nd consoler," or "restorer;" because, as I have
above intimated, whatever may have been the word employed by Irenaeus,
the passage proves nothing as to the lawfulness of our praying to the
saints. If the angels at God's bidding minister unto the heirs of
salvation; or further, if they plead our cause with God, that would be
no reason why we should invoke them and pray to them. This distinction
between what they may do for us, and what we ought to do with regard to
them, is an essential distinction, and must not be lost sight of. We
shall have occasion hereafter to refer to it repeatedly, especially in
the instances of Origen and Cyprian. I will now do no more than copy in
a note the entire passage from which the sentence now under
consideration has been extracted, that the reader may judge whether on
such a passage, the original of which, in whatever words Irenaeus may
have expressed himself, is utterly lost, any reliance can satisfactorily
be placed.

("Manifeste itaque in sua propria venientem Dominum et sua propria eum
bajulantem conditione quae bajulatur ab ipso, et recapitulationem ejus
quae in ligno fuit inobedientiae per eam quae in ligno est obedientiam
facientem, et seductionem illam solutam qua seducta est male illa, quae
jam viro destinata erat virgo Eva, per veritatem evangelizata est bene
ab angelo jam sub viro virgo Maria. Quemadmodum enim illa per angeli
sermonem seducta est ut effugeret Deum praevaricata verbum ejus, ita et
haec per angelicum sermonem evangelizata est ut portaret Deum obediens
ejus verbo. Et si ea inobedierat Deo, sed haec suasa est obedire Deo, uti
virginis Evae virgo Maria fieret advocata. Et quemadmodum astrictum est
morti genus humanum per virginem, salvatur per virginem, aequa lance
disposita virginalis inobedientia per virginalem obedientiam. Adhuc enim
protoplasti peccatum per correptionem primogeniti emendationem
accipiens, et serpentis prudentia devicta in columbae simplicitate,
vinculis autem illis resolutis, per quae alligati eramus morti." St.
Augustin (Paris, 1690. vol. x. p. 500.) refers to the latter part of
this passage, as implying the doctrine of original sin; but since his
quotation does not embrace any portion of the clause at present under
our consideration, no additional light from him is thrown on the meaning
of Irenaeus.) {122}

But passages occur in Irenaeus, which seem to leave doubt, that neither
in faith nor in practice would he countenance in the very lowest