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A33356 The case of Protestants in England under a popish prince if any shall happen to wear the imperial crown. Clarkson, David, 1622-1686. 1681 (1681) Wing C4569; ESTC R1246 26,207 36

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desirable so meritorious That if he had a Sea of Blood and a hundred Lives he would lose them all to carry on the design and if to effect this it were necessary to destroy an Hunderd Heretical Kings he would do it We must not imagine that it was a sin with this man to destroy an Hundred Kings and an Hundred Kingdoms too in such a Cause a Cause no doubt most glorious and of transcendent Merit in their account when one man might without profuseness be at the expence of an hundred lives and a Sea of blood to promone it It is true by his expressions he seems to be in some transport and no wonder when he had so fair a Prospect of the utter ruin of Protestants by their present bloody design and speaks of their ruine as a thing certain and not to be doubted of Sure this was a sight so fair so transporting as must needs ravish a good Roman Catholick out of his Senses But then how sensless must they be who will not believe our utter ruine was designed when such as best knew it make no doubt but it would in a little time be certainly effected However we cannot think that they who make so little of killing an Hundred Kings when they stand in the way of their Catholick design will stick at Assassinating any particular Subjects When we hear Papists say as divers such sayings have been of late observed that they would make no more to kill a Protestant Man or Child than to kill a Dog We look upon them as wild expressions which proceed rather from the wickedness of the persons than of their Principles whereas indeed they have ground enough from the Writings of their chief Authors One of their greatest Divines proving that they may justly kill us being Hereticks makes use of this Argument among others Christ calls Hereticks Thieves and Robbers but sure Thieves and Robbers are worthy of Death also he calls them Ravenous Wolves Matth. 7. Luke 20 But Wolves are not only to be driven from the Flock but also to be kill'd if it be possible So Suarez argues and his Argument seems less toletarable than the other Villanous expression for it seems more meritorious to kill a Wolf than a Dog Cardinal Baronius tells the Pope though his Holiness might know so evident a truth before that Peter had a double Ministry to feed and to kill according to that Text Feed my sheep and according to that too Kill and eat For saith he when the Pope hath to do with refractory opposers then Peter is commanded to kill and slay and devour Much according to this Cardinals Doctrine is the saying of Singlcton the Priest That he would make no more to Stah Forty Parliament men than to eat his Dinner And who can discern b●t the Priest expression is as agreeable to the Cardinals Comment as that is to his Text Girald and Kelly the two Priest that were chief in the Murder of Sir Edmondbury Godfrey that they might draw Mr. Prance into that barbarous action told him That it was no Murder no Sin and Girald said Nothing was to be made of killing Twenty Hereticks in such a case that it was an act of Charity and a meritorious work We may easily conceive how they will have it to be an Act of Justice for they are taught that the Killing of Hereticks Justa est quia Vindicativa and so withal how it may be meritorious every act of vertue being so by their Doctrine but how it can be an act of Charity is not so easie to discern We shall hardly be perswaded that to kill us is an act of Charity but if they will have it so so it must be And then who can deny but that Papists are the most Charitable Persons under the Cope of Heaven since they will not stick to murder Millions of Protestants all in these Nations out of meer Catholick Charity VVhat need they more to stop the mouths of any that will dare hereafter to accuse their Church as uncharitable They may have Two Hundred Thousand Arguments from one Topick the Massacre in Ireland to prove that none ever out of Hell were more emiuent for this vertue no not the Assassins themselves The Gunpowder-Traytors were as much for the meritoriousness of Murdering Hereticks John Grant one of the Principal Conspirators the day he was executed being advised by a Grave and Learned Person to repent of that wicked enterprize He answered That he was so far from counting it a sin that on the contrary he was confident that Noble design had so much of Merit in it as would be abundantly enough to make satisfaction for all the Sins of his whole life as Casaubon assures from good evidence O the dreadful power of the Spirit of Delusion which can perswade a man even when he is dying that the most horrid and barbarous design that ever the Devils helped any of their Instrumants to contrive is so transcendently both meritorious and satisfactory yet this is not a private spirit but that by which the Roman Church seems generally inspired This was but a more compendious way of executing the Laws of their Church against Protestants And Roman Catholicks are left to devise what expedient they can for the execution of them when they are not in a capacity of proceeding the ordinary way by burning us And that Invention will have most of Merit which is most quick and extensive and makes an end of most at once The Society is particularly under the Conduct of that Spirit for the Provincial Garnet Tesmond Gerard and other Jesuits did teach the Conspirators this Catholick Doctrine That the King Nobility Clergy and whole Commonalty of the Realm of England Papists excepted were Hereticks and that all Hereticks were accursed and excommunicate and that no Heretick could be a King but that it was lawful and meritorious to kill the King and all other Hereticks within this Realm of England for the Advancing and enlargement of the Authority and Jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome and for the restoring of the Romish Religion What Is it meritorious to kill all in the Realm Yes the more the better the greater the sacrifice the greater will the value and merit of it be They will prove it unanswerably by an Argument from the less to the greater If it be meritorious to kill one Heretick it will be as much more meritorious to kill all in a Kingdom as all in a whole Kingdom are more than one single person Thus the greater any wickedness is the more powerful Motive their Church hath for its encouragement The more prodigiously bloody and inhumane it is the more will the Catholick Merit of it advance And the Ground of this is observable they will have it meritorious to Murder this whole Nation King and People because they were Hereticks and all Hereticks are accursed and excommunicated Now King James and the People of these Kingdoms were not