"master's care with their own diligence and circumspection. He that observes how industrious they "were to resist all beginnings of Schism in every

Church, to heal all breaches, and to take away all' "occasions of division, to unite all hearts and re"concile all minds; How they taught people to' "detest this distemper as the bane of Christianity,'

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charging them to use the greatest caution against "it, to mark and avoid all those men, that inclined "that way, as persons of a contagious breath and "infectious society: What odious names they give "it, as Carnality, the work of the flesh, and of the "Devil: He, I say, that observes all this, cannot but "be apprehensive of the greatness of this sin. But "he that shall trace the sense of the Church a little farther, will find the Primitive Christians having it "in such detestation, that they thought it equal to "the most notorious Idolatry, Murder, and Sacri"ledge." This writer had deeply studied the sacred volume, and had caught the spirit of primitive tradition. Oh that the Parliament of 1558 had made the same salutary observations, and that your fellowcountrymen had as deeply felt their force!

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Samuel Parker, bishop of Oxford, expresses himself with a tone of confidence and triumph becoming this subject. "I will challenge all the "world to shew me any one thing more earnestly

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enjoyn'd and frequently recommended, than the "preservation of Unity among Christians, and then "if without an Unity of Government, no other could "be possibly preserv'd as our author (Thorndyke) "has proved from common sense and common

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experience, that must be the thing principally "commanded by all these injunctions.. And "thus our Saviour having instituted the Society of his

"Church and established Governors in it, when he enjoyns them to be careful to preserve Unity, no man 66 can be so dull as not to understand, that he thereby "requires them to make use of all means of obtain"ing it, but especially such as are necessary to its "preservation in all Societies. And therefore "whether this Unity of Government be enjoyned in 66 express words in Scripture, I will not concern "myself to enquire, because 'tis as clear there to all men of common sense, as if it were so enjoyn'd, ❝and that is enough."

Such is the language of the enlightened men of your Church, of the most renowned protestant thelogians, of the confessions of faith published at Geneva, in Switzerland, in France, in Scotland and in England; it is the language of the fathers whom I have cited above, and of the most ancient councils; in fine, it is the language of all apostolical tradition. What then is this great dogma so loudly proclaimed, both by those who have always supported it, and those also who have violated it? What strength must there be in its proofs, to make itself felt and known even in the bosom of schism and heresy, to have subdued its very enemies, and after the furious attacks so openly sustained from them, to have constrained them to pay homage to it, and by so doing, to place their principles and their conduct in so evident a contradiction as to be manifest to the eyes of the whole world! But in theory at least, and on the question of right, which is the point immediately in agitation, all parties are agreed; the differences

'Religion and Loyalty, by Samuel Parker, D.D. Archdeacon of Canterbury. Pages 255-6. Printed London 1684,-"See Appendix.

of communion disappear; Lutherans, Calvinists, English, Scotch, the Greek and Latin Churches, the faith of all Christian ages, the doctrine of the apostles, the pressing and frequently repeated injunctions of our divine legislator; all these, and even our feeble reason itself, unite in attesting the necessity of preserving unity in the Church and in belief, and agree in placing the dogma of unity at the head of the evangelical precepts, and schism at the head of all human prevarications.'

'If catholics taught that salvation might be attained out of the true and only Church of Christ, their enemies would not have failed to place them in manifest opposition to scripture, the fathers, the councils, to the reformers themselves, to the confessions of faith of the reformed of France, Germany, Switzerland, the Low-Countries, Scotland, England, &c. They would not have failed and assuredly with reason, to shew that of all christians they are the only ones who have the boldness to place salvation out of the boundaries fixed by the divine Legislator. But when they agree with all the protestant societies upon this article, is it not very strange that protestants fall furiously upon them for it as a crime ? and yet the journals, pamphlets, sermons and treatises, which swarm in England, Switzerland, and France, are unceasingly exciting against them the hatred of their fellow-countrymen, as if catholics alone restricted salvation to the true Church, and as if they did not hold this doctrine in common with the other christian societies. What are we to think of such conduct? Let it not be attributed either to base perfidiousness or to hatred; let us rather impute it to ignorance, a shameful and fatal stain, it is true, and yet necessarily inherent in an age become too indifferent to the concerns of religion to instruct itself, and too fond of talking, not to discourse upon it, as if it was thoroughly versed in the subject.

