ta . / — *^ I



If queatljeb by lyim tn

lljp ICtbrary of

JPnnrpton Sli^oln^tral &pmtnar^







THE

MISCELLANEOUS

WORKS

Of the late Reverend and Learned



CONYERS "MIDDLETON, D.D.



Principal Librarian of the Univcrfity of Cambridge^

In FIVE VOLUMES.

VOL. V.
THE SECOND EDITION.

LONDON,

Printed for R. Manby in the Old Bailey, near
Ijidgate-hill; and H. S. Cox in Pata-nojicrRovj.

MDCCLV.



CONTENTS

OF THE

Fifth Volume.

I. yj Letter fi'om Rome, Jfoewing an exaSi
-^^ conformity between popery and pagans
ifm, with the Prefatory Difcourfe, in an-
Jhver to the objeBions of a popijh writer^ and
a Pojtfcript, in which Mr. Warburton'^
opinion concerning the paganifm of Rome is
confidered,

II. An Examination of the Lord Bijhop of
London'^ Difcourfes on the Ufe and Intent
of Prophecy, with fome Curfory Animadver-

fiom on hi i Appendix, or Additional Dijferta-
tion, cofitaining a farther inquiry into the
Mofaic account of the Fall.

III. A DiJJertation concerning the Origin of
Printing in England, JJjewing, that it was

firft introduced and pradlifed by our country-
man William Caxton, at Weftminfter ;
and not, as is commonly believed^ by a foreign
Printer at Oxford.

T O



A

LETTER

FROM

ROME,

Shewing an cxa^ Conformity between

POPERY

AND

PAGANISM:

O R

The Religion of the Prefent Romans,
derived from that of their Heathen
Anc zstors.



Vol. V,






.n.



â– w_J(.



il



(\



a



To the Rio;ht Rcvertnd Father in God,

THOMAS,

Lord Biihop of Norwich. -



My Lord,

IF the fubjedl of the following Hieets be
not a fufficient plea, for addrefiing them
to a perfon of Your Lordfliip's cbara(fler, I
can alledge another, which will give them
a kind of right to Your proted:ion ; that it
is owing chiefly to Your authority, that they
are now offered again to the public, in this
new and different form ; enlarged with a
prefatory anfwer to the exceptions of a Po-
pi(h Writer, who has charged them witli
falfehood and mifreprefentation ; not in any
of the fads, which they contain, but In the
A 2 con-



DEDICATION.

conclufions, deduced from thofe fad:s, to
the difhonor of his Church. Your Lord-
fhip, who in every part of Your life, has
diftinguifhed Yourfelf, by a jufl zeal againft
the Popifh interefl, thought it necelTary for
me, to take notice of an author, who has
the hardinefs to revive an exploded caufe,
and to publifh an elaborate defenfe of the
Romifh Church in our very Metropolis.
Thus far however he muft be allowed to
ad; like a generous adverfary, in referring
the merit of his argument to the trial of the
Prefs ; which in all countries, where it can
have it's free courfe, will ever be found the
fureft guardian of right and truth ; and to
which this particular country, among the
many great bleffings, which it enjoys, is
manifeftly indebted for one of the greateft,
ifs deliverance from a Popijh Slavery -, as all
our Hiftories teftify, from the Reformation,
down to this day. In the very infancy of
printing amongfl us. Cardinal Wolfey fore-
faw this effect of it j and in a Speech to the
Clergy, publicly forewarned them, that, if
they did not Jcjiroy the Prefs y the Prefs would
dejlroy thern.

If



DEDICATION.

If my endeavours therefore fliould be of
-any fei-vice towards verifying the Cardinal's
prediiflion ; or fhould in any degree anfwer
Your Lordfhip's views, of giving fome check
to the reftlefs fpirit of Ro7ni\ which, how
often foever repulfed, will always be renew-
ing it's attacks, I fhall gain the end> that I
propofed by them. But while I was flat-
tering myfelf with this hope, and fancying
myfelf engaged in a laudable attempt, of
difarming thefe profefTed enemies of our re-
ligion and liberty j there were fome, as Your
Lordfhip knows, even of our own Church,
whofe difpleafure I incurred, and whofe re-
fentment I have felt, on the account of this
very work : who, from the different mo-
tives of party, or envy, or prejudices hafti-
ly conceived againft me, were ready to join
in any clamor, that could blaft the credit of
my performance. To fuch of thefe, as pro-
fefs to adl from any good principle, I have
endeavoured to give fome fatisfadion in my
Preface -, but my chief comfort is, in this
decline of life, that I can appeal to Your
Lordfliip, who knew me from the begin-
ning of it J and under all the attempts to
deprefs my charadler, and all the fufpicions
A 3 of



