to expose the Relicks of fome Saint; and the Council of Milan preferibe certain Rites to be obferved in fhowing thofe Relicks, in order to excite the Faithful to the Veneration of them.

We have already noted, that the pretence of Miracles wrought, and Vifions feen at the Sepulchres of the Saints, was one thing that gave rise to this Superftition, and was alledged by the Romish Church in their Juftification : But least these forged Miracles, or lying Wonders should Multiply too much, the Council of Milan Enact, "That "there be no new Miracles Published or Admitted, no "new Relicks received, without the Knowledge & Appro"bation of the Bishop"; And the Council of Lateran says, "It must be with the Authority and Approbation of the "Roman Pontiff". That thefe Relicks, or the most of them were Counterfeit and Forged, is most certain, and numbers of them have been detected and found to be the vileft of Impoftures. This is a Fact fo Notorious, that many learned well difpofed Men of their own Church, have been ashamed of it: And therefore Pope Innocent the third, Decrees, That "Prelates fhould not fuffer thofe who come "to their Churches to Worship, to be deceived with false " and feigned Relicks, as the Custom has been in divers "Places for Lucre fake" But alas! this Decree fignified little; for Dr. Burnet in his Travels tells us, That the Popes of the two last Centuries have Sprung such a Mine of Relicks in the CATACOMBS of Rome, as will fupply that Church with an inexhaustible Magazine of Bones.

D

And

And Mr. Monroe, who likewife was at Rome, and view ed thofe Mortuary Caves,acquaints us,That fome Authors, efpecially the Advocates for Relicks, will have them made by the Primitive Chriftians; adding, That in the times of Perfecution they lived, held their Affemblies, and laid up the Bodies of Martyrs and Confeffors in them. This, fays the fame Author, is the Account that prevails at Rome, and confequent to it there are Men kept conftantly at work in them.

As foon as thofe Labourers difcover a Repository, with any of the Marks of a Saint about it, Intimation is given to the Cardinal Treafurer, who immediately fends Men of Probity and Reputation to the Place. Where they find a Palm Painted or Engraven, or the Cypher X. p. which is commonly read, Pro Chrifto,or a small round Projection in the fide of the Gallery a little below the Repofitory; what is within it, is carried to the Palace (there to be disposed of for the best advantage:) Many of these Projections we have feen open with pieces of the Vials in them: the Glafs indeed was tinctured, and 'tis pretended that in these Vials was conferved the Blood of the Martyrs, which was thus laid up nigh their Bodies towards their Heads,to diftinguish them from those of the others that were not called to the Honour of laying down their Lives for the Faith of the Gospel. But this Opinion is learnedly and effectually refuted as well by Dr.Burnet in his Travels before-mention'd, as Mr. Monroe, by Arguments and Authorities, too long to be inferted in this Effay.

And

And fenior Bencini, a learned Bibliothecary at Rome, acknowledged to Mr. Monroe, that the fo famed Cypher X.p. pretended & infifted upon to be the Marks of a Martyr, was in use among the Ancients long before Christianity began.

As to the Infcriptions of fome Names at large, and Painting found in fome of the Repofitories, a learned Antiquary confelfed to Dr. Burnet, That the Names were Modern, and the higheft Antiquity that could be afcribed to the Painting was 600 Years: So that both these learned Travellers agree, That there is no proof, either of the Chriftians building thefe Catacombs, or of the Martyrs or Confeffors being buried there; and that if they were, it is impoffible to know and distinguish their Bones from others: And there-upon conclude, that these Catacombs, were firft the burying Places of the Antient Romans, tho' afterwards fome Chriftian Bodies might be alfo there laid up f. So that in all Probability the Bones even of the Roman Slaves, or at least thofe of the meaner Sort, are now fet in Silver and Gold, with a great deal of other coftly Garniture, and fent over the World, to feed a Superftition that is as Blind as it proves Expensive.

It is very natural to fuppofe, That even among these Superftitious Worshippers themselves, fome would be under a Concern leaft they fhould be mistaken in the Object of

The famous Sir Ifaac Newton is of Opinion, That these Catacombs were the Caves and firft Habitations of the Aborigines of Italy.

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their

their Devotion: But for the Eafe of fuch fcrupulous Confciences, the Council of Milan declares, That "he is guilty of "no Sin that Worships the Relick of one Saint for another ": And to compleat the Matter they fay, "Tho' the Relicks "Worshipped fhould appear to be no Saint at all, yet the Worshipper is innocent". Thus at length was this Myftery of Iniquity finished. And thus Vile has Rome Papal,that Mother of Harlots, made her felf with the Dead Bodies of Men; and her ftately Temples,or Edifices, which ought to be Houfes of Prayer for the Reception and Entertainment of true and fpiritual Worfhippers, are like to Painted Sepulchres, full of dead Mens Bones, and all Unsleanness, Mat. xxiii. 27.

I now proceed to the second part of the Indictment, viz. The Merchandize made by this Idolatrous Church of SOULS feparate from the Body, ↓oxas aripawar.

This I fhall comprehend under three heads, viz.

1. Firfi. CANONIZATION. The Canonizing of Saints is defined by Bellarmine, as he is quoted by Mr. Willet, to be "The public determination and sentence of "the Church, whereby Men that are Dead are judged to "be Saints, and worthy of Honour and Worship; as to

«be

Saint

"be Pray'd unto, Temples and Altars to be fet up in their "Names, Holy days to be appointed for them, and their "Reliques to be Adored": And the fame Bellarmine fays, "That it appertains only to the Pope to Ganonize -a " for the whole Church, and that none ought to be ac"knowledged for Saints, but they that are fo Canonized "by him; and that herein the Pope is of fo Infallible a "Judgment that he cannot Err in Canonizing of Saints, "because that ordinarily none are Canonized which have "not been known to work Miracles". The fame Bellarmine acquaints us, That Leo III. was the first Pope that Canonized a Saint. This blafphemous Power, notwithftanding what Bellarmine pretends, was fo abused at length, that fome of the Vileft of Men were fet up for Saints, and Worshipped accordingly. Even Thomas Becket beforenamed, was Canonized by Pope Alexander, under a pretence that fome Miracles were wrought by him; and the Name of the Cathedral Church at Canterbury, was alter'd from Chrift's Church to St. Thomas Becket's: And yet at the fame time, the Sorbonifts || maintained in their Public Difputes, He was justly Condemned for Rebellion and therefore his Shrine was put down in the Reign of Henry VIII. and his Bones burnt by order of the Lord Cromwell. Agrippa before-named fays, "There are many that held "heretical Opinions who were counted in the Canon of "Saints". Bonnaventure, who was guilty of Blafphemy

A Univerfity of Divines at Paris.

in