Mary concerning him, Behold thy son, Christ himself *"

"This," says he, "we ought to understand, that as the law was a shadow of good things to come, so is the gospel as it is understood by the generality. But that which John calls the everlasting gospel, and which may be more properly called the spiritual, instructs the intelligent very clearly concerning the Son of God. Wherefore the gospel must be taught both corporeally and spiritually; and, when it is necessary, we must preach the corporeal gospel, saying to the carnal that we know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified. But when persons are found confirmed in the spirit, bringing forth fruits in it, and in love with heavenly wisdom, we must impart to them the logos returning from his bodily state, in that he was in the beginning with Godt."

* Ουδείς γαρ εκείνων ακράτως εφανέρωσεν αυτού την θεότητα ὡς Ιωαννης, παραστησας αυτόν λεγοντα, Εγω ειμι το φως του κοσμου, εγω ειμι ἡ ὁδος, και η αλήθεια, και η ζωη. εγω ειμι ή αναστάσις, εγώ εἰμι ἡ θυρα, εγω ειμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλος. και εν τη Αποκαλυψει, Εγω ειμι το α και το ω, ή αρχή και το τελος, ὁ πρωτος και δεσχατος. Τολμητεον τοινυν ειπειν απαρχην μεν πασων γραφων είναι τα ευαγ γελία, των δε ευαγγελίων απαρχην το κατα Ιωαννην, οὗ τον νουν ουδεις δύναται λαβειν μη αναπεσων επι το στηθος Ιησου, μηδε λαβων απο Ιησου την Μαριαν γενομενην και αυτου μητέρα. και τηλικουτον δε γενεσθαι δει τον εσομενον αλλον Ιωαννην, ώς τε οιονεί τον Ιωαννην δείχθηναι οντα Ιησουν απο Ιησού—και γαρ πας ὁ τετελειωμένος 3η ουκέτι, αλλ' εν αυτῷ 3η Χριστος, και επει 3η εν αυτῳ Χρίστος, λέγεται περί αυτού τη Μαρία, Ιδε ὁ υἱος σου ὁ ἄριστος. Comment. in Johan. vol. ii. p. 5.

+ Και τουτο δε ειδηναι εχρην, ότι ώσπερ εστι νομος σκιαν περίέχων των μελλόντων αγαθών, ὑπο του κατ' αληθειαν καταγγελλομενου νόμου δηλουμένων, ουτω και ευαγγελιον σκιαν μυστηριων Χριστου διδασκει, το νομιζόμενον ύπο πάντων των εντυγχανόντων νοεισθαι. Ο δε φησιν Ιωαννης ευαγγελιον αιώνιον, οικείως αν λεχθη σομενον πνευματικον, σαφως παρίστησι τοις νρουσι τα παντα ενώπιον περι αυτου του υιου του Θεου. - Διοπερ αναγκαιον πνευματικως και σωματικως Χριστιανίζειν, και όπου μεν χρη το σωματικόν κηρύσσειν

"There are," says he,

says he," who partake of the logos which was from the beginning, the logos that was with God, and the logos that was God, as Hosea, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and any others that speak of him as the logos of God, and the logos that was with him: but there are others who know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified, the logos that was made flesh; thinking they have every thing of the logos when they acknowledge Christ according to the flesh. Such is the multitude of those who are called christians *.'

Again, he says, " the multitudes (i. e. the great mass or body) of believers are instructed in the shadow of the logos, and not in the true logos of God, which is in the open heavent."

These humble christians of Origen, who got no further than the shadow of the logos, and the simplices and idiote of Tertullian, were probably the simplices credentium of Jerom, who, as well as the heretics, he says, "did not understand the scriptures as became their majesty." For had these simple christians, within

ευαγγελιον, φασκοντα μηδεν ειδεναι τοις σαρκίνοις η Ιησούν Χριστον και τουτον εσταυρωμενον, τουτο ποιητεον. επαν δε εὑρεθωσι κατηρτισ μενοι τῳ πνευματι, και καρποφορούντες εν αυτῳ, ερώντες τε της ουρανιου σοφίας, μεταδοτεον αὐτοῖς του λόγου, επανέλθοντος από του σεσαρ κωσθαι, εφ' ὁ ην εν αρχή προς τον θεον. Comment. in Johan. vol. ii. P. 9.

* Ούτω τοινυν οἱ μεν τινες μετεχουσιν αυτού του εν αρχή λόγου και προς τον θεον λόγου, και θεου λόγου, ώσπερ Ωσηε και Ησαιας και Ιερεμίας, και ει τις ἑτερος τοιουτον ἑαυτὸν παρέστησεν ὡς τον λογον κυρίου, η τον λόγον γενεσθαι προς αυτόν. ἑτεροι δε οἱ μηδεν ειδότες ει μη Ιησούν Χριστον και τουτον εσταυρωμένον, τον γενόμενον σαρκα λόγον, το παν νόμισαντες ειναι του λόγου Χριστον κατα σαρκα μόνον γνώσκουσι. τοιούτον δε εστι το πλήθος των πεπίστευκεναι νόμι ζομενων. Comment in Johan. vol. ii. p. 48, 49.

