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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B04950	The Virgin Mary misrepresented by the Roman Church in the traditions of that church, concerning her life and glory; and in the devotions paid to her, as the mother of God. Both shewed out of the offices of that church, the lessons on her festivals, and from their allowed authors. Part I. Wherein two of her feasts, her conception and nativity, are considered.	Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707.; Patrick, John, 1632-1695.	1688 (1688)	Wing P863A; ESTC R19085	135,709	190

Mother cry out when she was born Ibid. That her Body shone with Brightness and breathed a Perfume from her Birth Ibid. and 116 A great Question whether she had a Guardian-Angel assigned and who he was 116 117 Their Harangues about the Nobleness of her Birth Ibid. The Devotions of the Church of Rome to the blessed Virgin 's Parents 118 c. Many Authors assert their Sanctification from the Womb. 123 S. Anne made the Mother of more Children besides the Virgin. 124 Devotions to the Virgin and her two Sisters whose Names were Mary Ibid. Concerning the Feast of her Nativity this confessed to be Novel 125 France contends for the Glory of first observing this Festival 126 The Jesuit Inchofer would give it to the City of Messina ingratitude for a Letter the blessed Virgin wrote to them 127 The Virgin 's Letter being a Rarity set down out of him 128 The Foundation of this Feast was a private Revelation to a Man without a Name 129 Mel. Canus censures such Revelations 〈…〉 Ibid. The Calumny of Saunders and Th●… 〈◊〉 that this Feast was blotted out of our Kalendar to make room for Queen Elizabeth's Birth-day 130 Several scandalous and profane Meditations upon the blessed Virgin 's Nativity set down out of their Authors 131 c. An Office of the Name of the blessed Virgin. 134 c. Nothing extraordinary in the Name of Mary it being the same with Miriam 140 How many significations they give of it and pitch upon that which has least probability viz. Stella Maris Star of the Sea. 141 Chrysologus his admirable Conceit about Maria. 142 Saints pretend to have found sweetness in her Name both as to their Smell and Taste Ibid. Bonaventure's Reason why she is called a bitter Sea. 143 The Mysteries they find in every Letter of her Name 143 144 Mysteries in this Name as consisting of Five Letters Ibid. So there is also supposing it to consist only of Four Letters 145 S. Gerard taught the Hungarians not to pronounce it or with great Reverence uncovering the Head c. Ibid. In Poland a Crime to name any Woman Mary Ibid. Their Fancy that Angels admire this Name and love to hear it procounced 146 And that the blessed Virgin her self delights to hear it also Ibid. The manner of reciting Jesus Psalter 147 They lay great stress upon the repeating meerly the Name of Mary without any other sence adjoined 148 The extravagant story of a converted Japan Woman 149 Saying an Ave Maria seventy two times with Genuflections a prescribed Exercise of Devotion Ibid. Another Exercise of repeating Five Psalms that begin with the Five Letters of her Name 150 Brussels Charity in Honour of her Name 151 Beggars in the Mogul's Country ask Alms in her Name Ibid. They conclude her Name to be more sweet than that of Jesus 152 And in some respects more powerful and prevalent 153 The great Effects that follow the use of her Name 154 155. ERRATA PAge 10. line 30. read their p. 26. l. 28. r. Salute p. 32. l. 1. r. which p. 34. l. 4. r. division p. 36. marg r. quiliae p. 38. l. 16. r. Hic p. 134. dele Sect. I. p. 140. l. 8. r. make THE INTRODUCTION Giving an account whence the Roman Church has so much to say concerning the B. Virgin when the Scriptures and the Ancient Writers of the Church say so little of Her. THAT Infallibility which the Church of Rome only challenges and so much boasts of can signifie no less than this That she expects that all Christians should securely commit not only their Faith but also their Devotions to be conducted by her For it is not so necessary in Religion to be instructed in all its Articles and to believe aright as it is duly to obey and serve God nor is every wrong Opinion so dangerous as false and mistaken Worship If a Physician should proclaim himself for infallible the reputation of his skill would quickly sink if he failed ordinarily in the Regiment of Health and made more Distempers than he cured And no wise Traveller would chuse him for the Guide of his way who though he perfectly knew every step of it yet was wont to lead those whom he conducted to repose themselves under Tree of unhealthful shade and influence and to bring them for the quenching their thirst to those Springs whose Waters were neither clear nor wholesome A learned person a Serarius in Litaneut 2. Quest 11. 