SPECULUM PATRUM, A LOOKING-GLASSE OF THE FATHERS, Wherein you may ſee each of them characterized and diſplayed in their colours.
Of Dionyſius the Areopagite.
THE Apoſtles being all withdrawn from the Church Militant, and made free Deniſons of the Triumphant, our Saviour now reigning in heaven, raiſed up many eminent and burning Lights, whereby he ſpread his glorious Goſpel through all the parts2 of the Univerſe: Amongſt which Dionyſius the Areopagite is to be taken notice of, as one of the firſt Stars which appeared: He had that name given him, in that before his converſion he was a Judge of criminal cauſes at Athens: He was one of St. Paul's Auditors, from whom, as his Nurſe, he ſuckt the milk of Chriſtian Religion, at what time the good Apoſtle was at the Academy of Athens diſputing with the Ethnick Philoſophers, as his Lord and Maſter had done before with the Jewiſh Rabbines and Doctors.
Euſebius and Nicephorus write of him, that he was Biſhop of Athens, from whence he was afterward removed, if we may give credit to Baronius, to the Biſhoprick of Paris in France. This grave man being full of dayes, and as full of divine Grace, was crowned with the lawrel of Martyrdome, not in Domitian's time, (as ſome think) but in the reign of the Emperour Trajan, of whom it may be ſaid, that he was a good Prince to all but his Chriſtian Subjects, whoſe holy profeſſion ſeemed to the worlds eye, therefore, to be the more odious, becauſe ſo juſt a Prince as Trajan ſeem'd to be, did not forbear to perſecute it.
When this Dionyſius was in Egypt, whither he withdrew himſelf for the ſtudy of Philoſophy, and had there taken notice of that miraculous Eclipſe, which happened at our Saviours Paſſion, whereof he could find no natural reaſon, he cryed out, Aut Deus Naturae patitur, aut mandi machina diſſolvetur: Either the God of Nature ſuffereth, or the whole frame and fabrick of the world will be inſtantly diſſolved.
3Nicephorus and Suidas give us a catalogue of this mans Works, which Baronius labours to juſtifie, but other learned Writers, ſuch as Laurentius Valla, and Eraſmus: Luther, Cajetan, and our Engliſh Whitaker, prove them by many arguments to be ſuppoſititions and counterfeit.
His received Works we have printed in two Tomes at Antwerpe, with the Scholiaſts of Maximus, and the Paraphraſe of Pachimaera in the year of Chriſt 1634.
I meet with two Eulogies given to this Father, the one is from Trithemius, who cals him. Virum eximiae ſanctitatis, & incomparabilis doctrinae; a man of tranſcendent ſanctity, and incomparable learning.
The other is from Sixtus Senenſis, who ſaies this of him, Quod divinae & in myſteriis abſconditae ſapientiae admiranda volumina graeco, & ſublimi eloquio doctiſſime conſcripſit; That he wrote in ſublime Greek language admirable volumes of divine and myſterious wiſdome: And ſo he gives you a Schedule of all his works, as they were approved by the third Council of Conſtantinople.
Campian the Jeſuite in his fifth Reaſon, pag. 32. ſpeaks thus of this Dionyſius his Hierarchy, Dioniſii Areopagitae Hierarchia, quas claſſes, quae ſacra, quos ritus edocet? And out of the ſame book this Jeſuite proves both Purgatory, and their Romiſh Eccleſiaſtical Hierarchy: But that work is none of this Dionyſius's, though it bear his name; and this you have juſtified by4 Sixtus Senenſis, and ſeverall other learned Writers.
Ignatius.
THe next to Dionyſius is Ignatius, the ſecond Biſhop of Antioch after Peter, as Euſebius and Nicephorus relate: He had that name given him, ab igne charitatis, from the fire of charity wherewith he burned. He was alſo called,〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, and〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, either becauſe he was born of God, or elſe in regard of his bearing God in his pure and holy heart. This eminent Champion was thrown to hungry Lyons in that perſecution which Trajan ſtirred up againſt the Chriſtians.
Scaliger gives him this commendation, Vir (quod in orientis partibus per-rarum eſt) ſingulari eruditione; A man (which is very rare in the Eaſtern parts) of ſingular erudition.
Euſebius mentioning him writes thus, Ignatius amongſt moſt men famous.
Neander in his Geography, part 2. moſt highly extols him in theſe or ſuch like expreſſions, Ignatius, Antiochenae Eccleſiae praefuit, vir magni ſpiritus ſidei, & zeli; Ignatius was Biſhop of Antioch, a man of great ſpirit, faith and zeal.
Baronius ſpeaking of the Epiſtles which this man ſhould write, he ſtiles them, Copiam Apoſtolicarum5 traditionum apothecam, fortemque adverſus haereticos armaturam; A copious ſtorehouſe of Apoſtolical traditions, and a ſtrong armour againſt hereticks.
This Father was wont to ſay (when he ſpake of our Saviours death and paſſion) that his Love was crucified. Ireneus gives us an account of his Martyrdome, and ſets down the very words he ſhould utter a little before his ſufferings, which were to this effect or ſenſe: Inaſmuch as I am the wheat of God, I am to be ground with the teeth of beaſts, that I may be found pure bread, or fine manchet. His Epiſtles were printed at Oxford, 1644.
Polycarpus.
POlycarpus (whoſe name ſignifieth much fruit; was the Diſciple of St. Iohn the Apoſtle, ordained by him Biſhop of the Church of Smyrna) he went to Rome in the reign of Antonius Pius (Anicetus being Prelate at that time there) where he reduced to the true faith thoſe which were bewitched by the hereticks Marcion and Valentinus:
It happened, that wicked Marcion there meetting him, thus ſpake to him, Knoweſt thou us, O Polycarpus? To whom forthwith this grave and holy man moſt diſdainingly anſwered, I know thee to be the firſt-born of the Devil.
6This godly Profeſſor was in the dayes of Antoninus the Philoſopher, and Lucius Verus, Roman Emperors, tied to a ſtake in the midſt of the Amphitheater, and there devoured by the mercileſſe flames, as Volaterrane and Euſebius have written; but others yet ſay, that he could not burn, the Lord from Heaven reſtraining the natural violence of the fire by a miracle, and thereupon they ſlew him with the ſword at Smyrna, in the year of our Lord, 167.
In this mans time Egeſippus the Iew was converted to the Chriſtian Faith, who afterward wrote in five books, the Hiſtory of the Church from Chriſt to his own time. This Polycarpus writ an Epiſtle to the Philippians, ſo ſaith Ierome, and another to great Dionyſius the Areopagite; ſo Suidas.
Socrates in his Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtory tels us, That this man did communicate with Anicetus the Roman Biſhop, though he differed in opinion from him, about the celebration of Eaſter. Ireneus commends that Epiſtle of his to the Philippians in his third book againſt hereſies, ſaying, That it is ſo full furniſhed to this, that out of it all thoſe, which have any care of their ſalvation, may know the character of faith, and the doctrine of truth. Euſebius recites the Prayer which this holy and devout man did conceive and utter immediately before he was martyred; it begins thus, O Father of thy beloved and bleſſed Son Ieſus Chriſt, by whom we have knowledge of thee —
7Ireneus gives this eminent Saint this following commendation; Hic docuit ſemper, quae ab Apoſtolis didicerat, & Eccleſiae tradidit quae ſola ſunt vera; This man alwayes taught that which he had learnt of the Apoſtles, and delivered to the Church thoſe things which are only true. 'Tis Dalleus his Blogy of him, Quo viro poſt Apoſtolos, quorum familiaris fuit, vix ullus apud Chriſtianos unquam fuit ſanctior, ant divinior; Then which man after the Apoſtles (whoſe familiar companion he was) there was ſcarce any one among the Chriſtians more holy and divine.
Euſebius gives us an account of his martyrdom by an Epiſtle of the Church of Smyrna, inſerted in his Hiſtory, wherein we have many remarkable paſſages; one is a Voice ſpeaking to Polycarpe from Heaven, and ſaying thus, O Polycarpe be of courage, and play the man, even then when he was ſtanding before the Judgement-ſeat. Another is the ſtout Reply, which he made the Proconſul, when he tempted him to deny the Lord Jeſus, which was much to this effect, Fourſcore and five years have I ſerved him, neither hath he ever offended me, and how can I revile my King, who hath hitherto kept me. A third is, that when his body was burning, it ſeemed to the ſenſes of them that beheld it, to ſend forth a ſweet and fragrant ſmell, as of Frankincenſe, or ſuch like odoriferous perfume.
Justine Martyr.
IUſtine Martyr fiouriſhed in the reign of Antonius Pius, and ſo was contemporary with Polycarpe. Euſebius in his Eccleſiaſtical hiſtory ſpeaking of him ſaith, that this man was famous in the Chriſtian Doctrine a little after the times of the Apoſtles: He was the ſon of Priſcas Bacchus, born at Flavia, a new City of Syria Paleſtina, ſo he himſelf tels us, in one of his Apologies. Its ſaid, that the Emperour upon his reading of this mans Apologies, which he had dedicated to him, wherein he pleaded the righteous cauſe of poor diſtreſſed and calamitous Chriſtians, that he gave order for the ceaſing of the perſecution. Tertullian and Suidas doe ſpeak great matters in the honour and praiſe of this Champion. He wrote againſt the Heretick Marcion, whoſe venome (it ſeems) had ſpread it ſelf farre and wide in his dayes.
He was a notable Philoſopher, and in his Dialogue with Trypho he ſaith, that he had been an Auditor of all the Sects of them, of Stoicks, Peripateticks, Pythagoreans, and Platonicks. Ierome tels us in his Catalogue of Eccleſiaſtical Writers, that he did, habitu Philoſophico incedere, walk in the guiſe and habit of a Philoſopher. He was beheaded at Rome, ſaith Euſebius, in the reign of Lucius Verus, but according to Epiphanius, it was before, even in the time of Adrian. His death,9 whenſoever it was, was promoted and procured by the malice and revenge of Creſcens an ungodly Philoſopher, who being worſted by him in his excellent diſputations, never left till his malignancy had brought to paſſe this pious Martyrs deſtruction: whence you have this or the like paſſage from his own mouth in his Apologie, relating to his perſecutor Creſcens; I look for no other thing then this, that I be betrayed by ſome one of them called Philoſophers, or knockt in the head by Creſcens, no Philoſopher indeed, but only a proud ſelf-conceited boaſter — and ſo he goes on in that Apology.
This Father records of himſelf, that he was prevailed withall, and won to imbrace the Chriſtian Faith, through the cruelties of heathen Tyrants againſt the Saints of Chriſt, and their couragious patience under them. We meet with a worthy character given this man, in the Bibliotheca of Photius, which is as followeth, or much to that ſenſe; Eſt vir ille ad Philoſophiae tum noſtrae, tum potiſſimum profanae ſummum evectus faſtigium, multipliciſque eruditionis & hiſtoriarum copia circumfluens; That man is an eminent proficient both in our Chriſtian Philoſophy, and alſo in prophane, and overflowing with abundance of various learning and hiſtories. Pareus ſaith this of his works, quod ejuſdem ſcripta etiamnum cum fructu leguntur; That his writings are now read with benefit. Epiphanius cals him, Virum ſanctum, & Dei amantem, a holy man, and a lover of God. Tatianus in his book againſt the10 Gentiles, ſtiles him〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, moſt admirable.
Yet this man, though he did apologize for Chriſtianity, had his errors. In his Dialogue with Trypho he ſhews himſelf an Abetter of the opinion of the Chiliaſts; and the barbarous Gentiles he did entitle to ſalvation.
A thenagoras.
A Thenagoras a Philoſopher of Athens turned Chriſtian, and flouriſhed, if we may believe Bellarmine, in the year of Chriſt, 142. when Antonius Pius was Emperour, and Teleſphorus the Roman Biſhop; though Baronius will not have him to appear till the year of our Lord 179. which was the time, when Aurelius ſat in the Throne, and Soter or Eleutherius in the Chair. He was a man of very gteat eſteem with the ſaid Prince for his vaſt abilities and profound learning; he wrote an Apology in the behalf of his fellow Chriſtians, and likewiſe undertook an Embaſſie, that he might ſpeak as an Advocate for them to the Roman Majeſty.
He publiſhed a golden book (as one cals it) of the Reſurrection, ſet out and interpreted by Andreas Geſner. Epiphanius cites this mans Apology in the Hereſie of Origen, where he relates the words of Proclus out of Methodius. Bellarmine11 in his book of Eccleſiaſtical Writers ſaith, Scriptorem hunc carere ſuſpicione; That this Writer is without ſuſpition, and yet he is conſtrained to confeſſe, that he was over-paſſed both by Euſebius and Ierome.
Varro ſaith; that this Author writ alſo ſome books of Husbandry: How he dyed I read not, what is now extant of his Works you have printed in one volume with Iuſtine Martyr.
Irenaeus.
