Note Y, p. 204.

Si texit peccata Deus, noluit advertere; si noluit advertere, noluit animadvertere; si noluit animadvertere, noluit punire; si noluit punire, noluit agnoscere, maluit ignoscere. Augustin. in Psal. xxxi. sec. 9, tom. iv. col. 176, F. Paris, 1691.

Note Z, p. 205.

Manifestum est ergo, fratres mei, omnino manifestum est; tenete, certi estote, quoniam Deus noster Jesus Christus, quando quisque se converterit ad fidem ipsius, a via sua vel superflua vel nequissima, omnia illi præterita dimittuntur,-et omnino tanquam donatis debitis fiunt cum illo tabulæ novæ. Prorsus omnia dimittuntur. Nemo sit sollicitus, quod aliquid ei non dimittatur. Augustin. de Verbis Domini, Serm. 59. tom. x. col. 222. Basle,

1569.

Note AA, p. 209.

Itaque indefessum proficiendi studium, et jugis conatus ad perfectionem, perfectio reputatur. Bernard. Epist. ccliv. vol. i. col. 255, B. Paris, 1690.

Note BB, p. 215.

Καὶ γὰρ ἐντεῦθεν τὰ μυρία ἐφύη κακα, ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν γραφῶν ἀγνοίας· ἐντεῦθεν ἡ πολλὴ τῶν αἱρέσεων ἐβλάστησε λύμη, ἐντεῦθεν οἱ ἠμελημένοι βίοι, ἐντεῦθεν οἱ ἀκερδεῖς πόνοι. ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ τοῦ φωτὸς ἀπεστερημένοι τούτου οὐκ ἂν ὀρθὰ βαδίσειαν, οὕτως οἱ πρὸς τὴν ἀκτῖνα τῶν θείων μὴ βλέποντες γραφῶν, πολλὰ ἀναγκάζονται καὶ συνεχῶς ἁμαρτάνειν, ἅτε δὴ ἐν σκότῳ χαλεπωτάτῳ βαδίζοντες. ὅπερ ἵνα μὴ γένηται, διανοίξωμεν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς πρὸς τὴν λαμπη δόνα τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ῥημάτων. Chrysost. Procem. in Epist. ad Rom. tom. iv. p. 2, C. Paris, 1636.

Note CC, p. 216.

Ista opinio, quæ tollit Purgatorium, non solum est falsa, sed etiam perniciosa: siquidem homines socordes facit in peccatis cavendis, et bonis operibus faciendis. Qui enim cogitat nullum esse Purgatorium, sed omnia peccata per mortem aboleri in iis,

qui moriuntur cum fide, facile dicet apud se, "Quorsum ego laboro in jejuniis, precibus, continentia, eleemosynis? Cur fraudo cor meum deliciis et voluptatibus? quandoquidem in morte, sive pauca, sive multa peccata habuero, omnia delebuntur." At qui cogitat remanere præter Gehennam ignem acerrimum Purgatorii, et, quicquid hic deletum non fuerit per debitæ pœnitentiæ opera, ibi diluendum, certe diligentior cautiorque evadit. Bellarm. de Purg. lib. i. c. 11, tom. ii. p. 401, G. Coloniæ, 1628.

Note DD, p. 218.

Si quis dixerit, hominis justificati bona opera ita esse dona Dei, ut non sint etiam bona ipsius justificati merita, aut ipsum justificatum bonis operibus; quæ ab eo per Dei gratiam et Jesu Christi meritum, cujus vivum membrum est, fiunt, non verè mereri augmentum gratiæ, vitam æternam, et ipsius vitæ æternæ, si tamen in gratia decesserit, consecutionem, atque etiam gloriæ augmentum : Anathema sit. Concil. Trid. Sess. vi. cap. xvi. can. 32, p. 43. Romæ, 1564.

"If are so the gifts of God, as not to be likewise the good merits of the justified person himself: or, that the justified man himself, by the good works which are done by him, through the grace of God and merit of Jesus Christ, whose living member he is, does not truly merit increase of grace, eternal life, and the attainment of eternal life itself, and even an increase of glory, if he shall die in a state of grace: Let him be Anathema."

any one shall say that the good works of a justified man

Note EE, p. 218.

Nos probabimus id, quod habet communis Catholicorum omnium sententia, opera bona justorum vere ac proprie esse merita, et merita non cujuscumque præmii, sed ipsius vitæ æternæ, contra Sectarios omnes. Bellarm. De Justif. lib. v. cap. 1, 17. tom. iv.

pp. 271, B. 283. Colon. 1628.

