artificiall sacred signe gathered by the calculation of the Sun as is yet further manifest for that some begin the Sabbath day from the first appearing of the stars after the setting of the Sun as the Jews others from midnight as Catholique Christians others from Sun rising as the Protestants c. In some Countryes the dayes are sometimes as long as one of our moneths in others as two in others as three and in some it is day for half a year together so that if they did not calculate a time for the observance of the Sabbath they should either keep none or els sanctifie it for half a year together Again as I have said here before men cannot change essences and substances because these things belong to God but they have changed the Sabbath from Saturday unto Sunday as our Adversaries do confesse whereby it is demonstrated that that the Sabbath day is but a sacred sign of rest from the Creation of the world as also of the eternall rest of heaven and of the Resurrection of our Lord and of the people of God c. whereby they might be distinguished from other Nations and yet our adversaries themselves do honor reverence this day after their kind or manner with a religious worship though it be but a sign and no substance or person or God neither may they say that this sanctification of the Sabbath may be or is performed by a civill worship seeing that first the Commandements of God as I have said heretofore are divine and religious and pertaine to Religion Secondly civill worship may be used by Pagans and Heathens who cannot sanctifie any thing to God because they want faith without which it is impossible to please God Moreover that the Sabbath day or Sunday is but a sign or ceremony to put us in mind of another thing God himself doth yet further witnesse saying See that you keep my Sabbath because it is a sign betweene me and you in your generations that you may know that J am the Lord which sanctifie you keep you my Sabbath for it is holy unto you he that polluteth it dying shall dye Exod. 31.13 to demonstrate unto us that the Sabbath or Sunday is but a signe to distinguish the people of God and faithfull from the Infidells and reprobates and yet all faithfull people worship and honor it with solemn rites ceremonies and circumstances as offering of Sacrifice rest from labour attending to proper preaching reading of the Scriptures and other pious works and exercises so that it cannot be denied but that sacred signes pictures images and such things as represent unto us or have relation either immediately or mediately unto divine things or to the things of heaven or mysteries of our faith may be honored and worshipped with a relative religious honor and worship for the things of heaven or holy things which they represent and that this relative religious worship begetteth in us pious thoughts seeing God commandeth it Againe God would have this sign of the observance of the Sabbath or Sunday so much honored and respected by men as that he promiseth great rewards to those who shall religiously and carefully observe it saying If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath from doing thy will in my holy day and call the Sabbath delicate and the holy of our Lord glorious and glorifie him by keeping it whilest thou doest not thine own wayes and thy will be not found to speak a word then shalt thou be delighted upon the Lord and I will lift thee up abâ—ve the neights of the earth and I will feed thee with the inheritance of Jacob thy Father Isay 58.13 Thus the Scriptures to demonstrate unto us that there is no cause why our Adversaries should so dislike of the religious relative worship which Roman Catholikes do give to sacred signs pictures and images as they represent either heavenly things or the mysteries of their faith seeing that God not only commandeth it but also promiseth great rewards to those who shall zealously and carefully reverence and respect them The cause why Almighty God so presseth man to sanctifie the Sabbath day which is but a sign of the rest which he made from the creation of the world and of our Saviours Resurrection and of the eternall rest in heaven with a relative religious worship is because we cannot worship this sacred sign of the Creation of the World Resurrection of our Saviour and eternall rest in heaven without thinking upon these things and begetting in our hearts pious thoughts of the Creation of the World Resurrection of our Saviour and eternall joyes of heaven the Sabbath being a holy sign of those sacred mysteries as words are of things when we worship this signe with a relative religious worship for those things which it doth represent we cannot but think upon the things themselves because as I have said heretofore we cannot think upon two things at once from whence it is that the relative religious worship which is given to sacred pictures signs and images as they are such cannot but nourish in the doers pious thoughts for which cause the divell stirreth up those in whose heart he dwelleth to have them cast down or prophaned least by their remaining and the relative respect born unto them for the sacred things they represent and as they do represent them he should be forced to change his lodging And to conclude God speaking of the observation of the feast of Easter or Pasche saith The first day of the Pasche shall be holy and solemn and the seventh day with the like festivity shall be venerable Exod. 12.16 To shew unto us that the children of Jsrael by the Commandement of God gave honor and worship to the first and seventh day of the Pasche which are but