his charge ; and, as they are only the fame indecent 
 reflections, repeated over and over again, I forbear to 
 tire the reader's patience, and to trefpafs on his piety, 
 with reciting them at length. 
 
 IN his poflfcript, in anfwer to his Proteftant anta- 
 gonift, ^fter allowing the primitive Fathers to be men 
 of piety and fanctity of life, the beft of Chriftians, 
 diftinguimed by their exemplary zeal, the cheif orna- 
 ments of the Church, GJV. yet he will have them to 
 be fubject to pafiions, prejudices and error ; and con- 
 tinues ftill to queftion their veracity, and to charge 
 them with being guilty of invention themfelves, and ( 
 of propagating known forgeries. Now if thefe mix d 
 incoherent characters are not contradictions, fikely 
 B b neither
 
 194 -d- Vindication of the 
 
 neither truth and falfliood, fanctity and impiety, nor 
 
 light and darknefs can be any more reputed fuch. 
 
 AND as for what he often repeats, of their being 
 betrayed, through a pious credulity, into the belief of 
 lies and forgeries, impofed upon them , allowing this 
 to be poffible, with refpect to reports they received by 
 fecond and third hands, yet we cannot fuppofe them to 
 be fo fhort fighted, as not to have been able to diftin- 
 
 tuifli truth from falfhood, in facts which they them- 
 dves were eye witnefles of; and, as they are confeifed 
 to be pious men, and zealous for the righteous caufe, 
 it was a conduct incompatible with that character to 
 impofe known falmood and wilfuil inventions and for- 
 geries of their own upon us. 
 
 .So inconfiftent is the Doctor, in his charafteriftics 
 of thefe mining ornaments of the Church ; obliged, 
 every now and then, to own them to be pious, zea- . 
 lous and good men, at the fame time that the whole 
 defign and drift of his work is to bring them into dif- 
 credit, by reprefenting them as the weakeft of men - y 
 and withal, occafional cheats, and arrant hypocrites 
 and importers. - 
 
 But I'll now inftance two eminent Lights of the 
 Church (out of numbers) to v/hofe learning and faga- 
 city the Doctor can make as little exception, as to their 
 piety and probity : thefe are St. AMBROSE and St. AU- 
 STIN ; the former reciting miracles operated by 
 the relicks of St. GERVASIUS and PROTASIUS, of 
 which. he declares hjmfelf an eye-witnefs. St. Amb. 
 Ep. 5. 
 
 THE other informing us of above feventy miracles, 
 wrought by the relicks of St. STEPHEN, within his 
 own ctiocefe, and confequently within his own know- 
 ledge, infpedion, and examination. St. Aug. 1. 22. de 
 Civ. Dei. c. 8. 
 
 BUT, now, if thefe pious, learned and great men 
 were, on thefe occafions, fo well circumilanced, as to 
 be enabled to become unexceptionable evidences to 
 
 the
 
 primitive Father s> &c. 195 
 
 the truth of the facts they atteft (as they certainly 
 were) and, if their joint learning, fagacity and pro- 
 bity rendered them, otherwife, fo well qualified for 
 the talk, that their veracity canr.ot re Jbnably be 
 queftioned, nor their teftimony be refund -, wfrch is 
 no more than what is due to the great repute they al- 
 ways poflerTed in the world ; and what every one has 
 allowed them, 'till Dr. Middleton's Free Inquiry ap- 
 peared : Then, I fay, from thefe juft conceffions, the 
 following confequcnces directly ilow, and rnuft be ad- 
 mitted. 
 
 FIRST, that out of the lift of the Fathers, whom 
 the Doctor impeaches of a weak and unreafonable 
 credulity, or of invention and forgery, thefe two 
 great men, at leaft, have a right to be excepted 
 Secondly, if they merit any credit, and their tefti- v 
 mony is to be admitted, then, the veneration of re- 
 licks muft from thence be allowed to have been prac- 
 tifed in the fourth century, and warranted even by 
 miracles Thirdly, that therefore (what belongs more 
 directly to our future enquiry, c. ix. feet. 3.) in that age, 
 miracles had not ceafed in the Church; which overturns 
 ihe whole fyftem of the Doctor's oppofition to the Mira- 
 culous Powers. 
 
 BUT with relation to my prefent fubjcct, I, at 
 leaft, humbly apprehend the preceding conceflions ro 
 be a full vindication of the two Fathers, aforefoid, 
 from the afper'fions and dirt he has thrown at them 
 all in general ; and even on thole it cannot flick, be- 
 caufe, hitherto, we have had nothing but bold charges 
 againit them without proof, fraught with calumny 
 and injury. 
 
 AND the few proofs, he does pretend to bring, 
 which we will now examine, how weak and trivial 
 they are, will, I apprehend, be manifeft to every one 
 divefted of .paflioiv and prejudice. 
 
 H" fets out by laying down a rule every one will fub- 
 
 fcribs to, viz. That the credit: the Fathers can ckiw, as 
 
 B b 2
 
 196 A Vindication of the 
 
 evidence^ muft depend upon their approved judgment and 
 veracity. 
 
 IN order, therefore, to invalidate their teftimony 
 on the firft head, he alleges feveral exotical opinions, 
 fome of them are faid to have fuftained, which we 
 reject" as well as he. The greateft men have overfhot 
 themfelves : But, what then ? Becaufe a contempla- 
 tive man may be loft in fome matter of fpeculation, 
 muft not he be allowed common fenfe in the practical 
 occurrences of life ? Or, becaufe his underftanding 
 being limited, is liable to miftake in what is above it's 
 comprehenfion ; muft therefore his eyes be fuppofed to 
 be fhut, or, being open, not able to diftinguifh it's 
 objects, nor to difcern truth from falfhood ? Or, 
 in a word, if he receives his information from another, 
 may not he have the difcretion to enquire into the truth 
 of it ? The Doctor would have taken it amifs that he 
 fhould have been thought void of common fenfe, be- 
 caufe he had the bad luck, in feveral points of litera- 
 ture, as well as Divinity, to differ in opinion from 
 the whole learned world. 
 
 THEREFORE, in a word, St. AUSTIN, AMBROSE, 
 JEROM, and any of the reft, might have been 
 miftaken in a controverted point, not appertaining to 
 faith, or not decided , or have been wholly ignorant 
 of feveral modern difcoveries, (-fuch was St. AUSTIN'S 
 miftake about the Antipodes) and yet be allowed to 
 have had the fenfe to diftinguifh. truth from a cheat in 
 the miracles they faw with their own eyes ; or the 
 difcretion to make ufe of the means, they had in their 
 power, of being certified about the relations they re- 
 ceived from fecond or third hands : therefore, on 
 fumming up the whole, I think this great exception 
 the Doctor makes to the Fathers judgment, comes to 
 nothing. 
 
 His imputation to them of weaknefs for their 'belief 
 of Necromancers, Sorcerers, and Magicians, feems to 
 be ftill more precipitate and groyndlefs, becaufe we 
 
 gather 

 
 primitive Father -s, &c. 197 
 
 gather from Scripture, that fuch minifters of Satan 
 were at all times in being. 
 
 His next exception to their evidence is upon account 
 of their want of veracity ; and, I apprehend, not more 
 fuccefsful than the former. ' This exception he grounds 
 principally upon pretended inventions and forgeries, 
 which he very liberally, as we have heard, charges 
 upon them , but without the leaft proof, and therefore 
 it" is quite arbitrary, and deferves no further anfwer. 
 
 HE, however, ftrengthens his weak prefumptions 
 by charging them with efpoufmg fome fpurious legends 
 for Apoftolic writings, and equalling them with the 
 authority of the Scriptures , from whence he con- 
 cludes, that they were alfo capable of forging mi- 
 racles themfelves, or of propagating known forgeries ; 
 but how ridiculous ? Their efpoufmg fuch writings 
 (if ever they did) argues indeed, an error of judg- 
 ment, and a very pardonable one, till fuch time as the 
 Church had declared which Scriptures were genuine ; 
 which apocryphal, which canonical, and which not ; 
 but it cannot be looked upon as a forfeiture of their 
 veracity. And, in a word, becaufe thro' imperfed: 
 informations, and the darknefs of the times, they 
 might unwarily have rriiftaken one book for another, 
 and innocently led others into the fame miftake, this 
 can be no reafon to conclude that they would defigned- 
 ly impofe upon us a counterfeit miracle for a real one, 
 or a known falfhood for truth. 
 
 YET upon thefe weak grounds, has the Doclor the 
 confidence to lay his indictment againft them. Thole, 
 whom the body of Chriftianity, of all ages, conftantly 
 refpecled as pillars of the Church for their knowledge 
 and wifdom, and it's greatefl ornaments for their vir- 
 tue and probity ; Thofe, has the Doclor branded with 
 the contemptuous characleriilics of being iveak Men? or 
 the infamous orte, of being cheats and impoftors. 
 
 THE firft draught of their picture, as we have feen 
 in his Preface, is embellifhed with thefe in after! y 
 
 ftrokes
 
 198 'A Vindication of the 
 
 ftrokes of his fkill in reviling ; and with lines of the 
 fame complexion he finifhes their portraiture in his 
 Poftfcript , and with the fame I'll conclude this fpe- 
 cimen of his fcurrility. In fhort, he fums up the in- 
 famous character he had given them, by telling us, 
 'That they did not fcruple to invent or propagate any 
 fiction, how grofs foever, which ferved to promote the 
 intereft of Chriftianity, or of any particular Rite or 
 Doctrine . Poftfcr. p. 158. 
 
 Now the charge, fo far as it affects the holy Fa- 
 thers, is only the fame dirt which he had thrown at 
 them over and over again, and as often wiped off, in 
 the courfe of thefe mort obfervations ; but to fay, that 
 Chriftianity was founded, or, at leaft, its caufe pro- 
 moted by fiction and forgery, I muft further obferve 
 can be no means of advancing its credit with Deifts, 
 Infidels, and Unbelievers , and, I am fure, is very 
 injurious to our notion of a wife and benign Provi- 
 dence : yet thefe are the inevitable confequences of 
 his wild notions, the dreadful confequences, if the 
 advancement of the caufe of Chriftianity depended on 
 him, or was in danger of fuffering from his {landers, 
 that the whole Body of Chriftians would be obliged 
 to him for. This, infine, the extremity his deter- 
 mined fpleen againft the primitive Fathers, and vain 
 attempt to fink their credit, has drove him to. They 
 are fet forth as dotards or arrant cheats and im- 
 poftors ; Chriftianity a juggle , and, confequently, 
 All who have embraced it's Law, and paid a deference 
 to it's faithful advocates, mere dupes and bigots. 
 
 To undertake to do full juftice to the honour of 
 the Fathers, and to the caufe of Chriftianity, againft 
 the Doctor's unnatural invafion upon it, would carry 
 me beyond the defign of this efiay. In touching oc- 
 cafionally upon their defence, fo far as was juft per- 
 tinent to my prefent fubject, it has obliged me almoft 
 to ftray from it : therefore, leaving the laudable caufe 
 to better advocates, and wholly paffing by the indig- 
 nities
 
 primitive Fathers. 199 
 
 nities he offers to the memory of the martyrs, by fu 
 peeling the purity of the motives which engaged them 
 to make the generous facrifice, and imputing their 
 courage, in their glorious combat, to obftinacy. 
 Omitting the utter diflike and contempt he every-where 
 expreffes of the ftate of retirement, under the fcornful 
 appellation of monkery, and of thofe who had confe- 
 c rated themfelves therein to the Divine fervice ; with 
 many other flirts lefs pertinent to my prefent fubjectv I 
 only beg leave to obferve, from the flight fketch I 
 have given of the Dodor's odious undertaking, that 
 he has difcovered a good mare of confidence in his 
 own judgment, to oppofe it to the fenfe of the whole 
 learned Chriftian world, fmce the eftablifhment of 
 Christianity -, who always revered thofe monuments of 
 antiquity, for their fagacity, integrity, and veracity : 
 and it was a bold attempt to pretend to make their au- 
 thority, whom we have always looked upon as the 
 pillars of our Church, and whom his friends would 
 fain have arrogated to themfelves for props of theirs. 
 
 THEREFORE the queftion between the Doctor and us, 
 and even between him and his own friends, relatively to 
 the three or four firil centuries, and lower, is, Whe- 
 ther, in cojnpliment to his fmgle and fmgular judg- 
 ment, the primitive Fathers are to be lent adrift, 
 their verdict to be difregarded, and all thofe to be re- 
 puted dupes who have paid a deference to their au- 
 thority ? Or whether., in fpite of the Doctor, thefe 
 ancient fupports of the Church may not ftiU keep 
 their ground, and their fagacity, integrity and vera- 
 city be relied on ? 
 
 TILL this point be cleared up, I am fenfible that all 
 the teftimonies we have hitherto produced from thefe 
 venerable vouchers, will carry little weight with per- 
 fons of the Doctor's fkeptical way of thinking. But 
 if what I have here prefumed to offer, in vindication of 
 the Fathers, be not to them fatisfactory, yet, as we 
 have to deal with others, with the generality of Pro* 
 
 teftams,
 
 2oo 'The Veneration of Piftures 
 
 teftants, who have not come into his extravagant no- 
 tions, I flatter myfelf that what I have extracted from the 
 primitive Fathers in fupport of our fide of the quef- 
 tion, in the foregoing debates, will by them, be 
 looked upon in a more favourable light ; and that what 
 I have now offered on the prefent fubject will be fuf- 
 ficient to make good the firft part of my theme ; viz. 
 that the Catholic practice of the Veneration of the Re- 
 licks of Saints, is not contrary to Scripture, nor to 
 any divine prohibition that it has many precedents 
 from Scripture in fupport of it is much' lefs repug- 
 nant to good fenfe and reafon ; and has univerfal anti- 
 quity to vouch for it. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Tie veneration of Piftures and Images juftifad upon the 
 aforefaid principles. 
 
 AS deftitute, of arguments from Scripture as we 
 have proved our adverfaries to be, in fupport 
 of their oppofition againft the firft part of the Catholic 
 Practice, it's veneration of the Relicks of Saints : they 
 arrogate to themfelves better fuccefs, from that facred 
 fource, againft the fecond branch of it, our Veneration 
 of Pictures and Images. And, indeed, it cannot be 
 denied, but that there are texts to be produced, which 
 interpreted according to the dead letter, or being dif- 
 jointed from the context and wrefted to a forced 
 meaning ; or abftracted from particular circumftances, 
 to which they relate, may feem to plead for their 
 purpofe. But, if thefe facred authorities are fifted to 
 the bottom, and are confronted with thefe feveral 
 circumftances, to which they refer, and are viewed in 
 their true light, we flatter ourfelves that, fo far from 
 appearing to be againft us, the ballance will ftill be on 
 our fide. 
 
 IT is from the commandments that our adverfaries 
 pretend to draw their capital argument againft us. In 
 the firft of thefe, or, according to the order of the 
 
 command*
 
 and Images, juftifed, &c. 2ol 
 
 commandments, as it is fettled by others, in the 
 ftcond, it is faid, 'fboujhalt not make to thyjelf a graven 
 thing or Image, or, as the Septuagint interpret it, *Th<,u 
 jbalt not make to tbyfelf an idol^ that is, an image to be 
 to you an object of divine honour and adoration. The 
 fequel of the commandment (hews this to be the true? 
 meaning, it following immediately, and you [hall 
 not adore them, &c. Numerous circumftances prove 
 this and no other to be the real defign and intent of 
 the divine injunction ; the following reflections in par- 
 ticular confirm it, I apprehend, to a degree of evi- 
 dence. 
 
 THE caufe of Satan and his fellow rebel fpirits fatal 
 cataftrophe, is well known to have been an inordinate 
 defire and ambition of becoming like to the Almighty 
 / will l>e, faid Satan, like unto the moft High arid 
 tho* he and his afibciates were inftantly crufhed, in the 
 very conception of this extravagant thought, and in 
 punifhment of it even deprived of that ftate of blifs 
 to which they had been created ; yet, being in their 
 nature fixed, and inflexible in their wills, and not to 
 be diverted by the dreadful alteration of their condi- 
 tion, from what they had been once bent upon ; the 
 vain and extravagant ambition was ftili predominant, 
 and adhered to them. 
 
 ALMIGHTY GOD had therefore no fooner made the 
 creature man in order to fucceed to their forfeited hap- 
 pinefs, than they formed a project of foliciting him 
 into a partnerfhip in their revolt. To this effect they 
 firft tampered with our firft Parents in Paradife, fer 
 ducing them to act refractorily to the Divine Will, by 
 a pofitive breach of GOD'S command. Satan, next, 
 purfued his favourite fcheme of fetting himfelf up for 
 a Deity, by prevailing on the reft ot ADAM'S unfor- 
 tunate progeny to defert their great Creator, to lift 
 under his ftandard, and to acknowlege him as their 
 lord and iovereign : and yet, as monftrous as this 
 fcheme was. in itfelf, 'tis incredible how eafily deluded 
 man was gained over to it. In every corner of the 
 C c earth
 
 202 Vhe Veneration of Pictures 
 
 earth an altar was raifed to the infernal demon ; hi 
 idol placed on it and adored. The fagacious Egyp- 
 tians, the learned Grecians and Romans bent to it their 
 knees ! even thofe, who put in particular pretenfions 
 to knowledge, or to the fcience of wifdom, and took 
 upon them to be teachers of it to others, the much- 
 famed philofophers, were not free from the general 
 infatuation. 
 
 THE Divine Worfhip, thus fupplanted thro' Satan's 
 helliih ftratagems, was confined to a handful of people, 
 whom Almighty GOD had felected for his own Divine 
 fervice ; and had, in order to enfure them to his inte- 
 reft, prevented with incefTant and innumerable blef- 
 fings, and had manifefted himfelf to them by un- 
 heard-of prodigies : and yet, in fpite of all thefe ftrong 
 ties of fidelity, this favourite, chofen people could not 
 be kept clofe to their duty : they were not wholly un- 
 tainted with the epidemic infection : an unaccountable 
 propenfion to the general evil, apoftacy and idolatry, 
 was found to be their predominant paflion.. 
 
 IN thefe circumftances it is not to be wondered at, 
 it was even neceffary that Almighty GOD, gracioufly 
 vouchfafing to deliver to this his felect people, a law, 
 which was to be a fure guide to them into the paths of 
 righteoufnefs, fhould make his Divine Worfhip, ex- 
 cluiive of every thing that was incompatible with, or 
 prejudicial to this law, the principal object of it-, and 
 that, confequently thereto, he mould caution them 
 againft, and even exprefiy forbid them to make feulp- 
 tures and every graven thing, fo far as they might 
 become a remote occafion to them of the fatal mif- 
 chief, fuperftition and idolatry : yet that Almighty 
 GOD did not lay upon them this command without re- 
 ft ri&ion, is evident ; becaufe he himfelf, on feveral oc- 
 cafions, reverfed his own law ; as for inftance> when 
 (Numb. XXL. 8, 9.) he orde'red a brazen ferpent to be 
 made ; which, by being barely looked upon, was" to 
 become a prompt remedy to the bite of fiery ferpents, 
 
 lent
 
 and Images, jufllfied^ &c. 203 
 
 fent by Almighty GOD among them in punifhment 
 of their infidelities. He alfo (Exod. xxv. 18.) com- 
 manded cherubs of beaten gold to be placed over 
 the ark of the covenant, in the very Sanctuary, that 
 is, in the place of Divine Worfhip. 
 
 FROM thefe, then, and feveral other inftances to 
 be met with in the Sacred Hiflory, it is plain that the 
 Divine prohibition of fculptures and graven things was 
 orcafional, and limited ; to ivit, that they were merely 
 forbid to be made as objects of adoration ; and there- 
 fore were only as a feafonable precaution, at that time, 
 to prevent fo great an evil. .Or, in a word, if any will 
 yet infift on this part of the precept to be abfolute, it 
 was only, like the precept of the Sabbath, refpectively 
 fo to the Jews, to whom their violent propenfion to ido- 
 latry, rendered every graven thing dangerous in it's 
 confequence. 
 
 IT rnuft be imputed to a like caufe that the Church 
 of CHRIST, in it's infancy, might have been more 
 referved in the ufe of facred pictures and images, than 
 it was afterwards ; left the new converts, fcarce weaned 
 from idolatrous wormip, mould have miftaken the in- 
 tent and meaning of the ufe of them ; or weak minds 
 have taken occafion of offence and fcandal at it. 
 
 THIS fame reafon befl accounts for that act of St. 
 EPIPHANIUS, which our adverfaries lay fo great a 
 ftrefs upon, in their oppofition to the Catholic prac- 
 tice, of his pulling down a printed figure, or repre- 
 fentation, hanging before a Church porch: I fay, it 
 was likely for no other reafon than to remove the caufe 
 of fome excefs and abufe, or occafional fcandal, that 
 had happened from it, For, tho' it be a part of the 
 Catholic Belief, that the veneration of pious pictures 
 and images i.s, in itfelf, abfolutely lawful ; yet the 
 actual ufe of them has been occafionally fufpended, or 
 allowed, by the Church, as fhe was determined to 
 ,one or the other, by the different face and viciflitude 
 .of times and circumftances. 
 
 was an apparent reafon, upon the firft foun- 
 . C c 2. dation
 
 204. be Veneration of Piffures 
 
 elation of Chriftianity, whilfl idolatry yet bore an at- 
 moft uncontroled fway over the generality of mens 
 minds, opinions and belief, and was in the meridian 
 of it's empire, that all fuch practices, other-wife law- 
 ful and commendable in themfelves, iliould be fuper- 
 feded; which might leem to have the leaft alliance with 
 or fimilitude to the idolatrous worfhip, which the propa- 
 gation of the Chriftian Faith was to abolifh. Pictures 
 and images were objects of this kind, indifferent in 
 themfelves, but occafionally, as we have feen, of a 
 dangerous conlequence j and yet, even at that time, 
 we find that they were not wholly difufed or lain afide ; 
 witneis the fmgular reverence which was always paid 
 to the fign of the holy Crofs, approved and encou- 
 raged by Heaven itfelf, when Conftantine the Great, 
 the firft Chrittian Emperor, was moved by a mi- 
 raculous apparition in the air of this facred enfign 
 of our redemption, to embrace the Faith of CHRIST, 
 and to eftablifh it, thro' the extent of his dominions, 
 upon the ruins of idolatry. 
 
 IN procefs of time, when the Empire cf idolatry 
 being quite fubvened, it's fpirit wholly eradicated, 
 'and the ufe of pictures and images was no longer at- 
 tended with any circumftances, perilous and prejudi- 
 rial to the purity of Faith, nor injurious to the Divine 
 Worfhip ; when, on the other hand they were found 
 by experience, to be a means and help to promote a 
 folid piety, and a lively devotion , it was then that Ihe 
 vigorously oppofed a fet of counterfeited zealots for 
 truth, really profefTed enemies of it, ftiled Iconoclajls, 
 or Image-breakers^ who decried a pious and regular ufe 
 of thele helps and incentives to devotion : It was then 
 that fhe enacted, by decree, in the fecond Council of 
 Nice, that it was good to retain pictures and images 
 in our Churches, not only as ornaments, but as an ho- 
 nourable memorial of CHRIST and his Saints, and as an 
 aid to raife our hearts to heavenly things , and declared 
 a relative honour^ out of refpect to the perfons they re- 
 prefent, to be due to them. Second Counc. Nice, Aft. 7. 
 Come. Trent. Se/. 25. YET
 
 and Images, jujltfied y &c. 205 
 
 YET the Church, even at this critical time, accord- 
 ing to her ufual difcretion and prudence, thro' the fu- 
 pernatural wifdom infufed into her, under the imme- 
 diate influence and direction of the HOLY GHOST , had 
 the precaution to provide againft any abufe of her de- 
 crees in favour of thefe emblems of devotion, that 
 might be made by her own children , or any cenlures, 
 afperfions, and (landers, that could be occasionally caft 
 on them by her enemies ; in Signifying that me ab- 
 fblutely excludes from them all fort of Divine \Vor- 
 fhip : fo the Council of Nice, Act 7. which the 
 Council of Trent has fet forth more explicitly, put- 
 ting this article out of the reach of miftake, malice 
 or calumny, by declaring further, " That we are not 
 " to believe that there is any divinity or power in them, 
 " for which they are to be worfhipped , and that we 
 " are not to pray to them, nor to repofe our truit and 
 " confidence in them;" Counc. 'Trent. Sejf. 25. 
 
 IN confequence to the Doctrine of the Church, thus 
 clearly fettled and expounded, it is very well known, 
 and every child, who has learnt his Catechifm, can tell 
 you, that the honour and refpect we pay to pictures 
 and images, is purely relative ; viz. not fuppofmg 
 them to contain any intrinfic virtue, or excellency in 
 themfelves ; but as barely bringing to our remembrance 
 the objects they reprefent, for whofe fake we refpect 
 them. Thus we are admoniflied by St. PAUL to bend 
 our knees at the hearing of the facred name of JESUS, 
 In the name of JESUS every knee Jhll bow, &c. Philip, ii. 
 10. Which, to the ears, is what the Crucifix may be 
 reputed to be to the organ of light, viz. an image or 
 memorial of our Blefied Lord, ' and of the inetfable 
 bleflings and mercies accruing to us from his Death 
 and Pafllon. This relative honour Proteftants them- 
 felves dare not refufe to that facred name : they pay 
 the like refpect to their Churches, to the Communion 
 Table, and to the iymbols of Bread and Wine. The 
 fame did the Jews heretofore to the Ark, to the Che- 
 rubs placed over it, and to the ianctuary, &c. 
 
 And
 
 20 6 7 'he Veneration of Pictures 
 
 And therefore to allow of a relative refpect in thefe 
 particular circumftances, and to judge it unwarrantable 
 in other parrallel cafes, is a conduct as unwarrantable 
 as it is ridiculous , the refult of paffion, and of the 
 fpirit of contradiction and herefy. 
 
 GOOD fenie and religion prompt us to refpect, and 
 affectionate every thing that has a relation to die ob- 
 jects of our love, or of our particular regard. On this 
 confideration we refpect the Picture of our fovereign 
 Prince, of our intimate friends, and of our parents ; 
 and therefore, why fhould the enfigns of our Redemp- 
 tion, or the effigies of GOD'S moft faithful and beloved 
 fervants, and diftinguilhed favourites, 41%. of his 
 Blefled Mother and. the Saints, reminding us of their 
 extraordinary virtues, and fpurring us on to an imitation 
 of them, be debarred the fame tribute of honour and 
 reipect, or be excluded from our oratories of devotion ? 
 Render to Ctefar what is C^efar's, and what is GOD'S in 
 GOD. Matth. xxii. 21. 
 
 THE inanimate part of the Creation was made ufe of 
 by the Royal Prophet, to raife up his mind to the 
 Pivine Artificer The Heavens , fays he, proclaim the 
 Glory of GOD, &V. Pfalm xviii. And if the handy- 
 work of man can be conducive to the fame great end, 
 where can be the incongruity of making ufe of it with 
 this pious, religious, and rational intent r certainly none 
 at all. The inference is conclufive, and therefore the 
 Reformers not being able to make a direct reply to it, 
 are neceffitated to plr.y their old muffling, elufive game 
 upon us, of taxing the Catholic practice with excefies 
 and abufes. 
 
 SUCH they look upon, the actions of kneeling down 
 to thefe pious reprefentations ; of praying before them, 
 and incenfmg them : but how rediculoufly ? for, dumb 
 actions are certainly undetermined in themfelves to any 
 meaning, and are only directed to it by the inward in- 
 tention : fo, we kneel down to our parents, as well as 
 to Almighty GOD : we beg the blefling of one and the 
 other> the material act is die fame in both cafes j but 
 
 no
 
 and Images juftifed^ &c. 207 
 
 no one will be fo abfurd as to fay, that our petition is 
 ipecifically the fame, or, that our kneeling to our pa- 
 rents, is an act of adoration, like that to Almighty 
 GOD. Words alfo, as well as actions, are equally liable, 
 as I obferved heretofore, ch. vi. not. 2. to an equi- 
 vocal acceptation. Thus the word adore^ which the 
 Catholic Church makes ufe of, in the venerating the 
 Crofs on Good Friday, is, in itfelf, equivocal, and di- 
 rected by the Church, on this occafion, to her own 
 meaning -, which is, that in kitting the inftrument of 
 our Redemption, we mould commemorate, with a 
 grateful thankfgiving, that infinite mercy refulting from 
 it, refpecting the fign for the thing fignified, the Crofs, 
 for the fake of CHRIST who was crucified upon it. 
 
 IN the Old Teftament the word adoro in Latin, and 
 TO 'Trtorx.vvmv in Greek, frequently occurs, in both a civil 
 and religious fenfe of an inferior nature , as, in the 
 firft relation, Gen. xxiii. 7. 'tis faid, Abraham rofe up 9 
 and adored [adoravii] the people of the land, and 4 Kings 
 c. ii. v. 15. fhat the Children of the Prophets hafterimg 
 to meet EHJha -fell pro/irate to adors him. \_ador a*uentnt\ 
 St. PAUL, Heb. xi. 21. relating the action of JACOB'S 
 bleffing JOSEPH'S Children, after the Septuagint, 
 whofe Greek Verfion he generally adopts, as the other 
 Apoftles, and even as CHRIST himfelf had done before, 
 fays, that JACOB by faith [adoravit] adored, the top of 
 JOSEPH'S rod) which in a literal and civil fenfe implies 
 no more than that he refpected his fon in his minifterial 
 capacity: in a prophetic fenfe, and by faith, as the 
 Apoftle fpeaks of it, means that he paid a relative 
 honour and veneration to JOSEPH'S Rod as an emblem 
 or figure of CHRIST'S Scepter and kingdom : for thus 
 it truly became a token and proof of JACOB'S Faith. 
 But in the Proteftant corrupt tranflation of this pafiagej 
 thorough their averfion to every relative honour, faying, 
 that He worftnped, leaning on the top of his faff* it 
 becomes no fuch token. 
 
 Now the Catholic act of venerating the Crofs is in 
 Me manner, purely relative, and though exprefied alfo 
 
 by
 
 2o 8 The Veneration of 
 
 by the word adore^ is as little liable to cenfure, but from 
 thole who, neglecting Mr. Thorndike's caution afore- 
 cited, p. 144. parag. 2. are difpofed to quibble and 
 cavil merely about words of an equivocal fignification, 
 and which equivocation, as he jultly obferves, is owing 
 to the want of words. 
 
 To this aft of venerating the Crofs, it is however, 
 ftill objected, that St. THOMAS AQUINAS gives it the 
 name of Latria -, and I beg leave to reply that as to 
 the propriety of the expreffion, we are not bound to 
 maintain it : nevertheless, in juftice to this great man, 
 I muft add, that he himfelf has on other occafions ex- 
 plained his own meaning, and has mown it to be in- 
 tirely orthodox, and Catholic ; for in feveral parts of 
 his learned writings, he declares this veneration to be 
 widely diftant from divine honour : Properly < 9 fays he, 
 We do not adore the Crofs^ but only CHRIST who is cru- 
 cified^ Left. v. on Heb. xi. And again, // is idolatry \ 
 fays he, when the honour due to GOD is given to Images. 
 ad col. 3. left i. But yet becaufe the refpeft given to 
 the Crofs is referred to CHRIST himfelf, to whom the 
 worfhip of Latria in the ftrifteft fignification is due, 
 he apprehended that it came within the fame denomi- 
 nation ; the one, viz. That to CHRIST fupreme and ab- 
 folute, the other inferior and relative : in the fame 
 manner, to explain the thing by example, as though 
 there be but one Theological virtue of charity confifting 
 in the love of GOD above all things, yet our love of 
 our neighbour for GOD'S fake becomes a branch of the 
 fame virtue : in the firft place we love GOD in himfelf, 
 in the other circumflance we love him in his Image. 
 *From the whole it is evident that the meaning of this 
 learned Doctor, is very justifiable, and be his way of 
 (peaking right or wrong, it is a mere difpute about 
 words, which we have no need to concern ourfelves 
 wiih. Mr. Thorndike juftly obferves that the words 
 " adoration, worfhip, honour, refpeft, or however you 
 " tranflate the Latin word cnhus, are or may be equi- 
 .'* vocal, in fpite of our hearts, implying, indifferently, 
 
 one
 
 and Images juftifed, &c. 209 
 
 tc one kind of honour to GOD, another to creatures ; 
 cc and the caule of this equivocation, the want of 
 " words, vulgar ufe not having provided words pro- 
 " per to fignify conceptions, which come not from 
 cc common fcnfes." Tbcrnd. Epil. p. 3. p. 353. Let 
 then his fqueamifh brethren only vouchfafe to drop thefe 
 verbal contefts , let a candid fcarch after truth prevail 
 over the fpirit of contention and wrangling ; and they'll 
 be fenfible that their fcruples are groundlefs, and the 
 bulk of their exceptions to this article weak and trifling. 
 
 HOWEVER, it is further urged, that we impute 
 miracles to particular effigies and places of devotion, 
 and that we refort more to one than to another , a fup- 
 pofed indication of fome intrinfic virtue believed to 
 refide in fuch images or places. 
 
 IN order .to anfwer this formidable objection, 'tis 
 neceflary to put the following previous queftion : Are 
 thefe reputed miracles fftitious or real? If the firft, 
 we deteft the fraud, fo foon as difcovered, as much as 
 the moft fanguine Proteftant : if real, proved to be 
 fuch and credibly attefted , 'tis plain "that we impute 
 no more to them than what is fact and truth j that i -, 
 we believe miracles to be wrought here and there, on 
 fufficient and undoubted proofs that they are wrought. 
 
 THEREFORE, acting rationally and coherently, 
 wherever we fee Almighty GOD operating in this lu- 
 pernatural manner, we juftly look upon it as ( an inti- 
 mation of his Divine Will and Pleafure, that he chufes 
 to be honoured in thefe particular places rather than in 
 any other ; and wherever he annexes his extraordinary 
 bleflings, it is reafonable, and even incumbent on us, 
 there to feek for them. 
 
 THUS he chofe, heretofore, to be honoured in the 
 Temple of Jerufalem^ preferably to any other Synagogue 
 or place of worfhip. Among the many pools of Ju- 
 dea, he was pleafed to diftinguifh that of Bethfaida, 
 with his peculiar benediction. By the brazen fer- 
 pent and MOSES'S r$d GOD operated many wonders ; 
 ior, our Bk&d. Saviour tells us, that the Sfirit of 
 D d Gop
 
 210 The I'enerafisn of Pictures? Sec. 
 
 GOD breathes where if pleafes; Jo. iii. 8. and there- 
 fore what Almighty GOD has done, he may do again, 
 in annexing to fuch particular places of devotion, or 
 to fuch individual 'pious figures and representations, 
 his peculiar blefiing. 
 
 BUT, notwithstanding this, we are fo far from be- 
 lieving any intrinfie virtue to be refiding in the ma- 
 terial images themfelves, that, as the brazen ferpent, 
 when in procefs of time it became the occafion of 
 offence and fcandal, an object of Divine Worth! p, 
 was therefore broken to pieces by the King He- 
 zekiah , fo, if any image or oratory, never fo famed 
 for the miracles wrought thereat, was to become the 
 occafion of the like abufe, the Church would not 
 hefitate a moment to deftroy it; or by fome other 
 method, effectually to fupprefs fuch a fuperftitious 
 worfhip. For it is not, as has been often faid, to an 
 effigy, picture or flattie, that we impute the miracle, 
 tor any inherent virtue, but to GOD alone, manifeftinfr 
 his omnipotent power by operations fapernatural and 
 miraculous, where 'and when he pleafes , making ufeof 
 thefe means to confirm and heighten our truft in him ; 
 to inflame our devotion, and to promote a true and 
 folid piety. Therefore, in fhort, the direct fubject of 
 inquiry in this cafe is, whether, at fuch places of 
 devotion, there are fufficient and undoubted proofs of 
 thefe fupernatural operations ? an inveftigation which 
 furely may be as eafily come at as of any matter of 
 fact whatsoever: thefe once appearing, in fuch a man- 
 ner as to exclude all doubt or diftruft of the truth of 
 them, the Reformers have fo little reafon to take an 
 occafion from thence of fcandal or exception againft 
 the veneration of fuch emblems of piety, and places 
 of devotion, that, on the contrary, they become a 
 manifell token of the Divine approbation j a fanction 
 to our conduct, and a reproof of theirs. 
 
 THUS, as I hinted above, fetting paffion and pre- 
 judice' af?de, the Catholic practice of venerating the 
 Saints Relicks and Images, is juftifiable in itfelf from, 
 tvcry head ; and the Reformers outcry againft it equally 
 
 unjustifiable,
 
 Of Purgatory. 211 
 
 unjuftifiable, and highly injurious. For, plain Scrip- 
 ture, abftracting from circumftances entirely foreign 
 to the Catholic caufe, they have none to oppofe to it; 
 but we have many precedents, as you have leen above, 
 from the Sacred Writings, in its bthalf. Ancient 
 practice, and the authority of the Church, are mani- 
 ftftly on our fide -, and reafon and good fenfe, par- 
 ticularly pious fenfe, are avowedly fubfcribers to it, 
 and its profefled advocates: and, what clenches all 
 our proofs, and puts the matter out of the reach of 
 cavil and flander, is, that the Catholic practice has 
 the feal of Heaven ftampt upon it, the hand -writing 
 of GOD himfelf; to ;//, undeniable miracles, to jui- 
 tify it. 
 
 THEREFORE, on fumming up the whole, it appears 
 that an attempt towards a Reformation of this particular 
 article, was as vain and groundlefs, and as direct an 
 impofition on their deluded Profelytes, as any other 
 part of that temerarious undertaking. 
 
 CHAP. VIII, 
 
 Concerning the Article of Purgatory. 
 
 ARCHBISHOP Tillotfon, difcourfing on thefe 
 words of the Apoftle, i Cor. iii. 15. If a man's 
 works burn* he Jhall fuffer lofs ; but himfelf fhall be faved> 
 yet fo as by fire i makes a great wonder that Catholics 
 can gather from thence any inlinuation of a Purgatory, 
 or middle (late of Souls. 
 
 IF the Doctor meant that we build our belief of 
 this article of the Catholic Faith on this fingle text, 
 he is either miftaken himfelf, or mifinformcd his 
 audience , for, as we fhall fhew by and by, this doc- 
 trine is grounded on numerous other fcriptural proois. 
 If he would fay no more than that we think the' 
 Apoftle, in this pafiage, plainly points at a place of 
 temporal trial and fatistection in the next life, we admit 
 the charge; and luckily, we have authorities of no lefs 
 D'd 2 credit
 
 212 Of Purgatory 
 
 credit than St. AMBROSE, or a cotemporary, and St. 
 AUSTIN, to back our prefumption. The former, "on the 
 text in queftion, delivers himfelf as follows : " But 
 tfc when he fays, yet fo as by fre> he {hews, indeed, he 
 " fhall be faved ; but yet mall fuffcr the punifhment 
 4t of fire ; that being purged by fire, he may be faved 
 " and not tormented for ever, as the Infidels are, with 
 " everlafting fire." Comment in Ep. ad Cor. Agreeably 
 to the fenfe of this Father, St. AUSTIN fpeaks, in 
 different places, as follows: " With that tranfitory 
 " fire, whereof the Apoftle faid, He flail be faved, 
 " yet fo as byfire^ not capital, but little fins are purged :'* 
 Serm. 41. de Sanftis, And again, elfewhere, he writes 
 thus, " Purge me, O Lord, in this life ; and make 
 " me fuch, as I (hall not need that purifying fire 
 '* lie {hall be faved, yet fo as by fire : and becaufe it is 
 V faid, He Jhall be Javtd, this fire is contemned j yet 
 " it will be more grievous than any thing that a man 
 " can fuffer in this life." Enarr. in PfaL 37. So 
 pofitive are thefe great lights of the Church in their 
 opinion of the Apoflle's intimating, in the pafifage 
 cited, a Purgatory, or middle ftatej though the 
 Bifhop, and his aflbciates, prefume to diflfent from 
 them, thinking nothing lefs can be conckujed from 
 this text, All he apprehends can be gathered from it, 
 is, that the Apoltle infinuater a erilous date, in which 
 many hazard their fouls, ar.d often have a narrow 
 efcape from final perdition. He therefore looks upon 
 tjie' exprefTion no more tlun proverbial; and even 
 Tujjy himfelf, the Roman orator, is fiourifhed in, 
 to ftrengthen the prefumption ; faying, that fuch a 
 one got clear from a juridical fentence impending on 
 hirn, as a man, fur prized with his houfe on fire, 
 cfcapes naked out of it, Effugii hoc judicium tanquam 
 nudus ab incendio. But ! am yet bold to think, that all 
 thefe examples and allufions are too fhort of weight 
 to ballance the afon uted unconteflable authorities in 
 fupport of the Catholic ii :crpretation of the text. The 
 Doctor's notion of a 'v.rilous ftate, which he would 
 i^in make the Apoftle precaution his Difciples ^gainft 
 
 in
 
 Purgatory, &c. proved, &c. 213 
 
 jri this paflage, is as extraordinary as his drained con- 
 ftruction of the text itfelf, to wit. " The toleration of 
 ?' inceftuous marriages- communicating in idol feafts 
 " the doctrine of falfe teachers, &c. &c.'* Since it 
 is ftrange, indeed, that the Apoftle mould term thefe 
 barely dangerous, when furely, in their own nature, 
 if any thing can be fo, they muft be judged, by every 
 man of any religious way of thinking, to be pofitivcly 
 criminal, and directly deftructive ot falvation. 
 
 HE next, by way of parallel, huddles in every ma- 
 terial point of the Catholic Faith, controverted between 
 the Reformed Churches and us, as the article of In- 
 fallibility, Repentance, Tranfubftantiation, &c. ac- 
 cording to his ufual cuftom, mifreprefenting each 
 article, and then drawing his own confequences from 
 it thus mifreprefented. And, whereas he muft, to 
 make his parallel adequate, admit the profefiion of 
 thefe feveral articles to be merely perilous, not directly 
 criminal ; we muft acknowledge the Doctor, in this 
 refpect extremely complailant and merciful. But, how- 
 ever, we flatter curfclves not to (land in need of his 
 tendernefs or charity, call it by what name you pleafe, 
 in our favour : and, as I have already obviated his 
 objections to the other points in the foregoing con- 
 troverfies, under their relpective titles ; the article of 
 Purgatory, is what only remains at prefent to be can- 
 vafied, which I hope to make good in the following 
 Section, upon the eftablifhed foundation, on which all 
 the other articles of the Catholic Church have been 
 fettled through this eiliiy Scripture, Reafon, and 
 Antiquity. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Purgatory, and the Catholic praftice of praying for tbt 
 dead, proved from Scripture, Keafon, and Antiquity. 
 
 BEFORE I proceed to our proofs of this article 
 of the Catholic Faith, I muft premifc, that I do 
 not take upon me to contend for terms or mere words, 
 and therefore, whether the word purgatory be to be 
 
 met
 
 214 Purgatory, &c. prove d 
 
 met with in the facred writings or no, if the thing 
 meant by it, as imderftood by the Catholic Church, is 
 there fo plainly inlinuated, as to be a natural fequel 
 flowing from it's premifes, I mail then flatter myielf, 
 that we have a right to challenge Scripture on our 
 fide ; and therefore, that Dr. Tillotfon, in difputing 
 us this claim, is idle and trifling. 
 
 THE fubfequent quotations, will, I apprehend, be 
 fufficient to determine our difference in opinion, and I 
 $m ready to abide by their decifion. 
 
 BY Purgatory, then, the Catholic Church under- 
 ftands what it is defined and declared to be by die 
 Council of Trent, That there is a Purgatory \ that is, 
 a third place : and that the fouls therein detained^ are 
 helped by the fnffr ages of the faithful^ 2W efpecially by the 
 holy facrifice of the Mafs. Thefe, and no more, are 
 the terms of a Catholic Communion, and our whole 
 belief in this article. And, therefore, as to the par- 
 ticular opinion, of the fpecific qualities of this place of 
 trial, whether it cqnfifts of fire, or of any other pe- 
 nalty ; and as to the circumflance of its duration, they 
 being points foreign to the integrity of our faith, we 
 have nothing to lay to them. 
 
 Now, the firft part of the Council's declaration, of 
 the exiftence of fuch a middle ftate of fouls, or, that 
 there is a Purgatory, is gathered from the follow- 
 ing plain infmuations ; fome pttered by CHRIST 14m-. 
 felf, all of them delivered by the Inlpired Writers. 
 
 FIRST, it is faid, in fundry places of Holy Writ, 
 both of the Old and New Teftament, That GOD will 
 render to every one according to his works -, and, indeed, 
 this is no more than what is agreeable to our idea of a 
 Divine Juftice, and what we expect from it, according 
 to the dictates and lights of natural realbn. This po- 
 fition therefore being fettled, as a- Hril principle not to 
 be contefted, comprifes two things firft, the divcrfiy 
 of mans deeds fccondly, Almighty GOD'J m/(y, in re- 
 \i\ir d:ng them accc;'dix& :< tltir defer ts.
 
 from Scripture ', &c. 
 
 H, firft, that mens deeds are very different, and 
 their ends, confequently, equally different, is as evi- 
 dent as the diverfity of their faces : ibme, for example, 
 make their exit fpotlefs and unblarneable in the Divine 
 fight : fuch are dying infants, who having been cleanied 
 from original fin in the laver of baptifm, were never 
 capable of any further malice or guilt : fuch are, alfo, 
 thofe, who finifh their courfe by a moft confummate 
 act of the love of GOD, in facrificing their lives for his 
 Jake by martyrdom. Such, in fhort, are a few others 
 ('tis to be feared very few) whofe lives are a perpetual 
 martyrdom of penance, and one continual, as it were, 
 uninterrupted ad: of the love of GOD. All thefe, there- 
 fore, being difengaged from the incumbrance of their 
 rlefh, and releaied from the prifon of mortality, hav- 
 ing no guilt of fin unatoned for, to obftruct their flight 
 to the heavenly manfions, are no doubt, immediately 
 admitted to the preience and enjoyment of GOD. 
 
 OTBER.S there are, whole lives being a chain of 
 fins, and a feries of iniquity, and their ends impeni- 
 tent, are as certainly doomed to perpetual torments, 
 and their deftiny irrevocable. And, laftly, it is alfo 
 certain, that there are many others, who are neither 
 fo innocent or guiltlefs as thofe of the firft clafs, nor 
 yet fo criminal as the fecond ; or, if they have been at 
 any time frail delinquents, have had the grace to can- 
 cel the guilt of their frailties by a fincere repentance, 
 tho' they may not have made a condign fatisfaclion for 
 them to the Divine Juftice ; or yet may have other fail- 
 ings of not fo deep a die lying on their coniciences ; 
 flips of inadvertency, not exclufive of the love of GOD 
 and his Divine friendship, but yet culpable in his pure 
 eyes, before which even the Heavens are unclean, and 
 being unrepented of, muft, one way or other, be 
 atoned for. How then, judging by the Uriel: rules of 
 equity, eftablilhed by Almighty GOD himfelf, of ren- 
 dering to every one according to his deeds, are thefe fouls 
 of the laft character to be difpofed of? The lot ot 
 
 thole
 
 Purgatory, 6cc. proved 
 
 thofe of the firft clafs, is certainly too favourable arid 
 above their deferts : the punimment inflicted on im- 
 penitent fmners, as much too fevere, and abfolutely 
 incompatible with GOD'S merciful declarations that, 
 at whatfoever time the fmner returns to him by a fmcere 
 repentance, he fhould meet with forgivenefs. Jn the 
 mean while, if the Divine Mercy pleads for the re- 
 penting fmner's pardon, his juftice fues for fatisfaction -, 
 for it is further intimated, Matt. v. 25, 26. that there 
 is a prifon, and whofoever is caft into it, cannot be 
 releafed 'till he has difcharged his whole debt, that is, 
 till he has given full fatisfaction to the Divine Juftice. 
 Verily ', I fay unto thee, thou Jball not come out thence^ 
 'till thou haft payed the loft farthing. Matt. v. 26. It 
 is alfo faid in the Revelations, that Nothing unclean Jhall 
 enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Rev. xxi. 27. And, 
 laftly, there is mention made of a fin, Which Jh all not 
 be forgiven , neither in this world, nor the world to come. 
 Matt. xii. 32. 
 
 Now, what can all thefe texts mean but a Middle 
 State of Souls, or a place of temporary punimment ? 
 how can they be reconciled to common fenfe and rea- 
 fon by any other explanation ? the prifon, mentioned in 
 the firft of the texts juft cited, from which there is, 
 fome time or other, a releafe, plainly infmuates this 
 Middle State , becaufe it is well known, that from the 
 infernal prifon, which we call hell, there is no re- 
 demption ; and it is agreeable to the laws of equity, 
 aforefettled, that there fliould be fuch a Third 
 Place, in which the Divine Juftice might be fully 
 fatisfied. 
 
 IF, again, Nothing unclean enters into Heaven^ Rev. xxi. 
 27. what muft become of thofe, who make their exit out 
 of this mortal life, with the ftain of fmaller faults not 
 wiped off; that is, not repented of; or great ones re- 
 pented of, but not fully atoned for ? to Heaven, 'tis 
 plain, they cannot in that condition have admittance : 
 Hell they are not liable ta; therefore a~ place of tem- 
 porary
 
 from Scripture, &c. 217 
 
 porary trial, where their fouls are to be purified and 
 purged of all drofs, to be fitted for Heaven, mufb, 
 undoubtedly be their lot. And, laftly, if there be a 
 fin, Which 'will neither be forgiven in this life nor the next ', 
 Matt. xii. $2. we muft conclude that there be others, 
 which are forgiven in both one life and the other ; 
 fince, according to the avowed rule of fpeeeh, the ex- 
 clufion of one member of a propofition is an implicit 
 affirmation of the other, Exdtifio unius eft affirmatio 
 tdterius. 
 
 FROM this conceffion, which cannot be refufed, the 
 following inferences are .conclufive In Heaven a for- 
 givenefs is not wanted, becaufe nothing fmful has ad- 
 mittance there From Hell, as has been faid, there is 
 no pofTible pardon or redemption : therefore what the 
 Church calls Purgatory^ or a middle flate, muft be 
 the place of fatisfaction, in the texts aforefaid, alluded 
 to : and, indeed, theie facred extracts are fo plain, in 
 terms, for the article in queftion, that it is furprifing 
 how even an heretical fkepticifm could miftake their 
 meaning, or the moft prejudiced judgment mifconftrue 
 them. But what overturns the oppofition of our 
 adverfaries to this article, to all intents and purpofes, 
 is, their own weak defence of this bad caufe, viz. the 
 infufficiency of the arguments they pretend to bring 
 in fupport of it. 
 
 THEY object firft, and chiefly, that CHRIST'S infinite 
 merits and filterings are a redundant fatisfaction to the 
 Divine Juflice for the whole debt of fin : and who 
 doubts it ; they are an ample and fuperabundant fa- 
 tisfaction in themfelves ; but yet, in the prefent order 
 and difpeniation of Providence, it is certain, that they 
 are not effectually fo to us, but in conjunction with 
 fome requifite and indifpenfable conditions, on our 
 fide, of GOD'S appointment : that is, the merits and 
 fufFerings of CHRIST, (as has been obfcrved before, 
 fpeaking of the Sacrament of Penance) radically ard 
 fully cancel the guilt of fin, but yet have notordi-- 
 K e narily
 
 218 Purgatory, &c. proved 
 
 narily their effect, but inafmuch as they are applied 
 to us by fuch particular means or inftruments of" the 
 Divine Inftitution, which towards cancelling the guilt, 
 as has been faid, are the Sacraments, accompanied by 
 a fincere Repentance. In the failure or neglect of the 
 portion of thefe means, and of this repentance, grie- 
 vous fins muft be expiated, and the Divine Juftice 
 fatisfied by the everlafting torments of Hell venial, 
 as has been proved, by a temporary punifhment, which 
 we call Purgatory. And alfo, with refpect to grievous 
 fins, cancelled by Repentance as to their guilt, but 
 not fully difcharged, as to the debt of a temporary 
 fatisfadion , they are, by the fame rules of equity, to 
 be atoned for by the like temporary pains in the next 
 life , unlefs this atonement is previously fupplied in 
 this, by a further application of CHRIST'S merits and fuf- 
 ferings, through the power lodged in the Church for 
 this effect and purpofe, as will be fhewn in the next 
 fection. 
 
 IT is urged again, by our adverfaries, to be faid in 
 Holy Writ, that where the tree falleth, whether to the 
 fouth or north, That there it Jhall 'lie. Ecclef. xi. 3. 
 But, fuppofing this text to refer to the ftate of a foul 
 after death, which yet is not certain ; we agree that 
 if the foul attains to the fouth of eternal blifs, or to 
 the north of perdition, that its condition will be irre- 
 vocable ; yet this inviolable decree of Heaven, in thefe 
 cafes, cannot be looked on as a revocation of that 
 other, equally indifpenfable, founded on the rules of 
 ftrict juftice, Of rendering to us according to our deeds \ 
 and therefore fuppjfing a man to quit this mortal life 
 in the mean between the two extreams, neither worthy 
 to be immediately admitted to the heavenly joys, nor 
 yet deferving an eternal punimment , the decree ob- 
 jected can be no bar to fuch an one being dealt with, 
 by an equitable judge, according to his deferts, in 
 thofe refpective circumftances. 
 
 BUT was not the good thief, fay they, who had been 
 in ali appearance a grievous fmner all his life, and 
 
 effaced
 
 from Scripture^ Sec. 219 
 
 effaced his guilt by a dying repentance, immediately 
 tranflated to paradife, without pafllng through a fiery 
 trial, or the furnace of a Purgatory ? he was ; and if 
 any one elfe were favoured with the fame extraordinary 
 grace of a perfeeT: repentance, to wit, his unparalleled 
 faith, and a conkimmate love of GOD, the happy fruits 
 of the advantageous circumftances he was providen- 
 tially placed in, ,of being fprinkled, as it were, with 
 the blood of his dying Saviour, GOD and man ; I fay, 
 fuch an one, in the like fingular and extraordinary 
 circumftances, indued with fuch fingular graces, 
 might no doubt, partake of the fame extraordinary pri- 
 vilege. 
 
 No wonder that our Blefit-d Redeemer, laying down 
 his facred life for the converfion and falvation of fin- 
 ners, mould, on this occafion, make a perfcd con- 
 queft of this penitent finner's heart, and carry him with 
 him as a trophy of his victory, and as the firlr, fruits 
 of his death and pafTion, into the joys of paradife. 
 
 BUT this extraordinary cafe, connected with fuch 
 unparalleled incidents, can, with no colour of reafon, 
 be brought as a precedent in behalf of the generality 
 of mankind, fteering within the ordinary courfc of 
 Providence ; nor the condition of one and the other be 
 confidered in the fame advantageous light. So vifibly 
 weak and inconclufive, are the arguments of our ad- 
 verfaries, in their oppofition to this article of the Ca- 
 tholic Faith. What concurs to di (cover- the vanity of 
 them beyond a reply, is, the cloud of authorities from 
 univerfal antiquity, which appear againft them in (up- 
 port of the Catholic caufr. I'll content myfclf with 
 felefting two or three of thefe venerable tellimonies, 
 out of a large lift which are to be met with in other 
 controvertifts. 
 
 FIRST, TERTULUAN, on that text of St. MAT- 
 THEW, Agree with thine adversaries, Matt. v. 25, 26. Off. 
 argues thus - " Seeing we underftood that prilon, 
 " which the Gofpel demonltrates to be places bduw ; 
 v and the utmoft farthing we interpret every fmali 
 E e 2 " fault,
 
 220 Purgatory, &c. proved 
 
 *' fault, there to be punifhed by the delay of the re- 
 c< furrection , no man can doubt but the foul may pay 
 " fomething in the places below.'* Tert. lib. de Anim. 
 c. 58. 
 
