And Petrus Chryfologus,
That it is the Entrance

Ingreffus vitæ, janua falutis, fingularis, innocens, & pura Con

feffio. In Symb. Apost. Serm. 55.

p. 51.

& inter vos & Deum fidei infolud Pactum vitæ, falutis placitum, bile Sacramentum. In Symb. Apost. Serm. 58. p. 52.

into Life,the Gate of Salvation, a peculiar, innocent,and pure Confeffion, a the Covenant of Life, the Plea of Salvation, and the indiffolvable Sacrament of Faith between God and us. This, faith Maximus Taurinenfis, is the Symbol, by the Sign of which the Faithful are feparated from the Unbelieving, whofe Truth makes every Believer of it a Chriftian, fanctifies the Living, and reduceth the Dead to Life; and many other fuch like Noble and Majestick Expreffions, were made ufe of by the Primitive Writers and Panegyrifts, to declare their Efteem of this Creed, which through the Divine Affiftance I shall endeavour a little to explain.

Hoc eft Symbolum cujus fignaculo fideles ab infidelibus fecer

nuntur-cujus veritas unumquemque credentem efficit Chriftianum -quod & viventes fanctificat, & mortuos reducit ad vitam. Homil.

in Symbol. p. 249.

Where, in the First place: Since the Nature of Things is frequently fignified unto us by the Names thereof, it may not be altogether unneceffary to take notice of the feveral Titles and Appellations, which have been formerly given to this Creed; by Ruffinus

B 3

f

Normam prædicationis. Expof. in Symb. Apoft, §. 2. p. 565. * Munus Salutis. De gubern. Dei, Catholici Sacramenti fides. De

lib. 6. p. 199.

Incarn. Domin. lib. 6. p. 1276.
Noftri Signaculum cordis.
Militiæ Sacramentum. Tom. I. de
Virgin. lib. 3. p. 86.
Regulam

k

cap. 19. p. 74.

Veritatis. Lib. 1.

Regula fidei. De Virginib. Veland. p. 385.

m De Trinitat. p. 493.
Tom, 2. ad Marcell. Ep. 54.

P. 193.

k

Ruffinus it is called, The Rule of Preaching, by Salvian, & The Gift of Salvation; by Caffian, h The Faith of the Catholick Sacrament; by Ambrofe, i The Seal of our Heart, and a Military Sacrament; by Irenaus, Tertullian,m Novatian and Ferom, The Rule of Faith,and Truth. But that Name which hath generally prevailed, and by which it is ufually known, is Symbolum, or Symbol; for which Title there are two Reasons commonly given: The One is, that it is an Allufion to the Custom of several Perfons meeting together to eat of one common Supper; whither every One brings fomething for his Share to make up that common Meal, which from hence was called Symbolum, from the Greek Verb Zubánλew, which fignifies, to throw, or caft together: Even fo, fay fome, The Apoftles met together, and each One put or threw in his Article to compofe this Symbol; which Explication of the Word is, I think, first mentioned by Ruffinus, who after he has related the manner of the fra

ming of the Creed by the Apoftles, adds, That for many and juftCaufes

& juftiffimis ex caufis appellare voluerunt, Symbolum enim Græce

• Symbolum autem hoc multis

they would have it to be dici poteft & collatio, hoc eft,

quod plures in unum conferunt, id enim fecerunt Apoftoli in his Sermonibus in unum conferendo

quod unufquifque fenfit. Expof. in Symb. Apoft. §. 2. p. 565.

P Symbolum ex collatione nomen accepit. Collario autem ideo, quia in unum ab Apoftolis domini Quicquid per univer

called a Symbol, for a
Symbol in Greek fignifies
a Collation, that 75, that
which many bring into
One; for fo the Apoftles in this Creed
did bring into one, or comprehend in one
Thing what every Perfon thought. And
after him, by P Caffian,
and feveral Others, who
affirm the fame thing,
That the Creed was cal-
led a Symbol, becaufe
that whatsoever is in an
immenfe Copiousness con-
tained in the Body of the Divine Vo
lumes, is by the Apoftles collated, or re-
duced into this brief Compendium. But
what is in general fpoken by Ruffinus,
Caffian, and others, concerning the
mutual framing of the Creed by the
Apoftles, is more particularly related
by one who paffes under the Name of
St. Austin, and probably lived not long
after him, who befides what was af
firmed by the foregoing Authors
fhews alfo the particular Articles, that
were thrown or put into this common

forum divinorum voluminum cor

pus immenfa funditur Copia, totum in Symboli colligitur brevitate, De Incarn. Dom. lib. 5. p. 1273.

B 4

Con

1

Confeffion by each individual Apostle, which I fhall not here enumerate, fince I fhall have occafion to mention them elsewhere in this Chapter.

But now as to the truth of this fenfe of the Word, in my opinion it is very much to be queftioned: to evidence the Weakness whereof, I fhall not infift on that Criticifm, that it is not Symbolum, but Symbola, which hath the forementioned Signification; but leaving that Nicety to the Grammarians, I fhall only obferve, That this Interpretation of the Word hath its entire Foundation on that Opinion, that the Apostles were the real Authors of the Creed, and that they affembled together by their mutuaļ confent to compofe and frame it; Now that the Apoftles did not so, neither could the Creed in any manner or way be formed by them, I fhall in the enfuing part of this Chapter demonftrate, craving the Readers leave to take it for granted till I come thither, and his permiffion to difmifs this Expofition of the Word upon that account, as groundlefs and unfatisfactory.

The fecond Signification of this word Symbolum, is fetched from Mili

tary

tary Affairs, where it is used to denote
thofe Marks, Signs, Watch-words, and
the like, whereby the Soldiers of an Ar-
my distinguished and knew each other:
In like manner, fay fome, by this Creed
the true Soldiers of Jefus Chrift were
differenced from all others, and difcer-
ned from them, who were only falfe
and hypocritical Pretenders;
which opinion Maximus Taurinenfis
feems to incline, who
terms the Symbol, the
Sign by which Believers
are feparated from Un-
believers and Ruffinus
more largely writes
That the Greek word

Σύμβολον may

be rendred in Latin by Indicium; which Word fignifies a Sign, or a mark of Diflinction,and was applied to the Creed, because at that time, as it is related St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles,

unto

• Symbolum cujus Signaculo

fideles ab infidelibus fecernuntur.

Homil. in Symb. p. 240.

Symbolum Græcè indicium
dici poteft
indicium au-
tem vel fignum iccirco dicitur :
quia illo tempore ficut & Pau-
lus Apoftolus dicit, & in Actis
Apoftolorum refertur, multi ex
circumcifis Judæis fimulabant fe
effe Apoftolos Chrifti, & lucri ali-
cujus yel ventris gratia ad prædi-

candum proficifcebantur, nomi-
nantes quidem Chriftum fed non
integris traditionum lineis nun-
cium pofuere, per quod agnofce-
tiantes. Iccircò ergo iftud indi-
retur is, qui Chriftum verè fe-
cundum Apoftolicas Regulas præ-

dicaret : denique & in bellis civi

Jibus hoc obfervari ferunt, quopiam & armorum habitus par, & fonus vocis idem, & mos unus eft, arque eadem inftituta bellandi, ne qua doli fubreptio fiat, Symbolá difcreta unufquifque dux fuis militaribus tradit, quæ Latinè vel indicia nominantur, ut fi fortè occurrerit quis de quo dubitetur, interrogatus Symbolum, prodat fi fit hoftis an focius. Expof. in Symb. Apoft. §. 2, p. 565.

2

many