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5. That Christ was promised to the fathers, who received the law, to the end, that knowing their sin by the law, and their unrighteousness and insufficiency, they might desire the coming of Christ, that he might make satisfaction for their sins, and accomplish the law by himself.

6. That Christ was born at the time appointed by God his Father; at the time when all iniquity did abound, and not for the sake of our good works. For all were sinners: But that he might show us grace and mercy, as he was true.

7. That Christ is our life, and truth, and peace, and righteousness: our shepherd and advocate; our sacrifice and priest, who died for the salvation of all those who should believe, and rose again for our justification:

8. In like manner we firmly believe, that there is no other mediator and advocate with God the Father, besides Jesus Christ; as to the Virgin Mary, she was holy, humble, and full of grace. Thus do we believe concerning all the other saints; that they wait in heaven, for the resurrection of their bodies at the day of judgment.

9. We do likewise believe, that after this life, there are but two places, the one for those that are saved, the other for the damned, which we call paradise and hell; altogether denying that imaginary purgatory of antichrist, invented against the truth."

10. Moreover we have always looked upon all human inventions, as an unspeakable abomination before God: as the feasts and vigils of saints; and the water called holy water; and the abstaining upon certain days from flesh, and such like things, and chiefly the masses.. 11. We have in abomination all human inventions, as proceeding from antichrist; which stir up trouble, and are prejudicial to the liberty of the spirit.

12. We believe that the sacraments are signs of a holy thing, or visible forms of an invisible grace; holding it good and necessary, that the faithful do sometimes make use of the said signs or visible forms, when it can be done, Notwithstanding, we do believe and hold that the said faithful may be saved, though they do not receive the aforesaid signs, when they have neither place nor opportunity of so doing.

13. We do acknowledge no other sacraments, besides Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

14. We honour the secular powers, with subjection, obedience, promptitude, and payment,

II. WALDENSIAN CONFESSION OF FAITH,2

1. We believe that there is but one God, who is a spirit, creator of all things, Father of all, who is above all, by all, and in us all, whom we must worship in spirit and truth; upon whom alone we wait, and to whom we give the glory of our life, food, raiment, health,

2 This confession of faith is extracted from "Mondes Francois," by Charles du Moulin; p. 65.

sickness, prosperity and adversity; we love him as the author of all goodness, we fear him as the knower and searcher of hearts.

2. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son and Image of the Father; that in him doth all fulness of the Godhead dwell, by whom we know the Father; who is our mediator and advocate, and there is no other name under heaven given unto men, whereby they may be saved in whose name alone we invocate the Father, and use no other prayers than those contained in the holy scripture, or agreeable thereto in substance.

3. We believe that the Holy Ghost is our comforter, proceeding from the Father, and from the Son: by whose inspiration we make prayers, being renewed by him, who formeth all good works within us, and by him we have knowledge of all truth.

4. We believe that there is one Holy Church, which is the congregation of all the elect and faithful, which were from the beginning of the world, and shall be to the end thereof-of which our Lord Jesus Christ is the head, which is governed by his word, and guided by the Holy Ghost. In which all good Christians ought to remain, for it prays for all incessantly, and the word thereof is agreeable to God, without which no one can be saved.

5. We hold that the ministers of the church ought to be unblameable, as well in life as doctrine. Else that they ought to be deposed from their function, and others substituted in their room; and that no person ought to presume to take that honour, but he who is called of God, as Aaron; feeding the flock of God, not for filthy lucre's sake, or as having superiority over the clergy; but as being an example to the flock, in word, in conversation, in charity, in faith, and in chastity.

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6. We confess that kings, princes, and governors, are ordained and established ministers of God, whom we must obey. For they bear the sword for the defence of the innocent, and the punishment of evil-doers; for that reason we are bound to honour and pay them tribute. which power and authority no man can exempt himself, as may appear from the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who refused not to pay tribute, not taking upon him any jurisdiction of temporal power.

7. We believe that in the sacrament of baptism, the water is the visible and external sign, which represents to us that which, by virtue of the invisible God so working, is within us: that is to say, the renovation of the spirit, and the mortification of our members in Jesus Christ; by which also we are received into the holy congregation of God's people, protesting and declaring before it our faith and change of life.

8. We hold that the sacrament of the table, or supper of the Lord Jesus Christ, is a holy commemoration and thanksgiving, for the benefits which we have received by his death and passion, which is to be received in faith and charity; examining ourselves, that so we may eat of that bread, and drink of that cup, as it is written in the holy scripture.

9. We confess that marriage is good and honourable, holy, and instituted of God, which ought to be forbidden to none, if there be no impediment by the word of God.

10. We acknowledge that those who fear God, seek to please him, and to do the good works which he hath prepared, that we may walk therein; which are charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, mildness, sobriety, and other works contained in the holy scripture.

11. We confess we must beware of false teachers, whose end is to

divert the people from the true worship of God, that they may rely upon creatures, putting their confidence in them; and also that they may desist from the good works which are contained in the holy scripture, to do those that are invented by men.

12. We hold the Old and New Testament for the rule of our life; and we agree to the general confession of faith, with the articles contained in the symbol of the Apostles.

CHAPTER XIII.

Athanasian Creed in the Ancient Vernacular Waldensian Language.

FORASMUCH as the pastors of the Waldenses taught their people the Athanasian creed in the Waldensian language, we give it from their books verbatim.

