prayed with as loud a voice as he could; cujus mentio, est ejus refutatio.28 Others, with all the ardor and fervcncy of his soul. Such are the interpretations of those who contend for the use of a liturgy in the primitive church. On the other hand, Justin is understood to say, that the president prayed as well as he could, to the best of his ability, or as Tertullian says, " ex proprio ingenio." If this be the true meaning, it leads to the conclusion that the prayers offered on this occasion were strictly extempore. This is the interpretation, not only of non-conformists generally, but of some churchmen. It is the only fair interpretation of the prayer, according to the usus loquendi of this author. The same expression occurs in other passages of our author, which may serve to illustrate the sense in which he uses this equivocal phrase. "We, who worship the Ruler of the Universe, are not atheists. We affirm, as we are taught, that he has no need of blood, libations, and incense. But, with prayer and thanksgivings, we praise him according to our ability, dơŋ δύναμις, for all which we enjoy, ἐφ ̓ οἷς προσφερόμεθα nãow, having learned that, worthily to honor him is, not to consume in fire by sacrifice, what he has provided for our sustenance, but to bestow it upon ourselves and upon the needy; and to show ourselves thankful to him by our solemn thanksgivings for our birth, our health, and all that he has made; and for the vicissitudes of the The Catholic and Episcopal rendering of this passage makes the author say, that, in all our offerings, ¿q' ois προσφερόμεθα πᾶσιν, we praise him, ὅση δύναμις, with the utmost fervency of devotion. This, however, is a mistaken rendering of the verb, googɛgóuai, which, in the 28 The very mention of which is a sufficient refutation. middle voice, means not to offer in sacrifice, or to worship, but to participate, to enjoy. So it is rendered by Scapula, Hedericus, Bretschneider, Passow, &c. The passage relates, not to an act of sacrifice, nor of public worship, as the connection shows, but to deeds of piety towards God, and of benevolence to men, done according to their ability, by which they offered the best refutation of the groundless calumnies of their enemies, who had charged them with an atheistical neglect of the gods. The declaration is, that for all their blessings they express, according to their ability, their thanksgivings to God, and testify their gratitude by deeds of charity to their fellow-men. "Having, therefore, exhorted you, on dirauis, according to our ability, both by reason, and a visible sign or figure, we know that we shall henceforth be blameless if you do not believe, for we have done what we could for your conversion." 30 He had done what he could; by various efforts of argument and exhortation, and by visible signs he had labored, according to his ability, to bring them to receive the truth. The exhortation was the free expressions of his heart's desire for their conversion. Can there be any doubt that the phrase denotes the same freedom of expression in prayer? These passages appear to us clearly to illustrate the usus loquendi of our author, and justify our interpretation of the phrase in question.31 If one desires further satisfaction on this point, he has only to turn to the works of Origen, in which this and similar forms of expression are continually occurring, to denote the invention, ability, and powers of the mind. Origen, in his reply to the calumnies of Celsus, proposes to refute them, "according to his ability."32 In his preface, 30 Apol. 1, c. 55, p. 77. 31 Comp. King, in our Antiquities, pp. 213-215. Note. 32 O'on Súvamus, Lib. 6, § 1, Vol. I, p. 694, so also, xατά To δύνατον, § 12, p. 638. he has apologized for the Christians "as well as he could."33 These Christians sought, "as much as possible,” to preserve the purity of the church.34 They strive to discover the hidden meaning of God's word, "according to the best of their abilities."35 In these instances the reference is not to the fervor of the spirits, the ardor of the mind, but to the exercise of the mental powers. The act performed is done according to the invention, the ingenuity, the talents of the agents in each case. Basil, in giving instructions how to pray, advises to make choice of scriptural forms of thanksgiving, and when you have praised him thus, according to your ability, ws δυνασαι, exactly equivalent to όση δύναηις,—then he advises the supplicant to proceed to petitions.36 The Greeks and the Romans pray each in their own language, according to Origen, and each praises him as he is able.37 But enough; the reader may safely be left to his own conclusions. We come next to Tertullian. "We Christians pray with eyes uplifted, with hands outspread, with head uncovered; and, . . without a monitor, because from the heart."38 Can this be the manner of one praying from a prayerbook? Clarkson has shown, with his usual clearness, that the heathen worshipped by a ritual, . . and rehearsed their 33 Κατα την παροῦσαν δύναμιν, Praefall, Lib. contr. Cel. 34 O'on dúvaμis, Contr. Cel., Lib. 3, Vol. I, p. 482. 