It seems from that Declaration of our Church , that some were either so silly , or so spiteful , as to suppose that by our Kneeling at the Sacrament , we gave Worship to the Elements ; and that learned man is willing to have it believed , that we do thereby , externè Eucharistiam colere b b Boil . p. 145. , outwardly Worship the Sacrament , and he blames us for not doing it inwardly in our minds , as well as outwardly with our Bodies ; so willing are these men to joyn with our wildest Dissenters in their unreasonable Charges against our Church , and use any crutches that may help their own weak Cause , or be made use of to strike at us ; but it may as well be said , that the Dissenters Worship their Cushions , or their Seats , when they kneel before them ; the roof of the Church , or the crowns of their Hats , when they fix their Eyes upon them , at the same time they are at Prayers upon their Knees ; or that the Papists worship the Priest himself , before whom they Kneel in their Confessions ; or that on Ashwednesday they adore the holy Ashes as they call them , and on Palm-sunday the holy Boughs , which they do not pretend to do , because they Kneel when they are given them ; as well as that we Worship the Eucharist , or the Mystical Elements , when we receive them Kneeling , and disavow any such thing , and declare it to be Idolatry to be abhorr'd of all faithful Christians .

But is it Idolatry to Worship Christ ? Or to Worship the Body of Christ , tho not for it self , yet for the sake of the Divine Nature , to which it is always hypostatically united ? No , by no means ; I know no Hereticks , tho they denied Christs Divinity , but yet were for Worshipping him ; the old Arrians , and the late Socinians ; but how justifiably , when they believe him but a meer man , or only a more excellent Creature ; they and the Church of Rome are both concerned to defend , and to clear it , if they can of Idolatry . As to the Worship of the Flesh , tho Nestorius could not do this according to his Principles , as St. Cyrill and the Council of Ephesus argue against him ; nor could the Ebionites , nor 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of old ; yet I know none but some of their School-men dispute now of Adoring the Flesh or Humane Nature of Christ , which however it be in our minds , is never in truth abstracted from his Divinity . But we will not at all trouble our selves with those parts of the Science of controversie ; nor shall we stand upon any of those things . Well then , why may not Christ and his Body be adored in the Sacrament , if they are proper Objects of Adorations . No doubt but they may be adored in this Sacrament , in the Sacrament of Baptism too , and in all the Offices of the Christian Religion , wherein we pray to Christ , and Kneel before him , and exercise the devout acts of the mind toward him , put our trust and hope in him , and expect Salvation from him , and devote our selves in all Subjection to him , and bow both our Souls and our Bodies , and give all , both internal and external Worship to him ; this Adoration we give to Christ , who is God blessed for ever , and who sits at the right hand of God the Father . And the very same the Papists give to the Sacrament , to the Host , and the consecrated Elements , the most Sovereign , and Absolute , and highest Degree of Religious Worship that is due to God , whose creatures those Elements are ; or to Christ himself , who commanded us to receive them in remembrance of him . But it is only Christ , say they , whom we Worship in the Sacrament , whom we adore as being present there with his Body in the Host , and not the Host or the Sacrament it self ; so a great many of them would fain bring off the matter , or at least colour and disguise it ; Bellarmine a a Lib. 4. de Eucharist c. 29. Quicquid sit de modo loquendi , status quaestionis non est , nisi an Christus in Eucharistia sit adorandus cultu latriae . , when he had entangled himself with the distinctions of Worshipping the Sacrament , whether formally or materially ; would extricate himself , by thus stating the matter , and reducing it to this question , Whether Christ be to be adored in the Eucharist ? And St. Clara b b St. Clara Deus , Natura , Gratia , p. 308. Nota bene , non dicit Concilium Tridentinum , Sacramentum , sed Christum in Sacramento , latria adorandum . would reconcile the dispute with this Observation , Nota benè , Mark this , the Council of Trent does not say , that the Sacrament is to be adored , but Christ in the Sacrament . I wonder so great a man as Cassander c c Adoratio non ad exterius signune quod exterius videtur , sed ad ipsam rem & veritatem quae interius creditur referenda , Cassand . Consult . de Adorat . Euchar. , should say , Unless , with a design to condemn the thing , That the Adoration is not to be given to the outward sign which is seen ; but is to be referr'd to the thing it self , and to that which is truly and inwardly believed . But Reconcilers , who will attempt the vain project of Accommodation , must do with the Doctrine of the Church of Rome , as Apelles did with Antigonus his face , they must draw but one part , but half of it , that so they may Artificially conceal its deformed , and its blind side . That all these do so , I shall show by stating the Controversie carefully and truly , which is the chiefest thing in this dispute ; for they love to hide their own Doctrines as much as they can ; and they cunningly contrive most of them with a back door , to slip out at privately and upon occasion . The Council of Trent has in this , as in other things , used art , and not spoke out in one place , as it does in another ; that so we may mistake half its words for its full meaning , as Bellarmine and others were willing to do , or at least to have others do so . In its sixth Canon on the Eucharist it only says a a Concil. Trident. Can. 6. De Euchar. si quis dixerit in sancto Eucharistiae Sacramento Christum Vnigenitum Dei filium non esse cultu Latriae etiam externo adorandum , anathema sit . , If any one shall say , that Christ the only begotten Son of God is not to be adored with the external Worship of Latria , in the holy Sacrament of the Eucharist , let him be accursed . Who will not say in those general words , that Christ is to be adored with outward and inward Worship both , not only in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist , but of Baptism too , and in every Christian Office , and in every Prayer , and solemn Invocation of him , either publick or private ? But they mean a great deal more than all this , by Worshipping Christ in the Sacrament , and in as plain words they say b b Ib. 13. Sess. c. 5. , That the Sacrament it self is to be adored ; that , whatever it be which is something besides Christ , even according to them , which is placed in the Patin , and upon the Altar , which the Priest holds in his hands , and lifts up to be seen , this very thing is to be adored ; There is no doubt , says the Council c c Ib. Nullus dubitandi locus relinquitur quin omnes Christi fideles pro more in Catholica Ecclesia semper recepto , latriae custum qui vero Deo debetur , huic sanctissimo Sacramento in Veneratione adhibeant ; neque enim minus est adorandum quod fuerit a Christo Domino ut sumatur , institutum . , but that all faithful Christians , according to the custom always received in the Catholick Church , ought to give Supreme and Sovereign Worship , which is due to God himself , to the most Holy Sacrament in their Worship of it ; for it is never the less to be adored , tho it was instituted of Christ to be received . That which is to be received , which is to be put into the Peoples Mouths by the Priest ( for since they have made a God of the Sacrament , they will not trust the People to feed themselves with it , nor take it into their hands ; and they may with as much reason in time not think fit that they should eat it ) this which was appointed of Christ to be taken and eaten as a Sacrament ; this is now to serve for another use , to be adored as a God ; and it would be as true heresie in the Church of Rome , not to say , that the Sacrament of the Altar is to be adored , as not to say , that Christ himself is to be adored . But what according to them is this Sacrament ? It is the remaining Species of Bread and Wine , and the natural Body and Blood of Christ , invisibly , yet carnally present under them ; and these together make up one entire Object of their Adoration , which they call Sacramentum ; for Christs body without those Species , and Accidents at least of Bread and Wine , would not according to them be a Sacrament ; they being the outward and visible part , are , according to their Schoolmen , properly and strictly called the Sacramentum , and the other the res Sacramenti ; Lombard . sent●li 4. dist. 19. and to this external part of the Sacrament , as well as to the internal , they give 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Adoration ; to these remaining Species , which be they what they will , are but Creatures ; religious Worship is given together with Christs Body , and they with that , are the whole formal Object of their Adoration . Non solum Christum sed Totum visibile Sacramentum , unico cultu adorari , says Suarez a a In Th. Quaest. 