〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 200. The Old Testament had Cherubims shadowing the Mercy Seat let us have Images of Christ and of his Holy Mother shadowing the Altar for because the Old Testament had such Things the New received them This say the (m) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ibid. Synod is the truth This say the Princes is the Command of God. But why did they not conclude also for another Ark and Mercy-Seat another Tabernacle a Golden Censer and a Pot of Manna seeing it was but saying as in the case of Images they do because the Old Testament had these things let us Christians have them too and it infallibly must be so And tell me now Can any one who reads these powerful Demonstrations from and excellent Expositions of the Holy Scripture doubt of the Truth of that which is so oft asserted by this Synod That (n) Act. 3. p. 157. Act. 7. p. 580 581 585. they were certainly assisted by the Holy Ghost But to be serious If all or any of these places have any strength to prove that Images should be set up in Churches or adored by Christians why do not any of their Writers use them to that end if they do not Why may not they be taxed with weakness who use such Proofs as none but the most undiscerning Persons could produce and which their best Friends are ashamed of § Inference 2. 5. 2. Hence it is evident that the second Nicene Council grosly was mistaken in that Determination and Assertion so frequently repeated in that Council That Image-worship had been delivered to them by the continual Suffrage and Approbation of the whole Church of Christ and was the Tradition of the whole Church Catholick even from the Times of the Apostles And consequently that this Council hath been actually deceived in Matter of Tradition as well as in her Interpretations of the Holy Scripture For whereas it is frequently there said That this was the constant Doctrine and Tradition of the Holy Fathers of the Catholick Church the opposition is not greater betwixt Light and Darkness than betwixt the Assertions of the Fathers and the Determinations of the Council For 1. The Fathers of that Council do pronounce Anathema (o) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 1. p. 57.4 p. 317.5 p. 389.7 p. 576.8 p. 592. against all Persons who take such places of the Holy Scripture which are spoken against Idols as spoken against Holy Images i.e. who say the second Commandment forbids the Worship not of Idols only but of Holy Images And so they do pronounce Anathema against Justin Martyr St. Clemens of Alexandria Origen Tertullian St. Cyprian St. Austin Theodoret Fulgentius Agobardus the Councils of Constantinople Frankford and Paris 2ly The Fathers of the same Council pronounce Anathema (p) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 1. p. 57. against all Persons who say That the erection of Images is the Invention of the Devil and not the Tradition of the Catholick Church and so they do pronounce Anathema against Clemens of Alexandria St. Ambrose Theodotus Amphilochiùs St. Jerom and St. Chrysostom Agobardus Hincmarus and the three foremention'd Councils who all declare That this was no Tradition of the Catholick Church And against Clemens of Alexandria Tertullian Lactantius Eusebius Theodotus Anoyranus and the whole Council of Constantinople who say expresly That Image-making or Image-worship was the Invention of the Devil 3ly These Fathers do pronounce Anathema (q) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 4. p. 317.5 389.7 p. 576. to all who violate break or dishonour S. Images which Epiphanius Serenus and all the Fathers of Constantinople did and upon all that knowingly communicate with them who contumeliously speak of them or dishonour them Now seeing all the Christians of the 4th Century did certainly communicate with Epiphanius of the 6th Century with Serenus since all the Fathers mentioned in my second Chapter do in their sense dishonour Images they in effect pronounce Anathema against them all 4ly They pronounce Anathema (r) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 4. p. 317.5 p. 389. against all Persons who detract from or who speak evil of their S. Images Now since the Fathers have declared concerning Images in general That they are worse than Mice and Worms that they are the Invention of the Devil with many other things of a like nature mentioned Chapter the second they must be all obnoxious to this Anathema 5ly They pronounce Anathema (s) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 4. p. 212. against all who do not call them Holy and Sacred Images that is against St. Clemens of Alexandria Origen Lactantius Eusebius and others who have declared That they cannot be Sacred and that they are Men of impotent Spirits and lame Minds who so esteem them 6ly They denounce Anathema (t) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 1. p. 61.7 p. 584. against all those who do not worship Images or who doubt of or who are disaffected to the worship of them Now this Anathema if what is here produced cannot be refuted must certainly be pronounced against the Blessed Apostles and all the Christians of the five first Centuries Lastly Whereas Origen declares That the first thing which Christians taught their Converts was the contempt of all Images the Fathers of this Synod pronounce Anathema (u) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Act. 1. p. 61. to all who do not diligently teach all Christian People to adore the Images of all Good Men from the beginning of the World. § 6. 