MEMB. III.
Whether it be lawful to seek to Saints for Aid in this Disease.
That we must pray to God, no man doubts; but whether we should pray to
saints in such cases, or whether they can do us any good, it may be
lawfully controverted. Whether their images, shrines, relics, consecrated
things, holy water, medals, benedictions, those divine amulets, holy
exorcisms, and the sign of the cross, be available in this disease? The
papists on the one side stiffly maintain how many melancholy, mad,
demoniacal persons are daily cured at St. Anthony's Church in Padua, at St.
Vitus' in Germany, by our Lady of Loretto in Italy, our Lady of Sichem in
the Low Countries: [2822]Quae et caecis lumen, aegris salutem, mortuis
vitam, claudis gressum reddit, omnes morbos corporis, animi, curat, et in
ipsos daemones imperium exercet; she cures halt, lame, blind, all diseases
of body and mind, and commands the devil himself, saith Lipsius.
twenty-five thousand in a day come thither, [2823]quis nisi numen in
illum locum sic induxit; who brought them? in auribus, in oculis omnium
gesta, novae novitia; new news lately done, our eyes and ears are full of
her cures, and who can relate them all? They have a proper saint almost for
every peculiar infirmity: for poison, gouts, agues, Petronella: St. Romanus
for such as are possessed; Valentine for the falling sickness; St. Vitus
for madmen, &c. and as of old [2824]Pliny reckons up Gods for all
diseases, (Febri fanum dicalum est) Lilius Giraldus repeats many of her
ceremonies: all affections of the mind were heretofore accounted gods,
[2825]love, and sorrow, virtue, honour, liberty, contumely, impudency, had
their temples, tempests, seasons, Crepitus Ventris, dea Vacuna, dea
Cloacina, there was a goddess of idleness, a goddess of the draught, or
jakes, Prema, Premunda, Priapus, bawdy gods, and gods for all [2826]
offices. Varro reckons up 30,000 gods: Lucian makes Podagra the gout a
goddess, and assigns her priests and ministers: and melancholy comes not
behind; for as Austin mentioneth, lib. 4. de Civit. Dei, cap. 9. there
was of old Angerona dea, and she had her chapel and feasts, to whom
(saith [2827]Macrobius) they did offer sacrifice yearly, that she might be
pacified as well as the rest. 'Tis no new thing, you see this of papists;
and in my judgment, that old doting Lipsius might have fitter dedicated his
[2828]pen after all his labours, to this our goddess of melancholy, than
to his Virgo Halensis, and been her chaplain, it would have become him
better: but he, poor man, thought no harm in that which he did, and will
not be persuaded but that he doth well, he hath so many patrons, and
honourable precedents in the like kind, that justify as much, as eagerly,
and more than he there saith of his lady and mistress: read but
superstitious Coster and Gretser's Tract de Cruce, Laur. Arcturus
Fanteus de Invoc. Sanct. Bellarmine, Delrio dis. mag. tom. 3. l. 6.
quaest. 2. sect. 3. Greg. Tolosanus tom. 2. lib. 8. cap. 24.
Syntax. Strozius Cicogna lib. 4. cap. 9. Tyreus, Hieronymus Mengus, and
you shall find infinite examples of cures done in this kind, by holy
waters, relics, crosses, exorcisms, amulets, images, consecrated beads, &c.
