Importance Powerful upon the Frontiers esteem`d among the Protestants respected by all Men would have been too Formidable had he been united with the Duke of Rohan by so strict an Alliance Nor were the Reformed in France become despicable as yet and therefore they were unwilling they should have a Leader of that Fame and Authority as the Duke of Weimar The Hungarians on the other side were grown so strong that their Enemies were constrain'd to grant 'em the Priviledge of being a Fourth Estate in the Kingdom And it was to be fear'd lest the Duke of Rohan who made it his Business to advance the Reformed Party in France should have a design to procure 'em at least the same Priviledges and that under the Pretence of the Marriage of his Daughter he would engage the Duke of Weimar and other German Princes in such an Enterprize These Considerations made it very much to be suspected that the Cardinal who knew very well how to start a great many others was desirous to fend off the Blow by sending the Duke of Rohan into another World as knowing him capable to go through with whatever he undertook 'T is true that Great Men are seldom thought to dy a Natural Death and it is a rare thing to see any one depart this Life without searching for the Causes of his Death in the Politicks of his Enemy However it were the Duke of Rohan dy'd in the sixty eighth year of his Age and his Death was a great Affliction to all the Reformed who had a great Considence in him tho' such Persons among 'em who had been gain'd by the Court would needs perswade 'em that he had sacrific'd the Publick Good of the Churches to his own Interests But above twenty years after his Death they who had seen the Warrs which he had manag'd never mention'd him without tears in their Eyes The 28th of the same Month of April Miron and du Pâ—â— Intendants of Languedoc set forth an Ordinance at Momâ—â—â—â—r which was the Rule and Model of all those which were afterwards issued out against those whom they thought good to call Relapsers They took for their Pretence what happens but too frequently in Truth that both Men and Women who found it for their advantage to marry Catholicks openly profess'd the Catholick Religion when the Catholicks would not so much as hear of the Match upon any other Condition but almost as soon as ever the Marriage was Consummated the Reformed would return to their first Religion and then submitted themselves by a Publick Confession to attone for the Crime of Abjuration which they had committed They made 'em also undergo the same Punishment tho' they had not abjur'd but had onely comply'd so far as to suffer themselves to be married by a Catholick Priest The Clergy were doubly affronted by this in the first Place beholding the Mysteries of their Religion proâ—â—â—'d by such a Piece of Inconstancy and next to see the uncertainty and vanity of their Conquests Thereupon they made thâ—… Complaints to the Intendants aggravating in a most inveterate manner that Profanation of their Catholick Sacraments That Bitterness as well as their Ignorance in Ecclesiastical Antiquity chiefly appear'd by the Comparison which they made between the Reformed and the Jews who were accustom'd said they in the Primitive Times to seign themselves Catholicks and under that Colour went to Communions on purpose to break the Images and profane the sacred Host They pretended that this Prophanation was contrary to all the Edicts which never pardon'd such sort of Crimes Upon these Complaints the Intendants order'd the guilty to be prosecuted But the Custom was too deeply rooted and the Mischief was grown too common to be cur'd by such a Remedy nor do I find that the ordinance wrought any Effect In the Year 1629. the King had erected a Presidial Court at Nerac a City in the Province of Albret where the Reformed were the most Numerous The end of which establishment was to strengthen the Catholick Party by conferring upon 'em the greatest part of the Offices and Employments in that new Court But neither in the City nor in the Province were there Catholicks enow to be found who were capable to supply those Offices So that they were forc'd to send for Graduates to officiate for the present time in expectation of able Persons that were fitly qualifi'd for their Places Nor could they meet with a sufficient Number of Catholick Graduates But at length the Project was brought to perfection this Year by sending for men of Ability from other Places and admitting some of the Reformed into Employments which the rest could not supply At this time also the Sick were continually tormented by the Monks who made an ill use of their infirmities to exâ—ort from 'em some Declaration that might pass for a profession of the Catholick Religion I meet with one remarkable Example during the sickness of Anne Violette a Maid of three or four and twenty Years who liv'd at Poitiers This poor Maid falling sick lost her senses through the Violence of her Distemper Which is confessed by the Monks themselves who wrote the Relation of it in the true style of a Legend An Austin Friar went to Visit this Maid of his own Head and caus'd her to pronounce certain Words from whence he concluded her willing to die a Catholick In the mean time Cottiby Minister of the Place came thither and his Meeting with the Monk having occasion`d a loud Dispute between 'em drew together a great Concourse of People always listning after Novelties and among the rest â—ame the Maior pretending to prevent Disorders But instead of having any Regard to the condition of the sick Person he put all the People out of the Chamber and being Master of the Room caus'd a verbal Answer of the Questions propounded to the poor Creature in a Delirium to be drawn â—p as before himself being a Magistrate to the end report â—ight afterwards be made of it for a certain Truth However the Ravings of that unfortunate Creature ceas'd not â—he had till then most dreadful Dreams and she lay Crying without Intermission that she was damn'd And upon that it was that the Fryar had grounded his Conceit that â—…e would be willing to quit her Religion to rid her self â—f her Fears But after they had made her talk as long and what the Monk pleas'd her Visions and Outcries still continu'd and her Fears of Damnation were still the same Nevertheless the Catholicks would not lose this fair Opportunity to signalize their Zeal and cri'd up the Deliriâ—ms and Ravings of this poor Creature in a high Feaver for a Miraculous Conversion This happen'd toward the end of July The last of the next Month the Duke of Bouillon publish'd an Edict in Favour of the Reformed within his Principality of Sedan and tho' it contain'd no more then eighteen Articles it was as much to their Advantage as could be desir'd
Professors and Teachers in all the Universities and Faculties to the end that their Children might freely take their Degrees in the most flourishing Colleges In this Pretension of publick Salaries they thought not so much of saving their Mony as they aimed at the most important point of being owned Members of the State equal to the Catholicks and capable as well as they of all sorts of honourable and profitable Employments But the Catholicks stoutly opposed all this for fear the Reformed should be equal with them therefore they could not relish the maintaining of Ministers and Teachers out of the King's Treasury because then it might seem that the Reformed Religion was owned as the Religion of the State which eminent Character they would by all means secure to the Catholicks Besides they imagined that by settling publick Funds towards the Subsistence of Men who laboured Day and Night for the propagation of the Reformed Doctrine they should so firmly establish it that afterwards it could hardly be shaken whereas it might soon fall if the Salaries of the Ministers were left to the Charity and Zeal of their own People But these Difficulties were in a great Measure remov'd by their Demand of being freed from paying Tenths against their Consciences to a sort of Men whom they looked upon as false Pastors and the Ministers of Antichrist The Clergy could not abide to hear of losing such a real and considerable part of their Revenues and besides were afraid of the bad Consequences it might have such a fair Privilege being like to draw in a great number of Catholicks to the reformed Religion for it was well known that the Reformed taught That the Tenths were not due to the Ministers of the Gospel by Divine Right and that therefore a great Advantage would accrue to any one who keeping the Tiths to himself might come off for a small Contribution towards the Minister's Salary As there wanted not able Ministers in the Assembly so they did not fail to secure and promote their Interest insomuch that this Affair was debated with great Heats But at last it was put to an end or rather eluded by the King's Promise to pay the Reformed a yearly Sum of Mony to be employ'd as they should think fit without giving an account thereof But still they trifled about the Quantity of the Sum in respect to the Number of the Ministers for whom it was designed about the Assignations of the Mony about the Security of the Payment And after all this the Measures they took were so uncertain that a little while after the Conclusion the Reformed complained of their being but ill paid and that