Agreement between the papists and the Pelagians. 235

and how great those gifts are which the bounty of God hath partly bestowed upon us, and partly promised. Concerning which it remains that we should examine what the scribblers of popish divinity do hold. Now, what they teach about this matter, is for the most part to this purpose. They place the end of human life in blessedness, and the school-divines dispute about this very blessedness just after such a manner as the philosophers of old did of their chief good; unto which they said every man must endeavour, according to his power, to attain by industry and diligent labours, and the merits of the greatest virtues.

And when the former Pelagians affirmed that we could do that by the strength of nature, there were not wanting others at the same time, who valiantly opposing the help of the grace of God to free-will, successfully rejected and exploded this wicked opinion, by the Scriptures. After this came another kind of divines, who, having followed Augustine, disputed thus against the Pelagians, that we cannot so much as will good by free-will without grace, or merit eternal life by any means without grace. And that is true indeed. But inasmuch as those same men, joining grace again, deny not that we can merit life by works, and that according to their worth, what difference is there between these and the Pelagians, except that in the manner of working they somewhat differ? for those work without grace, these no otherwise but by grace; but both do equally err from the scope of true justification. For as untrue as it is, that it is in our power to perform any thing aright without the grace of God, it is again as false, that this grace of working was not given by God for any other purpose, but to produce meritorious works, whereby we may be justified. Though I deny not, by any means, that the divine grace of the Spirit is both fruitful and abounding with the greatest virtues, which can never be idle; but it doth not therefore follow by sufficient strength of reason, that the reward of eternal salvation is due to the merits of these virtues, as the generality of sophisters chatter with a great noise in schools. For thus Thomas Aquinas, the prince of this faction, and the others that are partakers of his discipline, discourse of grace; and in their summularies do define this grace, as if it were nothing else but a certain habitual infusion of the heavenly gift in the essence of the soul, because, as they suppose, it is a principle of meritorious works; for so Thomas defines it. And Guillermus

not much differing from him, calls this grace, a form freely given to us by God without merits, which makes him that hath it acceptable, and makes his work good, and meritorious. Of these then is a common definition made up, and it thus defines grace unto us- -that it is a gift of good will freely given, making its possessor acceptable, and rendering his work good.* And Albert shows the manner how it makes a man good; inasmuch as by infused virtues, as he says, it perfects the will of man for act.

By these things, it will appear evident enough what opinion hitherto hath been usual amongst those men in the popish school. In which neither their divines themselves are well enough agreed with one another; for some place this habitual gift of influencing grace, in the essence of the soul subjectively, that I may speak in their own dialect, amongst whom is Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure. Others chose rather to refer it, not to the essence, but to the powers of the soul as its proper subject, of whom is Scotus, and the allies of that order.

Again, There are those who think grace is nothing else but a virtue, which is the thing that Osorio strongly defends in his books. And Thomas confutes this heresy with much greater strength, and, bears it down with suitable reasons. But the sum of all their sums drives at this, that faith only may be excluded from justification, and that they may not acknowledge any other justification, but what consists in exercising of works. Neither do they think this grace to be given to us upon any other account, but for this end, to fulfil, as they say, the commands of God, according to the due manner, without which the fulfilling of them cannot otherways be meritorious.

34. The error of the Tridentines in defining Grace, is examined.

I have explained the sayings of some divines, which differ several ways from one another, yet they are all wonderfully agreed in this-that they may take away from sinners that saving grace which alone justifies us. Let us join also unto these, if you please, the sophisters of later times, and especially the nobles of Trent, and the heretics of that council, whose writings, opinions, and decrees, when they are read what do they declare? It may be said in a

*Tho. xii. q. 109. Art. 6. Guillerm. in sentent. lib. ii, qu xxvi. Art. 1. Albert. in sentent. lib. ii. dist. xxvi. Art. 2.

word, and truly-nothing that is sound, nothing that is not full of error, nothing that does not disagree with the genuine verity of the word. But what that error is, lest we should seem to accuse them without cause, let us explain in a few words, but true. Namely, seeing there is a twofold testimony of the grace of the Father towards us in the Scriptures; the one, whereby in a free gift he bestowed his Son upon us; the other, whereby he bestowed his Spirit; the Son to die for us, the Spirit to sanctify our life; there is not any man, but should confess that they are both great gifts. He gave his Son, than whom nothing was dearer to him; he bestows his Spirit, than which nothing.is higher in heaven. But for what purpose doth he bestow both? how does he give them for our advantage? for what end? with what fruit? what did he design in se doing? by what reason was he persuaded? by what necessity? by what mercy was the most gracious Father and Maker of the world moved? I would very willingly ask this first, either of Thomas Aquinas, or rather of those Tridentine fellowpriests. For if free-will, being helped by the grace of the Spirit of God, as they say, could do so much by meriting through the infused virtues, even as much as was sufficient for obtaining salvation, what cause then was there why all this charge should be put upon Christ the Son of God? What need was there of his blood? Why did not the most gracious Father spare his life? But if so be that all other helps of grace could afford no help to expedite the business of our redemption; then it remains to be asked of those men, what they affirm of Christ, whether they acknowledge him the only Saviour or not? And indeed I know that they will not deny that Christ is the only Saviour. But in the mean while it remains that they should answer unto this, after what manner this only Saviour saves his own, whether only by his innocency and death, or by adding other helps besides? Now if they judge that other securities are necessarily required, it must be known what sort of securities these are. Aquinas, with his associates, answers that those are gifts procured by the Holy Spirit, and habitual infusions of charity, and the like faculties of exercising righteousness, which helps unless they are added, the death of Christ, according to his opinion, is not of such efficacy that it should be able enough of itself alone to merit salvation.

