Foundation And I doubt not but King Charles II. had been very willing to gratifie and reward too his distress'd Subjects had he not judg'd such a piece of Gratitude quite contrary to his real Interest For considering that such as stood up for his Concerns were so entirely consecrated to his Service that no hard usage on his side could break them off from their loyalty to the Royal line he thought he could use them as familiarly as he pleas'd yea and slight them too without their taking much notice of it provided they were now and then commended for the constant performance of their Duty in the hardest times But as for the downright Rebels and all such as oppos'd most his Interest because they were the richest Men in the Nation and the most considerable upon the account of their Authority among the People he very prudently clos'd in with them as being the surest props of his new setled Throne So that whatever good Service we do to our Friends if they find it their Interest to make us no Returns for our Kindness we must not rely too much upon what we may reasonably expect from them and they ought to do for us But yet King Charles the Second dealt not so harshly with his real Friends as Lewis the Fourteenth with the French Hugonots who having declared themselves for his Right against the then Prince of Condè caus'd the whole Kingdom of France to take his part in opposition to the ambitious pretences of that dangerous Antagonist Because every one is not particularly acquainted with the Matter of Fact I shall upon this occasion give you a particular and short account of the whole passage that the World may be thoroughly inform'd how injustly the French Protestants have been dealt withal by Lewis the Great The Prince of Condè considering first That Lewis the Fourteenth was born near Three and Twenty Years after Lewis the Thirteenth his Father was married and secondly That this Prince had been always so sickly and weak that some doubted very much if he could be the true Father of Lewis XIV Upon this grounded suspicion he immediately declared his Right to the Crown as next Heir and accordingly marching with a powerful Army towards Paris forc'd the Cardinal the Queen and the Young King to fly as far as Amiens before any of the French Cities would take notice of him till the Cardinal sent to the Hugonots to desire their assistance in such a dangerous Juncture as that was Who unanimously agreeing to give him all the Succours they could raise for his Service frightn'd the Prince back again without executing his Design Immediately upon the News of his Retreat the strong Cities that till then had shut up their Gates not only receiv'd the flying King but furnishing him with all Necessaries enabled him to march back to Paris again with an Army where though oppos'd at first by Madamoiselle he was at last admitted with great shouts and acclamations of the People Though this was such a singular piece of Service as deserved the greatest reward yet when the King came to age in a great Council held in his presence the thorow overthrow of the Hugonots was fully resolved upon Which so startl'd the King himself at first that he told plainly his Counsellours He had always been inform'd That the Hugonots had settl'd the Crown upon his Head in opposition to the Prince of Conde's aspiring Ambition But it was immediately reply'd by the Council That for that very Reason he ought to leave no stone unturn'd to destroy 'em because if they had been not very long before powerful enough to settle the Crown upon his Head they were then able enough if they pleas'd to pull it off again ARTICLE XLI 1. That Riches change Mens Tempers 2. And why 3. What the Papists us'd to say of the New Converts in the late Reign 'T is commonly said That a change of Fortune for the better alters a Man's Humour and Temper Honores mutant Mores But it 's not obvious to every common Understanding why it does so For though it be generally true That Men become prouder by great Riches acquired and Eminent Dignities conferr'd upon them it must be further inquir'd what is the true Cause of this Pride which renders them so unsociable to such as formerly were their Equals and Companions May not I then be allow'd to say That their Pride being perhaps more affected than real 't is chierly grounded upon Interest which I make out in short thus If Men after they are promoted to great Dignities whether Ecclesiastical or Civil behav'd themselves towards their once familiar Acquaintances with the same Exteriour Humility and openness of Heart they were us'd to do before their promotion they would be forc'd in a manner to make them share in their Estates likewise as well as in their intimate Friendship 'T is then a piece of prudence in them according to the Political Maxims of Self-interest to break off all intimacy