live for ever and we celebrate it calling together religious persons with the Priests the Faithful with the Clergy inviting moreover the needy and the poor feeding the Orphans and Widows that our festivity may be for a memorial of rest to the souls departed whose remembrance we celebrate and to us may become a sweet savour in sight of the eternal God Whereby you see prayers and deeds of charity used in exequies of the dead without mention of Purgatory This same Answer may serve for what Bellarmine relateth out of the fourth Chapter of Tobias Tob. 4. touching Bread and Wine to be brought to Funerals and the custom of inviting Friends and feeding the poor What he alledgeth of passing by fire Psal 66.12 out of the 66. Psalm We went through fire and through water but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place is as little effective to the purpose for by fire as well as by water are understood tribulations and crosses of this life What they alledge out of Math. 22. where our Saviour saith that some sins shall not be pardoned neither in this world nor in the world to come therefore some sins are pardoned after this life is no good consequence for from a negative follows not a positive as from saying the Duke of Venice is not Earl of Dublin it follows not therefore 〈…〉 c. 4. some other is Earl of Dublin Bellarmine says the former consequence ought to be held for good according to the laws of prudence if not according to the rules of Logick lest Christ should be thought to speak improperly if no sin were to be pardoned in the other world But upon this account you are to admit for lawful according to the rules of prudence this other consequence Mat. 1.25 Joseph knew not his wife till she had brought forth her first-born Son therefore he knew her after lest the Evangelist should be found improper in his delivery And as Bellarmine or any other Christian will not think himself obliged to admit this later consequence so neither do we think it just to admit the former The Doctrine of Purgatory being so weakly grounded the inconveniences of it are very great making people negligent of true repentance and satisfaction for their sins in this life in hopes of Remission in Purgatory Besides the occasion it gives to piniful abuses in the valuation of Masses for stipend wherein Simony would appear if that great skill of Casuists did not prevent it wherewith any sale of Sacred things is sanctified and freed from Simony by some dress of intention What of the cheats used in receiving many stipends from several persons for one Mass Of the cruelty used with widdows children and sometimes with creditors of the person dying bequeathing what is their right upon Clergy sometimes not in any great need of it Wherewith under the shape of piety great impiety is often practised But the vast lucre accruing to the Clergy from this Doctrine more than any text they have for it does engage them for the maintaining of it The Doctrine of Indulgences serving that of Purgatory hath the same obscurity in the assertion and uncertainty in the foundation of it as the former Suar. lib ◠de fens fid c. 15.23 Suarez declareth that Indulgence is nothing else but a remission of the pains of Purgatory which God of his infinite goodness through the Excellent merits of Christ to which he addeth the satisfaction of Saints hath granted to his Church together with the power of absolving Of the infinite goodness of God and infinite merit of Christ no Christian may doubt as neither of the power of absolving given to his Church But whether this power extendeth to the profuse grant of Indulgences practised at present by the Roman Church Suarez is not so certain of giving onely for ground thereof Ecclesiastical tradition and ancient custome generally approved But neither is the tradition so certain nor the custome so ancient or generally approved as is pretended The First we meet is that of Gregory the seventh given to those of his party who would fight against the Emperour Henry the fourth which Baronius relates from his penitentiary Baron ad An. D. 1084. n. 15. in which was promised remission of all their sins to such as would venture their lives in that holy war The like Indulgence with remission of all their sins was granted to those who would fight against the Sarazens in Affrica by Victor succeeding Gregory the seventh Other Popes following continued the same practice Then private Bishops began to publish Indulgences to those that would give money towards the building or repairing of Churches or other publick works promising pardon of the seventh or Fourth or third part of their sins according as their bounty deserved Vide Morin de Paenit lib. 10. cap. 20. So as Mauritius Bishop of Paris is said to have built the great Church of Nostredame there in this manner But the Bishops of Rome abridged other Bishops of this power and made great complaints that by the indiscreet use of Indulgences by the Bishops the keys of the Church were contemned and the discipline lost Council Laeteranens sub Innoc. 