had pleased they might have been reconciled to the Church of Rome by submitting to the Laws of that Bishop St. Gregory of Nazianzen writing to the Clergy of the Church of Caesarea in Cappadocia speaks to them thus It is just that care should be taken of the whole Church as of the Body of Jesus Christ chiefly of yours which hath been from the beginning the Mother of almost all the Churches which is so at this time and is so esteemed and to which the whole body of the Church relates as a Circle does to the Center round which it is formed c. This holy man thought not the Church of Rome was the Center of all the Churches In the Milevitan Council where St. Augustine was present it was Ordained That those of Africk who should Appeal to Rome should be Excommunicated These are the words We have adjudged that all Priests Deacons and other Inferior Ecclesiasticks who shall complain of their Bishops Administration shall apply themselves to the Neighbouring Bishops who by the consent of their own Bishops shall decide the Controversie between them And if they will Appeal from their Opinions let them not do it but to the Councils of Africa And if any man makes his Appeal to any place beyond the Seas here Rome must be understood let him be looked upon as an Excommunicated person by all Africa And since that time the same thing was Ordained in the Council of Africa and this they give for their reason That no Council hath taken away this Authority from the African Councils and that the Decrees of the Council of Nice have committed as well Priests as the Bishops to the direction of their Metropolitans Most prudently and justly providing that affairs should be determined upon the place where they had their first beginnings and that no Province would ever want the assistance of the Holy Ghost to discern equity that any injured person might procure a Council of his own Province yea and appeal from that to a General one and a man must be a fool to think that God would not rather inspire with the love and knowledg of Justice a great number of Prelates assembled in Council than a single person be he who he will. What stupidity and dulness is it that hinders Christians in these times from carrying it in the same manner towards Rome And the Council of Constantinople after having limited the bounds of each Patriarchal See says that the Affairs of every Diocess ought to be Regulated by the Synods of the Diocess and that in Confirmation of the Fourth Canon of the Council of Nice And in the sixth Canon it doth Enact That if any man hath been vexed by the Bishop let him complain of this Bishop to all the other Bishops of the Province and if these Bishops cannot determine the affair he ought to apply himself to a greater Synod of Bishops of that Diocess whereby we see that the Bishop of Rome had in those days no Authority over other Bishops but that every thing was then Regulated by Councils and by Synods If an Archbishop or a Metropolitan were accused the Affair was determined by an Assembly of the Synod of the Diocess and if any man appealed from thence it was not to the Bishop of Rome but to a Synod composed of many Diocesses which may be seen in the case of Bagadius Bishop of Bostra Metropolitan of Arabia who having been Deposed by some Bishops of his Province appealed from them not to Rome but to Constantinople where quickly afterwards was assembled a Synod of many of the Eastern Diocesses at which Nectarius of Constantinople Flavian of Antioch and Theophilus of Alexandria all three Patriarches assisted and the case was determined in the year 394 and Bagadius Reestablished in his place It was the opinion of St. Hierom tho a Roman and very zealous for his own Patriarch That if there be any question concerning Authority that of the whole world is greater than that of one single City For what end shall a man alledg the Customs of one only Town Wheresoever there is a Bishop there is always the same Dignity Neither Riches nor Poverty making them Superiors or Inferiors They are all Successors of the Apostles St. Chrysostom was also of this opinion when he spoke thus If any Bishop affecteth Supremacy on Earth he shall find confusion in Heaven And whosoever shall be ambitious of raising himself above others shall not be reckoned among the servants of Jesus Christ. Thus are all the Popes Inclusively Excommunicated by St. Chrysostome since Boniface the Third and not only by him but by the Milevitan Council by the Council of Sardis the third Council of Carthage and another Council held at Carthage at the Instance of Gregory the First under the Emperor Maurice all these Councils do Excommunicate and declare him a forerunner of Antichrist who shall call himself Universal Bishop St. Grâ—gory doth himself abominate the Pride and Impiety of our Popes of these last Ages when he says That whosoever shall make himself be called Vniversal Bishop shall be the forerunner of Antichrist because he will by his Insolence raise himself above others And in another place speaking to Anastasius Bishop of Antiâ—ch he says That without mâ—ntioning the dishonâ—ur that the pride of such a man would do you If a Bishop should mâ—ke himself be called Vniversal Head of the Churâ—h the whole Church must run to ruin if this Vniversal Head shâ—uld fall For my pâ—rt I prâ—y God keep me from hearkening to any such folâ—ies and from bâ—ing capable of so greâ—t â—â—anity c. I should never have done if I should pretend here to relate all the Evidences of Antiquity which are contrary to the pretences of the Bishops of Rome for some Ages past St. Austin tells us a story which I cannot lâ—t pass which shews things pretty clearly He says that Donâ—â—us had accused Ceciliâ—n Arch-bishop of Carthage of a great Crime and that the Emperor Constantine chose the