61 D E D I€ A T I O N.

of thofe, who were ftrangers to it, continued
fliill to treat me with all the ufual marks of
Your friendfhip, as believing me incapable
of harbouring any thought, or purfuing any
defign, which could be injurious to virtue,
and true religion.

For Your Lordfhip had always too en-
larged and liberal a way of thinking, to
judge of men or things, by the narrow views
or prejudices of a party ; and fuperior to all
the impreffions of envy or fpleen, was ever
ready to encourage merit, wherefoever You
obferved it. This has been Your conftant
rule of adting in the Univerfity ; where, as
a Governor of our Youth, You have lived
an example of that difcipline, which You
injoined to others j puhdtual in difcharging
all the duties of Your Station ; nor more
forward to prefcribe, than diligent to per-
form every thing, that tended to promote
religion, good manners, and good learn-
ing,

Thefe fame qualities, which now . exert
themfelves in a higher fphere, are acknow-
ledged by the general voice of the Diocefe,

over



P E Die A T I O liJl ^

over which You prefide ; where all people
loudly celebrate Your Lordlhip's unwearied
applieation to the labors of Your Epifcopal
charge i Your continual care, as a common
Paftor of all, to extend the benefits of- 'it
equally to all ; Your L>eneficence to the poor,
obliging behaviour to the rich ; Your gene-
rous and hofpitable table, open to all, who
feek accefs to You ; where You know, how
to unite the charadler of the Gentleman,
with that of the Prelate 5 to create an eafe
and chearfulnefs around You, and without
defcending from Your dignity, to enter in-
to a familiarity with Your guefts. By thefe
arts, You have gained the affedlions both
of Your Clergy and Laity j and in a coun-
try, unhappily divided into parties, have
effedled, what was hardly thought pofTible,
an agreement of all parties in their efteem
and pfaifes "of Your Lordfhip. By fuch
happy fruits of Your prudence. Your affa-
bility, and your moderation in governing.
You have fhewn what are the moll proba-
ble means of healing our public diiTenfions j
and that the .Church, in proportion as it has
more fuch Blfhops, will always have the
fewer enemies.

A 4 That



I DEDICATION.

That Your Lordfhip may long enjoy that
peculiar vigor of mind and body, which has
enabled You to difcharge all the important
offices, through which You have pafled,
with honor to Yourfelf and benefit to the
public, is the linccre wifh of.



My Lord,



Your Lordfliip's moft obliged



and faithful Servant,



CONYERS MlDDLETON.



».»



Prefatory Difcourfe.



A Late writer of a Popijh book, intituled,
The Catholic Chrijlian injlru^edy &c.
has thought fit, in a preface to tliat
work, to attempt a confutation of my Letter
from Rome-y " which every reader, he fays,
" whether Proteftant or Papift, would expecl,
*' that he fhould take fome notice of, as it is
** dire<5lly levelled at their ceremonies, and has
" been fo well received, as to pafs through
" three Editions within the compafs of a fe\T
*' years.'*

I cannot think it ftrange, that a man, whofe
avowed defign and fole employment amongft
us is, to make converts to the Romijh Churchy
Ihould treat a work with fome acrimony, that
was publilhed with no other view, than to blall,
his hopes, and obftruft his endeavours, to de-
lude the people of this nation : but it gives me
a fenfible pleafure to obferve, what thefe Mif-
fionaries of Rome are forced to confefs, that my
little performance is a real obftacle to their de-
figns i and that one of the firft fteps neceflary
towards advancing the Popijh Intereft in Eng-

land.



'jQ A Prefatory Difcowrfe

land, is to overthrow th^ credit both of the
Letter, and it's Author.