with their old if poor Friends least they be solicited to supply their Wants to the lessening of what they themselves must spend in Superfluities And for this very Reason I am of Opinion That the unsociableness if I may so speak of most men under the Circumstances we are discoursing of comes directly from their greediness to keep what they have got lest by their Familiarity with their former Friends they be oblig'd in point of Honour not to let them want upon occasion For 't is generally observ'd That the ungratefulness of most men to their truest Friends and greatest Benefactors is always to be ascrib'd to their unreasonable Covetousness upon the sudden change of their Fortune either because of their great and necessary Expences in a higher post or upon the account of their new ambitious projects they must lay up for being never contented with their present condition how flourishing soever because the more they have the more they covet Quo plus sunt potae plus sitiuntur aquae Upon this account we may truly say That all Men are equally poor and in Want because no man thinks he has enough to answer his present occasions So unsatisfied we still are with the plentifullest Enjoyments of this World Since then in all our Attempts we pursue always our own Interest notwithstanding our pretences sometimes to the contrary we shall be reckon'd to act like Politicians if we mind what particular advantage every man aims at that so knowing what he may be gain'd by we may take our measures accordingly for our own ends This Maxim being carefully observed by the late King in preferring upon all occasions the New Converts to confirm them in his Religion by the actual possession of that the very hopes of which had brought them over to it gave occasion to the old Roman Catholicks to say That the Kings Papists got all but Gods Papists Nothing Meaning that the New Converts were always gratified either by Pensions or Employments whereas such
which if true would seem to imply likewise an absolute Power over his Political Body that is over all the Members of the Catholick Church At least it is certain the Romish Priests look upon the first as an Article of Divine Faith since they hold Transubstantiation to be one and I may safely say they pretend likewise to the latter exalting themselves above all that is called God But not to alarm too much the world with their ambitious Projects they allow the Pope to be Soveraign in spiritual things only not in temporal concerns This famous distinction narrowly look'd into is frivolous and chiefly invented to deceive the unwary there being such a connection between the spiritual and the temporal that whosoever is supposed to be Master of the former may dispose of the latter at his pleasure as whoever Lords over my Soul may influence as he pleases my body because the motions of the one depend much upon the free or necessary determinations of the other However to return to what I first hinted at the pretended Power of Priests over Christ's Body has been one of the Chief Causes and the Original Prop of the now Popish Grandeur For no wonder if the Laicks are real Slaves to such as they look upon as the Makers and absolute Masters in a manner of Christs Body since they can multiply it they say as often as they consecrate Bread and Wine Their Churchmen owe to this assum'd Power the infinite Treasures of Gold and Silver they are possess'd of there being few Churches in any considerable City but which are richly furnish'd with golden Melchisedecks as they call them in Flanders or Suns as they speak in France to lodge the Consecrated Wafer in besides Altars of Massy Gold and Silver Golden Cups of all sorts and other precious Ornaments belonging to the Workmanship of their own hands Christ's Body by an imaginary that is an invisible Miracle transubstantiated The Canonization of their Saints is likewise a gross Contrivance to enrich that part of the Romish Church which resides at Rome Without Money and a great deal too there is no hopes of ever being canoniz'd there the Expence amounting at least to fifty or threescore thousand Crowns payed commonly either by some Popish Prince or by the Religious Orders whom the Canoniz'd Saint when alive belong'd to which gave occasion to a Jesuit of my acquaintance in France to say That he desired no more Canoniz'd Saints in his Order least it should be ruin'd by the extravagant Expences of their Canonization ARTICLE XVI 1. The Worship of the Dead useful to the Living 2. Popish Processions 3. Why Debates about the true Relick of a Saint are never determined in the Popish Countries This minds me of some other pious Frauds of great benefit to most Roman Catholick Cities Among these I need only mention the Religious Worship of the Dead though there be no Revelation of their being in Heaven A City becomes