set before their Eyes We must also consider that the Rigor and Length of the last Persecution of France nay which continues still and hath been one of the longest and most cruel that ever the Christians endur'd since the Establishment of Christianity that grand Rigor I say and the continuance of the Persecution have giv'n occasion to all Persons of the Romish Communion who had not absolutely divested themselves of all Conscience and Humanity and become perfect Bruits to inquire into those Opinions â—…or which the Protestants have suffered and suffer still so many evils and have found them Reasonable and Christian contrary to what the Monks represented them to be and diverse of the honestest of their Clergy-men who were formerly very Ignorant have instructed themselves in them All of them have been terrified to find so much Courage Firmness Humility and surprizing Patience amongst an infinite number of Persons of all Sexes Ages and Conditions which made them to think that in all this there was something Divine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they are also surpriz'd to find by the Zeal which those poor People discover at present when persecuted in diverse places with the utmost rage that they are less Papists than ever which occasions many thoughts of heart amongst those who have any Judgment Besides the bad success of that Persecution which hath been accompanied with this long and bloody War a violent Famine and the dethroning of the late King James with whom it was concerted and which in fine hath issued in the ruine of the Kingdom of France hath made it evident that it was not a WoÅ•k which God approv'd and that he did without all doubt avenge himself on the Nation for their perfidiousness and cruelty committed against his People at the Instigation of the Court of Rome and the Clergy of France and those who are not judicially blinded or have any Sense of God upon them understand and perceive clearly that God concern'd himself in the Cause of the Protestants and the Evils they Suffered Which ought to be another strong Argument to incline the Papists to embrace the Protestant Religion So that there 's no cause to doubt but the People of France have a mighty disposition to shake off the Popes Yoke and to embrace the Doctrine of the Gospel if the King of France would declare himself for it above half the business would be done Never Prince had nor can have so fair an occasion to acquire Immortal Glory and to render his People happy as the King of France has at present in putting that great Work in Execution for besides all the Dispositions thereunto abovementioned he hath the most Authority in his Dominions of any Prince in the World and hath the finest and most numerous Army that ever was seen in France and if he should sâ—…and in need of any assistance to carry on a Work so Glorious so Magnificent and Advantagious to Mankind there 's no doubt but the Incomparable William and other Protestant Powers would lend him their helpiâ—…g haâ—…d It seems that the present State of the Kingdom of France doth moreover indispensibly require this general Reformation and the abolition of the Papacy to the end the King may appropriate to himself all or at least the greatest part of the Riches of the Church which belong to no Body and whereof he might dispose for the â—…afety of the State without any Injustice by which means he would be enabled to pay his Debts to every one and to prevent a Civil War which seems to threaten France unavoidably if there come a K of lesser Authority than Lewis the XIV by reason of the desperate Condition into which People of all ranks are upon the brink of being reduc'd because of the ill condition of their Affairs All his Troops seem to require it also to prevent their being cashier'd for they must either perish in Foreign Countries or starve or be hang'd at home the great numbers of brave Officers and Noblemen ruined by the Kings Service do also require it and 't is a thousand times more just that they should be compensated by the Riches of the Church which belong to no Body but the King and State than that they should be enjoy'd by such an Herd of Scandalous and Unprofitable Ecclesiasticks The great numbers of others who have been forced by several ways to lend Money to the King or to buy Places or Letters of Nobility and must unavoidably be cashier'd and ruined or who have lost all they had by the Taxes do also require such a general Reformation that the King may be enabled â—…o pay or give them some Compensation and to furnish them Bread of which they have none left And besides those above-mentioned all ranks of People through the Kingdom in general require it that they may be delivered from those prodigious Losses that they suffer continually by Popery which amount as has been said to above 200 Millions per Annum that so they may be Re-established and Repeopled a little for which end the Monks Nuns and other Ecclesiasticks might be very useful if their Monasteries were dissolved The general Desolation of