Part 20

When this Edict was read, in the Presence of the Emperor, to the People assembled in the _Circus_, they applauded it at first, by way of Raillery, saying, That since the Spectators, at the public Sports, were divided into Two Parties, it was just and reasonable there should be Two Bishops to head them. The Multitude, not satisfied with thus pleasantly expressing their Dissatisfaction, cried out, immediately after, with one Voice, _There is but One God, One Christ, One Bishop_[755]. And yet the Emperor was rather delighted than displeased with the Humour of the People, and the Liberty they took; for to what happened on this Occasion _Ammianus Marcellinus_ probably alludes, where he writes, that _Constantius_, in exhibiting public Sports at _Rome_, was pleased with the Liberty they took to railly him, knowing it did not proceed from Pride or Ill-nature[756]. _Theodoret_ tells us, that to Acclamations so worthy of the _Roman_ Piety the Emperor granted the Return of _Liberius_[757]; and with him agree _Sulpitius Severus_[758], and _Ruffinus_[759]. But _Sozomen_[760], and all the Writers of those Times, assure us, that his Return did not happen this, but the following Year 358. when he bought it dear, by signing the Condemnation of _Athanasius_, and the Symbol or Creed, composed by the _Semi-Arians_ at _Sirmium_, now _Sirmish_ in _Sclavonia_. _Constantius_, at the Request of the _Roman_ Ladies and People, promised to recall him, as I have related; but it was on Condition, says _Sozomen_[761], that he should agree with the Bishops of the Court, that is, with the _Semi-Arians_. The Firmness which _Liberius_ had hitherto shewn, left no room to doubt of his rejecting such a Proposal with the greatest Indignation. But he now felt what before he had only beheld at a Distance: he began to compare the Ease and Plenty in which he had lived at _Rome_, with the Inconveniencies and Hardships of his present Exile. Besides, from the Menaces thrown out against him by the Emperor’s Officers, he apprehended his Life to be in Danger[762]. 'Tis true, he had wished for an Opportunity of shedding his Blood in so good a Cause, as I have related above. But who is not brave at a Distance from Danger? The Jealousy he had of _Felix_, who, sitting in his Chair, acted the High Pontiff at _Rome_, was the _Dalila_, says _Baronius_[763], speaking of his signing the Condemnation of _Athanasius_, who bereft this _Samson_ of all his Strength and Courage. [Sidenote: Liberius _signs the Condemnation of_ Athanasius, _and embraces the Doctrine of_ Sirmium.] However that be, it is certain, that the Strength and Courage, which he had with great Glory exerted on other Occasions, vanished at once. For he not only signed the Condemnation of _Athanasius_, but moreover approved and received as Catholic, the Confession or Symbol of _Sirmium_[764]. Thus, to ingratiate himself with the Emperor, and return to _Rome_, did _Liberius_ abandon, at last, his persecuted Friend, renounce the Catholic Faith, and solemnly promise to maintain inviolable the Doctrine of _Sirmium_[765]. As he was impatient to be reinstated in his See, he took care immediately to acquaint the Emperor with the Steps he had taken. With this Letter he dispatched _Fortunatianus_ Bishop of _Aquileia_, charging him to solicit _Constantius_ for his Return, since he had done all he had required of him[766]. _Constantius_ took no Notice of, nor returned any Answer to, this Letter. On the other hand, _Liberius_ was heartily sick of his Exile, heartily sick of suffering for the sake of Justice. [Sidenote: _His Letter to the Eastern Bishops._] In Hopes therefore of putting a speedy End to his Exile, and the Hardships attending it, he writ in a most submissive and cringing Style to the Eastern Bishops, assuring them, that it was merely out of Respect to his Predecessor _Julius_, and to maintain his Judgment, that he had undertaken the Defence of _Athanasius_; that as soon as it had pleased God to open his Eyes, and discover to him how justly he had been condemned, he had separated himself from his Communion, and joined them; that all their Decrees concerning him should be inviolably observed by the Apostolic See, as indeed they ought to be; that he sincerely and willingly received the true Catholic and Orthodox Faith, as it had been expounded and defined by several of his Brethren and Collegues at _Sirmium_, and had been proposed to him by his Collegue _Demophilus_; that he received every Article of that Symbol, and had nothing to object against any. This remarkable Letter he concludes thus: _And now that I agree with you in every Point, let me earnestly intreat your Holinesses to employ your joint Interest in my Behalf, that I may be recalled from Banishment, and suffered to return to the See, which God has been pleased to commit to my Care_[767]. [Sidenote: _He is anathematized by_ Hilarius. _His Letter to the Bishops at Court_;] This Letter has been conveyed to us by the great _Hilarius_, Bishop of _Poitiers_, who, in relating it, not able to restrain the just Indignation it kindled in his Breast, interrupts the Recital Three times, to anathematize the Author of it, the _prevaricating Liberius_, as he styles him[768]. He writ likewise to _Ursacius_, _Valens_, and _Germinius_, who bore great Sway at Court, and were at the Head of the _Arian_ Faction in the West, to acquaint them, that he communicated with them, and also with _Auxentius_ and _Epictetus_, Two of the most inveterate Enemies the Orthodox had; and that whoever did not communicate with them, that is, every Catholic Bishop, was cut off from his Communion. These Words _Hilarius_ cannot repeat without anathematizing anew _Liberius_, and all the _Arians_ with him. In the same Letter he lets them know, that he has separated himself from the Communion of _Athanasius_, _late Bishop of_ Alexandria, acknowleging him, by that Expression, lawfully deposed. He declares, in the Beginning of his Letter, and calls God to witness, that it is not by Compulsion, but merely for the sake of Peace and Charity, far preferable to Martyrdom itself, that he writes to them. He conjures them, by the omnipotent God, by his Son _Jesus_, by the Holy Ghost, to intercede for him with the Emperor, that, by his Return, Peace and Tranquillity may be restored to the Church committed to his Care; assuring them, that the Zeal they exert in so pious, so just a Cause, will meet with a proportionable Reward in Heaven[769].

