And

and are wont to name them Heretics' books.' out of doubt, as it seemeth, they would do as Herod in old time did in Jewry, that he might with more surety keep still his usurped dominion: who, being an Idumean born, and a stranger to the stock and kindred of the Jews, and yet coveting much to be taken for a Jew, to the end he might establish to him and his posterity the kingdom of that country, which he had gotten of Augustus Cæsar, he commanded all the genealogies and pedigrees to be burned, and made out of the way, so that there should remain no record, whereby it might be known to them that cane after, that he was an alien in blood: whereas even from Abraham's time these monuments had been safely kept amongst the Jews, and laid up in their treasury because in them it might easily and most assuredly be found of what lineage every one did descend. So, in good faith, do these men; when they would have all their own doings in estimation as though they had been

succeeded Galerius in the empire of the East in 307. Both were persecutors. Which, or whether either, promulgated an edict for the destruction of the Scriptures, I am ignorant.]

[A pleasant anecdote is related of TUNSTAL, one of the least culpable adversaries of the reformation among the English bishops. He met with TINDALE's translation of the New Testament in its first edition, and was shocked at its tendency to injure the Church of Rome. The book had been printed in Holland. An English merchant who traded with Holland, informed the bishop that he could put him in the way of purchasing the whole edition. The unsuspecting prelate greedily embraced the opportunity, bought up all the copies for a considerable sum, and made a glorious bonfire of them, with no little triumph in the fancied extermination of heresy. Very few months had elapsed before the obnoxious book made its appearance again, in greater plenty than ever. The bishop sent for his agent, and upbraided him with fraudulently withholding part of the edition. He was assured that he had been dealt with fairly-but, as he had paid a good price for the whole edition, the publishers had been enabled, by his means, to put to press immediately another, larger, and much more accurate!]

Y EUSEBIUS [or rather AFRICANUS, quoted by EUSEBIUS, Eccl. Hist. Lib. I. c. vii. Ἡρώδης ουδέν τι συμβαλλομένου του Ισραηλιτῶν γένους αυτῷ, καὶ τῷ συνειδότι τῆς δυσγενειας κρουόμενος, ἐνέπρησεν αυτῶν τὰς ἀναγραφὰς τῶν γενῶν, διόμενος ευγενὴς ἀναφανείσθαι, κ. λ. VALESIUS remarks: "I think this story doubtful. For JOSEPHUS, in his own life, recounting the origin and antiquity of his race, cites as his authority the public archives. Public lists, then, in which the descent of the families of the Jews was carried out, must have been extant in the time of JOSEPHUS. Of course, it is not true that Herod burned them." Not. in loc. Tom. 1. p. 54. ed Heinichen.]

delivered to us even from the Apostles, or from CHRIST himself; to the end there might be found no where any thing able to convince such their dreams and lies, either they burn the holy Scriptures, or else they craftily convey them from the people."

["Whether ye have burnt the Scriptures of GOD, or no, heaven, and earth, and sea, and land, may bear witness. For a poor excuse ye say, 'Ye have burnt our errors, and heretical translations, and not the Scriptures: as the husbandman useth to burn the caterpillars.' Howbeit, he may be thought an unwise husbandman, that burneth up his caterpillars and trees too, both together; and to wreak himself of the one, is content to destroy the other. If all books containing error should be burnt, then should your Lovanian novelties go to wreck. For ye wis, M. Harding, contention and vain glory set apart, ye know right well, they are full of errors. Moreover ye know there are errors in AUGUSTINE, there be errors in ORIGEN, in TERTULLIAN, in AмBRCSE, in JEROME: there be errors in every of the ancient fathers; in the Greeks, in the Latins; in the one and other.-Yet is there no book worthy to be burnt, in respect of error, but only the book of the Scriptures?

"If there were such errors in the vulgar translations, ye should have descried them: although not all, yet, for your credit's sake, one at the least. Ye should have removed the error, and have restored the Scriptures, to the use and comfort of the people. But this is it that troubleth you so sore, that the Scriptures are published in the common known tongue, and that the simple of all sorts may understand them.

