that Origen defcribes a Criminal as appearing before the whole Church or Congregation; and that Dionyfius of Alexandria fhould fay the like of Serapion, and that no one ever took any Notice of him, is fuch a fingular Way of proving, that all Perfons present fate with a Judicial Authority in the Church, as would make every individual Perfon (even Women or Children) a Magistrate, who in any Capacity were a proper Member of either Sacred or Civil Affemblies. The Force of fuch Arguing, (if there be any Force in it) has been at large confider'd upon fundry Occafions before,especially in the Second Chapter; and therefore I may leave it as I find it here.

All the rest upon this Head are only Quotations from S. Cyprian again, whom he * affirms to be more full in this Matter, (of the Judicial Power of the Laity in the Spiritual Court) than any he has named before. And who can help obferving here?

What a Paradox it is in this learned Author to bring S. Cyprian's Authority for a Popular Jurifdiction in the Church, when he had fo freely own'd but juft before, that Cyprian was of Origen's Opinion about the Power of the Keys? Both agreeing, that Primitive Bishops appropriated the Grant of them to themselves, and were very Orthodox in doing fo. From whence it must follow alfo, in the fecond place, that no Perfonal Condefcenfions in S. Cyprian's Practice (upon which the Enquirer's Arguments all along run) can a

mount

* Enq. p. 116. Eng. p. 114.

mount to any Proof in this Matter before us, unless we will make the Self-consistent Martyr not to believe and act alike; which is very hard indeed.

And yet, fince two or three Paffages in that eminent Father's Writings are offer'd to us (after this) with a peculiar Air of Plausibility in them, I'll fairly represent them, before I leave the Subject.

Firft,then, we are told of the greatDifficulties S. Cyprian had to win his People's Confent to the Abfolution of fome penitent Schifmaticks; and, 'tis true, he had a very affectionate Conflict with them in the Cafe; but for what? Was it to gain their Authoritative Vote as Fellow - Fudges with him, and without whofe Concurrence he could not do it? (as is here pretended.) Three or four Particulars in S. Cyprian's Relation of it fufficiently fhew the contrary. ft, He calls it their Patience in the Cafe, which he had fo much Trouble to perfuade them to, (as the Enquirer's Quotation, noted in the Margin, fhews) which is a very extraordinary Word indeed, to exprefs an Authoritative Suffrage by. 2dly, In the foregoing Paragraph, S. Cyprian tells Cornelius, that the

Eng. p. 118. O fi poffes, frater chariffime, ifthic intereffe nobifcum, cum pravi ifti & perverfi de fchifmate revertuntur, videres quis mihi labor fit perfuadere patientiam fratribus noftris, ut animi dolore fopito reci piendis malis curandifq; confentiant: Vix plebi perfuadeo, imò extorqueo, ut tales patiantur admitti. Cyp Ep 55. 17. Edit. Pamel, vel Ep. 59. Edit. Oxon.

* the People were so much against the Restoring of Some of the more Profligate Schifmaticks, that for fear of Scandal, and endangering others by it, he was put to it to know who should, or should not, be admitted into the Church; and farther adds, the fhould be no profitable or well-advis'd Paftor, who fhould fo mingle the infected Sheep with the Flock, as to grieve the whole Flock with a Resentment of so much Evil amongst them. From whence 'tis plain, not only, that Point of Scandal was the great Controverfy betwixt him and his People; but alfo, that 'twas a single Pastor's Act and Deed which might occafion or prevent that Scandal; fufficiently intimating to us, that that single Paftor had the Power of receiving or keeping out fuch exceptionable Schifmaticks from the Communion of the Church; and this dire&ly spoken with reference to himfelf. But,

3dly, And lastly, (to make all clearer ftill) S. Cyprian farther tells Cornelius, in the fame Pagraph where this Quotation lies, that he had actually abfolv'd one and another of thofe Schifmaticks thro' his own Tenderness to them, tho' the People stiffly withftood and contradicted him in it; which fhews

fuf

* Nobis follicitè examinantibus qui recipi & admitti ad Ecclefiam debent; quibufdam enim ita crimina fua obfiftunt, aut fratres obftinate & firmiter renituntur, ut recipi omnino non poffunt, [nis] cum fcandalo & periculo multorum. Ib. § 16.

Nec utilis aut confultus eft paftor qui ita morbidas & contactas oves gregi admifcet, ut gregem totum mali cohærentis afflictatione contaminaret. Ibid.

Unus atq; alius, obnitente plebe & contradicente, meà tamen facilitate fufcepti. Ib.

fufficiently what he knew he might have done to all the rest.

Weigh these few Circumstances together, and judge if it were an Authoritative Confent which S. Cyprian wanted of his People. The whole Cafe fuits his fettled Refolution indeed, of Tenderness and Condefcenfion to his Diocese, but does not in the leaft impair the Fulness of his

Power.

Secondly, We are told again, that the Clerical Presbytery (as being more at leisure than the reft) prepar'd Matters for the Court, wherein the Clergy and Laity together were to pass Sentence at last. The Proof is thus: Some eminent Schifmaticks of Novatian's Party, begg'd to be admitted to Communion with Cornelius again; that Holy Bishop || (having been perfonally apply'd to before, and thoroughly inftructed in the Cafe) was pleas'd to call his Presbyters together to confult about it; and when he, and they, and five Bishops more with them, had concerted that Matter there, and (as the next Sentence, wherein the Quotation lies, does imply), had abfolutely agreed that thofe Penitent Schifmaticks fhould be admitted to Communion again; then fays Cornelius, what follow'd was, that all which

bad

* Enq. P. 119,

Omni actu ad me perlato placuit contrahi presbyterium, adfuerunt etiam quinq; Epifcopi.

+ Quod erat confequens, omnis hic actus populo fuerat intinuandus, [fo far the Enquiry quotes, and leaves out this] ut & ipfos viderent in Ecclefia conftitutos, quos errantes & palabundos jam diu viderant & dolebant. Apud Cypr. Ep. 49. Edit. Oxon.

had been done should be notified to the People; and why was it to be notified to them? Cornelius is not wanting to add the Reafon for it, that they might fee thofe very Perfons (fays he) establish'd in the Church again, whom they had a long time feen as forlorn Vagabonds before, and had lamented their Condition. Judge you, if this Matter had not been thoroughly agreed upon before this; and whether Cornelius would have fpoken thus of the People, if he had wanted their Authoritative Con fent to receive the Criminals into his Church and accordingly, when a great Concourse of the People appear'd upon this Notice of the Matter, an univerfal Joy and Praise to God ensued upon it, with Tears and mutualEmbracing of the Brethren, which in his Language indeed (as I have* elsewhere evidently prov'd, I think) he call'd an Lingens populi Suffragium] in the Clofe of this Relation; that was, their joyful Approba tion of the Reftitution of them; and exclusively of any Act of the People at all, he says, in the fame Breath, we commanded Maximus the Presbyter

to take his Place again.

Now, when our learned Author had thus fettled (as you have feen) an equal Share of Legiflas tive, Decretive, or Judicatorial Power in the Laity of the Church: The next thing was to fhew the Manner of their executing this Power in the folemn Acts of publick Difcipline. To which Purpofe he has fet before us the ordinary Form

+ Chap. iii. p. 143. Supra.

* Maximum presbyterum locum fuum agnofcere jus mus; Catefos cum ingenti populi fuffragio recepimus, 79