remember those excellent words of St. Austin, "Tutius et jucundius loquar ad meum Jesum, quàm ad aliquem sanctorum spirituum Dei;" "I can speak safer and more pleasantly or cheerfully to my Lord Jesus, than to any of the saints and spirits of God"." For that we have commandment, for this we have none; for that we have example in Scriptures, for this we have none; there are many promises made to that, but to this there is none at all; and therefore we cannot in faith pray to them, or at all rely upon them for helps. Which consideration is greatly heightened by that prostitution of devotion usual in the church of Rome, wavdemei, to every upstart, to every old and new saint. And although they have a story among themselves, that it is ominous for a pope to canonize a saint, and he never survives it above a twelve-month, as Pierre Mathieu observes in the instances of Clement IV. and Adrian VI.; yet this hinders not, but that they are tempted to do it frequently. But concerning the thing itself, the best we can say, is what Christ said of the Samaritans, "They worship they know not what *." Such are St. Fingare, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Christopher, Charles Borromæus, Ignatius Loyola, Xaverius', and many others of whom Cardinal Bessarion' complained, that many of them were such persons whose life he could not approve; and such, concerning whom they knew nothing, but from their parties, and by pretended revelations made to particular and hypochondriacal persons. It is a famous saying of St. Gregory, that the bodies of many persons are worshipped on earth, whose souls are tormented in hell:'. and Augustinus Triumphus affirms, that all who are canonized by the pope, cannot be said to be in heaven.' And this matter is beyond dispute; for Prateolus tells, that Herman, the author of the heresy of the Fratricelli, was for twenty years together after his death honoured for a saint, but afterwards his body was taken up and burnt. and burnt. But then since (as Ambrosius Catha 6 " Lib. i. c. 2. de Visitatione infirmorum: ascript. St. Aug. * John, iv. 22. y Vide libr. de Sanctis Hibernicis nuper Latinè edit. per D. Picardum Parisiensem. z Apud Bodin. in Method. Histor. lib. iv. Apud August. Triumphum de Ancona, q. 14. ad 4. et quæst. 17. ad 4. verb. Hermannus. rinus and Vivaldus observe), if one saint be called in question, then the rest may; what will become of the devotions which are paid to such saints which have been canonized within these last five centuries? Concerning whom we can have but slender evidence that they are in heaven at all. And therefore the Cardinal of Cambray, Petrus de Alliaco, wishes that so many new saints were not canonized. They are indeed so many, that in the church of Rome, the holydays, which are called their greater doubles,' are threescore and four, besides the feasts of Christ and our lady, and the holydays which they call half-double festivals, together with the Sundays, are above one hundred and thirty. So that besides many holydays kept in particular places, there are, in the whole year about two hundred holydays, if we may believe their own Gavantus; which, besides that it is an intolerable burden to the poor labourer, who must keep so many of them, that on the rest he can scarce earn his bread, they do also turn religion into superstition, and habituate the people to idleness, and disorderly festivities, and impious celebrations of the day with unchristian merriments and licentiousWe conclude this with those words of St. Paul, "How shall we call on him, on whom we have not believed?" Christ said, "Ye believe in God, believe also in me." But he never said, Ye have believed in me, believe also in my saints. No: "For there is but one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesusd." And therefore we must come to God, not by saints, but only by Jesus Christ our Lord. ness. SECTION IX. THERE is, in the church of Rome, a horrible impiety taught and practised, which, so far as it goes, must needs destroy that part of holy life which consists in the holiness of our prayers; and indeed is a conjugation of evils, of such evils, of which in the whole world a society of Christians should be least suspected; we mean the infinite superstitions and a Lib. de Reform. Eccles. b De Fastis Sanctor. 7. 10, 1 Tim. ii. 5. incantations, or charms used by their priests in their exorcising possessed persons, and conjuring of devils. a 6 There was an ecclesiastical book called Ordo Baptizandi cum modo Visitandi,' printed at Venice, A. D. 1575, in which there were damnable and diabolical charms, insomuch that the Spanish inquisitors in their expurgatory index, printed at Madrid, A. D. 1612, commanded "deleatur tota exorcismus Luciferina, cujus initium est, Adesto, Domine, tui famuli;" "all that Luciferian exorcism be blotted out." But whoever looks into the Treasure of Exorcisms and horrible Conjurings (for that is the very title of the book printed at Colen, A. D. 1608,) shall find many as horrid things, and not censured by any inquisitors as yet, so far as we have ever read or heard. Nay, that very Luciferina,' or 'Devilish Exorcism,' is reprinted at Lyons, A. D. 1614, in the Institutio Baptizandi,' which was restored by the decree of the council of Trent: so that though it was forbidden in Spain, it was allowed in France. But as bad as that are allowed everywhere in the church of Rome: the most famous and of most public use are The Treasure of Exorcisms,' of which we but now made mention; the Roman Ritual,' the Manual of Exorcisms,' printed at Antwerp, A. D. 1626, with approbation of the bishop, and privilege of the Archdukes; the Pastorals of several churches, especially that of Ruremonde ; and especially the Flagellum Dæmonum,' 'The devil's whip,' by father Jerome Mengus, a friar minor; which the clergy of Orleans did use in the exorcising of Martha Brosser, A. D. 1599, the story whereof is in the epistles of Cardinal D'Ossat, and the history of the excellent Thuanus". 