3. can 92. so Innocent the third in the Lateran Council I wish the present Popes had regard to the like inconveniences still following their great profuseness in granting indulgences censured not onely by their adversaries but by the more sober of their own party seeing clearly sordid lucre to have a great share in the conduct of them and loose livers give reins to their vices in expectation of those boundless pardons whose excesses I leave for others to relate and to be considered by such as see them Aquin. supl sum q. 25. art 20. Bonavent in 4. sent dist 20 q. 6. Aquinas Bonaventure do tell that there were some in the Church who said the invention of Indulgences was onely by a Pious fraud to draw men to charitable Acts which otherwise they would not have done as a Mother that promiseth her child an aple to run abroad which she never gives him when she hath brought him to it Dur. in 4. dist 20 q 3. Durandus a learned and sincere writer confesseth that very little can be affirmed with any certainty concerning Indulgences because neither the Scriptures speak expresly of them and the Fathers Ambrose Hillary Augustine Hierom speak not at all of them Major ibi John Mayor adds that though it be a negative argument yet it is of force because in the time of those Fathers they were very much skilled in Scriptures and it were very strange if Indulgences were to be found there that they did not find them Bellar de amiss gratia li. 6. c. 3. resp ad object 6. Add to this what Bellarmin saith excellently that in things which depend on the will of God nothing ought to be affirmed unless God hath revealed it in the Holy Scripture And conclude that the
with any that would tell me I did not answer right or that I needed a supply from him to do it My Learned Opposers were wont to say that a man so long time exercised in School debates could hardly want an Answer to Arguments but that they suspected I was not my self satisfied and their suspicion there in was not erroneous I could continue farther giving answer to others but to the serious Proposals of my own judgment in the presence of God in favour of his truth I could not resist and to them I yielded I say Thirdly that many days before my Declaration for the Protestant Church I signified by Letter and Message to such as I thought fit to divulg it of the Romish Clergy and Nobility that although I was forced to come under the protection of the most Reverend Lord Archbishop of Cashell to avoid the popular fury raised against me yet I would not declare against Communion with the Roman Church while any hopes appeared of being satisfied in the Exceptions I took against the present practice of that Church and being they had among them my Writing containing the said Exceptions which in substance are those contained in the ensuing Discourse so long time as may suffice to have Copies of it I desired any that would pretend to resolve me upon those Exceptions should appear and that I would give a willing and unpassionate hearing to his reasons But none appeared for that purpose nor signified to have a mind to do it Neither indeed had I reason to hope that any of them could give me satisfaction having so long time and very carefully studied upon the reasons given by the most Learned Defenders of their cause and found no satisfaction in them and the rather that when my Paper came to their hands containing the exceptions I took against the Romish tenents but without any mention of separation in stead of a charitable conference with my self they stirred the people to fury against me saying I was already made Minister and to preach at the Protestant Church at Cashell the Sunday following which being a fiction of their own I told it was so in a Noblemans house where I had notice of that report without any promise made much less an Oath that I should never become a Protestant which was one of the very false impostures framed against me without fear of God or shame to be found in untruths For certainly I neither said that nor had any Question made to me that would occasion saying it But those stories so enraged the people that from worthy persons who tendered my safety I had notice given me of menaces made to destroy me or convey me where I should not appear speaking against the Romish party As to the former truly I could hardly believe that Christians Countreymen and Kinsmen whom I served and never offended and from whom I had many shews of love and honour should intend to destroy me for following the dictates of my conscience nor that passion should so blind them that being under a Government dissatisfied of their Tenents they should not be contented with the gracious toleration given to them but must insult with violence and malice upon such as following the light of their conscience do embrace the Religion established by the Law and Government which God has put over us As I heartily wish and tender their welfare I earnestly desire they may avoid this foul kind of proceeding withdraw their silly