Bishop of Rome and several other bishops for Judges of the Affair Donatus was condemned by them and made his Appeal to the Emperor who referred the Judgment of his Appeal to Arles At this Judgment the Bishop of Arles presided and the Affair was by him determined in favour of Cecilian and the Judgment given at Rome confirmed It would be a fine thing now to see the Emperor in an Affair purâ—ly Ecclesiastical as that was establish the Pope as his Commissary with other Bishops and an Appeal made from their sentence before the Emperor and he should send the cause before another Bishop to judge definitively of it I know not after this what Evidenâ—es I further need to prove the Usurpations which the Popes have made since those times Christians ought to die in confusion who want Proofs for a thing as clear as the day considering the enormity and exorbitance of the power which these people take
we say that it was owing to the eagerness of his temper which being not always well regulated made him commit greater faults than any others of the Apostlâ—s except the perfidious Judas which made him be called Satan by his good Master which none of the other were We ought also to attribute to this temper the blow he gave Malchus with the Sword as well as that warmth that made him promise wonders of Fidelity to his Master and induced him to accompany him to the Emperors Court where he denied his Saviour So that it is with very little reason that they make an argument of this to prove his Royalty in the Church In Spain where the most Honourable walk the last they will not fail to alledg places where St. Peter is named last as in the passage where it is said I am the Disciples of Paul and I of Apollos and I of Caephas who is Peter For I remember that at Paris where they understand Divinity a little better than in Spain a good Bishop and an Abbot did maintain to me that the passage where it is said that James Peter and John are esteemed Pillars of the Church I having alledged against them another where he is named the first they maintained to me I say that this passage confirmed that which they alledged and proved very well the Primacy of St. Peter For said the Bishop when three persons of worth are walking together they always put the most Honourable in the middle This is according to the common saying That a Lawyer well paid shall always find the cause of his Client good His Benefices made him see clear in this passage There are three other passages which the greatest part of our Doctors produce against our Adversaries with a little more colour which are Thou art Peter c. I will give thee the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven c. Feed my sheep Which passages we shall examine one after another to see if St. Peter had any priviledg above the other Apostles they say that in the first of these passages Jesus Christ doth establish the Church found it and built it upon St. Peter I do not deny but that St. Peter was one of the Pillars of the Church because he is so called as well as James and John. Nor can it be denied but that he was and is one of the foundations of the Church since that he is not excepted out of the number of the Twelve who in Scripture are called the Foundations of the New Jerusalem But I maintain that the Church is no more founded upon him than upon St. Paul and the other Apostles I would fain have these Gentlemen tell me upon whom the Church was founded before St. Peter and why the Church changed its foundation and upon whom Peter himself was founded It was without doubt upon Jesus Christ upon the Rock which is the Christ. And it is without all question that St. Peter and we ought to have no other foundation than that which St. Paul had who says That no man can lay any other foundation than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ. Also we see in this passage that it is upon the Rock upon the Rock of Ages that our Saviour builds his Church and not upon St. Peter The Holy Ghost would have changed neither name nor person if he would have had us to have believed this of St. Peter He would not have said Super hanc Petram sed super te Petrum Vpon this Rock but upon thee Peter To the end that no difficulty may remain we must observe what goes before and what follows after Jesus Christ had demanded of all the Apostles together whom they thought he was Peter either as the eldest or most zealous answers for all and says to him Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God. Whereupon Jesus Christ says to him Thou art Peter and upon this Rock will I build my Church c. It is evident that as our Saviour's discourse was directed to all and that Peter answered for all the following part of our Saviours Discourse was directed also to them all and related no more to Peter than to any other particular Apostle And men must have lost their understandings to think that Jesus Christ in this place founded his Church upon Peter whom in the same Chapter he calls Satan What Foundation would the Church have had and what would have become of her when he deni'd his Saviour It must then necessarily be acknowledged that it is not the visible Church that is here spoken of which they pretend St. Peter to be the Head of But the Invisible the Society of the Faithful and the Elect. For the Gates of Hell would have prevailed against the Church not only when St. Peter denied his Master since that the foundation being run to decay that which is built upon it falls to ruin But since that time have they not very often prevailed against this Church which they would have the Bishops of Rome the pretended Successors of St. Peter to be the Heads of For Example when according to the Fathers the whole World was Arian the Bishops of Rome and all their Flock and so many other times as the Popes