on account of the personal danger he might incur by persisting in maintaining it in his public discourses and writings. That Socinus had good reasons for urging the last consideration, is clearly proved by what afterwards occurred; and, indeed, he confesses that previously to his giving this warning, he had been apprized by Blandrata of his intention to declare himself the open enemy of David, to accuse him to the prince, and call in the aid of the civil power t.

Shortly after the breaking up of the conferences between Socinus and David, the latter having refused to conceal his opinion, and taken occasion on the first Sunday to preach against the invocation of Christ, the prince, at Blandrata's instigation, addressed a letter to the Senate of Coloswar, directing them to remove the venerable pastor from his ministerial office, and to put him in confinement. About the same time a general assembly of the States was convoked to meet at Thorda, on the festival of St. George next ensuing, (the 23d of April,) in order to take the affair into consideration.

Blandrata was fully aware that, from the high repu tation of David, the increasing numbers of those who held the same opinion concerning the invocation of Christ, and the jealousy of the nobility attached to the

*Socini Opera, tom. ii. p. 711.

The following are given as the words of Blandrata, to which Socinus adverts in his defence. Oper. tom. ii. p. 711. Dices Francisco, me hactenus non declarasse coram Principe, me esse hostem ejus; sed deinceps pro eo me habeat. Fratribus vero dices, ut in injuncto ipsis negotio fervide pergant. Bod, Hist. Unitar. ubi supra, p. 110.

Unitarian Churches, of any restrictions on the freedom of their worship,-he was likely to encounter formidable opposition in his proceedings: he deemed it expedient, therefore, to prepare the way by prejudicing as much as possible, against the superintendant, the minds of those who were to sit in judgement on his case. His purpose might possibly have been sufficiently answered by the publication of the written statements, then in his possession, of the opinions of David, which the latter had put into Socinus's hands in the course of their disputations. But as he was not satisfied with the manner in which Socinus had conducted the controversy, or with the answers he had returned to his acute and learned opponent, he could not consent to give these documents to the public, in an authentic form, and under the sanction of his authority*. Instead, therefore, of acting thus fairly, he had the baseness to resort to an artifice of the blackest description, whereby he but too well succeeded in his immediate object, and also in perpetuating an unfounded charge against the venerable object of his jealousy and vengeance, of holding tenets directly at variance with his real sentiments. He drew up a series of Sixteen Theses, purporting to be written by Francis David, and to comprise a correct exposition, from under his own hands, of the articles of his religious creed. To each

*The chief cause of the dissatisfaction of Blandrata and his friends with Socinus on this occasion was, that he had admitted nullum extare expressum in Sucris Literis præceptum de Christo invocando,-that "there was no express command in the Sacred Scriptures for the invocation of Christ."-Socini Opera, tom. ii. p. 710.

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of these Theses, severally, he subjoined Antitheses of his own by way of answer, and which he designed as a representation of the prevailing opinions of the Transylvanian Unitarians. This extraordinary document he committed to the press after David had been sent to prison, and when he had no means of disavowing it; and having prefixed to it an address to the members of the Diet, dated the 7th of April 1579, wherein he seems to speak in the person of the Prince, recommending it to their attention, he caused it to be circulated through the country*.

The

* Lampius, in his Ecclesiastical History of Hungary and Transylvania, referred to above, has given this forged production in its original form, pp. 305–311. As the subject is in a great measure new to the British public, and Lampius's work is not of common occurrence, Blandrata's letter shall be here transcribed entire. The Theses are given by Bod in his History, but without Blandrata's letter.

EXEMPLAR EPISTOLA CONVOCATORIA GEORGII BLANDRATÆ. Gratia vobis et paxa Deo Patre, et Domino nostro Jesu Christo. Quoniam in proximis Comitiis Regni ad diem vigesimam sextam hujus mensis Tordæ indictis, in quibus causa Francisci Davidis serio agetur, ibique ut audiamus de eo sententia fieri non potest, quin de tota religionis causa tractetur, et de novatoribus diligens inquisitio et judicium simul fiat, quæ Comitia consecutura est breni Synodus generalis, qua potissimum fidei confessio, quæ Verbo Dei et Regni legibus non adversetur, constituenda erit; visum est nobis vos horum admonere, ut ad utrumque Conventum ea quæ nobis ad Dei gloriam pertinere videbuntur, diligenter prius meditata, quatenus oportuerit afferre possitis. Deuniverso enim statu Ecclesiæ, et singulorum qui in ea docendi munus habent, ut videtis agitur. Ut autem id commodius facere possitis, mittimus ad vos THESES de quibus in Synodo serio tractatum iri confidimus, imo credimus, quas ut unusquisque ex verbo publice detestetur, et quas illi Theses oppositas videtis amplectatur, necesse fu turum putamus, nisi munere suo privari, et extorris jam fieri malit. Non autem quo vestrum alicui timorem incutiamus, hæc vos scire voluimus, ut scilicet, metu adacti, contra conscientiam ves

