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CHASSANIAN, SACCO, ETC., MAKE THEM BAPTISTS.

Alanus Magnus states, that they denied the ordinance to children. He disputes their views and refutes their opinions.*

The Poor of Lyons, for denying the sacraments and practising otherwise in baptism than the church of Rome, were called by Baronius anabaptists.5 Dr. Wall records that the Leonists, or followers of Waldo, say, that the washing given to children does no good. They condemn all the sacraments of the catholic church.

Favin the historian says, "The Albigois do esteem the baptizing of infants superstitious." 7

Izam, the troubadour, a dominican persecutor, says, "they admitted another baptism to what the church did—that is believers' baptism.'

Chassanian says, "I cannot deny that the Albigois for the greater part were opposed to infant baptism; the truth is, they did not reject the sacrament as useless, but only as necessary to infants."

This testimony of Chassanian I consider one of the strongest proofs which I have met with as to the general spread of baptist sentiments among the great body of the Albi-Waldenses, as the Dutch Martyrology styles them, at the time in which he describes them, viz. about the 13th and 14th centuries. The passage was quoted by Joseph Stennet in his answer to Russen about a century and a half ago, and has been repeated by many baptist writers since. Chassanian was a Frenchman and a catholic, not however in the priesthood. He died in the 16th century. Like many others in his day, he so far surmounted the prejudices of his church, that he made deep researches into the history of this people, and published them in his work entitled The History of the Albigenses. He was accused by his more bigoted brethren of being too favorable towards this obnoxious community. By his own profession he had maturely weighed the subject, and canvassed the conflicting statements of different authors, &c. "Some writers," says he, "affirm that the Albigenses approved not the baptism of infants. * * The same may be said of the Waldenses, though some affirm that they have always baptized their children. This difference of authors kept me some time in suspense." But in the end he says, "I cannot deny but the Albigenses were for the greatest part on the anti-pedobaptist side." Mezeray says, "in baptism in the 12th century, they plunged the candidate in the sacred fount, to show them what operation that sacrament hath on the soul."10 These statements generally were made in or before the 12th century.

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Reiner Sacco, who lived among the Waldenses seventeen years, and afterwards acted as an inquisitor against them, held the following language respecting them or the Leonists, whose sentiments were the same. "Among all the sects which have existed, none were more pernicious to the church of Rome, for its duration, extension, and its show of devotion. Some of them say that baptism is of no advantage to infants, because they cannot believe-others are very indifferent to the ordinance.

Father Gretzer, who edited Sacco's works in 1613, on the margin opposite the account of the Waldenses' way of teaching, has this striking comment: "This is a true practice of the heretics of our age, particularly of the anabaptists."

Claudius Seisselius, who was archbishop of Turin but a little while before the Reformation, who lived among them, and wrote a treatise against them, among many other complaints against this people, has the following: "They receive only what is written in the Old and New Testaments; they deny holy water because neither Christ nor his apostles made it or commanded it; as if we ought to say or do nothing but what we read was done by them."2

4 Allix's Ch. Albig., p. 145, as quoted by Orch.

5 D'Anvers on Bapt., p. 253.

6 Jones' Lect., Vol. II., p. 486.

10 History of France, 12th cent., p. 288.

7 D'Anvers on Bapt., p. 252.

8 Rob. Eccl. Res., p. 463.

9 Facts opposed to Fict., p. 48.

1 Vera effigies hereticorum nostræ estatis, præsertim anabaptistcorum.-Jones' Ch. Hist. p. 352. This prelate ingenuously confesses that the Waldenses had the better of the argument on the

THEIR BAPTIST CHARACTER STRONGLY STATED BY ROBINSON.

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Limborch, Professor of Divinity in the University of Amsterdam, in 1670, who wrote a history of the inquisition, in comparing the Waldenses with the christians of his own times, says, "To speak honestly of what I think of all the modern sects of christians, the Dutch baptists most resemble both the Albigenses and Waldenses, but particularly the latter." 3.

For most of this mass of testimony we are indebted to catholic writers, who, it is true, were altogether unfriendly to the principles and memories of their numerous and decided opponents; but still, their complaints and disclosures have rendered essential service to the baptist cause.1

These extracts might be greatly extended, but I must consult brevity in all my statements. As I wish, however, to make them as full and complete as possible on the point at issue, I will add the following summary well condensed arguments from men of great research into this portion of ecclesiastical history:

"The ancient Vaudois," says Robinson, "are distinguished from the later inhabitants, and the reformed churches, by not using any liturgy, by not compelling faith, by condemning parochial churches, by not taking oaths, by allowing every person, even women, to teach, by not practising infant baptism, by not admitting godfathers, by rejecting all sacerdotal habits, by denying all ecclesiastical orders of priesthood, papal and episcopal, by not bearing arms, and by their abhorrence of every species of persecution. This statement, he says, was made soon after the Waldenses united with Calvin."

