Anti-Haman, or, An answer to Mr. G. Burnet's Mistery of iniquity unvailed wherein is shewed the conformity of the doctrine, worship, & practice of the Roman Catholick Church with those of the purest times : the idolatry of the pagans is truly stated ... / by W.E. ...

CHAPTER XVI. Of Purgatory.

G. B. p. 55. begins to treate of Purgatory, & doth it soe lyghtly, as if he feared to burne his fingers. Yet if he shews lesse Reading, he shews more Cunning, then his Brethren, E.S. or W.L. who give greater advantages to an

Adversary, by fixing a time for the kindling of that Purging fire, which was lyghted long before any determinate time they can fix uppon Mr. Stillingf. pag. 654. Not one of the fathers affirmed your doctrine of Purgatory, before Gregory I. Yet W. L. allows it a much greater antiquity, pag. 353. We can find, says he, a beginning of this doctrine, & a Beginner too, namely Origen. Thus they differ amongt themselves & as little agree each with himself: for. p. 348. W. L. had sayd Scarce any father within the first three hundred yeares, ever thought of it. Which assertion is con∣tradiction, to what he says, of Origen's being the Beginner of it, & it is moreover very rash: for doth he think, that all the fathers of the first three ages writ downe all their thoughts? or that all they writ is preserved till our days? or that he hath seene all that is soe preserved? or remembers all that he hath ever seene? But let us leave these men to reconcile together their owne thoughts which will be no small, nor short labour: And examin the thing it self. & to come to it, I passe over severall slips of our adversarys, v.c. Wil Lawd pag. 348. says, that the first Definition of Purgatory to beleived as a divine truth, was made by the Councill of Florence. In which he is mistaken: for Benedict XII. long before that, had defined the same.

I prove, that the primitive Church belie∣ved a Purgatory in the most pure times, out

of the testimony of three Fathers, S. Hilary, S. Gregory Nissen, & S. Austin.

S. Hilary(a) 1.1 Ille indefessus ignis obeundus est, subeunda sunt illa expiāda a peccatis animae supplicia. That restlesse fire is to be endured: & those punish∣ments to be borne, which may purge our soul from sins.

S. Greg. Nissen.(b) 1.2 as cited by W. L. p. 351, Men must be purged ether by Prayers, or by the fur∣nace of Purgatory fire after this life. Againe. A man cannot be partaker of the divine nature unlesse the purging fire doth take a way the staines, that are in his soul. Againe. After this life, a Purgatory fire takes away the blots, & propensity to evill. W. L. considering these words, ingenuously con∣fesses, they seeme plaine.

Yet he holds out one buckler against these two Arrows drawne out of the quivers of those fathers: that they speake of a Purgation of sins: & in the Roman Church we are taught to be∣leive only a Purgation of the paine due to sins already forgiven. Now this avayles little, 1. because the debt of paine may be, & often is taken for sin, (on which it is grounded) meto∣nimicè. 2. He seemes not to understand our doctrine: for there is no definition of our church oblidging us to beleive that there remaine no veniall sins in Purgatory. Hence Dr. Kellison(c) 1.3 late President of the Inglish Colledge of

Doway, proves Purgatory to be prepared first for those who dye with only veniall sins. Se∣condly for those who dye without any sin but only without having satisfyed fully for the pai∣nes due to sins forgivē. The same reasons are al∣leadged by D. Silvius(a) 1.4 where he treates the same question. And before these Benedict us XII. in his Decree. Benedict us Deus, hath these words: Decernimus animas decedentes cum veniali aliquo peccato, purgari post mortem, & post purgationem, ante resumptionem suorum corporum, & judicium generale, post Ascensionem Christi Domini, fuisse, esse, & futuras esse in caelo. We doe declare, that souls dying in veniall sin beind purged after their death, before the generall Resurrection are transla∣ted to Heaven. Which Decree you many find in magno Bullario, & in Alphons. de Castro verbo Beatitudo. You see fir, that there is nothing in the Purgatory described by those Saints incon∣sistent, with what we are tought to beleive of ours. Soe W. L. or his squire E. S. must stu∣dy for another evasion.