 ST. JERO'M, in his comment on the fame text, fpeaks 
 thus " This is that, which he fays, thou (hall not go 
 " out of prifon, //'// thou pay even thy little fins. St. 
 Jerom. Comm. in 5 Matt. 
 
 ST. GREGORY NYSSEN has the following remarkable 
 words " A man is cleanfed either in th,is life, by 
 " prayer; or, after his death, by the furnace of a furg- 
 " Wffjfr* It is impoffible to be partakers or the Di- 
 " vinity, unlefs Purgatory fire doth cleanfe the foul 
 " from the fpots that flick to it." St. Greg. Nyfi. Orat. 
 pro Mort. prop, finem. 
 
 THE great St. AUSTIN is not lefs plain and explicit 
 on the fubj</ct " It could not be faid (urges this Fa- 
 " ther) that they are neither forgiven in this life, nor in 
 *' the life to come, unlefs there were Come, who, 
 " tho.ugh they are not forgiven in this life, yet mould 
 ' jn the life to come." St. Auftin, lib. de Civ. Dei. 21. 
 c, 24. 
 
 BUT there is no flronger proof of the fenfe of an- 
 tiquity, concerning a middle ftate of fouls, than their 
 conftant practice of offering up prayers for their re- 
 lief; which is the fccond part of this article, afore 
 declared by the Council ot Trent ; and therefore is 
 incumbent on me, they being correlative, to make 
 good. For, if fouls may be luppofed to quit this life 
 in fuch a ftate, as not to be enemies of GOD, but the 
 objects of his love and friendfhip, and yet for fome 
 fmall infidelities, or great ones unfatisfied for, deferve 
 to be detained for a while from the enjoyment of this 
 centre of their love and happinefs , they are confe- 
 quently as proper objects of our companion and cha- 
 rity, as any of our fellow pilgrims in this earthly 
 paflage of life, lying under the fcourge of Divine 
 Juftice, whom we make no difficulty ot interceding 
 tor, by our prayersand, reciprocally, it being proved 
 
 that
 
 from Scripture > &c. 22 I 
 
 that it has been cuftomary to offer fuch fuffrages for 
 fouls departed, this becomes an irrefragable token that 
 there is a middle (late, between Hell and Heaven, in 
 which fouls are capable of benefiting from our prayers, 
 and ftand in need of them. 
 
 AND yet, fo evident it is that this practice has been 
 general and ancient, that a perfon muft be fkeptic 
 enough to queftion the truth of all hiftory, and the 
 molt authentic records, to doubt of it. It is to be 
 traced beyond the Jra of Chriftianity. 
 
 THE fecond book of MACHABEES is my voucher, 
 xvhich, by the Catholic Church, is looked upon as 
 canonical, and was received as fuch by the greateft 
 lights of the primitive times, St. CYPRIAN, St. AUS- 
 TIN, and others; as well as by feveral General Councils. 
 And though it fnould be allowed no more than an. 
 hiftorical credit, yet it undoubtedly declares the prac- 
 tice of the Jewifh Church, which particular our Blefied 
 Saviour never found blamable, though he reproved that 
 people for many other of their paternal traditions, as 
 Jeremy Taylor judiciouOy obferves. 
 
 FOR the fatisfaction of my reader, I'll give him this 
 learned Proteftant Prelate's own words " We find, 
 " fays the bifhop, by the hiftory of the MACHABEES, 
 *' that the Jews did pray and make offerings for the 
 44 dead (which alfo appears by other teftimonies, and 
 44 by their form of prayers ftill extant, which they 
 uled in the captivity) Now it is very considerable 
 that, fince our Bleffed Saviour did reprove all the 
 evil doctrines and traditions of the Scribes and 
 Pharifees, and did argue concerning the dead and 
 the Refurrection, againft the Sadducees, yet he fpake/ 
 no word againft this public practice, but left it as 
 44 he found it ; which he, who came to declare to us 
 * 4 all the will of his Father, would not have done, if 
 44 it had not been innocent, pious, and full of charity. 3 * 
 Dr. Taylor, lib. i. Propb. SeB. 20. numb. n. p. 265. 
 So this Proceftant Divine j more ingenuous it kerns, 
 
 in
 
 222 Purgatory, &c. proved 
 
 in this article, than Dr. Tillotfon and many others of 
 
 his violent brethren. 
 
 THIS eftabliflied practice among the Jews, of pray- 
 ing for the dead, is inftanced in the following par- 
 ticular, ;n the fecond book of MACHABEES aforemen- 
 tioned; that JUDAS MACHAB^US fent a fum of mo- 
 ney to Jerufalem, to have facrifices offered for his fol- 
 diers (lain in battle, " Thinking well and religioufly, 
 " as the text fays, of the Refurrection , and becaufe 
 " he confidered that thofe who (lept with piety, had an 
 w excellent blefiing referved for them. // is therefore 
 " an holy and wholefome cogitation to pray for the dead, 
 " that they may be loofed from their Jtns" Machab. 
 lib. 2. c. 12. 
 
 THAT the fame practice, of praying for fouls de- 
 parted, was alfo adopted and univerially ufed by the 
 Church of CHRIST, is evident from innumerable tefti- 
 monies of the Fathers, liturgies, and public offices of 
 the Church, of all ages ; and was reputed one of the 
 traditions received and handed down from the Apoflles. 
 Tertullian exprefly Ipeaks of it as an ufual practice in 
 his time " We make, fays he, anniverfary oblations 
 " for the dead," Tert. lib. de Cor on. Mil. c. 13 and 
 in many other places, mentions it as an accepted, efta- 
 bliihed cuftom, of the whole Church. 
 
 AMONG the opinions of AERIUS, (an Heretic of 
 the primitive times) taxed by St. EPIPHANIUS as er- 
 roneous, this was one that he maintained , " The prayers 
 " and alms of the living offered up for the deceafsd, 
 " to be of no fervice to them." 
 
 ST. CHRYSOSTOM aflerts this article in many places 
 of his works ; but is lb explicit in the following paf- 
 fage, as to deferve to be quoted at length : " The dead 
 " fays he, may be helped by prayers and fupplicati- 
 " ons, and alms, and offerings , becaufe they are not 
 " inftituted in vain. 'Let us therefore help them, for 
 " we have before us the expiatory fucrifice of the world. 
 * c Therefore we afk confidently for all, and name them
 
 from Scripture^ &c. 223 
 
 * with the Martyrs ConfefTors and Priefls. For we 
 " are all one body, though fome members be brighter 
 " than others. And it may happen that we may ob- 
 " tain a total pardon for them, by prayers, oblations, 
 " and by the Saints, who are named with them." St. 
 Chryf. Horn. 42. in Ep. i ad Cor. 
 
 St. CYRIL, bifhop of Jerufalem, more briefly than 
 the former, but in terms not lefs expreffive, afferts the 
 practice of praying for the dead, as follows : " Laftly, 
 "" fays he, we pray for all who die amongft us ; think- 
 " ing it to be the greateft help that can be for their 
 " fouls to have the holy and dreadful facrifice of the 
 " altar offered . in fupplication for them." Catech. 
 Myji. 5. p. 2-41. . 
 
 To omit, for brevity's fake, a cloud of other of 
 thefe venerable authorities, I'll compendiate them in 
 the f ingle teitimony of St. AUSTIN, who certainly 
 muft be allowed to have fpoken the fenie of the whole 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 THIS great Doctor then, in one place, delivers him- 
 felf, on this head, as follows " It is not to be denied, 
 " fays he, but the fouls of the dead are ealed by the 
 " piety of their friends, when the facrifice of the Me- 
 " diator is offered for them, and alms given in the 
 " Church," St. Auft. Encbirid. c. 109, no. In his 
 i72dSerm. (olem 32) de Verb. Apoft. he directly, and 
 almoft in identical words, afferts the fame doctrine 
 elfewhere he gives the following reafon for the prayers 
 of the living faithful being available to the deceafed ; 
 becaufe there are thofe " whole lives have not been 
 " altogether fo bad as not to be thought worthy of 
 " fuch a mercy, nor altogether fo good as not to need 
 tc fuch a mercy." De Civ. Dei. lib. 21. c. 24. And, 
 in a word, what was the opinion of this great Doctor, 
 on this head, and the belief and practice of the whole 
 Church in his time, is plainly gathered from the dying 
 rcqueft of his holy mother, St. MONICA, to him, 
 *' That flic might be remembered at the Altar," as he 
 
 expvefsly
 
 224 Purgatory, Sec. proved 
 
 exprefsly relates it in his Book of Confeffions, Lib. 9. 
 Conf. c. 1 3. And that it was his conftant cuftom, and 
 the eftablifhed cuftom then of the Church, to folicit 
 for, or requeft the prayers of the Martyrs for them- 
 felves j and as to the faithful departed, to pray for 
 them, is clear from the following fhort extract, among 
 many already cited, p. 142. par. 3. "It is the practice 
 " of the Church," fays he, " which the faithful know, 
 <c that when the Martyrs are named at the Altar, 
 " we pray not for them, tho* we pray for the other fouls 
 departed^ &c. St. Aug. Serm. 159. deverb. Apoft. 
 
 AND, in a word, this cuftomai / practice of the Church, 
 of praying for the dead, appeared to fome Proteftant 
 authors, who were the moft candid and unprejudiced, 
 fo well fupported from antiquity, that, convicted from 
 the evidence of truth, they could not help fublcribing 
 to it. We have had Dr. Jeremy Taylor's frank con- 
 fefiion above. 
 
 The TranQators of Monf. Du Pin acknowledge, 
 that it was a cuftom among the primitive Chriftians 
 (ab antiquO) i. e. of old} to pray for the fouls departed, 
 in the dreadful myfteries. St. CHRYSOSTOM, they own, 
 plainly tells us, in his comment on the Philippians, 
 Horn. 3. that it was decreed by the Apoftles. DuPin. 
 cent. 3. 
 
 Mr. Thorndike fays, " The practice of the Church 
 " of interceding for them (the dead) at the celebration 
 " of the Eucharift, is fo general, and fo ancient, 
 " that it cannot be thought to have come in upon 
 ct impofture, but that the fame afperfion will feem to 
 * c take hold of the common Chriftianity." Jtift Weight 
 and Meafures> c. 16. p. 106. This learned Proteftant 
 in practice, as well as Dr. Barrow, Bifhop of St. 
 Afaph, in their refpective epitaphs, beg the prayers 
 of the faithful, that they may find mercy in the day cf 
 the Lor dy reft, and a happy Refitrreftion. Archbifhop 
 Sheldon and Bjfhop Blandford's confefTion on this head, 
 in acknowledging that it was their daily practice to 
 
 pray
 
 from Scripture , &c. 225 
 
 pray for the dead, is attefted by the Dutchefs of York* 
 in the paper me left behind her, declaring the motives 
 of her converfion to the Catholic Faith. 
 
 ALTHO', not to be tedious, I pafs by numerous other 
 Proteftant teftimonies to the fame effect, yet I cannot 
 fupprefs the frank and open confeffion, on this head, 
 of our modern impugner of the Miraculous Powers ; 
 who, tho' he does not, after the example of fome of 
 his brethren, pay that deference to antiquity as to 
 cfpoufe our tenets, on their credit ; yet he fairly gives 
 them up to us, and owns them to be all on our fide 
 St. CHRYSOSTOM, AUSTIN, JEROM, as we have heard 
 before, he taxes, by name, with fuftaining feveral 
 dogmas, rites, &c. which are* entirely Popery, and 
 quarrels particularly with St. JEROM for his maintain- 
 ing againft Vigilantius, a Purgatory, or Third Place ; 
 and praying for the Dead. Dr. Middl. Free Inquir. 
 Poftfcr. 
 
 After fuch undeniable proofs, for the being of a Pur- 
 gatory, and the capacity of fouls there detained, being 
 helped by the fuffrages of their living friends ; I fay, 
 after thefe proofs from Scripture and all antiquity, fo 
 amply confefled by the learnedeft, moil ingenuous and 
 moderate Proteitants ; with how much more front than 
 fincerity, Dr. Tillotfon and his adherents could aver, 
 that we have neither Scripture nor antiquity on our Jide, I 
 fubmit to the judgment of the candid and impartial 
 Reader* 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 "J'he quejlion of Indulgences fairly ftated^ and the meaning 
 and intent of them fet forth in their true light, and 
 vindicated from the mijreprefentationsj railleries and ca- 
 lumnies of our adverfaries. 
 
 TH E Archbifliop of Canterbury, whom I have 
 fingled out from the reft of our adverfaries, in 
 the controverfy concerning Purgatory, and have fbl-' 
 F f lowed
 
 226 TXv DoSlrine of 
 
 lowed, ftep by ftep, thro' the whole debate ; this Pre- 
 late, I fay, clofes his oppofition to this article with a 
 fneer, as little becoming his double character of an 
 Archbifhop and a Controvertift, as it is nothing to the 
 purpofe. But as railing and ridicule is often made ufe 
 of to fupply the dearth of better arguments, fo it is 
 the game die Doctor plays upon us in this prefent de- 
 bate :. for, having firft condemned us without judge or 
 jury, in afTerting confidently, without any proof, That 
 Scripture and antiquity are age.inft us ; he next makes 
 merry with our imaginary defeat, telling his audience, 
 that flill, the article of Purgatory, tho* deftitute of 
 every rational fupport > . was of too lucrative a tendency 
 to the Church of Rome, to be eafily parted with : that, 
 in this refpect me did not, indeed, come under the 
 lalh of the Apofcle, for building ftr aw andftubble on the 
 foundation of Chrijlianity, having filver and gold for 
 it's fuperftructure. 
 
 - I fuppofe the Doctor alludes, in this fneer, to the 
 alms which pious and well-difpofed perfons diftribute, 
 one way or other, towards the procuring of prayers for 
 their deceafed friends and relations : but if it be true 
 (what I natter myfelf to have evinced in the laft Sec- 
 tion) that the prayers of the living are available to the 
 faithful departed, there can certainly be no more in- 
 congruity in beftowing temporal charities in expecta- 
 tion of fpiritual ones, in behalf of our deeeafed friends, 
 fmce the" eftablimment of Chriftianity, than of Judas 
 Machabjeus's fending a fum of money to the ufe^of 
 the Temple of Jerufalem heretofore, for the fame cha- 
 ritable purpofe. They tbatferve the altar, fays St. Paul, 
 -partake with the attar, i Cor. ix. 13. this luppofed, 
 the Doctor's jeft, from this confideration, falls to the 
 ground. 
 
 IF he means to reflect on fome-poflible abufes, which 
 mc'V have happened, ibme time or other, in the diipo- 
 fa; of Indulgences ; which he may look upon to be an 
 app-na.x to the article of Purgatory j waving, or' evert 
 
 admitting
 
 Indulgences defended., &c. 227 
 
 admitting the truth of the fact, which it is not my bu- 
 fmefs, as a controvertift, to examine into : I fay, that 
 it no ways affects the merits of the caufe, nor the 
 validity of Indulgences, confidered in their own in- 
 trinfic intent and meaning. There is nothing fo holy 
 but may be fufceptible of abufe : the Sacraments are 
 obnoxious to them -, the Hierarchy, and the facred 
 character of Priefthood, have been proflituted to fimo- 
 niacal practices, without any prejudice to their Divine 
 inftitution : and therefore it is not what abufe may oc- 
 cafionally have been made of fuch an inftitution, which 
 it is incumbent on us to anfwer for, but what it is 
 in itfelf, which we are to regard. And with refpect 
 to the doctrine of Indulgences, which the Bimop afore- 
 faid ieems to flirt at, if abufe be feparated from the 
 right ufe of them ; truth from falfhood and flander, 
 and reafon to take place of prejudice, we mall find that 
 this doctrine is neither monftrous, nor odious and ri- 
 diculous, as our Reformers miC r eprefent it ; but a 
 Chriftian Truth, deduced from Scripture, confonant 
 to good fenfe, and fupported by antiquity. 
 
 BUT firft, to place this material point in it's true 
 light, I muft premife, that the purport and meaning 
 of an Indulgence, according to the fenfe and doctrine 
 of the Catholic Church, is nothing lefs than what our 
 charitable Reformers mifreprefent it, of being a licence 
 to commit fin^ or an anticipated pardon for fens which 
 hereafter may be committed. Therefore the true 
 meaning and fignification of Indulgences, and their 
 efficacy, confifts in this, viz. That it is a releafe of the 
 temporal penalty remaining due to fm^ after the guilt 
 thereof, and the eternal puifhment entailed on it, had 
 been remitted in the Sacrament of Penance, or thro' a 
 fmcere and unfeigned contrition. In order to make 
 good this pofition, which is the whole fum of the 
 Catholic doctrine on this head, the following queries 
 are to be previoufly cleared up, and refolved. 
 
 F f 2 FIRST,
 
 22 8 <The Dottrine of 
 
 FIRST, Whether there be not a temporal punifTi- 
 ment remaining due to fin, after the guilt has been can- 
 celled by Repentance ? 
 
 SECONDLY, Whether this temporary penalty is not 
 redeemable by a further application of CHRIST'S me- 
 rits, as an ample fund, fit to atone for all our defici- 
 ences ? 
 
 THIRDLY, Where the power is lodged of applying 
 this fund to us ? or whether the Church is not tha 
 Treafurer appointed by CHRIST to difpofe of it, ac- 
 cording to our refpeclive exigences ? 
 
 FOURTHLY, What difpofitions or conditions are re> 
 quired, on our fide, to participate of the benefit of this 
 treafure ? 
 
 THE bare folution of thefe feveral queries, will fet- 
 tle, at once, the point in debate , and as this folution 
 is obvious, I have no need of trefpafiing on my rea- 
 der's patience, in dwelling long upon it. 
 
 THE firft query, whether there be not a temporal 
 penalty remaining due to fin, after the guilt has been 
 cancelled by Repentance ? is anrwered in the affir- 
 mative, from many inftances gathered out of Holy 
 Writ, and inforced from reafon. We have a perpetual 
 and undeniable proof of it in the cafe of original fin, 
 which being firft remitted, as to the guilt, in our firft 
 parents, (as may be pioufly fuppoied) through their 
 fincere Repentance ; yet entailed upon them a penalty 
 as lading as their lives ; viz. that they mould earn their 
 bread with the fweat of their brows, in finding the 
 earth ftubborn and unwilling to yield to the labour of 
 their hands, and in meeting with a refractory difobe- 
 ^ience to their commands from all the irrational part 
 of the Creation : with a train of innumerable other 
 woes, the fatal confequence of their forfeited inno- 
 cence. 
 
 THEIR unfortunate progeny have felt the fame penal 
 effects of this fin ever fmce, even after the guile or 
 ftajn pf it is wiped orr by baiptifrrv The imbecility of 
 
 infancy
 
 Indulgences defended^ &c. 229 
 
 infancy ficknefs, and infinite infirmities annexed to 
 that helplefs ftate The depravity of our minds and 
 ft range propenfity to evil, felt in the years of matu- 
 rity and discretion -, and the variety of miieries conti- 
 nually hanging over our heads, and entailed on our 
 very being, are fo many pregnant proofs of this fatal 
 truth ; as they are, manifeftly, the penalty and con- 
 fequence of that original diibrder. 
 
 WE have another irrefragable inftance of this truth, 
 in the perfon of King DAVID, diverfly afflicted by 
 Almighty GOD for his grievous fins of adultery and 
 murder, after the guilt of them had been cancelled by 
 a fincere Repentance. For, in the inftant that this 
 penitent Prince confeffed his crimes, in a true humility 
 and contrition of heart, the Prophet NATHAN declared, 
 on the part of GOD, his forgivnefs The Lord alfo y fays 
 he, has 'put away thy fin. 2 Sam. xii. But, never- 
 thelefs, in the fame breath, he proceeds to denounce 
 to him the temporal vengeance of the Divine Juftice, 
 for the indignity offered to it by his grievous mifde- 
 meanours in a train of woes which prefently enfued ; 
 as the death of the child unlawfully begotten domeftic 
 fends and broils ; with many other evils by the Pro- 
 phet foretold. Ibid. ver. 10, u, 12, 14. 
 
 AND this conduct of Almighty GOD is fo agreeable 
 to equity and reafon, that man, finful as he is, in his 
 acts of judicature, frequently endeavours to copy after 
 it ; it being ufual for a prince, or judge, when, out of 
 an effect of clemency, he remits any capital crime, to 
 impofe a temporary imprifonment, fome public fatii- 
 faction, or a pecuniary mulct, in atonement for it. 
 
 THIS firft doubt, therefore, being cleared up beyonc\ 
 contradiction, from the teftimonies of Scripture, and 
 the dictates of reafon ; and it being refolved that there 
 is a temporary punimment due to fin, after the guilt 
 thereof has been cancelled j the next query is, whether 
 this debt be redeemable any other way, and the failure 
 of a temporary fatisfaction pn our parts, to be fupplied 
 
 from
 
 230 The Dotfrine of 
 
 from fome other fund ? In anfwer heret I might mow 
 firft, how that the fuperabundant fatisfadory works of 
 the Juft are applicable to us for this effecl:. For, tho' 
 every man's merit be doubtlefs his own, yet the impe- 
 tratory and fatisfattory part of his deeds are certainly 
 communicable to others: he cannot transfer on his 
 fricn'd his own deferts, but he may take upon himfelf 
 his debts ; and therefore, tho' every one will receive, at 
 GOD'S hand, bis own reward of his labour, i Cor. in. 8. 
 yet, as GOD vifits the fins of parents on their children, 
 Exod. xx. 5. fo, he being more inclined to exhibit to 
 us the deeds of mercy than of his juftice, he often 
 Jparcs wickc'd children for the fake of vituous parents j 
 as he forbore to divide Solomon's kingdom in his own 
 life time, for the Jake of his father David. And he 
 that will not let a cup of water, given in his name, be 
 loft, will not fuffer the penitential works of the juft to 
 be bereaved of their fatisfadory effect of atoning for 
 thr penalty due to fin, it being written, that alms de- 
 livereth from all fin, 1'db. iv. n. But then, this fup- 
 poied, it is certain, that the penances of the Blefled 
 Virgin MARY, who was by a fingular privilege of Hea- 
 ven full of Grace, and confequenrly without fin; of 
 St. JOHN Baptift, who was confirmed in grace in his 
 Mother's womb j and of many other juft men recorded 
 jn Scripture, who had few or no fins of their own to 
 be accountable for, or unatoned for, 'tis certain, I fay, 
 that the fatisfaftory part of their penitential works, by 
 the invariable rule of GOD'S mercy and equity, juft men- 
 tionecj, are applicable fome other way. But ftill I add 
 that, cxclufive of thefe, the fufferings of CHRIST, alone, 
 are conftfiedly fuca an inexhauftible treafure, as to be fit 
 of themfelves to difcharge compenfatively and fully 
 our whole debts of every kind, whether of guilt .or 
 punifhment, fo that it will be needlefs to enlarge upon 
 a point, much more to undertake to prove, what no 
 one makes the leaft doubt of, 
 
 THE Reformers carry their eftimation of CHRIST'S 
 Bierits and fufferings to fuch a miftaken pitch, as to 
 
 fuppofe
 
 Indulgences defended, &c. 231 
 
 fuppofe them abfolutely fatisfactory to the Divine Juf- 
 tice, and of immediate benefit to us, in cancelling the 
 guilt and punifhmentdue to fin, independently of every 
 other condition than an internal repentance , whereas 
 the Catholic Church thinks, that to thefe efiential pur- 
 pofes it is further required, that they Ihould be applied 
 to us by the means and powers of CHRIST'S appoint- 
 ment. The Sacraments, as we have fhewn in another 
 place, (vid. Sacrament of Penance] are thefe means 'of 
 CHRIST'S inftitution, towards cancelling, the guilt of 
 fin. And, which is an anfwer to the third query, the 
 Church htrfelf we hold to be the treafurer of thefe 
 mercies, and vefted with the powers of diftributing 
 them amongft her penitent children (which is what we 
 call Indulgences) for the other defirable effecl, to wit, 
 of paying off the remaining fatisfaftion due to the 
 Divine Juftice for fin, after the guilt of it is releafed 
 and forgiven. 
 
 THE inveftiture of this power in the Church, we 
 apprehend to be evident from the delivery CHRIST 
 made to her of the Keys, without limitation or re- 
 ftriftion, in the following emphatic commiffion : I will 
 give unto thee (PETER) the keys of the kingdom of Hea- 
 ven ; and wbatfoever thou jhalt bind on earth Jhall It 
 bound in Heaven , and whatfoever thou Jhalt loofe on earthy 
 Jhall be loofed in Heaven. Matt. xvi. 19. 
 
 THE power here given, of binding and loofing is full 
 and illimited, without diftindtion of guilt or punim- 
 rnent : and, therefore, purfuant to this commiffion in 
 full, and an unlimited power vefted in the Church, we 
 find that me, from the eftablimment of Chriftianity, 
 exercifed it from time to time, according to the exi- 
 gency of caufes and circumftances, in difcharging Pe- 
 nitents, whenever there was juft occafion for it, from 
 part of the canonical penance injoined them for their 
 fins, as is to be proved from unexceptionable witnefTes 
 of the earlieft times of the Church. Among the fe- 
 veral councils which have declared this power to belong 
 to her, the Council of Aries, c. 10. fpeaking of the 
 
 canonical
 
 32 The D oft rim of 
 
 canonical penance impofed by the Council of Nice* on 
 thofe who fell in time of perfecution, decrees it to be 
 left to the difcretion of their refpective bifhops to remit 
 to fuch, a part of their penance, on their fhewing figns 
 of a fincere repentance. And Symons on Revelation, 
 p. 84. Bale in Act. Pontif. p. 46, 47. and other Pro- 
 teftant authors, confefs that St. Gregory the Great 
 did alfo occafionally releafe canonical penances, and 
 grant pardons for vifiting Churches and places of de- 
 votion, and on fundry other accounts and occafions. 
 And even long before St. Gregory's time, between the 
 iecond and third century, Tertullian, /. de pudicitia &? 
 alibi, and St. Cyprian, 1. 3. Ep. 16, 17, 18. & Serm. 
 de Lapjis. make mention of the Church's practice, at 
 the intercefiion of the glorious martyrs j actually lay- 
 ing down their lives in defence of their faith of giving 
 pardon to thofe weak brethren, who through human 
 frailty had funk under the like trials. And tho' Tertul- 
 lian in his latter days, after he had left the Church, af- 
 fected to cenfure her tendernefs for thefe pufillani- 
 mous combatants ; yet his very blaming the prac- 
 tice is a voucher to the exiftence of it, and no more 
 than what he himfelf had approved before ; as is 
 to be feen in his book ad martyres, when being an 
 obedient fon of the Church, he fpoke without paf- 
 fion and prejudice. And, indeed, the Church in 
 making ufe of the power me was vefted with in this 
 refpect, and in her method of doing it, only copied 
 after the example of the great Apoftle of the Gentiles, 
 who remitted to the inceftuous Corinthian part of the 
 penance laid upon him : both St. PAUL, on that oc- 
 cafion (as he exprefsly mentions) and the Church, now, 
 and at all times, doing it in the Perfon of CHRIST, 
 2 Cor. ii. 10. that is, by virtue of the keys or com- 
 mifllon received from him. 
 
 BUT, left jour advcrfaries may ignorantly imagine, 
 or unfairly mifreprefent the Church as making a wan- 
 ton ufc of this power, me is intruded with, it is to 
 be obfervcd, that, according to the Catholic doctrine 
 
 ia
 
 Indulgences defended, &c. 233 
 
 in this point, fhe never does exercife this authority, 
 delegated to her, without juft caufe ; or if fhe did, 
 that it would not be thought available to us, or ratified 
 in Heaven. 
 
 IT is moreover to be known, that on the part of 
 him, on whom this favour is beftowed, there are many 
 conditions requifite, in order to, reap any benefit from 
 it ; as firft, that he be abfolutely in the ftate of Grace, 
 and his heart fo wholly difengaged from fin, as to have 
 no actual affection or attachment to it ; to which end 
 it is always recommended and generally prerequired, 
 that he cleanfe his foul from this infection by a worthy 
 participation of the Sacraments of Confeflion and 
 Communion with thefe eflential preparations \ are alfo 
 ufualJy joined fading, alms, prayer and other peniten- 
 tial works. 
 
 So far then, is the Doctrine of Indulgences from being 
 a licence to commit fin, or an anticipated forgivenels 
 of future fins, as it is malicioufly mifreprefented by 
 our adverfaries, that, as I juft faid, it prefuppofes the 
 foul to be purified from all actual fins that are grievous, 
 as being deftructive of Divine Grace; and even ex- 
 cludes every inclination and affection to fin, in itfelf; 
 and thereby becomes* rather a means of preventing a 
 future relapfe, than an encouragement to it. 
 
 THOUGH I have been brief on the fubject of Indul- 
 gences, yet I flatter myfelf that the little I have offered 
 in defence of them, will be judged as much as the 
 matter requires : that it is fufficient to clear them from 
 the cavils and railleries of Dr. Tillotfon and his aflb- 
 ciates ; and that I have made good the promife I gave, 
 of mewing it to be a doctrine fo far from being odious 
 and monftrous, as they mifreprefent it, that it is, on 
 the contrary, an Apoftolic Truth, deduced from 
 Scripture, warranted by antiquity, and perfectly con- 
 fonant to good fenfe and reafon. 
 
 Gg CHAP.
 
 234 Th* Catholic Church 
 
 C K( A P. IX. 
 
 *The Catholic Church is as pure in her morals as fhe h 
 found in faith ; Jhe- is as holy as Jhe is orthodox : and 
 therefore, the pretended Reformation is alfo, from this, 
 head, unjuftifiabk. 
 
 IF I had taken upon trie to go through a body of 
 controverfy, it might have been expected that I 
 Ihould now, or even before this, have fpoken diftinftly 
 v and feparately, concerning the principal attributes or 
 marks of the Church ; as fhe is One, Holy, Catholic, 
 dpoftolic, &c. But this would have led me beyond 
 the bounds I prefcribed myfelf in the title of this 
 EfTay, by which I profeffed to treat precifely of the 
 merits of the Reformation-, or merely to inquire into 
 the grounds of the pretence that was pleaded for a 
 Reform, and how this pretence has been anfwered : and 
 in confequence thereto, to confider the Church fo far, 
 and no further than (he became it's object. 
 
 THE Church, being viewed in this light, there are 
 only two effential points, which* directly come within 
 our notice, her integrity of Faith, and the purity cf her 
 Morals -, or, Whether Jhe be orthodox, and wbetfferjbe be 
 holy? 
 
 THESE are, indeed, fo comprehenfive, as to in- 
 clude, in fome degree, her unity, and every other at- 
 tribute ; and therefore has obliged me, occafionally, 
 to touch on fome of them already, and may yet, to 
 add more hereafter, as the matter then in hand mall 
 require. But, I fay, the orthodoxy of the Church, 
 and her fandtity, are the only points I undertook to 
 treat of ex 'profejfo, becaufe they are the points in 
 which the late innovators muft pretend to have found 
 her reprovable, in order to give at leail fome colour 
 of juilice to their feparaticn from her. 
 
 THEY
 
 proved Holy in her Morals. 235 
 
 THEY, in fact, endeavoured, as we have feen, to' 
 bring the integrity of her faith in queflion, by im- 
 peaching her of feveral pretended errors ; the princi- 
 pal whereof we have examined in the foregoing con- 
 troverfies, and tried at the tribunal, they themfelves 
 make choice ^of, and appeal to, Scripture, in it's plain 
 and obvious fenfe. And, I hope, the defence we have 
 made, may be reputed, by an unprejudiced judge, to 
 be fufficient to clear her of this indictment. 
 
 TH E purity of her morals is the point next incum- 
 bent on us to inquire into, which we are ready to do, 
 and to bring to the fame bar :' for the whole iyflem of 
 Chriftian Morality is, no doubt, compiled and com- 
 prehended within the New Teftament. Taking, then, 
 the New Teftament for our umpire and guide, I muft 
 obferve, that it points out to us two marks, by which 
 the Church's holinefs is to be affuredly known ; the 
 one fignifying the means leading to it, and by which 
 i is to be directly attained , the other liippofmg it, and. 
 plainly mewing it to be already acquired and fully pof- 
 feffed. And therefore the Church, which has thefe 
 marks, muft indifputably be admitted to be holy -, not 
 only, as being in the way to Holinefs 9 but alib, as 
 being aftually Holy. 
 
 THE firft of thefe marks, fignifying the means, to 
 Holinefs, is a treafury of certain extraordinary virtues, 
 or a fyftem of morality lodged in the Church, called 
 the Evangelical Counfch ; which contain the fummit of. 
 perfection -, perpetual chaftity^ or celibacy^ ; voluntary po- 
 verty j felf-daiial ; the feveral degrees of humility, with 
 it's fuperero^atory .ads, and the reft : virtues moft af- 
 furedly recommended in thp Gofpel, and othqr parts of 
 the New Teftament. 
 
 THE mark of the fcxrond fort, fuppofing ajul jn$- 
 cating a previous Holinefs already acquired , and not 
 , ,nly Holinefe, but integrity of Faith to be inherent to i'ic 
 Church pofieiTed of this mark, is the PowcrefM't''"- 
 
 Miracles are the leal or hand- writing of (.;<>;> 
 G g z hi;;neif ?
 
 236 The Catholic Church is po/e/ed of 
 himfelf, who cannot fet his hand to any thing but 
 what is fanctity and truth. 
 
 Now which Churcl) has the beft claim to thefe fe- 
 vcral marks of Holinefs, tlie Catholic or the Reformed, 
 is the prefent queftion ; and on the iffue of it depends 
 which Church is to be reputed moft pure in her mo- 
 ral?, moil conformable to the Gofpel Rule, or, in 3 
 word, Which is the Holy Church of CHRIST, 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 <Tbs Roman Catholic Church has all the Marks or Signs 
 of being pojfeffed of the means leading to Holinefs, ac- 
 cording to the Standard of the Gofpel j which the Re- 
 formed Churches neither have, nor dare pretend to. 
 
 OUR blefled Saviour, before he quite abolifhed the 
 Mofaic Law, to make room tor the more per-r 
 feel: Law of Grace, gradually prepared his difciples 
 for this great event, by raifing in their minds a fublirr.e 
 idea of the dignity of the latter, and of the diitin- 
 guimed fuperiority it had over the former. This fu- 
 periority did not barely confift in the inftitution of the 
 Sacraments of the New Law, (which no doubt was a 
 very effential difference) but alfo in the excellency of 
 ij:'s morals ; in a fyfrem of a perfecter difcipline, and irv 
 a collection and recommendation of more eminent vir- 
 tues. In a word, the Divine Precepts were equal to 
 both Laws -, but the Evangelical Couniels, peculiar to 
 the Law of Grace, comprehend a degree of perfec- 
 tion, much exceeding what is to be met with in the 
 Law of Mofes. This excellency of Morals, in con- 
 junction with the Sacraments, was, as I juft faid, the 
 fpecific difference of one Law from the other ; and the 
 fame continues to be the charafteriftic of the true 
 Church of CHRIST, and it's diftinclion from all other 
 Se<5ts and Congregations whatfoever,
 
 the Means leading to Uolinefs. 237 
 
 BUT I muft obferve, that, when I ipcak of the 
 Evangelical Counfels as a part of the New Law', and 
 confequently, as a characteristic, in fome meafure, of 
 the true Church of CRHIST, I would not be under- 
 ftood to mean, that they affect, indifcriminately, each 
 member of the Church j or that it is incumbent on 
 every individual to obferve All, or any one of the Evan- 
 gelical Counfels, in the fame degree of perfection ; be- 
 caufe, as St. Paul tells us, Every man hath his proper 
 gift of GOD, one after this manner, and another after 
 that, i Cor. vii. 7. 
 
 BUT, what I aver, is, that the Church is the Repofi- 
 tory of thefe fpiritual Treafures, where, and no where elfe, 
 
 they are to be met with : I fay, that the Church, 
 
 acting by the fpirit of the Gofpel, recommends and 
 encourages the practice of thefe means to perfection : 
 that, in effect, there are many v/ithin her pale, who, 
 by the help of GOD, continually reduce them into 
 practice-, and that this is one of the marks of the 
 Church's Holinefs ; and, confequently, of being the 
 true Church of CHRIST, by pofTerTing thefe means 
 leading to Holinefs. And Jaftly, I aver this mark of 
 Holinefs to be proper and peculiar to the ROMAN CA- 
 THOLIC Church ; and, that the Reformed Churches 
 have no pretenfions to it. 
 
 IN order to make good this laft affertion, which is, 
 the principal of all, and comprifes the reft, I beg 
 Jeave to run thro' the lift of the Evangelical Virtues 
 and Counfels above mentioned ; applying them, as we 
 go along, to both Churches, from which it will be 
 clear which Church lays to them the beft claim. 
 
 WITHIN this lift, the perfection of the virtue of 
 Humility deferves to appear at the head, as the foun- 
 dation of all the reft. Now that our Bleffed Saviour 
 recommends, both by word and example, the perfec- 
 tion of this Divine Virtue to all his followers, is ib 
 evident, that a man muft be difpofed to contell the 
 inspiration of the Scriptures, to t-ntertcun the leaft 
 
 doubt
 
 23 8 The Catholic Church is pofe/ed of 
 
 doubt of it. He recommends it by example, when, 
 being the GOD of Majefty, be abafed himfelf fo low, as 
 St. PAUL fays, as to take upon him the figure and habit 
 of afervant, Phil. ii. 7. in his Incarnation; when he 
 Afterwards fubjected himfelf, for the belt part of his 
 mortal pafTage here on earth, to his Mother, accord- 
 ing to the Flefh, and to his reputed Father : when his 
 whole life was one continual a6t, and perfecl: model, 
 of the profoundeft humility ; and he laftly concluded 
 k by a confummate exercife of humility, in fubmitting 
 to a moil ignominious death, the death of the Crofs 
 He humbled himfelf, fays the aforefaid Apoftle,' becom- 
 ing obedient to death, even the death of the Crofs. Phil. 
 ii. 8. 
 
 AND the BlefTed Virgin, the faithful copy of this 
 Divine Original, as we have feen before, when raifed 
 to the dignity of being Mother of GOD, would deem, 
 herfelf no better than his Handmaid Behold, fays fhe 
 the Handmaid of the Lord. 
 
 OUR Bleffed Lord recommends the perfection of 
 this Evangelical virtue in words, by his repeated ex- 
 hortations to his Difcjples to the practice of it ; bid- 
 ding him, that would be great amongft them, to ap- 
 pear as the leaft : him that afpired to be Lord and 
 Matter, to deport himfelf as the fervant; declaring 
 die meek and humble of heart, to be truly bleffed : 
 and reproving the Scribes and Pharifees for their exor- 
 bitant pride. I refer the Reader to the Sacred Records 
 themfelves for numerous other documents of the pro- 
 fbundeft humility. The Counfel, therefore, is certain ; 
 but now, which Church adopts it chiefly into prac- 
 tice, the Roman Catholic or Reformed, is to be our 
 next inquiry. 
 
 AND, firft, I dare be pofitive, that the Reformation 
 can lay no claim to this Queen of Virtues, if either 
 its origin, the principles it is grounded upon, or the 
 characters of the Authors of it, are to be confulted. 
 For, with regard to . the latter, to fingle put Luther, 
 
 the
 
 the Me am leading to Hotinefs 239 
 
 the capital Reformer, for an inftance ; it is well 
 known that he was fo little celebrated for his humility 
 and meeknefs, that the oppofite vices of pride, felf- 
 efteem, and infolence, are acknowledged, from the 
 undoubted records of the times, to have been his 
 ruling paflions. He fet out by an open rebellion 
 againft his lawful fuperiors ; he dared to oppofe his 
 own private opinions againft the univerfal belief of. the 
 Church , that is, of the whole Catholic World ; as he 
 boafted himfelf, primo folus eram .' 
 
 THERE was no degree of perfons , no characters fo 
 facred, whether Prelates, Cardinals, Popes, or Mo- 
 narchs, but became the objects of his infults : even 
 the deceafed were not fpared, nor did the greateft 
 -Lights of the Church efcape his fcorn and contempt ; 
 " Though, fays he, a thoufand CYPRIANS, or a thou- 
 " fand AUSTINS ftood againft me, I care not a rum 
 " I don't concern myfelf what AMBROSE, AUSTIN, 
 " the Councils or practice of age's fay." Lvtb. contr. 
 Reg. AngL To. 2. fol. 347. Even his own Difciples 
 felt the effects of his arrogance, and complained 
 of his overbearing temper. And the character his 
 panegyrift, Archbilhop Tillotfqp, gives him, of a 
 bold, rough man, little correfponds to the humility 
 and meeknefs, CHRIST recommends to his Difciples. 
 
 AND though his fellow Reformers, or his adherents, 
 fince, may not have gone all his lengths of a bare- 
 faced infolence, it does not appear that they relent 
 of his fpirit, in the main ; that they are lefs felf-opini- 
 ative, or more docile and fubmiffive to their lawful 
 fuperiors appointed by CHRIST. 
 
 THE fundamental principle of the Reformation, by 
 which private judgment is made the umpire of all 
 religious controverfies, is a direct contradiction to the 
 humble captivating of our underftanding, in obedience 
 to faith, required by the gofpel rule. And, in fhort, 
 humility is a virtue fo little celebrated, or encouraged 
 within the Reformed Churches, that abftracting from 
 
 a few
 
 240 Vbe Catholic Church is poflefled of 
 
 a few fliort perfuafives to it, in the book entitled, The 
 Whole Duty of Man^ I "do not know whether the Refor- 
 mers can produce a fingle elfay treating profeffedly of 
 this virtue, or tending to difplay its excellency, and 
 to enforce its practice : whereas, on the other hand, 
 within the pale of the Catholic Church, the tracts pub- 
 limed on this Divine Subject are innumerable ; wherein 
 the merits of humility are duly weighed, and the 
 ieveral degrees of it explained : where it is fet before 
 us in all its fhapes, and its exercife ftrongly inculcated. 
 And, effectually, the conduct of the Sons of the Ca- 
 tholic Church is known to be the very reverfe of the 
 Reforming members , by paying a fubmiffive, in- 
 definite obedience to the Church and its Paftors, which 
 is interpreted and ridiculed, by cur adverfaries, as a 
 meanefs of fpirit. The voluntary humiliations of par- 
 ticulars, engaging themfelves by vow, to a fpecial 
 obedience to their refpective fuperiors, in the feveral 
 religious inftitutes within the Catholic Church, are 
 equally known, and are fo many undeniable proofs, 
 that we adopt this Evangelical Council, both in theory 
 and practice. Other exercifes of the moft heroic hu- 
 mility, both external and internal, are what they are 
 continually trained up to, in thefe fchools of religious 
 perfedtion. Here they are taught to fpurn the world, 
 with its follies ; to prefer the humility of the Gofpel to 
 pompous vanity ; contempt to honours ; and, if they 
 meet with infults and affronts, not only to bear them 
 patiently, but to rejoice thereat with the Apoflles, that 
 they are deemed worthy to fuffer contumely for CHRIST'^ 
 fake. 
 
 IF virtue, wit, learning, or any endowments of 
 nature or grace have gained them a great name, they 
 are inilructed not to be elated therewith, but to deprefe 
 themfelves the lower in their own judgments, the 
 higher they may be railed in the opinion of others : in 
 imitation of the Mother of GOD, the moft dignified 
 creature that ever was, and yet the moft humble. And, 
 
 laitly,
 
 the Means leading to Holhiefs, &c. 241 
 
 laftly, they are reminded of what our BlelTed Saviour 
 has admonifhed us : after we have done all that can 
 feemingly, be expected from us, and may flatter 
 ourfelves that we have reafon to be fatisfied with 
 our own performances ; yet Mill, with regard to Al- 
 mighty GOD, that we are unprofitable ferv ants. 
 
 THESE are the principles of folid humility, which 
 the Roman Catholic Church conftantly inftils into her 
 Children, and which, by the Grace of GOD, me has 
 the comfort of feeing, by fome or others, daily brought 
 into practice ; and therefore is an undoubted proof 
 that me gives an effectual attention to that Evangelical 
 Virtue in it's higheft degree of perfection ; which the 
 Reformers fo manifeftly neglect, and make fo little 
 account of. 
 
 PERPETUAL Virginity is another Evangelical Coun- 
 fel, properly fuch, which our adverfaries cannot fay 
 but that our BlefTed Saviour has fmgularly honoured ; 
 firft in his own facred Humanity, being the model of 
 purity, and purity itfelf : fecondly, by making choice 
 of a Virgin for his Mother : thirdly, by picking out, 
 from amongft his Difciples, a Virgin for his favourite ; 
 fo that, tho' they all had a great mare of his Love, 
 yet St. John, for his purity, as St. Jerom obferves, 
 was loved preferably to the reft; and was therefore 
 ftiled, by excellency, the beloved Difciple. And it is, 
 moreover, remarkable, that whilft our BlerTed Lord 
 fuffered his Divine Perfon to be reviled, flandercd 
 and blafphemed by his virulent enemies in every other 
 point, he never would permit them to caft the lean; 
 blemim upon his unlpotted purity. 
 
 SUCH, then, being our BleiTed Lord's diftinguifhedi 
 .efteem for the virtue of Virginity, and the extraordi- 
 nary complacency he took in his Virgin Mother and 
 Virgin Difciple, it cannot be doubted but every other 
 Virgin muft be fmgularly agreeable to him, 
 thofe who embrace upon earth a virtue which re- 
 iembles them to the inhabitants of Heaven, where our 
 H h BlefTed
 
 242 the Catholic Church is fo/e/ed of 
 BlefTed Saviour tells us, there will be no intercourfe 
 of marriages -they Jhall neither marry, faid he, nor be 
 married. Matt. xxii. 30. And, in effect, he recom- 
 mends this angelical ftate, and applauds their choice 
 who are fo happy as to take to it , when he fays, that 
 there are thofe, who make tbemfehes Eunuchs for the 
 kingdom of Heaven ; Ibid. xix. 12. though he infmu- 
 ates, at the fame time, that the fublime meaning of 
 this Counfel was above the reach of carnal underftand- 
 ing jl do not take this word. Ibid. xix. n. But 
 St. PAUL, the faithful interpreter of his Blefied Maf- 
 ter's Doctrine, fully expounds it, in inculcating, ex- 
 prefsly, the profeflion of Virginity : Concerning Virgins, 
 fays he, a Commandment of our Lord I -have not, but 
 counfel I give (that is, it is my advice) art thou loofedfrcm 
 a wife? feek not a wife: i Cor. vii. 25, 27. and, as 
 an encouragement to this generous undertaking, he 
 propofes his own example; wilhing all to be as he 
 was, to lead a fingls lire But, I fay to the unmar- 
 ried and to widows, it is good for them, if theyfo abide, 
 even as I. i Cor. vii. 8. 
 
 Now the Roman Catholic Church dares to boafl of 
 inheriting this Apoftle's fpirit, aud of literally adopting 
 his Counfel into practice ; or rather the Counfel of" 
 CHRIST,, repeated by him firft, by obliging the 
 Clergy to a life of celebacy fecondly, by encouraging 
 and confirming' thofe numerous religious inftitutes, in 
 which the ftate of Virginity is profefled by folemn 
 vow ; the perfection of it afpired to ; and, by the 
 grace of GOD, faithfully complied with, by thoufands 
 of virtuous fouls-, of which number many from time 
 to time, have had the refolution to feal their profeflion 
 of Virginity with the effufion of their blood, rather 
 than part with the ineftimable treafure. 
 
 BUT, on the 'other hand, I may venture to fay, 
 that the abettors of the Reformation will not think 
 themfelves wronged nor aggrieved, to aver, that they 
 do not practice this Evangelical Counfel, nor give any 
 
 encouragement
 
 tbe Means leading to Holinefs^ &c. 243 
 
 encouragement to the practice of it. 'Tis notorious 
 that the generality of them are of the number of thofe 
 our BlefTed Saviour points at, who think it an unin- 
 telligible faying, and above the ftrength of human 
 weaknefs ; and they prefume to cenfure the Catholic 
 Church, for the refpective obligations of a fmgle life, 
 which ihe has annexed to particular flates and. profef- 
 fions within her pale. 
 
 IT is equally certain, that the ringleading Refor- 
 mers were as notorious for their incontinency, as for 
 their exorbitant pride and arrogance. Each one affo- 
 ciated to himfelf his female mate to further on the 
 Evangelical work he had taken in hand : LUTHER had 
 his faithful KATE ; though both one and the other 
 were engaged by vow to a flngle life : the reft of the 
 new gofpellers took care, by their leader's example, 
 to be provided each one with his doxy ; and, even to 
 this day, if any of ours, degenerating from the fanc- 
 tity of his character, falls off from us to go over to 
 them, a wife, certainly, proves to be the cafe ; liberty 
 and concupifcence the fpring and motive of his con- 
 fcientious converilon ; which has brought it into a 
 proverbial obfervation, as ludicrous as it is true, that, 
 on thefe occafions they always carry double. In a word, 
 if facts are to be relied on, the Reformation is averfe 
 from the profeffion of virginity and a fmgle life, both 
 in principle and practice , and the Catholic Church 
 in .both thefe refpects, is as confpicuoufly an advocate 
 for, and abettor of this Evangelical Counfel. 
 
 AMONG the means to Salvation, a difengagement 
 of our hearts and affections from the things of this 
 world, that they may be more at liberty to attend to 
 the concerns of the other, is effentially one of them ; 
 to wit, a meaas always conducive to it, and in many 
 cafes abfolutely neceffary, 
 
 AN inordinate- attachment to creatures, is incom- 
 patible with the love of GOD above all things , there 
 is no railing our heart to Heaven while it is fixed on 
 H h 2 the
 
 244 Tfc Catholic Church is poffe/ed of 
 the earth : No one, fays our Blefled Saviour, can ferve 
 two mafters: Luke xvi. 13. the Philiflines might as 
 well have aflbciated Dagon and the Ark on the fame 
 Altar, as we can pretend to ferve GOD and follow the 
 world in its corrupt principles and maxims. In this 
 cafe, therefore, there is an indifpenfable obligation of 
 renouncing the world firft, to become in any degree 
 acceptable to GOD. 
 
 BUT there is alfo a moderate ufe of creatures, which 
 is allowable in itfelf, and not abfolutely incompatible 
 with our duty to GOD. Such is a well regulated en- 
 joyment of innocent amufements ; a temperate fruition 
 of lawful pleafures, the poflefiion of worldly goods 
 and riches, faving a due regard to the obligations of 
 charity, and a Chriftian oeconomy in the expending of 
 them. 
 
 BUT 'though, I fay, the pofieffion of thefe gifts of 
 Piovidence be lawful in itfelf, and no invincible ob- 
 ftacle to our eternal Salvation ; yet they cannot but 
 be deemed an incumbrance to us in our fpiritual career, 
 as many clothes are to a courfer running a race , and 
 therefore we mould, certainly, be more at liberty 
 by calling them off; we mould thereby be able 
 to ferve GOD with lefs interruption, and meet with 
 fewer rubs in our way to perfection. And to do this 
 is clearly the Counfel, our Blefled Saviour gives us, in 
 feveral parts of the Gofpel. 
 
 I'LL produce, one proof for all, which is, his ad- 
 vice to the young rich man, applying to him to be 
 guided into the direct road to the Kingdom of Heaven. 
 Our Blefled Lord, in compliance with his defires, 
 firft points out to him duties of obligation keep, fays 
 he, the Commandments. But, on the young man's 
 faying he had difcharged this obligation from his youth, 
 he counfels him next to what was perfect, If thou will't 
 be perfetf, fays he, go fell what thou haft, and give it 
 to tie poor, and come, follow me. Matt, xix. 2 1 . 
 
 IT
 
 the Means leading to Holinefs, &c. 245 
 
 IT was this poverty in effect and affection, which 
 the Apoftles practifmg, gave St. PETER, the confi- 
 dence of faying to our Blefled Saviour, Behold, we have 
 left all things and followed thee j what therefore Jhall we 
 have. Matt, xxvii. 
 
 AND we gather from the Acts of the Apoftles, that 
 they purfued this difmterefted conduct afterwards, 
 being divefted of all property, and Having nothing, 
 2 Cor. vi. 10. as St. PAUL avers, they could call their 
 own, but every thing in common. 
 
 THIS courfe, which the Apoftles entered upon, ap- 
 pears alfo to have been an engagement of the moft 
 facred nature; becaufe the origin of JUDAS'S ftiame- 
 ful apoftacy is dated from a breach of it, by embez- 
 zeling what was allotted for the ufe of the commu- 
 nity ; which is infinuated by the Evangelift's faying, 
 He was a thief, and having the purfe, carried what was 
 in //, John xii. 6. for, if he had not been guilty of 
 appropriation or embezzlement, his carrying the purfe 
 could not throw him under that imputation. The ex- 
 emplar Judgment which fell upon ANNANIAS and SA- 
 PHIRA, mentioned in the Acts of the Apoftles, was 
 apparently in punimment of a fimilar infidelity. 
 
 Now, to come to the application of the premifesj 
 I fay that, within the pale of the Catholic Church^ 
 this Evangelical Counfel is literally obferved, and the 
 Apoftolical example ftrictly copied by numbers of her 
 Children; witnefs the fundry religious inftitutes, in which 
 a total renunciation of their worldly goods is profefTed ; 
 their property is given up by vow, and all things arc 
 pofieifed in common, according to the Apoftolic fpirit. 
 Witnefs the many generous fouls, members of the Catho- 
 lic Church, who are feen to leave father and mother, 
 their deareft friends, their native home, and a plen- 
 tiful fortune, in exchange for voluntary poverty and 
 retirement ; in order to be more at liberty to attend 
 to the fervice of GOD and their own falvation. 
 
 AND
 
 246 *Ihe Catholic Church is pojfeffed of 
 
 AND I prefume to fay, that the like examples of a 
 perfect renunciation, are fo far from being to be met 
 with, within the Reformed Churches, that, on the 
 contrary, what is practifed by us in this kind, is be- 
 come the ufual topic of raillery and ridicule to them ; 
 or, at befb, attracts their pity on us, as a fet of miftakcn, 
 deluded zealots. 
 
 To forfeit a birth-right inheritance, or the plentiful 
 gifts of Providence, is by no means according to the 
 plan of the Reformation. Even the ecclefiaftical (late, 
 among them, is equally a ftranger to fuch renunciations, 
 and fcarce a bar to any pleafures or pofTeflions, com~ 
 patible with a fecular condition : and therefore, if fuch 
 as engage in it, were equally worldly-minded as fecu- 
 lars themfelves : if an eafy living, with a large income 
 annexed to it, mould have more perfuafive attractives, 
 and a more prevailing bias on their choice, than a bur- 
 thenfome curacy, with (lender profits, it cannot be ad- 
 mired at. And though they may think that, as to the 
 capacity of enjoying temporal pofleffions, they can re- 
 tort the charge upon the clergy of the Catholic Church ; 
 it is yet certain, that even the(e lie under many re- 
 ftrictions and obligations, which the Reformers have 
 taken care wholly to difpenfe themfelves with, and to 
 throw off their moulders. 
 
 BESIDES that, as I premifed in the beginning, the 
 Evangelical Councils are not obligatory, but only the 
 means to a greater good, and a help to perfection ; and 
 in that light advifeable and eligible, but not equally 
 convenient for all dates and conditions ; much lefs 
 binding in every degree of them, and in their full 
 extent. 
 