the Cities and Countries do also demand it that so that King may be in a condition to moderate the Impositions and Taxes with which they are overwhelm'd at present and will continue so to be Without this all Arts Manufactures and Husbandry will infallibly decay more and more and the Art Military will come to nothing in France where it hath flourished so much in this Reign The Interest of the Church of France as they call it and all the honest Ecclesiasticks among them seem also to require it because if after the present King and Dauphin there should happen to come a weak Prince the Kingdom also being so much weakned as 't is at present and as it will continue to be still may be for ever ruin'd unless this general Reformation be set about speedily If I say a weak Prince should happen to come to the Crown at such a time the Popes will treat France in a more Tyrannical and Cruel manner than ever because of the fears they have laboured under that France would shake off their Yoke and of the attempts which they will pretend have been made upon their Authority in this Reign which they will never pardon Then the Pope will Establish the Inquisition in France deprive the Gallican Church of that she calls her Liberties rob the King of his Regale oblige him to restore the Seculariz'd Estates to the Church and certainly despoil the Bishops of their Lawful Jurisdiction over the Regular Clergy Then they must believe the Infallibility of the Pope or at least pretend to do so both in Matters of Fact and Right his Almighty Power in Heav'n and Earth his Superiority over Councils his Absolute Power over the Temporal Rights of Kings and their Lives as well as in the matters of their Salvation and the like over their Subjects The Pope
THE Political Mischiefs OF POPERY OR Arguments Demonstrating I. That the Romish Religion Ruines all those Countries where 't is Establish'd II. That it occasions the loss of above 200 Millions of Livres or 16 Millions Sterling per An. to France in particular III. That if Popery were Abolished in France that Kingdom would become incomparably more Rich and Populous and the King's Revenues would Advance above 100 Millions of Livres or 8 Millions Sterling per Annum IV. That it is impossible that France should ever be Re-established whilst Popery is their National Religion By a Person of Quality a Native of France Author of The Desolation of France demonstrated LONDON Sold by J. Harris at the Harrow in Little Britain 1698. TO The Honourable THE House of Commons THIS Treatise which I take the Liberty to Dedicate to your Honours with all imaginable Respect was published sometime ago in French and by several Persons of Great Judgment thought not Unworthy to be presented to your view in English because of the Importance of the Matter and the Profit which they thought might from thence redound to Church and State The design of it is to prove by Political Arguments a Method New and Extraordinary that the Romish Religion is the Falsest of any that hath hitherto appeared in the World because it is the destruction and plague of all Countries where it is Established and Ruins Nations more than any other False Religion that we have yet heard of This I demonstrate by the Instance of France and make it evident that Popery occasions the loss of above 200 Millions of Livres per Annum to that Kingdom whence it follows that even as to Temporals the Kingdom of England reaps unspeakable Advantages by the Reformation which hath delivered her from that Cruel and Unsupportable Yoke I have so much the greater Reason to hope that this Book will not be unacceptable to your Honours because it tends more and more to confirm the Protestant Religion in this Kingdom for the defence of which against the Tyranny of Popery you have on all occasions testified an ardent Zeal The tender Care and great Charity which you have manifested towards the poor Refugees who suffer for the said Religion but above all the Courage and Zeal you have discover'd in this last War by sparing nothing that was necessary for the preservation of the Protestant Interest have made it gloriously appear to all the Nations of the Earth that you value neither your Treasures nor your Blood when there 's a necessity of spending them in defence of your Religion And in effect there was no less at Stake than the loosing or preserving it for your selves and your Posterity nay I may say for the whole Protestant World and together with that you must have lost your precious Liberties and all that is dear to you as Men and Christians That it would please God that by your Genenerous Example and Sage Resolves you may transmit to all succeeding Parliaments that same Prudence Magnanimity and Zeal for the Mainteâ—…ance of the Protestant Religion and your Publick Liberties against all Attempts of Popery is and shall be the constant Prayer of him who is with all possible Submission and profound Respect Your Honours Most humble and most Obedient Servant De Soulignê Grandson to M. Du Plessis Mornay THE PREFACE TO THE READER