the world's children, feemed but a homely and yeomanly religion; for the beauty of inward fanctity was not within their profpect. So that in this manner the prelates, both then and ever fince, coming from a mean and plebeian life on a sudden to be lords of fiately palaces, rich furniture, delicious fare, and princely attendance, thought the plain and homefpun verity of Chrift's gospel unfit any longer to hold their lordships' acquaintance, unless the poor threadbare matron were put into better clothes: her chafte and modeft vail, furrounded with celeftial beams, they overlaid with wanton treffes, and in a flaring tire befpeckled her with all the gaudy allurements of a whore. Thus flourished the church with Conftantine's wealth, and thereafter were the effects that followed; his fon Conftantius proved a flat Arian, and his nephew Julian an apoftate, and there his race ended: the church that before by infenfible degrees welked and impaired, now with large steps went down hill decaying: at this time Antichrift began first to put forth his horn, and that faying was common, that former times had wooden chalices and golden priests; but they, golden chalices and wooden priefts. "Formerly," faith Sulpitius," martyrdom by glorious death was fought more greedily than now bifhoprics by vile ambition are hunted after," fpeaking of thefe times: and in another place," they gape after poffeffions, they tend lands and livings, they cower over their gold, they buy and fell: and if there be any that neither poffefs nor traffic, that which is worse, they fit ftill, and expect gifts, and profiitute every endowment of grace, every holy thing, to fale." And in the end of his hiftory thus he concludes: "All things went to wrack by the faction, wilfülnefs, and avarice of the bishops; and by this means God's people, and every good man, was had in fcorn and derifion ;" which St. Martin found truly to be faid by his friend Sulpitius; for, being held in admiration of all men, he had only the bishops his enemies, found God lefs favourable to him after he was bishop than before, and for his last fixteen years would come at no bishop's meeting. Thus you see, fir, what Conftantine's doings in the church brought forth, either in his own or in his fon's reign. Now, left it should be thought that fomething elfe C 2 might might ail this author thus to hamper the bishops of those days, I will bring you the opinion of three the famousest men for wit and learning that Italy at this day glories of, whereby it may be concluded for a received opinion, even among men profeffing the Romish faith, that Conftantine marred all in the church. Dante, in his 19th Canto of Inferno, hath thus, as I will render it you in English blank verse : Ah Conftantine! of how much ill was caufe So, in his 20th Canto of Paradise, he makes the like complaint, and Petrarch feconds him in the fame mind in his 108th fonnet, which is wiped out by the inquifitor in fome editions; fpeaking of the Roman Antichrift as merely bred up by Conftantine. Founded in chafte and humble poverty, 'Gainft them that rais'd thee doft thou lift thy horn, Ariofto of Ferrara, after both these in time, but equal in fame, following the fcope of his poem in a difficult knot how to reftore Orlando his chief hero to his loft fenfes, brings Aftolfo the English knight up into the moon, where St. John, as he feigns, met him. Cant. 34. And to be fhort, at laft his guide him brings A mighty mafs of things ftrangely confus'd, And amongst these so abused things, liften what he met withal, under the conduct of the Evangelift. Then pafs'd he to a flowery mountain green, And this was a truth well known in England before this poet was born, as our Chaucer's Ploughman fhall tell you you by and by upon another occafion. By all these circumftances laid together, I do not fee how it can be difputed what good this emperor Conftantine wrought to the church, but rather whether ever any, though perhaps not wittingly, fet open a door to more mischief in Chriftendom. There is juft caufe therefore, that when the prelates cry out, Let the church be reformed according to Conftantine, it should found to a judicious ear no otherwife, than if they should fay, Make us rich, make us lofty, make us lawless; for if any under him were not fo, thanks to those ancient remains of integrity, which were not yet quite worn out, and not to his government. Thus finally it appears, that those purer times were not fuch as they are cried up, and not to be followed without fufpicion, doubt, and danger. The laft point wherein the antiquary is to be dealt with at his own weapon, is, to make it manifeft that the ancienteft and beft of the fathers have disclaimed all fufficiency in themselves that men fhould rely on, and fent all comers to the scriptures, as allfufficient: that this is true, will not be unduly gathered, by fhowing what esteem they had of antiquity themselves, and what validity they thought in it to prove doctrine or difcipline. I muft of neceffity begin from the fecond rank of fathers, becaufe till then antiquity could have no plea. Cyprian in his 63d Epiftle: "If any," faith he, "of our ancestors, either ignorantly, or out of fimplicity, hath not obferved that which the Lord taught us by his