 IT is fufficient, for my prefent purpofe, to have 
 fhewn that the Catholic Church profefles the ftridleft 
 veneration for thefe means to Holinefs, the Evangelical 
 Counfels ; by approving and inculcating their practice ; 
 and that, with refpecl: to the particular Couniel in que- 
 , of a voluntary poverty, or a total renunciation of 
 
 their
 
 the Means leading to Holinefs, &c. 247 
 
 their worldly goods, in fpirit and effect, fhe has many 
 among. her children, who are courageous enough to 
 put it into execution, in the higheft degree of per- 
 fection. It is equally certain, that the Reformed 
 Churches are wholly deftitute of the like teftimonies of 
 their regard for the Evangelical Counfels in general, 
 and for this we have juft fpoke of in particular, as well 
 as for that which enfues. 
 
 As the fum of our ftridt obligation, with regard to 
 the law of GOD, confifts of two points, viz. to avoid 
 evil, and to do good: fo the perfection of the law is 
 compofed of two branches, to renounce the world, 
 and to deny ourf elves. By the firft we give away 
 from ourfelves, our temporal goods : by the fecond we 
 even make over ourfelves to another. There we re- 
 nounce our Property, here our Liberty, and our very 
 Will , by one, in fhort, we abftain from lawful plea- 
 fures -, by the other we embrace their contrary mortifi- 
 cations. And that this is a matter of Evangelical 
 Counfel, is indifputable. Deny yourfelf, take up your 
 Crofs, and follow me, Matt. xvi. 24. is what our 
 bleiTed Saviour is continually inculcating in almoft every 
 chapter of the Gofpel : and how little heeded by the 
 Reformers, is plain from the whole fyflem of their 
 pretended Evangelical Work, calculated for eafe and 
 luxury, to get to heaven with as little pains as pofiible, 
 and without putting any great reflraint on their paflions 
 and inclinations, for this defirable and only neceflary 
 end. 
 
 FOR inftance,' works of fupererogation are, by them, 
 abfolutely difcountenanced, and the doctrine of felf- 
 merit exploded ; the ancient Fails of the Church wholly 
 difcarded ; and the fpirit of Penance, preached up by St. 
 JOHN BAPTIST, confirmed by our bleffed Saviour af- 
 terwards, and repeated and inculcated over and over 
 again by the Apoftles, is loft among them, and quite 
 lain afide. 
 
 THE
 
 248 *fhe Catholic Church Is po/e/ed of 
 
 THE Catholic Church, on the contrary, manifeftty 
 keeps up the felf-denying fpirit of the Gofpel, by her 
 regular Fafts, enjoined to all her faithful ; by advifing 
 and encouraging acts of mortification and felf-abne- 
 gation in every ftiape : by her incefiant exhortations to 
 repentance, which, through the blefling of GOD, prove 
 fuccefsful in reclaiming numbers from evil courfes to a 
 penitential life, but, chiefly, by the many nurferies of 
 virtue me continually cultivates, which are fruitful of 
 Saints of every clafs, and of examples of the perfedeft 
 felf-denial, in a total renunciation of their will and 
 liberty to their fuperiors, by the vow of obedience. 
 
 Now, for our adverfaries to oppofe to thefe unque- 
 ftionable inftances of folid virtue, the diiTolute beha- 
 viour of a few, not living up to the fanftity of their 
 profeffion j what elfe can it prove, than that there is 
 no inftitution fo holy but is capable of being abufed, 
 and has been abufed. Yet this ftill can be of no pre- 
 judice to the merits of the inftitution itfelf, nor to thofe 
 who do live conformably to it. There was a JUDAS in 
 the College of the Apoftles, without any detriment to the 
 Apoftolic Calling. There are many, bearing the name 
 of Chriftians, who live worfe than Heathens ; yet Chri- 
 ftianity does not ceafe to be holy : nor, will the Ca- 
 tholic Church ceafe any more to be orthodox in her 
 Faith, and pure in her Morals, becaufe me has fome 
 members wavering or corrupt in their belief, and dif- 
 folute in their manners ; who deferve to be removed 
 from her communion. To fuch as thefe the Refor- 
 mation owes its firft rife and eftablifhment ; and none 
 but ftich ever defert us, fmce that religious revolution, 
 to incorporate with them. 
 
 BUT, in fpite of all thefe accidental fcandals, it will 
 always be true that the Catholic Church is found in 
 her Faith, and pure in her Morals ; and that me pays 
 -the profoundeft regard to the Evangelical Counfels, both 
 in theory and practice. Of thefe confift the fyftem of 
 her dlicipane, and die beauty of her oeconomy. And 
 
 they
 
 the Means leading to Holwefs, &C. 249 
 they being the means to Holinefs, appointed by CHRIST 
 himfelf, it cannot be queftioned but fhe, being pof* 
 fcfied of them, is that Church eftabliihed by him, (the 
 repofitofy of all his fpiritual treafures) Catholic, Or- 
 thodox and Holy. 
 
 ON the other hand, though the Reformers, by vir- 
 tue of their arrogated title, ought to have had thefe 
 efiential points at heart, and to have made it their 
 bufmefs to reftore integrity of faith, and purity of mo- 
 rals, fuppofed to have gone to decay ; yet, I venture 
 to fay, from the undeniable proofs I have produced in 
 the foregoing controverfies, that the contrary fatal 
 confequences have attended their prefumptuous under- 
 taking ; that they have lapped the very foundation of 
 religion, both in its doctrine and morals, under the 
 fpecious pretence of re-eftablifhing it , and therefore 
 muft be reputed deftitute of thefe eflential marks or 
 charadteriftics, of being CHRIST'S Church Catholic, 
 Orthodox, and Holy. 
 
 HERE it may be thought that I might very well drop 
 my pen on this fubject ; but I cannot forbear fubjoining 
 a hint of another material confideration, which has a 
 relation to what has gone before, as a mark of the 
 Church's Holinefs. The point I mean is a branch of 
 the law of Chanty, and that a principal one ; The 
 zeal of fouls. 
 
 THE converfion of fouls, or the bringing them to 
 the knowledge of truth, to the embracing it, and, in 
 confequence thereto, to a repentance for fin, was the 
 continual object of our BlefTed Lord's moft ardent 
 wifhes, prayers, and labours on earth ; as it was the 
 motive and end of all the circumftances of his rnyfte- 
 rious Incarnation, PafTion, and Death : and it was the 
 errand on which the Apoftles were afterwards .dif- 
 perfed to the diftant parts of the globe : Go, fays cur 
 Blefled Lord to them, teach all nations , baptizing them 
 in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, &c. 
 Miiir. xxviii. 19, 
 
 li THE
 
 The Miraculous Powers an djjured 
 
 THE occafion of this embaffy continually fubfifts, 
 fo long as there are Infidels in the world, or any who 
 are ignorant of the true way to falvation ; and there- 
 fore the Catholic Church has, for a fnccefTion of ages, 
 from the Apoftles time till now, cherifhed their fpirit. 
 Whole countries and nations, brought, from time to 
 time, under the yoke of CHRIST, ihro' the indefatiga- 
 ble labours of her miffionaries, are undeniable teftimo- 
 nies to her conftant and unwearied zeal of fouls. 
 
 BUT I defy the Reformers on their fide, to produce 
 an inftance of one fmgle town or village, ever gained 
 by them, or attempted to be gained, by any other 
 than compulfive meafures, and a legiflative influence. 
 And therefore, whereas the Catholic Church has 
 indifputably inherited this Apoftolic fpirit, (which 
 the Reformers are wholly ftrangers to) fo has it 
 pleafed Almighty GOD, from time to time, to 
 ftamp upon it the vifible marks of his fanclion and 
 approbation ; by annexing to the Church the Miracu- 
 lous Powers, as an aid to her Apoftolic labours , as 
 credentials to her commiffion, and as a manifeft 
 token or characteriftic of her being his beloved fpoufe, 
 the Church by him eftablifhed not only as being the 
 repofitory of the Means leading to Holinefs, but alfo^ 
 as being actually holy. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 $be Catholic Church can prove her claim to the Miracu- 
 lous Powers ; the Reformed Churches have difclaimed 
 them : therefore Jbe has this affured mark of her Or- 
 thodoxy and aftual Holinefs^ which they are dcftitute 
 of. 
 
 WHEN we attribute to the Catholic Church the 
 Miraculous Powers, we would not be thought 
 to infinuate the exiftence of an inherent quality or caufe 
 operative at will of its effect, in the manner of the 
 Prieftly character, impowering the perfon ve(fed with 
 ir, at all times, to exercife his functions, bur, 
 
 we
 
 Mark of the Church's Holinefs. 251 
 
 We mean, a gratuitous and occafional gift, pro- 
 videntially conferred by Almighty GOD on his 
 Church, according to the refpc&ive exigency of cir- 
 cumftances. 
 
 THE Apoftles were certainly under thefe circum- 
 ftances, when they entered upon their Apoftolic mi- 
 niftry. For, to go about to perfuade the Jews, th.t 
 the Man, whom they had juft before put to an igno- 
 minious death, as a notorious cheat and impoftor, was 
 really the Son of GOD, and their long expected Mef- 
 fiah , was an undertaking fo hazardous in itfeli", and 
 unlikely to fucceed, that they ftood in need of the 
 moft miraculous endowments, to gain credit to their 
 afieverations ; and to be able to overcome that peoples 
 inflexible prejudices, which had withftood the repeated 
 declarations and proofs thereof, given them before, by 
 CHRIST himfelf. 
 
 AGAIN, in order to convince the Gentiles of the 
 truth, reafonablenefs, -and merits of the Chriftian Re- 
 ligiorj, and to bring them over from a date of licen- 
 tioufnefs, allowed by the principles of Gentility, to the 
 practice of the fevere morality of the Gofpel ; the 
 Apoftles had occafion, no doubt, for a virtue, power, 
 and efficacy divine, to accompany their exhortations. 
 Therefore St. PAUL fays, that the Gift of Tongues, 
 which was one ot their miraculous qualifications, was 
 beftowed on them for the fake of the incredulous, and 
 not for believers. And St. Gregory, alluding to this 
 of the Apoftle, obferves, that the feed of Faith took 
 root, and the Church of CHRIST derived it's eftablilh- 
 ment from figns and miracles. Not that he was of 
 the opinion of our modern Reformers, that miracles 
 had either wholly ceaied then, or (hould at any 
 time while the Church has a being. For, in an 
 epiftle to St. Auftin, the Apoftle of England, he cau- 
 tions him againft motions of vanity, which might 
 poffibly arife from his being gifted with this fupernar- 
 tural endowment. Vid. Ven. Bede Ecclef. Hifl. 1. i. c.^j. 
 But he only infmuates, that in the beginning of the 
 I i ^ Church,
 
 252 "The Miraculous Powers an ajjured 
 Church, they were more neceflary, for the planting 
 and nourifhment of Faith, than they were afterwards. 
 St. Greg. Horn. 29. in Evang. fecund. Mar, xvi t 
 
 OUR Blefled Saviour himfelf enumerates to his 
 difciples the many Signs and Miracles, which were to 
 accompany the future propagation of his Gofpel : And 
 tkefe fegns, fays he, Jh all follow them that believe, &c. 
 Markxvi. 17. And though this Prediction was im- 
 mediately verified, in the perfons of the Apoftles, on 
 their fetting out upon the exercife of their Miniftry ; 
 yet we dare alfo be pofitive, from inconteftable proofs, 
 that it was not limited to them alone, but extended, as 
 we (hall fee prefently, to future times ; according to the 
 occurrence of fimilar exigences of circumftances. 
 
 To my prefent purpofe, I beg leave to obferve, That 
 the Miraculous Powers, the Apoftles were endued 
 with, had a double effc<5t and advantage firft, with 
 regard to themfelves and, fecondly, to thofe they 
 had to deal with , to be firft, a moral intimation of 
 their own perfonal merits and holinefs ; and fecondly, 
 an affured proof of the truth and fanctity of the doc- 
 trine they preached. Their miracles effectually ope- 
 rated this double conviction on the minds of their au- 
 dience, as we may gather from the ARs of the A-poflles\ 
 and therefore the like Powers, wherever they are met 
 with, muft be productive of the fame effect -, and thofe 
 who acquiefce in them muft be judged to aft rationally 
 and prudentially : the reafon of this is, becaufe miracles 
 are, as it were, the hand-writing of GOD himfelf, or 
 his Divine Seal ; and the perfons he makes ufe of to 
 operate them, his mediate inftruments. But, it is cer- 
 tain Almighty GOD cannot let his hand to fallhood and 
 unholinels; and it is equally unworthy of his infinite 
 Wifdom, and contrary to the ordinary methods of his 
 Divine Providence, to make ufe of wicked inftruments, 
 for the execution of operations, fupernatural, and pro- 
 perly his own and, in fnort, it is evident, from every 
 part of the Infpired Hiftory, that the Power of Miracles, 
 
 has
 
 Mark of the Church's Holinefs. 253 
 
 has ever been inftanced as an undoubted teftimony to 
 fanctity and truth. 
 
 THUS, without going any further for a proof, than 
 the Gofpels, we find, that it was the evidence of . 
 CHRIST'S Miracles, which extorted from NICODEMUS 
 
 a confeffion of his Divine Miniftry : Rabbi, 
 
 fa id he to him, we know thou art come a teacher 
 from GOD, for no man can do tbefe Signs thou hajl 
 done, unlefs GOD be with him. John iii. 2. We find 
 alfo, that the blind man, St. JOHN, chapter the ninth, 
 miraculoufly reftored by our l^letfed Saviour to his 
 fight-, when invidioufly qucftioned by the Pharifees 
 about his cure, and folicited by them to blafpheme 
 his Divine Phyfician and Benefactor; he generoufly 
 difdained their fuggeftions ; grounding his opinion of 
 our Blefied Saviour's undoubted merits, upon his mar- 
 vellous actions. Since the world began,, was it not beared^ 
 |ays he, that an\ man opened the eyes of one that was 
 lorn blind ; ;/ this man were not of Goo, he could do 
 nothing. John ix. 32. And, even our Blefied Saviour 
 himfelf inftanced the miracles he had wrought, as an 
 irrefragable teftimony to his Divinity, and to the truth 
 and holinefs of his doctrine ; and moreover enforced 
 them as an unpardonable aggravation of the guilt of 
 that perverfe, obftinate disbelieving people : If I had 
 not, lays he, done the works which no man ever did, 
 they had not had fin among them. John xv. 24. And 
 laftly, to St. JOHN BAPTIST, lending to him to know 
 whether he were the Meffiah : Art thou he that is to 
 come, or look we for another, Matt. xi. 3. Our Bleflcd 
 Lord returned no other anfwer than the teftimony of 
 the wonderful works he wrought 'Tell JOHN, faid he 
 to the meffengers, that the blind fee, the lame walk. 
 Matt. xi. 4, 5. What therefore the Miraculous Powers 
 were to CHRIST, vi%. a teftimony of his divinity- 
 what they were to the Apoftlc-s, viz. credentials to 
 their miniftry ,-. that they mult, in a rcfpective capa- 
 city, be reputed to be to that Church in which they 
 ars at any time found to be lodged, viz. a certain token 
 
 of
 
 254 e ^ )e Miraculous Powers an ajjured 
 
 of the integrity of her Faith and do6lrine, and of the 
 
 purity of her morals. And our Blefied Saviour himfelf 
 
 does not obfcurely infmuate this, in many parts of the 
 
 Gofpels ; that the true believers in him, that is, his 
 
 Church, mould be diftinguiflied and known by thefe 
 
 characteriftics. 
 
 IN one place he tells us, that they mould be 
 vefted with the power of working miracles as great, 
 and greater, than what he himfelf had wrought He 
 that believe tb in me^ the works that I do^ he alfojhall do, 
 and greater than thefe Jhall he alfo do. John xiv. 12. 
 
 IN another place he aflures us, that with a fufficient 
 flock of faith, we mould be able to move mountains 
 (according to the occafional exigency of circumftances) 
 and do other figns equally furprifing and wonderful. 
 Mark xi. And, in fine, in the fixteenth Chapter of 
 St. Mark, as we have feen above, the miracles he there 
 foretells mould be wrought in future times, he'afligns 
 its a token and reward of a perfect Faith. , Thefe figns^ 
 fays he, Jhall follow them that believe^ not the unbe- 
 lievers, &c. Mark xvi. 
 
 BUT now, that the Reformed Churches are wholly 
 defbitute of thefe allured teflimonies to the truth and 
 holinefs of their Belief, does not want any proof from 
 us ; becaufe they themfelves give up, and utterly dif- 
 claim all pretenfions to them : and therefore, they 
 would fain perfuade the world, that there has been an 
 abfolute ceilation of Miracles in the Church for a long 
 time before the Reformation, in order to put a better 
 face on their total want of them. 
 
 THIS was the language no lefs of the firft Authors 
 of the pretended Reformation, than it has been of the 
 Abettors of it ever fince ; tho', certainly, if ever there 
 was an exigency of this fupernattiral gift at the Di- 
 vine Hands (the Miraculous Powers) it was particu- 
 larly wanting to thofe pretended Apoflles, in order to 
 gain credit to their enterprife, as important in it's own 
 nature, as it was daring and arduous an important 
 
 undertaking,
 
 Mark of tie Church's Holinefs. 255 
 
 undertaking, I fay, becaufe the pretended drift of it 
 was nothing lefs than to bring the Church back to 
 it's primitive purity, after above 800 years fuppofed 
 apoftacy, that the whole world, during that length o'f 
 time, had plunged into the gulph of abominable errors, 
 fuperftition, and idolatry j all running with the ftream, 
 till Luther (magnanimous man) dared oppofe himfelf 
 alone to ftem the current. 
 
 THE undertaking was bold and arduous, becaufe he 
 entered upon it without any ordinary commifTion, flying 
 in the face of his lawful fuperiors, and impugning his 
 Mother Church, from whom an ordinary commiffion 
 could only be derived. An extraordinary commiflion 
 was therefore evidently wanting under fuch extraordi- 
 nary circumftances, and nothing lefs than the Mira- 
 culous Powers could be be fufficient to procure it the 
 credit of this fupernatural fanction. For, certainly, to 
 reform a Church, fuppofed to be wholly corrupted, 
 was an attempt no lefs arduous than it's firft efta- 
 blimment; and (landing in need of fimilar helps, 
 and the fame credentials, the Seal of Heaven to be 
 plainly ftampt upon it : and, therefore, if, on this 
 exigent emergency, the Reformers themfelves durft 
 lay no pretenfions to the Miraculous Powers, 'tis no 
 wonder their followers have difclaimed them ever fmce. 
 And, as to their allegation, of Miracles having now 
 ceafed, it is like the fable of the Fox crying the Grapes 
 were four, becaufe he could not get at them. In a 
 word, the Reformers would impofe their work upon 
 us as Godly and Evangelical : they would have us be- 
 lieve it to have been begun and conducted by Divine 
 Inspiration, but want their proper credentials to prove 
 their mifllon, and to warrant their pretenfions. 
 
 BUT, while they are thus utterly deflitute of thefe 
 afiured tokens, affigned by CHRIST himfelf, of being 
 the true believers, we flatter ourfelves, if authentic 
 records, and the teftimonies of the Primitive Fathers, 
 
 deferve.
 
 256 *Ile Miraculous Powers an affufed 
 
 deferve any credit, that we can make good the Catho- 
 lic Church's undoubted claim to them. 
 
 AMONG the reft of our proofs, I reckon the Mira- 
 cles tranfmitted to us from the unqueftionable autho- 
 rities of cotemporary Fathers, wrought by St. Gre- 
 gory, Bifhop of Csefarea, who lived about the third 
 Century ; and, for the number, variety, and ilupen- 
 doufnefs of the prodigies it pleafed Almighty GOD to 
 operate through his means, was called 'Thaumaturgus^ 
 or, the Wonder-worker \ and was compared in this 
 refpecb to Mofes. 
 
 ST. BASIL gives this abftracted account of them, 
 c That he made the Devils tremble Rivers to 
 <c change their courfe j and by his prayers, dried up a 
 " pool, which was the occafion of diflention between 
 " two avaricious brothers. He alfb removed a moun- 
 " tain to make room for the fituation of a Church, 
 " &c. St. Baf. lib. de Sp. Sto. c. 29. 
 
 BESIDES this early teftimony of the Miraculous 
 Powers, which fome may not therefore have fo much 
 difficulty of fubfcribing to, I refer the Reader to thofe 
 from Theodoret, and others of a later date, quoted 
 heretofore. Ven. of ReL Seft. i. 
 
 I mall, prefently, add fome, that may be alfo re- 
 puted modern. The evidences of St. Ambrofe, and 
 St. Auilin, to Miracles, which they were eye-witnefles 
 of themielves, you have had before, Seel:. 2. Vcn. of ReL 
 and therefore need not be repeated. 
 
 Now, from theie venerable teftimonjes, and others, 
 \vhich, for brevity's fake, I omit, I draw the follow- 
 ing inferences Firir, that thefe holy Fathers were 
 evidently in the oppofite opinion to our modern Re- 
 formers, of there being a ceflation of the Miraculous 
 Powers Secondly, that whereas, in the foregoing 
 controvei Ties, we have produced theie Primitive Fa- 
 thers as evidences to die Catholic Doctrine ; the Mi- 
 racks here recited, and avowed by them, muft bt re- 
 puted as fo many teftirhohies to the Faith they pro- 
 
 ft-illd ;
 
 Mark of the Church's Holinefs. 257 
 feffed ; that is, to the Faith the Catholic Church, 
 then, and now, and always, profefled Thirdly, that 
 whereas thefe, and the other Fathers, whom we have 
 omitted, were men of undoubted credit and veracity, 
 whofe authority is admitted in other matters, both dog- 
 matical and hiftorical , there can be no reafon fhewn 
 why they mould not be equally believed in the prefent 
 relations of the exiftence of the Miraculous Powers in 
 the Church, and of their being, on occafions, actually 
 exerted ; to fome whereof they declare themfelves to 
 have been ocular witnefles : I fay, there can be no 
 reafon why they mould not deferve, in this point, the 
 credit of an hiftorical faith. 
 
 BUT then, this being granted them, the immediate 
 and necefiary confequence following from this juft con- 
 cefllon, is, that they muft be believed, afTerting the 
 exiftence of the Miraculous Powers in the Church, 
 preferably to a few modern Sectaries, whofe manifeft 
 intereft it is to difcredit and deny them, becaufe they 
 themfelves can put in no pretenfions to them. They 
 muft alfo be believed, as I mail mew in the next Sec- 
 tion, preferably to a fkeptical critic, whofe refine- 
 ments, in religious matters, have too plain and direct a 
 tendency to the fapping of the foundation of Religion 
 itielf, to carry any weight. 
 
 WHAT St. Gregory the Great's opinion was of the 
 Miraculous Powers, we have feen above, in his letter 
 to St. Auftin, the Apoftle of England. The faid St. 
 Auftin's gift of Miracles is even allowed by Mr. Col- 
 lier, and other Proteftant Authors. Col Htft. Red. 1. 2. 
 p. 78. And, indeed, the fmgle memorable inilance 
 of his putting the irTue of the controverfy between him- 
 felf and the Britifh Bifliops, to a miracle, which he 
 wrought on the fpot, in the prefence of all of them 
 (as is related at length by Venerable Bede) by reftoring 
 fight to a blind man : this one inftance, I fay, puts 
 -his gift of the Miraculous Powers paft all doubt. 
 
 K k BUT,
 
 258 The Miraculous Powers an affured., &c. 
 
 BUT, in ihort, to come nearer home, and to oui 
 own times, and, as it were, within our own doors 
 and knowlege, for a proof the Miraculous Powers 
 ftill fubfifting, and that, within the pale of the Ro- 
 man Catholic Church, I appeal to the many various 
 and flupendous Miracles wrought by the 'Thaumatur- 
 gus of the fixteenth Century, St. PVancis Xavier, late 
 Apoftle of the Indies ; which are to be read in his Life, 
 Englimed by Mr. Dryden ; and fo well attefted, that 
 the Man who is fkeptic enough to doubt the truth of 
 them, may, with as good a front, and equal reafon 
 and juflice, controvert the being cf fuch a man and 
 woman as Harry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth, and 
 call in queflion the moft remarkable hiflorical occur- 
 rences of thofe memorable reigns. 
 
 AND now, if our adverfaries, for their lafl Ihift, 
 pretend to oppofe to thefe tefti monies cf certain and 
 undeniable Miracles, a few that may be doubtful, fup- 
 polititious, or even counterfeit ; I beg leave to fay, 
 that this plea is entirely evafive and Jbphiftical.' For 
 Firft, the integrity of Faith, and the credit of the 
 Church, is no way concerned in, or affected by a mif- 
 taken miracle ; tho', for reaibns before alleged, viz. 
 Miracles being the Seal or Hand-writing of >GoD him- 
 ielf, it is certainly confirmed by a true one. There- 
 fore Secondly, a falfe Miracle cannot invalidate the 
 merits and coniequences of a true Miracle, known to 
 be fuch. And liich, I flatter myfelf, I have proved 
 thole to be, for which I have brought imqueflionabk 
 authorities in the foregoing premifes ilich are thofe 
 which the Church, after the moil rigorous examina- 
 tion, and the moft unqueftionable atteftations to the 
 truth of them, authentically efpoufes ; and the confe- 
 quences, equally certain, flowing from them, are what 
 I undertook to make good in the beginning of this 
 Seclion, viz. 
 
 FIRST, That the Miraculous Powers have not ceafed 
 in the Church ; but that fhe has, from time to time, 
 been veiled with them. SE-
 
 A further Vindication of .the, &c. 2$) 
 
 SECONDLY, that they are an affured token of the in- 
 tegrity of her Faith, and purity of her Morals ; or, 
 of her being the true, orthodox, and holy Church of 
 CHRIST ; and that the Reformed Churches, by not 
 daring to put in any pretenfions to the Miraculous 
 Powers, have this negative, but ftrong proof, {landing 
 m full force againft them, of being neither orthodox 
 nor holy. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 The Church's claim to the Miraculous Pavers fince the 
 Apoftolic age, further confirmed and vindicated from the 
 Jkeptical exceptions of the late Dr. Conyers Middleton, 
 in his Treatifa Int tiled, A Free Inquiry, fcfr. 
 
 OUR late prentended Reformers, being wholly 
 deftitute of the Miraculous Powers, to gain 
 credit, as a token of an extraordinary Miflion, to their 
 temerarious enterprife ; were neceflitated, as we have 
 feen in the laft Section, to plead a total ceffation of 
 thefe fupernatural virtues in the Church of GOD, in 
 order to give a better grace to their want of them. 
 But at what epoch of time to affign the period of the 
 manifeftation of thefe Powers, was the difficult point, 
 in which they never yet could unanimoufly agree. 
 Some limited them to the beginning of the fourth 
 Century, when, perfecution being at an end, the Gof- 
 pel at liberty, and the propagation of it authorifed by 
 law, they imagined the occafion for this extraordinary 
 aid from Heaven had ceafed. Others, unable to 
 withftand the teftimony of irrefragable vouchers, to 
 their fubfifting in after times, have brought them down 
 to the fifth and fixth Centuries ; and ibme, as Dr. 
 Middleton acknowledges, in his Free Inquiry, to the 
 feventh Century, or even lower. Of this number is 
 Jeremy Collier, and other candid Proteftants, admit- 
 ting St. Auftin, the Apoille of ling] and, to have beer 
 K k 2
 
 260 A further Vindication of the Church's 
 
 endued with thefc Powers. Thus varying among them- 
 feives as mulsh about thele fupernatural evidences to 
 th" true Faith, as about it's tenets and principles. 
 
 BUT our modern enemy to the Miraculous Powers, 
 the Doctor, with whom we are now engaged, (Inking 
 at root and branch with one blow, has abridged the 
 difficulty, by contefting all Miracles, but what have 
 the fanction of Scripture for them. And tho', by this 
 bold pufh, the Doctor has dealt with us more unmer- 
 cifully than his Brethren, yet it muft be owned he 
 has acted more in character, and more confequent to 
 Reforming Principles : becaufe, as he juftly obferves, 
 p. 96, of his Introduction, admitting the' Miraculous 
 Powers to have fubfifled in the Church in any one Age 
 after the Apoftles, there can no tolerable reafon be 
 affigned for di r allowing her claim in any fucceeding 
 Age. And whereas, as he had obferved > juft before, 
 p. 76. of his Introduction^ the Miracles attefted by the 
 Fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries became a con^ 
 firmation of doctrines and inftitutions, entirely Popifh, 
 and r j^cted at this time of day by himfelf and all true 
 Proteftants, as fuperftitious ; the belief of one muft, 
 of confequence, infer the belief of the others. There- 
 fore the Doclor, in this defperate cafe, thinking him- 
 fdf under a neceffity of rejecting both or none, has 
 embraced the firft extreme, chufmg rather to appear 
 an Infidel in belief, than to be a half-paced Reformer. 
 But a defperate conduct, in fupport of a defperate caufe, 
 is no proof of the reafonablenefs of it ; and that the 
 Doctor's proceeding, in this point, is wholly deflitute 
 of reafon (as he is now become our antagonift in thii. 
 debate) is incumbent on us to fhew. 
 
 To follow the Doctor, ftep by ilep, through his 
 whole extraordinary fkepticifm, would carry me be- 
 yond the narrow bounds pf a fingle Section. I have 
 cccafionally touched upon, and obviated his principal 
 argument, as it fell in pertinently to the fubject in' 
 j, in another place. Pen. of Refaks, Sect. 2. 
 
 I WH,L
 
 Claim to the Miraculous Powers. 26 r 
 I WILL endeavour to difpatch his remaining .excep- 
 tions with only a few remarks, fuch as are obvious, and 
 caanot be difpenfed with, fmce I apprehend a naked 
 view of his arguments in themfelves, fufficient to dif- 
 cover their weaknefs ; they being, I beg leave to fay, 
 either foreign to the purpofe, or what, make as much 
 againft fcriptural Miracles, even thofe of CHRIST and 
 his Apoftles, as againft the Miraculous Powers of the 
 Church -, and therefore by proving too much, prove 
 nothing at all. 
 
 - IN his Preface, p, 9. the Doctor lays down the fol- 
 lowing rule for the bafis of his Inquiry, and of his 
 own, judgment refulting from it He fays, ^ That 
 " the reality of a fact depends on the joint credibility 
 *' of the fact itfelf, and of the witneffes that atteft it.'* 
 But the fir ft part of this rule, I apprehend, wants an 
 explanation, or not to be true, but under certain re- 
 ftrictions. 
 
 IF, by credibility, he means the probability of a fad, 
 his rule is true, with refpect to human actions , becaufe, 
 what is humanly improbable, no doubt, becomes hu- 
 manly incredible : But with refpect to fupernatural 
 facts, I beg leave to demur to the rule, and even to 
 reject it entirely. 
 
 FOR inftance, Raifing the Dead to Life, carries no 
 appearance of human probability, and is only miracu- 
 lous becaufe it is above what is human : therefore it's 
 credibility muft reft on fome other foundation. This, 
 to us that have a fact by rehearfal, or from other 
 hands, the Doctor thinks to be the credit of their 
 Bouchers , which is the fecond member of his rule. 
 
 Now the vouchers to the primitive Miracles were 
 the primitive Fathers, whom the Doctor, therefore, has 
 jnduftriouily endeavoured to diicredit to all intents and 
 purpofes, and I have already, occafionally, attempted 
 to vindicate. Ven. ef Relickj, feet. 2. What I faid then, 
 I therefore need not repeat. In fum, the merit of their 
 evidence depends on the refolution of one plain and 
 
 obvious
 
 262 A further Vindication of the Church's 
 
 obvious inquiry, viz. Whether they are to be deemed 
 men of common fenfe, and of an honeft heart ? For, 
 with regard to miracles, which are matters of fact, I 
 cannot apprehend any other qualification requiiite. 
 
 AND now, to difpute them either of thefe qualities, 
 upon the Doctor's fmgle and fingular judgment, or 
 groundlefs prejudices, in contradiction to the univer- 
 fal repute, they had ever ppffefTed in the world, feems, 
 as I obferved heretofore, quite unreafonable : but yet, 
 even the nature and validity of their evidence, fo far 
 as it is by us admitted, feems to be what the Doctor 
 has alfo widely miftaken. 
 
 FOR, firft, the credit we give them, as mere rela- 
 tors of facts, and abftracting from Church authority, 
 is no more than an hiftorical credit, fuch as is due (in 
 proportion to the degree of credit they may deferve) 
 to every author of hiftorical records. But our belief 
 of the Miraculous Powers fubfifting from time to time 
 in the Church, as an article of our Faith, refts on the 
 authority of the Church, under the direction and in- 
 fluence of the HOLY GHOST, which underftands the 
 predictions or promifes of, our Bleffed Lord, cited in 
 the laft Section, John xiv. 12. Mark xi. 16. to apper- 
 tain, indefinitely, to all times of the Church's being. 
 And therefore where the Doctor, p. 112. of his Intro- 
 duciiun, allows the teftimony of the Fathers "to be 
 " of ufe in tranfmitting to us the genuine Books of 
 " the Scriptures," &c. &c. If he means that he re- 
 ceives them upon their bare teftimony, he, in this, 
 pays them a deference, which we ourfelves do not ; 
 for we follow St. Auflin's rule, who affirms, " That 
 " he would not believe (even) the Gofpel, unlefs he 
 " was induced thereto by the authority of the Church." 
 Ep. Fundam. c. 4, 5. Therefore it is the authority of 
 the Church in all thefe matters, in which ihe efpoufes 
 the evidence of the Fathers, which renders it of any 
 kind of weight with us in point of Faith. 
 
 SECONDLY^
 
 Claim to the Miraculous Powers. < 26 3 
 SECONDLY, Taking the Fathers, in this point, as 
 barely hiftorical evidences, we are not tied down to 
 the belief of every individual fad; they may have de- 
 livered ; but, considering their complex relations in a 
 body, we look upon it a thing incredible, that they 
 mould, one and all of them, confpire in a formed 
 confederacy of impofmg upon the whole world in their 
 own time, and ever lince, an incomprehensible belief 
 of the Miraculous Powers fubfifting in the Church, if 
 it had not been founded on truth ; and ftill more fur- 
 prifing, if they had thus intruded on mankind their 
 own inventions, that they fhould have obtained that 
 current fuccefs for fo many centuries, never to be de- 
 tected, till Dr. Middleton, after more than fourteen, 
 fifteen, or fixteen hundred years, by fome unknown 
 lights, difcovered all their cheats and impoftures. 
 
 THEREFORE, when the Doctor advances, afterwards, 
 in his Poftfiripti p. 216, 217. that the hiftory of mira- 
 cles is widely different from that of common events, 
 " the one always to be fulpedted of courfe, without 
 <c the ftrongeft evidence for it , the other to be ad- 
 *' mitted of courfe, without the ftrongeft reafon to 
 " fufpect it." In anfwer to this, it will be reafonable 
 to afk, Why the univerfal opinion of the exiftence of 
 the Miraculous Powers, prevailing for fo many ages, 
 and refting on thd teftimony of vouchers of eftabliihed 
 repute, the primitive Fathers, being oppofed to his 
 fkepticifm and fingular judgment, coming fo late, is 
 not to be reputed this ftrong evidence, and the ftrongeft 
 hiftorical evidence that can be required ? 
 
 BUT thirdly, allowing fome of their relations may 
 have been miftakcs, 'tis morally impofTible they 
 could all be fo ; and then, fuppofmg any one to be 
 true fmce the Apoftolic Age, and I think thofe I have 
 cited more than once from St. Ambrofe and St. Auftin, 
 as ocular witnefles, deferves this irrefragable credit : 
 then thefe two evidences prove the Miraculous Powers 
 to have fubfifted after the Apoftles time, and confe-
 
 264 A further Vindication of the Church's 
 
 quently deftroy the whole fyftem of the Doctor's op- 
 pofition againft them. 
 
 THUS much I thought proper to add to our prior 
 defence of the Fathers, and as an illuftration of the 
 nature of their evidences, and of the credit we allow 
 them, as hiftorical witneffes of facts. 
 
 BUT, before I proceed to canvafs his other excep- 
 tions to the Miraculous Powers, I beg leave to make a 
 tranfient digreffion to another point, which ftill has a 
 connection with the point in debate. 
 i HE often, in the courfe of his criticifm, makes an 
 avowed confefiion, particularly in his Introduttion y p. 65. 
 that the ftate of retirement (by him contemptuoufly 
 called Monkery} and all the pretended prefent corrup- 
 tions of Rome, were taught and defended by the Fa- 
 thers of thofe fever al ages, and even miracles alleged 
 in their favour -, and, as in this confeflion he is more 
 ingenuous than his Brethren, who endeavour to flifle 
 .or difguife the fentiments of thefe great men, we are 
 ib far obliged to him. 
 
 BUT now, from this frank conceflion, there occur 
 two obvious queftions to be afked Firft, Why the 
 evidence of the Fathers, to fuch doctrines and rites, 
 mould be admitted, as a proof that thefe refpective 
 doctrines were then profeiTed ? And why their witnei- 
 fmg fuch and fuch miracles, mould not equally con- 
 clude the exiftence of thofe powers ; or be fufficient 
 to prove fuch miracles had been then 'actually 
 wrought ? For, had they prevaricated in either of thefe 
 relations, they being relatively to a matter of fact, 
 to ivit. Whether it were fo, or was not fo, it had been 
 ;;n eafy task to have convicted them of falfhood. 
 
 SECONDLY, It may be asked, Why the Fathers at- 
 teftadon to the doctrines of the Church, in their 
 times, being admitted, is not to be reputed a proof of 
 it's being the doctrine derived from the Apoftles ? 
 
 To the ilrft, as he frankly acknowledges the diffe- 
 rent evidences, viz. to the doctrine^, and miracles, and 
 
 has
 
 Claim to the Miraculous Powers. 265 
 has affigned no other difparity between one and the 
 other, than what we have juit refuted ; I take it for 
 granted, that he could not, and I apprehend none can 
 be given. 
 
 To the fecond, he fays, in the body of his inquiry, 
 that no advantage can accrue to us from his faid con- 
 ceflion, becaufe he admits the Fathers, " Barely as 
 " witnefles, not as guides ; declaring to us what was 
 " then believed, not what was true what was prac- 
 " ticed, not what ought to\ be practiced," Inquiry 
 p. 112. Very good; and thank GOD we have an 
 infallible guide, which he has not ; the Church guided 
 by the HOLY GHOST into all truth, and teaching us all 
 truth. 
 
 . BUT ftill, to argue ad hominem, the Fathers, as 
 witnefles, are yet in this fenfe guides (and fo confefled 
 by him) to point out, or to fhew us the road of the 
 Church in their time ; that is, to tell us die doctrines 
 and rites which were then profeffed, which we find to 
 be the fame as the Catholic Church profefles now. 
 
 WHAT then, fays he, The difyute 'between us is not, 
 how ancient the Catholic Doftrines and Practices are, but 
 how true? granted; but, (abftr acting from the allured 
 rule of the truth of the Church's Doctrine, her infal- 
 libility as a guide, we apprehend, the antiquity of a 
 doctrine or practice, to be the Itrongeil prefumption, 
 and the beft human proof for its being genuine and 
 true, that can be defired. No, fays the Doctor, for 
 this plea, antiquity and authority, was the plea of the 
 heathens themfelves for their fuperftitious rites. 
 
 BUT, furely, as fond, as he every where mews 
 himfelf, of putting us upon a level with thofe 
 enemies of Chriilianity, and of a revealed religion, 
 he cannot be fo blinded with paflion and prejudice, as 
 not to fee a wide difference betwixt their appeal and 
 our's to the voice of antiquity. For the heatheniih 
 rites being originally and fundamentally bad, no length 
 of time could give a fanction to them ; but, like a 
 L 1 corrupted
 
 266 A further Vindication of the Church's 
 corrupted fpring, the nearer you approach to it, the 
 more infected its waters are. 
 
 BUT the origin of Chriftianity being indifputably 
 good, the nearer it draws to its fource (humanly fpeak- 
 ing) the purer it muft be : I fay humanly fpeaking, 
 becaufe, as the Doctrine of the Church is conveyed 
 through the channels of truth itfelf, viz. the Church 
 under the influence of the HOLY GHOST, there can 
 be no danger of its receiving any infection by its re- 
 moval or diflance from the fource ; but will be always 
 pure and untainted in all ages. 
 
 AND now, to come to a clofebf tliis digreffion, and 
 to fum up the whole ftrength of the precedent argu- 
 ment -, the Doctor's owning the Fathers to be abettors 
 of the Catholic Doctrine and Practices, is, as I ob- 
 ferved in the beginning, an act of ingenuity we thank 
 him for ; becaufe, though this confeilion is no more 
 than what the force of truth has extorted from him, 
 yet it is what his friends have not been fo candid to 
 make before. 
 
 BUT, then, his thinking this concefiion can give no 
 weight to the Catholic caufe, we apprehend to be a 
 miftake, and flatter ourfelves, from what we have juft 
 offered, will be judged fo by the impartial reader : 
 for, certainly, from the nature of the thing, long 
 prefcription, and antiquity, ftrengthen the right of 
 every tenure. Still, the fbrefs we lay on thefe, or the 
 merit we allow to primitive authority, is what the 
 Doctor has again widely miftaken. We profefs a pro- 
 found refpect for antiquity, we pay a deference to its 
 brighteft ornaments, the primitive Fathers -, yet only 
 as creditable witnefles : for it is the authority of the 
 Church, and the traditions, fhe has efpoufed, on 
 which our faith refts as our guide and main fupportj 
 next to the word 6f GOD, of which fhe is the legal 
 interpreter : the Church, I fay, whole credit being 
 u'nfhaken (and CHRIST has promif^d that Hell itfelf 
 
 fhould
 
 Claim to the Miraculous Powers. 267 
 
 fliould not effect it) all attacks upon us, any other 
 way, are vain and idle. 
 
 I NOW return from this digrefiion, to the direct fub- 
 ject matter of this fection, which was to canvafs the 
 Doctor's remaining exceptions to the Miraculous 
 Powers, which we hope to make appear to 'be as 
 weak and groundlefs, as any of the reft we have 
 already produced. 
 
 HE ufhers thefe in with a poftulate, which won't be 
 granted, and, though ic mould, makes nothing for his 
 purpofe, which is this. He- fays, there is no clear 
 account of the fucceffors to the Apoftles, for the forty 
 years immediately following, having inherited their 
 Miraculous Powers i from whence he concludes a cef- 
 fation of them ever fmce. But I apprehend his af- 
 fertion to be arbitrary, and therefore, his inference 
 from it inconclufive. 
 
 FOR, firft, his argument is at beft but a negative 
 one , and, as there is no pofitive proof of the Powers 
 having failed within that intermediate fpace, nothing 
 decifive can be drawn from it. 
 
 SECONDLY, if it were fo, that there was no explicit 
 account of miracles within that time, might not this 
 have happened, becauie Chriftianity being then in its 
 infancy, and its feveral concerns not yet ripe enough 
 to be digefted into regular records or memoirs - 3 there 
 was nothing elfe thtn appeared but mere dogmatical 
 epiftles and inftructions to the faithful, to confirm 
 them in the faith, they had juft received from the 
 Apoftks ? and that the Paftors found work enough 
 on their hands to guard their flocks againft an inun- 
 dation of evils daily flowing upon them, from outward 
 perfecutions of infidels, and inteftine divifions, and 
 delufions of falfe brethren ? 
 
 THIRDLY, Is not St. IGNATIUS the Martyr's prayer 
 
 when condemned to be devoured by wild beafts, that 
 
 he might not be fpared, as other confeflbrs had 
 
 been, (all which is gathered from his own epiftles) a 
 
 L 1 2
 
 268 A further Vindication of the Church's 
 
 plain infmuation that thefe prodigies had happened 
 before, and, purely, thefe deliveries muft be reputed 
 as miraculous as DANIEL'S delivery in the lions den, 
 which is mentioned in Holy Writ as a miraculous 
 manifeftation of the Divine Power. 
 
 FOURTHLY, the immediate fucceflfors to thefe great 
 Champions of the Chriftian Faith, who were perfo- 
 nally acquainted with them, JUSTIN and IREN^EUS, 
 fpeaking of the miracles that were wrought within 
 their knowledge and memory, though they did not 
 reduce their relations into the regularity of annals or 
 records, may they not be fuppofed to allude to the 
 miracles of their earlier, as well as of their later 
 days? therefore, as I juft faid, there is only a bare 
 negative againft the exiftence of the Miraculous 
 Powers, in that fmall interval of time ; whereas there 
 are plain infmuations, and the ftrongeft prefumptions, 
 for it. 
 
 BUT though the whole argument mould be admit- 
 ted, viz. that there was, in that fpace of time, a 
 fufpenfion of the Miraculous Powers ; ' it makes 
 nothing againft the Catholic claim; and therefore is 
 nothing to the Doctor's purpofe-: becaufe the Church 
 does not, by this claim, pretend to any inherent virtue, or 
 to a periodical fucceffion of the Powers, but that Al- 
 mighty GOD has frequently, fince the Apoftolic age, 
 beftowed them upon her-, and, by CHRIST'S prcwnife, 
 MARK xi. and elfewhere, may, and does, from time 
 to time, when it feems meet to his unfearchable wif- 
 dom, blefs her with them; which the Reformed 
 Churches never had, nor ever pretended to. 
 
 THE Doctor is next obliged, (Introd. p. 85.) to 
 take up with the arguments which his friends make 
 ufe of for the ceflation of miracles in thefe later times, 
 viz. that after the propagation of the Gofpel had 
 gained ground, and efpecially after it was fupported 
 and encouraged by public authority, the Miraculous 
 Powers in thofe circumftances jjeing unnecefldry, were 
 
 BVT
 
 Claim to the Miraculous Powers. 269 
 
 BUT, firft, if thefe Powers flourifhed before this 
 happy epoch of the eftabliftiment of religion by 
 law, and during the time the Church was under per- 
 fecution, it, at leaft, overturns the Doctor's fyltem 
 of their having failed immediately from the Apoftolic 
 age. And, as by his avowed conceffion, Introd. p. 96. 
 allowing the Miraculous Powers to fubfift at any time 
 after the Apoftles, gives a juft claim to them in every 
 fucceeding age j this pretended plea of the occafion of 
 their cea(ing, can no ways avail his purpofe. 
 
 BUT, again, by what infpiration or authority does 
 he or his friends limit the manifestation of the Divine 
 Powers? The fpirit, as has been faid, breathes where 
 and ivhen it lifts. In the Jewifh Church the gift of 
 prophecy and miracles 'flourifhed and fubfided indif- 
 ferent Aras, which we cannot prefume to account 
 for. Our Blefled Lord's prediction or promile of 
 miracles to his Church, St. MARK, c. xi. and elfe- 
 where, is not limited to any time ; and therefore it 
 does not become any one elfe to fet bounds to them, 
 which CHRIST has not. 
 
 WITHIN the body of the inquiry he excepts againft 
 the Miraculous Powers, from the characters of the 
 
 Eerfons veftcd with them, whom he fuppofes to be the 
 iity, the very fcum of the people ; or a fet of ob- 
 fcure monks and reclufes, againft the laft of whom 
 he conceives an inveterate fpleen and prejudice. But 
 this objection feems, firft, to be wholly arbitrary ; 
 for, the Fathers faying, as he relates it, that mi- 
 racles were wrought among them, does not exclude the 
 Clergy from a mare in the gift of thefe Powers . 
 Secondly, fuppofing it to be, as he fays : Almighty 
 GOD, when he crew DAVID from having the care of 
 his father's flock to fway the fcepter of Ifrael, he told 
 SAMUEL that he did not regard the mien or condition 
 of the perfon, but the heart CHRIST, in forming 
 his College of Apoftles, chofe a fet of ignorant fifher- 
 rnrn ; and St. PAUL tell us, that, " He makes ufe of 
 *' the fooliih of the world to confound the wife, and
 
 270 A further Vindication of the Church's 
 
 " of the weak to defeat the ftrong :" and, therefore, 
 Almighty GOD, in his infinite wifdom, might have 
 purfucd the lame conduct, in felecting, for the inftru- 
 ments of his miraculous operations, an ignorant but 
 virtuous clown, or an humble reclufe, preferably to 
 an irreligious ftatefman, or a proud churchman Oh ! 
 furely the Doctor muft be confciousto himfelf of a bad 
 caufe, and a dearth of arguments, . to be neceflitated 
 to lay hold of fuch feeble fupports in its defence. 
 
 ANOTHER exception to the miracles of the primi- 
 tive .times, as weak and defencelefs as the laft, is the 
 pretended oftentatious manner, with which he alleges 
 them to have been operated, when they challenged the 
 infidels to affift at them, and to become ocular wit- 
 defies of the fupsrnatural events. 
 
 BUT, be it fo ; what does this charge evince, but 
 that thofe primitive miracles were done in the face of 
 the whole world, and were ib frequent, notorious 
 and evident, that they could not be concealed, and 
 \vhat the Chriftians had no need to be amamed of. 
 Tricks and juggles are the works of darknefs, and 
 ufually practiced in a corner , and if the primitive 
 miracles had been fuch, the abettors of them muft have 
 been mad, as well as infolent, to have provoked their 
 enemies to difcover their cheats and impoftures. 
 
 'Tis true, the fupernatural preservation of the 
 Martyrs from fire, wild beafts, and other variety of 
 torments they laboured under, though made never fo 
 maniffeft, were what the infidel tyrants, and their exe- 
 cutioners, imputed to magic art ; as the miraclts of 
 our Blefied Lord were by the Jews afcribed to Bed- 
 zebub before, But I am forry the Doctor has no bet- 
 ter precedents to copy after, for the fupport of his 
 injurious furmife. 
 
 HOWEVER, to fpeak directly to the trivial and in- 
 decent objection; what is there in the pompoufneis 
 and fokmnity of the primitive miracles, which an 
 infidel or dcift might not object to many fcriptural 
 miracles, even thofe of our Blcficd Saviour himlcli ? 
 
 IN
 
 Claim to" tie Miraculous Powers. 71 
 
 IN the third book of Kings we are told of a public 
 challenge which Elijah gave the Prophets of Baal to 
 engage with him in a trial of the Miraculous Powers. 
 The reft of their (kill propofed was an ox to be allotted 
 to each party, to be placed on an Altar, and a firi 
 to be drawn from heaven to confume the holo- 
 cauft : the fuccefs of their prayers, on the fide it de- 
 clared itfelf, to determine who was to be reputed the 
 true GOD, Baal, or the GOD of Ifrael. The pro- 
 pofal was accepted, the whole body of the people, 
 King Achab himfelf alfo being prefent, were fum- 
 moned to be witne fifes of the ftrife. The falfe pro- 
 phets having from morning till noon called in vain on 
 Baal to be propitious to their prayers, Elijah fcorrcd 
 at their mifcarriage ; and laftly, when it came to his 
 turn to exert the Miraculous Power, he was endued 
 with, he did it in the molt folemn, pompous, and con- 
 fident manner; and upon the iffue of the event, fluflied 
 as it were, with fuccefs, he demanded that all the falfe 
 prophets mould be facrificed on the fpot, as a trophy 
 to his victory. Now had an operation of this pom* 
 pous nature been related of St. SIMEON, STYLITES, 
 St. HILARION, or of any other profeffor of monkery, 
 as the Doctor contemptuoufly calls thefe primitive rc- 
 clufes, what a fine fubject of raillery would it not have 
 afforded him ? 
 
 AGAIN, we read in the book of Exodus, that 
 MOSES had a frequent ftrife of power with the Magi- 
 cians of ./Egypt ; and, to omit numerous other 
 fcriptural proofs to the fame effect, our Bit-fled Lord 
 himfelf was continually repeating, and making a me- 
 rit to the Jews, of the many figns and wonders he 
 wrought among them. Therefore, as a direct anfwer 
 to this trivial objection j from all thefe fcriptural 
 inftances, which feem to difcover an air of oftentation, 
 we are to gather the following important inftruction 
 that actions are not to be weighed nor judged by 
 their outward appearances, but from the inward fpirit 
 that influences and directs them. 
 
 THERI
 
 272 A further Vindication of the Church's 
 
 THERE may be in actions, in themfelves, truly com- 
 mendable, an oflentation of one's own virtue, which is 
 the height of luciferian pride : and there may be a ma- 
 nifeftation of the Divine Power, which is compatible with 
 the profoundeft humility. Such was the fpirit that ac- 
 tuated the operations of thofe great fervants of GOD, 
 the inftruments of his Divine Honour, which we juft 
 recited from the infpired writings fuch was the act of 
 the BlefTed Virgin, as I mentioned in another place, 
 the greateft and humbled of all Creatures, when foe 
 magnified the Lord for the mighty things he had done to 
 her. And fuch, in fine, was the fpirit of the primi- 
 tive Chriftians, when they gloried in the virtues and 
 powers, Almighty GOD had indued them with ; npt 
 out of a vain oflentation of their own merit, but for 
 a manifeflation of the Divine omnipotency : out of 
 a zeal for his honour and glory, and for the advance- 
 ment of the caufe of his Church, and propagation of 
 his law : and thorough an inward inftigation of the fame 
 Divine Spirit, which had beftowed upon them thofe 
 virtues, whofe ways are unfearchable and aboVe hu- 
 man underilanding. 
 
 THE exception to the primitive miracles, which 
 occurs next to be animadverted upon, is with refpect 
 to the miracles themfelves, confidered in their own 
 nature. 
 
 UNDER this head comes his objection to thofe which 
 were wrought in confirmation of, or even by the means 
 of the Catholic rites, which the Doctor looks upon 
 as fuperftitious ; and therefore he net being difpofed 
 to allow them, is neceflltated to reject their evidences. 
 "But this argument manifeflly, begs the queflion, and, 
 as it has been over-ruled in another place, where, 
 fpeaking of miracles wrought by the Relicks of 
 Saints, Ven. of Rel. feet. 2. I occasionally touched 
 upon.it, I refer my reader to that reply. 
 
 His further objections on this head turn upon two 
 points firft, that among the Miraculous Powers we 
 
 lay
 
 Claim to the Miraculous Powers. 273 
 lay claim to, there is a deficiency of fome, which feem 
 to be moil requiike, and were likely to be mod 
 ferviceable and, fecondly, that there was an oilen- 
 tation of others, which were, in their own nature lia- 
 ble to the fufpicion of cheat and impofture. 
 
 THE Powers of the firft fort, that he thinks to have 
 been wanting, were the Gift of Tongues^ which he 
 roundly affirms to have never exifted fmce the Apo- 
 flolic age. But, as we have only his bare word for it, 
 we are at liberty to believe him or no, ,as we pleafe, 
 He, indeed, has the aflurance,' in contradiction to at- 
 tefted facts, to inflanc'e the truth of this affertion, 
 againil the Apoftle of the Indies, St. Francis Xavier, 
 to whom the miracles 'of every other kind being al- 
 lotted, this, he fays, was never mentioned. Pref. p. 20. 
 
 BUT, if we believe the hiilory of this Saint's life, 
 tranflated by Mr. Dryden, he not only occafionally pof- 
 feffed this gift in an eminent degree, fo as to fpeak the 
 feveral languages of thofe countries mcil perfectly and 
 elegantly, tho* they were above an hundred in number, 
 and thirty of them entirely different ; and to unde'r- 
 ftand reciprocally, the natives of thofe various and 
 extenfive climates ; but, moreover, with two addi- 
 tional privileges, to wif 9 of being underftood when 
 preaching to an auditoiy compoled of different nations 
 and dialects, as tho* he had been haranguing each in 
 their mother tongue. Secondly, of fatisfying, by a 
 fingle anfwer, feveral queftions propofed to him, at the 
 fame time, relating to different fubjects. 
 
 BUT, fuppofmg that this gift had not been known 
 to have exifted, fmce the Apoftolic age ; GOD is 
 Mailer of his own gifts, and has his own times and 
 feafons to difpofe of them. 
 