3ly Hence also may be seen how vainly and unjustly Roman Catholicks do boast of the consent of Fathers on their side and say That they expound the Scriptures according to that Sense which they received from the Ancients it being evident from what hath been discoursed that in their Exposition of these words Thou shalt not make to thy self the Similitude of any Thing in Heaven or Earth c. Thou shalt not bow down to them they do embrace a Sense which no Father for the first six Centuries did ever put upon them and do reject that Sense they generally did impose upon these words § 7. 4ly Hence I infer That the Religion of the Church of England is in this particular much safer than is that of Rome For if Image-worship be not forbid in this Commandment nevertheless we only do neglect that practice which their best Writers deem (x) Illud ante constituendum Imagines ex carum per se genere esse quae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nominantur hoc est quae ad salutem omninò necessaria non sunt nec ad substantiam ipsam religionis attinent sed in potestate sunt Ecclesiae ut ea vel adhibeat vel ableget pro eo atque satius esse decreverit Petav. Theol. dogm To. 5. l. 15. cap. 13. §. 1. Ea est hujusce miserrimae dissensionis materia sine qua sicut multis videtur salva per fidem spem charitatem incunctanter in hoc seculo in futuro salvari potest Ecclesia quorum sensus sententia talis est quid fidei spei charitati obesse potuisset si Imago nulla toto orbe terrarum picta vel ficta fuisset Epist Eugenii P. 2 Act. Synod Paris P. 130 134. indifferent which no Jew ever did perform to any Patriach or Prophet nor any Christian for 600 Years to any Apostle Saint or Martyr and which no Scripture hath commanded and so we only do neglect to do that which neither Example of the Ancients nor any Precept doth commend to our practice Whereas if Image-worship should be here forbid to us Christians which to speak modestly seems highly probable the Church of Rome must practise and enjoin that Worship which provokes God to jealousy exhort and force her Members to perform that Worship from which God doth exhort them to abstain least they corrupt themselves She must enjoin that Action upon pain of her Displeasure and of the Wrath of God which he commands us to avoid because he is a jealous God she must imprison and cut off by Excommunication and by the Sword Christ's Servants because they will not by doing that which God so frequently and so directly hath forbid incur the hazard of his Wrath who saith Deut. 4.25 26. If ye corrupt your selves and make a graven Image of the likeness of any thing I call Heaven and Earth to Witness this day that you shall soon utterly perish And it is easy to determine which we ought most to fear the Wrath of God or Man. FINIS
instruct the People to teach them diligently That the Images of Christ the Mother of God and other Saints are especially to be had and retained in Temples and that due Honour and Veneration is to be given to them because the Honour tendred to them is referr'd to the Prototype so that by the Images which they kiss before which they uncover their Heads and prostrate themselves they worship Christ and venerate the Saints whose Similitudes they are And this say they is done (p) Jâ—xta Catholicae Apostolicae Ecclesiae usum à primaevis Christianae Religionis temporibus receptum Sanctorumque Patrum consensionem Sess 25. according to the custom of the Catholick and Apostolick Church received from the first Age of the Christian Faith and the consent of the Holy Fathers § 2. On the other hand the Council of Constantinople consisting of 338 Bishops assembled in the Year 754 declares That (q) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Concil Nic. 2. p. 452. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 508. this evil invention of Images neither hath its being from the Tradition of Christ or his Apostles nor of the Holy Fathers And having forbidden all Christians to worship any or to place an Image in the Church or in their private Houses they conclude unanimously thus (r) Ibid. p. 532. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this is the Faith of the Apostles this is the Faith of the Fathers this is the Faith of the Orthodox The Council of Frankford consisting of 300 Bishops assembled by Charles the Great out of Italy Germany and France A. D. 794. declares That the (s) Quia ut hoc facerent ab Apostolis sibi traditum mentiebantur Lib. Carol. l. 2. c. 25 27. second Nicene Council had offended in two things 1. in decreeing that Images should be worshipped And 2. in saying falsly that this was delivered to them from the Apostles They add That (t) Relictis priscorum patrum traditionibus qui imagines non colere sanxerunt novas conari insolitas Ecclesiae consuetudines inferre Praesat in lib. 1. leaving the Traditions of the Ancient Fathers who decreed That Images should not be worshipped they endeavoured to bring into the Church new and unusual Customs That they endeavoured to bring into Christian Religion the new Adoration of Images (u) Absque Sanctorum Patrum doctrina consacerdotum per diversas mundi partes consensu L. 4. c. 21. without the Doctrine of the Holy Fathers and the consent of their fellow Priests throughout the World. That this of Image-Worship was (w) Praefat. p. 10. impudentissima traditio a most impudent Tradition And that this pretended Tradition was (x) Neque in Evangeliorum tonitruis neque in Apostolorum dogmatibus vel quorumlibet Orthodoxorum Patrum doctrinis uspiam reperimus insertam L. 4. c. 13. neither to be found in the Oracles of the Prophets nor in the Writings of the Gospels nor in the Doctrines of the Apostles nor in the Relations of the former Holy Synods nor in the Doctrines of the Orthodox Fathers That it was instituted by them nullo Antiquitatis documento vel exemplo without all Instruction or Example from Antiquity A Synod held at Paris under Ludovicus Pius and Lotharius Anno Dom. 824 saith That the (y) Contra Authoritatem divinam sanctorum Patrum dicta P. 23. second Nicene Council declared for Image-worship against the Divine Authority and the Sayings of the Holy Fathers And that (z) Ed. Pith. p. 25 26. they determined against the Worship of them according to Divine Authority and juxta sententias sanctorum Patrum according to the Judgments of the Holy Fathers Agobardus Bishop of Lions having declared against all Image-worship saith (a) L. de Imag. §. 30. p. 263. This is sincere Religion is Mos Catholicus haec Antiqua Patrum Traditio this is the Catholick Custom this is the Ancient Tradition of the Fathers as is easily proved even out of the Book of Sacraments which the Roman Church useth And again (b) Nullus Antiquorum Catholicorum unquam eas colendas vel adorandas fore existimavit P. 265. None of the Ancient Catholicks did ever think that Images were to be worshipped or adored Hincmarus Arch bishop of Rhemes informs us That (c) Secundum Scripturarum tramitem traditionémque Majorum Opusc 55. cap. 20. this Nicene Synod was condemned and evacuated by a General Synod call'd by the Emperor Charles the Great according to the way of the Scripture and the Tradition of the Ancients (d) De Gestis Franc. Lib. 5. cap. 28. Aimoinus also complains of them That they had decreed touching the Adoration of Images alitèr quà m Orthodoxi Patres antea definierunt otherwise than the Orthodox Fathers had before defined In that Synod saith (e) In èa Synodo confirmatum st Imagines adorari debere quod omnino Ecclesia Dei execratur Annal. Part. 1. ad An. 791. Roger Hoveden it was confirmed that Images should be adored which the Church of God doth wholly execrate Now in this Matter let the Truth lie where you please 't is sure no little Prejudice against receiving any thing as a Tradition upon the evidence of a few single Fathers in Matters of meer Speculation as some Traditionary Doctrines of the Church of Rome most surely are that in a thing of this Nature which must be either daily practised or omitted by the Church whole Councils of 300 Bishops at the least in the same Age maintain such contradictory Assertions one saying frequently and expresly That this was the Doctrine of the Apostles and all the Ancient Fathers the others as expresly That it never was the Doctrine of either of them One That this was the practice of all faithful Christians the other That they never found it practised by any of the Orthodox Professors But though such contradictory Assertions in another Case might cause a wary Person to suspend his assent to either of them yet I am confident that whosoever is unprejudiced must in this case give in his Verdict against the Doctrine and Assertions of the Trent and of the second Nicene Council § 3. For notwithstanding all the confident Assertions of these Councils the Testimonies of the Ancient Fathers are so full and clear against that Honour and Veneration of Images which by these Councils is imposed upon all Christians with an Anathema to them who do assert or even think the contrary that he who doth impartially read them and doth not conclude that the whole Church of Christ did for 500 Years and more condemn this practice and in plain terms or by just consequence assert they had no such Tradition cannot sustain much loss if he quite want the use of Reason For 1. the Fathers do expresly say The Church of Christ hath no such Custom or Tradition (a) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apud 2 Nic. Concil Act. 6. p. 492. We Christians saith Theodotus have no Tradition to form the Images of Saints
