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This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. A UTHOR: PHILLPOTTS, HENRY, BP. OF EXETER TITLE: LETTERS TO CHARLES BUTLER ON THE ... PLACE: LONDON DA TE: 1825 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARC^FT Master Negative ff _23iBL6S^_'^ . V Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record > ^ ' S . i^":.LV '' «v >w^;i jn K^m. m¥\< ■■• I '»«pii,r Wi*M<^^aM|PMWi 'y 'I* ■ I ot^npiwifpi .^1S„. Phillpol+s, He-n-Tu, bp. 1772-1869. ^^•7 LeHe-rs +o CUtlles Bu+le-y, on the +heolopic9»l pairls of hisBook of + he "Romw-n c^+holic chutch, wi+h -re- m?»-rks o-n ce^l?\i"n wo^ks of D-y. Mil-ne-*; 9iind JD-r. LinpBUfd, an,^ d on some pw-rls of a. ^MBPiMMatl ^^^ +l^e evidence of DrBoule befo-re ■^/^"^ |ke 4wo com-miHees ot + he Houses OT pwnfliWTnc-nl. Londo-n, 18^5. 0. 7 + 371 P- ; Restrictions on Use: -1. 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ON THE THEOLOGICAL PARTS OF HIS BOOK OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURck, WITH REMARKS ON CERTAIN WORKS OF DR. MILNER, ANt DR. LINGARD^ AND ON SOME PARTS OF THE EVIDENCE OF DR. DOYLE BEFORE THE TWO COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT. REV. HENRY PHILLPOTTS, D.D. • • •• RECTOR OF STANHOPE. LONDON : JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. MDCCCXXV. r/ if' • •••••• •• • • • s • • • • ••• *, • • • • • ••• • • • ! • • • • •• • "• • •• •a • • • • -• • •• ••'••• • • • • • • ••• ••• • • •-• • • • • •• • • • • •• •• • • I • • • " • •• •• • • • ••••••• LONDON: PRINTED BY C. KOWORTII, BELL VARD, TEMPLE BAR. TO ^^ CO 90 CM THE HONOURABLE AND RIGHT REVEREND SHUTE, LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM. My Lord, I VENTURE, without previousIy soliciting permission, to inscribe this small work to your Lordship. If it fail of its main purpose, the feult, I am confident, is in the advocate, not in the cause : but, be this as it may, if it in any degree satisfy your Lordship, that the great favours which you have conferred on me, have been bestowed on a sincere and earnest, however humble, labourer in the ser- r^ (l-^j *-■■ ^-> r'- r*., '- <• •' i J r .; if i ( iv ) vice of our Apostolic Church, the pains employed upon it will not have been thrown away. Let me gratify myself by bearing this public testimony to that zeal and ardour in the cause of true religion, which even the lapse of more than twenty years be- yond the ordinary age of man, is unable to extinguish, and that watchful care for the welfare of your own Diocese, which it is my honour and my happiness every day to witness. I am. My Lord, with the truest respect and gratitude. Your Lordship's most dutiful and most obliged Servant, Henry Phillpotts. CONTENTS. LETTER I. Introduction. — Reasons for the present publication. — Title of Roman Catholics page 1 LETTER IL Authorities for Doctrines of the Roman Church.— Devotion to the Virgin Mary and other Saints. 17 LETTER m. Relics. — Images. — The Cross. . . 62 LETTER IV. Dr. Lingard. — His unfaithfulness in quotation. , 101 LETTER V. Of Purgatory.— Doctrine of the Council of Trent.— Trent Catechism. — Council of Florence. — Bellar- mine. — Histories respecting Purgatory. . . .113 LETTER VL Mr. Butler's Statement of the means of relieving those who are detained in Purgatory.— His citation from Augustine on this subject. — Dr. Milner's citations from Augustine. — Mr. Butler's from Calvin. . 1 32 ¥1 CONTENTS. LETTER VII. Means of relieving those who are confined in Pur- gatory stated in the Decree and the Catechism of the Council of Trent 1 50 LETTER VIIL Indulgences 158 LETTER IX. Confession and Absolution in the Church of Rome. — Statement of Doctrine and Practice of the Church of England on those points 196 LETTER X. On the supposed legal necessity of a Minister of the Church of England giving evidence in a Court of Justice of what has been confided to him in Con- fession ^^^ LETTER XI. Augustine and Pelagius 229 LETTER XII. Transubstantiation — Real Presence as maintained by the Church of England. — Test Act. — Adoration of the Host. 231 LETTER XIII. Archbishop Wake. — Attacks of Dr. Milner on other EngUsh Prelates. — Mr. Butler's Charge on the Cler- gy of our Church 259 CONTENTS. vu LETTER XIV. The power of the Pope. . . . 271 LETTER XV. Conclusion.—Revival of Jesuits and the Inquisition. — Reasonable Fears of the Church of Ireland.— Pas- torini's Prophesies.— Parting Address to Mr. But- ter 308 Note to page 54 S29 APPENDIX. Letter to the Right Hon. Earl Grey, occasioned by his Lordship's Speech in the House of Lords on moving the Second Reading of his Bill for abrogating the Declarations contained in the 25th and 30th of Charles II., commonly called « The Test against Popery-" "^ 331 I ! )• , w • •''%'>• • • -> # < > -< 1 ) , TO CHARLES BUTLER, ESQ, LETTER I. Introduction. — Reasons for the present publication. — Title of Roman-Catholics. Sir, I HAVE read your '' Book of the Roman- Catholic Church;" and in common, I conceive, with all your Readers, have been much gratified with the tone and temper in which it is written. If, in one or two instances, your zeal has made you, for a while, forget your charity, yet your politeness is always unimpaired; and you never appear to be more in your natural character, than in smoothing the asperities of controversy, and deprecating its violence. It has, indeed, been suggested by some of your Critics, that you have no objection to see your cause sup- ported by others, in language which you would yourself be ashamed to use : and they appeal. « « ! I « • « • •lit I I , ' t ' t • f » < 9 « - « « • i I .•§•. • . • • • • "• INTRODUCTION. a I 1 I ' ^ for the justice of this suspicion, to your strong .Vrewidijia>en4^6ijii;pf a work, from which every moderate person of every party turns with dis- gust, I mean " Strictures on the Poet Laureate's Book," written, as you tell us, by Dr. Milner. I am not disposed to regard this matter so seriously; but look upon it rather as a very pardonable instance of the veneration you are accustomed to pay even to the foibles of an Apostolic Vicar. That dignitary, it seems, oc- casionally amuses himself with appearing in Masquerade; literally appearing, — for, though he wears a Masque, he writes upon it his own name^ under the ingenious anagram of John Merlin: and, in the person of that old Deceiver, scruples not to indulge in certain licenses of language, which decorum would forbid him to adopt in his proper character. As, however, I have no inclination to join in his revels, I shall not waste time in descanting on them. But on another work of the same author, for my know- ledge of the existence of which I am likewise indebted to your Book, — I mean the " End of Controversy," — I shall have frequent occasion to remark in the course of these pages. Meau- while, I hope I shall remember, during the whole of my address to you, that in courtesy, at least, you have set an example, which it will INTRODUCTION. <9 be discreditable to any, who may engage in the same controversy, to omit to imitate. Although, therefore, I may find it difficult, perhaps im- possible, to say all that I think necessary on several of the topics of these letters, without in some degree wounding your feelings; yet I am desirous, in the outset, to assure you, that what- ever I may think of your opinions, whatever I may be compelled to say of some parts of the statement of those opinions, I would not inten- tionally fail in any portion of that respect, which is due to you as a Scholar, a Gentleman, and, I would willingly hope, a sincere Christian. To much the larger part of your Book, how- ever, the historical matters on which you are at issue with Mr. Southey, I shall say nothing. That controversy is already in hands which will do it ample justice, nor will I weaken the effect of Mr. Southey's powerful eloquence in vindicating his own statements, by obtruding any feeble efforts of mine. The only purpose for which I have taken up my pen, is to say something on the theological part of your sub- ject, especially on what is contained in your 10th Letter, entitled ** View of the Roman-Ca- tholic System." I enter on this discussion, however, not with any intention of renewing the controversy on b2 ! ' I • \ V 1 1 I 4 REASONS FOR the merits of our respective creeds ; but merely to correct what appears to me to be a very er- roneous statement, in some respects, of the doc- trines of my own Church, but in a much greater degree of those of the Church of Rome. This is become the more necessary from the in- creasing prevalence, even in quarters where we might hope to find more accurate information, of an opinion, that the line, which separates the two Churches, is in fact much less strongly marked, than the prejudices and the passions of our Predecessors have taught us to believe. That Members of your Communion should labour to encourage this notion, is not at all surprising. No mode of drawing Proselytes to the Roman-Church has been found so effectual, as that of persuading the incautious Protestant, that the change to which he is invited, — the departure from early convictions on the most important of all subjects, — is far less extensive, than he has been accustomed to regard it. You yourself. Sir, speak* of a '* near approxi- mation in our religious creeds." And certainly this is at the present day a much less paradoxical position, than it would have been deemed a few generations ago. For in this protestant coun- * Page 3. THE PRESENT PUBLICATION. % try, many of the most revolting dogmas of Rome have been so much modified by coUisioi^ with the tenets of the Reformed Church, so much reduced or palliated by the policy of your advocates, that the real state of religious opinion and practice among you here, is widely different from that which is exhibited in coun- tries where similar causes do not operate, and where