ABout a Year ago I published a Treatise for the Service of this Nation upon the present State of France Entituled The Desolation of France Demonstrated And there in short I made it evident That Popery was the principal Cause of all the Misery and Ruin that hath befall'n that Kingdom The Book was pleasing to this Nation in general but some were apt to think I had aggravated Matters and that the Condition of France was not so bad as I had represented it Amongst others a certain Gentleman of great Parts was pleased to write a Manuscript upon that Subject full of Wit and diametrically opposite to what I had advanced but did not think fit to publish it The Events that happened since have confirmed in part what I then said whereupon that Ingenious Person hath acknowledged in a curious piece lately published That I had Reason on my side for what I had writ in general as to the Condition of France But diverse other Persons of Worth having wished that I would justifie the Proposition which I had advanced in the same Book viz. That Popery occasions the loss of 200 Millions per An. to France which to them seem'd a Paradox I thought my self obliged to saâ—…isfie their desire To this end I publish'd what I had writ upon that Subject sometime ago in French that by the Iudgment which others gave upon it I might be the better enabled to conjecture what was proper to be Added or Corrected in the English Edition which I nâ—…w present to the Publick with several Additions and had done it sooner but for some Reasons not fit to be here related But I supposed besides that People will have more Inclination to Read such Pieces now the War is over during which they lov'd to hear of nothing but bloody Battles and Princes Dethron'd according to the humour of the Romans in Horace his time as he expresseth it in the following Lines Pugnas exactos Tyrannos Densum humeris bibit aure vulgus I doubt not but some people will say That I write with too much heat against Popery To which I reply 1. That those Persons don't know Popery well enough nor have they ever examined it throughly They are misled by some common Prejudices and judge of that Religion not according to its essential Principles and constant Practise but only by the external Behaviour of some that profess it as Laicks who are sâ—…metimes as well Polished Civilized Learned and Honest in outward appearance as Protestants and here those People stop withâ—…ut consulting the Scripture or considering that the Dâ—…ctrine Morals and Tyranny of the Romish Clergy are more becoming Devils than Men. I confess that they are Men and Women as well as others and that there are People morally Honest among them as there are among Pagans Iews and Mahumetans and even among the Romish Clergy there are sone who are honester as to the matter of Society than their Religiâ—…n obliges them to be But those Gentlemen I speak of think there 's no hurt in their Idolatry nor don 't consider the Mischiefs their Religion does to ail Mankind in general because they think it never did them any so that according to this Maxim of theirs all Religions should be alike for there are Rational and Moral People of all Perswasions 2. I may Reply That there was never any Protestant that had more Reason than my self to write sharply against Popery there having been no Man hitherto who hath studied that Point so thoroughly as I have done in Regard of the infinite Mischiefs which it occasions to States as wiâ—…l appear by the following
to the State to which they are commonly Eâ—…emies And hereby they do likewise take the Bread out of the Mouths of abundance of School-masters who are Honester Men than themselves have nothing else to Live on have Families to Maintain and pay Taxes to the King proportionably to their Income Whereas those Ecclesiasticks have enough to Live on without teaching School being for the most part too Rich already and on the other hand they pay almost nothing to the King ruine the Kingdom and have no Families to Maintain Nay that which is worse they acknowledge a Foreign Authority viz. that of the Pope to be Superior to His Majesties Authority and they are accustomed to inspire their Scholars with those injust and pernicious Sentiments as also a False and Bastard Devotion which enclines them to shake off all Subjection to their Parents to make themselves Jesuits or Priests of the Oratory and to give their Estates to the Order into which they enter themselves or at least to make their Relations pay them a good Pension of which the Convent reaps the Profit They do likewise corrupt those Children in another manner at least the Jesuits labour under the Scandal of it and indeed there 's no wickedness of which they are not capable The other Monks who neither keep Schools nor Boarders do nevertheless seduce abundance of Young People under preâ—…ence of Confessing them and by Vertue of the Credit which they have to creep into Houses they ensnare and seduce also the Parents to become Monks and Nuns and to give them their Estates especially in the