Knight up into the moone, where S. John, as he feignes, met him. Cant. 34.

And to be short, at laft his guid him brings
Into a goodly valley, where he fees

A mighty male of things ftrangely confus'd,
Things that on earth were loft, or were abus'd.

And amongst these so abused things liften what hee met withall, under the Conduct of the Evangelift.

Then past hee to a flowry Mountaine greene,
Which once fmelt fweet, now ftinks as odiously;
This was that gift (if you the truth will have)
That Constantine to good Sylveftro gave.

And this was a truth well knowne in England before this Poet was borne, as our Chaucers Plowman shall tell you by and by upon another occafion. By all these circumstances laid together, I do not fee how it can be difputed what good this Emperour Conftantine wrought to the Church, but rather whether ever any, though perhaps not wittingly, fet open a dore to more mifchiefe in Chriftendome. There is just cause therefore that when the Prelates cry out Let the Church be reform'd according to Conftantine, it fhould found to a judicious eare no otherwife, then if they should say Make us rich, make us lofty, make us lawleffe, for if any under him were not fo, thanks to those ancient remains of integrity, which were not yet quite worne out, and not to his Government.

Thus finally it appears that those purer Times were no fuch as they are cry'd up, and not to be follow'd without fufpicion, doubt and danger. The laft point wherein the Antiquary is to bee dealt with at his owne weapon, is to make it manifeft, that the

ancienteft, and beft of the Fathers have disclaim'd all fufficiency in themselves that men should rely on, and fent all commers to the Scriptures, as all fufficient; that this is true, will not be unduly gather'd by fhewing what esteeme they had of Antiquity themselves, and what validity they thought in it to prove Doctrine, or Difcipline. I muft of neceffitie begin from the second ranke of Fathers, because till then Antiquitie could have no Plea. Cyprian in his 63. Epistle. If any, faith he, of our Auncestors either ignorantly or out of fimplicity hath not obferv'd that which the Lord taught us by his example (fpeaking of the Lords Supper) his fimplicity God may pardon of his mercy, but wee cannot be excus'd for following him, being inftructed by the Lord. And have not we the fame inftructions, and will not this holy man with all the whole Confiftorie of Saints and Martyrs that liv'd of old rise up and stop our mouthes in judgement, when wee shall goe about to Father our Errors, and opinions upon their Authority? in the 73. Epift. hee adds, in vaine doe they oppose custome to us if they be overcome by reafon; as if custome were greater then Truth, or that in spirituall things that were not to be follow'd, which is revel'd for the better by the holy Ghost. In the 74. neither ought Custome to hinder that Truth fhould not prevaile, for Cuftome without Truth is but agedneffe of Error.

Next Lactantius, he that was prefer'd to have the bringing up of Conftantines children in his fecond Booke of Inftitutions, Chap. 7.& 8. difputes against the vaine trust in Antiquity, as being the cheifest Argument of the Heathen against the Chriftians, they doe not confider, faith he, what Religion is, but they are confident it is true, because the Ancients deliver'd it, they count it a trefpaffe to examine it. And in the eighth, not because they went before us

in time, therefore in wifedome, which being given alike to all Ages, cannot be prepoffeft by the Ancients; wherefore seeing that to feeke the Truth is inbred to all, they bereave themselves of wifedome the gift of God who without judgement follow the Ancients, and are led by others like bruit beafts. St. Auftin writes to Fortunatian that he counts it lawfull in the bookes of whomfoever to reject that which hee finds otherwife then true, and fo hee would have others deale by him. He neither accounted, as it seems, thofe Fathers that went before, nor himselfe, nor others of his rank, for men of more then ordinary fpirit, that might equally deceive, and be deceiv'd, and oftimes, fetting our fervile humors afide, yea God fo ordering, we may find Truth with one man, as foon as in a Counfell, as Cyprian agrees 71. Epift. Many things, faith he, are better reveal'd to fingle perfons. At Nicea in the first, and best reputed Counfell of all the world, there had gon out a Canon to divorce married Priests, had not one old man Paphnutius ftood up, and reafon'd against it.