Rythmers Scoulds and Forgers of Calumnies and employ their good wits in examining soberly and seriously for the Glory of God manifestation of Truth and edification of the people the Points I handle in this Discourse and shewing wherein my Arguments against their Tenents are defective or what Arguments they repute of most strength for them and that with Authority of undoubted Canonical Scripture clear reasons grounded upon it or practice uniform of the Primitive Church Not by Hyperbolical expressions of some one or more of Ancient Authours Rhetorical Flourishes and Tropical Applications of Scriptures drawing them from their direct genuine meaning to others different by the help of some Figure At which rate of disputing the Alcoran of Mahomet and the Talmud of the Jews may be defended as plausibly as the Council of Trent The God of Peace and his Son Jesus who bequeathed it for inheritance to his Disciples make us appear to be of them living in peace and charity together in this Life that so we may joyn to praise him in Life everlasting Amen Mr. ANDREW SALL 's Declaration made in the Church of St. John in the City of Cashell the Fourth Sunday after Easter May the Seventeenth present the most Reverend THOMAS Lord Archbishop of Cashell and the Right Reverend HUGH Lord Bishop of Waterford VVHEREAS I Andrew Sall have been born and bred in the Communion of the Roman Catholick Church followed a Religious Life and compleated my Courses of Philosophy and Divinity in Colledges of the Order of JESUS in Spain and was imployed in teaching of the said Faculties many years I acknowledge that since by occasion of this Function I applyed my self to a structer enquiry and examining of matters and by frequent reading of the Holy Scriptures Fathers Councils and Histories of the Church my knowledge was farthered and my judgment ripened I began to doubt of the truth of several Articles introduced by the Vse and Authority of the Roman Church repugnant to human reason and not warranted by Divine Writ as Transubstantiation Indulgences Purgatory Worship of Images c. yet smothered my scruples while I was in Spain partly fearing the severity of that Countrey against Opposers of their Tenents partly amused with a supposition that the Church and Pope of Rome were infallible in their Decrees touching Faith and so may stand with security to their declarations But having arrived to this Countrey disputed often and closely of Religion with several Persons eminent in Learning and Integrity but principally with the most Reverend Father in God and mine truly in Christ his Grace Thomas Lord Archbishop of Cashell present who mindful of the duty of a good Pastor did procure to bring into his Fold this straying sheep with an unspeakable constancy and indefatigable charity suffering for six years of continual battery my obstinate resistance till at last by means of his solid doctrine and of the example of his pious and upright Life to the glory of God be I permitted to say thus much here the Lord was pleased to give me a more clear sight of the errours I was in yet a full assent I delayed to give partly fearing that the weakness I felt might be of my capacity rather than of the cause I maintained partly frighted with the confusions and dangers I conceived might wait upon my deserting of the Romish Communion and so betook my self to a must diligent study of the case leaving no stone unmoved to quiet the trouble of my conscience reading with indifferent eyes the
was turmoiled reflecting upon the prodigious Doctrine of Transubstantiation alone sufficient to fright rational believers from the Romish Communion By it we are required to believe that when the Priest pronounces those few Latin words Hoc est Corpus meum This is my Body minding what he says the substance of all the bread he lays before him is destroyed in a moment and instead of it our Saviour Jesus is placed under that figure of bread personally and corporally A wonder though a dayly one yet far surpassing that other which once happened in the world when God hearkning to the voice of Joshua made the Sun and Moon stand till he compleated his Victory against the Enemy invading Gibeon Josh 10.12 And to support this wonder a great number of others most stupendious are chained to it As First that those accidents of white and round remaining do subsist without any substance to rest upon a thing repugnant to their nature and to all humane understanding Secondly that the same accidents being converted either into vermin by corruption or into flesh and bloud by nutrition in him that eats them should produce a substance which is to give what they have not a thing surpassing all kind of power Thirdly that a proper well proportion'd body as that of our Saviour glorious in Heaven must come down and be fitted to every Wafer and to every the least crumb of them Fourthly that the same Body must lye sit or stand or however be in a hundred thousand places at the same time All these monstrous miracles and more we must swallow to support