time of Widowhood nay sometimes they persuade them to be Unmarried on that account and so create Divisions betwixt Man and Wife and their Children They do likewise Debauch their Wives and Daughters know all the Secrets of Old and Young and make their own Advantage of the Weakness of every one In many places the Nuns do likewise take young Boarders who oftentimes learn somewhat else than Virtue among them and by degrees they persuade them also to turn Nuns especially if there be any profit to be had by it to the Convent for the Relations of the Girls give them either a considerable sum of Money for ever or a good Annual Pension which is so much loss to the Capital Stock of the Kingdom seeing it falls into Mainmort or becomes Dead There are also many of those Convents both of Monks and Nuns who for Money take in the young Bastards of Persons of Quality that would not have the thing known and many times they make away with 'em there have been found in Ponds Cisterns and Houses of Office several Corps and Bones of those poor Infants They plunder the people also by their Tapers Wax-candles and Torches which they use in Grand Processions for they oblige the people to furnish those things and all that is not spent belongs as they alledge to the Church that is to say to the Priests or Monks It is well enough known that on certain days which they look upon as great Festivals they oblige every Corporation or Company in great Towns to furnish huge Torches each of which does sometimes represent an History of the Old and New Testament or fabulous Legend or sometimes they will have the Images of 5 or 6 Persons or as many Beasts in Wax at large so weighty that they must have 10 or 12 Men to carry one of these Torches Twenty such they carry in Procession which costs more sometimes than 10 or 20000 Livres and the profit of this is to be reap'd by their Clergy at the Expense of the poor Idolatrous People This is chiefly to be seen on that â—…day which they call the Feast of God for the Popes good Men have thought fit that God should have a Festival as well as Dominic Loyola Xavier c. And if the Inquisition were established in France as many people imagine it may be done in this Reign which however I believe not it would still pillage the Nation more as it hath done Spain and Portugal There 's yet another secret way that the Monks are charged with using to levy a great Summ of Money upon the People and their own Devotionists all at once which is thus When their Convent and its Dependencies or their Church is old and does not please them they set it on fire themselves and then make heavy Lamentations for that sad Accident which it hath pleased God to permit and then they go a begging for Money to Re-build what is burnt If it require 30000 Livres more or less to Re-build it as it was they will raise at least 100000 upon the people leaving always the work unfinished and give out that the Summs raised were but very small and not enough to carry on the Work for none but themselves know perfectly what is given or what the building hath cost because they take care that no body shall be acquainted with their Affairs and so this furnishes them with a pretence to beg constantly and to procure Legacies from some silly people when a dying on pretence of finishing that Work There are many Orders who sell little Relicks that they say have been Consecrated by the Pope and Beads that have touch'd some Miraculous Images The Carmelites have what they call the Apparel of the Virgin c. The Holy Days are moreover very gainful to the Ecclesiasticks of all sorts because the people go to Church on those Days with more Devotion than on Sundays cause abundance of Masses to be said and besides paying for them give Money also to the Box. Those Festival Days are like so many Fairs wherein the Clergy make Money of their Merchandize They are likewise very advantagious to the Pope not only in that they contribute to the Enriching of his Ecclesiastical Troops which he entertains as I have already said at the Expence of those whom he has brought under his Yoke and of whom he assures himself more and more by that Method both by weakening them and keeping in their Kingdoms Armies and Garrisons of Priests and Monks who have Sworn to him as being in their Opinion Superiour to the King and having a Right to claim Obedience from him in every thing so that they are constantly ready either to revolt or to kill Kings when the Pope desires it or when Princes would have them contribute to the Charge of the State But those Festivals we now Treat of are above all advantagious to the Popes in this that they raise him above all humane Authority nay above that of God himself for 't is they who have Institured or Authoriz'd all those pretended Holy Days by which they give Laws to the Consciences of Men and oblige them to Adore and Invoke whom they please and for the most part Villains that is to say the Popes themselves and the Ministers of their Tyranny and by this means the Popes don't content themselves to be Ador'd while they live but they hope to be
