IMPRIMATUR C. Alston R. P. D. Hen. Episc Lond. à Sacris Martii 26. 1686. SPECULUM BEATAE VIRGINIS A DISCOURSE OF THE DUE PRAISE AND HONOUR OF THE Virgin Mary By a true CATHOLICK of the Church of ENGLAND LONDON Printed and are to be Sold by Randal Taylor near Stationers-Hall 1686. THE PREFACE THE chief End for which I undertook to make this following Discourse was to set before the English Reader a prospect of the Devotions which the Church of Rome pays and allows to be paid to the Blessed Virgin and to give him thereby an opportunity of judging Whether the R. Catholicks do indeed no more than pray to the Saints in Heaven as they do to their Brethren upon earth to pray for them in the Name and Mediation of Jesus Christ This is the Summ of the late Apologies for Worshipping of Saints and whether in reality it be so or no among them I leave the candid and honest Reader of what Religion soever to judg They have no reason to be offended at me for my Vndertaking for if their Devotions to the Virgin be good and Orthodox I have done them and their Church no dishonour but if they be not however I have done them no wrong for I have not misrepresented their Prayers and Hymns and Antiphones nor put any false Colours upon the use of them but have presented them as they are in themselves and treated those that use them without any provoking or reproachful Language and perhaps many that at first sight cannot read such offensive Devotions without Indignation will think I have treated the Virgins Votaries too gently and said rather too little than too much But what may perhaps justly move their Passions will not move mine who am used to read the Latin Offices and other allowed Books of Devotion among those of the Latin Communion and I think fit also to acquaint the Reader that I could have proved from their most Authentick Prayers to other Saints as well as to the Virgin that they do more than desire the Saints to pray for them Hymn Beate pastor Petre. in Brev. Rom. D. 28. Jan. alibi Hymn Tu natale solum protege Brev. Rom. in Festo S. Martinae Antiph Michael Archangele veni in adjutorium populo Dei Brev. Rom. in Fest S. Mich. Hymn Vt queant laxis Brev. Rom. in Nat. S. J. Bapt. Hymn Egregie Doctor Paule Br. Rom. Die 29. Jan. Orat. Deus cujus dexterâ Br. Rom. D. 6. Jul. Orat Omnipotens misericors Deus Br. Rom. D. 14. Jul. Hymn Regis superni nuntia Brev. Rom. in Festo S. Tiresiae Hymn Placarc Christe Servulis Br. Rom. in Festo omnium Sanctor Et Orat. Sempiterne Deus ibid. Et Hymn Salutis aeternae dator ibid. in tert Nocturn Orat. Sacrificium nostrum Missal in Fest S. Andraeae as sick men desire the Prayers of the Congregation as any indifferent person will be satisfied they do if he please to consult the Hymns and Prayers cited in the Margin Since I finished this Discourse I met with another Hymn made of the Te Deum to the Blessed Virgin which is a more exact Transprosal of it than that I have cited out of Cardinal Bonaventure I shall here set it down almost verbatim as I find it translated in a little * Entituled A Decree of our Holy Father Pope Innocent XI c. book Printed at Oxford 1678. We praise thee O Mary we acknowledge thee to be the Lady All the earth doth worship thee the Mother of the everlasting God To thee all Angels cry aloud the Heavens and all the powers therein To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry Holy venerable wonderful Mother of the Lord God of Sabbaoth Heaven and earth are full of the fruitfulness of thy Virginity The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee The goodly number of the Prophets praise thee The holy Church throughout the world doth acknowledge thee The Mother of infinite Majesty Thine honourable true and only Son Conceived by the Holy Ghost the Comforter Thou art the Queen of Glory O Mary Thou art the true Mother of the Son of the Everlasting Father When he took upon him to deliver man thou didst afford him thy Virgin-womb Thy Seed having overcome the sharpness of death the Kingdom of Heaven is open to all believers Thou sittest at the right hand of thy Son in the glory of the Mother We believe that thou shalt come with thy Son the Judg. We therefore pray thee help thy Votaries whom thy Son hath redeemed with the precious blood he had from thee Make them to be numbred with the Saints of God in eternal glory O Lady save thy people and bless thy Sons inheritance Day by day we magnifie thee And we worship thy name ever world without end Vouchsafe O Lady to keep us this day without sin O Lady have mercy upon us have mercy upon us O Lady let thy mercy lighten upon us as our trust is in thee O Mary in thee have I trusted after God let me never be confounded The Publisher of the forecited Book took the Original of this Hymn out of a book written by Melchior Inchofer a Jesuit which that Father saith was sent to the Messeneses by the Blessed Virgin and