of Infincerity, if not of direct Forgery alfo. Up on this I read it over again more carefully, and with a watchful Eye upon feveral Particulars therein related; which did now more plainly appear lyable to the fame Sufpicions. This occafion'd my drawing up the following Paper upon that Subject, which I fhall here therefore offer to the farther confideration of the Learned as being wholly New; and highly worthy of the moft exact Examination of the Church of Chrift. SUSPICIONS concerning Athanafius. It is well known, that no fmall Part of the Hiftory of the Church, fo far as belongs to the Fourth Century, and fo far as the Chriftian Faith is therein concern'd, relies mainly upon the Writings and History of Athanafius; and that the Truth and Certainty of very many important Facts depend entirely, as to us, on the Integrity and Veracity of the fame Athanafius. Now the Reafons why I dare not in fuch Matters believe Things on his fole Authority are these. (1.) Athanafius was plainly a violent PartyMan, and the known Head of a Party, and is therefore to be no more depended on in Matters wherein himself and his own Affairs were peculiarly concern'd than others, the like PartyMen, and Heads of Parties are to be in parallel Cafes. And I need not tell the Honeft and Impartial, efpecially in this Age of Division and Faction, how little Regard is to be given to fuch Teftimonies. (2.) Athanafius was peculiarly the Author of a New Syftem of Divinity, or the Author of a New Sect in the Church; whofe Language, at leaft, and Practices, if not Notions, were most certainly unknown unknown to the earlier Ages of Christianity., This is too plain to be deny'd ; and Monfaucon does in a Manner confefs it: Indicare ne pigeat, Praf. pag. fays he, cum nibil periculi ex indicio it; falvis fem- 17. per & integris rebus, ac fide nihil mutata, multa Atha-I nafiii avo, ejufque ope inducta Verba fuiffe, & ad certam formam reducta fidei capita ; ut Pater hodiernæ Theologiæ jure ille vocare poffit. "Give me leave, fays he, freely to Declare, fince there " is no Danger in fuch a Declaration, that "while the Things themfelves and the Church's "Faith have ever continued immutably ther "fame, there were many new Words or Terms "of Art introduc'd into the Church in the Age "of Athanafius, and by his Means; and thences "the Articles of our Faith became fix'd and! "determinate. Infomuch, that ithanafius may justly be ftil'd The Father of the Modern System: of Divinity. And Gregory Nazianzen fays thus, in his Panegyrick, upon our Athanafiusto Op. Vol. II. νόμος αὐτοῖς ὅ, τι ἐκείνῳ ἐδόκει, κ τότο απώμονον πίλιν Ρ.385. ὁ μὴ ἐδόκει και πλάκες μου σέως αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐκεῖνε δόγματα, καὶ πλεῖον τὸ σέβις ἢ παρὰ ἀνθρώπων τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐφείλεται, --- νομοθετεῖ δὲ οικεμένη. Doubere de dinguéry. What Athanafius deter- Pag "min'd was a Law to the reft, and what he dif allowed was rejected by them. Nay, his Do"arines were the very Mofaick Tables of the "Law to them. The Honour that was paid! "him was greater than what is due from Men " to the Saints themselves. Indeed, He gave: "Laws to the whole World. Now certainly, when fo bold and daring à Perfon appears, who is not afraid to innovate fo vaftly in the Chriftian Religion as this amounts to, all true Loversi of the Antient Faith once deliver'd to the Saints fhould be upon their Guard, and not rafhly believe all he fays, left he fhould prove to be one of the Forerunners and Introducers of that Antichriftian (h3) Pag. I. tichriftian State whom the Scriptures have fo fully caution'd us againft, and of whom they give fo difmal an Account before-hand. (3.) A Perfon of his general Character, which I take to be that of one Refolute, Ambitious, and Tyrannical; of admirable Parts, but little Learning, and fmall Appearance of Sincerity; who would never submit to either Emperor or Council; and who would rather fet the Chriftian World in a Combuftion on all Occafions than recede in the leaft from his Pretenfions; who reafons generally very weakly; yet treats his Adverfaries with the moft unchriftian Names of Reproach and Scorn poffible; and who ftill alter'd his Notions, or at leaft his Language as he faw Occafion, and as Matters would bear, and yet us'd plaufible Words and Infinuations all along; a