Liberius was chosen on the 22d of May 352. in the room of Julius^[717]. He had trampled under-foot (to use his own Terms) all worldly things, to observe the Gospel, and obey the Dictates of his Faith. He had been employed, before his Election, in several Ecclesiastical Ministries, and discharged them with Reputation, though he was not conscious to himself of having ever done the least Thing for the sake of Praise and Glory. He was at last raised to the Episcopal Dignity, but much against his Will, as he calls God and the Church to witness. He protests, that it was his ardent and only Wish, that he might keep himself pure and undefiled in the Administration of his new Dignity, that he might inviolably maintain and defend the Faith, which he had received from his illustrious Predecessors, among whom were many Martyrs^[718]. |No easy Matter to
form a true Idea of
his Character.| Were we to judge of his Conduct from his Words, we should equal him to the best of his Predecessors; but there appears, throughout his whole Administration, such an odd Mixture of opposite Qualities, that it is no easy Matter to form a true Idea of his Character: at one time we shall find him bold, intrepid, and inflexible; at another timorous, faint-hearted, and compliant; insomuch that one can hardly conceive him to be the same Man. The latter Qualities he betrayed in the very Beginning of his Pontificate, by separating himself from the Communion of Athanasius. Constans, the great Support of the Orthodox Party, being murdered, and Constantius upon the Point of becoming Master of Rome, by a complete Victory he had gained over the Two Brothers Magnentius and Decentius, the Eusebians thought this a proper Juncture to try whether the Fear of that Prince had not rendered Julius somewhat more tractable. For Constantius was more incensed than ever against Athanasius, being assured by the Eusebians, to whom he gave an intire Credit, that he had influenced his Brother to threaten him with a Civil War^[719]. |The Eusebians write
a second Letter to
Julius against
Athanasius:| They writ therefore to Julius a second Letter, filled with new Complaints and Calumnies against Athanasius; but Julius dying in the mean time, their Letter, together with another to the same Purpose from the Arians of Alexandria, was delivered to Liberius, who caused them both to be publicly read in a full Assembly of the People, and in the Council, which was then sitting at Rome^[720]. |which is answered
by Liberius:| His Answer to these Letters has not reached our Times; but a Copy of the Letter, which he writ on that Occasion to Athanasius, has, to his eternal Disgrace, been transmitted to us, among the Fragments of Hilarius Bishop of Poitiers. |who summons
Athanasius to Rome.| In that Letter he summons him to appear forthwith at Rome, to clear himself there of the heavy Accusations brought against him; and threatens to cut him off from the Communion of that Church, if he refused to comply with the Summons^[721]. With this Letter he dispatched Three of his Presbyters, Lucius, Paulus, and Ælianus; strictly injoining them, by all means, to prevail upon Athanasius to repair, without Delay, to Rome^[722]. This Conduct, so very different from that of his Predecessor, was, no doubt, owing to the Dread he was in of the Emperor Constantius, by this Time probably Master of Rome, and all Italy; for what else could tempt or induce him to act so preposterously? Be that as it will, Athanasius was greatly surprised and concerned to find himself so unworthily treated and threatened by the Bishop of Rome; but did not think himself, on that Account, obliged to abandon his Flock. He remained therefore in Alexandria; but begged his Collegues in Egypt to write in his Favour to the Pope; which they did accordingly. |Liberius commun-
icates with the Arians,
and excommunicates
Athanasius.| But Liberius wanted to ingratiate himself with the Arians, and, by their means, with the Emperor; and therefore, without any Regard to the Testimony of the Orthodox Bishops, or the known Innocence of the oppressed Athanasius, he writ to the Eusebians, acquainting them, that he communicated with them; but, as to Athanasius, he had cut him off from his Communion, and from that of his Church^[723]. |His Letter to them
not supposititious.| Baronius^[724], and after him the Benedictines, in their last Edition of the Works of Hilarius and Athanasius^[725], maintain this Letter of Liberius to have been forged by the Arians, and inserted into the Works of Hilarius. But they allege no convincing Reason why the other Pieces, among which it has been conveyed to us, should be admitted as genuine, and this alone rejected as supposititious. Athanasius, indeed, never reproached the Bishop of Rome with his scandalous Conduct, as they observe; but may not that be ascribed to his Moderation? The more, as he was sensible, that Liberius acted thus not out of Ill-will, but Fear. As to the want of Connexion between that Letter and the Pieces preceding and following it, I should not have expected such an Objection from any who had ever perused the Fragments of that Writer, which every one knows to have been patched together without any Regard to Time or Order^[N14].

