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350 THE HISTORY OF HERESIES,
own words, and these errors are both numerous and pernicious,
especially those regarding the Mysteries of the Trinity, and the
Incarnation of the Eternal Word, against which especially the
devil has always worked, through so many heresies ; for these
Mysteries are the foundation of our Faith and salvation, as Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, is God made man, the fountain of all
Graces, and of all hope for us ; and hence, St. Peter says that,
unless in Jesus, there is no salvation :
in any other" (Acts, iv, 12).
"
Neither is there salvation
3. I was just concluding this Work, when I heard of
Berruyer s work, and the writings opposing it ; and, to tell the
truth, I was anxious to conclude this work of mine, and rest
myself a little after the many years of labour it cost me ; but
the magnitude and danger of his errors induced me to refute his
book as briefly as I could. Remember that, though the work
itself was condemned by Benedict XIV. and Clement XIII., the
author was not, since he at once bowed to the decision of the
Church, following the advice of St. Augustin, who says
that no
one can be branded as a heretic, who is not pertinaciously
attached to, and defends his errors :
"
Qui sententiam suam,
quamvis falsam, atque perversam, nulla pertinaci animositatc
defendunt corrigi parati cum invencrint, nequaquam sunt
inter Hrereticos deputandi."
4. Before we commence the examination of Berruyer s
errors, I will give a sketch of his system, that the reader may
on two
clearly understand it. His system is founded principally
Capital Propositions, both as false as can be. I say Capital ones,
for all the other errors he published depend on them. The first
and chief proposition is this, that Jesus Christ is the natural Son
of one God, but of God subsisting in three Persons ; that is to
say, that Jesus Christ is Son, but not Son of the Father, as
Principal, and first Person of the Trinity,
but Son of the Father
subsisting in three Persons, and, therefore, he is, properly speak
ing, the Son of the Trinity. The second proposition, which
comes from the first, and is also what I call a Capital one, is
this, that all the operations of Jesus Christ, both corporal and
spiritual, are not the operations of the Word, but only of his
Ilumanity, and from this, then, he deduced many false and
damnable consequences. Although, as we have already seen,