Perfon, I fay, of this general Character cannot but afford great Room for Sufpicion to confidering Men. (4) Athanafius's reproachful Account of the Origin of the Meletians, who afterward join'd with the Arians against him, is fo entirely different from that which Epiphanius gives us to their great Advantage, while yet Epiphanius was cer tuinly Honeft and Orthodox enough not to be fufpected of any Partiality to them, that we have great Reason to question Athanafius's Fidelity in this Matter. And the Council of Nice it felf are known to have dealt fo much more gently with thefe Meletians than they did with the Arians, and than Athanafius would have had Vit. Athan. them done, that the Sufpicion is confirm'd that his Account was rather the Effect of Hatred and Ill-will, than the real and exact Truth of their Cafe. P. 10. (5.) Atha (5.) Athanafius's Works drawn up before the Rife of the Arian Controverfy are fo very different from those written afterward, as fhew that Oppofition and Difputation had quite alter'd and, fpoil'd the Man; and that his later Writings are of fmall Authority. I wish, the Honeft Reader, that defires to fee the true Doctrines of the Church, nay even of Athanafius himself, as they were taught and believ'd in his younger Days, and to adjust them with the other broach'd afterwards, would carefully compare his youthful nobleft Treatifes Contra Gentes. & De Incarnatione Verbi, with the reft. Thofe containing, fo far as I can judge, in a Manner the fame Doctrines that he afterwards fo violently oppos'd under the Notion of Arianifm. Nor need the Reader go elsewhere than to thofe Treatifes of Athanafius himself to be fatisfy'd what a mighty Change the fame Perfon made in Chriftianity. This is certainly a Matter that highly deferves every good Chriftian's ferious Confideration. (6.) Athanafius and others from him tell us an incredible Story about the Meletian Bifhop Arfe nius, viz. That when Athanafius had been folemnly and publickly accus'd of killing this Arfenius, and of the cutting his Hand after he was dead, which dead Hand was fhew'd publickly alfo; yet that he produc'd the Man alive before his Judges with both his Hands unhurt; a Letter of which Arfenius to Athanafius we have in his Works: whilst the Arians did till all his Life notwithftanding accufe him publickly upon all Occafions of the fame Murder. This feems to me utterly incredible, that be fhould ever be charg'd with the Murther of a Perfon, who yet, if Atbafius fays true, must have been known by all the World to be ftill alive. Nor does his Introduction of the Emperor's Lettest, which (h4) implys imply his being alive, at all fatisfy me. not to fay, that we have no Affurance that any pretended Perfon was the true Arfenius, or the Hand produc'd real, we have certainly no other Evidence for even this Letter but Athanafius himself; which he knew how to produce for his Purpofe as Occafion fhould ferve. And one great Reafon of Sufpicion here is, that the fame Emperor Conftantine, whofe Letter does in this Cafe fo juftify Athanafius, and exprefs his Wonder at the Impudence of the Charge of murdering one who was ftill alive among them, did yet foon banish him notwithstanding. And certainly had Athanafius had fuch undeniable Vouchers for his Innocence as he long afterward publish'd, he needed not have run away from the Council of Tyre as he did, for fear not only of being condemn'd but even of being torn in Pieces alfo at the fame Time." (7.) The Story and ftrange Miracles of Anthony, the Father of the Egyptian Monks, and thereby of the Modern Monkery in general, does above all Things make Athanafius fufpected. As the true Miracles of our Saviour and, his Apoftles do undoubtedly eftablish the Chriftian DoArine; but if they were known to be either falfe or diabolical, would as undoubtedly deftroy its Reputation: So in good Measure does feem to me to be with Anthony and his pretended Miracles, with Relation to Athanafius and his Doarines. If these be true and divine, they do indeed feem Authentick Credentials to the Perfon and Caufe of Athanafius: But if they be eithar falfe or Diabolical Athanafius and his Caufe muft fink with them. For they are not only produc'd and attefted to by Athanafius himself, and that fometimes as done before his Face; in his Life of this Anthony; but they seem to have been |