Of bis lives

nb here you fee plainly, fays Mr. L. pag.77, The Pope miting all affuming a Temporal or Civil Power, over all EmpePrinces in Tours, Kings, and Princes, limiting them by Are the raifing ticles, as to the raising Taxes upon their own Subjects of Taxes. without his exprefs Licence. This is a violent Mi

ftake: For the Papal Sentence, he referrs to, has (*) no Regard to Sovereigns, but only to Inferiour Princes, who, without leave from their refpective Mafter's, opprefs their Subjects by unRift Taxes. So that the Pope's Tyranny, fo ill-re prefented here, is only a Vindication of the People's Liberties, and the Sovereign's Rights. Which, if M. L. now he is told of it, will not believe; None, above the Condition of Plow-men, will think he hath all the Sincerity in the World.. The Truth of it is, the Pope's Temporal Supremaey over all the Univerfe, was a Charming Bug bear, and for was to be fet up, what ever it oh y coft him. a teletup,

(Bonac. Difp. r. de Bullâ Coene, Q. 6. punct. 3. § z. pag. 24. Quæritur, Quinam Gabellas imponere poffint, fta ut hanc Cenfuram non incurrant ¿Mw

s Refpondeo, illos póffe, qui in fuis terris fupremam har bent Facultatem, nullumque Superiorem in Temporalibus agnofcunt, Ratio eft, quia - Impofitio vectigalium eft effectus Supreme Jurifdictionis, &c. Ita Doctores ftatim citandi, & præterea Molina, Navarrus, Toletus, Suarez, Vafquez, & alii. yol E .2.

Hinc fequitur — Summum Pontificem, Imperatorem, Regem, Ducem Florentiæ, aliofque Supremos Principes, Superiorem non agnofcentes, poffe in fuis terris vectigalia Imponere, ut fufius probar Sayras, Duard, Filliucias, Suarez. Toletus, Gambar. Alterius, & aliiO 2519] bokem fequitur Refpublicas liberas & perfectas.poteftatem imponendi vectigalia habere qualis eft Refp. Veneta, Genuenfis, aliæque fimiles Respublica, vel Civitates peta, Genuenfis, item Supremam Authoritatem habentes. Sicut enim hujufmoFacultatem in Principem transferunt, Ata eandem per fe pfas exercere poffunt,,

επ

5. IN

5. IN Defence of Miracles, which it hath pleaf- of Miraed GoD from time to time to work by his Ser- cles. vants, for the Increase of his own Honour, and the Relief of his Creatures in Distress; all that my Lord could fay, was only, p. 33, I know, you deny our Miracles. But, much more than this might be alledg'd. When the Corps of a dead Man was let down by chance, and touched the Bones of Elifha, he revived, and flood upon his Feet, 2 Kings 13. ver. 21. And we read of S. Paul, that from his Body were brought, unto the Sick, Handkerchiefs or Aprons, and the Difeafes departed from them, and the evil Spirits went out of them, Act, 19. ver. 12. Thefe the Catholick Church propofes to the Faith of her Children. She knows, the Lord's Hand is not shortned, Ifa. 59. ver. 1. But the offers no Miracles in particular, as the Objects of Chriftian Faith, how well foever they are attefted, but only thofe, which the Scripture fpeaks of. The reft fhe leaves to the Confcience, and Difcretion of every one, either to believe, or to reject them. But many are attefted fo well, that it would be both Imprudence and Impudence, to call them in Queftion.

t

S. Auguftin, lib. 22. de Civitate Dei, cap. 8, and in his Sermons, gives us an Account of above Threefcore and Ten, which God wrought in his Diocess, when he was Bishop (about the Year 425.) at the Reliques of the Glorious Martyr S. Stephen, in lefs than two Years time. Tho' he affures us, there happen'd more at the ReLiques of the fame Saint, at that Time, in other Parts of Africa, than in his Diocefs. Of this kind, he mentions Lucillus, a Bishop near Hippo, cured miraculously of a Fiftula; and a blind Wo man, who recover'd her Sight, by putting Flow

E 4

ers,

ers, which had touch'd the Reliques to her Eyes; of thofe done in his own Diocefs, He relates Three Perfons rais'd to Life; and other Miraculous Cures; at fome of which, he himself was prefent.

THE fame (1) Saint, and (2) S. Ambrofe, inform us, of many Others, and moft Authentick Miracles, done at the Reliques of the Hoat Milan, anno 386. as of a Blind Man, call'd Severus, who, approaching to the Reliques, was, before all the People, prefently restored to his Sight, S. Ambrofe alfo being prefent..

ly Martyrs, Gervatus and Prota of the Ho

MIRACLE'S done at the Tomb, and by the Interceffion of S. Felix, Prieft of Nola, are Attefted by (3) S. Paulinus, and (4) S. Auguftin. As others at the Reliques of S. Andrew, S. Luke Land S. Timothy are alfo Attefted by (5) S. Jerome, and () S Gregory Nazianzen.