IRenaeus flouriſhed, ſay ſome, about the 160. year of Chriſt, others the 180. when Aurelius Antonius and Commodus were Emperours, and in that he ſaith, that in his childhood he converſt with Polycarpus ſome of the learned think, that he was born either at Smyrna, or not far from it, that he was a Greek his name is their warrant to conjecture it.
Euſebius ſaith, that he ſucceeded Pothinus in the Biſhoprick of Lyons, where he governed the Church (ſay ſome) for thirty years, others ſay more: Some which have written Martyrologies, ſpeaking of his death, doe tell us, that he was butchered by the Tyrant Maximinus, who was a great perſecutor of the Saints and people of God. Bargnius ſaith, that he was martyred with almoſt all his people of Lyons, in that horrid ſtorm, which12 was raiſed againſt the Chriſtians by the Emperour Severus.
He wrote againſt the hereſies of thoſe times, which Satan had ſpread abroad, on purpoſe to eclipſe, if not altogether to extinguiſh, the ſunſhine of the Truth. He was at Rome with Eleutherius, where he indeavoured the conviction of Blaſtus and Florinus two notable Schiſmaticks, and to allay that malignant ſpirit of error which their ſtinking breath had raiſed. He alſo ſharply reyroved the Roman Biſhop Victor, for that he had injuriouſly excommunicated the Aſian Churches, ſo ſaith Euſebius.
Eraſmus thinks that this Author wrote in Latine, and not in Greek, and being skilled in Greek, he therefore uſeth Graeciſmes: But Rhenanus judges the contrary, becauſe Ierome reckons him among the Grecian Writers. Tertullian doth beſtow on this man this following admirable character; Irenaeus, omnium doctrinarum curioſiſſimus explorator; A moſt exquiſite and curious ſearcher into all manner and kind of learning. Epiphanius cals him,〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Moſt bleſſed and moſt holy Ireneus.
Eraſmus in an Epiſtle of his thus ſets him forth; firſt he commends him from his name, Magnus ille Eccleſiae propugnator, pro ſui nominis augurio, pacis Eccleſiae vindex; and then he goes on, highly extolling his writings, ſpirant illius ſcripta priſcum illum Evangelii vigorem, ac phraſis arguit pectus martyrio paratum, habent enim Martyres ſuam quandam dictionem ſeriam, fortem &13 maſculam; That great defender of the Church, for the divination of his name, a maintainer of the Churches peace; his writings breath that ancient vigour of the Goſpel, and his phraſe argues a heart prepared for martyrdome; for Martyrs have a certain ſerious expreſſion, valiant and maſculine. Bellarmine ſpeaking of the books which this man wrote, ſaith of them, Quod pleni ſum doctrina & pietate, that they are full of learning and piety.
Yet notwithſtanding this great Light had his eclipſes, as appears by ſomewhat that is unſound in his own writings. Particularly he was entangled with the ſnare of Papias, who was the Father of the Chiliaſts; this Euſebius doth charge him with, as we find it in the third book of his hiſtory, the ſix and thirtieth chapter, againſt which opinion of his, Dionyſius Biſhop of Alexandria is ſaid to have written ſomewhat in confutation, ſo ſaith Sixtus Senenſis. He was likewiſe once an allower of free-will in ſpirituals, though afterwards he expreſſed himſelf to the contrary, ſaying, Non a nobis, ſed a Deo eſſe bonum ſalutis noſtrae, that our ſalvation is not from our ſelves but God.
There was one ſtrange opinion more to which he was addicted, and that was, Animas a corpore ſeparatas habere hominis figuram & characterem corporis, ut etiam cognoſcantur, That ſouls departed and ſeparated from the body, have mans figure and form of his body, ſo that they may be known by it.
Pantaenus.
PAntaenus was of the School of Alexandria, where at firſt he profeſſed the Philoſophy of the Stoicks, but afterwards became very eminent in the profeſſion of Chriſtian Divinity. Its ſaid of him by learned Pareus, Quod primus ſcholam ex ethnica in chriſtianaem mutavit; that he was the firſt which changed an ethnick ſchool into a chriſtian. He was ſent from Alexandria by Demetrianus the Biſhop thereof, into India, to eſtabliſh that church in the ſacred Truth, which the Apoſtles of our Lord Jeſus had there planted; where meeting with the Goſpel of St. Matthew written in Hebrew, and left there with thoſe Eaſtern people by Bartholomew, he brought it thence (ſay ſome) to the City of Alexandria. though Euſebius tels us, that it remained there, even in his time.
He was the Maſter of that famous Schollar Clemens Alexandrinus, he flouriſhed under the Emperours Severus and Antonius Caracalla, about the year of Chriſt 200. he left behind him ſome certain Commentaries on the holy Scripture, which are not now extant, though Ierome had in his time the knowledge of them.
Euſebius ſtiles him, a famous learned man, and one in great eſtimation, lib. 5. cap. 9. and Senenſis ſpeaking of him, tels us, that he was eminent, propter tam ſecularis literaturae, quam ſacrae eruditionis15 gloriam, as well for the glory of his ſecular learning as his ſacred erudition.
Clemens Alexandrinus.
CLemens Alexandrinus, (So called, becauſe he was a Presbyter of Alexandria) preached the Goſpel both at Ieruſalem, and at Antioch; he was the maſter of Origen, and moderated in the School of Alexandria after Pantaenus. He flouriſhed in the raign of Severus and his ſon Antonius. He wrote many learne books, Euſebius calls him, in Divinis Scripturis exercitatum, one exerciſed in the Divine Scriptures. Cauſabon, inexhauſtae Doctrinae virum, a man of unexhauſted learning. Heniſius Penu eruditionis, & Seientiae. The granary of Erudition and Science. Cauſſinus Plutarchum Chriſtianum, The Chriſtian Plutark, Dempſter, gravem & diſertum authorem, A grave and eloquent author, but the Centuriators of of Magdeburg are full and large in his Character, which we have from them as followeth; Fuit in hoc homine omnino Ingens diſcendi cupiditas, ingenium acutum, tenaciſſima memoria, Fervens Zelus, Gloriae Dei, & Religionis Chriſtianae, ut ex ſuis Scriptis conſpici poteſt, maximae eruditionis, Zeli, facundiae, ac proinde etiam authoritatis, ſed etiam Scriptis tum toti Eccleſiae ſui Aevi, tum etiam poſteritati in perpetuum profuit. There was in this man16 altogether a vaſt deſire of learning, an acute wit, a moſt tenacious memorie, a fervent zeal of Gods glory and the Chriſtian Religion, as may be ſeen out of his writings, of very great erudition, zeal, eloquence, and ſo alſo of authority; neither did he onely advantage his Auditors by his voice, but likewiſe by his writings, both the whole Church of his age, as alſo poſterity throughout all ages.
This man with his Maſter Pantaenus, is reported to have been the firſt founders of publike Academies, for they delivered the fundamentals of Heavenly truth, not by ſermons to the people, but by Catechiſticall doctrine to the learned in the Schooles. S. Ierom ſaith this of this mans Workes; Feruntur ejus inſignia volumina, plenaqueeruditionis, & eloquentiae, tam de Scripturis Divinis, quam de ſecularis literaturae inſtrumento.
Yet this man had too high an eſteem of Tradition, whereby it hapned, that he fell into various, errours, amongſt which, he affirmed, That afterour calling to the Knowledge of the truth, poſſibly God might grant to them that have ſinned, a recovery into their former ſtate for once, or twice by repentance, but if they ſhould fall oftner into ſin then ſo, there is no more reſtitution to be expected or hoped for, but a fearfull looking for a finall judgement. And yet afterward forgetting this his aſſertion, he ſaith in his fourth book of Strom. That Whenſoever ſinners do repent, whether here in this world, or elſe in the next, they may be received to Gods mercy. In which paſſage of his, he ſeems to17 inſinuate that men may repent, and ſo finde favour at the hands of God, after that this preſent life is determined. Then which Poſition, there is nothing more contrary to the Scripture, and likewiſe to his own forementioned, and foregoing expreſſion.
Moreover, he delivered, lib. 7. Strom. That the law of Moſes, was ſufficient to the Iewes, and to the Heathens or Gentiles, their Philoſophy before Chriſts coming, to ſalvation. In his firſt Book, you have theſe words touching the Juſtification of the Gentiles,〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Philoſophy heretofore did of its own nature juſtifie the Greeks. You have an enumeration of all this mans errours from Chemnitius in the firſt part of his Examen, pag. 78. He dyed at Alexandria where he taught, ſo ſaith Baronius.
Origenes Adamantius.
ORigenes Adamantius, flouriſhed (ſay ſome) vnder Gallus and Voluſian, others, under Galienus, and Valerian. He was the ſon of Leonides, and diſciple of Clemens of Alexandria, he firſt taught by way of Catechizing, when he was but aged eighteen yeers, and ſaith one of him, Quemadmodum docuit, ſic vixit, & quemadmodum vixit, ſic docuit. As he taught ſo he lived, and as he lived,18 ſo he taught; When he was but a child, he encouraged his father to continue conſtant in the Chriſtian cauſe, himſelf being forward to ſeal it with his own blood, if his mother had not (as Euſebius records) prevented him in it. Ierome in his Catalogue of Illuſtrious Writers, relates this of him, in commendation of his great learning, that he read publike Lectures in theſe following ſciences: Logick, Geometry, Arithmetike, Muſick, Grammer, Rethorick, and other Philoſophicall diſciplines.
When he was but a youth, he would ſearch very narrowly into the ſence of the Holy Scriptures; which his father Leonides obſerving, would now and then gently reprove him in theſe or the like expreſſions; Nequid ſupra aetatens quaeras. Dive not into that myſtery, which is out of the reach of thy youthfull yeers to comprehend: And yet coming to his bedſide at night, and uncovering his breaſt, he would kindly kiſſe it, judgeing himſelf moſt happy in this, that he had ſo gracious a ſon? Some write that he made himſelf an Eunuch for chaſtities ſake. Epiphanius records of him, that he wrote 6000. volumes; Opera ejus aſcendunt ad ſena millia librorum, and tis Ieroms; Quis noſtrum tanta poteſt legere, quanta ille conſcripſit. Which of ours can read ſo much as he hath written.
Its an ancient obſervation concerning this Father. Origenes ubi bene Scripſit, nemo melius; ubi male, nemo peius. Where Origen wrote well,〈◊〉wrote better, where ill, none worſe. Whence for19 ſome errors he is reckoned by ſome Authors in the number of Heriticks. Vincentius Lyrinenſis tels us, Errorem Originis propter ejus tum doctrinam, tum zelum, magnam in Dei Eccleſia fuiſſe tentationem; That the errour of Origen, both for his learning and zeal, was a great temptation in the the Church of God.
He was called〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉from the number of the books he did compile and ſet out, which he ever writ ſtanding. Gregory ſaith, that all the latter Doctors of the Church were much furthered by this mans works; whence 'tis ſaid (as it is in Suidas) 〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Origen the whet-ſtone of us all.
Ierome ſtiles him, Sacrorum omnium expoſitorum victorem, the victor of all ſacred Expoſitors. Eraſmus, Theologorum ſine controverſia principem, of Divines the chief without controverſie. And Poſſevinus ſpeaking of his works, ſaith of them, In qua parte probantur, neminem poſt Apoſtolos habuit aequalem, in them, which are approved, he had none after the Apoſtles his equal: Yet however, ſome there be, that doe debaſe him. Baſil charges him, that he had not a ſound opinion of the Holy Ghoſt. Ierome cals his opinions, Venenata dogmata, & aliena Scripturis, & vim facientia Scripturis, invenomed opinions, erring from the Scriptures, and doing them violence: Cauſabon will have him accounted a Platonick Philoſopher, rather than a Divine. Ribera ſtiles him, Arii patrem, & aliarum hereſew radicem, the father of Arius, and the root of all hereſies, out of20 Epiphanius. He dyed at Tyre in the year of his age 69.
Tertullian.
TErtullian of Carthage in Affrica firſt ſtudied Philoſophy, and the Civil Law, but afterwards addicted himſelf to the ſtudy of Theologie; he was the ſon of a Centurion, called Florens, from the habit or garb of his body; he was a man of admirable parts, and moſt piercing wit, excelling in the knowledge of the Greek and Latine tongues; he flouriſhed when Alexander Severus and Antonius Caracalla were Emperours. At firſt he was a Prieſt at Rome, where he continued to the midſt of his years, and then being driven thence, he returned to Carthage, where for a time he maintained the damnable opinion of the heretick Montanus, but at laſt, ſome ſay, that he recanted and renounc'd it.
He waged many diſputes with the Iews, and with thoſe deteſtable inſtruments of Satan, ungodly Marcion, Valentinus the Gentile, wicked Hermogenes, and Praxeas; he lived till he was very aged. So admired (ſaith Ierome) he was of Cyprian, that not a day paſſed without his reading ſome portion of his works, it being his uſual ſpeech, Da mihi Magiſtrum, give me my Maſter. The learned have afforded him many excellent21 Eulogies: Omni literarum genere peritus, ſaith Lactantius, skill'd in every kind of learning. Yertullianus mihi certe, ter Tullius, & Roſa eſt, ſaith another; and tis Lypſius his commendation,
Quis poſt Tertullianum inter ſacros ſcriptores doctior? who amongſt the ſacred writers was after Tertullian more learned? And as another of the Criticks ſpeaks, eruditiſſimus, & quantum patitur aetas illa & patria Affrica, eloquentiſſimus, moſt learned, and as much as that age, and his countrey Affrick doth permit, moſt eloquent.