the Roman Creed has been permitted to produce its full effect. Hence it will probably happen, that I shall be reproached with undertaking the ungracious office of reviving the memory of past differences, and seeking to exasperate the feelings of our contemporaries by an appeal to those grounds of discord, which are now, even by yourselves, tacitly abandoned. Such, however, is not the object of these pages. I am actuated, I hope, only by a wish to perform some part of the duty which I owe to that *' pure and reformed part" of the Christian Church, of which I am a Minis- ter. It surely cannot be necessary for a Cler- gyman of the Church of England to apologize, at any time, for bringing forward the real grounds, on which his Church found itself com- pelled to separate from the Church of Rome. This is not, be it remembered, nor can it ever be, one of those cases, in which silence and I O REASONS FOR eompromise are consistent with good faith, and may therefore be demanded by charity. No ! this, if any, is a vital question. For, if the dif- ferences between the two Churches be, indeed, as slight, as you and others would represent them, the plain consequence must be, (and you, at least, will not deny it,) that our separation from you was, and is, schismatical ; that the Fathers and Martyrs of the Reformation were not only in error, but in sin ; that they have propagated that sin to us their descendants ; and that we cannot too soon retrace our steps, and sue to be re-admitted into the bosom of your Church. It is plain, therefore, that the Ministers of the Church of England must not, and can not, per- mit it to be believed, that any approximation to the real doctrines of the Church of Rome is regarded by them as even possible. Be we, in charity, and mutual forbearance, as conciliating as you will: — too charitable, and too forbearing in things indifferent, we cannot be:— still we must not dissemble, that '' between us and you there is a great gulph fixed;" which may indeed be passed from either side to the other, — but which admits not of any true resting-place being found between them. But there is another reason, more peculiarly THE PRESENT PUBLICATION. 7: belonging to the times in which we live, for this eagerness to represent the creeds of the two Churches as similar as possible; — I allude to the great political object, which engages all your hopes, and calls forth all the skill and ingenuity of your advocates. It is concluded^ reasonably enough, that no better expedient, than this, can be adopted, to reconcile the minds of Englishmen to the removal of the re- maining political restrictions under which you labour. Hence, again, a publication, like the present, issuing from the press at this particular period, will probably be attributed to the op- posite wish of seeing those restrictions strength- ened and perpetuated. But here, too, I think it proper to declare, that such is very far from being the motive of my present undertaking. Not that, if it were, I should feel it in any respect a discreditable motive, or one which would need to be defended. For, while so much is written, and said, on both sides of the question, what harm could there be in choosing this particular line of argument, be it convincing or otherwise, to vindicate the reasonableness and the justice of the existing Laws? But such, I repeat, is not my purpose. If the time of this publication may seem to argue the contrary, let me remind you that this time 8 REASONS FOR is not of my choosing, but of yours. At any period, and under any circumstances, I should have judged it right to expose so important a mis-statement, as I consider yours to be: — and I am not prevented from so doing by an appre- hension, that I may be thought desirous of supporting one side of a great political question by the indirect influence of a theological argu- ment. To say the truth, the connection of the political and theological questions does not ap- pear to me so absolutely inseparable, as many wiser men than myself continue to regard it. But, at any rate, you, and those who act with you, have not a shadow of right to complain on this ground. You have sought to strengthen your political cause by mixing with it a state- ment of the theological dogmas of your Church. Now, let those dogmas be truly stated, (and the truth, when disputed, can only be ascer- tained by evidence and argument,) and then let their final bearing on the political question be that, and only that, which truth shall war- rant. But, whatever be the cause, the effect is no- torious. It is become an usual topic in all popu- lar discourses, written or spoken, on behalf of Roman-Catholics, in the journals of criticism (so called), and even in the speeches delivered in THE PRESENT PUBLICATION. 9 parliament, to represent the creed and the dis-i cipline of the Church of Rome as nearly in ac- cordance with those of the established church. The most signal instance of this kind was afforded in a debate in the House of Lords, on the 10th of June, 1819, on which occasion I pre- sumed to address to the noble Earl, who led the debate, and distinguished himself by the theo- logical arguments of his speech, a letter, which is now appended to these pages. In truth, some passages of your ** Book," and of his Lordship's speech, have a remarkable resemblance, espe- cially in their apparent reliance, for the accu- racy of the principal statements contained in them, on the same reverend authority, that of Dr. Milner. His '' End of Controversy" is the grand storehouse, from which a main portion of the facts and evidence, adduced both by your- self and by the noble Earl, appears to have been drawn; and a nice observer might, perhaps, without much difficulty, select some six pages of this work, in which all the theological learn- ing displayed in that memorable debate would be found to be comprised. In short, so much of management has been successfully employed to distort or disguise the truth, that it is no longer a superfluous task to revive in the members of our own church a re- ID TITLE OF !;• collection of the real nature of those tenets, from which our forefathers, at the Reformation, were enabled, by God s blessing, to rescue tiiemselves and their descendants. It is. Sir, with this purpose that I have under- taken to examine your '* View of the Roman- Catholic System." But before I commence that examination, permit me to say a few words on the reason assigned by you for giving it this name. Mr. Southey, in the chapter to which your 10th Letter is an answer, had called it the Papal system. But you tell us that '' the words '* popery, papal, and papist" (the only names by which your religion, and those who profess it, were known to the law of the land till a very recent period) '' being particularly offensive " to Roman- Catholics, you have altered the '-^ title of Mr. Southey's chapter, by substi- " tuting the word ' Roman-Catholic' for the " word ' Papal':— that in the oath which the " legislature has prescribed to you, you are ** styled Roman-Catholics:— and that on this '' account it has always been a rule with you to " denote, in your publications, the religious ' denomination of Christians to which you be- long, by the appellation of Roman-Catho- 1 • ti-jt (( tt lies. * Book of the Roman-Catbolic Church, p. 99. ROMAN-CATHOLICS. 11 To the wish implied in this alteration of yours I am very ready to accede. Indeed, in common with most, or all, of my Protestant brethren, I am accustomed, in the courtesy of private society, to give to persons of your com- munion the appellation which you suggest. You will pardon me, however, if I accompany my present adoption of it, before the public, with an explanation of the sense in which alone it ought, I conceive, always to be understood. The caution is not unnecessary ; for our courtesy, in this particular, has been perverted into a standing argument against us. Among others. Dr. Milner, in his '' End of Controversy," thus avails himself of it. Speaking of " Catholicity" as his " third mark of the true church," " Is there not," says he, "among the rival churches, one exclusively known and distinguished by the name and title of The Catholic Church, as well in England, Holland, and other countries Yfhich. protest against this church, as in those which adhere to it? Does not this effulgent mark of the true religion so incontestably be- long to us, in spite of every effort to obscure it by the nicknames of Papists, Romanists, &c., that the rule of St. Cyril and St. Augustin is as good and certain now as it was in their times? What I mean is this : if any stranger in London, 12 TITLE OF Edinburgh or Amsterdam, were to ask his way to the Catholic Chapel, I would risk my life for it, that no sober Protestant inhabitant would direct him to any other place of worship than to ours."* Before I refer to the main point contended for in this passage, I must notice, by the way, a little artifice of the reverend writer, in insinu- ating as the reason of our being called Protest- ants, that we ''protest against the Catholic church." Dr. Milner knows perfectly well that we owe that appellation to a very different cause :t he knows that neither we nor our pre- decessors ever " protested against the Catholic church," nor even against that church which assumes to itself exclusively the title of Catho- lie. Against the latter, indeed, we have gone a good deal further than protesting. But this by the way. On the main point here contended for by Dr. Milner, I answer by admitting the fact which he says " he means;" and I ascribe it, without hesitation, to the courtesy, the forbearance, and, * End of Controversy, p. 1 92. t The name of Protestants was adopted because of the pro- testation made by certain princes of the German Empire, who asserted the rights of rehgious liberty against the decree of the Diet of Spire, A.D. 1529. ROMAN-CATHOLICS. 