"Qualquequal vol esser fait salf devant totas cosas es de necessita tenir la fe Catholica, laqual sialcun non tenre entierament sensa dubi periré eternalment. Ma aquesta es la fe Catholica, que nos honran un Dio en Trinita et la Trinita en Unita, non confondent personnas, ni departent la substantia. Car autra es la personna del paire, et del filli, et del sanct_esperit. Lo Paire non crea, lo filli non crea, lo sanct esperit non crea. Lo paire non mesuriuol, lo filli non mesuriuol, lo sanct esperit non mesuriuol. Lo paire eternal, lo filli eternal, et lo sanct esperit eternal. Emperço non tres eternals, ma un Eternal; enaimi non tres mesuriols, et non crea. Semeillament lo paire tot poissant, lo filli tot poissant, et lo sanct esperit tot poissant, emperço non tres tot poissants, ma un tot poissant. Enaimi lo paire es Dio, lo filli Dio, lo sanct esperit Dio; emperço non tres Dios, ma un Dio. Enaimi lo paire es seignor, lo filli es seignor, lo sanct esperit seignor; emperço non tres Seignors, ma un Seignor. Ca enaimi nos sen costreit confessar par Christiana verita, una chascuna persona Dio o Seignor, enaimi par Catholica Religion, nos sen defendu dire esser tres Dios ni tres Signors. Lo filli es sol del paire, non faict, ni cosa, ma engenera; lo sanct esprit es del paire, et del filli, non faict, ni crea, ni engenera, ma procedent. Donc lo es un paire, non tres paires, un filli, non tres filli, un sanct esperit, non tres sanct esperits. En aquesta Trinita alcuna cosa non es premiera ni derniera, alcuna cosa major o menor, ma totas tres personas entre lor son ensem eternals, et eygals. Enaimi que per totas cosas coma esdict le sobre, lasia d'honorar la Trinita en Unita, et l'Unita en Trinita. Donc aquel que vol esser fait salf senta enaima de la Trinita. Ma a la salut eternal es necessari creyre fidelment l'encarnation del nostre Seignor Jesus Christ. Donc la fe dreita es que nos crean, et confessan que lo nostra Seignor Jesus Christ filli de Dio, es Dio et home. Et es Dio engendra avant li segle, de la substantia del paire, et es home na al segle de la substantia de la maire, essent perfect Dio et perfect home; d'anima rational, et d' humana carn, aigal del paire, second la divinita, et menor second l'humanita. Loqual iaciaço quel sia Dio et home, emperço lo es un Christ, et non dui, ma un, non per conversion de la divinita en carn ma propiament de la humanita en Dio, un totalment, non per confusion de la divinità en carn, ma propiament de la humanita en Dio: un totalment, non per confusion de substantia, ma per unita de personnas. Car enaima larma rational, et la carn, es un homme, enaima Dio et home es un Christ, loqual est passionna per la nostra salut, descende en li enfern, lo ters iorn, risuscite de li mort, et monti en li cel, et se sec a

la dextra de Dio lo paire omnipotent. Dequi es avenir jugear li vio, et li mort. A l'advenament delqual tuit an a resuscitar, cum li lor corps, et son a rendre raçon de li lor propi faict. Et aquilli que aurant faict ben, anaren en vita eterna, et aquilli que aurant faict mal anaran al fuoc eternal."

The faith of the Waldenses is sufficiently known by that which is contained in the pure and holy doctrines of their confessions above-mentioned: nevertheless, it is for the same, that they have been persecuted for the space of four hundred and fifty years; and still would be if they lived near those places where human inventions are preferred before the Word of God. For though Satan be confounded, and his kingdom dissipated by the brightness of the gospel, yet he ceaseth not to hold under the yoke of idolatry, those whose understandings he has darkened, and to keep them by violence under the tyranny of his laws; hiding that ignorance and error that men do naturally love, in those darknesses wherein they do take pleasure. But as it has not pleased the eternal God, that the faith of his servants and martyrs should be buried, so likewise it pleases him, that their constancy should be made manifest for our edification and example. And this is the reason why having showed in the first book, that the Waldenses believed what was necessary to salvation; I have thought good to publish in the second book, that which is come to my knowledge of their sufferings for righteousness' sake.

BOOK II.

HISTORY OF THE WALDENSES; CONTAINING THE GRIEVOUS PERSECUTIONS WHICH THEY SUFFERED FOR THEIR FAITH.

CHAPTER I.

By whom-wherefore-by what means—and at what time, the Waldenses were persecuted. THE Waldenses have had no worse enemies than the Popes, because, saith monk Reinerius, " I. Of all those that have risen up against the church of Rome, the Waldenses have been the most prejudicial and pernicious, forasmuch as they have opposed it for a long time. II. Because that sect is universal, for there is scarce any country where it hath not taken footing. III. Because all others beget in people a dread and horror of them by their blasphemies against God. But this on the contrary hath a great appearance of godliness, because they live righteously before men, and believe rightly of God in all things, and hold all the articles contained in the Creed, hating and reviling the church of Rome; and in this they are easily believed of the people.

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"The first lesson which the Waldenses taught those whom they drew to their sect is, that they inform them what manner of persons the disciples of Christ ought to be, by the words of the gospel and the apostles; saying, that those only are the successors of the apostles who imitate their life. Inferring thence, that the pope, the bishops, and clergy, who enjoy the riches of this world, and seek after them, do not follow the lives of the apostles, and therefore are not the true guides of the church; it having never been the design of our Lord Jesus Christ to commit his chaste and well-beloved spouse to those who would rather prostitute it by their wicked examples and works, than preserve it in the same purity in which they received it at the beginning, a virgin chaste and without spot." 2

Out of hatred, therefore, of the Waldenses, for the many things written by them against the luxury, avarice, pride, and errors introduced by the popes, they have persecuted them to death.

The means which they used to exterminate them, were their thunder

1 Reinerius of the Waldenses.

2 Reinerius, Cap. de studio pervertendi alios, et modo docendi, fol. 98.

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