that mystery in spight of all reason to the contrary without any pertinent Text of Scripture to ground it upon nay many Texts opposing it as we shall hereafter declare and no necessity urging to it either for verifying the words of our Saviour in the institution of this blessed Sacrament or for the effects of it St. 1â— 15 Not for verifying the words seeing our Saviour in the same tenor said I am the true vine without any alteration either in his Person or in the Vine And St. Paul saith of his Corinthians 2 Cor. 12 27. ye are the Body of Christ yet meaning no conversion of substances Nor for the effects of the Sacrament Christ being able to convey with the worthy receiving of Bread and Wine what spiritual graces he pleaseth without any substantial alteration in the Elements as in the Waters of Baptism he affordeth the soveraign grace of Regeneration without any alteration in the substance of the Water The like repugnance I felt in believing their prodigious Doctrine of Indulgences Purgatory Worship of Saints and Images and other Points controverted with them but smother'd my doubts while in Spain partly fearing the severity of that Countrey in proceeding against Opposers of their Doctrine partly amused with the supposition that the Church and Pope of Rome were Infallible in their Decrees touching matters of Faith and so might stand with security to their Declarations And finally perswaded by my Catechists that it was a mortal Sin to admit willingly even a doubt in Matters of Faith A terrible yoke reaching to the thoughts of the heart but conducent to their purpose of keeping in their people by right or wrong With these Generalities I quieted in some sort my mind while I could see none that would seriously oppose those Tenents nor know the Arguments against them but by relation of Romish Writers fashioning them so as they might better receive their stroke For though by occasion of my Employment of teaching controversies in the University of Salamanca some years I had a Licence from the Inquisitor General of Spain to read prohibited Books yet the Prohibition was so severe that I could never come by any Book of their Opposers But Divine Providence leading me to this Countrey I met with persons of excellent wisedom and great integrity who in close and serious Disputes gave me a different light and help to find out the truth The chiefest of all was the Most Reverend Father in God Thomas Lord Archbishop of Cashell who at his coming to that See having notice of me and pittying I should continue in errours sought carefully after me and finding me out with admirable zeal and great dexterity dictated by Christian charity set upon me with solid Arguments of Holy Scripture Councels Fathers and Histories and gave me to view several learned Authors representing the Errours of the Roman Church in all the points controverted to which I listened the more willingly because I saw a vein of Charity and Zeal of Union among Christians run through all his discourses acknowledging the Church of Rome to be a part of the Catholick Church though not the Catholick Church as they speak excluding other Christian Congregations from that honourable Title reverencing what in them was good as the belief of Scripture and Christian Creeds the Practice of Devotion and Piety and onely reproving the Superstructures of Erroneous Practises introduced contrary to the Institution of Christ and Stile of the Primitive Church entertaining a charitable hope of the Salvation of many of them that went on with simplicity of heart and blameless ignorance of the Errours they were bred in All which sympathizing with my own temper and dictates in relation to all Christian Congregations got in my mind a special respect and regard to his reasons I replied to them with sincerity and liberty according to the principles I was instructed in Where a clear Text or pressing reason was deficient I appealed as to a Sanctuary to the Infallibility of the Church that in things surpassing our comprehension we were to captivate our understanding to the obedience of Faith proposed to us by the Church of God To secure this refuge and have it in a readiness I framed to my self and proposed to his Grace this kind of Demonstration That by natural evidences I was convinced there was a God of infinite Goodness wisedom and power That to these attributes it belonged he should provide for Man-kind means for obtaining their end of everlasting bliss That by revealed Oracles common to all Christians I believed he sent down his Son Jesus Christ for this purpose in humane nature and to shew by his Example and Doctrine a sure way to eternal happiness And providing not only for the age he lived in but for all times to come he left upon earth a Church furnished with convenient Laws for the foresaid end And whereas he foretold himself that in future times there should arise Heresies and Controversies as it is the nature of men it became his wisedom and goodness to appoint a visible Judge with infallible assistance of the Holy Ghost to determine all Controversies emergent which Judge was no other than the Pope of Rome Successor of St. Peter to whose definitions therefore we ought to stand and so quiet our minds The former part of this Demonstration had a grateful acceptance with his Grace as
