May not this be called rather sporting with than expounding the Scriptures? So likewise in another place, speaking of the fowls of the air, which our Saviour said neither reaped nor gathered into barns, he understands, by these, the devils; and by the lilies of the field, which spin not, the angels.* I should much abuse the reader's patience, if I should set down the strange discourses he has upon the story of the two possessed with devils, who were healed by our Saviour in the country of the Gergesens; and upon the leap which the devils made the neighbouring herd of swine take into the sea; † and of the swine-herds running away into the city, and of the citizens coming forth, and entreating our Saviour to depart out of their coasts or if I should but give you the whole entire exposition which he hath made of these words, vers. 29, chap. x. of St. Matthew: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing," &c.;§ where, by the two sparrows he understands sinners, whose souls and bodies, having been made to fly upward and to mount on high, sell themselves to sin for mere trifles and things of no value; by this means becoming both as one, the soul by sin thickening as it were into a body: with such other wild fancies, the reading of which would astonish a man of any judgment rather than edify him. Neither is St. Ambrose a whit more serious, when expounding those words of our Saviour, Matt. xvii. 20: 66 If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say to this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place," &c.§ By this mountain (saith St. Ambrose) is meant the devil." It would be too tedious a business, to set down here at length all that might be collected of this nature out of St. Ambrose: he that has a mind to see more examples of this kind, may read but his homilies upon the * Id. Can. 5. in Matth. vi. 26. fol. 7. Id. Can. 8. in Matth. viii. 28. fol. 10. Si habueritis fidem sicut granum sinapis, dicetis huic monti, Tollere et jactare in mare. Huic; Cui? Dæmonio inquit, à quo iste invasus fuerat, &c.—Ambros. in Ps. 36. p. 503. Matth. xvii. 20. 118th Psalm; which will indeed be otherwise very well worth any man's reading, as being a very excellent one, and full of eloquence and sound doctrine. Yet a man would find it a troublesome business to make any defence for him, where he ventures sometimes to use the sacred words of the Scripture in his own sportive fancies: as where he applies to Valentinian and Gratian that which is spoken of Christ and the Church in the Canticles: "O that thou wert as my brother that sucked the breasts of my mother! When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee, &c. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, &c. I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine, and of the juice of my pomegranates. His left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me.' "'* "In this place," says he, "is meant the emperor Gratian of renowned memory, who tells his brother that he is furnished with the fruits of divers virtues." To the same purpose does he make application of divers other passages of this sacred Canticle; and with such great licence, as, to say the truth, no poet ever dashed out with more liberty and freedom than he has done in that book. I shall here purposely pass by what I might produce of this nature, out of Gregory Nazianzen, St. Augustin, and almost all the rest of the Fathers: for what we have already brought is enough, and indeed more than we needed for our present purpose. Let the reader therefore now judge whether or not the Fathers, by this their manner of writing, have not clearly enough attested against themselves, that their intention, when they wrote these their books, never was either to bound and determine our faith, or to decide our differences about the same. I must needs confess, that they were persons who were endued with very large gifts of the Spirit; and with a most lively and clear understanding for diving into the truth. Yet those who have the greatest * Quis dabit te frater fratrem mihi, lactantem ubera matris meæ ? &c. (Cant.viii. 1.) Promittit fratri augustæ memoriæ, Gratianus, præsto sibi fructus diversarum esse virtutum.-Id. tract. de Obit. Valent. p. 11, 12. share of those gifts, have it to very little purpose, if they employ it not to the utmost of their power, when the business they are to treat of is of such great difficulty and importance; and such as to the deciding and discussing of which we can never bring either more attention or diligence than is needful. Now that the Fathers have not observed this course in their writings appears clearly enough by what has been formerly said. Their books therefore are not to be received by us, either as definitive sentences, or final judgments upon our present controversies. I confess that these small trivial errors ought not to lessen the opinion we have of the greatness and versatility of their parts. I believe they might very easily have avoided falling into them, if they would but have taken the pains to look a little better about them. And I am of opinion that they fell into them merely by inadvertency only; which may also sometimes happen even to the greatest masters in any sciences whatever. I shall as willingly also yield to you, (if you desire it,) that they have sometimes done these things purposely; letting fall here and there throughout their writings such little slips from their pen, sportively and by way of recreation; or else from a design of exercising our ingenuity. But certainly, whatever the reason was, seeing that they had no intention to use any more care or diligence in the composing of their books; we may very well, and indeed we ought to conclude from hence, that they had never any intention that these books of theirs should be our judges. 1hese venial faults, these mistakes. these oversights, these inadvertencies, and these sportings of theirs, do sufficiently evidence, that we are to make our references to others; and that they have not so seriously delivered their opinions as if they had sat on the seat of judgment, but rather have spoken as in their chamber, delivering their own private opinions only, and not in the capacity of judges. These considerations, joined to what has been said in this particular, by some of the chief and most eminent among themselves, as we have formerly shewn, make it appear in my judgment evident enough, that their own will and desire is, that we should not embrace their opinions as oracles, or receive them as definitive decisions; but that we should rather examine them by the Scriptures and by reason: as being the opinions of doctors, who were indeed very able and excellent men; but yet, notwithstanding, were still men, subject to error, and who had not always the good fortune to light upon what was true and sound: and who peradventure, even in this very case in hand, have not always done what they might, by reason of their employing either less time, or less care and diligence, than they should have done if at least they had had any serious purpose of doing their utmost endeavour in this particular. CHAPTER IV. REASON IV. THAT THE FATHERS HAVE ERRED IN DIVERS POINTS OF RELIGION; NOT ONLY SINGLY, I CONCEIVE that what has been stated in the two preceding chapters is sufficient to make it appear to any moderate man, that the authority of the Fathers is not so authentic as people commonly imagine it to be. Thou therefore, whosoever thou art, if thou be but an indifferent and impartial reader, mayest omit the reading of this and the following chapter; both which I must add, though much against my will, to answer all objections that may yet be made by perverse and obstinate persons. For the prejudice wherewith they are beforehand possessed, may hinder them perhaps from seeing the clearness of reason, and from hearing the voice of the Fathers themselves; whose words they perhaps will be ready to impute to their modesty, rather than they will consent to yield to them no more honour than they themselves require. The pertinacity therefore of these men, and not any need that thou hast of my doing so, has constrained me to lay aside some of that respect that I bear towards antiquity; and has obliged me to expose to view some errors of the Fathers, which are of much more importance than the former, if by this means at least I may be able to overcome their opposition. For when they shall but see that the Fathers have erred in many considerable points, I hope they will at length confess, that they had very good reason gravely to advise us, not to believe, or take upon trust, any of their opinions, unless we find that they are grounded either upon the Scriptures, or else upon some other truth. I confess, I enter upon this inquiry very unwillingly, |