"If the modern papers (of Perrin, Morland, Leger, &c.) describe the Vaudois' ancient customs, they baptized no infants."

"Amidst all the productions of early writers, friends and foes, confessors of the whole truth, and opposers of it, annalists, historians, recorders, inquisitors and others, with the labored researches of Usher, Newton, Allix, Collier, Wall, Perrin, Leger, Morland, Mosheim, Maclaine, Gilly, Sims and others,—all of the pedobaptist persuasion, with every advantage of learning on their side, who collated councils, canons, synods, conferences, chronicles, decrees, bulls, sermons, homilies, confessions, creeds, liturgies, &c., from the private creed of Irenæus down to the rules of Augsburg,-who examined documents at home, and explored the territories abroad-their united labors, could never produce a single dated document or testimony of pedobaptism among the Vaudois, separate from the Romish community, from Novatian's rapture to the death of the execrable monster, Alexander VI., 1503.5 "The Waldenses brought up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; but they neither sprinkled nor immersed them, under the notion of administering christian baptism. They were, in a word, so many distinct churches of ANTI-PEDOBAPTISTS.6

"We here accommodate Dr. Allix's words to this subject:-"It is very remarkable that Egbert, Alanus, Giraldus and others, should accuse them of one custom for ages as belonging to all, if a distinction could have been made." At the same time, all their dated documents and confessions justify the charge of neglecting the infant rite, while no testimony is produced to prove the accusation unfounded, among this numerous body, until the confession dated 1508, which states the writers to be falsely called Waldenses.7

There

"Are we to conclude from these consecutive documents, that no persons bearing the name of Waldenses saw and practised infant baptism with the catholics? By no means. were in those days, as in the present, persons who were found in every degree of distance from the established church. It would be difficult to trace,' says Dr. Allix, the extent of those persons who held the truth unsophisticated.' We should, from all that is written of them, divide the community into three sections: the baptists, whose history is given; the anti-baptismists, or quakers; and the occasional conformists, or pedobaptists." 8

doctrine of transubstantiation, that many who attempted to defend it did not understand it; and that it was beyond the power of human understanding.

3 Rob. Res., p. 311..

4 The catholics labored hard to traduce the character of this people, to represent them as the worst enemies of the Roman church, to ascribe to them the most dangerous and damnable heresies, to give a full length picture of the enormity of their errors as an excuse for their severities towards them; and, among other things they dwelt much on, was the extent of their duration. And at that period, nothing could be worse than the rejection of infant baptism.

The protestants, on the other hand, have sought through them to find a side passage down to the apostles, without going through the heart of Rome. Two causes have lead to this course :I. The protestant episcopalians were much more unwilling in former centuries than at the present time, to trace their apostolic succession through the old corrupt channel.

II. There was a much stronger desire among the reformers of the Genevan school to make a show of a succession of some sort or other, than is now felt by their descendants. This lead them to do ample justice to the character of the old Waldenses, many of whom, as we shall soon see, fell in with them, and became amalgamated with their churches.

5 Rob. Eccl. Bes., pp. 461, 471.

Jones' Ch. Hist., pref. 5th ed., p. 26.

7 Orchard For. Bapt., p. 298.

8 Id., p. 298.

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DR. ALLIX'S TESTIMONY IN FAVOR OF THE WALDENSES.

Remarks on these testimonies, especially those of Dr. Allix.

A considerable portion of the writers who are quoted as authorities in the foregoing list, were Roman catholics-men high in office in that church, and justly renowned for their intellectual powers and literary attainments. Another part of these writers were episcopal protestants, but men of great candor and fairness in their historical statements. As both these classes of men make much reliance on tradition and custom for the defense of their forms and ceremonies, and are not at all embarrassed with the absence of a plain scripture command for the rites of their respective churches, it is not strange that they should be open and unreserved in their details of facts, and in the freedom of their comments on ancient affairs, which are calculated to favor the baptist side. But with Dr. Allix the case was materially different, as he belonged to a party which repudiated the idea of arguments from any source but the scriptures for infant baptism and other parts of their system, and who have taken unusual pains to date the origin of baptist sentiments as late as possible. Since I began this article I have, with much attention as well as interest, gone over this work, which is so often referred to in the preceding sketches: it is entitled, "Remarks on the ancient churches of Piedmont," in which he takes unusual pains to vindicate the character of the Waldenses from the aspersions of catholic writers, and to show their high antiquity and their strong affinity for the principles of the reformation. Indeed, his great object seems to have been to show that through the Waldenses, Albigenses, Vaudois, Paterines, and kindred sects, we may travel down to apostolic times, without any dependence on the Roman succession a thing much sought for by old protestant writers, not only of the Reformed, but also by some of the Episcopal church.