instituted signes of our Lords passage over their houses in Egypt and of the Resurrection from death to life everlasting whereby we see that of the ten Commandements two command us to worship respect and reverence with a relative religious worship sacred artificiall signs pictures and images because this begetteth in us pious thoughts CHAP. XVIII Of the sweet name or signe of Jesus and how this name respectively is to be worshipped with a relative religious worship above all names thereby to beget pious thoughts of Jesus above all things ALthough the word signe or name Jehova was of great honor and worship amongst the faithfull Jewes yet it should be inferiour in honor and reverence to the name or word Jesus as it signifieth our Saviour amongst the Christians because Jehova doth signifie God as he is our Lord and Creator but Iesus doth signifie God as he is our Saviour and Redeemer wherefore as the benefit of our Redemption is greater then that of our Creation so the name of Iesus or a Redeemer or Saviour is greater then the name of God or a Creator whereupon the Church in the blessing of the Paschall candle saith It had availed us nothing
our Lord will not make so slight accompt of the Scriptures as to read them only transitorily but he will meditate upon them which is performed alwayes with great humility and submission of mind whereupon S. Hilary upon this text saith The meditation of the law is not onely in the words of the reader but in the religion of works In the New Tâ—stament our Saviour saith Give not that which is holy to dogs neither cast ye you pearles before swine least they trample them under their feet and turn again and tear you in pieces Mat. 7.6 Pearls saith S. Hierome upon this text and the 13. of Matthew are the Gospel and the Law and the Prophets the dogs saith he are those who after they have received the faith returne to the vomit of their former sins and swine those who have not yet believed the Gospell but stick fast in the mine of infidelity and vices to demonstrate unto us that our Lord would not have heretiques vitious men or infidells to read the Scriptures whereof in the 13. of S. Matthew he yeeldeth a reason because they do not esteem them above the things of this world and therefore if such men read the Scriptures in lieu of reaping benefit by them they corrupt them and become as our Saviour there saith persecuters of the church which we find true by experience in this age Again our Saviour saith to the Jewes Search the Scriptures Joh. 5.39 with that honor care and affection that they ought to be searched into for as S. Chrysostome in his Sermon of Abraham well observeth he saith Search the Scriptures do not corrupt them search them not onely by reading them but carefully inquiring after the sense God gave indeed the sacred letters or characters but he laid not open their contemplations or mysteries but reserved them to their senses that so he might maintain equity or justice and behold thy care or industry Thus S. Chrysostome to shew unto us that he who shall read the sacred letters or characters of the Bible without a relative religious worship unto the text for the divine things they represent and follow the sense which God gave unto the text will reap no thing but error and heresie for our Saviour commanding a diligent search to be made into the Scriptures forbideth us to corrupt them and willeth us that we should not omit any means of finding out the sense or height of their contemplation which amongst other things is an inward and outward relative religious worship to the sacred text signes pictures or images of the Bible as did the Jewes in the old Law lest for want thereof we corrupt the text by false senses or interpretations Our Saviour out of a desire that all men might be saved and to fulfill what was necessary on his behalf commanded the Apostles saying Going into the whole world preach the Gospell to all creatures And they going forth preached every where Mar. 16.20 Yet our Saviour himself in Matth. 13. saith that of four sorts of hearers of the Gospel three hear to their greater damnation The first are only hearers who are like men who dwell by the high-way and look aftere very thing that passeth and entertain all kind of thoughts friendships and affairs like an Inne which is open to good and bad known and unknown friends and strangers of whom S. James speaketh saying If a man be a hearer of the word and not a doer he is like unto a man beholding the feature of his face in a glasse who considered himself and went his way and presently forgetteth what a manner of man he was James 1.24 The second hear and with joy receive the Word but are temporall and have no root and so for a time they believe and in time of tâ—mptation they revolt because they did not esteem of the Gospel above all earthly things as did the Prophet David saying The law of thy mouth is good to me above thousands of gold and silver Psal 118.71 and therfore for temporall plâ—asures or commodities easily forsook it The third hear the Word and the care of the world and the deceiptfulnesse of riches and concupiscences about other things entring in choak the word and it is made fruitlesse For as S Paul saith They who will be made rich fall into temptations and the snare of the Dâ—vill and into many unprofitable and hurtfull desires which drown men in destruction and perdition 1 Tim. 6.9 The fourth are they who with with a good and very good heart hearing the word of God do reteine it and yeeld fruit in patience Thus our Saviour to demonstrate unto us that there is required on our parts