79. disp. , quia est unum constans ex Christo & Speciebus ; Not only Christ , but the whole visible Sacrament ( which must be something besides Christs invisible Body ) is to be adored with one and the same Worship , because it is one thing ( or one Object ) consisting of Christ and the Species . So another of their learned men b b Henriquez . Moral , l. 8. c. 32. , Speciebus Eucharistiae datur Latria propter Christum quem continent ; The highest Worship is given to the Species of the Eucharist , because of Christ , whom they contain . Now Christ , whom they contain , must be something else than the Species that contain him . Let him be present never so truly and substantially in the Sacrament , or under the Species , he cannot be said to be the same thing with that in which he is said to be present ; and as subtil as they are , and as thin and subtil as these Species are , they can never get off from Idolatry upon their own Principles in their Worshipping of them ; and they can never be left out , but must be part of the whole which is to be adored , totum illud quod simul adoratur , de Euch. l. 4. c. 30. as Bellarmine calls it , must include these as well as Christs Body . Adorationem , saies Bellarmine a a Bellarmine de Euch. l. 4. c. 29. , ad Symbola etiam panis & vini pertinere , ut quod unum cum ipso Christo quem continent , Adoration belongs even to the Symbols of Bread and Wine , as they are apprehended to be one with Christ whom they contain ; and so make up one entire Object of Worship with him , and may be Worshipt together with Christ , as T. G. c c Cathol. no Idolaters , p. 268. owns in his Answer to his most learned Adversary ; and are the very term of Adoration , as Gregory de Valentia d d De Idol . l. 2. c. 5. says , who further adds , that they who think this Worship does not at all belong to the Species , in that heretically oppose the perpetual customand fence of the Church . Qui censeunt nullo modo ad Species ipsus eam Venerationem pertinere , in eo Haeretice pugnare contra perpetuum usum & sensum Ecclesiae : de Venerati one Sacram. ad Artic. Thom. 5.

Indeed they say , That these Species or Accidents , are not to be Worshipt for themselves , or upon their own account , but because Christ is present in them , and under them ; and so they may be Worshipt as T. G. says d d Ib. , with Christ in like manner , as his Garments were Worshipt together with him upon Earth ; which is a similitude taken out of Bellarmine , the Magazine not only of Arguments and Authorities , but of Similitudes too , it seems , which are to Defend that Church ; Quemadmodum saies he e e de Euch. Venerat . , qui Christum in terris vestitum adorabant , non ipsum solum sed etiam vestes quodam modo adorabant . And are Christs Garments then to be Worshipt with Latria , as well as Christ himself , or as the Sacrament ? I think they will not say this of any of the Relicks they have of Christ , or his clothes : Did they , who Worshipt Christ when he was upon the Earth , worship his clothes too ? Did the Wise men worship the blankets , the clouts , and the swadling-cloths , as well as the blessed Babe lying in the Manger ? Might it not as well be supposed that the People worshipt the Ass , upon which Christ rode ; not for himself , but for the sake , and upon the account of Christ , who was upon him ; as that they worshipt his clothes , or his Sandals on which he trod , or the Garments which he wore ? Bellarmines quodammodo adorabant , shews his heart misgave him , and that he was sensible the Similitude would not do , when he used it ; but T. G. is a man of more heart and courage , or front at least , and he found the cause was in great need of it , and so he saies boldly , without any trembling quodammodo , that they worshipt his Garments .

