Council of Francfort should object That those Nicene Fathers not being able to prove their Decrees either by the autority of the Scripture or the testimonies and examples of the Saints had recurred to fancies and Dreams A Council which the Assembly at Francfort of 300. Bishops headed by Charles the Great declared to be so annulled and abrogated that it ought not to be put in the order of Councils unless of such as Ariminum Lastly a Council which the learned Defenders of Images were so loath to defend that it had continued buried in a deep oblivion had not the Jesuit Mainbourg three years since raised it from its Grave but alas in what a manner First he affected and this is his confession and glory to write in a Romantick stile upon one of the gravest Controversies in Religion as if matters of Divinity and the Oracles of the living God were of the same metal as those abominable Books Secondly in writing against Iconoclasts he never directed his arrows against them but designed to fix them in the hearts of the Jansenists Preposterous and irrational fancy being put to it how to recover the lost honor of his Society so trampled on in the sight of all Christendom he resolved to attack once more his Conquerors not out of any hopes of Victory but out of impatience the natural product of Pride He durst not therefore come into the open Field and renew that Quarrel his Society had so shamefully begun and so unhappily prosecuted but betook himself to by waies and thought it more secure and glorious to represent the Jansenists under the notion of Iconoclasts and the imputed rebellion of the one against the Apostolical See under the history of the other Thirdly He so ill contrived his design that he lost the Character of both and only betrayed himself to be of a spirit bold and temerarious who with more then a Jesuitical impudence delivers lies as confidently as others do truth His History of the Arians and this of the Iconoclasts both daughters of the same brain both written with the same design had also the same fate Neither was answered those whom they were chiefly levelled against being there so unskilfully delineated as not to know themselves nor indeed would they ever have done so had not that Author doating upon his so well resembling Babe and the Jesuits who like the Spaniards triumph as well when beaten as when Conquerors spread it through the World But I have spent too many words upon so inconsiderable a Writer XXV To return then to our purpose who of any sense or reason hearing the Fathers of Trent say that they permit the worship of Images juxta Catholicae Ecclesiae usum à primaevis Christianae Religionis temporibus receptum Sanctorumque Patrâ—m consensionem Sacrorum Conciliorum Decreta and then seeking all these great things finds 1. That for 800. years the Catholick and Apostolick Church has determined nothing of it 2. That all the Fathers are contrary to it 3. That those sacred Councils so magnificently alledged are nothing but a miserable Conventicle at the end of the eighth Age. 4. That England Germany the Low-Countries Sweden Denmark part of France and Poland declare against it What man of any sense I say considering all this will not conclude 1. That we ought to distrust all the Decrees of Trent and some being evidently false give little credit to the most true 2. That the Fathers of Trent had not the Charity of the Apostles whose Successors they were since they excluded from their Communion so many considerable Churches for a point which themselves acknowledg not to be grounded on Scripture Not necessary to Salvation Not related to Faith Manners Sacraments and Discipline And Protestants not requiring Images to be pulled down as did S. Epiphanius and S. Serenus but only their use to be ordered as it was in S. Austin and S. Gregory's time 3. That the Church of Rome being immoveable upon the Controverted points she must give us leave to address to her Council the same words the Fathers of Francfort did to the Nicene Out of what fury or rather madness doth unius partis Ecclesia attempt to establish that which has never bin establisht by the Apostles or their immediate Successors and oblige them either to undergo the Anathema so vainly pronounced against them or disobey the Apostolical Constitutions Were they not promted by her who is called in Scripture the ancient poison the guide of Death the root of all evil they would never strive to fix the name of General Council to their Assembly had without the consent of many Catholick Churches They would never take upon them to anathematize with such boldness so many and so considerable Churches which are no less then they the Body of Christ REFLEXIONS On the Council of TRENT Discourse III. That the Council of Trent was so far from reforming the disorders which had crept into the Church that it really made the breaches in its discipline wider and cut off all hopes of correcting the antient abuses I. WHatever Ecclesiastical disorders are recorded in the Writings of the Antients