But ye say, 'Ye bave kept and preserved the Scriptures in your libraries. Even in like sort, and with like truth, ye might say that you have kept the sur, and the moon, and had it not been for your keeping, they had been lost. It was GOD, M. Harding, that of his mercy preserved his holy word: even as he preserved Daniel in the cave of lions, Jonah in the whale's belly, the three children in the midst of the flaming fire. Ye kept the Scriptures as the dog keepeth the hay; which neither eateth it himself, nor suffereth the poor hungry cattle, that fain would eat it. Ye keep them in ward, in dust and mould, as the Jews, before the time of king Josiah, kept the book of Deuteronomy, closely in the corners, or amongst the treasures of the temple, so that no man knew where to find it. Had it not been for GOD's special providence, notwithstanding your keeping, they might have perished. Thus the Jews made their vaunts that they were the keepers of the law;' and that the Christians had all of them. S. AUGUSTINE saith, Judæi dicunt,' &c. The Jews say that we have no law of our own, but only theirs.' (in Quæst. ex Vet. Test. Qu. 44.) Likewise even at this day the Jews keep and use the law of GOD with all reverence: they never lay any other book upon the Bible: they wash their hands before they touch it: they will not sit upon the bench where the Bible lieth: as often as they either open or shut it, they use to kiss it. (P. FAGIUS in Deut. xvii.) When the Pope goeth through Rome to his palace of the Lateran, the Jews meet upon way, and offer him the Bible, and desire him reverently to embrace it, as though the Pope could have no Bible, but only of them. All these things notwithstanding, the Pope answereth them of course [accord

the

b

Very rightly and aptly doth CHRYSOSTOM write against these men. "Heretics," saith he, "shut up the gates against the truth: for they know full well, if the gate were open, the Church should be none of theirs." THEOPHYLACT also: "GOD's word," saith he, "is the candle, whereby the thief is espied." And TERTULLIAN saith: "The holy Scripture manifestly findeth out the fraud and theft of heretics." For why do they hidewhy do they keep under, the gospel, which CHRIST would have preached aloud from the house top? Why whelm they that light under a bushel, which ought to stand on the candlestick? Why trust they more to the blindness of the unskilful multitude, and to ignorance, than to the goodness of their cause? Think they their sleights are not already perceived, and that they can walk now unespied, as though they had Gyges' ring, to go invisible by, upon their finger? No, no: all men see now well and well again, what good stuff is in that chest of the Bishop of Rome's bosom. This

e

ing to a set form] even as we may answer you: 'Sanctam legem,' &c. The holy Law, men of the Hebrews, we both praise and venerate : but your observance of it, and vain interpretation, we condemn and reprove.' Ceremoniar. Lib. I. c. viii.)

Speak not therefore so much, M. Harding, of your safe keeping of the Scriptures. For the Jews have kept, and unto this day do keep, them as safely as you. Ye kept the Scriptures as the Augurs of Rome sometime kept the Sibyl's books: that is to say, ye kept them to yourselves, in close prison and in secrecy; that the people should know nothing, but in all cases should be forced to seek to you. Thus ye kept the light in darkness: and, as St. Paul saith, (Rom. i. 18.) ye held the truth in unrighteousness.' Defence, p. 426 s.

a In Opere Imperfecto.

"Sacra Scriptura hæreticorum fraudes et furta convincit."

• Matth. x. 27.

d Matth. v. 15.

[Gyges, king of Lydia, seven hundred years before the Christian era, was fabled to have found, while yet a shepherd, a ring which made him invisible when he turned the setting towards the palm of the hand-visible again, when he restored it to the usual position. PLATO and CICERO quote the story in illustration of the precept, that the virtuous man will at all times, and in all circumstances, equally adhere to his integrity, 'honesta enim bonis viris, non occulta quæruntur;' 'for good men aim at virtue, not secresy.' De Offic. III. 9.]

f [JEWELL quotes his authority for this singular expression: "Your Gloss [on the Canon Law] saith: 'Etsi totus mundus sententiaret in aliquo negotio contra Papam, tamen videtur, quod standum sit sententiæ Papæ. Jura enim omnia in scrinio pectoris sui habere videtur,'

thing alone of itself may be an argument sufficient, that they work not uprightly and truly. Worthily ought that matter to seem suspicious which flieth trial, and is afraid of the light. "For every one that doeth evil," as CHRIST saith, "hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved: but he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in GoD." Neither be they so very blind, but they see this well enough --that their kingdom straightway is at a point, if the Scriptures once have the upper hand: and that, like as men say, the idols of devils in times past, of whom men in doubtful matters were then wont to receive answers, were suddenly stricken dumb at the sight of CHRIST, when he was born, and came into the world: even so they see, that now all their subtle practices will soon fall down headlong, even upon the sight of the Gospel. For Antichrist is not overthrown, but by the brightness of the coming of CHRIST.

