366 PAPAL HERESIES ON THE SCRIPTURES. The Scriptures affirm themselves to be written for common in- struction, comfort, edification in all piety; they therefore recommend themselves to be studied and searched by all people, as the best and surest means of attaining knowledge and finding truth. The fathers also much exhort all the people (even women and girls) constantly to read and diligently to study the Scriptures.' But the pope keeps them from the people, locked up in languages not understood by them, prohibiting translations of them to be made or used.' The Scripture teaches, and common sense shows, and the fathers assert (nothing, indeed, more frequently or more plainly), that all necessary points of faith and good morality are, with suffi- cient evidence, couched in holy Scripture, so that " a man of God," or pious men, may thence " be perfectly furnished to every work," 2 Tim. iii. 17; but they contrariwise blaspheme the Scriptures, as ob- scure, dangerous, &c. Common sense dictates that devotions should be performed with understanding and affection, and that, consequently, they should be in a known tongue; and St Paul expressly teaches that it is requisite for private and public edification: "From this doctrine of Paul it appears that it is better for the edification of the church that public prayers, which are said in the audience of the people, should be said in a tongue common to the clergy and the people, than that they should be said in Latin."' This all ancient churches accordingly practised, and most others do so, beside those which the pope rides. But the pope will not have it so, requiring the public liturgy to be celebrated in an unknown tongue, and that most Christians shall say their devotions like parrots. He anathematizes those who " think the mass should be celebrated in avulgar tongue,"4 that is, all those who are in their right wits, and think fit to follow the practice of the ancient church. The holy Scripture teachesus that there is but one Head of the church; and the fathers avow no other, as we have otherwhere showed. 1 2 Tim. iii. 15; Rom. xv. 4 ; 1 Cor. ix. 10, x. 11 ; 2 Pet. i. 20. 'EOCp'cpou,. John v. 39; Acts xvii. 11 ; Ps. cxix. ; Hier. adLmt. Epitaph. Paul. Vit. Hilar., &c. ; Chrys. in Colos. Or. ix. ; Aug. Serm. 55, de temp. 2 [Note.] P. Pius IV. authorized certain rules for prohibition and permissionofbooks, inwhich it is permitted to bishops to grant a faculty of reading the Scriptures trans- lated but to this rule there is added an observation, that this power was takenfrom bishops by commandof the Roman universal Inquisition. Ind. Lib. Prohib. a Clem. VIII. 3 1 Cor. xiv. 14. Ex hac Pauli doctrina habetur, quod melius est ad ecclesiae aedifi- cationem orationes publicas, gumaudiente populo dicuntur, dici lingua communi clericis et populo, quam dici Latine. Cajet. in 1 Cor. xiv. 4 ant lingua tantum vulgari missam celebrari debereanathema sit.Sess. xxii. can. 9.
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