 AMONG the Miraculous Powers, which the Evan- 
 gelift gives us an account of, exerted by our Blefled 
 Saviour, the Gift of Tongues is not once mentioned, 
 unlefs the three Hebrew words he uttered on the Crofs, 
 Eki, EIoj, &c. are to be reckoned an inftance of it , 
 M m tho*,
 
 274 A further Vindication of the Church's 
 tho', for ought we know, he might as well have had 
 perfons of various tongues to deal with, as the Apo- 
 illes, after. the Defcent of the HOLY GHOST upon them, 
 then refiding in Judasa. And when St. John Baptift 
 fent to be informed whether he was the Meffiah, our 
 Bleffed Lord returned a diftinct account of his Mira- 
 culous Powers as a token of his Divine Million ; but 
 the Gift of Tongues was not included in the lift. 
 
 EVEN the Apoftles themfelves, and the Difciples, 
 
 who felt that aftonifhing and immediate influence, by 
 
 the vifible Defcent of the HOLY GHOST upon them, 
 
 were not all gifted alike. For, as St. Paul fays, 
 
 i (Dor. xii. 28. GOD, for the exaltation of his Church, 
 
 in it's infancy, when it flood moft in need of the ma- 
 
 nifeftation of his Miraculous Powers, made feme Apo- 
 
 ftles, others Prophets others he, endued 'with the Power 
 
 f of Miracles gave the 'virtue of healing to others ; and, 
 
 'he bleffed fome (tho' but a few) with the Gift of 
 
 Tongues. And, therefore, if, in the fucceeding times 
 
 t>f his Church, he did not beftow this laft Gift, where 
 
 it was not wanted, what can be inferred from it, but 
 
 that his All -wife Providence does not diftribute his 
 
 'Bleffings in vain. Relatively to the Gift of Tongues, 
 
 thus, were thofe countries circumftanced, where the 
 
 primitive Fathers lived, who leave us an account 
 
 moftly of thofe miracles which were operated within 
 
 their own neighbourhood, where the Greek and Latin 
 
 were then -the living languages in ufe, and where any 
 
 other would have been as unferviceable, as Syriac in 
 
 England. 
 
 BUT, whether Almighty GOD did not beftow this 
 Gift on Millenaries, in foreign parts,- is what they 
 have not told us, and therefore is more than what the 
 Dcclior can prefume to determine. We have juft heard 
 of a late inftance, in St. Francis Xavier, of his being 
 blefled with this Gift ; and tho' it "be infinuated in the 
 hiftory of his life, that it was more temporary and 
 occaf.onal than habitual - 9 is yet fuch an authentic at- 
 
 teftation
 
 Claim to the Miraculous Powers. 275 
 
 teftation of the fact, as muft be deemed at Icaft a luf- 
 ficient counterpoife to the Doctor's denial of it. 
 
 HE cavils next with the Miraculous Powers, which, 
 by the primitive relations, did fubfifl in thole times 
 Thefe were, Raifing the Dead healing thefick caft- 
 ing out devils, &c. &c. Poftfc. p. 72, &c. 
 
 THE firft power of Raifing the Dead, he confidently 
 avers was never exerted in the Church, fmce the Apo- 
 ftles time : and tho' he prefently after confefies that 
 St. Irenseus, Bifhop of Lions in France, in the fecond 
 Century, afTerted the manifeftation of this aftoniming 
 power in feveral inftances, yet he thinks Theophilus, 
 at the fame time Bilhop of Antioch in Afia, difclaim- 
 ing the faid Power, to invalidate intirely St. Irenasus's 
 teftimony : and I apprehend this to be juft as con- 
 clufive, as to fuppofe that the Sun does not mine at 
 Constantinople, becaufe it may be overcaft at London. 
 Therefore, in fhort, Theophilus might have been* 
 fenfible of their not having this. Power at home, yet, 
 at fo great a diftance as France, have been ignorant 
 of it's exifting there : and, in the mean while, why 
 he is to be believed difclaiming the Powers in one 
 place, and St. Irenasus aflerting them in another, is 
 not to be believed, I would be glad to know. 
 
 AND laftly, Theophilus his feemingly lamenting the 
 negation of this Power, infmuates it to have been a 
 fubftraction of a Grace they had been favoured with 
 not long before : and then, What becomes of the 
 Doctor's aflertion of this Power haying failed fmce 
 the Apoftolic Age ? 
 
 BUT, in fhort, if the Doftor WAS only endued with a 
 little candour, and barely an hiftorical faith, he would 
 allow force credit due to feveral authentic relations of 
 the dead raifed to life fmce St. Irenasus's time, which I 
 have not room to appeal to here, 
 
 To go no further than St. FRANCIS XAVIER, juit 
 
 mentioned , there are twenty-four attefted inftances of: 
 
 this miracle of miracles, attributed to him, whidi 
 
 M m 2 th.T-2
 
 276 Ajurther Vindication of the Church's 
 
 there is as little room to doubt of, as of his having 
 been in the Indies, or that ever fuch a man was in 
 being. 
 
 As to the other Powers, viz. of healing the Tick, 
 calling out Devils, and the reft, the Doctor thinks 
 them to lie under the ftrongeft fufpicion of impofture. 
 But firft, his bare furmife or imagination, is no proof; 
 and he unfortunately borrows his diftruft from his old 
 friends the Jews, who were ever charging the impu- 
 tation of impofture, on our BlefTed Saviour, with regard 
 to his miraculous cures ; and adding, that he chafed 
 away devils in virtue of Belzebub, and by a diabolical 
 combination. 
 
 AND now, relatively to the primitive miracles, 
 juft fpecified, the credit of their venerable vouchers, 
 the ancient Fathers, which we flatter ourfelves to have 
 iufuciently eftablifned above, may be allowed to.over- 
 bsllance his injurious cavils. There is an inftanre of 
 the Miraculous Powers in another nature, which he 
 has not only unguardedly confefTed, to the utter over- 
 throw of his extravagant oppofition, but has made 
 life of them to another malignant ' purpofe. This is 
 the miraculous delivery of the martyrs, lying under 
 jthe preffures of their various tortures j which as I 
 hinted in another place, he mentions, and owns not to 
 their honour, but to extenuate the merit of their glo- 
 rious facrirke, while he fuppofes a preiumptous con- 
 fidence of being favoured with this fupernatural pre- 
 fervation, egged them on, and made them more eager 
 for the combat. 
 
 HOWEVER, the fact is by him confeffed, and evinces, 
 at leaft, in this refpect, a glaring manifeftation of the 
 Miraculous Powei-s. 
 
 WE come now to the Doctor's laft corps of referve ; 
 and it may, therefore, be fuppoied, 'what he thought 
 not the leaft formidable of all his forces, fmce he re- 
 ferved it to bring up the rear, and to make with it his 
 defjperate pufh ; though, indeed, in the courfe of the 
 
 controverfy
 
 Claim to the Miraculous Powers. 277 
 
 controverfy he had every now and then thrown it in to 
 take a fhare in the combat. In a word, not content, 
 as we have juit feen, to borrow aid from the Jews to im- 
 pugn the Miraculous Powers, he now hauls in even 
 the Heathens themfelves to his affiftance. 
 
 HE heretofore mewed himfelf extremely fond of 
 drawing a parallel between the Pagan rites and thofe 
 of the Catholic Church j and the vanity and malice of 
 his attempt has been expofed, as it deferved, by a 
 better hand. 
 
 Now he affects to put upon a level the falfe miracles 
 of the Pagans, which were the avowed deeds of Satan, 
 with the true miracles wrought by the Chriftians, 
 which they always afcribed to a Divine Power, and 
 were done in GOD'S name. He attempts to fink the 
 reputation of one, by oppofing to it the lying fame 
 of the other -, and, to this intent, allows the recorders 
 of thofe works of darknefs equal credit with the Pri- 
 rnitive Fathers, St. CHRYSOSTOM, AMBROSE, AUSTIN, 
 JEROM, and the reft, the greateft Lights of the 
 Church, celebrated for their learning and virtue, who 
 tranfmitted to us the triumphs of the power of GOD 
 pver that of Satan. And, laftly, he is not aihamed 
 to give weight to the objections which JULIAN the 
 Apoftate, Cii'.sus, and other avowed abettors of 
 Paganifm, made in hatred of Chriflianity, to the pri- 
 mitive miracles heretofore, 
 
 Now when a man's inveterate prepofiefiions pufh 
 him on to take fuch unguarded and unwarrantable 
 fteps: when under the counterfeit pretence of inquiring 
 into truth, and becoming an advocate for it, he is 
 obliged to fide with its moil virulent enemies, he finks 
 quite beneath our notice. What is there in the odious 
 paraDed, which he affects to draw between the Pagan 
 delufions and the Miraculous Powers afTerted by the 
 Church, but what atheifts might urge to invalidate the 
 proofs of Chriftianity, and a Revealed Religion ? the 
 empire of Satan has been of very ancient {landing : 
 
 alas !
 
 278 A further Vindication of tbe Church's 
 alas! we are too fenfible of it from Holy Writ itfelf, 
 without having recourfe to the teftimony of its Pagan 
 vouchers. From the firft beginning, that he drew man- 
 kind from the homage of their Creator, to become 
 a votary to himfelf, he affected to ape the Divine 
 Worfhip in every particular: he had his Altar, his 
 Sacrifices, his Priefts, his Oracles, and his falfe Pro- 
 phets, to correfpcn<! to the Divine Prophets ; and, in 
 Ihort, by GOD'S permiffion, and juft judgment on his 
 infatuated votaries, he alfo had, for their further delu- 
 fion, his minifters, to difplay his infernal powers. 
 
 THE Magicians of Egypt, through their helli(h 
 art, did furprifing things in oppofition to the fuperna- 
 tural wonders wrought by MOSES ; Simon Magus did 
 the like in emulation of the miracles of the Apoftles; 
 and, in time to come, Antichrift will do fuch teeming 
 wonders, as will go near to deceive even the elect. 
 But, ftill, thefe will always be deemed the works of 
 darknefs, mere illufions and impoftures; and the others 
 the handy-work of GOD himfelf, and a demonftration 
 and proof of the Divine Power. And, as Almighty 
 GOD'S arm is not fhortened, nor his power abridged, 
 what, we are allured by the infpired penmen, he has 
 done heretofore, he can do again j and in fpite of 
 Dr. Middleton's fhameful recourfe to Paganifm, to 
 the Jews, and to every other odious refuge, to inva- 
 lidate our proof of the exiftence of the Miraculous 
 Powers fmce the Apoftolic age, we doubt not but, 
 even from the feeble defence of them we have here at- 
 tempted, it will appear evident, to every unprejudiced 
 judgment, that Almighty <JOD from time to time, for 
 the exaltation of his Church, has given glorious mani- 
 feftations of them. 
 
 THO' the narrow limits, I am confined to, would 
 not allow me to defcant on the Doctor's extravagant 
 oppofition fo largely as there Is room for it, and the 
 iubject might require-, yet I think I have faiths 
 fully fet forth the fubftance and marrow of his argu- 
 ments, and have omiited none that can be reputed of 
 
 any
 
 Claim to the Miraculous Powers. 279 
 
 any weight. In giving you now, and before, Ven. of 
 Relicks, led:. 2. this fhort fketch of his temerarious un- 
 dertaking, with only fuch obvious remarks as could not 
 be excufed, it has fwelled them into two long fections. 
 Neverthelefs I cannot take leave of the Doctor, with- 
 out trefpafiing further on your patience with a brief 
 relation of the pleafant and extraordinary manner, he 
 goes about to juftify his own profefled difregard for 
 the primitive Fathers, and how he accounts for the 
 contrary deference paid to them, by the reft of his 
 Reforming Brethren of his 'own Church. 
 
 HE fets forth this difference of fentiments, or rather, 
 as he reprefents the matter, his candor in declaring his 
 own fentiments, and their difingenuity in concealing 
 theirs, in fubftance as follows. Introd. p.ioi, &c. &c. 
 
 HE fays, that in the reign of King Henry the Eighth, 
 when matters were not quite ripe for a Reformation, 
 the King, utterly averfe to fuch a change, and in every 
 article, but his determined hatred to the Pope, a rank 
 Papift -, they were obliged to comply with his humour 
 in the point in queftion , he might have added, in 
 every other point -, and how perfectly the Hero of the 
 Reformation at home, Archbifhop Cranmer played the 
 fycophant to his Prince, and errant diffembler in mat- 
 ters of Religion, is well known. 
 
 HE proceeds to tell us, that in the reign of King 
 Edward the Sixth, though a Reformation being then 
 refclved upon and fupported by law, they were at li- 
 berty to rectify the wrong fteps they had taken in this 
 refpect, and were confcious of them, yet that, to avoid 
 the mark of inconftancy, they chofe to adhere to them. 
 But, whereas they made a bold and immediate change 
 in many other points more. material, it is a fubject of 
 furprife, why they mould have beenfo very fcrupulous 
 about this particular. 
 
 IN the reign of Queen Mary, he continues to tell 
 us, that they were ftill lefs at liberty to recede from 
 their firft meafures. And, no doubt, as they were of 
 fuch a pliant difpofition, to fquare their principles by 
 
 the
 
 280 A further Vindication of the Church's, &c. 
 
 the will of the reigning power, it will be eafily fup- 
 pofed : and therefore it is much lefs to be wondered at, 
 that, in the fucceeding reign, when Queen Elizabeth, 
 a Prircefs after their own heart, acceded to the throne, 
 they intirely devoted themfelves to her humour ; and 
 confequently, altho' me 1 had modelled a Church ac- 
 cording to the fafhionable tafte, yet when, being am- 
 bitious of it's having an antique hue, me among other 
 things infilled on the primitive Fathers retaining their 
 ancient credit, it is as little to be wondered at that 
 they complimented her in a point, which they now be- 
 gan to look upon as a matter of indifference. 
 
 And in this manner the Doctor reprefents this point to 
 have been conducted, the Fathers keeping their ground, 
 till this late period of time, when the Church being fully 
 eftablifhed by law, he fays, a motive of another nature 
 has necefiitated her to go on in the wrong track, that 
 had been chalked out to them by their firft Reformers, 
 to wit, in felf-defence againil their four, grumbling 
 Dilfenters ; blowing hot and cold ; at one time cram- 
 ming the whole fojje of the Fathers down their 
 throats, to filence them : at other times, when re- 
 turned upon themfelves as evidences to Catholic tenets, 
 making no account of their venerable authority. 
 
 THIS, in brief, is the idea this ' Gentleman gives of 
 the eftablifhment of his Church at home; for which, 
 I can venture to fay, his friends do hot thank him ; 
 nor will I prefume to animadvert upon it. I only beg 
 leave to obferve, that it entirely tallies with the relation 
 I have given, through this EfTay, of thefe Religious- 
 changes in general , of being a patched buiinefs, con- 
 ducted by tempoilfmg motives, and principles of li- 
 berty and policy. A flrange idea of a Godly Refor- 
 mation ! But, as 1 have here a Ckampion of the Re- 
 formation itfelf for my voucher, I may be truly allowed 
 to Iky, Out of thine c^n mcuth I judge tbcc. Luke 
 
 IX. 22. 
 
 CHAP,
 
 A Review of tie Premifes, &c. 281 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 A Review of the Premifes, addreffed to every Clriftian 
 Reader^ who having his falvation at heart ^ is really in 
 earneft in his fearch after the true faith, or the affured 
 means to fave his foul and fubmitted as a direction 
 to him in tlis important refearch With a Jhort Con- 
 dufion^ in a Word of Advice ^ 'particularly to the Ca- 
 tholic Reader. 
 
 , "Y Y 7" E have now, Chriftian Reador, gone thro' the 
 V V principal points controverted between the Catho- 
 lic and Reformed Churches, that is, through as many 
 as is neceffary to anfwer the defign of this Efiay ; which 
 was tQ fhew the vanity and unjuftifiablenefs of the pre- 
 tended Reformation, and that it has entirely fallen 
 fliort of the merits of that arrogated title. 
 
 THE inaufpicious beginning of that famed event, 
 the infamous characters of the Authors of it, the 
 fprings and motives, which fet it on foot, viz. Pride, 
 Luft, Liberty, and every human Paffion ; and the 
 unwarrantable methods, with which it was conducted 
 (all which particulars we have fet forth in the Intro- 
 duction to this EfTay) are invincible prejudices againfl 
 it, and demonftrative proofs that the hand of GOD 
 could not be concerned therein, nor the HOLY GHOST 
 any ways influencing or aiding to it. 
 
 THEIR deferting in the fequel, the plain and ob- 
 vious fenfe of Scripture, by impofmg upon it their 
 own arbitrary and forced interpretations -, while the 
 Catholic Doctrine is quite agreeable to the facred Text 
 in it's moil natural meaning : this alone is enough to 
 bring their Church into difqredit, and is a confirmation 
 of ours. And, whereas a Religious and Godly Re- 
 formation ought to have been calculated for the Amend- 
 went of Manners, and the Reparation of Difcipline, as 
 well as for the abolijhing of Errors : they, by laying afide 
 the Evangelical Counfels both in theory and practice, 
 N n by
 
 282 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 by forfeiting thofe affured marks of holinefs, and the 
 means leading to it (as I have fhewn in the laft contro- 
 verfy) they thereby, I fay, fail in this fecond end of a 
 Church Reformation. 
 
 THESE truths are what I have attempted to prove 
 in the courfe of this Effay , at leaft I humbly appre- 
 hend that what I have offered on this head, may de- 
 ferve to carry fo much weight with every difpafiionate 
 Reader, as to ground a reafonable diftruft of the much- 
 boafted work of the Reformation, and to give room 
 for a juft inquiry, whether that, or the Church it has 
 pretended to reform, is, on the upfhot, poffeffed of 
 the true Faith of CHRIST, and of the affured means 
 to falvation. 
 
 Ir'Religionj indeed, was merely a political fyftem, 
 like fo many forms of government, which, tho' vary- 
 ing from one another, yet are fuch as people may thrive 
 and be happy under in this life, without prejudice to 
 their eternal welfare in the next; it would, in this 
 hypothefis, be a matter of indifference which Religion 
 we embraced , ' and there might be an end, at once, of 
 all our difputes and controverfies. But, if it be cer- 
 tain that our Bleffed Saviour has . left us a fixed rule or 
 fyftem of Faith, and has marked out this one and only 
 means of Salvation ; and that, upon our hitting on this 
 only means, our eternal happinefs or mifery is depend- 
 ing ; then, it undoubtedly behoves us to make the moil 
 diligent inquiry where thefe means are to be found, 
 whether in this or that Church ; and whether only in 
 one, or many forms of worfhip. 
 
 FOR want of this due inquiry, many are lulled, 
 through the didates of a falfe conscience, into a fatal 
 fecurity. under the profeffion of erroneous principles 
 Vbere is a way, fays Solomon, which feems to a man 
 right, but it's end leads to perdition. It v/as the once un- 
 happy cafe of the Apoftle : he acted no lefs by princi- 
 ple, and from an inward perfuafion of being in the 
 right, when lie profefled himfelf a bigotted zealot for 
 his Paternal Traditions, in- contradiction p the Law 
 
 of
 
 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 283 
 
 of CHRIST, and perfecuted his Minifters and Difciples, 
 than when he afterwards was made a convert to him, 
 and became an open and ftrenuous abettor of his Law. 
 / made progrefs, fays he, in Judaifm, beyond the reft of 
 my equals , being more abundantly zealous for the "Traditions 
 of my forefathers. Gal. i. 14. But the merit of his 
 actions, in one and the other of thefe circumftances, 
 was widely different. After his converfion he acted 
 from a conviction of the Truth, which it pleafed GOD 
 to manifeft to him^ in a manner, and to a degree of 
 evidence entirely miraculous, and therefore his conduct, 
 being fquared to it, could not but be right. 
 
 BEFORK his converfion, tho' his actions proceeded ex 
 fide, that is, according to the dictates of his confcience at 
 that time, yet this confcience being erroneous, and the 
 refult of a ram, precipitate, and inconfiderate judgment, 
 (fmce he ought to have informed him felf better, and had 
 the means of doing it) they were undoubtedly criminal. 
 
 TH Apoftle himfelf afterwards looked on his prior 
 conduct in this light, when he reputed himfelf the leaft 
 of the Apoftles, becaufe he had perfecuted the Church of 
 GOD. i Cor. xv. 9. 
 
 Now there are two marks, from which the fmcerity 
 of our belief, and the juftice of our Religious Princi- 
 ples, morally fpeaking, are to be gathered^ and there- 
 fore deferring our notice in this place ; the one is when 
 the profefiion of our Religion is manifeftly difmtereft- 
 cd ; the other when it is wholly diverted of pride and 
 paflion. The bent of felf-intereft is fo ftrong, that, 
 when Faith, or our Religious Principles happen to clam 
 with it, we find, by woful experience (as we mail have 
 an occafion of mewing prefently in fundry inftances) that 
 they are frequently made to give way to it's bias to the 
 fide of errour. But it is monilrous, and almoft incon- 
 ceiveable, that a man, being in the wrong, mould 
 continue opiniatively fo, when he has not the prof- 
 pect of reaping either pleafure or profit from his ob- 
 Irinacy. Now it is certain that fell intereft and tem- 
 N n 2 poraj
 
 284 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 poral emoluments, within thefe Realms, are far from, 
 being on the Catholic fide of the queftion But 
 tho' the more ruling pafTion of pride fometimes in- 
 terpofing, may prevail over interefl itfelf, and that 
 therefore the forfeiture of temporal advantages can- 
 not be brought as a conclufive argument for the juftice 
 of our principles; there are yet particular circum- 
 ftances, in which even pride cannot be fuppofed to 
 have any influence , as, for example, when a perfon 
 at his expiring moments, quits the perfuafion he had 
 been brought up in, and efpoufed through the whole 
 courfe of his life, to go over to a contrary belief : for, 
 in this cafe, pride, confiderations of honour, of leav- 
 ing behind him a good name, or the apprehenfion of 
 throwing himfelf under the imputation of levity of 
 mind and inconftancy, ftrongly plead for his adhering 
 to his former principles. And yet, we have prece- 
 dents without number, of thofe who have come into 
 the bofom of the Catholic Church, at thefe laft (blemn 
 and ferious moments ; and we defy our adverfaries to 
 produce one fingle inftance of any of ours (who had 
 been brought up from the beginning in the Catholic 
 Communion) having delerted it at this period of life, 
 to embrace any other whatfoever. And tho' we do not 
 affect to magnify this obfervation, no more than the 
 former, to a decifive proof of the truth of our 
 faith, we apprehend it, at leaft, to amount to a pre- 
 fumption in it's favour of the ftrongeft nature, and 
 what muft carry weight with every thinking perfon and 
 unprejudiced judgment. 
 
 I KNOW, the abettors of Reforming Principles ge- 
 nerally value themfelves for their extenfive charity, in 
 holding Salvation attainable in every Chriftian Sect or 
 Religion ; not excluding the Catholic Church, from 
 which they feparated. But, befides, that they depart 
 from this their univerfal charity almoft in the fame 
 breath they aflert it, by the grievous impeachments 
 they lodge againft (he Catholic Church of Idolatry 
 
 and
 
 A Review (f the Premifes, &c. 285 
 and damnable Errours, which, if their charge be juft, 
 are incompatible with Salvation ; this great cry, in 
 other refpects, can be reputed no more than mere af- 
 fectation ; a gilt pill, to conceal the venom of their 
 doctrine under a glittering cover ; or a foporific bolus, 
 to lull their deluded people into a lethargic fecurity, 
 under the profeffion of the mod extravagant opinions. 
 
 TRUE Charity is, to be fure, the Queen of Virtues, 
 their complement and perfection , fo that, what St. 
 Paul fays, is certainly true, Without Charity we are no- 
 thing : And therefore a certain ingenious author had 
 reafon in faying (if his meaning was juft) " that he 
 " as little feared GOD would damn a man who had 
 " Charity, as he could hope that a Prieft could fave 
 " him without it." But fpiritual, as well as corporal 
 Charity and Mercy, and their refpective acts, may be 
 miftaken and mifplaced -, and, on the other hand, it 
 argues no want of Charity, to deny it to objects that 
 are undeferving it. 
 
 FOR example, a jury declaring a convicted male- 
 factor guilty of death, is not thereby uncharitable ; 
 nor a judge unmerciful in pronouncing upon him 
 the capital fentence. And, in like manner, if our 
 adverfaries could make good their charge againft the 
 Catholic Church, of Idolatry and damnable Errors, they 
 would be fo far from being uncharitable in denying 
 Salvation poflible within her pale, while me laid under 
 that impeachment, that, on the contrary, they muft 
 be ridiculous and incoherent with themfelves in allow- 
 ing it. 
 
 In order therefore to prove our Charity to be true, 
 we muft bring it to fome teft ; and this can be na 
 other than the rules which are tranfmitted to us in the 
 Infpired Writings. 
 
 Now, with refpect to the point in queftion, viz. con- 
 cerning Faith, there are two rules explicitly mentioned 
 and laid down in thefe Sacred Records the firft is, 
 
 the obligation or neceflity of Divine Faith the 
 
 fecond, it's Unity. St, Paul exprefsly avers the ob- 
 ligation
 
 286 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 ligation of Divine Faith to Salvation ; faying, that, 
 Without Faith it is impojfible to plea fe GOD. Heb. xi. 6. 
 Therefore, in confequence to this rule,' purity of Faith 
 is no lefs necefiary to Salvation, than integrity of life, 
 or the obfervance of the commandments ; and confe- 
 quently, as it would argue no uncharitablenefs to fay, 
 that a perfon living in an habitual breach of the 
 commandments, is in a damnable flate, fo to enter- 
 tain the like opinion of thofe who are deftitute of true 
 Faith, is equally out of the reach of ceniure. And this 
 illuftration of our doctrine, concerning the neceffty of 
 Faith, clears us from another odium our advcrfaries 
 are fond of calling upon us, as tho' we damned All, 
 perfonally, that difient from us in matters of Faith. 
 To fay that a man will be damned, and to fay that be is 
 in the fiat e of damnation, are judgements widely diftant 
 the firfl highly mocking ! and what we abfolutely dif- 
 avow the fecond coniiftent with perfect Charity. In 
 a word, Herefy, as well as Libertinifm, are both, as I 
 have faid, damnable ttates. For, our Bleffed Saviour 
 himfelf declares, that He that believeih notjhall be damned? 
 Mark xvi. 16. and St. Paul, that He (a heretic) is fub-> 
 verted, andfinnetb, being condemned by his own judgment ', 
 Tit. iii. 1 1 . But, whether Peter living, and, ieemingly, 
 dying impenitent \ or Paul living, and dying, apparently, 
 cut of the Church, are damned, we leave to the Searcher 
 of Hearts, the juft Judge of all mankind ; and fufpend 
 our own judgments till the lail Accounting Day, which 
 will reveal every one's deeds, fuch as they are in them- 
 felves, and their refpective lots. 
 
 The greater part of the Reformed Churches, which 
 efpoufe St. Athanafius's Creed, in which all are anathe- 
 matiied diflenting from it's refpective articles, can, by no 
 other falvo, fcreen themfelves from the imputation of 
 uncharitablenefs, which they would fallen on us. 
 
 BUT, to return from this digreffion to the dired: fub- 
 jeft in hand, I fay, that, as Faith is necefiary to Salva- 
 tion, fo this Faith can only be om. The unity of Faith 
 is equally grounded upon ihe Doflrine or* CHRIST, and
 
 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 
 his faithful interpreter St. Paul. The latter, writing 
 to the Ephefians, tells us, that " CHRIST, befides 
 Apoftles and Evangelifts, has given to his Church 
 Paftors and Doctors, for the perfecting of the 
 Saints for the work of the minifhy ; for the 
 edifying the Body of CRHIST, //// we all meet in the 
 unity of Faith that we be no more children tofled 
 to and fro, with every blaft of doctrine in the un- 
 certainty of men, and their crafy contrivances to 
 " deceive. Ephef. iv. n,&c. ' 
 
 IMMEDIATELY before, the Apqftle avers the unity 
 of Faith, in thefe ftrong, eXpreffive terms, 'There is one 
 Body, fays he, and one Spirit, as you are called, in cnt 
 hope of ycur calling, one Lord, one Faith and one Bap- 
 tifm. Ibid. v. 4. 
 
 AND the Apoftle, in thefe pofitive declarations of 
 the unity of Faith, only expounds, .or rather repeats 
 the doctrine of his Bleffed Matter himfelf ; who efta- 
 bliihes it in the following words, " Other fheep I have, 
 " which are not of this fold them alib muft I bring, 
 " and they will hear my voice, and there ft all be one 
 *' fold and one Shepherd. John x. 1 6. 
 
 AN D the Night before his Paflion, praying for his 
 Difciples, he adds, that he does not pray far them alone, 
 
 : ? 
 
 P 
 
 hit for thofe alfo that /hall believe in me, thro* their 
 word, thaLthey all may be one. Ibid. xvii. 20. 
 
 THESEiacred Texts appeared fo clear, for the unity 
 of Faith, to the greateft Lights and Doftors of the 
 Church, that they could not bring themfelves to en- 
 tertain any notion of our modern Reformers univerfal 
 Charity, in making Salvation compatible -with contra- 
 dictory beliefs and fyftems of doctrine j but, on the 
 contrary, as it is a miftaken Charity and ridiculous 
 in itfelf, claming with common fenfe, and repugnant 
 to the exprefs declarations of Scripture, fo they abfo- 
 lutely exploded it , - anathematized the authors an4 
 abettors of all diverfity of belief, and admitted of 
 no Salvation poffible out of the cm Fold of CHRIST. 
 
 ST.
 
 288 'A Review of the Premifes y &c. 
 
 St. Auftin writes to Donatus upon this fubjeft as 
 follows " Being out of the pale of the Church, 
 " thou wouldft not efcape damnation, though thou 
 " fhouldeft be burnt alive for confeffmg the name of 
 " CHRIST." Aug. Ep. ad Donat. Ep. 204. 
 
 St. Fulgentius, to the fame effect, lays, " That 
 " neither baptifm, nor liberal alms, nor death itfelf, 
 " can avail a man any thing in order to falvation, if 
 " he does not hold the Unity of the Catholic Church." 
 Ful. c. 39. ad Pet. Dom. 
 
 BOTH thefe Fathers only adopted, in this point, the 
 fentiments of, the great St. Cyprian, who preceded 
 them long before. He in his Treatife of the unity of 
 the Church, declares that, " Whoever, leaving the 
 " Church, cleaves to an adulterefs, is cut off from 
 " having any fhare in the promifes made to the 
 " Church." And again he argues thus, " If it were 
 " poflible, fays he, for any to efcape that were not 
 " in the Ark of Noah, it will like wife be poflible 
 " for him to efcape who is not in the Church." 
 Thus this holy Father, from one avowed impoffibility 
 deduces another. 
 
 AND, in fhort, the fentiments of thefe learned 
 Doctors want no comment ; they manifeftly plead for 
 the Catholic fide of the queftion , and therefore, if 
 we are to be reputed uncharitable for holing Unity 
 of Faith, to be an eflential condition of Salvation ; 
 or, otherwife, for thinking all thofe to be in the 
 ftate of perdition, who are not within the pale of the 
 one Catholic Church, planted by CHRIST; thefe 
 holy Fathers come under the fame cenfure , and even 
 St. PAUL is not out of its reach, when he fo plainly 
 aflerts an Unity of Faith in the texts aforecited , and, 
 on another occafion, Galat. c. i. 8. has carried his 
 zeal fo far againft the innovators of thofe early days, 
 as to fay, that though an Angel from Heaven mould 
 teach them a doctrine different from what they had 
 learnt from him, that-he mould be anathema j which 
 
 was
 
 A Review of the Pretnifes, &c. 289 
 
 was to fay, that he fhould be accurfed, or incur the 
 guilt of damnation. 
 
 BUT whither can we better have recourfe, in order 
 to fettle this point concerning Unity of Faith, than to 
 the fource itfelf of the only faving faith, and principle 
 of unity, CHRIST JESUS ? Our Bleffed Lord, during 
 his mortal fojournment on earth, had two principal 
 offices laid upon him by his Eternal Father, the one 
 of our Redeemer, the other of our Lawgiver, Teacher, 
 and Guide : as our Redeemer, 'he opened to mankind 
 Heaven gates, which till then had been fhut againft us : 
 as our Teacher and Guide, he was to put us into the 
 plain and direct road to this port of blifs. In this 
 fecond capacity, under which alone we are to confi- 
 der him here, with refpect to our prefent inquiry, he 
 declared himfelf the Meffiah, long promiied to the 
 Jews, and the hopes and expectation of the Gentiles, 
 the wifdom of GOD, and even the GOD himfelf, tho* 
 hid under the veils of flefh, mortality, and corrup- 
 tion : as fuch he took upon him to lay the foundations 
 of a new Church, to teach a doctrine, they had never 
 learnt before, but confirmed and fealed by unhsared of 
 figns and miracles, and to mew a readier way to fal- 
 vation than what they had hitherto gone , and he ga- 
 thered unto himfelf Apoftles and Difciples, who paid 
 an' entire .deference to his Divine Inftructions and 
 Precepts. 
 
 Now I fay, viewing our Blefied Lord in this fc- 
 condary capacity, on the one hand, as a Lawgiver, a 
 Teacher, and the Author of faith, or the true means of 
 falvation; and confidering, on the other, the many 
 divifions and jarring opinions, fubfifting at prefent, 
 among Chriftians, about the nature of this faith and 
 means of falvation, it is obvious and even neceflary 
 to put the following queries. Did our Divine Mafter 
 eftablilh one Church, one Faith, and one means of 
 Salvation ? or did he deliver different and contradic- 
 tory fyftems of faith ? the former conduct muft cer- 
 O o tainly
 
 290 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 
 tainly be judged moft agreeable to his increated wifdom 
 and infinite goodnefs; and the latter would have given as 
 great a Ihock to our idea of thefe his Divine Attributes; 
 and therefore, to aflfert it, would be nothing lefs than 
 blafphemy. Therefore, our Bleffed Lord did, un- 
 doubtedly, deliver to his Apoftles, and to the reft of 
 his followers, an uniform fyftem of doctrine, one 
 invariable faith, or means of falvation. But then, I 
 proceed : when, juft before his Afcenfion he gave a 
 folemn commimon to his Apoftles to go and Teach all 
 nations ; baptifmg them, &c. Matt, xxviii. 19. did he 
 injoin them to conform faithfully to the doctrine and 
 faith he had taught them, and to communicate the 
 fame, unaltered, to the people and nations, among 
 which they were to be difperfed, to promulgate . his 
 Gofpel ? or did he leave them at liberty to plant each of 
 them a Church, after their own mode and humour, or 
 he himfelf direct them to eftablilh various and con- 
 tradictory fyftems of faith ? for example, did our 
 Blefled Saviour order St. PETER to aflert at Rome, 
 and in the other diftricts, under his immediate charge, 
 a real prefence of his facred Body and Blood in the 
 Eucharift, and to eftablifh there the reft of the Ca- 
 tholic tenets? Did he commiflion St. PAUL to pro- 
 pagate the figurative fyftem in the Lord's Supper, 
 with the reft of the principles of the Church of Eng- 
 land, in Afia? did he appoint St. THOMAS to teach 
 pure Lutheranifm in the Indies ? and permit St. MAT- 
 THEW to fettle rigorous Calvinifm in Ethiopia ? and fo 
 of the reft : or were they all to agree in the fame creed 
 amongft themfelves, and to publifh it within the Pro- 
 vinces afiigned to them ? I think the command, their 
 Blefled Mailer annexed to their commifiion, refolves 
 this queftion paft any ambiguity or controverfy : for 
 having bid them go Preach to all nations, baptizing 
 them, &c. Matt, xxviii. 19. he added in the next 
 verle, Teaching them to obferve all things, whatfoever I 
 have commanded you, v. 20. And ftupid and dull of 
 iapprehenfion, as they cgnitartfly appeared to be, with 
 
 regard
 
 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 291 
 
 regard to the many truths he delivered to them from 
 time to time, he had told them before, that another 
 Paraclete would bring into their minds all he had taught 
 them, and enlighten their underftanding to compre- 
 hend them. I'hefe things ', fays he, have I fpoken to you, 
 abiding with you, but the Paraclete, the HOLY GHOST, 
 whom the Father will fend in my name, he will teach you 
 all things, and bring all things to your mind, what fo ever I 
 Jbatt have faid to you. John. xrv\ 25, 26. 
 
 Now from thefe premifes the following plain con- 
 clufion directly enfues, as it's natural and neceflary 
 confequence, viz. that as CHRIST was uniform in his 
 doctrinal inftructions to his Apoftles, and as they were 
 to abide and fleer by them in the difcharge of their 
 miniftry, therefore, an unity of faith was the plan 
 they were, and did confentaneoufly work upon. 
 
 BUT then, an unity of faith, as the only means of - 
 Salvation, being fo far conducted, that is, to the end 
 of the Apoftles miniftry, there remains yet one im- 
 portant queftion ; to what Church, at what sera, and 
 in what place or country, did Almighty GOD give a 
 difpenfation with this unity of faith, and allow falvation 
 acquirable under various forms of religion and contra- 
 dictory beliefs ? as is at prefent fuppofed and main- 
 tained by our charitable Proteftants. 
 
 IT is certain, the Apoftles themfelves were utter 
 ftrangers to any fuch difpenfation with the faith they 
 had preached, and curfed the intruders upon it, of 
 their days, who attempted to corrupt its purity with 
 their own additions and inventions, the Nicolaifts, 
 Cerdonifts, the Simonifts, and the reft. And St. PAUL, 
 as we heard above, did not refrain to pronounce ana- 
 thema, even againft an Angel from Heaven, who 
 mould, if it were poffible, infmuate a doctrine, dif- 
 ferent from what he had taught. The Apoftles im- 
 mediate Difciples, St. Polycarp, St. Ignatius and 
 others, looked on the Marcionifts and the reft of the 
 innovators of their time, with equal abhorrence, and 
 cautioned their flocks to be aware of their deceitful 
 O o 2 wiles
 
 292 ^Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 
 wiles and pernicious errors, as directly repugnant to 
 Apcftolic taith, and deftructive of falvation. And 
 fp, through every fucceeding age, down to the epoch 
 of the Reformation, upon the firft appearance of any 
 novel y ot doctrine, the Church conftantly oppofed it 
 with the greateft warmth and vigour. 
 
 LET then, our prefent Reformers reconcile as they 
 can, their univerfal charity of a poflibility of Salva- 
 tion within fects of different perfuafions, and contrary 
 tenets of faith and terms of communion, with the 
 rigour of an unity of faith prefcribed and delivered by 
 CHRIST to his Apoftles, by them propagated among 
 the nations and people of their refpective provinces, 
 and fince invariably maintained by the Church, till the 
 prefent days of relaxation, and of unbounded liberty 
 of confcience, introduced by the principles of the Re- 
 formation, 
 
 HOWEVER, while we fee our modern Reformers 
 make a merit of their pretended univerfal charity, and 
 conceive fcandal at our contracted charity (as they are 
 pleafed to think it) of confining the road to Salvation 
 within the narrow boundaries of an Unity of Faith ; 
 it may be a matter of furprife to hear an abettor of the 
 reforming principles plead ftrenuoufly for it: and yet, 
 I apprehend the following extracts from Dr. Pearfon, 
 Bifhop of Chefter, in his Expofition of the ninth arti- 
 cle of the Creed, cannot be reconciled to common fenfe, 
 being underftood in any other manner. I will there- 
 fore give the reader the Bifhop's words faithfully, and 
 at length, as they lie, without any comment upon them. 
 HE begins with afierting the perpetuity and univer- 
 fality of the Church ; which, though not directly 
 affecting its unity, is an introduction to it, and is of 
 too confiderable a tendency to be omitted. He ufhers 
 in his belief on thefe heads as follows : 
 
 " WHEN I fay, I believe the Holy Catholic Church* 
 *' I mean," fays he, that there is a Church which 
 *' is Holy, and which is Catholic, Page 335. Edit. 4. 
 *< -which is not only an acknowledgement of a Church 
 
 which
 
 A Review of the Premifes, &c." 293 
 
 <c which mall be, but alfo of that which is, Page 341. 
 " that which was when the Creed began, and was 
 " to continue till the Creed ihall end, is propofed to 
 " our belief in every age as being: and thus, ever 
 *' fince the Church was conftituted, the Church itfelf, 
 " as being, was the object of the faith of the Church 
 " believing. The exiftence therefore of the Church 
 *' of CHRIST (as that Church is before underftood by 
 <c us, p. 336, that is, as a vifible and known fociety) 
 * c is the continuation of it in' an actual being, from 
 * { the firft collection of it in the time of the Apoftles, 
 < unto the confummation of all things. A collection 
 *' uninterruptedly continued in an actual exiftence of 
 " believing perfons and congregations in all ages, 
 " unto the end of the world. Page 342. 
 
 " Now this indeed is a proper object of faith, 
 
 " becaufe it is grounded only upon the promife of 
 
 " GOD. There can be no other afiurance of the per- 
 
 " petuity of this Church, but what we have from him 
 
 *' that built it. The Church is not of fuch a nature, 
 
 c 'as would neceflarily, once begun, preferve itfelf 
 
 <c for ever. Many thoufand perfons have fallen totally 
 
 <c from the faith profeffed, and fo apoftatized from 
 
 * c the Church. Many particular Churches have been 
 
 *' wholly loft, many candlefticks have been removed, 
 
 <c Page 342. but though the Providence of GOD does 
 
 * e fuffer many particular Churches to perifh, Yet the 
 
 ' promife of the fame GOD will never permit that all of 
 
 tc them at once Jhallperijh. When CHRIST fpoke firft 
 
 " particularly to St. PETER, he fealed his fpeech with 
 
 " a powerful promife of perpetuity, faying, 'Thou 
 
 " art PETER, and upon this rock I will build my Church ', 
 
 " and the gates of hell Jhall not prevail again/I it. 
 
 ** When he fpoke generally to all the reft of tlie 
 
 *' Apoftles, Go teach all nations., baptifmg them, &c, 
 
 " Matt, xxviii. 19. he added a promife to the fame 
 
 ** effect And lo y I am with you always, even unto the 
 
 " end of the world. The firft of thefe promifes allures 
 
 *' us of the continuance of the Church, becaufe it is 
 
 ' built
 
 294 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 '* built upon a rock The latter of thefe promlfes 
 <c gives not only an aflurance of the continuance of the 
 " Church, but alfo the caufe of that continuance, 
 " which is the prefence of CHRIST. Pag. 342. Where - 
 '" fore, being CHRIST does promife his prefence unto 
 " the Church, even to the end of the wot Id, he does 
 " 'thereby afiure us of the exiftence of the Church un- 
 " til that time, of which his prefence is the caufe. Indeed 
 " this is the city of the Lord of Hofts, the city of our GOD. 
 l< GOD will eftabli/h it for ever, as the great Prophet 
 " of the Church has faid. Pfal. xlviii. 8. Pag. 342. 
 ' Upon the certainty of this truth the exiftence of 
 '* the Church has been propounded as an object of 
 " our Faith in every age of Chriftianity -, and fo it 
 Ct fhall be ftill unto the end of the world. Pag. 343. 
 
 FROM this avowed profefilon of the perpetuity of 
 the Church, he proceeds to eftablifh it's univerfality. 
 
 " THE next affection of the Church," fays he, " is 
 * e that of Univerfality I believe the holy CATHOLIC 
 " Church" p. 345. Which univerfality he expounds 
 as follows : 
 
 " Now, being particular Churches could not be 
 cc named Catholic, as they were particular, in reference 
 " to this or that city, in which they were congregated, 
 " it folio weth that they were called Catholic by their 
 " coherence and conjunction with that Church, which 
 <c was properly and originally called fo 'That Church 
 * e which was built upon the Apoftles, as upon the foun- 
 " dation ; congregated by their Preaching and their 
 " Baptifing ; receiving continued acceffion, and difle- 
 <c minated in feveral parts of the earth, containing 
 *' within it numerous congregations, all which were 
 " truly called Churches, as Members of the fame 
 " Church that Church, I fay, was after fome time 
 " called the Catholic Church ; that is to fay, the name 
 " Catholic was ufed by the Greeks to fignify the 
 " whole. P. 347. 
 
 Ai*
 
 A Review of the Premifes> &c. 29$ 
 < AT firft then they called the whole Church Ca- 
 " tholic, meaning no more than this Univerfal Church; 
 " but having that term fome fpace of time, they con- 
 " fidered how the nature of the Church was to be 
 " univerfal, and in what that univerfality did confift. 
 
 "THE moft obvious and moft general notion of 
 " this Catholicifm confifteth in the diffufivenefs of the 
 " Church, grounded on the commiffion given to the 
 " builders of it Go teach all nations whereby they 
 " and their fuccefTors were atithorifed and empowered 
 " to gather Congregations of Believers, and fo to ex* 
 " tend the borders of the Church unto the utmoft 
 " parts of the earth. The Synagogue of the Jews 
 " efpecially confifted of one Nation, and the public 
 c Worfhip of GOD was confined to one country In 
 " Judah was GOD known, &c. Pf. Ixxvi. 1,2. The 
 <e Temple was the only place in which Sacrifices 
 <c could be offered But GOD faid unto his Son, I 
 " will give the Heathens for thine inheritance, and tht 
 " utmoft farts of the earth for thy poffejfion. Pf. ii. 8. 
 " And CHRIST commanded the Apoftles, faying, Go 
 " ye into all the World, and preach the Go/pel to every 
 * c creature, that repentance and remiffion of Jins/hould be 
 " preached in his Name among all nations, beginning at 
 " Jerufalem. Luke xxiv. 47. 
 
 " THUS the Church of CHRIST, in it's primary 
 " Inftitution, was made to be of a diffufive nature ; 
 " and to fpread and extend itfelf from the city of Je- 
 " rufalem, where it firft began, to all the parts and 
 " corners of the earth. From whence we find them 
 " in the Revelation, crying out to the Lamb, 'Thou. 
 <c ivaftjlain, and haft redeemed us to God by thy blood, 
 tc out of every Kindred and Tongue, and People and Na- 
 <c tion. Rev. v. 9. This reafon did the ancient Fa- 
 " thers render why the Church was called Catholic ; 
 " and the nature of the Church is fo defcribed in the 
 _" Scriptures." Pag. 348. 
 
 THIS
 
 296 r A Review of the Premtfes, &c. 
 
 THIS learned Prelate having proceeded next to fnew 
 the true Church of CHRIST to be alfo Catholic in her 
 teaching all things neceffary to Salvation, and in other 
 affections or relations lefs material, for which I refer 
 the Reader to the Author himfelf, p. 348. He at laft 
 concludes that this Church, which being inftituted by 
 CHRIST, was, by his divine promife, to be perpetual 
 this Church, which, in it's nature, extenfivenefs, and the 
 comprehenfivenefs of it's doctrine, is catholic, or uni- 
 verfal, that this fame is alfo only One j which laft 
 truth he proves and enforces as follows : 
 
 " The neceffity of believing the Holy Catholic Church, 
 '* appeareth in this that CHRIST has appointed it 
 " as the only way unto Eternal Life. We read, at 
 " the firft, that the Lord added to the Church daily fuch 
 * as Jhoiild be faved. Acts ii. 47. And what was then 
 " daily done, hath been done fince continually. 
 *' CHRIST never appointed two ways to Heaven, nor 
 ** did he build a Church to fave fome, and make an- 
 " other inftitution for other mens Salvation. There 
 * c is no other name under Heaven, given among men, 
 ' whereby we mujl be faved, but the name of Jefus, 
 * e Acts iv. 12. And that name is no otherwife given 
 " under Heaven, than in the Church. As none were 
 " faved from the Deluge, but fuch as were within the 
 < c Ark of Noah, framed for their reception, by the 
 <c command of GOD as none of the firft-born of 
 " ^gypt lived, but fuch as were within thofe habita- 
 tions, whofe door pofts were fprinkled with blood, 
 " by the appointment of GOD, for their prefervation 
 * as none of the inhabitants of Jericho could efcape 
 <c the fire or fword, but fuch as were within the houfe 
 " of Rahab, for whofe protection a covenant was 
 " made -, fo none Jha.ll efcape the eternal wrath of GOD, 
 <c which belong not to the Church of GOD." Pag. 349, 
 
 35- 
 
 THEN, fumming up all he had juft faid in the ex- 
 pofhion of this Article, he proceeds thus " When 
 
 " we
 
 r A Review of the Tremifes, &c. 297 
 
 " we profefs to believe the Holy Catholic Church, 
 " every one is thereby underftood to declare thus much : 
 " I am fully perfuaded, and make a free confeflion of 
 *' this, as of a necefiaryand infallible truth, that CHRIST, 
 " by die preaching of the Apoftles, did gather unto him- 
 " felf a Church, confiding of thoufands of believing 
 " perfons, and numerous congregations, to which he 
 " daily added fuch asjhouldbe faved, end will fuccejjively 
 " and daily add unto the fame ', unto tbe end of the wcrld.: 
 *' So that, by virtue of his all-fufficient promife, I am 
 " allured that there was, has been hitherto, now is, 
 " and hereafter will be, as long as the Sun and Moon 
 " endure, A CHURCH OF CHRIST, ONE AND THE 
 < SAME. This Church I believe in general Holy, in 
 *' refpecl: of the Author, end, inflitution, and admini- 
 " flration of it : Particularly in the Members here, I 
 *' acknowledge it really holy, and in the fame here- 
 " after perfectly holy. I look upon the Church, not 
 <l like that of the Jews, limited to one people, confined 
 ** to one nation, but by the appointment and com- 
 *' mand of CHRIST, and by the efficacy of his affift- 
 c< ing power, to be diffeminated through all nations 
 " to be extended to all places to be propagated to 
 all ages to contain in it all truths neceffary to be 
 known to exa6t abfolute obedience from all men 
 to the commands of CHRIST, and tofurnim us with 
 all graces neceflary to make any perfons acceptable, 
 and our actions well pleafmg in the fight of GOD. 
 " And thus, / believe the Holy Catholic Church:' Pag. 
 
 35 35 1 - 
 
 I HAVE given the Reader the foregoing extracts, from 
 this Proteftant Prelate, at length ; that he may judge 
 himfelf of his fentiments, without the help of any com- 
 ment upon them ; and, indeed, they are fo plain and 
 explicit, that no comments can place their meaning in 
 a clearer light than they appear in their own naked 
 view. I'll therefore only beg leave to make two or 
 P p three
 
 2 9 8 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 
 three obvious remarks, as are directly pertinent to the 
 points I undertook to prove , viz. the neceffity and unity 
 of Faith, as indifpenfable conditions of Salvation. 
 Thefe truths he pofitively affirms, p. 349. of his Ex- 
 pofition, as we have feen above, viz. That the necef- 
 fity of believing the Holy Catholic Church appears in 
 this, That CHRIST has appointed it as the only way 
 unto eternal life that there is no way under Heaven 
 whereby to be faved, but the name of JESUS j and that 
 this is "no otherwife given than in the Church j" 
 which he further proves by his allufions to Noah's 
 Ark, and other fcriptural covenants. As alfo 
 when he fays, prefently after, " That none mall 
 " efcape the eternal wrath, who belong not to the 
 " Church of GOD." When, laftly, he concludes 
 from CHRIST'S promife, that " there was, has been hi- 
 " therto, now is, and hereafter will be, as long as the 
 c Sun and Moon endure, a Church of CHRIST, ONE, 
 " AND THE SAME" And when, in a word, that we 
 might not miftake this Church of CHRIST, which he 
 affirms to be one and the fame^ he had told us before, 
 Expof. p. 345. That the Catholic Church is it, viz. the 
 centre of Unity, by a coherence and conjunction with 
 which, all other particular Churches are comprehended 
 within that denomination the Church which was 
 built upon the Apoftles, as upon the foundation, &c. 
 fcfr. Exp. p. 347. 
 
 THE neceffity, then, and unity of Faith being fup- 
 - pofed, and, I conceive, fufficiently evinced from what 
 has been now offered oa this head from all- hands, to 
 wit, from Scripture, from the Fathers, and even from 
 a learned Prelate of the Proteflant Communion, as 
 we have juft heard, and that, in a dogmatical in- 
 ftruction, or a profefled Expofition of Faith : the 
 next inquiry to be made, and the moil important of 
 all, is, In which Sect, Church, or Congregation this 
 One Faith heceflary to Salvation is to be found -, whe- 
 ther within the Roman Catholic or the Reformed 
 
 Churches j
 
 A Review of the Prem/fes, Sec. 299 
 Churches : and, if in the latter, as all of them, vary- 
 ing from each other in points of belief, cannot be 
 pofTerTed of this ineftimable Treafure, and therefore it 
 can only belong to that Church or Churches, fo ce- 
 mented together in terms of Communion, according, 
 even to Dr. Pearfon, as to be one and the fame, ; the 
 query is, Which is that Church, fo fortunate, as to 
 have hit upon it ? 
 
 THESE are important questions ; but yet the refo- 
 lution whereof may be eafily come at : the whole drift 
 of this EfTay has been directly tending to it. For, if 
 the Reformation be vain and groundlefs ; if the im- 
 peachments of Errour laid againft the Roman Catholic 
 Church are unjuft, or, which is the fame thing, if the 
 Church was not fufceptible of a Reform in point of 
 Faith (which is what we have been endeavouring to 
 prove) then me is, of courfe, porTeffed of the Unity 
 and Purity of Faith we are in queft after ; and every 
 Seel: or Congregation fet up in oppofition to her, muft 
 be judged deititute of it. 
 
 THE Inquiry, therefore, Chriflian Reader, which I 
 recommend to you, is neither intricate nor at a di- 
 ftance ; but is, in fact, no more than an application 
 of the aforefaid Premifes to this confequence. 
 
 THIS Inquiry, then, as you tender your Salvation, I 
 intreat you to make ; but to do it ferioufly and unpre- 
 judicedly ; begging, firft, the Father of Lights to illu- 
 minate you ; and begging with an unfeigned difpofi- 
 tion of heart, through a fmcere defire to be informed ; 
 and, when informed, refolved to follow the Divine 
 Guide, in fpite of every temptation, allurement, or op- 
 pofition. "Without thefe requifite difpofitions, you 
 may fearch after Truth, and not find it, as CHRIST 
 told the Jews, they Jhould feek him, and yet die in 
 tbeirfmsy John viii. 2 1 . as they, in effect, [fought him, 
 after the fuggeftions of their corrupt hearts, when, with 
 an unparalleled preemption, they required him, in proof 
 of his being their Mefliah, to defcend from the Crofs, 
 P p 2 and
 
 3oo. A Review of the Premifes, 6cc. 
 
 and to fecure himfelf out of their hands If be be the 
 Sen of GOD, faid they, let him come down from the Crofs^ 
 and we will believe in him, &c. Matt, xxvii. 40, 41, 42. 
 
 IN the fame manner Herod was overjoyed at the 
 fight of CHRIST, when brought to his tribunal, out of 
 a vain curiofity of fe ing him work a miracle, but was 
 difappointed or his expectations. And whofoever ad- 
 dreffes Almighty GOD in the like depraved difpofitions 
 of mind, in queft after the true Faith, may be equally 
 fure to mifcarry in his fearch : or, if Almighty GOD, 
 of his infinite mercy, bellows on him his lights, in 
 themfelves fufficient to bring him to this knowledge, 
 they cannot but prove unferviceable to him, thro* the 
 obstructions he himfelf throws in the way : he does 
 not fee, becaufe he will not open his eyes, or Ihuts out 
 the light from them. Almighty GOD'S graces are not 
 of a compulfive nature, " Our Heavenly Phyfician," 
 " fays St. Auftin, " cures every infirm perfon who is 
 " willing to be cured, but cures none againft his 
 " will." He is defirous, on his fide, of the Salvation 
 of all men, but yet will not fave any, but fuch as have. 
 a fmcere and effectual will, themfelves, to be faved. 
 