being rationally and Christianly principled and nothing averse to Piety till coming to the later Proposition That it became the wisedom and goodness of Christ to appoint a visible Judge Infallible upon Earth to determine Controversies He replied mildly we had reason to go warily in censuring the wisedom and goodness of God if this or that thing seeming to us expedient were not done in the government of the World for who can pretend to know the depth of the wisedom and knowledg of God Rom. 11.33 to search into his judgments and find out his ways This most rational advertisement took deep root in my heart ever thirsty of reason and open to receive it Neither did the modesty of the Proposer diminish but rather augment the weight of it It was in truth the first shock that touched me to the quick striking upon the very root of that Engine of Infallibility I leaned upon Reflecting upon the matter in my solitudes I perceived the weakness of the ground I built upon I saw that in like manner we may say it belongeth to the goodness wisedom and power of God not to permit that his Holy Law should be transgressed by vile creatures and his supreme dread Majesty offended by despicable vermine Nor that Pastors of Souls especially the Roman Pope deemed a Vice-God upon Earth should fall into errours and scandalize with wicked life the people And alas it is but too well known he permits this Shall we therefore waver in the Opinion of his goodness power and wisedom God forbid Why then should we think it a failure in his providence or goodness if besides Holy Scriptures abounding in all light and Heavenly Doctrine to such as are not wilfully blind he did not appoint some visible Judge universal for our direction St. Paul saying 2 Tim. 3.16.17 that Holy Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works That Foundation alledging the necessity of a Judge visible universal and Infallible being thus weakned I proceeded to examine what right the Pope or Church of Rome could pretend to such infallibility the support of all their Incredible Doctrine And first the very inconstancy of their pretence to this priviledge and great dissention of their Authors in asserting it was to me a main reason of suspecting the truth of all and a concluding argument that they cannot be certain of having it Vide Bel l. 4. de Rom. Pont. c. 2. For some will have the Pope himself alone as Pope or as teaching from his chair to have this Infallibility of Doctrine Others will not allow it him but in conjunction with a Council either general or particular of Cardinals and Divines Others only attribute it to him in a General Council Others neither separately nor conjunctly and will only allow the Church Universal to be Infallible And finally others of the most Learned affirm even the Church Universal S. Tho. Turre â—â—â—mata Alphonâ—us a Cactâ—o apud Candi 4 〈◊〉 c. 4 concl 2. to be capable of a Material Errour by Probable Ignorance though not of a Formal and Heretical one which in substance is to allow the Church no more Infallibility than Origen Tertullian or any other particular true Christian Believer hath though subject to errors which Opinion if extended to make the Universal Church fallible even in Points Essential to saluation is false And upon so great an uncertainty of their Infallibility they will have us to build a certain Infallible Belief of all they please to teach us which is to build a house incapable of falling upon a sandy and ruinous Foundation Now for their grounds for this pretended Infallibility what is their warrant for it Divine Scripture they say for who but God could give such a Priviledge and what warrant have they for believing he Scripture saying so to be Divine and Infallible The Infallible Testimony of the Church say they again their own Roman Church they mean So they believe the Scripture is Infallible because the Roman Church doth testifie it and this Church to be Infallible because the Scriptures Testimony is for it A circle in reasoning which Logicians would hiss out of their Schools Neither may Becan's escape avail him that they deal with Christians who believe the Scripture for no Christian but such as they will make blind can believe that there is any Scripture favouring their case in this particular without clipping or corrupting it to serve their purpose For example Their main pillar for this Infallibility fetcht out of the 24th chapter of St. John John 14.16 I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever even the Spirit of truth Their own Disciples who ordinarily know no more of Scriptures than what they are pleased to shew to them for their several purposes may think that Text to be pertinent for their pretentions But who will take the liberty to read the