Our Catholic therefore, in the execution of

this tafk, fets out with a general Accufation

againft me of foul play, and difmgenuity, and

a refolution to fupprefs the truth j becaufe my

charge againft them is grounded ohely,'. he

fays, " on certain ceremonies and obfervaiii-

'* ces of lefs moment, without taking notice

*' of the fubftantial parts of their religion •,

*' their belief of the Scriptures-, of the three

*' Creeds; of the Trinity; the Eucharift Sa-

" orifice, i^c. which none will pretend to be

*' derived to them from the Fa^afts.** This is

artfully thrown out, to confound the true ftate

of the queftion ; and to prepoffefs the reader

with a notion, that, inftead of Popery, I am

attacking Chriftianity itfelf, and fuftaining the

caufe of Infidelity, not of Proteftantifni ; but

every man of fenfe will difcern the fallacy, '^hd[

obferve, that it is Popery alone, with which' I

am engaged; or thatSyftem of Ceremonies arid

do6brines, which is peculiar to t\it Ro7niJh ChuH^\^

as diftinguifhed from other Chriftian Churches:

the fource of which I have undert^iken to lay

open, anci by an hiftorical deduftion of fa<5fsi[

to trace it*s origin in a direft line, ' from Pa^ari.

down to PopWj iiome. ' ' , ' . • ' ^'

.. :.. . J zzii iir.& i 2.ig.'l



to the Letter from Rome. ir

In the farther fupport of this charge, I Ihall
now precede to examine our Author's excep-
tions to it, in the order as they lie in his Pl-e-
face, and vindicate all the particular proofs of
it alledged in my Letter, to which, he has
thought proper to give any anfwer: the chief
of which, as he tells us, are, " Incenfe •, Holy
" Water-, Lamps and Candles; Votive offer-
*^ ings-, Images-, Chapels on the way fides and
" tops of Hills-, ProcefTions; Miracles [«].'*
On thefe I Ihall join iffue with him; and en-
deavour to fhew, that his defenfe of them is
not only frivolous and evafive, but tends rather
to confirm than to confute the inference which
I have drawn from them.

As to feveral of thefe articles, he makes one
general Apology •, that I " am miftaken, in think-
*' ing every ceremony ufed by the Heathens, to
** be Heathenilh, fince the greateft part were bor-
*' rowed from the worlhip of the true God ; in
*' imitation of which, the Devil affeded to have
*' his Temples, Altars, Priefts, and Sacrifices,
*' and all other things, which were ufed in the
*'^ true worfhip." This he applies to the cafe
of Incenfe, Lamps, Holy-water^ and Proceffions\
and adds, *' that if I had been as well read in
*' the Scriptures, as I would feem to be in the
*' Heathen Poets, I fhould have found the ufe

[a] Prcf. ib. p. 4,

"of



12 A Prefatory Bifcourfe

** of all thcfe in the Temple of God, and that
" by God's appointment [^]."

I fhall not difpute with him about the origin
of thefe rites j whether they were Jirji injiituted
by M&feSy or were of prior ufe and antiquity among
the ^Egyptians. The Scriptures favour the laft ;;
which our Spenfer ftrongly aflerts, and their
Valmet and Huetius allow : but fhould we grant
him all, that he can infer from his argument,
what will he gain by it ? Were not all thofe beg-
garly elements^ wiped away by the fpiritual wor-
fhip of the Gofpel? Were they not all annulled,
on the account of their weakness and tinprojitable-
nefs^ by the more perfed: revelation of Jefus
Chri^ [<:] ? If then I fhould acknowledge my
miftake, and recall my words; and inftead of
Pagan, call them Jewijh ceremonies, would
not the ufe of Jeijoijh rites be abominable flill
in a Chrijlian Church, where they are exprefsly
abolilhed and prohibited by God himfelf ?

