him Infallible which point is stretched to the utmost by the Jesuits because if that stands fast all the rest is soon proved Wherefore what has been taught formerly and if I am not mistaken is taught even to this Day by the Doctors of the Sorbon viz. that the Councils are equal to or rather above the Pope is destructive to the very fundamental Constitution of the Popish Monarchy since this Doctrine smells strongly of a Democracy which is directly contrary to a Monarchy And it is not easily to be reconciled how the Pope who pretends to have such great Prerogatives above all others should be subject to the Censure of his Cretures and Vassals For as they will have it whatsoever either the Holy Scripture or the antient Fathers have attributed to the Church ought altogether to be applied to the Pope in like manner as what is spoken of a whole Kingdom is commonly to be understood of the King The Laiety has been debarred from reading the Holy Scripture by which means not only the Authority of the Clergy is maintained among the People as if the Priests were the only Men that have a privilege to approach to the Divine Oracles but also the Laiety is thereby prevented from finding out those points in the Scripture which are repugnant to the Interest of the Clergy For if the People should once get a true Understanding of the Scripture they would not be so forward to follow so blindly the Instructions of the Priests They also by this means prevent the Laiety from diving too deeply into Divinity which they pretend belongs only to the Clergy and for this reason it is that they attribute the Power of explaining the Scripture to the Pope only that nothing may be brought to light which may in any ways be prejudicial to the spiritual Monarchy For the same reason the Pope pretends to have the sole Authority of deciding all Controversies whatsoever It is also given out among the People that the Holy Scripture is imperfect which must be explained by antient Traditions whereby they gain this point that if they invent any Doctrine for the Interest of the spiritual State whereof there is not the least footsteps to be found in the Holy Scripture they without any other proof may only have recourse to the antient Traditions The distinction betwixt Venial and Mortal Sins as also what is alledged de casibus reservatis is barely invented for the benefit of the Clergy That infinite number of Books of Confession enough to fraight whole Fleets withal is not published with an intention to correct Vices but that by laying a Tax upon the same the Clergy may the better be able to maintain their Grandeur and satisfie their Avarice The most comfortable Doctrine of remission of Sins has wholly been accommodated to the Interest of the Clergy For because it would not have turned to the profit of the Clergy if every one who truly repented should obtain remission of his Sins only by Faith in the Merits of Christ it has been the Doctrine of the Church of Rome that it was an essential piece of penitence and the means to obtain forgiveness of Sins if a most exact and precise account of every individual Sin committed was given to the Priest By which means they not only keep the People under their Devotion and make such impressions upon them as are fitting for their purpose but they also come thereby to the knowledge of all Secrets Counsels Designs and Inclinations of the People which they make good use of for their benefit notwithstanding that they are under an obligation not to reveal any thing that is told them by way of Confession for else it would be impossible for them to persuade the People to act against the natural Inclination of all Mankind The Priest has also a Power to command works of satisfaction to be done whereby he commonly has his good share For tho' certain Prayers Pilgrimages Fasts Flagellations and the like are often imposed upon them for Penances yet they also very often condemn some and especially the richer sort in a good sum of Money to be given instead of a Penance to a certain Monastery Church or the Poor among whom are the Mendicant-Fryars These honest Fellows call themselves minimos fratrum according to the 25. Chap. of St. Matthew that they may have a fair shining pretence to fill their Purses For by this Interpretation the Christains have got this benefit that they are obliged to feed and maintain 100000 lazy idle Fellows Besides this the first sort of Penance may be redeemed with Money if you think it too hard to be performed And who that is wealthy would not be civil and liberal towards his Father-Confessour to oblige him to a mitigation of the Penance or because he has already shewed himself favourable before Why good Works have been made meritorious and the means of obtaining Salvation from God Almighty is easily to be guessed For when they were to give a definition of good Works they were sure to put in the first place that the Pople ought to be liberal towards the Clergy Churches and Monasteries and to perform every thing which is commanded them by the Pope and his adherents tho' never so full of Superstition and Hypocrisy