As the Emperor had not yet taken the least Notice of his Letter; as the Eastern Bishops, as well as the Bishops at Court, did not act, as he thought, with all the Zeal and Expedition he expected, and his ready Compliance well deserved; [Sidenote: _and to_ Vincentius, _Bishop of_ Capua.] he writ a Third Letter, directed to _Vincentius_, Bishop of _Capua_, acquainting him, that he had abandoned the Defence of _Athanasius_, and desiring him to give Notice thereof to all the Bishops of _Campania_; and, at the same time, to use his utmost Endeavours to persuade them to dispatch some of their Body with a Letter, in their common Name, to the Emperor, begging _Constantius_ to deliver him, without further Delay, from his present most melancholy and deplorable Situation. To this Letter he adds the following Paragraph, in his own Hand: _We live in Peace with all the Bishops of the East, and with you. As for me, I have discharged my Conscience before God. Will you suffer me to perish in my present Exile? The same God will judge us both_[770]. The Bishop of _Capua_ had been formerly sent by _Liberius_ to the Council of _Arles_, with the Character of his Legate, as I have observed above, and had there signed the Condemnation of _Athanasius_; on which Occasion _Liberius_ wished for an Opportunity of washing out, with his own Blood, the Stain which the Conduct of his Legate had brought upon his Character. But his only Wish now was to see himself delivered from his painful Exile, and restored to his former State, upon any Terms. _Vincentius_, touched with his Complaints, prevailed upon the Bishops of _Campania_ to send a solemn Deputation to the Emperor in his Behalf; which _Constantius_ complied with, so far as to recall him from the Place of his Exile to _Sirmium_, where the Court then was[771]. [Sidenote: _He is recalled from his Banishment to_ Sirmium.] Upon his Arrival there, _Constantius_, who had lately embraced the Doctrine of the _Semi-Arians_, taking Advantage of his Weakness, and of the eager Desire he had betrayed of returning to his See, obliged him, as well as the Bishops of the Court, and Four _African_ Bishops, who happened to be then at _Sirmium_, to sign the same Doctrine[772]. [Sidenote: _He signs the Doctrine of the_ Semi-Arians.] Thus did the infallible _Liberius_ sign, and embrace, at least in Appearance, both the _Arian_ and _Semi-Arian_ Heresy; the _Arian_ at _Berœa_, the Place of his Exile, and the _Semi-Arian_ at _Sirmium_. That the Confession he signed at _Berœa_ was _Arian_, cannot be doubted; for it was the Second of _Sirmium_, which all agree to have been _Arian_[N16]. Besides, it was proposed to him by _Demophilus_ Bishop of _Berœa_, who was a most zealous Stickler for _Arianism_, and greatly attached to _Ursacius_ and _Valens_, the Two leading Men among the _Arians_ in the West; and it is not at all probable, that he would have required _Liberius_ to sign a Doctrine different from that which he himself held.