he thinks it was the same or not much differing from that which Pope Paul the Fifth approved and which the present Pope hath prohibited and suppressed by a Decree It is a decree worthy of his holy Character and I wish for his honour he had prohibited it as Impious or Blasphemous or Idolatrous or contrary to the word of God However the bare prohibition of it ought to be acknowledged for a good work and I beseech Almighty God to pour out the Spirit of Reforming more and more upon the Bishop and Clergy of the Roman Church that instead of Expounding Palliating and Excusing they may set themselves in good earnest to Reform and amend whatever is amiss that so the Church wheresoever dispersed over the Vniversal World may be restored to the truly Ancient Catholick and Apostolical Doctrine Worship and Discipline and become one undivided Catholick Communion through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen SPECULUM BEATAE VIRGINIS S. LUKE I. 28. And the Angel came in unto Her and said Hail thou that art highly favoured the Lord is with Thee Blessed art thou among Women THE words of my Text are the Salutation of the Angel Gabriel unto the Virgin Mary when he came to tell her that God had chosen her to be the Mother of the Messias And that they are words of pure Salutation and not of Devotion is evident from the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hail which is a form of Saluting as may be seen in those two mock-salutations of our Lord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hail Master Hail King of the Jews as likewise from the use of the Original word in Acts 15.23 where it is said that the Apostles and Elders wrote Letters and sent greeting to
over her Son And so in another Hymn they remind him of whom he took his Body Memento rerum Conditor Nostri quod olim corporis Sacrata ab alvo Virginis Nascendo sormam sumpsti Maria Mater gratiae Dulcis parens clementiae Tu nos ab hoste protege Et mortis horâ suscipe Jesu tibi sit gloria Qui natus es de Virgine Cum Patre almo Spiritu In sempiterna secula Amen Off. parv B. M. and then pray unto her in the following manner Remember O Creator of all things that thou formerly tookest the shape of our Body by being born of the holy womb of the Virgin O Mary Mother of Grace and sweet parent of mercy protect us from the Enemy and receive us in the hour of Death Glory be to thee O Jesus who wast born of the Virgin with the Father and the Holy Spirit Amen So in another Hymn they invoke her thus * O Gloriosa Virginum Sublimis inter sydera Qui te creavit parvulum Lactente nutris ubere Quod Heva tristis abstulit Tu reddis almo germine Intrent ut astra flebiles Coeli recludis cardines Tu Regis alti janua Et aula lucis fulgida Vitam datam per Vioginem Gentes redempta plaudito Jesu sit tibi gloria c. Ibid. O Glorious Virgin who art aloft among the Stars thou nursedst thy Creator with the milk of thy Dugs thou restorest unto us by the holy Branch what Eve took from us thou openest the Gates of Heaven that penitents might enter in thou art the Gate of the great King the bright Palace of light O redeemed Nations express your joy for the life that is given by the Blessed Virgin Glory be to thee O Jesus c. One of the Lessons for the Saturday-Office of the B. Virgin begins thus * Amplectamur Mariae vestigia fratres mei devotissimâ supplicatione beatis illius pedibus provolvamur Teneamus eam nec dimittamus donce benedixerit nobis Potens est enim c. Mense Oct. Serm. Bernardi Abbatis My Brethren let us embrace the footsteps of Mary let us throw our selves at her feet with most devout supplication let us hold her fast and not let her go till she bless us for she is powerful c. And in another Office there is this Prayer * Precibus meritis B. Mariae semper Virginis omnium sanctorum parducat nos Dominus ad regnum coelorum Amen Offic. parv The Lord bring us all unto the Kingdom of Heaven by the merits and prayers of the perpetual Virgin Mary and all the Saints Amen In the Saturday-Office there is also this solemn prayer of Intercession to her ‖ O Beata Dei Genetrix Maria virgo perpetua templum Domini sacrarium Spiritus Sancti sola sine exemplo placuisti Domino nostro Jesu Christo Ora pro populo iâ—erveni pro Clero intercede pro devoto foemineo sexu O Mary Blessed Mother of God perpetual Virgin Temple of the Lord sanctuary of the Holy Ghost Thou only without example wast pleasing to our Lord Jesus Christ Pray for the people mediate for the Clergy and interceed for the devout female Sex And then follows this prayer unto God * Concedo nos famulos tuos quaesumus Domine Deus perpetua mentis corporis sanitate gaudere gloriosâ B. Mariae semper Virginis intercessione à praesenti liberari tristitiâ aterna perfrui latitiâ Per Dominum We beseech thee O Lord God grant that we thy servants may enjoy perpetual soundness of body and mind and by the glorious intercession