to bring his understanding with some luxation to the belief of human dictates and authorities, may as often miss of the truth as hit it, but is sure always to lose the comfort of truth, because he believes it upon indirect, insufficient, and incompetent arguments: and as his desire it should be so, is his best argument that it is so, so the pleasing of men is his best reward, and his not being condemned and contradicted, all the possession of a truth.

SECTION XIV.

Of the Practice of Christian Churches towards Persons disagreeing, and when Persecution first came in.

AND thus this truth hath been practised in all times of Christian religion, when there were no collateral designs on foot, nor interests to be served, nor passions to be satisfied. In St. Paul's time, though the censure of heresy were not so loose and forward as afterward, and all that were called heretics, were clearly such and highly criminal, yet as their erime was, so was their censure, that is, spiritual. They were first admonished, once at least, for so Irenæus, Tertulliant, Cyprian ", Ambrose *, and Jerome ý, read that place of Titus iii. But since that time all men, and at that time some read it, "Post unam et alteram admonitionem" reject a heritic: Rejection from the communion of saints after two warnings," that is the penalty. St. John expresses it by not eating with them, not bidding them God-speed ; but the persons against whom he decrees so severely, are such as denied Christ to be come in the flesh, direct anti-christs. And let the sentence be as high as it lists in this case, all that I observe is, that since in so damnable doctrines nothing but spiritual censure, separation from the communion of the faithful was enjoined and prescribed, we cannot pretend to an apostolical precedent, if in matters of dispute and innocent question, and of great uncertainty and no malignity, we shall proceed to sentence of death,

.

2. For it is but absurd and illiterate

$ Lib. 3. cap. 3. t De præscript.

* In hunc locum.

arguing, to say that

"Lib. ad Quirinum. y Ibidem.

excommunication is a greater punishment,—and killing a less; and therefore whoever may be excommunicated, may also be put to death which indeed is the reasoning that Bellarmine uses. For, first, excommunication is not directly and of itself a greater punishment than corporal death, because it is indefinite and incomplete, and in order to a farther punishment; which if it happens, then the excommunication was the inlet to it; if it does not, the excommunication did not signify half so much as the loss of a member, much less death. For it may be totally ineffectual, either by the iniquity of the proceeding, or repentance of the person; and in all times and cases it is a medicine, if the man please; if he will not, but perseveres in his impiety, then it is himself that brings the censure to effect, that actuates the judgment, and gives a sting and an energy upon that, which otherwise would be xeig anugos. Secondly, but when it is at worst, it does not kill the soul; it only consigns it to that death which it had deserved, and should have received independently from that sentence of the church. Thirdly, and yet excommunication is to admirable purpose: for whether it refers to the person censured, or to others, it is prudential in itself, it is exemplary to others, it is medicinal to all. For the person censured is by this means threatened into piety, and the threatening made the more energetical upon him, because by fiction of law, or, as it were, by a sacramental representment, the pains of hell are made presential to him, and so becomes an act of prudent judicature, and excellent discipline, and the best instrument of spiritual government; because the nearer the threatening is reduced to matter, and the more present and circumstantiate it is made, the more operative it is upon our spirits while they are immerged in matter. And this is the full sense and power of excommunication in its direct intention: consequently and accidentally other evils might follow it; as in the times of the apostles the censured persons were buffeted by Satan, and even at this day there is less security even to the temporal condition of such a person, whom his spiritual parents have anathematized. But besides this, I know no warrant to affirm any thing of excommunication; for the sentence of the church does but declare, not effect, the final sentence of damnation. Whoever deserves excommunication, deserves damnation; and he that repents shall

be saved, though he die out of the church's external communion; and if he does not repent, he shall be damned, though he was not excommunicate.

3. But suppose it greater than the sentence of corporal death, yet it follows not, because heretics may be excommunicate, therefore killed; for from a greater to a less in a several kind of things the argument concludes not. It is a greater thing to make an excellent discourse than to make a shoe; yet he that can do the greater, cannot do this less. An angel cannot beget a man; and yet he can do a greater matter in that kind of operations, which we term spiritual and angelical. And if this were concluding, that whoever may be excommunicate, may be killed,-then, because of excommunications, the church is confessed the sole and entire judge, she is also an absolute disposer of the lives of persons. I believe this will be but ill doctrine in Spain: for in 'Bulla Cœnæ Domini' the King of Spain is every year excommunicated on Maunday-Thursday; but if by the same power he might also be put to death (as upon this ground he may), the Pope might with more ease be invested in that part of St. Peter's patrimony, which that King hath invaded and surprised. But besides this, it were extreme harsh doctrine in a Roman consistory, from whence excommunications issue for trifles, for fees, for not suffering themselves infinitely to be oppressed, for any thing: if this be greater than death, how great a tyranny is that which doth more than kill men for less than trifles! or else how inconsequent is that argument, which concludes its purpose upon so false pretence and suppo

sition!