13 in part, the carelessness, of Protestants, who, unwilling to fight about a name, have at length acquiesced in an assumption which ought, per- haps, to have been always strenuously resisted. I have already said that the law of the land gave you and your religion a very different name till the year 1791, when, for the first time, it called you Roman-Catholics. Nay, so little was your exclusive assumption of the title of Catholics then admitted, that you were afraid of so calling yourselves in your petition to parlia- ment, lest your petition should on that account be refused admission. You therefore were desig- nated by your own committee as " Protesting Catholic Dissenters." Be this, however, as you will, your chapels may still, for aught I care, re- tain the name. But for the assertion, that your Church is in this country " exclusively known and distinguished by the name and title of The Catholic Church," I can only admire the hardihood of the person who has thought fit to make it. I appeal to my Protestant readers, whether they are in the habit of hearing the Roman church so distinguished by any of their Protestant brethren. That by protesting against *' offensive appellations," deprecating the use of *' nicknames," (as your more appropriate de- Bominations are called by Dr. Milner and i ^i 14 TITLE OF ROMAN-CATHOLICS. 15 It •-I ,. ii •I Others,) you have succeeded in obtaining for yourselves, ordinarily, the title of Roman-Ca- tholics, often that of Catholics simply, I admit, and for the unfair advantage taken of the con- cession I sincerely lament. But the abuse has not yet extended so far— we have not yet so utterly forgotten the creed which we every day recite,— as to give this title to your church ; that is still, even in common parlance, the Church of Rome; and really, if Dr. Milner has any mo- desty, he ought to be somewhat more than con- tent with such an appellation, given to it by Protestants ; for he must be aware that, on our principles, it is much more manifest that yours is not the Catholic church, than it is easy to prove that you are, in any legitimate sense, a church at all. Many of the wisest and most pious Protestants have denied, in toto, your claim to that title; and the most that any of us can concede, is, that you are still a branch, though a most tremendously corrupt branch, of the Catholic church. This is not a topic on wbich it is at all my wish to enlarge; but the boldness of the as- sumptions of Dr. Milner, and others of your writers, respecting ** Catholicity," as they are pleased to call it, and the want of clear notions on the subject, which too commonly prevails, must be my excuse for stating some considera- tions, which to yourself, and to those who have ever studied the point, may justly appear trite and common-place. Our judgment then of the Catholic Church is briefly this: That Catholic Church (as the name, you know, expresses) is the Universal Church, containing within it many particular Churches, even all congregations A^rhich retain " the faith once delivered to the saints," and contained in the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments. Every particular Church, which holds the fundamental points of that faith, and '' in which the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ'fe ordinance in all things necessary to the same,"*^ is a branch of the Catholic, or Universal Church. Even if it have introduced the most dangerous corruptions of doctrine and of wor- ship, yet if it still hold the foundation, still agree in essentials, it is not wholly cut off. Those among us, who think, as at the present day most members of the Church of England rejoice to think, that the corruptions in your communion, grievous as they are, do not amount to a departure from the foundation, to an utter * XlXth Article of the Church of England. 16 ROMAN-CATHOLICS. 11 : r abandonment of essentials ; all such recognize your Church as still a part, though, I am com- pelled to repeat, a most corrupt part, of the Catholic Church. The phrase, Roman-Catholics, therefore, may be tolerated, both as recognizing the distinction of particular branches, and as especially distinguishing members of the Ro- man branch of the Catholic Church; just as English-Catholics might be a fit denomination, if it were necessary to adopt it, of members of the Church of England. Beyond this, cour- tesy itself must not induce us to go. We must protest against that sense of the phrase, which implies that they only are Catholics, who *' believe the Bishop of Rome to be the head " of the Catholic Church, and that for that " reason the Catholic Church may fitly be ** styled Roman- Catholic, being an universal " body united under one visible head." ( 17 ) LETTER II. Authorities for Doctrines of the Roman Church,— De- votion to the Virgin Mary and other Saints. From the title of your system, I proceed to the system itself. But first, it is necessary to remark on what you say of the authorities on which you wish that the doctrines of your Church should be taken. You require that the following rule be rigidly observed : '* That no doctrine should be " ascribed to the Roman-Catholics as a body, "except such as is an article of their faith;"* and you give the creed published by Pius IV. as " an accurate and explicit summary of the " Roman-Catholic Faith." f Since, however, several of the articles of that creed are " ex- pressed in general terms," J you admit that it is necessary to look elsewhere for an explanation of the sense in which these articles are to be understood : and you particularly refer to the '' Catechism of the Council of Trent," as an * Book of the Roman-Catholic Church, p. 9. t lb. p. 5. J Ibid. p. 8. C 18 AUTHOHITIES FOR DOCTRINES authoritative publication of your Church. You also mention some other works, which, however, cannot be received as of equal autho- rity; such are Bossuet's ** Exposition of Faith ;" Mr. Gother s " Papist misrepresented and represented ;" Dr. Chaloner's '' Three short summaries of Catholic Faith and Doctrine," and his " Garden of the Soul."* But, above all, you recommend to us Dr. Milner's '' End of Controversy," as *^ the ablest exposition of ** the doctrines of the Roman-Catholic Church, ** on the articles contested with her by Protes- " tants; and the ablest statement of the proofs by " which they are supported, and of the historical " facts with which they are connected, that ** has appeared in our language." f This is high commendation, and will fully justify the particular attention I shall feel it my duty to pay to this writer in the sequel. But, mean- while, I must object to all these works, except the Trent Catechism, as of insufficient autho- rity, on which to pronounce what is the doc- trine of the Church. That they contain your own particular creed, after the declaration made by you, cannot be doubted : we might look to them, therefore, with entire satisfaction, in any * Book of the Roman-Catholic Church, p. 10. t lb. p. 192. OF THE ROMAN-CHURCH. 19 enquiry respecting the religious tenets, for which you are individually answerable. But I need not remind you that our real question is respect- ing the doctrines speculative and practical, which are to be ascribed to your Church; such, in short, as may fairly be considered as making up its System. And here I must protest against being tied down to a consideration of those doctrines only, which are now delivered as articles of faith. These alone, it may be, are to be ascribed, as a matter of course, to you, and every one else who adheres to the communion of your Church; but the Church itself is answerable for all those doctrines, which having been promulgated by high authorities within it, by popes or councils, or writers under the immediate direction of such authorities, and having been long and ex-f tensively acted upon, are still undisclaimed, much more those which are still retained with favour at Rome. Let me not be misunderstood. I fully admit that, in general, a full and plain disclaimer of such doctrines by individuals may fairly be considered in relation to those individuals, the same as if the doctrines them- selves had never been maintained. But they must, I contend, still be regarded as forming a part (though not equally with articles of faith c2 20 DEVOTION TO THE SAINTS «, > 1 a prominent part) of the system of the Church of Rome, so long as they are cherished or re- tained at the seat of government, and by the highest authorities of that Church. Still, it is my purpose, and I will not inten- tionally depart from it, to confine myself to such authorities, as cannot, I think, on any fair ground be objected to, and such as, I expect, you will not yourself venture to reject : the Roman Breviary, for instance, *' restored ac- " cording to the decree of the Council of Trent, " and published by command of Pius V." pos- sessing, therefore, exactly the same authority as the catechism of the same council, set forth by the same pope, — the acts of other general councils, the bulls of popes, and the works of writers, to whom you yourself, or your own admitted authorities, expressly refer. I shall also not scruple to cite one or two other authors of high reputation, not for the purpose of mak- ing your Church responsible for the tenets held by them, but as witnesses of the fact that cer- tain tenets were held at the time they wrote. Having premised thus much, I proceed to follow you in your own order. The first particular, on which you undertake to state the doctrine of your Church, is " De- '* votion to the Virgin Mary, the Saints ; AND VIRGIN MARY. 21 '' respect to the Cross, and to the Relics of the " Saints."