A new history of ecclesiastical writers containing an account of the authors of the several books of the Old and New Testament, of the lives and writings of the primitive fathers, an abridgement and catalogue of their works ... also a compendious history of the councils, with chronological tables of the whole / written in French by Lewis Ellies du Pin.

THE TRANSLATOR TO THE READER.

AS Monsieur Du Pin has merited the Applause of the Learned World, for his former Volumes of Ecclesiastical History; so in these three which are now publish'd, he continues still to write like himself, and maintain the same Character which has been given of him; he is no less faithful in his Rela∣tions, judicious in his Reflections, exact in his Criticisms, and moderate in his Censures of those who differ from him; and even more impartial than would be expected from one of a contrary Party. The two first Ages treated of in this Volume, viz. the 13th and 14th, were cover'd with some Remains of that Ignorance and Barbarism, which reigned in the last preceeding Ages: But this is so far from being any just Prejudice against this History, that it should rather invite the Ingenious Reader's Curiosity, when he considers, that the excellent Historian has enlightned these dark Ages, by giving a clearer account of them than any one Writer before him; for he has brought to light some notable Pieces of History which seem'd to be buried in Oblivion, and collected together the several Fragments which were scatter'd in many Volumes, and plac'd them in such a clear light, that the Darkness of the Times serves to set off and commend the Judgment of the Historian. It is his peculiar Excellency, that he gives a just Idea of the most consider∣able Ecclesiastical Writers in all the Ages of the Church, not▪ by general Characters, but by giving an account of the Matters handled in their Works, and taking judicious Ex∣tracts out of them; and particularly in this Volume, he has added to the History of each Century such useful Observations, as give the Reader a general Idea of the great Transactions then on foot: So that nothing seems to be wanting to render this Transla∣tion compleat, but some Remarks which may be use to the Protestant Reader, of which I shall therefore present him with a few, relating to the Controversies between the Ro∣man Church and the Church of England.

It has been observ'd by Monsieur Du Pin and others, That School-Divinity was cor∣rupted in the 13th Century, by introducing into it the Principles of Aristotle's Philo∣sophy, whereby all Matters of Doctrin were resolved into a great many curious and useless Questions, and decided by the Maxims of that Philosophy (which yet was learn∣ed not from the Greek Originals, but the corrupt Versions of the Arabians) as if they were of equal Authority with the Scriptures: And as this mixture corrupted the Sim∣plicity of the ancient Christian Faith, so it was the cause of many Mischiefs, among which I reckon this to be none of the least, that it furnish'd Men with such Princi∣ples as were subservient to maintain the Popish Doctrin of Transubstantion, which be∣gun in this Century to be established. As for instance, This Philosophy taught Men, that Quantity is an Accident distinct and separable from Body, from whence they in∣ferr'd the Possibility of the Replication and Penetration of Bodies, and maintain'd, as the School-men do to this Day, That the same Body may be in a thousand distant Pla∣ces at the same time; That the same Man may be alive at London and kill'd at Rome; That the whole Body of a lusty Man, with all its several parts, may be crouded with∣in the Compass of a Pins head, by which Doctrins they defended some of these Absur∣dities, which are implied in Transubstantiation, viz. That the Body of Christ is at the same time in Heaven and Earth, and in all the several Places where the Eucharist is ce∣lebrated, that it is whole in the whole Loaf, and whole in every the least part of it, and many other such like Absurdities, which are real Contradictions to the Nature of a Body, if Extension is essential to it, as it is held to be by the best Philosophers both Ancient and Modern.

The first pretended General Council in which Transubstantiation is said to be esta∣blished, was the fourth Lateran Council under Innocent III. in the Year 1215. But Du Pin has plainly prov'd, that the Canons which go under the Name of this Council, were Du Pin 13 Cent.

not made by the Council it self, but only by Pope Innocent III. who read some of them in the Council, and after its Dissolution added many more as he pleas'd, Dissert. 7 de Antiq. Eccl. Discipl. Ch. 3. Sect. 4. which is a Trick that the Popes had commonly used in the 12th Century, who publish'd their own Constitutions as the Decrees of Councils, Du Pin. Hist. Eccl. 10th Cent. p. 217.