they enjoyed not the effect of this Promise much longer than twenty Years Moreover as the promised Sum was not sufficient to maintain such a great Number of Pastors it was in a manner made up by two Articles by the first whereof the Reformed were permitted to accept Gifts and Legacies for the Subsistence of Ministers Scholars and the Poor And by the other they were allow'd on certain Conditions to raise Mony upon their People But this was set down in the secret Articles being too advantagious to appear in the Body of the Edict The Article of the Schools was left in a greater ambiguity than the former The Reformed who were still prepossess'd with an Opinion That their Religion should be triumphant as soon as Men could embrace its Doctrin without being debarred from their temporal Advantages thought in good earnest that in a short time the Universities should be filled with Reformed Professors and Teachers if they could but get them declared capable of holding those Places which Fancy was not a little confirm'd by the general Reputation the Reformed had gotten in the World of being Men of greater and more polite Learning than the Catholicks from whence they concluded That all the Pulpits would be soon filled with Persons of eminent Doctrin out of their Churches To the same end it was that they importunately demanded That their Children should be admitted to publick Schools and to all the Priviledges and Immunities of Scholarship even as well as the Catholicks themselves and that they should not be excluded or molested upon the account of Religion These two Demands were granted them but upon Conditions so ill explained that a little after the verifying of the Edict some Difficulties were raised upon the first which brought the Concession to a small matter and by degrees to nothing at all As for the second it was so far from being advantagious to them that it proved one of the principal Springs of those great Vexations they have groan'd under during sixty Years and above because it served for a colour to deny them the Liberty of teaching any thing in their small Schools except Reading and Arithmetick and they were told that they had a Right by the Edict to send their Children to the publick Colleges where they should not be molested in their Consciences When Experience had made them fully sensible of the Cheat they endeavour'd under the reign of Lewis XIII to remedy it by erecting Schools in the principal Churches of each Province But the same Pretence of their being allowed by the Edict to send their Children to the publick Colleges gave the Catholicks occasion to hinder several of those Establishments to ruine the rest and even to force the Ministers and Consistories to suffer the Children of the Reformed to be sent to suspicious Schools as we shall have occasion to relate hereafter The fourth Demand concern'd the securing of Estates and of Civil and Natural Properties by virtue whereof Children or the next of kin inherit their deceased Parents or Relations Estates and the Members of the same Commonwealth are made capable of receiving Benefits Gifts and Legacies of Buying and Selling of Contracting Acting and Disposing of what belongs to them according to Law The Nobility and Gentry had besides the general concern a special Interest therein in respect of their Fiefs Lordships Patronages and Honours Now the Canons depriv'd the Hereticks of these Rights and afforded so many ways of bereaving them of all the Advantages of civil Society that though they had not formally condemned them to Death yet they sufficiently brought them to the Necessity of Dying by taking away from them all Succours and Reliefs necessary for the maintenance of Human Life Therefore the Catholicks observed those cruel Laws with much Severity and formal or equivalent disinheritings by which they partly or wholely excluded their reformed Relations out of their Succession were always advis'd by the Directors of their Consciences or authoris'd by the Judges So that it was high time to put a Stop to such a great Disorder and because a Healing Article had already been inserted upon this Matter in the former Edicts they needed only to get the old Orders renew'd which was done with Exceptions in respect to some particular Cases some whereof were explain'd in the secret Articles
and only to revive those Reproaches against 'em with which the most prudent Catholicks have loaded their Society from the very Infancy of their Institution THE PREFACE TO THE First Part. ALtho in the first Book I only comprehend in short what was transacted in France in reference to Religion from the beginning of Luther's Disputes till the death of Hen. III. nevertheless that Part has so small a share in my Work â—hat I may safely say that it begins exactly from that Accident which brought Hen. the IV. to the Crown So that my design takes in the Reign of three Kings The first of which whose Reign was the shortest granted the Reformed an Edict and Securities the Second took from 'em their â—ecurities and the Third cancell'd the Edict Being therefore to give an Account of three such various Events which enforces me to relate whatever happen'd most memorable under every Reign â—y Subject therefore naturally dvides it self into three Parts The first contains all that preceded the Edict of Nantes or that since it was granted regards the Execution of it during the Life of him that was the Author of it The Second recites the means that were us'd under the Name and Authority of Lewis the XIII to wrest out of the Hands of the Reformed the Cities and Assemblies that were their Security and from whence ensu'd the declination and ruin of their Affairs The Third relates what pass'd under the Reign of that Prince who wears the Crown at present till the Revocation of the Edict to which I have added the Events of some ensuing Years which are natural consequences of the former Transactions as the flight of so many persecuted Families their settling in foreign Countries and several other things of the same nature Now in regard our main business was to shew that the Conduct and Behaviour of the Reformed has been always far different from the Portraicture which their Enemies made of it I thought it requisite in every part but chiefly in the First and Second where they appear with their Arms in their hands to give an accompt of those things which afford the clearest light for the display of their Intentions to the end it may be the better discern'd whether they were not reduc'd to make use of those extraordinary Remedies by a necessity that admitted of no Dispensation I shall discourse in another place of wâ—â— they did after the death of Hen. IV. But I have here a design to speak one word of what was liable to be blam'd in their Actions during the Life of that Prince Not that I intend to repeat what I have said in their Justification quite through the whole Book but only to observe in few words the principal Circumstances of Affairs which you will find more amply laid down in the History it self The Reformed then are to be consider'd in three conditions under the Reign of this Prince In the First they had a King of their own Religion but who finding it would cost him a world of trouble to surmount the opposition of the League that under the pretence of Religion had arm'd the one half of the Kingdom against him resolv'd to change his Opinion so soon as he could do it with some appearance of Advantage In the Second they appear'd in the Service of a Prince who after he had abandoned their Religion seem'd to have alter'd his affection for them too and to mind nothing but his own Repose without much troubling himself what became of his most faithful Subjects who had done him such eminent Services In the Third condition you might see 'em living under the Authority and Protection of an Edict which they obtained at length after long solicitations in the prosecution of which they had spent four years and much longer time in the Execution of it There could be nothing laid to their charge so long as they remain'd in their first condition in regard they were fix'd to the King's Service and bore Arms in his Defence as long as he had any Enemies either at Home or Abroad If it be objected that they did not serve him then with the same Zeal and Affection as they were wont to make appear that their performances were not such as they us'd to be that they let fall some Murmurs and Reproaches I answer that if they had carried it higher it no way became the Catholicks to find fault You will perceive then by the History that the Catholicks were afraid of nothing so much as to see an end of the War before they had constrain'd the King to change his Religion that they also held Intelligence with the Leaguers who might well be lookt upon as Criminals if the Reformed were Trespassers Besides that the Reformed were oblig'd to stand upon their Guards as well against the Catholicks of the Royal Army as against the others and that by Consequence it was not just that they should expose all their Forces to the discretion of those who might have ruin'd 'em all in one Night the more easily to have ingratiated themselves with the League and have dispos'd of the Kingdom and the King's Person as they had thought proper themselves 'T was Prudence to reserve one part of their Forces against a pinch to the end