THESE and the like Miracles, indeed, are only Objects of Human Faith. But, is nothing True, but Scripture? I do not believe S. Augutin, as I do St. Paul. But, is he therefore a Villainous Impoftor? The Devil may work falfe Miracles; But, is it not a Sin to afcribe true ones to the Devil which was fo great a Crime in the Pharifees, that our Saviour calls it Blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft, which would neither be forgiven them in this World, nor in the World to come, S. Mat. 12. ver. 32?

Loco citato de Civ. Dei. & lib. 9. Confeffionum. CAP. 7. () Epift. 54. in Edit. Benedict, Ep. 22. (3) Carm. 16, 21, 22. ' (4) Epift. 137. Et. lib. de Curâ pro Mortais, cap. 16. (1) Lib, contra Vigilantium. ) Orat. 3. quæ eft prima contra Julianum Tom. 1. Edit. Par. 1630, pag. 76, D.

t

D'ISVOOSTCAT BUT

or none.

BUT we must take all, or none, fays Mr. L. p.34. Of belleThat is, Either every one is a Villain, or no ving all, one. If all Men be not Credible, all are Knaves. What, is all or none; but Tom Thumb, or Nothing?

Pag. 33. ONE falfe Miracle, fays he, is fuffi cient to difprove all that come from the fame Hand. Perhaps fo. But, muft I either believe all Guy of Warwick, or no part of Sir Richard Baker? We have feen already that Falfe and Legendary Miracles, have been related (in the firft Ages) of the Apostles themfelves. But, does this fink the Credit of all Ecclefiaftical Hiftory? Muft I either believe all that is writ of them, or nothing? Legendary Fictions ought to be ridiculed: and are every day exploded by our diligent Hiftorians. And if Mr. L. and his Store-house-keeper, Dr. Patrick, had been content with this our Church would have thank'd them for their Pains.

Bur his Lordship cannot deny the many falfe Miracles, which have been notoriously detected in the Church of Rome, pag. 33. My Lord can do no more, than Mr. L. pleafes. But First, Why the many falfe Miracles? Secondly, By whom were they Detected? By Proteftants, before there were any in the World? Nor fince neither. If Mr. L. can prove they have, he will oblige the World by the Discovery, Thirdly, Our Church is fo far from either forging Miracles (a Crime which nothing but Impudent Malice can Charge her with) or allowing Counterfeit Reliques, that She is the (1) First, to Detect them. Fourthly, on osa etl

(1) Concilium Lateran. IV: anno 1215 Can 62. TO. IT. Conc. pro Bi Prælati de cætero non permittant illos,

There

اهدة

Part I. There have been fo many unconteftable Miracles done in all Ages, in her Communion, that there is no need of Forgery. And, tho' true Miracles may confirm her Faith, yet they are not at all the Foundation of it.

Of Chrift 6. I was no great Argument of my Lord's being the Capacity, to fay, as he does pag. 45, that Chrift Church, being come, he was then the Church, Altho in this

he was as wife as his Neighbours. For, in Mr. L's Treatife of Private Judgment, p. 188. R. C. fays the Church was then in Chrift. Doubtless, as MoJoab fes was the Synagogue, as Face was an Army of Horfe and Foot. And (to come to Examples, we are better acquainted with) as the King is the Parliament; and Mr. Speaker the Houfe of Commons. But Chrift was a Living, and Infallible Judge of Controverfies. His Commiffon was under the Broad Seal of Heaven. The Ancient Prophecies, and the Works of his Father, que nemo alius fecit, were his Credentials. Will

$

qui ad Sanctorum Ecclefias caufâ venerationis afcendunt, vanis Figmentis aut falfis decipi Documentis; ficut & in plerifque [hoc eft multis; quomodo S. Gregorius uti folet hac voce; ut hom. 12. in Evangelia] locis occafione quæftus fieri confuevit. Tridentinum Sefs. 2, de Sanctosum Interceffione, Invocatione, Reliquiarum honore, & legitimo Imaginum ufu. In has autem Sanctas obfervationes fi qui abufus irrepferint, eos prorfus aboleri Saneta Synodus vehementer cupit. Omnis porro Superftitio in Sanctorum invocatione, Reliquiarum veneratione, & Imaginum facro bufu tollatur omnis turpfs quæftus eliminetur Statuit, nullum in Ecclefiâ infolitam ponendam effe imaginem, nifi ab Epifcopo approbata fuerit; nulla admittenda effe nova Miracula, nec novas Reliquias recipiendas, nifi recognofcente & approbante Epifcopo, qof, adhibitis in confilium Theologis, ea faciat, quæ beritati & pietati confentanea judicaverit,

Mr.