The History of the Inquisition Vol 1 (Philip Limborch)

THE

HISI N QUIBy PHI

TO R'YOFT HE

SIT IONa

LIP

L I ill I?Q !? (.1REMONSTRANTS.

"/

Profeflor of Divinity amongft the

Tranflared into Englijh

By

S.A M U E L C H A J.V 'J) L E R.

In Two

VOL U M E S.

VOLA large I N T ROD 1J C T Progrefs of PER SEC pretended Caufes of it.ION UTI

I."

To whicll is prefixed)

concerning the Rife and 0 N, and the real and

innocent Bloo1: fJ"he,: 'Tho.ugh!s are Thoughts of Iniquity; W'!fting and DeJiruBlOll are in tbeir Paths. He goes a!J9ut as a roaring Lion, fleking whom. he may deuour.*....

crheir1!td run tf),Evil, and they make hajle tafbed

I~O]\':TJON:

Sold by}. G RAY)

at the Croft-Keys:\J DeC XXXI,

in the. Poultry.:

TOT

H E

QUEEN REGENT.

1\1: A DA M~ ~~l~l, Should never 'have entertained

the

Ieall; Thought of prefenting to Your Majefly the HISTOR Y OF THE INQUISITION, but that it afforded me an Opportunity of expreffing my fiocere

joy, in that which .is the common HappinefS'AJ'OLti

~@:.

7il~Ol.l~(J.'v n ':t'oAi, J'O(J.I(ti e,lI~ II J'O(J.I("" f.n:y. '$ 5 it 7110,11$ J'U"'ipa~f"'YTIp."t-'.;}1U~1(j-.!

,!(.:LWo:C

1'fl.l.U.O'llft."jr"-.

j

I

1 he I N

.

T ROD

U C T I ON.

~n~i1tbe&c.

b;;;'me~ta perpetual Law,

I 'Will obty God ratber than you, and teach my Pbilofopby as long,as 1 live. However, norwithftanding the Goodnefs of his Caufe and Defence, he was con.demned for Impiety and Atheifm, and ended his Life with a Draught of Poifon, dying a real Martyr for God, and the Purity of his Worfhip. Thus we fee that in the Ages of natural Reafon and Light, not to be orthodox, or to differ from the eftablifhed Religion, was the fame Thing as to be impious and atheiftical, and that one of the wifeft Men that ever lived was put to Death merely on account of his Religion. I muft add, in Juftice to the Laity, that the Judges and Accufers of Socrates .were not Priefts. Melitus was a Poet, Anytus an Artificer, and Lycon an Orator; fo that the Profecution was truly Laick, and the Priefts don't appear to .have had any Share in his Accufation, Condemnation, and Death. Nor. indeed, was their a.ayN eed of the Affiftance of Prieflcraft in this Affair, the .Profecution of this excellent Man being perfectly agreeable to the Conftitution and Maxims of the Athenian Government; which had, to ufe the Words of 0'.R.ogersa late Reverend Author, incorporated or made Religion a Part of the Laws of the civil Community. One of the Attick Laws was to this Effect: : Let it be11C

and binding,at all 'limes, to worJhip our national Gods and Heroes 'publickly, accordingto the Lat: of our Anceflors. So that no new Gods, nor new

Doctrines about old Gods, nor any .new Rites of Worfhip, could be introduced by any Perfon whatfoever, without incurring the Penalty of this Law, which Cone, A- .. as Death. w Thus 70ftphus tells us, that 'twas prohibited by Law to teach ~Ion. I. 2.. new Gods, and that the Punifhment ordained againft thofe who fhould introIf~:~t. duce any fuch, wasDeath. Agreeably to this, the Orator lfacrates, pleading . Areop. in the~rand Council of l1.thcns, p~ts th.e~ in mind of t~e Cuft~m and Practice of their Anceftofs: d 'Ihts was tbeir prtnctpal Care to abolifh nothing they had re-

'Diog.bert.l.

a:.7..Phrt.

ceived from their Fathers in Matters of Religion, nor to make any Audition to what they had eftablijbed. And therefore, in his Advice to Nicocles, he exhorts him to e be of thelame Religion with his Anceflors. So that the Civil Eftablifhment of 'Religion in Athens was entirely exclufive, and no Toleration whatfoever ak 'lowed to thofe who differed from it. On this Account the Philofophers in geS.neral were, by a publick Decree,' banifhed from Athens, as teaching heterodoxthe Youth. in Matters of Religion, and by a Law, much refembling the famous m~ern SchiJm Bill. f prohibited from being Matters and Teachers of Schools, without Leave of the Senate and People, even under Pain o(Vearh. ThisLaw, indeed, like the other, was but very fhort lived, andSophocles the Author of it punifhed in a Fine of five Talents. L),/imacbus alfo banifhed them from his Kingdom. 'Tis evident from thefe Things, that according to the Ath@ian-Conftitution, Socrates was legally condemned for not

\;~~.9' very,

.Opinions, arid corrupting

b .nf1G'Of'1U ~ (' 0eG'f'@-

~eAl f'dMOY

II fJf'll'.

Plat. Ibid."tlel9'TiJ' '!rd.TeJ4lr

Act. S.

19.

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~

'T"/'''P.III

lo~tI' &I Is

P.II, .3'/tlld..

11f"4".

.believing

'11e I

N T ROD

U C T ION.

