all controversies which might arise; which Judge was no other than the Pope of Rome, successor of St. Peter; by whose definitions therefore we ought to stand, and so quiet our minds.

The former part of this demonstration had a grateful acceptance with his Grace, as being rationally and christianly principled, and nothing averse to piety; till coming to the latter proposition, That it became the wisdom and goodness of Christ to appoint a visible Judge infallible upon earth to determine controversieshe replied mildly, We had reason to go warily in censuring the wisdom and goodness of God, if this or that thing seeming to us expedient, were not done in the government of the world; for who can pretend to know the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God, to search into his judgments and find them out? (Rom. xi. 32.)

This most rational advertisement took deep root in my heart, ever thirsty of reason and open to receive it; neither did the modesty of the proposer diminish, but rather augment the weight of it. It was in truth the first shock that touched me to the quick; striking at the very root of that engine of Infallibility upon which I was leaning. Reflecting upon the matter in my solitudes, I perceived the weakness of the ground upon which I built. I saw that in like manner we may say-It belongs to the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, not to permit that his holy law should be transgressed by vile creatures, and his Supreme dread Majesty offended by despicable vermin; nor that pastors of souls (especially the Roman Pope, deemed a Vice-God upon earth) should fall into errors, and scandalize, with wicked life, the people and, alas! it is but too well known he permits this. Shall we therefore waver in the opinion of his goodness, power, and wisdom? God forbid. Why then should we think it a failure in his Providence, or goodness, if, besides Holy Scriptures, abounding in all light and heavenly doctrine to such as are not wilfully blind, he did not appoint some visible Judge universal for our direction; St. Paul saying, that the Holy Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works; 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17.

That foundation alleging the necessity of a Judge visible, universal, and infallible, being thus weakened, I proceeded to

examine by what right the Pope or Church of Rome could pretend to such infallibility-the support of all their incredible doctrine. And first, the very inconstancy of their pretence to the privilege, and the great dissension of their authors in asserting it, was to me a main reason for suspecting the truth of all, and a conclusive argument that they cannot be certain of having it. For some will have the Pope himself alone, as Pope, or as teaching from his chair to have this infallibility of doctrine. Others will not allow it him, but in conjunction with a Council, either general or particular, of Cardinals and Divines. Others only attribute it to him in a General Council. Others neither separately nor conjointly, and will only allow the Church Universal to be infallible. And, finally, others of the most learned† affirm even the Church Universal to be capable of a material error, by probable ignorance, though not of a formal and heretical one; which, in substance, is to allow the Church no more infallibility than Origen, Tertullian, or any other particular true Christian believer has, though subject to errors; (which opinion, if extended to make the Universal Church fallible even in points essential to salvation, is false.) And upon so great an uncertainty of their infallibility, they will have us to build a certain infallible belief of all they please to teach us; which is to build a house, incapable of falling, upon a sandy and ruinous foundation.

Now for their grounds for this pretended Infallibility; what is their warrant for it? Divine Scripture, they say; for who but God could confer such a privilege? And what warrant have they for believing the Scripture, saying so, to be divine and infallible? The infallible testimony of the Church, say they again-their own Roman Church they mean. So they believe the Scripture is infallible, because the Roman Church testifies it; and this Church to be infallible, because the Scripture's testimony is in its favour—a circle in reasoning which Logicians would hiss out of their schools. Neither may Becan's escape avail him,

* Vide Bellarm. lib. 4, de Rom Pont. c. 2.

+ S. Thom.; Turrecremata; Alphonsus a Castro; apud Can. de loc. com. lib. 4, cap. 4, conclus. 2.

BECAN (Martin) a learned Jesuit, [of Brabant] born in 1651, and died in 1624. His works, which are mostly controversial, and written to support the

that they are dealing with Christians, who believe the Scripture; for no Christian, but such as they will first blind, can believe that there is any Scripture favouring their case in this particular, without clipping or corrupting it to serve their purpose; as, for example, their main pillar for this Infallibility is grounded upon that passage in the fourteenth chapter of St. John, I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of Truth: (John xiv. 16, 17.) Their own disciples, who ordinarily know no more of Scripture than what they are pleased to shew to them for their several purposes, may think that text to be pertinent for their pretensions. But he who will take the liberty to read the context before and after will clearly find out, that the very same text destroys their whole design, and takes away all certainty of the Holy Ghost's assistance for rendering their Decrees infallible. The text restored to its integrity runs thus, in their own Bible: If ye love me, keep my commandments, and I will ask my Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive. By the first words you may see this to be a conditional promise, limited to such as love God and keep his commandments; by the latter words you see worldly and sinful men expressly excluded from receiving that gracious assistance of the Spirit of Truth: therefore to be sure that the Pope and his Council have the assistance of the Spirit of Truth, we must be sure that they love God and keep his commandments. But of this we cannot have security; their own histories relating, and the world knowing enormous vices in them.