Neither must this be forgot that they also have taught that the Monks are not only able to perform good Works sufficient for themselves but that also they have an overplus of Merits which they can fell to the Laiety And out of this overplus they have laid up an inexhaustible store very profitable to the Clergy which costs them nothing which does not grow musty nor ever decays and which cannot be returned upon their hands when the Buyer finds out the Cheat. Their Religious Exercises are so full of Ceremonies so many superfluous Feasts and Processions are instituted so many Chapels are Altars erected only to employ so great a number of Clergymen who else would appear like so many idle Fellows whereas now it turns all to their profit which is also the reason why they have encreased the number of Sacraments of seven since they know that none of them can be administred but the Priest gets by it The Mass without Communicants has been introduced and proclaimed a Sacrifice both for the dead and the living that they might have an opportunity to put both the dead and the living under Contribution For no body undertakes any thing of moment but he has a Mass sung first for the good success of the thing in hand No body of wealth dyes but he orders a good store of Masses to be sung for his Soul all which brings grist to the Priest's Mill. On the other hand after it once was become an abuse that the Laiety did receive the Sacrament without partaking of the Cup it was made into a Law And tho' the contrary was very evident both by the Institution of Christ and
among them as Foreigners § 4. But the Christian Religion is not only much clearer and also has other great Prerogatives above the Jewish which Consideration we will leave to the Divines But it is also freed from those Circumstances which were particular to the Jewish Religion and endowed with all Qualifications requisite for an universal Religion wherefore every one is obliged to receive and embrace it which deserves particularly to be remarked that hereby we may investigate and penetrate to the very bottom the propriety and genius of the Christian Religion For here is no particular place appointed by God Almighty for performing in publick the Divine Service nor can any place claim a Prerogative before another so that no Nation henceforward has any occasion to make exception about the remoteness of the Temple but in all places you may lift up holy Hands unto him no Temple in the World having any particular promise appertaining to it that God will sooner hear your Prayers in that than in another No Nation has according to the Christian Religion a precedency before another whereby one may claim a Prerogative above the other Here is no Jew no Greek no Bond nor Freeman but they are all one in Jesus Christ Here is no particular Family or Tribe appointed by God for the publick administration of Divine Service as it was among the Jews but none is excluded here provided he be endowed with the necessary Qualifications There is no Article in the Christian Religion which forbids us to cultivate with others either familiarity or to render to one another the Duties required from us by the Law of Nature It is purely and by it self considered quite separated from all worldly Ends and Interests yet is her Doctrine not in the least repugnant to or alters Civil Society or Laws as far as they are consonant to the Law of Nature but it rather tho' that is not her main intention confirms the same There is nothing to be found in the Christian Religion which is destructive to the Ends of Civil Society or which hinders us from living honestly quietly and securely under the protection of Civil Magistrates or from executing in every respect the highest Civil Power according to the Law of Nature true Reason and the Necessities of the State or from administring all Offices and performing such Duties without offending against the Rules of Christianity as are requisite for the maintaining a State established according to the Law of Nature The Christian Religion rather promotes all these things expresly commanding us strictly to observe every Commandement of the Law of Nature and especially those where no temporal punishment could be conveniently inflicted by the Civil Constitutions and to perform our Duty with all Faithfulness and Zeal as far as the same is consonant with Honesty and the Law of Nature Wherefore not any Philosophy or Religion whatsoever is in this point to be compared with the Christian Religion which may be evident enough to all who will make a true comparison betwixt this and all the rest And every body is therefore obliged as he hopes to answer for his Soul before God not only to receive the Christian Religion but also all Sovereigns and Magistrates ought for the above-mentioned reasons and out of a Duty belonging to their Office to introduce and maintain it It is objected that the Effects of the Christian Religion are not so visible nor that the Life and Conversation of a great many Christians is not different from that of the Heathens and Turks it is to be observed that this Fault is not