they seem in no respect equal to those which infested the Church about the time of the Council of Trent In the first Ages indeed the zeal and severity of Christians rendred every fault conspicuous but in the last the most pious could hardly suffice to express her real and constant evils This produc'd the desires of a general Reformation especially that he who pretends to be upon Earth the supreme Judg of all men would judg himself take some pity of his own Soul and since the distempers of the Church ow'd their original to the Apostolical See begin at that part from whence the cure of all the rest was hoped for II. Whereas then the Worlds recovery depended on that of the Popes they ought willingly to have embraced the occasion of doing so great a good Nor could less be hoped then that considering the promotion of Piety as their proper Interest they would sacrifice all others to it and the Council of Trent which lasted eighteen years rais'd the expectations of all good Christians that the tears of so many Nations would not be shed in vain But by the dreadful judgment of God it miserably baffled the Churches cries and instead of closing her wounds opened and created new ones For to evince the truth of which so great reproach we need only consider two particulars 1. The distempers of the Church 2. The remedies applied to them And from the consideration of these there will none I hope but confess that the Fathers of this Council acted the part of an unfaithful Chirurgion who to cure a less noble part inflicts a deadly wound to the heart of his Patient III. We intend not here to treat of any personal defects which shew'd themselves in the Popes private life but shall confine them only to those which were public when they dealt
there would be no pretence or excuse at all to live at Rome The loss of Rome for a Cardinal is no small sacrifice and there is a great difference between these two to lie conceal'd in his Diocess and to shine in a Court known to be the most proud rich and voluptuous in the World The second should have hazarded too much in striving against the Cardinals They lived in their families eat the crumbs which fall from their tables and made a part of their retinue Those of them who were less despis'd had also more ambition they aim'd at Cardinalship and Residency was the nearest way to be depriv'd of it They forgat therefore that they were Bishops and chose rather to betray their character then leave their pretences and pleasures XXXVIII What then has the Council done in its so much boasted of Reformation Great things indeed Those two hundred Bishops that had bin five and twenty years before they could meet and eighteen after they had met answer'd perfectly the expectation of all Christendom 1. They have forbidden Praiers in a known Tongue 2. Ruled the Church-wardens 3. Ordained that Friars could not vow but being sixteen years old 4. Approv'd the Jesuits's order that is strengthn'd the enemies of Christ 5. Shaped an Index expurgatory as barbarous in its form as in its name 6. Establish'd Inquisition a new tribunal which may be properly call'd the eleventh persecution of the Church XXXIX But to speak seriously we must say with Mr. D'Espences and the most considerable men of the Roman Communion 1. They have encroached upon the liberties of all Churches 2. Rais'd the Popes power and brought Episcopacy to nothing 3. Cut off all hopes of Reformation and canoniz'd all the vices of Rome 4. Made breaches in the Discipline which shall never be made up and induc'd those who have some knowledge of the ancient Canons to ask them in Saint Austin's words Curare est hoc an occidere Levare de terra an praecipitare de coelo A CONCLUSION Of the foregoing Discourses Concerning the State of the Church of England and how she hath bin more successful in the reformation of her Faith and manners then the Church of Rome I. THE Anglican Church is not any private Society but a part of that body which as the Scriptures tell us is spread over the face of the whole Earth Her intent is only to be a member of the Catholic Church from whose Spirit she receives life and governs her self by her laws She do's no less abhor Heresie and Schism then the Roman seems to do only she do's not attribute that name to all persons and things but knowing truth and charity to be the most precious gifts the holy Jesus purchas'd by his death she is the less easily mov'd to accuse any of forsaking them II. Her extent greatness and prudence with the moderation of her conduct hath alwaies made her seem the main and most considerable body of the Protestants and hence arises that ardent zeal of the See of Rome either to recover or to destroy her hence proceed so many artifices to tempt and draw away the Children of this holy mother that for these hundred years its emissaries have labour'd to raise new Churches within her But he who commands the winds and imposes silence to the Seas will suffer no tempest to arise within her breast unless it be to render her the more