expressed themselves in a little book which they presented CHAP. to the Parliament 18 Richard II. A. D. 1394. 66 "The III. prayers and offerings made to blind crosses or roodys, John Wiclif, " and deaf images of wood and stone, are near akin to p. 340. 66 ydolatry, and far from charity. And although those pro"hibited and imaginary things are a book of error to the "lay people, the usual image of the Trinity is most abo"minable." From hence they inferred, that "the service "of the cross performed twice a year in the Church of "England is full of ydolatrie." They added, that, "if "those nails with which Christ was fastened to the cross, "and the spear which pierced his side, ought to be so "highly honoured as they were, then should the lips of "Judas, which kissed Christ, if one could have them, be very good reliques." What they called the usual imagen of the Trinity, is the first of these two figures, where the three divine Persons are represented by a man's face seen in a prism, where it appears treble. Now it was pretended, that," the catholike Churche hath alwayes, even from the Bp. Bonner's profitbegynnyng, put greate difference betweene an idol and able and nean image, utterly abhorryng and detesting the one, and cessary Doctrine, &c. "devoutly and godly receyuinge and allowing the other. 1555. 66 Since, the origynalls, first formes and patternes of idoles, "to represent by are very untrue and clerely false; where"as the originals, first formes, or paternes of the ymages "to represent the very thing signified by them, are faith"ful and true." But if this distinction be allowed, this representation of the holy Trinity must be an idol, since 66 66 n That of one head with three faces, or one body with three heads, Molanus saith, is much more common than the other, and is wont to be set before the office of the holy Trinity. It seems as if the famous Dr. Michael Servetus had this image in his thoughts, when he styled the Trinity a three-headed Cerberus. • It were better for them, the Papists, to erect, altars to an unknown God, than to make those absurd, scandalous, and horrible representations of the mysteries of the Trinity; from whence some of the Anti-trinitarians have taken occasion to expose that sacred mystery to scorn and contempt, and have published a book on purpose to set forth the images of the Trinity, which are publicly seen and allowed in the Roman Church.-Molanus and Thyræus men CHAP. no one dares to say, that this is a faithful and true representation of the divine originals. But to proceed: III. Life of Dr. Wiclif, &c. p. 175. Repressour, p. ii. c. 2. 21. The service of the cross, here mentioned as performed twice a year, is that done on the two festivals of the invention and exaltation of the holy cross, viz. on May 3, and September 14; on which, according to the present Roman Breviary, the cross is invocated to save the present congregation that day assembled in his praises. 22. Dr. Wiclif himself thought, that "though images "which truly represented the poverty and passion of Jesus Christ, and other saints, were lawful, and the books "of ignorant men; and might be worshipped in a manner, "as for signs of saints, or as books of ignorant men, or as a wife keepeth cheerly her wedding ring for love of her "husband; yet false images that represented worldly pride "and glory, as if Christ and other saints had lived thus, “and deserved bliss by pomp and glory of the world, 66 were false books, and to be amended or burnt as books "of open heresy, against the Christian faith; that to wor"ship them as Christ or his saints was plain idolatry; that "neither Christ nor his Apostles commanded nor coun“selled such images to be made; and, that if simple or "ignorant people did idolatry by them, in placing their "hope or trust in them, or giving the honour to them "that is due to God alone, as swearing by them, or offer"ing to them, they should be broken or burnt." 23. Bishop Pecock in justifying this governance, and shewing, that the lay people over-myche and untreuly blamed the Clergy, on account of the having and using of images, no way pretended to plead for the costly adorning of them, and the offerings made to them, or for people's giving the honour to them, that is due to God only. So far from it, that he owns "rebuke is given in Scripture to 66 men which taken and holden graven images to be their tion four sorts of images of the Trinity that have been used in the Roman 66 66 66 66 66 III. gods; that Salomon was so miche *fonned, masid, and CHAP. dotid, that he worschipped those ydolis as gods; that ymagis mowe leefulli be broke, whan thei ben_usid in befooled. 66 ydolatrie irremediabli, for so it was in the caas of the "brasen serpent in the time of Ezechie; that, at the "leeste, ymagis mowe leefulli be broken whanne more "harme irremediabli cometh by the havyng and using of "them, than is all the good which cometh bi the havyng " and using of them; that more than this cometh not forth "by this proces of Ezechie iiii. Reg. xviii. and, that there"fore the proces is over feble, for to tweerne ymagis to be † warn. "had and usid whanne thei ben had and usid without "ydolatrie, or with ydolatrie remediable, or with other "harm remediable, nameliche lasse than is the good comyng bi the uce of the ymagis." "Now ydolatrie," the Bishop observed, was never doon save whanne a man took a creature for his God, and worschipid thilk creature as "for his God. But so saith he, no person dooth in these "daies aboute the ymagis