BULL, 



howfvcr, iTcMpe the aiiimndverfions anj cenfurcs of fcvcral 

 r.iitiirian writer-. Fivo years after the conip!et:o i of this 

 bojk, the author was ])refeiitcfl to the valuable retlory of 

 Avcning, ill Gloiiccllerlhii-e. Soon after, in 1C1S6, he was 

 ))ronu;tiJ by archhilhop Sancroft, to the archdtaconi-y of 

 JyMidj'il ; «r:d in coiifidei-ation of his eminent fervices to the 

 church, tlie iiniverfity of Oxford conferred upon him the 

 dcjjrce of dodlorin divinity. During the reign of James II. 

 he preached « ith r;reat ardour aa;ainlt the errors of popery. 

 In l6;4, he pubhihed his " Jiidicii:m Ecclefice Cathohca;, 

 &c. ;'' in defence of tlie anatliema, decreed by the firll 

 council of Nice. I'or this work the author received the 

 thanb of the whole body of the clergy of France ; though, 

 i-orlidercd as the vindication of an anathema, which con- 

 «lcmns fomc of the highell ornaments of literature and chrif- 

 tianity both in and out of the church, it will not now be 

 regarded as entitling Dr. Bull to any very dillinguifliing 

 commendation. The lall treatife written by thi.-i learned 

 author, was his « Primitive Apollolical Tradition of the 

 Doclrine received in the Catholic Ch\n-ch, concerning the 

 Divinity of our Saviour JcfusChrill, afferted, and evidently 

 demonUrated, ag.-iinll Daniel Zuricke the Prufiian, and his 

 late Followers in England." Ail his Latin works, pub- 

 iiilicd by himftlf at dlifercnt times, were collcfted and 

 printed in 1703 in one volume, folio, by Dr. J. E. Grabe, 

 with a preface and annotations. In 1705, Dr. Bull was 

 promoted to the bilhopric of St. David's; and taking his 

 leat in the houfe of peers, in the fcfTion, when the bill pafTed 

 tor the union of both kingdoms, lie bcn-e tellimony in favour 

 ot the church of England, as being " in her doarine, difci- 

 pline, and worfnip, moil agreeable to primitive and apofto- 

 hcal inftitution." He rtfidcd conllantly in hi* diocefe, and 

 carefully difeharged all the epifcopal funflions ; but in 1710 

 he clofed his laborious and ufefnl lift at Brecknock, the cuf- 

 tomary place of his rcfidencr, where he was interred ; leav- 

 ing beliiiul him a w dow and two children, the furvivors of 

 eleven. liis conlUtution was naturally firm and vigorous; 

 but Lis inceffant ai)plication had to a conliderable degree 

 impaired it before the clofe of his life. His temper was 

 lively, irritable, and inclined to melancholy ; nor does he 

 feem to liave been entirely free from a linaure of fuperlU- 

 tion. He was remarkable for the firmncfs of his mind, and 

 for an habitual fenfe of religion, which influenced his con- 

 duct after the full deviations of his youth. His learning 

 was recommended by the modelly that accompanied and 

 adoriied it ; and his patience, piety, and chrillian hope were 

 lignally exemplil^ed during the piinful paroxvfr.is of the 

 drleafe tliat terminated his life. Bid. op Bull's fcnnons and 

 brger diicourfes were publiflied in 171; by Mr. Nrlfon in 

 three volumes, 8vo. The firll of thefe volumes contains two 

 fcrmonson the intermediate Hate, which were re-publi!hed in 

 *7''j by the late profelTor Chappelow, and which have been 

 animadverted upon by tlie author of the " Hillorical View 

 of the Controverfy concerning the intermediate State, &c." 

 All the bifhop's works have been publillud together, in 

 folio, by Mr. Ndfon, who alfo publiflied his "°Life" in 

 171 7, 8vo. Biog. Brit. 



Bull, iq Ecctefiajllcul Writers, denotes an inftrument dif- 

 patched out of the Roman chancery, fealed with lead ; an- 

 Iweiing to the edids, letters patent, and provifions, of fccu- 

 lar princes. 



