"Yet it is sure, that in these distinctions is the whole substance of his answer. And whensoever he is pressed, he flees straight to his prayer relative and prayer transitory; as if prier pour prier, were all the Church of Rome did hold; and that they made no prayers to the saints, but only to pray for them. The Bishop well remembers, that Master Casaubon more than once told him that reasoning with the. Cardinal, touching the invocation of saints, the Cardinal freely confessed to him that he had never prayed to saint in all his life, save only when he happened to follow the procession; and that then he sung Ora pro nobis with the clerks indeed, but else not.

"Which cometh much to this opinion he now seemeth to defend : but wherein others of the Church of Rome will surely give him over, so that it is to be feared that the Cardinal will be shent for this, and some censure come out against him by the Sorbonne. For the world cannot believe that oblique relative prayer is all that is sought: seeing it is most evident, by their breviaries, hours, and rosaries, that they pray directly, absolutely, acd finally to saints, and make no mention at all of prier pour prier, to pray to God to forgive them; but to the saints, to give it themselves. So that all he saith comes to nothing. They say to the blessed Virgin, 'Sancta Maria,' not only 'Ora pro nobis:' but 'Succurre miseris, juva pusillanimes, resolve flebiles, accipe quod offerimus, dona quod rogamus, excusa quod timemus,' &c. &c.....

"All which, and many more, shew plainly that the practice of the Church of Rome, in this point of invocation of saints is far otherwise than Cardinal Perron would bear the world in hand: and that prier pour prier, is not all, but that Tu dona cœlum, Tu laxa, Tu sana, Tu solve crimina, Tu duc, conduc, induc, perduc ad gloriam ; Tu serva, Tu opem, Tu aufer, Tu confer vitam,' are said to them (totidem verbis): more than which cannot be said to God himself. And again, 'Hic nos solvat á peccatis, Hic nostros tergat reatus, Hic arma conferat, Hic hostem fuget, Hæc gubernet, Hic aptet tuo conspectui;' which if they be not direct and absolute, it would be asked of them, what is absolute or direct?”— Bishop Andrews' Answer to Chapter XX of Cardinal Perron's Reply, p. 57-62.

Bellarmine's admissions quite bear out the principles laid down by Bishop Andrews and the Homilist :—

"It is not lawful," he says, "to ask of the saints to grant to us, as if they were the authors of divine benefits, glory or grace, or the other means of blessedness. . . . . . This is proved, first, from Scripture, 'The LORD will give grace and glory.' (Psal. lxxxiv.) Secondly, from the usage of the Church; for in the mass-prayers, and the saints' offices, we never ask anything else, but at their prayers, benefits may be granted to us by GOD. Thirdly, from reason: for what we need surpasses

the powers of the creature, and therefore even of saints; therefore we ought to ask nothing of saints beyond their impetrating from God what is profitable for us. Fourthly, from Augustine and Theodoret, who expressly teach that saints are not to be invoked as gods, but as able to gain from God what they wish. However, it must be observed, when .we say, that nothing should be asked of saints but their prayers for us, the question is not about the words, but the sense of the words. For, as far as words go, it is lawful to say: St. Peter, pity me, save me, open for me the gate of heaven;' also,' give me health of body, patience, fortitude,' &c., provided that we mean 'save and pity me by praying for me;' 'grant me this or that by thy prayers and merits.' For so speaks Gregory Nazianzen, and many others of the ancients, &c."— De Sanct. Beat. i. 17.

[By the doctrine of the invocation of saints then, the article means all maintenance of addresses to them which entrench upon the incommunicable honors due to GoD alone, such as have been, and are in the church of Rome, and such as, equally with the peculiar doctrine of purgatory, pardons, and worshiping and adoration of images and relics, as actually taught in that church, are unknown to the Catholic Church.]

§ 7.-The Sacraments.

ART. XXV.-"Those five, commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have grown, partly of the corrupt following (prava, imitatione) of the Apostles, partly from states of life allowed in the Scriptures; but yet have not like nature of sacraments, (sacramentorum eandem rationem,) with Baptism and the LORD's Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of GOD."

This Article does not deny the five rites in question to be sacraments, but to be sacraments in the sense in which Baptism and the Lord's Supper are sacraments; "sacraments of the Gospel," sacraments with an outward sign ordained of GOD.

They are not sacraments in any sense, unless the Church has the power of dispensing grace through rites of its own appointment, or is endued with the gift of blessing and hallowing the "rites or ceremonies" which, according to the twentieth article, it "hath power to decree." But we may well believe that the Church has this gift.

If, then, a sacrament be merely an outward sign of an invisible grace given under it, the five rites may be sacraments; but if it must be an outward sign ordained by GOD or CHRIST, then only Baptism and the LORD's Supper are sacraments.