have been Magicians Sodomites Atheists Hereticks c. And what would have become of the Church in the time of that great Schism that succeeded Gregory the Ninth which lasted fifty years when the French would not have an Italian Pope nor the Italians a French one and many Princes would have neither one nor other to whom at length Charles the Sixth joined himself for three years and the Kingdom of France was very well contented without a Pope and many other Princes for a longer season And what shall we say of that great Schism which the Popes made and caused with the Greek Church by cutting them off out of Devilish pride from the Communion of the Church because they would not submit to their yoke but demanded the observation of the Canons What shall we say also of that great Apostacy that happened about 130 or 140 years since or thereabout when so many States separated themselves from the Church by reason of the Impiety and Tyranny of the Popes Doth not all this prove that Hell hath prevailed against this exterior and visible Church which the Popes govern and whereof St. Peter according to them was the Head It is then the Invisible Church which is here spoken of the Society of the Faithful the Heavenly Jerusalem whereof Jesus Christ is the principal Corner-stone upon which St. Peter himself saith believers are built as living stones He says not it is on himself that they are built but on the contrary he pretends himself as well as others to be one of these living stones which are built upon the Corner-stone which is Christ. It is then upon the Rock confessed by Simon Peter or upon his Confession that the Church is founded on that which he declared
ejusdem loci mihi de more Archidiacono de Cura Parochianorum reddat rationem That is to say That the Cardinal-Priest of this Parish ought according to the custom to give an account of his Parishioners to me and to the Arch-Deacon The same Author called Le Gris a Canon Regular of St. Augustin says That there were Twelve Curates at Soissons who time out of mind had been called Cardinals and it was the same thing in many other places of France And we read in Pasquier that in a Council held at Metz under Charlemagne it was ordained Vt Titulos Cardinales in Vrbibus vel Suburbiis constitutos honestissime Canonice retractatione ordinent disponant That the Bishops should ordain and dispose the Title of Cardinals Honestly and Canonically in Cities and Suburbs If this name and dignity be to be esteemed so highly in the Church it would be very easie to make as many as one would in France without the Bishop of Rome his consent since that evâ—ry Bishop hath the power of making them and without being Reordained there is no Priest who doth now officiate who may not be a Cardinal when you please Thus this signifies nothing no more than the other things which have been already confuted to prove that the Popes Authority is Divine since the Sâ—ripture and the whole Primitive Church are against it But I must here also answer one Humane Reason which they make use of to throw dust in our eyes they take it from an Author whom they esteem as much as St. Paul nay more for they pretend that without him we should fail in many Articles of our Faith this is Aristotle I scarce believe so much can be said of St. Paul who wrote the clearest of all the Apostles Senza Aristotele noi mancarono di molti Articoli di Fide says Cardinal Palavicini Bellarmine also another Cardinal and a Jesuit doth object to us that Aristotle demonstrated Monarchy to be the most excellent of all Governments and by consequence God would have his Church so governed and that this Monarchy belongs to the Pope It is certain that the Spiritual Government of the Church is Monarchical It is Jesus Christ who governs it a Monarch all-wise and Almighty but the external Government of the visible and Universal Church cannot be so and their principle it self is contested by the greatest part of Politicians Aristotle himself their Apostle says in some places that a mixed or compounded Government be it Aristocratical or Democratical is better Quae ex Pluribus constat Respublica melior est And tho a Kingdom may be very well governed by one single person yet it doth not follow that this one person can as well govern all the States and Kingdoms of the World. And he says in another place Huc enim sunt omnia reducenda ut ii â—ui in Imperio sunt non Tyrannum sed patrem Familias agere videantur rem non quasi Dominus sed quasi Procurator Praefectus administrare nec quod nimium est sectari Do the Popes govern after this manner Reason and Experience both convince us of the contrary We see by History that the Empires of the World when they were of too great an extent could not subsist and have been torn in pieces and we have the example of some wise Emperors who made Decrees to hinder the enlargement of their Empire as Augustus made one De Coercendo intra limites Imperio It is a Proverb That he who takes too much into his arms can't hug it close And this is so much the truer in Ecclesiastical Government which cannot inflict Corporal punishments upon Delinquents for St. Paul says expresly that the Arms of the Evangelick Ministry are not according to the Flesh. And the Fathers as well as the Councils do teach us that the Arms of a Bishop ought to be Prayers and Tears The example which they bring of one single Bishop who by Divine Institution governs a Diocess or of a Curate who governs one Church only can signifie to them nothing at all bâ—bâ—cause first of all there is a Divine Institution for that but none for this Besides a man may easily manage a Boat upon a little River who knows not how alone to manage a great Vessel upon the Ocean much less a Fleet of Ships And the Example of a Bishop or Curate makes against them for they