the Soul obtains the recovery of his Bodily Health But then as to the Persons who are designed whether to receive or to administer this Sacrament this also is delivered and that not obscurely in the foregoing Words For it is there shewn that the proper Ministers of this Sacrament are the Presbyters of the Church by which Word here we are not to understand the more Aged or Honourable amongst the People but either Bishops or Priests c. It is declared also that this Unction is to be ministred to the Sick but to those especially who are so dangerously ill that they seem to be past Recovery whence it is also called the †Sacramentum excuntium Sacrament of the Dying If the sick Persons recover after having received this Unction they may again be relieved by it when the like danger of Death happens Wherefore they are by no means to be hearkened to who against the manifest and clear Sense of the Apostle James teach either that this Unction is a device of Men or a Rite received from the Fathers that has neither a Divine Command nor a Promise of Grace and who assert that it is of no longer use as having been applied in the Primitive Church to the Gift of Healing only or who say that the Rite and Usage of the Holy Roman Church in the Administration of this Sacrament is repugnant to the Sense of St. James and therefore to be altered Lastly who affirm that this Extreme Unction may without Sin be contemn'd by the Faithful For all these things are most evidently contrary to the perspicuous Words of so great an Apostle c. So that in the Church of Rome Extreme Unction is a Sacrament administred to dying Persons the proper Effect whereof is the cleansing of them from the Remains of Sin by the Grace of the Holy Ghost and as appears by the Form of Words used in the Administration it is applied in order to the forgiveness of all Sins that have been committed by means of any of the Senses That Authority which they pretend for this Sacrament is indeed the highest for they say it was instituted by Christ The proof which they produce for this Institution is that it was insinuated by St. Mark and publish'd by St. James That the Evangelist did insinuate it and the other Apostle publish it we have the Word and Authority of the Council of Trent But I will be bold to say that if Men are not content to rely upon the Authority of the Council but will examine its proofs they may easily be convinced that neither did St. James publish nor St. Mark insinuate any such Doctrine or Practice as it has established And therefore the wisest Passage in the Declaration of the Council concerning this matter is that they are by no means to be hearkened unto who teach otherwise than it teaches For if we can but persuade Men to give us the hearing or the reading we are very confident to make it plain that not our Objections against this pretended Sacrament but their Pleas for it are most evidently contrary to the perspicuous Words both of the Evangelist who is said to insinuate it and of the Apostle who is said to publish it §. 2. That Extreme Unction can by no means be proved from St. James chap. v. 14 15. THE clearest proof they have for this pretended Sacrament are doubtless those Words of St. James ch v. 14 15. Is any sick among you let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them pray over him anointing him with Oil in the Name of the Lord And the Prayer of Faith shall save the Sick and the Lord shall raise him up and if he have committed Sins they shall be forgiven him Now supposing that the Institution of a Sacrament were implied in these Words and that the outward Sign thereof were anointing with Oil yet this could not by any means be the Sacrament of Extreme Vnction in the Church of Rome For according to St. James the Sick Person was to be anointed in order to the raising of him up or his Recovery from Sickness But the Sick are anointed in that Church for purging away the remains of their Sins when they seem to be past hopes of Recovery And tho perhaps one or other may recover afterward yet this is meerly accidental and besides the intention of administring their Sacrament which they therefore call the Sacrament of the Dying Nay the Sick Person in St. James was not to be anointed only in order to his Recovery but his Recovery was certainly to follow for 't is said the Prayer of Faith shall save the Sick and the Lord shall raise him up Which one Observation is sufficient to overthrow all the hope they have in this Text. For St. James does indeed advise anointing with Oil but 't is in such a Case when most assuredly the sick Person should not die The Church of Rome also does require the same but 't is when nothing can be well expected but the Death of the Patient Now which way they can gather a Sacrament of Extreme Vnction from an Authority that requires an Vnction which is not Extreme how they can prove a Sacrament which they pretend to be proper for dying Persons from those Words of Scripture that mention a Rite never used upon dying Persons a Man must have a great deal of Wit or rather a good share of the contrary to be able to imagine Which one thing seems to have been so well considered by †Bellar. de Extr. Unct. c. 3. Dico secundo illa verba duo c. Bellarmin and others after him that they found it necessary to interpret these Words The Prayer of Faith shall save the Sick and the Lord shall raise him up not so much of restoring Health to the Body as of cleansing forgiving and quieting the Soul And so they have made St. James to use Expressions in such a Sense as never Man of Understanding did either before or after him till the Cause of the Church of Rome made it necessary for these Men to interpret Words against all Rules of Speaking For according to the perpetual use of Words what is it to save the Sick but to save him from his Sickness What is it to raise up a sick Man but to restore him to Health And who would interpret these Expressions otherwise but they whose Cause is desperate if they be not otherwise interpreted But if it be asked what Grounds they pretend for this Liberty of Interpretation you must know that the Word saving indifferently refers to the healing of the Body or to the restoring of the Soul and the Word raising tho properly used of something that belongs to the Body yet by a Metaphor frequently used in Scripture signifies also to drive away sadness and dulness from the Mind Which is true indeed but nothing to the purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For tho these Words saving and raising may have
assist by a Sacrament there is I am sure nothing in the nature of the thing to hinder but that he may assist by the reception of the Eucharist at the hour of death though it be not a Sacrament proper to the Dying And if this be true there is nothing in the Argument why God must needs have appointed Extreme Vnction for the Dying but that the Number Three ought go round for the pleasing of their Imaginations who are entertained to their liking more with regular Figures and Analogies than with substantial and useful Truth I confess I am not very much concerned to see men take these pretty congruities and make them reasons for what they do themselves provided they will rest there and not make them Rules for what God Almighty does When (h) Arcud ubi supra cap. 3 Simeon Thessalonicensis tells us why in the Greek Church there are Seven Priests to anoint the Sick viz. because of all the Sevens that he could readily think of I am very well content for it being indifferent whether there were Seven Priests or not an indifferent reason I thought would serve the turn one way or other But it is not to be endured to put these petty Arguings upon the Infinite Wisdom of God by obliging him to appoint Sacraments for the sake of fanciful and neat Analogies 2. To make this Analogy hold the Cardinal did not think fit to mention some of the Sacraments of his Church some of those I mean that are for the aiding of us in our progress after Baptism as they hold for in this whole Chapter he mentions none of these but the Eucharist Now with them there are Seven in all i. e. Five between the first and the last from which Five indeed he might well have excepted Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders because according to them these two can never meet to the assistance of the same persons in their progress through the World and because they are not necessary to all But the Sacraments of Confirmation and Penance being added to the Eucharist do certainly make Three for our progress in the Church Nor can I imagin why those two were not remembred but for fear of spoiling the handsomeness of the Analogy and of raising an expectation of more than one Sacrament proper for us in our Egress out of the Militant Church especially since our dangers are said to be then greater and our strength to encounter them less than in the whole course of our life besides The truth is if the Institution of Sacraments must be thought to go by such Congruities as these it would be impossible for men to agree about the number and the use of Sacraments till they all agree in the same Phansies of Congruity And yet nothing in the World seems to have greater variety than Phansy has 3. If there were some colour of Agrument in a handsom Congruity yet in one that is strain'd and forced there is none at all For such is the congruity of being furnish'd with a Sacrament for our going out as we are with a Sacrament for our entring into the Church If the opposition had been natural either Baptism must have received us into the life of this World as Extreme Vnction is intended so secure our passage out of it or Extreme Vnction must send us out of the Church as Baptism does enter us into it No man will say the former nor Bellarmin the latter and therefore he was fain to add the consideration of the Churches Militancy in this life to save himself from the absurdity of making Extreme Vnction the Sacrament of our going out of the Church as Baptism is the Sacrament of our entrance into it But then this spoils the congruity of the opposition for he that is baptized does thereby become a Member of that Church part whereof is in Heaven but he that is anointed with Extreme Vnction does not thereby no not when he dies cease to be a member of that Church part whereof is upon Earth if he dies in the Lord. And therefore it cannot