AN

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY,

ancient anu agonern,

FROM

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST,

TO THE

BEGINNING OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

IN SIX VOLUMES.

IN WHICH

THE RISE, PROGRESS, AND VARIATIONS OF CHURCH POWER

ARE CONSIDERED IN THEIR CONNEXION WITH THE STATE OF LEARNING AND PHILOSOPHY,

AND

THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF EUROPE DURING THAT PERIOD. t ' '

BY THE LATE LEARNED

JOHN LAWRENCE MOSHEIM, D. D.

AND CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GOTTINGEN.

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL LATIN, AND ACCOMPANIED WITH NOTES AND CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES.

BY ARCHIBALD MACLAINE, D. D.

TO WHICH IS ADDED,

AN ACCUKATE INDEX. VOL. V.

LONDON:

uiNTEJ) I Oil 11. BAYXES, 25, IVY-LANE, PATKllNOSTEH-UOW.

1819.

TfT

A/67/3 if/3

Xb

, THE

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

SECTION L

THE GENERAL HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

I. F|lHE arduous attempts made by the pontiffs, CENT,

'SECT. I.

-fl- in the preceding century, to advance the XVIL

glory and majesty of the see of Rome, by ex tending the limits of the Christian church, and The Coi- spreading the gospel through the distant nation s,1^^6 Q_ met with much opposition ; and as they were da°fide, neither well conducted nor properly supported, ^unded at

i./*., . , , , f f J * ^ •*• . Rome.

their iruits were neither abundant nor permanent. But in this century the same attempts were re newed with vigour, crowned with .success, and contributed not a little to give a new degree of stability to the tottering grandeur of the papacy* They were begun by Gregory XV. who, by the advice of his confessor Narni, founded at Rome, in the year 1622, the famous Congregation for the propagation of the faith, and enriched it with ample revenues. This congregation, which consists of thirteen cardinals, two priests, one monk, and a secretary [a], is designed to propa gate

£ fi] Such is the number of members belonging to this Con* pregation as they stand in the original Bull of Gregory XV. See Bullarium Roman, torn. iii. p. 472. edit Luxemburg.' — Cerri mentions the same number, in his Etdt Present de I'Eglise Roma'me, p. 259. But a di0erent account is given by

Vot« V, B Aymon,

The General History of the Church.

CENT, gate and maintain the religion of Rome in all XVIL parts and corners of the world. Its riches and !!^X!y possessions were so prodigiously augmented by the munificence of Urban VIII. and the liberality of an incredible number of donors, that its funds are, at this day, adequate to the most expensive and magnificent undertakings. And, indeed, the enterprises of this Congregation are great and extensive: By it a vast number of missionaries are sent to the remotest parts of the world ; books of various kinds published, to facilitate the study of foreign and barbarous languages; the sacred writings, and other pious productions, sent abroad to the most distant corners of the globe, and ex hibited to each nation and country in their own language and characters; seminaries founded for the sustenance and education of a prodigious number of young men, set apart for the foreign missions ; houses erected for the instruction and support of the Pagan youths that are yearly sent from abroad to Rome, that they may return from thence into their respective countries, and become the instructors of their blinded Brethren : not to mention the charitable establishments, that are designed for the relief and support of those who have suffered banishment, or been involved in other calamities, on account of their stedfast at tachment to the religion of Rome9 and their zeal for promoting the glory of its pontiff. Such are the arduous and complicated schemes, with the execution of which this Congregation is charged ; but these, though the principal, are not the only objects of its attention ; its views, in a word, are vast, and its exploits almost incredible. Its

members

Aymon, in his Tableau de la Cour de Rwnt, part III. ch. iii. p. 279* for he makes this Congregation to consist of eighteen cardinals, one of the pope's secretaries, one apostolical protlto- notary, one referendary, and one of the assessors, or secretaries of the inquisition.

The General History of the Church.

members hold their assemblies in a splendid and CENT. magnificent palace, whose delightful situation adds a singular lustre to its beauty and gran- deur [&].

II. To this famous establishment, another less The Coi- magnificent indeed, but highly useful, was added, p^andaT in the year 1627, by Pope Urban VIII. under ^msti- the denomination of a College, or Seminary for the urban y propagationof the faith. This seminary is set apart VIIL for the instruction and education of those who are designed for the foreign missions : and they are here brought up, with the greatest care, in the knowledge of all the languages and sciences that are necessary to prepare them for propagating the Gospel among the distant nations. This excellent foundation was due to the zeal and munificence of John Baptist Villes, a Spanish nobleman, who resided at the court of Home, and who began by presenting to the pontiff all his ample possessions, together with his house, which was a noble and beautiful structure, for this pious and generous pur pose. His liberality excited a spirit of pious emu lation, and is followed with zeal even to this day. The Seminary was at first committed by Urban to the care and direction of three canons of the patri archal churches ; but this appointment was after wards changed, and ever since the year 1641, it is governed by the Congregation founded by Gre- gory XV. [c].

B 2 III. The

f 6] The authors \vho have given an account of this Con gregation, are mentioned by Fabricius, in his Lux Evar.gclii loli orbi cxoricns, cap. xxxiii. p. 566. Add to these, Doro theas Ascanius De Montibus Pietatis Ecdes'w Roman, p. 522. where there is a complete list of the books that have been published by this congregation, from its first institution until the year 1667.

PC] Helyot, Histoire dcs Ordres Monastiques, HcUgicux ef Mililaircs, torn. viii. cap. xii. p. 78. Urb Cerri Efdt present de rEglixe Komainc, p. 293. where, however the first founder •f this College is called, by mistake, Vives.

4i The General History of the Church.

III. The same zealous spirit reached France* and produced there several pious foundations of a like nature. In the year 1663, the Congregation of priests of the foreign missions were instituted by royal authority, while an association of bishops and other ecclesiastics founded the Parisian Semi nary for the missions abroad, designed for the edu cation of those who were set apart for the propa gation of Christianity among the Pagan nations. From hence, apostolical vicars, are still sent to Si- am Tonquin, Cochin China, and Persia, bishops to Babylon, and missionaries to other Asiatic nations ; and all these spiritual envoys are supported by the ample revenues and possessions of the Congregation and Seminary [d~\. These priests of the foreign missions [e], and the apostles they send into for eign countries, are almost perpetually involved in altercations and debates with the Jesuits and their missionaries. The former are shocked at the methods that are ordinarily employed by the lat-< ter in converting the Chinese and other Asiatics to the Christian religion. And the Jesuits, in their turn, absolutely refuse obedience to the or ders of the apostolical vicars and bishops, who receive their commission from the Congregation above mentioned ; though this commission be issued out with the consent of the pope, or of the College de propaganda fide residing at Rome. There was also another religious establishment formed in France, during this century, under the title of the Congregation of the Holy Sacrament, whose founder was Autherius, bishop of Beth- khem, and which in the year 1644, received an order from Urban VIII. to have always a

number

See the Gallia Christiana Benedictorum, torn. vii. p. 1024. — Helyot, Histoire des Ordres Monasiiques, torn. viii. chap. xii. p. 84.

\_e\ These ecclesiastics are commonly called in France^ Messieurs des Missions Etrangeres.

The General History of the Church.

number of ecclesiastics ready to exercise their mi- CENT. nistry among the Pagan nations, whenever they n should he called upon by the pope, or the Congre- gation de propaganda, for that purpose [./]. It would be endless to mention other associations of less note, that were formed in several countries for pro moting the cause of Christianity among the dark ened nations ; as also the care taken by the Jesuits, and other religious communities, to have a number of missionaries always ready for that purpose.

IV. These congregations and colleges sent forth Missions-

, -. « & . ° . . •• . . -i • ries multi-

those legions or missionaries, wno, in tms cen- piy> more tury, covered in a manner, the whole face ^^^ the globe, and converted to the profession of Jesuits. Christianity at least, if not to its temper and spirit, multitudes of persons in the fiercest and most barbarous nations. The religious orders, that make the greatest figure in these missions, are the Jesuits, the Dominicans, the Franciscans, and the Capuchins, who, though concerned in one common cause, agree nevertheless very ill among themselves, accusing each other publicly and reciprocally, and that with the most bitter re proaches and invectives, of want of zeal in the service of Christ, nay, of corrupting the purity of the Christian doctrine to promote their ambi tious purposes. But none are so universally ac cused of sinister views and unworthy practices in this respect, as the Jesuits, who are singularly odious in the eyes of all the other missionaries, and are looked upon as a very dangerous and pernicious set of apostles by a considerable part of the Romish church. Nor, indeed, can they be viewed in any other light, if the general report be true, that, instead of instructing their pro selytes in the genuine doctrines of Christianity, they te#ch them a corrupt system of religion and B 3 morality

[/] Helyot, loc. cit. cap. xiii. p. §7. XQO.

> The General History of the Church.

CENT, morality that sits easy upon their consciences, and XVIL is reconcileable with the indulgence of their ap- ^ petites an/1 passions ; — that they not only toler ate, but even countenance, in these new converts, several profane opinions and superstitious rites and customs ; — that, by commerce, carried on with the most rapacious avidity, and various other methods little consistent with probity and candour, they have already acquired an overgrown opulence, which they augmented from day to day ; — that they burn with the thirst of ambition, and are, constantly gaping after worldly honours and pre rogatives ; — that they are perpetually employing the arts of adulation, and the seductions of bri bery, to insinuate themselves into the friendship and protection of men in power ; — that they are deeply involved in civil affairs, in the cabals of courts, and the intrigues of politicians; — and finally, that they frequently excite intestine com motions and civi} wars, in those states and king doms, where their views are obstructed or disap pointed, and refuse obedience to the Roman pon tiff, and to the vicars and bishops that bear his commission. These accusations are indeed griev ous, but they are perfectly well attested, being confirmed by the most striking circumstantial evi dence, as well as by a prodigious number of un exceptionable witnesses. Among these we may reckon many of the most illustrious and respecta ble members of the church of .Rome, whose testi mony cannot be imputed to the suggestions of envy, on the one hand, nor considered as the ef fect of temerity or ignorance on the other ; such are the cardinals, the members of the Congrega tion de propaganda fide, and even some of the popes themselves. These testimonies are supported and confirmed by glaring facts, even by the proceed ings of the Jesuits in China, Abyssinia, Japan, and India, where they have dishonoured the cause of

Christianity,

The General History of the Church. 7

Christianity, and hurt the interest of Rome in CENT. the most sensible manner, by their corrupt prac- XVIL

. r -• SECT. I»

tices[#J. v — t — ,

V. The Jesuits exhausted all the resources ofThejeSuits their peculiar artifice and dexterity to impose illlooked silence upon their accusers, to confound their ad-ul versaries, and to give a specious colour to their own proceedings. But all their stratagems were ineffectual. The court of Home was informed of their odious frauds ; and this information was, by no means, looked upon as groundless. Many circumstances concur to prove this, and among others the conduct of the Congregation at Home, by which the foreign missions are carried on and directed. For it is remarkable, that, during many years past, the Jesuits have been much less employed by that Congregation, than in former times, and are also treated, on almost every oc casion, with a degree of circumspection that ma nifestly implies suspicion and diffidence. Other religious orders have evidently gained the ascen dant they formerly held ; and, in the nice and cri tical affairs of the church, and more especially in what relates to the propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts, much more confidence is placed in the austere sobriety, poverty, industry, and pa tience of the Capuchins and Carmelites, than in the opulence, artifice, genius, and fortitude of the disciples of Loyola. On the other hand it is certain, that if the Jesuits are not much trusted, they are, however, more or less feared ; since nei ther the powerful Congregation, now mentioned, nor even the Roman pontiffs themselves, venture to reform all the abuses, which they silently dis approve, or openly blame, in the conduct of this B 4 insidious

The reader will find an ample relation of these facts, supported by a cloud of witnesses, in the Preface to the Hisi toire de la Compagnie de Jesus, published at Utrecht in the year 174-1.

8 Tlie General History of the Church.

CENT, insidious order. This connivance, however in- XVIL voluntary, is become a matter of necessity. The opulence of the Jesuits is so extensive, and their credit and influence are grown so extensive and formidable, in all those parts of the world that embrace the religion of Rome, that they carry their insolence so far as to menace often the pontiff on his throne, who cannot without the utmost peril, oblige them to submit to his orders, where they are disposed to be refractory. Nay more, the decisions of the pope are frequently sug gested by this powerful society, and it is only in such a case that the society treats them with un limited respect. When they come from any other quarter, they are received in a very different man ner by the Jesuits, who trample upon some of them with impunity, and interpret others with their usual dexterity, in such a manner, as to an swer the views and promote the interests of their ambitious order. Such, at least, are the accounts that are generally given of their proceedings ; ac counts which, though contradicted by them, are nevertheless supported by striking and palpable evidence.

^* ^e r*se °^ these dissensions between the converting Jesuits and the other Roman missionaries, is owing b^thf5*1 to ^e meth°ds of conversion used by the former, Jesuits which are entirely different from those that are themene- emPloyecl ty ^ latter. The crafty disciples of Loyola judge it proper to attack the superstition of the Indian nations by artifice and stratagem, and to bring them only gradually* with the ut most caution and prudence, to the knowledge of Christianity. In consequence of this principle, they interpret and explain the ancient doctrines of Paganism, and also those that Confucius taught in China, in such a manner as to soften and diminish, at least in appearance, their opposition to the truths of the Gospel ; and whenever they

find,

TJie General History of the Church. 9

find, in any of the religious systems of the Indi- CENT. ans, tenets or precepts that bear even the faintest resemblance of certain doctrines or precepts of Christianity, they employ all their dexterity and zeal to render this resemblance more plausible and striking, and to persuade the Indians, that there is a great conformity between their ancient theology, and the new religion they are exhorted to embrace. They go still further ; for they in dulge their proselytes in the observance of all their national customs and rites, except such as are glaringly inconsistent with the genius and spirit of the Christian worship. These rites are modi fied a little by the Jesuits, and are directed to wards a different set of objects, so as to form a sort of coalition between Paganism and Christi anity. To secure themselves an ascendant over the untutored minds of these simple Indians, they study their natural inclinations and propensities, comply with them on all occasions, and carefully avoid whatever may shock them. And as in all countries the clergy, and men of eminent learning, are supposed to have a considerable influence on the multitude, so the Jesuits are particularly assidu ous in courting the friendship of the Indian priests, which they obtain by various methods, in the choice of which they are far from being scrupul ous. But the protection of men in power is the great object they principally aim at, as the surest method of establishing their authority, and ex tending their influence. And hence they study all the arts that can render them agreeable or use ful to great men ; hence their application to the mathematics, physic, poetry, to the theory of painting, sculpture, architecture, and the other ele gant arts ; and hence their perseverance in study ing men and manners, the interests of princes, and the affairs of the world, in order to prepare them for giving counsel in critical situations, and

suggesting

10 The General History of the Church.

CENT, suggesting expedients in perplexing and compli XVIL cated cases. It would be endless to enumerate *'^\ all the circumstances that have been complained of in the proceedings of the Jesuits. These that have been now mentioned, have ruined their credit in the esteem of the other missionaries, who consider their artful and insidious dealings as every way unsuitable to the character and dig nity of the ambassadors of Christ, whom it be comes to plead the cause of God with an honest simplicity, and an ingenuous openness and can dour, without any mixture of dissimulation or fraud. And, accordingly, we find the other re ligious orders, that are employed in the foreign missions, proceeding in a very different method in the exercise of their ministry. They attack openly the superstitions of the Indians, in all their connexions and in all their consequences, and are studious to remove whatever may seem adapted to nourish them. They shew little regard to the ancient rites and customs in use among the blind ed nations, and little respect for the authority of those by whom they were established. They treat with a certain indifference and contempt the Pa gan priests, grandees, and princes ; and preach, without disguise, the peculiar doctrines of Chris tianity, while they attack, without hesitation or fear, the superstitions of those nations they arc called to convert.

VI1* These missionaries of the court of Rome spread the fame of the Christian religion through India. the greatest part of Asia during this century. To begin with India ; it is observable, that the mini sterial labours of the Jesuits, Theatins and Au- gustinians contributed to introduce some rays of divine truth, mixed, indeed with much darkness and superstition, into those parts of that vast region that had been possessed by the Portuguese before their expulsion from thence by the Dutch.

But

The General History of the CJiurch, 11

But of all the missions that were established in these distant parts of the globe, none has been more constantly and universally applauded than that of Madura, and none is said to have produ ced more abundant and permanent fruit. It was undertaken and executed by Robert de Nobili [A], an Italian Jesuit, who took a very singu lar method of rendering his ministry successful. Considering on the one hand, that the Indians beheld with an eye of prejudice, and aversion all the Europeans, and, on the other, that they held in the highest veneration the order of Brachmans as descended from the Gods ; and that, impatient of other rulers, they paid an implicit and unli mited obedience to them alone, he assumed the appearance and title of a Brachman, that had come from a far country, and, by besmearing his countenance and imitating that most austere and painful method of living that the Sanianes or Pe nitents observe, he at length persuaded the cre dulous people that he was, in reality, a member of that venerable Order [/]. By this stratagem,

he

[/y] Others call this famous missionary Robert de Nobi- libtis.

[T] Urban Cerri, Etiit present de I'Egllse Romaine, p. 173.

#3" Nobili, who was looked upon by the Jesuits as the chief Apostle of the Indians after Francois Xavier, took in credible pains to acquire a knowledge of the religion, cus toms, and language of Madura, sufficient for the purposes of his ministry. But this was not all ; for, to stop the mouths of his opposers, and particularly of those who treated his character of Brachman as an impostor, lie produced an old, dirty parchment, in which he had forged, in the ancient In dian characters, a deed, shewing that the Brachmans of Rome were of much older date than those of India, and that the Jesuits of Rome descended, in a direct line, from the God Ptrama. Nay, Father Jouvenci, a learned Jesuit, tells us in the History of his Order, something yet more remarkable; even that Robert de Nobili, when the authenticity of his smoaky parchment was called in question by some IncUan unbelievers, declared vpon oath, before the assembly of the

Braclvnans

SECT. I.

12 The General History of the Church.

CENT, lie gained over to Christianity twelve eminent xvn. Brachmans, whose example and influence engaged a prodigious number of the people to hear the instructions, and to receive the doctrine of this famous missionary. On the death of Robert, this singular mission was for some time at a stand, and seemed even to be neglected [&]. But it was afterwards renewed, by the zeal and industry of the Portuguese Jesuits, and is still carried on by several missionaries of that Order, from France and Portugal, who have inured themselves to the terrible austerities that were practised by Robert, and that are thus become, as it were, the appen dages of that mission. These fictitious Brach mans, who boldly deny their being Europeans or Franks [/], and only give themselves out for in habitants of the northern regions, are said to have converted a prodigious number of Indians to Christianity; and, if common report may be trusted to, the congregations they have already founded in those countries grow larger and more numerous from year to year. Nor, indeed, do these accounts appear, in the main, unworthy of credit \_rn~] ; though we must not be too ready to

receive,

Brachmans of Madura, that he (NTobili) derived really and truly his origin from the God Brama. Is it not astonishing that this Reverend Father should acknowledge, is it not mon strous that he should applaud, as a piece of pious ingenuity, this detestable instance of perjury and fraud ? See Jouvenci Hisloire des Jesuites. — Norbert, Memoires Historiques sur Its Missions dcs Malab. torn. ii. p. 145.

[k~\ Urban Cerri Etdt present de VEglise Eamawe, p. 1 73.

[7] The Indians distinguish all the Europeans by the gene ral denomination of Franks, or (as they pronounce the word)

The Jesuits seem to want words to express the glory that has accrued to their Order from the remarkable success, and the abundant fruits of this famous mission, as also the clr?adful sufferings and hardships their missionaries have sus tained in the course of their ministry. See the Lettre.^Citrieuscs et Etiftanles ecrites dcs Missions Etrangcres, torn. i. p. '9. 32. 4ft.

50.

The General History of the Cliurcli. 13

receive, as authentic and well attested, the rela- CENT. tions that have been given of the intolerable hard- XVIL

1 . SECT. I*

ships . ,

50, 55. where father Martin observes (p. 9-), that this mission surpasses all 'others ; that each missionary baptizes, at least, a thousand converts every year (p. 11.); that, nevertheless Bap tism is not indiscriminately administered, or granted with fa cility and precipitation to every one that demands it (p. 12.) ; that those who present themselves to be baptized, are accurately examined until they exhibit sufficient proofs of their sincerity, and are carefully instructed during the space of four months in order to their reception ; that, after their reception, they live like angels rather than like men ; and that the smallest appearance of mortal sins is scarcely, if ever, to be found among them. If any one is curious enough to inquire into the causes that produce such an uncommon degree of sanctity among these new converts, the Jesuits allege the two following ; the Jirst is modestly drawn from the holy lives and examples of the missionaries, who (p. 15.) pass their days in the greatest austerity, and in acts of mortification that are terrible to nature, (see torn. xii. p. 206. torn. xv. p. 211.) who are not allowed for instance, the use of bread, wine, fish, or flesh, but are ob liged to be satisfied with water and vegetables, dressed in the most insipid and disgusting manner, and whose clothing, with the other circumstances of life, are answerable to their miserable diet. The second cause of this unusual appear ance, alleged by the Jesuits, is the situation of these new Christians, by which they are cut off from all communication and intercourse with the Europeans, who are said to have corrupted, by their licentious manners, almost all the other Indian proselytes to Christianity. Add to all this, other con siderations, which are scattered up and down in the Letters above cited, torn. i. p. l(j, 17. torn. ii. p. 1. torn. iii. p. 217.

torn. v. p. 2. torn. vi. p. lip. torn. ix. p. 126. Madura is

a separate kingdom situated in the midst of the Indian Pe ninsula beyond the Ganges *. There is an accurate map of the territory comprehended in the mission of Madura, pub lished by the Jesuits in the xvth tome of the Lettres Curieu* ses et Ed[fiantcs, p. CO. The French Jesuits set on foot, in the kingdom of Carnate and in the adjacent provinces, a mis sion like that of Madura (Lettres Cur. torn. v. p. 3. 240.) and, towards the conclusion of this century, other missionaries of the same Order formed an enterprize of the same nature in the dominions of the king of Marava, (torn. ii. p. 1. torn. x.

P- 790

I£$" * This is a mistake. Madura is in the Indian Peninsula withiu thtj Ganges, and not beyond it. Its principal produce is rice, which is one of the principal instruments made use of by the rich Jesuits hi the coiiver- •ion of the poor Indians.

CENT.

XVII.

SECT. i.

In the kingdoms of Siam, Tonquin, Ac.

The General History of the Church.

ships and sufferings that have been sustained by these Jesuit-Brachmans in the cause of Christ. , Many imagine, and not without good foundation, that their austerities are, generally speaking, more dreadful in appearance than in reality ; and that, while they outwardly affect an extraordinary de gree of self-denial, they indulge themselves pri vately in a free, and even luxurious use of the creatures, have their tables delicately served, and their cellars exquisitively furnished, in order to refresh themselves after their labours.

VIII. The knowledge of Christianity was first conveyed to the kingdoms of Siam, Tong-king, and Kochinchina, by a mission of Jesuits, under the direction of Alexander of Rhodes, a native of Avignon \ji], whose instructions were received with uncommon docility by a prodigious num ber of the inhabitants of these countries. An

account

p. 79-) The Jesuits themselves,, however acknowledge, (torn. vi. p. 3, 15, 66, 10?.) that this latter establishment succeeded much better than that of Carnatc. The reason of this may perhaps be, that the French Jesuits, who founded the mission of Carnale, could not endure, with such constancy and patience, the austere and mortified manner of living which an institution of this nature required, nor imitate the rigid self-denial of the Brachmans, so well as the missionaries of Spain and Portugal. — Be that as it may, all these missions, that formerly made such a noise in the world, were suspended and abandoned, in consequence of a papal mandate issued out in the year 1744, by Benedict XIV. who declared his disap probation of the mean and perfidious methods of converting the Indians that were practised by the Jesuits, and pronoun* ced it unlawful to make use of frauds or insidious artifices in extending the limits of the Christian church. See Norbert, Memoires Historiques pour les Missions Orientates,, torn. i. & iv. Mammachius has given an account of this matter, and also published the mandate of Benedict, in his Orig. et Antlq. Christian, torn. ii. p. 245. See also Lockman's Travels of the. Jesuits, £c. translated from the Lettrcs Edifiantes, £c. vol. i. p. 4, 9. 2d edit.

[V| See the Writings of Alexander de Rhodes, who was undoubtedly a man of sense and spirit, and more especially his Travels, which were published in 4to, at Paris, in the years 1666, and 1682.

The General History of the Church. 15

account of the success of this spiritual expedition CENT. being brought to Alexander VII. in the year 1658, determined that pontiff to commit this new church to the inspection and government of a certain number of bishops, and chose for this pur pose some French priests out of the Congregation of foreign 7iiissions to carry his orders to the rising community, and to rule over it as his representa tives and vicegerents. But the Jesuits, who can bear no superiors, and scarcely an equal, treated these pious men with the greatest indignity, load ed them with injuries and reproaches, and would not permit them to share their labours, nor to partake of their glory [o]. Hence arose, in the court of Rome, a long and tedious contest, which served to shew, in the plainest manner, that the Jesuits were ready enough to make use of the

authority

£ o~\ There were several Pamphlets and Memorials published at Paris, in the year 1666, 1674, and 1681, in which these French missionaries, whom the Jesuits refused to admit a*s fellow-labourers in the conversion of the Indians, relate, in an eloquent and affecting strain, the injuries they had received from that jealous and ambitious Order. The most ample and accurate narration of that kind was published at Paris, in the year 1688, by Francis Pallu, whom the pope had created bishop of Heliopolis. The same matter is largely treated in the Gallia Christiana of the learned Benedictines, torn. vii. p. 1027, and a concise account of it is also given by Urban Cerri, in his Elat present de I'Eglise Romaine, p. 199. This latter author, though a secretary of the Congregation de propaganda jidc, yet inveighs with a just severity and a generous warmth against the perfidy, cruelty, and ambition of the Jesuits ; and laments it as a most unhappy thing, that the Congregation, now mentioned, has not power enough to set limits to the ra pacity and tyranny of that arrogant society. He further observes, towards the end of his Narrative, which is addressed to the pope, that he was not at liberty to reveal all the abo minations which the Jesuits had committed, during the course of this contest, but, by the order of his Holiness, was obliged to pass them over in silence. His words are, Votre Saintete a ordonjiec, qu'dles demeurassent sous le secret. — See also on this subject, Helyot, Histoire des Ordres Monastiques, torn. viir.» chap. xii. p. 84.

16 The General History of the Church,

GENT, authority of the pope, when it was necessary to

xvn. promote their interests, or to extend their influence

^?'\ and dominion ; but that they did not hesitate, on

the other hand, to treat the same authority with

indifference and contempt in all cases, where it

appeared in opposition to their private views and

personal interests. After this, Lewis XIV. sent

a solemn embassy [j?], in the year 1638, to the

king

The French bishops of Heliopolis, Berylus, and Metellopolis, that had been sent into India about the year 1663, had prepared the way for this embassy, and by an ac count of the favourable dispositions of the monarch then reign ing at Siam, had encouraged the French king to make a new attempt for the establishment of Christianity in these distant regions. A fixed residence had been formed at Siam for the French missionaries, together with a seminary for instructing the youth in the languages of the circumjacent nations, who had all settlements, or camps, as they are called at the capital. A church was also erected there, by the king's permission, in the year 1667, and that prince proposed several questions to the missionaries, which seemed to discover a propensity to in form himself concerning their religion. The bishop of Helio* polis, who had gone back to Europe on the affairs of the mis sion, returned to Siam in the year l6?3, with letters from Lewis XIV. and Pope Clement IX. accompanied with rich presents, to thank his Siamese majesty for the favours bestowed on the French bishops. In a private audience to which he was ad mitted, he explained, in an answer to a question proposed to him by the king of Siam, the motive that had engaged the French bishops to cross so many seas, and the French king to send his subjects to countries so far from home, observing, that a strong desire in his prince, to extend the kingdom of the true God, was the sole reason of their voyage. Upon this we are told, that the king of Siam offered a port in any part of his dominions, where a city might be built to the honour of Lewis the Great, and where, if he thought fit, he might send a viceroy to reside; and declared afterwards, in a public assembly of the grandees of his court, that he would leave all his subjects at liberty to embrace the Romish faith. — All this raised the hopes of the missionaries to a very high pitch ; but the expectations they derived from thence of converting the king himself were en tirely groundless, as may be seen from a very remarkable de claration of that monarch in the following note. See the Rela* tion des Missions el des Voyages des Ewyuvs Francois, passim*

The General History of the Church. 17

king of Siam, whose prime minister, at that time, CENT. was a Greek Christian, named Constantine Faulkon, a man of an artful, ambitious, and en terprising spirit. The design of this embassy was to engage the Pagan prince to embrace Christi anity, and to permit the propagation of the Gos pel in his dominions. The ambassadors were at tended by a great retinue of priests and Jesuits, some of whom were well acquainted with those branches of science that were agreeable to the taste of the king of Siam. It was only, however, among a small part of the people, that the labours of these missionaries were cro\vned with any de gree of success ; for the monarch himself, and the great men of his kingdom remained unmoved by their exhortations, and deaf to their instruc tions [(/]. The king, indeed, though he chose

to

(£3* \jf\ When Monsieur De Chaumont, who was charged with this famous embassy, arrived at Siam, he presented a long memorial to the monarch of that country, intimating how so licitous the king of France was to have his Siamese majesty of the same religion with himself. Chaw Naraya (for so was the latter named), who seems to have always deceived the French by encouraging words, which administered hopes that he never intended to accomplish, answered this memorial in a very acute and artful manner. After asking who had made the king of France believe that he entertained any such senti ments, he desired his minister Faulkon to tell the French ambassador, " That he left it to his most Christian majesty to *' judge, whether the change of a religion that had been fol- " lowed in his dominions without interruption, for 2229 " years, could be a matter of small importance to him, or a " demand with which it was easy to comply ; — that besides, " he was much surprised to find the king of France concern " himself so zealously and so warmly in a matter which rela- " ted to God and not to him ; and, in which, though it related " to God, the Deity did not seem to meddle at all, but left it "entirely to human discretion." The king asked, at the same time, " Whether the true God, that created heaven and " earth, and had bestowed on mankind such different natures " and inclinations, could not, when he gave to men, the same " bodies and souls, have also, if he had pleased, inspired VOL. V. C « them

18 The General History of the Church.

CENT, to persevere in the religion of his ancestors, yet xvn- discovered a spirit of condescension and toleration

^ ' _^J, towards the conductors of this mission : and his- favourite Constantine had scarcely invited the French to Siam to support him in his authority, which was beheld with an envious eye by several of the grandees. So that as long as this prince and his minister lived, the French still retained some hopes of accomplishing their purpose, and of converting the inhabitants of Siam to the faith. But these hopes entirely vanished in the year 1688, when, in a popular sedition, excited and fomented by some prince of the blood, both king and minister were put to death \r~\ ; and then the missionaries returned home.

In china. IX. China, the most extensive and opulent of all the Asiatic kingdoms, could not but appear

to

" them with the same religious Sentiments, and have made all " nations live and die in the same laws. He added, That, " since order among men, and unity in religion, depend abso- " lutely on Divine Providence, who could as easily introduce " them into the world as that diversity of sects that prevails in *' it, it is natural to conclude from thence, that the true God '* takes as much pleasure to be honoured by different modes of " religion and worship, as to be glorified by a prodigious num- " ber of different creatures, who praise him every one in his own " way." Ke moreover asked, " Whether that beauty and va- " riety, which we admire in the order of nature, be less admi- " rable in the order of supernatural things, or less becoming in " the wisdom of God? — However that be (continued the king " of Siam) since we know that God is the absolute master of " the world, and that we are persuaded nothing comes to pass " contrary to his will, I resign my person and dominions into " the arms of his providence, and beseech his eternal wisdom f( to dispose thereof according to his good will and plea- " sure." See Tachard, Prem. Voyage de Siam, p. 218; as also the Journal of the Abbe Choisi, who was employed in that embassy.

{>] An account of this embassy, and of the transactions of both ambassadors and missionaries, is given by Tachard, Chaumont, and La Loubert. The relations, however, of the author last mentioned, who was a man of learning and can dour, deserve undoubtedly the preference.

SECT. I.

The General History of the CJiurch. 19

to the missionaries and their constituents an oh- CENT. ject worthy of their pious zeal and ghostly ambi- XVIL tion. And accordingly a numerous tribe of Je suits, Dominicans, Franciscans, and Capuchins, set out, about the commencement of this century, with a view to enlighten that immense region with the knowledge of the Gospel. All these, however they differ in other matters, agree in proclaiming tlie astonishing success of their mini sterial labours. It is nevertheless certain, that the principal honour of these religious exploits belongs to the Jesuits, who, with a peculiar de gree of dexterity and address, removed the ob stacles that were the most adapted to retard the progress of Christianity, among a people whose natural acuteness and pride were accompanied with a superstitious attachment to the religion and manners of their ancestors. These artful mission aries studied the temper, character, taste, incli nations and prejudices of the Chinese with in credible attention ; and perceiving that their na-^ tural sagacity was attended with an ardent desire of improvement in knowledge, and that they took the highest pleasure in the study of the arts and sciences, and more especially in the mathe matics, they lost no occasion of sending for such members of their Order as, besides their know ledge of mankind, and prudence, in transacting business, were also masters of the different branches of learning and philosophy. Some of these learned Jesuits acquired, in a very short space of time, such a high degree of credit and influence by their sagacity and eloquence, the insinuating sweetness and facility of their man ners, and their surprising dexterity and skill in all kinds of transactions and affairs, that they came at length to the knowledge of the emperor, were loaded by him with the most honourable marks of distinction, and were employed in the most se- C 2 cret

20 The General History of the Church.

CENT, cretand important deliberations and affairs of the XVIL cabinet. Under the auspicious protection of such v^ ^ powerful patrons, the other missionaries, though **v*" of a lower rank and of inferior talents, were deli vered from all apprehension of danger in the ex ercise of their ministry, and thus encouraged to exert themselves with spirit, vigour, and perse verance, in the propagation of the Gospel, in all the provinces of that mighty empire. The pro- X. This promising aspect of things was cloud- chrTstl- ed for some time, when Xun-chi, the first Chi- anity in nese emperor of the Mogol race, died, and left a China* son under age as his only heir. The grandees of the empire, to whose tuition and care this young prince was committed, had long enter tained an aversion to Christianity, and only sought for a convenient occasion of venting their rage against it. This occasion was now offered and greedily embraced. The guardians of the young prince abused his power to execute their vindic tive purposes, and, after using their utmost efforts to extirpate Christianity wherever it was profes sed, they persecuted its patrons, more especially the Jesuits, with great bitterness, deprived them of all the honours and advantages they had en joyed, and treated them with the utmost barbarity and injustice. John Adam Schaal, their chief, whose advanced age and extensive knowledge, to gether with the honourable place he held at court, seemed to demand some marks of exemp tion from the calamities that pursued his brethren, was thrown into prison, and condemned to death, while the other missionaries were sent into exile. These dismal scenes of persecution were exhibited in the year 1664 ; but, about five years after this gloomy period, when Kang-hi assumed the reins of government, a new face of things appeared. The Christian cause, and the labours of its minis ters, not only resumed their former credit and

vigour^

The General History of the Church. 21

vigour, but in process of time, gained ground, CENT. and received such distinguished marks of protec- tion from the throne, that the Jesuits usually date from this period the commencement of the gol den age of Christianity in China. The new em peror, whose nohle and generous spirit [s] was equal to the uncommon extent of his genius, and to his ardent curiosity in the investigation of truth, began his reign by recalling the Jesuits to his court, and restoring them to the credit and influence which they had formerly enjoyed. But his generosity and munificence did not stop here ; for he sent to Europe for a still greater number of the members of that Order, such of them parti cularly as were eminent for their skill in the arts and sciences. Some of these he placed in the highest offices of the state, and employed in civil negotiations and transactions of the greatest im portance. Others he chose for his private friends and counsellors, who were to assist him with their advice in various matters, and to direct his phi losophical and mathematical studies. These pri vate friends and counsellors were principally cho sen from among the French Jesuits. Thus the Order was raised in a little time, to the very summit of favour, and clothed with a degree of authority and lustre to which it had not hitherto attained. In such a state of things, it is but natural to conclude, that the Christian reli gion would not want powerful patrons, nor its preachers be left destitute and unsupported. And c 3 accordingly

[Y] See Joach. Bouveti Icon Regia Monarches Sinarum, translated into Latin by the famous ^Leibnitz, and published in the year 1699, in the second part of his Nov'issima Sinica. See also Du Halde's Description de la Chine, and the Lettrcs Edtfianics, &c. in which the Jesuits give an account of the success of their missions. In these productions, the virtues and talents of this emperor, which seem indeed to be univer sally acknowledged, are described and celebrated with pecu* liar encomiums.

22 The General History of the Church.

CENT, accordingly a multitude of spiritual labourers xvir. from a]j parts Of Europe repaired to China, allur-

SECT. I. 11,1 /• • i i i -11-

v^, j ed by the prospect or a rich, abundant, and glori ous harvest. And, indeed, the success of their mi nistry seemed to answer fully the extent of their expectations; since it is well known that, with very little pains, and still less opposition, they made a prodigious number of converts to the profession of the Gospel. The triumph of Chris tianity seemed to be complete, when, in, the year 16921, the emperor, from an excessive attachment to the Jesuits, issued out that remarkable edict, by which he declared, that the Christian religion was in no wise detrimental to the safety or inte rests of the monarchy, as its enemies pretended, and by which also he granted to all his subjects an entire freedom of conscience, and a full permis sion to embrace the Gospel. This triumph was still further confirmed, when the same prince, in the year 1700, ordered a magnificent church to be built for the Jesuits within the precincts of the imperial palace [t].

The Jesuits ~v~T rr^i • • • /» . i /~\i • .•

accused of *4» J-his surprising success of the Christian fraudulent cause was undoubtedly owing to the dexterity and perseverance of the Jesuits, as even the great est enemies of that artful Order are obliged to acknowledge. But it is quite another question,

whether

[Q There is a concise, but interesting account of these re volutions, given by Du Halde, in his Desription de la Chine, torn. iii. p. 128, and by the Jesuit Fontahey, in the Leltres Edijiantes et Curieuses, torn, viii, p. 176. — They are related in a more diffuse and ample manner by other writers. — See Su- arez, De Libertate Reltgionem Christiamim apud Sinas, propa- gandi Narralio, published in the year 1698, by Libnitz, in the first part of his Navissiwa Sinica. The other authors who have treated this branch of history are mentioned by Fabric-ins, in his Lux Evangclii foil Orbi exoriens, cap. xxxix-. p. (56o. See also an Ecclesiastical History of China, .which I published in German in the year 1748. #3- This History was translated into English and published in the year 1750, with this title; Authentic Memoirs of the Christian Church in China.

SECT.

The General History of ike Church. %

v/hether this success was obtained by methods CENT agreeable to the dictates of reason and conscience, and consistent with the dignity and genius of the Christian religion ? This latter point has been long debated, with great animosity and vehe mence, on both sides ; and the contention is not yet ended. The adversaries of the Jesuits, whose opposition is as keen as their numbers are formi dable, and more especially the Jansenists and Dominicans assert boldly, that the success above mentioned was obtained by the most odious frauds, nay, even in many cases, by the most de testable crimes. They charge the Jesuits with Laving given a false exposition and a spurious account of the ancient religion of the Chinese, and with having endeavoured to persuade the emperor and the Chinese nobility, that the pri mitive theology of their nation, and the doctrine of their great instructor and philosopher Confu cius, differed almost in nothing from the doctrine of the Gospel. They are further charged with having invented a variety of historical fictions, in order to persuade the Chinese (who are vehe mently attached to whatever carries the air of a remote antiquity), that Jesus Christ had been known and worshipped in their nation many ages ago ; and these fictions are supposed to have pre judiced the emperor in favour of Christianity, and to have engaged certain grandees of the king dom, not only to grant their protection and favour to the Jesuits, but even to become members of their society. Nor do the accusations brought against the disciples of Loyola end here; for they are said to have entirely lost sight of all the duties and obligations that are incumbent on the ministers of Christ, and the heralds of a spiritual kingdom, by not only accepting of worldly ho nours and places of civil authority and power, l>ut evep aspiring after them with all the ardour, C4 of

SECT.

4 The General History of the Church.

CENT, of an insatiable ambition, by boasting, with an XVIL arrogant vanitv, of the protection and munificence

'•Cif-itfi T •* 1 • 1 • 1 » • ft

of the emperor, by deserting the simplicity of a frugal and humble appearance, and indulging themselves in all circumstances of external pomp and splendor, such as costly garments, numerous retinues, luxurious tables, and magnificent houses. To all which it is added, that they employed much more zeal and industry in the advance ment of human science, especially the mathema tics, than in promoting Christian knowledge and virtue; and that they even went so far as to meddle in military matters, and to concern them selves, both personally and by their counsels, in the bloody scenes of war. While these heavy crimes are laid to the charge of those Jesuits, who, by their capacity and talents, had been raised to a high degree of credit in the empire, the more obscure members of that same Order, who were appointed more immediately to instruct the Chinese in the truths of the Gospel, are far from being considered as blameless. They are accused as spending in the practice of usury, and in various kinds of traffic, the precious moments which ought to have been consecrated to the functions of their ministry, and of using low and. dishonourable methods of advancing their for tunes, and insinuating themselves into the favour of the multitude. The Jesuits acknowledged, that a part of these accusations are founded upon facts ; but they give a specious colour to those facts, and use all their artifice and eloquence to justify what they cannot deny. Other articles of these complaints they treat as groundless, and as the fictions of calumny, that are invented with no other design than to cast a reproach upon their Order. An impartial inquirer into these matters will perhaps find, that if, in several points, the Jesuits defend themselves in a very weak and un satisfactory

The General History of the Church. 25

satisfactory manner, there are others, in which CENT. their misconduct seems to have been exaggerated cxvn- by envy and prejudice in the complaints of their vJ^'J^ adversaries.

XII. The grand accusation that is brought An ac- against the Jesuits in China, is this : That they^"^. make an impious mixture of light and darkness, pal charge of Chinese superstition and Christian truth, in or- ag°"nrtthe der to triumph with the greater speed and facility Jesuits. over the prejudices of that people against the doctrine of the Gospel ; and that they allow their converts to retain the profane customs and the absurd rights of their Pagan ancestors. Ricci, who was the founder of the Christian church in that famous monarchy, declared it as his opinion, that the greatest part of those rites, which the Chinese are obliged by the laws of their country to perform, might be innocently observed by the new converts. To render this opinion less shock ing, he supported and explained it upon the fol lowing principle ; that these rights were of a civil and not of a sacred nature ; that they were invent ed from views of policy, and not from any purposes of religion ; and that none but the very dregs of the populace in China, considered them in any other light [u]. This opinion was not only re jected by the Dominicans and Franciscans, who were associated with the Jesuits in this important mission, but also by some even of the most learn ed Jesuits both in China, and Japan, and par ticularly by Nicholas Lombard, who published a memorial, containing the reasons [y] upon which

his

[V] See Mammachii Origcn ct Ant t quit. Christian, torn. ii. p. 313.

[V] See Chr. Kortholti Prcefatio ad Volumen II. Epistolttr. Leibniliar. sect. vi. p. 18. who has likewise subjoined to this work the pieces composed against the Jesuits by Lombard and Anthony de S. Maria, with the remarks of Leibnitz. There is also inserted in this collection (p. 413.) an ample disserta tion on the Chinese philosophy, drawn up by Leibnitz, who pleads therein the cause of the Jesuits.

6 The General History of the Church.

CENT. Ins dissent was founded. This contest, which XVIL was long carried on in a private manner, was ^'u^y brought, by the Dominicans, before the tribunal of the pontiff, in the year 1645, and from that pe riod continued to produce great divisions, com motions, and caballing in the church of Rome. Innocent X. in the year now mentioned, pro nounced in favour of the Dominicans, and highly condemned the Indulgence which the Jesuits had shewn to the Chinese superstitions. But, about eleven years after, this sentence, though not for mally reversed, was nevertheless virtually annull ed hy Alexander VII. at the instigation of the Jesuits, who persuaded that pontiff to allow the Chinese converts the liberty of performing se veral of the rites to which they had been ac customed, and for which they discovered a peculiar fondness. This, however, did not hin der the Dominicans from renewing their com plaints in the year 1661 ; and again, in 1674, under the pontificate of Innocent XI; though the power and credit of the Jesuits seemed to triumph over all their remonstrances. This fatal dispute which had been suspended for seve ral years in China, broke out there again, in the year 1684, with greater violence than ever; and then the victory seemed to incline to the side of the Dominicans in consequence of a decision pronounced in the year 1693, by Charles Mai- grot, a doctor of the Sorbonne, who acted as the Delegate, or vicar of the Roman pontiff, in the pro vince of Folden, and who was afterwards conse-, crated titular bishop of Conon. This ecclesiastic, by a public edict, declared the opinions and prac tices of the Jesuits, in relation to the affairs of the Chinese mission, absolutely inconsistent with the purity and simplicity of the Christian religion. — But the pope, to whose supreme cognizance and decision Maigrot had submitted this important

edict

SECT. I.

Tlie General History of the Church. 27

edict, refused to come to a determination on CENT. either side, before the matter in debate had been *™\ carefully examined, and the reasons of the con tending parties weighed with the utmost atten tion ; and therefore, in the year 1699, he ap pointed a congregation of chosen doctors to exa mine and decide this tedious controversy. This resolution of the Roman pontiff was no sooner made public, than all the enemies of the Jesuits, in all quarters of the church of Rome, and more especially those who wished ill to the Order in France, came forth with their complaints, their accusations, and invectives ; and loaded the trans actions and reputation of the whole society with the most bitter reproaches [«?]. The Jesuits, on the other hand, were neither silent or inactive. They attacked their adversaries with vigour, and defended themselves with dexterity and spirit [oi\. ' — But the conclusion of this critical and momen tous contest belongs to the history of the follow* ing century.

XIII. If,

(d3 {iv~\ See the Letlrcs de Messieurs des Missions Etran- geres an Pape, sur les Idolatries et lea Superstitions Chinoiaes — Revocation de I' Approbation donnee en 1787, per M. Brisa- cier, Superieur des Mission-is Etrangcrcs, au Livre de la De fense dc. nouveaux Chretiens et des Missionaries de la Chine. — Deux Lett res d'un Doctcur de I'Ordre de St. Dominique au R. P. Dcz, Provincial des Jesuits, sur les ceremonies de la Chine. These tracts .are all printed together in one volume 12mo, without any date, or name of the place where published, though the treatises themselves are all dated 1700. N.

£r] Du Halde, Description des la Chine,, torn. in. p. 142, — See the enumeration of other writers on the same subject, given by Fabricius, in his Lux Evangclii toil Orbi exoricnst cap. xxxix. p. 665. — See also Voltaire, Siccle de Louis XI V. torn. ii. p. 318. — But the most ingenious patron of the Je-. suits, on this occasion, was Father Daniel, himself a member of that famous order : See his Histoirc Apohgetique dc la con- dtiife dc? Jesuits de la Chine t in the third volume of his Opus* culcs, p. l.

s

28 The General History of the Church.

CENT. XIII. If, in considering this controversy, which xvn. ernployed the ablest pens of the Romish church, we confine our attention to the merits of the cause, (passing over what personally concerns the jectofthe Jesuits, with some other questions of a minute t^epeunetbbee" and incidental kind,) it will appear, that the Chinese whole dispute turns essentially upon two great Sredu-" points ; the one relating to the Chinese notion of the Supreme Being ; and the other to the nature of those honours, which that people offered to certain persons deceased, First As to the first of these points, it is to be ob

served, that the Chinese call the supreme object of their religious worship Tien and Shang-ti, which, in their language, signify the Heavens: and that the Jesuits employ the same terms when they speak of the true God, who is adored by the Christians. From hence it is inferred, that they make no sort of distinction between the supreme God of the Chinese, and the infinitely perfect Deity of the Christians : or (to express the same thing in other words) that they imagine the Chi nese entertain the same notions concerning their Tien, or Heav ^7?, that the Christians do concerning the God they adore. The question then relative to this first point is properly as follows : " Do " the Chinese understand by the denominations " above-mentioned, the visible and material Hea- " vens ? or are these terms on the contrary, em- " ployed by them to represent the Lord of these " Heavens, i. e. an eternal and all perfect Being, " who presides over universal nature, and, from " heaven, the immediate residence of his glory, " governs all things with unerring wisdom ?" or, to express this question in fewer words, " Do the " Chinese mean, by their Tien, such a Deity as " the Christians adore?" This question the Je suits answer in the affirmative. They maintain, that the ancient Chinese philosophers, who had

an

The General History of the Church. 29

an accurate knowledge of the great principles of CENT. natural religion, represented the supreme Being almost under the tf^ry same characters that attributed to him by Christians ; and hence they not only allow their Chinese disciples to employ the terms already mentioned in their prayers to the Deity, and in their religious discourse, but even use their terms themselves, when they pro nounce the name of God in their public instruc tions, or in private conversation. The adversa ries of the Jesuits maintain the negative of this question, regard the ancient philosophy of the Chinese as an impure source of blasphemy and impiety, and affirm, that it confounded the Divine Nature with that of the universe. They assert further, that the famous Confucius, whose name and writings are held in such veneration by the people of China, was totally ignorant of divine truth, destitute of religious principle, and traced the origin of all things that exist from an internal and inevitable necessity. This contest, concerning the first point that divided the Chinese missiona ries, produced a multitude of learned dissertations on the manners, laws, and opinions of the ancient inhabitants of China, and gave rise to several cu rious discoveries. But all these were insufficient to serve the chief purpose they were designed to accomplish, since they were far from giving a sa tisfactory and clear decision of the matter in de bate. It still remained a question, which were most to be believed, — the Jesuits or their adver saries ? and the impartial inquirer," after long ex amination, thought it prudent to trust entirely to neither; since if it appeared on the one hand, that the Tien, or supreme God of the Chinese, was much inferior, in perfection and excellence, to the God of the Christians, it was equally evi dent, on the other, that this Chinese Deity was looked upon by his worshippers as entirely dis tinct

30 The General History of the Church.

CENT, tinet from the material JEther and the visible XVIL Heavens.

^ ^ XIV. As to the other point in dispute, it scco^i must be previously observed, that the ancient point. laws of China oblige the natives of that vast re gion to perform, annually, at a stated time, in honour of their ancestors, certain rites, which seem to be of a religious nature. It is to be ob served further, that it is a custom among the learned to pay likewise, at stated times, to the memory of Confucius, whom the Chinese consi der as the oracle of all wisdom and knowledge, certain marks of veneration that have un doubtedly a religious aspect, and that are, more over, performed in a kind of temples erected to that great and illustrious philosopher. Hence then ariseth a second question, which is thus pro posed : " Are those honours that the Chinese, in " genera], pay to the memory of their ancestors, " and which the learned, in particular, offer at " the shrine of Confucius, of a civil or sacred na- " ture? Are they to be considered as religious " offerings, or are they no more th&upottticalmgti- " tutions designed to promote some public good !" The Jesuits affirm, that the ancient Chinese law givers established these rites with no other view than to keep the people in order, and to maintain the tranquillity of the state ; and that the Chinese did not pay any religious worship, either to the memory of Confucius, or to the departed souls of their ancestors, but only declared, by the per formance of certain rites, their gratitude and re spect to both, and their solemn resolution to imi tate their virtues, and follow their illustrious ex amples. From hence these missionaries conclude, that the Chinese converts to Christianity might be permitted to perform these ceremonies according to the ancient custom of their country, provided they understood their true nature, and kept ak

ways

The General History of the Church. 31

\vays in remembrance the political views with which they were instituted, and the civil purposes they were designed to serve. By this specious account of things, the conduct of the Jesuits is, in some measure, justified. But let this representa tion be true or false, it will still remain evident, that, in order to render the Christian cause triumphant in China, some such concessions and accommodations as those of the Jesuits seem al most absolutely necessary; and they who desire the end must submit to the use of the means [?/]. The necessity of these concessions arises from thig remarkable circumstance, that by a solemn law, of ancient date, it is positively declared, that no man shall be esteemed a good citizen, or be look ed upon as qualified to hold any public office in the state, who neglects the observance of the rites and ceremonies now under consideration. On the other hand, the Dominicans and the other adversaries of the Jesuits, maintain, that the rites in question form an important branch of the Chinese religion ; that the honours paid by the Chinese to Confucius, and to the souls of their ancestors, are not of a civil, but of a religious na ture \z\ ; and consequently, that all who perform

these

(^ \_y] True : if ttie means be not either criminal in them selves, pernicious in their consequences, or of such a nature as to defeat, in a great measure, the benefits and advantages pro posed by the end. And it is a very nice and momentous ques tion, whether the concessions pleaded for in behalf of the Chinese converts, by the Jesuits, are not to be ranked among the means here characterised. See the following note.

C3" DO ^ne public honours paid to Confucius twice a year, used to be performed before his statue, erected in the great hall or temple that is dedicated to his memory. At present they are performed before a kind of Tables, placed in the most conspicuous part of the edifice, with the following in scription : flie Throne of the Soul of the most Holy and the most Excellent chief-teacher Confucius. The literati, or learned, celebrated this famous festival-in the following manner : — The

thief

SECT. I.

n The General History of the Church.

CENT, these rites are chargeable with insulting the ma- XVIL jesty of God, to whom alone all divine worship is due, and cannot be looked upon as true Christians.

This \

chief mandarin of the place exercises the office of priest, and the others discharge the functions of deacons, sub-deacons, and so on. A certain sacrifice, called Ci, which consists of wine, blood, fruits, &c. is offered, after the worshippers have prepared themselves for this ceremony by fasting and other acts of abstinence and mortification. They kneel before the in scription, prostrate the body nine times before it, until the head touches the ground, repeat a great variety of prayers ; after which the priest, taking in one hand a cup full of wine, and in the other a like cup filled with blood, makes a solemn liba tion to the deceased, and dismisses the assembly with a bles sing. The rites performed by families, in honour of their de ceased parents, are pretty much of the same nature.

Now, in order to know, with certainty, whether this festival and these rites be of a civil or religious nature, we have only to inquire, whether they be the same with those ceremonies that are performed by the Chinese, in the worship they pay to cer tain celestial and terrestrial spirits, or genii, which worship is undoubtedly of a religious kind. The learned Leibnitz * undertook to affirm, that the services now mentioned were not of the same kind, and, consequently, that the Jesuits were ac cused unjustly. But that great man does not appear to have examined this matter with his usual sagacity and attention : for it is evident, from a multitude of relations every way worthy of credit, and particularly, from the observations made on the Chinese missions by that learned and candid Franciscan, Antonio de S. Maria t, not only that Confucius was wor shipped among the idols, and the celestial and terrestrial spirits of the Chinese, but that the oblations and ceremonies observed in honour of him, were perfectly the same with those that were performed as acts of worship to these idols and spirits. Those that desire a more ample account of this matter may consult the followidg authors : Buclsei Annal Histor. Philos. p. 28?. where he treats DC superstitioso Demorluorum apud Sinenses Cultu.— Wolfii Not. ad Casaubon. p. 342. — Nic Charmos, An- not. ad Maigrotti Historiam Cidl.us Sinenses. — But more espe cially Arnand, Morale Pratique des Jesuiies, torn. iii. vi. vii. and a collection of historical relations, published at Cologn, in 8vo, in the year 1700, under the following title: Hisloria Cultus Sinensium, sen varia Scripta de Cultibus Sinarum inter Vicarios Aposiolicos, & P. P. S. I. conlroversiis.

* See Prof. Awwa'm. Sinicorum, | See vol. ii. Epp. Leibnitz.

The General History of the Church. 33

This account of matters is so specious and pro- CENT. bable, and the consequences deducible from it are so natural and just, that the more equitable and impartial among the Jesuits have acknow ledged the difficulties that attend the cause they maintain; and taking, at length, refuge in the plea of necessity, allege, that certain evils and in conveniences may be lawfully submitted to when they are requisite in order to the attainment of extensive, important, and salutary purposes.

XV. The ministerial labours of the Romish

. . „ T of Christ:

missionaries, and, more especially, or the J esuits, amty m were crowned in Japan with surprising success, JaPan* towards the commencement of this century, and made an incredible number of converts to the Christian religion [a]. But this prosperous and

flourishing

(r3* Cal Two peculiar circumstances contributed to facili tate the progress of the Romish religion in Japan. Thejirst was the uncharitable severity and cruelty of the Japanese priests or bo?izas towards the sick and indigent, compared with the humanity, zeal, and beneficence of the missionaries. These bonzas represented the poor and infirm not as objects of pity, but as wretches loaded with the displeasure of the gods, and abandoned to present and future misery by the judgments of heaven ; and inspired the rich with a contempt and abhor rence of them. The Christian religion, therefore, which de clares that poverty and afflictions are often surer marks of the divine favour than grandeur and prosperity, and that the tran sitory evils which the righteous endure here, shall be crowned with everlasting glory and felicity hereafter, was every way proper to comfort this unhappy class of persons, and could not but meet with a most favourable reception among them. Add to this, that the missionaries were constantly employed in pro viding them with food, physic, and habitations. A second circumstance that was advantageous to Christianity (that is, to such a form of Christianity as the Popish missionaries preached in Japan}, was a certain resemblance or analogy be tween it and some practices and sentiments that prevailed among the Japanese. These Indians look for present and future felicity only through the merits of Xaca Ainida, and other of their Deities, who after a long course of severe mor tifications freely undertaken, had voluntarily, also, put an end to their lives. They sainted many melancholy persons who VOL. V. D had

SECT. I.

14> The General History of the Church.

CENT, flourishing state of the church was somewhat in-- XVIL terrupted by the prejudices that the priests and grandees of the kingdom had conceived against the new religion, prejudices which proved fatal, in many places, both to those who embraced it, and to those who taught it. The cause of Chris tianity did not, however, suffer only from the vi rulence and malignity of its enemies; it was wounded in the house of its friends, and received, no doubt some detriment from the intestine quarrels and contentions of those to whom the care of the rising church was committed. For the same scenes and fraternal discord, that had given such offence in the other Indian provinces, were renewed in Japan, where the Dominicans, Franciscans, and Augustinians were at perpetual variance with the Jesuits. This variance pro duced, on both sides, the heaviest accusations, and the most bitter reproaches. The Jesuits were charged by the missionaries of the three Orders now mentioned, with insatiable avarice, with shewing an excessive indulgence, both to the vices and superstitions of the Japanese, with crafty and low practices unworthy of the mini sters of Christ, with an ambitious thirst after

authority

liad been guilty of suicide, celebrated their memories, and implored their intercession and good offices. They used processions, statues, candles, and perfumes in their worship ; as also prayers for the dead, and auricular confession ; and had monasteries founded for certain devout persons of both sexes, who lived in celibacy, solitude, and abstinence : so that the Japanese religion was no bad preparation for Popery. "Besides these two circumstances, another may be mentioned, which we take from the letters of the Jesuits themselves, who inform us, that the maritime princes of Japan were so fond of this new commerce with the Portuguese, that they strove who should oblige them most, and encouraged the missionaries, less perhaps from a principle of zeal, than from views of interest. See Varenius, Descript. Japan, lib. iii. cap. vi. x. Modern Univ. History, vol. ix. p. 24. edit. 8vo.

The General History of the Church. 35

authority and dominion, and other misdemeanours CENT. of a like nature. These accusations were not *™' only exhibited at the court of Rome, but were ^ '^ spread abroad in every part of Christendom. The disciples of Loyola were by no means silent un der these reproaches; but in their turn charged their accusers with imprudence, ignorance of the world, obstinacy, asperity of manners, and a dis gusting rusticity in their way of living ; adding, that these circumstances rendered their ministry rather detrimental than advantageous to the cause of Christianity, among a people remarkable for their penetration, generosity, and magnificence. Such then were the contests that arose among the missionaries in Japan ; and nothing but the ama zing progress that Christianity had already made, and the immense multitude of those that had em braced it, could have prevented these contests from being fatal to its interests. As the case stood, neither the cause of the Gospel, nor its nu merous professors, received any essential damage from these divisions ; and, if no other circum stance had intervened to stop its progress, an ex pedient might have probably been found out, either to heal these divisions, or at least to ap pease them so far as to prevent their noxious and fatal consequences [&].

XVI. But a new and dreadful scene of opposi- itsdownfai tion arose, in the year 1615, to blast the hopes of™?ioenxtir~ those who wished well to the cause of Christianity in Japan. For, in that year, the emperor issued out, against the professors and ministers of that divine religion, a persecuting edict, which was executed with a degree of barbarity unparalleled in the annals of the Christian history. This

D 2 cruel

\_b~\ See the writers on this subject enumerated by Fabrici- us, in his Lux Evangclii toti Orbi exoriens, p. 6?S. as also Charlevoix, Histoire ^de Japon, torn. ii. livr. xi. p. 57.

SECT. I.

36 Tlie General History of the Church.

CENT, cruel persecution raged, during the space of many XVIL years, with unrelenting fury, and only ended with rthe total extinction of Christianity throughout that mighty empire. That religion, which had been suffered to make such a rapid and triumph ant progress in Japan, was at length considered as detrimental to the interests of the monarchy, inconsistent with the good of the people, deroga tory from the majesty of their high priest, whom they revered as a person descended from the gods, and, on these accounts, was judged unworthy not only of protection, but even of toleration. This judgment was followed with the fatal Order, by which all foreigners, that were Christians, and more especially the Spanish and Portuguese, were commanded to depart the kingdom ; and the na tives, who had embraced the Gospel, to renounce the name and doctrine of Christ, on pain of death presented to them in the most dreadful forms. This tremendous Order was the signal for the perpetration of such horrors as the most sanguine and atrocious imagination will scarcely be able to conceive. Innumerable multitudes of the Japanese Christians of each sex, and of all ages, ranks, and stations, expired with magna nimous constancy amidst the most dreadful torments, rather than apostatize from the faith they had embraced. And here it may not be amiss to observe, that both the Jesuits and their adversaries in the missions expiated, in some measure, if I may so express myself, by the ago nies they endured, and the fortitude with which they suffered, the faults they had committed in the exercise of their ministry. For it is well known, that the greatest part of them died mag nanimously for the cause of Christ by the hands of the executioner, and that some of them even expired with triumphant feelings of satisfaction and joy.

Historians

The General History of the Church. 37

Historians are not entirely agreed with respect CENT. to the real causes of this merciless persecution. The Jesuits consider it as owing, in part, to the imprudence of the Dominicans and Franciscans ; while these latter impute it, in a great measure, to the covetous, arrogant, and factious spirit of the Jesuits [<?]. Both parties accuse the English and Dutch of having excited in the emperor of Japan a strong prejudice against the Spaniards, Portuguese, and the Roman pontiff, to the end that they alone might engross the commerce of that vast monarchy, and be unrivalled in their credit among that powerful people. The Eng lish and Dutch allege, on the other hand, that they never attempted to undermine, by any false accusations, the credit of the Roman-catholics, in that kingdom, but only detected the perfidious plots the Spaniards had laid against it. Almost all the historians, who have given accounts of this country, unanimously inform us, that certain let ters, intercepted by the Dutch, and other cir cumstances of a very striking and alarming kind, had persuaded the emperor, that the Jesuits, as also the other missionaries, had formed seditious D 3 designs

[Vj There is a concise and sensible account of this tedious dispute in the sixth discourse that is subjoined to the English edition of Kaempfer's History of Japan, Sect. iv. p. 64 — 75. But it will be also proper to see what is said on the other side, by an author, who, in his long and circumstantial narration, has not omitted any incident, however minute, that tends, in the least, to disculpate the Jesuits, or to procure them indul gence ; that author is Charlevoix ; see his Histoire Generate dc Japan, torn. ii. livr. xii. p. 136. The other historians that may be consulted with utility, on this subject, are enumerated by Fabricius, in his Lux Evangelii toil Orbi exoriens, cap. x. p. 6?8. Add to these the Ada Sanctorum, torn- i. Metis. Feb- ritar. p. 723. where there is not only a history of the com mencement and progress of Christianity in Japan, but also an account of the lives and martyrdom of those who first suffered for the cause of the gospel in that kingdom. See likewise Mammachii Origines et Antiquilat. Christian, torn. ii. p. 376.

38 The General History of the Church.

CENT, designs against his government, and aimed at no- XVII> thing less than exciting their numerous disciples

v^T^/ to rebellion, with a view to reduce the kingdom of Japan under the dominion of Spain [d~\. A discovery of this nature could not but make the most dreadful impressions upon a prince naturally suspicious and cruel, such, as the emperor then roigning was ; and indeed so it happened ; for the moment he received this information, he con cluded, with equal precipitation and violence that he could not sit secure on his throne, while the smallest spark of Christianity remained unextin- guished in his dominions, or any of its professors breathed under his government. It is from this remarkable period, that we must date the severe edict by which all Europeans are forbidden to approach the Japanese dominions, and in conse quence of which all the terrors of fire and sword are employed to destroy whatever carries the re motest aspect or shadow of the Christian doctrine. The only exception to this universal law is made in favour of an handful of Dutch merchants, who are allowed to import annually a certain quantity of European commodities, and have a factory, or rather a kind of prison, allowed them, in one of the extremities of the kingdom, where they are strictly watched, and rigorously confined from all communication with the natives, but what is es sentially necessary to the commerce they are per mitted to carry on.

Protestant XVII. The example of the Roman-catholic

missions in i j i

Asia, states could not but excite a spirit of pious emula tion in Protestant countries, and induce them to propagate a still purer form of Christianity

among

C3* [d] The discoveries made by the Dutch were against the Portuguese, with whom they were then at war ; so that instead of Spain, our author should have said Portugal See Kaempfer foe. dt. as also the Universal Modern History, voL ix. p. 145. note (z) edit. 8vo,

SECT. I.

The General History of the Church. 39

among those unhappy nations that lay groveling CENT. in the darkness of paganism and idolatry. Ac- XVIL cordingly the Lutherans were, on several occa sions, solicited by persons of eminent merit and rank in their communion, to embark in this pi ous and generous undertaking. Justinian Ernest, baron of Wells, distinguished himself by the zeal ous appearance he made in this good cause, hav ing formed a plan of a society that was to be intrusted with the propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts, and that was to bear the name of Jesus, the divine founder of the religion they were to promote \_e}. But several circumstances con curred to prevent the execution of this pious de sign, among which we may reckon, principally the peculiar situation of the Lutheran princes, of whom very few have either territories, forts, or settle ments beyond the limits of Europe,

This was by no means the case with the princes and states who professed the Reformed religion. The English and Dutch, more especially, whose ships covered the ocean, and sailed to the most distant corners of the globe, and who, moreover, in this century, had sent colonies to Asia, Africa, and America, had abundant opportunities of spreading abroad the knowledge of Christianity among the unenlightened nations. Nor were these opportunities entirely neglected or misimproved, notwithstanding the reports that have generally prevailed, of their being much more zealous in engrossing the riches of the Indians than in bring ing about their conversion ; though it may, pei> haps, be granted, that neither of these nations exerted themselves, to the extent of their power; in this salutary undertaking. In the year 1647,

D 4 the

\i\ See Molleri Cimbria Literata, torn. iii. p. 75. as also a German work of the learned Arnold, entitled Kirchen and fielzer Historie, part II. book xviii. c. xv. sect. 23. p. 1066, part III. cap. xv. sect. 13. p. 150.

40 The General History of the Church.

CENT, the propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts XVJL was committed, by an act of the English parlia- ^T'^_, ment, to the care and inspection of a society com posed of persons of eminent rank and merit. The civil wars that ensued suspended the execu tion of the plans that were laid for carrying on this salutary work. In the year 1661, under the reign of Charles II. the work was resumed, and the society re-established. In the year 1701, this respectable society received singular marks of protection and favour from King William III. who enriched it with new donations and privi leges [,/]. Since that period, even to the pre sent time, it has been distinguished by ample marks of the munificence of the kings of Eng land, and of the liberality of persons of all ranks and orders, and has been, and continues to be, emi nently useful in facilitating the means of instruc tion to the nations that lie in Pagan darkness, and more especially to the Americans. Nor are the laudable efforts of the United Provinces, in the advancement and propagation of Christian know ledge, to be passed over in silence; since they also are said to have converted to the Gospel a prodigious number of Indians, in the islands of Ceylon, and Formosa, the coasts of Malabar, and other Asiatic settlements, which they either had acquired by their own industry, or obtained by conquest from the Portuguese [£•]. Some his torians, perhaps may have exaggerated in their relations, the number of proselytes made by the Dutch ; it is nevertheless most certain, that as soon as that nation had got a sufficient foot ing in the East Indies, they laid with wisdom and

executed

C/3 See Humphrey's Account of the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.

\_g] See Epist. de Succcssu Evangetti apud Indos Orientales ad Johan Leusdenium scriptas et Ultraject, 1699, in 8 vex edilas.

T/ie General History of the Church. 41

executed at a great expence, various schemes for CENT. instructing the natives of those distant regions in *™\ the doctrines of the gospel [A], v_^v^

XVIII. The inward parts of Africa remain still Thc Xfri- in the darkness of Paganism, as they have heen c?n nlis- hitherto inaccessible to the most adventurous ofs'c the Europeans. But in the maritime provinces of that great peninsula, and more especially in those where the Portuguese have their settlements, there are several districts in which the religion of Borne has prevailed over the savage superstitions of that barbarous region. It is nevertheless ac knowledged, by the more ingenious historians, even among the Roman Catholics, who have given accounts of the African colonies, that, of the proselytes made there to the Gospel, a very small v number deserve the denomination of Christians ; since the greatest part of them retain the abomi nable superstitions of their ancestors, and the very best among them dishonour their profession by various practices of a most vicious and corrupt nature. Any progress that Christianity made in these parts must be chiefly attributed to the zeal ous labours of the Capuchin missionaries, who, in this century, suffered the most dreadful hard ships and discouragements in their attempts to bring the fierce and savage Africans under the Christian yoke. These attempts succeeded so far, as to gain over to the profession of the Gospel the kings of Benin and Awerri [i], and also to engage the cruel and intrepid Anna Cingha, queen of Metamba, and all her subjects, to embrace in the

year

pi] See Braun's Veritable Religion dea IJoJlandois, p. 71* 267, &c. This Treatise, which was published at Amsterdam, in the year 1(>75, was designed as an answer to a malignant libel of one Stoup, entitled La Religion des HoUandois, in which that writer proposed to persuade the world that the Dutch had almost no religion at all.

[j] Called by some Ouerne.

SECT. I.

42 The General History of the Church

CENT, year 1652, the Christian faith [&]. The African missions were allotted to this austere Order by , the court of Rome, and by the society de propa ganda fide for wise reasons ; since none were so proper to undertake an enterprise attended with such dreadful hardships, difficulties, and perils, as a set of men whose monastic institute had render ed familiar to them the severest acts of mortifica tion, abstinence, and penance, and thus prepared them for the bitterest scenes of trial and adver sity. The Capuchins also seem to have been alone honoured with this sacred, but arduous commis sion ; nor does it appear that the other Orders beheld, with the smallest sentiment of envy, their dear-bought glory.

XIX. The extensive continent of America swarms with colonies from Spain, Portugal, and France [/], all which profess the Christian religion

as

(tf3 [T] For a more ample account of this Queen, and her conversion, Dr. Mosheim refers the reader (in his note [>]) to Urban Cerri's Etat Present de I'Eglise Romaine, p. 222t and to the third and fourth volumes of Father Labat's Rela- tion Hislorique de I' Afrique Occidentale, in the former of which he tells us, there is a French translation of Ant. Gavazzi's ac count of Africa. All these citations are inaccurate. Cerri makes no mention of Zingha, nor of Metamba, nor are they mentioned by Labat, in any of the five volumes of his Histori cal Relation, here quoted ; nor is Gavazzi's account translated in that work. — In general it may be observed, that the mis sions in Africa were greatly neglected by the Portuguese, and that the few missionaries sent thither were men absolutely void of learning, and destitute almost of every qualification that ivas necessary to the carrying on such an important undertak ing. See Labat's Preface to his Relation Historique, de I' Afrique Occidentale ; as also the Modern Universal History, vol. xiv. p. 10, 11. edit. 8vo.

p] See the Authors mentioned by Fabricius, in his Lux Evangeid Orbem Terrarum collustrans, cap. xlviii. xlix. p. 769. — There is a cursory account of the state of the Romish reli gion, in that part of America, which is possessed by the Eu ropean Roman Catholics, in Urban Cerri's Etat Present dt I'Eglise Romaine, p. 245.

SECT. I.

TJie General History of the Church. 43

as it has been disfigured by the church of Rome. CENT. But it is abundantly known, that these colonists, more especially the Spaniards and Portuguese^ are the most worthless and profligate set of men that bear the Christian name ; and this fact is con firmed by the testimonies, of several Roman Catho lic writers of great merit and authority, who can not be suspected of partiality in this matter. Nay, the clergy themselves are not excepted in this ge neral condemnation ; but as we learn from the same credible testimonies, surpass even the idola trous natives in the ridiculous rites which they perform in the worship of God, as well as in the licentiousness of their manners, and the enormity of the crimes they commit without reluctance. Those of the ancient inhabitants of America, who either have submitted to the European yoke, or live near their colonies, have imbibed some faint knowledge of the llomish religion, from the Je suits, Franciscans, and other ecclesiastics ; but these feeble rays of instruction are totally clouded by the gloomy suggestions of their native super stition, and the corrupt influence of their barba rous customs and manners. As to those Indians who live more remote from the European settle ments, and wander about in the woods without any fixed habitation, they are absolutely incapable either of receiving or retaining any adequate no tions of the Christian doctrine, unless they be pre viously reclaimed from that vagrant manner of life, and civilized by an intercourse with persons, whose humane and insinuating manners are adapt ed to attract their love, and excite their imita tion. This the Jesuits, and other ecclesiastics of different Orders, in the church of Rome, who have been sent in later times to convert these wandering savages, have found by a constant and

uniform

SECT. I.

44 The General History of the Church.

CENT, uniform experience [m]. Hence the former have erected cities, and founded civil societies, ce mented by government and laws, like the Euro pean states, in several Indian provinces both in South and North America ; and it is on this ac count that they discharge the double functions of magistrates and doctors among these their new subjects and disciples, whose morals and senti ments, it is said they endeavour to preserve pure and un corrupted, by permitting few or no Euro peans to approach them [n\. These arduous and difficult attempts have furnished to the disciples of Loyola ample matter of boasting, and a lucky occasion of extolling the zeal, the dexterity, and industry of their Order. But it has appeared, from relations worthy of credit, that these exploits of the Jesuits, in the internal and more inacces sible provinces of America, are not so much car ried on with a view to the propagation of Christi anity, as with an intention to gratify their own insatiable avarice and boundless ambition. And, accordingly, they are reported to send yearly to the members of their Order, in Europe, immense quantities of gold, drawn from several American provinces where they have power and property, but chiefly from Paraguay, which belongs to them filone [o].

XX. The

[;»] A great variety of facts are alleged as a proof of thi% in the Letters in which the French Jesuits gave their friends in Europe an account of the success and fruits of their mission, and which are regularly published at Paris.

fr^ Cw] That this was by no means the only, nor even the principal reason of cutting off all communication between the Indians and Europeans, will appear evident from the contents of the following note :

[o] While Father Labat was at Rome, Father Tamburini, at that time general of the Jesuits, asked him several questions relating to the progress of Christianity in America ; to which, with equal courage and candour, he gave immediately thia

general

The General History of the Church. 45

XX. The cause of Christianity was promoted CENT. \vith more wisdom, and consequently with better success, in those parts of America where the Eng- lish formed settlements during this century ; and, protestant

though niissions *" America.

general answer : " that the Gospel had made little or no real " progress in that country ; that he had never met with one " adult person among the Americans who could be esteemed " a true proselyte to Christianity ; and that the missionaries " could scarcely pretend to any other exploits (of a spiritual " kind) than their having baptized some children at the point " of death *." He added, at the same time, " that, in order " to make the Americans Christians, it was previously neces- " sary to make them men" This bold Dominican, who had been himself a missionary in the American islands, had a great mind to give Tamburini some seasonable advice concerning the immense wealth and authority that the Jesuits had acqui red in these parts of the world ; but the cunning old man elud ed artfully this part of the conversation, and turned it upon, another subject. Lebat, gave, upon another occasion, a still greater proof of his undaunted spirit and presence of mind ; for when, in an audience granted him by Clement XI. that pontiff praised, in pompous terms, the industry and zeal oi* the Portuguese and Spanish missionaries in promoting the sal vation of the Americans, and reproached the French with in activity and indifference in a matter of such high importance, our resolute Dominican told him plainly, " that the Spaniards " and Portuguese boasted of the success of their labours with- 4C out any sort of foundation ; since it was well known, that, " instead of converts, they had only made hypocrites, all their " disciples among the Indians having been forced, by the " dread of punishment and the terrors of death, to embrace " Christianity ;" adding moreover, "that such as had received " baptism continued as open and egregious idolaters as they " had been before their profession of Christianity t." To this account we might add the relations of a whole cloud of witnesses, whose testimonies are every way worthy of credit, and who declare unanimously the same thing. See, among others, a remarkable piece, entitled, Memoire touchant I'Etab- lissement considerable des Peres Jesuiles dans les Indcs d'Es- pagtie, which is subjoined to Frezier's Relation du Voyage de la Her du Sud, p. 577- See also Voyage aux Indcs Occiden- talcs, par Franc. Coreal, torn. ii. p. 67. 43. and Mamma- chius, Orig. et. Antiquil. Christian, torn. ii. p. 337. There

is

* See Labat, Voyage en Espagnc et en iLalie^ torn, Yiii. p. 7. f Id. ib. torn, viii. p. 1 2.

46 Tlie General History of the Church.

CENT, though it had the greatest ignorance, stupidity, XVIL and indolence to conquer, made, in a little time, ^ ^ a considerable progress. The English Indepen dents who retired to America on account of their

dissension

is a particular account of the Jesuits of Paraguay, given by Don Ulloa, in his Voyuge d' Amerique, torn. i. p. 540 ; but this account is partial in their favour. They are also zealously and artfully defended in an account of the mission of Paraguay, published by Muratori, in the year 1743. (£§=" When Dr. Mosheim wrote this note, the important discovery that placed the ambitious, despotic, and rebellious proceedings of the Je suits in Paraguay, in the plainest and most striking light, had not been yet made. The book of Muratori, which was pub lished at Venice in the year 1743, and republished in a French translation at Paris in 1754*, deceived, for some time, the over-credulous, nay, induced even the enemies of the Jesuits to suspect that their conduct at Paraguay was not so criminal as it had been represented. So that, notwithstanding the ac cusations that had been brought against these missionaries by the writers mentioned by Dr. Mosheim ; notwithstanding a memorial sent to the court of Spain in the year 1 730, by Don Martin de Barua, at that time Spanish governor of Paraguay, in which the Jesuits are charged with the most ambitious projects and the most rebellious designs, represented as setting up an independent government, accused of carrying on a pro digious trade, and other things of that nature ; and notwith standing the circumstantial evidence of various known facts that supported these accusations in the strongest manner ; notwithstanding all this, the public was more or less deceived. The illusion, however, did not last long. In the year 1750, the courts of Madrid and Lisbon entered into a treaty for fixing the limits of their respective dominions in South- America. The Jesuits, who had formed an independent republic in the heart of these dominions, composed of the Indians, whom they had gained by the insinuating softness and affected mildness, hu mility, and generosity of their proceedings, were much alarmed at this treaty. It was one of the fundamental laws of this new state (which was founded under the mask of a Christian mission), that neither bishop, governor, nor any officer, civil, military, or ecclesiastical, nay, nor even any individual, Spa niard or Portuguese, should be admitted into its territories, to

the

* Muratori's account of the Mission of Paraguay was translated from the French edition into English, and published in Svp in the year 1759.

SECT. I.

The General History of the Church. -if

dissension from the established religion of their CENT. country claimed the honour of carrying thither the first rays of divine truth, and of beginning a work that has been since continued with such pious zeal and such abundant fruit ; and indeed this claim is founded in justice. Several families of this sect that had been settled in Holland, re moved

the end that the proceedings and projects of the Jesuits might still remain an impenetrable secret. The members of their order were alone to be instructed in this profound and impor tant mystery. The use of the Spanish language was prohi bited throughout the extent of this new territory, in order to prevent more effectually all communication between the Indians and that nation. The Indians were trained to the use of arms, furnished with artillery, instructed in the art of war, taught to behold the Jesuits as their sovereigns and their gods, and to look upon all while people, except the Jesuits, as demoniacs, atheists, and, moreover, as their barbarous and mortal enemies. Such was the state of things when, in the year 1752, the united troops of Spain and Portugal marched towards the eastern borders of the river Uragai, to make the exchanges of certain villages that had been agreed upon in, the treaty above mentioned. Upon this the Jesuits, not being sufficiently prepared for their defence, demanded a delay of the execution of the treaty under various pretexts. This delay was granted : but as the Spanish General Gomez Frierre Andrada, perceived that these Holy Fathers employed this delay in arming the Indians, and confirming them in their rebellion, he wrote to his court, and received new orders from thence to proceed to the execution of the treaty. A •war ensued between the Spanish and the Portuguese on one side, and the Indians, animated by the Jesuits, on the other, in which the Spanish General lost his life, and of which the other circumstances are well known. This was the real and original cause of the disgrace of the Jesuits at the court of Portugal. Those who desire a more particular account of this matter will find it in a famous pamphlet, drawn from an authentic memorial, published by the court of Lisbon, and printed at the Hague, in the year 1?58, under the following title : La Republique des Jcsuites au Paraguay Renversee ou Relation Authentique de la Guerre que ces Religieux ont ose soulenir contre les Monarques d'Espagne et de Portugal en Amerique, pour y dcfendre les domaines dont Us avoicnt le Swerai?iete au Paraguay sous prdexle de Religion.

SECT. I.

48 The General History of the Church.

CENT, moved from thence into America [ p] in the yeaf 1620, in order, as they alleged, to transmit their , doctrine pure and undefiled to future ages ; and there they laid the foundations of a new state [q], The success that attended this first emigration engaged great numhers of the people called Pu ritans, who groaned under the oppression of the bishops, and the severity of a court, hy which this oppression was authorised, to follow the for tunes of these religious adventurers [f\ ; and this produced a second emigration in the year 1629. But notwithstanding the success that in process of time crowned this enterprize, its first beginnings were unpromising, and the colonists, immediately after their arrival, laboured under such hardships and difficulties in the dreary and uncultivated wilds of this new region, that they could make but little progress in instructing the Indians : their whole zeal and industry being scarcely suf ficient to preserve the infant settlement from the horrors of famine. But towards the year 1633 [s]9 things put on a better aspect : the colony began to flourish, and the new comers, among wrhom the Puritans Mayhew, Sheppard, and Elliot, made an eminent figure, had the leisure, courage, and tranquillity of mind, that were necessary to the execution of such an important and ardu ous design. All these devout exiles were re markably zealous, laborious, and successful in

the

Qf| This colony settled in that part of America that was afterwards called New Plymouth.

[_q] See Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. ii. p. 128. — As also a German work/ entitled, Ant. Wilh. Bohm, Englis* chc Reformations Histories, b. vi. c. v. p. 807.

[V] See Mather's History of New England, p. 126. — Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. ii. p. 208.

G3=> M Dr. Mosheim says in the year 1623, but this is probably an error of the press ; since it is well known, that the emigration of Skeppardand Elliot happened between 1631 and 1684.

The General History of the CJiurch. 49

the conversion of the Indians ; but none acquired CENT. such a shining reputation, in this pious career, as John Elliot, who learned their language, into /^CT^, which he translated the Bible, and other instinc tive and edifying books, gathered together the wandering savages, and formed them into regu lar congregations, instructed them in a manner suited to the dulness of their comprehension, and the measure of their respective capacities ; and, by such eminent displays of his zeal, dexterity, and indefatigable industry, merited, after his death, the honourable title of the Apostle of the Indians [/].

The unexpected success that attended these pious attempts towards the propagation of Chris tian knowledge, drew the attention of the parlia ment and people of England; and the further ad vancement of this good cause appeared an object of sufficient importance to employ the delibera tions, and to claim the protection of the great council of the nation. Thus was formed that il lustrious society, which derives its title from the great purpose of its institution, even the Propa gation of the Gospel in foreign parts, and which, in proportion to the increase of its number, in fluence, revenues, and prerogatives, has still re newed and augmented its efforts for the instruc tion of the Pagans in all parts of the world, par ticularly those on the American continent. It is true, that after all its efforts, much is yet to be done ; but it is also true, and must be acknow ledged by all that have examined these matters VOL. v. E with

[V] Hornbeckius, De Conversions Indomm el Gentll lib. iii. cap. xv. p. 260. — Crescentii Matheri Epistola de Successit, Evangelii apud Indos Occidental?* ad Joh. Lensdenmm Traject. 1699, in 8vo. (£§=• Increase Mather's Letler to Leusden is translated into English, and inserted into Cotton Mather's Life of Elliot, pp. 94. 3d London edit, and in his History of

' England, book III. p. 19-i. N.

50 The General History of the Church.

CENT, with attention and impartiality, that much XVIL been done, and that the pious undertakings of v^J^y this respectable society have been followed with unexpected fruit. With respect to the province of Pennsylvania, which receives in its bosom, without distinction, persons of all sects and all opinions, we shall have occasion to speak of its religious state in another place. The American provinces that were taken from the Portuguese by the Dutch, under the command of Count Maurice of Nassau, became immediately an ob ject of the pious zeal of their new masters, who began, with great ardour and remarkable success, to spread the light of the Gospel among the wretched inhabitants of those benighted regions [u]. But this fair prospect was afterwards cloud ed in the year 1644, when the Portuguese reco vered the territories they had lost. As to the Dutch colony that is settled in Surinam, we can not say much, having never received the smallest information of any attempts made by them to instruct the neighbouring Indians in the know ledge of Christianity [«?].

the ene- XXI. Religion in general, and the Christian christLi- religion in particular, had many enemies to en- ty in Eng- counter in this century, though their number has been studiously diminished in the accounts of some, and greatly exaggerated in the represen tations of others. The English complain of the reign of Charles II. as the fatal period, when corruption of manners, and vice, in the most li centious and profligate forms, over-ran their na tion,

(jfj Jo. Henr. Hottingeri Toppgrapkia Ecclesiastic^ p. 47. Janicon, Etat Present des Provinces Unies, torn. i. p. 396. The same author gives an account of Surinam, and of the state of religion in that colony, chap. xiv. p. 40?.

[«/] There are three churches in that settlement for the use of the colonists ; but no attempt has been made to spread the knowledge of the Gospel among the natives.

The General History of the Church. 51

tion, engendered a spirit of scepticism and infi- CENT. delity, and formed a set of unhappy men, who employed all the wantonness of inconsiderate wit, all the sallies of imagination, and even all the force of real talent and genius* to extinguish a sense of religion in the minds of mankind. That this complaint is far from being groundless, ap pears, on the one hand, from the number of those writers among the English, whose produc tions were levelled either against all religion, or designed to confine the belief of men to natural religion alone ; and, on the other, from the still superior number of learned and ingenious treatises in which the divinity, dignity, and intrinsic excel lence of the Gospel, were demonstrated and dis played in the most striking and conspicuous man ner. But nothing is more adapted to confirm the accounts that have been given of the progress of infidelity and licentiousness at the period now under consideration, than the famous Lectures, founded by that illustrious ornament of religion and humanity, Mr. Robert Boyle, who, in the year 1691, consecrated a considerable part of hia large fortune to the service of Christianity, by leaving, in his last will, a sum to be distributed, successively to a number of learned divines, who were to preach, in their turns, eight sermons every year, in defence of natural and revealed re ligion [#]. This pious and honourable task has E 2 been

[V] See Ricotier's Preface to his French translation of Dr. Clark's Discourses on the Being and attributes of God. For an account of the pious, learned, and illustrious Mr. Boyle, see Budgell's Memoirs of the Lives and Characters of the illus* trious Family of the Boyles, published in Svo, at London, in the year 1737- — See also the Bibliotheque Britannique, torn* xii. p. 144. (£f» But, above all, the late learned Dr. Birch's Life of Boyle, published in Svo, in the year 1741 ; and that very valuable Collection of Lives, the Biographia Britannica, Article Boyle (Robert) note [z]. See also Article Hobbes, in the same collection, N.

52 The General History of the Church.

CENT, been committed always to men of the most emi- XVIL nent genius and abilities, and is still undertaken ^J^'J^ with zeal, and performed with remarkable dig nity and success. The discourses that have been delivered in consequence of this admirable insti tution have always been published; and they form at this day a large and important collection, which is known throughout all Europe 9 and has done eminent service to the cause of religion and virtue [y].

itatoter, xxn- The leader of the impious band in Eng- &c. ' land, which, so early as the reign of Charles IT. attempted to obscure the truth, and to dissolve the solemn obligations of religion, was Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, — a man whose audacious pride was accompanied with an uncommon de gree of artifice and address, whose sagacity was superior to his learning, and whose reputation was more owing to the subtilty and extent of his genius, than to any progress he had made either in sacred or profane erudition [z]. This man, notwithstanding the pernicious nature and ten dency of his principles, had several adherents in England ; and not only so, but has found, in fo reign countries, more than one apologist, who, though they acknowledge that his sentiments were erroneous, yet deny that he went such an

impious

[y] There is a complete list of these learned discourses in the Bibliotkeque Angloise, torn. xv. part II. p. 41 6. — The late Heverend Mr. Gilbert Burnet published in four volumes, in 8vo, a judicious, comprehensive, and well-digested Abridgment of such of the Boyle's Lectures as had been preached before the year 1737. This abridgment which has been translated into the French and German languages, comprehends the discourses of Bently, Kidder, Williams, Gastrell, Harris, Bradford, Blackhall, Stanhope, Clarke, Hancock, Whiston, Turner, Butler, Woodward, Derham, Ibbot, Long, J. Clark, Gurdon, Burnet, Berriman.

0] See Bayle's Dictionary, at the article Hobbes. — Wood's Athence Oxonienses, vol. ii. p. 641. last edition.

Tlie General History of the ClmrcJi. 53

impious length as to introduce the disbelief, or to CENT. overturn the worship of a Supreme Being [a]. But if it should he granted, on the one hand, that Hohbes was not totally destitute of all sense of a Deity, nor of all impressions of religion ; yet it must be allowed on the other, by all who peruse his writings, with a proper degree of attention, that his tenets lead, by natural consequences, to a contempt of religion and of divine worship ; and that, in some of his productions, there are visible marks of an extreme aversion to Christianity. It has, indeed, been said of him, that, being ad vanced in years he returned to a better mind, and condemned publicly the opinions and tenets he had formerly entertained [6] ; but how far this recantation was sincere, we shall not pretend to determine, since the reality of his repentance has been greatly questioned.

The

[a] Among the patrons and defenders of Hobbes, we may reckon Nic. Hier. Gundlingius, in his Observationes Selectee, torn. i. n. ii. p. 30. and in his Gundlingiana, p. 304. and also Arnold, in his German work, entitled, Kirchen and Ketzer Histoire, p. II. b. xvii. c. xvi. sect. 25. p. 1082. — These wri ters are refuted by the learned Budaeus, in his Theses de Atke« isnio et Superstitione, cap. i. p. 187.

[_b~] This recantation of Hobbes depends upon the testimony of Wood, in his Athence Oxonienses, vol. ii. p. 646. This writer informs us, that Hobbes composed an apology for him self and his writings, in which he declared, that the opinions he had published in his Leviathan were by no means conform able to his real sentiments ; that he had only proposed them as a matter of debate, to exercise his mind in the art of rea soning : that, after the publication of that book, he had never maintained them either in public or in private, but had left them entirely to the judgment and decision of the church : more especially, that the tenets, in this and his other writings, that seemed inconsistent with the doctrines concerning God and religion that are commonly received, were never deliver ed by him as truths, but proposed as questions, that were de cided by divines and ecclesiastical judges endued with a pro per authority. — Such is the account that Wood gives of the apology now under consideration ; but he does not tell us the

E 3 year

54 The General History of the Church.

CENT. The same thing cannot be said of John Wil- xvn. mot) ear} Of Rochester, who had insulted the v^C1'J^ majesty of God, and trampled upon the truths of religion and the obligations of morality with a profane sort of frenzy, that far surpassed the im piety of Hobbes, but whose repentance and con version were also as palpable as had been his folly, and much more unquestionable than the dubious recantation of the philosopher of Malmes- bury. Rochester was a man of uncommon sa gacity and penetration, of a fine genius, and an elegant taste ; but these natural talents were ac companied with the greatest levity and licen tiousness, and the most impetuous propensity to unlawful pleasures. So that as long as health enabled him to answer the demands of passion, liis life was an uninterrupted scene of debauch ery.

year in which it was published, which is a proof that he him self had never seen it, nor does he inform us whether it ap peared during the life of Hobbes, or after his death. As in deed it is placed in the catalogue of his writings, with a date posterior to the year 1682, it is natural to suppose that it was not published during his life, since he died in the year 1679- It is, therefore, no easy matter to determine what stress is to be laid upon this recantation of Hobbes, or what senti ments we are to form concerning his supposed repentance. That the apology under consideration exists, we do not pretend to deny ; but it may possibly have been composed by some of his friends, to diminish the odium that it was natural to think his licentious principles would cast on his memory. But should it be granted, that it was drawn up and published by Hobbes himself, even this concession would contribute but little to save, or rather to recover, his reputation ; since it is •well known, that nothing is more common among those who, by spreading corrupt principles and pernicious opinions, have drawn upon themselves the just indignation of the public, than like Hobbes, to deceive the world by insidious and insincere de clarations of the soundess of their belief, and the uprightness of their intention. It is thus that they secure themselves against the execution of the laws that are designed to fence religion, while they persevere in their licentious sentiments, and propagate them,, wherever they can do it with secu rity.

The General History of the Church. 55

cry [<?]. He was, however, so happy in the last CENT. years of a very short life, as to see the extreme S*CVTIL? folly and guilt of his past conduct, in which sa- ^^^ lutary view he was greatly assisted hy the wise and pathetic reasonings and exhortations of Doc tor Burnet, afterwards bishop of Sarum. This conviction of his guilt produced a deep contrition and repentance, an ardent recourse to the mercy of God, as it is manifested in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and a sincere abhorrence of the offences he had committed against the Best of Beings. In these pious sentiments he departed this life in the year 1680 [<*]',

In this list we may also place Anthony Ash ley Cooper, earl of Shaftesbury, who died of a consumption at Naples, in the year 1703 ; not that this illustrious writer attacked openly and pro fessedly the Christian religion, but that the most seducing strokes of wit and raillery, the most en chanting eloquence, and the charms of a genius, iu which amenity, elegance, copiousness and eleva tion were happily blended, rendered him one of its most dangerous, though secret enemies; nay, so much the more dangerous, because his opposition was carried on under a mask. His works have been published, and have passed through several editions. They are remarkable for beauty of dicr tion, and contain very noble and sublime senti*

E 4 ments;

[V] See an account of his life and writing's in Wood's Athence Oxoniensis, vol. ii. p. 654. — His poetical genius is justly celebrated by Voltaire, in his Melanges de Literature et de Philosophic, chap, xxxiv. vol. iv. of his works.

\_d~\ Bishop Burnet has given a particular account of this last and very affecting scene of the life of this nobleman, in a pamphlet written expressly on that subject, and entitled, Some Passages of the Life and Death, of John, Earl of Rochester t written, at his desire, on his death-bed, by Gilbert Burnet, D. D. containing more amply their Conversations on the great Prin~> ciples of Natural and Revealed Religion.

56 The General History of the Church.

CENT, ments; but ought to be read with the utmost

xvii. caution, as extremely dangerous to unexperi-

^ fenced, youthful, and unwary minds [e]. The

"""^ brutal

[V] His works were first collected and published under the title of Characteristics, in three volumes, in 8vo. in the year 1711, and since that time, have passed through several edi tions. Lee Le Clerc's account of them in his Bibliotheque Choisie, torn, xxiii. The learned and ingenious Leibnitz's Critical reflections on the philosophy of Lord Shaftesbury were published by Des Maizeaux, in the second volume of his Re- cueil dcs diverces Pieces aur la Philosophic, p. 245. — There are some writers who maintain, that this noble philosopher has been unjustly charged, by the greatest part of the clergy, with a contempt for revealed religion ; and it were to be wished, that the arguments they employ to vindicate him from this charge were more satisfactory and solid than they really are. But, if I am not much mistaken, whoever peruses his writings, and more especially his famous letter concerning Enthusiasm, will be inclined to adopt the judgment that has been formed of him by the ingenious Dr. Berkley, late bishop of Cloyne, in his Alciphron, or the Minute Philosopher, vol. i. p. 200. — No thing is more easy than to observe in the writings, of Lord Shaftesbury, a spirit of raillery, mingling itself with even those of his reflections upon religious subjects that seem to be deli vered with the greatest seriousness and gravity. But, at the same time, this unseemly mixture of the solemn and the ludi crous, renders it difficult for those that are not well acquainted \vith his manner, to know whether the man is in jest or in ear nest. It may also be added, that this author has perniciously endeavoured to destroy the influence and efficacy of some of the great motives that are proposed in the Holy Scriptures to render men virtuous, by representing these motives as merce nary, and even turning them into ridicule. He substitutes in their place, the intrinsic excellence and beauty of virtue, as the great source of moral obligation, and the true incentive to virtuous deeds. But however alluring this sublime scheme of morals may appear to certain minds of a refined, elegant, and ingenious turn, it is certainly little adapted to the taste, the comprehension, and the character of the multitude. Take away from the lower orders of mankind the prospect of reward and punishment that leads them to virtue and obedience, by the powerful suggestions of hope and fear, and the great sup ports of virtue, and the most effectual motives to the pursuits of it, will be then removed with respect to them.

(p3p Since Dr. Mosheim wrote this note, the very learned and judicious Dr. Leland published his View of the Principal

Deisticul

TJie General History of the Church. 57

brutal rusticity and uncouth turn of John Toland, CENT. a native of Ireland, who, towards the conclusion of this century, was rendered famous hy several injurious libels against Christianity, must natu rally appear doubly disgusting, when compared with the amiable elegance and specious refine ment of the writer now mentioned. However, as those writers who flatter the passions by en deavouring to remove all the restraints that reli gion imposes upon their excessive indulgence, will never want patrons among the licentious part of mankind ; so this man, who was not des titute of learning, imposed upon the ignorant and unwary ; and, notwithstanding the excess of his

arrogance

Deistical Writers that have appeared in England during the last and present century, &c. in which there is a full account of the Free-thinkers and Deists mentioned by our Historian, and a review of the writings of the Earl of Shaftesbury. This re view merits a particular attention, as it contains an impartial account, an accurate examination, and a satisfactory refuta tion, of the erroneous principles of that great man. Lord Shaftesbury, like all other eminent innovators, has been misre presented both by his friends and his enemies. Dr. Leland has steered a middle course, between the blind enthusiasm of the former, and the partial malignity of the latter. He points out, with singular penetration and judgment, the errors, incon sistencies, and contradictions, of that illustrious author ; does justice to what is good in his ingenious writings ; separates carefully the wheat from the chaff; and neither approves or condemns in the lump, as too many have done. In a more par ticular manner he has shewn with his usual perspicuity and good sense, that the being influenced by the hope of the re ward promised in the Gospel has nothing in it disingenuous and slavish, and is so far from being inconsistent with loving virtueybr its own sake, that it tends, on the contrary, to heigh ten our esteem of its amiablencss and north. — The triumphant manner in which the learned Dr. Warburton has refuted Shaftesbury's representation of raillery and ridicule as a test of truth, is too well known to be mentioned here. See also Dr. Brown's Three Essays on the Characteristics, in which that sensible author treats of Ridicule, considered as a Test of Truth ; of the obligations of men to virtue, and of the necessity of religious principle; and of revealed religion and Christianity.

58 The General History of the Church.

CENT, arrogance and vanity, and the shocking XV1L ness and ferocity of his manners, acquired a cer- measure of fame [/ ']. It is not necessary to

mention

r> Mosheim quotes here, in a short note, an ac count he had given of the Life and Writings of Toland, prefix ed to his confutation of the Nazarerms of that contemptible au thor. He also quotes a life of Toland, prefixed to his post humous works, printed in 8vo, at London, in 1 726, by Des Maizeaux. — Dr. Mosheim says, that this man was not destitute of learning. Should that be granted, it must, nevertheless, be acknowledged that this learning layquite undigested in his head, and that the use he made of it in his works was equally injudi cious and impudent. His conference with M. Beausobre con cerning the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures, which was helcl at Berlin, in the year 1701, in presence of the queen of Prussia, and in which he made such a despicable figure, is a proof of the former ; and his writings to all but half-scholars and half-think ers, will be a proof (as long as they endure) of the latter,-— It is remarkable that, according to that maxim of Juvenal, Ne mo repentefuit turpissimus, Toland arrived only gradually, and by a progressive motion, at the summit of infidelity. His first step was Socinianism, which appeared in his book, entitled, Christianity not mysterious. This book procured him hard treat ment from the Irish parliament; and was answered by Mr. Brown, afterwards bishop of Cork, who unhappily did not think good arguments sufficient to maintain a good caus,e, unlesss they were seconded by the secular arm, whose ill-placed succours he solicited with ardour. The second step that Toland made in the devious fields of religion, was in the publication ofhisAymntor> which, in appearance, was designed to vindicate what he advan ced in his Life of Milton, to prove that King Charles I. was not the real author of the Eikon Basilike, but, in reality, was, intended to invalidate the Cation of the New Testament, and to render it uncertain and precarious. This piece, in as far as it at tacked the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures, was answered in a triumphant manner by Dr. Clarke, in his Reflections on that part of the Book called Aymntor, which relates to the writings of the Primitive Fathers, and the Canon of the New Testament; by Mr. Richardson, in his learned and judicious Vindication of the Canon of the New Testament; and by Mr. Jones, in his new and full Method of settling the Canonical Authority of the New Testa ment. These learned writers have exposed, in the most strik ing manner, thedisingenuity, theblunders, the false quotations, the insidious fictions, and ridiculous mistakes of Toland, whoon various accounts, may pass for one of the most harmless writers

against

Tlie General History of the Church. 59

mention other authors of this class, who appear- CENT. ed in England during this century, but are long since consigned to oblivion ; the reader may, however, add to those that have been already named, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, a philoso pher of some note, who, if he did not abso lutely deny the divine origin of the Gospel [g]9

maintained,

against the Christian religion. For an account of the Adeisidce- mo?), the Nazarenus, the Letters to Serena, the Pantheisticon, and the other irreligious works of this author, with the excellent answers that have been made to them, see his Life in the Gene ral Dictionary, or rather in Chafeipied's Supplement to Bayle's Dictionary, entitled, Nouveau Dictionaire Historique el Critique, as this author has not only translated the articles added to Bayle's Dictionary by the English editors of that work, but has augmented and improved them by several interesting anec dotes drawn from the Literary History of the Continent.

£c3* \_g^\ Lord Herbert did not pretend to deny the divinity of the Gospel ; he even declared that he had no intention to attack Christianity, which he calls, in express terms, the Best religion, and which, according to his own confession, tends to establish the five great articles of that universal, suffi cient, and absolutely perfect religion, which he pretends to deduce from reason and nature. But notwithstanding these fair professions, his lordship loses no occasion of throwing out insinuations against all revealed religion, as absolutely un certain, and of little or no use. But this same deist who was the first, and indeed, the least contemptible of that tribe in England, has left upon record one of the strongest instances of fanaticism and absurdity that perhaps ever has been heard of, and of which he himself was guilty. This instance is preserved in a manuscript life of Lord Herbert, drawn up from memo rials penned by himself, which is now in the possession of a gentleman of distinction, and is as follows : that lord having finished his book De Veritate, apprehended that he should meet with much opposition, and was, consequently, dubious for some time whether it would not be prudent to suppress it. " Being thus doubtful, says his Lordship, in my chamber (at " Paris, where he was ambassador, in the year 1624,) one fair " day in the summer, my casement being open towards the " south, the sun shining clear, and no wind stirring, I took " my book De Veriiate in my hands, and kneeling on my •' knees, devoutly said these words : 0 thou eternal God, au~ *' thor of this light that now shines upon me, and giver of all in~

" ward

60 The General History of the Cliurch.

CENT, maintained, at least, that it was not essentially xvii. necessary to the salvation of mankind [A] ; and ^^'^ Charles Blount, who composed a book, en titled,

" ward illuminations, I do beseech thee, of thine infinite goodness, " to pardon a greater request than a sinner ought to make : I " am not satisfied enough whether I shall publish this book ; if " it be for thy glory I beseech thee give me some SIGN FROM HEA- " YEN ; if not, I shall suppress it ." What does the reader now think of this corner stone of Deism, who demands a superna tural revelation from heaven in favour of a book that was de signed to prove all revelation uncertain and useless ? But the absurdity does not end here, for our Deist not only sought for this revelation, but also obtained it, if we are to believe him. " I had no sooner, says he, spoken these words, but a loud, " though yet gentle noise came forth from the heavens (for it " was like nothing on earth,) which did so cheer and comfort <e me, that I took my petition as granted." Rare credulity this in an unbeliever ! but these gentlemen can believe even against reason when it answers their purpose. His Lordship continues, " This, however strange it may seem, I protest be- " fore the Eternal God, is true ; neither am I superstitiously f( deceived herein," &c. See Leland's View of the Deistical " Writers, &c. vol. i. p. 470, &c.

[7*] This is sufficiently known to those who have perused Lord Herbert's book De Causis Errorum, as also his celebrated work, De Religionem Gentilium. This author isgenerally consi dered as the chief and founder of the sect or society that are caU led Naturalists, from their attachment to natural religion alone. See Arnoldi Historia Eccksiastica et Hceret. part II. p. 1083. — The peculiar tenets of this famous Deist have been refuted by Musaeus and Kortholt, two German divines of eminent learning and abilities.-— (j^f3 Gassendi also composed an answer to Lord Herbert's book De Verilate. In England it was refuted by Mr. Richard Baxter, in a treatise entitled, More reasons for the Christian Religion, and no reasons against it. Mr. Locke, in his Essay on Human Understanding, shews with great perspi cuity and force of evidence, that the Five articles of Natural Religion proposed by this noble author are not, as he repre sents them, Common Notices, clearly inscribed by the hand of God in the minds of all men, and that a Divine Revelation is necessary to indicate, develope, and enforce them. Dr. Whitby has also treated the same matter amply in his learned work, entitled, The Necessity and Usefulness of the Christian Revela tion, by reason of the Corruptions of the principi.es of Natural Religion among the Jews and Heathens, 8vo, 1705.

Tlic General History of the Church. 61

titled, The Oracles of Reason, and in the year CENT. 1693, died by his own hand [t],

XXIII. Infidelity, and even Atheism shewed themselves also on the continent during this cen- Vanini, tury. In Prance, Julius Caesar Vanini, the au- thor of two hooks, the one entitled, The Amphi- theatre of Providence [A1], and the other, Dia logues concerning Nature [/], was publicly burnt at Tholouse, in the year 1629, as an impious and obstinate Atheist. It is nevertheless to be observ ed, that several learned and respectable writers con sider this unhappy man rather as a victim to bigo try and envy, than as a martyr to impiety and

Atheism ;

p] See Chauffepied, Nouveau Dictionaire Historique el CnL though this author has omitted the mention of this gentleman's unhappy fate, out of a regard, no doubt, to his illustrious fa- roily, (tf Mr. Chauffepied has done no more than translated the article Charles Blount, from that of the English continua- tors of Bayle.

C3" PQ This book was published at Lyons in the year l6l 5, was approved by the clergy and magistrates of that city, and contains many things absolutely irreconcileable with atheistical principles : its title is as follows : Amphitheatrum Eternce Providentice, Divino-Magicnm, Chrisliano-Physicum, Astrolo-* gico-Catholicum, adversus Veteres Philosophos, Atheos, Epicn- reos, Peripateticos, Sloicos, &c. This book has been esteem ed innocent, by several writers, impious by others, but, in our judgment, it would have escaped reproach, had Vanini pub lished none of his other productions, since the impieties it may contain, according to the intention of its author, are carefully concealed. This is by no means the case of the book men tioned in the following note.

C3" C^D This book, concerning the Secrets of Queen Nature, the Goddess of Mortals, was published with this suspicious title at Paris, in the year l6l6, and contains glaring marks of im piety and atheism ; and yet it was published with the king's permission, and the approbation of the Faculty of Theology, at Paris. This scandalous negligence or ignorance is unac countable in such a reverend body. The Jesuit Garasse pre tends that the faculty was deceived by Vanini, who substituted another treatise in the place of that which had been approved. See a wretched book of Garasse, entitled, Doctrine Curie-use, p. 998, as also Durand, Vie de Vanini, p. 1 1 G.

£ The General History of the Cliurcfi.

CENT. Atheism ; and maintain, that neither his life nor-

XVIL his writings were so absurd or blasphemous as to

c^'^ entitle him to the character of a despiser of God

^r"" and religion [ni\. But if Vanini had his apolo-

fists, this was by no means the case of Cosmo luggeri, a native of Florence, whose Atheism was as impudent as it was impious, and who died in the most desperate sentiments of irreligion at Paris, in the year 1615, declaring, that he looked upon all the accounts that had been given of the existence of a Supreme Being, and of evil spirits, as idle dreams [n~\. Cassimer Leszynski, a Po lish knight, was capitally punished, suffering death at Warsaw, in the year 1689, for denying the Being and Providence of God ; but whether or no this accusation was well founded, can only be known by reading his trial, and examining the nature and circumstances of the evidence that was produced against him [o]. In Germany, a senseless and fanatic sort of a man, called Mat thew Knutzen, a native of Hoist ein, attempted to found a new sect, whose members, laying aside all consideration of God and Religion, were to fol low the dictates of reason and conscience alone, and from thence were to assume the title of Conscientia- rians. But this wrong headed sectary was easily

obliged

[m~\ See Budseus' Theses de Atheismo et Super stitione, p. 120. The author of the Apologia pro Vanino, which appear* ed in Holland, in the year 1712, is Peter Frederick Arp, a learned lawyer, who, in his Ferice cestivales sen Scriptorum su- orum Historia, p. 28. has promised a new edition of this Apo logy, with considerable additions. We may also place among the defenders of Vanini, the learned Elias Frederic Heister, in his Apologia pro Medicis, sect, xviii. p. Q3.

En] See Bayle's Dictionary, at the article RuggerL o] See the German work of Arnold, entitled Kirchen en Ketzer Historic, p. 1077- — There was formerly in the famous library of Uffenbach, a complete collection of all the papers re lating to the trial of Leszynski, and a full account of the pro. ceedings against him.

t7ie General History of the Church. 63

obliged to abandon his extravagant undertakings ; CENT. and thus his idle attempt came to nothing [_p]. ^^ XXIV. The most accurate and eminent of the ^.^^J/ Atheists of this century, whose system represent- Benedict ed the Supreme Author of all things, as a Being Spinoza. bound by the eternal and immutable laws of ne cessity or fate, was Benedict Spinoza, a Portu guese Jew. This man who died at the Hague, in 1677, observed, in his conduct, the rules of wis dom and probity, much better than many who profess themselves Christians, nor did he ever en deavour to pervert the sentiments, or to corrupt the morals of those with whom he lived, or to inspire, in his discourse, a contempt of religion or virtue [q~\. It is true, indeed, that in his writ ings, more especially in those that were published after his death, he maintains openly, that God and the Universe are one and the same Being, and that all things happen by the eternal and immu table law of nature, i. e. of an all-comprehending and infinite Being, that exists and acts by an in vincible necessity. This doctrine leads directly to consequences equally impious and absurd; for if the principle now mentioned be true, each indi vidual is his own God, or, at least, a part of the

universal

See Molleri Cimbria Literata, torn. i. p. 304. and Isa- gogue ad Historian Chersoness. Cimbr. part II. cap. vi. sect. viii. p. 164. — La Croze, Entreliens sur dicers svjets d'Histoire, p. 400.