 PREJUDICE of Education is one of thefe ob- 
 ftruclions to our participating of this Divine Light, ais 
 fatal as it is common : thro* this perfpective a man 
 looks on his Religion as a kind of paternal inherit- 
 ance -, he takes it as it is come to him from his an- 
 ceftors, without giving himfelf any uneafmefs con- 
 cerning it's truth or falmood ; and without examining 
 into the grounds and merits of it ; or, if he does take 
 any pains that way, they are levelled to no other view 
 than to rivet him fafter in his own perfuafions, and to 
 ftrengthen his prepoflefiions againft every other : and 
 yet, jt is certain, there can be no plea more repugnant 
 to common fenfe: none more treacherous and deceitful j 
 becaufe the moft monftrous fects ; even Mahometans, 
 Jews, and Infidels, have an equal right to the fame, 
 and may flatter themfelves tg be fafe under it's fhelter; 
 
 Jq
 
 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 301 
 
 *o that, tho' St. Peter aflures us, that there is no other 
 name under Heaven, in which Salvation is attainable (but 
 the name of JESUS CHRIST, Acls iii.) yet if Prejudice 
 of Education may be allowed to take place ('tis mock-* 
 ing to fay, yet certainly true) there might be falvation 
 pofiible in Mahomet's name, in Arius's and every im- 
 poftor's name, Such are the dreadful confequences of 
 this delufive plea. 
 
 THIS reflection does alfo difcover to us the weaknefs 
 of another vain pretence, too frequently made ufe of by 
 deluded people, to juftify a tenacious adhefion to their 
 errours, which, to exprefs it in their own language is, 
 that no one mould renounce his baptifm, meaning the 
 perfuafion in which he was initiated a Chriftian at that 
 facred font. 
 
 IN order to give a further anfwer to this frivolous 
 plea, I, firft, muft premife as an undoubted and invio- 
 lable principle, that nothing, however facred, can be- 
 come a fanftion to an intrinfic evil ; nor baptifm, there- 
 fore, to herefy and errour, which, if any thing, muft 
 be deemed an intrinfic ' evil of the blackeft die. For 
 example, an Arian, chriflened and trained up in that 
 erroneous opinion, can no more be judged excufable in 
 adhering to it, becaufe he was baptifed therein ; than 
 another in embracing it, after having received his 
 baptifm in the Catholic Church. I fay, fecondly, that 
 our baptifm, fo far from giving a fanction to errour, 
 obliges us, by the folemn engagements it lays us un- 
 der, to renounce and oppofe it. Thefe engagements 
 are comprized in the vow of fealty we make to CHRIST 
 on that folemn occafion, implying an obligation of 
 aflerting his caufe, of efpoufmg and defending the 
 fyftem of faith he has left us, and of oppugning it's 
 contrary errours, and confequently of deferting them, 
 fo foon as difcovered, if unhappily hampered therein, 
 thro' birth or education. Thefe principles are fo felf- 
 evident, that, even the Reformers themfelves occa- 
 fionally efpoufe them in pra&jce, when fo often as any 
 
 of
 
 302 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 
 of a different Communion, whether Catholic or dif- 
 lenting Proteftants, offer themfelves candidates to their 
 own Church, they are ever ready with open arms to 
 receive them, and think their baptifm within another 
 feet, no obftacle to their change. And indeed, if it 
 were of any weight, it would fap the foundation of 
 the Reformation itfelf : for the firft authors of that 
 Church revolution, when they fell off from their Mo- 
 ther Church, did certainly, in the language of Pro- 
 teftants, renounce their baptifm ; it being in the Ca- 
 tholic Church, and in the profefllon of all and each of 
 her tenets, through their fponfors, who anfwered for 
 them at the facred font, that they received their fpi- 
 ritual regeneration ; and confequently by their own 
 argument, the Reformation from it's very commence- 
 ment was unwarrantable. If it be replied that they did 
 not renounce their baptifm but the errours (fuppofed) 
 of the Romifh Church, they give us the folution to 
 their frivolous argument. Therefore, in a word, our 
 baptifm condemns errours, does not juftify them ; it lays 
 an incumbent obligation upon us to defert errour, does 
 not excufe our perfifting in it : fo vain, weak and ridi- 
 culous is this plea ; which yet the vulgar fit down con- 
 tent with under the profeflion of the grofieft errours, 
 and which even their teachers are not afhamed to make 
 ufe of in vindication of them. So unwarrantable then, 
 is prejudice of education in every ihape, and infufficient 
 towards excufmg an affected ignorance and an erroneous 
 belief. 
 
 HUMAN refpects, or a^fhame of departing from the 
 principles a man may unfortunately be engaged in, tho* 
 never fo erroneous, and known to be fuch, is another 
 obftacle to his embracing the truth, as fatal as the 
 former ; and has an affinity with it; only with thi/5 
 difference, that prejudice of education principally af- 
 fects the underftanding, throwing it into a ftate of 
 infenfibility or blindnefs, through which a man, being 
 ignorant of the truth, determinately perfifts in his 
 ignorance', whereas human rcfycfts occafions a pr- 
 
 veiv
 
 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 303 
 
 verfenefs of the will, whereby a man knowing the 
 truth, pufillanirnoufly declines fubmitting to it. The 
 firft refembles him to a traveller, who (huts his eyes, 
 not to look out his road ; the other to the fame, who 
 having his eyes open, and feeing his way, wilfully 
 ft rays out of it. 
 
 THERE are few but, within the circle of their 
 acquaintance, have means of aflbciating themfelves 
 with fome of the orthodox faith; from whofe con- 
 verfation, as well as from books they may incidently 
 light upon, they have frequent opportunities of being 
 difabufed of their errours ; and through the concurrence 
 of the Divine lights, many have found themfelves 
 effectually convicted of them. But, what is the con- 
 fequence of all thefe promifing beginnings, and fa- 
 vourable advantages, Divine Providence gracioufly 
 puts before them,, of attaining to truth ? why, it may 
 happen, that the erroneous principles they are un- 
 happily engaged in, are hereditary, and therefore it 
 will be deemed an indelible difgrace on themfelves, 
 and their family, to defert what has been the fuccef- 
 five belief of their anceftors, time immemorial : a 
 terrible bar to their venturing upon fuch a generous 
 refolution ! 
 
 THEY themfelves are, perhaps, perfons of fome 
 confidcration within their party, and looked upon 
 as props and pillars of their profeflion : pride, 
 therefore, in this cale, interpofes its caveat : and, in 
 fhort, they are fure, by deferting their old prin- 
 ciples, of falling under the difpleafure, cenfure, in- 
 dignation and contempt of all their intimates and af- 
 fociates of their former communion, who before 
 valued, revered and refpected them Powerful dif- 
 fuafives to a mind, otherwife the beft difpofed, from 
 entering upon fuch a religious change. And yet how 
 weak, irrational and injurious to himfelf the one, is, 
 in declining to yield to truth, on fuch inefficient mo- 
 tives : how unj uft the other, in abridging his friend 
 of his liberty upon the fame grounds, the nature of 
 
 the
 
 304 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 the thing fpeaks. For, firft, if the principles a man 
 has imbibed from inheritance, education, or any other 
 way, are, in themfelves, abiblutely erroneous, they are 
 certainly better deferted than kept, and the act is fo 
 far from being blameable, that it is to be reputed a 
 point of ftrict obligation and duty. 
 
 AGAIN, the affair of falvation, or the concern of 
 our foul, being properly every one's own affair, 
 that man muft be a declared enemy, or a falfe friend, 
 who were to take upon him to obftruct you in the pur- 
 fuit of it ; or would attempt to divert you from em- 
 bracing the means, which, in the conviction of your 
 own confcience, you judge to be abfolutely necefiary, 
 in order to fucceed : and you muft be equally blind to 
 your own natural intereft, to give fuch worldly refpects 
 or confiderations the preference to it : and yet, that it 
 is but too often the cafe, is as certain, as it proves 
 fatal to innumerable fouls, and the caufe of their final 
 perdition. 
 
 EXAMPLE is often another powerful attractive to 
 errour, and a ftrong perfuafive to continue in it, being 
 once engaged. For inftance, they fee among the mem- 
 bers of a heterodox communion, perfons of rank 
 and fortune , perfons reputed wife, learned and good 
 in their way, and therefore inftantly conclude it fate to 
 tread in their fteps, and to act and believe as they, 
 whom they fuppofe to be fo difcerning, that they can- 
 not but know which is the right, and which the wrong; 
 and they think to be fo upright and confcientious, that 
 they would not fwerve from what they know. / am 
 not^ fay they, ivifer than fuch and fuch 9 and therefore if 
 they venture their falvation in this way, it is furely fafe for 
 me to put wy foul to the fame hazard And, again, if 
 the Religion they profefs, happen to be the Religion 
 of the country, by law eftablifhed, the advantage of 
 numbers will likely be on their fide -, the members of 
 the Catholic communion, perhaps, very few, many of 
 them obicure, and in every worldly refpect, inconfidera- 
 
 blej
 
 A Review of tie Premifes t See. 305* 
 ble ; and the profelytes gained over to them, chiefly of 
 the lower fort; Thefe obfervations^ judging from out- 
 ward appearances, are enough to bring the orthodox 
 Belief into contempt, and to raife the credit of the 
 other i but, alas ! without the leaft colour of reafon 
 or juitice. 
 
 THE Jews made the fame exception heretofore, 
 againft our Blefied Saviour and his doctrine Have 
 any of the rulers, or of the Pk-arifees, believed in him, 
 John vii. 48. was their conftant cry. No, it was no- 
 torious, that our BlefTed Lord affected to convert with 
 . the poorer fort : multitudes of the poor followed him : 
 of the rich and the literate, Nicodemus, Jofeph of 
 Arimathea, and two or three others only$ mentioned 
 in the Gofpels, or that we know of. His college of 
 Apoftles was compofed of twelve poor, ignorant fifher- 
 men : He called them his little Flock ; but yet tells 
 them, that the Kingdom of Keavm was their portion 
 - Fear not, fays he, little fiock, becaufe it has-pkafedycur 
 Father to give you a kingdom, Luke xii. 32. And in ano- 
 ther place he adores the orders of Divine Providence, in 
 concealing the myileries from the wife, and communi- 
 cating them to the fimple, / ctnfefs to thee, O Father, 
 fays he, becaufe thoit haft hid thefe things from the wife 
 and proud, and haft revealed them unto little ones. Matt. 
 xi. 25. CHRIST often infmuates the number of thofe 
 that are called to be many, the chofen few. In the 
 parable of the marriage feaft, figurating the qualifi- 
 cations of the elect, we find the blind, the crippled 
 and beggars admitted to the nuptials, while the better 
 fort were excluded. By all thefe parables and exam- 
 ples we are given to underiland, that in the election to 
 eternal blifs, there is no refpect to perlbns ; that they 
 are not always the great or the wife men, according to 
 the worldj who are fo with GOD ; and therefore, merely 
 as fuch, they can be no precedents for us, nor a war- 
 rant for our (leering by their conduct or belief : the 
 reafon is obvious j becaufe the rich, the powerful, the 
 
 wife
 
 306 A Review of the Premtfes, &c. 
 
 wife and the learned, are fubject to fundry human 
 paffions, as well as others ; and, perhaps, have ftrong- 
 er incitements to gratify them, than many of lefs learn- 
 ing, lefs accomplifhed, according to the world, or placed 
 in a ftation of life not fo confpicuous. And it is moft 
 certain, that the greateft men have been jnifled by their 
 inordinate paffions ; and both learning and reafon made 
 to ply to their fuggeftions, in favour of errour. St. 
 Paul in his Epiftle to the Romans, exprefsly mentions 
 it to have been the cafe of the Heathen Philofophers, 
 who, knowing GOD, did not glorify him as GOD but 
 became vain in their thoughts, and their foolijh heart 
 was darkened^ Rom i. 21. And the like paffions 
 prevailing over the dictates of Virtue, Religion, and 
 Good Senfe, make the illiterate and the ignorant fo 
 fond of fcreening themfelves under the conduct of fuch 
 of the learned, as give the moft favourable counte- 
 nance to their own way of thinking and acting. For, 
 fo often as a perfon, in fpite of convictions of con- 
 fcience, continues in an erroneous belief, pretending to 
 juftify himfelf by the example of others, reputed vir- 
 tuous, religious in their way, and wife ; if he will but 
 confult the real dictates*bf his heart, and will deal with 
 himfelf candidly and impartially, he will find, that what 
 he obtrudes on the world, or impofes on himfelf, for 
 his motive of acting, and for the juftification of his 
 conduct, is nothing elfe but a mere cloak, to cover other 
 real motives, fuch as are human refpects, pufillani- 
 mity, felf-intereft, ambition, pride, or fome other dif- 
 orderly paffion, which are the fecret fprings of his 
 aclions. And very likely, thofe very men of reputed 
 probity, religion and learning, under whofe example 
 he affects to icreen himfelf, were actuated by the fame 
 paffions. 
 
 IF man were totally free from paffion, he would 
 be as little tempted to err againft faith as to break 
 the commandments. Herefy and Immorality flow 
 from the fame fource, our irregular appetites, which 
 
 are
 
 A Review of the Premifes, Sec. 307 
 
 are the greateft obftacles to our attaining to the know- 
 ledge of truth, or, it being known, to our embracing 
 it. 
 
 THESE paffions are comprifed, in Holy Scripture, 
 under the following heads the concupifcence of the 
 fiejh concupifcence of the eyes, and pride of life \ which, 
 otherwife, may be called thefpirif of liber tinifm felf- 
 intereft, and pride, in it's feveral fhapes or branches. 
 
 THAT the fpirit of libertinifm gave birth, in a great 
 meafure, to the Reformation, is well known, and what 
 I have fufficiently Ihewn in the foregoing Premifes : 
 and the fame fpirit may, no doubt, be a means of re- 
 taining many in the profefiion of it's principles ; be- 
 caufe a man immerfed in his pleafures, would chufe 
 to be of that Religion, which puts the leaft check or 
 reftraint upon their enjoyment : and therefore, while 
 there is this fundamental difference between the Ca- 
 tholic and Reformed Churches, the latter, calculated 
 for eafe and luxury, or, at leaft, rendering the road 
 to Heaven as level as poffible ; the former making it 
 rugged and difficult, and impofmg many injunctions 
 on it's profefibrs, forbidding to fieih and blood ; 'tis 
 evident to which fide the voluptuous man muft be in- 
 clined ; and nothing but a determined, effectual refo- 
 lution to quit his pleafures, can take off this bias, and 
 leave him at full liberty to be guided in the choice 
 of his Religion, by the lights of Faith, and the dictates 
 of his Confcience. 
 
 AGAIN, when felf-intereft is the ruling pafiion, 
 and it happens that Religion interferes with, and is 
 an obftruclrion to it, it is plain, humanly fpeaking, 
 which is likely to prevail : I fay, confidering man's in- 
 fatiable thirft after riches, and his violent. attachment 
 to the goods of this world, there is great odds that 
 Religion is made the facririce to Intereft : as, for ex- 
 ample, firft, in a cafe the molt defperate that can hap- 
 pen : where a man is fo unfortunately circumftanced, 
 that his livelihood and neceffary fubfiftence, and the 
 
 2 a&ual
 
 308 A Review of the Premtfes, &e. 
 
 actual fupport of a wife and family, are connected with, 
 and apparently infeparable from his erroneous profef- 
 fion. Good GOD ! what a crowd of difficulties do 
 not here immediately offer themfelves to deter him 
 from abandoning his errours, tho' never fo much 
 convinced of them ? What a conflict in his breaft be- 
 tween nature and grace ? "What obftacles, feemingly 
 unfurmountable, do not flefh and blood, and the world, 
 throw before him, to obftruct a generous refolution ? 
 How many arguments do they fuggeft to defeat the 
 lights of paith, and to fruflrate the force of Divine 
 Grace ? How ingenious is felf-love on her fide, in 
 feconding thefe carnal fuggeftions, by forming a falfe 
 Confcience, to oppofe the dictates of an upright Con- 
 fcience, guided by the lights of Faith and Divine 
 iGrace ? flattering him with the lawfulnefs and reafon- 
 ablenefs of continuing as he is, under fuch defperate 
 circumftances : magnifying, to this purpofe, the mercy 
 of Almighty GOD, or, rather, mifreprefenting it, in 
 order to juilify his falfe confidence in it, and glaring 
 rrefumption ? 
 
 THUS gained over, by the fophifms of felf-love, and 
 the flatteries of corrupt nature, he eafily perfuades 
 himfelf that it is more eligible to hazard his foul for 
 the time to come, for the fake of prefent emoluments, 
 than to fecure his eternal welfare, with the lofs of a 
 temporal maintenance : he thinks it better to live at 
 eafe in this life, at any rifk, than to tug to Heaven in 
 rags and poverty, with the additional heart-breaking 
 reflection of leaving behind him a ftarving family ; 
 ibothing, alas ! illufions of the devil, diametrically con- 
 trary to the exprefs declarations of our Bleflfed Saviour, 
 that He that doth not bate f ether and mother, and even his 
 cwn life^fcr bis fake ', be cannot be his 'difciple! Luke xiv.26, 
 AJfo quite the reverie of the directions, tho' fevere in- 
 deed, which St. Jerom gives us for our conduct ; viz. 
 " to trample on father and mother j" that is to fay, to 
 break thrpugh every tie of flefh and biopd, when they
 
 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 309 
 
 ftand in our way to falvation, or are an hindrance to 
 our complying with ourduty to GOD. 
 
 To do this, it cannot be denied, requires, in fuch 
 circumftances, an heroic courage and refolution : a vir- 
 tue more than human ; and few, very few, are they who 
 attain to it. So great, and, refpectively, almoft invin- 
 cible an obftacle to true Faith (without the extraordi- 
 nary Grace of GOD) are the allurements of intereft, 
 of the world, flelh and blood, and the ties of na- 
 ture. 
 
 AND, even in cafes lefs defperate than that we have 
 juft reviewed, we find that convictions of confcience 
 are made to ply to the fuggeftions of pafllon ; and 
 Religion facrificed to Intereit. For inftance, if the 
 gaining or faving an eftate, or, what is more inconfi- 
 derable, the fhifting off fome taxes or penal burdens 
 lying upon it, is put in competition with our Faith, 
 dreadful experience convinces us how much the former 
 often preponderate in our affections, and are apt to de- 
 termine our choice. Thefe obfervations amount to 
 little lefs than a literal proof of that terrible fentence 
 pronounced by our BlefTed Saviour againft the Rich - 
 that It is eafter for a camel to pafs thro* the eye of a needle^ 
 tlanfor a rich man to enter into the kingdom of Heaven. 
 Matt. xix. 24. Which is as much as to fay, that when- 
 ever our affections are immoderately fet on the world, 
 they are obferved to be a certain impediment to the fer- 
 vice of GOD, and almoft an invincible obftacle to our 
 fecuring the falvation of our fouls. The reafon hereof is 
 manifeft ; becaufe no paffion throws a greater mift be- 
 fore the eyes of our underftanding, or engrofles fo much 
 our heart and affections, as an unfatiable thirft after, or 
 a violent attachment to worldly goods and riches. Dif- 
 intereftednefs is, therefore, a difpofition previoufly re- 
 quifite to the choice of our Religion, in order to make 
 a good one, and fure. 
 
 PRIDE is alfo another effectual obftacle to a good 
 phoice : but, omitting the various other branches and 
 
 fpecies
 
 3 1 o A Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 
 fpecies of pride, I only mean to confider it here, fo 
 far as it implies opiniativenefs ; or felf-fufficiency, and 
 renders a man full of himfelf, and conceited with his 
 own knowledge and wifdom, in which refpect it be- 
 comes chiefly an impediment to his fearch after Truth. 
 Knowledge, lays St. Paul, puffs up ; meaning a know- 
 ledge ftript of faith, humility, and piety : without thefe 
 guides it certainly runs aftray : without thefe fences it 
 becomes a fure prey to the tyranny of pride ; and is 
 no better than it's fervant or bond-Have. 
 
 EVEN Reafon itfelf, unlefs retrained by the reins ot 
 thefe virtues, Kke a headitrong or unmanaged horfe 
 running away with his rider, hurries a man beyond the 
 bounds of all reafon ; and therefore we find, by expe^ 
 rienc-, that to try Religion -by pure human reafon, 
 is the means of reafoning it away : too great refine- 
 ments in dogmatical matters lead directly to Ikepticifin 
 and atheifm. 
 
 THZ facred Penmen are, therefore, continually cau- 
 tioning us againft the prefumptuous attempts of fquar- 
 ing our Faith to Reafon, or according to the lights of 
 human wifdom. The wifdom of the world, fays St. Paul, 
 is folly with Almighty GOD. i Cor. iii. 19. And he re- 
 prefents the Evangelical Doftrine of the Crofs unto the 
 Je-ivs a jliimblmg-block, and to the Gentiles fooli/hnsfs. 
 i Cor. i. 23. For, neither the fublimenefs of the 
 myfteries of the Chriftian Faith, nor their obfcurity 
 and incomprehenfibility, nor the humility of the Crofs, 
 are adapted to the vain notions of human reafoning. 
 Reafon is, confequently, no further to be confulted, in 
 matters of faith, than to make us fenfible that they 
 are above reafon, and to direct us to a fure infallible 
 Guide, which is the Church ; the repolitory of true 
 Faith, and all the neceflary means of Salvation -, and 
 to convince us of the obligation and neceffity of fub- 
 mitting to her decifions in all things relating to Faith. 
 
 IN fhort, it is evident, that pride, felf-fufficiency, 
 or too great a reliance on our own knowledge and 
 
 reafon,
 
 A Review gf the Premtfes,, &c. 3 r i 
 
 reafon, as well as the twofold concupifcence we have 
 fpokeirof, the concupifcence of theflejh^ and the concupi- 
 fcence of the eyes, luft, and felf-intereft, are effential 
 obftacles to a free inquiry into Religion. For, it is 
 faid, GOD gives grace to the humble, and rejijieth the 
 proud. Jam. iv. 6. 'The fenfual man perceiveth not the 
 things that are of the Spirit of GOD. i Cor. ii. 14. 
 And, Where our treafure is, there our heart will alfo be. 
 Matt. vi. 2 1 . And therefore, a man pafiionately attached 
 to this world, and cleaving to it's riches, is blinded to 
 what belongs to the next ; being under the government 
 of his concupifcible appetites, he cannot be at liberty to 
 feek after and embrace a faith, whofe morals run di- 
 rectly counter to their corrupt fuggeftions, and whofe 
 laws tend to a total fubverfion of their tyrannical ufurpa- 
 tion. 
 
 AND yet, upon our making an impartial inquiiy 
 after this one true Faith, to which thefe pafllons are 
 fo manifeft an impediment, our eternal happinefs or 
 mifery entirely depends -, and therefore, as I faid above, 
 it behoves us to ufe in it the utmoft fmcerity and dili- 
 gence ; and to remove every obftacle to this defirable 
 end. If the recovery of a temporal eftate were- the 
 object of your purfuit, you would be thought a mad- 
 man, if you did not give it all the attention, afliduity, 
 and care, that laid in your power : and yet the affair 
 in hand as much more deierves your regard, above 
 every worldly concern, and outweighs all temporal 
 profpects and advantages, as finite is exceeded by infi- 
 nite, time by eternity , and fleeting momentary plea- 
 fures by everlaftmg torments : for, What will it avail a 
 man to gain the whole world with the lofs of his foul ? 
 Matt. xvi. 26. The difparity of one and the other, is 
 too wide to fuffer any bartering upon it, or demur. 
 What, therefore, you will wim to have done, when 
 the near approach of death removes the vails of your 
 paffions from before your eyes, and difcovers every 
 object naked and undifguifed, as it is in itfelf, 
 
 that
 
 3 1 2 A Review of the Premifes, &c. 
 
 that do at prefent -, examine and refolve examine 
 and prove your Faith-, whether it be the one true 
 Faith of CHRIST, and the road to falvation pointed 
 out by him , and if, on examination, you are convinced 
 that you are out of this true way, refolve to get into it 
 at any coft, and in fpite of all rubs or obftacles 
 the flefh, the world, or the devil can put before 
 you. 
 
 TAKE care of becoming like the foolim Virgins, 
 who had the oil of faith and good works to provide 
 for their lamps, when the Bridegroom appeared, and 
 therefore were excluded the nuptial banquet Take 
 warning from the defcription the wife man gives of 
 fome after-penitents, who, feeing, at the laft day, the 
 Juft going to the enjoyment of eternal bliis, which 
 they themfelves had forfeited through their own wilful- 
 nefs, will break out into thefe unprofitable lamenta- 
 tions, " We, fenfelefs wretches ! who looked on their 
 *' lives as folly, and terminating in difgrace, be- 
 " hold, how they are now reputed among the chil- 
 " dren of GOD, and their portion is with the Saints." 
 Sap. 5. v. 4. 
 
 J Tis in every man's power, on this fide the grave, 
 with Almighty GOD'S help, which is always at hand, 
 to ward againft this fruitlefs after-repentance, by re-, 
 penting within time, when it is feafonable, and will be 
 acceptable. 
 
 THE firft ftep to it is Faith, according to that of 
 St. Paul, He that would have accefs to GOD, it behoves 
 him frft to believe. And again, Without faith it is im- 
 pojjible to pleafe GOD. Heb. xi. 6. and now is the 
 time to make an inquiry into this one true Catholic Faitb 9 
 requifite to falvation. Providing you do it. heartily and 
 fmcerely, with an unfeigned difpofition of mind, de- 
 firing to be informed ; and when informed, as I faid 
 before, refolved, in fpite of every difficulty and op- 
 pofition, to follow your information ; you need not 
 doubt of the lights of Heaven to conduct you to this 
 
 happy
 
 A Review of the Premifes^ &c. 3 1 3 
 
 happy term of your defires. And, if my feeble en- 
 deavours in this EfTay happen to be of any fervice to 
 you, C.hriftian Reader, towards this defirable purpofe, 
 I have all I aimed at, and all I \viih ; and therefore, 
 
 with the prayer I fet out, with that I conclude 
 
 May GOD, in his infinite mercy beftow upon it this 
 blejjing^ and on you the Grace to reap your advantage 
 from it. 
 
 R r A WORD
 
 A WORD of ADVICE 
 
 T O T H E 
 
 CATHOLIC READER. 
 
 BU T while we are laudably felicitous for the re- 
 turn of ftrayed flieep into the one fold of CHR IST, 
 where, and no where elfe, he will acknow- 
 ledge them for his , and to the unity of Faith, without 
 which, we have juft heard the Apoftle tell us, that 
 it is impoffible to pleafe GOD ; it behoves us who, thro* 
 the fpecial mercy of Almighty GOD, have been pri- 
 vileged with the grace of this one, fole-faving faith, to 
 take care not to forfeit the advantage of our preroga- 
 tive, by leading a life unworthy of our profefiion ; dif- 
 gracing a good belief by a bad practice : for, a faith 
 unfruitful of good works is dead, and will avail us no- 
 thing. Jam. ii. 20, 26. 
 
 THE Jews, heretofore, prefuming on their refpec- 
 tive prerogative of being the cholen people of GOD, 
 and betrayed by their falfe prophets into a miftaken 
 trull on an extraordinary Providence, on account of 
 their having the material Temple among them for his 
 public fervice, at the fame time that they neglected 
 the internal fervice of the heart, the divine Command- 
 ments) thro' this iliufion they often broke out into 
 thefe vain exclamations, We are the ektl people, the 
 Temple of the Lord, &c. Jer. 
 
 BUT 

 
 A Word of Advice y &c. 3 1 
 
 BUT Almighty GOD fent his Prophet Jeremiah to 
 undeceive them of this grofs error, ordering him to 
 fland in the porch of the Temple, and to repeat to 
 them often this mftructive lefibn : Thus fays the Lord 
 of hofts, the GOD of Ifrael Amend your ways, and 
 works, and I will dwell with you in this place : (other- 
 wife) fruft not in lying words, faying, The Temple of the 
 Lord, &c. Jer. vii. 
 
 Now I fear there are many nominal members of 
 the True Church of CHRIST, at this time of day, who 
 are carried away by a like deceit, thefe deluded Jews 
 laboured under j thofe, I mean, who glory in the name 
 of Catholic, at the fame time that, to frame a judg- 
 ment of their profeffion from their way of living, you 
 might be at a lofs to know whether they are Ckriftians. 
 The confequence of this illufion is two-fold ; both 
 highly fatal in their own nature : one to themfelves -, 
 the other to the Church they have the happinefs to be 
 members of: It is fatal to themfelves, by lulling them 
 into a falfe fecurity on the integrity of their faith, 
 while they neglecl: the purity of it's morals ; content 
 in being materially within the pale of the Church, re- 
 gardlefs of it's precepts and difcipline ; which, if not 
 atoned for by a timely repentance, proves their final 
 perdition. 'Tis injurious to the Church itfelf, by 
 bringing her into difcredit among her enemies, and 
 giving them a handle to (lander her principles. 
 
 'Tis only in this fecond acceptation, that the fatal 
 evil has a relation to the fubject of this efiay. In this 
 refpect, therefore, it may be incumbent on me to take 
 notice of it here, or at leaft apologizes for my prefum- 
 ing to mind every Catholic of the dreadful confequence, 
 and cautioning him againft it. 
 
 EXAMPLE has ever been obferved to operate more 
 powerfully on mens minds than words : the moft tvr- 
 fuafive arguments lofe their weight, and often milcarry 
 entirely, coming from one who is thought to be im- 
 pofmg on your belief, what he does not believe hirn- 
 R r 2 itlf.
 
 3 1 6 A Word of Advice to 
 
 felf. This is particularly experienced in religious 
 matters, whether with regard to myfteries of faith, or 
 moral duties. For inftance, a perfon deporting him- 
 felf in the Church, before the Bleffed Sacrament, 
 with as much heecUefnefs and irreverence, as if he 
 was in the market-place ; were he to go about, at that 
 time, to difplay the proofs of the Real Prefence, and 
 to attempt to make Converts to its belief, when his 
 actual mifbehaviour fo vjfibly betrays his own infi- 
 delity, would be exploded and laught at. 
 
 IN the fame manner a preacher is likely to make but 
 little impreffion on his audience, let the truths he 
 delivers be never fo folid, and enforced by all the 
 firength of human eloquence, whilft his own actions 
 give the lye to his words. And, in a word, a man who 
 leads a libertine life, loofes the reins to his paffions, 
 and abandons himfelf to every kind of vicioufnefs, 
 would in vain endeavour to reftrain others from the 
 fame irregularities, and to inculcate the practice of the 
 contrary virtues ; or to cry -up the lanctity and perfect 
 fyftem of pure morality fubfifting in the Church, of 
 which he boafts to be a member. He muft, I fay, 
 firft appear to be convinced himfelf of the truths he 
 would recommend, before he can hope to convince 
 any >ne elfe. Nothing more conducive to this effect 
 than example; his example muft therefore 'precede 
 his words.* 
 
 WE are placed here, as 'a fpectacle to GOD, to the 
 Angels, and to men, to GOD, as the Author of our 
 being, demanding our homage and ftrict compliance 
 with the end of our exiftence. To the Angels, as 
 our guardians and helpers, to the fulfilling this great 
 duty, and as witnefles to our fidelity or infidelity in 
 the difcharge of it. To Men, as mutually aiding to 
 one another by words and example, to the fame intent. 
 
 Now, in a precedent controverfy Chap. 9. Sett, i, 
 we mowed that the whole fyftem of Chriftian mora- 
 lity, and the fum of our duty to GOD, confift in the 
 Commandments and the Evangelical Counfels. We 
 
 alfo
 
 the Catholic Reader. 317 
 
 alfo made it appear, that the Catholic Church pays a 
 juft regard to the Counfels, as well as to the Com- 
 mandments, both in theory and practice, by words 
 and examples; while the Reformed Churches, on the 
 contrary, have, in a manner, lain them afide. The, 
 Church refpects them in words by her dogmatical 
 inftructions and recommendations of thefe virtues. 
 She alfo produces examples of them in the multitudes 
 of her members, who, by the help of GOD, reduce 
 them into practice. Yet, (to our regret be it fpoken) 
 it cannot be denied, but there are too many who prac- 
 tically renounce this Evangelical morality. For tho* 
 'tis true, what I then obferved, that the perfection of 
 the Counfels are not binding in themfelves, nor af- 
 fecting indifcriminately, or in the fame degree, per- 
 fons of every ftate and Condition , yet, it is alfo cer- 
 tain that, to act directly contrary to them, is allowable 
 to none, which, neverthelefs, as I fay, to the great 
 detriment of Religion, and the fcandal of many, is but 
 too frequently the cafe, as is notorious from fundry 
 inllances in almoft every ftation of life, and relatively 
 to every Evangelical Counfel. 
 
 FOR example, Evangelical poverty, by a total re- 
 nunciation ot our goods and properties which our 
 Bleffed Saviour recommends to us, as the comple- 
 ment of Chriftian perfection, has fo little the attention 
 of many worldly-minded Chriftians, that the contrary 
 paflion of hoarding up wealth, and acquiring riches, 
 at any rate, feems to be their Idol, and to have feized 
 full pofiefiion of their hearts. Such are many tradef- 
 men, who fuffcr themfelves to be fo entangled in 
 their temporal concerns, as to allow no time for the 
 main and only neceflary concern of all, their eternal 
 welfare. Such are, much more thofe, who fet no 
 bounds to their luft of lucre; but, by double-dealing, 
 over-reaching, and every fmifter method, endeavour 
 to advance their fortunes. Now, for thefe to affect 
 to talk of the truth and purity of our Religion, is mere 
 cant and hypocrify. They ought, firft, to approve 
 
 themfelves
 
 3 1 8 A Word of Advice to 
 
 themfelves honeft men, before they make a boaft of 
 being Catholics. , Religion, elfe, is brought into fcorn 
 and contempt, and becomes a cloak to cover vices a 
 moral heathen would be afhamed of. 
 
 THE barefaced licentioufnefs of many Catholics, and 
 their loofe libertine lives, as they are diametrically 
 oppofite to the counfel cf chaftity, fo ftrongly recom- 
 mended by CHRIST himfelf, and repeated by St. PAUL, 
 the faithful interpreter of his Divine Matter's doflrine; 
 fo are they no kfs the ' occafion of bringing difgracc on 
 themlelves and their profeffion. For, what idea can 
 any one frame of the fandity of our religion,' and the 
 purity of its morals, by cafting their eyes upon fuch 
 unworthy members of it, who abandon themfelves 
 to lewdnefs, and are the very fink of wickednefs. 
 
 THE detectable habits of curfmg and fv/earing : the 
 flagrant breaches of the law of charity, in the fsveral 
 Ipecies of backbiting, (lander, animofities and revenge 
 as they run counter to the very eflence of holinefs, and 
 are the fubverfion of morality, fo are they a certain 
 fubject of fcandal to our neighbour, and bring Religion 
 itfelf into difcredit, as often as they are feen to pre- 
 vail amongft its profeffors. And, when fuch are 
 farther remarked to join that extreme of vicioufnds 
 with an outward mow of devotion, by going cufto- 
 marily to Church, at fet times of public fervice : by 
 conforming materially to her general regulations and 
 points of difcipline ; and even prefuming to accede 
 to the Sacraments, without mewing any fruits of 
 amendment -, what impreffion, can this odd inconfiil- 
 ency of behaviour be likely to make, on the minds of 
 our adverfaries, than that our fyftem of religion is a 
 mere farce, or outward form ; or, what is worfe, fu- 
 perftition and deceit ? nor is it much to be wondered 
 at, that even the Sacraments themfelves, though the 
 ufe thereof is prefcribed by the Church, according to 
 the intent of CHRIST'S divine inftitution, as a remedy 
 for, and antidote, to fin, or a means of reclaiming 
 
 finners 

 
 the Catholic Reader. 319 
 
 Tinners from their vicious habi,ts ; fhould, through a 
 contrary abufe of them, be malicioufly mifconftrued 
 by our enemies, into a licenfe to commit fin, or, at 
 lead, as an encouragement to repeat our tranfgremons 
 with leis reflraint. We had a recent inftance of this 
 mifconftruction of the Sacrament of Penance, from 
 a paftoral letter of a learned Proteflant Prelate, which 
 I have quoted above, c. iv. where he reprefents the 
 facramental absolution as no more than a mere cordial, 
 to footh the nneafmefs of a guilty conscience ; and to 
 palliate, not to cure, our diforders. And though the 
 charge, as I there mewed, is unjuft, and highly inju- 
 rious to the Divine Inftitution , yet the fruitlefs ufe 
 many are obferved to make of thefe means of grace 
 is what, no doubt, has given occaiion to the (lander. 
 
 SELF-DENYING principles, fo ftrongly recommended 
 by CHRIST, and enforced by his Church, as we have 
 feen before, have no chance of meeting with any better 
 fate than the other parts of her difcipline -, to wit, to 
 become the fubjeft of jeft and raillery to her enemies, 
 if regard be had to the deportment of fome of her 
 children, who fwerve fo widely from them, as not to 
 comply with her fafts, and the like felf-denials of 
 drift obligation. For, fuch is the depravity of man's 
 mind, and the violent bias of his judgment to the fide 
 of corruption-, the evil example of a few, tranf- 
 grelTing and making flight of the beft intentioned re- 
 gulations and inftitutions, prevail over the good ex- 
 ample of greater numbers, living up conformably to 
 them. 
 
 I WISH I could fay, that the practice of humility, 
 equally inculcated by our Blefled Lord, both by word 
 and example, had engrafted the attention of the ge- 
 nerality of Chriftians, that is, of thofe who pretend 
 to the honour of being his Difciples. But while we 
 fee many profeflbrs of the Golpel running into all 
 length's of vanity and prodigality, giving into every 
 kind of ambitious views, boundlefs in their defires and 
 
 lawlefs
 
 320 A Word of Advice to 
 
 lawlefs in the methods they make ufe of to compafs 
 them-, fome grafping at honours, riches, and power, 
 that are not their due j others, intmfted by Providence 
 with thefe privileges, making the worft ufe of them, 
 by fqueezing and oppreffing the poor,' by looking 
 down with (corn and difdain on their inferiors and de- 
 pendents, as if they were not made of the fame mould, 
 or were of a different fpecies. While many again are 
 fo tranfported with their advantages of birth and for- 
 tune, as to feem to think they will accompany them 
 beyond their grave ; it will be no ram judgment to 
 fay thefe are fo far from having attained to the per- 
 fection of the Evangelical virtue of humility, or 
 of giving proofs of a zealous attachment to it that 
 they are not even provided with fuch a mare and 
 tinclure of it, as is requifire to the profeffion of a good 
 Chriftian. Far be it from me, by this hint, to enter- 
 tain a levelling fpirit. I am fenfible that Almighty 
 GOD has placed us here in different ranks and ftations of 
 life, and that it behoves every one to be refigned to 
 that, which has fallen to his lot. J know that, as the 
 beauty of the univerfe confifts of the variety, order 
 and fymmetry of its parts, jointly concurring to 
 the frame and ornament of the whole , that as there 
 is a wonderful oeconomy eftablifhed by an infinite 
 wifdom in the animal part of the Creation, in a gra- 
 dation of their feveral fpecific excellencies, from the 
 highefl to the lov/eft, from man, the Lord and Matter 
 of all, to the meaneft infet, in their reciprocal connec- 
 tions with one another, and their eo-operating together 
 to the univerfal good: fo the harmony of human fo- 
 ciety confifts of a fimil'ar diilinftion of flates and con- 
 ditions, in which fome are rich, fome poor, fome ap- 
 pointed to command, others to obey ; each moving 
 in his own iphere, and acting in his proper province : 
 and therefore that, to attempt to invert this order, 
 \vould be to oppofe the Will of GOD, and to traverfe 
 the wife difpoiitions-of Divine Providence ; to difturb 
 
 the
 
 the Catholic Reader, 321 
 
 the harmony of this focial community, and to throw 
 the whole world into a chaos of confufion. I know 
 that it is the duty of inferiours, injoined by CHRIST 
 himfelf, and repeated by the Apoftle St. PETER, t:> 
 refpect, reverence and obey thofe, who are placed over 
 them. Servants obey your mafters^ \ Pet. ii. and that 
 for perfons of condition to fupport their refreflive 
 rank with a becoming (late, is both lawful ana com- 
 mendable. 
 
 BUT how to obferve this decorum, with due mode- 
 ration, in their feveral fituations of life is the difficult 
 point : however, in order to fucceed therein an at- 
 tention to the ftructure and frame of the human body, 
 and the diftinct operations of it's organs and members, 
 may ferve, I apprehend as a help and direction. In 
 this the head, being the moft honourable and prin- 
 cipal part, and the feat of underftanding, commands 
 the hands, feet, and the other minifterial members j 
 yet without difdain or contempt of them in their 
 flavim capacity : And the feet, hands, and the other 
 fervile parts, on their fide, perform their respective 
 functions, without reluctance or envy of their capital 
 fuperiour. In return for thefe offices, if the feet are 
 tired, lame or wounded, the head is contriving to 
 procure them relief; the eyes examine the complaint ; 
 the hands are bufy and active in fubminiftring the fer- 
 vice, depending on them, to their flavim partners ; 
 and the heart and every other part fympathizes in the 
 pain. 
 
 THUS, in the body of human fociety, the capital 
 and fubordinate members are interacted how to de- 
 port themfelves, fo as to be aiding to one another, 
 and mutually conducing to the happinefs of the whole 
 community ; viz. that one part prefide without hangh- 
 tincfs, and the other be dependent and fubfcrviciit, 
 without envy or repining. 
 
 As an additional incitement to keep up this decorum 
 
 and moderation in our conduct, it will be proper to 
 
 S s confijcr
 
 322 A Word of Advice to 
 
 confider in what manner Divine Providence has placed 
 us in this terrene manfion , to wit, that we are here, 
 as it were, in the ftage of life, where each one has 
 his part to act, and as I took notice before, has GOD, 
 the Angels, and even our own companions and fellow 
 creatures, witnefies and fpectators of our well or ill 
 performance : in which refpect, we mall not be called 
 to account, what part we have acted, but how well 
 we have acted it. And therefore, if the inferiour has 
 played his part more in character, more accord- 
 ing to the fpirit of an humble Chriftian, than his fupe- 
 riour he will be moil applauded and beft rewarded. 
 He that exalts himfelf fays our Blefled Saviour, fhall 
 be humbled*, he that humbleth himfelf Jha!l be exalted, 
 It, indeed, can't be denied that the great ones of the 
 world have the moft difficult part to play : their fitua- 
 tion is certainly the moft flippery and dangerous. For, 
 to be placed on the pinnacle of honour, without being 
 too much elated ; to manage the reins of power with 
 due moderation, to be poflefied of the advantages of 
 birth and fortune, without being too paffionately at- 
 tached to them, is a mean, which few are fo happy as 
 to obferve. But yet they are not unfurnimed with 
 weighty motives, and the ftrongeft inducements, be- 
 fides what we have already offered, to bring them to 
 this happy mean and moderation of conduct. The exam- 
 ple of our Blefled Lord himfelf, who was the emblem 
 of humility and meeknefs -, who fet fuch a fovereign 
 contempt on all worldly greatnefs, that he would be 
 poor himfelf, would converfe with the poor, ever ca- 
 refTed the poor ; and pronounced bkjfed the poor in 
 fpirit, and meek and bumble of heart, muft be a fpur 
 and incentive to the practice of this Evangelical virtue 
 to every profeflbr of the Gofpel and zealot for Chriftia- 
 nity, or even a pretender to the very name. 
 
 IE it be neceffary to have recourfe to other motives 
 to retain us within bounds and in the due fentiments of 
 Chriftian humility, let us only look forwards to what 
 man ufually dreads to think of, the period of life, 
 
 death
 
 the Catholic Reader. 323 
 
 death : and alas ! we have not far to look, for it ; it 
 treads on our heels. See, then, how this implacable 
 foe of mankind with an impartial hand, without refpeft 
 to perfons, fhoots it's unerring dart at every indivi- 
 dual, and lays all human race upon the fame level, as 
 well the rich as the poor, the gentleman and tradef- 
 man, the king and beggar : no one has power t<a evade 
 it's blow. Can we need any other confideratfiter to 
 lower our towering thoughts and to check oiicipride : 
 He that is Lazarus to day, poor, indigent^ $efpicable 
 and covered with ulcers, being removed out of this 
 ftate of trial, may be to-morrow repofmg in Abra- 
 ham's bofom ; whilft Dives who, rolling in plenty 
 here, denied him the crumbs falling from his table ; 
 by a dreadful reverfe of condition, fwimming in a lake 
 of flames, will be refufed there a drop of water to 
 cool his fcorching tongue. 
 
 BUT, even, confining our contemplations within the 
 enjoyment of time, and to the goods of birth, nature, 
 and fortune, which we actually poffefs -, what are thefe 
 but gratuitous gifts from a liberal and all-bountiful 
 hand ? What haft thou^ fays the Apoftle, which thou haft 
 not received -, and if thou baft received it, why doft thou 
 glory ', as if thou hadft not received it? i Cor. iv. 7. They 
 are only fo many talents lodged in our hands, or rather 
 lent us, wherewith to negotiate our falvation, and we 
 muft be accountable for both principal and intereft ; and 
 therefore the greater our debt, the greater will be the 
 accounts we fhall have to make up with our Divine Cre- 
 ditor: confiderations, if well weighed, that afford more 
 cauie of terrour, than incentives to vanity : and they 
 have, effectually, made fuch an imprefiion on many 
 virtuous fouls, as to influence them to renounce gene- 
 roufly all theia advantages of birth and fortune (con- 
 fcious of the danger of exceeding in the full enjoy- 
 ment of them) in order to ferve GOD in an humble 
 retirement, totally difengaged from thefe worldly en- 
 cumbrances. And, tho* this was complying with the 
 perfection of the Evangelical counfd, which is not 
 S s 2 binding j
 
 324 A Word of Advice to 
 
 binding , .yet the fundamental part of humility, con- 
 fifting in a moderate ufe of the gifts of Providence, 
 is what no one can be difpenfed with v and whofoever 
 has it not, let his faith be ever fo pure and untainted, 
 may at beft be reputed a found believer, but will be a 
 bad Chriltian. 
 
 BUT, jf the conduct of many ot the Church's members, 
 fo oppsi^e to the profeflion and character of an humble 
 Chriftiar,! is no (mail prejudice to her caufe ; the fu- 
 pine ftupi$ty, infenfibility in GOD'S fervice, and in- 
 devotion of others, can be no means of advancing it; 
 to wit, Perfons fo taken up with the affairs of the 
 world, having their hearts divided between it's diftrac- 
 tions and amufements, fometimes abforpt in bufmefs ; 
 at others, rolling in a circle of pleafures : now intent 
 on \ getting money, then contriving how to fpend it ; 
 that amidft fuch a multitude and variety of worldly 
 occupations, they can hardly prevail on themfelves to 
 afford any time to the great and neceflafy bufmefs of 
 All, the concern of their Soul, and to make a provi- 
 fion for their eternal welfare : One would imagine that 
 Heaven had funk beneath their care, and was become 
 the purfuit only of reclufes , and therefore, no won- 
 der that the helps leading to that port of blifs, piety, 
 and the practices of Religion, are by thefe either 
 wholly lain afide, or poftponed to every idle humour 
 and worldly avocation. 
 
 Now, that the conducr, of fuch is injurious to their 
 own fouls ; and that it is an indignity offered to 
 their great Creator, is unqueftionabk ; becaufe we 
 are injoined to ferve him with decency and fervour, 
 Be fervent in fpirit, fays St. Paul, ferving tbe Lord* 
 Hem. xii. 1 1. and with refpeft to the Catholic Church, 
 they have the happinefs to be members of, that it is, 
 at leaft, fo far injurious to her, of not being the means 
 of raifing her credit, nor of furthering her caufe, by 
 the edification of the faithful, and the converfion of 
 the ur,h;ithful, is equally certain , though it muft, 
 
 indeed,
 
 tie Catholic Reader. 325 
 
 indeed, be confeffed, this defirable good is more di- 
 rectly obstructed by other means. 
 
 I HAVE obferved in a foregoing controverfy, that 
 the zeal of fouls, ever confpicuous in the Catholic 
 Church, is one of her diftinguifhed marks from all 
 other feds and congregations ; and bleffed be GOD, 
 there are inftances to be produced from all ages and 
 jeras of the Church, of this Apoftolic fpirit iurviving 
 in multitudes of her Children, to the infinite benefit of 
 innumerable fouls. But, yet, we can't be fo partial 
 to ourfelves, not to own, that there* may be a want of 
 this zeal in fome, and that thofe, who are poflerTed of 
 this zeal, may be impeded in the exertion of it by 
 others. I abftracl: in this reflection from fuch, as are 
 fo unfortunate to diflionour the character of a Chrif- 
 tian and a Catholic, by a diibrderiy life, or even by 
 apoftacy ; their cafe is more to be lamented, than to be 
 wondered at ; for, while men arc men, while we are 
 fubject to human pafiions, it may bz expected that 
 thefe fcandals and difafters will happen. CHRIST him- 
 felf foreboded the dreadful evil, and forewarned us 
 againft it wit muft needs be, fays he, that fcandals come-, 
 but neuerttoiefa wo to that man by ivbom the j caudal 
 comet h, Matt, xviii. 7. God found depravity among the 
 Angeh in Heaven, Job. Adam was not proof agamic 
 corruption in Paradife -, and Judas prevaricated in the 
 fchool of CHRIST. And, therefore, no flatu is fo 
 holy as to be' exempt from temptation, or an infurance 
 to us of not finking under it. But, I lay, abltructing 
 from thefe deplorable examples of human weakneis, 
 the glory of the Church may be eclipled, and it's pro- 
 grtfs retarded by other evils, equally fatal in their con- 
 fequence. 
 
 THE evil moft to be dreaded of this kind, and a cer- 
 tain fubjecl of fcandal, fo often as it happen*?, is the 
 fpirit of difteniion, when found to have crept in among 
 the profefibrs of the orthodox faith, and that they, in- 
 ftead of iiuiftifying their faith by charity, without 
 
 \vh'.cU,
 
 326 A Word of Advice to 
 
 which, tho' our faith be ftrong enough to remove moun- 
 tains, we arc nothing^ i Cor. xiii. 2. Inftead of cultivat- 
 ing that peace, which the Word Incarnate brought with 
 him upon earth, fending his Angels, meiTengers of 
 thefe happy tidings, to proclaim, at his facred Nati- 
 vity, Peace to men of good will, Luke ii. 14. That 
 thefe, I fay, arc feen, on the contrary, to forfeit this 
 Heaven-born blefTmg tendered to thern^ by becoming 
 fowers of difcord, is the moft dreadful of evils It 
 were to be wifhed that the cafe we are lamenting, was 
 merely imaginary, and what had never come to pafs 
 within the pale of the true Church of CHRIST, and 
 among his followers, to whom he has injoined mutual 
 charity and unanimity, as the characteriftic of their 
 belonging to him. By this^ fays CHRIST, Jb all all men 
 know that ye are my difciples. If ye have a love one for 
 another^ John xiii. 35. It were, at leaft, to be wifhed, 
 that fo often as any, who have the honour to be of the 
 number of CHRIST'S difciples, that is to fay, Catholic 
 Chriftians, do forfeit this badge and mark of their dig- 
 nity, a curtain could be drawn before them to cover their 
 fliame -, but alas ! while flagrant inftances of inteftine 
 fchifms and divifions, in feveral ages of the Church, 
 Hand upon record, it is in vain to diflemble them, and 
 we have no more left than to deplore paft evils, and to 
 beg of GOD to preferve his Church from the like 
 difafters for the future. For, though fuch diffenfions 
 do not intrench on the integrity of her faith; and that 
 therefore they can give her enemies no room to re- 
 proach her on that head ; yet they, undoubtedly, 
 break through Evangelical charity, which is the band 
 tf perfection, (Colof. iii. 14.) and the richeft gem of 
 her fpiritual diadem -; in default of which, me ceafes to 
 appear with her wonte'd luftre and dignity ; the ad- 
 vancement and progrefs of Religion are thereby greatly 
 obftructed, and the authors of fuch turbulent pro- 
 ceedings, under whatfoever cloak they affect to difguife 
 them, have ever been looked upon and execrated as 
 
 difturbers
 
 the Catholic Reader. 327 
 
 difturbers of the public weal and happinefs, and pells 
 of the community. 
 
 IT happened among the Chriftians of Corinth, as 
 the Apoftle rebuked them, that the Neophytes of that 
 infant Church, carried away with more zeal than dif- 
 cretion, had profefled too pafiionate an attachment to 
 their refpective Paftors, who had been the inftruments 
 to the Divine Mercy, in bringing them into the fold 
 of CHRIST, and the caufe next to GOD, of that ineffa- 
 ble blefiing , one commending Apollo, another giving 
 the preference to Paul, and a third extolling Cephas : 
 but the Apoille was no fooner informed of thefe invi- 
 dious diftinctions, than his zeal was warmed with a 
 juft diflike and indignation. Was then, fays he reprov- 
 ing them, was Paul crucified for you ? or were ye bap- 
 tifed in the name of Paul? i Cor. i. 13. But, if he 
 was fo much alarmed at a mere indifcretion in thefe 
 new converts, the fally of immoderate fervour, and 
 hearts overflowing with gratitude to the authors of their 
 happinefs, their fpiritual fathers, who begot them in 
 Chrift i what would he have faid if, not confining them- 
 felves to a mere preference of affection and efteem for 
 their refpective Paftors, they had gone a ftep farther, 
 in fomenting divilions and fetting up parties, one 
 againft the other , if one had oppofed Apollo in his 
 miniftry, another had depreciated Cephas ; and a third 
 had difturbed him, St. Paul himlelf, in the exercife 
 of his Apoftolic functions ? 
 
 WHAT would he have faid if, living in other 
 seras of the Church, he had been witnefs of the feveral 
 inteftine fchifms which grievoufly diffracted her, and 
 rendered her the fcorn and derifion of her enemies ? 
 What if, at other times, he had feen the harmony of 
 her ceconomy difturbed, though in a leis degree, thro* 
 an over-weening attachment, of fome of her children, 
 to Paftors of one particular fort or denomination, in 
 prejudice to thofe of another, not unlike that of the 
 Chriftians of Corinth, tho' lefs .excufable, becaufe in 
 
 it's
 
 328 A Word of Advice to 
 
 it's caufe more ridiculous, in it's prbgreffion more un- 
 charitable, and it's end oftentimes difaftrous ; vix. 
 taking it's rife from a prejudiced education, from 
 groundlefs prepofTefiions, or from a difagreement in 
 fchool opinions ; when having warmed their heads 
 with noify difputes about nothing, they fnarpened their 
 hearts with rancour, and retaining ever after thefe firfl 
 imprefiions, they, at laft, made it a kind of party 
 affair, and by induftrioufly whifpering about their little 
 low prejudices, endeavoured to make profelytes to 
 their own way of thinking, to alienate their minds 
 from thofe, they had conceived a diflike to themfelves, 
 and to difcredit their zealous labours in the common 
 caufe ? What, I fay, could the Apoftle have laid to 
 fuch uncharitable proceedings of the flock of after- 
 times, when he found a mere indifcretion of a mifbiken 
 zeal in his own flock fo blameable ? What judgment 
 can we ourfelves put upon them ? I am fure they can't 
 be looked on as refulting from an Apoftolic fpirit, or 
 through a real concern for the caufe of CHRIST and 
 his Church , and therefore it muft be concluded, when 
 fuch divifions have ever prevailed among her members, 
 Inimicus homo hoc fecit, that The enemy of mankind was 
 the author of the mifchief, Matth. xiii. 28. who taking 
 advantage of man, whilft he was ajleep, in the pro- 
 found fleep of ignorance and a miftaken confcience, or 
 his mind clouded with paffion and prejudice (which 
 thofe reputed virtuous, are not always fufficiently 
 fenced agajnft) overfowed cockle among the wheat. Matt, 
 xiii. 25. and ftifled the precious grain of peace and 
 unanimity with the tares of diffenfion. I fay, the evil 
 could not flow from any other fource, than t'heie fubtle 
 practices of the common enemy. For, are not ail 
 .m milters of the Church,, of every fort, fellow la- 
 bourers in the vineyard ? Are they not fo many foldiers 
 of JESUS CHRIST, only of different denominations and 
 regiments ? Why, then, any odious diftinftions be- 
 twixt one and the other ? Why any unreafonable diflike > 
 
 and
 
 the Catholic Reader. 329 
 
 ctiilikes and prejudices ? Are not they again ail engaged 
 in the fame caufe, fighting the lame battles of the 
 Lord, actuated by the lame principles, and tending to 
 the fame end ; What a deplorable thing, then, that 
 there mould be any to be met with, among true be- 
 lievers, who mould make it their bufmefs, as it were, 
 to difcourage this Evangelical work, and to obftrucl it's 
 fuccefs ? For what elfe are they doing, when they in- 
 dufrrioufly difcredit the workmen themfelves of what- 
 foever denomination they be, who are ufefully employ- 
 ing their labours, according to their calling, for their 
 neighbour's good ? How ftill more deplorable, if any 
 mould fo far give way to paffion, as to rend the feam- 
 lefs garment of CHRIST'S Church, by fomenting 
 open fchifms and divifions ? Is it not, therefore, evi- 
 dent that none but the common enemy of mankind 
 can be at the bottom of thefe mifchiefs, whenever 
 they happen ? 
 
