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learned Men, to have been written after he inclined to Montanifm, as far as ever he feems to have done it, you will hardly fay, that after that, no regard was to be had to any thing he wrote. And if you do not condemn all he wrote after that, it will be incumbent upon you to fhew why you conceive no regard is to be Had to this. 2. Because you cannot, and accordingly do not pretend to prove, that any good Author, before this time, ever was of your Side of this Question; and by Confequence, Tertullian's Senfe of the Promife made to S. Peter, feems to have been then; and before, the general Senfe of the Church concerning it. Confült the two Clements, S. Barnabas, Hermas, Irenæus, S. Ignatius, Polycarp, Juftin Martyr, and their contemporary Writers; and I am much mistaken, if you find in them any fuch exalted Teftimonies in behalf of S.Peter, as came in afterwards, though very often not in fuch a Senfe as thofe of your Party ftudy to fix upon them; ás I have already fhewn. And here Tertullian, whom for thefe Reafons I must infift upon, is flatly against you. To the fame purpofe fpeaks likewife Gregory Nazianzen, whofe words you here produce, but wifely forbear to English them. Ὁ μὲν πέτρα καλείται, καὶ τῆς θεμελίες τῆς Ἐκκλησίας περ πίςεται, or as it is in my Book πιςεύεται. One is called the Rock, and has the Foundations of the Church committed to him; that is to fay, that he fhould be the firft Layer of them; for I am sure you can give no other fo natural Interpretation of the Phrafe. In like manner, as S. Auguftin gives this for a Reafon of S. Peter's being called á Rock (b) because he first laid the Foundations of Faith to the Nations. Petra enim dicitur, eò quod primus nationibus fidei fundamenta pofuerit.

(a) In fefto Cathedra Sti Petri. Serm, 2. K

R. C:

R. C. What fay you to the Vindicator's Inference (a) from that paffage of S. Jerom. That bere bis Fellow Apostles have also the fame Name, because they were the Lights of the World? This I have noted, p. 41. to be an Inference that foarce can be parallelled.

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C. E. If this were apparent of it felf, there would not have needed any art to difguife the matter, but you might have given us the Father's whole Period, and the Vindicator's own words. Which fince you was not pleased to do, I hope you will pardon me, if I do it for you: The Father's words are thefe, Sicut ipfe lumen Apo• ftolis donavit, & As he gave light to the Apoftles, that they might be called the Light of the World: and they received other Appellations from him: So alfo to Simon, who believed in Chrift the Rock, he gave the Name of Peter. And according to the Metaphor of a Rock, it is rightly faid to him, I will build my Church upon Thee. Agreeably whereto the Vindicator argues thus; Here the words you refer to denote S. Peter, not his Faith or Profeffion, to be the Rock on which the Church was to be built. But withal you fee, that it was only in common with his Fellow Apofiles, to whom the Lord gave the Priviledge of being Lights to the World, whereby to conduct them to his Church and Religion.". As much as to fay, As our Lord gave the other Apoftles the Name of Lights, because they were to enlighten the World with their Doctrine; fo, that is, in like manner, or for the fame reafon, he called Peter a Rock, and declared, that upon him the Church fhould be built, namely, because he was to be the first amongst them, that

(a) Cafe truly stated, p. 156

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fhould thus enlighten both Jews and Gentiles. And if you can discover any falfe Argumentation in this, you may pleafe to quarrel with S. Jerom for it, rather than the Vindicator, who only acquaints us with the whole paffage of the Father, and his Design and Intent in it. Which you found it not for your purpose to do

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R. C.

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SECTV.

N the next Section it is obferved, that the Vindicator, p. 49. objects, Scotus, Cordubenfis, Cajetan, and Banñez. But fince he did not think their words worth his quoting, I do not think them worth my answering: p. 43:

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C. E. You may pleafe to remember, that the Vindicator referred you for the Senfe of these Authors, to a learned Author of your own, who, whatever he is in French, is, you know, a Catholick in English, Mr. Du Pin, in his Difcourfe de Antiq. Eccl. Difcipl. Differt. 4. P. 334. Who there tells us, the Doctrine of thefe Men was, that The Epifcopate of the City and the World met in one only by accident, not by any Divine Right, or Command of Chrift; fo as that the Bishop of Rome is not by a Divine Right S. Peter's Succeffor; but the Bifhop of Paris, or any other, might be chofen Succeffor of S. Peter" And it is worth your while to try, if you can fhew they have not faid it, becaufe, till that be done, they ftand as Witneffes on our Side.