* I shall beg leave to divide this particular into two, making the '* devotion to the Virgin Mary " and the Saints," the subject of my present letter, and reserving " the cross, relics, and images," for that which will next follow. On " devotion to the Virgin Mary and the ** Saints," you first give us a quotation from the council of Trent, and from the catechism published in pursuance of its decrees, and then cite other more popular works conformed to the same authorities. The following is your statement of the doc- trine of the council. " The Saints, reigning with Christ, offer up '* their prayers to God for man. It is a good " and useful supplication to invoke them" (surely, Sir, this is not quite an adequate trans- lation of bonum atque utile esse supplicithr eos invocare, it is good and useful suppliantly to in- voke them,) '' and to have recoursef to their '' prayers, help, and assistance, to obtain fa- '' vour from God, through his son Jesus Christ *' our Lord, above, who is our Redeemer and * Book of the Roman-Catholic Church, p. 100. i Confugere. 22 DEVOTION TO THE SAINTS AND VIRGIN MARY. 23 " Saviour."* *' This,'' you say, '' is the decree " of the council of Trent." Now from this the natural conclusion to be drawn (it has, in fact, been drawn!) is, that your Church gives to its members only a re- commendation, not an express command, " suppliantly to invoke the Virgin and the " Saints." I can discover nothing more impe- rative in what you further say on this particular, for the Trent catechism is cited by you only to show that '' God and the Saints are not to be *' prayed to in the same manner." I must, therefore, consider you as stating this to be all for which your Church is here responsible : it recommends its members to make this invocation. Dr. Milner, indeed, in his " End of Contro- versy," J has been bold enough to affirm, that the " council of Trent barely teaches that it '* is good and profitable to invoke the prayers '' of the Saints ;" and he adds, ** hence our *' divines infer, that there is no positive law of ^' the Church, incumbent on all her children, ** to pray to the Saints." Bossuetin like man- ner declares that '' the council of Trent con- '' tents itself with teaching the faithful that this # * * Sess. XXV. de luvocatione Sanctorum, t Vid. infra. + p. 252. " practice is good and useful to them, without " saying any thing more''* It must be my business, therefore, to prove that your Church is responsible for a good deal more ; and I will prove it from authorities ac- knowledged by yourself. Now the very decree of the council of Trent from which you, and Dr. Milner, and Bossuet, have made the extract cited above, (which ex- tract you are pleased to call the Decree,) nay the very words, which immediately follow your quotation in the very same sentence, denounce as impious the denial of the position, '' that ** the saints enjoying eternal happiness in hea- '' ven are to be thus invoked."! Is this " barely teaching that the practice is good and '' profitable ?" Does this justify the inference " that there is no positive law of the Church, " incumbent on all her children to pray to the " saints ?" Again, the Creed of Pope Pius IV. to which you refer as ** an accurate and explicit summary " of the Roman-Catholic faith," J and to which Dr. Milner has subscribed under the sanction * Exposition of Faith, sect. V. t Sess. XXV. " lUos, qui negant sanctos, &c. invocandos esse, impie sentire." X Book of the Roman-Catholic Church, p. 5. i 24 DEVOTION TO THE SAINTS of an Oath, declares expressly " that the Saints " reigning together with Christ, venerandos atque " invocandos esse:' Is it still doubtful, whether your Church commands, or only recommends, the practice ? Let us look then to the Trent Catechism,* to the question and answer immediately preceding that, from which you have favoured us with an extract. '* Q. Are the Saints also, reigning "with Christ, to be invoked?" '« A. In the " second place we fly to the assistance of the " Saints who are in heaven: to whom also that *' prayers are to be made, is so certain in the " Church of God, that to pious minds no doubt on " the subject can occur, which thing, &c." Again, in anotherf place the same Catechism tells us, " with good reason the holy Church " of God has added to this giving of thanks, *' prayers also and imploration addressed to " the most holy Mother of God; in order that " we thus might piously and suppliantly have " recourse to her to reconcile God by her in- ** tercession to us sinners, and to obtain for us *' those good things which are necessary as well * Cat. Rom. p. 4. c. vi. q. 2. " quibus etiam preces esse faciendas, ita certum est in Ecclesia Dei," &c. t Pars 4. c. 5. ad 6nem. AND VIRGIN MARY. 25 ^'for this life, as for life eternal. Therefore we " exiled sons of Eve, who inhabit this Vale of '* Tears, ought constantly to invoke the mother of *• mercy and advocate of the faithful, that she " may pray for us sinners, and by this prayer " we ought to implore help and assistance from ** her, of whom no one without impiety and *' nefarious wickedness can doubt, both her *' pre-eminent merits with God, and her very " great willingness to assist mankind." Lastly in your Liturgies, your Missal, and other formularies, prayers to the Virgin and the Saints form a large portion. Is there " no law of your Church incumbent on her children," to bear a part in these devotions ? I think. Sir, that you will hardly venture to answer these enquiries in the negative. And, if you will not, how can you justify the state- ment you have made of the doctrine of your Church in this particular? But I proceed to examine what is meant by the veneratio et invocatio, which your Church enjoins to be paid to the Virgin and the Saints, especially to the former. That they imply much more than your modern apologists are ready to admit, will soon be evi- dent.~In the first place, it is the doctrine of 26 MENTAL PRAYER TO SAINTS the council of Trent, that the Saints possess what we Protestants are in the habit of considering as one of the distinguishing attributes of God, — I mean, a knowledge of what passes in the hearts of men. For the council includes mental prayer in the honour to be paid to Saints: it pro- nounces all those to be guilty of impiety, who hold it foolish to address mental prayer to them, " illos, qui asserunt stultum esse, in coelo reg- *' nantibus voce vel mente supplicare, impife " sentire."* But foolish would be a mild epi- thet for prayers addressed to those who are not privy to them. Another attribute apparently ascribed to them, to some of them at least, especially the Virgin Mary, is omnipresence; or, if not simply omnipresence, presence throughout the habit- able globe, and in every part of it at the same time. For, as all Christians are required to supplicate her, and it is difficult to conceive how she can receive their prayers without being present to them, I know not in what manner the consequence can fairly be avoided. I am aware, indeed, that some ingenious ex- pedients for this purpose have been suggested. * Con. Trid. ibid. AND VIRGIN MARY. 27 For instance, that God is pleased by immediate revelation to inform the Virgin, and the Saints, of every supplication addressed to them; and this seems to be the solution favoured by Dr. Milner.* But, as you tell us, that prayers are offered to the Saints, only that they may offer prayers to God on our behalf, it follows, that God first reveals to them what we entreat them to pray to Him for us,— a process which is not very satisfactory to men of plain understanding. It is told of a great man, who had the misfor- tune of writing very illegibly, that he was in the habit of accompanying every letter written by his own hand, with a Transcript of it by his Secretary, in order that he might at the same time testify his respect, and consult for the convenience of his correspondent. Now this, which is the very reverse of the supposed mode of availing ourselves of the assistance of the Saints in our prayers, seems to be much the more rational course of the two. But another solution of the difficulty has been devised :— that the Saints have their in- formation, not from God, but from the Angels. * End of Controversy, p. 250. « It is sufficient for dissi- pating the Bishop of Durham's phantom of Blasphemy, that God is able to reveal to the Saints the prayers of Christians who address them here on earth." 28 DEVOTION TO THE SAINTS. BASILICA. 29 This, however, I fear removes the difficulty but a single step. For whence have the Angels a knowledge of our prayers? What supports the Tortoise? Accordingly, a third plan has been thought of: — that the Saints see in the mirror of the Deity all that it is his pleasure they should see, and among other things, the prayers of their supplicants. A fourth mode of explain- ing the matter is, the supposition of an incon- ceivable celerity in the locomotion of Angels and Saints, a celerity, which, if it be sufficient for its purpose, is so near akin to ubiquity, that it leaves us where it found us. I am not aware that any other expedient has ever been invented: and these, which I have recounted, are all the notions of individuals. As, therefore, on the one hand, your Church is not responsible for them ; so neither perhaps, on the other, can it claim for its doctrine the benefit of any assistance which any of them may be supposed to yield. That doctrine, I repeat, proposed as it is by the Council in all its nakedness, seems to ordinary understandings to involve the ascription of the divine attributes of knowledge of the hearts of men, and of om- tiipresencey to the Saints. And this, I conceive, cannot but tend largely to augment the devo- tion of their votaries towards them. But there are some other considerations to be taken into the account. Your Church is in the habit of dedicating sacred buildings to the Saints; not merely as a designation of those buildings, and to distinguish them from others, but strictly and formally to make them belong to those by whose name they are called. Hence the title of Basilicae, royal residences. For while they are Churches of God, they are also the palaces of St. Peter, St. Paul, or others, because those Saints occupy them by their relics, which are therein deposited.