The humane Nature it self of Christ , considered alone , and being a meer Creature , is not an object of Worship , as St. Augustin saies a a St. Aug. Serm. 58. De verbis Dom. Si natura Deus non est filius sed Creatura , nec colendus est omnino nec ut Deus Adorandus . Ego Dominicam carnem , imo perfectam in Christo humanitatem propterea adoro , quod a divinitate suscepta , atque Deitati unita est , — Denique si hominem separaveris a Deo , ut Photinus , vel Paulus Samosatenus , illi ego nunquam credo nec servio . , but only as it is hypostatically united to the Divine Nature , i. e. so intimately and vitally united to it , as to make one Person with it , with God himself , one 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , and so one Object of Worship ; and if the Sacramental Symbols or Species , are to be adored with true latria , not per se , or upon their own account , but by reason of the intimate Union and Conjunction which they have with Christ , as they say , not only with Christs body , for that alone is not to be worshipt much less another thing that is united to it ; but with Christs Person , and then there must be as many Persons of Christ , as there are consecrated Wafers ; then these Species being thus worshipt upon the same account that Christs humanity is , as Gregory de Valentia owns they must , [ This Worship , saies he , belongs after a certain manner to the species , as when the Divine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is worshipt in the humanity which he assumed , the Divine Worship belongs also to the created Humanity . Pertinet per accidens suo quodam modo ea veneratio ad Species , quemadmodum suo modo , etiam hoc ipso quod adoratur Divinum verbum in humanitate assumptâ pertinet ejusmodi Divinus cultus , ad illam humanitatem creatam secundario , neque in hoc est aliqua Idololatria , ] must be also united to Christ , Valentia , Disput. 6. Quaest. 11. de ritu & oblat . Eucharist . the same way that his Humanity is united to his Divinity , so as to become with that , one entire object of Worship , as the Species are , according to them , with Christ in the Eucharist ; that is , they must become one suppositum , or one Person with Christ . This is so weighty a difficulty , as makes the greatest Atlas's of the Roman Church not only sweat , but sink under it . Valentia a a De Idol . l. 2. c. 5. owns the wonderful Conjunction the Species have with Christ , but denies their being hypostatically united to him ; but then , how are they to be worshipt ? Since it is owned by him and the Schoolmen , that the very Humanity of Christ is to be worshipt only upon the account of its hypostatical Union ; and tho God be very nearly and intimately present in other Creatures , yet they are not to be worshipt , notwithstanding that presence , because they do not make one suppositum or hypostasis with him , or are not hypostatically united to him . Bellarmine being pincht on this side , removes the burden to t'other , that is as sore , and can as little bear it ; Christ , says he , b b Longe aliter est Christus in Eucharistia , & in aliis rebus Deus ; Nam in Eucharistia unum tantum Suppositum est , idque Divinum , caeteraque omnia ad illud pertinent , & cum illo unum quid faciunt , licet non eodem modo , Bellar. de Euch. l. 4. c. 30. is much otherwise in the Eucharist , than God is in other things ; for in the Eucharist , there is but one only suppositum , and that Divine ; all other things there present belong to , and make one thing with that . If they do so , then sure they are hypostatically united with Christ , as T. G's . learned Adversary charges upon Bellarmine from this place ; if they make but one suppositum with him , and but one with him , let it be in what manner it will , they must be hypostatically united to him . Bellarmines Licet non eodem modo , tho not after the same manner , is both unintelligible , and will not at all help the matter ; 't is only a Confession from him , that at the same time that he says they are hypostatically united to Christ , and make one suppositum with him , and one object of Worship , that he does not know how this can be , and that his thoughts are in a great streight about it , so that he doubts they are not hypostatically united at the same time that he yet saies they are so ; for this is no way imposed upon him , as T. G. saies , notwithstanding his non eodem modo . If in the Incarnation of Christ , one should say , That the Soul and Body of Christ are both united to his Divinity , but that both were not united after the same manner ; but the Soul in such a manner , as being a Spirit , and the Body in another ; yet so , that both made but one Suppositum with it , and that Divine ; and that all his humane Nature belong'd to that , and made one with that , tho not after the same manner ; would not this be still an owning the hypostatical Union between Christs Divinity , and his Soul and Body ? and so must the other be between Christs Divinity , and his Body , and the Species ; if they make one Suppositum , and are , as they hold , to be worshipt as such .