be said that he goes out of the Church by death as he entred into it by Baptism For by death it self he makes a farther progress in it Besides the effect of Baptism is this That thereby we were actually admitted into the Church But is it the effect of Extreme Vnction to pass us out of the Militant Church 'T is the Sacrament of the Dying they say but what effect has it if the sick person happens to recover after anointing Did his anointing assist him in his passage out of this World though he tarried in it still Or is it only a Sacrament that confers the Grace proper to it and is good for its end if there be occasion for it Or a Sacrament by it self that when it happens to do no good will be sure to do no harm It is a dangerous thing to lay any great weight upon these slender congruities And therefore dismissing the Analogy of Extreme Vnction to Baptism and the Eucharist and the congruity of providing a Sacrament for our Egress to answer the Sacraments of Ingress and Progress we have nothing to consider but the single congruity of providing sufficent assistance for the Faithful in so dangerous an hour as the hour of death But to this also I have spoken already and shall now add 1. That we do not in the least doubt but as God is present with his faithful Servants in all conditions of life to deliver them out of Temptation so he will not forsake them in the hour of death nor then suffer them to be tempted above what they are able but we say that this does not infer any the least need or even congruity that he should therefore institute a Sacrament proper for the comfort and assistance of the Dying since if he is pleased upon our Prayer to give the assistance of his Holy Spirit in that case without such a Sacrament our needs in that time of danger are as effectually supplied as if such a Sacrament had been added And therefore Chemnitius did well to say That other guards and defences are not to be sought for the dying than those that are provided for the living viz. the Word of God the remembrance of Baptism and the reception of the Eucharist which are all profitable to the dying And (h) Ubi supra Cap. V. Bellarmin did very ill to answer that at this rate there would be no need of the Eucharist after Baptism For in order to the receiving of Divine Grace we must observe Divine Institutions God was not bound to institute Sacraments for us and I think no man will deny but if he had pleased he could have saved us without them but when he has once instituted them we are bound to observe them if we expect Grace to help us in the time of our need 2. If it were true that a sufficient aid could not be provided in the dangerous hour of death but by
blotted out by contrition who knows not that it ought to be so vehement pungent and intense that the bitterness of the grief may equal the greatness of the sins But because very few would reach this degree therefore the number of those that could hope for the pardon of their sins this way must have been exceeding small Whence it was necessary that our most merciful Lord should provide for the common Salvation of men by an easier method as he has done with admirable wisdom in delivering to the Church the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven For according to the Doctrine of the Catholick Faith all are to believe and constantly to affirm that whoever is so disposed as to be sorry for the sins he has done and withal to purpose with himself that he will sin no more although he is not affected with that grief which may be sufficient to obtain his pardon yet when he has duly confessed his sins to a Priest all his sins are pardoned and forgiven him by the power of the Keys This is the Doctrine of their Famous Catechism and thus far sufficient care is taken for mortal sins by the Sacrament of Penance that they shall be blotted out upon easie terms if a man does but Grieve and can hold his intention to amend but so long till he receives Absolution Now this Sacrament being (m) Ibid. de Extr. Unct. Sect. 23. to go before Extreme Vnction lest the conscience of some mortal sin should hinder the effect of it the greater sins are therefore all done away not long before the hour of death And then for the (n) Ibid. Sect. 27. lesser sins and (o) Conc. Trid. Sess xiv de Extr. Unct. cap. 2. any sins that remain yet to be expiated and the Reliques of sin they are forgiven and wiped away by Extreme Vnction Now if this be true he must be a very wretch indeed that can desire a milder Gospel than a Gospel which comes so low as to take some grief and a good resolution for the forgiveness of all that is past For who is so bad as not to be sorry at certain times and to intend a new life for the future especially under the fear of death But tho he should afterwards take leave to retain his sins yet the Priest it seems had power to remit them before and he has power to remit them so plentifully at last that no Reliques of sin shall remain behind since the Sacrament of Extreme Vnction is that which compleats and (p) Ibid Doctr de Sacr. Ext. Unct. consummates the Sacrament of Penance And thus 't is left to the choice of their people whether they will live according to that Truth which the Ch. of Rome holds with us or according to those Doctrines which they maintain and we reject to their choice I say for any reason that they have to be afraid of going to Hell if they have but the benefit of the power of the Keys and the virtue of that Churches Sacraments I know indeed that some good things are said by the Council in behalf of reformation of life particularly in the place last cited they say that (q) Ibid. the whole Christian life ought to be a perpetual Penance they meant I hope a state of Amendment But 't is a very unlikely matter that men should be perswaded to a holy life when by those Assurances that the Church has given them they can so easily perswade themselves that they may be saved without it Nor is it very likely that many Confessors should withhold either the saving use of the Keys or the comfort of that use of them from wicked persons when they cannot do it without mending the Doctrine of their Church And if any should be so honest there are yet others to be had together with the word of the Church to warrant the effect of the Sacraments against the word of a single Priest to the contrary Against such abuses as these we not only may but ought to protest if we ought to be concerned for the honour of God and the souls of men that we may warn all those of our own Communion not to fall from their stedfastness and if possible recover those that are led away into these dangerous errors or have been educated in the belief of them SECT V. The Church of England and other Protestant Churches justified in not anointing the Sick at all IF it be laid to our charge that we have no Unction of the Sick we are very sure that whatever Unction of the Sick the Church of Rome can tax us for wanting excepting her own the charge will fall as heavy upon her self We do not anoint the Sick as they did in the Primitive Church because we pretend not to the Supernatural Gift of Healing and they anoint the Sick for this purpose in the Church of Rome no more than we We do not anoint the Sick as they began to do in the Seventh Age when all sick persons were anointed in order to bodily Cures but not to prepare their souls for death No more do they of the Church of Rome We do not anoint neither with Extreme Vnction as they indeed do But the business of this Discourse has been to shew that they ought to do it no more than we But the account we have to give of this matter is very plain and such as will bear us out to any man that asketh us a reason whoever he be For of those Three Unctions there is no colour to charge us with blame in omitting any of them excepting the second which had the Authority of the middle Ages from the Seventh to the Twelfth But that we are under no colour of Obligation to be determined by that Authority is plain to us from these three Considerations That it was neither Primitive nor has at any time been Vniversal nor had they who began it any good reason for what they did but were themselves to blame for beginning it 1. It was not Primitive since by anointing all the Sick for the recovery of their Health the Seventh Age departed from the example of the Six foregoing Ages which are and ought to be of greater Authority than those that followed They had no standing Offices for Unction of the Sick nor knew of any other but that mentioned by St. James when a Miraculous Cure followed The Religion of being anointed for Health by those that had not the Gift of Healing was so unknown a thing to Primitive Antiquity that a Bishop of the Fifth Age wrote to the Pope of Rome about something like it as men use to do of things that had never been heard of before Those fancies of receiving Health by the use of Chrism began but then to stir which afterwards setled into Rules and Offices for anointing all the sick with Oyl for the Curing of their Diseases At first in imitation of the Primitive way not only Priests but all Christians might anoint for
