THE MONK AND THE MILLAR'S WIFE,

TRANSLATED INTO LATIN.

Lectures on Ecclefiaftical History. By the late Duncan Campbell,

D. D. &c.

(Continued from P. 279.)

HE ftructure of the third Lecture is extremely irregular, though the object of its author feems to be to perfuade his audience that

the difcipline of the church of Scotland is infinitely preferable to that of England, and that the congregational and independent churches are more apoftolical in their government and difcipline, than either. He begins this lecture, as he finished the former, by taking it for granted that the church foon became exceedingly corrupted; and he attributes all her corruptions to the primitive practice of believers referring their civil differences to the arbitration of the clergy. This practice, he owns, refulted naturally from St. Paul's exhorting the Corinthians not to go to law before the tribunals of the heathen, but to refer their differences to arbitrators cholen from among themselves. The confequence of which was that in feveral churches, the choice fell upon their minifters; but he affures us, that, in the days of the Apoftle, we find no mention of bailiffs or tipftaves, fines or imprionments, or diftraining of goods," in confequence of the fentence of thofe clerical arbiters!!! He then gives a view of the origi nal conftitution of the church, and her inherent difcipline, asidiftingu hed from this bufinefs of arbitration, which, though it stands in the form of an epifode, we fhall quote, at length, because we think it by much the most important part of the lecture.

"Some learned men (fays Dr. Campbell) feem to be of opinion, that the bufincfs of determining fuch civil controverfies as arofe between Chriftians, be longed, at first, to the whole congregation; or, in other words, to that particular church or fociety, whereof the parties concerned were members. But this appears to have arifen from confounding two things totally diftinct. When one Chriftian had ground, real or fuppofed, to complain of the conduct of another, as unbrotherly and injurious, after private methods of reclaiming the offender had been tried in vain by the offended, it belonged to the congrega tion to judge between them; and either to effect a reconciliation or to dif card one, who, by his obitinacy in the wrong, fhewed himself unworthy of their fellowship. This method had been clearly pointed out to them by their great founder. If thy brother," fays he, "trefpafs against thee, go and fell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou haft gained thy brother; but if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witneffes every word may be eftablished; and if he neglect to hear them, tell it to the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be to thee as a heathen man and a publican. Verily I fay unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound,

&c. &c.

"The practice of the apoftolic age, which has the best title to the deno

to whom

mination of primitive, is the furcft commentary on this precept of our Lord. Not only were fuch private offences then judged by the church, that is, by the congregation, but alfo thofe fcandals which affected the whole Chriftian fraternity. Accordingly the judgment, which Paul by the spirit of God, had formed concerning the incestuous perfon, he enjoins the church, his epiftle is directed, to pronounce and execute. And, inhis fecond epistle to the fame church, he fays, in reference to the fame delinquent, fufficient to fuch a man is the cenfure which was inflicted by many- -υπο των πλειόνων, by the community. To whom ye forgive any thing, addreffing himself always to the congregation, I forgive also. We admit, with the learned Dodwell,

that

that in the cenfure inflicted on the incestuous perfon, the Chriftians at Corinth were but the executors of the doom awarded by the apostle. Nor does any one queftion the apoftolical authority, in fuch matters over both the flock and the pastors. But from the words laft quoted, it is evident that be acknowledges, at the fame time, the ordinary power, in regard to difcipline lodged in the congregation; and from the confidence he had in the difcretion. and integrity of the Corinthians, he promises his concurrence in what they fball judge proper to do. To whom ye forgive any thing, 1 forgive aljo. Now, though in aftertimes the charge of this matter came to be devolved, first on the Bishop and Prefbyters, and afterwards folely on the Bishop, yet that the people, as well as the Prefbyters, as far down, at leaft, as to the middle of the third century, retained fome fhare in the decifion of questions wherein morals were immediately concerned, is manifeft from Cyprian's letters ftill extant. In his time, when congregations were become very numerous, the inquiry and deliberation were holden (perhaps then more commodioufly) in the ecclefiaftical college, called the Prefbytery, confifting of the Bishop, the Prefbyters, and the Deacons. When this was over, the refult of their inquiry and confultations was reported to the whole congregation belonging to that church, who were called together on purpose, in order to obtain their approbation of what had been done, and their confent to the refolution that had been taken; for without their confent, no judgment could regularly be put in execution.”

Since the commencement of our critical labors, ftrange as fome of the works are which have fallen under our review, we have read nothing with greater furprise than this account of the original conftitution and difcipline of the Chriftian church. Had it come from the pen of fome of our factious Diffenters, who are diftinguished from other profeffors of Chriftianity, chiefly by their abhorrence of every thing established; or had it been part of a theological lecture delivered in the Circus of Glasgow, by Mr. Profeffor Greville Ewing, to the pupils educated by him for the purpose of propagating the Gofpel at home, it would have been perfectly natural, however erroneous; and though we should certainly have endeavoured to correct the author's mistakes, truth would have compelled us to acknowledge his confiftency. But what can we think of the confiftency-we had almoft faid of the integrity-of that man, who, holding two preferments in the church of Scotland, could thus, from his profeffional chair, draw a picture of the apoftolical church, to which the leaft fagacious of his audience must have been fenfible, that the conftitution and difcipline of the church, which he was intended to ferve, bears hardly any refemblance? Fortunately, this picture, fo flatter ing to the pride and prejudices of the rabble, as little refembles the primitive church of Chrift, as the national church of Scotland; and Dr. Campbell, when he advances ecclefiaftical paradoxes, feems to be deferted by that ingenuity, which, in the region of metaphyfics, enabled him to unravel the fophiftry of Hume.

