have a power to unlock the Mysteries of the Gospel and open a passage into the true importance of them If we consider them as congregated in Synods so their Authority is more illustrious As the Sun of righteousness immediately rules us in the day that is in all perspicuous places of Scripture So these Luminaries are fit to govern us in the night in all the dark and controversal passages This we may learn from the holy Apostles who when the Controversie whether God was to be Worshipped according to the Order of the Ceremonial Law did menace the Church with vexation were gathered together with the Elders and in a solemn Convention did determine the difference This was no extraordinary Act but that which they did design to commend to the imitation of the Church as is evident by the method of their procedure They did not appeal to any peculiar revelation but by rational discussions which are common to all men prepare their way to a decision There are Two Opinions of no good consistency with what has been asserted The First is That every man ought to be guided by the Church of Rome in the concerns of Religion The Second is That every one ought to rely upon the conduct of his own Reason Both which we will now examine 1. The Church of Rome is to be our Guide If we ask the membes of it about a Guide they presently name the Catholick Church If we interrogate them what they mean by the Catholick Church they answer That Community which submits to the Papal Power If we object the notorious corruptions which stain her reputation and discourage us from putting confidence in her conduct they reply That her directions are not capable of errour Her rule is the Word of God This Word is either written or unwritten for the knowledge of this Word which it is and what is the Sence of it we must depend upon her attestation She is an unerring Judge an authorized Guide and therefore when she propounds her dictates we have nothing to do but assent We must not chew but like Pills swallow them whole and for our encouragement to give them an easie passage they are gilded over with the specious pretence of Infallibility If it be so That the Church of Rome is Infallible by the Church must be meant either the Pope or a Council or the body of the people which adhere to them or all these together If the Pope how can Zepherinus's compliance with the errour of Montanus Foelix the 2d his Arianism Honorius's being a Monothelite John the 23d his denial of the resurrection and life to come be reconciled with the presence and influence of an unerring Spirit If a Council How comes it to pass That one Council has contradicted another The Council of Francford rescinded the Decrees of the second Council of Nice Why are some General Councils approved some disallowed some partly approved partly disallowed some neither approved nor disallowed Bellar. tâ—â— 2. c. 4. de Concil What is the reason of all the sinister methods which the Pope used to obtain his designs in the Council of Trent The divine Spirit doth not use to frequent such crooked and oblique paths The devices used in that Convention represent rather the windings of the Serpent than the motions of the Dove They are thus expressed by one who was present in the Council in his Letter to Maximilian the Second We daily saw hungry and needy Bishops come to Trent Coun. of Tren p. 841. Youths for the most part given to luxury and riot hired only to give their voice as the Pope pleased They were both unlearned and simple yet fit for the purpose in regard of their impudent boldness When these were added to the Pope's old slatterers iniquity triumphed it was impossible to determine of any thing but as they pleased who thought it to be the highest point of Religion to maintain the Authority and luxury of the Pope There was a grave and learned Man who was not able to endure so great an indignity He was presently traduced as no good Catholick and was terrified threatned and persecuted that he might approve of things against his will In sum Matters were brought to that pass by the iniquity of those that came fitted and prepared that the Council seemed not to consist of Bishops but of disguised Maskers not of Men but of Images such as Dedalus made moved by Nerves none of their own They were hireling-Bishops which as country Bagpipes could not speak but as breath was put into them The Holy Ghost had nothing to do in the Assembly All the Counsels given there proceeded from humane policy and tended only to maintain the Popes immoderate and shameful domination c. He who considers the chief inducements to the determinations made in that Council will not find himself under any propensity to disbelieve what has been represented Priests must not be allowed to marry because having Wives and Children their dependence would not be so much upon the Pope as the secular Prince under whom they live Their love to their Progeny would make them yield to any thing never so prejudicial to the Church Besides This would be a temptation to them to seek to make Benefices hereditary and so in a short time the Authority of the Pope would be confined within Rome The Mass in the Vulgar Tongue must not be permitted because then all would think themselves Divines The Authority of the Prelates would be disesteemed This resembles the policy of those who to keep up the reputation of their Profession Pen their instructions in a Language unknown to the common people The Communion of the Chalice must not be granted because then a gap would be opened to demand an abrogation of all positive Constitutions by which only the Authority of the Church