of the blessed and perpetual Virgin may be delivered from our present sorrow and enjoy everlasting comfort Through our Lord. In the Office for the Festival of her Conception there is this Antiphone ‖ Cum jucunditate conceptionem B. Mariae celebremus ut ipsa pro nobis intercedat ad Dominum Jâ—sum Christum Breviar Rom. Let us celebrate the Conception of the B. Virgin with joy that she may interceed for us with Jesus Christ And this address in Versicle and Answer * Foelix namque es sacra V. Maria omni lande dignissima Quia ex te ortus est sol justitiae Christus Deus noster Ora pro Populo interveni pro Clero intercede pro devoto foemineo sexus sentiant omnes tuum juvamen quicunque celebrant tuam sanctam conceptionem ibid. For thou art blessed O holy Virgin and worthy of all praise because Christ our God the Son of righteousness rose out of thee O pray for the People mediate for the Clergy intercede for the devout female sex and let all those who celebrate thy holy conception feel thy help In the Office of S. Mary ad Nives there is this versicle and answer Vers * Dignare me lauda â—â—tesacrata Virgo Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos Fest S. Mar ad Nives make me worthy to praise thee O holy Virgin R. And give me power against thy enemies And then follows this Antiphone ‖ Sancta Maria succurre miseris juva pusillanimes refove flebiles ora pro populo sentiant omnes tuum juvamâ—n quicunque celebrant tuam sanctam festivitatem Ibid O holy Mary succour them that are miserable help them that are weak hearted comfort those that are sorrowful pray for the people and let those who celebrate thy holy Festival become sensible of thy help In the second day of the Octave of her Nativity there is this Prayer or Lesson * O B Maria quis tibi digne valeat jura gratiarum ac laudum praeconia rependere quae singulari tuo assensu mundo succurris perdito Quas tibi laudes fragilitas humani generis persolvat quae solo tuo commercio recuperandi aditum invenit Accipe itaque quascunque exiles quascunque meritis tuis impares gratiarum ictiones Et cum susceperis vota culpas nostras orando excusa Admitte nostras preces intra sacrarium exauditionis reporta nobis antidotum reconciliationis ibid. O B. Mary who can sufficiently give thee praise and thanks who by thy singular assent didst succour the world when it was undone what praises sufficient can frail mankind pay unto thee who hast found a way of recovery only by thy commerce with God We therefore pray thee receive our Thanksgivings how mean soever they be and unequal to thy merits and when thou shalt receive our Devotions excuse our faults by praying O admit our prayers within the Sanctuary of thy audience and bring back unto us the antidote of reconciliation What is meant in this Prayer by her succouring the world when it was undone by her assent I cannot tell unless her acceptance of God's offer to be the Mother of Jesus be to be understood by it as a late * The Contemplations p. 60 64 66. Book makes me think it is which saith that God referred
used unto the B. Virgin Behold thy servant hath found grace in thy sight Gen. 19.19 So also Moses was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because he of all the Hebrews was chosen to be the deliverer of Israel and the Mediator of the Old Testament and had the special priviledge of speaking to God as a man doth to his friend face to face Upon which account he said unto him in this very phrase in which his Angel spake unto the B. Virgin I know thee by Name and thou hast found grace in my sight Gen. 33.12 17. The like might be said of many other Saints as well as of the B. Virgin and accordingly S. Paul who of a Persecutor of the Church had the honour to be chosen the Apostle of the Gentiles said 1 Cor. 15.10 by the grace or favour of God I am that I am And therefore the title of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thou that art highly favoured as it is explained by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hast found or obtained favour hath nothing in its signification so singular to the B. Virgin but that it may be applied to any other Saint who hath received any special favour or honour from God But then there is another acceptation of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comes from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in that signification wherein it is taken for Vertue or Grace and in this sence it may be rendred thou that art very gracious And so it is rendred by the Vulgar Latin Ave gratiâ plena Hail thou that art full of grace or vertue And in this signification also there is nothing peculiar and singular in it but what in equivalent terms hath been spoken of other Saints as well as of the B. Virgin Thus it was said of Noah that he was a just man and perfect in his generation Gen. 6.9 And when God called him into the Ark he said unto