7

believing in the Gods of his Country, and prefuming to have better Not~ons of the Deity than his Superiors. In like manner, a certain Woman, a Pneftefs,Jof. Ibid. was put to Death upon an Accufation of her introducing new Deities. Diogenes Laertius tells us, that Anaxagoras, the Philofopher, was accufed ofIn Impiety, becaufe he g affirmed, that tke Sun was a Globe ?f red ho~ Iron; which An It. was certainl y great Herefy, becaufe hIS Country worfhipped him as a God. Stilpa was alfo banifhcdhis Country, as the fame Writer tells us, becaufe he I. ~.c. 38 denied h Minerva to be a God, allowing her only to be a Goddefs. A very deep and curious Conrroverfy this, and worthy the Cognizance of the Civil Magifhare. Diagaras was alfo condemned to Death, and a Talent decreed to him thatJorep!y fhould kill him upon his Efcape, being accufed of deriding the Mya-eries oflbJd. the Gods. Protagoras alfo would have fuffered Death, had he not fled his Country, becaufe he had written fomething about the Gods, that differed from the orthodox Opinions of the Athenians. Upon the fame Account, AthenJ Tbeodorus; called Atheus, was alfo put to Death. Ibid. The Lacedemonians conftantly expelled Foreigners, ana would not [uffer their Jofeph. own Citizens to dwell in Foreign Parts, becaufe they imagined that both the lbl~.~)6. one and the other tended to corrup.t and wea~en. their own Laws; nor would ;.n;. 9they fuffer the teaching of Rherorick or Philofophy, becaufe of the Qgarrels and Difputes that attended it. The Scythians, who delighted in human Blood, and were, as ,]ofepbus fays, little different from Beafts, yet were zea-rbid. .;7. loul1y tenacious of their own Rites, and put Anacharjis, a very wife Perfon, to' death, becaufe he feemed to be very fond of the Grecian Rites and Ceremonies. Herodotus fays, that he was fhot through the Heart wirhan Arrow, Herodoe, by Saulius their King, for facrificing to the Mother of the Gods after the man- Melpom, ner of the Grecians; and that Scyles, another of their Kings, was depofed by ~o9. Ed. them, for facrificing to Bacchus, and ufing the Grecian Ceremonies of Reh~Stenh . ~ion., and his Head afterwards cut off by Oflama!ades, who was chofen King ep. In his room. So rigid were they, fays the Hiftorian, in maintaining their own' Cufioms, and fo {evere in puniJhing the Introducers of foreign Rites. Many alfo Jofepfi,~, amongft the Perfians were. put to Death on the fame Account. And, indeed, Ibid. , 'twas almoft the Practice of 'all Nations to punifh thofe who difbelieved or derided their national Gods; as appears from Timades, who,. Ipeaking of the Gods of the .!Egyptians, fays, How /hall the Ibis, or the Dog, prejerve me.? i And Athett: then adds, Where is the Plate that doth not immediately punifh thofe who behave im-I. 7' c. I~; pioufly towards the Gods, fuch as are confejfed to be Gods? Iuvenal It gives us a very tragical Accololntof fome Difputes and Quarrelssatyt. J~~" about Religion amongft tbe .lEgyptians.,. who entertained an eternal Batred-

;It.

ttl

il !i/~71

Tov 16AIoV fA.1J1'e,JV EM)"

1'1d.7rCleJV. lh!'/~//I SlJ';;'strJ{ A/"'1l'i

~ Mil1

fiVd.1 d.v1l1vt'/{

Oirli

"et~

etoV,k

d."-Ad. eEd.V.

9il1{"1IK 0fA.IJAO)"I1pJ.pI1{ Bf;l1{ d.~fJl1/1T!{

Inter finittimos vetus atq; antiqua limultas, Immortale odium, & nunquam fanabile vulnuJ Ardet adhuc, Ombos & Tentyra. Summus utrinq; lnde furor vulgo, quod numina vicinorum Odit l\tcrq; locus, cum folos credat halJenQ,p1

Eire quospfc dcos i colit.--

BTJ.'e

U C T ION: and Enmity againft each other, an-d'eat and devoured one another, did not all worfhip the fame God. , mighb?uring'Towns, of late, Broke into Outrage of deep feller' , if .:e, Religious Spite and pious Splecr. "',i,/1 This Quarrel, which fo long B',~~' ;:Irfl Each calls the others God ;1/'11'>(;/ ~ . . His own, Divine, tho' from tbe ji1f fame Block. At firfl both Parties in Reproacbes jar, And make their Tongues the 'Trumpets of the War. Words ferae but to enjlame the warlike Lins, Who wanting Weapons dutch their horny Fifts, Te: thus make fhift t' exchange fitch furious Blows, Scarce one efcapes with more than half a Nofe, Some }land their Ground with half their Vifage gone., But with the Remnant of a Face fight on. Such transform'd Spettacles of Horror grow, Tba; not a Motber her own SOI1would Know. One Eye remaining, for the other Spies,t :

IN

T ROD

becaufe they

Englijb'dbyMr. Dry-

Ornbos and Tentyr,

den, f:1'(. JOfqlh. conr, Ap. I. z , 6.

Which now on Earth a trampled Gelly lies.All this religious Zeal hitherto is but therefore they piouOy proceed to farther throwing of Arrows, till one Party routs themfelves on the mangled Bodies of theirmere Sport and childifh Play, and Violences, to hurling of Stones, and the other, and the Conquerors feaft divided Captives.

Tet hitherto both Parties think the Fral.' . But Mockery of War, mere Cbildrms Play. 'Ihis whets their Rage, to fearch for Stones j/n Om bite Wretch (by Headlol1gflrait betray'd, And falling M'wn i'tb' Rout) is Prifoner made. WhoJe Flefb torn off by Lumps the rauenous Foe In MorJels cut, to make it farther go. His Bones clean pick-'d, his very Bones they gnaw; No Stomach' J haulk'd, hecauJethe Corps is raw. cr' had been loft crime to drefs him: Keen Dejire Supplies the Wa1zt of Kettle, Spit, and Fire.De Hid. &

on-, p.

Plutarch alfo relates, t~at in his .Time fome of the A!.gypt~ans who wodhipp'd a Dog, eat one of the Fifhes, which others of the .lEgypttam adored as theirwhich a great Number weredeftroy'don both Sides. Antiochus

~8o. Ed. Deity; and that upon this the Fifh Eaters laid hold on the other's Dogs, and ranc. facrificed and eat them, and that this gave Occafion to a bloody Battle, in