6 Now from these books, especially this last, we shall represent their manner of casting out devils; and then speak a word to the thing itself. Their manner and form is this: First, They are to try the devil by holy water, incense, sulphur, rue, which from thence, as we suppose, came to be called 'herb of grace,'-and especially, St. John's wort, which a Ne miretur lector eruditus, quod 'exorcismus' apud Inquisitores sit fœminini generis: fortasse dispensatum fuit cum bonis viris in học articulo. An potius factum quia bonus Angelus nunquam, mali autem Genii sæpissime sub forma fœminina apparuere; quod notavit Trithemius. b Lib. cxiii. Flagellum Dæmonum, docum. 3. therefore they call 'devil's flight;' with which if they cannot cast the devil out, yet they may do good to the patient; for so Pope Alexander I. promised and commanded the priests to use it for sanctifying and pacifying the people, and driving away the snares of the devil: and to this, it were well if the exorcist would rail upon, mock and jeer the devil; for he cannot endure a witty and a sharp taunt, and loves jeering and railing no more than he loves holy water; and this was well tried of old against an empuse, that met Apollonius Tyanæus at Mount Caucasus, against whom he railed, and exhorted his company to do so. 6 Next to this, the exorcist may ask the devil some questions; What is his name? How many of them there are? For what cause, and at what time he entered? and, for his own learning, By what person he can be cast out? and by what saint adjured? Who are his particular enemies in heaven? and who in hell? By what words he can be most afflicted? for the devils are such fools that they cannot keep their own counsel, nor choose but tell, and when they do, they always tell true: He may also ask him by what covenant, or what charm he came there, and by what he is to be released? Then he may call Lucifer to help him, and to torment that spirit (for so they cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils'); and certainly Lucifer dares not but obey him. Next to this, the exorcist is cunningly to get out of the devil, the confession of some article of faith, for the edification of the standers-by (whom he may by this means convince of the truth of transubstantiation, the reality of purgatory, or the value of indulgences), and command him to knock his head three times against the ground, in adoration of the Holy Trinity. But let him take heed what relics he apply to the devil; for, if the relics be counterfeit, the devil will be too hard for him. However, let the exorcising priest be sure to bless his pottage, his meat, his ointment, his herbs; and then also he may use some schedule, or little rolls of paper, containing in them holy words; but he must be sure to be exercised and skilful in all things that belong to the conjuring of the devil: these are the preparatory documents, which when he hath observed, then let him fall to his prayers. d Vide Raimon. Lullium. lib. ii. de quinta essentia. e Philost. de vita Apollonii. Now for the prayers, they also are publicly described in the offices before cited; and are as followeth : The priest ties his stole about the neck of the possessed with three knots, and says, "O ye abominable rebels against God, I conjure you spirits, and adjure you, I call, I constrain, I call out, I contend and contest, wherever you are in this man, by the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost [then he makes three, by the most powerful name of God, Eli, the strong and admirable, I exorcise you, and adjure you, and command you, by the power I have, that you incontinently hear the words of my conjuring, and perceive yourselves overcome, and command you not to depart without license, and so I bind you with this stole of jucundity; in the name of the Father, Son +, and Holy Ghost +, Amen." Then he makes two and thirty crosses more, and calls over one and thirty names of God in false Hebrew, and base Greek, and some Latin, signifying the same names; and the two and thirtieth is by the sign of the cross, praying God to deliver them from their enemies. Then follow more prayers, and more adjurations, and more conjurations (for they are greatly different you must know) and aspersions of holy water, and showings of the cross, and signings with it. Then they adjure the devil (in case the names of God will not do it) by St. Mary, and St. Anne, by St. Michael, and St. Gabriel, by Raphael, and all angels and archangels, by the patriarchs, and by the prophets, and by his own infirmity, by the apostles, and by the martyrs; and then after all this, if the devil will not come out, he must tarry there still, till the next exorcism; in which the exorcist must rail at the devil, and say over again the names of God, and then ask him questions, and read over the sequences of the Gospels; and after that tell him, that he hath power over him, for he can transubstantiate bread into Christ's body; and then conjure him again, and call him 'damned devil, unclean spirit,' and as bad as he can call him; and so pray to God to cast him out of the man's mouth and nose, lips and teeth, jaws and cheeks, eyes and forehead, eye-brows and eye-lids, his feet, and his members, his marrow and his bones, and must reckon every part of his body: to which purpose, we suppose it would be well if the exorcist were well skilled in Laurentius, or Bauhinus's anatomy. And if he will not go out yet, |