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.

Of the Letters of S. Isidore upon the Holy Scripture.

The greatest and best part of S. Isidore's Letters, are upon several Texts of Holy Scripture. There is hardly a Book, as well of the Old as of the New Testament, of which he doth not ex∣plain several Texts. He often recommends the Reading of Holy Scripture, and gives excellent Rules for the good Use and true Understanding of it.

He requires, That every one that attempts to read it, should prepare himself, by purifying his Heart, and purging it from Passions and Vice, l. 4. 133. That in reading it all-a-long he should not only endeavour to comprehend the Sence, but labour earnestly to believe and practise what it teacheth, l. 4. 33. He adds, That we must read it with a great deal of Reverence, and not seek to dive into the incomprehensible Mysteries, l. 1. 24. That God hath, with much Reason, ordered That there should be in Holy Scripture some things very plain, and other places very obscure, as a mark of his Wisdom and Providence; for if all of it were clear, what would Man have to stir

up his Attention? And if all of it were obscure, how would it be possible to understand it? That which is evident explains that which is obscure; and altho' some Places may still remain obscure, yet there is one great Advantage to be drawn from them, which is to debase Man's Pride, l. 4. 82. He also observes, in several places, That the Holy Scripture is written in such a Style, as is to be preferred before all other Authors: For, saith he, the affected Eloquence of Heathen Writers serves only to gratify their Vanity, contributes nothing to Instruction; but the Style of Scripture is plain and natural, and very proper to instruct and inform the ignorant in the greatest Truths, l. 4. 61, 79, 140. He that undertakes to explain Holy Scripture, must have a grave and free elocution, and a Mind filled with Piety and Goodness. He must take the Sence of it, and not impose his own upon it, nor offer Violence to the Words of Scripture, that he may explain them agreeably to his own Fancy, l. 3. 292. He must not take little pieces by themselves, and put that Sence upon them that first comes into his Head, but he must weigh every Word, examine the Context, the Subject of which it treats, and why it was written so, l. 3. 136. Those that maintain, That all that is in the Old Testament hath a respect to Jesus Christ are mistaken, and do an Injury to Religion, by imposing upon the Words of Scripture a far-fetched Sence, which doth not agree to it, that it may have a relation every where to Jesus Christ. We must content our selves to apply that only to him which is apparently spoken of him, and not constrain our selves to attribute that to him which doth not relate to him; for those who would find Jesus Christ in those Places where he is not spoken of, give an occasion to the Unbelievers to doubt of those where he is. Genesis is the first and principal of Moses's Books, because it is necessary before a Law be established, that the Power and Authority of the Law-giver be made known, and the Re∣wards which he will give to those that keep his Commandments, and the Punishments which he will inflict upon those that break them, be discovered: Both of which are laid down in the History of Genesis, l. 4. 176. In reading the three Books of Solomon, we must begin with the Proverbs, proceed next to Ecclesiastes, and end with the Canticles: And that for this Reason. The First of these Books teaches us Moral Vertues; the Second shews us the Vanity and Falshood of worldly things; and the Third inspires us with the Love of Spiritual Things, and represents the Happiness of that Soul, that is in possession of them. If we should read the Canticles first, we might be apt to believe that it speaks of a Carnal and Terrestrial Love, but when we are fitted for the reading of this Book by the two other, there is no fear that we shall have any such Thoughts, for the Mind being furnished with Moral Precepts, and loosened from earthly things, easily understands that the good Things and Beauties which that Book inspires us with the love of, are altogether Spiritual.