him Come thou and all thy house into the Ark for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation I suppose if the Angel had said to the B. Virgin Hail thou that art righteous before God and perfect in thy generation it would have been every jot as Emphatical as to say Ave gratiâ plena Hail thou that art full of grace and as good an Argument to the full to prove that she was free from sin So the Lord himself gave this testimony of Job chap. 2.3 That he was a perfect and an upright man one that feared God and eschewed evil and that there was none like him in the Earth which considering who it was that spake it I think implies as much innocence and perfection as Ave gratiâ plena out of the mouth of an Angel Hail thou that art very gracious or thou that art full of grace So it is said of Zacharias and Elizabeth that they were both righteous before God walking in all the Commandments and Ordinances of the Lord blameless ver 6. of this Chapter And so an Angel of the Lord gave this character of his Son John the Baptist that he should be great in the sight of the Lord and be filled with the Holy Ghost from his Mothers womb Ver. 15. So it is written of the Holy Martyr Stephen that he was full of Faith and of the Holy Ghost Acts 6.5 which I think is a phrase of as much importance as to be full of grace and might justifie the speaking as high things of these Saints as in reason can be said of the B. Virgin to whom the Angel said in common terms of Salutation among the Jews Hail thou that art highly favoured or full of grace the Lord is with thee Blessed art thou amongst women Having now shewed that there is nothing so peculiar in the Angels Salutation but that he might have said the like to any other righteous person I proceed to shew 2. That the B. Virgin whom he Saluted in the foregoing words was a very holy person as may be shewn First in general and Secondly in particular from the History of the Annunciation as it is set forth in this Chapter 1. First then it may be shewed in general that she was a very holy person from the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whether it be rendred Thou that art highly favoured or Thou that art full of grace It is not to be imagined that an Angel should be sent from God to give such a Title to any man or woman but who was a Saint of the first rank But it is much more evident that she was such an one from the matter of his Message or Annunciation which was to tell her that she should conceive and bring forth Jesus the Saviour of the World and that the Holy Ghost to that end should come upon her and the power of the Highest overshadow her and that the Holy Child which should be born of her should be the Son of God Certainly the Holy Ghost would come upon none but a pure Saint he that affects the Symbols of Innocence and Purity in all his appearances and cannot enter into a malicious Soul nor dwell in the Body that is subject unto sin would not have come in that manner and for that mighty purpose upon any Daughter of Adam but who had cleansed her self from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit and perfected holiness in the fear of God Nay God the Father who was to prepare a body for his Eternal Son as it is written a Body hast thou prepared me would not form it of the substance of a sinful Woman but his own essential Holiness as well as the mysterious decency of the Dispensation would prompt him to form it of the substance of one that like the Kings Daughter in the Psalm was all glorious within and a pure and spotless Virgin both in Body and Mind We may be also assured from the holiness of God the Son the Eternal Word of the Father that he would not take upon him the Seed of Abraham but of one of the genuine Daughters of Abraham nor deign to be conceived in the womb of any Woman but of such an one who was a vessel of Honour in whom the Spirit of God did dwell and whose very Body was the Temple of the Holy Ghost She that was the Mother of God could not but be a very good Woman She that conceived and bare and brought forth the Holy Child Jesus the Virgin Mother of Immanuel of whom the Prophet wrote as he was inspired surely must have been pure as he was pure and holy as he was holy For to use the Apostles phrase in another sence the fulness of the Godhead could not dwell bodily in a wicked woman nor could she be deceived and led away by the Serpent whose Seed was to bruise the Serpent's head Nay to be chosen for the Mother of God was the greatest honour and favour that ever God conferred upon any humane creature None of the special honours and favours that he did
