Ductor dubitantium, or, The rule of conscience in all her generall measures serving as a great instrument for the determination of cases of conscience : in four books / by Jeremy Taylor ...

Question IV. Whether the Eminency of the spiritual calling, and the consequent prelation of spiritual persons, can exempt them from secular coercion, and make them superior to Princes.

In what senses Bishops have any superiority over Princes I shall after∣wards explain: Now the question is concerning secular superiority, and im∣munity from the temporal sword of Princes. Now to this, I suppose, what I have already said may be able to give an answer. For the spiritual order gives no temporal power at all; and therefore if all temporal power be in the supreme Civil Magistrate, all men that can deserve to feel the edge of the sword are subject to it. For what? Had Archimedes reason to take it ill of the Romans for not sending for him and making him General in the Syracusan warre, because he was a better Geometrician then any of all their Senate? Lewis the eleventh of France had a servant who was an excellent surgeon, and an excellent barber, and dress'd his gout tenderly, and had the ordering of his feet and his face, and did him many good offices. But the wise Prince was too fond when for these qualities he made him gover∣nour of his Counsels. Every good quality, and every eminence of Art, and every worthy imployment hath an end and designe of it's own, and that end and the proportions to it are to be the measure of the usage of those persons which are appointed to minister to it. Now it is certain that spiri∣tual persons are appointed Ministers of the best and most perfective end of mankind, but to say that this gives them a title to other Ministeries which are appointed to other ends, hath as little in it of reason as it hath of reve∣lation. But I shall not dispute this over again, but shall suppose it suffici∣ent to adde those authorities which must needs be competent in this affair, as being of Ecclesiastic persons, who had no reason, nor were they willing, to despise their own just advantages, any more then to usurp what was unjust.

When Origen complain'd of the fastuousnesse and vanity of some Ecclesiastics in his time, they were bad enough, but had not come to a pre∣tence of ruling over Kings upon the stock of Spiritual prelation: but he

was troubled that some had quit their proper excellency, consisting in the multitude of spiritual gifts, their unwearied diligence in the care of souls, their dangers, their patience, their humility, and their dyings for Christ. Et haec nos docet sermo Divinus (saith he) The word of God teaches us these things. But we either not understanding the Divine will set down in Scri∣ptures, or despising what Christ to such purposes recommended to us, are such that we seem to exceed the pride even of the evil Princes of the world: and we doe not onely seek for guards to goe before us like Kings, but are terrible to the poor, and of difficult accesse, and behave our selves towards those who ad∣dresse themselves to intercede for some thing or some person, that we are more cruel then Tyrants, and the secular Lords of their subjects. And in some Churches you may see (especially in the Churches of the greatest cities) the chief of the Christian people neither affable to others, nor suffering others to be free in their entercourses with them. These things are out of the way of the Ecclesiastics, for these things cannot consist with piety and humility, and the proper imployments of such persons who gain'd the world by ces∣sion, and got victory over whole Kingdomes by trampling upon Devils, and being trampled upon by men. Bishops should be like the Symbols of the Blessed Sacrament, which although for the ornament of religion and for our sakes and because we would fain have opportunity to signify our love to Christ, we minister in silver and gold, yet the symbols themselves remain the same plain and pure bread and wine, and altered onely by prayers, and by spiritual consecration, and a relative holinesse. But he were a strange superstitious fool who, because the Sacramental bread and wine are much better then all the Tables and viands of Princes and all the spoils of Nature, will think it fit to mingle sugar and the choicest spices of Arabia with the bread, and amber-griece and powder of pearl and the spirit of gold with the chalice. These are no fit honours to the H. Sacrament: the symbols of which are spoil'd when they are forc'd off from the simpli∣city and purity of their institution and designe. So it is with spiritual per∣sons: their office is spiritual, and their relation is holy, and their honours are symbolical. For their own sakes, Princes and good people must cause de∣cent and honourable ministeries and accommodations to be provided for them; but still they must remain in their own humility and meeknesse and piety, and not pretend to dignities heterogeneal, and Eminences secular, because their spiritual imployment is very excellent. It was S. Gregory Nazianzen's wish, that there were in the Church 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Neither precedency of Episcopal Sees, nor any Eminency of one place above another, nor any Tyrannical or pompous provisions and solennities, that we might be distinguished onely by our vertue. Now if prelation by order and Ecclesia∣stical Oeconomy amongst the Bishops was of so ill effect, so little necessary, and so greatly inconvenient that the good Bishop wished there we••e no such thing; there is little reason to doubt, but he would have infinitely condemned all pretensions of a power over civil governments. But the Bishops of Rome were not at that time gone so far. The Archimandrites of Constantinople, complaining against the Eutychians, write to Pope Agapetus, that if they be still permitted [licenter omnia accedent, non contra Ecclesia∣sticos solos, sed etiam contra ipsum piissimum Imperatorem, nostrum & vestrum honorabile caput] They will doe insolencies not onely to the Ecclesiastics, but also to our most pious Emperor, who is the honourable head both of you and us. * This power of headship or supremacy over the whole order Ecclesiastical

