Obrazy na stronie
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of this world cometh now, and in me he findeth nothing."

For touching the imperfection of our sanctification in this life, these men held the same that we do: to wit, that the law "cannot be fulfilled; that "there is none that doth good, that is to say, perfect and entire good;" that God's elect shall be perfectly "holy and immaculate in the life to come, where the Church of Christ shall have no spot nor wrinkle :" whereas "in this present life they are righteous, holy, and immaculate, not wholly, but in part" only; that "the righteous shall then be without all kind of sin, when there shall be no law in their members, that shall resist the law of their mind;" that although" sin do not now reign in their mortal body to obey the desires thereof :" yet "sin dwelleth in that mortal body, the force of that natural custom being not yet extinguished," which we have gotten by our original, and increased by our actual transgressions. And as for the matter of merit, Sedulius doth resolve us out of St. Paul, that we are saints "byl the calling of God, not by the merit of our deed;" that God is able to do exceeding abundantly above that we ask or think," according to the power that worketh in us, not according to our merits; that "whatsoevern men have from God is

Non potest impleri. Id. in Rom. cap. 7.

5 Non est qui faciat bonum, hoc est, perfectum et integrum bonum. Id. in Rom. cap. 3.

Ad hoc nos elegit, ut essemus sancti et immaculati, in futura vita; quoniam Ecclesia Christi non habebit maculam neque rugam. Licet etiam in præsenti vita justi, et sancti, et immaculati, quamvis non ex toto, tamen ex parte, non inconvenienter dici possunt. Id. in Ephes. cap. 1.

i Tunc erit justus sine ullo omnino peccato, quando nulla lex erit in membris ejus repugnans legi mentis ejus. Claud. in Gal. 5.

* Non enim jam regnat peccatum in eorum mortali corpore ad obediendum desideriis ejus: quamvis habitet in eodem mortali corpore peccatum, nondum extincto impetu consuetudinis naturalis, qua mortaliter nati sumus, et ex propriis vitæ nostræ, cum et nos ipsi peccando auximus quod ab origine peccati humani damnationis trahebamus. Id. ibid.

Vocatione Dei, non merito facti. Sedul. in. Rom. cap. 1.

Secundum virtutem quæ operatur in nobis ; non secundum merita nostra. Id. in Ephes. cap. 3.

* Sciendum est, quia omne quod habent homines a Deo, gratia est: nihil enim ex debito habent. Id. in Rom. cap. 16.

grace, because they have nothing of due;" and that "nothing" can be found worthy or to be compared with the glory to come."

• Nihil dignum inveniri vel comparari ad futuram gloriam potest. Id. in Rom. cap. 8.

CHAP. III.

Of Purgatory, and Prayer for the dead.

THE next point that offereth itself unto our consideration, is that of Purgatory. Whereof if any man do doubt; Cæsarius, a German monk of the Cistercian order, adviseth him for his resolution to make a journey into Scotland (the greater Scotland he meaneth) and there to enter into St. Patrick's purgatory, and then he giveth him his word, that he shall no more doubt of the pains of purgatory." If Doctor Terry, who commendeth this unto us as the testimony of "ab most famous author," should chance to have a doubtful thought hereafter of the pains of purgatory, I would wish his ghostly father to enjoin him no other penance but the undertaking of a pilgrimage unto St. Patrick's purgatory; to see whether he would prove any wiser when he came from thence, than when he went thither. In the mean time, until he hath made some further experiment of the matter, he shall give me leave to believe him that hath been there, and hath cause to know the place as well as any (the island wherein it is seated, being held by him as a part of the inheritance descended unto him from his ancestors) and yet professeth, that he found nothing therein, which might afford him any argument to think there was a purgatory. I pass by, that Nennius, and Probus, and all the elder

* Qui de purgatorio dubitat, Scotiam pergat, purgatorium sancti Patricii intret, et de purgatorii pœnis amplius non dubitabit. Cæsar. Heisterbach. Dialog. lib. 12. cap. 38.

b

Cujus loci fama ita sparsim per omnes Europæ partes volare visa est; ut Cæsarius celeberrimus auctor, de co nihil dubitans sic scribat. Guil. Thyræus, in Discurs. panegyric. de S. Patric. pag. 151.

writers of the life of St. Patrick that I have met withal, speak not one word of any such place; and that Henry the monk of Saltrey, in the days of king Stephen, is the first in whom I could ever find any mention thereof; this only would I know of the doctor, what the reason might be, that where he bringeth in the words of Giraldus Cambrensis touching this place, as " and authentical authority;" he passeth over that part of his relation, wherein he affirmeth, that St. Patrick intended by this means to bring the rude people to a persuasion of the certainty "of the infernal pains of the reprobate, and of the true and everlasting life of the elect after death."