In the mean time Constantius, now in quiet Possession of the whole Empire by the Death of Magnentius, who, after his Defeat, had laid violent Hands on himself, summoned a Council to meet at Arles. At this Council Liberius did not assist in Person, but by his Legates, Vincentius Bishop of Capua, and Marcellus Bishop of Campania, who, together with some others, had been sent by Liberius some time before to meet the Emperor at Arles, and beg him in the Pope’s Name to assemble a Council at Aquileia^[726]. As the Bishop of Capua was a Man of great Parts, and long Experience, Liberius reposed an intire Confidence in him, not doubting but he would maintain the Dignity of his Legation, and support the Innocency of Athanasius with that Firmness which he had shewn on several other Occasions ^[N15].

As the Council consisted chiefly of Arians, their great Point in view was, to extort from the Italian Bishops a solemn Condemnation of Athanasius. |The Emperor’s Edict.| This therefore was in the first place proposed in the Council; and, because the orthodox Bishops would not consent to it, an Edict was issued by the Emperor, sentencing all those to Exile who should refuse to sign the Condemnation of Athanasius^[727]. |The Pope’s Legates
sign the Condem-
nation of Athanasius.| The boasted Firmness and Constancy of Vincentius were not Proof against such a Trial. He did all that lay in his Power to divert the Emperor from the Execution of a Decree utterly inconsistent with the Liberty of a Council; but finding him deaf to all Remonstrances, he began to capitulate, offering to sign the Condemnation of Athanasius, on condition the Eusebians signed that of Arius, and publicly abjured his Doctrine. This he thought would be some Alleviation of his Guilt, and therefore the Proposal which he had made by Word of Mouth he gave in Writing to the Heads of the Arian Faction, signed by himself and his Fellow-legates. But the Arians, too well acquainted with their Weakness to grant them any Terms, peremptorily insisted upon their condemning Athanasius, and referring the Cause and Doctrine of Arius to a more proper Juncture. Vincentius and his Collegues, finding the Enemies of Athanasius thus inflexible, and, on the other hand, determined at all Events to keep their Bishopricks, and avoid the Hardships of a painful Exile, complied at last, and yielded to the troublesome Times, to use their softening Expression^[728]. They were the more inexcuseable, as they had before their Eyes the Example of a great Prelate, whose Constancy was proof against all the Threats and Menaces of a provoked Prince. This was the celebrated Paulinus Bishop of Treves, who, after perusing the Formulary, drawn up by the Eusebians, to be signed by him and the other Bishops, rejected it with the utmost Indignation, declaring that nothing they could do should ever induce him to betray the Truth, and his own Conscience, by setting his Hand to such a scandalous Piece. The Eusebians left no Art unattempted to gain him, as they had done the Pope’s Legates, but finding he was a Man of a quite different Disposition, and despairing of being ever able to prevail upon him either by Hopes or Fear, they at last had recourse to the Emperor, who, putting his Decree in Execution, sent him into Exile; and in order to tire out his Patience, ordered him to be constantly conveyed from one inhospitable Place to another. |The glorious Behaviour
of Paulinus.| But in every Place Paulinus was the same, the Conscience of his suffering for the sake of Justice enabling him to bear, not only with Patience, but Chearfulness, the inexpressible Hardships he underwent^[729]. He died in Phrygia in the Fifth Year of his Exile^[730], that is, in 358. But his Body is supposed to have been discovered in a Church of his Name at Treves, in the Year 1071^[731]. How and when it was conveyed thither, let those inquire who adore it.

