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 APOLLINARII.

APOLLINARIUS a 1.1, the Father, was a Citizen of Alexandria, who forsook his Country, and went to teach Grammar at Berytus. From thence he pass'd to Laodicea, where he had a * 1.2 Son of his own Name, whom he brought up to Learning. This young Man who had a great deal of Wit, in a short time, made a wonderful Progress in Knowledge, and capacitated himself for teaching Rhetorick publickly at Laodicea, while his Father was writing Books of Grammar. Both of them afterwards applying themselves to the Study of the Scriptures, the Father was Ordain'd Priest, and the Son Reader. But having a great Affection for profane Learning, they maintain'd an intimate Correspondence with a Pagan Sophist, call'd Epiphanius, which render'd them odious to the Christians. Socrates, says, That Theodotus Bishop of Laodicea, cast them out of the Church for this cause; and 'tis certain, that George the Successor of Theodotus laid hold of this Pretence, to Excommunicate them, because they took part with Athanasius against him. Nevertheless, Apollinarius, the Son was chosen Bishop of Laodicea b 1.3, and was belov'd and esteem'd by St. Athanasius, St. Basil, and St. Epi∣phanius, and all the great Men of his Age c 1.4, upon the account of his Knowledge and Learning. But afterwards falling into Errors concerning the Mystery of the Incarnation, he was look'd upon as a Heretick, and he gave Name to a Sect which was condemn'd by the Church: He died under the Reign of Theodosius, about the Year 380. All the Ancients testify, That this Author wrote an in∣finite number of Volumes d 1.5 upon the Holy Scripture, and upon other Subjects. He made Books against the Arians, Eunomius, Origen, and against many Hereticks. He compos'd also many Ho∣milies,

and wrote several Letters e 1.6. But his chief Work in the Judgment of all Men, was his great Treatise divided into 30 Books, which he wrote in Defence of Religion against Porphyrie the Philoso∣pher f 1.7. It excell'd in Beauty and Strength, all that had been written before by Eusebius and the Ancients, against the Pagan Religion. He wrote also in the time of Julian, another great Book of the Truth of Religion against the Emperour and the Pagan Philosophers. 'Tis said, That Julian having perus'd it, wrote to him that sent it, I have read it; I have understood it; I have condemn'd it; and that St. Basil or some other Bishop made answer to him; You may have read it, but surely you never understood it; for if you had understood it, you had never condemn'd it. Under the Reign of the same Emperour, Apollinarius seeing that Christians were forbidden to read to their Children the Greek Poets, Orators and Philosophers, wrote in Heroic Verse the History of the Jews, down to the time of Saul, and divided this Work into 24 Books, in Imitation of Homer. He took Subjects also from the Old Testament, to make Tragedies, Comedies and Odes, in imitation of Euripides, Sophocles and Pindar. Besides that, he turn'd the Gospels and the Epistles into Dialogues, in imita∣tion of Plato's Books: And thus he supplied to Christians, the want of profane Authors of all sorts. Socrates, attributes the Poetical Books to Apollinarius the Father, and 'tis probable that they were rather his, since they are more agreeable to his Profession. We have also a Translation of the Psalms in Verse, which bears the Name of Apollinarius; and this is the only entire Book we have extant of this Author. 'Tis an exact, faithful, and noble Translation of all the Psalms: Some have also attribu∣ted to him the Tragedy, entitled, Christ Suffering, which bears the Name of Gregory Nazianzen; but it has neither the same Air nor Stile. Theodoret relates some Passages of Apollinarius in his Dia∣logues, which prove that this Author acknowledg'd, That Jesus Christ took Flesh in the Womb of the Virgin, and that this Flesh was not chang'd into the Divinity; but then withal, they show, That he deni'd that the Soul of Jesus Christ had an Understanding or Mind. Eulogius in the Extract made by Photius, Vol. 230 of his Bibliotheca, produces a Passage of Apollinarius, wherein he seems to admit one Nature only in Jesus Christ. Polemon, the Disciple of Apollinarius, who is mention'd in the same place, and in the Fourth Book of the Fables of Hereticks, written by Theodoret, was of the same Opinion, and attributes it to his Master. The Extracts taken out of the Discourses of Apol∣linarius and Polemon, produc'd in the Council of Lateran, under Martin the V. Sess. 5. prove also that Apollinarius maintain'd, That there was but one Nature in Jesus Christ after the Union. And yet he acknowledges in the Passages recited by Theodoret, That the Divine and Humane Nature, re∣main'd in Jesus Christ without Mixtureor Confusion, and that each of them retain'd their own Pro∣perties. This probably is that Contradiction which made St. Basil say, That the Judgment of Apol∣linarius, about the Incarnation, was very obscure and intricate. The same Father, in Letter 59, and 293, and St. Gregory Nazianzen, in his first Letter to Cledonius, accuse him of the Error of Sabellius, who confounded the three Divine Persons. But Theodoret observes, That at the bottom he believ'd the Mystery of the Trinity as we do, tho' he explain'd it in such a manner, as gave occasion to accuse him of Error, because he admits Degrees among the three Persons of the Trinity, and seems not to distinguish the Personal Subsistences. And indeed, St. Epiphanius vindicates Apollinarius from the Sabellian Heresy, and says, That Vitalis, his most famous Disciple, who calls himself Bishop of An∣tioch, was so far from holding this Heresy, That the Pretence which he alledg'd for his Separation from Paulinus, was because he believ'd him to be of Sabellius's Opinion. In short, Vincentius Lirinensis, and Leontius, vindicate Apollinarius from the Suspicion of Sabellianism. There are two Errors more attributed to him, which were common to him with many Ancients. The first, is that famous Opi∣nion of the Reign of Christ, and the Saints upon Earth, for the space of 1000 Years, which St. Basil, Epist. 74 and 293; St. Gregory Nazianzen, Epist. 2. and St. Jerom in his Catalogue, Ch. 28. do all charge him with. The second Opinion is, That the Souls of Men are produc'd by Souls, as the Bodies are by Bodies. St. Jerom and Nemesius, are the only Persons that accuse him of this Error; the first in Ep. 28 the second in Ch. 2. of his Treatise.