example," fpeaking of the Lord's fupper, "his fimplicity God may pardon of his mercy; but we cannot be excufed for following him, being inftructed by the Lord." And have not we the fame inftructions; and will not this holy man, with all the whole confiftory of faints and martyrs that lived of old, rife up and stop our mouths in judgment, when we shall go about to father our errours and opinions upon their authority? In the 73d Epift. he adds, "In vain do they oppofe custom to us, if they be overcome by reafon; as if cuftom were greater than truth, or that in fpiritual things that were not to be followed, which is revealed for the better by the Holy Ghoft." In the 74th," Neither ought cuftom to C 3 hinder hinder that truth fhould not prevail; for custom without truth is but agednefs of errour." Next Lactantius, he that was preferred to have the bringing up of Conftantine's children, in his fecond book of Inftitutions, chap. 7 and 8, difputes against the vain truft in antiquity, as being the chiefeft argument of the Heathen against the Chriftians: "They do not confider," faith he," what religion is, but they are confident it is true, because the ancients delivered it; they count it a trespass to examine it." And in the eighth: "Not because they went before us in time, therefore in wisdom; which being given alike to all ages, cannot be prepoffeffed by the ancients: wherefore, feeing that to seek the truth is inbred to all, they bereave themselves of wifdom, the gift of God, who without judgment follow the ancients, and are led by others like brute beafts." St. Auftin writes to Fortunatian, that "he counts it lawful, in the books of whomsoever, to reject that which he finds otherwise than true; and fo he would have others deal by him." He neither accounted, as it feems, those fathers that went before, nor himself, nor others of his rank, for men of more than ordinary fpirit, that might equally deceive, and be deceived: and ofttimes fetting our fervile humours afide, yea, God fo ordering, we may find truth with one man, as foon as in a council, as Cyprian agrees, 71ft Epift. "Many things," faith he," are better revealed to fingle perfons. At Nicea, in the first and best-reputed council of all the world, there had gone out a canon to divorce married priefts, had not one old man, Paphnutius, ftood up, and reasoned against it. Now remains it to fhow clearly that the fathers refer all decifion of controversy to the scriptures, as allfufficient to direct, to refolve, and to determine. Ignatius, taking his last leave of the Afian churches, as he went to martyrdom, exhorted them to adhere close to the written doctrine of the apoftles, neceffarily written for pofterity: fo far was he from unwritten traditions, as may be read in the 36th chap. of Eufebius, 3 b. In the 74th Epift. of Cyprian againft Stefan, bishop of Rome, impofing upon him a tradition; "Whence," quoth he, "is this tradition? Is it fetched from the the authority of Christ in the gospel, or of the apoftles in their epiftles? for God teftifies that thofe things are to be done which are written." And then thus, "What obftinacy, what prefumption is this, to prefer human tradition before divine ordinance?" And in the fame epift. if we fhall return to the head, and beginning of divine tradition, (which we all know he means the Bible) human errour ceases; and the reason of heavenly mysteries unfolded, whatsoever was obfcure becomes clear." And in the 14th diftinct. of the fame epift. directly against our modern fantafies of a ftill vifible church, he teaches, "that fucceffion of truth may fail; to renew which, we must have recourse to the fountains;" ufing this excellent fimilitude," if a channel, or conduitpipe which brought in water plentifully before, fuddenly fail, do we not go to the fountain to know the cause, whether the fpring affords no more, or whether the vein be stopped, or turned afide in the midcourfe? Thus ought we to do, keeping God's precepts, that if in aught the truth shall be changed, we may repair to the gospel and to the apoftles, that thence may arife the reafon of our doings, from whence our order and beginning arofe." In the 75th he inveighs bitterly against pope Stephanus, " for that he could boast his fucceffion from Peter, and yet foift in traditions that were not apoftolical." And in his book of the unity of the church, he compares thofe that, neglecting God's word, follow the doctrines of men, to Corah, Dathan, and Abiram. The very firft page of Athanafius against the gentiles, avers the fcriptures to be fufficient of themselves for the declaration of truth; and that if his friend Macarius read other religious writers, it was but Qiλoxáλos come un vertuofo, (as the Italians fay,) as a lover of elegance and in his fecond tome, the 39th page, after he hath reckoned up the canonical books, " in thefe only,' faith he," is the doctrine of godlinefs taught; let no man add to thefe, or take from thefe." And in his Synopfis, having again fet down all the writers of the Old and New Teftament," thefe," faith he, "be the anchors and props of our faith." Befides thefe, millions of other books have been written by great and wife men according to rule, and agreement with thefe, of which I will not now speak, CA as |