The various passages in which these ancient people are reported to have adopted baptist sentiments, with respect to infant baptism, church discipline, &c., are all quoted from catholic writers, and always without note or comment. As a pedobaptist we may well suppose that his private feelings would be averse to the idea of so much opposition to the infant rite, but with noble magnanimity he travels on with his narrative, brings forward the mighty mass of his erudition, and exerts his ponderous powers of argument to show that these numerous churches of former protestants, however they might have differed from each other as to faith and forms, were the nurseries of true religion, and were worthy of the fellowship and friendship of all evangelical christians. And he bestows much labor in his attempts to exculpate them from the numerous charges which the catholics brought against them, and shows by irrefragable proofs that a multitude of them were both false and foolish; but in no case does he attempt to rebut those which had respect to their denial of infant baptism. It is evident from his representations that he considered a portion of them to have agreed with modern pedobaptists of the protestant class; and knowing that I was following a writer of these sentiments, I have expected all along some words of caution on this subject, such as modern writers are accustomed to give, to guard their readers from baptist errors: but in this I have been agreeably disappointed, and for all that appears in the statements of this very learned and candid author, all the impeachments of the old catholic writers against some, at least, of the Waldenses and kindred sects, on the score of nfant baptism, for many centuries, were well founded, and that we are justly entitled to the full avails of this sort of testimony.1

9 Rev. Peter Allix, D.D., was a French protestant of the presbyterian class. On the revocation of the edict of Nantz he went to England, and died in London, 1717, in the 76th year of his age. His works were many, and are well spoken of for their piety and erudition.-Lempriere's U. Biography. 10 This is a 4to vol. of 331 pp. It was published in 1689. It was dedicated to William II. of England, and shows a vast amount of historical labor and research.

A few of the passages above referred to read as follows:

"Because a strange will, a strange faith, and a strange confession do not seem to belong to, or be of any advantage to a little child, who neither wills nor runs, who knows nothing of faith, and

HAGUE'S HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.

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There is a passage in the closing chapter which comes the nearest to anything I have seen of Dr. Allix's own candid views and feelings, as to anything which he had discovered among any of the Waldenses, which did not correspond with his own denominational creed.

"And forasmuch as my design is not to abuse my reader, I neither pretend to excuse all the errors which some of the members of these churches may have held, nor, indeed, to justify them altogether in all the articles which might have been objected against them during the time of almost six hundred years, wherein the Romish party has opposed them. I am persuaded that all good men will have that equity and kindness for these churches which the doctors of the Romish church do so dexterously make use of themselves upon occasion of any indictment formed against the primitive church in those times that were nearest to the apostles, by those that have attacked them, or when the question is concerning errors found in the writings of the most ancient doctors or fathers of the church. Should any do otherwise, they would declare themselves thereby to be in opposition to natural equity and the principles of charity, especially since, after all, it cannot be denied but that the body of these churches have always preserved amongst them whatsoever is necessary to the constitution of a true society of christians.

"The church of Rome herself furnisheth us with an excuse for some of the errors they had in common with the christians of old, when she owns, that for all them they did not cease to be true churches. Some of these errors are such, as that they of the church of Rome are ready to apologize for these churches in that behalf; and there be others again, wherein though they have not the approbation of many protestant churches, yet can they de fend themselves with their agreeing therein with other christian communions, whom the protestants own for true members of the church of Jesus Christ."

From Hague's Historical Discourse.

"One of the most recent and celebrated works in ecclesiastical history which has appeared on the continent of Europe, is by M. De Potter, who, in a compendious account of these people, the Waldenses, says, They called the pope antichrist, opposed the payment of tithes, abolished the distinctions in the priesthood, denied the authority of councils, rejected all the ceremonies of baptism except simple ablution, and laying stress on the truth, that in infancy there can be no actual conversion to the christian faith, they therefore baptized anew all those who left the Romish church wishing to embrace their doctrines. * In a word, they rejected everything which they did not find enjoined in the gospel and the sacred scriptures.2

*

*

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*

*

*

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"The pope himself declared that unless the sword of the faithful extirpated the Waldenses, their doctrine would soon corrupt all Europe.3 *

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*

"There is reason to think that in the middle of the twelfth century congregations of Waldensean baptists were gathered in Switzerland and France, under the name of Apostolici; for, in the year 1147, we find Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, complaining against the earl of St. Gyles for favoring one of their noted teachers, named Henry, who is charged with 'hindering infants from the life of Christ, the grace of baptism being denied them."

"This Henry was a friend of the celebrated Peter de Bruis, and was truly a kindred spirit. He held private assemblies, to whom he taught his doctrines, which were distinguished by nothing peculiar, except his entire rejection of infant baptism, the authority, and ceremonies of the church of Rome.

is altogether ignorant of his own good and salvation; in whom there can be no desire of regeneration, and from whom no confession of faith can be expected. (p. 95.) This was about 1025. "They do not believe infant baptism, alleging that place in the gospel, whosoever shall believe and be baptized shall be saved.-P. 143.