We pafs over, as wholly unworthy of regard, his infinuation, that St. Cyprian, though honored with the title of Bifhop, was nothing more than the paftor of a single congregation. The most prejudiced

CC 4

opponents

opponents of epifcopacy, which even the dregs of the feventeenth century produced, admitted that Cyprian muft have been the permanent moderator of a Prefbytery, comprehending, at leaft, eight congregations; and they were extremely gravelled to account for his receiving a new and folemn confecration by the impofition of the hands of the moderators of the neighbouring Presbyteries, to fit them for fo unimportant an office! Such a confecration, if it placed him only in the moderator's chair, was indeed, to ufe the words of a learned writer on this fubject, "the very myftery of ridiculoufnefs !"

We might pass, with equal neglect, Dr. Campell's affertions, that, "in the age of St. Cyprian, the people as well as the Prefbyters retained fome fhare in the decifion of queftions refpecting morals; and that, without their confent, no judgement of the Bishop could regularly be put in execution;" for though the truth of thefe pofitions is manifeft, he says, from Cyprian's letters, he has not quoted a single paffage to evince that truth; and we hefitate not to affirm with confi dence, that in thofe letters there is not a fingle paffage to be found, which, if fairly interpreted, gives the fmalleft countenance to the Jurifdiction of the people. One paffage, and we believe but one, has indeed been alleged in fupport of the claim thus urged for the congregation, but Dr. Campbell was too wife a man to bring it into view, for it directly proves that, by the conftitution of the church as then underfood, neither Prefbyters nor people had a decifive voice in the adminiftration of difcipline.

While the perfecution under Decius raged with the greatest violence, St. Cyprian, whofe ftation rendered him peculiarly obnoxious, withdrew himself from public view, in conformity to our bleffed Lord's direction to his Apoftles, "when perfecuted in one city, to flee into another." During his retirement, fome of those who had facrificed to idols, and were, in confequence, denominated Lapfi, became extremely urgent to be reconciled to the church, before they had completed the courfe of penance prefcribed by the canons for fuch offences. In this emergency, four of the Prefbyters, to whom the place of the Bishop's retreat was known, wrote to him requefting his determination of the matter; a conduct which must be confidered as altogether abfurd, if the Prefbyters and people had, equally with the bifhop, decifive voices, in fuch questions. St. Cyprian's reply was fuch as might have been expected from a fuperior to his inferiors, when confulted by them on a fubject, which he had not ftudied, as not expecting it to be fubmitted to his cognizance. The Canons had declared how the Lapfi were to be treated in general, and he had not adverted to the alleviating circumstances of particular cafes. He, therefore, in a letter addrefled to the whole Clergy and Laity of Carthage, fays, Ad idvero quod fcripferunt mihi comprefbyteri, Donatus et Fortunatus, Novetus et Gerdius, folus referibi nihil potui, quando à primordio epifcopatus mei TATUERIM nihil fine confilio veftro (Pref byteratum ct Diaconarum) et fine converfu plebis, mea privatim fententia gerere. Had matters of this kind been ufually determined by the con

gregation

gregation, how could St. Cyprian have faid, that, from entering on his epifcopal office, he had refolved to do nothing without the advice of his Presbyters and Deacons, and the approbation of the people at large? What would be thought of a minifter of the church of Scotland, who, when he should first meet his kirk-feffion, or be first chosen moderator of the presbytery, fhould fay-"Gentlemen, while I am minifter of this parish, or while I hold this office of Moderator, I have refolved to exercise no ecclefiaftical jurifdiction, without confulting you, the Elders and Deacons of the feffion; or you, my copresbyters and elders of the Presbytery?" Undoubtedly he would be thought mad, if he fhould declare fuch a refolution with seriousness, and not very fober, were he to utter it in jeft, when deliberating on a matter fo momentous as the reconciliation of the Lapfi!

NOSTRA

This refolution was formed by St. Cyprian when he entered on his high office, for the very fame reafon that the most abfolute fovereign on earth, if a virtuous man, will take no ftep which can greatly affect the interefts of his kingdom, without previously confulting his ministers and nobles; or that a cautious commander will not hazard a defperate battle, without first hearing the opinion of a council of war. That the Bishop of Carthage did not confider himfelf as bound, by any law human or divine, to abide, on all occafions, by the counsel of the majority, is moft evident from his fending to his Prefbyters and Deacons an authoratative rule (formam) how to treat the Lapfi in his abfence; and threatening them with nothing less than excommunication, if they fhould dare to tranfgrefs a fingle article of it, though fome of its articles were difapproved of by the majority. Interea, fiquis immoderatus et præceps, five de NOSTRIS PRESBYTERIS vel DEACONIS, fine de peregrinis, aufus fuerit, ante SENTENTIAM NOSTRAM, communicare cum Lapfis, a COMMUNICATIONE refecetur. This is perfectly agreeable to what he affirms, in numberlefs places, of the abfolute power of every Bishop within his own diocefe, who may make what ftatutes he pleafes, being accountable for his conduct, fo long as he maintains catholic unity, to God alone. That Dr. Campbell fhould have made St. Cyprian the paftor of an independent congregation cannot excite great furprife, after his preffing the apoftle himself into the fame fervice. He admits, indeed, and it would have been ftrange had he not admitted, that the Chriftians at Corinth were but the executors of the doom awarded by St. Paul; but that the apoftle acknowledged the power of the congregation in ordinary cafes of difcipline, he infers from words, which feem to us to imply the direct contrary. "To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive alfo," is certainly the language of a fuperior to inferiors who have no power either to punish or to forgive but what they derive from him: it is, as if the king had faid to the viceroy of Ireland, during the late rebellion, "I entrust you with the ampleft powers for the public good; fuch of the rebels as ye fhall forgive, I will forgive alfo;" but will any man fay, that, in ordinary cales, the Viceroy's power, in confequence of fuch a fpeech, would have been

confidered