〈…〉 of this Church is so sensible of this truth that he is fain to defend that their Infallibility extends as far as to the Canonization of Saints and that there can be no mistake committed herein for says he If in this matter the Church can be deceived and deceive the pillar and ground of T●…th would tatter and fall the Lord Christ would forsake his Spouse the Holy Ghost would not teach those that are his all necessary Truth Peter would not in his Successors feed the Flock of Christ with the necessary food of Religion no nor Jesus Christ himself the Prince of Shepherds For he to whom the Pope gives his Testimony and pronounces that he is authentically to be venerated with Religious Worship and to be invoked with publick Prayers if such a one may prove to be no Saint is it not plain that a false Testimony is given deadly poison lying worship c. Another great Spanish Preacher says b Carthagena de arcan Deip. l. 14. Hom. 13. Nihil re ipsa falsum Ecclesia Catholica quae spiritu veritatis regitur colendum potest praecipere fidelibus The Catholick Church which is govern'd by the Spirit of Truth cannot require the Faithful to Worship any thing really False And Cardinal Bellarmine c De Sarct Beat. l. 1. c. 9. gives us a great many reasons to prove that the Church cannot err in Canonization of Saints But how false this Assertion is has been shown them in numerous instances d V. Reflections on the Devotions of the Roman Church not long since That a great many of the Saints they venerate are Fabulous and no evidence that such were ever in being some Canonized for Saints that were ●o●tesens and Traytors ●eady and high-minded such as spake evil of Dignities and ●njustly opposed the Powers ordained of God. The Reader will see false Miracles and false Tales advanced to give them reputation and credit and which is worse still the Falsity so apparent that those who make use of them to abuse the simple thereby must needs if they be but tolerably knowing in History be self-condemned In ●…e he will see so clearly that the interests of the World and not those of true Piety both makes many of their Saints and warms their Devotions to them that he may well suspect that in this Church Faith has not been well preserved when he sees so little regard had to the keeping of a good Conscience Yes I must show you far greater a●…es than these

carried out to Christ thus far we are of his mind and wish that they also had made him their scope more and her less but he being known and his Faith enough established her Excellencies could not be unknown or hid Or as Sherlog the Jesuit expresses it h Anteloq 3. in Cantic n. 142. It was necessary for us to know that Mary was the Mother of Christ this the Evangelists sufficiently declared and this her Honour being manifested the rest might be collected there-from though they said no more The force of this reasoning will appear if you only change the name of Jesus for Mary and put it thus It was requisite for us to know that Jesus was the Son of God as necessary as that Mary was his Mother this the Evangelists sufficiently declared and this Dignity of his being manifested the rest might be collected though they said no more We should have had an admirable Gospel if this had been the way of writing it much what I suppose like the History of the Seven Champions for that Writer did not feign the Men their worth and excellency was abundantly declared to the World before he only collected as every Writer of Romances does what was proper for such worth to accomplish and his Fancy ran much upon inchanted Castles and Gyants with huge Maces in their Hands which he makes his Hero's to dissolve and overcome However we have discovered by what these Authors have told us a secret which they had better have kept so still that now we know what way has been taken in writing the History of the B. Virgin and the Lives of other Saints Two or Three Truths have been given like a Ground to a skilful Musician upon these they have run what Division they best fansied and according to the skill of the writer the Descant has been agreeable or otherwise and it is remarkable that commonly where any faithful and certain Records have said the least there they have given the World the most large and compleat Story Which we are beholden to the aforesaid Greg. Gallicanus i Marial p. 3. for confessing the most plainly and without any disguise as the sence of some in this very case of the Scriptures silence concerning the B. Virgin Dicunt aliqui immensum esse laudum B. Virginis campum ideoque liberum unicuique relinquere voluisse sc Deum ut de eâ dicerent quod vellent i. e. The field of her Praises is wide and immense and therefore God would leave every Man at liberty to say of her what he pleased CHAP. I. An account of the Currant Faith of the Roman Church concerning the B. Virgin and of the Worship they pay to her suitable to that Belief Beginning with her Predestination to her Nativity WHatsoever I have asserted in the foregoing Introduction will appear more clearly in that Romantick History this Church has given us of the B. Virgin 's Life Wherein we shall see both what the Church believes concerning her and after that what Worship they pay to her agreeable to that Belief And in doing this I hope