Footnote N16:

Three Councils were held at _Sirmium_, one in 349. another in 352. and the Third in 357. In the First, _Photinus_, Bishop of that City, was condemned, for reviving the Heresy of _Paul_ of _Samosata_. This Council was intirely composed of the Western Bishops, who attempted to depose _Photinus_, but were vigorously opposed by the People. The Second Council of _Sirmium_ was convened by the Emperor _Constantius_, and consisted of the Eastern Bishops only, who condemned anew, and deposed _Photinus_. By this Council a Symbol, or Creed, was composed, which has been transmitted to us in _Greek_ by St. _Athanasius_, and in _Latin_ by St. _Hilarius_; and is intirely Orthodox. In the Third Council of _Sirmium_ a new Creed was composed by _Potamius_ Bishop of _Lisbone_, and signed by _Ursacius_, _Valens_, _Germinius_, and the other Bishops there present. This Creed was altogether _Arian_; for not only the Word _Consubstantial_ was rejected by it, but the Son was declared to be unlike the Father in Essence, to be less than the Father, and to have had a Beginning. And it was this Second Symbol of _Sirmium_ that _Liberius_ signed at _Berœa_. Upon his Arrival at _Sirmium_ he found there _Basilius_ of _Ancyra_, _Eleusius_ of _Cyzicus_, and the other _Semi-Arian_ Bishops, who were lately come from the Council of _Ancyra_, where they had condemned the Doctrine of the _Pure Arians_, and established that of the _Semi-Arians_, holding the Son to be like the Father in Nature and Essence, but not _Consubstantial_, or of the same Substance. And this Doctrine _Liberius_ signed out of Complaisance to the Emperor, that nothing might obstruct his Return to _Rome_. He signed it in a kind of Council, consisting of the _Semi-Arian_ Bishops, whom I have mentioned above.

The Advocates for the Pope’s Infallibility are here quite at a Loss what to say in Defence of that Prerogative. That _Liberius_ signed the Condemnation of _Athanasius_, that he communicated with the _Arians_, and, what above all galls them, that he received the _Sirmian_ Confession of Faith as Catholic and Orthodox, are undeniable Matters of Fact. To reconcile them with Infallibility, is what they have been long drudging at: and to what pitiful Shifts, what eluding and unmeaning Distinctions, have they not been obliged to recur! Like a Man struggling for Life in deep Water, and catching at every Twig to save it, they flounce from Quibble to Quibble, from one Subterfuge to another, but all in vain; sink they must, and their Infallibility with them. To shew their Distress, I shall briefly transcribe what I find offered on this Occasion, by the most learned among them, in Defence of the Cause they have undertaken. [Sidenote: _What alleged by_ Baronius _in his Defence_;] _Baronius_[773], after relating and owning the above-mentioned Facts, addresses his Readers thus: _We have hitherto sailed among dangerous Rocks, among treacherous Sholes; but fear not, I shall at last pilot you safe into the Port of Truth_. Then, dropping his Allegory, he makes a long Descant to prove, that the _Sirmian_ Confession of Faith, signed by _Liberius_, was, in every Article, Catholic and Orthodox. A rare Pilot indeed! If this (to pursue his Allegory) is _the Port of Truth_, who can help pitying _Jerom_, _Hilarius_, _Athanasius_, and in short all the Antients? for they certainly missed it, and, falling in among those _dangerous Rocks, those treacherous Sholes_, which _Baronius_ had the Skill and good Luck to avoid, were there unfortunately shipwrecked. For _Jerom_ says, in express Terms, and in Two Places[774], that _Liberius_ signed an Heresy; _Hilarius_, that he approved of the _Arian_ Perfidy[775]; _Athanasius_, that he joined the _Arians_[776]; and all the Antients, that he apostatized from the Faith: nay, _Liberius_ himself, in his Letter to the Orientals, which is still to be seen, under his own Hand, in the _Vatican_ Library, gives them Notice, that _in all things_ he agrees with _Demophilus_, a most zealous _Arian_, and with them; which Words _Hilarius_ could not repeat without anathematizing him. It is therefore manifest, beyond all Dispute, that the Confession of Faith, signed by _Liberius_, was not Catholic, but _Arian_. Of this _Baronius_ himself was, without doubt, well apprised, and into this Port he had piloted his Reader, had Truth alone been his Land-mark. [Sidenote: _and by_ Bellarmine.] _Bellarmine_, the other great Stickler for Infallibility, pursues a different Method, but with worse Success, in my Opinion, than his Fellow-Champion _Baronius_; for, by striving to support that chimerical Prerogative, he evidently oversets it. The Pope, according to him, may sign and receive heretical Opinions, as _Liberius_ did, without prejudicing in the least his Infallibility, provided he does not internally assent to them[777]; so that the so much boasted Infallibility is by him reduced at last to this; that the Pope cannot internally assent to an Error: which is confining his Infallibility to himself, and consequently disqualifying him for the Office of a Teacher. Infallibility, even thus curtailed, is, no doubt, a most valuable Treasure to the Owner, but of no more Use to the rest of Mankind than a Treasure concealed under-ground; and, on that very Account, it ought in common Sense to be exploded. But it is scarce worth the while to quarrel with _Bellarmine_ about it, since he cannot be so unreasonable as to require us, in virtue of such a Prerogative, to pay any Regard to the Decisions of the Pope, till such time, at least, as we know them to be agreeable to his private Opinion: and this is what we can never know, since every Pope may, like _Liberius_, externally admit an Opinion as true; and, at the same time, internally reject it as false.