the words of this Commandment I conceive it cannot be reasonably thought to be forbidden in any other Precept there being only this which speaks of Image-worship and if it were forbidden in no Precept of the Moral Law it necessarily will follow that it was lawfully performed by the Heathens 4ly Do they pretend that Idols only are forbidden to be adored in this Precept but not Images this indeed is the conceit of Romish Doctors and of the second Nicene Council but this also is plainly opposite unto the general Tradition of all the Fathers of the Church who constantly observe what is as evident in the Commandment as words can be viz. That it forbids not only Idols to be worshipped but also the similitude of any thing whatsoever As besides the express Testimonies of Clemens of Alexandria Theophilus Tertullian Origen Athanasius Epiphanius St. Austin and Fulgentius produced already is farther evident from the express Assertions of (l) P. 321 322. Justin Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho Of (m) C. 59. Cyprian in his third Book to Quirinus Of (n) P. 39. Julius Firmicus in his Treatise of Prophane Religion Of (o) Carm. p. 99. Nazianzen in his Verses Of the (p) P. 554. Pseud-Ambrosius upon the 6th Chapter to the Ephesians Of (q) Qu. 38. Theodoret in his Questions upon Exodus and of innumerable other Authors To all which add that of Tertullian That (r) Omnis forma vel formula Idolum De Idol c. 3. every Form or little Representation is an Idol and all Service performed about it is Idolatry That of the Council of Frankford (s) Sed ne Idola nuncupentur adorare eas colere Recusamus Lib. Car. l. 4. c. 18. We do not call the Images placed in Churches Idols but we refuse to worship and adore them lest they should be called Idols That of Agobardus That (t) Puto quod videretur eis non tam Idola reliquisse quam simulacra mutasse De Imag. p. 248. if they who have left the Worship of Daemons should be commanded to venerate the Images of Saints I think they would seem to others not so much to have left Idols as to have changed their Resemblances Add lastly the Complaint of all the Fathers against the Arians That by introducing the Adoration of a Creature they brought in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an Idol-making Heresy under the pretext of Christianity they secretly introduced the Worship of Idols and transgressed that Precept which forbad the Adoration of an Idol or of any Similitude clearly insinuating That by worshipping any Creature it was made an Idol Since then the Fathers of the second Nicene Council and the Romish Doctors do with such diligence and industry inculcate these Distinctions and Limitations of this Precept seeing they were so much concerned to blanch and colour over the seeming opposition of their practice to it And since the Fathers must have had the like Occasions Reasons and inducements so to do if they had practised the same custom of making and adoring the Images of Christ and of his Saints and yet they never in the least concern themselves about this Matter never use any of these Limitations or Distinctions nor any other of like Nature in their own defence but do as manifestly reject condemn and overthrow them all as any Protestant could do Since 2ly they thought themselves obliged to shew that which comparatively concerned them little viz. That the making of the Cherubims and of the Brazen Serpent by Moses and the making Man after his Image by God himself did no way thwart this Precept but yet were wholly unconcerned to add That the making and adoring of the Images of Christ and of his Saints was also well consistent with it since they do often say That notwithstanding this Command it might be lawful for the Jew to make an Image where there was no peril of worshipping or bowing down to it and it was also lawful for the Christians to have (u) August in Psalm 113. their Cups and Dishes for the Sacramental Bread and Wine and other Vtensils and that such things were not condemned by this Commandment or to be ranked with what was here forbidden but yet they never go about to prove That it was lawful notwithstanding this Command to have or worship Images of Christ or any of his Saints since even in the following Ages when Images began to be received into Churches they still declare they did not violate this Precept because they had them not for Adoration but only for commemoration and that this Precept forbad them not to make though it by all means forbad them to adore an Image 3ly Since many of them have declared expresly That God by this Command forbad the very making of an Image and rendred the very Art of Painting and Ingraving