of Rome is preserved A Determination must not pass That the Institution of a Bishop is from Christ for then it would follow That the Keys were not given to Peter only and that the Bishops were equal to the Pope and a Council above him The dignity of Cardinals would cease Residence would be jure divino and the Court of Rome come to nothing and therefore special order was given to Laynez General of the Jesuits to form an exact discourse to prove that Bishops are not jure divino but Pontificio Tho' the Pope did in a compliment so far humble himself to Heresie as to invite Protestant Princes to the Council yet there were such conditions made as in particular That nothing should be discussed but what the Pope's Legates thought fit to propound and so many ambiguities in the conduct that was promised them that their journey could neither be safe nor significant to any good purpose To these intrigues may be added The Oath of Fidelity to the Pope who was a party imposed upon all the Members of the Convention the continual directions by the mail from Rome the vast number of
cannot be denied to him in this case which if it happens to be contrary to the sentence of the Judge he must bear without a tumultuous deportment the consequences of it 6. All the Testimony we have That such a Guide is intended is from the Church of Rome which is the party concerned and lays claim to this Dignity If we ask how it comes to be known that the is vested in this immunity Scripture-promises are presently alledged If we further demand How we shall know that this is the sence of the promise We are told That we must adhere to the interpretation of the Church which understands it so From which it evidently appears That the ultimate ground and reason of our belief in this particular is the Testimony of the Church of Rome For no Community is permitted to have the denomination of a true Church besides that which submits to the Papal Authority If our Blessed Lord the supreme Head of the Church says If I bear witness of my self my witness is not true Joh. 5.31 Much more may this be applied to the Body if it has no other evidence for this fundamental point but what is derived from her self The bare testimony of a party is not a sufficient foundation to build a legal determination upon in any Court of Law 7. The Primitive Constitution of the Church plainly intimates That no one Guide was designed to be Supreme over all the Churches in the World Our blessed Lord left the Apostles in a parity Nothing was spoken to S. Peter concerning any Ecclesiastical Power but what the others were equally concerned in These constituted Bishops over particular Churches in the same equality they themselves were left in Tho' in every Church there is a subordination of the Clergy and People to their own Bishop yet there is none to any which is foreign It is true There is one Catholick Church but the unity of it consists in having one Lord one Faith and one Baptism and not one Bishop and Head to interpret for all and impose what dictates he pleaseth upon them The antient Churches did maintain correspondencies by Communicatory Letters and when extraordinary cases did emerge send their prudential Expedients as the effects of their Charity But we no where read of the exercise of any pretended authority one over the other If there had been any one authorised Guide in controversie for all Churches known in those early times when Heresies and Schisms did arise no question a speedy application would have been made to him for the curing of what was amiss yet we read of no such matter But on the contrary Appeals were prohibited to any foreign Bishop and an express order established That differences should be decided within the Province where they did emerge S. Cyprian asserts so much in his Epistle to Cornelius Epist 55. Pamel Epist 59. Oxon. Nam cum statutum sit omnibus nobis aequum sit c. For when it is appointed to all of us and it is both equal and just That the cause of every one should be heard where the crime is committed and a portion of the Flock is assigned to particular Pastors which every one must rule and govern being under an obligation to give an account to the Lord of what he does It behoves those whom we are set over not to run up and down nor break the firm concord of Bishops by their subdolous and fallacious temerity but there to plead their cause where the Accusers may have witnesses of their crime c. The fifth Canon of the first Council of Nice is of the same importance and is so interpreted by the next General Council held at Constantinople in the second Canon As for the Canons of the Council of Sardica which seem to favour Appeals there is just reason to suspect that they are forged The Fathers of the sixth Council of Carthage knew nothing of them tho' about Forty African Bishops were present at that Convention as Athanasius testifies A matter of such moment could not have been concealed from them when so many of their own Countreymen were witnesses to what was transacted The attempt that was made to father them upon the Council of Nice argues That there was no fair dealing about them If the Canons are genuine it must be remembred That they were made not by a General but a Provincial Synod Tho' the Council was intended to be General yet it proved otherwise by the Oriental Bishops withdrawing themselves and refusing to act in it The decrees of such a Convention have not efficacy enough to rescind and annul what was done before in the Council of Nice An Inferiour Authority cannot abolish what is established by a Superiour If the Council had been General