Context before and after will clearly find out that the very same Text destroyeth their whole design and taketh away all certainty of the Holy Ghost his assistance for rendring their Decrees Infallible The Text restored to its integrity saith thus in their own Bible If ye love me keep my commandments Mundus id est remanens amator mundi cum quo nurquam est amor Dei Gloss interlin Non habent spirituales oculos quibus Spiritum sanctum videant muâ—â—i amaâ—â—res Gloss ordinaria and I will ask my Father and he shall give you another Paraclete that he may abide with you for ever even the Spirit of Truth whom the World cannot receive By the first words you may see this to be a conditional promise limited to such as love God and keep his Commandments by the later words you see worldly and sinful men expresly excluded from receiving that gracious assistance of the Spirit of Truth therefore to be sure that the Pope and his Council have the assistance of the Spirit of Truth we must be sure that they love God and keep his Commandments but of this we cannot have security their own Histories relating and the world knowing enormous vices in them What they alledge out of St. Paul writing to Timothy Tim. 3.15 that the Church is the pillar and ground of Truth we freely admit it as due to the Universal Church not to any particular but less to one found guilty of so many and great errours such as the Romish is whose ambition in claiming and appropriating to it self all the commendations delivered of the Church Universal is no less reprehensible than as if the Scribes and Pharisees persecuting our Saviour should appropriate to their Synagogue all the praises given to Moses and Aaron Would not you wonder that their chief Champion Cardinal Bellarmine Bellar de sum Pâ—n l. 4 c 2. should bring for proof of the Pope's Infallibility that in the Old Law
Doctrine of Indulgences being not found in the Holy Scripture as now declared you ought not to build upon it the hopes of your Salvation but endeavour with fear and trembling to secure it by exact keeping of the Commandements of God and following the Councels of Christ towards a perfect life and true repentance of your sins Publick Prayer in an unknown Language I will conclude this survey of Romish Tenents with the seventh and last point proposed of their Latin Mass and prohibiting their flock the reading of Holy Scripture And as to the former of having publick prayers in a Language generally unknown to the people certainly the whole 14th Chapter of St. Paul in his first Epistle to the Corinthians is clearly against it For whatsoever may be cavilled touching the Object of his discourse his reasons do evidently conclude our purpose shewing with admirable arguments and very apposite examples how improper and absurd an undertaking it is to speak to a people in a Language they understand not pretending to teach or edifie them The purpose of nature by speaking is to communicate the sense of him that speaketh to the hearer But how can that be if the hearer perceiveth not the meaning of the words he speaketh 1. Cor. 14. v. 17. Even things without Life saith the great Apostle giving sound whither pipe or harp except they give a distiction in the sound how shall it be known what is piped or what is harped For if the Trumpet give an uncertain sound who shall prepare himself for the battle so likewise you except ye utter by the tongue words easie to be understood how shall it be known what is spoken for ye shall speak unto the air If we were to frame our selves a reason to make out our Doctrine to the full what other could we devise more apt and suitable to our pretention than this Is not prayer ordained to raise up our minds to God that is wont to be given for the definition of it elevatio mentis in Deum a raising up of our minds to God to praise him or ask favours of him will it not be conducent and necessary for this purpose to understand the signification of the Psalms and prayers wisely ordered to this end to say Amen to a prayer you do not understand may seem like the setting of your hand to a writing without knowing what it contains What if a Jewish or other impious Minister did say a prayer containing Blasphemies against Christ or curses of the Christian people present must they say Amen to all If a Persian or some other that never heard of such proceedings did come into a Church and hear a congregation speak loud and see them make gestures and should be told that none of them knew what the other said would not he justly think them to be mad and that the builders of the Tower of Babel were there revived St. Paul calleth such a practice madness laying for foundation 1. Cor. 14. v. 26. that in the Church all things ought to be done to edification And what edification can sovls receiue by the noise of words they understand not more than by the ring of Bells St. Augustine declareth how absurd a thing it is to speak in a Language the Hearer does not understand Aug. de doctrin Christ li. 4. c. 10. in these terms Quid