an esteem of the Word of God above all earthly things that we may adhere and cleave unto the sense given unto it by God and it to us and fill our hearts with pious thoughts otherwise the reading or hearing of it or picking of our faith out of it will but increase our damnation Honor is due unto vertue as affirmeth Aristotle chap. 5. of his book of Ethicks and also the Scriptures 1 Tim. 5.17 And the Scriptures are the vertue of God Rom. 1.16 1 Cor. 1.18 wherefore as to God is due an absolute religious worship so to the Scriptures which are his Word signes figures and images is due a relative religious worship because it is his Word whereupon S. Paul describing the manner how the Christians in the Primitive church received the word of the Gospell saith We also give thanks to God continually because that when you had received of us the word of the hearing of God you received it not as the word of men but as it is indeed the word of God 1 Thes 2.12 and there also shewing the effect which the Word of God worketh in men when together with the sense it is received and imbraced after this relative religious manner presently addeth their constant suffering for the Gospell as received into a good and very good heart which yeeldeth fruit in patience In regard of this visible and invisible relative religious worship and honor which is due unto the sacred Word of God when Bishops make Deacons and give them authority to read the Gospell they receive the holy books kneeling as is set down in the Pontificall And antiently when the Gospell was read in the church all men who were present laid down their weapons stood barehead even the Christian Kings and Emperors and the Bishops Priests and Deacons who celebrated the diviâ—e Service and handled the book of the Goâ—pell in honor thâ—reof often kissed the sacred book with a holy kisse as witnessâ—th the antient Roman order publâ—shed in the 8. Tome Bibliothâ—cae Patrum which relâ—tive religâ—ous honor is so due unto the sacred Scriptures as that Justinus Martyr who livâ—d with the Apostles cholars in his Oration to the Gentiles commendeth Prolomaeus King of Egypt for using it saith after that the seventy Interpreters had translated the Old Testament into Greek Pâ—olomâ—
of pious thoughts and how to attain unto them and last of all how to cherish and nourish them that we may abound with piety which is a vertue of so great eminency and excellency that as S. Paul saith It is profitable to all things 1 Tim. 4.8 and withall as there he saith hath the promise of this life that now is and of that to come and what more can be desired of men in this vale of tears Now for the better understanding what our thoughts are it is necessary first to observe that many things in the outward senses are two which in the inward soul are but one as for example to see and to hear in the outward senses are two reall distinct things which in the inward soul are both one The soule having reall distinct powers but not parts from whence it cometh to passe as S. Augustine in the nineth and tenth chapters of his fifteenth book of the Trinity excellently noteth that to heare and to see as also to speak and to see in the inward soul are both one Whereupon he describeth a thought saying A thought is a certain vision of the soul whether these things be present which are seen with the corporalleys or perceived by the other senses or they be absent and their likenesse only is seen by thought or if neither of these but these things are thought upon which are neither corporall nor yet have corporall shapes as vertues and vices or as the thought it self when it is thought upon Thus S. Augustine of our thoughts Again in the same place he saith also That thoughts are speeches or words of the heart which he proveth by the Scriptures which say They said thinking within themselves Wis 2.1 Again certain of the Scribes said within themselves Mat. 9.3 Again The Scribes and Pharisees began to think saying Luk. 5.21 where the thoughts of men are called the words or sayings of the heart so that a thought is rightly described according to S. Augustina to be a vision word or speech of the heart which if we could bring to be pious in all men and to be strengthened and nourished we should easily make piety to abound in the world for as S. Aug. there saith When we say that thoughts are words of the heart we do not therefore deny them to be visions sprung from the vision of things signified unto us because in the inward soul they are both one Now if it could be brought to passe that men in their inward souls should neither heare nor see nor speak or that which is all one not think of any thing but with detestation which were not pious they must needs abound with piety and be very happy because as S. Paul saith they should be profitable to all things and also be partakers of the promises which God hath made unto his servants in this life and in that which is to come here to be happy by grace and in the other by glory which I heartily wish unto thee Reader CHAP. II. Of Pious and impious thoughts and what Pious thoughts are NOt every thought of a good thing is therefore presently a pious thought The divell sometimes thinketh upon God though he cannot have a pious thought because he is confirmed in malice and evill men think many times upon good things but with an evill intent Wherefore as S. Augustine in his twelfth Sermon upon the 118. Psalm saith We should not only think that it is good which we do but also and that chiefly if it he good for which we do it Wherefore for a thought to be pious it is not onely sufficient