calling himself the Son of God, at another the Son of Man; and at one time he honours his mother as her who gave him birth, at another as her Lord he chides her."*

In a letter to a bishop named Irenæus, having appealed to the conduct of men, towards each other in secular affairs, who do not insist upon all combatants employing the same weapons of attack and defence, he thus speaks of theological controversy: "Thus ought we to judge of those who contend in the cause of religion: we ought not to seek for names which may breed contention, but arguments which may clearly spread the truth abroad, and which may fill the gainsayers with shame. For what difference does it make whether we call the holy Virgin anthropotocos [her who bare a man] at once and theotocos [her who bare God], or to call her the mother and the handmaid of him whom she bare; and to add, moreover, that she is the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ as man, and his handmaid as God, and thus to silence all pretext for carping, while we convey the same idea by another expression? Besides this, we ought to observe, that one of those is a common appellation, the other exclusively the Virgin's; and that all the controversy has arisen on this point, which ought not to be. And most of the ancient Fathers have applied the more honourable appellation to the Virgin. And your piety also has done this in two or three orations which I have in my possession, you having kindly sent them to me; and you, my lord, have not added the word anthropotocos to the word theotocos, but have conveyed the same sense in other words."+

* Vol. iv. p. 105.

+ Epist. xvi. vol. iv. p. 1077.

There are many passages in this ancient Father all leading to the same conclusion, that in his view Mary was a holy and blessed Virgin ever to be held in reverence and honour as the mother and the handmaid of the Lord; but by no means is she represented by him as the object of invocation, or one whose mediation and intercession Christians might plead with God. We must not swell this volume by the citation of many such passages; and yet some there are which so clearly lay before us the true Catholic doctrine of the incarnation, and the general views and feelings of Theodoret and his contemporaries on the subject before us, that we should not feel justified in passing on to another witness without dwelling somewhat longer on his testimony.

Having quoted the prophecy of Isaiah which announces the future Messiah as the Mighty God, he says, "If the Child born of the Virgin is called the Mighty God, with reason is she who brought him forth called theotocos; for she who bears, shares the honour of him who is born:"* adding, moreover, this explanation of St. Paul saying of Christ, "without father, without mother;" "for he is without father as to his manhood, for as man he was brought forth only by his mother; and he is without mother as to his Godhead, for he was begotten of his Father alone before the worlds." In the same letter he thus writes: "But if we confess Christ, and declare Christ to be God and man, who is so foolish as to shun the word anthropotocos in conjunction with theotocos? for in the case of the Lord Christ we use both appellations; wherefore the Virgin is honoured and called

* Vol. iv.

p. 1311.

+ Vol. iv.

p. 1303.

'highly favoured" [or "full of grace"].* What sensible person then would refuse to apply names derived from the Saviour's names to the Virgin, who through him is held in honour by the faithful? for it is not that He who sprang from her derives his dignity from her, but she through Him who was born of her is adorned with the highest appellations. Now, if Christ were only God, and had derived the origin of his existence from the Virgin, then let the Virgin be called and named Theotocos, as having given birth to him who by nature is God. But if Christ is both God and man, and the one nature was ever, for he never began to exist, being coeternal with the Father, and the other in these last days sprang from human nature, let him who wishes to state doctrines entwine the Virgin's appellations from both these views, shewing what appertains to nature and what to the union; but if any one is desirous of speaking in the panegyric form, and to weave hymns, and compose praises, and wishes at all events to employ the more dignified appellations, not stating doctrines, but panegyrising, and, as much as possible, holding up to admiration the greatness of the mystery, let him enjoy his desire, and employ the great names, and let him praise and admire: we find many such things among orthodox teachers. But everywhere let moderation be regarded highly." t

It is right to observe here, that Theodoret is checking the tendency, which then was evidently rising, to employ, when speaking of the Virgin, the more ho

* Theodoret here uses the Greek word employed by St. Luke. There are two other passages of a similar kind which will repay the reader's examination, though they throw no additional light on the immediate subject before us beyond what the paragraphs we have already quoted are found to impart ; vol. v. p. 1082 and p. 1086.

nourable title of Theotocos, exclusively of the other equally essential name Anthropotocos; and that, whilst he would urge the Christian instructor in his doctrine not to throw into the background the tenet of Christ's perfect manhood, by always speaking of Mary as the mother exclusively of him who was God, he allows a greater liberty to the poet and the panegyrist. We have often had to remark, that the error of the worship of the Virgin, as well indeed as the invocation of saints in general, owed its origin mainly to the enthusiastic and unchastened language of popular harangues. To this error Theodoret gives no counHis testimony brings us within the latter half of the fifth century.

tenance.

SECTION III.-PROSPER, A. D. 460.*

Contemporary with Isidore of Pelusium, though a few years younger, was Prosper of Acquitaine, who died about A. D. 463, whom the Roman law honours as "a

very religious man." To this character of Prosper we cordially add our humble testimony, as far as the mind and heart of an author are discernible through his writings by a fellow-mortal. His reference of all that we have of spiritual good to the grace of Christ alone; the steady constant fixing of the eye of faith on our blessed Saviour; his entire renunciation of all human merits; the pure love of high and unaffected piety throughout; his strong and warmhearted exhortation to a persevering study of Holy Scripture; these, with his many other excellences, recommend him much and dearly to every true Chris

* Paris, 1711, and 1739.

tian. His annotations on the Psalms, from the hundredth to the last, are in themselves very beautiful; having a truly spiritual and evangelical tone pervading them throughout; and few will not feel regret that we have not the same pious man's assistance in our interpretation and Christian application of the larger portion of that holy book.

We find no passage in which he alludes to the Virgin as an object of religious worship, or a source of the Christian's hope: he speaks of Christ as the offspring of the unspotted Virgin; and of her he says no more. But he does bid us, again and again, look to the atoning merits of our Saviour, and to his prevailing intercession; and to anchor our hope on his mercy alone. We have room only for the citation of a very few pas

sages.

In his commentary on the Psalms* he speaks of the prayer in which our Lord is now daily interceding for us, and alludes to no other intercessor;† and he asks, What ruler and guide have the wicked, except the devil? whom would the faithful have, except Christ? He tells us that of the religious man, here, the only hope is God, and, hereafter, the only reward is God. ‡ He cheers us too with such sentiments as these.

"The confidence of those who hope is God's mercy. Let no one fear because of his iniquities when he would approach God the Lord; only let him give up himself with his whole heart, and cease from willing and from doing what displeases even himself; let him not say that such and such a sin may be perhaps forgiven, whilst another, from its very nature, must be punished; but let him cry out from the depths, and let him hope Ps. 129.

*Ps. 140.

+ Ps. 141.