III.

c. 15.

66

CHAP. and inhumanity the godly rigour of severity. However by this we may see, that as yet the ordinary corporal discipline for heretics here in England was not burning them to death; this was a discipline, that, however it was favoured by our common law, was not allowed by statute, nor commonly practised till above two hundred years after 2 Henry IV. this time, when it was enacted, that any person refusing A. D. 1401. to abjure, or relapsing after abjuration, should be delivered to the secular arm, and that "the sheriff, &c. the same persons after such sentence promulgate shall receive, "and them before the people in an high place do see "to be burnt; that such punishment might strike fear "into the minds of others, whereby no such wicked doc"trine and heretical and erroneous opinions, nor their "authors nor fautors in this realm and dominions, against "the Catholic faith, Christian law, and determination of "holy Church, be sustained, or in any wise suffered." T. de Elm- To which his successor Henry V. added, that as many as were found to be fautors of the sect called Lollards should be judged as guilty of high treason.

ham, Vit. Hen. V.

83. I hope I shall not be blamed for this particular detail of the progress of persecution on account of religion. I thought it necessary not only to shew the unreasonableness of men's thus acting the devil for God's sake, but to account for our Bishop's defending an usage so absurd and inhuman. Since here we see how early this infamous practice begun, and by how great human authorities it has been supported. Our Bishop thus expresses his opinion Treatise of of these sanguinary and capital punishments. The Clergy, Faith, part says he, shall be condemned at the last day, if by cleer witt they drawe not men into consent of trew faith otherwise than by fier and swerd or hangement. Although I will not deny these second means to be lawful, provided

i. c. v.

Before this act a Bishop could not convict any one for heresy, but he was to be convicted by the Archbishop in a provincial Synod; after which conviction the heretic was to be delivered to the sheriff, who, by virtue of the King's writ de hæretico comburendo, was to burn him. Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani, p. 292, &c.

III.

the former be first used. In what manner he defended this CHAP. his opinion I cannot tell: perhaps he was of Erasmus's mind, who excuses the civil powers backing the Church's sentence with their edicts and arms, that it was necessary for them so to do, to preserve the peace of their kingdoms, and keep all things from running into tumult and confusion, through people's eagerness and perverseness of disputing about their different opinions.

84. To this brutal and profane conceit of compelling men, whether they will or not, to the worship of God, and forcing them to think as others will have them, as if truth could be imprinted on men's minds with the points of swords, or their understandings be enlightened by making bonfires of their bodies, was owing that savage and romantic custom, introduced by the Popes, of men's taking on them the cross, to fight the Pope's battles, and be knocked on the head to do them service. This project seems first of all to have been invented for the recovery of the Holy Land, for the use of the Pope, out of the hands of the infidels. To this attempt Christian princes were invited to leave their kingdoms, and expose their lives, and spend the blood of their subjects and their treasure; and for their encouragement, they were to be freed and absolved from all the sins which they had repented of and confessed. But in process of time the Popes made use of this taking the cross, as it was called, to revenge their own quarrels. Thus Pope Urban the Sixth, having his title Walsingquestioned by the French, who owned his rival Pope Cle- Angl. ment, sent his bulls to Henry le Spencer, Bishop of Norwich, to empower him to undertake the croisade against the French, to avenge him of them; and promised to those who either went with him, or contributed towards the expences of his expedition, the same indulgence which it had been usual to grant to those who went to the assistance of the Holy Land. Of this Dr. Wiclif com- Life of Dr. Wiclif, p. plained, that the seal or banner of Christ on the cross, 121. that is, a token of peace, mercy, and charity, was used to slay Christian men, for love of two false Priests, that are

ham Hist.

CHAP. open Antichrist, to maintain their worldly state, and to oppress Christendom worse than Jews, &c. How our Bishop defended this governance does not appear to me.

N. Test.

pars iii.

Fabricio.

c. 2.

85. Such were the governances of this Church at that time, which our Bishop undertook to defend. I observe his Lordship does not once mention the exorcisms and benedictions made over the bread and wine, water and oil, salt, wax and incense, the stones of the altar, and walls of the church, over a vestment, a mitre, a cross, and the pilgrims' staves. These the Wiclifists censured as more like the practices of necromancy, than of true divinity.