Tbe I N T

It 0 D Y' C T I 0 N~

9

'.Antiothus Epiphalles~ tho' a very wicked Prince, yet was a great ZeaTof (or AntiqJud: 'his Religion, and endeavoured to propagate It by all the Methods of the moft]. u. c.~. bloody Perfecution, ]ofephus tells us, that after he had taken ]erujalem, and plunder'd the Temp~e, he caufed an A.ltar. to be built in it, upon which he l'acrificed Swine, which were.an A:bommatlOn to the Jews, and forbidden by their Laws. Not content with this, he compelled them to forfake the Wor1hip of the true God, and to ~or1hip fu,ch as he accounted Deities; building Altars and Temples to them III all the 1owns and Streets, and offering Swine upon them every Day. He commanded them to forbear circumcifing their Children, grievoufly threacning fuch as fhould difobey his Orders. He aJfo appointed .".I""O""l'f, Overfters, to .comp~l the Jews ~o come in, and do as he had ordered them. Such as rejected rr, were conunually perfecuted, and put to Death, with the moftgrievous Tortures. He ordered them to be cruelly fcourged, and their Bodies-to be tore, and before they expired under their Tortures, to' be crucified. The Women, and the Children which they circumcifed; were, by his Command, hanged, the Children hanging from the Necks of their crucified Parents, Where~e\le1' he found any of the facred Bocb, or of theLaw, he deftroy'd them, undoubtedly to prevent the Propagation ofheretkalOpinions~ .and.pun.ilhed with Death fuch as kept them. The fame .Author tells us alfo, 10 hIS Hiftoty of the Macca!Jt'eT, that Antioch,) put forth an Edi6t, whereby he made it Death for any to obferve the JewiJh Religion, and compelled them, by Tortures, to abjure it. The inhuman Barbarities he exercifed upon EleaZll'l'- and the Maccabees, becaufe they would .nor renounce their Religion, and facrifice to his Grecian Gods, are nor, in fome ~ircumftanceSt to be paralltl'd~b, any Hiflories o! Pe~fecution extant, and wdl ever render the Name and Memory of that illujlrtous 'T1ranl exeerabJeandinfamous. It waBonitb~fllme' religious Account that he banilhedAthtl'l. the Philofophers from all Parts of his Kingdom, the Charge againft them I. U.C.I1.. -being, their c-orrupting tb routh,i.~. teaching themNotions of the Gods, different from the common orthodox Opinions which were eftablifhed by Law, commandingPhaNias, that fuch Youchs as converfed with' them 1liould be hanged. The ten Perfecurions, as they are reckoned, of the Chriftians by tfie ROIINm Emperors, purely for their Religion, are ftanding Monuments of theirrdigiousZeal, or rather of their outragious Fury againft all who woul,d not comply with the effablifhedReligion. Indeed, the very civil Conftitution of Rome was founded upon I'erfecuring Principles. '1'erlfiliian tells US,i '1'hat Ape]. c.1iO 'twas all tlflrie1tt Decr-It ,lNft; no< Empuor jhould confecrate (J, tme GM, .unleft he 'Was opprO'Oed0,.IDe SnIfJH; and1 one' of [he' ftanding LawB of rheRepu blick was 00 this EHea, as' Ci"r()., gWes. it:, K '1'htlt no 9M jliOllltJha'Ut [eparate/y new Gods, De Leg. ,no nor worfhip pri'Uately foreign Gods, unleft admitud by the Commonwealth. TJ1isl.z..Vetus erat decretum ne qui Deus ab imperatore confecraretur, 'GiG aStnacu probatus. . Separatim nemo habelIit deo, neve novOI, fed 1lC, .dv~ oUipub1ice adfcicos. privatim. colunto.j

k

Law

. 10

The

IN.T 1t '0 D~U.CT o:li~ I by add-

Law he endeavours to vindicate by Reafon and the Light of Nature,

De Leg. ing, That for Perfons to worfhip their ~w~, or i~e.w, or foreign God~, would be ~" 1.2. c. 10. introduce Confujion and flrange Ceremonies in RelzglOn.. So t~ue a Friend ~as this

eminent Roman, and great Mafter of Reafon, to U niformiry of .Worlhlp ; and fo little did he fee the Equity, and indeed Neceflity of an umverfal Toleration in Matters of Religion. Upon this Principle, after he had reafoned well againil: the falfe Notions of God that had obtained amongfi: his Country men, and the publick Superftitions of Religion, he concludes with what was enough De Divin, to defiroy the Force of all his Arguments, I 'Tis the Part of a wife Man to det 4. fin. fe11d the Cufloms oj his Anceflors, by retaining their Jured Rites and Ceremonies. Thus narrow was the Foundation of the Roman Religion, and thus inconfifi:ent the Sentiments of the wifefi: Heathens with all the Principles of Toleration and univerfal Liberty. It was no wonder therefore that Chrifiianity, which was fo perfectly contrary to the whole Syftcm of Pagan Theology, Jhould be looked upon with an evil Eye, or that when the Number of Chriftians encreafed, they fhould incur the Difpleafure of the Civil Magiftrate, and the Cenfure of the penal La ws that were in force againft them. The firft publick Perfecution of them by the Romans was begun by that Monfter of Mankind, Nero; who, to clear himfelf of the Charge of burning Rome, endeavoured to fix the Crime on the Chriftians;. and having thus faIny and ryrannicall y made them guilty, he put them to Death by various Methods of exquifite Cruelty. But though this was the Pretence for. this Barbaricytowards them, yet it evidently appears from undoubted T eftimonies, that they were before hated upon Accounr of their Religion, and were therefore fitter Objects to fall a Sacrifice to the Refentrnenr and Fury of the Tyrant. For 'fa'Annal. . citus tells us.. That they were In hated for their Crimes. And what thefe were,he 1.IJ.C44 afterwards fufficiendy informs us, by calling their Religion an e)c&rable Su~Jd. 6 perflition. In like manner Suetonius; in his Life of Nero, fpeaking ofthe Chr'" I . mans, fays, They were a Set of Men sobo had embraced a new and aceurfed SuperAnnal. Jiition.. And therefore Tacitus farther informs us, That thofe who confe1fed 1.15. c44; rhemfelves Chrifhans, P were condemned not fo much for the Crime of burning tbe .City, as for their being hated by all Mankind. So that 'tis evident from thefe Accoums, that 'twas through popular Hatred of.them.for their Religion, that they were thus facrificed to the Malice and Fury of Ner-o. Many of them he dreffed up in t~e Skins of wild Beafts, t~at they might_ be devoured by Dogs. Others he crucIfied. Some he cloathed 111 Garments,ot Pitch and burnt them, that by their Flames he might fupply the Abfence of the Day-light. E. H. 1. 3 Th~ Perfecution begun by Nero was revived, and carried on by Domitian t. 17; 18. who put Cometo Death, and banifh'd others upon Account of their Religion: Euftbius mentions Flavia Domitilla, Neice to Flavius Clemens, then Conful, as

.p.

0

1 Majorum InCtituta tueri m Per fIagitia invifos.II

facri; Ceremoniifque retinendi~ fapientis'e1l.

Exitiabilis fuperJlitio. () Genus lbminllm, fuperfiitionis nov:e & malefic:e.J

! ~uJ puinde. ill c:rimin~ incendii '1ua~ odio h~lJ!ani gene.tia ~~vKli.

banithcd

~niih.ecl fQF thi$ Reafon" lation'44;

T ROD U c T ION. Ifland Pontia. Dion the Hiflorian's Account oft, 61: ill this Affair ill fomewhat different. q" He tells us, That Fabius Clemens theDoIDlt. " Conful, Don.itiall's Coufin, who had married Flavia DomiJilla, a near Reto. the qf J)omili411\ was put