the remainder might serve to revive and support their own and the Affairs of the Kingdom if the other should happen to receive a foil You shall find moreover from his coming to the Crown to his Conversion that the King discover'd to 'em every day more and more sufficient marks of his lukewarmness and indifference for them That consequently they had reason to believe that the more they enabl'd him not to want their Assistance the more he would neglect their Establishment and Security Whence it would follow That if they made use of all their Forces they should help to do their Enemies the Catholicks business and be not only ne're the better â—ut much the worse themselves But in the mean â—â—me it will be found that they acknowledg'd â—he King without condition and that they did not make bargains with him as the Catholicks â—id to serve him They would have put him doubtless to a strange plunge had they been as nice â—nd as scrupulous as others were This severity â—ould have been the Ruin both of Him and of all â—â—e Officers of the Old Court much more odious 〈◊〉 the League than the pretended Hereticks and â— there were among the other Royal Catholicks â—â—me persons of Honour they must have had their â—are in the vexation It was urg'd against the Reformed as an expression highly Criminal that they had sometimes given it out that they accepted of the Edict at a time when they might if they pleas'd have divided the Kingdom with the Catholicks I know not whether or no it be at if Crime to speak Truth but I know very well that the Reformed had been but closely united together by their own Interests without medling with those of the
Affair For we have learnt by Experience that Fire and Sword that Exilement and Proscriptions have rather exasperated than cur'd the Distemper deeply rooted in the Mind and therefore not to be reliev'd or heal'd by Medicines that only work upon the Body but by sound Doctrine and sedulous Instruction which being gently infus'd perswades an easie passage to the Mind All other things are subject to the Sanctions of the Civil Magistrate and consequently the Sovereign Prince Religion only admits not of Dominion and never enters the Seat of human Judgment but when rightly prepar'd by a well grounded Opinion of the Truth assisted by the accession of Divine Grace Torments prevail not to enforce it they but confirm the Obstinate rather than subdue or perswade What the Sâ—oics have so haughtily boasted of their Wisdom much more justly may we assert of Religion that where People are deeply affected with it Torments and Grief are little fear'd or valu'd and all other Inconveniences whatever are overwhelm'd and vanquish'd by that same Fortitude inspir'd by Zeal and Devotion All the sufferings that Mankind is liable to undergo can never terrify ' em All the Misfortunes and Calamities that are dreadful to Human Frailty they never complain of Enduring They know their strength and whether falsely or truly if once assur'd of Heavenly support they believe themselves sufficiently able to bear the burthen Let the Executioner stand at their Elbow let the Tormentor appear with his Irons and his kindled Fires it will not shake their Perseverance nor will they consider what they are to suffer but what they are to do The sâ—ource of their Felicity remains within 'em and whatever happens from without is but a fly-blow and only grazes the surface of the skin If Epicurus branded among other Philosophers for the impurity of his life had such a high notion of a wise Man that burning in Phalaris's Bull he would cry out 'T is pleasant and concerns not me at all can we believe a character less signal due to their Courage who a hundred years since contemn'd and slighted all manner of Torments all the inventions of Cruelty for Religions sake Oâ— that they would not be the same again upon as terrible a Prosecution of the same inhumanities 'T is worth the while to hear what one among the rest both said and did when ty'd to the Stake on purpose to be burnt to death how first he fell upon his knees and sung a Psalm which the Flames and Smoak could hardly interrupt and when the Executioner to mitigate his terror would have kindl'd the Fire behind his back Come hither said he and kindle it before my Face for had I fear'd a little scorching I had never been brought to this Place which it was in my power to have avoided In vain therefore men by Torments labour to suppress the Zeal of those that meditate innovations in Religion which do but rather harden their minds to sufferings more painful and more daring undertakings For when others have sprung up out of the Ashes of others and that their number has increas'd their Patience turns to Fury no longer Suppliants as before they then begin to be importunate and trouble some Expostulators and Demanders and they who fled from cruelties before have of their own accords betaken themselves to Arms. This we have seen in France for forty years together and little less in Germany And things at length were brought to that extremity that the growing Mischief could not be lopt off with the punishment of two or Three which at first perhaps might be securely done But when once it had or'e spread whole People whole Nations and consequently the greatest part of Europe in vain the Civil Sword is then made use of it requires the weapons of spiritual warfare to mow down the Harvest of Oppression They ought to be instructed and invited to friendly Colloquies and Conferences where Equity and Moderation preside This did St. Austin writing to Proculianus a Sectary of the Donatian stamp He it was who also interceeded for 'em to Donatus Proconsul of Africa that they might not be put to death Believing it became the professors of true Religion not to recede from their prepetual resolution of surmounting Evil by Acts of Lenity And in another place he writes to the President Caecilianus that the Aposteme of sacrilegious vanity was rather to be cur'd by impressions of Fear than to be cut off by the Sword of Revengeful persecutions Therefore in that splendid Epistle to Boniface he adds that in Causes of this nature where by reason of the Fatal scissures of Dissention not this or that single Person runs a hazard but whole Communities of people lye liable to ruin there ought to be a Relaxation of Severity and that the greater evils were to be redressd by the more indulgent applications of Charity Which Opinion so far prevail'd in the Church that the sentence was more than once transcrib'd into Gratian's Decree St. Austin therefore a Person both of a pious and meek spirit thus delivers his Sentiments that the Career of those Mischiefs was not to be stopt by rigour by violence or domineering Authority and more advantageous progresses would be made rather by instructing than commanding rather by admonition than menaces and that multitudes of sinners were after that manner gently to be dealt with severity only to be inflicted upon the transgressions of a Few Or if they who are superior in command are sometimes constrain'd to make use of threats that they ought to be utter'd with a real grief and sorrow for the miscarriage of the Offender and that the Terror of Vengeance should â—e deriv'd from Scripture not to render their own authority formidable but that it may appear to be the awful voice of God threatning his Judgments upon Transgressors from their Lips as he writes in his Epistle to Aurelius the Bishop And certainly if we have a love for Truth â—f necessity we must acknowledge that â—â— all the ancient Monuments of sacred Antiquity we find not any approv'd example extant of capital punishment inflicted upon Sectaries and that the Primitive â—hurch had always in abomination the efâ—sion of Blood Or if such an accident â—…ll out at any time the Bishops truly piâ—…s manifested still their detestation of the Fact As appear'd in Priscillian who having spread the Poyson of his pernicious Doctrine among the Churches of Gaul but more especially in Aquitaine together with his Followers was in the year 383. put to Death at Treves by Maximus otherwise a good Prince only that he had usurp'd the Empire from Gratian whom he depriv'd of his Life at Lyons The St. Martin had obtain'd a promise from the Emperor that nothing Bloody or Cruel should be acted against the Guilty and had earnestly exhorted Itacius and some other sticklers to desist from their accusations For all the rest of the Bishops blam'd the violence of their proceeding as unjust and unbecoming Christians And tho Itacius
