evasive expositions, as retained the words, without the meaning, of Christianity. When they began to philosophize upon the great mysteries of our religion, and to insist, that they must either be explained in their way, or exposed as full of absurdity and contradiction; it was then necessary for the [Arminian] Christians to explain themselves, and shew how their tenets were defensible against those subtle reasoners. When these [Predestinarian] points came afterwards to be discussed in the Schools, it is possible they might be spun into some niceties, too fine for common understandings, and too far remote from the substance of Religion to be necessary for them."-Historical Account of the Controversies, &c.

I now proceed, in the words of the younger Brandt, to give a narrative of the manner in which Arminius endeavoured to discharge his important duties, towards the young men with whose theological studies he was entrusted.-Scarcely had he entered the University, when he was requested by two candidates for Holy Orders, Corranus and Jacchæus, to have the goodness to preside over the disputation of their Theses or Propositions, which they had prepared for public examination and to be subject to his superintendence. The Propositions of Corranus were on Justification, and those of Jacchæus on Original Sin; and though they contained some things which were not exactly in accordance with the sentiments which Arminius had conceived on these controverted topics; yet he did not consider it to be inconsistent with his office, to accept the province which was offered. For he was not ignorant, that some of those who were devoted to the study of Divine Wisdom, on more occasions than one, under the auspices of Gomarus himself and other divines, had at their own risk defended certain dogmas, to which the divines who acted on such occasions as Moderators would not in every respect agree. Arminius therefore, on the 28th of October, 1603, complied with this practice, which is by no means unusual in Universities; but he acted in such a manner, that those very learned young men defended their own cause most strenuously, and did not require the aid and interference of the Moderator.

But since, in this his entrance into office, he perceived with sufficient clearness, that the minds of the youthful students were involved in the intricacies of many useless speculations, he accounted it one of his first duties to retrench, as far as possible, the thorny questions and the immense mass of scholastic assertions, and to inculcate on his pupils that Divine Wisdom, which, when sought for in its purest sources, the Holy Scriptures, would

alone be competent to render human life useful and happy. This was the grand object at which he aimed from his earliest entrance into the University, and to the accomplishment of which he endeavoured to direct both his public and private labours. But this laudable attempt was in no small degree frustrated, partly by the envy which some people had conceived against him, and partly by a certain inveterate prejudice respecting his alleged heterodoxy: Many of those ministers who had previously imbibed this unfounded prejudice, excited his colleagues against him.

But the first seeds of this growing envy displayed themselves, in the following year, 1604. Arminius had at first confined himself chiefly to the interpretation of passages in the Old Testament; yet he occasionally explained in public a few in the New Testament: Gomarus could not endure this, and began to pretend, that the right of explaining the New Testament belonged to himself alone, as Principal Professor of Divinity, which title had been granted to him by the Senate of the University a short time prior to the arrival of Arminius. Soon after claiming this right, he accidentally met Arminius, and, not being able to contain himself, in a choleric mood he exclaimed, "You have seized on my Professorship!"- Arminius replied, "that he wished not the least tittle of his colleague's pre-eminence, or of the Academic titles and privileges with which he had been invested, to be either withdrawn or disparaged; and that he had himself done nothing to his prejudice,-for the honourable the Curators had granted him leave to select at any time the subjects of his Lectures either from the Old or from the New Testament, provided he did not touch upon the same matter as that upon which Gomarus might be treating.'

But though the difference which arose from this affair of small consequence, was easily settled; yet others afterwards succeeded, which opened the way to greater dissensions, and such as were far more dangerous to the Reformed Church. Arminius considered that he ought to do nothing in opposition to an undefiled conscience; and that a moderate liberty of discussing sacred subjects was granted to him, as well as to other teachers of Divine Wisdom: He therefore thought it neither indecorous nor unlawful for him to divulge, in a modest manner, his sentiments on the subject of Divine Predestination;-especially since he had not concealed from the honourable Curators of the University, that he did not hold the same opinions on that doctrine, as those which were maintained by the divines of the School of Geneva. After the Professors of Divinity had met VOL. I. * S

together, and [according to custom] had mutually and willingly agreed among themselves about the series and the order in which the disputations were to be held, the province of disputing on Predestination fell to the lot of Arminius, who, on the 7th of February, prepared some propositions on this doctrine, which he exposed for public discussion. The tenour of them was to this effect: "Divine Predestination is a decree of the good pleasure of God in Christ, by which from eternity he determined within himself to justify believers, on whom he decreed to bestow faith, to adopt them, and to endow them with eternal life to the praise of his glorious grace. On the contrary, Reprobation is a decree of the wrath or of the severe will of God, by which from eternity he determined, for the declaration of his wrath and power, to condemn to eternal death unbelievers, who by their own fault and by the righteous judgment of God will not believe, as men who are placed beyond an union with Christ." But, though these tenets did not in every respect correspond with those which Calvin and Beza had delivered on the subject, yet he esteemed them to be no novelties, but entirely to co-incide with the sentiments which G. Sohnius, and other champions of the Reformed Religion before him, had taught by discourse and by writing. Yet, lest he should incur the just offence of any one by his defence of these propositions, he took special care in this disputation not to detract any thing from the reputation of Calvin and Beza, but spared their names, and animadverted on no man who held the contrary tenets.