are not Soveraigns the one presides only among the other Priests and the other in a Parish I foresee that it will be said that though this Authority of the Pope was not Instituted by Jesus Christ that the Church for the first five Centuries knew it not that it hath been since opposed from time to time by many people perhaps of a turbulent or discontented mind yet it must be believed that the Church which did establish it since did it for good Reasons that Jesus Christ and his Apostles have not so precisely Regulated every thing that concerns the Discipline of the Church but that she may according to her own Prudence alter some things according to the times and places or as others say that every time hath its customs or as Cardinal Palavicini Altri tempi Altri costumi That the Church was at that time in its Infancy and that the mature age to which it is now arrived is not to be governed as its tender Infancy I acknowledg that the Church may sometimes vary in its Discipline and in its policy without any great crime but this must be always by a principle of charity and according to the Fathers Quod propter charitatem fit non debet contra Charitatem militare That which is done by a Principle of Charity ought not to militate against Charity It must tend to Edification the Church ought to do nothing against the Commandments of God. Now I have shewn that the Papacy is against the Maxims of the Gospel and is altogether contrary to the Genius of Christianity and more contrary than light is to darkness Furthermore it is not true that the Church hath established the Papacy only some few Councils held in Italy about two or three hundred years since or thereabouts as that at Florence Lateran Bolonia and Trent But we speak not of these dark Ages for those with whom I dispute believe that the Church hath established this power in the Sixth or Seventh Century In this respect the Cardinal Cusan mistakes himself when he says Pâ—patus est de jure Positivo The Papacy is of Positive Right For the Church hath not established it in any Council unless you call that Rabble of Ecclesiasticks and Seculars the Church who assembled themselves together at the desire of Boniface the Third to confirm upon him the Title of Universal Bishop which he got by the Parricide Phocas for the assistance he had given him He himself acknowledgeth that this Authority came to them ex usu Consuetudine
when he pleases who may restore that happy Equality among the Bishops under which the Church was heretofore so flourishing and Christianity made so great Progress which would also re-establish Peace among all Christians much better than the Equality of Turkish Politicks of which they say Ittichat Khoga Kopatmas Equality produceth no Wars They mean the Equality of Poverty that is to say that great men are not to be suffered in a Nation and that being all miserable they would make no commotions Whereas the Equality which I speak of would produce not only a firm and lasting Peace but also the abundance of all Spiritual and Temporal Goods There are also some People who pretended that if we acknowledg a necessity of having Arch-bishops and Primates who take their Places above Bishops instituted by Jesus Christ tho the Dignity of Arch-bishops or Primates is not so in like manner for Orders sake we may have a Pope That might pass if the Popes did not pretend to be of another Order if they exercised no Authority over their fellow-brethren if they were not Temporal and Mighty Princes if the Clergy did not absolutely depend upon them if they had nothing but a Pre-eminence of Place over the other Bishops in Assemblies and in Councils if there were One of them in every Christian State who should solicite the Prince for the assembling of Provincial Synods every year to whom he should be subject as the other Bishops and should entertain Communion with the other Patriarchs or Catholick Popes and with whom he should keep Correspondence that they might altogether by the Consent of their Respective Princes cause General Councils to be assembled when they should be necessary which should be held sometimes in one State and sometimes in another and wherein should preside men of the greatest Understanding and the greatest Merit without exception of Persons or else every Patriarch in his turn Thus was the Church anciently governed without Tyranny by this means did Religion spread it self abroad with great success in all Countries and not by a pretended Bishop who is a Worldly Prince and hath ruined the Church We see that heretofore among the Pagans Kings have been Sacrificers and Ministers of Religion Amongst the Jews also at the beginning we find that the Heads of Families who were Soveraigns did take upon them the offering of Sacrifices and performed Divine Service but before these latter times which is the Sink of all Ages it was never seen that Priests plaid the Princes and that People who ought to employ themselves only in Prayers and Sacrifices and whom Jesus Christ and all the most pure Canons of the Church do forbid to meddle in Secular Affairs should compare themselves with and raise themselves above Kings Is it not a comely sight to behold a Temporal Prince wearing Three Crowns one above the other sitting in a throne covered with Gold and precious Stones having the Arms both of Sea and Land many Attendants following him who are equal to other Princes Such a Prince as this I say to be the Vicar of Jesus Christ He is then a Carnal Messias and such a one as the Jews do at this day look for He is then a King of Concupiscence and of Iniquity If it be so the Jews had reason to accuse him for endeavouring to supplant Caesar the Romans would have been in the right to put him to Death and so he would not have been the Redeemer of Mankind This Pretension of