after the fact perfidiously committed fearing the scandal of it would fall upon his Shoulders had withdrawn himself yet afterwards he was condemn'd by Theognistus Nor was it without great reluctancy and by constraint of pressing necessity that St. Martin could be perswaded to hold Communion with the Itaâ—ian Party In like manner St. Ambrose who was sent at the same time to Maximus by Valentinian the Brother of Gratian who was put to Death testifies in his relation that when he was at Treves he refrain'd the company of those Bishops that sided with Itacius who demanded that they who deviated from the Faith might be punished with Death Afterwards when those hair-brain'd Prelates had prevail'd with Maximus to send certain Tribunes into Spain with Plenipotentiary Power to enquire after Hereticks and being apprehended to punish 'em with loss of Life and Confiscation of Estates the same St. Martin never left the Emperor till he had obtain'd a revocation of that inhumane Decree For it was the care of that pious Bishop to set free not only the Christians who were to be molested under that pretence but even the Hereticks themselves Foreseeing in his mind that that same Tempest were it not diverted would cause a great depopulation of the Faithful there being then but little difference made between the sorts of Men when only the Eye was judge of the distinction and Hereticks were mark'd out rather by the paleness of their Looks or by their Habit than by their Faith and Doctrine However after Priscillian was put to death the Heresie propagated by himself was so far from being er adicated by the severity of his punishment that it gathered strength and spread it self more and more and his Followers who before had honour'd him as a Holy Person began to adore him as a Martyr remov'd the bodies of those that suffer'd into Spain and solemniz'd their Obsequies with extraordinary Pomp. Nay they carry'd on their Superstition to that degree that it was accounted a most sacred Oath to swear by Priscillian which occasion'd so cruel and so long continu'd a Division between the Bishops of the Gallican Church that fifteen years Bloody contention could hardly put an end to while the people of God and all good men were in the mean time expos'd to Affront and Obloquy Which words as often as I read in Sulpitius Severus who wrote the History of that Age with equal Eloquence and Fidelity I call to mind the years of my childhood when at the beginning of the Commotions about Religion men were mark'd out by the Eye for Slaughter not upon any suspicion of their manners or of the corruption of their past Lives but only out of a particular malice to their looks or the fashion of their Clâ—athes and what with their heats of Contention and Animosities what with favours ill bestow'd the pusillanimous Fear Inconstancy Drowsiness Sloth and Arrogancy of those that sat at the Helm of Affairs the Kingdom was rent into Factions and Religion it self pushe almost to the brink of the Precipice by the Troubles and Agitations of the State After St. Marcin's time more moderation was us'd in the Church toward those that deviated from the Faith whom they only either Banish'd or Fin'd but always spar'd their Lives So that in the year 1060 when certain of the followers of Berengarius Archdeacon of Angiers went about sowing his Doctrine in the Territories of Liege Juliers and other parts of the Low Countries Bruno Archbishop of Treves thought it sufficient to expel 'em out of his Diocess never thirsting after their Blood Nor were they after this more severely handl'd by the Church till the time of the Vaudois against whom when the most exquisite of Torments little prevail'd but that the mischief was rather exasperated by the remedy unseasonably appli'd while their number encreas'd compleat Armies were set on foot and a War of no less bulk was decreed against 'em than that which our Ancestors wag'd against the Saracens the event of which was that Murdred Massacred Chas'd from their habitations Plunder'd of their Goods and despoyl'd of their Estates and Signiories their Persecutors gain'd a depopulated Country but not a Convert that was thereby convinc'd of his error Some there were who had defended themselves at first by force of Armes who being vanquish'd by superior power fled into Provence and the Alps adjoyning to the jurisdiction of France where they met with a sort of skulking holes wherein to shelter their Lives and Doctrine others retir'd into Calabria where for a long time they settl'd themselves even till the Pontificate of Pius IV. Some wander'd into Germany and fix'd their Habitations in Bohemia Poland and Livonia while another Remnant turning Westward sought for sanctuary in England And from some one of that number 't is thought that John Wickliffe descended who for a long time taught Theology at Oxford where after various Contentions and hot Disputes about Religion he died a natural Death above 300 years ago Natural indeed and yet more fatal to him then his common mortality for that several years after his decease the Magistrate order'd him to be taken up again arraign'd him and caus'd his Bones to be publickly burnt After that time started up several other Sects that have continu'd till our Age wherein after the severity of Torments in Vain experienc'd the contest flam'd out from private Disputes into open Wars and Rebellions of numerous multitudes both in Germany England and France uncertain whether â—o the greater detriment of the publick â—ranquillity or Religion it self such a â—chism being form'd and corroborated â—nd too long neglected by those in whose power it was and whom it behov'd to have apply'd proper Remedies in time These Things of so great consequence I have not so largely insisted upon with a design to revive that so often harrass'd Question Whether Hereticks ought to be punish'd with death which neither my Time nor my Profession will admit of My aim is only to shew that those Princes have acted most prudently and most conformably to the Institutions and Maxims of the Primitive Church who have rather chosen to extinguish the conflagrations of War about Religion with disadvantageous conditions of an amicable composure then to continue the desolations of an obstinate contest not to be determin'd but by the uncertain chance of absolute Conquest This Ferdinand a most prudent Prince foresaw who having learnt by experience in the furious and dangerous Wars of Germany under his Brother Charles the Fifth the ill success of the Emperors Armes against the Protestants no sooner attain'd the Imperial Diadem himself but he re-establish'd the Peace of Religion by a solemn Decree which he afterwards ratisi'd several times And father observing that greater progresses were made in matters of Religion by friendly Conferences as he himself had experienc'd in the Dyets held at Ratisbonne and Wormes he resolv'd a little before his death and immediately after the breaking up of the Council of Trent to follow
against the Protestants The Cruelties of Monluc and of Adrets and of the Roman Catholicks in general The Massacre at Sens. Foreign Forces brought into France The Battel of Dreux The Siege of Orleans The Death of the Duke of Guise with which our Author charges the Admiral Peace agreed upon The Marriage of the Cardinal of Chatillon and what followed thereupon Tithes secured to the Roman Clergy The retaking of Havrede Grace from the English Prosecutions against the Admiral The End of the Council of Trent A Revolution in Bearn New causes of Jealousie given to the Protestants The Voyage of the Court and the Counsel of the Duke of Alva The progress of the Reformed Churches The Reconciliation of the Admiral with the Guises The Enterprise of Meaux and its consequences A Peace clapt up before Chartres without any design to observe it The 3d War The Death of the Prince of Conde and of Andelot Battels lost The Admiral restores the Party and gives new life to them A fraudulent peace The incredible Artifices of the Court The Massacre of St. Bartholomew The Princes of the Blood obliged by force to change their Religion The Inconstancy of Des Rosiers The Sieges of Rochelle and Sancerve Factions in France The Duke of Alanson Protector of the Protestants and of those called the Politicks The Death of Charles the 9th Henry the 3d returning from Poland and succeeding him continues the War The Retreat of the Princes A peace broken as soon as made The Edict of 1577. Synods The Conferences of Nerca and de Fleix The King eludes the Edict under pretence of observing it Outrages committed by the Leaguers against the King who is forced against his Will to make War upon the Protestants The Courage of the King of Navar. La Trimouille turns Protestant The Battle of Courtras The Defeat of the Reiters The Death of the Prince of Conde The Edict of Vnion The Insolence of the Leaguers The Estates held at Blois The Death of the Duke of Guise and of the Cardinal his Brother The Duke of Mayenne escaping revives the Leaguers party The extremity of the King's Affairs He makes a Truce with the Protestants The King's Affairs in a State of Recovery He besieges Paris and is stabb'd by a Monk THE Reformation which changed the Face of Religion all over Europe at the beginning of the last Age met with great Oppositions wherever it was preached For the Court of Rome used her utmost Endeavours to extinguish at its very Birth a Light that was likely to prove so fatal to her Grandeur and set in motion all the Springs of her most Refined Politicks to maintain the Errors and Abuses from which she drew such vast gains against those Enemies that so clearly revealed and laid open its ambitious Artifices She raised against them all the different Bodies of her Clergy whose miserable Ignorance and Corruption they so briskly attackt She spared neither her Bulls nor Anathema's to render them odious to all the World She armed against them all the Temporal Powers where she had Credit enough to procure her Maxims to be embrac'd and on the other side the Princes of those Times who had their secret aims for the advancing of their Authority were glad of so fair an occasion to satisfy their Ambition and greedily