soon rich enough to be envied if it can but be possess'd of the Body of a Reputed Saint or Martyr For then the people repair from all parts to his Shrine to implore God's assistance by his Merits as they speak or Mediation to the great advantage of the Citizens who are more enrich'd by the Money Strangers spend with them both upon Necessaries and Superfluities than the Saint is honour'd either by their Prayers directed to him or by the frequent Masses said at certain rates in his Honour To allure the greater Crowds to this Religious kind of Fair they make at appointed times of the Year solemn Processions with all imaginable Pomp and Magnificence omitting nothing of Show and Pageantry that can contribute to the contenting of Peoples Curiosity and encreasing the Solemnity of the Day which begun with Superstitious and Pagan-like Devotions ends at last in Debauchery Feastings and all other Recreations both lawful and unlawful The Victualling and Publick-Houses are sure to be provided abundantly with all Necessaries upon such occasions as gaining then more sometimes in a few days than they do during the greatest part of the Year by their ordinary and daily trading And this is the Reason why if there arise any Debate about the true Relick of a Saint as there is about St. John Baptist's Head to be found in Two different Cities in Europe It can never be composed because one of the contending Parties must be at a loss by a final decision of the business So that every City stands up as stifly in the Vindication of the Relick the Citizens are in possession of as if it were as really it is in its yearly product a good part of their Estates ARTICLE XVII 1. What sort of Images most in Esteem in the Church of Rome 2. The Proofs of a Miracle done by a Popish Image or Statue 3. The History of the Holy Vial commonly called La Sainte ampoulle 'T is upon the same account that Images not miraculous are of little or no value in the Romish Convents because they are looked upon but as barren Ornaments that serve only to adorn their Walls and not to feed their dainty Palates But their design'd work is done if they can but once perswade the people that some have been deliver'd from dangerous Distempers by praying to the Saint before his Image or Statue which they never fail to take evidence of by engaging the Man or the Woman upon whom the pretended Miracle is wrought to hang up in the Church or Chappel ad perpetuam rei memoriam in remembrance for ever of the wonder the figure of that part of the Body which is said to be cured either in Gold or Silver or in Wax at least in case the concern'd party cannot be at greater Expences Now this Ceremony is always attended with great Liberalities to the good Fathers who do often laugh heartily in their Long Sleeves at the simplicity of the credulous multitude so easily decoy'd into the belief of whatever they please to impose upon them Such another kind of pious Fraud is the Holy Oyl or rather Vial La Sainte ampoulle which I have seen in the Church of St. Remigius of Reims in Champagne It was brought from Heaven by a Pigeon to anoint the first Christian King of France the Oyl being in a congeal'd-like form and made use of in the Coronation of the French Kings without any real if you believe the Common People or at least without any sensible diminution of its Substance because of the little quantity they take of it to mix with other Oyls in order to the anointing of a new King Is it not strange that such a gross and groundless Fable as this is should pass so current and uncontroverted among sensible men that the Citizens of Reims have created des Chevaliers de la Sainte ampoulle Knights of the Holy Vial to be its Angel-Guardians lest any body should rob them of it Yet I am of Opinion lest I should think them down-right Fools that their Zeal
for its preservation is not so much grounded upon their belief of the Truth of the thing because I can by no means believe 'em so silly and senseless as upon the great advantages they get weekly and yearly by keeping it within their own Walls first from all sorts of Strangers going thither very thick to see what sort of Oyl is made in Heaven secondly from the King and the whole Court during their stay there both before and after the Coronation is over ARTICLE XVIII 1. Rome's Politicks 2. The Fond of the Apostolick Chamber 3. The late Pope's Zeal No City in the World has greater Politick Fetches for Interest sake than Rome it self as I have already intimated in another place So that if she is not Mistress of the World as formerly she was by the force of Arms she still maintains her Soveraign Dominion by her Spiritual Tricks not easily suspected by such as being in love with implicite Faith submit blindly their Necks to her Yoke Roma Caput mundi quicquid non possidet armis Religione tenet Though