yet if we look well into the Canons pretended to be framed by it they will not amount to that which the Church of Rome thinks to make of them Three things are conceded to the Bishop of that See 1. A liberty in case of judgment already given to deliberate whether the matter ought not to be considered again 2. If he thought so whether he would send any to be present at the hearing of the Cause 3. A freedom to appoint Judges out of the neighbouring Provinces finally to determine Here is no bringing the cause to Rome but the judgment is to be ended where the difference did begin If all this was as real as it is pretended to be it cannot be looked upon as any more than a prudent Expedient in that present juncture The Arians very much prevailed The Orthodox were highly oppressed The Bishop of Rome favoured their cause And to put him into a greater capacity of succouring them such a determination might be condescended unto But the words of the Synod plainly represent it as a novel thing which the Church before was utterly unacquainted with Neither the Institution of Christ nor Primitive Tradition are alledged as the ground of it but an honorary respect to the memory of S. Peter the Bishop of Rome being at that time esteemed as his Successour and very stedfast in that faith which he sacrificed his life for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are the words of Hosius of Corduba who is represented as the person who did steer all matters under debate in that Convention 8. No provision is made of one infallible Guide in a case of like importance The whole World is one Community under God the Father as the Church is one under Christ All particular Kingdoms are united under some general Laws as the several Churches are in the same rules of Belief and Worship They have all the same light of Reason There is a jus Gentium to which all the Empires of the Universe are obliged to submit Peace is as desirable betwixt them as Unity amongst the several parts of the Church The records of every Nation give an account of the direful effects of Civil as well as Ecclesiastical discord From hence ariseth the most
no evidence in Courts of Justice sufficient to ground a condemnatory Sentence upon Eye-witnesses tho' of the greatest integrity will be of no signification all will be left in a perfect state of Scepticism The grand pillars which support Religion will be utterly overthrown and demolished How can we be assured that there is a God but by his Word and Works And how can we perceive the Contents of his Word or be acquainted with his Works without using our Senses We cannot be sure that The Heavens declare the Glory of God or that this Proposition This is my Body is contained in the New Testament if we may not conside in our eyes Miracles the great Seals of Evangelical Verity are rendered insignificant if the Senses of those who were present when they were wrought may not be trusted to their attestation will be of no value Indeed we are told that the Sense is not deceived in the Sacrament The accidents of the Bread and Wine are its proper objects and they remain there according as they appear but as for the Substance that is miraculously changed and Sense is no competent Judg about it To which the reply is easie Accidents alone are not the proper objects of Sense but Accidents together with those material subjects in which they inhere It is matter which properly makes the impression upon our Nerves the Particles of it are under diverse modes and figures commonly stiled Accidents The Essence of these consists in inhesion Accidentis esse est inesse So that if they be separated they presently cease to be and by consequence have no power to make any impulse upon Sense They can have no more a solitary existence than the height breadth and length of a house with all the colours and modes of every room may remain after the whole fabrick is demolished If there be any miraculous change in the substance of the Bread and Wine nothing can be more sit to discern it than our Senses The essential effect of a Miracle is to work wonder and admiration and nothing can produce this but that which is manifest to our faculties Tho' the mode of doing is latent yet the thing done is clear and accommodated to the apprehension of every Spectator These four Topicks Scripture Antiquity Reason Sense standing in an irreconcileable opposition to the doctrin of Transubstantiation nothing is left to support it except these two pretences the Declaration of the present Church and an impossibility that what she declares should be an Innovation As for the first If by the Church we understand the Universal no such thing is done by her The Eastern Churches declare the contrary The Greeks in their Liturgies have nothing of this nature expressed They adhere to the seven first General Councils only which are wholly silent in this matter Tho' they have a proper word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to express Transubstantiation by yet they never use it when they speak of the Eucharist When they call the Bread the Body of Christ it is with an extenuating term as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quasi or the like After Consecration they give no adoration to it They deny that an unworthy Communicant receives the Body and Blood of Christ Cyril Patriarch of Constantinople says in the name of the Greek Church Vid. Hotting An. Appen p. 422. We confess and believe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the true and firm Presence of our Lord Jesus to wit that which Faith offers and gives us and not that