Extreme Vnction IMPRIMATUR Septemb. 29. 1687. Hic Liber cui Titulus A Discourse of Extreme Unction c. JO. BATTELY A DISCOURSE Concerning the PRETENDED SACRAMENT OF Extreme Vnction With an account of the Occasions and Beginnings of it in the Western Church In Three Parts With a Letter to the Vindicator of the Bishop of Condom LONDON Printed for Richard Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-yard MDCLXXXVII To the Reverend Father the Vindicator of the Bishop of Condom's Exposition Reverend Sir THIS Discourse of Extreme Unction had gone into the World without any Preface to the Reader had not your Vindication obliged me to direct one to you who it may be will find your self concerned to peruse the following Papers I could not by any means suffer my self to be diverted from reading your Book that was published last Week and that not meerly for gratifying a more than usual Curiosity to see what you had to say but rather for the informing of my Judgment since I could not easily believe that in saying so much as you have done you should yet say nothing to the purpose And therefore you may be sure I did not fall asleep when I came to the Article of Extreme Unction but gave you full attention there because I had so lately dwelt upon that Argument and was just then publishing my Thoughts about it Shall I speak my Mind freely It was to me indifferent whether I should find my self obliged to retract any thing that I had written or to tell you as I do that you have given me no Reason at all to do so I am as unwilling to anticipate the Defence of that Worthy Person against whom you are engaged as to neglect all notice of your Vindication in a point wherein I am this moment particularly concerned And therefore I shall tell you generally and briefly how the matter stands because there seems to be a fitness in it but without pretending to deserve any Thanks from him or to expect any from you As for what you say upon the Text of St. James the main Question is whether from those Indefinite Words Is any sick among you taken in Connexion with those that follow there be more reason to believe that it was a standing part of the Presbyters Office to anoint any Christian whatsoever in his Sickness for the Forgiveness of his Sins or from those Words The Prayer of Faith shall save the Sick and the Lord shall raise him up To conclude that the Apostle having directed all the Sick to send for the Elders of the Church did immediately take notice of a Case that happened but sometimes viz. that of a miraculous Cure upon the Prayer of Faith in which case the Sick were to be anointed with Oil in the Name of the Lord. Now Sir I beg leave to tell you that tho there are many Inducements to the latter Opinion offered in the First part of this Work which you seem not to have been aware of yet I cannot find any one Exception against that or any Reason for the former Opinion in all your performance which I have not prevented in mine Which will be so evident to those who care to take the pains of comparing you and me together that I need not fear to be suspected of Insincerity Reply p. 190. in desiring you whose Zeal will not suffer you to mitigate the earnest desire you have for the Salvation of your Brethren in desiring you I say to animadvert upon these Papers and that for the Author's sake who is I dare say no less concerned to be saved than you are that he should be so You know the Council of Trent has damn'd us as far as Anathematizing goes for denying your Sacrament of Extreme Unction If you do in good earnest believe there was Cause for it let us see that you do so by sparing a little of your Charity to save us if it may be from this damning Error Certainly I could not desire to meet with a Man more fit for this Undertaking than you would seem to be For you it seems can prove that Extreme Unction is a Practice that came down from the Apostles Reply p. 70 71. and was from Age to Age visibly continued in all Christian Churches both of the East and West for 800 Years How say you did the Greek and Latin Churches for the first 800 Years practise this Unction and do Protestants who pretend to reform according to the Primitive Purity reject it I perceive you are very sure of it pray therefore will you try to make me so too for if you do I promise you to examin all those Reasons from the place over again which led me to an Interpretation of St. James different from yours and that with a double Severity tho you should not think it needful to pass the least Reflection upon them For I assure you it is the practice of the Church for more than 800 Years and especially the practice of the First six Ages as I understand it that induces me not a little to believe our Interpretation of St. James to be the true one which you must not blame me for Reply p. 65. who say that the best way of proving things from Scripture is to shew Antiquity understood it so But if you thought that your Word ought to be taken in so great a Point you should by no means have lessened the Authority of it by telling two excuse me Reverend Father for so it is I say two Tales in the very same Breath wherein you delivered your Oracle about the Antiquity and Universality of Extreme Unction One Tale is and 't is a notable one that the Defender himself confessed this Extreme Unction to be so Ancient and Universal a Practice as you would have it thought to be Surely if you do not make better Proof out of the Fathers than you have done by the Confession of the Defender we must look out for a new Man to prove to us Extreme Unction by the Universal Practice and Tradition of the Church as you speak Def. p. 42 45. I find indeed the Defender confessing that that Interpretation of the Words of St. James which he followed was for 8â—0 Years esteemed the undoubted meaning of them and that the ancient Liturgies of the Church and the publick practice of it do for above 800 Years shew that they esteemed this Unction i. e. St. James 's Unction to belong primarily to bodily Cures and but secondarily only to the Sickness of the Soul Now that he should therefore confess Extreme Unction to have been of so ancient standing is to make him say the quite contrary to what he does say For the Unction of which he spake was not Extreme but brought to shew that Extreme Unction did not in all that time obtain in the Church I pass by your Insinuation that he supposed the Unction mentioned by St. James was practised by the Primitive Church for the
first 800 Years He said no such thing nor supposed any such thing but only that for 800 Years they esteemed St. James's Unction to belong primarily to Bodily Cures which they might do and yet in less time than 800 Years they might bring in an Unction different from that of St. James though both of them were primarily designed for Bodily Cures In the following Discourse I have shewn that they not only might do so but that they did do so But I pass by this till you give further occasion to display the Artifice of these Insinuations which for the present I shall leave to your Reader 's Diligence to gather if he will take the pains to compare you with the Defender in this Article The other Tale is and 't is Brother to the former That Cardinal Cajetan did not positively say as the Defender affirmed he did who affirmed that Cardinal Cajetan freely confessed the Words of St. James could belong to no other than Bodily Cures This Sir quite disheartned me for I took the Cardinal's Confession to be so positive that I translated it out of the Cardinal himself and inserted it into a convenient Place of the following Book ‖ Disc p. 13. where any one may find it and so may judg betwixt you and us in this Matter For I intend not to produce the Place here too and to argue the Point precisely because 't is so clear that there is no need of words to make an honest Man understand it and all the Words in the World will signify nothing if a Man be not so honest as he should be The only Pretence you have that the Cardinal did not positively say what the Defender affirmed him to have said is that the Defender did not give the Cardinal 's own Words but what he conceived to be his Sence For he did not translate him as I have done But Reverend Father it must be such another Man as you seem to be who reads the Cardinal's Words and will not allow him to be as positive for us as the Defender said he was But the worst of all is this that you do upon this very occasion accuse the Defender of Falsification that is of Falsifying Cajetan as you tell us in the Margin I told him said you First that Cardinal Cajetan did not positively say as he affirmed he did So that by your own Confession you told him so in your former Book and therefore this seems to be a very deliberate Business and you stand in it still But then you say what if he had Why truly then the Defender did not falsify Cajetan as you it seems are resolved to say that he does And thus where you accuse the Defender of one Falsification you are your self guilty of two Falsifications in the compass of five Lines one of which is so much the more inexcusable because it consists in accusing another falsly of the same Crime For these Reasons Sir we desire to be excused as to believing that all Antiquity goes this way and that way because you say so But because I would not be thought unreasonable I shall be content if instead of proving Antiquity to be for ye you will answer the Arguments of the Second Part to the contrary Only I desire you not to repeat any thing you have said here which you will find satisfied there For instance that the ancient Prayers made mention of Remission of Sins as well as of Bodily Cures for you will find that * Disc p. 99 100 106. this has been considered to your Hand And that your Work may still be less I think it were good advice if you would spare the Defender's pains too a little that is to say whereas you have solemnly ranged by Pages and Articles his Calumnies Falsifications false Translations Unsincerities uncharitable Accusations wilful Mistakes of your Doctrine affected Misapplications c. False Impositions Authors misapplied and plain Contradictions you would do well to put out an Advertisement signifying and confessing that there is not one Tittle of all this true nor any Colour for any part of this spiteful Charge excepting in the Translation of the 32 Can. of Sess vi of C. Tr. which you note p. 48 of your Reply In which the Defender trusting to one to translate that Canon for him who did not sufficiently remark the pointing of it was led into that Mistake which you there observe and which your self in the same place in good measure acquit him of by confessing that he understood that same Canon aright but in the very next Page And had you only added that he made no use of that Mistake in the management of his Argument from that Canon as in Justice you should have done you would then have exposed only your own Disposition to Cavil but have done as little prejudice by this as you have by all the rest to the Defenders Honesty or Understanding And 't is so very small a matter which here you tax him for and he I assure you has such an untoward business against you in this very place that I cannot afford to abate any thing of the foresaid Advice to confess once for all I know not but he may be perswaded to tarry a Month or thereabouts to see whether you will be thus ingenuous and discreet You may expect to have employment enough besides in vindicating the Doctrine of your Articles for I am told that God willing you will have another Defence in a little time and we are apt to think that it will give you and Monsieur de Meaux another Years work to put Words together I have but one Word more Reply p. 188. p. 173. The Bishop begs of Almighty God in the anguish of his Soul c. you conjure the Defender by all that is Sacred c. by the Eternal God and his Son Christ Jesus c. Reverend Sir Men that are not in earnest may use the most amazing Expressions to make the World believe they are But be not deceived God is not mocked as you will find And in the mean time those that are honest and wise will not so much consider who they are that break forth into the most vehement Exclamations as who they are that bring the clearest Proofs Sir I am Your Friend and Servant c. THE CONTENTS PART I. That the Places of Scripture produced for it are against it Sect. 1. WHAT the Doctrine of the Roman Church is concerning Extreme Vnction Pag. 1 § 2. That Extreme Vnction can by no means be proved from St. James chap. v. 14 15. Pag. 6 § 3. The true Interpretation of St. James 's Words Pag. 13 § 4. What was signified by Anointing with Oil in St. Mark Pag. 16 § 5. What is meant by the Prayer of Faith and by having committed Sins which shall be forgiven Pag. 24 § 6. That our Interpretation of the Vse of Anointing in St. James and not our Adversaries is favoured by the following Passages to