The bull is thus defcribed by Matthew Paris, anno 1257 : 



" {" '',"",? '^r"'"" ^"^" -fi"' '"'"S" Pa"l'' a dextris trucis h 

 medio bulU fgurata, it Petri a Jini/Iris." 



The vvord iu// IS derived from L/Za, a feal ; and that from 

 t:>Ua, a drop, or bubble : or, according to others, from the 



Greek, (Sa:.»i, comic'i! : according to Pezron, from the Celtic 

 huil, or bill, a bubble. 



We meet with four kinds of thefe luHi or bull.!;; golden, 

 filver, waxen, and leaden ; all in ule among the emperors 

 and kings of the middle and barbarous ages. In fome, tlie 

 imprcfiion is made on the folid metal itielf ; in others o;i 

 wax ; and only enclofcd in a metalline box, or cafe. 



Sealing with metals is an illuilrious privilege, belonging 

 only to princes, though ailumed alio by prelates, ;is 

 princes of the church. The doges of Veuice durll not 

 arrogate this honour, till leave was given them by pope 

 -Alexander III. about the year 1170, to feal their diplomata 

 with lead. 



The hull \i the third kind of apodulical refcript, and the 

 moll in ufe, both in affairs of juHice and of grace. It is 

 written on parchment; by which it is dillinguiflied from a 

 brief, or {\mr,\i Jignnlnre, which is on paper. A bull is 

 properly a fignatnre enlarged : what the latter comprehends 

 in a few words, the former dilates and amplifies. 



If the bulls be letters of grace, the lead is hung on fiiken 

 threads ; if they be letters of jnftice, and executory, the lead 

 is hung by a hempen cord. Thev are all written in an old 

 round Gothic letter. 



The bull, in the form wherein it is to be difpatched, is 

 divided into five parts; viz. the narrative of the (aft ; tlie 

 conception ; the claufe ; the date ; and the fahitation, in 

 which the pope takes on himfelf the quality ot " fervant of 

 the fervants of God," prv.is feri'ofum Del. 



Properly Ipeaking, it is the feal or pendant lead alone 

 that is the bull : it being that which gives it both the title 

 and authority. The feal prcfents, on one fide, the heads of 

 St. Peter and St. Paul ; on the other, the name of the pope, 

 and the year of his pontificate. 



By bnlU, jubilees arc granted : without them no bidiops 

 in the Romilh church are allowed to be confccrated. In 

 Spain, bulls are required for all kinds of benefices ; but in 

 France, &c. fimple fignaturcs are fufficient ; excepting for 

 biflioprics, abbeys, dignitaries, and priories conventual. 

 According to the laws of the Roman chancery, no benefitf, 

 exceeding twenty-four ducats per annum, (liould be con- 

 fe-rred without bulls: but the French would never fubmit 

 to this rule, except for fuch benefices as are taxed in the 

 apollolical ciiamber : for the rell, they referve the right of 

 diflembling the value, expreffing it in general terms: Ciijiis 

 Ji* tin forfan aii'iexorum fra^us i\ diicntorum auri de cam.ra, 

 fectindum communem ejlimalioncm, falorem aiinuum non exce- 

 diint. 



The bulls brought into France were limited and mode- 

 rated by the laws and cuftoms of the land, before thev were 

 regillered ; nor was any thing admitted till it had been well 

 examined, and found to contain nothing contrary to the 

 liberties of the Gallican church ; thofc words, pn/J^rio viotii, 

 in a bull, were fufficient to make the whole be reiefled in 

 France. Nor do the Spaniards admit the papal bulls impli- 

 citly ; but, having been examined by the king's council, if 

 there appear any reafon for not executing them, notice 

 thereof is given to the pope by a fupplication ; and the 

 bull, by this means, remains without effeft : and the like 

 method of proceeding with the court of Rome is obferved 

 by mod of the other courts of Europe, in the papal com- 

 munion. 



To fulminate bulls, is to make pnblication thereof, by one 

 of the three commiflioners to whom they are direfttd ; 

 whether he be the bilhop or oiScial. This publication is 

 fometimes oppofed ; but when it is, the fault is not charged 

 on the pope who ifTued the bull; but an appeal is brought 



to 