But to purfue his argument a little farther :
while the Mofaic worfhip fubfifted by divine ap-
pointment in Jerufalem, the Devil likewife, as
he tells us, had 'Temples and Ceremonies of the
fame kind in order to draw Votaries to his Ido-
latrous worfhip : which, after the abolition of
the Jewifh Service, was carried on ftill with

[hi Pref. 5. 8. [0 Galat. iv, 9. Heb. vii. 18.

great



to /^tf Letter from RoMt. tj

great pomp and fplendor ; and, above all
places, in Rome, the principal feat of his world-
ly Empire. Now it is certain, that in the early
times of the Gofoel, the Chriftians of Ronie
were celebrated for their zealous adherence to
the faith of Chrift, as it was delivered to them
by the Apoftles, pure from every mixture cither
o[ Jeivi^ or Heathenijh SuperJiition\ till after a
fucceflion of ages, as they began gradually to
deviate from that Apoftolic fimplicity, they in-
troduced at different times into the Church the
particular ceremonies in queftion. Whence then
can we think it probable, that they fhould bor-
row them ? From the Jezvijh or the Pagan
ritual ? From a Temple, remote, defpiffd, and
demoliflied by the Romans themftrlves ; or from
Temples and Altars perpetually in tlieir View,
and fubfifting in their ftreets ; in which their
Anceftors and Fellov/- Citizens had conflanrly
worfhiped ? The queftion can hardly admit any
difpute : The humor of the people, as well as
intereft of a corrupted Prieflhood would invite
them, to adopt fuch rites, as were native to the
foil, and found upon the place; and which
long experience had (hewn to be ufeful, to the
acquifition both of wealth and power. Thus
ty the moft candid conftru(flion of this Author's
reafoning, we muft neceflarily call their cere-
monies JewiJJj-^ or by pufhing it to it's full
length, fljall be obliged to call them, De^vilijh.



He



14 A Prefatory Difcourje

He obferves ; that I begin my charge with
the ufe oi Incenfe, as the moft notorious procif
of their Pagan ifm, and, like an art full Rhetoric
cian, place my ftrongefi argument in the front \d\.
Yet he knows, that I have afligned a different
reafon, for offering that the firft : becaufe it is
the firji things that ftrikes the fenfes, and fur-
prizes a ftranger, upon his entrance into their
Churches. But it fhall be my ftrongefi proof,
if he will have it fo, fince he has brought no-
thing, I am fure, to weaken the force of it.
He tells us, that there was an Altar of Incenfe in
the Temple of Jerufalem; and is furprized there-
fore, how I can call it Heathenifh : Yet it is
evident, from the nature of that inftitution,
that it was never defigned to be perpetual ; and
that, during it's continuance, God would never
have approved any other Altar^ either in Jeru-
falem, or any where elfe. But let him anfwer
diredlly to this plain queftion ; was there ever
a temple in the world not Jlri^ly HeathenifJj, in
which there were feveral Altars, all fmoaking
with incenfe^ within one view, and at one and the
fame time ? It is certain, that he muft anfwer
in the Negative : Yet it is as certain, that there
were many fuch Temples in Pagan Rome ; and
are as many ftill in Chrijlian Rome: and fmce
there never was an example of it, but what
was Paganifh, before the times of Popery, how

id\ Pref. p. 5.

IS



to /^*r LEttER from Rome. i^

IS it pofTible, that it could be derived to them
from any other fource ? or when we lee fo exaft
a refemblance in the copyi how can there be
any doubt about the original ?

What he a! ledges therefore in izr^ox o'i incenfey
is nothing to the purpofe ; *' that it was ufed'
" in the Jewiih and is of great antiquity in the
" Chriftian Church ; and that it is mentioned
*' with honor in th6 fcriptures j" which fre-"
quently compare it to Prayer^ and fpeak of it's
fweet odors afcending up to God^ &c. which figu-
rative exprelTions, he fays, " would never havtf
" been borrowed by the facrcd Penmen from.
" Heathenifh fuperftition [^]" : as if fuch allu-
fions were lefs proper, or the thing Itfelf lefs
fweet, for it*s being applied to the purpofes of
Idolatry j as it conflantly was, in the times even
of the fame Penmen, and according to their own
accounts, on the Altars of Baal, and the other
Heathen Idols : and when Jeremiah rebukes the
people of Judah for hnrning incenfe to the ^een
of heaven [/], one can hardly help imagining,
that he is prophetically pointing out the wor-
Ihip now paid to the Virgin ; to whom they ac-
tually burn incenfe at this day under that very
title [^].

M Pref. p. 6. [/] Jerem. xliv. 17.

[g] Vid. Offic. Beats Virg. Salve Regnia j Ave Rcgina
coelorura ; Domina Angelorum, i^c.