Yet this man was carryed away with ſtrange errors, whence Ierome could ſay, in Tertulliano laudamus ingenium, ſed damnamus Haereſin, we commend Tertullians wit, but we condemn his hereſie.
He attributed a body to God, he condemned ſecond marriage; he aſſerted that the ſonne had a beginning, tempus fuit, cum filius non fuit, are his own words, in his book againſt Hermogenes, not far from the beginning; which is the very phraſe of Speech uſed by the heretick Arius. After baptiſme he allowed but onely one repentance; he gave too much to the power of mans will, he aſſcribed remiſſion of ſins to humane ſatisfactions, and laſtly he was a Chiliaſt, no wonder then if his authority be ſo little ſet by of many. Bellarmine rejects his teſtimony, and undervalues his authority in many of his writings: in one place this he ſayes of him, Tertullianus haereſiarcha fuit, Tertullian was a principal, or Arch-heretick; in another,22 this, Euſebii, & Tertulliani, parva autoritas; Euſebius and Tertullians authority is but ſmall, and beſides Bellarmine, Lirinenſis ſtiles him, univerſalis ac vetuſtae fidei parum tenacem, ac diſertiorem nullo, quam fideliorem, one that hath little hold of the univerſal, and ancient faith, and much more eloquent then faithful! and Auſtin ſaith, that he was the head of a new ſect, which were called Tertullianiſts: ſome tell us, that he was deſirous of Martyrdome, but of what kind of death he dyed, no author doth certainly report it.
Gregorius Thaumaturgus.
GRegorius Thaumaturgus, this man had another name, Euſebius calls him Theodorus brother to Athenodorus, he was drawn from the ſtudy of the Greek and Roman diſcipline, and from the love of Philoſophy, to the ſtudy of the holy Scripture, that true divine Philoſophy indeed, by the miniſtry of Origen, of whom he was a zealous auditor, whilſt he with many others flockt to him, preaching at Caeſarea.
Euſebius tells us, that he, and his brother were ordained Biſhops of certain Churches in Pontus, he uſually paſſes under the title of Epiſcopus Neocaeſarienſis, the Biſhop of Neocaeſarea; they ſay that he wrought many miracles, whence he had the name of Thaumaturgus.
23He was preſent at the council of Antioch againſt Samoſatenus, that Arch-heretick, as Pareus calls him: he was eminent in the raign of the Emperour Severus, he wrote an oration in the praiſe of his maſter Origen, ſtiled by Sixtus Senenſis,〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, a Panegyrick of gratitude, of which oration Pamphilus the Martyr doth (as Socrates reports) make mention, in his books written in Origens defence.
Its ſaid of this holy man, that he bleſſed God, when he was Biſhop of Neocaeſarea eſpe•ially for this mercy, that when he firſt undertook that great charge upon him, he found not above ſeventeen Chriſtians, and when he left them, he had not in all his juriſdiction ſo many unbelievers.
Baſil ſaith of him, that he was ſtiled by the enemies of the truth, another Moſes, and Ierom calls him virum apoſtolicorum ſignorum & virtutum, a man of apoſtolical ſignes and vertues, and Barthius thus dignifies him too, while he writes him, virum apoſtolicarum virtutum, he died (ſay ſome) when Aurelian was Emperour.
Sixtus Senenſis makes mention of his Metaphraſe, which he writ on Eccleſiaſtes, which Suidas calls very ſhort but admirable; this was firſt printed under his own name, but afterwards it came forth under the name of Gregorie Nazianzene, but Ierome expounding the fourth chapter of Eccleſiaſtes, and making uſe of this Gregories paraphraſe upon ſome paſſage thereof, he doth ingenuouſly diſcover the right Author in theſe following words, vir ſanctus Gregorius Ponti Epiſcopus,24 Originis auditor, in metaphraſi Eccleſiaſtis ita hunc locum intellexit, A holy man, Gregory the Biſhop of Pontus, the auditor of Origen, in his metaphraſe of Eccleſiaſtes, thus underſtood this place: the workes of this Father in Greek and Latine, together with what is now extant of Macarius of Egypt and Baſilius of Seleucia were printed in one volume at Paris 1622.
Cyprianus.
CYprianus Presbyter of Carthage, being yet a Gentile, was a maſter of Rhetorick, which he publikely profeſſed with great admiration and repute, he alſo ſtudied the Magick Art, but being afterwards converted to the Chriſtian Faith, he gave that ſtudy over, and applyed himſelf to the ſtudy of the Scriptures: he was ſet over the Churches in Spain, and in the Eaſt, where to his great praiſe he did execute the Office of a laborious Biſhop.
In the writings which this man hath left behind him, there appear the Symptomes of a learned headpiece, and yet they are not altogether p•re, and free from errour; for he aſſerted that rebaptizing of Hereticks was neceſſary; this champion contended with the heathens, and the Jews, as alſo with Novatus, and many other hereticks; for which cauſe being grievouſly perſecuted by25 his enemies, he ſtept aſide from their fury for the Churches ſake, whoſe peaceand tranquillity his preſence did at that time ſeem to prejudice.
Demſter calls this Praelat, inſignem authorem, interdum floridum, a famous Author, and ſometimes thetorical and floury: but Lactantius ſpeaks more loftily of the man in theſe following words, Cyprianus Epiſcopus Martyr, unus praecipuns, & clarus extitit, qui & magnam ſibi gloriam ex artis oratoriae profeſſione quaeſivit, & admodum multa conſcripſit in ſuo ſacro genere miranda; erat enim ingenio facili, copioſo, ſuavi, & (quae ſermonis maxima eſt virtus) aperto, ut diſcernere nequeas, utrumne ornatior in eloquendo, an peritior in perſuadendo fuerit: Cyprian the Biſhop, and Martyr, was a man very eminent and famous, who acquired to himſelf great fame and glory by the profeſſion of his Art of Oratory, and he wrote very many things in their ſacred kind admirable, for he was of a facil wit, copious, ſweet, and (which is the greateſt vertue of ſpeech) open, that you cannot diſcern whether he were more fluent in ſpeaking, or more skilful in perſwading, inſtit. lib. 5.
Sixtus Senenſis in his Bibliotheca ſpeaking of his phraſe of ſpeech and ſtyle, ſayes this of him Quod multa piiſſima opuſcula elegantiſſimae phraſeos & Ciceroniano candori proximae ad aedificationem eccleſiae ſcripſit; that he wrote many moſt pious works of moſt elegant phraſe, and neer Ciceroes candour to the edification of the Church, he was an extreme charitable man, for as ſoon as he was turned from gentiliſme to chriſtianity, he gave up26 all his ſubſtance to the ſupport of poor Chriſtians.
Ierome writing to Paulinus, ſaith of this Father, Quod inſtar fontis puriſſimi levis inceſſit, & placidus, that like a moſt pure fountain he ran light and pleaſing: he wrote a famous treatiſe of mortality, on purpoſe to comfort men againſt approching death in the time of a fearful peſtilence. Among all his writings, that treatiſe of his de unitate eccleſiae, of the unity of the Church is moſt ſet by and advanced.
Eraſmus in an Epiſtle thus commends this man, inter Latinos ad apoſtolici pectoris vigorem, ubique ſentias loqui paſtorem, ac martyrio deſtinatum. And again ſaith he, In Cypriano ſpiritum veneramur apoſtolicum, we reverence in Cyprian an apoſtolical ſpirit: t'is Auſtins in the ſecond book againſt the Donatiſts. chap. 1. non me terret autoritas Cypriani, quia reficit humilitas Cypriani the autority of Cyprian doth not terrifie me, becauſe the humility of Cyprian doth refreſh me.
A Deacon of his, by name Pontius, wrot the Hiſtory of his life and Martyrdome, he was martyred under Valerian and Galienus.
Arnobius.
ARnobius, was a famous Rhetorician in Affrick, the maſter of Lactantius, of whom Euſebius Pamphilus reports, that being a teacher of Rethorick, and a Gentile, he was conſtrained through ſundry dreames to beleeve the glorious Goſpel, and yet the Chriſtian Biſhops would not receive him to their Fellowſhip, till he had written, and publiſhed thoſe excellent Books of his againſt Gentiliſme; wherein he confuted that vain Superſtition, and Idolatry, whereof he had been before ſo great a Patron, and Advocate? He wrote but ſeven books in number, and the eighth which is thereto added, is none of his compiling, but as ſome ſay, the Author of it, was Minutius Felix. He is ſaid, beſides theſe books to have written Commentaries on the Pſalmes; But they are (as Bellarmine well obſerves) the workes of ſome later Author, which he proves by their making mention of the Pelagian Hereſie; which was not broached, till the time that Auſtine lived, which was many yeers after Arnobius; and beſides Salmeron ſpeaks of another Biſhop of the ſame name, to whom he aſcribes thoſe Expoſitions.
This man flouriſhed about the yeer of Chriſt Chriſt 300. He is not without ſome ſpeciall Characters;28 Barthius ſaith this of him, Si non extaret, Denſa nox foret in Superſtionibus veterum. If this man had not been living, it had yet been right in the Superſtitions of the Ancients. Dempſter calls him, virum reconditae eruditionis ſtyli aſperioris. A man of deep learning, of rougher ſtile. But Heniſius above all others doth advance him; Ille Patrum praeſul optimus, ille Chriſtianae Varro maximus eruditionis. That preſident of the Fathers, that Varro of Chriſtian Erudition, but yet in ſome reſpects Ierome doth depreſſe him. Arnobius inaequalis, & nimius eſt, & abſqueoperis ſui partitione confuſus. Arnobius is unequall, and too much, and without partition of his work, confuſed.
Lactantius Firmianus.
LActantius Firmianus, whom Alſtedius ſtiles by the name of Cicero Chriſtanorum, the Chriſtians Cicero, was the Diſciple of Arnobius, who being eminent for eloquence in the raign of Dioccleſian, taught Rethorick at Nicomedia, and and wrote thoſe elegant books againſt the Religion of the Heathens, of whom Ierome ſaid; Lact antius, quaſi quidam fluvius eloquentiae Tullianae, vtinam tam noſtra confirmare potuiſſet, quam facile aliena deſtruxit: Lactantius, as it were a certain river of Ciceronian Eloquence, I would to God he could as well have confirmed our own, as29 he he did deſtroy the Religion of our Adverſaries.
Lodovicus Vives having occaſion to mention him, ſaith this of him; Septem ſcripſit volumina elegantiſſima, & acutiſsima, nec eſt ullus inter Chriſtianos ſcriptores tam vicinus dictioni Tullianae; He wrote ſeven moſt elegant, and acute volumes, neither doth any among our Chriſtian Writers come ſo neer the ſpeech of Tully: Piſecius ſtiles him, Lacteum, & mellitiſsimum Scriptorem; A milkie and moſt honey writer. And Ameſius too ſpeaking of hm, in his Book entituled, Bellarminus Enervatus, thus ſaith: Quod inter omnes Patres audit Ciceronianus. That among all the Fathers he is the Ciceronian.
I ſhall add but one Elogie more to him, and tis that of Heniſius. Quid Tertulliani porro vim ac lacertos, Quid Clementis variam prope incredibilem ſcientiam, aut Hilarii Cothurnum, aut Chryſoſtomi digreſsiones melle dulciores, aut acumen Auguſtini, aut diffuſam & cum ſolo Cicerone conferendam Firmiani eloquentiam commemorem? What ſhould I commemorate the force and ſtrength of Tertullian; Why the incredible Science of Clemens, or the ſtatelineſſe of Hilary, or the digreſſions of Chryſoſtome, more ſweet then Honey, or the acuteneſſe of Auguſtine, or the diffuſed eloquence of Firmianus, who alone is comparable to Cicero?
And yet he is charged by Bellarmine with many errours, whoſe words are theſe, Lib. 1. de Sanct. beat. Cap. 5. circa fin. Lactantius in plurimos30 errores lapſus eſt, praeſertim circa futurum ſeculum, cum eſſet magis librorum Ciceronis, quam Scriptur arum Sanctarum peritus. Lactantius fell into very many errors, eſpecially about the world to come, ſeeing he was more skilfull in the workes of Cicero, then in the books of the holy Scriptures. Hence Chemnitius diſcourages us from reading of him, ſaying, Non multum poteſt juvare Lectorem, He cannot much profit the reader. Ierome particularly notes this in him, that he denied the Holy Spirit to be a ſubſtance, or perſon: and beſide this errour, he addes another, whilſt he attributes reaſon to brute creatures. lib. 3. inſtit. cap. 1.