The IN

I'

to Death

by him,

and

Domitill b.wilhcJOil

[0

PiNI4a.t41'ia, being both accufed of Atheifm ; and that

the fame Ac-

" count ma.ny who bad embraced the 1ewifh Rites were likewite condemned, " fome of whern were put to Death, and others had their Eflates confifca" ted.. think. this Account can belong to no other but the Chriftians, -whom Dian feems to have confounded with the Jews i a Mi1take into which he and others might naturally fall, becaufe the firfl Chriftians were ]e'q)s, anq came frQn the Land of 'Judea. The Crime with which thefe Perfons wen: charged was Atheifm; the Crime commonly imputed to Chriflians, becaufe tb~, rctfqfed ~Q' worfhip the Raman Deities. Alld as there are no Proofs, that DomiJ.i411 eyer perfecuted the '}6~S uFoa account of their Religion,. nor anyIJtEill1;!1tjQll,Qf this Nature in Jofepbus, who finifhed his Antiql}itic$ towards the Iatter ~ of Dfm,jlil!rn's Reign; I think the Account of Ellftbi~$7- which he declares he Ef.lOkfHlIll Wrjt~r~, wbQ wele fa!, [rQm being Friends tQChri~ianity 7is j)rtfra.bl~ to Jbat 9f f)iqJ(s . and t~[ th.cretor;e i:here Perfecutions by Domiti4fz ~e l,tplfl ~~9uO( of Chriili~nity. Howfver, tItey did pQtla.ft long~ for E. H. L. 3. ~f;lttfebiMs. tel~ ijss he"Fllt a StOp to them D}Iall Editl: in their favoqr. Terlul- C 10.

fUm alfOatirms the fam@, ~nd adds, that he ffE:;llld thofe whgm. he ~ ~ Apol. c.~. oiihecJ. So that thf)ugh thi~il! re(koo'd by EccJdiaftical W.riterus the fec;ond F~JrCutions it d.Qth not appear (0 have been genera), or vtny fevere. Domi- S~ler.in. tra". afro expeJled all chet PhjJP[ophers frOID &flU and italy. VIC ~m1t. -lJ1lc):r 'rrtY411'l odleF'4'if~ ~ m~il 'JJ~.dl~tPrincet began the third Perfecu- e. I tlioD,.in tM f4lll ~~ar pfPis ~~n.Illrpfwer ttl a Lener of Plin, he ordered, T1}at 1~1 C/iryliON Jh~uld IIDI hi .fiJ.. ht I{t~~,hut sb~ ijJb,y wore !U(l4jiJ and c/JII-uifle(/. rif being Chrijf,i41Uo 1b8, jlm4d k. pu'l'Ujhed, }itcb rmJ.ye~Glp;edasjhfiu/d den, thmftltuef Ii' be r;l.1rtj)imu, IUfdgj'Vt tln eWddJlJ PI'Oof # by 'Ul~rjJJif'ping his Godi~ Thcle were' to re!!.Wc FaJi~ qpol) thi$ ~ReirRJpllt~nce, hew much '~F, ~y:mi~trh~velx~ Wf~~~ibt.e. F~ this: t~pcriaJ Refcript it ~.\}nq~.d,. evi~Ilf,Jbjn this rerf~uti~ Q1 .dic Chriftians, by tJ:raj41l was PPi"~y o. ~e SCQfe-of t~ J..ijgiqn, bccmfe,~ or*rs, that w8afQever Was ~~IN!. and cQJWjcvenive Cruelties

than thofe practifed by Anti(JCbus, the Egyptian Heretick Eaters, and the Rom,!" Emperors. I may farther add on this imponant Article, that 'ris the Laity who"-h:lVe put it into the Po\ver of the PrieRs to perfetute, and tendered tt, wtrrt.h heir. while to do it; th~y h:we done it by the Authority of th.e tivii. La~s.~,9It1l 'as employed Lay Hands to execute the Drudgety of it. Th~ EhioInm-enu'of Honours :tnd Itrcb-es that have been annexed to the favourite ~e.Jigion~U1tl Prid\:ho~ is rheE1hbJifbmttrt bf tiviJ S'Ocie!y, Whereby k~hglon hach b'etn tnltfet'Xtremely pTofitable, aAd the Gains of GodJinel$,t.

wO~th

.c?ntentli~gf?t.

H~d the L:tity been mote (paring in their Gtanr~, :andUPOh

theu' ~IVll Cot'ifhrutl?nS formed

the g.enerous and equitable

PrinCIple of.

PerfeCUtion had ne~tr been heard of amongft Men. The Frieih would h~ve wanted not onlv the Power. but the IntlinatiQn tbper. fec:u'te; fince few Per[.)ns ha,;e f~lth an'Artarhmtbt eithtt to \v.hatthey:u:cOl)ht. . Relig;ion..

a:n ~nlverfal Toleration,

-16

The IN T

ROD

UC T 1 0 N.

Religion 'Or Truth, as to torment anddeflroy others for the fake of it, unlefs tempted with the Views of worldly Ambition, Po~er and Grandure. T~1cfe Views will have the fame Influence upon all bad Minds, whether of the Priefthood or Laity, who, when they Are determined at all Hazards [0 purfue them, 'will ufe all Methods, right or wrong, to accornplifh and ~ecure them.. . As therefore the Truth of Hiftory obliges me to compliment the Lalt~ WIth the Honour of this excellent Invention, for the Support andPropagation of Rel igion; and as its Continuance in the World to this Day is owing to the Protection and Authority of their Laws, and to certain political Ends and Purpofes they have to ferve thereby, the loading the Priefthood only, or principally, with the Infamy and Guilt of it, is a mean and groundlef~ Scandal; and to be perpetually objecting the Cruelties that have been practifed by fome who have called thernfelves Chriftians, on .others for Confcience fake, as an Argument againft the Excellency of the Chriftian Religion, or with a V iew to prejudice others againft ir, is an Artifice unworthy a Perf on of common Underftanding and Honefty. Let all equally fhare the Guilt, who are equally chargeable with it; and IetPrinciples be judged of by what they are in themfelves, and not by the Abufes which bad Men may make of them: If any Argument can be drawn from thefe, we may as well argue' againft the Truth and Excellency of Philofophy, becaufe Cicero efpoufed the Principles of Perlecution, and Antoninus the Philofopher authorized all the Cruelties attending it. Bur the ~eftion in thefe Cafes is not, what one who calls-himfelf a Philofopher or a Chriftian doth, but what true Philofophy and genuine Chriftianity lead to and reach ; and if Perfecution be the natural Effect of either of them, 'tis neither in my Inclination or Intention to defend them. But I pars from th.efe Reflections to the Hiftoryof Chriftian Perfecurions,