But



i6 A Prefatory Bifcourfe

. But if It be a juft ground for retaining a prac- ,
tice in the Chrijiian Cliurch, becaufe it was in-
joined to the Jews •, what will our Catholic fay
for thofe ufages, which were acftually prohibited
to the Jews, and never praftifed by any, but
by the Heathens and the Papijis ? — All the Egyp-
tian Priefts, as Herodotus informs us, had their
heads jhaved and kept continually bald [i&]. Thus
the Emperor, Commodus, that he might be ad-
ijiitted into that order, got him/elf Jhaved, and
carried the God Anuhis in procejfion [/']. And i^
was on this account moft probably, that the
Jewijh Priefis were commanded, not to Jhave
their heads ^ nor to make any baldnefs upon them [i'j.
Yet this pagan rafure, or tonfure, as they chufe
to call it, on the crown of the beady has long
been the diftinguilhing mark of the Romifh
Priejihood. It was on the fame account, we
may imagine, that the Jewifh Priejis were for-,
bidden to make any cuttings in their flejh [/] j fince
that likewife was the common prafbice of cer-
tain Priejis and Devotees among the Heathens, in
order to acquire the fame of a more exalted
fandity. Yet the fame difcipline, as I ha^e

• [h] Herodot. I. ii. 36.

Qui grege Hnigero circumdatus, & grege calvo.

Juv. vi. 33.
[/â– ] Sacra Ifidis coluit, ut & caput raderet & Anubia
portaret. Lamprid. in Commod. 9.
[>{] Levitic. xxi. 5. Ezech. xliv. 20.
[/] Levitic. xix. 28. xxi. 5.

fhewn



to the Letter fram Rome. 17

fliewn in my Letter^ is conftantly praftifed at
Rome, in fome of their folemn feafons and pro-
cefTions, in imitation of thofe Pagan Enthuftajis :
as if they fearched the Scriptures, to iearn, not
•fo much what was injoined by the true religion,
as what had been ufefull at any time in a falfe
one, to delude the multitude, and fupport an
impofture.

Our Author makes the fame apology for
Holy water, that he has juft made for Incenfe ;
that, in the Mofaic law, we find the mention of
a water fan^ified for religious ufes ; which cannot
therefore be called Heathenifh ; and that I might,
with as good a grace have proved the Sacrament
of Baptifm to he Heatheniflj, as their ufe of Holy
water \m\ It is furprizing, to hear fuch a de-
fenfe from any one, who calls himfelf a Chri-
ftian. The Sacrament of Baptifm was ordained
by Chrijly in the moft folemn manner, and for
the moft folemn purpofe, as the efTential rite of
our initiation into his Church j while there is
not the leaft hint in any part of the Gofpel, that
any other water was either neceflary, or proper,
or ufeful in any degree to the wafhing away of
fin. But our Author's zeal feems to have car-
ried him here beyond his prudence -, and he
forgets what ground he is treading, if he fan-
cies, that he can defend, in this proteftant coun-
try, what he might affirm with applaufe in a
popifh i that the inflitutions of Chrijt ftand upon

M Pref. p. 7.
Vol. V. B no



iS A Prefatory J)ifcourfe

no better foundation, than the injunctions of the
Pope^ or at.leaft of the Popifh Church.

I have mentioned one ufe of their Holy ^^JDatcr^
' in a Fellival at Rome^ called the Benediolion of

horfes, whicli feems to perplex him. He dares
not deny the faft, yet labors to render it fuf-
pefted, and declares -, " that though he had
*' fpent the greateft part of his life abroad, he
*' had never feenor heard of anyfuch thing [«].'*
But whatever he thinks, or would feem rather
to think of it, I know the thing to be true
from the evidence of my own eyes : yet as I
had no ^efire, that the reader fhould take my
bare word for that, or any other fad; in the
Letter, I took care to add fuch teftimonies of
it, as every one will allov/ to be authentic. But
if he really be a ftranger to fo extraordinary a
pra6lice, he muft be an improper advocate of
a caufe, of which he owns himfelf to be igno-
rant. The learned Mabillon, as I have obferved,
intimates his furprize at this, as well as many
other parts of their worfhip, which he had never
feen, till he travelled into Italy, but, inftead of
defending, chufes either to drop them in filence,
or to give them up as fuperftitious : which might
have been the cafe alfo of our Catholic, if he
had been better informed of the fafts, which he
has undertaken to vindicate. But if thefe men
of learning, and teachers of Religion, know fo
little of what is done at Rome^ how eafy muft
it be, to impofe upon the poor Catholics in Eng-

[w] Pref. p. 7. .

