CHAP. I. Of the Soul-Bell, its Antiquity, the Reaſon of its Inſtitution, the Benefit and Advantage of it, an Exhortation to the Uſe of it according to its firſt Inſtitution.

THE Ceremony of tolling the Bell at the Time of Death, ſeems to be as ancient as the having of Bells them⯑ſelves; we are told,^* it was about the ſeventh Century when Bells were firſt in the Church, and that venerable Bede is the firſt that men⯑tions them. If this be true, then it is as true, that the tolling of the Bell was inſtituted about that Time; for where our Countryman [2] mentions the Word Campana, or Bell, there it alſo is, that we find a Bell made uſe of for the Dead:^* For at the Death of the Abbeſs St. Hilda, he tells us that one of the Siſters of a diſtant Monaſtery, as ſhe was ſleeping, thought ſhe heard the well-known Sound of that Bell, which called them to Prayers, when any of them had departed this Life. But be that as it will, it is evident that the Bell was tolled upon this Occaſion about Bede's Time, and conſequently that the Ceremony is as an⯑cient as his Days.

The Reaſon why this cuſtom was inſtituted, was not, as ſome ſeem to imagine, for no other End than to acquaint the Neighbourhood, that ſuch a Perſon was dead; but chiefly, that whoever heard the Noiſe of the Bell, ſhould put up their Prayers for the Soul: Thus the Father above-mentioned tells us again,^† That ſhe who preſided in this Monaſtery, had no ſooner heard this, than ſhe raiſed all the Siſ⯑ters, and called them into the Church, where ſhe exhorted them to pray fervently, and ſing a Requiem for the Soul of their Mother. Caſ⯑ſalion [3] alſo upon this Place of Bede, ſays, That ^* the ſame Cuſtom is ſtill obſerved in England, that as ſoon as any hath departed this Life, the Bell belonging to the Pariſh he liv'd in, was imme⯑diately tolled, and for ſome Time.—And though (ſays he) the Engliſh now deny, that Prayers are of any Service to the Dead; yet I could meet with no other Account of this Ceremony, than that it was a Cuſtom of the old Church of Eng⯑land.

And for this Reaſon it is, that this Cuſtom was firſt obſerved, and ſhould be ſtill retained among us, viz. That the Prayers of the Faith⯑ful may be aſſiſting to the Soul; and certainly it might be more profitably retained, were it ſo ordered, that the Bell ſhould be tolled be⯑fore the Perſon's Departure, as was undoubtedly deſigned when this Ceremony was continued, that good men might give him their Prayers. Was this always ſo obſerved, there might be ſome Moſes amongſt the Number of the Faith⯑ful, whoſe Prayers could prevail upon God to beat back the Amalekites of Darkneſs; ſome whoſe Faith might remove a Mountain of Sins, [4] and ſome whoſe Tears procure a Multitude of Mercies. O the Comfort of the Forgiveneſs of Sins! Of being guided ſafely through the Sha⯑dow of Death! Of arriving ſecurely at the heavenly Country! What is it that Prayer can't obtain?

But though the Wickedneſs and Impeni⯑tency of the dying Perſon be ſuch, as that the Prayers of the Faithful will not be ſuffi⯑cient to avert the Wrath and Puniſhment of a juſtly incenſed God; yet as this can be only known to God, it will not diſcharge Men from recommending him to the Divine Mercy, in the moſt paſſionate and affectionate Manner. They thereby expreſs the moſt laudable Zeal, the moſt diſintereſted Charity; and whilſt they are ſo ſolicitous for the Happineſs and Welfare of other Men's Souls, they cannot but be thereby influenced to have the greateſt Con⯑cern for their own, and be both encouraged and directed to proceed with an holy Emula⯑tion from Strength to Strength, and endeavour as the^* Apoſtle adviſes, to go on to Perfection.

But, alas! we are fallen into Times of ſuch Irreligion and Prejudice, ſuch Contempt of An⯑tiquity, and ſuch too great Reformation, that what with Indolence on one Hand, and Igno⯑rance on the other; what with no Zeal on this [5] Side, and too^* falſe a one on that; we either neglect the moſt decent Ceremonies of Reli⯑gion, or we think it is Religion to have no Ceremonies at all. No Wonder then, that, in the Midſt of ſuch a crooked and perverſe Genera⯑tion, when the moſt of Men are negligent of themſelves, they are alſo negligent of others: No Wonder, that when there is ſuch a ge⯑neral Contempt of Religion, and Men are care⯑leſs of their own Souls, they are not careful for the Souls of their Friends.

But it is called^† Popiſh and Superſtitious; for what true Reaſon, I know not. Did we [6] indeed imagine with the Papiſts, that there is any^* Virtue or extraordinary Power in a Bell, that it is^† hallowed by Baptiſm, and drives away the Spirits of Darkneſs, then it might juſtly be called Superſtition, and therefore juſt⯑ly aboliſhed. But when we retain the Cuſtom, only to procure the Prayers of the Faithful for a departing Soul, it would ſurely be of Advan⯑tage to obſerve it, if the Prayers of a righteous Man avail any Thing at all; which, if we may believe an inſpired Apoſtle, are of very great Efficacy and Validity.

Art thou then attending a Friend in his laſt Moments? Art thou careful for his Soul, and ſolicitous for his Salvation? Doſt thou wiſh him ſafe through the Valley of Death to the ever⯑laſting Hills? Wouldſt thou have the good An⯑gels protect him, and be his Shield againſt the Powers of Darkneſs? In ſhort, wouldſt thou have him crown'd with the Joys of Paradiſe? Be aſſured then, that the Prayers of good men [7] will very much contribute to the gaining of theſe Things. But how ſhall they then pray for him, if they know not of his Departure? And how can they know that, without the tolling of the Bell? Do thou therefore put in Practice this decent and profitable Cuſtom, not as our Age generally does, after the Death of thy Friend, but before it; before he leave the World, when the Prayers of good Men can aſſiſt him, and facilitate his Journey into the other Life.

Or, art thou working in the Field, or grind⯑ing at the Mill? Remember then, when thou heareſt the Sound of the Bell for one depart⯑ing, that thou put up thy Prayers for him. Be thy Buſineſs what it will, it will always permit thee to ſay at leaſt, LORD, now letteſt thou thy Servant depart in Peace: Or to uſe the Words of St. Oſwald, when he and his Sol⯑diers were ready to be ſlain, Lord, have Mercy on the Soul of thy ^* Servant. It will not be [8] long, till thou thyſelf ſhalt have Occaſion for ſuch Prayers, till thou come to die, and enter on thy Journey to the other State: If then thou haſt been merciful, thou ſhalt obtain Mercy; if by thy Prayers thou haſt aſſiſted the Souls of thy Brethren, thou ſhalt either be remem⯑bered in the Prayers of good Men, or ſurely theſe thy Prayers for others will be of Service to thyſelf alſo, at that dreadful hour.

But now it may be objected, That as the Bell is ſeldom tolled till after the Perſon's De⯑parture, it is to no Purpoſe to pray for the Soul; nay to pray for it, would be praying for the Dead: And ſince that is repugnant to the Doctrine of our Church, our Prayers at that Time had much better be omitted.

Indeed it is too true, this Cuſtom is not ſo common as it ſhould be; but however, it is ſo much obſerved, as will be able to vindicate the putting up of conſtant Prayers. I know ſeveral religious Families in this Place, and I hope it is ſo in other Places too, who always obſerve it, whenever the melancholy Seaſon offers; and therefore it will at leaſt ſometimes happen, when we put up our Prayers conſtantly at the tolling of the Bell, that we ſhall pray for a Soul departing. And tho' it be granted, that it will oftener happen otherwiſe, as the regular Cuſtom is ſo little followed; yet that can be no harmful praying for the Dead. We [9] believe that the Soul is but departing, and it is charitably done to offer up our Prayers: And therefore when it proves otherwiſe, our ^* Prayer ſhall turn into our own Boſom; and like as that Peace, which the Diſciples wiſhed to an unworthy Houſe, returned to the Diſciples again; ſo, though our Prayers at that Time may be of no Service to the Soul, yet they will be of no Diſſervice to us. They will re⯑turn to us again, but it will be no Fault to have miſplaced them.

CHAP. II. Of Watching with the Dead.

WATCHING with the Corps was an an⯑tient Cuſtom of the Church, and every where practiſed. They were wont to ſit by it, from the Time of its Death till its Expor⯑tation to the Grave, either in the Houſe it died in, or in the Church itſelf. Agreeable to this, we read in St. Auſtin, That as they watched his Mother Monica, ^* Euodius took the Pſalter, and began to ſing a Pſalm, which the whole Family anſwered with that of the Pſalmiſt David, I will ſing of Mercy and Judg⯑ment, unto thee, O LORD, will I ſing. And we are told,^† That at the Death of St. Am⯑broſe, his Body was carried into the Church before Day, the ſame Hour he died. It was the Night before Eaſter, and they watched with him there.

How unlike to this antient Cuſtom of watch⯑ing is the modern one, of locking up the Corps [21] in a Room, and leaving it there alone? How unlike to this decent Manner of watching, is that watching of the Vulgar, which is a Scene of Sport and Drinking and Lewdneſs? Watch⯑ing at that Time with a dear Friend, is the laſt Kindneſs and Reſpect we can ſhew him; and how unfriendly is it, to change it into Negligence and too great Reſignation? How unchriſtian, inſtead of a becoming Sorrow and decent Gravity, to put on an unbecoming Joy and undecent Paſtime.

CHAP. III. Of following the Corps to the Grave, what it is an Emblem of: Of carrying Greens in our Hand, what it ſignifies, what Uſe it may be of: Of Pſalmody, its Antiquity, the Advan⯑tage and Uſe of it.

IT hath been obſerved among all Nations, both in the Heathen and the Chriſtian World, as a becoming and profitable Cere⯑mony, to follow the Corps to the Grave. The Heathens obſerved it,^* becauſe it preſented to them, what would ſhortly follow, how they themſelves ſhould be ſo carried out, and laid down in the Grave. The going of the Corps before, ſhewed that their Friend was gone before them to the State of Death; and their following after, was as much as to ſay, that they muſt alſo in a ſhort Time follow him thither. For this Reaſon the Chriſtian alſo obſerves the Cuſtom, and may, if he plea⯑ſes, as he follows the Body to the Grave, en⯑tertain himſelf with a pious Meditation upon it, in ſuch like Thoughts as theſe of the Pſal⯑miſt, [29] ^* Thou art GOD from Everlaſting, and World without End; Thou turneſt Man to De⯑ſtruction; again, Thou ſayeſt, Come again ye Chil⯑dren of Men. For a thouſand Years in thy Sight are but as Yeſterday, ſeeing that is paſt as a Watch in the Night. As ſoon as thou ſcattereſt them, they are even as a Sleep, and fade away ſuddenly like the Graſs. In the Morning it is green and groweth up, but in the Evening it is cut down, dried up and withered. Do thou therefore, O LORD, ^† let me know my End, and the Number of my Days, that I may be certified how long I have to live. Behold thou haſt made my Days, as it were a Span long, and mine Age is nothing in reſpect of Thee; and verily every Man living is altogether Vanity. And now, LORD, what is my Hope? Truly my Hope is even in Thee. Deliver me from all mine Offences, and O ſpare me a little that I may recover my Strength, before I go hence and be no more ſeen. Such Thoughts as theſe of our Friend's, and of our own Mortality, would excite us to pre⯑pare for our own Change.

And as this Form of Proceſſion is an Em⯑blem of our dying ſhortly after our Friend, ſo the carrying of Ivy, or Laurel, or Roſemary, or ſome of thoſe Ever-Greens, is an Emblem of the Soul's Immortality. It is as much as [30] to ſay, That though the Body be dead, yet the Soul is Ever-Green and always in Life: It is not like the Body, and thoſe other Greens which die and revive again at their proper Seaſons, no Autumn nor Winter can make a Change in it, but it is unalterably the ſame, perpetually in Life, and never dying.

The Romans, and other Heathens upon this Occaſion, made Uſe of Cypreſs, which being once cut, will never flouriſh nor grow any more, as an Emblem of their dying for ever, and being no more in Life. But inſtead of that, the antient Chriſtians uſed the Things before mentioned; they^* laid them under the Corps in the Grave, to ſignify, that they who die in CHRIST, do not ceaſe to live. For though, as to the Body they die to the World, yet, as to their Souls, they live to GOD.

And as the carrying of theſe Ever-Greens is an Emblem of the Soul's Immortality, ſo it is alſo of the Reſurrection of the Body: For as theſe Herbs are not entirely pluck'd up, but only cut down, and will, at the returning Seaſon, revive and ſpring up again; ſo the Body, like them, is but cut down for a while, [31] and will riſe and ſhoot up again at the Reſur⯑rection. For, as the Prophet Iſaiah ſays,^* Our Bones ſhall flouriſh like an Herb.

It was cuſtomary^† among the antient Jews, as they returned from the Grave, to pluck up the Graſs two or three Times, and then throw it behind them, ſaying theſe Words of the Pſalmiſt, They ſhall flouriſh out of the City like Graſs upon the Earth: Which they did, to ſhew, that the Body, though dead, ſhould ſpring up again as the Graſs. Thus by theſe two antient Ceremonies, we have placed before our Eyes, our Mortality and Immortality; the one ſpeaks the Death of the Body, the other the Life of the Soul, nay, and the Life of the Body too; for like that Herb we carry, it is not quite pluck'd up, but ſhall one Day be alive again. When it hath laid in the Earth the Winter Seaſon, the Continuance of this World, and the Warmth and Influence of the Spring is come, the joyful Spring of the Re⯑ſurrection, it ſhall be enliven'd, and ſhoot up, and eternally flouriſh.^‡ For this Corruptible muſt put on Incorruption, and this Mortal muſt put on Immortality. O Death, where is thy Sting! O Grave, where is thy Victory! Thanks be to GOD, who giveth us the Victory through our LORD JESUS CHRIST.

[32]There is another Cuſtom uſed in ſome Places, at the Proceſſion of Funerals, which pays a due Honour to the Dead, and gives Comfort and Conſolation to the Living; and that is, the carrying out the Dead with Pſalmody. This was an antient Cuſtom of the Church; for in ſome of the earlieſt Ages, they carried out their Dead to the Grave with ſinging of Pſalms and Hymns. Thus Socrates tells us, That when the Body of Babylas the Martyr was removed by the Order of Julian the Apo⯑ſtate, the Chriſtians^* with their Women and Children, rejoiced and ſung Pſalms all the Way, as they bore the Corps from Dauphne to Antioch: Thus was^† Paula buried at Bethle⯑hem; thus did St. Anthony bury Paul the Her⯑mite; and thus were the Generality of Men buried after the three firſt Centuries, when Perſecution ceaſed. In Imitation of this, it is ſtill cuſtomary in ſeveral Parts of this Nation, to carry out the Dead with ſinging of Pſalms and Hymns of Triumph; to ſhew that they have ended their ſpiritual Warfare, that they have finiſhed their Courſe with Joy, and are become Conquerors; which ſurely is a Matter of no little Conſolation for the looſing of our Friend. And how becoming is it to pay ſuch [33] Honour to the Body! How is it imitating the bleſſed Angels, who rejoyced at Meeting of the Soul, and carrying it to Heaven. For as they rejoyce at her Converſion on Earth, ſo moſt certainly they rejoyce at her going to Heaven. And as they rejoyce at the carrying of the Soul thither, ſo we, in Imitation of them, at the carrying out the Body to the Grave. They rejoyce that the Soul hath got out of a World of Sin, we that the Body out of a World of Trouble; they that the Soul can ſin no more, we that the Body can no more ſuffer; they that the Soul enjoys Glory and Happineſs, we that the Body reſts from its Labours.

When therefore we attend the Corps of a Neighbour or Relation, and this decent Cere⯑mony is perform'd, let it alſo have a Share of our Thoughts, and excite in us Joy and Com⯑fort, and Thankſgiving and Praiſe. And when theſe Cuſtoms are ſo obſerved, they will be of great Advantage to us, making us ſtill fitter for the heavenly Life. And ſurely a Thing of this Good and Profit, is much to be preferr'd to what hath in it nothing but Undecency and Irreverence; ſuch is our laughing and jeſting, and telling of News, when we accompany a Neighbour to the Grave. There is indeed a Mean to be obſerved, as in all other Things, ſo in this; we muſt neither be too ſad, nor [34] too merry; we muſt not be ſo merry as to throw off all the Signs of Affection and Love, all the Tokens of Eſteem and Humanity; nor muſt we^* ſorrow even as others, which have no Hope. But we muſt ^† be ſo merry as to be able to ſing Pſalms, and ſo afflicted as to be ex⯑cited to pray.

CHAP. IV. Of Garlands in Country Churches: Of ſtrawing Flowers on the Grave; the Antiquity of theſe Cuſtoms, the Innocency of them.

IN ſome Country Churches 'tis cuſtomary, to hang a Garland of Flowers over the Seats of deceaſed Virgins, as a Token of Eſteem and Love, and an Emblem of their Reward in the heavenly Church.

This Cuſtom perhaps may be look'd upon, as ſprung from that ancient Cuſtom of the Heathens, of crowning their Corps, with Gar⯑lands in Token of Victory. But Mr. Bingham tells us, That we find not this Cuſtom uſed by the Ancients in their Funeral Rites. For as he obſerves, the Heathen in Minutius makes it one Topick of Accuſation againſt them,^* That they did not crown their Sepulchres.

But if they did not crown them after the Manner of the Heathens, they had a Cuſtom of uſing Crowns of Flowers, if we may believe Caſſalion, who tells us,^† It was a Cuſtom of the ancient Chriſtians to place Crowns of [40] Flowers, at the Heads of deceaſed Virgins; for which he quotes Damaſcen, Gregory Nyſſen, St. Jerom and St. Auſtin. And this hath pro⯑bably been the Original of this Cuſtom among the Vulgar.

That other Cuſtom of ſtrawing Flowers up⯑on the Graves of their departed Friends, is alſo derived from a Cuſtom of the ancient Church. For it was uſual in thoſe Times for the common Sort of People, to ſtraw the Graves of their Friends with various Flowers. Of this there are two notable Inſtances taken No⯑tice of by Caſſalion, and ſeveral other Ritualiſts. The one is that of St. Ambroſe, in his Funeral Oration on the Death of Valentinian, ^* I will not ſprinkle his Grave with Flowers, but pour on his Spirit the Odour of CHRIST. Let others ſcatter Baſkets of Flowers: CHRIST is our Lilly, and with this will I conſecrate his Relicks.

The other is that of St. Jerom, in his E⯑piſtle to Pammachius upon the Death of his Wife.^† Whilſt other Huſbands ſtrawed Vio⯑lets, [41] and Roſes, and Lillies, and purple Flow⯑ers, upon the Graves of their Wives, and com⯑forted themſelves with ſuch like Offices, Pam⯑machius bedew'd her Aſhes and venerable Bones with the Balſam of Alms.

Now theſe Inſtances, tho' they juſtly com⯑mend theſe other Actions, and wiſely prefer them to the Ceremonies of adorning Graves with Flowers, yet they no Way decry theſe ancient Cuſtoms. Theſe lower Marks of Eſ⯑teem and Honour, which the Vulgar paid to the Remains of their Friends, were in them⯑ſelves harmleſs and innocent, and had no Cenſure; and as they were ſo, ſo ſhould the preſent Cuſtoms be without any, being full as harmleſs and innocent as the other.

CHAP. V. Of Bowing towards the Altar at the firſt coming into the Church; a Cuſtom generally obſerved by ignorant People; its Meaning and Antiquity.