'He accuseth them of mocking at infant baptism, prayer for the dead and the invocation of saints.-P. 147. This was about 1140.

"They say that then first a man is baptized when he is received into their sect. Some of them hold that baptism is of no advantage to infants, because they cannot actually believe.-P. 191. This was about 1170.

"Concerning the sacrament of baptism, they say that the catechism signifies nothing,-that the absolution pronounced over infants avails them nothing,-that the godfathers and godmothers do not understand what they answer to the priest.-P. 214.

"Some of them are in an error concerning baptism, holding that infants cannot be saved by it, that whosoever shall believe, &c. Some of them do not baptize, others use imposition of hands instead of baptism."-P. 223.

These two last statements have reference to the Waldenses in Bohemia, in the fourteenth century. So much did the Waldenses eight or nine hundred years ago reason like the baptists of the present day.

2 De Potter, Vol. VI., p. 405, as quoted by Hague.

3 Spanheim's Eccl. Annals, London, 1829, as quoted by Hague, p. 74.

4 Mosheim, cent. 12, part II., chap. 5, § 8.

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WALDENSES OF DIPFERENT SENTIMENTS.

"The various representations given of the Waldenses by different writers, may be easily accounted for if we remember that perfect liberty of conscience was cherished amongst them, -that they worshiped not the idol of uniformity, and that they furnished a shelter, as far as they could, for all dissenters who were persecuted by the established church. Their opponents not only followed them with menaces and groundless calumnies, but distorted the confessions which they made under the influence of intimidation. But the most learned historians of Europe are setting this point in a clearer light; and touching it, I quote a name of high authority when I mention that of Starck, court preacher at Darmstadt, who says, in his history of baptism, that, 'If instead of looking only at particular confessions, we follow out their general mode of thinking, we find that they not only rejected infant baptism, but rebaptized those who passed from the catholic church to them, and that, although the anabaptists held a connection with Munzer Starck, Grebel, Stubner and Keller, the Waldenses were their predecessors. "5

I have lately quoted from Mr. Orchard the sentiment, that in former times dissenters from the church of Rome and other national churches, "were found in every degree of distance from those establishments," to which I fully assent. My reasons are as follows:

1. If we take the Waldenses under all their variety of names, it was certainly the largest and most important branch of all dissenters and protestants in the dark ages; there is no question that they were divided among themselves somewhat like the present dissenters in England. The more this matter is looked into, the more fully, I am confident, the truth of this statement will appear. And it is equally unwise for either baptist, or pedobaptist, to claim them all. The same may be said of most other large parties. That some of them rejected infant baptism, and that others held on to the system, is as clear to my mind as that they were all persecuted by the church of Rome. This view of the case agrees with all the accounts of the old catholic writers, to whom we are indebted for nearly all the scanty information we have of any of them. Nothing but the blindness of bigotry will induce any man, who has paid but a moderate share of attention to the people now under consideration, to deny that the complaints against them for the denial of infant baptism were widespread and long-continued; and they were accompanied with such comments and reasons as can leave no doubt that the whole system was repudiated as an unscriptural thing, and that believers only were regarded as the proper subjects of the rite. In the language of Davye, "this point is as clear as the sun," respecting many of them. On the other hand, it is equally clear that the old writers above referred to in many cases use the terms some, a part, and such like expressions of limitation, in making their complaints, which indicate that they did not accuse them all of the monstrous heresy into which a portion of them had fallen."

2. The infant system is about the last thing that is given up by those who withdraw from the old corrupt establishments, and they recede from it with slow, reluctant steps, one after another, as they find the evidence for its support from the scriptures fails them, and the superior advantages of the gospel plan come up to their view in its practical operations.

Such have been the matters of fact in all cases where we have certain knowledge, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that it may have been so in the dark ages beyond our sight.

3. All reformations are apt to be partial and imperfect in their outset, and the currents of reform, like those of natural streams, which have long been pent up in impure reservoirs, are generally turbulent and muddy in their be

5 Starck's Hist. Bapt., p. 115, 118, Leipsic, 1789, as quoted by Hague in his Historical Discourse, p. 82.

6 In all my statements on this subject, I wish to pursue a course which will not only be approved by my own side, but which cannot be disproved by the other, and to come as near as possible to the real facts of the case; also, to observe myself that rule of Dr. Wall, which I would recommend to others, viz. "Not to refuse to an adversary what can certainly be proved." The baptists have made good progress in establishing their claims when it is considered that every disadvantage for investigation has been on their side, and I have full confidence that the farther we go into the history of the old dissenters, the stronger they will appear.