set a most sure Guard about Christians to make good the end of their Life For what reason therefore does the same Council tell us that the sick Person having been anointed does sometimes when it is expedient for the welfare of the Soul obtain the Recovery of his Bodily Health Why I say do they in the Doctrine of this their Sacrament mention an accident so impertinent to the Nature and Design of it as the Recovery of Bodily Health I answer because they are driven to it by an extreme necessity of feigning some resemblance between the use of their Vnction and of that in St. James For 't is so plain that St. James promises bodily Health upon what he prescribes to be done that the Wit of Man is not able to disguise it And therefore it was absolutely necessary to give some hint of the same thing in their Doctrine about Extreme Vnction tho he must either have no Eyes or wink hard who sees not that 't is thrust in most impertinently and against the whole tenour of their Doctrine and Practice which plainly shew that 't is not administred by them for the prolonging of Life but for the Assistence of the Soul at the Hour of Death Which these Men are so sensible of that they dare not venture their Cause upon this weak Attempt of bending their Sacrament to the Text by pretending some regard in their Unction to the Recovery of Bodily Health but find themselves obliged also to bend the Text as unreasonably to their Sacrament by pretending that St. James does not speak of restoring Health only in those Words of saving the Sick and raising him up but of cleansing and strengthning the Soul too as Bellarmin and Estius would make us believe By which Artifice they have not done their Cause so much Service as they have discovered good will to it since we cannot but observe that themselves were conscious how impossible it is to make the Text and their Sacrament meet without forcing both the one and the other by an unnatural Representation And yet even thus much violence will never bring them together so long as 't is manifest that to the use of this Rite of Anointing in St. James as it is by him required the Recovery of Bodily Health is absolutely promised which they can with no Face pretend to be the constant or even frequent effect of their Extreme Unction since their Doctrine and Practice proclaim it to be the Sacrament of the Dying As for the forgiveness of Sins mentioned in the following Words of St. James it was promised upon a supposition that the sick Person had committed Sins And if he had committed Sins they shall be forgiven him Which plainly seems to be the supposition of a Case that was not common to all that were healed upon receiving the Vnction mentioned by the Apostle And that even this Promise does not afford the least ground for the Vnction of the Roman Church will appear when I come to explain the several Expressions in the Text. In the mean time to shew that the Power of Truth does sometimes prevail upon Men of the best note in the Church of Rome I shall close this Point with the Confession of no meaner a Man than Cardinal Cajetan who determines thus upon this place of St. James It neither appears by the Words nor by the Effect that he speaks of the Sacrament of Extreme Vnction but rather of that Vnction which our Lord appointed in the Gospel to be used upon sick Persons by his Disciples For the Text does not say Is any Man sick unto Death but absolutely Is any Man sick And it makes the effect to be the recovery of the Sick and speaks but conditionally of the forgiveness of Sins Whereas Extreme Vnction is not given but when a Man is almost at the point of Death and as the Form of Words then used sufficiently shews it tends directly to the forgiveness of Sins This was said like an honest Man and if all Men of sense would say what they think this Controversy with many more would soon be at an end §. 3. The true Interpretation of St. James 's Words THO what hath been said is enough to deprive the Roman Vnction of all relief and support from this place of Scripture yet for the benefit of those who possibly have not well considered the Text of which we have been speaking I shall first offter the plain meaning of it and shew for what end and purpose anointing with Oil was prescribed by St. James and then confirm the Interpretation by those Arguments that led me to it and by such Answers as may be sufficient to remove our Adversaries Objections against it We say then that several extraordinary Gifts were by the Spirit dispersed amongst the first Believers for the establishing of Christianity in the World and that one kind of these were the (g) 1 Cor. xii 9 28 30. Gifts of Healing That they who had this Power were directed by the Impulse of the Spirit when or upon what Persons to exert it That being thus directed they called upon the Name of the Lord with assurance of the Event and the Sick were accordingly restored to their Health That sometimes they did in this manner heal the Sick upon whom Diseases had been inflicted as a Punishment for some Sins they had been guilty of That in this Direction of St. James Is any Man sick c. he refers to these extraordinary Gifts of Healing and that he prescribes Anointing the sick Person with Oil in that case only when the Elders knew by the Spirit that the Gift of Healing was to be shewn and that the Lord would raise him up So that in case of Sickness St. James directs the sick Person to send for the Elders of the Church and adds a particular motive so to do from the Gift of Healing which then flourished in the Church viz. that if it seemed good to God which the Elders would assuredly know by the Instruction of the Spirit he should by their praying over him be restored to his Health In which case to signify the Supernatural Gift of God in raising him up they were accordsng to Custom to anoint him with Oil. Whereupon the Event would shew that their Prayer was not the Prayer of vain Confidence but of Faith and that they had not in vain anointed the Sick with Oil in testimony of their assurance of his Recovery for as he says the Prayer of Faith shall save the Sick and the Lord shall raise him up And to advise the sick Man more effectually to take this Religious Course he adds another Motive that if that Sickness were sent to punish him for some Sins that he had committed even that should not hinder his Recovery any more than if it had been inflicted only for the trial of his Faith and Patience for his Sins should be forgiven him In which Interpretation the main point of Controversy that remains between us and
at all the word Sacrament at which elsewhere he is so ready to take advantage being not so much as here mentioned Moreover that Unction of which this Synod spake was for healing the distempers of the Body and therefore very different from the Roman Unction which is principally for those that are drawing on to the last gasp And as for the diseases of the Soul which it was said to heal too there is no reason that the Synod should be interpreted otherwise than according to the Text which they cited where 't is said If he hath committed sins they shall be forgiven him that is to say that the first and constant intention in Unction of the Sick was to relieve their Bodies and in some cases it would also be beneficial to their Souls But by this time I grant there was a certain custom of anointing the Sick slipt into the Church something different from the judgment and practice of more antient times but withal a great deal more different from the modern doctrine and practice of the Church of Rome This I shall shew more particularly in its proper place and that although thus much Antiquity comes too late to conclude us in points wherein it was singular yet it does effectually condemn the Roman Church in points wherein it was not so because it shews the lateness of their Innovations As for the Synod of Worms held in the year 868 which he next mentions he confesses that the Canon he refers to renews the Decree of Innocentius The truth is that Canon does word for word repeat all that passage in the Epistle of Innocentius Can. 72. which we have considered before and this without the least Preface to it or Note upon it This therefore instead of being a Testimony to Extreme Unction is a good Argument that those Fathers knew no more of it than the Bishops of Rome and Eugubium did above 400 years before He cites also a Canon of a Synod at Meaux out of Burchardus commanding that upon Good-Friday Eve the Rectors of Parishes should receive a Glass of holy Oyl from the Bishop for the anointing of the Sick according to Apostolical Tradition Now whether there ever was such a Canon made at Meaux or not 't is all one to us for that it was now the custom to anoint all Sick persons we readily grant but that it was either Extreme or Sacramental Unction we flatly deny nor is there a word to that purpose in the Canon now cited The next is the second Synod of Aken (e) Aquisgr 2. Cap. 2. §. 