cludes that his real Body and Blood are contained in the Sacrament: Cofterus his Argument runs pari Paffu with this: It was grofs Idolatry in the Apostles, and has continued to be fo in the Church for the space of 1500 Years, greater than that of the Gentiles, Egyptians, or Laplanders to adore or pay divine Worship to Jefus Chrift, if he be not the true and living God. But the Apostles and the C. Church did, for the fpace of 1500 Years, adore Jefus Chrift. Ergo, &c. Pray, My Lord, would it not be unreasonable in this Cafe to say, that Cofterus charges the Apofiles and the Church with grofs Idolatry? And as this would be a good Argument against thofe, who deny the Divinity of Jefus Chrift; the Apoftles and the Church believing him to be God upon the Strength of Inconteftable Miracles, which can only be wrought by an Omnipotent Power, and that for the Teftimony of Truth only. This I fay, would therefore be a good Argument against those who deny the Divinity of Jefus Chrift, otherwife God himself would be the Caufe of their Idolatry. Even fo Cofterus his Argument for the Real Prefence and Tranfubftantiation holds good: Otherwife Chrift himself must be charged with the pretended Idolatry of the Roman Catholicks, believing the Real Prefence of the Body and Blood of Jefus Chrift in the Sacrament, upon his own Express Words: THIS IS MY BODY, THIS IS MY BLOOD. And as it is inconfiftent with God's infinite Goodnefs to work a Miracle in Favour of a Lie, or for the Establishment of a Falfhood; fo it is repugnant to his Infinite Veracity to tell a Lie, or not to fulfil his Promifes.

But

But if after all this, My Lord, I fhou'd grant, that Cofterus was of your Grace's Opinion (which I can by'no Means do) He is but one, and makes fo inconfiderable a Figure in the Cata logue of our learned Writers whether antient or modern (not to fpeak of the Belief and Practice of the Faithful all over the Eaft and Weit, from the earliest Ages of Chriftianity) that it wou'd give me no great Pain, otherwise than upon Account of his Soul: And I humbly conceive, when your Grace made ufe of his Authority, fuch as it is, you did not at that Time, call to Mind that many great and learned Writers of the Church of England are, to a degree of Evidence, much more of our Opinion than they are of your Grace's upon the Point of the Real Prefence in the Sacrament.

To the Second, viz. Whether the Appre henfion of a Failure in any of thofe Things required for the Bread and Wine, and the Intention of the Prieft be a fufficient Reafon not to worship the Hoft, except the Precautions mentioned by your Grace, be taken. I anfwer, First, that it is no Reafon at all; because a Moral Affurance is the most we can reasonably expect not only in this, but alio in every other weighty Affair of human Life. A Man takes a great deal of Labour, and Toil to purchase an Eltate, and leaves it to a Son, of whom he has no other Affurance, that he is his own, but the. Confidence he has in the Virtue of his Wife. Another gives his Banquier 5000 Pounds upon his Bill, upon the moral Affurance he has of his being able to pay him, when he calls for his Money; a third purchafes a Town Land, pays down his Money before he takes or gets Poffel

fion

fion of it, upon the Moral Affurance he has that the Man he deals with is honeft, and will not fail in what he promises. Secondly, That other Sacraments and divine Ordinances are Subject to the like Defects, as to their Validity, and yet a moral Affurance of their being duely perform'd is all that any rational Man requires. A Child is Baptized. He grows up to Man's Eftate, is ordained Deacon, Prieft and Bishop. Neither he, nor his Parents have any other but a Moral Affurance, that it was with Elementary, and not with some kind of those Waters, which Gentlewomen usually diftil in their Houses that he was Baptized; and I am fure there is much more Danger of it's being so perform'd, than of a Priest making Ufe of Rice-flower Bread, or Vinegar in the Mass; because the Tafte in thefe, is always confulted, and wou'd foon difcover the Mitake; but in those it is not. And if it fhou'd happen, that any thing effential to the Sacrament of Baptifm be wanting, either in the Matter or Form, by the Ufe of those diftilled Waters, or by any other Defect, the Man is not Baptized, nor confequently, Deacon, Prieft, or Bishop; neither are those, whom he might happen to ordain, Deacons, Priefts, or Bishops; yet we fee no Scrupple made in believing Men to be truly Baptized, and truly ordained. In like Manner, we need not Scrupple that the Prieft, who fays Mafs, does duely confecrate with the right Matter and Form, but may fafely rely upon his Integrity; and confequently worship the Hoft without any Danger of Idolatry. It is, indeed requifite that all the Care and Caution human Prudence can fuggeft, fhou'd be taken both in Baptifm, Ordination, and in celebrating Mafs;

And

And it's for this Reason, the Defects, your Grace Mentions, are prefixed to our Miffals; to the End they may be avoided, or redrefs'd in Cafe, the Priest, or any other concerned in the things pertaining to the Altar, fhou'd, thro' human Frailty or neglect, commit Miftakes. But that Men thou'd be always in Apprehenfion concerning the Validity of their Baptifm, or their Or dination, or that they wou'd not worship Jefus Chrift in the Eucharift, for fear of committing Idolatry; Except they had been by (as your, Grace fays) at the Ordination of the Prieft, who fays Mafs, and were fure that the Perfon who ordained him were truly a Bishop, and that nothing Neceffary to fuch an Ordination was omitted; and alfo except they had flood by and feen the Wheat ground, and the Wine pressed out of the Grapes, and had kept them both in their Pojfeffion until they had feen the Wafer made, and bad with their own Hands deliver'd both it and the Wine to the Prieft at the Altar; is in my humble Opinion, no way requifite, and, in many Cafes, impoffible to be practiced. And feeing your Grace wou'd put a Roman Catholick under fo many hard and infuperable Difficulties, in order to be certain of the Validity of Confecration, for fear of committing the pretended Idolatry. I cannot help thinking, your Grace muft needs be in the most uneafy Scituation imaginable, for want of thofe Certainties and Evidences (which you cannot poffibly have) of your Baptifm, without which there is no Ordination, no nor Salvation.

CHAP.

Yo

CHAP. VIII.

Of Communion in one Kind.

Our Grace's 28th. Paragraph begins thus: "I have thus long infifted upon the Abfurdities of Tranfubftantiation and it's Confequences; because they appear to me to be fo very grofs, that if you will but feriously and impartially confider them, it cannot but bring "you to a fight of your Errors. I will but mention three or four more of those Additi"ons, which Pope Pius has made to the Catho

lick Faith, and leave you, between God and "your own Confciences to confider of them. "Did then the Apoftles every where teach the "Chriftian Church, under Pain of Damnation "to believe, that under one Kind only, whole

and intire Chrift, and a true Sacrament is 1 "taken and received? Is it not moft notorious "that Jefus Chrift himself inftituted this blessed "Sacrament under both Kinds, and command"ed his Difciples to drink of the Cup, as well "as to eat of the Bread, which he gave them? "Is it not confefs'd by the most learned of your

own Communion (and denied by none that I "know of) that, in Pursuance of this Inftituti"on of Chrift the whole Church every where, "for above a Thousand Years, gave the Sacra"ment in both Kinds to all the People? And "does not St. Paul in the most exprefs Terms, "require that every one should fo receive it? Let "a Man examin himself, (fays he) and fo let him "eat of the Bread, and Drink of the Cup: 1.

"Cor.