had and usid in the chirche, "aftir that the man is come into yeeris of discretioun, and "is passid childhoode, and which is not a natural foole. "As to the othir objections against the use of ymagis, viz. "that the peple trowen or beleeven summe wrong and "untrewe opiniouns by occasion of ymagis, as, that sum "godli vertue is in the ymagis, or, that tho ymagis doon myraclis, or that thei ben ‡ quyk, and seen, heeren, or ‡ alive. "speken at sum while, or that thei sweten at sum while; "that ymagis ben occasiouns of sume moral vicis in the "peple, as of over myche worschiping doon to them, of "pride, or of covetise, or of suche othere:" These his Lordship reckoned remediable harms, and therefore not sufficient for to reprove and weern the said having and using of images. He therefore maintained, that" the having "and setting up of ymagis in churchis, and the using of "them as rememoratif or mynding signes is not reproved "by eny ground of feith; that is to seie, not bi holi Scrip"ture, neither bi long use of the churchis bilieving, nei"thir by eny miraculose therto of God's wirching. And 66 III. CHAP. "concluded, that the agenseiers hereof were to be † reiat"ed, and rebukid as nyce, fonned, waful, wantoun, scisme sowers, and disturblers of the peple, in maters which "thei mowe never her entent bring about." † chidden. Bp. Stil 24. By this we may see, that so far were our Bishop and the Wiclifists agreed, that images were not in themselves absolutely unlawful, but that they might be honoured and respected as the signs and memorials of those we regarded or esteemed. They differed in their notions of idolatry, and consequently in the reasons for removing and abolishing them. The Bishop thought, that idolatry consisted in taking a creature for God, and worshipping that creature for his God, a fancy, that, our Bishop truly observes, no man can entertain that is not a natural fool. Even the heathens, who changed the glory of the incorlingfleet's ruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, Idolatry of the Church were not such fools as to take that corruptible image for the incorruptible God. Thus Celsus: Who but an utter fool believes these images to be gods, and not their ȧvalμara and aɣáλpara, or statues dedicated to them? Whereas Dr. Wiclif's notion of idolatry was, that it is setting hope or putting trust in images, or giving the honour to them that is due to God alone, as swearing by them, and offering to them; and this he thought a sufficient reason Life of Dr. for the destroying of images. "If," says he, "Ezechie the Wiclif, p. 175. "blessid king brak the brasene serpent commaundid of "God to be maad, for, or because, the puple gaf to it in66 cense and onour due to God alone, as it is open in the "iiii boke of Kingis, the xviii chap. hou moche more a "Cristene King, with assent of his Lordis and trewe of Rome. ματα Clergie, shuld breke or brenne doumbe idolis-if the "simple puple doth idolatrie by them, in settinge hope in "them?" &c. Our Bishop does not deny, but that very wrong and false opinions were entertained by the people of these images; as, that there was some godly virtue in them, that they did miracles, that they were alive, and did see, hear, or speak at some certain times, and sometimes did sweat. Nay, he seems to allow, that images III. tence of Curse ex 6. MS. were the occasions of some moral vices in the people, as CHAP. of their overmuch worshipping them, of pride, and of covetousness. Of these things Dr. Wiclif, &c. much complained. That poor men were spoiled with unjust axings, Ibid. p. 175. or tallages, oppressions, extortions or other frauds, to maintain the costly honour paid to these images; that by them the works of mercy were cruelly withdrawn from needy men; nay, that the Clergy enjoined, as penance, Great Senmen's offering to certain images, for their winning or advantage, or to maintain their pride and covetousness. But pounded, c. nothing less in our Bishop's opinion was sufficient to justify the breaking or destroying them than the worshipping them as God. But certainly if covetousness, or a trusting in uncertain riches, a making gold our hope, or the fine gold our confidence, be idolatry, as the Apostle of the Gentiles expressly affirms, one would think our trusting in any images of Christ or his saints, our making them our hope and confidence, though we no more took them for the incorruptible God, than we believed our riches to be so, should be properly idolatry. Now what greater sign could the people give of their trusting in images, and placing their hope and confidence in them, and by so doing, giving that honour to them that is due to God only, than their believing a divine virtue in them, and, that miracles were often wrought by them? This was being like even the heathens themselves, or however the wiser sort of them, who, though they denied that they ever thought their images to be very gods, per se deos; yet fancied Arnobius that by consecration the gods were brought into them, and con. Gendwelt in them, and that there they worshipped them. But to proceed: tes, lib. vi. 8. 25. The second principal governance" of which Repressour, "many of the layte overmyche wiiten the Clergie," the part ii. c. 7, Bishop observed, was this, " that pilgrimagis to dyverse "bodies and bonys ef seintis be maad, and also ben maad "to ymagis of Crist crucified, and of Marie, and of othere "seintis, and nameliche for that pilgrimagis ben maad " into summe placis more in which ben the ymagis of the |