farther: "These are the beginnings of herefies, and the attempts of ill-difpofed fchifmatics to please themselves and defpife with haughtiness their fuperior;" and he goes on to advise the bishop how to act concerning him, with that happy mixture of firmness and charity, of which, by a peculiarly intuitive difcernment, he feldom failed to fhew himself a master*.

One Geminius Victor appointed Fauftinus, a prefbyter, a guardian by his will. In an African fynod Cyprian and his colleagues wrote to the church of Furnæ a protest against the practice. The clergy were then looked on as men wholly devoted to divine things; fecular cares were taken out of their hands as much as poffible. Let this again be remarked as one of the happy effects of the work of the Holy Ghoft on the church.

Novatianifm had fpread into Gaul, and Marcian, bishop of the church of Arelate, united himself to the fchifm. Fauftinus, bishop of Lyons, wrote both to Cyprian of Carthage and Stephen of Rome on the fubject. Other bishops in France wrote alfo on the fubject. Cyprian fupports the fame caufe with them in a letter to Stephen. The chief reason for mentioning this is to fhew how the gospel which had fo gloriously begun at Lyons, in the second century, muft now have spread in France to a great degree. Contentions and fchifms ufually have no place, till after christianity has taken deep root.

The fame obfervation may be made of the progrefs of the gospel in Spain, where, by the infcriptions of Cyriac of Ancona, it appears that the light of truth had entered in Nero's time. Here two bishops, Bafilides and Martial, had defervedly loft their pastoral offices in the church on account of their .

their unfaithfulness in the perfecution. Cyprian and his colleagues in council wrote to confirm their depofition, and he fhews that the people were no lefs bound than the clergy to abstain from the communion of fuch, and fupports his argument by the directions of Mofes to the children of Ifrael, "Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men." He recommends that ordinations * fhould be performed in the fight of all the people, that they might all have an opportunity to approve or to condemn the characters of the perfons ordained. He takes notice that in Africa the neighbouring bishops used to meet before the people of the place, where the bishop was to be ordained, and the bishop was chofen in the prefence of the people, who knew fully the life of each and his whole converfation. He observes that Sabinus, who had been substituted in the room of Bafilides, had been ordained in this fair and equitable manner. He cenfures Bafilides for going to Rome, impofing on Stephen, and gaining his confent for his being re-inftated. Cyprian thinks his guilt was augmented by his conduct. Martial, it feems, had defiled himself with pagan abominations, and his depofition, he infifts, ought to remain confirmed.

While these things fhew the unhappy fpirit of human depravity bearing down the moft wholefome fences of difcipline, they evince that there were those at that time in the chriftian world, extremely careful, and that not without fuccefs, of the purity of the church. And if ever it should please God to put it into the hearts of thofe who have power to reform what is amifs among ourfelves, better guides and precedents than thefe, next to the fcriptures, are fcarcely to be found.

G g 3 * Epif. 68.

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In the year two hundred and fifty-four one Pupian, a man of note in the church of Carthage, wrote him a letter complaining of his infolent and haughty conduct in ejecting fuch members out of the church, and ruling with imperious fway. The African prelate had governed now fix years, and had signalized himself equally in perfecution and in peace, as the friend of piety, order, and difcipline, and had with every temporal and spiritual faculty laid himself out for the good of the falling and distempered church; he faw by this time the great fuccefs of his labours, and he must now pay the tax which eminent virtue ever pays to flander and envy, to prevent the rifings of pride, and to keep him low before his God. Pupian believed, or affected to believe very unjust rumours which were circulated against his paftor, and faid that the fcruple of confcience with which he was feized prevented his owning the authority of Cyprian. He himself had fuffered during the perfecution, and had been faithful, probably a person of Lucian's character both in his virtues and weakneffes, and was difgufted at the backwardnefs of Cyprian to receive the lapfed. He heavily complained of his severity, while the Novatian party had feparated from him on account of his lenity. But the best and wifeft of men have ever been moft expofed to fuch inconfiftent charges. It does not appear that Pupian was able to raise a fecond fect of diffenters on oppofite grounds to those of the firft. We will rather hope, that he faw into his error, and returned into a state of charity with his bishop. A few extracts from Cyprian's anfwer (for we have not Pupian's letter) may throw ftill ftronger light on the character of Cyprian, and may afford us fome falutary reflections.

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To the charge of Pupian that he was not poffeffed of humility, he anfwers thus: "Which of us is farthest from humility? I who daily ferve the brethren, and who with kindnefs and pleasure re-. ceive every one who comes to the church, or you who conftitute yourself the bishop of the Bishop, and the judge of the Judge appointed by God for the time? The Lord, in the gofpel, when it was faid to him, "Anfwereft thou the high priest fo?" ftill preferving the respect due to the facerdotal character, faid nothing against the high priest, but only cleared his own innocence; and St. Paul, though he might have exerted himself against those who had crucified the Lord, yet anfwers, "I wist not, brethren, that he was the High Prieft; for it is written, thou fhalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.'

Unless you will fay that I was a paftor before the perfecution, when you were in communion with me, and after the perfecution I ceafed to be a paftor. The perfecution reaching you, exalted you to the honour of a witness for Chrift; me it depreffed with a load of a profcription, when the public edict was read, "If any one holds or pos feffes any thing of the goods of Cæcilius Cyprian, bishop of the chriftians." Thus even those who believed not God, who appoints the bishop, credited the devil who profcribed him.

I speak not these things in a way of boating, but with grief, fince you fet yourself up as a judge of God and his Chrift, who fays to the Apoftles, and of confequence to all the Bishops, the fucceffors of the Apostles, "He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that rejecteth you, rejecleth me.' Hence herefies and fchifms arife and do arife while the bishop who is one, and prefides over the church, is despised by the proud presumption of some ;

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for what arrogance is this, to call pastors to your cognizance, and unless they be acquitted at your bar, behold now for fix years the brethren have been without a bishop?

You fay your fcruples must be solved; but why did not thofe martyrs, full of the Holy Ghost, who suffered for God and his Christ, indulge those fcruples? Why fo many of my colleagues, and fo many of the people, illuftrious for their fufferings? Muft all who communicated with me be polluted, according to what you have written, and have loft the hope of eternal life? Pupian, alone upright, inviolable, holy, and chafte, who will not mix with us, will dwell folitary in paradise."

He then exhorts him to return to the bofom of the church; at the fame time informs him, that in the matter of receiving him he fhall be guided by intimations from the Lord communicated to him, it may be by vifions and dreams.-This is a language not unufual with Cyprian. He repeatedly fpeaks of inftructions communicated to him in this way. We know too little of the mode of difpenfation the church at that time was under to judge accurately concerning this language; certainly the age of miracles had not then ceafed. Inftruction by dreams was very much the method of God in fcripture, and it would be an inexcufable temerity to cenfure a man of fuch wisdom and veracity, as Cyprian was, by tying him down to our modes of judging. If fome expreffions in the letter favour of episcopal haughtinefs, which was then growing in the church, the main tenor of it contains nothing but what Pupian ought to have attended to. A readiness to believe ftories, tending to calumniate the worthieft paftors, is a fnare which Satan has too fuccessfully laid for the church in all ages. Much greater circumfpection is doubtlefs due on

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