£9] The Life of Spinoza has been accurately written by Co- lerus, whose performance was published at the Hague, in 8vo, in the year 1706. But a more ample and circumstantial ac count of this singular man has been given by Lenglet du Fres- Hoy, and is prefixed to Boulainvillier's Exposition of the Doc trine of Spinoza, which was published at Amsterdam, under the title of Brussels, in 12mo, in the year 1731. See also Bayle's Dictionary, at the article Spinoza. (£$• Lenglet du Fresnoy re- published the work of Colerus, and added to it several anecdotes and circumstances borrowed from a Life of Spinoza, written by an infamous profligate, whose name was Lucas, and who prac tised physic at the Hague. See below, the notes |V] and [^

1 The General History of the Church.

CENT, universal Deity, and is, therefore, impeccable and

xvii. perfect [>]. Be that as it may, it is evident that

^ Spinoza was seduced into this monstrous system

by the Cartesian philosophy, of which he was a

passionate admirer, and which was the perpetual

subject of his meditation and study. Having

adopted

[r] The learned Fabricius, in his Bibliotheca Grceca, lib. v. part III. p. 119. and Jenichen, in his Historia Spinozismi Lehnhofiani, pi 58 — 72. has given us an ample list of the •writers who have refuted the system of Spinoza. The real opinion which this subtle sophist entertained concerning the Deity, is to be learned in his Ethicks, that were published after his death, and not in his Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, which was printed during his life. For in this latter Treatise he rea sons like one who was persuaded that there exists an eternal Deify, distinct from matter and the universe, who has sent upon earth a religion designed to form men to the practice of bene volence and justice, and has confirmed that religion by events of a wonderful and astonishing, though not of a supernatural kind. But in his Ethicks he throws off the mask, explains clearly his sentiments, and endeavours to demonstrate, that the Deity is nothing more than the universe, producing a series of necessary movements or acts, in consequence of its own intrinsic) immutable, and irresistible energy. This diversity of sentiments that appears in the different productions of Spinoza, is a suf ficient refutation of those who, forming the estimate of his system from his Tractatus Theologico-Politicus alone, pronounce it less pernicious, and its author less impious than they are ge nerally supposed to be. But, on the other hand, how shall this diversity be accounted for ? Are we to suppose that Spi noza proceeded to atheism by gradual steps, or is it rather more probable, that, during his life, he prudently concealed his real sentiments ? Which of these two is the case, it is not easy to determine j it appears, however, from testimonies every way worthy of credit, that he never, during his whole life, either made, or attempted to make, converts to irreligion : never said any thing in public that tended to encourage disrespectful sentiments of the Supreme Being, or of the worship that is due to him ; nay, it is well known on the contrary, that, when sub jects of a religious nature were incidentally treated in the course of conversation where he was present, he always expressed him self with the utmost decency on the occasion, and often with an air of piety and seriousness that was more adapted to edify than to give offence. See Des Maizeaux, Vie de M. de S. Ev- remond, p. 1 1 7. torn. i. of his works. This appears also evident from the Letters that are published in his posthumous works.

SECT. I.

The General History of the Church. 65

adopted that general principle, about which philoso- CENT. pliers of all sects are agreed ; that all realities are possessed by the Deity in the most eminent degree; s and having added to this principle, as equally evi dent, the opinion of Descartes, that there are only two realities in nature, thought and extension, the one essential to spirit, and the other to matter [s] ; the natural consequence of this was, that he should attribute to the Deity both these realities, even thought and extension, in an eminent degree; or, in other words should represent them as infinite and immense in God. Hence the transition seem ed easy enough to that enormous system, which confounds God with the Universe, represents them as one and the same Being, and supposes only one substance from whence all things pro ceed, and into which they all return. It is natural to observe here, that even the friends of Spinoza, are obliged to acknowledge, that this system is neither attended with that luminous perspicuity, nor that force of evidence, that are proper to make proselytes. It is too dark, too intricate, to allure men from the belief of those truths re lating to the Deity, which the works of nature, and the plainest dictates of reason, are perpetually enforcing upon the human mind. Accordingly, the followers of Spinoza tell us, without hesita tion, that it is rather by the suggestions of a cer tain sense, than by the investigations of reason, that his doctrine is to be comprehended ; and that it is of such a nature, as to be easily misunder stood even by persons of the greatest sagacity and VOL. v. F penetration.

(r^ M The hypothesis of Des Cartes is not, perhaps, re presented with sufficient accuracy and precision, by saying that he looked upon thought as essential lo spirit, and extension as essential to matter ; since it is well known, that this philosopher considered thought as the very essence or substance of the sovl, and extension as the very essence and substance of matter.

66 Tlie General History of the Church.

CENT, penetration [t]. The disciples of Spinoza assume !1' the denomination of Pantheists, choosing rather ^ to derive their distinctive title from the nature of their doctrine, than from the name of their

master,

[T\ There is certainly no man so little acquainted with the character of Bayle, as to think him void of discernment and sagacity ; and yet this most subtle metaphysician has been ac cused by the followers of Spinoza, of misunderstanding and misrepresenting the doctrine of that Pantheist, and conse quently of answering it with very little solidity. See Bayle's Dictionary, at the article Spinoza. This charge is brought against Bayle, with peculiar severity, by L. Meier, in his Preface to the Posthumous Works of Spinoza, in which, af ter complaining of the misrepresentations that have been given of the opinions of that writer, he pretends to maintain, that his system was, in every point, conformable to the doctrines of Christianity. Boulainvilliers also, another of Spinoza's commentators and advocates, declares, in his preface to a book, whose perfidious title is mentioned below in note Q/], that all the antagonists of that famous Jew either ignorantly misun derstood, or maliciously perverted his true doctrine; his words are : Les Refutations de Spinoza m'ont induit a juger, ou que leurs Auteurs n'avoient pas voulu mettre la doctrine, qu'ils com* lattent, dans une evidence sitffisante, ou qu'ils I'avoienl mal en- tendue, p. 153. — But now, if this be true, if the doctrine of Spinoza be not only far beyond the comprehension of the vul gar, but also difficult to be understood, and liable to be mis taken and misrepresented by men of the most acute parts and the most eminent abilities, what is the most obvious conclu sions deducible from this fact ? It is plainly this, that the greatest part of the Spinosists, whose sect is supposed by some to be very numerous in Europe, have adopted the doctrine of that famous Atheist, not so much from a conviction of its truth founded on an examination of its intricate contents, as from the pleasure they take in a system that promises impu nity to all transgressions that do not come within the cogni zance of the civil law, and thus let loose the reins to every ir regular appetite and passion. For it would be senseless, hi the highest degree, to imagine, that the pretended multitude of the Spinosists, many of whom never once dreamed of exer cising their minds in the pursuit of truth, or accustoming them to philosophical discussion, should all accurately comprehend a system, which according to their own accounts, has escaped the penetration and sagacity of the greatest geniuses,

SECT. I.

*The General History of the Church. 67

master [u]. The most noted members of this CENT. strange sect were a physician, whose name was _ Lewis Meier [w], a certain person called Lu- , s

cas,

[V] Toland, unable to purchase himself a dinner, composed and published, in order to supply the sharp demands of hun ger, an infamous and impious book under the following title : Pantheislico/i ; sive, Formula; celebrande Societatis Socraticce^ in Tres Particulas divisce ; qua? Pantheistarum, sive sodalium continent, 1. Mores el Axlomata ; 11. Numen el Philosoph'wm ; 111. Libertatem ct non fallen t cm legem neque fallendam, &c. The design of this book, which was published in Svo, at Lon* don in the year 1720, appears by the title. It was intended to draw a picture of the licentious morals and principles of his brethren the Pantheists under the fictitious description of a Socratical Society, which they are represented as holding in all the places where they are dispersed. In the Socratical, or rather Bacchanalian Society, described in this pernicious work, the president and members are said to converse freely on several subjects. There is also a Form or Liturgy read by the president, who officiates as priest, and is answered by the assembly in suitable responses. He recommends earnestly to the members of the Society, the care of truth, liberty, and health : exhorts them to guard against superstition, that is religion ; and reads aloud to them, by way of Lesson, certain, select passages out of Cicero and Seneca which seem to favour irreligion. His colleagues promise solemnly to conform them-* selves to his injunctions and exhortations. Sometimes the whole fraternity is so animated with enthusiasm and joy, that they all raise their voices together, and sing certain verses out of the ancient Latin poets, that are suitable to the laws and principles of their sect. See Des Maizeaux, Life of John, Toland, p. 77. — Bibliotheque Angloise, torn. viii. p. II. p. 285. If the Pantheistical community be really such as it is here re presented, it is not so much the duty of wise and good men to dispute with or refute its members, as it is the business of the civil magistrate to prevent such licentious and turbulent spirits from troubling the order of society, and seducing honest citizens from their religious principles, and the duties of their respective stations.

[jv~] This Meier was the person who translated into Latin the pieces that Spinoza had composed in the Dutch language ; who assisted him in his last moments, after having attempted, in vain to remove his disorder ; and who published his Post* humous Works with a Preface, in which, with great impudence and little success, he endeavours to prove, that the doctrine of Spinoza differs in nothing from that of the Gospel. Meier F 2 i$

68 The General History of the Church.

CENT, cas [a?], Count Boulainvilliers [y]9 and some XVIL others, equally contemptible on account of their w J^ sentiments and morals.

XXV. The

is also the author of a well-known treatise, thus entitled, Phi" losophia Scripturas Interpres, Eleutheropolce, 1666, in 4to, in which the merit and authority of the sacred writings are exa mined by the dictates of philosophy, that is to say, of the philosophy of Mr. Meir.

[x~] Lucas was a physician at the Hague, and was as famous for what he called his Quintessences, as he was infamous on account of the profligacy of his morals. He left behind him, a Life of Spinoza, from whence Lenglet du Fresnoy took all the additions that he made to the Life of that Atheist written by Colerus. He also composed a work which is still handed about, and bought at an extravagant price, by those in whose judgment rarity and impiety are equivalent to merit. This work is entitled, L* Esprit de Spinoza, and surpasses infinitely, in atheistical profaneness, even those productions of Spinoza that are looked upon as the most pernicious ; so far has this miserable writer lost sight of every dictate of prudence, and triumphed even over the restraints of shame.

Q#] This fertile and copious, but paradoxical and inconsi* derate writer, is abundantly known by his various productions relating to the History and Political state of the French Na tion, by a certain prolix Fable, entitled, The Life of Mahomet, and by the adverse turns of fortune that pursued him. His character was so made up of inconsistencies and contradictions, that he is almost equally chargeable with superstition and atheism : for though he acknowledged no other Deity than the universe or nature, yet he looked upon Mahomet as autho rised by a divine commission to instruct mankind ; and he was of opinion, that the fate of nations and the destiny of indivi duals, could be foreknown, by an attentive observation of the stars. Thus the man was, at the same time, an atheist and an astrologer. Now this medley of a man was greatly con* cerned, in consequence, forsooth, of his ardent zeal for the public good, to see the admirable doctrine of Spinoza so gene rally misunderstood, and therefore he formed the laudable de sign of expounding, illustrating, and accommodating it, as is done with respect to the doctrines of the Gospel in books of piety to ordinary capacities. This design, indeed, he executed, but not so fortunately for his master as he might fondly ima gine; since it appeared most evidently, from his own account of the system of Spinoza, that Bayle, and the other writers who had represented his doctrine as repugnant to the plainest dictates of reason, and utterly destructive of all religion, had .-M judged

The State of Learning and Philosophy.

XXV. The progressive and flourishing state of CENT. the arts and sciences in the seventeenth century is abundantly known; and we see the effects, enjoy the fruits, of the efforts then made for the The scien advancement of learning. No hranch of litera- ces culti- ture seemed to be neglected. Logic, philosophy, history, poetry, and rhetoric ; in a word, all the sciences that belong to the respective provinces of reason, experience, observation, genius, memory, and imagination, were cultivated and improved F 3 with

judged rightly, and were neither misled by ignorance nor teme rity. In short, the book of Boulainvilliers set the atheism and impiety of Spinoza in a much more clear and striking light than ever they had appeared before. This infamous book, which was worthy of eternal oblivion, was published by Lenglot du Fresnoy, who, that it might be bought with avidity, and read without reluctance, prefixed to it the at tracting, but perfidious title, of A Refutation of the errors of Spinoza ; adding indeed, to it some separate pieces, to which this title may, in some measure, be thought applicable ; the whole title runs thus: Refutation des Erreurs de Benoit de Spi noza, par M. de Fendon, Acheveqne de Cambray, par le Pere Lami Benedictin, et par le M. Comte de Boulainvilliers , avec la Vie de Spinoza, ecrite par Jean Colerus, ministre de I'Eglise Lu~ therienne de lay Haye, augmentee de beaucoup de particularites tirees d'une Vie Manitscripte de ce Philosophe,fait par un de ses Amis (this friend was Lucas, the atheistical physician mentioned in the preceding note) a Bnixelles, ckez Francois Foppens, 1731, in 12mo. Here we see the poison and the antidote joined toge ther, but the latter perfidiously distributed in a manner and measure every way insufficient to remove the noxious effects of the former : in a word, the wolf is shut up with the sheep. The account and defence of the philosophy of Spinoza, given by Boulainvilliers under the insidious title of a Refutation, takes up the greatest part of this book, and is placed first and not the last in order, as the title would insinuate. Besides, the whole contents of this motley collection are not enumerated in the title : for at the end of it we find a Latin Treatise, en titled, Certamen Philosophicum propugnatce Verilatis divines et naturalis, adversus Jo. Bredenburgii principia, injine annexa. This philosophical controversy contains a Defence of the Doc trine of Spinoza, by Bredenburg; and a Refutation of that De fence by Isaac Orobio, a learned Jewish physician at A?nsler* dam, and was first published in 8vo, in the year 1703.

SECT. I.

70 The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT, with remarkable success throughout the Christian xvn. world. While the learned men of this happy period discovered such zeal for the improvement of science ; their zeal was both inflamed and di rected by one of the greatest and rarest geniuses that ever arose for the instruction of mankind. This was Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, who, towards the commencement of this century, open ed the paths that lead to true philosophy in his admirable works [z]. It must be acknowledged indeed, that the rules he prescribes, to direct the researches of the studious, are not all practicable, amidst the numerous prejudices and impediments to which the most zealous enquirers are exposed in the pursuit of truth ; and it appears plainly that this great man, to whose elevated and com prehensive genius all things seemed easy, was at certain times so far carried away by the vastness of his conceptions, as to require from the applica tion and abilities of men more than they were ca pable of performing, and to desire the end, with out always examining whether the means of at taining it were possible. At the same time it must be confessed that a great part of the im provements in learning, and of the progress in science that were made in Europe during this century, was owing to the counsels and directions of this extraordinary man. This is more espe cially true of the improvements that were made in natural philosophy, to which noble science

Bacon

|V] More especially in his Treatise De Dignitate et Aug- mentis Scientiarum, and in his Novum Organum. See the life of that great man that is prefixed to the last edition of his Works published by Millar., in four volumes in folio. — Biblio- theque Britannique, torn. xv. p. 128. — In Mr. Mallet's Life of Bacon, there is a particular and interesting account of his noble attempt to reform the miserable philosophy that pre vailed before his time. See also Voltaire, Melanges de Lit- terature, &c. in the fourth volume of his Works, chap, xiv, p. 225.

The State of Learning and Philosophy. 71

Bacon did such important service, as is alone CENT. sufficient to render his name immortal. He opened the eyes of those who had heen led blind- fold by the dubious authority of traditionary sys tems, and the uncertain directory of hypothesis and conjecture. He led them to Nature, that they might consult that oracle directly and near at hand, and receive her answers; and, by the introduction of experimental inquiry, he placed philosophy upon a new and solid basis. It was thus undoubtedly that he removed the prejudices of former times, which led men to consider all human knowledge as circumscribed within the bounds of Greek and Latin erudition, and an ac quaintance with the more elegant and liberal arts ; and thus, in the vast regions of nature, he opened scenes of instruction and science, which, although hitherto unknown or disregarded, were infinitely more noble and sublime, and much more produc tive of solid nourishment to the minds of the wise, than that kind of learning that was in vogue be fore his time.

XXVI. It is remarkable, in general, that the More esp<* sciences of natural philosophy, mathematics, an astronomy, were carried in this century, in all the tics, nations of Europe, to such a high degree of per fection, that they seemed to rise, all of a sudden, from the puny weakness of infancy to a state of full maturity. There is certainly no sort of com parison between the philosophers, mathematicians, and astronomers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The former look like pigmies, when compared with the gigantic stature of the latter. At the head of these latter appears Galilei, the ' ornament of natural science in Italy, who was en couraged, in his astronomical researches and dis coveries, by the munificence and protection of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany [a]. After this arose F 4 in

[a] See Heuman's Ada. Pkilosoph. part XIV. p. 2(?1. part XV. p. 467. part XVII. p. 803.

SECT. I,

2 The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT, in France Descartes and Gassendi, who left behind them a great number of eminent disciples ; in Denmark Tyclio Brahe ; in England Boyle and Newton ; in Germany Kepler, Hevelius, and Leibnitz; and in Switzerland the two Ber noulli. These philosophers of the first magni tude, if I may use that expression, excited such a spirit of emulation in Europe, and were followed by such a multitude of admirers and rivals, that, if we except those countries that had not yet emerged from a state of ignorance and barbarism, there was scarcely any nation that could not boast of possessing a profound mathematician, a famous astronomer, or an eminent philosopher. Nor were the dukes of Tuscany, however distinguished by their hereditary zeal for the sciences, and their liberality to the learned, the only patrons of philosophy at this time; since it is well known that the monarchs of Great Britain and France* Charles II. and Lewis XIV. honoured the sciences, and those that cultivated them, with their protection and encouragement. It is to the munificence of these two princes that the Royal Society of 'London, and the Academy of Sciences at Paris, owe their origin and establishment, their privileges, honours, and endowments : and that we, of consequence, are indebted for the interest ing discoveries that have been made by these two learned bodies, the end of whose institution is the study and investigation of nature, and the culture of all those arts and sciences that lead to truth, and are useful to mankind [&]. These establish ments,

P] The History of the Royal Society of London was pub lished by Dr. Sprat in 4to. in the year 1722*. See the Bi- bliofh. Angloisc, torn. xi. p. 1. The History of the Academy of Pillars has been composed by Fontenelle. The reader will find a comparison between these two learned bodies in the fourth volume of the Works of Voltaire, entitled Melanges de Lillerature ct de Philosophie, cap. xxvi. p. .'317.

%j* * A much more interesting and ample history of this respectable Society has lately been composed and published by Dr, Birch, its learned Secretary.

The State of Learning and Philosophy. 73

ments, and the enquiries they were so naturally adapted to encourage and promote, proved not only beneficial, in the highest degree, to the civil interests of mankind, but were also productive of inestimable advantages to the cause of the true re ligion. By these enquiries, the empire of super stition which is always the bane of genuine piety, and often a source of rebellion and calamity m sovereign states was greatly shaken ; by them the fictitious prodigies that had so long held miserable mortals in a painful state of servitude and terror, were deprived of their influence ; by them natu ral religion was built upon solid foundations, and illustrated with admirable perspicuity and evi dence ; as by them the infinite perfections of the Supreme Being were demonstrated with the ut most clearness and force from the frame of the universe in general, and also from the structure of its various parts.

XXVII. The improvements made in History, History. and more especially the new degrees of light that were thrown upon the ancient History of the church, were of eminent service to the cause of genuine Christianity. For thus the original sources and reasons of many absurd opinions and institu tions, which antiquity and custom had rendered sacred, were discovered and exposed in their pro per colours; and innumerable errors that had possessed and perplexed the anxious spirits of the credulous and superstitious multitude, were hap pily deprived of their authority and influence. Thus, of consequence, the cheerful light of Truth, and the calm repose and tranquillity that attend it, arose upon the minds of many, and human life was delivered from the crimes that have been sanctified by superstition, and from the tumults :ind agitations in which it has so often involved unhappy mortals. The advantages that flowed from the improvement of historical knowledge are

both

7'4 The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT, both innumerable and inestimable. By this* XVIL many pious and excellent persons, whom igno- v^CJ'^ ranee or malice had branded with the ignomi nious title of Heretics, were delivered from re proach, recovered their good fame, and thus were secured against the malignity of superstition. By this it appeared, that many of those religious con troversies, which had divided nations, friends, and families, and involved so often sovereign states in bloodshed, rebellion, and crimes of the most horrid kind, were owing to the most trifling and contemptible causes, to the ambiguity and ob scurity of certain theological phrases and terms, to superstition, ignorance, and envy, to ghostly pride and ambition. By this it was demonstrated with the fullest evidence, that many of those re ligious rites and ceremonies, which had been long considered as of divine institution, were derived from the most inglorious sources, being either borrowed from the manners and customs of bar barous nations, or invented with a design to de^ ceive the ignorant and credulous, or dictated by the idle visions of senseless enthusiasm. By this the .ambitious intrigues of the bishops and other ministers of religion, who, by perfidious arts, had encroached upon the prerogatives of the throne, usurped a considerable part of its authority and revenues, and held princes in subjection to their yoke by terrors of the church, were brought to light. And to mention no more instances, it was by the lamp of History that those councils, whose decrees had so long been regarded as infal lible and sacred, and revered as the dictates of celestial wisdom, were exhibited to the attentive observer as assemblies, where an odious mixture of ignorance and knavery very frequently presided. Our happy experience, in these latter times, fur nishes daily instances of the salutary effects of these important discoveries on the state of the

Christian

flie State of Learning and Philosophy. 75

Christian church, and on the condition of all its CENT. members. Hence flow that lenity and modera- tion that are mutually exercised by those who dif- fer from one another in their religious sentiments ; that prudence and caution that are used in esti mating opinions and deciding controversies ; that protection and support that are granted to men of worth, when attacked by the malice of bigotry ; and that visible diminution of the errors, frauds, crimes, and cruelties, with which superstition, formerly embittered the pleasures of human life, and the enjoyments of social intercourse.

XXVIII. Many of the doctors of this century The study applied themselves, with eminent success, to the °^°~ and study of Hebrew and Greek literature, and ofthekn- the Oriental languages and antiquities. And, asguages* their progress in these kinds of erudition was ra pid, so in many instances, was the use they made of them truly excellent and laudable. For, by these succours they were enabled to throw light on many difficult passages of the sacred writings that had been ill understood and injudiciously applied, and which some had even employed in supporting erroneous opinions, and giving a plausible colour to pernicious doctrines. Hence it happened, that many patrons and promoters of popular notions, and visionary and groundless fan cies were deprived of the fallacious arguments by which they maintained their errors. It cannot also be denied, that the cause of religion received considerable benefit from the labours of those, who either endeavoured to preserve the purity and elegance of the Latin language, or who, behold ing with emulation the example of the French, employed their industry in improving and polish ing the languages of their respective countries. For it must be evidently both honourable and advantageous to the Christian church to have al ways in its bosom men of learning qualified to

write

76 The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT, write and discourse upon theological subject* xvir. with precision, elegance, ease, and perspicuity, N^"^/ that so the ignorant and perverse may be allured to receive instruction, and also be able to com prehend with facility the instructions they re ceive.

The law of XXIX. The rules of morality and practice, studied13 wnicn were laid down in the sacred writings by with atten- Christ and his apostles, assumed an advantage- tlon* ous form, received new illustrations, and were supported upon new and solid principles, when that great system of law, that results from the constitution of nature, and the dictates of right reason, began to be studied with more diligence, and investigated with more accuracy and perspi cuity than had been the case in preceding ages. In this sublime study of the law of nature the immortal Grotius led the way in his excellent book Concerning the rights of War and Peace : and such was the dignity and importance of the subject, that his labours excited the zeal and emu lation of men of the most eminent genius and abi lities [c], who turned their principal attention to this noble science. How much the labours of these great men contributed to assist the ministers of the Gospel, both in their discourses and writ ings concerning the duties and obligations of Christians, may be easily seen by comparing the books of a practical kind that have been published since the period now under consideration, with those that were in vogue before that time. [g^f3 There is scarcely a discourse upon any subject of Christian morality, how inconsiderable soever it may be, that does not bear some marks of the improvement which was introduced into the

science

[V] See Adam. Frid. Glafey Hisloria Juris Nature; to which is subjoined his Bibliolheca Juris Natures et Gen tium.

The State of Learning and Philosophy. 77

science of morals by those great men, who studied CENT. that science in the paths of nature, in the frame and constitution of rational and moral beings, and in the relations by which they are rendered members of one great family, under the inspec tion and government of one common and uni versal [d] Parent]. It is unquestionably certain, that since this period the dictates of natural law, and the duties of Christian morality, have been more accurately defined ; certain evangelical pre cepts, whose nature aud foundations were but imperfectly comprehended in the times of old, more clearly illustrated ; the superiority which distinguishes the morality of the Gospel from that course of duty that is Reducible from the mere light of nature, more fully demonstrated; and those common notions and general principles, which are the foundations of moral obligation, and are every way adapted to dispel all doubts that may arise, and all controversies that may be started, concerning the nature of evangelical righteousness and virtue, established with greater evidence and certainty. It may also be added, that the impiety of those infidels who have had the effrontery to maintain that the precepts of the Gospel are contrary to the dictates of sound reason, repugnant to the constitution of our na ture, inconsistent with the interests of civil so ciety, adapted to enervate the mind, and to draw men off from the business, the duties, and enjoy ments of life \_e]9 has been much more triumph antly refuted in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, than in any other period of the Chris tian church.

XXX. To

[jT\ This sentence, beginning with There is scarcely a dis~ eourse, and ending with Universal Parent, is added by the translator.

M Rouss. Contr. Soc.

78 The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT. XXX. To these reflections upon the state of XVIL learning and science in general, it may not be \!!C*1^ improper ^0 add a particular and separate account TCJertlte of the progress and revolutions of philosophy in oftheAris-the Christian schools. At the beginning of this In^Para- century almost all the European philosophers. ceisistic were divided into two classes, one of which com- philosophy< prehended the Peripatetics, and the other the Chemists, or Fire-philosophers, as they were often stiled. These two classes contended warmly for many years which should have the pre-eminence ; and a great number of laboured and subtile pro ductions were published during the course of this philosophical contest. The Peripatetics were in possession of the professorships in almost all the schools of learning, and looked upon all such as presumed^ either to reject, or even amend the doctrines of Aristotle, as objects of indignation, little less criminal than traitors and rebels. It is however observable, that the greatest part of these supercilious and persecuting doctors, if we except those of the academies of Tubingen, Altorf, Juliers, and Leipsic, were less attached to Ari stotle himself than to his modern interpreters and commentators. The Chemists spread them selves through almost all Europe, and assumed the obscure and ambiguous title of Rosecrucian Bre thren [,/], which drew at first some degree of re spect,

\_f~\ The title of Rosccrucians evidently denotes the chemical philosophers, and those who blended the doctrines of religion with the secrets of chemistry. The denomination itself is drawn from the science of chemistry ; and they only who are acquainted with the peculiar language of the chemists can un derstand its true signification and energy. It is not compound ed, as many imagine, of the two words rosa and crux, which signify rose and cross, but of the latter of these words, and the Latin word ros which signifies dew. Of all natural bodies, dew is the most powerful dissolvent of gold. The cross, in the chemical style, is equivalent to light ; because the figure of the cross X exhibits, at the same time, the three letters of which

the

SECT. I.

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spect, as it seemed to be borrowed from the arms CENT. of Luther, which were a cross placed upon a rose. XVIL They inveighed against the Peripatetics with a singular degree of bitterness and animosity, re presented them as corrupters both of religion and philosophy, and published a multitude of trea tises against them, which discovered little else than their folly and their malice. At the head of these fanatics were Robert Fludd [g]9 a native of England, and a man of surprising genius ; Jacob Behmen, a shoe-maker, who lived at Gorlitz; and Michael Mayer \Ji\. These leaders of

the

the word lux, i. e. light is compounded. Now lux is called by this sect the seed or mcnstrum of the red dragon ; or, in other words, that gross and corporeal light, which, when properly digested and modified, produces gold. From all this it fol- lows, that a Rosecrucian philosopher is one who, by the inter vention and assistance of the dew, seeks for light, or, in other words, the substance called the Philosopher's Stone. All other explications of this term are false and chimerical. The interpretations that are given of it by the chemists, who love, on* all occasions, to involve themselves in intricacy and dark ness, are invented merely to deceive those who are strangers to their mysteries. The true energy and meaning of this de nomination of Rosecrucians did not escape the penetration and sagacity of Gassendi, as appears by his Exanien Philosophies Fluddanas, sect. xv. torn. iii. opp. p. 26l. It was, however, still more fully explained by Renaudot, a famous French phy sician, in his Conferences) Publiques, torn. iv. p. 87. There is a great number of materials and anecdotes relating to the frater nity, rules, observances, and writings of the Rosecrucians (who made such a noise in this century), to be found in Arnold'* Kirchen-und Kitzer Histoire, part II. p. 1114.

C^U See for an account of this singular man, from whosa writings Jacob Behmen derived all his mystical and rapturous doctrine, Wood's Athena Oxoniensis, vol. i. p. 6lO, and Histor. ct Antiqq. Academicc Oxoniensis, lib. ii. p. 308. — For an ac count of Helmont, father, and son, see Hen. Witte, Memor. Philosoph. — Joach. Frid. Feller, in Miscellan. Lcibnitictn.— Several writers besides Arnoldi have given an account of Ja cob Behmen *.

[/f] See Molleri Cimbria Literata, torn. i. p. 370.

* See for a further account of Jacob Bohoien, Sect. II. Part II. Chaj*. I. Sect. XL. of this History.

80 The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT, the sect were followed by John Baptist Hel- xvu. mon^ and his son Francis, Christian Knor- ^I'^ rius de Rosenroth, Kuhlman, Nollius, Sper- ber, and many others of various fame. An uni formity of opinion, and a spirit of concord, seem scarcely possible in such a society as this. For as a great part of its doctrine is derived from cer tain internal feeling, and certain flights of ima gination, which can neither be comprehended nor defined, and is supported by certain testimonies of the external senses, whose reports are equally illusory and changeable ; so it is remarkable, that, among the more eminent writers of this sect, there are scarcely any two who adopt the same tenets and sentiments. There are, never theless, some common principles that are gene rally embraced, and that serve as a centre of union to the society. They all maintain, that the dissolution of bodies, by the power of fire, is the only way through which men can arrive at true wisdom, and come to discern the first prin ciples of things. They all acknowledge a cer tain analogy and harmony between the powers of nature and the doctrines of religion, and believe that the Deity governs the kingdom of grace by the same laws with which he rules the kingdom of na ture ; and hence it is that they employ chemical denominations to express the truths of religion. They all hold, that there is a sort of divine energy, or soul diffused through the frame of the universe, which some call Archaius, others the Universal Spirit, and which others mention under different appellations. They all talk in the most obscure and superstitious manner of what they call the signatures of things, of the power of the stars over all corporeal beings, and their particular influence upon the human race, of the efficacy of magic, and the various ranks and orders of demons. In fine, they all agree in throwing out the most

crude

The State of Learning and Philosophy. 81

crude, incomprehensible notions and ideas, in the CENT. most obscure, quaint, and unusual expressions.

XXXI. This controversy between the Chemists and Peripatetics was buried in silence and oblivion, The as soon as a new and more seemly form of philo- s°Phy °* sophy was presented to the world by two great men, who reflected a lustre upon the French na tion, Gassendi and Des Cartes. The former, whose profound knowledge of mathematics and astronomy was accompanied with the most en gaging eloquence, and an acquaintance with all the various branches of solid erudition and polite literature, was canon of Digne, and professor of mathematics at Paris. The latter, who was a man of quality and bred a soldier, surpassed the greatest part of his contemporaries in acuteness, subtilty, and extent of genius, though he was much inferior to Gassendi in point of learning. In the year 1624, Gassendi attacked Aristotle, and the whole sect of his commentators and fol lowers, with great resolution and ingenuity [i]; but the resentment and indignation which he drew upon himself from all quarters by this bold attempt, and the sweetness of his natural temper, which made him an enemy to dissension and con test, engaged him to desist, and to suspend an en terprise, that, by opposing the prejudices, was so adapted to inflame the passions of the learned* Hence no more than two books of the work he had composed against the Aristotelians were made public; the other five were suppressed [J]. He also wrote against Fludd, and, by refuting him, VOL. v. G refuted

C-"-J p] The title of this book against the Aristotelians is as follows: Exercitatlonum paradoxicarum fuhersu.t Arittolcleos Isibri VII. in qitihus prcccipua lot hi?; Peripateticcs Doclritui' fun- damenta excciitittntur, opinioncs vero, ant tx vetustioribut obsu* Ida', tiabilivnlur.

'[./] See Bougerell, Pir ik Gassendi. p. 17- & 23-

82 The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT, refuted at the same time theRosecrucian Brethren; " anc^ ^ere ^e Aristotelians seemed to behold his

o _^ ^ labours with a favourable eye. After having

overturned several false and visionary systems of philosophy, he began to think of substituting something more solid and satisfactory in their place, and in pursuance of this design he proceed-' ed with the utmost circumspection and caution. He recommended to others, and followed himself) that wise method of philosophical investigation, which, with a slow and timorous pace, rises from the objects of sense to the discussions of reason, and arrives at truth by assiduity, experiment, and an attentive observation of the laws of nature; or, to express the same thing in other words, Gassendi struck out that judicious method, which by an attention to facts, to the changes and motions of the natural world, leads by de grees to general principles, and lays a solid foun dation for rational enquiry. In the application of this method, he had recourse chiefly to mathe matical succours, from a persuasion that demon stration and certainty were the peculiar fruits of that accurate and luminous science. He drew no assistance from the science of metaphysics, which he overlooked from an opinion that the greatest part of its rules and decisions were too precarious to satisfy a sincere inquirer, animated with the love of truth [&].

XXH- £>es Cartes followed a very differ- method in his philosophical researches. He abandoned the mathematics which he had at first

looked

[T] See Gassendi's Institutiones Philosophic?; a diffuse pro duction, which takes up the two first volumes of his works, and in which his principal design is to shew, that those opi nions, of both the ancient and modern philosophers, which are deduced from metaphysical principles, have little solidity, and are generally defective in point of evidence and perspi cuity.

The State of Learning and Philosophy. 83

looked upon as the tree of knowledge, and em- ployed the science of abstract ideas, or inetaphy- sics, in the investigation of truth. Having cordingly laid down a few plain general princi ples, which seemed to be deduced immediately from the nature of man, his first business was to form distinct notions of Deity, matter, soul, body^ space, the universe, and the various parts of which it is composed. From these notions, examined with attention, compared and combined together according to their mutual relations, connections, and resemblances, and reduced into a kind of system, he proceeded still further, and made ad mirable use of them in reforming the other branches of philosophy, and giving them a new degree of stability and consistence. This he ef fected by connecting all his branches of philoso phical reasonings in such a manner, that principles and consequences followed each other in the most accurate order, and that the latter seemed to flow from the former in the most natural manner. This method of pursuing truth couldnot fail to attract the admiration of many : and so indeed it happened ; for no sooner had Des Cartes published his dis coveries in philosophy, than a considerable number of eminent men, in different parts of Europe, who had long entertained a high disgust against the inelegant and ambiguous jargon of the schools, adopted these discoveries with zeal, declared their approbation of the new system, and expressed their desire that its author should be substituted in the place of the Peripatetics, as a philosophical guide to the youth in the public seminaries of learning. On the other hand, the Peripatetics, or Aristote lians, seconded by the influence of the clergy, who apprehended that the cause of religion was aimed at, and endangered by these philosophical innovations, made a prodigious noise, and left no means unemployed to prevent the downfal of G % their

84 The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT, their old system, and to diminish the growing re-* XVIL ptttation of the new philosophy. To execute this v^C^/ invidious purpose with the more facility, they not only accused Des Cartes of the most dangerous and pernicious errors, but went so far, in the ex travagance of their malignity, as to bring a charge of Atheism against him. This furious zeal of the Aristotelians will not appear so extraordinary when it is considered, that they contended, not so much for their philosophical system as for the honours, advantages, and profits they derived from it. The Theosophists, Rosecrucians, and Chemists, entered into this contest against Des Cartes, but conducted themselves with more moderation than the Aristotelians, notwithstand ing their persuasion that the Peripatetic philoso phy, though chimerical and impious, was much less intolerable than the Cartesian system [/]. The consequences of this dispute were favourable to the progress of science ; for the wiser part of the European philosophers, although they did not at all adopt the sentiments of Des Cartes, were nevertheless encouraged and animated by his ex ample to carry on their enquiries with more free dom from the restraints of traditional and personal authority than they had formerly done, and to throw resolutely from their necks that yoke of servitude, under which Aristotle and his fol lowers had so long kept them in subjection. tiiTdSft XXXIII. The most eminent contemporaries adversary of Des Cartes applauded in general, the efforts Canes' ^e ma^e towards the reformation of philosophy, and that noble resolution with which he broke the shackles of magisterial authority, and struck out new paths in which he proceeded without a guide, in the search after truth. They also ap proved of his method of arising, with caution and

accuracy,

p] See Baillet, Vie de Des Cartes. — As also the General Dictionary at the article Des Cartes.

The State of Learning and Philosophy. 85

accuracy, from the most simple, and, as it were, CENT. the primary dictates of reason and nature, to XVIL

11 . . /^ -\ i SECT. I.

truths and propositions of a more complex anu^,^^,/ intricate kind, and of admitting nothing as truth, that was not clearly and distinctly apprehended as such. They went still further, and unanimously acknowledged, that he had made most valuable and important discoveries in philosophy, and had demonstrated several truths, which, before his time, were received upon no other evidence than that of tradition and conjecture. But these ac knowledgments did not hinder some of those who made them with the greatest sincerity, from finding several essential defects in the philosophy of this great man. They looked upon his ac count of the causes and principles of natural things to be for the most part hypothetical, founded on fancy rather than experience. Nay, they attacked the fundamental principles upon which the whole system of his philosophy was built, such as his ideas of the Deity, of the uni verse, of matter and spirit, of the laws of motion, and other points that were connected with these. Some of these principles they pronounced uncer tain ; others of a pernicious tendency, and adapt ed to engender the most dangerous errors ; others again they considered as directly contrary to the language of experience. At the head of these objectors was his own fellow- citizen Gassendi, who had made war before him upon the Aristo telians and Chemists; who, in genius, was his equal ; in learning by much his superior ; and whose mathematical knowledge was most un common and extensive. This formidable adver sary directed his first attacks against the metaphy sical principles which supported the whole struc ture of the Cartesian philosophy. He then pro ceeded still farther ; and in the place of the phy sical system of Des Cartes, substituted one that

G 3 resembled

XVII. SECT

S6 The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT, resembled not a little the natural philosophy of TL Epicurus, though far superior to it in solidity, "/ much more rational, consistent, and perfect, being founded, not on the illusory visions of fancy, but on the testimony of sense and the dictates of expe rience \m\. This new and sagacious observer of nature had not many followers, and his disciples were much less numerous than those of Des Car tes. But what he wanted in number, was suffi ciently compensated by the merit and reputation of those who adopted his philosophical system ; for he was followed by some of the most eminent men in Europe, by persons distinguished in the highest degree, by their indefatigable application, and their extensive knowledge, both of natural philosophy and mathematics. It is also observ able, that he had but few disciples in his own coun try; but among the English, who in his time were remarkable for their application to studies of a physical and mathematical kind, a consider able number adopted his philosophical system. Nay, it is remarkable, that even those eminent philosophers and divines, such as Whichcot, Gale, Cudworth, and More, who entered the lists with Hobbes, (whose doctrine came nearer to the principles of Gassendi than to the system of Des Cartes), and revived ancient Platonism in

order

£ m~] See his Disquisitio Metaphysica, sue Dubitationes et In- standee adversus Cartessi Mataphisicam, et Responsa, which are published in the third volume of his works, p. 283. — Ber- nier, a celebrated French physician, has given an accurate view of the philosophy of Gassendi in his abridgment of it, published in French at Lyons, in the year 1 684, in eight vo lumes in 1 2mo. This abridgment will give the reader a clearer account of this philosophy than even the works of Gassendi himself, in whicli his meaning is often expressed in an ambigu ous manner, and which are, besides loaded with superfluous erudition. The life of Gassendi, accurately written by Bou- gerelle, a priest of the oratory, was published at Paris in 1737. — See Biblioth. Francoise, fom. xxvii. p. 353.

TJie State of Learning and Philosophy. 87

order to crush under its weight the philosopher CENT. of Malmesbury, placed Gassendi and Plato in the same class, and explained the sentiments of, the latter in such a manner as to make them ap pear quite agreeable to the principles of the for mer [n\.

XXXIV. From this period must be dated that TWO lead- famous schism that divided the philosophical world ^£1°" into two great sects, which, though almost agreed sects, viz. concerning those points that are of the greatest ,{^^1 utility and importance in human life, differ wide- and Meta* ly about the principles of human knowledge, andphysicaU the fundamental points from whence the philoso pher must proceed in his search of truth. Of these sects the one may properly be called Meta physical, and the other Mathematical. The Meta physical sect follows the system of Des Cartes ; the Mathematical one directs its researches by the principles of Gassendi. The former looks upon truth as attainable by abstract reasoning ; the lat ter seeks after it by observation and experience. The follower of Des Cartes attributes little to the external senses, and much to meditation and dis cussion. The disciple of Gassendi, on the con trary, places little confidence in metaphysical dis cussion, and has principally recourse to the re ports of sense, and the contemplation of nature, The former, from a small number of abstract truths, deduce a long series of propositions in or der to arrive at a precise and accurate knowledge of God and nature, of body and spirit ; the latter admits these metaphysical truths, but at the same time denies the possibility of erecting, upon their basis, a regular and solid system of philosophy, G 4 without

\ji} See the Preface to the Latin translation of Cudworth's Intellectual System; as also, the Remarks that a •* added to that translation. (^ Dr. Mosheim is the author of that Translation and of these Remarks.

88 The State of Learning and Philosophy*

CENT, without the aid of assiduous observation and re- xvn. peate(j experiments, which are the most natural w_^/ and effectual means of philosophical progress and improvement. The one, eagle-like, soars with, an intrepid flight, to the first fountain of truth, and to the general relations and final causes of things ; and descending from thence, explains, by them, the various changes and appearances of na ture, the attributes and counsels of the Deity, the moral constitution and duties of man, the frame and structure of the universe. The other, more difficult and cautious, observes with attention, and examines with assiduity, the objects that are before his eyes; and arises gradually from them to the first cause, and the primordial principle of things, The Cartesians suppose, that many things are known by man with the utmost cerr tainty ; and hence their propensity to form their opinions and doctrines into a regular system. The followers of Gassendi consider man as in a state of ignorance with respect to an immense number of things, and, consequently, think it incumbent upon them to suspend their judgment in a multi tude of cases, until time and experience dispel their darkness ; and hence it is also, that they consider a system as an attempt of too adventurous a nature, and by no means proportioned to the narrow extent of human knowledge ; or, at least, they think, that the business of system-making ought to be left to the philosophers of future times, who, by joining together the observations, and ex perience of many ages, shall have acquired a more satisfactory and accurate knowledge of nature than has been yet attained.

H These dissensions and contests concerning the first principles of human knowledge, produced various debates upon other subjects of the utmost moment and importance ; such as, the nature of God, the essence of matter, the elements or consti tuent

The State of Learning and Philosophy. 89

tuent principles of bodies, the laws of motion, the CENT. manner in which the Divine Providence exerts it- XVIL self in the government of the world, the frame and ^ *\ structure of the universe, the nature, union, and joint operations of soul and body. If we consider attentively the profound and intricate nature of these subjects, together with the limits, debility, and imperfections of the human understanding, we shall see too much reason to fear, that these contests will last as long as the present state of man [o]. The wise and the good, sensible of this, will carry on such debates with a spirit of mildness and mutual forbearance; and knowing that differences in opinions are inevitable where truth is so difficult of access, will guard against that temerity with which too many disputants accuse their antagonists of irreligion and im piety [£>].

XXXV. All

\_o~] Voltaire published in the year 1740, at Amsterdam, a pamphlet, entitled, La Mctaphy tuque de Newton, ou Paral- Icle des Sentimcns de Newton et de Leibnitz, which, though su perficial and inaccurate, may, nevertheless be useful to those readers who have not application enough to draw from better sources, and are, nevertheless, desirous to know how much these two philosophical sects differ in their principles and te nets.

[/;] It is abundantly known that Des Cartes and his meta physical followers were accused by many of striking at the foundations of all religion; nor is this accusation entirely withdrawn even in our times. See in the miscellaneous works of Father Hardouin his Atheists Unmasked. Among these pretended Atheists, Des Cartes with his two famous disciples, Anthony le Grand, and Silvan Regis hold the first rank; nor is Father Malebranche, though he seems rather chargeable with fanaticism than atheism, exempted from a place in this odious list. It is true Hardouin, who gives so liberally a place in the atheistical class to these great men, was himself a visionary dreamer, whose judgment, in many cases, is little to be respected ; but it is also true, that, in the work now under consideration, he does not reason from his own whimsical notions, but draws all his arguments from those of the followers of Aristotle and Gassendi, who

have

90 The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT. XXXV. All those who had either adopted, xvii. without exception, the principles of Des Cartes, vITTJ^ or w^°' with0^ g°ing so far> h^ approved of The Meta- ^e method and rules laid down by him for the physical or investigation of truth, employed all their zeal and philosophy industry in correcting, amending, confirming, and improved illustrating, the Metaphysical species of philoso- gated with" phy '» an(^ ^le Dumber of its votaries was prodi- success, gious, particularly in France and in the United Provinces. But among the members of this philosophical sect there were some who aimed at the destruction of all religion, more especially Spinoza, and others, who, like Balthasar Becker [q]9 made use of the principles of Des Cartes, to overturn some doctrines of Christi anity, and to pervert others. This circumstance proved disadvantageous to the whole sect, and brought it into disrepute in many places. The Metaphysical philosophy fell, however, afterwards

into

have opposed, with the greatest success and acuteness, the Cartesian system. Even Voltaire, notwithstanding the mode ration with which he expresses himself, seems plainly enough to give his assent to the accusers of Des Cartes. On the other hand, it must be observed, that these accusers are cen sured in their turn by several modern metaphysicians. Gas sendi, for example, is charged by Arnauld with overturning the doctrine of the soul's immortality in his controversy with Des Cartes, and by Leibnitz with corrupting and destroying the whole system of natural religion. See Des Maizeaux, Recueil de diverses pieces sur la Philosophic, torn. ii. p. 166*. Leibnitz has also ventured to affirm, that Sir Isaac Newton and his followers rob the Deity of some of his most excellent attributes, and sap the foundations of natural religion. In short, the controversial writings on both sides are filled with rash and indecent reproaches of this kind.

fcf \jf[ See for a further account of the particular tenets and opinions of Becker, Sect. II. Part II. Chap. II. Sect. XXXV. of this century.

£5" * If Dr. Mosheim refers to the second edition of Des Maizeaux Recueil, the page is inaccurately quoted; for it is at page 155 of the vo lume above mentioned, that Gassendi is censured by Leibnitz. It may be further observed, that the censure is not conveyed in such strong terms as those employed by our historian. Leibnitz says, that Gassendi appeared to hesitate and waver too much concerning the nature of the soul, and the principles of natural religion.

Ttie State of Learning and Philosophy. 91

into better hands, and was treated with great CENT. wisdom and acuteness by Malebranche, a man XVIL of uncommon eloquence and subtilty ; and by ^_J^/ Leibnitz, whose name is consigned to immortality as one of the greatest geniuses that have appeared in the world [r~\. Neither of these great men, indeed, adopted all the principles and doctrines of Des Cartes; but they both approved, upon the whole, of his philosophical method, which they enlarged, amended, and improved, by several ad ditions and corrections, that rendered its proce dure more luminous and sure. This is more espe cially true of Leibnitz, who rejecting the sugges tions of fancy, seemed to follow no other guides than reason and judgment ; for Malebranche having received from nature a warm and exuberant imagination was too much ruled by its dictates, and was thus often imperceptibly led into the visionary regions of enthusiasm.

XXXVI. The Mathematical philosophy already The pro- mentioned, was much less studied and adopted Mathe°ml-e than the Metaphysical system, and its followers ticai sect, in Prance were very few in number. But it met with a favourable reception in Britain, whose phi losophers perceiving, in its infant and unfinished features, the immortal lines of Verulam's wis dom, snatched it from its cradle, in a soil where it was ready to perish, cherished it with parental

tenderness,

[V] For an ample and interesting account of Malebranche and Ills philosophy, see Fontenelle's Eloge dcs Acadcmiciens de I' 'Academic Royal? des Sciences, torn. i. p. 817- and for a view of the errors and defects of his metaphysical system, see Hardouin's Atheist umnasked, in his Oetivres Melees, p. 43. — Fontenelle has also given an account of the life and philosophical sentiments of Leibnitz in the work already quoted, vol. ii. p. 9 ; but a much more ample one has been published in German by Charles Gun- ther Lewis, in his history of the Leibnitlan Philosophy. However, the genius and philosophy of this great man are best to be learned from his letters to Kortholt, published at Leipsic in three

The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT, tenderness, and have still continued their zealous efforts to bring it to maturity and perfection. The Royal Society of London, which may be con sidered as the philosophical seminary of the na^ tion, took it under their protection, and have neither spared expence nor pains to cultivate and improve it, and to render it subservient to the purposes of life. It owed, more especially, a great part of its progress and improvement to the countenance, industry, and genius of that immor tal protector of science, the pious and venerable Mr. Boyle, whose memory will be ever precious to the worthy and the wise, the friends of reli gion, learning, and mankind. The illustrious names of Barrow, Wallis, and Locke, may also be added to the list of those who contributed to the progress of natural knowledge. Nor were the learned divines of the English nation (though that Order has often excited the complaints of philosophers, and been supposed to behold, with a jealous and suspicious eye, the efforts of philo sophy as dangerous to the cause of religion) less zealous than the other patrons of science in this noble cause. On the contrary, they looked upon the improvement of natural knowledge not only as innocent but of the highest utility and im portance ; as admirably adapted to excite and maintain in the minds of men a profound vene ration for the Supreme Creator and Governor of the world, and to furnish new supports to the cause of religion ; and also as agreeable both tQ the laws and the spirit of the Gospel, and to the sentiments of the primitive church. And hence it was that those doctors who in the lectures founded by Mr. Boyle, attacked the enemies of religion, employed in this noble and pious attempt the succours of philosophy with the most happy and triumphant success. But the immortal man, to .whose immense genius and indefatigable in dustry

The State of Learning and Philosophy. 9$

dustry philosophy owed its greatest improvements, CENT. and who carried the lamp of knowledge into paths XVH- of nature that had been unexplored before his ._ '^J, time, was Sir Isaac Newton [s], whose name was revered, and his genius admired, even by his warmest adversaries. This great man spent, with uninterrupted assiduity, the whole of a long life in correcting, digesting, and enlarging, the new philosophy, and in throwing upon it the light of demonstration and evidence, both by observ ing the laws of nature, and by subjecting them to the rules of calculation ; and thus he intro duced a great change into natural science, and brought it to a very high degree of perfection [/].

The

C<^ H Mr. Hume's account of this great man is extremely just, and contains some peculiar strokes that do honour to this elegant painter of minds. " In Newton, says he, this island ' may boast of having produced the greatest and rarest genius 1 that ever arose for the ornament and instruction of the spe- ' cies. Cautious in admitting no principles, but such as \vere ' founded in experiment ; but resolute to adopt every such ' principle, however new and unusual : From modesty igno- * rant of his superiority above the rest of mankind, and thence f less careful to accommodate his reasonings to common ap- ' prehensions : More anxious to merit, than acquire fame : ' He was from these causes, long unknown to the world, but his reputation, at last, broke out with a lustre, which scarce any writer during his own lifetime, had ever before attain ed. While Newton seemed to draw off the veil from some of the mysteries of nature, he shewed, at the same time the imperfections of the mechanical philosophy ; and thereby restored her ultimate secrets to that obscurity, in which they ever did, and ever will remain." £/] The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, as also the other writings, whether philosophical, mathematical, or theological, of this great man, are abundantly known. There is an elegant account of his life and literary philoso phical merit given by Fontenelle, in his Eloge des Academi- ciens de I' Academic Royale des Sciences, torn. ii. p. 293 — 323. — See also the Biblioth. Angloise, torn. xv. part II. p. 54-5, and Bibliotk. Raisonnec, torn. vi. part II. p. 478. $5* See more especially the late learned and ingenious Mr. Maclaurirts Ac count of Sir Isaac Ne?vton's Discoveries, &c.

94 The State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT. The English look upon it as an unquestionable xvn. proof Of the solidity and excellence of the "New-* *^*'^LJ tonian philosophy^ that its most eminent votaries were friends to religion, and have transmitted to posterity shining examples of piety and virtue ; while, on the contrary, the Cartesian or Metaphy sical system has exhibited, in its followers, many flagrant instances of irreligion, and some of the most horrid impiety.

Of the phi- XXXVII. The two famous philosophical sects l^hoPadopt now mentioned, deprived, indeed, all the ancient neither of systems of natural science, both of their credit and tems! Sys" their disciples ; and hence it might have been ex pected that they would have totally engrossed and divided between them the suffrages of the learn ed. But this was not the case; the liberty of thinking being restored by Des Cartes and Newton, who broke the fetters of prejudice, in which philosophical superstition had confined, in former times, the human understanding, a variety of sects sprung up. Some trusting in their supe^ rior genius and sagacity, and others, more re markable for the exuberance of their fancy than for the solidity of their judgment, pretended to strike out new paths in the unknown regions of nature, and new methods of investigating truth ; but the number of their disciples was small, and the duration of their inventions transitory, and therefore it is sufficient to have barely mentioned them. There was another sort of men, whom mediocrity of genius, or an indolent turn of mind, indisposed for investigating truth by the exertion of their own talents and powers, and who, terri fied at the view of such an arduous task, content ed themselves with borrowing from the different sects such of their respective tenets as appeared most remarkable for their perspicuity and solidity, rnore especially those concerning which all the

different

>ECT. I.

The State bf Learning and Philosophy. 9i

different sects were agreed. These they compiled CENT. and digested into a system, and pushed their in- 5*VIL quiries no further. The philosophers of this class , * are generally termed Eclectics. From these re markable differences of sentiment and system that reigned among the jarring sects, some persons, otherwise distinguished hy their acuteness and sa gacity, took occasion to represent truth as unat tainable by such a short-sighted being as man, and to revive the desperate and uncomfortable doctrine (shall I call it, or jargon), of the Scep tics, that had long been buried in that silence and oblivion it so justly deserved. The most emi nent of these cloudy philosophers were Sanches, a physician of Toulouse [w], de la Mothe le Vayer [re], Huet, bishop of Avranches [2], to whom we may add, without temerity, the famous

Bayle,

\jf\ There is still extant a famous book of this writer, en titled, DC eo quod nihil scitur, which, with the rest of his works and an account of his life, was published in 4to at Toulouse, in the year l636» — See Bayle's 'Dictionary, at the article Sanghez ; as also, Villemandi Scepiicismus debellatus, cap. iv. p. 32.

[w~] See Bayle's Dictionary, at the aricle Vayer.

Qof] Huet's book Concerning the Weakness of Human Reason, was published after his death, in French, at Amsterdam, in the year 1723, and lately in Latin. It appears, however, that this eminent writer had, long before the composition of this book, recommended the sceptical method of conducting philosophical researches, and looked upon this method as the best adapted to establish the truth of Christianity upon solid foundations. See the Commentaries de Rebus ad eum pcrtinenlibus, lib. iv. p. 230. and Demonslrat, Evangelicos P reef at. sect. iv. p. 9. where he commends their manner of proceeding, who, by scep tical arguments, invalidate all philosophical principles, before they begin to prove the truth of Christianity to those who doubt of its evidence. It is well known that the Jesuits, who were particularly favoured by Huet, have, on many occasions, employed this method to throw dust into the eyes of the Pro testants, and thus lead them blindfold into the Romish com munion : and that they still continue to practise the same in sidious instrument of seduction.

96 Tlie State of Learning and Philosophy.

CENT. Bayle [«/], who, by the erudition and wit that abound in his voluminous works, has acquired such a distinguished reputation in the Republic of Letters.

\_y~\ Every thing relating to the life and sentiments of Bayle is abundantly and universally known. His life composed by Des Maizeaux, was published in the year 1732, at the Hague, in two volumes 8vo. — The scepticism of this insidious and se ducing writer was unmasked and refuted, with great learning and force of argument by the late Mr. Crouza, in a voluminous French work entitled, Tra'rie du Pyrrhonisme, of which Mr. Formey has given an elegant and judicious abridgment under the title of Triumphe de I' Evidence.

[ 97 ]

SECTION II.

PART I.

The History of the more Ancient Churches.

CHAP. I.

Containing the History of the Romish Church.

j^ TTIPPOLITO ALDOBEANDINF, under the pa- CENT.

JLl pal name of Clement VIII. continued to g^11^ rule the church of Rome at the commencement of pART x. this century, having been elected to that high *-^v— dignity towards the conclusion of the preceding The one. The eminent abilities and insidious dexte- ~ yity of this pontiff, as also his ardent desire of ex-' tinguishing the Protestant religion, and extending the limits of the Romish church, are universally acknowledged; but it is much questioned, whe ther his prudence was equal to the arduous nature of his station as pontiff, and the critical circum stances of an incidental kind that arose during his administration [a]. He was succeeded in the year 1605 by Leo XL of the house of Medicis, who died a few weeks after his election ; and thus left the papal chair open to Camillo Borghesc, who filled it under the denomination of Paul V. This pontiff was of a haughty and violent spirit,

VOL. v. H jealous

C3" M This pontiff had an edition of the Vulgate published, which was very different from that of Pope Sixtus; and this is one of the many instances of the contrariety of opinions that has prevailed amongst the infallible heads of the church of Rome.

98 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, jealous to excess of his authority, and insatiably xvu. furjous jn the execution of his vengeance upon

SECT. II. i T j i . j i

PART i. such as encroached on his pretended prerogative, V— Y— ' as appears in a striking manner, by his rash and unsuccessful contest with the Venetians [6], — . Gregory XV. \_c]> who was raised to the pontifi cate in the year 16211, seemed to be of a milder disposition, though he was not less defective than his predecessor in equity and clemency towards those that had separated themselves from the church of Rome. An unjust severity against the friends of the Reformation is, indeed, the general and in evitable character of the Roman pontiffs ; for,

without

£3° [b~] This contest arose, partly from the two edicts of the Republic of Venice for preventing the unnecessary increase of religious buildings, and the augmentation of the enormous wealth of the clergy ; and partly from the prosecution of two ecclesiastics for capital crimes, who had not been delivered up to the Pope at his requisition. It is not surprising that these proceedings of the Venetians, however just and equitable, should inflame the ambitious fury of a pontiff who called him self Vice- God, the Monarch of Christendom, and the Supporter of Papal Omnipotence. Accordingly, Paul laid all the domi nions of the Republic under an interdict ; while the Venetians, on the other hand, declared that unjust and tyrannical man date null and void ; and banished from their territory the Jesuits and Capuchins, who had openly disobeyed the laws of the state. Preparations for war were making on both sides, when an ac commodation, not very honourable to the Pope, was brought about by the mediation of Henry IV. of Trance. This con troversy between the Pope and the Venetians produced several important pieces, composed by Sarpi on the side of the Re public, and by Baronius and Bellarmine in behalf of the pon tiff. The controversy concerning the nature and limits of the Pope's pretended supremacy is judiciously stated, and the papal pretensions accurately examined, by Sarpi, in his history of this tyrannical interdict, which, in Italian, occupies the fourth volume of his works, and was translated into Latin by "Wil liam Bedell, of Cambridge. — It was Paul V. that dishonoured his title of Holiness, and cast an eternal stain upon his. itifal- lib'dity, by an express approbation of the doctrine of Suarez, the Jesuit, in defence of the murder of kings.

(fci3 [V] His family-name was Alexander Ludivisio.

Chap. I. The History of the Eomish Church. 99

without this, they would be destitute of the pre- CENT. dominant and distinctive mark of the papacy. A pope with sentiments of toleration and charity towards those who refuse a blind submission his opinions and decisions, is a contradiction in terms. Urban VIII. whose family name was Maffei Barberini, and who, by his interest in the conclave, ascended the papal throne in the year 1623, was a man of letters, an eloquent writer, an elegant poet, and a generous and mu nificent patron of learning and genius [d] ; but nothing can equal the rigour and barbarity with which he treated all that bore the name of Pro testants. He may be indeed considered as a good and equitable ruler of the church, when compared with Innocent X. of the family of Pamfili, who succeeded him in the year 1644. — This unworthy pontiff, to a profound ignorance of all those things which it was necessary for a Christian bishop to know, joined the most shame ful indolence and the most notorious profligacy. For he abandoned his person, his dignity, the ad ministration of his temporal affairs, and the go- H 2 verument

[jcT] See Leoni Allatii Apes Urlance, of which Fabricius pub lished a second edition at Hamburg. This little work is a sort of Index, or list, of all the learned and eminent men that adorn ed Rome, under the pontificate of Urban VIII. and experien ced the munificence and liberality of that pontiff; and their number is far from being small. The Latin poems of Urban, •which are not without a considerable portion of wit and ele gance, have passed through several editions. (^7 These poems •were composed while he was yet a cardinal. After his eleva tion to the pontificate, he published a remarkable edition of the Romish Breviary, and several Bulls ; among which, that which abolishes the Order of Female Jesuits, and certain festivals, those relating to image-worship and to the condemnation of Jansenius' Augustinus, and that which confers the title of Eminence upon the cardinal-legates, and the three ecclesiasti cal electors, and the grand master of Malta, are the most worthy of notice,

SECT. II. PART I.

100 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, vernment of the church, to the disposal of Donna Olympia [#], a woman of corrupt morals, insa tiable avarice, and boundless ambition [f]. His ' zealous endeavours to prevent the peace of West* phalirr, however odious they may appear, when considered in themselves, ought not to be reckon ed among his personal crimes, since it is to be supposed, that any other pontiff, in his place, would have made the same attempts without he sitation or remorse. He was succeeded in the papal chair in the year 1655, by Fabio Chigi, who assumed the title of Alexander VII. and who, though less odious than his predecessor, was nevertheless possessed of all the pernicious quali ties that are necessary to constitute a true pope, and without which the papal jurisdiction and ma jesty canno the maintained. The other parts of his character are drawn much to his disadvan tage, by several ingenious and eminent writers of the Romish church, who represent him as a man of a mean genius, unequal to great or difficult un dertakings, full of craft and dissimulation, and chargeable with the most shameful levity and the greatest inconsistency of sentiment and conduct [g],

The

C33 [f~] This Donna Olympia Maldachini was his brother's widow with whom he had lived, in an illicit commerce, before his elevation to the pontificate, in which his Holiness continued afterwards.

[/] See the Memoires du Cardinal de Rhetz, torn. iii. p. 102. torn. iv. p. 12. of the last edition published at Geneva. — For an account of the, disputes between this pontiff and the French, see Bougeant, Histoires fie la paix de Westphalia, torn. iv. p. 56.

[V] See Memoires du Cardinal de Rhetz, torn. iv. p. 16. 77- — Memoires de M. Joly, torn. ii. p. 186. 210. 237. — Arcken- holtz, Memoires de la Reine Christine, torn. ii. pt 125. The craft and dissimulation attributed to this pontiff really consti tuted an essential p.-irt of his character ; but it is not strictly true that he was a m*n of a mean genius, or unequal to great and difficult undertakings. He was a man of learning and dis covered very eminent abilities at the treaty of Munster, where

he

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 101

The two Clements IX. and X. who were elected CENT. successively to the papacy in the year 1668 and 1669, were concerned in few transactions that deserve to be transmitted to posterity [//]. was not the case of Benedict Odeschalci, who is known in the list of pontiffs by the denomina tion of Innocent XI. and was raised to that high dignity in the year 1677 [*']. This respectable pontiff, acquired a very high and permanent re putation by the austerity of his morals, his un common courage and resolution, his dislike of the grosser superstitions that reigned in the Ro mish church, his attempts to reform the manners of the clergy, and to abolish a considerable num ber of those fictions and frauds that dishonour their ministry, and also by other solid and emi nent virtues. But it appeared manifestly by his example that those pontiffs, who respect truth, and act from virtuous and Christian principles, may, indeed, form noble plans, but will never be able to bring them into execution, or at least H 3 to

lie was sent in the character of Nuncio. Some writers relate, that while he was in Germany, he had formed the design of abjuring Popery, and embracing the Protestant Religion ; but was deterred from the execution of this purpose by the ex ample of his cousin count Pompey, who was poisoned at Lyons, on his way to Germany, after he had abjured the Romish i'aith. These writers add, that Chigi, was confirmed in his religion by his elevation to the cardinalship. See Bayle, Nouvelles de la Repub. des Lettres, Octob. 1688.

C3" \Jl~\ Clement IX. was of the family of Rospigliosi, and the family-name of Clement X. was Altier', see Memoircs de la Heine Christine, torn. ii. p. 126. 131. There are upon re cord several transactions of Clement IX. that do him honour, and prove his dislike of nepotism, and his love of peace and justice.

C3" D'H Some maintain, and with the strongest appearance of truth, that this pontiff had formerly been a soldier, though this report is treated as groundless by Count Turrezonico, in his dissertation De siippositiis nnlitaribus Stipendiis I3e?ied. Odcschalchi. See an interesting account of this pontiff in Bayle's Dictionary, at the article Innocent XI.

102 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, to give them that measure of stability and per- XVIL faction, which is the ohject of their wishes. By his example and administration it appeared, that the wisest institutions and the most judicious esta blishments, will be unable to stand firm, for any considerable time, against the insidious stratagems, or declared opposition of a deluded multitude, who are corrupted by the prevalence of licentious morals, whose imaginations are impregnated with superstitious fictions and fables, whose credulity is abused by pious frauds, and whose minds are nourished, or rather amused, with vain rites and senseless ceremonies [k~\. Be that as it may, all the wise and salutary regulations of Innocent XL •were suffered to go almost to ruin by the crimi nal indolence of Peter Ottoboni, who was raised to the head of the Romish church, in the year 1689, and assumed the name of Alexander VIII. A laudable attempt was made to revive them by Innocent XII. a man of uncommon merit and eminent talents whose name was Pignatelli, and who, in the year 1691, succeeded Alexander in the papal chair ; nor were his zealous endeavours absolutely destitute of success. But it was also his fate to learn, by experience, that the most prudent and resolute pontiffs are unequal to such an arduous task, such an Herculean labour, as the reformation of the church and court of Rome; nor were the fruits of this good pope's wise administration enjoyed long after his de cease.

[T] See Journal Universal, torn. i. p. 441. torn. vi. p. 306. The present Pope, Benedict XIV. * attempted, in the year 1743, the canonization of Innocent XL; but the king of France, instigated by the Jesuits, has always opposed this de sign, and that more especially on account of the misunder standings that always subsisted between Lewis XIV. and In nocent, of which more hereafter.

* This note was written during the life of Benedict XIV,

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Ol^rcfi. 103

cease [/]. The pontiff, whose reign concluded CENT. this century, was John Francis Albani, who was *VII> raised to the head of the llomish church in the p'_Ain', , year 1699, and assumed the name of Clement ^^, XI. Pie surpassed in learning the whole college of cardinals, and was inferior to none of fie preceding pontiffs in sagacity, lenity, and a de sire, at least to govern well; but he was very far from opposing, with a proper degree of vi gour and resolution, the inveterate corruptions and superstitious observances of the church over which he presided ; on the contrary, he inconsi derately aimed at, what he thought, the honour and advantage of the church (that is, the glory and interests of its pontiff,) by measures that proved detrimental to both ; and thus shewed, in a striking example, that popes, even of the best sort, may fall imperceptibly into the greatest mis takes, and commit the most pernicious blunders, through an imprudent zeal for extending their jurisdiction, and augmenting the influence and lustre of their station [111]. \

H 4 II. The

p] For an account of the character, morals, and election of Innocent XII. see the Letters of Cardinal Noris, published in the fifth volume of his Works, p. 362. 365.

£wf] In the year 1752, there appeared at Padua, a Life of Clement XL composed in French, by the learned and elo quent Mr. Lafitau, bishop of Sisteron, in two volumes 8vo. The same year Mr. Reboulet, Chancellor of Avignon, pub lished in two volumes in 4to, his Histoire de Clement XL These two productions, and more especially the latter, are written with uncommon elegance ; but they both abound with historical errors, which the French writers, in general, are at too little pains to avoid. Besides, they are both composed ra ther in the strains of panegyric, than of history. An attentive reader will, however, see without pain, even in these panegy rics, that Clement XL notwithstanding his acknowledged sa gacity and prudence, took several rash and inconsiderate steps, in order to augment the power, and multiply the preroga tives of the Roman pontiffs ; and thus, through his own te* merity, involved himself in various perplexities.

104

CENT.

XVII. SECT. II. PART. I.

The at tempts made by the church of Rome, to oppress the Protes tants and ruin their cause.

The History of the Romish CliurcJi.

II. The incredible pains that were taken by the pontiffs and clergy of the Romish Church to spread their doctrine and to erect their dominion among the nations that lay in the darkness of Paganism, have been already mentioned. We are, therefore, at present, to confine our narration to the schemes they laid, the cabals they formed, and the commotions they excited, with an unin terrupted and mischievous industry, in order to recover the possessions and prerogatives they had lost in Europe, to oppress the Protestants, and to extinguish the light of the glorious Reformation. Various were the stratagems and projects they formed for these purposes. The resources of ge nius, the force of arms, the seduction of the most alluring promises, the terrors of the most formi dable threatenings, the subtle wiles of contro versy, the influence of pious, and often of impious frauds, the arte of dissimulation, in short, all pos sible means fair and disingenuous, were employed for the destruction of the Reformed churches, but in most cases without success. The plan of a dreadful attack upon the friends of the Refor mation had been, for some time, laid in secret, and the bigotted and persecuting house of Austria was pitched upon to put it in execution. How ever, as injustice is seldom so insolent as not to seek for some pretext to mask, or at least to di minish its deformity, so the church of Rome en deavoured before-hand to justify the persecution, of which the flame was ready to break out. For this purpose, the pens of the perfidious and learn ed Scioppius [n\, of the Jesuits Tanner, Possevin,

Hager,

(jCf1 £»] Scioppius seems rather to merit the titles of male volent, and furious, that that of perfidious, unless his turning papist be considered by Dr. Mosheim as an instance of per fidy. This is the intemperate and odious satirist who was caned by the servants of the English ambassador at Madrid, for the invectives he had thrown out against king James I. in a book which was burnt by the hands of the common hang man a£ Paris.

Chap. I. Tfie History of the Romish Church. 105

Hager, Hederic, and Forer, jurists of Dilltgen, CENT. were employed to represent the treaty of peace, made between Charles V. and the Protestants of Germany, as unjust, null, and even rendered void by the Protestants themselves, by their departing from, or at least, perverting, by various changes and modifications, the confession of Augsburg [o]. This injurious charge was proved groundless by several Lutheran doctors, who, of their own ac cord, defended their communion against this in stance of popish calumny ; but it was also refuted by public authority, even by the express order of John George, elector of Saxony. The task was committed to Matthew Hoe, who, in the years 1628, and 1631, published, in two volumes, an accurate and laborious defence of the Protestants, entitled Defensio Pupillce Evangelicce. The mouth of calumny was not stopped by these per formances. The accusers continued their clamours, multiplied their libels, and had recourse to the suc cours of indecent raillery and sarcastical wit, to cover as well as they were able, the striking defects of a bad cause. On the other hand, the Lutheran writers exerted themselves in exposing the so phistry, and refuting the arguments and invectives of their adversaries.

III. The first flames of that religious war, which the Roman pontiffs proposed to carry on*™1^ by the arms of the Austrians and Spaniards, their Bohemia, servile and bigotted instruments, broke out in Austria, where, about the commencement of this century, the friends of the Reformation were cruelly persecuted and oppressed by their Roman- Catholic adversaries [£>]. The solemn treaties

and

[o] See Christ. Aug. Salig, Hlstor. Attgust. Confcssio?ris, torn. i. lib. iv. cap. iii. p. 768.

Raupachius, in his Austria Euangelica (a German

work

106 The History of the Romish CliurcJi.

CENT, and conventions, by which the religious liberty and civil rights of these Protestants had been se-

PART i! cured, were trampled upon, and violated in the ^ most shocking manner ; nor had these unhappy sufferers resolution, vigour, or strength sufficient to maintain their privileges. The Bohemians, who were involved in the same vexations, pro ceeded in a different manner. Perceiving plainly that the votaries of Home aimed at nothing less than to deprive them of that religious liberty that had been purchased by the blood of their ances tors, and so lately confirmed to them by an im perial edict, they came to a resolution of opposing force to force, and of taking up arms to defend themselves against a set of men, whom, in conse quence of the violence they offered to conscience, they could look upon in no other light than as the enemies of their souls. Accordingly a league was formed by the Bohemian Protestants, and they began to avenge with a great spirit and re solution, the injuries that had been committed against their persons, their families, their religion, and their civil rights and privileges. But it must be confessed, that, in this just attempt to defend what was dear to them as men and Christians, they lost sight of the dictates of equity and mode ration, and carried their resentment beyond the bounds, both of reason and religion. Their adver saries were struck with terror at a view of their intrepidity, but were not dismayed. The Bohe mians,

work with a Latin title), has given an accurate account of this persecution and these commotions. The same learned and worthy author had formed the design of publishing an au thentic and circumstantial relation of the sufferings of the Protestants in Stiria, Moravia, and Corinthia, with an ac count of the perfidious snares that were laid for them, the whole drawn from unexceptionable records ; but death pre vented the execution of this design.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 107

mians, therefore, apprehending still further op- CENT. position and vexations from bigotry, animated by Jj^J1^ a spirit of vengeance, renewed their efforts to PART' ,/ provide for their security. The death of the em- s^y^ peror Matthias, which happened in the year 1619, furnished them, as they thought, a fair op portunity of striking at the root of the evil, and removing the source of their calamities, by choos ing a sovereign of the reformed religion ; for they considered themselves as authorized by the ancient laws and customs of the kingdom, to re ject any that pretended to the throne by virtue of an hereditary right, and to demand a prince, whose title to the crown should be derived from the free suffrages of the states. Accordingly, Frederick V. elector Palatine, who professed the Reformed religion, was, in the year 1619, cho sen king of Bohemia, and solemnly crowned at Prague [</].

IV. This bold step, from which the Bolie- ^Bohe- mians expected such signal advantages, proved 1 them a source of complicated misfortunes. Its consequences were fatal to their new sovereign, and to their own liberties and privileges; for by it they were involved in the most dreadful cala mities, and deprived of the free exercise of the Protestant religion, the security of which was the ultimate end of all the measures they had pur sued. Frederick was defeated, before Prague, by the Imperial army, in the year 1620, and by this unfortunate battle was not only deprived of his new crown, but also of his hereditary domi nions. Reduced thus to the wretched condition

of

[<f\ Besides Caroli and Jage.ru s, who have composed the Ecclesiastical History of this Century, see Burch. Gotth. Struvii Syntagma Histories Germa?iica, p. 1487, 1510, 1523, 1538 ; as also the writers \vhich he recommends. See also the Histoire de Louis XIII. composed by the learned and accurate Le Vassor, torn. iii. p. 223.

PART I.

108 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, of an exile, he was obliged to leave his fruitful XV1L territories, and his ample treasures, to the merci- L less discretion of the Austrians and Bavarians, who plundered and ravaged them with the most rapa cious barbarity. Tfre defeat of this unfortunate prince was attended with dreadful consequences to the Bohemians, and more especially to those who, from a zeal for religious liberty and the interests of the Reformation, had embarked in his cause. Some of them were committed to a perpetual prison, others banished for life ; several had their estates and possessions confiscated ; many were put to death, and the whole nation was obliged, from that fatal period, to embrace the religion of the victor, and bend their unwilling necks under the yoke of Rttme. The triumph of the Austri ans would neither have been so sudden nor so complete, nor would they have been in a condi tion to impose such rigorous and despotic terms on the Bohemians, had they not been powerfully assisted by John George I. elector of Saxony, who, partly from a principle "of hatred towards the Reformed [r], and partly from considerations of a political kind, reinforced with his troops the imperial army [$]. This invasion of the Palatinate

was

C3" [/] By the Reformed, as has been already observed, we are to understand the Calvinists, and also, in general, all Protestants that are not of the Lutheran persuasion. And here we see a Lutheran elector drawing his sword to support the cause of popery and persecution against a people gene rously struggling for the Protestant Religion, and the rights of conscience.

(Vj See the Commeniarii di Bella Bohemico-Germamco, ab A. C. 1617 ad A. 1630, in 4to.-— Abraham Scultet, Narra* tio Apologetica de Curricula Vitce suce, p. 86. — It is well known, that the Roman Catholics, and more especially Martin Be-, can, a Jesuit, persuaded Matthew Hoe, who was an Aus trian by birth, and the elector's chaplain, to represent to his prince the cause of the Elector Palatine (which .was the cause of the Reformed Religion) as not only unjust, but also as de trimental to the interests of Luthe.ranism, and to recommend

to

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 109

was the occasion of that long and bloody war, CENT.

XVII. SCT. II PART I.

that was so fatal to Germany, and in which the

* I • 1 9 y » S I'- ' I . II*

greatest part of the princes 01 Jburope were, one way or another, unhappily engaged. It began by a confederacy formed between some German powers and the king of Denmark, in order to assert the rights of the elector Palatine, unjustly excluded from his dominions, against the despo tic proceedings of the emperor. The confede rates maintained, that the invasion of Bohemia, by this unhappy prince, was no just subject of offence to the emperor ; and that the house of Austria, whose quarrel the emperor was not obliged by any means to adopt, was alone the sufferer in this case. However that may have been, the progress and issue of the war were unfavourable to the allies.

V. The success of the imperial arms filled the The pro- votaries of Popery and Borne with the transports of joy and exultation, and presented to Bohemian their imaginations the most flattering prospects. war* They thought that the happy period was now approaching, when the whole tribe of heretics, that had withdrawn their necks from the papal yoke, should either perish by the sword, or be reduced under the dominion of the church. The empe ror himself seemed to have imbibed no small portion of this odious spirit, which was doubly prepared, to convert or destroy. The flame of ambition that burned within him, was nourished by the suggestions of bigotry. Hence he au daciously

to him the cause and interests of the House of Austria. See Unschuldige Nachrict t A. 171-7. p. 8.38. £3* What Dr. Mosheim observes here may be true ; but then it is as true that Mat thew Hoe must have been a great fool, or a great knave, to listen to such insinuations, not only on account of their glar ing absurdity, but also considering the person ^ from whom they came. This is the samo Hoe that is mentioned above as u learned defender of the Lutheran

PART I.

110 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, daciously carried his arms through a great part XVIL of Germany, suffered his generals to vex with im- ' punity, those princes and states which refused a blind obedience to the court of Rome, and shewed plainly, by all his proceedings, that a scheme had been laid for the extinction of the Germanic liber ty, civil and sacred. The elector of Saxony's zealous attachment to the emperor, which he had abundantly discovered by his warm and ungene rous opposition to the unfortunate Frederick, to gether with the lamentable discord that reigned among the German princes, persuaded the papal faction, that the difficulties which seemed to op pose the execution of their project, were far from being invincible. Accordingly, the persons con cerned in this grand enterprize began to act their respective parts. In the year 1629, Ferdinand II. to give some colour of justice to this religi ous war, issued out the terrible restitution-edict, by which the Protestants were ordered to restore to the church of Rome all the possessions they had become masters of in consequence of the religious peace, concluded in the preceding century [/]. This edict was principally owing to the sugges tions of the Jesuits. That greedy and ambitious Order claimed a great part of these goods and possessions as a recompence due to their labours in the cause of religion ; and hence arose a warm contest between them and the ancient and real proprietors [u]. This contest indeed was decided by the law of force. It was the depopulating soldier, who, sword in hand, gave weight and au thority to the imperial edict, wresting out of the

hands

\T\ See for an illustration of this matter, the authors men tioned by Struvius, in his Syntagma Histor. Germanics, p, 3 553.

• \_u~\ See Chris. Ang. Salig, Histor. August. Confessionis, torn. i. lib. iv. cap, iii. sect. xxv. p. 810.

XVII. SECT. II.

PART

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. Ill

hands of the lawful possessor, without form of CENT. process, whatever the llomish priests and monks thought proper to claim, and treating the inno cent and plundered sufferers with all the severity that the most barbarous spirit of oppression and injustice could suggest [i;].

VI. Germany groaned under these dismal scenes Gustavus of tumult and oppression, and looked about succour in vain. The enemy encompassed her on all sides, and none of her princes seemed quali fied to stand forth as the avenger of her injuries, or the assertor of her rights. Some were re- Tho con strained from appearing in her cause by the sug- gestions of bigotry, others by a principle of fear, years, and others again by an ungenerous attention to their own private interest, which choked in their breasts all concern for the public good. An il lustrious hero, whose deeds even envy was obliged to revere, and whose name will descend with glory to the latest ages, came forth, neverthe less, at this critical season ; Gustavus Adolphus took the field, and maintained the cause of the Germanic liberties against the oppression and

tyranny

(J^P [V] When the consequences of these iniquitous and bar barous proceedings were represented to this Emperor, and he \vas assured that the country must be utterly ruined, in case the Bohemians, rendered desperate by his enormous cruelty ^nd oppression, should exert themselves in defence of their li berties, and endeavour to repel force by force ; he is reported to have answered, with great zeal and calmness, Malumus reg- num. vadatum, quam damnaium. See the Historia Persecniionum Ecc/csice Bohemica*, &c. p. 152, a work published (probably in Holland, as would seem by the type) in the year 1648, in 24to. This little book contains an ample recital of the deplorable effects of lawless power, in human bigotry and blood-thirsty zeal ; and proves, by numberless facts, that Dr. Mosheim hacj the strongest evidences for the account he gives of Ferdinand and his missionaries. It is impossible to reflect upon the san guinary manner of such converters, without expressing, at the same time a generous detestation and abhorrence of their un* just and violent proceedings. N.

112 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, tyranny of the house of Austria. At the earnest request of the French court, which beheld, with uneasiness, the overgrown power of that aspiring house, he set sail for Germany, in the year 1629, with a small army ; and, hy his repeated victo ries, hlasted, in a short time, the sanguine hopes which the pope and emperor had entertained of suppressing the Protestant religion in the empire. These hopes, indeed, seemed to revive in the year 1632, when this glorious assertor of Germa nic liberty fell in the battle of Lutmn [w] ; hut this unspeakable loss was, in some measure, made lip in process of time, by the conduct of those who succeeded Gustavus at the head of the Swedish army. And, accordingly, the war was obstinately carried on in bleeding Germany, du ring many years, with various success, until the exhausted treasures of the contending parties, and the pacific inclinations of Christina, the daughter and successor of Gustavus, put an end to these desolations, and brought on a treaty of peace.

The peace VII. Thus, after a war of thirty years, carried on with the most unrelenting animosity and ar dour, the wounds of Germany were closed and the drooping states of Europe were revived, in the year 1648, by the peace of Westphalia, so called from the cities of Munster and Omaburg, where the negociations were held, and that famous trea ty concluded. The Protestants, indeed, did not derive from this treaty all the privileges they claimed, nor all the advantages they had in view ;

for

[wf| See Arckenholtz, Memoires de la Eelne Christine, torn, i. p. 7 — 20. in which there are many very interesting anec dotes relating to the life, exploits, and death of Gustavus. The learned compiler of these Memoirs has also thrown much light upon this period, and of the peace that terminated this long and dreadful war.

Chap. I. TJic History of the Romish Church, US

for the emperor,, among other less important in- CENT. stances of obstinacy, absolutely refused to re- J5?^L instate the Bohemian and Austrian Protestants in P^RT r/ their religious privileges, or to restore the Upper ^^^^^ Palatinate to its ancient and lawful proprietor* But they, nevertheless, obtained by this peace> privileges and advantages which the votaries of Rome beheld with much displeasure and uneasi ness ; and it is unquestionably evident, that the treaty of Westphalia gave a new and remarkable degree of stability to the Lutheran and Reformed churches in Germany. By this treaty the peace of Augsburg^ which the Lutherans had obtained from Charles V. in the preceding century* was firmly secured against all the machinations and stra tagems of the court of Rome ; by it the Restitution- edict, which commanded the Protestants to restore to the Romish church the ecclesiastical revenues and lands they had taken possession of after that peace, was abrogated, and both the contending parties confirmed in the perpetual and uninter rupted possession of whatever they had occupied in the beginning of the year 1624. It would be entering into a very long detail, were we to enu merate the advantages that accrued to the Protes tant princes from this treaty [#]« All this was VOL. v. i a source

[V] An account of this whole matter, sufficient to satisfy the curiosity of the most inquisitive reader, may be found in that most elaborate and excellent work, compiled by the very learn ed and judicious John Godfrey de Mej'ern, under the following title : Ada Pads Westphaliae ct Execittionis ejns Norimbcrgensis. See also the more compendious, though valuable work of Ada- mi, bishop of Hierapofis, entitled, lidatio Historica de Pacifi- catione Osnab? ugo Monasteriensi ; of which the illustrious au thor published a new edition at Leipsick, in the year 1737, more accurate and ample than the preceding one. We must not omit here the ingenious Father Bougeant's elegant history of this treaty, which though chiefly drawn from the papers of the French ambassadors, is, nevertheless, generally speaking, composed with accuracy, impartiality and candour ; it was published at Paris, in the year 1746, in six volumes in Svo> under the title of Hisloire ck la Paix dc Westphalie.

11 4 The History of the Romish CJmrch.

CENT, a source of vexation to the court of Rome, and XVIL made its pontiff feel the severest pangs of disap* P0"1^ ambition. He, accordingly, used various stratagems, without being very scrupulous in the choice, in order to annul this treaty, or elude its effects ; but his attempts were unsuccessful, since neither the emperor, nor the princes that had embarked in this cause, thought it adviseable to involve themselves anew in the tumults of war, whose issue is so uncertain, and whose most fatal effects they had lately escaped with so much dif ficulty. The treaty, therefore, was executed in all its parts; and all the articles that had been agreed upon at Munster and Osnaburg were con firmed and ratified, in the year 1650, at Nurem* burg [?/].

The Pro- VIII. After this period, the Court of Rome

le^ecUnd an^ ^s creatures were laid under a considerable

persecuted degree of restraint. They did not any longer

and^tTvo- dare to make war in an open and public manner

taries. upon the Protestants, since the present state of

things blasted all the hopes they had fondly en

tertained of extinguishing the light of the reforma

tion, by destroying, or reducing under their ghost

ly yoke the princes and states that had encouraged

and protected it in their territories. But where-

ever they could exert the spirit of persecution with

impunity, there they oppressed the Protestants in

the most grievous manner, and in defiance of the

most solemn conventions, and of the most sacred

obligations, encroached upon their rights, pri

vileges, and possessions. Thus in Hungary, dur

ing

C.y] P°Pe Innocent X. opposed to this treaty of peace, in the year 1651, a flaming Bull; on which Hornbeck pub lished at Utrecht, in 1652, an ample and learned commentary, entitled, Examen Bullce Papa/is, qua Innocenlius X. abrogare nitiur Pacem Germanice. This Bull might, perhaps, have produced some effect upon the Emperor and his allies, had it been properly gilded.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 115

ing the space of ten years [2], both Lutherans CENT. and Calvinists were involved in an uninterrupted XVIL series of the most cruel calamities and vexations ^^T "' [a]. The injuries and insults they suffered, at s— y^x the hands of many orders of men, and more espe cially of the Jesuits, both before and after the period now under consideration, are not to be numbered. In Poland, all those who ventured to differ from the Pope, found by a bitter expe rience, during the whole course of this century, that no treaty or convention that tended to set bounds to the authority or rapacity of the church, Was held sacred, or even regarded at Rome. For many of these were ejected out of their schools, deprived of their churches, robbed of their goods and possessions under a variety of perfidious pre texts; nay, frequently condemned to the most severe and cruel punishments, without having been even chargeable with the appearance of a crime [6]. The remains of the Waldenses, that lived in the vallies of Piedmont, were persecuted often with the most inhuman cruelty (and more especially in the years 1632, 1655, and 1685,) on account of their magnanimous and stedfast at tachment to the religion of their ancestors ; and this persecution was carried on with all the hor rors of fire and sword by the Dukes of Savoy [c]. i 2 In

|Yf From 1671 to 1681.

Qa] See Historia Diplomatica de Statu Religionis Evange* ficce in Hungaria, p. 69. Pauli Debrezeni Huloria Ecclesie. Reformala in Himgaria, lib. ii. p. 447. — Schelhornius, in Museo Helvetico, torn. vii. p. 46 — 90.

[7>] See Ad. Regenvolschii Historia Ecclesice Sclavonic?, lib. ii. cap. xv. p. 216, 235, 253. — The grievances which the Dissenters from the Church of Rome suffered in Pola?td after Regenvolcius, may be learned from various Memorials that have been published in our times.

(jTj See Gilles Hisloirc Ecclesiastique des Eglises Vaudoises, published at Gqwv* ia 4to, in the yea* 1G56, chap, xlviii.

116 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT. In Germany, the same spirit of bigotry and perse* XVIL cution produced almost every where flagrant acts SPART I1* of injustice, The infractions of the famous treaty v^Y^/ above mentioned, and of the Germanic liberty that was founded upon it, would furnish matter for many volumes [d ] ; and all these infractions were owing to a preposterous and extravagant zeal for augmenting the authority, and extending the jurisdiction of the Church of Rome. And, indeed, as long as that church and its assuming pontiff shall persist in maintaining that they have a right to extend their lordly sceptre over all the churches of the Christian world, so long must those who have renounced their authority, but are more or less within their reach, despair of enjoying the inestimable blessings of security and peace. They will always be considered as rebellious subjects, against whom the greatest acts of severity and violence are lawful.

banished"8 IX* ^e zealous instruments of the Court of outofC Rome accomplished, at length, in this century, fhpeaipr*lld what had often been attempted without success, by delivering Spain from the infidelity of the ^oors' anc^ France from the heresy of the Protes tants. The posterity of the Moors or Saracens, who had formerly been masters of a great part of Spain, had hitherto lived in that kingdom mixed with the other inhabitants of the country, and their number was still considerable. They were Christians, at least in their external profession and manners ; industrious also, and inoffensive ; and upon the whole good and useful subjects : But they were grossly suspected of a secret propensity to the doctrine of Mahomet, which was the reli gion

\jil~] The histories of the grievances suffered by the Protest ants of Germany on account of their religion, that have been composed by Struvius and Hoffman, contain ample details of this matter.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 117

gion of their ancestors. Hence the clergy beset CENT. the monarch with their importunate solicitations, and never ceased their clamorous remonstrances before a royal edict was obtained to drive Saracens, whose numbers were prodigious, out of the Spanish territories. This imprudent step was highly detrimental to the kingdom of Spain, and its pernicious effects are more or less visible even at the present times ; but the church, whose inte rests and dominion are, in popish countries, con sidered as distinct from the interests and authority of the state, and of a much more sublime and excel lent nature, acquired new accessions of wealth and power by the expulsion of the Moors [<?]. In proportion as the community lost, the Church gained; and thus the public good was sacrificed to the demands of bigotry and superstition.

In France, the persecuting spirit of the Church of Rome exhibited scenes still more shocking. The protestants of that kingdom, commonly call ed Huguenots, after having groaned, for a long space of time, under various forms of cruelty, and oppression, and seen multitudes of their brethren put to death, by secret conspiracies or open tyran ny and violence, were, at length, obliged either to save themselves by a clandestine flight, or to profess against their consciences, the Romish re ligion. This barbarous and iniquitous scene of French persecution, than which the annals of mo dern history present nothing more unnatural and odious, will find its place below, in the history of the Reformed Church \_f~\.

X. All the resources of inventive genius and The court

refined policy, all the efforts of insinuating craft ^f™^

and audacious rebellion, were employed to, bring attempts

I 3

\jT\ See Michael Geddes* History of the expulsion of the Mo-. riscoes out of Spain, in his Miscellaneous Tracts, vol. i. p. 59. In the second chapter of the second part of this section.

118 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, back Great Britain and Ireland under the yoke of Home. But all these attempts were without effect. About the beginning of this century, a set of desperate and execrable wretches, in whose breasts the suggestions of bigotry and the hatred of the Protestant religion had suppressed all the feel ings of justice and humanity, were instigated by three Jesuits, of whom Garnet, the superior of the society in England, was the chief, to form the most horrid plot that is known in the annals of history. The design of this conspiracy was nothing less than to destroy, at one blow, James I. the Prince of Wales, and both Houses of Parliament, by the explosion of an immense quantity of gun powder, which was concealed for that purpose, in the vaults that lay under the House of Lords. The sanguinary bigots concerned in it imagined, that, as soon as this horrible deed was performed, they would be at full liberty to restore Popery to its former credit, and substitute it in the place of the Protestant religion [g], This odious conspiracy, whose infernal purpose was providentially disco vered, when it was ripe for execution, is commonly known in Britain under the denomination of the gun-powder treason [K\.

This discovery did not suspend the efforts and stratagems of the Court of Rome, which carried

on,

There is a letter extant, written by Sir Everard Digby, one of the conspirators, to his wife, after his condemnation, which deserves an eminent place in the history of superstition ^nd bigotry, and shews abundantly their infernal spirit and, tendency. The following passage will confirm this judgment ; " Now for my intention, says Digby, let me tell you, that if I " had thought there kad been the least sin in the plot, I would <s not have been of it for all the world; and no other cause drew " me to hazard my fortune and life but zeal to God's religion." See the Papers relating to the Popish plot, published by the orders of Secretary Coventry.

[Vz] See Rapin Thoyras, Hisloirc d' Angleterre, livr. xviii. torn. vii. p. 40. — Jo. Henr. Heideggeri Historia papohis Pe riod. sect. vii. p. 211. 291, &c.

PART I.

Chap. I. Tlie History of the Romish Church. 119

on its schemes in the succeeding reign, but with CENT. less violence, and more caution. Charles I. was a prince of a soft and gentle temper, and was en tirely directed by the councils of Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, a man who was neither destitute of learning nor good qualities [£], though he carried things to excessive and intolerable lengths, thro' his warm and violent attachment to the ancient rites and ceremonies of the church ; the Queen, on the other hand, who was a princess of France, was warmly devoted to the interests of Popery ; and from all this it seemed probable enough, that, though treason and violence had failed, yet artifice and mild measures might succeed, and that a re conciliation might be brought about between England and Rome [ j ]. This prospect which had smiled in the imaginations of the friends of popery, vanished entirely when the civil war broke out be tween the King and Parliament. In consequence of these commotions, both the unfortunate Charles, and his imprudent and bigotted counsellor Laud were brought to the scaffold ; and Oliver Crom well, a man of unparalleled resolution, dexterity, and foresight, and a declared enemy to every thing that bore even the most distant resemblance of popery, was placed at the helm of govern ment, under the title of Protector of the common wealth of England,

The hopes of Rome and its votaries were ne vertheless revived by the restoration of Charles II. and from that period grew more lively and I 4 sanguine

fcf> p] Mr. Hume, speaking of Laud's learning and morals expresses himself in the following manner : " This man was " virtuous, if severity of manners alone, and abstinence from " pleasure could deserve that name. He was learned, if pole- *' mical knowledge could entitle him to that praise." See Hume's History of Great Britain, vol. v. p. 193.

[,/] See Urban Cerri, Etat Present de I'Eglise p. 315.— rNeal's History of the Puritans, vol. iii. p. 194.

.120 The History of the Romish CJiurch.

CENT, sanguine tioui day to day. For that monarch, as XVIL appears from unquestionable authorities [/t1], had ^een initiated, during his exile, into the mysteries of popery, and had secretly embraced that reli gion, while his only brother, the presumptive heir to the crown, professed it openly, and had pub licly apostatized from the Protestant faith, Charles, indeed, was not a proper instrument for the propagation of any theological system. Indolent and voluptuous on the one hand, and inclined to infidelity and irreligion on the other, it was not from him that the Roman pontiff could expect that zeal and industry, that were necessary to force upon the English nation a religion so contrary to the tenor of the laws and the spirit pf the people as popery was [/]. This zeal was

founded

[T] Burners History of his Own Times, vol. i. book iii, P. 6*03, 606. — Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. iv. p. 233, 237, 524. — Rapin Thoyras, Histoire de I'Angkterre, livr. xxiii. vol. ix. p. 160.

&3° CO Such is the representation given of Charles II. by all historians ; so that Dr. Mosheim is excusable in mistaking a part of this monarch's character, which was known to very few before him. Mr. Hume, whose history of the reign of that prince is a master-piece in every respect, gave a like account of Charles, as fluctuating between Deism and Popery. But this eminent historian having had occasion, during his residence at Paris, to peruse the manuscript-memoirs of King James II. which were written by himself, and are kept in the Scot's Col lege there, received from them new information with respect to the religious character of Charles ; and was convinced that his zeal for Popery went much farther than has been generally imagined. For it appears, with the utmost evidence, from these memoirs, that the King had laid with his ministry a formal plan for subverting the constitution in favour of Po pery ; that the introduction of Popery, as the established religion, was the great and principal object which Charles had in view when he entered into the French alliance, which was concluded at Versailles in the end of 1669, or beginning of l6?0, by Lord Arundel of Wardour. By this treaty, Lewis was to give Charles 200,000 pounds a-year, in quarterly payments, in order to enable him to establish the Roman Catholic religion in England* and to supply

him

PART I.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 121

founded in his bigottcd successor James II ; but it CENT. was accompanied \vith such excessive vehemence and imprudence as entirely defeated its own pur poses ; for that inconsiderate monarch, by his passionate attachment to the court of Rome, and his blind obsequiousness to the unseasonable and precipitate counsels of the Jesuits, who were the oracles of his cabinet, gave a mortal blow to that religion which he meant to promote, and fell from the throne whose prerogatives he was attempting to augment and extend. Immediately on his ac cession to the crown, he openly attempted to re store to its former vigour, both in England and Ireland, the authority of the Roman pontiff, which had been renounced and annulled by the laws of both realms ; and that he might accomplish with the more facility this most imprudent purpose, he trampled upon those rights and privileges of his people, that had ever been held most respectable tnd sacred, and which he had bound himself, by the most solemn engagements, to support and naintain. Justly exasperated and provoked by repeated insults from the throne upon their re ligion and liberties, and alarmed with natural ap- piehcnsions of the approaching ruin of both ; the English nation looked about for a deliverer, and fixed its views, in the year 1688, on William prince of Orange, son-in-law to their despotic

monarch,

him also with 6000 men in case of any insurrection. The division of the United Provinces between England and France was another article of this treaty. But we are told that the subversion of the Protestant religion in England was the point that Charles had chiefly at heart ; arid that he insisted warm ly on beginning with the execution of this part of the treaty ; but the Duchess of Orleans, in the interview at Dover, per suaded him to begin with the Dutch war. The King (says Mr. Hume) was so zealous a Papist, that he we pt for joy when he entertained the project of re-uniting his kingdom to the Catholic Church. See the Corrections and Additions to Mr. Hume's history of Charles II. p. 238. in the note.

The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, monarch, by whose wisdom and valour, things XVIL \vere so conducted, that James was ohliged to ret^re from ^*s dominions, and to Abdicate the crown ; and the Roman pontiff, with all his ad herents, were disappointed in the fond expecta tions they had formed of restoring popery in England [0?-]. Milder me- XI, When the more prudent defenders and employed patrons of the Romish faith perceived the ill sue- by Rome, cess that attended all their violent and sanguinary Protestant6 attempts to establish its authority, they thought pause. it expedient to have recourse to softer methods ; and, instead of conquering the Protestants by open, force, proposed deluding them back into the church of 'Rome by the insinuating influence of secret artifice. This way of proceeding was ap-, proved by many of the votaries of Rome, but they were not all agreed about the particular manner of employing it, and therefore followed different methods. Some had recourse to the ap pointment of public disputations or conference! between the principal doctors of the contending; parties; and this from a notion, which past ex perience had rendered so vain and chimerical, thit the adversaries of popery would either be vai- quished in the debate, or at least be persuaded to look upon the Roman-catholics with less aver sion and disgust. Others declared it as their opinion, that all contest was to be suspended; that the great point was to find out the proper method of reconciling the two churches ; and, that, in order to promote this salutary purpose,, as little stress as possible was to be laid upon those

matters

£»»] The circumstances of this famous and ever-memorable revolution are accurately recorded by Burnet, in the second volume of his History of his Own Times ± and also by Rapin, in the tenth volume of his History of England. Add to these^ Neal's History of the Puritans \ vol. iv. ch. xi. p. 536.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 123

matters of controversy that had been hitherto CENT, looked upon as of the highest moment and im- portance. A different manner of proceeding was thought more adviseable by a third set of men, who, from a persuasion that their doctors had more zeal than argument, and were much more emi nent for their attachment to the church of Rome, than for their skill in defending its cause, prepar ed their combatants with greater care for the field of controversy, taught them a new art of theo logical war, furnished them with a new and subtle method of vanquishing, or at least of perplexing, their heretical adversaries,

XII. There was a famous conference held Ratisbon, in the year 1601, at the joint desire of Maximilian, duke of Bavaria, and Philip Lewis, elector Palatine, between some eminent Lutheran doctors on the one side, and three celebrated Je- churches. suits on the other. The dispute turned upon the two great points, to which almost all the contests between the Protestants and Roman catholics are ' reducible, even the rule of faith and the judge of controversies. In the year 1615, a conference was held at Newburg, between James Heilbronner, a learned Lutheran, and James Keller, a cele brated Jesuit, by the appointment of Wolfgang William, prince Palatine, who had a little before that time embraced the Romish faith. But the most famous of all these conferences was that held in the year 1645, at Thorn, by the express order of Uladislaus IV. king of Poland, between seve ral eminent doctors of the Romish, Lutheran, and Reformed churches. This meeting which was designed to heal the division that reigned among these churches, and to find out some me thod of reconciling their differences, and bring ing about their re-union, was thence called the Charitable Conference. Some time after this, Er nest, Landgrave of Hesse, in order to give a plau sible

8ECT. PART

The History of the RoniisJi CJiurcJi.

CENT, sible colour to his apostasy, from the Protestant xvn. re]igiollj and make it appear to be the result of examination and conviction, obliged Valerianus Magnus, a learned Capuchin, to enter the lists with Peter Habercorn, a reformed minister in the castle QiWieinfddt. Besides these public con ferences, there were others of a more private na ture held during this century, between the doc tors of the contending churches. The most re markable of these wajs the famous dispute be tween John Claude, the most learned of the Reformed divines in France^ and Jaques Benigne de Bossuet, whose genius and erudition placed him at the head of the Romish, doctors in that country. This dispute which was held in the year 1683, ended like all the rest. They all widened the breach instead of healing it. Nei ther of the contending parties could be persuaded to yield [n] ; on the contrary, they both returned from the field of controversy more rivetted in their own opinions, and more averse to those of their adversaries.

Theme- XIII. Those of the Roman-Catholics, whose concilia-"*" views were turned towards union and concord,

tion cm- did not omit the use of pious artifice and strata- th^Koman gem in order to accomplish this salutary purpose. Catholics. They endeavoured to persuade the zealous Pro testants and the rigid Catholics, that their differ ences

[V] The reader who desires a more particular account of1 •what passed in these conferences, may satisfy his curiosity by consulting the writers mentioned by Sagittarius, in his In- iroduc. in Historiam Ecclesiast. torn. ii. p. 1569. 1581. 1592. 1598. An account of the conference between Claude and Bossuet was composed and published by each of these fa mous combatants. Bossuet's account was thus entitled ; Conference avec M. Claude sur la matlere de I'Eglise, Paris 1683, in 12mo. This account was answered by Claude, in his Reponse an Livre de M. De Meaux, inlitula, conference avec M. Claude, published at the Halite, in Svo, in the year 1683.

Chap. I. The History cfthe Romish Church. 125

enccs in opinion were less considerable, and less CENT. important, than they themselves imagined; and

SECT. II.

A 1 1 • 1 * Ot,^ 1 •

that the true way to put an end to their dissen- PART sions, and to promote their union, was not nourish the flames of discord by disputes and con ferences, but to see whether their systems might not be reconciled, and their apparent inconsist encies removed, by proper and candid explications. They imagined that an artful exposition of those doctrines of the church of Rome, that appeared the most shocking to the Protestants, would tend much to conquer their aversion to Popery. Such was the general principle in which the Romish peace-makers agreed, and such the basis on which they proposed to carry on their pacilic operations; but they differed so widely in their manner of applying this general principle, and pursued such different methods in the execution of this nice and perilous stratagem, that the event did not answer their expectations. In the way they proceeded, instead of promoting the desired union by their representations of things, by their exhortations and councils, this union seemed ta be previously necessary, in order to render their explications and exhortations acceptable, nay, even supportable ; so little were the means proportion ed to the end !

The first and most eminent of those who tried the force of their genius in this arduous enterprise was Cardinal Richelieu, that great minister, who employed all the influence of promises and threat- enings, all the powers of sophistry and elo quence, all the arts of persuasion, in order to bring back the French Protestants into the bosom of the Romish church [o]. The example of this

illustrious

[cT\ Rich. Simon, Lettres Chomcs, torn. i. p. 31, 42. new edit. — Baylc's Dictionary, at the article Amyraul, note 1 ; at the article Beaulleu, note Qc]; at the article Ferry, note [V/j ; at the article MUUtiere.

SECT. II PART I.

126 Tlie History of the Romish Churdi.

CENT, illustrious prelate was followed with less dig- XVIL nity and less influence, by Massenius, a German Jesuit [ p], Volusius, a theologist of Mcntz [q]9 Praetorius, a Prussian [r], Gibbon de Burg, an Irish doctor, who was professor at Erfurth [s]r Marcellus, a Jesuit [t]9 and other divines of in ferior note. But of all modern adepts in contro versy, none pursued this method with such dexte rity and art as Bossuet, bishop of Meaux, a man of true genius, directed by the most consummate circumspection and prudence. The famous Expo- sition of the Roman- Catholic Faith, that was drawn up by this subtile and insinuating author, was de signed to shew the Protestants, that their reasons against returning to the bosom of the Romish church would be soon and easily removed, pro vided they would view the doctrines of that church in their true light, and not as they had been erroneously represented by the Protestant writers [u]. This notion was propagated, though

with

[ />] See Frid. Spanheimii Stricture ad Bossueti Exposition* em Fidei Catholicce, torn. iii. opp. Theolog. par. II. p. 1042.

[<y] There is extant a book composed by this writer under the following title : Aurora Pads retigiosce divince Veriiaii arnica Mogunl. 1665. 4to.

\_r~\ In his Tuba Pads, of which the reader may see a curl* ous account in Bayle's Nouvelles de la Republique des Lettres, for the year 1685, p. 1309.

[*] In a treatise, entitled, Luthero Calvmismus scliismaticus quidcm sed reconciliabilis.

\JT\ The book of Marcellus, entitled Sapicntia padjica, was refuted by Seldius, at the express desire of the Duke of Saxe* Gotha.

\_u~\ This book might furnish subject for a multitude of re flections. See a particular account of its history and its effects in Pfaff's Hisloria Literaria Theologian, torn. ii. p. 102; and Le Clerc's Bibliotheque Universelle et Historique, torn. xi. p. 438. d3= It is remarkable, that nine years passed before this book could obtain the Pope's approbation. Clement X. refused it positively. Nay, several Roman Catholic priests were ri gorously treated, and severely persecuted, for preaching the doctrine contained in the exposition of Bossuet, which was.,

moreover,

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church* 127

with less dexterity and success, by Dezius, a Je- CENT. suit of Strasburg, who wrote a book expressly to XVIL prove, that there was little or no difference be tween the doctrine of the council of Trent, and that of the confession of Augsburg, than which no two systems can be more irreconcilably oppo site [w~\. It is, however, remarkable, that all these pacific attempts to re-unite the two churches, were made by the persons now mentioned, on

their

moreover, formerly condemned by the University of Louvain, in the year 1685, and declared to be scandalous and pernicious. The Sorbonne also disavowed the doctrine contained in that book, though by a late edict we learn, that the fathers of that theological seminary have changed their opinions on that head, and thus given a new instance of the variations that reign in the Romish Church, which boasts so much of its uniformity in doctrinal matters. The artifice that was employed in the composition of this book, and the tricks that were used in the suppression and alteration of the first edition that was given of it, have been detected with great sagacity and evidence by the learned and excellent Archbishop Wake, in the Introduction to his Exposition of the Doctrine of the Church of England, $c. See also his two Defences of that Exposition, in which the perfi dious sophistry of Bossuet is unmasked and refuted in the most satisfactory manner. There was an excellent answer to Bossuet's book published by M. De La Bastide, one of the most eminent protestant ministers in France. This answer the French prelate took no notice of during eight years ; at the end of which, he published an advertisement, in a new edition of his Exposition, which was designed to remove the objections of La Bastide. The latter replied in such a demonstrative and victorious manner, that the learned bishop, notwithstand ing all his eloquence and art, was obliged to -quit the field of controversy. See a very interesting account of this insidious work of Bossuet, and the controversies it occasioned, in the Bibliolheque dcs Sciences, published at the Hague, vol. xviii. p. 20. This account which is curious, accurate, ample, and learned, was given partly on occasion of a new edition of the Exposition, printed at Paris, l?6l, and accompanied with a Latin translation done by Fleury, and partly on occasion of Burigny's Life of Bossuet, published the same year at Paris.

\jv~\ This book is entitled, La Re-union dcs Proteslans de Strasburg a I'Eglise Romame, published in 8vo at Slra&bitrp in the year 1689 — See Phil. Jac. Speneri Cwutlia Tlicol. (Ger man, pars iii. p. 650. 662.

128 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, their own private authority ; they were not avow* XVIL ed by the higher powers, who alone were quali fied to remove, modify, or explain away those doctrines and rites of the Homish church that shocked the Protestants and justified their separa tion. It is true, indeed, that in the year 1686* this plan of reconciliation was warmly recom mended by a person properly commissioned, or, at least, who gave himself out for such. This pa cificator was Christopher de Rohas, bishop of Tinia, in the district of Bosnia ; who, during se veral years, frequented with these reconciling views, the courts of the Protestant princes in 'Ger* many : intimated the assembling of a new council, that was to be more impartial in its decisions and less restrained in its proceedings, than the council of Trent ; nay, went still further, and assured the Protestants, that they should obtain without diffi«> culty whatever rights, privileges, and immunities, they should think proper to demand from the Ro man pontiff, provided they wrould acknowledge his paternal authority, and no longer refuse a pro found submission to his mild and gentle empire. But the artifice and designs of this specious mis sionary were easily detected ; the Protestant doc tors, and also their sovereigns, soon perceived that a fair and candid plan of reconciliation and union was not what the court of Rome had in view ; but that a scheme was laid for restoring its pontiffs to their former despotic dominion over the Christian world [a?].

XIV. The

[V] See Jo. Wolf. Jaegeri Historia Ecclesiast. Sceculi xvii. • — Christ. Eberhardi Weismanni Hist. Ecclesiast. Sceculi xvii. p. 735. The reader will find in the Cwnmcrcimh Epistolico- Leibmtianum of Gruberus *, an account of the particular con ditions of reconciliation that were proposed, in the year 1660, to the German courts by the Elector of Menlz, authorised, as it is alleged, by the Roman pontiff 1

* Tom, i, p. 411, 4 15.426.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 129

XIV. The Romish peace-makers found among CENT. the Protestants, and more especially among those g,*^11^ of the Reformed church, certain doctors, who, by PART , ' a natural propensity to union and concord, second- ^^^^ ed perhaps, in some, by views of interest, or by rrotestant the suggestions of ambition, were disposed to en- ter into their plan, and to assist them in the exe cution of it. These doctors maintained, that the points in debate between the two churches were not of sufficient importance to justify their separa tion. Among the French Protestants, Lewis le Blanc and his disciples were suspected of an in clination to go too great lengths in this matter [?/]. The same accusation was brought, with fuller evidence, against Huisseaux, professor of divinity at Saumer, Milletiere, Le Fevre, and others of less note [z\. Among the British divines, this excessive propensity to diminish the shocking ab surdities of Popery was less remarkable ; Wil liam Forbes was the principal person who dis covered an extreme facility to compose a consider able number of the differences that contributed to perpetuate the separation between the two churches [a]. With respect to the Dutch, it is

abundantly

\_y~\ See a particular and interesting account of Le Blanc in Bayle's Dictionary, at the article Beaulieu.