'S E 'C T. II. Of the Perfecutions amangf/ Chr1jlians upon ..I!cco.zmtoj Religion.F ~ny Perfon wa~ ~o judge of the Nature and Spirit of theChriftian Religion, by the Spirit and Conduct only of too many who have profefled to believe it in all Nations, and almoft throughout all Ages of the Chriftial\ Church, he could fcarce fail to cenfure it as an Inftitution unworthy the God of Order and Peace, fuhverfive of the Welfare and Happinefs of Societies, and deligned to enrich and aggrandize a Few onl y, at the Expence of the Liberty, Reafon, Confcieaces, Subftance, and Lives of others. For what Confuficna and Calami.ties, what ~uins and Defolations, what Rapines and Murthers, hav~. been lOtrodu~ed into the Wor.ld, und~. th~ pretended Autwity of Jefus Chn{r, and fu.pport1~g and propagatmg Chnfbamty? What is thebeft part of our Ecclefiaftical HIflory better than an Hiftory of the Pride and Ambition. lbe A~ ..arice and Tyranny, the Treachery and Cruelty of fame, and of the

I

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Perfecutions and dreadful Miferies of others? And what could an unprejudiced Perron, acquainted with this melancholy Truth, and who had never feen the facred Records, nor informedhimfelf from thence of the genuine Nature ot Chriftianiry, think, but that it was one ofthe worfr ReligIons in the World, as tending ttl deftroy all the natural Sentiments of Humanity and Cornpaffion, and infpiring its Votaries with that Wifdom which is from beneath, and which ij earthly, fenjilal and deuilifb ? If this Charge could be juftly fixed upon the Religion of Chrift, it would be unworthy the Regard of every wife and good Man, and render it both the Intereft and Duty of every Nation in the World to rejell: it. It muft be allowed by all who know any Thing of the Progrefs of the Chriftian Religion, that the lrft Preachers and Propagators of it ufed none of thefe vile Methods to fupport and fpread it. Both their Doctrines and Lives deftroy every Suf picion of chisNature; and yet in their Times the beginnings of this Spirit appeared: Diotrepbes loved the Prebeminence, and therefore would not own and receive the infpired Apoftle. We alfo read, that there were great Divifions and Schifms in the Church of Corinth, and that many grievous Diforders were caufed therein, by their ranking rhemfelves under different Leaders and Heads of Parties, one being for Paul, another for Apollos, and others for Cephas. Thefe Animofities were difficultly healed by the Apoftolick Authority; but do not how-ever appear to have broken out into mutual Hatreds, to the open Difgrace of the Chriftian Name and Profeffion. The Primitive Chriftians feem for many Years generally to have maintained the warmefi: Affection for each other, and to have dittinguifbed themfelves by their mutual Love, the great Characterifrick of the Difciples of Chrift. The Gofpels, and the Epiftles of the A poftles all breath with this amiable Spirit, and abound with Exhortations to cultivate this God-like Difpofition. 'Tis reported of St. John, that in his extreme old Hieron, il\ Age at EpheJus, being carried into the Church by the Difciples, upon account Gal. c. 6. of his great Weaknefs, he ufed to fay nothing elfe every Time he was brought there, but this remarkable Sentence, Filioli diligite alterutr"m, Little Children love one another. And when fome of the Brethren were tired with hearing fo often the fame Thing, and afked him, Sir, Why do you always repeat this Sentence; he anfwered with a Spirit worthy an Apoltle, Qpia preceptum Domini eft Et fi folum fiat, fufficit. 'Tis the Command oJ the Lord, and the fulfilling of the Law. Precepts of this kind fo frequently inculcated, could not but have a very good Influence in keeping alive the Spirit of Charity and mutual Love .And indeed the Primitive Chriftianswere foveI'y remarkable for this Temper, that ther were taken notice of -oa this very Account, and recommended even by their Enemies as Patterns of Beneficence and Kindnefs. But at length, in the fecond Century, the Spirit of Pride and Dominatioo appeared publickJy, and created great Diforders and Schifms amongft Chrifti. ans. There had been a Conrroverfy of fome ,ftanding" on what Day E4j1er fhould be celebrated. The Afiatick Ohurches thought that it ought to be kept on the fame Day on which the jews held thePaffover, the fourteenth Day of Nifan their firft Month, on whatfoever Day of the Week it Ihould fall out. The d CuftQm

18

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Cuftom of other Churches was different, who kept the Feftival of Eafier onlyon that Lord's D.1Y which was next after the fourteenth of the Moon. This Controverfy appears at firft View to be of no manner of Importance, as there is no Command in the facred Writings to keep this Feftival at all, much Ids Eufeb.l.~.fpfcifying the particular Day on which it 1hould be celebrated. Eulebius tells c. %.4. us from Ireneus, that Polyearp Bifhop of Smyrna came to Anieetus Bifhop of Rome on account of this very Controverfy; and that though they differed from one another in this and fome other leffer Things, yet they embraced one another with a Kifs of Peace; Polycarp neither perfuading rlnicetus co conform to his Cuftom, nor rlnicetus breaking off Communion with Polycarp, for not complying with his. This was a Spirit and Conduct worthy rhefe Chriflian Bifhops : But Vitior the Roman Prelate acted a more haughty and violent part ; for after he had received the Letters of the Afiatick Bifhops, giving their Reafons for their own Practice, he immediately excommunicated all the Churches of Afia, and thofe of the neighbouring Provinces, for Heterodoxy; and by his Letters declared aU the Brethren unworthy of Communion. This Conduct was greatly difpleafing to fome other of the Bifhops, who exhorted him to mind the Things that made for Peace, Unity, and Chrifiian Love. lrenaus efpecially, in the Name of all his Brethren, the Bifhops of France, blamed him for thus cenfuring whole Churches of Chrift, and puts him in mind of the peaceable Spirit of feveral of hi, Predecefiors, who did not break off Communion with their Brethren upon account of fuch leffer Differences as thefe. Indeed this A.C1:ionof Pope VWQr was a very infolenr Abufe of Excommunication ; a~i is an abundant Proof that the Simplicity of the Chriftian Faith was gre-atly departed from, in that Hetercdoxy and Orthodoxy were made to depend 00. CcntQrmity of Non-Coefermiry to the Modes and Circumftances of certaie Th~s, when there was ae Shadow of any Order for the Things themfeh'(s in the facred Writings i aod that the Luft of rower, and the Spirit of &ide, had too Olu~bp~fi"dred fome of the Bilhop6 of the Chriftiaa Church. Eufeb.l.;. The fame Yi{tor allo excommunicated one 'INfdofius for being unfound in the, e, 18. D&dn,e of the Trinity, . 'Tis no wond~r ~~a.t~fter. t~is wt fhould.find Matters gr9wiJ:tg worfe and, worfe. As the Primirive Chnlbans had any Int~rvals from Perfecution they becamec more proiigate in their MoraJs, and more quarrelfome in their Tempers..' .As. the R.even.w:s Qf dle kv((al Bi1bepsim;rea,fed,th~y grew n'lore Ambi tilms" Jef:iCllpable of CQJllt:adiCtioe., mOle Paughty and arrogant in their Behaviqur, ffiQl1iVU(~. ::J > h ne;II'o'VI&-.i

ne; X.U,." ~

'lfeJ tJ.Utiillicitc u Ffc1efi.. y;erWic"v~llc. (ocv.quod L~atanfm C!lIP UftIJ;f~ rcdfguJit> Motlunhtr' '~1l"t .11101 fepehnrllltlldlldftlf".