WE may obſerve the Generality of old People among the Commonalty, as they enter into the Church, to turn their Faces to⯑wards the Altar, and bow or kneel that Way. This, no Doubt, is the Remains of that an⯑cient Cuſtom of the Church, of worſhipping toward the Eaſt: For in the ancient Church they worſhipped that Way upon ſeveral Ac⯑counts. Firſt, That by ſo worſhipping, they might lift up their Minds to GOD, who is called the Light and the Creator of Light. And therefore St. Auſtin ſays,^* When we pray ſtanding, we turn our Faces to the Eaſt, from whence the Day ſprings, that we might be reminded of turning to a more excellent Na⯑ture, namely, The LORD. Secondly, That for as much as Man was driven out of Para⯑diſe, which is towards the Eaſt, he ought to look that Way, which is an Emblem of his [45] Deſire to return thither. St. Damaſcen there⯑fore tells us, That^† becauſe the Scripture ſays, That GOD planted Paradiſe in Eden to⯑wards the Eaſt, where he placed the Man which he had formed, whom he puniſh'd with Baniſh⯑ment upon his Tranſgreſſion, and made him dwell over againſt Paradiſe, in the weſtern Part; we therefore pray, (ſays he) being in Queſt of our ancient Country; and as it were panting after it, do worſhip GOD that Way. Thirdly, It was uſed when any were baptized. They firſt turn'd their Faces to the Weſt, and ſo renounc'd the Devil; and then to the Eaſt, and made their Covenant with CHRIST. Laſt⯑ly, They prayed that Way, believing that our SAVIOUR would come to Judgment from that Quarter of the Heavens. For as the Lightning cometh out of the Eaſt, and ſhineth unto the Weſt, ſo ſhall the Coming of the Son of Man be; and he is to come in like Manner as he aſcended. And that he aſcended up Eaſtward from Mount Oli⯑vet, St.^† Damaſcen aſſures us. For (ſays he) when he aſcended into Heaven, he was taken up Eaſtward, and his Diſciples worſhipped him that Way. And therefore chiefly it was, that in the ancient Church they prayed with their Faces to the Eaſt; and that many of our own Church at this Day, turn their ^* [46] Faces to that Quarter of the World, at the Repetition of the Creed.

What may more confirm this, and ſpeak it to have been the univerſal Opinion of the Church, is the ancient Cuſtom of burying the Corps, with the Feet to the Eaſt, and the Head to the Weſt; which Cuſtom is continued to this Day in the whole Church of England: This was obſerved for the ſame Reaſon, That, at the Coming of CHRIST to Judgment from the oriental Part of Heaven, our Bodies might be found in a praying Poſture, with their Faces towards the Eaſt.

Our learned Countryman Gregory tells us, ‘That the holy Men of Jeruſalem hold a Tra⯑dition generally received from their Ancients, that our SAVIOUR himſelf was buried with his Face and Feet towards the Eaſt.’ It is affirmed by the Geographers of the holy Land. And Bede ſays,^* That as the Holy Women enter'd at the Eaſtern Part into the Round-houſe, which is hewn out in the Rock, they ſaw the Angel ſitting at the South Part of the Place, where the Body of JESUS had lain, [47] that is, at his Right Hand; for undoubtedly his Body having his Face upwards and its Head to the Weſt, muſt have its Right Hand to the South. Caſſalion ſays,^* The Faithful of old were ſo obſerving of this Ceremony of looking towards the Eaſt, that they not only ſtrictly obſerved it in their Prayers when liv⯑ing; but even when they were dead, their Bodies were placed with their Faces upwards in the Sepulchre, looking towards the Eaſt.

The learned Dr. Comber, in his Diſcourſe of the ſolemn Interment, hath theſe Words upon this ſubject, ‘We may note the Poſiture and Poſition of the Corps, which among the Chri⯑ſtians hath always been to turn the Feet to the Eaſt, with the Head to the Weſt; that ſo they may be ready to meet the LORD, whom the Ancients did believe ſhould ap⯑pear in the oriental Part of Heaven. Durand. Rat. Lib. 7. Cap. 33. Or as our ingenious Mr Gregory believes, That they might be in the Poſture of Prayer, with their Faces to the Eaſt, as ſoon as they were raiſed. There are ſome ancient Authors tell us, That the old Inhabitants of Attica buried thus before [48] the Days of Solon, who, as they report, con⯑vinced the Athenians, that the Iſland of Sa⯑lamis did of Right belong to them, by ſhew⯑ing them dead Bodies looking that Way, and Sepulchres turned towards the Eaſt, as they uſed to bury. Diog. Laert. Vit. Solon, &c. And the Scholiaſt upon Thucidides ſays, It was the Manner of all the Greeks to bury their Dead thus: Though a learned modern Writer ſuppoſes theſe Authors miſtaken, and cites Plutarch and Elian to prove, that the Athenians turned their Dead towards the Weſt. However it is certain, that all Na⯑tions had one certain Way of placing the Corps, from which they would not vary; and we Chriſtians have ſo great Antiquity for our Cuſtom, that we ought not out of Singularity to alter it.’

No Doubt but this learned Man had great Reaſon for this Concluſion, as well knowing that this ancient Rite was ſtruck at by the whole Herd of Sectaries, as a filly Fancy and an idle Dream: Who never would obſerve it, were it not that they are ſometimes obliged; but would with thoſe who are not obliged, act the very Reverſe, and bury North and South. I wiſh there were no powerfuller Enemies to it, than them now a Days; but, as a Man's Enemies are too often thoſe of his own Houſhold; ſo, 'tis to be lamented, that ſome who pre⯑tend [49] to be of our own Church, are upon all Occaſions ſecret Advocates againſt this Cere⯑mony. When therefore there is ſuch Oppo⯑ſition without, and ſuch Treachery within, 'tis high Time to be on the Guard againſt our Enemies; leaſt a Ceremony ſo venerable for its Antiquity, and ſo uſeful in its Obſervation, be laid aſide: Was it but for this one Thing, that it ſpeaks the Hope of the whole Chriſtian Church, ſince the earlieſt Times of Chriſtianity, about the Reſurrection of the ſame Body. It is too true, that there are ſome at this Time of the Day, as well as were in the Days of the Apoſtle, who think it a Thing incredible that GOD ſhould raiſe the Dead; ſome really diſ⯑believing the Reſurrection of any Body, and others that of the ſame Body. But as long as this Ceremony is in Being, it will always be a ready Proof, that the whole Chriſtian Church did not only believe the Reſurrection of the Body, but of that very Body which was laid down in the Grave. For they obſerved it, that they might be ready with their Faces to meet their SAVIOUR at his coming to Judgment, which certainly implies that they believed that very Body ſhould riſe again.

CHAP. VI. Of the Time of Cock-crow: Whether evil Spirits wander about in the Time of Night; and whe⯑ther they fly away at the Time of Cock-crow. Reflections upon this, encouraging us to have Faith and Truſt in God.

IT is a received Tradition among the Vul⯑gar, That at the Time of Cock-crowing, the Midnight Spirits forſake theſe lower Re⯑gions, and go to their proper Places. They wander, ſay they, about the World, from the dead Hour of Night, when all Things are bu⯑ried in Sleep and Darkneſs, till the Time of Cock-crowing, and then they depart. Hence it is, that in Country-Places, where the Way of Life requires more early Labour, they al⯑ways go chearfully to Work at that Time; whereas if they are called abroad ſooner, they are apt to imagine every Thing they ſee or hear, to be a wandring Ghoſt. Shakeſpear hath given us an excellent Account of this vulgar Notion, in his Tragedy of Hamlet.

Now to ſhew what Truth there is in this vulgar Opinion, I ſhall conſider, Firſt, What Truth there is in the Roaming of Spirits in the Night. And, Secondly, Whether they are ob⯑liged to go away at Cock-crow.

I believe none who aſſent to the Truth of Divine Revelation, deny that there are good and evil Angels attending upon Men; the one to guard and protect them, and the other to harm and work their Ruin; that the one are thoſe^* miniſtring Spirits, which are ſent out to miniſter to the Heirs of Salvation; the other the roaring Lion, and his Inſtruments,^† who wander too and fro in the Earth; theſe ^‡ un⯑clean Spirits who wander through dry Places, ſeeking Reſt and finding none.

NOR, I believe, will it be queſtion'd, that there have been Apparitions of good and evil Spirits, and that many, with our SAVIOUR'S [56] Diſciples, have been affrighted and cried out, not only with ſuppoſing they had ſeen, but really with ſeeing a Spirit. Of this the Teſti⯑mony of all Ages, and Scripture it ſelf are a ſufficient Demonſtration.

What then could theſe have ordinarily been, but the Appearances of ſome of thoſe Angels of Light, or Darkneſs? For I am far from thinking that either the Ghoſts of the Damn'd or the Happy, either the Soul of a Dives or a Lazarus, returns here any more. For as St. Athanaſius obſerves,^* Theſe Viſions and Shades of the Saints, which appear in the Temples and at the Tombs, are not the Souls of the Saints themſelves, but the good Angels appearing in their Shapes. Not that GOD could not remand the Ghoſt of Samuel, and order it again to viſit the Earth, as he made Moſes and Elias to ap⯑pear at our SAVIOUR'S Transfiguration; but that a Thing of this Nature was very uncom⯑mon, and ſeldom happen'd.

Taking it therefore for granted, that there have been Apparitions of Angels, I believe it will alſo be owned, that theſe Apparitions have frequently happen'd in the Night. And truly, was there no direct Proof of this, yet the No⯑tion of their appearing in the Night, being as it were link'd and chained to our Idea of an [57] Apparition, would almoſt perſwade us, that the Night is the moſt proper Time for ſuch Appearances. Whether it is, that the Fables of Nurſes,^* as an ingenious Author imagines, ‘have ſo aſſociated the Idea of Spirit to the Night, that the one never appears with⯑out the other;’ or whether there is ſome⯑thing in the Preſence of Night, ſome Awful⯑neſs and Horrour, which naturally diſpoſe the Mind of Man to theſe Reflections. I am indeed very inclinable to believe, that theſe Legendary Stories of Nurſes and old Women, are the Occaſion of much greater Fears, than People without them, would generally have of theſe Things; but I cannot help thinking, that the Preſence of Night, would naturally lead a Man to ſome Reflection of Spirits, without any ſuch Cauſe as that learned Author men⯑tions. There are ſome particular Times, which will naturally raiſe ſome particular Thoughts: Thus on a bright ſunny Day we are naturally diſpoſed to Mirth and Gaiety; when the Day over-caſts, or the Weather is hazy, we then turn indolent and dull, and ſooth our ſelves in Melancholly; if it Thunder and Lighten, we think of the Day of Judgment and ſudden Death: And thus alſo the Night, as it inclines us to grave and ſerious Thoughts, raiſes in us [58] Horrour and Diſmay, and makes us afraid, even when our Judgment tells us there is no Fear; ſo it may of it ſelf be look'd upon as a natural Cauſe of ſuch Reflections.

But however this be, we muſt neceſſarily own, that Spirits have frequently appeared in the Night, or we muſt give the Lye to the Traditions of all Ages, to Hiſtorians prophane and ſacred, and the wiſeſt and beſt in the Ge⯑nerations of Men.

In the Heathen World there are many In⯑ſtances, of which I ſhall only mention this one out of Plutarch: ‘^* One Night, before Brutus paſſed out of Aſia, he was very late all alone in his Tent, with a dim Light burning by him, all the Reſt of the Army being huſht and ſilent; and muſing with himſelf, and very thoughtful, as he turn'd his Eye to the Door, he ſaw a ſtrange and terrible Appear⯑ance, of a prodigious and frightful Body coming towards him without ſpeaking. Bru⯑tus boldly aſked him, What art thou? Man, or God? Or upon what Buſineſs do'ſt thou come to us? The Spirit anſwer'd, I am thy Evil Genius, thou ſhalt ſee me at Philippi; to which Brutus not at all diſturbed, re⯑ply'd, Then I will ſee thee there.’

[59]In the ſacred Writings we have Job ^* terri⯑fied with Viſions of the Night, when deep Sleep falleth upon Men, Fear came upon him and Trembling, which made all his Bones to ſhake; then a Spirit paſſed by before his Face, and the Hair of his Fleſh ſtood up. In the Night^† Jacob wreſtled with the Angel; in the Night an Angel delivered^‡ Peter out of Priſon, &c.

But though it be true from Scripture, that there have been nightly Apparitions, yet theſe are chiefly of good Angels; whereas this Opi⯑nion principally means, the Appearances of evil Spirits. It muſt be owned indeed, that the Appearances of evil Spirits, if litterally, are yet but very ſeldom mention'd in the Night in Scripture; but however, that they wander and appear at Night, is very deducible from, if not litterally mentioned in it. Their's is the Land of Darkneſs, and the Shadow of Death; They are reſerved under Chains of Darkneſs to the Judgment of the great Day; and we know that every one that doth Evil naturally hateth the Light: They therefore love Darkneſs rather than Light, becauſe their Deeds are Evil. The Night therefore, in a more eſpecial Manner, ſeems to be their Hour, and the Power of Darkneſs.

This was the Opinion of the Jews, as may be learned from the Fear of the Apoſtles, when [60] they ſaw our Saviour about the fourth Watch of the Night, coming to them upon the Wa⯑ters:^* they were affrighted and cryed out, ſup⯑poſing they had ſeen a Spirit. Doctor Whitby upon this Place, ſays, ‘That the Jews had then an Opinion of hurtful Spirits walking in the Night, is evident from the ſeventy, who render'd,’ from the Peſtilence walking in Darkneſs; ^† From the Fear of the Devils that walk in the Night.

And that this was alſo the Opinion of the ancient Chriſtians, is evident, not only from their dividing the Night into four Watches, the Evening, Midnight, Cock-crowing, and the Morning; which were the Military Divi⯑ſions of the Night, and which they^‡ obſerved to guard their Souls from the ſilent Incurſions of evil Spirits, as the others did thoſe of the Enemy: but alſo from their many Relations of ſuch Appearances. Caſſian in giving an Ac⯑count of the Watching of the ancient Monks, and their being aſſaulted with Midnight Spi⯑rits, tells us, That at the Beginning of the Monkiſh Life,^§ the Rage of the Midnight [61] Spirits was ſo great, that but few, and theſe too Men of Age and unſhaken Reſolution, were able to endure the Life in the Deſart. For ſuch was their Fierceneſs, that where Eight or Ten had been together in a Monaſtery, they would have made frequent and viſible Incur⯑ſions: Inſomuch, that they never all ſlept at the ſame Time, but took it by Turns; ſome watching the Reſt, and exerciſing themſelves in ſinging Pſalms, in Praying and Reading. And St. Athanaſius in his Life of Anthony the Hermit, tells, Of many Conflicts that good Man had in the Night with the Powers of Darkneſs, whilſt they endeavoured to batter him from the ſtrong Holds of his Faith. And what can our Church chiefly mean in the Col⯑lect for Aid againſt Perils; but that GOD would ſend us Protection from all the Spirits of Dark⯑neſs, theſe Midnight Wanderers of the World: And for this Reaſon, every good Man, when he lies down to ſleep at Night, deſires the great Keeper of Iſrael, who never ſlumbereth nor ſleep⯑eth, to ſend his holy Angels to pitch their Tents round about him, and baniſh from him the Spi⯑rits of the Night.

[62]So far then this Tradition is juſt and good, that there are at Midnight Spirits who wander about the World, going too and fro in the Earth, ſeeking whom they may devour. Let us now in the next Place enquire, what Truth there is in the other Part of it; namely, That they al⯑ways fly away at Cock-crow.

This Opinion, whatever Truth there may be in it, is certainly very ancient. We have it mentioned by the Chriſtian Poet Prudentius, who flouriſhed in the Beginning of the fourth Century, as a Tradition of Common Belief: His Words are theſe,

Caſſian alſo, who lived in the ſame Century, giving an Account of a Multitude of Devils, who had been Abroad in the Night, ſays,^* That as ſoon as the Morn approached, they all vaniſhed and fled away. By this we ſee, that this was a current Opinion at this Time of Day; but what Reaſon they had for it, ex⯑cept ſome Relations of the diſappearing of Evil Spirits at that Hour, I never yet have met with: But there have been produc'd at that Time of Night, Things of very memora⯑ble Worth, which might perhaps raiſe the pious Credulity of ſome Men to imagine, that there was ſomething more in it, than in other Times. It was about the Time of Cock-crow⯑ing when our Saviour was born, and the An⯑gels ſung the firſt Chriſtmas-Carol to the poor Shepherds, in the Fields of Bethlehem. Now [64] it may be preſum'd, that as the Saviour of the World was then born, and the heavenly Hoſt had then deſcended to proclaim the News, that the Angels of Darkneſs would be terrified and confounded, and immediately fly away: And perhaps this Conſideration has partly been the Foundation of this Opinion; for as this may eaſily be ſuppoſed, ſo perhaps it has been ima⯑gin'd, that the Spirits of Darkneſs, having al⯑ways in Memory that fatal Hour, are ſtartled and frighted away as the Cock proclaims it.

It was alſo about this Time when he roſe from the Dead. And when the great Sun of Righteouſneſs was riſen upon the World, no Wonder that all the Clouds of Darkneſs and Wickedneſs were diſpell'd; no Wonder that the conquer'd Powers of Hell were not able to ſhew their Heads: And this perhaps hath been another Reaſon of their imagining that Spi⯑rits go away at that Time.

A third Reaſon is, that Paſſage in the Book of Geneſis, where Jacob wreſtled with the Angel for a Bleſſing; where the Angel ſays unto him,^* Let me go, for the Day breaketh.

But indeed this Tradition ſeems more eſpe⯑cially to have riſen from ſome particular Cir⯑cumſtances attending the Time of Cock-crow⯑ing; and which, as Prudentius ſeems to ſay [65] above, are an Emblem of the Approach of the Day of the Reſurrection. For when we leave the World, we lie down in our Graves, and Reſt from our Labours: Sleep and Darkneſs lay hold upon us, and there we abide till the laſt Day appear, when the Voice of the Arch-Angel ſhall awake us, that we may meet the LORD of Light and Day. And when we leave the common Buſineſs and Care of Life, we lie down in our Beds, as in a Grave, buried as it were in Sleep and Darkneſs, till the Cock crow, the welcome Meſſenger of the News of Day.

The Circumſtances therefore of the Time of Cock-crowing, being ſo natural a Figure and Repreſentation of the Morning of the Reſur⯑rection; the Night ſo ſhadowing out the Night of the Grave; the third Watch, being as ſome ſuppoſe, the Time our Saviour will come to Judgment at; the Noiſe of the Cock awaken⯑ing ſleepy Man, and telling him as it were, the Night is far ſpent, the Day is at Hand; re⯑preſenting ſo naturally the Voice of the Arch-Angel awakening the Dead, and calling up the Righteous to everlaſting Day; ſo natural⯑ly does the Time of Cock-crowing ſhadow out theſe Things, that probably ſome good well-meaning Men, have been brought to believe, that the very Devils themſelves, when the Cock crew, and reminded them of them, did fear and tremble, and ſhun the Light.

[66]Now in Anſwer to the firſt of theſe Conjec⯑tures: 'Tis very likely the Evil Spirits did fly away in the Morning of the Nativity, and becauſe of our Saviour's Birth and that Com⯑pany of the heavenly Hoſt, might be afraid and retire into thick Darkneſs; yet it will not hence follow, that it always happens ſo at the Time of Cock-crowing: For if they did fly away that Morning, the Circumſtances of our Saviour's Birth, the heavenly Glory of the Angelick Quire, their Muſick and their Pre⯑ſence were the Occaſion of it: And why only the bare Remembrance of what happened at that Time, ſhould always at the Time of Cock-crowing drive them away, rather than when they remember it at another, no Reaſon ſeems to be given.

As to the ſecond Conjecture, namely, That it was the Time of our Saviour's Riſing from the Dead, I anſwer in the ſame Manner, That tho' it be allowed, that the Evil Spirits might have returned to the Land of Darkneſs, upon our Saviour's Riſing from the Dead; yet why it ſhould occaſion them always to do ſo at that Time, no Reaſon can be given.

As to the third Conjecture, it is eaſy to obſerve, That this was a good Angel, where⯑as they that ſhun the Light, are bad ones: This was the Angel of the Covenant, the Cre⯑ator of Light, and the Lord of the Day: We [67] may therefore as well imagine, that it was not in his Power, to get out of the Arms of Jacob, without ſaying, Let me go; as to ſuppoſe he was obliged to go, becauſe he ſaid the Day breaketh. The meaning of which Words, ‘According to Willet, is not that the Angel was gone to the bleſſed Company of the Angels, to ſing their Morning Hymn to GOD, as the Hebrews imagine: For the Angels, not only in the Morning, but at other Times, are exerciſed in praiſing GOD. But the Angel thus ſpeaketh according to the Cuſtom of Men, having now taken the Form and Shape of a Man, as tho' he had haſt to other Buſineſs, and leaving Jacob alſo to his Affairs.’