Our Church acknowledges both definitions ;-in the article before us, the stricter; and again in the Catechism where a sacrament is defined to be "an outward visible sign of an inward spiritual grace, given unto us, ordained by CHRIST himself." And this, it should be remarked, is a characteristic of our formularies in various places, not to deny the truth or obligation of certain doctrines or ordinances, but simply to deny, (what no Roman opponent now can successfully maintain,) that CHRIST for certain directly ordained them. For instance, in regard to the visible Church it is sufficient that the ministration of the sacraments should be "according to CHRIST's ordinance." Art. xix.

7

And it is added, "in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same." The question entertained is, what is the least that GOD requires of us. Again, "the baptism of young children is to be retained, as most agreeable to the institution of CHRIST." Art. xxvi.-Again, "the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by CHRIST's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshiped." Art. xxviii.-Who will maintain the paradox that what the Apostles "set in order when they came" had been already done by CHRIST? Again, "both parts of the LORD's sacrament, by CHRIST's ordinance and commandment, ought to be administered to all Christian men alike." Art. xxx.-Again, "bishops, priests, and deacons, are not commanded by God's law either to vow the estate of single life or to abstain from marriage." Art. xxxii.-[In making this distinction, however, it is not here insinuated, though the question is not entered on in these particular articles, that every one of these points, of which it is only said that they are not ordained by CHRIST, is justifiable on grounds short of his appointment.]

On the other hand, our Church takes the wider sense of the meaning of the word sacrament in the Homilies; observing→

"In the second Book against the Adversary of the Law and the Prophets, he [St. Augustine] calleth sacraments holy signs. And writing to Bonifacius of the baptism of infants, he saith, 'If sacraments had not a certain similitude of those things whereof they be sacraments, they should be no sacraments at all. And of this similitude they do for the most parts receive the names of the self-same things they signify. By these words of St. Augustine it appeareth, that he alloweth the common description of a sacrament, which is, that it is a visible sign of an invisible grace; that is to say, that setteth out to the eyes and other outward senses the inward working of God's free mercy, and doth, as it were, seal in our hearts the promises of God."-Homily on Common Prayer and Sacraments, pp. 296, 297.

Accordingly, starting with this definition of St. Augustine's, the writer is necessarily carried on as follows:

"You shall hear how many sacraments there be, that were instituted by our SAVIOR CHRIST, and are to be continued, and received of every Christian in due time and order, and for such purpose as our SAVIOR CHRIST willed them to be received. And as for the number of them, if they should be considered according to the exact signification of a sacrament, namely, for visible signs expressly commanded in the New Testament, whereunto is annexed the promise of free forgiveness

of our sins, and of our holiness and joining in CHRIST, there be but two › namely, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord. For although absolu tion hath the promise of forgiveness of sin; yet by the express word o the New Testament, it hath not this promise annexed and tied to the visible sign, which is imposition of hands. For this visible sign (I mean laying on of hands) is not expressly commanded in the New Testament to be used in absolution, as the visible signs in Baptism and the Lord's Supper are: and therefore, absolution is no such sacrament as Baptism and the Communion are. And though the ordering of ministers hath this visible sign and promise; yet it lacks the promise of remission of sin, as all other sacraments besides the two above named do. Therefore neither it, nor any other sacrament else, be such sacraments as Baptism and the communion are. But in a general acception, the name of a sacrament may be attributed to any thing, whereby an holy thing is signified. In which understanding of the word, the ancient writers have given this name, not only to the other five, commonly of late years taken and used for supplying the number of the` seven sacraments; but also to divers and sundry other ceremonies, as to oil, washing of feet, and such like; not meaning thereby to repute them as sacraments, in the same signification that the two forenamed sacraments are. And therefore St. Augustine, weighing the true signification and exact meaning of the word, writing to Januarius, and also in the third Book of Christian Doctrine, affirmeth, that the sacraments of the Christians, as they are most excellent in signification, so are they most few in number, and in both places maketh mention expressly of two, the sacrament of Baptism, and the Supper of the LORD. And although there are retained by order of the Church of England, besides these two, certain other rites and ceremonies, about the institution of ministers in the Church, Matrimony, Confirmation of Children, by examining them of their knowledge in the Articles of the Faith, and joining thereto the prayers of the Church for them, and likewise for the Visitation of the Sick; yet no man ought to take these for sacraments, in such signification and meaning as the sacraments of Baptism and the LORD's Supper are: but either for godly states of life, necessary in Christ's Church, and therefore worthy to be set forth by public action and solemnity, by the ministry of the Church, or else judged to be such ordinances as may make for the instruction, comfort, and edification of CHRIST's Church."-Homily on Common Prayer and Sacraments, pp. 298-300.

Another definition of the word sacrament, which equally succeeds in limiting it to the two principal rites of the Christian Church, is also contained in the Catechism, as well as alluded to in the above passage:-"Two only, as generally necessary to sal