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the same; for Moses made no prohibition of going to Rome, which I suppose St Bernard meant by transalpinare.'

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There remains in A. L. d yet one cavil, but it is a question of diligence, and not to the point in hand. The authority of St. Austin I marked under the title of his sermonde Martyribus.' But the gentleman, to shew his learning, tells us plainly that" there is but one in St. Austin's works with that title, to wit, his one hundred and seventeenth sermonde Diversis,' and in that there is not the least word to any such purpose." All this latter part may be true, but the first is a great mistake; for if the gentleman please to look in the Paris edition of St. Austin, 1571, tom. 10, page 277, he shall find the words I have quoted. And whereas he talks of one hundred and seventeen sermons 6 de Diversis,' and of one only sermon de Martyribus,' I do a little wonder at him to talk so confidently; whereas in the edition I speak of, and which I followed, there are but forty-nine sermons, and seventeen under the title'de Diversis,' and yet there are six sermons that bear the title'de Martyribus,' but they are to be found under the title de Sanctis;' so that the gentleman looked in the wrong place for this quotation; and if he had not mistaken himself, he could have had no colour for an objection. But for the satisfaction of the reader; the words are these in his third sermon de Martyribus Diversis:' "Non dixit vade in orientem et quære justitiam; naviga usque ad occidentem, ut accipias indulgentiam.' Dimitte inimico tuo et dimittetur tibi: indulge et indulgetur tibi: da et dabitur tibi; nihil à te extra te quærit. Ad teipsum et ad conscientiam tuam te Deus dirigit. In te enim posuit quod requirit."-But now let it be considered, that all those charges, which are laid against the church of Rome and her greatest doctors respectively in the matter of indulgences, are found to be true; and if so, let the world judge, whether that doctrine and those practices be tolerable in a Christian church.

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But that the reader may not be put off with a mere defence of four quotations, I shall add this; that I might have instanced in worse matters made by the popes of Rome to be the pious works, the condition of obtaining indulgences. Such as was the bull of Pope Julius the Second, giving indulgence to him that meeting a Frenchman should kill him, and another for the killing of a Venetian. But we need not d Ib. num. 25. © De Regimine Principum, lib. 3. c. 10, inter opuscula, num. 2 0,

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to wonder at it, since, according to the doctrine of Thomas Aquinas, "we ought to say, that in the Pope is the fulness of all graces; because he alone bestows a full iudulgence of all our sins; so that what we say of our chief Prince and Lord (viz., Jesus Christ), does fit him; for we all received of his fulness."" Which words, besides that they are horrid blasphemy, are also a fit principle of the doctrine and use of indulgences to those purposes, and in that evil manner, we complain of in the church of Rome.

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I desire this only instance may be added to it, that Pope Paul the Third, he that convened the council of Trent, and Julius the Third, for fear, as I may suppose, the council should forbid any more such follies, for a farewell to this game, gave an indulgence to the fraternity of the sacrament of the altar, or of the blessed body of our Lord Jesus Christ, of such a vastness and unreasonable folly, that it puts us beyond the question of religion, to an inquiry, whether it were not done either in perfect distraction, or, with a worse design, to make religion to be ridiculous, and expose it to a contempt and scorn. The conditions of the indulgence are, either to visit the church of St. Hilary of Chartres, to say a Pater Noster' and an Ave Mary' every Friday, or, at most, to be present at processions and other divine service upon Corpus Christi day.' The gift is as many privileges, indults, exemptions, liberties, immunities, plenary pardons of sins, and other spiritual graces, as were given to the fraternity of the image of our Saviour ad Sancta Sanctorum; the fraternity of the charity and great hospital of St. James in Augusta of St. John Baptist, of St. Cosmus and Damianus; of the Florentine nation, of the hospital of the Holy Ghost in Saxia, of the order of St. Austin and St. Champ, of the fraternities of the said city; of the churches of our Lady de populo et verbo :' and all those that were ever given to them that visited these churches or those which should be ever given hereafter.— A pretty large gift! In which there were so many pardons, quarter-pardons, half-pardons, true pardons, plenary pardons, quarantines, and years of quarantines; that it is a harder thing to number them, than to purchase them. I shall remark in these some particulars to be considered.

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1. That a most scandalous and unchristian dissolution and death of all ecclesiastical discipline, is consequent to the f Impress. Paris, per Philippum Hotot, 1550.

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and mock penances.

making all sin so cheap and trivial a thing; that the horrible demerits and exemplary punishment and remotion of scandal and satisfactions to the church, are indeed reduced to trifling He that shall send a servant with a candle to attend the holy sacrament, when it shall be carried to sick people, or shall go himself; or, if he can neither go nor send, if he say a Pater Noster' and an Ave;' he shall have a hundred years of true pardon. This is fair and easy. But then,

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2. It would be considered what is meant by so many years of pardon, and so many years of true pardon. I know but of one natural interpretation of it; and that it can mean nothing, but that some of the pardons are but fantastical, and not true: and in this I find no fault, save only that it ought to have been said, that all of them are fantastical.