The laſt Conjecture of the Riſe of this Tra⯑dition, ſeems to carry greater Probability than the others: For as theſe Things are a Repre⯑ſentation of the Circumſtances of the Morning of the Reſurrection, ſo they muſt ſure enough bring that laſt Day into Remembrance; and they never can do ſo, but as ſurely they muſt create Terrour and Confuſion in all the Devils and Ghoſts of the Night: Whilſt they aſſure them they ſhall never any more enjoy the Realms of Bliſs, but be hurried into that^* e⯑verlaſting Fire, prepared for the Devil and his [68] Angels. But that theſe Things are the Occa⯑ſion of their flying away at the Approach of Day, is not to be ſuppoſed. On the contrary, the Devil and his Angels ramble o'er the World in Day-light, and are Mid-day Devils, as well as Mid-night ones: For the Devil is inceſſant in his Temptations, and therefore he is abroad in the Day as well as the Night, tho' perhaps has ſeldom appear'd but in Darkneſs. Thus St. Auſtin, in one of his Meditations,^* We implore thee, O GOD! that thou wouldeſt deliver us from our daily Enemy, who by his Wiles and Cunning is always watching us, Day and Night, ſleeping and waking; and both openly and in ſecret, ſhooting at us his poiſoned Arrows, that he may deſtroy our Souls.

And now, what, though this be true, as it moſt certainly ſeems to be ſo, that at the chearful Hour of Cock-crowing, the wander⯑ing Ghoſts are not driven away, but ſtill continue going too and fro? What, tho' then their Power be ſtill the ſame, and their Inten⯑tions as fully bent to do Evil? Conſider but that GOD'S Care and Providence govern the World, and there will be found as much Safe⯑ty for us, in the Midſt of Evil Spirits, as if [69] they abſented at that Time. The Almighty Power of GOD, is the ſame then, as at other Times; nothing but that, preſerved us conti⯑nually, and that, will always be able to pre⯑ſerve us. However great may be the Malice of Devils; however deſirous of working our Ruin; tho' they watch all Opportunities, and are unwearied in tempting us; yet the loving Kindneſs of the LORD endureth for Ever, and his Mercy is over all his Works: He will not ſuffer our Foot to be moved; he that keepeth us will not ſleep: We ſhall not be afraid of the Sun by Day, nor the Moon by Night: For the Peſti⯑lence that walketh in Darkneſs, nor for the Sick⯑neſs that deſtroyeth in the Noon-day.

Are we then afraid of Darkneſs and the Pre⯑ſence of Night? Let us remember the Creator of them, and have but Faith in him, and we ſhall find our Night turned into Day. In his Light ſhall we ſee Light: We ſhall be as ſe⯑cure as if there was no Darkneſs about us, as well knowing that that GOD which protects us, ſees through the thickeſt Mediums, and the darkeſt Night: For with him the Darkneſs is no Darkneſs, but the Night is as clear as the Day; the Darkneſs and Light to him are both alike. Or are we afraid of that old Serpent the Devil, that nightly Rambler of the World, who is a Lover of Night and Darkneſs? Let us truſt in GOD, and no Harm ſhall happen [70] to us. If we will but fear no Evil, his Rod and his Staff ſhall comfort us, though we walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death: For GOD hath reſerved the Devil and his Angels in everlaſting Chains, under Darkneſs, unto the Judgment of the great Day. Though therefore he is permitted to wander the World, yet he is ſo chain'd up, that without GOD'S parti⯑cular Order or Permiſſion, he is not allowed to touch the Sons of Men; and he is ſo re⯑ſerved and kept in Darkneſs, that it is not in his Power even barely to appear and be viſible to them, without the Permiſſion of GOD: So little Reaſon hath every good Man to fear the Spight and Malice of all the Devils in Hell.

When then the Night pours out her Ter⯑rours, covers all Things with Darkneſs, and ſtrikes thee with Horrour; Lift but up thy Eyes to the Hills, from whence cometh thy Help, and thou ſhalt clearly ſee, that our Lord GOD is a Light and Defence to thee. ^* For to thoſe who are the Children of the Light, the Day ſhineth in the Night: They are never without Light, whoſe Hearts are illuminated; never without Sun-ſhine, whoſe Sun is CHRIST. In ſhort then, if thou fear Darkneſs, look up [71] to CHRIST, and thou haſt eternal Day; if the Angels of Darkneſs, look but up with the Eye of Faith, and thou ſhalt ſee the Moun⯑tains full of Chariots and Horſes of Fire: Thou ſhalt ſee, as did the Servant of the Prophet Eliſha, That they who be with us, are more than they who are againſt us. No Matter then whe⯑ther the Spirits of the Night go away, or only tremble at the Time of Cock-crowing: For ſure we are, that the Angel of the LORD tar⯑rieth round about them that fear him, and deli⯑vereth them; nay, That GOD himſelf will ariſe and ſcatter his Enemies, and make them that hate him to flie before him. And if GOD be for us, who can be againſt us?

CHAP. VII. Of Church-yards; why the Vulgar are generally afraid of paſſing through them at Night: The Original of this Fear: That there is nothing in them now, more than in other Places to be afraid of.

THE moſt of ignorant People are afraid of going through a Church-Yard at Night-time. If they are obliged upon ſome haſty and urgent Affair, they fear and trem⯑ble, till they are beyond its Bounds, but they generally avoid it, and go further about. It would, no Queſtion, be better if there were fewer Path-ways through Church-Yards than there are, both as it would prevent ſeveral Abuſes committed in them, and alſo cauſe the Aſhes of the Dead to be in greater Quiet, and more undiſturbed Peace: We ſhould not then ſee Church-Yards changed into common Dung-hills, nor ſhould we tread ſo frequently upon the Bones of our Friends: But when for the Conveniency of Neighbourhood, or other Rea⯑ſons, there are allowed public Ways, it is a very great Weakneſs to be afraid of paſſing through them.

The Reaſon of this Fear is, a Notion they have imbib'd, that in Church-Yards there is a frequent walking of Spirits at the Dead-time [77] of Night. Indeed there is at that Time ſome⯑thing awful and horrible every where, and it muſt be confeſs'd ſomething more ſolemn in a Church-Yard, than in the Generality of other Places; but that it is then more frequented with Apparitions and Ghoſts than other Places are, is at this Time of Day intirely ground⯑leſs, and without any Reaſon.

The Original of this Timorouſneſs may be deduc'd from the Heathens: For they believ⯑ed that the departed Ghoſts came out of their Tombs and Sepulchres, and wander'd about the Place where the Body lay buried. Thus^* Virgil tells us, That Maeris could call the Ghoſts out of their Sepulchres: And^† Ovid, that Ghoſts came out of the Sepulchres, and wandered about: And Clemens Alexandrinus, in his Admonitions to the Gentiles, upbraids them with the Gods they worſhipped; which,^‡ ſays he, are wont to appear at Tombs and Sepulchres, and which are nothing but fading Spectres and airy Forms. And the learned Mr. Mede obſerves, from a Paſſage of this ſame ancient Father,^§ ‘That the Heathens ſuppoſed the Preſence and Power of Daemons (for ſo the Greeks called the Souls of Men [78] departed) at their Coffins and Sepulchres; as tho' there always remain'd ſome natural Tye between the Deceaſed and their Relicts.’ Agreeable to this, Dr. Scot, ^* in his Diſcourſe of the Chriſtian Life, ſpeaks of ‘groſs and ſenſual Souls, who appeared often, after their Separation, in Church-Yards or Char⯑nel-Houſes, where their Bodies were laid. The ^† Soul that is infected with a great Luſt to the Body, continues ſo, for a great while after Death, and ſuffering many Reluctances, ho⯑vers about this viſible Place, and is hardly drawn from thence by Force; by the Daemon that hath the Guard and Care of it. By the viſible Place, he means^‡ their Monuments and Sepulchres, where the ſhadowy Fantaſms, of ſuch Souls, have ſometimes appeared.’

It having therefore been a current Opinion of the Heathens, that Places of Burial and Church-Yards were frequently haunted with Spectres and Apparitions, it is eaſy to imagine, that the Opinion has been handed from them, among the Ignorant and unlearned, through⯑out all the Ages of Chriſtianity to the preſent Day. And indeed, tho' now there may be no ſuch Things, yet that there have been, need not be diſputed; not that they were the real Souls of Men departed: For I cannot ſee for [79] what Reaſon it ſhould be ſuppoſed, ‘(^* how⯑ever unacquainted ſuch Souls might be with the Pleaſures of Spirits) that they are permit⯑ted to wander, to hover about, and linger after their Bodies.’ It ſeems rather to be true, what is mentioned of ſuch Apparitions in St. Athanaſius's Queſtions to Antiochius, that^† theſe Apparitions of the Saints which appear at Tombs and Temples, are not the Souls of the Saints themſelves, but the good Angels ap⯑pearing in their Likeneſs. And I imagine it muſt be ſo too, with the Souls of bad Men, they appear not themſelves, but they are re⯑preſented by the evil Angels. For the Soul upon the Departure, returns to GOD that gave it, who allots it its Station in the World of Spirits, where it is kept till the Day of Judgment in Happineſs or Miſery, when it ſhall receive its Compleation of the one, or the other. However, whatever theſe Apparitions were, they are a certain Proof, that ſuch Ap⯑pearances have been in ſuch Places; and in⯑deed, to add no more, it is the whole Voice of Antiquity.

But now with us, GOD be thanked, the Scene is changed, we live not in the Darkneſs of Errour, but in the Light of Truth; we worſhip not Daemons, but the GOD of the whole Earth; and our Temples are not the Temples of Idols, but the Temples of the Ho⯑ly [80] GOD. If among the Heathens ſuch Delu⯑ſions were permitted, it was becauſe GOD had forſaken them: But when he vouchſafes to have his Reſidence in his Holy Temple, we are the further from Harm, the nearer we approach it;^* There the Sparrow hath found her an Houſe, and the Swallow a Neſt, where ſhe may lay her Young; and there ſhall no Harm happen to good Men, but they ſhall be rather protected, becauſe they are ſo near their Father's Houſe, the Houſe of Prayer.

CHAP. VIII. Of viſiting Wells and Fountains: The Original of this Cuſtom: The naming of them of great An⯑tiquity: The Worſhip paid them by the Pa⯑piſts, was groſs Idolatry.

IN the dark Ages of Popery, it was a Cuſtom, if any Well had an awful Situation, and was ſeated in ſome lonely melancholy Vale; if its Water was clear and limpid, and beauti⯑fully^* margin'd with the tender Graſs; or if it was look'd upon, as having a Medicinal Quality; to gift it to ſome Saint, and honour it with his Name. Hence it is, that we have at this Day Wells and Fountains called, ſome St. John's, St. Mary Magdalen's, St. Mary's Well, &c.

To theſe kind of Wells, the common People are accuſtomed to go, on a Summer's Evening, to refreſh themſelves with a Walk after the Toil of the Day, to drink the Water of the Fountain, and enjoy the pleaſing Proſpect of Shade and Stream.

Now this Cuſtom (tho' at this Time of Day, very commendable, and harmleſs, and inno⯑cent) ſeems to be the Remains of that ſuper⯑ſtitious Practice of the Papiſts, of paying [83] Adoration to Wells and Fountains: For they imagin'd there was ſome Holineſs and Sancti⯑ty in them, and ſo worſhipped them. In the Canons of St. Anſelm, made in the Year 1102, we find this ſuperſtitious Practice in ſome Meaſure forbid.^* ‘Let no one attribute Reverence or Sanctity to a dead Body, or a Fountain, or other Things, (as ſometimes is to our Knowledge) without the Biſhop's Authority.’ And in the 16th of the Canons made in the Reign of King Edgar, in the Year 963, it is order'd,^† ‘That every Prieſt in⯑duſtriouſly advance Chriſtianity, and ex⯑tinguiſh Heatheniſm, and forbid the Wor⯑ſhipping of Fountains, &c. Mr. Johnſon ſays upon this Canon, that the Worſhipping of Wells and Fountains, was a Superſtition, which prevailed in this Nation, till the Age before the Reformation: Nay, I cannot ſay, it is extinguiſh'd yet among the Papiſts. In the Ages of dark Popery it was thought ſufficient to forbid the honouring of Wells and Fountains, without the Biſhop's Appro⯑bation.’

The giving of Names to Wells, is of great Antiquity: We find it a Cuſtom in the Days of the old Patriarchs. Abraham obſerved this Cuſtom; and therefore the Well, which he [84] recover'd from the Servants of Abimeleck, He^* called Beer-ſheba, or the Well of the Oath, becauſe there they ſware both of them. Thus alſo Iſaac, when his Herdſmen had found a Well, and the Herdſmen of Gerar had a Con⯑teſt with them about the Right of it,^† called the Name of the Well Eſeck, that is, Strife: becauſe they ſtrove with him. And he digged another Well, and ſtrove for that alſo, and he called the Name of it Sitnah, that is, Hatred. And he removed from thence, and digged ano⯑ther Well, and for that they ſtrove not; and he called the Name of it Rehoboth, that is, Room. And he ſaid for now the LORD hath made Room for us, and we ſhall be fruitful in the Land. And we read it was at Jacob's Well where JESUS talked with the Woman of Sa⯑maria. To give Names therefore to Wells, is of an ancient Standing; but to pay Homage and Worſhip to them, was never heard of a⯑mong the People of GOD, till they ſunk in⯑to groſs Idolatry, and became Worſhippers of Stocks and Stones: When the creature became worſhipped inſtead of the Creator, then was this Cuſtom firſt introduced, in the Ages of Popiſh Ignorance and Idolatry.

There need be no Queſtion, but as this Cuſ⯑tom is practically Heatheniſh, ſo it is alſo originally: For the Heathens were wont to [85] worſhip Streams and Fountains, and to ſup⯑poſe that the Nymphs, whom they imagin'd the Goddeſſes of the Waters, preſided over them. As the Papiſts have borrowed many of their ſilly and ſuperſtitious Ceremonies from the Religion of the Heathens, ſo this in par⯑ticular, a ſottiſh, ſtupid, and abominable Cuſtom, they could borrow no where elſe. For we had no ſuch Cuſtom, neither at any Time the Churches of GOD.

CHAP. IX. Of Omens: Their Original: The Obſervation of them ſinfull.

OMENS and Prognoſtications of Things are ſtill in the Mouths of all, though only obſerved by the Vulgar. In Country Places eſpecially, they are in great Repute, and are the Directors of ſeveral Actions of Life; being looked on by them as Preſages of Things future, or the Determiners of preſent Good or Evil: If^* a Hare croſs their Way it is an Omen of ill Luck: If^† a Crow cry, it por⯑tends ſomething Evil: If^‡ an Owl, which they reckon a moſt abominable and unlucky Bird, ſends forth its hoarſe and diſmal Voice, it is an Omen of the Approach of ſome terri⯑ble Thing; that ſome dire Calamity, and ſome great Misfortune is near at Hand. If Salt fall towards them, to be ſure ſomething has hap⯑pened to one in the Family, or is ſhortly to happen to themſelves: Such alſo is the Chat⯑tering [88] of a Mag-pye, the Cry of Ravens, the Dead-watch, Crickets, &c.

This is a Copy of the Omens of the Hea⯑thens,^* who never went upon any Enter⯑prize, nor undertook any Buſineſs of Moment, without conſulting the Augurs and Wiſe-Men, and being guided by Omens and Preſages of Things. Hence it was that they conſulted the Intrails of Beaſts, the Flights of Birds, and ſeveral other Things: And that the very Things above-mentioned, as the Authorities there declare, have been obſerved by them; yea, they have obſerv'd them, even in the re⯑moteſt Ages, beyond the Days of the oldeſt Records. The Heathen World therefore was full of them, and without all doubt they have been handed down to us from theſe Times.

And as it is not to be queſtion'd, but we had them from the Heathens, ſo in all Proba⯑bility the Heathens have taken them from the People of GOD, and built many of their Folies and ominous Superſtitions on a Cuſtom which they alone were indulged in. For in the ear⯑lieſt Age of the World, when a Matter of any great Conſequence was depending, and the Servants of GOD would know what the Event would be, they aſked a Sign of GOD, by de⯑ſiring [89] that ſuch a Thing might happen, if they were to ſucceed, and God was ſometimes ſo condeſcending as to grant them their De⯑ſire. Thus we read, That^* Jonathan accom⯑pany'd only by his Armour Bearer, not fear⯑ing the Steepneſs of the Rocks, nor Multitudes of Enemies, attempted the Garriſon of the Philiſtines and conquered, through a Token of this Nature. If they ſay, ſays he to his Armour-Bearer, Tarry untill we come up, then we will ſtand ſtill in our Place, and will not go up unto them; but if they ſay come up unto us, then we will go up; for the LORD hath deli⯑vered them into our Hands, and this ſhall be a Sign unto us. And ſo indeed it came to paſs, GOD who had inſpired Jonathan with this Thought, directing the Tongues of the others according to his Wiſhes. In like Manner, when the good old Servant of Abraham had arrived at the City of Nahor, to find a Wife for his Maſter's Son; we have him deſiring of GOD, that the Sign of the Woman he ſhould pitch upon, might be her ſaying, Drink, and I will give thy Camels Drink alſo. ^† Ana he ſaid, O Lord GOD of my Maſter Abraham, I pray thee ſend me good Speed this Day, and ſhew Kindneſs unto my Maſter Abraham: Behold, I ſtand here by the Well of Water, and the Daughters of the [90] Men of the City came out to draw Water. And let it come to paſs, that the Damſel to whom I ſhall ſay, let down thy Pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and ſhe ſhall ſay, Drink, and I will give thy Camels Drink alſo: Let the ſame be ſhe that thou haſt appointed for thy Servant Iſaac; and thereby ſhall I know that thou haſt ſhewed Kindneſs unto my Maſter. This happened ac⯑cording to his Prayer, by which he knew that the LORD had proſpered his Journey. Now this Cuſtom we know the Philiſtines imitated, when they would know whether they had been afflicted by the GOD of Iſrael for keep⯑ing the Ark.^* They took the Ark of the LORD, and laid it on a Cart, and ſent it away. And they ſaid, If it goeth by the Way of his own Coaſt to Beth-ſhemoth, then he hath done us this great Evil.

In theſe early Ages of the World, GOD per⯑mitted ſuch Things upon extraordinary Occa⯑ſions, to be aſked by his own People. But they were only peculiar to thoſe Times. We have no Warrant for doing the like: It be⯑comes not us to preſcribe Means to GOD, by which we may judge of our future Succeſs, but to depend on his Power and Wiſdom, his Care and Providence. The Obſervation of Omens, ſuch as the falling of Salt, a Hare [91] croſſing the Way, of the Dead-Watch, of Cric⯑kets, &c. are ſinful and diabolical: They are the Inventions of the Devil, to draw Men from a due Truſt in GOD, and make them his own Vaſſals. For by ſuch Obſervations as theſe, they are the Slaves of Superſtition and Sin, and have all the While no true Dependance upon GOD, no Truſt in his Providence.

CHAP. X. Of the Country Converſation in a Winter's Even⯑ing: Their Opinions of Spirits and Apparitions; of the Devil's appearing with a cloven Foot; of Fairies and Hobgoblins; of the walking Places of Spirits; and of haunted Houſes.

NOthing is commoner in Country Places, than for a whole Family in a Winter's Evening, to ſit round the Fire, and tell Stories of Apparitions and Ghoſts. And no Queſtion of it, but this adds to the natural Fearfulneſs of Men, and makes them many Times ima⯑gine they ſee Things, which really are no⯑thing but their own Fancy. From this, and ſeldom any other Cauſe, it is, that Herds and Shepherds have all of them ſeen frequent Ap⯑paritions, and are generally ſo well ſtock'd with Stories of their own Knowledge. Some of them have ſeen Fairies, ſome Spirits in the Shapes of Cows and Dogs and Horſes; and ſome have ſeen even the Devil himſelf, with a cloven Foot. All which, is either Hearſay or a ſtrong Imagination. Not that there have not been, or may not be Apparitions; we know that there have undoubtedly been ſuch Things, and that there ſtill are, upon parti⯑lar Occaſions; but that almoſt all the Stories of Ghoſts and Spirits, are grounded on no [103] other Bottom, than the Fears and Fancies, and weak Brains of Men.

In their Account of the Apparition of the Devil, they always deſcribe him with a cloven Foot: That is always his diſtinguiſhing Badge, whatever Shape he appears in; whe⯑ther it be in Beauty or Deformity, he never appears without it. Such is the old Tradi⯑tion they have received of his appearing, and ſuch is their Belief of it.

Indeed it muſt be confeſs'd, that this is not ſo improbable and ridiculous as many Things they hold. For tho' perhaps few of them have ought elſe for this Opinion, but old Wives Fables, or the Picture of the Devil, which they have always obſerved drawn with a cloven Foot, yet there ſeems to be ſome Truth in it. For in the Times of frequent Apparitions, the Devil was wont to appear ſo, if we may believe Antiquity; and there is alſo ſome Reaſon for it, conſidering the Cir⯑cumſtances of the fallen Angels.