I shall not incur any Readers censure no not so much as of the Romanist for taking this Method since they themselves have given it me in their own Offices upon the Feasts that are appointed to her honour wherein we find these two are interwoven her History and her Worship To have set down only the last viz. her Worship would have been to present a naked Image of strange Devotion enough to have frighted any Christian The flattery of her being so fulsome k She infinitely surpasseth all the Excellencies of Men and Angels Contemplations of the Life and Glory of H. Mary p. 18. As it is not possible for the Tongue of a Seraphim to explain to our comprehension the Shapes and Liveries of the heavenly Spirits their Quires and Hierarchies to blazon the Glories of the Saints and to expound the Plenty Pastimes and Language of the Divine Courtiers so much rather is it impossible for a pure Creature to unfold the immense Attributes of the Maternity of Holy Mary the Mother of Jesus which gives to her an inherent right to all the perfections so copiously by Providence dispersed amongst Creatures here beneath the Stars in the Firmament and the Angels in Heaven Ibid. Ep. Dedic the veneration of a meer Creature so submiss and lowly l Whatsoever can be said of her will be only an essay infinitely too narrow to fill the orbs of her exuberant Sanctity Grace and Glory I do with trembling attempt this great work of explaining the Mysteries of her Life and immortal Glory left searching into the Holies of so great a Majesty I be oppressed with its brightness and splendors Ibid. Epist Dedic Entring a solemn covenant with Holy Mary to to be for ever her servant Ibid. p. 12. All Christians vow Obedience Fealty and Homage to her as to their supreme Governess Leige-Lady and Advocate Ibid. p. 21. She justly claims a servitude from all pure creatures Ibid. p. 8. the expectations of receiving Blessings from her so high and excessive m Almighty God hath by a solemn Covenant pronounced her to be the Treasury of Wisdom Grace and Sanctity under Jesus so that whatsoever Gifts are bestowed upon us by Jesus we receive them by the Mediation of Mary no one being gracious to Jesus who is not devoted to Mary Nor hath any one been specially confident of the Patronage of Mary who hath not through her received a special blessing from Jesus Whence it's one great Mark of the Predestination of the Elect to be singularly devoted to Mary since she hath a full power as a Mother to obtain of Jesus whatsoever he can ask of God the Father Neither hath any one petitioned Mary who was refused by Jesus or trusted in Mary and was abandoned by Jesus Ibid. p. 7. Our Saviour speaks of many who shall say to him Lord Lord and yet he would not know them but it should seem by this if they had but known the secret of saying Lady Lady they would not have miscarried that if there had been nothing said to give a rise to such Courtship it could not escape the censure of extravagant Madness whereas the History cloaths the Image with an advantageous dress and gives some colour at least to those applications while it represents her not only in her self a subject of Excellencies and Perfections far above those of Men and Angels and nearly bordering upon the Divinity but also one who in the Intention of God was designed to have a great Hand in the conducting us to Happiness a helper and co-worker with our Saviour himself in the work of our Redemption and thereby fairly challenging a great share in our Veneration So that if the things they say of her were but evidently true the things they say to her in their Devotions might be the better born withal and justified To prepare us for what we may expect

Love of God and in Honour of the immaculate Conception of the blessed Virgin. And Cap. 3. a Garment pallium of a blue Colour is decreed to be used to signify that the Soul of the Virgin from her first Creation was altogether Holy and Celestial This Pope also granted great Indulgences l Wadding ibid. p. 220. as Leo X. did the like after him to Persons of both Sexes that in Devotion carried the Image of the Conception on their Breast Temples and Altars are erected to the Memory of the same and Pope Julius II. Pope Adrian VI. Pope Gregory XIII and other Popes have granted plenary Indulgences in favour of the immaculate Conception and Pius V. m Id. ibid. p. 222. when he reformed the Breviary and took away some Feasts yet required that of the Conception to be kept by the whole Church and moreover gave Liberty to the Franciscans to recite the proper and old Office of the Conception So that although they have not got of their Father what they have so long desired yet he has done something for them and they are very jocund upon it and full of Consolation as the Language of one of them proclaims it n Sherlog Anteloquium in Cantic Sec. 2. p. 114. who thus breaks out O blessed Virgin I give immortal Thanks to thy Son That the Days are come in which none dare so much as mutter that thou wast conceived in original Sin. Oh! how many Friends of thine