There remains one more of the first rank, as they are sorted by our catechists, for the proof of the eternity of Christ,- which is also from John, chap. viii. 58, "Before Abraham was, I am," that they insist on: —
In this place the pre-eternity of Christ is not only not expressed, seeing it is one thing to be before Abraham, and another to be eternal, but also, it is not so much as expressed that he was before the Virgin Mary. For these words may otherwise be read, namely, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was made, I am : " as it appears from those places in the same evangelist where the like Greek phrase is used, chap. xiii. 19, xiv. 29.
Q. What then would be the sense of this reading?
A. Very eminent. For Christ admonisheth the Jews, who would have ensnared him in his speech, that whilst they had time, they should believe in him as the light of the world, before the divine grace which Christ offered to them should be taken ft-om them and be carried to the Gentiles. But that these words, " I am," are to be supplied in that manner as if himself had added to them, " I am the light of the world," appears, because that in the beginning of his speech, verse 12, he had twice in these words, " I am," called himself the light of the world, verses 24, 28. And that these words, " Before Abraham be," do signify that which we have said, may be perceived from the notation of that word " Abraham ;" for it is evident that " Abraham" denotes " the father of many nations." Seeing, then, that Abram was not made Abraham before the grace of God manifested in Christ redounded to many nations, for Abraham before was the father of one nation only, it appears that that is the very sense of the words which we have given.'
' " In hoc loco non solum non exprimitur prsB-aeternitas Christi, cum alind sit, ante Abrabamum fuisse, aliud, pi-se-seternum ; verum nc hoc quidcm expressum est, ipsum
232 VINDICIiE EVANGELICE.
If our ad versaries- can well quit themselves of tliis evidence, I be- lieve they will have no small hopes of escaping in the whole trial; and if they meet with judges so partially addicted to them and their cause as to accept of such manifest juggling and perverting of the Scriptures, I know not Avhat they may not expect or hope for, especially seeing how they exult and triumph in this invention, as may be seen in the words of Socinus himself in his answer to Eras- mus Johannes, p. 67. For whereas Erasmus says, " I confess in my whole life I never met with any interpretation of Scripture more wrested, or violently perverting the sense of it ;" the other replies, " I hoped rather that thou wouldst confess that in thy whole life thou hadst never heard an interpretation more acute and true than this, nor which did savour more of somewhat divine, or evidenced more clearly its revelation from God. I truly have not light conjec- tures that he who brought it first to light in our age (now this was he who in this age renewed the opinion of the original of Christ, which I constantly defend)" (that is, his uncle Lselius) " obtained it of Christ by many prayers. This truly I do affirm, that whereas God revealed many things to that man at that time altogether unknown to others, yet there is scarce any thing amongst them all that may seem more divine than this interpretation."^
Of this esteem is this interpretation of these words with them. They profess it to be one of the best and most divine discoveries that ever was made by them ; whereto, for my part, I freely assent, though
ante Mariam Virginem fuisse. Et enira ea verba aliter legi pofsse (nimirum hac ratione, Amen, amen, dico vohis, Priusquam Abraham fiat, ego sum) apparet ex iis locis apud eundem evangelistam, ubi similis et eadem locutio Grseca habetur, cap. xiii. 19, Et modo dico vobis, priusquam fiat, ut cum factum fuerit credatis ; et cap. xiv. 29, Et nunc dixi vohis pri- usquam fiat, etc.
" Qute vcro ejus sententia foret lectionis ? — Admodum cgrcgia : etcniin admonet Christus Judceos, qui eum in sermone caperc volebant, ut dum tempus haberent. crede- rent ipsuni esse mundi lucem, antequam divina gratia, quam Christus iis offerebat, ab iis tolleretur, et ad Gentes transferretur. Quod vero ca verba, ego sum, sint ad eum modum supplenda, ac si ipse subjecisset iis. Ego sum lux mundi, superius e principio ejus orationis, ver. 12, constat et liinc, quod Cliristus bis seipsum iisdem verbis, ego sum, lucem mundi vocaverit, ver. 24, 28. Ea vero verba, Priusquam Abraham fiat, id signi- ficarc quod diximus, e notatione nomiuis Abraham deprehendi potest ; constat inter omnes Abrahamum notare patrem multarum gentium. Cum vero Abram non sit factus prius Abraham, quam Dei gratia, in Christo manifcstata, in multas gentes redunda- ret, quippe quod Abrahamus unius tantum gentis antea pater fuerit, apparet senten- tiam liorum verborum, quam attulimus, esse ipsissimam."
' " Fateor me per omnem vitam meam non magis contortam scripturije interpreta- tioncm audivisse; ideoque eam penitus improbo."^ — Eras. Johan. "Cum priniuni fa- tendi vcrbum in tuis verbis animadvert!, si^crabam te potius nullam in tua vita scrip- turae interpretationcm audivisse, quoe llac sit acutior aut verier; queeque magis divinum quid sapiat, et a Deo ipso patefactum fuisse pra; se ferat. Ego quidem certe non leves conjecturas habeo, ilium, qui primus ajtate nostra eam in lucem pertulit (hie autem is fuit, qui primus quoque scntentiam de Christi origine, quam ego constantcr defendo renovavit) ]ii-ccibus multis ab ipso Christo impetrasse. Hoc profecto affirmare ausim, cum ])eus illi viro permuUa, aliis prorsus tunc temporis incognita, pateiecerit, vix quidquam inter ilia omnia esse quod interpretationc hac divinius videri qucat." — Socin. Disput. cum Eras. Johan. arg. 4, p. 67.