The^* Author of the Vulgar Errors upon this ſame Subject, hath theſe Words. ‘The Ground of this Opinion at firſt, might be his frequent appearing in the Shape of a Goat, which anſwers this Deſcription. This was the Opinion of the ancient Chri⯑ſtians, [104] concerning the Apparitions of Pa⯑nites, Fauns and Satyrs; and of this Form we read of one, that appeared to Anthony in the Wilderneſs. The ſame is alſo confirmed from Expoſitions of Holy Scripture. For whereas it is ſaid, Thou ſhalt not offer unto Devils: The original Word is Seghnirim; that is, rough and hairy Goats, becauſe in that Shape the Devil moſt often appeared, as is expounded by the Rabbins, as Tremellius hath alſo explain'd, and as the Word Aſci⯑mah, the God of Emath is by ſome conceived. He obſerves alſo, That the Goat was the Emblem of the Sin Offering, and is the Em⯑blem of Sinful Men at the Day of Judg⯑ment.’

And of this Opinion was alſo the learned Mr.^* Mede. He ſays, ‘That when Spirits converſe with Men, it is under ſome viſible Shape, and that there is a Law given them that that Shape they aſſum'd, ſhould be of ſomething which more or leſs reſembled their Condition. For as in Nature we ſee every Thing hath a ſeveral and ſuitable Phyſiog⯑nomy or Figure, as a Badge of their inward Nature, whereby it is known, as by a Habit of Diſtinction, ſo it ſeems to be in the Shapes and Apparitions of Spirits. And as in a well governed Common Wealth, [105] every Sort and Condition is known by a dif⯑fering Habit, agreeable to his Quality; ſo it ſeems it ſhould be in GOD'S great Common Wealth, concerning the Shapes which Spi⯑rits take upon them. And he that gave the Law, that a Man ſhould not wear the Habit of a Woman, nor a Woman the Ha⯑bit of a Man, becauſe that as he had made them diverſe, ſo would he have them ſo known by their Habits; ſo it ſeems he will not ſuffer a good and a bad Spirit, a noble and ignoble one, to appear unto Man after the ſame Faſhion.’

‘Now from this it will follow, that good Angels can take upon them no other Shape, but the Shape of Man, becauſe their glori⯑ous Excellency is reſembled only in the moſt excellent of all viſible Creatures. The Shape of an inferior Creature would be un⯑ſuitable, no other Shape becoming thoſe who are called the Sons of GOD, but his only, who was created after GOD's own Image. And yet, not his neither as he now is, but according as he was before his Fall in his glorious Beauty of his Integrity. Age and Deformity are the Fruits of Sin; and the Angel in the Goſpel appears like a young Man, His ^* Countenance like Light⯑ning, and his Raiment white as Snow, as it [106] were reſembling the Beauty of glorified Bodies, in Immutability, Sublimity and Purity.’

‘Hence alſo it follows on the contrary, that the Devil could not appear in humane Shape whilſt Man was in his Integrity; be⯑cauſe he was a Spirit fallen from his firſt glorious Perfection, and therefore muſt ap⯑pear in ſuch Shape, which might argue his Imperfection and Abaſement, which was the Shape of a Beaſt: Otherwiſe no Reaſon can be given, why he ſhould not rather have appeared to Eve in the Shape of a Woman, than of a Serpent; for ſo he might have gain'd an Opinion with her, both of more Excellency and Knowledge. But ſince the Fall of Man, the Caſe is al⯑ter'd; now we know he can take upon him the Shape of Man; and no Wonder, ſince one falling Star may reſemble another. And therefore he appears it ſeems in the Shape of Man's Imperfection, either for Age or Deformity, as like an old Man (for ſo the Witches ſay:) And perhaps it is not altogether falſe, which is vulgarly affirmed, that the Devil appearing in humane Shape, hath always a Deformity of ſome uncouth Member or other; as tho' he could not yet take upon him humane Shape intirely, for that Man himſelf, is not intirely and ut⯑terly fallen as he is.’

[107]Thus far hath this great and learned Man given his Opinion of this Matter, and that with ſuch Strength of Reaſon and Argument, as leaves at leaſt a Probability behind it, of the Truth of this Opinion.

Another Part of this Converſation generally turns upon Fairies. Theſe, they tell you, have frequently been heard and ſeen, nay that there are ſome ſtill living who were ſtolen away by them, and confined ſeven Years. According to the Deſcription they give of them, who pretend to have ſeen them, they are in the Shape of Men, exceeding little: They are always clad in Green, and frequent the Woods and Fields; when they make Cakes (which is a Work they have been often heard at) they are very noiſy; and when they have done, they are full of Mirth and Paſtime. But generally they dance in Moon-Light when Mor⯑tals are aſleep, and not capable of ſeeing them, as may be obſerved on the following Morn; their dancing Places being very diſtinguiſh⯑able. For as they dance Hand in Hand, and ſo make a Circle in their Dance, ſo next Day there will be ſeen Rings and Circles on the Graſs.

Now in all this there is really nothing, but an old fabulous Story, which has been handed down even to our Days from the Times of Heatheniſm, of a certain Sort of Beings called [108] Lamiae, which were eſteemed ſo miſchievous and cruel, as to take away young Children and ſlay them. Theſe, together with the the Fauns, the Gods of the Woods, ſeem to have formed the Notion of Fairies.

This Opinion, in the benighted Ages of Popery, when Hobgoblins and Sprights were in every City and Town and Village, by every Water and in every Wood, was very common. But when that Cloud was diſpell'd, and the Day ſprung up, thoſe Spirits which wander'd in the Night of Ignorance and Error, did real⯑ly vaniſh at the Dawn of Truth and the Light of Knowledge.

Another Tradition they hold, and which is often talk'd of, is, that there are particular Places alotted to Spirits to walk in. Thence it was that formerly, ſuch frequent Reports were abroad of this and that particular Place being haunted by a Spirit, and that the com⯑mon People ſay now and then, ſuch a Place is dangerous to be paſs'd through at Night, be⯑cauſe a Spirit walks there. Nay, they'll fur⯑ther tell you, that ſome Spirits have lamented the Hardneſs of their Condition, in being ob⯑liged to walk in cold and uncomfortable Pla⯑ces, and have therefore deſired the Perſon who was ſo hardy as to ſpeak to them, to gift them with a warmer Walk, by ſome well grown [109] Hedge, or in ſome ſhady Vale, where they might be ſhelter'd from the Rain and Wind.

The Stories, that Apparitions have been ſeen oftner than once in the ſame Place, have no Doubt been the Riſe and Spring of the walking Places of Spirits; but why they are ſaid ſometimes to cry out for Places that are more comfortable, is not ſo certainly known. It is however highly probable, that when the Ignorance and Superſtition of the Romiſh Church, had filled the World with Apparitions and Ghoſts, that this alſo was invented among them. For they ſeem to have the moſt Right to an Invention of this Nature, whoſe Brains were ſo fruitful of Folly, as to invent that^* Dunſtan took the Devil by the Noſe, with a Pair of hot Tongs till he roar'd again. For if the Devil may be burnt, he may alſo be ſtarv'd; if he took ſuch Pains to get his Noſe out of the Pincers, without Doubt in a froſty Night, he would wiſh to be as warm as poſſi⯑ble. He that believes the one, muſt neceſſarily believe the other. And therefore it very near amounts to a Demonſtration, who were the Authors of this Opinion, viz. The Monks. We are ſure they invented the one, and need little queſtion but they invented the other.

There is a Story in the Book of Tobit, (which they may believe that will) of the evil Spirits [110] flying into the utmoſt Parts of Egypt. ^* For as Tobias went in unto his Wife, he remembred the Words of Raphael, and took the Aſhes of the Perfumes, and put the Heart and Liver of the Fiſh thereupon, and made a Smoke therewith. The which Smell, when the evil Spirit had ſmelled, he fled unto the utmoſt Parts of Egypt, and the Angel bound him. Now from this it is evident, that the Spirit was obliged to forſake his good old Quarters and warm Lodgings, for inhoſpitable Deſarts and open Air: And from this, perhaps, ſome of thoſe doting Monks have perſuaded themſelves into a Belief of theſe Things.

When it is proved to us, that this Book of Tobit is the Word of GOD, we may entertain more Veneration for this vulgar Opinion; but till then, we muſt be indulg'd in wondering, how a Spirit, that is an immaterial Subſtance, can be affected with our Heat or Cold, or any Power or Quality of material Beings.

The laſt Topick of this Converſation I ſhall take Notice of, ſhall be the Tales of haunted Houſes. And indeed it is not to be wonder'd at, that this is never omitted. For formerly almoſt every Place had a Houſe of this Kind. If a Houſe was ſeated on ſome melancholly Place, or built in ſome old romantic Manner; or if any particular Accident had happen'd in [111] it, ſuch as Murder, ſudden Death, or the like, to be ſure that Houſe had a Mark ſet on it, and was afterwards eſteemed the Habitation of a Ghoſt. In talking upon this Point, they generally ſhow the Occaſion of the Houſe's be⯑ing haunted, the merry Pranks of the Spirit, and how it was laid. Stories of this Kind are infinite, and there are few Villages which have not either had ſuch an Houſe in it, or near it.

And indeed there are Men of good Learn⯑ing and Knowledge, who are as far as others from Superſtition, who are inclinable to be⯑lieve, that ſuch Things have been upon parti⯑cular Emergencies; tho', among the Stories that are told, they believe not one in a thou⯑ſand. They know that Spirits have frequent⯑ly appeared to Men out of Houſes, and they can ſee no Reaſon why they may not have ap⯑peared in them: They know nothing in an Houſe more than in another Place, to prevent an Apparition, but an equal Help to its Viſi⯑bility. The Air, which a Ghoſt is ſuppoſed to be wrapped in, when it becomes viſible to Men, is there to be found, and they know of nothing elſe that may be an Argument againſt it. An Author of good Credit tells us,^* That [112] when he was at Rome, he was taken with Ill⯑neſs, and obliged to keep his Bed: As he lay in this Condition, he obſerved, as he was once awake, a Woman of a very beautiful Perſon coming towards him. Upon this he was ſilent for ſome Time, and very thoughtful, weigh⯑ing all the while with himſelf, whether it was not rather a deceptio viſus than a real Being. But when he perceived his Senſes ſound and intire, and that the Object ſtill continued; he aſked, What ſhe was? In Anſwer to which, ſhe repeated the very Words he had ſpoken to her, in a ſneering and diſdainful Manner. After ſhe had taken a good View of him, ſhe departed.

The Commentator upon this Place, ſays,^* He looks upon this Story, and the reſt which are mentioned along with it, to be nothing but Dreams and Fancies. And for ought that I know to the contrary, they may be ſo; but however it muſt be confeſs'd, this Story in particular is well atteſted, being told by the Man himſelf, who was a great and a learned Man, and who, if we may believe himſelf, ſeems to be as ſure that he had his Eyes open, as the Commentator can be of the contrary.

But whatever Truth there may be in it, it is certain that in the Church of Rome they are perſuaded of the Truth of it, to a Fault. [113] For they are ſo ſure of it, that they have par⯑ticular Forms of exorciſing ſuch Houſes; which becauſe they have often been heard of, but ſeldom ſeen; and are thoſe very Things which raiſed, in the Vulgar formerly, ſuch an Opinion of their ignorant Prieſts, as to make them be eſteemed Men of the greateſt Faith and Learning; and becauſe alſo the Opinion has reached even our Days, and 'tis common for the preſent Vulgar to ſay, none can lay a Spirit but a Popiſh Prieſt; it ſhall be the Buſineſs of the next Chapter, to give one of thoſe Forms of exorciſing an Houſe; not that they are envied for their Art of conjuring, but that it may be ſeen, how well they deſerve the Character they go under.

CHAP. XI. POSTEXERCITATIO SEPTIMA, F. VALERII POLIDORI PATAVINI. Quae ordo dicitur Domum a Daemone perturbatam liberandi.
The FORM of exorciſing an haunted HOUSE.

THE^* Houſe which is reported to be vexed with Spirits, ſhall be viſited by the Prieſt once every Day, for a whole Week together: And Day after Day he ſhall proceed as follows:

CHAP. XII. Of Saturday Afternoon; how obſerved of old, by the ancient Chriſtians, the Church of Scotland, and the old Church of England: What End we ſhould obſerve it for: An Exhortation to the Obſervation of it.

IT is uſual, in Country Places and Villages, where the Politeneſs of the Age hath made no great Conqueſt, to obſerve ſome particular Times with ſome Ceremonies, which were cuſtomary in the Days of our Fore-fathers: Such are the great Feſtivals of Chriſtmas, Eaſter, and ſeveral others, which they obſerve with Rites and Cuſtoms appropriated to them.

Among theſe we find a great Deference paid to Saturday Afternoon, above the other worky Days of the Week: Then the Labours of the Plough ceaſt, and Refreſhment and Eaſe are over all the Village.

This ſeems to be the Remains of a laudable Cuſtom once in this Land (but now almoſt buried in that general Contempt of Religion and Love of the World, which prevail ſo much every where) of attending the Evening Prayers on Saturday, and laying aſide the Concerns of this Life, to be fitter for the Duties of the [146] Day following. For^* ‘it was an holy Cuſ⯑tom among our Fore-fathers, when at the Ringing to Prayer the Eve before the Sab⯑bath, the Husbandman would give over his Labour in the Field, and the Tradeſman his Work in the Shop, and go to Evening Prayer in the Church, to prepare their Souls, that their Minds might more chearfully attend GOD's Worſhip on the Sabbath-Day.’

And indeed it was the Cuſtom both of the Jewiſh and the Chriſtian Church. They nei⯑ther of them entred upon the Sabbath, without ſome Preparation for it. Moſes ^† taught the Jews to remember the Sabbath over Night; from whence in all Probability it comes to paſs, that the Eve of the Jewiſh Sabbath is called the Preparation. The Preparation mentioned by the Evangeliſts, begun at Three a Clock on Friday Afternoon; it was proclaimed with the Noiſe of Trumpets and Horns, that they might be better put in Mind of the Sabbath's draw⯑ing on, and of that Preparation which was requiſite for it.

Among the primitive Chriſtians the LORD'S Day was always uſher'd in with a Pernoctation or Vigil. They aſſembled in the Houſe of GOD, and ſung Pſalms and Praiſes to him a great Part [147] of the Night, that they might be better pre⯑pared to ſerve him on his own Day following.

In the Year of our LORD 1203, William King of Scotland ^* called a Council of the chief Men of his Kingdom, at which alſo was pre⯑ſent the Pope's Legate; and it was then deter⯑min'd, that Saturday after the twelfth Hour ſhould be kept holy; that no one ſhould fol⯑low their Buſineſs nor Callings, but deſiſt as on other Holy Days: That they ſhould be put in Mind of it by the Tolling of the Bell, and then mind the Buſineſs of Religion as on Holy Days, be preſent at the Sermon, and hear Veſpers; that this ſhould be the Practice till Munday Morning, and whoever acted other⯑wiſe ſhould be ſeverely puniſhed.

And this, as is ſaid before, was alſo the Cuſtom of our own Country, long before this order'd in Scotland. For in the Year 958, when King Edgar made his Eccleſiaſtical Laws, we find one made to this very Purpoſe: In which [148] it is order'd, That^* the Sabbath or Sunday ſhall be obſerved from Saturday at^† Noon, till the Light appear on Munday Morning.

Now hence hath come the preſent Cuſtom, of ſpending a Part of Saturday Afternoon with⯑out ſervile Labour. And that our Fore-fathers, when the Bell was heard, attended the Evening Prayer, not fearing the Loſs of Time, nor the Neceſſities of Poverty. Happy would it be for us, would we ſo baniſh the Care of the Body for the Care of the Soul! Would we leave to converſe about ſecular Buſineſs, and mind then [149] the Buſineſs of Religion; would we remember that it is^* the Preparation, and that the Sab⯑bath draws on.

When Jacob was going to worſhip GOD at Bethel, he order'd his Family to ^† put away the ſtrange Gods that were among them, and be clean, and change their Garments, and ariſe and go to Bethel. He knew that the GOD of Pu⯑rity and Holineſs was to be approached with the utmoſt Purity they could poſſibly cloth themſelves with. And would we, before we enter into the Preſence of GOD on his own Day, endeavour to purifie our ſelves from the Filth of the World we have contracted in the Days before; would we diſperſe theſe buſy Swarms of Things, which ſo attract our Minds, and prepare our ſelves for the follow⯑ing Day; we ſhould appear before GOD, leſs earthly and more heavenly, leſs ſinful and more holy; Our ^‡ Prayers would be ſet forth in his Sight as the Incenſe, and the lifting up of our Hands be an Evening Sacrifice: And like the Smell of Jacob's Garment in the Noſtrils of his Father, the Smell of our Prayers would ^§ be like the Smell of a Field which the LORD hath bleſſed.

And now what is this Preparation, but the Trimming of our Lamps againſt we meet [150] the LORD on the next Day? Our Bodies ſhould be refreſhed by ceaſing early from their Labour, that they may be active and vigorous; and our Souls waſhed with Sobri⯑ety and Temperance, and the private or public Prayer of the Evening. Thus ſhould we meet the LORD at Bethel, and obtain thoſe Mercies we ſought of him there.

Art thou then bleſſed with an affluence of Things, and hath Providence placed Thee above the careful Sations of Life? What Rea⯑ſon then can be ſufficient for thy Neglect of this Cuſtom? For neither canſt thou plead the want of Time, neither doſt thou dread the ſtraits of Poverty.

Or art thou involv'd in the Cares of Buſi⯑neſs? Doſt thou earn thy Bread by the Sweat of thy Face, and the Labours of thy Hands? O well is Thee! And happy mayſt thou be. Wouldſt thou dedicate this ſmall Time to the Service of GOD, it would be like the Wi⯑dow's Mite, which was more than all that was thrown into the Treaſury: But perhaps, thou wilt ſay thou art under the Yoke, ſub⯑ject to Servitude, and obliged to work even to the latter End of the Day. It may be ſo, but yet, as GOD is every where preſent, ſo wouldſt thou Remember that it is the Prepa⯑ration, and put up an Ejaculation at thy Work, GOD would accept it, and it would prove to [151] thee, an equal Good with the other Prepara⯑tion. Caſſian ^* tells us, That the antient Monk, whilſt they were working in the pri⯑vate Cells, repeated their Religious Offices: And St. Jerom, when he is commending the pleaſing Retirement of the Village of Bethle⯑hem, ^† ſays, That in the Village of CHRIST, there is a ſecure Ruſticity: No Noiſe is heard there, but the Singing of Pſalms. Where⯑ſoever you go, you have either the Plough-Man ſinging Hallelujahs as he's holding the Plough, or the ſweating Mower pleaſing him⯑ſelf with Hymns; or the Vine-dreſſer ſinging David's Pſalms. Theſe without doubt were acceptable to GOD, and thine undoubtedly will be acceptable alſo.

But if thou art not ty'd down by Neceſſity, do not ſay that the common Neceſſaries of Life require then thy Labour: For this is not loſing, but Redeeming the Time; what thou ſpendeſt in the Care of thy Soul, is not loſt in the Care of thy Body. Never was Man poorer, for obſerving the Duties of Re⯑ligion. If thou loſe any Thing of the Wages [152] of the Day, to do the Service of GOD, he will take care to ſupply it, thou ſhalt be no loſer.

Why then art thou fearful, O! Thou of little Faith! Why doſt thou take ſo much Thought for thy Life? Behold the Fowls of the Air, for they ſow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into Barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them: Art thou not much better than they? And why takeſt thou thought for Rayment? Con⯑ſider the Lilies of the Field, they toil not, nei⯑ther do they Spin; and yet I ſay unto thee, that Solomon, in all his Glory, was not arrayed like one of theſe. And ſhall he not much more Cloath thee, O Thou of little Faith! Therefore take no Thought for what thou ſhalt Eat, or what thou ſhalt Drink, or where withal thou ſhall be Cloathed; but ſeek thou firſt the Kingdom of GOD and his Righteouſneſs; prefer the Care of theſe, to the Care of all other Things, and all theſe Things ſhall be added unto Thee.

Let not then the buſy Cares of this Life, be any hinderance to thy Care of the other; ſet apart this ſmall Time, for the Time of Preparation, and look on it, as an Emblem of the whole Time of Life: Which is our Day of Preparation, for the eternal Sabbath, the everlaſting Reſt, the undiſturbed Quiet of the other Life.

CHAP. XIII. Of the Yule-Clog and Chriſtmas-Candle; what they may ſignifie; their Antiquity; the like Cuſtoms in other Places.