Barradius the Jesuit boldly gives it out, that Christ's countenance, and
the Virgin Mary's, would cure melancholy, if one had looked steadfastly on
them. P. Morales the Spaniard in his book de pulch. Jes. et Mar. confirms
the same out of Carthusianus, and I know not whom, that it was a common
proverb in those days, for such as were troubled in mind to say, eamus ad
videndum filium Mariae, let us see the son of Mary, as they now do post to
St. Anthony's in Padua, or to St. Hilary's at Poitiers in France. [2829]
In a closet of that church, there is at this day St. Hilary's bed to be
seen, to which they bring all the madmen in the country, and after some
prayers and other ceremonies, they lay them down there to sleep, and so
they recover. It is an ordinary thing in those parts, to send all their
madmen to St. Hilary's cradle. They say the like of St. Tubery in [2830]
another place. Giraldus Cambrensis Itin. Camb. c. 1. tells strange
stories of St. Ciricius' staff, that would cure this and all other
diseases. Others say as much (as [2831]Hospinian observes) of the three
kings of Cologne; their names written in parchment, and hung about a
patient's neck, with the sign of the cross, will produce like effects. Read
Lippomanus, or that golden legend of Jacobus de Voragine, you shall have
infinite stories, or those new relations of our [2832]Jesuits in Japan and
China, of Mat. Riccius, Acosta, Loyola, Xaverius's life, &c. Jasper Belga,
a Jesuit, cured a mad woman by hanging St. John's gospel about her neck,
and many such. Holy water did as much in Japan, &c. Nothing so familiar in
their works, as such examples.
But we on the other side seek to God alone. We say with David, Psal. xlvi.
1. God is our hope and strength, and help in trouble, ready to be found.
For their catalogue of examples, we make no other answer, but that they are
false fictions, or diabolical illusions, counterfeit miracles. We cannot
deny but that it is an ordinary thing on St. Anthony's day in Padua, to
bring diverse madmen and demoniacal persons to be cured: yet we make a
doubt whether such parties be so affected indeed, but prepared by their
priests, by certain ointments and drams, to cozen the commonalty, as [2833]
Hildesheim well saith; the like is commonly practised in Bohemia as
Mathiolus gives us to understand in his preface to his comment upon
Dioscorides. But we need not run so far for examples in this kind, we have
a just volume published at home to this purpose. [2834]A declaration of
egregious popish impostures, to withdraw the hearts of religious men under
the pretence of casting out of devils, practised by Father Edmunds, alias
Weston, a Jesuit, and divers Romish priests, his wicked associates, with
the several parties' names, confessions, examinations, &c. which were
pretended to be possessed. But these are ordinary tricks only to get
opinion and money, mere impostures. Aesculapius of old, that counterfeit
God, did as many famous cures; his temple (as [2835]Strabo relates) was
daily full of patients, and as many several tables, inscriptions, pendants,
donories, &c. to be seen in his church, as at this day our Lady of
Loretto's in Italy. It was a custom long since,
Vestimenta maris deo.[2836] Hor. Od. 1. lib. 5. Od.
To do the like, in former times they were seduced and deluded as they are
now. 'Tis the same devil still, called heretofore Apollo, Mars, Neptune,
Venus, Aesculapius, &c. as [2837]Lactantius lib. 2. de orig. erroris,
c. 17. observes. The same Jupiter and those bad angels are now worshipped
and adored by the name of St. Sebastian, Barbara, &c. Christopher and
George are come in their places. Our lady succeeds Venus (as they use her
in many offices), the rest are otherwise supplied, as [2838]Lavater
writes, and so they are deluded. [2839]And God often winks at these
impostures, because they forsake his word, and betake themselves to the
devil, as they do that seek after holy water, crosses, &c. Wierus, lib.
4. cap. 3. What can these men plead for themselves more than those
heathen gods, the same cures done by both, the same spirit that seduceth;
but read more of the Pagan god's effects in Austin de Civitate Dei, l.
10. cap. 6. and of Aesculapius especially in Cicogna l. 3. cap. 8. or
put case they could help, why should we rather seek to them, than to Christ
himself, since that he so kindly invites us unto him, Come unto me all ye
that are heavy laden, and I will ease you, Mat. xi. and we know that there
is one God, one Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ, (1 Tim. ii. 5)
who gave himself a ransom for all men. We know that we have an [2840]
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ (1 Joh. ii. 1.) that there is no
other name under heaven, by which we can be saved, but by his, who is
always ready to hear us, and sits at the right hand of God, and from [2841]
whom we can have no repulse, solus vult, solus potest, curat universos
tanquam singulos, et [2842]unumquemque nostrum et solum, we are all as
one to him, he cares for us all as one, and why should we then seek to any
other but to him. |