4. Well, however zealous the apostles were against heretics, yet none were by them, or their dictates, put to death. The death of Ananias and Sapphira, and the blindness of Elymas the sorcerer, amount not to this, for they were miraculous inflictions: and the first was a punishment to vowbreach and sacrilege, the second of sorcery and open contestation against the religion of Jesus Christ; neither of them concerned the case of this present question. Or if the case were the same, yet the authority is not the same: for he that inflicted these punishments, was infallible, and of a power competent; but no man at this day is so. But as yet people were converted by miracles, and preaching, and disputing,

and heretics by the same means were redargued, and all men instructed, none tortured for their opinion. And this continued till Christian people were vexed by disagreeing persons, and were impatient and peevish by their own too-much confidence, and the luxuriancy of a prosperous fortune; but then they would not endure persons that did dogmatise any thing, which might intrench upon their reputation or their interest. And it is observable that no man nor no age did ever teach the lawfulness of putting heretics to death, till they grew wanton with prosperity. But when the reputation of the governors was concerned, when the interests of men were endangered, when they had something to lose, when they had built their estimation upon the credit of disputable questions, when they began to be jealous of other men, when they overvalued themselves and their own opinions, when some persons invaded bishopricks upon pretence of new opinions; hen they, as they thrived in the favour of emperors, and in the success of their disputes, solicited the temporal power to banish, to fine, to imprison, and to kill, their adversaries.

5. So that the case stands thus: In the best times, amongst the best men, when there were fewer temporal ends to be served, when religion and the pure and simple designs of Christianity were only to be promoted, in those times and amongst such men no persecution was actual nor persuaded, nor allowed, towards disagreeing persons. But as men had ends of their own and not of Christ, as they receded from their duty and religion from its purity, as Christianity began to be compounded with interests and blended with temporal designs, so men were persecuted for their opinions. This is most apparent, if we consider when persecution first came in, and if we observe how it was checked by the holiest and the wisest persons,

6. The first great instance I shall note, was in Priscillian and his followers, who were condemned to death by the tyrant Maximus. Which instance, although St. Jerome observes as a punishment and judgment for the crime of heresy, yet is of no use in the present question, because Maximus put some Christians of all sorts to death promiscuously, catholic and heretic, without choice; and therefore the Priscillianists might as well have called it a judgment upon the catholics, as the catholics upon them,

7. But when Ursatus and Stacius, two bishops, procured the Priscillianists' death by the power they had at court; St.. Martin was so angry at them for their cruelty, that he excommunicated them both. And St. Ambrose upon the same stock denied his communion to the Itaciani, And the account that Sulpicius gives of the story is this; "Hoc modo" (says he) "homines luce indignissimi pessimo exemplo necati sunt." The example was worse than the men. If the men were heretical, the execution of them however was unchristian.

8. But it was of more authority that the Nicene fathers supplicated the Emperor, and prevailed for the banishment of Arius. Of this we can give no other account, but that, by the history of the time, we see baseness enough and personal misdemeanour and factiousness of spirit in Arius to have deseryed worse than banishment, though the obliquity of his opinion were not put into the balance; which we have reason to believe was not so much as considered, because Constantine gave toleration to differing opinions, and Arius himself was restored upon such conditions to his country and office, which would not stand with the ends of the Catholics, if they had been severe exactors of concurrence and union of persuasions a.

9. I am still within the scene of ecclesiastical persons, and am considering what the opinion of the learnedest and holiest prelates was concerning this great question. If we will believe St. Austin (who was a credible person), no good man did allow it; "Nullis tamen bonis in catholica hoc placet, si usque ad mortem in quenquam, licet hæreticum, sæviatur." This was St. Austin's final opinion: for he had first been of the mind, that it was not honest to do any yiolence to mispersuaded persons; and when upon an accident happening in Hippo he had altered and retracted that part of the opinion, yet then also he excepted death, and would by no means have any mere opinion made capital. But, for aught appears, St. Austin had great reason to have retracted

z Sozom. 1. 1. cap. 20.

a Socrates, 1. 1. cap. 26. Cont. Crescon. Grammat. lib. 3. cap. 50. Vid. Intiam Epist. 158, 159. et lib. 1. cap. 29. cont. tit. Petilian. Vide etiam Socrat. lib. 3. cap. 3. et cap. 29.

b Lib. 2. cap. 5. retractat. vid. Ep. 48. ad Vincent. script. post retract. et Ep. 50, ad Bonif,