 THE truth of this will be more manifeft, and the 
 evil greatly aggravated, if it be remembered that the 
 inflruments Satan makes ufe. of for his malignant pur- 
 pofes, are generally the weak and the ignorant, or thofe 
 who have little virtue and merits of their own to re- 
 commend them ; and that therefore the good and the 
 virtuous have always been made the objects of their in- 
 vidious proceedings : if fuch machinations are found 
 to have been practifed only againft thofe, who are de- 
 voted by their calling to the fervice of their neigh- 
 bour, and who by their diftinguifhed zeal, and un- 
 wearied labours, have approved themfelves faithful to 
 the truft repofed in them. And, therefore, to be con- 
 cerned in luch practices, what other appearance could 
 it ever have, than of entering, as it were, into alliance 
 with the common difturber of peace and unity, and to 
 have been, feemingly, in confederacy with the avowed 
 enemies of the Church, by opprefTing the warmelr alfert- 
 ors of her caufe, and their moft formidable opponents ? 
 A confequence of fo evil a tendency, and implying fnch a 
 contradiction to our profeffion as Chriftians and Catho- 
 T t lies
 
 3 3 o A Word of Advice to 
 
 lies, that we could not believe it were pofiible fuch 
 troubles had ever happened within the pale of the 
 Church, if authentic records had not tranfmitted to 
 us the moft melancholy inftanc^s of them. And as 
 they were always attended with fcandal to the faithful, 
 and became the fubjeft of obloquy to the enemies of 
 the Church, they ought for ever to be a warning to 
 her children not to give way to pafTions and prejudices, 
 that may be productive" of fuch fatal confluences. 
 
 DIVERSITY of fentiments, and contefts in matters 
 of an indifferent nature may, no doubt, fubfift be- 
 tween the moft virtuous, without any breach of cha- 
 nty or difedification to our neighbour , or without 
 grounding any caule of difcord among others, who 
 may be inclined to take part on either fide of the de- 
 bate. St. Paul had an innocent conteft with St. Bar- 
 naby, which St. Jerom mentioning, makes fo flight of, 
 as to fay, that the voyage of the one by fea feparated 
 them, whom 'the Gofpel united. ^He himfclf had a 
 difpute with St. Auftin, which was maintained with 
 firmnefs, on both fides, yet with chanty , without dif- 
 edification to the faithful, and without giving thereby 
 any advantage over them to the enemies of the Church, 
 in whofe caufe they were infeperably united. I willi 
 that the feveral differences, which have arifen arnongit 
 the members of the Church, at other times, had been 
 always carried on with the fame moderation : I wifh 
 that, as long as thr Church mall have a being, her 
 prof e fib rs may be a&uated by the fpirit of a St. Paul, 
 a St. Jerom, a St. Auftin, and the reft ; may inherit 
 their charity, may breathe their meeknefs, and copy 
 their humility. 
 
 THERE can be no one but muft be ready to join 
 with me in this prayer -7 and I'll clofe it with the divine 
 lerfon, the beloved Apoftle of our Lord was wont to 
 inculcate to his difciples : Children, faid he, love one 
 another. But then, take alfo along with you his rea- 
 fon for repeating to them inceffantly the fame doc- 
 trine ; It is the command^ fays he, of our Lord, and if
 
 the Catholic Reader. 331 
 
 you do hit obferoe it, it is fufficient : a fpeech truly wor- 
 thy of CH P.IST'S beloved difciple. 
 
 STEERING, then, by this Divine command, we 
 mall lead upon earth the life of the blefled in Heaven, 
 who are abibrpt and fwallowed up in an ocean of love : 
 we fhall thus be happy within ourfelves, and we fhall 
 have the additional comfort, in a point fo material and 
 fo-flrongly injoined by CHRIST himfelf to all his fol- 
 lowers, as is the precept of charity, of placing the 
 Church out of the reach of infult from her virulent 
 enemies. 
 
 ALAS ! me is injured enough and forely afflicted at 
 the perfonal fcandals, aforementioned, as often as they 
 happen, which it is out of her power to prevent, the 
 diflblutenefs of many of her rotten members ; who, 
 by demeaning themfelves in a manner inconfiftent with 
 the purity of morals prefcribed by our holy faith, 
 practically betray it. And as me is thus, in fome de- 
 gree, difgraced by the depraved manners of bad Ca- 
 tholics ; her caufe, as ,1 allb before obferved, is neg- 
 lected to be maintained, and her Imereft to be ad- 
 vanced through the flerile uncommunicative virtue, I 
 mould fay rather, the languid devotions, fluggim exer- 
 cifes, and little edifying deportment of tepid ones ; who, 
 neverthelefs, becaufe they perhaps are juft in their deal- 
 ings with their neighbour, and lead a life feemingly 
 harmlefs and inoffenfive, are therefore, by the world', 
 vifually mifcalled good men , when, if we were to canvafs 
 narrowly their actions, and fum up impartially their 
 goodnefs, it would be found that they have no better 
 title to that commendation, than that they are not no- 
 torioufly bad. 
 
 So it is, dear Chriflian Reader, even goodnefs may 
 be blameable, when it is too contracted, or out cf 
 character, that is, an inactive goodnefs, where action 
 may be due, and is expected : to wit, we are not born 
 to ourfelves, but to be alfo ferviceable to our n.^yi- 
 bour, both by word and example : it is a duty All 
 owe to one another, as focial beings, particularly as 
 T t 2 Chrii-
 
 332 A Word of Advice > &c. 
 
 Chriftians-, and indifpenfably fo, when it is become 
 a fpecial engagement of our calling. 'Tis a debt we, 
 alfo, owe to the Church ; bccaufe, on the deportment 
 of her members, her credit, in a great meafure, de- 
 pends. 
 
 WE mall fully anfwer all thefe effential purpofes, if 
 we aim at the fublime degree of perfection our blefied 
 Saviour recommends to us So to let our light Jhine 
 before men, that they may fee our good works ', and glorify 
 our Eternal Father, who is in Heaven, Matt. v. 16. that 
 is to fay, being placed, as it were, on the Candleflicks 
 cf CHRIST'S Church, our virtues mould be fo confpi- 
 cuous, that even our enemies cannot but difcover in 
 them the pure faith of the Church, the fanctity of her 
 morals, and the ceconomy and beauty of her difci- 
 pline feeing them will be compelled to admire them, 
 and to acknowledge in them the invifible hand of GOD, 
 beginning, conducting, and finifliing this fpiritual edi- 
 fice, this perfect fyftem of faith and morality ; and to 
 give the glory thereof to the Divine Artificer ad- 
 miring them, will be ftimulated to afibciate themfelves 
 to us, in the profefiion of this one and the fame Faith, 
 and the obfervance of the fame Evangelical Morality 
 Thus verifying what our blefled Lord pre-ordained, 
 and foretold mould come to pafs, from time to time, 
 with regard to the future increafe of his Church, by 
 the reduction of it's rebellious children and unbelievers 
 into the bofom of it, when he faid, Other Jhcep I have, 
 that are not of this fold : them, alfo, I muft bring, and 
 they Jhall hear my voice , and there Jball he one fold and 
 one jhtyherd, John x. 16. Which, GOD grant, may be 
 daily and fully accomplifned, to the comfort of the 
 faithful j to the confufion of ohftinate Infidels and un- 
 relenting 'Heretics ; to the prefent glory of the Church 
 Militant on earth, and to the perpetual joy of the tri- 
 umphant in Heaven. Amen. 
 
 FINIS.
 
 A N 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Important Inquiry; 
 
 CONCERNING 
 
 COMMUNION under One Kind. 
 
 Whofbever ffmll eat the Bread, or drink the Cha- 
 lice of the Lord unworthily, ftall be guilty of 
 the Body and of the Blood of the Lord. I Cor. 
 xi. 27.

 
 t 335 } 
 
 THE 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tlie Review we have 
 
 pretended Reformation in the fore- 
 oing Eflay, I flattered myfelf that I 
 ad pafled by no material Impeach- 
 
 i i j i j r n_ 
 
 ment lodged by our adverianes againft 
 the Church, uncanvafTed, unrefuted j 
 that I had omitted no confideration of any weight, or 
 that could be judged requifite, in order to lay open the 
 vanity and weaknefs of the pretence, that was alleged, 
 for bringing about that Church Revolution, and to mew 
 how ill it has been anfwered: that, in the main, itmani- 
 feftly appears, the authors thereof had only made much 
 havock and deftruction without any repairs ; refem- 
 bling unfkilful builders, and mere pretenders to the 
 bufmefs, who are better at pulling down an old edifice, 
 than at raifing a new one. Thele, truths, I fay, I fet 
 forth in the precedent Eflay of the Important Inquiry. 
 
 NEVERTHELESS, ^fome having been fmce of opi- 
 nion, that there remains yet another grand article of 
 indiftment not therein taken notice of, it is judged ad- 
 vifeable to add a difcuflion of it, as an Appendix to 
 the difquifitions that have gone before. For howfoever 
 
 immaterial
 
 336 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 immaterial the point in queftion may appear to me, or 
 is fo in itfelf j yet, while the leaders, or the learned 
 part of our adverfaries take an occafion from it to 
 traduce us ; and the vulgar or unlearned, thro' their in- 
 fluence, conceive at us fcandal , it may be incumbent 
 <5n me, being engaged in the controverfy, to difabufe 
 thefe of their miftakes, and to refute the mifreprefen- 
 tations of the others. 
 
 THE ftumbling-block and great ftone of offence, I 
 am going to fpeak of, relates to the SUPPER OF OUR. 
 LORD, in which we are charged with defrauding the 
 laity of a part : But how ridiculoufly ? when the Re- 
 formers themfelves, by contefting the Real Prefence of 
 CHRIST'S Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the 
 Holy Eucharift, take away the whole ? Is not this truly 
 Draining at a gnat^ and fa allowing a camel? Solicitous 
 about the fhell and throwing away the kernel ; a mere 
 Pharifaical virtue, to lay afide CHRIST'S exprefs ordi- 
 nance and inftitution with refpect to the eflence of the 
 Sacrament, where it is plain and evident ; and to be 
 Ihigious for the ceremonial part, and the manner of 
 difpenling it, which yet we think and hope to prove 
 hereafter, to be left by CHRIST undetermined, and as 
 a matter of indifference ; and which they themfelves 
 muft own to be dubious. 
 
 BUT it is too vifible what were the fprings and mo- 
 tives of this conteft, to wit, the fpirit of contradiction 
 and contention. Luther could not refrain being fo 
 candid as to confefs it, when, in his Treatife of the 
 Formula of the Mafs he was not alhamed to fay, "-If a 
 " Council ordained or permitted both fpecies, wewould 
 ' in contempt of that Council receive but one of them, 
 " or we would neither take one nor the- other, and 
 " curfe thofe who receive either one or the other in 
 " virtue of that ordinance :" A plain infmuation, 
 that nothing but the fpirit of contradiction influenced 
 this head patriarch of the Reformation to oppole the 
 Church's preient practice. For, on feveral other occa- 
 
 fions,
 
 INTRODUCTION. 337 
 
 (ions, where laying paffion afide, he uttered his real, un- 
 prejudiced fentiments on the fubject, he declared Com- 
 munion under one or both kinds to be quite a matter of 
 indifference , as, when he fubfcribed to Melancthon's 
 Common Pleas, in which his favourite difciple has treated 
 this point problematically, and placed it among things 
 he deems of no confequence. When, again, writing 
 to a friend, he vents his refentment againft Carolfta- 
 dius for affecting, as he fays, to " place the whrL; 
 " ftrefs of the Reformation on thele things of no- 
 " thing." Ep. ad Caff. To. 2. Ep. 58. When, in fine, 
 in the Year 1528. in his Vifitation of Saxony, he ex~ 
 preQy indulged them the liberty of receiving under cm 
 or both kinds, and continued in this mind to the year 
 1553, fifteen years after his commencing Reformer. 
 And his Apologift Calixtus brings off his Patriarch's 
 inconftancy and ihameful varying on this head very 
 lamely, in alleging for his excufe that, " having un- 
 " dertaken the Bleffed Work (of the Reformation) 
 " rather thro' the violence of others (mark the mo- 
 * c tive) than by any voluntary aft," that is, from the 
 Ipirit of oppofition, and not out of any attachment 
 to truth, " He and his brethren could not in the be- 
 " ginning difcover the neceflity of the precept of Com-' 
 " munion under both kinds, nor reject rhe contrary 
 " cuftom." Is not this frankly to own that the prime 
 Gofpellers, who are pretended to be inftruments chofen 
 by GOD for the Reformation of his Church and abo- 
 limment. of errour, wanted light and fagacity to difcern 
 the force of CHRIST'S precept, which to him, Calix- 
 tus, appeared fo evident ? And yet even this man, this 
 champion for Communion under both kinds, Calixtus 
 himfelf, in the very treatife he had laboured in defence 
 of his favourite opinion, towards the clofe thereof, 
 No. 200, could not help being fo indulgent with refpect 
 to the contrary practice, as to fay, that " He does not 
 " exclude from the number of the true faithful our 
 *' anceftors, who communicated under one kind above 
 .*' 500 years fince, no more than thofe who cominu- 
 U u " nicate
 
 338 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 " nicate fo at this time o' day ;" which, by the way, 
 is cutting the throat of his capital argument for Com- 
 munion in both kinds ; while, by excufing the contrary 
 practice, he muft either fairly own, at laft, that the 
 precept is not clear, or fay that CHRIST'S precepts are 
 difpenfable, which is nothing lefs than blafphemy. But 
 whatfoever were the motives that actuated fome of the 
 principal Reformers to diitinguifh themfelves in their 
 oppofition to the Catholic practice on this head, and 
 however incoherently they have fupported the conteft , 
 yet fmce, as I faid above, a great noife and ftir has 
 been made about this article, and our conduct herein 
 is exaggerated into a fcandal of the firft magnitude, 
 as a cheat impofed on the faithful, and a contradic- 
 tion to CHRIST'S inilitution ; and many of the igno- 
 rant and unwary are infatuated by the clamours of 
 their teachers, into a belief of it being fo -, I prefume 
 to take upon me to clear up this point in the following 
 Iheets, and to vindicate ourfelves from their flanders. 
 
 I muft now be fo ingenuous as to own, that in 
 my management of this particular controverfy, I am 
 indebted for my principal materials to a Treatife of the 
 learned Bimop of Meaux upon the fame fubject. So- 
 lomon told us long ago, Notbing is new under the fun^ 
 Ecclef. i. 10. Nothing can be faid, which has not been 
 faid before. But tho' I have built upon another's 
 foundation, I have wrought up the ftructure after my 
 own plan ; I have ranged the arguments in a different 
 order, and given them a new drefs. Thus much may 
 fuffice to fcrecn me from the imputation of plagiarifm : 
 Be this as it will , folid truth's can be no lefs truths, nor 
 lofe any of their weight, becaufe often told, and placed 
 in a jull and clear light. But before we enter into a 
 ftrict difquifition of our fubject, it will be proper to 
 fettle two or three Preliminaries as an illuflration to the 
 queflion, and fuch as our adverfaries themfelves in fe- 
 veral cafes are obliged to admit in practice, 
 
 FIRST
 
 Firft Preliminary. 339 
 
 FIRST PRELIMINARY. 
 
 Nothing in the Sacraments is to be judged indif- 
 penfable but what is eflential ; intrinfecally fo, or 
 extrinfecally, /. e. from it's Own intrinfic nature, 
 or from an outward precept. 
 
 THE truth of this affertion will be better cleared up, 
 and my meaning explained, if exemplified in fome 
 matter, where all parties agree : the example, I ap- 
 prehend the fitteft for this purpofe, is the Sacrament 
 of Baptifm. Baptifm was originally adminiftred by 
 immerfion or dipping ; the word baptize imports a 
 thorough warning or dipping : In this manner it re- 
 fembles the Jewifh puriiications, and JESUS CHRIST, 
 who came to fulfil the ceremonies of the old Law, 
 intended not only to cleanfe us from fin in the laver of 
 Baptifm, but alfo to exprefs this effect of it, and the 
 Regeneration of the new man, and 'this was done at 
 firft, as I faid, by a total warning or immerfion : in 
 this manner, before Baptifm was raifed by CHRIST to 
 the dignity of a Sacrament, St. John Baptifl exerdfed 
 his office upon all thofe who had recourfe to him. 
 Thus would CHRIST himfelf be baptized, the Evan- 
 gelid informing us that he afc ended out of the water \ 
 Matth. iii. 16. Of the numerous profelytes made by 
 the Apoftles to the Chriftian Faith, it is no where in- 
 fmuated that they were baptized any other way. In 
 the firft ages of the Church, the acts of Councils and 
 the rituals direct the adminiftration of this Sacrament 
 in this manner ; and even the words ufed at preient 
 in the rituals, to exprefs the action of the fponfors, 
 faying that they are to ' '* lift the child out of the 
 " font," feem to allude to a previous immerfion or 
 plunging of it into the water. Yet, notwithstanding 
 all thefe preemptions for this diftindt ceremony, feem- 
 U u 2 ingly
 
 34-O Second Preliminary* 
 
 ingly exclufive of every other, and authorized by the 
 example of our Bleffed Lord himfelf, it has fince been 
 changed into that of fprinkling or pouring. The ge- 
 nerality of the Reformers have come into the change, 
 and pay no regard to the outcries of the Anabaptifts, 
 who are for keeping up to the original practice. And 
 why have they allowed of this alteration ? but becaufe 
 they look upon the acts of dipping and fprinkling, or 
 pouring, to be a matter of indifference, and no way 
 affecting the effence of the Sacrament, and that nei- 
 ther one nor the other has been prefcribed by CHRIST, 
 but left by him to the Church's determination. And 
 in like manner, feveral things our Bleffed Saviour did 
 in the inftitution of the Holy Eucharift at his laft 
 Supper, are, as we mail fee hereafter, by them as well 
 as by us omitted, becaufe looked upon no ways effen- 
 tial to that Divine Banquet. 
 
 THEREFORE, in this principle or preliminary the 
 Reformers agree with us, that what is not effential to 
 the Sacraments, nor prefcribed by precept, may be dif- 
 penfed with. But ftill there remains another difqui- 
 fition to be made, viz. from whence the effence of a 
 Sacrament is to be known ; and which makes room 
 for another poftulate or preliminary, to which the 
 Reformers are obliged alfo to fubfcribe. 
 
 SECOND PRELIMINARY. 
 
 . The effence of a Sacrament is to be gathered 
 from the Grace or Fruits expected to refuk 
 from it. 
 
 IN order to illuftrate this truth, and to place it in 
 ^n unconteftable light, we will purfue the application 
 pf it to the Sacrament of Baptifm. The grace of 
 Baptifm, as every child, inducted in the firft rudi- 
 ments of the hriftian doftnne, can inform us, is the 
 
 cleanfing
 
 Second Preliminary, 341 
 
 cleanfmg of our fouls from Original Sin. Tho* there- 
 fore, in adminiftring this Sacrament, dipping or im- 
 merfion was, as we have feen, originally . practifed, 
 yet it has fmce been laid afide, and changed into the 
 action of fprinkling, or pouring : and why ? Becaufe 
 i ft, The eflence of the Sacrament as a fign and in- 
 ftrumental caufe of the aforefaid grace, or of a fpi- 
 ritual regeneration, is not deemed to confift precifely 
 in the quantity of the water (fp there be fufficient to 
 be judged a flux thereof) but in it's quality ; nor in 
 the manner of adminiftring it, whether by dipping or 
 fprinkling, but in the words of the inftitution, deter- 
 mining one action or the other to it's proper effect 
 and meaning. 
 
 2dly, CHRIST is, therefore, judged not to have 
 prefcribed peremptorily one action or the other, viz. 
 plunging or fprinkling, but to have left it undeter- 
 mined, and as a thing wholly indifferent towards the 
 grace and effect of the Sacrament. The Reformers 
 muft alfo clofe with us in this judgment, in order to 
 fcreen themfelves from the "guilt of facrilege in com- 
 ing into the change. And nothing elfe, as we fhall 
 have occafion of mewing hereafter, can excufe them 
 from the like guilt, in omitting leveral actions of 
 CHRIST in their participation of his laft Supper. But 
 ftill, that this judgment may be cleared from the leaft 
 imputation of being arbitrary ; now comes the laft 
 and main difquifition of all ; viz. from whence we are 
 to be afcertained of the effence of the Sacrament, and 
 the grace and effects refulting from it, being annexed 
 to fuch figns or inftruments ; and how to know what 
 was CHRIST'S will and pleafure as to the manner of 
 adminiftring it r This leads us to a third Preliminary, 
 in which we aver that 
 
 THIRD
 
 34 2 Third Preliminary* 
 
 THIRD PRELIMINARY. 
 
 Where any law is not clear in itfclf, the practice of 
 the Church and tradition are the only Jure inter- 
 preters of fuch a law. 
 
 OUR pretended Reformers, who make a profefiion 
 of relying wholly on the written word of GOD, and 
 refute to allow of the oracle of tradition or the 
 unwritten word, do here, I own, affect to difient 
 from us, and to reject this principle in terms , but, 
 as I mail prefently make appear, they are obliged in 
 fundiy cafes, to fubfcribe to it, and admit it in prac- 
 tice. And, indeed, this rule is fo agreeable to common 
 fenfe, that we find it generally to take place, even with 
 refpect to every human law ; that is to fay, practice and 
 cuftom, or the fettled opinion of mankind in regard 
 fuch a practice, are to be reputed the beft expofitors of 
 the force and meaning of fuch a law. So that, when the 
 tenour of a law is obfcure, the ufual method is to go 
 back and fee how it was underftood and explained 
 from the beginning, and to look out for precedents 
 to fleer by. And therefore Almighty GOD, in fubject- 
 ing his law to the like difquifitions, and to the fame 
 rule, accommodates himfelf to our narrow and limited 
 compreheniion,' incapable of attaining to the perfect 
 imtferftanding of his law by any other way. And re- 
 latively to the Divine Law, this rule muft hold much 
 Wronger, than with regard to human laws : Becaufe 
 Apoitolic Tradition and Scripture, as we mail pre- 
 fently mew, are equally the Word of GOD, the one 
 written, the other unwritten ; die one the fupport of 
 the ether, viz. Scripture the bafis of Tradition, Tra- 
 dition the expofitor of Scripture, and a fupplement to 
 it, where it is defective , and therefore the Apoftle, in 
 this iall fenfe, directs his children in faith, the Thefla- 
 
 lonians,
 
 Ibird Preliminary. 343 
 
 lonians, to ftand faft and hold the traditions which they 
 bad been taught, 'whether by word or epiftle. Theff ii. 14. 
 
 OTHER things delivered in Scripture are obfcure, 
 and want a farther explanation, as St. Peter exprefsly 
 obferves to be the cafe with refpect to St. Paul's 
 Epiftles, that there are many things in them hard to be 
 underftocd, which the unlearned and unjiable wreft, as 
 they do alfo the other Scriptures to their own perdition. 
 2 Pet. iii. 1 6. 
 
 THEREFORE, how are thefe hidden truths to be un- 
 folded, but by the fame Divine Spirit that dictated them 
 at firft, infpiring and aiding his Holy Church to fathom 
 their meaning ? which cannot be canvafied by every 
 capricious man, unftable in Judgment, varying in 
 opinion, and wrefting them, as St. Peter juft told 
 us, after the fuggeftions of his depraved heart, to 
 his own ruin. The Church is, no doubt, the moft 
 proper judge in all religious doubts and contro- 
 verfies, and the natural interpreter of Scripture, mean- 
 ing the written word of GOD, relatively to all doc- 
 trinal points and matters of faith ; which made St. 
 Auftin fay that, '* He would not even believe the 
 " Goipels themfelves, but as he was induced thereto 
 " by the Authority of the Church," Ep. Tund. 4, 5. 
 i. e. by Apoflolical tradition, receiving it's fanction from 
 her authority ; and effectually we mould have been at a 
 lofs to know which is canonical Scripture, which. not, 
 but from thefe hands; much more to be allured of the 
 true fenfe and meaning of it. 
 
 BUT however, waving this point in this extenfive 
 confideration, as foreign to the fubject in hand, we 
 aver it to be the only guide, we can rely on, relatively 
 to the ceremonial part of the law, under which head 
 the adminiflration of the Sacraments is certainly to be 
 reckoned. This truth is, even, to be evinced from the 
 Old Teftament, with regard to the Jewifh law; of 
 which, though every oblervance was minuted down, 
 in the moft diftinct and exact manner, yet it was not 
 
 fo
 
 344 Third Preliminary. 
 
 fo particularifed, but that there was room left for 
 glofles, interpretations, exceptions and difpenfations. 
 An irrefragable inftance of this we have in the law of 
 the Sabbath, in relation whereto nothing could have 
 been more circumftantiated than that was, when de- 
 fcending to the necefiities of life, it was forbid under 
 penalty of death, to drefs meat on that day, or even 
 to make a fire , and yet, notwithftanding that rigour 
 of the law, it was determined in practice to be lawfull 
 to untie a beaft, to lead it to water, to draw it out of a 
 ditch, and to do many corporal deeds of mercy ; which 
 our Blefled Lord, far from condemning, approved of 
 in perfon, and by his own words and example. 
 
 THEIR known practice of praying for the dead, is 
 alfo of the fame nature , for, if the Book of Mac- 
 chabees be not to be admitted into the canonical Scrip- 
 ture, as by the Reformers it is not, there was no other 
 authority, but cuftom, to plead for and juftify that 
 practice; yet as I obferved from Jeremy Taylor in 
 another place, Import. Enqui. Art. Purg. p. 221. it 
 was an eftabliihed practice, which our Blefled Saviour 
 never found fault with, though he reproved them for 
 feveral Pharifacial inventions and innovations. But, 
 what cannot fail, or at leaft, ought to carry the greatefl 
 weight with our adverfaries, is, that the like difpenfa- 
 tions and favourable explanations of the law, have 
 been admitted into the New Teilament, and by the 
 Reformers themfelves accepted. And firft, this very 
 law of the Sabbath, we but juft inftanced, muft be 
 owned to be as precife, and feemingly exprefs and 
 pofitive, as a law could be ; and therefore, as fuch, 
 only the Legiflator that enacted the law, could abfo- 
 lutely reverfe or alter it. Yet, this day for divine 
 wormip has been transferred to the Sunday, the Re- 
 formers have come into the change, tho* there be not 
 a tittle of Scripture to authorize it. For, their al- 
 leging the Sunckiy to be fanctified by CHRIST'S Re- 
 furreftion, is nothing to the purpofe -, becaufe the infli-
 
 ttird Preliminary. 
 
 tuting or confecrating a new day to the Divine 
 Service cannot be looked on as an abrogation of an 
 old one fettled by precept. Therefore, we have no- 
 thing but the living oracle of tradition and Church 
 authority to juftify the alteration, which looked on the 
 law of the Sabbath, as it was fixed to fuch a particu- 
 lar day, to be merely ceremonial, and to affect only 
 the Jewifh people, to whom the law was delivered. 
 
 THE prohibition of eating things flrangled and 
 blood, was another law of the antienteft date ; deli- 
 vered to Noah and his children, Gen. ix. even long 
 before any Mofaical obfervances , thefe latter were, 
 neverthelefs, abrogated by the Gofpel, the other, on 
 the contrary, confirmed by the Apoftles themfelves in 
 the General Council of Jerufalem, Afts xv. 29. called 
 on purpofe about thefe ancient rites, to fee which mould 
 be laid afide, which be retained ? Their decree of con- 
 tinuing this in it's full force, was joined with two 
 others, that were immutable and inviolable, 'viz. the 
 forbidding fornication, and the partaking of idola- 
 trous immolations, which, as they gave this an addi- 
 tional weight, fo it does not appear upon record, that it 
 was ever exprefsly reveried. Yet, notwithftanding 
 thefe material circumftances in it's favour, it has fince 
 been abrogated by tradition and Church authority, the 
 law looked upon as merely ceremonial, and to have 
 been retained by the Apoftles only for a time, in con- 
 defcenfion to the weaknefs of the new converts from 
 Judaifm, tenacious of their ancient rites. The Church's 
 reafon for laying it afide, has never been contefted by 
 the Reformers, and the difpenfation with it, by them 
 univerfally received in practice. 
 
 THE inftances we have hitherto produced, are only 
 parities to our prefent cafe, fliewing that a practical 
 law is to be determined by general practice and tradi- 
 tion. But, what I apprehend to clench our argument 
 beyond a reply, is, that the Sacraments themfelves, in 
 many material circumftances, agreed to by the Re- 
 X x formers,
 
 346 *fbird Preliminary. 
 
 formers, have been fubjected to the fame rule. For, 
 to go no further than the Sacrament of Baptifm, the 
 example we have made choice of to argue from, thro* 
 thefe preliminaries ; how many things thereto, even 
 effentially relating, have been decided by tradition and 
 practice ? ift, The very minifter of this Sacrament 
 would be unknown, had not tradition declared who 
 Jhould be, and who occafionally might be , for tho' in 
 the inilitution of this Sacrament, the power and charge 
 of adminiftring it was immediately delivered to the 
 Apoftles, who were Priefts of the firft rank or order, 
 that is, Bifhops, yet all allow Priefts of the fecond or- 
 der, and even Deacons, to be the legal minifters of 
 it, and in their abfence, rather than an infant mould 
 be deprived of thefe neceffary means to falvation, tra- 
 dition and practice has attributed, in cafes of morta- 
 lity, to every Chriftian the abfolute power of admi- 
 niftring it. 2dly, Whether Heretical Baptifm be va- 
 lid, was, at a time, problematically controverted in 
 the Church, and determined at laft from tradition 
 alone, in the affirmative. 3dly, The manner of ad- 
 miniftering it, whether by immerfion or fprinkling, 
 as has been often mentioned, was decided by tradition 
 to be a matter of indifference. 4thly, The necefilty 
 of Infant Baptifm is another difputed point, and tho' 
 to be deduced from Scripture, yet it cannot be cleared 
 up from that Divine authority to fuch a degree of evi- 
 dence, but that there are other texts from the fame 
 facred fource, which leemingly, difprove it ; as where 
 it is faid, Go teach and baptize ', Match, xxviii. 19. and 
 again, He thatjhall believe and be baptized, floall be faved, 
 Mark xvi. j 6. Directions which certainly can affect 
 tione, elfe but thofe that have attained to the age of ma- 
 turity, fuch alone being fufceptible of faith and in- 
 itruclion. 
 
 WHITHER, 'therefore, has it been neceffaryto ap- 
 peal for the refolution of this important queftion, but 
 to the only umpire fitted to determine it, the unwritten 
 
 word 

 
 Third Preliminary. 347 
 
 word of GOD, tradition and the practice of the Church ? 
 The Reformers themfelves, whatsoever reluctance they 
 may affect to fhew of admitting the neceflity of Infant 
 Baptifm, dare not, in practice, but condefcend to the 
 impatient expectations and irrefiftable demands for it of 
 their people, in behalf of their dying children : And 
 yet, if the queftion be afked how the opinion of the 
 neceffity of Infant Baptifm mould prevail while Infant 
 Communion has been lain afide,? No other anfwer can 
 be given but that already alleged, that perpetual prac- 
 tice of the Church pleads for the neceffity of the one, 
 and difavows the neceflity of the other ; fo that, tho* 
 the Church has at times given the Holy Eucharift to 
 infants, fhe for juft reafons, has fmce made no diffi- 
 culty to refufe it them. Yet, if the written Scriptures 
 are only to be conlulted, both one and the other have 
 an equal foundation on thefe facred records ; fmce as 
 it is faid, Unlefs you are born again of Water and the 
 Holy Ghoft, you fhall not enter into the kingdom of Hea~ 
 <uen, John iii. 5. fo it is alfo faid, If you eat not the 
 FleJJj of the Son of Man, and drink not his Blood^ you 
 Jball not have life in you, John vi. 54. Stopping there- 
 fore here, Infant Baptifm is not more neceifary than 
 Infant Communion. And tho' it be faid of Commu- 
 nion, Let a Man prove himfclf, and fo let him eat y 
 i Cor. xi. 28. fo on the other hand it is alfo faid, He 
 that Jball believe and be baptized Jhall be faved, Mark 
 xvi. 1 6. An Anabaptift thinks this text to be of equal 
 weight againfl Infant Baptifm, with the other againft 
 their participation of the laft Supper, to wit, that faith 
 is as requifite a condition and indifpenfable in one cafe, 
 as probation in the other-, and what way have we to 
 refute them, but by appealing to tradition and the 
 conftant practice of the Church for our guide ? 
 
 LET then truth prevail, prxvaleat veritas, and our 
 
 judgments fubmit to what we are obliged to admit in 
 
 practice, viz. that what is efiential and what indifferent 
 
 in the Sacraments, being left undetermined in the 
 
 X x 2 written
 
 348 7/&/W Preliminary. 
 
 written Scriptures, can only be fupplied from tradi- 
 tion, and the perpetual ufage of the Church. This 
 is what we have evinced in thefe Preliminaries in re- 
 gard to the Sacrament of Baptifm , and an applica- 
 tion of each of thefe principles to the point I have 
 undertaken to maintain, The lawfulness of Communion 
 in One kind, will alfo, I flatter myfelf, be it's full vin- 
 dication from every cenfure and impeachment. 
 
 CHAP.
 
 [ 349 I 
 
 C H A P. . I. 
 
 The Integrity of the Holy Eucharift faved under One Kind. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 The Integrity and Effence of the Holy Eucharift is perfectly 
 faved to every intent and meaning of a Sacrament , both 
 with regard to the thing fignified by the facramental 
 fymbols, and the grace accruing from it to the Receiver 
 under each kind, and therefore he is not defrauded of 
 any part of the Divine Blejfing, by partaking of it in 
 this manner. 
 
 the Reformers affed to raife an 
 outcr y a S ainft Catholic Communion 
 under one kind., they mult pretend to 
 ground their indiclment on one or 
 , both of thefe following reafons; name- 
 ly tnat either the Sacrament admi- 
 niftered in this manner, is mutilated, and thereby the 
 Receiver injured, and defrauded of a part of the 
 Divine Blefling; or that CHRIST, having exprefsly 
 directed it to be received under both kinds, his pre- 
 cept or ordinance is violated by the contrary prac- 
 tice. The firft of thefe reafons we take upon us to 
 confider, and hope, with GOD'S help, to confute in this 
 fection. 
 
 A SACRAMENT is properly defined a vifible fign of 
 inviftble Grace, and the Holy Sacrament of the Eucha- 
 rift anfwers fully this definition in two refpe&s, viz. 
 
 I ft,
 
 3 50 *he Integrity of the Holy Eucharijl 
 i ft, As a fign of CHRIST'S Body and Blood, couched 
 under the Sacramental fymbols ; and 2dly, as a fign 
 of the fpiritual nourifhment of the foul accruing to 
 the worthy Receiver. The one is the caufe of the 
 other* CHRIST'S Body' and Blood the fource of all 
 the grace we can expect or hope for from this Sacra- 
 ment : And, therefore, if we make it appear that this 
 fource of grace, CHRIST himfelf, is wholly taken 
 without divifion or diminution under each kind, then 
 it mull be granted that the Receiver is thus no way 
 cheated of any fliare of thefe Divine gifts. But before I 
 proceed to my proofs, I muft beg leave to obferve that, 
 in canvaffing this point, I conflder it reipeclively to 
 the Catholic Doctrine already fully fettled in my former 
 EiTay, That there is a Real Prefence of CHRIST'S 
 Body and Blood in the Eucharift. Our adverfaries im- 
 pugning it under any other notion, would be beating 
 the air, and making a noife about nothing. And, 
 how the matter would ftand in the hypothefis of their 
 figurative fyftem, is equally foreign to my purpofe to 
 inquire into. 
 
 A Real Prefence therefore being fuppofcd, and 
 which, as I juft faid, mufl be fuppofed, if our adver- 
 faries would make us a party in this debate, the Body 
 and Blood of CHRIST, and even his Soul and Divinity, 
 are efientially and infeparably together under each 
 kind by a concern fancy, as Divines term it ; a hard 
 word, our antagonists are pleafed to think it, but yet 
 expreffive and fignificant, importing an indivifible 
 union of one with the other, grounded on Scripture 
 and Reafon. 
 
 FIRST, St. Paul fays, that CHRIST being rifen, dies 
 no more, Rom. vi. 9. therefore, his body, wherever it 
 be, is his living Body, not a dead carcafe, a Body 
 animated by a Soul, and confifting of Blood, and 
 all the other appurtenances of a living body. Agree- 
 able to this principle, when the Apoftle fays, 'Tbe cup 
 of blejjing which we Wefs, is it not the communion of the 
 
 Blood
 
 faved under One Kind. 351 
 
 Blood of CHRIST, i Cor. x. 16. (a text which our ad- 
 verfaries impertinently magnify into an argument 
 againft us in this controverfy) fo he adds, And the 
 Bread which we break, is it not the communion of the 
 Body of our Lord? ibid, that is, the living Body, and 
 therefore where the Body is, there is the Blood ; and 
 where the Blood there the Body. The Apoftle in ano- 
 ther place, charges the unworthy Receiver under either 
 kind with being guilty of the profanation both of 
 CHRIST'S Body and Blood, He, fays he, that eateth 
 this Bread or drinketh this Cup unworthily /hall be guilty 
 of the Body and Blood of our Lord, i Cor. xi. 27. Our 
 adverfaries, indeed, in order to evade the force of this 
 text, which they could not but be aware of, have, in 
 fpite of public faith, induftrioufly corrupted it, by an 
 alteration of the disjunctive particle or, in the firft mem- 
 ber of the proportion, into the conjunctive and, mak- 
 ing the Apoftle fay, He that eats and drinks ; but if 
 the genuine text be to ftand, and truth to prevail, it 
 follows as a neceflary deduction that, whofoever mall 
 eat either kind worthily, will partake both of CHRIST'S 
 Body and Blood, and of the grace refulting from it. 
 It alfo becomes a tacit infmuation that even then, in 
 the Apoilles time, the faithful did, on occafions, par- 
 take of the Divine Banquet under either fpecies alone. 
 
 SOME, however, endeavour to juftify the vilible 
 prevarication, in the alteration of the disjunctive par- 
 ticle in the text cited, by pretending that the dif- 
 junctive or, and conjunctive and are here and there 
 ufed indifferently one for the other. But, be it fo ; 
 their preemption, however, that the Apoftle fet one 
 particle for the other on this occafion is wholly arbi- 
 trary, and confequently the liberty they have taken of 
 putting that into his mouth, which he did not fay, un- 
 juftifiable : It is more reasonable to conclude that, 
 whereas he was inftructing his difciples in what manner 
 they ought to prepare themfelves for this Divine Ban- 
 quet, he gave them to underftand, that an unworthy 
 
 communicant
 
 352 'The Integrity of the Holy Eucharifl 
 
 communicant under one kind alone would be equally 
 guilty of a profanation of CHRIST'S Body and Blood, 
 as if he received in both fpecies. And this affertion of 
 the Apoftle, being only the direct coniequence of the 
 Catholic doctrine of Concomitance, becomes recipro- 
 cally a proof of it ; viz. that the Body, Blood, 
 Soul, Divinity, and whole CHRIST himfelf, the whole 
 fource of Grace is perfectly contained under each 
 fpecies ; ,that .under each is offered an indignity to the 
 whole, being unworthily received ; under each the 
 grace of the whole is partaken of, being received wor^ 
 thily. The truth, then, of the myftery of the Real 
 Prefence, and of the doctrine of Concomitance, which 
 is a confequence of it, being fuppofed, I prefume to 
 aver that, when CHRIST, at his laft Supper, faid to his 
 Apoftles, Take, eat^ this is my Body^ he could not mean 
 to give them mere human flem, or the flem of man 
 alone, but the flefo of God man , and when he faid, 
 'J'his is my Blood^ he could mean no other than the 
 Blood that was the price of our redemption, receiving 
 it's value from his divinity united to the human nature. 
 Much lefs could he have meant to give them his flem, 
 according to the Capharnaites grofs way of conceiving 
 it, as the flem of an animal, cut off from the mambles, 
 or a dead carcafs without the Blood, or inanimate Blood 
 without the Body : For, by fuch a feparation, he muft 
 really and tally have died again, and muft die as often 
 as this myftery is repeated, in direct contradiction to- 
 what we have juft heard St. Paul tell us, that CHRIST 
 being rifen dies no more, and in direct contradiction to 
 the eflfential qualities of a gl(%ned Body, Immortality 
 and Incorruption. 
 
 THE doctrine of -Concomitance, as we have 
 here explained it, is fo agreeable to reafon, and is 
 fo direct a fequel of the Real Prefence, that it is a 
 fubject of iiarprize, how fome of our adverfaries, 
 who connive at the belief of the latter, as the Sacra- 
 mentarians did with refpect to fome of the Lutherans, 
 can be fo fqueamifh as to demur to the other. Jurieux, 
 
 a Calvinift
 
 fayed under One Kind. 353 
 
 a Calvinift minifter, tho' a profefTed antagonift in this 
 controverted point, is more candid, and talks more 
 confequently, when he owns, if the doctrine of Tran- 
 fubftandation and of the Real Prefence be true, that 
 it is alfo true, the " fpecies of Bread would contain 
 " the Flefh and Blood of JESUS CHRIST." Jur. Exam. 
 p. 480. But from this frank concefiion out of the 
 mouth of an enemy, another important confequence 
 directly enfues, viz. that as the doctrine of Concomi- 
 tance is confefled to be but a fequel of the Real Pre- 
 ience, fo, at whatfoever time a Communion in one 
 kind, which is grounded upon the faid doctrine, has 
 been allowed, it becomes a reciprocal proof of the 
 article of the Real Prefence and Tranfubftantiation 
 having alfo been the general belief of the fame 
 age ; and, whereas we mail hereafter mew that the 
 practice of the firji is of the ancienteft ftanding, the 
 belief of the fecond, from whence it follows, muft be 
 admitted to be of equal date. But, then, how does 
 this Proteftant Minifter go about to elude the force 
 of thefe ftrong and undeniable coniequences from his 
 own conceffions ? He firft, roundly denies the anti- 
 quity of the practice of Communion under one kind, 
 in contradiction to attefted facts, from the earlieft 
 times, in proof of it, which I mall produce in their pro- 
 per place ? c. 2. Whereas if he would have argued ad 
 hominem^ that is to fay, if he would have attacked us 
 directly from our own principles (as he mould have 
 done, or has done nothing) it had been his bufinefs 
 to mew that, notwithftanding thefe conceffions, the 
 lawfulnefs of Communion under one kind, which we 
 think to refult from them, was ftill reprovable. 
 
 WHAT I fay to this Minifter, I lay to every one 
 elfe, who pretends to quarrel with us Upon this article : 
 for, as I premifed above, they muft either take in the 
 whole fyftem of our belief, or thr:y don't contend with 
 us, but with an enemy in the air. 
 
 Y y Now
 
 3 54 be Integrity of the Boly Eucharift 
 
 I MUST own that the Minifter aforecited, does 
 make a fhew of attacking us on our own premifes, 
 when he fays that in the previous hypothecs " we un- 
 " doubtedly receive the whole Sacrament of CHRIST'S 
 " Body and Blood under each kind, but that we don't 
 " receive them Sacramentally." Jur. Exam, traft. 6. 
 feft. 6. p. 480. 487. But whether this diftinftion has 
 not more of fubtilty in it than meaning, I fubmit 
 to the judicious Reader : for, to mean any thing, it 
 muft imply that more is received in fubitance and 
 effect, in both kinds, than under one, or it implies no^ 
 thing. But, on the contrary, under one kind, as has 
 been proved, is received the whole fubitance of the Sa- 
 crament, viz. CHRIST'S Body and Blood ; under either, 
 again, we receive the whole fource of Grace, CHRIST 
 himfelf : more than this can't be hoped for, or even 
 imagined, unlefs our adverfaries would allot more vir- 
 tue to the facramental figns, or external fpscies, than 
 to the thing fignified, CHRIST himfelf couched under 
 thefe veils, which would be talking blafphemy, as 
 well as nonfenfe, a language, alfo, directly contradict- 
 ing CHRIST'S own words, who fays, He that eatetb of 
 this bread Jhall have eternal life : He that eats me Jhall 
 live for me and by me, as I my [elf live for my Father and 
 ly my Fat 'her , John vi. 57, 58. 
 
 IF, then, they would mean to fay that Communion 
 under one- kind, howfoever comprehenfive in itfelf, 
 does not yet fufficiently declare CARIST'S Death and 
 Paffion,. as by him commanded, or at leaft, that it 
 does not give us fuch a lively image of that myftery of 
 our Redemption, as is exprefled by a Communion un- 
 der both kinds , I anfwer, that I apprehend this effect 
 not to appertain ftrictly to the Sacrament of the Eu- 
 charift, purely as fuch, in which acceptation it is pro- 
 perly only a vifible lign of invifible Grace, or of the 
 fpiritual nourimment. of our fouls : but as a facrifice, 
 which we have retained, and they have difcarded, this 
 image is {hewn in the perfecteft manner, by the myftical 
 
 feparation
 
 fayed under One Kind. 355 
 
 reparation of the Body and Blood under the different 
 fpedes in the Mais, which we lhall have oceafion to 
 fpeak of in the next Section. If they would ftill 
 reply that even as a Sacrament, the Celeftial Banquet, 
 or the Lord's Supper, .and our fpiritual nourifhment is 
 not fo fully and fignificantly reprefented under one as 
 under both kinds ; be it fo, and what then ? our fpi- 
 ritual purification and the new generation of the whole 
 man in Baptifm is not fo perfectly expreffed, as has 
 been obferved in the Preliminaries, by fprinkling as by 
 dipping ; notwithilanding "which, the latter practice, 
 tho' the original, has given way to the former, and the 
 change has been adopted by the Reformers themfelves, 
 and why ? Becaufe the Grace of the Sacrament is judged 
 to be annexed to the fubftance and quality of the wa- 
 ter (with the words of the inftitution) and not pre- 
 cifely to the 'quantity nor to the manner of giving it. 
 So, tho' the nature of a feaft, and our perfect nourifri"- 
 ment be more lively figurated by the feparate actions 
 of eating and drinking, yet while the thing itfelf given 
 by one, is the fame that is fignified by both, the fign or 
 action, directly exprefiing only one, mull be judged to 
 fignify implicitly and Efficiently both , and the grace 
 received from one, to be equal to the grace received 
 from both, becaufe we receive in it CHRIST whole and 
 entire, who is the whole fource of Grace. 
 
 THE manna, miraculoufly fhowered down from Hea- 
 ven for the corporal nourifhment of the Ifraelites in 
 the defart, is interpreted unanimoufly by the Fathers, 
 and declared by CHRIST himfelf, John vi. 49, 50, 51. 
 tojiave been an emblem or figure of the Holy Eucha- 
 rift, and yet of that we learn from Exodus, Exod. xvi. 
 17, 18. that he who gathered more had no more, and 
 he that gathered lefs had no lefs. 
 
 BUT while the Eflence and Integrity of the Holy 
 Eucharift is perfectly favcd under either kind, in the 
 Catholic Communion, taking in the whole iyftem of 
 our belief in this point, we .have a right to demand ot 
 them in our turn, to mew how the fame is fully faved 
 Y y 2 in
 
 356 *fbe Integrity of the Holy Eucbarijl, &c. 
 
 in their figurative fyftem, with refpect to thofe, who 
 having an averfion to wine, are allowed among them 
 to communicate Under the fingle element of Bread ? 
 Such was the liberty granted by decree in their French 
 Synod of Poitiers, An. 1560. c. 12. art. 7. of the 
 Lord's Supper. For thefe either receive the whole Sa- 
 crament, or they do not. If they do receive the 
 whole, where are the grounds of their outcry againft 
 the Catholic practice ? If they do not receive the whole, 
 the Sacrament in this cafe is mutilated, and they be- 
 come guilty of a facrilege -, and they have no Real 
 Prefence, no Concomitance to fcreen them from the 
 imputation. If they have recourfe to Mr. Jurieux's 
 refuge of faying, that they, indeed, receive the Sa- 
 crament, but not Sacramentally, or that they receive 
 the Subftance of the Sacrament, but not the Sacra- 
 ment. This, as I have juft fhewn, is a mere jingling 
 "of words without a meaning , for, in fhort, if they 
 do not receive the Sacrament as fuch, they don't re- 
 ceive a thing of CHRIST'S inftitution, but a mere hu- 
 man invention, which throws them frill under the im- 
 putation of facriiege and impofture. 
 
 IF, in fine, they would pretend that fuch receive by 
 faith under one kind, what the others do under both^ 
 they by this reply, only elude the difficulty, but do 
 not folve it. For in cafe of an incapacity to receive in 
 either kind, whether by inability of body, or by being 
 removed from the opportunity and means of partaking 
 of this ineffable bleffing, fuch an one frill may re- 
 ceive it by faith, in affection, or defire ; but if he 
 who receives in one kind only, has no more, he re- 
 ceives no Sacrament really. The difficulty, I fay, 
 prefies unaniwerably on the Reformers, becaufe they 
 are dsftitute of the arguments which plead for Com- 
 munion in one kind in the Catholic fyftem, and there- 
 fore, till they can get over it themfelves, they ought 
 at lead, to be fo modeft and referred as not to pre- 
 iume to charge it upon us. In the mean while, I am 
 
 ready
 
 The Manner of Receiving, &c. 357 
 
 ready to own that, tho* the Integrity and Eftcnce of the 
 Holy Euchariil be perfectly faved under one kind, in 
 the Catholic Belief, yet if it can ftill be made to ap- 
 pear that CHRIST himfelf has left any exprefs direc- 
 tions or ordinance as to the itiarmer of receiving it, or 
 in a word, that he has appointed it to be received in 
 both kinds, the precept would no doubt, be indilpen- 
 fable, and our breaking through it facrilegious , and 
 therefore to (hew that this is not the cafe, is the fub- 
 jecl: of the fubfeqnent Section. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 // does not appear from the injlitiition of the Holy JLuclca- 
 rlft-, or from any part of the New 'Tejiammt, that 
 Cbrift has prefcribcd the manner of receiving it as a 
 Sacrament-, whether in one or in both kinds., 
 
 A S our adverfaries, in the prefent debate, have 
 jtV taken upon them to fullain the affirmative, the 
 proof lies wholly upon them, and we have confe- 
 quently, no other taflc on our hands than to jfhcw the 
 fallacy of their arguments; and their infufficiency to- 
 wards fettling the point in- queftion. In order thereto, 
 I apprehend it requifite to premife two or three Notes, 
 part of which muft be granted by our adverfaries ; and 
 thofe they may not be inclined to adm't, we hope to 
 make good, as we go along, in the diicuilion of this 
 fubjed. 
 
 Not. i. IT muft be allowed on all hands, that of the 
 many things ourBlefied Saviour faid and did, at the infti- 
 tution of the Holy Eucharift, as well as at other timefc, 
 fome were addretfed to the Apoilles perfonally, feveral 
 directed to them as Priefts, and through them to their 
 fucceflbrs in the fame capacity, and neither one nor 
 the- other of thefe, to the whole body of his Church. 
 
 Not. 2. WHERE our Bleffed Saviour injoins, or his 
 faithful interpreter, St. Paul, inculcates to the Church
 
 3 5 8 The Manner of Receiving the H. Eucbarift 
 
 in general, the ufe of this auguft Sacrament, under 
 the denominations of eating or drinking, we appre- 
 hend it to appear evident from comparing the feveral 
 texts together, that it is not thefe diftinct actions, or 
 the manner of partaking of the Sacrament, that is pre- 
 fcribed, but only it's fubftance and reality, or, in a 
 word, that by eating and drinking is meant no more 
 than receiving CHRIST'S Body and Blood. 
 
 Not. 3. In the inftimtion of the adorable myftery of 
 the Holy Eucharift, the Catholic Church rightly judges 
 there are two things to be duly confidered and properly 
 diftinguifhed, to wit, that it is not only a Sacrament, 
 but alfo a Sacrifice ; the former concerning the whole 
 body of the Church, the latter appertaining to her Mi- 
 nifters alone of the firft and fecond order, viz. Bifhops 
 and Priefts. 
 
 IF the candid Reader will pleafe to take thefe pre- 
 mifes along with him, when he canvailes the arguments 
 of our opponents, I flatter myfelf that he will find 
 the latter to fall very mort of coming up to the proof, 
 they affect to afcribe to them. Bimop Montague, a 
 . Proteftant Prelate, is pofitive that they have no proofs 
 from the Infpired Writings for their fond opinion, 
 " Where does the Scripture," fays he, " command, 
 '* that the people mould receive the Sacrament of the 
 " Lord's Supper in both kinds ? The Scripture 
 '* teaches no fuch thing, the Scripture does not com- 
 " mand it." T. i. orig. p. 396. So this Proteftant 
 Prelate. However I'll let his brethren fpeak for them- 
 felves, fubmitting their pretended proofs to every im- 
 partial and unprejudiced judgment. 
 
 THE argument on which they lay the greateft ftrefs, 
 in fiipport of their opinion of Communion under both 
 kinds being a matter of precept, is drawn from the 
 act and words of the inftitation itfelf, where CHRIST at 
 the laft Supper, after he had diftributed to his Apoftles 
 the confccrated Bread, took the Cup, bleffed it and 
 delivered it to them, faying. Drink ye all of this. Matt. 
 
 xxvi.
 
 left undetermined. 359 
 
 xxvi. 27. which being a plain command to the Apo- 
 ftles to partake of the Cup, as well as of the Bread, 
 they conclude it to be a rule for all after-communi- 
 cants ; and we prefume to think their conclufion much 
 too precipitate, and that nothing lefs is imported by 
 the injunction; 
 
 ALLOWING the Evangelifts to be all of them equally 
 divinely infpired, let one declare the meaning of the 
 other, St. Mark, I fay, be permitted to expound St. 
 Matthew ; appealing, then, to him, he will inform us 
 who the All were, injoined to fhare of the Cup, to wit, 
 the Apoftles then prefent at table, and they Ml, fays he, 
 drank of it, Mark xiv. 23, the fame that, juft before 
 received from their Divine Matter's hands the confe- 
 crated bread, tho' without the formal injunction, with 
 which he delivered to them the Cup, of bidding them 
 partake all of it, being a caution intirely unneceffary ; 
 becaufe, blelling the bread and breaking it, he gave to 
 each their refpective portion ; but, in giving them the 
 Cup, he further admoniihed them to divide it among 
 them, that the laft of the company might not be de- 
 barred his ftiare. In fine, taking in the whole cir- 
 cumftances of this injunction it does not at leaft ap- 
 pear that it could be directed to any others than to 
 the Apoftles, or to their fucceffors in the fume ca- 
 pacity, to whom CHRIST faid prefently after Do this in 
 remembrance of me ; to them to whom he gave the 
 power to do what he did, viz. to confecrate and diftri- 
 bute the Eucharift as well as to receive it. 
 