The Diet assembled at Thorda on the day appointed. The nobility, who were scandalized at the prosecution,

tram aliquid vel dicatis, vel faciatis, sed ut id præcaveretur, et in eo vobis prodesse officii nostri esse arbitrati fuimus, ne quis ex vobis aliquid quidpiam in tanto periculo præ oculis habeat, quam unam ipsam veritatem, cujus testimonium in corde suo coram Deo habere plane persuasus sit. Speramus Deum vobis affuturum, si ejus opem, ut quidem nos facimus, supplices implorare in hoc discrimine non intermiseritis. Ipse vero Deus et Dominus noster Jesus Christus consoletur corda vestra et sit Spiritu cum vestró, Amen. PRINCIPE STEPHANO BATHORIO.

Claudiopoli, 7 Aprilis 1579.

Then follow the Sixteen Theses printed in two columns, the one containing those ascribed to David, with this head-Theses Francisci Davidis; the other the Antitheses in reply to them, by Blandrata, with the title Antitheses Georgii Blandrata. Fifteen of these propositions, that is, all except the first,-are printed, with only some slight verbal differences, in the folio edition of Socinus's works, in the Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum, tom. ii. p. 801; and are given in English by Dr. Toulmin in his Life of Socinus, pp. 453-463. Prefixed is the following head

"Propositions in which is explained the opinion of Francis David concerning the character of Christ, together with the opposite propositions of the Church, drawn up by FAUSTUS SOCINUS, and presented to Christopher Bathory, the illustrious Prince of Transylvania." The reader will find some of these propositions inserted in a note, page 197 of the following Catechism, where they are ascribed to Socinus. I am now satisfied, however, that this title was not written by Socinus himself; but was drawn up and attached to this document either by the editor of the Bibliotheca, Andrew Wissowatius, or by some other person, who erroneously concluded, from the part Socinus had acted in the disputations with David concerning the invocation of Christ, that these Antitheses must have proceeded from his pen. Socinus seems never to have avowed himself the author:-nor is it very likely, considering Blandrata's dissatisfaction with his management of the controversy against David, that he should so soon have been employed by him to draw up such a document on the behalf of the Transylvanian Churches. It is worthy of remark, that this paper was not inserted by Socinus in his own account of the controversy.

prosecution, immediately held a private conference to deliberate upon the measures proper to be taken in so

delicate

with David, which he published in 1595. In the Bibliotheca it occurs as a detached piece at the end of the account of his controversy with Franken, with which it has no connexion.

The copy in Socinus's works contains only fifteen propositions, the first in Lampius's copy being here omitted. That the original number was sixteen, and consequently that Lampius's copy is the most likely to have been the one forged and circulated by Blandrata, appears from their being always noticed as comprising this number. See particularly Bod, Hist. Unit. p. 98; Sandius's Bibliotheca Antitrin. p. 56; Bock's Hist. Antitrin. tom. i. p. 241, and also p. 63, where this excellent writer enumerates these Antitheses among the writings of Blandrata on the authority of Lampius. The first proposi tion is given by Lampius in these words,

THESIS FRANCISCI DAVIDIS.

Homo ille Jesus Nazarenus, Mariæ Josephi uxoris filius ex ejusdem semine Josephi conceptus et natus est; quacunque tandem ratione id factum sit: credimus eum Messiam illum esse in Veteri Testamento a Deo promisso.

ANTITHESIS GEORGII BLANDRATÆ.

Homo ille Jesus Nazarenus, in Mariæ Virginis utero conceptus ex eaque natus est, Spiritu Sancto eam conceptionem citra car- nalem viri alicujus congressum operante. Et quamvis ex Josephi Mariæ viri semine, nulla prorsus ratione, nec conceptus, nec natus fuerit, revera credendum tamen omnino nobis, eum Messiam illum esse a Deo in Veteri Testamento promissum.

The most criminal property of this document is, that it ascribes to David opinions which he never held, and which Blandrata must have known that he did not entertain;-opi▾ nions, too, which were sure to subject him to very general edium at the time, even among his own party, and which have had the effect of transmitting his name to posterity with the imputation of being a SEMI-JUDAIZER, and, in fact, a disbeliever in the truth and authority of the Christian Revelation. See Bod as above, p. 99; Zeltner's Historia Crypto-Socinismi, p. 201. To these may be added even the Unitarian writers among ourselves; Dr. Toulmin in several passages of his Life

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