86. About the ninth and tenth century appeared several Cod. Apoc. liturgies under the names of some of the Apostles; in which there is a strange agreement about the solemn inedit. J. Alb. vocation of the Holy Spirit, to make the gifts, or the bread and wine at the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ. Of this liturgical invocation it is truly observed, that there is not the least hint in the genuine writings of the Apostles. To this conceit of a mystic virtue and secret power being conveyed, by the giving thanks to, or blessing God over the outward elements, &c. some countenance had been given before by St. Cyrill of Jerusalem, (if those pasCatech. iii. sages are his,) who tells us, that simple or pure water having received a virtue, by the invocation of the Holy Spirit, of Christ, and of the Father, is made partaker of holiness. The same he observes of the eucharistical bread, and of the holy unguent, that after the invocation of the Holy Spirit they are no more common bread or bare unguent; but the one is the body of Christ, and the other charisma, or a divine gift, which effects the presence of the divinity of Christ, and the Holy Spirit. From hence it came to be fancied, that a real holiness may be imparted to senseless inanimate creatures; and that the benediction or thanksgiving used, rests or is terminated on them, and not on God; and that it consisted in the immediate presence of the Holy Spirit with them, who sanctified and changed them by his sacred contact. In the offices of the Roman Church we meet with abundance of instances of these be

Catech.

Myst. iii. c. 3.

III.

usum Sa

rum, fol. 2.

nedictions. In the first place, God is implored of his pity CHAP. to vouchsafe to bless and sanctify the creature salt, that it may be to all who use it the health of their mind and Manuale ad body; and that whosoever shall be salted or sprinkled with it may be free from all uncleanness, and all resistance of spiritual wickedness. Next, God is prayed to pour on the element of water, prepared by manifold purifications, the virtue of his benediction; that his creature, serving his mysteries, may receive the efficacy of the divine grace, to drive away devils and remove distempers; that whatsoever in the houses or places of the faithful shall be sprinkled with this water may be free from all uncleanness, delivered from harm, and that no pestilential breath or infectious air may continue there, &c. The Ibid. fol. 5. holy loaf, on the Lord's days, God is called upon to bless, as he blessed the five loaves in the wilderness, that all who taste of it may have health both of body and soul. The creature wax our Lord Jesus Christ is prayed to bless, and to pour on it a heavenly blessing, through the virtue of the holy cross, that by the sign of his cross it may have such a fortitude and benediction, that in whatsoever places it is lighted and set, the Devil may depart, and tremble, and fly away pale, with all his ministers, from those habitations, and not presume any more to disturb them. The creatures of flowers and leaves, the Ibid. fol. 19. branches of palms, and leaves of trees, which, they say, they offer in the presence of God's glory, he is prayed to let his truth sanctify, that the devout people, who carry them in their hands, may deserve to obtain the grace of

his benediction. The like benedictions were used for the Ibid. fol. 63, meats at Easter, butter, cheese, eggs, &c.

87. In the Roman Pontifical there is a solemn form of benediction of the first stone of a church; and God is prayed to let his Holy Spirit descend on this house which is to be built. In the form of consecrating a church, God is desired to send forth his Holy Spirit on the wine mixed with water, salt, and ashes, that being armed with the defence of heavenly power, it may be profitable for the con

&c.

ΙΙΙ.

CHAP. secration of this church and altar. And to name no more of these superstitious dotages and follies, in the consecration of the altar, prayers are made that God would command the polished matter of that stone, which was to be imbued or anointed with the sacrifices offered on it, to be enriched with the abundance of sanctification. To support these profanations they, in their addresses to God, uttered this untruth: "That he had conferred on his "Priests, above others, such a favour, that whatsoever "they did in his name, worthily and perfectly, should be "believed to be done by him."

Life of Dr.

151, 158.

88. To these consecrations or blessings Dr. Wiclif obWiclif, p. jected, that they were feigned things, and invented to blind or deceive the people; and that, in particular, the hallowing of dead stones, or dead earth, and other ornaments of the church, as vestments, cloths, chalices, oil and cream, which was reserved to the Bishops, served only to magnify their state in pride. In the little book presented by some of his followers to the Parliament, it is observed by them, that by such benedictions the creatures are esteemed to be of higher virtue than they are in their own nature; and that yet we do not see any change made in any creature which is thus blessed. Accordingly they added, that if the book of blessing dholy water, read in the church, was all true, they should think that the holy water used in holy Church should be a good medicine for all sorts of distempers, and particularly for sores; which yet they knew to be otherwise: However the common people were so persuaded; so that the water in the font, the holy wafers, and chrism, were all locked up.

I have been the more particular in my account of this

-Elemento huic multimodis purificationibus preparato virtutem tue benedictionis infunde, ut creatura tua misteriis tuis serviens ad abjiciendos demones, morbosque pellendos, divine gratie sumat effectum. Manuale secundum usum Sarum, fol. 3. a.

Fons-cum sera claudatur, ne laicis vel aliis ad aquam ejusdem pateat accessus ad aliqua nefaria exercenda, sicut alias ordinatur de Eucharistia et chrismate. Lyndwood's Provinciale, p. 241, edit. 1679.