neither doth God put into it any supernatural inherent virtue." And, as I think, we thus far avouch no more than they themselves confess to be very true.

If any thing displease them, it is because we add to these promises another assertion; that, with the outward sign, God joineth his Holy Spirit; and so the whole instrument of God bringeth that to pass, whereunto the baser and meaner part could not extend. As for operations through the motion of signs, they are dark, intricate, and obscure; perhaps possible, howbeit, not proved either true or likely, by alleging, Luke that the touch of our Saviour's garment restored health, clay John sight, when he applied it. Although ten thousand such exix. amples should be brought, they overthrow not this one prin

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ciple; that, where the instrument is without inherent, the effect must necessarily proceed from the only agent's adherent power.

It passeth a man's conceit how water should be carried into the soul with any force of Divine motion, or grace proceed but merely from the influence of God's Spirit. Notwithstanding, if God himself teach his church in this case to beBel.de Sacr. lieve that which he hath not given us capacity to comprehend, in Gen. 1. ii. how incredible soever it may seem, yet our wits should sub

c. 1.

mit themselves, and reason give place unto faith therein. But they yield it to be no question of faith, how grace doth proceed from sacraments; if in general they be acknowledged true instrumental causes, by the ministry whereof men receive Divine grace. And that they which impute grace to the only operation of God himself, concurring with the external sign, do no less acknowledge the true efficacy of the sacrament, than they that ascribe the same to the quality of the sign applied, or to the motion of God applying, and so far carrying it, till grace be not created, but extracted, out of the natural possibility of the soul. Nevertheless, this last philosophical imagination (if I may call it philosophical, which useth the terms, but overthroweth the rules of philosophy, and hath no article of faith to support it), but whosoever it be, they follow it in a manner all; they cast off the first opinion, wherein is most perspicuity and strongest evidence of certain truth.

a Dicimus gratiam non creari a Deo, sed produci ex aptitudine et potentia naturali animæ, sicut cætera omnia quæ producuntur in subjectis talibus, quæ sunt apta nata ad suscipiendum accidentia. Allen. de Sacr. in Gen. c. 37.

The council of Florence and Trent defining, that sacraments contain and confer grace, the sense whereof (if it liked them) might so easily conform itself with the same opinion which they drew without any just cause, quite and clean the other way, making grace the issue of bare words, in such sacraments as they have framed destitute of any visible element, and holding it the offspring as well of elements as of words in those sacraments where both are; but in no sacrament acknowledging grace to be the fruit of the Holy Ghost working with the outward sign, and not by it, in such sort as Thomas Tho. de Vehimself teacheth; that the apostle's imposition of hands rit. q. 27. art. 3. resp. caused not the coming of the Holy Ghost, which notwith- ad. 16. Acts standing was bestowed together with the exercise of that ceremony; yea, by it (saith the evangelist), to wit, as by a mean which came between the true agent and the effect, but not otherwise.

Many of the ancient fathers, presupposing that the faithful before Christ had not, till the time of his coming, that perfect life and salvation which they looked for and we possess, thought likewise their sacraments to be but prefigurations of that which ours in present do exhibit. For which cause the Florentine council, comparing the one with the other, saith, "That the old did only shadow grace, which was afterward to be given through the passion of Jesus Christ." But the after-wit of latter days hath found out another more exquisite distinction, that evangelical sacraments are causes to effect grace, through motions of signs legal, according to the same signification and sense wherein evangelical sacraments are held by us to be God's instruments for that purpose. For howsoever Bellarmine hath shrunk up the Lutherans' sinews, and cut off our doctrine by the skirts; "Allen, although

a Quod ad circumcisionem sequebatur remissio, fiebat ratione rei adjunctæ et ratione pacti divini, eodem plane modo quo non solum hæretici, sed etiam aliquot vetustiores Scholastici voluerunt nova sacramenta conferre gratiam. Allen. de Sacr. in gen. c. 39. Bonaventura, Scotus, Durandus, Ricardus, Occamus, Marsilius, Gabriel,-volunt solum Deum producere gratiam ad præsentiam Sacramentorum. Bellarm. de Sacr. in gen. lib. ii. c. 11. Puto longe probatiorem et tutiorem sententiam quæ dat sacramentis veram efficientiam. Primo quia doctores passim docent, sacramenta non agere nisi prius a Deo virtutem seu benedictionem seu sanctificationem accipiant, et referunt effectum Sacramentorum, ad omnipotentiam Dei et conferunt cum veris causis efficientibus. Secundo, quia non esset differentia inter modum agendi sacramentorum, et signorum magicorum. Tertio, quia tunc non esset homo Dei minister in ipsa actione sacramenti, sed homo præberet signum actione sua, et Deus sua actione visa eo signo infunderet gratiam, ut cum unus ostendit syngrapham mercatori, et ille dat pecunias. At Scripturæ docent, quod Deus baptizat per hominem. Bellarm, lib. ii. cap. 1.

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he terms us heretics, according to the usual bitter venom of his first style, doth yet ingenuously confess, that the old schoolmen's doctrine and ours is one concerning sacramental efficacy, derived from God himself, assisting by promise those outward signs of elements and words, out of which their schoolmen of the newer mint are so desirous to hatch grace. Where God doth work and use these outward means wherein he neither findeth nor planteth force and aptness towards his intended purpose; such means are but signs to bring men to the consideration of his omnipotent power, which, without the use of things sensible, would not be marked.