To return to Liberius, he was so sensibly affected with the Fall of Vincentius and his Collegues, that he wished for an Opportunity of losing his Life in so good a Cause, and washing out with his Blood the Stain which the scandalous Conduct of his Legates had brought upon his Character^[732]. Thus he expresses himself in the Letter, which he writ on that Occasion to the great Friend of his See Osius^[733]. However, in the Height of his Affliction, he found great Relief in the Courage and Steadiness of Cæcilianus Bishop of Spoleto, of Eusebius Bishop of Vercelli, and of Lucifer Bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia. The latter advised the Pope to demand of the Emperor another Council, and generously took upon himself to go to Arles, where Constantius then was, and make that Demand. Liberius readily accepted his Offer, and named Pancratius and Hilarius for his Collegues, the one a Presbyter, the other a Deacon of the Church of Rome. |Liberius writes to
the Emperor for an-
other Council;| By these he writ an excellent Letter to the Emperor, wherein, with the Liberty that became a Catholic Bishop, but at the same time with all the Respect that is due from a Subject to his Sovereign, he justifies his Conduct in the Defence of Athanasius, lays open the Arts and Views of the adverse Party, and begs that a new Council might be assembled, there being no other Means to put a Stop to so many Evils, and restore Peace and Tranquillity to the Catholic Church^[734]. At the same time Liberius writ to Eusebius Bishop of Vercelli, and Fortunatianus Bishop of Aquileia, intreating them to assist his Legates with their Advice, and even with their Presence, should it be thought necessary. The Three Legates, on their Arrival at Vercelli, in their Way to Arles, were not only kindly received, but joined by Eusebius, who repaired with them to the Emperor. |which is granted,
and assembles at Milan.| As the Arians were no-ways averse to the Proposal, nay, had even solicited the Emperor to convene a new Council, the Request of the Legates met with no Difficulty; so that a Council was appointed to meet at Milan, where it met accordingly in the Beginning of the Year 355^[735]. We are told, that it consisted of Three hundred Western Bishops, and that from the East there came but very few^[736]. But Constantius and his Army may be said to have supplied their room. For the Council no sooner met, than the Emperor absolutely insisted upon their signing the Condemnation of Athænasius, and an Edict, containing the chief Tenets of Arius, which had been published in his Name. But in this Attempt he met with a vigorous Opposition from Dionysius Bishop of Milan, Eusebius of Vercelli, Lucifer of Cagliari, and the Two other Legates, Pancratius and Hilarius; which provoked him to such a Degree, that he was upon the Point of commanding them to be executed upon the Spot as Rebels. |Some Bishops banished.| But, upon second Thoughts, he contented himself with sending them into Exile, Dionysius into Cappadocia, or Armenia, where he died a few Years after, Eusebius to Scythopolis in Palestine, and Lucifer to Germanicia in Syria. To what Place Pancratius and Hilarius were confined, we know not; but the latter was most cruelly whipped before he was banished^[737]. As for the other Bishops, I shall only say, with Ruffinus^[738], that, out of Three hundred, Dionysius, Lucifer, and Eusebius, alone shewed a Firmness and Intrepidity becoming Men of their Rank and Dignity. Among the rest Fortunatianus Bishop of Aquileia signed the Condemnation of Athanasius; which greatly added to the Grief and Concern of Liberius, who, till that Time, had entertained the highest Opinion of him.

