The Eunomians had the oddest way of baptizing that ever was heard of; for, besides that they differed from all other Christians in the words used at baptism, one sect of them baptizing only in the name of Christ, as I said in chap. 8; another sect, instead of saying In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, expressed their own impious opinions in these words: *"In the name of the uncreated God, and in the name of his created Son, and in the name of the sanctifying Spirit, created by the Son, who is himself created." Besides this, their manner of baptizing was to plunge the person but once into the water, and that not all his body neither; for they said, all the parts of the body below the waist are abominable, and must not touch the water; so they used to uncover the person to the waist, and then holding his heels upward, and his head downward, they dipped him into the font as far as the waist. They continued this custom till a ridiculous accident happened :-† A heavy and unwieldy man coming to be baptized, they that were to hold him, with his head downward, let him fall, and he broke his head against the bottom of the font. To prevent which mischance for the future, they invented another way; it was much the same as was one of the devices with which the Dutch are said to have tortured the English at Amboyna, only the muffler was larger, They tied one end of it about his waist, and turning the other open end upwards, they poured in water till it covered the head of the person. So it pleases God to suffer heretics to be infatuated that must have new-fangled ways!

The Catholics, though they judged the trine immersion to have been in use from the beginning, yet since it is not found to be enjoined by Christ nor his Apostles, did not count it absolutely necessary to baptism; for about the year 590 [490], some Spanish bishops sent to Gregory, Bishop of Rome, for his advice. They told him their custom was to put the head of the bap

* Epiph. Hær. 76.

+ Theodoret. Hæret. Fab. lib. 4, cap. de Eunomio.

tized but once under the water; but that some Arians in that country kept up the custom of three immersions, and that they made a wicked advantage of it, by persuading the people, that thereby. was signified that there are three substances in the Trinity, into which they are separately baptized. Gregory makes them answer, That though the custom of the Church of Rome and other churches was three immersions, yet he, in that case, would advise them to keep to their present custom; that "in the same faith different usages of the church do no hurt; that whereas there is in the Three Persons but one substance, there could be no blame in dipping the infant either once or thrice : for that by three immersions the Three Persons, or by one, the singularity of the substance was represented. That if they should now on a sudden take up the other custom, the heretics would boast that they were come over to their side," &c. [530]. So the Spaniards kept to the use of one immersion for some time; for, forty years after, it is confirmed in one of their councils f. But Walafridus Strabo says, that after a while, "the old way prevailed."

The schoolmen among the Papists, though they say that either way may do, yet speak of trine immersion, where immersion is used, as much the more fitting; and for the Protestants, Vossius says, "What son of the church will not willingly hold to that custom which the ancient church practised all over the world, except Spain? &c. besides, at present the trine immersion is used in all countries; so that the custom cannot be changed without an affectation of novelty, and scandal given to the weak :" he means all countries where immersion is used.

Of the circumstances that anciently attended baptism, some are mentioned by Tertullian in the place last recited. One is the signing of the forehead with the sign of the Cross; this is spoken of by all the

*Epist. ad Leandrum Reg. lib. 1, cap. 41. + Conc. Tolet. 4, Can. 5.

§ De Baptismo Disp. 2, Thes. 4.

De Increment. Eccl. c. 26.

ancient writers as used by Christians upon all occasions. They that now-a-days are against the use of it at baptism, do observe, that though the fathers do often mention this custom, yet none of them do speak particularly of its being used at baptism. I gave an instance, [280] I think, plain enough to the contrary, in the First Part, ch. 14; and besides, when they say, as Tertullian here does, that it was used on every occasion that was ever so little solemn, I think they sufficiently intimate its use at baptism, which is the most solemn act of a Christian's whole life;- besides that, Tertullian, speaking of baptism, says Caro signatur ut anima muniatur.

*

St. Basil [260] mentions this custom of Christians at the same place where he mentions that of trine immersion. And St. Cyprian [150], † having occasion to recite that text (Ezek. ix. 4, 5) where the executioners of God's wrath are commanded to slay all, old and young, maids and little children, that had not the mark upon their foreheads, applies it to the Christians, and says it signifies that none now can escape, but those only that are renati et signo Christi signati;

'

-baptized and signed with Christ's mark.' And he frequently, in other places, speaks of it as a thing used by all Christians. And Rufinus says it was the custom for every one at the end of the Creed, frontem signaculo contingere, to make the sign on his fore'head' [290]; and we know that every one repeated the Creed at his baptism, either by himself or his sponsors, as Rufinus himself, in his Explication of the Creed, mentions, and calls it the ancient custom.

