Damasus a Native of Rome,

Liberius was succeeded by Damasus, whom the Spanish Writers, upon the Authority of Anastasius, suppose to have been a Native of Spain[[977]]; though there is no room to doubt of his being born in Rome, since it appears, from an Inscription quoted by Baronius[[978]], that his Father had been Lector, Deacon, and Presbyter, of the Church of St. Laurence in that City, and consequently must have lived there from his Youth. Damasus had a Sister named Irene, who embraced the State of Virginity, and died before she was Twenty, as we read in her Epitaph[[979]]. It is not therefore probable, that her Death happened in the Twelfth Year of her Brother’s Pontificate, as the Spanish Author of her Life tells us, he being then Seventy. Damasus served, as his Father had done, the Church of St. Laurence, till he was stricken in Years; for he was upwards of Sixty when raised to the Episcopal Dignity. |and Deacon of that
Church.| He was Deacon of Rome in 355. when Liberius was sent into Exile; on which Occasion he not only bound himself, with the rest of the Clergy, by a solemn Oath not to acknowlege any other Bishop so long as Liberius lived, but attended him on his Journey to the Place of his Banishment[[980]]. |Whether he aban-
doned Liberius,and
sided with Felix.| Marcellinus and Faustinus seem to insinuate, that soon afterwards, giving way to his Ambition, he forgot the Oath he had taken, abandoned Liberius, for whom he had professed the greatest Friendship, and sided with Felix his Antagonist[[981]]. But these Two Presbyters were zealous Partisans of the Antipope Ursinus, of whom hereafter; and therefore we ought to be very cautious of what they write to the Prejudice of Damasus. Jerom, who lived then at Rome, and in great Intimacy with Damasus, reproaches such of the Ecclesiastics as forsook Liberius, and joined Felix, with the Breach of a most solemn Oath; styles them Perjurers, Deserters, Time-servers, &c. which I cannot think he would have done so freely, had Damasus been one of the Number. I am therefore not a little surprised, that Baronius should blindly acquiesce to the Accounts of the above-mentioned Writers, and, without further Inquiry, condemn Damasus as guilty of Perjury, by ranking him among the Followers of Felix[[982]]. And yet the Annalist supposes him to have been appointed Great Vicar of Rome by Liberius, upon his withdrawing from the City to avoid the Persecution raised by Constantius after the Council of Rimini[[983]]: so that, according to him, he must have changed Sides anew, and, abandoning Felix, returned to Liberius, which is representing him as a Man swayed by no other Principles but those of Interest and Ambition, and therefore always siding with those who were uppermost. This is all we know of Damasus before his Election.

He is chosen Bishop
of Rome, and likewise
Ursinus.

Liberius dying on the 23d or 24th of September 366. as I have related above, great Disturbances were raised in Rome by the Election of Two Bishops to succeed him, viz. Damasus and Ursinus, whom the later Writers style Ursicinus, a Deacon of that Church. This double Election gave Rise to a dangerous Schism, and a kind of Civil War, within the Walls of the City, which did not end without a great deal of Bloodshed. I shall impartially relate what I find concerning this important Transaction in the contemporary Writers of either Side; leaving the Reader to judge which of the Two Pretenders was the Cause of so much Mischief, and which legally chosen. I shall begin with the Account which Marcellinus and Faustinus, who were then at Rome, give us of these Elections. They were both Presbyters of that Church, but, being strict Followers of Lucifer Bishop of Cagliari, of whom I have spoken above, they and their whole Party were deemed Schismatics, and consequently cruelly persecuted by the Catholic Bishops, especially Damasus. Finding themselves thus oppressed, the Two Presbyters, between 383. and 388. drew up a Petition in Behalf of themselves and their afflicted Brethren, addressed to Valentinian II. Theodosius, and Arcadius, intreating those Princes to protect their Innocence, and put a Stop to the unbridled Rage of their Enemies. With this Request the Two Presbyters repaired to Constantinople, being driven from Rome by Damasus, and there presented it to Theodosius, who, pitying their Condition, in his Rescript directed to Cynegius the Præfectus Prætorio, treated them as Catholics, granted them the free Exercise of their Religion, and declared all those wicked Men, nay, and Heretics, who had presumed, or should for the future presume, to persecute or molest them[[984]]. In the Preface, prefixed to this Petition, I find the following Account of both the above-mentioned Elections. Ursinus, say they, was chosen in the Basilic of Julius by the Deacons Amantius and Lupus, and the People, who had continued in the Communion of Liberius; but Damasus, by those who had adhered to Felix, assembled for that Purpose in the Church of St. Laurence, called in Lucinis. Ursinus was ordained the first, by Paul Bishop of Tivoli; which Damasus, who had always panted after the Episcopal Dignity, no sooner knew, than he hired a great Number of Chariot drivers, and other such despicable Wretches, who, violently breaking into the Basilic of Julius, massacred a great many People there. Seven Days afterwards they made themselves Masters of the Lateran Basilic, and there was Damasus ordained Bishop[[985]]. |Different Accounts of
these Elections.| This Account charges Damasus alone with the Schism, and the Evils attending it. On the other hand, the Council of Rome, held about Twelve Years after, lays the whole Blame on Ursinus, who, say they, boldly attempted to usurp a Dignity, which on no Score was due to him[[986]]; and that which met at Aquileia in 381. and consisted of all the most eminent Bishops of the West, ascribes to Ursinus, and his Temerity, the many Calamities the Church had suffered; paints him as a Man of no Credit, Character, or Reputation; and adds, that he seized by Force what he had no Hopes of attaining by lawful Means[[987]]. Ambrose writes, that the Suffrage of Heaven concurred in the Election of Damasus[[988]]. According to these Authorities Damasus was lawfully elected, and Ursinus unlawfully. As to the Particulars of his Election, Jerom, who perhaps was then at Rome, tells us, that Damasus was first chosen, and then Ursinus, who, after his Election, seized by Force on the Basilic of Sicinus[[989]], that is, according to the most probable Opinion, the Basilic of Liberius, now Saint Mary the Greater. Socrates says, that Ursinus having near as many Votes as Damasus, he was thereby encouraged to hold separate Assemblies, and to get himself ordained in a dark and retired Corner of the Basilic of Sicinus[[990]]. Ruffinus assures us, that Damasus was already ordained, when Ursinus, transported with Rage at his being preferred to him, assembled a great Number of seditious People, and, supported by them, caused himself, in Defiance of the Canons of the Church, to be ordained, in the Basilic of Sicinus, by Paul Bishop of Tivoli; whereas the Bishops of Rome were always ordained and consecrated by those of Ostia. After his Consecration, continues this Author, he ordained several Persons; which was adding a Sacrilege to his unlawful Election[[991]]. Both Ruffinus, and Socrates, who follows him, were certainly mistaken as to the Place of this Ordination, since we are told by Marcellinus and Faustinus, that Ursinus was ordained, not in the Basilic of Sicinus, but in that of Julius[[992]]. These Two Writers, who were in Rome at the Time of the Elections, tell us, in express Terms, that Ursinus was chosen before Damasus; and Jerom, who was probably in Rome at the same Time, assures us, in Terms no less express, that Damasus was chosen before Ursinus. The former were greatly addicted to Ursinus, and the latter no less attached to Damasus. As for the Two Councils, which I have quoted above, they were held some Years after, when the Party of Damasus had universally prevailed, and it was a Crime to acknowlege Ursinus. Jerom has been followed by most of the Writers who came after, and the Authority of the other Two quite disregarded, for no other Reason but because they were Schismatics; for they joined Lucifer, as I have observed above, and refused to communicate with the Bishops who had signed the Confession of Rimini, nay, and with those who communicated with them.