to be imputed to the Christian Doctrine but to the Inclinations of such as profess the name of Christians but will not in earnest apply themselves to alter their evil Inclinations and to live according to the wholesome Precepts of this Religion § 5. As what we have hitherto said can scarce be denied by the more understanding sort so there arises now a Question viz. Whether according to the Doctrine of the Christian Religion it is absolutely requisite that the outward Direction or Government of the same be committed to another besides him who has the supreme Civil Power in a State or which is much the same Whether according to the Christian Doctrine it be necessary that the outward Government of it be lodged with the whole Body or one of the Clergy in particular independent of the Supreme Magistrate Or whether there ought to be but one Sovereign Administrator of the Christian Religion on whom all other Christian States ought to depend in this Point Or which some take for the same thing whether every State ought to be governed according to its own Constitutions and Interest Or whether all other States are obliged to be Slaves to one and to promote the Interest of that one with the Detriment and Ruin of their own By the outward Direction or Government of the Christian Religion we understand the Power of constituting certain Persons for the exercising of the publick Divine Service and the supreme Jurisdiction over their Persons the supreme Administration and Direction of such Possessions as are dedicated to Religious Services The Power of making Laws for the outward maintenance of Religion and the determining of such Differences as may arise among the Clergy under what pretext soever it may be and such like We make a great difference betwixt the outward Direction of Religious Affairs and betwixt the Ministry of the Church which consists in teaching preaching and administring of the Sacraments all which doubtless belong only unto the Clergy This Question also is to be understood of a Church already planted and established not of a Church that is to be planted and established For since the Christian Religion owed its Original to Divine Revelation no humane Power could pretend to have any Direction in the same before this Doctrine was throughly proposed and taught by such as had an immediate Authority for so doing from God Almighty For when our Saviour after his Resurrection did send his Disciples as Delegates and Apostles throughout the whole World to publish and introduce the Christian Religion they received their Commission for Preaching every where not from the supreme Civil Magistrates but from God himself wherefore Kings as well as the common People were obliged to acknowledge them as immediate Messengers of God and obediently to submit themselves to their Doctrine and it would be next to an absurdity if any one should pretend to a Direction in such Matters as he was not instructed in before From whence arises this Consequence that what has been said is to be understood of such Sovereigns or supreme Magistrates as themselves profess the true Christian Religion but not of those who are Infidels or erroneous in the chief Articles of the Christian Faith For to commit the Direction of Religion to the latter would be to make the Wolf a Shepherd § 6. This Question may be considered in
three-several ways First Whether this Necessity arises from the Nature of each Religion in general Or Secondly Whether it arises from the Genius of the Christian Religion in particular Or Thirdly Whether the same is imposed upon us by Divine Institution or the particular Command of God That it should proceed from the natural Constitution of Religion in general I am in no ways able to find out For Reason does not tell me that if I intend to serve God I must of necessity make a division in the State and thereby introduce two different Powers independent of one another The dismembring of the supreme Power or such a double-headed Sovereignty in a State administers continual Fuel which at last breaks out into Jealousies Divisions and intestine Commotions On the other hand it is in no ways contrary to Reason to serve God and at the same time leave the supreme Direction of the outward Matters belonging to Divine Service to such as have the supreme Power in the State if we suppose that those who have the supreme Power in their Hands will not impose any thing upon their Subjects which is false or erroneous It cannot be denied that as every one is bound by the Law of Nature to serve God also is it at the same time in his Power to perform the outward Ceremonies in such a manner as he believes they are most pleasing to God But after Civil Societies were instituted that same Power is thereby devolved to those who have the supreme Administration of Affairs in a Civil Society And the most antient Fathers who did not live under any regulated Government exercised this Power in their Families which used to be transferred to the Eldest Son as haereditas eximia or a hereditary Prerogative if the Brothers after the Father's death did resolve to live together in