images, or even to dissemble or wink at it........for it is not possible that men should, by worshipping of images get any knowledge of God.”

Athanasius, in his book against the Gentiles, has these words,-"Let them tell, I pray you, how God may be known by an image. If it be by the matter of it, then there needeth no shape or form, seeing that God hath appeared in all material creatures which do testify His glory...... For, of a surety, the glory of God should be more evidently known, if it were declared by reasonable and living creatures, rather than by dead and immoveable images. Therefore, when ye do carve or paint images to the end to know God, thereby surely ye do an unworthy and unfit thing. And in another place of the same book, he saith-The invention of images came of no good, seeing it is altogether naught."

Clemens hath a notable sentence concerning this matter, saying; "That serpent the devil doth by the mouth of certain men utter these words, we for the honor of the invisible God, do worship visible images; which doubtless is most false. For if you will truly honour the image of God, you shall by doing well to man, honor the true image of God in him. For the image of God is in every man; but the likeness of God is not in every one, but in those only who have a godly heart and pure mind. If you will therefore truly honour the image of God, we do declare to you the truth, that ye do well to man who is made after the image of God; that ye give honour and reverence to him; and refresh the hungry with meat; the thirsty with drink, the naked with clothes, the sick with attendance, the stranger with lodgings, the prisoners with necessaries; and this shall be accounted as truly bestowed upon

God. And these things are so directly appertaining to God's honor, that whosoever doeth them not, shall seem to have reproached, and done villany to the image of God. But what honor is it to God to run to images of stock and stone, and to honor vain and dead figures of God, while men are despised and neglected, who are the true images of God."

St. Augustine, the best learned of all ancient Doctors in his 44th epistle to Maximus, saith, "Know thou that none of the dead, nor any thing that was made of God, is worshipped as God of the Catholic Christians, of whom there is a church in your town." You see here that those who worshipped the dead, or the likeness of any thing made by God, were not considered Catholic Christians by Augustine.

The same St. Augustine of images says, "they be of more force to crooken an unhappy soul, than to teach and instruct it. For when images are placed in temples, and set in honourable sublimity, and begin once to be worshipped, they forth-with breed the most vile affection of error.

Before leaving this part of our subject, it is well to give the opinion of other early writers though they be not found in the Homilies, and to this end we will now state, how Agobard, Archbishop of Lyons, about the year 820 maintains that we ought not to adore any image of God, but only that image of Him which is God himself, even His Eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And the same Agobard or Agobo, who is publicly adored as a saint at Lyons; still farther maintains it to be mere Paganism to have images for any other use than that of a memorial, and at the same time asserts that images are of as little value and advantage to Christians, as the picture of a mower would be to a mower, or of a

hero in armour to a soldier. In a word he speaks exactly like a true Iconoclast; for after he had said it was impossible any longer to bear with the abuses against which he had taken up his pen; he adds, "From whence we may plainly infer that if Hezekiah, a godly and religious king, brake the brazen serpent, made by God's express command, because the mistaken multitude began to worship it as an idol; much more religiously may, and ought the images of saints to be broken and ground to powder, which were never set up by God's command, but are absolutely human inventions.

About the same period, Claudius, Bishop or Metropolitan of Turin, writing to Abbot Theudemir, respecting some trials he had fallen into, says, "But certes this trouble has come upon me, only because, that when, contrary to the order of truth, I found all the Churches at Turin stuffed full of vile and accursed images, I alone began to destroy what men were so sottishly worshipping. Therefore it was that all opened their mouths to revile me; and forsooth had not the Lord helped me, they would have swallowed me up quick."

Again in another place he adds ; "God commands us to bear our cross, and not to worship it; but these are all for worshipping it, but do not bear it at all, either corporally or spiritually. To serve God after this manner is to go whoring from him. For if we ought to adore the cross because Christ was fastened to it, how many other things are there which touched Jesus, and which He made use of according to the flesh? Why do they not on the same score worship all that are virgins, because a virgin brought forth Christ ?—Why do not they adore mangers, because He was laid in a manger? Why do they not adore fishers' boats, because He

slept in one of them, and preached to the multitude, and caused a net to be cast out, wherein was caught a miraculous quantity of fishes?.... Why do they not worship lions because He is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah? or rocks, because it is said, And that rock was Christ? or thorns, because He was crowned with thorns? or lances because one of them pierced His side?

It is now time to notice what is said in the third part of the Homily respecting the defence made by those who plead for the setting up of images, and the excessive painting, gilding and decking of Churches; but in doing so, we can only allude to some striking passages, as the Homily is very prolix on the subject. The first we meet states that it is alleged by those who maintain images, that all laws, prohibitions and curses noted by us out of Holy Scripture, and out of the writings of godly and learned doctors, pertain to the idols of the Gentiles or Pagans, and not to their images of Christ or of His saints. But it shall be declared both by God's word and the sentences of the ancient fathers of the primitive Church, that all images, as well ours as those of the Gentiles, are forbidden and unlawful.—And first it is to be replied out of God's word, that images of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, either severally or together as the Trinity, are by the Scriptures forbidden and condemned, for it is said, Deuteronomy iv. 12, 15, 16. "The Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire; ye heard the voice of the words, BUT SAW NO SIMILITUDE; only ye heard the voiceTake ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude in the day that the Lord spoke unto you in Horeb, out of the midst of the fire: lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven

image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, &c. &c. And therefore in the old law the middle of the propitiatory, which represented God's seat, was empty, lest any should take occasion to make any similitude or likeness of Him.

The prophet Isaiah, after he hath set forth the incomprehensible Majesty of God says, ch. xl. 18-24. “To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto Him? The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved. Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood from the formation of the earth? It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grass-hoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity." Thus far the prophet Isaiah, who from the 44th chapter to the 49th, teaches in a manner, of no other thing. And St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter xvii. 16, 22-31, evidently teacheth the same : namely, that no similitude should be made of God, in gold, silver, stone, or any other matter. But they say, an image of Christ may be made, for that He took upon Him flesh and became man. Now concerning this objection, the answer is easy; for in God's religion, it is not only inquired whether a thing may be done or no ; but also, whether it be lawful and agreeable to God's word to be done or no. For all wickedness may be done, and is daily done FEBRUARY, 1847.

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