unlawful to the Christian and they more generally do assert That He by it forbad even all outward adoration of them and consequently expresly must declare themselves transgressors of it and practicers of wicked Worship if they both made and gave external Adoration to the Images of Saints And 4ly since they plainly argue against all honorary Worship of them thus That if the Workmanship of God's Hands is not to be adored no not in honour of that God that made it much less may we adore the Workmanship of Man in honour of those Persons whose Images they are said to be Declaring This should it be done by Christians would rather look like changing than leaving of their Idols And lastly since they solemnly profess That by Reason of this Precept they had rather die than worship any graven Image with many other-like Expressions it is upon all these accounts extreamly evident that then they had no Images of Saints erected or painted in the House of God and that when they were once admitted they neither paid to them any outward Worship nor did they think it lawful so to do CHAP. IV. The Fathers forbid Christians to make or worship Images and Pictures § 1. 2ly Some of them represent it as a vain thing to desire them § 2. 3ly When they saw them in Churches they tore and pull'd them down as being contrary to Scripture and Religion § 3. 4ly When it was objected to them by the Donatists That some of them placed Images on the Altar they reject the Calumny with great abhorrence § 4. 5ly When the worship of Images was objected to them by the Manichaeans they say This was done only by some rude People by the Church condemned § 5. From the 8th to the 15th Century the veneration of Images was rejected by the most eminent Persons of the Western Church § 6. § 1. AND suitably to these Declarations we find the Fathers as occasion served either forbidding of the People to make or at the least to worship Images and shewing of their Zeal against them that did so both in Word and Action Epiphanius speaks thus to the Christians
Imaginem scidi illud magis dedi consilium custodibus ejus loci ut pauperem mortuum eo obvolverent efferrent illique contra murmurantes dixerunt si scindere voluerat justum erat ut aliud daret velum atque mutaret quod cum audiissem me daturum esse pollicitus sum illico esse missurum Nunc autem misi quod potui reperire precor ut jubeas Presbyteros ejusdem loci suscipere velum à latore deinceps praecipere in Ecclesia Christi istiusmodi vela quae contra Religionem nostram veniunt non appendi Decet enim honestatem tuam hanc magis habere sollicitudinem ut scrupulositatem tollat quae indigna est Ecclesia Christi populis qui tibi crediti sunt Apud Hierom. Epist To. 2. F. 58. Epiphanius to John Bishop of Jerusalem where he saith When I was come into the Village called Anablatha and entring into the Church to pray found there a Veil dyed and painted and having the Image as it were of Christ or of some Saint for I do not well remember whose Image it was But seeing this that contrary to the Authority of Scriptures the Image of a Man was hanged up in the Church of Christ I rent it and gave counsel to the keepers of the Place that they should rather wrap up and bury some dead Body in it They murmuring said That having rent this he should send them another Which saith he I promised and have now sent and I desire you to bid the Presbyters of the Place receive it of the Bearer and henceforth to command them That such Veils as these which are repugnant to our Religion should not be hung up in the Church of Christ for it becomes you to be the more careful for the taking away that Scrupulosity which is unworthy of the Church of Christ and of the People committed to your charge This Epistle is extant in the Works of (m) Ep. To. p. 58. Jerom both Manuscript printed It is owned as genuine by (n) In Concil Narbon p. 616. Sirmondus and Petavius It was long since cited against Image-worship by the Councils of (o) Lib. Car. l. 4. c. 25. Frankford and (p) Synod Paris c. 6. Paris and so the Truth of it cannot be reasonably disputed This being thus premised I observe 1. That he declares it contrary to the Authority of Scripture to hang up in the Church of Christ the Image of a Man He doth not say the Image of a wicked Man but simply and without all distinction Imaginem Hominis the Image of a Man. 2. He clearly doth insinuate That for any thing he knew to the contrary the Image which he rent was the Image of Christ or of some Saint for whether it was so or no saith he I do not well remember Whence evident it is that had it been the Image of Christ or any of his Saints he would have rent it He therefore did not think that to destroy those Images which were erected for his Worship was to offer a most vile Affront unto his Saviour as afterwards the second Nicene Council did and now the Papists do conceive 3. He positively declares That all such Veils so hung up in the Church were contrary