The Character 75
the worshipping of the sacrament in their mass, for they know that no man can be certain of the intention of him that consecrates it.
The Character 1. An unremovable character, which may be imprinted in the soul and consist there without grace, even in a man damned, is never spoken of either in the Scriptures or fathers. "The first tradition of this character," says Durandus, lib. 4, dist. 4, q. 1, "we have from Dionysius Areopagita, who seems to agree with what we have said of the character, for he recites a certain custom observed in the primitive church at baptisms of men grown, namely, the bishop did lay his hands upon him or her that was to be baptized, signing them with the sign of the cross, and commanding them to be written among the names of the Christians, thenceforth to be with them admitted unto the other mysteries. And this exterior rite in baptism was the characterizing of them, nor did he mean any other character." Scotus, in Sent. 4, dist. 6, q. 9, thinks it impossible to prove the character either out of Scriptures or fathers, but teaches that we must believe it, because of the authority of the church. And Biel, in 4 dist. 6, quest. 2, doubts whether the church has defined that there is such a character, adding that there is but one authority
(namely of Innocent III, cap. Majores extra. de Baptismo) which makes for the character.
2. The ancient writers by the term character do sometimes understand the external form, order, and ceremony of baptism, or baptism itself; and in their writings, to impress or infix the character is to baptize or to profess the faith in baptism. "I attend unto the faith in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost," says
Augustine, Ser. de gest. cum Emerit., "This is the character of my