was acknowledged in the Church for about a thousand years: for besides the apparent practice and approbation of it, which I brought in the former pages, we find that the Emperour Henry the second did deprive Widgerus of the Arch-Bishoprick of Ravenna, and depos'd Gregory the sixth from the Papacy.

And therefore we find that those ancient Prelates that call'd upon Princes to pay reverence to them, and an acknowledgment of that Autho∣rity which Christ intrusted in their hands, accounted them wholly to be distinct things, and not at all invading each others limits. For Christ by making them Christians did not make them lesse to be Princes: and Chri∣stian Emperors could not goe lesse then the heathens; they were certainly no loosers by their baptisme. For it had been a strange argument for Syl∣vester to have us'd to Constantine, S^r, give up your self a Disciple to the most Holy Jesus, and you shall have a crown hereafter, and here also you shall still reign over all but me and my Clergy; to us indeed you must be subject, and by us you must be governed, but the Crown Imperial shall be greater then every thing, our Mitres onely excepted. If this had been the state of the question, I wonder by what argument could the Prince have been perswaded to become Christian: when it was so obvious for him to say, that Sylvester had reason to move him to preach Christ, since he got so much temporal advantage by it, but that he could see little reason why himself should loose and Sylvester get, and become a Disciple of Christ to be made a Minor and a Pupil to the Bishop. And indeed it would have been a strange Sermon that preaches humility to Emperors & dominion to Bishops. But their sermons when they were at the highest were of another nature. De humanis rebus judicare permissum, est, non praeesse Divinis. So P. Gelasius declares the limit of the Imperial and priestly power: Of all things belonging to this world the Emperor is to judge; but not to be the president or chief Minister of holy rites. Gelasius spake it upon occasion, because Anastasius the Emperor did unnecessarily interpose in the absolu∣tion of Peter Bishops of Alexandria. This Pope Gelasius suppos'd was of ano∣ther nature, and not relative to the things of this world, and therefore not of Imperial cognisance. But all the things of this world belong to him. And if all things of this world, then all persons of this world. For circa actiones propriè versatur Imperium, say the Lawyers, Rule and Empire and all power of judicature is principally concerning actions; but actions are done by persons, who therefore are subject to government. And upon this 〈…〉〈…〉 vile thing, Regis haec auribus intimare non differant, Let him without delay be accused unto the King. And Lambert the Emperour about the year of our Lord 900 having some contest with the Pope, propounded this first ar∣ticle in a Synod at Ravenna, If any Roman of the Clergy or the Senate, of what order soever, shall either voluntarily or by compulsion appeal to the Impe∣rial Majesty, let no man presume to contradict him:—untill the Emperor by himself or his Missives shall deliberate concerning their persons and their

causes. Thus we find Pope Leo the 4^th submitting himself to Lotharius the Emperour, and promising obedience: and to Ludovicus he professes that if he have done amisse he will amend it according to his sentence, or the judge∣ment of his Deputies. Upon the consideration of these and many other particulars Gratian, though unwillingly, confesses that in civil causes a Clergy-man is to be conven'd before the civil Judge: and although a little after he does a little praevaricate in the matter of criminal causes, yet it was too late; for he had said it before, Regum est corporalem irrogare poenam, Kings have the power of inflicting corporal punishments: and therefore if a Clerk were guilty in a criminal cause, the secular Judge had power over him, said the Fathers of the first Council of Matiscon, cap. 7. But it matters not much, for a greater then Gratian said it in his own case before the civil power, If I have done any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: they are the words of S. Paul.

Notes

• 19.
• 20.
• Ora. post redi∣tum.
• in 5^tâ Synod. Act. 1. Tom. 2. Concil.
• Herman. in Chron.
• 21.
• tom. de Vinc. an••them.
• apud Baron. tom. 10. A. D. 904. ••. 17.
• Dist. 10. c. de capitulis. 2. q. 7. c. Nos si.
• 11. 9. 1. c. si∣cut enim. §. ex his. 2. q. 2. §. item.