15. 1 "as there are opinions among men, as many "doctrines as inclinations; and as many sources "of blasphemy, as there are faults among us; because we make creeds arbitrarily, and "explain them as arbitrarily. And as there is "but one faith; so there is but one only God, "one Lord, and one baptism. We renounce "this one faith, when we make so many differ"ent creeds; and that diversity is the reason why we have no true faith among us. We "cannot be ignorant that, since the council of Nice, we have done nothing but make creeds. "And while we fight against words, litigate "about new questions, dispute about equivocal "terms, complain of authors, that every one "may make his own party triumph; while we "cannot agree, while we anathematise one an"other, there is hardly one that adheres to "Jesus Christ. What change was there not in "the creed last year! The first council ordained "a silence upon the homousion; the second “established it, and would have us speak; the "third excuses the fathers of the council, and pretends they took the word ousia simply: "the fourth condemns them, instead of excusing "them. With respect to the likeness of the "Son of God to the Father, which is the faith " of our deplorable times, they dispute whether "he is like in whole, or in part. These are rare "folks to unravel the secrets of heaven. Ne"vertheless it is for these creeds, about invisible mysteries, that we calumniate one another, ** and for our belief in God. We make creeds "every year, nay every moon we repent of what "we have done, we defend those that repent, we "anathematise those we defended. So we con"demneither the doctrine of others in ourselves, · “or our own in that of others, and, reciprocally tearing one another to pieces, we have been "the cause of each other's ruin." 16. HÆRETICI.] "centur. Hæretici ergo sunt, sed non V. 13. scientes. Denique apud nos sunt hæretici, apud se non sunt. Nam in tantam se catho"licus esse judicant, ut nos ipsos titulo hæretica appellationis infament. Quod ergo illi nobis "sunt & hoc nos illis. Nos eos injuriam divinæ "generationi facere certi sumus, quod minorem 66 patre filium dicant. Illi nos injuriosos patri "existimant, quia æquales esse credamus. Veri"tas apud nos est; sed illi apud se esse præsu"munt. Honor Dei apud nos est: sed illi hoc "arbitrantur, honorem divinitatis esse quod cre"dunt. Inofficiosi sunt, sed illis hoc est summum σε religionis officium. Impii sunt, sed hoc pu"tant esse veram pietatem. Errant ergo, sed "bono animo errant, non odio sed affectu Dei, "honorare se dominum atque amare credentes. "Quamvis non habeant rectam fidem, illi ta 66 men hoc perfectam Dei æstimant caritatem. "Qualiter pro hoc ipso falsæ opinionis errore "in die judicii puniendi sunt, nullus scire potest "nisi judex. Interim idcirco eis, ut reor, pa"tientiam Deus commodat, quia videt eos, etsi "non rectè credere, affectu tamen piæ opinionis Salvinus. errare. 66 162 339° This bishop speaks here of the Arian Goths and Vandals: "They are, says he, Barbarians, "who have no tincture of the Roman politeness, "and who are ignorant of what is very com monly known among other men, and only "know what their doctors have taught them, "and follow what they have heard them say. "Men so ignorant as these find themselves "under a necessity of learning the mysteries of "the gospel, rather by the instructions that are given them, than by books." "The tradition of their doctors and the re"ceived doctrines are the only rule they follow, "because they know nothing but what they “have taught them. They are then heretics, "but they know it not. They are so in our 66 17. account, but they believe it not; and think "themselves so good catholics, that they treat "us as heretics, judging of us as we do of them. "We are persuaded that they believe amiss concerning the divine generation, when they "maintain the Son is inferior to the Father; "and they imagine that we rob the Father of "his glory who believe them both to be equal. "We have the truth on our side, and they pre"tend it is on theirs. We give to God his due "honour, and they think they honour him bet"ter. They fail in their duty, but they ima gine they perform perfectly well; and they "make true piety to consist in what we call impious. They are in a mistake, but with a great deal of sincerity; and it is so far from being an effect of their hatred, that it is a "mark of their love of God, since, by what they do, they imagine they show the greatest re 66 -66 spect for the Lord, and zeal for his glory. "Therefore, though they have not true faith, "they nevertheless look upon that which they "have as a perfect love of God. It belongs only to the judge of the universe to know how "these men will be punished for their errours "at the last day. Yet I believe God will show "compassion towards them, because he sees "their heart is more right than their belief, and "that, if they are mistaken, it is their piety "made them err." INDEX TO THE ESSAY CONCERNING HUMAN UNDERSTANDING. The Volumes are distinguished by the Roman Numerals A. ABBOT of St. Martin, Vol. II. Abstraction, I. 138, § 9 Puts a perfect distance betwixt How, I. 143, § 1 terms cannot be affirmed Actions, the best evidence of men's But two sorts of actions, I. 222, Considered as modes, or as moral, Alteration, II. 41, § 2 Analogy, useful in natural philoso- I. Ad verecundiam, III. 123,§ 19 sion, about artificial things, Upon hearing and understanding the terms, I.22, § 17, 18 Not of innate, ibid. § 18: I. 24, Assent to probability, III. 89, § 3 Association of ideas, II. 138, § 1, &c. |