And now Constantius had the Satisfaction of seeing Athanasius condemned by the far greater Part of the Western Bishops. But the Bishop of Rome still declared openly in his Favour, and did all that lay in his Power to gain others to his Party. |Constantius endeavours in
vain to gain Liber-
ius;| To deprive him therefore of so powerful a Protector, the Emperor resolved to spare no Cost nor Labour. With this View he dispatched to Rome the Eunuch Eusebius, his great Chamberlain, with rich Presents in one Hand, and a threatening Letter in the other: but with an invincible Firmness Liberius withstood both; so that the Eunuch, who was himself a sworn Enemy to Athanasius, returned to Court baffled and disappointed; and there, by the Account he gave of his unsuccessful Embassy, added new Fuel to the Fire, which burnt already with great Violence. The Emperor, who pretended to govern the Church no less despotically than he did the State, transported with Rage at the stout Opposition he met with from the Bishop of Rome, immediately dispatched an Order to Leoncius, Prefect of that City, injoining him to apprehend Liberius, and send him under a strong Guard to Court. |who is sent Pris-
oner to Milan.| Pursuant to this Order, Liberius was seized in the Night-time, lest the People, by whom he was greatly beloved, should attempt his Rescue, and conveyed to Milan, where the Court then resided^[739]. Soon after his Arrival he was brought before the Emperor, when, undaunted and unawed by the Presence of so great a Prince, he spoke with all the Liberty of an Apostle, and with all the Eloquence of a great Orator^[740]. |His Interview with
the Emperor.| At this Interview were present Eusebius the Eunuch, and Epictetus Bishop of Centumcellæ, now Civita Vecchia, who, for his ready Compliance with the Emperor’s Will, had been raised by him to great Preferments^[741]. The latter told Liberius, when he had ended the excellent Speech he made before the Emperor, That he had indeed expressed great Zeal for the Purity of the Faith, and the Liberty of Councils; but the Whole was mere Mummery; and that he only wanted to be looked upon by his Party as a Person of some Significancy, and to brag among the Senators, on his Return to Rome, that he had had the Honour to dispute with the Emperor^[742]. The Eunuch too thought he must speak, but it was only to betray his Ignorance; for he reproached Liberius with defending Athanasius, who had been condemned, he said, as an Heretic, by the Council of Nice^[743]. As for Constantius, the only Reply he made to the Reasons alleged by Liberius in favour of Athanasius, and the Faith of Nice, was, That the wicked and impious Athanasius, as he styled him, had been condemned by the whole World; that, by his arrogant Conduct, he had provoked all Mankind, and himself in particular, by constantly stirring up his Brother against him; that therefore he looked upon the Defeat of Magnentius and Sylvanus, who had attempted to bereave him of his Crown, as less important to him than the deposing and condemning of a Man, by whom he had been so highly injured^[744]. In answer to this, Liberius begged, that, of all Men, he would not chuse Bishops for the Instruments of his private Revenge. Constantius made no Reply, but only told him, that he must either sign the Condemnation of Athanasius, or be sent into Exile; and that he allowed him Three Days to deliberate which of the Two he would chuse. |His Steadiness.| Liberius answered, with great Intrepidity, that he had already chosen, and was resolved; that in Three Days he should not change his Resolution; and therefore the Emperor might send him that Minute to what Place soever he pleased^[745]. The Three Days were not yet expired when the Emperor sent for him anew to Court, hoping the Fear of Banishment had softened him, as it had done most others, into a Compliance. But he found him unalterably fixed in the same Resolution; and therefore, despairing of being ever able to succeed in his Attempt, he ordered him to be conveyed forthwith to Berœa in Thrace^[746]. |He is banished to
Berœa in Thrace.| Liberius had not yet left the Palace, when the Emperor sent him a Present of Five hundred Pieces of Gold to defray his Charges: which he sent back by the same Person who brought them, saying, that the Emperor might want Money to pay his Troops. The like Sum was sent him by the Empress Eusebia; which, with the same Answer, he desired might be conveyed to the Emperor, adding, that if he knew not how to employ that Sum better, he might bestow it on Epictetus, or Auxentius the Arian Bishop of Milan, who would be very thankful for it^[747]. He left Milan Three Days after, and set out for the Place of his Exile. His Fate was no sooner known at Rome, than the Clergy, assembling the People, bound themselves by a solemn Oath, in their Presence, not to acknowlege any other for their Bishop so long as Liberius lived^[748].