prodest locutionum integritas quam non sequitur intellectus audientis cùm loquendi nulla sit causa si quod loquimur non intelligunt propter quos ut intelligant loquimur What profiteth any excellency of speech if not understood by the Hearer no cause being for speaking if what we speak be not understood by them for whose sake we speak that they may understand And to our purpose we may in like manner ask what profiteth the admirable providence and good Order of the Church in distributing the select part and choice substance of Holy Scripture upon the Offices to be read in Churches throughout the year if the people whose edification is pretended by such Offices do not understand the contents of them I shall desire such as are not resolved to be blind and to shut their eyes against light and stop their ears to reason that they consider what advantage the Protestant people have for improving their souls in this particular They have the word of God clearly and intelligibly beaten into their ears dayly in their Liturgy The Psalms Prayers Epistles Gospels and lessons of the old and new Testament most exactly distributed upon respective days and Festivities contain so much of Heavenly wisdom and piety as alone may suffice to make a well disposed soul both Holy and wise and very hard must the heart be that with such continual showers of Heavenly doctrine will not be mollified to piety and the fear of God When the poor simple flock following the Romish Priest wanteth all these powerful helps of piety vertue Their whole exercise of Religion speaking of the vulgar which is the far greater part being to hear a Mass now and then and not understanding a word of it and very seldom hearing any declaration of it do return home as wise as they went I saw often some of their pious people extol the happiness of some few among them that had knowledg of Latin to understand the word of God read before them for more elevating of their minds Why will they not reflect upon the happiness of the children of the Protestant Church in this particular as in many others and open their eyes to see their delusion Their leaders alledge Antiquity for the practice of Divine Service in Latin But Antiquity goes thus In the Eastern Empire the Liturgy was in Greek because that was the mother tongue in Constantinople the Court and head City of that Empire And inferiour Provinces must endeavour to conform in publick exercise both of Church and State with the Court Language In the Western Empire the Liturgy was in Latin because it was the mother Tongue in Rome that was Court and Head of this Western part And Rome under Popes pretending no less command in the Provinces of Europe than it had under Emperours must force all to conformity of Language with it self in the publick worship of God and will exact more obedience in that point than the Emperours did For it was not for any priviledge or sanctity conceived in the Greek and Latin Tongue that Liturgies were ordered in them but because they were the Languages more generally understood in both Empires And therefore exceptions from that rule were granted to Provinces that could not conveniently observe it So Pope John the eighth allowed to the Prince of Moravia to have their Liturgy in the Sclavonian Tongue because St. Paul saith Let every Tongue praise the Lord which was the reason given by the Pope in his Letter related by Baronius Baron to 10. Anno 880 n. 16. Strabo de re eccles c. 7. And Walefridus Strabo tells that in
his time the Divine Office was performed among the Scythians in the German Tongue Origen cont Cess li. 8. p. 402. which was common to them and the Germans Nay Origen affirmeth that in the primitive Churches all publick Offices of Religion were performed in the proper Language of every Countrey Scripture prohibited And lest they should learn in their Houses what they cannot in their Churches they are prohibited to read Scripture in their own Tongues without licence under the hand of the Bishop or Inquisitor by the advice of the Priest or Confessor touching the person's fitness for it and who presumes to do otherwise is to be denied absolution This is commanded in the Fourth Rule of the Index Index li. prohib Alex 7. Rom. An. 665. published by Order of the Council of Trent and set forth by the Authority of Pius the Fourth and since by Clement the Eighth and lately enlarged by Alexander the Seventh Mat. 4.4 This is cruelty to souls Christ declaring the Word of God to be their food And Scripture it self so often inviting us to the reading of it St. Peter thus exhorteth to it 2 Pet. 1.19 We have also a more sure Word of prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as to a light that shineth in a dark place till the day dawn St. Paul commendeth to us the reading of Scripture as written for our instruction and comfort Ro. 15 4. 