Errors do not constitute heresy ; but only that perversity which induces men to remain obstinately attached to them. Hence the expression of St. Augustine. "I may err, but I will never be a "heretic." (a) Catholics do not hesitate to join this great light of (a) Epist. CLXII.

After having endeavoured to lay before your eyes, at one view, the different proofs that establish

the Church in making a complete distinction between those who established a heresy, and who, afterwards being born in its bosom, have involuntarily imbibed error with their mother's milk. They regard the former as rebels to the divine authority of the Church; the latter as being without any bitterness against her and for the most part without obstinacy against her decrees of which they even know nothing. She believes that these latter, although they belong not to the body, yet belong to the soul of the Church. They think, with the same doctor, that the Church produces for itself children, both from her own womb, and from that of her servants, that is to say, from foreign communions. Generat per uterum suum et per uterum ancillarum suarum,(a) and that consequently heaven prepares elect from out of heretical societies, by the particular graces it is pleased to bestow. They cheerfully maintain moreover with the same Father, "that a person imbued with the opinion of "Photinus, and believing it to be the catholic faith ought not to be called a heretic, unless after being instructed he choose rather "to resist the catholic faith than to renounce the opinion he has "embraced."(b) In fine, they admit with St. Augustine, "that "we must not rank among heretics those who carefully seek after "the truth, and who are in a disposition to embrace it as soon as "discovered.(c)" According to these principles the learned bishop Challoner teaches that, "if error comes from invincible ignorance, "it excuses from the sin of heresy, provided that with sincerity "and without regard to worldly interest, a person be ready to "embrace the truth immediately it shall present itself to him."(d)

Catholics cheerfully adhere to this conclusion of the judicious and profound Nicole: "It is therefore true, according to all ca"tholic theologians, that there is a great number of living mem"bers and true children of the Church, in communions separated "from her; since there are so many infants, who always form a considerable part of them and since there might also be some among the adults, although she does not pay attention to it, "because she does not know them." (e) They maintain with the

(a) On baptism against the Donatists B. I. ch. X.-(b) Ibid.—(c) Epist. CLXII —(d) Foundation of the Christian Doctrine, page 9, 12th edition, London.---(e)On Unity, vol, I. ch. III.

this incontestable dogma, I intend, with the assistance of God, to develope, in the following letter, the immediate causes to be derived from it.

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skilful theologians of the University of Paris," that children of the "uninstructed partake neither of heresy nor of schism; that they are excused by their invincible ignorance of the state of things: ..... that they may, with the grace of God, lead a pure and "innocent life that God does not impute to them the errors to "which they are attached by an invincible ignorance; that they may thus belong to the soul of the Church with faith, hope, “and charity. (a)

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In fine, leaving to themselves certain morose and ill-informed minds, catholics love to repeat, with regard to the greater number of persons who live in schism and heresy, what Salvian formerly said of the Goths and Vandals brought over to Christianity by the Arians: "They are heretics, but without knowing it: they err, "but with perfect sincerity." Qualiter pro hoc falsa opinionis errore, in die judicii puniendi sunt, nullus potest scire, nisi solus judex.(b) Religion teaches catholics to judge the doctrines and forbids them to judge the persons of men. Of course therefore they maintain the principles and never allow themselves to condemn those who are out of their Church; they leave them to the judgment of God. He alone knows the bottom of the heart and the graces that he gives he alone can read the actual disposition of the souls that he calls to his tribunal.

This doctrine is conformable with the spirit of Christianity, and shews to greater advantage the extent of catholicity whilst it forbids us to mark out its precise boundaries. It also fully exculpates catholics from that imputation of enmity, and spirit of intolerance, which people are fond of lodging against them.