the four Ember-weeks and other Fast-days and the Orders of Monks and Nuns had not been set up by Superstition for this occasion'd a neglect in breeding of Cattle and even at present tho' most of the Kingdom lies desolate there would be Cattle enough if Lent were abolish'd and Lands not abandoned and tho' France is at less expence now as to the buying of Foreign Fish than it was before the War yet it still expends very great Summs that way tho' the poorest sort of people in the remotest Provinces from the Sea seldom taste Fish of any sort and ev'n very rarely of Flesh-meat But lest any Body should imagine that I contradict my self in saying that the people of England don't eat less Fish since the Observation of Lent but rather more and that I pretend nevertheless that the notice of such a Superstition does prejudice to the Revenues of Land in France and hinders the Breeding and Consumption of Cattel I shall answer that specious objection I call it specious because it seems that if so be the abolishing of Lent and other Fish-days in England produce that effect that more Fish is eaten in it since it would seem to follow that less Flesh-meat should be consum'd and so consequently if Lent and other pretended Fast-days were abolished in France more Fish would be eaten and less Flesh destroyed I answer that there is no real contradiction in what I have asserted but only a seeming one and that also to those who do not weigh things rightly my reason is this that in England the people have always and at all seasons plenty both of Meat and Fish no place in the Kingdom being very remote from Sea and there being many Rivers full of Fresh-Water Fish and the Tide coming up a great way in many of those Rivers the Sea-Fish is conveyed into the Country at a very small charge They have also plenty of good Cattel so that they may at all times eat that they like best or find cheapest without that aversion which the Tyranny of Imposition occasions when they are commanded upon Eternal Damnation to eat or not to eat such and such things at such and such times whereas France is generally much more remote from the Sea and Fish there very scarce or dear Now in those places at a great distance from the Sea if it were not for the Superstition of Lent and other Fast-days as they call them in those places they would eat much more Meat than they do and more also than is eaten on the Sea-coasts where Fish is more plentiful and cheaper and consequently they should breed more Cattle More Fish would also be eaten in the Sea Ports and other places near the Sea than is eaten at present if it were not for the tyrannous Impositions upon their Consciences which forbids them to eat Meat at such times and creates in most part of them a kind of abhorrency of Fish which they are forced to eat and hence it comes to pass that less Fish is taken in the Sea-Ports than there would be were it not for this Superstition and less Cattle is also bred in the Country than would be were it not for the same Abuse which forbids the eating of Meat above five Months in the Year and so puts all things out of order for by this Means those that live near the Sea are disgusted at Fish which Nature and Providence affords them very cheap nay almost for nothing which would be a great Treasure to them if it were not for the tyranny impos'd upon them and those who live in remote places of the Country and have an opportunity to breed abundance of Cattle and eat Meat very cheap are forced to abstain from it and lose that great advantage tho' they cannot have Fish but at a very dear rate It deserves likewise our Observation that France has lost considerably in respect of the profits they made of their Cattle by the expulsion of the Protestants because they bought those young Cattle Poultry c. in the Towns and Countries where they liv'd which otherwise had been lost or very chargeable to the Owners Article XIII relates to the Injustice Violence and Spiritual Tyranny of the Popish Clergy which causes an unestimable dammage to the Kingdom of France This Spirit of Injustice and Inhumanity which is essential to Popery was the cause of the last War which they kindled secretly and of the last Persecution and of all the Massacres and Civil Wars that have been in France That same Spirit of VIOLENC sets them whenever they meet with Princes obnoxious to them to persecute all those with the utmost fury that differ from them in their Opinions though they have no other Foundation sor them but their own Ambition Pride and Covetousness that Spirit I say of Injustice has been one of the great causes of the Ruin of France I leave it to the VVorld to Judge whether they did not take advantage of the Ambition of that Potent Prince who was perhaps possessed with the design of an Uâ—…iversal Monarchy to make him believe that it was convenient for him in order to aâ—…tain his end to destroy the Reformation in England Holland France and all other parts and under that pretence to bring King James