W. L. cites indeed the Councill of Florence to confirme his answer. But that place helpes only to convince the world how perfuncto∣riously he read, & inconsiderately framed his Judgment, uppon reading: for in the place ci∣ted by him, the Council speakes of souls dying in the state of Grace, or Charity, si in Charitate de∣cesserint: But of their not having any veniall

sins, not one word, unlesse he thinks that all souls in Grace are free from veniall sins, which will be another proofe of his abilityes in Divinity.

My next proofe is taken from S. Augustin in Enchir. cap. 110. Neque negandum est, de∣functorum animas pietate suorum viventium rele∣vari, cùm pro illis sacrificium mediatoris offertur, vel Eleemosynae in Ecclesiâ fiunt, sed iis haec pro∣sunt, qui cùm viverent, ut haec sibi postea prodesse possent, meruerunt. Est enim quidam vivendi modus nec tam bonus, ut non requirat ista post mortem, nec tam malus, ut ei non prosint ista post mortem. Est verò talis in bono, ut ista non requirat, & est rursus talis in malo, ut nec his valeat, cùm ex hac vitâ transierit, adjuvari. Similia habentur l. 21. de Civ. Dei c. 24. It ought not to be denyed, that souls departed are eased by the Piety of their survi∣ving friends, When the Sacrifice of our Mediator is offred, for them, or almes given in the Church. But those are releived by these helpes, wholived soe as to deserve the benefit of them after their death: for there is a kind of life nether soe good, as not to neede them, nor soe bad, as not to receive ease by them. There is another soe good, as not to want them, & a third soe bad as to be incapable of helpe, even from them. Thus S. Austin.

Where you see, he distinguishes three pla∣ces for the souls departed, as cleerely, as Bellar∣min, or the Councill of Trent. One of those soe good, as not to neede helpe by the suffrages of

the Church (such are the Blessed souls in Hea∣ven) Another soe bad, as to be incapable or un∣worthy of releife by the suffrages, (such are the wretched souls in Hell) A third needing them, & incapable of Ease from them (such are souls in Purgatory.)

You see secondly cleere mention of the Sacri∣fice of our Mediator, offred by the Church in his days. What is this, but our masse? which you may find againe l. 10. de Civ. Dei c. 20.

You see thirdly, this sacrifice offred for the Deade. And lastly you see, Almes given in the Church for the releife, & ease of deceased friends: How many points of our Reformers Ca∣techisme doth this one place confute! Truly one may think, ether that they invented these doctrines to spite S. Austin, or that this greate Saint writ that Chapter with a Prophetick spi∣rit to convince the world that your sentiments are no lesse opposit to the ancient, then to the moderne Church, which both agree in holding out the same tenets in Faith.

E. Still. pag. 642. S. Austin delivers his Iudg∣ment with such feare, & hisitancy, that any me may easily see, that he was far from making it an ar∣ticle of Faith. He may as well say, that the Councill of Trent spoke with hesitancy. He addes: That in S. Austin's time, many favoured Origenes his opinion, of the finall saluation of all, at least who dyed in the Communion of the Church. But what is this to S. Austin who condemnes

that hereticall opinion as he says, & may be seene l. 21. de Civ. Dei c. 24. & in the whole booke, de fide & operibus.