Thus I have taken care to give you their Doctrine , and state the Case with some exactness ; tho I am sensible , with too much length ; but that is the way to shorten the Controversie ; and by this means I have cut off their common retreats , and stopt up those little lurking holes they generally run to , and in which they are wont to Earth themselves . As , that they worship only Christ in the Sacrament , or Christ under the accidents of Bread and Wine ; and that 't is only Christ , or the Body of Christ with which his Divinity is always present , is the formal object of their Adoration in the Sacrament , and that their Worship is given to that , and not to the consecrated Elements , or to the remaining Species of Bread and Wine ; it appears from their own Doctrine and Principles to be quite otherwise ; and if we take them at their own words , they are sufficient to bear witness against them , and condemn them of Idolatry ; but this will be found to be much greater and grosser , when the whole foundation of this Doctrine of theirs of the Worship of the Host , proves upon Examination to be false , and one of the most thick and unreasonable Errors in the World , to wit , the belief of Transubstantiation , or that the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament , are converted into the natural and substantial Body and Blood of Christ , so that there remains nothing of the substance of the Bread and Wine after Consecration , but only the Flesh and Blood of Christ corporally present , under the Species and Accidents of Bread and Wine . If this Doctrine be true , it will in great measure discharge them from the guilt of Idolatry ; for then their only fault will be their joyning the Species , which how thin and ghostly soever they be , yet are Creatures , together with Christ , as one Object of Worship ; and unless they alter their Doctrine on this point , from what it is now , I see not how they can justifie their worshipping with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or the Worship due only to God , not only the adorable substance of Christs Body , but the very Veils and Symbols under which they suppose that to lye ; and yet when they teach , as they do , the adoring of the Sacrament , they must adore the visible and outward part of it , as well as the invisible Body of Christ ; for without the remaining Species , it would not , according to them , be a Sacrament ; and they have not gone so far yet , I think , as to deny that there are any remaining Species , and that our senses do so far wholly deceive us , that when we see something , there is really nothing of a visible Object . And the same Object which is visible , is adorable too , according to them : If Christs Body were substantially present in the Sacrament , tho it were lawful to adore it as there present ; but by no means , either the substance or Species of Bread with it ; yet it is much to be doubted , whether it were a duty , or necessary to do so . It would be present so like a Prince in Incognito , that he would seem not to require that Honour which we ought to give him under a more publick appearance . God we know is present in all his Creatures , but yet we are not to Worship him as present in any of them ; unless , where he makes a sensible Manifestation of himself , and appears by his Shechinah , or his Glory , as to Moses in the burning Bush , and to others in like manners : and it would be very strange to make the Bread in the Eucharist a Shechinah of God , which appears without any Alteration just as it was before it was made such ; and especially , to make it such a continuing Shechinah as the Papists do , that Christ is present in it , not only in the action and solemn Celebration , but extra usum , as they speak , and permanenter , even after the whole Solemnity and Use is over ; that he should continue there , as a praesens Numen , as Boileau expresly calls it a a de Eucharistiae Adorat . p. 140. , and be showed and carried about and honoured as such , and dwell in the Species as long as they continue , as truly as he dwelt in the Flesh , before that was crucified ; this is strange and monstrous even to those who think Christ is present in the Sacrament , but not so as the Papists believe , nor so as to be worshipped . I mean the Lutherans . But to bring the matter to a closer issue ; the Papists themselves are forced to confess , that if the Bread remain after Consecration , and be still Bread , and be not Transubstantiated into the Body of Christ , that they are then Idolaters . So Fisher against Oecclampadius , l. 1. c. 2. in express words . So Coster in his Enchiridion de Euch. c. 8. In tali errore atque Idololatria , qualis in orbe terrarum nunquam vel visus vel auditus fuit . Tolerabilior est enim error eorum qui pro Deo colunt Statuam auream aut argenteam , aut alterius materiae imaginem , quomodo Gentiles Deos suos venerabantur , vel panum rubrum in hastam elevatum quod narratur de Lappis , vel viva animalia ut quondam Aegyptii , quam eorum qui frustum panis . Coster Ench. c. 8. S. 10. Longe potiori ratione excusandi essent infideles Idololatrae qui Statuas adoraverunt , Ib. If the true Body of Christ be not present in the Sacrament , then they are left in such an Error and Idolatry , as was never seen or heard ; for that of the Heathens would be more tolerable , who Worship a golden or silver Statue for God , or any other Image , or even a red Cloth , as the Laplanders are said to do , or living Animals , as the Egyptians , than of those who worship a piece of Bread. And again , Those Infidel Idolaters would be more excusable , who worshipt their Statues . To whom I shall add Bellarmine a a Sacramentarii omnes negant Sacramentum Adorandum & Idololatriam appellant ejusmodi Adorationem ; neque id mirum videri debet , cum ipsi non credant Christum reipsa esse praesentem , & panem Eucharistiae reipsa nihil esse nisi panem ex furno , Bellarm. de Euch. l. 4. c. 29. , who saies , It does not seem strange , that they call the Adoration of the Sacrament Idolatry , who do not believe that Christ is there truly present , but that the Bread is still true Bread.