And now, what then if those are added? Doth then at 24

FOX.

length full and perfect righteousness arise from these together, partly from the blood of Christ, and partly from renovation by new qualities, which may reconcile us being justified unto God? For thus Andradius with his fellow Tridentines divides justification, which Paul attributes simply to faith, into two parts; of which he affirms that the one consists in the remission of sins, and the other in the obedience of the law. Oh the pest of sophistical divinity, and intolerable deceits! For by this distinction it will come to pass, that Christ is not the only Saviour, nor a complete For if one, but the Spirit that bestows these qualities.* the only formal cause of our justification consists in nothing but only the renovation of the inner man, by a willing receiving of grace and gifts; what shall now remain that may be attributed to Christ the Saviour and his blood, but that he should only give a colour to our merits, which being so coloured may bring us directly into heaven? But if it be so, that the death of Christ alone doth not fully complete our redemption; to what purpose, or what way did he say Or how it was finished, when his passion was finished? are all things in heaven and in earth reconciled by the blood of his cross, as Paul witnesseth? Moreover, the same Paul, in many places, and in all his epistles, places the price of redemption in no other thing, but only in the blood and cross of the Son of God: In whom, saith he, we have redemption through his blood: but how shall we say that all things are reconciled by blood, if charity and the other gifts of renovation, and merits, are the things which make us acceptable to God, and claim unto themselves the greatest part of our reconciliation? What is this else, but to thrust Christ down, not only from his office, but also from the throne of his glory.†

35. Concerning the reward and merits of good works.

What then? Are there no merits then, say they, of the righteous? Is there no reward by way of merit left in

* Then the Spirit is communicated, when, at the coming of righteousness we are made righteous; when all our sins being extinguished, we are renewed by charity spread abroad in our hearts by the Spirit; which charity, because it informs the mind with the love of the divine law, is called righteousness. Marginal note.

+ Christ only, by his personal office, is a Saviour, and the Holy Spirit by his office is a Helper and Comforter of them that are saved. Marginal note.

heaven, which Christ promises to be so plentiful in the Scriptures? What, will all that provision of inherent righteousness avail us nothing towards life? Will so many labours and store of most holy works profit nothing, wherewith we, being clothed by the Holy Spirit, are advanced daily more and more towards the fulness of righteousness? Augustine will answer to these things, and first of merits.

"If you ask," saith he, "whether there are no merits of the righteous ? There are indeed, because they are righteous; but there were no merits, that they might be righteous. For they were made righteous when they were justified." Therefore, they were not made righteous by merits, if we believe Augustine, but merits proceed from the just. By which you may understand, that a person is not valued by the dignity of his works or his grace; but that the dignity of merits receives its value from the justified person. Wherefore, seeing men are not made righteous by merits, as Augustine witnesseth, but merits receive their virtue and dignity from the justified, it easily appears from hence, what should be judged of reward by way of merit. For if, after the like manner it be asked, whether there is no reward of the saints in heaven: that which Augustine answers concerning the merits of the righteous, the same do I also acknowledge concerning the reward of the saints, that the saints want not a reward, and that a large one in the heavens. For they who are holy, a reward shall be appointed for them, not for the works themselves, because they are holy, but because they that work are holy.

For not heaven, but a reward in heaven is given, not to holy works, but to the workers. But if any proceed to ask whence they are holy? I return to Augustine, “That they are holy from thence, whence they are also made just ; not by works, but by the faith of the workers.” As for example; if any heathen or pharisee, who is a stranger to the faith of Christ, should do this that a Christian does, though he should do also greater things, yet the works would not please God. And why should his works displease? or why should the works of a Christian please, unless it were for faith? And that is it which prophetical verity in old time foretold should come to pass, that the just should live by faith-he says not that the faithful should live by righteousness. By which you see, that this life, whereby we live by the faith of the Son of God, is not rendered unto the merits of works, but consists of faith and grace;