laid hold on 't For the aspiring passion after Arbitrary Power had so possest the Heads of the Soveraigns then Reigning that thinking their Power too much confined by some certain Relicks of Liberty which were by the Laws preserved to the people they were ravish'd to meet so patly with a Religious Pretence to employ one part of their Subjects to ruine the other as being very confident that when the soundest and most understanding part of them should be once oppressed they should easily master the rest And the Court of Rome likewise in her turn when she smelt out the Intentions of the Princes was in no small fear of them as well as of her pretended Heretick Enemies and looking upon Absolute Power as a Jewel fit only to be reserv'd fot the Triple Crown she never sincerely assisted those whose power was in a State of giving her any Umbrage in that ticklish pretension Yet for all these precautions the Emperor Charles the 5th upon this occasion had very like to have reduced all Germany under his Yoak but that after he had defeated the Protestants an unexpected Revolution reduced into Smoke all the prosperities of his life And his Son Philip the 2d was still more unfortunate in that by his ill-managed attempts upon the Liberties of the 17 Provinces he gave the first Motion to those mighty concussions that have since proved so ruinous to the Greatness of his House But the Crown of France has succeeded better in those designs for tho in the contest it has been reduced more than once to the very brink of Ruin yet Religion has been at last so useful an Expedient to its Monarchs to advance their power beyond all bounds that they at this day acknowledge no other limits to it but their own lawless Wills However all the Oppositions formed by divers Interests against the progress of the Reformation were not able to hinder it from spreading every where in a very few years time It was too necessary and too just not to find some hearts disposed to embrace it and a multitude of good Souls had too long groaned under the intolerable Yoke of the Superstitions and Tyranny of Rome not to receive with open arms those which preached with such forcible Evidence against her Corruptions as well in points of Doctrine and Worship as of Manners and Discipline But yet it met not every where with the same contradictions nor with the same easie successes For there were some States where it was receiv'd almost without resistance others where it found such Obstacles which it could never surmount and others again where the Difficulties it met with could not be mastered but by an infinite number of Crosses and Pains France was one of the places where the longest oppositions were raised against it and it was firmly setled in many other parts of Europe before it was known what would be its destiny in France and if we except the 10 or 12 last years of Henry IV. it may truly be said it never enjoyed any peace there and that since its first dawning in that great Kingdom till now it has always been persecuted For if its Adversaries have seemed sometimes to give it any respite and to renounce the further use of any violent means to oppress it 'T was only to gain opportunity to compass it by other more hidden and consequently more dangerous and effectual practices They have successively employ'd against it Capital punishments Wars fraudulent Treaties Massacres and all the Artifices of a profound and refined policy and whenever they met with a Juncture of time they thought favourable to their design they never were ashamed divers times to make use of
losing a Bishoprick so commodious for them that love the Court for the Neighbourhood of Paris prevail'd over Brissonnet and reduc'd him to the profession of his former Errors after which his Doctors finding no longer security in his Diocess separated and shifted every one for himself Le Fevre who was one of them found protection at the Court of Navar where he was well received by the Queen who was Sister to Francis I. and as great a Favourer of Learned Men as the King her Brother Roussel one of his Companions after a Journey into Germany came back to Bearn where the same Princess gave him a like entertainment as to the former and both of them together so strongly inspired her with their Opinions that she retained them to her dying day tho for several years 't was thought she had quitted them These two men lost no time in those remote Provinces and prepared the minds of the people there the more easily to embrace the Doctrine of Calvin when it came to be preached there 10 or 12 years after Their Retreat hindred not the Church which they had in some measure formed at Meaux from preserving itself and increasing which was the Reason that was the first place where the Courts of Justice began to take cognizance of those pretended Novelties One John Clerk who had an indifferent understanding in the Scriptures the only book he had studied served for a Guide to those converted people who received corporal punishment for calling the Pope Antichrist and after he had been banished from Meaux upon that account was not long after burnt at Mets because his Zeal had transported him so far as to break an Image Six years after Lewis Berquin was condemn'd at Paris to the same punishment for teaching the Doctrine of Luther The progress of the Reformation was more rapid in Germany where it was embrac'd by several Princes and States who in the year 1530 presented their Confession of Faith to the Emperor and within a little while found themselves strong enough to League together at Smalcalde against those which designed to oppress them The Schism made in England by Henry VIII was only a step which open'd the way to a greater Work carried on in the following Reigns But yet that Prince who had done Luther the Honour to write against him and was answer'd by that Dr. in somewhat too harsh and insolent a strain would never suffer the Opinions of his Adversary to take root in his Kingdom tho at the same time he would fain have perswaded Francis I. to have broken with Rome as himself had done The K. of France would by no means hearken to him and answer'd him with this Compliment That he was his Friend as far as the Altar but there he must leave him But he continu'd not always so obstinate for he was almost perswaded once time to yield to the earnest solicitations of the Q. of Navar for the had inspired him with some inclination for the Doctrine which she herself had embrac'd and of which she also had communicated some tincture to the King her Husband whom she carried privately with her to hear the Sermons of her Teachers The Dutchess of Estampes who possest the heart of Francis I. and may likewise be reasonably suppos'd to have abetted the same inclination in him because she was instructed and principled in the Lutheran Opinions openly favoured those that profess'd them and after the King's Death lived a very retir'd life in all the exercises of the Protestant Religion protecting all those that profess'd it to the utmost of her power This at least is certain that the King writ to Melanchton the most renown'd of Luther's Disciples and esteem'd the most moderate of them inviting him to come into France and assuring him he should take pleasure to hear him But whilst Melanchton spun out the time in delays the Cardinal of Tournon put by the design and wrought so absolute a change upon the King's Mind who had let him gain a very strong Ascendant over him that he would afterward listen neither to his Sister nor Mistress nor be perswaded to shew the least favour to those accus'd of Heresie There is no doubt but the Cardinal had Orders from Rome to that purpose For the King had discovered his Mind to that Court himself in the Instructions he gave to Cardinal du Bellai whom he sent thither in which he ordered him to give the Pope an account of the Letter he had written to Melanchton and of that Dr's Answer and most especially to move his Holiness to consent to a kind of Accommodation which he had a design to negotiate in Germany by an Embassy on purpose The most important Article of that Accommodation was to be That the Pope should be acknowledged to be Head of the Vniversal Church and in other things the King would take from the Protestants as much as he could and as far as he could That is to say He would consent to gratifie the Protestants in many things that concerned Faith Religion Ceremonies Institutions and Doctrine at least till a Council should determine them and it was already agreed what Concessions and abatements to make them which consisted of 7 Articles in which the Mass was to be reform'd without changing any thing in the Ceremonies of its celebration viz. 1. That Mass should never be said without a publick Communion 2. That the Elevation should be retrenched 3. And Adoration abolished 4. That the Cup should be restored to the Laity 5. That in it no Commemoration should be made either of male or female Saints 6. That it should be celebrated only with ordinary fine Bread which should be broken by the Priest and distributed to the people 7. And that Marriage should be allowed to Priests The Mass so reform'd was called by the Vulgar The Mass with 7 points But alas an Accommodation of this Nature could not find acceptance at the Court of Rome which was very sensible that the Authority of the Holy See could never be sufficiently supported by the bare Title which was given there to the Pope and that to maintain it in so exorbitanta power as it had assumed it had need of the united force of all those Errors by which it first mounted to and afterwards establisht it self in its present Greatness And therefore that Court employed all their policy to divert the King from that dangerous project The Cardinal of Tournon had already signaliz'd his Zeal against the Reformation in a Synod assembled at Bourges of which he was Archbishop and had there condemn'd the Doctrine of Luther The Cardinal du Prat did the same about the same time in a Synod of the Province of Sens which he held at Paris as fearing perhaps the Reformation might ruin the Concordat which was his Work and by which he had compleated the Corruption of Ecclesiastical Discipline in