I shall not pretend to give an Account what was the Doctrin of the first Eight Ages of the Church concerning the Eucharist, which may be learn'd from Archbishop Usher, Bishop Cosins, and others. But to me it seems an Invincible Argument, that Transub∣stantiation was not then believ'd, That the Jews and Heathens did not charge the Chri∣stians with the Absurdities and Contradictions which are the obvious and natural Con∣sequences of that Doctrin.

As to the Term of Transubstantiation, Du Pin says it was first used by Celles Bishop of Chartres, and Stephen Bishop of Autun, in the 12th Century, p. 156. As to the Doctrin it self, it appears to have been first published by Paschasius in his Treatise of the Body and Blood of our Saviour about the Year, 832. wherein he asserts, That after the Consecration under the Figure of Bread and Wine there is nothing but the Body and Blood of Christ; and which is yet more wonderful, he adds, It is no other Flesh than that which was born of Mary, suffered on the Cross, and rose again from the Grave. He might very well call it wond•…•…ul Doctrin, not only for its apparent Absur∣dity, but for its Novelty (since the like Expressions had never been used before) which is ingenuously confess'd by Bellarm. de Scriptor. Eccl. ad annum 850. and by Sir∣mondus in the Life of Paschasius prefix'd to his Works, Par. 1618. and may be plainly proved from the Writings of the most learned Men in this Century. For, first, Claudius Bishop of Turin, asserted the contrary Doctrin eighteen or nineteen Years before Pascha∣sius's Book upon this Subject was publish'd (which Doctrin was never oppos'd by those who cenfur'd some other Opinions of his) as Dr. Allix shows from a Manuscript Com∣mentary of this Author's upon St. Matth. Remarks upon the Ancient Church of Pied∣mont, p. 62, &c. II. In the same Century, after this Doctrim was published, it met with great Opposition from many eminent Men, such as Ratramnus, Joannes Scotus, Amala∣rius, Florus, Druthmarus and Erigerus, all which are own'd by Du Pin to have oppos'd the Doctrin of Paschasius, Cent. 9th p. 77. to whom may be added Theodolphus Bishop of Orleans, Walafridus Strabo Abbot of Richenou, Ahyto Bishop of Basil, and Rabanus M••••∣rus Archbishop of Mayence, who did also oppose the Doctrin of Paschasius in the same Century; and particularly R••banus in his Penitential, which was written in the Life-time of Paschasius, censures his Doctrin about the Eucharist as a Novel Error, as is prov'd in a Dissertation about Bertram's Book of the Body and Blood of Christ annexed to the Translation of it, and printed at London in 1686.

I shall only add, that the Doctrin of Bertram's Book against Paschasius about the Eucha∣rist appears plainly to have been generally receiv'd by the Church of England in the 10th Century, from the Paschal Homily which Elfric Archbishop of Canterbury translated into the Saxon Tongueabout the Year 970. which is published at London in 1566. and attested to be a true Copy by the hands of fifteen Prelats and several Noblemen; for this Book was commanded by a Canon to be read publickly to the People, as is observed by Dr. Cave Hist. Lit. p. 589. and contains the same Aguments, and for the most part the same Expres∣sions which were us'd by Bertram against Transubstantiation, as is prov'd by A. B. Usher in his Answer to the Jesuites Challenge, c. 3.

And that Bertram's Book was directly levell'd against Transubstantiation, as it is now defin'd by the Council of Trent will plainly appear, by citing a few passages out of many that are in that little Book to this purpose: For first he says expresly, that the Eucha∣rist is the Body of Christ, not Corporally but Spiritually, and then he proves, That what is Orally receiv'd in the Sacrament is not Christ's natural Body, because it is incorruptible; whereas that which we receive in the Eucharist, is corruptible and visible: And again, Christ's natural Body had all the Organical parts of a humane Body, and was quickened with a human Soul, whereas his body in the Sacrament hath neither; he proves that the Words of the Insti∣tution are figurative, because the Symbols have the Name of the thing signified by them. 2. He says expresly, That as to the Substance of the Creatures, what they were before Consecration, they remain after it. Bread and Wine they were before Consecration, and after it we see they continue Beings of the same kind and nature: He denies any natural Change, and affirms it to be only spiritual and invisible, such as was made of the Manna and Water in the Wilderness, into the Body and Blood of Christ.