The Grecians allege this for one of their arguments against purgatory: that whereas "their fathers had delivered unto them many visions and dreams, and other wonders concerning the everlasting punishment," wherewith the wicked should be tormented in hell; yet none of them had "declared any thing concerning a purgatory temporary fire." Belike the doctor was afraid that we would conclude, upon the same ground, that St. Patrick was careful to plant in mens' minds the belief of heaven and hell, but of purgatory taught them never a word. And sure I am, that in the book ascribed unto

Henr. Saltereyens. in lib. de Visione Oeni militis MS. in publica Cantabrigiensis academiæ bibliotheca; et privata viri doctiss. M. Thomæ Alani Oxoniensis; et in Nigro libro Ecclesiæ S. Trinitat. Dublin.

d De posteriori non minus authentica videtur auctoritas Giraldi Cambrensis, rerum Ibernicarum diligentissimi investigatoris, qui taliter loquitur. Thyr. Discurs. Panegyric. pag. 153.

• De infernalibus namque reproborum pœnis, et de vera post mortem perpetuaque electorum vita, vir sanctus cum gente incredula dum disputasset: ut tanta, tam inusitata, tam inopinabilis rerum novitas rudibus infidelium animis oculata fide certius imprimeretur: efficaci orationum instantia magnam et admirabilem utriusque rei notitiam, duræque cervicis populo perutilem, meruit in terris obtinere. Giral. Cambrens. Topogaph. Hibern. distinct. 2. cap. 5.

* Οἱ τὸν ἰσάγγελον ἐπὶ γῆς πολιτευσάμενοι βίον ὅσοι οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν πολλαχοῦ καὶ πολλάκις δι ̓ ὀπτασιῶν καὶ ἐνυπνίων καὶ ἑτερων θαυμάτων τὰ περὶ τῆς αἰωνίου κολάσεως καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ ἀσεβῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν αὐτοίγε μυούμενοι καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους μυοῦντες, &c. περὶ καθαρτικού προσκαίρου πυρὸς οὐδὲν οὐδαμῶς διεσάφησαν. Marcus Ephesius, in Græcorum apolog. de igne Purgatorio ad concil. Basileens.

him, De tribus habitaculis, which is to be seen in his Majesty's library, there is no mention of any other place after this life, but of these two only. I will lay down here the beginning of that treatise, and leave it to the judgment of any indifferent man, whether it can well stand with that which the Romanists teach concerning purgatory at this day. "Theres be three habitations under the power of Almighty God: the first, the lowermost, and the middle. The highest whereof is called the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven, the lowermost is termed hell, the middle is named the present world, or the circuit of the earth. The extremes whereof are altogether contrary one to another: for what fellowship can there be betwixt light and darkness, betwixt Christ and Belial? but the middle hath some similitude with the extremes. For in this world there is a mixture of the bad and of the good together, whereas in the kingdom of God there are none bad, but all good: but in hell there are none good, but all bad. And both those places are supplied out of the middle. For of the men of this world, some are lifted up to heaven, others are drawn down to hell. Namely, like are joined unto like, that is to say, good to good, and bad to bad: just men to just angels, wicked men to wicked angels; the servants of God to God, the servants of the Devil to the Devil. The blessed are called to the kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of

8 Tria sunt sub omnipotentis Dei nutu habitacula: primum, imum, medium. Quorum summum, regnum Dei vel regnum Coelorum dicitur, imum vocatur infernus, medium mundus præsens vel orbis terrarum appellatur. Quorum extrema omnino sibi invicem sunt contraria, et nulla sibi societate conjuncta (quæ enim societas potest esse luci ad tenebras, et Christo ad Belial ?) medium vero nonnullam habet similitudinem ad extrema, &c. Commixio namque malorum simul et bonorum in hoc mundo est. In regno autem Dei nulli mali sunt, sed omnes boni: at in inferno nulli boni sunt, sed omnes mali. Et uterque locus ex medio suppletur. Hominum enim hujus mundi alii elevantur ad cœlum, alii trahuntur ad infernum. Similes quippe similibus junguntur, id est, boni bonis, et mali malis; justi homines justis angelis, transgressores homines transgressoribus angelis; servi Dei Deo, servi Diaboli Diabolo. Benedicti vocantur ad regnum, sibi paratum ab origine mundi : maledicti expelluntur in ignem æternum, qui præparatus est Diabolo et angelis ejus. Patric. de trib. habitac. MS. in bibliotheca regia Jacobæa.

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