one Community But when afterwards Civil Societies were instituted the same Power was transferred to the Heads of these Societies and that out of a weighty Consideration For if every one had been left to his free Choice in this Point the various and different Ceremonies in the Divine Service must needs have introduced Confusions Divisions and intestine Commotions And tho' by the Jews the publick Ministry was hereditary to one particular Family yet the inspection and supreme Direction was among them reserved to those who had the supreme Civil Power in their Hands as the same is practised among most other Nations § 7. Neither can any Reason be given why the Christian Religion is particularly so qualified as to imply a necessity that the abovementioned Direction should be committed to any other than the supreme Magistrates tho' it contains something more than is taught us by the Light of Nature since we suppose that by vertue of this directive Power they ought not to impose any thing upon us contrary to the Word of God nor be a hinderance to the Priests in performing the Ministry according to the Ordinances of God in the Holy Scriptures Neither can I find out any Reason why the supreme Magistrates should want means duly to qualify themselves for this Administration or Direction At least they may let this Direction be exercised under their Authority by such as have acquired sufficient abilities for the same In like manner as Sovereigns exercise their Power by others in Civil Affairs so the Power of making Laws was never denied to appertain to Sovereigns tho' it is certain that a Doctor or Professor of the Law ought to be better instructed in them than is required from a King For both in these and other Matters Sovereigns ought to act with the Advice of such as have applied themselves throughly to such Affairs And as it is against the Interest of a Good and Wise King if this Power be not well exercised so it is both his Duty and Interest to see the administration of Religious Matters well performed For the more zealous and earnest he is in maintaining the Christian Religion the more obedient and better qualified his Subjects are likely to be and he may the better hope for the Blessing of God Almighty Neither can any thing be alledged why God Almighty should not as well afford his Assistance to a Christian and Orthodox Sovereign as to any other to perform this Government praise-worthily Lastly because the Christian Religion does not in any other way derogate from Civil Ordinances and Laws or from the Power of Civil Magistrates as far as they are founded upon the Law of Nature so it is not to be supposed that it disagrees from this in this one Point except a positive Command of God can be alledged for the proof of this Assertion Whether there be such a Command in the Holy Scriptures which expresly forbids Sovereigns to intermeddle with this Direction and allows the same to others in the highest degree of Sovereignty without any dependency at all those are obliged to prove who endeavour to maintain this Assertion In the mean while we will inquire into the first Occasion and by what degrees this Ecclesiastical Monarchy was established in the Western Churches § 8. The Apostles therefore having after the Ascension of our Saviour according to the Instructions received from his own Mouth begun to spread the Doctrine of the Christian Religion in far distant Countries met with great approbation in a short time both among the Jews and other Nations but more especially among the Common People which having hitherto lived in gross Ignorance and in a miserable Estate very joyfully received this Doctrine which enlightened and comforted them in the miseries of this Life The Apostles also themselves who were of mean Extraction and of no great Authority used to converse most among this sort of People as having the most easie access to them as their equals But Men of Quality and Learning did scare at first think it worth their while to apply themselves diligently to search into the bottom of this Religion and very few of them would profess it If we may inquire into the Reasons why it was the pleasure of the Wise God to choose this way of planting the Christian Religion it seems very probable that God was not pleased to introduce the Christian Religion by the Power and Authority of Civil Magistrates nor by the Assistance of Learned Men because it might not be deemed hereafter a State Trick or a Philosophical Speculation but that whenever a due comparison might be made betwixt the slender beginnings and prodigious encrease of this Religion the World might from thence conclude that the whole was something above humane Power And because the Learned had proved unsuccessful with all their subtilties in their Discoveries concerning Divine Matters and that Socrates and some others who were sensible of the vanity of the commonly received Superstitions and had condemned them as such had not been able to abolish those and in lieu thereof to introduce a better Religion God Almighty was willing to convince the
