things are fo well known to the world that they cannot now be concealed, I will just relate fo much of them as is neceffary to bring me to my proposed point, viz. to fhew how the word PERSON came to be brought into thefe difputes.

NEITHER in the Council of Nice, nor at any time before, had there any propofal been made to acknowledge the Confubftantiality of the Holy Ghost with the Father and the Son. On the contrary, several Bishops who fubfcribed the Nicene Creed, and particularly the great Eufebius Bishop of Cefarea, after this exprefly calls the Holy Ghoft one of the Creatures that were made by the Son. But Athanafius that he might complete his Trinity, was the firft who ever afferted that the Holy Ghost was of the fame Substance with the Father and the Son, and introduced the Phrases of mic ουσία one Efence, and τρεῖς ὑπότασεις three Substances, which ftrange language gave great

great offence even to many of his own party. He behaved himself fo indifferently, to fay no worse, in the exercise of his Epifcopal office office at Alexandria, that many complaints were foon brought against him: and in the Year 331 he was cited by the command of the Emperor, to appear before a Synod of Bishops to be held at Cefarea in the Year 334, to answer these complaints. But he did not obey this Citation. Upon which the next Year 335 Conftantine ordered a Council to be held at Tyre, and Athanafius to be cited before them afresh, to clear himself, if he could, of the Crimes laid to his charge; and he wrote to Athanafius, at the fame time, that he should not fail to come there ; and expreffed himself in fuch terms as fhewed that he was highly displeased with his conduct. And here I muft obferve that all the Accounts we have of Athanafius from this time are taken from

his

his own writings and those who have copied from them for Philoftorgius, and other Hiftorians of the Arian Party, have been either deftroyed, or else lye now fo closely fecreted and concealed in the present Libraries, that we only fee Athanafius's Actions are represented by himself, always in the best light, and his Profecutors always in the worst. I fhall therefore now only mention a few bare matters of fact which he himfelf hath informed us of and leave the Reader to make his own reflexion upon them. He came to the Council of Tyre, attended by a great number of Egyptian Bishops in his train. Here he was accused of many Crimes of which he fays he was quite innocent; but acknowledges that the Council were fo cautious of paffing a rafh fentence against him, that they fent a Committee of themselves all the way into Egypt, to enquire, upon the fpot, concerning fome facts which were faid to have been committed

committed there. He fays indeed this Committee was compofed of his Enemies and that he withdrew from Tyre before they returned, and acknowledges, that upon their report to the Council, hew as condemned and depofed from his Bishopric. He fled to Conftantinople and defired to be heard by the Emperor; but He would not fee him. And all he could obtain was, that Conftantine wrote to the Bishops of the Council to come to Court to give him a particular Account of this whole affair. Upon this they sent fix Bishops to lay their proceedings before him and when they came, they accufed Athanafius of other Crimes befides those that were judged in the Council. All which exafperated. the Emperor to fo high a Degree that he immediately banished him to Triers, a City in Germany; and here he remained till the Emperor's Death. But while the Council of Tyre was fitting, Constantine ordered the Bishops who compofed

composed it to repair to Jerufalem, to the Dedication of a magnificent Church which he had erected there. When they had performed this office they held a Council in that City, in which they abfolved Arius and his followers from the Sentences which had been pronounced against them at Alexandria and elsewhere, received them into the Communion of the Church, and wrote a Synodical Letter to the Egyptians and Alexandrians wherein they inform them, that they had received Arius and his party, fince they were fatisfied that their Doctrines were very Orthodox.

CONSTANTINE, foon after the Council of Nice had fhewn great countenance to the Arian party, and in the Year 337 was baptized by Eufebius Bishop of Nicomedia, who had all along been the chief defender of Arius and his opinions. Upon this Emperor's Death, the Empire, according to his Will, was divided amongst