2 Tim. 3.15 Act. 17.11 and as able to make us wise unto salvation St. Luke praiseth the Inhabitants of Berea in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily The Holy Fathers of the Primitive Church were of the same spirit of exhorting the Faithful to the reading of Scripture for their comfort and direction St. Clement Clement Epist ad Corin. p 58. for remedying a dissention happened among the Corinthians writes thus to them p 61. Look diligently unto the Scriptures which are the true Oracles of the Holy Ghost He addeth after Take St. Paul 's Epistles into your hands p. 68. and consider what he saith and praises them for being skilled in the Scriptures Beloved says he ye have known and very well known the Holy Scriptures and ye have throughly looked into the Oracles of God Ignatius epist ad Philad Policar Epist ad Philip. Clem. Alexand. Strom. 7. p 72. therefore call them to mind Of the same mind was Policarp Ignatius and the other Ancient Fathers Clemens of Alexandria mentioneth the reading of Scriptures among Christians before their Meals and Psalms and Hymns at them What makes the present Church of Rome so vigilant to the contrary in keeping their Flock from reading Scripture One reason they give and another they keep to themselves the reason they give is that Heresies did arise from the abuse of Scriptures Be it so but who were the abusers certainly Priests Monks and Fryars more frequently and of them the most Learned Turn to Records and you shall find it to be so Then if this Argument proves any thing it will obtain the banishing of Scripture from among the Learned and out of all the world Proving so much which is too much it proveth nothing Meat and drink is the ruine of many shall they be banished therefore out of the World No let the creatures of God serve his servants and let the abusers of them have their punishment in the very abuse they commit Let this Heavenly Lanthorn which God set up in his House the Holy Church to guide us in the dark ways of this life shine to all Christians And that weak eyes may not be dazled by the brightness of it let this be the general rule for all to read Scripture Where they find it clear let them embrace it devoutly and frame their lives accordingly where it appears obscure let them humbly pray the Lord he may help them with light to understand it and wait patiently upon his pleasure for doing so In the mean time they may be assured that all necessary knowledge for Faith in God to serve and praise him is fully contained in what is clear of Scripture So St. Augustine affirmeth Aug. de Doctrin Christ. l. 2. c. 9. In iis quae apertè in Scripturâ posita sunt inveniuntur illa omnia quae continent fidem moresque vivendi Whereof St. Paul giveth an ample testimony saying 2 Tim. 3.15 The holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise unto salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus and are profitable for doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness That the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works The Holy Fathers do agree with St. Paul in this his Opinion of the profit of Scripture for our spiritua◠instruction St. Basil commends them as the best remedy for all the passions of the mind Basil in Psal 1. St. Chrysostome reflecting upon that great meekness of David in letting Saul go free when he had him at his will in the Den commends to all the memory of that example Chrysost Homil. 1. de Davide Saule saying It is impossible that a mind conversant with this kind of Histories should be overcome with passions St. Jerome saith that infinite evils do arise from ignorance of Scriptures From hence most part of Heresies have come from hence a negligent and careless life and unfruitful labours The reason given by Papists against reading of Scripture being thus confuted would you know what reason it is that they have and keep to themselves Very many say it is for keeping the people blind-folded that they may not see the Ignorance of their Ministers nor the Corruption of their Mysteries It seems they have declared so much themselves in a Council of Bishops met at Bononia for restoring the dignity of the Roman See Conc. de stabilien Rom. fid p. 6 apud Stilling-fleet opere de Idololatria Rom. ecc pag. 201. by Order of Pope Julius the Third the chief advice they gave was that by all means as little of the Gospel as might be especially in the vulgar Tongue should be read in the Cities under his jurisdiction Adding that Book to have been the cause of that great decay of their former lustre and concluding thus And in truth if any one diligently consider it and compare it with what is done in our Churches will find them very contrary to each other and our very doctrine not onely to be different from it but repugnant to it Thus God was pleased they should discover their intention that it should be published for undeceiving the misled by them as written by several grave Authors who I suppose would not publish it but upon sufficient ground And is not this to use Tyranny over souls Third Point Now I will come to the third and last Point proposed of my Discourse which is to conclude from what is said hitherto that the resolution I took