\_z~\ See the above-mentioned Dictionary at the article Mil* letierc. For an account of Huisseaux, and his pacific coun sels, see Rich. Simon, Lcttres Choisies, torn. iii. p. 14.—- Aymon, Synodes Nationaux des Eglises Reformecs en France, torn. ii. p. 765. The labours of Le Fevre, father to the fa mous Madam Dacier, in the same cause, are mentioned by Morhofius, in his Polyhistor, torn, i. p. 295,

QJ] See Forbes' " Consideration es uiodesta? et pacificae Con- troversiarumde Justificatione, Purgatorio/'&c. which were pub lished in 8vo at London, in the year 1658, and afterwards more correctly in Germany, under the inspection of John Fabrieius, professor of divinity at Hclmstadt. Forbes is mentioned by Grabe with the highest encomiums, in his " Notae ad Bulli Harmonium Apostolicam, p. 19. and, if we consider his probity, find the exemplary regularity of his life and conversation, he

VOL, V, K must

FA^T

130 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, abundantly known, how ardently the great and ^earned Grotius desired the re-union of all Chris tian churches in one general bond of charity and concord, and with what peculiar zeal he endea voured to reform some enormities of the church of Home, and to excuse others. But these and all the other arbitrators, whose names and whose ef forts in this pacific cause it would be tedious to mention, derived no other fruit from their, per haps, well-intended labours, than the displeasure of both the contending parties, and the bitter re proaches of their respective churches.

In the number of the Protestant doctors who discovered an inconsiderate zeal for the re-union of these churches, many writers placed George Calixtus, a man of eminent learning, and pro fessor of divinity in the university of Helmstadt. It is nevertheless certain, that this great man dis covered and exposed the errors and corruptions of Popery with a degree of learning and perspicuity that was scarcely surpassed by any writer of this century, and persisted stedfastly in maintaining, that the decrees and anathemas of the council of Trevit had banished all hopes of a reconciliation between the protestant churches and the see of Home, It is true, indeed, that Calixtus looked upon some of the controversies that divided the two communions with much more moderation and indulgence than was usual, and decided them

in

must be allowed to deserve the praise that is due to piety and good morals. Nevertheless, he had his infirmities, and the wiser part of the English doctors acknowledge, tliat his pro pensity towards a reconciliation with the church of Rome was carried too far. See Burnet's History of his own Times, vol. i. p. 21. — -On this account he has been lavishly praised by the Roman Catholic writers ; See R. Simon, Lettres Chosies, torn, iii. lettr. xvii. p. 119. — He was undoubtedly one of those who contributed most to spread among the English a notion (whose truth or falsehood we shall not here examine), that king Charles I. and Archbishop Laud had formed the design of restoring Popery in England.

PART I.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 131

in a manner that did not seem suited to the taste CENT. and spirit of the times : he was also of opinion, that the church of Rome had not destroyed the s genuine principles of Christianity, hut had only deformed them with its senseless fictions, and bu- ried them under a heap of rubbish, under a mot ley multitude of the most extravagant and into lerable doctrines and ceremonies. It was undoubt edly on this account, that he has been ranked by some in the class of the imprudent peace-makers already mentioned.

XV. It was no difficult matter to defeat the The Popish purposes, and ruin the credit of these pacific arbi- Jfs trators, who, upon the whole, ma4e up but a motley and ill-composed society, weakened by in testine discords. It required more dexterity, and greater efforts of genius, to oppose the progress, and disconcert the sophistry of a set of men who had invented new methods of defending Popery, and attacking its adversaries. This new species of polemic doctors were called Methodists, and the most eminent of them arose in France* where a perpetual scene of controversy, carried- on with the most learned among the Huguenots had aug mented the dexterity, and improved the theolo gical talents, of the Roman Catholic disputants. The Methodists, from their different manner of treating the controversy in question, may be di vided into two classes. In the one we may place those doctors whose method of disputing with the Protestants was disingenuous and unreasonable, and who followed the examples of those military chiefs, who shut up their troops in entrenchments and strong holds, in order to cover them from the attacks of the enemy. Such was the manner of proceeding of the Jesuit Veron, who was of opinion that the Protestants should be obliged to prove the tenets of their church [b~\ by plain pas- K 2 sages

£3- p>] More especially the doctrines that peculiarly oppose the decrees and tenets of the council of Trent.

The History of the Romish Churcu

CENT, sages of scripture, without being allowed the lir XVIL berty of illustrating these passages, reasoning upon SPART "' tnem' or drawing any conclusions from them [c]. T^rry^s In the same class may be ranked Nihusius, an apostate from the Protestant religion [rf], the twq Walenburgs, and other Polemics, who, looking upon it as an easier matter to maintain their pre tensions, than to shew upon what principles they were originally founded [e], obliged their adver saries to prove all their assertions and objections, whether of an affirmative or negative kind ; and confined themselves to the eager business of an swering objections, and repelling attacks. We may also place among this kind of Methodists Cardinal Richelieu, who judged it the shortest and best way to attend little to the multitude of accusations, objections, and reproaches, with which the Protestants loaded all the various branches of the Romish government, discipline, doctrine, and worship ; and to confine the whole controversy tq the single article of the divine insti tution and aitthority of the Church, which he thought it essential to establish by the strongest

arguments

\jc~] Musaeus, " De Usu Principiorum Ptationis in Contro- yersiis Theologicis," lib. i. c. iv. p. 22. — G. Calixti " Digres- sio de Arte nova/' p. 125. — " Simon, Lettres Choisies/' torn. i. p. 276.

£d] See a particular account of this vain and superficial doc tor in Bayle's Dictionary, at the article Nihusius. His work, entitled, ff Ars Nova dicto Sacrae Scriptures unico lucrandi a Pontificiis plurimos in partes Lutheranorum detecta/' &c. was refuted in the most satisfactory manner, by Calixtus, in hi$ « Digressio in Arte Nova contra Nihusium," a curious and learn ed work, which was published * in 4to at Helmstadt, in 1634-.

$3° EX] That is to say in other words, that they pleaded prescription in favour of Popery ; and acted like one, who, having been for a long time in possession of an estate, refuses to produce his title, and requires that those who question it should prove its insufficiency or falsehood.

* This piece originally made a part of the " Theologia Moralis" of Ca lixtus, but was afterwards published separately.

Chap. L The History of the Romish Church. 133

arguments as the grand principle that would ren- CENT. der Popery impregnable [./']. SECT-11/!

The Methodists of the second class, were of opi- PART^ r / nion that the most expedient manner of reducing \^^^m/ the Protestants to silence, was not to attack them by piece-meal, but to overwhelm them at once, by the weight of some general principle or pre sumption, some universal argument, which com prehended, or might be applied to all the points contested between the two churches. They imi tated the conduct of those military leaders, who, instead of spending their time and strength in sieges and skirmishes, endeavoured to put an end to the war by a general and decisive action. This method, if not invented [g], was at least improved and seconded by all tin aids of eloquence and genius, by Nicolle, a celebrated doctor among the Jan- senists [A] ; and it was followed by many of the K 3 disputants

For a more ample account of these methods of contro versy, and of others used by the church of Rome, the curious reader may consult Fred. Spanheim, " Strictur. ad Expositio- nem Fidei Bossueti," torn. iii. opp. par. II. p. 103?. — Jo. Henr. Heidegger, " Histor. Papatus," Period, vii. sect, ccviii. p. 316. — Walchii " Introduct. ad Controvers. Theolog." torn, ii. — Weismanni " Histor. Ecclesiastica," Saec. xvii. p. 72fi.

C^ CgQ This method certainly was not the invention of Nicolle, for it seems to differ little, if at all, from the me thod of Cardinal Richelieu. We may observe further, that Richelieu seems rather to belong to the second class of Me thodists than to the first, where Dr. Mosheim has placed him,

[]A] Nicolle is supposed to be author of a book, entitled, " Prejuges legitimes centre les Calvinistes," which was first published at Paris in 16?1, passed afterwards through several editions, and was answered in a satisfactory manner by several learned men. (v^3 It is very remarkable, that some of the prin cipal arguments employed in this book against the Protestants, are precisely the same that the Deists make use of to shew that it is impossible for the general body of Christians to believe upon a rational foundation. The learned Claude, in his " De fence of the Reformation," shewed, in a demonstrative manner, that the difficulties arising from the incapacity of the multitude

to

PART I.

134 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, disputants of the church of Rome, who were so xvn- fully persuaded of its irresistible influence, that they looked upon any one of the general points already mentioned as sufficient, when properly handled* to overturn the whole Protestant cause. Hence it was, that some of these Polemics rested the de fence of Popery upon the single principle of pre scription ; others upon the vicious lives of several of those princes who had withdrawn their domi nions from the yoke of Rome ; others again, upon the criminal nature of religious schism, with which they reproached the promoters of the Re formation ; and they were all convinced, that, by urging their respective arguments, and making good their respective charges, the mouths of their adversaries must be stopped, and the cause of Rome and its pontiff triumph [i]. The famous Bossuet stood foremost in this class, which he peculiarly adorned, by the superiority of his genius and the insinuating charms of his eloquence. His argu ments, indeed, were more specious than solid, and the circumstances from which they were drawn were imprudently chosen. From the va riety of opinions that take place among the Pro testant doctors, and the changes that have hap pened in their discipline and doctrine, he endea voured to demonstrate, that the church founded by Luther was not the true church ; and, on the other hand, from the perpetual sameness and uni formity

examine the grounds and principles of the Protestant religion, are much less than those which occur to a Papist, whose faith is founded, not on the plain word of God alone, but on the dictates of tradition, on the decrees of councils, and a variety of antiquated records that are beyond his reach. The Pro testant divine goes still farther, and proves that there are argu ments in favour of Christianity and the Protestant faith, that are intelligible by the lowest capacity ; and at the same time, sufficient to satisfy an upright and unprejudiced mind.

[T] Frid. Spanhemii " Diss. de Prescriptione, in Rebus Fi- dei ad versus novos Methodistas," torn, iii. par. II. opp. p. 1079=

>ART T.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 135

fonnity that reign in the tenets and worship of CENT. the church of Rome, he pretended to prove its di- ^XV1L

. « > i r / ~l ci i L • SECT. II*

vine original [A'J. ouch an argument must in deed surprise, coming from a man of learning, who could not be ignorant of the temporising spirit of the Roman pontiffs, nor of the changes they had permitted in their discipline and doc trine, according to the genius of time and place, and the different characters of those whom they were desirous to gain over to their interest. It was still more surprising in a French prelate, since the doctors of that nation generally maintain, that the leaden age does not differ more from the age of gold, than the modern church of Rome dif fers from the ancient and primitive church of that famous city.

K 4 XVI. These

t/0 This is the purpose of Bossuet's " Histoire des Varia tion des Eglises Protestantes," which was published in Svo at Paris, in the year 1 688, and is still considered by the Roman Ca tholics as one of the strongest bulwarks of popery. Let them go on in their illusions, and boast of this famous champion and de fender; but if they have any true zeal for the cause he defends, oranyregard for the authority of the supreme head of their church, they will bury in oblivion that maxirn of this their champion, that the church, tvhicli he frequently modifies, varies, and cha?iges its doctrines, is destitute of the direction of the Holy Spirit. (£f" This observation of Dr. Mosheim's might be verified by numberless instances of variations in the doctrine and worship of Rome, that must strike every one who has any tolerable acquaint* ance with the history of that church. But, without going any farther than one single instance, we may observe that Bossuet had a striking proof of the variations of his own church, in the different reception that his Exposition of the Roman Catholic faith met with from different persons, and at different times. It was disapproved of by one Pope, and approved of by an other; it was applauded by the Archbishop of Rheims, and condem ned by the University of Louvain ; it was censured by the Sor- bonne in the year 1 67 1, and declared by the same society a true exposition of the Catholic faith in the following century. Fora full proof of the truth of these and other variations, see Wake's Exposition, &c. — Le Clerc, Bibl. Univ. torn. xi. p. 438, &c. — General Dictionary, at the article Wake, in the note, and Bibhoth, des Sciences^ &c. torn, xviii. p. 29- &c.

136 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT. XVI. These various attempts of the votaries °f R°me9 though they gave abundant exercise to the activity and vigilance of the protestant doc tors, were not, however, attended with any im- portaiit revolutions, or any considerable fruits. Some princes, indeed, and a few learned men, to the were thereby seduced into the communion of that Romish church, from w7hose superstition and tyranny their

Church. -I-I-IT 11 i -1-1

ancestors had delivered themselves and others; but these defections were only personal, nor was there any people or province either inclined oiv engaged to follow these examples. Among the more illustrious deserters of the Protestant reli gion, were Christina, queen of Sweden [Z], a princess of great spirit and genius, but precipitate and vehement in almost all her proceedings, and preferring her ease, pleasure, and liberty, to all other considerations [in~\ ; Wolfang William count Palatine of the Rhine ; Christian Wil liam, marquis of Brandenburg ; Ernest, prince

of

[/] See Arkenholt, "Memoires de la Heine, Christine," which contains a variety of agreeable and interesting anecdotes.

(fc^r" \jn~] The candid and impartial writer, mentioned in the preceding note, has given an ample account of the circumstances that attended this queen's change of religion, and of the causes that might have contributed to determine her to a step so un expected and inexcusable. It was neither the subtil ty of Des Cartes, nor the dexterity of Canut that brought about this event, as Baillet would persuade us. The true state of the case seems to have been this : Christina, having had her senti ments of religion in general considerably perverted by the licen tious insinuations of her favourite Bourdelot, was by that means? prepared for embracing any particular religion, that pleasure, interest, or ambition, should recommend to her. Upon this foundation, the Jesuits Macedo, Malines, and Cassati, under the immediate protection of Pimentel, and encouraged by the courts of Rome, Spain, and Portugal, employed their labours and dexte rity in the conversion of this princess, whose passion for Italy, together with that taste for the fine arts, and the precious re mains of antiquity, that made her desirous of sojourning there, may have contributed not a little to make her embrace the re* %ion of that country.

Cliap. I. Tfte History of the Romish Church. 137

of Hesse [ri] ; John Frederick, duke of JBruns- CENT. wick ; and Frederick Augustus, king of Poland. s^u^ The learned men that embraced the eommu- PAR^ ,f nion of the church of Rome were, Baron, Boine- x^y— ••' burg, secretary to the elector of Mentz, and an eminent patron of erudition and genius [o], Chris topher, Ranzow, a knight ofHolstein [p]9 Casper Scioppius, Pctrus Bertius, Christopher Besold, Ul- ric Hunnius, Nicholas Stenon, a Danish physician, of great reputation in his profession, John Philip Pfeiffer, professor at Konigsburg, Lucas Holste- nius, Petrus Lambechius, Henry Blumius, professor at Hclmstadt, a man of learning, and of excessive vanity [</], Daniel Nesselius, Andrew Frommius, Barthold Nihusius, Christopher Hellwigius, Mat thew

[Y] This learned and well-meaning prince was engaged by the conversation and importunities of Valerius Magnus, a celebrated monk of the Capuchin Order, to embrace Popery, in the year 1 65 1 . See Gruberi Commercium Epistol. Leibniti* anum, torn. i. 27, 35. Memoires de la Reine Christine, torn. i. p. 216.— It is however, to be observed, that this prince to gether with Anthony Ulric, Duke of Brunswick, and several others, who went over to the church of Rome, did not go over to that Church of Rome which is now exhibited to us in the odious forms of superstition and tyranny, but to another kind of church, which, perhaps, never existed but in their idea, and which at least has long ceased to exist, That this was the case appears evidently from the theological writings of Prince Ernest.

[cT\ This eminent man, who had more learning than philo sophy, and who was more remarkable for the extent of his memory than for the rectitude of his judgment, followed the example of the Prince of Hesse, in the year 1653. See Gru-. beri Commercium Epistol. Lcibnitianum, in which his Letters* and those of Conringius are published, torn. i. p. 35. 37, 39^ 48, 56, 60, 70, 76, 93, &c.

£ p] See Molleri Cimbria Lilerata, torn. i. p. 520.

\_q~\ Blumius deserted from the Protestant Church in the year 1654-. — See Burckardi Hixloria Bibliolh. Augusta, part III. p. 223, 233. — Gruberi Commercium Epistol. Leibnilia* num, torn. i. p. 41, 95, 135, 137, 379, 388, 410. In these letters he is called Florus, probably in allusion to hi*. German name Blum, which signifies & flower.

SECT. II. PART I.

138 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, thew Prsetorius, and a few others of inferior rank xvii. in the learned world. But these conversions when considered with the motives that produced them, will be found, in reality, less honourable to the church of Rome than they are in appearance ; for if in the list of princes and learned men above mentioned, we efface those whom the temptations of adversity, the impulse of avarice and ambition, the suggestions of levity, the effects of personal attachments, the power of superstition upon a feeble and irresolute mind, and other motives of like merit, engaged to embrace the Romish reli gion, these proselytes will be reduced to a num ber too small to excite the envy of the Protestant churches [>].

TheRo- XVII. The Christian churches in the East, Starch-in- which were independent on the yoke of Home, did lerest loses not stand less firm and stedfast against the at- fheUEast.n tempts of the papal missionaries than those of Europe. The pompous accounts which several Roman catholic writers have given of the won derful success of the missionaries among the Nes- torians and Monophysites, are little else than splendid fables, designed to amuse and dazzle the multitude; and many of the wisest and best of the Roman-catholic doctors acknowledge, that they ought to be considered in no other light- As little credit is to be given to those who men tion the strong propensity discovered by several of the heads and superintendants of the Christian sects in these remote regions, to submit to the ju risdiction of the Roman pontiff [«?]. It is evident, on the contrary, that Rome, in two remarkable in stances,

\_r~\ See for a particular account of these proselytes to Popery, Weisman's Historia Eccles. Saec. xvii. p. 738. — Walikius' Introductio in Controversias, torn. ii. p. 728. — Arnold's Kir- chen und Ketzer Historic, par. p. 912. and other writers of civil and literary history.

[Y] See the remarks made by Chardin in several places of the last edition of his travels. See also what Urban Cerri, in

his

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 139

stances, suffered a considerable diminution of its CENT. influence and authority in the eastern world dur- *™u ing this century. One of these instances was the PAU^ , ' dreadful revolution in Japan, which has been al ready related, and which was unhappily followed by the total extinction of Christianity in that great monarchy. The other was the downfal of Popery by the extirpation of its missionaries in the empire of Abyssinia, of which it will not be improper, or foreign from our purpose^ to give here a brief account.

About the commencement of the seventeenth century, the Portuguese Jesuits renewed, under the most auspicious encouragement, the mission to Abyssinia that had been for some time before that period, interrupted and suspended. For the Emperor Susneius, who assumed the denomina tion of Seltam Segued, after the defeat of his enemies and his accession to the crown, covered the missionaries with his peculiar protection. Gained over to their cause, partly by the eloquence of the Jesuits, and partly by the hopes of main taining himself upon the throne by the succours of the Portuguese, he committed the whole go vernment of the church to Alphonso Mender, a missionary from that nation ; created him pa triarch of the Abyssinian s ; and not only swore in a public manner allegiance to the Roman pon tiff in the year 1626, but moreover, obliged his subjects to abandon the religious rites and tenets of their ancestors, and to embrace the doctrine

and

his Present Stale of the Church of Rome, says of the Arminians and Copies. — It is true indeed, that among these sects, the Papal missionaries sometimes form congregations that are obe dient to the see of Rome ; but these congregations are poor and inconsiderable, and composed only of a handful of mem bers. Thus the Capuchins, about the middle of the century now under consideration, founded a small congregation among the Monophysites of Asia, whose bishop resides at Aleppo. See Lequien, Oriens Christians, torn. ii. p. 1408.

140 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, and worship of the Romish church. But the xvii. patriarch ruined, by his intemperate zeal, impru- •frART "' dence, anc^ arrogance, the cause in which he had vJ^Y^/ embarked, and occasioned the total subversion of the Roman Pontiffs authority and jurisdiction^ which had really been established upon solid foun dations. For he began his ministry with the most inconsiderate acts of violence and despotism. Fol lowing the spirit of the Spanish inquisition, he em ployed formidable threatenings and cruel tortures to convert the Abyssinians ; the greatest part of whom, together with their priests and ministers, held the religion of their ancestors in the highest veneration, and were willing to part with their lives and fortunes rather than forsake it. He also ordered those to be rebaptised, who, in com pliance with the orders of the emperor, had em braced the faith of Rome, as if their former reli gion had been nothing more than a system of Pa ganism [t]. This the Abyssinian clergy looked upon as a shocking insult upon the religious discipline of their ancestors, as even more provok ing than the violence and barbarities practised against those who refused to submit to the papal yoke. Nor did the insolent patriarch rest satis fied with these arbitrary and despotic proceedings

in

£3" CO The reader will recollect that the Abyssinians differ but very little from the Copts in Egypt, and acknowledge the patriarch of Alexandria as their spiritual chief. They receive the Old and New Testament, the three first Councils, the Nicene Creed, and the Apostolical Constitutions. Their first conversion to Christianity is attributed by some to the famous prime minister of their queen Candace, mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles ; it is, however, probable, that the general conversion of that great empire was not perfected be fore the fourth century, when Frumentius, ordained bishop of Axuma by Athanasius, exercised his ministry among them with the most astonishing success. They were esteemed a pure church before they fell into the errors of Eutyches and Dioscorus ; and even since that period they are still a purer church than that of Rome.

Chap. I. TJie History of the Romish ClmrcJi. 141

in the church; he excited tumults and factions CENT. in the state, and, with an unparalleled spirit of re- g^1^ bellion and arrogance, encroached upon the prc- PAR^ J rogatives of the throne, and attempted to law to the emperor himself. Hence arose civil commotions, conspiracies, and seditions, which excited in a little time the indignation of the em peror, and the hatred of the people against the Jesuits, and produced, at length, in the year 1631, a public declaration from the throne, by which the Abyssinian monarch annulled the orders he had formerly given in favour of popery, and left his subjects at liberty, either to persevere in the doctrine of their ancestors, or to embrace the faith of Rome. This rational declaration was mild and indulgent towards the Jesuits, consider ing the treatment their insolence and presump tion had so justly deserved ; but in the following reign much severer measures were employed against them. Basilides, the son of Segued, who succeeded his father in the year 1632, no sooner ascended the throne, than he thought it expedient to rid his dominions of these trouble some and despotic guests; and accordingly, in the year 1634, he banished from the territories of Ethiopia the Patriarch Mendez, with all the Je suits and Europeans that belonged to his retinue, and treated the Roman-catholic missionaries with excessive rigour and severity [u]. From this pe riod

[V] See Ludolfi Histor. JEthiopica, lib. iii. cap. xii. — Geddes' Church History of Ethiopia, p. 233. — La Croze, Histoirc dn Christianisme de I'Ethiopie. p. 79- — Lobo Voyage ff Abifssime, p. lift. 130. 144. with the additions of Le Grand, p. 173. and the fourth Dissertation that is subjoined to the second volume. In this dissertation, Le Grand, himself a Roman Catholic, makes the following remark upon the con duct of the Patriarch Mendez : " It were to be wished, says he, " that the patriarch had never intermeddled in such a variety f" of affairs, ( by which mitigated expression the author means

Itf

SECT. PART

The History of the Romish CJiurch.

CENT, riod the very name of Rome, its religion, and its P°ntiff, were objects of the highest aversion among1 the Abyssinians, who guarded their frontiers with the greatest vigilance and the strictest attention, lest any Jesuit or Homish missionary should steal into their territories in disguise, and excite new tumults and commotions in the kingdom. The Roman pontiffs indeed made more than one at tempt to recover the authority they had lost by the ill success and misconduct of the Jesuits. They began by sending two Capuchin monks to repair their loss ; but these unfortunate wretches were no sooner discovered than they were stoned to death. They afterwards employed more art ful and clandestine methods of reviving the mis- eions, and had recourse to the influence and inter cession of Lewis XIV. king of France, to pro cure admission for their emissaries into the Abys sinian empire [w] ; but, as far as we have learnt,

these

his ambitions attempts to govern in the cabinet as well as in the church), " nor carried his authority to such a height, as to be- " have in Ethiopia as if he had been in a country where the " inquisition was established : for, by this conduct, he set all " the people against him, and excited in them such an aversion " to the Roman Catholics in general, and to the Jesuits in " particular, as nothing has been hitherto able to diminish, " and which subsists in its full force to this day." (^ The third book of La Croze's History, which relates to the pro gress and ruin of this mission, is translated by Mr. Lockman into English, and inserted in The Travels of the Jesuits, vol. ir. p. 308, £c. as also is Poncet's Voyage mentioned in the fol lowing note.

[_w^ These projects are mentioned by Cerri, in his Elat present de I'Eglise Romaine, p. 217- — Le Grand in his *SV/p- plement to Lobo's Itinerarium JEthiopicum, torn. i. p. 181*. The reader who would know what credit is to be given to

what

* £$" Father Lobo, who resided nine years in Ethiopia, has given an ele gant and lively, though simple and succinct description, of that vast empire, in his Itinerarium Ethiopicuixn. This itinerary was translated into French by M. Le Grand, and enriched by him with several curious anecdotes and dissertations. Hence Dr. Mosheim sometimes quotes the Itinerarium, un der the title of " Voyage d'Abissinie," referring to Le Grand's French, translation of it.

Chap. I. Tlie History of the Romish Church. 143

these attempts have hitherto proved unsuccessful, CENT. nor have the pontiffs or their votaries been as yet atle to calm the resentment of that exasperated nation, or to conquer its reluctance against worship and jurisdiction of the church of Rome

XVIII. Hitherto

what the Jesuits say of the attachment and veneration which the Asiatic and African Christians express for the Church of Home, will do well to compare the relations of Le Grand, who was a Roman Catholic, and no enemy to the Jesuits, and •who drew his relations from the most authentic records, with those of Poncet, a French physician, who went into Ethiopia in the year 1698, accompanied by Father Bredevent, a Je suit, who died during the voyage. This comparison will con vince every ingenuous and impartial inquirer, that the accounts of the Jesuits are not to be trusted to, and that they surpass ancient Carthage itself in the art of deceiving. Poncet's Voyage is published in the fourth volume of the Jesuitical work, enti tled, Lettre.s Curieuses et Edifianles des Missions Etrangeres.

[V] Lafitau and Reboulet, who have composed each a Life of Pope Clement XL tells us, that the Emperor of Abyssinia desired the Roman pontiff, in the year 1703, to send to his court missionaries and legates to instruct him and his people, #nd to receive their submission to the see of Rome. These bio graphers go still farther, and assert that this monarch actually embraced the communion of Rome, in the year 1712. But these assertions are idle fictions, forged by the Jesuits and their crea tures. It is well known on the contrary, that so lately as a very few years ago, the edict prohibiting all Europeans to enter into Ethiopia was still in force, and was executed with the greatest severity. Even the Turks are included in this prohibition ; and what is still more remarkable, the Egyptian Monophysites, who have once entered within the Abyssinian territories, are not allowed to return into their own country. All these facts are confirmed by a mdoern writer of the most unquestionable authority, the learned and worthy M. Mail- let, the French consul-general in Egypt, and ambassador from Lewis XIV. to the Emperor of Abyssinia, in his Description de I'Egypte, part I. p. 325. whicji was published at Paris in 4to. in the year 1735. See also Le Grand's Supplement to Lobo's Itinerarium, which was published in the year 1728. This last mentioned author, after relating all the attempts that have been made in our times, by the French nation and the Roman pontiffs, to introduce Romish priests into Abyssinia, adds, that all such attempts must appear vain and chimerical to all those who have any knowledge of the empire of Abyssinia, and of the

spirit

144 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT. XVIII. Hitherto we have confined our views XVIL to the external state and condition of the church *PART "' °f R°me> an(l to the g°0(l or ill success that at- v^y^/ tended its endeavours to extend its dominion in The papal the different parts of the world. It will be now ioses°rity Pr°Per to change the scene, to consider this church ground, in its internal constitution, and to pass in review its polity, discipline, institutions, and doctrine, Its ancient form of government still remained; but its pontiffs and bishops lost, in many places, no small part of that extensive authority they had so long enjoyed. The halcyon days were now over, in which the papal clergy excited with im punity seditious tumults in the state, intermeddled openly in the transactions of government, struck terror into the hearts of sovereigns and subjects by the thunder of their anathemas, and imposing burthensome contributions on the credulous mul titude, filled their coffers by notorious acts of tyranny and oppression. The pope himself, though still honoured with the same pompous titles and denominations, found, nevertheless, frequently, by a mortifying and painful experience, that these titles had lost a considerable part of their former signification, and that the energy of these deno minations diminished from day to day. For now almost all the princes and states of Europe had adopted that important maxim that had been formerly peculiar to the French nation : That the power of the Roman pontiff is entirely con fined to matters of a religious and spiritual na ture, and cannot, under any pretext whatsoever, extend to civil transactions or worldly affairs. In the schools, indeed, and colleges of Roman Ca tholic

spirit and character of its inhabitants ; his words are : Toutes ces enterprises paroitront ckimiriques a ceux qui connoilront I'Abissinie et les Abissins. It is highly probable that the new mission which is preparing at Rome for the empire of Abys sinia, will prove a new instance of the solidity of M. Le Grand's, reflection.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 145

tholic countries, and in the writings of the Ho- CENT.

XVII.

mish priests and doctors, the majesty of the pope was still exalted in the most emphatic terms, and PART ,/ his prerogatives displayed with all imaginable ^-Y^ pomp. The Jesuits also, who have been always ambitious of a distinguished place among the as- serters of the power and pre-eminence of the Ro man see, and who give themselves out for the pope's most obsequious creatures, raised their voices, in this ignoble cause, even above those of the schools and colleges. Nay, even in the courts of sovereign princes, vety flattering terms and high-sounding phrases were sometimes used, to express the dignity and authority of the head of the church. But as it happens in other cases, that men's actions are frequently very different from their language, so was this observation particularly verified in the case of Rome's Holy Father. He was extolled in words, by those who despised him most in reality ; and when any dispute arose be tween him and the princes of his communion, the latter respected his authority no farther than they found expedient for their own purposes, and mea sured the extent of his prerogatives and jurisdic tion, not by the slavish adulation of the colleges and the Jesuits, but by a regard to their own inte rests and independence.

XIX. This the Roman pontiffs learned, by a The nip- disagreeable experience, as often as they endea- *"reee^epau voured during this century, to resume their for- v.^nd the mer pretensions, to interpose their authority jn civil affairs, and encroach upon the jurisdiction of sovereign states. The conduct of Paul V. and the consequences that followed it, furnish a strik ing example that 'abundantly verifies this obserr vation. This haughty and arrogant pontiff laid the Republic of Venice under an Interdict in the year 1606. The reasons alleged for this inso lent proceeding, were the prosecution of two ec-

VOL. v. L clesiastics

The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, clesiastics for capital crimes ; as also two wise* *IIT;r edicts, one of which prohihited the erection of

skC 1 • II* , „ . "i • /"> • i T T •

PART i. any more religious edifices in the Venetian ter- — -y^, ritories, without the knowledge and consent of the senate; and the other the alienation of any lay possessions or estates in favour of the clergy, without the express approbation of the Republic. The Venetian senate received this papal insult with dignity, and conducted themselves under it with becoming resolution and fortitude. Their first step was to prevent their clergy from execut-* ing the Interdict) by an act prohibiting that ces sation of public worship, and that suspension of the sacraments, which the pope had commanded in this imperious mandate. Their next step was equally vigorous ; for they banished from their territories the Jesuits and Capuchin friars, who obeyed the orders of the pope, in opposition to their express commands. In the process of this controversy they employed their ablest pens, and particularly that of the learned and ingenious Paul Sarpi, of the order of Semites, to demon strate on the one hand, the justice of their cause, and to determine on the other, after an accurate and impartial enquiry, the true limits of the Ro man pontiff's jurisdiction and authority. The arguments of these writers were so strong and urgent, that Baronius, and the other learned ad vocates whom the Pope had employed in sup porting his pretensions and defending his mea sures, struggled in vain against their irresistible evidence. In the mean time all things tended towards a rupture, and Paul V. was gathering together his forces in order to make war upon the Venetians, when Henry IV. king of France, in terposed as Mediator [?/], and concluded a peace

between

(£§" [jy] It must be observed here, that it was at the request of the pope, and not of the Venetians, that Henry IV. in terposed as mediator. The Venetians had nothing to fear.

Their

Chap. I. TJie History of the Romish Church. 14?

between the contending parties, on conditions not CENT. very honourable to the ambitious Pontiff [z]. For XVIL the Venetians could not be persuaded to repeal the edicts and resolutions they had issued against the court of Rome upon this occasion, nor to recall the Jesuits from their exile [a]. It is

remarkable,

Their cause was considered as the common cause of all the sovereign states of Italy ; and the dukes of Urbiito, Modena, and Savoy, had already offered their troops and services to the Republic. But the rash pontiff, perceiving the storm that was gathering against him, took refuge in the Fench mo narch's intercession.

[V] Besides De Thou and other Historians, see Daniel, Histoire de la France, torn. X. p. 385. — Heidegger's Hisloria Papatus Period, vii. sect. ccxx. p. 322. — Jo. Wolfg. Jacgere Hixtoria Eccles. Saec. xvii. Decenri. i. p. 108. More especi ally the writings of the famous Paul Sarpi, commonly called Fra- Paolo, and of the other divines and canonists that de fended the cause of the Republic, deserve a careful and at tentive perusal. For these writings were composed with such solidity, learning, and eloquence, that they produced remark able effects, and contributed much to open the eyes of several princes and magistrates ; and to prevent their submitting blindly and implicitly, as their ancestors had done to the im perious dictates of the Roman pontiffs. Among the most masterly pieces written in this cause, we must place Fra- Pao lo's Istoria delle cose passate entrc Paul V. et la Republ. di Veneiia, published in 4to at Mirandolo, in the year 1624; and his Hiftorict Interdicli Veneti which was published in 4to, at Cambridge, in the year 1626, by Bishop Bedell, who, dur ing these troubles had been chaplain to the English ambassa dor at Venice. Paul V. by forcing the Venetians to publish to the world, in these admirable productions, his arrogance and temerity on the one hand, and many truths unfavourable to the pretensions of the popes on the other, was the occasion of the greatest perplexities and oppositions that the court of Home had to encounter in after times.

[«] When the peace was made between the Venetians and the pope, in the year 1607, the Capuchins and the other eccle siastics, that had been banished on account of their partiality to the cause of Rome, were all re-instated in their respective functions, except the Jesuits. These latter, however, were recalled in the year 1657, under the Pontificate of Alexander VII. in consequence of the earnest and importunate re quests of Lewis XIV. king of France, and several other

L 2 princes,

SECT. II PART

148 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, remarkable, that, at the time of this rupture, the XVIL senate of Venice entertained serious thoughts of a total separation from the church of Rome, in which the ambassadors of England and Holland did all that was in their power to confirm them. But many considerations of a momentous nature in tervened to prevent the execution of this design, which, as it would seem, had not the approbation of the sagacious and prudent Fra-Paolo, notwith standing his aversion to the tyranny and maxims of the court of Rome [&].

XX. Had

princes, who gave the Venetians no rest until they re-admit ted these dangerous guests into their territories. It is, never theless, to be observed, that the Jesuits never recovered the credit and influence they had formerly enjoyed in that Repub lic, nor, at this present time, is there any people of the Romish communion, among whom their society has less power than among the Venetians, who have never yet forgot their rebel* lious behaviour during the quarrel now mentioned. See the Voyage Historique en Italie, Allemagne, Suisse, (published at Amsterdam in 8vo. in the year 1736), torn. i. p. 291. It is further worthy of observation, that since this famous quarrel between the Republic of Venice and the court of Rome, the bulls and rescripts of the popes have just as much authority in that Republic, as its senate judges consistent with the rules of wise policy, and the true interests and welfare of the commu nity. For proof of this, we need go no further than the re spectable testimony of Cardinal Henry Noris, who, in the year 16?6, wrote to Magliabecchi in the following terms: Poche Bulls passevano qitelle acque verso, la parte del Adriatico, per le massime lasciate nel Testamento di Fra-Paolo : i. e. Few papal Bulls pass the Po, or approach the coasts of the Adriatic sea ; the maxims bequeathed lo the Venetians by Fra-Paolo ren* der this passage extremely difficult.

pf] This design of the Venetians is particularly mentioned by Burnet, in his Life of Bishop Bedell, and by La Courayer, in his Defense de la Nouvelle Traditction de I'Histoire du Con- die de trente (published in 8vo at Amsterdam in the year 1742.) p. 35. This latter writer shews plainly, that Fra- Paolo, though his sentiments differed in many points from the doctrine of the church of Rome, yet did not approve of all the tenets received by the Protestants, nor suggest to the Vene* the design of renouncing the Romish faith*

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 149

XX. Had the Portuguese acted with the same CENT. wisdom and resolution that distinguished the Ve- XVIL netians, their contest with the court of Rome, PART x which began under the pontificate of Urban ^^y^/ VIII. in the year 1641, and was carried on until The contest the year 1666, would have been terminated in afj^^an manner equally disadvantageous to the haughty pontiffs and pretensions of the Roman pontiffs. The Portu- p0er^ of guese, unable to bear any longer the tyranny and oppression of the Spanish government, threw off the yoke, and chose Don John, duke of Braganza for their king. Urban VIII. and his successors in the see of Rome, obstinately refused, notwith standing the most earnest and pressing solicitations, both of the French and Portuguese, either to ac knowledge Don John's title to the crown, or to confirm the bishops whom this prince had named to fill the vacant sees in Portugal. Hence it happened, that the greatest part of the kingdom remained for a long time without bishops. The pretended vicar of Christ upon earth, whose character ought to set him above the fear of man, was so slavishly apprehensive of the resentment of the king of Spain, that, rather than offend that monarch, he violated the most solemn obligations of bis station, by leaving such a number of churches without pastors and spiritual guides. The French, and other European courts, advised and exhorted the new king of Portugal to follow the noble example of the Venetians, and to assemble a national council, by which the new created bishops might be confirmed, in spite of the pope, in their respective sees. Don John seemed dis posed to listen to their councils, and to act with resolution and vigour at this important crisis ; but his enterprising spirit was checked by the formidable power of the inquisition, the incredible superstition of the people, and the blind zeal and attachment that the nation, in general discovered

J. 3 for

ART i.

150 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, for the person and authority of the Roman pon- xvii. j. • .*£ Hence the popes continued their insults with

^* F* p r\ i T r

iropuuity ; and it was not before the peace con- eluded between Forty gal and Spain, five and twenty years after this revolution, that the bi shops nominated by the king were confirmed by the pope. It was under the pontificate of Cle ment IX. that an accommodation was brought about between the courts of Portugal and Home. It must, indeed, be observed, to the honour of the Portuguese, that, notwithstanding their super stitious attachment to the court of Rome, they vigorously opposed its ambitious pontiff in all his attempts to draw from this contest an augmenta tion of his power and authority in that kingdom ; nor did the bishops permit, in their respective sees, any encroachment to be made, at this time, upon the privileges and rights enjoyed by their monarchs in former ages [c],

The con- XXI. There had subsisted, during many pre tests be- •. , . <p . .J i,..

ceding ages, an almost uninterrupted mismtelh-

gence betwreen the French monarchs and the tie Roman Horn an pontiffs which had often occasioned an Pontiffs. Open rilpture, and which produced more than once that violent effect during this century. The greatest exertions of industry, artifice, and assiduous labour were employed by the popes, during the whole of this period, to conquer the aversion that the French had conceived against the pretensions and authority of the court of Rome, and to undermine imperceptibly, and ener vate and destroy by degrees, the liberties of the

[V] See Geddes* History of the Pope's behaviour towards Portugal, from 1641 to 1666, in his Miscellaneous Tracts, torn. ii. p. 73 — 186. — The cause of the Portuguese, in this quarrel, is defended with great learning and sagacity by a French writer, whose name was Bulliad, in a book entitled, Pro Eccksiis Lusitanis ad Ckrum Gallicanit.m Libdlo Duo,

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 151

Gallican Church. In this arduous and important CENT. enterprise the Jesuits acted a principal part, and s^n^ seconded with all their dexterity and craft, the PAR? ,/ designs of the aspiring pontiffs. But these tempts and stratagems were effectually defeated and disconcerted by the parliament of Paris ; while many able pens exposed the tyranny and injustice of the papal claims, Richer, Launoy, Petrus de Marca, Natalis Alexander, Ellis, du Pin, and others, displayed their learning and talents in this contest, though with different de grees of merit. They appealed to the ancient de crees of the Gallican church, which they con firmed by recent authorities, and enforced by new and victorious arguments. It will naturally be thought, that these bold and respectable de fenders of the rights and liberties, both of church and state, were amply rewarded, for their gener ous labours, by peculiar marks of the approba tion and protection of the court of France. But this was so far from being always the case, that they received, on the contrary, from time to time several marks of its resentment and displea* sure, designed to appease the rage and indigna tion of the threatening pontiff, whom it was thought expedient to treat sometimes with arti fice and caution. Rome, however, gained but little by this mild policy of the French court. For it has been always a prevailing maxim with the monarchs of that nation, that their preroga tives and pretensions are to be defended against the encroachments of the Roman pontiffs with as little noise and contention as possible ; and that pompous memorials, and warm and vehement re monstrances, are to be carefully avoided, except in cases of urgent necessity [rfj. Nor do these L 4 princes

(tj- \jl~\ It is with a view to this, that Voltaire, speaking of the manner in which the court of France maintains its preroga-. tives against the Roman pontiff, says, pleasantly, that " the king of France kisses the pope's feet, and ties up his hands/*

152 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, princes think it beneath their dignity to yield, xvii. niore or iess? to time and occasion, and even to ' pretend a mighty veneration for the orders and

PART I.

authority of the pontiffs, in order to obtain from them, by fair means, the immunities and privi leges which they look upon as their due. But they are, nevertheless, constantly on their guard ; and, as soon as they perceive the court of Rome, taking advantage of their lenity to extend its do minion, and the lordly popes growing insolent in consequence of their mildness and submission, they then alter their tone, change their measures, and resume the language that becomes the monarchs of a nation, that could never bear the tyranny and oppression of the papal yoke. All this ap pears evidently in the contests that arose between the courts of France and Rome, under the reign of Lewis XIV. of which it will not be improper to give here some interesting instances [e].

XXIL The first of these contests happened thsosedofly under the pontificate of Alexander VII. and was owing to the temerity and insolence of his Corsican guards, who, in the year 16G2, insulted the French ambassador and his lady, the duke and duchess of Crequi, at the instigation, as it is supposed, of the pope's nephews. Lewis de manded satisfaction for this insult offered to his representative ; arid, on the pope's delaying to answer this demand, actually ordered his troops to file off for Itdiy, and to besiege the arrogant pontiff in his capital. The latter, terrified by

these

C3° K] The large note p] of the original, in which Dr. Mosheim has examined that interesting question, viz. " Whe ther or no the papal authority gained or lost ground in France during the seventeenth century," is transposed by the trans lator into the text, and placed at the end of our author's ac count of Lewis XIV's quarrels with the pope, where it comes in with the utmost propriety. See sect, xxiii.

Chap. I. TJie History of the Romish Church. 153

these warlike preparations, implored the clem en- CENT. cy of the incensed monarch, who granted his par- XVIL don and absolution to the humble pontiff, and spEAc^T "' concluded a peace with him at Pisa, in the year s^y-^ 1664, upon the most inglorious and mortifying conditions. These conditions were, that the pope should send his nephew to Paris, in the cha racter of a suppliant for pardon ; that he should brand the Corsican guards with perpetual infamy,

O A A. J *

and break them by a public edict ; and should erect a pyramid at Rome, with an inscription des tined to preserve the memory of this audacious instance of papal insolence, and of the exemplary manner in which it was chastised and humbled by the French monarch. It is however to be ob served, that in this contest, Lewis did not chastise Alexander, considered in his ghostly character as head of the church ; but as a temporal prince, violating the law of nations [,/']. He however shewed on other occasions, that, when properly provoked, he was as much disposed to humble papal as princely ambition, and that he feared the head of the church as little as the temporal ruler of the ecclesiastical state. This appeared evidently by the important and warm debate he had with Innocent XI. considered in his spiritual charac ter, which began about the year 1678, and was carried on with great animosity and contention for several years after. The subject of this con troversy was a right, called in France the regale, by which the French king, upon the death of a bishop, laid claim to the revenues and fruits of his see, and discharged also several parts \_g] of the

episcopal

[ /*] See Jaegeri Hislor. Ecdes. Saec. xvi. Decenn. vii. lib. ii. cap. ii. p. 180. — Voltaire. Siecle. de Louis XIV. torn. i. p. 134-. Edit, de Dresde 1753. — Arckenholtz, Memoires de la Heine Christine, torn. ii. p. 72.

(t^* far] The author means here undoubtedly the collation of all benefices, which became vacant in the diooeae of a de ceased

154 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, episcopal function, until a new bishop was elected;, XVIL Lewis was desirous that all the churches in his dominions should be subject to the regale. In-< nocent pretended, on the contrary, that this claim could not be granted with such universality ; nor would he consent to any augmentation of the prerogatives of this nature that had formerly been enjoyed by the kings of France. Thus the claims of the prince, and the remonstrances of the pontiff, both urged with warmth and per^ severance, formed a sharp and violent contest, which was carried on, on both sides, with spirit and resolution. The pontiff sent forth his bulls and mandates. The monarch opposed their exe cution by the terror of penal laws, and the au^ thority of severe edicts against all who dared to treat them with the smallest regard. When the pontiff refused to confirm the bishops that were nominated by the monarch, the latter took care to have them consecrated and inducted into their respective sees ; and thus, in some measure, de clared to the world that the Gallican church could govern itself without the intervention of the Roman pontiff. Innocent XI. who was a man of a high spirit, and inflexibly obstinate in, his purposes, did not lose courage at a view of these resolute and vigorous proceedings ; but threatened the monarch with the divine ven geance, issued out bull after bull, and did every thing in his power to convince his adversaries, that the vigour and intrepidity, which formerly distinguished the lordly rulers of the Romish church, were not yet totally extinguished [A],

This

ceased bishop before the nomination of his successor. This right of collation, in such cases, was comprehended in the Regale. See note [TJ.

[]/f] See Jo. Hen. Heideggeri Hisforia Papatus, Period, vii. § cccxli. p. 555. (£f- Voltaire Siecle de Louis XIV. torn. i. p. 22 1 . Edit, de Dresde. 1753. A great number of writers havo

either

SECT. II. PART I.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 155

This obstinacy, however, only served to add fuel CENT. to the indignation and resentment of Lewis. And accordingly that monarch summoned the " famous assembly of bishops [f\, which met at Paris, in the year 1682. In this convocation, the ancient doctrine of the Gallican church, that declares the power of the pope to be merely spiri tual, and also inferior to that of a general coun cil, was drawn up anew in four propositions \j}9 which were solemnly adopted by the whole as sembly

either incidentally or professedly treated the subject of the Regale, and have given ample accounts of the controversies it has occasioned. But none has traced out more circumstan tially the rise and progress of this famous right than Cardi nal Henry Norris, in his Istoria delle Investiture Ecclesiast. p. 547, which is inserted in the fourth volume of his works.

C33 [f] This assembly, which consisted of thirty-five bi shops, and as many deputies of the second Order, extended the Regale to all the churches in France without exception. The bishops at the same time, thought proper to represent it to the king as their humble opinion, that those ecclesiastics •whom he should be pleased to nominate, during the vacancy of the see, to benefices attended with cure of souls, were obliged to apply for induction and confirmation to the grand vicars appointed by the chapters.

C3" L/] These four propositions were to the following pur pose :

1. That neither St. Peter nor his successors have received from God any power to interfere, directly, or indirectly, in what concerns the temporal interests of princes and sovereign states ; that kings and princes cannot be deposed by ecclesias tical authority, nor their subjects freed from the sacred obli gation of fidelity and allegiance, by the power of the church, or the bulls of the Roman pontiff.

2. That the decrees of the council of Constance, which maintained the authority of general councils as superior to that of the pope's in spiritual matters, are approved and adop ted by the Gallican church.

3. That the rules, customs, institutions, and observances, which have been received ill the Gallican church, are to be preserved inviolable.

4. That the decisions of the pope, in points of faith, are not infallible, unless they be attended with the consent of the Church.

156 The History of the Romish CJmrcJt.

CENT, sembly, and were proposed to the whole body of *VIL the clergy, and to all the universities throughout PART I!' tne kingdom, as a sacred and inviolable rule of faith. But even this respectable decision of the matter, which gave such a mortal wound to the authority of Rome, did not shake the constancy of its resolute pontiff, or reduce him to silence [A?],

Another contest arose, some time after the one now mentioned, between these two princes, whose mutual jealousy and dislike of each other contri buted much to inflame their divisions. This new dispute broke out in the year 1687? when Innocent XI. wisely resolved to suppress the franchises, and the right of asylum that had former ly been enjoyed by the ambassadors residing at

Rome,

\]c~] This pope was far from keeping silence with respect to the famous propositions mentioned in the preceding note. As they were highly unfavourable to his authority, so he took care to have them refuted and opposed both in private and in public. The principal champion for the papal cause, on this occasion, was Cardinal Celestin Sfondrati, who in the year 1684, published under the feigned name of Eugenius Lorn-, bardus, a treatise, entitled, Regale Sacerdotium Romano Ponti- Jlci assertum, et quatuor propositionibiis explication. This trea-» tise was printed in Switzerland) as appears evidently by the character or form of the letters. A multitude of Italian, Ger man, and Spanish doctors stood forth to support the tottering majesty of the pontiff against the court of France; and more especially the learned Nicholas du Bois, professor at Louvain, whose writings in defence of the pope are mentioned by Bos- suet. But all these papal champions were defeated by the famous prelate last mentioned, the learned and elegant bishop of Meaux, who, by the king's special order, composed that celebrated work which appeared after his death, in two vo lumes 4to, and in the year 1 730, under the following title : Defetisio Declarations celebrima?, quam de Protestate Ecclesias- tica sanxit Clerus Gallicamis, xix Martit, MDCLXXXU, Luxum-* burgi. The late publication of this work was owing to the pro spect of a reconciliation between the courts of France and Rome after the death of Innocent XI. which reconciliation actually took place, and engaged Lewis XIV. to prevent this work being put to the press.

SECT. If. PART I.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Cliurch. 157

Rome [/], and had, on many occasions, proved a CENT. sanctuary for rapine, violence, and injustice, by procuring impunity for the most heinous male factors. The Marquis De Lavardin refused, in the name of the French king, to submit to this new regulation ; and Lewis took all the violent methods that pride and resentment could invent to oblige the pontiff to restore to his ambassa dor the immunities above mentioned '[m]. Inno cent, on the other hand, persisted in his purpose, opposed the king's demands in the most open and intrepid manner, and could not be wrought upon by any consideration to yield, even in appearance to his ambitious adversary [n\. His death, how ever, put an end to this long debate, which had proved really detrimental to both of the contend ing parties. His successors being men of a softer and more complaisant disposition, were less averse to the concessions that were necessary to bring about a reconciliation, and to the measures that were adapted to remove the chief causes of these unseemly contests. They were not, indeed, so far unmindful of the papal dignity, and of the* interests of Rome, as to patch up an agreement on inglorious terms. On the one hand, the right of asylum was suppressed with the king's consent ; on the other, the right of the regale was settled

with

#3* CO This right of asylum extended much further than the ambassador's palace, whose immunity the pope did not mean to violate ; it comprehended a considerable extent of ground which was called a quarter, and undoubtedly gave oc casion to great and crying abuses.

C3" CWG The Marquis de Lavardin began his embassy by entering R&me, surrounded with a thousand men in arms.

Qfj Jaegeri, Historia Ecclesiastic, Saec. xvii. Decenn. ix. p. 19- — Legatio Lavardini, which was published in 1688.— But above all, Memoires de la Revie Christine, torn. ii. p. 248. For Christina took part in this contest, aud adopted the cause of the French monarch.

loB The History of the Romish Clturck.

CENT, with certain modifications [o]. The four famous xvil. propositions ', relating to the pope's authority and PART !! jurisdiction, were softened, by the king's per- v.^y^.^ mission, in private letters addressed to the pontiff by certain bishops ; but they were neither abro gated by the prince, nor renounced by the clergy ; on the contrary, they still remain in force, and oc cupy an eminent place among the laws of the kingdom.

Whether XXIII. [^7] Several Protestant writers of emi- pajlai lu! nent merit and learning, lament the accessions of thority power and authority which the Roman pontiffs ground in are supposed to have gained in France during the tiiis cen- course of this century. They tell us, with sor row, that the Italian notions of the papal majesty and jurisdiction, which the French nation had, in former ages, looked upon with abhorrence, gained ground now, and had infected not only the nobi lity and clergy, but almost all ranks and orders of men ; and from hence they conclude, that the famous rig/its arid liberties of the Galilean church have suffered greatly by the perfidious stra tagems of the Jesuits. They are led into this opinion by certain measures that were taken by the French court, and which seemed to favour the pretensions of the Roman pontiff. They are confirmed in it by the declamations of the Janse- nists, and other modern writers among the French, who complain of the high veneration that was paid to the papal bulls during this century ; of the success of the Jesuits in instilling into the mind of the king and his counsellors the maxims of Home, and an excessive attachment to its bishop ;

of

[V] See Fleury, Institutions du Droit Ecclesiastique Fran cois, which excellent work is translated into Latin. {£f=- Dr. Mosheim refers to p. 454. of the Latin version.

(J33 Q p\ This sect, xxiii. contains the ample note [7], which is to be found at p. 880, of the original. It comes in here with more propriety.

SECT. II. PART I.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 159

of the violence and ill treatment that were offer- CENT. ed to all those who adhered stedfastly to the doctrine and maxims of their forefathers ; and of the gradual attempts that were made to intro duce the formidable tribunal of the inquisition into France. But it will perhaps appear* on ma ture consideration that too much stress is laid, by many, on these complaints; and that the rights and privileges of the Gallican church were in this century, and are actually at this day, in the same state and condition in which we find them during those earlier ages, of which the writers and de- claimers above-mentioned incessantly boast. It might be asked, where are the victories that are said to have been obtained over the French by the popes of Home, and which some Protestant doctors, lending a credulous ear to the complaints of the Jansenists and Appellants, think they per ceive with the utmost clearness ? I am persuaded it would be difficult, if not impossible, to give a satisfactory answer in the affirmative to this ques^ tion.

It is true, indeed, that as the transactions of government, in general, are now carried on 'in France, with more sub til ty, secresy, and art, than in former times ; so in particular, the stratagems and machinations of the Roman pontiffs have been opposed and defeated with more artifice and less noise, than in those more rude and unpolished ages, when almost every contest was terminated by brutal force and open violence. The opposi tion between the court of France and the bishop of Home still subsists ; but the manner of termi nating their differences is changed ; and their de bates are carried on with less clamour, though not certainly with less animosity and vigour, than in the times of old. This new and prudent manner of disputing is not agreeable to the restless, fiery, and impatient temper of the French, who have

an

1GO

CENT. XVII.

IECT. II. PART I.

The History of the Romish Church.

an irresistible propensity to noisy, clamorous, and expeditious proceedings; and hence undoubtedly arise all the complaints we have heard, and still hear, of the decline of the liberties of the Galli- can church, in consequence of the growing in fluence and perfidious counsels of the Jesuits. If those, however, who are accustomed to make these complaints, would for a moment suspend their prejudices, and examine with attention the history, and also the present state of their coun try, they would soon perceive that their eccle siastical liberties \_q]9 instead of declining, or of being neglected by their monarchs, are maintain ed and preserved with more care, resolution, and foresight, than ever. It must indeed be acknow ledged, that, in Prance, there are multitudes of cringing slaves, who basely fawn upon the Ro man pontiffs, exalt their prerogatives, revere their majesty, and, through the dictates of superstition, interest, or ambition, are ever ready to hug the papal chain, and submit their necks blindly to the yoke of those ghostly tyrants ; but it may be proved by the most undoubted facts, and by in numerable examples, that these servile creatures of the pope abounded as much in France in for mer ages as they do at this day ; and it must be also considered, that it is not by the counsels of this slavish tribe that the springs of government are moved, or the affairs of state and church transacted. It must be further acknowledged,

that

(cf= £9] It is not necessary to advertise the reader, that by these liberties are not meant, that rational and Christian liberty •which entitles every individual to follow the light of his own conscience and the dictates of his own judgment in religious matters; for no such liberty is allowed in France. The liber* ties of the Galilean church consists in the opposition which that church has made, at different times to the overgrown power of the Roman pontiff, and to his pretended personal .infallibility.

Chap. I. Tlie History of the Romish Church. 161

that the Jesuits had arrived at a very high degree CENT. of influence and authority [r], and sometimes g^1^ have credit enough to promote measures that do PART not all appear consistent with the rights of Galilean church, and must consequently he con sidered as heavy grievances by the patrons of the ancient ecclesiastical liberty. But here it may be observed, on the one hand, that many such measures have been proposed and followed before the rise of the Jesuits ; and, on the other, that many affairs of great consequence are daily transacted in a manner highly displeasing and de trimental to that society, snd extremely disagree able to the Roman pontiffs. If it be alleged, that those who defend with learning and judgment the ancient doctrines and maxims of the Galli- can church scarcely escape public censure and pun- irishment, and that those who maintain them with vehemence and intemperate zeal are frequently rewarded with exile or a prison; nay, that the most humble and modest patrons of these doc trines are left in obscurity without encourage ment or recompense: all this must be granted* But it must be considered on the other hand, that the cause they maintain, and the ancient doctrines and maxims they defend, are not con demned, nor even deserted; the matter is only this, that the prince and his ministry have fallen upon a new method of maintaining and support ing them. It appears to them much more con ducive to public peace and order, that the stra tagems and attempts of the Roman pontiffs should VOL. v. M be

(fcf- [V] Dr. Mosheim wrote this in the year 1753, before the suppression of the Order of Jesuits in France. The downfal of that Society and the circumstances that have attended it, seem both to illustrate and confirm his judicious notion with respect to the degree of credit and influence which the popes hare had in that kingdom for some time past.

162 Tlie History of the Bomish Church.

CENT, be opposed and defeated by secret exertions o^ sjfcTUii res°luti°n and vigour, without noise or ostenta- PART i. ti°n> tnan by learned productions and clamorous v^Y^*/ disputes ; which, for the most part excite fac tions in the kingdom, inflame the spirits of the people, throw the state into tumult and confu sion, exasperate the pontiffs, and alienate them still more and more from the French nation. In the mean time the doctors and professors, who are placed in the various seminaries of learning, are left at liberty to instruct the youth in the an cient doctrine and discipline of the church, and to explain and inculcate those maxims and laws by which in former times, the papal authority was restrained and confined within certain limits, If these laws and maxims are infringed, and if even violent methods are employed against those who adhere stedfastly to them, this happens but very rarely, and never but when some case of ex treme necessity, or the prospect of some great ad vantage to the community, absolutely require their suspension. Besides, those who sit at the political helm, always *take care to prevent the pope's reaping much benefit from this suspension or neglect of the ancient laws and maxims of the church. This circumstance, which is of so much importance in the present question, must appear evident to such as will be at the pains to look into the history of the debates that attended, and the consequences that followed, the reception of the Bull Unigenitus in France ', than which no papal edict could seem more repugnant to the rights and liberties of the Gallican church. But in the business of this Bull, as in other transactions of a like nature, the court proceeded upon this po litical maxim, that a smaller evil is to be sub mitted to, when a greater may be thereby pre vented.

In

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 163

In a word, the kings of France have almost al-

ways treated the Roman pontiffs as the heroes, «?£IL who are said, in pagan story, to have descended PAR^ ^ into Tartarus, behaved towards the triple-jawed ^—~Y~—' guardian of that lower region : sometimes they offered a soporiferous cake to suppress his grum bling and menacing tone; at others they terri fied him with their naked swords, and the din of arms ; and this with a view to stop his barking, and to obtain the liberty of directing their course in the manner they thought proper. There is nothing invidious designed by this comparison, which certainly represents, in a lively manner, the caresses and threatenings that were employed by the French monarchs, according to the nature of the times, the state of affairs, the character of the pontiffs, and other incidental circumstances, in order to render the court of Rome favourable to their designs. We have dwelt, perhaps, too much upon this subject ; but we thought it not im proper to undeceive many Protestant writers, who too much influenced by the bitter complaints and declamations of certain Jansenists, and not suffi ciently instructed in the history of these ecclesias tical contentions, have formed erroneous notions concerning the point we have here endeavoured to examine and discuss.

XXIV. The corruptions that had been com- The state of plained of in preceding ages, both in the higher and inferior Orders of the Romish clergy, were rather increased than diminished during this cen tury, as the most impartial writers of that com munion candidly confess. The bishops were rarely indebted for their elevation to their emi nent learning or superior merit. The interces sion of potent patrons, services rendered to men in power, connections of blood, and simoniacal practices, were, generally speaking, the steps to preferment ; and, \vhat wras still more deplorable, M % their

SECT. II PART I.

The History oftlte Romish Cliurck*

CENT, their promotion was sometimes owing to their" xvii. yices Their lives were such, as might be ex- r pected from persons who had risen in the church by such unseemly means ; for had they been ob liged by their profession, to give public exam* pies of those vices which the holy laws of the Gospel so solemnly a-nd expressly condemn, in stead of exhibiting patterns of sanctity and virtu6 to their flock, they could not have conducted themselves otherwise than they did [s]. Some indeed there were, who, sensible of the obliga tions of their profession, displayed a true Chris tian zeal, in administering useful instruction, and exhibiting pious examples to their flock, and ex erted their utmost vigour and activity, in oppo sing the vices of the sacred Order in particular, and the licentiousness of the times in general. But these rare patrons of virtue and piety were either ruined by the resentment and stratagems of their envious and exasperated brethren, or were left in obscurity, without that encouragement and support that were requisite to enable them to exe* cute effectually their pious and laudable pur poses. The same treatment fell to the lot of those among the lower order of the clergy, who endeavoured to maintain the cause of truth and virtue. But the number of sufferers in this noble cause was small, compared with the multitude of corrupt ecclesiastics, who were carried away with the torrent instead of opposing it, and whose lives were spent in scenes of pleasure, or in the anxiety and toils of avarice and ambition. While we acknowledge, that, among the bishops and infe rior

|V| The reader may see these disagreeable accounts of the Corruptions of the clergy confirmed by a great number of un exceptionable testimonies, drawn from the writings of the most eminent doctors of the Romish church, in the Memoires de Port Royal, torn. ii. p. S08»

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 165

rior clergy, there were several exceptions from CENT. that general prevalence of immorality and licen- tiousness with which the sacred Order was charge- able; it is also incumhent upon us to do justice to the merit of some of the Roman pontiffs, in this century, who used their most zealous endeavours to reform the manners of the clergy, or, at least, to oblige them to observe the rules of external de cency in their conduct and conversation. It is however matter of surprise, that these pontiffs did not perceive the un surmountable obstacles to the success of their counsels, and the fruits of their wise and salutary edicts, that arose from the inter^ nal constitution of the Romish church, and the very nature of the papal government. For were the Roman pontiffs even divinely inspired, and really infallible, yet unless this inspiration and in fallibility were attended with a miraculous power, and with the supernatural privilege of being pre sent in many places at the same time, it is not conceivable how they should ever entertain a no tion of the possibility of restoring or maintaining order, or good morals* among that prodigious multitude of persons of all classes and characters that are subject to their jurisdiction.

XXV. Though the monks, in several places, be- Thestateor haved with much more circumspection and decen- cy than in former times, yet they had every where departed, in a great measure, from the spirit of their founders, and the primitive laws of their re spective institutions. About the commencement of this century, their convents and colleges made a most wretched and deplorable figure, as we learn from the accounts of the wisest and most learned, even of their own writers. But we find further on, several attempts made to remove this disorder. The first were made by some wise and pious Benedictines, who, in France, and other countries, reformed several monasteries of their

M 3 Order,

166 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT. Order, and endeavoured to bring them back, as near as was possible, to the laws and discipline of their founder [t]. Their example was followed by the monks of Clugni, the Cistercians, the regu lar canons, the Dominicans and Franciscans [u]. Jt is from this period that we are to date the di vision of the monastic Orders into two general classes ; one of these comprehends the Reformed monks, who, reclaimed from that licentiousness and corruption of manners that had formerly dis honoured their societies, lead more strict and regu lar lives, and discover in their conduct a greater regard to the primitive laws of their Order. The other is composed of the Un^rcformed Orders, who, forgetting the spirit of their founders, and the rules of their institute, spend their days in ease and pleasure, and have no taste for the auste rities and hardships of the monastic life. The latter class is by far the most numerous ; and the greatest part, even of the Reformed monks, does not only come short of that purity of manners which their rule enjoins, but are moreover gradually

and

\JT\ Le Boeuf, Memolres sur fHisloire cfAuxerre, torn. ii. p. 513. where there is an account of the first Reforms made in the convents during this century. — See Martene's Voyage Litteraire de deux Bejiedictins, par. II. p. 97'

[V] There is an account of all the convents reformed in this century , in Helyot's Hisioire des Ordres, torn. v. vi. vii. to which, however, several interesting circumstances may be add ed, by consulting other writers. The Reform of the Monks of Clugni is amply described by the Benedictines, in the Gallia Christiana) torn. vii. p. 544. The same authors speak of the Reform of the Regular Canons of St. Augustjn, torn. vii. p. 778. 787. 790. — For an account of that of the Cistercians, see Mabillon, Annal. Benedict, torn. vi. p. 121. — Voyage Litte raire de deux Benedictins, torn. i. p. 7, 8. torn. ii. p. 133. 229- 269' 303. The Cistercians were no sooner reformed them selves, than they Used their most zealous endeavours for the reformation of the whole society (i. c. of the Benedictine Or der,) but in vain. See Meaufou, Vic de I' Abbe de la Trappe-, torn, i. p. 192.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 167

and imperceptibly relapsing into their former in- CENT. dolence and disorder.

XXVI. Among the Reformed monks, a parti- cular degree of attention is due to certain Bene- dictine societies, or congregations, who surpass all The Con- the other monastic Orders, both in the excellence and utility of their rules iind constitution, and in the zeal and perseverance with which they adhere to them. The most famous of these societies is the Congregation of St. Maur [w]9 which was founded in the year 1620, by the express order of Gregory XV. and was enriched by Urban VIII. in the year 1627, with several donations and pri vileges. It does not indeed appear, that even this society adheres strictly to the spirit and maxims of Benedict, whose name it bears, nor is it beyond the reach of censure in other respects ; but these imperfections are compensated by the great number of excellent rules and institutions that are observed in it, and by the regular lives and learn ed labours of its members. For in this congre gation there is a select number of persons, who are distinguished by their genius and talents, set apart for the study of sacred and profane litera ture, and more especially of history and antiqui ties ; and this learned part of the society is fur nished with all the means and materials of kuow- M 4< ledge

[wf] See the Gallia Christiana Nova, an admirable work, composed by the Congregation of St. Maur, torn. vii. p. 474.-— Helyot, Histoire des Ordres, torn. vi. cap. xxxvii. p. 256. The letters patent of Pope Gregory XV. by which the esta blishment of this famous congregation was approved and con firmed, were criticised with great severity and rigour by Lau- noy, that formidable scourge of all the Monastic orders, in his Examen privil. S. Germani, torn. iii. p. i. opp. p. 303. The same author gives an account of the dissensions that arose in this congregation immediately after its establishment ; but an account which savours too much of that partiality that he was chargeable with, whenever he treated of monastic affairs ; see his Assert. Inquisit. in privil. S. Medardi, p. i. cap. Ixxvi, p^ 127- torn. iii. opp. p. 2.

168 The History of the Romish Church,

CENT, ledge in a rich abundance, and with every thing XVIL that can tend to. facilitate their labours and ren- them successful [ft]. It must be abundantly

known,

[V] The Benedictines celebrate, in pompous terms, the ex-» ploits of this congregation in general, and more especially their zealous and successful labours in restoring order, discipline, and virtue, in a great number of monasteries, which were fall ing into ruin through the indolence and corruption of their licentious members; see the " Voyage de deux Religieux Bene- dictins de la Congregation de S. Maur," torn. i. p. 16. torn. ii. p. 47. This eulogy, though perhaps exaggerated, is not en tirely unmerited ; and there is no doubt but the Benedictines have contributed much to restore the credit of the monastic Orders. There are, nevertheless, several classes of ecclesi« astics in the Romish church, who are no well-wishers to this learned congregation, though their dislike be founded on differ ent reasons. In the first class, we may place a certain num ber of ambitious prelates, whose artful purposes have been dis appointed by this ingenious fraternity ; for the monks of St. Maur, having turned their principal study towards ancient history and antiquities of every kind, and being perfectly ac quainted with ancient records, diplomas, and charters, are thus peculiarly qualified to maintain their possessions, their juris dictions, and privileges, against the litigious pretensions of the bishops, and have, in fact, maintained them with more success than their Order could do in former times, when destitute of learning, or but ill furnished with the knowledge of ancient history. The Jesuits form the second class of adversaries, with whom this learned congregation has been obliged to struggle ^ for their lustre and reputation being considerably eclipsed by the numerous and admirable productions of these Benedictines, they have used their utmost endeavours to sink, or at least to diminish, the credit of such formidable rivals. " See Simon, Lettres Choises," torn. iv. p. 36, 45. These Benedictines have a third set of enemies, who are instigated by superstition ; and it is not improbable, that this superstition may be accompani ed with a certain mixture of envy. To understand this fully, it must be observed, that the learned Monks, of whom we are now speaking, have substituted an assiduous application to the culture of philology and literature in the place of that bodily and manual labour which the Rule of St, Benedict prescribes to his followers. The more robust, healthy, and vigorous Monks, are obliged to employ a certain portion of the day in working with their hands ; while those of a weaker constitu tion., and superior genius, are allowed to exchange bodily for

mental

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church, 169

known, to those who have any acquaintance with CENT. the history and progress of learning in Europe, XVIL what signal advantages the republic of letters has derived from the establishment of this famous Congregation, whose numerous and admirable pro ductions have cast a great light upon all the va rious branches of philology and Belles Lcttrcs, and whose researches have taken in the whole circle 6f science, philosophy excepted [?/].

' XXVII, Though

mental labour, and instead of cultivating the lands or gardens of the convent, to spend their days in the pursuit of know^ ledge, both human and divine. The lazy monks envy this bodily repose ; and the superstitious and fanatical ones, who are vehemently prejudiced in favour of the ancient monastic discipline, behold, with contempt, these learned researches as unbecoming the monastic character, since they tend to divert the mind from divine contemplation. This superstitious and ab surd opinion was maintained, with peculiar warmth and vehe mence, by Armand John Bouthelier de Ranee, abbot of La Trappe, in his book Des devoirs monastiqucs ; upon which the Benedictines employed Mabillon, the most learned of their fraternity, to defend their cause, and to expose the reveries of the abbot in their proper colours. This he did with remark able success, in his famous book, De Sludiis Monasticit, which was first published in 8vo at Paris, in the year 16.91, passed afterwards through several editions, and was translated into different languages. Hence arose that celebrated question, which was long debated with great warmth and animosity in France, viz. " How far a monk may, consistently with his character, apply himself to the study of literature ?" There is an elegant and interesting history of this controversy given, Jby Vincent Thuillier, a most learned monk of the congrega tion of St. Maur ; see the " Opera Posthuma Mabillonii et Euinartii," tom« i. p. 365 — 425,.

\_y~\ The curious reader will find an account of the authors and learned productions with which the congregation of St. Maur has enriched the republic of letters, in Ph. le Cerf's " Bibliotheque Historique et Critique des Auteurs de la Con gregation de St. Maur," published at the Hague in 8vo in 1726; and also in Bernard Pez's " Bibliotheca Benedictino- Mariana," published in 8vo at Augsbourg in 1716. — These Benedictines still maintain their literary fame by tlie frequent publications of laborious and learned productions in all the va rious branches of sacred and profane literature.

170 The History of the Romish C/turcL

XXVII. Though these pious attempts to re form the monasteries were not entirely unsuccess ful, yet the effects they produced, even in those places, where they had succeeded most, came far short of that perfection of austerity that had seiz ed the imaginations of a set of persons, whose number is considerable in the Romish church, though their credit be small, and their severity be generally looked upon as excessive and disgusting. These rigid censors having always in their eye the ancient discipline of the monastic Orders, and bent on reducing the modern convents to that austere discipline looked upon the changes above- mentioned as imperfect and trifling. They con sidered a monk as a person obliged, by the sanc tity of his profession, to spend his whole days in prayers, tears, contemplation, and silence ; in the perusal of holy books, and the hardships of bo dily labour ; nay, they went so far as to main tain, that all other designs, and all other occupa tions, however laudable and excellent in them selves, were, entirely foreign from the monastic vocation, and, on that account, vain and sinful in persons of that Order, This severe plan of mo nastic discipline was recommended by several per sons, whose obscurity put it out of their power to influence many in its behalf; but it was also adopted by the Jansenists, who reduced it to prac tice in certain places [#], and in none with more success and reputation than in the female convent

of

[V] See the Memoires cle Port-Royal, torn. ii. p. fiOl, 602. —-Martin Barcos, the most celebrated Jan senist of this century, introduced this austere rule of discipline into the monastery of St. Ci/ran, of which he was abbot. See the " Gallia Christiana/' torn. ii. p. 132 — Moleon, "Voyages Liturgiques," p. 13.5. But, after the death of this famous abbot, the monks of his cloister relapsed into their former disorder, and resumed their former manners. See " Voyage de deux, Benedictius," tom. i. p. i. p. 18.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 171

of Port- Royal where it has subsisted from the year CENT. 1618 until our time [a]. These steps of the Jan- senists excited a spirit of emulation, and several SPART , * monasteries exerted themselves in the imitation of ^~Y^V' this austere model; but they were all surpassed by the famous Bouthillier de llance, abbot de la Trappe [fr], wrho, with the most ardent zeal, and indefatigable labour, attended with uncommon success, introduced into his monastery this disci pline, in all its austere and shocking perfection. This abbot, so illustrious by his birth, and so re markable for his extraordinary devotion, was so happy as to vindicate his fraternity from the charge of excessive superstition, which the Janse-

nists

[V] Helyot, " Histoire des Ordres," torn. v. chap. xliv. p. 45o.

$3= p>] This illustrious abbot shewed very early an extraor dinary genius for the Belles Leltres. At the age often, he was master of several of the Greek and Roman poets, and under stood Homer perfectly. At the age of twelve or thirteen, he gave an edition of Anacrcon, with learned annotations. Some writers allege, that he had imbibed the voluptuous spirit of that poet, and that his subsequent application to the study of theology in the Sorbonne did not extinguish it entirely. They also attribute his conversion to a singular incident. They tell us, that returning from the country, after six weeks absence from a lady whom he loved passionately (and not in vain), he went directly to her chamber by a back stair, without having the patience to make any previous enquiry about her health and situation. On opening the door, he found the chamber iluminated, and hung with black ; — and, on approaching the bed — saw the most hideous spectacle that could be presented to his eyes, and the most adapted to mortify passion, inspire horror, and engender the gloom of melancholy devotion, in a mind too lively and too much agitated to improve this shocking change to the purposes of rational piety ; he saw his fair mis tress in her shroud — dead of the small pox — all her charms fled — and succeeded by the ghastly lines of death, and the fright ful marks of that terrible disorder. — From that moment, it is said, our abbot retired from the world, repaired to La Trappc, the most gloomy, barren, and desolate spot in the whole king dom of France, and there spent the forty last years of his life in perpetual acts of the most austere piety.

PART

172 Tfie History- of the Romish Churcfi.

CENT, nhts had drawn upon themselves by the austerity xvir. of their monastic discipline; and yet his society

* "" observed the severe and laborious rule of the an-. cient Cistereians, whom they even surpassed in abstinence, mortifications, and self-denial. This. Order still subsists, under the denomination of the Reformed Bernardins of La TYappe, and has several monasteries both in Spain and Italy ; but, if credit may be given to the accounts of writers who seem to be well informed, it is degenerating gradually from the austere and painful discipline of its famous founder [c],

New mo- XXVIII. The Romish church, from whose i- prolific womb all the various forms of superstition issued forth in an amazing abundance, saw several new monastic establishments arise within its bor ders during this century. The greatest part of them we shall pass over in silence, and confine ourselves to the mention of those which have ob tained some degree of fame, or at least made a certain noise in the world.

We begin with the Pat hers of the oratory of the Holy Jesus, a famous Order, instituted by Cardinal Berulle, a man of genius and talents, who dis played his abilities with such success, in the ser vice, both of state and church, that he was gene rally looked upon as equally qualified for shining in these very different spheres. This Order* which, both in the nature of its rules, and in the design of its establishment, seems to be in direct opposition to that of the Jesuits, was founded in the year 1613, has produced a considerable number of per

sons

[c~] Marsolier, " Vie de 1'Abbe de la Trappe/' published at Paris in 1702 in 4>to, and in 1703 in 2 vols, 12mo. — Meau- pou, " Vie de M. 1'Abbe de la Trappe/' published at Paris in 2 vols. 8vo, in 1702. — Felibien, " Description de 1'Abbaye de la Trappe," published at Paris in 1671.— Helyot, " His« toire des Ordres," torn. vi. chap. i. p. 1.

Chap. I. The History of the Homis'li Church. 173

sons eminent for their piety, learning, and elo- CENT. quence, and still maintains its reputation in this XVIL respect. Its memhers however have, on account PAR^ of certain theological productions, heen suspected of introducing new opinions ; and this suspicion has not only heen raised, hut is also industriously fomented and propagated hy the Jesuits. The priests who enter into this society are not obliged to renounce their property or possessions, but only to refuse all ecclesiastical cures or offices to which any fixed revenues or honours are annexed, as long as they continue members of this fraternity, from which they are, however, at liberty to re tire whenever they think proper [rf]. While they continue in the Order they are bound to perform with the greatest fidelity and accuracy, all the priestly functions, and to turn the whole bent of their zeal and industry to one single point, even the preparing and qualifying themselves and others for discharging them daily with greater perfection, and more abundant fruits. If, there fore, we consider this Order in the original end of its institution, its convents may, not improperly be called the schools of sacerdotal divinity [e]. It is nevertheless to be observed, that in later times,

the,

The Pothers or Priests (as they are also called) •f the oratory, are not, properly speaking, religious, or monks, being bound by no vows, and their institute being purely ec clesiastical or sacerdotal.

[>] See Habert de Cerisi, " Vie du Cardinal Berulle, fon- dateur de TOratoire de Jesus," published at Paris in 4to in the, year 1646 — Morini, " Vita Antiq." prefixed to his Orientalia, p. 3, 4, 5. 110. — R. Simon, Lettres Chaises, torn. ii. p. 60. et " Bibliotheque Critique (published under the fictitious name of Saint Jorre") torn. hi. p. 303, 324, 330. For an account of the genius and capacity of Berulle, see Baillee, " Vie de Richer," p. 220. — 342. — Le Vassor, " Histoire de Louis XIII." torn. iii. p. 3.97. — Helyot, " Histoire des Ordres," torn. viii. chap. x. p. 53.—- •" Gallia Christiana Benedictinor/' torn. vii. p. 976.

SECT. II. PART

174 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, the Fathers of the Oratory have not confined themselves to this single object, but have imper- "' ceptibly extended their original plan, and applied themselves to the study of polite literature and theology, which they teach with reputation in their colleges [,/*].

After these Fathers, the next place is due to the Priests of the Missions, an order founded by Vin cent de Paul (who has obtained, not long agoy the honours of saintship,) and formed into a re gular congregation, in the year 1632, by Pope Urban VIII. The rule prescribed to this society, by its founder, lays its members under the three following obligations : First, to purify themselves, and to aspire daily to higher degrees of sanctity and perfection, by prayer, meditation, the perusal of pious books, and other devout exercises t Secondly, to employ eight months in the year in the villages, and, in general, among the country- people, in order to instruct them in the principles of religion, form them to the practice of piety and virtue, accommodate their differences, and admi nister consolation and relief to the sick and indi gent : Thirdly, to inspect and govern the semina ries in which persons designed for holy orders re ceive their education, and to instruct the candidates for the ministry in the sciences that relate to their respective vocations \_g].

The Priests of 'the Missions were also intrusted with the direction and government of a Female Order called Virgins of ' Love, or Daughters of Charity, whose office it was to administer assistance

and

03" E/] The Fathers of the Oratory will now be obliged, in a more particular manner, to extend their plan ; since, by the suppression of the Jesuits in France, the education of youth is committed to them.

CgG Abely Vie de Vincent de Paul, published in 4to at Paris in 1664. — Helyot, loc. cit. torn. viii. chap. xi. p. 64.— • Qallia Christiana, torn. vii. p; 998.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 173

and relief to indigent persons, who were confined CENT. to their beds by sickness and infirmity. This Order was founded by a noble virgin, whose name was Louisa le Gras, and received, in the year 1660, the approbation of Pope Clement IX. [A]. — The Brethren and Sisters of the pious and Christian schools, who are now commonly cal led Pietists, were formed into a society in the year 1678, by Nicholas Barre, and obliged, by their engagements, to devote themselves to the educa tion of poor children of both sexes \i~\. It would be endless to mention all the religious societies which rose and fell, were formed by fits of zeal, and dissolved by external incidents, or by their own internal principles of instability and decay.

XXIX. If the Company of Jesus, so called, The SO(;Iety which may be considered as the soul of the papal0 hierarchy, and the main spring that directs its motions, had not been invincible, it must have sunk under the attacks of those formidable ene mies that, during the course of this century as sailed it on all sides and from every quarter. When we consider the multitude of the adversa ries the Jesuits had to encounter, the heinous crimes with which they were charged, the innu merable affronts they received, and the various calamities in which they were involved, it must appear astonishing that they yet subsist ; and still more so, that they enjoy any degree of public esteem, and are not, on the contrary, sunk in ob livion, or covered with infamy. In France, Hol land, Poland, and Italy, they experienced, from time to time, the bitter effects of a warm and

vehement

[A] Gobillon, Vie dc Madame De Gras, Fondalrice dex Fillet de la Charlie, published in 12mo at Paris, in the year 1576.

(j ] Helyot, Hisioire des Ordrcs, torn. viii. chap. xxx. p, 233.

176 27# History dfthe ftomish Church

CENT, vehement opposition, and were, both in public XVIL and private, accused of the greatest enormities, SPART " aiu^ charged with maintaining pestilential errors v^y^/ and maxims, that were equally destructive of the temporal and eternal interests of mankind, by their tendency to extinguish the spirit of true re ligion, and to trouble the order and peace of civil society. The Jansenists^ and all who espoused their cause, distinguished themselves more especially in this opposition. They com posed an innumerable multitude of books, in or der to cover the sons of Loyola with eternal re proach, and to expose them to the hatred and scorn of the whole universe. Nor were these pro ductions mere defamatory libels dictated by ma lice alone, or pompous declamations, destitute of arguments and evidence* On the contrary, they were attended with the strongest demonstra tion, being drawn from undeniable facts, and confirmed by unexceptionable testimonies [A?].

Yet

[T] An account of this opposition to, and of these contests with the Jesuits, would furnish matter for many volumes ; since there is scarcely any Roman Catholic country which has not been the theatre of violent divisions between the sons of Loyola, and the magistrates, monks, or doctors, of the Ro mish Church. In these contests, the Jesuits seemed almost al ways to be vanquished ; and nevertheless, in the issue, they al ways came victorious from the field of controversy. A Janse- nist writer, proposed, some years ago, to collect into one rela tion the accounts of these contests that lie dispersed in a multi tude of books, and to give a complete history of this famous Order. The first volume of his work accordingly appeared at Utrecht in the year 1741, was accompanied with a curious Preface, and entitled, "Histoiredes Religieuxdela Campagnie de Jesus." If we may give credit to what this author tells us of the voyages he undertook, the dangers and difficulties he en countered, and the number of years he spent in investigating the proceedings, and in detecting the frauds and artifices of the Jesuits, we must certainly be persuaded, that no man could be better qualified for composing the history of this insidious Order. But this good man, returning imprudently into France, was discovered by his exasperated enemies the Jesuits, and is

said

PART I.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 177

Yet all this was far from overturning that fabric CENT. of profound and insidious policy which the Je suits had raised, under the protection of the' Ro man pontiffs, and the connivance of deluded princes and nations. It seemed, on the contrary, as if the opposition of such a multitude of ene mies and accusers had strengthened their interest VOL. v. N instead

said to have perished miserably by their hands. Hence not above a third part of his intended work was either published or finished for the press, (p^r Some things may be added, both by way of correction and illustration, to what Dr. Mosheim has here said concerning the history of the Jesuits and its author. In the first place, its author or compiler is still alive, resides at the Hague, passes by the name of Benard, is supposed to be a Jansenist, and a relation of the famous Father Quenel, whom the Jesuits persecuted with such violence in France. He is a native of France, and belonged to the oratory. It is also true, that he went thither from Holland several years ago ; and it was believed, that he had fallen a victim to the resentment of the Jesuits, until his return to the Hague proved that report false. Secondly, This history is carried no farther down than the year 1572, notwithstanding the express promises and en gagements by which our author bound himself, four and twen ty years ago (in the Preface to his first volume), to publish the whole in a very short time, declaring that it was ready for the press. This suspension is far from being honourable to Mr. Benard, who is still living at the Hague, and consequently at full liberty to accomplish his promise. This has made some suspect, that though Mr. Benard is too much out of the Jesuits reach to be influenced by their threatenings, he is not, however, too far from them to be move'd by the eloquence of their pro mises, or stedfast enough to stand out against the weighty re monstrances they may have employed to prevent the further publication of his history. It may be observed, thirdly, that the character of a traveller, who has studied the manners and conduct of the Jesuits in the most remarkable scenes of their transactions in Europe, and the other parts of the globe, is here assumed by Mr. Benard as the most pleasing manner of conveying the accounts which he compiled in his closet. These accounts do not appear to be false, though the character of a traveller, assumed by the compiler, be fictitious. It must be allowed, on the contrary, that Mr. Benard has drawn his rela tions from good sources, though his style and manner cannot well be justified from tlie charge of acrimony and malignity.

178 Tlie History of the Romish Oiurch.

CENT, instead of diminishing it, and added to their af fluence and prosperity instead of bringing -on their destruction. Amidst the storm that threat- ened them with a fatal shipwreck, they directed their course with the utmost dexterity, tranquil lity and prudence. Thus they got safe into the desired harbour, and arose to the very summit o£ spiritual authority in the church oiRome. Avoid ing rather than repelling the assaults of their ene mies, opposing for the most part patience and si lence to their redoubled insults, they proceeded uniformly and stedfastly to their great purpose, and they seemed to have attained it. For those very nations who formerly looked upon a Jesuit as a kind of monster, and as a public pest, com mit, at this day, some through necessity, some through choice, and others through both, a great part of their interests and transactions to the di rection of this most artful and powerful society [/].

XXX. All

[7] It may perhaps be affirmed with truth, that none of the Roman Catholic nations attacked the Jesuits with more vehe~ mence and animosity than the French have done upon several occasions ; and it is certain, that the Jesuits in that kingdom have been, more than once, involved in great difficulties and distress. To be convinced of this, the reader has only to consult Du Boulay's Historia Academic Parisiensis, torn. vi. p. 559, 648, 676, 738, 742, 744, 763, 774, 874, 8.90, 898, 909, in which he will find an ample and accurate account of the re solutions and transactions of the Parliament and university of Paris, and also of the proceedings of the people in general, to the detriment of this artful and dangerous society. But what was the final issue of all these resolutions and transactions, and in what did all this opposition end ? I answer, in the exaltation and grandeur of the Jesuits. They had been banished with ignominy out of the kingdom, and were recalled from their exile, and honourably restored to their former credit in the year 1604, under the reign of Henry IV. notwithstanding the remonstrances of many persons of the highest rank and dignity, (who were shocked beyond expression at this unac countably mean and ignoble step. See Memoires de Sully (the modern edition published at Geneva), torn. v.p. 83, 314..

After

^

Chap. I. Tike History of the Romish Church. 179

XXX. All the different branches of literature CENT. received, during this century, in the more polish- ^ ed Roman-Catholic countries, a new degree of lustre and improvement. France, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands, produced several men emi- The state nent for their genius, erudition, and acquaint an ce ^ t]^rnin with the learned languages. This happy cir- church of cumstance must not, however, be attributed toRome* the labour of the schools, or to the methods and procedure of public education ; for, the old, dry^ perplexing, inelegant, scholastic method of in struction prevailed then, and indeed still takes place in both the higher and lower seminaries of learning ; and it is the peculiar tendency of this method to damp genius, to depress, instead of ex citing and encouraging, the generous efforts of the mind towards the pursuit of truth, and to load the memory with a multitude of insignificant words and useless distinctions. It was beyond the borders of these pedantic seminaries, that ge nius was encouraged, and directed by great and eminent patrons of science, who opened new paths to the attainment of solid learning, and presented the sciences under a new and engaging aspect to the studious youth. It must be obser ved here, in justice to the French, that they bore a distinguished part in this literary reformation. — Excited by their native force of genius, and ani mated by the encouragement that learning and learned men received from the munificence of Lewis XI V. they cultivated with success almost all the various branches of literature, and, reject ing the barbarous jargon of the schools, exhibited N 2 learning

After that period, they moved the main-springs of govern-* ment both in church and state, and still continue to sit, though invisibly at the helm of both. #3- The reader must again be advertised, that this note was written by Dr. Mo- sheim some years before the suppression of the society of th$ Jesuits in France,

180 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, learning under an elegant and alluring form, an J XVIL thereby multiplied the number of its votaries and

SPVRT " Patrons [#*]• ^ 1S we^ know*1 now much the ^Y^ example and labours of this polite nation contri buted to deliver other countries from the yoke of scholastic bondage.

The state of XXXI. The Aristotelians of this century were philosophy. a set Of intricate dialecticians, who had the name of the Stagirite always in their mouths, without the least portion of his genius, or any tolerable knowledge of his system ; and they maintained their empire in the schools, notwithstanding the attempts that had been made to dimmish their credit. It was long before the court of Rome, which beheld with terror whatever bore the small est aspect of novelty, could think of consenting to the introduction of a more rational philosophy, or permit the modern discoveries in that noble science to be explained with freedom in the pub lic seminaries of learning. This appears suffi ciently from the fate of Galilei, the famous mathe matician of Florence, who was cast into prison by the court of Inquisition, for adopting the senti ments of Copernicus, in relation to the constitu tion of the solar system. It is true, indeed, that Des Cartes and Gassendi [n], the one by his new philosophy, and the other by his admirable writings, gave a mortal wound to the Peripatetics, and ex cited a spirit of liberty and emulation that changed the face of science in France. It was under the auspicious influence of these adventurous guides, that several eminent men of that nation abandon ed

[wi] For an ample account of this matter, see Voltaire's Siecle de Louis XIV. and more especially the chapter in the second volume relative to the arts and sciences.

[jf] See Gassendi Exercitationes Paradoxes adversus Arislo* teleos, Operum, torn. iii. This subtile and judicious work con tributed, perhaps, more than any thing else, to hurt the cause, and ruin the credit, of the Peripatetics.

PART I.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 181

ed the perplexed and intricate wilds of the philo- CENT. sophy that was taught by the modern Aristote- XVIL

V • «« 1.1 1 1 1 C SECT. II.

nans ; and throwing oft the shackles ot mere au thority, dared to consult the dictates of reason and experience, in the study of nature, and in the investigation of truth. Among these converts to true philosophy, several Jesuits, and a still greater number of Jansenists and Priests of the Oratory, distinguished themselves; and, accordingly, we find in this list the respectable names of Male- branche, Arnauld, Lami, Nicole, Pascal, who ac quired immortal fame by illustrating and im proving the doctrine of Des Cartes, and accom modating it to the purposes of human life [o]. The modesty, circumspection, and self-diffidence of Gassendi, who confessed the scanty measure of his knowledge, and pretended to no other me rit than that of pointing out a rational method of arriving at truth, while others boasted that they had already found it out, rendered him disagree able in France. The ardent curiosity, the fervour, precipitation, and impatience of that lively people, could not bear the slow and cautious method of proceeding that was recommended by the cool wisdom of this prudent inquirer. They wanted to get at the summit of philosophy, without climbing the steps that lead to it.

N 3 Towards

[o] These great men were, indeed, very ill treated by the Peripatetics, on account of their learned and excellent labours. They were accused by these exasperated scholastics of irreligion, and were even charged with atheism by Father Hardoun, who was really intoxicated with the large draughts he had taken from the muddy fountains of Peripatetic and Scholastic science. See his At/id Detectl, in his Opp. Post/mm, p. 1. and 125.9. — It is easy to perceive the reasons of all this resentment ; since the Cartesian system, which aimed at restoring the authority of reason and the light of true philosophy, was by no means so proper to defend the pretensions of Rome and the cause of Popery as the dark and intricate jargon of the Peripatetics.

"'

1821 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT. Towards the conclusion of this century, many xvn. eminent men, in Italy and in other countries, fol- l°wed the example of the French, in throwing off the yoke of the Peripatetics, and venturing into the paths that were newly opened for the investi gation of truth. This desertion of the old philo sophy was at first attended with that timorousness and secresy that arose from apprehensions of the displeasure and resentment of the court of Rome ; but, as soon as it was known that the Roman pontiffs beheld with less indignation and jealousy the new discoveries in metaphysics, mathematics, and natural philosophy, then the deserters broke their chains with greater confidence, and proceed ed with greater freedom and boldness in the pur suit of truth.

The re- XXXII. After this general account of the state meSTf °f leaniing in the lloman-Catholic countries, it Jesuits, Be- will not be improper to point out, in a more par- peHestsnof ticular manner, those of the Romish writers, who the Ora- contributed most to the propagation and improve- jamenbts, meQt both of sacred and profane erudition during in the cui- the course of this century. The Jesuits were for wCTed "nd a l°n£ time, not only possessed of an undisputed profane H- pre-eminence in this respect, but were, more- terature. oveFj considered, as almost the sole fountains of universal knowledge, and the only religious Order that made any figure in the literary world. And it must be confessed by all, who are not misled by want of candour or of proper information, that this famous society was adorned by many persons of uncommon genius, and learning. The names of Petau, Sirmond, Poussines, Labbe, and Abram, will live as long as letters shall be held in honour ; and even that of Hardouin, notwith standing the singularity of his disordered fancy, and the extravagance of many of his opinions, escape oblivion.

It

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Churcli. 183

It is at the same time to be observed, that the CENT. literary glory of the Jesuits suffered a remarkable XVII> eclipse, during the course of this century, from the growing lustre of the Benedictine Order, and more especially of the Congregation of St. Maur. The Jesuits were perpetually boasting of the emi nent merit and lustre of their society on the one hand, and exposing, on the other, to public con tempt, the ignorance and stupidity of the Bene dictines, who, indeed, formerly made a very differ ent figure from what they do at present. Their view in this was to form a plausible pretext for invading the rights of the latter, and engrossing their ample revenues and possessions ; but the Benedictines resolved to disconcert this insidious project, to wipe off the reproach of ignorance that liad heretofore been cast upon them with too much justice, and to disappoint the rapacious avidity of their enemies, and rob them of their pretexts. For this purpose they not only erected schools in their monasteries, for the instruction of youth in the various branches of learning and science, but also employed such of their select members, as were distinguished by their erudi tion and genius, in composing a variety of learned productions, that were likely to survive the waste of time, adapted to vindicate the honour of the fraternity, and to reduce its enemies to silence. This important task has been executed with incredible ability and success by Mabillon, D'Achery, Massuet, Ruinart, Beaugendre, Gar- nier, De la Rue, Martene, Montfaucon, and other eminent men of that learned Order. It is to these Benedictines that we are indebted for the best editions of the Greek and Latin fathers ; for the discovery of many curious records and an- eient documents, that throw a new light upon the history of remote ages, and upon the antiquities of various countries; for the best accounts of

N 4 ancient

184? The History of the Romish ChurcJi.

ancient transactions, whether ecclesiastical or po litical, and of the manners and customs of the earliest times; for the improvement of chrono logy, and other branches of literature. In all these parts of philology and Belles Lettres, the religious order now under consideration, has shone with a distinguished lustre, and given specimens of their knowledge, discernment, and industry, that are worthy of heing transmitted to the latest posterity. It would he perhaps difficult to assign a reason for that visible decline of learning among the Jesuits, that commenced precisely at that very period when the Benedictines began to make this eminent figure in the republic of letters. The fact, however, is undeniable; and the Jesuits have long been at a loss to produce any one or more of their members who are quali fied to dispute the pre-eminence, or even to claim an equality, with the Benedictines. The latter still continue to shine in the various branches of philology, and, almost, every year, enrich the literary world with productions that furnish abundant proofs of their learning and industry ; •whereas, if we except a single work, published by the Jesuits of Antwerp, many years have passed since the sons of Loyola have given any satis factory proofs of their boasted learning, or added to the inass of literature any work worthy to be compared with the labours of the followers of Be nedict.

These learned monks excited the emulation of the Priests of the Oratory, whose efforts to resem ble them were far from being destitute of success. Several members of this latter Order distinguish ed themselves by their remarkable proficiency in various branches both of sacred and profane lite rature. This, to mention no more examples, ap pears sufficiently from the writings of Morin, Thomassin, and Simon, and from that admirable

work

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 185

work of Charles clc Cointe, entitled, The Eccle- CENT. siastlcal Annals of France. The Jansenists also XVI L deserve a place in the list of those who cultivated PACRT ^ letters with industry and success. Many of their ^^^^^ productions ahound with erudition, nay, several of them excel both in elegance of style and preci sion of method ; and it may be said, in general, that their writings were eminently serviceable in the instruction of youth, and also proper to con tribute to the progress of learning among persons of riper years. The writings of those who com posed the community of Port-Royal [j/J, the works of Tillemont, Arnauld, Nicole, Pascal, and Lancelot, with many other elegant and use ful productions of persons of this class, were undoubtedly an ornament to French literature during this century. The other religious socie ties, the higher and lower orders of the clergy, had also among them men of learning and genius that reflected a lustre upon the respective classes to which they belonged. Nor ought this to be a matter of admiration ; since nothing is more natural than that, in an immense multitude of monks and clergy, all possessed of abundant lei sure for study, and of the best opportunities of improvement, there should be some who, unwill ing to hide or throw away such a precious talent, would employ witli success this leisure, and these opportunities in the culture of the sciences. It is nevertheless certain, that the eminent men who were to be found beyond the limits of the four

classes

\_ p~\ Messieurs de Port-Royal was a general denomination which comprehended all the Jansenist writers, but was however applied, in a more confined and particular sense, to those Jan senists who passed their days in pious exercises and literary pursuits in the retreat of Port- Royal, a mansion situated at a little distance from Paris. It is well known, that several wri ters of superior genius, extensive learning, and uncommon elo quence, resided in this sanctuary of letters.

186 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, classes already mentioned [q], were few in num- XVIL her, comparatively speaking, and scarcely ex ceeded the list that any of these classes was able to furnish.

The princi- XXXIII. Hence it comes, that the church of B°me can produce a long list of writers that have com- arisen in its bosom, and acquired a shining and

mumon. permanent reputation, by their learned produc tions. At the head of the eminent authors which we find among the monastic orders and the regu lar clergy, must be placed the Cardinals Baro- nius and Bellarmine, who have obtained an im mortal name in their church, the one by his labo rious Annals, and the other by his books of Con troversy. The other writers that belong to this class, are — Serrarius-,— Fevardentius— Possevin — Gretser — ^Combefis — N'atalis Alexander — Becan ^— Sirmond — Petau — Poussines— Cellot — Caussin — Morin — Renaud— • Fra-Paolo — Pallavicini — Labbe — Maimburg — Th omassin— - Sfon drat — A- guirre — Henry Norris — D' Achery — Mabillon — Hardouin — Simon — Huinart — -Montfaucon — Gal- loni — Scacchi — Cornelius a Lapide — Bonfrere — Menard — Seguenot — Bernard — Lamy — Bolland — Henschen — Papebroch — and others.

The principal among the secular clergy, who are neither bound by vows, nor attached to any pe culiar community and rules of discipline, were — Perron — Estius — Launoy — Albaspinseus — Petrus de Marca — Richlieu — Holstenius — Baluze — Bo- na — Huet — Bossuet — Fenelon— Godeau — Tille- mont — Thiers — Du Pin — Leo Allatius — Zaccag- ni — Cotelier — Filesac — Visconti — &c. [r}. This.

list

i \jf] The Jesuits, Benedictines, priests of the Oratory, and Jansenists.

[V] For a particular account of the respective merit of the writers here mentioned, see among other literary historians, l)u Pin's Histoire des Ecrivains Ecclesiastiques, torn. xviL xix.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 187

list might be considerably augmented by adding CENT. to it those writers among the laity who distin- guished themselves by their theological or literary productions.

XXXIV. If we take an accurate view of the The doc- religious system of the Romish church during Surdfof* this century, both with respect to articles of faith Rome still and rules of practice, we shall find that, instead ™7than of being improved by being brought somewhat in the Pre* nearer to that perfect model of doctrine and m rals that is exhibited to us in the Holy Scriptures, it had contracted new degrees of corruption and degeneracy in most places, partly by the negli gence of the Roman pontiffs, and partly by the dangerous maxims and influence of the Jesuits. This is not only the observation of those who have renounced the Romish communion, and in the despotic style of that church are called heretics ; it is the complaint of the wisest and worthiest part of that communion, of all its members who have a zeal for the advancement of true Christian knowledge and genuine piety.

As to the doctrinal yai't of the Romish religion, it is said, and not without foundation, to have suf fered extremely in the hands of the Jesuits, who, under the connivance, nay sometimes by the im mediate assistance of the Roman pontiffs, have perverted and corrupted such of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity as were left entire by the council of Trent. There are not wanting proofs sufficient to support this charge ; inasmuch as the subtile and insidious fathers have manifestly en deavoured to diminish the authority and import ance of the Holy Scriptures, have extolled the power of human nature, changed the sentiments of many with respect to the necessity and efficacy of divine grace, represented the mediation and sufferings of Christ as less powerful and merito rious

188 The History of the Romish CIturch.

CENT, rious than they are said to be in the sacred writ- turne^ ^ie ^oman pontiff into a terrestrial and put him almost upon an equal footing with the Divine Saviour ; and, finally rendered, as far as in them lies, the truth of the Christian religion dubious, by their fallacious reasonings, and their subtile but pernicious sophistry. The testimonies brought to support these accusations by men of weight and merit, particularly among the Jansenists, are of very great authority, and it is extremely difficult to refuse our assent to them, when they are impartially examined ; but, on the other hand, it may be easily proved, that the Je suits, instead of inventing these pernicious doc trines, did no more in reality, than propagate them as they found them in that ancient form of the Romish religion that preceded the Reforma tion, and was directly calculated to raise the au thority of the Pope, and the power and preroga tives of the Romish church to the very highest pitch of despotic grandeur. To inculcate this form of doctrine was the direct vocation of the Jesuits, who were to derive all their credit, opu lence, and influence, from their being considered as the main support of the papacy, and the pecu liar favourites of the Roman pontiffs. If the ul timate end and purpose of these pontiffs were to render the church more pure and holy, and to bring it as near as possible to the resemblance of its Divine Founder, and if this were the com mission they gave to their favourite emissaries and doctors, then the Jesuits would be at liberty to preach a very different doctrine from what they now inculcate. But that liberty cannot be grant ed to them as long as their principal orders from the papal throne are, to use all their diligence and industry, to the end that the pontiffs may hold what they have acquired, and recover what they

havo

PART r '

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 189

have lost; and that the hishops and ministers of CENT. the Romish church may daily see their opulence increase, and the limits of their authority extend- ed and enlarged. The chief crime then of the \- Jesuits is really this, that they have explained, with more openness and perspicuity, those points which the leading managers in the council of Trent had either entirely omitted, or slightly men tioned, that they might not shock the friends of true religion, who composed a part of that famous assembly. And here we see the true reason why the Roman pontiffs, notwithstanding the ardent solicitations and remonstrances that have been employed to arm their just severity against the Jesuits, have always maintained that artful Order, and have been so deaf to the accusations of their adversaries, that no entreaties have been able to persuade them to condemn their religious princi ples and tenets, however erroneous in their nature, and pernicious in their effects. On the contrary, the court of Rome has always opposed, either in a public or clandestine manner, all the vigorous mea sures that have been used to procure the condem nation and suppression of the doctrine of the Loyolites ; and the Roman pontiffs have con stantly treated all such attempts as the projects of rash and imprudent men, who, through involun tary ignorance or obstinate prejudice, were blind to the true interest of the church.

XXXV. In the sphere of morals, the Jesuits The made still more dreadful and atrocious inroads J^J.0^ ot than in that of religion. Did we affirm, that they sapped by have perverted and corrupted almost all the vari- the Jcsu|* ous branches and precepts of morality, we should not express sufficiently the pernicious tendency of their maxims. Were we to go still further, and maintain, that they have sapped and destroyed its very foundations, we should maintain no more

than

190 The History of 'the Romish ChitrcJi.

CENT, than what innumerable writers of the Romish XVIL church abundantly testify, and what many of the most illustrious communities of that church pub licly lament. Those who bring this dreadful charge against the sons of Loyola, have takea abundant precautions to vindicate themselves against the reproach of calumny in this matter* They have published several maxims, inconsistent with all regard for virtue and even decency, which they have drawn from the moral writings of that Order, and more especially from the numerous productions of its Casuists. They observe, more particularly, that the whole society adopts and in culcates the following maxims :

" That persons truly wicked and void of the " love of God, may expect to obtain eternal life in " heaven, provided that they be impressed with a " fear of the Divine anger, and avoid all heinous " and enormous crimes tf trough the dread of future " punishment :

66 That those persons may transgress with safety * " who have a probable reason for transgressing, " i. e. any plausible argument or authority in fa- " vour of the sin they are inclined to commit [«$•] :

" That

[Y] This is one of the most corrupt and most dangerous maxims of the Jesuits. On the one hand, they have among them doctors of different characters and different principles, that thus they may render their society recommendable in the eyes of all sorts of persons, the licentious as well as the au- stere. On the other, they maintain, that an opinion or prac tice, recommended by any one doctor, becomes thereby pro-* bable, as it is not to be supposed, that a learned divine would adopt an opinion, or recommend a practice, in favour of which no considerable reason could be alleged. — But here lies the poison : this probable opinion or practice may be followed, say the Jesuits, even when the contrary is still more probable, nay, when it is sure, because, though the man err, he errs under the authority of an eminent doctor. Thus Escober af firms, that a judge may decide in favour of that side of a ques tion that is the least probable, and even against his own opi nion, if he be supported by any tolerable authority. See Letlrcs Provinciates, Letter viii.

PART I.

Chap. L The History of the Romish Church. 19!

" That actions intrinsically evil, and directly CENT.

" contrary to the divine laws, may be innocently XVIL

? i i 11 i 5ECT- »•

" performed, by those who have so much power

" over their own minds, as to join, even ideally, " B, good end to this wicked action, or (to speak in " the style of the Jesuits) who are capable of rfi- " reeling their attention aright [t].

" That philosophical sin is of a very light and " trivial nature, and does not deserve the pains of " hell: — (By philosophical sin the Jesuits mean an action contrary to the dictates of nature and right reason, done by a person who is ignorant of the written law of God, or doubtful [u] of its true meaning.)

" That

(KT* D] F°r example, an ecclesiastic who buys a benefice, in order to direct his intention aright, must, by a powerful act of abstraction, turn away his thoughts from the crime of simony, which lie is committing, to some lawful purpose, such as that of acquiring an ample subsistence, or that of doing good by instructing the ignorant. Thus again, a man who runs his neighbour through the body in a duel, on account of a tri vial affront, to render his action lawful, has only to turn his thoughts from the principle of vengeance, to the more decent principle of honour, and the murder he commits will, by the magic power of Jesuitical morality, be converted into an in nocent action. There is no crime, no enormity, to which this abominable maxim may not be extended. " A famous Jesuit has declared, that a son may wish for the death of his father, and even rejoice at it when it arrives, provided that his wish does not arise from any personal hatred, but only from a de sire of the patrimony which this death will procure him." See Gaspard Hurtado, De sub. pcccat. diff. 9. quoted by Di ana, p. 5. tr. 14. R. 99. and another has had the effrontery to maintain, that a monk or ecclesiastic may lawfully assassinate a calumniator, who threatens laying scandalous crimes to the charge of their community, when there is no other way of hindering him to execute his purpose. See the works of Father L'amy, torn. v. disp. V6. n. 118.

EM] It would be perhaps more accurate to define the philo sophical sin of the Jesuits to be " an action contrary to right reason, which is done by a person who is either absolutely ig norant of God, or does not think of him during the time this action is committed."

SECT. It. PART I.

Tfie History of the Romish Church.

CENT. " That the transgressions committed by a per- xvii. « son blinded by the seduction of lust, agitated

n /-TII IT -If* 1 •

;t by the impulse or tumultuous passions, and des- " titute of all sense and impression of religion, " however detestable and heinous they may be " in themselves, are not imputable to the trans- " gressor before the tribunal of God ; and that " such transgressions may often be as involuntary " as the actions of a madman :

" That the person who takes an oath, or enters " into a contract, may, to elude the force of the " one, and the obligation of the other, add to the " form of words that express them, certain men- " tal additions and tacit reservations."

These, and other enormities of a like na ture [a?], are said to make an essential part of the

system

[V] The books that have been written to expose and refute the corrupt and enormous maxims of the Jesuits, would make an ample library, were they collected together. But nothing of this kind is equal to the learned, ingenious and humorous work of the famous Pascal, entitled, " Le Provinciales, ou Lettres ecrites par Louis de Montalte a un Provincial, de ces amis et aux Jesuits, sur la morale et la Politique de ces Peres." This exquisite production is accompanied, in some editions of it^ with the learned and judicious observations of Nicole, who, un der the fictitious name of Guillaume Wenderock, has fully de monstrated the truth of those facts which Pascal had advanced without quoting his authorities, and has placed in a full, and striking light, several interesting circumstances which that great man had treated with, perhaps, too much brevity. These letters, which did the Jesuits more real mischief than ei ther the indignation of sovereign princes, or any other calami ty that had heretofore fallen upon their order, were translated into Latin by Rachelius. On the other hand, the sons of Loy ola, sensibly affected and alarmed by this formidable attack upon their reputation, left no means unemployed to defend themselves against such a respectable adversary. They sent forth their ablest champions to defend their cause, or, at least, to cover them from shame ; among which champions the subtile and eloquent Father Daniel, the celebrated au thor of the History of France, shone forth with a superior lustre : and, as if they thought it unsafe to trust to the powers of argument, and tbe force of evidence alone, they applied

themselves

Chap. I. Tlie History of the Ttomish Church. 19S

system of morality inculcated by the Jesuits. CENT. And they were complained of, in the strongest XVIL

remonstrances, PART ,/

themselves for help to the secular arm, and had credit enough """Y^" to obtain a sentence against the Provincials, by which they were condemned to be burnt publicly at Paris. See Daniel'3 Opuscules, vol. i. p. $63. This author, however, acknow ledges that the greatest part of the answers which the Jesuits opposed to the performance of Pascal were weak r.nd unsatis factory. Certain it is, that (whether it was owing to the strength of argument, or to the1 elegant wit and humour that reigned in them) the Provincial Letters lost not the smallest portion of their credit and reputation by all the answers that •were made to them, but continued to pass through a variety of editions which could scarcely be printed off with rapidity sufficient to satisfy the desires of the public.