which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the invented Transubstantiation doth inconsiderately teach These are his words in his Oriental Confession of the Christian Faith To say notwithstanding all this that Transubstantiation is the declared belief of the Universal Church is to cut off the Greeks from being any part of it altho' they receive the Holy Scriptures embrace the ancient Creeds submit to the seven first General Councils have an uninterrupted succession of Bishops If it be said That Schism and Heresie has deprived them and all other Churches of this priviledge and dignity who do not submit to the Papal Supremacy this may be as easily denied as asserted The Universality of jurisdiction contended for is a perfect usurpation which can never be legitimated by length of time against the institution of our blessed Lord who constituted all the Apostles in a parity No Man can with justice be charged with Schism or Heresie for not owning of that which bears an opposition to the appointment of the Supreme Head of the Church If we must believe the declaration of the present Church in the point under consideration what were those obliged to do who lived in the time of Pope Gelasius when there was a declaration diametrically opposite The present Pope declares That the Bread and Wine do not remain in the Sacrament Gelasius a person of equal Authority and every jot as Infallible declares That they do Both these we cannot be obliged to believe they being contrary one to the other If the present Church of Rome must be credited whensoever she thinks sit to declare her self How is this to be known She has no peculiar promise made to her That to the Universal is nothing to the purpose she being but a part and a very corrupt one too All that the promise imports is that there shall be always a people with their Pastors in the World retaining all the points which are fundamental and of peremptory necessity to Salvation which may be tho' the Community of Rome utterly cease As for any Universal Tradition about this matter it is but a futilous and vain pretence as is evident by the contests betwixt the Roman and African Bishops If the last had known of any such Tradition and believed the first to be infallible a sudden stop would have been put to all contradiction No man will dare to oppose a Church which he believes cannot err Neither are there any motives of Infallibility efficacious enough to induce us to receive this doctrin Bellarmine has reckoned up fifteen but they are so far from evincing that the Church of Rome is Infallible in her declarations that they will not amount to prove her a True Church as will be manifest in the Fourth Section As for the Second pretence the impossibility of Innovation it is in vain to alledge it against so much evidence as may be produced for the matter of fact The antient Church for many Centuries did assert That the substance of the Bread and Wine remains after Consecration as I have already proved The doctrin of the present Church of Rome is That it doth not remain Here is an undeniable change To set up an imaginary demonstration against so clear a matter of fact and to commend it to our belief with all the advantages of Art is a method not unlike to that of Pericles who when he had received a fair fall by his Antagonist attempted to impose upon his Spectators with his Rhetorical flourishes and
who by a Divine appointment notwithstanding his notorious miscarriage was to joyn with the rest of the Apostles in teaching all Nations he is commanded by Christ as many times to feed his flock as he had denyed him All this will make it evident That the Church of Rome has no promise made to her in the Scripture of Infallibility As for Universal Tradition That will be as hard to be found as a Scripture-promise It imports the delivery of this doctrin from one age to another ever since the Apostles times and an acknowledgment and reception of it in all places by all true Christians The following particulars cannot be reconciled with such a Tradition Many Heresies did emerge in the first Ages by which the Church was exceedingly disquieted Yet we never read in any authentick Record that the Bishop of Rome did summon those which adhered to them to appear in his infallible Consistory If any such Judicatory had been then known it is incredible he should so far neglect his duty as not to attempt the reducing of them to a sober and orthodox mind by his unerring Authority The Bishops of that Church lived so near the Apostolical Age that they could not be ignorant of the power which Christ had left with them and they were so pious and good that it would be a manifest injury to their memory to think that they would not exert it in matter of such importance If these Hereticks were summoned altho' no such thing is rècorded and did refuse to submit to the Authority which is pretended it is unaccountable how it comes to pass that Irenaeus Epiphanius Theodoret who have composed Catalogues of Heresies with which the Church was then infested should be so forgetful as not to reckon That in the number which those were guilty of who would not acquiesce in the supposed Authority This is now reputed an errour of the first magnitude All others are esteemed but trifles in comparison If it had been so accounted then it would not have been passed by in so profound a silence The African Bishop's denial of a compliance with Sozimus Boniface and Celestine Cyprian's refusal of a submission to Stephanus Irenaeus's opposing the decree of Victor do manifestly declare That they knew nothing of the Tradition which is pretended