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R. C. But what fay you to S. Cyprian?

C. E. From p. 49. you skip back to p. 13. and fay, he fhuffles off an Authority of S. Cyprian, with the Expofition of Rigaltins, an eminent Commentator, he fays, of our Commu

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nion And tell me, I pray, what fhuffling is there in this? Does he not quote him right? ..R. C. I do not deny that. But I fay Since he likes Rigaltius fo well, he may take him." For he writes like an eminent Calvinist in mafquerade. Ibid.

C. E. This is only because he does not concur with you. But we have not his Opinion only, but of two of the Sorbon Doctors, A. de Breda, and M. Grandin, who both teftify their approbation of his Obfervations and Notes on S. Cyprian, as alfo did the fame De Breda, and Mr. Flavigny, another Brother of the Sorbon, for his Notes upon Tertullian. And no reafon at all appears, why thefe may not be as good, or indeed better Judges of the Doctrines of your Church, than Mr. H. or any other fuch private Author. But it may be you will give all thefe up too, as well as Rigaltius, for Calvinists in maf querade, fince they have ventured to recommend á Commentator that is not to your liking.

R. C. Mr. L. fays, Nothing that was faid of S. Peter, is fo exprefs for an univerfal Supremacy, as what S. Paul faid of himself, 2 Cor. xi. 28. and I Cor. vii. 17. p. 44'. but this I have told you, any one might have faid as well as S. Paul; namely, that The Care of all the Churches lies upon me, and fo ordain 1 in all Churches.

C. E. But Mr. L's Enquiry was not whether any other of the Apoftles might have faid this, but whether it was not more exprefs for a Supremacy, than any thing that had been faid of St. Peter; and this you do not any way difprove. You fay indeed it is fitting, that as every one of the Apoftles had Jurifdiction over all Chriftians, excepting bis Fellow Apostles, fo one of them should have Furifdiction over the reft; which I utterly deny, and you do not offer at the leaft Proof of it. So that

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there was no need for St. Paul to fay, or the Scripture, for him, that he was the Man, fince you only preTume, but do not prove any one to be fo. V

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add, that had this been faid of St. Peter, it might have prov'd his Apostleship, but not his Supremacy. 'However, it does not follow from hence that it would not have prov'd his Supremacy, as well as either Upon this Rack, &c.or Feed my Sheep. And both (a) Mr. L. and (b) the Vindicator have urg'd, that had any thing of this nature been faid of St. Peter, it would have been made use of towards proving his univerfal Supremacy, and even more than the whole New Teftament befides; which is fo undeniable, that you do not pretend to make any Reply to it. You make an Excurfion indeed, about the Sovereign Power of Princes, in which were you fuppos'd for the prefent to be in the right, you would be never the nearer proving St. Peter to have had a Supremacy over the reft of the Apoftles, which was the Point to have been maintain'd, had you known how to do it.

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"R. C. The Vindicator and Dr. Barrow before him, cry out amain that God's Order is inverted, if St. John after St. Peter's Death was fubject to a Difciple, p. 45. C. E. And how do you difprove either of them?

R. C. I do not go about it, but only tell them by way of Reproach, if both St. John, and all the other Apostles must truckle (in the Government of the Church) to a Sheep of their own Flock [meaning a Chriftian Prince there is no Disorder in the Cafe.

C. E. Then it feems you make no Difference betwixt the Obedience due to a Chriftian Prince, and that unlimited Subjection which the Roman Pontiff requires. What Obedience our Church teaches to Princes, I have fhewn at the beginning of this Tract; and for that Reafon, as well as (4) Cafe ftated, p. 5. (b) Cafe truly flated, p. 30.

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