* To these buildings very important spiritual privileges are annexed, in order to increase the honour of those to whom they are dedicated. For, pilgrimages to them, and the performance of divine worship in them, are rewarded with peculiar and very great advantages. But of this we shall have occasion to speak more particularly hereafter^ under the head of indulgences ; at present it is mentioned, only as an ingredient in the reli- gious honour paid by the Church of Rome to Saints, and that too, under the express sanction of a decree of the CQuncil of Trent.f * Bellar. de Cult. Sanct. lib. iii. c. 4. t Sess, XXV. ii 30 vows TO THE SAINTS AND VIRGIN MARY. 31 Another not unimportant particular, is that of Vows commonly addressed to Saints: and here I must beg your patience, while I dwell a little on this part of our subject. The greatest of your controversial divines, Bellarmine,* has judged it necessary to do so, which will be a sufficient excuse for me. He says that '' all the Heretics consider us *' as Idolaters, on account of the Vows, which " are every where made to Saints. And the " reason may be," he adds, " because a Vow is an " act ofreligimi due to God alone, as appears fi^om '* divine Scripture, where always Vows are said to " be made to God. Nevertheless, that they may " in some manner be made to Saints, is most cer- "tain:"' and to the establishment of this pro- position he then proceeds. After citing the authority of Fathers, he quotes the answer of St. Thomas to the argument against Vows to Saints, suggested above. This answer is as follows—" That Vows made to Saints include " two promises, one to the Saint,— and that is not " formally a Vow, but the matter of a Vow; and '' the other to God,-and this is formally the Vow; ** as, for instance, when a man says * I Vow to " * the blessed Mary that I will make a pilgrimage * De Cult. Sanct. lib. iii. c. 9. '' ' to her house,' he promises to the Virgin this " pilgrimage, but this promise is not a Vow; '' and at the same time promises to God, that " he will fulfil his promise made to the Virgin; '' and this second promise is truly the Vow." But this answer Bellarmine admits is insufii- cient. It will do very well, says he, in the case of vows made to living men, such as vow- ing obedience to a prelate, for this is in fact a Vow to God, the intention of it being to honour not the prelate but God. " But," continues Bellarmine, " he who vows to the Saints a fast '* or a pilgrimage, intends thereby to pay a religious " honour to the saints themselves" Besides, says he, it has been proved against that article (rf St. Thomas, from the very profession of the Fratres Praedicatores, that vows are truly made to the saints ; for they say, in making their pro- fession, '' I vow to God, and to the blessed Mary, *' and to all the saints, that I will be obedient *' to such or such a prelate," where of the two promises, included in the words, that, which is formally the vow, is directed to God and the saints together. Another solution, therefore, has been adduced, namely, that vows are made to saints, not as they are certain creatures endowed with reason, but as in them God dwelleth by Glory; so that 32 vows TO THE SAINTS the vows made to saints are made to God in saints, in the same manner as maledictions against saints are blasphemous, because God is blasphemed in them. This solution is accepted by Bellarmine, who says, however, that vows are not made to God, and to saints, exactly after the same sort, and therefore that vows to the latter are not idolatrous: for it is universally agreed among Catholics, that a thing is promised to God, in testimony of our gratitude to him as the first cause of all good, and in acknowledgment of blessings received from himself, but to saints, in testimony of our gratitude to them, as our mediators and inter- cessors, through whom we have received bless- ings from God. ,, . There remains one objection for him to an- swer, which he thus states; " If a promise made ** to dead saints may be called a vow; why not " also a promise to saints still living with us?" His answer is as follows; because, first, a pro- mise made to saints reigning with Christ is more like a promise made to God, than one which is made to a living man ; inasmuch as the thing promised is not useful to the saints in Heaven, but to ourselves, and is only offered in testimony of our veneration and gratitude; secondly, because a vow is not suitable to AND VIRGIN MARY. 33 saints, unless as they are Gods by participation* and we know for certain that saints reigning with Christ are really such; besides, they are confirmed in that state and cannot fall from it. In both which respects they differ from living; saints. I have dwelt with Bellarmine at some length on this particular, at the risk of being tedious; because I think it throws much light on the kind of honour paid by members of your Church to saints. For, whether your Church be, or be not, answerable for Bellarmine s arguments, he at least must be admitted as a sufficient evidence of facts, namely, of the general preva- lence of the practice of offering vows to saints,, and of the general notion of the nature of them entertained by your highest authorities. That the multitude in hi^ day regarded them still more seriously, and offered them with the ut. most degree of religious confidence, and: on the most ordinary and trivial occasions, is plain from the testimony of his contemporary Eras-; mus, a testimony which he cites himself, with-: out affectmg to contradict it, I mean the dia- * Votum non convenit Sanctis, nisi quateniip sunt Dii per participationem ; ^tSanctos, cum Deo regnantes, certb scimus esse tales. Bell. ibid. D 34 DEVOTION TO SAINTS. FALSE SAINTS. logue entitled " Naufragium," a rich treat to those who have never read it. For the prevalence, and the kind of vows, offered to saints in these days, I venture to refer to any modern traveller iu Spain or Italy. I admit, that I am not aware of any positive order of your Church for this particular species of honour to saints; but it will hardly be con- tended that it is not, as a Church, answerable for a practice so ancient, so general, so strongly asserted and enforced by its greatest divines, and never in any way restrained. And here I should proceed to prayers ad- dressed by your Church to saints: but there is one previous question, (a very simple one it is true,) which requires to be first stated. As you are in the habit of addressing a good many saints, the merits of very few of whom are mentioned in Scripture, a plain man might ask, — ^What assurance you have that they really are Saints? Is it not possible, that very awkward mistakes may occasionally happen ? That you may, for instance, address your petitions to persons of very different characters, and occu- pying a very different place in the world of Spirits, to that which you suppose ? — And this uncertainty, if it be not removed, must consider- ably impEiir the zeal of all rational worshippers. 35 The possibility of all this is so manifest, that you have very long been provided with a re- medy. It is true, that for some centuries mat- ters went on rather uncertainly, and during that time very unpleasant accidents did some- times occur. Pope Alexander III. had occasion to reprehend certain persons for worshipping, as a martyr to the cause of true religion, a man who was in truth only a martyr to the strength of his wine, having been killed in a state of drunkenness.* And Bellarmine informs us, on the authority of Sulpicius, of the following remarkable occurrence which happened to St. Martin.t He had long entertained some pretty strong doubts of the propriety of the devotions offered by the people in his neighbourhood to a supposed saint ; because, in truth, there was nothing very certain or satisfactory in the tra- ditions concerning him. One day, when St. Martin was at his prayers, the ghost of this personage appeared to him, and frankly con- fessed *' that he was a damned spirit ; that when *' alive he had been a robber ; and that he had " suffered death for his crimes by the hand of ** the public executioner." To prevent the recurrence of similar mistakes. * Bell, de Cult. Sanct. I i. c. 7. d2 t Ibid. 36 CANONIZATION. V, MAHV's iBlRTH SUPKRNATUKAL. 37 1 I ^ solemn process, under the especial cognizance of the Pope, has long been instituted, by which the pretensions of any deceased person, for whom the honour of Sainthood is demanded, are strictly examined ; particularly the suffi- ciency of the miracles alleged to have been wrought by him ; for the working of miracles is always held to be an indispensable qualifica- tion. In this process, all imaginable precau- tions are taken ; the lapse of at least a hundred years after the decease of the saints is, if I mistake not, patiently expected, whether to collect evidence, to preclude partiality, or to remove prejudices. A devil's advocate, as I believe he is called, is assigned for the purpose of suggesting every objection, and enforcing every reasonable doubt ; — the inquest " pro- ** ceeds," you tell us, ** through several stages, " until it is ascertained, by the most solemn " and strict proofs, that the party possessed " the virtues of faith, hope, and charity, in an ** eminent, or, — to use the language of the " proceeding,— in an heroic degree; and that " miracles were worked by him, or through ** his intercession."