for you may imagine, what kind of faith theirs was, when the chief doctors, and fathers of their church, were the poets. but the true god haul this attribute, that he is a jealous god; and therefore, his worship and religion will endure no mixture, nor partner. we shall therefore speak a few words, concerning the unity of the church; what are the fruits thereof; what the bounds; and what means?the fruits of unity (next unto the well pleasing of god, which is all in all) are

two; me one, towards those that are without the church; the other, towards those that are within. for the former, it is certain, that heresies, and schisms are of all others the greatest scandals; yea more than corruption of manners. for as in the natural body, a wound or solution of continuity is worse than a corrupt humour, so in the spiritual. so that nothing, doth so much keep men out of the church, and drive men out of the church, as breach of unity: and therefore, whensoever it cometh to that pass, that one saith, ecce in deserto; another saith, ecce in penetralibus; that is, when some men seek christ in the conventicles of heretics, and others in an outward face of a church, that voice had need continually to sound in men’s ears, nolite exire, go not out. the doctor of the gentiles (the propriety of whose vocation drew him to have a special care of those without) saith: if an heathen come in and hear you speak with several tongues will he not say that you are mad? and certainly, it is lime better when atheists, and profane persons, do hear of so many discordant and contrary opinions in religion; it doth avert them from the church, and maketh them to sit down in the chair of the scorners. it is but a light thing, to be vouched in so serious a matter, but yet it expressed! well the deformity.

他們教會中底主要宗師和長老乃是詩人，從這個就可以想到他們底宗教是什么樣的一種宗教了。但是真正的上帝有這種性質，就是他是個“忌邪的神”;因此他底崇奉和宗教便決不容有混雜和伴侶。所以我們想關于教會底統(tǒng)一說幾句話，所說的是其結果如何;其界限如何;其方法如何。統(tǒng)一底結果(僅次于得上帝底喜悅，而得上帝底喜悅是至善至美的)有二，一是對教會以外的人的，一是對教會以內的人的。對于前者，無疑地異端和分裂是各種丑事之最丑者;真的，這兩樁事甚至比傷風敗俗還壞。因為，如同在肉體上創(chuàng)傷或割裂是比一時不良的體液為劣，在精神上亦復如此。所以再沒有比“統(tǒng)一底破壞”更能使在外者不入教堂，在內者急欲出外的了。因此，到這種情形的時候——就是，有的人說“看哪，他在曠野之中”。又有人說：“看哪，他在密室之內”。那就是說，有的人在異端的秘會里找尋基督，又有人在教堂的外表上找尋基督——在這種時候我們底耳中須常有那話——“不要出去”。那“外邦人底宗師”(他底使命底特性使他對于在教會以外的人特別地在意)曾說：“假如一個異教徒進來，聽見你們七嘴八舌地說話，他難道不要說你們是瘋了么?”再者，那無神論者和世俗之人聽見宗教之中有如許沖突矛盾的意見，他們底意見比上面所說的異教徒底意見必然好不了多少;這種情形使他們要離開教堂，去“坐在褻慢人底座位之上”