[Sidenote: Liberius _returns to_ Rome.]

But, to return to _Liberius_; he was at last, in regard of his ready Compliance with the Will of the Emperor, allowed to return to _Rome_; but on Condition, that he should govern jointly with _Felix_[778]. Letters were accordingly dispatched both to _Felix_, and the _Roman_ Clergy, to acquaint them therewith. _Sozomen_ seems to insinuate, that they both governed thus for some time[779]. [Sidenote: Felix _is driven out._] But, according to St. _Jerom_, and the Two Presbyters _Marcellinus_ and _Faustinus_, who lived then at _Rome_, and were Eye-witnesses of what they relate, _Felix_ was driven not only from the See, but out of the City, as soon as _Liberius_ entered it; which he did on the 2d of _August_ 358. in a kind of Triumph, being met and received by the whole People, with loud Acclamations of Joy[780]. _Felix_ returned soon after, at the Instigation of a few of the Ecclesiastics, who had, contrary to their Oath, adhered to him; and even attempted to perform Divine Service in the Basilic of _Julius_, beyond the _Tiber_; but the enraged Multitude drove him out a second time, and, with him, all the Ecclesiastics, who had acknowleged him[781]. _Socrates_ writes, that the Emperor himself was in the End obliged to give him up, and consent to his Expulsion[782]. Mention is made in the Pontificals of a bloody Persecution, raised in _Rome_ by _Liberius_, and his Party, against the Partisans of _Felix_, who, it is said, were inhumanly murdered in the Streets, in the Baths, in all public Places, and even in the Churches[783]. But as none of the Antients take the least Notice of such Cruelties, I will not charge _Liberius_ with them, upon the bare Authority of such Records. _Felix_, being driven from _Rome_, withdrew to a small Estate he had on the Road to _Porto_, and there spent the remaining Part of his Life in Retirement[784]. _Sozomen_ supposes him to have died soon after[785]. But the Two Presbyters _Marcellinus_ and _Faustinus_, who must have been better informed, assure us, that he lived Seven Years after the Return of _Liberius_, and died on the 22d of _November_ 365[786].

[Sidenote: _The Judgment of the Antients concerning_ Felix.]