3. It were fit we learned, how to compute four thousand and eight hundred years of quarantines; and remission of a third part of all their sins; for so much is given to every brother and sister of this fraternity, upon Easter-day and eight days after. Now if a brother needs not thus many, it would be considered whether it did not encourage a brother or a frail sister to use all their medicine and to sin more freely, lest so great a gift become useless.

4. And this is so much the more considerable because the gift is vast beyond all imagination. The first four days in Lent they may purchase thirty-three thousand years of pardon, besides a plenary remission of all his sins over and above. The first week of Lent a hundred and three-and-thirty thousand years of pardon, besides five plenary remissions of all their sins, and two third parts besides, and the delivery of one soul out of purgatory. The second week in Lent a hundred and eight-and-fifty thousand years of pardon, besides the remission of all their sins, and a third part besides; and the delivery of one soul. The third week in Lent, eighty thousand years, besides a plenary remission, and the delivery of one soul out of purgatory. The fourth week in Lent, threescore thousand years of pardon, besides a remission of two thirds of all their sins; and one plenary remission and one soul delivered. The fifth week, seventy-nine thousand years of pardon, and the deliverance of two souls, only the two

thousand seven hundred years that are given for the Sunday may be had twice that day, if they will visit the altar twice; and as many quarantines. The sixth week two hundred and five thousand years, besides quarantines; and four plenary pardons. Only on Palm-Sunday, whose portion is twentyfive thousand years, it may be had twice that day. And all this is the price of him that shall, upon these days, visit the altar in the church of St. Hilary. And this runs on to the Fridays, and many festivals and other solemn days in the other parts of the year.

5. Though it may be, that a brother may not need all this, at least at that time; yet that there may be no insecurity, the said popes give to every brother and sister of the fraternity, plenary pardon and indulgence of all their sins thrice iu their life, upon what day and hour they please. I suppose that one of the times shall be in the article of death; for that is the surest way for a weak brother. I have read, that the popes do not only give remission of sins already committed, but also of such as are to be committed. But whether it be so or no, there is in the bulls of this fraternity as good provision; for he that hath a dormant faculty for a plenary pardon lying by him to be used at what hour he please; hath a bull beforehand for a pardon of sins afterward to be committed, when he hath a mind to it.

6 To what purpose is so much waste of the treasure of the church? "Quorsum perditio hæc?" Every brother or sister of this fraternity may have, for so many times visiting the altar aforesaid, fourteen or fifteen plenary pardons. Certainly the popes suppose these persons to be mighty criminals, that they need so many pardons, so many plenaries. But two alls of the same thing is as much as two nothings. But if there were not infinite causes of fear, that very many of them were nullities, and that none of them were of any certain avail, there could be no pretence of reasonableness in dispensing these jewels with so loose a hand, and useless a freedom, as if a man did shovel mustard, or pour hogsheads of vinegar into his friend's mouth, to make him swallow a mouthful of herbs.

7. What is the secret meaning of it, that in divers clauses in their bulls of indulgence, they put in this clause, A parg Vide Revieu du Concile de Trent, lib. 5. c. 1. h Bull. Julii III. de an Jubil. 1.

don of all their sins, "be they ever so heinous." The extraordinary cases reserved to the Pope; and the consequent difficulty of getting pardon of such great sins, because it would cost much more money, was or might be some little restraint to some persons from running easily into the most horrible impieties; but to give such a loose to this little, and this last rein and curb; and by an easy indulgence to take off all, even the most heinous sins, what is it but to give the devil an argument to tempt persons, that have any conscience or fear left, to throw off all fear and to stick at nothing?

8. It seems hard to give a reasonable account, what is meant by giving a plenary pardon of all their sins; and yet, at the same time, an indulgence of twelve thousand years, and as many quarantines; it seems the bounty of the church. runs out of a conduit, though the vessels be full, yet the water still continues running and goes into waste.

9. In this great heap of indulgences (and so it is in very many other) power is given to a lay sister or brother to free a soul from purgatory. But if this be so easily granted, the necessity of masses will be very little; what need is there to give greater fees to a physician, when a sick person may be cured with a posset and pepper? The remedy of the way of indulgences is cheap and easy, a servant with a candle, a 'Pater' and an Ave,' a going to visit an altar, wearing the scapular of the Carmelites, or the cord of St. Francis: but masses for souls are a dear commodity, fivepence or sixpence is the least a mass will cost in some places; nay, it will stand in ninepence in other places. But then if the Pope can do this trick certainly, then what can be said to John Gerson's question,

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Arbitrio Papa proprio si clavibus uti

Possit, cur sinit ut pœna pios cruciet?
Cur non evacuat loca purgandis animabus
Tradita? The answer makes up the tetrastic;
Sed servus esse fidelis amat.

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The Pope may be kind, but he must be wise too; a faithful and wise steward;' he must not destroy the whole state of the purging church; if he takes away all the fuel from the fire, who shall make the pot boil? This may be done: "Ut possit superesse quos peccasse pœniteat:" sinpay for it, in their bodies or their purses.

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