who was known to be a Bigoted Prince into the same design and to oblige him to do all what we know he did 'T is by such Methods as these that the Court of Rome Ruines all the Princes and States of Christendom when she is in any way affraid that they will grow too Potent then to be sure she inspires them by her Emissaries and Confessors with such designs as will lay them desolate and unpeople their Country when at the same time they have no mistrust of any such thingâ—… I shall not offer to compute the dammage done by this Article at any certain Sumâ—… of Money for every one may easily perceive that this is a Fountain of innumerable Mischiefs Article XIV shews plainly how ruinous the Popish â—…lergy is to the State of France in this that theâ—… contribute little to the great Charge of â—…e â—…tion tho' they enjoy the half of all Estates Real and Personal of the Kingdom and â—…ught consequently to pay as much proportioâ—…ably to the King as those do who possess the other half of the Kingdom For the Clergy even at present scarcely pay 10 Millions oâ—…â—…vres towards the 200 Millions which the King hath exacted every year from the Nation one way or other since the War that is to say that the Clergy and Religious Orders as they call them of France who make up perâ—…aps 300000 Souls enjoy as much Revenâ—… as 8 or 9 Millions of other People that may â—…ill be reckoned to be in the Kingdom oâ—… â—…rance or as much as was enjoy'd by 13 or 〈◊〉 Millioâ—…s that might have been in it 30 yeâ—…rs ago â—…nd that tho' every one of the Clergy and â—…uch like Religious Persons have one with aâ—…other
Popes was the cause of the Mahometans subduing part of Europe and that the Empire of the East of Christian became Mahometan The Ambition of the Popes hath also torn in pieces the Empire of the West and spoil'd its Emperours of part of their Dominions even of Rome it self and made them their Vassals and Slaves in a manner so as to tread upon them in person sometimes with Impunity so that by the Ambition of the Roman Clergy and their Popes the Empire is no other than a meer Shadow of what it formerly was It is very well known that by the perfidiousness of the Pope the Turks rendred themselves Masters of Hungary the Court of Rome having oblig'd the unhappy King Uladislaus to violate his Faith and break the Treaty he had made with them which Violation was followed by a Total Defeat of that King at the Battle of Varnâ—… and the loss of the Kingdom which the Infidels seized upon as may be seen by the following Distich wherein that â—…nfortunate King is made to complain that the Pope and his Clergy had ruined him by their perfidious Counsel Me nisi Pontifices jussissent rumpere faedus Non ferret Scythicum Pannonis or a jugum May be thus English'd By Popes command had I my League ne'r broke Pannonia ne'r had felt the Scythian Yoke For above 1000 years the Popes and their Clergy have been constantly aspiring to the Universal Monarchy and have made it their constant business to sow Divisions betwixt Christian Princes and their Subjects and to kindle War amongst those Princes to weaken them by one another that so they might bring them all under their Yoke By this method they make themselves Arbitrators and Masters of their differences and always cast the Ballance on the side of their own Interest without any regard to Honour or Justice and that not by Armies or open Force but by the Intrigues of Confessors Monks and Prostitutes or as the Scripture represents it by their Cups Draughts and Witchcrasts as becometh the great Prostitute that hath made the Kings and the Princes of the Earth drunk with the VVine of her Fornication They still foment now as formerly and without ceasing Divisions and Factions in all the Countries of Europe yea even amongst Protestants by their secret Emissaries whom they imploy in great numbers in order to bring them gradually under their Yoke one way or other by a Million of Crimes A famous Spanish Polititian who knew their Game well enough said that there is not so much as a Sword drawn noâ—… a Pike carried in Christendom that hath not been sharpen'd in the Forge of Rome No se Saca espada non se arbola pica cuyo el hierro no estuviere aguzado en la fraga de Roma They had the greatest share in the War newly concluded and made their profit on 't tho' the simple Vulgar are apt to think they have no hand in it No Body is Ignorant of the cunning Invention made use of by the Popes formerly to bring part of Asia under their Yoke without putting themselves to any charge and at the same time to increase their own Authority and Conquests in Europe at the expence of the Christian Princes whom they dispoil'd Their way was to perswade those poor innocent Princes to go in Person to Asia with great Fleets and Navies to chase the Mahometans from that Country for which end the Popes call'd it the Holy Land as if that Land had been holier than another after having put the Lord Jesus Christ to death And while those Princes were in that Country with numerous Armies of their