have cryed to Heaven with Groans unutterable to see that Day and could not see it but thy poor Servant has seen it seen it indeed and it has greatly gladded him But who has so steelly a Breast that will not be softened none doubtless unless it be the hard-hearted Pope who cannot relent when all the World conspires to assert the Innocency of the Virgins Soul for as to the Integrity of her Body none of the Orthodox ever doubted it If after all this Stir about the immaculate Conception any one be so curious as to ask in what manner we are to conceive the blessed Virgin 's Preservation from original Sin to have been effected They have Answers ready The last named Jesuit o Idem in Cantic c. 1. v. 8. p. 347. is of Opinion That when God made the Covenant with Adam he made him the Head of all Mankind and wrapt up their Fates and Wills in his only with a particular Exception of one Creature and that only in one Case viz. If his Son should require such a Creature for his Mother for then it was not his Intention that the Will of that Creature in order to sinful Actions or the loss of Grace should be included in the Will of Adam Others who as Bernardine p Marial ser 9. p. 105. See also Galatinus de arcan lib. 7. c. 3. says speculate the Matter more devoutly think that the Seed out of which the blessed Virgin was to be conceived was virtually preserved by God in the Loins of Adam from all Infection and transmitted through all Generations to her without any Stain of which immaculate Seed she was conceived most pure and immaculate And he says this is touched upon by the Psalmist Psal 89. where God says according to the vulgar Latin I have sworn to David my Servant That I will prepare thy Seed for ever and build thy Seat from Generation to Generation SECT V. Concerning the Feast of the Virgin Mary's Conception THere is nothing remains to be considered under this Head of the Blessed Virgin 's Conception save only the Institution of the Feast on Decemb. 8. in Memory and Honour of it Bellarmine q De cultu Sanctor l. 3. c. 16. confesses ingenuously That some of the Feasts of the blessed Virgin are new and of a late Institution For the Feast of her Nativity begun says he in the time of S. Bernard but was not publickly received by the whole Church till after the Decree of Sixtus IV. in Extravaganti cum praeexcelsa that is Anno 1476. Petrus de Natalibus r Catalog Sanctor lib. 1. c. 41. when he wrote which was in the same Age says That this Feast was not kept by a general Institution of the Church but by the special Devotion of some Persons It is a ridiculous Story that is told us by Galatinus s De arcan l. 7. c. 5. out of I know not what Martyrology of J. Damascen That the blessed Virgin is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pure before her Conception Though Canisius t L. 1. de deip c. 7. is not ashamed to mention it after him Baronius u Ad Martyr Rom. Dec. 8. and Bozius x De sign Eccles l. 9. c. 8. would give it the Credit of some Antiquity a Greek Oration of Leo VI. Emperor about the Year 886. upon the Solemnity of the Virgin 's Conception extant in Manuscript in the Sfortian Library But J. Bapt. Thiers y De Fest dierum imminutione c. 17 18. p. 90 96. who has throughly examined this matter of Festivals can find no mention of it among the Greeks before the Constitution of the Emperor Eman. Comnenus Ann. 1166. In some particular Churches of the West it began to be observed a little earlier and the forwardest we meet with in celebrating of it were in England though upon very slight grounds and such as give it no Authority For the Institution of it there depended upon very questionable Revelations such as agree not well among themselves and some of them so ridiculous as to spoil their own Credit together with that which depends on them The Story which is most generally received as that which gave Rise to this Feast is told us by Pet. de Natalibus z Catal. Sanctorum ubi supra concerning S. Anselm whilst he was Prior in Normandy before he was Arch-Bishop of Canterbury That he sailing to the Parts of Britany as he was returning a great Tempest put the Ship in extreamest Danger so that despairing of Safety they betook themselves to the Help of God and the blessed Virgin and on the suddain one cloathed in the Habit of a Bishop came towards the Ship walking upon the Waters and calling for Anselm told him that if he would escape the Danger he must promise him before God that he would yearly keep the Feast of the blessed Virgin 's Conception and perswade all he could to do the same informing him that ●s Day of her Conception was the Sixth of the Ides of December and that the Office to be said on that Day should be the same with the Office of the Nativity only changing the Name of Nativity into Conception When Anselm enquired who he was that brought this Message he told him he was Nicholas the Bishop and that he was sent by the Mother of God 〈◊〉 reveal this to them and to deliver them Ansa●… 〈…〉 to do as he was commanded and confirmed it 〈…〉 upon which the Tempest immediately