Mary (I)

I. MARY, the Mother of our Saviour Christ, and a Virgin at the same Time, Daughter of Joachim, and of Anna, of the Tribe of Judah, married to Joseph of the same Tribe. The Scripture tells us nothing of her Parents, not so much as their Names, unless Heli mentioned by Saint Luke be the Luke iii. 23.same as Joachim. All that is said concerning the Birth of Mary, and of her Parents, is only to be found in some apocryphal Writings, but which however are very ancient, as we have shewn before under the Article JOACHIM, and still more at large in our Dissertation, where we endeavour to reconcile Saint Matthew with Saint Luke, in the Business of our Saviour’s Genealogy. Mary was of the Royal Race of David, as also Joseph her Husband; and she was also a-kin to the Race of Aaron, since Elizabeth, the Luke i. 5, 36.Wife of Zacharias was her Cousin.

Mary very early made a Vow of Chastity, and engaged her self to a perpetual Virginity. The Apocryphal Books¹ tell us, that she was consecrated to the Lord, and offered in the Temple, from her Luke i. 34.earliest Youth, and that the Priests gave her Joseph for a Spouse, who was an holy and venerable old Man, whom Providence appointed for this Purpose by a Miracle, the Rod which he commonly carried having grown green and flourished, as Aaron’s did formerly. He espoused Mary, not to live with her in the ordinary Use of Marriage, and to have Children by her, but only that he might be the Guardian of her Virginity. Though these Circumstances are not to be relied on as certain, yet however Mary’s Resolution of Continency, even in a married State, cannot be called in Question, since her Virginity is attested by the Gospel, and that her self, speaking to the Angel, who declared to her that she should become the Mother of a Son, told him that she knew not a Man; or that she lived in Continency with her Husband. For which Reason when Joseph perceived her Pregnancy, he was extremely surprized and scandalized at it, and resolved to put her away, yet without Noise, and without observing the common Formalities. For he knew the mutual Resolution they had agreed to, of living in Continence though in a State of Marriage.

Luke i. 26, 27, &c.The Virgin Mary then being espoused², or, if you will, married to Joseph, the Angel Gabriel appeared to her to acquaint her, that she should become the Mother of the Messias. Mary asked him how this could be, since she knew no Man? To which the Angel replied, that the Holy Ghost should come upon her, and the Power of the highest should overshadow her, so that she should conceive without the Concurrence of any Man. And to confirm what he had said to her, and to shew that nothing is impossible to God, he added, that her Cousin Elizabeth, who was both old and barren, was then in the the sixth Month of her Pregnancy. Mary answered him, Behold the Hand-maid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy Word. And presently she conceived, by the miraculous Operation of the Holy Ghost, the Son of God, the true Emmanuel, that is to say, God with us. A little while after she set out for Hebron, a City in the Mountains of Judah, to visit her Cousin Elizabeth. As soon as ever Elizabeth had heard the Voice of Mary saluting her, her Child, young John the Baptist, leaped in her Womb, she was filled with the Holy Ghost, and cried out: Blessed art thou among Women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy Womb. And whence is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the Voice of thy Salutation sounded in mine Ears, the Babe leaped in my Womb for Joy. And blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a Performance of those Things which were told her from the Lord. Then Mary filled with Acknowledgment and supernatural Light, praised God saying. My Soul doth magnifie the Lord, and my Spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour. And the rest, as it is in the Hymn called Magnificat.