Subjects by which they dispeopled their own Dominions the Popes endeavoured to make themselves Masters of tâ—…e same or at least suck'd their Subjects to the bone and drain'd out all the Riches of their Countries by means of their Clergy France and England suffered very much by this means and we have no reason to doubt but they would have been much more rich and populous had it not been for that All the World knows that the Romish Clergy or Church hath destroyed or caus'd to be destroyed by their Orders more people â—…nder pretence of Religion than all the Heathen Emperours and more than all the Nations of the habitable World have done upon that account since the Creation of the World France and England can testifie this from sad Experience It 's well enough known that their Councils that is to say the Luminaries of Popery the most enlightned and sincere part of the Church of Rome a mark of the Absolute Reprobation of that Church for several Ages It 's well enough known I say that those Councils have establish'd it as a Maxim or Rule for several Ages past that they are not oblig'd to keep Faith with Hereticks and that Princes are obliged on pain of eternal Damnation and the loss of their Dominions to destroy them Whence it comes to pass that not only all the Murders Robberies Perjuries Rapes and all Crimes in general are permitted but commanded against all those Christians who oppose themselves never so little to the Interests Tyranny or Ambition of the Pope and Clergy which Sentence doth à fortiori include also Jews Pagans and Mahometans when the Church of Rome shall think meet seeing it is clear that they ought not to have any more favour shew'd them than those they call Hereticks From those Principles have proceeded so many Massacres Persecutions Violations of Faith Religious Wars Croisades and Leagues to extirpate those who were called Hereticks Hence also proceeded many Assassinations of Princes and Attempts upon their Lives which France hath often had experience of hence came the Civil Wars in England and Ireland the burning of Towns and Conspiracies against the State One of the Kings of France was formerly whipp'd at Rome in the Person of his Ambassador by the Popes Order which is the highest Ignominy that can be done to a Nation or Prince And if we have not fresh and daily Instances from their Church of such decrees as those of the Councils of Constance and Latâ—…ran or such remarkable demonstrations of their Pride and Cruelty it 's not because they have chang'd their Principles but because there is no opportunity offers to do it with safety and for the advantage of the Pope It is not want of good will The Habit remains still though the Acts are not continually exerted A Shoemaker says Horace though he lays aside all the Tools of his Art and shuts up his Shop is a Shoemaker still Alfenus vafer omni Abjecto instrumento Artis clausâque tabernâ—… Sutor erat c. We see what that Church hath occasion'd to be done lately and does yet at present in France against the Protestants and what they would have done in England and for their Inquisition it continues still the same It may be clearly seen by all those proofs which we have produc'd of the Natural and Necessary Opposition there is betwixt the Church
Another Reason which proves that Fornication is incomparably more mischievous in a Country than Drunkenness is this that it is a Crime common to both Sexes So that it is hard to say which of the two is most addicted to it whereas Drunkenness is more particularly the Vice of Men. Another reason is this that Whordom being contrary to Propagation as I have said already and corrupting all the Sources of Generation in a particular manner and ruining the Bodies of Men Women and Children as much and more than Drunkenness ruins those of Men It is certain that it is abundantly more pernicious than the other I could bring 30 more reasons to prove this if the place were proper This last Article concerning their Drunkenness makes it evident that this Crime does great prejudiâ—…e to a Country if it were no more but by the loss of the Wine Brandy Cider c. which they consume without necessity But besides this Vice ruins abundance of Families shortens the Days of abundance of Men as well as the other tho' in lesser number occasions the loss of a great deal of time with many Quarrels and Murders and makes people brutish and dull as well as Fornication But we will lay aside those two last Articles if the Reader pleases and count them as nothing tho' the prejudice they do goes farther than can be imagined for it's clear enough that the others which I have proposed already occasion above two hundred Millions loss per Annum throughout the Kingdom of France and they can be ascrib'd to nothing else but Popery whereas they may perhaps cavil at the two last and say that the Protestants are incontinent and likewise drunken as well as the Papists If it be well adverted to it will be found that four of the 18 Articles that I have propos'd do alone amount to above 200 