ant and fundamental. Nor will this appear surprising to those who consider, that the papers of Lælius title by citations from Scripture, yet they no where explain the (7) Spiritus sanctus est virtus Dei, cujus plenitudinem dedit Deus pater filio suo unigenito, Domino nostro, ut ex ejus plenitudine nos adoptivi acciperemus. (8) Justificatio est ex mera gratia, per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, sine operibus et meritis nostris, omnium præteritorum peccatorum nostrorum in viva fide remissio, vitæque æternæ indubitata expectatio et auxilio spiritus Dei vitæ nostræ non simulata, sed vera correctio, ad gloriam Dei patri nostri et ædificationem proximorum nostrorum. (9) Disciplina ecclesiastica est officii singulorum frequens commemora¬ tio et peccantium contra Deum vel proximum primum priva, deinde etiam publica, coram toto cœtu, commonefactio, denique pertinacium a commu nione sanctorum alienatio, ut pudore suffusi convertantur, aut si id nolint, eternum damnentur, CENT. Lælius Socinus, which he undoubtedly left be XVI. hind him in Poland, were in the hands of many; PART II, and that, by the perusal of them, the Arians, who SECT. III. had formerly the upper hand in the community of the Unitarians, were engaged to change their sentiments concerning the nature and mediation of Christ, explication of the point relating to ecclesiastical discipline, we see how imperfect and incomplete their notions of that matter were. For they treat in the first place, concerning the govern ment of the church and its ministers, whom they divide into bishops, deacons, elders, and widows. After this they enume rate, at length, the duties of husbands and wives, old and young, parents and children, masters and servants, citizens and magis trates, poor and rich; and conclude with what relates to the admonishing of offenders, and their exclusion from the com. munion of the church, in case of obstinate impenitence. Their sentiments concerning Prayer, are, generally speaking, sound and rational. But in their notion of Baptism, they differ from other Christian churches in this, that they make it to consist in immersion or dipping, and emersion or rising again out of the water, and maintain that it ought not to be administered to any but adult persons, "Baptism, say they, is the immersion into water, and the emersion of one who believes in the gospel, and is truly penitent, performed in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, or in the name of Jesus Christ alone; by which solemn act the person baptized publicly acknowledgeth, that he is cleansed from all his sins, through the mercy of God the Father, by the blood of Christ, and the operation of the Holy Spirit, to the end that, being ingrafted into the body of Christ, he may mortify the old Adam, and be transformed into the image of the new and heavenly Adam, in the firm assurance of eternal life after the resurrection" (10). The last point handled in this performance is the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, of which the authors give an explication that will be readily adopted by those who embrace the doctrine of Zuingle on that head. At the end of this curious Catechism there is a piece entitled, Oeconomia Christiana, seu Pastoratus Domesticus," which contain a short instruction to heads of families, shewing them how they ought to proceed in order to maintain and increase in (10) Baptismus est hominis Evangelio credentis et pœnitentiam agentis in nomine Patris, et filii et Spiritus Sancti, vel in nomine Jesu Christi in aquam immersio et emersio, qua publice profitetur, se gratia Dei Patris, in sanguine Christi, opera Spiritus Sancti, ab omnibus peccatis ablutum esse, ut, in corpus Christi insertus, mortificet veterem Adamum et transformes tur in Adamum illum cœlestum, certus, se post resurrectionem conseque turum esse vitam æternam, SECT. III. PART II. Christ [a]. It is true, indeed, that the denomina- CENT. tion of Socinian was not as yet known. Those XVI. who were afterwards distinguished by this title, passed in Poland, at the time of which we now speak, under the name of Anabaptists, because they admitted to baptism adult persons only, and also rebaptized those that joined them from other Christian churches [b]. XI. in their houses a spirit of piety; in which also their devotion is assisted by forms of prayer, composed for morning, evening, and other occasions. The copy of this Catechism, which is now before me, was given, in the year 1680, by Martin Chelmius, one of the most eminent and zealous Socinian doctors, to Mr. Christopher Heiligmier, as appears by a long inscription, written by the donor, at the end of the book. In this inscription Chelmius promises his friend other productions of the same kind, pro vided he receives the present one kindly, and concludes with these words of St. Paul; God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the strong. [a] This appears evidently from the following passage in Schoman's Testamentum (published by Sandius, in his Biblioth. Anti-Trin.) p. 194, 195. "Sub id fere tempus (A. 1566.) exrhapsodiis Lælii Socini quidam fratres didicerunt, Dei filium non esse secundam Trinitatis personam, patri coëssentialem et cœqualem, sed hominum Jesum Christum, ex Spiritu Sancto conceptum, ex Virgine Maria natum, crucifixum, et resuscitatum a quibus nos commoniti, sacras literas perscru tari, persuasi sumus.' These words