CASES OF MORAL NECESSITY FOR SEPARATION.

65

council of Trent, for instance, is to be re- which inculcates a true religion, it would garded as the beginning of the Romish be justly inferred that he was conscious Apostacy, or as a promising omen of im- of something unsound in his principles, provement in the Church of Rome. That from his evading a test that goes to ascerman must be strangely constituted who tain whether he regards religious truth can find consolatory security for his faith and the command of God, as things to be in such a guide;—who can derive satis- adhered to at all events, or merely, when factory confidence from the oracles of a coinciding with the requisitions of GoProteus!

vernment.

§ 35. Moreover, the supposed case of So also, in the present case: when a Christians deprived of regular succession Church possesses Ministers who are the of Episcopally ordained Ministers, and left regularly appointed officers of a Christian to determine what course they ought, Community constituted on evangelical under such circumstances, to take, is not principles, and who are also ordained by inconceivable, or impossible, or unprece- persons descended in an unbroken series dented; nor again, even if it were, would from those ordained by the Apostles, the the consideration of such a question be two circumstances coincide, on which,, necessarily an unprofitable speculation; according to the two different principles, because it will often happen that by putting respectively, above treated of, the legia supposed case (even when such as could timacy and apostolical commission of not possibly occur) we can the most easily Christian Ministers may be made to deand most clearly ascertain on what prin- pend. Now in order to judge fairly, and ciple a person is acting. Thus when to state clearly the decision, which foundaPlato puts the impossible case of your tion we resolve to rest on, it is requisite possessing the ring of Gyges, which, ac- to propose a case (even supposing-which cording to the legend, could make the is very far from being the fact that it bearer invisible, and demands how you could not actually occur) in which these would then act, he applies a kind of test, two circumstances do not come together; which decomposes, as the chemists say, and then to pronounce which it is that we the complex mass of motives that may in- regard as essential. fluence a man, and calls on you to consider whether you abstain from bad actions through fear of the censure of the world, or from abhorrence of evil in itself.

So again—to take another instance-if any one is asked how men ought to act when living under a Government professing, and enforcing under penalties, a false religion, and requiring of its subjects idolatrous worship, and other practices contrary to Scripture, if he should object to the question, on the ground that there is no prospect of his being so circumstanced, and that he is living, and may calculate on continuing to live, under a Government

§36. As a matter of fact, there can be no reasonable doubt that the Apostles did "ordain Elders in every city." Even if there had been no record of their doing so, we might have inferred it from the very fact of their instituting Christian Societies; since every Society must have Officers; and the founder of a Society will naturally take upon him to nominate the first Officers; as well as to "set in order the rest" of the appointments.* And those Officers, acting in the name and on the behalf of the Community, would, of course, appoint others to succeed them; and so on, from generation to generation. As long as every thing "Atque hoc loco, philosophi quidam, minime went on correctly in each Church, and mali illi quidem, sed non satis acuti, fictam et its doctrines and practices remained sound, commentitiam fabulam prolatam dicunt a Platone: there would be nothing to interrupt this quasi vero ille, aut fictum id esse, aut fieri potuisse orderly course of things. But whenever defendat. Hæc est vis hujus annuli et hujus it happened that the Rulers of any Church exempli, si nemo sciturus, nemo ne suspicaturus departed from the Christian faith and quidem sit, cum aliquid, divitiarum, potentiæ, dominationis libidinis, causa feceris,—si id diis homini- practice which it is their business to prebusque futurum sit semper ignotum, sisne facturus. Negant id fieri posse. Quanquam potest id quidem; sed quæro, quod negant posse, id si posset, quidnam facerent? Urgent rustice sane: negant enim posse, et in eo perstant. Hoc verbum quid valeat, non vident. Cum enim quærimus, si possint celare, quid facturi sint, non quærimus, possintne celare," &c.-Cic. de Off. b. iii. c. 9. Rhetoric, p. i. c. 2, § 8.

serve,-when, for instance, they corrupted their worship with superstitions, made a traffic of "indulgences," and "taught for doctrines the commandments of men," by blending" human traditions with Scripture, and making them, either wholly or