to any of the Saints before or since are equivalent to the honour of being the Mother of God And therefore we may be sure that God who said them that honour me I will honour would not have done so great an honour to any daughter of Abraham but to one who best deserved it to one of the holiest among the daughters of Israel to the most heavenly minded Virgin of the Tribe of Judah and the Royal house of David who had no superiour for holiness upon earth If we had no particular account of her graces we might rationally conclude all this of her from the history of our Lord's Incarnation for nothing less than Superlative holiness could receive such a Testimony of Divine honour from the Holy Trinity She was as it were the Spouse of God Co-Parent with him of the wonderful Immanuel who was God and man God of the substance of the Father begotten before the worlds and Man of the substance of his Holy Mother born in the world perfect God and perfect Man and yet not Two but one Christ 2. But then in the Second place we have a particular account of many of those eminent graces which adorned her in the Annunciation of the Angel as it is related by S. Luke As first of her Chastity she was a Virgin ver 27. one that knew not a man ver 34. Such a pure Virgin as was foretold by the Prophet who said a Virgin shall conceive a son Isa 7.14 a Virgin in mind as well as body such a Virgin as never looked upon a man to lust after him an entire Virgin who was all purity within as well as without who never cherished unclean thoughts nor let them grow into unchaste desires but stifled the beginnings of Lust in its first motions keeping her Body as the Sanctuary or holy place and her Soul as the holiest of holies and herself fit both in Body and Soul to be the habitation of the Holy Ghost and a Tabernacle for the Son of God Secondly we have an account of her great Modesty and Humility which put her into great disorder at the Salutation of the Angel when she saw him she was troubled at his saying and wondred what the meaning of his Salutation should be She had nothing of the Pharisee in her as doubtless many other Virgins had who would upon such an Address have presently concluded in favour of their holiness that it was so great and eminent above the holiness of other Virgins that they deserved that peculiar honour of God But she on the contrary was so very humble that she was all blush without and confusion within at the appearance and complement of the Angel She wondred what should move God to send one of the Seven Spirits that attend upon his Throne to visit her she wondred what should incline him to honour her so much and why the Angel should speak unto her as unto an holy person and the favourite of Heaven She had a greater sense of her humane imperfections and infirmities than of her vertues and in so mean and humble an opinion of herself could not imagine why she should be blessed and praised above those of her own Sex So also in her Magnificat which she delivered upon the Salutation of her Cousin Elizabeth she admires and adores the infinite condescension of God to her low Estate And truly the signal honour which God did her in chusing her for the Mother of his Son is an argument according to the Scriptures that she was lowly in Mind as well as low in Fortune For God resisteth the proud but he giveth grace which is an Hebrew phrase for shewing favour unto the lowly saith Solomon Prov. 3.34 And saith the Prophet Isaiah 57.15 Thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity whose name is Holy I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the hearts of the contrite ones And this being the usual method of God's proceeding with the Sons of Men we may conclude that the Virgin Mary was a very meek and humble Maid because God exalted her above her fellows The Third eminent Grace which we find in the Blessed Virgin was her Faith which was every way as great as that of the Father of the Faithful who being not weak in Faith saith the Apostle Rom 4.17 c. considered not his own body now dead when he was about an hundred years old neither yet the deadness of Sarahs womb but against hope believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations not staggering at the promise of God who can quicken the dead and call those things which be not as though they were In like manner the Blessed Virgin after the Angel had told her that the power of the Highest should come upon her staggered not at the Promise of God through unbelief but was strong in Faith being fully perswaded that what he had promised he was able to perform She knew that he who formed Adam of the ground and Eve of one of the Ribs of Adam was also able to form the body of his Son of her Substance and therefore though she knew not a man she said unto the Angel Behold the handmaid of the Lord be it unto me according to thy word She knew it was most reasonable to rely on the word of Omnipotence and essential truth and in this She is commended above Zacharias who did not believe the message of the Angel when he told him that his wife Elizabeth should bear him a Son He objected that he was an old man and his wife