thereto he is always ready to appeal; but he means the very beginnings of the Chriftian Church, when things were in fieri, and matters were not yet brought to what they ought to be, and were defigned to be: And to bring back a formed fettled Church to fuch a ftate, were the fame thing, as to reduce a Man, at his compleat and full growth, tó the condition of an Infant or Embryo, which indeed would be to deftroy him: And therefore the Archbishop had a great deal of Reafon to fay what he did; nor doth his Saying give the leaft countenance to Schifm. Nor will Archbishop Land do him any better fervice. I cannot imagine how all on the fudden he should become your Friend, whom your moderate Brethren, the pious Schifmaticks of his time, did judge fo great and dangerous an Enefafe, till he

my, that they thought not themgerous an Ene

was made a Sacrifice to their implacable Malice. As for what he faith concerning a plain honeft Donatift, bolding the Foundation, and not knowing his Schifm, but mifled by the Current of the Time; yet not fupinely, but with diligence to know the Truth; not pertinaciously or uncharitably, not factiously, but with fincere endeavours of Union of all Chriftians in Truth and Peace, (p. 73.) This (I fay) none of us will difown; for we are as willing as that bleffed Martyr to diftinguifh between the Deceivers, and the Deceived; between the fimply Erroneous, and fierce Propagators of Errors. But then if fuch an one be faved, it is not for being a Schifmatick, much lefs for being Seditious, Factious, and caufing Disturbance and Troubles where-ever they' come but it is for holding the Foundation, for behaving himself like a meek and quiet Chriftian; for his preparation of Mind to embrace the Truth, when made appear to him, and for his fincere endeavours to come to the knowledge of it. He would not be a Schifmatick, if he understood the

miftake

miftake; it is pity fuch a one fhould be loft, who doth what he can to get into the right way: For he may be reckoned among the invincibly Ignorant and fuch an one, a learned and moderate Romanift will not condemn; though they are generally fo uncharitable, as to pafs Sentence of Dammation upon all whatsoever, who are not of their Communion. God hath obliged us to the ordinary Means and ftanding Rules, in the ufe of which alone we have fure hope of finding Mercy; but he hath not fo ty'd up himself, but that he may have a referve of uncovenanted and extraordinary Mercies for fuch, who hold the Faith, and foberly and fincerely fearch after Truth, but by the Iniquity of the Times, or being unfortunately placed, are mifled in the fimplicity of their Souls. But what is this to those, who fhut their Eyes against the Truth? who account you their Enemy, because you tell them the Truth? who are fo bloodyminded in their way, as to think it doing God' good fervice to kill thofe who are not of their way, and call Murther or Rapine the carrying on the Work of the Lord? This hath been their Trade: And though at prefent the common Cry is, Moderation, Moderation; yet it is meer Scaffolding and covering their defign, that they may once more get it into their power to be at their old Trade again. I cannot lay what Mercy they may find, who are purely deceived; but this I am fure of, that it were much better for them, if they were not fo: And therefore this can be no warrant for any fort of Schifm, much lefs any encouragement to boyfterous and outragious Schif maticks.

(4.) From his General, we now come to his Particular Anfwer: And it is well he call'd it fo; for they look fo like one and the fame, that if he had not told it me, I fhould fcarce have found out the

difference..

difference. I fhall pass by at prefent thofe Fathers, who (as he faith) fpeak only in General, and content my felf with thefe four, which he freely gives up to us, viz. Cyprian, Auguftine, Optatus, and Chryfoftom. Thefe are no contemptible Men, but fuch whofe Authority will at any time go as far as Mr. Tallents's, unlefs he can either bring better Authority, or good Reafon to invalidate it. I need not trouble the Reader with what he cites from them in relation to this Opinion, because he acknowledgeth it to be on our fide; and if there had been any need of it, I think that more full and ample Teftimonies might have been cited from them. Our only bufinefs then here is to enquire what he brings against their Authority. And firft he fets up St. Auguftine against St. Cyprian, who in anfwer to Crefconius, the Donatift alledging the Authority of St. Cyprian's Epiftle to Jubajanus, fays thus: I am not bound by the Authority of that Epiftle, because I look not on Cyprian's Epiftles as Canonical Writings, but judge them by the Canonical; and what in them agrees with the Authority of the divine Scriptures, I receive to his praife; and what agrees not with it, by his good leave, I rejet, (p. 75.) Very good. St. Auguftine hath given the fame advice as to his own Writings; and thus far you might have produced him against himself, if there had been occafion. But his Teftimony is brought in here very impertinently: For St. Auguftine doth not reject St. Cyprian's Judgment in the prefent Cafe, but receives it to his praife; and by your own Confeffion they are agreed in this matter: And if you please to look into them again, you will find, that they both found their Opinion upon the Authority of the divine Scriptures. St. Auguftine is therefore fo far from fetting afide St. Cyprian's Authority in this cafe, that he rather confirms it.