Mary continued with Elizabeth about three Months, and then returned to her own House. When she was ready to lie in, an Edict was published by Cæsar Augustus³, which decreed, that all the Subjects of the Empire should go to their own Cities, there to have their Names registered according to their Families. Thus Joseph and Mary, who were both of the Lineage of David, betook themselves to the City of Bethlehem, from whence was the Original of their Family. But while they were in this Place, the Time being fulfilled in which Mary was to be delivered, she brought forth her First-born Son. She wrapped him in Swadling-Cloths, and laid him in the Manger of the Stable or Cavern whither they had retired; for they could find no Place in the publick Inn, because of the great Concourse of People that were then at Bethlehem on the same Occasion. Or they were forced to withdraw into the Stable of the Inn, not being able to get a more convenient Lodging, because of the Multitude of People then at Bethlehem. The Greek Fathers⁴ generally agree, that the Place of Jesus Christ’s Birth was a Cavern. Justin⁵ and Eusebius⁶ place it out of the City, but in the Neighbourhood; and Saint Jerom⁷ says it was at the Extremity of the City towards the South. ‘Tis commonly believed, that the Virgin brought forth Jesus the Night after their Arrival at Bethlehem, or on the 25th of December. Such is the ancient Tradition of the Church. I shall not here mention the pretended Miracles related in the false Gospel of our Saviour’s Infancy, otherwise called the Gospel of Saint Thomas. Such Sort of Books deserve nothing but the utmost Contempt. The Fathers inform us, that Jesus Christ came out of his Mother’s Womb, without so much as breaking the Seal of her Virginity, that she brought him forth without Pain, and without the Assistance of any Midwife; because she had conceived him without Concupiscence, and that neither she, nor the Fruit she brought forth, had any Share in the Curse pronounced against Adam and Eve.

At the same Time the Angels made it known to the Shepherds, who were in the Fields near Bethlehem, and who came in the Night to see Mary and Joseph, and the Child lying in the Manger, and to pay him their Tribute of Adoration. Mary took Notice of all these Things, and laid them up in Luke ii. 19. Matth. ii. 8, 9, 10; 11, &c.her Heart. A few Days after the Magi or Wise-Men came from the East, and brought to Jesus the mysterious Presents of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrhe; after which being warned by an Angel that appeared to ‘em in a Dream, they returned into their own Countrey, by a Way different from that by which they came. But the Time of Mary’s Purification being come, that is, forty Days after the Birth of Jesus, Mary Luke ii. 21.went to Jerusalem, there to present her Son in the Temple, and there to offer the Sacrifice appointed by the Law, for the Purification of Women after Child-birth. There was then at Jerusalem an old Man named Simeon, who was full of the Holy Ghost, and who had received a secret Assurance that he should not die, before he had seen Christ the Lord. He came then into the Temple by the Influence of the Spirit of God, and taking the little Jesus within his Arms, he blessed the Lord; and then addressing himself to Mary, he said to her, “ That this Child should be “ for the Rising, and Falling of many in “ Israel, and for a Sign which shall be “ spoken against. Even so far as that thy “ own Soul shall be pierced as with a “ Sword, that the secret Thoughts in the “ Hearts of many may be discovered.

Afterwards when Joseph and Mary were preparing to return to their own Countrey Matth. ii. 13. 14.of Nazareth, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a Dream, bidding him retire into Egypt with Mary and the Child, because Herod had a Design to destroy Jesus. Joseph obeys the Admonition, and continued in Egypt till after the Death of Herod. The ancient Tradition of the Orientals is, that Joseph and the Virgin made their Abode at Hermopolis; and between Cairo and Heliopolis they still shew a Fountain and a Garden of Balm, in a Place called Matara, where they pretend that the holy Virgin made a Stop, and washed her Sons Linnen in the Fountain. This Place is even now in great Veneration in Egypt. After the Death of Herod, Joseph and Mary returned to Nazareth, not daring to go to Bethlehem, because it was in the Jurisdiction of Archelaüs, the Son and Successor of Herod the Great.

Mary and Joseph went every Year to Luke ii. 41, 42, &c.Jerusalem to the Feast of the Passover; and when Jesus was twelve Years of Age, they brought him along with them. When the Days of the Festival were ended, they were upon their Return, but the Child Jesus continued at Jerusalem, without their perceiving it; and thinking he might be with some of the Company, they went on a Day’s Journey. Then not finding him among their Acquaintance, they returned to Jerusalem to seek after him. Three Days after they found him in the Temple, sitting among the Doctors, hearing them and asking them Questions. When they saw him they were filled with Astonishment; and Mary said to him, my Son why have you served us thus? See here your Father and my self, who have sought you in much Affliction. Jesus answered them, Why did you seek me? Did not you know that I must be employed about my Father’s Business? Afterwards he returned with them to Nazareth, and lived in filial Submission to ‘em. But his Mother laid up all these Things in her Heart. The Gospel speaks John ii. 1, 2, 3, &c.nothing more of the Virgin Mary, till the Marriage of Cana of Galilee, at which she was present with her Son Jesus.