Sect. 12. As for us, we run not for succour to the fire, as these men's guise is, but we run to the Scrip

k

'Although the whole world should judge in any matter against the Pope, yet it seemeth, that we ought to stand to the judgment of the Pope. For he seemeth to have all laws in the chest of his bosom.' (9. Quest. 3. Neque ab August.)" Defence, p. 430.]

John iii. 20, 21.

[The cessation of the heathen oracles about the time of our Saviour's coming, is indisputable. But the cause is differently assigned. Some, supposing all the oracles to have been the effects of demoniacal influence, agree with the representation given by JEWELL: SO REEVES, Dedication to his Translation of the Apologies of the Fathers; MERIC CASAUBON, On Enthusiasm, p. ii. &c. Others, as VAN DALE in his Treatise de Oraculis, and JORTIN, (Remarks on Eccles. Hist. Vol. I. p. 84–116, ed. 1803) agree in the main with SELDEN (Table Talk, p. 94, Sharpe's ed.) that "Oracles ceased presently after CHRIST as soon as nobody believed them. Just as we have no fortune-tellers, nor wise men, when nobody cares for them; and sometimes you have a reason for them, when people believe them and neither of these, I conceive, wrought by the devil." A more judicious course than either, is that of MOSHEIM, who thinks that there are strong reasons to believe that most of the oracles were the fruits of priestly fraud and popular superstition; yet that others prevent his denying that occasionally demoniacal influence was employed to support the fraud and nourish the superstition. Hist. Eccles. Majora. Sæc. I. Pass. I. Cap. i. §16.]

i 2 Thess. ii. 8.

:

[JEWELL adds, in the Defence: "It is no new practice,' ye

tures neither do we reason with the sword, but with the word of God: and "therewith," as saith TERTULLIAN, "do we feed our faith; by it do we stir up our hope, and strengthen our confidence." For we know that the gospel of JESUS CHRIST is "the power of GoD unto salvation," m and therein consisteth eternal life. And, as Paul warneth us," we do not hear, no, not an angel of God, though he come from heaven, if he go about to pull us from any part of this doctrine. [Yea,

say, 'to kill heretics.' I grant you. Neither is it a new practice to condemn godly men by the name of heretics. Your fathers sometime cried out against CHRIST, the SON OF GOD, 'We have a law, and by our law he ought to die.' (John xix. 7.) And CHRIST himself said sometime to Jerusalem, the city of blood, 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee!' But AUGUSTINE saith: 'Nullis bonis in catholica hoc placet, si usque ad mortem in quenquam, licet hæreticum, sæviatur.' 'It seemeth good unto no good man in the catholic Church, that cruelty unto death be showed unto any man, though he be a heretic.' (Cont. Crese. Gram. Lib. III. c. I.)

"As for our part, we were never yet guilty to one drop of your blood. We seek no aid of fire or sword. We will rather say, with JEROME : 'Utinam filios hæreticorum,' &c. Would GOD we may rather kill the children of heretics, and of all them that be deceived, with spiritual arrows, that is to say, with the testimonies of Scriptures.' (In Esai.) And with S. AUGUSTINE: 'O, si occidas,' &c. 'O that thou wouldest kill them, O LORD, with the two-edged sword,' (that is, with thy holy word) that they may be no longer thine enemies; for so I wish them to be killed unto themselves, that they may live unto thee." (Confess. Lib. XII. c. xiv.) And again: 'Vindicet Deus,' &c. 'GoD so revenge our cause against you, that he may kill your error in you, that ye may rejoice together with us of the truth.' (Epist. 166.) This, M. Harding, this is the revenge that we seek upon you, as this day it may appear." p. 431 s.

The passage is valuable, not only as an expression of correct sentiment, but also, as a transcript of the mind of one, at least, who, in an age of intolerance, deprecated the extension of persecution to its utmost limits.-That the Reformers 'were never guilty of one drop of the blood of the Papists, may be true of their intentions-but hardly corresponds with fact. At different times in the reigns of Henry and Elizabeth, the blood of Papists was shed by Protestant authoritics, and that on account of their faith. Yet, in the reign of Henry, the Reformation is hardly chargeable with the bloody deeds of that capricious arbiter of opinion and under Elizabeth, the few Papists who did suffer, suffered not as heretics, but as violators of the public laws. The distinction, indeed, is a nice one: let it pass for what it is worth. The times are gone by when it was important to settle its precise value.]

"Ex illo fidem alimus; ex illo spem evigimus; ex illo fiduciam firmamus."

Rom. i. 16.

■ Gal. i. 8.