she has lost the Peter's Pence and many other Casualties that enrich'd her of Old nevertheless 't is incredible what vast sums of Money she draws out of all parts of Europe upon pretended Religious Accounts The Annates as the French call them and the First Fruits of every inferiour Benefice as well as of the greater ones bring Yearly vast Treasures into the Romish Exchequer The Possession taken of all Ecclesiastical Benefices of any valuable Revenue is confirm'd by the Pope's Patents But this Confirmation is never granted gratis the Price thereof being sent to the Apostolick Chamber or to be payed to the Pope's immediate Officers upon the place The Rate of what is called Pallium Archiepiscopale the Archbishop's Cloak is always Four Thousand Crowns at least which must needs amount to a vast deal of Money if we consider the great number of Popish Archbishops in Europe alone To say nothing neither of frequent Dispensations of Age of Nearness in Blood of Irregularities to qualifie a Woman or a Man for Marriage or Priesthood nor of daily Appeals to the Pope from all parts of Europe always dearly payed for though with some regard to every man's private ability The Popes very Zeal for the propagation of the Popish Religion is not so much disinterested as those who see no further than the out-side of things may perhaps fancy Innocent the Eleventh was deservedly commended for lending the Emperour and the King of Poland Money towards a vigorous prosecution of the War against the Turks But this was lending of Money to good use since the New Conquests of Hungary and other Neighbour Countries may prove in time as beneficial to Rome as to the Emperour himself considering the great and usurp'd power of the Pope over such people as have not maintain'd from time to time their Priviledges in opposition to the injust encroachments of Priestly Covetousness ARTICLE XIX 1. The Pope Christ's pretended Vicar-General 2. His design in assuming this Title discovered 3. Exceptions in Plenary Indulgences and Jubilees Three things more besides many others that would be too tedious to mention here contribute not a little to the maintaining and enriching of the City of Rome The Residence of Forreign Ambassadours of the Heads of Religious Orders and now more frequent Jubilees than formerly were used to be One of the chief Usurpations of the Popes of Rome was that of the Quality of Christ's Vicar-General upon Earth not to mention the Title of Vniversal Bishop they likewise laid claim to But surely they could not be convinc'd in their Judgment that either of these Titles did really belong to the Bishop of Rome because the first is neither grounded upon Reason Scripture nor upon Tradition it self and the latter would imply the Bishop of that See to be the only Bishop in the World or that none are Bishops but by derivation of their Power and Dignity from the Pope which is manifestly false Allowing then the Popes to have been men of Sence as undoubtedly they were they had certainly some other fetch than meer Ambition in pretending to such high and groundless Titles and this was nothing else but the encrease of their Treasures by the great Concourse upon this account of Forreign Ambassadours from all Christian Princes to Rome To whom they have allowed such large Franchises that they are become almost Masters of that great City to the impairing indeed of the Popes Jurisdiction but to the advantage and enriching of the Citizens because of the vast Expences of those Forreigners among them whereby they are the better enabled to pay the Pope's Taxes The residing likewise of the Generals of most Religious Orders at Rome does not a little encrease his Holiness's Revenue For though some of them live in other Kingdoms yet the most considerable make their abode there and the General Congregations or Synods of the Regular Clergy sit commonly upon occasion in this City whither every Province sends Deputies or Procurators from other Kingdoms to debate and decide Matters of Concern which must needs bring great Treasures to that City each Religious Envoy being allowed Fifty or Threescore Pound for the Expence of his Journey besides what he must spend during his stay in Rome It is likewise observable that whatever Power is given to Priests in Full Plenary General Indulgences and Jubilees to dispense with reserved Cases the Vows made by Votaries to visit Saint Peter's Church in Rome are always craftily excepted and reserv'd to the Pope alone that the deluded Romanists may be still oblig'd to come and spend their Money there But least the design of Interest should be discovered by the suspicious multitude the Pope never fails to except at the same time the Vows or Promises made by the bigotted Papists to go Pilgrims to Saint James Chappel in Compostella But I have said nothing yet of the Famous