‘Twas in the thirty third of Jesus Christ, and the thirtieth of the Vulgar Æra, that our Saviour resolving to manifest himself to the World, went to the Baptism of Saint John, from thence into the Wilderness, and then to the Wedding at Cana of Galilee, where he had been invited with his Mother and his Disciples. The Wine beginning to fail, Mary said to Jesus, they have no Wine; to which Jesus answered; ” Woman, what have I to do with thee? ” Mine Hour is not yet come.” Saint Chrysostome⁸, and those that have been used to follow him in his Explications, believe that on this Occasion the holy Virgin had some Motive of Vanity, and was tempted with a Desire of seeing her own Credit raised by the Miracles of her Son. And this is what made our Saviour give her this Answer, which seems indeed something harsh. But the other Fathers and Commentators impute what was said by the holy Virgin, to her Charity, and her Compassion towards these poor People; and the Answer of our Saviour they impute, not to Jesus as Man, but to Jesus as God⁹. In this Respect he says to Mary, What have I to do with thee? I know when I ought to shew forth my Power, nor does it belong to you to appoint me the Time of working Miracles.

But there were in the Room six great Stone Pitchers. Jesus ordered them to be filled brim full of Water, and afterwards bid the Servants fill out, and carry to the Master of the House. The Master tasted of it, and found it was excellent Wine: And this is the first publick Miracle that he did, at the Beginning of his Preaching. After this he went to Capernaum with his Mother and his Brethren, that is, with his Parents and his Disciples; and this seems to be the Place where the holy Virgin afterwards chiefly resided¹⁰. However Saint Epiphanius¹¹ thinks, that she followed him every where, during the whole Time of his Preaching; though we do not find that the Evangelists make any Mention of her, when they speak of the holy Women that followed him, and ministered to his Necessities. One Day as Jesus Christ was in the House at Capernaum, there was so great a Crowd of People about him, that neither he nor his Disciples had so much Time as to eat¹². This caused a Report that he had fainted away. The Words in Greek¹³ might insinuate, that he was become mad, or had lost his Understanding. And the Vulgate reads it, Dicebant enim quoniam in furorem versus est. The Mother of Jesus and his Brethren were at Hand, to take him out of the Crowd. ‘Twas not they, without doubt, that made so wrong a Judgment of Jesus, but the ignorant People, or the Pharisees, who said in the same Place, that he was possessed of the Devil. The Virgin, the Brethren, or the Parents of Jesus came then to see what had given Occasion to the spreading of this Report. Jesus being informed of their coming, and that they wanted to speak with him, made this Reply; Who is my Mother, and who are my Brethren? And looking upon those that were round about him, he said; These are my Mother, and my Brethren. For whoever does the Will of God, he is my Mother, my Sister, and my Brother.

The Virgin was at Jerusalem, at the last Passover that our Saviour celebrated¹⁴ Acts i. 14.there¹⁵. There she saw all that was transacted against him, she followed him to Calvary, she staid at the Foot of his Cross, with a Constancy and Courage worthy of the Mother of God. There Jesus seeing his Mother, and his beloved Disciple near her, he said to his Mother, Woman behold thy Son, and to the Disciple, Behold thy Mother. And from that Hour the Disciple took her home to his own House. It is not to be doubted but that our Saviour appeared to his holy Mother immediately after his Resurrection, and that she was the first, or at least one of the first, to whom he vouchsafed this great Consolation. She was with the Apostles at his Ascension, and continued with ‘em at Jerusalem, expecting the coming of the Holy Ghost. After this she dwelt in the House of Saint John the Evangelist, who took Care of her as of his own Mother z. ‘Tis thought that he took her along with him to Ephesus, where she died in an extream old Age¹⁶. There is a Letter of the Oecumenical Council of Ephesus¹⁷, importing, that in the fifth Century it was believed she was buried there.