Another severe attack was made upon the Jesuits, in a book inferior to Pascal's in point of wit and genteel pleasantry, but superior to it in point of evidence, since it abounds with passages and testimonies, which are drawn from the most ap plauded writings of the Jesuits, and demonstrate fully the cor ruption and enormity of the moral rules and maxims inculcat ed by that famous Order. This book which was published at Mons, in three volumes 8vo. in the year 1702, bears the following title: La Morale des Je suites, extrai.te Jdelemenl de leurs Units, imprimcc avec la permission et I' approbation des superieurs de leur Cumpagnie, par un Docteur de Surbonne. The author was Perrault (son of Charles Perrault, who began the famous controversy in France concerning the respective merits of the ancients and moderns), and his book met with the same fate with the Provincials of Pascal ; for it was burnt at Paris in the year 1()70, at the request of the Jesuits. See the Opuscules dit P. Daniel, torn. i. p. 356. Nor indeed is it at all surprising, that the Jesuits exerted all their zeal against this compilation, which exhibited, in one shocking point of view, all that had been complained of and censured in their maxims and institutions, and unfolded the whole mystery of their iniquity. It has been also laid to the charge of the Jesuits, that they reduced their pernicious maxims to practice, especially in the remoter parts of the world. This the famous Arnauld, to gether with some of his Jansenist brethren, have undertakeni to prove in that laborious and celebrated work, entitled La Morale Pratique des Jexuilcs. In this important work, which consists of eight volumes in Svo, and of which a second edi tion was published at Amsterdam in the year 1724, there is a multitude of authentic relations, documents, facts, and testi monies, employed to demonstrate the criminal conduct and VOL. V. O practices

PART J.

194 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, remonstrances, not only by the Dominicans andl xvn- Jansenists, but also by the most eminent theolo- , ' gical doctors of Paris., Poitiers, Louvain, and other academical cities, who expressed their ab horrence of them in such a public and solemn manner, that the Roman pontiff neither thought it safe nor honourable to keep silence on that head. Accordingly a part of these moral maxims were condemned; in the year 1659, by pope Alexander VII. in a public edict; and, in the year 1690, the article relating to philosophical si?i met with the same fate, under the pontificate of Alexander VIII. [ai\. It was but natural to think, that if the Order of Jesuits did not expire under the terrible blows it received from such a formidable list of adversaries, yet their system of morals must at least have been suppressed and their pestilential maxims banished from the schools. This is the least that could have been expected from the complaints and remonstran ces of the clerical and monastic Orders, and the damnatory bulls of the Roman pontiffs. And yet, if we may credit the testimonies of

many

practices of the Jesuits. For an ample account of the Jesui tical doctrine concerning Philosophical Sin, and the dissensions- and controversies it occasioned, see Jacobi Hyacinthi Serry * Addenda ad Histor. Congregationum de Auxiliis, p. 82 ; as also his Auctarium, p. 2 89.

[V] There is a concise and accurate account of the contests and divisions, to which the morality of the Jesuits gave rise in France and in other places, in a work, entitled Catcchisme Historique et Dogmatique snr les Contestations qui divisent maintenant I'Eglise published in the year 1730. see torn. ii. p. 26. — It is very remarkable, that the two papal bulls of Alexander VII. and VIII. against the Jesuits are not to be found in the Bullarium Pontificum ; but the Jansenists and Dominicans, who are careful in perpetuating whatever may tend to the dishonour of the Jesuits, have preserved them in-* dustriously from oblivion.

tt" * This is a fictitious name j the true name of the author of the Addenda is Augustin le Blauc,

Chap. I. The History of the Rtimish Churdi. 195

many learned and pious men in the communion

of Rome, even this effect was not produced; and * the remonstrances of the monks, the complaints PART ,/ of the clergy, and the hulls of the popes, rather *^->r""'' served to restrain in a' certain measure, the en ormous licentiousness, that had reigned among the writers of this corrupt Order, than to purify the seminaries of instruction from the contagion of their dissolute maxims. — After what has been observed in relation to the moral system of the Je suits, it will not be difficult to assign a reason for the remarkable propensity that is discovered by kings, princes, the nobility, and gentry of both sexes, and an innumerable multitude of per sons of all ranks and conditions, to commit their consciences to the direction, and their souls to the care of the brethren of this society. It is, no doubt, highly convenient for persons, who do Hot pretend to a rigid observance of the duties of religion and morality to have spiritual guides, who diminish the guilt of transgression, disguise the deformity of vice, let loose the reins to all the passions, nay, even nourish them by their dis solute precepts, and render the way to heaven asj easy, as agreeable, and smooth as is possible [?/].

What has here been said concerning the erro- iicous maxims and corrupt practices of the Jesuits must, however, be understood with certain modi fications and restrictions. It must not be ima gined, that these maxims are adopted* or these practices justified by all the sons of Loyola, without exception, or that they are publicly taught and inculcated in all their schools and se minaries ; for this in reality* is not the case. As this Order has produced men of learning and ge nius, so neither has it been destitute of men of probity and candour ; nor would it be a difficult O 2 task

(£?* [.y] The translator has here inserted into the text th* pote [^ ^ of the original.

196 The History of the Romish Church*

CENT, task to compile from the writings of the Jesuits £ much more just and proper representation of the duties of religion and the ohligations of morality, than that hideous and unseemly exhibition of both, which Paschal and his followers have drawn from the Jesuitical Casuists, Summists, and Mor alists. Those who censure the Jesuits in general, must, if their censures be well founded, have the following circumstances in View : First, That the rulers of that society not only suffer several of their members to propagate publicly impious opi nions and corrupt maxims, but even go so far as to set the seal of their approbation to the books in which these opinions and maxims are contain ed [z] : Secondly, That the system of religion and morality that is taught in the greatest part of their seminaries is so loose, vague, and ill-digest ed, that it not only may be easily perverted to bad purposes and erroneous conclusions, but even, seems peculiarly susceptible of such abuse : and lastly, that the select few, who are initiated into the grand mysteries of the society, and set apart to transact its affairs, to carry on its projects, to ex ert their political talents in the closet of the mi nister, or in the cabinet of the prince, commonly make use of the dangerous and pernicious maxims that are complained of, to augment the authority and opulence of their Order. The candour and impartiality that become an historian, oblige us to acknowledge, at the same time, that, in demon strating the turpitude and enormity of certain maxims and opinions of the Jesuits, their adver saries have gone too far, and permitted their elo quence and zeal to run into exaggeration. This

we

(£5° Cz] This is no doubt true. The Jesuits, as has been observed above, note [V], have doctors of all sorts and sizes ; and this, indeed, is necessary, in order to the establishment of that universal empire at which they aim. See Letlres Pro* wnciaks, let. v. p. 62. dixicme edit, de Cologne,

Chap, I. The History of the Romish Church. 197

we might shew, with the fullest evidence, by ex- CENT. am pies deduced from the doctrines of probability ^^ and mental reservation, and the imputations that PAR^ , ' have been made to the Jesuits on these heads ; s^y^/ but this would lead us too far from the thread of our history. We shall only observe, that what happens frequently in every kind of controversy, happened here in a singular manner ; I mean, that the Jesuits were charged with tenets, which had been drawn consequentially from their doc trine* by their accusers, without their consent ; — that their phrases and terms were not always inter preted according to the precise meaning they an nexed to them ; — and that the tendency of their system was represented in too partial and unequi table a light.

XXXVI. The Holy Scriptures did not acquire The state any new degrees of public respect and authority "he^Jor under the pontiffs of this century. It can be the pro- proved, on the contrary, by the most authentic records, that the votaries of Rome, and more pecially the Jesuits, employed all their dexte- rity and art, either to prevent the word of God scripture, from falling into the hands of the people, or at least to have it explained in a manner consistent with the interest, grandeur, and pretensions of the church. In France and in the Low-Countries there arose, indeed, several commentators and critics, who were very far from being destitute of knowledge and erudition ; but it may never theless be said concerning them, that, instead of illustrating and explaining the divine oracles, they rendered them more obscure, by blending their own crude inventions with the dictates of celestial wisdom. This is chargeable even upon the Janse- nists, who though superior to the other Roman- catholic expositors in most respects, yet fell into that absurd method of disfiguring the pure word of God, by far-fetched allusions, mystic inter- o 3 pretations,

198 The History of the Romish Church.

CE\T. pretations, and frigid allegories, compiled from XVIL the reveries of the ancient fathers [a]. Here, SRART l\. nevertheless, an exception is to be made in fa^ v^y^/ vour of Pasquier Quenel, a priest of the oratory, whose edition of the New Testament, accompanied with pious meditations and remarks, made such a prodigious noise in the theological world [6], and even in our time has continued to furnish matter of warm and violent contest, and to split the Roman catholic doctors into parties and fac tions [c].

t?cF morai; ^XXVII. The greatest part of the public

an,' Pole-' schools retained that dry, intricate, and captious

IPIC iheo- meti10d of teaching theology, that had prevailed

in the ages of barbarism, and darkness, and was

adapted

[Vj The reader will find a striking example of this in the well known Bible of Isaac le Maitre, commonly called Sacy, which contains all the crude and extravagant fancies and allegories, with which the ancient doctors obscured the beautiful simpli-. city of the Holy Scriptures, and rendered their clearest ex pressions intricate and mysterious.

(^ 170 That is, in the Roman Catholic part of the theologi cal world. Never perhaps did any thing shew, in a more striking manner, the blind zeal of faction than the hard treat ment this book met with. Renaudot, a very learned French abbot, who resided some time at Rome during the pontificate of Clement XI. went one day to visit that pontiff, who was a patron of learned men, and found him reading Quenel's Bible. On the abbot's entering the chamber, the pope accosted him thus: " Here is an admirable book! We have no body at Rome capable of writing in this manner. I- would be glad if I could engage the author of it to reside here." — The very same pope that pronounced th's encomium on Quenel's book, condemned it publicly afterwards, and employed all his autho rity to suppress it. See Voltaire, Sleek de Louis XIV. voL ii. p. 2f)3. Edit, de Drcsde, 1753.

[c~\ The first of this work, which contains observations on the four Gospels, was published in the year l6?l ; and as it was received with universal applause, this encouraged the au thor, not only to revise and augment it, but also to enlarge his plan, and compose observations on the other books of the New Testament. See Cattchisrne Historiqne $ur lea Contestations de i'Eglise, torn. ii. p. 150. — Ch. Eberh. Weismaimi Histor* $cck$. Saec<, xvii. p. 588.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 199

adapted to disgust all such as were endowed with CENT. a liberal turn of mind. There was no possibility of ordering matters so, as that Didactic or Biblical theology, which is supposed to arrange and illus- trate the truths of religion by the dictates of Holy Scripture, should be placed upon the same foot ing and held in the same honour, with scholas tic divinity, which had its source in the meta physical visions of the peripatetic philosophy. Even the edicts of the pontiffs were insufficient to bring this about. In the greatest part of the universities, the scholastic doctors domineered, and were constantly molesting and insulting the Bibli* cal divines, who, generally speaking, were little skilled in the captious arts of sophistry and dia lectical chicane. It is nevertheless to be observed, that many of the French doctors, and more espe cially the Jansenists, explained the principal doc trines and duties of Christianity in a style and manner that were at least recommendable on ac count of their elegance and perspicuity ; and in deed it may be affirmed, that almost all the theo logical or moral treatises of this age, that were composed with any tolerable degree of simplicity and good sense, had the doctors of Port-Royal or the French priests of the oratory, for their au thors. We have already taken notice of the changes that were introduced, during this cen tury, into the method of carrying on theological controversy. The German, Belgic, and French divines being at length convinced, by a disagree able experience, that their captious, incoherent, and uncharitable manner of disputing, exaspe rated those who differed from them in their reli gious sentiments, and confirmed them in their respective systems, instead of converting them ; and perceiving, moreover, that the arguments in which they had formerly placed their principal confidence, proved feeble and insufficient to make o 4 the

The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, the least impression, found it necessary to look xvn out for new and more specious methods of attack

TART !'' and defelice'

C!^ XXXVIII. The Romish church has, not-

The con- withstanding its boasted uniformity of doctrine, tests th*Jerbeen always divided by a multitude of contro- th°Spcmtifi- versies. It would be endless to enumerate the cate of cie- disputes that have arisen between the seminaries

ment VIII. « V . , i T T • i i

between ot learning, and the contests that have divided the Jesuits ^g nionastic Orders. The greatest part of these,

and D>nu- . . '

means con- as being or little moment, we shall pass over in the silence ; for they have been treated with indifFer- eiice and neglect by the popes, who never took notice of them but when they grew violent and noisy, and then suppressed them with an imperi ous nod, that imposed silence upon the contending parties. Besides, these less momentous contro versies, which it will never be impossible entirely to extinguish, are not of such a nature as to af fect the church in its fundamental principles, to endanger its constitution, or to hurt its interests* It will, therefore, be sufficient to give a brief ac count of these debates, that, by their superior importance and their various connexions and de pendencies, may be said to have affected the church in general, and to have threatened it with alarming changes and revolutions.

And here the first place is naturally due to those famous debates that were carried on between the Jesuits and Domimcam,ccmceYningthe nature and necessity of Divine Grace ; the decision of which important point had, towards the conclusion of the preceding century, been committed by Cle ment VIII, to a select assembly of learned divines. These arbiters, after having employed several years in deliberating upon this nice and critical subject, and in examining the arguments of the contending parties, intimated, plainly enough, to the pontiff!, that the sentiments of the Domi-

nican.%

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 201

nicans, concerning Grace, Predestination, Human CENT. Liberty, and Original Sin, were more conformable _xyn to the doctrine of scripture and the decisions of SPACRT , " the ancient fathers than the opinions of Molina, *-^~-/ which were patronised by the Jesuits. They ob served, more especially, that the former leaned towards the tenets of Augustine; while the lat ter bore a striking resemblance of the Pelagian heresy. In consequence of this declaration, Cle ment seemed resolved to pass condemnation on the Jesuits, and to determine the controversy in favour of the Dominicans. Things were in this state in the year 1601, when the Jesuits, alarmed at the dangers that threatened them, beset the old pontiff night and day, and so importuned him with entreaties, menaces, arguments, and com plaints, that, in the year 1602, he consented to re-examine this intricate controversy, and under took himself the critical task of principal arbitra tor therein. For this purpose, he chose a coun cil [d~\, (composed of fifteen cardinals, nine pro fessors of divinity, and five bishops), which, dur ing the space of three years \_e~\, assembled seven ty-eight times, or, to speak in the style of Rome, held so many congregations. At these meetings, the pontiff heard, at one time, the Jesuits and Dominicans disputing in favour of their respec tive systems ; and ordered, at another, the assem bled doctors to weigh their reasons, and examine the proofs that were ordered on both sides of this difficult question. The result of this examination is not known with any degree of certainty : since the death of Clement, which happened on the fourth day of March, in the year 1605, prevent ed his pronouncing a decisive sentence. The Do minicans

C3" V] This council was called the congregation de Aux. iliis.

[e] From the 20th of March 1(302, to the 22d of January 1605.

203 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, rninicans assure us, that the pope, had he lived, xvii. WOU1J have condemned Molina. The Jesuits, PART i! on fc^e contrary, maintain, that he would have acquitted him puhlicly from all charge of heresy and error. They alone, who have seen the records of this council, and the journal of its proceedings, are qualified to determine which of the two we are to believe ; but these records are kept with the utmost secresy at Home.

XXXIX. The proceedings of the congregation controversy that had been assembled by Clement were sus- under Paul pended for some time, by the death of. that pon- issue? ] ' tiff; but they were resumed, in the year 1605, by the order of Paul V. his successor. Their de liberations, which were continued from the month of September, till the month of March^ in the following year, did not turn so much upon the merits of the cause, which were already suf ficiently examined, as upon the prudent and pro per method of finishing the contest. The great question now was, whether the well-being of the church would admit of the decision of this con troversy by a papal bull ? and, if such a decision was found adviseable, it still remained to be con sidered, in what terms the bull should be drawn up. All these long and solemn deliberations re sembled the delivery of the mountain in the fa ble, and ended in this resolution, that the whole controversy, instead of being decided, should be suppressed; and that each of the contending parties should have the liberty of following their respec tive opinions. The Dominicans assert, that the two pontiffs, together with the congregation of di vines that they employed in the review of this important controversy, were entirely persuaded of the justice of their cause, and of the truth of their system ; they moreover observe, that Paul V, had expressly ordered a solemn condemnation of $he doctrine of the Jesuits to be drawn up ; but was

prevented

Chap. I. TJie History of the Romidi Church. 203

prevented from finishing and publishing it to the CENT. world, hy the unhappy war that was kindled about

_ • i i • i i i T • nil

that time between him and the Venetians. 1 he Jesuits, on the other hand, represent these counts of the Dominicans as entirely fictitious, and affirm that neither the pontiff, nor the more judi cious and respectable members of the congregation, found any thing in the sentiments of Molina that was worthy of censure, or stood in much need of correction. In a point which is rendered thus un certain by contradictory testimonies and assertions, it is difficult to determine what we are to believe ; it however appears extremely probable, that, what ever the private opinion of Paul V. may have been, he was prevented from pronouncing a public determination of this famous controversy, by his apprehensions of offending either the king of France, who protected the Jesuits, or the king of Spain, who warmly maintained the cause of the Dominicans. It is farther probable, nay almost certain, that, had the pontiff been independent on all foreign influence, and at full liberty to decide this knotty point, he would have pronounced one of those ambiguous sentences, for which the ora^ cle of Rome is so famous, and would have so con ducted matters as to shock neither of the contend ing parties [/],

XL. The

Besides the authors we have above recommended as pro* per to be consulted in relation to these contests, see Le Clerc, M c moires pour servir a I'Histolre des controverscs dans I'Eglise Romaine sur la Predestination et sur la Grace, in his Bibliothe- que Universelle, et Histarique, torn. xiv. p. 235. — The conduct, both of the Jesuits and Dominicans^ after their controversy was hushed in silence, affords much reason to presume, that they had been both secretly exhorted by the Roman pontiff to miti gate somewhat their respective systems, and so to modify their doctrines or expressions, as to avoid the reproaches of heresy that had been cast upon them ; for the Jesuits had been accu sed of Pelagianism, and the Dominicans of a propensity to the tenets of the Protestant churches. This appears, in a more par

ticular

SO* The History of the Romish Cfiurch.

CENT. XL. The flame of controversy, which seemed XVIL thus extinguished, or at least covered, broke out

SECT. II.

PART i. again

The rise of ticular manner, from a letter written by Claudius Aquaviva, Jansenism general of the Jesuits, in the year 1 6 13, and addressed to all the and the members of his order. In this letter the prudent general modifies *°oducedt wkk ^reat dexts™tv anc* caution the sentiments of Molina, and enjoins it upon the brethren of the society to teach every where the doctrine which represents the Supreme Being as electing-, freely, to eternal life, without any regard had to their merits, those whom he has been pleased to render partakers of that in estimable blessing ; but, at the same time, he exhorts them tot inculcate this doctrine in such a manner, as not to give up the tenets relating to divine grace, which they had maintained in their controversy with the Dominicans. Never, surely, was such a contradictory exhortation or order heard of; the good general thought, nevertheless, that he could reconeileabundant- ly these contradictions, by that branch of the divine knowledge which is called by the schoolmen, acienlia media. See the Ca- tcchisme Historique sur les dissentions de PEgUse, torn. i. p. 207. On the other hand, the Dominicans, although their senti ments remain the same that they were before the commence ment of this controversy, have learned, notwithstanding, to cast a kind of ambiguity and obscurity over their theological sys tem, by using certain terms and expressions, that are manifest ly borrowed from the schools of the Jesuits ; and this they do to prevent the latter from reproaching them with a propensity to the doctrine of Calvin. They are, moreover, much less re markable than formerly, for their zealous opposition, to the Je suits, which may be owing perhaps to prudent reflections on the dangers they have been involved in by this opposition, and the fruitless pains and labour it has cost them. The Jansenists re proach them severely with this change of conduct, and consider it as amanifest and notorious apostasy from divine truth. See the Lettres Provincales of Pascal, lettr. ii. p. 27. Edit, de Cologne,, &c. 1689. — We are not, however, to conclude, from this change of style and external conduct among the Dominicans, that they are reconciled to the Jesuits, and that there remain no traces of their ancient opposition to that perfidious or der. By no means ; for besides that, many of them are shock ed at the excessive timidity and prudence of a great part of their brethren, the whole body retains still some hidden sparks of the indignation with which they formerly beheld the Je suits; and, when a convenient occasion of discovering this indignation is offered, they do not let it pass unimproved. The Jansenists are here embarked in the same cause with the

Pominicans ;

Cliap. I. TJie History of the Romish Cliurch. 205

again with new violence, in the year 1640, and CENT. formed a kind of schism in the church of Iio?ne, which involved it in great perplexity, and proved PACRT t highly detrimental to it in various respects. The ^^^^ occasion of these new troubles was the publication of a book, entitled, Augustinus, composed by Cornelius Jansenius, bishop of Ypres, and pub lished after the death of* the author [#]. In this book, which even the Jesuits acknowledge to be the production of a man of learning and piety, the doctrine of Augustine, concerning man's na^ tural corruption,smd the nature and efficacy of that Divine Grace, which alone can efface this unhappy stain, is unfolded at large, and illustrated, for the most part in Augustine's own words. For the

end,

Dominicans ; since the sentiments of St. Thomas, concerning Divine Grace, differ but very little from those of St. Augus tine. Cardinal Henry Noris, the most eminently learned among the followers of the latter, expresses his concern, that he is not at liberty to publish what passed in favour of Augus tine, and to the disadvantage of Molina and the Jesuits, in the famous Congregation de Auxiliis, so often assembled by the Popes Clement VI II. and Paul V. see his Vindlclas Angus- tinianas, cap. vi. p. 1175. torn. i. opp. — " Quando," says he, " recentiori Romano decreto id vetitum est, cum dispendio causa?, quam defendo, necessariam defensionem omitto."

II ^D ^or an account of this famous man, see Bayle's Die* tionaru, torn. ii. at the article Jansenius. — Leydecker, DC vita et mode Jansenii, lib. iii. which makes the first part of hi* History ofjtwsentsm, published at Utrecht in 8vo in the year 1695. — Diclionarie dcs Livres Jansenisles, torn. i. p. 120.— This celebrated work of Jansenius, which gave such a wound to the Romish church, as neither the power nor wisdom of it» pontiffs will ever be able to heal, is divided into three parts. Thejirtt is historical, and contains a relation of the Pelagian Controversy, which arose in the fifth century. In the second, we find an accurate account and illustration of the doctrine of Augustine, relating to the Constitution and powers of the Hu man Nature, in its original, fallen, a fid renewed state. The third contains the doctrine of the same great man, relating to the Aid ft of sanctifying Grace procured by Christ, and to the eternal Predestination of men and angels. The style of Janseniu* is clear, but not sufficiently correct.

PART "'

206 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, end, which Jansenius proposed to himself in xvii. Work, was not to give his own private sentiments "' conceming these important points, but to shew in what manner they had been understood and ex plained by that celebrated father of the church, now mentioned, whose name and authority were universally revered in all parts of the Roman- Catholic world [A]. No incident could be more unfavourable to the cause of the Jesuits, and the progress of their religious system, than the publi cation of this book; for as the doctrine of Au gustine differed but very little from that of the Dominicans [i] ; as it was held sacred, nay al most respected as divine, in the church of Rome* on account of the extraordinary merit and autho rity of that illustrious bishop, and, at the same time, was almost diametrically opposite to the sentiments generally received among the Jesuits^ these latter could scarcely consider the book of Jansenius in any other light than as a tacit, but formidable refutation of their opinions concern ing Human Liberty and Divine Grace. And accordingly, they not only drew their pens against this famous book, but also used their most zealous endeavours to obtain a public condemnation of it from Rome. Their endeavours were not unsuc cessful. The Roman inquisitors began the op position by prohibiting the perusal of it, in the year 1741 ; and the year following, Urban VIIL condemned it by a solemn bull, as infected with

several

[7f| Thus Jansenius expresses himself in his Augttsfmugg torn. ii. Lib. Procemial. cap. xxix. p. 65. — " Non ego hie de aliqua nova sententia reperienda disputo • • • sed de antiqua Augustini. — Quasritur, non quid de naturae humanae statibus ct viribus, vel de Dei gratia et predestinatione sentiendum est, sed quid Augustinus olim ecclesiae nomine et applausu tradi«« derit praedicaverit, scriptoque multipliciter consignaverit."

p] The Dominicans followed the sentiments of Thomas Aquinas, concerning the nature and efficacy of Divine Grace,

Chap. 1 The History of the Romish Church. 207

several errors, that had been long banished from CENT. the church. ,£™

XLI. There were nevertheless places, even PART x within the bounds of the Romish Church, where ^^^^ neither the decisions of the inquisitor, nor the bull of the pontiff, were in the least respected. The doctors of Louvain in particular, and the follow ers of Augustine in general, who were very nu merous in the Netherlands, opposed, with the ut most vigour, the proceedings of the Jesuits, and the condemnation of Jansenius ; and hence arose a warm contest, which proved a source of much trouble to the Belgic provinces. But it was not confined within such narrow limits; it reached the neighbouring countries, and broke out, with peculiar vehemence, in France, where the abbot of St. Cyran [A1], a man of an elegant genius, and equally distinguished by the extent of his learn ing, the lustre of his piety, and the sanctity of his manners, had procured Augustine many zealous followers, and the Jesuits as many bitter and implacable adversaries [/]. This respectable

abbot

p] The name of this abbot was Jean clu Verger de Hau« rane.

p] This illustrious abbot is considered by the Jansenists as equal in merit and authority to Jansenius himself, whom he is supposed to have assisted in composing his Augustimis. The French, more especially (I mean such of them as adopt the doctrine of Augustine), revere him as an oracle, and even extol him beyond Jansenius. For an account of the life and transactions of this pious abbot, see Launcelot's Memoires touchant la vie de M. de S. Cyran, which were published at Cologn*, in the year 1738, in two volumes 8vo. — Add to these Recueil de plusieurs pieces pour servir a I'Hixioire de Port-Royal, p. 1. — 150. — Arnaud D'Andilly, Memoires mi sujet de I' Abbe de S. Cyran, which are published in the first volume of his Vies des Rcligeuses de Port-Royal, p. 1 5 — 44v

Bayle'a

* Though they are said, in the title page, to have been printed at Co logn ; yet it is presumed on. good grounds, that they first saw th« M Utrecht,

SECT. II PART I.

208 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, abbot was the intimate friend and relation of Jan- senius, and one of tbe most strenuous defenders of his doctrine. On the other hand, the far great est part of the French theologists appeared on the side of the Jesuits, whose religious tenets seemed more honourable to human nature, or, at least, more agreeable to its propensities, more suitable to the genius of the Romish religion, and more adapted to promote and advance the interests of the Romish church, than the doctrine of Augus tine. The party of Jan senius had also its patrons ; and they were such as reflected honour on the cause. In this respectable list we may reckon se veral bishops eminent for their piety, and some of the first and most elegant geniuses of the French nation, such as Arnauld, Nicole, Pascal, and Que- nel, and the other famous and learned men, who are known under the denomination of the Authors of Port- Royal. This party was also considerably augmented by a multitude of persons, who look ed upon the usual practice of piety in the Ro mish church (which consists in the frequent use of the sacraments, the confession of sins, and the performance of certain external acts of religion) as much inferior to what the gospel of Christ requires, and who considered Christian piety, as the vital and internal principle of a soul, in which true faith and divine love have gained a happy ascendant. Thus one of the con tending parties excelled in the number and power of its votaries, the other in the learning, genius, and piety of its adherents; and things being thus balan ced, it is not difficult to comprehend, how a con troversy, which began about a century ago,

should

Bayle's Dictionary, vol. ii. at the article Jansenius, — Diction- nairc des Livrcs Janscnistes, torn. i. p. 133. — P'or an account of the earlier studies of the abbot in question, see Gabriel Li* ;con, Singularites Historiqites et Litteraires, torn. iv. p. 507»

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 209

should be still carried on with the most vehement CENT. contention and ardour [;;/]. SECT ^

XLII. Those who have taken an attentive view PART T>" of this long, and indeed endless controversy, can- ^^^^ not but think it a matter both of curiosity and Theme- amusement to observe the contrivances, strata-

gems, arguments, and arts employed by both employed Jesuits and Jansenists ; by the former in their J^m

methods of attack, and by the latter in their plans this contro of defence. The Jesuits came forth into theversy* field of controversy, armed with sophistical argu ments, odious comparisons, papal bulls, royal edicts, and the protection of a great part of the nobility and bishops ; and, as if all this had ap peared to them insufficient, they had recourse to still more formidable auxiliaries, even the secular arm, and a competent number of dragoons. The Jansenists, far from being dismayed at the view of this warlike host, stood their ground with steadi ness and intrepidity. They evaded the mortal VOL. v. P blows

[ m~\ The history of this contest is to be found in many au

thors, who have either given a relation of the whole, or treated

apart some of its most interesting branches. The writers that

ought to be principally consulted on this subject are those

which follow : Gerberon, Hisloire Generate du Jansenismc,

published in 1700, at Amsterdam, in three volumes 8vo, and

republished in 5 volumes 12mo, at Lyons in 1708. — Du Mas,

Histoire des Cinq Propositions de Jansenius, printed at Liege

in 8vo in 1694. Of these two writers, the former maintains

the cause of the Jansenists, while the latter favours that of

the Jesuits. — Add to these, Melch. Leydeckers Historia

Jansenisme printed at Utrecht in 8vo, in 1695 ; and Voltaire's

Siecle de Louis XIV. torn. ii. p. 264. Several books, writ

ten on both sides, are enumerated in a work published in 8vo,

in 1735, under the following title: Bibliothe.quc Janseniste, ou

Catalogue Alphabetique des principaux Liures Jansenistes, the

author of which is said to be Domin. Colonia, a learned Je

suit. This book, as we have had before occasion to observe,

has been republished at Antwerp, with considerable additions,

jn four volumes 8vo, under the title of, Dictionaire des Livres

Jansenistes. — See Recueil des pieces pour servir a I' Histoire de

Port-Royal, p. 323.

PART

TJie History of the Romish Church.

CT T. Mows that were levelled at them in the royal and g*.VI1H papal mandates, hy the help of nice interpreta tions, subtile distinctions, nay, hy the very same sophistical refinements which they hlamed in the Jesuits. To the threatenings and frowns of the nobles and bishops, who protected their adver saries, they opposed the favour and applause of the people ; to sophisms they opposed sophisms, and invectives to invectives ; and to human power they opposed the Divine Omnipotence, and boast ed of the miracles by which heaven had declared itself in their favour. When they perceived that the strongest arguments, and the most respecta ble authorities were insufficient to conquer the obstinacy of their adversaries, they endeavoured by their religious exploits, and their application to the advancement of piety and learning, to ob tain the favour of the pontiffs, and strengthen their interest with the people. Hence they de clared war against the enemies of the Romish church ; formed new stratagems to ensnare and ruin the Protestants ; took extraordinary pains in instructing the youth in all the liberal arts and sciences ; drew up a variety of useful, accurate, and elegant abridgments, containing the ele ments of philosophy and the learned languages ; published a multitude of treatises on practir cal religion and morality, whose persuasive elo quence charmed all ranks and orders of men ; introduced and cultivated an easy, correct, and agreeable manner of writing; and gave accurate and learned interpretations of several ancient au thors. To all these various kinds of merit, the greatest part of which were real and solid, they added others that were at least visionary and chi merical; for they endeavoured to persuade, and did, in effect, persuade many, that the Supreme Being interposed particularly in support of their cause, and, by prodigies and miracles of a stu pendous

Chap. I. TJie History of the Romish Church. 211

pendous kind, confirmed the truth of the doctrine CENT. of Augustine, in a manner adapted to remove all doubt, and triumph over all opposition [n~\.

All

£#]] It is well known that the Jansenists or Agustinians, have long pretended to confirm their doctrine by miracles ; and they even acknowledge, that these miracles have some times saved them, when their affairs have been reduced to a desperate situation. See Memoires de Port- Royal, torn. i. p. 256. torn. ii. p. 107- — The first time we hear mention made of these miracles is in 1556, and the following years, when a pretended thorn of that derisive crown that was put upon our Saviour's head by the Roman soldiers, is reported to have performed several marvellous cures in the convent of Port- Royal. See the Recueil de plusieurs pieces pour servir d I'Histoire de Port-Royal, p. 228. 448. — Fontaine, Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire de Port-Royal, torn. ii. p. 131. — These were followed by other prodigies in the year l66l. — Vies des Religieuscs de Port-Royal, torn. j. p. 192. and in the year 1664, Memoires de Port-Royal, torn. iii. p. 252. — The fame of these miracles was very great during the last century, and proved singularly advantageous to the cause of the Jansenists ; but they are now fallen, even in France, into oblivion and discredit. The Jansenists, therefore, of the present age, be ing pressed by their adversaries, were obliged to have recourse to new prodigies, as the credit of the old ones was entirely xvorn out ; and they seemed, indeed, to have had miracles at command, by the considerable number they pretended to per form. Thus (if we are credulous enough to believe their re ports) in the year 1725, a woman, whose name was Le Fosse, was suddenly cured of a bloody flux, by imploring the aid of the Host, when it was, one day, carried by a Jansenisl priest. About two years after this, we are told, that the tomb of Ger hard Rousse, a canon of Avignon, was honoured with mi racles of a stupendous kind ; and finally, we are informed, that the same honour was conferred, in the year 1731, on the bones of the Abbe de Paris, which were interred at St. Me- dard, where innumerable miracles are said to have been wrought. This last story has given rise to the warmest con tests, between the superstitious or crafty Jansenists, and their adversaries in all communions. Besides all this, QuesneJ, Levier, Desangins, and Tournus, the great ornaments of Jan senism, are said to have furnished extraordinary succours, on several occasions, to sick and infirm persons, who testified a lively confidence in their prayers and merits. See a famous Jansenist book composed in answer to the Bull Unigenitus, and entitled, Jesus Christ sous I'Anathcme et sous I' Excommunication,

Tlie History of the Romish Church.

CENT. All this rendered the Jansenists extremely popu- lar, and held the victory of the Jesuits for some

r

!' time dubious; nay, it is more than probable,

PART

that the former would have triumphed, had not the cause of the latter been the cause of the pa pacy, and had not the stability and grandeur of the Romish church depended in a great measure upon the success of their religious maxims. Five pro- XLIII. It appears from several circumstances, jan^ufthat Urban VIII. and after him, Innocent X, condemned were really bent on appeasing these dangerous tu- J«Lt x.°" niults, in the same manner as the popes in for mer times had prudently suppressed the contro versies excited by Baius and the Dominicans, But the vivacity, inconstancy, and restless spirit of the French doctors threw all into confusion, and disconcerted the measures of the pontiffs. The opposers of the doctrine of Augustine selected

art. xvii. p. 61 , xviii. p. 66. Edif. Utrecht. — There is no doubt but a great part of the Jansenists defend these miracles from principle, and in consequence of a persuasion of their truth and reality ; for that party abounds with persons, whose piety is blended with a most superstitious credulity, wholook upon their religious system as celestial truth, and their cause as the imme diate cause of heaven, and who are consequently disposed to think that it cannot possibly be neglected by the Deity., or left without extraordinary marks of his approbation and sup porting presence. It is however amazing, nay almost incre dible, on the other hand, that the more judicious defenders of this cause, those eminent Jansenists, whose sagacity, learning-, and good sense, discover themselves so abundantly in other matters do not consider that the powers of nature, the efficacy of proper remedies, or the effects of imagination, produce many important changes and effects, which imposture, or a blind at tachment to some particular cause, lead many to attribute ta the miraculous interposition of the Deity. We can easily ac- (pount for the delusions of weak enthusiasts, or the tricks of egregious impostors ; but when we see men of piety and judg ment appearing in defence of such miracles as those now under consideration, we must conclude, that they look upon fraud as lawful in the support of a good cause, and make no scruple of deceiving the people, when they propose, by this delusion., to confirm^ and propagate what they take to be the truth*

PART I.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish CJiurch.

five propositions out of the work of Jansenius al- CENT. ready mentioned, which appeared to them the most erroneous in their nature, and the most per nicious in their tendency ; and, being set on by the instigation, and seconded by the influence of the Jesuits, employed their most zealous endea vours and their most importunate intreaties, at the court of Rome, to have these propositions con demned. On the other hand, a great part of the Gallican clergy used their utmost efforts to pre vent this condemnation ; and, for that purpose, they sent deputies to Rome, to entreat Innocent X. to suspend his final decision, until the true sense of these propositions was deliberately exa mined, since the ambiguity of style, in which they were expressed, rendered them susceptible of a false interpretation. But these entreaties were ineffectual : the interest and importunities of the Jesuits prevailed ; and the pontiff, without ex amining the merits of the cause with a suitable de gree of impartiality and attention, condemned, by a public bull, on the 31st of May, 1653, the pro positions of Jansenius. These propositions con* tained the following doctrines :

1. " That there are divine precepts which good inen, notwithstanding their desire to observe them, are, nevertheless, absolutely unable to obey ; nor has God given them that measure of grace, that is essentially necessary to render them capable of such obedience:

2. " That no person, in this corrupt state of na* ture, can resist the influence of divine grace, when it operates upon the mind :

3. " That, in order to render human actions meritorious, it is not requisite that they be exempt from necessity, but only that they be free from constraint [oj. 4. " That

C°] Augustine, Leibnitz, and a considerable number of mo dern philosophers, who maintain the doctrine of Necessity,

P 3 conside*1

214 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT. 4. " That the Semi-pelagians err grievously in XVIL maintaining, that the human will is endowed with ^le Power °f eitner receiving or resisting the aids and influences of preventing grace :

5. " That whosoever affirms, that Jesus Christ made expiation, by his sufferings and death, for the sins of all mankind, is a Semi-pelagian."

Of these propositions the pontiff* declared the first four only heretical ; but he pronounced the fifth rash, impious 9 and injurious to the Supreme Being [>].

Alexander XLIV. This sentence of the Supreme ecclesi- fohes^bJiiastical judge was indeed painful to the Jansenists, against and of consequence highly agreeable to their ad- mus* versaries. It did not however either drive the former to despair, or satisfy the latter to the ex tent of their desires ; for while the doctrine was condemned, the man escaped. Jansenius was not named in the bull, nor did the pontiff even de clare that the Jive propositions were maintained in the book entitled Augustinus, in the sense in which he had condemned them. Hence the disciples of Augustine and Jansenius defended themselves by a distinction invented by the inge nious and subtile Anthony Arnaud, in conse quence of which they considered separately in this controversy the matter of doctrine and the matter of fact ; that is to say, they acknowledged them selves bound to believe, that the five propositions abovementioned were justly condemned by the

Roman

consider this necessity in moral actions, as consistent with true liberty, because it is consistent with spontaneity and choice. According to them, constraint alone and external force de stroy merit and imputation.

[_p~\ This Bull is still extant in the Bullareum Romanum, torn. vi. p. 456. It has also been published, together with several other pieces relating to this controversy, by Du Pies- sis D'Argentre, in his Colleclio judiciorum de novis erroribus, torn. iii. p. 261..

x vri* (

Chap. L The History of the Romish Church. 215

Roman pontiff [<?] ; but they maintained, that the pope had not declared, and consequently that they were not bound to believe, that these propo- pAR1 sitions were to be found in Jansenius' book, in ^^Y* the sense in which they had been condemned [r], They did not however enjoy long the benefit of this artful distinction. The restless and invin cible hatred of their enemies pursued them in every quarter where they looked for protection or repose; and at length engaged Alexander VII. the successor of Innocent, to declare by a so lemn bull, issued out in the year 1656, that the Jive propositions, that had been condemned, were the tenets of Jansenius, and were contained in his book. The pontiff did not stop here; but to this flagrant instance of imprudence added ano ther still more shocking; for, in the year 166,5, he sent into France the form of a declaration, that was to be be subscribed by all those who aspired a£* ter any preferment in the church, and in which it was affirmed, that the five propositions were to be found in the book of Jansenius, in the same sense in which they had been condemned by the church [«?]. This declaration, whose unexampled temerity and contentious tendency appeared in the most odious colours, not only to the Jansenists, but also to the wiser part of the French nation, produced the most deplorable divisions and tu mults. It was immediately opposed with vigour by the Jansenists, who maintained, that in matters of fact the pope was fallible, especially when his decisions were merely personal, and not confirm- P 4 ed

(£§" [</] This was what our author calls the quesiio dejure.

C3* M This is the qucstio de facto.

[V] This Bull, together with several other pieces, is also published by Du Plessis D'Argentre, in his Ccllectiojudici* orum de novis erroribus, torn. iii. p. 281, 288, 306. — See the form of Alexander's declaration, with the Mandate of XIV. ibid. p. 314.

The History of the Romish Churdi.

CENT, ed by a general council ; and, of consequence* that it was neither obligatory nor necessary to subscribe this papal declaration, which had only a matter of fact for its object. The Jesuits, on the contrary, audaciously asserted, even openly, in the city of Paris, and in the face of the Galli- can church, that faith and confidence in the papal decisions relating to matter of fact, had no less the characters of a well grounded and divine faith, than when these decisions related merely to mat ters of doctrine and opinion. It is to be remark ed, on the other hand, that all the Jansenists were by no means so resolute and intrepid as those abovementioned. Some of them declared^ that they would neither subscribe nor reject the Form in question, but shew their veneration for the authority of the pope, by observing a profound silence on that subject. Others professed them selves ready to subscribe it, not indeed without exception and reserve, but on condition of being allowed to explain, either verbally or in writing, the sense in which they understood it, or the dis tinction and limitations with which they were willing to adopt it. Others employed a variety of methods and stratagems to elude the force of this tyrannical declaration [f\. But nothing of this kind was sufficient to satisfy the violent demands of the Jesuits; nothing less than the en tire ruin of the Jansenists could appease their fury. Such, therefore, among the latter, as made the least opposition to the declaration in question, were cast into prison, or sent into exile, or invol ved in some other species of persecution ; and it is well known, that this severity was a conse quence of the suggestions of the Jesuits, and of their influence in cabinet-councils.

XLV. The

\J~] See Du Mas, Histoiredcs Cinques Propositions, p. 158^— Gerberon, Hi&toire Generate du Janscnisme^ p. ii. p. 51 6.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 217

XLV. The lenity or prudence of Clement IX. CENT. suspended, for a while, the calamities of those who had sacrificed their liberty and their fortunes PAR^, ^ to their zeal for the doctrine of Augustine, and ^^-^s gave them both time to breathe, and reason to This perse- hope for better days. This change, which hap- ™^°e" ^ pened in the year 1669, was occasioned by the under the fortitude and resolution of the bishops of Angers, po° Q^t BeauvaiSi Paviiers, and Alet, who obstinately and ix.— The gloriously refused to subscribe without the pro- J"^™" n per explications and distinctions, the oath or de- called the claration that had produced such troubles and di- visions in the church* They did not indeed stand alone in the breach ; for when the court of Rome began to menace and level its thunder at their heads, nineteen bishops more arose with a noble intrepidity, and adopted their cause, in solemn remonstrances addressed both to the king of France and the Roman pontiff. These resolute protestors were joined by Anne Genevieve de Bourbon, duchess of Longueville, a heroine of the first rank both in birth and magnanimity, who, having renounced the pleasures and vanities of the world, which had long employed her most serious thoughts, espoused with a devout ardour, the doctrines and cause of the Jansenists, and most earnestly implored the clemency of the Ro man pontiff in their behalf. Moved by these en treaties, and also by other arguments and consi derations of like moment, Clement IX. became so indulgent as to accept of a conditional subscrip tion to the famous declaration, and to permit doctors of scrupulous consciences to sign it ac cording to the mental interpretation they thought proper to give it. This instance of papal conde scension and lenity was no sooner made public, than the Jansenists began to come forth from their lurking places, to return from their voluntary exile, and to enjoy their former tranquillity and

freedom,

213

The History of the Romish Church.

SECT. II. PART I.

CENT, freedom, being exempt from all uneasy apprehen-

XVIL sion of any further persecution.

This remarkable event is commonly called the Peace of Clement IX. its duration, neverthe less, was but transitory [u]. It was violated in the year 1676, at the instigation of the Jesuits, by Lewis XIV. who declared, in a public edict, that it had only been granted for a time, out of a condescending indulgence to the tender and scrupulous consciences of a certain number of persons; but it was totally abolished after the death of the duchess of Longueville, which happened in the year 1679, and deprived the Jansenists of their principal support. From that

time

£«] The transactions relating to this event, which were car ried on under the pontificate of Clement IX. are circumstanti* ally related by Cardinal Rospigniosi, in his Commentarii, which Du Plessis D'Argentre has subjoined to his Elementa Theologi- ca, published in 8vo at Paris, in the year 1716. See also this last mentioned author's Collectio judiciorum de novis erroribus, torn. iii. p. ii. p. 336. in which the letters of Clement IX. are inserted. Two Jansenists have written the History of the Clementine Peace. Varet, vicar to the archbishop of Sens, in an anonymous work, entitled, Relation de ce qui s'est passe dans I' affaire de la Paix de I'Eglise sous la Pape Clement IX. and Quesnel, in an anonymous production also, entitled, La Paix de Clement IX. ou Demonstration des deux faussetes c«- pit ales avancees dans I'Histoire des Cinq Propositions contre la foi des disciple de St. Augustin. That Varet was the author of the former is asserted in the Catechism Historique sur les contestations de I'Egli.se, torn. i. p. 352 ; and that the latter came from the pen of Quesnel, we learn from the writer ofBi~ bliotheque Janseniste, p. 314. — There was another accurate and interesting account of this transaction published in the year 17Q6, in two volumes 8vo, under the following title : Relation de ce qui s'esl passe dans I'ajfaire de la paix de I'Eglise sous la Pape Clement IX. avec les Lettres, Actes, Memoir es, et autres pieces qui y ont rapport.— The important services that the duchess of Longueville rendered the Jansenists in this affair are related with elegance and spirit by Villefort, in his Viz d' Anne Genevieve de Bourbon, Duchesse de Longueville t torn. ii. livr. vi. p. 89. of the edition of Amsterdam (1739), which i$ niore complete and ample than the edition of Paris,

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 219

time their calamities were renewed, and they were CENT. pursued with the same malignity and rage that they had before experienced. Some of them avoided the rising storm by a voluntary exile; others sustained it with invincible fortitude and constancy of mind ; others turned aside its fury, and escaped its violence, as well as they could, by dexterity and prudence. Anthony Arnaud, who was the head and leader of the party, fled into Holland in the year 1679 [z#] ; and, in this retreat he not only escaped the fury of his enemies, but had it in his power to hurt them considerably, and actually made the Jesuits feel the weight of his talents and the extent of his in fluence. For the admirable eloquence and saga city of this great man gave him such an ascend ant in the Netherlands, that the greatest part of the churches there embraced his opinions, and adopted his cause ; the Romish congregations in Holland, also were, by his influence, and the mi nistry of his intimate friends and adherents, John Neercassel and Peter Coddeus, bishops of Castorie and Sebasto [oi\, entirely gained over to the Jan- senist party. These latter still persevere with the utmost steadiness in the principles of Jan senism ; and, secured under the protection of the Dutch government, defy the threats, and hold in derision, the resentment of the Roman pon tiffs [*/].

XLVI. It

[wT| For an account of this great man, see Bayle's Diction ary, vol. i. at the article Anthony Arnaud ; as also Hist6ire abregee de la vie et des ouvrages de M. Arnaud, published at Cologne, in 8vo. — The change introduced into the Romish churches in Holland is mentioned by Lafitau, Vie de Clement XI. torn. i. p. 123. For an account of Coddeus, Neercassel, and Varet, and the other patrons of Jansenism among the Dutch, see the Dictionnaire des Livres Jansenistes, torn. i. p. 48. 21. 353. torn. ii. p. 406. torn. iv. p. 119.

[V] Bishops in partibus infidelium.

It must however be gbserved, that, notwithstand ing

220 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT. XLVI. It is not only on account of their em- xvir- bracing the doctrine of Augustine concerning di- v*lie grace (a doctrine which bears a striking re- semblance with that of the Calvinists), that the stere Jan sen ists have incurred the displeasure and re- sentment of the Jesuits. They are charged with many other circumstances, which appear intoler able to the warm votaries of the church of Rome. And, indeed, it is certain, that the various contro versies, which have been mentioned above, were excited in that church principally by the Jan- senists, and have been propagated and handed down by them, even to our times, in a prodi gious multitude of their books published both in France and in the Netherlands [%]. But that which offends most the Jesuits, and the other creatures of the pontiff, is the austerity of this party, and the severity that reigns in their system of moral discipline and practical religion. For the Jansenists cry out against the corruptions of the church of Home, and complain that neither its doctrines nor morals retain any traces of their former purity. They reproach the clergy with an universal depravation of sentiments and man ners, and entire forgetfulness of the dignity of their character, and the duties of their vocation. They censure the licentiousness of the monastic orders> and insist upon the necessity of reforming their discipline according to the rules of sanctity, abstinence, and self-denial, that were originally prescribed by their respective founders. They maintain also, that the people ought to be care fully instructed in all the doctrines and precepts

of

ing the ascendant the Jansenists have in Holland, the Jesuits, for some time past, have by artifice and disguise got a consider able footing among the Romish churches that are tolerated by the republic.

[V] See Hist. Eccles. Rom. Ssec. xvi. sect. xxxi.

Chap. I. TJie History of the Romisli Church. 221

of Christianity, and that, for this purpose, the CF.XT. Holy Scriptures and Public Liturgies should be XVIL offered to their perusal in their mother-tongue ; PVRT r and, finally, they look upon it as a matter of the ^^^^ highest moment to persuade all Christians that true pity does not consist in the observance of pompous rites, or in the performance of external acts of devotion, but in inward holiness and di vine love.

These sentiments of the Jansenists, on a general view, seemed just and rational, and suitable to the spirit and genius of Christianity ; but, when we examine the particular branches into which they extend these general principles, the consequences they deduce from them, and the manner in which they apply them, in their rules of discipline and practice, we shall find, that the . piety of this fa mous party is deeply tinged both with supersti tion and fanaticism ; that it more especially, fa vours the harsh and enthusiastical opinion of the Mystics; and, of consequence, that the Jansenists are not undeservedly branded by their adversaries with the denomination of Rigourists [a]. This

denomination

[V] They who desire to form a just notion of the dismal piety of the Jansenists (which carries the unseemly features of that gloomy devotion that was formerly practised by fanatical hermits in the deserts of Syria, Lybia, and Egypt, but is en- tirely foreign from the dictates of reason and the amiable spirit of Christianity), have only to peruse the epistles and other writings of the Ahbot of St. Cyran, who is the great oracle of the party. This abbot was a well meaning man; and his piety, sucn as it was, carried in it the marks of sincerity and fervour ; he was also superior, perhaps as a pastor, to the great est part of the Roman catholic doctors ; and his learning, more especially his knowledge? of religious antiquity, was very con siderable ; but to propose this man as a complete and perftct model of genuine piety, and as a most accurate^and accom plished teacher of Christian virtue, is an absurdity peculiar to the Jansenists, and can be adopted by no person who knows what genuine piety and Christian virtue are. That wo

may

222 The History of the Romish CliurcJi.

CENT, denomination they merited in a peculiar man-

Ec^ii ner, by their doctrine concerning Repentance and

PART "' Penance,

^"T""*"' may not seem to detract rashly, and without reason, from the merit of this eminent man, it will not be improper to confirm what we have said by some instances. This good abbot, hav ing undertaken to vanquish the Heretics, (i. e. the Protestants) in a prolix and extensive work, was obliged to read, or at least to look into the various writings published by that impious tribe; and this he did in company with his nephew Martin de Barcos, who resembled him entirely in his sentiments andman- ners. But before he would venture to open a book composed by a protestant, he constantly marked it with the sign of the cross, to expel the evil spirit. What weakness and superstition did this ridiculous proceeding discover ! for the good man was peruaded that Satan had fixed his residence in the books of the Protestants ; but it was not so easy to determine where he ima gined the wicked spirit lay, whether in the paper, in the letters, between the leaves, or in the doctrines of these infernal pro ductions ? Let us see the account that is given of this matter by Lancelot in his Memoir es louchant la vie de M I' Abbe de S. Cyran, torn. i. p. 226. His words are as follows : " II lisoit ces livres avec tant de piete, qu'en les prenant il les exorcisoit toujours en faisant la signe de la Croix dessus, ne doutant point que la Demon n'y residoit actuellement." His attachment to Augustine was so excessive, that he looked upon as sacred and divine even those opinions of that great man, which the wiser part of the Romish doctors had rejected as erroneous and high ly dangerous. Such, among others, was the extravagant and pernicious tenets, that the saints are the only lawful proprietors of the world; and that the wicked have no right, by the divine law, to those things which they possess justly, in consequence of the decisions of human law. To this purpose is the follow ing assertion of our abbot, a» we find it in Fontaine's Memoires pour servir dl'Histoire de Port-Royal, torn. i. p. 201. "Jesus Christ n'est encore entre dans la possession de son Royaume temporel, et des biens du monde qui lui appartiennent que par cette petite portion qu'en tient 1'Eglise par les benefices de ses Clercs, qui ne sont que les fermiers et les depositaires de Jesus Christ." If therefore, we are to give credit to this visionary man, the golden age is approaching, when Jesus Christ, having pulled down the mighty from their seats,and dethroned the kings and princes of the earth, shall reduce the whole world under his sole dominion, and give it over to the government of priests, and monks, who are the princes of his church. — After we have seen such sentiments as these maintained by their oracle ancj chief, it is but natural to be surprised when we hear the Janse-

nists

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 223

Penance, whose tendency, considered both in a CENT. civil and religious point of view, is singularly

pernicious.

nists boasting of their zeal in defending sovereign states, and in general the civil rights of mankind, against the stratagems and usurpations of the Roman pontiffs.

The notions of the abbot of St. Cyran concerning prayer, which breathe the fanatical spirit of mysticism, will further confirm what we have said of his propensity to enthusiasm. It is, for example, a favourite maxim with him, that the Chris tian who prays, ought never to recollect the good things he stands in need of in order to ask them of God, since true prayer does not consist in distinct notions and clear ideas of what we are doing in that solemn act, but in a certain blind impulse of divine love. Such is the account given of the abbot's senti ments on this head by Lancelot, in his Memoires touchant la me de I Abbe de S. Cyran, torn. ii. p. 44. — " II ne croyoit pas, (says that author) que Ton put faire quelque effort pour s'ap- pliquer a quelque point, ou a quelque pensee particuliere — . parce que la veritable priere est plutot un attrait de son amour, qui emporte notre cceur vers lui, et nous enleve comme hors de nous memes, que non pas une occupation de notre esprit, qui se remplisse de 1'idee de quelque objet quoque divin." According to this hypothesis, the man prays best who neither thinks nor asks in that act of devotion. This is, indeed, a very extraordinary account of the matter, and contains an idea of prayer which seems to have been quite unknown to Christ, and his Apostles ; for the former has commanded us to address our prayers to God in a set form of words ; and the latter fre quently tell us the subject of their petitions and supplications.

But of all the errors of this Arch-Jansenist, none was so pernicious as the fanatical notion he entertained of his being the residence of the deity, the instrument of the Godhead, by which the divine nature itself essentially operated. It was in consequence of this dangerous principle, that he recommends it as a duty incumbent on all pious men to follow, without consulting their judgment or any other guide, thetfirst motions and impulses of their minds, as the dictates of heaven. And indeed the Jansenists, in general, are intimately persuaded, that God operates immediately upon the minds of those who have composed, or rather suppressed, all the motions of the understanding and of the will, and that to such he declares, from above, his intentions and commands ; since whatever thoughts, designs, or inclinations arise within them, in this calm state of tranquillity and silence, are to be considered as the direct suggestions and oracles of the divine wisdom. See, for a further account of this pestilential doctrine, Memoires- de Port-Royal, torn. iii. p.

The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, pernicious. For they make repentance consist chien*y i*1 those voluntary sufferings, which the transgressor inflicts upon himself, in proportion to the nature of his crimes and the degree of bis guilt. As their notions of the extent of man's original corruption are greatly exaggerated, they prescribe remedies to it that are of the same na ture. They look upon Christians as bound to ex piate this original guilt by acts of mortification performed in solitude and silence, by torturing and macerating their bodies, by painful labour, excessive abstinence, continual prayer and con templation ; and they hold every person obliged to increase these voluntary pains and sufferings, in proportion to the degree of corruption they have derived from nature, or contracted by a vi cious and licentious course of life. Nay, they carry these austerities to so high a pitch, that they do not scruple to call those holy self- tormentors, who have gradually put an end to their days by excessive abstinence or labour, the sacred victims of repentance, that have been consumed by the fire of divine love. Not satisfied with this fa ntas-* tical language, they go still farther, and super stiti- ously maintain, that the conduct of these self- murderers, is peculiarly meritorious in the eye of heaven ; and that their sufferings, macerations, and labours, appease the anger of the Deity, and not only contribute to their own felicity, but draw down abundant blessings upon their friends and upon the church. We might confirm this ac count by various examples, and more especially by that of the famous Abbe De Paris, the great wonder-worker of the Jansenists, who put him^ self to a most painful death, in order to satisfy the justice of an incensed God [b] ; such was the

picture

\J)~] See Motinos, Com. de Paznitentia Prcef. p. 3. in which there is a tacit censure of the penance of the Jansenists.—

See

SECT. II. PART I.

Chap. I. Ttie History of the Romish Church. 225

picture he had formed of the best of Being in his CENT.

i- i i f "XVTT

disordered fancy.

XLVII. A striking example of this austere, for bidding, and extravagant species of devotion was exhibited in that celebrated female convent called The con- Port Royal in the Fields, which was situated in a retired, deep, and gloomy vale, not far froniai. Paris. The inspection and government of this austere society was given by Henry IV. about the commencement of this century, to Jaque- line, daughter of Anthony Arnaud [cl, who, after her conversion, assumed the name of Marie Angelique de la St. Madelaine. This lady had at first led a very dissolute life [df], which was the general case of the cloistered fair in France, about this period; but a remarkable change happened in her sentiments and manners, in the year 1609, when she resolved no more to live like a nun, but to consecrate her future days to deep devotion and penitential exercises. This holy resolution was strengthened by her acquaint ance with the famous Francois de Sales, and the abbot of St. Cyran. The last of these pious connexions she formed in the year 1623, and mo delled both her own conduct and the manners of

VOL. v. Q her

—See on the other hand, the Memoires de Port-Royal, p. 483. — The Jansenists, among all the meritorious actions of the ab bot of St. Cyran, find none more worthy of admiration and applause than his restoring from oblivion the true system of pe nitential discipline ; and they consider him as the second au thor or parent of the doctrine of penance. See Memoires de Port-Royal, torn. iii. p. 445. 504. — This very doctrine, how ever, of penance was one of the principal reasons of his being committed to prison by the order of Cardinal Richelieu. Ibid. torn. i. p. 233. 452.

[cT\ An eminent lawyer, and father to the famous Arnaud, doctor in Sorbonne.

03" [d] The dissolute life imputed to this abbess by Dr. Mosheim is an egregious mistake, which seems to have pro ceeded from his misunderstanding a passage in Bayle's Diction* ary, vol. i. p. 338. note F, fourth edition in French.

PAUT I.

The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, her convent after the doctrine and example of XVJI- these devout men. Hence it happened, that *' during the whole course of this century, the con vent of Port-Royal excited the indignation of the Jesuits, the admiration of the Jansenists, and the attention of Europe. The holy virgins of this famous society observed, with the utmost rigour and exactness, that ancient rule of the Cistercians, which had been almost every where abrogated on account of its excessive and intolerable austerity ; nay, they even went beyond its most cruel de mands [<?]. Such was the fame of this devout

nunnery,

[ e\ There is a prodigious multitude of books still extant, in which the rise, progress, laws, and sanctity, of this famous Convent are described and extolled by eminent Jansenists, who, at the same time, deplore its fate in the most doleful strains. Of this multitude we shall mention those only which are easy to be acquired, and which contain the most modern and cir cumstantial accounts of that celebrated establishment. — The Benedictines of St. Maur have given an exact, though dry his tory of this convent in their Gallia Christiana, torn. vii. p. 910. A more elegant and agreeable account of it ; but an account charged with imperfection and partiality, was composed by the famous poet Racine, under the title ofAbrege de I'Histoire dc Port-Royal, and was published, after having passed through many preceding editions, in the year 1 750, at Amsterdam, among the works of his son Lewis Racine, torn. ii. p. 275 — 366. The external state and form of his convent are pro fessedly described by Moleon, in his Voyages Liturgiqucs, p. 234. — Add to these, Nic. Fontaine, Metnoires pour servir d I'Hisloire de Port-Royal, published at Cologn (or rather at Ut recht), in two volumes 8vo, in the year 1738. — Du Fosse, Me- moircs pour servir a I'Histoire de Port-Royal. — Recueil de plu- sieurs pieces pour servir a I'Histoire de Port-Royal, published at Utrecht, in 8vo, in the year 17-10. — The editor of this last com pilation promises, in his Preface, further collections of pieces relative to the same subject, and seems to insinuate, that a com plete history of Port-Royal, drawn from these and other va luable and authentic records, will sooner or later see the light. See, besides the authors above mentioned, Lancelot, Metnoires touchant la Vie de I Abbe de S. Cyran. All these authors confine their relations to the external form and various revo lutions of this famous convent. Its internal state, its rules of

discipline

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 227

nunnery, that multitudes of pious persons were CENT. ambitious to dwell in its neighbourhood, and g^11^ that a great part of die Janscnixt-penitents, or SPART L* self-tormentors of both sexes, built huts without v^nr_/ its precincts, where' they imitated the manners of those austere and gloomy fanatics, who, in the fourth and fifth centuries, retired into the wild and uncultivated places of Syria, and Egypt, and were commonly called, The Fathers of the Dcsart. The end which these Penitents had in view was, by silence, hunger, thirst, prayer, bodily labour, Q 2 watchings,

discipline, the manners of its virgin?, and the incidents and transactions that have happened between them and the holy neighbourhood of Jansenists, are described and related by an other set of writers ; see Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire de Port-Roi/nl, el a la Vie de Marie Angelique D'Arnaud, pub lished at Utrecht in 5 vols. 8vo, in the year 1742. — Vies inter* cssantes et edi/ianfcs des rcl'gieuses de Port-Royal, ct de plu- sienrcs pcrsonnes qid leur eloient attachccs. There are already four volumes of this work published, of which the firstappeared at Utrecht in the year 1 750, in 8vo, and it must be acknow ledged, that they all contain several anecdotes and records that are interesting and curious. — For an account of the suppression and abolition of this convent, see the Memoires sur to destruction de I'Abbaye de Port-Royal dcs Champs, published in 8vo, in 1711. If we are not much mistaken, all these histories and relations have been much less serviceable to the reputation of this famous convent than the Jansenist party are willing to think. When we view Arnaud, Tillemont, Nicole, Le Maitre, and the other author of Port-Royal, in their learned productions, they then appear truly great ; but, when we lay aside their works, and, taking up these histories of Port-Royal, see these great men in private life, in the constant practice of that au stere discipline of which the Jansenists boast so foolishly, they indeed then shrink almost to nothing, appear in the contempti ble light of fanatics, and seem totally unworthy of the fame they have acquired. When we read the Discourses that Isaac le Maitre, commonly called Sacy, pronounced at the bar, together with his other ingenious productions, we cannot refuse him the applause that is due to such an elegant and accom plished writer ; but when we meet with this polite author at Port- Royal, mixed with labourers and reapers, and with the spade or the sickle in his hand, he then certainly makes a co mical figure, and can scarcely be looked upon as perfectly right in his head.

SECT. II. PART

The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, watchings, sorrow, and other voluntary acts of self-denial, to efface the guilt, and remove the pollution the soul had derived from natural cor ruptions or evil hahits [/*]. They did not, how ever, all observe the same discipline, or follow the same kind of application and labour. The more learned consumed their strength in composing la borious productions filled with sacred and profane erudition, and some of these have no doubt, de served well of the republic of letters : others were employed in teaching youth the rudiments of lan guage and the principles of science ; but the far greatest part exhausted both the health of their bodies and the vigour of their minds in servile industry and rural labour; and thus pined away by a slow kind of death. What is singularly sur prising is that many of these voluntary victims of an inhuman piety were persons illustrious both by their birth and stations, who after having distin guished themselves in civil or military employ ments, debased themselves so far in this peniten tial retreat, as to assume the character, offices, and labour of the lowest servants.

This celebrated retreat of the devout and au stere Jansenists was subject to many vicissitudes during the whole course of this century : at one time it flourished in unrivalled glory ; at another it seemed eclipsed, and on the brink of ruin. At length, however, the period of its total extinc tion approached. The nuns obstinately refused

to

Among the finest and most eminent of these penitents was Isaac le Maitre, a celebrated lawyer at Paris, whose elo quence had procured him a shining reputation, and who, in the year 1637, retired to Port- Royal to make expiation for his sins. The retreat of this eminent man raised new enemies to the abbot of St. Cyran. See the Memoires pour I'Histoire de Port-Royal, torn. i. p. 223. — The example of Le Maitre was followed by a vast number of persons of all ranks, and, among these, by some persons of the highest distinction. See Vies des Religieuses ck Port-Roy al> torn. i. p, 141.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church.

to subscribe the declaration of Pope Alexander CENT. VII. that has been so often mentioned; on the XV1L other hand, their convent and rule of discipline PART , ' was considered as detrimental to the interests of >_nr^ the kingdom, and a dishonour to some of the first families in France ; hence Lewis XIV. in the year 1709, set on by the violent counsels of the Jesuits, ordered the convent of Port-Royal to be demolished, the whole building to be levelled with the ground, and the nuns to be removed to Paris. And, lest there should still remain some secret fuel to nourish the flame of superstition in that place, he ordered the very carcasses of the nuns and devout Jansenists to be dug up and buried elsewhere.

XLVIII. The other controversies that disturb- The «»- ed the tranquillity of the church of Rome, were *ro0nTteer^. but light blasts when compared with this violent the imma- hurricane. The old debate between the Francis- ^nc^ cans and Dominicans, concerning the Immaculate the virgin. Conception of the Virgin Mary, which was main tained by the former, and denied by the latter, gave much trouble and perplexity to the Roman pontiffs, and more especially to Paul V. Gre gory XV. and Alexander VII. The kingdom of Spain was thrown into such combustion, and so miserably divided into factions by this contro versy, about the beginning of this century, that solemn embassies were sent to Rome, both by Philip III. and his successor, with a view to en gage the Roman pontiff to determine the question, or, at any rate, to put an end to the contest by a public bull. But, notwithstanding the weighty solicitations of these monarchs, the oracle of Rome pronounced nothing but ambiguous words, and its high priests prudently avoided coming to a plain and positive decision of the matter in question. For if they were awed, on the one hand, by the warm remonstrances of the Spanish c^ 3 court.

230

The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, court, which favoured the sentiment of the Fran- XVIL ciscans, they were restrained, on the other, by the credit and influence of the Dominicans. So that, after the most earnest intreaties and impor tunities, all that could he obtained from the pontiff, by the court of Spam, was a declaration, intimating, that the opinion of the Franciscans had a high degree of probability on its side, and forbidding the Dominicans to oppose it in a pub lic manner ; but this declaration was accompanied with another [^], by which the Franciscans were prohibited, in their turn, from treating as erro neous the doctrine of the Dominicans. This pa cific accommodation of matters would have been highly laudable in a prince or civil magistrate, who, unacquainted with theological questions of such an abstruse nature, preferred the tranquillity of his people to the discussion of such an intricate and unimportant point; but whether it was ho

nourable

See Fricl. Ulr. Calixti liistoria Immaculatce Conceptioms . Virginis Mariae, published at Hclmstadt in 4to in the year 1696. — Hornbeckii Comm. ad Bullam Urbani VIII. de deibus Fetis, p. 250. — Launoii Prcescriptionis de Concept it Virginis Marias,, torn. i. p. i. oper. p. 9. — Long after this period, de merit XI. went a step further, and appointed, in the year 1708, a festival to be celebrated, in honour of the Immaculate Con ception of the Virgin Mary, throughout the Romish church. See the Memoires de Trevoux, for the year 1 70.9, art. xxxvii. p. 514. But the Dominicans obstinately deny that the obli gation of this law extends to them, and persist in maintaining their ancient doctrine, though with more modesty and circum spection than they formerly discovered in this debate. And when we consider that this doctrine of theirs has never been expressly condemned by any pope, and that they are not in the least molested, nor even censured, for refusing to celebrate the festival above-mentioned, it appears evidently, from all this, that the terms of the papal edict are to be understood with certain restrictions, and interpreted in a mild and indul gent manner ; and that the spirit of this edict is not contrary to the tenor of the former declarations of the pontiffs on this head. See Lamindus Pritanius (a fictitious name assumed by the author Muratori) De igeniorum moderatione in religionis negolio, p. 254.

xvir.

SECT.

Chap. I. TJie History of the Romish Church. 231

nourable to the Roman pontiff, who boasts of a CENT. divine right to decide all religious controversies, and pretends to a degree of inspiration that places him beyond the possibility of erring, we leave to the consideration of those who have his glory at heart.

XLIX. The controversies with the Mystics Quietism, were now renewed, and that sect, which in for-or

troversies

mer times enjoyed such a high degree of reputa- occasioned tion and authority, was treated with the greate l^ne of °° severity, and involved in the deepest distress Moiinos. towards the conclusion of this century. This un happy change in their affairs was principally oc casioned by the fanaticism and imprudence of Michael de Moiinos, a Spanish priest, who resided at Home, and the fame of whose ardent piety and devotion procured him a considerable number of disciples of both sexes. A book published at Rome in the year 1681, by this ecclesiastic, un der the title of The Spiritual Guide, alarmed the doctors of the church \Ji\. This book contained, besides the usual precepts and institutions of Mys tic theology, several notions relating to a spiri tual and contemplative life, that seemed to revive Q 4 ' the

[7«] This book, which was composed in Spanish, and pub lished for the first time, in the year l6?5, was honoured with the approbation and encomiums of many eminent and respect able personages. It was published in Italian in several places, and at length at Rome, in 1081. It was afterwards translated into French, Dutch, and Latin, and passed through several editions in France, Italy, and Holland. The Latin transla tion, which bears the title of ManuducLio Spirituals, was pub-< lished at Halle, in the year 168?, in Svo, by Frank. There is another work of Moiinos composed in the same spirit, con cerning the daily celebration of the communion, which was also condemned. See the *' Recueil de diverses pieces con- cernant le Quietisme et les Quietistes, ou Moiinos ses sentt-. mens. et ses disciples," published in Svo at Amsterdam, in the year 1688, in which the reader will find a French translation of the Spiritual Guide, together with a collection of letters ou various subjects, written by Moiinos.

2532 The History of the Romish Church.

CENT, the pernicious and infemal errors of the Beg- xvil hards, and open a door to all sorts of dissolution ail(^ licentiousness. The principles of Molinos, which have been very differently interpreted by his friends and enemies, amount to this : " That " the whole of religion consists in the perfect calm " and tranquillity of a mind removed from all " external and finite things, and centered in God, " and in such a pure love of the Supreme Being, " as is independent on all prospect of interest or " reward ;" or to express the doctrine of this Mystic in other words, " The soul in the pur- " suit of the supreme good, must retire from the " reports and gratifications of sense, and, in ge- " neral, from all corporeal objects, and, impo- " sing silence upon all the motions of the under- " standing and will, must be absorbed in the " Deity." Hence the denomination of Quietists, was given to the followers of Molinos; though that of Mystics, which was their vulgar title, was more applicable, and expressed with more pro priety their fanatical system. For the doctrine of Molinos had no other circumstance of novelty attending it, than the singular and unusual terms he employed in unfolding his notions, and the ingenuity he discovered in digesting what the ancient mystics had thrown out in the most con fused and incoherent jargon, into something that looked like a system. The Jesuits, and other zealous votaries of Rome, soon perceived that the system of Molinos was a tacit censure of the Romish church, as having departed from the spi rit of true religion, by placing the essence of piety in external works, and in the performance of a certain round of rites and ceremonies. But the warmest opponents Molinos met with was from the French ambassador [i ] at Rome, who raised a

most

[z] Cardinal D'Etrees.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish CJmrcJi. 233

most violent persecution against him. This made CENT. many imagine, that it was not the theological s*cvTu;r system of Molinos alone that had inflamed the PART , ' resentment of that minister, but that some consi- ^~^r**> derations of a political nature had been blended with this famous controversy, and that the Spa nish Mystic had opposed the designs and negoci- ations of the French monarch at the court of Rome. However that may have been, Molinos, unable to resist the storm, and abandoned by those from whom he chiefly expected succour, yielded to it in the year 1685, when notwith standing the number, rank, and credit of his friends at Rome, and the particular marks of fa vour he had received from the Roman pontiff [A*], he was cast into prison. Two years after this he was obliged to renounce, in a public manner, the errors of which he was accused, and this solemn recantation was followed by a sentence of perpetual imprisonment, from which he was, in an advanced age, delivered by death, in the year 1696 [/]. The candid and impartial will be obliged to acknowledge, that the opinions and expressions of this enthusiast were perfidiously misrepresented and perverted by the Jesuits and others, whose interest it was that he should be put out of the way, and excluded from every thing but contemplation and repose ; and it is most certain, that this doctrine was charged with con sequences which he neither approved nor even

apprc-

\_k~\ Innocent XI.

Q/] He was born in the diocese of Saragossa, in the year 16:27 ; see B'lhlioth. Jansenwte, p. 469. For an account of this controversy, see the Narrative of the proceedings of the Contro versy concerning Q/«>//.v»i, which is subjoined to the German translation of Burnet's Travels. — As also Arnold! flistoria Ecclts* et lltvrd'ic. torn. iii. c. xvii. p. 170.— Jaegeri Hislor. Ecdcs. el Polit. Sacculi xvii. Decen. ix. p. 2ft. — Plessis D'Argentre, CoHcclio judiciorum de novis erroribM, torn. iii. p. ii. p. 357, where may be seen the papal edicts relating t« this controversy.

i

234 The History of the Romish Cliurch.

CENT, apprehended. But, on the other hand, it must XVIL also be confessed, that the system of Molinos was chargeable with the greatest part of the reproaches that are justly thrown upon the Mystics, and fa voured much the illusions and follies of those fanatics, who would make the crude visions of their disordered fancies pass for Divine revela tions \_rn~].

L. It would have been truly surprising had a

of Molinos. f . , , J , * -

system 01 piety, that was so adapted to seduce the indolent mind, to captivate the warm imagina tion, and to melt the tender heart, been destitute of votaries and followers. But this was by no means the case. In Italy, Spain, France, and the Netherlands, Molinos had a considerable number of disciples, and besides, the reasons we have now hinted, another circumstance must have contri buted much to multiply his votaries ; for, in all parts of the Romish dominion, there were num bers of persons, who had sense and knowledge enough to perceive, that the whole of religion could not consist in external rites and bodily mor tifications, but too little to direct themselves in religious matters, or to substitute what was right in the place of what they knew to be wrong ; and hence it was natural enough for them to follow the first plausible guide that was offered to them. But the church of Rome, apprehensive of the con sequences of this Mystic theology, left no me thod unemployed that could attribute to stop its progress ; and, by the force of promisings and threatenings, of severity and mildness properly applied, stifled in the birth the commotions and changes it seemed adapted to excite. The death of Molinos contributed also to dispel the anxiety of the Romish doctors, since his disciples and

followers

[V] All that can be alleged in defence of Molinos has been gathered together by Weismannius, in his Hixtor. Ecclesiask &ec. xvii. p. 555.

Chap. I. Ttie History of the Romish Church. 235

followers seemed too inconsiderable to deserve any CENT. notice. Among these are generally reckoned ^ Cardinal Petrucci, Francis de la Combe, a 'PAR^ r * Barnabite friar, the spiritual director of Madame v^y^/ Guyon (who shall be mentioned more particu larly), Frances Malavalle, Berniere de Louvigni, and others of less note. These enthusiasts, as is common among the Mystics, differ from Molino- nos in several points, and are also divived among themselves; this diversity is, however, rather nominal than real; and, if we consider the true signification of the terms by which they express their respective notions, we shall find that they all set out from the same principles, and tend to the same conclusions [n\.

LI. One of the principal patrons and propa-Thecaseof gators of Quietism in France was Marie Bouvi- G^o™and eres de la Mothe Guyon, a woman of fashion, Feueion. remarkable for the goodness of her heart and the regularity of her manners, but of an inconstant and unsettled temper, and subject to be drawn away by the seduction of a warm and unbridled fancy. This female apostle of Mysticism derived all her ideas of religion from the feelings of her own heart [o], and described its nature to others ac cording

\_n~\ The writings of these fanatics are enumerated and sharply criticised by Colonia, in the Jlibliothcquc Quietiste (which he has subjoined to his BibliotJieqne Jajiseniste), p. 455 — 488. — See also God. Arnold! Hisioria el Descripfio Theologia My.sticce, p. 364. & Poiret's Bibliothcca Mystico- rum, published at Amsterdam, 8vo. 1708.

[V] Madame Guyon wrote her own life, and spiritual ad ventures in French, and published them in the year 1720. Her writings, which abound with childish allegories and mys tic ejaculations, have been translated into German. Her principal production was La Bible dc Mad. Guyon, avec des explications ct reflections qui regardant la V'KC interieure. This Bible with Annotations relating to the hidden or internal life, was published in the year 1715, at Amsterdam, under the name of Cologn, in twenty volumes in 8vo, which abun dantly discover the fertile imagination and shallow judgment

of

SECT. FART

236 Tlic History qftfie Romish Churcli.

CENT, cording as she felt it herself; a manner of pro- XVIL ceeding of all others the most uncertain and de-

Cf'T If *-^

j" lusive. And accordingly, her religious senti- ^ ments made a great noise in the year 1687, and gave offence to many. Hence, after they had been accurately and attentively examined by se veral men of eminent piety and learning, they were, at length pronounced erroneous and un sound, and, in the year 1697, were professedly confuted by the celebrated Bossuet, This gave rise to a controversy of still greater moment, be tween the prelate last mentioned, and Francis Salignac de Fenelon, archbishop of Cambray> whose sublime virtue and superior genius were beheld with veneration in all the countries of Europe. Of these two disputants, who, in point of eloquence, were avowedly without either supe- riorsor equalsin France^ the latter seemed disposed to favour the religious system of Madame Guyon. For when Bossuet desired his approbation of the book he had composed, in answer to the senti ments of that female Mystic, Fenelon not only refused it, but openly declared that this pious woman had been treated with great partiality and injustice, and that the censures of her adversary were unmerited and groundless. Nor did the warm imagination of this amiable prelate permit him to stop here, where the dictates of prudence ought to have set bounds to his zeal ; for, in the year 1697, he published a book [/?], in which he adopted several of the tenets of Madame Guyon, and more especially that favourite doctrine of the Mystics, which teaches, that the love of the Su preme Being must be pure and disinterested ; that

is,

of this female mystic. — See a farther account of her in the Letters of Mad. de Main tenon, torn. i. p. 249. torn. ii. p. 45, 47, 49, 51.

£p3 This book was entitled, Explication des Maxims des Saints sur la vie intericure. It has been translated into Latin,

Chap. I. Tlie History of the Romish Church. 237

is, exempt from all views of interest and all hope CENT, of reward [</]. This doctrine Fenelon explained with a pathetic eloquence, and confirmed it by the authority of many of the most eminent and pious among the Romish doctors. Bossuet, whose leading passion was ambition, and who beheld with anxiety the rising fame and eminent talents of Fenelon as an obstacle to his glory, was highly exasperated by this opposition, and left no method unemployed which artifice and jealousy could suggest to mortify a rival whose illustrious merit had rendered so formidable. For this purpose, he threw himself at the feet of Lewis XIV. implored the succours of the Roman pontiff, and by his importunities and stratagems, obtained, at length, the condemnation of Fenelon's book. This condemnation was pronounced in the year 1699, by Innocent XII. who, in a public brief, declared that book unsound in general, and branded with more peculiar marks of disapproba tion twenty-three propositions, specified by the Congregation, that had been appointed to examine it. The book, however, was condemned alone, without any mention of the author ; and the con duct

(f^p* £7] This doctrine of the Mystics has thus far a founda tion in reason and philosophy, that the moral perfections of the Deity are, in themselves, intrinsically amiable ; and that their excellence is as much adapted to excite our esteem and love, as the experience of their beneficent effects in promoting our well being, is to inflame our gratitude. The error, therefore, of the Mystics lay in their drawing extravagant conclusions from a right principle, and in their requiring in their followers a per petual abstraction and separation of ideas which are intimately connected, and, as it were blended together, such as fdicity and perfection ; for though these two are inseparable in fact, yet the Mystics from a fantastic prehension to disinteri-sh-ti would separate them right or wrong', and turned their wh:ne attention to the latter. In their views also of the supreme Being, they overlooked th'r important relations he bears to us as benefactor and rewarder ; relations that gave rise to noble sentiments and important duties, and confined their views to his supreme beauty, excellence, and perfection.

238 TJie History of the Romish Church.

CENT, duct of Fenelon on this occasion was very re- markable. He declared publicly his entire ac quiescence in the sentence by which his book had been condemned, and not only read that sentence to his people in the pulpit at Cambray, but ex horted them to respect and obey the papal de cree [r]. This step was differently interpreted by different persons, according to their notions of this great man, or their respective ways of think ing. Some considered it as an instance of true magnanimity, as the mark of a meek and gentle spirit, that preferred the peace of the church to every private view of interest or glory. Others, less charitable, looked upon this submissive con duct as ignoble and pusillanimous, as denoting ma nifestly a want of integrity, inasmuch as it sup posed, that the prelate in question condemned with his lips what in his heart he believed to be true. One thing indeed seems generally agreed on, and that is, that Fenelon persisted to the end of his days, in the sentiments which, in obedience to the order of the pope, he retracted and condemned in a public manner.

La Pey- LIT. Besides these controversies, which derived White, their importance chiefly from the influence and sfondrati, reputation of the disputants, and thus became 1Born' productive of great tumults and divisions in the church, there were others excited by several in novators, whose new and singular opinions were followed with troubles, though of a less momen tous

[V] An ample and impartial account of this controversy has been given by Toussaints du Plessis, a Benedictine, in his Hisloire de I'Eglise de Meaux, livr. v. torn. i. p. 485 — 523.-— Ramsay, in his Life of Fenelon, written in French, and pub lished at the Hague in the year 1723, is less impartial ; but is nevertheless worthy of being consulted on this subject. See Voltaire, Siecle de Louis XIV. torn. ii. p. 301. — The public acts and edicts relating to this controversy have been collected by Du Plessis Argentre, in his Colkctio judiciorwn de nous erroribiis, torn, iii, p. ii. p. 402.

Chap. I. TJie History of the Romish Church. 239

tons and permanent nature. Such was the strange CENT. doctrine of Isaac la Peyrere, who, in two small XVIL

. 11*1 i • j i i r* f *• •

treatises, published in the year 1555, mam- tained, that it is the origin of the Jewish nation, and not of the human race, that we find recorded in the hooks of Moses, and that our globe was inhabited by many nations before Adam, whom he considered as the father of the Jews. Though Peyrere was a protestant when he published this opinion, yet the doctors of the Romish church looked upon themselves as obliged to punish an error that seemed to strike at the foundation of all Revealed Religion ; and therefore, in the year 1656, had him seized at Brussels, and cast into prison, where, to escape the flames, he publicly renounced his erroneous system, and to make a full expiation for it, embraced the popish reli gion [>].

Thomas Wh'te, known at different times, and in different countries, by the names of Al- bius, Anglus, Candidus, Blanchi [£], which he assumed successively, made a considerable figure, about the middle of this century, in England, Portugal, France, and the Netherlands, by the number and subtilty of his philosophical pro ductions ; but he also incurred the displeasure of many of the doctors of his communion, on ac count of the novelty and singularity of his opi nions. He was undoubtedly a man of genius and penetration ; but, being a passionate admirer

of

[V] Bayle's Dictionary at the article Peyrere. — Arnold! Histor. Ecclcs. et Hitret. torn. iii. p. 70. — Menagiana] pub lished by De la Monnoye, torn. ii. p. 40.

(£j- £/] All these denominations were relative to his true name, which was White. This man was a peculiar favourite of Sir Kenelm Digby's, and mentions him with singular vene ration in his philosophical writings. See more of this White in Wood's Atheme Oxon. 2d edit. vol. ii. p. 665, and in the Biograph. Brit, article Glanvil. vol. iv. p. 2206.

240

Tlie History of the Romish Church.

PART

CENT, of the Peripatetic philosophy, he ventured to em- XVIL ploy it in the explication of some of the peculiar !* doctrines of the Romish church. This bold at tempt led him imperceptibly out of the beaten road of popery, opened to him new views of things, and made him adopt notions that had never been heard of in the church of Rome; and hence his books were prohibited and condemned in several places, and particularly at Rome by the Congregation of the Index. This innovator is said to have died in England, his native country, and to have left a sect behind him that embraced his doctrine, but, in process of time, fell into oblivion [?/•].

His peculiarities, however, were nothing, in comparison with the romantic notions of Joseph Francis Eorri, a Milanese knight, eminent for his knowledge of chymistry and physic ; but who, at the same time, appears to have been rather a madman than a heretic. The fancies broached by this man, concerning the Virgin Mary, the Holy Ghost, the erection of a new celestial kingdom, of which he himself was to be the founder, and the downfal of the lloman pontiff, are so extravagant, childish, and absurd, that no sober person can view them in any other light than as the crude reveries of a disordered brain. Besides, the conduct of this fanatic, in several places, discovered the greatest vanity and levity, attended with that spirit of imposture that is usually visible in quacks and mountebanks ; and, indeed, in the whole of his behaviour, he seemed destitute of sense, integrity, and prudence. The inquisitors had spread their snares for Borri, but he luckily eFcaped them, and wandered up and down through a great part of Europe, giving him self

See Bayle's Dictionary at the article Anglus.—Ba,i\]etf

Fie de Des Cartes, torn, ii, p. 245.

SECT. II. >ART I.

The History of the Romish Church. 241

self out for another Esculapius, and pretending CENT. to be initiated into the most profound mysteries ^ of chemical science. But in the year 1672, he imprudently fell into the clutches of the Roman >. pontiff, who pronounced against him a sentence of perpetual imprisonment [H;].

The last innovator we shall here mention is Coelestine Sfondrati, who, having formed the de sign of terminating the disputes concerning pre destination, by new explications of that doctrine, wrote a book upon that knotty subject, which threw into combustion, in the year 1696, a con siderable part of the Romish church ; since it was, in some things, agreeable to none of the contend ing parties, and neither satisfied entirely the Je suits nor their adversaries. Five French bishops, of great credit at the court of Rome, accused the author, notwithstanding the high rank of cardinal to which he had been raised on account of his extensive learning, of various errors, and more especially of having departed from the sentiments and doctrine of Augustine. This accusation was brought before Innocent XII. in the year 1696, but the contest it seemed adapted to excite was nipt in the bud. The pontiff appeased, or rather put off, the French prelates, with a fair promise that he would appoint a congregation to examine the cardinal's doctrine, and then pro nounce sentence accordingly ; but he forgot his promise, imitated the prudent conduct of his pre decessors on like occasions, and did not venture to give a final decision to this intricate and knotty controversy [#].

LIII. There

[w] There i» a very interesting article in Bayle's Dictionary relating to Borri, in which all the extravagancies of that wrong- headed man are curiously related. See also Arnold, loc. cit. p. iii. c. xviii. p. 193.

[V] This book, which was published at Rome in 4to, in the VOL. V. R year

The History of the Romish Church.

CENT. LIII. There was scarcely any change introdu- XVIL ced into the ritual of the Romish church during PART i. tn*s century> if we except an edict of Urhan VIII. for diminishing the number of holidays, which was issued out in the year 1643 [y~\ ; we shall there fore conclude this account with a list of the saints added to the Kalendar by the Roman pontiffs during the period now before us.

In the year 1601, Clement VIII. raised to that spiritual dignity Raymond of Pennafort, the fa mous compiler of the Decretals ; in 1608, Frances Pontiani, a Benedictine nun; and, in 1610, the eminent and illustrious Charles Borromeo, bishop of Milant so justly celebrated for his exemplary piety, and almost unparalleled liberality and be neficence,

Gregory XV. conferred, in the year 1622, the honour of saintship on Theresia, a native of Avila in Spain> and a nun of the Carmelite order.

Urban VIIL in the year 1623, conferred the same ghostly honours on Philip Neri, the founder

of

year 1696, is entitled, Nodus Preedestmationis dissottttus. — The Letters of the French bishops, with the answer of the Roman pontiff, are to be found in Du Plessis D'Argentre's Collectio judiciorum des novis erroribus, torn. iii. p. ii. p. 394. and Nata- lis Alexander's Theologia Dogmalica et Moralis, p. 877. The Letters of the bishops are remarkable in this respect, that they contain sharp animadversions against the Jesuits and their discipline. The prelates express, in the strongest terms, their abhorrence of the doctrine of philosophical sin, which has ren dered the Jesuits so deservedly infamous, and their detesta tion of the methods of propagating Christianity employed by the missionaries of that Order in China. Nay, to express their aversion to the doctrine of Sfondrati, they say, that his opinions are still more erroneous and pernicious than even those of the Molinists. The doctrine of this cardinal has been ac curately represented and compared with that of Augustin by the learned Basnage, in his Histoire de I'Eglise, livr. xii. c. iii. sect. xi. p. 713.

[y~\ The bull issued out by Urban VII I. for diminishing the number of the holidays celebrated in the church of Rome, may be seen in the Nouvelle Bibliotheque, torn. xv. p. 88.

Chap. I. The History of the Romish Church. 243

of the order entitled, Fathers of the Oratory, in CENT. Italy ; on Ignatius Loyola, the parent of the Je- g^11^ suits ; and on his chief disciple Francis Xavier, &PART , ' the Jesuitical Apostle of the Indians. ^^^^

Alexander VII. canonized, in the year 1658, Thomas de Villanova, a Spanish monk, of the Order of St. Angustin ; and, in 1664, Francis de Sales, bishop of Geneva.

Clement X. added to this ghostly list, in the year 1670, Pedro de Alcantara, a Franciscan monk ; and Maria Magdalena Bactii, a Florentine nun of the Carmelite Order; and, in the year 1671, Rose, an American Virgin, of the third Order of Dominic, and Lewis Bertram!, a Domi nican monk.

Under the pontificate of Innocent XII. saint- ship was conferred upon Cajetan of Ficenza, a regular clerk of the order of Theatins, for whom that honour had been designed twenty years be fore, by Clement X. who died at the time the canonization was to have been performed; John of Leon a Hermit of St. Augustm ; Paschal Bay- lonios, a Franciscan monk of the kingdom of Arragon ; and John de Dieu, a Portuguese, and one of the Order of the Brethren of Hospitality, all of whom had been marked for a place in the Kalendar, by Alexander VIII. were solemnly ca nonized, in the year 1691, by Innocent XII [z]. R 21 CHAP.

[z] The Diplomas of the pontiffs, relative to all these cano nizations may be seen in Justus Fontaninus' Codex Constituii- onum, quas summi Pontifices ediderunt in solemni Canonizatione sanctorum, p. 260. published in folio at Rome, in the year 1 729. As they contain the particular reasons which occasioned the elevation of these persons to a place in the Kalendar, and the peculiar kind of merit on which each of these ghostly pro motions was founded, they offer abundant matter for reflection, and censure to a judicious reader. Nor would it be labour ill employed to enquire, without prejudice or partiality, into the justice, piety, and truth of what the popes allege in these Da- plomas, as the reasons inducing them t<? confer samtship on the persons therein mentioned.

The History of the

CENT.

The state of the Greek church.

CHAPTER II.

The History of the Greek and Oriental Churches

I. rilHE history of the Greek and Eastern JL Christians, faithfully and accurately com- PART i. posed, would, no doubt, furnish us with a variety S^^Y-*^ of entertaining and useful records ; but the events that happen, and the transactions that are carried on in these distant regions, are very rarely trans mitted to us genuine and uncorrupted. The spi rit of religious party, and the pious frauds it often engenders, want of proper information, and un- distinguishing credulity, have introduced a fabu lous mixture into the accounts we have of the state of the Christian religion in the East ; and this consideration has engaged us to treat in a more concise manner, than would otherwise have been expedient, this particular branch of ecclesi astical history.

The Greek church, whose wretched situation was mentioned in the history of the preceding century, continued during the present one, in the same deplorable state of ignorance and decay, destitute of the means of acquiring or promoting solid and useful knowledge. This account is, however, to be considered as taken from a gene ral view of that church ; for several of its mem bers may be alleged as exceptions from this ge neral character of ignorance, superstition, and corruption. Among that multitude of Greeks who travel into Sicily, Venice, Rome, England, Holland, and Germanff, or carry on trade in their own country, or fill honourable and important posts in the courts of the Turkish emperor, there are undoubtedly several, who are exempt from this reproach of ignorance and stupidity, of su-

superstition

PART I.

Chap. II. Greek and Oriental Churches. 245

perstition and profligacy, and who make a figure CENT. by their opulence and credit [a]. But nothing can be more rooted and invincible than the aversion tie Greeks in general discover to the Latin or Romish church; an aversion which neither pro mises nor threatenings, artifice nor violence, have been able to conquer, or even to temper or di minish, and which has continued inflexible and unrelenting amidst the most zealous efforts of the Roman pontiffs, and the various means employed by their numerous missionaries to gain over this people to their communion and jurisdiction [&].

It

[V] I have been led to these remarks by the complaints of Alexander Helladius, and others, who see things in the light in which he has placed them. There is still extant a book pub lished in Latin by this author, in the year 1714, entitled The present Stale of the Greek Church, in which he throws out the bitterest reproaches upon several authors of eminent merit and learning, who have given accounts of that church, and main- tains that his brethren of the Greek communion are much more pious, learned, wise and opulent, than they are commonly sup posed to be. Instead of envying the Greeks the merit and felicity which this panegyrist supposes them possessed of, we sincerely wish them much greater degrees of both. But we observe, at the same time, that, from the very accounts given by Helladius, it would be easy to prove, that the state of the Greeks is riot a whit better than it is generally supposed to be ; though it may be granted, that the same ignorance, su perstition, and immorality, do not abound alike in all places, nor among all persons. See what we have remarked on this subject in the accounts we have given of the Eastern church during the sixteenth century.

[7;] The Jesuit Tarillon has given an ample relation of the numerous Missions in Greece and the other provinces of the Ottoman empire, and of the present state of these Missions, in his Letter to Pontchartraine, Sur I'eiat present des Missions des Peres Jesuits dans la Grece, which is published in the Nouveavx Memoir cs des Missions de la Compagnie de Jesus, torn. i. p. 1125. For an account of the state of the Romish religion in the islands of the Archipelago, see the letter of the Jesuit Xavier Portier, in the Lettres cdi/lantes el curiciises ccrites des Missions etrartgeres, torn. x. p. 328. These ac counts are, it is true, somewhat embellished, in order to advance the glory of the Jesuits, but the exaggerations of these missionaries may be easily corrected by the ac- II 3 counts

246 The History of the

CENT. It is true, indeed, that the Latin doctors have xvii. founded churches, in some of the islands of the SPART "' Archipelago ; but these congregations are poor and t__ _j inconsiderable ; nor will either the Greeks or their masters, the Turks, permit the Romish mission aries to extend further their spiritual jurisdiction. The story II. Under the pontificate of Urban VIII. Lucar?UuS great hopes were entertained of softening the an tipathy of the Greeks against the Latin church, [c] and of engaging them, and the other Chris tians of the East, to embrace the communion of Rome, and acknowledge the supremacy and juris diction of its pontiff. This was the chief object that excited the ambitious zeal and employed the The hopes assiduous labour and activity of Urban, who call- °etaweenion e(^ ^° ^s ^ssistance sucn ecclesiastics as were most theWGreek eminent for their acquaintance with Greek and ^ur^ef1 Oriental learning, and with the tempers, man- Ltiretydis- ners, and characters of the Christians in those peiied. distant regions, that they might suggest the short est and most effectual method of bringing them and their churches under the Roman yoke. The

wisest

counts of other writers, who, in our times, have treated this branch of ecclesiastical history. See above all others, R. Si mon's (under the fictitious name of Saniose) Bibliotheque Critique, torn. i. c. xxiii. p. 340. and especially, p. 346. where the author confirms a remarkable fact, which we have men tioned above upon the^ authority of Urban Cerri, viz. that amidst the general dislike which the Greeks have of the Ro mish church, none carry this dislike to such a high degree of antipathy and aversion, as those very Greeks who have been educated at Rome, or in the other schools and seminaries be longing to its spiritual jurisdiction. " Us sont (says Father Simon,) les premiers a crier contre et a medire du Pape et des Latins. Ces Pelerias Orientaux qui viennent chez nous four- bent et abusent de notre credulite pour acheter un benefice et tourmenter les missionaires Latins, $c." We have still more recent and ample testimonies of the invincible hatred of the Greeks towards the Latins, in the Preface to Cowell's Account of the present Greek Church, printed at Cambridge, in the year 1723.

[c] See the Life of Morinus, which is prefixed to his Anti- quitales Eccles. Orient, p. 37-

Chap. II. Greek and Oriental Churches. 247

wisest of these counsellors advised the pontiff to lay CENT. it down for a preliminary in this difficult negocia- tion, that the Greek and Eastern Christians were ^PAR^, , * to be indulged in almost every point that had hi- s^y^*' therto been refused them by the llomish mission aries, and that no alteration was to be introduced either into their ritual or doctrine ; that their ce remonies were to be tolerated, since they did not concern the essence of religion ; and that their doctrine was to be explained and understood in such a manner, as might give it a near and strik ing resemblance of the doctrine and institutions of the church of Rome. In defence of this me thod of proceeding, it was judiciously observed, that the Greeks would be much more tractable and obsequious, were they told by the mission aries, that it was not meant to convert them ; that they had always been Roman-catholics in reality, though not in profession ; and that the popes had no intention of persuading them to abandon the doctrine of their ancestors, but only desired that they would understand it in its true and genuine sense. This plan gave rise to a va riety of laborious productions, in which there was more learning than probity, and more dexte rity than candour and good faith. Such were the treatises published by Leo Allatius, Mori- nus, Clement Galanus, Lucas Holstenius, Abra ham Echellensis [d], and others who pretend

ed

The book of Leo Allatius, De concordia Ecclesice Grieulalix § Occidentals, is well known, and deservedly look ed upon, by the most learned men among the Protestants, as the work of a disingenuous and insidious writer. The Gni'da Orthodoxa of the same author, which was published at Rome in the year 1652, in 4to, and contains a compilation from all the books of the Grecian doctors that were well affected to the Latin church, is still extant. — We have nothing of Lucas Holstenius (who was superior to Allatius in learning and sagacity) upon this subject, except two posthumous dis- II 4 sertationSj

248 Ttie History of the

CENT, ed to demonstrate, that there was little or no dif- xvii. ference between the religion of the Greeks, Arme nians, and Nestorians, and that of the church of Home, a few ceremonies excepted, together with some unusual phrases and terms that are peculiar to the Christians of the East.

The design of bringing, hy artful compliances, the Greek and Eastern churches under the jurisdic tion of Rome was opposed by many ; but by none with more resolution and zeal than by Cyrillus Lucar, patriarch of Constantinople, a man of exten sive learning and knowledge of the world, who had travelled through a great part of Europe, and was well acquainted with the doctrine and discipline, both of the Protestant and Romish churches. This prelate declared openly, and indeed with more courage than prudence, that he had a strong propensity to the religious sentiments of the Eng lish and Dutch churches, and had conceived the design of reforming the doctrine and ritual of the Greeks, and bringing them nearer to the purity and simplicity of the Gospel. This was sufficient to render the venerable patriarch odious to the friends of Rome. And accordingly the Jesuits, seconded

by

«ertations, De ministro et forma sacramenli confinnatines apud Giwcos, which were published at Rome in the year 1666'. — The treatises of Morinus, De penitentia et ordinationibus, are known to all the learned, and seem expressly composed to make the world believe, that there is a striking uniformity of sentiment between the Greek and Latin churches on these two import ant points, when, laying aside the difference that scholastic terms and peculiar modes of expression may appear to occa sion, we attend to the meaning that is annexed to these terms by the members of the two communions. Galanus, in a long and laborious work, published at Rome in the year 16.50, has endeavoured to prove, that the Armenians differ very little from the Latins in their religious opinions; and Abraham Echellensis has attempted to conrince us in several treatises (and more especially in his Animadver,<>ione.<i ad Hebed. Jem Catalogum librorum Chaldaicorum ) , that all Christians through out Africa and Asia have the same system of doctrine that is received among the Latins.

Chap. II. Greek and Oriental Churches. 249

by the credit and influence of the French amhas- CENT. sador, and assisted by the treacherous stratagems XVIL of some perfidious Greeks, continued to perplex and persecute the good man in various ways, and at length accomplished his ruin ; for, by the help of false witnesses, they obtained an accusation of treason against him ; in consequence of which lie was put to death in the year 1638, by the order of the Emperor [<?]. He was succeeded by Cy- rillus, bishop of Bcrea, a man of a dark, malig nant, and violent spirit, and the infamous in strument the Jesuits had chiefly employed in bringing him to an untimely end. As this new patriarch declared himself openly in favour of the Latins, the reconciliation of the Greeks with the church of Rome seemed more probable than ever, nay, almost certain [t/] ; but the dismal fate of

this

[e] The Confession of Faith, drawn up by Cyrillus Lucar, was published in Holland in the year 1()45 ; and is also in serted by Aymon, in his Monument authentiques de fa Rdi^ion den Grccs, p. 237- By this confession, it appears evidently, that Cyrillus had a stronger inclination towards the doctrine of the reformed churches, than to that which was commonly re ceived among the Greeks. Nor was he, by any means, ill- affected towards the Lutherans, since he addressed severallet- ters to the Swedish clergy about this time, and solicited their friendship, as appears from the learned Arkenholtz's Memoires de la Reine Christine, torn. i. p. 486. tarn. ii. Append, p. 113. — Aymon, has published in the work already mentioned, p. 1 — 109, twenty-seven letters of this Patriarch to the clergy of Geneva, and to the Doctors of the Reformed church, in which his religious sentiments are still more plainly discovered. His life, transactions and deplorable fate, have been recorded by Thomas Smith, a learned divine of the English church, in his Nar ratio de Vita, Studiis, Ge&tis et Marty no Cyril la Luca- ris, which is the third article of his Miscellanea, published at London in 8vo, in the year 16S6 ; as also by Hottinger, in his Analecl. Histonca-T/ieolog. Appcndlc. dissert, viii. p. 530. and by other authors mentioned by Fabricius in his Bibiiothcca Grceca, vol. x. p. 409.

[/]See Eliae Vegelii T)?fcn.sio Exerc. dc Ecclesia Greed p. 800. where we find the letters of the Roman pontiff Urban VIII. to Cyrillus of Bcrea, in which he loads with applause

this

g.50 The History of the

CENT, this unworthy prelate dispelled all of a sudden the

XVIL pleasing hopes and the anxious fears with which

PART "' -R°me an(^ *ts adversaries beheld the approach of

t^- _s this important event. The same violent death

that had concluded the days of Cyrillus Lucar

pursued his successor, in whose place Parthenius,

a zealous opposer of the doctrine and ambitious

pretensions of Rome, was raised to the patriarchal

dignity. After this period, the Roman pontiffs

desisted from their attempts upon the Greek

church, no favourable opportunity being offered

either of deposing its patriarchs, or gaining them

over to the Romish communion.

Whether JU. Notwithstanding these unsuccessful attempts R0^shhe of the Roman pontiffs to reduce the Greek church doctors and under their dominion, many allege, and more wtecofr especially the reformed clergy complain, that the tributed to doctrine of that church has been manifestly cor- Sn°of "the" rupted by the emissaries of Rome. It is sup- doctrine of posed, that in later times, the munificence of the French ambassadors at the Port, and the per suasive sophistry of the Jesuits, have made such irresistible impressions on the avarice and igno rance of the Greek bishops, whose poverty is great, that they have departed, in several points, from the religious system of their ancestors, and have adopted, among other errors of the Romish church, the monstrous and unnatural doctrine of Transubstantiation. This change is said to have been more especially brought about in the fa mous council, which was assembled, in the year,

1672,

this new patriarch, for having been so instrumental in banish-, ing from among the Greeks the pernicious errors of Cyrillus Lucar, and warmly exhorts him to depose all the Greek pa triarchs and bishops that are not favourable to the Latin Church. These exhortations are seconded by flattering pro- mises, and, particularly, by an assurance of protection and succour from the King of Spain. Cyrillus of Berea died in the communion of the Romish Church. See Hen. Hillarij Not. ad Phil. Cyprii Chron. Ecclesice Grazcoe, p. 470.

SECT. II. PART I.

Chap. II. Greek and Oriental Churches. 251

1672, at Jerusalem, by Dositheus, the patriarch CENT. of that city \_g\. Without entering into an ex- XVIL animation of the truth and equity of this charge brought against the Greek bishops, we shall only observe that it was the controversy between the Roman Catholics and Protestants in France that first gave rise to it. The latter, and more espe cially John Claude, so justly celebrated for his extensive learning and masterly eloquence, main tained, that many of the doctrines of the Romish church, and more particularly that of Transub- stantiation, were of a modern date, and had never been heard of before the ninth century. The Roman Catholics on the contrary, with Arnaud at their head, affirmed, that the doctrine of Rome, concerning the Eucharist, and the real conversion of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ in that holy ordinance, had been received by Christians in all ages of the church \Ji\. To Strengthen their cause further by authorities, that they imagined would have no small influ ence upon their adversaries, they ventured to as sert that this doctrine was adopted by all the Eas tern Christians, and particularly by the Greek churches [«]

This

C §~] See, for an account of this council, Aymon, Memoires Authentiqnes de la Religion des Grccs, torn. i. p. 263. — Gis- berti Cuperi Epistolce, p. 404, 40?. — See, more especially, the judicious and learned observations of Basnage on the transactions of this council, in his Hisloire de la Religion des Egliscs Rcformees, period iv. p. i. c. xxxii. p. 452. and Cow- ell's Account of the Present State of the Greek Church, book i. chap. v. p. 136.

J3" pf] It was to prove this most groundless assertion, that the famous Nicolle, published his artful book, De la Perpe- luitc. dc la Foi, in the year l6(>4, which was answered with a victorious force of evidence by the learned Claude.

p] The names and productions of the principal writers that appeared in this controversy may be found in the Eihliolhcca Grwca of Fabricius, vol. x. p. 144. and in the learned Pfaff's Dissertatio contr. Ludov. Logerii Opus EiicJiariaticum, pub lished at Tubingen in the year 1718.

252 The History of the

CENT. This bold assertion required striking and authen- XVIL tic testimonies to give it any degree of credit. SP \RT "' Accordingly the ambassador of France, residing s-^-w at Constantinople, received orders from his court to concur with the Jesuits, and to leave no me thods unemployed in procuring certificates from the Greek clergy to confirm this assertion. On the other hand, the English and Dutch ambassa dors, persuaded that no such doctrine was really professed in the Greek church, procured also the testimonies of several ecclesiastics, in order to take from the Roman Catholic disputants this pretext ; which, after all, was of no great conse quence, as it did not affect the merits of the cause. The result, however, of this scrutiny, was favourable to the Romish doctors, whose agents in foreign pans procured a more numerous list of testimonies ih, . their adversaries could produce. The Pro test a ts invalidated these testimonies, by proving fully, that many of them were obtained by bribery from the indigent Greeks, whose deplorable po verty made them sacrifice truth to lucre ; and that a great number of them were drawn by artifice from ignorant priests, whom the Jesuits deceived, by disguising the doctrines of Home in such a manner as to give them a Grecian air, and make them resemble the religious system of the Eastern churches [A?]. Granting all this to be true, it may nevertheless be justly questioned, whether the admission of certain doctrines in the Greek church that resembled the errors of Popery is to be dated from the period now before us; and

whoever

[7;] Here, above all other histories, the reader will dp well to consult Cowell's Account of the present Slate of the Greek Church, Pref. p. 2. and also book i. chap. v. p. 136. as this au thor was actually at Constantinople when the scene of fraud and bribery was carried on, and was an eye witness of the in sidious arts and perfidious practices employed by the Jesuits to obtain from the Greek priests and monks testimonies in fa vour of the doctrine of the Latin or Romish church.

Chap. II. Greek and Oriental Churches. 253

whoever examines this controversy with a spirit CENT. of impartiality, accompanied with a competent knowledge of the history of the religious doctrine of the Greek churches, will perhaps find that a certain vague and obscure notion, similar to the Romish doctrine of Tran substantiation, has been received during many ages by several of these churches; though in these latter times, they inay have learnt from the Romish missionaries, the Popish manner of expressing this monstrous and unaccountable tenet [/].

IV. Of those independent Greek churches, The which are governed by their own laws, and arean not subject to the jurisdiction of the patriarch of Constantinople, there is none but the church esta blished in Russia that can furnish any matter for an ecclesiastical historian; the rest are sunk in the most deplorable ignorance and barbarity that can possibly be imagined. About the year 1666, a certain sect, which assumed the name of Isbrani- fci, i. e. the multitude of the Elect, but were called by their adversaries Roskolsnika, or the seditious Faction, arose in Russia, and excited considerable tumults and commotions in that kingdom [in]. The reasons that this sect alleges in defence of its separation from the Russian church, are not as yet known with any degree of certainty; nor have we any satisfactory or accurate account of its doc trines and institutions [n] ; we only know in ge neral, that its members affect an extraordinary air

of

p] The learned La Croze, who cannot be suspected of any propensity to favour the cause of Home in general, or that of the Jesuits in particular, was of opinion that the Greeks had been long in possession of the foolish doctrine of Transubslan-* tiation. See Gisberti Cuperi EpistoL p. 3J. 44. 48. 51. 60.

Q«] These perhaps are the same persons of whom the learn ed Gmelin speaks, under the denomination of Sterowerzi, in the account of his Voyage into Siberia, torn. iv. p. 404.

C^ DO This sect is called by other authors, the sect of the Roskohiiki. According to the account of Voltaire, who

pretends

SECT. II PART I.

254 tflie History of the

CENT, of piety and devotion, and complain of the cor- XVIL ruptions introduced into the ancient religion of the Russians, partly by the negligence, and partly by the ambition, of the Episcopal Order [o]. On the other hand, great pains were taken to con quer the obstinacy of this factious sect ; argu ments, promises, threaten ings, dragoonings, the authority of synods and councils, seconded by racks and gibbets ; in a word, all the methods

that

pretends to have drawn the materials of his History of the Russian Empire under Peter I. from authentic records furnish ed by the court of Petersburg;, this sect made its first appear ance in the twelfth century. The members of it allege, in defence of their separation, the corruptions, both in doctrine and discipline, that have been introduced into the Russian Church. They profess a rigorous zeal for the Letter of Holy Scripture, which they do not understand ; and the trans position of a single word in a new edition of the Russian Bi ble, though this transposition was made to correct an uncouth phrase in the translation commonly received, threw them into the greatest combustion and tumult. They will not allow a priest to administer baptism after having tasted spi rituous liquor ; and in this, perhaps they do not amiss, since it is well known, that the Russian priests seldom touch the flask without drinking deep. They hold, that there is no subordination of rank, no superior or inferior among the faithful; that a Christian may kill himself for the love of Christ ; that Hallelujah must be but twice pronounced ; and that it is a great sin to repeat it thrice ; and that a priest must never give a blessing but with three fingers. They are regular, even to austerity in their manners ; but as they have always refused to admit Christians of other denominations into their religious assemblies, they have been suspected of committing in them various abominations, which ought not to be believed without the strongest demonstrative proof. They are accused, for example, of killing a child in these assemblies, and of drinking its blood, and of lascivious -com merce in its most irregular forms.