~cr

.

,.

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3I

{hUed. lPhilfl e~1fwui fDt' the F..Pifro/'fllPtra1tr, wlJKh lht) ~ feru im IfVilbau"t "the Cb4i,p's kaw .ID/I a;~ I~ tlu;, IUIlI U~i all 01.1 kJrmgs U t~ l..~.,icts. '{be 'miJerabk Pri41 kg; i/lZ UJe Streeu_'Ibey 4ie w4lb HUlIgtr W'O flJ't l'OM11l'li1ldtrf:to bur otbers, 'loey aft jw Pi'toJ 'WN .t (()mHltlttMa to ,ity fIIIIerJ' , Oe hieJls only UM"t il ttl leI Monel-Benet HAtrtJs.,.ife Ihrottr/J 'tiIe.#mrkl If lht P,'it{h ~ bena tOe BifhoRl /IN tlccll{e~~ their Cit,.!.,; ImJt,e '" st.!f8"lls If P"rtlalrs, bzna the CaufeJ,p!DcJaliitions j heme the Rij: fJj tIItir Wic1Julntft. Retigionand Chrifiianit y feem indeed to be the lcaft Thing thar either the ~onte9ding Parties had at heart, by the infamous Methods they took to eftablifh themfelves and

St.1erom. tht Law of the Pridf, .1Id Iht 11'''''11 'O{du p,~.b.WJ

reI

ruin their Adverfaries, If one reads the Complaints of the Orthodox Writers, againft the Arians, one would think the Al'ians the moLl: execrable Set of Men that ever lived,. they being loaded w:th all the Crimes that can poffibiy be commitred, and: reprefented as ?ad, ?f even worfe, t.h:w (be Dnil himfc}t: But ~ wife N!an will eafily credIt thete .fu:counts, which the Orthooax gn'e of then Enemies, becau(e, as Socrates tells as; lJ.'his was tbe Prllt1ict Bj lhe 8ij1Jops tiJWarJr 8U tbe, E. H. 1; r;;-depoftd, to SWift and prDllQM1tu them ity;DItJ., btU IIDJ u teO odIerr the &alms c. 104why they acCtiJedthem as fuch. 'Twas enougli for their Purpofa to elfpofe them to the publick Odium, and make them ap~ar impious co the Multitude, that fo they might get them expelled from their rich Sees, and be tranOated to' them in their room. And this they did as frequently as they could, to the in. troducing infinite Calamities and Confufions into the Chriftian Church. And': jf the Writings of the Arians had not been prudently deftroyed, I doubt not but we fhould have found as many Charges laid by tbem, with equal Jull:ice, agilillft the Orthodox, as the Orthodox have produced againft them; their very Supprefiion of the Arian Writings being a very ftrong Prefumpcion againft them, and the many imperial Efthe Man, . exclufive

';4

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46exclufive Nature;

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fortbe Peace of his boly Churcb: And tberefo,oe, before and in all'l'bings, take Care of the Principles of tbe orthodox and moP holy Faitb, and extinguijh the Roarings of Evag. 1. Zo. the Hereticks, and bring to Light tbe Doctrines of Piety.. The LegatQ al[o of ~. 2. Leo, Bilhop of Rome, prefemed him their Accufations againft Dioftorus, Bifhop of Alexandria; as did al[o Eufebius, Bifhop of DoryltEum, befeeching the Emperor that thefe Things might be judged and determined by a Synod. Marcianconfented, and ordered the Bifhops to meet firft at Nice, and afterwards 'l'hefoll'lth at Chalcedon. This was the fourth oecumenical or general Council, confifting gtntr41 of near fix hundred Prelates. The principal Caufe of their affembling was Council, the Eutycbian Herefy. Eutyches, a Pre1byter of Conjfantinople, had aJfertect. A.C. 4H in the Reign of'l'beodofius, jun. that ]efus Cbrijl confifJed of two Natures before 1. I. C. 9, bis Union or Incarnation, but tbat after tbis be had 0118 Nature only. He alfo de .. 10. nied that the Body of Cbrift was of the fameSubfJance witb ours. On this Account, he was depofed by a particular Council at Gonjla1diMple by Pla'l1i4lt, Bifhop of that Place: But, upon his complaining to tlEmpcror that' the AaJ