1. Can. 8. which requires that once a Year the Bishops in all Cities do not neglect the Benediction of Holy Oil †In quo salvatio infirmorum creditur wherein the relief of sick Persons is believed to be What says Bellarmin upon this The Canon says he requires that this Sacrament be not neglected in which the Salvation of the Sick is contained But does it speak of Extreme Vnction or of Sacramental Vnction Yes they will say for it speaks of that Vnction in which the Salvation of the Sick is contained But the Canon does not say as Bellarmin does but that the Health or Salvation of the Sick is believed to be in that Unction which is as much as to say that their Unction was believed to be very profitable towards the recovery of a sick Mans Health And that this was the meaning of the Fathers appears from their instructions to the Presbyters concerning the care they ought to have of the Sick which is expressed in these words (f) Ibid. §. 2â— Can. 5. But if he his Parishioner be grieved with Sickness let him not by his the Presbyters negligence want Confession and the Prayer of the Priest or the Anointing of holy Oil. Lastly If he perceives his end approaching let him commend the Christian Soul as a Priest should do to the Lord his God with the reception of the Holy Communion and his Body to be buried in a Christian manner By which you see there are two states of the sick Person considered one when he is deprest by sickness the other when he is drawing to his end And that the Anointing with Oil is prescribed as proper to the former viz. while good hope of life lasted not to the latter as 't is now in the Church of Rome when he seemed to be near his end For in that case they prescribed the Administration of the Communion Which shews that by believing the Salvation or Health of the Sick to be in Unction which they had observed not long before they meant the common belief of the profitableness of Unction to raise up the Sick and to restore him to Health For if they had taken Unction to be the Sacrament of the dying according to the new Divinity of the Trent-Synod they also would have prescribed Unction in that case wherein 't is plain they did not prescribe it viz. * Si finem urgentem perspexerit when it was perceived that Death was at hand To conclude whereas the Cardinal affirms That the Council of Mentz under Rabanus affirms like things I do acknowledge that in this he says the truth for they require (g) Mog I. Can. 26. that according to the decrees of the Fathers the Sick should be heartned with Prayers Consolations and holy Vnction and refreshed with the Communion where 't is again observable that the Unction is to go before and then the Communion to follow which later that they required in case of such a prospect of death as the Synod of Aken speaks of is plain from their calling the Communion the Viaticum or * Communione Viatici reficiantur the Food for their passage out of this into the other World But if they had dreamt of the Extreme Vnction of the Church of Rome that and not the Eucharist had been prescribed in the last place to fortifie the Soul in her last conflicts And now the summ of his Testimonies for Extreme Vnction out of Ancient Councils comes to this That he has not one genuine Canon of a Council to pretend till the Ninth Age and there is not one that he appeals to in that Age neither but all things considered it rather makâ—â—gainst him than for him And so much for Ancient Councils SECT V. That Extreme Unction has not the Testimony of any Ancient Father HE pretends that they (h) Ubi supra §. Jam vero ex patribus c. have two kinds of Testimonies from the Fathers One of those who indeed do not expresly say that this is one of the Sacraments but yet they expresly say That the words of S. James belong to us and that the Presbyters ought now and in all times to do that which S. James describes Now if he had such Testimonies as these to produce they would not in the least affect our Cause since we also say that this place of S. James belongs to us as I have already
shewn P. 1. § 8. and that it prescribes some things which there will be occasion for in all Ages of the Church and nothing but what is very fit to be done when there is the same occasion for it that there was at first But leâ— us however consider the Testimonies themselves The first he refers to is Origen's second Homily upon Leviticus where there are seven ways laid down of obtaining remission of sins the seventh being expressed in that passage which the Cardinal meant The words are these (i) Ultra med There is yet a seventh way though it be hard and painful when the sinner washes his Bed with tears and tears are his meat day and night and when he is not ashamed to show his sin to the Priest of the Lord and to seek for Healing according to him who saith I said I will confess against my self my transgressions unto the Lord and thou forgavest the ungodliness of my heart In which also is fulfilled that which the Apostle saith Is any man sick let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them lay their hands upon him anointing him with Oil in the Name of the Lord and the Prayer c. Now here indeed Origen says that in the Penitence which he described in order to the remission of sins that Text of S. James was fulfilled Which is so far from being an Argument that he understood the Text of Extreme Vnction that 't is a good Argument of the quite contrary for 't is manifest that he does not apply the Text to the case of a dying or so much as a sick Person but in general to the case of a sinner that anxiously seeks for Pardon and is willing to undergo that hard and painful Penitence which he described If therefore the Cardinal's meaning by this Testimony was to prove that Origen believed all was to be done in every Age which S. James directs and in particular the anointing with Oil then he must needs suppose that in Origen's opinion S. James directed the anointing of Penitents without any regard at all to a state of Health or Sickness But if Origen had thought so I dare say that he whatever the Cardinal might haâ—â— done would not have called this Unction either the Sacrament of the dying or Extreme Unction or so much as the Unction of the Sick Could any thing be more absurd than to pretend that this great Man produced S. James's Text in favour of Extreme Vnction which is always of the sick or the dying when the Persons to whom he applied it and who were to be anointed if he speaks of any that were to be so might every one of them be in good and perfect Health Only Bellarmin of all Men should not have dealt in this fashion because he says expresly afterward That (k) Ubi supra Cap. VII §. Tertio nota this Sacrament is as it were a kind of Penance of the Sick who cannot do works of Penance But 't is plain that those Persons to whom Origen applied the Text of S. James were those that did works of Penance and that a hard and laborious Penance too It is not for nothing that the Cardinal does so often refer his Reader to Authorities without producing the words themselves So that this Authority is grosly impertinent to the purpose for which 't is brought and though (l) Orig. Paris Genebrard had some colour to make this place speak of Sacramental Confession yet there is none in the World to produce it in favour of Extreme Vnction But then what was Origen's meaning to say that in the Penitence of a sinner and God's Mercy to him that was fulfilled which S. James said Is any man sick c I Answer First That although this Text was produced yet it may be reasonably supposed that Origen did not mean all was fulfilled that is there said but only some part of it viz. That which concerned calling for the Presbyter and desiring his Prayers and obtaining Remission of Sins to which we are to add Confessing of Faults though he did not cite the Text so far For that all should be fulfilled in the proper sense by doing what he prescribed is unconceivable for to weep and to confess c. is not to be anointed with Oil. I say therefore Origen might reser to some special passages in that Text viz. those which might be well accommodated to his presont purpose Or Secondly According to the ingenious conjecture of Mr. Daillé Origen allegorized this place after his manner making the sick Man the Type of the sinner (m) Ubi supra §. 93. As in S. James the sick calls for the Presbyters so here the sinner goes to the same There the sick is anointed with Oil. Here the sinner is besmear'd with his own Tears and as it were with the Vnction of Penitence There the sick Man is healed here also the sinner is restored And therefore Origen affirms that to be fulfilled in the one which S. James affirmed properly and literally of the other For every one knows that as often as that is done which was expressed by a Type so often the Type is said to be fulfilled Which supposition is the more probable because in this Homily that great Man's hand was in at Allegorizing for there the Reader may find that he discovered his seven ways of coming to Forgiveness in the Sacrifices of the Law But whatever his meaning was one thing is certain that he did not mean Extreme Vnction And that is all we need to be sure of at present To the same purpose is (n) De Sacerdotio L. III. c. 6. S. Chrysostom quoted in the next place but not a word produced that he says For indeed he brings in the Text of S. James as an instance of that Priestly Dignity and Power which he was speaking of how available it is to obtain forgiveness of sins for us not only in Baptism at first but afterward by Discipline Instruction and Prayers But of the case of a dying or sick Person he says not one word which shews plainly enough that he produced the whole Text for the sake only of the latter part of it which expresseth forgiveness of sins and that he thought this part of the Text might be understood of the power of the Keys which was the subject of his discourse both before and after the mentioning of this Text. As little to the purpose is it either that he found this Text quoted in S. Austin's (o) Tom. III. Speculum for no interpretation of it is given there or that as he observes Sâ—â—ustin lays down those passages only of the Scripture which are useful to us at all times as if this place of Scripture were of no use to us now unless the Doctrine and use of Extreme Vnction might be concluded from it the vanity of which conceit we have already touched more than once (p) Vid. Dallaeum de Extr. Unct. p. 108 113.