well stricken in years forgetting that Sarah her self received strength to conceive Isaac when she was past age and therefore the Lord struck him with dumbness because he believed not his words But though we read of no other Graces in her yet we may be sure she had all the rest that could render her righteous and acceptable in the sight of God There must needs have been a noble Structure erected upon such a foundation of Humility Purity and Faith when these led up the dance we may be sure the whole Chore of moral Virtues followed after And therefore in the Third place 3. It is our duty who have the benefit of her example to honour and celebrate her Name and commemorate her Virtues and set forth her praises in whom there was a concurrence of so many divine Virtues such a strong Faith such abasing Humility such pure Chastity and all other Graces in as much perfection as was consistent with humane frailty So Divine so Righteous a person ought to be had in everlasting remembrance and blessed among Women from generation to generation We ought not to mention her name without honour her Name which ought to be like precious ointment wheresoever the Gospel is preached and written in the biggest and most conspicuous character in the Diptychs of
none in the First and Pure Antiquity for above Three hundred years as will appear from the manner in which the ancient Fathers mention'd her when they had occasion to speak of her S. Ignatius in his Epistle to the Ephesians mentions her by the name of plain Mary in the Scripture-stile 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saying These three great Mysteries the Virginity and bringing forth of Mary and the death of the Lord were concealed from the Ruler of this World Justin Martyr who mentions her so often in his Works upon occasion of giving an account of our Lords Conception and Birth never calls her by any greater Title than the Virgin or the Virgin Mary * L. 3. c. 3. l 7. c. 37. S. Irenaeus mentions her by no other name ‖ Ep. ad Paul Samosat Dionysius Alexandrinus calls her the holy Virgin Mary and Mother of God * Serm. 2. de Annunc S. Virgin Mariae Gregorius Thaumat calls her the holy Mother of God The Author of the Questions c. falsely ascribed to Justin Martyr calls her the ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 most happy or blessed Virgin * De Virgin Veland de carne Christi adversus Praxeam adversus Judaos Tertullian whom I should have named before calls her nothing but the Virgin or Mary or the Virgin Mary when he was tempted to speak magnificently of her against Jews and Hereticks * Socrat. hist Eccles l. 7. c. 37 Origen in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans calls her the Mother of God ‖ Euseb l. 1. c. 7. de vit Const l. 3. c. 43. Eusebius calls her Mary in one place and the Mother of God in another Alexander Bishop of Alexandria calls her the Mother of God * 1 vol. ad epist de incar verb. dei 2 vol. p. 298. S. Athanasius sometimes calls her Mary sometimes the Virgin Mary sometimes the Holy Virgin and sometimes the Mother of God And how far he was from calling of her Queen of heaven c. or giving religious respect unto her appears from other ‖ Ep. ad Epict. 3 Orat. cont Arr. places where he saith that She is our sister because we are all the children of Adam Till this time in all Antiquity there is not to be found the least footstep of Invocating the Virgin or any other Saint or of giving Religious worship to them Indeed Gregory Nazianzen in his * Orat. 18. Oration upon S. Cyprian tells us how ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Justina supplicated the Virgin Mary for help when she found her self assaulted by the Magical artifices of Cyprian and the Devil but it 's evident to any who is conversant in the writings of the first Three Ages that there was no such practice of Invocating Saints in the time of Cyprian much less before the time of his Conversion and therefore computing the time when Gregory spoke that Oration which was after the the year 370. and the time when Cyprian is said to have attempted the Chastity of Justina which must have been before the year 247. when he was made Presbyter it is not to be imagined that Gregory spoke of Justina's praying to the Virgin according to the practice of the Age wherein she and Cyprian lived but according to the practice of compellating Saints which now first began in his own I call it the practice of Compellating Saints because the manner of calling upon them in Rhetorical Apostrophes and wishes and without any circumstances of religious worship was not as yet strictly speaking come up to formal and proper Invocation in a supplicatory way with all the signs and solemnities of worship and as it is usual for Painters to draw men and women of former Ages in the garb and dresses of their own so it is not unusual among Writers especially for