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 8217;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.
他们教会中底主要宗师和长老乃是诗人，从这个就可以想到他们底宗教是什么样的一种宗教了。但是真正的上帝有这种性质，就是他是个“忌邪的神”;因此他底崇奉和宗教便决不容有混杂和伴侣。所以我们想关于教会底统一说几句话，所说的是其结果如何;其界限如何;其方法如何。统一底结果(仅次于得上帝底喜悦，而得上帝底喜悦是至善至美的)有二，一是对教会以外的人的，一是对教会以内的人的。对于前者，无疑地异端和分裂是各种丑事之最丑者;真的，这两桩事甚至比伤风败俗还坏。因为，如同在肉体上创伤或割裂是比一时不良的体液为劣，在精神上亦复如此。所以再没有比“统一底破坏”更能使在外者不入教堂，在内者急欲出外的了。因此，到这种情形的时候——就是，有的人说“看哪，他在旷野之中”。又有人说：“看哪，他在密室之内”。那就是说，有的人在异端的秘会里找寻基督，又有人在教堂的外表上找寻基督——在这种时候我们底耳中须常有那话——“不要出去”。那“外邦人底宗师”(他底使命底特性使他对于在教会以外的人特别地在意)曾说：“假如一个异教徒进来，听见你们七嘴八舌地说话，他难道不要说你们是疯了么?”再者，那无神论者和世俗之人听见宗教之中有如许冲突矛盾的意见，他们底意见比上面所说的异教徒底意见必然好不了多少;这种情形使他们要离开教堂，去“坐在亵慢人底座位之上”
（实习编辑：高奕飞）