Page:Delineation of Roman Catholicism.djvu/169

 CHAP. '�.] THE P'ATiERS. 161 following sentences have been excluded: "Prudence, and life, and Paety make the priest.""A wicked mind cannot be justified." "He t keeps not the commandments does not believe rightly." "Only the holy Trinity is properly incorporeal." "A spiritual prayer hel not an tinclean mind." Such precepts and sentiments must, in the esti- mation of these censors, be considered dangerous and heretical; and therefore, though the fathers teach them, nevertheless, "dbanttr," tl nust be erased. In the preface of Augustine, published at Venice, there are the fol- lowing words: "In quo prater locorum multorum restitutionera 8ecun- dum collationera veterum exemplarlure, curavimus removeri ilia omnm qua fidelium me,res ha,'retica pravitate possent inficere, nut a Catholici orthodoxi fide deviate." "In which, besides the restitution of many places, by a collation of the ancient copies, we have taken care that sH those things which could affect the minds of the faithful with here- - tical pravity, or would cause them to deviate from the Catholic ortho- dox faith, be taken away." The following words are removed from the text and index of Cyril of Alexandria: "Habitat Jesus per fidera in cordibus nostris." "Jesus dwells by faith in our hearts." These words are also used by St. Paul, (Eph. iii, 17,) and Cyril quotes them by a s/cut scr/ptum it is an, itten. In' Epiphaniu8* the words creaturam non adorare, not to ador tAe creature, are erased from his text, which is, saneta Dei ecole, via ereurn- ram non adorat. That they purged the indices of the fathers' works is notorious; so much so that they endeavoured to justify themselves in doing so. But time would fail to point out the erasures and interpolat,!ons of the Church of Rome on the writings of the ancient fathers. those who would desire to examine this subject with minuteness must consult fhose authors who have treated in form on this subject.t The foregoing instances, instead of the many which might be ad- duced, will show how the Church of Rome has corrupted the witnesses and records of antiquity, that her errors and novelties might not be detected and reproved. Now if the fathers were not against theni why should they use these arts ? Their own expurgatory indices prove againsg them that they do corrupt the writings of the ancient fathers, and that their cause stands in need of such unworthy means in order to support it. If this be the way to make men speak alike, it is no wonder if they boast of unity. But the providence of God, which overrules all events, hath, by his almighty power, divided them in spite of all their arts and machhlations. It is, however, now more difficult to tell when and how their errors began, since they have undertaken to cut out the tongues of those who could give ns the most accurate information. They have done this to their own canon law itseft, and the old glosses, in which there were many traces of the ancient and apostolical doctrine, over which the ravages of ancient heretics and interested persons had not quite prevailed. This is largely to be seen in the very censures themselves upon the glosses, published by the command of Pope Pius V., 1580. Aounanimous consent of fathers, VOL. I.---11

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