)

whatever you could find in that Age would never do your Business. And yet even this incomparable St. Bernard, if you will believe ore of your own Doctors, (a) allows no Power to the Pope, that he does not allow likewife to other inferior Bishops; howsoever be allows the Pope the greatest share of it. And tho' it is granted the Pope was generally fubmitted to, and his fupream Power own'd in St. Bernard's Time, yet he makes heavy Complaint of the abufe of it. I will give you but one inftance out of divers that occur in his Writings. He tells Pope Eugenius, That (b) Abbots are exempted from the Furifdiction of their Bishops; Bishops from that of Arch-bishops; Arch-bishops from that of their Patriarchs or Primates. This he fays caus'd great Murmuring and Complaint of the Churches. (c) Adding, that by this means you manifeft that you have a plenitude of Power; but perhaps not fo of Justice. You do this because you can, but it is a Question however, whether you ought to do it. Befides that I have told you before, (d) that to feed the Flock is no more in St. Bernard's Notion of it, than to preach the Gospel; and that to do the Work of an Evangelift, is to fulfil the Paftor's Office.

R. C. Nevertheless you must acknowledge, that this great Saint has cut off all Dr. Barrow's Suppofitions at once, p. 26.

C. E. When you write next, be pleas'd to let us know how; for it does not at all appear at prefent, and a bare Affertion will not pafs for Proof, efpecially against an Author of Dr. Barrow's

(a) Bernardus nullam poteftatem ponit in Papâ, quam non ponit in Prælatis inferioribus: licet in Papâ ponat fummam. Joan. de Parifiis, cap. 18. (b) De Confideratione, 1. 3. c. 4. (c) Sic factitando probatis poteftatis, fed juftitiæ fortè non poteftis, fed utrum & debetis, quæ(d) P. 37.

habere Plenitudinem
ita. Facitis hoc quia
tio eft, lbid.

Eminence,

Eminence, and when your Citations against him are of a late date.

R. C. The Vindicator objects the Words of S. Paul to the Elders of Ephefus, Act. 20. 28, that they must take care of all the Flock, and feed the Church of God: but this comes far fhort of the Mark.

C. E. But I am apt to fufpect you cannot fhew how. You argue indeed from the first Words, that they had a limited Jurifdiction, and fo were to take heed only to that part of the Flock, over which the Holy Ghost had made them Overfeers, or rather Bishops. But then you feem not to take Notice that the Vindicator's Argument was founded upon the laft Words, ποιμαίνειν τὴν ἐκκλησιών τὰ θεῖ ἦν περιεποιήσατο διὰ τὰ ἰδίο αιματΘ, to feed the Church of God, which he hath purchafed with his own Blood. And I would be glad to know what difference there is between this Commiffion, and that of feeding the Lambs and Sheep. Had thefe Words been spoken to St. Peter, they had no doubt been to all Intents and Purposes, as good a Foundation for an unlimited Supremacy, as those others are or can be. Hence therefore I argue; either thefe Words denote a limited or an unlimited Power and Jurifdiction. If an unlimited, here are then a great many other Supreams, befides St. Peter, which is no way pretended. If only a limited, then it will be impoffible to prove from the Words spoken to him, that his was not fo too.

SE C T. IV.

R. C.VE come next to our Saviour's Pro

mife, St. Mat. 16. 17, 18, 19. Jefus answered and faid unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Barjona; for Flesh and Blood bath not reveal'd it unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven. And 1 fay

H z

alfo

alfo unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church; and the Gates of Hell fhall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on Earth, fhall be bound in Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loofe on Earth, fhall be loofed in Heaven, p.27. C.E. And what ufe do you make of thefe Words? R. C. I fay little or nothing to the laft Verfe about the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven being given to St. Peter.