glorious She hath alwaies liv'd in unity catholicism and which is the spring of them both in that holiness which God requires III. Neither Calvin nor Luther were the authors or reformers of her Faith nor do's she look upon them any otherwise then the Church of Rome do's upon Baronius or Bellarmine She indeed considers them as great writers but yet as men on whose words she founds no part of her Creed The word of the Prophets the Gospel and writings of the Apostles are her laws God having spoken so clearly and plainly she looks for no other instructions then his word and according to that she being a national and independent Church and consequently having just authority did reform her self IV. The reverence she hath for the Scriptures carries her neither to Enthusiasm nor a private Spirit She explains not the word of God by any humane exposition She knows there is nothing so difficult in one part of the Scripture which is not plainly illustrated by another more easy She therefore compares the one with the other as did the Fathers in former Ages She seeks the will of God by the light God himself hath given and knowing that he cannot and will not deceive her she relies upon and wholly delivers her self up to his care and conduct She acknowledgeth no other Infallibility then his She knows all men are subject to error and falshood and the greatest Saints themselves may truly say If we say we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us V. The Church of Rome flatters her self with an Infallibility which she can reduce to no certain principal The Pope assumes it to himself as if he were the only source of it and the Italians call all other opinions Heresie The rest of her communion attribute it to a General Council and anathematize all those who think the contrary So that this Infallibility is reduc'd to that as to prove either the Pope or Council to be in Heresy The Church of England cuts off such an abominable division She acknowledgeth the power of God and the infirmity of man the eternal and essential truth of the one and the falsehood the other is subject to She hears with trembling the word of the Apostle Let him that glories glory in the Lord she therefore gives the glory to God and in this life she looks upon Gods word as the pillar of Fire which led the Children of Israel thro the desert and never forsaked them in so many intricate marches VI. If the Catholic Church hath not err'd at least in fundamentals t is not by reason of any promise of Infallibility which God hath accorded to men but because that he being a God of mercy has had in all times some faithful servants whom he made acquainted with his waies and who have walked according to his word The gates of Hell have not prevail'd against them because they were fill'd with that charity which triumphs over both visible and invisible Enemies And God having resolved in the decrees of charity which the Scripture teacheth us he hath lov'd the Church by to be served in spirit and truth to the end of the World he hath not permitted his word to be taken away from her how bloody soever the persecution of Martyrs has bin how blind soever the ignorance was in which many ages had bin involved how terrible soever the corruption appear'd in which we see the World every day plunge it self VII The holy Church of England stops not that Fountain out of which
soever her members be By this she gives glory to the grace of Christ who hath workt in them all these things By this she brings Christians to follow the examples she proposeth them and to beleive that nothing is impossible to Christians who in the flesh walk not after the flesh She takes care then that the People read their lives and the preachers make their Elogies and that both the one and the other endeavour to imitate them By this also may be seen her moderation She runs not into the excess of those furious and unreasonable men that will not hear the very naming of a Saint nor yet degenerates to the invoking of them as in the Church of Rome but equally avoids impiety as superstition XLI The like moderation appears in respect of Images She judgeth it a crime to adore them to bend the knee before them and sticks not to call this Idolatry But she beleives not Idolaters those that only retain them XLII She hath with no less wisdom retain'd Ecclesiastical habits and ceremonies necessary to Divine worship Her Canons are extream severe for the first of these She knows a Priest hath nothing to do with the World and that he must understand he is even outwardly separated from it For the second she hath retrenched all the profane pomp of the Church of Rome but hath avoided the frightful nakedness which appears on the other side Her ceremonies have neither the appearance of Grandeur nor affected baseness In the Cathedrals Collegiate Churches may be seen whatever can excite the Piety of People to praise God But nothing which occasions to say that the luxury and vaniety of the World is brought into the sanctuary XLIII There remains but