"We will prove, in opposition to all sectarists, and in accordance with the common opinion of all Catholics, that the good works of the just are truly and properly merits, and are deserving not merely of reward, but of eternal life itself."

Note FF, p. 222.

Supponendum septimò, ad fidem minimè pertinere quæstiones de loco Purgatorii, utrum vel in hoc mundo et super terram; vel in aëre caliginoso, ubi Dæmones versantur; vel in Inferno Damnatorum; vel in vicino terræ subdito loco; purgentur animæ, quibus eluendum aliquid superest. 2. De qualitate pœnæ sensibilis, quam animæ in Purgatorio detentæ patiuntur, an sit verus et corporeus ignis, an caligo et moeror, an quispiam alius a Dei justitia miris, sed veris modis puniente, inflictus cruciatus. 3. De Purgatoriæ pœnæ duratione, quoad singulas animas ipsi addictas. Quanquam enim Dominici Soto, in IV. Sentent. Dist. 19. q. 3. art. 2. nullam animam ultra decem annos ad Purgatorii pœnas damnari sentientis, opinio nullos è theologis sectatores habeat, incertum prorsus est, quot annis illarum pœna definiatur. Natal. Alexand. Hist. Eccles. Sæc. iv. Dissert. 41, p. 352. Paris, 1679.

Omnia igitur quæ spectant ad locum, durationem, pœnarum qualitatem, ad catholicam fidem minime spectant, seu definita ab ecclesia non sunt. Num scilicet * * * ignis Purgatorii sit materialis an metaphoricus; utrum scilicet consistat in quadam animi tristitia, exorta ex anteactæ vitæ consideratione, fœditate peccati, &c.* ** diversæ olim de iis extiterunt inter veteres Ecclesiæ Patres, et inter scholasticos etiam recentiores adhuc vigent discrepantes sententiæ. Perrone, vol. iii. p. 321.

"All those points which have reference to the locality, duration, and nature of the punishments, either do not appertain to the catholic faith, or have not been defined by the Church. Thus, whether the fire of Purgatory be material or metaphorical; whether it consists in a certain mental sorrow arising from reflection upon the past life, upon the foulness of sin, &c.: on these questions there were divers opinions among the early Fathers of the Church; and the like still prevail among the later schoolmen."

CHAPTER VI.

PRAYER FOR THE DEAD.

"No man may deliver his brother, nor make agreement unto God for him: for it cost more to redeem their souls; so that he must let that alone for ever.”—Ps. xlix. 7, 8.

As if aware that the doctrine of Purgatory is utterly destitute of support from the sources already examined, the Papists have resorted to extraneous aid, derived from the far more ancient custom of Praying for the Dead. To invest people with a belief in purgatorial pains could only tend to fill them with alarm and despair; but if it were possible to persuade them of the existence of a power capable of delivering them from those tortures, a most mighty engine would be placed in the hands of an artful and degraded priesthood, wherewith to excite the hopes of the dying sinner, and draw a liberal contribution into the ecclesiastical treasury.

Accordingly, it was boldly maintained that Purgatory and Prayer for the Dead were of contemporaneous origin; and that the latter custom would

234 PRAYER FOR THE DEAD AND PURGATORY NOT COÆVAL.

never have prevailed for many centuries in the church, unless some assistance and benefit were thence derived to the souls of the departed, in the promotion of their release from purgatorial durance. Thus also it is affirmed by modern Romanists, that "there is an inseparable connexion between the practice of praying for the dead, and the belief of an intermediate state of souls (i. e. Purgatory); since it is evidently needless to pray for the saints in heaven, and useless to pray for the reprobate in hell." "The two doctrines go so completely together, that if one is demonstrated, the other necessarily follows: the practice of praying for the dead is essentially based on the belief in Purgatory." "The custom of praying for the dead evidently presupposes the belief of a middle place between heaven and hell: i.e. Purgatory."

The motives by which the Romish Church has been induced to advocate this union, it will be necessary to illustrate more fully in the sequel. That it did not exist in the primitive Church, is certain. It will readily be granted, indeed, that the early Christians did offer up prayers for the dead; but the views and feelings with which they did so were widely different from those which actuate the Romish priesthood, in their multiplied masses for the rescue of the departed.

1

3

Dr. Milner, p. 368.

2 Dr. Wiseman, vol. ii. pp. 53, 54.

Dr. Butler, vol. ii. p. 242. See Note A, p. 260.