CONFESSIO FIDEI.] "Periculosum nobis admodum at14. que etiam miserabile est, tot nunc fides ex"istere, quot voluntates: & tot nobis doctrinas

esse, quot mores: & tot causas blasphemiarum pullulare, quot vitia sunt: dum aut ita "fides scribuntur, ut volumus, aut, ita ut volumus, intelliguntur. Et cum sccundum unum "Deum & unum Dominum, & unum baptisma, etiam fides una sit, excidimus ab eâ fide, quæ "sola est: & dum plures fiant, id esse cœpe"runt, ne ulla sit; conscii enim nobis invicem ༦ sumus, post Nicæni conventûs synodum, nihil "aliud quam fidem scribi. Dum in verbis

pugna est, dum de novitatibus quæstio est, "dum de ambiguis occasio est, dum de autori"bus querela est, dum de studiis certamen est, "dum in consensu difficultas est, dum alter alteri "anathema esse cæpit, prope jam nemo est "Christi, &c. Jam vero proximi anni fides, quid jam de immutatione in se habet? Primum, quæ homousion decernit taceri: sequens rursum, quæ houmousion decernit & prædicat. "Tertium deinceps, quæ ousiam simpliciter à patribus præsumptam, per indulgentiam ex"cusat. Postremum quartum, quæ non excusat, sed condemnat, &c. De similitudine au"tem filii Dei ad Deum patrem, quod misera"bilis nostri temporis est fides, ne non ex toto, "sed tantum ex portione sit similis? Egregii "scilicet arbitri cœlestium sacramentorum con

quisitores, invisibilium mysteriorum profes"sionibus de fide Dei calumniamur, annuas

atque menstruas de Deo fides decernimus, "decretis pœnitemus, pœnitentes defendimus, "defensos anathematizainus, aut in nostri aliena "aut in alienis nostra damnamus, & mordentes "invicem, jam absumpti sumus invicem." Hilarius, p. 211. in lib. ad Constantium Augustum, Basil. 1550, fol.

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"It is a thing equally deplorable and dange rous that there are at present as many creeds

" as

15.

as there are opinions among men, as many "doctrines as inclinations; and as many sources of blasphemy, as there are faults among

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us; because we make creeds arbitrarily, and "explain them as arbitrarily. And as there is "but one faith; so there is but one only God, one Lord, and one baptism. We renounce "this one faith, when we make so many diffe"rent creeds; and that diversity is the reason why we have no true faith among us. "cannot be ignorant that, since the council of Nice, we have done nothing but make creeds. "And while we fight against words, litigate about new questions, dispute about equivocal terms, complain of authors, that every one 46 may make his own party triumph; while we 66 cannot agree, while we anathematise one an"other, there is hardly one that adheres to "Jesus Christ. What change was there not in "the creed last year! The first council ordained "a silence upon the homousion; the second "established it, and would have us speak; the "third excuses the fathers of the council, and "pretends they took the word ousia simply: "the fourth condemus them, instead of excusing "them. With respect to the likeness of the "Son of God to the Father, which is the faith "of our deplorable times, they dispute whether "he is like in whole, or in part. These are rare "folks to unravel the secrets of heaven. "vertheless it is for these creeds, about invisible "mysteries, that we calumniate one another, "and for our belief in God. We make creeds

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every year, nay every moon we repent of what we have done, we defend those that repent, we "anathematise those we defended. So we con"demn either the doctrine of others in ourselves, or our own in that of others, and, reciprocally "tearing one another to pieces, we have been the cause of each other's ruin."

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HÆRETICI.] "centur. Hæretici ergo sunt, sed non V. 13. "scientes. Denique apud nos sunt hæretici, 16. " apud se non sunt. Nam in tantam se catho"licus esse judicant, ut nos ipsos titulo hæreticæ

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appellationis infament. Quod ergo illi nobis sunt & hoc nos illis. Nos eos injuriam divinæ "generationi facere certi sumus, quod minorem

patre filium dicant. Illi nos injuriosos patri "existimant, quia æquales esse credamus. Veritas "apud nos est; sed illi apud se esse præsumunt. "Honor Dei apud nos est: sed illi hoc arbi"trantur, honorem divinitatis esse quod credunt. "Inofficiosi sunt, sed illis hoc est summum reli

gionis officium. Impii sunt, sed hoc putant esse veram pietatem. Errant ergo, sed bono "animo errant, non odio sed affectu Dei, honorare se dominum atque amare credentes. "Quamvis non habeant rectam fidem, illi ta

men hoc perfectam Dei æstimant caritatem. "Qualiter pro hoc ipso falsæ opinionis errore "in die judicii puniendi sunt, nullus scire potest "nisi judex. Interim idcirco eis, ut reor, pa"tientiam Deus commodat, quia videt eos, etsi non rectè credere, affectu tamen piæ opinionis errare. Salvinus. 339•

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162

This bishop speaks here of the Arian Goths and Vandals: "They are, says he, Barbarians, "who have no tincture of the Roman politeness, "and who are ignorant of what is very com"monly known among other men, and only "know what their doctors have taught them, "and follow what they have heard them say. "Men so ignorant as these find themselves un"der a necessity of learning the mysteries of the gospel, rather by the instructions that are given them, than by books."

"The tradition of their doctors and the re"ceived doctrines are the only rule they follow, "because they know nothing but what they "have taught them. They are then heretics, "but they know it not. They are so in our 66 account

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17. account, but they believe it not; and think "themselves so good catholics, that they treat

us as heretics, judging of us as we do of them. "We are persuaded that they believe amiss concerning the divine generation, when they "maintain the son is inferior to the Father; "and they imagine that we rob the Father of "his glory who believe them both to be equal. "We have the truth on our side, and they pre"tend it is on theirs. We give to God his due "honour, and they think they honour him bet"ter. They fail in their duty, but they imagine they perform perfectly well; and they "make true piety to consist in what we call impious. They are in a mistake, but with a great deal of sincerity; and it is so far from being an effect of their hatred, that it is a "mark of their love of God, since, by what they do, they imagine they show the greatest respect "for the Lord, and zeal for his glory. Therefore, though they have not true faith, they "nevertheless look upon that which they have "as a perfect love of God. It belongs only to "the judge of the universe to know how these "men will be punished for their errours at the "last day. Yet I believe God will show compassion towards them, because he sees their "heart is more right than their belief, and that, "if they are mistaken, it is their piety made. "them err.

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