Yet this Opinion was not so universal, but that there are Authors of the same Age, who think the Virgin Mary died and was buried at Jerusalem. The Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria being anxious to find the Body of the holy Virgin, to put it in the Church called Blachernus at Constantinople¹⁸, applied themselves to Juvenal, then Bishop of Jerusalem, who told them that her Sepulcher was at Gethsemani near to Jerusalem; which Sepulcher Marcian ordered to be transported to Constantinople. ‘Tis added, that the Figure of the Body of the Virgin was engraved upon the Stone, and that this was not the Work of any Man’s Hand. From this Time they have continued to shew the Virgin’s Tomb at Gethsemani, in a magnificent Church dedicated to her Name¹⁹; and there it is shewn still to this Day. ‘Tis said²⁰, that the Apostles being dispersed in different Parts of the World, to labour in the preaching of the Gospel, all on a sudden they were miraculously transported to Jerusalem, that they might be present at the Decease of the blessed Virgin. After her Death, they buried her Body in the Valley of Gethsemani, where for three whole Days were heard Concerts of heavenly Singers. At the End of three Days, when this Concert ceased, and when Saint Thomas arrived at Jerusalem, who had not assisted at the Virgin’s Burial, and yet was desirous to see the holy Corpse, the Apostles opened her Tomb again: But not finding the Body there, they judged that God was pleased to honour it with Immortality by an anticipated Resurrection, which should go before that of all other Men. But it must not be dissembled, that these Sorts of Traditions are very uncertain, to say no worse of ‘em.

Luke ii. 35.Some²¹ have believed, that the holy Virgin finished her Life by Martyrdom, grounding themselves upon those Words of old Simeon, A Sword shall pierce through thy own Soul also. But this is generally explained by the Affliction she should undergo, at the Sight of her Son’s Crucifixion, there being no History that mentions any Thing of her Martyrdom. Saint Epiphanius²² declares, that he could not affirm whether she died or continued immortal, whether she was buried or not. That in a Word, no one knew what was her End, but he doubted not if she died, she had had a happy Death. The Sentiments of the Church at this Day are, that she is dead; but they are divided as to her rising again, or whether she stays for the general Resurrection, either at Ephesus, or at Jerusalem, or in any other Place. Upon this Subject may be seen Florentius in his Notes upon the ancient Martyrology of Saint Jerome, Baronius upon the 48th Year of Christ, F. Thomassin in his Treatise of the Feasts, M. Joli, Chanter and Canon of Notre-dame at Paris, in his Dissertations upon Usuard, M. de Tillemont Hist. Eccles. T. i. Notes 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. on the holy Virgin.

As to the Age at which she died; and the precise Year of her Death, ‘tis needless to trouble our selves with this Enquiry, since nothing can be said on these Matters but what is very doubtful; and they cannot be fixed but at Random. Nicephorus Calistus, and those that have followed him, give no Proof of what they advance on this Subject, and deserve no Credit as to their own Parts. Nor shall I speak of the Description of the holy Virgin, given us by the same Author²³, saying that she was of a moderate Stature, or according to some, a little below the ordinary Stature of Women: That her Complexion was of the Colour of Wheat, her Hair fair, her Eyes lively, the Eyeball yellowish, or Olive-Colour, her Eyebrows black and Semicircular;²⁴ her Nose pretty long, her Lips red, her Hands and Fingers large, her Air grave, simple, and modest, her Clothes neat, without any Pride or Ostentation, and of the natural Colour of the Wool. It has been pretended, that Saint Luke had drawn her Picture, and in several Places they shew Pictures of her, which they affirm to be Copies from Saint Luke’s Original. But the Antients have no where informed us, that Saint Luke was a Painter, or that he had painted the holy Virgin. Nicephorus Callistus²⁵, an Author of the fourteenth Century, is the first that has spoke of this in a positive Manner. But Theodorus²⁶, Lecturer of the Church of Constantinople, who lived in the sixth Century, says that Eudotia sent from Jerusalem to Constantinople, to the Empress Pulcheria, a Picture of the holy Virgin painted by Saint Luke. Certain it is that this holy Evangelist has acquainted us with some Particulars of the Life of the holy Virgin, that could hardly be learned from any one but her self; which may incline us to believe, that he had the Happiness of her Acquaintance, and a good Share of her Confidence.