Liberius being thus driven from his See, another was placed on it in his room; and the Person, whom the Emperor and the Arian Faction pitched upon, was one Felix, then only Deacon of the Church of Rome^[749]. But the Clergy could not proceed to a new Election, without an open Violation of the Oath they had taken; the People began to mutiny, and, assembling in Crouds, would suffer none of the Arian Faction to enter their Churches. The Imperial Palace therefore served instead of a Church; Three of the Emperor’s Eunuchs represented the People; and Three Bishops, Slaves of the Court, viz. Epictetus of Centumcellæ, Acacius of Cæsarea, and Basilius of Ancyra, ordained the new-elected Bishop^[750]. Thus was Felix chosen, and thus ordained. As Liberius was greatly beloved by the People, chiefly on account of his vigorous Opposition to Constantius, the Intrusion of Felix occasioned a great Sedition, in which many lost their Lives^[751]. The Clergy were not so zealous in the Cause as the People; for great Numbers of them, unmindful of the Oath they had taken, were by degrees reconciled to Felix, and communicated with him^[752]; whereas the People continued to abhor and avoid him at least till the Year 357. When Constantius came to Rome^[753]. |Constantius goes
to Rome.| For that Prince, being desirous to see the Metropolis of his Empire, undertook a Journey to Rome in the above-mentioned Year, and entered it in Triumph on the 28th of April^[754]. During his short Stay in that City, the Roman Ladies gave a signal Instance of the Zeal and Affection they still retained for their exiled Bishop. They thought a more favourable Opportunity could never offer to solicit the Emperor for his Return; and therefore, by a private Agreement among themselves, they pressed their Husbands, with great Earnestness, to lay hold of it, threatening to abandon them, if they did not, and repairing to their Bishop to share with him the Hardships of his Exile. The Husbands, unmoved by such Menaces, which they well knew would never take place, answered, that by such an Application they might incur the Displeasure of the Prince, which would prove fatal to them, as well as to the Person in whose Behalf they interposed; whereas, should they themselves take such a pious and commendable Office upon them, the Respect due to their Sex would, in all Likelihood, extort from the Prince the desired Favour, at least it would restrain his Resentment, and stifle all Thoughts of Revenge. The Proposal was universally applauded by the Ladies, unwilling to expose their Husbands to the dire Effects of the Emperor’s Indignation. |The Roman Ladies
intercede for Liberius.| On an appointed Day therefore, attiring themselves in an Apparel suitable to their Rank, that the Emperor in seeing them might know who they were, and treat them accordingly, they repaired to Court; and being immediately admitted to the Prince’s Presence, they conjured him, with Tears in their Eyes, to take Pity of that great City, of that numerous Flock, bereft of its Pastor, and, in his Absence, devoured by ravenous Wolves. This was not at all a courtly Language: however, Constantius, without betraying the least Emotion, said, I thought you had a Pastor. Is not Felix as capable of discharging the Pastoral Office as any other? Felix, replied they, is detested, and avoided by all. |The Emperor promises
to recall him.| At these Words the Emperor first looked grave; but, immediately changing his Gravity into a Smile, If so, said he, with great Complaisance, you must have Liberius again: I shall, without Delay, dispatch the proper Orders for his Return. An Edict was accordingly issued the very next Day, recalling Liberius to govern the Church jointly with Felix; for Constantius thought it inconsistent with his Honour, and the Imperial Dignity, to drive Felix from the See, on which he himself had placed him.

