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.

GENNADIUS.

GEnnadius, a Priest of Marseille, did himself make a Catalogue of his own Works, at the * 1.1 end of his Book of Ecclesiastical Writers.

I have Written, saith he, eight Books against all the Heresies, six Books against Nestorius, three Books against Pelagius. A Treatise concerning the Millennium, and St. John's Revelation. * 1.2 A Book of the Ec∣clesiastical Writers; and a Treatise of the Doctrine I hold, and believe, sent to Pope Gelasius. We have nothing of his but the two last.

It is needless to speak of the first here, because we have Copied it out wholly in this Volume. The Last, which bears this Title at present, Of the Doctrines of the Church, hath gone a long time under the Name of St. Austin, although the Authors of this Age have told us, that it is Gennadius's, and it carries his Name in some anci∣ent MSS. See what we have already said, when we spoke of the Additions to the 8th Tome of St. Austin's Works. It is Composed in the form of a Con∣fession of Faith; but in delivering the Orthodox truths he rejects the Contrary Errors, and Names the Maintainers of them. The five first Articles are about the Trinity, and Incarnation; the four following upon the Resurrection. In these last, he re∣jects the fabulous Opinion of the Millennaries, and the Errors of Origen and Diodorus, and proves that there shall be but one Resurrection of the Flesh, which shall be real, though incorruptible. He thinks, that it may be said, that those, who shall be found alive at the day of Judgment, shall not Die, but shall only be Changed, but it can't be asserted without an Error, that the Tor∣ments of the Devils or Wicked Men shall one day have an end. He is of Opinion, that none but God is Spiritual; that all Creatures are Corporeal, although Intellectual Creatures are Immor∣tal. He rejects the Opinion of Origen about the Pre-existence of Souls, as also of those that hold that they are produced by generation. He says, that God Creates, and at the same time infuses them into the Body. He asserts, that only the Soul of Man exists separately from the Body; that Man is made up of a Soul and Body, but there is no difference of Substance in him. He

holds that Man was Created free, but by Sin he hath lost the strength of that liberty; but yet he has not quite lost the power of choosing Good, and refusing Evil, and to seek after his own Sal∣vation, because God exhorts him, stirs him up, and encourages him to do it. So that the begin∣ning of Man's Salvation proceeds from his Free-will strengthened by Grace, because he can freely yield to its Inspiration, but it is the Gift of God to be able to attain the end we desire; that it depends upon our Labour, and the assistance of God, that we do not fall from the state of Grace, and when we do fall, we ought to impute it to our own negligence, and the viciousness of the Will.

He passes next to the Sacraments, and affirms, That there is but one Baptism, and that we must not Baptize them again, who have been Baptized by Hereticks, with the Invocation of the Name of the Trinity; but they, who have not been Baptized in the Name of the Trinity, ought to be Rebaptized, because such a Baptism is not true. He neither commends nor blames the practise of those, who received the Sacrament every day. But he exhorts and requires them to receive the Sacrament every Sunday, provided they are not linked to any Sin; for those who are accu∣stomed to any Sin, are rather leaden by the guilt, than purged from it by the Sacrament, but yet he that finds himself averse from Sin, may receive the Sacrament, although he hath Sin'd, which he understands, as himself says, of him, who hath not committed any grievous, or heinous Sins; for whosoever hath committed any of these sort of Sins after Baptism, he exhorts him to testifie his sorrow for them, by performing publick Penance, and so be restored to the Communion of the Church by the Absolution of the Priest, if he will not subject himself to Condemnation by re∣ceiving of the Sacrament. Not that I deny, that Heinous Sins can be * 1.3 remitted by a Private Re∣pentance; but then it must be done by an entire change of the Custom of Living, by a continual sorrow for them, and not receiving the Sacrament, till they had made a thorough Reformation, and live altogether otherwise than they have done.

True Repentance, is not to be guilty again of that which we have Repented of, and real sa∣tisfaction consists in eradicating Sin, and never more exposing our selves to Temptations.

In the 25 * 1.4 Article he affirms, That we ought not to expect any thing Earthly in our Happi∣ness, and that the Millennary Reign of Christ is a mere Chimaera.