At the time therefore when he giveth his heavenly grace, he applieth, by the hands of his ministers, that which betokeneth the same; not only betokeneth, but, being also accompanied for ever with such power as doth truly work, is in that respect termed God's instrument, a true efficient cause of grace; a cause not in itself, but only by connexion of that which is in itself a cause, namely, God's own strength and power. Sacraments, that is to say, the outward signs in sacraments, work nothing till they be blessed and sanctified by God.

But what is God's heavenly benediction and sanctification, saving only the association of his Spirit? Shall we say that sacraments are like magical signs, if thus they have their effect? Is it magic for God to manifest by things sensible what he doth, and to do by his most glorious Spirit really what he manifesteth in his sacraments? The delivery and administration whereof remaineth in the hands of mortal men, by whom, as by personal instruments, God doth apply signs, and with signs inseparably join his Spirit, and through the power of his Spirit work grace. The first is by way of concomitance and consequence to deliver the rest also that either accompany or ensue.

It is not here, as in cases of mutual commerce, where divers persons have divers acts to be performed in their own behalf; a creditor to shew his bill, and a debtor to pay his money. But God and man do here meet in one action upon a third, in whom, as it is the work of God to create grace, so it is his work by the hand of the ministry to apply a sign which should betoken, and his work to annex that Spirit which shall effect it. The action therefore is but one, God

the author thereof, and man a co-partner, by him assigned to work for, with, and under him. God the giver of grace by the outward ministry of man, so far forth as he authorizeth man to apply the sacraments of grace in the soul, which he alone worketh, without either instrument or co-agent.

Whereas therefore with us the remission of sin is ascribed unto God, as a thing which proceedeth from him only, and presently followeth upon the virtue of true repentance appearing in man: that which we attribute to the virtue, they do not only impute to the sacrament of repentance; but, having made repentance a sacrament, and thinking of sacraments as they do, they are enforced to make the ministry of the priest, and their absolution, a cause of that which the sole omnipotency of God worketh.

Sess. 14.

c. 4.

Penit. 1. ii.

0.13.

And yet, for my own part, I am not able well to conceive how their doctrine, that human absolution is really a cause out of which our deliverance from sin doth ensue, can cleave with the council of Trent, defining, “That contrition perfected Cono. Trid. with charity, doth at all times itself reconcile offenders to God, before they come to receive actually the sacrament of penance. How can it stand with those discourses of the learned rabbies, which grant, "That whosoever turneth unto Bellarm. de God with his whole heart, hath immediately his sins taken away; That if a man be truly converted, his pardon can neither be denied nor delayed?" it doth not stay for the priest's absolution, but presently followeth: "Surely if every contrite sinner, in whom there is charity, and a sincere conversion of heart, have remission of sins given him before he seek it at the priest's hands; if reconciliation to God be a present and immediate sequel upon every such conversion or change: it must of necessity follow, seeing no man can be a true penitent, or contrite, which doth not both love God, and sincerely abhor sin, that therefore they all before absolution attain forgiveness; whereunto notwithstanding absolution is pretended a cause so necessary, that sin without it, except in some rare extraordinary case, cannot possibly be remitted." Shall absolution be a cause producing and working that effect which is always brought forth without it, and had, before absolution be thought of? But when they which are thus beforehand pardoned of God, shall come to be also assoiled by the priest, I would know what force his absolution hath in this case. Are they able to say here, that the priest doth

remit any thing? Yet, when any of ours ascribeth the work of remission to God, and interpreteth the priest's sentence to be but a solemn declaration of that which God himself hath already performed, they scorn at it; they urge against it, that if this were true, our Saviour Christ should rather have said, "What is loosed in heaven, ye shall loose on earth," than as he doth, "Whatsoever ye loose on earth, shall in heaven be loosed." As if he were to learn of us how to place his words, and not we to crave rather of him a sound and right understanding, lest to his dishonour and our own hurt we misexpound them. It sufficeth, I think, both against their constructions, to have proved that they ground an untruth on his speech; and, in behalf of our own, that his words, without any such transposition, do very well admit the sense we give them; which is, that he taketh to himself the lawful proceedings of authority in his name, and that the act of spiritual authority in this case, is by sentence to acquit or pronounce them free from sin whom they judge to be sincerely and truly penitent; which interpretation they themselves do acknowledge, though not sufficient, yet very true."

Absolution, they say, declareth indeed; but this is not all, for it likewise maketh innocent; which addition being an untruth proved, our truth granted hath, I hope, sufficiency without it: and consequently our opinion therein neither to be challenged as untrue, nor as insufficient.

To rid themselves out of these briers, and to make remission of sins an effect of absolution, notwithstanding that which hitherto hath been said, they have two shifts. As, first, that in many penitents there is but attrition of heart, which attrition they define to be grief proceeding from fear without love; and to these, they say, absolution doth give that contrition whereby men are really purged from sin. Secondly, that even where contrition or inward repentance doth cleanse without absolution; the reason why it cometh so to pass is, because such contrites intend and desire absolution, though they have it not. Which two things granted: the

a Hæc expositio, ego te absolvo, id est, absolutum ostendo, partim quidem vera est, non tamen perfecta. Sacramenta quippe novæ legis non solum significant, sed efficiunt quod significant. Soto, sent. l. iv. dist. 14. q. 1. art. 3.

Attritio solum dicit dolorem propter pœnas inferri; dum quis accedit attritus per gratiam sacramentalem, fit contritus. Soto, sent. 4. dist. 14. q. 1. art. 1.

Dum accedit vere contritus propter Deum, illa etiam contritio non est contritio, nisi quatenus prius natura informetur gratia per sacramentum in voto. Soto, sent. 4. dist. 14. q. 1. art. 1.