well as others whatever appertains to 'em in the same Quality But how can they take from 'em the Quality of Subjects They are neither Forreigners nor Enemies They are not Forreigners because they were born in the same Air as the rest were as also under the same Authority and under the same Laws They are not Enemies because they pay Homage and Allegiance Being then Subjects 't is impossible that those Edicts which maintain 'em in the Priviledges of their condition should be thought liable to Revocation unless they thought at the same time that a Prince might lawfully destroy a State that was Obedient to his Government or that among Members of one and the same Dominion one party should have leave to oppress the other without any regard to Justice or Humanity But if such Edicts are irrevocable in respect of the Nature of the things themselves they ought to be yet far more unalterable by reason of the Treaty which they include In general it may be said that all the Edicts of Protection which a Soveraign Grants his Subjects are equivalent to Treaties because they are no more then a Renewing the Original and Fundamental Treaty upon which all Societies are establish'd Let 'em use all the shifts they can 't is never to be deny'd without a voluntary blindness but that the Power of Soveraigns Springs from an Express or tacit Treaty by which their Subjects submit their Persons and Estates to their Dominion upon condition of doing 'em Justice at home and protecting 'em abroad In Conquests also the weakest Treats with the strongest upon conditions of Surrender and they who yield to the Discretion of the Victor make him only Master of the conditions of Preservation which they expect So soon as the Articles are agreed on on both sides the Laws prescrib'd the Conquer'd are chang'd into a Treaty by which the Conquerour is oblig'd to leave 'em either their Estates their Lives or their Liberty upon Condition that they perform those Duties which necessity imposes upon ' em Otherwise it is not to be conceiv'd that Men would submit themselves to be destroy'd at the pleasure of the strongest without reserving some Assurance of being able to preserve themselves by a profound Obedience Servitude is contrary to Nature and according to the sentiment of several Lawyers 't is not in the Power of a Man to submit his Life without any Condition to the fancies and Capricio's of a Master But I am desirous to consider it here under a less Odious Character as a Degree of extream subjection as the most strict engagement to which a Man may be reduc'd in respect of another In this case I say that it includes something of Reciprocal and the Slave does not yield his Master the Power of Life and Death over him but to make use of it in case of Revolt and Rebellion but supposing Obedience and Fidelity Slavery it self has those priviledges which the Master is ty'd to Observe A Slave does not Sacrifice his Liberty but for the preservation of his Life So that he resumes the Rights of his Liberty if his Master persecutes him and assails his Life while he perseveres in his Duty Liberty is priviled'd As it is one of the most Natural Blessings of Mankind and the most inseparable from him so he recovers and re establishes his Rights so soon as he to whom they are submitted abuses 'em to the Destruction of those that are subjected to his Power If there are Examples in the World of any contrary Usage that ne're proceeds from Right which can never Authorize Tyranny but from the Violence of the stronger Party which through Terror stupifies and silences the Voice of Nature and Innocence Besides it is not to be found but among People where Barbarism has Usurp'd the place of Nature and where Force never listens to the Maxims of Justice According to this Principle then whereever the Lessons of Justice and Nature are listen'd to the Relations of Severesgnty and Subjection are grounded upon a Primitive Condition which sets up all Authority on the one side on purpose to be employ'd for Common preservation and gives all Obedience on the other side upon Condition of the Recompence of Protection Which being a Treaty either Tacit or Express the Articles of which are vary'd in several manners according to the different Constitutions of States all Edicts by which this Protection is promis'd or which are necessary to give assurance of it are only Renovations of that Fundamental Obligation which is the Natural Duty of Soveraignty These are therefore Treaties because they are in Truth but Ratifications of the Former and they are no more to be Revok'd then the Fundamental Condition of Supreme Power But not to have recourse to general Considerations I say particularly that never any person question'd the stability of Treaties where the most Essential Things have been observ'd which have been concluded between Parties of sufficient Power by persons of Capacity fully inform'd of their business after mature Deliberation without Fraud or Violence If all this were to be found in the Edict of Nantes it cannot be deny'd but that it ought to be as irrevocable as the most Solemn Treaty that ever was mention'd in Story The Appellation of Treaty has been likewise given it by the most passionate Catholics even by the Jesuits themselves who of late years having labour'd to annihilate it acknowledg'd before it was Granted That the Negotiation and the Treaty held on for several whole years together In a Word History most evidently demonstrates it There you shall Observe Parties having different Pretensions who Depute Confer Contest and agree Four Years were spent in these Negotiations if we begin from the Assembly of St. Foy where the first Foundation of this Work was laid Two Years at least were spun out if we begin to reck'n from the time that the King promis'd to send Commissioners with Instructions and Plenary Power Never Treaty between a King and a King or between a State and a State had more Marks or more Circumstances to make it a real Treaty 'T is true that when it was Publish'd they did not give it the Name of a Treaty but of an Edict However the Name did not change the Thing and if the Title made any difference in the Outward Form of an Edict or a Contract nevertheless such an Edict and such a Treaty vary nothing in substance Treaties also that are made with Foraigners sometimes assume the Form of an Edict when they are Publish'd in the Kingdom Thus in the first Civil Wars after a Treaty concluded at the Head of the Armies there was an Edict Compos'd which the Reformed reap'd as the Harvest of the War Besides that the Form of the Edict in such a Gase serves only to give it new strength since it adds the Majesty of a Law to the firmness of a Decree Whence I conclude that an Edict where these two Characters concur as
the Match was not concluded The Cardinal therefore seeing the Treaty of that Alliance broken off and England disgusted was willing to make the best of the Conjuncture and to fasten that Crown to the Interests of France by the Marriage of a French Princess The second of Henry the Fourth's Daughters had bin deny'd the Prince of Wales who had demanded her while Lewis the Thirteenth's Council was in the House of Austria's pay and the Prince of Piemont was preferr'd before him But the Cardinal altering the Design had chang'd the Maxims of the Court and he thought good to make the first Offers to a Prince for whom they had had so little value before Nor did he find any great trouble in causing the Overtures to be accepted William de Hugues Archbishop of Ambrun had a great share in that Negotiation and if there be any credit to be given to the Relation of what he did in England which he drew up by the Cardinal's Command he had almost brought the Religion and Kingdom of England to the brink of a general Revolution He relates that before the Cardinal came into favour he had bin sent into England to persuade the King to return to the Pope's Communion That he disguis'd himself to go incognito and took upon him the Name and Habit of a Counsellor of Grenoblâ— That at his arrival he found the Duke of Buckingham inform'd both of his Disguise and his Commission of which both the King and the Prince had giv'n him notice That the King appear'd to him fully resolv'd to embrace the Catholic Religion That he came to an agreement with him upon the greatest part of the Articles in controversie more particularly concerning the Soveraignty of the Pope over all Christians That upon this Occasion he wrote a large Letter to the Pope that it was sent privately