to the Religion of the Christians 4. He desires the Bishop of Jerusalem to charge his Presbyters that they should suffer no such thing hereafter to be done i. e. no painted Images to be hung up in the Church of Christ and that because it was unworthy of the Church of Christ the People committed to his charge to be scrupulous or concerned about such Trifles 5. Observe That when he rent this Veil and counselled the Men of Anablatha to wrap and bury some poor Body in it they did not say for ought appears and he did not regard it if they said so that this was to prophane the Sacred Image or that he offered an Affront to Christ or to his Saints by rending of it but they say only this That having rent that he should provide another Whence it is evident that they had then no Custom or Doctrine of the Church which could maintain the hanging up or could condemn the rending of this Veil § 4. The Aversation which all good Christians had to Images was so well known to the Enemies of the Church that they made their advantage of it to withdraw her Subjects from Communion with her For the Donatists well knowing how detestable a thing it was unto the Christians of that Time to see an Image set up in the Church and more especially upon the Altar they framed this Calumny the more effectually to draw them off from her Communion (q) Dicebatur illo tempore venturum esse Paulum Macarium qui interessent Sacrificio ut cum Altaria solent niter aptarentur proferren illi Imaginem quam primo in Altari ponerent Sic Sacrificium offerretur hoc cum acciperent aures animi perculsi sunt ut omnis qui haec audierat diceret qui inde gustat de Sacro gustat Optat. l. 3. p. 75. That the Catholicks Paulus and Macarius would bring an Image and place it on the Altar whilst the Sacrifice was offered This Rumor startled the Faithful for when the fame of it was spread abroad the Ears and Minds of all Men saith Optatus were much troubled at it and all that heard it began thus to speak Whosoever tasts of any thing from thence doth tast of a forbidden thing Whence we with (r) Masius in Josh Cap. 8. v. 31. Masius a Learned Romanist observe how much the Ancient Christians did detest the sight of any Image on the Altar that is how much they did detest the present practice of the whole Church of Rome 2ly Observe the Answer of the Christians of those Times unto this Calumny They do not say true it is we do set Pictures upon our Altars and that not only for Ornament and Memory but for Veneration also And we do well to do so and suitably to the Tradition of the Church of Christ so that you ought not to be troubled at it or frighted from our Communion by it which is the only Answer the Church of Rome can make to this Objection and which the Fathers ofthat they should be made § 4. But 2ly these Fathers do with one Voice declare That by this Precept the Christian is forbidden to worship to bow down or to give that Age would have made had they then practised as the Church of Rome doth now but they do utterly deny the Thing rejecting it with detestation and abhorrence Optatus doth confess That (s) Et rectè dictum erat si talem famam similis veritas sequeretur at ubi ventum est à supradictis nihil tale visum est nihil viderunt oculi Christiani quod horrerent visa est puritas ritu solito solennis consuetudo perspecta est cum viderent divinis Sacrificiis nec
have practis'd or to declare as doth the second Nicene Council that this Commandment only forbad the worshipping of Idols or of Images as Gods or to give any other satisfaction to the Jews in this particular The Apostles and the Fathers do jointly labour to remove the Scandal of the Cross and to convince the Jew that it was reasonable to worship him who was crucified upon it but they say nothing to remove that which was a greater Scandal to them as the confession of the Jew now mentioned doth assure us viz. the worship of the Cross and of an Image which was the Work of their own Hands They tell the Gentiles That no Man had reason to condemn them for not observing the New Moons and Jewish Sabbaths but give them not one Item that they had no reason to condemn them for making and adoring Images The whole New Testament which takes especial notice Rom. 2.22 that the Jews abhorred Idols gives not the least distinction betwixt an Image and an Idol nor the least hint of any of those Evasions and Limitations by which the Church of Rome now finds it necessary to reconcile her Practice to the second Commandment nor of those Expositions or Retortions used in the second Nicene Council to refute the Clamours of the Jews Which is a full conviction that the Ancient Church had no such Doctrine or Practice which could make it necessary for them to fly unto these Romish Shifts and Subtilties § 3. To conclude The Suffrage of Antiquity is so very clear the Testimonies of it are so numerous and so convincing that they have forced many Learned Persons of the Church of Rome ingenuously