• 1 Cor.

in part, the substitute, as a rule of faith, 'jects for which Churches were originally for the records of inspiration,-in any instituted, all these are advantages not such case, it became the duty of all those to be lightly thrown away. But the unwho perceived the inroads of such errors, avoidable absence of any of these advanto aim at the reformation of them; and tages, not only is not to be imputed to when all or any of the Spiritual Pastors them as a matter of blame, but, by imposof such a Church obstinately stood out ing the necessity, creates the right, and against reform, to throw off their subjec- the duty, of supplying their deficiencies tion to persons so abusing their sacred as they best can. Much as they may reoffice, and, at all events, reform them- gret being driven to the alternative, they selves as they best could. It is as plain ought not to hesitate in their decision, a duty for men so circumstanced to obey when their choice lies between adherence their Heavenly Master, and forsake those to the human Governors of a Church, who have apostatized from Him, as it and to its divine Master;-between "the would be for the loyal portion of a gar- form of Godliness, and the power thererison of soldiers to revolt from a general of;"-between the means and the end ;who had turned traitor to his King, and between unbroken apostolical succession was betraying the city into the enemy's of individuals, and uncorrupted Gospel hands. So far from being rebellious sub- principles. jects in thus revolting, they would be guilty of rebellion if they did not.

In like manner, the very circumstances in which such a Body of reformers, as I have been alluding to, are placed, confer on them that independence which they would have been unjustifiable in assuming wantonly. The right is bestowed, and the duty imposed on them, of separation from the unreformed, which, under opposite circumstances, would have been schismatical. They are authorized, and bound, by the very nature of their situation, either to subsist as a distinct Community, or to join some other Church ;* even as the vitality which Nature has conferred on the scion of a tree, enables it, when cut off from the parent stock, either to push forth fresh roots of its own, or to unite, as a graft, with the stock of some kindred tree.

It is for men so circumstanced to do their best according to their own deliberate judgment, to meet their difficulties, to supply their deficiencies, and to avail themselves of whatever advantages may lie within their reach. If they have among their number Christian Ministers of several Orders, or of one Order,-if they can obtain a supply of such from some other sound Church, or if they can unite themselves to such a Church with advantage to the great ultimate ob

* An instance of this was very recently afforded by the people of Zillerthal, in the Austrian dominions; who, being deliberately convinced of the errors of the Church in which they had been brought up, underwent, in consequence of their refusal of compliance, a long series of vexatious persecution, and ultimately forsook their home, and found refuge and freedom of conscience in the territory of Prussia.

§ 37. Persons so situated ought to be on their guard against two opposite mistakes: the one is, to underrate the privileges of a Christian Community, by holding themselves altogether debarred from the exercises of such powers as naturally and essentially belong to every Community; the other mistake is to imagine that whatever they have an undoubted right to do, they would necessarily be right in doing. In no other subject perhaps would such a confusion of thought be likely to arise, as is implied by the confounding together of things so different as these two. Although the legislature (as I have above remarked) has an undoubted right to pass, or to reject, any Bill, a man would be deemed insane who should thence infer that they are equally right in doing either the one or the other. So also the Governors of a Church are left, in respect of ordinances and regulations not prescribed or forbidden in Scripture, to their own judgment; but they are bound to act according to the best of their judgment. What is left to their discretion is not therefore left to their caprice; nor are they to regard every point that is not absolutely essential, as therefore absolutely indifferent.