When this Edict was read, in the Presence of the Emperor, to the People assembled in the Circus, they applauded it at first, by way of Raillery, saying, That since the Spectators, at the public Sports, were divided into Two Parties, it was just and reasonable there should be Two Bishops to head them. The Multitude, not satisfied with thus pleasantly expressing their Dissatisfaction, cried out, immediately after, with one Voice, There is but One God, One Christ, One Bishop^[755]. And yet the Emperor was rather delighted than displeased with the Humour of the People, and the Liberty they took; for to what happened on this Occasion Ammianus Marcellinus probably alludes, where he writes, that Constantius, in exhibiting public Sports at Rome, was pleased with the Liberty they took to railly him, knowing it did not proceed from Pride or Ill-nature^[756]. Theodoret tells us, that to Acclamations so worthy of the Roman Piety the Emperor granted the Return of Liberius^[757]; and with him agree Sulpitius Severus^[758], and Ruffinus^[759]. But Sozomen^[760], and all the Writers of those Times, assure us, that his Return did not happen this, but the following Year 358. when he bought it dear, by signing the Condemnation of Athanasius, and the Symbol or Creed, composed by the Semi-Arians at Sirmium, now Sirmish in Sclavonia. Constantius, at the Request of the Roman Ladies and People, promised to recall him, as I have related; but it was on Condition, says Sozomen^[761], that he should agree with the Bishops of the Court, that is, with the Semi-Arians. The Firmness which Liberius had hitherto shewn, left no room to doubt of his rejecting such a Proposal with the greatest Indignation. But he now felt what before he had only beheld at a Distance: he began to compare the Ease and Plenty in which he had lived at Rome, with the Inconveniencies and Hardships of his present Exile. Besides, from the Menaces thrown out against him by the Emperor’s Officers, he apprehended his Life to be in Danger^[762]. 'Tis true, he had wished for an Opportunity of shedding his Blood in so good a Cause, as I have related above. But who is not brave at a Distance from Danger? The Jealousy he had of Felix, who, sitting in his Chair, acted the High Pontiff at Rome, was the Dalila, says Baronius^[763], speaking of his signing the Condemnation of Athanasius, who bereft this Samson of all his Strength and Courage. |Liberius signs the
Condemnation
of Athanasius, and
embraces the Doct-
rine of Sirmium.| However that be, it is certain, that the Strength and Courage, which he had with great Glory exerted on other Occasions, vanished at once. For he not only signed the Condemnation of Athanasius, but moreover approved and received as Catholic, the Confession or Symbol of Sirmium^[764]. Thus, to ingratiate himself with the Emperor, and return to Rome, did Liberius abandon, at last, his persecuted Friend, renounce the Catholic Faith, and solemnly promise to maintain inviolable the Doctrine of Sirmium^[765]. As he was impatient to be reinstated in his See, he took care immediately to acquaint the Emperor with the Steps he had taken. With this Letter he dispatched Fortunatianus Bishop of Aquileia, charging him to solicit Constantius for his Return, since he had done all he had required of him^[766]. Constantius took no Notice of, nor returned any Answer to, this Letter. On the other hand, Liberius was heartily sick of his Exile, heartily sick of suffering for the sake of Justice. |His Letter to the
Eastern Bishops.| In Hopes therefore of putting a speedy End to his Exile, and the Hardships attending it, he writ in a most submissive and cringing Style to the Eastern Bishops, assuring them, that it was merely out of Respect to his Predecessor Julius, and to maintain his Judgment, that he had undertaken the Defence of Athanasius; that as soon as it had pleased God to open his Eyes, and discover to him how justly he had been condemned, he had separated himself from his Communion, and joined them; that all their Decrees concerning him should be inviolably observed by the Apostolic See, as indeed they ought to be; that he sincerely and willingly received the true Catholic and Orthodox Faith, as it had been expounded and defined by several of his Brethren and Collegues at Sirmium, and had been proposed to him by his Collegue Demophilus; that he received every Article of that Symbol, and had nothing to object against any. This remarkable Letter he concludes thus: And now that I agree with you in every Point, let me earnestly intreat your Holinesses to employ your joint Interest in my Behalf, that I may be recalled from Banishment, and suffered to return to the See, which God has been pleased to commit to my Care^[767]. |He is anathematized