that we think of a good thing but also that we think upon it to a good end God being the last end of man then our thoughts are truly pious when we think on holy and sacred things or the works of mercy or the obligations of our estate c with an inclination of mind to adhere unto them as unto things which may either immediately or mediately conduct us to God the end of all our hâ—pes So that in few words an absolute pious thought is an inward vision speech or motion of the mind by which we either immediately or mediately adhere unto God the last end our happinesse From hence it is that the Prophet David a pious man and a man according to Gods own heart saith I have inclined my heart to do thy justifications for ever for reward Psal 118.112 Again in the same Psalm I have not declined from thy Testimonies Thus the Prophet to instruct us that the only thinking upon a holy or sacred thing is not sufficient to beget an absolute pious thought but the thinking upon it with an inclination of mind to adhere unto it for the benefit we receive by it and for Gods sake the end of our happinesse On the contrary an absolute wicked thought is a full or deliberate consent of the mind or thought to do any thing against the Commandements of God whereby men become cursed and wicked as witnesseth the Prophet in the same Psalm saying Thou hast very much commanded thy Commandements to be kept cursed are they that decline from thy Commandements though it be but with full consent of thought as he further witnesseth in the said Psalm saying Thou hast despised all that revolt from thy judgements because their thought is unjust or wicked As to think upon an evill thing or to have a suggestion of evill put into our minds either by the flesh world or divell who are our enemies without any inclination of will or consent of heart to do it is not properly called an evil thought but a suggestion carnall motion or temptation So likewise to think only upon a good or holy thing without any inclination of heart or mind unto it is not properly a pious thought but when we have an extension of heart to adhere unto it as unto a thing which may either immediately or mediately conduct us unto God the last end of all our happinesse CHAP. III. How all evills proceed from evill thoughts IF we would seriously consider from whence all the evills miseries and mischiefs which have happened in heaven or earth are originally sprung or have had their beginning or yet do daily arise we shall easily find that they originally have proceeded and even at this day do proceed from impious and wicked thoughts In heaven all the Angells and intellectuall Spirits lived in peace and unity with God and amongst themselves untill Lucifer one of the chiefest amongst the Intelligencers or Angells begun to think wickedly and to say in his heart I will ascend into heaven above the starres of God I will exalt my throne Esay 14.13 And upon earth there was no evill sicknesse or infirmities or miseries amongst men untill man began to think impiously that he would be like God Gen. 3.5 Whereupon truth it self saith Out of the heart come forth evill thoughts murders adulteries fornications theft false testimonies blasphemies
Christian Catholique Nations that are the things of heaven and mysteries of their faith by audible artificiall sacred signes or visible sacred signes pictures and images they should never have learned them or have come to know them for as S. Paul in the aforesaid chapter saith faith is by hearing and hearing is by the word of God and words are but signes of things as witnesseth Aristotle in the first chapter of his first book of Perihermanias and Pierius in his book of the sacred Egyptian letters throughout neither as I have proved in the precedent chapters do the things themselves enter into the mind by the senses but their signes pictures formes or images whereby it appeareth that the necessity of using sacred artificiall signes pictures and images is such as that without them we cannot learn divine things or the mysteries of our faith Now seeing that the mind as Cicero in his first book of Offices affirmeth is never quiet but is always thinking or doing as we may find by our dreams and discourses upon things in our memory and phantasies when we are even asleep and no divine thing can naturally enter into our hearts and minds to be thought upon or agitated or discoursed of which passeth not by some form picture signe or image through the senses it necessarily followeth that if we will have pious thoughts we must propose to the senses sacred artificiall pictures signes formes or shapes that they may represent unto the heart and mind sacred things as matter of pious thoughts from whence it is that Catholâ—que Christians in the Primitive Church and at all times used sacred artificiall pictures signs and images as of the Nativity Preaching working of Miracles Passion of our Lord upon his Ascension into heaven his glory there and of his coming again at the day of Judgement and also sacred signs pictures or images of all the things contained in both Testaments as the pictures signs and images of Angels and Saints and of all vertues c. the rebv to furnish the mind by these objects of the senses with pious thoughts For as Abbot Moâ—ses a vertuous and learned old Eâ—mite who retyred himself into the desarts of Egypt for the salvation of his soule in the eighteenth chapter of the first book of Casians Collations saith The exercises of our soules may very fitly be compared unto a Water-mill which is so continu â—lly turned about with the violence of a stream