These things are so plainly and frequently asserted in this Book, that I must Tran∣scribe the greatest part of it, if I would produce all the Passages which are to this Pur∣pose; and therefore I cannot but wonder to find Du Pin so far mistake the Questions which are handled by Bertram, as he does, in the Hist. of the 9th Century, where he makes the sense of the first Question to be this; Whether the Body and Blood of Christ be in the Eucharist without a Veil, so as to appear to our outward Eyes; and the meaning of the 2d to be no more than this, Whether the Body of Christ be in the same manner in the Eucharist, as it was on Earth, and is in Heaven, and Whether it be there in as visible and palpable a manner? for it cannot be supposs'd that ever any Man in his Wits should maintain that the Body of Christ in the Eucharist is visible to our Eyes, with all its Lineaments and distinction of Parts, and that the Flesh and Bones there are palpable to our hands; or that the Body of Christ in the Eucharist is both Earthly and Corruptible as it was upon Earth, and Spi∣ritual and Incorruptible as it is now in Heaven. These are such wild Imaginations as could never enter into the Mind of any Man of sound Senses; and therefore Bertram cannot be suppos'd such a Fool, as to confute them seriously with many Arguments, and that in a Letter to the Emperor; which were no less Ridiculous, than if a Man should write a Book on purpose to prove that a Man does not appear visibly in the shape and figure of a Horse, or a Mouse like an Elephant. The main Que∣stion of Bertram's Book then is not, as Du Piu puts it, Whether the Body of Christ be in the Eucharist in as visible and palpable a manner as when he liv'd upon Earth; which I believe was never affirm'd by any, either in that Age, or any other. But, Whe∣ther in the Sacrament we receive the same Body of Christ which was Born of the Virgin, Cru∣cified, and Rose again (supposing what is agreed on all hands that it is not visibly there) and this he flatly denies, and plainly disproves, in direct opposition to Paschasius, and the Doctrin of the present Roman Church. He says indeed, the Elements are truly Christ's Body and Blood; but then he explains himself, they are not so as to their sible Nature, but by the Power of the Divine Word; and then he adds, the visible Creature feeds the Body, but the Virtue and Efficacy of the Divine Word feeds and sanctifies the Souls of the Faithful. From which, and many other such like Expressions, it plainly appears that he did not believe the Sacrament to be a meer Sign and Figure of Christ's Body and Blood, but thought they were Really present, not in a Carnal but Spiritual Sense. 1, In regard of the Spiritual Virtue and Efficacy of them, which by the Divine Blessing is communicated to the Faithful; in which sense only they can be profitable to the Soul, for the Flesh profits it nothing. and if Du Pin contends for the Real Presence only in this sense, the Church of England will readily grant it; which has taught her Catechumens to say, that the Body and Blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken and receiv'd by the Faithful in the Lord's-Supper. But if he contends for a Corporal Presence of Christ's Natural Flesh and Blood, the Doctrin of Bertram is no less expresly against it, than that of the Church of England; and the latter may as easily be recon∣cil'd to Transubstantiation, as the former.

And this I have the longer insisted upon, both because most of the Writers of that Age, whom we have alledg'd against Transubstantiation, follow the Principles, and make use of the Arguments and Expressions in Bertram's Book, and chiefly because this Book seems to have been the Model by which the first Reformers fram'd this Ar∣ticle of the Eucharist; for so Bish••p Ridley, who had a great hand in Compiling this Article intimates; as we find in the Preface of a Book De Coena Domini, Printed at Ge∣neva, in 1556. where he says, That it was this Book which first put him upon Examining the Old Opinion, about the Presence of Christ's very Flesh and Blood, by Scripture and Fathers, and Converted him from the Errors of the Church of Rome in this Point; which is also af∣firm'd by Dr. Burnet's History of the Reformation, Part II. Book I. p. 17. And this is what I thought fit to Remark, for the benefit of the English Reader, concerning the Doctrin of Transubstantiation, which is said to be Establish'd in the Thirteenth Century, by Innocent III. concerning whom, I Observe in the 2d Place,