the Popes as we see is a horrible Blasphemy and which yields the Cause over to the Jews against us and tends to justifie every thing they did against our Lord Jesus and utterly to overturn Christianity The pretence also which they have that Ecclesiasticks ought not to be subject to their Natural Prince and are freed from Obedience to him by Jesus Christ This is to renew against our great Saviour the impious Accusation which the Jews brought against him That he would have made himself a King and perswaded others to Rebellion There are others who pretend that the evil is not so great that there is a Pope as that General Councils are no more assembled and so they say that we should rather speak of assembling a Council than talk of exterminating the Papacy because they think that a Council would limit the Pope and hold the Reins shorter over him But this Papacy subsisting how shall a General Council be called but that they 'le have a hand in 't And if they have what will this Council tend to The End of it will be like that of Trent sad and miserable And put the case there might be found a Prince zealous strong and prudent enough to cause a General Council to be assembled by an agreement of other Christian Princes in spight of the Pope what would this Council do against the Pope who would have all the Bishops for him both by the Oath which they have taken to him and by Twenty Millions of Revenue which he hath and which he would employ to corrupt all the World What would you do with the Monks who would be all for him it being their Interest to maintain the Authority and Infallibility of the Pope because the Priviledges which he hath given to many of them which are as ancient as their first Institution are not confirmed by any Lawful Council and so are null And how long should the good condition of this Prince's Affairs last or his good Correspondence with other Princes to make the Laws of this Council be obeyed and that the Pope who will be all or nothing shall not hinder the Execution of his Decrees and continue his Tyranny And how will you in the mean time keep the Papacy with its hands tied and what will this signifie It is certainly better to cast off the Yoke all at once than to let it continue without being sure that it shall do no more mischief Tutius est perire non posse quam juxta periculum non periisse says a certain Author We have the sad Example of the Councils of Trent and Constance from that of Trent we could not hope for any great matters but even that of Constance which seemed well inclined to a Reformation as well as that of Basil found such horrible resistance in the Court of Rome and among the Ecclesiasticks that it never could re-establish the ancient Discipline And that shews us that we must wholly eradicate this Papacy and that it is not enough to assemble a free Oecumenical Council but that it must be some powerful zealous and resolute Prince who fears nothing but God and not the Court of Rome who must begin continue and vigorously end the thing without hearkening to pretended moderate Councils which tend only to the Churches ruin The Proverb here signifies nothing That it is better to preserve the Commonwealth as it is than to have none at all For I maintain that here is no Common-wealth but a perfect Anarchy and that
the Church instead of being governed is devoured by a Faction of Villains who eat the people of God like bread But say they you speak of abolishing the Primacy in the Church and nevertheless there is no Society no Families no Colledge but hath it Without it these Societies cannot subsist It is not so much the Primacy which I condemn as the Tyranny which hath been joined to it The Primacy of Place might yet be suffered although Jesus Christ hath not instituted it in the Church but that of Pope is a Primacy of Jurisdiction to which the Universal Church and the whole World is subject as they pretend I condemn the Primacy of a Bishop who is a Worldly Prince who hath more than Twenty Millions of Revâ—nue this Primacy which is the Cause of all the Disorders of the Church Whereas the end and ordinary use of Lawful Primacies is to maintain good Order in all Societies And I wish nothing more than to see re-established in the Church that Primacy which Jesus Christ hath there instituted viz. that of Councils and that they should be often assembled as they were in the Primitive Church for it is the want of these Councils which hath undone the Church We see in the Preface of the Eleventh Council of Toledo that the Fathers say That having wanted the Light of Councils for the space of Ten Years the whole World went astray and the Church fell into disorder and confusion How much more reason have we now to complain of that we who for above these Hundred Years have seen none and which is more can never hope to see a Lawful one whilst the Papacy shall subsist Substracta Luce Conciliorum integro decennie Matrem Omnium Errorum ignorantiam otiosas Mentes occupasse adeo ut Babylonicae Confusionis olla succensa purpuratae Meretricis incrementa Sacerdotes sequerentur quia Ecclesiastici Convenius non aderat Disciplina nec erat qui Errantium Corrigeret partes cum Sermo Divinus haberetur Extorris Is not this the cause of so many Superstitions of so many Heresies Schisms and Licentiousness which we see in the Clergy Is it not a ridiculous thing that no more Councils shall be called whilst we see the Monks both Capucins Carthusians and Jesuits often assemble their Congregations for the augmentation of their Societies It is no wonder if the Church daily runs to ruin whilst these Societies fortifie themselves Is it not clear as the day that if Provincial Synods were called every year National every three or four years as heretofore they were under our great Kings and Oecumenical Councils