They have an undoubted right, according to the principles I have been endeavouring to establish, to appoint such Orders of Christian Ministers, and to allot to each such functions, as they judge most conducive to the great ends of the Society; they may assign to the whole, or to a portion of these, the office of ordaining others as their successors; they may appoint under the title of Patriarch, Archbishop, one superintendent of the rest, or several; Bishop, Moderator, or any other that they may prefer; they may make the appoint

MISTAKES TO WHICH MORAL REFORMERS ARE LIABLE.

ment of them for life, or for a limited pe- The mistakes, however, which I have riod, by election, or by rotation,-with been alluding to, have been not unfre a greater, or less extensive, jurisdiction; quently made in what relates to the powers and they have a similar discretionary possessed by Christian Communities, and power with respect to Liturgies, Festivals, the mode of exercising these powers Ceremonies, and whatever else is left at For instance, at the time of the great large in the Scriptures.

jects of all Church government. And their advocates, as a recommendation though their decision of this point ought There is something to many minds to have been very greatly influenced by awfully and mystically sublime in the their belief as to what were the forms idea of the "decisions of the Catholic adopted by the Apostles (which must Church," and of "Catholic Councils, have been not only wise, but the very convened in the name of Christ, and wisest, for those times and persons) they whose deliberations are overruled, and had no reason to hold themselves abso- their decrees authoritative,”—in the idea lutely bound to adhere, always and every of the "Sacramental character of Ordinawhere, to those original models. In- tion," conferred by persons who have deed, to so considerable a degree have all derived a mystical virtue from the sucChurches judged themselves at liberty to cessive imposition of hands up to the depart from the exact model of the earli- times of the Apostles;-and of the est institutions-especially (as 1 formerly "priestly" character, (that of Hiereus) remarked) in respect of that important thus imparted, and the Sacrifices" offerchange introduced,-whether wisely or ed at an "altar;"—of a "primitive docunwisely,-by, I believe, all of what are trine always to be found somewhere in called Episcopal Churches; that of hav- the Catholic traditions," &c.; especially ing several bishops in one Church instead when these matters are treated of in of making each Diocess, as appears to solemn and imposing language, of that have been the apostolical system, an en- peculiar kind of dazzling mistiness whose tire and distinct Church;-so considera- effect is to convey, at first, to ordinary ble, I say, is the liberty in this respect, readers, a striking impression, with an that has been assumed by all Churches, appearance of being perfectly intelligible that those who speak of all Christians at the first glance, but to become more being strictly bound to conform in every point to the exact pattern of the primitive institutions, can hardly wonder if they find imputed to them either great want of knowledge, or of reflection, in themselves, or else, a design to take advantage of the ignorance or inattention of others.

sess

§ 38. I have specified the want of "attentive reflection" in applying rightly in practice the knowledge men do posas tending to foster erroneous notions, because it is probably both a more common and a more dangerous defect than mere want of sufficient knowledge. And it may be added, that it arises not so often from original deficiency in the mental powers, as from neglect to exercise them. There are many who inadvertently, and not a few who advisedly and designedly, resign themselves, in all matters pertaining to morals or religion, to the impressions produced on their imagination and feelings; and rather applaud than reproach themselves for not awaiting the decisions of calm judgment, or for allowing their judgment to be biassed. To such persons there is, it must be acknowledged, something very captivating and seductive in the notions I have been censuring; and not the less, from their being somewhat vague and dimly apprehended, inca pable of abiding the test of sober exami nation, and invested with some of that mysterious and solemn gloom," which nas been put forth expressly by some of

obscure and doubtful at the second glance, and more and more so, the more attentively it is studied by a reader of clear understanding; so as to leave him utterly in doubt, at the last, which of several meanings it is meant to convey, or whether any at all.

The rule of " omne ignotum pro mirifico," applies most emphatically to such doctrines treated of in such language. The very simplicity and plainness of the reasoning by which, in the foregoing pages, the divine authority of a Christian Church, and consequently of its regulations and its ministers, are deduced direct from the sanction given by Christ Himself as interpreted by his Apostles, is likely to be, to some minds, no recommendation, but the contrary.

And as men are of course less likely to exercise a clear and unbiassed judgment in respect of any theory which tends especially to exalt their own persons, and invest them with mysterious powers and awful dignity, the Clergy accordingly are under a peculiar temptation to lean too favourably and with too little of rigorous examination, towards a system which confers the more elevation and grandeur on them, in proportion as it detracts from

* The minds of many persons among the Laity are so constituted as to make the same temptation very little less powerful to them, than to the Priesthood; for reasons set forth in the Essay (3d Series) on "Vicarious Religion."