Orators to relate things not according to the usage and practice of the times when they were done but according to the custome of the Age and place in which they live as a very * Dallaeus advers Latin c. 8. p. 51. Learned man hath shewed by several instances that Gregory and other Writers have done This alone were a sufficient Answer to that single instance out of Gregory if the story of Cyprian as he hath related it were credible in the other particulars but instead of being credible it is highly incredible in all the other particulars of it because there is nothing of them in the life of S. Cyprian written by Pontius his Deacon who saith not one word of his being a Magician or of Justina or of his attempting her Chastity by Magical Arts before his Conversion nor of burning his Magical books after it c. and therefore her Invocating the Virgin Mary hath as much truth in it as his falling in love with her c. Gregory took them all alike upon trust and they are all alike to be believed I am come now in talking about Gregory to the latter end of the Fourth Century when Superstition began to get ground and he especially among other Fathers gave occasion to the world of praying by way of Adoration unto Saints by his Rhetorical and optative Invocations of them at their solemn Commemorations but how far that Age was in the general practice of it from this religious way of Invocating the blessed Virgin or other Saints or from allowing the Invocation of her by way of Supplication as a part of worship and service due unto her we may learn from St. Epiphanius who flourished at the same time with Gregory towards the latter end of the fourth Century when a certain Sect of women meeting together to worship the Virgin Mary offered certain Cakes unto her called Collyrides from whence they were called Collyridians This good Bishop did burn with zeal against them as it appears from his warm way of writing in which he hath treated them as Hereticks and Idolaters * In a Sermon p. 23. A late Writer acknowledges that he treated them as Hereticks for offering Cakes unto her and that in so doing they gave her more honour than is allowable to a creature Nay if I understand his meaning right he acknowledges that to offer Cakes unto her was to adore her as a goddess and if offering Cakes unto her was so absurd as he makes it and so enormous a crime even a Sacrilegious Idolatry as he speaks then methinks to offer Candles and Incense to her is so too I should be glad to understand the difference between the two offerings as to the charge of Epiphanius But because he so pens his periods as to make his Reader believe that that Father called them Hereticks only upon the account of their offering unto her as if in doing that only they raised her above the nature of a creature I beg the Preachers leave to cite him more at large than he hath done and to make it appear thereby that the holy Fathers censure will
reach the honouring of her by Prayer and external Adoration as well as by offering unto her and that those who only practise the former according to the direction of the Latin Offices intrench upon the divine Prerogatives and transgress the bounds and limits which the Church in his days put to the honour of the blessed Virgin ‖ Haeres 69. S. 4. After a short account of the Original of Idolatry which he ascribes to the Devil and to the adulterous mind of man which runs from the worship of the one God as common Strumpets do from the chaste estate of Matrimony under one Husband he saith indeed The body of Mary was holy but she was not a deity and she was truly a Virgin and an (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 honourable Virgin but she was not proposed to us for (b) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be worshipped but did (c) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 her self worship him that was born of her own flesh and descended from Heaven and the Fathers bosom And then adds that the Scripture did for this cause forewarn us by the mouth of our Lord who said unto her woman what have I to do with thee and he called her woman lest any should (d) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Aug. saith Christ admonished her and bid her fear her Son De Symb. l. 2. c. 5. Athanas saith he checkt her 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Qrat 4. advers Arr. Chrysost saith he was angry at her Ireneus that he repelled her unseasonable hastiness l. 3. c. 18. and Theophyl that he chid her not without cause In Joh. 2.4 think too highly of her thereby as it were prophesying of the Schisms and Heresies that would arise about her that none by too much admiring the Holy Virgin might fall into this folly of Heresie In the fifth Sect. he puts this smart question Which of the Prophets saith he permitted any man much less a woman to be (e) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worshipped