Altho' the Explications which S. Isidore gives to the greatest part of the Texts of Holy Scri∣pture, upon which he makes any Reflections, do rather respect Morality and Piety than the literal Sence of Scripture, yet that hinders not but that he sometimes discusses and resolves Critical Que∣stions. As for example, He enquires into the beginning of Daniel's seventy Weeks, and explains the History of that Prophecy, l. 3. 89. He observes, upon the Genealogy of Jesus Christ, That the Virgin was of the Tribe of Judah as well as Joseph, l. 1. 7, 478. He proves, That the Text of the Gospel of S. Matthew, ch. 1. 20. Joseph knew her not, i. e. Mary, till she had brought forth her first-born son, doth not prove that Joseph knew Mary after her Delivery: Whereupon he pro∣duces a great many Examples taken out of Scripture, by which he shews, That the Particle until doth not signify that the thing was done afterward, but on the contrary it denotes that it never was. He adds, That Jesus Christ upon the Cross recommended the Virgin to S. John, because that Apostle was a Virgin, l. 1. 18. He asserts, That the Meat that S. John the Baptist did eat in the Wilder∣ness called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, were not, as is commonly believed, Grashoppers, or a sort of Creatures like Snails, but the Tops of Plants or Herbs, l. 1. 132. The Sabbath, called in Scripture 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, or the second Sabbath, Luke 6. 1. after the first, hath always seemed a Place hard to be understood. S. Isidore gives an Explication of it natural enough: He saith, That it is the first Day of Unlea∣vened Bread, which followed the Feast of the Passover. This was the second Sabbath, or second Festival after the first, on which the Passover was celebrated, l. 3. 110. The three Days and three Nights which Jesus Christ is said to remain in the Sepulchre, are very hard to find out: S. Isidore gives two explications to solve it: According to the first, Jesus Christ having been crucified on Fri∣day at Noon, we ought to count the first Day from that Hour to the Time when the Earth was covered with miraculous Darkness: This Darkness may very well pass for the first Night. The Darkness being over and gone, about three or four a Clock in the Afternoon, the Day returned; which may be called the second Day. The second Night was from Friday to Saturday. The third Day is Saturday. The third Night is from Saturday to Sunday. This first Explication is not at all natural, not only because it gives the Name of Night to the miraculous Darkness, but because the Question is not about the Time that was spent after Jesus Christ was fastned to the Cross to the Resurrection, but about the Time that his Body was in the Sepulchre. We must then rely upon the second: The first Day is Friday, the second Saturday and the third Sunday, in the Morning of which Jesus Christ rose from the Dead: These three are not whole Days, but ordi∣narily the Beginning and End of Days are taken for whole Days, when many are reckoned toge∣ther. As for example, If it be said to a Prisoner on Friday in the Evening, Within three Days you shall come out of Prison; it is meant, That he shall come out on Sunday, because whether it be in the Morning or Evening, it is true in some Sence to say, That he hath been three Days in Prison. As for the three Nights, it will be more difficult to find them out: We can count but two, and they are from Friday to Saturday, and from Saturday to Sunday. There is neither beginning nor

end of the third Night; but neither is it necessary, because when Jesus Christ said, That he should be three Days and three Nights in the Bowels of the Earth, as Jonas was three Days and three Nights in the Belly of the Whale, it ought not to be understood literally, it being the usual way of speaking among the Jews, not to distinguish the Night from the Day. It is sufficient to prove the Truth of the Prophecy, That Jesus Christ was as long in the Sepulchre as Jonas was in the Belly of the Whale, l. 4. 114. l. 2. 212. There is a Place which hath much perplexed all our Interpreters. 'Tis that in which S. Paul speaks of Baptism for the Dead. S. Isidore resolves this Difficulty after a very intelligible and rational manner. To be baptized for the Dead, saith he, is to be baptized into the Hopes of being changed into an incorruptible State, l. 1. 221. Some have taken great Pains to know, What S. Paul means, and what we are to understand in the Creed by the Quick and the Dead, which shall be judged at the last Day. S. Isidore tells us, That it is either the Body and the Soul, or perhaps the Good and the Sinner, or rather those who shall be then alive, and those who shall be dead before, l. 1. 221. Several Authors have con∣founded Philip, one of the seven first Deacons, who baptized the Eunuch of Queen Candace, with S. Philip the Apostle. S. Isidore is not guilty of that Mistake, but distinguishes the two Philips, l. 1. 447. The curious enquirers after the Greek Antiquities, have taken much Pains to know the Original of the Altar erected to the Honour of the unknown God, of which mention is made in the Acts: Some affirm, saith he, That the Athenians having required assistance of the Lacedaemonians, their Messenger was stopp'd near a Mountain of Parthenia, by a Ghost, who commanded him to return home, and bid the Athenians be of good Courage; for they should have no need of the Help of the Lacedaemonians, he would assist them: That the Athenians, after this, having obtained the Victory, built an Altar to that Unknown God, which had given them that Advice, and had helped them. Others say, That the City of Athens being afflicted with a Rage∣ing Pestilence, the Athenians having invoked all their other Gods, to no purpose, bethought themselves to build an Altar to the Unknown God, and immediately the Plague was stayed, l. 4. 69. There are a great number of other of S. Isidore's Letters upon several Texts of Holy Scri∣pture: But as a Proof of his Acuteness and Ability to interpret Holy Scripture, it is sufficient to observe, That he gives ten Explications of one Text of S. Paul, l. 4. 129. And that in one Letter, of a few Lines, he explains eight several Texts of Scripture, l. 4. 112. so ready and fa∣miliar was it to him. He sometimes unfolds those Texts which the Hereticks did abuse to uphold their Errors, and maintains against their false Glosses those Texts which the Orthodox alledged. He often enlarges upon such Maxims of Piety and Principles of Morality as are contained in those Texts of Holy Scripture which he quotes. He likewise very commonly explains it in a Spiritual Sence, that he may raise out of it some Moral Observations and useful Instru∣ctions.