by Hilarius. His Letter
to the Bishops at
Court;| This Letter has been conveyed to us by the great Hilarius, Bishop of Poitiers, who, in relating it, not able to restrain the just Indignation it kindled in his Breast, interrupts the Recital Three times, to anathematize the Author of it, the prevaricating Liberius, as he styles him^[768]. He writ likewise to Ursacius, Valens, and Germinius, who bore great Sway at Court, and were at the Head of the Arian Faction in the West, to acquaint them, that he communicated with them, and also with Auxentius and Epictetus, Two of the most inveterate Enemies the Orthodox had; and that whoever did not communicate with them, that is, every Catholic Bishop, was cut off from his Communion. These Words Hilarius cannot repeat without anathematizing anew Liberius, and all the Arians with him. In the same Letter he lets them know, that he has separated himself from the Communion of Athanasius, late Bishop of Alexandria, acknowleging him, by that Expression, lawfully deposed. He declares, in the Beginning of his Letter, and calls God to witness, that it is not by Compulsion, but merely for the sake of Peace and Charity, far preferable to Martyrdom itself, that he writes to them. He conjures them, by the omnipotent God, by his Son Jesus, by the Holy Ghost, to intercede for him with the Emperor, that, by his Return, Peace and Tranquillity may be restored to the Church committed to his Care; assuring them, that the Zeal they exert in so pious, so just a Cause, will meet with a proportionable Reward in Heaven^[769].

As the Emperor had not yet taken the least Notice of his Letter; as the Eastern Bishops, as well as the Bishops at Court, did not act, as he thought, with all the Zeal and Expedition he expected, and his ready Compliance well deserved; |and to Vincentius,
Bishop of Capua.| he writ a Third Letter, directed to Vincentius, Bishop of Capua, acquainting him, that he had abandoned the Defence of Athanasius, and desiring him to give Notice thereof to all the Bishops of Campania; and, at the same time, to use his utmost Endeavours to persuade them to dispatch some of their Body with a Letter, in their common Name, to the Emperor, begging Constantius to deliver him, without further Delay, from his present most melancholy and deplorable Situation. To this Letter he adds the following Paragraph, in his own Hand: We live in Peace with all the Bishops of the East, and with you. As for me, I have discharged my Conscience before God. Will you suffer me to perish in my present Exile? The same God will judge us both^[770]. The Bishop of Capua had been formerly sent by Liberius to the Council of Arles, with the Character of his Legate, as I have observed above, and had there signed the Condemnation of Athanasius; on which Occasion Liberius wished for an Opportunity of washing out, with his own Blood, the Stain which the Conduct of his Legate had brought upon his Character. But his only Wish now was to see himself delivered from his painful Exile, and restored to his former State, upon any Terms. Vincentius, touched with his Complaints, prevailed upon the Bishops of Campania to send a solemn Deputation to the Emperor in his Behalf; which Constantius complied with, so far as to recall him from the Place of his Exile to Sirmium, where the Court then was^[771]. |He is recalled from
his Banishment to
Sirmium.| Upon his Arrival there, Constantius, who had lately embraced the Doctrine of the Semi-Arians, taking Advantage of his Weakness, and of the eager Desire he had betrayed of returning to his See, obliged him, as well as the Bishops of the Court, and Four African Bishops, who happened to be then at Sirmium, to sign the same Doctrine^[772]. |He signs the Doctrine
of the Semi-Arians.| Thus did the infallible Liberius sign, and embrace, at least in Appearance, both the Arian and Semi-Arian Heresy; the Arian at Berœa, the Place of his Exile, and the Semi-Arian at Sirmium. That the Confession he signed at Berœa was Arian, cannot be doubted; for it was the Second of Sirmium, which all agree to have been Arian^[N16]. Besides, it was proposed to him by Demophilus Bishop of Berœa, who was a most zealous Stickler for Arianism, and greatly attached to Ursacius and Valens, the Two leading Men among the Arians in the West; and it is not at all probable, that he would have required Liberius to sign a Doctrine different from that which he himself held.