IN the Primitive Church, Chriſtmas-Day was always obſerv'd as the Lord's-Day was, and was in like Manner preceded by an Eve or Vigil. Hence it is that our Church hath ordered an Eve before it, which is obſerved by the Religious, as a Day of Preparation for that great Feſtival.

Our Fore-Fathers, when the common De⯑votions of the Eve were over, and Night was come on, were wont to light up Candles of an uncommon Size, which were called Chriſtmas-Candles, and to lay a Log of Wood upon the Fire, which they termed a Yule-Clog, or Chriſtmas-Block. Theſe were to Illuminate the Houſe, and turn the Night into Day; which Cuſtom, in ſome Meaſure, is ſtill kept up in the Northern Parts.

It hath, in all probability, been derived from the Saxons. For Bede tells us, That this very Night was obſerved in this Land before, by the Heathen Saxons. They^* began, ſays [156] he, their Year on the Eight of the Calends of January, which is now our Chriſtmas-Day: And the very Night before, which is now Holy to us, was by them called Maedrenack, or the Night of Mothers; becauſe, as we ima⯑gine, of thoſe Ceremonies which were per⯑form'd that Night. The Yule-Clog therefore hath probably been a Part of that Night's Ceremonies. The very Name ſeems to ſpeak it, and tells its Original to every Age.

It ſeems to have been uſed, as an Emblem of the return of the Sun, and the lengthening of the Days. For as^* both December and Ja⯑nuary were called Guili or ^† Yule, upon Ac⯑count [157] of the Sun's Returning, and the In⯑creaſe of the Days; ſo, I am apt to believe, the Log has had the Name of the Yule-Log, from its being burnt as an Emblem of the returning Sun, and the Increaſe of its Light and Heat.

This was probably the Reaſon of the Cu⯑ſtom among the Heathen Saxons; but I can⯑not think the Obſervation of it was continued for the ſame Reaſon, after Chriſtianity was embraced. For Biſhop Stillingfleet obſerves in his Origines Britanicae, ‘That though the ancient Saxons obſerved Twelve Days at that Time, and ſacrificed to the Sun, in [158] hopes of his Returning; yet when Chriſ⯑tianity prevailed, all theſe Idolatrous Sa⯑crifices were laid aſide, and that Time of Feaſting was joined with the religious So⯑lemnity of that Seaſon, which in other Parts of the World were obſerved by Chriſtians.’ And in like Manner as theſe Days of Feaſting were joined with the reli⯑gious Solemnities of that Seaſon, ſo the keep⯑ing up of this Cuſtom, ſeems to have been done with another View, than it was ori⯑ginally. If a Conjecture may be allowed, it might have been done on Account of our Saviour's Birth, which happened that Night. For as the Burning of it before Chriſtianity, was an Emblem of the Coming of the Sun, which they worſhipped as their God; ſo the continuing it after, might have been for a Symbol of that Light, which was that Night born into the World: The Light that ſhineth in Darkneſs; the Light that lightned the Gen⯑tiles, that turn'd them from Darkneſs to Light, and from the Power of Satan unto GOD.

And indeed it will be ſome ſtrengthening of the Conjecture, that Light has been the Emblem of ſeveral Things, both in Scripture, and in the ancient Church: For the Scripture makes uſe of it, and the Church in Imitation of the Scripture, as a lively Rereſentation of ſeveral Things. Thus Light is the Emblem of [159] GOD: For GOD is Light, ſays the Apoſtle St. John. John the Baptiſt was a Burning and a Shining Light. And therefore in ſome Places it^* is cuſtomary to carry Torches on St. John the Baptiſt's Eve, to repreſent St. John Baptiſt himſelf, who was a Burning and a Shining Light, and a Preparer of the Way for the True Light, that lighteneth every Man that cometh into the World. The Apoſtles were the Light of the World; and as our Saviour was frequently called Light, ſo was his Coming into the World ſignified, and pointed out by the Emblems of Light: ‘It was then (ſays our Country-man Gregory) the longeſt Night in all the Year; and it was the midſt of that, and yet there was Day where he was: For a glorious and betokening Light ſhined round about this Holy Child. So ſays Tra⯑dition, and ſo the Maſters deſcribe the Night Piece of the Nativity.’ If this be called in Queſtion, as being only Tradition, it is out of Diſpute, that the Light which illuminated the Fields of Bethlehem, and ſhone round about the Shepherds as they were watching their Flocks, was an Em⯑blem of that Light, which was then come [160] into the World. What^* can be the meaning, ſays venerable Bede, that this Apparition of Angels was ſurrounded with that heavenly Light, which is a Thing we never meet with in all the Old Teſtament? For tho' Angels have appeared to Prophets and holy Men, yet we never read of their Appearing in ſuch Glory and Splendor before. It muſt ſurely be, becauſe this Privilege was reſerved for the Dignity of this Time. For when the true Light of the World, was born in the World, it was very proper that the Proclaimer of his Nativity, ſhould appear in the Eyes of Men, in ſuch an heavenly Light, as was before un⯑ſeen in the World. And that ſupernatural Star, which was the Guide of the Eaſtern Magi, was a Figure of that Star, which was riſen out of Jacob; of that Light which ſhould lighten the Gentiles. ‘GOD, ſays Biſhop Taylor, ſent a miraculous Star, to invite and lead them to a new and more glorious Light, the Light of Grace and Glory,’

In Imitation of this, as Gregory tells us, the Church went on with the Ceremony: And [161] hence it was, that for the three or four Firſt Centuries, the whole Eaſtern Church, called the Day, which they obſerved for our Savi⯑our's Nativity, the Epiphany or Manifeſtation of the Light. And Caſſian tells ut,^* That it was a Cuſtom in Egypt, handed down by Tradition, as ſoon as the Epiphany, or Day of Light was over, &c. Hence alſo came that ancient Cuſtom of the ſame Church, taken Notice of by St. Jerome, of^† lighting up Candles at the Reading of the Goſpel, even at Noon-Day; and that, not to drive away the Darkneſs, but to ſpeak their Joy for the good Tidings of the Goſpel, and be an Emblem of that Light, which the Pſalmiſt ſays, was a Lamp unto his Feet, and a Light unto his Paths.

Light therefore having been an Emblem of ſo many Things, and particularly of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, both in the ſacred Hiſtory, and in the Practice of the Church; it is no way improbable, that after their Con⯑verſion, the Saxons uſed it as an Emblem of him, who that Night came into the World, [162] and was the Light thereof. In the City of Conſtantinople, on the Eve of Eaſter, there was a Cuſtom practiſed, much like this of ours on Chriſtmas-Eve. For then the whole City was illuminated with Tapers and Torches, which continued all the Night, turning the Night into Day, till almoſt the Day appeared. The Reaſon of this Cuſtom, was to repreſent that Light which the next Day aroſe upon the World. The Difference between theſe two Cuſtoms, is that of the Time, the Reaſon of their Obſervation is much the ſame. The one illuminated the Eve of Eaſter, that there might be an Emblem of the Sun of Righte⯑ouſneſs, who the next Day aroſe upon the World; the other, the Eve of Yule, to give an Emblem of that Light which was the Day ſpring from on High. Nay, this Eve of Yule, as Gregory tells us, ‘was illuminated with ſo many Tapors among the Ancients, as to give to the Vigil the Name of Vigilia Lumi⯑num; and the Ancients, ſays he, did well to ſend Lights one to another, whatever ſome think of the Chriſtmas-Candle.’

CHAP. XIV. Of adorning the Windows at Chriſtmas with Laurel: What the Laurel is an Emblem of: An Objection againſt this Cuſtom taken off.

ANother Cuſtom obſerved at this Seaſon, is the adorning of Windows with Bay and Laurel. It is but ſeldom obſerved in North, but in the Southern-Parts, it is very Common, particularly at our Univerſities; where it is Cuſtomary to adorn, not only the Common Windows of the Town, and of the Colleges, but alſo to bedeck the Chapels of the Colleges, with Branches of Laurel.

The Laurel was uſed among the ancient Romans, as an Emblem of ſeveral Things, and in particular, of^* Peace, and Joy, and Victory. And I imagine, it has been uſed at this Seaſon by Chriſtians, as an Emblem of the ſame Things; as an Emblem of Joy for the Victory gain'd over the Powers of Darkneſs, and of that Peace on Earth, that Good-will towards Men, which the Angels ſung over the Fields of Bethlehem.

[173]It^* has been made uſe of by the Non Con⯑formiſts, as an Argument againſt Ceremonies, that the ſecond Council of Bracara, ^‡ Can. 73. forbad Chriſtians ‘to deck their Houſes, with Bay Leaves and Green Boughes.’ But the Council does not mean, that it was wrong in Chriſtians, to make uſe of theſe Things, but only ‘at the ſame Time with the Pagans, when they obſerved and ſolemnized their Paganiſh Paſtime and Worſhip. And of this Prohibi⯑tion, they give this Reaſon in the ſame Canon; Omnis haec obſervatio paganiſmi eſt. All this kind of Cuſtom doth hold of Paganiſm: Be⯑cauſe the outward Practice of Heatheniſh Rites, perform'd jointly with the Pagans themſelves, could not but imply a Conſent in Paganiſm.’

But at preſent, there is no hazard of any ſuch Thing. It may be an Emblem of Joy to us, without confirming any, in the Practice of Heatheniſm. The Time, the Place, and the Reaſons of the Ceremony, are ſo widely diffe⯑rent; that, tho' formerly, to have obſerved it, would unqueſtionably have been a Sin, it is now become harmleſs, comely, and decent.

CHAP. XV. Of the Chriſtmas Carol, an ancient Cuſtom: The common Obſervation of it very unbecoming.

AS ſoon as the Morning of the Nativity appears, it is cuſtomary among the common People to ſing a Chriſtmas-Carol, which is a Song upon the Birth of our Savi⯑our, and generally ſung with ſome^* others, from the Nativity to the Twelveth-Day, the Continuance of Chriſtmas. It comes, they ſay, from Cantare, to ſing, and Rola, which is an Interjection of Joy: For in ancient Times, the Burden of the Song, when Men were Merry, was Rola, Rola.

This kind of Songs is of an ancient ſtand⯑ing: They were ſung early in the Church it ſelf, in memory of the Nativity, as the many HYMNS for that Seaſon manifeſtly declare: Tertullian ſays,^† it was cuſtomary among the Chriſtians, at their Feaſts, to bring thoſe, who were able to ſing, into the Midſt, and [182] make them ſing a Song unto GOD; either out of the Holy Scripture, or of their own Com⯑poſing and Invention. And as this was done at their Feaſts, ſo no doubt it was obſerved at the great Feaſt of the Nativity; which Song, no Queſtion of it, was to them, what the Chriſtmas-Carol ſhould be to us. In after Ages we have it alſo taken Notice of: For Durand tells us,^* That on the Day of the Nativity, it was uſual for the Biſhops of ſome Churches to ſing among their Clergy, in the Epiſcopal Houſe, which Song was undoubt⯑ed a Chriſtmas-Carol.

The Reaſon of this Cuſtom ſeems to be an Imitation of the Gloria in Excelſis, or Glory be to GOD on High, &c. which was ſung by the Angels, as they hovered o'er the Fields of Bethlehem, in the Morning of the Nativity. For even that Song, as the learned Biſhop Taylor obſerves, was a Chriſtmas-Carol. As ſoon, ſays he, as theſe bleſſed Choriſters had ſung their Chriſtmas Carol, and taught the Church a Hymn, to put into her Offices for Ever, in the Anniverſary of this Feſtivity; the Angels, &c.

Was this performed with that Reverence and Decency, which are due to a Song of this Nature, in Honour of the Nativity, and Glory [183] to our LORD, it would be very commend⯑able; but to ſing it, as is generally done, in the midſt of Rioting and Chambering, and Wan⯑toneſs, is no Honour, but Diſgrace; no Glory, but an Affront to that Holy Seaſon, a Scan⯑dal to Religion, and a Sin againſt CHRIST.

CHAP. XVI. Of New-Year's-Day's Ceremonies. The New-Year's-Gift an harmleſs Cuſtom: wiſhing a good New-Year, no Way ſinful. Mumming, a Cuſtom which ought to be laid aſide.

AS the Vulgar are always very careful to End the old Year well, ſo they are alſo careful of Beginning well the new one: As they End the Former with a hearty Compota⯑tion, ſo they begin the Latter with the Sending of Preſents, which are termed New-Year's. Gifts, to their Friends and Acquaintances: The Original of both which Cuſtoms, is^* ſuperſti⯑tious and ſinful; and was obſerved that the ſucceeding Year, might be proſperous and ſucceſsful.

‘Biſhop^† Stillingfleet tells us, That a⯑mong the Saxons of the Northren Nations, the Feaſt of the New-Year was obſerved with more than ordinary Jollity: Thence as Olaus Wormius and Scheffer obſerve, they reckoned their Age by ſo many^‡ Jola's; and Snorro Sturleſon deſcribeth this New-Year's [188] Feaſt, juſt as Buchannan ſets out the Britiſh Saturnalia, by Feaſting and ſending Preſents, or New-Year's Gifts, one to another.’

The Poet Naogeorgus ſays,^* That it was uſual at that Time, for Friends to preſent each other with a New-Year's Gift; for the Huſband, the Wife; the Parents, their Chil⯑dren; and Maſter's, their Servants; which, as^† Hoſpinian tells us, was an ancient Cuſtom of the Heathens, and afterwards practis'd by the Chriſtians.

And no doubt, thoſe Chriſtians were high⯑ly worthy of Cenſure, who imagined, as the Heathens did, that the ſending of a Preſent then, was any way Lucky, and an Omen of the Succeſs of the following Year. For this was the very Thing that made both ſeveral Holy Men, and ſome general Councils, take notice of, and forbid any ſuch Cuſtom; be⯑cauſe the Obſervance of it, out of any ſuch Deſign and View, was Superſtitious and Sin⯑ful. We are told, in a Place of St. Auſtin, [189] ^* the Obſervation of the Calends of January is forbid, the Songs which were wont to be ſung on that Day, the Feaſtings, and the Preſents which were then ſent as a Token and Omen of a good Year. But to ſend a Preſent at that Time, out of Eſteem, or Gratitude, or Charity, is no where forbid: On the Con⯑trary, it is Praiſe worthy. For tho' the^† ancient Fathers did vehemently invey a⯑gainſt the Obſervation of the Calends of Ja⯑nuary; yet it was not becauſe of thoſe Preſents, and Tokens of mutual Affection and Love that paſſed; but becauſe the Day it ſelf was dedicated to Idols, and becauſe of ſome pro⯑phane Rites and Ceremonies they obſerved in ſolemnizing it. If then I ſend a New-Year's Gift to my Friend, it ſhall be a Token of my Friendſhip; if to my Benefactor, a Token of my Gratitude; if to the Poor, (which at this Time muſt never be forgot) it ſhall be to make their Hearts ſing for Joy, and give [190] Praiſe and Adoration to the Giver of all good Gifts.

Another old Cuſtom at this Time, is the wiſhing of a good New-Year, either when a New-Year's Gift is preſented, or when Friends meet, or when a New-Year's Song is ſung at the Door; the Burden of which is, we wiſh you a happy New-Year.

This is alſo a Cuſtom among the Modern Jews, who on the firſt Day of the Month^* Tiſri, have a ſplended^† Entertainment, and wiſh each other a happy New-Year.

Now the Original of this Cuſtom is Hea⯑theniſh, as appears by the Feaſting and Pre⯑ſents before mentioned, which were a wiſh for a good Year. And it was cuſtomary a⯑mong the Heathens on the Calends of Janu⯑ary, to go about and ſing a New-Year's Song. Hoſpinian therefore tells us, That^‡ when [191] Night comes on, not only the Young, but alſo the Old of both Sexes, run about here and there, and ſing a Song at the Doors of the wealthier People, in which they wiſh them a happy New-Year. This he ſpeaks in⯑deed of the Chriſtians, but he calls it an exact Copy of the Heathens Cuſtom.

But however I cannot ſee the Harm of re⯑taining this ancient Ceremony, ſo it be not uſed ſuperſtitiouſly, nor attended with Obſce⯑nity and Lewdneſs. For then there will be no more in it, than an hearty Wiſh for each others Welfare and Proſperity; no more Harm, than wiſhing a good Day, or good Night; than in bidding one GOD ſpeed; or than in wiſhing to our Friend, what Abraham's Servant did to himſelf, O ^* LORD GOD of my Maſter Abraham, I pray thee ſend me good ſpeed this Day.

There is another Cuſtom obſerved at this Time, which is called among us Mumming; which is a changing of Clothes between Men and Women; who when dreſs'd in each others Habits, go from one Neighbour's Houſe to another, and partake of their Chriſt⯑mas-Cheer, and make merry with them in Diſguiſe, by dancing and ſinging, and ſuch like Merriments.

[192]This^* is an Imitation of the Cuſtoms of the Sigillaria, or Feſtival Days which were added to the ancient^† Saturnalia, and obſer⯑ved by the Heathens in January; which was a going in Diſguiſe, not publickly, or to any indifferent Place; but privately, and to ſome well known Families.

This Kind of Cuſtom received a deſerved Blow from the Church, and was taken Notice of in the Synod^‡ of Trullus; where it was de⯑creed, that the Days called the Calends, ſhould be intirely ſtrip'd of their Ceremonies, and [193] the Faithful ſhould no longer obſerve them: That the public Dancings of Women ſhould ceaſe, as being the Occaſion of much Harm and Ruin, and as being invented and obſerved in honour of their Gods, and therefore quite averſe to the Chriſtian Life. They therefore decreed, that no Man ſhould be cloathed with a Woman's Garment, no Woman with a Man's.

It were to be wiſh'd, this Cuſtom, which is ſtill ſo common among us at this Seaſon of the Year, was laid aſide; as it is the Occaſion of much^* Uncleanneſs and Debauchery, and directly oppoſite to the Word of GOD. The ^† Woman ſhall not wear that which pertaineth unto a Man, neither ſhall a Man put on a Woman's Garment; for all that do ſo, are Abomination unto the LORD thy GOD.

CHAP. XVII. Of the Twelfth Day; how obſerved: The Wick⯑edneſs of obſerving the Twelve Days after the common Way.

ON the Epiphany, or Manifeſtation of Chriſt to the Gentiles, commonly called the Twelfth-Day, the Eaſtern Magi were guided by the Star, to pay their Homage to their Sa⯑viour; and becauſe they came that Day, which is the Twelfth after the Day of the Nativity, it is therefore called the Twelfth-Day.

The Twelfth-Day it ſelf is one of the great⯑eſt of the Twelve, and of more jovial Obſer⯑vation than the others, for the viſiting of Friends and Chriſtmas-Gambols. The Rites of this Day are different in divers Places, tho' the End of them is much the ſame in all; namely, to do Honour to the Memory of the Eaſtern Magi, whom they ſuppoſe to have been Kings. In^* France, one of the Courtiers is choſen King, whom the King himſelf, and the other Nobles, attend at an Entertainment. In Germany, they obſerve the ſame Thing on this Day in Academies and Cities, where the Students and Citizens create one of themſelves King, and provide a Magni⯑ficent [200] Banquet for him, and give him the At⯑tendance of a King, or a ſtranger Gueſt. Now this is anſwerable to that Cuſtom of the Sa⯑turnalia, of Maſters making Banquets for their Servants, and waiting on them; and no doubt this Cuſtom has in Part ſprung from that.

Not many Years ago, this was a common Chriſtmas Gambol in both our Univerſities; and it is ſtill uſual in other Places of our Land, to give the Name of King or Queen to that Perſon, whoſe extraordinary Luck hits upon that Part of the divided Cake, which is honour'd above the others, with a Bean in it.

But tho' this be generally the greateſt of the Twelve, yet the others preceding are obſerved with Mirth and Jollity, generally to Exceſs. Was this Feaſting confined within the Bounds of Decency and Moderation, and gave more Way than it does to the Exerciſes and the Re⯑ligious Duties of the Seaſon, it would have nothing in it immoral or ſinful. The keeping up of Friendſhip, and Love, and old Acquain⯑tance, has nothing in it harmful; but the Misfortune is, Men upon that Bottom, act ra⯑ther like Brutes than Men, and like Heathens than Chriſtians; and the Preſervation of Friendſhip and Love, is nothing elſe but a Pretence for Drunkenneſs, and Rioting, and Wantonneſs. And ſuch I am afraid hath been the Obſervation of the Chriſtmas Holy-days, [201] ſince the holieſt Times of the Chriſtian Church; and the Generality of Men have rather look'd upon them, as a^* Time of Eating and Drink⯑ing, and Playing, than of returning Praiſes and Thankſgivings to GOD, for the greateſt Benefit he ever beſtow'd upon the Sons of Men.

