THE SOURCE OW THE NILE, 323 
the me St Athanafius, St Cyril, and St Chryfoftom wrote, the 
explanation of thefe points was uniform in favour of ortho- 
doxy, aad that while accefs could eafily be had to Jerufalem 
or Alexandria, then Greek and Chrittian cities, difficulties, 1f 
any arofe, were eafily refolved; yet, at the time the Jefuits 
came, thofe books were very rare in the country, and the 
contents of them fo far from being underftood, that they 
were applied to the fupport of the groffeft herefies, frona 
the mifinterpretation of the ignorant monks of thefe lat- 
tertimes. That the Abyflinians ihad been orthedox availed 
nothing: they were tben become as ignorant of the doc- 
trines of St Athanafius and St Cyril, as if thofe fathers had 
never wrote ; and it is their religion at this. period which the 
jefuits condemn, not that of the church of Alexandria, when 
im its purity under the firft patriarchs; and, to complete 
all their misfortunes, no accefs to Jerufaleni is any long- 
eropen to-them, and very rarely communication with Cairo, 
‘Ow the other hand, the Jefuits, who found that the Aby& 
finians were often wrong in fome things, were refolved to 
deny that they could be right in any_thing ; and, from at- 
tacking their tenets, they fell upon their ceremonies re- 
ceived in the Greek church at the fame time with Chrifti- 
anity ; and in this difpute they fhewed great ignorance and 
malevolence, which they fupported by the help of falfe- 
hood and invention. JI fhall take notice of only one in- 
fiance in many, becaufe it has been infifled upon by both 
parties with unufual vehemence, and very linle candour. 
Ir was fettled by the firft general council, that one bap- 
tifm only was neceflary for the regeneration of man, for 
freeing him from the fin of our firft parents, and lifling 
Sfa . him 
