Introdu&. Ofthe Interpretation ofScriptures. Chap. a his Heart. And though 3erome quoted the opinions of divers Fathers to ftrengthen his, yet e4uou line would not alter, holding this among other rules, that we arenot to regard quis, but quid, not who, but what any man fpeaketh. And 3erosve himfelf in his own expofition of the Pfalms, faith, that he had delivered divers things, con- trary to the tenet of thofetimes : that is, inmatters praterfuudamcntal, wherein liberty of diffenting may be indulged. 6. Laftty, the Papiffs thcmfelvcs reje& the expofitian of many of the Fathersmat, r6. 8si upon this Text, [ Tu es Petrus, jc. Thou art Peter and,upon this Rock I willbuild my Church. ] Many of the Fathers holding that it was meant of St. Peters 6aith, not his perfon. As alfo they leaveall the reftof the Fathers, and adhere to St. Aug. only in the divifion of the commandements ; . for the current of the Fathers divide them as we do, but they following Saint Aquiline make but one Commandement of the firft two, anddivide the laft into two : but thefe were not matters of Faith. But St. Augufline was carried away in this, by a conceit of having but three command- ments in the firft Table in reference to the Trinity, as may be fees in his divifion of the Decalogue. For the Counfels. which are divided intoAElion orAgitation ofa point, and Canon. 2. r. In the Aelion commonly is fuch errour, that they are forced to lay all upon the Canon, and fay, that it matters not much what the preinifcs be, fo theConclufion be good. 2. And for the Canon, we may find in fome Caunccls, that the Canons of one arc flu and dire 1 againft another, as in the cafe of marriages of Prieth, fome for them, Come againft them. We fee the two Councels of Confiance and Bade, bothget. coral, and both confirmed, one by Pope Martin the fifth, and the other byEugen- e's the fourth. The Bulls of which ( though the Canons agree ) be oppofitc to each other. The one holding, Conciliumpofe errate, non Papaw, that the Councel may, but the Pope cannot err : the other, Papaw errare poffe, non Concilium, that the Pope may err, but the Councel cannot. And the Canon of the Counsel of Ferrara holding againff that of the Councelof Florence, one, that the Pope is above the Cornice], and the other that the Counsel is above the Pope. Alt this fhews, that Councels are notfimply infallible, but may err, now whereit is evident that they err, being drawn into parties andfallions, by corruptinterefls, none is bound to believe their determi- nations, but where there is no Each evidence they ought to beobeyed, as thofe authorifed by Chrit to direft andguide no in matters of Salvation, and even when weare not bound to believe their decisions, yet for thepeace of the Church their decrees lye us to external obedi- ence, that is, not to oppofe them, if there beno fundamentalErreur. For the Church and the praflice thereof. This is anuncertain asthe other. For the Churchesof the Eaft and Weft agree not indivers points, and among other, in the cafeof the Popes fupremaey, the Eaftern Church totally oppoling it. And ifwe urge thepratßife of the Church, it will be found, that at fome time molt of the Blfhops were Arrians. So that in this there's both ambiguity and peril. And Bafrle faith, that in Dr pp`ritufeet° the cafe of Baptifm, the Children at the firft were dipped but once, and afterwards deetrieawns_ thrice, and we know at this day, they arebut once dipped. eNa. It is true, thefePhew that the Church is not (imply infallible, efpecially in fach pointsAddition ;. as theft, which touch not any fundamental Article, and that particular Churches mayOf theChur- differ in fome leffer points, and yet maintain the fame faith , and keep theunity of the power to Spirit in the bend of peace: but all this hinders not, but that the Church is the ordinary serirprete, interpreter of Scripture toher Children, and that they ought to fubmit to ber beeaufe flu is accountable to God for them, Heb. r 3 . 17. and that none ought to reject her doarine upon probable or doubtful reafous, but upon filch as are evident, that is, fuels as not only Teem evident to them, for every contradilling Spirit will affirm themoll doubtful things to be evident to him, but filch as to other pious and learnedmen not interefled ferns evi- dent. Reginald. 1. 57 c. edt. n. 234. This feems to have been the 71sdgment of this learned Prelate inhis latter thoughs. As form on Ad. 2, 42. p. 27. where he bath theft words, ' fit tobe written in letters of gold, `The ancient fathers thought it meet, that they that ' tool.upon them to interpret the Apoflles doarine, fhouldput in fureties, that their fenfes 'theygave wereno other, than the Church in former time bath acknowledged. It is true, the Apoft. fpakefrom thefpirit, and every expo/ition of theirs wasan oracle, but that was `their peculiar priviled,e, but all others after them, are not to utter their own fancies, H and 57
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