Had they been acquainted with it their integrity would not have suffered them to be engaged in so much disrespect towards the Church of Rome When Tertullian and Vincentius Lirinensis apply themselves to prescribe the best method how to prevent the spreading of Heresie they speak not one syllable of an infallible Judicatory at Rome If it had been known in their days no doubt they would not have failed to mention it as the most sovereign expedient If a Man sets himself to write a Book concerning the best way how to cure the Plague and knows of one infallible remedy it is not consistent with the rule of common honestly to pass it by in silence and to entertain his Reader with some uncertain conjectures It was anciently decreed That Controversies should be determined in the Province where they did arise If it had been believed That there was then such an Oracular Judge as is now asserted this had been a very unjust decree What can be more injurious than to oblige men to acquiesce in the decision of those who may impose upon them when they might if left to their liberty have had recourse to one in whom there is no possibility of deception A belief of this infallibility would have drawn such respects upon the Bishop of Rome That no other would have dared to account himself his equal and yet S. Cyprian treats him in such terms as plainly import a parity He stiles him Frater Collega Co-episcopus S. Jerome says That all Bishops are of an equal merit and the same Priesthood wheresoever they are whether at Rome Eugubium Constantinople Rhegium c. In the Communicatory Letters no more respect is expressed to him than to others The primacy which is some times spoken is not of jurisdiction but order He living in the City where the seat of the Emperour was when he did convene with other Bishops some regard was signified upon the account of his relation to that place but none upon the account of any Infallibility and Oecumenical jurisdiction which he was believed to be invested with When applications were made to him by those who were in distress it was not done with an opinion That he was inspired with an unnerring Spirit to determine their case but because he was of the same Sentiment with them and had great advantages by reason of his residence in the Imperial City to procure their relief What he did in favour of such persons as S. Athanasius and Chrysostome was not done juridically but declaratively He did not act as an authorized Judge but a sincere and resolved Friend to that Truth for which they were oppressed The infirmity of these pleas for Infallibility makes the Defenders at last'to fly to the Motives to Credibility as the securest Sanctuary The chief of them are Antiquity Diuturnity Amplitude uninterrupted succession of Bishops agreement in Doctrin with the ancient Church union of Members holiness of Doctrin efficacy of Doctrin holiness of Life the glory of Miracles If we should enter upon a particular examination of these they would be so far from proving the Church of Rome infallible that they will not amount to prove her a True Church The Church of Rome in those points which are peculiar to her is not so ancient as is pretended The novelty of those things in which she differs from the reformed Church is notoriously manifest as Supremacy the Worship of Images Transubstantiation c. When she has screw'd every thing to the highest pin it will not appear That any point of difference was before the Mystery of Iniquity began to work Diuturnity may with as much efficacy induce us to believe That the Mahometans are a True Church for they have been a thousand years in the world much longer than some Articles in the Roman Creed Amplitude may as well prove the Community of Rome Apostatical as Apostolical Antichristian as Christian Antichrist is described as sitting upon many waters and those Waters are interpreted people and multitudes Rev. 17.1 15. Those who have taken the greatest care to survey the World assert That if it be divided into thirty parts nineteen are inhabited by Polytheists Of the eleven that remain six be Jews and Mahometans Of the space which is left the greatest part is possessed by those who refuse a submission to the Bishop of Rome as Protestants Greeks Nestorians Jacobites He who takes a deliberate view of the vast body of the first in Poland Transylvania Hungary Germany Sweden Denmark Britany France and Ireland Of the second in Achaia Epirus Macedon Thrace Bugaria Walachia Podolia Moscovia Russia Natolia Syria Of the third in Assyria Mesopotamia Parthia Media India Tartaria Of the fourth in
Heaven The words do not speak the indefectibility of that Church but the present state only This Pillar began to decay in Domitián's time Rev. 2.5 and is at this day utterly demolished If it be granted That the words under consideration have an aspect upon the Universal Church no advantage will from thence accrue to the plea for Infallibility She is not represented as the ground and pillar of all Truth but of Truth in general which may be limited to that which is fundamental Tho' she cannot fail in this particular for then she will lose her essence and cease to be yet she may in other points very useful to be known If by Truth we understand all Truth the words may set forth the duty of the Church what she ought to do and not the actual performance what she always does When the Disciples are stiled the salt of the earth this doth not argue an invincible quality in them whereby they are secured against the danger of losing their savour but a constant obligation upon them to retain it and season others with it 