acknowledge began to speak of the Unction of the Sick as the Church of Rome does now But then I cannot allow these to be Antient Fathers for they were all Men of the Twelfth Age. And it is more than enough for us that the great Cardinal having undertaken to prove by the Tradition of the Antients that Extreme Unction is a Sacrament has not been able to produce so much as one pertinent Testimony for it of Pope Council or Father for above a thousand years after Christ SECT VI. That the silence of Antiquity and the Circumstances with which it is to be taken are a positive proof that Extreme Vnction has not the Tradition of the Antients but is a notorious Innovation THough so great a failing is of it self a reasonable inducement to believe that Extreme Unction was utterly unknown to Antiquity yet there are many more evidences of it which it may be worth the while to produce if it be but to reprove the confidence of our Adversaries and to shew that they who make the greatest noise of Antient Fathers and Councils have the least cause for it of all other Christians in the World And here I am entring upon a Subject which * De Extr. Unc. Lib. 11. cap. 1. Mr. Daillé has quite exhausted and have therefore no more to do than to bring into a narrow compass some of those Arguments from Antiquity which he has brought together and pursued at large with extraordinary judgment In the first place there is not the least mention of this pretended Sacrament in Justin Martyr Irenaeus Tertullian or Cyprian P. 61.62 nor in any of the Writers of the Three first Ages who yet discourse frequently and plainly of the Discipline and the Sacraments of the Christian Church and therefore it was not known to them 2. Neither was it known in the Fourth Age which afforded so many Christian Writers since not one of them mentions it no not in treating upon the Sacraments and Rites of the Church which had been as unpardonable negligence in them if they had believed any such Sacrament as this as it would be now in the Divines of the Church of Rome to omit Extreme Unction when they pretend to give an account of the Sacraments P. 62 63. Epiphanius largely treats of the Doctrins Rites and Disciplines of the Church in the close of his work against Heresies and has not a word of Extreme Unction The Countefeit Dionysius in his Eccl. Hist does with wonderful exactness and curiosity lay down all the mysteries of the Church from the Baptism to the Funerals of the Faithful but of Extreme Unction he is altogether silent And so is the Author of the Apostolical Institutions in his Eighth Book where he undertakes to declare all Ecclesiastical Forms whatsoever 3. That for the first fix Ages though the manner and circumstances of the Deaths of many holy Persons were described very particularly by the Writers of those times yet there is not the least intimation that so much as any one of them was anointed Eusebius mentions it not of Constantine or Helen Nor Athanasius of Anthony Nor Gregory Nazianzen of his Sister Gorgonia Cap. 2. p. 66.67 68. or of Gregory his Father or of Basil Nor Gregory Nyssen of Gregory of Neocaesara or of Ephrem Nor Ambrose of his Brother Satyrus or of Theodosius Nor Sulpitius of Martin Nor Simeon Metaphrastes of Chrysostom Nor Paulinus of Ambrose Nor Hierom of Lucinius or Hilarion c. no nor of Paula though he and her Daughter Eustochium were present at her end nor S. Augustin of his Mother Monica nor Possidius of S. Augustin On the other hand in these later Ages the Extreme Unction of those who dye in the Roman Communion and have their Lives and Deaths written afterward is seldom or never omitted as appears by a vast number of Instances out of Surius P. 70. particularly of Carolus Borromeus Franciscus Borgia Antonine of Florence Bernardinus de Senis Justinian of Venice Count Eleazar Thomas Aquinas William the Abbot Antony of Padua and the Famous Dominic and a great many more of whom 't is expresly recorded that they had Extreme Unction No other reasonable account can be given why this so very material a Circumstance should perpetually be omitted in describing the deaths of the Antient Christians and hardly ever omitted upon the like occasion by Roman Writers but that as the thing it self is now constantly practised in the Church of Rome so it was utterly unknown to the Antient Church 4. That from the fifth Age to the ninth they that wrote the deaths of Holy Persons do very frequently remember that they received the Eucharist never that they received Extreme Unction before their departure out of this Life which is proved by an abundance of Instances out of Bede and Surius c. Cap. 3. p. 73 74. c. But had Extreme Unction been used in those times no account can be given why the mention of that should be perpetually omitted there being no manner of reason why it should not have been as frequently remembred as the other 5. That to the ninth Age none of the Antients moved any Question concerning Penitents receiving or not receiving Extreme Unction before the Article of Death whereas nothing had been more proper if they had believed it to be the Sacrament of the Dying Cap. 4. p. 75. c. For there was a diversity of Discipline as to the communicating of Penitents in the Fourth and Fifth ages and so on from that which obtained in the three First and it consisted in this that the First were more rigid and denied the Eucharist to those in their departure out of this life to whom the latter Ages allowed it But if Extreme Unction had been then used this diversity had appeared in that and not in the Eucharist I shall produce no more of his Arguments to this purpose these being abundantly sufficient to satisfie any disinterested Man that either there was no such thing as Extreme Unction known in the Church for many Ages from the beginning or else the Antients and indeed all Christian Writers that had any occasion to treat of the forementioned things for above a thousand years after Christ were guilty of unaccountable folly and stupidity in one and the same thing i. e. in omitting not only what was necessary for their purpose but moreover plain and easie and one would think unavoidable by men of common diligence and understanding That one consideration which Chemnitius objected against Extreme Unction that there are no antient examples of Holy Men anointed in their Extremes is of it self sufficient to carry the cause from the Church of Rome in point of Antiquity after once it is made evident that there is no passage in any Antient Father that bears witness to that pretended Sacrament Unless Bellarmin's answer may pass that there are no such examples because (t) Cap. VI. §. Respondeo non exstare
restoring Health tho' the Patient died of his Disease presently after But another thing which made the entrance of extreme Unction more easy and unsuspected was the advantage of time and the notable preparations that made way for it to come in gradually and insensibly and without the noise that violent and sudden alterations make By the forms of Unction that obtained in the Tenth Age it appears that they applied it to the Eyes the Ears the Nostrils the Lips the Breast and this with reference to the sins that had been committed by seeing hearing c. * Menardi Notae in Sacram Greg. pag. 337. Thus in Ratoldus his Form I anoint thy Eyes with sanctified Oyl that whatever sin thou hast committed by unlawful seeing may be expiated by the anointing of this Oyl the intention of which kind of forms is sufficiently explained by that which follows †Ibid. p. 338. I anoint thee c. that by the Operation of this Mystery and the Vnction of this Holy Oyl and our prayer thou being relieved and cherished mayest through the power of the Holy Spirit be so happy as to obtain thy former and better Health By which it is highly reasonable to say that the anointing the Senses and the several remarkable parts of the Body with reference to the sins of the sick person did it self refer to the recovery of his Health and that the sickness being supposed to be sent for the punishment of some sin or other they made sure to deprecare all they could think of that the sin being forgiven the sickness might be removed This Form as * Praef Menardi in Sac. Gr. Menardus shews was written in the Tenth Age as that which was taken out of Tilius his Library was in the Eleventh and that of the Monastery of St. Remigius between the Tenth and Eleventh †Men. Notae p. 140. 