Great Disturbances in
Rome, occasioned by
this double Election.

By this double Election the Citizens of Rome saw themselves, before they were aware, involved in a Civil War. The whole People were divided, some siding with Damasus, and some with Ursinus; and neither of the Competitors shewed the least Inclination to yield to the other. No Day passed without Skirmishes and Bloodshed; insomuch that Juventius Governor of the City, and Julian the Præfectus Annonæ, to put a Stop to the present, and prevent greater Disturbances, agreed to banish Ursinus, whose Party seemed less powerful, together with his Two Deacons Amantius and Lupus. The Two Authors I have often quoted write, that both Juventius and Julian were bribed by Damasus, who, taking Advantage of the Absence of his Competitor, armed his Followers with Clubs and Swords, hoping thus to intimidate the Friends of the exiled Bishop, and bring them in the End to acknowlege him. Seven Presbyters of the Party of Ursinus were seized, at the Request of Damasus, in order to be sent into Exile, but rescued by the People of the same Party, and carried in Triumph to the Basilic of Liberius; which Damasus no sooner heard, than, arming all his Followers, both Clergy and Laymen, with Clubs, Swords, Axes, &c. he marched at the Head of the seditious and enraged Multitude to the Basilic, which he and his Partisans immediately invested, and attacked with the utmost Fury. |Several Persons
massacred.| It was set on fire in several Places; the Doors were forced, the Roof uncovered, and thence Showers of Tiles discharged on the People assembled there: great was the Massacre; One hundred and Sixty Persons, Men and Women, were inhumanly murdered on the Side of Ursinus, and a great many more wounded, some of whom died of their Wounds. On the Side of Damasus not one single Person was killed. This Riot began on the 25th of October 366. at Eight in the Morning.

The Sedition becomes
general.

Thus the above-mentioned Writer[[993]] Ruffinus writes in general Terms, that the illegal Election of Ursinus, in Opposition to Damasus, occasioned such a Tumult, or rather Civil War among the People, some siding with the one, and some with the other, that the Places destined for Prayer streamed with Human Blood[[994]]. The Heathen Ammianus Marcellinus assures us, that the Partisans of Damasus and Ursinus were so implacably incensed against each other, that several Persons were wounded in the Quarrel, and some killed: nay, it is certain, adds he, that in the Basilic of Sicinus One hundred and Thirty-seven Persons were found dead, all killed the same Day: but Damasus in the End, by the Efforts of his Party, got the better of his Antagonist[[995]]. Jerom, however partial, owns, that Ursinus having got Possession of the Basilic of Sicinus, the Partisans of Damasus repaired thither in Crouds, and that several Persons were thereupon inhumanly massacred[[996]]. The Sedition became general, and the Seditious on either Side so numerous and powerful, that Juventius, not thinking it adviseable to punish, nor being able to appease, the enraged Populace, abandoned the City, and retired to the Country[[997]]. He was perhaps for Ursinus, whose Party being over-matched by that of Damasus, he might not think it safe to continue in Rome. Three Days after the Massacre in the Basilic of Liberius, that is, on the 28th of October, the Partisans of Ursinus, say Marcellinus and Faustinus, assembling, cried out aloud against Damasus, complaining of his Conduct, and begging that a sufficient Number of Bishops might be convened, and the Controversy referred to their Judgment and Decision[[998]]. Damasus was greatly favoured, and chiefly supported, by the Roman Ladies, which probably gave Occasion to the Charge of Adultery that was brought against him. But Jerom, either to clear him of this Charge, or to obviate the like Suspicions, naturally arising from his familiar Conversation with the Female Sex, styles him a Virgin Doctor of the Virgin Church[[999]].

Damasus not easily
cleared from all
Guilt.