pinion of almost all that went before me concerning this matter, I
find all of them holding one and the same opinion, in which they
have received the purpose and the predestination of God according to
His prescience; that for this cause God made some vessels of honour
and other vessels of dishonour, because He foresaw the end of every
man, and knew before how he would will and act" (_Whitby's Pos._, p.
449). This was a frank acknowledgment on the part of Prosper, who
was a man of ability, and Secretary to Leo, and it carried much
farther than was intended. The fact, however, was patent that the
Christian Church for some four hundred years was a stranger to what
is known as the doctrine of Calvin. The view thus stated is
confirmed by Neander. When Prosper and Hilary appealed to the Bishop
of Rome, they doubtless expected that he would favour the system of
Augustine, and condemn the Semi-pelagians (modern E.U.'s). If so,
they were mistaken. The bishop was chary, and whilst speaking
contemptuously of those presbyters who raised "curious questions,"
he left it undecided what the curious questions were. He had said in
his letter to the Gallic bishops, "Let the spirit of innovation, if
there is such a spirit, cease to attack the ancient doctrines;" but
he did not say what was ancient and what was novel. Neander upon
this remarks: "The Semi-pelagians, in fact, also asserted, and they
could do it with even more justice than their opponents, that by
them the ancient doctrine of the Church was defended against the
false doctrine recently introduced concerning absolute predestination,
and against the denial of free-will tenets, wholly unknown to the
ancient Church" (Vol. IV., p. 306). The concluding words are almost
identical with those of Mosheim, just quoted.

Bishop Tomline, who gave special attention to this phase of the
subject--viz., the state of opinion in the Church previous to
Augustine, says, "If Calvinists pretend that absolute decrees, the
unconditional election and reprobation of individuals, particular
redemption, irresistible grace, and the entire destruction of free
-will in man in consequence of the fall, were the doctrines of the
primitive Church, let them cite their authority, let them refer to
the works in which these doctrines are actually taught. If such
opinions were actually held we could not fail to meet with some of
them in the various and voluminous works which are still extant. I
assert that no such tr