running forth amain through certain holes that it can never cease from grinding yet it is the Millâ—rs or Masters power whether it shall grind Wheat or Barley or if he will cast into it to grind oâ— work upon Oats for that certainly will be broken in pieces and grinded which the Master or Miller will cast into it In like manner the mind saith he turned about by the incursions of this present life and by the torrents of temptations which rush in upon us cannot be free from the heat of thoughts whereof which to admit or to repulse every one ought to learne by his diligence and pains for if we continually apply our minds unto the meditation of the holy Scriptures raise up our memory to the memory of spirituall things elevate our desires to the desire of perfection and to the hope of the happinesse to come it must needs be that the thoughts which arise in our minds shall be spirituall the mind being brought to stay her self upon those things which she hath meditated but if overcome by sloth and negligence we spend our time in vices and idle talk or els busie our selves with the superfluous cares of the world then our hearts will be filled with hurtfull thoughts like a kâ—nd of a cockle sprung from thence for as our Saviour said where the treasure of our works or intentions is there also our heart must necessarily be fixed Thus Abbot Moyses a holy Hermit who lived about twelve hundred yeares past in the desarts of Sciti in Egypt as affirmeth Ruffinus in the eighth chapter of his eleventh book of histories where their letters were all visible pictures signs and images as witnesseth Pierius in his book of the sacred Egyptian letters And the like comparison of the operation of our soules in matter of thoughts hath S. Anselme sometime Archbishop of Canter bury in the forty one chapter of his book of Similitudes and others to demonstrate unto us the necessity of often hearing with respect and reverence sacred sounds which are but signes of holy things and of often seeing beholding and looking upon sacred artificiall pictures signes and images which represent unto us divine things or the mysteries of our faith c. with a relative religious worship that by hearing or beholding them after that manner the divine things or mysteries of our faith may easily passe and enter into our minds and fill our hearts with pious thoughts as I shall yet further shew in the ensuing chapters CHAP. IX What we mean by a relative Religious Worship and of the distinction of honor and worship AS our Opposers would not understand what we mean by sacred pictures figures and images no more will they understand what we intend by a Relative Religious Worship unlesse we explicate it unto them wherefore here it is necessary to repeat what I have said in the first and second chapters of our book of the honor and prayer to Saints where I have shewed that as there are in generall two Kingdomes upon earch th' one temporall th' other spirituall so also in generall and for as much as will serve for our purpose there are two kinds of honors and worships the one civill belonging to the temporall Kingdome the other religious belonging to the spirituall Kingdome and both these kinds of honors and worships have divers degrees divisions or distributions according to the divers and different dignities in the said Kingdomes and yet keep one or the same name of honor or worship with little variety in words more then the termes of religious civill or superstitious As for example all the honor and worship which is in the temporall Kingdome as it is temporall and not Christan whether it be exhibited to God or Gods or Kings or his Officers or other of his Subjects is but civill or superstitious though it be divided into divers acts operations and degrees for these who have no true Religion as Turks Jews and Infidells can have no true religious worship amongst them therefore all the honor and worship which can or may be amongst them is but civill or superstitious according to the humane vertues dignities or superstition which is used amongst them though it be divided into divers degrees and that civill or superstitious worship whith they bestow upon God or Gods or their Kings may not be given to every temporall man or Officer amongst them but an inferiour according to the civill or superstitious dignity or office or esteem of every one or the relation any thing amongst them hath to a
in his Homily against Nestorius Bâ—shop of Constantinople for whoâ—â— condemnation the said Counceâ—â— was called set downe in the end 〈◊〉 the second act and made in the prâ—sence of the whole Councell saith All hail Mother of God c. by whoâ—â— the holy Trinity is glorified and adâ—â—red through whom the precious croâ—â— is made famous and is adored througâ—out the whole world Thus S. Cyril President of the Generall Councell before all the Bishops which were assembled from all parts to the Councell and before Nestorius Bishop of Constantinople then deposed for heresie and yet neither Nestorius the heretique nor any of his Adherents who were many nor any of the Bishops in the Councell amounting to the number of 200. gainsaid him or contradicted what he said Neither could the adoration of the cross become practised allover the Christian world in few yeares if at any time it had not been adored by Christians as we see by experience in the contrary doctrine taught by the Sectaries who have laboured against it now about 80. years and yet have prevailed but in some corners of the North part of the world only whereby it appeareth that the cross representing our Redemption upon