The Advocates for the Pope’s Infallibility are here quite at a Loss what to say in Defence of that Prerogative. That Liberius signed the Condemnation of Athanasius, that he communicated with the Arians, and, what above all galls them, that he received the Sirmian Confession of Faith as Catholic and Orthodox, are undeniable Matters of Fact. To reconcile them with Infallibility, is what they have been long drudging at: and to what pitiful Shifts, what eluding and unmeaning Distinctions, have they not been obliged to recur! Like a Man struggling for Life in deep Water, and catching at every Twig to save it, they flounce from Quibble to Quibble, from one Subterfuge to another, but all in vain; sink they must, and their Infallibility with them. To shew their Distress, I shall briefly transcribe what I find offered on this Occasion, by the most learned among them, in Defence of the Cause they have undertaken. |What alleged by
Baronius in his
Defence;| Baronius^[773], after relating and owning the above-mentioned Facts, addresses his Readers thus: We have hitherto sailed among dangerous Rocks, among treacherous Sholes; but fear not, I shall at last pilot you safe into the Port of Truth. Then, dropping his Allegory, he makes a long Descant to prove, that the Sirmian Confession of Faith, signed by Liberius, was, in every Article, Catholic and Orthodox. A rare Pilot indeed! If this (to pursue his Allegory) is the Port of Truth, who can help pitying Jerom, Hilarius, Athanasius, and in short all the Antients? for they certainly missed it, and, falling in among those dangerous Rocks, those treacherous Sholes, which Baronius had the Skill and good Luck to avoid, were there unfortunately shipwrecked. For Jerom says, in express Terms, and in Two Places^[774], that Liberius signed an Heresy; Hilarius, that he approved of the Arian Perfidy^[775]; Athanasius, that he joined the Arians^[776]; and all the Antients, that he apostatized from the Faith: nay, Liberius himself, in his Letter to the Orientals, which is still to be seen, under his own Hand, in the Vatican Library, gives them Notice, that in all things he agrees with Demophilus, a most zealous Arian, and with them; which Words Hilarius could not repeat without anathematizing him. It is therefore manifest, beyond all Dispute, that the Confession of Faith, signed by Liberius, was not Catholic, but Arian. Of this Baronius himself was, without doubt, well apprised, and into this Port he had piloted his Reader, had Truth alone been his Land-mark. |and by Bellarmine.| Bellarmine, the other great Stickler for Infallibility, pursues a different Method, but with worse Success, in my Opinion, than his Fellow-Champion Baronius; for, by striving to support that chimerical Prerogative, he evidently oversets it. The Pope, according to him, may sign and receive heretical Opinions, as Liberius did, without prejudicing in the least his Infallibility, provided he does not internally assent to them^[777]; so that the so much boasted Infallibility is by him reduced at last to this; that the Pope cannot internally assent to an Error: which is confining his Infallibility to himself, and consequently disqualifying him for the Office of a Teacher. Infallibility, even thus curtailed, is, no doubt, a most valuable Treasure to the Owner, but of no more Use to the rest of Mankind than a Treasure concealed under-ground; and, on that very Account, it ought in common Sense to be exploded. But it is scarce worth the while to quarrel with Bellarmine about it, since he cannot be so unreasonable as to require us, in virtue of such a Prerogative, to pay any Regard to the Decisions of the Pope, till such time, at least, as we know them to be agreeable to his private Opinion: and this is what we can never know, since every Pope may, like Liberius, externally admit an Opinion as true; and, at the same time, internally reject it as false.