What they allege out of St. Paul writing to Timothy, (1 Epis. iii. 15,) that the Church is the pillar and ground of truth, we freely admit as due to the Universal Church, not to any one particular; but less to one found guilty of so many and great

power of the Pope against King James I., were published in 2 vols. fol. Mentz. 1630; but he pushed the doctrine of the Papal authority so far, that he fell under the censure of Paul V. and his works were condemned by the Parliament of Paris to be burnt. Crabbe's Histor. Dict.

+ Mundus, id est, remanens amator mundi, cumquo nunquam est amor Dei. Gloss. interlin. -Non habent spirituales oculos quibus Spiritum Sanctum videant mundi amatores. Glossa ordinaria.

errors, such as the Romish is; whose ambition in claiming and appropriating to itself all the commendations delivered of the Church Universal is no less reprehensible, than as if the Scribes and Pharisees who persecuted our Saviour should appropriate to their Synagogue all the praises given to Moses and Aaron. Would you not wonder that their chief champion, Bellarmine, should bring for proof of the Pope's Infallibility,* that in the old law God commanded+ two Hebrew words, or two stones, signifying doctrine and truth, to be put in the breast-plate of the High-priest? And what then? Will you infer thence more Infallibility in the Pope, than in those High-priests whom you bring for example? Will you make them all infallible, even Caiaphas? If we will speak in earnest, I should suppose these words, so inserted, were an advertisement to the High-priest, that he was to exercise doctrine and truth in a manner becoming his station. The same advertisement I allow the Pope should have; and I wish he would always act accordingly. This is the utmost that that text can afford. And of the same weight are the other texts which they bring, to assure us of the Infallibility pretended upon which to build all our belief.

This main foundation of the Romish Church being thus weakened, I began with more liberty to pry into and examine exactly, the mysteries and tenets of both parties, Protestant and Romish. To which purpose, if I had no other notice of the Protestant cause than that afforded by Popish writers and informers (as long time I had not) I should have been for ever kept from uniting with it. Here I perceived a great insincerity of dealing in the proceeding of Romanists; who to make their adversaries odious, gathered up out of the writings of some particular persons, a heap of some extravagant doctrines, adding thereto human frailties in their private lives (whether true or false I will not debate now) but certainly such as any wise and modest Protestant would abhor, no less than any of themselves; and if he were to repay them in the like coin, he

* Bellarm. de Sum Pont. lib. 4. cap. 3, § quarto, probatur.

+ Exod. xx.

Dr. Sall was not aware perhaps, that the decision of Caiaphas has been considered, under certain circumstances, perhaps positively, to be just-See Jewel's Defence of the Apology, ch. 6. div. 3, p. 547.

C

may by their own mouths do it superabundantly.* For two certain families or orders of them, reputed the most learned and grave of all, (but very opposite in doctrine) passing from the gravity of scholastic disputes to the scurrility of infamatory libels, have published of late such damnable doctrines and hideous vices, the one of the other, as any humane, and still more Christian heart, would tremble to hear. Which, lest I should defile this Christian place, or your ears, or my own mouth, I will not relate now. But I thought it fit to intimate to them, that this foul and killing armour of their own against themselves is in a readiness, if our necessary defence should require to draw it; but such a necessity not intervening, I think it unbecoming an evangelical preacher to stir up that pool; and indeed it is no effective way to carry conviction to serious minds upon so weighty a matter, it being certain that, in all congregations of men, there are defects in particulars. The true and proper way (being to deal as becomes men of solid and serious temper) is, to examine those tenets wherein each party generally agrees with public uniform consent; which I have done.

And beginning with the Church of England, 1 find the eminent persons of it, by uniform consent of word and writing, to assert the sum of their faith and religion to be the word of God, contained in the undoubted canonical Scriptures; † besides which, and the plain indubitable consequence of it, they require nothing to be believed as matter of faith. What rule could be imagined more sacred and excellent than this, for the instruction of men in faith and good manners?

If you fancy Infallibility or Antiquity, what more infallible or ancient than the Eternal Word of God? If Sanctity and Wisdom, what can be imagined more holy and wise, than the counsels of Christ our Saviour, and the sentences of holy Prophets and Apostles? If the lustre of Miracles, what more admirable and certain, than those wrought by our Saviour, and his Prophets and Apostles, in confirmation of their doctrine? If Universality, all true Christians agree in embracing and honouring Canonical Scripture. Now as to the Roman Church, the tenets of it, as opposite to

* Instances are given to some extent in Baxter's Key for Catholics, &c. p. 366. Edit. 1839. + See Arts. vi. and xx. of the Anglican Church.