35 Lib. 6, § 2, p. 630. Comp. also in Comment. in Math., öon dúvaμıç, Tom. 17, Vol. III, p. 809, xατà tò dúvatov, Tom. 16, Vol. III, p. 735, naτà Súvαμv, Tom. 17, Vol. III, p. 779, also Vol. IV, p. 6, xατà tηv' пαдоvσαν dúvαuiv, Tom. 17, Vol. III, p. 794. Since writing the above, Clarkson's Discourse on Liturgies has fallen under notice, in which many other passages are given from Justin, Origen, Chrysostom, Basil, &c., all illustrating the same use of the phrase, pp. 6873, 114–121. 36 Basil, De Ascet., Vol. II, p. 536. 37 os Súvatal, Origen, Contra Cels., Lib. 8, c. 37, p. 769. 38 Illuc sursum suspicientes Christiani manibus expansis, quia innocuis, capite nudo, quia erubescimus; denique sine monitore, quia de pectore oramus.-Apol., c. 30. prayers from a book; and that Tertullian says this to contrast the Christian mode of worship with these heartless forms. These warm-hearted Christians needed no such promptings to give utterance to their devotions. of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Out Again, "When the sacramental supper is ended, and we have washed our hands, and the candles are lighted, every one is invited to sing unto God, as he is able; either in psalms collected from the Holy Scriptures, or composed by himself, de proprio ingenio. And as we began, so we conclude all with prayer." 39 From Tertullian we have the earliest information respecting the religious ordinances of the churches in Africa. The reader will not fail to notice, that this church also retains still the simplicity of the apostolical churches, mingled with some Roman customs. The brethren form a similar fraternity. Their religious worship opens with prayer, after which the Scriptures are read, and familiar remarks offered upon them. Then follows the sacramental supper, or more properly the love-feast of the primitive church, which they begin with prayer. After the supper, any one is invited to offer a sacred song, either from the Scriptures, or indited by himself. And the whole ends with prayer. The entire narrative indicates a free, informal mode of worship, as far removed from that which is directed by the agenda and rituals of liturgical worship as can well be conceived. In the same connection, Tertullian also forcibly illustrates the sincerity and purity of this primitive worship. Speaking of the subjects of their prayers, he says, "These blessings I cannot persuade myself to ask of any but of him, from whom alone I know that I can obtain them. For he only can bestow them. And to me he has covenanted to grant them. For I am his servant and him 39 Apol., c. 39. only do I serve. For this service I stand exposed to death, while I offer to him the noblest and best sacrifice which he requires, prayer proceeding from a chaste body, an innocent soul, and a sanctified spirit." 40 Beautiful exem plification of the words of our Lord to the woman of Samaria, "Believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4: 21, 24. The authority of Tertullian is against the use of forms of prayer. "We pray," says he, "without a monitor, because from the heart," sine monitore quid depectore. Much ingenuity has been employed to reconcile this expression with the use of a prayer-book, but viewed in connection with the freedom and simplicity in which their worship was conducted, its obvious import is sufficiently apparent. He justifies, indeed, the use of the Lord's prayer; but seems to intimate that to God alone belongs the right of prescribing forms of prayer. "God alone," says he, “can teach us how he would be addressed in prayer. But, he adds, "our Lord, who foresaw the necessities of men, after he had delivered this form of prayer, said 'Ask and ye shall receive;' and there are some things which need to be asked, according to every one's circumstances; the rightful and ordinary being first used as a foundation, we may lawfully add other occasional desires,41 and make this the basis of other petitions." From this passage it appears that their manner was, at the beginning of the third century, to repeat the Lord's prayer as the basis and pattern of all appropriate prayer to God, and then to enlarge in free, unpremeditated supplications, according to their circumstances and desires. There is another circumstance mentioned above by Ter tullian, which shows how far the worship of the primitive 41 De Orat., c. 9. 40 Apol., c. 30. |