+ Τα δε πλήθη των πεπιστευκεναι νομιζομένων τη σκια του λόγου, και ουχι τῳ αληθινῳ λόγῳ θεου εν τῳ ανεωγοτι ουρανῳ τυγχανοντι, μαθητευεται. Comment. in Johan. vol. ii. p. 52.

the pale of the church, inferred from what John says of the logos, and from what Christ says of himself, that he was, personally considered, equal to the Father, Jerom would hardly have said that they did not understand the scriptures according to their majesty: for he himself would not pretend to a perfect knowledge of the mystery of the trinity. "For these simple christians," he says, "the earth of the people of God brought forth hay, as for the heretics it brought forth thorns." For the intelligent, I suppose, it produced

richer fruits.

From all these passages, and others quoted before, especially the major pars credentium of Tertullian, I cannot help inferring, that the doctrine of Christ being any thing more than a man, who was crucified and rose from the dead, (the whole doctrine of the incarnation of the eternal logos, that was in God, and that was God,) was considered as a more abstruse and refined doctrine, with which there was no occasion to trouble the common people; and it is evident that this class of christians was much staggered by it, and offended when they did hear of it. This could never have been the case if it had been' supposed to be the doctrine of the apostles, and to have been delivered by them as the most essential article of christian faith, in which light it is now represented. Such terms as scandalizare, expavescere, &c. used by Tertullian, and ragaoos by ταρασσειν Origen, can only apply to the case of some novel and

* Quod dicitur super terram populi mei spinæ et fœnum ascendent, referri potest et ad hæreticos, et ad simplices quosque credentium, qui non ita scripturam intelligunt ut illius convenit majestati. Unde singula singulis coaptavimus, ut terra populi dei hæreticis spinas, imperitis quibusque ecclesiæ fœnum afferat. In Is. xxxii. 20. Opera, vol. iv. p. 118.

alarming doctrine, something that men had not been accustomed to. In the language of Origen, it had been the corporeal gospel only, and not this spiritual and mysterious one, that they had been taught.

I am, &c.

LETTER IX.

Of the Light in which the Unitarians were considered in later Ages, and of the State of the common People at all Times,

IT

REV. SIR,

appears from what has been advanced in the preceding letters, that, whatever might be the opinion of the more learned christians, and of course that of the writers, the bulk of the common people were not brought to a belief, or rather a profession, of the doctrine of the trinity till a pretty late period; and that, if they did not of themselves leave the communion of the orthodox, and raised no disturbance in the church, they were connived at. In fact, they were considered by the more learned as simple ignorant people, who knew no better, and who acquiesced in the doctrine of the simple humanity of Christ, because they were incapable of comprehending that of his divinity, and the sublime doctrine of three persons in one God. This must have been the case with the of oλo, the many, or multitude, of Athanasius.

This writer, considering the violence of his character, speaks of the unitarians with a good deal of tenderness on account of the difficulty of understand

πολλοι,

1

ing the doctrine of the trinity. In my former letters. I quoted a passage from him in which he represents them as the of oλλo, the many, and persons of a low understanding, but by no means as persons out of the church. Contrasting them with the Gnostics and the Arians, he says, some persons considering what is human in Christ, seeing him thirsting, labouring, and suffering, and degrading him to a mere man, sin indeed greatly; but they may readily obtain forgiveness if they repent, alleging the weakness of the flesh; and they have the apostle himself administering pardon to them, and, as it were, holding out his hand to them, while he says, Truly, great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh*."

According to him, many persons within the pale of the church must either have been unitarians, or have : believed the doctrine of the trinity without understanding it; which in fact is no belief at all. Being consulted what was to be done with respect to the spread of the doctrine of Paulus Samosatensis, after acknowledging that persons of low understandings were chiefly infected with it, and quoting what Paul says of the great mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh, he says, "those who understand the subject accurately are few, but all pious persons may hold

* Όταν τινες, εις τα ανθρωπινα βλεποντες, ίδωσι τον κύριον δίψωντα, η κοπιωντα, η πασχοντα, και μόνον φλυαρήσωσιν ὡς κατ' ανθρωπου του σωτηρος, ἁμαρτάνουσι μεν μεγαλως. δύνανται δε όμως ταχέως μεταγινωσκοντες λαμβανειν συγγνώμην, εχοντες προφασιν την του σώματος ασθενειαν εχουσι γαρ και τον αποστολον συγγνωμην αυτοις νέμοντα, και οιονει χειρα αυτοις εν τῳ λεγειν εκτείνοντα, ότι και ὁμολογουμενως μεγα εστι το της ευσεβείας μυστηριον, Θεος εφα vεputy ev σapni. In illud Evangelii Quicunque dixerit, &c. Opera, vol. i. p. 975,

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