Now remains it to fhew clearly that the Fathers referre all decifion of controverfie to the Scriptures, as all-fufficient to direct, to refolve, and to determine. Ignatius taking his last leave of the Afian Churches, as he went to martyrdome exhorted them to adhere close to the written doctrine of the Apostles, neceffarily written for posterity: fo farre was he from unwritten traditions, as may be read in the 36. c. of Eufebius 3. b. In the 74. Epift. Of Cyprian against Stefan Bifh. of Rome impofing upon him a tradition, whence, quoth he, is this tradition? is it fetcht from the authority of Christ in the Gospel, or of the Apostles in their Epiftles: for God teftifies that thofe things are to be done which are written: and then thus; what obftinacie, what prefumption is this

to preferre humane Tradition before divine ordinance? And in the fame Epift. If we shall return to the head, and beginning of divine tradition (which we all know he means the Bible) humane error ceafes, and the reafon of heavenly misteries unfolded, whatsoever was obfcure, becomes cleare. And in the 14. Distinct. of the fame Epift. directly against our modern fantafies of a still vifible Church, he teaches, that fucceffion of truth may fail, to renew which we must have recourfe to the fountaines, using this excellent fimilitude, if a Channel, or Conduit pipe which brought in water plentifully before, fuddenly fail, doe we not goe to the fountaine to know the caufe, whether the Spring affords no more, or whether the vein be ftopt, or turn'd afide in the midcourfe: thus ought we to doe, keeping Gods precepts, that if in ought the truth shall be chang'd, we may repaire to the Gospel, and to the Apoftles, that thence may arife the reafon of our doings, from whence our order, and beginning arose. In the 75. he inveighs bitterly against Pope Stefanus, for that he could boaft his Succeffion from Peter, and yet foift in Traditions that were not Apoftolicall. And in his Book of the unity of the Church he compares those that neglecting Gods Word, follow the doctrines of men, to Coreh, Dathan, and Abiram. The very firft page of Athanafius against the Gentiles, averres the Scriptures to be fufficient of themfelves for the declaration of Truth; and that if his friend Macarius read other religious writers, it was but iλoxáλws come un virtuofo, (as the Italians fay,) as a lover of elegance and in his 2d Tome the 39. pag., after he hath rekon'd up the Canonicall Books, In thefe only, faith he, is the doctrine of godlinesse taught, let no man adde to thefe, or take from thefe; and in his Synopfis, having again fet down all the Writers of the old & new Teftament, thefe, faith he, be the anchors, and props of our Faith: befides

these, millions of other Books have bin written by great and wife men according to rule, and agreement with these, of which I will not now speak, as being of infinite number, and meer dependance on the canonical Books. Bafil in his 2d Tome writing of true Faith, tells his auditors he is bound to teach them that which he hath learn't out of the Bible: and in the fame Treatise, he faith, That feeing the Commandments of the Lord, are faithfull, and fure for ever; it is a plain falling from the Faith, and a high pride either to make void any thing therin, or to introduce any thing not there to be found: and he gives the reason, for Chrift faith, My Sheep heare my voyce, they will not follow another, but fly from him, because they know not his voyce. But not to be endleffe in quotations, it may chance to be objected, that there be many opinions in the Fathers which have no ground in Scripture; fo much the leffe, may I say, fhould we follow them, for their own words shall condemn them, and acquit us, that lean not on them otherwise these their words fhall acquit them, and condemn us. But it will be reply'd, the Scriptures are difficult to be understood, and therfore require the explanation of the Fathers, 'tis true there be fome Books, and especially fome places in those Books that remain clouded; yet ever that which is most neceffary to be known is most easie; and that which is most difficult, fo farre expounds it felfe ever, as to tell us how little it imports our faving knowledge. Hence to inferre a generall obfcurity over all the text, is a meer fuggeftion of the Devil to diffwade men from reading it, and cafts an afperfion of dishonour both upon the mercy, truth, and wifdome of God: We count it no gentleneffe, or fair dealing in a man of Power amongst us, to require strict, and punctual obedience, and yet give out all his commands ambiguous and obfcure, we should

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