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and Marcion; and their followers were called the Continents from their continence in regard to marriage and meats. The Gnoftics likewife, as Irenæus and Clemens Alexandrinus (7) inform us, afferted that to marry and beget children proceeded from the devil, and under pretence of continence were impious both against the creature and the creator, teaching that men ought not to bring into the world other unhappy perfons, nor supply food for death. Other heretics in the third century advanced the fame doctrins, but they were generally reputed heretics, and their doctrins were condemned by the church. The council of Eliberis in Spain, which was held in the year of Chrift 305, was I think the first, that by public authority (8) forbad the clergy to marry, and commanded even those who were married to abftain altogether from their wives. from their wives. The council of Neocæfarea, in the year 314, only (9) forbad

tem alterum genus hæreticorum, qui fpeciofe per continentiam impie fe gerunt, tum in creaturam, tum in fanctum opificem, qui eft folus Deus omnipotens et dicunt non effe admittendum matrimonium et liberorum procreationem, nec in mundum effe inducendos alios infelices futuros, nec fuppedi

VOL. II.

unmarried

tandum morti nutrimentumClem. Alex. Strom. Lib. 3.Cap. 6. p. 531. Edit. Potter.

(8) Conc. Elib. C. 33. S. Bafnagii Annales Vol.2.p.522, & 600.

(9) Conc. Neoc. Can. 1. Prefbyter fi uxorem duxerit, ab ordine fuo removeatur. S. Baf. nag. ibid. p. 522, & 657. Hh

(1) Socratis

unmarried presbyters to marry on the penalty of degradation. At the first general council of Nice, in the year 325, a motion was (1) made to restrain the clergy from all conjugal fociety with their wives: but it was ftrongly opposed by Paphnutius, a famous Egyptian bishop, who yet himself was never married; and to him the whole council agreed, and left every man to his liberty as before. But the monks had not yet prevailed; the monks foon after overfpread the eaftern church, and the western too: and as the monks were the firft, who brought fingle life into repute; fo they were the firft alfo, who revived and promoted the worship of demons. It is a thing univerfally known, that one of the primary and moft, effential laws and conftitutions of all monks, whether folitary or affociated, whether living in deferts or in convents, is the profeffion of fingle life, to abftain from marriage themselves, and to difcourage it all they can in others. It is equally certain, that the monks had the principal fhare in promoting and propagating the worship of the dead; and either out of credulity, or for worse reafons, recommended it to `the people with all the pomp

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(1) Socratis Hift. Eccles. Lib. Bingham's Antiquities B. 4. 1.Cap.11.Sozomen.Lib. 1.Cap. Ch. 5. Sect. 7. 23. S. Bafnag. ibid. p. 707.

(2) The

and power of their eloquence in their homilies. and orations. Read only fome of the most celebrated fathers; read the (2).orations of Bafil on the martyr Mamas, and on the forty martyrs; read the orations of Ephraim Syrus on the death of Bafil, and on the forty martyrs, and on the praises of the holy martyrs; read the orations of Gregory Nazianzen on Athanafius, and on Bafil, and on Cyprian; read the ora tions of Gregory Nyffen on Ephraim Syrus, and on the martyr Theodorus, and on Meletius bishop of Antioch; read the fixty fixth, and other homilies of Chryfoftom; read his oration on the martyrs of Egypt, and other orations : and you will be greatly astonished to find, how full they are of this fort of fuperftition, what powers and miracles are afcribed to the faints, what prayers and praifes are offered up to them. All these were monks, and most of them bishops too, in the fourth century; and the fuperftitious worship which these monks begun, the fuc ceeding monks completed, till at length the very relics and images of the dead were worhipped as much as the dead themselves. The monks then were the principal promoters of

(2) The reader may fee fome extracts out of all thefe in Sir

the

Ifaac Newton's obfervations on
Daniel. Chap. 14.

Hh 2

(5) Siric.

the worship of the dead in former times: and who are the great patrons and advocates of the fame worship now? Are not, their legitimate fucceffors and defcendents, the monks and priests and bishops of the church of Rome?: and do not they alfo profefs and recommend fingle life, as well as the worship of faints and angels? As long ago as the year 386, pope (3) Siricius held a council of eighty bishops at Rome, and forbad the clergy to cohabit with their wives. This decree was confirmed by pope (4) Innocent at the beginning of the fifth century and the celibacy of the clergy was fully decreed by (5) Gregory the seventh in the eleventh century; and this hath been the uni verfal law and practice of the church ever fince, Thus hath the worship of demons and the prohibition of marriage conftantly gone hand in hand together and as they who maintain the one, maintain the other; fo it is no less remarkable, that they who difclaim the one, difclaim alfa

1

Syrus. Similis ferme
1 Cor. XIV. 34. et hic fupra.
II. 12. Sic Phædrus, Non veto
dimitti, verum cruciari fame,
fupple jubeo. Grot. in locum.

(3) Siric. Decr. C. 7. S. Baf page ibid. p. 422. (4) Innocent Decr. C. 12. S. Bafnage. ibid. et Vol. 3. p. 106. (5) S. Bafnage, Vol. 2. p.523. (6) Eft hic and contrarii, (7) οι καλεσμένοι εγκρατείς αγαDeeft enim κελευόντων, quo dad- μιαν έκήρυξαν αθετώντες την παρα dit hunc locum citans Epipha-xα α TO OY, x) пpeja mius, aut ποιόντων quod addit κατηγορώντες το αέξει και θηλυ

le

also the other, and affert the liberty which nature, or (to speak more properly) the author of nature hath indulged to all mankind,

VII. The laft note and character of these men is commanding to abstain from meats, which God bath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth: where in the original the word commanding is not expreffed but understood, with an elleipfis that commentators (6) have obferved to be fometimes used by the best claffic authors. The fame lying hypocrites, who fhould promote the worship of demons, fhould not only prohibit lawful marriage, but likewife impofe unneceffary abftinence from meats; and these two, as indeed it is fit they fhould, ufually go together, as conftituent parts of the fame hypocrify. As we learn from (7) Irenæus, the ancient heretics called Continents, who taught that matrimony was not to be contracted, reprobating the primitive work of God, and tacitly accufing him

εἰς γενεσιν ανθρωπων πεποιηκοτος: και των λεγομένων παρ' αυτοις εμε ψυχων αποχην εισηγήσαντο, αχαριγέντες τῷ παντα πεποιηκότι Θεῷ. Qui vocantur continentes, docuerunt non contrahendum effe matrimonium: reprobantes fcilicet primitivum illud opificium Dei, et tacite accufantes Deum

who

qui mafculum et fæminam condidit ad propogationem generis humani. Induxerunt etiam abfinentiam ab etu eorum quæ animata appellant, ingratos fe exhibentes erga eum qui univerfa creavit Deum. Iren. apud. Eufeb. Ecclef. Hift. Lib.4. Cap. 29.

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