fatisfy the defire of the flesh. And in another place," that Chrift was born of a

virgin for this reafon only, that he might "abolish generation, which is the effect of "an unlawful defire,-the only carnal defire "our Saviour never gratified '.

IRENEUS declares all fwearing, in any cafe, criminal; and herein he agrees with Justin Martyr, as he does likewife refpecting the ufe of marriage, which he pretends was indulged under the gospel only for the hardness of our hearts. He lays it down as a rule, that whenever the scripture barely relates an action without condemning it, we are not to cenfure it, however heinous in itself, but look upon it as a type. And thus he excufes the inceft of Thamar and of Lot's daughters; becaufe, fays he, we must not pretend to be wiser than God. His arguments to justify the Ifraelites robbing the Egyptians of their plate and jewels, are, fays my author, tedious, weak, and ridiculous. The whole of his sense upon this head feems to be comprehended in his explication of Luke xvi. 5. which he quotes thus: Make your felves friends of the mammon of unrighte oufness, that when ye are put to flight, they may receive you into the eternal tabernacles. "For,"

fays

* Traité de la morale des peres de l'Eglife, ch. ii, §. 4 & 7.

fays he, "whatsoever we acquire, though "unjuftly, while heathens, if after our con"verfion we employ it in the service of the "Lord, we are thereby juftified. Agreeable to the principal point of this doctrine, is an order given by the pope to John Giglis, who was made bishop of Worcester in the year 1497; viz. That men fhould be permitted to retain other people's property, by what method foever they had feized it, provided they gave a certain portion thereof to the pope's commiffaries or fubftitutes.

CLEMENT of Alexandria thus interprets the story of Abimelech, from his window feeing Ifaac fporting with Rebecca.- Abimelech, that curious and prying king, is wisdom above that of the world. Rebecca is patience. Now this wisdom attentively confidered the mystery of the fport. O wife fport! O divine fport! cries he; the fame which Heraclitus makes his Jupiter play at, &c. Again, Abimelech is alfo Jefus Chrift our king, who from heaven beholds our laughter, i. e. our thanksgivings, praifes, and tranfports of joy, &c. But which was the window our Lord looked through? why, it was the flesh, whereby he manifefted himself ".

THIS father is extremely rigid with refpect to meats and drinks, which, he says, we fhould

S

İbid. c. iiì. §. 7 & 9. Wharton's Anglia Sacra.
Traité de la morale des peres de l'Eglife, c. v. §. 7.

fhould use only for the prefervation of our lives, and by no means in order to gratify our appetite or inclinations.

THESE faints, as well as their difciples, the Romish monaftics, we fee make great part of religion to confift in acting contrary to the dictates of God in nature. God commands mankind to increase and multiply: but this, say these people, is impure and unlawful. Our Creator hath implanted inclinations and paffions in our natures, and bountifully beftowed upon us the means of gratifying them: nevertheless, in fo doing, tho' within the bounds of moderation, we commit, it seems, a heinous offence. But to proceed with Clement:

WE ought not, fays he, to indulge ourfelves in luxurious eating: but why? because there is a certain devil, a great glutton, who prefides over good cheer, and is the most wicked and moft pernicious of devils. Among exceffes of this nature to be condemned, he reckons white bread, the ufe of which, according to him, is effeminate, and turns a neceffary food into fcandalous voluptuoufnefs. He allows young people to drink no wine, and condemns all thofe who fend for it to other countries. He banishes all mufic, both vocal and inftrumental, from entertainments, unless it be a facred hymn fung to the harp

*or

or the lute. The flute in particular he thinks is fitter for beafts than men, and that for a very odd reafon, viz. because hinds are delighted with the found of it, and because it

was a cuftom to play upon it to mares whilst the horse was covering them. He blames the wearing garlands, among other reafons equally good, because it is an infult upon the paffion of our Saviour, who was crowned with thorns. He thinks we are obliged in duty to imitate what Jacob was forced to by neceffity, when he made a stone his pillow which, according to Clement, was the merit that rendered this patriarch worthy of an heavenly vifion. He declares against the wearing of any colour but white, as being the only one fuitable to the candor of a christian, and in which God always appeared. What grofs notions must this man have entertained of the Deity! Clement declaims against looking-glaffes, and makes the use of them idolatry, because Mofes forbad the making of images. Shaving the beard is an heinous crime, for this reafon,-the beard is a diftinction of fex: befides, the hairs of our head are all numbered, and confequently thofe of the beard and all the rest of the body. Falfe hair is an horrible impiety with him, and perriwigs muft have fallen under the fame cenfure, had they been worn in his S 2 days:

days: 'tis a cheat upon men, fays he, and an affront to God, fince by wearing it we accufe him of not bestowing upon us that hair which is fine enough: and when the priest, in fome function of his miniftry, bleffes a woman that wears falfe hair, by laying his hand upon her head, he bleffes not her, but another, for the head is not hers. He applies the apathy of the Stoics to his Gnoftic, or perfect christian, whom he represents as fubject to no paffions, and infenfible both of bodily pleasure and pain, as he pretends our Saviour was, and his apostles were also after his refurrection. Chrift, he fays, had no occafion to eat or drink for the nourishment of his body; and if he did, it was only that he might not pass for a ghost ".

AGREEABLE to the opinion of this father, refpecting the weighty fubjects of hair, &c. was that of St. Cyprian: he fays, that a woman who paints, or colours her hair, corrupts and violates the work of God, and is worse, merely on that account, than an adultrefs: he adds, that it is endeavouring to make God a lyar, who has faid, Thou canst not make one hair black or white. After having obferved, that our Saviour's hair is faid in the · Apocalypfe to be as white as wool and as fnow, he thus addreffes the ladies: "What," fays

w 'Ibid. c. v. §. 13, et feq.

he,