* If, with all this care, a * " Book of the Roman-Catholic Church," p. 280. decree of the Pope be not infallible,* it is hard indeed. The effect of a favourable sentence, under such circumstances, cannot fail to be that of giving confidence to the pious worshipper, and increasing the intensity of his devotion. Bulls of canonization do not often fall in our way; but from one which I have met with in favour of a countryman of our own, St. Anselm, Arch- bishop of Canterbury, who is justly the object of your very high praise, I find that Pope Alexander enjoins and commands all the faith- ful to worship, venerate, and adore, all who are admitted into the number of saints.f But I shall now proceed to a more par- ticular enquiry into the sort of honour pre- scribed by your Church to be paid to them, especially in the case of the Virgin Mary. Let us see then, first, what is the notion of your Church respecting the personal dignity of the Virgin, and secondly what are the devotions actually addressed to her. In following this course, I shall confine myself rigidly to autho- rities which you cannot reject : I will not make * Bell, de Sanct. Beatit. lib. i, cap. p. says that Catholic^de- clare it to be certain, that the Church does not err in the canonization of saints. t Labbe, Concil. t. xiii, p. 1474. 38 IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. pse of any Breviary or Missal, but those which were reformed and set forth according to the decree of the Council of Trent. Now, in the reformed Breviary, your Church has thought proper to proclaim, that the birth of the Virgin was supernatural* and to institute a festival in honour of her conception by her Mother Anna. Whether this conception was immaculate, so that she should in this respect be held equal to her blessed Son, as having been born without any taint of original sin, is well known to have been the subject of a long and obstinate contention between two of your greatest religious orders ; the Franciscans, fol- lowing the opinion of Duns Scotus, strenuously maintaining the affirmative, which was as stre- nuously denied by St. Thomas and the Domi- nicans. The former, however, was the more general opinion ; and a festival, I repeat, was appointed in honour of her conception, for which, unless on account of its having been immaculate, it is not very easy to assign any sufficient reason. t * Vid. Breviar. die xxi. Nov. In festo praesentationis B. M. f Bellarmine, afraid to pronounce that the Church positively a£Srms the doctrine of the immaculate Conception, and yet feeling the awkwardness of having the festival without the ac- knowledgment of the immaculacy of the Conception, says (De VIRGIN MARY WITHOUT SIN. 39 Sixtiis IV., in the buHs by which he institutes a particular office for this festival, and gives indulgences to those who celebrate it, seems to recognize the immaculacy of the conception ; though he speaks of it as a point not yet decided by the Church.* The Council of Trent not only adopts and confirms the bulls of Sixtus, but also expressly declares, that it does not comprehend the Virgin Mary in its decree respect- ing original sin,-\ namely, that all manki?id are infected with it by propagation from Adam. It is true, that by forbearing to say in terms, that the Virgin was free from original sin, the Coun- Cult. Sanct. lib. iii, c. 1 6,) that " the Conception was * some how " ' or other sacred,* (aliquo modo sanctam) because there is a ** festival in its honour." * In the first of these bulls, (which are printed with the Acts of the Council of Trent, having been particularly confimied and adopted by the council,) Sixtus speaks thus : " dignum, " quin potius debitum, reputamus, universos Christi fideles, ut *' omnipotenti Deo de ipsius immaculatce Virginis mird conceptione " gratias et laudes referant invitare." In the other bull, he uses the expression " ejusdem immaculatce conceptionis :" in this latter bull, while he pours forth all sorts of vehement denunciations against those who speak of the belief of the article as heretical, condemning such speeches as " false, erroneous, and utterly foreign from the truth," he censures the other party for utter- ing similar charges of heresy against their adversaries, merely " because the point has not yet been decided by the Church." t Sess. V. 40 VIRGIN MARY WITHOUT SIN. VIRGIN Mary's assumption. 41 .<41 left a small loophole for the Dominicans ; and thus while Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, in his treatise against Luther, written before the Council, had treated it as a matter beyond all question, that the Virgin was " devoid of all ** taint as well of original as of actual sin ;"* Bel- larmine, who wrote subsequently, was content to say, that " it is quite certain, and the uni- " versal opinion of the Church, aflSrmed by ** the council of Trent, that she was free from " actual sin, and it is pious to think that she " was also free from original sin." The Coun- cil, in the canon to which Bellarmine refers, goes so far as to declare, that ** by the special " privilege of God the blessed Virgin was, ** during her whole life, able to avoid all, even " venial, sins.^f In accordance with this doctrine of the Council, she is spoken of in the Roman Breviary as having '* a conscience absolutely devoid of " sin,"Jand, again, as " stained by no earthly ** affections. "§ From this resemblance to her di- vine son, in being ** without sin," the transition becomes more easy to other points of resem- * Adv. Luther, art. xvii. p. 490. t Sess. vi. c. 23. % In Oct. Assunipt. B. M. § In Assumpt. B. M. blance, at least, if not of equality. Accordingly, she is coupled with our Lord in the great work of man's salvation, in a way which can scarcely fail to lead the unwary to ascribe as much, or nearly as much, of that blessed work to her, as to our Lord himself. Not to multiply instances, the following is the opening of a lesson in the " OfficiumB.MariaeinSabbato,"(Mense Junio,) "Grievously, my beloved, were we hurt by "one man and one woman (Adam and Eve); " but thanks be to God, not less by one man a7id ''one woman* are all things restored, aye and "with great usury of grace ; for not as was " the offence, so also is the free gift, &c." Festivals to her honour are as frequent, as to the honour of Christ himself. Besides the fes- tival of her Conception, there is one of her Nativity, another of her Presentation by her parents in the Temple, and another of her As- sumption into Heaven. A similarity indeed between her and our blessed Lord is studiously affected. Not only is the Assumption of her body into Heaven made to parallel our Lord's * " Daughter of the eternal Father ! Mother of the eternal Son ! and Spouse of the Holy Ghost !" is an address to her in the Devout Communicant, p. m, one of the prayer-books commonly used in England. 42 VIRGIN MARYS ASSUMPTION. VIRGIN Mary's titles. 43 ascension, but that body itself is stated, like our Lord's, to have been miraculously preserved from corruption. On the 4th day of the week after the Assumption, (for a whole week is de- voted to the honour of that event,) a lesson is read, in which it is declared that ** at the time ** of her glorious falling asleep" (her death,) " all •' the Apostles, who were employed in their " holy mission through the whole earth, for the " salvation of mankind, were in a moment car- " ried aloft through the air, and brought toge- " ther to Jerusalem:— while they were there, " they saw a vision of Angels, and heard the " hymns of the Hosts of Heaven, and so with ♦* divine glory she delivered her Soul into the hands *' of God. But her body was taken amidst " the songs of Angels and of the Apostles, and ** deposited in a cofBn at Gethsemane, in which •• place the melody of Angels continued for •* three days. At the end of those days, the ** Apostles opened the tomb, to enable Thomas, " who alone had hitherto been absent, to fulfil ** a wish which he felt, to adore that body, which " had borne the Lord. On opening it, the body " was no where to be found, but only the grave- *' clothes in which it had been wrapped; and ** from them issued an ineffable odour, per- " vading the atmosphere around. So wonder- " ful and mysterious an event astonished the "Apostles, who could draw from it but one " conclusion, that it had pleased the Word of " God, that her immaculate body (by which " he was incarnate) should be preserved from '•" corruption, and should be at once translated " to Heaven, without waiting for the general " resurrection of all flesh." In the service of the next day is the following lesson. " But who is sufficient to conceive, ' how glorious on this day was the progress of * the Queen of the World! with what transport ' of devout affection the whole multitude of ' the Heavenly Hosts went, forth to meet her! ' with what hymns she was conducted to the * throne of glory! with how placid, how serene ' an aspect! with what divine embraces she ' was received by her Son, and ea^alted above ' every creature,— with that honour which be- * came the worth of so great a Mother, and ' that glory which befitted so great a Son!" The Title, here bestowed on her, of *' Queen " of the World," is not the highest which she has received. In the Bull of Sixtus, adopted, I repeat, by the Council of Trent, she is styled '* Queen of the Heavens," and her Son is spoken of in the same sentence as " King." Indeed in 44 LESSONS rROM THE BREVIARY ON VIRGIN MARY S FESTIVALS. 45 II l!l one of your popular Prayer Books, now in use in this country, (to which therefore you refer us,) she is thus addressed, ^* O glorious Queen " of Heaven."