Gregory Nazianzen, in that excellent Oration of his upon Chriſtmas-Day, ſays, Let us not celebrate the Feaſt after an Earthly, but an Heavenly Manner; let not our Doors be crown'd; let not Dancing be encourag'd; let not the Croſs-paths be adorned, the Eyes fed, nor the Ears delighted, &c. Let us not Feaſt to exceſs, nor be Drunk with Wine, &c. From this we may clearly ſee, what has been the Cuſtom in theſe Days. And in all Probability it has been much the ſame among us, from the Beginning of Chriſtianity: However fabulous that Story may be, taken Notice of by^† Biſhop Stillingfleet, from Hector Boethius, ‘That King Arthur kept with his Nobles at York, a very prophane Chriſtmas for^‡ thirteen Days toge⯑ther, [202] and that ſuch Jollity and Feaſting then, had its Original from him.’ But however theſe Words, if true, may be a Teſtimony of the too great Antiquity of the Abuſe of this Feſtival; yet they will by no Means juſtifie Buchannan's Comment upon them. For as the learned Biſhop goes on, ‘Buchannan is ſo well pleaſed with this notable Obſervation, that He ſets it down for good Hiſtory, ſaying upon it, that the old Saturnalia were re⯑new'd, only the Days increaſed, and Sa⯑turn's Name chang'd to Caeſar's: For ſays he, we call the Feaſt Julia. But why ſhould the Name of Saturn be changed into Caeſar's? Was he worſhipped for a GOD among the Britiſh Chriſtians, as Saturn was among the old Pagans? But the Name Julia imports it; by no Means. For Buchannan does not prove, that this Name was ever uſed for that Feſtival among the Britains; and the Saxons, who brought in both the Name and the Feaſt, give another^* Reaſon for it.’

[203] Buchannan ſeems therefore to have a great deal more Malice than Truth on his Side. But however ſuch Revellings, and Frolicks, and Extravagances, whether or not derived from the old Saturnalia, as are cuſtomary at this Seaſon, do come very near to, if not ex⯑ceed its Liberties. In particular, what com⯑moner at this Seaſon, than for Men to riſe early in the Morning, that they may follow ſtrong Drink, and continue untill Night, till Wine inflame them? As if CHRIST who came into the World to ſave us, and was manifeſted to deſtroy the Works of the Devil; was to be honour'd with the very Works he came to deſtroy.

With ſome, Chriſtmas ends with the Twelve Days, but with the Generality of the Vulgar, not till Candlemas. Till then they continue Feaſting, and are ambitious of keeping ſome of their Chriſtmas-Chear, and then are fond of getting quit of it. Durand tells us,^* They celebrated this Time with Joy, becauſe the Incarnation of CHRIST was the Occaſion of Joy to Angels and Men. But the lengthening of the Time from twelve to forty Days, ſeems to have been done out of Honour to the Virgin Mary's Lying-in: Under the old Law, the Time of Purification was forty Days, which [204] was to Women then, what the Month is to Women now. And as during that Time, the Friends and Relations of the Women, pay them Viſits, and do them Abundance of Honour; ſo this Time ſeems to have been calculated, to do Honour to the Virgin's Lying-in.

There is a Canon in the Council of Trul⯑lus, ^* againſt thoſe who bak'd a Cake in Ho⯑nour of the Virgin's Lying-in, in which it is decreed, that no ſuch Ceremony ſhould be obſerved; becauſe it was otherwiſe with her, at the Birth of our Saviour, than with all other Women. She ſuffer'd no Pollution, and therefore needed no Purification, but only in Obedience to the Law: If then the Baking of a ſingle Cake was faulty, how much more ſo many Feaſts in her Honour?

CHAP. XVIII. Of St. Paul's Day; The Obſervation of the Weather, a Cuſtom of the Heathens, and hand⯑ed down by the Monks: The Apoſtle St. Paul himſelf is againſt ſuch Obſervations; The Opinion of St. Auſtin upon them.

THE Obſervation of the Weather which is made on this Day is altogether ridi⯑culous and ſuperſtitious. If it happen to be unclouded and without Rain, it is look'd upon as an Omen of the following Year's Succeſs, if otherwiſe, that the Year will be unfortunate. Thus the old Verſe.

The Interprepation of which is very well known to be this,

Such alſo is the Obſervation of St. Swithin's Day, which if rainy is a Token that it will rain for forty Days ſucceſſively; ſuch is the [209] Obſervation of^* Candlemas-Day, ſuch is Childermas-Day, ſuch Valentine's-Day, and ſome others.

How St. Paul's Day came to have this particular Knack of foretelling the good or evil Fortune of the following Year, is no eaſy Matter to find out. The Monks who were undoubtedly the firſt who made this wonderful Obſervation, have taken Care it ſhould be handed down to Poſterity, but why and for what Reaſon this Obſervation was to ſtand good, they have taken Care to conceal. In Church Affairs indeed they make free with handing down Traditions from Generation to Generation, which being approved by an in⯑fallible Judgment, are to be taken for grant⯑ed; but as far as I hear, they never pretended to an infallible Spirit, in the Study of the Planets. One may therefore, without the Suſpicion of Hereſy, or fear of the Inquiſition, make a little Inquiry into this Affair, and ſee whether it be true or falſe, whether it is built upon any Reaſon or no Reaſon, whether ſtill to be obſerved, or only laugh'd at as a Monkiſh Dream.

Now as it is the Day of that Saint, the great Apoſtle St. Paul, I cannot ſee there is any Thing to be built upon. He did indeed labour [210] more abundantly than all the Apoſtles; but never, that I heard, in the Science of Aſtro⯑logy. And why his Day ſhould therefore be a ſtanding Almanack to the World, rather than the Day of any other Saint, will be pretty hard to find out. I am ſure there is a good Number of them, have as much Right to Rain or fair Weather as St. Paul, and if St. Andrew, St. Thomas, &c. have not as much Right to Wind or Snow, let the Reader judge.

As it is the Twenty fifth Day of January, one would think that could be no Reaſon. For what is that Day more than another? In⯑deed they do give ſome Shew of Reaſon, why Rain ſhould happen about the Time of St. Swithin, which is this. About the Time of his Feaſt, which is on the Fourteenth of July, there are two rainy Conſtellations, which are called Praecepe and Aſellus, which ariſe coſmically, and generally produce Rain. And to be ſure in the Courſe of the Sign Aquarius, there may be both Rain and Wind and fair Weather, but how theſe can foretell the Deſ⯑tiny of the Year, is the Queſtion.

As then there is nothing in the Saint, or his Day to prognoſticate any ſuch Thing, I mean, as it is the Day of St. Paul, or the Twenty fifth of January, ſo I muſt confeſs I cannot find out what may be the Ground of [211] this particular Obſervation. But however thus much is very obvious, that this Obſer⯑vation is an exact Copy of that ſuperſtitious Cuſtom among the Heathens, of obſerving one Day as good, and another as bad. For among them were lucky and unlucky Days; ſome were dies atri, and ſome dies albi; the atri were pointed out in their Calendar, with a black Character, the albi with a white; the former to denote it a Day of bad Succeſs, the latter a Day of good. Thus have the Monks in the dark and unlearned Ages of Popery copy'd after the Heathens, and dream'd them⯑ſelves into the like Superſtitions, eſteeming one Day more ſucceſsful than another; and ſo according to them, it is very unlucky to begin any Work upon Childermaſs-Day; and what Day ſoever that falls on, whether on a Munday, Tueſday, or any other, nothing muſt be begun on that Day through the Year; St. Paul's Day is the Year's Fortune-Teller, St. Mark's Day is the Prognoſticator of your Life and Death, &c. and ſo inſtead of perſuading the People to lay aſide the Whims and Fan⯑cies of the Heathen World, they brought them ſo effectually in, that they are ſtill reigning in many Places to this Day.

But of all the Days of the Year, they could not have choſen one ſo little to the Purpoſe. For the very Saint, whoſe Day is ſo obſerved, [212] has himſelf cautioned them againſt any ſuch Obſervation: For in the Fourth Chapter of his Epiſtle to the Galations, he tells them, how dangerous it was to obſerve Days, and Months, and Times, and Years; which is not, as ſome would perſuade us, to Caution us againſt the Obſervation of any Day but the Lord's-Day; but only that we ſhould not ob⯑ſerve the aboliſhed Feaſts of the Jews, nor the abominable Feaſts of the Gentiles, nor their ſuperſtitious Obſervation of fortunate and unfortunate Days. St. Auſtin, upon this Place, hath theſe Words,^* Let us not obſerve Years, and Months, and Times, leaſt we hear the Apoſtle telling us, I am afraid of you, leaſt I have ſhewn on you labour in Vain. For the Perſons he blames, are thoſe who ſay, I will not ſet forward on my Journey, becauſe it is the next Day after ſuch a Time, or becauſe the Moon is ſo; or I'll ſet forward that I may have Luck, becauſe ſuch is juſt now the Poſition of the Stars. I will not Traffick this Month, becauſe ſuch a Star preſides, or I will, becauſe it does. I ſhall plant no Vines this Year, becauſe it is Leap-Year, &c.

The learned Mr. Bingham, has among ſe⯑veral [213] others, a Quotation^* from the ſame St. Auſtin on theſe ſuperſtitious Obſervations, with which I ſhall conclude this Chapter. ‘To this kind, ſays he, belong all Ligatures and Remedies, which the Schools of Phyſi⯑cians reject and condemn; whether in In⯑chantments, or in certain Marks, which they call Characters, or in ſome other Things which are to be hanged and bound about the Body, and kept in a dancing Poſture; not for any Temperament of the Body, but for certain Significations, either Ocult, or Manifeſt: Which by a gentler Name, they call Phyſical, that they may not ſeem to affright Men with the Appearance of Super⯑ſtition, but do good in a natural Way: Such are Ear-rings hanged upon the Tip of each Ear, and Rings made of an Oſtriches Bones for the Finger; or when you are told in a Fit of Convulſions, or Shortneſs of Breath, to hold your left Thumb with your right Hand. To which may be added a thouſand vain Obſervations, as, if any of our Members beat; if when two Friends are talking together, a Stone, or a Dog, or a Child, happens to come between them, they tread the Stone to Pieces, as the Divi⯑der of their Friendſhip, and this is toller⯑able [214] in Compariſon of beating an innocent Child that comes between them. But it is more pleaſant, that ſometimes the Childrens Quarrel is revenged by the Dogs; for ma⯑ny Times they are ſo ſuperſtitious, as to dare to beat the Dog that comes between them, who turning again upon him that ſmites him, ſends him from ſeeking a vain Remedy, to ſeek a real Phyſician indeed. Hence proceed likewiſe theſe other Super⯑ſtitions: For a Man to tread upon his Thre⯑ſhold when he paſſes by his own Houſe, to return back to Bed again, if he chance to ſneeze as he is putting on his Shoes; to return into his Houſe, if he ſtumble at his Going out; if the Rats knaw his Cloths, to be more terrified with the Suſpicion of ſome future Evil, then concerned for the preſent Loſs. He ſays, Cato gave a wiſe and ſmart Anſwer to ſuch an one, who came in ſome Conſternation to conſult him, about the Rats having knawed his Stock⯑ings; that, ſaid he, is no great Wonder, but it would have been a Wonder indeed, if the Stockings had knawed the Rats. St. Auſtin mentions this witty Anſwer of a wiſe Heathen, to convince Chriſtians the better of the Unreaſonableneſs and Vanity of all ſuch ſuperſtitious Obſervations. And he concludes, that all ſuch Arts, whether [215] of triffling or more noxious Superſtition, are to be rejected and avoided by Chriſtians, as proceeding originally from ſome pernicious Society between Men and Devils, and being the Compacts and Agreements of ſuch treach⯑erous and deceitful Friendſhip. The Apoſtle forbids us to have Fellowſhip with Devils; and that, he ſays, reſpects not only Idols, and Things offered to Idols, but all imagi⯑nary Signs pertaining to the Worſhip of Idols, and alſo all Remedies, and other Ob⯑ſervations, which are not appointed publick⯑ly by GOD to promote the Love of GOD and our Neighbour, but proceed from the private Fancies of Men, and tend to delude the Hearts of Poor deluded Mortals. For theſe Things have no natural Virtue in them, but owe all their Efficacy to a preſumptuous Confederacy with Devils: And they are full of peſtiferous Curioſity, tormenting Anxi⯑ety, and deadly Slavery. They were firſt taken up, not for any real Power to be diſ⯑cerned in them, but gained their Power by Mens obſerving them. And therefore by the Devil's Art they happen differently to different Men, according to their own Ap⯑prehenſions and Preſumptions. For the great Deceiver knows, how to procure Things agreeable to every Man's Temper, and en⯑ſnare him by his own Suſpicions and Conſent.’

CHAP. XIX. Of Candlemaſs-Day; why ſo called; the Blaſ⯑phemy of the Church of Rome in conſecrating Wax Candles.

THIS Day goes under ſeveral Denomina⯑tions: It is called the Day of CHRIST's Preſentation; becauſe on it CHRIST was pre⯑ſented in the Temple; it is called the Holy-Day of St. Simeon; becauſe it was on it, that he took our SAVIOUR up in his Arms: And it is called the Purification, becauſe then the Holy Virgin was purified. It is generally a Day of Feſtivity, and more than ordinary Obſervation among Women, and is therefore called the Wives Feaſt-Day. The Feaſting ſeems to be obſerved in Honour of the Virgin Mary; for as on the Day of a Woman's being church'd, there is no common Entertainment, ſo it ſeems, that this Feaſting was begun in the Times of Popery, by Way of Compliment to the Churching-Day of the Virgin Mary.

It has the Name of^* Candlemaſs-Day, be⯑cauſe [221] Lights were diſtributed and carried about in Proceſſion, or becauſe alſo the Uſe of light⯑ed Tapers, which was obſerved all Winter at Veſpers and Litanies, were then wont to ceaſe, till the next All-Hallowmaſs.

Theſe Lights ſo carried about, were bleſſed of the Prieſts, as Hoſpinian tells us, who made Uſe of the following Prayers at their Conſe⯑cration.^* We implore thee by the Invocation of thy Holy Name, and by the Interceſſion of the bleſſed Virgin Mary, the Mother of thy Son, whoſe Feaſt we this Day celebrate with the higheſt Devotion; and by the Inter⯑ceſſion of all thy Saints, that thou wouldſt ſanctifie theſe Candles to the Good and Profit of Men, and the Health of his Soul and Body, whether in Earth or Sea. And again. O LORD JESU, I beſeech thee, that thou wouldſt bleſs this thy Creature of Wax, and grant it thy Heavenly Benediction, by the Power of thy Holy Croſs; that as it was a Gift to Man, by which the Darkneſs might be driven away, ſo now it may be endow'd with ſuch Virtue by the Sign of the Holy [222] Croſs, that whereſoever it is lighted and pla⯑ced, the evil Spirit may tremble, and, with his Servants, be in ſuch Terror and Confuſion as to fly away from that Habitation, and no more vex and diſturb thy Servants.

After this, he adjures the Wax Candles, in Words like theſe.^* I adjure thee, O thou waxen Creature, in the Name of our LORD and the Holy Trinity, that thou repel and ex⯑tirpate the Devil and his Sprights, &c And therefore all Chriſtians (ſays Eccius. Tom. 3. Hom. de Purificat.) ought to uſe theſe Lights, with an holy Love, having a ſincere Depen⯑dance, that thus they ſhall be freed by the Power of the Word and this Prayer, from all the Snares and Frauds of the Devil.

Our Author upon this, ſays, That this is manifeſt Blaſphemy and Idolatry. For as on the one Hand, they take the Name of GOD and the Holy Trinity in vain, ſo on the other they attribute to a Wax Candle, what ſhould be aſcribed to CHRIST alone, and the quick⯑ning Power of the Holy Ghoſt.

CHAP. XX. Of Valentine-Day; its Ceremonies; what the Council of Trullus thought of ſuch Cuſtoms; that they had better be omitted.

IT is a Ceremony, never omitted among the Vulgar, to draw Lots, which they Term Valentines, on the Eve before^* Valentine-day. The Names of a ſelect Number of one Sex, are by an equal Number of the other put into ſome Veſſel; and after that, every one draws a Name, which for the preſent is called their Valentine, and is alſo look'd upon as a good Omen of their being Man and Wife afterwards.

There is a rural Tradition, that on this Day every^† Bird chuſes its Mate. From this [226] perhaps the youthful Part of the World hath firſt practiſed this Cuſtom, ſo common at this Seaſon.

In the Trullan Council we have Lots and Divinations forbid, as being ſome of thoſe Things which provoked the LORD to anger againſt King^* Manaſſes, who uſed Lots and Divinations, &c. upon which the Scholiaſt hath theſe Words.^† The Cuſtom of drawing Lots was after this Manner; on the 23d Day of June, which is the Eve of St. John Baptiſt, Men and Women were accuſtomed to gather together in the Evening by the Sea-ſide, or in ſome certain Houſes, and there adorn a Girl, who was her Parents firſt-begotten Child, af⯑ter the Manner of a Bride. Then they feaſt⯑ed and leaped after the Manner of Bacchanals, and danced and ſhouted as they were wont to do on their Holy-days: After this they poured into a narrow neck'd Veſſel ſome of the Sea-Water, and put alſo into it certain Things be⯑longing to each of them. Then as if the Devil gifted the Girl, with the Faculty of telling future Things; they would enquire with a loud Voice, about the good or evil Fortune that ſhould attend them: Upon this the Girl would take out of the Veſſel, the firſt Thing that came to Hand, and ſhew it, [227] and give it to the Owner; who upon receiv⯑ing it, was ſo fooliſh as to imagine himſelf wiſer, as to the good or evil Fortune that ſhould attend him.

This Cuſtom, as he tells us a little after, is altogether diabolical: And ſurely it was ſo, being uſed as a preſage of what was future. Was the Cuſtom of the Lots now mention'd, uſed as among the Heathens, they would no Doubt be as worthy of Condemnation; but as far as I know, there is but little Credit given to them; tho' that little is too much, and ought to be laid aſide. But if the Cu⯑ſtom was uſed without any Mixture or Allay of Superſtition, as I believe it is in ſome Pla⯑ces, yet it is often attended with great Incon⯑veniences and Misfortunes, with Uneaſineſſes to Families, with Scandal, and ſometimes with Ruin.

CHAP. XXI. Of Shrove-tide; what it ſignifies; the Cuſtom of the Papiſts at this Seaſon; that our preſent Cuſtoms are very unbecoming.

SHROVE-TIDE ſignifieth the Time of con⯑feſſing Sins, as the Word Tide, which ſignifies Time; and the Saxon Word Shrive or Shrift, which ſignifies Confeſſion, plainly ſhew. The Reaſon why this Time is ſo denominated is, becauſe it was ſet apart by the Church of Rome for a Time of Shriving or confeſſing Sins. For then People were wont to confeſs their Sins, and receive the Sacrament, that they might be better prepar'd for the Religious Obſervation of the following Seaſon of Lent. Thus in the Conſtitutions of^* Simon Sudbury, it is ordered, ‘That Lay-Men ſhould be ad⯑moniſhed to confeſs in the very Beginning of Lent.’ And in Theodolphus's Capitula, it [231] is ordered, ‘That on the Week next before Lent, every Man ſhould go to his Shrift, and his Shrift ſhould ſhrive him in ſuch a Manner, as his Deeds which he had done requir'd: And that he ſhould charge all that belong to his Diſtrict, that if any of them have Diſcord with any, he make Peace with him; if any one will not be brought to this, then he ſhall not ſhrive him; but then he ſhall inform the Biſhop, that he may convert him to what is right, if he be willing to belong to GOD: Then all Contentions and Diſputes ſhall ceaſe; and if there be any one of them, that hath taken Offence at another, then ſhall they be reconcil'd, that they may more freely ſay in the LORD'S Prayer, LORD forgive us our Treſpaſſes, &c. And having thus puri⯑fied their Minds, let them enter upon the Holy Faſt Tide, and cleanſe themſelves by Satisfaction againſt Holy Eaſter, &c. John⯑ſon 994. 36. Conſtitut.’