by an English Gentleman who was a zealous Catholic That he promis'd to declare himself openly so soon as he had taken order for certain things which were concluded on That the principal reason of his making so many delays was the desire he had to be sure of the King of Denmark his Brother-in-law to the end he might be the better able to prevent the Troubles that might arise by reason of the Changes in his Kingdoms That he had invited him under other Pretences to take a Voyage into England and that when he came he made no question but to convert him too That he desir'd the Pope to suffer the English Lords to enjoy the Church-Lands that were now become their Inheritance for fear they should oppose his Designs if he went about to disturb 'em in their Possession That he promis'd there should be no farther â—earches made after any Priests that should be sent into the Kingdom either by the Pope or the King of France That he excluded the Jesuits only from that favour because he lookt upon em as the Authors and Contrivers of the Powder-plot by which they design'd to have blown him up in his Parlament-House That he shew'd the Archbishop several Favours while he was in England That he gave him leave to Confirm in the French Embassador's House above 18000 Catholics who were exempted from all prosecution upon it tho there were many of the English that saw the performance of the Ceremony so little did the Archbishop care to be openly seen That some of the more Zealous Protestants having made their Complaints to the King about it the King stopt their mouths by telling 'em it was done with his permission That the Duke of Buckingham had promis'd to imitate the King his Master and that he was really engag'd in the Intreage In a word The Archbishop had Letters from him which shew'd him too deeply concern'd to believe that all this Negotiation was no more then a feigned Business This was the Condition of Affairs when they began to treat of the Marriage of the Prince of Wales and it may be easily judg'd by the bending of the King's Inclinations that they should not meet with any great opposition So that the Cardinal obtain'd what he pleas'd himself and drew from him Conditions more advantageous to the Catholicks then those which the King of Spain had demanded Also after all that was concluded there was a way found to add new Clauses which the King was so complaisant as to condescend to without any hesitation 'T is true Berulle who was afterwards made a Cardinal being sent to Rome to sollicite the Dispensation suffer'd some things to be slipt in which went a little farther then what had been agreed upon But they who drew it up were easily pardon'd upon making a shew of being sorry for it and imputing it to the simplicity of the Prelate whose Zeal for his Religion had made him exceed the Bounds of his Power But the Court of England being in a good humour to refuse nothing suffer'd her self to be vanquish'd without the least Resistance and was willing to take any Excuses for the Alterations in good part But the unexpected Death of King James put a stop to the Rapid Course of the Prosperities of the Catholic Religion and suspended for some time the accomplishment of the Marriage propounded But Charles his Successor would not retract from his Engagements during the Life of his Father so that the Marriage was accomplish'd to the great satisfaction of the Court of Rome England in some measure beheld the Catholic Religion sprouting up agen in her Bosom For the new Queen was permitted to have a Chappel in all the Royal Houses to keep in her Family a Bishop and twenty eight Priests without any preferring one Order before another that they should have liberty to wear the Habit of of their Order publickly and that all her Domestic Servants should be of the same Religion besides that she should have the Education of her Children till they came to be Thirteen years of Age. But God permitted the Jesuits to spoil all by their unquiet and Seditious Politicks and to put the Kingdom into such terrible Jealousies of their Practises that order was taken for the suppressing ' em However the Treaty of this Marriage was spun out till May 1625. tho because I would not interrupt the series of the Story I was forc'd to insert it in this place In the mean time there were several particular Affairs that were regulated after a different manner among which that of the City of Pamiers in opposition to her Bishop was one of the most considerable That Prelate took upon him to dispose of the Consulship and Council of that City and to make himself Master of the sole Power of rating the Taxes upon the Inhabitants And his Zeal for Religion serv'd for a Pretence to justify his undertaking He would have no body in those Employments but Catholics and the Parlament of Thâ—louse whither he had remov'd the Cause were not wanting to â—our his Pious Design But for the bringing it to pass there â—s a necessity
were sharp and violent more especially the Answer to the Duke 's Manifesto savour'd of a sordid base insolent Spirit full of Gall and Venom and sprinkl'd with Quirks and Quiddities borrow'd from the most lewd Scurrility of the Rabble a piece becoming the Jesuit Richeâ—me to whom it was attributed Never did any man write with more Fury nor more Insolence nor renounc'd more openly in his Writings the character of an honest man But more formidable Enemies were embattel'd against the Duke then this same Scribler For besides the Armies that were set oâ— foot to fall upon him on every side among which that commanded by the Prince of Condé committed unheard of Cruelties Galand was sent into Upper Languedoc to prevent the Cities from taking Arms as those of the Lower Languedoc haâ— done the 10th of September according to the Resolution of aâ— Assembly of the Nobility and Deputies from several Cities which met at Vsez However Galand wherever he could safely go drew Promises of Obedience and within the space oâ— a Month brought Montauban Briteste Puilaurens Sorezâ— â—â— Maz d' Azil Carlat Pamiers Mazeres Saverdun la Bustide St. Amant Mazamet la Cabarede and several others to declare 'T is true that the Duke caus'd some of 'em to change their Opinions that he surpriz'd others and that others which had not suffer'd themselves to be coax'd by the fawning Cant of Galand were surrender'd into his hands so that at length the War became general on that side Pamiers was one of those Cities which the Duke surpriz'd but the Prince of Condé having retaken it very badly observ'd the Capitulation which he had made for he imprison'd put to death and condemn'd to the Gallies several persons to whom he ow'd both his life and his liberty All this was the reason that the Duke lost time who might have bin able to have perform'd greater Exploits if Galand's Negotiation had not brok'n his measures nor would they have ventur'd the Siege of Rochel had not Galand succeeded as he did in drawing off those other Cities from the Union But while the Duke of Rohan carri'd on the War with an extraordinary Courage and with good Success Buckingham seeing Fort St. Martin reliev'd rais'd his Siege was defeated in his Retreat and return'd into England not a little suspected to â—e bin careless of those things which he might have done â—…ch more to his Master's honour Upon this Rochel was more â—…ly begin and reduc'd to extremity At what time a seâ—d English Fleet commanded by the Farl of Denbigh appear'd â—…on the Coast only to make a shew of that Relief which the 〈…〉 expected but retreated more basely then the former withâ—… so much as acrempting the least Enterprize While they â—re setting forth a third Fleet Buckingham was slain by a priâ—e person whom he had particularly injur'd This caus'd a â—â—â—ge of Affairs and the Command of the Fleet was given the â—arl of Lindsey But this Fleet did less then the rest and â—m'd only seâ— forth to be Witness of the Surrender of Rochel â—…d indeed it may be said of the three Fleets sent to the Succor 〈…〉 that unfortunate City that the first famish'd her by taking â—ay her â—… the second amus'd her with the shew of Relief â—t was never intended her and the third sold her Perhaps 〈…〉 the blame of these ill Successes was not to be laid upon the â—…g of England only that he was to be accus'd of great â—â—akness in suffering himself to be govern'd by his Queen with 〈…〉 much pâ—iableness However that Princess had the Knack 〈…〉 disappoint all the King her Husband s Designs and someâ—…es she did it so openly that People could not refrain from â—ieving that he himself was not at all troubl'd at it She it â—s that prevented the Effects of those Orders which the King â—e to those who commanded his Naval Forces She it was â—…o in the heart of England held and protected all the Corresâ—â—ndencies with Cardinal Richlieu and she did so much that 〈…〉 not only drew upon her own head the implacable hatred of 〈…〉 her Subjects but embarrass'd her own Husband in those unâ—ward Affairs that brought him at length to the Scaffold Afâ—… this Cardinal Richlieu thought it proper to make a peace â—ith England which it was no hard matter to do by throwâ—â—g upon Buckingham all the past misunderstandings And the â—ore easily to vanquish the Obstinacy of the Rochellois he inâ—sâ—d Suspicions on both sides that the one Party treated without â—e other And thus Rochel having