* This same title " Queen of " Heaven" is given to her in the Breviary :t where she is also called " Domina omnium " creaturarum," able therefore, we may pre- sume, to dispense to her worshippers any bless- ing they can need or ask. On the fifth day of the week of her Nativity occurs the following:—*' Truly a great miracle, ** my beloved brethren, was the ever blessed ** Virgin Mary. For what in any past time " was ever found, or what in time to come will " it be possible to find, greater or more illus- trious than she? She alone has surpassed Heaven and Earth in her greatness. For *' what is more holy than she? Neither Pro- ** phets, nor Apostles, nor Martyrs, nor Patri- ** archs, nor Angels, nor Thrones, nor Powers,, " nor Seraphim, nor Cherubim, nor aught be- ** side of created things, visible, or invisible, ** can be found greater or more excellent. She •* is at once the handmaid and the Mother of " God, a Virgin and a Mother." * The Devout CommuDicant, p. 29. t Off. B. Maiiae, tempore Pascbali. ti 4t At the hazard of being tedious, I must insert the following lesson taken from an exposition on 1 Sam. i. 1. " Now there was a cer- *• tain Man of Ramathaim-zophim, of Mount " Ephraim." " The most blessed, ever-virgin Mary, Mo- " ther of God, may be designated by the name *' of the Mountain. For she was indeed a " Mountain, who by the dignity of her election " transcended every exaltation of every elect " creature. Was not Mary a sublime Moun- " tain, who, that she might attain to the con- " ception of the eternal Word, reared the summit " of her merits above all the choirs of A/igels, " even to the throne of the Godhead? For this " is the Mountain, of whose surpassing dignity ** Isaiah prophesies. * It shall come to pass in " ' the last days, that the Mountain of the Lord's " * House shall be established in the top of the " * Mountains.' For a Mountain she was in the *' top of the Mountains; because the exalted " height of Mary shone resplendent above all "Saints:"* And an extract from a lesson on Rev. xii. 1 . "And there appeared a great wonder in Hear " ven, a Woman clothed with the Sun," &c. * Off. B. M. Mense Augusto. t' il i 46 VIRGIN MARY. ** Let US embrace the footsteps of Mary, my ** brethren, and with the devoutest supplication " let us fling ourselves before her blessed feet. •' Let us hold her fast; let us not suffer her to ** go, till she hath blessed us; for she is power- " ful. She is ' the Fleece of Wool between " * the dew and the threshing-floor' (Judges vi. ** 37); but perhaps your wonder is rather given '* to (her other symbol) * the Woman clothed ** * with the Sun.' For great indeed is this '* connection, wonderful is this nearness of the " Sun and the Woman. How is it, that in " so intense a fire, so frail a nature subsists? " Verily, with reason, thou, O holy Moses, " wonderest and longest with curious eye to " look into it. But ' put thy shoes from off " * thy feet,' and cast a vail over thy fleshly " cogitations, if thou desirest to draw nigh." But to Protestant ears the most offensive in- stance of profaneness is the repeated, the con- stant application to her of verses of the 24th chapter of Ecclesiasticus, which were meant to refer to the divine Wisdom; particularly the 9th and 10th verses: — " He created me from " the beginning, before the world, and I shall ** never fail : in the holy tabernacle I minis- •* tered before him:"— and again,* though more ♦ Missal, in Nativ. B. M. V. et in Concept. B. M. V. VIRGIN MARY. 47 rarely, of the 8th chapter of Praverbs, from the 22d to the 35th verse, a passage often used to prove the eternal generation of the Son of God:—" The Lord possessed me in the begin- " ning of his way, before his works of old. I " was set up from everlasting, from the begin- " ning, or ever the earth was: &c. &c. Hear ** instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. " Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching " daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of '' my doors: for whoso findeth me, findeth life, " and shall obtain favour of the Lord." In some degree of accordance with these re- presentations of her dignity are the hymns and prayers addressed to her. *' Mary, mother of grace, " Mother of mercy, " Do thou protect us from the enemy, *' And at the hour of death take us to thyself."* " Loose the bonds of the guilty, " Hold forth light to the blind,' ♦ In Off. parv. B. M. Maria Mater Gratise Mater Misericordiae Tu nos ab hoste protege Et hord mortis suscipe. 48 VIRGIN MARV. VIRGIN MARYS INTERCESSION. 49 I I " Drive all evil from us, - " Ask all good things for us. ** Shew thyself to be a Mother, " Let him through thee receive our prayers, " Who for our sakes submitted " To be born thy son."* It is worth remarking that, in this latter in- stance, an important change has been wrought in transferring the original hymn into your English books of devotion, in order to accom- modate it to the feelings of those who live among Protestants. The turn given to it in the " Garden of the Soul," p. 254, is as follows, " Exert the Mother's care, " And us thy children own, " To him convey our prayer, " Who chose to be thy Son ;" thus ingeniously avoiding the awkward request implied in the original, that she will exercise * In Off. B. M. et passim — SoWe vincla reis, Profer lumen caecis. Mala nostra pelle. Bona cuncta posce. ; Monstra te esse Mafrem, Sumat per te preces. Qui pro nobis natus, Tulit esse tuus. the influence of a Mother over her blessed Son, and so secure his acceptance of our prayers. ' But all this, it will be said, is poetry ; and the language^ of poetry, even in hymns, is not to be taken literally. Let us see, then, in one or two brief instances, what is the tone of your prayers in prose. '' Vouchsafe to allow me to praise thee, O " Sacred Virgin : give me strength against thy " enemies."* ** To thy protection we fly, O holy mother ** of God. Despise not our prayers in the " time of our necessities ; but from all dangers " alway deliver us, O Virgin glorious and " blessed." t It is perfectly true, that in general she is ad- dressed to help her worshippers by her interces- sion ; but this is accompanied by such acknow- ledgment of the efficacy of her intercession, as seems but little suitable to any mediator less than divine. Such is the following : " Admit *' our prayers within the sanctuary of hearing, " and bring back to us the antidote of recon- " ciliation." ** Through thee, may that be par- ** donable which through thee we urge : may ** that be able to be obtained, which with a * Off. parv. B. Mariae. f Off. parv. B. Mariae. E ^'! ' 50 PRAYER TO VIRGIN MARY. " faithful mind we pray : Because thou art the ** only hope of sinners:* Through thee we hope *^ for pardon of our offences, and in thee, O most ** blessed, is the ejcpectation of our rewards. Holy ** Mary, succour the miserable, assist the hum- " ble-minded, cherish the afflicted, pray for *' the people, interpose for the clergy, intercede *' for the devout women : Let all feel thy help " who celebrate thy nativity." And now permit me to ask you, Sir, whether you think that the Church which has prescribed such services, as I have here quoted in its authorized liturgy, its most formal book of pub- lic devotion, is indeed so innocent as you have represented? Can it be truly averred, that ** from saying to God * Have mercy on us,' the " descent is infinite f to addresses such as these " to the Virgin Mary ?" Will you press for an answer to your questions, *' Whether the " authorities which you have cited do not give " a true and clear exposition of the doctrine of " your Church upon this important subject ? " Whether the doctrine be idolatrous or super- * Tu es spesunicapeccatorum. Per te speramus delictorum veniam ; et in te, beatissima, nostrorum est expectatio prae- miorum, &c. — Sect. v. & vi. in Die ix Septembris, 2da infra Oct. Nativ. B. M. V. f Book of the Roman-Catholic Church, p. 101. CITATIONS FROM THOIINDYKE. 51 " stitious ? Whether the practice of it do not fill " the mind with soothing reflections? with thoughts " that increase charity, and animate piety ?"* What may be your thoughts under the prac- tice of such devotions, it is not for me to con- jecture. If '' the hours thus spent by you'' be, as you intimate, '' among the most pleasing o'f your life," may He, who alone knows, and who will mercifully allow for, all that is in man, the strength of early prejudice and long-confirmed habit, and, above all, the weakness of our poor reason to resist them— may He extend to you on that day when we all shall need it, the full benefit of that His most merciful allowance ! But you insinuate that " several distinguished " divines of our own Church maintain the same " doctrine."t I defy you to name a single one : and if you are unable to do so, is it worthy of your character, or consistent with ordinary can- dour, to hazard so wild a suggestion? You name indeed one. Doctor Thorndyke, not as holding the doctrine of your Church on this subject, (that would be too bold,) but as acquit- ting it of the charge of idolatry. Dr. Milner J has also availed himself of the * Book of the Roman-Cathdiic Church, p. 102. tid. ib. X End of Controversy, p. 252. E 2 I 52 ALLEGED PROTESTANT AUTHORITIES same passage from Thorndyke, which you quote, and has been pleased to give that author a very appropriate praise ; he calls him re- peatedly, ** the candid Prebendary of West- minster." To shew you that he has well merited that title, I will give you two passages from different books of his, that which you quote not having fallen in my way.