Concerning _Felix_, all the Antients agree, that he was unlawfully elected and ordained; that he communicated with the _Arians_; that, to ingratiate himself with them, and the Emperor, he signed the Condemnation of _Athanasius_; that he was guilty of Perjury in accepting the Episcopal Dignity, having bound himself, with the rest of the Clergy, by a solemn Oath, to acknowlege no other Bishop while _Liberius_ lived; and, lastly, that he strove to keep Possession of the _Roman_ See, after the Return of the lawful Bishop, and to sit in it, together with him, in open Defiance of the Canons of the Church. _Socrates_ adds, that he not only communicated with the _Arians_, but was infected with the _Arian_ Heresy[787]. _Athanasius_ styles him _a Monster, raised to the See of_ Rome _by the Malice of Antichrist, one worthy of those who raised him, and in every respect well qualified for the Execution of their wicked Designs_[788]. [Sidenote: _He is honoured by the Church of_ Rome _as a Saint and a Martyr._] And yet this Heretic, this Monster, this Intruder, or Antipope, is honoured (the Reader will be surprised to hear it, is honoured) by the Church of _Rome_ as a Saint; nay, as a Martyr; and his Festival is kept to this Day, on the 29th of _July_. This Honour was conferred on him in the Ages of Darkness and Ignorance, upon the Authority of his fabulous Acts, and a more fabulous Pontifical, from which his Acts seem to have been copied. In the Pontifical it is said, that _Felix_ declared _Constantius_, who had been twice baptized, an Heretic; and was therefore, by an Order from the incensed Emperor, apprehended, and privately beheaded, with many Ecclesiastics and Laymen, under the Walls of _Rome_, on the 11th of _November_. It is added, that the Presbyter _Damasus_ privately conveyed his Body to a Church, which _Felix_ had built, and there interred it; and that, upon his Death, the See remained vacant for the Space of Thirty-eight Days[789]. [Sidenote: _His fabulous Acts._] In the Acts of _Felix_ we read, that _Constantius_ was rebaptized by _Eusebius_ Bishop of _Nicomedia_; that _Felix_ having, on that Account, declared him an Heretic, he was driven from the See of _Rome_, and _Liberius_ replaced on it; that _Felix_ thereupon retired into the Country, but was brought back by the Emperor’s Orders, and beheaded on the 10th of _November_; that his Body was interred on the 20th of the same Month in a Church, which he had built while he was a Presbyter: And we keep his Festival, adds the Author, on the 29th of _July_[790]. _Anastasius_ has copied the Pontifical Word for Word, except that he pretends _Felix_ to have been beheaded at _Cora_, in the _Campagna_ of _Rome_[791]; though he has told us, in the foregoing Page, that he _died in Peace_, a Phrase never used in speaking of Martyrs, on the 29th of _July_, at his Estate on the Road to _Porto_[792]. The City of _Cere_, now _Cerventera_, in _Tuscany_, honours _Felix_ to this Day, as their chief Patron or Protector. In those dark Times Legends alone were in request, and all other Books, even the Scripture itself, quite out of Date, and neglected. [Sidenote: _How he came to be honoured as a Saint._] No Wonder therefore that such Absurdities, however inconsistent with History, were swallowed without straining; and _Felix_, for his pretended Zeal and Constancy, ranked among the holy Martyrs. For I may venture to affirm, that the most learned Men, at that time, in the Church, knew nothing of _Felix_ but what they had learned from his fabulous Acts, and from the above-mentioned Pontifical. That I may not be thought to exaggerate, I shall allege one Instance of the Ignorance of past Times: _Gulielmus a Sancto Amore_, one of the most learned Men of the 13th Century, knew that, in the Time of _Hilarius_ Bishop of _Poitiers_, a Pope, with most of the Bishops, had fallen into Heresy. He did not even pretend to be so well versed in History as to know for certain who the Pope was; but, indulging a Conjecture, which he thought probable enough, he named _Anastasius_ II. who died in 498. about 150 Years after the Time of _Hilarius_: so that he was an utter Stranger to the History of Pope _Liberius_, and consequently to that of the Antipope _Felix_. Had it not been for the like Ignorance in more early Times, the Apotheosis of our pretended Martyr had never taken place. [Sidenote: _His Sanctity called in question;_] Be that as it will, during the Ages of Darkness he held undisturbed the Rank, to which he had been thus raised: but when the Dawn of Knowlege began to appear, and it was discovered at last from contemporary and unexceptionable Writers, who _Felix_ was, the Church of _Rome_ was ashamed to own him among her Saints. On the other hand, to degrade him had been giving a fatal Blow to the Pope’s Authority, and rendering it for ever precarious, in so material a Point as that of Canonization. _Felix_ therefore was, at all Events, to keep his Place in Heaven; his Sanctity was to be confirmed, and the World imposed upon by some Contrivance or other, capable of utterly defeating the Testimony of the Antients.