(5.) But

(5.) But that he might effectually do St. Cyprian's work, who is the great Eye-fore and Grievance of all Schifmaticks, he plainly tells you, That Cyprian is grofly mistaken, in thinking Schifmaticks were out of the Church; bereupon be concluded, they had no Grace, no Charity, nor could be faved, and that Baptifm adminiftred by them was null. And then he tells us fomewhat more than is true of Pope Stephen's doings, as I have already proved; and talks of Papifts receiving Proteftants, and Proteftants Papifts, without Rebaptization; to which is added a large Citation from Mr. Hooker against the Opinion of the African Bishops, (p. 76 and 77.) The greateft part of this is to little or no purpose: For the the Cafe of Rebaptization doth not lie before us; nor is it any part of our Controverfie, that I know of; it will be time enough to answer that when it is charg'd upon us. But whether Schifmaticks be in or out of the Church, is, I confefs, a very material Queftion: Because, if they appear to be out of the Church, it will go a great way towards ending the prefent difpute; for then their Cafe will be as bad, if not worse, than Murtherers or Adulterers, who, unless actually excluded, are yet under the Power and Influence of the means of Grace, and of the visible Body. If the Notion of Schifm be taken in its utmost latitude, then it may fometimes be faid, that there are Schifms in the Church; as when Men, who are of the Communion, out of a Spirit of Pride, Peevishness and Contention, raise Parties and Factions among themfelves, and thereby imbitter each other's Spirits, and caufe continual Quarrels and Troubles: And thefe Divifions have a great tendency towards, and aptitude to beget that which is properly called Schifm; but till it come to that, if you will call fuch Schifmaticks, they are in the Church. But in St. Cyprian's Notion and Senfe of Schifm, Schifmaticks

L

ticks are out of the Church; and if Mr. Tallents had well confidered what that holy Father meant by Schifm, he (I hope) would not have been fo rafh and rude as to fay, that he was grofly mistaken. For St. Cyprian speaks of thofe, who feparated from the true Communion, and fet up oppofite Communions. Now no Man can cut himself off from the true Communion, and ftill continue a Member of the Church: Because he cannot be a Member but by being admitted into that Communion, nor continue a Member longer than he remains of it. Now there are two ways whereby a Man may cease to be a Member of the Church, either by his own A&, or by the Act of the Church; by his own Act, when he breaks off from the true Communion, and renounceth the Body; by the A&t of the Church, when by an authoritative juft Sentence he is caft out of the Church: Either of these seem to work the fame effect as to difmembring. But if a Man's Cafe be worfe, or more defperate in one of thefe Cafes than the other, it is certainly when it is done by a Man's own Act, and not the Church's; as it is much better for a Man to fuffer Death, whether rightfully or wrongfully, by the hand of another, than for him to cut his own Throat. He that by his own Act, in feparating from the Church, difmembers himfelf, in the Language of St. Paul, is faid to be autonalang, Self-condemned, (Tit. 3. 11.) Not that he with his own Mouth formally pronounceth the fentence of Condemnation, either of himself,his Do&rines, or his Practices; but that, whether he owns it or not, his own Act doth unavoidably condemn him; by departing, he hath cut off himself, and is no longer a Member: There needs no Sentence of the Church to pafs upon him, he hath done his own Work. On the other hand, when this is done by the Act of the Church, then in the Language of the fame Apoftle, it is called a delivering to Satan,