has not a little contributed tho afar off the Barbarity and ignorance which after the decay of the Roman Empire did spread itself over the Western parts For bad Wares are best vented in the dark or at least by a dim light And an ignorant person is sooner prevailed upon to believe ridiculous Stories than a wise Man versed in all sorts of Sciences There were several causes which promoted this barbarity which did degenerate afterwards into the worst sort of pedantry whereas the former Age had been sufficiently instructed with learned Men. One of the principal ones was the Invasion made upon the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire by those Nations who tho sufficiently Brave were ignorant of Learning which occasioned for one or two Ages after great Changes in the Government bloody Wars horrible disorders and all sorts of miseries in the Empire And Learning being the product of Peace and Prosperity it is little regarded in times of War or during the Distractions of a State since then there is but little leisure time given for the use of Books The Schools are commonly destroyed and the Teachers obliged to make shift where best they can a Musquet being at such times of more use than a School Satchel The School-Masters especially are forced to shut up Shop at such times if the victorious Enemy is ignorant of Learning and makes no account of Books There are also some who affirm that the Clergy was accessary to this barbarism For because the Philosophers had under the Reigns of the Pagan Emperours proved very mischievous to them and afterward under the Christian Emperours continued to oppose themselves against the Clergymen especially these had conceived such a hatred against Philosophy and against all such as professed it that they not only infused the same into their Auditors but also removed out of the Schools and took from the young Students who were committed to their care the Pagan Authors under pretence that they might otherwise be again infected with the erroneous Principles of the Pagans and that it could not but be sinful for Christians to read such Books as were filled every where with the names of the Pagan-Idols which they would not have as much as named by Christians They related a Story concerning S. Hierom how that he was whipped in a Vision with Rods because he used frequently to Read the Works of Cicero and about the year 400. after the Birth of our Saviour the Council of Carthage forbid the Bishops the reading of Pagan Authors And Learning being in those miserable times become almost useless except to those who intended to profess Divinity and the remnants of Learning being lodged therefore among the Clergy the main Institution in the Schools was only directed for that Purpose and the rest of the young Disciples were not very forward to dive much into the secrets of Antient Learning And that Ignorance and Barbarism have greatly promoted the establishment of Popery is evident enough to those who will consider that in a learned Age those Decretals which are ascribed to the first Popes could never have passed Muster which nevertheless have been made use of to persuade the People that the Bishops of Rome have exercised an Authority from the very beginning of Christianity to prescribe Laws ot the Christian World But when afterwards the times proved more favourable in Europe and the Popes perceived that some among the most considerable Nations of Europe could not be longer kept in a gross Ignorance they introduced into the Schools over which they had assumed the Supreme Direction the most miserable sort of Pedantry which is also maintained by their Creatures with great earnestness in their Schools to this very day But above all the rest it seems that the ignorance of the true Principles of Policy has had a main stroke in laying the Foundation of Popery for want of which they were not then duely instructed concerning the Foundation Nature and Perfection of the Supreme Civil Power and that no State could be esteemed well Established where the Supreme Civil Power was either divided or diminished And the Grecian and Roman Politicians themselves had divulged most pernicious Doctrines concerning the division and mixture of the Supreme Power whereby they had enamoured the People with an Aristocratical or Democratical sort of Government but infused into them such a hatred against Monarchy that it was a common Maxim among them that the more they could incrâ—â—ch upon the Authority of the Prince the more it must turn to the advantage of the State In this pernicious Opinion a great many were confirmed by the Tyrannical proceedings of the Emperours who were mortally hated by most of their Subjects It was therefore no great wonder that at the time of this general Ignorance the knowledge of true Policy was not taught among the Christian Clergy since it seem'd to them to be repugnant to their Profession From hence it was that when by degrees the Foundation of the Ecclesiastical Sovereignty was laid few did throughly understand of what Consequence this undertaking was and how prejudicial it would prove to the Supreme Civil Power when ever it could be