Year of the great Jubilee a pretty Contrivance to bring in all the Waters of Europe to the Roman Mills It was celebrated at first but every Hundred Year and afterwards every Fifty Year but now every Five and Twenty and perhaps the Popes will some day shorten this time too that they may the oftner drain the Pockets of the Christians by this spiritual and plausible Trick it being not only a bait for the bigotted sort of Roman Catholicks but likewise for curious Protestants flocking upon such occasions in great Numbers to Rome to see the pompous Superstitions of the Romish Church at the very Spring-head ARTICLE XX. 1. A good Advice to Clients 2. A Scotch Lawyers Answer to one of his Clients 3. The late Duke of Lauderdale's Answer to the Right Honourable Earl of Rochester But let us leave the Court of Rome to consider a little how Interest plays its part at the Bar and in Courts of Justice I shall begin with an Advice to Clients not unlike to that which I gave in the Discourse of Wit to
Order they are enroll'd in pronounce these solemn Words Voveo Castitatem perpetuam I vow and promise perpetual Chastity They Equivalently say That if ever they marry yea were it to quench their Burning they are in a state of Damnation for doing what the Scripture adviseth them to do against a pressing Temptation Since then 't is clear from the Premises to an unprejudic'd mind That the forementioned Vow being unlawful ought neither to be taken nor kept if once taken undoubtedly some considerable Interest or other must oblige the Church of Rome to impose upon her Children such an unnatural Yoke as this is and I know no other thing she can aim at in this case but worldly Grandeur by securing to her self the chief Defenders of her Authority the Religious Orders of all Colours which as the Vows give Being to so they likewise without them cannot subsist For whatever Money is given in with their Novices as they speak may be recovered again in case they make no Vows after a Year or Two's Trial. If then we remember that the Church of Rome aims always in all her undertakings at worldly Greatness and Riches we cannot but admire her Policy as much as we ought to abhor her Wickedness in taking this method to make her self a Party and a strong one too in every Corner of Christendom ARTICLE XLIV 1. Grains of Allowance for lewd Women in Rome and upon what account 2. The Courtisans banish'd Rome and called home again 3. A considerable Abuse suffered in Amsterdam and why Publick Protection given to lewd and debauch'd Women is such a piece of Scandal that Rome it self might be asham'd of it But the least smell of Gain out of any thing whatsoever dulcis odor lucri c. being so sweet and comforting we need not wonder to see the Pope himself slight his own Good Name and Reputation for a Yearly Revenue he gets by protecting such Women as give themselves up to the publick Lust Though the Matter of Fact be very certain and no where doubted yet because the manner is not so generally known I shall give you a true and short account of it upon this occasion When Women are resolv'd to turn themselves loose they are oblig'd to make their appearance before Two Publick Notaries or before Two Judges in order to renounce solemnly their Names Families and Reputation Which being perform'd in the usual manner they are allowed a free Trade provided first they live together in certain noted places provided secondly they wear something or other they may be known by and thirdly that they fail not to pay every Year a certain Sum into the Pope's Exchequer for their Freedom The Romans chief Apology for such an unchristian Toleration is the pretence of shunning a greater Crime I do heartily abhor to name as well as to think on otherwise they say unavoidable in that Climate if the former Conveniencies were not allowed of which they add is so true that one of the Popes having banish'd all the Courtesans was not only forc'd to call them back to Rome again upon his Discovery of a greater and daily abomination occasion'd by their absence but likewise that there might be nothing wanting on his side for putting a stop to one sin and promoting another caus'd a considerable Sum of Money to be distributed among them to enable them to buy such things as might fit them the better for the use they were design'd for So one only among the Popes undertook to clear Rome of lewd Women and for ought I know none will ever attempt the like again because of the Considerable and Yearly Benefit the Apostolick Chamber gets by thus indulging Humane Frailty 'T is true there is a Monastery appointed for the use of the Repenting Courtisans But through this very pretended Zeal we may easily discover a real Design of Gain and Interest For since 't is certain that the Pope's Revenues are Yearly better'd by the multitude of the Courtisans