of the Word; and others of the Word, exclufive of the human or who fhould prefurne to call the Man Chrift 0WOf@-, the 'Bearer, or tbe Reaptab!~ of God, inftead of God; and hnfl ily to depofe Nefiorius five Days before the coming ofJohll Bifhop of Antioch, with his fuffragran Bifhops. JOhl1, upon his Arrival at Epbejus, depofed Cyrilf, in a Council of Bifhops held for that Purpofe, and accufed him of being the Author of all the Diforders occafioned by this Affair, and of having rathly proceeded to the Depofition of Ncflorius. Csrill was foon abfolved by his own Council, and, in Revenge, depofed John of Antioch, and all the Bifhops of his Party. But they were both reconciled by the Emperor, and reflored each ocher to their refpectivc Sees, and, as the Effect of their Reconciliation, both fubfcribed to the Condemnation of Neflorius, who was rent into Banifhmenr, where, after fuHering great Hardfhips, he died miferably; being thus made to tafte tnofe Sweets of Per. feeution, he had fo liberally given to others, in the Time of his Power and Evag.l. 1, Profperity. The Emperor himfelf, though at firfl: he difapproved of this c. H. Councl's Conduct, yet afterwards was perfuaded to ratify their Decrees, and publifl.ed a Law, by which all who embraced the Opinions of Neftorius, were, If Bifhops or Clergymen, ordered to be expelled the Churches; or if C:hal.Con- Laymen, to be anathernatifed, This occafioned irreconcileable Hatreds cil.Ad.ro, arnongft the Bifhops a.id People, who were fo enraged againft each other i that there was no pafling withany Safety from one Province or City to ano .. Erler. ther, becaufe everyone purfued his Neighbour as his Enemy, and, without Epic. any Fear of ~od, revenged themfelves on one another, under a Pretence of Ecclefiaftical Zeal. Evag. 1. :. Marcia; the Succeffor of'l'heodofius in the Empire, embraced the Orthodox c. I. Party and Opinions, and was very defirous to bring about an entire Uniformity . in the Worfhip of God, and to eftabl ifh the fame Form of Doxologies amongft Concil. all Chriftians whatfoever. Agreeably to this his Temper, Eufebius, Bi1hop of !"JcDm~dia, addrefs'd ~im foon. after his Promotion in .thefe. Words: God hath 3 Juftly gtven you the Empire, that youjhould govern afl for the unwer[al Welfare, and

~~~a

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Alh of that Council were faHified by his Enemies, a recant! Synod of the neiabbourinc Bifhops met '10 the fame City, who, after examining thole Acts, fou~d them ~o he p.;enuine, and confirmed the Sentence againft Eutycbcs. But Diofi:orw, BiOlOP of Alexandria, who WJS at Enmity with Flauian of Couftantinoplc, obtained, from Theodofius, that a third Council fhould be hel~ on ~llIs Affair, which accordingly met at Eph eJus, which the Orthodox fl.Jgm;ltlfed by the Name of ",eIK, the thieving Council, or Council of Thieves. Diofcorus was Prefident of it, and, after an Examination of the Affair of Eutyches, his Sentence of Excommunication and Depofition was taken off, and himfelf rettored co his Office and Dignity, the Bifhops of Conft antinople, Antioch, and others, being depofed in his Itead. But the condemned Bifhops, and the Legates from Rome, appealed from this Sentence co another Council, and prevailed with Tbeodofius to iffue his Letters for the affembling one: But as heEvag.l.t. died before they could meet, the Honour of determining this Affair was re- c. 4, 18. ferved for his Succeffor Marcian ; and when the Fathers, in Obedience to his Summons, were convened at Cbalcedon, the Emperor favoured them with his Prefence ; and, in a Speech to them, told them, q'hat he had nothing more at Heart than to preferue the true anti orthodox Chrifliall Faith, fafe and uncorrupted, an d that tbersfor heprQPoJedto them a Law, that no onefbould dare to difputeof the Perjon of Cbrijl, otbertoi] than as it had been determined by the Council of Nice. After thisAddrefs of the Emperor, the Fathers proceeded to their fynodical Bufinefs, and, notwithftanding the Synod was divided, fome of the Fathers pioufiy crying out. Damn Diofcorus, banifb Diofcorus, b.mifb the lEgyptian, banifh the Heretick, Chrift hath depofed Diofcorus , others, on the contrary, Reflore Diofcorus to the Council, reflore Diofcorus to his Cburcbes ; yet, through the Authority of the Legates of Rome, Diofiorus was depofed for his Contempt of the facred Canons, and for his Contumacy towards the holy univerfal Synod. After this, they proceeded (0 fettle the Faith according to the Nicen Creed, the Opinions of the Fathers, and the Doctrine of Athanafius, Cyrill, Ctelefline, Hilarius; Bajii, Gregory, and Leo; and decreed, that Chrifl was truly God,

dnd truly Man, eonfitbjJantitJ/ to the Father as to his Deity, and eonfubflalltial to us as to his Humanity, and that be was to be conJeffid as confifling of two Natures toitbfJIIl Mi~ture, Comierfion of one into the other, and without Divijioll or Separation; Im.a that it fbould not be lawful for any Perfons to utter, or write, or comp0Je, or thtrl.1r.,or teach any othfr Faith whatJOever; and that if any fhould prefume to do .1r, they fuouJd, if Bifhops or Clergymen, be depofed; and if Monks or Lalcks, be anarhematifed. This procured a loud Acclamation: God bleft the Emperor, God blefs tbe Empreft. We belirue as Pope Leo dotb. Damn the Dividers and tbe Confounders. We bdie'fJe' as CyriH did: Immortal be the Name Dj Cyrill. 'Ihus. the D:thud(Jx ~elif!'()e; and curfed ~e roer~ one that doth not belie'Uc fa t~o. Marc!a~ ratified theIr Decrees, and bamfhed Dtofcorus, and put forth all Evag. l.z.. ~dla, contaml?g very fevere Penalties againfi the Eutychians and .Apol!~"~- of the rifts, comm~ndl1lg that no one wha~f~ever, either o~ the Cler~y or Latty'lnquiji-

~J. .

fuould publIckly dlfpute about ReligIOn, under Pam of BanIfllluent, and tio1l, 1. J. Lors of all Honours, Dignities, Orders) &e. For this ReafOn,Pope Leo c. 5 ~ returns

8 rAuguli.lpitt, 7~

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returns him Thanks, that he had deftroy'd there Hcrefies, and exhorts him firt her , that he would reform the See of A/c'xandria, and not only depofe the heretical Clergy of Confl antinople from their clerical Orders, but expel them from the City it felf E\Jg.l:z. Proterius was Iubftirured by this Council Bifhop of Alexandria, in the room c. 5 of Diofcorus ; and, upon his taking Poffeffion of his Bifhoprick, the whole City was put into the utmoft Confufion, being divided, Jon) ror Diojcorus, Niccph. fame for Proterius, The Mob aflaulred with great Violence their IV13giftrnes, I J s 8. 