its beauty, but retains its nature that cannot be injured thereby, so in the like manner they affirmed, that they could not be harmed by any impious practices whatsoever, or lose their spiritual seed thereby; from whence the most perfect amongst them fearlesly perpetrated those sins of which the scriptures testify, that they which do them shall never enter into the kingdom of God, eating indifferently things offered to idols, not holding themselves to be defiled thereby, committing without any scruple or horror all manner of most execrable impieties, incests and villanies, most impu-` dently avouching that they were not saved by good works, but by their spiritual seed; which spiritual seed being all perfected, their mother Achamoth shall leave the middle place wherein she hath hitherto lived, between the seventh heaven and the plenitude, wherein the ons dwell, and enter into the plenitude itself, and be joined or copulated with the Saviour, who was made by all the Eons; after which the spiritual shall in an incomprehensible and invisible manner, enter within the plenitude also, to be given for spouses to the angels that are about the Saviour and those of the animal who did well, shall go into the middle space which things being once transacted, a fire which now lies hid in the world, shall

kindle and break out, and with itself consume all that is material, so that it shall be no more."

But as the Valentinians, so the Basilid ians al so, who were another sect of the Gnostics, em braced in a great measure the very same o pinions, introducing "a precedent natural ne cessity to all mens actions, whether of faith or unbelief," affirming, that "faith was a na tural gift, or, the prerogative of nature ;" to which they were forcibly predetermined or premoved, and should be thereby saved, al though their lives were never so irregular and debauched; upon which account, it is no wonder that in a conformity to these princi ples, they openly indulged themselves in all manner of wickedness, "eating without any fear or scruple things offered to idols, and freely committing all other acts of villany and uncleanness, esteeming all actions to be in different," that no good work could advan tage, or bad work prejudice them, seeing they "were by nature believers and elected, and had a liberty to be wicked by reason of their perfection; and although they did sin, yet they should necessarily by saved by virtue of their natural election."

Not much unlike whereto were the horrid tenets of the Carpocratians, another subdivi

sion of the Gnostics, who blasphemously im agined "only faith and charity to be neces sary to salvation; that all other things were indifferent; that according to the opinion of men, some things were called good, and others bad, when in reality there is by nature no thing evil;" from whence, together with the former heretics, they plunged themselves in all licentiousness and debauchery; it being related concerning them by Clemens Alexan drinus, that after their natural inclinations to lust, were excited through the delicacy and abundance of meats at their suppers or love feasts, they extinguished their lights, and both men and women promiscuously joined and perpetrated the most filthy and obscenest vil Janies.

But, what need I mention any more of the particular sects of these monstrous Gnostics, seeing, though each division was signalized by some peculiar notion, yet they generally combined in the forementioned heresies and abominations, taking the first occasion there, of from the grand patriarch and master Simon $ Magus, who affirmed, "that God so created the nature of man, as that by its proper motion and necessary impulse, it neither could, nor would do any thing else but sin; that those who believed in him, and in his whore Selene,

might live as they list, seeing salvation was to be obtained according to his grace, and not according to his good works."

So that the whole swarm of Gnostics, or at least the greatest part of them, united in these two dangerous tenets, that man was fatally necessitated and predetermined to all his actions whether good or bad, and that he should not be judged at the last day according to his works, but be disposed of according to his spiritual seed, election, or solitary faith, which was naturally conferred upon him, and was not attainable by any endeavor or industry of his own. Now, what more monstrous and abominable can be expressed or imagined? By the first of these opinions, God is made the author of sin, represented as an unkind, cruel, and an unjust being, punishing and tormenting his creatures for that nature which he irresistibly forced on them; the nerves and sinews of all human industry and diligence are cut and broken, the nature of rewards and punishments is entirely taken away, and many other blasphemies are the natural consequences of so wild an opinion. By the second, the necessity of an holy life is taken away, licentiousness and impiety are introduced, all manner of wickedness is patronized and encouraged.

Wherefore, in contradiction to these notions, that all true Christians might be confirmed and settled in contrary principles thereunto, the fathers of the primitive church inserted in the rule of faith, that Christ shall come to judge both the quick and the dead; thereby declaring the liberty of man in all his actions, and that the final disposal of every man shall be according to the works which he hath done in the flesh.

Now that a declaration of the freedom of men's actions was designed hereby, will be most evident from this consideration, viz. that in some of the ancient creeds the word autezousios, or that man hath a power over himself, was part of this article; as in a creed of Origen's; one of the fundamental truths assented to is, "that we being autezousioi or, having the command over ourselves, shall be punished for what we do ill, and be rewarded for what we do well:" and in another of his, translated by Ruffinus, it is declared to be the ecclesiastical doctrine received from the aposiles," that every soul is rational, of a freewill and determination; from whence it follows, that we are not subject to necessity, and compelled against our will do either good or evil" and in his dialogues, where Eutropius, the moderator of the dispute between an orY

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