There are shewn some Letters of the Virgin Mary to Saint Ignatius the Martyr, and from Saint Ignatius to the Virgin Mary. Saint Bernard²⁷ believed them to be genuine, but now there is no one doubts but that they are spurious. The same Judgment is made of the pretended Letters of the Virgin to the People of Messina, and to those of Florence, which they pretend she writ from Jerusalem in Hebrew, but were translated by Saint Paul into Greek, at least that to the Messenians, and which Constantine Lascaris turned into Latin. I shall not here enter into any Discussion of the Worship, or of the Feasts of the Virgin, of the Times in which they were instituted, or of the Design proposed by the (Roman) Church herein. This Matter does not properly belong to my Subject, but rather to those that compile the Lives of the Saints.

The Jews, the professed Enemies of our Saviour, have vented many Falsities against her, in their Book called Toledos Jesu²⁸, or the Life of Jesus Christ.

They pretend that Mary was a Milliner, and married to one named Johanan; that she suffered her self to be corrupted by one called Panderus, who had a Son by her called Joshua, or Jesus; that Panderus, or Pantherus, withdrawing to Babylon, Mary was forced to keep her Son. Akiba took a Journey to Nazareth, on Purpose to inform himself concerning the Birth of Jesus, who from his Childhood distinguished himself at School. He found from Mary her self, that she had been guilty of Adultery. At his Return Jesus was seized, was shaved, and his Head was washed with a Water, which prevented the Hair from growing again. Hence it is that his Disciples shave their Heads. He would insinuate by this, the Custom that has obtained among Priests and other religious Persons, of receiving the Tonsure. They add, that at Mary’s Death they set up a stately Monument for her at Jerusalem, with an Inscription upon it, which cost the Lives of an hundred Christians of Jesus’s Relations, who had distinguished themselves on this Occasion. These are the Fables which the Jews have propagated concerning the Virgin Mary.

The Mahometans²⁹ on the contrary entertain great Sentiments of Respect and Esteem for her, which one would hardly believe of People so far out of the Way of Truth and Salvation. But they do not confine themselves within the Limits of Truth and Sobriety; for they add many fabulous Stories to what we otherwise know concerning Mary. They say, for Example, that Ann the Mother of Mary, and Wife of Amram, being with Child of her, made a Vow to the Lord of whatever Child should be born, whether it should be Male or Female. That God gave the Name of Mary to the Child; that Ann gave the Child to keep to Zacharias the Priest, who shut her up in one of the Chambers of the Temple, the Door of which was so high, that they went up to it by a Ladder, and he always carried the Key about him.

Zacharias made her frequent Visits, and whenever he came he always found about her all the most exquisite Fruits of Palestine, and such as were most out of Season. This put him upon enquiring how she came by such fine Fruits. To which Mary answered; Whatever you see here comes from God, who provides for those that please him all good Things, without Measure or Number.

As to the Purity of the holy Virgin, in her Birth, and in the Conception of the Word, and as to her Virginity both before and after her bringing-forth, they speak in such a Manner as might well be a Shame to many Christians. They say that the Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary, to declare to her the Birth of Jesus Christ. He said to her, O Mary, thou art elected, purified, and in a most particular Manner chosen from among all the Women of the World. O Mary, submit your self to the Lord, prostrate your self, and adore him, with all the Creatures that worship him. I am come to tell you a great Secret. God declares his Word to you, whose Name shall be Christ, or Jesus the Messiah, who shall be your Son, most worthy of Respect both in this and the other World.

Abulfarage writes in his Dynasties, that it was a Tradition among the Oriental Christians, that the holy Virgin was but thirteen Years of Age when she brought forth Jesus Christ, and that she lived but to be fifty one. Some Mussulmen falsly impute to the Christians, that they acknowledge the Virgin Mary as the third Person of the Holy Trinity; which Mistake proceeds from hence, that the Christians of the East give her the Name of Al-seidai, which signifies the Lady; and among the Greek Fathers Saint Cyril has called her, The Supplement or Completion of the most holy Trinity; but others among the Mahometans vindicate us from this Calumny.

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