[V] See Bergius, De Staiu Ecclesice Religionis Muscoviticce, sect. xi. cap. vii. p. 69. sect ii. cap. xvi. p. 218. — Append. 270. — Heineccius' Account of the Greek Church, written in German, p. 30. — Haven's Iter Russicum. — Some doctors con jecture, that these Isbraniki, or Roskolniki, are a branch de scended from the ancient Bogomilians, of whom we have al«» ready given some account, cent. xii. p. ii. chap. v. sect. ii.

Chap. II. Greek and Oriental Churches. 255

that artifice or barbarity could suggest were prac- CENT. tised to bring back these seditious heretics into Sl*^n^ the bosom of the church. But the effect of these PART ,/ violent measures by no means answered the ex- v^y^*- pectations of the Russian government; they ex asperated, instead of reclaiming, these shismatics, who retired into the woods and desarts, and as it often happens, were rendered more fierce and des perate by the calamities and sufferings in which they were involved. From that time that Peter the Great ascended the throne of Russia, and made such remarkable changes in the form and admi nistration both of its civil and ecclesiastical go vernment, this faction has been treated with more humanity and mildness ; but it is alleged, that these mild proceedings have by no means healed the schism ; and that, on the contrary, the Roskolniki have gained strength, and are be come still more obstinate since the period now mentioned.

V. It will not be improper here to give some The change account of this reformation of the church of Rus- 'l^0°^cd sia, that was owing to the active zeal and wisdom Russian of Peter I. for though this interesting event be- peut£hLby longs to the history of the following century, yet the scheme, by which it was brought about, was laid towards the conclusion of that now before us. This great prince made no change in the articles of faith received among the Russians, and which contain the doctrine of the Greek church. But he took the utmost pains to have this doctrine explained in a manner conformable to the dictates of right reason and the spirit of the Gospel ; and he used the most effectual methods to destroy, on the one hand, the influence of that hideous super stition that sat brooding over the whole nation ; and, on the other, to dispel the ignorance of the clergy, which was incredible, and that of the people, which would have surpassed it, had that

been

256 Tlie History of the

CENT, been possible. These were great and arduous un- XVIL dertakings ; and the reformation, to which they pointed, was such as seemed to require whole ages to accomplish and bring to any tolerable de gree of perfection. To accelerate the execution of this glorious plan, Peter I. became a zealous protector and patron of arts and sciences. He encouraged, by various instances of munificence, men of learning and genius to settle in his domi nions. He reformed the schools that were sunk in ignorance and barbarism, and erected new seminaries of learning. He endeavoured to excite in his subjects a desire of emerging from their ignorance and brutality, and a taste for knowledge and the useful arts. And, to crown all these noble attempts, he extinguished the infernal spirit of persecution ; abolished the penal laws against those that differed merely in religious opinion from the established church ; and granted to Christians of all denominations liberty of con science, and the privilege of performing divine worship in the manner prescribed by their re spective liturgies and institutions. This liberty, however, was modified in such a prudent manner, as to restrain and defeat any attempts that might be made by the Latins to promote the interests of Popery in Russia, or to extend the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff beyond the chapels of that communion that were tolerated by law. For though Roman Catholics were allowed places for the celebration of divine worship, yet the Jesuits were not permitted to exercise the functions of missionaries or public teachers in Russia, and a particular charge was given to the council, to which belonged the cognizance of ecclesiastical affairs, to use their utmost care and vigilance to prevent the propagation of Romish tenets among the people.

Besides

E; T. II. PART I.

Chap. II. Greek and Oriental Churches.

Besides all this, a notable change was now in- CENT. troduced into the manner of governing the church. The splendid dignity of patriarchs, which ap proached too near the lustre and prerogatives of majesty, not to be offensive to the emperor and bur then some to the people, was suppressed, or rather assumed by this spirited prince, who de clared himself the supreme pontiff and head of the liussian church [/?]. The functions of this high and important office were intrusted with a coun cil assembled at Petersburg, which was called the Holy Synod, and in which one of the archbishops, the most distinguished by his integrity and pru dence, was appointed as president. This honour able office was filled by the famous Stephen Javorsci, who composed a laborious work, in the Russian language, against heresy [</]. The other orders of the clergy continued in their respective rank and offices: but both their revenues and their authority were considerably diminished. It was resolved at first, in this general reformation, to abolish all monasteries and convents, as preju dicial to the community, and unfriendly to popu lation ; but this resolution was not put in execu-

VOL. v. s tion ;

C^f \_ //] This account is not perhaps entirely accurate. Dr. Mosheim seems to insinuate that Peter assumed not only the authority but also the office and title of patriarch or su preme pontiff, and head of the church. This, however, was not the case ; he retained the power without the title, as may be seen by the oath that every member of the synod he had established was obliged to take, when he was appointed to that office. It was in consequence of his authority, as emperor, that he claimed an absolute authority in the church, and not from any ghostly character or denomination. The oath now mentioned ran thus : " I swear and promise to be a faithful and obedient subject and servant to my true and natural so vereign, and to the august successors it shall please him to appoint, in consequence of the indisputable power he lias to regulate the succession to the crown. I acknowledge him as the supreme judge of this spiritual college," &c. See Vol taire's Histoire de I' Empire dc Russic sous Pierre Ic Grand, torn. i. p. 174.

[?] ke quien, Oricns Chnstianus, torn. i. j>. 1295.

258 The History of the

CENT, tion ; on the contrary, the emperor himself erect-* XVIL ed a magnificent monastery in honour of Alexan- ^er Newsky, whom the Russians place in the list of their heroes [r~\.

VI. A small body of the Monophy sites in Asia ahandoned, for some time, the doctrine and in stitutions of their ancestors, and embraced the communion of Rome. This step was entirely owing to the suggestions and intrigues of a person named Andrew Achigian, who had been edu cated at Rome, where he imbibed the principles of Popery, and having obtained the title and dignity of patriarch from the Roman pontiff, as sumed the denomination of Ignatius XXIV. [s} After the death of this pretended patriarch, ano ther usurper, whose name was Peter, aspired af ter the same dignity, and, taking the title of Ig natius XXV. placed himself in the patriarchal chair; but the lawful patriarch of the sect had credit enough with the Turks to procure the de position and banishment of this pretender ; and thus the small congregation which acknowledged his jurisdiction was entirely dispersed [/}. The African Monophysites, and more especially the Copts, notwithstanding that poverty and ignorance which exposed them to the seductions of sophistry

and

(Vj Those who are acquainted with either the Danish or German languages, will find several interesting anecdotes re lating to these changes in Haven's Iter Rusaicum.

[Y] Fro.n the fifteenth century downwards, all the patri archs of the Monophysites have taken the name of Ignatius, and that for no other reason than to shew that they are the lineal successors of Ignatius, who was bishop of Antioch in the first century, and of consequence the lawful patriarchs of Antioch. A like reason induces the religious chief of the Maronites, who also lays claim to the same dignity, to assume the name of Peter ; for St. Peter is said to have governed the church of Antioch before Ignatius.

[T] Jo. Simon. Assemanni Biblioth Orientalis, Clementina* Vatican, torn. ii. p. 482. and his Dissert, de Monophy silis, sect. iii. p. 6, 7.

FART

Chap. II. Greek and Oriental Churches. 259

and gain, stood firm in their principles, and made CENT. an obstinate resistance to the promises, presents, and attempts, employed by the papal missionaries to bring them under the Roman yoke. — With re- spect to the Abyssiniaris, we have mentioned al ready, in its proper place, the revolution by which they delivered themselves from that tyrannical yoke, and resumed the liberty they had so impru dently renounced. It is proper, however, to take notice here of the zeal discovered by the Luthe rans, in their attempts to dispel the ignorance and superstition of this people, and to bring them to the knowledge of a purer religion, and a more rational worship. It was with this pious design that the learned Heyling, of Lubec> undertook a voyage into Ethiopia in the year 1634, where he resided many years, and acquired such a distin guished place in the favour and esteem of the emperor, that he was honoured with the high and important office of prime minister of that mighty empire. In this eminent station he gave many instances of his zeal both for the interests of religion and the public good ; after which he set out for Europe, but never arrived there, nor is it known in what manner, or "by what accident, he ended his days [?/].

Several years after this, Ernest, Duke of Saoce- Gotha, surnamed the Pious, on account of his emi nent sanctity and virtue, formed the resolution of making a new attempt to spread the knowledge of the Gospel, "in its purity and simplicity, among the ignorant and superstitious Abyssinians. This design was formed by the counsels and suggestions of the famous Ludolph, and was to have been executed by the ministry of Abbot Gregory, an S 2 Abyssinian,

.

[V] A very curious life of Heyling was published in Ger- tnan by Dr. Michselis at Hall, in i 724,— See also Molleri Cimbria Literate, torn., i. p. 25S,

260 The History of the

CENT. Abyssinian, who had resided for some time in

xvii. r0pg [«;]. The unhappy fate of this missionary,

SECT. ii. wk0 peris|iec[ in a shipwreck in the year 1657, did

PART I. 111- i • t% •

s^Y^/ not totally discourage the prince from pursuing his purpose ; for, in the year 1663, he entrusted the same pious and important commission with John Michael Wansleb, a native of Erfurt, to whom he gave the wisest orders, and whom he charged particularly to leave no means unemploy ed that might contribute to give the Abyssinian nation a favourable opinion of the Germans, as it was upon this basis alone that the success of the present enterprize could be built. Wansleb, however, whose virtue was by no means equal to his abilities, instead of continuing his journey to Abyssinia, remained several years in Egypt. On his return from thence into Europe, he began to entertain uneasy apprehensions of the account that would naturally be demanded both of his conduct, and of the manner in which he had employed the sums of money he received for his Abyssinian ex pedition. These apprehensions rendered him des perate, because they were attended with a con sciousness of guilt. Hence, instead of returning into Germany, he went directly to Rome, where in the year 1667, he embraced, at least in outward profession, the doctrine of that church, and en tered into the Dominican Order [,2?]. Thus the pious designs of the best of princes failed in the execution. To them, however, we are indebted for the great light that has been thrown by the learned and laborious Ludolph on the history,

doctrine,

[V] See Ludolphi Provmium ad Comm. in Hist. JElhiop. p. 31 — Junckeri Vita Jobi Ludolphi, p. 68.

£.rQ For an account of this inconstant and worthless, but learned man, see Lobo, Voyage d'Abyes. torn. i. p. IQS, 127, 233, 248.— -Cyprian, Catalog. MSS. Bibliolh Goihance, p. 64-. Eus. Renaudot, Prcf. ad Hutor. Patriarch. Alexand. Echard and Quetif. Scriptor. Orciin. Prcedic. torn. ii. p. 693. See the same authors, Ilistoria Ecclesics Alexandrines*

Chap. II. Greek and Oriental Churches. 261

doctrine, literature, and manners of the Abyssi- CENT. nians, which before this period were but very su- g^VIL perficially known in Europe. "PART i."

VII. The state of the Christians in Armenia s^y^/ underwent a considerable change soon after the The state commencement of this century, in of the incursions of Abbas the Great, King of Persia, into that province. This prince laid waste all that part of Armenia that lay contiguous to his dominions, and ordered the inhabitants to retire into Persia. These devastations were designed to prevent the Turks from approaching to his fron tier ; for the Eastern monarchs, instead of erect ing fortified towns oil the borders of their re spective kingdoms, as is done by the European princes, laid waste their borders upon the ap proach of the enemy, that, by thus cutting off the means of their subsistence, their progress might be either entirely stopped, or considerably retard-* ed. In this general emigration, the more opu lent and better sort of the Armenians removed to Ispahan, the capital of Persia, where the generous monarch granted them a beautiful suburb for their residence, with the free exercise of their religion, under the jurisdiction of a bishop or patriarch, Under the reign of this magnanimous prince, who cherished his people with a paternal tenderness, these happy exiles enjoyed the sweets of liberty and abundance; but after his death the scene changed, and they were involved in calamities of various kinds [?/]. The storm of persecution that arose upon them shook their constancy ; many of them apostatized to the Mahometan re ligion, so that it was justly to be feared that this branch of the Armenian church would gradually perish. On the other hand, the state of religion

s 3 in

[ v] See Charclin, Voyages en Perse, torn. ii. p. 10(5. — Ga briel clu Chinon, Nouwlles Relations du Levant, p. 200\

The History of the

CENT, in that church derived considerable advantages xvii. from the settlement of a prodigious number of PART "* Armenians in different parts of Europe for the \mf^r^ purposes of commerce. These merchants, who had fixed their residence, during this century, at London, Amsterdam, Marseilles, and Venice [z]. were not unmindful of the interest of religion in their native country. And their situation furnish ed them with favourable opportunities of exerting their zeal in this good cause, and particularly of supplying their Asiatic brethren with Armenian translations of the Holy Scriptures, and of other theological books, from the European presses, especially from those of England and Holland. These pious and instructive productions being dispersed among the Armenians, who lived under the Persian and Turkish governments, contribut ed, no doubt, to preserve that illiterate and super stitious people from falling into the most consum mate and deplorable ignorance, The state VIII. The divisions that reigned among the

_ftl,« AT~ . . -11 1 «

JNestonans in the preceeding century still subsist ed ; and all the methods that had been employed to heal them proved hitherto ineffectual. Some of the Nestorian bishops discovered a propensity to accommodate matters with the church of Rome. Elias II. bishop of Mosul, sent two private em bassies to the Pope, in the years 1607 and 1610. to solicit his friendship ; and, in the letter he ad dressed upon that occasion to Paul IV. declared

his

[z] For an account of the Armenians who settled at Mar seilles, and of the books they took care to have printed in that city for the use of their brethren in foreign parts, see Richard Simon's Leilres Choisics, torn. ii. p. 137. — The same author (torn. iv. p. 1 60.) and the learned John Joachim Schroder, in a Dissertation prefixed to his Thesaurus Linguce Armenicce. give an account of the Armenian Bible that was printed in Holland. The latter also takes notice of the other Armenian books that were published at Venice, Lyons, and Amsterdam, loc. cit. cap. ii. sect. xxv. p. 38.

Chap. II. Greek and Oriental Churches. 263

his desire to bring about a reconciliation between CENT. the Nestorians and the Latin church [a]. Elias *™'u III. though at first extremely averse to the doc- PART " trine and institution of that church, changed sentiments in this respect; and, in the year 1657, addressed a letter to the congregation De propa~ ganda Fide, in which he intimated his readiness to join with the church of Rome, on condition that the Pope would allow the Nestorians a place of public worship in that city, and would abstain from all attempts to alter the doctrine or d ci- pline of the sect [&]. The Romish doctors could not but perceive that a reconciliation, founded on such conditions as these, would be attended with no advantage to their church, and promised no thing that could flatter the ambition of their pon tiff. And accordingly we do not find that the proposal above mentioned was1 accepted. It does not appear that the Nestorians were received, at this time, into the communion of the Romish church, or that the bishops of Mosul were, after this period, at all solicitous about the friendship or good-will of the Roman pontiff. The Nestorian bishops of Ormus, who successively assume the name of Simeon, proposed also, more than once [c] plans of reconciliation with the church of Rome ; and, with that view, sent the Roman pontiff a confession of their faith, that gave a clear idea of their religious tenets and institutions. But these proposals were little attended to by the court of Rome, which was either owing to its dislike of the doctrine of these Nestorians [d ], or to that con tempt which their poverty and want of influence s 4 excited

i

[V] Jos. Sim. Assemanni Biblioth. Orient. Clement. Vatican* torn. i. p. 54-3. torn. iii. p. 4-57. torn. iii. p. i. p. 650. [7f] Assemanni loc. cit. torn. iii. p. 2.

EC] In the year 1619 and 16.33. f] Assemanni loc. cit. torn. i. p. 531. torn. ii. p. #57^ torn, iii. p. i. p. 622.

The History of the, fy>.

CENT, excited in the pontiffs, whose ambition and avi- XVIL dity aimed at acquisitions of more consequence;, ^or ^ ls we^ known, that, since the year 1617, the bishops of Ormus have been in a low and declin ing state, both in point of opulence and credit, and are no longer in a condition to excite the envy of their brethren at Mosul \_e\. The Romish missionaries gained over, nevertheless, to their communion, a handful of Nestorians, whom they formed into a congregation or church, about the middle of this century. The bishops or patriarchs of this little flock reside in the city of Amida, or Diarbeker, and all assume the denomination of Joseph [,/']. The Nestorians, who inhabit the coasts of Malabar, and are called the Christians of St. Thomas, suffered innumerable vexations, and the most grievous persecution from the Romish priests, and more especially the Jesuits, while these settlements were in the hands of the Portuguese; but neither artifice nor violence could engage them to embrace the communion of Rome [g]. But when Cochin was taken by the Dutch in the year 1663, and the Portuguese were driven out of these quarters, the persecuted Nestorians resumed their primitive liberty, and were reinstated in the privilege of serving God without molestation, according to their con sciences. These blessings they still continue to enjoy; nor are such of them as entered into the communion of Home disturbed by the Dutch, who are used to treat with toleration and indulgence all sects who live peaceably with those who differ from them in religious opinions and ceremonies.

[V] Pet. Strozza, Prcuf. ad libriim de Chaldccorum dogma- tibm:

Ef~\ See Lequien Oricns Christianus, torn. ii. p. 1078. g] Le Croze Histoire du Chrisiianisme des Indcs, livr. v. p. 344.

[T] Schouten Voyage aux Indcs Orient, torn. i. p. 312. 546.

[ 265 ]

SECTION II.

PART II.

History of the Modern Churches,

CHAP. I.

The History of the Is&tfyran Church.

I. "ISMT'E have already seen [a] the calamities CENT. * * and vexations the Lutheran church suf- XV1L fered from the persecuting spirit of the Roman pontiffs, and the intemperate zeal of the house nf. Austria, which, on many occasions, shewed too The LU- great a propensity to second their ambitious and^™"- despotic measures ; we shall therefore, at present loses confine our view to the losses it sustained fromgroundm other quarters. The cause of Lutheranism suffered places. considerably by the desertion of Maurice, Land- The Hes"

n fir • n • -1 SlanS Gln~

grave or Hesse, a prince ot uncommon genius and brace Cai- learning, who not only embraced the doctrine andvimsm' discipline of the Reformed church [6], but also in the year 1604, removed the Lutheran professors from their places in the University of Marpurg, and the doctors of that communion from the churches they had in his dominions. Maurice, after taking this vigorous step, on account of the obstinacy with which the Lutheran clergy opposed

his

[a] In the History of the Romish Church. — See above.

G^ C^l The reader must always remember, that the wri ters of the coatir>ent generally use the denomination of Re formed in a limited sense, to distinguish the Church of Eng land and the Calvinistical Churches from those of the Luthe ran persuasion.

266 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, his design took particular care to have his sub- XVIL jects instructed in the doctrine of the Helvetic PART ii. church, and introduced into the Hessian churches V^Y^/ the form of public worship that was observed at Geneva. This plan was not executed without some difficulty; but it acquired a complete de gree of stability and consistence in the year 1619, when deputies were sent by this prince to the sy nod of JJort, in Holland, with express orders to consent, in the name of the Hessian churches, to all the acts that should be passed in that assembly. The doctors of the Reformed church, who lived at this period, defended strenuously the measures followed by Maurice, and maintained, that in all these transactions he observed the strictest principles of equity, and discovered an uncommon spirit of moderation. Perhaps the doctors of modern days may view this matter in a different point of light. They will acknowledge, perhaps without hesitation, that if this illustrious prince had been more influenced by the sentiments of the wisest of the Reformed doctors, concerning the conduct we ought to observe towards those who differ from us in religious matters, and less by his own will and humour, he would have or dered many things otherwise than he actually did [c].

The new H. The example of the Landgrave of Hesse was tTonf°tTkes followed, in the year 1614, by John Sigismund*

place in elector

Branden burg-

[V] The reader will find a more ample account of this mat* ter in the controversial writings of the divines of Casscl and Dermstadt. published at Cassel, Marpurg, and Giessen, in the years 16.32, 1636, 1647; and of which Salig speaks largely in his Hist. Aug. Confess, torn. i. lib. iv. cap. ii. p. 756, Those who understand the German language, may also con sult Garth's Historischer Bericht von (Jem Religions Wessen in Furstenthum Hessen, 1706, in 4to. Cyprian's Unterricht von Kirchlicher Fereinigung der Protestanten, p. £'63. and Appen dix, p. 101. — As also the Acts published in the Unschuldigen Nachrichten, A. 1749- p, 25.,

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 26?

elector of Brandenburg i who also renounced Lu- CENT, theranism, and embraced the communion of the Reformed churches, though with certain restric- tions, and without employing any acts of mere authority to engage his subjects in the same mea sure. For it is observable, that this prince did not adopt all the peculiar doctrines of Calvinism. He introduced, indeed, into his dominions the form of public worship, that was established at Ge neva, and he embraced the sentiments of the Re formed churches concerning the person of Christ, and the manner in which he is present in the eu- charist, as they appeared to him much more con formable to reason and scripture than the doctrine of the Lutherans relating to these points. But, on the other hand, he refused to admit the Calvi- wistical doctrine of Divine Grace and Absolute De crees ; and, on this account, neither sent deputies to the synod of Dort9 nor adopted the decisions of that famous assembly on these intricate sub jects. This way of thinking was so exactly fol lowed by the successors of Sigismund, that they never would allow the opinion of Calvin concern ing the Divine Decrees, to be considered as the public and received doctrine of the Reformed churches in their dominions. It must be parti cularly mentioned to the honour of this wise prince, that he granted to his subjects an entire liberty in religious matters, and left it to their unrestrained and free choice, whether they would remain in the profession of Lutheranism, or fol low the example of their sovereign ; nor did he exclude from civil honours and employments, or from the usual marks of his protection and favour, those who continued in the faith of their ancestors. This lenity and moderation, which seemed so adapted to prevent jealousy and envy, and to sa tisfy both parties, did not however produce this natural and salutary effect; nor were they suffi cient

Tlie History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, cient to restrain within the bounds of decency and xvii. charity several warm and inconsiderate votaries of Lutheranism. These over-zealous persons, who breathed the violent spirit of an age in which matters of consequence were usually carried on with vehemence and rigour, looked upon it as intolerable and highly provoking, — that the Lu therans and Calvinists should enjoy the same ho nours and prerogatives, — that all injurious terms and odious comparisons should be banished from religious debates — that the controverted points in theology should either be entirely omitted in the sermons and public discourses of the clergy, or explained with a spirit of modesty and Christian charity, — that certain rites which displeased the Calvinists should be totally abolished,-- — and that they who differed in opinions, should be obliged to live in peace, concord, and the mutual ex change of good offices. If it was unreasonable in them to be offended at injunctions of this na ture, it was still more so to discover their indig nation in a manner that excited not only sharp and uncharitable debates, but also civil commo tions and violent tumults, that disturbed consi derably the tranquillity of the state, and nourish ed a spirit of sedition and revolt, which the labour of years was employed to extinguish in vain. In this troubled state of things, the divines of Saxony, and more especially those of Wittcmberg, under took to defend the Lutheran cause ; but if it be acknowledged, on the one hand, that their views were good, and their intentions upright ; it must be owned, on the other, that their style was keen even to a degree of licentiousness, and their zeal warm beyond all measure. And, indeed, as it generally happens, their want of moderation hurt, instead of promoting, the cause in which they had embarked ; for it was in consequence of their vio lent proceedings, that the Form of Concord was

suppressed

Chap. I. TJiC Hisiory of the Lutheran Church, 269

pressed in the territories of Brandenburg, and the CENT. subjects of that electorate prohibited by a solemn edict, from studying divinity in the academy of J^J "* Wittemberg [d ]. s_^v _ /

III. It was deplorable to sec two churches, Attempts which had discovered an equal degree of pious zeal and fortitude in throwing off the despotic yoke of Home, divided among themselves, and j living in discords that were highly detrimental to and the interests of religion, and the well-being rf society. Hence several eminent divines and lead ing men, both among the Lutherans and Cal- vinists, sought anxiously after some method of uniting the two churches, though divided in their opinions, in the bonds of Christian charity and ecclesiastical communion. A competent know ledge of human nature and human passions was sufficient to persuade these wise and pacific medi ators, that a perfect uniformity in religious opi

nions

The edicts of Sigismund and his successors, relating to this change in the state of religion in Brandenburg, have been several times republished in one collection. Besides these there are many books, treatises, and pamphlets, which give an ac count of this remarkable transaction, and of which the reader will find a complete list in the German work, entitled, Un- schiddigcn Nachrichten, An. 1?45, p. 34. A. \~M}. .p. 326. compared with Jo. Carol. Kocheri Bibliotheca Theologug Symbolicce, p. ill 2. — The reader who desires to attain to a perfect acquaintance with this controversy, and to be able to weigh the merits of the cause, by having a true state of the case before him, will do well to consult Arnold! Histor. Ecclex. et Hard. p. ii. lib. xvii. c. vii. p. 965. — Cyprian's Unterright von dcr Fcrelnguitg tier Protestant, p. 75. and in Append. Monum. p. 2L25. — Unsckuldigcn Nachrichten, A. 1729, p- 106'7, et A. 17o2, p. 1715. — They who affirm that the elec tor's ultimite end, in changing the face of religion in his do minions, was not the prospect of augmenting and extending his authority, found their opinion rather on conjecture than on demonstration ; nor do they confirm this assertion by tes timonies that are sufficient to bring full conviction. It must, however, be acknowledged, -on the other hand, that their con jectures have neither an absurd nor an improbable aspect.

Tlie History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, nions was not practicable, and that it would be XVIL entirely extravagant to imagine that any of these

Jf r"T- TT J . . °, , t ° , , <f

communities could ever be brought to embrace universally, and without limitation, the doctrines of the other. They made it, therefore, their prin cipal business to persuade those, whose spirits were inflamed with the heat of controversy, — that the points in debate between the two churches were not essential to true religion ; — that the fun damental doctrines of Christianity were received and professed in both communions ;— and that the difference of opinion between the contending parties, turned either upon points of an abstruse and incomprehensible nature, or upon matters of indifference, which neither tended to render man kind wiser nor better, and in which the interests of genuine piety were in no wise concerned, Those who viewed things in this poinj; of light, were obliged to acknowledge, that the diversity of opinions between the two churches was by no means a sufficient reason for their separation ; and that of consequence they were called, by the dic tates of that gospel which they both professed, to live not only in the mutual exercise of Christian charity, but also to enter into the fraternal bonds of church-communion. The greatest part of the reformed doctors seemed disposed to acknowledge, that the errors of the Lutherans were not of a mo mentous nature, nor of a pernicious tendency ; and that the fundamental doctrines of Christianity had not undergone any remarkable alteration in that communion ; and thus on their side an im portant step was made towards peace and union between the two churches. But the greatest part of the Lutheran doctors declared, that they could not form a like judgment with respect to the doc trine of the Reformed churches ; they maintained tenaciously the importance of the points which divided the two communions, and affirmed, that

a con-

Chap, I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 271

a, considerable part of the controversy Burned upon CENT. the fundamental principles of all religion and vir- tue. It is not at all surprising, that this steadi- ness and constancy of the Lutherans was branded by the opposite party with the epithets of morose obstinacy, supercilious arrogance, and such like odious denominations. The Lutherans were not behind-hand with their adversaries in acrimony of style ; they recriminated with vehemence, and charged their accusers with instances of miscon-

<3

duct, different in kind, but equally condemnable* They reproached them with having dealt disin genuously, by disguising, under ambiguous ex* pressions, the real doctrine of the Reformed churches; they observed farther, that their ad versaries, notwithstanding their consummate pru dence and circumspection, gave plain proofs, oil many occasions, that their propensity to a recon ciliation between the two churches arose from views of private interest, rather than from a zeal for the public good.

IV. Among the public transactions, relative to Ded the project of a union between the Reformed and Lutheran churches, we must not omit mentioning the attempt made by James I. king of Great Bri tain, to accomplish this salutary purpose, in the year 1615. The person employed for this end by the British monarch, was Peter de Moulin, the most eminent among the Protestant doctors in France [e] ; but this design was neither carried on with spirit, nor attended with success [./'].

Another

[V] See La Vassor, Hist, de Louis XIII. torn. ii. p. if. p. 21.

(fcf* C./D King James, who would have abandoned the most important and noble design, at any time, to discuss a point of grammar or theology, or to gain a point of interest for himself or his minions, neglected this union of the Luthe ran and Reformed churches, which he had begun to promote with such an appearance of piety and zeal.

. The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT. Another atjtempt of the same pacific nature was XVIL made in the year 1631, in the synod of Charenton, PART ii in which an act was passed by the Reformed doc- x^y^ tors of that respectable assembly, declaring the Lu theran system of religion conformable with the spi rit of true piety, and free from pernicious and fundamental errors. By this act, a fair opportunity was offered to the Lutherans of joining with the Reformed church upon honourable terms, and of entering into the bonds both of civil and religious communion with their Calvinistical brethren [£-]; But this candid and charitable proceeding was at tended with very little fruit, since few of the Lu therans wrere disposed to embrace 'the occasion that was here so freely offered them, of terminating the dissensions that separated the two churches. The same year a conference was held at Leipslc between the , Saxon doctors, Koe, Lyser, and Hopfner, on the one side, and some of the most eminent divines of Hesse-Cassel and Branden burg, on the^pther ; -to the end that, by exposing with fidelity a'nd precision their respective doctrines, it might be more easily seen what the real obstacles were that stood in the way of the union projected between the two churches. This conference was conducted with decency and moderation, and the deliberations were neither disturbed by intempe rate zeal, nor by a pftmd spirit of contention and dispute ; but that openness of heart^that mutual trust and confidence, which are so ^essential to the success of all kinds of pacification, wrere wanting here. For though the doctors of the Reformed partly exposed, with the utmost precision and fair ness, the tenets of their church, and made, more over, many concessions, which the Lutherans

themselves

Benoit, Histoire de I'Edit de Nantes, torn. ii. p. 544. — Aymon, Adcs des Synodes Nationaux des Eglises JReformee, de France, torn. ii. p. 500. — Ittigii Dissert, de Synodi Caren- tvniensis indulgcntia erga Luther anos, Lips. 1705. 4to.

Chap. I. TJie History of the Lutheran Church.

themselves could scarcely expect ; yet the latter, CENT. suspicious and fearful, and always apprehensive J^11^. of schemes, formed by artifice under the mask of PART „" candour, to betray and ensnare them, did dare to acknowledge, that they were satisfied with these explications and offers; and thus the con ference broke up without having contributed in any respect to promote the salutary work of peace [A]. To form a true idea of these pacific deliberations, of the reasons that gave rise to them, and of the principles by which they were conducted, it will be necessary to study the civil history of this interesting period with attention and care.

V. Uladislaus IV. king of Poland, formed a The con- still more extensive plan of religious union than those hitherto mentioned; he proposed a recon- ciliation, not only between the Reformed and Lu theran churches, but also between these two com munions and that of Rome. For this purpose, he ordered a conference to be held at Thorn, in the year 1645, the issue of which, as might naturally have been expected, was far from being favourable to the projected union ; for the persons employed by the three churches to heal their divisions, or at least to calm their animosities, returned from this conference with a greater measure of party zeal, and a smaller portion of Christian charity, than they had brought to it.

The conference held at Casxcl in the year 1661, by the order of William VI. Landgrave of Hesse, between Musaeus and Henichius, profes sors at Rintelen, on the side of the Lutherans, and VOL. v. T Curtius

[A] Timanni Gasselii Historia Sacra et Ecclesiastica, p. ii. in addendis, p. 597 — 6 13. in which the acts of this conference are published. Jo. Wolfg. Jaegeri Historia Sceculi xvii. Decenn. iv. p. 497. (£f> This testimony of Dr. Mosheim, who was him self a Lutheran, is singularly honourable to the reformed doc* tors.

The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT. Curtius and Heinsius, of the university of Mar- sEcririi Pur& on tnat °f the Reformed, was attended with PART ir. rouch more success ; and, if it did not bring \-~Y^s about a perfect uniformity of opinion, it produced what was much better, a spirit of Christian cha nty and forbearance. For these candid doctors, after having diligently examined the nature, and weighed the importance, of the controversies that divided the two churches, embraced each other with reciprocal marks of affection and esteem, and mutually declared that their respective doc trines were less different from each other than was generally imagined ; and that this difference was not of sufficient moment to prevent their frater nal union and concord. But it happened un luckily, that these moderate doctors of Rintelen could not infuse the same spirit of peace and cha rity that animated them, into their Lutheran bre thren, nor persuade them to view the difference of opinion, that divided the Protestant churches, in the same indulgent point of light in which they had considered them in the conference at Cassel. On the contrary, this their moderation drew upon them the hatred of almost all the Lutherans ; and they were loaded with bitter reproaches in a multitude of pamphlets [i], that were composed expressly to refute their sentiments, and to cen sure their conduct. The pains that were taken after

this

p] The writers who have given accounts of the conferences of Thorn and Cassel, are enumerated by Sagittarius, in his 7rc- trpd. ad. Hist. Ecclesiast. torn. ii. p. 1604. — See also Jaegeri Historia Sceculi xvii. Decenn. v. p. 689- and Decenn. vii. p. l60. where the Acts of the Conferences of Cassel and Thorn are extant. — Add to these, Jo. Alphons. Turretini Nubes Testitwn pro moderate in rebus Theologicis judicio, p. 178.— There' is an ample account of the conference of Cassel in the life of Musaeus given by Mollerus in his Cimbria Literata, torn. ii. p. 5()6. The reader will find in the same work, an accurate Index of the accounts of this conference published on both sides.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 275

this period by the princes of the house of Bran- CENT. ilcnburg, and more especially by Frederic Wil- ™u'

- . ^^i t « -i • •" SEC I * II*

liam and his son Frederic, in order to compose PART llm the dissensions and animosity that divide the pro- >^v^> testants, and particularly to promote a fraternal union between the Reformed and Lutheran churches in the Prussian territories, and in the rest of their dominions, are well known : and it is also equally notorious, that innumerable diffi culties were formed against the execution of this salutary design.

VI. Besides these public conferences, held by The pacific the authority of princes, in order to promote john'ou- union and concord among Protestants, a multi-reus. tude of individuals, animated by a spirit of true Christian charity, embarked in this pious cause on their own private authority, and offered their mediation and good offices to reconcile the two churches. It is true, indeed, that these peace makers were, generally speaking, of the Reformed church ; and that those among the Lutherans, who appeared in this amiable character, were but few, in comparison with the great r umber of Cal- vinists that favoured this benevolent but arduous design. The most eminent of the Calvin istical peace-makers was John Dureus, a native of Scotland, and a man justly celebrated on account of his universal benevolence, solid piety, and ex tensive learning ; but, at the same time, more re markable for genius and memory, than for nicety of discernment and accuracy of judgment, as might be evinced by several proofs and testi monies, were this the proper place for discussions of that nature. Be that as it will, never, perhaps, was there such an example of zeal and perseve rance as that exhibited by Dureus, who, during the space of forty years [&], suffered vexations, T 2 and

[£] From the year 1631 to 1674.

376 Tlie History of the Lutheran Church

CENT, and underwent labours, which required the firm- *VIL est resolution, and the most inexhaustible pa- PART n! tience » wrote, exhorted, admonished, in treated, V^Y^/ and disputed ; in a word, tried every method that human wisdom could suggest, to put an end to the dissensions and animosities that reigned among the Protestant churches. For it was not merely by the persuasive eloquence of his pen, or by forming plans in the silence of the closet, that this worthy divine performed the task which his benevolence and zeal engaged him to undertake ; liis activity and industry were equal to his zeal 5 he travelled through all the countries in Europe, where the Protestant religion had obtained any footing ; he formed connections with the doctors of both parties ; he addressed himself to kings, princes, magistrates, and ministers ; and by re presenting, in lively and striking colours, the utility and importance of the plan he had formed, hoped to engage them more or less in this good cause, or at least to derive some succour from their influence and protection. But here his views were considerably disappointed ; for though his undertaking was generally applauded ; and though he met with a favourable and civil reception from the greatest part of those to whom he addressed himself, yet he found very few who were seriously disposed to alleviate his labours, by lending him their assistance, and seconding his attempts by their influence and counsels. Nay, some, suspect ing that the fervent and extraordinary zeal of Dureus arose from mysterious and sinister mo tives, and apprehending that he had secretly form ed a design of drawing the Lutherans into a snare, attacked him in their writings with animosity and bitterness, and loaded him with the sharpest invectives and reproaches. So that this well- meaning man, neglected at length by those of his own communion, opposed and rejected by the

followers

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 277

followers of Luther, involved in various per- CENT. plexities and distress, exhausted by unsuccessful g^,njr labour, and oppressed and dejected by injurious PART' n* treatment, perceived, by a painful experience, w^w' that he had undertaken a task which was beyond the power of a private person, and spent the re mainder of his days in repose and obscurity at

It may not be improper to observe here, that Dureus, who, notwithstanding the uprightness of his intentions in general, was sometimes defi cient in frankness and ingenuity, had annexed to his plan of reconciliation certain doctrines which, were they susceptible of proof, would serve as a foundation for the union, not only of the Luthe rans and Calvinists, but also of all the different sects that bear the Christian name. For, among other things, he maintained, that the Apostles*

T 3 Creed

[T\ See Coleri Hisioria Job. Duraei, published in 4to at Wit tenberg, in 1 71 6, to which, however, many important additions might be made from public records, and also from documents, that have not as yet seen the light. Some records and documents, of the kind here referred to, have been published by Hasaeus, in his Bibleolhcca Bremens. Theologico-P/iilologica, torn. i. p. 911. and torn. iv. p. 683. A still greater number are given by Gesselius, in the Addenda Irenica, that are subjoined to his Historia Ecclesiastica, torn. ii. p. 6 14. The transactions of Duraeusat Ma rpurg, are mentioned by Schenk,in his Vita Pro- fessorum Theologies Marpurg, p. 207. — His attempts in Hoi* stein may be learned from the Letters of Lackman and Lossius, which are joined together in the same volume. His expliots in Prussia and Poland are recorded by Jablonsky, in his Historia Consensus Sendomiriensis, p. 127. and his labours in Denmark, the Palatinate and Switzerland, are mentioned respectively by Elswich, in his Fasciculus Epislol. Theolog. p. 147. — Seelen's DcliccK Epistol p. 353. and in the Museum Helvet. torn. iii. iv. v. — See also Jaegeri Historia Sccculi xvii. Dcccnn. vii. p. 1 7 1 • — Bohmius, Englische Reformations Historic, and more es* pecially an account of Duraeus, published under my direction at Helmstadt, in the year 1744, by Benzclius, and entitled, Dixxertatio de Johan. Durceo, mnxime de act is ejus Sttcccanw. This dissertation contains a variety of anecdotes drawn from records not yet made public.

278 T/ie History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT. Creed was a complete body of divinity ; the Ten XVIL Commandments a perfect system of morals ; and PART ii the Lord's Prayer a comprehensive series of petir N^Y^/ tions for all the blessings contained in the divine promises. Now if this notion, that these sacred compositions contain all that is essential to faith, obedience, and devotion, had been universally en tertained, or evidently demonstrated, it would not have been a chiAierical project to aim at a recon ciliation of all Christian churches upon this basis, and to render these compositions the foundation of their coalition and the bond of their union. But it would have been highly chimerical to expect, that the Christian sects would universally adopt this notion, or be pleased to see the doctrines of Christianity reduced to such general principles. It is further to be observed, with respect to Dureus, that he shewed a peculiar propensity towards the sentiments of the My sties and Quakers, on account of their tendency to favour his con ciliatory and pacific project. Like them he placed the essence of religion in the ascent of the soul to God, in calling forth the hidden word., in fanning the divine spark that resides in the recesses of the human mind, and, in consequence of this system, was intimately persuaded, that differences merely in theological opinions did not at all concern the essence of true piety.

Matthiae VII. Those among the Lutherans that appear- and Caiix- e(j fae mos^ zealous in this pacific cause, were John Matthias [7%], bishop of Strengnes in Swe den, and George Calixtus, professor of divinity at Hebnstadt, whom Dureus had animated with a

portion

$3=- Qw] Mattbiae had been cbaplain to Gustavus Adolphus, and was afterwards appointed, by tbat prince, preceptor to bis daughter Christina, so famous in history, on account of the whimsical peculiarities of her character, her taste for learning, and her desertion of the Swedish throne and the Protestant religion.

Chap. I. Tlie History of the Lutheran Clmrch. 279

portion of his charitable and indulgent spirit. CENT. The former was a man of capacity and merit, the latter was eminently distinguished among the doc- P^VRT „" tors of this century, by his learning, genius, pro- s^^-y^^ bity, and candour ; but they both failed in the arduous undertaking in which they had engaged, and suffered considerably in their attempts to pro mote the cause of unity and concord. The Olive- branches \n\ of Matthias, who entitled thus his pacific productions, were, by a royal edict, pub licly condemned and suppressed in Sweden ; and their author, in order to appease the fury of his enemies, was obliged to resign his bishopric, and pass the rest of his days in retirement [o]. The zeal of Calixtus, in calming the tumultuous and violent spirit of the contending parties, drew upon him the bitterest reproaches, and the warm est animosity and resentment from those who were more bent on maintaining their peculiar opinions, than in promoting that charity which is the end of the commandment ; and while he was labour ing to remove all sects and divisions, he appeared to many of his brethren in the light of a new sec tary, who was founding the most pernicious of all sects, even that of the Syncretists, who were sup posed to promote peace and concord at the ex- pence of truth. We shall, before we finish this chapter, endeavour to give a more particular and circumstantial account of the sentiments and trials of this great man, to whose charge many other things were laid, besides the crime of endeavour ing to unite the disciples of the same master in the amiable bonds of charity, concord, and mutual forbearance, and whose opinions and designs ex cited warm contests in the Lutheran church.

T 4 VIII. The

£;/] Hami Olivcc Septentrionatt*.

[o] See Schefferi Suecia Lillerata p. 123. and Job. Molleri ad earn Hypomnemata, p. 317. — Arkenholtz, Memoir es dc /« Heine Christine, torn. i. p. 320. 50o. torn. ii. p. (JL-.

280 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT. VIII. The external state of the Lutheran church XVIL at this period was attended with various circum-

PART ii. s^nces of prosperity, among which we may reckon

its standing firm against the assaults of The pros- whose artifice and violence were in vain employ- perous e(j £0 })rincr on its destruction. It is well known,

events that . T .

happened that a very considerable numher of Lutherans re- theranLu" s^e(^ in those provinces where the public exer- cimrch. cise of their religion was prohibited. It has more especially been shewn by the late memorable emigration of the Saltzburgers \_p~\, that still greater numbers of them lay concealed in that land of despotism and bigotry, where the smallest dissent from popery, with whatever secresy and circumspection it may be disguised, is considered as an enormous and capital crime ; and that they preserved their religious sentiments and doctrines pure and uncorrupted amidst the contagion of Romish superstition, which they always beheld with aversion and horror. In those countries which are inhabited by persons of different com munions, and whose sovereigns are members of the Romish church, wre have numberless instances of the cruelty and injustice practised by the pa pists against those that dissent from them; and these cruelties are exercised under a pretext sug gested by the most malevolent bigotry, which represents these dissenters as seditious subjects, and consequently as worthy of the most rigorous treatment. And yet it is certain, that, amidst all these vexations, the Lutheran church has stood its ground ; nor has either the craft or fury of its

enemies

For an account of the persecuted Lutherans in the archbishopric of Saltzbourg, see Bur net's Travels. See more especially a famous Latin discourse, published at Tubingen, in the year 1732, under the following title: " Commentariolus Theologicus de non tolerandis in Religione Dissentientibus, quain Praeside Christ. Matth. Pfaffio defendet Wolf. Lud. Letsching."

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 281

enemies been able, any where, to deprive it en- CENT. tirely of its rights and privileges. It may further s^ITjr be observed, that the doctrine of Luther was PART „" carried into Asia, Africa, and America, by several \Hnri-' persons who fixed their habitations in those distant regions, and was also introduced into some parts of Europe, where it had hitherto been unknown.

IX. When we turn our view to the internal The pro- state of the Lutheran church during this century, f^^ we shall find it improved in various respects ; among the though several blemishes yet remained that cloud- Lutheraus- ed its lustre, it must be acknowledged, to the honour of the Lutherans, that they cultivated all the various branches of literature, both sacred and profane, with uncommon industry and success, and made several improvements in the sciences, which are too well known to stand in need of a particular mention; and of which a circumstan tial enumeration would be inconsistent with the brevity we propose to observe in this history. But if it cannot be denied, on the one hand, that the cause of religion gained by these improvements in learning, it must be owned, on the other, that some branches of science were perverted by in judicious or ill-designing men, to corrupt the pure simplicity of genuine Christianity, and to render its doctrines abstruse and intricate. Thus it too often happens in life, that the best things are the most egregiously abused.

About the commencement of this century, the sciences chiefly cultivated in the schools were lo gic and metaphysics : though the manner of treat ing them was almost entirely destitute of elegance, simplicity, and precision. But, in process of time, the scene changed in the seminaries of learning ; and the more entertaining and agreeable branches of literature, that polish wit, excite taste, exer cise judgment, and enrich memory, such as civil and natural history, philology, antiquities, criti cism.

The History of the Lutheran Church

CENT, cism, and eloquence, gained the ascendant. Both XVIL these kinds of knowledge acquired also a more * graceful, consistent, and regular form than that

PART II.

under which they had hitherto appeared. But it happened most unluckily, that while the boun-, daries of science were extended from day to day, and new discoveries and improvements were COIL- stantly enriching the republic of letters, the cre dit of learning began sensibly to decrease, and learned men seemed gradually to lose those pecu liar marks of veneration and distinction that the novelty of their character, as well as the excel lence and importance of their labours, had hitherto drawn from the public. Among the various circumstances that contributed to this decline of literary glory, we may particularly reckon the multitude of those who, without natural capacity, taste, or inclination, were led, by authority or a desire of applause, to literary pursuits; and by their ignorance or their pedantry, cast a reproach upon the republic of letters.

The state X. The only kind of philosophy that was taught sophy.° in ^ne Lutheran schools, during the greatest part The Am- of this century, was that of Aristotle, dressed triumph! UP i*1 that scholastic form that increased its na tive intricacy and subtilty. And such was the devout and excessive veneration entertained by many for this abstruse system, that any attempt to reject the Grecian oracle, or to correct its de cisions, was looked upon as of the most danger ous consequence to the interests of the church, and as equally criminal with a like attempt upon the sacred writings. Those who distinguished them selves in the most extraordinary manner by their zealous and invincible attachment to the Feripa^ tetic philosophy, were the divines of Leipsic, Tu bingen, Helmstadt, wAAltorf. The enchantment, however, was not universal ; and there were many who, withdrawing their private judgment from tho

yoke

Chap. I. The Histonj of the Lutheran Church. 283

yoke of authority, were bold enough to see with CENT. their own eyes; and of consequence discerned ^f^,11,", the blemishes that were indeed sufficiently visible P^RT n* in the pretended wisdom of the Grecian sage, -^-y-w The first attempt to reduce his authority within narrow bounds was made by certain pious and prudent divines, who though they did not pre tend to discourage all philosophical enquiries, yet were desirous of confining them to a few select subjects ; and complained, that the pompous de nomination of philosophy was too frequently prostituted [</], by being applied to unintelligible distinctions, and words, or rather sounds, desti tute of sense. These were succeeded in their dis like of the Peripatetic philosophy by the disciples of Ramus, who had credit enough to banish it from several seminaries of learning, and to substi tute in its place the system of their master, which was of a more practical kind, and better adapted to the purposes of life [?*]. But if the philosophy of Aristotle met with adversaries who opposed it upon solid and rational principles, it had also enemies of a very different character, who im prudently declaimed against philosophy in gene ral, as highly detrimental to the cause of religion and the interests of society. Such was the fa natical extravgance of Daniel Hoffman, profes sor at Helmstadt, who discovered, in this contro-r versy, an equal degree of ignorance and animo sity ; and such also were the followers of Robert Fludd, Jacob Behmen, and the Rosecrucians, who boasted of having struck out, by the assis tance vijire and divine illumination, a new, won derful,

\_q~] Such among others, wasWenseslas Schillin£ms,of whom 3 p;irticular account is given by Arnold, in his Histor. Eccka. et Hcerd. p. ii. lib. xvii. cap. vi.

\_r~\ See Jo. Herman ab Els wick, DC varla Ari \lofelix for- j,una, sect. xxi. p. 54. and Walchius, Historia Logtcis, lib. ii. cap. ii. sect. iii. v. inParcrgis ejus Academicix, p. 6 13.

584 Tlie History ofiJte Lutheran Church.

CENT, derful, and celestial system of philosophy, of xv.ii. ^1^ mention has been already made \s}. These

SECT. II. i . D ,-. 0, . - * T -I i

PART ii. adversaries 01 the Staginte were divided among \_ -Y"»— ' themselves, and this diminished the strength and vigour of their opposition to the common enemy. But had they been ever so closely united in their sentiments and measures, they would not have been able to overturn the empire of Aristotle, which was deeply rooted in the schools through long possession, and had a powerful support in the multitude of its votaries and defenders. The free- XI. The Peripatetic system had still more for- midable adversaries to encounter in Des Cartes enquiry and Gassendi, whose writings were composed witn that perspicuity and precision that rendered them singularly agreeable to many of the Luthe ran doctors of this century, and made them look with contempt on that obsolete and barren philo sophy of the schools, which was expressed in un couth terms and barbarous phrases, without taste, elegance, or accuracy. The votaries of Aris totle beheld with envy these new philosophers, used their most zealous endeavours to bring them into discredit, and, for this purpose, represented their researches and principles as highly detri mental to the interests of religion and the growth of true piety. But when they found, by experi ence, that these methods of attack proved unsuc cessful, they changed their method of proceeding, and (like a prudent general, who, besieged by a superior force, abandons his outworks and retires into the citadel) they relinquished much of their jargon, and defended only the main and essential principles of their system. To render these prin ciples more palatable, they began to adorn them with the graces of elocution, and to mingle with their philosophical tenets the charms of polite li terature,

[V| See above, in the General History of the Church) sect. 31.

Chap. I. Tfie History of the Lutheran Church. 285

terature. They even went so far as to confess, CENT. that Aristotle, though the prince of philoso- phers, was chargeable with errors and defects, which it was hoth lawful and expedient to cor- rect. But these concessions only served to render their adversaries more confident and enterprising, since they were interpreted as resulting from a consciousness of their weakness, and were looked upon as a manifest acknowledgment of their de feat. In consequence of this, the enemies of the Stagirite renewed their attacks with redoubled im petuosity, and with a full assurance of victory ; not did they confine them to those branches of the Peripatetic philosophy which were allowed by its votaries to stand in need of correction, but level led them, without distinction, at the whole sys tem, and aimed at nothing less than its total dis solution. Grotius, indeed, who marched at the head of these philosophical reformers, proceeded with a certain degree of prudence and moderation, Puffendorff, in treating of the law of nature and of the duties of morality > threw off, with more boldness and freedom, the Peripatetic yoke, and pursued a method entirely different from that which had been hitherto observed in the schools. This freedom drew upon him a multitude of enemies, who loaded him with the bitterest re proaches; his example was nevertheless followed by Thomasius, professor of law in the academy of Leipsic, and afterwards at Hall, who attacked the Peripatetics with new degrees of vehemence and fceal. This eminent man, though honourably distinguished by the excellence of his genius and the strength of his resolution, was not, perhaps, the properest person that could be pitched upon to manage the interests of philosophy. His views, nevertheless, were vast; he aimed at the reformation of philosophy in general, and of the Peripatetic system in particular; and he assidu ously

The History of the Lutheran Clmrch.

CENT, on sly employed both the power of exhortation XVIT- and the influence of example, in order to persuade

l^OT» Tf _ _. % . •"• * . _, /•><

the Saxons to reject the Aristotelian System, which he had never read, and which most certain ly he did not understand. The scheme of philoso phy, that he substituted in its place, was received with little applause, and soon sunk into oblivion ; but his attempt to overturn the system of the Peripatetics, and to restore the freedom of philo sophical enquiry, was attended with remarkable suc cess, made, in a little time, the most rapid progress, and produced such admirable effects, that Tho- masius is justly looked upon, to this day, as the chief of those bold spirits who pulled down philo sophical tyranny from its throne in Germany, and gave a mortal blow to what was called the Secta~ rian Philosophy \f\ in that country. The first se minary of learning that adopted the measures of Thomasius was that of Hall in Saxony, where he was professor; they were afterwards followed by the rest of the German schools, by some sooner, and by others later ; and from thence a spirit of philosophical liberty began to spread itself unto other countries where the Lutheran religion w7as established. So that, towards the conclusion of this century, the Lutherans enjoyed a perfect li berty of conducting their philosophical researches in the manner they judged the most conform able with truth and reason, of departing from the mere dictates of authority in matters of science, and of proposing publicly every one his respective opinions. This liberty was not the consequence of any positive decree of the state, nor was it in culcated by any law of the church ; it seemed to

result

[/] By the Sectarian Philosophers were meant, those who followed implicitly some one of the ancient philosophical sects, without daring to use the dictates of their private judgment, to correct or modify the doctrines or expressions of these hoary guides.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 287 result from that invisihle disposal of things, which CFXT.

XVII. SECT. II.

we call accident, and certainly proceeded from the

efforts of a few great men, seconding and exciting PAiri' n" that natural propensity towards free inquiry, that >-—v— ' can never he totally extinguished in the human mind. Many employed this liherty in extracting, after the manner of the ancient Eclectics, what they thought most conformable to reason, and most susceptible of demonstration, from the pro ductions of the different schools, and connecting these extracts in such a manner as to constitute a complete body of philosophy. But some made a yet more noble use of this inestimable privilege by employing, with indefatigable zeal and indus try, their own faculties in the investigation of truth, and building upon solid and unchangeable principles a new and sublime system of philoso-* phy. At the head of these we may place Leibnitz, whose genius and labours have deservedly render ed his name immortal.

In this conflict between the reformers of phi losophy and the votaries of Aristotle, the latter lost ground from day to day, and his system, in consequence of the extremes that reformers often fall into, grew so disgusting and odious, that con demnation was passed on every part of it. Hence the science of Metaphysics, which the Grecian sage had considered as the master-science, as the ori ginal fountain of all true philosophy, was spoiled of its honours, and fell into contempt ; nor was the authority and influence even of Des Cartes (who also set out, in his enquiries, upon meta physical principles) sufficient to support it against the prejudices of the times. However, when the first heat of opposition began to cool, and the

rage

[V] The curious reader will find an accurate and ample ac count of this revolution in philosophy, in the learned Brucker's Hixtoria Critica Philosophic?.

£88 Wie History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, rage of party to subside, this degraded Scienc^

XVIL was not only recalled from its exile, by the inter-

CJ' !!' position and credit of Leibnitz, but was also re-

JVAR.T. Il« •*• -!*•/* 1 • • TI

instated in its former dignity and lustre.

XII. The defects and vices of the Lutheran

^ave keen circumstantially exposed, and the Luthe- even exaggerated by many writers, who seem to ran doctors. require fae minsters of the Gospel a degree of perfection, which ought indeed always to be aim ed at, but which no wise observer of human na ture can ever hope to see generally reduced to practice. These censures represent the leading men of the Lutheran church as arrogant, con tentious, despotic, and uncharitable ; as destitute of Christian simplicity and candour; fond of quibbling and dispute ; judging of all things by the narrow spirit of party ; and treating with the utmost antipathy and aversion those that differ from them ever so little in religious matters. The less considerable among the Lutheran doc tors were charged with ignorance, with a neglect of the sacred duties of their station, and with a want of talent in their character as public teach ers. And the whole body were accused of ava rice, laziness, want of piety, and corruption of manners.

It will be acknowledged, without difficulty, by those who have studied with attention and impar tiality the genius, manners, and history of this century, that the Lutheran clergy are not wholly irreproachable with respect to the matters that are here laid to their charge, and that many Luthe ran churches were under the direction of pastors who were highly deficient, some in zeal, others in abilities, many in both, and consequently ill qualified for propagating the truths of Christi anity with wisdom and success. But this re proach is not peculiarly applicable to the seven teenth century ; it is a general charge, that, with

too

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 289

too much truth, may be brought against all the CENT. ages of the church. On the other hand, it must S™LU be acknowledged, by all such as are not blinded PART „" by ignorance or partiality, that the whole of the >— v- • Lutheran clergy did not consist of these unworthy pastors, and that many of the Lutheran doctors of this century were distinguished by their learn ing, piety, gravity and wisdom. Nay, perhaps it might be difficult to decide, whether in our times, in which some pretend that the sanctity of the primitive doctors is revived in several places, there be not as many that do little honour to the pastoral character as in the times of our ancestors ? It must farther be observed, that many of the de fects which are invidiously charged upon the doctors of this age, were in a great measure ow ing to the infelicity of the times. They were the unhappy effects of those public calamities which a dreadful war of thirty years duration, produced in Germany ; they derived strength from the influence of a corrupt education, and were sometimes encouraged by the protection and countenance of vitious and profligate magis trates.

XIII. That the vices of the Lutheran clergy The vices were partly owing to the infelicity of the times, °hetr1^Lu~ will appear evident from some particular instances, clergy It must be acknowledged that, during the great- JJ est part of this century, neither the discourses of the the pulpit nor the instructions of the schools were ^ adapted to promote among the people, just ideas of religion, or to give them a competent know ledge of the doctrines and precepts of the gospel. The eloquence of the pulpit, as some ludicrously and too justly represent it, was reduced, in many places, to the noisy art of bawling (during a cer tain space of time measured by a sand-glass) upon various points of theology, which the orators understood but very little, and which the people

VOL. v. u did

to tmes

290 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, did not understand at all; and when the inl- xvii. p0rtant doctrines and precepts of Christianity FART n! were introduced in these public discourses, they S^Y^, were frequently disfigured by tawdry and pue rile ornaments, wholly inconsistent with the spirit and genius of the divine wisdom that shines forth in the Gospel, and were thus, in a great mea sure, deprived of their native beauty, efficacy, and power. All this must be confessed ; but perhaps it may not appear surprising, when all things are duly considered. The ministers of the Gos pel had their heads full of sonorous and empty words, of trivial distinctions and metaphysical subtilties, and very ill furnished with that kind of knowledge that is adapted to touch the heart and to reform the life ; they had also few models of true eloquence before their eyes; and therefore it is not much to be wondered, if they dressed out their discourses with foreign and tasteless or naments.

The charge brought against the universities* that they spent more time in subtile and con ten-' tious controversy, than in explaining the holy Scriptures, teaching the duties of morality, and promoting a spirit of piety and virtue, though too just, yet may also be alleviated by consider ing the nature and circumstances of the times. The Lutherans were surrounded with a multitude of adversaries, who obliged them to be perpe tually in a posture of defence ; and the Roman Catholics, who threatened their destruction, con- trubutedj in a more particular manner, to excite in their doctors that polemic spirit which unfortu nately became a habit, and had an unhappy in fluence on the exercise both of their academical and pastoral functions. In time of war, the mi litary art not only becomes singularly respectable, but is preferred, without hesitation, before all others, on account of its tendency to maintain

the

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 291

the inestimable blessings of liberty and inrlepend- CENT. ence ; and thus in the midst of theological com motions, the spirit of controversy, by becoming necessary, gains an ascendant, which, even when the danger is over, it is unwilling to lose. It were indeed ardently to be wished, that the Lu therans had treated with more mildness and cha rity those who differed from them in religious opinions, and had discovered more indulgence and forbearance towards such, more especially, as by ignorance, fanaticism, or excessive curiosity were led into error, without pretending, never theless, to disturb the public tranquility by pro pagating their particular systems. But they had unhappily imbibed a spirit of persecution in their early education ; this was too much the spirit of the times, and it was even a leading maxim with our ancestors, that it was both lawful and expe dient to use seventy and force against those whom they looked upon as heretics. This maxim was derived from Rome, and even those who separa ted from that church did not find it easy to throw off, all of a sudden, that despotic and uncharitable spirit that had so long been the main-spring of its government, and the general characteristic of its members. Nay, in their narrow views of things, their very piety seemed to suppress the generous movements of fraternal love and forbearance ; and the more they felt themselves animated with a zeal for the divine glory, the more difficult did they find it to renounce that ancient and favour ite maxim, which hath so often been ill interpre ted and ill applied, that whoever is found to be an enemy to God, ought also to be declared an ene my to his country [w~\. XIV.

C3" Cw>] It were to be wished that the Lutherans had not, in many places, persevered in these severe and despotic prin ciples, longer than other Protestant churches. Until this very day, the Lutherans of Frankfort on the Maine have always refused to permit the Reformed, to celebrate public worship

U 2 within

292 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT. XIV. There were few or no changes intro- XVIL duced, during this century, into the form of go- "' vernment, the method of worship, and the exter- nal rites and ceremonies of the Lutheran church. The cede- Many alterations would indeed have been made *iasticai jn au these, had the princes and states of that

laws and . , , . A , . .

polity of communion judged it expedient to put in execu- the LU- tion the plans that had been laid by Thorn a- sius, and other eminent men, for reforming its ecclesiastical polity. These plans were built upon a new principle, which supposed, that the majesty and supreme authority of the sovereign was the only source of church-power. On this fundamental principle, which these great men took all imaginable pains to prove, by solid and striking arguments, they raised a voluminous system of laws, which, in the judgment of many, evidently tended to this conclusion : that the same sovereign who presides in the state ought to rule in the church ; that prince and pontiff are inse parable characters ; and that the ministers of the Gospel are not the ambassadors of the Deity, but the deputies or vicegerents of the civil magi strate. These reformers of Lutheranism did not stop here ; they reduced within narrower bounds the few privileges and advantages that the clergy yet retained ; and treated many of the rites, in stitutions, and customs of our church, as the re mains of popish superstition. Hence an abund ant source of contention was opened, and a long and tedious controversy was carried on with warmth and animosity between the clergy and civilians. We leave others to determine with what views these debates were commenced and fomented, and with what success they were re spectively carried on by the contending parties.

We

within the bounds, or even In the suburbs of that city. Many attempts have been made to conquer their obstinacy in this respect, but hitherto without success.

PART H

Chap. I. TJie History of the Lutheran Church. 293

We shall only observe, that their effects and con- CENT. sequences were unhappy, as in many places, they proved, in the issue, detrimental to the reputation of the clergy, to the dignity and authority of re- ligion, and to the peace and prosperity of the Lu theran church [x]. The present state of that church verifies too plainly this observation. It is now its fate to see few entering into its public service, who are adapted to restore the reputation it has lost, or to maintain that which it yet retains. Those who are distinguished by illustrious birth, uncommon genius, and a liberal and ingenuous turn of mind, look upon the study of theology, which has so little external honours and advan tages to recommend it, as below their ambition ; and hence the number of wise, learned, and emi nent ministers grows less considerable from day to day. This circumstance is deeply lamented by those among us who consider with attention the dangerous and declining state of the Lutheran church ; and it is to be feared, that our descend ants will have reason to lament it still more bit terly. *

XV. The eminent writers that adorned theTh?most Lutheran church through the course of this cen- tury, were many in number. We shall only mention those whom it is most necessary for a student of ecclesiastical history to be more par ticularly acquainted with; such are J^gideus u 3 and

(p3= [V] It has been the ill-hap even of well-designing men to fall into pernicious extremes, in the controversies relating to the foundation, power, and privileges of the church. Too few have steered the middle way, and laid their plans with such equity and wisdom as to maintain the sovereignty and authority of the Stale, without reducing the Church to a mere creature of civil policy. The reader will find a most interest ing view of this nice and important subject in the learned and ingenious bishop of Gloucester's alliance between Church and Slate, and in his Dedication of the second volume of his Z)i- Legation of Moses, to my Lord Mansfield.

The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, and Nicholas Hurmius — Leonard Hutter — Joseph XVIL and John Ernesti Gerhard — George and Frede rick Ulric Calixtus — the Mentzers — the Olearius' — Frederic Baldwin — Albert Grawer — Matthias Hoe — the Carpzovius' — John and Paul Tarno- vius — John Affelman — Elihart Luher — the Ly- sers — Michael Walther — Joachim Hildebrand — John Valentine Andreas — Solomon Glassius— *- Abraham Colovius — Theodore Hackspan— John Hulseman — Jacob Weller — Peter and John Mausaeus, brothers — John Conrad Danhaver — John George Dorschaeus— John Arndt — Martin Geyer — John Adam Schartzer — Balthazar and John Meisner — Augustus Pfeiffer— Henry and John Muller — -Justus Christopher Schomer — Se bastian Schmidt — Christopher Horsbolt — the Osi- anders — Philip Jacob Spener — Geb. Theodore Meyer — Fridem. Bechman — and others [?/].

XVI. The doctrine of the Lutheran church remained entire during this century; its funda- mental principles received no alteration, nor

Lunthe0rfam.Ccould aiiy doctor of tnat church, who should have presumed to renounce or invalidate any of those theological points that are contained in the sym bolical books of the Lutherans, have met, with to leration and indulgence. It is, however, to be observed, that in latter times, various circum stances contributed to diminish, in many places, the authority of these symbolical oracles, which had so long been considered as an almost infallible rule of faith and practice. Hence arose that un bounded liberty, which is at this day enjoyed by all who are not invested with the character of public teachers, of dissenting from the decisions of

these

For an account of the lives and writings of these au thors, see Witte's Memories Theolo^orum and his Diarium, Biographicum ; as also Pippingius, Goesius., and other writers of literary history.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Cliurcli. 295

these symbols or creeds, and of declaring this dissent CENT. in the manner they judge the most expedient. The s^11^ case was very different in former times ; whoever PAnT! „* ventured to oppose any of the received doctrines w^y^x of the church, or to spread new religious opinions among the people, was called before the higher powers to give an account of his conduct, and very rarely escaped without suffering in his fortune or reputation, unless he renounced his innovations. But the teachers of novel doctrines had nothing to apprehend, when, towards the conclusion of this century, the Lutheran churches adopted that lead ing maxim of the Arminians, that " Christians were accountable to God alone for their religious sentiments ; and that no individual could be justly punished by the magistrate for his erroneous opi nions, while he conducted himself like a virtuous and obedient subject, and made no attempts to disturb the peace and order of civil society." It were to be wished that this religious liberty, which the dictates of equity must approve, but of which the virtuous mind alone can make a wise and proper use, had never degenerated into that unbridled licentiousness that holds no thing sacred, but with an audacious insolence tramples under foot the solemn truths of reli gion, and is constantly endeavouring to throw contempt upon the respectable profession of its ministers.

XVII. The various branches of sacred erudi tion were cultivated with uninterrupted zeal and assiduity among the Lutherans who, at no period of time were without able commentators, and learned and faithful guides for the interpre tation of the Holy Scriptures. It is natural to mention here Tarnovius, Gerhard, Hackspan, Ca- lixtus, Erasmus, Schmidt, to whom might be add ed a numerous list of learned and judicious ex-

u 4 positors *

296 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, positors of the sacred oracles. But what appears more peculiarly worthy of observation is, that the very period wnich some look upon as the most barren of learned productions, and the most remarkable for a general inattention to the branch of erudition now under consideration, produced that inestimable and immortal work of Solomon Glassius, which he published under the title of Sacred Philology, and than which none can be more useful for the interpretation of Scrip ture, as it throws an uncommon degree of light upon the language and phraseology of the inspir ed writers. It must, at the same time, be can didly acknowledged that a considerable part of this century was more employed, by the profes-. sors of the different universities, in defending, with subtilty and art the peculiar doctrines of the Lutheran church, than in illustrating and explain ing the Holy Scripture, which is the only genuine source of divine truth. Whatever was worthy of censure in this manner of proceeding, was abundantly repaired by the more modern divines of the Lutheran communion ; for no sooner did the rage of controversy begin to subside, than the greatest part of them turned their principal stu dies towards the exposition and illustration of the Sacred Writings ; and they were particularly ani mated in the execution of this laborious task, by observing the indefatigable industry of those among the Dutch divines, who, in their interpre tations of Scripture, followed the sentiments and method of Cocceius. At the head of these mo dern commentators we may place, with justice, Sebastian Schmidt, who was at least the most la borious and voluminous expositor of this age. After this learned writer, may be ranked CaloviiiSj Gier, Schomer, and others of inferior

note.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 297

note [z]. The contests excited by the persons CENT. called Pietists, though unhappy in several respects, ^™'u were nevertheless attended with this good effect, pART n* that they engaged many to apply themselves to ^~r*-s the study of the Holy Scriptures, which they had too much neglected before that period, and to the perusal of the commentators and interpreters of the sacred oracles. These commentators pur sued various methods, and were unequal both in their merit and success. Some confined them selves to the signification of the words of Scrip ture, and the literal sense that belonged to the phrases of the inspired writers; others applied their expositions of Scripture to the decision of controverted points, and attacked their adversa ries, either by refuting their false interpretations of Scripture, or by making use of their own com mentaries to overturn their doctrines ; a third sort, after unfolding the sense of Scripture, ap plied it carefully to the purposes of life and the direction of practice. We might mention ano ther class of interpreters, who, by an assiduous perusal of the writings of the Cocceians, are said to have injudiciously acquired their defects, as ap pears by their turning the sacred history into alle gory, and seeking rather the more remote and mysterious sense of Scripture, than its obvious and literal signification.

XVIII. The principal doctors of this century The didac- followed, at first, the loose method of deducing ^ .^ their theological doctrine from Scripture under a tides of few general heads. This method had been ob- f served in ancient times by Melancthon, and was Lutherans, vulgarly called Common-Place divinity. They, however, made use of the principles, terms, and subtile distinctions of the Peripatetic philosophy,

which

|V] See J. Frauc. Budsei hagoge in Thcologiam, lib. ii. cap. ^iii. p. 1686.

SECT. II. PART II.

298 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, which was yet in high reputation, in explaining* ail(i illustrating each particular doctrine. The first person that reduced theology into a regular system, and gave it a truly scientific, and philoso phical form, was George Calixtus, a man of great genius and erudition, who had imhibed the spirit of the Aristotelian school. His design, in general was not so much censured, as the parti^ cular method he followed, and the form he gave to his theological system ; for he divided the whole science of divinity into three parts, viz. the end> the subject, the means ; and this division, which was borrowed from Aristotle, appeared extremely improper to many. This philosophical method of ranging the truths of Christianity was follow-, ed, with remarkable zeal and emulation, by the most eminent doctors in the different schools of learning, and even in our times it has its votaries. Some indeed had the courage to depart from it, and to exhibit the doctrines of religion under a different, though still under a scientific form ; but they had few followers, and struggled in vain against the empire of Aristotle, who reigned with a despotic authority in the schools.

There were, however, many pious and good men, who beheld, with great displeasure, this irruption of metaphysics into the sphere of theo logy, and never could be brought to relish this philosophical method of teaching the doctrines of Christianity. They earnestly desired to see divine truth freed from captious questions and subtilties, delivered from the shackles of an imperious system, and exhibited with that beautiful simplicity, per spicuity, and evidence, in which it appears in the sacred writings. Persons of this turn had their wishes and expectations in some measure answer^ ed, when, towards the conclusion of this century, the learned Spener, and others, animated by his exhortations and example, began to inculcate the

truths

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 299

truths and precepts' of religion in a more plain CENT. and popular manner, and when the electics had succeeded so far to dethrone Aristotle, and to banish his philosophy from the greatest part of the Lutheran schools. Spener was not so far successful as to render universal his popular me thod of teaching theology; it was nevertheless adopted hy a considerable number of doctors; and it cannot be denied, that, since this period, the science of divinity, delivered from the jargon of the schools, has assumed a more liberal and graceful aspect. The same observation may be applied to controversial productions ; it is certain that polemics were totally destitute of elegance and perspicuity so long as Aristotle reigned in the seminaries of learning, and that they were more or less embellished and improved since the suppression and disgrace of the Peripatetic philo sophy. It is, however, to be lamented, that con troversy did not lose, at this period, all the cir cumstances that had so justly rendered it displea sing ; and that the defects, that had given such offence in the theological disputants of all parties, were far from being entirely removed. These de fects still subsist, though perhaps in a less shock ing degree ; and whether we persue the polemic writers of ancient or modern times, we shall find too few among them who may be said to be ani mated by the pure love of truth, without any mixture of pride, passion, or partiality, and whom we may pronounce free from the illusions of pre judice and self-love.

XIX. The science of morals, which must ever The state be esteemed the master-science, from its i^niediate^^"1 influence upon life and manners, was, for a long among the time neglected among the Lutherans. If we Lutht'rans- except a few eminent men, such as Arndt and Gerhard, who composed some popular treatises concerning the internal worship of the Deity, and

the

800 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, the duties of Christians, there did not appear, during the greatest part of this century, any mo

SECT. II.

P\RT ii ra^ writer of distinguished merit. Hence it hap- ^^Y^S pened, that those who applied themselves to the business of resolving what are called Cases of Con* science, were held in high esteem, and their tri bunals were much frequented. But as the true principles and foundations of morality were not, as yet, established with a sufficient degree of pre cision and evidence, their decisions were often er roneous, and they were liable to fall into daily mistakes. Calixtus was the first who separated the objects of faith from the duties of morality, and exhibited the latter under the form of an in dependent science. He did not, indeed, live to finish this work, the beginning of which met with universal applause ; his disciples, however, em ployed, with some degree of success, the instruc tions they had received from their master, in exe cuting his plan, and composing a system of Moral Theology. This system, in process of time, fell into discredit on account of the Peripatetic form under which it appeared; for, notwithstanding the striking repugnance that there is, in the very nature of things, between the beautiful science of Morals, and the perplexing intricacies of Meta physics, Calixtus could not abstain from the latter in building his Moral system. The moderns, however, stripped morality of the Peripatetic gar ment, calling to their assistance the law of nature, which had been explained and illustrated by Puf- fendorf and other authors, and comparing this law with the sacred writings, they not only dis covered the true springs of Christian virtue, and entered into the true spirit and sense of the divine laws, but also digested the whole science of Mo rals into a better order, and demonstrated its prin ciples with a new and superior degree of evi dence.

XX. These

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 301

XX. These improvements in theology and CENT. morality did not diffuse such a spirit of concord ^ XVIL in the Lutheran church, as was sufficient to heal 1>UIT H" ancient divisions, or to prevent new ones. That ^^v^' church, on the contrary, was involved in the most Commo- lamentable commotions and tumults, during the ^Ttcsisla whole course of this century, partly by the con- the Luthe- troversies that arose among its most eminent doc- ran chu tors, and partly by the intemperate zeal of vio lent reformers, the fanatical predictions of pre tended prophets, and the rash measures of inno vators, who studiously spread among the people, new, singular, and, for the most part, extravagant opinions. The controversies that divided the Lutheran doctors may be ranged under two classes, according to their different importance and ex tent, as some of them involved the whole church in tumult and discord, while others were less uni versal in their pernicious effects. Of the for mer class there were two controversies, that gave abundant exercise to the polemic talents of the Lutheran doctors, during the greatest part of this century ; and these turned upon the religious systems that are generally known under the deno minations of Syncretism and Pietism. Nothing could be more amiable than the principles that gave rise to the former, and nothing more re spectable and praise-worthy than the design that was proposed by the latter. The Syncretists [a], animated with that fraternal love and that pacific spirit, which Jesus Christ had so often recom mended as the peculiar characteristics of his true disciples, used their warmest endeavours to pro mote union and concord among Christians ; and the Pietists had undoubtedly in view the restora tion

pi] The Syncretists were also called Calixtines, from their chiefj George Calixtus ; and Helmstadians, from the univer sity where their plan of doctrine and union took its rise.

»02 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, tion and advancement of that holiness and vir- tue, that had suffered so much by the influence of licentious manners on the one hand, and by the turbulent spirit of controversy on the other. These two great and amiable virtues, that gave rise to the projects and efforts of the two orders of persons now mentioned, were combated by a third, even a zeal for maintaining the truth, and preserving it from all mixture of error. Thus the love of truth was unhappily found to stand in opposition to the love of union, piety, and con cord ; and thus, in this present critical and cor rupt state of human nature, the unruly and tur bulent passions of men can, by an egregious abuse, draw the worst consequences from the best things, and render the most excellent principles and views productive of confusion, calamity, and discord.

Therise of XXI. The origin of Syncretism was owing to George Calixtus, of Slesivick, a man of eminent an(J distinguished abilities and merit, and who had few equals in this century, either in point of learning or genius. This great man being placed in a university [6], which, from the very time of its foundation, had been remarkable for encou raging freedom of enquiry, improved this happy privilege, examined the respective doctrines of the various sects that bear the Christian name, and found, in the notions commonly received among divines, some things defective and erroneous. He accordingly gave early intimations of his dissatis faction with the state of theology, and lamented, in a more particular manner, the divisions and factions that reigned among the servants and disciples of the same great master. He therefore turned his views to the salutary -work of softening

the

p] The university of Helrastadt, in the Dutchy of Bruns-» wick, founded in the year 1576.

Chap* I. tlie History of the Lutheran Church. 303

the animosities produced by these divisions, and CEVT. shewed the wannest desire, not so much of esta blishing a perfect harmony and concord between P^T „' the jarring sects, which no human power seemed capable of effecting, as of extinguishing the hatred, and appeasing the resentment, which the contend ing parties discovered too much in their conduct towards each other. His colleagues did not seem at all averse to this pacific project ; and the sur prise that this their silence or acquiescence must naturally excite, in such as are acquainted with the theological spirit of the seventeenth century, will be diminished, when it is considered, that the professors of divinity at Helmstadt bind themselves, at their admission, by an oath, to use their best and most zealous endeavours to heal the divisions, and terminate the contests that prevail among Christians. Neither Calixtus, however, nor his friends, escaped the opposition that it was natural to expect in the execution of such an unpopular and comprehensive project. They were warmly attacked, in the year 1639, by Statius Buche- rus, a Hanoverian ecclesiastic, a bigoted votary of Ramus, a declared enemy to all philosophy, and a man of great temerity and imprudence. This man, exasperated at the preference Calix tus and his companions had given to the Peripa tetic philosophy over the principles of the Ramists, composed a very malignant book entitled, Crypto^ Papisnms novce Theologicce Helmst adieus is [c], in which Calixtus was charged with a long list of errors. Though this production made some small impression on the minds of certain persons, it is nevertheless probable, that Buscher would have almost universally passed for a partial, malicious, and rash accuser, had his invectives and complaints

rendered

\_c] i. e. Popery disguised under the mask of the new theo* logical system of Helmstadt.

304 The History of the Lutheran Church

CENT, rendered Calixtus more cautious and prudent* XVIL But the upright and generous heart of this emi-

P\RT I!. nen^ man> which disdained dissimulation to a de- \^^y^^ gree that bordered upon the extreme of impru dence, excited him to speak with the utmost frankness his private sentiments, and thus to give a certain measure of plausibility to the accusations of his adversary. Both he and his colleague Con rad Horneius maintained, with boldness and per severance, several propositions, which appeared to many others besides Buscher, new, singu lar, and of a dangerous tendency; and Calixtus more especially, by the freedom and plainness with which he declared and defended his senti ments, drew upon him the resentment and indig nation of the Saxon doctors, who, in the year 1645, were present at the conference of Thorn. He had been chosen by Frederick William, elec tor of Brandenburg, as colleague and assistant to the divines he sent from Koningsberg to these conferences ; the Saxon deputies were greatly in censed to see a Lutheran ecclesiastic in the cha racter of an assistant to a deputation of Reformed doctors. The first cause of offence was followed by other incidents, in the course of these confer ences, which increased the resentment of the Saxons against Calixtus, and made them accuse him of leaning to the side of the Reformed churches. We cannot enter here into a circum stantial account of this matter, which would lead us from our main design. We shall only observe, that when these conferences broke up, the Saxon doctors, and more especially Halseman, Wil ier, Scharfius, and Calovius, turned the whole force of their polemic weapons against Calixtus ; and in their public writings, reproached him with apostasy from the principles of Lutheranism, and with a propensity towards the sentiments both of the Reformed and Romish churches. This great

man

SECT. II. PART II.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 305

man did not receive tamely the insults of his ad- CENT. versaries. His consummate knowledge of the philosophy that reigned in the schools, and his perfect acquaintance with the history of the church, rendered him an able disputant; and accordingly he repelled with the greatest vigour, the attacks of his enemies, and carried on, with uncommon spirit and erudition, this important controversy, until the year 1656, when death put an end to his labours, and transported him from these scenes of dissension and tumult into the re gions of peace and concord [</].

XXII. Neither the death of Calixtus, nor theTheconti- disease of his principal adversaries, were suffi- "s^te1°IJ.an cient to extinguish the flame they had kindled ; these de-

onbatcs'

\_d ] Those who desire to be more minutely acquainted with the particular circumstances of this famous controversy, the titles and characters of the books published on that occasion, and the doctrines that produced such warm contests, and such deplorable divisions, will do well to consult Walchius, Caro- lus, Weisman, Arnold, and other writers ; but above all, the third volume of the Cimbria Literata of Mollerus, p. 727. in which there is an ample account of the life, transactions, and writings of Calixtus. But, if any reader should push his cu riosity still further, and be solicitous to know the more se cret springs that acted in this whole affair, the remote causes of the events and transactions relating to it, the spirit, views, and characters of the disputants, the arguments used on both sides ; in a word, those things that are principally interesting and worthy of attention in controversies of this kind, he will find no history that will satisfy him fully in these respects. A history that would throw a proper light upon these im portant matters, must be composed by a man of great candour and abilities ; by one who knows the world, has studied human nature, is furnished with materials and documents that lie as yet concealed in the cabinets of the curious, and is not un acquainted with the spirit that reigns, and the cabals that are carried on in the courts of princes. But were such an historian to be found, I question very much, whether, even in our times, he could publish without danger all the circumstances of this memorable contest.

VOL. V. X

306 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, on the contrary, the contest was carried on, after that period, with more animosity and violence than ever. The Saxon doctors, and more espe cially Calovius, insulted the ashes, and attacked the memory of this great man with unexampled bitterness and malignity ; and, in the judgment of many eminent and worthy doctors, who were by no means the partizans of Calixtus, conducted themselves with such imprudence and temerity, as were every way adapted to produce an open schism in the Lutheran Church. They drew up a new kind of Creed, or confession of the Luthe ran faith [e]9 which they proposed to place in the class of what the members of our communion call their Symbolical books, and which, of conse quence, all professors of divinity and all candi dates for the ministry would be obliged to sub scribe, as containing the true and genuine doc trine of the Lutheran church. By this new pro duction of intemperate zeal, the friends and fol lowers of Calixtus were declared unworthy of the communion of that church : and were, accord ingly, supposed to have forfeited all right to the privileges and tranquillity that were granted to the Lutherans by the laws of the empire. The reputation of Calixtus found, nevertheless, some able defenders, who pleaded his cause with mo desty and candour ; such were Titius, Helde- brand, and other ecclesiastics, who were dis tinguished from the multitude by their charity, moderation, and prudence. These good men shewed, with the utmost evidence, that the new Creed, mentioned above, would be a perpetual source of contention and discord, and would thus have a fatal effect upon the true interests of the

Lutheran

[e] The title of this new creed was, Consensus repetili Fidel verve Luthcrance.

Chap, I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 307

Lutheran church : but their counsels were over- CENT. ruled, and their admonitions neglected. Among XVIL the writers who opposed this Creed, was Frederic PVCRT jj Ulric Calixtus, who was not destitute of abilities, \*^r—' though much inferior to his father in learning, genius, and moderation. Of those that stood forth in its vindication and defence, the most con siderable were Calovius and Strauchius. The polemic productions of these contending parties were multiplied from day to day, and yet remain as deplorable monuments of the intemperate zeal of the champions on both sides of the question. The invectives, reproaches, and calumnies, with which these productions were filled, shewed too plainly that many of these writers, instead of being animated with the love of truth, and a zeal for religion, were rather actuated by a keen spirit of party, and by the suggestions of vindictive pride and vanity. These contests were of long duration ; they were, however, at length suspend ed towards the close of this century, by the death of those who had been the principal actors in this scene of theological discord, by the abolition of the creed that had produced it, by the rise of the new debates of a different nature, and by other circum stances of inferior moment, which is needless to mention.

XXIII. It will be proper to give here some The opi. account of the accusations that were brought J?0," °f

/^ i • IT* i • ' mi v/iulXiUS«

against Lalixtus by his adversaries. I he prin cipal charge was, his having formed a project, not of uniting into one ecclesiastical body, as some have understood it, the Romish, Lutheran, and Reformed churches, but of extinguishing the hatred and animosity that reigned among the members of these different communions, and joining them in the bonds of charity, mutual be nevolence, and forbearance. This is the project, which was at first condemned, and is still known

x 2 under

308 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, under the denomination of Syncretism [f~]. Se- xvn. veraj singular opinions were also laid to the charge

SECT. II. & f.

PART II.

T^" \_f~} It is neither my design nor my inclination to adopt the cause of Calixtus ; nor do I pretend to maintain that his writings and his doctrines are exempt from error. But the love of truth obliges me to observe, that it has been the ill hap of this eminent man to fall into the hands of bad inter preters; and that even those who imagine they have been more successful than others in investigating his true senti ments, have most grievously misunderstood them. Calixtus is commonly supposed to have formed the plan of a formal reconciliation of the Protestants with the church of Rome and its pontiffs ; but this notion is entirely groundless, since he publicly and expressly declared, that the Protestants could by no means enter into the bonds of concord and communion with the Romish church, as it was constituted at this time ; and that, if there had ever existed any prospect of healing the divisions that reigned between it and the Protestant churches, this prospect had entirely vanished since the coun cil of Trent, whose violent proceedings and tyrannical de crees had rendered the union now under consideration abso lutely impossible. He is further charged with having either approved or excused the greatest part of those errors and su perstitions, that are looked upon as a dishonour to the church of Rome ; but this charge is abundantly refuted, not only by the various treatises, in which he exposed the falsehood and absurdity of the doctrines and opinions of that church, but also by the declarations of the Roman Catholics themselves, who acknowledge that Calixtus attacked them with much more learning and ingenuity than had been discovered by any other Protestant writer*. It is true, he maintained that the Lutherans and Roman Catholics did not differ about the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith ; and it were to be wished, that he had never asserted any such thing, or, at least, that he had expressed his meaning in more proper and inoffensive terms. It must however be considered, that he always looked upon the popes and their votaries, as having adulterated these fundamental doctrines with an impure mix ture or addition of many opinions and tenets, which no wise and good Christian could adopt : and this consideration di minishes a good deal the extravagance of an assertion, which otherwise, would deserve the severest censure. We shall not

enter

* Bossuet, in his Traite de la Communion sous les deux Especes. p. i. sect. ii. p. 1 2. speaks thus of the eminent man now under consideration : *' Le fameux George Calixte, le plus habile des Lutheriens de notre terns, qui a ecrit le plui> doctement centre nous," £c.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 309

of this great man, and were exaggerated and CENT. blackened, as the most innocent things generally are, when they pass through the medium Q£ malig- PA^T* [£ nity and party-spirit. Such were his notions s. concerning the obscure manner in which the doc trine of the Trinity was revealed under the Old Testament dispensation ; the appearances of the Son of God during that period ; the necessity of good works to the attainment of everlasting salva tion ; and God's being occasionally [ g] the author of sin. These notions in the esteem of many of the best judges of theological matters, have been always looked upon as of an indifferent nature, as opinions which, even were they false, do not af fect the great and fundamental doctrines of Chris tianity. But the two great principles that Ca- lixtus laid down as the foundation and ground work of all his reconciling and pacific plans, gave much more offence than the plans themselves, and

x 3 drew

enter further into a review of the imputations that were cast upon Calixtus, by persons more disposed to listen to his ac cusers, than to those who endeavour, with candour and impar tiality, to represent his sentiments and his measures in their true point of view. But if it should be asked here, what this man's real design was ? we answer, that he laid down the following maxims : First, " That if it were possible to bring back the church of Rome to the state in which it was during the first five centuries, the Protestants would be no longer justified in rejecting its communion : Secondly, That the modern members of the Romish church, though polluted with many intolerable errors, were not all equally criminal ; and that such of them, more especially, as sincerely believed the doctrines they had learned from their parents or masters, and by ignorance, edu cation, or the power of habit, were hindered from perceiving the truth, were not to be excluded from salvation, nor deemed heretics ; provided they gave their assent to the doctrines con tained in the Apostle's Creed, and endeavoured seriously to govern their lives by the precepts of the gospel." 1 do not pretend to defend these maxims, which seem, however, to have many patrons in our times ; I would only observe, that the doctrine they contain is much less intolerable than that which was commonly imputed to Calixtus. Per accidens.

310 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, drew upon him the indignation and resentment of SECT11! niany- Those principles were : First, That the PART ii. fundamental doctrines of Christianity (by which V*^Y^/ he meant those elementary principles from whence all its truths flow) were preserved pure and entire in all the three communions, and were contained in that ancient form of doctrine, that is vulgarly known by the name of the Apostle's Creed. And, secondly, That the tenets and opinions, which had been constantly received by the ancient doctors during the first five centuries, were to be consider ed as of equal truth and authority with the express declarations and doctrines of scripture. The ge neral plan of Calixtus was founded upon the first of these propositions ; and he made use of the se cond to give some degree of plausibility to certain Romish doctrines and institutions, which have been always rejected by the Protestant church ; and to establish a happy concord between the various Chris tian communions that had hitherto lived in the state of dissension and separation from each other. Debates XXIV. The divines vtRintelen, Koningsberg, wTtiTthe11 and Jena, were more or less involved in these doctors of warm contests. Those of Rintelen, more espe- cially Henichius and Musaeus, had, on several occasions, and particularly at the conference of Cassel, shewn plainly that they approved of the plan of Calixtus for removing the unhappy dis cords and animosities that reigned among Chris tians, and that they beheld with peculiar satis faction that part of it that had for its object union and concord among the Protestant churches. Hence they were opposed with great animosity by the Saxon doctors and their adherents, in various polemic productions \Ji\.

The pacific spirit of Calixtus discovered itself

also

[Va] See Abrah. Calovii Historia Syncrestica, p. 618. — Jo. Georgii Walchii Introductio in controversias Lutheran, vol. i. p. 286.

Chap. I. Tlie History of the Lutheran Church. 311

also at Koningsbcrg. John Laterman, Michael CENT. Behmius, and the learned Christopher Dryer, c*VIL who had been the disciples of that great man, c were at little pains to conceal their attachment to the sentiments of their master. By this discovery they drew upon them the resentment of their col leagues John Behmius and Celestine Mislenta, who were seconded by the whole body of the clergy of Konmgsberg ; and thus a warm contro versy arose, which was carried on, during many years, in such a manner as did very little honour to either of the contending parties. The interpo sition of the civil magistrate, together with the de cease of Behmius and Mislenta, put an end to this intestine war, which was succeeded by a new contest of long duration between Dryer and his associates on the one side, and several foreign di vines on the other, who considered the system of Calixtus as highly pernicious, and looked upon its defenders as the enemies of the church. This new controversy was managed on both sides, with as little equity and moderation as those which pre ceded it (~f J.

XXV. It must, at the same time, be ack now- and those ledged, to the immortal honour of the divines ofof Jena* Jena, that they discovered the most consummate prudence, and the most amiable moderation in the midst of these theological debates. For though they confessed ingeniously, that the sentiments of Calixtus were not of such a nature, as that they could be all adopted without exception, yet they maintained, that the greatest part of his tenets were much less pernicious than the Saxon doctors had represented them ; and that several of them

x 4 were

p] See Christopher Hartkonch's Church History of Prus sia (written in German), book ii. ch. x. p. ()02. — Molleri, Cimbria Litcrata, torn. iii. p. 150. — See also the Acts and Documents contained in the famous collection, entitled, Uns- cnlidge Nachrichten, A. 1740, p. 144. A. 1742, p. 29. A. 1745, p. 91.

31 £ The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, were innocent, and might be freely admitted XVILm without any danger to the cause of truth. Solo mon Glassius, an ecclesiastic, renowned for the mildness of his temper, and the equity of his pro ceedings, examined with the utmost candour and impartiality the opposite sentiments of the doctors that were engaged in this important controversy, and published the result of this examination, by the express order of Ernest, prince of Saxe-Gotha, surnamed the Pious [fc], Musaeus, a man of superior learning and exquisite penetration and judgment, adopted so far the sentiments of Ca- lixtus, as to maintain that good works might, in a certain sense, be considered as necessary to sal vation ; aud that of the erroneous doctrines im puted to this eminent man, several were of little or no importance. It is very probable, that the followers of Calixtus would have willingly sub mitted this whole controversy to the arbitration of such candid and impartial judges. But this laudable moderation offended so highly the Saxon doctors, that they began to suspect the academy of Jena of several erroneous opinions, and marked out Musasus, in a particular manner, as a person who had, in many respects apostatised from the true and orthodox faith [/]. The rise of XXVI. These debates were suppressed and suc-

the contro- j i i ,• Ai j_i

versy niat- ceeded by new commotions that arose in the ing to Pie- church, and are commonly known under the de-

tism. J ...

nomination

pf] This piece, which was written in German, did not ap pear in public till after the death of Glassius, in the year l66'2 ; a second edition of it was published in 8vo. at Jena some years ago. The piece exhibits a rare and shining instance of theo logical moderation ; and is worthy of a serious and attentive perusal.

p] For arTaccoimt of the imputations cast upon the di vines of Jena, and more especially on Mussens, see a judici ous and solid work of the latter, entitled, Der Jenischin TheO' logen AusfithrUcke Erklarung, &c. — See also Jo. Georgii. Walchii Introdmtio in Controversial Ecclesics Lulherance, vol. i. p. 405.

Chap. I. Tlic History of the Lutheran Clmrch.

nomination of the Pietistical Controversy. This CENT. controversy was owing to the zeal of a certain set SECT *r of persons, who, no doubt, with pious and upright PART H intentions, endeavoured to stem the torrent vice and corruption, and to reform the licentious manners both of the clergy and the people. But, as the best things may be abused, so this reforming spirit inflamed persons that were but ill qualified to exert it with wisdom and success. Many, deluded by the suggestions of an irregular imagi nation, and an ill-formed understanding, or, guided by principles and views of a still more cri minal nature, spread abroad new and singular opinions, false visions, unintelligible maxims, au stere precepts, and imprudent clamours against the discipline of the church ; all which excited the most dreadful tumults, and kindled the flames of contention and discord. The commencement of Pietism was indeed laudable and decent. It was set on foot by the pious and learned Spener, who, by the private societies he formed at Francfort, with a design to promote vital religion, rouzed the lukewarm from their indifference, and excited a spirit of vigour and resolution in those who had been satisfied to lament, in silence, the progress of impiety. The remarkable effect of these pious meetings was increased by a book published by this well-meaning man, under the title of Pious Desires, in which he exhibited a striking view of the disorders of the church, and proposed the re medies that were proper to heal them. Many persons of good and upright intentions were high ly pleased both with the proceedings and writings of Spener, and indeed the greatest part of those, who had the cause of virtue and practical religion truly at heart, applauded the designs of this good man, though an apprehension of abuses retained numbers from encouraging them openly. These abuses actually happened. The remedies pro posed

314 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, posed by Spener to heal the disorders of the xvii. church fen into unskilful hands, were administered

PART ".' without sagacity or prudence, and thus, in many w-y^/ cases, proved to be worse than the disease itself. The religious meetings above mentioned (or the Colleges of Piety, as they were usually called by a phrase borrowed from the Dutch), tended in many places to kindle in the breasts of the multitude the flames of a blind and intemperate zeal, whose effects were impetuous and violent, instead of that pure and rational love of God, whose fruits are benign and peaceful. Hence complaints arose against these institutions of Piet ism, as if, under a striking appearance of sanctity, they led the people into false notions of religion, and fomented, in those who were of a turbulent and violent character, the seeds and principles of mutiny and sedition.

The com- XXVII. These first complaints would have been undoubtedly hushed, and the tumults they occasioned, would have subsided by degrees, had not the contests that arose at Leipsic, in the year 1689, added fuel to the flame. Certain pious and learned professors of Philosophy, and parti cularly Franckius, Schadius, and Paulus An- tonius, the disciples of Spener, who at that time was ecclesiastical superintendent of the court of Saxony, began to consider with attention the defects that prevailed in the ordinary method of instructing the candidates for the ministry : and this review persuaded them of the necessity of using their best endeavours to supply what was wanting, and to correct what was amiss. For this purpose, they undertook to explain in their colleges, certain books of holy Scripture, in order to render these genuine sources of religious know ledge better understood, and to promote a spirit of practical piety and vital religion in the minds of their hearers. The novelty of this method

drew

Chap. I. TJie History of the Lutheran Church. 315

drew attention, and rendered it singularly pleasing CENT. to many ; accordingly, these lectures were much s™f^fc frequented, and their effects were visible in the PART „. lives and conversations of several persons, whom \^-y^^ they seemed to inspire with a deep sense of the importance of religion and virtue. Whether these first effusions of religious fervour, which were, in themselves, most certainly laudable, were always kept within the strict bounds of reason and discretion, is a question not easily decided. If we are to believe the report of common fame, and the testimonies of several persons of great weight, this was by no means the case ; and many things were both said and done in these Biblical Colleges (as they were called) which though they might be looked upon, by equitable and candid judges, as worthy of toleration and indulgence, were, nevertheless, contrary to custom, and far from being consistent with prudence. Hence ru mours were spread, tumults excited, animosities kindled, and the matter at length brought to a public trial, in which the pious and learned men above mentioned were, indeed, declared free from the errors and heresies that had been laid to their charge, but were, at the same time, prohibited from carrying on the plan of religious instruction they had undertaken with such zeal. It was dur ing these troubles and divisions that the invidious denomination of Pietists was first invented ; it may, at least, be affirmed, that it was not com monly known before this period. It was at first applied by some giddy and inconsiderate persons to those who frequented the Biblical Colleges, and lived in a manner suitable to the instructions and exhortations that were addressed to them in these seminaries of piety. It was afterwards made use of to characterize all those who were either distin guished by the excessive austerity of their man ners, or who, regardless of truth and opinion, were

only

316 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, only intent upon practice, and turned the whole sECTITn v*£our °f ^eir efforts towards the attainment of FART ii. religious feelings and habits. But as it is the !>-nr^/ fate of all those denominations hy which peculiar sects are distinguished, to he variously and often very improperly applied, so the title of Pietists was frequently given, in common conversation, to persons of eminent wisdom and sanctity, who were equally remarkable for their adherence to truth and their love of piety ; and, not seldom, to persons whose motley characters exhibited an enor mous mixture of profligacy and enthusiasm, and who deserved the title of delirious fanatics better than any other denomination.

JrtssP0rf" XXVIII. This contest was by no means con- these de- fined to Lcipsic, but diffused its contagion, with incredible celerity, through all the Lutheran churches, in the different states and kingdoms of Europe. ^For, from this time, in all the cities, towns, and villages, where Lutheranism was pro fessed, there started up, all of a sudden, persons of various ranks and professions, of both sexes, learned and illiterate, who declared that they were called by a divine impulse, to pull up ini quity by the root, to restore to its primitive lustre, and propagate through the world, the de clining cause of piety and virtue, to govern the church of Christ by wiser rules than those by which it was at present directed, and who, partly in their writings, and partly in their private and public discourses, pointed out the means and measures that were necessary to bring about this important revolution. All those, who were struck with this imaginary impulse, unanimously agreed, that nothing could have a more powerful ten dency to propagate among the multitude solid knowledge, pious feelings, and holy habits, than those private meetings that had been first con trived by Spener, and that were afterwards intro duced

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 317

duced into Lcipsic. Several religious assemblies CENT. were accordingly formed in various places, which, though they differed in some circumstances, and PART' ^ were not all conducted and composed with equal ^-^y^/ wisdom, piety, and prudence, were, however, designed to promote the same general purpose. In the mean time, these unusual, irregular and tumultuous proceedings filled, with uneasy and alarming apprehensions, both those who were in trusted with the government of the church, and those who sat at the helm of the state. These apprehensions were justified by this important con sideration, that the pious and well meaning per sons who composed these assemblies, had indis creetly admitted into their community a parcel of extravagant and hot-headed fanatics, who fore told the approaching destruction of Babel (by which they meant the Lutheran church), terrified the populace with fictitious visions, assumed the authority of prophets honoured with a divine commission, obscured the sublime truths of reli gion by a gloomy kind of jargon of their own in vention, and revived doctrines that had long be fore been condemned by the church. These en thusiasts also asserted, that the millennium, or thousand years reign of the saints on earth, men tioned by St. John was near at hand. They en deavoured to overturn the wisest establishments, and to destroy the best institutions, and desired that the power of preaching and administering public instruction might be given promiscuously to all sort of persons. Thus was the Lutheran church torn asunder in the most deplorable man ner, while the votaries of Rome stood by and be held, with a secret satisfaction, these unhappy di visions. The most violent debates arose in all the Lutheran churches ; and persons, whose differences were occasioned rather by mere words and ques tions of little consequence, than by any doctrines

or

318 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, or institutions of considerable importance, attaek- XVIL ed one another with the bitterest animosity ; and "' in many countries, severe laws were at length

• 1 T~»' • .£ r ~\

j enacted against the rietists \jn\. Thede- XXIX. These revivers of piety were of two

bates cam. ^n(js wno ^y their different manner of pro-

e J on witn . i i i i •

andceedmg, deserve to be placed in -two distinct classes. One sect of these practical reformers proposed to carry on their plan without intro ducing any change into the doctrine, discipline, or form of government that were established in the Lutheran church. The other maintained, on the contrary, that it was impossible to promote the progress of real piety among the Lutherans, without making considerable alterations in their doctrine, and changing the whole form of their ecclesiastical discipline and polity. The former had at their head the learned and pious Spener, who, in the year, 1691 removed from Dresden to JZerlin, and whose sentiments were adopted by the professors of the new academy at Hall ; and par ticularly

\jn~] This whole matter is amply illustrated by the learned Jo. George Walchius, in his Introductio ad Controversias, vol. ii. and iii. who exhibits successively, the various scenes of this deplorable contest, with a view of the principal points that were controverted, and his judgment concerning each, and a particular account of the writers that displayed their talents on this occasion. It would, indeed, be difficult for any one man to give an ample and exact history of this con* test, which was accompanied with so many incidental circum stances, and was, upon the whole, of such a tedious and com plicated nature. It were therefore to be wished, that a so ciety of prudent and impartial persons, furnished with a com petent knowledge of human nature and political transactions, and also with proper materials, would set themselves to com pose the history of Pietism. If several persons were em ployed in collecting from public records, and also from pa pers that lie yet concealed in the cabinets of the curious, the events which happened in each country where this contro versy reigned : and if these materials, thus carefully gathered on the spot, were put in the hands of a man capable of di gesting the whole ; this would produce a most interesting and useful history.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 319

ticularly by Franckius and Paulus Antonius, who CENT. had been invited thither from Leipsic, where J^11^ they began to be suspected of Pietism. Though PART n" few pretended to treat either with indignation or s^y^/ contempt the intentions and purpose of these good men (which, indeed, none could despise without affecting to appear the enemy of practical religion and virtue), yet many eminent divines, and more especially the professors and pastors of Wittcmberg, were of opinion, that, in the execution of this laudable purpose, several maxims were adopted, and certain measures employed, that were preju dicial to the truth, and also detrimental to the in terests of the church. Hence they looked on themselves as obliged to proceed publicly, first against Spener, in the year 1695, and afterwards against his disciples and adherents, as the inven tors and promoters of erroneous and dangerous opinions. These debates are of a recent date ; so that those who are desirous of knowing more par ticularly how far the principles of equity, modera tion, and candour influenced the conduct and di rected the proceedings of the contending parties, may easily receive a satisfactory information.

XXX. These debates turned upon a variety of The sub- points ; and therefore the matter of them cannot be comprehended under any one general head. If we consider them indeed in relation to their origin, and the circumstances that gave rise to them, we shall then be able to reduce them to some fixed principles. It is well known, that those who had the advancement of piety most zealously at heart, were possessed of a notion, that no order of men contributed more to retard its progress than the clergy, whose peculiar vocation it was to inculcate and promote it. Looking upon this as the root of the evil, it was but na tural that their plans of reformation should begin here ; and, accordingly, they laid it down as an

essential

SECT. II. PART II

320 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, essential principle, that none should be admitted XVIL into the ministry, but such as had received a pro-

Vl~f* TF » ' • 1 * « * 1 1 1 1

per education, were distinguished by their wisdom and sanctity of manners, and had hearts filled with divine love. Hence they proposed in the first place, a thorough reformation of the schools of divinity ; and they explained clearly enough what they meant by this reformation, which consisted in the following points : That the systematical theology, which reigned in the academies, and was composed of intricate and disputable doc trines, and obscure and unusual forms of expres sion, should be totally abolished; — that polemi cal divinity, which comprehended the controver sies subsisting between Christians of different com munions, should be less eagerly studied, and less frequently treated, though not entirely neglected ; — that all mixture of philosophy and human learn ing with divine wisdom was to be most carefully avoided; — that, on the contrary, all those who were designed for the ministry, should be accus tomed, from their early youth, to the perusal and study of the holy Scriptures ; — that they should be taught a plain system of theology, drawn from these unerring sources of truth ; — and that the whole course of their education was to be so di rected, as to render them useful in life, by the practical power of their doctrine and the com manding influence of their example. As these maxims were propagated with the greatest in dustry and zeal, and were explained inadvertently by some, without those restrictions which pru dence seemed to require ; these professed patrons and revivers of piety were suspected of designs that could not but render them obnoxious to cen sure. They \vere supposed to despise philosophy and learning, to treat with indifference, and even to renounce, all inquiries into the nature and foundations of religious truth, to disapprove of

the

SECT. If. PART II.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 321

tbe zeal and labours of those who defended it CENT. against such as either corrupted or opposed it, and to place the whole of their theology in certain vague and incoherent declamations concerning the duties of morality. Hence arose those famous disputes .concerning the use of philosophy and the value of human learning, considered in connection with the interests of religion — the dignity and usefulness of systematic theology — the necessity of polemic divinity — the excellence of the mystic system — and also concerning the true method of instructing the people.

The second great object, that employed the zeal and attention of the persons now under considera tion, was that the candidates for the ministry should not only, for the future, receive such an academical education as would tend rather to solid utility than to mere speculation ; but also that they should dedicate themselves to God in a peculiar manner, and exhibit the most striking examples of piety and virtue. This maxim, which, when considered in itself, must be acknowledged to be highly laudable, not only gave occasion to several new regulations, designed to restrain the passions of the studious youth, to inspire them with pious sentiments, and to excite in them holy resolutions ; but also produced another maxim, which was a lasting source of controversy and debate, viz. " that no person that was not himself a model of " piety and divine love was qualified to be a " public teacher of piety, or a guide to others in " the way of salvation." This opinion was consi dered by many as derogatory from the power and efficacy of the word of God, which cannot be de prived of its divine influence by the vices of its ministers; and as a sort of revival of the long exploded errors of the Donatists ; and what ren dered it peculiarly liable to an interpretation of this nature was, the imprudence of some Pietists,

VOL. v. y who

PART II.

The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, who inculcated and explained it, without those re- XVIL strictions that were necessary to render it unex- l' ceptionahle. Hence arose endless and intricate debates concerning the following questions: " whether the religious knowledge acquired hy a " wicked man can be termed theology?" — " whether a vicious person can, in effect, attain to " a true knowledge of religion ?" — " how far the " office and ministry of an impious ecclesiastic can " he pronounced salutary and efficacious ?" — " whether a licentious and ungodly man cannot " be susceptible of illumination ?" — and other questions of a like nature.

XXXI. These revivers of declining piety went yet further. In order to render the ministry of their pastors as successful as possible, in rousing men from their indolence, and in stemming the torrent of corruption and immorality, they judged two things indispensably necessary. The first was, to suppress entirely, in the course of public instruction, and more especially in that delivered from the pulpit, certain maxims and phrases which the corruption of men leads them frequently to in terpret in a manner favourable to the indulgence of their passions. Such, in the judgment of the Pietists, were the following propositions ; " No man is able to attain to that perfection which the divine law requires — good works are not necessary to salvation — in the act of justification, on the part of man, faith alone is concerned, without good works." Many, however, were apprehensive, that, by the suppression of these propositions, truth itself must suffer deeply ; and that the Christian religion, deprived thus of its peculiar doctrines, would be exposed, naked and defence less, to the attacks of its adversaries. The second step they took, in order to give efficacy to their plans of reformation, was to form new rules of life and manners, much more rigorous and austere

than

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Cliurch. 323

than those which had been formerly practised ; CENT. and to place in the class of sinful and unlawful ^£\ gratifications several kinds of pleasure and amuse- PART* „* ment, which had hitherto been looked upon as ^ innocent in themselves, and which could only become good or evil, in consequence of the re spective characters of those who used them with prudence, or abused them with intemperance. Thus, dancing, pantomimes, public sports, thea trical diversions, the reading of humorous and comical books, with several other kinds of plea sure and entertainment, were prohibited by the Pietists, as unlawful and unseemly ; and, therefore, by no means of an indifferent nature. Many, however, thought this rule of moral discipline by far too rigid and severe ; and thus was revived the ancient contest of the schoolmen, concerning the famous question, whether any human actions are truly indifferent? i. e. equally removed from moral good on the one hand, and from moral evil on the other; and whether, on the contrary, it be not true, that all actions, whatever, must be either considered as good, or as evil ? The discussion of this question was attended with a variety of de bates upon the several points of the prohibition now mentioned; and these debates were often carried on with animosity and bitterness, and very rarely with that precision, temper, and judgment that the nicety of the matters in dispute required. The third thing, on which the Pietists insisted, was, that besides the stated meetings for public worship, private assemblies should be held for prayer and other religious exercises. But many were of opinion, that the cause of true piety and virtue was rather endangered than promoted by these assemblies ; and experience and observation seemed to confirm this opinion. It would be both endless and unnecessary to enumerate all the little disputes that arose from the appointment of

y 2 these

SECT. II. PART II.

324 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, these private assemblies, and, in general, from the XVIL notions entertained, and [the measures pursued by the Pietists \ji\. It is nevertheless proper to ob serve, that the lenity and indulgence shewn by these people to persons whose opinions were er roneous, and whose errors were by no means, of an indifferent nature, irritated their adversaries to a very high degree, and made many suspect, that the Pietists laid a much greater stress upon practice than upon belief, and separating what ought ever to be inseparably joined together, held virtuous manners in higher esteem than religious truth. Amidst the prodigious numbers that appeared in these controversies, it was not at all surprising, if the variety of their characters, capacities, and views be duly considered, that some were charge able with imprudence, others with intemperate zeal, and that many, to avoid what they looked upon as unlawful, fell injudiciously into the oppo site extreme.

These re- XXXII. The other class of Pietists already - mentioned, whose reforming views extended so ea- far, as to change the system of doctrine and the f°rm of ecclesiastical government that were esta- blished in the Lutheran church, comprehended persons of various characters and different ways of thinking. Some of them were totally destitute of reason and judgment; their errors were the reveries of a disordered brain ; and they wrere ra ther to be considered as lunatics than as heretics.

Others

[ n~\ These debates were first collected, and also needlessly multiplied by Schelgvigius, in his Synopsis Controversiarunt sub pietatis prcstcxtu motanim, which was published in the year 1701, in 8vo. The reader will also find the arguments used by the contending parties in this dispute, judiciously summed up in two different works of Lanoius, the one entitled, Anti- bar barus ; and the other the Middle-way ; the former com posed in Latin, the latter in German. — See also the Timotheus Verinus of Val. Ern. Loscherus.

Chap. I. TJic History of the Lutheran Church. 325

Others were less extravagant, and tempered the CENT.

singular notions, they had derived from reading XVIL

,. ,. . i J '. . c ^ - SECT. ii.

or meditation, with a certain mixture or the im- PART n

portant truths and doctrines of religion. We \~^y^s shall mention but a few persons of this class, and those only who were distinguished from the rest by their superior merit and reputation.