at least once in Ten years that Remedies would be found out for the Calamities of the Church Might not a Patriarch in every State aided by the Secular Power excute the Decrees of the Church with more facility less jealousie and more security for Religion and for the State than a forreign Ambitious and potent Prince who resolves to take no care for Religion but to model every thing to his own Interest If this Patriarch should neglect his Duty or carry it like a Master should not the Prince chastise him nor depose him Experience shews us that the Church never flourished but when she was Aristocratically governed and when there was no other Primacy in the Universal Church than that of Councils and all Primates and Patriarchs were subject to them But since the Patriarch of Rome hath had the sole disposing of Religion in the West we have seen nothing but Confusion Anarchy Schism Heresies Impiety Atheism Cruelty and Barbarity Ipsa Ecclesia Vnus est Princeps Vnitati fidelium non singulis haec Jurisdictio a Domino conceditur c. Quia Vnitas Ecclesiae multo major est atque perfectior quam Vnitas Vnius Regis aut Imperatoris terreni Thus did the Holy Council of Basil answer the false Reasons of Pope Eugenius his Orators who pretended That the Unity of the Church was preserved much better by a Pope than by the Council There are others who would have the Pope's Authority confin'd within the bounds which the Councils of Constance and of Basil had marked out for it but they never understood the Moral Impossibility that there is not only of making the Popes consent to it but suppose they were constrained to consent to these Rules for a season to make them observe them always or for any long time And Experience confirms what I say with reference even to these Councils which have put no stop at all to their career for they live in contempt as well of these as of all other Lawful Councils Have not they called others in Italy who have destroyed whatever these had established even to treat with the Name of Heresie this Holy Doctrine of the Superiority of the Council Have not the Popes been sufficiently Sacrilegious to raze out of the Roman Edition of General Councils the Council of Basil from among the Oecumenical Councils It is then impossible that with the Impiety and Ambition wherewith the Court of Rome is wholly made up and with the enormous power which the Popes at this time have which equals that of the greatest Kings that they should be reduced to submit themselves to the Council of Constance And even that would signifie nothing for this Council gives them too much Authority It gives them the power which belongs to the Emperors of assembling General Councils of presiding in them and concluding and of executing the Canons of Councils in regard of particular Churches and even of making Decrees during the Intervals of Synods and of being judged only by a General Council They ought then to be deprived of this temporal power the Cardinals to be abolished and the Monks to be Enfranchised and Released from the rash Vows they have made to the Popes the disposing of the Palls of Archbishops ought to be taken from him and the faculty of Investing Bishops and of dispencing with them for holding so many Benefices with all the other Simonical Traffick which will still renders him the Tyrant of the Church the Master of all States and the Devil the possessor of many souls It is much more easie to restore all at once the ancient Discipline I promote a Paradox but my reason is that there will never be a good change but it must happen after some strangely surprizing or if I may so say some violent manner such violence as forces its way into the Kingdom of Heaven Whilest we stand upon treating the Popes shall maintain themselves always with the times either by Intriegues or by some Devilish inventions the most zealous shall grow cold upon the business Ministers shall be corrupted either by money or by Cardinals Caps the Prince shall have other affairs found him to look after or shall be killed by the hand of some Monk or other All the Jesuits and the Monks shall be everlastingly for the Papacy whatever shew they at this time make Gerson somewhere says that there will never
their Right that the Pope is Sennor del Mondo and they call him Nostor Sennorâ— Our Lord as well as Jesus Christ. There is no State in Europe which they have not endeavoured many times to destroy and which they have not greatly endamaged Matthew Paris relates to us that King John of England because he would not receive an Archbishop of Canterbury whom Poâ—e Innâ—cent the Third had Elected against the Canons he was first Excommucated by Innocent who accordingly gave away his Kingdom to Philip the August King of France and that poor King John was compelled to implore the Popes mercy who received him very bountifully on condition that from thenceforth his Kingdom should depend upon the Holy See should be Tributary to it and pay 20000 Marks of Gold every year And that this King having recovered his courage resolved to Abjure Christianity as an evil Religion thereby designing to cast off the Popish yoke Because he made himself the Popes Vassal he was called the Apostolick King. I wonder why the Kings of France and Spain will not add to the Titles of Most Christian and Most Catholick that of Apostolick Kings at the same price as this King John of England did 'T is not his Holiness's fault they may have it when they please They answer that it is true that they have heretofore caused disorders but that it will never fall out so again that it was some hot headed men that amongst the Apostles themselves there was found a Judas But I maintain that all these disasters proceeded not only from the pettish humour of any one Pope but were the natural effects of