Indeed she is a chosen vessel but nevertheless a woman who hath not changed her nature though she is much honoured as the bodies of Saints are or to speak more to her praise as Elias who was a perpetual Virgin from the womb and taken up into heaven without seeing death or as S. John who lay in the bosom of our Lord or as the holy Thecla But Mary is more to be honoured than her upon the account of the dispensation of which she was vouchsafed worthy But neither is Elias to be ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worshipped tho' he never died nor John tho' he departed in such a wonderful manner nor is Thecla or any other Saint worshipped For we are not under the dominion of the old error to leave the living God and ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worship his creatures as it is written they served and worshipped the creature besides or with the Creator and became fools For if he will not let the Angels be ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worshipped much less will he permit the daughter of Anne to be worshipped who was begotten and born as all other mortals were In the seventh Sect. saith he Christ as the Contriver and Lord of the affair formed himself of the Virgin as of the ground but not that she should be worshipped or that he intended to make a Deity of her or that we should bring offerings to her he gave her not so much as power to baptize or to bless his Disciples nor to rule upon the earth but only to be an ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 holy creature and to be worthy of his kingdom From whence then is the Dragon come again unto us how comes it to pass that he renews his devices against us let Mary be ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 honoured but let the Father Son and Holy Ghost be worshipped Let no man worship Mary This Mystery is due to no man nor woman nor ought the Holy Angels to share in this Glory therefore tho' Mary be most excellent and holy and honoured yet she is not to be worshipped and at last concludes thus that I may not seem too tedious let it suffice to have said ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ambros l. 3. de Spir. S. c. 12. Maria erat templum Dei non Deus templi ideo ille solus adorandus qui operabatur in templo Augustinus ait Hoc etiam ipsos optimos Angelos excellentissima Dei ministeria velle credamus ut unum cum ipsis colamus Deum cujus contemplatione beati sunt quare honoramus eos charitate non servitute religet nos Religio uni omnipotenti Deo Lib. de verâ relig cap. 55. let Mary be honoured and our Lord worshipped I appeal to the Conscience of any Learned Votary of the Blessed Virgin whether the Christians of the Latin Communion do not give her such Worship as the Greeks express by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the very word that Epiphanius uses throughout this whole discourse when he speaks of Worshipping in opposition to honouring of the Holy Virgin and I appeal to the Conscience of every unprejudiced Learned man whether going in Pilgrimage to her and praying to her in places of Divine Worship with all the circumstances of external Adoration with bended knees and hands and eyes lifted up to Heaven and before her Images deserve not the name of Worship as it is signified by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nay let them tell me if praying unto her in a posture of worship for Temporal or Spiritual blessings and carrying her Image about in Solemn Procession while they chant forth Hymns unto her do not answer the full import of that word and whether the holy Father in all probability would not have made the same distinction betwixt honouring and worshipping the Blessed Virgin against these practices that he did against the Collyridians Our Saviour thought the very falling down before the Devil without Temple Priest Altar or Offering would have been a worshipping of him in his esteem the bare external act of Adoration was both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Latria for when the Devil said unto him all these things I will give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me He answered him Get the gon Satan for it is written thou shalt * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 worship the Lord thy God and him only thou shalt ‖ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 serve Wherefore this full and ample testimony of S. Epiphanius is an evident proof that as yet the honour of the B. Virgin was at least generally speaking confined within just bounds and limits and that the Church hitherto did not allow the Worship Service of Prayer and Invocation to be given unto her As yet she had not commenced Queen of Heaven nor Mediatrice between Man God nor received any Prayers or Addresses as a Service due unto her nor sat in the Temple of God tho'