'and being oppofed by the Soldiers, they put them to flight by ,:1 Sho:ver of Stones; ; nd as they betook themfelves to one of the: Cuur ches for Sanctuary, the Mob i-efieged it, and burnt it to the Groun.l, with the Soldiers in it. The Emp' ror Ient two thoufand other Soldiers to que! this Ditlurhance, who cncreafed (he Miferies of the poor Citizens, by offering rhe IligheH: IndigniEng. l.1.. ties to tlu ir Wives and Daughters. And though they were Ior fome Time e.s. kept in .vwe, yet, upon Marcian's Death? they broke out into greater Fury, orcained Timotbeus Bifhop of the CIty, and murrhered Proterius, by running hun through with a Sword. After this, they hung him by a Rope, in a publick Place, by way of Derifion, and then, after they had ignominioufly drawn him round the whole City, they burnt him to Afhes, and even fed on his very Bowels in the Fury of their Revenge. The Orthodox charged thefe Outrages upon the Eutscbians ; but Zacharias, the Hiftorian, mentioned by Euagrius, fays, Proterius hirnfelf was the Caufe of them, and that he raifed the greateft Difturbances in the City: And, indeed, the Clergy of Alexandria, in their Letter to Leo, the Emperor, concerning this Affair, acknowledge, that Prateries had depofed Timotheus, with tour or five Bifhops, and feveral Monks, for Herefy, and obtained of the Emperor their actual Banifhmenr, c. S. Great Difturbances happened alfo in Paleftine on the fame Account; the Monks who oppofed the Council forcing 1uvenal, Bi1hop of JeruJalem, to quit his See, and getting one ,!heodofiui ordained in his room. But the Emperor foon reftored 1uvenal, after whofe Arrival the Tumults and Miferies of the City greatly encreafed, the different Parties acting by one another juft as their Fury and Revenge infpired them. e. 9) 10. Leo fucceeded Martian, and fent circular Letters to the feveral Bifhops, to make Enquiries concerning the Affairs of Alexandria, and the Council of Chalcedon. Moft of the Bifhops adhered to the Decrees of thofe Fathers, and agreed to depofe 'I'imotheus, who was fent to bear Diofcorus Compally in Banifhment. Under Zena, the Son-in-Law, and Succeffor of Leo, Hunnericlc the Vandal grievouOy perfecuted the Orthodox in Africa. In the Beginning of "his Reign, he made a very equitable Propofal, that he would allow them the Liberty of chooling a Bifhop, and worfhipping according to their own Way, provided the Emperor would grant the Arians the fame Liberty in ConjJantinopie, anG ocher Places. This the Orthodox would not agree to, choofing rather to have their own Brethren perfecuted, than to allow Toleration to Cuch as ,Wfered from them. llunnericlc was grearl.y enraged by this Refufal, and excrl'.

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cifed great feverity towards all ~ho would not profefs the Arian Faith, .being excited hereto by Cyri" one of hIS Bifhops, who was perpetually fuggeftmg to him that the Peace and Safety of his Kingdom could not be maintained, unlefs he extirpated all who differed from him a,s ~ublick Nufances .. This ,cruel ecclefiaftical Advice was agreeable to the KIng s Temper, who immediately pUt forth the rnoft fevere Edicts againft thofe ~ho held the DoC1:rin~of the Confubftantiality, and turned all t~ofe Laws which had been mad~ agal.nft: the Arians, and other Hereticks, agamft the Orthodox themfelves, It being, as Hunnerick obferves in his Edict, an lnflance of Virtue in a King, to turn evil Counfels againfl thofe who were the Authors of them. But though the Perfecution carried on by the Orthodox was no Vindication of Hunneri~k's Cru:l~y towar~s them, yet I think they ought to have obferved the Ju!bce of divine Providence, in fuffering a wicked Prince to turn all thofe unrighteous Laws upon themfelves, which, when they had Power on their fide, they had procured for the Punifhment and Deflruction of Others. A particular Account of the Cruelties exercifed by this Prince may be read at large in VifJor de Jl(lndal Perfec. J. 3. Zeno, though perfectly Orthodox in his Principles, yet was a very wicked and profligate Prince, and rendered himfelf fo extremely hateful to his OWl! J1amily, by his Vices and Debaucheries, that Bajilifcus, Brother of Perina, Mother of Zeno's Emprefs, expelled him the Empire, and reigned in his {lead; and having found by Experience, that the Decrees of the Council of Chalcedoll Bvag.l.s .. had occafioned many Difturbances, he by an Edict ordained, that the Nlcene. fa Creed alone fhould be ufed in all Churches, as being the only Rule of the pure Faith, and fufficienc to remove every Herefy, and perfectly to unite all the Churches; confirming at the fame Time the Decrees of the Councils of Conflantinople and Epbefia, But as to thofe of the Council of Chalcedon he ordered, that as they had deftroyed the Unicy and good Order of the Churches, and the Peace of the whole World, they fhould be anathematized by all the Bifho}Js; and that where-e""Aany Copies of thofe Articles fhould be found they 1hould be immediately b~tl And tha~ whofoever after this fhould attempt, either by Difpure or Wntmg) or Teaching, at any Time, Manner or Place, to utter, or fo muc.h as name the Novelties chat had been agreed on at Cbalcedo contrary to the Faith, fhould, as the Authors of Tumilrs and Seditions in the Churches of God, and as Enemies to God and himfelt, be fubjetl: to all the Penalties of the. La~, and be depofed, if Bifhops or Clergymen; and if Monks or Lalcks~be punifhed with Bani1hment, and Confifcation of their Effects, and even wlt.h-Death it f~.:M0ft:of the caft~DBilh~ps fubferibed thefe LettersL 3. c. s. of B~jilifan; and beltl~afterwards met 1ft Councltat Epbefus, they depofed AcactUs t~ ~thodox KIfhop of C01Ijlanti1lople, and many other Rilhops that agreed with,huD. ~hey ~lfo wrote to the Emperor to inform bim, Thatthe, bad voluntar:ly fubftrtbed hts Letters; and to perfuade him to adhere to them, or .that otherwlfe the whole World would be fubverted, if Jh4 DttrNS fJ/ tb4Sf!l64 of Chalcedonjhould be re-eftab/.i./hed, which hadalreatlj prodletl i1l1l1l~IIIliSltmftJ",s. and (Jccafionedthe Jheddtng oj tbe BlIJodD/.lb, ,rlbt.'Cbri~' ,;But .Jt~ctus.

h

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U C T ION:

Bifhop of Conjlaiztinople, foon forced Bafilifcus to alter his Meafures, by railirrg up the Monks and Mob of the City againft him; fo that he recalled his former Letters, and ordered Neflorius and Eutscbes, with all their Followers, t? be anathematized, and foon after he quitted the Empire to Zeno, Upon hIS' Evag.I.;. Reftoration he immediately refcinded the Atts of Bajili.fcus, and expelled thofe ~-8,9. BiOlOPSfrom their Sees which had been ordained during his Abdication. In the mean Time the Ajiatick Bifhops, who in their Letter to BajiliJcus had declared, that the Report of their /ubJcribing involuntarily, and by force, was a Slander and a Lye; yet upon this Turn of Affairs, in order to excufe rhernfelves toAcacius, and to ingratiate themfe1ves with Zeno, affirm, Tbnt they did it not volunft1rily, but by force, fwearing that they had always, and did now believe the Faith if the Synod of Chalcedon, Euagrius leaves it in doubt, whether Zacharias defamed them, or whether the Bilhops Iyed, when they affirmed that they Iubfcribed involuntarily, and againft their Confciences, Zenoobferving the Difputes that had arifen through the Decrees of the laft Council, publifhed his Henotieon, or his uniting and pacific/( Editt, in which he' confirmed the Nicene, Crmftantino/,olital1, and Epbefine Councils, ordained that the Nicene Creed fhould be the Standard of Orthodoxy, declared that neither himfdf nor the Churches have, or had, or would have any other Symbol orDoctrine but that, condemned N~orius and Eutyches, _and their Followers; and ordered, that whofoeverhad, or did think otheiwife, either now or formerly,. whether at Cbalcedon or any other Synod, 1hould be anarhemarized.. The Intention of rhe Emperor by this- Edict, was plainly to- reconc.le the Friends and Oppofers- of the. Synod of Chalcedoll; for he condemnt