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not with Him," and who " gathering not with Him, scattered" His flock, were His adversaries; saying,

He that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth." So neither did the blessed Apostle John distinguish any one heresy or schism, or set down that any were specially separated, but all who had gone out of the Church, and who acted against the Church, he called antichrists, saying, “Ye have heard that antichrist shall come, and now are come many antichrists. Wherefore we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us." Whence it appears that all are adversaries of the Lord and antichrists, who are found to have departed from the charity and unity of the Catholic Church. Moreover the Lord in His Gospel lays it down, and says, "But if he neglect to hear the Church let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." But if they who despise the Church are accounted heathens and publicans, much more surely, must rebels and enemies, who invent false altars and unlawful priesthoods and sacrilegious sacrifices and spurious names, needs be reckoned among heathens and publicans, since they who sin less and but neglect the Church are by the sentence of the Lord adjudged to be heathens and publicans.

But that the Church is one, the Holy Ghost declares in the Song of Solomon; saying in the Person of Christ, "My dove, My undefiled is one; she is the only one of her Mother, she is the choice one of

her that bare her." Of whom also He saith in another place, "A garden inclosed is My sister, My spouse: a spring sealed up, a well of living water." But if the "spouse" of Christ, which is the Church, "is a garden inclosed," a thing closed cannot lie open to aliens and the profane. And if it is a "spring sealed up," we can neither drink thence, nor be sealed, who being placed without have not access to the spring. The "well" too of "living water," if it is one and also within, whoso is placed without cannot be enlivened and sanctified with that water, which they only who are within are permitted to use and drink. This also Peter, shewing that the Church is one, and that they only who are in the Church can be baptized, laid down, saying, "In the ark of Noah few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water, the like figure whereunto even Baptism shall save you;" proving and testifying that the one ark of Noah was a type of the one Church. If then in that Baptism of the cleansed and purified world, he could be "saved by water" who was not in the ark of Noah; now also he may be enlivened by Baptism who is not in the Church to which alone Baptism has been granted.

Moreover the Apostle Paul, declaring this same thing more expressly and clearly, writes to the Ephesians, and says, "Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify, and cleanse it with the washing of water." But if the Church which is loved by Christ is one, and which • With the seal of Baptism.

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alone is cleansed by His washing, how can he that is not in the Church either be loved by Christ or be washed and cleansed by His washing?

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The Lord, intimating to us that unity cometh of Divine authority, declareth and saith, "I and My Father are One." To which unity bringing His Church He further saith, "There shall be one fold, and one Shepherd." But if there is one flock," how can he be numbered as of the flock who is not in the number of the flock? or how he accounted a shepherd, who, the true shepherd remaining and by successive ordination presiding in the Church of God, himself, succeeding to no one and beginning from himself, becomes an alien and profane, an enemy to the Lord's peace, and to the Divine unity; not dwelling in the house of God, that is, in the Church of God, in which they only dwell who are of one heart and one mind? for that the Holy Ghost speaks in the Psalms and says, "He is the God that maketh men to be of one mind in an house." Moreover even the very sacrifices of the Lord do shew Christian unanimity knit together, by form and inseparate charity. For when the Lord calls bread, which is made up of the union of many grains, His Body, He indicates one people whom He bore, united together; and when He calls wine which is pressed from many bunches and clusters, and drawn into one, His Blood, He likewise signifies one flock joined together by the mingling of an united multitude.

Moreover, how inseparable the sacrament of unity is, and how without hope they are, and what ex

ceeding perdition they purchase to themselves from the wrath of God, who make a schism, and abandoning their bishop set up for themselves another false bishop without, holy Scripture declares in the Book of Kings, when ten tribes severed from the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, and abandoning their king, set up another for themselves without. “The Lord,” it saith, was very angry with all the seed of Israel, and removed them away, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until He had cast them out of His sight; for Israel was rent from the house of David, and they made themselves a king, Jeroboam the son of Nebat." It is said that "the Lord was very angry," and gave them up to perdition, because they were separated from unity, and had set up for themselves another king. And so great was the anger of the Lord against those who had caused the schism, that even when the man of God was sent to Jeroboam to reproach him for his sins, and to foretell the vengeance that would follow, he was forbidden "to eat bread or drink water" with them; which when he did not observe, and against the command of God took food, he was immediately stricken by the majesty of the Divine judgment, so that returning thence he was slain in the way by the jaws of a lion who came against him. And does any one dare to say that the saving water of Baptism and heavenly grace can be in common with schismatics, with whom neither earthly food nor this world's drink ought to be in common?

Epist. lxix. ad Magnus.

Fourth Friday in Lent.

CONFESSION OF SINS. S. AUGUSTINE.

WHAT he can, let man do, let him confess himself what he is, that he may be cured by Him Who always is what He is: for He always was and is; we were not and are.

For see what He saith; "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Consequently if thou have confessed thyself a sinner, the truth is in thee: for the Truth Itself is Light. Thy life hath not yet shone in perfect brightness, because there are sins in thee; but yet thou hast already begun to be enlightened, because there is in thee the confession of sins. For see what follows: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to purge us from all iniquity." Not only the past, (original sin,) but haply if we have contracted any from this life; because a man, so long as he bears the flesh, cannot but have some at any rate light sins. But these which we call light do not thou make light of. If thou make light of them when thou weighest them, be afraid when thou countest them. Many light make one huge sin: many drops fill the river: many grains make the lump. And what hope is there? Before all, confession: lest any think himself righteous,