the Principles of the Papacy And tho we do not see it visibly break forth every day by some bloody example yet we ought not to believe that the habit or the will is ever the less but that there is some external extraordinary reason which suspends the Action and which does sometimes make them act directly contrary to their own inclination Do not we see that the Inquisition it sâ—lf at Rome that Impious Tribunal which hath the power of authorising the greatest crimes and of Canonizing for the Popes Interest even Parricides and the Assassins of our Kings as amongst others by a Decree of the ninth of November 1609 it did condemn the Decree of the Parliament of Paris given out against John Chatel who had attempted to Murther Henry the Fourth This Tribunal I say hath not long since condemned the Jesuits Morals tho they were perfectly conformable to the Principles of the Inquisition and we see that the Jesuits of France are at this time in the Kings Interest against the Pope which is absolutely contrary to their Maxims and to all their former conduct which shews that it is not true that because an ill person does a good action he is no more to be feared Tho a man be extreamly wicked it does not follow from thence that every thing he does shall be so We must not think that the habit is lost because we do not always see its acts Philosophers tell us that it is often so It is a sort of a Truce and not a Peace Non pax sed induciae bellum enim manet pugna cessaâ— A Cobler says Horace is still a Cobler tho his Stall be shut Et Alfenus vafer omni abjecto instrumento Artis clausaque taberna sutor erat Thus the Pope remains still Pope tho he sometimes do a good Action Valerius Maximus says in a certain place that there are people Quorum animus peregrinatur in nequitia non habitat whose minds light upon iniquity but like a Traveller in an Inn they fix not so may it be said of the Popes Quorundam paparum animus peregrinatur in bonitate non habitat that they sometimes touch upon a good action but cannot hold to it The Viper is a very dangerous creature tho she doth not always bite when it lyes in her power But it is never good to trust her Nemo juxtae viperam securos somnos capit quae si non percutit certe sollicitat Says St. Hierom somewhere The Papacy is just the same it is the Chair of Pestilence Cathedra Pestilentiae where the best men are corrupted It is what he very well understood who said that the greatest harm he could wish a man was that he were Pope And the Holy Carthusian Father that praises God that none of his Order had ever yet been Pope How can any man maintain that Princes need not stand in fear of the Pope when three Popes of this present age have condemned the opinion that the Pope cannot depose Kings as wicked and contrary to the Faith Accipe nunc Danaum insidias crimine ab uno disce omnes These were Paul the Fifth Innocent the Tenth and Alexander the Seventh of whom it may be said that they were Ottimi Pontefici Ecclesiastici mediocri that they were true Popes but very indifferent Clergymen who will be both Judg and party in their own cause and pretend that their evidence must be taken even when it tends to their own profit and to the spoiling of those who believe them I could yet produce a later example which is that of the present Pope who with unsufferable rashness lately threatened to Excommunicate the Greatest King upon Earth because he would Reign alone in his own State and take away from some people who ought to employ themselves only in serving God the disposal of some Benefices which belong properly to the Soveraign of a State who we see makes a more judicious choice of men fit to serve in these Employs because he doth not sell them nor give them to his Relations as they did who had but very little regard to the merit of those upon whom they conferred these things Besides of right the Popes have nothing to do in the Dominions of other Princes and there have been sufficient proofs given by this Great Prince of his zeal for Justice and for Religion But these men love to make people feel their yoke and it may be well said of them what Mithridates said of the ancient Romans that it was not their love to Justice that made them fight against Princes but the desire of their Authority and of their Greatness Non delicta Regum illos sed vires ac Majestatem insequi It is well known how ill they have treated Spain not long since upon the account of the President of Castile who had reason in what he did and how at this time they handle the Venetians Don't we know how Alexander the Seventh and his Nephews behaved themselves at Rome towards our King in the person of his Ambassador the Duke of Crequi We may remember how that under Henry the Fourth they wanted but very little to have utterly ruined France and to have made the French all subject to the Spaniards and if the Parliament at Paris had not been better Christians than
of Vicars of Jesus Christ which they insolently assume have cast the Church into the most deplorable Desolation and have ravaged all Christian Kingdoms who authorise all sorts of Vice and Disorder both in the Church and in the World dethrone Kings the anointed of God tread upon the Necks of Emperours dispence with the Oaths of Allegiance in their Subjects dispence with the Laws of God and his Gospel hinder Christians from reading the holy Scripture without which we cannot be Christians and unmercifully murther Men for their Religion by their Inquisition ought it to be questioned whether such People as these should be exterminated Pope Innocent himself and many others are of Opinion that we may destroy those that sin against Nature And St. Augustin says Opinantur scelera facienda decerni qualia si quis terrena Civitas decerneret genere humano decernente fuerat evertenda