C. E. In truth I think you need not; for as it is faid to St. Peter here, I will giv thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind, &c. fo it is laid to the Apoftles in general, in the next Chapter but one, Verily I fay unto you, whatfoever ye, not St. Peter alone, but ye, or any of you, whatsoever Be shall bind on Earth, fhall be bound in Heaven; and whatfoever e fhall loofe on Earth, fhall be loofed in Heaven; Ch. 18. 18. Where you fee the very fame Power granted to them all, that before was promis'd to St. Peter: and again, S.Jo. 20. 21, 22, 22. our Lord fent them all forth with a full Commiffion for the Government of his Church, even fuch as he himself had receiv'd from the Father. Jefus faid unto them again, Peace be unto you; as my Father hath sent me, even fo fend I you. And when he had faid this, he breathed on them, and faith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghoft. Whofoever Sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whofoever Sins ye retain, they are retain'd. As alfo St. Mat. 28. 19, 20. they are all equally empower'd to go and (a) make Difciples of all Nations, &c. with a Promife from our Saviour,that he would be with them and their Succeffors, as long as the World fhall laft. I am with you alway,even unto the end of theWorld, Amen. In all which places the Power promis'd to St. Peter, is apparently confer'd, upon al the (a) Mandoaje.

other

other Apoftles, as well as him and by Confequence he can have no peculiar Superiority over the reft, by virtue of this Promife, as the learned Arch-bishop of Spalato obferv'd long fince, who thus argues in behalf of the reft of the Apostles.

If the (a) moft holy Roman Pontif,in Converfation with his moft beloved Prelates, all 'whom he defign'd to promote to the Dignity of Cardinals, fhould fy to fome one amongít them, I will make thee a Cardinal, but withal on another day fhould promife the fame to all the reft, and not long after fhould actually perform it; though he fhould in the first place name that fame Prelate, to whom he had first promis'd this mark of his Favour; who, I beseech you, would take upon him to conclude him made Lord and Prince of the others, with a fingular Jurifdiction over them all? I would ' indeed conclude this and no more, fays he, and justly might do it, that he was fingularly be'lov'd by the Pope above them all, or that his 'Merits were greater than theirs, or fomething of the like Nature. It was therefore one thing for Peter to have receiv'd the Keys firft, as St. Augustine grants, Tract. ult. in Joan. and another to have receiv'd them by himself alone, which no one grants. Nay I fhew, fays he, That nothing was promis'd to St. Peter, that was not promis'd likewife to the other Apoftles,and confer'd by Chrift himself upon them'. As he proceeds to prove from St. Cyprian, Origen, St. Jerome and feveral others; all whofe Authority I forbear to cite at prefent, but whofoever pleases may confult them at his Leifure.

R. C. I have given you the Words of the Pope's Legates, both in the Council of Ephefus, and that (a) De Rep. Eccl. 1. 1. c. 7.

of

of Chalcedon, declaring St. Peter to be the Pillar of Faith, and the Foundation of the Catholick Church,

.P.42, 43.

C. E. Nevertheless, I hope the Authority of fo many great unprejudiced Fathers, is preferable to the Sayings of a few of the Pope's own Creatures, pleading in behalf of their Mafter ; efpecially fince I have already fhewn St. Peter's being ftil'd the Pillar or Foundation of the Church to be no real Proof of any Supremacy in him; much lefs in his Succeffors at Rome. As for thefe, your own great Champion Bellarmin confeffes no lefs when he pleads, not that it is certain, but only (a) that it is not improbable that our Lord did apparently command, that Peter fhould to fix bis Seat at Rome, that the Bishop of Rome fhould abfolutely fucceed him. But howsoever this be, fays he, the reafon of that Succeffion is not from the first Inftitution of the Pontificate, which we read of in the Gospel. But now if you pleafe, we will return to the 17th and 18th Verfes, about St. Peter's being the Rock on which the Church was to be built.

R. C. With all my Heart. Only let me tell you, that one of thefe Legates cuts off all Dr. Barrow's Suppofitions at one fingle Blow, p. 42.

C. E. Poor Dr. Barrow! what hard Fortune it is for his learned Treatife, that has stood impreg nable for near thefe fourty Years, to be now fo eafily thrown down! p. 26. His Suppofitions were cut off all at once, and now again they are in like manner cut off at one fingle Blow. This is quick Work, but the loudeft Talkers are not always the best Men at their Weapons. A Truth of which you have given us here a fufficient inftance,

(a) Non eft improbabile Dominum etiam apertè juffiffe, ut fedem fuam Petrus ita figeret Romæ, ut Romanus Epifcopus abfolutè ei fuccederet, fed quicquid de hoc fit, faltem eft ratio Succeffionis non ex primâ inftitutione Pontificatus, quæ in Evangelio legitur. De Rom. Pont. 1. 2. c. 12.

you