shew plainly, that the Unitarians, or Pinczovians, as they were sometimes called, had, before their separation from the Reformed church in the year 1565, believed in a Trinity of some kind or other; and had not gone so far as totally to divest Jesus Christ of his divinity. Schoman, now cited, was a doctor of great authority in this sect; and he tells us, himself, that, at the diet of Petricow, in the year 1565, he defended the unity of God the Father against the Reformed, who maintained the existence of a threefold Deity. We learn nevertheless from himself, that it was not till the year 1566, that a perusal of the papers of Lælius Socinus had engaged him to change his sentiments, and to deny the divine personality of Christ. What then are we to conclude from hence? The conclusion is plainly this: that, before the year last mentioned, he and his Pinczovian flock were not Socinians, but Arians only. [6] This the Unitarians acknowledge, in the Preface of that Catechism, as we have observed above; and it is con firmed CENT. PART II. XI. The dexterity and perseverance of Faustus Socinus gave a new face to the sect of the UniSECT. II. tarians, of which he became the zealous and industrious patron. He was a man of true genius, The pro- but of little learning; firm in his purposes, and ceedings of steady in his measures; much inferior in knowcinus. ledge to his uncle Lælius, while he surpassed Faustus So him greatly in courage and resolution. This eminent sectary, after having wandered through several countries of Europe, settled, in the year 1579, among the Unitarians in Poland, and at his arrival there suffered many vexations and much opposition from a considerable number of persons, who looked upon some of his tenets as highly erroneous. And, indeed, it is evident, that the religious system of Faustus Socinus, which he is said to have drawn from the papers of his uncle Lælius, was much less remarkable for its sim plicity than that of the Unitarians. He triumphed, however, at last, over all the difficulties that had been laid in his way, by the power of his eloquence, the spirit and address that reigned in his compositions, the elegance and gentleness of his manner, the favour and protection of the nobility, which he had acquired by his happy talents and accomplishments, and also by some lucky hits of fortune that favoured his enterprizes. By seizing the occasions when it was prudent to yield, and improving the moments that demanded bold resistance and firm resolution, he stemmed dexterously and courageously the torrent of opposition, and beheld the Unitarians submitting to his doc trine, firmed by the writer of the Epistola de Vita Andr. Wissowatii, which is subjoined to the Bibliotheca Anti-Trin. of Sandius, This writer tells us, that his sect were distinguished by the denomination of Anabaptists and Arians; but that all other Christian communities and individuals in Poland were promiscuously called Chrzesciani, from the word Chrzest, which signifies Baptism. XVI. SECT. III. trine, which they had before treated with indig- CENT. nation and contempt. They, in effect, laid aside all feuds and controversies, and formed themselves. into one community under his superintendency and direction [c]. PART II. tarian reli gion chan XII. Thus did Socinus introduce a consider-The Uniable change into the ancient Unitarian system, which, before his time, was ill digested, ill ex-ged by Sopressed, and chargeable in many places with am- cinus. biguity and incoherence. He disguised its inconsistencies, gave it an air of connection, method, and elegance, and defended it with much more dexterity and art, than had ever been discovered by its former patrons [d]. And, accordingly, the [c] See Bayle's Dictionary, at the article Socinus, tom. iv. p. 2741.-Sandii Biblioth. Anti-Trin. p. 64.-Sam. Przypcopii Vita Socini, which is prefixed to the works of Socinus.—Lamy, Histoire du Socinianisme, part I. ch. xxiv. p. 101. part II. ch. xxii. p. 375, &c. [d] Hence it appears, that the modern Unitarians are very properly called Socinians. For certainly the formation and establishment of that sect were entirely owing to the labours of Lælius and Faustus Socinus. The former, indeed, who was naturally timorous and irresolute, died at Zurich, in the year 1560, in the communion of the Reformed church, and seemed unwilling to expose himself to danger, or to sacrifice his repose, by founding a new sect, that is, by appearing professedly and openly in this enterprize. Besides, many circumstances concur to render it highly probable, that he did. not finish the religious system of which he had formed the plan, but died, on the contrary, in a state of uncertainty and doubt with respect to several points of no small importance. But, notwithstanding all this, he contributed much to the institution of the sect now under consideration. For he collected the materials that Faustus afterwards digested and employed with such dexterity and success. He secretly and imperceptibly excited doubts and scruples in the minds of many, concerning several doctrines generally received among Christians; and, by several arguments against the divinity of Christ, which he left behind him committed to writing, he so far seduced, even after his death, the Arians in Poland, that they embraced the communion and sentiments of those, who look. ed upon Christ as a mere man, created immediately, like Adam, |