The Opinion of Apollinarius about the Incarnation, was condemn'd in the Council of Alexandria, where it was declar'd, That Jesus Christ assum'd a Body, a Soul and Spirit, such as we have. Paulinus of Antioch, did also profess this Doctrine in a Discourse by its self, which is at the End of the Council of Alexandria, and in St. Epiphanius, Haeres. 77. In the Year 373, Vitalis the Disciple of Apolli∣narius, who caus'd himself to be ordain'd Bishop of Antioch, went to find out Pope Damasus, and presented to him a Confession of Faith about the Incarnation, which seem'd to be Catholick, and clearly rejected the Error of Apollinarius. St. Cyril produces a Fragment of this Confession of Faith, in the Book which he dedicated to Queens. When the Pope saw this Confession, he believ'd that Vitalis was a Catholick, and therefore did not refuse him his Communion; but having no full assu∣rance of his Sincerity, he wrote to Paulinus, and sent him Articles about the Trinity and the Incar∣nation, which he should cause Vitalis and all those that would be restor'd, to Sign. When these Arti∣cles were brought into the East, Vitalis, and those of his Sect would not Sign them. Damasus under∣standing this, says St. Gregory Nazianzen, and being informed that they persisted still in their ancient Error, cast them out of the Church, and tore the Libel and Anathematisms which had been presented to

him by Vitalis, being very much troubled that he had been so deceiv'd. He gave this Judgment in a Council at Rome, held in the Year 377, at which, Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, assisted. The Bishops of the East, approv'd of what Damasus had done, and confirm'd the Judgment which the Pope had given against the Ap••llinarians: For in the Synod of Antio••••, in the Year 378, they signed a Tome or a Writing of the Western Bishops, which condemned their Errors. Afterwards, the Apollinarians were always look'd upon as Hereti••ks, as appears by the Council of Constantinople, where they are joyn'd with the Arians, Ennomians, and other declar'd Hereticks.

Apollinarius, of all the Christian Writers, had most studied Grammar, Rhetorick, and profane Philosophy: But he was not profoundly Learned in the Scripture and Religion; he philosophiz'd too much upon our Mysteries, and did not confine himself enough to the simplicity of the Scrip∣tures, which Fault was the occasion of his falling into Error: For when once Men give themselves up to humane Reasonings in the Explication of Mysteries, they presently wander from the right way, and are in danger of falling head-long. He had not the sublime and affected Eloquence of the Bar, but a Philosophical kind of Eloquence which consisted in turning his Thoughts and Reasons, after an easy, clear and pleasant manner. Philostorgius quoted by Suidas, compar'd him to St. Basil, and St. Gregory Nazianzen, and says,