7. When it is said Dent. 17.12 That man that will not hearken to the Priest shall die no advantage will from thence redound to the Bishop of Rome except he can make it appear That He is Successour to the High Priest under the Law and vested in the same priviledges which he will never be able to do If this was so it would not amount to prove him infallible The high Priest with the whole Sanhedrim was liable to mistake as appears by the Sacrifice appointed for the expiation of their errour Lev 4.13 He that would not hearken was to die not because he was of a different opinion from the Priest but by reason of his Pride and contempt of the Supreme Authority which is plainly intimated in those words That Man which will do presumptuously c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This is a common case in all Communities In superbia where there is no such thing pretended to as Infallibility When a cause is under debate and the Law requires the last appeal to be made to the Supreme Authority and the person concerned so to do turns his back upon it arrogantly refuses a submission and by consequence evidently endangers the Peace and Security of the whole Community this is a fault of the first magnitude and justly deserves the most severe animadversion If it could be proved That the Bishop of Rome with a Council called by him has as good Authority over All the Churches of the World as the high Priest with the Sanhedrim had over the National Church of the Jews Tho' from thence it would not follow That he is exempt from errour yet none would doubt to assert That his power is not to be treated with contempt 8. That Text Thou art Peter and upon this rock will I build my Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it is no more propitious to the Infallibility contended for than those which have been already considered It is not agreed Whether by the Rock is to be understood Peter himself or Jesus Christ who is stiled a Rock or the confession which Peter made The ancient Fathers incline to the two last If they be preferred the Church of Rome can from thence reap no advantage If we should grant That S. Peter is the Rock spoken of it will not argue any Infallibility promised to him but the declaration of a Divine purpose to make him a firm and successful instrument in the propagation of the Gospel as the rest of the Apostles were and many of their Successours Here is nothing peculiar to S. Peter The other Apostles are represented to be as intimately concerned in the foundation of the Church as he Eph. 2.20 Rev. 21.14 The following words the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it rather prove That the Church shall never cease to be than any universal indefectibility It is certain That there shall be a Church upon the Earth teaching all truth of peremptory necessity to Salvation until the coming of our blessed Lord But that it shall be exempt from errour in all matters of Faith is contrary to experience It was once received as a truth That Infants ought to have the Eucharist administred to them and now it as unanimously exploded for a grand mistake 9. The Prayer of Christ That the faith of Peter might not fail argues rather his not finally falling away than a total exemption from errour He was under great misapprehensions after these words had been spoken to him He believed That Christ would continue upon the Earth and in those dayes restore the Kingdom to Israel That the Gentiles were not to be called in and made partakers of the like priviledges with the Jews If it should be granted That the Petition of our Lord did secure an Infallibility to Peter this would be of no advantage to our adversaries in the present controversie It cannot be made to appear That the Bishop of Rome is concerned in all the Prayers which were made for S. Peter There is in them no mention of any Successour If there had it would be difficult to prove That the Pope is the person Some doubt whether S. Peter was ever at Rome The Scripture is silent in this matter The first Asserters were but of a mean reputation Many figments were devised to support the credit of their relation The common fame which by degrees did grow out of these beginnings cannot be accounted a demonstration so long as there are Catalogues of errours which not only the Vulgar but Persons of Learning have been surprised with To erect Infallibility upon such a fluid foundation is as if an attempt should be made to build a Castle in the Air. If S. Peter was at Rome and left the Bishop of that place to succeed him this might be only in his ordinary power and not in his extraordinary qualifications as personal Infallibility a power of doing Miracles There is as much reason for the Pope to challenge to himself the last as the first and yet I cannot understand that he pretends to it The Miracles in the Church of Rome are usually attributed to some persons that cannot easily be spoken with in order to the knowing the truth If this power had been ascribed to the Pope daily experience would have given the Asserters a flat contradiction 10. Those words Feed my sheep c. do not import the conferring upon Peter any priviledge above the rest of the Apostles but only the insuring to him his interest in the general Commission given to them They were commanded to teach all nations It might lie as an objection against him That he was not included in the number of those who were thus commissioned By his denial of Christ he had in appearance forfeited his right to the Apostleship as Judas by betraying him fell really from it To give him and others assurance That he was one