Among these was Godfrey Arnold, a native of Saxony, a man of extensive reading, tolerable parts, and richly endowed with that natural and unaffected eloquence, which is so wonderfully adapted to touch and to persuade. This man disturbed the tranquillity of the church towards the conclusion of this century, by a variety of theological productions, that were full of new and singular opinions ; and more especially by his ec clesiastical history, which he had the assurance to impose upon the public, as a work composed with candour and impartiality. His natural com plexion was dark, melancholy, and austere ; and, these seeds of fanaticism, were so expanded and nourished by the perusal of the mystic writers, that the flame of enthusiasm was kindled in his breast, and broke forth in his conduct and writings with peculiar vehemence. He looked upon the Mystics as superior to all other writers, nay, as the only depositaries of true wisdom ; reduced the whole of religion to certain internal feelings and motions, of which it is difficult to form a just idea ; neglected entirely the study of truth ; and em ployed the whole power of his genius and eloquence in enumerating, deploring, and exaggerating, the vices and corruptions of human nature. If it is universally allowed to be the first and most essential obligation of an historian to avoid all appearance of partiality, and neither to be in fluenced by personal attachments nor by private resentment in the recital of facts, it must be fairly acknowledged, that no man could be less

y J fit

320 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, fit for writing history than Arnold. His whole XVIL history, as every one must see who looks into it

!T7r"T< TT . J* •?

with the smallest degree of attention, is the production of a violent spirit, and is dictated by a vehement antipathy against the doctrines and institutions of the Lutheran church. One of the fundamental principles that influences the judg ment, and directs the opinions and decisions of this historian, throughout the whole course of his work, is, that all the abuses and corruptions that have found admittance into the church since the time of the apostles, have been introduced by its ministers and rulers, men of vicious and aban doned characters. From this principle he draws the following goodly consequence ; that all those who opposed the measures of the clergy, or felt their resentment, were persons of distinguished sanctity and virtue ; and that such, on the contrary, as either favoured the ministers of the church or were favoured by them, were strangers to the spirit of true and genuine piety. Hence proceeded Arnold's unaccountable partiality in favour of al most all that bore the denomination of Heretics [o] ; whom he defended with the utmost zeal, without having always understood their doctrine, and, in some cases, without having even examined their arguments. This partiality was highly detrimental to his reputation, and rendered his history peculiarly obnoxious to censure. He did not, however, continue in this way of think ing : but as he advanced in years and expe rience, perceived the errors into which he had been led by the impetuosity of his passion and the contagious influence of pernicious examples.

This

(fct3 C°D Arnold's history is thus entitled, Historia Eccle- siastica et Heretica. Dr. Mosheim's account of this learned man is drawn up with much severity, and perhaps is not en tirely destitute of partiality. See the life of Arnold in the General Dictionary.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran ClmrcJi. 327

This sense of his mistakes corrected the vehemence CENT. of his natural temper and the turbulence of his party spirit, so that, as we learn from witnesses PART n * worthy of credit, he became at last a lover of truth ^~y^/ and a pattern of moderation \_p}.

XXXIII. Arnold was far surpassed in fanati- DippeUus. cal malignity and insolence by John Conrad Dippelius, a Hessian divine, who assumed the de nomination of the Christian Democritus, inflamed the minds of the simple by a variety of produc tions, and excited considerable tumults and com motions towards the conclusion of this century. This vain, supercilious, and arrogant doctor, who seemed formed by nature for a satyrist and a buffoon, instead of proposing any new system of religious doctrine and discipline, was solely employed in overturning those that were received in the Protestant church. His days were princi pally spent in throwing out sarcasms and invec tives against all denominations of Christians ; and the Lutherans, to whose communion he belonged, were more especially the objects of his raillery and derision, which, on many occasions, spared not those things that had formerly been looked upon as the most respectable and sacred. It is much to be doubted, whether he had formed any clear and distinct notions of the doctrines he taught; since in his views of things, the power of imagination domineered evidently over the dictates of right reason and common sense. But, if he really understood the religious maxims he was propagating, he had not certainly the talent of rendering them clear and perspicuous to others ; for nothing can be more ambiguous and obscure than the expressions under which they are convey ed, and the arguments by which they are supported. Y 4 A man

[/f] See Coleri Vita Arnold! — Nouvcau Diction. Hlslor. el Critique, torn. i. p. 485.

328 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT. A man must have the gift of divination, to be

XVIT< able to deduce a regular and consistent system

!' of doctrine from the various productions of this

*"Alvl II. . _ _ . 1T«11« 1

V^Y^, incoherent and unintelligible writer, who was a chemist into the bargain, and whose brains seems to have been heated into a high degree of fer mentation by the fire of the elaboratory. If the rude, motley, and sarcastical writings of this wrong-headed reformer should reach posterity, it will be certainly a just matter of surprise to our descendants, that a considerable number of their ancestors should have been so blind as to chuse for a model of genuine piety, and a teacher of re ligion, a man who had audaciously violated the first and most essential principles of solid piety and sound sense \_q\.

The inven- XXXIV. The mild and gentle temper of John reverie" of William Petei'sen, minister and first member of the ecclesiastical consistory at Luneriburg, distin guished him remarkably from the fiery enthusiast now mentioned. But the mildness of this good- natured ecclesiastic was accompanied with a want of resolution, that might be called weakness, and a certain floridness and warmth of imagina tion, that rendered him peculiarly susceptible of il lusion himself, and every way proper to lead others innocently into error. Of this he gave a very remarkable specimen in the year 1691, by main taining

[V/] His works were all published, in the year 1747, in five volumes, in 4to ; and his memory is still highly honoured and respected by many, who consider him as having been, in his day, an eminent teacher of true piety and wisdom. No kind of authors find such zealous readers and patrons as those who deal largely in invective, and swell themselves by a vain self-sufficiency, into an imagined superiority over the rest of mankind. Besides, Dippelius was an excellent chemist, and a good physician ; and this procured him many friends and admirers, as all men are fond of riches, and long life, and these two sciences were supposed to lead to the one and to the other.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Churcli. 329

taming publicly that Rosamond Juliana, Countess CENT. of Asscburg (whose disordered brains suggested to SFX(^,lIn her the most romantic and chimerical notions) PAUT n was honoured with a vision of the Deity, and ^^^^ commissioned to make a new declaration of his will to mankind. He also revived and propagated openly the obsolete doctrine of the Milcnnium, which Rosamond had confirmed by her pretended authority from above. This first error produced many ; for error is fertile, especially in those minds where imagination has spurned the yoke of reason, and considers all its airy visions as solid and im portant discoveries. Accordingly, Petersen went about prophesying with his wife [r], who also gave herself out for a kind of oracle, and boasted of her extensive knowledge of the secrets of heaven. They talked of a general restitution of all things, at which grand and solemn period all intelligent beings were to be restored to happiness, the gates of hell opened, and wicked men, together with evil spirits, delivered from the guilt, power, and punishment of sin. They supposed that two distinct natures, and both of them human, were united in Christ ; one assumed in heaven before the Reformation of this globe, the other derived, upon earth, from the Virgin Mary. These opi nions were swallowed down by many among the multitude, and were embraced by some of superior rank ; they met, however, with great opposition, and were refuted by a considerable number of writers, to whom Petersen, who was amply fur nished with leisure and eloquence, made volumi nous replies. Tn the year 1692, he was at length deposed ; and, from that period, passed his days in the tranquillity of a rural retreat in the territory of Magdeburg, where he cheered his solitude by

epistolary

[V] Her name was Johanna Eleonora u Merlau.

330 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, epistolary commerce, and spent the remainder of his days in composition and study [$].

XXXV. It is not easy to determine, whether John Casper Schade and George Bosius may Schade and be associated properly with the persons now men- tioned. They were hoth good men, full of zeal for the happiness and salvation of their brethren, but their zeal was neither directed by prudence, nor tempered with moderation. The former, who was minister at Berlin, propagated several notions that seemed crude and uncouth ; and, in the year 1697, inveighed with the greatest bitter ness, against the custom that prevails in the Lu theran church of confessing privately to the clergy. These violent remonstrances excited great com motions, and were even attended with popular tu mults. Bosius performed the pastoral functions at Soraw ; and, to awaken sinners from their security, and prevent their treating, with negligence and in difference, interests that are most important by be ing eternal, denied that God would continue always propitious and placable with respect to those offenders, whose incorrigible obstinacy he had foreseen from all eternity ; or that he would offer them beyond a certain period, marked in his de crees, those succours of grace that are necessary to salvation. This tenet, in the judgment of many grave divines, seemed highly injurious to the boundless mercy of God, and was accord ingly refuted and condemned in several treatises ; it found, nevertheless, an eminent patron and de fender

[Y] Petersen wrote his life in German, and it was first pub lished in 8vo, in 1717. His wife added her life to it, by way of Supplement, in the year 1718. These pieces of bio graphy will satisfy such as are desirous of a particular ac count of the character, manners, and talents of this extraor dinary pair. For an account of the troubles they excited at Lunenberg, see Jo. Moleri, Cimbria Literala, torn. ii. p. 639- the Unschuldige Nachrichten, A. 1748. p. 974. A. 1749- p. 30. — 200. & passim.

Chap. I. TJie History of the Lutheran CJmrch. 331

fender in the learned Rechenbelg, professor of CENT. divinity at Leipsic, not to mention others of less XVIL note, who appeared in its behalf [/].

XXXVI. Among the controversies of inferior note that divided the Lutheran church, we shall Contests first mention those that broke out between the 5J"c0e™^s doctors of Tubingen and Giesscn so early as the presence of year 161 6. The principal part of this debate re- £hsrhistbse_ latcd to the abasement and humiliation, or, totweenthe what divines call the exinanition of Jems Christ ; and the great point was to know in what this ex- and inanition properly consisted, and what was the pre-sen* cise nature and characteristic of this singular situ ation : That the Man Christ possessed, even in the most dreadful periods of his abasement, the di vine properties and attributes he had received in consequence of the hypostatic union, was unani mously agreed on by both of the contending par ties ; but they differed in their sentiments relating to this subtile and intricate question, Whether Christ, during his mediatorial sufferings and sa cerdotal state, really suspended the exertion of these attributes, or only concealed this exertion from the view of mortals ? The latter was main tained by the doctors of Tubingen, while those of Giessen were inclined to think, that the exertion of the divine attributes was really suspended in Christ during his humiliation and sufferings. This main question was followed by others, which were much more subtile than important, concerning the man ner in which God is present with all his works, the reasons and foundations of this universal pre sence, the true cause of the omnipresence of Christ's body, and others of a like intricate and unintel ligible nature. The champions that distinguished themselves on the side of the doctors of Tubin gen

\_t~\ See Walchius' Introdiidlo ad Controversial p. 1. cap. iv.

532 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, gen were, Lucas Osiander, Melchior Nicolas, XVIL and Theodore Thummius. The most eminent of those that adopted the cause of the divines of Giessen were, Balthazar, Menzer, and Jus tus Feverborn. The contest was carried on with zeal, learning, and sagacity ; it were to be wished that one could add, that it was managed with wisdom, dignity, and moderation. This indeed, was far from being the case ; but such was the spirit and genius of the age, that many things were now treated with indulgence, or be held with approbation, which the wisdom and de cency of succeeding times had justly endeavour ed to discountenance and correct. In order to terminate these disagreeable contests, the Saxon divines were commanded, by their sovereign, to offer themselves as arbitrators between the con tending parties in the year 16214 ; their arbitration was accepted, but it did not at all contribute to decide the matters in debate. Their decisions were vague and ambiguous, and were therefore adapted to satisfy none of the parties. They de clared, that they could not entirely approve of the doctrine of either ; but insinuated, at the same time, that a certain degree of preference was due to the opinions maintained by the doctors of Giessen [u]. Those of Tubingen rejected the de cision 'of the Saxon arbitrators ; and it is very pro bable, that the divines of Giessen would have ap pealed from it also, had not the public calamities, in which Germany began to be involved at this time, suspended this miserable contest, by im posing silence upon the disputants, and leaving

them

[V] Jo. Wolf. Jaeger. Hhtor. Eccles. et Pollt. Scec. xvii. Decetm. iii. p. 329- — Christ, feberh. Weifmanni Histor. EC- clesiasl. Scec. xvii. p. 1178. — Walchius, loc. cit. p. 206. — See also Caroli Arnold, and the other writers, who have written the Ecclesiastical History of these times.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 333

them in the quiet possession of their respective CENT. opinions.

XXXVII. Before the cessation of the contro versy now mentioned, a new one was occasioned, in the year 1621, by the writings of Herman The con- Rathman, minister at Dantzic, a man of eminent *™lsioned piety, some learning, and a zealous patron and by the admirer of Arndt's famous book concerning p"^^1 true Christianity. This good man was suspected nus. by his colleague Corvinus, and several others, of entertaining sentiments derogatory from the dig nity and power of the sacred writings. These suspicions they derived from a book he published, in the year 1621, Concerning Christ's Kingdom of Grace, which, according to the representations of his adversaries, contained the following doctrine : " That the word of God, as it stands in the sa- (( cred writings, hath no innate power to illuminate " the mind, to excite in it a principle of regenera- " tion, and thus to turn it to God : that the external " word sheweth, indeed, the way to salvation, but " cannot effectually lead men to it ; but that God " himself, by the ministry of another, and an. " internal word, works such a change in the minds " of men, as is necessary to render them agreeable " in his sight, and enables them to please him " by their words and actions." This doctrine was represented by Corvinus and his associates as the same which had been formerly held by Schwenchfeld, and was professed by the Mystics in general. But whoever will be at the pains to examine with attention the various writings of llathman on this subject, must soon be convinced, that his adversaries either misunderstood his true sentiments, or wilfully misrepresented them. His real doctrine may be comprised in the four following points : " First, that the divine word, " contained in the Holy Scriptures, is endowed 64 with the power of healing the minds of men,

" and

PART II.

334 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT. " and bringing them to God ; but that, secondly, xvii. « cannot exert this power in the minds of corrupt r' " men, who resist its divine operation and influ ence ; and that of consequence, thirdly, it is ab solutely necessary, that the word be preceded or accompanied by some divine energy which may prepare the minds of sinners to receive it, and remove those impediments that oppose its effi- " cacy ; and, fourthly, that it is by the power of " the holy spirit, or internal word, that the ex- " ternal word is rendered capable of exerting its " efficacy in enlightening and sanctifying the " minds of men [w]." There is indeed, some difference between these opinions and the doctrine commonly received in the Lutheran church, re lating to the efficacy of the divine word ; but a careful perusal of the writings of Rathman on this subject, and a candid examination of his in accurate expressions, will persuade the impartial reader, that this difference is neither great nor important ; and he will only perceive, that this pious man had not the talent of expressing his no tions with order, perspicuity, and precision. How ever that may have been, this contest grew more general from day to day, and, at length, extended its polemic influence through the whole Lutheran church, the greatest part of whose members follow ed the example of the Saxon doctors in condemn ing Rathman, while a considerable number, struck with the lustre of its piety, and persuaded of the innocence of his doctrine, espoused his cause. In the year 1628, when this controversy was at the greatest height, Rathman died, and then the warmth and animosity of the contending parties subsided gradually, and at length ceased.

XXXVIII.

[w~] See Molleri's Cimbria Literala, torn. iii. p. 55.9. — Harknoch's German work, entitled, Preussucke Kirchen-Ges- chichte, book iii. ch. viii. p. 812. Arnold's Kirchen and Ket« zer-Historie, p. iii. ch, xvi, p, 115.

controver*

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 33,5

XXXVIII. It would be repugnant to the true CENT. end of history, as well as to all principles of can- (

1 T • 11 1* • PA! SECT. II,

dour and equity, to swell this enumeration ot the PART IIa controversies that divided the Lutheran church, ^— y^/ with the private disputes of certain individuals Private concerning some particular points of doctrine and worship. Some writers have, indeed, followed this method, not so much with a design to enrich their histories with a multitude of facts, and to shew men and opinions in all their various aspects, as with a view to render the Lutherans ridiculous or odious. In the happiest times, and in the best modelled communities, there will always remain sufficient marks of human imperfection, and abundant sources of private contention, at least, in the imprudence and mistakes of some, and the impatience and severity of others ; but it must be tray a great want of sound judgment, as well as of candour and impartiality, to form a general estimate of the state and character of a whole church upon such particular instances of imper fection and error. Certain singular opinions and modes of expression were censured by many in the writings of Tarnovius and Affelman, two di vines of Rostoch, who were otherwise men of dis tinguished merit. This, however, will surprise us less, when we consider, that these doctors often expressed themselves improperly, when their sen timents were just ; and that, when their expressions were accurate and proper, they were frequently misunderstood by those who pretended to censure them. Joachim Lutkeman, a man whose repu tation was considerable, and, in many respects, well deserved, took it into his head to deny that Christ remained true man during the three days that intervened between his death and resurrection. This sentiment appeared highly erroneous to many ; hence arose a contest, which was merely a

dispute

336 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, dispute about words, resembling many other de- XVIL bates, which, like bubbles, are incessantly swelling and vanishing on the surface of human life. Of this kind, more especially, was the controversy which, for some time, exercised the talents of Boetius and Balduin, professors of divinity, the former at Helmstadt, and the latter at Wittem- berg, and had for its subject the following ques tion, Whether or no the wicked shall one day be restored to life by the Merits of Christ ? In the dutchy of Holstein, Heinboth distinguished him self by the singularity of his opinions. After the example of Calixtus, he reduced the fundamental doctrines of religion within narrower bounds than are usually prescribed to them ; he also con sidered the opinion of those Greeks, who deny that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son, as an error of very little consequence. In both these respects, his sentiments were adopted by many; they, however, met with opposition from several quarters, and were censured with peculiar warmth, by the learned John Conrad Danhaver, professor of divinity at Strasburg ; in conse quence of this, a kind of controversy was kindled between these two eminent men, and was carried on with more vehemence than the nature and importance of the matters in debate could well justify [oi\. But .these and other contests of this nature, must not be admitted into that list of con troversies, from which we are to form a judgment of the internal state of the Lutheran church dur ing this century,

XXXIX.

[V] For an account of all these controversies in general, see Arnold, Hlsloire Eccles. ct Hcsret. p. ii. lib. xvii. cap. vi. p. 957. That which was occasioned by Reinboth is amply and circumstantially related by Mollerus, in his Introduclio ad Historiam Chersonesi Cimbricce, p. ii. p. 190, and in his Gin* Ina Literata, torn. ii. p. 692.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 337

XXXIX. We cannot say the same thing of CENT. certain controversies, which were of a personal s^njr rather than a real nature, and related to the or- PART Ir* thodoxy or unsoundness of certain men, rather ^^^*< than to the truth or falsehood of certain opinions ; The for these are somewhat more essentially connected with the internal state and history of the church, than the contests last mentioned. It is not mm- aud Arndt* sual for those who professedly embark in the cause of declining piety, and aim, in a solemn, zealous, and public manner, at its revival and restoration, to be elated with high and towering views, and warm with a certain enthusiastic, though noble fervour. This elevation and ar dour of mind is by no means a source of accuracy and precision ; on the contrary, it produces many unguarded expressions, and prevents men of warm piety from forming their language by those rules which are necessary to render it clear, accurate, and proper ; it frequently dictates expressions and phrases that are pompous and emphatic, but, at the same time, allegorical and ambiguous ; and leads pious and even sensible men to adopt un couth and vulgar forms of speech, employed by writers whose style is as low and barbarous as their intentions are upright and pious, and whose prac tical treatises on religion and morality have no thing recommendable but the zeal and fervour with which they are penned. Persons of this warm and enthusiaStical turn fall with more faci lity than any other set of men into the suspicion of heresy, on account of the inaccuracy of their expressions. This many doctors found to be true, by a disagreeable experience, during the course of this century; but it was, in a more particular manner, the fate of Stephen Praeto- rius, minister of Solzwedel, and of John Arndt, whose piety and virtue have rendered his memory precious to the friends of true religion. Prae-

VOL. v. z torius

338 'The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, torius had, so early as the preceding century, XVIL composed certain treatises, designed to revive a PAR/I ii spirit °f Vltal religion, and awaken in the minds s^y^> of men a zeal for their future and eternal in terests. These productions, which were fre quently repuhlished during this century, were highly applauded by many, while, in the judg ment of others, they abounded with expressions and sentiments, that were partly false, and partly adapted by their ambiguity to lead men into error. It cannot be denied, that there are in the writings of Praetorius some improper and un guarded expressions, that may too easily deceive the ignorant and unwary, as also several marks of that credulity that borders upon weakness; but those who peruse his works with impartiality will be fully persuaded of the uprightness of his intentions.

The unfeigned piety and integrity of Arndt could not secure him from censure. His famous book concerning true Christianity, which is still perused with the utmost pleasure and edification by many persons eminent for the sanctity of their lives and manners, met with a warm and obsti nate opposition. Osiander, Rostius, and other doctors, inveighed against it with excessive bit terness, pretended to find in it various defects, and alleged, among other things, that its style was infected with the jargon of the Paracelsists, Weigelians, and other Mysiico-chemical philoso phers. It must, indeed, be acknowledged, that this eminent man, entertained a high disgust against the philosophy that, in his time, reigned in the schools, nor can it be denied, that he had a high, perhaps an excessive degree of respect for the chemists, and an ill-placed confidence in their obscure decisions and pompous underta kings. — This led him sometimes into conversa tion with those fantastic philosophers, who, by

the

PAR1

Chap. I. Tfie History of the Lutheran Church. 339

the power and ministry of fire, pretended to un- CENT* fold both the secrets of nature and the mysteries of religion. But, notwithstanding this, he was declared exempt from any errors of moment by a multitude of grave and pious divines, among whom were Egard, Dilger, Breler, Gerhard, and Dorchseus ; and in the issue the censures and op position of his adversaries seemed rather to cast a new lustre on his reputation than to cover him with reproach [?/].

We may place in the class, now under con sideration, Valentine Weigelius, a minister of the church of Zscopavia in Misnia; for though he died in the preceding century, yet it was in this that the greatest part of his writings were publish ed, and also censured as erroneous and of a dangerous tendency. The science of chemistry, which at this time was making such a rapid pro gress in Germany, proved also detrimental to this ecclesiastic; who, though in the main a man of probity and merit, neglected the paths of right reason, and chose rather to wander in the devi ous wilds of a chimerical philosophy [&].

XL. There were a set of fanatics among the Jacob Boh- Lutherans, who in the flights of their enthusiasm fitt surpassed those now mentioned, and who had such a high notion of their own abilities as to at tempt melting down the present form of religion, and casting a new system of piety after a model drawn from their wanton and irregular fancies; it is with some account of the principal of these spiritual projectors that we shall conclude the z 2 history

See Arnold! Hist. Eccles. et Hceretica, p. ii. lib. xvii. cap. vi. p. 940.— Weismanni Histor. Eccles. Scec. xvii. p. 1 174. 1189. — Godof. Balth. Scharfii Supplementttm Historic? Litis- que Arndtiance. Witiem. 1727, in 8vo.

[z] There is an account of Weigelius, more ample than impartial, given by Arnold, loc. tit. lib. xvii. cap. xvii. p.

PART ii

340 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, history of the Lutheran church during this cen- tury.

^ ^e ^ead °^ *^is visi°narv tribe we may place Jacob Behmen, a taylor at Gorlitz, who was remarkable for the multitude of his patrons and adversaries, and whom his admirers commonly called the German Theosophist. This man had a natural propensity towards the investigation of mysteries, and was fond of abstruse and intricate inquiries of every kind; and having, partly by books and partly by conversation with certain physicians [&], acquired some knowledge of the doctrine of Robert Fludd and the Rosicrucians, which was propagated in Germany with great ostentation during this century, he struck out of the element of fire, by the succours of imagina tion, a species of theology much more obscure than the numbers of Pythagoras, or the intrica cies of Heraclitus. Some have bestowed high praises on this enthusiast, on account of his piety, integrity, and sincere love of truth and virtue ; and we shall not pretend to contradict these en comiums. But such as carry their admiration of his doctrine so far as to honour him with the cha racter of an inspired messenger of heaven, or even of a judicious and wise philosopher, must be themselves deceived and blinded in a very high de gree ; for never did there reign such obscurity and confusion in the writings of any mortal, as in the miserable productions of Jacob Behmen, which exhibit a motley mixture of chemical terms, crude visions, and mystic jargon. Among other dreams of a disturbed and eccentric fancy, he entertain ed the following chimerical notion : " That the " divine grace operates by the same rules, and " follows the same methods, that the divine pro- " vidence observes in the natural world ; and

" that

[V] viz. Tobias Kober and Balthazar Walther.

Chap. I. TJie History of the Lutheran Church. 341

" that the minds of men are purged from their CENT. " vices and corruptions in the same way that " metals are purified from their dross ;" and this maxim was the principle of his fire theology, Behmen had a considerable number of followers, in this century, the most eminent of whom were John Lewis, Giftheil, John Angelus, Wardenha- gen, Abraham Frankenberg, Theodore Tzetch, Paul Felgenhaver, Quirinus, Kuhlman, John Ja cob Zimmerman; and he has still many vo taries and admirers even in our times. There was, indeed, a signal difference between his fol lowers; some of them retained, notwithstanding their attachment to his extravagant system, a cer tain degree of moderation and good sense ; others of them seemed entirely out of their wits, and by their frenzy excited the compassion of those who were the spectators of their conduct; such were Kuhlman and Gichtelius, the former of whom was burnt at Moscow in the year 1684 ; but in deed, it may be affirmed in general, that none of the disciples or followers of Behmen, propagated his doctrine, or conducted themselves, in such a manner as to do honour either to their mas ter or to his cause in the judgment of the wise [&]•

XLI. Another

p] It is needless to mention the writers who employed their pens in stemming the torrent of Behmen's enthusiasm. The works of this fanatic are in every body's hands, and the books that were composed to refute them are well known, and to be found every where. All that has been alleged in his favour and defence has been carefully collected by Ar nold, who is, generally speaking, peculiarly eloquent in the praises of those whom others treat with contempt. For an account of Kuhlman, and his unhappy fate, see the German work, entitled Unschuld. Nachricht. A. 1?48.

(gT Behmen, however, had the good fortune to meet with, in our days, a warm advocate and an industrious disciple in the late well-meaning but gloomy and visionary, Mr. William

Z 3 Law,

342

TJie History of the Lutheran Cliurch.

CENT.

XVIL

SECT. II.

The pro phets of this age.

XLJ. Another class of persons, who deserve to be placed immediately after Behmen, were they, FART ii wnom a disordered hrain persuaded that they were _ ~v^ prophets sent from ahove, and that they were divinely inspired with the power of foretelling fu ture events. A considerable number of these de lirious fanatics arose during the course of this cen tury ; and more especially at that juncture when the house of Austria was employed in maintain ing its power, in the empire, against the united armies of Sweden, Prance, and Germany. It is remarkable enough, that the tribe of pretended prophets and diviners is never more numerous than at those critical and striking periods when great revolutions are expected, or sudden and heavy calamities have happened ; as such periods, and the scenes they exhibit, inflame the imagina tion of the fanatic, and may be turned to the pro fit of the impostor. The most eminent of the fa natical prophets now under consideration, were Nicholas Drabicius, Christopher Kotter, Chri stina Poniatovia, who found an eloquent de fender and patron in John Amos Comenie ; not to mention Joachim Greulich, Anne Vetter, Mary Froelich, George Reichard, and several others, who audaciously assumed the same cha racter. It is not necessary to enter into a more circumstantial detail of the history of this vision ary tribe, since none of them arose to such a de gree of reputation and consequence, as to occa sion any considerable tumults by their predictions. It is sufficient to have observed in general, that even in this century, there were among the Lu therans certain crazy fanatics, who, under the

impulse

Law, who was, for many years, preparing a new edition and translation of Behmen's works, which he left behind him, ready for the press, and which have been published in two volumes 4to, since his decease. N.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran CJmrch. 343

impulse of a disordered imagination, assumed the CENT. character and authority of prophets sent from ^^^ above to enlighten the world [c]. PART n*

XLII. It will not, however, be improper to ^^ mention, somewhat more circumstantially, th case of those, who, though they did not arrive J at that enormous height of folly that leads men tostk-fei, pretend to divine inspiration, yet deceived them selves and deluded others, by entertaining and propagating the strangest fancies, and the most monstrous and impious absurdities. Some time after the commencement of this century, Isaiah Stiefel and Ezekiel Meth, inhabitants of Thu- ringia, were observed to throw out the most ex traordinary and shocking expressions, while they spoke of themselves and their religious attain ments. These expressions, in the judgment of many, amounted to nothing less than attributing to themselves, the divine glory and majesty, and thus implied a blasphemous, or rather a frenetic, insult on the Supreme Being and his eternal Son. It is nevertheless scarcely credible, however irra tional we may suppose them to have been, that these fanatics should have carried their perverse and absurd fancies to such an amazing height; and it would perhaps be more agreeable both to truth and charity to suppose, that they had imi-

z 4 tated

[c] Arnold is to be commended for giving us an accurate collection of the transactions and visions of these enthusiasts, in the third and fourth parts of his History of Heretics ; since those who are desirous of full information in this matter may easily see. by consulting this historian, that the pretended re velations of these prophets were no more than the phantoms of a disordered imagination. A certain pious but ignorant man, named Benedict Bahnsen, who was a native of Holstein, and lived at Amsterdam about the middle of the last century, was so delighted with the writings and predictions of these fanatics, that he collected them carefully, and published them. In the year 1670, a catalogue of his library was printed at Amsterdam, which was full of chemical and fanatical books.

344 The History of the Lutheran Church,

CENT, tated the pompous and turgid language of the xvii. mystic writers in such an extravagant manner, as

, J . . ,11

*° glve occasion to the heavy accusation above mentioned. Considering the matter even in this candid and charitable light, we may see by their examples how much the constant perusal of the writings of the Mystics is adapted to shed dark ness, delusion, and folly into the imagination of weak and ignorant men [d~\. The reveries of Paul Nagel, professor of divinity at Lcipsic, were highly absurd, but of a much less pernicious tendency than these already mentioned. This prophetic dreamer, who had received a light tincture of mathematical knowledge, pretended to see, in the position of the stars, the events that were to happen in church and state ; and, from a view of these celestial bodies, foretold, in a more particular manner, the erection of a new and most holy kingdom in which Christ should reign here upon earth [e], Christian XL 1 1 1. Christian Hoburg, a native of L/u- nen^er^> a man °f a turbulent and inconstant spi- rit, and not more remarkable for his violence than

seidenbe- for jjjg Duplicity, threw out the most bitter re proaches and invectives against the whole Luthe ran church without exception [,/'], and thereby involved himself in various perplexities. He de ceived, indeed, the multitude a long time, by his dissimulation and hypocrisy ; and by a series of frauds, which he undoubtedly looked upon as lawful, he disguised so well his true character that

he

[//] See Arnold, Histoire Eccles. et Hceret. p. iii. cap. iv. p. 32. — Thomasius, in his German work entitled, Histoire de Weisheitand Narrheit, vol. i. p. iii. p. 150.

[V] Arnold, he. cit. p. iii. cap. v. p. 53. — Andr. Caroli Memorabilia Ecclesice Scec. xvii. pars i. lib. iii. cap. iv. p. 513.

Ejf]] Hoburg, in some of his petulant and satirical writ ings, assumed the names of Elias Praetorius and Bernard Bau- mann.

Chap. I. TJie History of the Lutheran Clmrch. 345

lie appeared to many, and especially to persons of CENT. a candid and charitable turn, much less con- ^jjf^ temptible than he was in reality ; and though the PART H" acrimony and violence of his proceedings condemned, yet they were supposed to he direct ed, not against religion itself, but against the li centiousness and vices of its professors, and parti cularly of its ministers. At length, however, the mask fell from the face of this hypocrite, who be came an object of general indignation and con tempt, and, deserting the communion of the Lu theran church, went over to the Mennonites [g]. There was a striking resemblance between this petulant railer and Frederick Breckling ; the latter, however, surpassed even the former in im petuosity and malignity. Breckling had been pastor first in the dutchy of Holstein, and after wards at Sucoll, a city in the United Provinces, where he was deposed from his ministry, and lived a great many years after without being attached to any religious sect or community. There are several of his writings still extant, which, indeed, recommend warmly the practice of piety and vir tue, and seem to express the most implacable ab horrence of vicious persons and licentious man ners ; and yet, at the same time, they demon strate plainly that their author was destitute of that chanty, prudence, meekness, patience, and love of truth, which are essential and funda mental virtues of a real Christian [ft]. It is un

doubtedly

Arnold, loc. cit. p. iii. cap. xiii. p. 130. — Andr. Carolf, loc. cit. vol. i. p. 1065. — Jo. Horn beck, Summa Controvers. p. 53.). — Molleri Cimbria Literata, torn. ii. p. 337-

Q/j^J Arnold has given an account of Breckling, in his His- toria Ecdesiastica et Hocrct. pars iii. p. 148. and pars iv. p. 1103. he has also published some of his writings (p. 1110), •which sufficiently demonstrate the irregularity and exuberance of his fancy. There is a particular account of this degraded pastor given by Mollerus, in his Cimbria Litcrala, torn. iii. P- 78.

346 The History of the Lutheran Church.

CENT, doubtedly a just matter of surprise, that these xvii. vehement declaimers against the established reli-

!' gion and its ministers, who pretend to be so much

• 11 'TIT i • i

^^y^/ more sagacious and sharp-sighted than their bre thren, do not perceive a truth, which the most simple may learn from daily observation ; even that nothing is more odious and disgusting than an angry, petulant, and violent reformer, who comes to heal the disorders of a community, armed as it were, with fire and sword, with me naces and terrors. It is also to be wondered, that these men are not aware of another consideration equally obvious, namely, that it is scarcely credi ble, that a spiritual physician will cure another with entire success of the disorders under which he himself is known to labour.

George Laurence Seidenbecher, pastor at Eis- field in Saxony, adopted himself, and propagated among the multitude, the doctrine of the Mil lennium or thousand years reign of Christ upon earth ; a doctrine which scarcely ever gains ad mittance but in disordered brains, and rarely pro duces any other fruits than incoherent dreams and idle visions. Seidenbecher was censured on ac count of this doctrine, and deposed from his pas toral charge [«].

XLIV. It would be superfluous to name the other fanatics that deserve a place in the class now before us, sines they almost all laboured under the same disorder, and the uniformity of their sentiments and conduct was so perfect, that the history of one, a few instances excepted, may, in a great measure, be considered as tlie history of them all. We shall therefore conclude this crazy list with a short account of the very worst

of

p] There is a circumstantial account of this man given by Alb. Meno Verpoorten, in his Commentat. de vita et institutis G. L. Seidenbecheri, Gedani, 1739, 4to.

Chap. I. The History of the Lutheran Church. 347

of the whole tribe, Martin Seidelius, a native of CENT. Silesia, \vho endeavoured to form a sect in Po- s^"'r land towards the conclusion of the preceding cen- P/vnT n* tury and the commencement of this, but could s. not find followers, even among the Socinians ; so wild were his views, and so extravagant his no tions. This audacious adventurer in religious novelties was of opinion, that God had, indeed, promised a Saviour or Messiah to the Jews ; but that this Messiah had never appeared, and never would appear, on account of the sins of the Jew ish people, which rendered them unworthy of this great deliverer. From hence he concluded that it was erroneous to look upon Christ as the Messiah ; that the only office of Jesus was, to interpret and republish the law of nature, that had been perverted and obscured by the vices, corruptions, and ignorance of men ; and that the whole duty of men, and all the obligations of re ligion were fulfilled by an obedience to this law, republished and explained by Jesus Christ. To render this doctrine more defencible and specious, or, at least, to get rid of a multitude of arguments and express declarations that might be drawn from the holy Scriptures to prove its absurdity, he boldly rejected all the books of the New Testa ment. The small number of disciples, that adopt ed the fancies of this intrepid innovator, were de nominated semi-judaizers [k]. Had he appeared in our times, he would have given less offence than at the period in which he lived ; for, if we except his singular notion concerning the Messiah, his doctrine was such as would at present be highly agreeable to many persons in Great Britain, Hoi- land, and other countries [/].

££] See Gustavi Georgii Zeltneri Historia Crypto Socinis- mi Altorjfiiii, vol. i. p. 2(58, 335.

(fTT [7] We are much at a loss to know what Dr. Mosheim means by this insinuation, as also the persons he has in view ;

for,

[ 348 ]

CHAPTER II.

The History of the Reformed Church.

I. TTrp has been already observed, that the Re- SECT. i. formed Church, considered in the most

PART ii. comprehensive sense of that term, as forming a v— ^Y~**/ whole, composed of great variety of parts, is afthe'iie8 ra^ner united by the principles of moderation and formed fraternal charity, than by a perfect uniformity in tended **~ doctrine, discipline, and worship. It will, there fore, be proper to take, first a view of those events that related to this great body collectively consi dered ; and afterwards to enter into a detail of the most memorable occurrences that happened in the particular communities of which it is com posed. The principal accessions it received dur ing this century have already been mentioned, when, in the history of the Lutheran church, we related the changes and commotions that hap pened in the principalities oiHessia and Branden burg \_m~\. These, however, were not the only changes that took place in favour of the Reformed

church.

for, on the one hand, it is sufficiently evident that he cannot mean the Deists ; and on the other, we know of no denomi nation of Christians, who boldly reject all the books of the New Testament. Our author probably meant that the part of Sei- del's doctrine which represents Christ's mission as only de signed to republish and interpret the law of nature, and the whole religious and moral duty of man, as consisting in an obedience to this law, would have been well received by many persons in Great Britain and Holland ; but he should have said so ; nothing requires such precision as accusations.

Q»] See section ii. part ii. chap. i. sect. i. ii. where the History of the Lutheran Church commences with an account of the loss that church sustained by the secession of Mau rice, Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, and John Sigismund, elector of Brandenburg, who embraced solemnly the doctrine of the Reformed church, the former in 1604?, arid the latter in 1614.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 349

church. Its doctrine was embraced about the CENT. commencement of this century, by Adolphus, g^11^ duke of Holstein, and it was naturally expected, 1>ACRT „[ that the subjects would follow the example of their w-y-— ' prince ; but this expectation was disappointed by the death of Adolphus, in the year 1616 [n\. Henry, duke of Saxony, withdrew also from the communion of the Lutherans, in whose religious principles he had been educated ; and in the year 1688, embraced the doctrine of the Reform ed church at Dessaw, in consequence, as some allege, of the solicitations of his duchess [o], In Denmark, about the beginning of this century, there were still a considerable number of persons who secretly espoused the sentiments of that church, and more especially could never reconcile themselves to the Lutheran doctrine of Christ's bodily presence with the sacrament of the cucfia- rist. They were confirmed in their attachment to the tenets of the Reformed by Hemmingius, and the other followers of Melancthon, whose secret ministry and public writings were attended with considerable success. The face of things, how ever, changed ; and the Reformed in Denmark saw their expectations vanish, and their credit sink, in the year 1614, when Canut, Bishop of Gottenburg, who had given too plain intimations

of

[w] Jo. Molleri Inlrod. ad Hlsior. Chersonese Cimbricai, p. ii. p. 101. — Eric. Pontoppidani. Annales Ecclesiue Danicos Diplomatic}, torn. iii. p. 691.

[o] See Moebii Selectee Disp. Theolog. p. 1137. The duke of Saxony published to the world a Confession of his Faith, containing the reasons of his change. This piece, which the divines of Leipsick were obliged by a public order to refute, was dtfended against their attacks by the learned Isaac de Beausobre, at that time pastor at Magdeburg, in a book, entitled, " Defense de la Doctrine des Reformees, ct en particulier de la Confession de S. A. S. Misgr. le Due Henry de Saxe contre un Livre compose par la Faculte de Theologie a Leipsic. Magdeb. 1(>9V in Svo.

350 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, of his propensity to the doctrines of Calvin, was XVIL deprived of his episcopal dignity [p]. The pro- L gress of the Reformed religion in Africa, Asia9 and America, is abundantly known ; it was carried into these distant regions by the English and Dutch emigrants, who formed settlements there for the purposes of commerce, and founded flourish ing churches in the various provinces where they fixed their habitations. It is also known, that in several places where Lutheranism was established, the French, German, and British members of the Reformed church were allowed the free exercise of their religion.

II. Of all the calamities that tended to dimi nish the influence, and eclipse the lustre, of the

church in Reformed church, none was more dismal in its circumstances, and more unhappy in its effects, than the deplorable fate of that church in France. From the time of the accession of Henry IV. to the throne of that kingdom, the Reformed church had acquired the form of a body-politic [</]. Its members were endowed with considerable privi leges ; they were also secured against insults of every kind by a solemn edict, and were possessed of several fortified places, particularly the strong city of RocheUe ; in which, to render their secu rity still more complete, they were allowed to have their own garrisons. This body-politic was not, indeed, always under the influence and direction of leaders eminent for their prudence, or distin guished by their permanent attachment to the interests of the crown, and the person of the so vereign. Truth and candour obliges us to acknow ledge, that the Reformed conducted themselves on some occasions, in a manner inconsistent with the demands of a regular subordination. Some times,

E'p] Pontoppidan. Annal Eccles. Danicce, torn. iii. p. 695. q] Impermm in imperio, i. e. an empire within an empire,

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 351

times, amidst the broils and tumults of faction, CENT. they joined the parties that opposed the govern- ;.^III"r ment ; at others, they took important steps with- pART „' out the king's approbation or consent ; nay, they ^^^^ went so far as to solicit, more than once, without so much as disguising their measures, the alliance and friendship of England and Holland, and formed views, which, at least in appearance, were scarcely consistent with the tranquillity of the kingdom, nor with a proper respect for the au thority of its monarch. Hence the contests and civil broils that arose in the year 1621, and sub sisted long, between Lewis XIII. and his protest- ant subjects ; and hence the severe and despotic maxim of Richlieu, the first minister of that mo narch, that the kingdom of France could never enjoy the sweets of peace, nor the satisfaction that is founded upon the assurance of public safety, before the Protestants were deprived of their towns and strong-holds, and before their rights and privileges, together with their ecclesiastical polity, were crushed to pieces, and totally suppres sed. This haughty minister, after many violent efforts and hard struggles, obtained, at length, his purpose; for, in the year 1628, the town of Ho c/idle, the chief bulwark of the Reformed interest in France, was taken after a long and difficult siege, and annexed to the crown. From this fatal event the Reformed party in France, defenceless and naked, dates its decline ; since, after the re duction of their chief city, they had no other re source than the pure clemency and generosity of their sovereign [r]. Those who judge of the re duction

\_r~] See Le Clerc. Vie de Cardinal Richlieu, torn. i. p. 69, 77, 177, 199, 269 — Le Vassor, Hutoire de Louis XIII. torn, iii. p. 676. torn. iv. p. 1. and the following volumes. See also the Memoirs of Sully (the friend and confident of Henry IV. who, though a Protestant, acknowledges frankly the errors of his party ), vol. iii, iv, v.

352! The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, duction of this place by the maxims of civil po- xvii. ]-C9 considered the conduct of the French court

PART ii. as entirely consistent with the principles both of V^Y^/ wisdom and justice ; since nothing can be more detrimental to the tranquillity and safety of the nation, than a body politic erected in its bosom, independent on the supreme authority of the state, and secured against its influence or inspection by an external force. And had the French monarch, satisfied with depriving the Protestants of their, strong-holds, continued to maintain them in the possession of that liberty of conscience, and that free exercise of their religion, for which they had shed so much blood, and to the enjoyment of which their eminent services to the house of I2ou?~- bon had given them such a fair and illustrious title, it is highly probable, chey would have borne with patience this infraction of their privileges-, and the loss of that liberty that had been confirm ed to them by the most solemn edicts. The in- III. But the court of France, and the despotic tyrlnnkaid yiews °^ its minister, were not satisfied with this treatment success. Having destroyed that form of civil

fromthe65 Polity tnat nad been annexed to the Reformed French church as a security for the maintenance of its religious privileges, and wras afterwards consider ed as detrimental to the supreme authority of the state, that proceeded still further, and, regardless of the royal faith, confirmed by the most solemn declarations, perfidiously invaded those privileges of the church that were merely of a spiritual and religious nature. At first, the court and the mi nisters of its tyranny, put in practice all the arts of insinuation and persuasion, in order to gain over the heads of the "Reformed church, and the more learned and celebrated ministers of that communion. Pathetic exhortations, alluring pro mises, artful interpretations of those doctrines of popery that were most disagreeable to the Protest

ants ;

court.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed ChurcL 353

ants ; in a word, every insidious method was em- CENT. ployed to conquer their aversion to the church J*^*'n of Rome. Richlieu exhausted all the resources P^RT' If>" of his dexterity and artifice, and put into execu- s-^y— ' tion, with the most industrious assiduity, all the means that he thought the most adapted to se duce the Protestants into the Romish communion. When all these stratagems were observed to pro duce little or no effect, barbarity and violence were employed to extirpate and destroy a set of men, whom mean perfidy could not seduce, and whom weak arguments were insufficient to con vince. The most inhuman laws that the blind rage of bigotry could dictate, the most oppressive measures that the ingenious efforts of malice could invent, were put in execution to damp the cou rage of a party that were become odious by their resolute adherence to the dictates of their con sciences, and to bring them by force under the yoke of Rome. The French bishops distinguished themselves by their intemperate and unchristian zeal in this horrid scene of persecution and cruel ty; many of the Protestants sunk under the weight of despotic oppression, and yielded up their faith to armed legions, that were sent to convert them ; several fled from the storm, and deserted their families, their friends, and their country ; and by far the greatest part persevered, with a noble and heroic constancy, in the purity of that reli gion, which their ancestors had delivered, and happily separated, from the manifold superstitions of a corrupt and idolatrous church.

IV. When at length every method which arti- The edict fice or perfidy could invent had been practised in vain against the Protestants under the reign of Lewis XIV. the bishops and Jesuits, whose coun sels had a peculiar influence in the cabinet of that prince, judged it necessary to extirpate, by fire and sword, this resolute people, and thus to ruin,

VOL. v. A a as

354 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, as it were by one mortal blow, the cause of the XVIL Reformation in France. Their insidious argu-

ART H ments an^ importunate solicitations had such an effect upon the weak and credulous mind of Lewis, that, in the year 1685, trampling on the most solemn obligations, and regardless of all laws, hu man and divine, he revoked the edict of Nantes, and thereby deprived the Protestants of the liberty of serving God according to their consciences. This revocation was accompanied, indeed, with the applause of Rome, but it excited the indigna tion even of many Roman Catholics, whose bi gotry had not effaced or suspended, on this oc casion, their natural sentiments of generosity and justice. It was, moreover, followed by a measure still more tyrannical and shocking, even an express order, addressed to all the Reformed churches, to embrace the Romish faith. The consequences of this cruel and unrighteous pro ceeding were highly detrimental to the true in terests, and the real prosperity of the French nation [s], by the prodigious emigrations it occa sioned among the Protestants, who sought, in va rious parts of Europe, that religious liberty, and that humane treatment, which their mother-coun try had so cruelly refused them. Those among them, whom the vigilance of their enemies guard ed so closely as to prevent their flight, were ex posed to the brutal rage of an unrelenting sol

diery,

[Y] See the life of Isaac Beausobre (composed by the ingenious Armand de la Chapelle, in French, and subjoined to Beausobre's Remarques Historiques, Critiqties, et Philologi-* ques sur le Nouveau Testament), p. 259-

$3" Some late hireling writers employed by the,Jesuits, have been audacious enough to plead the cause of the Revocation of the edict of Nantes. But it must be observed, to the honour of the French nation, that these impotent attempts, to justify the measures of a persecuting and unrelenting priesthood, have been treated almost universally at Paris with indignation and

contempt.

Chap. II. The History of 'the Reformed Church. 355

diery, and were assailed by every barbarous form CENT. of persecution that could be adapted to subdue their courage, exhaust their patience, and thus engage them to a feigned and external profession of popery, which in their consciences they beheld with the utmost aversion and disgust. This cry ing act of perfidy and injustice in a prince, who on other occasions, gave evident proofs of his ge nerosity and equity, is sufficient to shew, in their true and genuine colours, the spirit of the llomish church and of the Roman pontiffs, and the man ner in which they stand affected to those whom they consider as Heretics. It is peculiarly adap ted to convince the impartial and attentive ob server, that the most solemn oaths, and the most sacred treaties, are never looked upon by this church and its pontiffs as respectable and obliga tory, when the violation of them may contribute to advance their interest, or to accomplish their views.

V. The Waldenses, who lived in the vallies of Jhe Ptedmont, and had embraced the doctrine, disci- pline, and worship of the church of Geneva, were oppressed and persecuted, in the most barbarous the and inhuman manner, during the greatest part of nate this century, by the ministers of Rome. This persecution was carried on with peculiar marks

Aa 2 of

contempt. They who are desirous of seeing a true state of the losses the French nation sustained, by the revocation of the famous edict now mentioned, have only to consult the cu rious and authentic account of the state of that nation, taken from memorials drawn up by intendants of the several provin ces, for the use of the Duke of Burgundy, and published in the year 1727, in two volumes in folio, under the following title : Etdt dc. la France, extrait par M. Ic Cumle dc Boulain- villiers, des Memoir es drcssccs par les Intendcns du lloi/anme, par I'Ordrc du Roi Louis XIV. a la Solid! (if ion da Due de Bourgogfie. See also Voltaire, Sur la Tolerance, p. 41. and 201. And, for an account of the conduct of the French court towards the Protestants at that dismal period, see the incom parable memorial of the learned and pious Claude, entitled, I'lai/iles d®> Protcstans dc France, p. 12—85, edit, of Cologn.

356 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, of rage and enormity in the years 1655, 1686, xvn. an(j 1696, and seemed to portend nothing less F\RT ii ^an tne total destruction and entire extinction of -^-p^ that unhappy nation [t~\. The most horrid scenes of violence and bloodshed were exhibited on this theatre of papal tyranny ; and the small numbers of the Waldenses that survived them, are indebt ed for their existence and support, precarious and uncertain as it is, to the continual intercession made for them by the English and Dutch govern ments, and also by the Swiss cantons^ who never cease to solicit the clemency of the Duke of Savoy in their behalf.

The church of the Palatinate, which had been long at the head of the Reformed churches in Germany, declined apace from the year 1685, when a Roman Catholic prince was raised to that electorate. This decline became at length so great, that, instead of being the first, it was the least considerable of all the Protestant assemblies in that country.

The state VI. The eminent and illustrious figure that the

andetthiio- principal members of the Reformed church made in

sophy in the learned world is too well known, and the repu-

fonned" tation they acquired, by a successful application to

church. the various branches of literature and science, is

too well established, to require our entering into

a circumstantial detail of that matter. We shall

also

[/] Leger, Hisloire Generale des Eglises Vaudoises, p. ii. c. vi. p. 72. — Gilles Histoire Ecclesiast. des Eglises Vaudoises t ch. xlix. p. 353. — There is a particular history of the persecu tion suffered by these victims of a papal cruelty in the year 1 686, which was published in 8vo at Rotterdam in the year 1688.

(£f" See also a pamphlet, entitled, An account of the late Persecutions of the Waldenses by the Duke of Savoy and the French King in the year 1686, published at Oxford in 4to in 1 688. See likewise a particular detail of the miseries endured by these unfortunate objects of papal persecution in the years 1655, 1662, 1663, and 1686, related by Peter Boyer, in his history of the Vaudois, ch. 12—21. p. 72, &c.

Chap. II. TJic History of the Reformed Church. 357

also pass in silence the names of those celebrated CENT. men who have acquired immortal fame by their XVIL writings, and transmitted their eminent useful- ness to succeeding times in their learned and pious productions. Out of the large list of these famous authors, that adorned the Reformed church, it would be difficult to select the most eminent ; and this is a sufficient reason for our silence [?/]. The supreme guide and legislator of those that applied themselves to the study of philosophy had been Aristotle, who for a long time, reigned unrival led in the Reformed, as well as in the Lutheran schools; and was exhibited, in both, not in his natural and genuine aspect, but in the motley and uncouth form in which he had been dressed up by the scholastic doctors. But when Gassendi and Des Cartes appeared, the Stagirite began to decline, and his fame and authority diminished gradually from day to day. Among the French and Dutch, many adopted the Cartesian philoso- A a 3 phy

(p3= [V] The list of the eminent divines and men of learning that were ornaments to the Reformed church in the seven teenth century, is indeed extremely ample. Among those that adorned Great Britain, we shall always remember, with peculiar veneration, the immortal names of Newton, Barrow, Cudworth, Boyle, Chillingvvorth, Usher, Bedell, Hall, Po- cock, Fell, Lightfoot, Hammond, Calamy, Walton, Baxter, Pearson, Stillingfleet, Mede, Parker, Oughtred, Burnet, Til- lotson, and many others well known in the literary world. In Germany, we find Pareus, Scultet, Fabricius Alting, Pelargus, and Bergius. In Switzerland and Geneva, Hospinian, the two Buxtorfs, Hottinger, Heiddeger, and Turretin. In the churches and academies of Holland, we meet with the follow ing learned divines : Drusus, Amama, Gomer, Rivet, Clop- penburg, Vossius, Cocceius, Noetius, Des Marets, Heidan, Momma, Burman, Wittichius, Hoornbeck, the Spanheims, Le Moyne, De Mastricht, and others. Among the French doctors, we may reckon Cameron, Chamier, Du Moulin, Mestrezat, Blondel, Drelincourt, Daiile, Amyraut, the two Cappels, Du la Place, Gam stole, Croy, Morus, Le Blanc, Pagon, Bochart, Claud, Alix, Jurieu, Basnage, Abbadie, Beausobre, Lenfant, Martin, Des Vigiioles, &c.

358 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, pliy at its first dawn ; and a considerable number ^XVIL Of t|le English embraced the principles of Gas- PART ii. sendi? and were singularly pleased with his pru- v^^Y-*^ dent and candid manner of investigating truth, The Aristotelians every where, and more especi ally in Holland, were greatly alarmed at this revo lution in the philosophical world, and set them selves, with all their vigour, to oppose its progress. They endeavoured to persuade the people, that the cause of truth and religion must suffer consi derably by the efforts that were made to dethrone Aristotle, and bring into disrepute the doctrine of his interpreters ; bufr the principal cause of their anxiety and zeal, was the apprehension of losing their places in the public schools; a thought which they could not bear with any de gree of patience [w]. However, the powerful lustre of truth, which unfolded daily more and more its engaging charms, and the love of liberty, which had been held in chains by Peripatetic ty ranny, obliged this obstinate sect to yield, and reduced them to silence; and hence it is, that the doctors of the Reformed church carry on, at this day, their philosophical inquiries with the same freedom that is observable among the Lu therans. It may, indeed, be a question with some, whether Aristotle be not even yet, se cretly revered in some of the English Universities. It is at least certain, that, although under the go vernment of Charles II. and the two succeeding reigns, the mathematical philosophy had made a most extensive progress in Great Britain, there were, nevertheless, both at Oxford and Cambridge, some doctors, who preferred the ancient system of the schools before the new discoveries now un der consideration.

interpre- VII. All the interpreters and expositors of expositors Scripture that made a figure in the Reformed of Scrip- church

turc.

[V] See Baillet, Vie de Des Cartes, passim.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 3,59

church about the commencement of this century, CENT. followed scrupulously the method of Calvin in c.XVIL their illustrations of the sacred writings, and un- PART „" folded the true and natural signification of words of scripture, without perplexing their brains to find out deep mysteries in plain ex pressions, or to force, by the inventive efforts of fancy, a variety of singular notions from the metaphorical language that is frequently used by the inspired writers. This universal attach ment to the method of Calvin, was indeed, con siderably diminished in process of time, by the credit and influence of two celebrated commen tators, who struck out new paths in the sphere of sacred criticism. These were Hugo Grotius, and John Cocceius. The former departed less from the manner of interpretations generally received than the latter. Like Calvin, he followed in his commentaries, both in the Old and New Tes taments the literal and obvious signification of the words employed by the sacred writers ; but he differed considerably from that great man in his manner of explaining the predictions of the prophets. The hypothesis of Grotius relating to that important subject, amounts to this : " That " the predictions of the ancient prophets were " all accomplished in the events to which they di- " rectly pointed before the coming of Christ ; " and that therefore the natural and obvious " sense of the words and phrases, in which they " were delivered, does not terminate in our blessed " Lord ; but that in certain of these predictions, " and more especially in those which the writers " of the New Testament apply to Christ, there " is, besides the literal and obvious signification, " a hidden and mysterious sense, that lies con- " cealed under the external mask of certain per- " sons, certain events, and certain actions, which A a 4 " are

360 Tlie History of the Reformed Church.

CENT. " are representatives of the person, ministry, suf- xvii. « ferings, and merits of the Son of God."

The method of Cocceius was entirely different from this. He looked upon the whole history of the Old Testament as a perpetual and uninterrupt ed representation or mirror of the history of the divine Saviour, and of the Christian church ; he maintained, moreover, that all the prophecies have a literal and direct relation to Christ ; and he finished his romantic system hy laying it down as a certain maxim, that all the events and revo lutions that shall happen in the church, until the end of time, are prefigured and pointed out, though not all with the same degree of evidence and perspicuity, in different places of the Old Testament [#]. These two eminent commenta tors had each his zealous disciples and followers. The Arminians in general, many of the English and French divines, together with these warm votaries of ancient Calvinism who are called Fbet- sians (from their chief Gisbert Voet, the great adversary of Cocceius), all adopted the method of interpreting Scripture introduced by Grotius. On the other hand, many of the Dutch, Swiss, and Germans, were singularly delighted with the learned fancies of Cocceius. There are, how ever, still great numbers of prudent and impartial divines, who, considering the extremes into which these two eminent critics have run, and disposed to profit by what is really solid in both their

systems,

[V] It is become almost a proverbial saying, that in the 'Books of the Old Testament Cocceius finds Christ every where, while Grotius meets him no where. The first part of this say ing is certainly true ; the latter much less so ; for it appears, with sufficient evidence, from the Commentaries of Grotius, that he finds Christ prefigured in many places of the Old Tes tament, not, indeed, directly in the letter of the prophecies, where Cocceius discovers him, but mysteriously, under the ap pearance of certain persons, and in the secret sense of certain transactions*

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 361

systems, neither reject nor embrace their opinions CENT. in the lump, hut agree with them both in some xvn- things, and differ from them both in others. It is further to be observed, that neither the follow ers of Grotius nor of Cocccius are agreed among themselves, and that these two general classes of expositors may be divided into many subordinate ones. A considerable numbf • of English divines of the Episcopal church refused to adopt the opinions, or to respect the authority of these modern expositors ; they appealed to the decisions of the primitive fathers ; and maintain ed, that the sacred writings ought always to be understood in that sense only, which has been at tributed to them by these ancient doctors of the rising church [?/]. VIII.

(v^r* \_y~\ These have been confuted by the learned Dr. Whitby, in his important work, Concerning the Interpretation of Scripture after the Manner of the Fathers, which was pub lished at London in Svo. in the year 1714* under the follow ing title : Dissertatio dc Scripturarum Inter pretatione scciin- dum Pal rum Comincntarios, &c. — In this dissertation, which was the forerunner of the many remarkable attempts that were afterwards made to deliver the right of private judgment, in matters of religion, from the restraints of human authority, the judicious author has shewn, Jirst, that the Holy Scripture is the only rule of faith, and that by it alone we are to judge of the doctrines that are necessary to salvation ; secondly > that the fathers, both of the primitive times and also of suc ceeding ages, are extremely deficient and unsuccessful in their explications of the sacred writings : and, thirdly, that it is im possible to terminate the debates that have been raised con cerning the Holy Trinity, by the opinions of the Fathers, the decisions of councils, or by any tradition that is really univer sal. The contradictions, absurdities, the romantic conceits and extravagant fancies, that are to be found in the commen taries of the fathers, were never represented in such a ridicu lous point of view as they are in this performance. The worst part of the matter is, that such a production as Dr. Whitby 's, in which all the mistakes of these ancient expositors are culled out and compiled with such care, is too much adapted to pre judice young students even against what may be good in their writings, and thus disgust them against a kind of study, which when conducted with impartiality and prudence, has its uses. It is the infirmity of our nature to be fond of extremes.

The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT. VIII. The doctrines of Christianity, which had xvii. been go saciiy disfigured among the Lutherans by SPART ii. ^ie °bscure Jarg°n and the intricate tenets of the '^^r—/ scholastic philosophy, met with the same fate in state of di- the Reformed churches. The first successful ef- dactic theo- for|. j.]-^ prevented these churches from falling

logy in the . i i * • 7* T 11

Reformed entirely under the Aristotelian yoke, was made by church, t]le Arminians, who were remarkable for expound ing, with simplicity and perspicuity, the truths and precepts of religion, and who censured, with great plainness and severity, those ostentatious doctors, who affected to render them obscure and unintelligible, by expressing them in the terms, and reducing them under the classes and divisions used in the schools. The Cartesians and Coccei- ans contributed also to deliver theology from the chains of the Peripatetics ; though it must be al lowed, that it had not, in some respects, a much better fate in the hands of these its deliverers. The Cartesians applied the principles and tenets of their philosophy in illustrating the doctrines of the Gospel; the Cocceians imagined that they could not give a more sublime and engaging aspect to the Christian religion, than by representing it un der the notion of a covenant entered into between God and man [3] ; and both these manners of

proceeding

(j^3 [Y] It is somewhat surprising, that Dr. Mosheim should mention this circumstance as an invention of Cocceius, or as a manner of speaking peculiar to him. The representa tion of the Gospel-dispensation under the idea of a Covenant, whether this representation be literal or metaphorical, is to be found, almost every where, in the Epistles of St. Paul, and the other Apostles, though very rarely (scarcely more than twice) in the Gospels. This phraseology has also been adopted by Christians of almost all denominations. It is, indeed, a man ner of speaking that has been grossly abused by those divines, •who, urging the metaphor too closely, exhibit the sublime transactions of the divine wisdom under the narrow and im perfect forms of human tribunals : and thus lead to false no tions

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 363

proceeding were disliked by the wisest and most CENT. learned divines of the Reformed Church. They complained wifh reason, that the tenets and dis- tinctions of the Cartesian philosophy had as evi- dent a tendency to render the doctrines of Chris tianity obscure and intricate as the abstruse terms, and the endless divisions and subdivisions of the Peripatetics. They observed also, that the me taphor of a covenant, applied to the Christian reli gion, must be attended with many inconvenieii- cies, by leading uninstructed minds to form a va riety of ill-grounded notions, which is the ordi nary consequence of straining metaphors ; and that it must contribute to introduce into the col leges of divinity the captious terms, distinctions, and quibbles, that are employed in the ordinary courts of justice, and thus give rise to the most trifling and ill judged discussions and debates about religious matters. Accordingly, the great est part, both of the British and French doctors, refusing to admit the intricacies of Cartesianism, and the imagery of Cocceius, into their theologi cal system, followed the free, easy, and unaffect ed method of the Arminian divines, in illustrat ing the truths, and enforcing the duties of Chris tianity.

IX. We have had formerly occasion to observe, The state that Dr. William Ames, a Scots divine, was o of the first among the Reformed who attempted and m to treat morality as a separate science, to considerrahty*

it

tions of the springs of action, as well as of the dispensations and attributes of the Supreme Being. We have remarkable instances of this abuse, in a book lately translated into Eng lish, I mean, the Economy of the Covenants, by Witsius, in which that learned and pious man, who has deservedly gained an eminent reputation by other valuable productions, has in considerately introduced the captious, formal, and trivial terms, employed in human courts, into his descriptions of the stupendous scheme of redemption.

364 The History of the Reformed Cliurch.

CENT.- it abstractedly from its connection with any par- XVIL ticular system of doctrine, and to introduce new

SECT. II. T -i . i i f T

PVRT ir. bgntj and a new degree ot accuracy and precision, y_- y -_j into this master science of life and manners. The attempt was laudable, had it been well executed ; but the system of this learned writer was dry, theoretical, and subtile, and was thus much more adapted to the instruction of the studious than to the practical direction of the Christian. The Ar- minians, who are known to be much more zealous in enforcing the duties of Christianity than in il lustrating its truths, and who generally employ more pains in directing the will than in enlighten ing the understanding, engaged several authors of note to exhibit the precepts and obligations of morality, in a more useful, practical and popular manner ; but the English and French surpassed all the moral writers of the Reformed church in penetration, solidity, and in the ease, freedom, and perspicuity, of their method and compositions. Moses Amyraut, a man of a sound understanding and subtile genius, was the first of the French di vines who distinguished themselves in this kind of writing. He composed an accurate and elabo rate system of morality, in a style, indeed, that is now become obsolete ; and those more moderate French writers, such as La Placette and Pictet, who acquired such a high and eminent reputa tion on account of their moral writings, owe to the excellent work now mentioned a considerable part of their glory. While England groaned under the horrors and tumults of a civil war, it was chiefly the Presbyterians and Independents that employed their talents and their pens in pro moting the cause of practical religion. During this unhappy period, indeed, these doctors were remarkable for the austere gravity of their man ners, and for a melancholy complexion and turn of mind ; and these appeared abundantly in their

compositions.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 3G5

compositions. Some of them were penned with CENT. such rigour and seventy, as discovered either a c XVIL total ignorance of the present imperfect state of \.^ „ humanity, or an entire want of all sort of indul- ^^^s gence for its unavoidable infirmities. Others were composed with a spirit of enthusiasm, that betrayed an evident propensity to the doctrine of the Mystics. But when Hobbes appeared, the scene changed. A new set of illustrious and ex cellent writers arose to defend the truths of reli gion, and the obligations of morality, against this author, who aimed at the destruction of both, since he subjected the unchangeable nature of re ligion to the arbitrary will of the sovereign, and endeavoured to efface the eternal distinction that there is between moral good and evil. Cud- worth, Cumberland, Sharrock, and others [a], alarmed at the view of a system so false in its principles, and so pernicious in its effects, ren dered eminent service to the cause of religion and morals by their immortal labours, in which, arising to the first principles of things, and opening the primitive and eternal fountains of truth and good, they illustrated clearly the doctrines of the one with the fairest evidence, and established the obli gations of the other on the firmest foundations.

X. About the commencement of this century, The con- the academy of Geneva was in such high repute among the Reformed churches, that it was resort- Pr ed to from all quarters by such as were desirous of a learned education ; and more especially by those students of theology, whose circumstances in life permitted them to frequent this famous se minary [6]. Hence it very naturally happened,

that

(£f*JV]SeeLeland's View of the Deistical writers, vol. i. p. 48.

Q6] The lustre and authority of the academy of Geneva be gan gradually to decline, from the time that the united Pro* vinces being formed into a free and independent republic, uni versities were founded at Ley den, Franeker, and UtrectU.

366 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, that the opinions of Calvin, concerning the De~ xvn. crces Of God and Divine Grace, became daily

SECT. II. Y • T 1 11 • ' ' 1 i

PART n. more universal, and were gradually introduced s^-y^^ every where into the schools of learning. There was not, however, any public law or confession of faith that obliged the pastors of the Reformed churches, in any part of the world, to conform their sentiments to the theological doctrines that were adapted and taught at Geneva [c]. And ac cordingly there were many, who either rejected entirely the doctrine of that academy on these in tricate points, or received it with certain restric tions and modifications. Nay, even those who were in general attached to the theological sys tem of Geneva, were not perfectly agreed about the manner of explaining the doctrines relating to the divine decrees. The greatest part were of opinion, that God had only permitted the first man to fall into transgression, without positively predetermining- his fall. But others went much farther, and presumptuously forgetting their own ignorance on the one hand, and the wisdom and equity of the divine counsels on the other, main tained, that God, in order to exercise and display his awful justice and his free mercy, had decreed from all eternity the transgression of Adam, and so ordered the course of events, that our first parents could not possibly avoid their unhappy fall. Those that held this latter sentiment were denominated Supralapsaria?is, to distinguish them from the Sublapsarian doctors, who maintained the doctrine of permission already mentioned. The Ar- XI. It is remarkable enough, that the Supra- schism! lapsarian and Sublapsarian divines forgot their

debates

[V] See, for a full demonstration of this assertion, Grotius* Apologeticus, &c. as also several treatises, written in Dutch by Theod. Volkh. Coornkert, of whom Arnoldt makes par ticular mention in his Historia Eccles. ct Ha ret. torn. ii.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 367 debates and differences, as matters of little conse- CENT.

quence ; and united their force against those who g, thought it their duty to represent the Deity, as *1>ART n" extending his goodness and mercy to all mankind, ^^y^^ This gave rise, soon after the commencement of this century, to a deplorable schism, which all the efforts of human wisdom have since been un able to heal. James Arminius, professor of di vinity in the university of Leyden, rejected the doctrine of the church of Geneva, in relation to the deep and intricate points of predestination and grace ; and maintained, with the Lutherans, that God has excluded none from salvation by an ab solute and eternal decree. He was joined in these sentiments by several persons in Holland, that were eminently distinguished by the extent of their learning, and the dignity of their stations ; but he met with the warmest opposition from Francis Gomar his colleague, and from the principal professors in the Dutch universities. The magi strates exhorted the contending parties to mode ration and charity ; and observed, that, in a free state, their respective opinions might be treated with toleration, without any detriment to the es sential interests of true religion. After long and tedious debates, which were frequently attended with popular tumults and civil broils, this intri cate controversy was, by the councils and autho rity [d~\ of Maurice, prince of Orange, referred to the decision of the church, assembled in a ge neral synod at Dort, in the year 1618. The most eminent divines of the United Provinces, and not only so, but learned deputies from the churches

of

£*/- \jtl ] It was not by the authority of Prince Maurice, but by that of the States-general, that the national synod was assembled at Dort. The states were not indeed unanimous ; three of the seven provinces protested against the holding of this synod, viz. Holland, Utrecht, and Overyssef.

368 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, of England, Scotland, Switzerland, Bremen, xvir. JJessia, and the Palatinate, were present at this PART ii. numerous and solemn assembly. It was by the S.^Y^/ sentence of these judges, that the Arminians lost their cause, and were declared corrupters of the true religion. It must be observed, at the same time, that the doctors of Geneva, who embraced the Sublapsarian system, triumphed over their ad versaries in this synod. For though the patrons of the Supralapsarian cause were far from being contemptible either in point of number or of abi lities ; yet the moderation and equity of the Bri tish divines, prevented the synod from giving its sanction to the opinions of that presumptuous sect. Nor indeed would even the Sublapsarians have gained their point, or obtained to the full the ac complishment of their desires, had the doctors of Rremen, who, for weighty reasons were attached to the Lutherans, been able to execute their pur poses [#]. The effects XII. It is greatly to be doubted, whether this

of this . . fo, J , . . . '

schism. victory gained over the Arminians, was upon the whole,- advantageous or detrimental to the church of Geneva in particular, and to the Re formed church in general. It is at least certain, that after the synod of Dort, the doctrine of abso lute decrees lost ground from day to day ; and its patrons were put to the hard necessity of hold ing fraternal communion with those whose doc trine was either professedly Arminian, or at least nearly resembled it. The leaders of the van quished Arminians were eminently distinguished by their eloquence, sagacity5 and learning ; and being highly exasperated by the injurious and op pressive treatment they met with, in consequence of their condemnation, they defended themselves,

and

\_e~\ We shall give, in the History of the Armimans, a list of the writers that appeared in this controversy ; as also a more particular account of the transactions of the synod at Dort.

PART II.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 369

and attacked their adversaries with such spirit CENT. and vigour, and also with such dexterity and elo quence, that multitudes were persuaded of the justice of their cause. It is particularly to be ob served, that the authority of the synod of Dort was far from being universally acknowledged among the Dutch; the provinces of Friestand, Zeland, Utrecht, Guclderland, and Groningen, could not be persuaded to adopt its decisions ; and though, in the year 1651, they were at length gained over so far as to intimate, that they would see with pleasure the Reformed religion main tained upon the footing on which it had been placed and confirmed by the synod of Dort, yet the most eminent adepts in Belgic jurisprudence deny that this intimation has the force or charac ter of a law [/'].

In England, the face of religion changed consi derably, in a very little time after the famous sy nod now mentioned ; and this change, which was entirely in favour of Arminianism, was principally effected by the counsels and influence of William Laud, archbishop of Canterbury. This revolu tion gave new courage to the Arminians; and, from that period to the present time, they have had the pleasure of seeing the decisions and doc trines of the synod of Dort, relating to the points in debate between them and the Calvinists, treat ed, in England, with something more than mere indifference, beheld by some with aversion, and by others with contempt [g1]. And indeed, if we consider the genius and spirit of the church of England during this period, we shall plainly see,

VOL. v. B b that

e the very learned and illustrious President Bynkers« hoek's Qita'stioncs Juris publicly lib. ii. cap. xviii.

CgQ Sev. Lintrupii Dissertatio de Conlemplu Concilii Dor- drac, in An^lid, in Dissert. Theologicis Hect. Godofr. Masii, torn. i. n. xix.

370 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, that the doctrine of the Gomarists, concerning

xvii. Predestination and Grace, could not meet there

PART ii. w^k a favourable reception, since the leading

s—ry^r> doctors of that church were zealous in modelling

its doctrine and discipline after the sentiments and

institutions that were received in the primitive

times, and since those early fathers whom they

followed with a profound submission, had never

presumed before Augustine, to set limits to the

extent of the divine grace and mercy.

The Reformed churches in France seemed, at first, disposed to give a favourable reception to the decisions of this famous synod ; but, as these decisions were highly displeasing to the votaries of Rome among whom they lived, and kindled anew their rage against the Protestants, the lat ter thought it their duty to be circumspect in this matter , and, in process of time, their real senti ments, and the doctrines they taught, began to •differ extremely from those of the Gomarists. The churches tfBrandenberg and Bremen, which made a considerable figure among the Reformed in Ger many, would never suffer their doctors to be tied down to the opinions and tenets of the Butch di vines. And thus it happened, that the liberty of private judgment (with respect to the doctrines of Predestination and Grace), which the spirit that prevailed among the divines of Dort, seemed so much adapted to suppress or discourage, ac quired rather new vigour, in consequence of the arbritrary proceedings of that assembly ; and the Reformed church was immediately divided into Uni- versalists, Semiuniversalists, 'Supralapsarians, and Sublapsarians, who, indeed, notwithstanding their dissensions, \vhich sometimes become violent and tumultuous, live generally in the exercise of mutual toleration, and are reciprocally restrained by many reasons from indulging a spirit of hosti lity and persecution. What is still more remarkable,

and

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 371

and therefore ought not to be passed over in si- CENT. lence, we see the city of Geneva, which was the s ™^ parent, the nurse, and the guardian of the doc- PART n. trine of Absolute Predestination, and Particular Grace, not only put on sentiments of charity, for bearance, and esteem for the Arminians, but be come itself almost so far Arminian, as to deserve a place among the churches of thai communion.

XIII. While the Reformed churches in France The parti- yet subsisted, its doctors departed, in several ^ thVre-6 * points, from the common rule of faith that wasformed received in the other churches of their comxttu- nion. This, as appears from several circum stances, was, in a great measure, owing to their desire of diminishing the prejudices of the Ro man Catholics against them, and of getting rid of a part of the odious conclusions which were drawn by their adversaries from the doctrines of Dort, and laid to their charge with that malig nity which popish bigotry so naturally inspires. Hence we find in the books that were composed by the doctors of Saumur and Sedan, after the sy nod of Dort, many things which seem conformable* not only to the sentiments of the Lutherans, con cerning Grace, Predestination, the Person of Christ, and the Efficacy of 'the sacraments, but also to certain peculiar opinions of the Romish church. This moderation may be dated from the year 1615, when the opinion of John Piscator, pastor at Herborn, concerning the Obedience of Christ, was tacitly adopted, or at least pronounced free from error, by the Synod of the isle of France \]i\ ; though it had been formerly condemned and re jected in several preceding assemblies of the same nature [z], Piscator maintained, that it was

not

\ji\ Aymon, Acics de tous les Si/nodes Nalwnmtx dcs Eglises liefonnccs dc France, torn. ii. p. 275, 276.

Qi] See Ayraon, Inc. ciL torn. i. p. 4-00, 401, 457- torn, ii, p. 13. — Bossuet, Hislmrc dcs I ra rial ions dcs Kgliscs Proles-

B b 2 lautcs,

372 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, not by his obedience to tbe divine law that Christ *™i made a satisfaction to that law in our stead, since

FART ii. tn*s obedience was his duty considered as a man ;

V_^Y^ and, therefore, being obliged to obey this law himself, his observance of it could not merit any thing for others from the Supreme Being. This opinion, as every one may see, tended to confirm the doctrine of Ihe Romish church, concerning the Merits of good works, the Natural power of man to obey the commands of God, and other points of a like nature [ii']. These less important concessions

were

lanles, livr. xii. torn. ii. p. 268. where this prelate, with his usual malignity and bitterness, reproaches the Protestants with their inconstancy. The learned Basnage has endeavoured to defend the Reformed churches against this charge, in the se cond volume of his Histoire de I'Eglise, p. 1533. But this de fence is not satisfactory, (t^ To Dr. Mosheim, who speaks more than once of the Reformed church and its doctors with partiality and prejudice, this defence may not appear satisfac tory ; it has, nevertheless, been judged so by many persons of uncommon discernment ; and we invite the reader to judge for himself.

["] (si" I* does n°t appear to me that any one, who looks with an unprejudiced eye, can see the least connexion between the opinion of Piscator (which I shall not here either refute or defend), and the Popish doctrine which maintains the merit of good works ; for though we are not justified (i. e. pardoned or treated as if we had not offended) in consequence of Christ's active obedience to the Divine law, yet we may be so by his death and sufferings ; and it is really to these, that the scrip tures in many places, ascribe our acceptance. Now a person who ascribes his acceptance and salvation to the death and me diation of Christ, does not surely give any countenance to the doctrine of the strict and rigorous merit of works, although he should not be so sharp-sighted as to perceive the influence which certain doctors attribute" to what is called Christ's active obe dience. But let it be observed here, in a particular manner, that the opinion of Piscator is much more unfavourable to Popery than our author imagined, since it overturns totally, by a direct and most natural consequence, the popish doctrine concerning works of Supererogation, which is as monstrous an absurdity in morals, as Transubstantiation is in the estimation of common sense. For if Christ, in his universal and perfect obedience to the divine laws, did no more th^n he was morally

obliged

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 373

were followed by others of a much more weighty CENT. and momentous kind, of which some were so er- XVIL roneous that they were highly disliked and re- b jected, even by those of the French Protestants themselves, who were the most remarkable for their moderation, charity, and love of peace \Jc].

XIV. The doctors of Saumur revived a con-Thecon- Bb 3

PART II.

the Hypo-

dbUged to do by his character as a man, is it not absurd, if not thetical impious, to seek in the virtue of the Romish saints (all of Vn*versa* whom were very imperfect, and some of them very worthless mortals) an exuberance of obedience, a superabundant quan tity of virtue, to which they were not obliged, and which they are supposed to deposit in the hands of the popes, who are empowered to distribute it for love of money, among such as have need of it to make up their accounts ?

C331 PG This affirmation is groundless, and I wish it more not liable to the charge of malignity. The accusation that Dr. Mosheim brings here against the reformed churches in France is of too serious a nature not to require the most evi dent and circumstantial proofs. He has, however, alleged none, nor has he given any one instance, of these weighty and momentous concessions that were made to popery. It was not, indeed, in his power either to give arguments or examples of a satisfactory kind ; and it is highly probable, that the un guarded words of Elias Saurin, minister of Utrecht, in rela tion to the learned Lewis Le Blanc, professor of Sedan (which dropt from the pen of the former, in his Examen de la Theo- logic de M. Jurieu) are the only testimony Dr. Mosheim had to allege, in support of an accusation, which he has not li mited to any one person, but inconsiderately thrown out upon the French churches in general. Those who are desirous of a full illustration of this matter, and yet have not an opportu nity of consulting the original sources of information, may satisfy their curiosity by perusing the articles Beaulieu and Amy rant, in Bayle's Dictionary ; and the articles Pajon and Papin in M. de Chauffepied's Supplement to that work. Any concessions that seem to have been made by the Protes tant doctors in France to their adversaries, consisted in giving an Arminian turn to some of the more rigid tenets of Calvin, relating to original sin, predestination, and grace ; and this turn would undoubtedly have been given to these doctrines, had popery been out of the question. But these concessions are not certainly what our historian had in view ; nor would he, in effect, have treated such concessions as erroneous.

374 TJie History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, troversy, that had for some time been suspended xvii. by their attempts to reconcile the doctrine of PART ii. predestination as it had been taught at Geneva, T~~^~*-*> and confirmed at Dort, with the sentiments of those who represent the Deity as offering the dis plays of his goodness and mercy to all mankind. The first person who made this fruitless attempt was John Cameron, whose sentiments were sup ported and further illustrated by Moses Amyraut, a man of uncommon sagacity and erudition. The latter applied himself, from the year 1634, with unparalleled zeal, to this arduous work, and dis played in it extraordinary exertions of capacity and genius ; and so ardently was he bent on bring ing it into execution, that he made, for this pur pose, no small changes in the doctrine commonly received among the Reformed in France. The form of doctrine he had struck out, in order to accomplish this important reconciliation, may be briefly summed up in the following propositions : " That God desires the happiness of all men, and " that no mortal is excluded by any divine decree, " from the benefits that are procured by the " death, sufferings, and gospel of Christ :

" That, however, none can be made a partaker " of the blessings of the gospel, and of eternal sal- " vation, unless he believe in Jesus Christ :

" That, such, indeed, is the immense and uni- " versal goodness of the Supreme Being, that he " refuses to none the power of believing ; though " he does not grant unto all his assistance and " succour, that they may wisely improve this " power to the attainment of everlasting salva- " tion :

" And that, in consequence of this, multitudes " perish through their o\vn fault, and not from " any want of goodness in God [/]."

Those

p] See Jo. Wolfg. Jaegeri Historia Eccles. et Politica xvii. Decenn. iv. p. 522.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 375

Those who embraced this doctrine were called CENT. Universalists, because they represented God as willing to shew mercy to all mankind ; and Hypo- P^RT thetlcal Universalists, because the condition faith in Christ was necessary to render them the objects of this mercy. It is the opinion of many, that this doctrine differs but little from that which was established by the synod of Dort ; but such do not seem to have attentively considered either the principles from whence it is derived, or the con sequence to which it leads. The more I examine this reconciling system, the more I am persuad ed, than it is more than Arminianism or Pela- gianism artfully dressed up, and ingeniously co vered with a half- transparent veil of specious, but ambiguous expressions ; and this judgment is con firmed by the language that is used in treating this subject by the modern followers of Amyraut, who express their sentiments with more courage, B b 4 plainness,

(^ This mitigated view of the doctrine of Predestination has only one defect ; but it is a capital one. It represents God as dcsir'mg a thing (i. e. salvation and happiness) for «//, which, in order to its attainment, requires a degree of his as sistance and succour, which he refuseth to many. This ren dered grace and redemption universal only in words, but par tial in reality ; and therefore did not at all mend the mat ter. The Supralapsarians were consistent with themselves, but their doctrine was harsh and terrible, and was founded on the most unworthy notions of the Supreme Being; and, on the other hand, the system of Amyraut was full of inconsistencies; nay, even the Sublapsarian doctrine has its difficulties, and rather palliates than removes the horrors of Supralapsarianism. What then is to be done ? from what quarter shall the candid and well-disposed Christian receive that solid satisfaction and wise direction, which neither of these systems is adapted to administer ? These he will receive by turning his dazzled and feeble eye from the secret decrees of God, which were neither designed to be rules of action, nor sources of comfort to mor tals here below ; and by fixing his view upon the mercy of God, as it is manifested through Christ, the pure laws and sublime promises of his gospel, and the respectable equity of his present government and his future tribunal.

The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, plainness, and perspicuity, than the spirit of the

XVIL times permitted their master to do. A cry was

c^' "' raised in several French synods, against the doc-

PAKi II. _ . _ •'_ . i -i i

\^Y^> trine of Amyraut ; but alter it had been care fully examined by them, and defended by him at their public meetings with his usual eloquence and erudition, he was honourably acquitted [m]. The opposition he met with from Holland was still more formidable, as it came from the learn ed and celebrated pens of Rivet, Spanheim, Des Marets, and other adversaries of note; he ne vertheless answered them with great spirit and vigour, and his cause was powerfully supported afterwards by Daille, Blondel, Mestrezat, and Claude [n\. This controversy was carried on for a long time, with great animosity, and little fruit to those who opposed the opinions of the French innovator. For the sentiments of Amyraut were not only received in all the universities of the Hugonots in France, and adopted by divines of the highest note in that nation, but also spread themselves as far as Geneva, and were afterwards disseminated by the French protestants, who fled from the rage of persecution, through all the Reformed churches of Europe. And they now are so generally received, that few have the cou rage to oppose or decry them.

The con- XV. The desire of mitigating certain doctrines sfonecTtT" °^ ^e ^ef°rme(l church, that drew upon it the De ia Place heaviest censures from both the Roman catholics and Cappei. an(:[ some Protestant communions was the true

origin

[7/1] See Aymon, Actes des Synodes Nationeaitx des Eglises jReformees en France, torn. ii. p. 571. P' 604. — Blondel, Actes Authentlques des Eglises Reformees touchant la paix et la cha- ritefratenidle, p. 19 — 82. Edit, of Amsterdam published in 4 to, in the year 1655.

[}z] Bayle's Dictionary, vol. i. at the articles Amyraut and Blondel; and vol. ii. at the article Daille. — See Christ. Pfaffiusa De formula consensus, cap. i. p. 4.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 377

origin of the opinion propagated, in the year CENT. 1640, by De la Place, concerning the imputa-

SECT. II.

tion of original sin. This divine, who was the PART „. intimate friend of Amyraut, and his colleague at Sa inn u r, rejected the opinion generally received in the Schools of the Reformed, that the personal and actual transgression of the first man is im puted to his posterity. He maintained, on the contrary, that God imputes to every man his natu ral corruption, his personal guilt, and his propen sity to sin ; or, to speak in the theological style, he affirmed, that original sin is indirectly, and not directly imputed to mankind. This opinion was condemned as erroneous, in the year 1642, by the synod of Charcnton, and many Dutch and Helve tic doctors of great name set themselves to refute it [o] ; while the love of peace and union prevented its author from defending it in a public and open manner [/>]. But neither the sentence of the sy nod, nor the silence of De La Place, could hinder this sentiment from making a deep impression on the minds of many, who looked upon it as con formable to the plainest dictates of justice and equity ; nor could they prevent its being trans mitted, with the French exiles, into other coun tries.

In the class of those who, to diminish or avoid the resentment of the papists, made concessions inconsistent with truth, and detrimental to the purity of the Protestant religion, many place Lewis Cappel, professor at Saumur, who, in a voluminous and elaborate work [#], undertook

to

[V] Aymon, Si/nodes des Egliscs Reformees de France, torn, ii. p. 680.

f/>] Christ. Eberh. Weismanni Histor. Eccles. Sac. xvii. p. 817.

[//] This work, v/hich is entitled Arcanum Piinctuatioms Rcvelatum, is still extant, with its Vindicia.', in the works of Cappel, printed at Amsterdam, in the year 1689, in folio, and in the Critica -Sacra N. T. published in folio at Paris, l6oO.

378 The History of the Reformed CfiurcJi.

CENT, to prove that the Hebrew points were not used sECTI1Cii ^ ^e sacred writers, and were a modern inven- PART ii. ti°n added to the text by the Masorethes [r~\. It V^Y^/ is at least certain, that this hypothesis was highly agreeable to the votaries of Rome, and seemed manifestly adapted to diminish the authority of the holy Scriptures, and to put them upon a level with oral tradition, if not to render their deci sions still less respectable and certain [s~\. On these accounts, the system of this famous profes sor was opposed, with the most ardent efforts of erudition and zeal, by several doctors both of the Reformed and Lutheran churches, who were emi nent for their knowledge of the Hebrew language and their acquaintance with Oriental learning in general [£].

Bia»c.Le XVI. Though these great men gave offence to many, by the freedom and novelty of their senti ments, yet they had the approbation and esteem of the greatest part of the Reformed churches ; and the equity of succeeding generations removed the aspersions that envy had thrown upon them during their lives, and made ample amends for

the

{£1" Cr] I* was a^so Cappel who affirmed that the charac ters -which compose the Hebrew text, were those that the Chaldeans used after the Babylonish captivity, the Jews hav ing always made use of the Samaritan characters before that period.

#3= [s~\ This absurd notion of the tendency of Cappel's hy pothesis is now hissed almost entirely out of the learned world. Be that as it may., the hypothesis in question is by no means peculiar to Cappel; it was adopted by Luther, Zuingle, Cal vin, the three great pillars of the Reformation ; as also by Munster, Olivetan, Masius, Scaliger, Cassaubon, Drusius, De Dieu, Walton, and Bochart, those eminent men, who have cast such light on sacred philology ; so that Cappel had only the merit of supporting it by new arguments, and placing it in a Striking and luminous point of view.

[>] See B. Jo. Christ. Wolfii Biblioth. Hebraica, part ii, p. 27.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 379

the injuries they had received from several of their CENT.

cotemporaries. This was far from being the case

of those doctors, who either openly attempted to PART" ""

bring about a complete reconciliation and union ^_^y n >

between the Reformed and Romish churches, or explained the doctrines of Christianity in such a manner as lessened the difference between the two communions, and thereby rendered the passage from the former to the latter less disgusting and painful. The attempts of these peace-makers, were looked upon as odious, and in the issue they proved utterly unsuccessful. The most eminent of these reconciling doctors were Lewis Le Blanc, professor at Sedan, and Claude Pajon, minister of Orleans [?/], who were both remarkable for the persuasive power of their eloquence, and disco vered an uncommon degree of penetration and sagacity in their writings and negociations. The former passed in review many of the controversies that divide the two churches, and seemed to prove with the utmost perspicuity, that some of them were merely disputes about words, and that the others were of much less consequence than was generally imagined [w~\. This manner of stating the differences between the two churches drew upon Le Blanc the indignation of those,

who,

C^f" Qf] It is difficult to conceive, what could engage Dr. Mosheim to place Pajon in the class of those who explained the doctrines of Christianity in such a manner, as to diminish the difference between the doctrine of the Reformed and Ro mish churches. Pajon was, indeed, a moderate divine, and leaned somewhat towards the Arminian system ; and this pro pensity was not uncommon among the French Protestants. But few doctors of this time wrote with more learning, zeal, and judgment against popery than Claude Pajon, as appears from his excellent treatise against Nicole, entitled, " Examen du Livre, qui porte pour titre prejugees legitimes contre les Calvinistes."

[V] In his Theses Theologies, which have passed through several editions, and are highly worthy of an attentive peru sal. They were twice printed at London.

380 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, who looked upon all attempts to soften and mo- XVIL dify controverted doctrines as dangerous and de- PART ii trimental to the cause of truth [-27]. On the other \t^~Y^s hand, the acuteness and dexterity with which he treated this nice matter, made a considerable im pression upon several persons, and procured him disciples, who still entertain his reconciling sen timents, hut either conceal them entirely, or dis cover them with caution, as they are known to be displeasing to the greatest part of the members of both communions.

Claude Pa- XVII. The modifications under which Pajon exhibited some of the doctrines of the Reformed church, were also extremely offensive and unpo pular. This ecclesiastic applied the principles and tenets of the Cartesian philosophy, of which he was a warm and able defender, in explaining the opinions of that church relating to the cor ruption of human nature, the state of its moral faculties and powers, the grace of God, and the conversion of sinners ; and, in the judgment of many, he gave an erroneous interpretation of these opinions. It is, indeed, very difficult to determine what were the real sentiments of this man ; nor is it easy to say, whether this difficulty be most owing to the affected obscurity and ambiguity under which he disguised them, or to the inac curacy with which his adversaries, through negli gence or malignity, have represented them. If we may give credit to the latter, his doctrine amounts to the following propositions : " That " the corruption of man is less, and his natural " power to amend his ways greater, than is gene- " rally imagined : — That original sin lies in the " understanding alone, and consists principally in " the obscurity and imperfection of our ideas (( of divine things : — That this imperfection of

"the

[V) See Bayle's Dictionary, at the article Beaulieit.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 381

" the human understanding has a pernicious in- CENT. " fluence upon the will, excites in it vicious pro- " pensities, and thus leads it to sinful actions ; — P^UT Ir] " That this internal disorder is healed, not by " the mere efforts of our natural faculties and " powers, hut by the assistance and energy of the " Holy Spirit, operating upon the mind by the " divine word as its mean or instrument : — That, " however, this word is not endowed with any " divine intrinsic energy, either natural or super- " natural, but only with a moral influence, i. e. " that it corrects and improves the understand- " ing, in the same manner as human truth does, " even by imparting clear and distinct notions of " spiritual and divine things, and furnishing so- " lid arguments for the truth and divinity of the " Christian religion, and its perfect conformity " with the dictates of right reason : — And that, " of consequence, every man, if no internal or " external impediments destroy or suspend the " exertion of his natural powers and faculties, " may, by the use of his own reason, and a careful " and assiduous study of the revealed will of God, " be enabled to correct what is amiss in his senti- " ments, affections, and actions, without any extra- " ordinary assistance from the Holy Ghost [ ?/]." Such is the account of the opinions of Pajon that is given by his adversaries. On the other hand, if we take our ideas of his doctrine from himself, we shall find this account disingenuous and erroneous. Pajon intimates plainly his as sent to the doctrines that were confirmed by the synod of Dort, and that are contained in the ca techisms and confessions of faith of the Reformed

churches ;

Fred. Spanheim, Append, ad Elcnchum Controverriar. torn. iii. opp. p. 882. — Jurieu. Traitc de la Naiura ct de fa Grace, p. 35. — Val. Era. Locheri Excrcit. de Claud. Pajonii ej usque seclalor, doctrlna el fails Lips.

382 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, churches ; he complains that his doctrine has been XVIL ill understood or wilfully perverted; and he ob- serves> tnat ne did not deny entirely an immediate operation of the Holy Spirit on the minds of those that are really converted to God, but only such an immediate operation as was not accompanied with the ministry and efficacy of the divine word ; or, to express the matter in other terms, he de clared that he could not adopt the sentiments of those who represent that word as no more than an instrument void of intrinsic efficacy, a mere exter nal sign of an immediate operation of the Spirit of God [z]. This last declaration is, however, both obscure and captious. Be that as it may, Pajon concludes by observing, that we ought not to dis pute about the manner in which the Holy Spirit operates upon the minds of men, but content our selves with acknowledging, that he is the true and original author of all that is good in the affections of our heart, and the actions that proceed from them. Notwithstanding these declarations, the doctrine of this learned and ingenious ecclesiastic was not only looked upon as heterodox by some of the most eminent divines of the Reformed church, but was also condemned in the year 1677, by several synods in France, and, in 1686, by a synod assembled at Rotterdam.

XVIII. This controversy, which seemed to be brought to a conclusion by the death of Pajon, was revived, or rather continued, by Isaac Papin, his nephew, a native of Blois, who, by his writ ings and travels, was highly instrumental in com municating to England, Holland, and Germany,

the

[V) All these declarations made by Pajon may be seen in a confession of his faith, supposed to have been drawn up by himself, and published by the learned M. de Chauffepied, in his Nouvcau Dictionaire Histor. et Critique, torn. ii. p. 164. in note (a) of the article Le Cene.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 383

the contagion of these unhappy debates. This CENT. ecclesiastic expressed his sentiments without am- XVIL biguity or reserve, and propagated every where the doctrine of his uncle, which, according to his crude and harsh manner of representing it, he reduced to the two following propositions :

" That the natural powers and faculties of man " are more than sufficient to lead him to the " knowledge of divine truth :

" That, in order to produce that amendment of " the heart, which is called regeneration^ nothing " more is requisite than to put the body, if its ha- " bit is bad, into a sound state by the power of " physic, and then to set truth and falsehood be- " fore the understanding, and virtue and vice be- " fore the will, in their genuine colours, clearly " and distinctly, so as that their nature and pro- " perties may be fully apprehended."

This and the other opinions of Papin were re futed, with a considerable degree of acrimony, in the year 1686, by the famous Jurieu, professor of divinity, and pastor of the French church at Rotterdam, and they were condemned the year following by the synod of Boisleduc. In the year 1688, they were condemned with still greater marks of severity, by the French synod at the Hague, where a sentence of excommunication was pronounced against their author. Exasperated at these proceedings, Papin returned into France in the year 1690, where he abjured publicly the Pro testant religion, and embraced the communion of the church of Home, in which he died in the year 1709 [a]. It has been affirmed by some that this ingenuous man was treated with great ri gour and injustice ; and that his theological opi nions were unfaithfully represented by his violent

and

O] See Jurieu De la Nature et de la Gmce.— Molleri Ci?n« kria literal torn. ii. p. COS.

384 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, and unrelenting adversary, Jurieu, whose warmth XV1L and impetuosity in religious controversy are well known. How far this affirmation may be sup ported by evidence, we cannot pretend to deter mine. A doctrine something like that of Pajon, was maintained in several treatises, in the year

Le Cene. 1684, by Charles le Cene, a French divine of un common learning and sagacity, who gave a new and very singular translation of the Bible [&]. But he entirely rejected the doctrine of Original Si?i, and of the importance of human nature : and asserted, that it was in every man's power to amend his ways, and arrive at a state of obedience and virtue, by the mere use of his natural fa culties, and an attentive study of the divine word ; more especially, if these were seconded by the advantage of a good education, and the influence of virtuous examples. Hence several divines pre tend that his doctrine is, in many respects, differ ent from that of Pajon [c].

The state XIX The clmrch of England had, for a long

church of time, resembled a ship tossed on a boisterous and un<fernd temPestuous ocean. The opposition of the Pa- James i. pists on the one hand, and the discontents and re monstrances of the Puritans on the other, had kept it in a perpetual ferment. When, on the death of Elizabeth, James I. ascended the throne, these latter conceived the warmest hopes of seeing more serene and prosperous days, and of being delivered from the vexations and op pressions they were constantly exposed to, on ac count of their attachment to the discipline and worship of the church of Geneva. These hopes were so much the more natural, as the king had

received

p>] This translation was published at Amsterdam in the year 1741, and was condemned by the French synod in Holland.

\_c\ See the learned and laborious M. ChaufFepied's Nouv. Diction. Hist, d Critiq. torn. ii. p. 160. at the article Le

PART II.

Chap. II. TJie History of the Reformed Church. 385

received his education in Scotland, where the Pu~ CENT. ritans prevailed, and had, on some occasions, XV1L made the strongest declarations of his attachment to their ecclesiastical constitution [V]. And some of the first steps taken by this prince seemed to encourage these hopes, as he appeared desirous of assuming the character and office of an arbitra tor, in order to accommodate matters between the church and the Puritans [e]. But these expecta tions soon vanished, and, under the government of James, things put on a new face. As the desire of unlimited power and authority was the reign ing

#3=* [J] In a General Assembly held at Edinburgh, in the year 1590, this prince is said to have made the following pub lic declaration : " I praise God that I was born in the time of the light of the gospel, and in such a place as to be the king of the sincerest (i. e. purest} kirk in the world. The kirk of Geneva keep pasche and yule (i. e. Easter and Christmas). What have they for them? They have no institution. As for our neighbour kirk of England, their service is an evil- said mass in English ; they want nothing of the mass but the liftings (i. e. the elevation of the host}. I charge you, my good ministers, doctors, elders, nobles, gentlemen, and ba rons, to stand to your purity, and to exhort your people to do the same ; and I, forsooth, as long as I brook my life, shall do the same." Calderwood's History of the Church of Scotland, p. 256.

(£?> [e~] The religious disputes between the church and the Puritans induced James to appoint a conference between the two parties at Hampton Court ; at which nine bishops, and as many dignitaries of the church appeared on the one side, and four puritan ministers on the other. The king himself took a considerable part in the controversy against the latter ; and this was an occupation well adapted to his taste ; for nothing could be more pleasing to this royal pedant, than to dictate magisterially to an assembly of divines concerning points of faith and discipline, and to receive the applauses of these holy men for his superior zeal and learning. The conference con tinued three days. The first day it was held between the king and the bishops and deans, to whom James proposed some objections against certain expressions in the liturgy, and a few alterations in the ritual of the church ; in consequence of which, some slight alterations were made. The two follow-

VOL. V. C c ing-

386 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, ing passion in the heart of this monarch, so all his XVIL measures, whether of a civil or religious nature, FART ii were emulated to answer the purposes of his ^^^^ ambition. The Presbyterian form of ecclesiastical government seemed less favourable to his views than the episcopal hierarchy ; as the former exhi bits a kind of republic, which is administered by various rules of equal authority ; while the latter approaches much nearer to the spirit and genius of monarchy. The very name of a republic synod, or council, was odious to James, who dreaded every thing that had a popular aspect; hence he distinguished the bishops with peculiar marks of his favour, extended their authority, increased their prerogatives, and publicly adopted and in culcated the following maxim, No bishop, no king. At the same time, as the church of England had not yet abandoned the Calvinistical doctrines of Predestination and Grace, he also adhered to them for some time, and gave his theological represen tatives, in the synod of Dort, an order to join in the condemnation of the sentiments of Arminius, in relation to these deep and intricate points.

Abbot,

ing days the Puritans were admitted, whose proposals and re monstrances may be seen in Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. ii. p. 15. Dr. Warner, in his Ecclesiastical History of England, observes, that this author must be read with cau tion, on account of his unfairness and partiality ; why there fore did he not take his account of the Hampton Court con ference from a better source ? The different accounts of the opposite parties, and more particularly those published by Dr. Barlow, dean of Chester, on the one hand, and Patrick Gal loway, a Scots writer, on the other (both of whom were pre sent at the conference), must be carefully consulted, in order to our forming a proper idea of these theological transactions. James at least obtained, on this occasion, the applause he had in view. The archbishop of Canterbury, (Whitgift) said, " That undoubtedly his majesty spoke by the special assist ance of God's spirit :" and Bancroft, falling on his knees,

with his eyes raised to James, expressed himself thus :

" I protest my heart melteth for joy, that Almighty God, of his singular mercy, has given us such a king, as since Christ's time has not been."

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 387

Abbot, archbishop of Canterbury, a man of re- CENT. markable gravity f /'], and eminent zeal, both for J^}1'

O «•« T 1 • — oJfcLC>l«iJfc

civil and religious liberty, whose lenity towards PART IIk

their ^-^y— '

(£f= [/] Lord Clarendon says, in his History of the Re bellion, that " Abbot was a man of very morose manners, and " of a very sour aspect, which at that time was called Gra-' " vitij." If, in general, we strike a medium between what Clarendon and Neal say of this prelate, we shall probably ar rive at the true knowledge of his character. See the History of the Rebellion, vol. i. p. 88. and Neal's History of the Puri tans, vol. ii. p. 243. It is certain, that nothing can be more unjust and partial than Clarendon's account of this eminent prelate, particularly when he says, that he neither understood nor regarded the constitution of the church. But it is too much the custom of this writer, and others of his stamp, to give the denomination of latitudinarian indifference to that charity, pru dence, and moderation, by which alone the best interest so? the church (though not the personal views of many of its ambi tious members) can be established upon jirm and permanent foundations. Abbot would have been reckoned a good churchman by some, if he had breathed that spirit of despo tism and violence, which, being essentially incompatible with the spirit and character of a people, not only free, but jealous of their Jiberty, has often endangered the church by exciting that resentment which always renders opposition excessive. Abbot was so far from being indifferent about the constitution of the church, or inclined to the Presbyterian discipline (as this noble author affirms in his History of the Rebellion), that it was by his zeal and dexterity that the clergy of Scotland, who had refused to admit the Bishops as moderators in their church- synods, were brought to a more tractable temper, and things put into such a situation as afterwards produced the entire establishment of the episcopal order in that nation. It is true, that Abbot's zeal in this affair was conducted with great prudence and moderation, and it was by these that his zeal was rendered successful. Nor have these his transactions in Scotland, where he went as chaplain to the Lord High Treasurer Dunbar, been sufficiently attended to by histori ans ; nay, they seem to have been entirely unknown to some, who have pretended to depreciate the conduct and principles of this virtuous and excellent prelate. King James, who had been so zealous a presbyterian in appearance before his acces sion to the Crown of England, had scarcely set his foot out of Scotland, when he conceived the design of restoring the ancient form of episcopal government in that kingdom ; and it was Abbot's transactions there that brought him to that C c t high

388

CENT.

XVII. SECT. II. PART II.

T/ie History of the Reformed Church.

their ancestors the Puritans still celebrate in the highest strains [g], used his utmost endeavours

to

high favour with the king, which, in the space of little more than three years, raised him from the deanry of Winchester to the see of Canterbury. For it was by Abbot's mild and prudent counsels, that Dunbar procured that famous act of the General Assembly of Scotland, by which it was provided, " that the King should have the calling of all general assem- " blies — that the bishops (or their deputies) should be per- " petual moderators of the Diocesian synods — that no ex- " communication should be pronounced without their appro- " bation — that all presentations of benefices should be made " by them — that the deprivation or suspension of ministers " should belong to them — that the visitation of the diocese " should be performed by the bishop or his deputy only — 11 and that the bishop should be moderator of all conventions " for exercisings or prophesying,? (i. e. preaching) within their " bounds." See Calderwood's True History of the Church of Scotland, fol. 1680. 588, 589. Heylin's History of the Pres byterians, p. 381, 382. and above all, Speed's History of Great Britain, Book x. fol. 1227. The writers who seem the least disposed to speak favourably of this wise and good prelate, bear testimony, nevertheless, to his eminent piety, his exemp lary conversation and his inflexible probity and integrity : and it may be said with truth, that, if his moderate measures had been pursued, the liberties of England would have been secu red, Popery discountenanced, and the church prevented from running into those excesses which afterwards proved so fatal to it. If Abbot's candour failed him on any occasion, it was in the representations, which his rigid attachment, not to the discipline, but to the doctrinal tenets of Calvinism, led him to give of the Arminian doctors. There is a remarkable instance of this in a letter of his to Sir Ralph Winwood, dated at Lambeth the 1st of June 1613, and occasioned by the arrival of Grotius in England, who had been expressly sent from Hol land, by the Remonstrants, or Arminians, to mitigate the king's displeasure and antipathy against that party. In this letter, the Archbishop represents Grotius (with whom he certainly was not worthy to be named, either in point of learning, sagacity, or judgment) as a Pedant; and mentions, with a high degree of complacence and approbation, the ab surd and impertinent judgment of some civilians and divines, who called this immortal ornament of the republic of letters, a smaller er and a simple fellow. See Win wood's Memorials t vol. iii. p. 459.

C^l See Anton. Wood, Athence Oxoniens. torn. i. p. 583.— Neat's History of the Puritans, vol. ii. ch. iv. p. 242. — Cla rendon's History of the Rebellion) vol. i.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 389

to confirm the king in the principles of Calvinism, CENT. to which he himself was thoroughly attached. But scarcely had the British divines returned from sr

* "A rt 1 1 1 •

the synod of JDort, and given an account of the ^^y^/ laws that had been enacted, and the doctrines that had been established by that famous assembly, than the king, together with the greatest part of the episcopal clergy, discovered in the strongest terms, their dislike of these proceedings, and judged the sentiments of Arminus, relating to the divine decrees, preferable to those of Goma- rus and Calvin [A]. This sudden and unex pected

[A] See Heylin's History of the Five Articles. — Neal, ib. vol. ii. ch. ii. p. 117- This latter author tells us, that the following verses were made in England, with a design to pour contempt on the synod of Dort, and to turn its proceedings into ridicule :

" Dordrechti Synodus, Nodus ; Chorus Integer, .^Eger ;

" Conventus, Ventus : Sessio, Stramen. Amen * !" With respect to James, those who are desirous of forming a just idea of the character, proceedings, and theological fickle ness and inconstancy of that monarch, must peruse the writers of English history, more especially Larrey and Rapin Thoy- ras. The greatest part of these writers tell us, that, towards the latter end of his days, James, after having deserted from the Calvinists to the Arminians, began to discover a singular propensity towards Popery; and they affirm positively, that he entertained the most ardent desire of bringing about a union between the church of England and the church of Rome. In this, however, these writers seem to have gone too far ; for though many of the proceedings of this injudicious prince de serve justly the sharpest censure, yet it is both rash and unjust to accuse him of a design to introduce Popery into England.

Cc3 It

K$» * It would be a difficult, nay, an unsurmountable task, to justify all the proceedings of the synod of Dort ; and it were much to be wished, that they had been more conformable to the spirit of Christian charity, than the representations of history, impartially weighed, shew them to have been. We are not, however, to conclude from the insipid monkish lines here quoted by Dr. Moshetm, that the transactions and decisions of that synod were universally condemned or despised in England. It had its partisans in the established church, as well as among the Puritans ; and its decisions, in point of doctrine, \\cre looked upon by many, and not without reason, as agreeable to the tonor of the book of Articles established by law in the Church of England.

390 TJie History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, pected change in the theological opinions of the XVIL court and clergy, was certainly owing to a va- FART ii r*ety °^ reasons» as witt appear evident to those v^Y^J who have any acquaintance with the spirit and transactions of these times. The principal one, if we are not deceived, must be sought in the plans of a further reformation of the church of England, that were proposed by several eminent ecclesiastics, whose intention was to bring it to as near a resemblance as was possible of the pri mitive church. And every one knows, that the peculiar doctrines to which the victory was assign ed by the synod of JDort were absolutely unknown in the first ages of the Christian church [i~\. Be

that

It is not to be believed, that a prince, who aspired after arbi trary power and uncontrolled dominion, could ever have en tertained a thought of submitting to the yoke of the Roman pontiff^;. The truth of the matter seems to be this, that to wards the latter end of his reign, James began to have less aversion to the doctrines and rites of the Romish church, and permitted certain religious observances, that were conform able to the spirit of that church, to be used in England. This conduct was founded upon a manner of reasoning, which h had learned from several bishops of his time, viz. That the primitive church is the model which all Christian churches ought to imitate in doctrine and worship ; that, in proportion as any church approaches to this primitive standard of truth and purity, it must become proportionably pure and perfect ; and that the Romish church retained more of the spirit and manner of the primitive church than the Puritan or Calvinist churches. (£=r Of these three propositions, the two first are undoubtedly true, and the last is evidently and demonstrably false. Besides, this makes nothing to the argument ; for, as James had a manifest aversion to the Puritans, it could, in his eyes, be no very great recommendation of the Romish church, that it surpassed that of the Puritans in doctrine and discipline. 0^- p] Dr. Mosheim has annexed the following note to this passage : " Perhaps the king entered into these ecclesiastical proceedings with the more readiness, when he reflected on the civil commotions and tumults that an attachment to the Presbyterian religion had occasioned in Scotland. There

are

J This remark is confuted by fact, observation, and the perpetual contra dictions that are observable in the conduct of men ; besides, see the note (?).

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 391

that as it may, this change was fatal to the inte- CENT. rests of the Puritans ; for, the king being indis posed to the opinions and institutions of Calvi nism, the Puritans were left without defence, and exposed anew to the animosity and hatred of their adversaries, which had been, for some time, sus pended; but now broke out with redoubled ve hemence, and at length kindled a religious war, whose consequences were deplorable beyond ex pression. In the year 162,5, died James I. the bit terest enemy of the doctrine and discipline of the Puritans, to which he had been in his youth most warmly attached ; the most inflexible and ardent patron of the Arminians, in whose ruin and con demnation in Holland he had been singularly in strumental; and the most zealous defender of c c 4 episcopal

are also some circumstances that intimate plainly enough, that James before his accession to the crown of England, was very far from having an aversion to Popery." Thus far the note of our author, and whoever looks into the Historical View of the Negociations between the Courts of England, France, and Brussels, from the year 1592 to l6l7, extracted from the MSS. State Papers of Sir Thomas Edmondes and Anthony Bacon, Esq. and published in the year 1749, by the learned and judicious Dr. Birch, will be persuaded, that to wards the year 1595, this fickle and unsteady prince had really formed a design to embrace the faith of Rome. See in the curious collection now mentioned, the Postscript of a letter from Sir Thomas Edmondes to the Lord High Trea surer, dated the 20th of December 1595. We learn also, from the Memoirs of Sir Ralph Winwood, that, in the year 1596, James sent Mr. Ogilby, a Scots baron, into Spain, to assure his Catholic Majesty, that he was then ready and re solved to embrace Popery, and to propose an alliance with that king and the Pope against the queen of England. See State Tracts, vol. i. p. 1. See also an extract of a letter from Tobie Matthew, D. D. dean of Durham, to the Lord Trea surer Burleigh, containing an information of Scotch affairs, in Strype's Annals, vol. iv. p. 201. Above all, see Harris' Historical and Critical Account of the Life and Writings of James I. p. 29, note (N). This last writer may be added to Larrey and Rapin, who have exposed the pliability and in consistency of this self-sufficient monarch.