He wrore his book of Divine Inſtitutions under Diocleſian, as himſelf expreſſeth it in the fourth Chapter of the fifth book; and he publiſhed it in the Raign of the Great Conſtantine, to whoſe Imperiall Majeſty he doth direct his ſpeech in it. He was called Firmianus from his Countrey Town Firmii, ſituate among the Picens in Italy, and Lactantius, as one well notes, a Lacteo eloquentiae flumine, from his milkie river of Eloquence. He was in his old age Tutour to Criſpus, the ſon of Conſtantine; how he dyed, I read not.
Euſebius.
EUſebius was Biſhop of Caeſarea in Paleſtine, he flouriſhed about the yeer of our Lord 320. He was looked on at the firſt, as the principall man of the Arian faction. Chemnitius de lect. Patr. ſtiles him apertiſsimum propugnatorem Arii: A moſt open defender, or abetter of Arius. Baronius ſtiles him with Tertullian, manifeſtum Hereticum; a manifeſt Heretick. Ierom in both his books, which he wrote againſt Ruffinus, doth not onely call him Arianum an Arian, but likewiſe, ſigniferum & principem Arianorum, The Standard bearer, or Enſign of the Arians.
Yet certainly at the Councill of Nice this man brake off his compliance with that Hereticall party, and from thence forward joyned himſelf in fellowſhip and ſociety with the Orthodox. Nay, he is conceived by ſome Authors, to have been the compilers of the Nicene Creed. He wrote in ten books an Eccleſiaſticall Hiſtory, from Chriſts time to the yeer 325. Ierome ſaith of him, quod pulchre contexuerit Hiſtoriam Eccleſiaſticam. Baſil calls him〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Worthy of credence, and Chemnitius comparing this authors Hiſtory with that of Nicephorus, he ſaith: Major eſt gravitas in illius hiſtoria, quam in Nicephori. There is much more gravity in his Hiſtory, then in that of Nicephorus.
32Beſides this work, he writ alſo a Panagyrick of the life of Great Conſtantine, which comprehendeth Acts done in the Church for the ſpace of thirty yeers, together with the Lawes and Edicts that the Emperour had made, relating to the Chriſtian faith. He refuted the Ethnicks and Jewes in his Books of Preparation for, and Demonſtration of the Goſpell, he left behinde him a Chronology from Abrahams birth to the 326. yeer of our Lord, which doth in all contain 2347. yeers.
He condemned that peſtilent fellow Arius with his own hand in the Nicene Councell, and yet further to cleer him from all ſuſpicion of favouring that wicked Hereſie and Heretick, Socrates hath written an Apology in his behalf, which you will meet in his hiſtory. He died about the yeer of Chriſt, 340. He was called Pamphilus from the affection and ſingular love he did bear to Pamphilus the Martyr, with whom he was moſt familiar and intimate.
Bibliander gives him this Character. Euſebius, inter Graecos Theologos Anteſignanus. Euſebius among the Greek Divines the principall. Cauſabon calls him virum longe doctiſsimum, & in omni literarum genere exercitatiſsimum, A moſt learned man, and moſt exerciſed in all kinde of literature. Tis Ludovicus Vives his deſcription of him, Vir fuit immenſa lectione, & proinde ſumma eruditione. He was a man of immenſe reading, and for that cauſe of very great erudition.
33Scaliger commends him in one reſpect, and in another diſparages him: as appears by theſe words of his; Quo (ſpeaking of this Euſebius) nullus Eccleſiaſticorum veterum plura ad Hiſtoriam contulit Christianiſmi. Then whom, none of the Ancient Eccleſiaſtick writers hath contributed more to the Hiſtory of Chriſtianiſme. There is his commendation; Nullus plura errata in ſcriptis ſuis re liquit, Nullius plures hallucinationes extant. No man hath left more faults in his writings; No man hath extant more errours. There's his diſparagement.
The Arrians having unjuſtly procured the depoſition of Euſtatius the Biſhop of Antiochia, they deſired, that his Office might be ſupplied by this Euſebius: but he refuſing it, the Emperour Conſtantine ſo far commended his modeſty therein, that he ſaid of him, He deſerved to be made Biſhop of the whole world.
Ierome obſerving in this mans Commentaries on the Prophet Eſay, that he ſwerved from his purpoſe, and promiſe, whilſt in many places, he imitated Origens Allegories; He ſaid this of him; Ita ſeparata conſociat, ut mirer cum nova ſermonis fabrica in unum corpus lapidem, ferumqueconjungere. He ſo unites things which are ſeparate, that I wonder he doth in his new Fabrick, and Structure of ſpeech joyn together into one body, Stone and Iron.
Athanaſius.
AThanaſius, worthy to be immortall in his fame, as his name importeth, was born at Alexandria, and conſecrated Biſhop of that City in the room of Alexander deceaſed: this honour was conferred on him in the yeere 325. at which time the Churches of God were moſt grievouſly infeſted, and diſtracted with the Hereſie of Arius; ſo that this holy man ſaw he was to ſail in a very ſtormie and tempeſtuous ſea, which made him deſirous at the beginning to decline that high advancement, whereunto he was preferred. His life was not unlike unto a Comedy, his five baniſhments being fitly reſembled to the five Acts thereof; the chief cauſe of his troubles (ſay ſome) was Euſebius the then Biſhop of Nicomedia, a principal member of the Arian faction. For when Arius condemned by the Nicene Council, had made his appeal to great Conſtantine with promiſe never to diſturb the Churches peace again, and thereupon was licenſed to return unto his charge at Alexandria, where he was a Prieſt; This Athanaſius did refuſe to admit him thereto, and wrote unto the Emperour an account of his refuſal, which was to this effect, Nempe quod ſemel damnatum haereſeos ab eccleſia, non fas eſſet recipere, abſque legitima cognitione eccleſiae, that it was not35 lawful to receive an heretick condemned by the cenſure of the Church, without the cognizance of the Church, eſpecially when there appeared no outward ſymptomes of repentance and amendment from him. Now this reply from Athanaſius gave the Emperour great diſcontent, ſo that he moſt ſharply menaced the holy Biſhop, if he did perſiſt in his denial; and now Euſebius thinking this opportunity very lucky to his deſigne, he ſo farr improves it, that good Athanaſius is moſt ſtrangely traduced, many ſcandalous matters laid unto his charge, as if he impoſed intolerable burdens on the Churches of Egypt, and as though he practiſed treaſon againſt the life of his ſoveraign: but at length being by a Warrant fetcht to Conſtantinople, he ſo wiped off all theſe foule aſperſions, that he returned with apparent teſtimonies of a ſpotleſs innocence; Caeſar himſelf diſmiſſing him, not without honour and applauſe.
But yet his enemies bearing towards him implacable malice, and not ſatisfied with this publike tryal of his Chriſtian ſincerity, do not give over their furious chace, but further accuſe him of other miſdemeanours, as witchcraft, and murder; but the Judge appointed to hear his cauſe, acquitted him of all thoſe calumnies, and once again the Emperour commends his integrity, and exhorts him to vigilancy in his epiſcopal function.
But yet at length theſe Arians prevailing, through their importunate ſlanders, procured his exiſe to Trevers in France, where he hid his head for the ſpace of two years and four months,36 with the Biſhop Maximinus, neither did his ſufferings end with the death of Conſtantine, but his two ſonnes ſwaying the Scepter after him, he was much perſecuted, through the influence his enemies had upon Conſtantius, of whom they effected that he was three times baniſhed, firſt to Rome, then into the remote corners of the eaſt, and laſtly into the deſerts of Lybia.
Thus indeed was this excellent Prelate toſſed to and fro, finding no reſt for his peaceable feet; no not in thoſe halcyon dayes of the good Emperour Conſtantine, much leſs in the raign of Conſtantius, who being alſo removed by death, Iulian the Apoſtate ſucceeds in the empire, one which at firſt favoured both the perſon and cauſe of Athanaſius, reſtoring to him his liberty, and attendance on his office; but in the end, he perſecuting the truth, was likewiſe ſtirred up to thunder out a baniſhment againſt him: however God brought him peaceably to his haven in the dayes of the good Emperours Iovian and Valentinian, who were an Aſylum or refuge not to him onely, but likewiſe to all the perſecuted people of God. This godly Father lived to the ſeventh year of Valentinian, and then reſted in the Lord, anno Chriſti. 371.
This was a familiar ſpeech of his, Verberari Chriſtianorum propium eſt, flagellare autem Chriſtianos Pilati & Caiphae officia ſunt, Its proper for Chriſtians to be beaten, but to ſcourge them is the office of Caiphas & Pilate: he was Biſhop of Alexandria forty ſix years, of whoſe moſt excellent37 endowments Gregorie Naziane is the Trumpeter, who ſpeaks thus of him in his funeral oration; Athanaſium laudare idem eſſe, ac virtutem ipſam laudare, to commend Athanaſius is to praiſe vertue it ſelf. Indeed no Doctour of the Church ever endured ſo ſharp diſputes, and ſo bitter afflictions for the truth as he.
Photius the Arch-biſhop of Conſtantinople writing to his brother Taraſius, concerning the works of this pious Father, he thus expreſſes him, Athanaſius in ſermonibus ubique locutione clarus eſt, & brevis, & ſimplex acutus tamen & altus, & argumentationibus omnino vehemens, & in his tanta ubertas, ut admirabilis ſit. Athanaſius in his Sermons is clear in epxreſſion, and ſhort and plain, yet acute and high, in his arguments altogether vehement, and in theſe ſo great fertility, that it is admirable. Theodoret calls propugnaculum veritatis, the fortreſs of truth. Nazianzen, lumen eccleſiae, the light of the Church. Epiphaneus, latrem rectae fidei, the Father of the Orthodox Faith. Others, orbis oraculum, the Oracle of the world. Biſhop Andrews of Wincheſter ſtiles him, Athanaſius the Great; great in many reſpects, but eſpecially great for the Creed he compiled.
His writings againſt Apollinarius do excel for grace and ornament, as alſo thoſe Epiſtles of his, wherein he doth excuſe his baniſhment. Poſſevinus ſaith of him, Athanaſius fuit tanquam columna eccleſiae adverſus omnes haereticos, Athanaſius was as as it were the pillar of the Church againſt all hereticks. And another calls him haeraeticorum38 Malleum, The beetle of Hereticks, as one which knockt them at head by his ſolid and ſubſtantiall reaſonings; When Iulian the Emperour had by his Imperiall Edict baniſht him from Alexandria, he comforted his people, and friends, whom he found lamenting his condition. Bono animo eſtoto filioli; Nubecula eſt, brevi evaneſcet. Be of good courage, my ſons, its but a little cloud, and will vaniſh inſtantly.
Sixtus Senenſis tells us, That Gregorie a Divine, did ſet forth the life of this Father in an excellent Oration.
Hilarius Pictavienſis.
HIlarius Pictaviencis Epiſcopus, Biſhop of Poicttiers, did ſhine moſt brightly in the Reigns of theſe following Emperours, Conſtantius, Iulian, Iovinian, Valens, and Valentinian. He was an eloquent Preacher, and a notable Diſputant; he did by his ſolid writings eſtabliſh the diſperſt Churches of Illyria, France, and Italy. We reade that he was baniſhed with many other Orthodox Biſhops, by the power and Policie of the Arians, of whom he was a mighty oppoſer, and Antagoniſt; but at length prevailing with the Emperour39 Conſtantius for his return, he came back to his Charge at Poictiers in the yeer 360. Where he found all grievouſly diſtracted, and miſerably afflicted with the Arians leaven; ſo that like a good and skilfull Chirurgion, he laboured to binde up the wounds, and to heal the diſtempers.
He wrote twelve books of the Trinity, wherein, as Ierom obſerves, in an Epiſtle of his, Ad Romanum Oratorem; quod Duodecim Quintiliani libros & ſtylo imitatus eſt, & numero. That he imitated the twelve books of Quintilian both in ſtyle, and alſo in number. And in that worke of his he confuted the blaſphemous doctrine of the Hereticke Arius. Ierome tells us, that he died in the yeer of Chriſt, 372. when Valerian was Emperour: and he beſtowes on him this worthy Character: Hillarius Gallicano attollitur cothurno, Eloquentiae Latinae Rhodanus. Hilary is lifted up with his Gallican buskins, the Rhine of Latine eloquence. And elſewhere, the ſame Father ſtiles him, Latinae Sermonis tubam, The Trumpet of the Latine tongue.
Some ſay, he wrote on the whole book of Pſalms, which work of his is extant in Spain: being a great reader, and ſtudier of Origen, he is ſaid to make uſe of Heliodorus a Prieſt, who was better skild in the Greek tongue, then himſelf; Hence ſome do impute his miſinterpretation of the Pſalms (whilſt in ſome places he leaves the Grammatical ſenſe, and turns it into one that is Allegoricall, and Anagogicall) meerly to his ignorance in the Hebrew language.
40Sixtus Senenſis, Speaking of that work of his, and of that on St. Matthew, he gives us this account of the ſtyle of them; Stylus abſqueulla artis affectatione preſſus, interdum ſubobſcurus, & ob id a ſimplicium fratrum lectione procul eſt. His ſtyle ſhort, without any artificiall affectation, ſometimes dark, and obſcure, and for that very reaſon not to be underſtood, or read by unskilfull and illiterate men.