334 c. They are all of the same strain and that which I note from them is this That the plentiful care that is taken in them for the deprecation of the Guilt of all kind of sins made the whole Ceremony look something like anointing for the cleansing of the Soul rather than the recovering of the Body though this was the direct intention of the whole and so it was not not so dangerous a leap in the next Age to forget or at least to take very little notice of the bodily effect which was design'd by Unction and to turn the whole Mystery into a proper Sacrament for the good of the Soul especially since there were many more words used to express the deprecation of Guilt then in the Prayer for recovery of Health tho' the former was in order to the later To this I add also that in all likelihood this solemn particular and circumstantial Unction of the several parts of the body and deprecation of the Guilt contracted by them was it self by degrees brought in to save the credit of Unction under which the Sick died or recovered I suppose as certainly as they would have done without it For that care that was taken to anoint them so formally for those sins which were presumed to have brought that sickness made the whole business look as if it were good for the Soul at least whatever became of the Body And thus 3. About the Twelfth Age came Extreme Vnction into the World for we can hear no tidings of it from any of the former And it is therefore no Primitive practice as the First Unction of the Sick was nor Antient practice as the Second was but an Innovation that crept in when the middle Ages of the Church were now advancing apace to the last It was begotten in that thick Night of Ignorance and Barbarism that shuffled this and some other Children of Darkness into the Western Church It was licked into some shape and brought to a Form of Doctrine by the Schoolmen and being almost grown to what it now is it was publickly owned by Eugenius IV. at the close of the Florentine Synod in the year 1438. to be the Fifth Sacrament and in the next Age came to be established under Anathemas by the Fathers of Trent And now if we compare these Three several Vnctions of the Sick one with another the Differences will appear to be these The Antient Unction did indeed agree with the Primitive one in this that both were applied for the Recovery of bodily Health But then in this they differed as we observed before that the Primitive Unction was applied but to some sick persons and that by the direction and impulse of the Holy Spirit but the Ancient Unction was applied to all the sick and grew to be a settled Office in the Church and therefore there was this difference also that by the Primitive Unction all were restor'd to Health who were anointed not so by the Antient one and if a man may freely speak his mind it had just such a supernatural effect upon the Bodies of the Sick as the New Unction of the Roman Church has upon the Souls of the Dying that is none at all This new Unction which they call Extreme is vastly different from the Antient one in many points some of which I shall briefly represent in that Order wherein ‖ Ubi supra Cap. 18. Mr. Daille has more largely considered them 1. The end of the Ancient Unction was the recovery of bodily Health but the end of Extreme Unction is to prepare the Soul for its passage into the other life This was one of the antient Forms of Unction (f) Vide Menardi Not. in Sacram. Greg. p 341. Vide etiam Vetustiores Formulas in Cassandr Schol. in Hymn Eccl. p. 288. I anoint thee with Holy Oyl in the Name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost that by the Operation of this Mystery being cherished thou maiest be so happy as to obtain thy former and better Health But in the Roman Church this is all By this Holy Vnction and by his most Holy Mercy God forgive thee whatsoever sin thou hast committed by Seeing Hearing Tasting Smelling and Touching Amen 2. There is a great difference also touching the persons anointed which according to the Roman Unction are those only who are baptized and amongst these none but the sick and of these only the adult and such as are in all appearance dying persons But it was quite otherwise in the antient Church For they anointed those that were (g) Innoc. III. ubi supra preparing for Baptism they anointed those that were (h) Beda in Jac. v. possessed they anointed (i) Cassand Schol. in Hymn Eccl. p. 289. Infants and which is the most remarkable difference of all they anointed not dying persons but the sick of whose recovery they had reasonable hopes as we have proved before The antient Unction in all these respects being suitable to the end of it which was bodily Health as the Roman Unction is in every one of them
accommodated to its pretence of being a Sacrament for the forgiving of sins and the saving of the Soul 3. Accordingly the (k) Cassand ubi supra p. 288. anient Unction was applied to those parts of the Body as near as they could which were the seat of the disease but the Roman Unction pretending to purifie the Soul is applied to the Five Senses to the Feet and the Reins as to the seats of sin 4. The Antients * Menard ubi supra anointed for seven days together plainly thereby intimating the hope they had of doing good upon the Patient by repetition of the Remedy The Romanists anoint but once in a disease and this according to the order of the Council of Trent 5. The Antients first anointed then gave the Eucharist first they tried the Remedy for the Body then they gave the Viaticum for the soul The Romanists make their Unction the last of all the Sacraments doing thereby agreeably to their practice which is to anoint for the cleansing of the soul when there is now little or no hope of the Body 6. Lastly The Unction of the Ancients might be administred by Lay-persons but the Roman Sacrament must not be applied by any but by a Presbyter at least To which I add that It agrees with the antient Unction in that point only wherein the antient differs from the Primitive i. e. that whereas the Primitive Unction was directed by the spirit on the other hand as the antient Unction was under a setled Office for the anointing of all the Sick so the Roman Unction is reduced also to a setled Office for the anointing of all with such restrictions as we observed before that are desperately Sick or dying And thus the Antient Unction agrees with the Primitive as a mixed colour does with white but there is no more likeness between the Primitive and the Roman Unction than there is between white and black Thus much for the Occasions the Time and the Nature of that Change which has been made in this matter of the Unction of the Sick SECT IX That this Innovation was not universal the Vnction of the Greek Church at this day being not Extreme Vnction but that of the Antients BEllarmin concludes his Argument from the Tradition of the Antients with the Testimony of the Greek Church (m) Ubi supra Sect. Accedat denique c. Which he says is to have its weight because since it appears that the Greeks received not their Rites from the Roman Church at least for five hundred years last past since they were separated from it it is certain that those things in which they agree are more antient than the Schisms and Heresies which arose aâ—terwards Now that consequence which the Cardinal here affirms to be certain is most certainly false unless it be impossible that two Churches which are faln out should afterwards agree in the same Innovation for reasons either common to both or peculiar to each and this without any agreement in those things which first made the breach between them But that which he supposes is as false viz. that Extreme Vnction has the Testimony of the Greek Church For his first proof of it is a shameless falshood viz. That the Greeks did without contradiction receive the instruction of the Armenians where Extreme Vnction is numbred amongst other Sacraments For it appears plainly by the Acts of the Florentine Synod that the Greeks were gone from Florence four Months before that instruction was given by the Pope to the Armenians As for the Patriarch Jeremy and his other Authors 't is true indeed they attest the Unction of the Sick in the Greek Church and that with them it goes for one of their Sacraments But that it is Extreme Vnction we utterly deny And to shew the Cardinals confidence it will be enough to produce the Testimony of one of his Authors Simeon Thessalonicensis as he is quoted by that Latinizing Greek (o) Arcud de Extr. Unct. cap. 7. Sect. His ita c. Arcudius himself Here another opinion of the Innovating Latins is overthrown for these men say that the holy Oyl ought not to be given to those that have hope of life but to those that are dying because it confers remission of sins judging and practising quite contrary to what the Apostle says as in all other things so also in this For whereas the Brother of our Lord cries out And the Lord shall raise him up these men say it is to be given to those who are not raised up And again The Latins who Innovate in all things have corrupted this Rite