If then the Bread do still remain Bread in the Host , and the Elements in the Eucharist are not substantially changed into the natural and substantial Body and Blood of Christ , then it is confest Idolatry , and it is not strange according to Bellarmine , that it should be so ; and then sure it will be true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or Bread-worship too , if that be Bread which they Worship , and be not the natural Body of Christ ; that which is there present , that they adore ; and if that be only Bread , then they adore Bread. And here I should enter that controversie , which has given rise to most of their abominable Abuses and Errors about the Eucharist ; the making both a God of it , and also a true Sacrifice of this God instead of a Sacrament , which Christ intended it , and that is their Doctrine of Transubstantiation ; but a great man has spared me this trouble , by his late excellent Discourse against it , to which I shall wholly refer this part of our present Controversie , and shall take it for granted , as any one must , who reads that , that ( unless in Boileau's Phrase a a Homo opiniosus cui tenacitas Erroris sensum communem abstulit , Boil . p. 159. , he be such a Bigot , whose tenaciousness of his Error , has quite bereaved him of common Sense , which is an unlucky Character of his own Friends ) that Doctrine is false ; and therefore , that the charge of Idolatry in this matter , is by their own Confession true . But there are some more cautious and wary men amongst them , who out of very just and reasonable Fears and Suspicions , that Transubstantion should not prove true , and that they may happen to be mistaken in that , have thought of another way , to cover and excuse their Idolatry ; and that is , not from the Truth , but meerly from the Belief of Transubstantiation . As long , say they , as we believe Transubstantiation to be true , and do really think that the Bread and Wine are converted into the substance of Christs Body and Blood , and so Worship the Sacrament upon that account , tho we should be mistaken in this our belief ; yet as long as we think that Christ is there present , and design only to Worship him , and not the Bread , which we believe to be done away ; this were enough to free us from the charge of Idolatry . To which , because it is the greatest , and the best Plea they have , and they that make it have some misgivings , I doubt not , that Transustantiation will not hold ; I shall therefore give a full Answer to it , in the following Particulars .

1. All Idolatry does proceed from a mistaken belief , and a false supposal of the mind , which being gross and unreasonable , will not at all excuse those who are guilty of it ; there were never any Idolaters , but might plead the excuse of a mistake , and that not much more culpable and notorious , one would think , than the mistake of those who think a bit of Bread , or a Wafer , is turn'd by a few words into a God. They all thought , however blindly and foolishly , that whatever it was they worshipt , ought to be worshipt upon some account or other ; that it was a true and fit Object , and that Adoration rightly belong'd to it . Idolatry , tho it be a great Sin , and a great injury and affront to God , yet arises not so much from the malice of the will , as the blindness and darkness of the understanding ; there were hardly ever any such Idolaters as maliciously , and designedly intended to affront the true God , by worshipping false Gods or Creatures ; as if a Subject should pass by his Prince out of ill will , and a purpose to affront and defie him , and give the Reverence and Homage that was due to him , to a Rebel or fellow Subject standing by him ; but they did this , because they mistook the person , and thought this to be the Prince that was not , or that he was there where he was not , or that that which was there , ought to be worshipt for his sake ; still falsly supposing that they ought to worship that wrong Object , which they took to be right ; or in that false manner which they took to be true ; for if a mistake will excuse , it will excuse in one as well as another .