Tis a commendation which Eraſmus gives him. In Hilario grandi materiae parem grandiloquentiam, atqueut ita dicam, cothurnum admiramur.
This Biſhop took ſuch great paines to purge the Churches of France of the Arian Hereſie, and ſo far prevailed by his unwearied labours; that Ierom reſembles him to Deucalion, who both ſaw the flood of waters overflowing Theſſalie, and the abating of them alſo: Even ſo this Hilarius ſaw in his time both the growth, and the decay of Arianiſme in France.
One Fortunatianus a ſucceſſour of his, wrote his life in Hexameter verſe, being Biſhop of Poictiers in the yeer 570.
Didymus Alexandrinus
VVAs an excellent Grammarian, and for his eminency in that Art, was elected Governour of the School of Alexandria. Ierome ſo highly extols him in his 65 Epiſtle, that he ſaith there, Se quod neſcivit, didiciſſe a Didymo, quod ſciebat, illo docente, non perdidiſſe. That he learnt, what he knew not, of Didymus, and that he preſerved what he knew, by his inſtruction. Nicephorus doth ſeem to eclipſe him with a report of ſome errours, that he ſhould ſeem to adhere and cleave to: But Socrates in his Hiſtory giveth him this credit, That he was a chief Maintainer and Patron of the Nicene Faith. And Zozomene informs us, Arianis in Aegypto nihil fuiſſe integri, quamdiu Didymus in ea floruerit. That Arius had no hold at all in Egypt, ſo long as Didymus flouriſhed there.
This man was a great acquaintance, and an intimate familiar of Ieromes, inſomuch, that that Father was greatly delighted with his ſociety. He tells us this of him, That although he was blinde from his younger dayes, yet he proved an excellent Geometrician, which chiefly requires the Inſtrument of ſight, to the wonder of the whole World. He wrote a heavenly Book de Spiritu Sancto, of the Holy Ghoſt, which the ſaid Ierome tranſlated into the Latine Tongue, and is42 now mingled with his Works. He lived to the 83 year of his age, and was almoſt all his time deſirous of privacy and retiredneſs.
Ierome ſaith of him, Se in multis Scripturae locis difficilibus, eo magiſtro uſum. That he made uſe of him, to help him out in the explication of many hard Texts of Scripture. And further ſpeaking of his Writings, he gives him this Elogie, Certe qui hunc legerit latinorum furta cognoſcet, & contemnet rivulos, cum coeperit haurire de fontibus; Imperitus Sermone eſt, ſed non Scientia, Apoſtolicum virum ipſo ſtylo exprimens tam ſenſus lumine, quam ſimplicitate verborum. Truly he that will reade him, will know the thefts of the Latines, and he will deſpiſe the rivulets, when he hath begun to drink of the fountains; he is in Speech unskilful, but not in Science, in his very ſtyle expreſſing an Apoſtolick Author, as well in the light of his ſenſe, as in the ſimplicity of his words.
Antonius a Monk, travelling in company with him to the City of Alexandria, uſed theſe or the like words to him, (as Sixtus Sinenſis delivers them) Nihil O Didyme turbet te corporalium oculorum jactura, talibus enim deſtitutus es oculis, quibus & Muſcae, & culices videre poſſunt, ſed laetare, quod oculos habes, quibus Angeli vident, & Deus conſideratur, & lux ejus apprehenditur. Let not the loſs of thy corporal eyes trouble thee, O Didymus, for thou art deprived of ſuch eyes, wherewith Flies and Gnats can ſee; but rejoyce thou that thou haſt eyes by which Angels43 do behold, and God is conſidered, and his light is apprehended. He flouriſhed under the great Theodoſius.
Optatus
BIſhop of Milevita, appeared gliſtering in his Orb about the time that Valentinian and Valeus were Emperours. Morn. lib. 1. de Euchar. cap. 6. ſaith, that he lived paulo ante Auguſtinum magni in Africa nominis; a little before Auguſtine of great fame in Africa. He was a man well skill'd in moſt kindes of Literature, his life was pious, and his doctrine ſincere and ſound. He ſhewed himſelf a notable Antidonatiſt, and thereupon he wrote ſix Books for the confutation of Parmenianus; So Ierome: But now they are numbred ſeven, the ſeventh conſenting in all reſpects with the ſix, ſo that Ierome's number is conceived to be erroneous.
Barthius calls this man Pium, elegantemqueſcriptorem, & quod in eo dignum honore ſummo, ſummum argumentandi artificem: A pious, and elegant writer, and which is praiſe-worthy, a moſt exquiſite artiſt in arguing and diſputing. Paraeus thus expreſſes him, Vir fuit inſtructus multiplici eruditione, conſtanti pietate & doctrina ſincera. He was a man well furniſhed with various learning, conſtant piety, and ſound doctrine. Mr. Leigh in his Treatiſe of Religion and Learning, calls him44 that learned Biſhop of Milevita.
Whereas the Donatiſts of old did aſſert, that the Church of God was no where elſe, but onely among them, limited unto and ſhut up in a corner of Africk, where their Hereſie prevailed; this excellent man confuted that opinion by that of the ſecond Pſalm, where God ſaith in a promiſe to his bleſſed Meſſias, Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermoſt parts of the earth for thy poſſeſſion: Which Scripture doth evidently demonſtrate the Church of the Goſpel to be ſpred all over the whole world, and not to be reſtrained, as theſe Donatiſts did vainly imagine, to a particular Region.
And whereas they affirmed likewiſe, That the Ordinance of Baptiſm was altogether ineffectual, unleſs ſome of their Miniſters were in place to perform it: He, to confute them, replied, That when God made the world at the beginning, the preſence of the glorious Trinity was powerful enough in operation to create Water, though none of the Donatiſts were then in preſence: Even ſo (ſaith he) the bleſſed Trinity can work effectually in Baptiſm, although not adminiſtred by the Donatiſts; yea, and that it was God, the Author of Baptiſm, and not the Miniſter, which did ſanctifie, a cording as it is expreſſed by the holy man David, Pſal. 51. Waſh me, and I ſhall be whiter than ſnow.
Baſilius Magnus.
BAſil the Great was Biſhop of Caeſarea in Cappadocia, his father was of the ſame name, and a devout Chriſtian, his brethren were Gregory of Nyſſa, and Peter of Sebaſta, who conform'd to him both for purity of doctrine, and piety of converſation. He was brought up at Athens, the School of the Philoſophers, under Libanius his Maſter, where he fell into acquaintance with Gregory Nazianzen. But after a while leaving Athens, he returned to Caeſarea; where being called to the Paſtoral Function by the Biſhop of the place Euſebius, he expounded ſome places of Scripture with that gravity and accurateneſs, that he was had in great admiration for his abilities and gifts; but at length there ariſing ſome difference betwixt him and Euſebius, he diſcreetly withdrew himſelf, on purpoſe to prevent a greater combuſtion.
However, in the end he was conſtrained to return, through the Faction of the Hereticks, that he might ſtrengthen the hands of the Biſhop againſt them. But Euſehius after a few years deceaſing, this Baſil was by the general conſent choſen Biſhop in his room. And now he was no ſooner entred on his charge, but he met with many violent and tempeſtuous ſtorms, raiſed by that tyrannous Emperour Valens againſt him:46 For he coming to Caeſarea, would have forced this holy man to have cloſed with the doctrine of Arius, threatning his refuſal with baniſhment and death. But Baſil was moſt reſolute, and couragious, as appears by this his gallant anſwer, Pueris (inquit ille) iſta terriculamenta proponenda eſſe, ſibi vero vitam eripi poſſe, ſed confeſſionem veritatis eripi non poſſe. Thoſe affrightments (ſaith he) ſhould be propoſed to children: Life indeed might be taken from him, but the confeſſion of the truth could never be taken away from him.
It is reported, That when he was at his devotions in the Temple, the Emperour coming with his Guard to apprehend and ſeize him, he was himſelf on the ſudden ſurpriſed with ſuch a Vertigo or dizzineſs, that he had faln immediately, if one of his ſervants had not ſupported him.
Socrates tells us in his Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtory, (Chap. 21. of thefourth Book) That this Emperours Son, by name Galeates, falling ſick of a dangerous and deſperate diſeaſe, and being given over by Phyſicians, Dominica his Mother told her huſband, that the ſame night ſhe was fearfully diſquieted with horrible ſhapes, and dreadful viſions, and that the childe was viſited with ſickneſs, becauſe of their ill uſage of Baſil the Biſhop. The Emperour well marking the words of his Wife, at length ſent for that good man, and becauſe he would know the truth, he reaſoned thus with him: If thy Faith (he meant of one ſubſtance) be true, pray that my Son die not of this47 diſeaſe. Then Baſil anſwered, If thou wilt promiſe to believe, as I do, and to bring the Church to Unity and Concord, thy childe without doubt ſhall live. When the Emperour refuſed to yield to this; Let God, ſaith Baſil, deal with your ſon as it pleaſeth him: and ſo the childe preſently died.
This Father lived till the beginning of the reign of the good Emperour Theodoſius, and was thought to have been the Author of Monaſtical life. The commendations are high, which his friend Nazianzene gives him; as who ſtyles him, Luminare in Mundo, Doctrinae Palatium, & unus Sol inter Syderea: A Light in the World, a Pallace of Learning, and as the Sun among the Stars. Suidas calls him Verum celeberrimum, & ad ſummum omnis doctrinae faſtigium progreſſum. A man moſt famous, that had climbed up to the higheſt ſtep of all Learning. Cauſſinus ſaith, That Libanius, though his Maſter, did prefer him before all other Authors: Erat illi unus pro centum millibus in eloquentia Baſilius. And this ſayes Eraſmus alſo of him, Baſilius, dilucidus, pius, ſanus, ſuaviter, gravis, & graviter ſuavis, nihil habens affectate loquacitatis. Baſil is clear, pious, ſound, ſweetly grave, and gravely ſweet, having nothing in him of affected loquacity.
Gregorius Nyſſenus.
GRegorius Nyſſenus, Brother to Baſil the Great, called Nyſſen from the Church of Nyſſa, whereof he was Biſhop, but when he was conſecrated, it is not with any certainty reſolved. He joyned with his Brother Baſil, and Gregory Nazianzen, againſt the Arians, whom both with their word and pen they notably confuted. Neither was this Father more backward and ſlack in oppoſing the Hereſie of Eunomius: and if we will take the word of Reverend Theodoret, this Doctor ever ſhewed himſelf zealous in withſtanding that, whatever it was, which was contrary to the rule and power of godlineſs.
Nicephorus tells us, in his 12 Book, and 13 Chapter, That in the General Council of Conſtantinople, this man did ſupply that, which was lacking in the Nicene Creed, this clauſe being by him added, And in the Holy Ghoſt, the Lord and giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worſhipped and glorified.
Suidas doth beſtow upon him theſe two Characters: Gregorius Nyſſenus, omni doctrina refertus, in multum profecit, & illuſtris evaſit, ut quiſquam veterum. Gregory Nyſſen being ſtuft full with all Learning, profited ſo much therein, that he was judged as famous as any of the Ancients. 49And again the ſame Author calls him, Eloquentiſſimum, & multiplici eruditione praeſtantem: Moſt eloquent, and excelling in variety of Learning.
And Cauſſinus gives him this following Elogie, Quid Gregorius Nyſſenus, & Caeſarius? Num ipſi Gregoriorum fato aureum flumen orationis fundunt? This mans Brother Baſil, being prevented by untimely death from finiſhing his Commentaries on the ſix dayes works, Socrates tells us, That this Gregory compleated them, and made them perfect.
Theſe were the eminent and remarkable ſayings of this Father: He ſaid concerning Sin, That although the Serpents which ſtung us were not here ſlain outright, yet their venemous ſtings could not mortally wound us. And concerning Pilgrimage, he ſaid, That a Pilgrimage from the Luſts of the Fleſh to the Righteouſneſs of God, and the Sanctification of the heart, was onely acceptable to God, and not a journeying from Cappadocia to Paleſtina; and that God would give a reward in the world to come, onely to things done in this world by the warrant of his own Commandment. Leo the Emperour called this Father Dulcem & illuſtrem Eccleſiae fontem, The ſweet and illuſtrious fountain of the Church. He was elder Brother to Baſil, but died after him.
Gregorius Nazianzenus.
GRegorius Nazianzenus, was born at Nazianzum, a town neer to Ceſarea in Cappadocia, where Baſil the Great was Biſhop, who out of a deſire he had to learning, went to Athens, to imploy his time there in the ſtudy of the Arts; whence returning home, he was Baptized about the twentieth yeer of his age, and after that giving himſelf up to the ſtudy of the Chriſtian Religion, he was at length urged by his father to take upon him the Miniſtery, and to aſſiſt him being then aged in the execution of his paſtorall charge.
