He was, as the author of the life of Faustus Socinus relates, in a readi- ness to have published his notions and conceptions, when God, by his merciful providence, to prevent a little the pouring out of the poison by so skilful a hand, took him oft" by sudden death; and Faustus himself gives the same account of the season of his death in an epistle to Dudi- thius.'
At his death, Faustus Socinus, being then about the age of twenty- three years, seizing upon all his uncle's books, after a while returned into Italy, and there spent in courtship and idleness in Florence twelve years; which he afterward grievously lamented, as shall be declared. Leaving him a while to his pleasure in the court of the great duke, we may make back again into Poland, and consider the progress of the persons who made way for his coming amongst them. Having made their separation, and drawn many after them, they at length brought their business to that height that they came to a disputation with the reformed ministers at Peti'icove* (where the parliament of the kingdom then was) by tlie permis- sion of Sigismund the king, in the year 1565, whereof the ensuing account is given by Antonius Possevine the Jesuit, in Atheis. sui sajculi, cap. xiii. fol. 15.
The assembly of states was called against the Muscovians. The nobi- lity desiring a conference between the ministers of the reformed churches and the Antitrinitarians, it was allowed by Sigismund the king. On the part of the reformed churches there were four ministers; as many of the other side came also prepared for the encounter. Being met, after some discourse the chief marshal of the kingdom, then a Protestant, used these words, " Seeing the proposition to be debated is agreed on, begin, in the name of the one God and the Trinity."^ Whereupon one of the opposite party instantly cried out, " We cannot here say Amen, nor do w^e know that God, the Trinity."® Whereunto the ministers subjoined, "We have no need of any other proposition, seeing this hath offered itself; for, God assisting, we will, and are ready to demonstrate that the Holy Ghost doth
1 "Fuitetiara Ltelius Socinus Senensis incredibiliter ad contradicendum et varies nectendos nodes comparatus; nee, nisi postmortem, cognitusbujusmodi pemiciosissimis hseresibus laborare." — Epist. ad Eccles. Ortbodox Ep 81.
2 "Fuit is Laalius nobili honestaque familia natus, bene Graece et llebraice doctus, vitseque etiam externae inculpatse, quarum reruni causa niibi quoque intercesserat cum illo non vulgaris amicitia; sed bomo fuit plenus diversarum bajresium, quas tanien mihi nunquam proponebat nisi disputandi causa, et semper interrogans, quasi cuperet doceri. Hanc vero Samosatenianam imprimis annos multos fovit, et quoscunque potuit pertraxit in eundcm crrorem ; pertraxit autem non paucos : me quoque ut dixi divei'sis tcntabat rationibus, si eodem possit errore siniul, et a;terno exitio secum involvere." — Zancli. Pre- fat. ad lib. de Tribus Elohim.
s " Cum amicorum precibus permotus tandem constituisset, atque etiam ccepisset, sal- tern inter ipsos, nonnulla in apertum proferre." — Socin. ad Andrreum Duditbium.
* " Cum bis Antitrinitariis publicam babucrunt evangelici disputationem Petricovife in comitiis regni Sigism. 11 Aug., rege permittente, anno 1505. i)isputatores fuerunt," etc. — Rcgen. ubi supra.
* " Jam igitur constituta propositione qua de agendum est, in nomine Dei unius et Trinitatis exordimini."
« " Nos vero bic ncn dicimus Amen, nequc cnim nos noviiuus Deuni istum Trinitatcm."
22 PREFACE TO THE READER.
not teach us any other God in the Scripture, but him only who is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that is, one God in trinity."^
This colloquy continued three days. In the first, the ministers who ■were the op]ionents (the other always choosing to answer), by express texts of Scripture in abundance, confirmed the truth. In the beginning of their testimonies they appealed to the beginning of the Old and New Testament;* and upon both places confounded their adversaries. The second day the testimonies of the ancient writers of the church were produced, with no loss success. And on the third, the stories of Arius and some other heretics of old. The issue of the disputation was to the great advantao'e of the truth; which Possevine himself cannot deny, though he afilrms a little after that the Calvinists could not confute the Trinitarians, as he calls them, though they used the same arguments that the Catholics did, cap. xiv. p. 366.
Posse^'ine confesses that the ministers (as they called themselves) of Sarmatia and Transylvania, in their book of the False and True Knowledge of God, took advantage of the images of the Catholics;' for whose satisfac- tion, it seems, he subjoins the theses of Thyreus, wherein he labours to prove the use of those abominable idols to be lawful : of which in the close of this address.
And this was the first great obstacle that was laid in the way of the progress of the reformed religion in Poland ; which, by Satan's taking the advantage of this horrible scandal, is at this day, in those parts of the Avorld, weak and oppressed. AVith what power the gospel did come upon the inhabitants of those countries at the first, and what number of persons it prevailed upon to forsake their dumb idols, which in Egyptian dark- ness they had long worshipped, is evident from the complaint of Cichovius the priest, who tells us that " about those times, in the whole parliament of the dukedom of Lithuania, there were not above one or two Catholics," as he calls them, "besides the bishops."* Yea, among the bishops them- selves, some were come off to the reformed churches; amongst whom Geor- gius Petrovicius, bishop of Sarmogitia, is reckoned by Diatericus, Chron. p. 49. Yea, and so far had the gospel influenced those nations, that in the year 1542, upon the death of King Sigismund II., during the interregnum, a decree was made in parliament, with general consent, that no prejudice should arise to any for the protestant religion, but that a firm union should be between the persons of both religions, popish and protestant; and that whosoever was chosen king should take an oath to preserve this union and the liberty of the protestant religion. — Sarricius, Annal. Pol. lib. viii. p. 403.