That this Pope was the first who publish'd a Crusade against the Albigenses, which is a way of enlightning Men's Understandings, by beating out their brains, and con∣verting them by the irresistible force of Sword and Gun; the same way which Maho∣met us'd for propagating his Religion in the World was follow'd by this Pope, whose Cruel and Barbarous Actions are no less agreeable to the Spirit of Mahomet, than they are contrary to that of Christ. The same Pope Founded the Office of the Inquisition, which at first did only draw up a Process against Hereticks, and sollicit the ordinary Judges to Condemn them, but in a little time the Power of Judging and Condemning

Heresie was committed to them, and the Secular Judges did only execute their Sentence And it is observable that the Inquisition was established much about the same time with Transubstantiation; the Cruelty of the one being a fit Match for the absurdity of the other: And indeed this Holy Office was a necessary Engine to cram down the throats of Mankind such a choaking Morcel as Transubstantiation.

Mr. Du Pin in this History has given us some account of the barbarous Proceedings against the Albigenses by the Croisade and the Inquisition, without passing any Censure upon these Actions; but lest any should suspect by his Silence, that he approv'd them, I will now briefly shew you what Opinion he had of all Corporal Punishments, when they are us'd by Ecclesiasticks. And this will appear from his Book of Ecclesiastical Discipline, Dissert. 7. where 1st in the Preface he tells us, That the Civii Power respects Mens Bodies, which may be forc'd to a Compliance, and therefore the Civil Magistrate may Punish Men with Corporal Punishment and Death; but the Ecclesiastical Power respects Mens Minds which cannot be forc'd; and therefore the Governours of this Society can only reclaim Men from their Vices by Exhortations and Commands, which if they do not obey, they can in∣flict no other Punishment but that of Excommunication. And then 2dly, in Ch. 1. Sect. 5. of the same Dissertation, he proves that the Church has no Authority in Temporal Affairs, because it cannot force Men by Corporal Punishment, and Deprivation of their Goods: For, says he, 'tis a thing unheard of among the Ancients, that the Church should inflict any other Punishment than that of Excommunication, or Deposition. He owns, that after the Em∣perors became Christian, their affection to the Christian Religion, and desire to preserve the Em∣pire in Peace, mov'd them sometimes to Banish or Fine those who were Ringleaders of Heresy; which was very often done of their own proper motion; and sometimes, but seldom, at the de∣sire of the Fathers of the Church: But it was only in the latter Ages that the Church obtain'd of the Emperors a Power to inflict Corporal Punishment. For proof of this he shews, 1st, That Christ gave to the Church no Power but what is Spiritual, nor did order the Obsti∣nate and Disobedient to be otherwise Punish'd, than by excluding them from Communion. But this is not all, for he shews in the 2d place, (whatever Power Churchmen may have re∣ceiv'd from Magistrates over Men's Bodies) That nothing is more contrary to the Design of the Gospel than such a Power as strikes terror into the Minds of Men, which he proves from the words of our Saviour to the Apostles, when they would have call'd for Fire from Heaven upon the Samaritans, Luke 9. 25. Ye know not what Spirit ye are of, for the Son of Man came not to destroy Men's Lives, but to save them. 3dly, He shews, That Christ forbad his Apostles to use the Temporal Sword in defence of Religion, from the Rebuke that he gave to St. Peter for drawing his Sword; Put up thy Sword into the Sheath, for all they that take the Sword, shall perish by the Sword, Matth. 26. And lastly, he proves, That Ecclesiasticks cannot use the Temporal Sword, or Civil Power, to Force and Punish Men, from the Unanimous Consent of the Fathers, whom he there Quotes. And this may suffice to shew what Opinion Du Pin had of this Wolf of a Pastor, Innocent III. and the San∣guinary Methods he us'd to Extirpate Hereticks, by the Crusade, and the Inquisition; since he declares, not only that Churchmen have no such Power from Christ, and that it was never practis'd in the first and best Ages of the Church, but also, that it is con∣trary to the Design of the Gospel to use such Cruelties; and to the Mind of Christ to Defend, and much more to Propagate, Religion by such violent and bloody Methods.