also and say it is not to be applied to the Sick but to the Dying For because this Sacrament forgives sins it must be so lest the person recovering should sin again O what a madness is this The Brother of our Lord saith That the prayer of Faith shall save the Sick and the Lord shall raise him up But these men say that he should die There is no no stopping them you see that are tumbling down a precipice And if he has committed sins they shall be forgiven him that is to say that he may recover his health and be raised up And this our Saviour shewed saying to the man sick of the Palsie Thy sins are forgiven thee arise and walk And behold thou art made whole sin no more lest a worse thing happen to thee But these men contrary to our Saviour and his Apostles say that 't is not to be given to the Sick that they may recover but to those that are to die Is not this an admirable Testimony to Extreme Vnction I know Arcudius was very angry with this Author and took a vast deal of pains to bring the two Churches together in this point but 't is like the labour of making Iron and Clay hold together when the applying of more strength makes them fall asunder the faster For which I shall not desire the Reader to take my word but to judg between Arcudius and Simeon by the Greek Ritual it self to which I appeal the more willingly because (p) Ubi supra the Cardinal also was so hardy as to appeal to it The Form of Unction in that (q) Euchologium Goar p. 408. Book has this Title The Office of Holy Oyl sung by seven Priests assembled in the Church or in a House The Prayers and Songs which express their intention are such as these (r) Ibid p. 411. My Saviour and only God who in mercy and compassion healest the sufferings of Souls and the wounds of Bodies do thou restore health to this person afflicted with diseases (s) Ibid p. 411. By the streams of thy mercy and the anointings of thy Priests do away the pains and the illness and the growing languishment of this person who is subdued by the distress of his sufferings that being recovered he may glorifie thee with thanks These and the like prayers I say shew the intention
of Anointing the Sick in that Church as the Ritual it self speaks in these words (t) Ibid. p. 412. Regard favourably our prayers who meet in thy holy Temple this day to anoint thy infirm persons with holy Oyl This goes before the Consecration of the Oyl But after that (u) Ibid. p. 417. the Priest takes the holy Oil and anoints him that is to receive the Vnction and is to be prayed for saying the following Prayer Holy Father the Physician of Souls and Bodies who didst send thy only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ healing every disease and redeeming us from death heal this thy servant of his bodily and spiritual disease which has laid hold upon him and revive him through the Grace of thine Anointed by the Intercessions of our Holy Lady the Mother of God c. By the Protection of the Heavenly Incorporeal Powers by the virtue of the precious and life-giving Cross of John the Baptist the Apostles the Martyrs and our Godlike Fathers the Holy Physicians that received no Fees Cosmas and Damian Cyrus and John Pantaleon and Hermolaus c. In this Prayer indeed here is a great deal of wretched stuff of another kind but not a word that looks towards Extreme Vnction the whole relating to the intention of the Antient Unction which was to recover the Sick and therefore the Priest pleads in particular the Intercession of those Saints that were said to have been particularly famous for the cure of Diseases And that which is remarkable in the case is this that the Rubrick requires every one of the other six Priests when he anoints the Sick to use this very Prayer which plainly shews that every one of them anoints for the same end and purpose Neither is it any advantage towards the Roman pretence that the Priest prays also for the cure of the spiritual infirmity which holds the sick person it being evident as Simeon Thessalonicensis observes that the disease of the body being inflicted for the sin of the soul the cause is to be removed that the effect may cease Nor indeed is it fit that we should pray for any blessing of this life without imploring Gods pardon of those sins which make us unworthy of it At length the second Priest prays (w) Ibid. pag. 418. O God great and high who art adored by every creature c. look upon and hearken unto us thy unworthy servants and when in thy name we bring forth this Oyl do thou send forth the medicines of thy free gift and the pardon of sins and according to the multitude of thy mercies heal these persons c. Then the Third Priest to the same purpose * Ib. p 420. Almighty Lord Holy King who dost chastise and not deliver to death who supportest those that fall and settest straight those that are broken and repairest the bodily infirmities of men we beseech thee O our God to send forth thy Mercy upon this Oyl and upon those that are anointed with it in thy Name that it may become to them the healing both of Soul and Body their deliverance from all grief and every disease and malady and lastly from all defilement of Flesh and Spirit So Lord send thou from Heaven thy healing Virtue Do thou touch the Body extinguish the Fever mitigate the pain and expel every hidden Infirmity Be thou the Physitian of this thy Servant raise him up from the Bed of grief and the Couch of sickness Be pleased to restore him safe and every way healthy to thy Church to please thee and to do thy will Of the same nature are the Prayers of the following Priests this being repeated after every Gospel in each administration We still pray for Mercy Life Peace Health and Deliverance I shall only add the beginning of the Prayer offer'd by the Fourth Priest because it shews how that Church understands the place of St. James so often mentioned (x) Ib. p. 421. Lord who art Good and the lover of Mankind the God of tender Compassion and great Mercy c. who by thy Holy Apostles hast given us Authority to undertake the cure of the Infirmities of thy People do thou also cause this Oyl to be a means of Healing all those that are to be anointed with it to be a remedy against every disease and every malady and a deliverance from evils to those that expect Health from thee c. For by this it appears that the Greeks as the Antients did understand St. James's Unction to be the same with that of the Apostles in St. Mark and consequently refer it to bodily cures And that they ground their Authority to anoint the sick in order to bodily Health upon these places of Scripture so understood And now I shall make bold to say That there is nothing in their whole Office of Holy Oyl that does in the least favour Extreme Vnction but take it all together 't is in effect a flat contradiction to it And therefore to make it look a little Roman like the Latin Translator Father Goar by name has falsified the Rubrick before the Prayer that is to be repeated by every Priest and with very convenient impudence rendered it thus (y) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So is the Greek Rubric but Goar renders it Et post Orationem accipit Sacerdos Sanctum Oleum extremam unctionem suscipientem ungit sequentem orationem dicens p. 417. And after the Prayer of Consecration the Priest taketh the Holy Oyl and anointeth him that receiveth EXTREME VNCTION saying the following Prayer Whereas he ought to have translated it thus and Anointeth him that waiteth there for Vnction and Prayer Not that receiveth Extreme Vnction as the false Translator would have it (z) Orat. Tert. Sac. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is translated Qui Corporeas hominum infirmitates in utilitatem eorum disponis whereas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies here afflicta reparans as is translated above Other Prevarications of less moment I have observed whereby he has shewn a good will to bend the Office by Translation even where he could get next to nothing by it But if Testimonies are not to be had and yet men will not be content without them there is no help for it but they must be made And now I may leave any one to judg betwen Simeon and Arcudius who is the True and who the false Greek and likewise between Bellarmin and me whether the Testimony of the Greek Church be for or against Extreme Vnction The truth is tho' the Greek Church hath in some things innovated no less than the Roman yet in others she has kept to ancient Tradition where the Roman has not and of this their Unction is one notable instance which is apparently that Unction which began to take place in the Seventh Age after Christ But the Roman Unction is so far from having Primitive Tradition that 't is not so much as an ancient Innovation as the Unction of the