• 3 land^



to the "LzTTZK from Rome.
iiVid^ and keep them in the dark, as to the more
exceptionable parts of their worfhip, which are
openly avowed and pracftifed abroad, to the
fcandal of all the candid, and moderate even of
their own communion.

But though our Catholic feems fo much a-
fliamed at prefent of this Benediction of Horfes^
in their Churchy I can give him fuch light into
the origin of it, as will make him proud of it
probably for the future ; from a ftory, that I
have obferved in St. Jerom ; which fhews it to
be grounded on a miracle^ and derived from a
Saint : I mean St. Hilarion -, the founder of the
Monafiic orders in Syria and PaUJline [o].

The ftory is this : " a Citizen of Gaza, a

** Chriftian, who kept a Stable of running

'* horfes for the Circenjian games, was always

" beaten by his Antagonift, an Idolater ; the

" mafter of a rival fcable. For the Idolater,

" by the help of certain charms, and diabolical

" imprecations, conftantly, damped the fpirits

" of the Chriftian's horfes, and added courage

" to his own. The Chriftian therefore in de-

" fpair, applied himfelf to St. Hilarion, and

*' implored his afliftance : but the Saint was

," unwilling to enter into an affair fo frivolous

[o] Necdum enim tunc Monajleria erant in Palo'ftiua,
nee quifquam Monachum ante SanSIum Hdarionem in Syria
noverat. llle fundator & eruditor hujus converfationis ?c
lludii in hac provincia fuit. Hieron. Op. t. iv. par. li.
p. 78. Ed. Ben.

B 2 " and •



go A Prefatory Bifcourfe

" and profane ; till the Chriftian urging it as a
'' neceflary defenfe againft thefe adverfaries of
*' God, whofe infults were levelled not fo
, ** much at him, as at the Church of Chrift ;
*' and his entreaties being feconded by the
" Monks, who were prefent ; the Saint ordered
" his earthen jugg, out of which he u fed to
" drink, to be filled with water and delivered
" to the man : who prekntly Jprinkled his Stable,
" his Horfes, his Charioteers, his Chariot, and
" the very boundaries of the courfe with it. Upon
" this, the whole City was in wondrous expec-
" tation : the Idolaters derided what the Chri-
" ftian was doing ; while the Chrijlians took
" courage, and afTured themfelves of vidlory j
" till the fignal being given for the race, the
*' Chriftian's horfes feemed to fly whilft the
" Idolater's were labouring behind, and left
" quite out of fight ; fo that the Pagans them-
" felves were forced to cry out, that their God
" Mamas was conquered at lajl by Chriji [/>].'*
Thus this memorable Funftion, borrowed ori-
ginally from the Pagan Sprinklers of the Circen-
ftan games, appears to be as ancient almoll in
the Church as Mojikery itfelf, and one of the
firft inventions, for which Popery ftands in-
debted to that religious inftitution.

As to the Lamps and Candles, v/hich arc con-
ftantly burning before the Altars of their Saints,
he tells us once more-, " that though the De-

[;>] Ibid. p. 80.

u vil



to the hiE J TIER from Rome. 21

" vil had procured them to be fet up in his
*' Temples, yet they were appointed originally
♦* by God for the fervice of his Tabernacle;
" and were not therefore borrowed from the
" Heathenifli, but the Mofaic worfhip [q].'*
To which I need not repeat, what I have already
faid on the foregoing articles. I had deduced
the origin of thefe lamps from ^gypty upon
the authority of Clemens Alesandrinus : but he
declares, that Clemens fays 710 fuch thing: yet
does not think fit to tell us, what it is that he
has faid, nor how near it approaches to the in^
terpretation, which I have given of it. Clemens
exprefsly afcribes the invention of lamps to the
/Egyptians^ in which he is followed by Etifebius,