Yet his parents after a while deceaſing, he left his Countrey for ſome yeers, and lived private; but comming afterwards to Conſtantinople, he preached in the Church of Anaſtaſia, all the other Oratories of the City being taken up, and filled by the Arians.
And here is one thing to be noted, that though ſo eminently learned and pious a man, as was this Nazianzene, was then preſent, yet the Generall Councill held there at that time, preferred one Nectarius, a Noble man of Cilicia to the Biſhoprick of Conſtantinople before him: a man which was at that time but a Catechumenus, and never before advanced to any Eccleſiaſtical preferment,51 overpaſſing this great Doctour, and overlooking this great light.
And here it was, that he fell into controverſie with Apollinarius the Heretick, who was ſo impudent, as to accuſe Nazianzene of ſedition before the Magiſtrate, but the Biſhop did very fairly acquit himſelf of the crime. It is ſaid of this grave and holy man, quod ſolus poſt Johannem Evangeliſtam, Theologi nomen meruit. That he onely after Iohn the Evangeliſt merited the eminent title of Divine.
There happening diſſentions amongſt his fellow Biſhops, he withdrew himſelf for retirement to his Fathers Countrey Farme houſe, as being weary of all publike congreſſions, whereof he ſeldom ſaw any profitable iſſue, by reaſon of the ambition of the diſputants.
He lived all his life time unmarried, and dyed not under the 90th. yeer of his age, in the yeer of Chriſt 384. he wrote much againſt thoſe Hereticks, which either did impugne the Divinity, or Humanity of our Lord, and he was likewiſe moſt vigorouſly active againſt the Heatheniſme of the Gentiles in thoſe two invectives of his, wherein he chaſtiſeth that Apoſtate Iulian, who would needs be a reſtorer of Paganiſme.
Ierom owns this holy Father for his Maſter,〈◊〉quo Scripturas explanante didicit; From•…om, as his interpreter, he learn't the Scriptures. And•s this learned man did admire Baſil, ſo did Baſil him, as appears by this Elogie he gives52 him. Vas electionis, & puteus profundus os Chriſti Gregorius. Now for this mans ſpeech, it ſeemed (as Suidas ſaith) to come neer to Polemons, or to Iſocrates, ſo ſaies Eraſmus, as alſo it was not unlike to Ambroſe.
Eraſmus ſpeaking of his piety, he tells us, that it did ex aequo propemodum certare cum facundia; It was even as eminent, and illuſtrious as his eloquence; and the commendation which Bellarmine gives him, is, quod ſapientiam mirificie eum eloquentia copulavit. That he marvellouſly coupled his wiſdom with his eloquence.
Epiphanius.
EPiphanius, Biſhop of Salamine in Cyprus, was inſtructed in learning by certain Monkes in Egypt, from whence he went into Paleſtine, living there a Monaſticall life, and improving his time in the ſtudy of Philoſophy, ſo that in few yeers his proficiency therein was mightily increaſed, and advanced.
He wrote a book in confutation of no leſſe then 80. Hereſies, which is called his〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, wherein is alſo comprehended, a Hiſtory from Chriſt even to his own times. He flouriſhed in the reigns of the Emperours Valens, and Gratian, being Contemporary with thoſe grand Lights of the Church, Baſil the Great, Gregory53 Nazianzene, Iohn Chryſoſtome, with the latter of which, he had a ſharp contention about the writings of Origen, which Epiphanius would have condemned as Hereticall at the Synod of Constantinople, but Chryſoſtome withſtood it: in which bickering of theirs, this hapned worthy of admiration; That one was a true Prophet to the other: Epiphanius preſaging the depoſition of Chryſoſtome, and Chryſoſtome the ſudden death of Epiphanius, both which were accordingly accompliſhed; the one being afterwards depoſed, and the other dying in his return to Cyprus. Suidas ſaith thus much of this mans works: Quod a doctis ob res, ab indoctis propter verba leguntur: and Ierom ſaid the like. That they are read of the learned for their matter, and of the unlearned for their words.
His Panarium is ſtiled by another, Vniverſae antiquitatis Eccleſiaſticae promptuarium, A Cellar, or Storehouſe of all Eccleſiaſticall Antiquity. He was maſter of five learned tongues, and thence it was that Ierom honoured him with this Epithet,〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. Auguſtine addes this Elogie, Apud Graecos inter magnos habitus, & a multis in Catholicae fidei ſanitate laudatus. With the Greeks he was reputed among the great ones, and commended by many for his ſoundneſs in the Catholike Faith.
And yet Druſius faſtens many an errour on him. lib. 4. obſervat. cap. 21. Epiphanium ſcimus omnes in multis graviter hallucinatum. We all54 know that Epiphanius grievouſly erred in many things.
Ambroſius Mediolanenſis.
AMbroſius Mediolanenſis Epiſcopus, the Biſhop of Millain, being Leiutenant of the Province, was choſen Biſhop of the City by the unanimous conſent of the people, and therein confirmed by the Emperour Valentinian; he was high in the affections of five moſt noble Princes, Valentinian the elder, Gratian, Valentinian the younger, Theodoſius the great, and Honorius: he was a man of great fame amongſt the eaſtern Churches, and very intimate and familiar with Baſil of Caeſarea, and other eminent and famous Doctors, even as the inſcriptions of his Epiſtles to diverſe of them, do inſinuate.
He baptized Auguſtine, and was likewiſe his maſter: before he was Biſhop of Millain, he governed Liguria, he wrote many excellent books, which deſerved thoſe characters that the learned have given him. Eraſmus ſaith thus of him, Ambroſius juxta nomen ſuum vere coeleſti manat Ambroſia, dignus quiſit, quod dicitur Ambroſius, hoc eſt immortalis, non ſolum apud Chriſtum, ſed etiam apud homines. Ambroſe according to his name doth truely flow with heavenly Ambroſia, who is worthy to be what he is called, Ambroſius, that is55 immortal, not with Chriſt onely, but with men alſo.
Its Auguſtines commendation of him, ejus eloquià ſtrenue miniſtrant adipem frumenti divini, & laetitiam olei, & ſobriam vini ebrietatem, his eloquent ſpeeches do ſtoutly adminiſter the fat of divine bread-corn, and the joy of oyle, and of wine a ſober drunkenneſs; one of the Latine Poets ſpeaks his worth in this following diſtich.
Theodoſius the Emperour being ſuſpended from the Sacrament by this excellent Prelate, becauſe he came to it with the guilt of bloud upon his ſoul, (for being angry with the inhabitants of Theſſalonica, he had cauſed ſeven thouſand of them to be ſlain, having drawn them together for that end to a Stage-play) he ſaid of this Ambroſe, Neminem ſe noſſe, qui vere ſciret epiſcopum gerere, praeter unum Ambroſium, that he did not know any man, that truely knew how to behave himſelf like a Biſhop, beſides Ambroſe. He dyed in the year of the Lord 398. aged 64 years.
Hieronymus.
HIeronymus was brought up at Rome in the time of Pope Damaſus, & flouriſhed in the Church about the year of Chriſt 390. providence56 ſo ordering, that there ſhould ariſe ſuch ſhining lights at that time when the Church was peſtered with the hereſies of Arius and Pelagius, there being no leſs then ten or twelve, which in that ſhort tract of time preſented themſelves to oppoſe them, among which this Father was one of the chiefeſt.
He was a great traveller, and had compaſſed the greateſt part of Europe, that he might have conference with the learned of that age; at length returning to Judea, he ſeated himſelf about Bethlehem, where he compoſed moſt of thoſe works we enjoy at this day, and there he dyed full of dayes, in the yeer of Chriſt 416. and in the 12 of the raign of Honorius.
The learned of latter times have highly extolled his repute and fame. Hieronymus blandum facundiae nomen, & ſummis in omnibus artifex, ſaith Cauſſinus, Ierom a pleaſant name of eloquence, and in all things the beſt artiſt: Barthius gives him this Elogy, Hieronymi ingenium hoc fuit, ut conſcius ſibi profundiſſimae eruditionis paucis dicere plura, & ſalem quendam acuminis relinquere velit in animo legentis; this was Ieroms wit, that being conſcious to himſelf of his deep learning, he would ſpeak much in few words, and leave a reliſh of his ingenuity in the mind of the Reader. Auguſtine is very ſpa•ing of ſpeaking in his praiſe, becauſe he lived in his time, and was his ſcholar.
But Heniſius doth of late break out into admiration of him, Quo tandem modo, aut quibus ego verbis (tuam maxime Hieronyme) ingentem ſimul57 pietatem ac facundiam deſcribam! After what manner and with what words (O moſt great Ierome) ſhall I deſcribe thy vaſt piety and eloquence; how ſhall I expreſs and declare thy skill, which was ſo admirable in all tongues, and in all antiquity and Philoſophy; this Heniſius ſpeaks, and much more of him in one of his orations: they write that this man of all the Fathers onely had knowledge of the Hebrew tongue.
When he was at Rome he grew into acquaintance with ſome of the honourable Ladies there, as Marcella, Sophronia Principia, Paula, and Euſtochium, to whom he opened many difficult and knotty texts of Scripture, for he was then a Prieſt: after he left Rome, as he journied to Paleſtine, he acquainted himſelf with thoſe three Doctors, Epiphanius Biſhop of Cyprus, Nazianzene and Dydimus, yet he was more addicted to an Eremetical life then to ſociety.
Eraſmus in his Preface to Hilarius, having made mention of this Father, he ſubjoynes this teſtimony, quo viro nihil habet orbis latinius, & doctius vel ſanctius, then which man, the world hath nothing more Latin, and more learned, or more holy; Auſtin alſo ſpeaking of his elegant ſpeech, ſaith thus, cujus eloquium ex oriente in occidente inſtar lampadis reſplenduit, whoſe eloquence, like a Lamp, did ſhine out of the eaſt into the weſt.
Yet this Father was not altogether free from errours. Concerning the worlds creation, it was his opinion, that the Angels thoſe ſpiritual creatures58 were made long before the viſible world, and where he writes againſt Iovinian, he doth not entertain ſo honourable thoughts of marriage as doth become him, for he ſeems there to diſlike of ſecond marriage, which the Apoſtle alloweth of, becauſe the bed is undefiled, and alſo an expedient againſt unlawful burning.
Aurelius Auguſtinus.
AUrelius Auguſtinus, the moſt doctrinall in his writings of all the Ancient Worthies, was an Affrican by birth, whereupon the learned Biſhop Andrews calls him, Decus Africae, The glory of Africa. He is not to be accounted as the laſt of the pious Fathers; who having been inſtructed in Rhetorick at Carthage, was at the beginning a complier with the Manachees. His life for the greater part of it, is written by his own pen in his confeſſions. Afterwards being baptized by Ambroſe, he returned into the right way, and ſucceeded Valerius in the Biſhoprick of Hippo, about the yeer of Chriſt, 390.
The coverſion of this man was in this manner. Having read the life of Antonius the Eremite, as well as heard the Sermons of Ambroſius, and59 being therewith wonderfully moved, and affected, he began to diſreliſh his former converſation, which he had waſted in the vanities and pleaſures of ſin, and going into a Garden with his friend Alipius, there he fell to bemoan with tears the abominations of his youthfull dayes, wiſhing the time now at hand, that his ſoul ſhould be watered with true converting grace: And as his heart was thus melting into penitentiall ſorrows, he heard a voice ſay to him, Tolle & lege, Take up the book, and read; and again, Tolle & lege, Take up the book, and read, for he had his Bible in the Garden with him, and ſeeing no body there, he then perceived, it was an admonition and a word to him from Heaven, whereupon he opened the book, and the firſt place he lighted on, was Rom. 13.13, 14. Not in gluttony and drunkenneſſe, not in chambering and wantonneſſe, not in ſtrife and envying, but put ye on the Lord Ieſus Chriſt, &c. At the reading whereof, he was ſo far tranſported, that he reſolved to become a convert, and ſo to live, as to ſhew forth the fruits of a good reformation.
He maintained Diſputations with very many Hereticks, as the Arians, the Manichees, the Donatiſts, and the Pelagians, whoſe unſound devices he gravely confuted, and ſo ſtood up for the defence of the Chriſtian Truth, as if he only of all men were called to that employment.
When the city of Hippo was ſtraightly beſieged by the Vandals, he was therein encloſed, but yet60 dyed peaceably before it was taken, in the third moneth of the ſiege, and in the yeer of Chriſt 433. being aged 76. yeers. I ſhall not let him paſſe without his deſerved Encomiums. Eraſmus ſpeaks thus of him; Eximius Pater inter ſumma Eccleſiae ornamenta, ac lumina Princeps. An excellent Father, amongſt the great Ornaments and Lights of the Church the chief. And thus doth alſo Sariſber: Doctor ille Eccleſiae, cujus nemo ſatis memor eſſe poteſt. That Doctour of the Church, of whom no man can be enough mindfull.