* The first shall be from his largest and most important work, entitled " An Epilogue to the Tragedy of the Church of England," published in 1659. In the 3d book, p. 357, 358, speaking of those prayers in your Church, which are addressed to the saints, desiring of them the same blessings, spiritual and temporal, which all Christians desire of God, in which class, I conceive, must be num- bered most of those cited by me from the Ro- man Breviary, he has these words : " Taking ** them at the foot of the letter, and valuing " the intent of those that use them, by nothing ** but the words of them, they are mere idola- *' tries. And were we bound to make the acts " of them that teach these prayers the acts of ** the Church, because it tolerates them, and * Since these papers have been sent to the press, I have seen a copy of Thomdyke's " Just Weights and Measures," and I find your citation from it correct. FOR PRAYER TO SAINTS. Sd " maintains them in it, instead of casting them " out, it would be hard to free that Church from ** idolatrie." ** But the words of these are " capable of the same limitation, that I gave " to the words of our Lord, when I said, that ** they whom Christians do good to here, may *' be said to receive them into everlasting habi- " tation, because God does it in consideration "of them, &c. &c. I will add an extract from another tract of Thorndyke's, expressly entitled " Judgment ** of the Church of Rome." The 12th head of which is as follows: ** To pray to saints de- " parted for those things which only God can " give (as all Papists do) is, by the proper sense " of their words, downright idolatry. If they ** say their meaning is by a figure only to desire " them to procure their requests of God : How ** dare any Chnstian trust his soul with that ** Church, which teaches that which must needs be ** idolatry in all that understand not thejigure ?" And now. Sir, I willingly leave to you and Dr. Milner all the advantage you can derive from the admissions of this ** candid Prebendary ** of Westminster." But you claim the further authority of " se- " veral of the most eminent Protestant Divines," of " several of the brightest lights of the esta- i I 54 FALSE CITATION V Wished Church," such as " Archbishop Shel- " don, and the Bishops Blandford, Gunning, '' Montague, &c."* Of the names of these Bishops, whom you thus highly extol, two, Sheldon and Blandford, are utterly unknown to Protestants as theolo- gical authorities ; of the others I will only say, that, eminent as they were in their respective generations, their merits have not been such as to secure to them much attention from pos- terity. But be they as illustrious as you choose, I undertake to shew, that not one of them is a witness in your favour. Of Archbishop Sheldon and Bishop Gunning enough has been said in my letter to Earl Grey,'j' to which I beg leave to refer you. Of Bishop Blandford's opinion the only alleged evidence is a hearsay of the Duchess of York, a convert to her husband's religion ; contained in a letter of hers, which, I believe, (for I have not been able to procure it,) first appeared several years after the death both of the Duchess and of the Bishop. And if evidence of this kind is worth attention, I will undertake to prove that there is scarcely any opinion so blasphemous or im- * Book of the Roman-Catholic Church, p. 327. t See below. I ROM aiSHOP MOUNTA&U. 55 moral, which has not been maintained by Pre- lates of your Church. The only one that remains is Bishop Mon- tague; of him you say as follows — '* Bishop *' Montague in particular owns, that * the ** ' blessed in heaven do commend to God, in " * their prayers, their kindred, friends, and " * acquaintance on earth.' " " * This,' saith the " learned prelate, * is the common voice with *' * the general concurrence, without contra- " * diction, of reverend and learned antiquity, *' ' for aught I ever could read or understand; ** * and I see no cause or reason to dissent from *' * them touching intercession in this kind.' "* Now, Sir, on this passage, permit me, first, to ask, by what process of the understanding you arrive at the conclusion you draw from it. *' Bishop Mountagu says, that the saints in heaven pray for men to God ; therefore, he holds it to be not idolatry for men on earth to pray to the saints in heaven." Was there ever such a syllogism ? But I will not waste time in arguing against the logic of the case. I have a more disagree- able duty to discharge, I have to expose its dishonesty. The truth is, that the citation it- * Book of the Roman-Catholic Church, p. 328. i 56 FALSE CITATION FitOM self (which you have been duped by some old controversialist to adopt) is a gross, an abomi- nable fraud, — a fraud the more abominable, because the work* on which it is practised, lies out of the reach of ordinary readers, and detection therefore is rendered difficult. A copy of that work is now before me, and I find on examining it, first, that the sentences cited by you have been transposed ; that the one, attesting the assent of the ancients, does not attest their assent to what you have stated. Next I find, that the real scope of the passage is the very contrary to what you insinuate. I will give you the Bishop's own words ; and I am sorry to be obliged to do this at some length. ** Charitie," says he, '' is transcendent in "these celestiall citizens; and therefore no '' question, they pray for men on earth. But " how ? and for whom ? All Christians in gene- " rail; their brethren as yet in great tribula- '* tion, the Church militant upon the face of *' the earth. This they know; the state of these, *' and their necessities are knowen to them in hea- " ven : and upon knowledge they doe commiserate '' them, and commiseration procureth interces- *' sion, else were there no communion of saints. * ** cially by the sacrifice of the altar; the holy> ** Council enjoins the Bishops to take diligent *' care that the sound doctrine on the subject of Pur- '' gatory taught by the holy Fathers and sacred " Councils be believed by the faithful, be held, *' taught, and every where preached. "J : Now what is /* the sound doctrine" here alluded to, " taught by the holy Fathers, and '* sacred Councils"?: In answering this ques- tion I will pursue the following method : I will state what is defined, first respecting Purgatory^ itself; secondly, respecting the persons detained^ m^ it; and thirdly, respecting the reasons for which they are detained. Having done this, I will look for confirmation of my statement and' for more particular information to that divine,- who is proclaimed by Dr. Milner to be « yo«i' " great Gontrovertist," pre-eminent, even to a * Sess. xxii. cap. 2. and can. 3. f Sess. vi. can. 30. ' 'L^ :Sess. XXV. The taore. difficult, and subtle . questionsi and those which lead not to edification, the uncertain points' and those which are suspected of being false, are not to be published to the multitude, and those which savour of base lucre are to be altogether prohibited. i2 * 116 DOCTRINE OF THE QHURdH RESPECTING PURGATOar. 117 proverb, for the ^* depth of his learning, and '-the strength of his argument," still more for his ** preciseness;"* and who is accordingly quoted by himt as authority for explaining the doctrines of your Church respecting Indul- gences; — I mean, Cardinal Bellarmine. To him, I say, I shall refer, as an undeniable evi- dence of what was considered at Rome, in the very age in which the Council sate, and after it had passed its decree respecting Purgatory, to be the sound doctrine which the Council required to be taught on this subject. First, then, Purgatory is declared by the Catechism;}: of the Council of Trent, (and conse- quently by the Council itself,) to be a place, not merely a state, of suffering, — not merely, therefore, of internal suffering, from the con- sciousness of having offended against the laws ■ r.\\ 124 8T. CHRISTINA S ACCOUNT • I *' * sisted, and liberated before that day, by the " 'prayers, alms and fastings of the living, pai*- *^ ' ticularly by the sacrifice of the Mass.' " This narrative is stated by Bellarmine to have his full belief, not merely on account of the veracity of Bede, but also from the edifying nature of the History itself. But he proceeds to one of much higher pretensions, to a narra- tive of St. Christina, which occurs in her Life written by Thomas Cantipratensis — "an au- " thor of the highest credit, and contemporary *' with the Saint— confirmed, too, by the testi- " mony of the pious and learned Cardinal James " de Vitriaco, in the preface to his book of the " Life and Acts of St. Mary de Oegnies." ^ The following are the words spoken by St. Christina herself, immediately after her return to life, in the presence of many witnesses: (St. Christina, by the way, has her place in the Roman Calendar, and a festival is appointed to her honour on the 23d July. That she well merited this distinction will be apparent from the following narrative, the nature of which must have secured the closest scrutiny into its truth, during the process before her canoniza- tion, which could not, as you assure us, have been finally awarded without " th« most solemn OF HER VISIT TO PURGATORY. 125 ** and strict proofs that miracles were worked *' by her, or through her intercession.'^*) '' Immediately as I departed from the body," says Christina, " my soul was received by mi- " nisters of light and angels of God, and con^ " ducted to a dark and horrid place filled with " the souls of men. The torments which I there ** witnessed are so dreadful, that to attempt to ** describe them would be utterly in vain ; and '* there I beheld not a few who had been " known to me while they were alive. Greatly *? concerned for their hapless state, I asked *' what place it was, thinking it was Hell; but ^^'I was told that it was Purgatory, where are " kept those who in their life had repented ^' indeed of their sins, but had not paid the ^punishment due for them. I was next taken *!* to see the torments of Hell, where also I re- " cognized some of my former acquaintances "upon earth. •* Afterwards I was translated to Paradise, ^* Book, &c. p. 280. While these sheets were passing through the press, I have met with the Bull of Canonization of St. Francis de Paula (BuUar. Mag. t. i. p. 604,) and I find that two of the miracles proved by these " solemn and strict " proofs," in bi$ case, were, his boiling beans for dinner , in cold xoatery without Jire, and lighting a lamp in a church xcithout fire. « I I i t ■ i' i I 12a Sr» CHRISTINA S SUFFERINGS