Millions of Livres per Annum viz. those of their Holy-days the Estates of the Church that are in Mainmort Lent and other Fast-days and the few Taxes that the French Clergy pays in comparison of the rest of the people Popery occasions the same Mischiefs proportionably in all other Popish Countries and in some more as Spain and Portugal which it hath greatly dispeopled by the Incontinence and Celibacy of their Clergy and the Consequences of these Disorders by the great number of their Ecclesiasticks the Spirit of Persecution and the Perfidiousness of Popery in the Expulsion of the Moors and Jews and by their Inquisition c. But as Italy is nearest to the Court of Rome she hath thereby contracted greater Vices also than other Nations All Sins against Nature are in Vogue there and Poysoning Cozenage Imposture and a certain Effeminacy and Cowardliness which the Priests and Monks have introduc'd there with all Vices imaginable Whence it comes to pass that there is not the least spark of the Courage Greatness of Soul and Generosity of the Antient Romans to be seen and that there is no Country more easie to be conquered by a powerful Neighbour than that France is also owing to Popery and the Court of Rome for their having infected her in some measure with the Habits of diverse of those unnatural Crimes which are so common in Italy that the Spaniards say of the Italians that are infected therewith In Italia todos and of those Crimes the Religious Convents and Monastries the Monks Jesuites and their Scholars with some great Men in France are accused It is also well enough known that the Art of poysoning was brought into France from Italy by the Ecclesiasticks The Maltotes or the great Impositions is another Calamity introduc'd upon France by its Communion with the Court of Rome The Popes that are the greatest Tyrants of the World furnish'd Examples of it upon their own Subjects in Italy and the Romish Religion and the Confessors of Princes and of their Ministers have furnished them with Lessons of the same Equivocations Perfidiousness in all Treaties Ambigâ—…ous Expressions in all Transactions and Publick Acts have been Consecrated by the Example of Popish Councils especially that of Trent which form'd a great number of Decrees capable of diverse contrary Senses which have occasion'd Divisions among diverse Sects of their Monks and many of their Divines whereof that Infallible Tribunal as they call it of the Pope and his Cardinals would never determine the Sense for fear of disobliging some one of the Parties though they do it every day in the most Insolent and Impudent manner in regard to the Word of God to which they attribute the most absurd and extravagant Sence imaginable with a surprizing Impiety All Europe in general is oblig'd to the Court of Rome for the false and cursed Politicks that Reigns almost in all its Courts and hath banished thence Probiâ—…y Sincerity upright Intentions Fidelity Justice Truth Generosity so that they are nâ—…w fill'd with Cozenage Deceit and Eâ—…eminacy The Court of Rome is moreover become a grand Pattern and Teacher of Irreligion and Prophanity now for several Ages It is from the Popes that Roman Catholick Princes have learned to profane the Christian Religion and to corrupt People daily by offers of temporal Rewards to abjure the Religion of Jesus Christ to follow theirs of which we see sad Examples every day as to the Church of Rome and even of some Sovereign Princes We have reason to say when we consider all those things well that the Papacy or the Pope deserves abundantly better the Title of Infidel or Hereditary Enemy of Christendom than the Turk tho' â—…e assumes to himself the Name of the Common Father of Christendom If any Opiniater will still take upon him to deny that Popery does not occasion the loss of 200 Millions per Annum through the Kingdom of France I am satisfied that he wont be accounted any great Master of Reason by such Judicious Persons as have read my Arguments But I say however that tho' it should not amount to above one half or one third of that Summ it would be an Argument cogent enough for the abolishing it and sufficient proof of the Falshood of that Pretended Religion Amongst those direful Effects which Popery occasions perpetually and necessarily in the Dominions that are thereunto Subject I have not taken any notice of those which may be call'd Passing and Accidental though they have also a determinate Cause and proceed from the same Original viz. the first Principles of Popery which we may call the Soul of it and constitute the essential Form of the Church of Rome viz. Ambition Pride and Avarice which have made and do make from time to time an horrible Ravage in Christian Countries nay through the whole World I am certain that if we should reckon up those accidental Mischiefs which Popery occasions from time to time in France the Sum would be much â—…bove 200 Millions per Annum How many Unjust Wars hath it kindled in France both Intestine and Foreign History tells us that the Ambition of the