This Cuſtom of confeſſing to the Prieſt at this Time, was laid aſide by our Church at the Reformation: For Sins are to be confeſs'd to GOD alone, and not to the Prieſt, except when the Conſcience cannot otherwiſe be quieted: Then indeed the Grief is to be open⯑ed to the Spiritual Guide in private,^* That [232] by the Miniſtry of GOD's Word, he may give the Benefit of Abſolution, together with ghoſtly Council and Advice, to the quieting of the Con⯑ſcience, and the avoiding of all Scruple and Doubtfulneſs. But how this other worſe Cu⯑ſtom came to be retain'd, of indulging all Manner of Luxury and Intemperance, I know nothing but that the Fleſh was too powerful for the Spirit: The Duties of Religion, how juſtly ſoever enjoyn'd us, are tamely diſpenſed with, but what won't we rather do, than give up the Pleaſures of Life? Surely the Church never deſign'd, when ſhe ſo juſtly took away the publick Confeſſions of this Sea⯑ſon, that Rioting and Gaming, and Drunken⯑neſs, ſhould continue amongſt us. Are theſe a fit Preparation for ſo ſolemn a Seaſon? Will they qualifie us for the Hearing of the Hiſtory of our LORD'S Paſſion? Will they prepare us for the Reception of his Body and Blood? And fit us to meet him in the Mor⯑ning of the Reſurrection? Will they not ra⯑ther ſpeak us Heathens than Chriſtians? And lead us to Hell, than on the Way to Hea⯑ven? Such Cuſtoms as theſe may, in ſome Meaſure, be excuſable among them whoſe^* Church has too much led them into thoſe Things; but it is ſcandalous and ſinful and [233] abominable in thoſe, who pretend to be the Enemies of Error and Superſtition, to con⯑tinue the Obſervation of ſuch ſinful Cuſtoms.

CHAP. XXII. Of Palm-Sunday: Why ſo called; how obſerved in the Popiſh Times: What it is truely to carry Palms in our Hands on this Day.

THE Sunday before Eaſter, which is deno⯑minated Palm-Sunday, is ſo called,^* be⯑cauſe, as the Ritualiſts ſay, on that Day, the Boughs of Palm-Trees were wont to be carried in Proceſſion, in Imitation of thoſe which the Children of Iſrael ſtrawed in the Way of CHRIST. For they cut down Branches from the Trees, and ſtrawed them in the Way; which according to the Conſent of Antiquity, were the Branches of the Palm-Tree; it being very Common in that Country, and uſed as an Emblem of Victory. And a Doctor of our own Church, in his Diſcourſe upon this Fe⯑ſtival, ſays, ‘^† From the Story, as deſcribed by St. Luke and St. Matthew, ſome of the an⯑cient Church took Occaſion, as on this Day, to go in Proceſſion with Palms in their Hands, and to denominate it Palm-Sunday.’

[237]But however harmleſs this Cuſtom might have been, in the Times of its firſt inſtitution, it is certain, that in after Ages it ſunk into Superſtition and groſs Idolatry. Thus the Rhemiſts, in their Tranſlation of the New Te⯑ſtament, deſcribe the Ceremony themſelves: ‘Theſe Offices of Honour, done to our Savi⯑our extraordinarily, were very acceptable. And for a Memory hereof, the Holy Church maketh a ſolemn Proceſſion every Year upon this Day; ſpecially in our Country, when it was Catholick, with the Bleſſed Sacrament reverently carryed, as it were CHRIST upon the Aſs, and ſtrawing of Buſhes and Flowers, bearing of Palms, ſetting up Boughs, ſpread⯑ing and hanging up the richeſt Clothes, the Quire and Quireſters ſinging, as here the Children and the People; all done in a very godly Ceremony, to the Honour of CHRIST, and the Memory of his Triumph upon this Day. The like Service, and the like Duties done to him in all other ſolemn Proceſſions of the Bleſſed Sacrament, and otherwiſe, be undoubtedly no leſs grateful.’ Dr.^* Fulke upon this, gives this Anſwer: ‘Your Palm-Sunday Proceſſion was horrible Idolatry, and abuſing of the LORD'S Inſti⯑tution, who ordained his Supper to be eaten [238] and drunken, not to be carryed about in Proceſſion like a Heatheniſh Idol: But it is pretty Sport, that you make the Prieſts that carryeth this Idol, to ſupply the Room of the Aſs, on which CHRIST did ride: Thus you turn the Holy Miſtery of CHRIST'S riding to Jeruſalem, to a May-game and pa⯑gent Play. And yet you ſay, ſuch Service done to CHRIST is undoubtedly exceeding grateful; yea, no leſs grateful, than that was done by his Diſciples, at the Time mentioned in the Text: Your Argument and Proof is none, but your bare Aſſevera⯑tions. That which the Diſciples did, had the Warrant of the Holy Scripture; but who hath regarded theſe Theatrical Pomps at their Hands? Or what Word of GOD have you to aſſure you that he accepteth ſuch Will-worſhip? Who deteſteth all Wor⯑ſhip, which is according to the Doctrines and Traditions of Men, and not after his own Commandment.’

From this ſuperſtitious and idolatrous Cuſ⯑tom, without all doubt it comes to paſs, that we now and then, on a Palm-Sunday, ſee the young People carrying Branches of Palms in their Hands; which they ſeem fond of having that Day, and which they as little regard at other Times. It is true indeed, it is a Relick of the ancient Superſtition of the Papiſts, but [239] as it is now intirely ſtript of any Superſtition, and is an Emblem of the Seaſon, and the Tranſactions of that Day; ſo I ſee no harm in ſo innocent an Obſervation.

But how much better would it be to car⯑ry in our Hands this Day,^* the Palm of good Works, the Graces of Humility, and Kindneſs, and Charity, to feed the Hungry, to give drink to the Thirſty, to clothe the Naked, to entertain the Strangers, to viſit the Sick and in Priſon, &c. By ſuch Actions as theſe, ſhould we truly carry Palms in our Hands; by theſe we ſhould truly ſtraw the Way for our LORD, and ſo follow his Steps to the Heavenly Jeruſalem.

CHAP. XXIII. Of riſing early on Eaſter Day: What is meant by the Sun dancing that Morn: The Antiquity of riſing early on this Day; the End and De⯑ſign of it: The great Advantage of it.

IT is a common Cuſtom among the Vulgar and uneducated Part of the World, to riſe before the Sun on Eaſter-day, and walk into the Fields: The Reaſon of which is to ſee the Sun Dance; which they have been told, from an old Tradition, always dances as upon that Day. We read indeed that the Sun once^* ſtood ſtill, but whether the Sun danced upon the very Day our Saviour roſe on, we cannot tell: It's very probable it did not, becauſe the Scriptures are ſilent; and that it never did ſo ſince, I think we may be well aſſur'd; foraſ⯑much as never any, that we have heard of, have ſeen any ſuch Thing ſince that Time. If therefore this Tradition hath any Meaning, it muſt be a metaphorical one; that when the Morning proves clear, there is a ſeeming Smile over the Face of Nature, and Earth and Hea⯑ven ſhew Tokens of Joy. For as the Earth and her Valleys, by ſtanding thick with Corn, [242] are ſaid to laugh and ſing; ſo, on Account of the Reſurrection, the Heavens and the Sun may be ſaid to dance for Joy; or as the Pſal⯑miſt words it,^* The Heavens may rejoyce, and the Earth may be glad.

There is then, really ſpeaking, nothing in the Dancing of the Sun upon Eaſter-day; but yet it is a very ancient and commendable Cuſtom to be up early at this Holy Time: And therefore Damaſcen, in his Paſchal Hymn, ſings,^† Let us watch very early in the Morn⯑ing; and inſtead of Ointment, let us bring an Hymn to our Lord; and let us ſee our CHRIST, the Sun of Righteouſneſs, who is the Life that riſeth to all Men. And indeed it is the moſt ſeaſonable Time for meditating on our LORD'S Reſurrection, and it's pleaſing Cir⯑cumſtances. For as the Place where any nota⯑ble Thing has been tranſacted, ſeldom or never fails to raiſe the Idea of the Tranſaction; ſo the particular Time, when it was done, does generally produce the ſame Effect. And as the Truth of the Former, was the Occaſion of many holy and religious Men going^‡ to viſit [243] the Place of the Sepulchre, and hear it, as it were, ſay, what the Angel did to the Women, Come, ſee the Place where the Lord lay; ſo the Truth of the Latter was the Reaſon, why de⯑vout and holy Men, did in the beſt Ages of the Church, riſe early in the Morning of the Reſurrection. The Primitive Chriſtians ſpent the Night preceeding it, in Prayers and Praiſes, till the Time of Cock-crow, the ſuppoſed Hour of our Saviour's riſing. For as^* Durant tells us, it is univerſally aſſented to by the Latin Church, that after our Saviour had conquer'd Death, and broken the Gates of Hell, he aroſe from the Dead, not at Mid-night, but in the Morning, at the Time of Cock-crow; which not the Cocks, but the Angels themſelves pro⯑claimed. And when theſe Pernoctations were laid aſide, it was the Cuſtom to riſe early, and ſpend the Morning in ſuch a Manner as was ſuitable to the Nature of the Time. The Salutation of the Eaſtern Church Aneſteſe; or, The LORD is riſen, and the uſual Anſwer, The LORD is riſen indeed; were no doubt the com⯑mon Salutation of that Morning: And if this preſent Cuſtom of the Vulgar has had at any Time any laudable Cuſtom for its Original, it [244] was, no doubt, this of riſing early to contem⯑plate the more ſeaſonably on the Reſurrection of CHRIST.

And now, was this the End of riſing early at that Holy Time, it would be very advan⯑tageous; but to riſe with the View of the Vul⯑gar, is fooliſh and ridiculous. Would we riſe before the Sun, and prevent the Dawn of Day, our Meditations would be ſtrong and vigorous, and almoſt perſuade us that the real Actions of that Morn were preſented to our View. For when at that Time all Things are huſht in Silence, and wrap'd in Darkneſs, or but illu⯑minated with the friendly Moon, the^* Guide of Mary Magdalene, and the other Women to the Sepulchre; 'tis eaſy and natural to medi⯑tate on theſe Things; to ſee our Saviour's Tomb; to ſee the Angels ſit as Guardians on it; and the trembling Watch fled into the City. And now the LORD is riſen indeed, and they that ſeek him early ſhall find him. ^† Be⯑hold then Mary Magdalene, on the firſt Day of the Week, coming from her own Houſe at [245] Bethany, before the other Women, very early in the Morning, when it was as yet Dark, ^* to find Eaſe and Conſolation at the Sepulchre: Behold ſhe and the other Women bringing the prepared Spices to embalm their LORD: Behold Peter and John running to the Sepul⯑chre and returning, whilſt Mary continues in Sorrow and Tears: And as ſhe weeps, ye may ſee her look into the Sepulchre; but he is not there, he is riſen. Behold then the Guardians of the Tomb, ſaying,^† Woman, why weepeſt thou? Nay behold the Lamb of GOD himſelf, with the very ſame Words, wiping away the Tears from her Eyes. And JESUS ſaid unto her, Woman, why weepeſt thou? Whom ſeekeſt thou? She ſuppoſing him to be the Gardiner, ſaith unto him, Sir, If thou have born him hence, tell me where thou haſt laid him, and I will take him away. JESUS ſaid unto her, Mary. With what Joy now doth ſhe run to his Feet, willing and deſirous, and eager to embrace them. But he bids her not to touch him, but go to his Brethren, and ſay unto them, I aſcend unto my Father and your Father, to my GOD and your GOD. Behold a little after this, his Apparition to her and the other Women, and how he ſuffers them to kiſs his Feet. [246] ^* He appeared alſo about the ſame Time to Peter.

Theſe and the other Accidents at our LORD'S Reſurrection, would afford us a ſatisfactory and comfortable Meditation; would inflame our Hearts with a burning Love, and melt us into Tears of Joy. In our eager Wiſhes and warm Deſires, we ſhould, with the Holy Wo⯑men, kiſs the Feet of our Saviour, and be al⯑moſt Partakers of equal Happineſs with them; or, ſure we are, that we ſhould have our Sa⯑viour in our Hearts, and not fail of ſeeing him in his Kingdom. He whom we have ſo carefully ſought for, will vouchſafe to be found of us; in his Grace, at the Sepulchre, and in his Glory, in Heaven. Happy they, who ſo early ſeek their Saviour; who long after him, as the Hart doth after the Water-Brooks; who ſeek him among the ^† Lilies, un⯑til the Day break, and the Shadows flee away. Happy they, their Converſation is now in Heaven, and their Happineſs hereafter, will be the Joys of Eternity: Where they ſhall no more be abſent, but ever preſent with the LORD.

CHAP. XXIV. Of Eaſter Holy-Days: A Time of Relaxation from Labour: How obſerved in the dark Ages of Popery: That our Cuſtoms at this Time, are ſprung from theirs.

ON the Holy-Days of Eaſter, it is cuſtomary for Work to ceaſe, and Servants to be at Liberty: Which is a Reſemblance of the Prac⯑tice of the primitive Church, which ſet apart the whole Week after Eaſter, for to praiſe and glorifie GOD, for our SAVIOUR'S Reſurrection: In which^* Time all ſervile Labour ceas'd, that Servants as well as others might be preſent at the Devotions of the Seaſon. But other Cuſtoms ſo frequently obſerved at this Time, ſuch as publick Showes, Gamings, Horſe-Races, &c. were forbidden, as being foreign to the Holineſs of this Seaſon.

In after Ages, when the Church fell into Corruption, and the Subſtance of Religion de⯑cay'd into the Shadow of Ceremonies, the uſual Prayers and Praiſes of the Seaſon, were either much neglected, or but ſuperficially obſerved. [250] For Belithus, a Ritualiſt of thoſe Times tells us,^* That it was cuſtomary in ſome Churches, for the Biſhops and Arch-Biſhops themſelves to play with the inferior Clergy, even at Hand-Ball; and this alſo, as Durandus witneſſeth,^† even on Eaſter-Day it ſelf. This was called^‡ the Liberty of December, becauſe that for⯑merly, it was cuſtomary among the Heathens in that Month to indulge their Servants with a certain Time of Liberty; when they were on the Level with their Maſters, and feaſted and banqueted with them.

Why they ſhould play at Hand-Ball at this Time rather than any other Game, I have not been able to find out; but I ſuppoſe it will be readily granted, that this Cuſtom of ſo playing, was the Original of our preſent Recreations and Diverſions on Eaſter Holy Days, and in particular of playing at Hand-Ball for a ^§ Tanzy-Cake, which at this Seaſon, is gene⯑rally practiſed; and I would hope practiſed with Harmleſſneſs and Innocence. For when [251] the common Devotions of the Day are over, there is is nothing ſinful in lawful Recreation. But for the Governors of Churches to deſcend to ſuch Childiſh Exerciſes, and that even on the Great Sunday of the Year, was not only unbecoming their Gravity and Reſervedneſs, but was alſo a down-right breach of the fourth Commandment. But theſe were Ages of Ig⯑norance and Darkneſs, when the World was taught for the Doctrines of GOD, the Command⯑ments of Men.

CHAP. XXV. Of May-Day; the Cuſtom of going to the Woods the Night before; this the Practice of other Nations: The Original of it; the Unlawful⯑neſs.

ON the Calends, or the firſt Day of May, commonly called May-Day, the juvenile Part of both Sexes, were wont to riſe a little after Mid-night, and walk to ſome neigh⯑bouring Wood, accompany'd with Muſick and the blowing of Horns; where they break down Branches from the Trees, and adorn them with Noſe-gays and Crowns of Flowers. When this is done, they return with their Booty home-wards, about the ri⯑ſing of the Sun, and make their Doors and Windows to Triumph in the Flowery Spoil. The after-part of the Day, is chiefly ſpent in dancing round a Tall-Poll, which is called a May-Poll; which being placed in a convenient Part of the Village, ſtands there, as it were conſecrated to the Goddeſs of Flowers, without the leaſt Violation offer'd it, in the whole Circle of the Year. And this is not the Cuſtom of the Britiſh Common People only, but it is the Cuſtom of the Generality of other Nations; particularly of the Italians, [256] where Polydore Virgil tells us, The^* Youth of both Sexes were accuſtomed to go into the Fields, on the Calends of May, and bring thence the Branches of Trees, ſinging all the Way as they came, and ſo place them on the Doors of their Houſes.

^†This is the Relick of an ancient Cuſtom among the Heathen, who obſerved the four laſt Days of April, and the firſt of May, in Honour of the Goddeſs Flora, who was ima⯑gin'd the Deity preſiding over the Fruit and Flowers. It was obſerved with all Manner of Obſcenity and Lewdneſs, and the undecent Sports and Poſtures of naked Women, who were called together with the Noiſe of Trum⯑pets, and danced before the Spectators.

From this Cuſtom of the Heathens hath ours undoubtedly come; and tho' for that Reaſon barely, it need not be laid aſide; yet foraſmuch as many Country People are of [257] Opinion,^* That the Obſervation of this Ceremony is a good Omen, and a Procurer of the Succeſs of the Fruits of the Earth, which is entirely a Piece of Superſtition; and becauſe alſo much Wickedneſs and Debauch⯑ery are committed that Night, to the Scandle of whole Families, and the Diſhonour of Religion, there is all the Reaſon in the World, for laying it aſide.

CHAP. XXVI. Of Parochial Perambulations: Their Antiquity, the Benefit and Advantage of them.

IT was a general Cuſtom formerly, and is ſtill obſerved in ſome Country Pariſhes, to go round the Bounds and Limits of the Pariſh, on one of the three Days before Holy Thurſday, or the Feaſt of our LORD's Aſcenſion; when the Miniſter, accompany'd with his Church-Wardens and Pariſhioners, were wont to de⯑precate the Vengeance of GOD, beg a Bleſ⯑ſing on the Fruits of the Earth, and preſerve the Rights and Properties of their Pariſh.

The Original of this Cuſtom is dated from the Times of the Heathens. For^* from the Days of Numa Popilius, they worſhipped the God Terminus, whom they looked upon to be the Guardian of Fields and Landmarks, and the Keeper up of Friendſhip and Peace among Men: Upon this Account the Feaſt called Terminalia, was dedicated to him; inſtead of which it is a very ancient Cuſtom to ſurround [264] the Bounds of Pariſhes every Year: And in⯑ſtead of Heatheniſh Rites and Sacrifices to an imaginary God, to offer Praiſes and Prayers to the true GOD, the GOD of the whole Earth. The Cuſtom was, the People accom⯑pany'd the Biſhop, or ſome of the Clergy into the Fields, where Litanies were made, and the Mercy of GOD implor'd, that he would avert the Evils of Plague and Peſtilence, that he would ſend them good and ſeaſonable Weather, and give them the Fruits of the Earth in due Seaſon.

The Litanies or Rogations, which were^* then made Uſe of, and gave Name to the Time of Rogation-Week, were firſt obſerved by Mamertus, Biſhop of Vienna, in the Year 550,^† on Account of the frequent Earthquakes that happened, and the Incurſions of wild Beaſts, which laid in Ruins, and depopulated the City. Not that Litanies and Rogations were not uſed before, but that before this [265] Time they were not affixed to theſe Days. And ſince that, they have been obſerved of the whole Church at this Seaſon, except the Church of^* Spain, who chus'd rather to have them after Pentecoſt than before it; becauſe from Eaſter-day to the Feaſt of Pentecoſt, it was the Cuſtom of the Church not to Faſt: For as they themſelves reaſon'd, the Children of the Bride-Chamber cannot Faſt ſo long as the Bridegroom is with them; and therefore they held their Rogations after Pentecoſt.

What now remains among us, is the Re⯑lick of this antient and laudable Cuſtom, which was always obſerved in the old Church of England, and has been alſo in ſome Mea⯑ſure ſince the Reformation too.

In^† the Canons of Cuthbert, Arch-biſhop of Canterbury, which were made at Cloves-hoo, in the Year 747, it was order'd that Litanies, that is, Rogations, ſhould be obſerved of the [266] Clergy, and all the People with great Reve⯑rence on theſe Days, viz. the ſeventh of the Kalends of May, according to the Rites of the Church of Rome, who termeth this the greater Litany; and alſo according to the Cu⯑ſtom of our Fore-fathers, on the three Days before the Aſcention of our LORD into the Heavens, with Faſting, &c. And in the In⯑junctions made in the Reign of Queen Eliza⯑beth, it is ordered, ‘^* That the Curate, at certain and convenient Places, ſhall admo⯑niſh the People to give Thanks to GOD, in the beholding of GOD'S Benefits; for the Increaſe and Abundance of his Fruits upon the Face of the Earth, with the Saying of the 103 Pſalm, &c. at which Time the Miniſter ſhall inculcate theſe or ſuch Sen⯑tences. Curſed be he which tranſlateth the Bounds and Doles of his Neighbours: Or ſuch Orders of Prayers as ſhall be hereafter.’