brought to perfection And we see even to this day that in those Schools which are under the care of the Popish Clergy the Principles of true Policy are either neglected or at least so disfigured that they may not be hurtful to the Authority of the Popes but rather serve to support it § 15. But the chief reason why Rome was chosen for the place of Residence of the Ecclesiastical Monarchy seems to be that this City had a particular Prerogative of being the Capital City of the Roman Empire where the Christian Religion at first had its râ—se and increase For what is related concerning S. Peter's Chair is nothing but a vain pretence which may be easily seen from thence that afterwards the Bishop of Constantinople had the next place assigned him after the Bishop of Rome only because that City was then the place of Residence of the Emperour and new Rome And when afterwards the Western Roman Empire was come to decay and the City of Rome had lost its former lustre the Bishop of Constantinople disputed the precedency with the Roman Bishop After the Persecutions which the Christians had endured under the Pagan Emperours were ceased and they afterwards enjoyed their full Liberty the Clergy began under pretence of introducing a wholesome Order in the Church to Establish a particular sort of Government or Hierarchy the Bishops having then begun to claim a great Prerogative above the Priests The Bishops also were made subordinate to one another so that commonly the inspection over the Bishops in a certain Province was committed to the Bishop of the Capital City of the same Province who being then called Metropolitans did afterwards viz. about the Eighth Century most of them assume the name of Archbishops Four of them were most eminent above
Money It is reported of the House of the Barbarini's that at the death of Vrban VIII they were possessed of 227 Offices and Church-Benefices most of them reckoned at three five eight and ten Thousand Seudi a piece whereby it is said they got together a Treasure of 30 Millions of Scudi This has been represented as a very scandalous thing by some but if duly considered it is a great folly to suppose that since the main intention of the Popish Sovereignty is to enrich the Clergy the Popes should stifle their natural inclination toward their Kindred and not make Hay whilst the Sun shines This is rather to be look'd upon as a common Infirmity that Favourites and others whilst they are Fortunate are envied by others who are vexed because Fortune is not so favourable to them Besides that the Revenues of the Church are so great that the Popes since they need not entertain any considerable Army scarce know how to employ them better Since the time of Pope Vrban VIII a Custom has been introduced to make one of the Pope's Nephews Chief Minister of the Ecclesiastical State whom they call Cardinal Patroon Cardinal Patrono Among other Reasons why the Pope commits the management of Affairs to one of his Nephews this is alledged for one that by reason of the nearness of Blood he ought to be preferred before others and that by so doing the Pope's Person is better secured against any attempts which are sooner made upon his Life than of other hereditary Princes whose death their Successours are able to revenge How fearful the Popes are of Poyson may be judged from thence that as often as the Pope receives the Sacrament his Chaplain who is to administer the Bread and Wine is obliged to taste of both before the the Pope It is also pretended that by the Ministry of the Nephews this Advantage is obtained that the other Ministers and Governours have not so much opportunity to enrich themselves and to put one another out of place which is the common Custom in Elective States For their Nephews are few in number and therefore sooner to be satisfied neither will they easily suffer that others should enrich themselves since they are sensible that all the hatred falls upon themselves They are also very serviceable to the Pope in that they more freely can disclose the Interests of the several Princes to him than other Ministers who are not so nearly allied to him and that they are fain to be more circumspect in their management of Affairs for fear left they may one time or another be called to an account for which reason it is their Business so to oblige one Prince or another that they may upon all occasions be sure of his Protection Besides that by their Assistance Affairs may be carried on with much more secrecy than otherwise And if the Pope were destitute of their Counsel he would be obliged to have recourse to the Cardinals who most commonly are very partial being most of them engaged to foreign Princes either by Pensions or Benefices § 32. The Subjects of this Ecclesiastical Monarchy may commodiously be divided into two several sorts the first comprehends the whole Clergy the second all the rest of Christendom as far as the same professes the Roman Catholick Religion which is commonly called the Laiety The first may be compared to the standing Army of a Prince who thereby manitains his Conquests the rest are to be deemed