But says E. S. Augustin speakes doubt∣fully l. de fide & operibus cap. 16. & Enchir. cap. 69. But he should have taken notice, that he speakes in those places not of Purgatory in it selfe; but of a particular paine, which we, no lesse then he, doubt of. The matter he treates Enchir. c. 68. is the Greife, which men feele fer the losse of such things, which they Loved inordinately, & by that meanes offended God althô their love to creatures, were not soe grea∣te as to withdraw them from the foundation, Christ. Vrit eum rerum dolor, quas dilexcrat amis∣sarum; sed non subvertit fundamenti stabilitate mu∣nitum. Such a man is burnt, and tormented with the losse of those things, which he loved: yet he is not quite consumed because the foundation stands fast. viz his love to Christ, whome he would sticke to, al∣thô with losse of other things. Then follows, c. 69. where he doubts whither such a purging fire, or paine as this is, shall accompagny them in the next world, that is, whither souls depar∣ted retaine any disorderly affection to their pos∣sessions in this world, by reason of which, the want of them may be a torment to them, &, as it were, burne them. In alike manner l. de fide & operibus, cap. 16. Sivè ergò in hac vita tantum, homines ista patiuntur, says he, sivè post hanc vi∣tam talia quadam judicia subsequuntur. Whither

men suffer such things only in this life, or the same rorments accompagny them into the next world. Which is a thing moderne Catholicks as much doubt of, as S. Austin: yet he, as well as we myght beleive most certainly, what he soe positively af∣firmed in his Manuall, chap. CX.

In vaine therefore, doth E. Still. alleadge p. 653. the blotting out of those words. Constat animas post hanc vitam purgari, It is evident that souls are purged after this life. There is enough left in S. Austin's undoubted workes to confute his errour. Soe the successe of that reformer was like that of Marcion with his sponge, who blot∣ted out some parts of Scripture, yet what re∣mained confuted his heresy.

As for holy Scripture, I think the argument which S. Austin uses l. 21. de Civ. Dei cap. 23. very convincing for Purgatory. It is taken out of the words of our Saviour Mathaei 12.32. It shall be forgivē nether in this world nor in the next. Whence it follows, that some sins are forgi∣in the next world. Neque enim de quibusdam ve∣raciter diceretur, quod non eis remittatur, neque in hoc saeculo, neque in futuro saeculo, nisi essent, qui∣bus etsi non in isto, tamen remittetur in futuro, Aug. l. 21. de Civit. Dei, cap. 24. Now to Mr. G. B.

G.B. p. 55. For Purgatory the proofe from Scrip∣ture was only drawne from one wrested place of the Apostle Paul 1. Cor. 3.12.13.14.15.

ANS. How can you say this, when amongst

the ancients, S. Austin uses another text, as we have just now seene. And Bellarmin hath nine∣teene texts of Scripture, as your Patriark W.L. will tell you, p. 353.?

G. B. The Apostles words containe only a Prover∣biall forme of speech, to expresse the risque they run. The Apostle speakes not only of arisque, or ha∣zard; but of an effectuall losse. He shall fuffer losse, Says he verse 15.

G. B. p. 55. Many visions, & apparitions were vouched for the proofe of Purgatory

ANS. I never saw any vouched for that in∣tent: I am sure nether the Councill of Trent, nor that of Florence, nor Benedict. XII. vouched any such thing for that intent.

I think not our divine Faith much concerned in asserting the Truth of any purely humane hystory: & I think most apparitions to be such. Yet because severall Protestants, as well as all Atheists, utterly reject all such relations, I desire them to reade S. Austin l. de Curâ pro mortuis, cap. 10. where he says it would be an Impudence to deny them all. Impudenter venire videbimur, si haec falsa esse responderimus. And in his 16. chap. he says, he had learnt non incertis rumoribus, sed testibus certis: not from uncertain rumours; but from undoubted withnesses, that S. Faelix had appeared both to Citizens, & strangers, during the siege of Nola.

Had you the same Faith, which was then in the Church, you would beleive these things:

your denying them, which the Primitive Church, & S. Austin beleived, shews you to be anitmted with a different Faith.

Notes

• (a) 1.1

  Hil. in ps. 118.20.
• (b) 1.2

  Greg. orat. de mortliis.
• (c) 1.3

  Kellis. in 3. p. tom. 2. p. 611.
• (a) 1.4

  Sylvius in 3. p. Suppl. q. 100. p. 350.