fince this bible feems in a peculiar manner to belong to you; being myself far your inferior, I thall not prefume to look for hares in your royalty, but leave you to start those many texts which you fay you can find; and I doubt not but you will play text against text, as much to your credit,`as formerly you did bishop against bishop. Thus relying wholly upon your performance in text-finding, I fhall proceed to an historical argument of no fmall importance to our cause.

I fhall fhew the bishop (notwithstanding his many infinuations to the contrary) that we have at this very hour, a most authentic lift of fucceffors perpetuated in an uninterrupted fucceffion down from one of the apofiles to thefe our days. I will be fo ingenuous as to confefs that if any man can overthrow the credit of the LIST, which I here present my reader with, that then our fucceffion falls at once to the ground, this being the only one now extant in the church. I defign in my catalogue frequently to fubjoin fome remarkable inftance of infallibility in the vicegerent; and shall alfo fairly mention every fchifm, where two or more claimed the fuc

ceffion

ceffion at the fame time, and mark out the man whom I prefer. Farther, reverend doctor, I can affure you that there is no one fact related here, for which I cannot cite as my authors, either Platina, Baronius, Onuphrius, Concil. Conftant, Bale, Agrippa, Weffelus, or father Paul.

A

An account of many of their acts of infallibility for the good government of the church.

A. D. 44. Schifm firft. St. Peter and St. Paul.

T

HE lift of our vicegerents does unfortunately begin with a schism, for Paul as anti-pope did withstand St. Peter to his face. And although without queftion St. Peter be our man, yet was he not a pope after our own hearts, for he did not bear rule, and befides was a married man. 57. 2. Linus.

Hiftorians have very much question'd whether there ever was a bishop of this name, which would make our fucceffion doubtful, but that we are fure this difficulty was started by hereticks. A. D.

5

A. D. 67. 3. Cletus.

Alfo called Anacle us; he did not live long enough in his office, to leave many marks of his infallibility behind him.

Being banished to an island, where two thousand christians were hewing marble, furnish'd them with a fpring of fresh water by a miracle.

84. 5. Anacletus

Ordered priests not to let their beards nor hair to grow.

96. 6. Evaristus

Ordained that priests should be honoured and fhaven; and that no accufation of the laity should be receiv'd against a bishop.

109. 7. Alexander

Order'd that the people fhould be married by none but priests.

117. 8. Sixtus I.

Invented holy water, and order'd it to be blest with salt, and sprinkled, in order to chace away and coerce the rebellious fubjects of Chrift, the deviis. He firft brought up the ufe of linen furplices.

127. 9. Telefphorus

Enacted that no layman should presume to touch the garment of a clergyman.

6

A. D.

A. D. 138. 10. Higinius Brought in fafting in Lent.

long hair.

163. 13. Concordius Soterus

Decreed all marriages to be null without the benediction of a priest.

174. 14. Eleutherus

Was a great lover of fweet-breads. 186. 15. Victor I.

Excommunicated the Western churches for not keeping Lent, at the fame time when he

did.

198. 16. Zepherinus

Order'd that the wine at the communion should not be confecrated (as before it had been) in wood or glass, but in gold or filver: Alfo that no bishop accufed by his patriarch or metropolitan fhould be condemned, but by the apoftolit fee.

218. 17. Califtus

Died of a fiftula.

226. 18. Urban I.

Invented the form of confecrating churchyards; and ordained that lands and farms. might be given to God, but ought to be divided among the clergy.

VOL. III.

B

A. D.