as Subjects that are Tributaries to the Prince and are obliged to maintain those standing Forces at their Charge The first have this particular Obligation upon them that they must abstain from Marriage This is done under pretence of a special Holiness and that thereby they may be the more fit to perform their Duty without any hinderance but the true reason is that they should not prefer the Interest and Welfare of their Wife and Children before that of the Church and in consideration thereof not side with those Princes under whose Jurisdiction they live or that they should not enrich their Children with the Revenues of the Church but be the more ready upon all occasions to execuâ—e the Pope's Will especially against such Princes under whose Protection they live For since Wife and Children are esteemed the dearest Pledges not to be left to the discretion of an enraged Enemy they could the easier despise the anger of their Princes if they had no other Care to take but for themselves a single Man not needing to fear a livelihood in any place whatever And it has been the main endeavours of the Popes to exempt the Clergy by all means from the Jurisdiction of the Civil Magistrates and to make them only dependent on himself Besides this the avaricious Clergy would not have made so good a Harvest if it had been taken for granted among the People that the same was collected for their Wife and Children whereas now it is pretended that they receive not for themselves but for the maintainance of the Church But those who have been so busie to force Celibacy upon the Clergy were forgetful in not prescribing them at the same time a Recipe against Incontinency and which they seem to stand in great need of How vast a number there is of this sort of People may be best judged out of what is related of Pope Paul IV. who used to brag that he had 228000 Parishes and 44000 Monasteries under his Jurisdiction if he did not mistake in his account especially as to the Monasteries The Clergy may again be subdivided into two sorts viz. those who are bare Priests and Ecclesiasticks and those who have engaged themselves by a particular Vow viz. the Monks and Jesuits who are to be esteemed the Pope's pretorian Bands They receive for their pay Honours and Dignities great Revenues a quiet Life without any great Labour and live always near a good Kitchin but those who have addicted themselves to a more strict Order are fed with the vain belief of Holiness great Merits and particular Prerogatives above others § 33. The Pope makes use of this Artifice to keep the Laiety in Obedience that he persuades them to receive and consider his Ecclesiastical Troops as the Chief Promoters of their Salvation and Masters over their Consciences which serves like a Bridle to lead and turn them about according to the Will of the Clergy And that every thing may be accommodated to the Interest of this Spiritual Monarchy several Articles of the Christian Religion have been by degrees stretched or patched up with new Additions and any one that will duly weigh these Matters wherein they differ with their Adversaries will soon find that in those points there is generally a mixture of Interest as to the Authority Power and Revenues of the Clergy Among those in the first place is to be reckoned the Doctrine concerning the Authority and Power of the Pope whereby they pretend to set him above Councils and make
Universities but they have also engrossed to themselves the Instruction of the Youth in the Schools that they might have all the opportunity so to guide and direct them in their Studies that they might not only not prove prejudicial but rather advantageous to the Kingdom of Darkness For by this way of managing the Youth they have not only acquired vast Riches and Authority to their Order but also have been very instrumental in maintaing the Popish Monarchy which they are bound to do by a particlar Vow above all the other Monks They make it their business to imprint into the tender minds of the Youth a Veneration for the Pope and so to guide their inclinations as they think it most profitable to the State of the Church They use the young people from their infancy to persist obstinately in their conceived Opinions and that no Reasons ought to prevail against them whereby they render them incapable of ever attaining the knowledge of Truth They have also an opportunity throughly to investigate and discover the Capacities and Inclinations of their Disciples which they make good use of to their advantage whenever these are imployed in State Affairs But such as they find of an extraordinary Capacity or abounding in Wealth they endeavour by all means to draw into their Order So that the main intention of their School Discipline which is so famous throughout the World is to uphold the Pope's Sovereignty They boast of extraordinary methods to teach the Latin Tongue to young people but they take a particular care that they do not let their Disciples grow too wise except such as are to be received into their Order And because they have by this management of the Youths brought a