They reform'd both the Old and New Tefta- Chap. 1. Quest 13

ment.

4. Carpocrates, and his Followers, excell'd the reft in Impudence and Infamy. (7) They had Wives in common: They held, that no Action is of itself a Sin, and that it is every one's Duty to pass through all Degrees of Immodefty. They receiv'd the Gospel of St. Matthew, but deny'd the Refurrection.

5. Valentinus, and his Sect, divided the Godhead into thirty Ages, or Affections, fifteen of which were Males, and fifteen Females; and adorn'd them with many other Fictions. (8) They held, that Christ had a Mortal Body only in Appearance: That his true Body was immaterial, invisible, and impaffible, which pafs'd through the Virgin Mother, without taking any thing from her. They faid, there are three Sorts of Men, Earthly, Animal, and Spiritual: That Earthly Men cannot be fav'd, whatever they do; that Animal Men, or Catholicks, may be faved by Faith and good Works; but that they themselves, who were Spiritual Men, could not mifs being fav'd, what Sins foever they committed. They faid, that Martyrdom was a Folly; that Catholicks had corrupted the Scriptures : And they deny'd the Refurrection.

6. Marcion, and his Sect (9) held, that there is a good and bad God: That the Creator, and God of the Jews, is a bad God, cruel and inconftant; and that Jefus Chrift is the

(7) Ibid. p. 277, 278. (8) Ibid. p. 284, 285, 286. (9) lb. p. 291, &c.

Chap. 1. the Son of the good God, who came to ruin Queft13 the Creator, his Law, his Prophets, and all his Works. They deny'd the Refurrection, and that Christ had a real Body. They rejeЄted the Old Teftament, and a great Part of the New. They faid, that when Chrift defcended into Hell, he fav'd the Souls of Cain, of the Sodomites, and of all other Sinners; but left Abel, Noe, Abraham, and the others, who were juft, in Hell, because they did not come to meet him.

7. Tatian, and his Followers the Encratites, (10) held two Gods; and that the Creator, who was the God of the Jews, was the fecond. They faid, that Chrift had not a real Body, and wholly condemn'd the Ufe of Marriage. In confecrating the Chalice, they made Ufe of Water only. And a confiderable Branch of them, call'd Severians (from Severus a Follower of Tatian) abhorr'd St. Paul and his Epistles, and rejected the Acts.

8. Montanus, a Demoniack, pretended, that it was reveal'd to him, that (11) Christians ought to faft more feverely than they did: That great Sinners ought not to be admitted to Pardon: That it is unlawful to fly in time of Perfecution: And that no one ought to marry twice, tho' St. Paul had permitted it, I Cor. vii. v. 8, 9, 39. And in thefe Points he was follow'd by the Montanifts.

But thefe Sects did not end with the fecond Century. Marcion had fo many Followers in (12) Italy, in Egypt, in Palestine, in Arabia,

in

(10) Ib. 450, 451. 452. (11) Ib. p. 472, 473. (12) lb. p, 307.

Syria, in Cyprus, in Thebais, and in Perfia, that Chap. 1. St. Justin faid of him, that (13) be bad taught Quest13 many ALL OVER THE WORLD to blafpheme the Creator. And his Sect continued to the middle of the fifth Century; at which time Theodoret converted (14) above a thousand Marcionites in his own Diocefs. The Montanists alfo continued till (15) after the middle of the fame Century.

IV. The chief Reformers of Catholick Faith, in the third Century, were the Novatians, the Sabellians, the Manichæans, and the Hieracites.

1. The Novatians held, (16) that those, who deny'd their Faith in time of Perfecution, ought not to be admitted to Pardon : And that fecond Marriages are unlawful.

2. The Sabellians held, that the Father is both the Son and the Holy Spirit. But Sabellius was not the firft Author of this Sect. Praxeas, (17) in the beginning of the third Century, preach'd this Error in the West, and Noetus, (18) about the fame time propagated it in Afia. Hence the Followers of it are by the Latins (19) call'd Patropaffians or Patripaffians, because they believed, that the Father was crucify'd; and by the Greeks Noetians, and Sabellians.

3. The Manichæans held, that (20) there are two fovereign, eternal, immortal, and op

pofite

(13) Κατὰ πᾶν Γένος ἀνθρώπων πολλὲς πεποίηκε βλα conuiav λifer, S: Fuft. p. 70. A. Edit. Paris. an. 1636. (14) Tillem. T. 2. p. 307. (15) lb. p. 485. (16) Tillem Tom. 3. p. 472, 474 (17) Tillem. T. 4. p. 237. (18) Ib. p. 238. (19) Tillem. T. 3. p. 75. T. 4. p. 240. (20) T. 4, p. 358, &c.

Chap. 1. pofite Natures, (one the Author of Good, Quelt 13 the other of Evil) both vaftly extended, but independent of each other, and confin'd to their proper Places. Thefe they often call'd two Gods; tho' commonly they referv'd that Title to the Author of Good, and nam'd the other Satan, Matter, Darkness, and the Nation of Darkness. They faid, that before the World was made, there was a Fight betwixt these two Natures, in which God was forc'd to abandon a Piece of himself to Matter. And that, to recover by degrees part of his imprifon'd and defil'd Subftance (for the whole, they fay, will never be restor❜d to him) he made the World. That Parts of this imprison'd Substance are in all Bodies, both in Heaven and Earth. That fome Pieces of it are commonly releas'd by what the Manichæans eat, but that they are more tyed to Matter by Generation. Whence they concluded it to be utterly unlawful for married Persons to beget Children. They alfo believed, that the Light, which we fee, is a Part of God's Subftance: That an infinite Multitude of Gods and Angels came from the Subftance of God by Generation; and that Mofes did ill to forbid the Worfhipping of ftrange Gods. Matter had alfo its Princes of Darknefs: And one of these they faid, gave the Law to Mofes, and spoke by the Prophets. They believ'd, that every Man has two Souls; one effentially good, from God; the other neceffarily wicked, from Matter: That there is no Refurrection: No free Will That Chrift had not a real Body: That all Trees, Plants, and Grass have a fenfitive Soul, and that it is Murther to kill them: That

That the Serpent, which spoke to Eve, is Je. Chap. 1. fus Chrift. They rejected the Old Teftament. Queft13 They faid, that Catholicks had forg'd Part of the New, and had corrupted the rest. They blam'd the Honour, which the Church gave to Martyrs.

ers.

This Sect had two Parts, to wit, the perfect and the imperfect Manichæans. The first by them were call'd the Elect; the latter, HearThese were permitted to marry, provided they did not beget Children; to eat Fish and Flesh, provided they did not kill it; to drink Wine, and to cultivate the Earth: All which were unlawful for the Elect. Their Fafting Days were chiefly Sunday and Monday, in Honour of the Sun and Moon. Sunday was also fasted (even by the Hearers) in Contempt of Chrift's Refurrection. Twelve of the Elect were call'd Mafters, and the Thirteenth was the Head of the Sect. It belong'd to these Masters to ordain 72 Bishops; as it did to the Bishops to ordain Priefts and Deacons. They held it unlawful for any one to give Meat or Drink to any poor People, but only to the Hearers, or to the Elect. From condemning Marriage, from renouncing Pleafure, from drinking Water, and from wearing Sackcloth, they affum'd, from former Hereticks, the Titles of Encratite, Apota&titæ, Hydroparaftata, and Saccophori.

4. The Hieracites, fo call'd (21) from Hierax, a Learned but Heretical Writer of the third Century, held, that Marriage is contrary to the Gospel. So that they receiv'd none

into

(21) 1b. p. 412.