Agreeable to this we read, in the Life of the pious Hooker, ‘^† That he would by no Means omit the Cuſtomary Time of Proceſ⯑ſion, perſuading all, both Rich and Poor, if they deſired the Preſervation of Love, and their Pariſh Rites and Liberties, to ac⯑company him in his Perambulation, and moſt did ſo; in which Perambulation, he [267] would uſually Expreſs more pleaſant Diſ⯑courſe, than at other Times, and would then always Drop ſome loving and facetious Obſervations, to be remembred againſt the next Year, eſpecially by the Boys and young People: Still inclining them; and all his preſent Pariſhioners, to meekneſs and mutu⯑al Kindneſſes and Love; becauſe Love thinks not Evil, but covers a Multitude of Infirmi⯑ties.’

We may alſo obſerve, That the particular Office order'd by our Church for Rogation-Sunday, is exactly ſuited to the Nature of the Seaſon; that the three Days following are ap⯑pointed Faſts by our Church, and that one of our Church Homilies is compoſed particularly, for the Parochial Perambulation. All which ſhews the Cuſtom and Intention of the Church, and that the practiſing of it would be ſervice⯑able to the Sons of Men: Would ſave their Lives from Deſtruction, and crown them with Mercy and loving Kindneſs; would ſend them Springs into their Rivers, and make them run among the Hills: Would bring forth Graſs for the Cattle, and green Herb for the Service of Men.

CHAP. XXVII. Of Midſummer-Eve: Of kindling Fires, their Original: That this Cuſtom formerly was ſu⯑perſtitious, but now may be uſed with Inno⯑cence.

ON the Eve of St. John Baptiſt, commonly called Midſummer Eve, it is uſual in the moſt of Country Places, and alſo here and there in Towns and Cities, for both Old and Young to meet together, and be Merry over a large Fire, which is made in the open Street. Over this they frequently leap and play at va⯑rious Games, ſuch as Running, Wreſtling, Dancing, &c. But this is generally the Exer⯑ciſe of the younger Sort; for the old Ones, for the moſt Part, ſit by as Spectators, and enjoy themſelves and their Bottle. And thus they ſpend the Time till Mid-night, and ſome⯑times till Cock-Crow.

Belithus tells us,^* That it was a Cuſtom to carry lighted Torches on Midſummer-Eve, as an Emblem of St. John Baptiſt, who was a burning and a ſhining Light, and the Preparer [272] of the Way of CHRIST. But if this was the Reaſon of this Cuſtom formerly, as it's proba⯑ble it was, (it having been a common Thing, to ſhadow out Times and Seaſons by Em⯑blems;) yet the Cuſtom ſtill continued among us, was originally inſtituted upon another Bottom.

And indeed the^* Original of this Cuſtom is Heatheniſh. For in ancient Times the Dra⯑gons, being incited to Luſt through the Heat of the Seaſon, did frequently, as they flew through the Air, Spermatize in the Wells and Fountains. By this Means the Water became infected, and the Air polluted; ſo that who⯑ever drank the Waters, was either tormented with a grievous Diſtemper, or loſt his Life. As ſoon as the Phycians perceived this, th [...] ordered Fires to be made every where about the Wells and Fountains, and thoſe Things which occaſioned the noiſomeſt Smell to be burnt, knowing that thereby the Dragons would be driven away. And foraſmuch as this Cuſtom was obſerved about the Time we [273] now celebrate St. John Baptiſt's Feaſt, it is therefore ſtill obſerved among ſome People. And agreeable to this it is, that Mr. Cambden tells us, that Barnwell, a Village near Cam⯑bridge, got its Name from the Children play⯑ing about a Well on St. John Baptiſt's Eve.

The Cuſtom of kindling ſuch Fires, was ſeverely cenſur'd by the Church: And there⯑fore in the Council of Trullus, this Canon was made againſt it,^* That if any Clergy-man or Lay-man obſerved the Rite of making on Fires on the New-Moon, (which ſome were wont to obſerve, and according to an old Cuſtom, to leap over them in a mad and fooliſh Manner,) he ſhould be depoſed, if the Former, if the Latter, he ſhould be ex⯑communicated.

The Scholiaſt upon this Canon hath theſe Words: The New-Moon was always the firſt Day of the Month, and it was Cuſtomary among the Jews and Greeks, to hold then a Feaſt, and pray that they might be lucky du⯑ring the Continuance of the Month. Of theſe it was, that GOD ſpake by the Prophet: My Soul hateth your New-Moons and your Sab⯑baths. And not only this, but they alſo kindled Fires before their Shops and Houſes, and leaped over them; imagining that all the [274] Evils which had befallen them formerly, would be burnt away, and that they ſhould be more ſucceſsful and lucky afterwards. Now about the Sitting of this Synod, there were ſome of the Chriſtians, who obſerved this Cuſtom upon the ſame Accounts that the Heathens did, which occaſioned it's being forbid by the Council; and that if a Clergy⯑man was Guilty of it, he ſhould be depoſed; if a Lay-man, excommunicated. He alſo tells us, that on St. John Baptiſt's Eve, the Vul⯑gar were wont to make on Fires for the whole Night, and leap over them, and draw Lots, and Divine about their good or evil Fortune.

But whatever Reaſon the Heathens had for kindling theſe Fires; whether as Duran⯑dus thinks, that the luſtful Dragons might be driven away, or as the Canon, that their evil Fortune might be burnt, it is certain that the Cuſtom was invented and practiſed by them; and becauſe of the Superſtition attending the Obſervation of it, was very juſtly forbidden by the Council. And undoubtedly was the Making of ſuch Fires now, attended with any ſuch Superſtition, it would be equally crimi⯑nal to obſerve them. But^* when they are only kindled as Tokens of Joy, to excite in⯑nocent [275] Mirth and Diverſion, and promote Peace and good Neighbourhood, they are law⯑ful and innocent, and deſerve no Cenſure. And therefore when on Midſummer-Eve, St. Peter's-Eve, and at ſome other Times, we make^* Bonefires before Shops and Houſes, there would be no Harm in doing ſo; was it not, that ſome continue their Diverſion to too late Hours, and others are guilty of exceſſive Drinking.

CHAP. XXVIII. Of the Feaſt of Sheep-ſhearing, an ancient Cuſtom.

THE Feaſt of Sheep-ſheering, is generally a Time of Mirth and Joy, and more than ordinary Hoſpitality; indeed it is but little obſerved in theſe Northern Parts, but in the Southern it is pretty common. For on the Day they begin to ſheer their Sheep, they provide a plentiful Dinner for the Sheerers, and for their Friends who come to viſit them on that Occaſion; a Table alſo, if the Wea⯑ther permit, is ſpread in the open Village, for the young People and Children.

After what Manner ſoever this Cuſtom reach'd us, it is certain it may boaſt of great Antiquity. It is mention'd in the Second Book of Samuel, as a Feaſt of great Magnifi⯑cence, both for Grandeur of Entertainment and Greatneſs of Company. No leſs a Perſon than Abſalom the King's Son was the Maſter of this Feaſt, and no leſs Perſons were the Gueſts than the King's Sons, the Brethren of Abſalom; nay it was a Feaſt that might enter⯑tain the King himſelf, or ſurely the King would never have been ſo importun'd, never would have receiv'd the Compliment ſo kindly. For 'tis ſaid, It came to paſs after two full [283] Years, that Abſalom had Sheep-ſheerers in Baal⯑hazor, which is beſide Ephraim, and Abſalom invited all the King's Sons. And Abſalom came to the King, and ſaid, Behold, now thy Servant hath Sheep-ſheerers, let the King, I beſeech thee, and his Servants, go with thy Servant. And the King ſaid, Nay, my Son, let us not all go, leſt we be chargeable unto thee. Of this kind alſo was the Feaſt which Nabal made for his Sheerers, when David was driven to ſtraits in the Wilderneſs, and ſent his Servants to aſk a Preſent of him. He calls the Day it was held on, a good Day; that is, a Day of plenti⯑ful Eating and Drinking. And therefore Na⯑bal anſwer'd the Servants of David, ſhall I then take my Bread and my Water, and my fleſh that I have killed for my Sheerers, and give it unto Men, whom I know not whence they be? And further, it is ſaid in the ſame Chapter, that ſo grand and magnificent was this Feaſt, that he had a Feaſt in his Houſe, like the Feaſt of a King. We find alſo in the Book of Geneſis, that Laban went to ſheer his Sheep, in which Time Jacob made his Eſcape, which Laban heard not of till the third Day. Of ſuch great Antiquity then is this Cuſtom, and tho' its Antiquity is not of ſuch force as to palliate Luxury and Profuſeneſs in theſe Entertain⯑ments; yet no doubt it will vindicate the Harmleſneſs of a moderate Feaſt upon this Oc⯑caſion.

CHAP. XXIX. Of Michaelmaſs: Guardian Angels the Diſcourſe of Country People at this Time: That it ſeems rather true, that we are protected by a Num⯑ber of Angels, than by one particular Genius.

THE Feaſt of this Seaſon is celebrated in Commemoration of St. Michael, and all the Orders of Angels. It is called, The Dedi⯑cation of St. Michael, becauſe of a Church be⯑ing dedicated to him on this Day in Mount Garganus.

At this Seaſon of the Year, it is a general Cuſtom to elect the Governors of Towns and Cities, to promote Peace among Men, and guard them againſt Harm from their malici⯑ous Fellow Creatures. Whether this particu⯑lar Time of the Year has been choſen for e⯑lecting them, becauſe then is the Feaſt of An⯑gels, the Guardians and Protectors of Men, and of their Communities and^* Provinces, is not ſo certain. It is certainer, that when ever it comes, it brings into the Minds of the Peo⯑ple, that old Opinion of Tutelar Angels, that every Man has his Guardian Angel; that is, one particular Angel who attends him from his Coming in, till his Going out of Life, [289] who guides him through the Troubles of the World, and ſtrives as much as he can, to bring him to Heaven.

Now that good Angels attend good Men is without Diſpute. They guide them in the Mazes of the Wilderneſs of Life, and bring them to their deſir'd Homes; they ſurround them in the Seas of Afflictions, and lead them to the Shores of Peace; and as when the Iſ⯑raelites paſſed through the Red-Sea, the Cloud became Light to them, but Darkneſs to their Ene⯑mies, ſo in the troubleſome Seas of this Life, the Angels are both the Guides of good Men, and their Protectors from Evil, from the De⯑vil and his Angels. And therefore the Pſal⯑miſt ſays, The Angel of the LORD tarrieth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them; and that he will give his Angels Charge over good Men. They are alſo ſuppoſed to be that Hedge, which GOD placed about Job, which the Devil ſo much complains of; and ſure we are, that when the Eyes of Eliſha's Servant were open'd, he ſaw the Mountain full of Chariots and Horſes of Fire round about Eli⯑ſha. That therefore good Men are guarded and protected by Angels the Scripture ſhews very clearly. But that every Man has his particular Genius, ſeems to be founded more upon Tradition, than any Certainty from Scripture. Thus the Egyptians believed that [290] every Man had three Angels attending him; the Pythagoreans, that every Man had two; the Romans, that there was a good and an evil Genius. And hence it is that the Roman Poet ſays, Quiſque ſuos patitur manes, every Man hath his evil Genius. And if we may believe the Authority of Plutarch, the evil Genius of Brutus appeared to him the Night before the Battle of Philippi, and told him he was his evil Genius, and that he would meet him there.

But there are greater Authorities than theſe in Vindication of this Opinion: Caſalion ob⯑ſerves, it may be proved from Scripture, and not only from the Tradition of the^* Hea⯑thens. And of this Opinion was Juſtin Mar⯑tyr, Theodoret, St. Baſil, St. Jerome, and St. Auſtin.

There are indeed two Places in the New Teſtament, which have a View to this Opini⯑on. The firſt is in the 18th of St. Matthew, the 10th Verſe, Take heed that ye deſpiſe not one of theſe little Ones: For I ſay unto you, that their Angels do always behold the Face of my Father which is in Heaven. Now becauſe this Place takes Notice of the Angels of theſe little Ones, ſome have therefore concluded that [291] every Man has his good Angel; at leaſt that good Men have. But now this Concluſion does not certainly follow from theſe Words: For when it is ſaid their Angels, it does indeed certainly infer, that the Angels do protect good Men, but not that every Man has his particular Angel. And hence therefore, as one obſerves, St. Chriſoſtom makes uſe of theſe Words, Enteuthen, delon, &c. it is manifeſt that the Saints at leaſt, if not all Men, have their Angels: But he does not hence conclude, that every Man has one. The other Place is in the Acts of the Apoſtles, where it is ſaid, that when Peter was delivered out of Priſon, they would not believe the Maid it was he, but ſaid, It was his Angel. It muſt be own'd in⯑deed from this, that it ſeems the Opinion of thoſe in the Houſe, that every Man had his Guardian Angel; but this is no Proof of the Thing's being ſo: It only proves, that it was their Opinion, but not that this Opinion is true. The Jews had ſuch a Tradition among them, and what was here ſpoken, was perhaps only according to that Tradition. Beſides we read on the contrary, that ſometimes one and the ſame Angel has been ſent to different Per⯑ſons; thus Gabriel was ſent to Daniel, Zacha⯑rias, and the bleſſed Virgin: Sometimes the Scripture tells us of many Angels protecting one Man; for ſo was Eliſha protected; and as [292] we wreſtle not only againſt Fleſh and Blood, but againſt all the Powers of Darkneſs, ſo we have many Angels to aſſiſt and defend us. I ſhall not dare to determine poſitively againſt this Opinion, which has travelled down through ſo many Ages, which has been held by ſo many wiſe and learned Men, and which has ſuch Scriptures brought to its Defence; this I ſhall only ſay, that of the two Opinions, the Latter ſeems to be the more probable; that it ſeems more conſonant to Scripture, that we are attended by a Number of Angels, than by a particular Tutelar Angel. But this I men⯑tion, not as neceſſary to be believed. For I am perſwaded there is no Fault in believing either the one or the other, as it appears more probable: For whether ſoever we believe, we believe in the Protection of Angels, and that ſeems to be all which the Scripture requires.

CHAP. XXX. Of the Country Wake: How obſerved formerly: A Cuſtom of the Heathens, and regulated by Gregory the Great.

IN the Southern Parts of this Nation, the moſt of Country Villages are wont to ob⯑ſerve ſome Sunday in a more particular Man⯑ner, than the other common Sundays of the Year, viz. the Sunday after the Day of Dedi⯑cation, i. e. the Sunday after the Day of the Saint, to whom their Church was dedicated. Then the Inhabitants deck themſelves in their gaudieſt Clothes, and have open Doors and ſplendid Entertainments, for the Reception and Treating of their Relations and Friends, who viſit them on that Occaſion, from each neighbouring Town. The Morning is ſpent for the moſt Part at Church, tho' not as that Morning was wont to be ſpent, not with the Commemoration of the Saint or Martyr, nor the grateful Remembrance of the Builder and Endower. The remaining Part of the Day, is ſpent in Eating and Drinking; and ſo is alſo a Day or two afterwards, together with all Sorts of Rural Paſtimes and Exerciſes, ſuch as Dancing on the Green, Wreſtling, Cudgelling, &c.

[297]Agreeable to this we are told, that former⯑ly^* on the Sunday after the Encaenia, or Feaſt of the Dedication of the Church, it was uſual for a great Number of the Inhabitants of the Village, both Grown and Young, to meet together about break of Day, and cry, Holy-wakes, Holy-wakes, and after Mattens to go to Feaſting and Sporting, which they continu'd for two or three Days.

In the Northren Parts, the Sunday's Feaſt⯑ing is almoſt loſt, and they obſerve only one other Day for the whole, which among them is called the Hopping; I ſuppoſe from the dancing and other Exerciſes then uſed. The ancient Name, and which is ſtill common in the Southern Parts, is the Wake; which ac⯑cording to Sir H. Spelman, are^† Bacchanal Feaſts, obſerved about Fruit Time, and which were in Villages by Turns, among the Northern and Weſtern Engliſh. He calls them Bacchanals, becauſe, as he obſerves, the Saxon Word Wak, ſignifies Drunkenneſs. [298] This Cuſtom our Fore-fathers did in all Pro⯑bability borrow from their Fellow Heathens,^* whoſe Paganalia or Country Feaſts, were of the ſame Stamp, with this of the Wake.

At the Converſion of the Saxons by Auſtin the Monk, it was continu'd among the Con⯑verts, with ſome Regulations, by an Order of Pope Gregory the Great, to Mellitus the Abbot, who accompany'd Auſtin in his Voyage. His Words are theſe,^† On the Day of Dedication, or the Birth-Day of the Holy Martyrs, whoſe Relicks are there placed, let the People make to themſelves Booths of the Boughs of Trees, round about thoſe very Churches, which had been the Temples of Idols, and in a Religious way to obſerve a Feaſt; that Beaſts may no longer be ſlaughtered by way of Sacrifice to the Devil, but for their own Eating, and the Glory of GOD; and that when they are full and ſatisfied, they may return him Thanks, who is the Giver of all good Things.

This then is the Beginning of our Country Wakes, but they continu'd not in their original Purity: For the Feaſting and Sporting got the aſcendant of Religion, and ſo this Feaſt of De⯑dication, [299] degenerated into Drunkenneſs and Luxury. At preſent there is nothing left but the very Refuſe and Dregs of it; Religion having not the leaſt Share in it, which till theſe latter Ages always had ſome. Rioting and Feaſting are now all that remain, a Scan⯑dal to the Feaſt in particular, and to Chriſtia⯑nity in general.

CHAP. XXXI. Of the Harveſt Supper: A Cuſtom of the Hea⯑thens, taken from the Jewiſh Feaſt of Taber⯑nacles.

WHEN the Fruits of the Earth are ga⯑thered in, and laid in their proper Receptacles, it is common, in the moſt of Country Places to provide a plentiful Supper for the Harveſt-Men, and the Servants of the Family; which is called a Harveſt-Supper, and in ſome Places a Mell-Supper, a Churn-Supper, &c. At this the Servant and his Maſter are alike, and every Thing is done with an equal Freedom. They ſit at the ſame Table, converſe freely together, and ſpend the remaining Part of the Night in dancing, ſinging, &c. without any Difference or Diſ⯑tinction.

There^* was a Cuſtom among the Hea⯑thens, much like this, at the gathering in of their Harveſt, when Servants were indulg'd with Liberty and being on the Equality with their Maſters for a certain Time.

[304]Now the Original of both theſe Cuſtom, is Jewiſh: And therefore Hoſpinian tells us,^* That the Heathens copy'd after this Cuſtom of the Jews, and at the End of their Harveſt, offer'd up their firſt Fruits to the Gods. For the Jews rejoyced and feaſted at the getting in of the Harveſt.

THEOPHYLACT in talking of this Feaſt, is undoubtedly miſtaken, when he ſays,^† That the Feaſt of Tabernacles was celebrated, that Thanks might be returned for the get⯑ting in of the Fruits of the Earth. For GOD himſelf tells his own People, it was inſtitu⯑ted,^‡ that their Generations might know, that he had made the Children of Iſrael to dwell in Booths. But however, it is certainly true, that it was a Time of returning Thanks to GOD, for the Succeſs of the Harveſt, a Time of Feſtivity, and Joy, and Gladneſs. Thus the Scripture,^§ Thou ſhalt obſerve the Feaſt of Tabernacles ſeven Days, after thou haſt gather'd in thy Corn and thy Wine. And thou ſhalt rejoyce in thy Feaſt, thou and thy Son and thy Daughter, [305] and thy Man-Servant, and thy Maid-Servant; and the Levite, the Stranger, and the Father⯑leſs and the Widow, that are within thy Gates.

Now as the Heathens have imitated the Jews in this Cuſtom, ſo it is not improbable that we have had it from the Heathens; there being a very great Likeneſs between the Cu⯑ſtom now, and that of the Heathens formerly, For Macrobius tells us, That^* the Maſters of Families, when they had got in their Har⯑veſt, were wont to Feaſt with their Servants, who had labour'd with them in Tilling the Ground: Which is exactly anſwerable to the Cuſtom now amongſt us. But whatever Truth there is in this, it is certain this Cuſtom was practiſed by the Saxons, and is at leaſt as ancient among us, as their Days. For among their Holy-days, we find a^† Week ſet a part at Harveſt; of which our Harveſt-Home, and Mell-Supper, in the North, are the only Re⯑mains.

Here end the Antiquitates Vulgares.