to confess either that in the Primitive Church they had no Images did not regard them or that they paid no veneration to them but rather disapproved and condemned it The Vniversal Church saith (o) Statuit olim Universa Ecclesia ut nullae in Templis Imagines ponerentur Lib. de Nov. Celebrit p. 151. Nicholaus de Clemangis being moved by a lawful Cause viz. on the account of them who were converted from Heathenism to the Christian Faith commanded That no Images should be placed in Churches (p) Quem non modo nostrae Religionis expertes sed teste Hieron omnes fermè veteres sancti Patres damnabant ob metum Idololatriae De Invent. Rerum L. 6. c. 13. The Worship of Images not only they who were not of our Religion but as St. Jerom testisieth almost all the Ancient Holy Fathers condemned for fear of Idolatry saith Polydore Virgil where the opposition of these Holy Fathers to others not of our Religion and the mention of Pope Gregory among them shews the vanity of what the (q) Apud White p. 249. Jesuit Fisher saith That Polydore speaks this of the Fathers of the Old Testament not of the New. (r) Nos dico Christianos ut aliquando Romanos fuisse sine Imaginibus in primitiva quae vocatur Ecclesia Syntagm L. 1. p. 14. This surely I cannot omit saith Giraldus that as the Ancient Romans so we Christians were without Images in that Church which is called Primitive (s) Saevissimis his temporibus de Sanctorum imaginibus ne cogitârint Episcopi abstinebant ad tempus De Concil Eliber l. 3. c. 5. The Bishops in these times of Persecution saith Mendoza little thought of Images of Saints they abstained from them for a while least the Heathens should deride them and should conceive that Christians worshipped them as Gods. All these are Witnesses against the second Nicene Council that the Practice was not Apostolical Vniversal and Primitive What Opinion the Fathers had of this Practice these following Persons will inform you Petrus Crinitus saith That (t) De Hon. Disciplin l. 9. c. 9. Lactantius Tertullian and very many others with too much boldness did affirm That it belonged not to Religion to worship any Image (u) Erasm vol. 5. Symbol Catech p. 989. Even to the days of Jerom who died in the fifth Century Men of approved Religion saith Erasmus would not suffer any painted or graven or woven Image no not of Christ himself (w) Certum est initio praedicati Evangelii aliquanto tempore inter Christianos praesertim in Ecclesiis Imaginum usum non fuisse Consult cap. de Imag. p. 163. It is certain saith Cassander that when the Gospel was first preached there was no use of Images for sometime among the Christians as is evident from Clemens of Alexandria who flourished at the close of the second and from Arnobius who flourished at the beginning of the fourth Century And again (x) Quantum veteres initio Ecclesiae ab omni veneratione Imaginum abhorruerunt unus Origenes declarat p. 168. How much the Ancients in the beginning of the Church abhorr'd all veneration of Images Origen alone in his Book against Celsus shews And a third time (y) Sane ex Augustino constat ejus aetate simulacrorum usum in Ecclesiis non fuisse p. 165. Truly it is manifest from the Discourse of St. Austin on the 113th Psalm that in his Age the use of carved Images or Statues was not come into the Church Lastly he adds That in the Days of Gregory the Great that is in the sixth Century (z) Quae fuerit mens sententia R. Ecclesiae adhuc aetate Gregorii satis ex ejus Scriptis manifestum est viz. ideo haberi Picturas non quidem ut colantur adorentur c. p. 170. Consuetudo R. Ecclesiae pariter consractionem adoratiouem improbat p. 17◠this was the Mind and Doctrine of the Romish Church That Images should be retained not to be adored or worshipped but that the Ignorant should by them be admonished of what was done and be provoked to piety That the Roman Church did equally condemn the adoration and the breaking of Images That the second Nicene Council Graeca illa Synodus qua Parte Imaginēs adorandas censebat damnata fuit ut quae consuetudini R. Ecclesiae adversaretur p. 172. as far as it determined for the Adoration of Images was by the general consent of the Fathers of the Council of Frankford condemned and rejected as being a Determination which was repugnant not only to the Holy Scriptures and the Ancient Tradition of the Fathers but also to the Custom of the Roman Church And in a word Fortasse optandum esset ut Majores nostri huc usque in prisca illa Majorum suorum sententia integrè perstitissent p. 175 179 180. That it were to be wished perhaps that our Predecessors viz. those of the Church of Rome had continued in that old Doctrine of their Ancestors to wit that Images neither should be broken nor adored (z) De Van. Scient cap. de Imag. The corrupt Custom and false Religion of the Heathens saith Cornelius Agrippa hath infected our Religion and hath introduced into our Church Images and Idols and many barren pompous