The other Articles are nothing but Explications of the precedent, or concern the Discipline of the Church. He speaks also of Grace and Free-will in Art. 26, where he says, that no Man tends to Salvation, unless he be called to it, and that none that are called can it obtain but by the help of God: that none obtains this assistance but he that prays for it; that God wills not that any should Perish; that he only permits it, that he may not injure Man's Freedom. He adds in Art. 27, and those that follow, that God did not create Sin; that Men commit it by their Free∣dom; That this proves that only God is immutable; That the Angels have voluntary persevered in goodness; That Marriage is good, when it is used for the procreation of Children, or to a∣void Fornication; That Celibacy, when it is preserved with a design to serve God, is a very ad∣vantageous State, and Virginity is also most excellent; That it is Lawful to eat of all sorts of Meats, but it is convenient to abstain from some and preserve Temperance; That it is credible that Mary the Mother of God did always remain a Virgin; That we ought not to believe, that at the Day of Judgment, the Elements shall be destroyed, but only changed; That the Resur∣rection shall not quite take away the difference of Sexes; That the Souls of the Righteous go to Heaven as soon as they depart from their Bodies, and then expect perfect Happiness; but the Souls of Sinners are kept in Hell where they wait their Punishment; That the Flesh of Man is not Naturally Evil; That the Devil doth not know the Secret Thoughts of Man, but guesses at them only by the Motions of the Body; That he is not always the Author of Evil Thoughts though God be always of Good ones; That he never enters the Soul, but is united and joyned to it; That the Miracles and Wonders which Wicked Men do, doth not make them more Holy or better Men; That there is no Righteous Man that Sins not, but for all that he continues Righteous; That no Unbaptized Person can be saved, and therefore Catechumens obtain not Eter∣ternal Life, unless they have suffered Martyrdom, because all the Mysteries of Baptism are ac∣complished by Martyrdom; for he that is Baptized, professes his Faith in Jesus Christ before his Bishop; He that suffers Martyrdom, doth it before his Pesecutors. After this Confession the Ca∣techumen is either plunged in, or sprinkled with the Water; the Martyr is either sprinkled with his own Blood, or cast into the Fire. The Person Baptized receives the Holy Spirit by the Im∣position of the Bishop's Hands, the Martyr is an Instrument of the Holy Spirit, which moves, and speaks in him. The Person Baptized partakes of, and remembers the Death of Christ, by receiving the Sacrament; the Martyr dies with Jesus Christ. The Baptized person renounces the World, the Martyr abandons Life. All Sins are pardoned by Baptism, and blotted out by Martyrdom; This comparison we have thought fit to recite at large for the excellency of it. Let us now return to the other Articles of Gennadius, not yet spoken of. They almost all concern Discipline or Morality; That Repentence can procure Pardon of Sins, yea even for those who defer it, till they are at the point of Death; That the Sacrament ought not to be administred with Water only, but with Wine mingled with Water; That it is good to Honour the Reliques of Saints, and to go to the Churches which bear their Names, as to places appointed for Prayer to God; That Persons twice Married ought not to be Ordained; nor such as have kept a Con∣cubine▪ not such as have Married a Widow, or a Lewd Woman, nor the Lame, nor Usurers,

or Stage-Players; nor those who have done Publick Penance; nor Fools, nor Daemoniacks, nor Simonists. That the Clergy may keep their Estates, if they do it, that they may distribute the Yearly Revenues to the Poor, but it is better to give it them all together; That Easter may not be kept till the Vernal Aequinox be past, and the full Moon be over.

These are all the Articles contain'd in * 1.5 this Treatise of Gennadius. There is more Learning than Judgment in this Work; for in it Gennadius delivers many Erroneous Doctrines, propounds mere Opinions, as Articles of Faith, and condemns many Orthodox Truths. This Treatise of Gennadius, and his Book of Ecclesiastical Writers, do evidently prove, that he was not of Saint Austin's Judgment concerning Grace and Free-will, but of Faustus of Ries, and that he approved of his Opinion, concerning the Nature of the Soul, and of all Creatures. His style is plain, clear, elegant and clean. I forgot to observe, that he hath added to Saint Austin's Treatises of Heresies, four new Heresies, viz. The Predestinarians, Nestorians, Eutychi∣ans, and Timotheans. This Addition is found under Gennadius's Name, in a MS. of St. Victor's Library, at the end of St. Austin's Book, and Hincmarus cites it under the Name of this Author.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Genna∣dius.
• * 1.2

  It is a continuation of St. Jerom's Catalogue of Ecclesi∣astical Writers from 392; where St. Jerom left off to 495, and therefore has been Printed with it at Basil, in 1528, 4to; at Colen, in 1580; at Helmstadt, in 1612, 4to; and at Antwerp 1639.
• * 1.3

  Par∣doned.
• * 1.4

  D. Cave is of Opi∣nion that 30 Arti∣cles of this work, viz. from Art. 22. to Art. 51 are not Genna∣dius's, but com∣posed by some other hand af∣ter Gen∣nadius's Death.
• * 1.5

  This Book hath been Printed by it self with the Learned Notes of Elmenhorstius at Hamburgh, 1614, 4to.