The History of the Eeformed Church.

CENT, episcopal government, against which he had more than once expressed himself in the strongest terms. He left the constitution of England, hoth ecclesiastical and civil, in a very unsettled and fluctuating state, languishing under intestine dis orders of various kinds. The state XX. His son and successor Charles I. who had Omreh of imkibed his political and religious principles, had England nothing so much at heart as to hring to perfec- CharLs i. ti°n w^at his father had left unfinished. All the exertions of his zeal, and the whole tenor of his administration, were directed towards the three following objects : " The extending the royal pre- " rogative, and raising the power of the crown " above the authority of the law — the reduction '" of all the churches in Great Britain and Ireland " under the jurisdiction of bishops, whose govern- " ment he looked upon as of divine institution, " and also as the most adapted to guard the pri- " vileges and majesty of the throne — and, lastly, " the suppression of the opinions and institutions " that were peculiar to Calvinism, and the model- " ling of the doctrine, discipline, ceremonies, and " polity of the church of England., after the spirit " and constitution of the primitive church." The person whom the king chiefly intrusted with the execution of this arduous plan, was William Laud, bishop of London, who was afterwards raised in the year 1633, to the see of Canterbury, and ex hibited in these high stations a mixed character, composed of great qualities and great defects. The voice of justice must celebrate his erudition, his fortitude, his ingenuity, his zeal for the sciences, and his munificence and liberality to men of letters ; and, at the same time, even charity must acknowledge with regret, his inexcusable imprudence, his excessive superstition, his rigid attachment to the sentiments, rites, and institu tions of the ancient church, which made him be hold

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 393

hold the Puritans and C.alvinists with horror [A?] ; CENT. and that violent spirit of animosity and persecu- g^1*" tion that discovered itself in the whole course of PART „" his ecclesiastical administration [/]. This haughty w-y^/ prelate executed the plans of his royal master, and fulfilled the views of his own ambition, without using those mild and moderate methods, that pru dence employs to make unpopular schemes go down. He carried things with a high hand ; when he found the laws opposing his views, he treated them with contempt, and violated them without hesitation ; he loaded the Puritans with injuries and vexations, and aimed at nothing less than their total extinction ; he rejected the Cal- vinistical doctrine of Predestination publicly in the year 1625; and, notwithstanding the opposition and remonstrances of Abbot, substituted the Ar- ininian system in its place [w] ; he revived many religious rites and ceremonies, which though

stamped

{_k~\ See Ant. Wood, Athcncc Oxonicns. torn. ii. p. 55. — Heylin's Cyprianus, or the History of the Life and death of William Laud, published at London in 1668. — Clarendon's History, vol. i.

\_l~] " Sincere he undoubtedly was (says Mr. Hume), and, however misguided, actuated by religious principles in all his pursuits ; and it is to be regretted, that a man of such spirit, •who conducted his enterprizes with such warmth and indus try, had not entertained more enlarged views, and embraced principles more favourable to the general happiness of human society."

Qw] See Mich, le Vassor, Hist, de Louis XIII. torn. v. p. 262.

(j^f3 This expression may lead the uninformed reader into a mistake, and make him imagine that Laud had caused the Calvinistical doctrine of the xxxix Articles to be abrogated, arid the tenets of Arminius to be substituted in their place. It may therefore be proper to set this matter in a clearer light. In the year 1625, Laud wrote a small treatise to prove the orthodoxy of the Arminian doctrines ; and, by his credit with the duke of Buckingham, had Arminian and Anti-puritanical chaplains placed about the king. This step increased the debates between the Calvinistical and Arminian doctors, and

produced

394

The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, stamped with the sanction of antiquity, were ne- xvn. vertheless marked with the turpitude of supersti tion,

produced the warmest animosities and dissensions. To calm these, the king issued out a proclamation dated the 14th of January 1626, the literal tenor of which was, in truth, more favourable to the Calvinists than to the Arminians, though, by the manner in which it was interpreted and executed by Laud, it was turned to the advantage of the latter. In this proclama tion it was said expressly, " that his majesty would admit of no " innovations in the doctrine, discipline, or government of the " church ;" (N. B. The doctrine of the church previously to " this, was Calvinistical,} " and therefore charges all his sub- " jects, and especially the clergy, not to publish or maintain in <f preaching or writing, any new inventions or opinions, contrary <f to the said doctrine and discipline established by law, &c." It was certainly a very singular instance of Laud's indecent partiality, that this proclamation was employed to suppress the books that were expressly written in the defence of the xxxix Articles, while the writings of the Arminians, who certainly opposed these articles, were publicly licensed. I do not here enter into the merits of the cause ; I only speak of the tenor of the Proclamation, and the manner of its execution.

This manner of proceeding shewed how difficult and arduous a thing it is to change systems of doctrine established by law, since neither Charles, who was by no means diffident of his authority, nor Laud, who was far from being timorous in the use and abuse of it, attempted to reform articles of faith, that stood in direct opposition to the Arminian doctrines, which they were now promoting by the warmest encouragements, and which were daily gaining ground under their protection. Instead of reforming the xxxix Articles, which step would have met with great opposition from the House of Commons, and from a considerable part of the clergy and laity, who were still warmly attached to Calvinism, Laud advised the king to have these articles reprinted, with an ambiguous declaration prefixed to them, which might tend to silence or discourage the reigning controversies between the Calvinists and Arminians, and thus secure to the latter an unmolested state, in which they would daily find their power growing under the countenance and protection of the court. This declaration, which, in most editions of the Common- Prayer, is still to be found at the head of the articles, is a most curious piece of political theology ; and had it not borne hard upon the right of private judgment, and been evidently designed to favour one party, though it carried the aspect of a perfect neutrality, it might have been looked upon as a wise and provident measure to secure the

tranquillity

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 395

tion, and had been justly abrogated on that ac- CENT. count ; he forced bishops upon the Scots nation, XVIL

, . T SECT. II.

which PART Ik

tranquillity of the church. For, in the tenor of this decla ration, precision was sacrificed to prudence and ambiguity, nay, even contradictions, were preferred before consistent, clear, and positive decisions, that might have fomented dissen sions and discord. The declaration seemed to favour the Calvinists, since it prohibited the affixing any new sense to any article ; it also favoured in effect the Arminians, as it or dered all curious search about the contested points to be laid aside, and these disputes to be shut up in God's promises, as they are generally set forth to us in holy scriptures, and the general meaning of the articles of the church of England according to them. But what was singularly preposterous in this declaration was, its being designed to favour the Armi nians, and yet prohibiting expressly any person, either in their sermons or writings, to put his own sense or comment to be the meaning of the article, and ordering them, on the con trary, to take each article in its literal and grammatical sense, and to submit to it in the full and plain meaning thereof; for certainly, if the l?th article has a plain, literal, and gramma tical meaning, it is a meaning unfavourable to Arminianism ; and bishop Burnet was obliged afterwards to acknowledge, that without enlarging the sense of the articles, the Armi nians could not subscribe them consistently with their opi nions, nor without violatingthe demands of common ingenuity. See Burnet's remarks on the examination of his exposition, &c. p. 3.

This renders it probable, that the declaration now mentioned (in which we see no royal signature, no attestation of any of ficer of the crown, no date, in short no mark to shew where, when, or by what authority it was issued out) was not com posed in the reign of king Charles. Bishop Burnet, indeed, was of opinion, that it was composed in that reign to sup port the Arminians, who, when they were charged with de parting from the true sense of the articles, answered, " That they took the articles in their literal and grammatical sense, and therefore did not prevaricate." But this reasoning does not appear conclusive to the acute and learned author of the Confessional. He thinks it more probable that the declara tion was composed, and first published, in the latter part of king James' reign ; for though, says he, there be no evidence that James ever turned Arminian in principle, yet that was the party that stuck to him in his measures, and which it be came necessary for him on that account to humour, and to render respectable in the eyes of the people by every expedient

that

396 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, which were zealously attached to the discipline and XVIL ecclesiastical polity of Geneva, and had shewn, on

!f/-T. TT A •> '

all occasions, the greatest reluctance against an episcopal government ; and, lastly, he gave many, and very plain intimations, that he looked upon the Romish church, with all its errors as more pure, more holy, and preferable upon the whole, to those Protestant churches that were not sub ject to the jurisdiction of bishops. By these his unpopular sentiments and violent measures, Laud drew an odium on the king, on himself, and on the episcopal order in general. Hence, in the year 1644, he was brought before the public tribunals of justice, declared guilty of high treason, and condemned to lose his head on a scaffold ; which sentence was accordingly executed.

After the death of Laud, the dissensions that had reigned for a long time between the king and parliament, grew still more violent, and arose at length, to so great a height, that they could not be extinguished but by the blood of that excel lent prince. The great council of the nation, heated by the violent suggestions of the Puritans, and Independents [n\9 abolished episcopal govern ment ; condemned and abrogated every thing in the ecclesiastical establishment that was contrary to the doctrine, worship, and discipline of the church of Geneva : turned the vehemence of their

opposition

that might not bring any reflection on his own consistency. " And whoever (continues this author) considers the quib» bling and equivocal terms in Mrhich this instrument is drawn, will, I am persuaded, observe the distress of a man divided between his principles and his interests, that is, of a man ex actly in the situation of king James I. in the three last years of his reign." It is likely then, that this declaration was only republished at the head of the articles, which were reprinted by the order of Charles I.

JV] The origin of this sect has been already mentioned.

SECT. II. PART II.

Chap. II. TJic History of the Reformed Church. 397

opposition against the king himself, and having CENT. brought him into their power by the fate of arms, XVIL accused him of treason against the majesty of the nation ; and in the year 1(J48, while the eyes of Europe were fixed with astonishment on this strange spectacle, caused his head to be struck off on a public scaffold. Such are the calamities that flow from religious zeal without knowledge, from that enthusiasm and bigotry that inspire a blind and immoderate attachment to the external unes sential parts of religion, and to certain doctrines ill understood ! These broils and tumults served also unhappily to confirm the truth of an observa tion often made, that all religious sects, while they are kept under and oppressed, are remark able for inculcating the duties of moderation, for bearance, and charity towards those who dissent from them ; but, as soon as the scenes of persecu tion are removed, and they, in their turn arrive at power and pre-eminence, they forget their own precepts and maxims, and leave both the recom mendation and practice of charity to those that groan under their yoke. Such in reality, was the conduct and behaviour of the Puritans during their transitory exaltation ; they shewed as little clemency and equity to the bishops and other pa trons of episcopacy, as they had received from them when the reins of government were in their hands [o].

XXI. The Independents, who have been just The mentioned among the promoters of civil discord pen in England, are generally represented by the Bri tish writers in a much worse light than the Pres byterians or Calvinists. They are commonly ac cused of various enormities, and are even charged with the crime of parricide, as having borne a

principal

[V) Besides Clarendon and the other writers of English his tory already mentioned, see Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. ii. and iii.

398 Tlie History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, principal part in the death of the king. But xvu. whoever will be at the pains of examining, with impartiality and attention, the writings of that sect, and their confession of faith, must soon per ceive, that many crimes have been imputed to them without foundation, and will probably be induced to think, that the bold attempts of the civil Independents (i. e. of those warm republicans who were the declared enemies of monarchy, and wanted to extend the liberty of the people be yond all bounds of wisdom and prudence) have been unjustly laid to the charge of those Independ ents, whose principles were merely of a religious kind [j>]. The religious Independents desire

their

[ p] The sect of the Independents is of recent date, and still subsists in England; there is, nevertheless, not one, ei ther of the ancient or modern sects of Christians, that is less known, or has been more loaded with groundless aspersions and reproaches. The most eminent English writers, not only among the patrons of Episcopacy, but even among those very Presbyterians with whom they are now united, have thrown out against them the bitterest accusations and the severest in vectives that the warmest indignation could invent. They have not only been represented as delirious, mad, fanatical, il literate, factious, and ignorant both of natural and revealed religion, but also as abandoned to all kinds of wickedness and sedition, and as the only authors of the odious parricide com mitted on the person of Charles 1. 1. And as the authors who have given these representations, are considered by fo reigners as the best and most authentic relaters of the transac tions that have passed in their own country, and are therefore followed as the surest guides,, the Independents appear almost every where, under the most unfavourable aspect. It must indeed be candidly acknowledged, that as every class and or der of men consists of persons of very different characters and

qualities^

f Durell, (whom nevertheless Lewis de Moulin, the most zealous de fender of the Independents, commends on account of his ingenuity and candour), in his Historia Rituum Sanctae Ecclesise Ariglicanae. cap. i. p. 4. expresses himself thus : " Fateor, si atrocis illius Tragrediae tot actus fue- rint, quot ludicrarum esse solent, postremum fere Independentium fuisse. — Adeo ut non acute magis, quam vere, dixerit L'Estrangius Noster : Re- gem primo a Presbyterianis interemtum, Carolum delude ab indepeuden- tibus interfectum,

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 399

their denomination from the following prin- CENT. ciple, which they held in common with the XVIL

' -n • j. SECT. II.

Brownuts, PART u

qualities, so also the sect of Independents, has been dishonour- <^*~Y*^/ ed by several turbulent, factious, profligate, and flagitious members. But if it is a constant maxim with the wise and prudent, not to judge of the spirit and principles of a sect from the actions or expressions of a handful of its members, but from the manners, customs, opinions, and behaviour of the generality of those who compose it, from the writings and discourses of its learned men, and from its public and avowed forms of doctrine, and confessions of faith ; then, I make no doubt, but that, by this rule of estimating matters, the Inde pendents will appear to have been unjustly loaded with so many accusations and reproaches.

We shall take no notice of the invidious and severe ani madversions that have been made upon this religious Com munity by Clarendon, Echard, Parker, and so many other writers. To set this whole matter in the clearest and most impartial light, we shall confine ourselves to the account of the Independents given by a writer, justly celebrated by the English themselves, and who, though a foreigner, is generally supposed to have had an accurate knowledge of the British nation, its history, its parties, its sects and revolutions. This writer is Rapin Thoyras, (who in the twenty-first book of his History of England, vol. ii. p. 514. edit, folio) represents the Independents under such horrid colours, that, were his portrait just, they would not deserve to enjoy the light of the sun, or to breathe the free air of Britain, much less to be treated with indulgence and esteem by those who have the cause of virtue at heart. Let us now examine the account which this illustrious historian gives of this sect. He declares, in the first place, that notwithstanding all the pains he had taken to trace out the true origin of it, his enquiries had been entirely fruitless : his words are, as translated by Mr. Tindal, " After all my pains I have not been able to discover, pre cisely, the first rise of the Independent sect or faction." It is very surprising to hear a man of learning, who had em ployed seventeen years in composing the History of England^ and had admittance to so many rich and famous libraries, ex press his ignorance of a matter, about which it was so easy to acquire ample information. Had he only looked into the work of the learned Hornbeck, entitled, Summa Conlruvcrsia- rum, lib. x. p. 775. he would have found, in a moment, what lie had been so long and so laboriously seeking in vain. Ra pin proceeds to the doctrines and opinions of the Independ ents, and begins here, by a general declaration of their ten dency to throw the nation into disorder and combustion ; his

words

400 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT. Brownists, that every Christian congregation

xvii. ought to be governed by its own laws, without

SECT< "• depending

PART II.

v^^-y-^ words are, " Thus much is certain, their principles were very proper to put the kingdom in a flame ; and this they did ef fectually." What truth there is in this assertion, will be seen by what follows. Their sentiments concerning government were, if we are to believe this writer, of the most pernicious kind ; since according to him, they wanted to overturn the monarchy, and to establish a democracy in its place; his words are, " With regard to the state they abhorred mo narchy, and approved only a republican government." I will not pretend to deny, that there were among the Independents several persons that were no friends to a kingly government : persons of this kind were to be found among the Presbyteri ans, Anabaptists, and all the other religious sects and commu nities that flourished in England during this tumultuous pe riod ; but I want to see it proved, in an evident and satisfac tory manner, that these republican principles were embraced by all the Independents, and formed one of the distinguishing characteristics of that sect. There is, at least, no such thing to be found in their public writings. They declared, on the contrary, in a public memorial drawn up by them in the year 1647, that, as magistracy in general is the ordinance of God, " they do not disapprove of any form of civil government, but do freely acknowledge that, a kingly government, bounded by just and wholesome laws, is both allowed by God, and also a good accommodation unto men." I omit the mention of several other circumstances, which unite to prove that the Independents were far from looking with abhorrence on a monarchial government. Their sentiments of religion, according to Rapin's account, were highly absurd, since he represents their principles as en tirely opposite to those of all other religious communities : As to religion, says he, their principles were contrary to those of all the rest of the world." \Vith respect to this accusation, it may be proper to observe, that there are extant two Confes sions of Faith, one of the English Independents in Holland, and another drawn up by the principal members of that com munity in England. The former was composed by John Ro binson, the founder of the sect, and was published at Lcyden, in 4to, in the year 1619, under the following title ; " Apolo gia pro exulibus Anglis, qui Brownistas vulgo appelantur ;" the latter appeared at London, for the first time, in the year 1658, and was thus entitled: " A declaration of the Faith and Order opened and practised in the Congregational churches in England, agreed upon, and consented unto, by their Elders and Messengers, in their meeting at the Savoy,

October

Chap. II. T/ie History of the Reformed Church. 401

depending on the jurisdiction of bishops, or be- CENT. ing subject to the authority of synods, presby- s.r*^II/r

teries,

October 12. 1608. Hornbeck gave, in the year 1659, a Latin translation of this Declaration, and subjoined it to his Epislolce ad Duraeum de Independentismo. It appears evidently from these two public and authentic pieces, not to mention other writings of the Independents, that they differed from the Pres byterians or Calvinists in no single point of any consequence, ex cept that of ecclesiastical government. To put this matter be yond all doubt, we have only to attend to the following passage in Robinson's Apology for the English Exiles, p. 7. 11. where that founder of the sect of the Independents expresses his own private sentiments, and those of his community, in the plainest manner : " Profitemur coram Deo et hominibus, adeonobis con- venire cum Ecclesiis Reformatis, Belgicis in re religionis, utom- nibusetsingulisearundemEcclesiarumfidei articulis,proutha- bentur in Harmonia Confessionum fidei, parati simus subscri- bere.— Ecclesias Reformatis pro veris etgenuinishabemus,cum iisdem in sacris Dei communionem profitemur, et, quantum in nobis est, colimus." It appears evident from this declaration, that, instead of differing totally from all other Christian so cieties, it may rather be said of the Independents, that they were perfectly agreed with by far the greatest part of the Re formed churches. To shew, as he imagines, by a striking ex ample the absurdity of their religion and worship, our eminent historian tells us, that they not only reject all kind of ecclesi astical government, but, moreover, allow all their members promiscuously, and without exception, to perform in public the pastoral functions, i. e. to preach, pray, and expound the Scriptures ; his words are, " They were not only averse to epis copacy and the ecclesiastical hierarchy," (this charge is true, but it may equally be broughtagainst the Presbyterians, Brown- ists, Anabaptists, and all the various sects of Non-conform ists), " but they would not so much as endure ordinary minis ters in the church. They maintained that every man might pray in public, exhort his brethren, and interpret the Scrip tures according to the talents God had endowed him with. — So with them every one preached, prayed, admonished, inter preted the holy Scriptures without any other call than what he himself drew from his zeal and supposed gifts, and without any other authority than the approbation of his auditors." This whole charge is evidently false and groundless. The Independents have, and always have had, Jixcd and regular ministers approved of by their people : nor do the}' allow to teach in public every person who thinks himself qualified for that important office. The celebrated historian has here con founded the Independents with the Browimts, who, as is well VOL. V. D d known,

402

The History of the Reformed Church.

PART II.

CENT, teries, or an ecclesiastical assembly composed of XVIL the deputies from different churches [g]. It is

in

known, permitted all to pray and preach in public without dis tinction. We shall not enlarge upon the other mistakes he has fallen into on this subject ; but only observe, that if so emi nent a writer, and one so well acquainted with the English na tion, has pronounced such an unjust sentence against this sect, we may the more easily excuse an inferior set of authors, who have loaded them with groundless accusations.

It will, however, be alleged, that, whatever may have been the religious sentiments and discipline of the Independents, in numerable testimonies concur in proving, that they were chargeable with the death of Charles I. and many will con sider this single circumstance as a sufficient demonstration of the impiety and depravity of the whole sect. I am well aware indeed, that many of the most eminent and respectable English writers have given the Independents the denomination of Regi~ cides; and if, by the term Independents, they mean those licen tious republicans, whose dislike of a monarchial form of go vernment carried them the most pernicious and extravagant lengths, I grant that this denomination is well applied. But if, by the term Independents, we are to understand a religious sect, the ancestors of those who still bear the same title in England, it appears very questionable to me, whether the unhappy fate of the worthy prince above mentioned ought to be imputed en tirely to that set of men. They who affirm that the Independents were the only authors of the death of King Charles, must mean one of these two things, either that the Regicides were animated and set on by the seditious doctrines of that sect, and the violent suggestions of its members, or that all who were concerned in this atrocious deed were themselves Independents, zealously attached to the religious community now under con sideration. Now it may be proved with the clearest evidence that neither of these was the case. There is nothing in the doctrines of this sect, so far as they are known to me, that seems in the least adapted to excite men to such a horrid deed; nor does it appear from the history of these times, that the In- dependents were a whit more exasperated against Charles, than were the Presbyterians. And as to the latter supposition, it is far from being true, that all those who were concerned in bringing this unfortunate prince to the scaffold were Inde-* pendents ; since we learn from the best English writers, and from the public declarations of Charles II. that this violent faction was composed of persons of different sects. That there were Independents among them may be easily conceived. Af ter all, this matter will be best unravelled by the English

writers

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 403

in this their notion of ecclesiastical government, CENT. that the difference between them and the Presby- XVIL

SECT. II. ' PART II.

writers, who know best in what sense the term Independents is used, when it is applied to those who brought Charles I. to the block *.

On iu quiring, with particular attention, into the causes of that odium that has been cast upon the Independent*, and of the heavy accusations and severe invectives with which they have been loaded, I was more peculiarly struck with the three fol lowing considerations, which will perhaps furnish a satisfactory account of this matter. In the fast place, the denomination, of Independents is ambiguous, and is not peculiar to any one distinct order of men. For, not to enumerate the other no tions that have been annexed to this term, it is sufficient to ob serve, that it is used sometimes by the English writers to de note those who aim at the establishment of a purely democratic cal, or popular government, in which the body of the people is clothed with the supreme dominion. Such a faction there was in England, composed, in a great measure, of persons of an enthusiastical character and complexion: and to it, no D d 2 doubt,

$5* * Dr. Mosheim's defence of the Independents is certainly specious ; but he has not sufficiently distinguished the times; and he has, perhaps, in defending them, strained too far that equitable principle, that we must not impute to a sect any principles that are not contained in, or deduci- ble from their religious system. This maxim does not entirely answer here the purpose for which it is applied. The religious system of a sect may be in itself pacific and innocent, while, at the same time certain in cidental circumstances, or certain associations of ideas, may render that sect more turbulent and restless than others, or at least involve it in political factions and broils. Such perhaps was the case of the Independents at cer tain periods of time, and more especially at the period now under consi deration. When we consider their religious form of government, we shall see evidently, that a principle of analogy (which influences the sentiments and imagination of men much more than is generally supposed) must naturally have led the greatest part of them to republican notions of civil government ; and it is further to be observed, that from a republican go vernment, they must have expected much more protection, and favour than from a kingly one. When these two things are considered, toge ther with their situation under the reign of Charles I. when the govern ment was unhinged, when things were in confusion, when the minds of men were suspended upon the issue of the national troubles, and when the eager spirit of party, nourished by hope, made each faction expect that the chaos would end in some settled system, favourable to their respective views, sentiments, and passions ; this will engage us to think, that the Independents at that time, may have been much more tumultuous and re publican than the sect that bears that denomination in our times. The reader that would form just ideas of the matter of fact, must examine the relations given by the writers of both parties. See particularly Claren don's History of Ids oum Life, — Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. iii. p. 547, &c. — Hume's History of England, vol. v. Edit, in Quarto. — Burnrt's History ff his own Times, vol. i. p. 4fj, 47.

404? TJie History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, terians principally consists; for their religious doctrines, except in some points of very little mo-

J

doubt, we are to ascribe those scenes of sedition and misery, whose effects are still lamented with justice. The violence and folly that dishonoured the proceedings of this tumultuous faction have been, if I am not mistaken, too rashly imputed to the religious Independents now under consideration, who, with all their defects, were a much better set of men than the per sons now mentioned. It may be observed further, secondly, that almost all the religious sects, which divided the English nation in the reign of Charles I. and more especially under the administration of Cromwell, assumed the denomination of In dependents, in order to screen themselves from the reproaches of the public, and to share a part of that popular esteem that the true and genuine Independents had acquired, on account of the regularity of their lives, and the sanctity of their manners. This is confirmed, among other testimonies, by the following passage of a letter from Toland to Le Clerc. " Au commence ment tons les sectaires se disoient Independans, parce que ces derniers etoient fort honores du peuple a cause de leur piete." See Le Clerc's Bibliolh. Univers. et Histor. torn, xxiii. p. ii. p. 506. As this title was of a very extensive signification, and of great latitude, it might thus easily happen, that all the enormities of the various sects who sheltered themselves under it, and several of whom were of but short duration, might un luckily be laid to the charge of the true Independents. But it must be particularly remarked, in the third place, that the usurper Cromwell preferred the Independents before all other religious communities. He looked with an equal eye of sus- picion and fear, upon the Presbyterian synods and the Episco pal visitations ; every thing that looked like an extensive au thority, whether it was of a civil or religious nature, excited uneasy apprehensions in the breast of the tyrant : but, in the limited and simple form of ecclesiastical discipline that was adopted by the Independents, he saw nothing that was adapted to alarm his fears. This circumstance was sufficient to ren der the Independents odious in the eyes of many, who would be naturally disposed to extend their abhorrence of Cromwell to those who were the objects of his favour and protection.

£</] The Independents were undoubtedly so called from their maintaining that all Christian congregations were so many In dependent religious societies, that had a right to be governed by their own laws, without being subject to any further, or fo reign jurisdiction. Robinson, the founder of the sect, makes express use of this term in explaining his doctrine relating to ec clesiastical government; "Caetum quern libetparticularem (says

he,

Chap. II. TJie History of the Reformed Church. 405

ment, are almost entirely the same with those that CENT. are adopted hy the church of Geneva. The XVIL

X •/ cr*/""T» ¥

SECT. II.

founder of this sect was John Rohinson, a man p/VRT who had much of the solemn piety of the times, and was master of a congregation of Brownists that had settled at Ley den. This well-meaning man, perceiving the defects that reigned in the discipline of Brown, and in the spirit and temper of his followers, employed his zeal and diligence in correcting them, and in modelling anew the society in such a manner as to render it less odious to his adversaries, and less liable to the just cen- D d 3 sure

he, in his Apologia, cap. v. p. 22.) esse totam, integram, et per fectam ecclesiam ex suis partibus constantem, immediate et Independenter (quod alias ecclesias) sub ipso Christo." It may possibly have been from this very passage that the title of Independents was originally derived. The disciples of Robinson did not reject it ; nor indeed is there any thing shocking in the title, when it is understood in a manner con formable to the sentiments of those to whom it is applied. It was certainly utterly unknown in England before the year 1640 ; at least it is not once mentioned in the ecclesiastical canons and constitutions that were drawn up, during that year, in the synods or visitations held by the archbishops of Can terbury, York, and other prelates, in which canons all the va rious sects that then subsisted in England, are particularly mentioned. See Wilkins' Concilia Magnce Dritannice el Hi- bernice, vol. iv. cap. v. p. 548. where are the " constitutions and canons ecclesiastical treated upon by the archbishops of Canterbury and York, and the rest of the bishops and clergy in their several synods." An. MDCXL. It is true, "that not long after this period, and more particularly from the year 1642, we find this denomination very frequently in the English annals. The English Independents were so far from being displeased with it, that they assumed it publicly in a piece they published in their own defence at London, in the year 1T)44, under the follow ing title : Apologetical Narration of the Independents. But when, in process of time, a great variety of sects, as has been already observed, sheltered themselves under the cover of this extensive denomination, and even seditious subjects, that aimed at nothing Jess than the death of their so vereign, and the destruction of the government, employed it as a mask to hide their deformity, then the true and genuine Independents renounced this title, and substituted another less odious in its place, calling themselves Congregational Brethren, and their religious assemblies Congregational Churches.

SECT. II. PART II.

406 TJie History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, sure of those true Christians, who looked upon charity as the end of the commandment. The Independents) accordingly, were much more corn- men clable than the Brownists in two respects. They surpassed them both in the moderation of their sentiments, and the order of their discipline. They did not, like Brown, pour forth bitter and uncharitable invectives against the churches that were governed by rules entirely different from theirs, nor pronounce them, on that account, un worthy of the Christian name. , On the contrary, though they considered their own form of eccle siastical government as of divine institution, and as originally introduced by the authority of the apostles, nay, by the apostles themselves, yet they had candour and charity enough to acknowledge, that true religion and solid piety might flourish in those communities, which were under the ju risdiction of bishops, or the government of synods and presbyteries. They were also much more attentive than the Brownists in keeping on foot a regular ministry in their communities ; for while the latter allowed promiscuously all ranks and or ders of men to teach in public, and to perform the other pastoral functions, the Independents had, and still have, a certain number of ministers, chosen respectively by the congregations where they are fixed ; nor is any person among them permitted to speak in public, before he has sub mitted to a proper examination of his capacity and talents, and been approved of by the heads of the congregation. This community, which was originally formed in Holland, in the year 1610, made at first but a very small progress in England [qg~\ ; it worked its way slowly, and in a clandestine manner ; and its members concealed

their

In the year l6l6, Mr. Jacob, who had adopted the religious sentiments of Robinson, set up the first Independent or Congregational church in England.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 407

their principles from public view, to avoid the CENT. penal laws that had been enacted against Non- s™l'u conformists. But during the reign of Charles I. PART „" when, amidst the shocks of civil and religious dis- ^^^^ cord, the authority of the bishops and the cause of episcopacy began to decline, and more particu larly about the year 1640, the Independents grew more courageous, and came forth, with an air of resolution and confidence, to public view. After this period, their affairs took a prosperous turn ; and, in a little time, they became so considerable, both by their numbers, and by the reputation they acquired, that they vied in point of pre-eminence and credit, not only with the bishops, but also with the Presbyterians, though at this time in the very zenith of their power. This rapid progress of the Independents was, no doubt, owing to a va riety of causes ; among which justice obliges us to reckon the learning of their teachers, and the regularity and sanctity of their manners [r]. During the administration of Cromwell, whose peculiar protection and patronage they enjoyed on more than one account, their credit arose to the greatest height, and their influence and repu tation were universal ; but after the restoration of Charles II. their cause declined, and they fell back gradually into their primitive obscurity. The sect, indeed, still subsisted ; but in such a state of dejection and weakness, as engaged them in the year 1691, under the reign of King Wil liam, to enter into an association with the Presbyterians residing in and about London, un der certain heads of agreement, that tended to the maintenance of their respective institutions (Y).

XXII.

[r] Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. ii. p. 107- 293. vol. viii. p. 141, 145, 276', 303, 437, 549. See also a German work, entitled, Englisc/ie Reformations- Historic, by Anthony William Bohm, p. 794.

(V) From this time they were called United Brethren. The

heads of agreement that formed and cemented this union are

Dd4 to

408 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT. XXII. While Oliver Cromwell held the xvii. rejns Of government in Great Britain, all sects,

SECT. II.

PART I,.

\*^~Y~—S to ^e found in the second volume of Whiston's Memoirs of The state his Life and Writings, and they consist in Nine articles. The of the first relates to " Churches and Church Members," in which church of the United Ministers, Presbyterians and Independents, declare, England among other things, " That each particular church had a Cromwell right to choose their own officers ; and being furnished with such as are duly qualified and ordained according to the Gos pel rule, hath authority from Christ for exercising govern ment, and enjoying all the ordinances of worship within it self — That in the administration of church power, it belongs to the pastors and other elders of every particular church (if such there be) to rule and govern ; and to the brotherhood to consent, according to the rule of the Gospel." In this both Presbyterians and Independents depart from the primitive principles of their respective institutions, Article II. relates to " the Ministry," which they grant to have been instituted by Jesus Christ, " for the gathering, guiding, edifying, and governing of his church;" in this article it is further observ ed, '•' that ministers ought to be endued with competent learning, sound judgment, and solid piety ; that none are to- be ordained to the work of the ministry, but such as are cho sen and called thereunto by a particular church ;" that, in such a weighty matter, " it is ordinarily requisite that every such church consult and advise with the pastors of neighbour ing congregations ; and that, after such advice, the person thus consulted about, being chosen by the brotherhood of that particular church, be duly ordained and set apart to his office over them." Article III. relates to " Censures," and prescribes, first, the admonishing, and, if this prove ineffec tual, the excommunication of offending and scandalous mem bers,, to be performed by the pastors, with the consent of the brethren. Article IV. concerning the " Communion of churches," lays it down as a principle, that there is no subor dination between particular churches ; that they are all equal, and consequently independent ; that the pastors, however, of these churches " ought to have frequent meetings together, that, by mutual advice, support, encouragement, and bro therly intercourse, they strengthen the hearts and hands of each other in the ways of the Lord." In Article V. which relates to " Deacons and Ruling Elders," the United Bre thren acknowledge, that " the office of a deacon is of divine appointment, and that it belongs to their office to receive, lay out, and distribute, the stock of the church to its proper uses :" and as there are different sentiments about the office of Ruling Elders^ who labour not in word and doctrine, they

agree

Chap. II. Tfte History of the Reformed Church. 409

even those that dishonoured true religion in the CENT. most shocking manner by their fanaticism or their g^1,*, ignorance, enjoyed a full and unbounded liberty PARx H! of professing publicly their respective doctrines, ^^y—^ The Episcopalians alone were excepted from this toleration, and received the most severe and ini quitous treatment. The bishops were deprived of their dignities and revenues, and felt the heavy hand of oppression in a particular manner. But, though the toleration extended to all other sects and religious communities, yet the Presbyterians and Independents were treated with peculiar marks of distinction and favour. Cromwell, though attached to no one particular sect, gave the lat ter extraordinary proofs of his good-will, and augmented their credit and authority, as this seemed the easiest and least exasperating method of setting bounds to the ambition of the Presbyte rians, who aimed at a very high degree of eccle siastical

agree that this difference makes no breach among them. In Article VI. concerning " Occasional Meetings of Ministers/' &c. the brethren agree, that it is needful, in weighty and dif ficult cases, that the ministers of several churches meet toge ther, " in order to be consulted and advised with about such matters ;" and that particular churches " ought to have a re verential regard to their judgment so given, and not dissent therefrom without apparent grounds from the word of God." Article VII. which relates to " the Demeanour of the Bre thren towards the civil magistrate," prescribes obedience to and prayers for God's protection and blessing upon their rulers. In article VIII. which relates to a " Confession of Faith," the brethren esteem it sufficient, that a church ac knowledge the Scriptures to be the word of God, the perfect and only rule of faith and practice, and " own either the doc trinal part of the articles of the Church of England," or the Westminster Confession and Catechisms drawn up by the Presbyterians, or the Confession of the Congregational Breth ren (i. e. the Independents), to be agreeable to the said rule. Article IX. which concerns the " duty and deportment of the Brethren towards those that are not in communion with them," inculcates charity and moderation. It appears from these articles, that the Independents were led by a kind of ne cessity to adopt, in many things, the sentiments of the Presby terians

410

The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, siastical power [£]. It was during this period of :vn. religious anarchy, that the Fifth-monarchy -men PART ii. arose> a set °f wrong-headed and turbulent enthu- ^-y _j siasts, who expected Christ's sudden appearance upon earth to establish a new kingdom ; and, act ing in consequence of this illusion, aimed at the subversion of all human government, and were for turning all things into the most deplorable confu sion [u]. It was at this time also, that the Qua kers, of whom we propose to give a more particular account [w~\, and the hot-headed Anabaptists [oc\9 propagated, without restraint, their visionary doc trine. It must likewise be observed, that the Deists, headed by Sidney, Neville, Martin, and Harrington, appeared with impunity, and pro moted a kind of religion, which consisted in a few

plain

terians, and to depart thus far from the original principles of their sect.

C^ CO A. little after Cromwell's elevation, it was resolved by the parliament, at the conclusion of a debate concerning public worship and church-government,, that the Presbyterian government should be the established government. The /w- dependents were not, as yet, agreed upon any standard of faith and discipline ; and it was only a little before Cromwell's death that they held a synod, by his permission, in order to publish to the world an uniform account of their doctrine and principles.

[V] See Burnet's History of his own Times, torn. i. p. 67.

L«g See in Vol. V. The History of the Quakers.

££!= [V] We are not to imagine, by the term hot-headed (furiosi), that the Anabaptists resembled the furious fanatics of that name that formerly excited such dreadful tumults in Germany, and more especially at Munsier. This was by no means the case ; the English Anabaptists differed from their Protestant brethren about the subject and mode of baptism alone ; confining the former to grown Christians, and the lat ter to immersion, or dipping. They were divided into Generals and Particulars, from their different sentiments upon the Ar- minian controversy. The latter, who were so called from their belief of the doctrines of Particular Election, Redemption, &c. were strict Calvinists, who separated from the Independent congregation at Leyden, in the year 1638. Their confession was composed with a remarkable spirit of modesty and cha rity. Their preachers were generally illiterate, and were

eager

SECT. II, PART II.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed CJmrch. 411 plain precepts, drawn from the dictates of natural CENT.

r "I "X VTT

reason [?yj.

XXI II. Among the various religious factions that sprung up in England during this period of confusion and anarchy, we may reckon a certain The Eng- sect of Presbyterians, who were called by their ad versaries Antinomians, or enemies of the law, and still subsist even in our times. The Antinomians are a more rigid kind of Calvinists, who pervert Calvin's doctrine of absolute decrees to the worst purposes, by drawing from it conclusions highly detrimental to the interests of true religion and virtue. Such is the judgment that the other Presbyterian communities form of this perverse and extravagant sect [z]. Several of the Antino mians (for they are not all precisely of the same mind) look upon it as unnecessary for Christian ministers to exhort their flock to a virtuous prac tice, and a pious obedience to the divine law, " since they whom God has elected to salvation, " by an eternal and immutable decree, will, by " the irresistible impulse of divine grace, be led " to the practice of piety and virtue ; while those " who are doomed by a divine decree to eternal " punishments, will never be engaged, by any ex- " hortations or admonitions, how affecting soever " they may be, to a virtuous course ; nor have they " it in their power to obey the divine law, when " the succours of divine grace are withheld from " them." From these principles they concluded,

that,

eager in making proselytes of all that would submit to their immersion, without a due regard to their religious principles, or their moral characters. The writers of these times repre sent them as tinctured with a kind of enthusiastic fury against all that opposed <them. There were, nevertheless, among them some learned and pious persons, who disapproved highly of all violent and uncharitable proceedings.

D/3 Neal's Hilton/ of the Puritans, vol. iv. p, 87- jjz] See Toland's Letters to Le Clerc, in the periodical work of the latter, entitled Bibliothcque Univcrsclle et Histo* riquc, torn. xxii. p. 595.-— As also Hornbeck, Siunma Contra* versiarum, p. 800. 812.

412 The History of the Eeformed Church.

CENT, that the ministers of the Gospel discharged suf- SECT11/! ficiently their pastoral functions, when they in- PART ii. culcated the necessity of faith in Christ, andpro- 'wy^' claimed the blessings of the new covenant to their people. Another, and a still more hideous form of Antinomianism, is that which is exhibited in the opinions of other doctors of that sect [a], who maintain. " That as the elect cannot fall from " grace, nor forfeit the divine favour, so it fol- " lows, that the wicked actions they commit, . " and the violations of the divine law with which " they are chargeable, are not really sinful, nor " are to be considered as instances of their de- " parting from the law of God ; and that, conse- " quently, they have no occasion either to con- " fess their sins, or to break them off by repent- " ance. Thus adultery, for example, in one of " the elect, though it appear sinful in the sight of " men, and be considered universally as an enor- " mous violation of the divine law, yet it is not a " sin in the sight of God, because it is one of the " essential and distinctive characters of the elect, " that they cannot do any thing which is either dis- " pleasing to God, or prohibited by the law [6]." XXIV. The public calamities, that flowed from these vehement and uncharitable disputes about religion, afflicted all wise and good men, and engaged several who were not less eminent

for

second Antlnomian hypothesis has certainly a still more odious aspect than the first ; and it is therefore sur prising that our author should use, in the original,, these terms : Hi lanlum staluunt, Electos, &c.

p>] There is an account of the other tenets of the Anti?io- mians, and of the modern disputes that were occasioned by the publication of the Posthumous Works of Crisp, a flaming doctor of that extravagant and pernicious sect, given by Pierre Francois, le Courayer in his Exameti des dcfants Theologiques, torn. ii. p. 108. Baxter and Tillotson distinguished them selves by their zeal against the Ant'momians ; and they were also completely refuted by Dr. Williams, in his famous book, entitled, Gospel Truth Stated and Vindicated) Svo. (t^3 I have

been

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed CJiurch. 413

for their piety than for their moderation and wis- CENT. dom to seek after some method of uniting such XVIL

/» .1 T t' Ti ^ SECT. II.

of the contending parties as were capable of PART n listening to the dictates of charity and reason, or s^y^/ at least of calming their animosities, and persua ding them to mutual forbearance. These pacific doctors offered themselves as mediators between the more violent Episcopalians on the one hand, and the more rigid Presbyterians and Independents on the other ; and hoped that, when their differ ences were accommodated, the lesser factions would fall of themselves. The contests that reign ed between the former turned partly on the forms of church government and public worship, and partly on certain religious tenets, more especially those that were debated between the Arminians and Calvinists. To lessen the breach that kept these two great communities at such a distance from each other, the arbitrators, already men tioned, endeavoured to draw them out of their narrow enclosures, to render their charity more extensive, and widen the paths of salvation, which bigotry and party-rage had been labouring to render inaccessible to many good Christians. This noble and truly evangelical method of pro ceeding procured to its authors the denomination of Latitudinarians [c]. Their views, indeed, were generous and extensive. They were zealously attached to the forms of ecclesiastical govern ment and worship that were established in the church of England, and they recommended epis copacy with all the strength and power of their eloquence ; but they did not go so far as to look upon it as of divine institution, or as absolutely and

indispensably

been informed, since the first edition of this history was pub* lished, that the book, entitled, Examen des defends Theologi* qnt's, which our author supposes to have been written by Dr. Courayer, is the production of another pen.

[c] See Burnet's History of his own Times, vol. i. book ii. p. 188.

SECT. II PART II.

414 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, indispensably necessary to the constitution of a xvii. Christian church ; and hence they maintained, that those who followed other forms of govern ment and worship, were not, on that account, to be excluded from their communion, or to forfeit the title of brethren. As to the doctrinal part of religion, they took the system of the famous Epis- copius for their model ; and, like him, reduced the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, (i. e.) those doctrines, the belief of which is necessary to salvation, to a few points. By this manner of proceeding they shewed, that neither the Episco palians, who, generally speaking, embraced the sentiments of the Arminians, nor the Presbyterians and Independents, who as generally adopted the doctrine of Calvin, had any reason to oppose each other with such animosity and bitterness, since the subjects of their debates were matters of an in different nature, with respect to salvation, and might be variously explained and understood, without any prejudice to their eternal interests. The chief leaders of these Latitudinarians were Hales and Chillingworth whose names are still pronounced in England with that veneration that is due to distinguished wisdom and rational piety [d~\. The respectable names of More,

Cudworth,

[//] The life of the ingenious and worthy Mr. Hales was composed in English by M. Des Maizeaux, and published in Svo. at London in the year 1719: it was considerably aug mented in the Latin translation of it, which I prefixed to the account of the synod of Dort, drawn from the letters of that great man, and published at Hamburgh, in 1 724. A life of Mr. Hales, written in French, is to be found in the first volume of the French translation of Chillingworth's Religion of Pro testants, £c. — The life of Chillingworth also was drawn up by Des Maizeaux in English : and a French translation of it appecired, in the year 1780, at the head of the excellent book now mentioned, which was translated into that language, and published at Amsterdam, in three volumes Svo. in the year 1730. Those who are desirous of acquiring a thorough knowledge of the doctrines, government, laws, and present

state

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 415

Cudworth, Gale, Whichcot, and Tillotson, CENT. add a high degree of lustre to this eminent list, The undertaking of these great men, was indeed bold and perilous ; and it drew upon them much opposition, and many bitter reproaches. They received, as the first fruits of their charitable zeal, the odious appellations of Atheists, Deists, and Socinians, both from the Roman Catholics and the more rigid of the contending Protestant parties ; but upon the restoration of King Charles II. they were raised to the first dignities of the church, and were deservedly held in univer sal esteem. It is also well known, that, even at this present time, the church of England is chiefly governed by Latitudmarians of this kind, though there be among both bishops and clergy, from time to time, ecclesiastics who breathe the narrow 'and despotic spirit of Laud, and who, in the lan guage of faction, are called High-churchmen, or Ch u i *ch - torics [e].

XXV. No sooner was Charles II. re-esta- The state blished on the throne of his ancestors, than the0™16, -

. . 1 church ot

ancient forms of ecclesiastical government ana England public worship were restored with him; and the^^[egjl bishops reinstated in their dignities and honours, and his sud The Non-comformists hoped, that then should becessors* allowed to share some part of the honours and re venues of the church ; but their expectations were totally disappointed, and the face of affairs chan ged very suddenly with respect to them. For Charles subjected to the government of bishops the churches of Scotland and Ireland, the former of which was peculiarly attached to the ecclesiastical

discipline

state of the church of England, will do well to read the history of these two men ; and more especially to peruse Chilling- worth's admirable book already mentioned, I mean, The Religion of Protestants a safe Way to Salvation.

[V] See Rapin's Dissertation on the W]iigs and Tories. (^ See an admirable defence of the Lalitudinarian divines, in a book

entitled^

416 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, discipline and polity of Geneva ; and, in the year

xvii. i66%9 a public law was enacted, by which all who

F\HT ii refused to observe the rites, and subscribe the doc-

^ ^ trines of the church of England, were entirely

excluded from its communion [fl. From this period until the reign of King William III. the Non-conformists were in a precarious and changing situation, sometimes involved in cala mity and trouble, at others enjoying some intervals of tranquillity and certain gleams of hope, accord ing to the varying spirit of the court and ministry, but never entirely free from perplexities and fears \_g~\. But, in the year 1689, their affairs took a favourable turn, when a bill for the tolera tion of all Protestant dissenters from the church of England, except the Socinians, passed in par liament almost without opposition, and delivered them from the penal laws to which they had been subjected by the Act of Uniformity, and other acts passed under the House of Stuart [A]. Nor did

the

entitled, The Principles and Practices of certain moderate Di- vines of the Church of England (greatly muunderstodd ) truly re presented and defended, London, l6?0, in 8vo. This book was written by Dr. Fowler, afterwards bishop of Gloucester. N.

(£^ [_f~\ This was the famous Act of Uniformity, in conse quence of which the validity of Presbyterian ordination was re nounced ; the ministrations of the foreign churches disowned; the terms of conformity rendered more difficult, and raised higher than before the civil wars; and by which (contrary to the manner of proceeding in the times of Elizabeth and Crom well, who both reserved for the subsistence of each ejected clergyman a fifth part of his benefice) no provision was made for those who should be deprived of their livings. See Wil- kins' Concilia Magnce Britannia? ct Hibernice, torn. iv. p. 573. — Burnet's History of his own Times, vol. ii. p. 190, &c. Xeal's History of the Puritans, torn. iv. p. 358.

\_g~\ See the whole fourth volume of Neal's History of the Puritans.

\Ji~\ This was called the Toleration Act, and it may be seen at length in the Appendix, subjoined to the fourth volume of Neal's Hixtory of the Puritans. (£/* It is entitled, An act for exempting I heir. Majesties Protestant Subjects, dissenting from the Church of England, from the Penalties of certain Lairs. In this

bill

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 417

the Protestant dissenters in England enjoy alone, CENT. the benefits of this act ; for it extended also to the Scots church, which was permitted thereby to PART n* follow the ecclesiastical discipline of Geneva, and ^^v— / was delivered from the jurisdiction of bishops, and from the forms of worship that were annexed to episcopacy. It is from this period that the Non conformists date the liberty and tranquillity they have long been blessed with, and still enjoy ; but it is also observable, that it is to the transactions that were carried on during this period, in favour of religious liberty, that we must chiefly impute the multitude of religious sects and factions, that start up from time to time in that free and happy island, and involve its inhabitants in the perplex ities of religious division and controversy [i~\.

XXVI. In the reign of King William, and in The High the year 1689, the divisions among the friends episcopacy ran high and terminated in that fa-rors. mous schism in the church of England, which has never hitherto been entirely healed. Sancroft, archbishop of Canterbury, and seven of the other bishops [ii], all of whom were eminently distin guished both by their learning and their virtue, looked upon it as unlawful to take the oaths of al legiance to the new king, from a mistaken no tion that James II. though banished from his

VOL. v. E e dominions,

bill the Corporation and Test Acts are omitted, and consequent ly still remain in force. The Socinians are also excepted ; but provision is made for Quakers, upon their making a solemn declaration, instead of taking the oaths to the government. This act excuses Protestant dissenters from the penalties of the laws therein mentioned, provided they take the oaths to the government, and subscribe ths Doctrinal Articles of the Church of England.

\j~\ Hurnet's History of his own Times, vol. ii. p. 23.

(i^f \ji~\ The other Non-juring bishops were, Dr. Lloyd, bishop of Norwich ; Dr. Turner, of Ely ; Dr. Kenn, of Bath and Wells ; Dr. Frampton, of Gloucester ; Dr. Tho mas, of Worcester ; Dr. Lake, of Chichester ; Dr. White, bishop of Peterborough.

418 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, dominions, remained, nevertheless, their right- xvii. fu} sovereign. As these scruples were deeply PART ii. ro°ted, and no arguments nor exhortations could ^^Y^^ engage these prelates to acknowledge the title t)f "William III. to the crown of Great Britain, they were deprived of their ecclesiastical dignities, and their sees were filled by other men of eminent merit [m]. The deposed bishops and clergy formed a new episcopal church, which differed, in certain points of doctrine, and certain circum stances of public worship, from the established church of England. This new religious commu nity were denominated Non-jurors, on account of their refusing to take the oath of allegiance, and were also called the High-church, on account of the high notions they entertained of the dignity and power of the church, and the extent they gave to its prerogatives and jurisdiction. Those, on the other hand, who disapproved of this schism, who distinguished themselves by their charity and moderation towards Dissenters, and were less ar dent in extending the limits of ecclesiastical au thority, were denominated Low-churchmen [&]. The bishops who were deprived of their ecclesi astical dignities, and those who embarked in their

cause,

#3= [m] These \vere Tillotson, Moore, Patrick, Kidder, Fowler, and Cumberland, names that will be ever pronounced with veneration by such as are capable of esteeming solid, well employed learning and genuine piety, and that will always shine among the brightest ornaments of the church of Eng land.

[jF] The denomination of High-church is given certainly, with great propiety to the Non-jurors, who have very proud notions of church-power ; but it is commonly used in a more extensive signification, and is applied to all those who, though far from being Non-jurors, or otherwise disaffected to the pre sent happy establishment, yet from pompous and ambitious conceptions of the authority and jurisdiction of the church, and would raise it to an absolute independence on all human power. Many such are to be found even among those who go onder the general denomination of the Low-church party.

Chap. II. T7te History of the Reformed Church. 419

cause, maintained openly, that the church \vas CENT. independent on the jurisdiction of king and par- liament, suhject to the authority of God alone, and empowered to govern itself hy its own laws ; that, of consequence, the sentence pronounced against these prelates by the great council of the nation was destitute both of justice and validity ; and that it was only by the decree of an ecclesi astical council that a bishop could be deposed. This high notion of the authority and prerogatives of the church was maintained and propagated, with peculiar zeal, by the famous Henry Dod- well, who led the way in this important cause, and who, by his example and abilities, formed a considerable number of champions for its defence ; hence arose a very nice and intricate controversy, concerning the nature, privileges, and authority of the church, which has not yet been brought to a satisfactory conclusion [/].

XXVII. The

C^?3 P] Dodwell himself was deprived of his professorship of history, for refusing to take the oaths of allegiance to king William and queen Mary : and this circumstance, no doubt, augmented the zeal with which he interested himself in the defence of the bishops, who were suspended for the same rea son. It was on this occasion that he published his " Caution ary Discourse of Schism, with a particular regard to the Case of the bishops who were suspended for refusing to take the new- oath." This book was fully refuted by the learned Dr. Hody, in the year Ifijjl, in a work entitled, " The unreason ableness of a separation from the new bishops ; or, a Treatise out of Ecclesiastical History shewingt that although a bishop was unjustly deprived, neither he nor the church ever made a separation, if the successor was not a heretic ;" translated out of an ancient Greek manuscript (viz. among the Broccian MSS), in the public library at Oxford. The learned author translated this work afterwards into Latin, and prefixed to it some pieces out of ecclesiastical antiquity, relative to the same subject. Dodwell published in 1692, an answer to it, which he called, " A vindication of the deprived bishops," £c. To which Dr. Hody replied, in a treatise, entitled, " The Case of the Sees vacant by an unjust or uncanonical Depriva tion stated, in reply to the Vindication," £c. The contro-

E e 2 versy

420 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT. XX V II. The JVoft; jurors, or High-churchmen, xvu. ^Q koast; with peculiar ostentation of their ortho- PART 11! doxy, and treat the Low-church as unsound and \*^r^> schismatical, differ in several things from the mem- High bers of the episcopal church, in its present establish- ment ' but tneY are more particularly distinguished by the following principles : 1. That it is never lawful for the people under any provocation or pretext whatever, to resist the sovereign. This is called in England passive obedience, and is a doc trine warmly opposed by many, who think it both lawful and necessary, in certain circumstances, and in cases of an urgent and momentous nature, to resist the prince for the happiness of the people. They maintain further, 2. That the hereditary succession to the throne is of divine institution, and therefore can never be interrupted, suspend ed, or annulled, on any pretext. 3. That the church is subject to the jurisdiction, not of the civil magistrate,but of God alone, particularly in mat- ters of a religious nature. 4. 'That, consequently, Bancroft, and the other bishops, deposed by King William III. remained, notwithstanding their de position, True Bishops to the day of their death; and that those who were substituted in their places were the unjust possessors of other men's property. 5. That these unjust possessors of ecclesiastical dig- nitieswere rebels against the state, as well as schis

matics

versy did not end here ; and it was the hardest thing in the world to reduce Mr. Dodwell to silence. Accordingly he came forth a third time with his stiff and rigid polemics, and published, in 16*95, his Defence of the Vindication of the de prived bishops. The preface which he designed to prefix to this work, was at first suppressed, but appeared afterwards under the following title : " The Doctrine of the Church of England concerning the independency of the Clergy on the lay-power, as to those rights of theirs which are purely spi ritual, reconciled with our oath of supremacy and the lay-de privation of the Popish bishops in the beginning of the Refor mation." Several other pamphlets were published on the subject of this controversy.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 421

matics in the church : and that all, therefore, who CENT.

held communion with them were also chargeable XVIL with rebellion and schism. 6. That this schism,

PART II.

which rents the church in pieces, is a most heinous sin, wJiosc punishment must fall heavy upon all those who do not return sincerely to the true church, from which they have departed [in].

XXVIII. It will now be proper to change the Theoiogi- scene, and to consider a little the state of the formed church in Holland. The Dutch Calvinists Dutch, thought themselves happy after the defeat of the Arminians, and were flattering themselves with the agreeable prospect of enjoying long, in tran quillity and repose, the fruits of their victory, when new scenes of tumult arose from another quarter. Scarcely had they triumphed over the enemies of absolute predestination, when, by an ill hap, they became the prey of intestine disputes, and were divided among themselves in such a de plorable manner, that during the whole of this century, the United Provinces were a scene of contention, animosity, and strife. It is not ne cessary to mention all the subjects of these reli gious quarrels ; nor indeed would this be an easy task. We shall therefore pass over in silence the debates of certain divines, who disputed about some particular, though not very momentous, points of doctrine and discipline ; such as those of the famous Voet and the learned Des Marets ; as also the disputes of Salmasius, Boxhorn, Voet, and others, concerning usury, ornaments in dress, stage-plays, and other minute points of morality ; and the contests of Apollonius, Trigland, and Videlius, concerning the power of the magistrate in matters of religion and eccle- E e 3 siajstical

[wT\ See Whiston's Memoirs of his Life and Writings, vol. i. p. 30. — Hicke's Memoirs of the Life of John Kettlewell, printed at London in 1718. — Nouveau Diction. Histor. cl Critiq. at the article Collier — Ph. Masson, Histor. Critique da ia Rcpub. des Lctlres, torn. xiii. p. 298.

422 The History of the Reformed ChurcL

CENT, siastical discipline, which produced such a flaming

XVIL division between Frederic Spanheim and John

CJ' H' Vander Wayen. These and other debates of like

J*AK1 11. J1 IT 1 •

v_ _^/ nature and importance rather discover the senti ments of certain learned men, concerning some particular points of religion and morality, than exhibit a view of the true internal state of the Belgic church. The knowledge of this must be derived from those controversies alone in which the whole church, or at least the greatest part of its doctors, have been directly concerned. The Carte- XXIX. Such were the controversies occasioned Coct-ehfn m Holland by the philosophy of Des Cartes, and controver- the theological novelties of Cocceius. Hence aes' arose the two powerful and numerous factions, distinguished by the denominations of Cocceians and J^oetians, which still subsist, though their debates are now less violent, and their champions somewhat more moderate, than they were in for mer times. The Cocceian theology and the Car tesian philosophy have, indeed, no common fea tures, nor any thing in their respective tenets and principles, that was in the least adapted to form a connexion between them ; and, of conse quence, the debates they excited, and the fac tions they produced, had no natural relation to, or dependence on, each other. It nevertheless so happened, that the respective votaries of these very different sciences formed themselves into one sect; so far at least, that those who chose Coc ceius for their guide in theology, took Des Car tes for their master in philosophy [?0- This w^^ appear less surprising when we consider, that the very same persons who opposed the progress of Car- tesianism in Holland were the warm adversaries of the Cocceian theology ; for this opposition, equally

levelled

[V] See Frid. Spanhemii Episiola de novissimis in Belgio dissidiis, ton), ii. opp. p. .973.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 423

levelled at these two great men and their respec- CENT. live systems, laid the Cartesians and Cocceians XV11- under a kind of necessity of uniting their force in order to defend their cause, in a more effectual manner against the formidable attacks of their numerous adversaries. The lroctians were so call ed from Gisbert Voet, a learned and eminent pro fessor of divinity in the university of Utrecht, who first sounded the alarm of this theologico-philoso- phical war, and led on with zeal, the polemic le gions against those who followed the standard of Des Cartes and Cocceius.

XXX. The Cartesian philosophy, at its first Cartesian appearance, attracted the attention and esteem of many, and seemed more conformable to truth and nature, as well as more elegant and pleasing in its aspect, than the intricate labyrinths of Pe ripatetic wisdom. It was considered in this light in Holland ; it however met there with a formi dable adversary, in the year 1639, in the famous Voet, who taught theology at Utrecht, with the greatest reputation, and gave plain intimations of his looking upon Cartesianism as a system of im piety. Voet was a man of uncommon applica tion and immense learning ; he had made an ex traordinary progress in all the various branches of erudition and philology ; but he was not endow ed with a large portion of that philosophical spirit, that judges with acuteness and precision of natu ral science and abstract truths. While Des Cartes resided at Utrecht, Voet found fault with many things in his philosophy ; but what induced him to cast upon it the aspersion of impiety, was its being introduced by the following princi ples ; " That the person who aspires after the " character of a true philosopher must begin by " doubting of all things, even of the existence " of a Supreme Being — that the nature or essence " of spirit, and even of God himself, consists in E e 4 " thought —

PART II.

424 The History of the Reformed Church,

CENT. " thought — that space has no real existence, is na xvn. « more than the creature of fancy, and that, eon- r' " sequently, matter is without bounds."

Des Cartes defended his principles with his usual acuteness, against the professor of Utrecht ; his disciples and followers thought themselves ob liged, on this occasion, to assist their master; and thus war was formally declared. On the other hand, Voet was not only seconded by those Belgic divines that were the most eminent, at this time for the extent of their learning and the soundness of their theology, such as Rivet, Des Marets, and Mastricht, but also was followed and applauded by the greatest part of the Dutch clergy [o]. While the flame of controversy burned with sufficient ardour, it was considerably augmented by the proceedings of certain Doctors, who applied the principles and tenets of Des Cartes to the illustration of theological truth. Hence, in the year 1656, an alarm was raised in the Dutch churches and schools of learning, and a resolution was taken in several of their ecclesi astical assemblies (commonly called classes), to make head against Cartesianism, and not to per mit that imperious philosophy to make such en croachments upon the domain of theology. The States of Holland not only approved of this reso lution, but also gave it new force and efficacy by a public edict, issued out the very same year, by which both the professors of philosophy and theo logy were forbidden either to explain the writings of Des Cartes to the youth under their care, or to illustrate the doctrines of the Gospel by the principles of philosophy. It was farther resolved in an assembly of the clergy, held at Delft the

year

£o] See Baillet's Vie die M. Des Cartes, torn. ii. chap. v. p. 33. — Daniel, Voyage du Monde de des Cartes, torn. i. de ses Ocuvres, p. 84.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 425

year following, that no candidate for holy orders CENT. should be received into the ministry before he ^^"^ made a solemn declaration, that he would neither pART n[ promote the Cartesian philosophy, nor disfigure ^^^ the divine simplicity of religion, by loading it with foreign ornaments. Laws of a like tenor were afterwards passed in the United Provinces, and in other countries [/?]. But as there is in human nature a strange propensity to struggle against authority, and to pursue, with a peculiar degree of ardour, things that are forbidden, so it happened, that all these edicts proved insufficient to stop the progress of Cartesianism, which, at length, obtained a solid and permanent footing in the seminaries of learning, and was applied, both in the academies and pulpits, and sometimes in deed very preposterously, to explain the truths and precepts of Christianity. Hence it was, that the United Provinces were divided into the two great factions already mentioned; and that the whole remainder of this century was spent amidst their contentions and debates.

XXXI. John Cocceius, a native of Bremen, The senti- and professor of divinity in the University of Ley- ™"cliul den, might have certainly passed for a great man, concerning had his vast erudition, his exuberant fancy, his ardent piety, and his uncommon application to the study of the Scriptures, been under the di rection of a sound and solid judgment. This singular man introduced into theology a multi tude of new tenets and strange notions, which had never before entered into the brain of any other mortal, or at least had never been heard of before his time : for, in the first place, as has been al ready

[ p~\ Frid. Spanheim, DC wom.v/w//.y in Relgio dissidris, torn, ii. opp. p. Jjfjf). — The reader may also consult the historians of this century, such as Arnold, Weismann, Jager, Caroli, and also Walchius' Hislor. Cont rovers. Germanic, torn. iii.

426 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, ready hinted, his manner of explaining the Holy XVIL Scriptures was totally different from that of Cal-

»T^/-«Tn TT 1T»/»-t

vin and his followers. Departing entirely from the admirable simplicity that reigns in the com mentaries of that great man, Cocceius represent ed the whole history of the Old Testament as a mirror, that held forth an accurate view of the transactions and events that were to happen in the church under the dispensation of the New Testament, and unto the end of the world. He even went so far, as to maintain, that the miracles, actions, and sufferings of Christ, and of his apostles, during the course of their ministry, were types and images of future events. He affirmed, that by far the greatest part of the ancient prophe cies foretold Christ's ministry and mediation, and the rise, progress, and revolutions of the church, not only under the figure of persons and trans actions, but in a literal manner, and by the very sense of the words used in these predictions. And he completed the extravagance of this chimerical system, by turning, with wonderful art and dex terity, into holy riddles and typical predictions, even those passages of the Old Testament that seemed designed for no other purpose than to ce lebrate the praises of the Deity, or to convey some religious truth, or to inculcate some rule of prac tice. In order to give an air of solidity and plau sibility to these odd notions, he first laid it down as a fundamental rule of interpretation, " That " the words and phrases of Scripture are to be un- " derstood in every sense of which they are suscep- " tible ; or, in other words, that they signify, in " effect, every thing that they can possibly signify ;" a rule this, which, when followed by a man who had more imagination than judgment, could not fail to produce very extraordinary comments on the sacred writings. After having laid down this singular rule of interpretation, he divided the

whole

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 427

whole history of the church into seven periods, CENT. conformable to the seven trumpets and seals men- XVIL

1 • xl TJ J *• SECT. II.

tioned in the Ke-veiattons. PART n

XXXII. One of the great designs formed by w^-y^-/ Cocceius, was that of separating theology from Concern- philosophy, and of confining the Christian doc- Doctrinal tors, in their explications of the former, to the words part of and phrases of the Holy Scriptures. Hence ittheology- was, that, finding in the language of the sacred writers, the Gospel dispensation represented un der the image of a Covenant made between God and man, he looked upon the use of this image as admirably adapted to exhibit a complete and well connected system of religious truth. But while he was labouring this point, and endeavouring to accommodate the circumstances and characters of human contracts to the dispensations of divine wisdom, which they represent in such an inaccu rate and imperfect manner, he fell imprudently into some erroneous notions. Such was his opi nion concerning the covenant made between God and the Jewish nation by the ministry and the mediation of Moses, " which he affirmed to be " of the same nature with the new Covenant ob- " tained by the mediation of Jesus Christ." In consequence of this general principle, he main tained, " That the Ten Commandments were pro- " nmlgated by Moses not as a rule of obedience, " but as a representation of the Covenant of Grace — that when the Jews had provoked the Deity, " by their various transgressions, particularly by " the worship of the golden calf, the severe and " servile yoke of the ceremonial law was added " to the decalogue ', as a punishment inflicted on " them by the Supreme Being in his righteous " displeasure — that this yoke, which was painful " in itself, became doubly so on account of its " typical signification ; since it admonished the " Israelites from day to day, of the imperfection

" and

428 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT. " and uncertainty of their state, filled them witfo xvir. « anxiety, and was a standing and perpetual PART ii " Pr°°f that they had merited the displeasure of God, and could not expect, before the coming of the Messiah, the entire remission of their transgressions and iniquities — that, indeed, good " men, even under the Mosaic dispensation, " were immediately after death made partakers " of everlasting happiness and glory ; but that " they were, nevertheless, during the whole " course of their lives, far removed from that " firm hope and assurance of salvation, which re- " joices the faithful under the dispensation of the " Gospel — and that their anxiety flowed natu- " rally from this consideration, that their sins,. " though they remained unpunished, were not " pardoned, because Christ, had not as yet, of- " fered himself up a sacrifice to the Father to make " an entire atonement for them." These are the principal lines that distinguish the Cocceian from other systems of theology ; it is attended, indeed, with other peculiarities ; but we shall pass them over in silence, as of little moment, and unworthy of notice. These notions were warmly opposed by the same persons that declared war against the Cartesian philosophy ; and the contest was carried on for many years with various success. But, in the issue, the doctrines of Cocceius, like those of Des Cartes, stood their ground; and neither the dexterity nor vehemence of his adversaries could exclude his disciples from the public semi naries of learning, or hinder them from propagat ing, with surprising success and rapidity, the te nets of their master in Germany and Switzer land [q\.

XXXII. The

\jf] See Baillet's Fie de M. Des Cartes, torn. if. p. 33. — Daniel, Voyage du Monde de Des Cartes. — Val Alberti A/T>.2i> Kawd', Cartesianismus et Cocceianismus descripti el re- futati. Lips. l6?8, in 4to.

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 429

XXXIII. The other controversies, that divid- ed the Belgic church during this century, all SECTt ,. arose from the immoderate propensity that certain PART n. doctors, discovered towards an alliance between ^-^r^^ the Cartesian philosophy and their theological™^011-^ system. This will appear, with the utmost evi- on foot by dence, from the debates excited by Roell and ^in'The Becker, which surpassed all the others, both byuseof^ea- the importance of their subjects and by the noise ^"nitt reh" they made in the world. About the year 1686, to certain Cartesian doctors of divinity headed by the ingenious Herman Alexander Roell, pro fessor of theology in the University of Francker, seemed to attribute to the dictates of reason a more extensive authority in religious matters, than they had hitherto been possessed of. The contro versy occasioned by this innovation was reducible to the two following questions: 1. "Whether " the divine origin and authority of the Holy " Scriptures can be demonstrated by reason alone, " or whether an inward testimony of the Holy " Spirit in the hearts of Christians be necessary in " order to the firm belief of this fundamental " point ? 2. Whether the sacred writings pro- " pose to us, as an object of faith, any thing that " is repugnant to the dictates of right reason ?" These questions were answered, the former in the affirmative, and the latter in the negative, not only by Roell, but also by Vander Way en, Wasselius, Duker Ruardus ab Andala, and other doctors, who were opposed in this by Ul- ric Nuber, an eminent lawyer, Gerard de Vrics, and others of inferior note \r}. The flame excited by this controversy spread itself far and wide through the United Provinces ; and its progress was increasing from day to day, when

the

[V] See Le Clerc, Bibltolh. U rivers, ct Historique, torn. vi. p. 3S8.

430 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT the states ofFriesland prudently interposed to re- XVIL store the peace of the church, by imposing silence

P\RT ii on ^le contending parties. Those whose curiosity s^^-y^/ may engage them to examine with attention and accuracy the points debated in this controversy, will find, that a very considerable part of it was merely a dispute about words ; and that the real difference of sentiment that there was between these learned disputants might have been easily accommodated, by proper explications on both sides.

Sentiments XXXIV. Not long after this controversy had concerning heen hushed, Roell alarmed the orthodox of his the genera- colleagues, and more particularly of the learned

tionofthe TT-, • i ,1 , ,1 IT

Son of Vitnnga, by some other new tenets, that rendered the soundness of his religious principles extremely doubtful, not only in their opinion, but also in the judgment of many Dutch divines [s] ; for he maintained, " That the account we have of the " generation of the Son in the sacred writings is " not to be understood in a literal sense, or as a real " generation of a natural kind ;" he also affirm ed, " That the afflictions and death of the righte- " ous are as truly the penal effects of original " sin, as the afflictions and death of the wicked " and impenitent ;" and he entertained notions con cerning the divine decrees, original sin9 the satis- faction of Christ, and other points of less mo ment, which differed in reality, or by the manner of expressing them seemed to differ greatly, from the doctrines received and established in the Dutch church \f\. The magistrates of Friesland used

all

[Y] For an account of Roell, see the Bibliotheca Ercmens. Theologico-Philolog. torn. ii. p. vi. p. 70?. — Casp. Burmanni Trajectum Erudtiirm, p. 30 6.

[j] Those who are desirous of the most accurate account of the errors of Roell, will find them enumerated in a public piece composed by the Faculty of Theology at Leyden, in or der to confirm the sentence of condemnation that had been

pro*

Chap. II. The History of the Reformed Church. 431

all the precautions that prudence could suggest, CENT. to prevent these controversies from being propa- ^J1^ gated in their province ; and enacted several laws r^RT' n" for this purpose, all tending towards peace and si- >« lence. This conduct, however, was not imitated by the other provinces, where Roell and his disciples were condemned, both in private and in public, as heretics and corrupters of divine truth [tf]. Nor did the death of this eminent man extinguish the animosity and resentment of his adversaries ; for his disciples are still treated with severity ; and, notwithstanding the solemn protestations they have given of the soundness and purity of their religious sentiments, labour under the imputation of many concealed errors.

XXXV. The

nounced against them by the Dutch synods ; this piece is en titled, " Judicium Ecclesiasticum, quo opiniones quaedem Cl. II. A. Roelli Synodice damnatae sunt laudatum a Professori- bus Theologiae in Academia Lugduno-Batavia." Lugd. Ba- tav. 1713, in 4 to.

C-?" [JO This affirmation is somewhat exaggerated, at least •we must not conclude from it, that Roell was either deposed or persecuted ; for he exercised the functions of his profes sorship for several years after this at Franeker, and was af terwards called to the chair of divinity at Utrecht, and that upon the most honourable and advantageous terms. The states of Friesland published an edict, enjoining silence, and forbid ding all professors, pastors, &c. in their province, to teach the particular opinions of Roell ; and this pacific divine sa crificed the propagation of his opinions to the love of peace and concord. His notion concerning the Trinity did not es sentially differ from the doctrine generally received upon that mysterious and unintelligible subject ; and his design seemed to be no more than to prevent Christians from humanizing the relation between the Father and the Son. But this was wounding his brethren, the rigorous systematic divines, in a tender point; for if Anthropomorphism, or the custom of at tributing to the Deity the kind of procedure in acting and judging that is usual among men (who resemble him only as imperfection resembles perfection), was banished from theo logy, orthodoxy would be deprived of some of its most pre cious phrases, and our confessions of faith and systems of doc-, trine would be reduced within much narrower bounds.

432 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT. XXXV. The controversy set on foot by the XVIL ingenious Balthazar Becker, minister at Am-

FART n sterdam, must not be omitted here. This learned ^Y^, ecclesiastic took occasion, from the Cartesian de- The contest fin ition of spirit, of the truth and precision of which ped ne was intimately persuaded, to deny boldly all i- the accounts we have in the Holy Scriptures of

Becker°f ^e se(luction, influence, and operations of the devil and his infernal emissaries ; as also all that has been said in favour of the existence of ghosts, spectres, sorcerers, and magicians. The long and laboured work he published, in the year 1691 upon this interesting subject, is still extant. In this singular production, which bears the title of The World Bewitched, he modifies and perverts, with the greatest ingenuity, but also with equal temerity and presumption, the accounts given by the sacred writers of the power of Satan and wicked angels, and of persons possessed by evil spirits; he affirms moreover, that the un happy and malignant being, who is called in Scripture Satan, or the Devil, is chained down with his infernal ministers in hell; so that he can never come forth from this eternal prison to terrify mortals, or to seduce the righteous from the paths of virtue. According to the Cartesian definition above mentioned, the essence of spirit consists in thought ; and, from this definition, Becker drew his doctrine ; since none of that in fluence, or of those operations that are attributed to evil spirits, can be effected by mere thinking \u\.

Rather,

(£3T \u\ Our historian relates here somewhat obscurely the reasoning which Becker founded upon the Cartesian defini tion of mind or spirit. The tenor and amount of his argu ment is as follows : " The essence of mind is thought, and the essence of matter is extension. — Now, since there is no sort of conformity, or connection between a thought and ex tension, mind cannot act upon matter, unless these two sub stances be united, as soul and body are in man :— therefore

no

Chap. II. The Histonj of the Reformed Church. 433

.Rather, therefore, than call into question the ac- CENT. curacy or authority of DCS Cartes, Becker thought proper to force the narrations and doctrines of Scripture into a conformity with the principles and definitions of this philosopher. These errors, nevertheless, excited great tumults and divisions, not only in all the United Provinces, but also in some parts of Germany, where several doctors of the Lutheran church were alarmed at its progress, and arose to oppose it [a;]. Their inventor and promoter, though refuted victoriously by a mul titude of adversaries, and publicly deposed from his pastoral charge, died in the year 1718, in the full persuasion of the truth of these opinions, that had drawn upon him so much opposition, and professed, with his last breath, his sincere adherence to every thing he had written on that subject. Nor can it be said, that this his doctrine died with him ; since it is abundantly known, that it has still many votaries and patrons, who either hold it in secret, or profess it publicly.

VOL. v. F f XXXVI.

no separate spirits, either good or evil, can act upon mankind. Such acting is miraculous, and miracles can be performed by God alone. It follows of consequence that the Scripture- accounts of the actions and operations of good and evil spi rits must be understood in an allegorical sense." This is Becker's argument ; and it does, in truth, little honour to his acuteness and sagacity. By proving too much, it proves nothing at all ; for if the want of a connection or conformity between thought* and extension renders mind incapable of acting upon matter, it is hard to see how their union should remove this incapacity, since the want of conformity and connection re mains, notwithstanding this union. Besides, according to this reasoning, the Supreme Being cannot act upon material beings. In vain does Becker maintain the affirmative, by having re course to a miracle ; for this would imply, that the whole course of nature was a series of miracles, that is to say, that there are no miracles at all.

Qw] See Lilienthalii Sdcclce Historic? Literar. p. i. observat. ii. p. 17. — Mlwllan. Lipxiens. torn. i. p. 36 1, 364. where there is an explication of a satirical medal, struck to expose the sen timents of Becker. See also Nouveau Diction. Hist, et Criti* yiic, torn. i. p. 193.

434 Tlie History of the Reformed Church.

CENT. XXXVI. The curious reader can be no stran-

xvn. ger t0 the multitude of sects, some Christian, some

FART I! Half-Christian, some totally delirious, that have

v^^^) started up, at different times, both in England

Dutch sects and Holland. It is difficult, indeed, for those who

—Vers- i}ve jn Other countries, to give accurate accounts

cnonsts, /» i • 1111 • i •

Ha»ce- of these separatists, as the books that contain their doctrines and views are seldom dispersed in foreign nations. AVehave, however, been lately favoured with some relations, that give a clearer idea of the Dutch sects, called Verschorists and Hattemists, than we had before entertained; and it will not therefore be improper to give here some account of these remarkable communities. The former derives its denomination from Jacob Verschoor, a native of Flushing, who, in the year 1680, out of a perverse and heterogeneous mixture of the tenets of Cocceius and Spinoza, produced a new form of religion equally remarkable for its extra vagance and impiety. His disciples and followers were called Hebrews, on account of the zeal and assiduity with which they all, without distinction of age or sex, applied themselves to the study of the Hebrew language.

The Hattemists were so called from Pontian Van Hattem, a minister in the province of Ze- land, who was also addicted to the sentiments of Spinoza, and was on that account degraded from his pastoral office. The Verschorists and Hattemists resemble each other in their religious systems, though there must also be some points in which they differ ; since it is well known, that Van Hattem could never persuade the former to unite their sect with his, and thus to form one communion. Neither of the two have abandoned the profession of the Reformed religion ; they af fect, on the contrary, an apparent attachment to it ; and Hattem, in particular, published a treatise upon the Catechism of Heidelberg. If I under stand

Chap, TI. The History of the Reformed Church. 435

stand aright the imperfect relations that have been CENT. given of the sentiments and principles of these two g^cT ^ communities. Hoth their founders began by per- PART Hfc verting the doctrine of the Reformed church concerning Absolute Decrees 9 so as to deduce it from the impious system of a fatal and uncon- troulable necessity. Having laid down this prin ciple to account for the origin of all events, they went a step further into the domain of Atheism, and denied " the difference between moral good " and evil, and the corruption of human nature." From hence they concluded, " That mankind were " under no sort of obligation to correct their nian- " ners, to improve their minds, or to endeavour " after a regular obedience to the divine laws — " that the whole of religion consisted, not in act- " ing, but in suffering — and that all the precepts " of Jesus Christ are reducible to this single " one, that we bear with cheerfulness and patience " the events that happen to us through the " divine will, and make it our constant and only " study to maintain a permanent tranquillity of " mind."

This, if we are not mistaken, was the common doctrine of the two sects under consideration. There were, however, certain opinions or fancies, that were peculiar to Hattem and his followers, who affirmed, " That Christ had not satisfied " the divine justice, nor made an expiation for " the sins of men by his death and sufferings, but ;t had only signified to us, by his mediation, " that there was nothing in us that could offend " the Deity." Hattem maintained, " that this " was Christ's manner of justifying his servants, " and presenting them blameless, before the tri- " bunal of God." These opinions seem perverse and pestilential in the highest degree ; and they evidently tend to extinguish all virtuous senti ments, and to dissolve all moral obligation. It

F f 2 docs

436 The History of the Reformed Church.

CENT, does not however appear, that either of these in- xvti. novations directly recommended immorality and PART ir v^ce> or though^ that men rnight safely follow, W^Y^/ without any restraint, the impulse of their irregu lar appetites and passions. It is at least certain, that the following maxim is placed among their tenets, that God does not punish men for their sins9 but by their si7ts ; and this maxim seems to signify, that, if a man does not restrain his irregular appe tites, he must suffer the painful fruits of his licen tiousness, both in a present and future life, not in consequence of any judicial sentence pronounced by the will, or executed by the immediate hand of God, but according to some fixed law or consti tution of nature [pi\. The two sects still subsist, though they bear no longer the names of their founders.

Thedis- XXXVII. The churches of Switzerland, so Swkze" earty as tne year * 669, were alarmed at the progress land con- which the opinions of Amyraut, De la Place, ConsenVuT anc^ Capell, were making in different countries ; or form of and they were apprehensive that the doctrine )rd* they had received from Calvin, and which had been so solemnly confirmed by the synod of Dort, might be altered and corrupted by these new improvements in theology. This appre hension was so much the less chimerical, as at that very time there were, among the clergy of Geneva, certain doctors eminent for their learning and eloquence, who not only adopted these new opinions, but were also desirous, notwithstanding the opposition and remonstrances of their col leagues, of propagating them among the peo ple [?/]. To set bounds to the zeal of these in novators, and to stop the progress of the new doc- *H trines,

[V] See Theocl. Hasae Dissert, in Mtiseo Bremen.™ Theol. Philolog. vol. ii. p. 144. — BibUotheqne Bdgique, torn. ii. p. 203.

£ y~\ See Leti Istoria Genevrina, part iv. book v. p. 448, 488, 497, &c.

Chap. II. Tlie History of the Reformed Church. 437

trines, the learned John Henry Heidegger, pro- CENT. fessor of divinity at Zurich, was employed in the XVIL

*• V C? K» ^ T* W 1

SECT. II.

year 1675, hy an assembly composed of the most 1>ART n eminent Helvetic divines, to draw up a form x— y— of doctrine, in direct opposition to the tenets and principles of the celebrated French writers men tioned above. The magistrates were engaged, without much difficulty, to give this production the stamp of their authority ; and to add to it the other confessions of faith received in the Helvetic church, under the peculiar denomination of the Form of Concord. This step, which seemed to be taken with pacific views, proved an abundant source of division and discord. Many declared, that they could not conscientiously subscribe this new form ; and thus unhappy tumults and contests arose in several places. Hence it happened, that the canton of Basil and the republic of Geneva, perceiving the inconveniences that proceeded from this new article of church-communion, and strongly solicited in the year 1686, by Frederic William, elector of Brandenburg, to ease the burthened consciences of their clergy, abrogated this form [2]. It is nevertheless certain, that in the other cantons it maintained its authority for some time after this period ; but in our time, the dis

cords

Y] It must not be imagined, from this expression of our historian, that this Form, entitled the Consenxus, was abrogated at Basil by a positive edict. The case stood thus : Mr. Peter Werensels, who was at the head of the ecclesiastical consis tory of that city, paid such regard to the letter of the elector, as to avoid requiring a subscription to this Form from the candidates for the ministry ; and his conduct, in this respect, was imitated by his successors. The remonstrances of the elector do not seem to have had the same effect upon those that governed the church of Geneva; for the Consensus , or Form of Agreement, maintained its credit and authority there until the year 1 706, when, without being abrogated by any positive act, it fell into disuse. In several other parts of Switzerland, it was still imposed as a rule of faith, as appears by the letters

F f 3 addressed

438

The History of the Reformed CJmrcJi.

SECT PART

CENT, cords it has excited in many places, and more XVIL particularly in the university of Lausanne, have "^ )|* contributed to deprive it of all its authority, and to sink it into utter oblivion [a].

addressed by George I. king of England, as also by the king of Prussia, in the year 1723, to the Swiss Cantons, in order to procure the abrogation of this Form, or Consensus, which was considered as an obstacle to the union of the Reformed and Lutheran churches. See the Memoires pour servir a I' His~ toire des troubles arrivces en Suisse a I'occasion du Consetisus, published in 8vo at Amsterdam, in the year 1726.

\_a~\ See Christ. Matth. Pfaffii Schediasma de Formula. Con sensus Helvetica, published in 4to at Tubingen, in the year 1723. — Memoires pour servir a t'Histoire des troubles arrivees en Suisse a I'occasion du Consensus.

THE

[ 439 ]

THE

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

SECTION If.

— -<«xi»>->- —

CHAP. III.

Concerning the Armiuian Church.

I. npHERE sprung forth from the bosom of CENT. -1- the Reformed church, during this century, J£JJ^ two new sects, whose birth and progress were for PART „. a long time, painful and perplexing to the parent ^-^r~ ' that bore them. These sects were the Arminians The deno-

, -^. . , . . • J'P mmation ol

and Quakers, whose origin was owing to very mt- ArlY1inians ferent principles, since the former derived its ex- whence. istence from an excessive propensity to improve the faculty of reason, and to follow its dictates and discoveries : while the latter sprung up, like a rank weed, from the neglect and contempt of human reason. The Arminians derive their name and their origin from James Arminius, or Harmensen, who was first pastor at Amsterdam, afterwards professor of divinity at Leyden, and who attracted the esteem and applause of his very enemies, by his acknowledged candour, penetra tion and piety [a]. They received also the de

nomination

\_a~\ The most ample account we have of this eminent man is given by Brandt, in his Ilistoria Vitce Jac. Arminii, pub lished at Leyclen in 8vo, in 1724; and the year after by me

Ff4 at

440 Tfte History of the Arminian Church.

CENT, nomination of Remonstrants, from an humble pe- xvil- tition, entitled, their Remonstrances, which they ^dressed in the ear 1610, to the states of Hoi-

PART 11

land, and, as the patrons of Calvinism, presented an address in opposition to this, which they called their Counter-remonstrances, so did they in consequence thereof, receive the name of Coun ter-remonstrants.

^* Arminius, though he had imbibed in his - tender years the doctrines of Geneva, and had even received his theological education in the university of that city, yet rejected, when he ar rived at the age of manhood, the sentiments, con cerning Predestination and the Divine Decrees, that are adopted by the greatest part of the Re formed churches, and embraced the principles and communion of those, whose religious system extends the love of the Supreme Being, and the merits of Jesus Christ, to all mankind [6]. As

time

at Brunswick, with an additional Preface and some Annota tions. See also Nonveau Dictionnaire Hisior. el Critique, torn. i. p. 471. All the works of Arminius are comprised in one moderate 4to volume. The edition I have now before me was printed at Francfort, in the year 1634. They who would form a just and accurate notion of the temper, genius, and doctrine of this divine, will do well to peruse, with par ticular attention, that part of his works that is known under the title of his Disputatiaiies publicce et privates. There is in his manner of reasoning, and also in his phraseology, some lit tle remains of the scholastic jargon of that age ; but we find, nevertheless, in his writings upon the whole, much of that simplicity and perspicuity which his followers have always looked upon, and still consider as among the principal qua lities of a Christian minister. For an account of the Armi nian Confessions of Faith, and the historical writers, who have treated of this sect, see Jo. Christ. Coccherus, Biblioth. Thcol. Symbolicce, p. 481.

pT] Bertius, in his Funeral Oration on Arminius, Brandt, in his History of his Life, p. 22. and almost all the ecclesias tical historians of this period, mention the occasion of this change in the sentiments of Arminius. It happened in the year 1591, as appears from the remarkable letter of Arminius

to

r

Chap. III. Tlie History of the Arminmn Church. 441

time and deep meditation had only served to con- CENT. firm him in these principles, he thought himself SE(,T 'n obliged, by the dictates botli of candour and con- PART „! science, to profess them publicly, when he had oh- ^-^r* ' tained the chair of divinity in the university of Lcyden, and to oppose the doctrine and senti ments of Calvin on these heads, which had been followed by the greatest part of the Dutch clergy. Two considerations encouraged him in a particu lar manner, to venture upon this open declaration of his sentiments : for he was persuaded, on the one hand, that there were many persons, beside himself, and, among these, some of the first rank and dignity, that were highly disgusted at the doc trine of absolute decrees ; and, OH the other, he knew that the Belgic doctors were neither obliged by their confession of faith, nor by any other pub lic law, to adopt and propagate the principles of Calvin. Thus animated and encouraged, Armi- nius taught his sentiments publicly, with great freedom and equal success, and persuaded many of the truth of his doctrine : but as Calvinism was at this time in a flourishing state in Holland, this freedom procured him a multitude of ene mies, and drew upon him the severest marks of disapprobation and resentment from those that adhered to the theological system of Geneva, and more espeially from Francis Gomar, his colleague. Thus commenced that long, tedious, and intricate controversy, that afterwards made such a noise in Europe, Arimnius died in the year 1609, when it was just beginning to involve tiis country in con tention and discord [c].

III. After

to Grynseus, which bears date that same year, and in which the former proposes to the latter some of his theological doubts. This letter is published in the Biblloth. Brcm. T/icol. Philoto". torn. Hi. p. 384.

[V] The history of this controversy, and of the public dis cords and tumults it occasioned, is more circumstantially re lated

442 TJie History of the Arminian Church.

CENT. III. After the death of Arminius, the com- XVIL bat seemed to be carried on, during some years, PART ii. hetween the contending parties, \vith equal suc- ^^^f—j cess ; so that it was not easy to foresee which side The pro- would gain the ascendant. The demands of the iTminfan- Arminians were moderate ; they required no ism. more than a bare toleration for their religious sentiments [d ] ; and some of the first men in the republic, such as Oldenbarneveldt, Grotius, Hoogerbeets, and several others, looked upon these demands as reasonable and just. It was the opinion of these great men, that as the points in debate had not been determined by the Belgic con fession of faith, every individual had an unques tionable right to judge for himself; and that more especially in a free state, which had thrown off the yoke of spiritual despotism and civil tyranny. In consequence of this persuasion, they used their utmost efforts to accommodate matters, and left no methods unemployed to engage the Calvinists to treat with Christian moderation and forbear ance

lated by Brandt, in the second and third volumes of his His tory of the Reformation, than by any other writer. This ex cellent history is written in Dutch : but there is an abridg ment of it in French, in three volumes, 8vo, which has been translated into English. Add to this, Uytenbogard's Eccle siastical History, written also in Dutch. — Limborchi Histo~ ria vitce Episcopii — The Epistolce Clarorum Firorum, pub lished by Limborch. — Those who desire a more concise view of this contest, will find it in Limborch's Rclatio Historica de W'igijie et progressu Controversiarum in Fcederato Belgio de Predeslinalione et capitibus annexis, which is subjoined to the latter editions of his Theologia Christiana, or Body of Divi nity. It is true, all these are Arminians, and, as impartiality requires our hearing both sides, the reader may consult Trig- land's Ecclesiastical History, composed likewise in Dutch, and a prodigious number of polemical writings published against the Arminians.

C^ E^ D This toleration was offered them in the conference held at the Hague, in the year l6ll, provided they would re nounce the errors of Socinianism. See Trigland, he. cit. — See also Henry Brandt's Collatio scripto habita Hagcecomitum, printed at Zericzee, in 1715.

PART II.

Chap. III. The History of the Arminian Church. 445

ance their dissenting brethren. These efforts were CENT. at first attended with some prospect of success. Maurice, prince of Orange, and the Princess s Dowager, his mother, countenanced those pacific measures, though the former became afterwards one of the warmest adversaries of the Arminians. Hence a conference was held, in the year 1611, at the Hague, between the contending parties ; another at Delft, in the year 1613 ; and hence also that pacific edict issued out in 1614, by the states of Holland, to exhort them to charity and mutual forbearance ; not to mention a number of expedients applied in vain to prevent the schism that threatened the church \e\. But these mea sures confirmed, instead of removing, the appre hensions of the Calvinists ; from day to day they were still more firmly persuaded, that the Armi nians aimed at nothing less than the ruin of all religion ; and hence they censured their magi strates with great warmth and freedom, for inter posing their authority to promote peace and union with such adversaries [./']. And those, who are well informed and impartial, must candidly ac- knowledge, that the Arminians were far from

being

\e~\ The writers who have given accounts of these trans actions are well known ; we shall only mention the first and second volumes of the Histoirc de Louis XIII. by Le Vassor, who treats largely and accurately of these religious commo tions, and of the civil transactions that were connected with them.

C/] The conduct of the States of Holland, who employed not only the language of persuasion, but also the voice of au thority, in order to calm these commotions, and restore peace in the church, was defended, with his usual learning, and elo quence, by Grotius, in two treatises. The one, which con tains the general principles on which this defence is founded, is entitled, " De jure summarnm potestatmn circa sacra;" the other, in which these principles are peculiarly applied in justifying the conduct of the States, was published, in the year 16' 13, under the following title: " Ordinum Hollandia ac Westfrisiae Pietas a multorum calumniis vindicata."

444 The History of the Arminian ChurcJi.

CENT, being sufficiently cautious in avoiding connexions XVIL with persons of loose principles, and that by fre quenting the company of those, whose sentiments were entirely different from the received doctrines of the Reformed church, they furnished their ene mies with a pretext for suspecting their own prin ciples, and presenting their theological system in the worst colours.

of ^' ^ *s wortnY °f observation, that this un- ian- happy controversy, which assumed another form, isra- and was rendered more comprehensive by new subjects of contention, after the synod of Dort, was, at this time, confined to the doctrines relating to Predestination and Grace. The sentiments of the Arminians, concerning these intricate points, were comprehended in five articles. They held,

1. " That God, from all eternity, determined " to bestow salvation on those whom he foresaw " would persevere unto the end in their faith in " Christ Jesus ; and to inflict everlasting punish- " ments on those who should continue in their " unbelief, and resist, unto the end, his divine *s succours :

2. " That Jesus Christ, by his death and " sufferings, made an atonement for the sins of all " mankind in general, and of every individual in " particular ; — that, however, none but those who " believe in him can be partakers of their divine "benefit:

3. " That true faith cannot proceed from the " exercise of our natural faculties and powers, nor " from the force and operation of free-will ; since " man, in consequence of his natural corruption, " is incapable either of thinking or doing any " good thing ; and that therefore it is necessary " to his conversion and salvation, that he be re- " generated and renewed by the operation of the " Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God, through " Jesus Christ :

4. " That

Chap. III. TJie History of the Arminian Church. 445

4. " That this Divine Grace, or energy of the CENT. " Holy Ghost, which heals the disorder of a cor- J^11^ " rupt nature, begins, advances, and brings to PART H" " perfection every thing that can be called good \^^^^ fi in man ; and that, consequently, all good works,

" without exception, are to be attributed to God " alone, and to the operation of his grace ; that, " nevertheless, this grace does not force the man " to act against his inclination, but may be resist- " ed and rendered ineffectual by the perverse will " of the impenitent sinner :

5. " That they who are united to Christ by faith " are thereby furnished with abundant strength, " and with succours sufficient to enable them to " triumph over the seduction of Satan, and the al- " lurements of sin and temptation ; but that the " question, Whelfier such may fall from their " faith, and forfeit finally this state of grace? "has not been yet resolved with sufficient perspi- " cuity ; and must, therefore, be yet more carefully " examined by an attentive study of what the " holy Scriptures have declared in relation to this " important point."

It is to be observed, that this last article was afterwards changed by the Arminians, who, in pro cess of time, declared their sentiments with less caution, and positively affirmed, that the saints might fall from a state of grace [g].

If we are to judge of men's sentiments by their words and declarations, the tenets of the Armi nians, at the period of time now under considera tion, bear a manifest resemblance of the Luthe ran system. But the Calvinists did not judge in this manner; on the contrary, they explained

the

[_g] The history of these five articles, and more particularly of their reception and progress in England, has been written by Dr. Heylin, whose book was translated into Dutch by the learned "and eloquent Brandt, and published at Rotterdam h) the year 16S7.

446

The History of the Arminmn Church.

CENT, the words and declarations of the Arminians ac- XVIL cording to the notions they had formed of their PART n! hidden sentiments ; and, instead of judging of V^Y^/ their opinions by their expressions, they judged of their expressions by their opinions. They maintained, that the Arminians designed, under these specious and artful declarations, to insinuate the poison of Socinianism and Pelagianism into unwary and uninstructed minds. The secret thoughts of men are only known to Him, who is the searcher of hearts ; and it is his privilege alone to pronounce judgment upon those inten tions and designs that are concealed from public view. But if we were allowed to interpret the jive articles now mentioned in a sense conform able to what the leading doctors among the Arminians have taught in later times concerning these points, it would be difficult to shew, that the suspicions of the Calvinists were entirely groundless. For it is certain whatever the Ar minians may allege to the contrary, that the sen timents of their most eminent theological writers, after the synod of Dort, concerning Divine Grace, and the other doctrines that are connected with it, approached much nearer to the opinions of the Pelagians and Semi-pelagians, than to those of the Lutheran church [A].

Prince V. The mild and favourable treatment the Ar-

JSre? minians received from the magistrates of Holland, against theandfroHi several persons of merit and distinction,

Arminians.

encouraged

\}i\ This is a curious remark. It would seem as if the Lutherans were not Semi-pelagians ; as if they considered man as absolutely passive in the work of his conversion and sanctification ; but such an opinion surely has never been the general doctrine of the Lutheran church, however rigorously Luther may have expressed himself on that head, in some unguarded moments , more especially it may be affirmed, that in latter times the Lutherans are, to a man, Semi-pela gians; and let it not be thought that this is imputed to them, as a reproach.

Chap. III. The History of the Arminlan CJmrch. 44?

encouraged them to hope, that their affairs would CENT take a prosperous turn, or at least that their XVIL cause was not desperate, when an unexpected **™ "' and sudden storm arose against them, blasted their expectations. This change was owing to causes entirely foreign to religion • and its origin must be sought for in those connexions which can scarcely be admitted as possible by the philosopher, but are perpetually presented to the view of the historian. A secret" misunderstanding had for some time subsisted between the S tacit- holder Maurice, prince of Orange, and some of the principal magistrates and ministers of the new republic, such as Oldenbarneveldt, Grotius, and Hoogerbeets ; and this misunder standing had at length broke out into an open enmity and discord. The views of this great prince are differently represented by different historians. Some allege, that he had formed the design of getting himself declared count of Holland, a dignity which William I. the glorious founder of Belgic liberty, is also said to have had in view [>']. Others affirm, that he only aspired

after

p] That Maurice aimed at the dignity of Count 6f Holland we learn from Aubery's Memoires pour servir a I'Hisloire de Hollande et des autrcs Provinces Unics, sect ii. p. 21 6. Ed. Paris. If we are to believe Aubery (informed by his father, who was, at that time, ambassador of France at the Hague), Oldenbarneveldt disapproved of this design, prevented its execution, and lost his life by his bold opposition to the views of the Prince. This account is looked upon as erroneous by Le Vasser, who takes much pains to refute it, and indeed with success, in his Histoirc de Iritis XIII. torn. ii. p. ii. p. 123. Le Clerk, in his Biblioth. Cho'isie, torn. ii. p. 134, and in his History of the United Provinces, endeavours to con firm what is related by Aubery ; and also affirms, th.it the project formed by Maurice had been formed before by his father. The determination of this debated point is not necessary to our present purpose. It is sufficient to observe, what is acknowledged on all sides, that Oldenbnrneveldt and his associates suspected Prince Maurice of a design to

encroach

448 The History of the Arminlan Church.

CENT, after a greater degree of authority and influence xvii. tjjan seeme(l consistent with the liberties of the

PART ii. republic ; it is at least certain, that some of the w~Y^^ principal persons in the government suspected him of aiming at supreme dominion. The leading men above mentioned opposed these designs ; and these leading men were the patrons of the Armi- nians. The Arminians adhered to these their pa trons and defenders, without whose aid they could have no prospect of security or protection. Their adversaries the Gomarists, on the contrary, second ed the views and espoused the interests of the prince, and inflamed his resentment, which had been already more or less kindled by various suggestions, to the disadvantage of the Arminians, and of those who protected them. Thus, after mutual suspicions and discontents, the flame broke out with violence; and Maurice resolved the downfal of those who ruled the republic, without shewing a proper regard to his counsels ; and also of the Arminians, who espoused their cause. The leading men, that sat at the helm of government, were cast into prison. Oldenbarneveldt, a man of gravity and wisdom, wrhose hairs were grown gray in the service of his country, lost his life on a public scaffold ; while Grotius and Hoogerbeets were condemned to a perpetual prison [&], under what pretext, or in consequence

of

encroach upon the liberties of the republic, and to arrogate to himself the supreme dominion. Hence the zeal of Barne- veldt to weaken his influence, and to set bounds to his autho rity ; hence the indignation and resentment of Maurice ; and hence the downfal of the Arminian sect, which enjoyed the patronage, and adhered to the interests of Oldenbarneveldt and Grotius.

\K\ The truth of this general account of these unhappy divisions will undoubtedly be acknowledged by all parties, particularly at this period of time, when these tumults and commotions have subsided, and the spirit of party is less blind,

partial,

Chap. III. The History of the Arminian Church. 4 19

of what accusations or crimes, is unknown to CKNT.

us [/]. As the Arminians were not charged with x'vn-

SECT. ir.

ai1) PART II.

partial, and violent. And the candid and ingenious Calvi- s— ~r—' nists, who acknowledge this, will not thereby do the smallest prejudice to their cause. For should they even grant (what I neither pretend to affirm nor deny) that their ancestors, carried away by the impetuous spirit of the times, defended their reli gious opinions in a manner that was far from being consistent with the dictates of moderation and prudence, no rational con clusion can be drawn from this, either against them or the goodness of their cause. For it is well known, both by obser vation and experience, that unjustifiable things have often been done by men, whose characters and intentions, in the general, were good and upright ; and that a good cause has frequently been maintained by methods that would not bear a rigorous examination. What I have said with brevity on this subject is confirmed and amplified by Le Clerc, in his Histoirc des Provinces Unies, and the Biblioth. C/ioisie, torn. ii. p. 134,. and also by Grotius, in his Apologelicus corum, qui Holland'm et Westfrisice, ct vicinis quibusdam nationibus prcefuerant ante mufationcm qua? evenit, An. 1618. The life of Oldenbarne- veldt, written in Dutch, was published at the Hague, in 4to, in the year l0'48. The history of his trial, and of the judg ment pronounced in the famous triumvirate, mentioned above, was drawn by Gerard Brandt, from authentic re cords, and published under the following title : Histoirc van de Rechtsplcginge gehouden in den j gar en l6lS et 10' If), om~ Irent dedrie gevangene Heeren Johann Van Oldenbarneveldt, Rombout Hoogerbeets, en Hugo de Groot ; a third edi tion of this book augmented with Annotations, was pub lished in 4to, at Rotterdam, in the year 1723. The History of the Life and Actions of Grotius, composed in Dutch by Caspar Brandt and Adrian Van Cattenburgh, and drawn mostly from original papers, casts a considerable degree of light on the history of the transactions now before us. This famous work was published in the year 1727> in two volumes in folio, at Dort and Amsterdam, under the following title : Histoire van het levcn des Heron Huig de Groot, bescbre- ven lot den Anfang van zyn Gcsandchap rvegens de Koninginne en Kroone van Zweden aanit Hqf van Vrankryck door Caspard Brandt, en vervolgt tot zyn dood door Adrian Van Cat- tenburg. Those who desire to form a true and accurate notion of the character and conduct of Grotius, and to see him as it were near hahd, must have recourse to this excellent work ; since all the other accounts of this great iv.an are insi pid, lifeless, and exhibit little else than a poor shadow, in- VOL. V. G g » stead

SECT. II. PART II.

450 The History of the Armmian Church.

CENT, any violation of the laws, but merely with de- parting from the established religion, their cause was not of such a nature as rendered it cogni zable by a civil tribunal. That, however, this cause might be regularly condemned, it was judged proper to bring it before an ecclesiastical assem bly, or national synod. This method of proceed ing was agreeable to the sentiments and principles of the Calvinists, who are of opinion, that all spi ritual concerns and religious controversies ought to be judged and decided by an ecclesiastical as sembly or council [m].

VI.

stead of a real and animated substance. The life of Grotius, composed by Burigni in French, and published successively at Paris and Amsterdam, in two volumes 8vo, deserves per haps to be included in this general censure; it is at least a very indifferent and superficial performance, (^f3 There appeared in Holland a warm vindication of the memory of this great man in a work published at Delft, in 1727, and entitled, Grotii Manes ab iniquis obtrectatwnibus vindicali ; accedit scriptorum ejus turn edilorum turn ineditorum, Conspectus Triplex. See the following note.

(^3~ [/] Dr. Mosheim, however impartial, seems to have con sulted more the authors of one side than of the other ; pro bably because they are more numerous, and more universally known. When he published this history, the world was not favoured with the Letters, Memoirs, and Negotiations of Sir Dudley Carleton ; which Lord Royston (now Earl of Harwick), drew forth some years ago from his inestimable treasure of historical manuscripts, and presented to the public, or rather at first to a select number of persons to whom he dis tributed a small number of copies of these Negotiations, printed at his own expence. They were soon translated both into Dutch and French ; and though it cannot be affirmed that the spirit of party is no where discoverable in them, yet they contain anecdotes with respect both to Oldenbarne veldt and Grotius, that the Arminians, and the other patrons of these two great men have been studious to conceal. These anec dotes, though they may not be at all sufficient to justify the severities exercised against these eminent men, would, however, have prevented Dr. Mosheim from saying that he knew not under what pretext they were arrested.

^f Q/?] The Calvinists are not particular in this j and in deed it is natural that debates, purely theological, should be discussed in an assembly of divines.

p,ABT ,

Chap. III. The History of the Arminian Church. 451

VI. Accordingly a synod was convoked at Dort, CENT. in the year 1618, by the counsels and influence of Prince Maurice [rc], at which were present eccle- siastical deputies from the United Provinces, as also from the churches of England, Hessia, Bremen, Tt,e synod Switzerland, and the Palatinate. The leading ofDort' men among the Arminians appeared, before this famous assembly, to defend their cause ; and they had at their head, Simon Episcopius, who was, at that time, professor of divinity at Leydcn, had formerly been the disciple of Arminius, and was admired, even by his enemies, on account of the depth of his judgment, the extent of his learn ing, and the force of his eloquence. This emi nent man addressed a discourse, full of modera tion, gravity, and elocution, to the assembled divines ; but this was no sooner finished, than dif ficulties arose, which prevented the conference the Arminians had demanded, in order to shew the grounds, in reason and scripture, on which their opinions were founded. The Arminian deputies proposed to begin the defence of their cause by refuting the opinions of the Calvinists, their ad versaries. This proposal was rejected by the sy nod, which looked upon the Arminians as a set of men that lay under the charge of heresy ; and therefore thought it incumbent upon them first to declare and prove their own opinions, before G g 2 they

(fcf5- \n\ Our author always forgets to mention the order, issued out by the States-general, for the convocation of this famous synod ; and by his manner of expressing himself, and particularly by the phrase (Mauritio auctare), would seem to insinuate, that it was by the prince that this assembly was called together. The legitimacy of the manner of convoking this synod was questioned by Oldenbarneveldt, who maintain ed that the States-general had no sort of authority in matters of religion, not even the power of assembling a synod ; affirm ing that this was an act of sovereignty, that belonged to each province separately and respectively. See C'arloton's Let ter*, c^'C.

452 The History of the Armlman Church.

CENT, they could be allowed to combat the sentiments XVIL of others. The design of the Arminians, in the

SECT. II.

FART ii. Pr°P°sal they made, was probably to get the people on their side, by such an unfavourable re presentation of the Calvinistical system, and of the harsh consequences, that seem deducible from it, as might excite a disgust, in the minds of those that were present, against its patrons and abet tors. And it is more than probable, that one of the principal reasons, that engaged the members of the synod to reject this proposal, was a consi deration of the genius and eloquence of Episco- pius, and an apprehension of the effects they might produce upon the multitude. When all the methods employed to persuade the Armini ans to submit to the manner of proceeding, pro posed by the synod, proved ineffectual, they were excluded from that assembly, and returned home, complaining bitterly of the rigour and partiality with which they had been treated. Their cause was nevertheless tried in their absence, and, in consequence of a strict examination of their wri tings, they were pronounced guilty of pestilential errors, and condemned as corrupters of the true religion. This sentence was followed by its na tural effects, which were the excommunication of the Arminians, the suppression of their religious assemblies, and the depravation of their ministers. In this unhappy contest, the candid and impartial observer will easily perceive that there were faults committed on both sides. Which of the con tending parties is most worthy of censure is a point, whose discussion is foreign to our present purpose [o].

VII. We

[o] The writers who have given accounts of the synod of Dort are mentioned by Jo. Albert. Fabricius, in his Bib- lioth. Grcec. vol. xi. p. 723. The most ample account of this famous assembly has been given by Brandt, in the second

and

° l

Chap. III. TJie History of the Armiman CliurcL 453

VII. We shall not here appreciate either the TENT. merit or demerit of the divines, that were assem- xvir- bled in this famous synod; hut we cannot help SE|'T- "• observing that their sanctity, wisdom, and virtue have been exalted beyond all measure by the Gt^ vinists, while their partiality, violence, and their mcntth^ other defects, have been exaggerated with a cer- tain degree of malignity by the Arminians [^.concernin There is no sort of doubt, but that, among thethi members of this assembly, who sat in judgment upon the Arminians, there were several persons equally distinguished by their learning, piety, and integrity, who acted with upright intentions, and had not the least notion, that the steps they were taking, or encouraging, were at all inconsistent with equity and wisdom. On the other hand, it appears with the utmost evidence, that the Arnri- nians had reason to complain of several circum stances that strike us in the history of this remark able period. It is plain, in the first place, that G g 3 the

and third volumes of his History of the Reformation in the United Provinces ; but, as this author is an Arminian, it will not be improper to compare his relation with a work of the learned Leydekker, in which the piety and justice of the proceedings of this synod are vindicated against the censures of Brandt. This work, which is composed in Dutch, was published in two volumes in 4to, at Amsterdam, in the year 1705 and 1707, under the following title : Eere van de Rationale Si/node, van Dordrecht voorgcstaan en be.vestlgd tegcn de bcschuldingen van G. Brandt. After comparing diligently these two produc tions, I could see no enormous error in Brandt ; for, in truth, these two writers do not so much differ about facts, as they do in the reasoning they deduce from them, and in their ac counts of the causes from whence they proceeded. The reader will do well to consult the Letters of the learned and worthy Mr. John Hales of Eaton, who was an impartial spectator of the proceedings of this famous synod, and who relates with candour and simplicity what he saw and heard.

[_p~] All that appeared unfair to the Arminians in the pro ceedings of this synod, has been collected together in a Dutch book, entitled, Nullileten, Mitlmmldingcn, end? an/ii/llike Pro- cedurin, des Nalionalen Synodi gehoudcn binncn Dordrecht, &c.

454

CENT XVII.