 THESE ecclairciffments make good the obfervations 
 of our firft Note^ that many things were addrefied to 
 the Apoftles personally, many in their prieitly capa- 
 city, and feveral other circumftances accompanying 
 this aft of our Blefied Lord at the laft Supper, befides 
 what we have juft mentioned, confirm the alleged in- 
 junction to have been fpoken to them in one or both of 
 theie manners. For, they were the privileged perfons, 
 fekcted from the reft of his difciples, to become wit- 
 
 neflfes
 
 - 3 6 6 "The Manner ofReceMng the H. Euckarifl 
 
 nefles of the many myfteries that preceded his facred 
 Pafilon. They were diftinguiftied with the honour of 
 having their Feet walhed by their Divine Matter. 
 They alone were admitted to eat with him the Lamb 
 of the Paflbver, to lee this figure confummated in a 
 change thereof into the pafche of the immaculate Lamb 
 of his bleffed Body and Blood, then immolated by 
 himfelf in an unbloody manner, under the forms of 
 Bread and Wine, in commemoration of the bloody 
 immolation, which was to be made the next day for 
 the fins of the world. They, in fine, were on this oc- 
 cafion made Priefts of the new law, and veiled with the 
 power to do what he did, as I obferved above , that is* 
 to perpetuate the facrifice of his Body and Blood, and 
 through them derived to their fucceflbrs, all Priefts, 
 for a continual memorial and image of his death and 
 paflion ; faying to them, Do this in remembrance of me. 
 
 OUR adverfaries will, perhaps, ftill reply, that tho* 
 feveral fpeeches were addreffed by our blefled Lord to 
 the Apoftles in their perfonal or in their prieflly capacity, 
 yet others were delivered to them as the reprefentatives 
 of the whole body of the faithful, and that they look 
 on the two precepts, 'Drink ye all of 'this , and the other, 
 Do this^ &c. to have this different relation, ^7Z. the 
 former to belong to all the faithful, the latter to them- 
 felves and their fuccerTors. But admitting the affertion 
 in general, I beg leave to afk from whence the dif- 
 ferent direction of CHRIST'S fpeeches and precepts is 
 to be gathered and determined ? for, he himfelf has not 
 qualified them, they being moftly addrefled to the 
 fame perfons and in the fame manner , the evangelifts 
 have not unfolded the myftery -, therefore it is to tra- 
 dition at laft, we muft be obliged to appeal, and to 
 accept of for our guide ; and with refpett to the two 
 precepts in difpute, tradition has declared them both 
 to affect the Apoftles in their perfonal and prieftly cha- 
 racters , the clofe connection of one with the other, 
 joined to the above-recited ciraimftances, fhew their 
 
 relation
 
 left undetermined. 361 
 
 1 elation to be one and the fame; and therefore the 
 Reformers contrary comment upon them, mull be 
 judged wholly arbitrary and without foundation. 
 
 FERTILE however of quibbles, and chufing rather to 
 play a low game than ftand out, our adverfaries pre- 
 tend even in the precept Do this, &c. to difcover a 
 proof of their favourite opinion : for by the faid pre- 
 cept, fay they, the Apoilles were enjoined to do *&ttikt 
 CHRIST did, and therefore, as he gave them his Body 
 and Blood, then, under both fpecies, it was to become 
 to them and their fiixjceflbrs, a rule to fleer by, in the 
 difpenfing of the facred myfleries ever after. 
 
 THE anfwer to this argument I have given already, 
 *uiz. that CHRIST certainly enjoined the Apoftles and 
 their fuccefibrs to do what he did, viz. as often as 
 they celebrated the awful myfteries to confecrate and to 
 receive it themfelves under both kinds, as a perpetual 
 image and memorial of his Death and Paffion , and 
 this precept, as we mall prefently mew, the Church 
 daily fulfils by her Minifters in the unbloody Sacrifice 
 of the holy Mafs. But to make all that CHRIST did 
 at this folemn time become a law either to the Laity 
 of the Church or even to it's Minifters, is too exten- 
 five, and has been contradicted, in practice, by thfe 
 Reformers themfelves in the following feveral parti- 
 culars, i ft, The humble ceremony, of warning feet, 
 tho' done by CHRIST as an example to the Apoftles, 
 with an inj unction to do the fame, IJbatoeigvv&jyeu an 
 example, that as I have done to you, [o you do alfo, John 
 xiii. 15. is by the Reformers neglected. 2dly, CHRIST 
 inftituted the Blefied Eucharift in the evening, he was 
 about to be betrayed, as a livelier image of his fu- 
 ture paffion, being the lail act of his life, and yet 
 they don't look on themfelves tied down by precept to 
 a time fo full of my fiery. 3dly, By the practice and 
 law of the Church we take the Sacrament fafting, un- 
 leis at the extremity of death, tho' CHRIST gave it to 
 his Apoftles at fupper. How many things are here, 
 Z z CHRIST
 
 362 Tie Manner of Receiving the H. Eucharift 
 
 CHRIST did, which the Reformers don't fcruple to 
 lay afide ? And again, adhering to the letter of CHRIST'S 
 words, if Drink ye all of this, be judged to be directed 
 to the whole Church, in the Apoftles as it's reprefen- 
 tatives, fince as fuch, they muft be deemed mere com- 
 municants, our adverfaries will have a difficulty to 
 convince an Anabaptift that the other precept Do this, 
 &c. has not alfo the fame extenfive tendency and di- 
 rection, and confequently, as they, the Anabaptifts, 
 celebrate this myftery, that every private Chriflian has 
 not the power of confecrating and adminiftring the Sa- 
 crament in his own family, independently of a proper 
 Minifter ; which made, even, Tertullian obferve many 
 ages ago that, flicking to the letter of the inftitution, 
 exclufive of tradition, the proper Minifter of this 
 auguft Sacrament would be unknown to us, TertuL de 
 Cor on. Mil. c. 3. On the other hand, if, Do this, &c. 
 with refpect to the adminiftring the Sacrament was a 
 precept limited to the Apoftles in their Prieftly capa- 
 city, Deacons muft be thereby precluded, contrary to 
 the known practice of the Church, the power of dif- 
 penfing the facred myfteries : Private Communion, or 
 the cuftom of carrying the Sacrament home, as we 
 fhall fhew hereafter, ch. 2. feet. 3. to have been the pri- 
 mitive practice, mur):, by virtue of the fame precept, 
 have been forbid. Scripture, I fay, alone, or the bare 
 words of the inftitution of this Sacrament, are infuf- 
 ficient towards clearing up all thefe uncertainties : fo 
 that, in fhort, appealing to the written words, we 
 fhould be at a lofs to know how, and who is to con- 
 fecratc, how to give, how to receive the Sacrament ; 
 and the whole myftery of the Eucharift, as well as of 
 Baptifm, would lie under a cloud, without the help of 
 tradition to difpel it. 
 
 THESE obfervations juftify the decree of the Council 
 
 of Conftance for Communion under one kind, enacted, 
 
 not with a nan obflante, or in contradiction to CHRIST'S 
 
 1 Divine Precept- of Communion under both kinds, as
 
 left undetermined. 363 
 
 our adverfaries falfely and malicioufly traduce it, but 
 on the prefumption that this act or" CHRIST at his 
 laft Supper, and his words addrefied to the Apoflles, 
 Drink ye all of this, did not become a precept to the 
 Univerfal Church, no more than his other actions on 
 the fame occafion, juft recited, which the Reformers 
 themfelves make no difficulty of fuperfeding in their 
 own practice : In a word, the true tenour and purport 
 of the Council's Decree is this : tho' CHRIST inftituted 
 the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharift under both kinds, 
 and in that manner gave it to his Apoftles ; yet it not 
 appearing to Her that this act of our Blefied Lord im- 
 plied a command to the faithful of all ftates and con- 
 ditions, and at all times, of receiving it fb , me 'for 
 her juft realbns, hereafter mentioned, has directed the 
 Laity to receive it only in one kind : in the fame 
 manner as, notwithftanding CHRIST inftituted it at 
 Supper, me has for the like fblid realbns ordained it to 
 be taken fafting : and the Reformers themfelves come 
 into the latter practice. Thus much I think to be a 
 fufficient vindication of the Council, and a fatisfactory 
 anfwer to the Reformers capital and fundamental argu- 
 ment for Communion under both kinds, from the mif- 
 taken precept of CHRIST, fo often recited, and I hope 
 fully refuted. 
 
 OUR adverfaries next refuge in fupport of their opi- 
 nion, is to the fixth chapter of St. John, where CHRIST 
 fays, addrefling himfelf to all the faithful, Unlcfs yon 
 eat of the Flejh of the Son of Man, and drink his Blood,, 
 you Jhall have no life in you, John vi. 54. From 
 whence they conclude it evident, that Sacramen- 
 tal or Life-giving grace is infured to us upon no 
 other terms, than by an exact conforming to the in- 
 flitution, by eating and drinking. But firft, this text 
 taken literally, would not only prove what our adver- 
 faries would have it, that the Grace and Integrity of 
 the Sacrament is absolutely annexed to both fpecics, 
 but it would prove more than they want, viz. thar 
 Communion, or the participation of CHRIST'S Body 
 Z z 2 and
 
 3 64 We Manner of Receiving the H, Eucbarifl 
 and Blood, is an indifpenfable condition of Salvation 
 taall mankind, infants not excepted , for if CHRIST'S 
 words will admit of no reftri&ion, infants are not to 
 be debarred thefe neceflary means of falvation. If an 
 explanation be allowed in one refped, why not in the 
 other ? And we plead the privilege. 
 
 :BuT fecondly, this argument comes very ill out of 
 the mouths of our adverfaries, I mean the generality 
 of Proteftants, who don't allow, what is faid in the 
 fixth chapter of St. John to be fpoken concerning the 
 Sacrament of the Holy Eucharift. However, if it 
 be made ufe of as an argumentum ad hominem, that is, 
 as- coming at leaft, home to us, who underiland this 
 chapter in that acceptation, we admit the appeal, and 
 we refer our difputants to the Council of Trent for 
 our anfwer. This auguft afiembly has, therefore, 
 juftly obferved that, as our Blefied Lord faid, John vi. 
 
 f4. Except you eat thefejh of th Son of Man, and drink 
 is bloody you jhdll not have life in you, has alfo faid, in 
 the fame chapter, ver. 52. If any man eat of this bread, 
 bejbatt live for ever. And he who faid, ver. 55. He 
 that eateth my flefb and drinketh my blood, has life ever- 
 lafting, has alfo faid, ver. 52. And the bread that I will 
 give, is my flcjhfor the life of the world. And ver. 59. 
 tie that eateth this bread Jhatt live for ever. And 
 laftly, he, who faid, ver. 57. He that eateth my fle/h and 
 drinketh my Hood abideth in me, and I in him ; has alfo 
 faid,. ver. 58. He that eateth me, the fame /hall alfo live 
 by me. Now, in the texts we have here confronted 
 together, it is plain that, the fame virtue and efficacy 
 are by CHRIST afcribed to the fingle fpecies, or to the 
 aclion of eating alone, at one time, which at the other 
 are allotted to the two fpecies, or to the aftions of eat- 
 ing and drinking jointly : from whence the Council 
 juftly concludes, what we premifed in the fecond Note, 
 that by thefe feveral actions of eating and drink- 
 ing, whether joint or feparate, is meant no more than 
 r&eivi;ig CHRIST'S Body and Blood, which is perfectly 
 
 fulfilled
 
 left undetermined. 365 
 
 fulfilled by partaking of the fubftance of the Sacra- 
 ment in either kind, as muft be obvious to every one, 
 who will but take along with him the doctrine of con- 
 comitancy aforefettled, Sett. \. whereby is made evident 
 that no more is received in both fpecies nor by both 
 actions than by one, and as much received in one fpe- 
 cies as in both, viz. the whole fource of Grace, CHRIST 
 himfelf whole and entire, without divifion or diminu- 
 tion, his living Body and Rood. So that as often as 
 CHRIST enjoins the participation of the Sacrament, as 
 fuch, that is, as merely a means of grace, whether by 
 the denomination of eating alone, or eating and drinking 
 jointly, 'tis manifeftly, only the fubftance of the 
 thing, and not the mariner of taking it, that is com- 
 manded. 
 
 IT was from a full conviction of this truth, St. Cy- 
 prian many ages ago, in his treatife dc Lap/is, fpeaking 
 of Infant Communion, faid, that parents leading their 
 Children to the facriiices of idols, deprived them of 
 the Body and Blood of CHRIST, in rendering them 
 thereby unworthy to partake of that Divine Nourifh- 
 ment ; which, however, would not have been true, 
 as he frequently declares the cuftom of adminiftring 
 to children in the fpecies of wine alone, unlefs he 
 had believed the Body and Blood to be both contained 
 under the om fpecies. In another place to the fame 
 effect, alluding to Infant Communion, he fays that the 
 command, of CHRIST, to eat his Flefh and drink his 
 Blood, is throughly fulfilled, and life everlafting an- 
 nexed to it, undoubtedly infured to Infants, who par- 
 take of it under the fpecies of wine. St. Auftin after- 
 wards makes mention of this paffage of St. Cyprian, 
 without ceniuring the cuftom of communicating chil- 
 dren under the fingle fpecies of wine, or finding fault 
 with the father's doctrine ; a tacit insinuation of the 
 practice "being general, and of the doctrine being con- 
 formable to his own fentiments, and judged by him to 
 be irreprovabie and orthodox. 
 
 To
 
 366 The Manner of Receiving the H. Eucharift 
 
 To all this it may yet be replied that, to admit of th 
 foregoing premifes will be attended with confequences 
 that are Shocking and unwarrantable-, that is to fay, fup- 
 pofing the whole eflence and virtue of the Eucharift to 
 be contained under each fingle fpecies : fuppofing that 
 CHRIST has left no precife directionsto his Church, how 
 it is to be received by the laity, it would follow as a direct 
 confequence from thefe concefiions that the inftirution of 
 the Sacrament under loth kinds was Vain and netdlefs, 
 and the intent of it void of fignification and myftery ; 
 a confequence blafphemous to think of and injurious 
 to theincreated wifdom and goodnefs of CHRIST. 
 
 BUT, as formidable as this objection may appear, 
 it is confuted at once by this fingle diiiinction, fettled 
 in the third note of this chapter, of a Sacrament 
 and a Sacrifice. The Holy Eucharift barely as a Sa- 
 crament is ftrictly fpeaking, only a vifiblc fign of in- 
 vifible Grace, or of the fpiritual nourimment of our 
 foul; as fuch is commanded by CHRIST in the feveral 
 texts aforecited, to be received by the whole body of 
 the faithful, Except you eat thefle/h of the fon of man, 
 and drink his blood, youjhatt not have life in you, &c. &c. 
 and as fuch is received, fo often as they take it under 
 either fpecies ; becaufe, as has been often faid, under 
 each is contained the whole fource of grace, CHRIST 
 himfelf, Body, Soul, Divinity, his living Fleih and 
 Blood. As a Jacrifice it is, among other refpects, 
 principally confidered to be a fpecial memorial of 
 CHRIST'S Death and Paffion, and therefore enjoined the 
 Apoftles, in their prieftly capacity, and all their fuc- 
 ceflbrs as often as they celebrate the awful myfteries, 
 to do it in commemoration of, and thankfgiving for 
 that ineffable act of mercy, exhibited in our behalf ; 
 As often as you Jhall eat this Bread and drink the Chalice, 
 you /ball Jhew the death of the Lord until he come. 
 i Cor. xi. 26. CHRIST therefore, in this view infti- 
 tuted it in both kinds, to the end that, though one 
 and the other were by concomitance and eflentially the 
 fame thing, and one alone iuHicient as a Sacrament, 
 
 yet
 
 left undetermined. 367 
 
 yet this myftical feparation of the fpecies in the Mafs, 
 might be a livelier image of the real feparation of his 
 Body and Blood on Mount Calvary ; and therefore it is 
 obferved by fome, that St. Paul, citing the words of 
 the mftitution, when he fpeaks of the taking of the 
 Bread he fays, This do for commemoration of me ; but 
 coming to the chalice, he fays, This do ye^ as often as you 
 fljall drink, for the commemoration of me, i Cor. xi. 24, 25. 
 infmuating that one may be 4 taken when the other is 
 not (as a Sacramen.) but ftill when both are taken, 
 as it is in the celebration of the facrifice, that it be- 
 comes a commemoration of him in a more fpecial 
 manner : it becomes alfo a perpetual oblation to the 
 Divine Juftice for our fins, a continual immolation of 
 the immaculate Lamb of GOD in an unbloody manner, 
 once immolated by a real errufion of his Blood on 
 the Crofs, and one the application of the other towards 
 cancelling the guilt, and paying the whole debt of our 
 enormous iniquities. It becomes, in fine, a means of 
 uniting us with our High Prieft and Victim, CHRIST 
 JESUS, by offering it up to the Eternal Father for all 
 the ends and intentions of a facrifice. 
 
 FROM thefe considerations, then, it is plain that the 
 Holy Eucharift was not inftituted by CHRIST in vain, 
 under the two fpecies, that the defign of our BlefTed 
 Lord herein was moft loving and merciful, full of myf- 
 tery, and of infinite benefit to us. And the Priefts of 
 the Catholic Church, to whom it belongs, as I faid 
 above, to celebrate the awful myfteries, pay a dutiful 
 regard to our Blefled Lord's command, and to the 
 whole defign of the Divine Inftitution, by exhibiting 
 the myftical feparation of CHRIST'S Body and Blood 
 under both fpecies, in the holy facrifice of the Mafs. 
 
 IN the mean while, that our Reformers mould ap- 
 pear fo affectedly fcrupulous about one part of the Di- 
 vine inftitution, and reject the other, viz. that they 
 Ihould pretend to be fo folicitous about the Integrity 
 of the Sacrament, or rather about the formality of it, 
 arid at the fame time leave themfelves wholly deftitute 
 
 of
 
 368 The Manner of Receiving the H. Eucharift 
 
 of a facrifice, is as juft a matter of aftonifhment, as it 
 is an inconfiftency of behaviour -that can no way be 
 accounted for ; and they have not only the plain in- 
 junction of CHRIST to his Apoftles, as Priefts {landing 
 in full front againft them (if any thing certain, inde- 
 pendently of tradition can be gathered from it) they 
 nave not only practice immemorial of the Church, 
 and perpetual tradition to reproach them, for laying 
 afide this part of the Divine Inftitution, but they have 
 alfo the Law of Mofes, and the original Law of Na- 
 ture to condemn them. 
 
 SACRIFICES to the great Creator of all things, 'tis 
 well known, came into the world with the Creation ; 
 it was the homage he himfclf required to be made to 
 him, as the Author of our being. Abel in the begin- 
 ning of time offered to GOD a pure oblation, and it 
 was gracioufly looked upon -, Cain was referved and 
 unfincere in his offering, and it was rejected. Noah 
 no fooner ftept out of the Ark, but by God's exprefs 
 command, he immolated to him a Holocauft of thankf- 
 giving for the prefervation of himfelf and family, and 
 in them of the whole feed of man, to a fucceilion of 
 generations. Abraham, Job, Melchifedech, and all the 
 Patriarchs of the Law of Nature, paid their homage 
 to the Deity in repeated Sacrifices. The moft awful 
 and fubftantial part of the Law of Mofes was com- 
 pofed of variety of facrifices, and thofe of GOD'S own 
 appointment. And as eveiy thing that parted in the old 
 Law was, as the Apoftle tells us, only in 'figure, the 
 truth whereof was to be fulfilled in the Law of Grace, 
 fo it's facrifices muft be judged to have the fame re- 
 lation. 
 
 IT will perhaps be replied that they did receive their 
 perfection and confummation, in the facrifice CHRIST 
 offered of himfelf on Mount Calvary, which made the 
 Apoftle alfo fay that therefore, He needeth not daily , 
 (as the other Priefts of the Mofaic Law) offer facrifices, 
 frft for his ownfms, and then for the people, for this he 
 
 did
 
 left undetermined. 369 
 
 did once in offering himfelf y Heb. vii. 27. And no doubt 
 the ancient facrifices were by this one facrifice of CHRIST 
 entirely aboliihed, which St. Paul in the tenth chapter 
 of the fame Epiftle, paraphrafmg the 3pth Pfalm, 
 plainly declares : nor does the Catholic Church prer 
 fume to fubftitute any other new facrifice fince, but 
 only concludes from the proofs, we ihall give a fliort 
 fketch of immediately, that CHRIST has gracioufly 
 vouchfafed to continue the fame facrifice for ever with 
 us, tho' in a different manner. 
 
 HE then offered himfelf a bloody Viftim for our 
 fins, and made a compenfative and Superabundant fa- 
 tisfaction for them : He is now offered by the hands 
 of the Priefts in the adorable" facrifice of the Mafs, in 
 an unbloody manner, as a memorial, thanklgivjng, 
 and an application to us of the fruits of his firft 
 mercy, CHRIST himfelf being in both circumftances 
 the High Prieft and Viftim. His Body, Blood, ajicj 
 Soul were then really feparated, now myjiically. And, 
 therefore, tho* CHRIST, offering himfelf on the Crofs, 
 did then, as the Apoftle fays, perfect for ever, them 
 that are fanftified^ Heb. x. 14. yet as without, preju- 
 dice to, or diminution of the ineffable mercy he ex- 
 hibited to us then, he does not ceafe to interpofe with 
 his Eternal Father in our behalf even now, ever livhg, 
 as the Apoftle adds in the fame chapter, to intercede for-us^ 
 Heb. vii. 23. So the revival now on our altars of the fa- 
 crifice he had made 'before on Mount Calvary, does not 
 anyways derogate from that, or offer any indignity there- 
 to, but on the contrary derives from it it's own value, and 
 enhances our benefit refulting from CHRIST'S, merits 
 and fufferings, the fruits whereof are here in a fpecial 
 manner appropriated to us : When the Apoftle 
 ias, Heb. xii. TO. that in the Law of Grace we have an 
 dltar^ of which they have no right to eat, who jwoc the 
 tabernacle, he cannot be otherv/ife underftood than v.'ith 
 regard to the facrifice of the Mafs that is di;ily offered 
 jjpon this altar, And when, i Cor, x, from ver. J4 
 A a a. tQ
 
 3 7 %fa Manner of Receiving the H. Euchari/l 
 to 2 1 . he draws a parallel between the partakers of the 
 Chriftian Sacrifice, and thofe that partake of the 
 Jewifh or Heathen Sacrifice, he muft either fnppofe 
 fuch a facrifice fubfifting in the new Law, or what he 
 fays is void of meaning. For tho', ver. 21. he calls 
 both the Chriftian and Heathenifh facrifice by the name 
 of Table, yet as in the latter member of the parallel 
 he muft mean the altar, or the facrifice offered upon it, 
 fo in the former part it mufl carry the fame fignifica- 
 tion, or the fenfe is lame and imperfect. 
 
 IN the I3'th chapter of the Acts of the Apoftles the 
 IJivine Sacrifice is alfo clearly infinuated, it being faid 
 that, As they were facri firing to the Lord the Holy 
 Ghojlfaid, Separate to me Barnabas and Saul, &c. The 
 Greek word for facrificing, in this place in the Greek 
 original is tewtyvrrav, which to this day the Greeks 
 conflantly make ufe of as often as they fpeak of the 
 facrifice of the Mafs, tho' it be by the Proteftant 
 Tranflators rendered here tniniftring to the Lord, to 
 ward off the ftrength of it's evidence againft them ; 
 as they promifcuoufly render altar by the word table 
 for the fame purpofe ; but to canvafs their many cor- 
 ruptions on this head would carry me out of the defign 
 of this digreffion. Therefore to proceed ; the few 
 hints I have j uft given from the New Teftament clearly 
 evince the exiftence of a facrifice in the Law of Grace. 
 The inftitution of facrifices from the beginning of 
 Time, and Almighty GOD'S chufmg to be honoured 
 by this manner of homage, when they were only in 
 figure, plead not only for their accomplimment which 
 was done on Mount Calvary, but that this fuperlative 
 tribute to our great Creator by facrifice, mould not 
 in his more perfect Law of Grace be abrogated, but 
 rather changed into another purer in the Divine Sight, 
 and more acceptable. And to argue from reafon and 
 the dictates of common fenfe, while our Bleffed Lord 
 is confeffed by the major -and more rational part of 
 the Reformation to have inftimted the facred order of 
 
 Priefthooci
 
 left undetermined. 3 7 * 
 
 Priefthood in this his new Law, we can't imagine that 
 he would leave it deflitute of a facrifice ; an unfacri- 
 ficing Prieft was ever unheard of. No, the Prophets 
 long before predicted it's exiflence and magnificence, 
 and in it the reprobation of all preceding facrifices. 
 For brevity's fake I appeal to the fmgle teftimony of 
 Malachy who plainly foretells GOD'S rejecting the 
 Jewifh facrinces, and fubftituting a new and purer fa- 
 crifice in their flead, which wias to be offered to him 
 in every place among the Gentiles ; From eaft to weft, 
 fays he, my Name is great among the Gentiles , in every 
 place there is facrificing and a pure oblation offered to 
 my Name. Mai. i. 1 1. The Prophet here plainly points 
 out a lafting facrifice, viz. not made at one time, as 
 was CHRIST'S bloody facrifice of himfelf on the Crofs, 
 nor in one place, as were the Jewifh Sacrifices ap- 
 pointed by GOD'S exprefs command to be offered in 
 the Temple, and no where elfe ; but in every coun- 
 try and by every people. ' The primitive Fathers una- 
 nimoufly agree in this meaning of the prophecy, and 
 urge it as a proof of the holy facrifke of the Mafs. 
 
 EXCLUSIVE of this facrifice of the new Law, it is 
 ftill more unintelligible, how CHRIST is termed in 
 Scripture a Prieft for ever according to the order of Mel- 
 chifedec, for certainly, not on account of the bloody 
 facrifije he offered of himfelf on Mount Calvary, be- 
 caufe this had no analogy or refemblance with the 
 figure , but by reafon therefore of the unbloody and 
 perpetual oblation he makes of himfelf High Prieft 
 and Victim, firft in his own Perfon at the laft Supper, 
 fmce by the hands of his fubftitutcs the Priefts of the 
 Church every day at the altar, under the Euchariflical 
 fymbols of Bread and Wine, prefignified by Melchi- 
 fedech facrificing in thole elements. 
 
 ST. CYPRIAN, Ep. 6. eid Cfdlianum^ St. Jerom, />. 
 ad Marcel, et alibi, exprefsly draw this conclufion, and 
 largely and learnedly deicant upon it, 
 
 A a a 2 BUT
 
 Manner of Receiving^ Sec. 
 
 BUT it is quite foreign to the controverfy I arti 
 engaged in concerning Lay Communion to dwell any: 
 longer on the numberlefs and irrefragable authorities* 
 that are to.be produced in iiipport of this auguft facri- 
 fke of the Altar : So far as I have touched upon it, I 
 apprehend it has not been impertinent to my fubject, 
 in fhewing that the Holy Eucharift in one meaning or 
 acceptation, is undoubtedly a facrifice, that, as fuch, 
 Ic was not inftituted in both kinds without defign and 
 myfle.ry, and that this myfterx is fully accomplifhed, 
 and CHRIST'S command to his Apoftles, Do this in 
 remembrance of me, literally obeyed;, not only by them, 
 but by all their fucceflbrs in the Miniftry, confecrating 
 and confummating under both kinds at the Altar in the 
 holy facrifice of the Mafs, tho* the Laity partake of it 
 as a Sacrament only under one kind. 
 
 As we have therefore juftly accounted for theinftitu- 
 tion of the Holy Eucharift in both kinds, from Reafon 
 and Scripture, underftanding -it as a Sacrifice, fo we 
 flatter ourfelves to have fhewn that their rejecting it 
 under this acceptation, and on the other hand pre- 
 tending the two fpecies to be requilite towards the In- 
 tegrity of it as a Sacrament, to be equally deftitute 
 both of Scripture and Reafon. The prefent difpute 
 being about the Eucharift only in this latter accepta- 
 tion, I fay, that their fond opinion of it in this re- 
 fpect is> rirft^ void of Reafon, as I hope will appear 
 to every Reader who confiders difpaffionately what 
 - we have faid in the laft Section ; in which I endea- 
 voured to evince that the Integrity of the Sacrament 
 is faved under om kindj and that as much is received, 
 "oiz. the whole Subftance and Grace of the Sacrament, 
 in one as in both kinds. It is alfo deftitute of any 
 foundation in Scripture, becaufe as Bilhop Mountague* 
 cited in the beginning of this Section, owns> they 
 have no Scripture, and no command of CHRIST of 
 Communion in ioib kinds for the people, to bring 
 for it : and what they pretend to offer as proofs, 
 
 we
 
 Communion in One Kind, 6cc. 373 
 
 we prefume to think we have fufficiently confuted in 
 this Chapter. Neverthelefs, while the arguments we 
 have hitherto brought for the Catholic fide of the 
 queftion, howfoever convincing* may not be judged 
 by our enemies conclufivej our laft refource in order 
 to determine our difference is to Primitive Practice, 
 Apoftolic Tradition, and to the univerfal fenfe of an- 
 tiquity, which, as I obfervecl in the Third Preliminary 
 to this controverfy, mufl be admitted to be an unex- 
 ceptionable interpreter of every law, that is in itfelf ob^ 
 fcure and uncertain. To this umpire then, we wil- 
 lingly appeal, and I hope to make appear to be clear 
 for the Catholic tenet in the following Chapter. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Communion in one kind has always been allowed, find 
 occafionally praftifed in the Church, before jhe paffed it 
 into a law, and made It a part of her discipline* 
 
 WHEN our adveiTaries make a cry of Commu* 
 nion under both kinds having been the primi- 
 tive practice, they tell us nothing we don't know, but 
 yet nothing to the purpofe* For we don't take upon 
 us to fay that Communion under both kinds was not 
 primitively in life in the Church, and even the more 
 general practice ; but we fay that Communion in one 
 kind was alfo occafionally ufed at the fame time o' day, 
 and therefore becomes a plain indication that the 
 Church did not look on a participation of the Lord's 
 Supper after this manner, to be contrary to any pre- 
 cept of CHRIST, nor the Sacrament thereby mutilated 
 or divided. What St. Paul faid to the Corinth ians 
 in the text aforecited, ch. i. and falfified by our good 
 Proteftant Tranflators, that He who eats the Bread of 
 the Cup unworthily fall be guilty of the Body and
 
 374 Communion of the Sick 
 
 the Bloocl of the Lord, i Cor. xi. 27. is a ftrong infi- 
 nuation, as before obferved, of Communion under one 
 kind having been promifcuoufly ufed in that Apoftolic 
 Age, while in confequence thereto he cautions his 
 profelytes of becoming equally guilty of the profana- 
 tion of the Body and Blood of our Lord, by an un- 
 worthy participation of it under either kind feparately, 
 as by loth jointly. But without having recourfe to 
 conjectures and abfolute probabilities, we have a feries 
 of attefted facts from the earlieft times to decide the 
 controverfy. As thefe confift of hiftorical relations, 
 comprifed under the feveral heads of Communion of the 
 Sick, Infant Communion, Private or Domeftic, and alfo 
 Public and Solemn Communion, &c. I have no more to 
 do than to give the plain narratives as they have 
 brcn handed down to us. For brevity's fake I mall 
 content myfelf with felecting a few examples out of 
 numbers, that are to be met with in other controver- 
 tifts, or for which, for further fatisfaction I refer the 
 the Reader to original records, 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 FIRST EXAMPLE. 
 
 Communion of the Sick was ufually adminiftered, even m 
 the primitive age of the Church, under one kind. 
 
 I WILL begin my proofs of Communion under 
 one kind being primitively allowed, and occasionally 
 ufed with the inftance of Communion of the. Sick prac- 
 tifed in this manner. The two following facts being 
 undeniably attefted, will make good my aflertion as 
 well as two thoufand. The firft I have to inftance, is 
 recited at length by Eufebius Biftpp of Ca^farea, the 
 Church Hiftorian, and is, in fubftance, as follows : 
 
 ONE Serapion, who laid under the (late of Pe- 
 nance for temporizing in time of perfecution, or fa- 
 crificino- to idols, being in the mean while furprifed 
 
 with
 
 primitively In One Kind. 375 
 
 with a mortal illnefs, and the fymptoms of an approach- 
 ing death ; but ftill knowing that the Church, as an 
 indulgent and tender Mother, did not in thefe cir- 
 cumftances debar the greateft fmners truly penitent, 
 the benefit of the Sacraments, as a fortifying help in 
 that lafl and dreadful pafiage : He accordingly, claims 
 the privilege, by fending for his Ghoftly Father to 
 bring him the facred Viaticum in his prefent extremity. 
 The Prieft, by fome hindrance not being able to come 
 to him in perfon, intrufts the Divine Pledge, a par- 
 ticle of the Holy Eucharift, with a youth, to carry to 
 his penitent, directing him to moiften it with fome 
 liquid before he gave it to the fick party. The youth 
 complied literally with the order, gave Serapion the 
 facred Food, who no fooner fwallowed it, but he ex- 
 pired. Eufeb. 1. vi. c. 44. Now from this plain nar- 
 rative it manifeftly appears that the Prieft fent no 
 more than the fotid part of the Sacrament, viz. the 
 fpecies of bread, that the directions of moiftening were 
 only to facilitate it's paflage to the penitent. It does 
 not appear that the penitent in receiving the Viaticum of 
 CHRIST'S Body in this manner, complained of, or 
 thought that he was defrauded of any part of the 
 Holy Sacrament. St, Denys, Bifhop of Alexandria, 
 who lived in the third century, in a letter to a fellow 
 Bifhop, recited by Eufebius at length, relates this paf- 
 fage as a particular token of Almighty GOD'S mercy 
 and goodnefs to this dying penitent, and (peaks of the 
 practice being ufual and cuftomary. Here then is a 
 fact fo credibly attefted, that the moft wilful difinge- 
 nuity cannot difpute the truth of it : Every circum- 
 fiance is a confirmation of the Catholic Tenet, and the 
 evafions our adverfaries make ufe of, to get over it, 
 become only a corroborative proof. In a word, they 
 not being able to difavow the ftory, endeavour to dif- 
 guife it's circumftances : the moiftening, therefore, of 
 the Bread, they would willingly fuppofe, but with- 
 out any foundation, to have been a dipping it in the 
 
 confecrate4
 
 376 Communion of the Sick 
 
 confecrated Wine, and that thereby both fpecies were 
 taken together, as was for a while practifed by fome 
 in after ages, and at prefent in the Eaftern Church. 
 But befides that the cuftom, they appeal to, was an 
 abufe, directly contrary to the mftitution of CHRIST, 
 at which the fpecies were feparated : it was moreover 
 never heard of till the feventh century, and then on the 
 occafion of it's condemnation in the Council of Brague, 
 And the plea can't, otherwiie, poffibly have any place 
 in the cafe before us. For the Hiftorian, or St. De- 
 nys, from whom the fact is related, does not fay that 
 the Prieft fent both fpeeies with an order to mingle 
 them together, but that he directed the youth to moiiten 
 the one Ipecies of Bread, which he fent, with fome 
 liquid^ manifeftly for no other reafon, than that it be- 
 ing dry by being kept feveral days for thefe occafions, 
 the moiilening, might, as I faid before, facilitate it's 
 pafTage, The third Council of Carthage, to which 
 St. Auftin fubfcribed, fpeaking of this cuftom, calls 
 it infufing the Sacrament into the dying perfon's mouth, 
 JUiiinus who wrote about the time of this Council 
 making mention of this Communion of Serapion, ufes 
 the fame term. But, tho' the Council had meant the 
 infufing of the fpecies of Wine alone, it makes no- 
 thing againft the Catholic doctrine, for whether the 
 confecrated Bread, or the Wine alone were adminiftred 
 to the Sick, it was ftill Communion under one kind. 
 But having dwelt long enough upon this firft hiftory, 
 at leaft, enough to give fatisfaction to every reafonable 
 unprejudiced Reader, I proceed to the fecond, as cre- 
 dibly attefted, and as veil circumftantiated as the foi> 
 mer. 
 
 THIS is an account of the dying Communion of 
 St. Ambrofe, tranfmitted to us by Paulinus, his Dea- 
 con and fecretary, in his life of that great Light of 
 the Church, wrote at the requeft of St. Auftin, and 
 dedicated to him. He relates this laft folemn 
 of that great man's life thu ;
 
 primitively in One Kind, 377 
 
 ST. HONOR ATUS, the famous Biihop of Vercel!, 
 coming to vifit St. Ambrofe in his Jail illnefs ; in the 
 night time, being retired to take his reft, was called 
 up by a voice from heaven to go to his penitent, in 
 thefe words, thrice repeated, Arife^ ft ay not, he is going 
 to die. Honoratus, inftantly obeyed the voice, brought 
 his penitent the {acred Viaticum of our Lord's Body, 
 as Paulinus exprefTes it, adminiftered it unto him, 
 and lie was no fooner fortified with this heavenly food, 
 than, as Serapion before, he' expired. The fad: in 
 this cafe, the Saints receiving the Body alone, is clear 
 from Paulinus's relation ; and the following circum- 
 ftances mew, that this was all that was requifite, ancl 
 all that was expecled, Firft, becaufe it may be pre- 
 fumed the Divine Goodnefs, which had thus mira- 
 culoufly provided him with this fhield of Grace, would 
 not have bellowed it upon him imperfectly, and by 
 halves. Secondly, that the Saint, who adminiftered 
 the Sacrament, would not have thought he had dik 
 charged his duty in giving it him in an undue manner, 
 nor the Saint who received it , if it had been fo, been 
 content with it. Thirdly, that in a relation of this 
 paflage, fent to no lefs a man, than St, Auftin, no 
 notice was taken, as if any thing had been deficient, 
 but on the contrary, the fad inftanced as a vifibJe 
 token of Almighty GOD'S watchful care over his 
 fervant, in providing him with all the helps of the 
 Church at that laft period of life : and, all thele tir* 
 cumftances joined together, prove that adminiftring 
 the Sacrament to the Sick in this manner, was nothing 
 new, nothing but what was ufual, and what th$ 
 Church allowed of, 
 
 THE evafions, our adverfaries make ufe of, to 
 ftifle the ftrength of this evidence, are alfo as vain and 
 elufive, as thole they offered to the inftance aforecited, 
 Firft, then, they pretend to fay that the bio^iaphcr, 
 in naming only the Body, on this occafion, makes 
 life of a figure called Synecdoche, whereby the part 
 >s .taken for the whole. -But though cuftom in com - 
 B b b
 
 378 Communion of the Sick 
 
 mon difcourfe makes this kind of fpeech allowable in 
 fome cafes ; as the name of Bread is made ufe of to 
 fignify a man's whole nourifhment, and fubfiftance, 
 when we fay that fuch an one by his labour earns his 
 Bread ; and as in the Hebrew phrafe, by an invitation 
 to eat Bread, was understood a feafl or entertainment, 
 and therefore the facred Penmen conforming themfelves 
 to that cuftomary way of fpeaking, fometimes fignify 
 the Lord's Supper by the phrafe of breaking of bread: 
 ' yet that in the adm'iniftring the Body and Blood of 
 our Lord in the Sacrament, the word Body mould be 
 ufed to fignify alfo the Blood in the Proteftant fenfe, 
 of both being received feverally, is a language un- 
 known, and not to be met with either in the Scriptures 
 or the Fathers -,' on the contraiy, when both were given, 
 both were always expreffed, and our adverfaries, whofe 
 bufmefs and intereft it was to mew it to be otherwife, 
 by producing fome one certain example of their fpeak- 
 ing by figure in this cafe, have not been able to do 
 it. In Serapion's cafe, it is plain from St. Pennys's 
 relation, that only the folid part of the Sacrament was 
 conveyed to him : And where the Fathers mention 
 only the Body being given, as in St. Ambrofe's cafe ; 
 and as Tertuliian exprefles himfelf, as we mail fee 
 hereafter, fpeaking of Private Communion, it is quite 
 intelligible in the Catholic fenfe, believing that in one 
 fpecies we receive the fubilance of both , but in the 
 Proteilant acceptation, according to their pretended 
 figure, is quite as unintelligible, an arbitrary forced 
 .expofition, and a violence offered to the rules of com- 
 frnon fpeech. But fuppofmg this figure in the prefent 
 cafe allowable, and that Pauiinus in order to contract 
 his difcourfe, would have made ufe of it; fmce Blood' 
 by that figure might as well have been made ufe of to 
 ivnply jointly with it the Body, as the Body to fignify 
 therewith the Blood ; and fmce the drift of his relation 
 tended to (hew that the Saint was miraculoufly provided 
 with all the helps and comforts he could wifn for in that 
 I aft extremity \ and fmce, in fine, the<d' : : I" the 
 
 1 Blood
 
 primitively in One Kind. 379 
 
 Blood follows always after that of the Body ; I fay, 
 on thefe confiderations, it Ind been more nature], if 
 to be more concife, he would have fpoken in figure, 
 to have mentioned that which the Saint received laft 
 of all, and there to have ftnimed his relation, where 
 the Saint concluded this adt of Religion, and with it, 
 his mortal life in the comfortable embraces of his 
 blsfled Redeemer. Thefe obfervations, I prefume to 
 think, make it clear, that the Biographer intended 
 nothing lefs than the figurative fenfe our opponents 
 would impofe upon him : And, indeed, they them- 
 felves, not daring wholly to rely on the feeble fupport 
 of this forced or pretended figure, are obliged to have 
 recourfe to another fuppofition, but equally weak and 
 groundlefs, viz. that the Saint expired before he could 
 confummate the whole ; or, as Bourdieu, one of the 
 champions for Communion in~ both kinds, exprefles 
 himfelf, that " he received as he could in thofe cir- 
 cumftances." But id, This fuppofition contradicts the 
 very drift of Paulinus's relation, which was to fhew 
 that the Saint was provided with all the comforts and 
 helps fuitable to his dying ftate. 2dly, It offers an 
 indignity to the wife Providence and omnipotent 
 Power of GOD, as if he had not in time forefeen the 
 dying man's danger, or was not mafter of time and 
 life to be able to protract both, long enough for the de- 
 firabie intent of his partaking fully of the Divine 
 BJeffing. 
 
 SUCH are the unavoidable confequences of our ad- 
 verfaries rafh fuppofition, in fupport of a defperate 
 caufe , it rather behoves them to give credit to unde- 
 niable fafts, and not to endeavour, by idle Ihifts, 
 forced figures, and groundlefs fuppofitions, to ftifie 
 their undoubted evidence to the existence of the cuftom 
 of the Church, in it's molt primitive times, of com- 
 municating the Sick in one kind ; a cuftom carried 
 down to all after ages, as is to be gathered from the 
 known practice of referring for the fcrvicc of the Sick 
 B b b 2 the
 
 Communion of the Sick, &c. 
 
 the fpecies of Bread alone, becaufe lefs liable to cor- 
 ruption, and therefore more proper to be kept than 
 the other fpecies \, and in many other refpects more fit 
 to be adminiftered to perfons in their agonizing mo- 
 ments. 
 
 THE fectond Council of Tours, held in. the year 567, 
 ordains that the Body of our Lord mould be placed 
 on the altar, not where the images ftood, but under 
 the figure of the Crofs, Sub cruds titulo j a plain infi* 
 nuation, by the bye s that Images and Crucifixes were 
 ufed in the Churches in thofe primitive times. Gre- 
 gory of Tours, Bifliop of the place at the time of this 
 Council, fpeaks of certain " cafes, or tabernacles, made 
 " tower-ways, in which the' Bleffed Sacrament of the 
 et Body of our Lord was referved ; and that it was 
 " placed oft the altar in time of the facrifice." Greg. 
 Tor. 1. i. c. 1 6. And the-ufe of Fixes, Boxes, Doves, 
 i. e. veflels in that fhape, for referring the facred ob- 
 lation for the Sick (by which name the Fathers always 
 tmderftood the Body of our Lord, his Blood being ge- 
 nerally called by it's proper name, or by the names of 
 cup and chalice] I fay the cuflom of having thefe vef- 
 iels in the Church to referve the Blefied Sacrament in, 
 Is traced up as high as St. Bafil, and downwards thro* 
 ail the sera's of the Church ; for inftances whereof I 
 refer the Reader to the Ecclefiaftical Chronicles, and 
 the feveral learned treatifes written on this fubject, 
 What I have offered in brief on this head will, I 
 hope, be deemed fufficient to fatisfy every reafonablc 
 man, and difpafiionate judgment. 
 
 S E C T
 
 Infant Communion, &c. 381 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 SECOND EXAMPLE. 
 
 Infant Communion being primitively prattifed> was given 
 in the fpecies of Wine alone. 
 
 THAT Infant Communion was primitively irt 
 ufe in the Church, is fo clear from Ecclefiafti- 
 cal Records, that a man muft be difpofed to conteft 
 all Hiftory, and evidence itfelf, to doubt of it ; and 
 that it was commonly adminiftred to Infants under the 
 fpecies of Wine only, plainly appears from the fame 
 creditable teflimonies. St. Cyprian, a ftout champion, 
 for the Catholic Faith, a Bimop and illuftrious martyr, 
 between the fecond and third centuries, informs us in 
 exprels terms, in his treatife de Lapfis<> of this difcipline 
 of the Church, as we heard in the laft chapter ; and as 
 a farther confirmation thereof, has tranfmitted to us 
 the following miraculous event, to which he himfelf 
 was an eye witnefs. 
 
 A young girl, who by fome accident had partaken 
 of bread offered to idols, tvas afterwards by her mother, 
 ignorant of what had happened, brought to the Church, 
 where, befides unufual agitation's and convulfions, 
 the Child difcovered, during the time of Divine Ser- 
 vice, when, as the cuftom was, the Deacon came to 
 prefent her the Cup, among the other children, me fell 
 into more extraordinary emotions, turned her face 
 afide, fhut her little mouth, and rejected the facred 
 element , and it being forcibly infufed into her throat, 
 fhe could not retain it , Almighty GOD miraculoufly 
 teftifying, as the holy Father obferves, by this reluc- 
 tance of the child, his own abhorrence of abiding in 
 a flomach defiled with the impure oblation to idols. 
 But the main inference, to cur prefent purpofe, to be 
 drawn from this paflage, is, that nothing but the Cup 
 
 was
 
 382 Infant Communion 
 
 was preferred to this child ; for i>o', as me had 
 fwallowed before the bread offered to viols, the confe- 
 crated l3read of the Holy Eucharift, p^idcularly if it 
 had been moiftened, might with no more difficulty 
 have been taken by her, yet we don't find this expe- 
 dient-was ever thought of, the fpecies of Wine was 
 judged more proper for the age of Infants, when, out 
 of refpeft to the Holy Eucharift, it was the cuftom 
 of the Church -to receive it fafting ; and for this rea- 
 fon to give the fpecies of bread moiftened in any liquid 
 (excepting the cafe of dying perfons) was looked upon 
 as difhonouring the facred fymbol', much lefs did 
 they think, at that time o' day of mixing the two fpe- 
 cies ; a plain indication that they believed the Whole 
 Sacrament to be contained under one kind ; and that 
 they were not'fenfible of any Divine Precept forbidding 
 it in this manner. But whether this reaibn deferves 
 any weight or no, or that the difcipline of the Church 
 at that time, of giving to Infants the Communion in 
 the fpecies of Wine rather than of Bread, fubfifted 
 0*1 any other account, it is certain that the Cuftom was 
 fiich. St. Cyprian, in the inftance related, exprefsly 
 takes notice of nothing elfe but the Cup being pre- 
 fented to the child, and of the confequence of it, viz. 
 " That the Blood, fays he, would not ftay in her fto- 
 " mach> being defiled with the impure oblation." 
 
 THIS difcipline of the Church we find continued for 
 feveral after-ages. To pafs over numberlefs other 
 proofs thereof, Jo bias, living between the fifth and 
 fixth centuries, informs us that the method the Church 
 ufed with Children there, was, firft " to baptize them; 
 " after that to anoint them, i. e. to give them the Sa- 
 '* crament of Confirmation, and laftly to give them 
 < the Holy Blood. Jvbias de Verb. Incar. 1. iv. c. 18. 
 But if adminiftring the Holy Eucharift in one kind 
 had been contrary to any ordinance of CHRIST, or 
 mutilating and dividing the Sacrament, it co.:ld no 
 more have been given to Infants in that manner than 
 
 to
 
 primitively given in Wine alone. 383 
 
 to adult perfons, and therefore this cuftom fubfifting in 
 thofe primitive times mews that the contrary opinion 
 prevailed. 
 
 BUT to this our adverfaries reply, That, admitting 
 Infant Communion under the fpecies of Wine alone 
 to have been the primitive practice (for it is what none 
 of them dare abfolutely deny) the argument they think 
 yet defective -, becaufe they fuppofe it to be grounded 
 on a belief that was erroneous, to wit, Infant Com- 
 munion they imagine to have been, primitively made 
 a necefiary condition of falvation ; that children defti- 
 tute thereof, were judged by the Church to be in the 
 ftate of perdition, and in this they tax her of errour, 
 and therefore think that, from one abufe to another 
 abufe, nothing can be concluded. But alas ! their cen- 
 fure, in every refpect, is too precipitous : the truth of 
 the matter is this ; the Church always believed Infants to 
 be fufceptible of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharift as 
 well as of Baptifm , and that therefore the caution St. 
 Paul gives, Let a man examine himfelf^ and fo let him eat, 
 i Cor. xi. 28. was of no more force againft Infants 
 partaking of the* one, than that of our Saviour, eacb 
 and baptize^ againft their receiving the other : But yet 
 me holds thefe Sacraments to appertain to them dif- 
 ferently, viz. That Baptifm, in cafes at leaft of mor- 
 tality, is obligatory ; the other not fo. Unlefs you art 
 lorn of Water and the Holy Ghoft, you Jhall nof, fays 
 CHRIST, enter into the Kingdom of Heaven ; but, being 
 thus regenerated in CHRIST, and in that Infant {late 
 out of a capacity of forfeiting their inheritance, ac- 
 quired in Baptifm, by any actual fin, nothing elfe can 
 be abfolutely wanting, nothing neceflary ; becaufe if 
 the participation of the Holy Eucharift had ftill been 
 requifite, and that Infants debarred of it were objects 
 of Divine wrath, it would follow that a child could 
 be damned in the ftate of Grace and innocence ; a 
 confequence mocking to think of, and highly injurious 
 to the Divine Juftice, By Baptifm we are regenerated 
 
 in
 
 3 84 Infant Communion 
 
 in CHRIST, and united to him ; by the Eucharift 
 we are nourilhed by him : the one gives fpiritual life, 
 the other is a means of preferring it when it can be 
 loft by fin, which cannot be the cafe of children not 
 yet arrived to the years of malice , therefore the Church 
 always underflood thefe two texts differently, viz. Un- 
 lefs you eatyoujhall not have life in you, Jo. Ix. 52. And 
 the other, Unkfs you are born, &c. youjhall not enter 
 tbe kingdom of Heaven, Jo. xx, The latter me thinks 
 to imply a neceflity of Baptifm ; the other, as I jufl 
 faid, not equally an obligation of Communion : But, 
 with regard to Infants, what may be adminiflred to 
 them, or what they may be difpenfed with, according 
 to the Church's difcretion, viz. a mere matter of difci- 
 pline, but no precept. She therefore, for feveral 
 hundred years, judged proper to allow of Infant Com- 
 munion ; and fmce, for her juft reafons, has found it 
 more convenient to fuperfede that practice. 
 
 BUT whether this point was thought, by the pri- 
 mitive Church to have been a neceflary condition of 
 falvation or no, I cannot fee what it can avail our 
 adverfaries argument againft Communion under one 
 kind ; for being judged unnecefiary, as it certainly is, 
 and always was, 'tis a juft matter of furprize that 
 communicating Infants without any necefilty, me mould 
 chufe to do it in an illicit and irregular manner. But 
 if me had judged it neceflary, her communicating 
 them in one kind had become a plain indication that 
 (he believed the Sacrament to be entire and undivided 
 under each fpecies ; and adminiftring k thus, no way 
 Repugnant to CHRIST'S inftitution. 
 
 AND in this point, which is the whole fubject of 
 cur prefent inquiry, it is certain that me was fo con* 
 ftant and uniform in her belief, as never to make any 
 fcruple of adminiflring the Holy Eucharift under 
 each fpecies alone, as occafions required. 
 
 THEREFORE, as we have already feen jt to have 
 been the primitive practice pf the Church to give the 
 
 Commur
 
 primitively given in Wine alone. 385 
 Communion to Infants under 1 the fpecies of Wine, fb 
 we find that me allb made no difficulty of giving to 
 children of riper years, not yet arrived to an age ca- 
 pable of malice, on the following occafions, in the 
 fpecies of bread only. Jt is very well known, from 
 Ecckfiaflical Hiftory, that it was the cuftom of the 
 Church to diH-ribute to thefe the remains of the 
 conlecrrted Bread, after the Communion of the faith- 
 ful adult. Tho' CHRIST himfelf, that is to fay, his 
 facred Body, couched under the Sacramental fymbols, 
 is abfolutely incapable of corruption, yet as our Blef- 
 fed Lord was pleafed to operate no vifible miracle to 
 our fenfes, in this anguft myitery, he would not ex- 
 empt the accidents theinfelves, from being fubjecl to 
 the alterations, they had been liable to before the change 
 of their fubftances ; and therefore the Church, in or- 
 der to prevent, what would appear mocking to human 
 fenfe, by fuch a decay, ufed anciently to deftroy, one 
 way or other, in a becoming manner, the particles 
 that remained, 'after the Communion of the Faithful. 
 The practice of the Church of Jerufalem, in regard 
 to thefe facred remains,, was to burn them ; and the 
 practice alfo of burning the facred fpecies, after they 
 had gone to decay, we find eftablimed % by a national 
 fynod of our primitive 'Saxon Church, cited by 
 Guthrie, 1. iv. of his Hift. of Engl. and by other au- 
 thors. What thefe Churches confumed by fire, the 
 Church of Conftantinople diftributed to innocent chil- 
 dren. Fid. Evag. 1. ii. c. 35. looking on them as the 
 holieft veflels, and confequently the fitteft to receive 
 them. And this latter practice is confefied by M. de 
 laRoque* a French Minifter, to have fubfifted anciently 
 in France, by an order of a Council, 7 he juil named 
 Evagrius relates a miraculous event, by the Will of 
 GOD, operated by thefe facred remains on a Jewifli 
 child, who having mixed himfelf in the Church with 
 fome Chriftian children, and receiving with them fome 
 
 particles of the immaculate Body of CHRIST (as tl 
 C c c Protefta 
 
 the 
 nt
 
 3 86 Infant Communion, &c. 
 
 Proteftant Minifter jufb mentioned tranflates it) and 
 being by his father, (who kept a glafs-houfe) in ha- 
 tred to CHRIST and to this auguft Sacrament, thrown 
 into a furnace, was, after fome days, found walking 
 in it like the children in the Babylonian furnace, un- 
 touched by the fire and unhurt. f. 
 