there could be no Contrivance so plausible nor so useful for the Pope's Design as that of a Monastery or Retreat for them in their Old Days when sin has left them because Young Women considering that they can provide for themselves with the help of the allowed Trade during their greener and flourishing Years and that they are sure to be provided for when Old Age comes on in the Monastery design'd for them are undoubtedly thereby encourag'd to turn Courtisans upon such a fair prospect of never wanting neither Young nor Old in case of a true or feign'd Repentance But what I have said of Rome I may likewise say of a very Reform'd City Amsterdam and that Interest obligeth not only the Papists but also the best sort of Christians to connive sometimes at the greatest Crimes and Abuses The Musick-Houses as they call them in Amsterdam are allowed of by the Magistrates all the Year round because of the Money spent daily there to the great benefit of the City by lewd Women and such as come to meet them in these places As I could not but discover sometimes my particular concern to see a Reform'd City guilty almost of the same abomination we so often reproach Rome with I was told by an understanding Hollander That the Toleration of the forementioned Houses how scandalous soever was very prudently and politically allowed of by the Magistrates of Amsterdam upon this account that the Pay near of Twenty Thousand Seamen comes home to them that way again it being generally observ'd that such Houses are most resorted to by idle Mariners who would spend the Money they have got in the States Service in the Neighbour-Cities if their Debauchery was not conniv'd at in Amsterdam ARTICLE XLV 1. The Abuse of Godliness 2. Good Advice against the treacherous Designs of the deceitful 3. The Seven Woes of the Gospel pronoun'd against Hypocrites Men commit not only all kind of Crimes for interest sake but which may seem somewhat strange become godly and vertuous for the same end Godly I say at least in appearance as thinking that Piety which the Scripture says is useful for all things utilis ad omnia Pietas may likewise be useful for the getting of Money Such men are always less concern'd to do ill than to do illlike because by the former they offend God only whereas by the latter they commonly give offence to men whom they regard more than him they ought only to fear Upon this account 't is that they are careful to avoid no sin but that of Scandal being ready upon any advantage to lye cheat and murder to commit Theft Fornication and Adultery if they can but do it secretly They are I fancy of the Italians Opinion That what is not known is not done that is as good as not done because it puts no stop to the promoting of their Interest so long as hid and kept from the knowledge of such as would be very loth to help them either with their Purse or
Credit if they were inform'd of their secret Life and Conversation Since then the World is so deceitful for our own private measures we ought particularly to take notice of such as court us unexpectedly and at an extraordinary rate with a show of Humility and Modesty beyond their Temper and Custom upon other occasions because to be sure they either intend to put a Cheat upon us or to obtain from us or by our mediation some particular favour But those sort of Hypocrites are most of all guilty who under the specious pretence of Religion cover their real Designs of Interest and Conquest as generally the Papists do when pretending to gain our Souls they aim chiefly at our Goods and Estates as may be easily made out by whatever they have undertaken of moment either at home or abroad and I wish I had no reason to say That they are not imitated in this by some of the Reform'd part of the World who tho they pretend not to Infallibility act nevertheless as if they believ'd themselves infallible in depriving either directly or indirectly of their Estates all such as cannot in Conscience conform to their way of Worship Which gives us just grounds to suspect that this Temporal Concern is the chief thing they aim at notwithstanding all their fair pretences to a thorough Reformation to the promoting of the Gospel and of Saving Faith in Christ 'T is certainly against such Pharisees and meer pretenders to Holiness that Christ pronounc'd with so much Zeal and Eloquence the Seven following Woes 1. Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye shut up the kingdom of Heaven against men for ye neither go in your selves neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in 2. Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye devour Widows houses and for pretence make long prayers therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation 3. Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye compass Sea and Land to make one Proselite and when he is made ye make him two-fold more the child of Hell than your selves 4. Wo unto you ye blind guides which say Whosoever shall swear by the Temple it is nothing but whoever shall swear by the Gold of the Temple is a debter 5. Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye pay the Tithe of Mint and Annise and Cummin and have omitted the weightier matters of the Law Judgment Mercy and Faith these ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone 6. Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for ye make clean the out-side of the Cup and of the Platter but within they are full of Extortion and Excess 7. Wo unto you Scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you are like unto whited Sepulchres which indeed appear beautiful outward but are within full of dead mens bones and of all uncleanness We have here Hypocrisie and all its Designs of Interest laid open with that life and plainness that I need not enlarge upon the Subject Matter of this Article I shall only add That as the Ten Commandments are written in golden Letters in every Church to mind the Christians of their Duty it were likewise fit the Seven foregoing Woes should be set up in every Church Kirk Field-Conventicle and Meeting-house that both the Preachers and the Hearers may remember first That 't is neither long Prayers groaning weeping nor saying Lord Lord that they are to be saved by but a living Faith a real Vertue and an unfeigned Repentance and secondly That as God is a true Spirit so he ought and will be ador'd by all such as he lays claim to in Spirit and Truth ARTICLE XLVI 1. Lewd Women 2. Quack-Physicians 3. Judiciary Astrologers Though it be clear That all men pursue not the same particular Interest since some act for profit others for pleasure and others again by a principle of Ambition I do nevertheless incline to think That most men whatever may be their pretences to the contrary aim at nothing more in all their projects than at the increase of their Treasures that is of their Money because without this necessary Tool they can neither pretend to honour nor hope for pleasure Yea those very Women that seem to have consecrated themselves wholly to the unchast Goddess Venus or unlawful pleasure are to be stil'd rather Thieves than what they are commonly called and such of them as either watch their Prey in the Streets of great Cities or live together in private Houses in order to follow their infamous Trade ought to be look'd upon as no better than downright Robbers because their chief design is to plunder rob and drain mens Pockets which they never fail to do by stealth if they cannot do it by consent There is another Tribe of Mankind that I must take notice of upon the same account or rather upon a worse because they rob men daily of their Lives and Estates and these are the illiterate and Quack-Physicians who neither understanding Physick nor perhaps being capable of understanding it set up every where for Doctors Such only ought and may be prosecuted without any deserv'd Reflection against the Prosecutors as if they design'd an injust Monopoly But because men catch at any thing when there is a prospect of Gain no wonder if the Quacks finding so much encouragement from the credulous simplicity of the unlearned Tribe undertake the cure of most distempers without any real knowledge either of a good Remedy or of a rational Method The like may be said of Judiciary Astrologers who pretend to foresee the free Determinations of Humane Will in the different Situation or Aspect of the Stars and Planets their chief Design being to draw a Tribute from the ignorant Mob flocking to 'em for Advice about things to come which they know nothing of unless we allow them to be inspired Men or real Prophets ARTICLE XLVII 1. Crimes occasion'd by Covetousness 2. Spanish Cruelty 3. English Negligence Auri sacra fames quid non mortalia cogis Pectora Would one think that men could lay so far aside the use of Reason for that of Gold as to be guilty of Treachery Perjury Murder and whatever else may attend Crimes of that kind yet nothing more ordinary not so much among Turks and Pagans as among Christians What unheard of Cruelties were committed by the Spaniards in the West Indies 't is well known all Europe over though Mariana their best Historian would take no notice of 'em lest he should either betray the horrible Treachery of his Countrymen or himself to be an unfaithful Historian They had agreed with an Indian King their Prisoner to give him his life and liberty upon condition to put them in possession of his greatest Treasures within a certain time appointed But so soon as he had perform'd his promise in every particular he was barbarously strangl'd by the Order of the Spanish Governour with a Million more before and after that time as 't is