And not to omit that of Ludovicus Vives, Fuit in illo vira ſtudium uberrimum, cognitio Scripturarum Sacrarum exactiſſima, Iudicium acre, ac exterſum, Ingenium ad miraculum arctum. He is ſo deep in ſome of his works, that Ierome in one of his Epiſtles doth not ſtick to call him the moſt obſcure Expoſitour of the Scripture. Yet this man, that he might deſcend to the capacities of the unskilfull, and rude multitude, he would frequently ſpeak Barbariſmes, having this expreſſion often in his mouth, Malo ut me reprehendant Grammatici, quam ut non intelligant populi, I had rather Grammatians ſhould reprehend me, then the people ſhould not underſtand me.
Our learned Whitaker ſpeaking of him, ſaith, quod magnum eſt ejus in Eccleſia nomen. That his name is great in the Church. There is one thing which he himſelf would have all readers to obſerve in his works, Tis the fourfold diſtinction of Time, wherein they were written. Some of them he wrote when he was61 Catechumenus, and ſo are inflated, and puft up with with ſecular learning. Others, when he was but newly baptized, and but a beginner in the ſtudy of Theologie: others, when he was Preſbyter, and therefore more exact then the former; and laſtly, others, when he was choſen Biſhop, and ſo moſt elaborate and excellent of them all. Theſe diſtinctions of Time would this Father have every reader take notice of, that they might thence ſee his proficiency in Sacred learning, and thereby might be the more eaſily induced to excuſe him, ſeeing he makes amends in his latter works, for the imperfections of his former ones.
Of all his works, his Retractations and Confeſſions do bring moſt honour to him, the one being a meek acknowledgement of his Errors, or Lapſes of judgement, the other a confeſſion of his Falls, or Lapſes of his life.
Of all his Commentaries on the Holy Scriptures, thoſe which be hath written upon the Pſalms are moſt diſliked, whereupon one of the learned ſaith of him, nunquam infelicius in Scripturis Sanctis verſatus, quam in pſalmorum enarratione.
Cyrillus Alexandrinus.
CYrillus Alexandrinus, ſo called, becauſe Biſhop of Alexandria, and in diſtinction to another of the ſame name, Biſhop of Ieruſalem: He flouriſhed about the year of Chriſt 433. in the reign of Theodoſius the younger. There was great ſtrife and contention about chooſing of this man Biſhop; ſome were for one Timotheus, and the p•incipal man or head of that party was Abudatius, the Captain of the Garriſon, who laboured might and main to croſs the choice of this Cyrillus, and to further the election of Timotheus.
Yet notwithſtanding all oppoſition, Cyrils party prevailed, and carried it; who being inveſted with his Epiſcopal Juriſdiction, did take more ſtate upon him, than any of his Predeceſſors ever did before him: For there hapning a combuſtion betwixt the Jews and the Chriſtians in that City, this Cyril would not ſtoop ſo low, as to make his complaint to Oreſtes the chief Governour, and to crave juſtice of him againſt the wrong doers, but uſurping to himſelf the Office of a Magiſtrate, he ſet upon thoſe Jews, and ſpoiled them of all their goods, which cauſed a great breach betwixt the Deputy and the Biſhop, inſomuch that five hundred Monks of Nitria came out of63 the Wilderneſs, to ſide with Cyril their Prelate; and one of them, by name Ammonius, wounding the Governour in the ſcuffle, was thereupon apprehended, and forthwith condemned and executed: whom Cyrillus enrolled for a Martyr, and changing his name, called him thenceforth〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that is, Wonderful.
He contended againſt Neſtorius the Biſhop of Conſtantinople, whom the Council of Epheſus had condemned for an Heretick. He refuted the Errours of the Arians and Eunomians. He died in the year of our Lord 444. after he had ſate in the Chair of Alexandria 32 years.
Nicephorus tells us, That this Cyrillus did exerciſe an hoſtile hatred againſt Chryſoſtome, for no other cauſe, but becauſe he did diſſent in his judgement from the opinion of his Uncle Theophilus. Niceph. lib. 14. cap. 27. Anaſtaſius calls him,〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, The Seal of the Faith of the Fathers. Leo the Emperour equals him to Athanaſius, Baſil, Nazianzen, Nyſſen, and Chryſoſtome, for eminency of exploits, as their fellow, Conſtit. 88. Nicephorus in his 14 Book and 14 Chapter, ſpeaks thus of him, Ad certamina natum, nullam prorſus haereſin graſſari paſſum fuiſſe. That being born for conflicts and debates, he would not ſuffer any hereſie to ſpred. Bellarmine affords him this Elogie, Cyrillus vir fuit ſanctiſſimus, & doctiſſimus, at praeſertim circa myſterium incarnationis Dominica a Deo doctus. Bell. de Script. Eccl. pag. 210. Cyril was a moſt holy and moſt learned man, but taught of God64 eſpecially about the Myſtery of our Lords Incarnation.
Johannes Chryſoſtomus.
IOhannes Chryſoſtomus, whom Montacutius calls Patrum diſertiſſimum, & in Scripturis enarrandis Graecorum principem, The moſt eloquent of the Fathers, and in the unfolding the Scriptures, of the Greeks the chief, was born at Antioch of a Noble Family, his Parents names were Secundus and Anthuſa; ſo Sixtus Senenſis tells us. He learnt Rhetorick of Libanius, and Philoſophy of Andragathius, and Theologie of Diodorus the Biſhop of Tarſus. He was a great admirer of Ariſtophanes, whoſe Comedies he would uſually put under his Pillow; whence, ſome ſay, he ſuckt his admirable eloquence.
He made ſo great progreſs in his Studies, that he was the wonder of all that heard him. After he was baptized, he altogether ſpent his time in ſearching the hidden ſenſe of the Scriptures, and firſt he was appointed Lecturer at Antioch, and laſt of all Biſhop of Conſtantinople, having with that many Churches of Thrace, Aſia and Pontus committed to his juriſdiction.
He uſed great freedom of ſpeech, as one that would neither ſeek the favour, nor dread the power of any. He was much envied and hated65 by the falſe Brethren, who made it their work to load this zealous man with ſlanders and reproaches, eſpecially Theophilus the Alexandrian Biſhop, who was indeed the cauſe of the diſſention betwixt him and Epiphanius.
He was likewiſe perſecuted by the Empreſſe Eudoxia, which prevailed with her husband for his baniſhment; but being recall'd again by Arcadius, when it was expected he ſhould become much more ſparing, and leſs bitter in his Sermons, he perſiſted ſtill in his reproving of the Empreſs; whereat her husband much incenſed, exiled him again to Pontus, where being ſurpriſed with an head-ache, and falling ill of a Feaver, he concluded his life in the year of Chriſt 407.
The Elogies of this Father are tranſcendent. Suidas thus applauds him, Lingua ejus Nili cataractis uberior, nemo certa ab omni aevo tanta dicendi copia affluxit quanta ſolus ille abundavit; & ſolus abſquefuco aureum & divinum illud nomen eſt conſecutus. Numerum ſcriptorum ejus recenſere, non eſt hominis, ſed Dei potius, omnia ſcientis. His tongue more plentifull than the ſluces of Nilus; never did any in all ages flow with ſo great a ſtream of eloquence, as he alone hath abounded; and he onely hath without falſhood obtained that golden and divine Name. To reckon up all his writings, it is not in the reach of man, but rather of God, who knoweth all things.
Cauſſinus ſtyles him, Theatrum quoddam divinae eloquentiae, in quo Deus abunde videri voluit, quid poſſit vitae ſanctitas cum vi dicendi conjuncta:66 A certain Theatre of divine eloquence, in whom God would abundantly manifeſt, what ſanctity of life was able to effect, being joyned with the fo•…e of clocution. Another allows him this Epithet,〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Golden-word Chryſoſtome.
Theoderet in Photius his Bibliotheca, thus elevates this man, O egregium poſt mortem ducem! O Triſtem etiam hoſtibus poſt ſepulturam militem! O Lyram omni harmonia praeditam morte jam ſolutam! O Theatrum tanto Tibicine or batum, &c. O egregious Captain after death! O Souldier, ſorrowful to thy enemies after burial! O Harp, endued with all harmony, now broken by death! O Theatre, deprived of ſo great a Minſtrel, &c.
Sixtus Senenſis ſpeaking in the commendation of his Tongue, he tells us, That Libanius himſelf, the Maſter of this Chryſoſtome, did exceedingly admire the fluency and grace thereof; and to that purpoſe he preſents us with a ſhor•Epiſtle written to him by Libanius, wherein he highly extolleth his Attick eloquence.
Leo Primus.
LEo Primus was by Nation an Italian, born i•Thuſcany, and choſen Pope about the 3•year of Theodoſius, and the 16 of Valentinian He ſate in the Chair near 21 years. He procure67 a Council to be called by the Emperour Theodoſius againſt the Hereſie of Eutyches, which had in that age ſpread it ſelf, and infected the Church of God: but yet it ſo fell out by the ſubtilty of Dioſcorus the preſent Biſhop of Alexandria, that this foul errour was rather ſtrengthned in that Council, than weakned, and rather ratified, than ſuppreſſed.
Among this mans Canons, and Papal Decrees, none is more worthy of praiſe, than his Edict againſt ſelf-ſeeking ambitious men, who affect continually ſuperiorities & advancements. He ordered, that ſuch ſhould be deprived of all maner of dignities and preferments, as well Offices of lower degree, as higher and more ſublime; of inferiour ones for their pride, becauſe they had ſo ſcornfully deſpiſed them; and of the higher ones for their preſumption and ambition, becauſe they had ſo greedily affected them.
Sixtus Senenſis ſtyles this man, In divinis Scripturis eruditiſſimum, & in declamandis homiliis facundiſſimum, Moſt learned in the Scriptures, and moſt eloquent in his Homilies. He wrote many Epiſtles, ſome to the Emperours, others to Councils, others to the Churches of divers Provinces; but of them all, that Epiſtle which he wrote to Flavianus Biſhop of Conſtantinople, wherein he impugned the blaſphemous opinion of the Heretick Eutyches, is preferred for its ſingular excellence.
Pareus ſpeaking of his writings, ſaith thus of them, In ſcriptis ejus elucet ſumma vis Ingenii,68 & mira in repellendis haereticorum ictibus dexteritas: There ſparkleth in his writings a notable vigour of wit, and a wonderful dexterity in repelling the ſtrokes of Hereticks. He laboured (as many of his Predeceſſors had done before him) for the Primacy of the Roman Chair, but with much more craft and cunning; whence Chamierus gives him this ſuitable character, Leo Magnus primus fuit Epiſcopus Romanus, & quidem ambitioſiſſimus.
When Attilus King of the Hunnes fell in upon Italy, and waſted moſt part of it, and was approaching with his bloody Army to Rome it ſelf, with a full purpoſe to deſtroy it, this man with one of the Conſuls, and part of the Senate, wen•forth to meet him; and ſo far he prevailed by his inſinuating Rhetorick, that he perſwaded him to ſpare the City, beyond the expectation of all men.
And after this, when Genſericus, that Tyrant of the Vandals, and great perſecuter of ſuch as were ſound in the Faith, came with his diſplayed Banners againſt Rome, being wooed thither by Eudoxia, to revenge the death of her ſlain huſband Valentinian the late Emperour; he ſo wrought upon him by his conquering eloquence, that he was content onely with the ſpoils and plunder of the City, altogether abſtaining from ſlaughter and bloodſhed.
No marvel then, if Trithemius ſtyle this Pope, Primum Eccleſiaſticae dictionis Tullium, ſacra Theologiae Homerum, Rationum fidei Ariſtotelem,69 Autoritatis Apoſtolicae Petrum, & in Criſtiane pulpite Paulum. The firſt Tully of Eccleſiaſtick ſpeech, The Homer of Sacred Theologie, the Ariſtole of Reaſons of Faith, the Peter of Apoſtolicall Authority, and the Paul in a Chriſtian pulpit.
In this mans time thoſe horrible earthquakes were aſſwaged, which had ruined ſo many eminent Towns and cities. The Papiſts do attribute ſome miracles to him, as they have done to ſome other Popes before him.
Theodoretus.
THeodoretus, the Biſhop of Cyrus in Syria, was the Scholar of Chryſoſtome, of whom he was inſtructed both in Philoſophy, and Theologie: he wrote an Eccleſiaſticall Hiſtory, comprizing the beginnings of the Arian Sect, and the contentions of the Church, from the firſt yeer of Great Conſtantine to the beginning of the Raign of Theodoſius, which in all contains the ſpace of an hundred and five yeers.
He had conflicts with the Heretick Eutyches, not onely with voice, but with ſtyle alſo. It's reported that his Mother being aged, and as it were paſt hopes of having a childe, the Monkes of Syria prevailed by their prayers for his Nativity, who, as ſoon as he was borne, was forthwith conſecrated to God; Cauſsinus joyning him with Clemens and Cyrillus, thus ſpeaketh of him70 Clemens Alexandrinus, Cyrillus & Theodoretus inter eloquentes ſumme docti, inter doctos ſumme eloquentes. Amongſt the Eloquent wonderouſly Learned, amongſt the Learned wonderonſly eloquent.
