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2. Concordes atque unanimes,

3. Utrobique.

4. PRO NOBIS semper oremus, 5. Pressuras et angustias mutua caritate relevemus,

6. Et si quis istinc nostrum prior divinæ dignationis celeritate præcesserit, perseveret apud Dominum NOSTRA DILECTIO,

7. Pro fratribus et sororibus nostris apud misericordiam patris non cesset oratio.

2. With one mind and with one heart,

3. In this world and in the next,

4. Let us always pray,

5. With mutual charity RELIEVING Our sufferings and afflictions.

6. And may the CHARITY OF Hiм, who, by the divine favour, shall first depart hence, still persevere before the Lord;

7. May HIS prayer, for our brethren and sisters, not cease.

In this translation, by inserting the words, in our prayers, which are not in the original in the first clause; by rendering the adverb utrobique, IN THIS WORLD AND IN THE NEXT, in the third clause ; by omitting the words pro nobis, for each other, which are in the original, in the fourth clause; by changing in the fifth the yerb relevemus, let us relieve, implying another branch of their mutual kindness, into the participle relieving, which may imply, that the relief alluded to was also to be conveyed by the medium of their prayers; by substituting the charity of him, in place of nostra dilectio, our charity, in the sixth; and by inserting the word his, which is not in the original, before prayer, where the grammar of the sentence requires our, in the seventh clause ;-by these means the translator makes Cyprian express a sentiment far removed from what the words of Cyprian, in their plain and natural sense, convey. It must, however, be borne in mind, as we have shown in our examination of the passage, that the sentiment of Cyprian, even as it is thus unduly extracted from his words, would not in the remotest degree countenance the invocation of saints. It would do no more than imply his belief, that the faithful departed may take an interest in the welfare of their surviving friends on earth, and promote that welfare by their prayers; a point which, in the preface, is mentioned as one of those topics, the discussion of which would be avoided in this inquiry, as quite distinct from the invocation of saints.

Note.-Page 176.

An extract from Eusebius, unnoticed in the text of this work, has recently been cited as conveying his testimony in favour of the invocation of saints. I have judged it better to defer the consideration of it to the appendix. It has been cited in these terms 1: "In the fourth century Eusebius of Cæsarea thus writes: 'May we be found worthy by the prayers and intercessions of all the saints.' To form a just estimate of this alleged testimony, it is requisite that we have before us not only that incomplete clause, but the whole passage purporting to contain, in these words, the closing sentences of a commentary on Isaiah 2:

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"And they shall be for a spectacle to all flesh.' To what flesh? Altogether to that which shall be somewhere punished? Nay, to that which shall of the heavenly vision be deemed worthy, concerning which it was said before, All flesh shall come to worship before Him, of which may we also be deemed worthy by the prayers and intercessions of all the saints. Amen."

In examining this passage I am willing for the present that all its clauses should be accepted as the genuine words of Eusebius, and accepted too in the meaning attached to them by those who have cited them. And to what do they amount? If these are indeed his expressions, Eusebius believed that the saints departed can forward our spiritual welfare by their prayers and ministering offices; and he uttered his desire that we might thus be benefited. Now whether we agree with him or not in that belief; whether we consider the faithful departed as able to take an interest in our welfare and to promote it, or regard such an opinion as without foundation in the word of God and in primitive doctrine; the belief implied and the wish expressed here by Eusebius, are widely indeed removed from the act of suppliantly invoking the saints departed, and resorting to them with entreaties for their prayers and intercessions in our behalf. These two things, although often confounded, are far from being equivalent; and by all who would investigate with fairness the subject of our inquiry, they must be carefully kept distinct. The invocation of saints being the single point in question, our business is to ascertain, not what opinions Eusebius may have

1 Dr. Wiseman's Lectures, vol. ii. p. 107. Lect. xiii. Berington and Kirk, p. 431. 2 Tom. ii. p. 593, ed. Paris, 1707. Dr. Wiseman's reference is 'Com. in Isai. Tom. ii. p. 593, ed. Paris, 1706.'

entertained as to the condition, and power, and offices of the saints departed, but whether he invoked them; whether he had recourse to them with supplications for their prayers, or aid and succour. And keeping this closely in view, even if we admit this passage to be genuine, and interpret it as those who have cited it wish it to be interpreted, we find in it no authority for the invocation of saints. A Christian would be no more countenanced by this language of Eusebius in suppliantly invoking departed saints, than he would in praying to the angels for their help and mediation be countenanced by the terms of the prayer in regard to them, addressed by the Anglican Church to God, "O everlasting God, who hast ordained and constituted the services of angels and men in a wonderful order; Mercifully grant, that as thy holy angels alway do Thee service in heaven, so by THY appointment they may succour and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." Whoever petitions them, makes them Gods.-Deos qui rogat ille facit.