It was a noble thing that they designed by this badge of the cross; it was to declare that they would not be ashamed of the cross of Christ; - never be abashed at the flouts of the heathens, who objected to them that the Person in whom they trusted as their God, haď been executed for a malefactor;-never be scandalized, if it came to be their fortune to suffer it them

* De Spiritu Sancto, c. 27. Apol. 1, Statim ab initio.

† Ad Demetr.

prope finem.

selves. On the contrary, they voluntarily owned it as their share and allotment in this world. This was according to our Saviour's rule, to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. He that does this with a firm resolution, is the man that has overcome this world.

Another custom that Tertullian instances in, is, the giving to the new baptized person a mixture of milk and honey. There is none of the ceremonial circumstances that accompanied baptism of which so early mention is made, as there is of this, if Barnabas's Epis tle be so ancient as learned men do think; for as Tertullian, 100, years after the Apostles, here speaks of it as a thing generally and constantly used, so it is also plainly intimated in that epistle; which, because the intérpreters of it have not minded, nor have taken any notice that the place does at all refer to baptism, I shall recite it something at large; and it will appear that this custom used at the Christian baptism gives some light to it, which otherwise seems to have none at all.

He had been shewing that many sayings of the Old Testament do, in an allegorical way, refer to the church. of Christians that was to be. He instances for one, in that description given by Moses of the promised land, where he calls it a land flowing with milk and honey. To explain how this belongs to the Christians, he says (cap. 6) Επεὶ ἦν ἀνακαινίσας ἡμᾶς ἐν τῷ ἀφέσει τῶν ἁμαρ τιῶν, ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς ἄλλον τόπον ως παιδίον ἔχειν τὴν ψυχὴν, ὡς ἀν καὶ ἀναπλαωομένες [1. αναπλαωόμενος] αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς, &c. Since God, having at the forgiveness of our sins e. at baptism] renewed us, has caused us to have our hearts in another form, as the heart of a child, just as if he had formed us anew,' &c. Therefore the prophet thus foretold it: Enter into the land flowing with milk and honey, and rule in it. Id v ἡμεῖς ἀναπεπλάσμεθα, &c. • Behold then we are formed anew;as also he speaks by another prophet,Behold, says the Lord, I will take from them (that is, from those whom the Spirit of the Lord foresaw) their hearts of stone, and I will put into them hearts of flesh... Wherefore, we are they whom he has

brought into that good land. But what means the milk and honey? Because, as a child is nourished first with milk and then with honey, so we, being kept alive with the belief of his promises and the word of his Gospel, shall live," &c. To the same purpose he speaks of baptism as a new formation, ch. 16.

The coherence which he seems to mean is thus:The Christian baptism does put us into a new state'; by God's forgiving us all that is past, and giving us new hearts, we are in the state of children new born. Milk and honey (which are therefore given after baptism) being food proper for children, and being the things by which Moses did characterize the promised land, that character of it does typify the true land of pramise, to the enjoyment whereof the Christians are now by baptism called.

ཀ ་

The custom of giving milk and honey to the new baptized person, whether he were a grown man or an infant, [280] continued down to St. Hierom's time, for he mentions it *;- and how much longer I know not; for I remember no later mention of it: it has however for a long time been forborne. It is natural to suppose that this, being only an emblem to signify that the new baptized person is as a new-born babe, was left off at such time, when the world being come into the church, there were hardly any more baptisms but of babes in a proper sense, who needed no such represen tation to signify their infancy.

3

It was in those first times, of general use among the heretics as well as Catholics; for Tertullian objecting to Marcion, [100] that his Christ, how much soever he undervalued the God that made the world, yet was forced to make use of his creatures even in his re

ligious offices, says, "He does not for all that reject the water of the Creator, with which he washes his disciples; nor his oil, with which he anoints them; nec mellis & lactis societatem, qua infantat; nor the mixture of milk and honey, [60] with which he enters them as infants; nor his bread, &c. being forced in

Adv. Luciferianos.

+ Cont. Marcion, 1. 1. c. 14.