That these three were the ablest Men of their time. That they excell'd those who had written before them, and that St. Athanasius in comparison of them, appear'd but a Child; That they were well vers'd in profane Learning, and had made a great Pro∣gress in them; That with all this, they had all that was necessary for Reading and Understanding the Scriptures, and chiefly Apollinarius, who understood Hebrew. That each of them excell'd in his kind; That the Stile of Apollinarius was fittest for writing Books; That St. Basil's Stile was best for publick Orations, but Gregory Nazianzen surmounted them both in the sublimity of his Stile, which was more lofty than that of Apollinarius, and more grave than that of St. Basil. He adds, That these three Persons had all the Qualities which were most proper for winning the Admiration of all Mankind. The Life of Apollinarius, was probably no less Holy than that of the other two great Men. In short, he might have been equal to the greatest Pillars of the Church, as Vincentius Lirinensis says excellently, if his profane Curiosity had not carried him to the Invention of Novelties, which made him lose the Fruit of all his Labours, and made his Doctrine an occasion of Scandal, rather than Edification.

Apollinarius's Paraphrase or Translation of the Psalms, was printed in Greek at Paris, in the Year 1580; and together with the Version of Sylburgius, by Commelinus, in the Year 1596. Since that time, it has been put into the Bibliothecae Patrum. The other Works of this Author are lost, except some Fragments; and his Error was probably the cause of this Loss. The Catholicks had so great a Horror of Books of Hereticks, that they would not so much as preserve those that did not concern their He∣resy, and which might have been useful to the Church: Upon which Account it is, that we have scarce any Book of the ancient Hereticks, and that the Eutychians were oblig'd to publish Apollina∣rius's Books under the Names of Catholick Authors, as we have observ'd when we spoke of the Writings of Pope Julius.

Notes

• a 1.1

  Apollinarius.] The Greeks always called him, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉: St. Basil is the only Person that wrote it with a double 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 St. Jerom, called him, Apollinarius. The generality of the Latins for softness sake, give him the Name of Apollinaris.
• * 1.2

  The Apol∣linarii.
• b 1.3

  Bishop of Laodicea.] St. Athanasius in a Letter to the Antiochians, St. Epiphanius, in Haeres. 77. St. Basil, in Letter 293. Ruffinus, in B. II. Ch. 20. and St. Jerom in his Catalogue, all agree, that he was Bishop of this City. Theodoret in B. V. of his History says, That Apol∣linarius would have invaded the See of Antioch, but by his Disciple Vitalis.
• c 1.4

  He was belov'd and esteem'd by all the great Men of his Age.] He was a very good Friend to St. Athana∣sius, who had seen him at his return from his Banish∣ment, as St. Epiphanius testifies in Haeres. 77. Leontius in B. III. against Nestorius, says, That Apollinarius boast∣ed, of receiving Letters from Athanasius, Serapion, and the great Men of his time. He quotes a Fragment of a Letter of Apollinarius, where he glories in having Letters from St. Athanasius. His Deputies assisted at the Council of Alexandria, and Sign'd there as the Depu∣ties of an Orthodox Bishop. It does not appear that St. Athanasius did ever break with him. St. Basil says in his Letter 82, That he ow'd respect to this Man; That he was so much his fast Friend, that he would take his Faults upon himself. St. Epiphanius calls him, a Venerable Old Man, and says, That he was very dear to St. Athanasius, and all the Orthodox Bishops. St. Jerom in his 64 Letter, says, That he had often seen him at Antioch, that he honour'd him, and had learn'd many things from him. I pass over in silence, the Te∣stimonies of Socrates, Sozomen, Philostorgius, Vincentius Lirinensis, &c.
• d 1.5

  An infinite number of Volumes.] St. Basil in Epi∣stle 74, says, That he had fill'd the World with his Books. Theophilus in his first Epistle, says, That he wrote against Origen, against the Eunomians and Arians. Acacius of Beraea, in his Letter to St. Cyril, Tom. 3d. of the Works of this Father, p. 63. says the same thing; and St. Jerom, says, That he made an infinite number of Books. Vincentius Lirinensis, says, That 'twere too long to give a Catalogue of his Books.
• e 1.6

  Many Homilies, and wrote several Letters.] There are many of his Sermons quoted in the Council of Lateran, under Martin the V. whose Extracts are produc'd in Tom. 6. of the Councils. P. 314, 315. And Sozomen, B. II. Ch. 17. relates a Fragment of Apollinarius, con∣cerning St. Athanasius. He wrote also against Diodorus of Tarsus, as appears by Suidas, B. III. Ch. 4.
• f 1.7

  His chief Work in the Judgment of all Men, was his Treatise against Porphyrie the Philosopher.] St. Jerom, says, That his 30 Books against Porphyrie, were the most esteem'd of all his Works. Vincentius Lirinensis says, That it was his greatest and most excellent Work.