great many able Men over to their Order and are besides this very gentile and civil in their Conversation in which point they are far above all the other Monks who are most of them full of Incivility and Pedantry they have found means under pretence of being Confessours to creep into most Courts and to insinuate themselves into the very Secrets of the State so that in a great many Courts they have the greatest sway in the Councils And there you may be sure they will never be forgetful of the Popes and their own Interest Nevertheless by their insatiable Avarice and forwardness of medling in all Affairs they have made themselves odious in some places And because the Jesuits have trespassed upon the Authority and advantages of the other Monks who are of more antient Orders these are grown jealous of them to the highest degree Neither ought it to be passed by in silence that the Pope and his adherents pretend to have a right of Censuring and Licensing all Books whatsoever whereby they may easily prevent that nothing may come to light which might prove prejudicial to them And in Censuring of Books they are so impudent as not only to strike out of the antient Authors when the same are to be reprinted at pleasure such passages as they dislike but also they do not stick to insert such new passages as are suitable to their intentions If any Book is to be published in their Territories first the same is exactly revised and corrected And if it should happen by chance that something should be overseen in the first Edition which does not suit with their Interest it is marked in an Index made for that purpose that it may be omitted in the next Edition But the Books of their Adversaries are prohibited nay the reading of them is not allowed but to some particular persons and that not without special leave and these are such as they know to be thorough-paced and intirely devoted to their Interest By so doing they may lay to their Adversaries charge what they please since their Subjects never get sight of the others Refutation It has been a general observation that since the scandalous life of the Monks had not only been very prejudicial to the Popish Monarchy but also that the Protestants had set out their Vices in their natural colours The Papists have bespattered the Protestant Ministers with the same Vices as they were charged withal and have not only representedthe infirmities of some particular persons to the World but also have laid to their charge the most heinous crimes they could invent and afterwards have challenged their Adversaries to prove the contrary which Calumnies have such influence at least upon the simple and common sort of People that it gives them a great aversion to the Protestants They also do not want impudence to set out at a high rate their Miracles Martyrdoms and other great Feats which generally are transacted in far distant Countries by which means they gain a great Credit at least by the inconsiderate multitude Among others Edwin Sandys an English Knight has discovered abundance of these tricks in his Treatise concerning the State of Religion § 36. The Pope also makes use of more violent means to maintain his Authority In former Ages his Excommunication was a most terrible thing when whole Countries were forbidden the exercise of Religious Worship by which means the Popes have often obliged Emperours and Kings to come and creep to the Cross But now adays this Weapon is not frightful to any body except to some petty States in Italy Nevertheless in Spain and Italy they have set up a certain Court which is called the Office of the Holy Inquisition where Information is taken and all such proceeded against as have in any ways tendred themselves suspected of Heresie And it is counted the worst sort of Heresie if any one attempts any thing against the Popish Law and Doctrine or against the Pope's Authority This serves for a Bridle to curb the People withal and to the Inhabitants of those Countries is as terrible as the Plague since matters are transacted with so much severity in this Court that scarce any body that falls under the Inquisition escapes their hands without considerable loss § 37. Though the Supreme Direction and Administration of the Romish Religion together with their other rules which serve to uphold it and have been alledged by us here are a sufficient awe upon the People And besides this the Popish Clergy know how to manage their Affairs with that dexterity as to give some satisfaction to every one so that I am apt to believe that a great many who live under the Popish subjection are verily persuaded to believe what the Priests tell them to be real since they want means and opportunity of being better instructed Nevertheless it is very probable that a great many of the more learned and wises sort are sufficiently convinced in what manner things are carried on among them and that therefore it is in respect of same particular considerations that they do not free themselves from this Yoke I am apt to believe that most are kept back because they do not see how to remedy this Evil And yet they are