In the exercise of the same liberty and moderation of discussion, on the 29th of May, he subjected to public examination his Theses on the Church, and on the Sin of our first Parents; and he seized on the opportunity, afforded by the discussion of the latter subject, in the presence of Gomarus and Trelcatius, to confute with the most powerful arguments the Necessity of that first sin, and to establish its Contingency. But though he thought, that many absurd consequences flowed from the opinions of his adversaries on this point, and that all those arguments which are usually produced in apology for this opinion about the absolute necessity of things, deserved to be exploded; yet he conducted his own cause with moderation, both on this and on other controverted topics; and, directing his discourse to the audience, he requested only one favour from them, which was" that they would themselves diligently examine and investigate the arguments which he propounded." He added a declaration, which he was accustomed to make on every occasion both in public and private, that he was prepared to yield to those

who would teach him greater verities. But during this disputation, some persons murmured, and could not endure, because among the other topics which he defended this was one, "There is no Absolute Necessity in any thing except God: Nay, even fire itself does not necessarily burn; but all the Necessity which may be either in things or in events, is nothing more than the relation of a cause to its effect."*

A short time afterwards, the very learned Helmichius, who, had accidentally gone down to Leyden, commenced a controversy with him on the same subject, and they had much conversation together. Helmichius asserted, that in a diverse respect many things are both contingent and necessary.-Arminius denied this with regard to things that are absolutely necessary.-Helmichius appealed to passages of scripture, which manifestly testify, "that the word of God stands, that it cannot be made void, that the counsel of God is fulfilled," &c. And he inferred from them, that what God had decreed must necessarily be done :-Arminius denied this consequence, because God's decree may justly and properly be said to stand, if that which he decreed be done, even though it be not necessarily done.-Helmichius confessed, that the opinions maintained by Arminius were not subversive of the foundations of the Faith, and could not be called heretical.Arminius replied, that so far was this opinion from deserving to be branded with such a black epithet, that, he persuaded himself, nothing would more conduce to illustrate the glory of God, than for all Christians to conclude, "that there is nothing necessary except God; and that He not only foreknows contingencies, but likewise executes his decrees by contingent events and free causes."-At length, after much conversation had passed on both sides, a Conference on all the articles of the Christian Religion, and on the whole substance of Theological doctrine, was offered by Arminius to Helmichius, who declined the offer and took leave in a friendly manner.

In the mean time, the colleagues of Arminius evinced no disposition to enter into dispute with him about these controversies which had been excited; and did not give, either in public or private, even the slightest indication of an unkind or partial spirit. For though Gomarus, who was at that period engaged in the explanation of the Ninth Chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, had publicly pledged himself to examine and discuss every opinion about Predestination, and to add his own and confirm it by proofs; yet this bold announcement did not terrify

* See page 695.

Arminius, who on the contrary declared, "If that very celebrated man can produce such arguments as will not admit of an answer, I will be one of the first to subscribe to his sentiments and to recant my own."

It was his determination to leave his colleagues in possession of the same liberty of defending their sentiments, as that in which he himself rejoiced; and he hoped, that they would on no account transgress the boundaries of Christian charity and fraternal equity. But while he was in this state of security and thinking no evil, a most dreadful storm arose and rushed upon him. Gomarus considered, that he ought not to wait until a fit opportunity presented itself for him to hold a disputation on the subject of Predestination; and therefore, either of his own accord, or rather at the suggestion of others, he ordered to be exhibited, in opposition to the regular course and out of his turn, certain propositions of his own, upon the very topic, which, according to the invariable practice of the University, Arminius had begun to discuss in the course which had been assigned to him: Reports were at the same time circulated through the city, that he would himself, in open defiance, descend into the arena against Arminius. The day appointed for holding this disputation, was the 31st of October: On that morning, in a preface sufficiently bitter and with an agitated countenance, he explained the reasons which had impelled him to hold this disputation out of its regular course; and said many things in public, which seemed to have an evident tendency to reprehend Arminius. The tenour of the Propositions which he defended, was, "That the object of Predestination was creatures rational, salvable, damnable, creable, lapsible, and restorable: That moreover, out of these, indefinitely foreknown, God as an Almighty Ruler had, on one part, fore-ordained according to his own right and good pleasure some particular creatures to his own supernatural ends, which are life eternal, creation in the innocent state of original righteousness and holiness of life; and, on the other part, that he had destined others, who were from all eternity rejected from eternal life, to death and endless ignominy, and to the ways leading to them which are creation in a state of innocence, permission to fall into sin, the loss of original righteousness, and dereliction in the same and that he had done this for the purpose of making known hi most free ability, wrath, and power towards the reprobate, and his saving grace towards the elect." On that occasion Gomaru also defended this assertion which he openly avowed,* " that th

See pages 253, 556, 617.