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CHAP. VI.

The Question not fairly stated, and how it ought to have been, §. 1. St. Cyprian cleared from the Slander caft on him, 2. How far the Fathers may be rely'd on, and the two Archbishops Whitgift and Laud vindicated, 3. The Author's Conceffion, and impertinent Citation of St. Auguftine, 4. Whether St. Cyprian be in this Cafe miftaken, and Schifmaticks in or out of the Church, 5. St. Auguftine, Optatus and St.Chryfoftom vindicated, 6, 7, 8. The rest of the Fathers cleared from Afperfions, 9. His ridiculous Summing up his Evidence, with his Threatning at the end of it, 10.

(1.) TH

HE Question, as our Author ftates it, was, Whether Schifm be as great a Sin as Murther or Adultery? This is an Artifice to perplex the Difpute, and confound the Reader; and at this time, and in this cafe, not a fair ftate of the Queftion between us; for whether it be, or be not fo great a Sin, what he defigns thereby to prove will not thence follow, viz. That Schifm is either none or next to no Sin, and Men may be encouraged to live in it. The Queftion therefore fairly put, had been this, Whether Schifm be a damnable Sin or not? And if it prove to be fuch, then the Confequence had been evident, that those who live in Schifm are in a state of Damnation. I confefs, I cannot throughly approve of the Romanifts diftinction of Sin into Mortal and Venial, and much less of the ufe which they make of it; but certainly there is a great difference between thofe Sins which are faid vaftare confcientiam, and thofe quotidiane incurfionis. For I cannot think any Man fo fevere, as to alledge, that thofe fcarce difcernable Failings,

which through inadvertency the best of Men oft ftumble upon in this imperfect ftate, do render their Condition as dangerous as grofs and known Crimes. And if Schifm fhall appear to be in the rank of these great and groß Sins, whether it be as great a Sin as Murther or Adultery, or not, it is fufficient to make the state of that Man, who lives in it, damnable. But this courfe being not very agreeable with our Author's defign, he avoids, it; and I must be content to follow, as he will lead me. To prove, that the Comparifon between Schifm, and Murther, and Adultery, will not hold, he lays down for his next ground-work this Affertion:

This falfe Opinion is grounded only on only on fome Paffages in Cyprian, and other of the Fathers, (p. 69.)

It had been much fairer to have proved this Opinion falfe, than thus to have taken it for granted. For this is to raise a Prejudice against a thing, while it is upon Tryal; and to do as the Man did by his Dog, who wrongfully gave him an ill Name, which coft him his Life. And I think there is as little reafon to fay, that the Opinion is falfe, becaufe grounded on the Fathers, as that his Affertion is true, because it is the Opinion of Mr. Tallents: For certainly their Authority may ballance his. But he offers to prove what he fays: But then what is it he proves? If he prove it to be grounded on the Fathers, I readily grant it, but that doth not prove it to be falfe. He muft therefore farther prove it to be falfe, if he will do any thing to the purpose: And here, I doubt, he will fail us. But that he may now feen at least to do fomething extraordinary, he tells us, he shall anfwer it in general, and in particular.

(2.) It being a common Practice with thefe fort of Men to catch at fcraps and ends of the Fathers, thereby to misreprefent both Them and Truth,