held out a Siege of very â—â—ar a year in length and carri'd on their Resolutions during a long and the most Cruel Famine that could be imagin'd beyond what could be expected from Nature was forc'd to surrunder at discretion upon the 28th of October And no sooneâ— was it surrender'd but a Tempest ruin'd the Mound which had stopp'd up the Entrance of her Channel and shew'd that thaâ— same mighty Work that so much redounded to the Honour oâ— the Cardinal who undertook it could never have contributed to the subduing that City had she not bin more enfeebl'd by heâ— Friends that in a manner robb'd her of her Provisions theâ— incommoded by all the Toil and Labour of her Enemies During this long Siege and these terrible Extremities thâ— City being sollicited to submit to the King of England woulâ— never heark'n to it To say she had any such design was â— meer Calumny of the Monks and Jesuits And they who writâ— the particular History of this Memorable Siege relate that thâ— Cardinal declar'd to the Deputies from this City That Hâ— knew very well that the Deputies who were sent into Englanâ— had resisted several Temptations upon that occasion that thâ— King return'd 'em thanks for it and that it was the main reason which confirm'd him in those Sentiments of Mercy which hâ— had for the Town More then this the Cardinal found a waâ— to engage Spain to be serviceable to the King in the Siege oâ— that Place 'T is true the Council of Spain saw well the baâ— consequence of taking the Place and fain would have preventeâ— it especially after the Marquiss of Spinola who had seen thâ— state of the Siege had given an accompt of it in Spain Anâ— 't is said that the first time he came into Council that he prâ—pos'd it as one of the greatest stroaks of Policy that could bâ— thought of to succour that Place But the Council of Conscience carri'd it above reason of State and the Pretence of Religion always useful to the Court of Spain since Ferdinand's Reigâ— was at this time the ruin of her Affairs 'T is true that thâ— Fleet which she sent against Rochel came thither so ill provided and staid there so small a while that she had as good have seâ— none at all And it is as true that she attempted to relieve thâ— Duke of Rohan's Party with whom she had concluded
pleasure A Debate whether to accept them provisionally or definitively The Council's Shiftings about the Articles The Treaty is interrupted New Instructions Disputes put to an end by the King's firmness The Assembly beggeth the intercession of the Queen of England and of the Vnited Provinces New Delays partly malicious partly innocent A Book setting forth the Grievances of the Reformed Elamed by some The Importance of its Contents It beginneth with excusing the freedom of those Complaints Maketh Remonstrances to the King about the Delays of his Council and the general State of the Reformed By what degrees the King had been drawn from them The Design of their Petion General Complaints made by them against all â— French Against all the Orders of the State Against the Clergy in particular The publick Exercise of the reformed Religion obstructed and private Devotions hindred And in their private Devotions Instances of great Violences The boldness of the Parliament of Bourdeaux The Exercise interrupted or forbid in several places by divers Decrees In the Army At Rouen the King being there Complaints upon the account of the places Against the Catholick Gentlemen Against the Treaties with the League Singing of Psalms hindred Books seized and burnt Comforting of the sick Consciences forced The Prince of Conde The keeping of Lent and Holidays Colledges The Poor ill used Places where the Reformed dare not dwell A remarkable Injustice done at Lyon Trades Violences Injustice done to the Reformed about Offices * The Council of State is not meant here but a Court of Judicature in Paris where some Special Matters are debated Seditious Words and Speeches Passion of Judges and Parliaments Difficulties in reestablishing the Edict of 1577. Special Instances of the ill will of the Parliaments Burials made difficult Hindred A strong free and moving Conclusion Reflections on that Book New Delays And Difficulties upon particular Places The breaking up of the Assembly The state of the Garrisons The naming of Governors The Annual renewing of the state of the Garrisons Private Interests 1598. The Edict delay'd till the Month of August when there were no more Leaguers The Assembly allarmed The King grants the Edict being armed Different Opinions about the Edict The Conclusion at Nants The Particulars of the Difficulties on each Article They first demand a new Edict Reasons pro and con The second Demand a free Exercise and its extent The advantage secured to the prevailing Religion A second place in each Bailiwick was no new thing Difficulties about the Places of Exercise Upon the Proofs Difficulties about the Burials The Third Demand the Subsistence of the Ministers A Sum of Mony promised by the King The Schools The 4th Demand the possession of Estates and Rights of Succession The fifth demand impartial Judges Chambers Miparties or of the Edict The sixth Demand to be admitted to Offices The extent of this Concession * The Offices wherein Notaries Public allow'd by Authority ingross and register private Contracts The Sham of this Concession The 7th Demand Securities 1598. How they were useful to the King â— The payment of the Garrisons Gifts to private Persons Contestations touching the Form of the Concessions which is diverse according to the nature of the thing The manner of Payment The Conclusion * Chambre Mipartie is a Court of Justice Erected in divers good Towns of France in favour of and for the righting them of the Religion one half of the Judges being of the Reformed the other Papists 〈…〉 Edict Artifices to gain ' em A Synod at Mompelier The number of the State of the Churches Forming a Church what it is Several Churches United into one Causes of contenting themselves with the Edict as it was obtain'd Lesdiguieres's Religion Treatise of the Eutharist Consequences of the publishing of it Three Important Negotiations with the Pope The Establishment of the Jesuits Their boldness and Credit The Monks all hate the King Persecution in Piedmont The Marquisat of Saluces Reasons why the King favour'd the Jesuits 3d. mâ—…Mâ—…age of Madame Her Constancy The King's Severities toward her Scruples Rais'd by the Pope His Reasons The King proceeds to the Marriage without staying for the Dispensation The issue of the Negotiation till the Death of the Princess The Advantages which the Reformed got by her Perseverance Difficulties about the Verification of the Edict Their Proposals upon the Edict The Transports of some Prelates The Nuncio's Moderation The Opposition of the Parliament The Justice of the D. of Mayenne 1599. The Reformed forbear insisting upon several Articles Obstinacy of â—â—â— Clergy Chambers of the Edict at Rouen Chamber Mipartie â—n Guien * A kind of a New-years Gift given for the contiance in an Office Verification of the Edict The Pope makes great Complaints to stop the Spaniards Mouths Answers of the Cardinals de Joyeuse and d'Ossat Accommodated to the Popes liking Edict for the Principality of Bearn Which is receiv'd â—rmplaints of the Alterations made in the Edict Particular Complaints Precedency pretended by the Catholic Officers that compos'd the Chambres Miparties ever the Reformed Verbal demands concerning Chappels in Gentlemens Houses The Papers answer'd Precedency preserv'd to the most â— Ancient President Article of Church-yards Brossiereâ—eigns â—eigns her self possess'd by the Devil The Sequel of this Comedy within and without the Kingdom Dissolution of the Kings Marriage A Decree of the Parlament of Bretagne touching the Oath referr'd by a Reformed to a Catholic Trimouille made a Peer of France 1600. Roni's Advancement not much wondred at Commissioners for the Execution of the Edict and their Power General Observations upon the Edict Reproacheâ— of the Catholics thrown upon the Reformed Answers Questions upon the Nature of the Edict The Benefit of the Edict The condition of the Kingdom hoth before and after the Edict Warâ— abovt Religion the most Cruel What sort of variety Policy ought not to suffer in a Kingdom What is the Nature of the Reformed Religion The Justice of the Edict Justice of Reward after Service done What Reward is The Edict Grants nothing to the Reformed c. The Concessions for this reason so much the more Just What the Edict grants the Reformed does no body harm The Catholics Gainers by the Edicts The Edict ought to be Irrevocable Considerations upon the Word And upon the things Rights of Conscience The Force of Edicts that maintain Liberty And of these that are granted for the preservation of the Societies The preservation of Subjects the chief Obligation of Soveraigns An Express or Tacit Treaty naturally between Sovereign and Subject Also between Master and Slave The Force of Treaties The Edict of Nantes a Treaty The Form of the Edict renders it more Venerable Two things relating to a Treaty in the Edict 1. Between the King and the Reformed 2. Between the Catholics and the Reformed The Reformed Treats with the King 1. â—â—r Recompence for their Services 2. Touching their being secur'd against their Enemies Places of Security Kings may Treat