Seneca hath also a fine saying upon this Si non Patriam meam impugnat sed suae gravis est sepositus a meâ gente suam exagitat abscidit nihilominus illum tanta pravitas animi In fine no Man can doubt whether those who curse their Father and Mother and tread them under their Feet or those that live upon Humane Flesh or Pirates upon the Sea without Commission from any Prince ought to be extirpated and whether all Princes have not a right to destroy them if they can I maintain that the Popes do all this and worse I have already shewed it in what I have related But besides all this what can a Man think of these Men who call themselves their Holinesses which is a Title that belongs only to God and is one of the most excellent of all his Attributes who call themselves Vicars of Jesus Christ to dethrone Jesus Christ from his Church and govern it at their own fantasy who say that they are infallible and above the Councils that they can open Heaven and shut up Hell put out the Fire of Purgatory when they please save and damn whom they please who make themselves be called God and the Divine Majesty and cause themselves to be worshipped I demand whether there be any thing like this in the Crimes of others the most vile and miserable Creatures and that which is the most terrible of all is that the Popes do every day cast down many Millions of Souls headlong into Hell. Do not such things as these deserve the Vengeance of Princes here on Earth The Insensibility and Stupidity of Christians must be very great this their Lethargy to me appears monstrous and certainly there must be in it somewhat supernatual 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Hippocrates says of some strange Diseases which are wholly unknown If the Interest of God and his Church were here only concerned it would not be so surprising for usually Princes seldom trouble themselves with that they cry Deorum injuriae diis curae but here where they are robbed of their Majesty to dress up a pack of Rascals with it where they are made Tributary where their Authority is limited where part of their Subjects are withdrawn from them by Exemptions and base Laws which make them contemptible as well to those who thus plunder them as to others who secure themselves under the Covert of this Tyranny It is unconceiveable that Princes should have so much Patience for tho the Primacy of St. Peter could be proved that he was Bishop of Rome and left there his Succcessours either as he was an Apostle or a Bishop must I say such People as these be his Successours and make all these Crimes their common Practise and go still unpunished They shall as soon make me worship the Devil as believe it And I really believe that it would be no hard matter to make them who adhere to the Papacy both receive and serve him They would soon relish the Reasons of the Manicheens who said that there were two Principles the one good and the other bad or the Argument of those Indians who believed they ought to worship the Devil because he could do them hurt and that God being all good of himself could do them none and so it is not necessary to adore him This now looks very amazing but they who are so much in love with the Papacy would soon receive it if any Man of Sense would give a little colour to it and there were good Benefices to be hoped for by it which could not otherwise be obtained if they might have fine Churches and re-establish the fine Ceremonies of Numa Pompilius if their only care might be to divert the Eyes and Eares of the People with Musick and rare Shews as heretofore they did to those miserable Jews who brought their Children to Moloch and whilst they burned they played upon all sorts of Instruments and entertained them with the most delightful Musick that they might not hear the Cries of their poor Children Can we think it strange as things go that the Protestants are not converted There would be in my Opinion greater reason to wonder if they should embrace the Catholick Religion whilst the Pope should exercise this horrible Tyranny for I do maintain that there is no Man of Honour that hath any Modesty or Sense of Christianity that can digest this Article of the Almighty Power of the Pope if at least it hath not been riveted in him from his Childhood and he been brought up in this Opinion all his Life-time without ever making any Reflection upon it But for the Protestants we must never pretend to make them believe that the Popes are Heads of the universal Church established by Jesus Christ to govern it as it is governed there is no Man of Sense will ever be perswaded to believe this But it may be said that the great Truths which the Catholâ—ck Religion teaches give us so great an advantage over the Hereticks that they ought to make no difficulty of passing over such an Error as this to enter into the Communion of the Church For my part I am of Opinion that a Man's Conversion is a work supernatural and from the hand of God who filling the Heart of Man with Light and Courage makes him overcome Darkness and his natural Weakness and that a true Conversion is always accompanied with Zeal towards God and Charity towards our Neighbour This being supposed I maintain that they who are converted by these Principles do in effect embrace with their whole Heart the Catholick Truths but that their Charity and the Zeal towards God which animates them shall always make them resist and oppose to the utmost of their Power all Impostures and Falsities whatsoever that they shall chearfully lose their Estates and Lives to deliver the Church from so miserable a Slavery as the Papacy is It is a great unhappiness that the Protestants have separated themselves not from the Pope but from the Church and that they have invented Novelties to fortify their Schism which at