This man was Anathematized by Dioſcorus of Alexandria, and unjuſtly depoſed from his Biſhoprick, becauſe he conſented with Flavianus of Conſtantinople in the condemnation of the Eutichian Hereſie; he is ſaid to have written a deprecatory letter to Pope Leo for his reſtitution unto his Epiſcopal juriſdiction.
Dalleus ſtiles him, virum ſui ſeculi eruditiſſimum; The moſt learned man of the age he lived in. Illyrius ſayes of him, Quod inſtructus Ingenio excellentiſſimo, & ad omnis generis diſciplinas percipiendas capaciſſimo fuit, that he was furniſhed with a moſt excellent wit, and moſt capable of all manner of learnings.
He was Cyrilli〈…〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Contemporary with Cyrillus, with whom he had ſome ſharp diſputes, about the acts of the firſt Councill of Epheſus, wherein he was preſent; and afterward he was called to the Councill of Chalcedon. Pareus ſaith, that he dyed not very Aged; but Sixtus Senenſis tells us, That he was a very old man before his death, his diſſolution happening about the yeer of Chriſt, 450.
Junilius Afer.
IUnilius Afer, was a Biſhop in Africa, the cities name is not known certainly, where he exerciſed his government. He lived (ſaith Sixtus Senenſis) under the Raign of Theodoſius the younger, about the yeer of our Lord, 440. he was intimate with Primaſius the learned Biſhop of Vtica, and the Diſciple of Auguſtine. By whoſe perſwaſions, and encouragements, ſome ſay, he did collect thoſe Explanations upon Geneſis, for the inſtruction of ſuch, as were unskilfull and unlearned in the Scriptures, which work of his he dedicated to the ſaid Primaſius. Some report that he wrote other Treatiſes, but Trithemius makes mention that the never ſaw any other but this.
I meet with two Characters beſtowed on this man, the one is from Trithemius, who ſtiles him, Virum in Sacris Scripturis valde doctum, inq ſecularibus diſciplinis ſufficienter inſtructum, ſenſu profundum, eloquio dulcem, & ornatum. A man very learned in the Holy Scriptures, and ſufficiently inſtructed in humane diſciplines, deep or profound in his ſenſe, ſweet and comely in his expreſſion.
The other Elogie, and much of the ſame ſound, is from Sixtus Senenſis, who calls him, virum bonis artibus in ſeculo eruditum, & in Scripturis Sanct is peritiſſimum, eloquio brevem, & ſenſu acutem. 72A man learned in the liberall arts, and moſt skilfull in the ſacred Scriptures, ſhort in expreſſion, and acute in Senſe.
Some ſay, that that little Commentarie on the firſt Chapters of Geneſis is none of this Iunilius his, but that reverend Beda is the author thereof, becauſe it quotes Gregorie, and is reckoned among the workes of Bedae. Bel. de Scrip. Eccleſ. in Iunil. p. 246.
Salvianus.
SAlvianus was Biſhop of Marſeilles in France, ſtyled by Sixtus Senenſis, Epiſcoporum ſui temporis Magiſter, The Maſter of the Biſhops of his time: he lived about 460. yeers after Chriſt, or as ſome others will have it, 480. It was about the time, when the Northerly people of Gothes came down into France and fearfully overrun it, which ſad opreſſion canſing the people of thoſe parts to doubt of Gods Heavenly Providence in the worlds government, gave occaſion to this learned Prelat to write that good and excellent book of his, De gubernatione Dei, wherein he ſheweth that it is a juſt, and tighteous thing with God to puniſh ſinfull men, which knowing well what they are to do, are yet negligent performers of their duty; which little work of his he dedicated to Salonius, who was at that time Biſhop of Vienna.
73Trithemius calls this man, Virum in divinis Scripturis eruditiſſimum, & in ſecularibus literis ſufficienter inſtructum, A man moſt learned in the holy Scriptures, and ſufficiently skill'd in humane and ſecular learning; agreeing with that of Sixtus Senenſis, Divina & humana literatura copioſe inſtructus.
The foreſaid Hiſtorian ſpeaking of his Epiſtles, ſaith of them, that they are Sale ſapientiae conditae, ſeaſoned with the ſalt of wiſdom.
And Sixtus Senenſis, in reference to all he hath written, tells us, Quod ſcripſit Latino candido & ſuccincto ſermone, multa laudatiſſima opuſcula; That he wrote many commendable works in the Latine Tongue, both candidly and ſuccinctly. He was the Maſter of Veranius and Salonius, both of which were alſo Biſhops: So Gennadius reports in his de viris Illuſtribus.
Proſper of Aquitain.
PRoſper of Aquitain, ſo called, (not as ſome think from his Biſhoprick, for he was Biſhop of Reimes, but from the place of his nativity, he being an Aquitain by birth) lived about the year of Chriſt 460. in the Reign of Leo Auguſtus; he wrote excellent Tractates, his Sentences are met with among the Works of Auguſtine. He ſhewed himſelf a moſt fierce and ſharp impugner74 of the hereſie of Pelagius. Beſides his Theological writings, he was the Author of a Chronologie, mentioned by Gennadius. He ſucceeded in his Epiſcopal See to the Biſhop Faventius.
Trithemius thus w•ites of him, Proſper Epiſcopus Rhegienſis, vir in divinis Scripturis eruditiſſimus, & in ſecularibus nobiliter doctus carmine excellens, & proſa, eloquio diſertus, ſenſu profundus, ingenio ſubtilis, aſſertione nervoſus, vita & converſatione ſanctiſſimus apparuit. Proſper the Biſhop of Rheims, appeared to be a man moſt learned in the divine Scriptures, and nobly inſtructed in things that were Secular, excellent both for verſe and proſe, eloquent in ſpeech profound in ſenſe, ſubtile in wit, ſinewous in aſſertion, and holy in life and converſation.
He wrote a book de Ingratis Of Unthankeful men; by which name he alwayes meant the Pelagians, which ſprung up out of the aſhes of that Arch-heretick Pelagius: So Biſhop Uſher writes in his eighth Chapter de Primord. Britan. Eccleſ.
Bellarmine ſaith this of him to his honour, Quod multa praeclara ſcripſit pro gratia Dei contra Pelagianos: That he wrote many excellent things for the grace of God againſt the Pelagians; SequeAuguſtini diſcipulum, & defenſorem acerrimum demonſtravit; and proved himſelf to be a diſciple, and moſt ſharp defender of Auguſtine.
Sixtus Senenſis ſtyles him, Virum acris ingenii, dictionis preſſae, & nervoſae, & elegantis; A man75 of a piercing wit, of a brief, ſinewous, and elegant elocution.
Petrus Chryſologus.
PEtrus Chryſologus was Archbiſhop of Ravenna, born of Noble Parentage, ſtyled by Sixtus Senenſis, Vir tam vitae ſanctitate, quam omni eruditionis genere excellens, A man excelling as well for ſanctity of life, as for all kinde of learning. He was inſtructed in Chriſtian literature by Cornelius a certain Biſhop, and advanced by Pope Sixtus the third, to that eminent dignity at Ravenna.
In this mans time, there were two Councils ſummoned; the one by Coelius Symmachus the Pope, the other by Theodoricus the King of the Oſtrogoths; the one ſitting at Rome, and the other at Ravenna. This Prelate was called to both: And beſides, he delivered Letters to the Council of Chalcedon againſt the heretick Eutyches; which Letters are yet extant. He had the name of Chryſologus given him, becauſe he was ſo near in conformity to Chryſoſtome, there being in both of them par phraſium majeſtas, a like majeſty of phraſe.
In the Epiſtle prefixed to this mans Sermons,76 you have this commendation beſtowed upon him, Si cum hoc quoſdam Neotericos, aut commentatores conferas Pigneum Atlanti comparare videaris: If you confer any of your Neotericks or late Commentators with this Author, you may ſeem to compare a Pigmy to Atlas.
Sixtus Senenſis, ſpeaking of thoſe hundred two and twenty Sermons preached by this Prelate, he doth thus expreſſe them, Breves quidem, ſed ſenſus gravitate venerandes, candore ſermonis, venuſtiſqueverborum floſculis amaenos, argutis quibuſdam ſententiolis naturali quadam facilitate fluentibus jucundos, & validis quibuſdam affectibus interdunt verbis tragicis expreſſis admirandos. Short Sermons indeed, but yet for the gravity of ſenſe, venerable; for candor of ſpeech, and beautiful flowers of words, delectable; and for witty ſentences, flowing with a natural facility, pleaſant; and for ſtrong affections, expreſt ſometimes with tragical words, admirable.
He dyed about the year of our Lord 500. when he had governed the Church of Ravenna 60 years.
Fulgentius.
FUlgentius an African, & a Citizen of Carthage, appeared ſoon after Proſper, about the year of Chriſt 500. He was Biſhop of Ruſp in Africk, and in his time had hot contentions with the Arians, condemned long before by the General Council of Nice. He confuted thoſe which aſſerted the doctrine of Free-will, approving himſelf a puiſſant maintainer of the ſervitude of mans will to Sin and Satan, which he had received from Auguſtine, or rather from the Scriptures. He was Biſhop of that Church near twenty five years, and dyed piouſly in the year of his age 65. He flouriſhed under Anaſtaſius the Emperour, and Thraſimundus the King of the Vandals.
In his life he ſhined with tranſcendent humility and ſincerity, deteſting nothing more, than pride & luxury: He abſtained from fleſh, feeding altogether upon herbs and eggs. He did wear only one garment both in Summer and Winter; this being a uſual ſaying with him, Corda potius quam veſtimenta mutanda eſſe, That mens hearts were rather to be changed than their garments. He was ſo far from harbouring of wrath againſt any of his enemies, that being extremely injured by one Felix an Arian, and thereupon counſelled by his friends to ſeek a remedy at Law, he ſweetly replied to them, Chriſtiani eſſe non ulciſci ſeſe,78 Deum enim ulturum injuriam ſuis illatam: That its the Chriſtians duty not to avenge himſelf, for God is the avenger of his children.
In the time of his ſickneſs, his Phyſicians adviſing him to bathe much, he replied, Putatiſne balnea hominis mortalis fata impeditura? Do you think that baths will hinder the death of a man by nature mortal? And he would have theſe words very often in his mouth Domine hic da mihi poenitentiam, poſtea indulgentiam, Lord give me here repentance, and afterwards indulgence.
Voſſius calls this man, in alluſion to his name, Fulgentiſſimum Eccleſiae ſydus, The moſt brightſome ſtar of the Church. Its ſaid of him by Gomarus, Quod ſententiis Auguſtini adeo delectatus erat, ut eas pluribus in locis, non tam imitatus ſit, quam expreſſerit, That he was ſo far forth delighted with the ſentences of Auguſtine, that he did not ſo much imitate them, as to the very life expreſs them.
One takes notice of ſome of his writings, that they are thorny, ſharp, and piercing, quaſi aculeos in verbis inſerviſſe viſus eſſet, as if he had implanted ſtings in his words. This is noted chiefly in his Mythologie: whereas (as the ſame author well obſerveth) alia pie quidem, & Chriſtiane ſcripta non tam horrida ſunt, other of his Works being piouſly and Chriſtianly written, are not ſo rough.
He was baniſhed with an hundred more African Biſhops into the Iſland of Sardinia, by Thraſimundus79 the King of the Vandals, which might be the occaſion of ſo much gall in ſome of his Treatiſes.
Gregorius Papa.
GRegorius Papa, called Gregory the Great, he was conſtituted Biſhop of Rome after Pelagius, drawn (as it were) into the Chair by conſtraint. He was a Roman by birth, the firſt of the Popes (ſaith one) that diſcovered an humble and lowly minde, who would be called Servus ſervorum Dei, The ſervant of thoſe which ſerve God. He was wonderfully averſe to that great and proud Title of Oecumenical, or Univerſal Biſhop, boldly ſaying, In iſtud ſceleſtum vocabulum conſentire, nihil aliud eſſe, quam fidem perdere, That to agree to that wicked denomination, were nothing elſe, but to deſtroy the Faith. He ever did acknowledge himſelf the Emperour Mauritius his Subject. He maintained diſputes with the Jews, and againſt Hereticks. He confirmed by publick Decrees, theſe four Councils, of Nice, of Conſtantinople, of Epheſus, and of Chalcedon.
He ſuſtained many afflictions by the Longobards, who had with violence entred Italy, and waſted many of the Churches. He wrote many80 books, which were conſumed after his death by them that hated them, a few onely being preſerved through the interceſſion of Petrus Diaconus. He dyed in the year of Chriſt 606. he is ſaid to have countenanced Images in Churches, although we finde no ſuch toleration in the writings of former Fathers: but no wonder, if being a Monk, he was a Patron of Superſlition and Idolatry; yet Barthius gives him this character, Ejus Homiliae mirifice bonis rebus plenae, & exemplar ſequentium ſeculorum doctoribus, His Homilies are wonderfully full of good things, and as a copy ſet for the Doctors of the following ages to write after. Nay, Eraſmus calls him ſimplicem & pium. And