before

before I meddle with his Generals and Particulars, I think it convenient to wipe off a Scandal, which to help his caufe he hath caft upon St. Cyprian, and makes St. Jerom the Author of it. Hierom (faith he) cenfuring other ancient Writers, in a fort, among them taxes Cyprian as if he had Scarcely touch'd the Scriptures; faying, De Scripturis Divinis nequa quam differuit. This he plainly fpeaks with a defign to reprefent St. Cyprian as little read and unfkilful in the Scriptures, and confequently an incompetent Judge in this Cafe; and thus in the fame Breath abufeth both St. Cyprian and St. Feram. The truth is thus, Paulinus (afterwards Bifhop of Nola had wrote to St. Ferom, among other things, for his Advice; the good old Man was not a little pleafed, and returns an Answer full of many kind Complements, and in conclufion pathetically exhorts him to the fudy of the Holy Scrip tures; and then, fhewing how fome of the Fathers might be more or lefs ufeful to him in that matter, he gives this Character of St. Cyprian, Reatus Cyprianus inftar fontis puriffimi, dulcis incedit, & placidus, cum totus, fit in exercitatione virtutum, Occupatus perfecutionum anguftiis, de Scripturis Divinis nequaquam differuit, (Ep. 13. ad Paulinum.) The plain fenfe of which is, That though St. Cyprian was a fweet and clear Writer, yet Perfecu tions raging in his time, he was fo wholly taken op in penning fuch Exhortations, Difputations, or Difcourfes, as were neceflary for the prefervation of his Flock, to hold up their Hearts, and keep them from falling away, that he had not leifure to write any Differtations or Commentaries on boly Scripture. But this fpeaks nothing against his ability to have done it, but feems rather to bewail his want of opportunity and leifure. And muft this be ftrained to make him an Ignoramus? Thofe, who with an honeft Heart impartially read St. Cyprian,

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will find him to be well exercifed in the Scriptures, and a fit Perfon to have wrote upon them, had not the heat of Perfecution forced him otherwise to employ his time. But there are a fort of Men, who make no Confcience whom they flander, fo they can ferve their Cause; and they have found fo much wicked advantage in it, that I fear they will never leave it.

(3.) Having done Juftice to that bleffed Martyr, I now come to try the ftrength of his Arguments: And, in general, he tells us, That the Sayings of the Fathers are not a fufficient ground for us to build upon. To rely folely upon them in every thing, is to attribute to them too much : But I hope this doth not hinder, but that they may fpeak Truth. I fhall hereafter prove the Truth of this Doctrine, both from Scripture and the Nature of the Thing; and then, if we take in the concurrent Teftimonies of the Fathers to vouch the fame, I hope it may be neither Prejudice nor Difcredit to be found in fo good Company. But he hath fomething like Reafon to offer against the Fathers: And firft he tells us, That 'tis only the holy Scripture, and what may be truly deduced from it, that we can fafely build our Faith and Practices upon. Be it fo: But then if you please to look again into the Fathers, you will find that they frequently and plentifully prove the truth of what they wrote in this matter from Scripture; and therefore by your own Argument you must acknowledge them to be in the right, unless you can prove that they have miftaken Scripture, which you do not. For what you fay in the next place, that they may err, is nothing to the purpose: For if every one that may err, muft err, we are in a moft lamentable and wretched Condition. I do not think Mr. Tallents and his Diffenters will pretend to Infallibility more than the Fathers; and then

it will be as good an Argument to fay, that be and his Diffenters are in the wrong, because they may err, as to fay fo of the Fathers: And then, I doubt, his Friends will tell him, that his Argument proves a great deal too much. The truth is, the beft of Men on Earth are fallible, and many are often actually mistaken; but if this must be allowed for a good Inference, That Men who may err muft err, we can then have no certainty either of Right or Fact, and all the World may turn Scepticks. You might therefore have spared your Authorities of as fallible Men as the Fathers, to prove, that the Fathers may err, and fometimes actually have err'd; for it nothing affects this Caufe; unless you prove, that they have err'd in this particular: And this you are fo far from do ing, that the greateft part of those, your own Vouchers, if need require, will be ready to bear witnefs for the Fathers in this matter against you. It was not therefore well advised to bring fuch Evidence into the Court: I am fure Two, whoin you have forc'd to give in Teftimony, which looks fomething flanting your way, were as ftout Champions against Schifm as any this Church hath produced. Archbishop Whitgift was a learned, judicious, and prudent Man; yet you are fo bold as to make him betray his own Caufe, when he was writing against the greateft and hottest Schifmatick, of his Age: And truly I think it were not much difparagement to you, if you owned T. Cartwright for the Father and Founder of your Order here in England; he was a Man of great Learning, but of a true Prefbyterian Spirit, haughty, virulent and bitter; and this enhanced by being difgufted. But whereas the Archbishop will not allow him to call bim back to the Primitive Church; he means not of thofe times, when the Purity of Doctrine was preferved by regular Government and Discipline: Fox

thereto

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