But whilst, for the sake of the argument, I have admitted this passage to be genuine, and correctly translated, and have shown that whether genuine or not, and even if it be thus correctly translated, it affects not in the least the issue of our inquiry, I do not feel at liberty to withhold the acknowledgment of my persuasion that in this concession I grant too much. For, in the first place, I am assured, that if the passage came from the pen of Eusebius, no one is justified in confining the desire and wish contained in it to the intercessions and prayers of the saints in heaven; and, secondly, I see reasons for inferring that the last clause was framed and attached to this work, not by Eusebius himself, but by some editor or scribe.

In support of my first persuasion, I would observe that the very language of the writer of these comments on Isaiah and the Psalms precludes us from regarding the Saints departed as exclusively constituting those 'holy ones' by whose intercessions and prayers he expresses his desire that our spiritual welfare may be promoted. In this very comment on Isaiah (ch. vi. 2. p. 376), when he is speaking of the heavenly inhabitants, and illustrates his views by God's dealings towards the children of men in this world, he employs this expression: "For as among men the Saints of God partake of more excellent graces.' On the 67th (68th) Ps. v. 34, having interpreted the words, "his strength is in the clouds," as referring to the

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prophets and teachers of divine wisdom, under the guidance of the Spirit, pouring heavenly truths upon the souls of men as the clouds drop rain on fertile lands, he proceeds thus to comment on the expression, 'God is wonderful among his Saints'.' "These Saints are different from those before called Apostles and prophets. And who can they be, except those who out of all nations are deemed worthy of purity and holiness, among whom God is wonderful, giving to them power and strength?" Thus in perfect accordance with the language of this writer, the Saints, from whose prayers and intercessions he desires to derive spiritual benefits, may be the Saints of God on earth-in the same state with those saints still living in the flesh, whose prayers St. Paul desired to be offered up for himself, that by them a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ might be opened unto him—and with those saints to whom the same Apostle wrote at Philippi : To all the saints in Christ Jesus ;" and to whom he sent the greetings of the saints who then surrounded him: "ALL the SAINTS salute you 3."

66

But before the closing words of this paragraph, whatever be its meaning, be acknowledged as the genuine and undoubted production of Eusebius, I would suggest the careful weighing of some considerations, which appear to me to involve serious difficulties.

1. First, through all the voluminous works of Eusebius, I have found in no single passage any allusion to the prayers of saints departed, or to their ministering offices in our behalf, though numberless openings show themselves for the natural introduction of such a subject.

2. Secondly, among all the various works and treatises of Eusebius, I have not found one which is closed by any termination of the kind; on the contrary, they all end with remarkable suddenness and abruptness, precisely as this comment would end, were the sentence under consideration removed. Each, indeed, of the books of his Ecclesiastical History, is followed by a notice of the close of the book, in some cases too that notice involving a religious sentiment for example, at the close of the 10th book we read: "With the help of God, the end of the tenth book." But that these are appendages made by an editor or scribe is evident in itself, and moreover

1 Vol. i. p. 364. The English translation refers the word "holy" to places, not persons.

2 Coloss. i. 2; iv. 2, 3.

3 Phil. 1; iv. 22.

in

many instances is shown by such sentences as these,

"And this

we have found in a certain copy in the 8th volume:" "This is in some copies, as if omitted from the 8th book." I find no one instance of Eusebius bringing a chapter or a treatise to its close by any religious sentiment, or any termination of the nature here contemplated.

It is also difficult to conceive that any author, having the flow and connexion of the whole passage present to his mind, would himself have appended this ejaculation as we now find it. We know that editors and scribes often attached a sentiment of their own to the closing words of an author. And it seems far more probable, that a scribe not having the full drift of the argument mainly before him, but catching the expression, "heavenly vision," appended such an ejaculation. That the writer himself should introduce such a sentence by the connecting link of a relative pronoun feminine, which must of necessity be referred, not as the grammatical construction would suggest to the feminine noun preceding it, not to any word expressed or understood in the intervening clause preceding it,—not to the last word in the sentence even before that intervening clause, nor yet to the principal and leading subject immediately under discussion and thrice repeated,—but to a noun incidentally introduced, seems, to say the least, strange and unnatural. "And they shall be for a spectacle to all flesh. To what flesh? Altogether to that which shall be somewhere punished? Nay to that which shall of the heavenly vision be deemed worthy, concerning WHICH it was said before, All FLESH shall come to worship before Him, of WHICH may we also be deemed worthy by the prayers and intercessions of all the saints. Amen." But the classical reader will appreciate these remarks more satisfactorily by examining them with reference to the passage in the original language.

Καὶ ἔσονται εἰς ὅρασιν πάσῃ σαρκί. ποίᾳ δὲ σαρκί; ἢ πάντως που τῇ κολασθησομένῃ; τῆς δὲ ἐπουρανίου θέας καταξιωθησομένῃ· περὶ ΗΣ ἀνωτέρω ἐλέγετο· ἥξει πᾶσα σὰρξ τοῦ προσκυνῆσαι ἐνώπιόν μου, ἯΣ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀξιωθείημεν εὐχαῖς καὶ πρεσβείαις πάντων τῶν ἁγίων, αμήν.

Note.-Page 181.

ATHANASIUS.

In the text I observed that some Roman Catholic writers of the present day had cited the homily there shown to be utterly spurious,

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