it hath at all times beene adored with a relative religious honour throughout the whole world even since Christianity was planted amongst the Nations For suppose but not granted that there was a time when Christians did not adore the cross and that the adoration of the cross in the manner aforesaid was idolatry as our adversaries would have it how should all the Christian world without a knowne Preacher or Teacher or without any knowne Law or Edict either of Pope or Emperor fall into this their supposed idolatry of adoring the cross and no known man to oppose them or contradict this doctrine if there were Presbyterians in these Primitive times as our adversaries would gladly make the world to believe it seemeth that they were not such fighters for Religion as now they are seeing that knowne and reputed Heretiques and Infidells to both parties only excepted there is not found any one man in these antient times who did oppose it Moreover the Fathers in that Generall Councell at Ephesus so much insisted upon the Doctrinall Succession or preservation of the doctrine delivered by the Apostles from the beginning that Capreolus the Primate of Africa being hindered by the Wandall persecution to come to the Councell sent Besulam a Deacon with letters exhorting them that by the authority of Antiquity they would expell all new opinions and persevere in that one verity of the Church which from the beginning even unto that present time with a simple purity and an invincible authority had come unto them whereupon his letters being read and S. Cyril declaring the mind of Capreolus to the Councell saith The will of Capreolus Bishop of Carthage is that the antient dogmaticall points of faith be confirmed and the new and absurdly devised and wickedly divulged be exploded and condemned All the Bishops together with a loud voice cryed This is the voice of us all this we all affirm this is the vow of us all as is set down more at large in the first Act of the second part of the said Councell before the sentence of the deposition of Nestorius to demonstrate unto us that the adoration of the cross as is aforesaid was taught by the Apostles and hath been used by the faithfull even from the first plantation of the Christian faith over the world thereby to imprint in the hearts of men pious thoughts of the passion of our Lord and therefore the promises of God unto his church considered it is vain and idle now for any man to oppose or contradict it The verses attributed to Lact antius of the passion of our Lord set down in the end of his works say Flecte genu lignum quae crucis venerabile adora bend thy knee and with reverence adore the wood of the cross S. Ambrose in his Sermon upon the death of Theodosius the Emperor affirmeth that not onely the cross of Christ was adored but also the nail wherewith his feet was pierced saying towards the end of his Sermon Hellen was wise who placed the cross upon the head of Kings that the cross of Christ might be adored in Kings neither is this insolency but piety seeing that it is born to our holy redemption And some lines after Kings are bended down to the iron of his feet Prudentius in his Apothesis against the Jewes before the middest saith Purpura supplex sternitur Aeniadae rectoris ad atria Christi vexillumque crucis summis dominator adorat he that is cloathed in purple lyeth prostrate in the porch of Christ and the Emperor adoreth the Standard of the cross S. Hierome in his 27. Epistle written to Eustochius a Virgin of the Epitaph of Paula in the 3. chap. commendeth Paula deceased for that lying prostrated before the cross she adored as if she had seene our Lord hanging upon it Prostratam ante crucem quasi pendentem dominuÌ„ cerneret adorabat And it is so manifest that the faithfull in the Primitive church adored the cross with relation unto our Saviour who suffered upon it for our redemption that S. Paulinus Bishop of Nola a man well knowne to S. Ambrose S. Hierome and S. Augustine in his 11. Epistle saith that the Bishop of Hierusalim did every yeare in the solemnities of Easter expose the cross to be adored of the people he himselfe adoring it first And to conclude it is yet so manifest that the Fathers in the Primitive church adored the cross that our learned adversaries who have read the antient Fathers works confesse it as Danaeus in his other part of his first part against Bellarmine page 1415. saying that Cyril and sundry other Fathers were plainly superstitious and blinded with this inchantment of the crosses adoration Parker against symbolizing part 1. page 14. and part 2. chap. 6. and page 61. alledgeth the sayings of Photius Sedulius Chrysostome Propertius Paulinus Hierome and Evagrius to that effect Fulk against Heskins page 657. affirmeth that by report of Paulinus The cross was by the Bishop of Hierusalem brought forth at Easter to be worshipped of the people and Perkins in the 83. chapter of Problemes confesseth that Prudentius Hierome and Evagrius held the adoration of the cross and so forth as is set downe more at large in the 16. chapter of the 2. book of the Progeny of Catholiques and Protestants And this is sufficient to shew that in the Primitive church and in the most florishing time of the church the sacred crosse of our Lord was adored with a relative religious worship by the faithfull and this kind of worship being free from all manner of suspition or idolatry as I have proved heretofore there is no reason or cause why all Christian Nations should not still use it to the nourishing in themselves pious thoughts and holy meditations of our Saviours