The History of the Arminian Church.

the ruin of their community was a point not only premeditated, but determined even before the meeting of the national synod [</] ; and that this synod was not so much assembled to examine the doctrine of the Arminians, in order to see whether it was worthy of toleration and indulgence, as to publish and execute, with a certain solemnity, with an air of justice, and with the suffrage and consent of foreign divines, whose authority was respectable, a sentence already drawn up and agreed upon by those who had the principal direction in these affairs. It is further to be observed, that the accusers and adversaries of the Arminians were their judges, and that Bogerman, who presided in this famous synod, was distinguished by his peculiar hatred of that sect; that neither the Dutch nor foreign di vines had the liberty of giving their suffrage ac cording to their own private sentiments, but were obliged to deliver the opinions of the princes and magistrates, of whose orders they were the depo sitaries [r] ; that the influence of the lay deputies, who appeared in the synod with commissions from the States-general and the prince of Orange, was still superior to that of the ecclesiastical members, who sat as judges ; and lastly, that the solemn pro mise, made to the Arminians, when they were sum moned before the synod, that they should be allow ed the freedom of explaining and defending their

opinions,

(£f \_q~] This asseytion is of too weighty a nature to be ad vanced without sufficient proof. Our author quotes no autho rity for it. ' /TV.

(j^ \_r~] Here our author has fallen into a palpable mistake. The Dutch divines had no commission but from their respec tive consistories, or subordinate ecclesiastical assemblies ; nor are they ever depositaries of the orders of their magistrates, who have lay-deputies to represent them both in provincial and national synods. As to the English and other foreign doctors that appeared in the synod of Dort, the case perhaps may have been somewhat different.

Chap. III. The History of the Arminian Church. 455

opinions, as far as they thought proper, or neces- CENT. sarytotheirj //.v////m^07i,wasnianifostly violated [/ ]. *

VIII. The Arminians, in consequence of the \ decision of the synod, were considered as enemies ^^ of their country and of its estahlished religion ; The fate Of and they were accordingly treated with oreat se-tlu' Ar"li- verity. They were deprived of all their posts and STy^ employments, whether ecclesiastical or civil ; and,ofD°rL which they looked upon as a yet more intolerable instance of the rigour of their adversaries, their ministers were silenced, and their congregations were suppressed. They refused obedience to the order, by which their pastors were prohibited from performing, in public, their ministerial functions ; and this drew upon themselves anew the resentment of their superiors, who punished them by fines, imprisonments, exile, and other marks of ignominy. To avoid these vexations, many of them retired to Antwerp, others fled to France ; while a considerable number, accepting the invitation sent to them by Frederick, duke of Holstein, formed a colony, which settled in the dominions of that prince, and built for them selves a handsome town called Fredcrickstadt, in the duchy of Sleswyck, where they still live happy and unmolested, in the open profession and free exercise of their religion. The heads of this co lony were persons of distinction, who had been obliged to leave their native country on account of these troubles, particularly Adrian Vander Wael, who was the first governor of the new city [t»J. Among the persecuted ecclesiastics,

who

[Y] See Le Vassor, Histoire du Regne de Louis XIII. torn. iii. livr. xii. p. 365, 366. — and Mosheim's preface to the La tin translation of Hale's account of the synod of l)ort, p. 394—4.00.

\_u~\ The history of this colony is accurately related in the

famous letters published by Philip Limborch and Christian

G g 4 Hartsoekcr,

456 The History of the Arminian Church,

CENT, who followed this colony, were, the famous Vor- stius, who, by his religious sentiments, which differed but little from the Socinian system, had rendered the Arminians particularly odious, Gre- vinckhovius, a man of a resolute spirit, who had been pastor at Rotterdam Goulart, Grevius, Wal ters, Narsius, and others [w\. They are IX. After the death of Prince Maurice, which from exile, happened in the year 1625, the Arminian exiles experienced the mildness and clemency pf his brother and successor Frederic Henry, under whose administration they were recalled from ba nishment, and restored to their former reputation and tranquillity. Those who had taken refuge in the kingdom of France, and in the Spanish Ne- therlands, were the first that embraced this occa sion of returning to their native country, where they erected churches in several places, and more particularly in the cities of Amsterdam and Rot terdam, under the mild shade of a religious tole ration. That they might also have a public se minary of learning for the instruction of their youth, and the propagation of their theological principles, they founded a college at Amsterdam, in which two professors were appointed to instruct the candidates for the ministry, in the various branches of literature and science, sacred and profane. Simon Episcopius was the first pro fessor of theology among the Arminians ; and, since his time, the seminary now mentioned has

been,

Hartsoeker, entitled, Epistolce prcestantwm et eruditorum viro- rum Ecclesiastica et T/ieologicct', of which the last edition was published in folio, at Amsterdam in the year 1 704. — See also Jo. Molleri Introduclio in Histor. Chersonesi Cimbricce, p. ii. p. 108 — and Pontoppidani Annales Ecclcam Dajiicce Diploma- tici, torn. iii. p. 714.

L»] For an ample account of Vorstius, see Jo. Molleri Ci'wt- bri Litcrata, torn. ii. p. 9<jl. as also p. 242. 24?. 249. 255. 576. where we find a particular account of the other ecclesi astics above mentioned.

Chap. III. The History of the Arminian Church. 457

been, generally speaking, furnished with profes- cr:\i. sors eminent for their learning and genius, such ^ as Courcelles, Poelenburg, Limborch, Le Clcrc, i>AUT H. Cattenburgh [#], and Wetstein. >^frv-^'

X. We have already seen that the original ™c a»- difFerence between the Arminian s and the Cal-nofeni

vinists was entirely confined to the five mentioned above, relative to the doctrines ofj Predestination and Grace ; and it was the doc trine of the former concerning these points alone that occasioned their condemnation in the synod of Dort. It is further to be observed, that these five points, as explained at that time by the Ar- minians, seemed to differ very little from the Lutheran system. But after the synod of Dort, and more especially after the return of the Armi nian exiles into their native country, the theolo gical system of this community underwent a re markable change, and assumed an aspect, that distinguished it entirely from that of all other Christian churches. For then they gave a new explication of these five articles, that made them almost coincide with the doctrine of those who deny the necessity of divine succours in the work of conversion, and in the paths of virtue. Nay, they went still further, and, bringing the greatest part of the doctrines of Christianity before the tri bunal of reason, they modified them considerably, and reduced them to an extensive degree of sim plicity. Arminius, the parent and founder of the community, was, undoubtedly, the inventor of this new form of doctrine, and taught it to his disciples [ y\ ; but it was first digested into a re gular

[>] There is an accurate account of these and the other Arminian writers given by Adrian Van Cattenburg, in his Billwthcca Scriplorum Rcmonstmntium, printed in Svo, at Amsterdam, in the year 1?28.

T //I It is a common opinion that the ancient Armimans, who flourished before the synod of Dort, were

PART

458 The History of the Arminian Church.

CENT, gular system, and embellished with the charms XVIL of a masculine eloquence, by Episcopius, whose

SECT. II. , . -, . ^ i V " v.1 ,

n learning and genius have given him a place among the Arminian doctors, next to their foun der [*]. XI.

sound in their opinions, and strict in their morals, than those who have lived after this period ; that Arminius himself only rejected the Calvinistical doctrine of absolute decrees, and what he took to be its immediate consequences, adopting in all other points the doctrines received in the Reformed churches ; but that his disciples, and more especially Episcopius, had boldly transgressed the bounds that had been wisely prescribed by their master, and had gone over to the Pelagians, and even to the Socinians. Such, I say is the opinion commonly en tertained concerning this matter. But it appears, on the con trary, evident to me, that Arminius himself, had laid the plan of that theological system, that was, in after times, embraced by his followers, and that he had instilled the main principles of it into the minds of his disciples ; and that these latter, and particularly Episcopius, did really no more than bring this plan to a greater degree of perfection, and propagate, with more courage and perspicuity, the doctrines it contained. I have the testimony of Arminius to support this notion, be sides many others that might be alleged in its behalf ; for, in the/fl,s/ rvUlmade by this eminent man, a little before his death, he plainly and positively declares, that the great object he had in view, in all his theological and ministerial labours, was to unite in one community, cemented by the bonds of fraternal charity, all sects and denominations of Christians, the papists excepted ; his words, as they are recorded in the funeral ora tion, which was composed on occasion of his death by Berlins, are as follow : Ea proposui et docui .... quce ad propaga- tionem amplificatumemquc veritatis religionis Christianas, veri Dei culliiSy communis pietatis, et sanctce inter homines conversa- lionis, dcnique ad CONVENIENTEM CHRISTIANO NOMINI TRAN-

QUILLITATEM ET PACEM jlixtci Vert) lim Dei POSSENT CONFERRE,

EXCLUDENS EX iis PAPATUM, cum quo nulld unitas jidei, mil" lum pietalis aut CJiristumw pads vincitlitm servari potest. These words, in their amount, coincide perfectly with the modern system of Arminian ism, which extend the limits of the Chris tian church, and relaxes the bonds of fraternal communion in such a manner, that Christians of all sects and of all denomi nations, whatever their sentiments and opinions may be (pa pists excepted), may be formed into one religious body, and live together in brotherly love and concord.

[V] The life of this eminent man was composed in Latin

Chap. III. The History of the Arminian Church.

XI. The great and ultimate end the Armini- CENT. ans seem to have in view is, that Christians, though x VI ' divided in their opinions, may be united in fra- ternal charity and love, and thus be formed into one family or community, notwithstanding the The diversity of their theological sentiments. In or- en? Pr°P°-

J i«ii i se(' ky the

der to execute their benevolent purpose, they Arminian maintain, that Christ demands from his servants •t>sster^K*nd more virtue tlisni faith; that he has confined that Pai heads, belief which is essential to salvation to a few ar ticles ; that, on the other hand, the rules of prac tice he has prescribed are extremely large in their extent ; and that charity and virtue ought to be the principal study of true Christians. Their de finition of a true Christian is somewhat latitudi- narian in point of belief. According to their ac count of things, every person is a genuine subject of the kingdom of Christ ; " 1 . Who receives the " Holy Scriptures, and more especially the New " Testament as the rule of his faith, however " he may think proper to interpret and explain " these sacred oracles ; 2. Who abstains from " idolatry and polytheism, with all their con- " comitant absurdities ; 3. Who leads a decent, " honest, and virtuous life, directed and regu- " lated by the laws of God ; and, 4. Who never " discovers a spirit of persecution, discord, or " ill-will towards those who differ from him in " their religious sentiments, or in their manner " of interpreting the holy Scriptures." Thus the wide bosom of the Arminian church is opened to all who profess themselves Christians, however essentially they may differ from each other in their theological opinions. The papists alone are ex cluded from this extensive communion, and this

because

by the learned and judicious Limborch, and is singularly wor thy of an attentive perusal. It was published at Amsterdam in 8vo in the year 1701.

460 The History of the Arminlan Church.

CP:NT. because they esteem it lawful [a] to persecute

XVIL those who will not submit to the yoke of the Ro-

PART ii. man Pontiff [&]• It is not our design here either

-^-y-m_> to justify or condemn these latitudinarian terms

of communion ; it is true, indeed, that, if other

Christian churches adopted them, diversity of

sentiments would be no longer an obstacle to

mutual love and concord.

XII.

(£f° £a] It is not only on account of their persecuting spirit, but also on account of their idolatrous worship, that the Armi- nians exclude the Papists from their communion. See the following note.

pT] For a full and accurate representation of this matter, the reader need scarcely have recourse to any other treatise than that which is published in the first volume of the works of Episcopius (p. 508.) under the following title : Verus Thco- logus Remonstrans, sive verce Rewonstrantium Theologian de er- ranlibus dilucida declaratio. This treatise is written with pre cision and perspicuity. Le Clerc, in the Dedication prefixed to his Latin translation of Dr. Hammond's Paraphrase and Commentary/ on the New Testament, gives a brief account of the Arminian principles and terms of communion in the fol lowing words, addressed to the learned men of that sect; You declare, says he, that they only are excluded from your communion, who are chargeable with idolatry — who do not re ceive the holy Scriptures as the rule of faith — who trample upon the precepts of Christ by their licentious manners and actions — and who persecute those who differ from them in matters of re ligion*. Many writers affirm, that the Arminians acknow ledge as their brethren all those who receive that form of doc trine that is known under the denomination of the Apostle's Creed. But that these writers are mistaken, appears suffici ently from what has been already said on this subject ; and is further confirmed by the express testimony of Le Clerc, who (in his Biblioth. Ancienne et Mod. torn. xxv. p. 110.) declares, that it is not true that the Arminians admit to their commu nion all those who receive the Apostles Creed : his words are, Us se trompent ) Us (the Arminians) qffrent la communion a toux ceux, qui rccoivent I'ecrilure sainte comme la settle regie da lafoi et des mceurs, et qui ne sont ni idolatres ni persecuteurs.

* The original words of LE CLERC are, Prqfiteri soletis . . . . eos dun- taxat a vobis excludi, qui (I.) idolatoria sunt contaminati, (2.) qui minime habcnt scripturam profidei norma, (5.) qui impuris moribus sancta Christi pnecepta conculcant, (4.) aut qui denique alias religionis causa vexant.

Chap. III. The History of the Arminian Church. 461

XII. From all this it appears plain enough CENT. that the Arminian community was a kind of mcd- x v ' ' ley, composed of persons of different principles, *Kl ' '

and that, properly speaking, it could have no ^ ^

fixed and stable form or system of doctrine. The The Armi- Armmians, however, foreseeing that this circum- ?ia" Con: stance might he objected to them as a matter of Fail!!!1 ' reproach, and unwilling to pass for a society con nected by no common principles or bond of union, have adopted, as their Confession of Faith, a kind of theological system, drawn up by Epis- copius, and expressed, for the most part, in the words and phrases of Holy Scripture [c]. But as none of their pastors are obliged, either by oath, declaration, or tacit compact, to adhere strictly to this confession, and as, on the contrary, by the fundamental constitution of this community, every one is authorised to interpret its expressions (which are in effect susceptible of various signifi cations) in a manner conformable to their pecu liar sentiments; it evidently follows, that we cannot deduce from thence an accurate and con sistent view of Arminianism, or know, with any degree of certainty, what doctrines are adopted or rejected by this sect Hence it happens, that the Arminian doctors differ widely among themselves concerning some of the most important doctrines of Christianity [d~\\ nor are they universally agreed or entirely uniform in their sentiments of almost any one point, if we except the doctrines of Pre destination

[V] This Confession of Faith is extant in Latin, Dutch, and German. The Latin edition of it is to be found in the works of Episcopius, torn. ii. p. ii. p. 6.Q. — Where may be found also a Defence of this Confession against the objection of the pro fessors of divinity at Leyden.

[d~\ They who will be at the pains of comparing together the theological writings of Episcopius, Courcelles, Limborch, Le Clerc, and Cattenburg, will see clearly the diversity of sentiments that reigns among the Arminian doctors.

n.

462 The History of the Arminian Church.

CENT, destination and Grace. They all, indeed, unani- xvn. mously adhere to the doctrine that excluded their ancest°rs from the communion of the Reformed churches, even that the love of God extends itself equally to all mankind ; that no mortal is render ed finally unhappy by an eternal and invincible decree; and that the misery of those that perish comes from themselves ; but they explain this doc trine in a very different manner from that in which it was formerly understood. Be that as it may, this is the fundamen tal doctrine of the Arminians, and whoever opposes it, becomes thereby an adver sary to the whole community ; whereas those whose objections are levelled at particular tenets which are found in the writings of the Arminian divines, cannot be said, with any degree of pro priety, to attach or censure the Arminian church, whose theological system, a few articles excepted, is vague and uncertain [e~\9 and is not character ized by any fixed set of doctrines and principles. Such only attack certain doctors of that commu nion, who are divided among themselves, and do not agree, even in their explications of the doc trine relating to the extent of the divine love and mercy; though this be the fundamental point that occasioned their separation from the Reform ed churches.

Thepre- XIII. The Arminian church makes at present ofnlrmini. hut an in considerable figure, when compared with the Reformed ; and, if credit may be given to public report, it declines from day to day. The

Arminians

(j^» [e~] What renders the Arminian Confession of Faith an uncertain representation of the sentiments of the community, is, the liberty in which every pastor is indulged of departing from it, when he finds any of its doctrines in contradiction with his private opinions. See the Introduction to the Arminian Con fession of Faith, in the third volume of the French abridgment of Brandt's History of the Reformation of the Netherlands.

Chap. III. The History of the Arminian Church. 463

Arminianshave stillin the United Provinccstiiirty- CENT. four congregations more or less numerous, which are furnished \vith eighty-four pastors; besides these, their church at Frcderickstadt, in the dutch y of Holstein, still suhsists. It cannot, however, he said, that the credit and influence of tlieir religi ous principles have declined with the external lustre of their community ; since it is well known that their sentiments wel*e early adopted in seve ral countries, and were secretly received by many who had not the courage to profess them openly. Every one is acquainted with the change that has taken place in the established church of England, whose clergy, generally speaking, since the time of Archbishop Laud, have embraced the Arminian doctrine concerning Predestination and Grace ; and, since the restoration of Charles II. have discovered a strong propensity to many other tenets of the Arminian church. Besides this, whoever has any acquaintance with the wrorld, must know, that, in many of the courts of Protestant princes, and generally speaking, among those persons that pretend to be wiser than the multitude, the following fundamental prin ciple of Arminianism is adopted : " that those " doctrines, whose belief is necessary to salvation, " are very few in number ; and that every one is to " be left at full liberty, with respect to his private " sentiments of God and religion, provided his " life and actions be conformable to the rules of " piety and virtue." Even the United Provinces, which saw within their bosom the defeat of Armi nianism, are at this time sensible of a considerable change in that respect ; for, while the patrons of Calvinism, in that republic acknowledge that the community which makes an external profession of Arminianism, declines gradually both in its numbers and influence, they, at the same time, complain, that its doctrines and spirit gain ground

from

The History of the Arminian Church.

CENT from day to day ; that they have even insinuated stcV^i tnemselves more or less into the bosom of the PART ii. established church, and infected the theological system of many of those very pastors who are ap pointed to maintain the doctrine and authority of the synod of Dort. The progress of Arminian ism in other countries is abundantly known ; and its votaries in France, Geneva, and many parts of Switzerland, are certainly very numerous \ee\.

The

d^= \_('G~\ It may not, however, be improper to observe here, that the progress of Arminianism has been greatly retarded, nay,, that its cause daily declines in Germany and several parts of Switzerland, in consequence of the ascendant which the Leibnitian and Wolfian philosophy hath gained in these coun tries, and particularly among the clergy and men of learning. Leibnitz and Wolf, by attacking that liberty of indifference, \vhich is supposed to imply the power of acting, not only with" out, but against motives, struck at the very foundation of the Arminian system. But this was not all : for, by considering that multiplicity of worlds that compose the universe, as one System or Whole, whose greatest possible perfection is the ulti mate end of creating goodness, and the sovereign purpose of governing wisdom, they removed from the doctrine of Pre~ destination those arbitrary procedures and narrow views,, with which the Calvinists are supposed to have loaded it, and gave it a new, a more pleasing, and a more philosophical aspect. As the Leibnitians laid down this great end, as the supreme object of God's universal dominion, and the scope to which all his dispensations are directed, so they concluded, that, if this end was proposed, it must be accomplished. Hence the doctrine of necessity to fulfil the purposes of a Predestination founded in wisdom and goodness ; a necessity, physical and mechanical in the motions of material and inanimate things ; but a necessity, moral and spiritual in the voluntary determinations of intelli gent beings, in consequence of prepollent motives, which pro duce their effects with certainty, though these effects be con tingent, and by no means the offspring of an absolute and es sentially immutable fatality. These principles are evidently applicable to the main doctrines of Calvinism ; by them Pre destination is confirmed, though modified with respect to its reasons and its ends ; by them Irresistible Grace (irresistible in a moral sense) is maintained upon the hypothesis of prepollent motives and a moral necessity. The Perseverance of the Saints is also explicable upon the same system, by a series of moral causes producing a series of moral effects. In consequence

of

SECT. IF. ART II.

Chap. III. The History of the Armlnian Church. 4(55

The external forms of divine worship and eccle- CENT. siastical government in the Arminian church arc almost the same with those that are in use among ^ ' the Preshyterians. As however, the leading men ' among the Arminians are peculiarly amhitious of maintaining their correspondence and fraternal intercourse with the church of England, and leave no circumstance unimproved that may tend to confirm this union ; so they discover, upon all occasions, their approbation of the episcopal form of ecclesiastical government, and profess to regard it as most ancient, as truly sacred, and as superior to all other institutions of church polity [ /'].

of all this, several divines of the German church have applied the Leibnitian and Wolfian philosophy to the illustration of the doctrines of Christianity ; and the learned Canzius has written a book expressly to shew the eminent use that may he made of that philosophy in throwing light upon the chief articles of our faith. See his " Philosophic Leibnitianae £ Wolfianae Usus in Theologia per praecipuae fidei capita, auctore Israel." The- oph. Canzio, and of which a second edition was published at Francfort and Leipsic, in 1749- See also Wittenbach's " Tentarnen Theologiae Dogmaticae Methodo Scientifica per- tractatae," which was published in three vols. 8vo. at Franc- fort in 1747. See above all, the famous work of Leibnitz, entitled, " Essais de Theodicee, sur le Bonte de Dieu, la Li- berte de 1'homme, & 1'origine du mal." — It is remarkable enough, that the Leibnitian system has been embraced by very few, scarcely by any of the English Calvinists. Can this be owing to a want of inclination towards philosophical discus sions ? This cannot be said, The scheme of necessity, and of partial evil's tending to universal good, has indeed been foster ed in some parts of Great Britain, and even has turned some zealous Arminians into moderate and philosophical Calvinist*. But the zealous Calvinists have, for the most part, held firm to their theology, and blended no philosophical principles with their system : and it is certain, that the most eminent philo sophers, have been found, generally speaking, among the Ar minians. If both Calvinists and Arminians claim a King, it is certain, that the latter alone can boast of a Newton, a Locke, a Clarke, and a Boyle.

[ /'] Hence, to omit many other circumstances that siiow un questionably the truth of this observation, the Arminians h;i\v

VOL. V. H h been

466 The History of the Sect called Quakers.

CHAP. IV. The History of 'the Sect called Quakers.

CENT. FJ1HE sect of Quakers received this denomina- -•- tion in the year 1650, from Gervas Bennet,

BJCCT* Hi J 7

FART ii. Esq. a justice of peace in Derbyshire [g]9 partly on ^-^/— ^ account of the convulsive agitations and shakings The rise of ^]le foody with which their discourses to the Quakers, people were usually attended, and partly on ac- George count of the exhortation addressed to this magis- strate hy Fox and his companions, who, when they were called before him, desired him with a loud voice, and a vehement emotion of body, to trem ble at the word of the Lord. However sarcastical this appellation may be, when considered in its origin, the members of this sect are willing to adopt it, provided it be rightly understood ; they prefer nevertheless, to be called in allusion to that doc trine that is the fundamental principle of their as sociation, Children, or Confessors of light. In their conversation and intercourse with each other, they use no other term of appellation than that of Friend [Ii].

This sect had its rise in England, in those un happy times of confusion, anarchy, and civil discord, when every political or religious fanatic, that had formed new plans of government, or in vented new systems of theology, came forth with his novelties to public view, and propagated them with impunity among a fickle and unthinking

multitude.

been at great pains to represent Grotius, their hero and their oracle, as a particular admirer of the constitution and govern ment of the church of England, which he preferred before all other forms of ecclesiastical polity. See what Le Clerc has published on this subject at the end of the edition of Grotius' book, De Vcritale Rdigionis Christian.ce, which he gave at the Hague in the year 1724, p. 376.

£{f] See George Sewel's History of the Quakers, p. 23.— Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. iv. p. 32.

[/*] Sewel,' he. cit. p. 624.

Chap. IV. The History of the Sect called Quakers. 467

multitude. Its parent and founder was George CENT. Fox [z], a shoemaker, of a dark and melancholy s complexion, and of a visionary and enthusiastic ,.XH , ,, turn of mind. About the year 1647, which \vass-^> the twenty-third year of his age, he began to stroll through several counties in England, giving himself out for a person divinely inspired, and ex- H h 2 horting

(jrf" p] The anonymous writer of a letter to Dr. Formey, F. R. S. published by Nicol, seems much offended at Mr. For mey on account of his calling George Fox, a man of a turbu lent spirit, &c. He tells us, on the contrary, that from all the information worthy of credit which he was able to procure, it appears, that Fox was "a man of so meek, contented, easy, stea- 11 dy, and tender a disposition, that it was a pleasure to be in his " company, that he exercised no authority but over evil, and that " every where, and in all, but with love, compassion, and long " suffering." This account he takes from Penn ; and it is very probable that he has looked no farther, unless it be to the cu rious portrait which Thomas Ellwood, another Quaker, has gi ven of Fox, a portrait in which there is such an affected jingle of words, as shews the author to have been more attentive to the arrangement of his sentences, than to a true exhibition of the character of his original ; for we are told by Ellwood that this same George Fox was deep in divine knowledge, powerful in preaching, fervent in prayer, quick in discerning, sound in judg ment (risum tenealis, amid), — manly in personage, grave in gesture, courteous in conversation, weighty in communication, &c. &c. After having thus painted George after the/cwcy of his two Brethren (for fancy is the quaker's fountain of light and truth), the letter writer observes, that Dr. Formey has ta ken his account of George's turbulence and fanaticism from Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History. As Mosheim then is dead, and cannot defend himself, may I be permitted to beg of this anonymous letter writer, who appears to be a candid and rational man, to cast an eye upon Sewel's History of the Quakers, and to follow this meek, courteous, and modest George, running like a wild man through several counties, refusing homage to his sovereign, interrupting the ministers in the public celebration of divine service at Nottingham, Mansfield, and Market Bos- worth ? It is remarkable, that the very learned and worthy Dn Henry More, who was not himself without a strong tincture of enthusiasm, and who looked upon Penn as a pious ChriftlAQ ; treated nevertheless George Fox as a melancholy tanatu-, and as one possessed with the Devil. See his .U//.v/. of (willincas. B. x. ch. xiii. As also Schol. in Dialogue, v. sect. v.

468 The History of the Sect called Quakers.

CENT, horting the people to attend to the voice of the XVIL divine 'word, that lies hid in the hearts of all men. P\RT H.' After the execution of Charles I. when all laws, \^^^*> both civil and ecclesiastical, seemed to he entire ly suspended, if not extinct, Fox exerted his fa natical powers with new vigour, and formed more ambitious and extensive views. Having ac quired a considerable number of disciples of both sexes, who were strongly infected with his wild enthusiasm, he excited great tumults in several parts of England: and in the year 1650, went so far as to disturb the devotion of those that were assembled in the churches for the purposes of pub lic worship, declaring that all such assemblies were useless and unchristian. For these extrava gancies, both he and his companions were frequent ly cast into prison, and chastised, as disturbers of the peace, by the civil magistrate [A1].

II. The

[]/,•] Besides the ordinary writers of the ecclesiastical history of this century, the curious reader will do well to consult Cro- esii Historia Qitakeriana, Tribus Libris comprehcnsn, the se cond edition of which was published in 8vo at Amsterdam, in the year 1 703. A physician named Kolhansius, who was born a Lutheran,, but turned quaker, published critical remarks upon this history, under the title of Dlhtcidafiones, which were first printed at Amsterdam, in the year 1696. And it must be acknowledged, that there are many inaccuracies in the history of Croesius ; it is, however, much less faulty than another his tory of this sect, which was published at Cologn in 12mo, in the year 16*92, under the following title : " Historia abregee " de la naissance et du progres du Kouakerisme avec celle de " ses dogmes ;" for the anonymous author of this latter histo ry, instead of relating well attested facts, has compiled without either discernment or choice, such an extravagant medley of truth and falsehood, as is rather adapted to excite laughter than to administer instruction. See the second book of Croe sius' Historia Quakeriana, p. 322. and 376. as also Le Clerc, Biblioth. Universdle et Historique, torn. xxii. p. 53. — The most ample and authentic account of this sect is that which was composed by George Sewel, from a great variety of ge- nin'ne records, and partly from the papers of Fox, its founder, and published under the following title : " The History of the Christian people called quakers." This work is remarkable

both

Chap. IV. The History of the Sect called Quakers. 4()<)

II. The first association of Quakers, was com- rr\ , posed mostly of visionary fanatics, and of persons XVM that really seemed to be disordered in their brains, and hence they committed many enormi- ^J^. ties, which the modern Quakers endeavour to allc- n.e first viate and diminish, but which they neither pretend :itu ini)ts of to justify nor to approve : for the greatest part ofundJT* them were riotous and tumultuous in the highest Cromwe11 degree ; and even their female disciples, forgetting the delicacy and decency peculiar to their sex, bore their part in these disorders. They ran like Bacchanals, through the towns and villages, de claiming against Episcopacy, Presbyterianism, and every fixed form of religion ; railed at public and stated worship ; affronted and mocked the clergy, even in the very exercise of their ministerial H h 3 functions

bolh for the industry and accuracy which the author has dis covered in compiling it. But as Sewel was himself a quaker, so he is sometimes chargeable with concealing, diminishing, or representing under artful colours, many things, which, if impartially related, must have appeared dishonourable, and might have appeared detrimental, to his community. It must however be granted, that, notwithstanding these defects, Sewel's history is abundantly sufficient to enable an impartial and intelligent reader to form a just and satisfactory idea of this visionary sect. Voltaire has also entertained the public with Four Letters, concerning the Religion, Manners, and History of the Quakers, in his Melanges de Liltcrature d'Histoire el dc Philosophic, which are written with his usual •wit and elegance, but are rather adapted to am use than instruct. The conversation between him and Andrew Pitt, an eminent quaker in London, which is related in these Letters, may be true in general ; but to render the account of it still more pleasing, the ingenuous writer has embellished it with effu sions of wit and fancy, and even added some particulars, that are rather drawn from imagination than memory. It is from the books already mentioned that the French Dissertation on the Religion of the Quakers (which is placed in the third vo lume of the splendid work, entitled, Ceremonies et Cotttumes Rclieieuses de tout Ics Peoples), is chiefly compiled, though \vitli less attention and accuracy than might bare been v. pected.— A Lutheran writer, named Frederic Ernest has given an account of the English quakers in a German work, entitled, Eniwurff der Kirchen-Grdnung and Mfltfl der Quacker in Eiigeland.

470 The History of the Sect called Quakers.

CENT functions [A7ti] ; trampled upon the laws and "IL upon the authority of the magistrates, under the r' pretext of being actuated by a divine inpulse ; ^ and made use of their pretended inspiration to

excite

XVII

SECT PART

^"] A female, contrary to the modesty of her sex, came into Whitehall Chapel stark naked, in the midst of public wor ship, when Cromwell was there present. Another came into the Parliament-house, with a trenchard in her hand, which she broke in pieces, saying, Thus shall he be broke in pieces. Tho mas Adams, having complained to the Protector of the impri sonment of some of his friends, and not finding redress he took offhis cap and tore it in pieces, saying, So shall thy government be torn from thee and thy house. Several pretending an extra ordinary message from heaven, went about the streets, de nouncing the judgments of God against the Protector; and his council ; and one came to the door of the Parliament-house with a drawn sword, and wounded several, saying, He was in spired by the Holy Spirit to kill every man that sat in that house. The most extravagant quaker that appeared in this time, was James Naylor, formerly an officer, a man of parts, and so much admired by these fanatics, that they blasphemously styled him., The everlasting son of righteousness ; the prince of peace ; ths only begotten son of God ; the fairest among ten thousand. See Neal's History of the Puritans ; — The life and trial of Naylor, p. 6, 7> &c. The anonymous author of the Letter to Dr. For- mey, F. R. S. seems to have lost sight of the state of quakerism in the timeof Fox, when he denies that the charge of turbulence and fanaticism can be proved against him or his friends, and gives the gentle denomination of imprudence to the extravagan cies exhibited by the Quakers under Charles I. and the Com monwealth. The single story of Naylor, who was the convert and Pupil of Fox, the letters, full of blasphemous absurdity, written to this Rose of Sharon, this new Jesus, by Hannah Stranger, Richard Fairman, and others, shew the horrid vein of fanaticism that ran through this visionary sect. See these let ters in the Life and trial of Naylor, who, though cruelly scour ged. was, however, whipped into his senses, or, at least, brought by his sufferings into a calmer state of mind. See also Satan Inthroned, &c. p. 4. & 5. If quakerism be now in England on a more rational footing, we may congratulate its members upon the happy change, but at the same time condole with them on the approaching annihilation of their sect ; for if reason gets in among them, the spirit (I mean their spirit) will soon be quenched, and fancy being no more the only criterion of truth, the fundamental principle of their existence will be destroyed. In such a catastrophe, the abettors of ancient quakerism will find some resource among the Methodists.

SECT. H.

II.

Chap. IV. The History of Me Sect called Quakers. 471

excite the most vehement commotions both in state CENT. and church. Hence it is not at all surprising, that the secular arm was at length raised against \^ these pernicious fanatics, and that many of them ^^ were severely chastised for their extravagance and folly [/]. Cromwell himself, who was, generally speaking, an enemy to no sect, however cnthusi- astical it might be, entertained uneasy apprehen sions from the frantic violence of the Quakers, and therefore, in his first thoughts, formed a re solution to suppress their rising community. But when he perceived that they treated with con tempt both his promises and threatenings, and were, in effect too powerful or too headstrong to yield to either, he prudently abstained from the use of force, and contented himself with employ ing wise measures and precautions to prevent their fomenting sedition among the people, or undermining the foundations of his new sove reignty [?#].

III. In process of time, the fumes of this The pro-

. f. L . . , 1 "TC'SS 01 thl*

excessive fanaticism began to evaporate, and ;?cct undcr the ardent impetuosity of the rising sect seemed Charles ir. gradually to subside ; nor did the divine light, of j"'mcs IL which the Quakers boast, produce such tumults in church and state, as at the first declaration of their celestial pretensions. Undcr the reign of Charles II. both their religious doctrine and discipline assumed a more regular and permanent form, by the care and industry of Fox, assisted, in this very necessary undertaking, by Robert Bar clay, George Keith, and Samuel Fisher, men of learning and abilities, who became, notwith- H h 4 standing,

P] Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. iv. p. 153.— Sewel's History, £c. passim.

OJ Clarendon tells us, in his History of the EcbcU,o. the Quakers always persevered in their bitter cnmiu Cromwell. See Sewel's History book i. p. .91, H"* '*8> 139.

472 The History of the Sect called Quakers

CENT, standing, members of this strange community, ^ox sto°d i11 urgent need of such able assistants ; for his gross ignorance had rendered his religion, hitherto, a confused medley of incoherent tenets and visions. The new triumvirate, therefore, used their utmost endeavours to digest these under certain heads, and to reduce them to a sort of theological system [n~\. But such was the change of times, that the wiser and more moderate Quakers in England suffered more vexations, and were involved in greater calamities, than had fallen to the lot of their frantic and turbulent ancestors. These vexations, indeed, were not so much the consequence of their religious principles as of their singular customs and manners in civil life. For they would never give to magistrates those titles of honour and pre-eminence that are designed to mark the respect due to their autho rity ; they also refused obstinately to take the oath of allegiance to their sovereign [o], and to pay tithes to the clergy; hence they were looked upon as rebellious subjects, and, on that account, were frequently punished with great severity \_p~\. Under the reign of James II. and more parti cularly about the year 1685, they began to see

more

[V] For an account of the life and writings of Barclay, see the General Dictionary. — Sewel, in his History of the Quakers, gives an ample account of Keith. There is also particular mention made of Fisher, in a German work, intitled, Unschul- dige Nachricht, 1750, p. 338.

(£3=" £o] This refusal to take the oath of allegiance did not proceed from any disaffection to the government, but from a persuasion that all oaths were unlawful, and that swearing, even upon the most solemn occasions, was forbidden in the New Testament. They also sincerely believed, that they were as much obliged to obedience by an affirmation, which they were willing to make, as by an oath.

\_p~\ See a circumstantial account of their sufferings under Charles II. in NeaFs History of the Puritans, vol. iv. p. 313, 353, 396, 432, 510, 518, 552/569. — Burnet's History of his own Times, vol. i, p, 271.— Sewel, foe. cit. passim.

Chap. IV. The History of the Sect called Queers. 473

more prosperous days, and to enjoy the sweets of CENT. toleration and liberty, which they owed, not to s] the clemency of the government, but to the " friendship of that monarch for the famous Wil liam Penn [<?], who had been employed by him m matters of the utmost moment, and had ren dered him signal and important services [r]. What James had done, from motives of a personal or political nature, in favour of the Quakers, King William III. confirmed and continued, from a zeal for maintaining the rights of conscience, and advancing the cause of religious liberty. From these motives, he procured a full and ample toleration for dissenters of almost all denomina tions; and the Quakers, in consequence of this

grant,

[9] See Sewel's History of the Quakers.

83? W The indulgence of James II. towards the Quakers, and other dissenters from the established church, was, at bot tom,, founded on a zeal for popery, and designed to favour the Roman Catholics. More particularly the order he sent to the Lord Mayor of London, the 7th of November Ifi8~, to * dispense with the Quakers not swearing, was evidently design ed to open a door to the Roman Catholics to bear offices in the state without a legal qualification. — At the same time it was probable enough, that a personal attachment to the famous William Penn may have contributed to render this monarch more indulgent to this sect than he would otherwise have been. The reasons of this attachment are differently represented. Some suppose it to have been owing to the services of his fa ther in the fleet commanded against the Dutch in the year 1665, by King James, when Duke of York. Others attribute this attachment to his personal services. From the hi^h de gree of favour he enjoyed at court, they concluded that he was a concealed papist, and assisted the king in the execution of his designs. That the imputation of popery was groundless, appears from his correspondence with Dr. Tillotson, which is

}>ublished in the life of Penn, that is prefixed to the first vo- ume of the works of the latter. It is nevertheless certain, that he was very intimate with Father Peters, the hot-headed Jesuit, whose bigotry formed the king's projects, and whose imprudence rendered them abortive. It is also certain, that, in the year l6$6 he went over to Holland, in order to persutdfc the prince of Orange to come into King James' measures.

474* The History of the Sect called Quakers.

CENT, grant, enjoyed at length, upon a constitutional xvii. footing, tranquillity and freedom [«?].

IV. Fatigued with the vexations and persecu tion which they suffered in their native country The propa- during the reign of Charles II. the Quakers looked Qua°k"iism a^out f°r some distant settlements, where they out of Eng- might shelter themselves from the storm; and with this view began to disseminate their religi ous principles in various countries. Attempts of this nature were made in Germany, Prussia, France, Italy, Greece, Holland, and Holstein, but with lit tle success ; the Dutch, however, were, after much importunity, persuaded to allow a certain number of these enthusiasts to settle in Holland, where they still continue to reside. Multitudes of them also went over to America, and formed settle ments there, not long after the first rise of their sect; and it afterwards happened, by a singular concourse of events, that this new world became the chief seat of their prosperity and freedom. William Penn, son of the famous vice-admiral of that name, who embraced Quakerism in the year 1688, received in the year 1680, from Charles II. and from the English parliament, the grant of an ample, fertile, but uncultivated province in America, as a reward for the emi nent services of his father. This illustrious Quaker, who was far from being destitute of parts, and whose activity and penetration were accompanied with an uncommon degree of elo quence [£], carried over with him into his new dominions a considerable colony of his Friends

and

[V] Ocuvres de M. de Voltaire, torn. iv. p. 182.

^ [J] Bishop Burnet, who knew Penn personally, says, that " he was a talking, vain man, who had such a high opi- " nion of his own eloquence, that he thought nothing could " stand before it ; and that he had a tedious luscious way, that " was not apt to overcome a man's reason, though it might " tire his patience."

Chap. IV. ThcHistory of the Sect called Quakers. 475

and Brethren ; and he founded in those distant CENT. regions a repuhlic, whose form, laws, and insti- xvn- tutions, resembled no other known system of go- *'xl('r' JJ vernment, whose pacific principles and conimcr- cial spirit have long blessed it with tranquillity and opulence, and which still continues in a pro sperous and flourishing state [ii\. The Quakers predominate in this colony, both by their in fluence and their numbers ; but all those who acknowledge the existence and providence of one Supreme Being, and shew their respect to that Being, either by external worship, or at least by the regularity of their lives and actions, are ad mitted to the rights and privileges of citizens in this happy republic. The large province that constitutes its territory was called Pennsylvania, from the name of its proprietor ; and its capital city was named Philadelphia, from the spirit of union and the fraternal love that reigned at first, and is still supposed to prevail more or less, among its inhabitants.

V. Even during the life of their founder, the The int«- Quakers, notwithstanding their extraordinary p",^^ pretensions to fraternal charity and union, were contests frequently divided into parties, and involved in contests and debates. These debates, indeed, which were carried on in the years 1656. 1661, and 1683, with peculiar warmth, were not 'occa sioned by any doctrines of a religious nature, but by a diversity of opinions about matters of dis cipline, about certain customs and manners, and other affairs of little moment ; and they were ge

nerally

[w] The laws and charters of the colony of Pennsylvania, may be seen in Rapin's History, Penn's Works, and in other collections of public records ; they are also inserted in the Bibllotheque Britannique, torn. xv. p. 310. torn. xvi. p. 12?. — Penn acquired a great reputation, both by his writing! tod the active figure he made in life. See the accounts given of him by Sewel and Burnet.

476 The History of the Sect called Quakers*

CENT, nerally terminated in a short time, and without XVIL much difficulty [«?]. But, after the death of Fox, which happened in the year 1691, some Friends, and more especially George Keith, who was by far the most learned memher of the com munity, excited, by their doctrines, and innova tions, new discords of a much more serious and momentous kind than those which had before di vided the brethren. This fountain of contention was opened in Pennsylvania, where Keith was charged with erroneous opinions concerning seve ral points of theology, and more particularly con cerning the Human Nature of Christ, which he supposed to be two-fold, the one spiritual and ce lestial, the other corporeal and terrestrial [a?]. This and other inventions of Keith would perhaps have passed without censure, among a people who re duce the whole of religion to fancy and a kind of spiritual instinct, had not this learned man ani madverted, with a certain degree of severity, upon some of the fantastic notions of the American brethren, and opposed in a more particular man ner, their method of converting the whole histo ry of Christ's life and sufferings into a mere alle gory, or symbolical representation of the duties of Christianity. The European Quakers dare not so far presume upon the indulgence of the civil and ecclesiastical powers, as to deny openly the reality of the history of the life, mediation, and sufferings of Christ ; but in America, where they have nothing to fear, they are said to express themselves without ambiguity, on this subject, and to maintain publicly, that Christ never existed, but in the hearts of the faith- fuL This point was debated between Keith

and

£10] See Sew el's History of the Quakers.

0^" \-.x~\ Ceremonies el Coutumes de tons les Peuples dn mon- de, torn. iv. p. 141.— -Croesii Historia Quakeriania, lib. iii p. 446.

Chap. IV. The History of the Sect called Quakers. 477

and his adversaries, in several general assemblies CENT* of the sect held in England, and was at length brought before the parliament. The contest was terminated in the year lb'95, by the excommu nication of Keith and his adherents, which so ex asperated this famous Quaker [?/], that he return ed some years after this, into the bosom of the Eng lish church, and died in its communion [z]. His friends and followers, continued for a long time, to hold their assemblies, and exercise their religion in a state of separation from the rest of the sect ; but now, if we may believe public fame, they are reconciled with their brethren [a].

VI. The

(ST* D/l Bishop Burnet, who was certainly better acquaint ed with the history of Keith,) with whom he had been educat ed) than Dr. Mosheim, attributes his return to the church of England, to a much worthier motive than irritation and resent ment. He tells us that Keith, after the American quakers had appeared to him as little better than Deists, opposed them so warmly, that they sent him back to England. Here he open ed a new meeting, and by a printed summons called together the whole party to convince them of these errors. " He con- " tinued those meetings, says the bishop, being still, in out- te ward appearance a quaker, for some years; till having pre- " vailed as far as he saw any appearance of success, he laid " aside their exterior, and was reconciled to the church." See Burnet's History of his own Times, vol. ii. p. 249.

[Y] See Buriietj ibid. — Sewel's account of the troubles oc casioned by Keith, in his History of the Quakers. But Sewel was either unacquainted with tlie true nature and state of this controversy, which, as lie was an illiterate man, may well have been the case, or he has given designedly a false and ambigu ous representation of the matter. See the life of Ouster, in the Europa Erudita of Rahtlefus *, where this controversy, is placed in its true light. Ouster was a man of probity, who lived at that time in America, and was an eye witness of these divisions.

[VI See Roger's Christian Quaker, published in 4tO at London, in the year Ifly.O ;— as also, The Qtfrr* a D**dM people, published in 1708.— Vntchuldig. ^achncht. 17* p. -1-90'.

* This work is written in German,

478 The History of the Sect called Quakers.

CENT. VI. The religion of the sect called Quakers, XVIL has an air of novelty that strikes at first sight, pE\RT I! hut, when viewed closely, it will appear to he —ry^-/ nothing more than a certain modification of that The reii- famous Mystic theology, which arose so early as ciuakerf16 ^le secon(^ century, was fostered and emhellished considered by the luxuriant fancy of Origen, and passing through various hands assumed different aspects until it was adopted hy the Quakers, who set off the motley form with new additions of their own invention. Fox, indeed, is not chargeable with these inventions; his ignorant and inelegant sim plicity places him beyond the reach of suspicion in this matter ; but it is at the same time, un doubtedly certain, that all his doctrine concerning the internal word, and the divine light within its operations and effects, was either borrowed from the writings of the Mystics, which were, at that time, in the hands of many, or at least picked up from the conversation and expressions of some persons of the Mystic order. The tenets, however, which this blunt and illiterate man expressed in a rude, confused, and ambiguous manner, were dressed up and presented under a different form by the masterly hands of Barclay, Keith, Fisher, and Penn, who digested them with such sagacity and art, that they assumed the aspect of a regular system. The Quakers may therefore be deemed with reason the principal branch of the Mystics, as they not only embraced the precepts of their hidden wisdom, but even saw its whole tendency, and adopted, without hesitation, all its conse quences [6],

VII. The

p/] Most people are of opinion, that we are to learn the true doctrine and sentiments of the Quakers from the Catechism of Robert Barclay, and more especially from his Apofogy for the true Christian Divinity, &c. which was published at London in 4to, in the year 1676, and was translated into several fo reign

Chap. IV. TJie History of 'the Sect called Quakers. 479

VII. The fundamental doctrine of Quakerism, cr.vr. from whence all their other tenets are derived XVIL

. SECT. If. 18 PART II.

reign languages. Nor do I deny, that the members of this S^Y-—' sect are very desirous that we should judge of their religious n'e P»»- sentiments by the doctrinethat is exhibited in these books. But l'Tal tenct if those who are disposed to judge by this rule, go so far as maintain, that these books contain all the religious tenets that have formerly been advanced, or are at present adopted by the people called quakers, they may be refuted without difficulty, from a great variety of books and records, of unquestionable authenticity. It is necessary to enter into the true spirit of Barclay's writings. This ingenious man appeared as a 1'atron and Defender of quakerism, and not as a professed teacher or expositor of its various doctrines ; and he interpreted and mo dified the opinions of this sect after the manner of a champion or advocate, who undertakes the defence of an odious cause. How then does he go to work ? In the first place, he observes an en* tire silence in relation to those fundamental principles of Chris tianity, concerning which it is of great consequence to know the real opinions of the quakers; and thus he exhibits a sys tem of theology that is evidently lame and imperfect. For it is the peculiar business of a prudent apologist to pass over in si lence points that are scarcely susceptible of a plausible defence, and to enlarge upon those only which the powers of genius and eloquence may be able to embellish and exhibit in an advan tageous point of view. It is observable, in the second place, that Barclay touches in a slight, superficial, and hasty manner, some tenets, which, when amply explained, had exposed the qua kers to severe censures ; and in this he discovers plainly the weak ness of his cause. Lastly, to omit many other observations that might be made here, this writer employs the greatest dexterity and art in softening and modifying those invidious doctrines which he cannot conceal, and dare not disavow ; for which pur pose he carefully avoids all those phrases and terms that are made use of by the quakers, and arc peculiar to their sect, and expresses their tenets in ordinary language, in terms of a vague and indefinite nature, and in a style that easts a sort of mask over their natural aspect. At this rate the most enormous er rors may be held with impunity; for there is no doctrine, how ever absurd, to which a plausible air may not be given by fol lowing the insidious method of Barclay; and it is well known that even the doctrine of Spinoza was, with a like artifiee, dressed out, and disguised by some of his di.-sdplcs. The other writers of this sect have declared their sentiments with more- freedom, perspicuity ard candour, particularly the fan. -u-> \\ il- liam Penn and George Whitchead, whose writings deserve an

attentive

•180 The History of the Sect called Quaker?.

CENT, is that famous and ancient opinion of the Mystic school, " That there lies concealed in the minds " of all men a certain portion of divine reason, a " spark of the same wisdom that exists in the Su- " preme Being. Therefore, those who are desirous " of arriving at true felicity and eternal salvation, " must, according to their system, by self con- " verse, contemplation, and perpetual efforts to " subdue their sensual affections, endeavour to " draw forth, kindle, and inflame, that divine, " hidden spark, which is overpowered by the " darkness of the flesh, and suffocated, as it were, " by that mass of matter with which it is sur- " rounded. They who observe this rule, will " feel, say the Quakers, a divine glow of warmth " and light, and hear a celestial and divine voice " proceeding from the inward recesses of their " souls ; and by this light, and this voice, they " will be led to all truth, and be perfectly assured " of their union with the Supreme Being." This hidden treasure, which is possessed, though not improved, by all the human race, bears dif ferent denominations in the language of this fa natical sect. They frequently call it divine light, sometimes a ray of the eternal wisdom, at others, the heavenly Sophia, whom they suppose married to a mortal, and whose wedding garments some of their writers describe with the most gaudy and

pompous

attentive perusal preferably to all the other productions of that community. There is, among other writings of these eminent quakers, one in whose composition they were both concerned, and which was published at London in the year 1674, under the following title : The Christian Quaker and his divine testimo ny vindicated by Scripture, reason, and authority, against the in* jurious attempts that have been lately made by several adversaries. The first part of this book was written by Penn, and the se cond by Whitehead. There is also in Sewel's History a con fession of faith, that was published by the Quakers in the year 16*93, during their controversy with Keith; but this confession is composed with great prudence, and is full of ambiguity.

Chap. IV. The History of the Sect called Quakers. 481

pompous eloquence. But the most usual epi- CENT. thets given to this spiritual treasure are those of XVIL the internal word and of Christ within ; for as, ^ J1' on the one hand, they adopt that doctrine ofw^,^ Origen, and the ancient mystics, which repre sents Christ as the eternal reason, or wisdom of God ; and, on the other, maintain, that all men are endowed naturally with a certain portion of the divine wisdom ; they are thus directly led to affirm, that Christ, or the word of God, dwells and speaks in the hearts of all men [c].

VIII. All the sigularities and wonderful fan- The tenets cies, that are to he found in the religious system J^J? of the Quakers, are the immediate consequences fun'damen- of the fundamental principle now mentioned. to! doc" For since Christ resides in the inward frame of every mortal ; it follows, " First, That the whole " of religion consists in calling off the mind from " external objects, in weakening the influence " and ascendant of the outward senses, and in " every one's entering deeply into the inmost "recesses of his heart, and listening attentively 66 to the divine instructions and commands that " the internal word, or Christ within delivers " there ; secondly, That the external wprd, i. c. " the holy Scripture, neither points out the way " of salvation, nor leads men to it ; since it only " consists of letters and words, which heing void " of life, have not a degree of efficacy and power " sufficient to illuminate the human mind, and " to unite it to God. The only advantage that, " in their opinion, results from a perusal of the " holy Scriptures, is, that they excite the mind

VOL. v. i i to

[c] It is, nevertheless, to be observed, that the modern Quakers, as appears from the writings of Marty n and others, are, generally speaking, ignorant of the system of their an cestors, and perpetually confound the innate divine light above mentioned, with the operations of the Holy Ghost in the minds of the faithful.

482

CENT.

XVII. SECT. II. PART II.

The History of the Sect called Quakers.

66 to listen to the dictates of the internal word, " and to go to the school of Christ, who teaches " within them ; or, to express the same thing in other words, they look upon the Bible as a mute master, who, by signs and figures, points out and discovers that living master and effec- " tual guide who dwells in the mind. 2"hirdly, " That they who are without this written word, " such as the Jews, Mahometans, and savage na- " tions, are not on that account, either removed " from the path, or destitute of the doctrine of " salvation, though they indeed want this infe- " rior and subordinate help to its attainment. " For if they only attended to this inward teacher, " who always speaketh when the man is silent, " they will learn abundantly, from him, all that is " necessary to be known and practised in order " to their final happiness ; that of consequence, "fourtldy, The kingdom of Christ is of a vast " extent, and comprehends the whole race of " mankind. For all have Christ within them, " and therefore, even those who are deprived " of the means of knowledge, and live in the " grossest ignorance of the Christian religion, are " capable of obtaining through him, wisdom " here, and happiness hereafter. Hence also " they conclude, that those who lead virtuous " lives, and resist the impulse of their lusts and 44 passions, whether they be Jews, Mahometans, " or Polytheists, shall be united to God in this " life, by means of the Christ that lies hidden " within them, and shall enjoy the fruits of this " union in the life to come. To these tenets " they add in the fifth place, That a heavy, dark " body, composed of corrupt matter, hinders " men from discerning, with ease, this liidden <( Christ, and from hearing his divine and in- " ternal voice. Therefore they look upon it as " a matter of the highest importance, to watch

" against

Chap. IV. The History of the Sect called Quakers. 483

"against the pernicious consequences of this

" union between the soul and body, that the lat-

" ter may not blunt the powers of the former, PART ir

" disturb its tranquillity, or, by the ministry of s^y^

" the outward senses, fill it with the images of

" vain, sensible, and external objects." The

consideration now mentioned engages them,

lastly, " To look upon it as utterly incredible,

" that God should ever again shut up, in the

" same material habitation, the souls that are set

" free by death from their bodily prison ; and

" therefore they affirm, that the Gospel-account

" of the resurrection of the body, must either be

" interpreted in a figurative sense, or be under-

" stood as pointing out the creation of a new and

"celestial body [</]."

IX. It appears evidently from all this, that the existence of the man Christ Jesus together with the circumstantial accounts we have in Scrip- Christ. ture of his divine origin, his life, and actions, his satisfaction, merits and sufferings, make no essential part of the theological system of the Quakers, which is built upon a different founda tion, and derives the whole plan and method of salvation from the Christ within. Hence seve ral members of that sect, as we learn from wri ters of unquestionable authority, went such an extravagant length as to maintain, that the ac counts we have of Jesus Christ, in the Gospel- history do not relate to the Son of God, who took upon him the nature of man, but to that Christ within, whose operations are recorded by the sacred historians in a figurative and allegorical i i 2 language.

The Quakers adopt all these tenets ; they are at least Oiged to adopt them, unless they renounce the fundamental principles of their system. We have omitted the mention <> those points about which they dispute among themselves, that we may not appear to take pleasure in representing t! der odious colours.

484 TJie History of the Sect called Quakers.

CENT, language. This opinion, if we may confide in XVIL the testimonies of unexceptionable witnesses, is so L far from having lost its credit among them, that

PART II.

it is still openly professed by the American Qua kers. Those of Europe, whether from the force of conviction or the suggestions of prudence, dif fer entirely from their brethren in this respect ; they hold, " That the divine wisdom, or reason, 66 resided in the Son of the Virgin Mary, and " conveyed its instructions to mankind by his " ministry ;" and they profess to believe, " that " this divine man really did and suffered what is " recorded concerning him by the sacred writers." It is nevertheless certain, that they express them- " selves in a very ambiguous manner on many points that relate to the history of the divine Sa viour; and, in a more particular manner, their notions concerning, the fruits of his sufferings, and the efficacy of his death, are so vague and ob scure, that it is very difficult to know what is their real opinion about the degree of this effica cy, and the nature of these fruits. It is still fur ther worthy of observation, that the European Quakers, though they acknowledge the reality of the life, actions and sufferings of Christ, yet do not entirely reject the allegorical interpretation of our Saviour's History mentioned above ; for they consider the events that happened to Christ, in the course of his ministry here upon earth, as the signs and emblems of those scenes through which the mental Christ must pass, in order to render us partakers of eternal salvation. Hence they talk in high-swoln and pompous strains (like their models the Mystics) of the birth, life, sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ in the hearts of the faithful.

Their reii- X. The religious discipline, worship, and practice of the Quakers, flow from the same ori- ginal source from which, as we have already ob served,

I Chap.IV. ThcHistory of the Sect called Quakers. 485 served, their doctrine and tenets were immediate ly derived They meet for the purposes of reH ™ "•' gion on the same days which are set apart for the SECT' "' celebration of public worship in all other Christian 2S "' churches ; but they neither observe festivals, nor ^^ use external rites nor ceremonies, nor suffer re ligion, which they place entirely in the mental worship of the hidden Christ, to be shackled and cramped by positive institutions. All the members of their community, whether male or female, have an equal right to teach and exhort in their public meetings ; for who, say they will presume to exclude from the liberty of speaking to the Brethren, those persons in "whom Christ dwells, and by whom he speaks? They reject the use of prayers, hymns, and the various out ward forms of devotion, by which the public worship of other Christian churches is distinguish ed ; and this, indeed, is an instance of their con sistency with themselves, as it is the immediate consequence of their religious system; for, in their judgment, it is not the person who expresses his desires in a set form of words, that can be said to pray truly, but he on the contrary, who, by a deep recollection, withdraws his mind from every outward object, reduces it to a state of absolute tranquillity, silences every inward motion and affection, and plunges it, as it were, into the abyss of Deity. They neither observe the insti tution of Baptism, nor do they renew the remem brance of Christ's death, and of the benefits that result from it, by the celebration of the Eucha rist. They look upon these two institutions as merely Judaical, and allege, that our Saviour ob served them for no other end than to shew for once, in a visible manner, the mystical purifica tion of the soul, under the figure of baptism, and the spiritual nourishment of the inward man, un der that of the Eucharist.

i i 3 XI. The

486 The History of the Sect called Quakers.

CENT. XL The moral doctrine of the Quakers, which XVIL is remarkable for its excessive austerity, is chiefly PART ii comprehended in the two following precepts : First, " That the faithful are ever to avoid en tirely every thing that tends to gratify the ex- " ternal senses and passions, every thing that can " be ranked under the denomination of sensual 66 or bodily pleasure ; or, if such rigorous absti- " nence be impossible in this present state, and " contrary to the evident laws of nature, such " pleasure is to be so modified and restrained by " reason and meditation, as to prevent its debasing " and corrupting the mind. For as the whole at- " tention of the mind must be given to the voice " and orders of the internal guide, so, for this pur- " pose, all possible care must be taken to remove " it from the contagion of the body, and from all " intimate and habitual commerce with corporeal " objects." By the second leading precept of mo rality among the Quakers, all imitation of those external manners, that go by the name of civility and politeness, as also several matters of form, usual in the conduct of life, and in the con nexions of human society, are strictly prohibit ed as unlawful. Hence they are easily distin guished from all other Christian sects, by their outward deportment and their manner of life. They never salute any person they meet in their way, nor employ in their conversation the usual manner of address, and the appellations that ci vility and custom have rendered a matter of de cency, at least, if not of duty; they never ex press their respect for magistrates, or persons in authority, either by bodily gestures, titles of ho nour, or in general by any of the marks of ho mage that are paid them by persons of all other denominations. They carry their pacific senti ments to such an extravagant length as to re nounce the right of self-defence, and let pass with

impunity

XVII. SECT. II. PART If.

Chap. IV. Tlie History of the Sect called qnalrrs. 487

impunity, and even without resistance, the attacks a \ r that are made on their possessions, their reputa tion, nay, on their lives. They refuse to confirm their testimonies by an oath, to appear in behalf of their property before a civil tribunal, or to ac cuse those who have injured them. To these ne gative parts of their external conduct, they add peculiar circumstances of a positive kind, that discover the same austere, stiff, proud, and for mal spirit ; for they distinguish themselves, in a striking manner, from the rest of their fellow- citizens, by the gravity of their aspect, the rustic simplicity of their apparel, the affected tone of their voice, the stiffness of their conversation, and the frugality of their tables. It is, however, affirmed by persons of credit, who are eye-wit nesses of what passes among the members of this sect, that the modern, and more especially the English Quakers, whom trade has furnished with the means of luxury, have departed from this ri gid and austere manner of life, and daily grow more reconciled to the outward pleasures and en joyments of the world. These more sociable Quakers are also said to modify and explain the theology of their ancestors, in such a manner as to render it more rational than it was in its pri mitive state. At the same time it is certain, that many of the members of this sect have either a false notion, or no notion at all, of that ancient theology.

XII. The principles of this community seem The form to exclude the very idea of order, discipline, and ecclesiastical government. Its leading members, however, began to perceive in process of time, that without laws and rulers it could not subsist, but must inevitably fall into confusion and ruin. They accordingly erected a council of elders, who discuss and determine matters of a doubtful or difficult nature, and use all possible care and di- i i 4 ligence

488 The History of the Sect called Quakers.

CENT, ligence in inspecting the conduct of the Brethren, and in preventing whatever they look upon as prejudicial to the interests of the community. The names of those that enter into the state of wedlock are given in to those leading members, who also keep an exact register of the births and deaths that happen in their society. They exer cise, moreover, a certain degree of authority over those who speak in their meetings ; since it is well known, that in some places these speakers shew their discourses to the ruling elders before they deliver them, in order that they may judge whe ther or no they are fit to be repeated in public. For since the abuse that was made of the unbounded liberty that every individual had to instruct and exhort the congregation, and to speak and ha rangue when the pretended spirit moved them, new regulations have been observed ; and this liberty has been considerably modified, in several places, to avoid the mockery, contempt, and censure, to which the community was constantly exposed, by the absurd, incoherent, and insipid discourses of many of its members. There are also in some of the more considerable congregations, and more especially in those that are erected at London, certain persons, whose vocation it is to be always prepared to speak to the people, in case none of the congregation find themselves inwardly moved or disposed to perform that office. The appoint ment of these professed speakers was designed to remedy an inconveniency that frequently happen ed in the Quaker-meetings, even that the whole assembly was dismissed without either instruction or exhortation, because none found themselves moved to speak. It is indeed to be observed, that this public discourse is not looked upon by the Quakers as an essential part of their religion and worship ; for the Brethren and Sisters do not meet that they may hear the words of an external

teacher,

Chap. IV. The History of the Sect called Quaker*. 489

teacher, but that they may listen with recollection CENT. to the voice of the divine instructor, which every g^11^ one carries with him in his own breast, or, to use PART „" their own phrase, that they may com mini c u'if/i ^- ^y^"*' themselves. Nevertheless, as these mute assem blies excite the laughter of their adversaries, and expose them to the reproach of enthusiasm and frenzy, they have, on that account, appointed fixed speakers, to whom they give a small salary, that the whole time of their meeting may not be passed in silence [rf].

The Quakers have, annually, a general assem bly of the whole sect, which meets at London the week before Whitsunday, and is composed of deputies from all their particular congregations. They still complain, notwithstanding the tolera tion they enjoy, of certain severities and hard ship ; but these are entirely owing to their obsti nate refusal to pay those tithes, which, by the laws of the land, are designed for the support of the established church.

The truth of this account of fixed speakers appoint ed to discourse and exhort, when the spirit does not move any of the other brethren, and rewarded for their pains, is denied by the writer of the Letter to Dr. Formey ; we leave the de cision of the matter to those who have an opportunity of ex amining the fact.

CHAP.

490 History of the Mennonites, or Anabaptist?.

CHAP. V.

Concerning the Mennonites, or Anabaptists.

CENT. I. A FTER various scenes of trial and per- <;ECT n -^*- plexity, the IVlennonites at length found.

XVII. JECT. PART

„. during this century, the tranquillity they had l°ng sought after in vain. They arrived, indeed, Thevariousat this state of repose, hy very slow steps; for though in the preceding age, they were admit- ted to the rights and privileges of citizens in the United Provinces, yet it was a long time before their solicitations and pleas of innocence could engage the English, the Swiss, and Germans, to receive them in their bosom, and to abrogate the laws that had been enacted against them. The civil magistrates, in those countries, had still be fore their eyes the enormities committed by the ancient Anabaptists ; and besides, they could not persuade themselves, that a set of men, who looked upon all oaths as sinful, and declared that magistracy and penal laws have no place in the kingdom of Christ, had the qualities and sentiments that are necessary to constitute a good citizen. Hence we find, even in this century, several examples of great severities employed against the Anabaptists, and some instances of even capital punishments being inflicted on them [e]. But now, that the demonstrations of their innocence and probity are clear and unques tionable,

|V] The severities exercised in Switzerland against the Men nonites are recorded by Ottius, in his Annul. Anabapt. p. 337. and more particularly those that they suffered in the year 16*93, by Hottinger, in his German work, entitled, Schweizerische Kircheji- Historic, vol. i. p. 1101. nor even in this present cen tury have they been treated more mildly in the canton of Bern, as appears from Schyn's Historia Mennonitar. cap. x. p. 2 89. in which we find the letters of the States-General of the United Provinces interceding with that Canton in their behalf. A se vere

Chap. V. HistoryqftlicMcnnonitcs, or A ndbaptists. 491

tionable, they enjoy the sweets of security and CENT. repose, not only in the United Provinces, hut also XVN in England, Germany, and Prussia, where they procure by their honest industry, and particular- ly by their application to trade and commerce, an ample subsistence for themselves and their fa milies.

II. The wiser members of this community ea- Union and sily perceived, that their external tranquillity ™|™j|rdrc' would neither be stable nor permanent, unless among their intestine discords were removed, and their them* ancient disputes about trifling and unimportant matters charitably terminated. They according ly used their most zealous endeavours to diffuse the sweets of charity and concord throughout their sect ; nor were their labours altogether un successful. In the year 1630, a considerable part of the Anabaptists of Flanders, Germany, and Friesland, concluded their debates in a conference held at Amsterdam, and entered into the bonds of fraternal communion, each, notwithstanding, re serving to themselves a liberty of retaining cer tain opinions. This association was renewed, and confirmed by new resolutions in the year 1649, by the Anabaptists of Flanders and Germany, between whom great divisions had reigned [./']. All these formed a bond of union with those branches of the sect that were most distinguished by their moderation ; and they mitigated and corrected, in various respects, the rigorous laws of Menno and his successors.

III.

vere persecution was set on foot against them in the Palatinate in the year K).94, which was suspended by the intercession of William III. king of Great Britain. See'Schyn, ibid, p. 2f)f>. Bishop Burnet mentions some instances of Anabaptists suffer ing death in England during the seventeenth century, in the first volume of his History of his own times.

Herm. Schn, Plcnior Dcdudlo Historic Mcnnunif.

p. 41, 42.

History of the Mennomtes, or Anabaptists*

CENT. III. Therefore, at this day the whole com- xvir. munjty may be divided into two large sects, the

SECT. II. IT T^ ^ 7 * 1 ,- ,

PART ii one comprehending the more Refined Anabaptists,. S^Y^/ remarkable for their austerity, who are also called Different Flemings or Flandrians ; and the others called (*n ^e I)utch language) the Grosser Anabaptists, who are of a milder complexion, and an easier and more moderate character, and go commonly under the denomination of Waterlandians. We have given already a particular account of the origin and etymology of these denominations. Each of these sects is subdivided into a variety of branches, more especially the refined and austere Anabaptists ; who have not only produced two separate societies, distinguished by the names of Groningenists [g], and Dantzigers, or Prus sians, \_/i], but also a considerable number of more obscure and inconsiderable factions, which differ in doctrine, discipline, and manners ; and agree in nothing but the name of Anabaptists, and in some ancient opinions that have been unanimously embraced by all the members of that sect. All the refined Anabaptists are the rigid followers of Simon Menno, and stedfastly maintain, though not all with the same degree of severity and ri gour, the sentiments of their chief on the fol lowing points — the human nature of Christ — the obligation that binds us to wash the feet of strangers in consequence of our Saviour's com mand — the necessity of excommunicating and of avoiding, as one would do the plague, not only avowed sinners ; but also those who de part, even in some light instances from the sim plicity of their ancestors, and are tainted with any appearance of evil — the contempt that is due

to

° called, because they met at certain stated times in the city of Groningen.

[_If\ They derive this denomination from their adopting the manners and discipline of the Prussians.

Chap. V. HistoryoftheMennonites,or Anabaptists. 493

to human learning, and other matters of less mo- CENT. ment [*']. It is however to be oberserved, that in XV]I- our times, some of the congregations of this re- sf fined sect have been gradually departing from this ^"^ austere system, and are proceeding, though with a slow pace, towards the opinions and discipline of the more moderate Anabaptists.

IV. All these Anabaptists adopt a form of ec- The ec clesiastical government and discipline, that isnalform administered by three distinct orders of persons. ^nLnit. The first order is that of the Bishops or Prcsby-cllurch- ters9 who always preside in the consistory, and are

alone invested with the power of administering the sacraments of Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. The second is that of the Teachers, who are set apart for the purposes of public instruction, and the celebration of divine worship. The third comprehends the Deacons, who are chosen out of both sexes. These three orders compose the consistory, or council, by which the church is go verned. All matters of importance are proposed, examined, and decided, in the meetings of the Brethren. The ministers are elected to their holy office by their suffrages, and are all, the Deacons excepted, installed by public prayers, attended with imposition of hands.

V. Among the inferior sects of the rigid Ana- The Ucke- baptists, the most considerable is that which passes waUists< under the denomination of Uckewallists, and is so called after its founder Uke Walles, a native of Fricsland. This rustic, rigid, and ignorant sectary, not only exhorted his followers to main tain the primitive and austere doctrine of Menno, without suffering it to be softened or altered in

the smallest degree, but also took it into his head to propagate, jointly with another innovator,

named

p] See a German work entitled, Nachrichlcn iw» dem ge+ gnHivardigcn, Zu&tande der Mcnnoniten, by Keus. 1743.

494 History of the Mennonites, or Anabaptists.

CENT, named John Leus, in the year 1637, a singular xvir. opinion concerning the salvation of Judas, and PART ii tne res^ °^ Christ's murderers. To give an •.,_- _> air of plausibility to the favourable opinion he entertained concerning the eternal state of this arch-apostate, he invented the following odd hypothesis, " That the period of time that ex- " tended from the birth of Christ to the de- " scent of the Holy Ghost, and was, as it were, " the distinctive term that separated the Jewish " from the Christian dispensation, was a time of " deep ignorance and darkness, during which " the Jews were void of light, and entirely desti- " tute of divine succour ; and that, of conse- " quen ce, the sins and enormities that were com- " mitted during this interval were in a great " measure excusable, and could not merit the " severest displays of the divine justice." This idle fiction, met with no indulgence, either from the Mennonites on the one hand, or from the magistrates of Groningen on the other; for the former excluded its inventor from their commu nion, and the latter banished him from their city. He fixed his residence in the adjacent province of East-Friesland, and there drew after him a con siderable number of disciples, whose descendants still subsist in the neighbourhood of Groningen, Friesland, and also in Lithuania and Prussia, and have their own religious assemblies, separate from those of the other Mennonites. As they have little intercourse with any but those of their own communion, it is not an easy matter to know, with certainty, whether they persevere in the sin gular opinion that proved so detrimental to the interest of their leader. It is at least certain, that they follow scrupulously the steps of their original founder MENNO, and exhibit a lively image of the primitive manners and constitution of the Mennonites. They re-baptize all those who

leave

Chap.V. History qftheMennonites,or 'Anabaptists. 495 leave other Christian churches to embrace their CENT.

XVII. E< i. if.

PART II.

communion. Their apparel is mean beyond ex pression, and they avoid every thing that has the most distant appearance of elegance or ornament. They let their beards grow to an enonnous length ; their hair, uncombed, lies in a disorderly manner on their shoulders ; their countenances are marked with the strongest lines of dejection and melancholy ; and their habitations and house hold furniture are such as are only fitted to an swer the demands of mere necessity. Such moreover is the severity of their discipline, that any member of their community, who departs in the smallest instance from this austere rule, is im mediately excluded from the society, and avoided by all the Brethren as a public pest. Their in spectors or bishops, whom they distinguish from the ministers, whose office is to preach and in struct, are chosen by an assembly composed of all the congregations of the sect. The ceremony of washing the feet of strangers, who come within the reach of their hospitality, is looked upon by them as a rite of divine institution. We shall not enlarge upon the other circumstances of their ritual, but only observe, that they prevent all at tempts to alter or modify their religious disci pline, by preserving their people from every thing that bears the remotest aspect of learning and science; from whatever, in a word, might have a tendency to enlighten their devout igno rance.

VI. The more moderate who are called thc Grosser, or less scrupulous Anabaptists, are com- posed of certain inhabitants of Watcrland, Flan ders, Friesland, and Germany, who entered into an association, as has been already observed, am commonly pass under the denomination of n atcr- landiam. This community has abandoned severe discipline, and singular opinions of Menno,

whom,

496 History of the Mennonites, or Anabaptists.

CENT, whom, nevertheless, they generally respect as VIL their primitive parent and founder, and have ad-

CJ^ !!' vanced a step nearer than the other Anabaptists

i 11* i f» i

V*^Y^' to the religious doctrines and customs of other

Christian churches. They are, however, divided into two distinct sects which bear the respective denominations of Frieslanders and Waterland- ians, and are both without bishops, employing no other ecclesiastical ministers than Presbyters and Deacons. Each congregation of this sect is inde pendent on all foreign jurisdiction, having its • own ecclesiastical council, or consistory, which is composed of Presbyters and Deacons. The su preme spiritual power is, nevertheless, in the hands of the people, without whose consent no thing of importance can be carried into execution. Their Presbyters are, generally speaking, men of learning, and applying themselves with success to the study of physic and philosophy. And there is a public professor supported, at present, by the sect at Amsterdam, for the instruction of their youth in the various branches of philosophy and sacred erudition.

The Gale- VII. One of these Waterlaiidian sects was di- n. vided in the year 1664, into two factions, of which the one were called Galenists, and the other Apo- stoolians, from their respective leaders. The founder of the former was Galen Abraham Haan, a doctor of physic, and pastor of a Men- nonite congregation at Amsterdam, who has re ceived the applause even of his enemies, on ac count of his uncommon penetration and elo quence. This eminent Anabaptist, in imitation of the Arminians, considered the Christian reli gion as a system that laid much less stress upon faith than upon practice ; and he was for receiv ing into the communion of the Mennonites all those who acknowledged the divine origin of the books of the Old and New Testament, and led

holy

SECT. II.

\I;T ii.

Cha]>.V.IEstoryqfthcMennonites,or 'Anabaptists. 497

holy and virtuous lives. Such, in his judgment, CENT. were true Christians, and had an undoubted right XVI! to all the rights and privileges that belong to that **'" character. These comprehensive terms of com munion were peculiarly favourable to his own the ological sentiments, since his notions concerning Christ's divinity, and the salvation of mankind by his death and merits, were very different from those of the Mennonites, and coincided a good deal with the Socinian system.

Several persons opposed the sentiments of this Latitudinarian, and more especially Samuel Apostool, an eminent pastor among the Menno nites at Amsterdam, who not only defended with the utmost zeal, the doctrine generally received among the Mennonites, in relation to the di vinity of Christ and the fruits of his death, but also maintained that ancient hypothesis of a vi sible and glorious church of Christ upon earth, that was peculiar to this sect [/;]. Thus a con troversy was kindled, which produced the division now mentioned ; a division which the zealous efforts of several of the wisest and most respect able members of this community have hitherto proved insufficient to heal. The Galcnists are not less disposed than the Arminians to 'admit, as members of their community, all those who call themselves Christians ; and they are the only sect of the Anabaptists who reject the denomina tion of Mennonites. The Apostoolians, on the contrary, admit to their communion those only who profess to believe all the points of doctrine which are contained in their public confession of faith [/].

VOL. v. Kk CHAP.

[k~\ For a more particular account of these two Menno nites, see Schyn's Deductio plenior llistor. Mcntionit. cap. xv. p. 318. and xviii. p. t-2:'>~.

[/] Casp. Commelini Descriptio Urbis AmfUlodami, torn, i. p. aOO. — Stoupa's Religion r/f.v Hollandoit, p. 120. — Bon- them's Hollandisc/icr Schulund Kirchen-Slaat, p. i. ch. xix. p. 830.

498 The History of the Sociniam and Arians,

CHAP. VI.

Concerning the Socinians and Arians.

CENT. I. A BOUT the commencement of this cen- SECT. ii. "^^ tury, the sect of the Socinians seemed to

FART ii. he well established, and their affairs were even ^—~Y~^ in a flourishing situation. In Transylvania and The flour. Lucko they enjoyed the liberty of holding, without

ishingsate -, ,. ^ ,-r • v • J i/r

ofth?Soci-m°lestation, their religious assemblies, and pro- fessing publicly their theological opinions. The advantages that attended their situation in Poland were still more considerable ; for they had at JRa- cow a public seminary of learning, which was furnished with professors eminently distinguished by their erudition and genius, together with a press for the publication of their writings; they had also a considerable number of congregations in that district, and were supported by the pa tronage of several persons of the highest distinc tion. Elated with this scene of prosperity, they began to form more extensive views, and aimed at enlarging the borders of their community, and procuring it patrons and protectors in other countries. There are in being authentic records, from which it appears, that they sent emissaries with this view, about the commencement of this century, into Holland, England, Germany, and Prussia, who endeavoured to make proselytes to Socinianisrn in these countries, among men of learning and men in power. For it is remarkable, that the Socinians, in propagating their religious principles, have always followed a quite different method from that which has been observed by other sects. It has been the general practice of sec taries and innovators to endeavour to render them selves popular, and to begin by gaining the multi tude to their side; but the disciples of Socinus,

who

Chap. VI. TJieHisloryqfthcSociniansaiul. trians. 499

who are perpetually exalting the dignity, prero- CENT. gatives, and authority of reason, have this peculi- XViI- arity in their manner of proceeding, that they are ^ at very little pains to court the favour of the peo ple, or to make proselytes to their cause among those who are not distinguished from the multi tude by their rank or their abilities. It is only among the learned and the great that they seek for disciples and patrons with a zealous assiduity.

II. The effect of the missions now mentioned, Tiie pro- though they were conducted and executed by persons of whom the greatest part were eminent, both on account of their rank and abilities, was ^ nevertheless far from answering the views and expectations of the community. In most places their success was doubtful, at best but inconsi derable; in some, however, they were favourably received, and seemed to employ their labours to purpose. They had no where a more flattering prospect of success than in the academy of Altorfj where their sentiments and their cause were pro moted with dexterity by Ernest Sohner, an acute and learned peripatetician, who was pro fessor of physic and natural philosophy. This subtile philosopher, who had joined the Socinians during his residence in Holland, instilled their principles into the minds of his scholars with much greater facility, by his having acquired the highest reputation, both for learning and piety. The death, indeed, of this eminent man, which happened in the year 1612, deprived the rising society of its chief ornament and support; nor could the remaining friends of Socinianism carry on the cause of their community with such art and dexterity, as to escape the vigilant and se vere eye of the other professors. Their secret designs were accordingly brought to light in the year 1616; and the contagion of Socinianism, which was gathering strength from day to day, K k 2 and

500 The History of the Socinians and Arians.

CENT, and growing imperceptibly into a reigning system, XVIL was a}j Of a slu|[den dissipated and extinguished by pTirr 11! the vigilant severity of the magistrates of Nurem- ^^^^ berg. The foreign students, who had been in fected with these doctrines, saved themselves by flight; while the natives, who were chargeable with the same reproach, accepted of the remedies that were presented to them by the healing hand of orthodoxy, and returned quietly to their former theological system [???].

The decline HI. The establishment of the Socinians in Po- fem°andian" land, though it seemed to rest upon solid foun- the suffer, dations, was nevertheless of a short duration [n], votarifsln ^s chief supports were withdrawn in the year Poland. 1638, by a public decree of the diet. It hap pened in this year that some of the students of Racow vented, in an irregular and tumultuous manner, their religious resentment against a cru cifix, at which they threw stones, till they beat it down out of its place. This act of violence ex cited such a high degree of indignation in the Homan Catholics, that they vowed revenge, and fulfilled this vow in the severest manner ; for it was through their importunate solicitations that the terrible law was enacted at Warsaw, by which it was resolved, that the academy of Ra- cow should be demolished, its professors banished

with

[JM] The learned Gustavus George Zeltner, formerly pro fessor of Divinity in the academy of Altorf, composed an am ple and learned account of this theological revolution, drawn principally from 'manuscript records, which was published at Leipsic, in the year 1729, in two volumes, in 4to, by Ge- bauer, under the following title; " Historia Crypto- Socinian- ismi, Altorfinse quondam Academiae infesti. arcana."

Q»] We have a circumstantial account of the flourishing state of the Racovian academy, while it was under the di rection of the learned Martin Ruarus, in the Cimbria Lite" rata of Mollerus, torn. i. p. 572. where we learn that Ruarus was a native of Holstein, who became a proselyte to the Soci- man system.

Chap. V I. TlieHistoryofthc Socinian s a mJ \ i ria ?is. 501

with ignominy, the printing-house of the Soci- CENT, mans destroyed, and their churches shut. All xvn this was executed without the smallest allevia tion or the least delay, notwithstanding the efforts made hy the powerful patrons of the Socinians to ward off the hlow [o]. But a catastrophe, still more terrible, awaited them ; and the persecution now mentioned was the forerunner of that dread ful revolution, which, ahout twenty years after wards, brought on the entire ruin of this com munity in Poland: For hy a public and solemn act of the diet held at Warsaw, in the year 1658, all the Socinians were banished for ever from the territory of that republic, and capital punishment was denounced against all those who should ei ther profess their opinions, or harbour their per sons. The unhappy exiles were, at first allowed the space of three years to settle their affairs, and to dispose of their possessions ; but this term was afterwards abridged by the cruelty of their ene mies, and reduced to two years. In the year 1661, the terrible edict was renewed; and all the Socinians that yet remained in Poland were bar barously driven out of that country, some with the loss of their goods, others with the loss of their lives, as neither sickness, nor any domestic consideration, would suspend the execution of that rigorous sentence [ p],

IV. A part of these exiles, who sought for a The fate refuge among their Brethren in Transylvania,* sunk under the burthen of their calamities, and perished amidst the hardships to which they were K k 3 exposed

[VI Epislola de Wissowatii vita in Sandil Biblioth. Anil- Trinitar, p. 233.— Gust. Georg. Zeltneri Hittoria Crypto- Soc'mianismi Allorjini, vol. i. p. 299-

r«] Stanislai Lubieofecii Historia Reformat. Potomnr. h iii. c. xvii. xviii. p. 279— Jfy"*"* Pohni ?*&** f^SS riorum in Polonia Udigionis Mertale apiul Xandium, in BMn* Anti-Trinitar. p. 26?.

502 TJie History of the Socinians and Arians.

CENT, exposed. A considerable number of these un- XVIL happy emigrants were dispersed through the ad- PART I! Jacent provinces of Silesia, Brandenburg, and v^-y^/ Prussia ; and their posterity still subsists in those countries. Several of the more eminent mem bers of the sect, in consequence of the protection granted them by the Duke of Brieg, resided for some time at Crossen in Silesia [</]. Others went in search of a convenient settlement for them selves and their brethren, into Holland, England, Holstein, and Denmark. Of all the Socinian exiles, none discovered such zeal and industry for the interests and establishment of the sect as Sta nislaus Lubieniecius, a Polish knight, distin guished by his learning, and singularly esteemed by persons of the highest rank, and even by se veral sovereign princes on account of his elo quence, politeness, and prudence. This illustri ous patron of Socinianism succeeded so far in his designs, as to gain the favour of Frederic III. king of Denmark; Christian Albert, duke of Hohtein ; and Charles Lewis, elector Palatine ; and thus had almost obtained a secure retreat and settlement for the Socinians, about the year 1662, at Altena, Fredericstadt, and Manhcim ; but his measures were disconcerted, and all his hopes entirely frustrated, by the opposition and re monstrances of the clergy established in these coun tries ; he was opposed in Denmark by Suanin- gius bishop of Zealand, in Hohtein by Reinboth, and in the Palatinate by John Lewis Fabri- cius [r]. Several other attempts were made, in

different

\_(\\ Lubieniecii Historia Reformat. Polon. cap. xviii. p. 285. where there is a letter writer) by the Socinians of Crossen.

[V] See Sandii Bihliothcca Anti- Trinilar, p. l65.... Historia Viiai Lebieniecii prefixed to his Historia Reformatwriis Poh- niece, p. 7, 8. — Molleri Introductio in Histor. Chersones. Cimbricce, p. ii. p. 105. and his Cimbria Litterata, torn. ii. p. 48?. — Jo. Henr. Heideggeri Vita Jo/i. Lud. Fabricn, sub joined to the works of the latter, p. 38.

Ch&yyi.TheHistoryqftlicSociniansanJArians. 503

different countries, in favour of Socinianism ; but < their success was still less considerable ; nor could any of the Kuropean nations be persuaded to grunt ,,ua.' ,,' a public settlement to a sect, whose members de- \— ^ ^^ nied the divinity of Christ.

V. The remains, therefore, of this unfortunate community, are, at this day, dispersed through different countries, particularly in the kingdoms of England and Prmsia, the electorate rfSrandefr burg, and the United Provinces, where they lie more or less concealed, and hold their religious as semblies in a clandestine manner. They are, in deed, said to exercise their religion publicly in England [rr], not in consequence of a legal tolera- K k 4 tion,

(p3=> [>r] The Socinians in England have never made any figure as a community, but have rather been dispersed among that great variety of sects that have arisen in a country where liberty displays its most glorious fruits, and at the same time exhibits its most striking inconveniencies. Besides, few ec clesiastics, or writers of any note, have adopted the theolo gical system now under consideration, in all its branches. The Socinian doctrine relating to the design and efficacy of the death of Christ had indeed many abettors in England du ring the XVI Ith century ; and it may be presumed, with out temerity, that its votaries are rather increased than di minished in the present; but those divines who have aban doned the Athanasian hypothesis concerning the Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, have more generally gone into the Arian and Semi-Arian notions of that inexplicable subject, than into those of the Socinians, who deny that Jesus Christ existed before his appearance in the human nature. The fa mous John Diddle, at\er having maintained, both in public and in private, during the reign of Charles, and the protector ship of Cromwell, the Unitarian system, erected an Indepen dent congregation in London, which is the only British church we have heard of, in which all the peculiar doctrines of So- cinianism were inculcated ; for, if we may give credit to the account of Sir Peter Pett, this congregation held the folio in<r notions : " That the fathers under the old covenant had only temporal promises— that saving frith consisted in i versal obedience performed to the commands of God Christ— that Christ arose again only by the power of the 1 ther, and not his own— that justifying frith is not ie pure

504 The History of the Socinians and Ar'ians.

CENT, tion, hut through the indulgent connivance of XVIL the civil magistrate [«*']. Some of them have

pE^ "' embraced the communion of » the Arminians ;

^y^ others have joined with that sect of the Anabap tists that are distinguished by the name of Gale- nists ; and in this there is nothing at all surprising, since neither the Arminians nor Anabaptists re quire from those that enter into their communion an explicit or circumstantial declaration of their religious sentiments. It is also said, that a con siderable number of this dispersed community became members of the religious society called Collegiants [£]. Amidst these perpetual changes

and

gift of Gocl, but may be acquired by men's natural abilities ; — that faith cannot believe any thing contrary to, or above reason — that there is no original sin — that Christ hath not the same body now in glory, in which he suffered and rose again — that the saints shall not have the same body in heaven which they had on earth — that Christ was not a Lord or King before his resurrection, or Priest before his ascension — that the saints shall not, before the day of judgment, enjoy the bliss of heaven — that God doth not certainly know future contingencies — that there is not any authority of fathers or general councils in determining matters of faith — that Christ, before his death, had not any dominion over the Angels — and that Christ, by dying, made not satisfaction for us." See the Preface to Sir Peter Pett's Happy Future State of England, * printed at London in 1688.

[Y] The Socinians, who reside at present in the district of Mark, used to meet, some years ago, at stated times, at Ko- ningswald, a village in the neighbourhood of Frankfort, on the Oder. See the Recueil de Litlerature, de Philosophic et d'Histoire, (published at Amsterdam in the year 1731, in 8vo J). p. 44. They published, in the year 1716, at Berlin, their confession of Faith in the German language, which is to be found, with a refutation thereto annexed, in a book en titled, Den Theologischen Heb. Of) fern, part x. p. 852.

C33 CO This community, of which there is an account given in the beginning of the following chapter, called their reli gious meetings Cotkgies, a Dutch word, which signifies con gregation or assembly, and hence they were denominated Collegitints:

J5" [f] The author of this collection was one Jordan, who was pastor of a church in the neighbourhood of Berlin.

Chap. VI. TheHistoryofthcSocinianxdiul. Irians. •"*<).*

and vicissitudes, it was not possible that the .So- CENT. cinians could maintain an uniform system of^^ doctrine, or preserve unaltered and entire the re- ,.VI(T ,,. ligious tenets handed down to them hy their an- «— ,— ' cestors. On * the contrary, their peculiar and distinctive opinions are variously explained and understood both by the learned and illiterate members of their community, though they all agree in rejecting the doctrine of the Trinity, and that also of the divinity and satisfaction of Jesus Christ [u].

.VI. After the Socinians, as there is a great AriMfc affinity between the two sects, it is proper to mention the Arians, who had several celebrated writers in this century, such as Sandius and Biddle [«;]. Of those who also passed under the general denomination of Anti- Trinitarians and

Unitarians

O] Many examples might be alleged in proof of this; it will be sufficient to mention that of the learned Crellius, who though he was professor of theology among the Socinians, yet differed in his opinions about many points of doctrine, from the sentiments of Socinus and the Racovian Catechism, and would not be called a Socinian, but an Artemonite J. See the Journal Litteraire, torn. xvii. p. i. p. 150. and the account I have given of this celebrated man in my Symtagm. Dissertationum ad sanctions Disciplinas per linen t in m, p. 352. Unschuld. Nachricht. 1750, p. 942.— Nouveau Die/ion. Histo- rique el Critique, torn. ii. p. ii. p. 88. (£T This last citation is erroneous ; there is no account of Crellius in the place here referred to.

O~) For an account of Sandius, father and son, see Arnold and other writers. The life of Biddle is to be found in the Nouveau Diction. Historique et Critique, torn. i. p. ii. p. 288. #3=- Dr. Mosheim places Biddle improperly among the Arians; it is manifest that he belongs to the Socinians, since, in the 3d article of his Confession of Faith, he professcth to believe that Christ has no other than a human nature. See the N- cinian Tracts, entitled, " The Faith of one God," &r. pub lished at London, in 4to, 1691. See also above, note [/•;•].

»S- t After Artcmon, who lived under the reign of tin- Kmprror Seve- rus, and denied the pre-existence and divinity of Jesus Cl

506 Concerning some Sects of Inferior Note.

CENT. Unitarians there are many that may he placed in XVIIV the class of the Socinians and Arians ; for the term Unitarian is very comprehensive, and is ap- plicahle to a great variety of persons, who, notwith standing, agree in this common principle, that there is no real distinction in the divine nature. The denomination of Arian is also given in general to all who consider Jesus Christ as inferior and sub ordinate to the Father. But as this subordination may be understood and explained in a variety of ways, it is evident that the term Arian, as it is used in modern language, is susceptible of different significations ; and that of consequence the persons to whom it is applied cannot be all considered in the same point of light with the ancient Arians? nor supposed to agree perfectly with each other in their religious tenets.

CHAP. VII.

» Concerning some Sects of Inferior Note.

The Coiie- j ~WT will not be amiss to take notice here of **- a few sects of inferior consequence and

sers- note, which we could not mention with propriety in the history of the larger and more extensive communities that we have been passing in review, and which, nevertheless, we cannot omit, for se veral reasons. While the disputes and tumults that the Arminian system produced in Holland, in the year 1619, were at the greatest height, then arose that religious society, whose members hold at RMnsberg, in the neighbourhood of Ley- den, a solemn assembly every half year, and are

generally

507

generally known under the denomination of Colic- rr.vr. giants [#]. This community was founded by three x V1 l- brothers, whose name was Vander Kodde, wlio FjU« ,',' passed their days in the obscurity of a rural life, wy— ' but are said to have been men of eminent piety, well acquainted with sacred literature, and great enemies to religious controversy. They had for their associate Anthony Cornelius, a man also of a mean condition, and who had no qualities that could give any degree of weight or credit to their cause. The descendants and followers of these men acquired the name of Collegia tits, from this particular circumstance, that they called their religious assemblies Colleges. All are admitted to the communion of this sect who acknowledge the divinity of the Holy Scriptures, and endea vour to live suitably to their precepts and doc trines, whatever their peculiar sentiments may be concerning the nature of the Deity, and the truths of Christianity. Their numbers are very consi derable in the provinces of Holland, Utrecht, Friesland, and Westfriesland. They meet twice every week, namely, on Sundays and Wednesdays, for the purposes of divine worship ; and after sing ing a psalm or hymn, and addressing themselves to the Deity by prayer, they explain a certain portion of the New Testament. The female members of the community are not allowed to speak in public ; but all others, without any ex ception, founded on rank, condition, or incapa city, have a right to communicate the result of their meditations to the assembly, and to submit their sentiments to the judgment of the Brethren. All likewise have an unquestionable right to ex amine and oppose what any of the Brethren has advanced, provided their opposition be attended with a spirit of Christian charity and moderation.

There

[.r] See above, note [/].

508 Concerning some Sects of Inferior Note.

CENT. There is a printed list of the passages of Scripture, siKHun ^at are ^° ^e examine^ and illustrated at each of PART n! their religious meetings; so that any one who is s*nr—p/ ambitious of appearing among the speakers, may study the subject before-hand, and thus come fully prepared to descant upon it in public. The Bre thren, as has been already observed, have a gene ral assembly twice a year at Rhimberg, where they have ample and convenient houses for the education of orphans and the reception of strangers ; and there they remain together during the space of four days, which are employed in hearing discourses that tend to edification, and exhortations that are principally designed to inculcate brotherly love and sanctity of manners. The sacrament of the Lord's supper is also administered during this assembly ; and those adult persons that desire to be baptized, receive the sacrament of Baptism, according to the ancient and primitive manner of celebrating that institu tion, even by immersion. Those of the Brethren that reside in the province of Friesland, have at present an annual meeting at Lewarden, where they administer the sacraments, as the consider able distance at which they live from Rhinsberg renders it inconvenient for them to repair thither twice a year. We shall conclude our account of the Collegiants by observing, that their com munity is of a most ample and extensive kind ; that it comprehends persons of all ranks, orders, and sects, who profess themselves Christians, though their sentiments concerning the person and doctrine of the divine Founder of Christianity be extremely different ; that it is kept together, and its union maintained, not by the authority of rulers and doctors, the force of ecclesiastical laws, the restraining power of creeds and con fessions, or the influence of certain positive rites and institutions, but merely by a zeal for the ad vancement

p.xiir 11.

Chap. VII. Concerning some Scctsof Inferior Xote. 509

vancement of practical religion, and a desiring of c i \ i drawing instruction from the study of the Holy XVN Scriptures [?/].

II. In such a community, or rather amidst such a multitude as this, in which opinion is free, and every one is permitted to judge for himself in religious matters, dissensions and controversies can scarcely have place. However, a debate, at tended with some warmth, arose, in the year 1672 between John and Paul Bredenburg, mer chants of Rotterdam, on the one side, and Abra ham Lemmerman and Francis Cuiper, mer chants of Amsterdam, on the other. John Bre denburg had erected a particular society, or col- lege, in which he gave a course of lectures upon the religion of nature and reason ; but this un dertaking was highly disapproved of by I, em- merman and Cuiper, who were for excluding reason altogether from religious inquiries and pursuits. Curing the heat of this controversy, Bredenburg discovered a manifest propensity towards the sentiments of Spinoza ; nay, he even defended them publicly, and yet, at the same time, professed a firm attachment to the Christian religion [z]. Other debates of less consequence arose in this community, and

the

C.y] See tne Diwcrtatioti stir ks usages de ceux qu'oti up- pelle en Hollande Colli glens et fihinobourgeois, in the ('en- mo nies Rdlgieuscs (ks tons ks Peupksdu Monde, torn. iv. p. .'Jvi.J. as also a Dutch book, containing an account of the CWfcgMftfr, and published by themselves under the following title : " De Oerspronck, Natuur, Handel wyz en Oogmerk der zo ge- naamcle Uynburgsche Vergadering," at Amsterdam, in 4to, in the year 1736.

[z] The names of John Brendenburg and Francis Cuiper are well known among the followers and adversaria of Spinoza ; but the character and profession of these two disputants are less generally known. Brendenburg, or (as he is otherwise called) Breitenburg, was a Collegia* and a merchant of Rotterdam, who propagftted in a public manner the doctrine of Spinoza, and pretended to don

itrmtfl

510

CENT,

Concerning some Sects of Inferior Note.

the effect of those dissensions was a division of the Collegiants into two parties, which held their assemblies separately at Rhinsberg. This division happened in the year 1686, hut it was healed about the commencement of the present century, by the death of those who had principally occasioned it ; and then the Collegiants returned to their former union and concord [a]. III. The

strate mathematically its conformity to the dictates of reason. The same man not only professed Christianity, but moreover explained, recommended, and maintained the Christian reli gion in the meetings of the Collegiants, and asserted, on all occasions, its divine original. To reconcile these striking contradictions, he declared, on the one hand, that reason and Christianity were in direct opposition to each another ; but maintained, on the other, that we were obliged to believe, even against the evidence of the strongest mathematical de monstrations, the religious doctrines comprehended in the Holy Scriptures (this, indeed, was adding absurdity to ab surdity). He affirmed, that truth was twofold, theological and philosophical ; and that those propositions, which were false in theology, were true in philosophy. There is a brief, but accurate account of the character and sentiments of Bre- clenburg, in the learned work of the Jew Isaac Orobia, enti tled, " Certamen Philosophicum propugnatae veritatis, divinse et naturalis adversus Jo. Bredenburgii principia, ex quibus, quod religio rationi repugnat, demonstrare nititur." This work which contains Bredenburg's pretended demonstrations of the philosophy of Spinoza, was first published in 8vo. at Amsterdam, in the year 1703, and afterwards in 12mo, at Brussels, in 1731. Francis Cuiper, who was the antagonist of Bredenburg, acquired a considerable reputation by his Arcana Atheismi detecta, i. e. The secrets of Atheism detected. He was a Bookseller at Amsterdam ; and it was he that pub lished among other things, the Bibliolheca Fratrum Polonorum sen Unilariorum. Those who have a tolerable acquaintance with the literary history of this century, know that Cuiper, on account of the very book which he wrote against Breden burg, was suspected of Spinozism, though he was a Collegiant, and a zealous defender of the Christian faith, as also of the perfect conformity that there is between right reason and true religion. (£3= Dr. Mosheim said a little before, in the text, that Lemmerman and Cuiper were for excluding reason alto gether from religion ; how then can he consistently say here of the latter, that he was a defender of the conformity that there is between reason and religion ?

[</•] Besides the authors who have been already mentioned,

those

Chap. VII. ConcerningsomeSectsqflnferiorNote. 51 1

III. The sect of the Labbadists were so called CENT from their founder John Labbadie, a native of xxn- France, a man of no mean genius, and remark- JJ0 able for a natural and masculine eloquence. This sLl!!LI^ man was born in the Romish communion, enter- The Leb- ed into the order of the Jesuits, and being dis- badists- missed by them [ft], became a member of the Reformed church, and performed with reputa tion, the ministerial functions in Prance, Switzer land, and Holland. He at length erected a new community, which resided successively at Middle- burgh in Zealand, and at Amsterdam. In the year 1670, it was transplanted to Hervorden, a town in Westphalia, at the particular desire of the Prin cess Elizabeth, daughter of the elector Palatine, and abbess of Hervorden [c~\. It was neverthe less driven from thence, notwithstanding the pro tection of this illustrious princess ; and in the

year

those who understand the German language may consult the curious work of Simon Frederic Rues, entitled, " Nachrich- ton vom Zustande der Mennoniten," p. 267-

(£§" {b~\ From this expression of our author, some may be led to imagine that Labbadie was expelled by the Jesuits from their society ; and many have, in effect, entertained this no tion. But this is a palpable mistake ; and whoever will be at the pains of consulting the letter of the Abbe Goujet to Father Niceron (published in the Memoires dcs Homines il- •lusires, torn. xx. p. 142, 143), will find that Labbadie had long solicited his discharge from that society, and after many refusals, obtained it at length in an honourable manner, by a public act signed at Bourdeaux, by one of the provincials, the 17th of April 1639. For a full account of this restless, turbulent, and visionary man, who, by his plans of Reforma tion, conducted by a zeal destitute of prudence, produced much tumult and disorder, both in the Romish and Reformed churches, see his Life, composed with learning, impartiality, and judgment, by the Rev. Mr. ChaufFepied, in his Supple ment to" Mr. Bayle, entitled, Nouveau Dictionnaire Hulurique el Critique.

(gT [c] This illustrious princess seems to have had as pre vailing a taste for fanaticism as her grandfather king .lames I. of England had for scholastic theology. She carried on a

correspondence

Concerning some Sects of Inferior Note.

CENT, year 1672, settled at Altena, where its founder

SECT11/! died two years after his arrival. After the death

PART ii. °f Labbadie, his followers removed their wandering

v^^-y-w community to Wicvcert, in the district of North

Holland, where it found a peaceful retreat, and

soon fell into oblivion ; so that few, if any traces

of it, are now to be found.

Among the persons that became members of this sect, there were some, whose learning and abilities gave it a certain degree of credit and re putation, particularly Anna Maria Schurman, of Utrecht, whose extensive erudition rendered her so famous, in the republic of letters, during the last century. The members of this commu nity, if we are to judge of them by their own ac count of things, did not differ from the Heform- ed church so much in their tenets and doctrines, as in their manners and rules of discipline [</], for their founder exhibited, in his own conduct

a most

correspondence withPenn, the famous quaker, and other mem bers of that extravagant sect. She is, nevertheless, celebrated by certain writers, on account of her application to the study of philosophy and poetry. That a poetical fancy may have rendered her susceptible of fanatical impressions, is not impos sible ; but how these impressions could be reconciled with a philosophical spirit, is more difficult to imagine.

(£§=• [_d~] Labbadie always declared, that he embraced the doctrines of the Reformed church. Nevertheless, when he was called to perform the ministerial functions to a French church at Middleburg, in Zealand, he refused to subscribe their confession of faith. Besides, if we examine his writings we shall find that he entertained very odd, and singular opi nions on various subjects. He maintained, among other things, " that God might, and did, on certain occasions, de ceive men — that the Holy Scriptures was not sufficient to lead men to salvation, without certain particular illuminations and revelations from the Holy Ghost — that in reading the Scriptures, we ought to give less attention to the literal sense of the words than to the inward suggestions of the spirit, and that the efficacy 'of the word depended upon him that preached it — that the faithful ought to have all things in common — that there is no subordination or dis tinction

Chap. VII. Concerning some Sects oflnfcriurXutc. 5 1 3

a most austere model of sanctity and obedience. CI:\T. which his disciples and followers were obli^d xvn to imitate ; and they were taught to look for tin; J " communion of saints, not only in the invisible s. church, but also in a visible one, which, accord ing to their views of things, ought to be coin- posed of none but of such persons as were distin guished by their sanctity and virtue, and by a pious progress towards perfection. There are still extant several treatises composed by Labba- die, which sufficiently discover the temper and spirit of the man, and carry the evident marks VOL. v. L 1 of

tinction of rank in the true church of Christ — that Christ was to reign a thousand years upon earth — that the contem plative life is a state of grace and union with God, and the very height of perfection — that the Christian, whose mind is contented and calm, sees all things in God, enjoys the Deity, and is perfectly indifferent about every thing that passes in the world — and that the Christian arrives at that happy state by the exercise of a perfect self-denial, by mortifying the " flesh and all sensual affections, and by mental prayer." Be sides these, he had formed singular ideas of the Old and New Testament, considered as covenants, as also concerning the Sabbath, and the true nature of a Christian church.

It is remarkable enough that almost all the sectaries of an enthusiastical turn, were desirous of entering into communion with Labbadie. The Brownists offered him their church at Middleburg, when he was suspended by the French synod from his pastoral functions. The Quakers sent their two leading members Robert Barclay and George Keith to Amsterdam, while he resided there, to examine his doctrine; and, after seve ral conferences with him, these two commissioners offered to receive him into their communion, which he refused, probably from a principle of ambition, and the desire of remaining head of a sect. Nay, it is said, that the famous William Penn made a second attempt to gain over the Labbadists ; and that he went for that purpose to Wiewert, where they resided after the death of their founder, but without success. We do not pretend to answer for the certainty of these facts ; but shall only ob serve, that they are related by Mollerus in his Cimbria Liter- ata, on the authority of a MS. Journal, of which several extracts have been given by loach. Fred. Feller, in his Trimcst. ix. Moniimentorum incditorum, sect. iii. A. 1717- p. 4-98— JOO.

514 Concerning some Sects of Inferior Note.

CENT, of a lively and glowing imagination, that was tempered by the influence of a sober and ao

SECT. II.

PART

' curate judgment. And as persons of this character are sometimes carried, by the impetuosity of pas sion and the seduction of fancy, both into errone ous notions and licentious pursuits, we are not perhaps to reject, in consequence of an excessive charity, the testimonies of those who have found many things worthy of censure, both in the life and doctrine of this turbulent enthusiast [e]. IV. Among the fanatical contemporaries of

et<Labbadie, was the famous Antoinette Bou rignon de la Porte, a native of Flanders, who pretended to be divinely inspired, and set apart, by a particular interposition of Heaven, to re vive the true spirit of Christianity, that had been extinguished by theological animosities and de bates. This female enthusiast, whose religious feelings were accompanied with an unparalleled vivacity and ardour, and whose fancy was exube rant beyond all expression, joined to these quali ties a volubility of tongue, less wonderful indeed, yet much adapted to seduce the unwary. Fur nished with these useful talents, she began to pro pagate her theological system, and her enthusi- astical notions made a great noise in Flanders, Holland, and some parts of Germany, where she had resided some years. Nor was it only the ig norant multitude that swallowed down with faci lity her visionary doctrines ; since it is well known that several learned and ingenious men were persuaded of their truth, and caught the

contagion

[Y] See Mollerus' Cimbria Literata, torn. iii. p. 35. and Isagoge ad Histor. Chersones. Cimbricce, p. 2. cap. v. p. 121. — Arnofd, Histor. Ecclesiast. vol. i. p. ii. lib. xvii. cap. xxi. p. 1186. — Weisman, Hist. Eccles. Scec. xvii. p. 297. — For an account of the two famous companions of Labbadie, viz. Du Lignon and Yvon, see Mollerus' Cimbria Literaia, torn. ii. p. 472. 1020.

Chap. VII. Concerning tome Sect* (>/'lit/crior A o/r. :, \ >

contagion of her fanaticism. Alter experiencing < various turns of fortune, and suffering much vexa- x N ' ' tion and mockeries on account of her religious ~ fancies, she ended her days at Pranchrr. in the _~,^_ province of Fricsland, in the year 1680. Her writings were voluminous; hut it would be a fruitless attempt to endeavour to draw from them an accurate and consistent scheme of religion. For the pretended divine light, that guides peo ple of this class, does not proceed in a methodical way of reasoning and argument ; it discovers it self hy flashes, which shed nothing hut thick darkness in the minds of those who investigate truth with the understanding, and do not tnist to the reports of fancy, that is so often governed by sense and passion. An attentive reader will, how ever, learn something by perusing the writings of this fanatical virgin ; he will be persuaded, that her intellect must have been in a disordered state ; that the greatest part of her divine effusions were borrowed from the productions of the Mystics ; and that by the intemperance of her imagination, she has given an additional air of extravagance and absurdity to the tenets she has derived from these pompous enthusiasts. If we attend to the main and predominant prin ciple that reigns throughout the incoherent pro ductions of Bourignon, we shall find it to be the following ; " That the Christian religion neither " consists in knowledge nor in practice, but in a " certain internal feeling and divine impulse, that " arises immediately from communion with the " Deitv \ f ]." Among the more considerable pa- L 1 2 trons

r f-\ gee for an ample account of Bourignon, the following writers- Moller. Cimbria Literata, torn. ii. p. St.— lnlrotluc- tio in Hislor. Clurswesi Cimbricv, p. ii.. p. ^^^gk Dictiounaire, torn. i. at the article Bourignon. -Arnold. / / ria Eccles. et Hard. vol. ii. <£• See also Poircts /y- Aucloribus Mytticu, sect. xiv. p. 565. 1 his treatise ot 1 o.ret is inserted at the end of his book, De Eruditionc Mdl * s per/iciaria, vol. ii. edit. 4to.

SECT. II. PART II.

516 Concerning some Sects of Inferior Note,

CENT, trons of this fanatical doctrine, we may reckon Christian Bartholomew de Cordt, a Jansenist, and priest of the oratory at Mechlin, who died at Nordstrandt, in the dutchy of Slcswick[g] ; and Peter Poiret, a man of a hold and penetrating genius, who was a great master of the Cartesian philosophy [A]. This latter has shewn, in a strik ing manner, hy his own example, that knowledge and ignorance, reason and superstition, are often divided by thin partitions ; and that they some times not only dwell together in the same person, but also, by an unnatural and unaccountable union, lend each other mutual assistance, and thus engen der monstrous productions. The Phiia- y rpiie same spirit, the same views, and the

delphian . . , „ -f. , ,. . • i -• T>

Society, same kind ot religion, that distinguished JDOU- rignon, were observable in an English, and also a female fanatic, named Jane Leadley, who, to wards the conclusion of this century, seduced by her visions, predictions, and doctrines, a considera ble number of disciples, among whom there were some persons of learning ; and thus gave rise to what was called the Philadelphian Society. This woman was of opinion that all dissensions among Christians would cease, and the kingdom of the Redeemer become, even here below, a glorious scene of charity, concord and felicity, if these who bear the name of Jesus, without regarding the forms of doctrine or discipline that distinguish particular communions, would all join in committing their souls to the care of the

internal

£#] Molleri Cimbria Liferata, torn. ii. p. 149.

[/*] Poiret dressed out in an artful manner., and reduced to a kind of system, the wild and incoherent fancies of Bourignon, in his large work, entitled, L'Oecoiiomie Divine, ou Systeme Universe!, which was published, both in French and Latin, at Amsterdam, in the year 1686, in seven volumes 8vo. — For an account of this Mystic philosopher, whose name and volumi nous writings have made such a noise, see Bibliotheca Brem* Theolog. Philol. torn. iii. p. 75.

Chap.VII. Concerning some Sect s of Infer lor Xutc. ."> 1 7

internal guide, to be instructed, governed, and n \i formed by his divine impulse and suggestions. XNM

— -^ * . A crfT- IT

SECT. If.

Nay, she went still further, and declared in the 1>vnT n name of the Lord, that this desirable event would ^^y^/ happen ; and that she had a divine commission to proclaim the approach of this glorious communion of saints, who were to be gathered together in one visible universal church, or kingdom, before the dissolution of this earthly globe. This prediction she delivered with a peculiar degree of confidence, from a notion that her Philadelphia!! society was the true kingdom of Christ, in which alone the divine spirit resided and reigned. We shall not mention the other dreams of this enthusiast, among which the famous doctrine of the final restoration of all intelligent Beings to perfection and happi ness held an eminent place. Leadley was less fortunate than Bourignou in this respect, that she had not such an eloquent and ingenious patron as Poiret, to plead her cause, and to give an air of philosophy to her wild reveries. For Pordage and Bromley, who were the chief of her associates, had nothing to recommend them but their Mystic piety and contemplative turn of mind. Pordage more especially, was so far destitute of the powers of elocution and reasoning, that he even surpassed Jacob Boehmen, whom he admired, in obscurity and nonsense ; and, instead of imparting instruc tion to his readers, did no more than excite in them a stupid kind of awe by a high-sounding jingle of pompous words [i].

p] See Jo. Wolf. Jaegeri Historia Sacra et Civilis, Sac. xvii. Decenn, x. p. 90. — Petri Poireti Bibliothcca Myslicor. p. 161. 174. 283. 286.

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