 THE cuftom itfelf here mentioned, of "giving 
 jgrown-up children the facred particles of the confe- 
 crated Bread, after the Communion of the faithful, is 
 as notorious from Hillory, and undeniable, as the 
 Communion of younger Infants, before alleged, under 
 the fpecies of Wine alone , and both practices, as we 
 have alfo feen, received the viiible fanction of GOD'S 
 own approbation by his working, in behalf of each, 
 a moft wonderful miracle. From the whole it is to 
 be concluded^ ift, That the primitive Church made 
 no fcruple of adminiftring the Holy Communion of 
 CHRIST'S Body and Blood under one kind. 2dly, 
 That Hie therefore judged the Sacrament to be in this 
 imanner entire, without diminution or diviflon, and no 
 ordinance of CHRIST violated by the practice. 3dly^ 
 'I hat Almighty GOD, by two aftonifhing miracles, 
 Was pleafed to juftify both her practice and her be- 
 lief in this point, >,-.:. 
 
 SECT*
 
 Private Communion, &c, 387 
 
 SECT. III. 
 
 TH IRD EXAMPLE. 
 
 T'he opinion of the Church, at all times, concerning tbe 
 point in queftion, is gathered from private or dome/He 
 Communion being anciently allowed in One kind, 
 
 THE evidences we have already produced for the 
 Church's ancient practice and belief concerning 
 the point in queirion, feemed to render any further 
 proofs, which are to be brought from private and 
 public Communion, fupernumerary and needlefs. I 
 fhall, therefore, to fpare my Reader's patience, in 
 running over thefe heads, content myfelf with a 
 naked relation of matters of fact, and a brief refuta-r 
 tion of our adverfaries evafive anfwers to them, and 
 draw only fuch inferences as will be obvious, and can- 
 not be excufed. Any further reaibnings, I appre- 
 hend, will be unnecefTary, becaule, if the facts are 
 clear, they are conclufive of themfelves, and muft 
 cariy with them conviction. Private or domeftic Com- 
 munion occurs firfl to be taken notice of, it being 
 plainly mentioned by the moft primitive Fathers, and 
 was ufed on {everal accounts and fundry occafions. 
 
 THE method, anciently, of the devout faithful, in 
 this refpect was, after they had communicated in the 
 Church, or in their public aflemblies, to take fome 
 part of the Holy Eucharift home wkh them, to in- 
 dulge their private devotion of a daily Communion, 
 which we find was the conftant practice of the infant 
 and fervent age of the Church : and as the fpecies of 
 Wine was lefs proper for keeping,- they only took 
 v/ith them the confecrated Bread for the. pious intent, 
 Tertullian, de Oratione, c. 24. makes exprefs meqtion : 
 of this cuftom of taking home and keeping the Body 
 of our Lord j an4 eliewhere fpeaks of the facred 
 C c c 2, Brea4
 
 388 Private Communion 
 
 Bread which the Chriftians eat in fecret : fo he ex- 
 prefies himielf, plainly infmuating the fpecies of Bread 
 alone, and faying not a word of the cup. St. Cyprian, 
 in his book de La-pfis fnews alfo the fame practice. 
 
 THIS cuftom b:?gan in time of perfecution, when 
 frequent public afTemblies were dangerous, and even 
 impracticable i but yet, to content the piety of the. 
 faithful, or for other reafons, not immediately difcon- 
 tinued, after the times became more peaceable. St. 
 Bafil, Ep. 289, alfo takes notice of the pious reclufes 
 and hermits of thofe times, communicating in the 
 fame manner. Their ftrict retirement, their often 
 having no Prieft among them, their diftance from the 
 public churches, were the reafons for their not fre- 
 quenting them, but on the great and mofl folemn 
 feftivals ; and on this account had not the opportunity 
 of partaking often of the Divine myileries, but by a 
 private Communion within their own cells. In thefe 
 circumftances, the fpecies of wine could not be pre- 
 ferved for the pious purpofe ; and the Holy Father 
 obferves, that at their communicating in public, the 
 Sacrament was put into their own hands, to confum- 
 mate what they pleafed, with the liberty of referring 
 the reft for domeftic Communion : and he adds, that 
 it was a matter of indifference whether they received 
 only one or feveral particles : an exprefilon which can 
 only have relation to the folid part of the Sacrament, 
 obferving yet further, directly to our purpofe, that 
 their private Communions, with what they took home 
 with them, were no lefs entire and effectual than their 
 public Communions in the Churches. St. Jerom Ep. 
 ad parpen." infmuating, as De la Roque confefies, the 
 fame pious practice of a private and daily Communion 
 in their own houfes, to have fubfiftecl at Rome, in his 
 time, draws the fame conclufiofi St. Bafil had before, 
 of the grace and integrity of it , " Do we not, fays 
 * e he, receive the fame JESUS CHRIST at home, as in 
 " our public Churches ?" Jercm Hid. 
 
 ST.
 
 primitively in One Kind. 389 
 
 St. IREN^US, as the fame De la Roque owns, 
 Hift. Eucb. 2. par. c. 15. p. 176. mentions another 
 cuftom fubfifting among the primitive Chriftians, viz. 
 of fending the confecrated elements to one another, 
 even to the moft diftant parts, as from Rome to Afia, 
 in token of their being in the fame Communion ; alfo 
 of carrying it about them in their moft dangerous voy- 
 ages, by lea and land. St. Ambrofe, de Obferv. Frat. 
 relates the miraculous prefervation of his brother Saty- 
 rus from being drowned, by having the facred pledge, 
 wrapped up in linnen, tied about his neck; when being 
 fhipwrecked at fea, and throwing himfelf into the 
 water, he was, beyond all human expection, caft fafe 
 on more. 
 
 Now what thefe fervent Chriftians privately carried 
 about them, wrapt in linnen, what the others took 
 home with them, for their domeftic Communions, 
 could only be the folid part of the Holy Eucharlft, 
 i. e. the confecrated Bread. 
 
 THESE, then, are a few of the numberlefs inftahces 
 antiquity furniihes us with, of domeftic Communion 
 under one kind : facts fo evident that our adverfaries 
 themfelves, not daring to difpute the truth of them, 
 are forced to have recourfe to the moft evafive anfwers, 
 to elude their confequence. At one time they inveigh 
 
 Zinft the practice of domeftic Communion, as an 
 fe and prophanation : and what is the natural 
 inference from this charge ? fuch as they ought to be 
 afhamed of, who give occafion to it ; viz. that the 
 Church, in her primitive and pureft times, was guilty 
 of allowing a facrilegious practice that the glorious 
 Martyrs, the pious reclufes, and the moft religious of 
 that holy age, concurred in the guilt, by accepting 
 of the allowance and that the grcateft Ornaments and 
 Lights of the Church, the Holy Fathers, were quaily 
 guilty in abetting it. But is it not more juft to conclude, 
 that our modern innovators are bold and temvrarions 
 in laying this injurious indictment to their Mother 
 
 Church
 
 390 Private Communion. 
 
 Church in he"r pureft times ; and to thofe eminent 
 Saints, who diftinguimed themfelves in the defence of* 
 her caufe by their learning, their fanctity of life, and the 
 effufion of their blood againft Infidels, Heretics, and 
 Unbelievers ? Is it not again, i ather an evident token 
 that the Church always looked on Communion in one 
 or both kinds to have been a matter of difcipline 
 Which fhe had a power to alter, for juft reafons, thro' 
 the Divine Wifdom infufed into her, under the in- 
 fluence of the Holy Ghoft, according as the circum- 
 ftances of times fuggefted and required ? Therefore 
 the Church has judged convenient to fettle a new -difci- 
 pline now, but without condemning the old one, that 
 iubfifting heretofore. In thofe primitive and holy times 
 of the Church, when it lay under the ftorm of per- 
 fecution, and that "public affemblies were difficult of 
 accefs, and not fo frequent ; when, at the fame time, 
 the fervour of the primitive Chriftians prompted them 
 to a daily participation of the awful myfteries; when 
 thefe fupernatural helps were neceflary, in order to 
 obtain a greater flow of Almighty GOD'S grace, to 
 bear up againft the inundation of evils, that overwhelm- 
 ed and furrounded them on every fide. Then the 
 Church, like a provident Mother, allowed her chil- 
 dren more frequent participation of thefe means of 
 grace, in indulging them the liberty of a daily do- 
 meftic Communion, to fupport them under the various 
 prefibres, they laboured under. Since thefe perfecu- 
 tions have ceafed, fince the difficulty of accefs to pub- 
 lic places of worfhip fubfifts no longer, and that the 
 ardent fervency and lively faith, fo confpicuous in thofe 
 primitive champions of the Church, are now much 
 cooled* and vifibly decayed among her children , fhe, 
 in her great wifdom, has thought proper to alter her 
 difcipline in this point, by forbidding Domeftic Com- 
 munion j and by condefcending to a participation of 
 the auful myfteries not becoming fo frequent. For, 
 in a word, if we do but call to mind what is tranfmitted 
 
 to
 
 primitively in One Kind. 39 i 
 
 to Us, concerning the fervency of thofe ancient times* 
 when private houfes were converted, as it were, into 
 fanftuaries of Religion, and Almighty GOD honoured 
 there with a more becoming decency than flaw, 'per- 
 Kaps, in our Churches ; we cannot wonder that the fa- 
 cred fymbols were entrufted with the faithful then, and 
 permitted them to carry home with them -, nor front 
 the alteration of circumflances fince, be furprifed that 
 the Church has now altered her difcipline. In the 
 .mean while, in confequence of the aforefaid obferva- 
 tions, the Church, as to her primitive practice and 
 ' difcipline, is fully cleared of all imputation of facri- 
 legious prophanation and abufe, which the Reformers 
 would faften upcn her ; and, on the other hand, the 
 liberty, indulged the fervent Chrlftiahs of ancient times, 
 of referving the Bleffed Sacrament in their private ora- 
 tories, for their daily adoration and fpiritual food, ju- 
 ftifies the practice of the Church at this prefent time, 
 of keeping the fame in our public Churches, for the 
 like pious purpofes ; but especially to be at hand for 
 the confolation of the Sick, and a Viaticum to them in 
 their paffage out of Time into Eternity, as often as 
 there may be a call for it, on thefe critical' emer- 
 gencies. 
 
 OUR adverfaries, in order to invalidate the tefli- 
 mony of Domeflic Communion, in favour of the* 
 point in queftion, Communion in ens kind, having, 
 as we have jull heard, firft impeached the practice as 
 an abufe * their next refuge is to fay that it is gathered 
 from the ancient accounts that thefe private Commu- 
 nions, whether juftifiabje or not in themfelvesj were, 
 however, in both kinds permitted to be taken home fof 
 that purpofe : but waving the truth of this aflertion, 
 as to particular cafes, which it would be too tedious 
 and unnecefiary to examine into, I beg leave to fay, 
 that tho' in the primitive times the faithful might have 
 more generally communicated in both kinds in their 
 public affemblies, and fomctimes for prefent Commu*
 
 392 PriiMte Communion 
 
 hion, took both fpecies home with them, this does 
 not amount to the leaft fhadow of a proof, that they 
 did not alfo, referve the fpecies of Bread alone for a 
 longer fpace of time 5 the other fpecies, PS more liable 
 to corruption,, being improper for that intent : and 
 the examples, we have produced above, mew this to 
 have been certainly the cafe. 
 
 OUR adverfaries return again to their charge of 
 Domeftic Communion having been an abufe, by ap- 
 pealing to two Councils of Spain, that of Saragoza, 
 the other the fecond Council of Toledo forbidding it ; 
 in thefe it being declared, that " fuch as confummate 
 " not the Eucharift from the hands of the Bifhop, 
 <c were to be looked upon as facrilegious and excom- 
 " municated perfons." But a fmall degree of can- 
 dour, in relating the whole drift of this decree, would 
 have made our opponents afhamed of offering it as an 
 objection againft the primitive practice of Domeftic 
 Communion. The abufe then, thefe Councils endea- 
 voured to remove, was the hypocritical practice of fome 
 Heretics of thofe times, called PHfcilliatfftSi who, 
 prcfenting themfelves to the Altar, would confummate 
 neither fpecies in public, but take one or both home 
 with them* for fome facrilegious purpofes. 
 
 THEIR laft plea, to invalidate our argument from 
 Domeftic Communion in one kind, fo irrefragably at- 
 tefted, is to fey, that none took one fpecies alone home 
 with them for a private Communion, who had not 
 communicated firft under both fpecies in their public 
 affemblies : but, be it fo, if CHRIST has left us a 
 peremptory command, fo often as we partake of the 
 Ploly Eucharift, that we muft receive it in both kinds, 
 this Divine Precept could no more be difpenfed with 
 in a private than a public Communion. But from all 
 the testimonies of private Communion, I have brought 
 thro* this Sedion, it evidently appears that the Chrif- 
 tians primitively did communicate, without fcruple 
 or referve, under tte kind, it therefore becomes an 
 
 undeniable
 
 Public Communion , 6te. 
 
 undeniable proof that they never looked upon Com- 
 munion in this manner to be facrilegious or forbidden 
 by any Divine Precept : However, to flop the mouths 
 at once of thefe trifling wranglers, beyond all reply, 
 we have numerous inftances to produce from primitive 
 Records, even of public Communion being alfo prac- 
 tifed under one kind, which will be more properly the 
 fubje<5t of a feparate Section. 
 
 SECT. IV. 
 
 FOURTH EXAMPLE, 
 
 "The fame is gathered from primitive inftances of Public 
 Communion under One kind. 
 
 T 
 
 O argue from an avowed practice of the Church 
 to the lawfulneis of it, as we have done in the 
 foregoing Sections, is entirely logical and conclufive j 
 but to infer the legality of it in itfelf, from it's hav- 
 ing been forbid, at a time, and in certain circum- 
 ilances, may carry more the appearance of a paradox 
 than of a ferious argument ; yet I prefume to think 
 this way of reafbning holds good in the following in- 
 ftance. The Manicheans, a feet of Heretics whp 
 abhorred v/ine, as a creature of the Devil, who fur- 
 ther made no account of the infinite price of our Re* 
 demption, the effufion of CHRIST'S Blood on the 
 Crofs, but looked on the whole myflery of CHRIST'S 
 Death and Paffion as a mere phantom and illufion ; 
 in conlequence to thefe principles, at the eating of tl>e 
 Lord's Supper conftantly refufed to tafte of the Cup j 
 tho', in order to conceal their diffimulation, as a means 
 to have an opportunity of fpreading the venom of 
 their erroneous doctrine under the outward appear- 
 ance of being orthodox Catholics, they affected to mix 
 themielves with the true Faithful, even at the partici- 
 pation of the awful myefteries. St. Leo, Pope, from 
 Pad whon>
 
 394 Public Communion, 
 
 whom we have this information, firft took notice of 
 their profound hypocrify ; but his fuccefibr, St. Gela- 
 fms, purfued them into their clofe hold, and, by or- 
 dering Communion in both kinds, under the penalty 
 of excommunication, he drove them out of their fhel- 
 ter, under which, till then, they had lain fo fuccefs- 
 fully concealed. The tenour of his decree runs thus : 
 44 We have difcovered," fays he, *' that fome perfons, 
 41 in taking the facredBody, only abftain from the facred 
 " chalice, who (becaufe they feem therein to adhere to 
 44 I know not what fuperftition) let them either commu- 
 "** nicate under both kinds, or let them be deprived as 
 46 well of one as of the other, becaufe the divifion of 
 ** one and the fame myftery cannot be without the guilt 
 " of facrilege." From thefe facts the following reflec- 
 tions obvioufly occur, making good my afTertion above, 
 that from this very prohibition of Communion under 
 one kind, it's lawfulnefs in itfelf is to be concluded ; 
 becaufe, ift, By thefe Heretics concealing themfelves 
 .under the cover of Catholic Communion, when they 
 profefledly only partook of it in the fpecies of Bread, 
 it is plain that this way of communicating was nothing 
 fmgular at that time, but what Catholics themfelves 
 promifcuoufly did, or elfe it could not have ferved as 
 a cloak or means of difguife to them. 2dly, $y the 
 becaufe^ or reafon .alleged by the Pope, within the pa-> 
 renthefis of the decree, faying, that '* they adhered 
 " to he did not know what fuperftition." It appears 
 that it was not fet forth on account of any abufe in the 
 practice itfelf ; for this, if it had been a fuperftition, 
 was eafily explained; but for the hidden fuperjtitious 
 ipoiive influencing thefe Heretics into the practice, 
 which was not to be accounted for \ when by looking 
 on the facred Blood as an object of abhorrence, they 
 effectually " divided the myitery," as the holy Pope 
 oL^rves in the clofe of the decree ; and in this were 
 guilty of a fscrilege, while Catholics, tho' receiving 
 under one kind, yet believing it to contain 
 
 the
 
 primitively in One Kind. 395 
 
 the virtue and fubfrance of both, and not refraining 
 from the other fpecies out of any fuperftitious abhor- 
 rence of it, could not incur the fame guilt, sdly, The 
 very ftile and tenour of the decree mew that Gelafius 
 looked on Communion in one or both kinds, to have 
 been in itfelf merely a matter of difcipline, alterable 
 at the Church's pleafure, according to the different 
 vicifiitude and exigency of circumftances , becaufe, 
 otherwife, inilead of the reafpn alleged for the decree, 
 CHRIST'S own inftitution and command of Commu- 
 nion in both kinds had been the moil obvious, the 
 moil proper and only reafon that mould have been 
 given for it ; in which refpect it would not have been 
 an ordinance of a new difcipline, but a declaration of 
 what had been the invariable difcipline and practice of 
 the Church at all times fettled and ordained by out 
 Blefied Lord himfelf; but the holy Pontif full well 
 knew the contrary to be true, viz. that the manner of 
 receiving the Holy Eucharift was left by CHRIS? 
 undetermined : He was apprifed of the primitive 
 avowed practices of the Church, of Domeilic Com- 
 munion, Infant Communion, and the Communion 
 of the Sick in one kind, and yet, tho' I fay he could 
 not be ignorant of thefe notorious practices, he never 
 took it into his head to find fault with them. 
 
 BUT, in finej if, as Gratian, p. 170, 171. relates 
 this a6t of Pope Gelafias, in his glofs on the decree, 
 the principal intent thereof was to put a flop to an 
 undoubted facrilege, fome Priefts of that heretical 
 feet were guilty of-, who in celebrating even the adorable 
 myfteries at the altar, confummated only the Bread, and 
 abftained from the Cup : In thefe circumftances, I fay, 
 the riddle is unravelled at once *, for iiich, no doubt ' 
 were directly guilty of a violation of CHRIST'S com- 
 mand to the Apoillcs and their fucceffors, to celebrate 
 the myftery of his Death and Paffion under fatb kinds ; 
 and .therefore, as Gelafius obferves, thefe people, by 
 their contrary practice, properly divided the niyitvry, 
 D d d 2 or
 
 j 96 Public Commumoii 
 
 or fepfefeiited it "imperfectly j but this has no mari- 
 ner of relation to a Lay Communion. 
 
 ONfummine; up the whole, the decree fo often trumped 
 up oy our advcrfarics, and magnified into an objection 
 tinanfweruble, in the laft fznfe we have now confidered 
 it, makes juft nothing for their purpofe -, and in the 
 fenfe v/e difcufied it before, concludes abfolutely againft 
 them, while it rather; becomes a direct: infmuation of 
 Communion under one kind, having been the promif- 
 cuous practice of the faithful at that time ; and the 
 two following plain arid undeniable imtances of public 
 Communidn, practifed by the whole Catholic Church 
 tinder one kind, will, I hope, put the point out of the 
 reach of cavil, and mifreprefentation, and be fufficient 
 to overcome the moft inflexible fkepticifm. 
 
 THE firft of thefe inflances I am going to appeal to 
 was the ancient practice of the Latin Church, of Com- 
 munion in ere kind on Good Friday, even by the Prieft 
 himielf at the altar, for the reafons, and in the man- 
 ner we will now explain. The Church on this day- 
 did not anciently confccrate the elements at the altar, 
 no more thari me does at prefcnt, but confummated the 
 fpecies of Bread alone, which had been conlecrated 
 the day before, and laid up in a fecret place prepared 
 for it, as a commemoration of CHRIST'S Death and 
 Burial, Hugo, de St. Vift. Erud. Tbeol. 1. 3. c. 20. 
 taking notice of this practice, ailigns the Catholic 
 reafon for the licitnefs of it ; becaufe fays he, under 
 each fpecies the Body and Blood are received ; and that 
 the fpecies of wine cannot well be kept. This prac- 
 tice is alfo exprefsly mentioned by Alcuinus, Ama- 
 larius, and others, about the eighth century ; and as 
 the origin of it is not known, we have a right to con- 
 clude that it was tranfmitted down from the molt pri- 
 mitive times. I forbear to tire the reader with a detail 
 of theft ancient authorities at length, they being to be 
 met with in BibKotbita Petrum, Tom. de Div. Officis^ 
 and oihcr authors. 
 
 I MUST
 
 primitively in One Kind. 397 
 
 I MUST now obferve that if this ancient practice 
 of the primitive Church is by our adverfaries deemed 
 facrilegious, they muft be fo raih as to condemn her 
 of chufmg the moft folemn day of the year, the day 
 on which we celebrate the myfteries of our Redemption, 
 to perpetrate fo deteftable a profanation'; and therefore 
 more deteftable they who are guilty of a cenfure of 
 their Mother Church, which is attended with fuch inju- 
 rious confequences. 
 
 THE next fad I appeal to is an ancient practice of 
 the Greek Church which goes ftill further than that 
 of the Latin Church juft recited ; their cuftom was, 
 and is at prefent, not to confecrate on fafting days, out 
 of a decorum of not confounding the joy and folemnity 
 of the facrifice with the fadnefs of the faft ; whence, in 
 Lent, they confecrate only on Sundays and Saturdays, 
 the days they do not faft ; on the other days they offer 
 up and mew the people the Sacrament referved on thofe 
 two folemn days, which they call the imperfett Mafs, 
 or the Mafs of the prefanftified ; becaufe the Eucharift 
 they offer on thofe days was confecrated or fanctified 
 the two precedent days, in the Mafs they call per/eft, 
 and what they receive is the facred Bread alone : this 
 they bring to the altar from the veftry : this they 
 elevate, adore, and offer incenfe to : it is the facred 
 Bread they mix, without the preface of any prayer, 
 with unconfecrated wine and water; and which, in 
 fine, they diftribute to the people, i. e. to Commu- 
 nicants : fo that throughour the Lent, the holieft time 
 of the year, five days of the week they communicate 
 under the fpecies of bread alone. The antiquity of 
 this cuftom cannot be contefted, it being to be met 
 with in the Council of Trullo, in the 6th Century, 
 Cone. Trull, c. 52. and even derives it's date much 
 higher, viz. from the Council of Laodicea, in the 
 fourth age, and the particulars of this ceremony 
 are to be teen at length in the Eucbclog. Graf. &f Bibl. 
 Pp, T, ii. what deferves particularly pur attention, 
 
 with,
 
 39$ Primitive Communion 
 
 with regard to this cuftom, is, that, tho* it plainly 
 appears, the Greeks receive nothing but the Body of 
 our Lord on thefe days, yet they change nothing in 
 their ufual formularies. The facred gifts are always 
 named in the plural number ; and in their prayers they 
 mention both Body and Blood : fo ftedfaft was their 
 Opinion of the virtue and fubftance of loth being fully 
 and entirely contained under one fpecies. It muft in- 
 deed be owned that the modern Greeks feem not to 
 be fond of efpoufing Communion under one kind, and 
 therefore ufually at this prefent time o'day, they drop 
 fome of the precious Blood in form of a Crofs on the 
 facred Body, which is referved for the office of the 
 prefanffified ; but whatever they would mean by this 
 ceremony, it cannot avail their purpoie of communi- 
 cating under both kinds. 
 
 WE find, 'tis true, in all liturgies, both Greek and 
 Latin, a direction to Priefts at the celebration of the 
 holy myfleries, to make ufe of the ceremony of drop- 
 ping the confecrated Bread into the chalice, to fignify 
 CHRIST'S Refurrection, to wit. That as the myftical 
 feparation of the Body and Blood reprefents his Death, 
 fo this mixture of both fpecies mould figurate their 
 union" again at his Refurrection. But whether the 
 modern Greek ceremony of fprinkling the Wine on 
 the Bread be directed to the fame intent, or no, it is 
 wholly unprecedented and without foundation in the 
 inftitution of CHRIST, or in any other part of Scrip- 
 ture, or even in tradition , and whereas the Wine is 
 dropt in a very fmall quantity, which is alfo imme- 
 diately by them dried over a chafingdifh, it cannot be 
 thought to anfwer the end of conveying both fpecies to 
 the receiver : therefore whatfoever they affect to mean 
 by this ceremony, they in fact, by receiving the Bread 
 thus fprinkled, communicate no more in both kinds, 
 than their forefathers, who knew of no fuch ceremony. 
 
 I don't think it worth while to take up my Reader's 
 time in refuting another idle imagination of the mo- 
 dern Greeks, never dreamt of before nor fmce, but by 
 
 themfelves,
 
 primitivtfy in One Kind. 399 
 
 themfelves, viz. That the mixture of the confecrated 
 Bread with unconfecrated wine, fo fanctifies the latter, 
 as to tranfubftantiate it into the facred Blood. No- 
 thing was ever thought of, by antiquity, to operate 
 this miraculous change, but the exprefs words of 
 CHRIST. St. Amb. de Initial, and other holy Fathers, 
 pofitively aver it. This mixture, no doubt, gives the 
 wine an inferior kind of fanctification ; fuch as our 
 Blefled Saviour's Body, when he was on earth, vifible 
 in human flefh, gave to the cloaths that covered him, 
 to the instruments of his Paflion, viz. the Crofs on 
 which he was laid, and to the very nails that fattened 
 him to it i and fuch as alfo St. Bernard explains it, 
 faying that " The wine mixed with the confecrated 
 " Hofty tho* not confecrated by that folemn and par- 
 " ticular benediction, which changes it into the Blood 
 " of JESUS CHRIST, becomes yet facred by touching 
 *' the facred Body of our Lord." And fuch a fanclir 
 fication, it rhuft be owned, Alcuinus de Div. Qffic. and 
 Amalarius hinted at long before, and no one now will 
 difpute it. But this fancYification is far wide of what 
 the modern Greeks would pretend it to be, viz. of 
 rendering the elements confecrated. Therefore, to re- 
 turn from this digreffion to the Conclufion, which we 
 think to enfue from the cuftorns aforefaid, with regard 
 jo the point in queftion, we fay, that from the whole 
 it muft be granted, that as on Good Friday among the 
 Latins or Weftern Church, and five days of the week 
 pf Lent among the Greeks, the confecrated Bread is 
 confummated no other way than with unconfecrated 
 wine, even by the Prieft at the Altar, that, I fay, a; 
 thefe times they muft be judged to communicate in 
 ene kind only. 
 
 CHAP,
 
 4<?6 The Conclufion. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The CONCLUSION. 
 
 A fummlng up the Evidence. 
 
 WE have now, Chriftian Reader, taken a faith- 
 ful and impartial furvey of the practice of 
 the Church, with regard to the point in queftion, 
 from it's moll ancient and pureft times. We have 
 feen that from the very beginning it was her cuftom to 
 communicate the Sick under the fpecies of Bread, and 
 Infants in the fpecies of Wine alone j that in the 
 moft difficult times of the Church, when frequent 
 public aflemblies were impracticable, me made no icru- 
 ple to allow her fervent children the liberty of taking 
 home with them the facred Eucharift, in the fpecies of 
 bread only, to indulge their devotion in a Private or 
 Domeftic Communion. We have feen her adverfaries, 
 iinable to withltand the torrent of thefe evidences to a 
 Communion in one kind, reduced to the defperate 
 ihift of calumniating the primitive pious practices, as 
 fo many abufes -, of traducing the Church's difcipline 
 in her pureft times, and taxing her glorious Martyrs, 
 renowned Confeffors, and her brighteft ornaments for 
 virtue and learning, with the guilt of facrilege and pro- 
 phanation in coming into it , but how infblent, rather, 
 and prefumptuous are they, in laying this charge 
 againft them, the thing itfelf fpeaks. We have more- 
 over heard, that not only on the aforementioned ex- 
 traordinary occafions the Church has always allowed 
 cf Communion in one kind ; but that from the Mani- 
 hees concealing themfelves under it's cover, in par- 
 ticipating of the Lord's Supper in that manner, we 
 gather, and may absolutely conclude that Public 
 Communion m one kind was become promifcuoufly the 
 practice of the faithful about the ^tjh century, coa- 
 
 jfi^med
 
 The Condufan; 
 firmed fmce by the notorious cuftoms of the Latin 
 Church on Good Friday, and of the Greek five days 
 of the week in JLent, of communicating allb the fame 
 way. From fads fp evident, this plain confluence 
 neceffarily enfues, as a conclufion from it's premifes, 
 That the Council of Conftance, in the i5th century, 
 in defining Communion under one kind to be as good 
 and fufficient as under both, judged conformably to 
 the tradition of all ages ; and that by palling it into a 
 law or an obligation to the faithful, me has only made 
 life of the power, me is veiled with by CHRIST, with 
 refpect to matters of difcipline, and what me has 
 perpetually practifed relatively to the adininiftration of 
 the Holy Eucharifl itfelf ; fometimes giving it in one 
 or both kinds, a$ a matter of indifference at ano- 
 ther, as the circumftances of times required, ordering 
 it under both ; and now fince, in one kind alone, ready 
 to permit it again in betb^ when it may appear conve- 
 nient for the public good, as the Council of Trent has 
 exprefsly declared, Seffl 21. Poft. Can. We have 3, 
 precedent of this conceffion from the Council of Bafil, 
 which granted the Cup to the Bohemians on condition 
 they mould acknowledge CHRIST was received whole 
 and entire under each kind j and that it was not ne r 
 ceffary to receive both. It was therefore alfo debated 
 in the Council of Trent, Whether the fame indul- 
 gence mould be allowed to Germany and France, as a 
 means to pave the way for the reduction of the Here- 
 -tics of thofc dominions. At laft, for juft reafons, a 
 clilcretionary liberty was lodged in the Pope, to act in 
 this matter as he mould judge convenient, and occa- 
 fions require. Se/. 22. In fine. 
 
 IN confequence of this decree, at the jnftance of the 
 Emperor Ferdinand, Pope Pius IV. following the 
 example of Paul III. by his Brief of 1563, granted 
 the uie of the Cup in Germany on certain conditions 5 
 but, inflead of this paternal indulgence producing -the 
 intended effect, of bringing thefe Heretics to relent of 
 E e e their
 
 -402 - *The Conclufion. 
 
 their obftinacy, and to return to their obedience to the 
 Church , it only elated them with a vain conceit of an 
 imaginary victory, and induced them to charge the 
 Church falfely with having acknowleged herfelf in an 
 errour, by her contrary practice. But maugre their ma- 
 licious calumnies, it will always be true that it belongs 
 to the Church, under the influence and infpiration of 
 the Holy Ghoft, to judge what is efiential and what 
 indifferent, in the adininiftration of the Sacraments ; 
 'and thro* the power me is veiled^with by CHRIST, that 
 me has the liberty of altering her difcipline in thefe 
 matters, as me finds convenient : By this authority the 
 changes in regard to Communion in one or both kinds, 
 as we have feen, have from time to time been made. 
 It is upon the fame principles me has always acted, 
 both primitively and recently, to wit , me has judged 
 that the effence and integrity of the Holy Eucharifl 
 -is faved, and the whole fource of Grace, CHRIST him- 
 felf, is received under either kind alone: that CHRIST 
 has given no exprefs directions how it is to be difpenfed 
 to the faithful, but left it entirely to her, to deter- 
 mine it according to the different vicifiitude and exi- 
 gency of circumitances ; and that therefore neither 
 any violence is offered to the Divine inftitution, nor the 
 faithful defrauded of any part of the Sacrament, by 
 being obliged to receive it under one kind. 
 
 THUS, as the principles upon which the new difci- 
 pline was grounded, were folid, and the practice itfelf 
 what the people had been ufed to ; fo it was intro- 
 duced into the Church under the fanction of a law, 
 without any noife or difturbance, and no contradiction 
 offered to it for 800 years; when Peter Drefde, an ob- 
 fcure fellow, a mere laic, and fchoolmafter of Prague, 
 took into his head to cavil at the difcipline of the 
 Church, fo long and peaceably eflablifhed : Luther 
 afterwards, as we heard in the Introduction, came into 
 the oppofition more out of hatred to the Church, and 
 from a fpirit of contradiftion, than from any fubftan- 
 
 tial
 
 *be Conchiflon. 403 
 
 tjal reafon he could pretend to allege for it, when he 
 declared that, to fpite the Church or a Council, he 
 fhould have been equally difpoied to go over to the 
 other fide of the queition : And when, in fine, but a 
 little before, he took Caroleftadius to tafk, who had 
 hurried the alteration of the Church's difcipline in this 
 point without his concurrence, for " feeming," as he 
 laid, " to lay the whole ftrefs of the Reformation on 
 * c thefe things of nothing." Ep. ad Cajp. Cunol. 
 T. ii. Ep. 56. 
 
 IN the mean while, as the attempt of an invafion on 
 the Church's difcipline, of Communion in one kind, 
 alarmed immediately the whole Catholic world, and 
 the change was not received even by the Reformers 
 themfelves but with forne reluctance and difficulty ; fo 
 on the other hand, the firft introduction of the Catholic 
 difcipline into the Church, without any fuch reluc- 
 tance or refiilance made to it, without any noife or 
 contradiction, as above obferved, becomes a collateral 
 proof to the fenfe of the whole body of the faithful 
 concerning the lawfulnefs of it. 
 
 PRACTICES that have gained the repute of being 
 invariable, are not to be departed from ; they are deem-, 
 ed, as it were, our own propc ty, and we are jealous of 
 any encroachment upon it. Infant Baptifm is an in- 
 ftance of this kind, the neceffity whereof the faithful 
 have always been fo perfuaded of, tho' it has no cer- 
 tainer foundation for it than tradition, that they never 
 were to be brought to part with it : and therefore 
 when rejected by a handful of innovators, the Ana- 
 baptifts, all the reft of the Chriftian world appeared 
 againft them : but, on the other hand, practices 
 judged to be of an indifferent nature meet with a dif- 
 ferent fate i to ivit, are continued, difcontinutxl, or 
 altered without occafioning any disturbance : Thus the 
 adminiftration of Baptifm by immerfion, was changed 
 into fprinkling, without any one being alarmed at it. 
 Communion of Infants, when -laid uiijr, met with 
 K e e 2 n
 
 4^4 Me Conclufion* 
 
 no refiftance, becaufe thought not to be necefTarjf, 
 Communion in one kind is again one of the articles of 
 indifference, what the people had been ufed to by a 
 voluntary practice^ and therefore were no way flartied 
 at it's paffing into a law : accordingly the tenour of 
 the vYoncil of Conftance's decree, which enacted it as 
 fuchj imports* that fhe only made that obligatory out 
 of a regard to an uniformity of difcipline, which had 
 before become cuftomary by an almoft general prac- 
 tice ! a practice likely proceeding at firft, from the 
 eiowd of Communicants flocking to the Church on 
 great and folemn feftivals. 
 
 THE other reafons, however, befides that now al- 
 leged, which induced the Church to render the prac- 
 tice obligatory (to be met with in Catech. ad Paroch.} 
 are folid and fubftantial : One amongft the reft was, 
 to prevent cafual and involuntary prophanations, by 
 fpiljing any drops of the confecrated Wine, not eafily 
 to be avoided among a multitude of Communicants/ 
 And tho' this reafon is reputed childifh by a late anta- 
 gonift, it can only be deemed fuch by thofe of his 
 way of thinking, who don't believe the precious Blood 
 of CHRIST to be couched under the Sacramental fym- 
 bols , or by thofe, who being but believers in name, 
 are fo much Infidels in practice, as to be heedlefs of fo 
 great an irreverence. 
 
 ANOTHER of the Church* s reafons for fettling the 
 new difcipline, was out of regard to fome conftitu- 
 tions} which cannot endure the taile or fmell of wine ; 
 and this reafon was judged a fblid one by the Proteftant 
 fynftd of Poictiers, An. 1560, in which it was decreed, 
 c. xiii. art, 7. of the Lord's Supper, That " the Bread 
 ** of our Lord's Supper ought to be adminiftred to 
 u thofe who cannot drink wine." 
 BUT the mofl fubftantial reaion, with every true 
 believer and fon of the Church, is, That Ihe has 
 judged fit to determine it fo. The Church, I fay, 
 who in under pain of being reputed as Heathens or 
 
 Publicans,
 
 The ConcJuJion. 405- 
 
 Publicans, We are bound to fubmit to, He, fays 
 CHRIST, that does not hear the Church, let lim be unto 
 thee as a Heathen or a Publican, Matt, xviii. 17. The 
 Church, which, according to St. Paul, CHRIST has 
 entrufted with nis credentials, the Holy Sacraments, 
 and with the power of difpenfing them by her mini- 
 iters, in fuch a manner as fiie, in her fupernatural 
 wifdom, fhall judge convenient. Let a. man, fays he, 
 fo account of #j, as the winifters of CHRIST, and tb& 
 difpenfers of the myfteries of God. i Cor. ^v. i. 
 
 BUT, while this reafon is fiifficient to command a 
 due fubmiffion from the Church's faithful children, it 
 was, vifibly, the contrary fpirit of felf-conceit, difo- 
 bedience, and contradiction that influenced the Re- 
 formers into an oppofition to the Church, in this ai 
 well as in every other article in which they depart from 
 her faith. Luther, as we have heard, frankly con- 
 feffed it. 
 
 HYPOCRISY is alfo another main ingredient into 
 their oppofhion* They firft become guilty of a real 
 facrilege themfelves, and then, in order to hide it, 
 would father an imaginary one on their Mother 
 Church , viz. they flatly contradict CHRIST'S inftitution 
 of the Holy Eucharift, with regard to it's efTence , next 
 endeavour to palliate their crime, by (hewing an af- 
 fected fcrupnlofity for the manner of difpenfir.g it : 
 In a word, they themfelves, as I faid in the beginning, 
 by denying the Real Prefence, take away from their 
 followers the whole Sacrament , the whole fource of 
 Grace, CHRIST himfelf couched under the Sacramen- 
 tal fymbols, and then no lefs ridiculoufly than fallelv, 
 would charge the Church with defrauding the faithful 
 of a part. But, in fpite of their flandering clamours 
 and calumnies, the Church, guided by the Spirit cf trntb, 
 which leads her into all truth, (John x. 13.) will con- 
 tinue ever as irreprovable in her difciplinc, as f; 
 matters of faith, is free from errour j rnaugre all 
 
 ftratagems
 
 406 Poftfcript. 
 
 flratagems to undermine her, fhe will, in virtue of 
 CHRIST'S promife, ftand her ground, fo that even 
 the gates of. hell Jhall never be able to prevail againft 
 her. Matt. xvi. 18. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT, 
 
 AS in the Article, we have now difcuffed, I made 
 profeflion of purfuing the plan, 1 worked upon in 
 the foregoing EfTay of the Nature of a Church Reforma- 
 tion confidered, of mewing the vanity of the pretence, 
 that as alleged for bringing about that Church Revolu- 
 tion : it might here be expected, before I take leave 
 6f my Reader, that I mould clear the Church of every 
 impeachment, great or fmall, that is laid againft her ; 
 but having already exceeded the limits, I prefcribed 
 myfelf, in canvafling the point in queftion ; to engage 
 further in thefe lighter fkirmifhes, would fwell this 
 Appendix into too great a fize ; befides that, I appre- 
 hend, there nothing more remains to be objected, but 
 what has been either directly refuted in the former 
 Eflay, or of which the fallacy will not immediately 
 appear, by giving an eye to the principles that have 
 been juft fettled. But the greateft difcouragement 
 from entering any farther into the controverfy, is, the 
 unreafonablenefs of the generality of our Proteftant 
 adverfaries, who are not to be contented upon any 
 terms : unrelenting fpirits, whofe bufmefs feems to be 
 to wrangle, not to be convinced, and their view not 
 to have their old doubts and difficulties refolved, but 
 to ftart up new ones, and to make ufe of every flra- 
 tagem to keep open the breach between us. 
 
 THE conftituent ingredients of Herefy being, as 
 we have lately obferved, f elf -conceit ^ the fpirit of con- 
 tradition) and difobediencc ; it has been the humour of 
 Heretics of all times and denominations,, not only to 
 
 withdraw
 
 Poftfcript. 407 
 
 withdraw their fubmifiion to their Mother Church in 
 matters of faith, but alfo to make flight of her laws, 
 to cavil at her practices, the molt holy and moft an- 
 cient, and to calumniate her beft regulated difcipline : 
 and our late pretended Reformers have not receded a 
 ftep out of the paths of their forefathers in this con- 
 duct. It was a part of policy in them to adhere clofe 
 to it ; for, by raifing a great noife and clamour againft 
 their Mother Church, tho' alpout trifles, they at lead 
 amufed the ignorant, and deluded the unwary: by 
 traducing her, and charging her with fome irregula- 
 rities, true or falfe, they prevented their profelytes 
 taking notice of very efiential ones of their own ; as 
 a man abandoned in his morals, and bankrupt in 
 reputation, endeavours to extenuate his own infamy 
 by blackening his neighbour's : Therefore defpairing 
 of contenting perfons of this character, .who are not to 
 be contented at any rate, I addrefs myfelf to the 
 more rational part of Proteftants * to the moderate 
 and difpaffionate, who may have no other view than 
 that charity and unanimity of minds mould be efta- 
 blimed, and that truth may ^prevail. To thefe, folid, 
 general principles, after fo much as has been faid in 
 defence of the Catholic caufe in this and the former 
 Eflay, will, I natter myfelf, be fatisfactory, and fuch, 
 I apprehend are the two afore-fettled, Apoftolical 
 Tradition and Church Authority, or Ecclefiaftiqal 
 Tradition ; fmce all the lefler controverfies are to be 
 brought to thefe tefts. St. Paul exprefly recommends 
 to his difciples, the Theffalonians, the firft of thefe, 
 when he wrote to them to Jland faft^ and to hold the 
 traditions which they had been taught, whether by word 
 or epiftle. 2 ThefT. xi. 13. And of old, the people of 
 Ifrael were directed to the fame guide, Ask thy father , 
 and fa will /hew thee -, thy elders, and they will tell thee, 
 Deut. xxxii. 7. Our Blefled Lord as peremptorily 
 enjoins our fubmifTion to Church Authority, when he 
 faid, He that hears you hears me; he that defpifes yon 
 
 defpifef
 
 4 cS Poftfcnpf. 
 
 defpifes me, Luke x. 16. Under the firft head, befides 
 the traditions heretofore mentioned, viz. Infant Bap- 
 tifm, the manner of adminiftring it. Transferring the 
 Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, and others, the Re- 
 formers themfelves have come into ; there are alfo to 
 be reckoned, the adminiftration of the reft of the Sa- 
 craments -, the ufe of the Sign of the Crofs * the ie- 
 veral ceremonies ufed by the Church in her public 
 fervice, Benedictions, Holy Water, and the reft ; 
 ^whieh having no known origin, muft be reputed to be 
 derived from the Apofties themfelves. Ofthefecond 
 fort are Ecclefiaftical Laws and Ordinances j the Fails 
 #nd Feafts j Celibacy of Priefts -, the Liturgy in an 
 unknown tongue : in a word, the whole Church difci- 
 pline. For all thefe points being ftrictly of that na- 
 ture, viz. mere matters of difcipline ; the whole dif- 
 ficulty relating thereto is refolved into this fingle 
 queftion, Whether the Church has a difcretionary power 
 or no to alter her cjifcipline ? And whereas CHRIST 
 himfelf has decided the queftion paft any doubt, by 
 enjoining us, as we have heard before, an unlimited 
 obedience to his Church, under the penalty of being 
 reputed as Heathens or Publicans : And as tradition 
 (lands equally fupported by the fame Divine Autho- 
 rity ; an humble heart and docile mind can have no 
 reluctance to take up with thefe guides, the Church, 
 I fay, and Apoftoljc tradition ; nor of fubfcribing to 
 what they dictate to us : and unlefs we are to truft to 
 them, we muft be groping in the dark, unfettled in 
 faith, undifcipiined, and in a ftate of anarchy an4 
 confuiion. 
 
 BUT ftjil, in order to remove every handle, captious 
 fpirits may be ready to lay hold of, to' traduce the 
 Church's difcipline, there remains yet one elucidation to 
 be made of this matter , and with this I will put an. end 
 to any further trefpafs on my Reader's patience. What 
 I beg leave to obferve is, That under the notion of 
 Church difcipline, and of tradition, whether Apoftolic 
 
 or
 
 Poftfcript. 409 
 
 or Ecclefiaftical, we don't mean to comprehend the 
 peculiar practices of devotion of particular countries 
 and people ; and therefore as they are not to be deemed 
 terms of Communion, whether judged by our adver- 
 faries blameable in themfelves or no, the faithful in 
 general are no way concerned in them, nor are we 
 obliged to become their advocates. Neverthelefs, 
 while Proteftant travellers, and on their credit Pro- 
 teflant writers do generally give a partial and unfair 
 relation of thefe cufroms, either in the people's wrong, 
 of whofe practices they treat, by mifreprefenting them, 
 or in the whole Catholic Church's wrong, by mifap- 
 plying them, when they charge them to her account ; 
 I can't forbear entering fo far into the matter as to 
 do common juftice, by diftinguifhing truth from falfe- 
 hood. To make a refearch into every particular prac- 
 tice of devotion of every nation, fifted out and bur- 
 lefqued by our adverfaries, would be an endlefs tafk ; 
 and I conceive alfo a needlefs one, when their merit 
 can be determined a nearer way ; and the following 
 few poftulatumt or fuppofitions will, I hope, entirely 
 ahfwer this end. 
 
 i ft, I prefume to fuppofe, howfoever exotical the 
 pious practices of fome people may appear to many, 
 that they do not intrench upon the purity of our hply 
 faith , and the grounds of this fuppofition are, That 
 every Catholic country and nation profeffes the fame 
 articles of Faith, throughout the whole Church , the 
 fame Sacraments and the fame terms of Communion 
 in every refpect , have Catechifms fetting them forth, 
 in fubftance and equivalently the fame ; and have their 
 refpective Paftors to expound them : So that if any 
 national practices were to be obferved to deviate from 
 the purity and integrity of the Catholic Faith, we dnre 
 be pofitive that they would receive an immediate 
 check from their Ecclefiaftical Governours, as wa;th- 
 fwl over the peoples fpiritual welfare, as they 
 F f .
 
 4i o , Poflfcript. 
 
 of any thing that can tend to difturb the order of the 
 Church's diicipline, or encroach on the orthodoxy of 
 her faith. 
 
 I SUPPOSE, 2dly, That each country has it's pecu- 
 liar genius, manners, and cuftoms, which it would 
 be as unreafonable for one nation to cenfure in ano- 
 ther, as for a white man to contemn a negroe, or a 
 negroe a white, for the oppofition in their complexion. 
 .This different turn of genius is difcovered in political 
 and civil matters as well as in religious ; and even in 
 the daily occurrences of life, and our common de- 
 portment. An Englifhman, for example, will bear 
 to hear a piece of oratory delivered from the pulpit, 
 or at the bar, without the motion even of a ringer to 
 enliven it : action he looks upon, in thefe circum- 
 ttances, to be levity, quite theatrical, derogating from 
 the awfulnefs of the place, and the gravity of the 
 iubject , whereas a Frenchman or an Italian will think 
 the moft elaborate difcourfe, ftripped of the ornament 
 of action, infipid and languid ; and the Roman ora- 
 tor, among the qualifications he requires towards 
 forming a 'perfect orator, makes action the principal 
 ingredient : yet each way of fpeaking being adapted 
 to the genius and humour of the feveral nations, each 
 nation has a right to purfue it's own method, without 
 being liable to blame or cenfure : and fo in national 
 cuftoms and fafhions , one nation has no reafon to ri- 
 dicule the famions of the other. The fame I prefume 
 to be the cafe in many national religious cuftoms \ what 
 may appear odd to us, yet being accommodated to. the 
 genius of another people, fo long as they don't en- 
 trench on faith, there is no room to find fault with 
 them. 
 
 I SUPPOSE, gdly, That we are all of us in a greater 
 
 or lefs degree affected from material images ; as a play 
 
 Itrikes us more, when enlivened with the ornament of 
 
 JP. on a theatre, and ths aid of fcenes and machinery, 
 
 h when read in our ciofct j and the moie grols a 
 
 perfon's
 
 Peftfiript. 411 
 
 jberfon's underftanding is, the greater imprefTion does 
 he receive from dumb reprefentations, as is vifible in 
 children. From hence I beg leave to infrr, that Ima- 
 gery, and material reprefentations convey a livelier idea 
 of the myfteries of our faith to peafants and illiterate 
 people than the moft explanative difcourfe. And the de- 
 votion of a fimple old woman is often raifed to a higher 
 pitch, and more inflamed, from thefe material images, 
 and fenfible objects, than that of the learnedeft Divine 
 from the moft refined fpeculations ; and therefore, 
 while we fee Almighty GOD operating by his Grace on 
 weak veflels, thro 5 thefe means, it becomes an aflbrcd 
 token that he is not difpleafed with eheir being made ufe 
 of. When the great King David, in the height of 
 his glory, being fired with the zeal of the Lord, dif- 
 dained not to mix himfelf with the rude populace, 
 dancing and playing on his harp before the Ark of the 
 Teftament; Michol his wife judging of this aft as a 
 fqueamim Reformer would now, reviled her hufband 
 for debating his royal dignity ; but it appeared diffe- 
 rently to the eyes of the Almighty: David's pious 
 folly, as fome may think of it, delerved to meet with 
 the Divine approbation, and Michel's rafh fcornfulnefs 
 with the curfe of barrennefs. Thus tho' feveral pro- 
 ceflions and other folemnities of devotion, feen in Ca- 
 tholic countries, are not according to the humour of 
 the Reformation, and therefore by it's abettors looked 
 on no otherwife than as a fuperttitious pageantry, yet- 
 being well intended, and rightly directed, we prefume 
 to think to be not only not difpleafing to Almighty 
 GOD, but greatly acceptable. It is no doubt the heart 
 GOD principally regards, and the interiour homage of 
 our wills, which is the foul of our actions : yet from 
 the whole form of the Jewifh public worfhip prefcribed 
 by Almighty GOD himfelf, it manifeflly appears, that 
 he is not averfe to outward pomp and folemnity. 
 
 BUT after all ; whatfoever diflike our fqueamifh Re- 
 formers may affect to conceive againft the peculiar
 
 412 . Poftfcript. 
 
 practices of devotion of particular countries, they n&t- 
 being, as I faid before, terms of a Catholic Commu- 
 nion, there can be no more juftice in charging them to 
 the Catholics of another country, much lefs in making 
 the Church accountable for them, than for a geogra- 
 pher, defcribing the manners of countries and people* 
 to impute French levity and loquacity to the Spaniard* 
 or Spanim fliffnefs to the French -, national cuftoms 
 and manners, whether civil or religious, fall to each 
 nation's own account ; their neighbours are uncon- 
 cerned in them, nor the Church any further than to 
 provide that the purity of her faith be not hurt by 
 them ; and that they do not degenerate into criminal 
 or fuperftitious excefTes and abufes : Therefore, with 
 regard to Church regulations and practices, 'tis^only her 
 umverfal difcipline we efpoufe -, Traditions Apoftolic 
 and Ecclefiaftical we profefs a fubmiflion to ; and the 
 Church alone, in her Paftors, we acknowledge our- 
 ielves bound to obey : in obeying whom we are fure 
 that we obey CHRIST i and that in refilling her, or in 
 entertaining a contempt of her ordinances, we con- 
 temn CHRIST himielf, who has faid, He that bears you^ 
 bears me ; be that defpifes you^ defpifes me, Luke x. 16. 
 
 c o
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Of the APPENDIX. 
 
 Introduction 
 
 page 
 
 Preliminary. Nothing in the Sacraments is to bt 
 judged indifpenfable, but what is effential-, intrinfecally 
 fo> or cxtrinfecally , i. e. from its own intrinfic nature, 
 or from an outward precept. ,'" 330 
 
 Second Preliminary, ^be ejfetice of a Sacrament is to be 
 gathered from the Grace or Fruits etcpefted to refult 
 from it. 340 
 
 Third Preliminary. J^here any law is not clear in itfelf^ 
 the practice of the Church, and Tradition, are the only 
 jure tnlerpr&ersff fuck s, law* 34.2 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 The Integrity of the Holy Eucharijt fa")ed under Cue 
 Kind. 349 
 
 SECT. I. <?be Integrity and E/ence of the Holy Eu+ 
 charijt, is perfectly laved to every intent and meaning of 
 a Sacrament \ both with regard to the thing fignified by 
 the 'Sacramental Symbols, and the Grace, accruing 
 from it to the receiver under each Kind ; and therefore , 
 he is not dejrattded of any part of the Divine Blejffing 
 by partaking of it in this manner. 349 
 
 SECT. II. // does not appear from the Injiitution of tbt 
 Holy Eucharift, or from any part of the Ntw Tefta- 
 ment, that CHRIST has prsfcribcd the meaner of receiving 
 it as a Sacrament , ixbstber in one or both Kinds 357 
 
 C H A i>,
 
 viii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Communion in one Kind has always been allowed, and occa- 
 fiondly praftifed in the Church before (he pajjed it into 
 a law, and made it apart of her discipline. 373 
 
 SECT. I. Firft Example Communion of the Sick was 
 
 [_ ufually adminiftered, even in the Primitive Age of the 
 Church under one Kind. 374 
 
 SECT. II. Second Example- Infant Communion being 
 primitively praflifed, was given in the fpecies of Wine 
 alone 381 
 
 SECT. III. Third Example The opinion of the Church 
 at all times i concerning the point in queftion^ is gathered 
 from private or domejlic Communion, being anciently 
 allowed in one Kind. 387 
 
 SECT. IV. Fourth Example The fame is gathered 
 from primitive inftances of public Communion under one 
 Kind. 393 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 The Conclufion ; fumming up the Evidence, 406 
 
 Pojtfcript. 
 
 FINIS.
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 19. Line I. fuppofitious, rezd,fuppofttitious. P. 22. 1. 5. 
 attempts, r. attempt. P. 41. 1. r. dye, r. die. P. 55. 1. u, 
 commemoration, r. a commemoration. P. 70. 1. penult, other part, 
 r. />arrj. P. 72. 1. 7. fays St. John, fo, r. >, fay* St. John. 
 P. 78. 1. 35. independent, r. independently. P. 85. 1. 19. /w 
 up, r. give out. P. 93. 1. 37. abbetters, r. abettors. P. 12 1. 
 1. 26. & p. 124. 1. 4. wholfom, r. wbolefom. P. 151. 1. 14. 
 the evangeli/l, r. rfw^/. P. 161. 1. 20. /* temporal, r. /&/* 
 temporal. P. 165. 1. 20. mediatrice, r. mediatrix. P. 202. 
 I. JO. JlratagemS) r. Jlratagem. P. 210, 1. 1 1. ffo ^'X?* r> 
 ^;^. P. 255. 1. 1 6. * 3f, dele. P. 269. 1. penult. Paul 
 tell, r. tells. P. 277. 1.34. paraded^ r. parallel* 
 
 ERRATA of the Appendix. 
 
 P. 342. 1. II, 12. regard fuch, r. regard to fuch. P. 346. 
 1. 15. means to, r. means of . P. 387. 1. 20. in their, r. at 
 their, &c. P. 394. 1. 9. body, only mark, body only, P. 406. 
 1. 5. of the Poftfcr. that as, r. that was. 
 
 ERRATA of Contents, Preface, and Introda&ion. 
 P. vi. c. ix. fe&. 2. 2d line, churches has, r. churches have. 
 P. x. 1. 13. the fecond, r. this fecond. P. xvii. after fancies, 
 mark, ; P. xxi. 1. 28. reply, mark, . P. xxxv. 1. II. 
 Scripture, we, r. Scripturt, as wt.

 
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