2. Tho they do not only think and believe that which they worship , to be a true Divine Object ; but it really be so in it self , and that which they have in their Thoughts and intentions to worship , be right ; yet they may still be guilty of Idolatry ; for so were the Jews in the Idolatry of the golden Calf , whereby they intended not to throw off the Worship of the true God , The God of Israel , Exod. 32.4 , 5. who brought them out of the land of Egypt ; for they appointed the Feast to him under that Title , and under the Name of Jehovah at the same time ; and so in the Idolatry of the Calves set up by Jeroboam ; 1 K. 12.27 , 28. they were not designed to draw off the people from worshipping the same God , who was worshipt at Hierusalem , but only to do it in another place , and after another manner ; but still as T. G. a a Cath. no Idol . p. 330. says of the Roman Idolaters , so it may be said of these Jewish , That what they had in their Minds and Intentions to Worship , was the true God ; and whatever was the material object of their Worship , he was the formal ; for they did no more think the Gold , than the Papists think the Bread to be God. So the Manichees in their Idolatry , which St. Austin often mentions b b Contra Faustum Manicheum , l. 1. c. 3. Tom. 1. de Genesi contra Manich. l. 2. c. 25. Tom. 2. Epist. 74. ad Deuterium , Solem etiam & Lunam adorant & colunt . , of adoring the Sun and Moon , the Object which they had in their Minds , and Thoughts , and Purposes to Worship , was Christ , as much as the Papists have him in the Eucharist . I would only ask , if a persons having a right Object in his mind , in his thoughts and purposes to adore , which T. G. c c Catholicks no Idolaters , p. 329 , 330. so often pretends , would excuse him from Idolatry ; then suppose a person should before Consecration , Worship the Sacramental Elements , to prevent which they generally keep them from being seen ; yet in the Thoughts , and Intentions , and Purposes of his mind , design to worship Christ then supposed , tho falsly , to be there , as they Worship him afterwards ; whether this would be Idolatry in him or no ? If not , then they may worship the unconsecrated Elements , as well as consecrated , even whilst they believe they are Bread ; if it be , then having a right Object in our Thoughts , and Purposes , and Intentions , will not excuse from Idolatry .

3. Whatever was the material Object of Idolatrous worship , it was not worshipt for it self , no more than the Bread or its Accidents are by the Papists in the Eucharist ; but as they say of the Host , because they believed that the true Object of worship was really present in it , or in an extraordinary manner united to it a a Deos relictis sedibus propriis non recusare nec fugere , habitaculainire terrena , quinimo jure dedicationis impulsos simulachrorum coalescere inunctioni , Arnob. contra gent. l. 6. ; so did the Gentiles , who thought the Gods themselves , or at least a Divine Power , was brought into their Images , by their Consecrations , and that it resided and dwelt there , and they worshipped their Images only upon this account b b Deos per simulachra Veneramur , Ib. . Now if they had thought this of the true God himself , that it was he , and not any false God that was thus present in their Images , this would have been nevertheless Idolatry . Thus the Manichees , who worshipt the Sun , did not worship it for it self , but because they believed Christ had placed his Tabernacle in the Sun ; so the more Philosophical Idolaters among the Heathens , See Voss . de Idolol . l. 8. c. 1. who worshipt the several Things of Nature , as parts , they thought , of the Great and Omnipresent God ; they did not worship them purely for themselves , but as God was in them , and they were as St. Austin speaks , Aut partes ejus aut membra ejus , aut aliquid substantiae ipsius c c August . l. 24. contra Faustum . . Either parts of him , or Members of him , or something of his substance , as the Papists believe the Sacrament to be his Body . Thus they deified the things of Nature , tho they thought there was but one Supreme God , whom they worshipt in them , as Eusebius says of them ; they believe a a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . Euseb. Praepar . Evangel . l. 3. c. 13. , That one God fills all things with his various power , and pervades all things , and that he is to be worshipped in , and by all visible things ; but yet they denied that those visible things were to be worshipt for themselves , but for the sake of God , and those invisible Powers of God , which were in them , as appears from the same place b b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . , They do not , they say , make Gods of the visible Bodies of the Sun , Moon and Stars , or the other sensible parts of the World ; but they worship those invisible Powers that are in them of that God , who is God over all . Nay the Egyptians themselves , did not as Celsus pleads even for those Idolaters , worship their brute Animals , but only as they were Spmbols of God c c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , Orig. contra Cel. l. 3. .