one thing at which the Church of Rome is offended altogether as unjustly as in many others that is the marriage of Priests Sure Celibacy is a most holy exemplary and upon many occasions a necessary thing T were to be wish'd that those who are call'd to the ministry of Angels had their purity and that it might be said of them neque nubunt neque nubuntur but being made of flesh as well as spirit of flesh subject to the infirmities of other men the remedy God has ordain'd and so highly recommended in the Scripture must not be denied them The Church of Rome hath never lookt upon Celibacy but as an Ecclesiastical law This opinion is maintain'd taught publickly every day in Sorbon The obligation thereunto is imposed as a point of Discipline that hath no relation to Faith Now the Church is absolutely mistress of whatever is of Ecclesiastical right She may introduce continue change what and as she judgeth expedient The holy Church of England hath thought fit to alter this point in her Discipline She hath weighed all the circumstances seen all the inconveniences considered the good and evil that may accrue thereby It hath not appear'd that she ought to lay a yoke on the necks of such as have not grace enough to bear it And she hath promis'd her self that those to whom hath bin granted a sufficient measure would endeavor to increase and multiply it Nor hath she bin deceiv'd in so judicious a conduct she hath the glory to see the greater part of her Bishops and Clergy like to the great Apostle and at the same time the consolation to know that the others live in their houses in such sort as to be the examples of all Christian Families I cannot see what answer a moderate person can give to this reasoning For to return to the Pope and to say that this cannot be done without his consent because he is master of the whole discipline is a miserable reason and no Church of the Roman Communion but that of Italy will ever assent unto it XLIV The Clergy of England is generally the most Learned in the World and if the common people retain somthing of the natural dulness of the vulgar it hath nothing of the ignorance This must be ascrib'd to the care and capacity of their Teachers and above all to the famous Universities of Oxford and Cambridge These are two Seminaries of Virtue and Science There may be found whatever can be desired for greatness of Revenues magnificence of Buildings and infinite number of Books collected with incredible expences and care during several Ages Clergy-men are there for many years before they are entrusted with the care of souls They pass from the studies of humane Arts and Sciences to that of Divinity and the Oriental Languages Their Professors are endow'd with all the abilities that can be expected from men who besides vast natural parts have born the burden and heat of the day The Bishops are not such as those whom Monsieur D'Espences calls Barbatulos Juvenes who in so sacred and high dignity as Episcopacy are not yet free from the passions of the World Their zeal for the salvation of souls their punctual visiting their Dioceses their charity to the poor their hospitality their fidelity to the King and their love for their Country are qualities they are so much owners of as their greatest enemies cannot but admire them We do not hereby pretend that all those whom they govern are saints It is to be acknowledg'd with a sensible grief that in the Church of England are too too many who tresure up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath and live after such a manner as is little conformable to that which they have promised in their Baptism But we must not conceive from thence an ill opinion of a Church which hath nothing in her but what is most holy If we should judg of the Romish Church by those disorders which have crept into the very Sanctuary what conclusion might there be drawn This cannot be done without opposition to the Judgment of God who hath left the wicked in the midst of the good and hath permitted the number of the latter to be less then that of the former for reasons best known to himself It is a secret of his Justice and Mercy which shall not be manifested till the last day The dross is in the same fornace with the gold that is consumed and this purified and embellish'd by the fire There is much more dross then gold but it sufficeth that the work-man know them In a word there is not one that considers the Church of England without prejudice but does at the same time admire the sanctity moderation and wisdom of her conduct A Christian will find there that the veneration which is given the Scripture excludes not the esteem which is due to the Church nor the esteem paid to the Church any way extenuate the soveraign obedience due to the Scriptures He will see that she practiceth nothing but what the Primitive Times have done and that she leaves nothing unpractised but what those happy ones ne'r knew He will compassionate a vast number of people so miserably abused in the Church of Rome and when